Read or listen The Gospel of Luke, chapter 21 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Now we get a counterweight to the superficial religiosity of the Pharisees: the widow (compare Luke 20:47) put all her trust in God. Her piety was genuine, pleasing to God.

At that time, a denarius was worth a day’s wages for a well-paid laborer. The widow’s gift was 1/64 of a denarius. It was a lepton (verse 2), a small copper coin, the only Jewish coin mentioned in the New Testament.

In the women's court of the temple in Jerusalem, there were 13 offering chests. The first twelve were for collecting taxes in a way: they had written on them what the money was to be used for. There was a certain amount that everyone had to give into them. The thirteenth offering chest was for voluntary offerings. The offering chests were called trumpets because the chest had a horn-shaped part on top to prevent theft.

It is noteworthy that the woman had two coins: if she had given even one, she would have given half, that is, five times the tithe. She could have given part and still kept part for herself. But she understood that one—or even two—coins would not sustain her for long; she would depend on God’s help in any case. She knew the true “mathematics of faith.”

What is essential is what is left after the offering is made (verse 4). In 2010, the world’s richest people were challenged to give half of their wealth to charity. Many did. But even their billion-dollar gifts were smaller than a widow’s mite: if someone gave a billion, they could still live well on the billion left over – and every day more money came in than they could spend.

Jesus has spent time by the offering boxes before. In John 8:20, Jesus teaches there.

The Destruction of the Temple – Luke 21:5-6

Jesus' traveling companions may have included those who came to Jerusalem for the first time and saw the temple for the first time. It is no wonder it was admired. It was a beautiful building.

In 18 BC Herod the Great had ordered from 515 BC. which had been Zerubbabel's temple to be torn down and a new one built. However, the Jews considered them one and the same, which is why they only speak of two temples. The construction work was not yet complete even in the time of Jesus (compare John 2:20: it had already been built for 46 years). The temple was finally completed only in 63 AD – that is, only about seven years before its destruction in 70 AD.

Herod the Great was an Edomite and therefore not a Jew by religion. But in the style of the rulers of that time, he built fine buildings that would leave a "permanent memory". Herod donated large marble cubes and various gifts to the temple, the finest of which was a golden vine. The Jewish historian Josephus, who was prone to exaggeration, said that its clusters of grapes were as large as a man (verse 5).

Jesus' prophecy (verse 6, see also Luke 19:44) was literally fulfilled. During the conquest of Jerusalem, the temple burned, and when it was known that there had been much gold there that had melted in the fire, the ruins were torn down stone by stone in search of it. Later, in the style of the time, the stones of the building were used for new buildings, and so today nothing remains of the temple.

The Western Wall is not part of the temple, but its base: the mountaintop was expanded so that the great temple planned by Herod could be built. Its largest stones are 3.5 meters high and 14.5 meters long and weigh about 400 tons. Josephus says that the temple had stones up to 25 meters long.

The first signs of the end – Luke 21:7-19

All of the Synoptic Gospels contain Jesus’ teaching on the end times: Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21:5-38, as well as 17:20-37. John does not have this in his gospel, but he wrote the Book of Revelation, which is also an explanation of the teachings of the other three gospels on the end times. Mark tells us that these discussions took place on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:3).

Apparently the questioners were thinking mainly of the time of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (verse 7), but Jesus answers by speaking of the end of the whole world.

The first sign of the end times is false teachers, false "Christs" (verse 8). This is followed by wars and unrest (verse 8), which lead to famine when the fields are left uncultivated, and epidemic diseases. In addition, there will be upheavals in nature: earthquakes and signs in the sky (verse 11). Christians will be persecuted (verse 12, see also Luke 12:51-53). Synagogues were also schools and courts (verse 12, see also Luke 12:11-12).

The first widespread persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire were in the 60s under Emperor Nero and in the 90s under Emperor Domitian. Even today, especially in the Islamic world, becoming a Christian means separation from one's family (verse 16). The most radical Muslims may even kill a convert.

Paul is a model example of how he saw his arrest and imprisonment as an opportunity to testify to his faith (verse 13, Acts 25:23-26:32, 28:31). There is a story about a Chinese Christian who was teased by prison guards like this: “If your God is so great, why are you in prison here?” The Christian replied: “If I were not here, who would tell you the gospel!”

Jesus promised His own the Holy Spirit as a defender and helper, who would give Christians the right words to say when they were accused in court (verses 14-15, John 14:15-17, 16:13-16). The accusers of the first martyr, Stephen, could not defend themselves against Stephen's words (Acts 6:9-10, compare verse 15).

To perish (verse 18) means specifically in relation to eternity: God will not lose any of His own. Whenever the Bible speaks of the end times, the importance of watchfulness and endurance is emphasized (verse 19, compare verses 34-38).

The Destruction of Jerusalem – Luke 21:20-33

Christians followed Jesus’ advice (verses 20-21). The church father Eusebius reports that when the Jews revolted in 66 AD, the Christians fled to Pella, one of the cities of the Decapolis east of the Jordan. Usually, people fled from the countryside to the walls of the cities (verse 21)—but now the city became a trap as the Romans surrounded it with a siege rampart. The siege lasted a long time, and eventually the city’s defenses collapsed due to famine.

A Jewish historian named Josephus wrote a book about this siege for the Romans, "The Jewish War." He had a tendency to exaggerate, and he wanted to magnify the Roman victories. Josephus says that 1,100,000 people died in the siege of the city and 97,000 were taken prisoner. German Bible scholar Joachim Jeremias estimates that the city had a population of about 30,000 at the time. Even if refugees from the surrounding countryside had come to the city, Josephus' figures are impossible.

In these days of vengeance, God no longer protects His people, His city, and His temple (verse 22, see Deuteronomy 28:62-68, the curses of apostasy). Verse 24 relates to the next Jewish revolt in 132-135 AD. At that time, Bar-Kokba (Son of the Star) declared himself the Messiah. The Romans crushed the revolt, expelled all the Jews from Jerusalem, and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina. This began the period of landlessness for the Jews that only ended in 1948.

We can say that when we read Jesus’ words about the end times, it is like looking at a mountain range: mountain peaks that are actually far apart appear to be close together. The year 70 AD was one mountain peak, the year 135 AD was another mountain peak. Some of Jesus’ prophecies have already been fulfilled, some are awaiting fulfillment.

The Coming of the Son of Man – Luke 21:25-33

Verse 26 is talking about all of humanity, not the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Christ will come a second time in his power on a cloud (verse 27, see also Dan 7:13-14). Despite all that is difficult and painful (verses 25-26), Christians can rejoice: their deliverance is near (verse 28). Our ransom has already been paid on the central cross of Calvary.

The fig tree (verse 29) was a symbol of the Jews (Isaiah 24, Hosea 9:10, Luke 13:6-9). It was a symbol of domestic happiness (1 Kings 5:5, Micah 4:4, Zechariah 3:10). Could this be a reference to the fact that when the Jews experience revival, the return of Christ is near (Romans 11:25-27).

The fig tree is the first tree mentioned in the Bible. It produced three fruits a year: early figs in the spring before the leaves break out, the actual harvest in the summer and late figs in the fall.

“This generation” of verse 32 has given rise to various explanations. The liberal theological explanation is that Jesus was mistaken about the time of his return. But against this is the fact that Jesus often said that no one knows that time except the Father, not even the Son (Acts 1:7). The generation here could mean the generation during which the final signs of the end times begin to be fulfilled. It has also been suggested that it refers to the Jews – they have survived in a remarkable way despite their mixing with the nations. It has also been suggested that it refers to the Christians: despite persecution and error, they will survive to the end (compare Luke 18:8).

Stay awake! – Luke 21:34-38

Despite the signs of the end times, the end will surprise people. Someone has aptly said: “We will understand these signs only when they are history!” Therefore, the only option is to remain spiritually awake at all times (verse 36, see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11): You cannot rely on waking up when the time comes. Only Christians can be told to “Watch!”, non-Christians must be told: “Wake up!”

God's adversary sets various traps for us ("like a trap" - verse 35, Isaiah 24:17). It is important to remember that we cannot even stay spiritually awake on our own, but we need the help of God's Holy Spirit to do so. We can only win through Jesus (Romans 8:35-39).

It is possible that Jesus spent the night on the Mount of Olives under the sky. When they came to arrest him, he was found in the place where he went “according to his custom” (Luke 22:39). But it is possible that he spent the night at a friend’s house. The fact that he borrowed a donkey showed that he had friends (Luke 19:30-31). The city was full of pilgrims, so there was no place to stay there. It is also possible that there was a question of safety: Jesus could have been arrested in Jerusalem at night.

Jesus' popularity continued: "And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him" (verse 38).