Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Luke
Chapter 21: Your Redemption Draweth Nigh
Luke 21 opens with a quiet scene that overturns the world's measure of value: a poor widow drops two mites into the treasury, and Jesus declares she has 'cast in more than they all,' for she gave all she had. Then, as some admire the temple's splendor, He foretells its utter ruin, 'there shall not be left one stone upon another,' and answers the disciples' question about the signs of the end. He warns of deceivers, wars, earthquakes, famines, and persecutions, promising, 'I will give you a mouth and wisdom,' and 'in your patience possess ye your souls.' He foretells the siege and desolation of Jerusalem, trodden down 'until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,' and the shaking of the heavens when 'they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.' To His people He says, 'when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.' By the parable of the fig tree He teaches them to read the season, and He closes with the great charge: 'Watch ye therefore, and pray always.' The chapter calls us to give ourselves wholly, to endure faithfully, and to watch for the coming of the Lord.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Luke chapter 21. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus commends the widow's whole-hearted gift and delivers His great discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem, the trials of His people, and His coming in glory, closing with the call to watch and pray. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
More Than They All
Two mites given from want outweigh great gifts from abundance.
Not One Stone Upon Another
The splendid temple will be utterly thrown down.
Possess Ye Your Souls
Through persecution, endure; He gives a mouth and wisdom.
Lift Up Your Heads
At His coming, redemption draws nigh; watch and pray.
In Your Patience Possess Ye Your Souls (Luke 21:1-19)
Jesus commends the widow who gave her all, foretells the temple's fall, and prepares His people to endure deception, upheaval, and persecution.
This Poor Widow Hath Cast in More Than They All
"And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."
Word Study
"patience," Greek hupomone (ὑπομονή). The word means steadfast endurance, patient waiting under trial, the strength to remain and hold firm rather than flee or collapse; it is not passive resignation but the active perseverance of faith. "In your patience possess ye your souls," Jesus says to disciples facing persecution and betrayal. By enduring faithfully through hatred, prison, and even death, they will truly possess, keep and secure, their souls; endurance to the end is the mark and preservation of genuine faith. This same word runs through the New Testament as the virtue that trial produces and that holds the believer steady until the coming of the Lord: "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Explanation
Jesus watches a poor widow drop two mites into the treasury and declares she gave more than all the rich, "for... she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had" -- God measures giving by what it costs, not what it counts. Then, as some admire the temple's stones, He foretells its ruin and warns of coming turmoil: wars, persecutions, betrayals. Yet these become the disciples' opportunity to witness, and He promises, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay," and "in your patience possess ye your souls." Endurance, not escape, marks the faithful in troubled times.
Gospel Focus
The chapter opens with the eyes of Christ, who sees what men overlook. Rich men cast large gifts into the temple treasury, and then "a certain poor widow" drops in "two mites," the smallest coins, worth almost nothing. Yet Jesus says, "this poor widow hath cast in more than they all." Heaven's arithmetic is not the sum given but the heart and the cost: the rich gave "of their abundance," what they would never miss, but she gave "all the living that she had." God measures our giving, and our whole devotion, not by the amount but by the sacrifice and the love behind it. She is the living opposite of the rich ruler and the greedy scribes; she held nothing back. Then the scene shifts. Some admire the temple's "goodly stones and gifts," and Jesus foretells its total ruin: "there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down", a prophecy fulfilled when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. The disciples ask when this will be and what sign will precede it, and Jesus begins His great discourse on the last things. His first word is a warning against deception: "many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ... go ye not therefore after them." False messiahs and false alarms will abound; His people must not be misled. Wars, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences will come, but "be not terrified," for "the end is not by and by", such upheavals are not the immediate end but the birth-pangs of a groaning world. And before the end, His people will face persecution "for my name's sake", dragged before synagogues, prisons, kings, and rulers. Yet even this Jesus turns to good: "it shall turn to you for a testimony," an opportunity to witness. They need not rehearse their defense, "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist", a promise gloriously fulfilled in the book of Acts when Spirit-filled believers confounded their accusers. The cost will be terrible, betrayal by family, hatred by all, even death for some, yet Jesus gives a paradoxical comfort: "there shall not an hair of your head perish." Though the body may be killed, the soul and the true self are utterly safe in God's keeping; nothing of eternal worth can be lost. "In your patience possess ye your souls." The way through is not escape but endurance, holding fast to Christ through every trial, for the faith that endures is the faith that saves.
