Luke 21:5–24

Wellhausen rightly points out that the question, as Luke's Gospel gives it, came from a wider circle than the disciples alone. Verse 7 bears this out. There the Lord is called "Teacher", while the disciples in Luke's Gospel usually say "Lord" or "Master".

Herod's magnificent temple was still not finished, though it had been going up for nearly fifty years. It grew under their eyes, the glory of Israel, despite the murderous hands that built it. The temple still drew them.

It was all on a magnificent scale... Herod was not God's man to build Him a house, nor were the leaders of the Jews fit men to carry on His worship.

How little man sees as God does! The temple was God's house, but men gave more honour to the house than to its Lord: in fact it had become virtually their house.

They saw the building, but not with the eye of Christ... He had seen it, and all that surrounded it, with the eye of God. Costly and beautiful beyond compare as it was, He had written its judgment... But the disciples still eyed the beauty of the stones. So Jesus, in patient grace, had to write out the doom of that place again — they had asked, and their eyes could not see as His did.

The widow showed her devotion to God by dropping her two coins into the collection for the upkeep of the temple building. Yet the Lord goes on to foretell its total destruction. The presence of the Lord had already replaced it. God was in Christ, not in Herod's temple. In her understanding the widow was, as we would say, behind the times. Yet this did not spoil the Lord's approval of her gift. He does value whole-hearted devotion, even when it is not expressed with full understanding.

In this Gospel the Lord's account of the sorrows of Jerusalem is tied much more closely to one plain fact: the judgment on the nation and the change of dispensation. It differs greatly from Matthew 24, which refers fully to what will happen at the end... So Luke plainly sets out the siege and destruction by Titus, and the times of the Gentiles.

Herod's Temple was destroyed... In A.D. 70 Titus, the Roman general, tried to save such a wonderful building, but the divine word had decreed its destruction. The Lord's word was fulfilled to the last detail — not one stone remained on another.

Fixing our thoughts on the house, in order to draw attention to it, is a snare. The building often becomes more than the Builder, and the house more than the One who lives in it... So beware of any teaching that makes more of the house than of its Occupant.

A temple, however splendid, has no value when its God is disowned. Jehovah was there in the person of Jesus, and the nation did not know Him or recognise Him. Where He was recognised, He was rejected. He leaves the temple in sorrow, and whatever Jehovah abandons is truly desolate.

The temple was God's house, but people gave more honour to the house than to its Lord. In practice it had become their house.

They saw the building, but not with the eye of Christ... He had seen it, and everything around it, with the eye of God. Expensive as it was, and beautiful beyond compare, He had written its judgment... The disciples still gazed at the beauty of the stones, and Jesus, in patient grace, had to write the doom of that place a second time, because they asked and because their eyes could not see.

The widow showed her devotion to God by putting her two small coins into the collection for the upkeep of the temple building. Yet the Lord goes on to foretell its total destruction. The presence of the Lord had already displaced it. God was in Christ, not in Herod's temple... He does value whole-hearted devotion, even when the way it is expressed shows less than full understanding.

Luke is the only Gospel writer who notes that the disciples spoke to the Lord about the gifts offered to God that decorated the temple. All three writers mention its fine stones or buildings.

Here the question is about the time of the overthrow of the temple, and the sign of it. The answer falls into two parts. Verses 8-24 give the events leading up to the Romans destroying Jerusalem and trampling it down. Verses 25-33 give the appearing of the Son of Man at the end of the age.

Titus gave strict orders that the Temple, that magnificent building... should be preserved. Which would stand: the prophecy of the lowly Jesus, or the commands of the domineering Titus? One was no longer on earth to enforce His wishes, as people would say. The other was on the very spot, with all the power of a victorious army behind him.

It is reported that the emperor Julian, who had first embraced Christianity and then rejected it, commissioned many Jews to return and rebuild the temple, to prove Christ's prophecy false. When they found it so badly damaged, they decided to pull it down completely and build it again. So they fulfilled Christ's prophecy to the letter, by taking every stone away.

He foretold the destruction of the Temple, and it happened just as He said. He foretold the terrors of the siege of Jerusalem, and it was the worst in history for bloodshed... Could prophecy be more exact and wonderful? It proves beyond doubt that Christ and the Scriptures are inspired.

The natural, earthbound thoughts of men then come out in another direction. Some drew attention to the decorations of the temple with its attractive and expensive stones and ornaments. How little man sees as God does! The temple was God's house, but men gave more honour to the house than to its Lord: in fact it had become virtually their house. The Lord pronounced solemn judgment upon it: there would not be left one stone upon another.

In Matthew, Jesus had just spoken of the Jews' house being left desolate. He had also spoken of His own departure, until they should receive Him as the one coming "in the name of the Lord." Then someone points Him to the temple, and He foretells its ruin. So the disciples ask, "When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Here the leading thought is the "end of the age," and the Lord's reappearance after His predicted withdrawal. In Luke, however, Jesus has not been speaking of His departure or return, but simply foretelling the overthrow of the temple.

