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| Chapter 21 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And He looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow casting therein two mites. 3 And He said, "In truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." 5 ¶ And when some spoke of the temple and how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, He said, 6 "As for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." 7 And they asked Him, saying, "Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?" 8 And He said, "Take heed that ye be not deceived, for many shall come in My name, saying, ’I am Christ,’ and, ’the time draweth near.’ Go ye not therefore after them. 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these things must first come to pass. But the end is not at once." 10 Then said He unto them, "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines and pestilences. And fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, and you will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 And it shall turn to you to bear testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand what ye shall answer. 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren and kinsfolk and friends, and some of you they shall cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake. 18 But there shall not a hair of your head perish. 19 In your patience possess ye your souls. 20 ¶ "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 "And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress among nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. 26 Men’s hearts will fail them for fear and for looking upon those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." 29 ¶ And He spoke to them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 34 "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that Day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple; and at night He went out and stayed on the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. 38 And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple to hear Him. |
v1-4 The widows mite. Mark 12:41-44. Jesus appears to be in the Temple and is watching people place their Temple gifts into chests which were found in the court of the Temple. v2-4 Two mites, a mite was worth a very small amount of money, two mites being the lowest offering accepted by the priests. Though it was a very small amount, it was given at considerable cost to the widow, it was all she had to give. Compared with the many other very large gifts being placed in the chests, the people were only giving a small part of their wealth. v5-38 The Temple’s destruction and Olivet Discussion. Compare Matt 24 to 25; Mark 13:1ff. v5,6 The people point out to Jesus how glorious the Temple was, very richly decorated. Jesus tells them that soon not a single stone of the building will remain in place, the Temple was to be totally destroyed. The record by Matthew, which is much more detail, indicates that most of the following discussion took place on the Mount of Olives. v7 "When shall these things be?" This is a double question, the destruction of the Temple and the start of the Kingdom of Christ, the disciples, at that time, did not understand the coming events, of His death, resurrection and future second return. The destruction of the Temple took place in A.D. 70, following the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. Luke’s report seems to cover the events in A.D. 70 as well as future events, v20-24 seems to be referring to A.D. 70, because the record states "Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." That period went from A.D. 70 and ended in 1948 when Israel as a Nation appeared again. However, the events description does also apply to the End Times. v8 "Be not deceived," There have been many who claim to being the ‘Messiah’ since then, even in modern times. Jesus warns those there and the readers not to be deceived, do not follow them. v9 Jesus now gives a list of events which will occur before His return, including those of A.D. 70. Jesus said there would be wars and disturbances, physical and human, indicating that there would be a considerable time period between His departure from the earth and return. v10 We all know how many local and world wide wars have occurred over the last 2000 plus years. v11-19 Great earthquakes, deadly diseases, shortage of food and events in the sky / heaven were all predicted as signs of the end, but before that time the believers were to suffer persecution. v25-26 "There shall be signs in the sun, the moon and in the stars." These predictions must apply to the time just before the return of Christ. People will be full of fear with all the physical events of the world as well as the political and social problems. v26 "The powers of heaven shall be shaken." The whole of the physical universe will be affected by the action of God during those final times. Compare 2 Peter 3:10,11. v27 It will be an unmistakable appearance of Jesus Christ, a cloud, bright and shining will surround Him. Acts 1:9,11; Rev 1:7. v28 " When these things begin to come to pass," This indicates that the events will take place over a time, giving warning to any who are watching and able to understand. See Rom 13:11. v29-30 The fig tree was a common tree in Palestine, it normally has fruit buds during very early spring. This was a sign of the end of winter and the coming summer. Jesus is telling them that the kingdom of God was not soon to appear, it was in the future, but the warning signs will be there. Also consider Luke 17:21. v32 "This generation," Matt 24:34; Mark 13:30. Did this refer to the generation living when Jesus was making this prophecy, if so it confirms that much of this passage covers the period up to the destruction of Jerusalem. It could also be talking about the period after the reappearance of the Nation of Israel in 1948. Either interpretation works. v34 "Come upon you suddenly," Jesus has already told the disciples that the end would not come unannounced, warning signs will be present, but here He is indicating that it would come quicker than expected. v35 The last days will involve testing for all believers but other scripture indicates that the true believer will be taken out of the world without warning before God starts to pour out His anger on the world. v37,38 The city of Jerusalem during the Passover week would be very crowded with people from around the empire. Jesus and the disciples may therefore have slept in or near the Mount of Olives. Throughout this week He continues to teach during the day in the Temple. |
Easy English Translation
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