CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 21:7. And they asked Him.—St. Mark tells us (Luke 13:3) that the questioners were the apostles Peter, John, James and Andrew. The discourse that follows is related by the two first evangelists as having been uttered on the Mount of Olives. St. Luke does not mention the place, and but for the parallel reports of the discourse we might have supposed that it was given in the Temple. There is, however, a break after Luke 21:7, which agrees with the change of place. We are, therefore, to understand that the opening incident took place in the Temple, and that, the discourse was spoken in the evening, on the Mount of Olives (see Luke 21:37).
Luke 21:8. Many shall come.—There are no distinct historical records of such false Christs appearing before the fall of Jerusalem; but no doubt there were such. And the time.—I.e., special time, crisis. These are the words of false Christs, exciting the minds of men and leading to expect some extraordinary event as on the point of happening.
Luke 21:9. Wars.—War against the Jews was threatened by Caligula, Claudius and Nero. Commotions.—“There were serious disturbances
(1) at Alexandria, in which the Jews as a nation were the special objects of persecution;
(2) at Seleucia about the same time, in which more than fifty thousand Jews were killed;
(3) at Iamnia, near Joppa” (Alford). Not by and by.—Rather, “not immediately” (R.V.).
Luke 21:11. Great earthquakes.—Alford gives a list of earthquakes that took place between the time of this prophecy and the fall of Jerusalem. in Crete, A.D. 46 or 47; in Rome, A.D. 51; at Apamæa in Phrygia, A.D. 53; at Laodicæa in Phrygia, A.D. 60; and one in Campania. Famines and pestilences.—Generally occurring together. One such famine is mentioned in Acts 11:28, happening in A.D. 49. Suetonius, Tacitus, and Josephus tell of others as taking place within this period. Fearful sights.—“Among these would be the ‘Abomination of Desolation,’ which seems best to correspond with the orgies of the Zealots, which drove all worshippers in horror from the Temple. Such, too, would be the rumour of monstrous births; the cry, ‘Woe, woe!’ for seven and a half years of the peasant Jesus, son of Hanan; the voice and sound of departing guardian-angels, and the sudden opening of the Temple-gate, which required twenty men to move it (Josephus, Tacitus, passim)” (Farrar). Signs from heaven.—The same historians speak of a comet shaped like a sword, and of the appearance of armies fighting with each other in the clouds.
Luke 21:13. Turn to you for a testimony.—I.e., give you an opportunity of testifying for your Lord.
Luke 21:16. Some of you.—Certainly two of the apostles who had put the question to Christ, perhaps all of them, died violent deaths.
Luke 21:17. Hated of all men.—Cf. Acts 28:22.
Luke 21:18. Not a hair.—From a comparison of this with Luke 21:16 we see that the promise is a spiritual one: no real harm come to you. In Acts 27:34 the promise is a literal one.
Luke 21:19. In patience, etc.—Rather, “in your patience ye shall win your souls” (R.V.); or, “by your endurance of all these things ye shall acquire your souls;” it is God’s appointed way by which you will win salvation.
Luke 21:21. Flee to the mountains.—It is recorded by Eusebius that the Christians left Judæa before the siege of Jerusalem, and took refuge in Pella, in the north of Peræa. Probably the “oracular warning,” which is said to have occasioned this action, was in this passage of the Gospel. In the midst of it.—Rather, “of her” (R.V.)—i.e., Jerusalem. In the countries.—Rather, “in the country” (R.V.), or “in the fields.”
Luke 21:22. Days of vengeance.—A reference, perhaps, to Luke 18:8.
Luke 21:23. Woe unto them.—The word “woe” here, contrary to the general rule, seems to express simply pity for those in that condition.
Luke 21:24. They shall fall, etc.—I.e., this people. Josephus says the slain in the war with the Romans amounted to 1,100,000, and that 97,000 were sold into slavery, mostly to Egypt and the provinces. Trodden down of the Gentiles—“All sorts of Gentiles—Romans, Saracens, Persians, Franks, Norsemen, Turks—have ‘trodden down’ Jerusalem since then” (Farrar). Times of the Gentiles.—I.e., fixed times, seasons, or opportunities, until the acceptance or rejection of the gospel by the Gentiles.
