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Luke 21

Jesus foretells Jerusalem’s devastation and the Son of Man’s coming, calling his hearers to endurance, discernment, and watchful prayer.

Jesus watches a poor widow put two small coins into the temple treasury and says her gift exceeds those given from wealth. When people admire the temple’s stones, he announces its destruction. Their question about timing leads to warnings about false claimants, persecution, and Jerusalem’s siege, followed by signs of the Son of Man’s coming. Jesus tells his hearers to endure and remain watchful in prayer. He continues teaching in the temple as crowds gather each morning.

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1He looked up and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury.
3He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,
4for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”
5As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,
6“As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”
7They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”
8He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them.
9When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”
10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
13It will turn out as a testimony for you.
14Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
16You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death.
17You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake.
18And not a hair of your head will perish.
19“By your endurance you will win your lives.
20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein.
22For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath to this people.
24They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25“There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;
26men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28But when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
31Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that God’s Kingdom is near.
32Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished.
33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
34“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
35For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth.
36Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and every night he would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet.
38All the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Luke 21:36Jesus closes his warnings with watchful prayer, directing attention toward standing before the Son of Man.
Luke 21:15Jesus promises wisdom for testimony under persecution, even as he warns that betrayal and death will come.
Luke 21:34The warning turns from public upheaval to hearts weighed down by excess and the cares of life.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew and Mark share Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction, his warnings about persecution, and his teaching about the Son of Man’s coming. Isaiah and Revelation share imagery of shaken heavens and terror among the nations as divine judgment approaches.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What tension do you notice between Jesus’ warnings of death and his promises of protection?

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Which cares of life compete with the watchful prayer Jesus calls for here?

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Questions people ask about Luke 21

Is Luke 21 about Jerusalem’s destruction or the end of the world?

Jesus speaks about both Jerusalem’s devastation and the Son of Man’s coming. The instructions to flee Judea concern a concrete siege, while the later signs reach across earth and heaven. Christians differ over how these events relate in time. The chapter connects them without giving a complete timetable.

What does “this generation” mean in Luke 21:32?

The phrase can refer to Jesus’ contemporaries, which fits the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Some interpreters understand it as the generation that sees the final signs. The difficulty is how broadly “all things” reaches within the discourse. The chapter does not spell out that scope, so interpretations differ.

Why does Jesus say no hair will perish if some followers will be killed?

Jesus predicts that some followers will be put to death, so the promise cannot guarantee freedom from bodily harm. Read alongside the call to endurance and the promise of redemption, it assures his followers that death cannot defeat God’s saving purpose for them. The language holds suffering and lasting security together.

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What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).