Devotional Commentary

And He said: See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my Name, claiming, ‘I AM’ and, ‘The time has come near.’ Therefore, do not go out after them.

Luke 2:8

Jesus’s answer here in Luke begins with a tipoff that He is going to share some warnings about the future. They had asked Him to share the future with them, and He was doing that.

Jesus does not start here addressing their question directly, but by giving them good instructions for the future in general. Throughout history there have been many that have claimed to be Christ, or to have some special knowledge of Him. Jesus is warning his followers to be discerning.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and care! We cannot afford to ignore Your boundless grace. Nobody has ever surprised You, and You alone can guide us to all of the truth. Help us to rely on You faithfully. Your will is wonderful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

So they put a question to Him, saying, ‘When, therefore, will these things be, and what is the sign whenever these things are about to come to pass.’

Luke 21:7

We have recorded for us several of the questions that the disciples asked Christ. Here, they are responding to His words about the destruction of the temple. They did not expect the answer they received. But Jesus did launch into a rather lengthy explanation of the future with this question as the spring-board.

Heavenly Father, You are holy and good. I will forever seek to praise You! Your ways are beyond our understanding and Your love is more than we can fathom. Thank you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

These things which you see – the days are coming in which a stone shall not be left atop a stone that shall not been thrown down.

Luke 21:6

The ancient building method for structures like the temple was to pile up hewn stones. The idea was to make a permanent edifice that time and disaster would not remove.

Thus, to actually ‘destroy’ such a structure, one had to ‘unpile’ the stones. Because of this, Jesus is describing a complete destruction; one in which the enemy would make the effort to completely erase the formerly existing building.

Heavenly Father, thank you for another day to serve you! Your glory and your holiness are wonderful. We are so blessed to be yours! Thank you for your mercy, grace, and great love. Your faithfulness to us is such a comfort. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise you, Amen.

And as some spoke about the temple, that it was adorned with good stones and consecrated gifts, He said,

Luke 21:5

Jesus was about to impart to His disciples some of His prophetic teaching on the coming calamity that would face the Jewish people. Although the Jews were unhappy about the Romans, they were quite proud of the new temple and were obviously very impressed with the generosity of their countrymen.

The temple was and is the most important thing to any orthodox Jewish person. And yet, at this time the people of God largely missed the Lord Himself. Everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, should learn from this reality. Buildings are great, but God is greater.

Heavenly Father, thank You for building the church! The body of Christ is not a physical building, but it is a beautiful thing. We praise You for the joy and peace that Christ has brought to our broken world. We will always see You as You are, not as we want to make You. You have built a blessing, and we are grateful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise You, Amen.

For all these out of abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her lack put in all her living that she had.

Luke 21:4

This woman gave sacrificially. Her focus was on Who the offering was going to, not who all might see and take note of her offering.

The percentage which she gave was high. Jesus saw that. What she had given was all that she had at the time. She gave knowing the Lord would have  to supply her with more. Her dependence upon the Lord was very real.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great love for us! You have given us so much! Only by Your will can we survive. Your mercy is new every day. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And He said, ‘Truthfully, I tell you, that the destitute widow, she has put in more than all of them.’

Luke 21:3

Jesus makes a very direct statement concerning this widow. It is interesting here that Jesus uses a different word in verse 3 for the ‘poor’ widow than what we find in verse 2. It is as if the message here is that this woman was seen as just ‘poor’ to most, but Jesus highlights the fact that she is destitute. Indeed, in the next verse Jesus uses yet another word to describe her desperate financial situation.

Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us in our desperate need. In spite of financial needs, we have all a great debt of sin that is only paid by Christ. We will praise You forever for the deliverance from that debt! You are worthy of all the glory in all of this. You are holy and we will seek always to serve You and rejoice. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise You, Amen.

and He also saw a certain needy widow put two small coins in there.

Luke 21:2

This particular woman was not only a widow but had not been left well off by her deceased husband. Being in a disadvantaged position in society, she would likely never have much for the remainder of her life. She may very well have been a victim of the avarice of the Scribes Jesus had just been speaking about.

If ever someone had an excuse to give less, it would have been this poor widow. As little as she gave, she could have given less. Many others would be giving far less of their relative income on that day, though their gifts would be larger. But this woman gave out of a full heart, and she gave a genuine gift.

Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us to have the proper perspective. We can get so hung up on the world’s thinking and we forget Your Wisdom. You alone are God and You own everything. We owe You ourselves and we can never praise You enough. You are holy, just, loving, pure, kind, and faithful. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise You, Amen.

And looking up, He saw the wealthy men putting their gifts into the contribution box;

Luke 21:1

This would have been quite a spectacle. The drawback of public contribution methods is that they are open to ostentatious gifting. These rich folks likely made quite a production of the process. Since money was all physical in that day, a large contribution could take some time and garner a lot of attention.

Heavenly Father, thank You for all that You have given. We can never out-give You! All that we have is Yours anyway. Thank You for the lesson of humility! You alone own all. We see Your blessings every day and we cannot help but be amazed. I love You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Who consume the houses of the widows, and make long prayers as a pretext. These shall receive extraordinary judgement.

Luke 20:47

As experts of the law, the Scribes were looked to for answers about legal matters. Rather than following the guidelines that love, mercy, and kindness would dictate, they interpreted the law in such a way as to enrich themselves as much as possible. Widows were an especially vulnerable target because their position in society had quite a few legal disadvantages. The prayers of the Scribes praised their own activity as if there were nothing wrong.

Heavenly Father, You are pure! You are loving and kind. May we always reflect You in our lives. I will praise You forever for Your wisdom! You know everything there is to know about us, and yet You have made a way for us to be redeemed. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Beware of the scribes, who are fond of walking in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplace, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and the places of honor at feasts,

Luke 20:46

Each of these things is not necessarily bad. There will be those who appropriately sit in a place of honor, and long robes were not inappropriate attire in every case. But the emphasis here is on the litany of ‘first-place’ honors and recognitions that the scribes loved to always have. Each of these things would afford them the greatest attention and the feeling of superiority.

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us the ignorance of pride. It will always hurt us, and it destroys good society. We will constantly remind ourselves of the truth that You are Sovereign over everything, and we can trust Your tender care. You will see to our honor; we do not have to seek it ourselves. Thank You! Life lived for You is full of joy rather than empty pleasures that fade. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and praise you, Amen.