Luke 21:25. Signs in the sun, etc.—Omit the article before sun, moon, and stars; omitted in R.V. The signs seem to be metaphorical of the vicissitudes of nations and the downfall of thrones.
Luke 21:26. Men’s hearts failing.—Rather, “men fainting” (R.V.). The earth.—The word implies “the habitable world.” The powers of heaven.—The stars, the Host of Heaven.
Luke 21:28. Your redemption.—I.e., the completion of it by Christ’s appearing.
Luke 21:32. This generation.—The word so translated means both those living at a certain time and also a race: in the former sense the prophecy found fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem, forty years later; in the latter sense it implies that the Jewish race will continue till the end of all things.
Luke 21:34 Surfeiting.—The headache and dizziness resulting from drunkenness. In the three classes of danger—“surfeiting, drunkenness, and cares of this life”—we have results of past debauchery, present incapacitation for attending to spiritual interests, and anxiety concerning the future.
Luke 21:35. As a snare.—This should be connected with Luke 21:34: “come on you suddenly as a snare;” so in R.V. That dwell.—Lit. “that sit” securely.
Luke 21:36. Accounted worthy.—A better reading is “prevail”—“that ye may prevail to escape” (R.V.)—i.e., be in a condition to escape.
Luke 21:36. And to stand.—Lit. “to be set”—i.e., by the angels.
Luke 21:37. And in the day time.—“And every day” (R.V.) “The notice is retrospective, applying to Palm Sunday and the Monday and Tuesday in Passion Week. After Tuesday evening He never entered the Temple again. Wednesday and Thursday were spent in absolute and unrecorded retirement, perhaps with His disciples in the house at Bethany, until Thursday evening, when He went into Jerusalem again for the Last Supper” (Farrar). Abode in the mount.—Perhaps bivouacked in the open air.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 21:7-38
The Great Prophecy.—The intimation so suddenly and unexpectedly given by Jesus, that the Temple, upon which the disciples looked with such admiration, was doomed to utter overthrow, filled their minds with a strong desire to know something of the course events would take in time to come. The veil had been partly lifted, and they were eager to know more than had been disclosed by this hasty glimpse into the mysterious future. They could not disassociate the overthrow of the Temple from the end of the world and from the second coming of their Master, and in this discourse upon the last things, these three great events are the chief topics, no intimation, however, being given of the precise intervals of time that would elapse between them. In this prophetic picture time is, as it were, annihilated, and one great series of events after another is seen looming up in the distance with equal clearness of detail; so that we can easily believe that the impression was left upon the mind of the disciples that close upon the destruction of the Jewish state would come the end of the world, and the establishment of the visible kingdom of Christ. All through the discourse we see that the purpose Jesus has in view is rather to strengthen the faith of His disciples, by forewarning them of trials and difficulties through which they would have to pass, than to satisfy their curiosity as to the future.
I. Events immediately succeeding His departure (Luke 21:8-19).—He forewarns His disciples against dangers that would especially assail them; they would be liable to be misled by religious pretenders, to be terrified by startling changes and disasters, to be persecuted on account of their faith in Him, to be betrayed by kinsfolk and friends, and to be forced in some instances to choose between death and loyalty to their Master. Some of these dangers would be all the greater because of the strength of their faith; others because of the weakness of the flesh. Their firm persuasion of the fact that Christ would return to earth would predispose them to believe rumours of His having returned; their belief that all events are ordered by God might incline them to be hasty in offering interpretations of the significance of great changes in human society, or of remarkable natural phenomena. Nor are Christians in our own day free from the risks against which Christ here warns His disciples. A feverish expectation of the return of Christ has been and is cherished by many, and leads to an unwholesome form of religious life, and to a credulity that renders those who cherish it an easy prey to unscrupulous pretenders. Many, too, are eager to find in events of the present day the fulfilment of the prophecies of Scripture, and draw down contempt upon themselves and upon the studies to which they are addicted by the glaring errors and absurdities into which they fall. The second class of dangers of which Christ speaks are those which arise from human weakness; the stress of persecution, the treachery of friends, and the hatred of the world, were only too likely in some instances to put the loyalty of His followers to a severe test. Hence He lays great emphasis upon the special aid which He would give to those placed in such trying circumstances. He would impart wisdom and skill that would enable them to maintain their cause before kings and rulers, and see to it that no real loss or injury resulted to them. They might be put to death, but not a hair of their head would perish—their true life, their highest interests, were secure in His keeping.
