The Good News by Luke 21

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Giving

1 Jesus looked and saw the rich people putting their gifts in the box for donations at the Temple of God. 2 And he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. 3 He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than them all. 4 For they have all given from what was surplus to them, but as for her, she has given what she has need of, even all that she was living on.”

He Prophesies About the Destruction of Jerusalem

5 Some of them were talking about *the buildings at the Temple of God and how they were adorned with beautiful stones and works of art that people had offered to God. [Jesus] said, 6 “With regard to these things that you are looking at, the time will come when there will not be left in them one stone upon another, but all will be demolished.”* 7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign indicating they are close to happening?”

8 He said, “Be careful that no one misleads you, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah; the time has come!’ But do not follow them. 9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be dismayed, because these things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 Great earthquakes will occur, as well as famines and epidemics, in many places. There will be terrifying events and great signs from heaven.

12 “But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you. They will take you to the courts and the prisons. They will bring you before kings and rulers because of my name. 13 This will be an opportunity for you to bear witness about me. 14 Resolve not to think in advance about how to defend yourselves, 15 because I myself will give you words and wisdom that not one of your enemies will be able to resist or oppose. 16 Parents, siblings, relatives, and friends will betray you, and they will kill some of you.* 17 All people will hate you because of my name. 18 Nevertheless, not one hair will fall from your heads! 19 Remain steadfast, for you will gain your souls.*

20 “When you see Jerusalem with armies surrounding it, know that its destruction is near. 21 Then those in the region of Judea should flee to the hills, and those in the city should get out of it, and those in the countryside should not enter the city.* 22 For this is the time of vengeance, when everything written in the Scriptures will be fulfilled. 23 Oh the misery of pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath against this people. 24 They will die by the sword and be taken away as captives to all nations, and foreigners will occupy the city of Jerusalem until their time has ended.

Jesus Will Come Again

25 “Signs will occur in the sun, moon, and stars. And on the earth, the nations will be in distress and confusion because of the commotion of the sea and its turbulence. 26 People will be overwhelmed by fear and anticipation of what is happening to the world, for the heavenly bodies will tremble. 27 Then people will see the One Who Became Man coming in a cloud,* with all power and glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand up straight and lift up your heads, for your salvation* will soon come!”

29 Then he told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree, and the other trees. 30 When its leaves come out, you see and know for yourselves that summer will soon come. 31 Likewise, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God has drawn near* to you. 32 I tell you the truth, all [these things] will take place before this generation dies out.* 33 The sky and the earth will pass away, but as for what I have said, it will never pass away.

34 “Watch out for yourselves, so that your hearts do not become occupied with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of life, and that day comes upon you by surprise 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 36 So always be alert, and pray to God that you might be able to escape all these things that are going to happen and then stand in the presence of the One Who Became Man.”

37 In the daytime Jesus would teach the people in a courtyard of the Temple, and at nighttime he would go out to spend the night on the hill known by the name of “Mount of Olives.” 38 And all the people would go to him in the early morning to listen to him in the Temple courtyard.

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Definitions

 *21:6 In AD 70 the Roman army destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and did not leave a single stone on another.

 *21:16 kill: to cause someone to die, whether intentionally or not, whether directly or indirectly. Relatives of believers sometimes caused their death indirectly by telling intolerant unbelievers about them.

 *21:19 gain your soul: to escape going to hell and to gain eternal life in God's Kingdom, even if the body does not escape from persecution and death in this world. See 2 Timothy 4:18.

 *21:21 In AD 66, militants among the Jews revolted against Roman rule, and war began. In AD 68, the Roman army seized the towns in Judea, and in AD 70 the army surrounded the city of Jerusalem. During this time the followers of Jesus fled the city. Many of them moved to Pella, which was east of the Jordan and one of the Ten Cities.

 *21:27 the One Who Became Man coming in a cloud: the return of Jesus the Messiah from heaven. Centuries before, God foretold by the prophet Daniel (7:13) that the Messiah would rule from heaven and would come on a cloud.

 *21:28 salvation: rescue from harm, especially death. In this verse the word salvation refers to being rescued from this world of sin, suffering, persecution, and death and being admitted into God's eternal Kingdom.

 *21:31 the Kingdom of God has drawn near: This refers to the coming of the Kingdom of God in full at the end of the age, when the One Who Became Man will return to the earth as its king and the dead will be raised to life. This is a different coming from the founding of the Kingdom of God when Christ first came.

 *21:32 generation: In English this word can mean (1) people who are at the same stage of descent from a common ancestor or (2) people who were born within the same period of time. In the original languages of the Gospel, the word could also mean (3) all of an ancestor's descendants, or (4) a race of people, or (5) a class of people with common cultural characteristics. In this passage the word could refer to the Children of Israel as a race, or to those alive at that time, or to the followers of Jesus the Messiah as a movement.