The gospel reading for Sunday, November 13th comes from Luke 21:5-19. Jesus starts talking at verse 5 and doesn’t stop until verse 36. There’s no good place to interrupt him, so I’ve included his whole talk.
In passages about the end of things, it’s simpler to offer explanations than it is to offer observations. Why? By design, explanations simplify, and observations complicate. Because their are many explanations available, and because the reader may already have their own, I’ll stick to sharing what I notice.
Luke 21:5-36
And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “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.” And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 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. 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.”
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 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. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 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, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 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. 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.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
It helps to know…
The history of these words. Jesus spoke these words—called “The Olivet Discourse”—in (roughly) 30 A.D. Mark published a version of them in the 50s. (Forget Matthew for now.) The events these words describe took place in 66-70 A.D. Depending who you ask, Luke published his version of these words in 65 or (roughly) 85 A.D. The “predictions” in vv. 20-24 are so precise that scholars disagree about whether they could have been published before the events happened.
That Luke focuses on Jerusalem in ways that Matthew and Mark hadn’t. While Matthew and Mark had framed the Olivet Discourse as referring to events about “the end of the world”—whatever that phrase may mean—Luke focuses on the destruction of Jerusalem
First, Luke mentions Jerusalem in two places that Matthew and Mark don’t. He says, concretely, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies…” (v. 20) where Matthew and Mark had said, more generally, “when you see the abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). Then, Luke adds a verse about the trampling of Jerusalem (v. 24) that is not present in Matthew or Mark.
Second, Matthew and Mark discuss the gospel of the kingdom being preached to all nations before the end comes (Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10), while Luke doesn’t.
Third, Luke omits their line about an angel with a trumpet gathering the elect from the four corners of the earth (Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27).
Luke draws his readers’ attention away from the end of the world—whatever that may mean—and toward the destruction of Jerusalem in 66-70 A.D. (Compare the three passages here.)
What happened in 66-70 A.D. For decades, Romans had mocked the temple. Caligula had erected a statues of himself in it; Roman soldiers appeared during worship to flash their genitals; other Roman soldiers came and burned Torah scrolls. In 63, oppression became systematic: Rome occupied Judea, levying taxes and appointing high priests themselves. The tipping point came in 66 when the Procurator, Florus, stole large amounts of silver from the temple. In response, a decades-old Jewish faction called “the Zealots” rose in 66 and took out the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. When the Syrian governor, Cestius Gallus, sent reinforcements, the Zealots defeated them, too. Emboldened by their victory, the Zealots grew in number and resolve. While Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, the (radical) Zealots and the moderate Jewish leaders fought bitterly amongst themselves. In one awful instance, a Zealot took and burned the Jews’ entire food supply, intending to remove their security blanket and entice Jews to join the rebellion. In 70, the Roman army destroyed both Jerusalem and the temple.
Where the people fled. Jesus says, “let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,” and many did (v. 20). Per Josephus, Florus “spoiled whole cities… and a great many of the people left their own country, and fled into foreign provinces” (Wars 2.14.2):
One large group fled to Pella, a remote nook among the hills of Palestine, and a town of Peraea (Pseudo-Clementine, Recog. 1.37, 39; Eusebius, Hist. ecc. 3.5.3; Epiphanius Pan. 29.7.7-8, 30.2.7). Sources describe Pella as “a secure place” provided for Jews to offer “mercy and not sacrifices… that they might survive and be preserved from the war, which afterward came upon those who did not believe.” We know that Pella was never visited by an apostle, and that their worship was basically Jewish, and distinguished only by their praise of Jesus. Vespasian would conquer Peraea, but he permitted the Christian community at Pella to continue in their own way.
When the Roman ruler in Syria, Cestius Gallus, came with his armies, another group of Jews appealed to him and called him their “benefactor,” leading him to call a peaceful retreat. The Zealots, however, took this opportunity to attack and to defeat his retreating army (Wars 2.19.6-7). So the Jews who had begun to look to Gallus to deliver them from the Zealots, upon his defeat, then fled to other countries as well.
As the Zealot party grew, more Jews fled Judea and settled as refugees in Roman cities, finding the hospitality and refuge among the Romans “which they despaired to obtain among their own people” (Wars 4.7.1). Some of these fled to the Roman general, Vespasian, himself, believing him to be a greater protector than the Zealots. Josephus notes that Caesar, “knowing they would not willingly live after the customs of other nations, sent them to Gophna… and told them, that when he was gotten clear of this war, he would restore each of them to their possessions again,” and that the Christians “cheerfully retired to that small city which was allotted them, without any fear of danger” (Wars 6.2.2).
Of those who remained in Jerusalem, sources estimate that one million died (“fell by the edge of the sword,” cf. Luke 21:24), and one hundred thousand were sold into slavery (were “led captive among all nations,” also cf. Luke 21:24).
What the war did to Christians. The war was not about the persecution of Christians. It was a suppression of the Zealot rebellion that began, as Jesus said, with Jerusalem being surrounded by armies (v. 20) and ended, as Jesus also said, with Jerusalem being trampled underfoot by the Gentiles (v. 24). Jerusalem, and its temple were destroyed. In the words of historians, Christians fled and found refuge in many places, including Pella and Gophna, in many cases with permission from Roman rulers.
What I noticed
Jesus says something startling: that the temple would be destroyed (vv. 5-6). The disciples ask one question two ways: When? and What sign will tell us when? (v. 7). Before answering, Jesus offers a preface, emphasizing the importance of what he is about to say: “Many will come in my name… Do not go after them” (vv. 8-9). His talk answers their request for a sign in five parts:
The first is a cluster of ten general sign-events: nations, kingdoms, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, persecutions, arrests, betrayal by family and friends, death, and hatred (vv. 10-19).
The second is one specific sign-event: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (vv. 20-24).
The third is another cluster of five (or so) general sign-events: signs in the heavenly bodies, distress, perplexity, roaring waves, and people fainting (vv. 25-28).
The fourth is an explanation about signs: How do we know when summer is near? When leaves start to appear. How do we know when the kingdom of God is near? When these signs, like leaves, start to appear (vv. 29-33).
The fifth is a final word about signs and attention: Watch the signs, sure, but “Watch yourselves” (vv. 34-36).
Like a baserunner looking at their third base coach, the disciples want to know what the sign is so that they know what to do and when. When Jesus describes his fifteen (or so) general signs, he offers only a couple of general instructions:
In the first section (vv. 10-19), he only gives one imperative, and it’s a negative one: when the disciples are called to witness before kings, they are “not to meditate beforehand (promeletan) how to answer” (v. 14).
In the third section (vv. 25-28), he tells them to “straighten up and raise your heads” (v. 28), in contrast to the “distress,” “perplexity,” “fainting with fear,” and “foreboding of what is coming” (vv. 26-27). The fact is that everyone will see these signs, and they’ll respond to the signs out of fear.
The fourth section (vv. 29-33) likens these fifteen signs to leaves on a tree. When you see these leaves starting to show, you know the hot season is starting. For the most part, Jesus’ instructions boil down to this: When you see all these things happen, don’t do anything.
Jesus only identifies one specific, concrete sign-event, and it has a place-name and everything. He also follows it by offering the only concrete action step of the chapter: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies… let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (vv. 20-21). Early authors—Josephus, Pseudo-Clementine, Eusebius, and Epiphanius—have informed us that many believers did flee to the mountains. Those who did generally found cities, found political refuge even under Roman rule, and found freedom to practice the Faith. Those who stayed found captivity or death.
Jesus’ concrete instructions to “flee” in vv. 20-21 explain his language in the final part (vv. 34-36). The main point of this paragraph is not to react to fifteen kinds of signs over forty years, but to focus on the strength of their own hearts. The worst case scenario is that “the day” would find their hearts “weighed down” with three kinds of things—heartsick nausea, drunkenness, and overconcern about life stuff—and sapped of the “strength to escape… and to stand before the Son of Man” (v. 36).
In conclusion, the general signs don’t tell you what to do, which is why Jesus can say not to “go after” other teachers and teachings (v. 8). No one needs them. Jesus plays Simon Says, and Simon doesn’t say “Flee!” until armies encircle Jerusalem, which won’t happen for 36-40 years after his words. Their flight is not a flight of fear, but a flight of final recognition. In a sense, their world will end, and that will be the time to flee Jerusalem like their fathers fled Egypt. It will be time, again, to settle a new place that does not yet have a temple and begin a new history. It makes sense that the very next story Luke tells is the story of Jesus keeping the Passover.
What do the people need? Strong hearts. Hearts not weighed down by habits of escapism over years of hard times: alcoholism, workaholism, use of pornography, indulgence in nostalgia, gambling, and tech addiction.
The only kind of escape Jesus sanctions in this passage is physical escape.
How this resonates with the lectionary
Malachi says that “the day is coming” (4:1). In that day, though many “will be made stubble”, those who flee to the mountains will “go out leaping like calves from the stall”, in the strength of their hearts (vv. 2-3).
Jesus says that “the sea will roar,” and that this will cause distress and perplexity among the nations (Luke 21:25). That’s because the nations don’t know what the Psalmist knows. The Psalmist can see his beloved city surrounded with armies, flee his home, and leap like a calf, “making a joyful noise” (vv. 4-6) as did those who were freed from Egypt. The Psalmist can say, “Let the sea roar,” knowing that creation praises its maker, redeemer, and judge (vv. 7-9).
Paul compares the “idle” with those who “toil” (2 Thess. 3:6-16). Some of the Thessalonians had, contra Jesus’ words, “gone after” other teachers who had said that “The time is at hand!” (Luke 21:8) These idle brothers had stopped working, practicing escapism and waiting instead for the imminent and dramatic return of Jesus. These are not enemies, but brothers who need admonishing (2 Thess. 3:15). They, like everyone, need God to strengthen their hearts (2:17; cf. Luke 21:34-36) through disciplined work, apostolic example, and apostolic tradition.