Page 183 - Demo

LUKE -
Denunciation of the Scribes.w 45Then, within the hearing of all the people, he said to [his] disciples, 46“Be on guard against the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and love greetings in marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.x 47They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
The Poor Widow’s Contribution.*
211a When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting
their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; 4for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.b 5* While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, 6“All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”c
The Signs of the End. 7d Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” 8He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’* Do not follow them!e 9When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.f 11There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
The Coming Persecution. 12g “Before all this happens,* however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and
2
20:27
The Sadducees were a group of observant Jewish believers. They di ered from other sects, like the Pharisees, in rejecting the resurrection of the dead. Knowing that Jesus teaches about the resurrection, they seek to trap him with a hypothetical question. Jesus’ brilliant response not only silences them, but o ers a glimpse into the risen life, where we will live forever, but with a di erent way of interacting with each other than we experience now.
21:3
At the end times, not only the earth, but the entire universe will be shaken to its depths, with awesome signs in the heavens as well as on earth.
21:7
When the disciples ask for
a sign that the end is near, Jesus warns them of wars
and insurrections and great confusion, with many would- be messiahs claiming “I am he”. Two things are certain: those who follow Jesus will have to undergo great su ering, and God will be with them, protecting them with total, watchful care.
CHAPTER 20
w. [20:45–47] 11:37–54; Mt 23:1–36; Mk 12:38–40.
x. [20:46] 14:7–11.
CHAPTER 21
a. [21:1–4] Mk 12:41–44.
b. [21:5–6] Mt 24:1–2; Mk 13:1–2.
c. [21:6] 19:44.
d. [21:7–19] Mt 24:3–14; Mk 13:3–13.
e. [21:8] 17:23; Mk 13:5, 6, 21; 1 Jn 2:18.
f. [21:10] 2 Chr 15:6; Is 19:2.
g. [21:12–15] 12:11–12; Mt 10:17–20;
Mk 13:9–11.
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* [21:1–4] The widow is another example of the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Lk 6:20). Her simple o ering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section (Lk 20:45–47). The story is taken from Mk 12:41–44.
* [21:5–36] Jesus’ eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mk 13 but Luke has made some signi cant alterations to the words of Jesus found there. Luke maintains, though in a modi ed form, the belief in the early expectation of the end of the age (see Lk 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs of the end from Mk 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mk 13:14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Dn 9:27; 12:11) accompanying the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Lk 21:20– 24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man by a period that he refers to as “the times of the Gentiles” (Lk 21:24). See also notes on Mt 24:1–36 and Mk 13:1–37.
* [21:8] The time has come: in Luke, the proclamation of the imminent end of the age has itself become a false teaching.
* [21:12] Before all this happens. . .: to Luke and his community, some of the signs of the end just described (Lk 21:10–11) still lie in the future. Now in dealing with the persecution of the disciples (Lk 21:12–19) and the destruction of Jerusalem (Lk 21:20–24) Luke is pointing to eschatological signs that have already been ful lled.