They Shall See the Son of Man Coming (Luke 21:20-28)
Jesus foretells the desolation of Jerusalem and, beyond it, the shaking of the heavens and His own glorious return.
Look Up, and Lift Up Your Heads
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
Word Study
"redemption," Greek apolutrosis (ἀπολύτρωσις). The word means a releasing secured by ransom, a full deliverance, a buying back and setting free. "Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." At the coming of the Son of man, the redemption purchased at the cross reaches its consummation: the full and final deliverance of God's people, body and soul, from sin, death, corruption, and every enemy. The believer already has "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7); but the day is coming when that redemption is completed in "the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23) and the glorious liberty of the children of God. So the very signs that make the world's hearts fail for fear are, for the believer, the dawn of full redemption.
Explanation
Jesus foretells Jerusalem "compassed with armies" and trodden down until "the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" -- the near judgment on the city foreshadowing the far judgment on the world. Distress will grip the nations, "men's hearts failing them for fear," and then "they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." To His people this coming is not terror but redemption: "look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." The same event that terrifies a Christless world is the long-awaited deliverance of those who belong to the returning King.
Gospel Focus
Jesus now speaks plainly of the coming destruction of Jerusalem: "when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." This is not a distant riddle but a concrete warning, and it saved lives: when the Roman armies drew near, the believers who heeded His word fled the city to the mountains and were spared the horror of the siege. He calls these "the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled", the long-foretold judgment on the city that rejected her Lord. The suffering would be dreadful, especially for mothers, and the people would "fall by the edge of the sword" and be "led away captive into all nations." "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled", a period, known fully to God, during which the gospel goes out to the nations. Then Jesus lifts His prophecy beyond the fall of one city to the end of the age itself. There will be "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars," cosmic upheaval, "the sea and the waves roaring," and "men's hearts failing them for fear," for "the powers of heaven shall be shaken." The whole created order will tremble at the approach of its King. "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." The same Jesus who stood rejected in the temple, who would soon hang on a cross, will return visibly, personally, and in the glory of God, no longer the lowly King on a colt but the Judge and Sovereign coming on the clouds of heaven. For a fearful world this is terror, but for the believer it is the opposite. "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." While others cower, the child of God lifts his head in hope, for the coming of the Lord means the completion of salvation, the deliverance long awaited. The signs that signal the world's judgment signal the believer's redemption. Do not fear the shaking of all things; look up, for the King is coming.
Watch Ye Therefore, and Pray Always (Luke 21:29-38)
By the parable of the fig tree Jesus teaches His people to read the season, and He charges them to watch, pray, and be ready.
Heaven and Earth Shall Pass Away: But My Words Shall Not Pass Away
"And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him."
Word Study
"watch," Greek agrupneo (ἀγρυπνέω). The word means to be sleepless, to keep awake, to be vigilant; it pictures a watchman who stays alert through the night. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always." Jesus calls His people to spiritual wakefulness, a constant readiness that does not let the heart grow drowsy with "surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life." Watching is joined to praying: the vigilant heart is a praying heart, kept awake and ready by communion with God. The peril is not only open sin but the dulling weight of ordinary indulgence and worry that lets "that day come upon you unawares." To watch is to live each day alert and prayerful, so that whenever the Lord comes, He finds us ready and standing before Him.
Explanation
The fig tree teaches discernment -- when it buds, summer is near -- so when these things begin, "the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Heaven and earth will pass away, "but my words shall not pass away": the surest thing in the universe is the promise of Christ. He warns against hearts "overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life," lest the day catch them unaware like a snare. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always." Readiness is a matter of the heart kept awake and dependent, so that the coming of the Son of man finds His servants standing, not stupefied.
