Luke 21:32

this generation will not pass away: This saying is difficult to understand. Jesus seems to have predicted that he would come again before the first generation of his disciples died out. There are three main interpretations:

1. the reference is to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 when Jesus "came" in judgment against Israel;

2. this generation refers to a future generation alive when these signs start to happen;

3. the term generation could mean “people,” referring to the Jewish people, who will not disappear before Christ returns.

When Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, his disciples asked when it would happen and what signs would accompany it (21:6,7). Jesus responded by describing the events surrounding the destruction of the temple and the return of the Son of Man (21:8–36). This sermon is known as the Olivet Discourse because the Mount of Olives was where Jesus taught (see Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3).