II. Provision for the safety of His followers when Jerusalem should be destroyed (Luke 21:20-24).—For some years after His departure the fate of the Christian community seemed to be closely connected with that of the Jewish people and religion. Christ’s followers still observed the Mosaic laws, and frequented the Temple, and were largely of Jewish race. Hence when the overthrow of the Holy City seemed at hand there was great danger that many of the Christian population would be carried away by the fanatical delusions of those about them, and believe that at the last moment God would intervene and save the nation by a miraculous deliverance. But Christ here warns them that at a certain period the path of duty and safety would lie in their separating themselves from those upon whom the Divine vengeance was to be poured out. When the Roman armies began to compass the city they must save themselves by flight; a place of refuge would be opened up for them, and they must hasten to take advantage of it. No obscurity hangs about this part of Christ’s prophetic discourse; the danger and the mode of deliverance are plainly pointed out, and history records the fact that none of the Christian community perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Nor is the fate of the nation upon whom such dire chastisement was to be inflicted left surrounded with a cloud of darkness. They would be overwhelmed by many disasters, and their capital would be trodden down of the Gentiles; but only for a time—“until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” A gleam of hope enlightens the darkness; though cast off, they are not cast off for ever.
III. The promise of the second coming (Luke 21:25-36).—In an earlier discourse on this topic (Luke 17:26-30) Jesus had described the state of carnal security in which the world would be plunged at the time of the end. He now describes the sudden breaking up of this security. “In the midst of this deep spiritual sleep and worldly torpor extraordinary symptoms will, in a moment, usher in one of those cosmical revolutions which our earth has more than once experienced. Like a ship which starts at every joint before it falls to pieces, the globe which we inhabit, and our whole solar system, undergo unwonted changes. The motive forces, which until now have been under rule, are, as it were, freed from the laws that govern them by some unknown power. And mankind, terrified by the shocks which break up what had been called the solid earth, and which are the prelude to its dissolution, pass an hour of anguish far keener than any yet known.” In contrast with the fear and horror of the ungodly world stands the joy of those who see in the coming of the Son of Man the advent of their Redeemer. Their fainting spirits are revived, their hopes are crowned by the event which fills those who are unprepared with anguish and dismay. The practical exhortation which Jesus adds to this revelation of the future is the necessity of constant watchfulness and prayer. Those who are His should be free from the tyranny of the present, and should keep themselves from the vices and follies that consume those who live only for this world. They should be on their guard against sin, and should pray for heavenly succour to aid their own feeble strength. So shall they be found worthy not only to escape punishment, but to stand accepted with the Son of Man.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 21:7-38
Luke 21:7-38. Last Words.
I. Last words in the Temple.
II. Warnings about the Temple.—Its present beauty. Its approaching fall. The premonitory signs. The days of vengeance.
III. Warnings for ourselves.—“Watch and pray.”—W. Taylor.
The Prophecy of the Overthrow of Jerusalem.
I. The circumstances in which the prophecy came to be uttered (Luke 21:5-7).
II. The prophecy itself (Luke 21:8-27).
1. The state of the world, and the position in which believers will be placed, after the departure of Jesus (Luke 21:8-19).
2. The destruction of Jerusalem and of the Jewish people (Luke 21:20-24).
3. The second coming of Christ (Luke 21:25-27).
III. An exhortation to watchfulness. (Luke 21:28-36).
Luke 21:7. “When shall these things be?”—The desire to know the future is, within certain limits, natural and legitimate. Christ does not here condemn it, but satisfies and sanctifies it.
Luke 21:8. “That ye be not deceived.”—This gives the key-note to the whole discourse. The purpose Christ has in view is a practical one—to describe the course of duty to be followed in trying circumstances, and to supply grounds for encouragement and motives to perseverance.
The disciples of Christ would lie open to this danger—
I. Because of their strong desire for their Master’s return.
II. Because many would be carried away by a foolish credulity.
III. Because it is difficult to resist a strong popular movement.
Luke 21:9. “Be not terrified.”—
1. You know the worst that any of these temporal judgments can do to you.
2. God is your refuge.
These things are
(1) not accidental.
(2) They are under the control of God.
(3) They are overruled for His glory and for the welfare of those who trust in Him.