All three tell us He was asked about the desolation of the temple. But Matthew and Mark add questions about what is still future, while Luke keeps to questions about what is now past. Luke tells us the questions were about the beginning of Jerusalem's troubles, not the end of them. There is no real difficulty here. All these questions were doubtless put to Him. But each writer records the ones that match the Lord's reply, as the Spirit guided him.

Notice that the Holy Spirit inspired the writer to drop the question about the coming of the Son of man and the completion of the age. As with Mark, they ask when the destruction of the temple will be, and the sign of its beginning. The Lord fully replies, but as usual gives much more... On the other hand, only here do we get clear light on the coming siege and capture of Jerusalem by the Romans. Only here do we read of its later shameful subjection, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

In verse 20 He says: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near." Here is the plain reply to the only part of the disciples' question which Luke records. Armies surrounding Jerusalem would be the sign that its desolation was near.

This coming destruction shows that Christ had not come to establish His kingdom. Yet they asked Him when these things would take place. People usually want to know the order of events. They are not concerned about the moral issues behind those events. They asked for a sign, little realising that present moral and spiritual conditions matter most in God's future judgments.

"Watch out," He says, "people will be promising you rest before rest comes." ... The Lord here anticipates the very same thing. He says, "Now, do not mistake. The time cannot draw near until there has been judgment." And that is what I am bold to say to the world now. You are not going to have a kingdom — the time of glory is not drawing near; nor will it, until judgment has purged the earth.

Notice how the Lord presents the whole matter. He does not give a mass of details to feed our curiosity. He gives predictions that sound a note of warning and carry instructions of the greatest importance to His disciples. He says everything in a way that appeals to our consciences and not our curiosity.

You never find this exact warning against false Christs in the letters of the apostles. The apostles wrote those letters to Christians, and no Christian could be fooled by a man's claim to be Christ… These disciples were, as the godly remnant of the nation, looking for the Messiah to bring in glory. So the Lord warns them not to believe anyone who rises up among them saying, "I am Christ."… The rejection of the true Christ lays them open to the reception of a false Christ. Our Lord had warned them of this: "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him."… But take the letter of John, and what do you find there? "Beloved, do not believe every spirit." The great mark of the Church is the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the deceit we have to watch against is false spirits, not false Christs, though there are many antichrists.

There are only two real differences. Luke had events only a few years away in view, and he records our Lord as saying that "the time draws near." Matthew, who points to the later fulfilment of the prophecy, leaves these words out. Matthew also says the false Christ "will deceive many," which points to the great national falling away at the end of the age. Luke gives the warning but records no such prediction. The Christians in Jerusalem were in fact not deceived by the claims of the impostors who arose at the time of the revolt against Rome.

The Lord treats it as deceit to say "the time draws near." Yet the apostle puts us under those very words (Luke 21:8; James 5:8). After certain signs or events, the Lord tells the remnant that their expectation is near. The apostle tells us that ours is always near.

In A.D. 131 a fanatical deceiver, Bar-chobab, rose up, presenting himself as the promised Messiah. How well the Lord gave His warning!

History has proved how necessary such a warning was. There are almost countless prophetic deceptions today, and they have multiplied fast since the 1800s. Many have already come claiming to be Christ. Some of them do not use this exact title, yet they lift themselves into the place that belongs to the Lord Jesus alone. Many have been deceived by them.

The Lord did not satisfy mere curiosity. He urged them to be careful not to be deceived. In the matter of prophecy there are countless deceptions. If we are deceived, we are to blame. God is not deceived, and honest communion with Him, in submission to His Word, will keep us safe. We have seen in our own days the truth of what the Lord says. Many would come in His name claiming to be the Messiah, and thousands have fallen for them despite the Lord's plain warning.

They are not to fear the violent movements of men. They are not to imagine that these upheavals mean the end is coming at once — for that is what "by and by" means here.

The Lord first gives a general sketch of the ruin about to follow. Moral improvement, truth spreading everywhere, peace for mankind — for now these were misleading dreams. They should be on their guard against them. ... His disciples were not to be disturbed or deceived. Such evil things must be because the King was rejected, and the end is not yet. Instead of learning war no more as when He comes in His kingdom, nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

Besides the false Christs, there would be political disturbances, restlessness, and actual wars and rumours of wars. These would attract attention and mark the state of things on earth. But the disciples were not to be troubled. All this would come to pass, but these were no signs of His coming — the end was not yet. So the Lord is providing what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. He gives instruction that would make them calm in service, not agitated by circumstances or by false hopes... They might still serve quietly on.

As for Luke 21, it is much more historical... So verses 9 to 19 give us the state of things from after the Lord's death until the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem. There is no mention of the abomination of desolation here.

In these earlier verses (8-19) the Lord dwells on the dangers, duties, and trials of the disciples before Titus sacked Jerusalem. They were especially to beware of a pretended deliverer, and of the cry that the time of deliverance was at hand. Nor were they to be terrified by wars or commotions, any more than seduced by fair promises. These things must first happen, but the end not immediately.

