Knowing The Word in Luke 21:20-24

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Comments

The surrounding of the city by armies is the end of Jerusalem and the temple, not the end of the world. Because Luke is so general in this prediction, and makes no comments that the temple is already destroyed, we are on sound footing that Luke wrote his gospel before A.D. 70. In times of war, country folk would flee to a walled city; Jesus warns people to do just the opposite in the days of vengeance when people and Jerusalem will be punished for their sins. What happened to Jerusalem was not arbitrary but due penalty for the death of Jesus. You can find the prediction of the destruction of the city and the temple in Old Testament passages such as Psalm 94 and Isaiah 34:8.

Pregnant woman are a sign of new life and hope, yet they too will perish and find the days especially hard. Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, tells us that 1,100,000 people were killed in the siege of Jerusalem and 97,000 people taken prisoner. The loss of life was staggering. The phrase “the times of the Gentiles” is hard to interpret. It could mean the time when the Gentiles execute God’s judgment upon Jerusalem; or the time when the Gentiles receive the privileges Israel once had; or it could refer to the time of the spreading of the gospel to all nations. What is not difficult to understand is that Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and the city.

Application

Is it surprising to you that God had the temple destroyed? There are several reasons for its destruction other than for the penalty of sin. What other reasons come to mind?

Prayer

Father, you are patient and kind to overlook sin, but you are also judge. Thank you that the judgment I deserve has already been meted out at the cross.