Gospel Focus
Jesus draws a lesson from nature: "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth," you know summer is near. So too, "when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." His people are not to set dates but to read the season, discerning that God's purposes are ripening. "This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled", the generation then living would see the fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of these things, even as the whole train of prophecy points on to the end. And He seals every word of prophecy with a promise of absolute certainty: "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." The most solid realities we know, the heavens and the earth, are less enduring than the words of Christ; His word is the one unshakable thing, and every promise and warning He has spoken will surely come to pass. Because all this is certain, the fitting response is constant readiness. Jesus warns against two great enemies of watchfulness: dissipation, "surfeiting, and drunkenness," and anxiety, "cares of this life." Both weigh the heart down and dull it to eternity, so "that day" comes "upon you unawares," springing "as a snare" on the whole heedless earth. Against this He gives the great charge: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." The watching, praying life is the ready life, kept alert by communion with God, so that whenever the Lord comes we may stand before Him unashamed. The chapter ends with a quiet picture of the days of that last week: by day Jesus taught in the temple, and by night He lodged on the mount of Olives, and the people came early to hear Him. The Lord who foretold the shaking of all things spent His final days teaching and praying, and so must His people live, giving all like the widow, enduring like faithful witnesses, and watching and praying for the coming of the King.
Chapter 21 in Review
Luke 21 joins a picture of whole-hearted devotion to a great prophecy of things to come. The poor widow who cast in "two mites" gave "more than they all," for she gave "all the living that she had," and Christ measures the gift by the heart, not the amount. Then, foretelling that the splendid temple would be left with "not one stone upon another," Jesus answers the disciples' question with warnings of deceivers, wars, and persecutions, promising, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom," and "in your patience possess ye your souls." He foretells the siege and desolation of Jerusalem, "trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," and beyond it the shaking of the heavens and the coming of "the Son of man... in a cloud with power and great glory," at which His people are to "look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." By the fig tree He teaches them to read the season, assures them "my words shall not pass away," and charges them, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always."
For the Apostolic reader the chapter binds together sacrifice, endurance, and hope. The widow's mites rebuke every calculating, self-sparing religion and call us to give ourselves wholly to God, holding nothing back. The warnings about the last things are given not to feed speculation but to steady the saints: do not be deceived by false christs, do not be terrified by wars and disasters, and do not be crushed by persecution, for the very trials become a testimony, the Lord Himself supplies the words, and endurance to the end preserves the soul. We hold these weighty matters with humility, fixing not on charts and dates but on the certain return of our Lord: the same Jesus who was rejected and crucified will come again visibly, in glory, and His unfailing word guarantees it, for heaven and earth will pass away before one word of His fails. Therefore, while the world's hearts fail for fear, the redeemed lift up their heads, for the shaking of all things is the nearness of their full redemption. Give all like the widow, endure with patience, keep your heart from being dulled by indulgence and worry, and watch and pray always, that you may stand before the Son of man at His coming.
- God measures our giving by the heart and the cost, not the amount (21:3-4).
- Do not be deceived by false christs or terrified by wars and disasters (21:8-9).
- Persecution becomes a testimony; the Lord gives His witnesses a mouth and wisdom (21:13-15).
- Endure to the end: "In your patience possess ye your souls" (21:19).
- At the Son of man's coming, the believer's full redemption draws nigh (21:27-28).
- His words never fail; therefore watch and pray always (21:33, 36).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you give God your all, like the widow, or only of your abundance?
- Are you steadied by Christ's words against fear and deception about the future?
- When you face opposition for His name, do you trust Him to give you the words?
- Is your heart watchful and praying, or dulled by indulgence and the cares of this life?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Wholehearted giving: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 9:6-7; Mark 12:41-44. The fall of the temple and Jerusalem: Luke 19:41-44; Daniel 9:26; Matthew 24:1-2. Endurance under persecution: Matthew 10:17-22; Acts 4:8-13, 6:10; Revelation 2:10. The coming of the Son of man: Daniel 7:13-14; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 1:7. Redemption completed at His coming: Romans 8:18-23; Ephesians 1:7, 4:30. The call to watch and pray: Matthew 24:42-44; Mark 13:33-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The widow's mites and the coming trials: Luke 21:1-19; Mark 12:41-44; Matthew 10:17-22.
- Jerusalem's fall and the Son of man's coming: Luke 21:20-28; Daniel 7:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
- The fig tree and the call to watch: Luke 21:29-38; Mark 13:33-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8.