Wars and commotions would come (v. 9), as they have, but this is not enough to signify the end. Nations and kingdoms are set against one another. That shows the gospel will not slowly change the world for the better, as some have imagined... How well the Lord knew and fully declared that the gospel would not convert the world. His words here are a rebuke to those who have cherished such futile hopes.

There are sure signs that we are in the last days. But these are not the "wars and tumults," the "earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences," or the "terrors and great signs from heaven" of Luke 21... Some have allowed their imagination to run riot over such things and over sensational events in the political world.

Luke 21:9. — Down to verse 11 we have what Matthew and Mark call the "beginning of birth pains."

So we read of "the beginning of sorrows," announced in advance by nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, with the famines, plagues and earthquakes that come with them. These things are not unique to that one moment. Yet they still come before it, and so they give a clear warning of worse to follow.

Luke refers to the state of things around the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. Matthew refers to the final troubles of the Jews. The two are clearly much alike. The features that long ago became history in the earlier events will appear again in the later ones. False Christs, wars, commotions, and frightening natural events are common to both periods. So in the first few verses (Luke 21:8-11; Matt. 24:4-8) there is only slight variation between the reports.

The new age has not yet come, and it cannot while the Lord Jesus is away. Whatever men promise and hope for, all their scheming will not succeed. All their expectations will prove false. "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" — that is, a state quite the opposite of what is promised for the kingdom.

Nations and kingdoms are hostile to one another. This shows there would be no gradual change for the better in the world through the gospel, as some have foolishly imagined. Instead there would be a sharp increase in alarming signs — earthquakes, famines, plagues. The Lord knew well, and declared fully, that the gospel would not convert the world. His words here are a rebuke to those who have cherished such futile hopes.

But in each case His warnings arm His disciples beforehand. They must not let false Christs deceive them for a moment, or follow them. They must not fear the violent movements of men, or think that such upheavals mean the end is coming at once.

Here the Lord Jesus gives us a very direct and immediate picture of the destruction of Jerusalem, which was then close at hand. Matthew passes over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. He fixes attention on what will take place at the end of the age. Luke gives us this last event too — at least he closes with the future crisis. But the main point in the central part of Luke is to point out the destruction that was then at hand. It was a distinct state of things, and a distinct time, from the circumstances of the Son of man's day.

Josephus, the historian, tells us that a star or a comet with a long tail shaped like a sword hung over the city for a whole year. Another sign was that on one occasion chariots and troops of soldiers were seen among the clouds, rushing to and fro. On another occasion a great light shone around the altar for about half an hour and then died out. The gate of the inner court of the temple, made of brass and so heavy that it took twenty men to shut it, opened by itself. This was taken to mean that the temple would no longer be protected from the enemy. These events may seem like fables, but the historian declares that many people witnessed them, and Tacitus confirms these signs.

The disciples were not to be troubled; all this would come to pass, they were no signs of His coming, the end was not yet. So the Lord is caring for what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. He gives them the kind of teaching that would keep them calm in service, not stirred up by circumstances or by false hopes.

You can trace such events through the whole course of world history. But they have been rare, not frequent, while the text plainly implies they will happen often, and probably in different places at the same time. How often has a Christian, on hearing of an event of this kind, said, "Surely we must now be in the time of Matthew 24!" Yet the very fact that it draws comment as a rare event shows that we are not yet in that time. It is fair to conclude that the prophecy means famines, plagues and earthquakes to a degree and over an area beyond anything known before.

As a symbol, earthquakes point to an upheaval of the lower masses of society. This overthrows the social system, either in part or completely.

I have little doubt that the scene will be as mixed as the language. There will be terrible signs really given. Besides that, there will be a real breaking up of all existing powers, and terror in every heart… But there will be more than a revolution. It will be an overthrow and upsetting of all visible and organised powers.

These happen under the providential government of God. Through them He keeps making Himself heard and shows His power… Sadly, people too often treat such judgments as natural events or mere accidents and disasters. They see no God in them, and soon forget them. These judgments should warn men. A light shower often falls before a storm, and in the same way these frequent judgments are only the forerunners of the great storm of the wrath of God that will fall on this guilty world.

Mark, as well as Luke, gives special weight to the persecutions the disciples would have to endure. Luke says these persecutions take place before the signs among the nations. They are, therefore, persecutions of the early Christian days. The book of Acts shows us they happened as soon as the new message of salvation was preached.

Jerusalem's troubles began with the siege of the city by the Roman general Titus, and they will not end till the times of the Gentiles have run their course. At the beginning of those troubles, and in their closing days too, there will be real disciples of Christ on earth. They will have to bear testimony in the face of direct opposition from their countrymen the Jews.

In Luke's gospel the prophecy relates to the events before the Roman army destroyed the temple and the city. Here "the gospel of the kingdom" is not named. And the text does not say the persecution comes especially from the Gentiles. It comes from Jews and Gentiles alike. The difference is important. It helps to show that the prophecy in Matthew relates, not to the events before the siege of Jerusalem, but to the troubles before the day of the Lord — the same period the book of Revelation speaks of.

