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Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?" And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."
Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand or what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls."
- Luke 21:5-19
We are in Luke's gospel during Passion Week. Jesus is in Jerusalem with His disciples. He teaches daily in the temple. He has entered the city in His Triumphal Entry, and wept over the city, lamenting its lack of peace. He has cleansed the temple, and already run into confrontations with the leadership, as they asked Him, "Who is he who gave You this authority?". He told a parable against them, warning them of the times of the Gentiles and of Judgement. The leadership has tested Him regarding payment of taxes to the Romans, and life in the Resurrection. In yesterday's reading, He first spoke in response to the scribes: He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? Now David Himself said in the Book of Psalms 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'Therefore David Calls Him 'LORD'; how is He then his Son?" Then in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."
Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." My study bible points out that in Luke, "the discourse of Christ on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age occurs in the temple area and is addressed to the public." It adds, "The Lord's warnings about the future are intended to alert people to live righteously in the present." This prediction would manifest in A.D. 70 during the Siege of Jerusalem, when the temple would be destroyed, with the exception of one remaining retaining wall which is now called the Wailing Wall. It was rumored that there was gold between the stones of the temple, and so Jesus' prediction quite literally was true. I think that to understand the impact of what Jesus was saying one would have to consider what an extraordinary and splendid building project the temple was at this time, as built by Herod the Great to be a magnificent construction. The Second Temple was an architectural marvel of the ancient world.
So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?" And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately." My study bible says that "not to be deceived is the first caution Christians ought to heed when people talk about the signs of the end." I can only imagine the events that were to come, their impact on the people, and particularly on the already persecuted Christian community. In His words we find a sense in which we are to remain calm and assured, and they mirror the splendors of the magnificent temple in light the things He's teaching: we're not to be deceived by appearances.
Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony." In light of the history of twenty centuries that have passed since these words, they are certainly striking in their summing up of what we witness, the times of the present age. But my study bible focuses on Jesus' teachings to the flock about persecutions to come. It says, "Persecutions against Christians will provide them with opportunities to give testimony to their faith."
"Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand or what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls." How do we testify? We rest within the Holy Spirit. At all times, Jesus teaches, we are not to be deceived by appearances, not to rest in panic and other fears and emotions that are stirred up by what we see. We are to have faith in the Advocate during persecution and in testimony. Here is the emphasis of the early Church. My study bible points out that "not a hair of your head shall be lost" is an ancient expression that not even death can harm a soul that is in God's hands. It teaches that "by your patience possess your souls means that "endurance assures a place for us in the kingdom of God."
As Jesus moves toward His own human death, He gives testimony here as to what is to happen to His own flock and to the people of Jerusalem in the times to come. That is the near future, in the decades following His death. Over and over again, He tells them not to be deceived by appearances, but rather to endure through the persecution to come. Not even are they to consider what words they will speak when they are delivered up, betrayed by all: it is occasion for testimony. We see the emphasis of the early Church: to live for Christ, to be given the opportunity for this kind of witness, is full of meaning, of transcendent value. Even then they are to rest in their faith, not to meditate beforehand what they will answer, for they will "be given a mouth and wisdom." He is warning that the real end will not come soon -- that is the end of the age. But in the meantime there will be persecutions to endure, wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences, fearful sights. And here comes the greatest assurance of all: "by your patience possess your souls." Here is the emphasis. In today's age of great literalism, our constant thoughts monitored and projected through social media, so much emphasis on daily affairs, the lives of "stars" in film and television, such a great emphasis on appearance of every kind, we may find it hard to grasp the mindset of His followers at this time. All these things, we are told, are not what we are to react to, respond to. We are to possess our souls, to keep calm and heed His words, not to give in to the temptation to believe false rumors. But rather we are to rest in His faith, and in His promise. The great thing is the opportunity to testify. The greater is that by our patience we possess our souls. In this time in which so much emphasis is placed on appearance, what we have, what we look like, let us remember the framework into which the early Church set its goals and values. How much do we value our soul? What is the opportunity to testify worth? Jesus teaches us what truly matters. In the din of the world we see now, can we grasp what that truly means for us? Do we understand what is truly priceless and of surpassing worth?