Luke 21:10-11. “Nation shall rise,” etc.—The passage combines in one view the whole of the various social and physical crises of development in the whole New-Testament dispensation.—Lange.
Luke 21:12-17. Evils to Be Anticipated.—The disciples are to be prepared
(1) for persecution, both on the part of the ecclesiastical and civil authorities;
(2) for treachery on the part of kinsfolk and friends;
(3) for violent death;
(4) for the hatred of the world.
Luke 21:12-15. A Threefold Consolation.—
1. The persecution is for Christ’s sake.
2. It gives an opportunity for testifying for Him in the most striking manner.
3. In circumstances of special danger they receive special aid from Him.
Luke 21:15. “A mouth and wisdom.”—I.e.
(1), wisdom to know what to say;
(2) ability to say it as it should be said.
Luke 21:16. “Ye shall be betrayed.”—The fate which Christ Himself was so soon to meet would fall to the lot of some of His disciples in the ages to come. The disunions prophesied in Luke 2:34, Luke 12:53, would lead to this unnatural cruelty—parents, brethren, kinsfolk and friends turning against the followers of Christ and betraying them into the hands of enemies.
Luke 21:17. “Hated by all men.”—This prophetic word found fulfilment even in the first period of the Church. Cf. Romans 8:35-37; 1 Corinthians 4:9-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23-29; Hebrews 10:32-34.
Luke 21:18-19. Security Promised.
I. Negatively: no real harm should befall them.
II. Positively: by their perseverance in the midst of all these persecutions, they should preserve their souls.
Luke 21:18. “Not an hair … perish.”—A figurative expression, which implies
(1) that notice would be taken of every loss incurred for the sake of Christ;
(2) that the cause would be well worth all losses undergone for it;
(3) that an ample recompense would be given.
“Not an hair … perish.”—
1. Not without the special providence of God.
2. Not without recompense.
3. Not before the time.
Luke 21:19. “In your patience.”—The worldly method of keeping possession of life is by repelling force with force. Not so is it to be with the disciples of Christ. They find protection by endurance, and not by violence; thus they preserve the true life, whatever else they may lose.
Luke 21:20. “The desolation thereof is nigh.”—I.e., that the siege would not be raised. The Jews, in their obstinacy, believed, even to the last, that the siege would be raised, and that supernatural deliverance would come.
Luke 21:21. “Depart out.”—I.e., from the city. This warning was very necessary, for after the rebels had for some time established themselves in the holy place, they would not allow any to quit the city.—(Josephus, B. J., Luke 5:12).
Luke 21:22. “Vengeance.”—I.e., of God’s vengeance, not of man’s. Even Titus seems to have been conscious that he was a minister of Divine retribution.
Luke 21:23. “Them that are with child,” etc.—An ejaculation of compassion for those who
(1) are unable to protect themselves; and
(2) see those whom they love dearest exposed to great danger.
Luke 21:24. The Ruin of The Jewish People.—
1. Multitudes slain with the sword.
2. Multitudes carried captive.
3. Their beautiful city laid waste by the Gentiles.
Luke 21:25-36. The Second Coming.
I. The preceding terrors.
II. The hope and safety of believers.
III. The certainty of it.
IV. The way to prepare for it.—W. Taylor.
Luke 21:25. “Signs in the sun,” etc.—Different signs from those spoken of in Luke 21:11. The language is that of the Hebrew prophets: Amos 8:9; Joel 2:30-31; Ezekiel 32:7-8. Cf. also Revelation 6:12-14. “How far this prophecy will be literally fulfilled cannot be determined. If the whole passage be taken figuratively, then a remarkable commotion in the sea of nations is predicted, but it may refer to physical perturbations ushering in the new earth. The perturbations, whether physical or not, will be portentous, producing general anxiety and despair in view of the further terror these events presage. This is evident from Luke 21:26.—“Popular Commentary.”
Luke 21:26. “For fear,” etc.—I.e., both
(1) fear on account of the present state of matters, and
(2) an anticipation of worse things to come.
Luke 21:27. The Last Judgment.—Christ’s second coming in point of time is first in the order of spiritual instruction. The study of it prepares us for that of the first coming.
I. Our Lord is referring to a future event.—The nearer coming at the destruction of Jerusalem is a shadow of the more remote and more awful Advent. The solemn words of Christ cannot be exhausted by a reference to the destruction of the Holy City. That, and every other judgment, is a forecast of the last day.