The disciples would go to prison and stand before Gentile kings and rulers for the sake of the name of Christ. This became true very soon after the Lord Jesus returned to glory. But the Lord used this persecution in a way men did not expect. He made it a testimony to Himself and to the gospel of His grace… We see this in Peter and John (Acts 4:13-14); in Stephen (Acts 6:8-10; 7:1-60); and in Paul (Acts 22:1-21; 24:24-25; 26:1-31).

To be Christ's is enough to stir up the world's anger. Circumstances may be needed to call it out, but it is there… The world hates us because of Him, not Him because of us. It is not our faults, then, that are the true cause, but His grace and moral excellence, His divine nature and glory.

The Lord does make predictions. He foretells (1) the rise of false Christs, (2) wars and unrest, along with strange events in the physical world around them, (3) the coming of bitter opposition and persecution, even to death. But in each case His warnings arm His disciples in advance… They are to accept the persecution as an occasion for testimony. And when they testify, they are not to rely on a prepared defence, but on supernatural wisdom given to them when the moment arrives.

The word translated "turn out" appears in one other place in the New Testament in just this sense. That is Luke 21:13, where the Lord Himself tells His disciples that when men lay their hands on them, and deliver them up to synagogues and prisons, "it shall turn out to you for a testimony." You will recall how much Luke was with Paul. We may suppose he had told him of these words of our Lord Jesus. If that is the case, Paul also had the Lord's own words to rest on for the certainty he speaks of. And what a blessed certainty His words are!

When they were whipped and brought before councils and governors and kings, all this should become a testimony to them. It is God's way of presenting the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes. And it does so without changing the character of that gospel, without adapting it to the world, and without mixing up the Lord's people with the world's ways and its false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than being linked with the great ones of the earth would have done.

The Lord then turns to the duties and the circumstances of His disciples before that hour... He goes into much more detail about their ministry during that period. He encourages them, and promises them the help they will need. Persecution should turn to them for a testimony.

The disciples would be imprisoned and brought before Gentile kings and rulers for the sake of the name of Christ. This became true very soon after the Lord Jesus returned to glory. But the Lord used this persecution in a way that men did not expect, for a testimony to Himself and to the gospel of His grace... We see this in Peter and John (Acts 4:13-14); in Stephen (Acts 6:8-10; 7:1-60); and in Paul on various occasions (Acts 22:1-21; 24:24-25; 26:1-31).

In Luke, the persecution comes before the fighting and unrest mentioned in the earlier verses. Our Lord's words are, "But before all these things they will lay their hands on you." This distinction agrees with the facts. The great persecution of the Christians by the Jews was not during the civil wars that ended in the fall of Jerusalem. It came before them, and this is what Luke is referring to. On the other hand, the great persecution of the faithful Jews by the Gentiles, which is what Matthew speaks of, will happen during the terrible wars and upheavals before the Lord's glorious appearing.

In each case His warnings arm His disciples in advance... They are to accept the persecution as an occasion for testimony. When they testify, they are not to rely on a prepared defence, but on supernatural wisdom given to them when the moment arrives.

We need the force of the words, "All these things shall turn to you for a testimony." I was told a church was in great difficulties. I said I would take heart, because these are just the kind of difficulties Peter and Paul had. I would rejoice in them as something that would help the Church through the wilderness.

They are to accept the persecution as a chance to bear witness. And as they bear witness, they are not to rely on a prepared defence. They are to rely on wisdom from God, which He will give them when the moment comes.

But if believers were arrested and had to face the Jewish council or the magistrates, they were not to decide in advance how to answer the charges, or what to say. The same Spirit of God who empowered Christ would empower them and guide their words. For the grace of God is greater than the strongest opposition of hatred.

All of this applies strictly to the state of things before the Romans besieged Jerusalem, both in the world and among the disciples. Any fair-minded reader must see it. Luke alone shows the grace of the Lord in giving His own a mouth and wisdom that goes beyond the cunning and power of every enemy. In Mark they are to say "whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit."

Alone he could face his opponents, and defeat them. "They were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking" (Acts 6:10). They did not convince him, and they could not silence him. They could not resist the wisdom he showed, or the Holy Spirit by whom he spoke. The Lord had promised, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict" (Luke 21:15). And the writer who preserved that promise here tells us how truly it was fulfilled. One man could confound a multitude.

This was a special promise given to the disciples. We see it fulfilled again and again, in a striking way, in the Acts of the Apostles. But there is nothing to show that such will be the case with the Jewish believers in the last days. They will be silenced, driven out and almost destroyed. Only the sudden and glorious appearing of Christ will save them from being wiped out completely. In Matthew there is nothing at all matching this part of the prophecy as Luke records it.

