The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple And The Scattering of the Jerusalemites (in the Great Tribulation Mentioned by Matthew) (21:20-24).
The only sign that will be given of the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple will be the approaching foreign armies (‘standing where they ought not' - Mark 13:14). That will be sufficient warning to those who will to take heed. In the event Galilee was the first to be invaded, and eventually Tiberius was invested. Ample warning was therefore given to Judea and Jerusalem, and those who heeded it survived, including the Jerusalem church which fled to Pella.
In view of the diverse views held by many on this passage we will first consider it in contrast with Mark, setting the two side by side.
------------LUKE-----------------------------------------------MARK------------------------
But when you see Jerusalem-------------- But when you shall see the desolating abomin-
surrounded with armies, then know------ation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
that her desolation is at hand. Then -------standing where it ought not, then
let those who are in Judaea flee to -------- let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains, and let those who---------- the mountains, and let him who is on the
are in the midst of her depart out,---------housetop not go down into the house, nor enter
and let not those who are in the------------into it to take anything out of the house, and let
countryside enter into it. For these--------not those who are in the country not turn back
are days of vengeance, that all things-----again to take up his garment,
which are written may be fulfilled.
Woe to those who are with child and ------but woe to those who are with child and
to those who are breast-feeding in --------- to those who are breast-feeding in
those days! -------------------------------------- those days! And pray you that your flight is not
-----------------------------------------------------in the winter.
For there will be great distress on the-----For in those days shall be tribulation (Matthew -
land, and wrath to this people. And-------great tribulation) such as was not from the beg-
they will fall by the edge of the-------------inning of creation which God created unto this
sword, and will be led captive into---------time, nor shall be. And except the Lord had
all the nations, and Jerusalem will be-----shortened those days, no flesh would be saved,
trodden down of the Gentiles, until------but for the elect's sake whom he has chosen he
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. -----has shortened the days.
-----------------------------------------------------And then if any man shall say to you, lo here is
-----------------------------------------------------Christ, or lo he is there, believe him not. For
-----------------------------------------------------false Christs and false prophets will rise and will
-----------------------------------------------------show signs and wonders, to deceive if it were
-----------------------------------------------------possible even the elect. But take heed, behold I
-----------------------------------------------------have told you all things. But in those days, after
-----------------------------------------------------that tribulation
And there will be signs in sun and---------the sun will be darkened and the moon will not
moon and stars, and on the earth----------give her light, and the stars of heaven will fall,
distress of nations, in perplexity for
the roaring of the sea and the
billows, men fainting for fear, and
for expectation of the things which
are coming on the world.
For the powers of the heavens will be --- and the powers that are in heaven will be
shaken. -------------------------------------- shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of ------ And then shall they see the Son of
man coming in a cloud with power ------ man coming in the clouds with great power
and great glory. ------------------------------ and glory.
Comparison between the two demonstrates broad agreement and some important differences. Instead of Luke's ‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, then know, that her desolation is at hand.' Mark has ‘But when you shall see the desolating abomination, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not'. At first sight these might appear wildly different statements. But the initial ‘desolating abomination' in Daniel did surround Jerusalem with armies preparatory to the desecration of the Temple, by the offering of a pig on the altar (Daniel 11:31), and Daniel also forecast that some such thing would occur again (Daniel 9:26-27). ‘Standing where it ought not' clearly signifies, to a Jew, the surrounding of God's holy city and the temple, which was certainly where no idolatrous symbols ought to be, and the ‘desolating abomination' is precisely how the Roman legions with their idolatrous eagles to which they offered sacrifices, and their intent to bring about the desolation of Jerusalem and raise it to the ground, would have been described. Thus Luke's version is either his own ‘paraphrase' used in order to enable his readers to understand what was being indicated, by the ‘desolating abomination standing where it ought not', or Jesus' own explanation given in His own words, tacked on by Him to the more ambiguous statement in order to explain more fully what He meant, possibly following the words ‘let him who reads (what Daniel says) understand' (Mark 13:14). Mark's version with its Old Testament reference is clearly in itself original, but Luke may also be citing original words given in explanation, remembered by another eyewitness.
The fact that in both cases the warning is addressed to those in Judea and that escape is possible by fleeing into the mountains indicates a local situation, and the slight differences in explaining who is to flee may again be Luke's paraphrase to his Gentile readers who may not all have known about steps leading down from flat rooftops, or may be an indication that Jesus' more expansive statement has been abbreviated in both cases.
Mark then drops out the reference to the days of vengeance. He wishes to move on quickly from the destruction of Jerusalem to the second coming. But Luke wants to lay stress the deep significance of those days. After this they both deal with the question of being with child and breast-feeding, and Mark then further adds in the prayer that the flight may not be in the winter, which is omitted by Luke, again probably because it would not have great meaning to him or his readers, with their lack of knowledge of Palestinian weather conditions.
The ‘great distress' in Luke parallels the ‘tribulation' in Mark and the ‘great tribulation' in Matthew, and it should be noted is to be seen as taking place before, and possibly during, the scattering of the Jews among the Gentiles. These parallel sayings might simply be extracted from a larger portrayal (Luke's words can on the whole easily be inserted within Mark's in a way that makes sense) or Luke's may again be an interpretation of the more Biblically based reference in Mark which has in mind Daniel 12:1. But either way it is made clear that the ‘tribulation' (Mark) or the ‘great tribulation' (Matthew) refers to the investment and sacking of Jerusalem and what followed, and not to so some period in ‘the end days' divorced from that. Note how in Mark the affliction is not only the greatest ever known but is also greater than any future affliction that will come, ‘neither shall be'. In Daniel the statement looks only to the past. This suggests that they are not referring to the same event, otherwise why does Mark change Daniel's statement in this way?.
This is then followed by contrasting treatments of what is coming on the world in terms of sun, moon and stars. Both may in fact have been said by Jesus as He expanded on His theme, with Luke obtaining what he wrote from another eyewitness, and each writer selecting what he wanted to say, or again it may be a case of Luke interpreting and abbreviating Mark in the light of other sources and his own purpose. For in the end both are giving the gist of Jesus' words rather than the whole message. Both then end with the reference to the powers of heaven being shaken, followed by reference to the coming of the Son of Man.
The verses that do agree almost word for word should warn us that Luke is faithful to his sources, and therefore against too glibly assuming that Luke obtained the remainder by paraphrase rather than from another source which cited words of Jesus. We shall now consider Luke verse by verse, having the above suggestions in mind: