Welcome! I’m so glad you’ve come to study with me. Today we’re in Luke 21 and it’s nearly all Jesus talking. Let’s ask for hearts that hear and eyes that see, as well as to keep alert and expectant.
Lord Jesus, these words are nearly all yours and we want to understand. Help us take them to heart and reveal all the meaning in them, Lord. Lead us. Amen.
Please read Luke 21:1-4
The Widow’s Gift
1 Looking up, He saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two [a]small copper coins. 3 He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in [proportionally] more than all of them; 4 for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Jesus knows what you give. He knows everything. Please note, this woman ________________________________________. Total dependence. Total Trust.
Please read Luke 21:5-65 As some were talking about the [b]temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings [of magnificent gifts of gold which were displayed on the walls and hung in the porticoes], He said, 6“As for all these things which you see, the time will come when there will not be one stone left on another that will not be [c]torn down.”
See, He knows, if He’s telling them it won’t last, what can we infer about the people? Their faith, their attitudes, their livelihoods? And if those people are like that, are we any more faithful? Kind? Generous?
Please read Luke 21:7-97 They asked Him, “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to happen?” 8 He said, “Be careful and see to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name [appropriating for themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me alone], saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and disturbances [civil unrest, revolts, uprisings], do not panic; for these things must take place first, but the end will not come immediately.”
Be ____________ and see to it that _______________________. How can you be certain you haven’t? Stay close to Him. He is protecting you. Stay with Him.
Please read Luke 21:10-19
Things to Come
10 Then Jesus told them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, and bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 This will be a time and an opportunity for you to testify [about Me]. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you [skillful] words and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed and handed over even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be continually hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your [patient] endurance [empowered by the Holy Spirit] you will gain your souls.
Nation will ____________________ and kingdom against ___________. There will be ____________________, and in various places _____________ and ____________________; and there will be _____________ sights and _________________________________________.
But not a hair of your head will perish. Why? Because even if they die they will live. Even if we die we will live, because the gift of the Holy Spirit is our guarantee of eternal life.
Please read Luke 21:20-24
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by [hostile] armies, then understand [with confident assurance] that her complete destruction is near. 21 At that time, those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside the city (Jerusalem) must get out, and those who are [out] in the country must not enter the city; 22 for these are days of vengeance [of rendering full justice or satisfaction], so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For great trouble and anguish will be on the land, and wrath and retribution on this people [Israel]. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed).
Jerusalem will be ________________________ by the ______________ until the times of the Gentiles are _____________. The Gentiles is another term for unbelievers once the ekklesia of Jesus is going. Because that ekklesia includes a lot of former Gentiles. The Kingdom’s goal is to invite the whole world into relationship with Jesus.
Please read Luke 21:25-28
The Return of Christ
25“There will be signs (attesting miracles) in the sun and moon and stars; and on the earth [there will be] distress and anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with [transcendent, overwhelming] power [subduing the nations] and with great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.”
If you happen to witness this, stand tall and lift up your head because you know, your redemption is drawing near. He knows you so anticipate His coming. When He does, everyone will see it. And it will be awesome.
Please read Luke 21:29-33
Parable of the Fig Tree
29 Then He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put out leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is near. 31 So you too, when you see these things happening, know [without any doubt] that the kingdom of God is near.
32 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [those living at that definite period of time preceding the second coming] will not pass away until [d]everything takes place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Know without any doubt that the _____________________ is _______.
Please read Luke 21:34-36
34 “But be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. 36 But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming].”
The Messiah will come, and that day will come upon “___________________________________________. Keep alert at all times [________________________________], praying that you may have the _____________ and ____________ to [_______________________________]to ____________ all these things that are _______________________________, and to ________ in the presence of ____________________[at His coming].”
Please read Luke 21:37
37 Now in the daytime Jesus was teaching in [the porches and courts of] the temple, but at night He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people would come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
Early in the morning…at night. They would come for the day. When did you last spend the day listening to Him?
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for these words, for coming the first time, for promising you will return, for teaching and helping your disciples learn well enough to write these things down and spread them wide enough that we can find them in our days, and not just be encouraged but find endurance and anticipation and the promises You give us. Thank You.
Footnotes
[a] Luke 21:2 Gr lepta.
[b] Luke 21:5 See note Matt 24:1.
[c] Luke 21:6 In a.d. 70, just six years after the temple was completed, it was destroyed by the Roman general Titus and his army, who thoroughly devastated Jerusalem
[d] Luke 21:32 I.e. the establishment of God’s kingdom.