The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
NOTES:
21:1–4 The widow is another example of the poor ones in this
gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads
to their blessedness (Lk 6:20). Her simple offering provides a striking
contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the
preceding section (Lk 20:45–47). The story is taken from Mk 12:41–44.
21:5–36 Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired
by Mk 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus
found there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early
expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by
focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day
following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of
the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian
community to be a delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the
desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic
symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of
the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20–24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting
and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the
coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the
Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37.
21:8 The time has come: in Luke, the proclamation of the
imminent end of the age has itself become a false teaching.
21:12 Before all this happens…: to Luke and his community,
some of the signs of the end just described (Lk 21:10–11) still lie in the
future. Now in dealing with the persecution of the disciples (Lk 21:12–19) and
the destruction of Jerusalem (Lk 21:20–24) Luke is pointing to eschatological
signs that have already been fulfilled.
21:15 A wisdom in speaking: literally, “a mouth and wisdom.”
21:20–24 The actual destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in A.D.
70 upon which Luke and his community look back provides the assurance that,
just as Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction was fulfilled, so too will
be his announcement of their final redemption (Lk 21:27–28).
21:24 The times of the Gentiles: a period of indeterminate
length separating the destruction of Jerusalem from the cosmic signs
accompanying the coming of the Son of Man.
21:26 The powers of the heavens: the heavenly bodies
mentioned in Lk 21:25 and thought of as cosmic armies.
BACK TO:
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment