The widow’s mite
1 Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasure box; 2 he also saw a poor widow dropping in two small coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them. 4 For all gave an offering from their plenty, but she, out of her poverty, gave all she had to live on.”
Signs before the destruction of Jerusalem
5 While some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stone work and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, 6 “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down.” 7 And they asked him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”
8 Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming my title and saying: ‘I am he, the Messiah; the time is at hand.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and troubled times, don’t be frightened; for all this must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”
10 And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will op pose kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen. 12 Before all this happens, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the Jewish courts and put in prison, and for my sake you will be brought before kings and governors. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
14 So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to answer, 15 for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.
16 You will be betrayed even by parents, and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. 17 But even though you are hated by all for my name’s sake, 18 not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Through perseverance you will possess your own selves.
20 When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you must know that the time has come when it will be reduced to a wasteland. 21 Then, if you are in Judea, flee to the mountains; if you are in the city, leave it; and let those who are in the fields not return to the city.
22 For these will be the days of its punishment and all that was an nounced in the Scripture will be fulfilled. 23 How hard will it be for pregnant women and for mothers with babies at the breast! For a great calamity will come upon the land, and divine justice upon this people. 24 They will be put to death by the sword or taken as slaves to other nations; and Jeru sa lem will be trampled upon by the pagans until the time of the pagans is fulfilled.
The coming of the Son of Man
25 Then there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of perplexed nations when they hear the roaring of the sea and its waves. 26 People will faint with fear at the mere thought of what is to come upon the world, for the forces of the universe will be shaken. 27 And at this time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
The signs of the times
28 Now, when you see the first events, stand erect and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is drawing near.” 29 And Jesus added this comparison, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 As soon as their buds sprout, you know that summer is already near. 31 In the same way, as soon as you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all this has happened: 33 heav en and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 Be on your guard; let not your hearts be weighed down with a life of pleasure, drunkenness and worldly cares, lest that day catch you suddenly as a trap. 35 For it will come upon all the inhabitants of the whole earth. 36 But watch at all times and pray, that you may be able to escape all that is bound to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 In the daytime Jesus used to teach in the Temple; then he would leave the city and pass the night on the mount of Olives. 38 And early in the morning the people would come to the Tem ple to hear him.
- Mark 12,41
- Mark 13,1
- Mathew 24,1
- Micah 3,12
- Jeremiah 7,1
- Acts 6,14
- Mathew 24,4
- Mark 13,5
- Mathew 24,23
- Mark 13,21
- Luke 17,23
- Isaiah 19,2
- Isaiah 24,19
- Zechariah 14,4
- Ezekiel 5,12
- Acts 11,28
- 2 Maccabees 5,2
- Mathew 10,17
- Mark 13,9
- Mathew 24,9
- Luke 12,11
- Luke 12,7
- Acts 5,32
- Acts 13,31
- Acts 25,13
- John 14,18
- John 15,26
- Luke 11,49
- John 15,18
- John 17,24
- Luke 12,7
- Luke 8,15
- Luke 12,51
- Micah 6,6
- Luke 12,2
- Mathew 10,26
- Mark 4,22
- Luke 8,17
- Mathew 24,15
- Mark 13,14
- Luke 17,31
- Letter to the Romans 11,25
- Zechariah 12,3
- Mathew 24,29
- Mark 13,24
- Isaiah 13,10
- Exodus 32,7
- Isaiah 34,4
- Daniel 7,13
- Letter to the Romans 8,23
- Mathew 24,32
- Mark 13,30
- Mathew 5,17
- Luke 16,17
- Mathew 5,17
- Luke 16,17
- Mathew 24,35
- Mark 13,31
- Letter to the Romans 13,13
- 1 Letter to the Thessalonians 5,3
- Isaiah 24,17
- Mathew 21,12
- Mark 11,15
- Luke 19,45
- Mathew 22,33
- Mathew 21,17
- John 8,1
See commentary on Mark 13:1 and Matthew 24:1.
For a great calamity will come upon the land (v. 23). Luke foretells the destruction of the Jewish nation more clearly than Matthew and Mark do.
Until the time of the non-Jewish nations is fulfilled (v. 24). Luke divides history into two ages. One corresponds to the Old Testament: that was the time when Sacred History was almost the same as the history of Israel. Then, after Jesus, came the time of the nations. The destruction of the Jewish nation and the dispersal of its people inaugurated a new era, which would be mostly the history of the evangelization and education of the nations by the Church. We could call that period the times of the New Testament, which will end with the great crisis concluding human history.
thus he foretells the destruction of the Jewish nation in 70 A.D.
The warning of Jesus is equally relevant for christian institutions and all those who in one way or another guide the community. We too, perhaps, build a church for the "elite" who un-consciously despise the poor and the lowly. So very quickly were the prophets paralyzed or eliminated.
You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering (v. 52). Is not this one of the reasons why so many simple people go to other churches?
