Luke 21:1-24

Luke 21:1-4 - The Widow's Contribution

Among the accusations levelled against the scribal class Jesus listed their devouring of widow’s houses, without further explanation. In their insisting that people observe the law and consequently contribute to the upkeep of the temple, they made no distinction between the rich and the poor, those obliged to contribute and those to whom, rather, the wealth of the temple should have been in fact distributed. The following incident immediately illustrated the point being made by Jesus.

¹ He looked up and saw the rich

throwing their donations into the treasury.

² He also noticed a poor widow throwing two small coins into it.

³ He said, “In all truth, I assure you that that widow,

that poor widow, has thrown in more than all the others

⁴ All of them have given as donation their superfluous wealth,

while she, from her extreme need,

has given her whole livelihood.”

Jesus’ concern was not the obvious piety and generosity of the poor woman, but the injustice of a system that encouraged her impoverishment by persuading her to put in all she had to live on. His disgust with the whole system led to the warning that followed.

Collapse of the Structures – The Temple

By the time that Luke wrote his Gospel, the previously unthinkable had happened. The temple had been destroyed for more than ten years. Judaism had survived. The Christian disciples had survived, too, even though they had found themselves under acute pressure from their fellow Jews, before and after the destruction, particularly in Judea and Galilee, but also elsewhere around the Empire.

Luke’s interest in including Jesus’ discourse was quite different from Mark’s. His main concern was simply to point out that Jesus had foreseen the inevitable destruction of the temple.

Luke 21:5-6 - Jesus Foretells the Temple’s Destruction

⁵ Some disciples were remarking about the temple

and the way it was decorated

with beautiful stones and votive offerings.

Jesus said,

⁶ "Have a good look at all that.

A time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another,

when it will all be destroyed."

The immediate focus of what followed was the fate of the Jewish temple.

The temple was truly a beautiful building, one of the wonders of the then world. Its construction had begun under Herod and it had not been long completed.

Jesus’ comments referred to the actual physical building and, more importantly, to the whole temple-based system that the temple had come to embody. Not only would the building be destroyed. So would the oppressive religious and social structure.

Dealing with Rejection

Luke 21:7-19 - Signs and Persecutions:

⁷ They asked him then, "Teacher, when will all this be?

and what sign will there be when it will happen?"

Jesus seems to have been addressing people generally, not only the disciples. The address given to Jesus – Teacher – generally indicated that those speaking to him were not disciples.

⁸ He said in reply, "Be on your guard that you are not led astray.

Many will come in my name, saying, '

I am he',

'The time is near at hand'.

Do not follow them.

⁹ "When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not panic.

It is inevitable that such things happen first,

but the end is not so soon."

¹⁰ He then said to them, "Nation will rise against nation

and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹ There will be great earthquakes in various places,

food shortages and diseases,

frightening things in the heavens and great signs.

Jesus’ language was common in the abundant apocalyptic literature of the time. It simply meant that things would carry on as usual. Indeed in the forty years between Jesus’ death and the destruction of Jerusalem, there was constant warfare on the borders of the Roman Empire. In the years immediately preceding the destruction of the temple, a series of different Jewish uprisings had occurred. Indeed, it was precisely those revolts, led by a variety of would-be Messiahs, that had occasioned the brutal intervention of the Roman armies.

Jesus’ discourse moved away from general comments to an indiscriminate audience to focus directly on the disciples.

¹² "But before all these things happen,

they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,

handing you over to synagogue councils and prisons,

bringing you before kings and governors

on account of my name.

¹³ That will offer you the chance to give witness.

¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;

¹⁵ I shall give you words and wisdom

that your opponents will be unable to resist or argue against.

Whatever about the general thrust of the comments, the details probably came more from the pen of Luke. He was simply describing what had in fact happened during the first forty years of the life of the Christian community. His second volume, Acts of Apostles, would give particulars.

Synagogue councils and prisons referred to the Jewish system. Kings and governors indicated Gentile magistrates.

Jesus had previously warned all his disciples of the necessity to take up their crosses. His fate would also be their fate. Yet he sought to reassure them. Adversity was not to be accepted passively but to be used assertively.

¹⁶ "You will be handed over by parents, brothers, neighbours and friends.

Some from among you will be killed,

¹⁷ and you will all be hated because of my name.

¹⁸ "Not a hair of your head will be destroyed.

¹⁹ Through your steadfast endurance you will gain your lives."

Again Luke was simply recounting the history of the early community. Jesus had warned his disciples already that they would have to choose between restrictive family demands and allegiance to him and his mission. Their commitment would lead to death for some, but death would not be final. It would be the means through which they would become truly whole, the culmination of their inner journey to truth and love extending beyond death.

Collapse of the Structures – The City

Luke 21:20-24 - Jesus Foretells Jerusalem’s Destruction

²⁰ When you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers,

realise that her pillage is at hand.

²¹ At that time, let those in Judea flee to the hills,

those within the city get out of it,

those in the villages not enter it,

²² because this is the time of her retribution,

fulfilling all the things that have been written.

History records that not long before the siege of Jerusalem, many Christians within the city did in fact flee to the hills to avoid the Roman assault. They would not defect to Rome, nor would they choose violence and take up arms against the Romans, despite the insistent pressure to do so. Their non-violent stance indeed meant that they were hated by all because of Jesus’ name.

²³ Grief will befall those who at that time

are pregnant and breast-feeding.

There will be great distress over the land

and wrath against this people.

²⁴ They will fall by the sword

and be led in captivity to all the nations,

and Jerusalem will be trampled by the nations

until the appointed time is fulfilled.

The violence of the siege was in fact almost unbelievable. The city was totally destroyed and the temple burnt to the ground. At the time that Luke wrote his Gospel – about ten to twenty years after the city’s destruction - there was no end in sight to the Roman occupation of the country.

Next >> Luke 21:25-38