Luke 21 Luke 21:1–4 Christ values the poor widow’s two mites above all the larger offerings of the rich, Luke 21:5–6 foretells the destruction of the temple, Luke 21:7–24 the signs and calamities that should precede and accompany it, Luke 21:25–33 and what should happen at the time of the Son of…

We met with this piece of history, Mark 12:41–44. Mark telleth us, that Christ was sitting right over against the treasury. For other things necessary to be known to understand this piece of history, See Poole on “Mark 12:41”, and following verses to Mark 12:44.

Matthew and Mark say, that some of his disciples spake these words to him, and received this answer, as he was going out of the temple. For the goodly stones which the disciples admired, we are told that there were some of them forty-five cubits long, five in depth, and six in breadth.

Mark saith, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately. Matthew brings two things more within the compass of their question, viz. What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Our Saviour answereth this question from Luke 21:8–32.

See Poole on “Matt. 24:4–5”, See Poole on “Mark 13:5–6”. This happened, and was abundantly fulfilled, before the destruction of Jerusalem, and probably will receive a further fulfilling in the latter end of the world.

See Poole on “Matt. 24:6–7”, and See Poole on “Mark 13:8”. Time is the best interpreter of prophecies: what shall be seen of these before the end of the world we are yet to observe, but the destruction of Jerusalem is past many hundreds of years since.

We have all this justified from holy writ, Acts 4:3, Acts 5:18, Acts 7:4, Acts 16:24. What of this shall be seen before the end of the world, time must show; though the prophecies of holy writ speak enough of that also.

That is, your persecution shall turn to you for a testimony: for a testimony against your adversaries; so as they themselves shall be brought by your confession of me to own me as the true Messiah; and their cruelty, which they mask under the vizor of religion, shall be openly detected, and it…

See Poole on “Matt. 10:19–20”, See Poole on “Mark 13:11”. We must not think that our Saviour by this forbids us what is naturally impossible for us to avoid, that is, the forming of those words first in our thoughts which we speak, nor yet a prudent thinking beforehand what we should speak; but an…

See Poole on “Matt. 24:9–10”, See Poole on “Mark 8:12–13”.

It is a proverbial speech, signifying that they should have no hurt or damage by any thing which their enemies should do against them. When at the last you come to cast up your accounts, you shall find you have lost nothing, and your enemies shall also find that they have gained nothing.

Patience is either passive, seen in a quiet, free, and courageous suffering those evils which God will please in his providence to order us for our portion; or active, seen in a quiet believing, waiting for, and expectation of what God hath promised.

After our Saviour’s ascension, the seditions amongst the Jews were so many, and they rebelled so often against the Romans, during the governments of Felix, Festus, Albinus, and Florus, that the Romans resolved wholly to destroy them, and to that purpose Titus Vespasian was sent with an army against…

Josephus tells us, that in the wars which ended in the taking of Jerusalem, by the famine and the sword there perished one million one hundred thousand Jews, and ninety seven thousand were carried into captivity.

We may easily imagine, that this was eminently fulfilled in the siege of Jerusalem, that men’s hearts failed them for fear; and for prodigies, we are told of enough, both by Josephus and Tacitus, the latter tells us, that armies were seen fighting in the air with glistering armour, and the temple…

Matthew seemeth to expound this, Matt. 24:31; so doth Mark 13:27. Both speak to the same sense: And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from, one end of heaven to the other.

We had this same parable both in Matthew and Mark. See Poole on “Matt. 24:32”, and following verses to Matt. 24:35. See Poole on “Mark 13:28”, and following verses to Mark 13:31.

I take the Luke 21:34 to be a good exposition of the term watch, Luke 21:36. Avoid sin industriously, in a prospect of my coming to judgment: for sin is compared to sleep, Rom. 13:11, Eph.

In these two verses our evangelist letteth us knew how Christ spent those few days which he had yet to live. In the day time he was in the temple preaching; in the evening he was on the mount of Olives praying; to teach all those, who as under shepherds derive from him, who is the true and chief…