Another Difficult Verse, Luke 21:32

"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [those living at that definite period of time preceding the second coming] will not pass away until everything takes place." 21:32

"Others would argue that the generation who sees “all this” is not the generation who is alive when Jesus is speaking these words, but rather the generation who is alive when the final period of great tribulation at the end of history begins. Darrell Bock, who favors this position, puts it like this: “What Jesus is saying is that the generation that sees the beginning of the end, also sees its end. When the signs come, they will proceed quickly; they will not drag on for many generations. It will happen within a generation.” -David Sunday

Sunday references Alistair Begg 's sermon on this verse.  Here are my notes from listening to Begg: 

First, he points out that for the Jews, the temple was the focal point for God's relationship with the people. The disciples couldn't fathom that the world would continue if the temple fell.  

Jesus instructs them, calls them to personal vigilance and action "Be careful...be watchful, be prayerful, be faithful...." (v 34 & 36). Begg emphasizes that God has given us the Word not just to increase our knowledge, but to transform our lives. If this doesn't happen, we miss the point.  The function of the scriptures is not merely information and explanation, but application.

Begg admits that verse 32 is very difficult.  He references a commentary by James Boice---who said he doesn't have the foggiest idea of what one aspect means. Begg finds it comforting to know he's in good company. 

Also, he suggests that we cannot be unduly dogmatic about passages of the scripture that are not absolutely clear. The principle he asserts is that where the Bible is absolutely clear, we should be absolutely dogmatic about that issue, but where it is not clear, we should not be dogmatic.

Some commentaries have asserted it's all about AD 70; in such case, this verse doesn't cause trouble. If it involves now and the future end of the age, then we have a real dilemma.

"Grand Cloud" by Adam Thomas, all rights reserved.
Check out his artwork here.

There are a few possible ways to resolve the tension it creates. One is that "this generation" could reference a race or group of people instead of a set of decades.  Another interpretation is that the "people who are there when it begins will be there at the end."  However, Begg doesn't prefer either of these.

Instead, he thinks that there is a telescoping, a shift in reference during the passage--that at first he's referring to the immediate issue of the temple, then he shifts to the end of the age, and then is back to referring to the impending destruction of the temple referenced in verse 7.

Furthermore, he feels that the reader can get trapped in all of this referencing when the primary function of the discourse then and now that the disciples and current day readers are to act without hesitation.

Here's Begg's outline:

v 5-7 occasion of discourse

v 8-11 warns followers of being deceived or disheartened

v 12-19 persecution to come, promised help that they can anticipate.

I now need to go back and revisit this chapter with all of this in mind---a task for another day!