Reading for November 26th

 Read Luke 21.5-28. In 21.5-28: Dire warnings at the Temple. In verse 5: The temple is a crucial place for teaching (2.46; 19.47; 20.1; 22.53; Acts 21.27-22.29). Jesus' words throughout this chapter, closely paralleled in Mk 13and Mt 24, recall Jeremiah's fire oracles about the first Temple prior to its destruction (Jer 7.1-15; 23.11). In verse 8: The Jewish historian Josephus tells of prophets, including one named Jesus who used Jeremiah's words during the Roman siege (War 6.271-275; 285-315; 442). In verse 9: The destruction must take place first before the end because God's will for the whole world (see 21.24). In verse 11: The destruction is depicted on a cosmic scale in the tradition of Jewish apocalyptic (Isa 24-27; Rev 6). In verses 12-19: As in 12.11-12, Jesus predicts what later happens in Acts to the apostles on trial before kings and governors (see also acts 9.15-16; to suffer for the sake of my name). In verse 13: The opportunity to testify (Gk., "marturion") many be a faithful "witness" unto death (22.15; 26.16). In verse 19: Endurance is a mark of faithfulness (8.15; 22.8-30). In verses 20-24: Jesus' words are filled with scriptural phrases from the first destruction, now direct toward the impending Roman siege (see also 13.34-35; 19.41-44). In verse 22: The days of vengeance is a scriptural phrase for God's wrath (Hos 9.7; Deut 32.35; Jer 46.10; 50.31). In verse 24: The Gentiles or non Jewish nations are God's instruments of judgment, as in the Greek version of Zech 12.3: "I will make Jerusalem to be a to be trodden down by all the Gentiles" (see Rev 11.2), but they will not dominate forever (Deut 32.26-27; Isa 45-47). In verses 25-28: The cosmic signs of the end of the world reflect the vision of the Son of Man in Daniel 7. In verse 28: The faithful continue to hope to see the redemption of Jerusalem (2.38). Comments or Questions..