March 4, 2014: Luke Chapter 21

The Gospel According to Luke Chapter 21

Originally posted Friday, March 28, 2008

Luke Chapter 21:1-4 The Widow's Offering [see MK 12:41-44]

Notice that this story about a widow follows the end of the previous chapter where Jesus has denounced the Scribes (vs. 20:47). Part of his remarks is, "They devour widows' houses." This is a literary device, a connective in which a common character or phrase ends one passage and begins another. The purpose of this and other word arrangements was to assist in memorization or learning as part of the transmission of the oral tradition in the earliest formation of communities of believers. The two passages would have been told together and not artificially separated as they are in our method of chapter divisions. All Gospel versions arose out of communities where the oral tradition was the basis for preaching and teaching. These traditions were edited, added to and eventually set to writing to ensure consistency in the evangelistic effort.

The joining of two passages about widows does not mean we are to assume the condition of the poor widow who contributes all she has is the result of the scribes having devoured her house. This is the fifth mention of a widow in Luke in keeping with his attention to the poor and helpless in much the same way as widows and orphans were a major concern for the Old Testament Prophets. By the end of the first century the "Widows" would be a distinct group of women within the Church which had specific responsibilities to mentor newlywed and young mothers.

Luke has abbreviated Mark's account of the poor widow's gift of two lepta (two small copper coins of the smallest denomination equal to one kodrantes).  The purpose of comparing the widow's small gift which was all the money she had, with the large gifts of the rich is not to note their relative generosity. It expresses Luke's attitude regarding the rich who have such an "abundance" of wealth. As with the his parable of the rich fool (12:13-21) in which Jesus warns against the gathering of abundant possessions, he sees the rich as having an abundance they do not need, where abundance is understood as an over sufficient amount. In Jesus' understanding of God's justice, over abundance for one is unconscionable while there are others with insufficient means to survive.

Luke Chapter 21:5-6 Destruction of the Temple [see MT 24:1-2; MK 13:1-2]

This is the opening passage of a larger section which closely follows the general outline of Mark's chapter 13, the Little Apocalypse, about the events of the end times that will usher in the new age. Luke has given a brief preview of this passage in vss. 19:43-44, a depiction of the Roman Army surrounding the city and setting up their ramparts to scale the wall.

Luke changes the setting so that Jesus is still inside the Temple precincts while speaking. This is in the large outer court not the actual sanctuary area although the Temple proper may have been visible. Luke makes mention of the votive gifts (ornamental decorations and Temple implements of gold and silver). In Matthew and Mark Jesus is outside the Temple precincts from which they could still see the outer part of the larger buildings with polished stone walls.

Luke Chapter 21:7-19 Signs and Persecutions [see MT 24:3-14; MK 13:3-13]

Luke reverses Mark's order of signs of the end of the age followed by persecution (see "But before" in vs. 12ff). The basic signs of false Messiahs, warring kingdoms, geologic and natural disasters of famine and plagues along with cosmic signs are similar. In the section on persecutions Luke tells the disciples not to prepare ahead of time what they will say when brought before Jewish and Gentile courts. While Mark writes that it is the Holy Spirit that will give them the words to speak as testimony, in Luke Jesus says, "I will give words and wisdom..." It is not clear what Luke means, only that he is not identifying Jesus with the Holy Spirit as if they were the same. This could be a form of the post-resurrection understanding of the Spirit of Christ which would become available within the Church, especially as the ongoing presence of Christ (developed in Paul and greatly expanded in John). The combination of the gifts of words and wisdom is very close to Paul's spiritual gifts which are given to every Christian as they have need.

Luke Chapter 21:20-24 The Destruction of Jerusalem [see LK 19:43-33; MT 24:15-22; MK 13:14-20]

Luke reports the destruction of Jerusalem as an historical report. First the Roman Army will surround the city. When that happens the city's desolation is near. Here Luke differs from Matthew and Mark. They understand the "Desolating Sacrilege" as the profaning of the Sanctuary by the Roman soldiers who brought in their military standards and sacrificed on the great altar before burning the sanctuary to the ground. Luke does not report this event and sees the desolation as the destruction of the entire city. He writes of the events as a time of vengeance and a fulfillment of the ancient Prophet's message of the destruction of Judea. Just as Isaiah and Jeremiah saw Assyria and Babylonia as God's tools for punishing Israel and Judah for their idolatry, Luke understands the Romans (the Gentiles) as the instrument of vengeance for the rejection of Jesus' call to repentance (vs. 22, 23b, 24). All of this will continue until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled, the time allotted by God for Israel's punishment (see Dan. 12:7; Tob. 14:5).

Luke Chapter 21:25-28 The Coming of the Son of Man [see MT 24:29-31; MK 13:24-27]

In general Luke follows Mark. He omits the sending of the angels to gather the elect, a common part of Jewish Apocalyptic writings of the time. At the end of the passage, Luke adds the voice of hope. When all of the events, on earth and in the heavens, have taken place, and the Son of Man comes in a cloud, they are to "lift up their heads" in joy for their "redemption is drawing near." While all of this may sound strange to us, it is important to understand that this is part of the visionary/prophetic literature of the time. This is how they could speak of what was unknown, in a metaphorical language that attempted to frame cosmic happenings with human language. What we are asked to hear in the midst of such visions is the early church's hope of an ultimate deliverance from what was understood as an "evil and perverse" generation, one of persecution and  the struggle to survive. It is not a situation we have experienced but we can understand hope. We can understand a desire to see the world changed to one of peace, free from disease and hunger, where love reigns instead of war and destruction. We have our own visionary language to speak and sing of such a future. The common denominator is the Reign of God. The common path to follow is Jesus' revelation of the justice of God. The uncommon element is that we need not wait for some heavenly intervention. We can be about the business of God, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly - together, with our God.

Luke Chapter 21:29-33 The Lesson of the Fig Tree [see MT 24:32-33; MK 13:28-29]

Luke presents this passage as a parable in which the lesson is drawn from all trees. Watching the sprouting of the leaves provides a sign of the changing seasons just as watching all of the previously described events will be a sign that the Kingdom of God is near, a parallel to vs. 28, "...stand up...because your redemption is drawing near,"

Vs. 32 asserts that the generation of Jesus (or Luke) will not pass away before all of these things (vss. 5-28) have taken place. Obviously we cannot take this literally since that generation passed away almost two thousand years ago and "these things" have not occurred in any way we can understand. Rather than attempt - as many have, to work out some explanation to solve the riddle, we would be better served by accepting that the promise has already been fulfilled. The Kingdom has already begun and how we live within it has been outlined for us in the teachings of Jesus whom we accept as a revelation of God - not the only revelation, but the best one for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Times and cosmic events are not our standard for hope. We hope in what we have already experienced in Jesus' message of the Kingdom. The future belongs to the future. We belong to the present and here is where we do God's work and heed the call to serve.