Mark 13:28 Meaning and Explanation
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jesus points to the fig tree: when its branch grows tender and puts out leaves, everyone knows summer is near.
What Does Mark 13:28 Mean?
Jesus turns from vision to parable, and to a tree his hearers knew well — fig trees grew on the very slopes where they sat. Unlike the evergreens around it, the fig sheds everything; through winter it stands bare as death. Then sap softens the branch, leaves break out, and every farmer knows summer is at hand.
Jesus dignifies ordinary discernment: you already know how to read a season — now read mine. The signs he has given are meant to work like leafing branches, legible to watchful faith without charts or speculation. And the parable carries quiet hope in its chosen season: what the signs announce is not winter coming but summer — not the death of the world, but its long-awaited ripening toward harvest.
Mark 13:28 in the Original Language
parabole (παραβολή), 'parable' -- a comparison set alongside life so that one thing illuminates another.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mark 13:28
What does Mark 13:28 mean?
Jesus points to the fig tree: when its branch grows tender and puts out leaves, everyone knows summer is near.