Commentary - Luke 21:5-9

Bird's-eye view

In this opening section of what is commonly called the Olivet Discourse, Jesus delivers a stunning and world-altering prophecy. Prompted by the disciples' admiration for the architectural glory of Herod's temple, He declares its utter and complete destruction. This is not hyperbole; it is a formal announcement of covenant judgment. The disciples, naturally, ask the crucial questions of timing and signs. Jesus's response, which unfolds over the rest of the chapter, is designed to arm them for the coming tribulation, but not in the way many modern interpreters assume. He is not giving them a secret decoder ring for the end of the space-time continuum. He is giving them a field manual for surviving the end of the old covenant world, which was to culminate in the cataclysmic destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The central thrust of this initial warning is a call to steadfastness in the face of deception and turmoil. The end of their world was coming, but they were not to be taken in by messianic pretenders or panicked by the political chaos that would precede the final judgment on that generation.

This passage sets the stage for one of the most critical and misunderstood prophecies in the New Testament. The key to unlocking it is to take Jesus at His word, particularly when He later says that "this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Luke 21:32). The "these things" are the events He begins to describe here. The beautiful stones were coming down, and the disciples needed to know how to read the signs of their times, not the signs of a time thousands of years in their future.

Outline

Context In Luke

This discourse comes at the climax of Jesus's public ministry. He has entered Jerusalem triumphantly, cleansed the temple, and systematically silenced all his theological opponents. Having demonstrated His authority as the true King and Priest, He now pronounces judgment on the apostate religious center of Israel. This prophecy is the formal declaration of the lawsuit He has been prosecuting against the corrupt leadership. It directly follows His commendation of the poor widow, whose humble offering stood in stark contrast to the ostentatious and corrupt system represented by the temple's grandeur. The Olivet Discourse, therefore, is not an isolated block of "end times" teaching, but the logical and covenantal conclusion to His confrontation with the old covenant order. It provides the theological foundation for the transition from a temple-based system to the reality of the New Covenant, where God's temple is His people, the Church.

Key Issues

The End of a World

When Jesus speaks of the end here, we must be careful not to immediately import all our modern, sci-fi-movie-infused ideas about the end of the planet. The Bible speaks of various "ends" which are the culmination of a particular age or covenantal era. The flood was the end of a world. The exile was the end of a world for Judah. And the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 was, most emphatically, the end of the world of Old Covenant Judaism. It was the final, definitive sign that God had brought that age to a close and had fully established the New Covenant in His Son.

The temple was not just a pretty building; it was the symbolic center of the cosmos for a first-century Jew. It was where heaven and earth met. To say that it would be dismantled was to say that their entire world was going to be turned upside down. Jesus is preparing His disciples for this seismic shift in redemptive history. The chaos He predicts is not random violence, but the birth pangs of the new creation order. He is teaching them to see the collapse of the old world not as a defeat, but as the necessary precursor to the full manifestation of His kingdom.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 And while some were talking about the temple, that it had been adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated gifts, He said,

The conversation begins with a very natural human observation. The disciples, country boys for the most part, are awestruck by the magnificence of Herod's temple. It was one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world, a massive complex of gleaming white stone and gold. They point out the beautiful stones, some of which were enormous, and the dedicated gifts, the costly adornments that decorated the sanctuary. They see human glory, architectural achievement, and religious grandeur. They are looking at the temple with the eyes of tourists. Jesus is about to teach them to see it with the eyes of a prophet.

6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

Jesus's response is abrupt and shocking. He dismisses their admiration entirely. "These things you are marveling at? They are all coming down." His prophecy is absolute and comprehensive. Not one stone will be left on another. This is not a prediction of a partial sacking or a minor renovation. This is a prophecy of total and complete obliteration. And it was fulfilled with painstaking literalness. The Roman general Titus, after conquering Jerusalem in A.D. 70, ordered the entire city and temple to be razed to the ground, so that, as the historian Josephus records, no one visiting the site would believe it had ever been inhabited. The Lord's word does not fail.

7 So they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

The disciples' reaction is immediate and practical. They believe Him. They don't argue or question the truth of the prophecy; they ask about the logistics. Their question is twofold: one of timing (when?) and one of indicators (what will be the sign?). They want to know how to prepare, how to see it coming. It is crucial to note that their question is about "these things," namely, the destruction of the temple Jesus just predicted. While their understanding was likely muddled, connecting this event with the final coming of Christ and the end of all things, the anchor of their question is the historical event Jesus just announced. The rest of the discourse is Jesus's answer to this direct question.

8 And He said, “See to it that you are not deceived; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Do not go after them.

Jesus's very first response is a warning against deception. Before He gives them any signs to look for, He gives them a sign to look out for. The period leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem was rife with messianic pretenders and revolutionary zealots. Josephus tells us the land was full of such impostors. They would come "in His name," not necessarily claiming to be Jesus of Nazareth, but claiming the messianic title and authority that belonged to Him. They would co-opt His message, declaring "I am He" (the Messiah) and "The time is at hand." Jesus's command is stark: Do not go after them. The true kingdom does not come through this kind of political, revolutionary fervor. Believers were to remain steady and not be swept up in the frantic, false hopes offered by these charlatans.

9 And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”

The second warning is against terror. The political landscape of Judea in the decades leading to A.D. 70 was incredibly volatile. There were constant rumors of wars and disturbances (or "insurrections"). Jesus tells His followers that when they hear of these things, they are not to be terrified. Why? Because these are merely the preliminary tremors, not the main earthquake. These things must take place first. They are part of the necessary run-up to the judgment, but they are not the final sign itself. He says, but the end does not follow immediately. The "end" here is the end of the temple and the city, the end of the old covenant age. Jesus is teaching His disciples to be discerning interpreters of their times. Wars and rumors of wars are the background noise of a fallen world; they were not to mistake this static for the final trumpet call. He will give them a much more specific sign to look for later in the chapter.

Application

The primary application of this passage for us today is to learn how to read our Bibles and our times with the same Christ-centered sobriety. First, we must see that God takes the glory of His worship with utmost seriousness. The temple had become a den of thieves, a hollow shell, and so God destroyed it. The church today must constantly be on guard against allowing our own institutions, our beautiful buildings, and our cherished programs to become idols that displace a simple and heartfelt devotion to Christ. When the externals become more important than the reality, judgment is not far off.

Second, we must cultivate a robust faith that is not easily deceived or terrified. The world is always full of charlatans offering shortcuts to glory and talking heads screaming that the sky is falling. The Christian is to be steady. We are not to be swept up in every charismatic political movement that promises to establish the kingdom, nor are we to be thrown into a panic by every chaotic headline. Our King is on the throne. History is unfolding according to His sovereign decree. Just as Jesus armed His first disciples to face the end of their world, He has armed us through His Word to face the turmoil of our own. Our task is not to speculate nervously about the future, but to faithfully proclaim the gospel in the present, knowing that the end, whenever it comes, is in His hands.