Lucas 21

ARC · Chapter 21/24

1E, olhando elle, viu os ricos lançarem as suas offertas na arca do thesouro;

2E viu tambem uma pobre viuva lançar ali duas pequenas moedas;

3E disse: Em verdade vos digo que lançou mais do que todos esta pobre viuva;

4Porque todos aquelles deitaram para as offertas de Deus, do que lhes sobeja; mas esta, da sua pobreza, deitou todo o sustento que tinha.

5E, dizendo alguns a respeito do templo, que estava ornado de formosas pedras e dadivas, disse:

6Quanto a estas coisas que vêdes, dias virão em que se não deixará pedra sobre pedra, que não seja derribada.

7E perguntaram-lhe, dizendo: Mestre, quando serão pois estas coisas? E que signal haverá quando estas coisas estiverem para acontecer?

8Disse então elle: Vêde não vos enganem, porque virão muitos em meu nome, dizendo: Eu sou o Christo, e já o tempo está proximo; não vades portanto após elles.

9E, quando ouvirdes de guerras e sedições, não vos assusteis. Porque é necessario que estas coisas aconteçam primeiro, mas o fim não será logo.

10Então lhes disse: Levantar-se-ha nação contra nação, e reino contra reino;

11E haverá em varios logares grandes terremotos, e fomes e pestilencias; haverá tambem coisas espantosas, e grandes signaes do céu.

12Mas antes de todas estas coisas lançarão mão de vós, e vos perseguirão, entregando-vos ás synagogas e ás prisões, e conduzindo-vos á presença de reis e presidentes, por amor do meu nome.

13E sobrevir-vos-ha isto para testemunho.

14Proponde pois em vossos corações não premeditar como haveis de responder,

15Porque eu vos darei bocca e sabedoria a que não poderão contradizer nem resistir todos quantos se vos oppozerem.

16E até pelos paes, e irmãos, e parentes, e amigos sereis entregues; e matarão alguns de vós.

17E por todos sereis aborrecidos por amor do meu nome.

18Mas não perecerá nem um cabello da vossa cabeça.

19Na vossa paciencia possui as vossas almas.

20Porém, quando virdes Jerusalem cercada d'exercitos, sabei então que já é chegada a sua assolação.

21Então, os que estiverem na Judea, fujam para os montes; e, os que estiverem no meio d'ella, saiam: e, os que nos campos, não entrem n'ella.

22Porque dias de vingança são estes, para que se cumpram todas as coisas que estão escriptas.

23Mas ai das gravidas, e das que criarem n'aquelles dias! porque haverá grande aperto na terra, e ira sobre este povo.

24E cairão ao fio da espada, e para todas as nações serão levados captivos; e Jerusalem será pisada pelos gentios, até que os tempos dos gentios se completem.

25E haverá signaes no sol, e na lua e nas estrellas; e na terra aperto das nações em perplexidade, pelo bramido do mar e das ondas;

26Homens desmaiando de terror, na expectação das coisas que sobrevirão ao mundo. Porque as virtudes do céu serão abaladas.

27E então verão vir o Filho do homem n'uma nuvem, com poder e grande gloria.

28Ora, quando estas coisas começarem a acontecer, olhae para cima, e levantae as vossas cabeças, porque a vossa redempção está proxima.

29E disse-lhes uma parabola: Olhae para a figueira, e para todas as arvores;

30Quando já teem brotado, vós sabeis por vós mesmos, vendo-as, que perto está já o verão.

31Assim tambem vós, quando virdes acontecer estas coisas, sabei que o reino de Deus está perto.

32Em verdade vos digo que não passará esta geração até que tudo aconteça.

33Passará o céu e a terra, mas as minhas palavras não hão de passar.

34E olhae por vós, não aconteça que os vossos corações se carreguem de glotonaria, embriaguez, e dos cuidados d'esta vida, e venha sobre vós de improviso aquelle dia.

35Porque virá como um laço sobre todos os que habitam sobre a face de toda a terra.

