send them away that they may go to the farms and villages near here and buy themselves something to eat."

When they were getting near Jerusalem and had arrived at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples on in front, with these instructions.

"Learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branch has become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near.

So also do you, when you see these things happening, be sure that He is near, at your very door.