Luke 21

1 Then Yeshua looked up, and as he watched the rich placing their gifts into the Temple offering-boxes,

2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small coins.

3 He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

4 For they, out of their wealth, have contributed money they could easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given all she had to live on."

5 As some people were remarking about the Temple, how beautiful its stone work and memorial decorations were, he said,

6 "The time is coming when what you see here will be totally destroyed -- not a single stone will be left standing!"

7 They asked him, "Rabbi, if this is so, when will these events take place? And what sign will show that they are about to happen?"

8 He answered, "Watch out! Don't be fooled! For many will come in my name, saying, `I am he!' and, `The time has come!' Don't go after them.

9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, don't panic. For these things must happen first, but the end will not follow immediately."

10 Then he told them, "Peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other,

11 there will be great earthquakes, there will be epidemics and famines in various places, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from Heaven.

12 But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons; and you will be brought before kings and governors. This will all be on account of me,

13 but it will prove an opportunity for you to bear witness.

14 So make up your minds not to worry, rehearsing your defense beforehand;

15 for I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no adversary will be able to resist or refute.

16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends; some of you they will have put to death;

17 and every one will hate you because of me.

18 But not a hair of your head will be lost.

19 By standing firm you will save your lives.

20 "However, when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then you are to understand that she is about to be destroyed.

21 Those in Y'hudah must escape to the hills, those inside the city must get out, and those in the country must not enter it.

22 For these are the days of vengeance, when everything that has been written in the Tanakh will come true.

23 What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress in the Land and judgment on the people.

24 Some will fall by the edge of the sword, others will be carried into all the countries of the Goyim, and Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the Goyim until the age of the Goyim has run its course.

25 "There will appear signs in the sun, moon and stars; and on earth, nations will be in anxiety and bewilderment at the sound and surge of the sea,

26 as people faint with fear at the prospect of what is overtaking the world; for the powers in heaven will be shaken.

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with tremendous power and glory.

28 When these things start to happen, stand up and hold your heads high; because you are about to be liberated!"

29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, Indeed, all the trees.

30 As soon as they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves that summer is near.

31 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you are to know that the Kingdom of God is near!

32 Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before it has all happened.

33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

34 "But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap!

35 For it will close in on everyone, no matter where they live, throughout the whole world.

36 Stay alert, always praying that you will have the strength to escape all the things that will happen and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."

37 Yeshua spent his days at the Temple, teaching; while at night he went out and stayed on the hill called the Mount of Olives.

38 All the people would rise with the dawn to come and hear him at the Temple courts.

Luke 21 Commentary

Chapter 21

Christ commends a poor widow. (1-4) His prophecy. (5-28) Christ exhorts to watchfulness. (29-38)

Verses 1-4 From the offering of this poor widow, learn that what we rightly give for the relief of the poor, and the support of God's worship, is given unto God; and our Saviour sees with pleasure whatever we have in our hearts to give for the relief of his members, or for his service. Blessed Lord! the poorest of thy servants have two mites, they have a soul and a body; persuade and enable us to offer both unto thee; how happy shall we be in thine accepting of them!

Verses 5-28 With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the great desolation should be. He answers with clearness and fulness, as far as was necessary to teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common in gospel times, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work, notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you, and own you, and assist you. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance. Though we may be losers for Christ, we shall not, we cannot be losers by him, in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especially in perilous, trying times, to secure the safety of our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep possession of our own souls, and keep out all those impressions which would put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old Testament prophecies, which, together with their great object, embrace, or glance at some nearer object of importance to the church. Having given an idea of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come, Christ shows what all those things would end in, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter dispersion of the Jewish nation; which would be a type and figure of Christ's second coming. The scattered Jews around us preach the truth of Christianity; and prove, that though heaven and earth shall pass away, the words of Jesus shall not pass away. They also remind us to pray for those times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shall any longer be trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem the Christians that were persecuted and oppressed by them; and then had the churches rest. When he comes to judge the world, he will redeem all that are his from their troubles. So fully did the Divine judgements come upon the Jews, that their city is set as an example before us, to show that sins will not pass unpunished; and that the terrors of the Lord, and his threatenings against impenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true, and his wrath great upon Jerusalem.

Verses 29-38 Christ tells his disciples to observe the signs of the times, which they might judge by. He charges them to look upon the ruin of the Jewish nation as near. Yet this race and family of Abraham shall not be rooted out; it shall survive as a nation, and be found as prophesied, when the Son of man shall be revealed. He cautions them against being secure and sensual. This command is given to all Christ's disciples, Take heed to yourselves, that ye be not overpowered by temptations, nor betrayed by your own corruptions. We cannot be safe, if we are carnally secure. Our danger is, lest the day of death and of judgment should come upon us when we are not prepared. Lest, when we are called to meet our Lord, that be the furthest from our thoughts, which ought to be nearest our hearts. For so it will come upon the most of men, who dwell upon the earth, and mind earthly things only, and have no converse with heaven. It will be a terror and a destruction to them. Here see what should be our aim, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things; that when the judgements of God are abroad, we may not be in the common calamity, or it may not be that to us which it is to others. Do you ask how you may be found worthy to stand before Christ at that day? Those who never yet sought Christ, let them now go unto him; those who never yet were humbled for their sins, let them now begin; those who have already begun, let them go forward and be kept humbled. Watch therefore, and pray always. Watch against sin; watch in every duty, and make the most of every opportunity to do good. Pray always: those shall be accounted worthy to live a life of praise in the other world, who live a life of prayer in this world. May we begin, employ, and conclude each day attending to Christ's word, obeying his precepts, and following his example, that whenever he comes we may be found watching.