Luke 21

CHAPTER 21THEME: Jesus notes how people give and commends the widow; Jesus answers questions in Olivet Discourse “When shall these things be?“Now we come to the prophetic section of Luke’s Gospel. Although it corresponds to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew and Mark, there is a contrast with the similarity. Matthew’s Gospel gives us the three questions which the disciples asked the Lord Jesus: (1) When shall these things be?that is, one stone not left upon another; (2) What shall be the sign of thy coming? (3) And of the end of the age? (see Mat_24:3). In the chapter before us He answers the first question. Luke deals with one of the most practical aspects of the prophecy, and there is no mystery or speculation to his meaning, because most of Luke’s record is no longer prophecy; it is history. It was fulfilled in A.D. 70. After all, “prophecy is the mold into which history is poured,” and there has already been some pouring done here.

Luke 21:1

JESUS NOTES HOW PEOPLE GIVE AND COMMENDS THE WIDOWCompared to the wealth of that temple (and it was a wealthy temple), the widow’s gift did not amount to very much. Her two little coppers did not do much to help in the upkeep of the temple. Our Lord, however, does not measure giving that way. He measures it, not by what you give, but by what you keep for yourself. We are not living under the tithe system because that dictates what you must give. What you keep for yourself is “grace” giving.

There are many people who should be giving more than one tenth to the Lord because of the way He has blessed them. One man told me, “If I gave only a tenth of my substance to the Lord, I would feel as though I was stealing from Him.” God looks at the sacrifice of the giver. Generally it is the one who cannot give much who is making the real sacrifice. God looks at what you keep for yourself. Next Sunday morning someone may observe what you give, and say, “My, he gives a whole lot to the Lord’s work!” But what does God say? He is looking at what you are keeping for yourself.

Luke 21:5

JESUS ANSWERS QUESTION IN OLIVET DISCOURSE “WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?“When the Lord mentioned that the poor widow gave more than all the rich, the disciples said, “Look at this temple, the riches in it, the valuable stones in its construction!” The wealth was impressive. But did they really see it? Its magnificence would soon be gone. It would soon lie in rubble, not one stone left upon another. And, friend, that is the way you and I should see the wealth of this world. It won’t be here long; it will soon pass away.

Luke 21:7

You will find that in Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels the emphasis is put upon the last two questions asked of the Lord Jesus: “What is the sign of Your coming?” and “the end of the age?” The return of Christ is the more important thing in Matthew, and He answers questions that relate to it. Now here in Luke He emphasizes when “there shall not be left one stone upon another”; that is, the destruction of Jerusalem. Although this is part of the Olivet Discourse, our Lord probably answered the first question of the disciples; then later, as they came to the Mount of Olives and asked Him in detail, He gave the more formal and complete statement which we find in Matthew’s Gospel. Undoubtedly, our Lord gave His teachings over and over again. After all, repetition is the way we all learn.

Luke 21:8

The characteristic of the times would be that there would be false Christs, which is a feature of the age in which we live, and has been since He was here. There were false messiahs in His day, and today there are those who claim supernatural power. Although they talk a great deal about Jesus, they move themselves into His place and take to themselves the glory that should be His. I think there are quite a few false Christs walking about, and certainly false religions abound.

Luke 21:9

War is another characteristic of the age. War will be intensified toward the end of the age. Although pacifism is growing, the Word of God says, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1Th_5:3). We are right now in that position. Wars identify the entire period until the Lord returns.

Luke 21:11

These are another feature of the age, probably intensified toward the end.

Luke 21:12

The Lord is speaking to the nation Israel in these verses. All of these things apply specifically to the Jews. Joh_15:18-19 tell us, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If we were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not going to win any popularity contest, I can assure you.

Luke 21:16

These verses apply directly to the 144,000 Jews who will be indestructible during the time of the Great Tribulation Period. The suffering of these Jews will be much greater during the Tribulation than it was under the German persecution with the ovens and concentration camps.

Luke 21:20

Remember they had asked Him, “When shall these things be?” (v. Luk_21:7)that is, when one stone would not be left upon another. Well, that took place when Titus the Roman besieged Jerusalem in A.D. 70. I am of the opinion that many of these men, about forty years later, remembered Christ’s words when they looked over the battlements of the walls of Jerusalem and saw the banners of Titus’ army unfurled, and said, “This is the day the Lord talked about.” (This same thing will happen again during the last days.)

Luke 21:21

They were to do then what they are to do in the Great Tribulation Period. They were to get out of Jerusalem as quickly as possible. The great Jewish historian Josephus tells us about the horrible siege of Jerusalem. During the extended blockage of the city, mothers ate their own children. People died like flies, and the dead were thrown over the walls. Those who stayed either died of starvation or were sold as slaves. Again the Lord is drawing a miniature picture of what it is going to be like in the last days. There are those who claim that it could never happen a second time. It happened once, friend; that is a matter of history. The Lord said it would happen, and it did. He said it will happen again, and I believe He is right.

Luke 21:22

The Jews were scattered. Titus put them in slavery. They built the great Colosseum in Rome. Great distress and wrath fell upon the nation of Israel. From the day that Titus entered that city, about 1900 years ago, the Jews have never been able to get the Gentiles out of Jerusalem. Gentiles have controlled Jerusalem from the day Titus conquered it until the present day. “Holy places” in Jerusalem are held by Gentiles. And there stands the Mosque of Omar where their temple should stand. Our Lord said Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. I have watched Jerusalem for a long time, and it is still trodden down by the Gentiles. The Gentiles are still in Jerusalem. Isn’t it amazing how accurate the Word of God is?

Luke 21:25

I think this has reference to the last days before Christ returns to the earth. This is the way it is going to be in the last days.

Luke 21:26

There are people who quote this verse and say it is a picture of today. My friend, if I may use a common colloquialism of the streets, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” If you think we are seeing a fulfillment of this verse now, you are wrong. Things are bad today, I agree. Political crises and social distress are cause for great concern. Physical disturbances are overwhelming, but they are going to get much worse in the last days.

Luke 21:27

Christ could return at any moment. Things are happening so fast today that the church, the body of Christ, could be taken from this earth before you have finished reading this paragraph. If it is, I hope you will be with me in His presence.

Luke 21:28

Are these things beginning to come to pass? I am not in a position to know. I have no inside information. All I can say is that my salvation and redemption is nearer now than when I first believed. I know that He is coming back and that is what is important to me.

Luke 21:29

I still consider the fig tree symbolic of the nation Israel. God’s timepiece is not Gruen or Bulova, but Israel. The fig tree represents Israel (see Jer_24:1-5; Hos_9:10).

Luke 21:32

“This generation” could refer to the race of Israel. It would then teach the indestructibility of this people. Or it could refer to a generation of people and their total life span. In that case it would mean that those who saw the beginning of these events would see the conclusion of them also. Because the emphasis appears to be on the rapidity in which these events transpire, rather than upon the permanence of the nation Israel, I favor the second explanation.

Luke 21:33

Don’t let down your guard today, friend. Don’t give up. These are great days to live for God! I am not called upon to reform the world, or change the world. That is God’s business, not my business. He has asked me to live for Him, and He has asked me to get His Word out. That is what I am attempting to do, and I hope you are doing this also. It is very comfortable to be in the will of God.

Luke 21:36

How are you going to be worthy? The only thing that will make me worthy is my position in Christ. Therefore, I have trusted Him as my Savior, and I have committed my way to Him, so that if I am alive at the time of the Rapture, I’ll be going to meet Him in the air by the grace of God.

Luke 21:37

Many of us would like to have been with the group to hear Him.