Whenever it can be done, a person should think about and study the subject he expects to speak on. It is no mark of spirituality to take no thought about how or what we will speak. We do not believe that is a correct use of the Scripture. The Lord gave that promise in a very different setting. There He assures His disciples that they will never be deserted when they face kings and rulers for His name's sake... The same holds when someone has no way of knowing in advance what he will speak about, or when an unexpected opening for the gospel comes.

There was no need for them to plan their defence beforehand. The Holy Spirit would give them the words to speak in the hour of need. The same was true of their ministry. They could rely on the help of the Spirit of God, whether they were making known the gospel of the grace of God, or opening up and applying the truth to God's people.

But before these things, the disciples would suffer bitter persecution. It would come from the hatred of religious Jews. They would go to prison and stand before Gentile kings and rulers because of the name of Christ. This became true very soon after the Lord Jesus returned to glory. But the Lord used this persecution in a way men did not expect, for a testimony to Himself and to the gospel of His grace.

Luke alone shows the grace of the Lord. He gives His own a mouth and wisdom greater than the cunning and power of all their adversaries. In Mark they are to speak "whatever shall be given you; for you are not the speakers but the Holy Spirit."

God does provide the weapons with which, if called upon, His people may meet those opposed to Him. The Lord promised to provide them (Luke 21:15). So Stephen proved that the Lord keeps His word. His enemies could not resist the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke (Acts 6:10). In this he does not stand alone, for the Lord still cares for His people.

Numbers were on their side. He is the only one named as fighting bravely for the truth. But their numbers did not overawe him... They could not convince him. They could not silence him. And they could not resist the wisdom he showed, or the Holy Spirit by whom he spoke. "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict" (Luke 21:15), had been the Lord's promise. And the evangelist who preserved that promise shows us how completely it came true. One man could confound a multitude.

The leading teachers of Israel's schools of learning might well marvel. They saw "the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men" — untrained in what this world counts as knowledge. They also "recognized that they had been with Jesus."

Wherever possible, one should think about and study the subject he expects to speak on. It is no mark of spirituality to give no thought to how or what we shall speak. Nor do we believe it a correct use of Scripture to expect the Lord to keep a promise He gave in a quite different setting... Here He is assuring His disciples that He will never desert them when they stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake.

People misapply it when they use it of preaching the gospel. It does not refer to any service for the Lord. It was to save the disciples from anxiety at their trial.

This was a special promise to the disciples. We see it fulfilled again and again, in striking ways, in the book of Acts. But nothing shows that the same will be true for Jewish believers in the last days. They will be silenced, banished, and almost destroyed. Only Christ's sudden and glorious appearing will save them from being wiped out completely.

The Lord's words to His apostles in Matthew 10 and Luke 21 will have a special reference to them. They will go out to speak with "a mouth of wisdom" that He will give them.

The prophecy has three subjects. First, the troubles of Jerusalem that came from the Lord's rejection by the Jews. Then the testimony of the disciples that followed that rejection, and guidance for them while they are in their sorrows. Last, the whole thing ends with the Lord's second coming, which will bring deliverance to the city and the nation. Jerusalem's troubles began with the siege of the city by Titus, and they will not end until the times of the Gentiles have run their course. At the start of those troubles, and again in their closing days, there will be real disciples of Christ on earth. They will have to bear witness while their own countrymen the Jews openly oppose them.

The early Christians were not hated by the Gentiles as Gentiles, but by all men, whether Jews or Gentiles. In fact their chief sufferings and persecutions came from the Jews… Luke is foretelling what the early Jewish Christians would suffer at the hands of their own countrymen and closest relatives. His prophecy simply describes what took place soon afterwards… Matthew, however, speaks of a very different persecution. It comes from the Gentile oppressors of the nation, before the Lord's coming in power. So Matthew leaves the family division out.

As long as God is not revealed, people tolerate everything. But when He reveals Himself, man's will rises up against His authority. It rises against the pressure that this revelation puts on a conscience which is not at rest. And the closer the relationship, the greater the hatred. This hatred breaks all the ties of nature.

Many of them would know the deep pain and trial of betrayal by even close relatives, and some would suffer death as martyrs… Yet in the face of such dreadful affliction He told them not a hair of their heads would (eternally) perish. The eternal end was secure. That does not mean none of them would die, for the Lord said some would die as martyrs (v.16).

In Luke 21:16-18 the Lord says their enemies would put some of them to death, yet not a hair of their head would perish. They were all counted. God has all providential power at His disposal.

It seems strange to us to hear, "Some of you shall they cause to be put to death … but there shall not a hair of your head perish."

Yet the hatred against them would be so fierce that it would break through all natural ties. It would turn the strongest affections into the bitterest enmity… Through it all not a hair of their heads would perish. He who has counted them all would give a good account of them. By endurance they would gain their lives, instead of losing them.

Notice that in these verses the Lord traces the world's hatred of His disciples to one thing: they belonged to Him. They were His servants, and the servant is not greater than his Lord. "If they persecuted Me," He said, "they will also persecute you." The world would not hate them because they were law-breakers, or because of anything objectionable in their character, but because the Lord had chosen them out of the world to be His own.