36Vigiae pois em todo o tempo, orando, para que sejaes havidos por dignos de evitar todas estas coisas que hão de acontecer, e de estar em pé diante do Filho do homem.

37E de dia ensinava no templo, e á noite, saindo, ficava no monte chamado das Oliveiras.

38E todo o povo ia ter com elle ao templo, de manhã cedo, para o ouvir.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus praises the generosity of a poor widow who gives all she has. He prophesies the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and describes signs of persecution and tribulation that would precede these events, calling for constant watchfulness.

Explanation

The poor widow's offering (two small coins) is praised not for its absolute value, but because it represented everything she had, in contrast to the rich who gave out of their surplus. The prophetic discourse on the destruction of the temple blends elements historically fulfilled in A.D. 70 with a broader vision of the end times, a pattern common in biblical prophecy of near and distant fulfillment. The exhortation to watch and pray, without being overtaken by excess or anxiety, is the central point for disciples of every age. The application today is to give generously in proportion to the heart, not merely out of what is left over, and to live spiritually alert.

Fun facts

  • The temple praised by the disciples for its 'beautiful stones' (v.5) was the temple rebuilt and expanded by Herod the Great, one of the greatest architectural achievements of the ancient world, with stone blocks weighing up to 40 tons.
  • The prophecy that 'not one stone will be left on another' (v.6) was literally fulfilled when the Romans destroyed the temple in A.D. 70 and pulled apart the stones searching for the gold that had melted between the cracks during the fire.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Lucas 21:1Jesus watches the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury — the scene that sets up the contrast with the poor widow who appears next.
  2. Lucas 21:2The mite was the smallest coin in circulation, worth a tiny fraction of a day’s wage. The contrast Jesus draws is not about absolute value but about proportion: the rich gave out of their abundance, and she gave, of her want, literally all she had to live on.
  3. Lucas 21:3Jesus’s statement seems paradoxical at first: in absolute value, the widow gave far less than the rich, yet He says she gave more than all of them.
  4. Lucas 21:4The explanation lies in proportion, not amount: the rich gave out of their surplus, while she gave everything she had to live on — a total sacrifice set against a comfortable donation.
  5. Lucas 21:5People admire the temple’s stones and ornaments, a magnificent building still under expansion at that time — the comment that draws out the prediction of destruction Jesus makes next.
  6. Lucas 21:6The temple in Jerusalem was an enormous, richly decorated structure, still under expansion in Jesus’s day, considered one of the great architectural wonders of the region. Predicting its total destruction sounded nearly unthinkable to those listening — and it was fulfilled when Roman troops destroyed it in the year 70.
  7. Lucas 21:7The disciples ask when these things will happen and what sign will show that they are near — the question that opens the whole prophetic discourse filling the rest of the chapter.
  8. Lucas 21:8Jesus warns them not to be deceived by many who will come claiming to be the Christ and saying that the time has come — a warning against false messiahs preying on people’s anxiety.
  9. Lucas 21:9Wars and uprisings should not cause panic, because these things must come to pass first, but the end does not follow immediately after — Jesus distinguishes between preliminary signs and the end itself.
  10. Lucas 21:10Nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom describes international conflict as something recurring throughout history, not necessarily a sign exclusive to the end.
  11. Lucas 21:11The list of earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and fearful sights in the heavens describes natural and cosmic disturbances that accompany this period of instability.
  12. Lucas 21:12Even before these wider signs, personal persecution will come: imprisonment, synagogues, trials before kings and governors, all for the sake of Jesus’s name.
  13. Lucas 21:13This persecution is reframed in a positive light: it becomes an opportunity for testimony, not merely a disaster to be endured.
  14. Lucas 21:14The instruction not to rehearse a defense beforehand picks up the same teaching already given earlier, in chapter 12, about not worrying in advance over what to answer when accused.
  15. Lucas 21:15The promise is of wisdom and words given directly by Jesus, able to withstand any contradiction from His adversaries — a guarantee of supernatural eloquence under pressure.
