Luke 22:1–13

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.              We are looking at events which occur during the final two days of Jesus’ life here on the planet.

2.              Jesus’ enemies, the religious leaders, are seriously seeking His death. The problem they faced was that the Jewish people held Jesus in high regard.

3.              Then, Judas, one of the Twelve, experienced the working of Satan, possibly even indwelling him. (See John 6:60–71, 12:1–6, and 13:21–30, which may help answer this question.)

4.              Judas had connections with the religious authorities, among whom would be Roman military people, and he worked with them on how to betray Jesus into their hands. And much of Judas’ motive had to do with being paid to do this. This treachery on the part of Judas may never be completely understood.

5.              The very next day, which scholars mostly agree was Thursday, the day the Passover lamb had to be killed, Jesus sent Peter and John to make ready for Him and His Twelve apostles to celebrate the Passover meal. They asked Him about where this would be done.

6.              Jesus told them they would come across a man carrying a jar of water as they entered the city of Jerusalem. (This would be significant as women did this work, not men.)

7.              Peter and John were to follow this man to the house to which he as going and speak to the master of that house and ask  where He and His disciples were to eat the Passover meal.

8.              At that Jesus says, this master will show Peter and John a large upper room already furnished. And there they will eat the Passover meal.

9.              The question remains, was this a miracle or a plan prepared ahead of time by Jesus?

Luke 21:28–38

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage.

1.   Now just a day or two away from Jesus’ going to the cross, Luke says He is teaching His disciples, and others, in the temple.

2.   Here first is the parable, or an illustrative comparison, about a fig tree, all trees really, coming into bloom. The appearances of the leaves signal that summer is coming close when there will be fruit and flowers.

3.   Then Jesus refers back to those things He had said as recorded in Luke 21:20–28 concerning the temple and the city of Jerusalem itself, and the tumult that will be taking place, that is the wars, harsh weather, diseases, and other terrible events. He is teaching that when these events are evident then they are signs that the kingdom of God is close at hand.

4.   Jesus now asks His disciples not to be terribly troubled about the events that are coming, but to take care for themselves. They must guard against being overcharged with anxiety that could lead to depressed states of mind, even drunkenness.

5.   The disciples are to stay alert, praying for relief and deliverance, and asking for strength to escape the effects of all that is happening in the world.

6.   Almost as a close now, Luke summarizes the last hours of Jesus ministry stating he continued to teach in the temple and camping out at night on the Mt. of Olives.

Gospel Meditation

Luke 21:20–28

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Jesus, in the last few days while on the planet, explains that Jerusalem would come under attack, and it did in about thirty-eight years from then by the Romans, and it would be tragic for those inside the city.

2.         Then Jesus says, “until” the times (here the word is Kairos) of the Gentiles are completed, Jerusalem will be trampled down. This gives way to many conflicting ideas, and here my view is that Jesus is speaking of the end of the world, also known as The Second Coming.

3.         It is here that Christians, over the centuries, have come up with different ideas, and these in opposition one to another. Most healthy it is to not insist on one single point of view, but be open to various scenarios.

4.         Jesus now turns to the arrival of the Son of Man, meaning His return at the end of the age.

5.         There would be “signs” or indicators of this return to planet earth, even His return to the universe as indicated with the phrase, “sun and moon and stars” in verse 25.

6.         He says that on the earth nations will be perplexed, likely meaning confused and disturbed by events, people even “fainting with fear” thus indicating very turbulent times. Yet, in the midst of such indiscernible conditions, the Son of Man will arrive with “power and great glory.”

7.         Then we will look up, “raise your heads” because our salvation is coming near.                      

Gospel Meditation

Luke 21:5–19

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Luke introduces this segment by stating that Jesus is hearing people talking about the Temple, how wonderfully adorned it was. And indeed it was according to the account of it given by Josephus, even more incredible than the seven wonders of the ancient world. For example, there were stones there that were 45 by 11.5 by 12 feet, and weighing 570 lbs.

2.         This event likely took place within the Temple’s grounds, and Jesus says that a day will come when not one stone will on be top of another, in other words, the Temple would be completely destroyed. And we know this took place under the leadership of the Roman general Titus in 70 AD, at the conclusion of a 4 year war with Rome.

3.         Jesus then, being asked when this would take place, without directly answering, warns that they are not to be led astray as many would come saying that they were the Messiah, and indeed history authenticates this statement by Jesus, some 26 of these in that century.

4.         Jesus goes on to say that there would be wars and political turmoil, but this does not signal the end.

5.         In the next segment, Jesus says that there will be wars and persecution of His followers, and we are to use this as an opportunity to “bear witness.” He even says that Christians will be hated, but that we would endure this.

GOSPEL MEDITATION

Luke 20:41-21:4

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Jesus, speaking to a group of Sadducees who seemed to have been saying that the Messiah was actually a descendant of King David, thus merely a human being. Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, a Psalm of David which refers to the Messiah as the Jehovah God, thus negating the idea that the Messiah was only human and not divine at all.

2.         Next then Jesus warns not only His disciples but a wider audience of the duplicity of the Scribes, these the lawyers, synagogue rulers, and more, that their religion is for show only and not real and actual. He ends this warning with a most solemn warning, that these hyper-religious showmen will receive a great condemnation.

3.         In both cases, the Sadducees and the Scribes, Jesus is reaching out to them as He knows their fate unless they turn from their ways and humble themselves.

4.         This third story now takes place, very likely, some time later than the above confrontations, and takes place, as thought by most commentators, in the Court of Women in the Temple. Placed there were 13 trumpet shaped receptacles for people to drop offerings of money into.

5.         Jesus calls attention to a very poor widow who they can observe dropping in 2 coins (leptas–worth 1/8 of a penny) Jesus commends her and teaches His disciples an important lesson.