Confessing Christ brings persecution. Spreading only His moral teaching might well be popular with Jews and Gentiles alike. Before Christ came, and ever since, we should expect persecution for righteousness' sake. But notice the step forward from Matthew 5:10 to the next verse. In the first verse, the persecution is "for righteousness' sake." In verse 11 it is plainly for Christ's sake. Here His own honour is at stake.

The revelation of God in the person of Christ, or in the preached word, awakens the enmity of the human heart. As long as God is not revealed, people tolerate everything. But when He reveals Himself, man's will rises up against His authority. It rises against the pressure this revelation puts on a conscience that is not at rest. And the closer the relations are, the greater is the hatred. This hatred breaks all the ties of nature. Brother would give up brother to death, and the father his son. The children would rise up against their parents and put them to death. And all men would hate the disciples for the Saviour's name.

Matthew, speaking of the persecution of the faithful witnesses before Christ's coming, says, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake." Believing Jews will suffer this in the last days for their testimony to the coming Messiah. But it is not an accurate account of what the early Christians endured. It was not that the Gentiles hated them as Gentiles. All men hated them, whether Jews or Gentiles. In fact their chief sufferings and persecutions came from the Jews.

All of this applies strictly to what happened before the Romans besieged Jerusalem, both in the world and among the disciples. Any fair mind must see it.

You may speak of religion in a general way — of preachers, of churches, of missions to people who have never heard, of societies for doing good — and be popular. But speak of the Lord Himself, of His precious blood, of the full assurance of salvation, of oneness with Him in heaven, of separation from the world, of standing apart from all its shows and entertainments. Then your friends will quickly grow fewer. Who were the most bitter enemies of the Lord and His servant Paul? The most religious men in Israel. Has the world or human nature changed? We believe not.

The Jewish Council had forbidden them to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But they obeyed God rather than men, and went on with their blessed work. After a miracle set them free from prison, they were arrested again, beaten, and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus. Were they disheartened or daunted by what they had to endure? Far from it — they left the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

All of this applies strictly to the state of things before the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem, both in the world and among the disciples. Any fair mind must see it. Luke alone shows the grace of the Lord in giving His own a mouth and wisdom beyond the cunning and power of every enemy.

Luke is foretelling what the early Jewish Christians would suffer at the hands of their own countrymen and their nearest relatives. His prophecy simply describes what took place soon afterwards.

God's government does not work now in a way that keeps the righteous from suffering — least of all when they suffer for the name of Christ. But Jehovah watches over him. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from our Father. It seems strange to us to hear, "Some of you they will put to death … but not a hair of your head will perish." God's government now is not the public rule that puts down all evil. It is applied to the case of the righteous under and through the power of evil. When Christ appears, evil will be put down. As a rule, those who live peaceably will live in peace. But in a world where Satan has power, the righteous will suffer and have many afflictions — none of them without the watchful care of the Lord. And in some way deliverance will come.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus would in fact be the object of the hatred of all mankind in general. How contrary to their expectations of the arrival of the kingdom! Yet in the face of such dreadful affliction He told them not a hair of their heads would (eternally) perish. The eternal end was secure. This does not mean that none of them would die, for the Lord said some would die as martyrs (v.16). In fact, since then all the disciples have died, but they were to have no fear of the most bitter persecution.

In Luke 21:16-18 the Lord says some of them would be put to death, but not a hair of their head would perish. They were all counted. Providential power is all at God's disposal.

Trusting in the Lord is perfectly sure. A divine and almighty hand secures us. We know from many passages that the Lord may see fit to let us suffer, but not a hair of our head shall perish. When His time has come, the rod of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous. He may let us suffer for our God, or for His name's sake. But even then it happens according to His own will and power, not according to the will and power of the wicked. All this assumes someone who is walking in His ways.

God's care never fails. It shows itself in the smallest details, and it holds despite all that man may think. God may allow many afflictions to come on those who trust Him, and these too will surely be a blessing.

The word hupomone (from hupomeno, "to sustain") appears once as "enduring" (2 Corinthians 1:6) and as "patient continuance" (Romans 2:7). That fully enters into the thought of the word: it is a "patient endurance" that does not give way under trial and suffering. See Luke 8:15; Luke 21:19… and the phrase "the one who endures to the end," Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13… Romans 15:5 traces it back to its divine source for us. Scripture never applies it to God Himself, because there could be no such testing or pressure for Him. But the Lord Jesus, in the place He has taken as Man, is our perfect example of it, Hebrews 12:2-3 — He "endured" the cross and the hostility of sinners against Himself.

On Luke 21:19: although ktaomai generally means "get," in contrast with kektemai, it is also used for keeping in possession — holding something so as not to lose it. (Acts 4:34; 1 Thessalonians 4:4; Matthew 8:9; Luke 18:12.) It refers directly to being spared, kept by God, saved in the dangers of the mission they had among the Jews.