  16. Lucas 21:16The persecution intensifies to include betrayal by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, with some being put to death — showing that not even the closest ties would stay immune to the hostility.
  17. Lucas 21:17The widespread hatred is attributed specifically to loyalty to Jesus’s name, not to any other cause.
  18. Lucas 21:18The promise that not a hair of their head shall perish seems to contradict the earlier mention of deaths — it likely refers to ultimate spiritual security rather than a guarantee of physical survival, echoing the teaching on numbered hairs in chapter 12.
  19. Lucas 21:19“In your patience possess ye your souls” presents perseverance as the very means of preserving a person’s true identity amid trial, prioritizing endurance over any quick escape.
  20. Lucas 21:20This describes a military siege, and the instruction is to flee to the mountains rather than take refuge inside the city walls — the opposite of the normal instinct in wartime. It is a very specific piece of practical guidance, one that matches what actually happened in the Roman siege of the year 70.
  21. Lucas 21:21The flight instructions are very specific and geographic: those in Judaea should flee to the mountains, those in the city should leave, those in the countryside should not enter — practical guidance that matches what actually happened in the Jewish-Roman war of AD 66 to 70.
  22. Lucas 21:22Calling these “the days of vengeance” ties the coming catastrophe to the fulfillment of everything already written in the ancient prophecies.
  23. Lucas 21:23The special lament for pregnant women and nursing mothers recognizes the extra vulnerability of those least able to flee quickly in such a crisis.
  24. Lucas 21:24This phrase, “the times of the Gentiles,” describes a period in which Jerusalem would be under the dominion of non-Jewish powers. It is one of the most debated lines in the chapter, since interpreters disagree considerably over how long this period lasts or what marks its end.
  25. Lucas 21:25Signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and nations in distress at the roaring of the sea, describe a cosmic and international upheaval in language typical of the apocalyptic literature of the time.
  26. Lucas 21:26People’s hearts failing them for fear, in expectation of what is coming upon the world, describes a widespread terror before an instability that reaches even the very powers of heaven.
  27. Lucas 21:27The high point of this discourse is the visible arrival of the Son of Man in a cloud, with power and great glory.
  28. Lucas 21:28In contrast to the general panic, the disciples are instructed to lift up their heads at these signs, because for them these signs mean their own redemption drawing near, not a reason for fear.
  29. Lucas 21:29The parable of the fig tree, and of trees in general, introduces a lesson on how to read visible signs.
  30. Lucas 21:30When the trees shoot forth, everyone already knows, just from watching, that summer is near — a natural, recognizable sign used as a comparison.
  31. Lucas 21:31In the same way, seeing these described events come to pass will make it possible to know that the Kingdom of God is near — applying the same logic of natural observation to the prophetic signs.
  32. Lucas 21:32This line about “this generation” is one of the most debated in the whole discourse, read both as a reference to the generation that would see the fall of Jerusalem in 70, and in a broader sense.
  33. Lucas 21:33Declaring that His words shall not pass away, even though heaven and earth should pass away, places Jesus’s teaching above even the permanence of creation itself.
  34. Lucas 21:34The warning is about being caught unprepared through absorption in ordinary excess and the cares of daily life, not a condemnation of eating or drinking as such. It is the same idea seen before, about life going on as normal until an event arrives by surprise.
  35. Lucas 21:35The image of a snare closing over all the dwellers of the earth describes the inevitability and universal reach of that day, not confined to any single region.
  36. Lucas 21:36The practical conclusion of the whole discourse is constant watchfulness and prayer, seeking to be ready to escape these things and to stand before the Son of Man.
  37. Lucas 21:37This summary describes Jesus’s routine in this final period in Jerusalem: teaching by day in the temple and spending the nights on the mount of Olives.
  38. Lucas 21:38The people came early to the temple to hear Him — a closing note showing His popular support still holding firm, even as the religious leadership’s opposition kept growing.

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