RSV ~ Luke 21 Notes

Lk 21:2 | ISB Notes

two copper coins: Literally, “two lepta”. These were the least valuable (Jewish) coins in circulation. Within the Temple precincts, there were over a dozen receptacles for different types of donations (CCC 2544).

• Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum): the widow’s offering signifies the purity of the Church in contrast to unfaithful Jerusalem, which gives to God only from its surplus. The Church is the widow whose husband, Christ, has died on her behalf. She lives in poverty of spirit and gives devoutly to the Lord’s treasury the two coins of charity— the love of God and neighbor.

Lk 21:5-36 | ISB Notes

Jesus’ Olivet Discourse foretells the coming devastation of Jerusalem in language that makes use of several OT images and themes (21:6, 24). His words were confirmed a generation later, when the Romans trampled the city and the Temple to the ground in A.D. 70. The catastrophe was a historical preview of the end of the world, showing how God’s judgment upon the one nation of Israel at the end of the Old Covenant era prefigures the judgment of all nations at the end of the New (CCC 585-86). See topical essay: End of the World? at Mt 24.

Lk 21:5 | ISB Notes

noble stones: Herod the Great began to renovate and expand the Jerusalem Temple in 19 B.C. The structure was immense, with many of its stones measuring nearly 40 feet in length. According to Jesus, its indestructible appearance is only an illusion (21:6). See note on Mk 13:1.

Lk 21:8 | ISB Notes

many will come: First-century Palestine experienced a surge of messianic fervor. Many claimed to be a “military Messiah” who would lead Israel to overthrow the Romans (Acts 5:33-39).

Lk 21:12 | ISB Notes

persecute you: Disciples must fearlessly identify with Jesus despite opposition (Mk 8:38; Jn 16:2-4, 33). Persecution will provide opportunities to proclaim the gospel. Luke recounts several such episodes where believers are locked up in prisons (Acts 4:3; 5:18; 8:3; 12:4; 16:23) and hauled before kings and governors (Acts 25:23-26:32).

Lk 21:15 | ISB Notes

a mouth and wisdom: Unlike professional orators who rehearse their speeches before delivering them, disciples should only prepare to be faithful. Christ will give them words through the Holy Spirit (Mt 10:20; Mk 13:11). Stephen was an example of this by his powerful witness in Jerusalem (Acts 6:9-10), as were other early Christians (Acts 4:8-14; 26:24-32).

Lk 21:16 | ISB Notes

parents … brothers … kinsmen: Jesus demands heroic allegiance that may drive a wedge between family members (14:26). Whether martyred or persecuted, the faithful will “gain” their lives (21:19) by laying them down for Christ (9:24).

Lk 21:20 | ISB Notes

Jerusalem surrounded: Jesus envisions the siege and destruction of Jerusalem that eventually took place in A.D. 70. Some scholars infer from this verse and from 19:42-45 that Luke must have written his Gospel after the catastrophe of A.D. 70. The claim is that Luke’s wording in these passages reflects knowledge of the event as past history. Two considerations cast doubt on the validity of this interpretation. (1) The language of Jesus’ discourse in Luke draws heavily on the wording and imagery of judgment oracles aimed at Jerusalem in the OT. Jesus formulated his own prophecies in this way to alert believers that Jerusalem would be laid waste for its iniquities in the first century A.D. just as it had been in the sixth century B.C. (Jer 6:6-8; 52:4; Ezek 4:1-3). To say that Luke must be dependent upon actual reports of the event is to minimize the prophetic character of Jesus’ discourse and its distinctive biblical coloring. (2) There is nothing unique about Luke’s description that suggests he must have known the details of Jerusalem’s downfall. Although Roman troops did besiege and destroy the capital, the military operations described by Luke were commonplace in the ancient world for the overthrow of walled cities.

See introduction: Date and note on Mt 24:15.

Lk 21:22 | ISB Notes

days of vengeance: God will send covenant curses upon Jerusalem for rejecting its Messiah (Dan 9:25-27).

• This expression is used in the Greek OT for a time of divine judgment that falls upon Israel when it forsakes the Lord in favor of idolatry and lawlessness (Deut 32:35; Hos 9:7).

Lk 21:24 | ISB Notes

Jesus describes the atrocities ahead for Jerusalem, indicating that foreign nations will play a strategic role in administering God’s punishment (Rev 11:2).

• He draws from several OT passages that describe Jerusalem’s destruction in the past and reapplies them to its devastation in the near future (A.D. 70). Casualties falling by the sword recall Jer 21:7 and Ezek 39:23; the city trodden down evokes Is 63:18, Dan 8:13, and 1 Macc 3:45; and the times of the Gentiles refer to God’s use of foreign armies to chastise Israel, as in Deut 28:49 and Zech 14:1-2.

Lk 21:25 | ISB Notes

sun … moon … stars: Heavenly disturbances figure in many OT prophecies that portray Yahweh destroying pagan kingdoms (Is 13:9-10; Ezek 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31). See note on Mk 13:24-25.

roaring of the sea: An image of foreign nations enraged and ready for battle.

• Isaiah uses this imagery for the nation God rouses to punish wayward Israel (Is 5:30). It also portrays the anger of God raging against his foes (Wis 5:22).

Lk 21:27 | ISB Notes

the Son of man: Jesus will visit Jerusalem with divine judgment, while bringing “redemption” to his faithful disciples (21:28).

See topical essay: Jesus, the Son of Man, at Lk 17.

Lk 21:29-31 | ISB Notes

The short parable of the fig tree advocates constant prayer and readiness (12:35-40; 22:40, 46). Disciples must be alert at all times, lest they grow lazy in their pursuit of holiness (21:36). Tribulations are inevitable before the dramatic onset of God’s judgment and the coming of his kingdom (Acts 14:22) (CCC 2612). See note on Mk 13:35.

Lk 21:32 | ISB Notes

this generation: Jesus insists that God’s judgment will fall upon Jerusalem within the lifetime of his contemporaries (A.D. 70).

Lk 21:33 | ISB Notes

Heaven and earth: Not even the stable universe will outlast Jesus’ words.

• The OT similarly stresses the permanence of God’s word in contrast to the impermanence of creation (Ps 102:25-27; Is 40:8; 51:6). .

Lk 21:36 | ISB Notes

to stand: i.e., to withstand temptation and face the divine Judge with confidence (Eph 6:13; 1 Jn 2:28).