ACC ~ Matthew 24 v32

FROM THE FIG TREE LEARN ITS LESSON

HILARY OF POITIERS: The parable of the fig tree is offered as a lesson in recognizing the signs of the times. When its branches become tender and green we know that summer is near. Both this fig tree and this summer are very different from those found in nature, however. In nature there is a considerable interval between the onset of summer and the greening of a tree’s branches, which begin to grow tender early in the spring. Consequently this parable cannot be about the tree. Indeed, we have already dealt above with the particular meaning of the tree. We saw that Adam had covered himself with its leaves to hide his shameful conscience, which is to say that he was bound under the law as though clothed in sin. The fig tree’s branch therefore represents the antichrist, who is a son of the devil, a partaker of sin and protector of the law. When it begins to grow tender and green, then the summer, which here represents the day of judgment, is near. The greening of the tree then refers to the rise of sinners, a time that will be marked by the flowering of slanderers and the popularity of criminals and favor for blasphemers. This signals that summer, the heat of eternal fire, is near. ON MATTHEW 26.2. [1]

[1] SC 258:194.

HOW LONG A TIME?

CHRYSOSTOM: The time is “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” After how long a time would it be? They desired to know in particular the very day. So he puts forth the analogy of the fig tree. He indicates that the interval was not great but that in quick succession these things would occur at his advent. He declared this not by the parable of the fig tree alone but by the words that follow. “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” He foretells a spiritual summer, a calm for the righteous that would come on that day, after the storm. But to sinners, on the contrary, there would be winter after summer, which he declares in what follows, saying that the day shall come upon them when they are living in luxury. For these two purposes he spoke about the fig tree: in order to declare the short interval and to underscore that these things assuredly will come to pass. It was possible for him to have demonstrated this in other ways, but he chose the fig tree as an example of a necessary series of things occurring in sequence. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.1. [1]

[1] HE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST | MATTHEW 14:1-12

YOU KNOW THAT SUMMER IS NEAR

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Jesus uses the fig tree, rather than another kind of tree, as an illustration for the onset of summer because it commonly happens that after other trees have begun to bloom, a cold snap forces them back into hibernation. Since the fig tree blooms later than almost any other tree, however, its fruitfulness is virtually never interrupted by the cold. In a similar way, the church is a sure sign of the advent of a new age. But let us consider this analogy more carefully. The fig tree begins to produce its leaves at the optimal moment of the spring season, but the church is afflicted with horrible persecutions and driven toward death. The Lord is here correlating the springtime jubilance of the fig tree to the spiritual progress of souls, not to bodily afflictions. For the soul flourishes when the flesh suffers, as the apostle said, “And you received the Word of God in great tribulation, with joy from the Holy Spirit.” [1] Just as warm spring winds trigger the trees to begin producing their foliage and fruit, so persecution provokes the human soul to virtue. The fig tree therefore is perennially comparable to the church in the sense that it contains many seeds within a heart of sweetness under one bark, while the church unites many Christians within its heart of love under one body. There is yet another similarity, however. Other trees produce their fruit at approximately the same time of year, for everything ripens and falls to the ground in the space of a few days. Only the fig tree continues to produce fruit unceasingly until winter. While some figs are ready to be harvested, other figs are just beginning to grow. Likewise, the church will never cease to produce saints until the end of time. In every age, while some are dying, others are just being born. HOMILY 49. [2]

[1] 1 Thess 1:6.

[2] PG 56:920.