In Luke 21:19 the Revisers have adopted a reading and a rendering at least questionable. A B are but slender authority for κτήσεσθε, as against κτήσασθε differing only by one letter; and their own rendering of 1 Thessalonians 4:5 sustains the Authorised Version, "possess," against their own "win" here.

The immediate hope would be of preserving life; but it would meet those who might be killed with the fullest and most secure hope. It is the same in Luke 21:19, "gain your lives" (older translations: "gain your souls"), and in Matthew 24:13. The ambiguity there is intentional too.

All this applies strictly to the state of things before the Romans besieged Jerusalem, whether in the world or among the disciples. That must be clear to every fair mind. Luke alone shows the grace of the Lord in giving His own a mouth and wisdom beyond the cunning and power of all their adversaries… Luke also states in broad terms the result of their testimony, which would be true in the highest sense for heaven if they were killed.

Jesus had said, "By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Luke 21:19) — a position of faithfulness while the testimony lasts. There will be a time when God alone will testify of Himself, when no one gives Him any testimony at all. It will be a testimony of vengeance, because man has despised His power and His righteousness.

What can we do with people who let themselves be killed without becoming less joyful — people whom it makes even more joyful? Left to themselves, they are above all our motives. If we oppress them, they possess their souls in perfect joy despite all our opposition. Torments do not conquer them. They find in them only an occasion for bearing a stronger testimony that Christians are beyond our power.

Only Luke has this. So he speaks of armies surrounding the city, which was true then. He does not speak, as Matthew and Mark do, of the abomination of desolation, which can only be proved true in its closing agony. The siege our Lord describes, with all that came out of it, cannot be a future event. What follows it is the humiliating hold on the Jewish capital by one nation after another, until the allotted seasons of Gentile supremacy end.

This is the clear reply to the only part of the disciples' question that Luke records. Jerusalem surrounded by armies was to be the sign that its desolation was near.

When they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they could know that its desolation was near. This is still a very different thing from the "abomination of desolation" that Matthew and Mark speak of. That one is tied to the middle of the last week of Daniel, while this one comes between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week of the same chapter: "And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" (Dan. 9:26). There is no excuse at all for confusing two things so different, when the gap between them is stated so clearly.

Schmiedel claims that Luke himself, in his own mind, treated Titus's desolation of Jerusalem as the same thing as Daniel's "abomination." That only shows how little that critic understands the plan of Old Testament prophecy. As the Expositor points out, it is typical of Luke that he kept the two apart.

Nothing can be simpler. The prediction is exact. The directions match exactly what the Christians living in the city did when Titus's army approached Jerusalem. There is no call to special haste, and in fact there was no occasion for special haste. Every reader knows what followed. The Christians, warned by this prophecy, left the city. The city was destroyed, and its people were either killed or carried off into slavery.

The Christians, remembering the Lord's warning, left Jerusalem together before the siege closed in. They travelled to Pella, a village beyond the Jordan. There they stayed until Hadrian allowed them to return to the ruins of their ancient city.

Then those who believed the words of Jesus did flee to the mountains, and so escaped the horrors of the siege. Then began the "days of vengeance" for the Jew. They will not stop until everything foretold has come true. Then started the long captivity, which has continued and will continue, with Jerusalem under the feet of the nations, until the times of the Gentiles end. Those times began when God raised up Nebuchadnezzar, who took the throne from the last king of David's line. They will end with the crushing of Gentile rule at the appearing of Christ.

Upon the guilty city, stained with the blood of the prophets, and now to be stained with that of their glorious King also, days of vengeance were coming.

Here the Lord Jesus gives us a very direct and immediate picture of the destruction of Jerusalem, which was then close at hand. Matthew passes by the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. He fixes attention on what will take place at the end of the age... He says, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." He does not say "the abomination of desolation" — not a word about that here, for it belongs to the last days only.

Is it surprising that danger in Jerusalem at two different dates should have the same way of escape? The ring of mountains around the city makes that way especially fitting. The directions, however, in the two cases are not the same, though similar. In Luke there is a command that those in Judea were to go to the mountains, and that those in the country were not to enter in. Yet there is no note of alarming urgency here. In Matthew we find one, at the setting up of the abomination of desolation. There, delay of even an instant is forbidden.

The effort to apply the abomination of desolation to the Romans under Titus, or to the Pope, is utterly vain. The first of these probably comes from confusing Matthew 24:15 with Luke 21:21. Luke alone brings in the Roman siege and captivity, since he alone deals with the times of the Gentiles.

The days of vengeance fell on Jerusalem, when the Lord's murderers were destroyed and their city burnt. In that smaller case there was no question of suffering as a privilege. It was a retributive dealing of God. So the Lord told those who listened to His words to escape as soon as they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies.

This unhappy people had plenty of time to be warned. If they had listened to the voice of their Messiah, they could have been saved... Obeying this command, the Christians left Jerusalem and settled at Pella. So they escaped the doom about to fall on this guilty people.

