Luke 21:5–19
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Luke 215–19 ESV – Jesus Foretells Destruction of the – Bible Gateway
The two other synoptic Gospels give us more context as to where this happened and that of the group questioning him; Peter, James, John, and Andrew are explicitly mentioned. Peter Kreeft points out that this is “Jesus’ longest discourse about the world’s last day and what will happen before it.”[1]
Dr. Brant Pitre gives us more context:
This is the famous account of Jesus, once He’s arrived in Jerusalem but not yet begun His Passion. He and the disciples leave the city, they go out to the Mount of Olives, which is east of the city, and from there you can see the temple. And the disciples have all remarked about how amazing the temple is, and this leads Jesus to give them His famous oracle, His prophetic oracle about the coming destruction of the temple and the time of tribulation that the disciples are going to face in the midst of that, or in the lead-up to the temple’s destruction.[2]
Herod the Great’s expansion project of the Jerusalem Temple began in 19 b.c. “The structure was immense, with many of its stones measuring nearly 40 feet in length.”[3] The disciples would have been intimately familiar with the Temple as they would have gone on pilgrimages to Jerusalem throughout their lifetime. Earlier in Luke we are told that Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of Passover. In Luke 2:41–43 we have the story where Jesus, when twelve, sat and conversed and listened to the teachers at the Temple. There were three major feasts where pilgrimages were made to Jerusalem. So this is not a case of the disciples just being overwhelmed with a new experience. The Temple was still astonishing even with familiarity.
It is hard to imagine the shock to the disciples when they heard Jesus tell them that the Temple would be destroyed. Especially if you also consider that the earthly temple was viewed as being a pattern, a visible symbol, of the heavenly temple. The temple was the center of their liturgical worship. This would have been shocking to them, even with them knowing that the Temple had been destroyed before amidst suffering and exile. What I find interesting about their reaction, is that there is no doubt from them in regards to this. They do not take it symbolically or abstractly, but ask “When will this happen” along with what are the signs anticipating this event? There is still much that they will have to grow to understand, but here they are showing their trust in Jesus first.
Jesus answers their question with several warnings. What he has to say was not only applicable to the disciples hearing him directly, but for all his disciples for all ages to come. This is a case where prophesy has multiple fulfillments. Within a generation of Jesus’ words here, the Jerusalem Temple will be destroyed in the AD 70.
Everything will be thrown down. Josephus details the total destruction of the temple during the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus in AD 70. The temple and its surrounding courts were consumed by fire, and indeed on the same day and month—the ninth of Av—as when the Babylonians destroyed the first temple.[4]
First Jesus warns against false prophets coming in his name. History certainly bears this out regarding those who declared themselves the Messiah, and those who used his name to pronounce the immediate end of the world. Not surprisingly we have survived multiple immediate end-of-the-world prediction, whether it is eschatological or secular. It seems to me to be a human propensity to somewhat desire the end of the world. Whether as a result as a insight into our own sinfulness and that we do not deserve all that God has created for us, perhaps that others need to be punished, or an admixture of various motives.
Jesus here is preparing us for tribulations primarily by trusting in him. To focus on him and his love for us to bring us through trials and to finally rest in him.
He does not answer their question by giving them an eschatological timetable. He is reminding us that the coming of the Messiah did not entail instant peace and a cure for all of our woes. The evils committed by men, such as wars and persecutions, along with the natural evils, such as earthquakes, would continue. Jesus never downplays that the life of his disciples would require embracing the cross. “A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”[5] In Luke 12:52–53[6] he also warned us about divisions even within our own household.
“This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
We bear witness by trusting in him. Ultimately when we persevere and endure the trials of life we truly gain our lives. That we have to be open to the Holy Spirit and not rely on our own merits and skills. We will be given what we actually need to withstand our adversaries, even if it ends in martyrdom.
What does it mean that not a hair on our heads will be destroyed? Dr. John Bergsma comments:
Since Jesus acknowledges that some will be put to death, his statement “not a hair on your head will be destroyed” cannot be taken in a simple sense, to the effect that no physical harm will come to those persecuted for their faith in Christ. Rather, “not a hair on your head will be destroyed” must be understood as an eschatological statement, that no ultimate damage will be sustained by the Christian because his entire body will be restored at the resurrection.[7]
CCC 675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.[8]
Sources
- Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C
- Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible꞉ The New Testament
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
- Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
- Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C, Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time ↩
- Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre, Year C, Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time ↩
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament ↩
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz ↩
- English Standard Version Catholic Edition (Jn 15:20). (2019). Augustine Institute. ↩
- Luke 12:52–53, ESV, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12%3A52–53&version=ESV ↩
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time ↩
- Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference. ↩
