21:20–22 Up to this point the disciples have been exhorted not to be deceived about the end and to be ready to suffer for Christ’s sake. But now Jesus addresses the destruction of the temple more specifically. When they see Jerusalem encircled by armies, its judgment is near (cf. 19:43–44). We know this prophecy is fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman armies besiege Jerusalem (AD 66–70), capturing the city and burning down the temple. Josephus provides a full account of the siege (Jewish Wars 5.2.1–5; 6.2.1; 6.2.7). He states that more than a million are killed; although his numbers are probably exaggerated, the carnage is still great.255 He relates a gruesome story of a woman cooking her infant son and eating him (Jewish Wars 6.3.4). People will be prone during the siege to flee to Jerusalem for protection, but Jesus warns them to do the opposite: they are to stay away from the city. If they are in Judea, they should flee to the mountains (cf. Gen. 19:17, 19). And if they reside in the city, they should leave it as soon as possible; those who live in the country should not come into the city. These events will be no accident; they will be a manifestation of God’s judgment, his just wrath against the city, especially since its people have rejected their Messiah. The punishment of the city fits with the covenant curses Israel is threatened with in the OT (cf. Deut. 32:35; Hos. 9:7; Mic. 3:12). Solomon was reminded that, if Israel abandoned the Lord, the temple would be destroyed (1 Kings 9:6–9). The demolition of Jerusalem and the temple is not a political accident—it is God’s carrying out his purposes and will.

21:23–24 The suffering will be intense; pregnant and nursing women will find it to be intolerable (cf. Luke 23:29). The land of Israel will face incredible pressure, and God will pour out his wrath on the people of Israel (3:7). She will be cut down by the Roman sword and exiled to other nations, and Jerusalem will fall under the control of other nations as well (cf. Deut. 28:64; Ps. 79:1; Isa. 63:18; Ezek. 32:9; Tob. 14:4–6). World history has confirmed this fate. This state of affairs will last “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” which suggests that Jerusalem’s subjugation will last until the end of history. The “times of the Gentiles” describes the period of Gentile mission. Perhaps this accords with Romans 11:25–27, which sees a salvation of Israel at the end of history.256 The judgment here focuses on the judgment of Jerusalem and the temple, and thus what we read in Luke 21:20–24 will not be replicated at the end of history. Still, we find a general typological connection in that the judgment inflicted on Jerusalem will be worldwide at the end.257

21:25–26 It is not apparent that verses 25–28 refer to a different time period. Looking back, we see that Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in AD 70, but Jesus did not physically return. Some scholars conclude that Jesus was mistaken, that he got the date of his return wrong. The problem with this reading is that there is no evidence to support the notion that early Christians who read and preserved the Gospel believed what we read here to be mistaken. They continued to preserve these words as true even after AD 70. In fact, we have no evidence that what occurred in AD 70 precipitated a crisis of belief among early Christians.

We find an important parallel with the way OT prophecy works. If we take Isaiah 40–66 as an example, it is evident in reading these chapters that the end of Israel’s exile is predicted there. Israel will return in a new exodus, the new creation will dawn, a new David will reign, and the new covenant will commence. The prophecy was not mistaken. Israel did return from exile, but the promises in Isaiah were not realized in their fullness. Still, the OT community did not conclude that Isaiah was mistaken; they believed there to be an inaugurated fulfillment, with Isaiah’s prophecy to be realized in its fullness in the future. The same paradigm should be applied to what Jesus says here. On first reading, we might have expected Jesus to return physically when Jerusalem was destroyed. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple verified that Jesus did not err, but it became apparent to early Christians that there was to be a temporal interval between the destruction of the temple and the return of Christ. The one functions as a type of the other.

Others have understood the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple to be a coming of Christ. In other words, the Son of Man did not come personally and visibly in the clouds. Instead he was “seen” in the destruction of Jerusalem. Such a reading is defended by arguing that these verses are apocalyptic, but that is not a natural way to read Luke 21:27, which refers to Jesus’ coming personally and visibly. Furthermore, Luke’s readership was not limited to Jewish Christians, and it is difficult to see how all of the believers reading Luke’s work would find their redemption in the judgment on Jerusalem and the temple. For most Christians reading the Gospel, such destruction would have made very little difference to their everyday lives, except for confirming the truthfulness of Jesus’ words. Still, judgments in Jerusalem and on the temple would scarcely constitute their redemption.

Jesus predicts that the end of the world will feature cosmic and apocalyptic phenomena. Signs will appear in the heavens—in the sun, moon, and stars. This is another indication that the judgment described here is not limited to Israel, for we read of the anguish “of nations,” with the plural referring to all people everywhere. The nations will be plunged into perplexity because of the cosmic phenomena and the roaring of the seas and the crashing waves (cf. Pss. 46:2–4; 65:7; 89:9; Isa. 24:19 LXX). Clearly this is a picture of the world as falling apart. The things happening in the world will be so frightening that people will faint because of fear. They will shudder at what is about to come in the world as the cosmic order dissolves (cf. Isa. 34:4; Joel 2:10; Heb. 12:26–27; Rev. 6:12–13).

21:27–28 As the world falls apart, Jesus will come. He will come as the Son of Man described in Daniel 7:13–14, “with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27; cf. 9:26).258 He will come on a cloud, which represents God’s presence (Ex. 19:16; 40:34–38; Num. 10:34; 11:25; 2 Chron. 5:14; Neh. 9:12; Luke 9:34–35). In Daniel the “son of man” comes to the Ancient of Days “with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13). But here he clearly comes to the earth, as people will see his coming, which would not be possible if his coming were restricted to the divine throne room. John, in reflecting on the coming of Jesus, says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7). Once again, there is allusion to Daniel 7:13, to Jesus’ coming on the clouds, and here to everyone’s seeing him. Furthermore, we discover in Acts, also written by Luke, that Jesus will return to the earth on a cloud in the same way he departed from earth (Acts 1:9–11). It is evident, then, that people will see Jesus as the Son of Man returning to earth. Jesus’ coming with the clouds points to his majesty and sovereignty, his divine power, for God rides on the clouds in the OT (Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1). Obviously this event did not occur in AD 70, and thus it is still a future event. When the final events begin to take place and unbelievers are full of fear and foreboding, believers should lift up their heads in anticipation and excitement because their final redemption, the fullness of their liberation, is at hand (cf. Rom. 8:23; 13:11; Eph. 4:30). What they have waited for will become a reality.