Green Study of Luke 21:5-19

Isaiah 65:17-25

¹⁷For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. ¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. ²⁰No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. ²¹They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²²They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. ²³They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well. ²⁴Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. ²⁵The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Luke 21:5-19

⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” ⁷They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.⁹“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ¹²“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.

v5 λεγοντων (λεγω) gen. "[some of his disciples] were remarking" – a genitive absolute participle serves to form a temporal clause; "when some were speaking".

λιθοις (ος) dat. "with [beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God]"the dative is instrumental, expressing means.

v6 καταλυθησεται (καταλυω) fut. pas. "will be thrown down" – literally “detached from place, i.e.  demolished.

  
v7 διδασκαλε (ος) voc. "teacher" - general term, possibly indicating that, as far as Luke is concerned, these people were not disciples.

ποτε .... τι "when [and] what…" two interrogatives + the fut. ind. of the verb to-be, εσται, defy convention. The first part of the question is probably not seeking an actual date for the destruction of the temple, since in Aramaic idiom the next (parallel) phrase in this construction serves to exegete the first, so the two questions are probably best treated as one, "what will be the end of the old order of things that will serve to warn people when Jerusalem is about to be destroyed (Dan.12:6,7).

ταυτα "these things" - still referring to the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem. Bock notes the plural, arguing that more than the destruction of the temple is intended, although the plural most likely refers to the dislodged stones.

το σημειον (ον) "the sign" heralding "these things."

γινεσθαι (γινομαι) pres. inf. "to become” complementary infinitive.

v8 μη πλανηθητε (πλαναω) aor. pas. subj. "that you are not deceived" Technically μη with an aorist subjunctive is treated as a subjunctive of prohibition, subtler than a direct command. 

ελευσονται (ερχομαι) fut. "will come" - "Appear on the scene", TH.

επι τω ονοματι μου "in/under/upon my name" an idiom expressing authority. 

εγω ειμι "I am"

ηγγικεν (εγγιζω) perf. "[the time] is palpable" i.e. "is presently impacting upon."

μη πορευθητε (πορευομαι) aor. subj. "do not go” subjunctive of prohibition. The "end is near" message should be ignored. Life will go on with its usual bumps, and bumps are not signs of the end.

v9 ακαταστασιας (α) "confusions, insurrections, uprisings”

μη πτοηθητε (πτοεω) subj. "do not be afraid".

το τελος "the end" – i.e. the end of the temple/Jerusalem.

v10 εγερθησεται (εγαιρω) fut. pas. "[nation] will rise" - cf. 2Chron.15:6

v12 παραδιδοντες (παραδιδωμι) pres. part. "they will hand you over" modal, expressing the manner in which the action of the verb "persecute" is accomplished, with εις, the sense is to hand over to someone in authority.

απαγομενους (απαγω) pres. pas. part. "you will be brought"

ενεκεν + gen. "and all on account of [my name]" i.e. "because of your association with me.

v14 θετε (τιθημι) aor. imp. "make up [your mind]" idiom; "don't worry about what you will say to defend yourselves.

v15 στομα (α ατος) "words" – mouth, idiom for the power of speech.

αντιστηναι (ανιστημι) aor. inf. "to resist/ contradict" opponents will find no words in which to answer, unable to refute what the disciples say. 

v16 θανατωσουσιν (θανατοω) fut. "they will put [some of you] to death" - in ancient societies people had more opportunity to take the law into their own hands, but the sense here may be to hand over to the courts for the judge to sentence to death.

v17 εσεσθε μισουμενοι "will hate" – a future periphrastic: express the durative (ongoing) nature of this persecution.

v18 ου μη αποληται (απολλυμι) aor. subj. "maybe no means perish" a subjunctive of emphatic negation, "never ever perish."  i] The promise may be literal, or ii] The promise of spiritual preservation, "your souls will be safe"(unlikely) iii] may refer to the safety of the Christian church as a whole, rather than of individuals.

v19 κτησασθε (καταομαι) aor. imp. "you will gain/win [life]" - the variant κατησεσθε fut. ind.; "you will participate in eternal life" is the more likely original in the sense of "a steadfast faith in the face of persecution.