And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. (Luke 21:1-2).

This text is also found in the Gospel according to Mark (cf. Mark 12:41-44). I commented on this passage on that occasion as well. Today, I would like to observe that in both Gospels, this passage is found before Jesus' warning about the teachers of the law:

While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” (Luke 20:45-47; cf. Mark 12:38-40).

The key in Jesus' discourse about the teachers of the law is that they do what they do "for a show". They are not concerned so much about the gravity of their responsibilities as interpreters of the Law. Their prayers are not sincere. They do everything for show. 

In contrast, the widow has nothing spectacular to show those around her. When she puts in her two small copper coins, it draws no attention, except perhaps disparagement by some, who only notice how little she put in compared to the rich persons who went before and after her. But Jesus corrects this thinking, noting that the poor widow gave proportionally more than the rich. Yet, in light of the previous discourse about the teachers of the law, Jesus may be teaching something beyond a simple observation about proportionality.

Perhaps, the point is not so much the proportional greatness of the widow's giving, as is often taught, but the fact that, in stark contrast to the teachers of the law, her giving was sincere and her interest was not praise from men but from God. 

Matthew's Gospel records Jesus' warning against the teachers of the law (cf. Matthew 23:5-7), both their insincerity and their hypocrisy. But he makes no mention of the event of Jesus' observations regarding the widow's offering. Yet, he records this teaching from Jesus:

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:2-4).

It speaks of giving in secret and not for a show. It speaks of desiring a reward from God rather than from men. Now, even though this does not deal with giving to the temple treasury, it does speak to the general nature of giving. The point is that it needs to be in secret and not for show. The giver needs to be interested only in recognition by God, not by men. 

In the case of the widow, Jesus saw what the others did not and perhaps could not see. This poor widow was giving all she had. She was not giving for show, because outwardly what she gave was humiliating. No, she gave to receive recognition from God. This is what was commendable about her gift, not the amount, not the proportionality, but her sincerity and sole interest in praise from God. 

Friends, let us learn the proper lesson from the widow's offering. It is not a call for us to give everything we have to the church. It is to give, as Jesus taught, with sincerity and in secret, so that we receive praise from God and not from men. 

I used to think that some recognition can be good because it may encourage others to give more, but I see the flaw in this logic. If people are motivated to give because of the greatness of my offering, it would be an insincere motivation, and they would not be commended by God. If we take from the widow's mite a lesson to parade proportional giving over absolute giving, we would likely have missed the whole point of Jesus' teaching. 

Whether we give a little or much, I hope none of us has our faces and names posted on a wall for all to see how generously we gave. Let us always give in secret, for giving is a private matter between the giver and God, and He will reward each one based on the secrecy and sincerity of their giving. 

Luke 21, along with Matthew 24 and Mark 13, provide Jesus' response to the disciples' question, "Tell us when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age" (Matthew 24:3; cf. Luke 21:7; Mark 13:4).

The key to Jesus' answer is in the question. The disciples actually asked two questions, though they themselves may have thought it was just one. First, they asked Jesus, "When will this happen?" The "this" refers to what Jesus' had just pointed out to them, namely, that the temple would be destroyed:

And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, “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” (Luke 21:5-6).

The second question they asked Jesus was, "What will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?"

The failure to see these two questions have led some to conclude that Jesus' answer refers completely to events that would happen in their lifetimes or else that His answer refers completely to events far into the future. But the right interpretation is likely that Jesus had a near-term fulfillment in mind with respect to the disciples' first question and an indefinite later fulfillment in mind with respect to their second question.

Admittedly, Mark's Gospel and Luke's Gospel do not express the second question in a manner that shows it to be distinct from the first. However, isn't this why we have multiple Gospels to fill in crucial details to help us to properly interpret a given event. I believe Matthew provides the crucial detail with respect to the disciples' questions. Now, Luke, I believe, provides the clearest chronological layout of Jesus' answer, so that it poses the least amount of confusion as Jesus moves back and forth from addressing the one event and then the other. 

So when Jesus answers their questions, it appears that He answers the first and then the second, then returns to the first in greater detail and then extrapolates the second in greater detail. He does this back and forth throughout the entire discourse.

In Luke 21:8-9 Jesus specifically addresses the disciples ("you") with a warning of false Messiahs and rumors of war, but reminds them that this is not the end. 

In Luke 21:10-11 Jesus reveals that in the end, there will not merely be deceptions and rumors but actual wars, natural cataclysms and even signs in heaven.

In Luke 21:12 Jesus pedals back to their day, saying, "But before all these things..." Again, he addresses them in the second person "you". Then He tells them of the persecutions that they would experience. He tells them that Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and would be trampled down by the Gentiles. 

In Luke 21:25-27 Jesus once again looks forward to the end, detailing the nature of the heavenly signs as well as declaring the manner of His return on he clouds "with power and great glory". 