"Flee to the mountains." Wellhausen, like others, says Luke brought the prophecy "up to date." But these words support a date before AD 70, because the actual flight was to Pella, in the Jordan valley.

What was the use of the Lord warning the disciples in advance to flee in such and such circumstances? It would be no use if they did not understand what He was speaking about, and did not believe His word beforehand. It was exactly this knowledge and this faith that set them apart from all their unbelieving countrymen.

Days of vengeance were coming on the guilty city, stained with the blood of the prophets and now to be stained with the blood of their glorious King as well. When they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they could know that its desolation was near. That is a very different thing from the "abomination of desolation" that Matthew and Mark speak of. That sign belongs to the middle of the last week of Daniel, while this one falls between the sixty-ninth and seventieth in the same chapter: "and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" (Dan. 9:26). There is no excuse for confusing things so different, when Scripture states the interval between them so plainly.

Luke 7:16 — "Visited." Compare 1:68 and 19:44, where it also means a merciful visitation. The word for "visitation" in the sense of vengeance is ekdikēsis, as in Luke 21:22.

I need not stay to tell you how completely this solemn prediction came true. Jerusalem fell soon afterwards. God, in patient grace, waited a little; He did not destroy it the day after the death of His Son. No — for sixty years He waited on His rebellious people, who first rejected their Messiah and then resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51-52). At length He sent out His edict.

Everyone knows how terrible these days of vengeance were. Josephus gives the number of those killed in the siege as 1,000,000, and those carried away captive as 97,000. The complete fulfilment of our Lord's words is a matter of common history.

The prediction is exact. When Titus's army approached Jerusalem, the Christians living in the city followed exactly these directions. This passage calls for no special haste, and in fact none was needed. Every reader knows the rest. The Christians, warned by this prophecy, left the city. The city was destroyed, and its people were either killed or carried into slavery.

This day of vengeance on Israel as a nation extends, in a sense, right through these present "times of the Gentiles." The crisis in the latter day gives its character to the whole period. They are all "days of vengeance," as the Lord calls them here. Yet a special season and visitation is still to come at the close — "the day of vengeance," as the prophet calls it (Isa. 34; Isa. 63).

He ends His reading with the words "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He closed the book in the middle of a sentence, because Isaiah adds "and the day of vengeance of our God." In this way He separated the two events very pointedly... But the day of vengeance had not yet come. Old Testament Scripture gave no sign that the preaching of grace would run for a long time before the day of vengeance came. Yet it has now continued for nearly 2000 years.

Luke 21:20-24 holds truth that is not in Matthew or Mark. It plainly predicts the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the great distress that would fall on the land and on this people. Only Luke says they would be led captive into all the nations. Only Luke gives the remarkable sentence, still in force, that Gentiles would trample Jerusalem until their appointed times are complete... This fits the plan of the third Gospel, which leaves out the abomination of desolation and the tribulation like no other, both so prominent in the two Gospels before it. From verse 25 on, Luke joins the other two writers in describing the time of the end.

This came true in what happened to the Jews when Titus took the city and "this people" went into captivity for the second time... And so it happened. For many centuries Gentiles have trampled Jerusalem. One national power after another was to hold the holy city. It is still so: the trampling goes on, because the seasons given to the Gentiles are not yet complete.

The expression "the times of the Gentiles" is not found in the book of Daniel. It is a New Testament phrase, and only our Lord used it... Now, the times of the Gentiles did not begin when Jerusalem rejected the Lord who came from heaven. Our Lord does not say they were brought in then. They started with the Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. The glory of the Lord departed from Jerusalem.

God was patient with Israel for a long time. Then He set the house of David aside and sent it into captivity. He handed the power to govern for Him to the Gentiles, and the times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar... Three other empires followed Babylon, and the times of the Gentiles still go on, under one form of government after another. They will run on until God, in His own time, gives supremacy in the earth back to His ancient people.

"The times of the Gentiles" points to Gentiles on top and Israel pressed down. He is looking ahead over this whole age. In verse 24 He calls the whole age "the times of the Gentiles" — the Gentiles rule, and Israel has no land or inheritance in the earth.

Because they rejected and crucified their Messiah, the Jewish nation has suffered centuries of being "trampled underfoot by the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). At the present time the Jews have possession of Jerusalem. A nation of Israel exists, and it makes its mark on world affairs. They are there in unbelief. Their troubles are not over yet, and the city will again be overrun by the Gentiles: "they will trample the holy city for forty-two months" (Rev. 11:2).

Whenever God speaks in His Word about judgement on Israel, He always sets a limit to it with an "until." So Romans 11:25 tells us that "a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." Luke 21:24 sets the same kind of limit for Jerusalem... "The fullness of the Gentiles" means the present Christian company. "The times of the Gentiles" means the period when the Gentiles hold power, which started with Nebuchadnezzar some six centuries before Christ.

"Immediately after the tribulation," when the times of the Gentiles close, the Son of Man will come in person. We know these times are still running: the Gentiles still trample Jerusalem. But that trampling will end, and the Lord will come to deliver Israel.