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Luke 21

KJV · Chapter 21/24

1And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

2And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

3And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4For 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.

5And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,

6As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

7And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

8And 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.

9But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

12But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

13And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

18But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19In your patience possess ye your souls.

20And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23But 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.

24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

29And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

30When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

31So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

32Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

33Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

34And 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.

35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36Watch 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.

37And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.

38And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

📖 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 21:13This persecution is reframed in a positive light: it becomes an opportunity for testimony, not merely a disaster to be endured.
  14. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 21:17The widespread hatred is attributed specifically to loyalty to Jesus’s name, not to any other cause.
  18. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 21:22Calling these “the days of vengeance” ties the coming catastrophe to the fulfillment of everything already written in the ancient prophecies.
  23. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 21:29The parable of the fig tree, and of trees in general, introduces a lesson on how to read visible signs.
  30. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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. Luke 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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