The Widow’s Gift
1 He o looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. p 2 He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. ,q 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them.r 4 For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
Destruction of the Temple Predicted
5 As s some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 “These things that you see—the days will come t when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”u
Signs of the End of the Age
7 “Teacher,” they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? ” v
8 Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived. w For many will come in my name, x saying, ‘I am he,’ y and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them. z 9 When you hear of wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”
10 Then he told them: “Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.a 11 There will be violent earthquakes, b and famines and plagues c in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven. d 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you e and persecute f you. They will hand you over to the synagogues g and prisons,h and you will be brought before kings and governors i because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to bear witness.j 14 Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time,k 15 for I will give you such words l and a wisdom m that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. n 16 You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends.o They will kill some of you.17 You will be hated by everyone because of my name, p 18 but not a hair of your head will be lost. q 19 By your endurance, gain your lives. r
The Destruction of Jerusalem
20 “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,s then recognize that its desolation t has come near. 21 Then those in Judea must flee u to the mountains.v Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it, 22 because these are days of vengeance w to fulfill all the things that are written. 23 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, x for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.24 They will be killed by the sword ,y and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles ,z until the times of the Gentiles a are fulfilled.
The Coming of the Son of Man
25 “Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; b and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the waves. c 26 People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken. d 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud e with power and great glory. f 28 But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.” g
The Parable of the Fig Tree
29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.30 As soon as they put out leaves you can see for yourselves and recognize that summer is already near. 31 In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place. h 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, i but my words will never pass away. j
The Need for Watchfulness
34 “Be on your guard, k so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness,l and worries of life, m or that day will come on you unexpectedly n 35 like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 But be alert at all times, o praying that you may have strength to escape p all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 During q the day, he was teaching in the temple, r but in the evening he would go out and spend the night on what is called the Mount of Olives. s 38 Then all the people would come early in the morning to hear him in the temple. t
21:1–4. The widow’s sacrificial gift is a remarkable contrast to the pretentious religion of the scribes—who exploit widows (20:45–47)! On the one hand, others are giving substantial gifts to the temple, but the text suggests that the gifts are insignificant because they put no strain on the givers’ budgets (21:4). On the other hand, the widow’s gift is notable because of the extreme sacrifice it entails, even though the amount of money is negligible (21:2–3).
C. Apocalyptic discourse (21:5–38). 21:5–6. The temple that elicits the admiration of his disciples (21:5) was beautiful indeed. Herod the Great began to refurbish it in 20/19 BC, and the work was not completed until AD 63 or later. Jesus, however, predicts that the temple will be completely demolished (21:6). The Romans fulfilled this prophecy in AD 70.
21:7–11. Jesus now warns his disciples against eschatological enthusiasm and braces them for future persecution. The question of the disciples in 21:7 refers to the date of the fall of Jerusalem, but it also seems to involve the date of the end of this age. The fall of Jerusalem becomes a type for the destruction that will occur in the end times. (Luke has distinguished more clearly than Matthew [Mt 24] and Mark [Mk 13] the events that will take place in Jerusalem from the events of the end.)
21:12–19. The disciples ought not to think the end will deliver them from suffering, because persecution will precede the end (21:12). They will be prosecuted by civil and religious authorities. But their defense will produce an opportunity to testify about the gospel, and they will receive the necessary words with which to defend themselves (21:13–15). The persecution may be bitter, perhaps even involving betrayal by family members and death (21:16). They must steel themselves to face implacable hostility (21:17).
21:20–24. In the next section Jesus specifically answers the question about the destruction of Jerusalem. One will know that Jerusalem’s time of destruction has arrived when foreign armies surround it (21:20). This encirclement is a signal, not of the need for heroism, but of the need to flee (21:21). God’s avenging wrath will be poured out on the city, bringing distress to the entire populace (21:22–24a). Luke 21:24b refers not to the Gentile mission but to Gentile authority over Jerusalem.
21:25–28. From the destruction of Jerusalem, Luke moves to the coming of the Son of Man. Luke does not specify the temporal relationship between these events, but the former clearly functions as a correspondence or type of the latter. The emphasis on signs in this paragraph is in tension with Luke’s claim elsewhere that no signs will precede the end (21:25; cf. 17:20–25). This is probably Luke’s paradoxical way of saying that the end is not calculable, and yet certain signs precede it. The signs picture in dramatic terms the breakup of the natural world order, and the resulting terror and fear that seize the human race (21:26). The Son of Man will return during these troubled times (21:27). The message for believers is, when the world begins to convulse, take hope! Your redemption is imminent (21:28).
21:29–33. The parable of the fig tree is easy to comprehend. Just as the appearance of leaves on a tree shows that summer is near (21:30), so too the signs previously described indicate that the coming of the Son of Man is near (21:31). The assertion that “this generation will certainly not pass away” (21:32) is difficult. It could refer to (1) the generation in which Jesus was living, (2) the Jewish race, (3) the human race, or (4) the end-time generation. It probably refers both to (1) and (4), for Jesus’s generation experienced the razing of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem’s destruction becomes a type of the end. In typical Jewish fashion Jesus combines in this discourse information about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world.
21:34–36. The arrival of the Son of Man and the destruction of Jerusalem have a practical message for disciples. They should constantly be vigilant, not forgetting in the interval their purpose for living (21:34). The end will come suddenly, and the entire earth will be affected (21:35). When Jesus says pray to escape what will happen (21:36), he does not mean that people should pray that they will not be on earth. Rather, he means they should pray that they will not face the terrible judgment of God. By following the path of obedience, they will receive a favorable verdict from God and stand before the Son of Man with joy.
21:37–38. The verses on Jesus’s ministry in Jerusalem are not part of the apocalyptic discourse. Jesus continues his teaching ministry up until the end, and his popularity with the people continues. [Mount of Olives]