Bible Study series: Luke 21:34-38. Still in the same Olivet Discourse, Jesus shifts direction and teaches on his Second Coming, which has not yet happened for two thousand years (and counting).
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I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 21:34-38
34 Watch yourselves that your hearts are not weighed down with partying, drunkenness, and the anxieties of ordinary life. Yes, that day will come upon you suddenly 35 like a trap. For it shall come on everyone inhabiting the face of the whole earth. 36 Stay awake in every season, asking that you can prevail to escape all these things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.
37 He was teaching in the temple during the day, and at night going out and finding lodging at the mount called Olives. 38 And all the people got up early and came to him in the temple, to listen to him. (Luke 21:34-38)
Comments:
Jesus has now shifted the topic from the judgment on the temple to his Second Coming or Parousia, which has not yet happened, after two thousand years (and counting). The basic meaning of Parousia is “being there alongside” (para + ousia or para + eimi, say lexicographers Liddell and Scott. It means “visitation” or “arrival.” The best image is of an emperor who travels in a ship to visit one of his cities. Then the dignitaries of the city go out to meet him and escort him back to the city. They do not reembark on his ship and then disappear for three-and-half or seven years.
For more information on the term Parousia, see this post:
No, Luke does not use the term Parousia here, but in 17:30 he says the Son of Man will be “revealed,” and the context there is clearly the Second Coming (Parousia)
I have covered this evidence for the Second Coming in vv. 34-36 in this post on Luke 17:22-37
Luke 17:22-37 and 21:34-36 Teach the Second Coming
Please click on the above link and read how Luke teaches the Second Coming.
The rest of this post (vv. 34-38) is really just a few key word studies and basic concepts.
34:
“ordinary life”: it means “belonging to (daily) life, ordinary.” It is not the extraordinary events of life that weight us down, but the daily grind and anxieties.
“partying”: it appears only here and means “drunken behavior which is completely without moral restraint” (Culy, Parsons, Stigall, p. 659).
“drunkenness”: it can be expanded in our day to getting high on any intoxicant, even marijuana.
“that day” is the day of the Lord or the return in judgment of Christ.
35:
“trap”: it speaks of the device slamming down on the unprepared and unwatchful. He is speaking to his disciples. Don’t get caught in it.
“face of the entire earth”: This phrase makes the idea go beyond Israel.
36:
You can ask that the Lord help you by giving you the ability and capacity to escape the terrible events of the Lord and stand before the Son of Man. Standing before him means you can face him at judgment. Don’t deny him or be ashamed of him before men, or else he will deny you or be ashamed of you, when he comes in his own glory and the glory of his Father and holy angels (Luke 9:26).
“escape”: the Greek verb is means “run away, seek safety in flight” (Acts. 19:16); “escape” (Luke 21:36; 16:27; Rom. 2:3; Heb. 12:35). I hope no one interprets this verse to mean a “separate rapture.” As noted, here is my understanding of the Second Coming:
Rapture = Second Coming and Happen at Same Time and on Last Day
Its basic meaning is to “flee out” from the epicenter of trouble; it does not mean to “flee up”!
The early church believed in the first coming and the Second Coming. Period. It is streamlined simplicity, with no complications.
“all things that will happen”: “all things” refers to the moral degradation (partying, drunkenness, and anxiety)
37-38:
This is great summary to end this chapter. He taught regularly in the temple, yet he had already predicted his death (9:21-22; 43b-45; 18:31-34). How peaceful and strong he is to teach like this when his death was imminent. It shows the power of the Spirit in his life.
Stein:
Luke’s readers were thus reminded that it was not the people of Israel who rejected the Son of God and the gospel message but rather official Israel. This, along with the statement that Jesus taught every day in the temple, indicates to the readers that Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing. His ministry “was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). His teaching was open for all to hear. Because of this teaching ministry, Theophilus and the other readers could also be assured that the teachings they had received (Luke 1:4) were not imaginary or later creations but came from their Master Teacher who every day taught openly in the temple. (comment on v. 38)
I add: recall that thousands of Jews converted to their Messiah in Acts: 2:41; 4:4; 6:7 [many priests]; 21:20).
The Mount of Olives was to the west of Jerusalem. Did he sleep out under the stars (the Greek can mean “spend the night”)? Or did he find lodging with Lazarus, Mary and Martha?
People woke up early in the morning and prepared themselves, getting ready, to listen to him. Culy, Parsons and Stigall say, “to get up early in the morning and go about one’s affairs” (p. 661). This means they carried out their daily living, like getting breakfast and the kids ready, and then they went out early to the temple to listen. Jesus really did have a successful teaching ministry. This is the drawing power of the Father and the Spirit. No hype. No “moon walks” on the platform. No shrieking and freaking. No dancing and prancing. Just pure and powerful and attractive teaching about his Father, life in the kingdom, and what the kingdom was.
GrowApp for Luke 21:34-38
1. Are you ready for the Second Coming? How do you get ready? How do you watch yourself? How do you keep awake in every season?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
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