Finally, in Luke 21:28 Jesus once more addresses His disciples ("you") with a word of encouragement:

But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

The "these things" do not refer to the end time events but rather the things Jesus told them that they would experience in their generation, namely, persecution and death. For them, redemption was indeed near. Again, when Jesus says, "When you see these things happening" (Luke 21:31; cf. 21:36), He is again referring to the things that pertain to their first question. Also, when He says, "This generation will not pass away until all things take place" (Luke 21:32) is again a reference to the generation of the disciples who would experience intense persecution, death and the destruction of Jerusalem in their lifetimes. 

Finally, in Jesus' warning to the disciples to be ready, He refers to "that day," which seems to look beyond their present experience to that indeterminate time when the end would come and Jesus Himself would come again:

Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:34-36).

In this final warning, Jesus seems to be addressing both the indeterminate time of the end as well as what they are just about to experience. In both cases they are counseled to be ready. It's noteworthy that Jesus says that the day of the Lord ("that day") would not come only upon them but also upon everyone "on the face of the earth". Yet "these things that are about to take place" would come primarily upon them in Jerusalem.

Friends, Bible prophecy is hard and somewhat mysterious, but it is not for this reason that we ought not to diligently study and try our best to make sense of it. That God alone knows how the future will unfold should give us confidence that it is right for us to trust in Him completely and to follow Him wholeheartedly.

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-40).

The Lord Jesus prays earnestly as He obediently embraces His destiny to die for the sins of the world on the cross. He encourages His disciples also to pray, so that they "will not fall into temptation." Is prayer, then, a way for believers to fight temptation? And when the temptation is particularly strong, does this call for even more earnest prayer? I am reminded of this passage in Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles... In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Hebrews 12:1-4).

When I read the Hebrews 12:4, "you have not yet resisted to the pointing of shedding your blood," I am reminded of Luke 22:44, "he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." Could the writer of Hebrews have been thinking of Jesus in Gethsemane when he penned his words? Why else would he have written in just the preceding verse: "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart"? Jesus' example for believers is in view. Doesn't His example extend to His earnest prayer at Gethsemane?

There may be many reasons to pray, but one clear reason to pray is to endure temptation. And if I have understood Jesus' example and the teaching of Hebrews correctly, believers need to be willing to pray intensely in their battle against temptation. 

Jesus prayed three times that God might change His awful destiny, but it was always with the accompanying petition, "not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 21:42). The temptation for Jesus was to avoid the cross. This was the devil's temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of Jesus' ministry (cf. Luke 4:1-13). The devil tried to persuade him to shortcut His path to glory by side-stepping suffering by immediately exalting Himself rather than waiting on the Father. 

He pravailed over temptation in the wilderness by the Word of God. He prevailed over temptation at Gethsemane by prayer. It appears that both of these are given for the believer to know God's will (i.e. through the Word) and to obtain strength to do God's will (i.e. through prayer). 

In Luke 22:43 we learn that when Jesus prayed, "an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." Perhaps angels are the agents to provide this strength to endure temptation? 

Now, while these passages are no certain promises that angels will attend us when we pray, there is good precedent for it (Many Old Testament Saints, and in the NT, Jesus, Peter, and Paul), and the words of Christ remain true: "Pray that you will not fall into temptation" (Luke 22:40, 46). 

Friends, I confess that I do not pray enough. Perhaps this is why I find myself so weak in the face of temptation. It is one thing to be daily in the Word and know what is right to do and what God's will is; however, it is another thiing to find strength to obey.

As earnestly as we seek the Lord in His Word, we need to just as earnestly pray. Then, we can both know God's will and find strength to do God's will. Ephesians 6:10-20 is a well-known passage that addresses "spiritual warfare." After encouraging believers to put on the armor of God, as the best defense against the devil, the last two items seem to be offensive armor, namely, the "word of God" and "prayer": 

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should (Ephesians 6:17-20).

This Scripture suggests that the way we engage God's Spirit is through His Word and prayer. Perhaps this is what is meant when believers are commanded to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). To be filled with the Spirit, then, is to study God's Word diligently, so that we might clearly discern His will, and then to pray earnestly, so that we might find strength to do His will. 

The Bible teaches us to "not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

Will you join me in proving God's life-transforming will by daily and diligently studying God's Word and by daily and earnestly praying?

Jesus addresses the issue of being great in Gods Kingdom.

(Luke 22:24-30)

"A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "

Its interesting part of our faith - the least is the greatest. God chose David (the least of his brothers), Joseph also the least of his brothers, he chose Moses to bring the message of God - but Moses was at a loss for words. God always chooses the least or the last it seems - to magnify his Glory.

Jesus the King of Kings, God in flesh, was born in a manager and the son of Joseph (a working man, a carpenter). Jesus even calls himself a servant in the above passage - "but I am among you as one who serves". In Mark 10:45 Jesus says that the "son of man" came to serve, not to be served. Jesus even washes the disciples feet (John 13). Jesus says above that to be the greatest you must be like the one who serves.

It really is about humility - because in the end everything we have and are is by Gods grace. Humility means thinking less of ourselves and more of others. Not that we should view ourselves as less worthy, but that we reflect the nature of Christ. When we are proud we become independent from God, trying to create our own path which ultimately conflicts with Gods plan for us.