II. It is difficult to realise the certainty of the last judgment.
III. What will be the significance of that great event to each of us?—We shall see Jesus Christ as He is. We shall know ourselves as never before. The “vain things” of earth and time will not avail us then. The materials for the judgment are getting ready. Only, He who is to judge us then, offers to save us now. There is time to take such fast hold upon His cross, as to look forward without terror to standing before His throne.—Liddon.
“The Son of Man coming.”—This coming is evidently that referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, at the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6); a comparison with Revelation 19:11 ff. suggests that this advent precedes the millennium, but upon that point there has been much dispute. The safest opinion is that a personal coming of Christ is here meant, to take place after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, and to be preceded by great catastrophes.—Popular Commentary.
Luke 21:28. “Look up.”—The word means to raise one’s self from a stooping posture, and is here applied to those previously bowed under tribulations. The idea of joy and hope is, of course, implied, as in the other phrase, “Lift up your heads”—which, however, suggests more strongly the idea of expectation. That which terrifies the world (the near approach of Christ), is hailed with delight by the Christian.
Luke 21:29-33. The Parable of The Trees.—The budding forth of trees in spring shows that the coming of summer is
(1) sure and
(2) near at hand. So, too, the signs specified would indicate that the kingdom of God was near at hand, and that the prophecy of Christ would surely be fulfilled.
Luke 21:29. “The fig-tree.”—Perhaps our Lord speaks here especially of a fig-tree, because this had served Him so frequently as a type of the Jewish people (Mark 11:12-14; Luke 13:6-9).
Luke 21:30. “Know of your own selves.”—I.e., it is not necessary to inform you; the sight of the buds upon the trees convey their own message that summer is at hand.
Luke 21:31. “The kingdom of God.”—I.e., as a kingdom of glory; the final establishment of the reign of Christ.
Luke 21:32. “This generation shall not pass.”—The reign of Christ over the Church militant on earth may, in one sense, be regarded as beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem. Then the old economy passed completely away, and Christ was made manifest to mankind as the only One who had fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of the past, and as the sole Mediator between God and man.
Luke 21:33. “Heaven and earth shall pass away.”—After the discourse had risen to this height, there would ensue a dreary anti-climax, if we were to recognise in these words only a figurative description of the destruction of the Jewish state. Our Lord points evidently to the destruction of the earthly economy, which shall be followed by the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:8-14) and gives assurance therewith that even then, when an entirely new order of things shall have come in, His words, in particular the promises of His coming, then first fully understood and fulfilled, would not cease to remain words of life for all His own.—Van Oosterzee.
“My words shall not pass away.”—The temple of the visible universe, an edifice much more firmly based than that which the disciples would fain have Jesus admire, is, for all that, less enduring than the warnings and promises of the Master who speaks to them.—Godet.
Luke 21:34. “Take heed.”—Two forms of danger.
I. Sensuality.—Which stupifies the conscience and hardens the heart.
II. Worldly cares.—Which absorb the attention, and divert it from spiritual things.
Luke 21:35. “As a snare.”—
1. Will come unexpectedly.
2. Will hold them fast for destruction.
Luke 21:36. “Watch ye therefore.”
I. The aim to be kept in view.—
1. To escape punishment, and
(2) to attain reward.
II. The means to be used.—
1. Watchfulness—to be on guard against sin and attentive to duty, and
(2) prayer—habitual communion with God.
“To stand before the Son of Man.”—
1. To be acquitted by Him as our Judges 2. To attend on Him as our Lord—to minister to Him and serve Him day and night in His temple.
Luke 21:37. “He was teaching.”
I. The labours of the day.—He taught constantly in the Temple
(1) in spite of opposition;
(2) though He knew that the city and nation were devoted to destruction. Some might be persuaded to flee from the wrath to come.
II. The peaceful nights.—Partly spent, perhaps, in the society of friends, and in communion with God—the noise and tumult of the city left behind.
Luke 21:38. “Came early in the morning.”—
1. The zeal of Christ in teaching awakened in many a special eagerness to hear Him.
2. The interest aroused in simple, unprejudiced minds afforded a greater testimony to the worth of His teaching than the sullen opposition and dislike of those in authority afforded against it.