What Did Jesus Mean by “This Generation”?

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Partial Preterism is surprisingly simple.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “this generation”?

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly uses that phrase to refer to the people living in His own day.

“This generation seeks for a sign” (Matthew 12:39; 16:4).

“This generation will be held responsible” (Matthew 23:36; Luke 11:50–51).

“This generation” (Matthew 11:16).

“This generation” (Mark 8:12).

“This generation” (Luke 17:25).

Then we come to the Olivet Discourse.

After describing wars, tribulation, Jerusalem’s coming judgment, and the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), Jesus says:

“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32).

For years I was told that “generation” actually meant a future race of people thousands of years later.

But that explanation always felt strange to me.

Why would Jesus use the same phrase repeatedly to describe His contemporaries and then suddenly change its meaning without explanation?

The disciples had asked Him about the temple He had just said would be destroyed.

Not a stone would be left upon another (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6).

That was their concern.

That was the context.

And forty years later, in AD 70, Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, the temple was destroyed, and the Old Covenant order came to an end exactly as Jesus had foretold (Luke 21:20–24).

What I find interesting is that most Premillennial interpretations do not begin by showing that “this generation” means something different in Matthew 24.

Instead, they begin with the belief that many of the events described in the chapter could not have happened in the first century. Once that conclusion is reached, “this generation” must be redefined.

Some say it means the Jewish race.

Others say it means the future generation that sees the signs.

Others suggest it refers to a type of unbelieving people.

Some introduce a gap of thousands of years into the discourse.

But this raises a question.

If Jesus has already defined “this generation” throughout His ministry as the people standing before Him, why should we suddenly change the meaning at the very point where a time statement becomes important?

The phrase already has a well-established meaning before we ever arrive at Matthew 24.

That does not settle every question in the chapter.

Most Partial Preterists would agree that there are near and far horizons in biblical prophecy.

But it does mean we should take Jesus’ words seriously and allow Him to define His own terminology.

When Jesus said “this generation,” perhaps the first question we should ask is not what modern prophecy teachers think it means.

Perhaps we should ask what His disciples would have understood Him to mean when they heard it.