51. Words not pass away
Matt. 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mark 13:31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
This is a statement of fact, an affirmation of truth, and a future certainty. This is the way it is and way it is going to be: the universe will one day be gone; the words of God will never be gone.
The universe, the heavens and the heavenly bodies, the earth and the works that are done on it, will pass away, dissolve, melt, and be burned up. The physical makeup of the present existence as we know it will simply be gone. Nothing temporal, physical, or earthly will last. This statement is a threat in the sense that it warns of the futility and uselessness of putting our trust in anything physical, no matter how good and pleasant; this statement is a promise in the sense that it reminds us that all evil will also disappear and have no lasting effect. The comfort is: “this, too, shall pass.”
The words of Jesus and of His Father, however, will never pass away but will go on and have lasting effects forever and ever. This promise is guaranteed: whoever hears the words of Jesus would certainly do well to listen to them and take them to heart.We who believe the words of Jesus are immediately passed over from death to life; we are transferred from the world of temporary transience to the world of eternal permanence.
The words of Jesus originate from and fill up the spiritual, invisible, eternal world where the life of God goes on forever (as does the life of whoever believe His words). These words of Jesus from that world also create, preserve and continually impact the physical world; these words have the power to give eternal life to our mortal being; these gospel words that create life also create new life. These words of Jesus can be counted on to carry us forever, and the love of Jesus will never stop.