Luke 21:5

And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, Far the exposition, see the notes at Mark 13:1....

5-28 With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the great desolation should be. He answers with clearness and fulness, as far as was necessary to teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common in gospel times, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work, notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you, and own you, and assist you. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance. Though we may be losers for Christ, we shall not, we cannot be losers by him, in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especially in pe...

Verse Luke 21:5. _GOODLY STONES_] Or, _costly stones_. It has been thought by some that this relates not so much to the stones of which the temple was built, as to the _precious stones_ with which it was decorated. For an account of the _stones_ of the temple, Mark 13:1, Mark 13:1. _AND GIFTS_] Or, _consecrated things_, αναθημασι. αναθημα properly signifies a thing _consecrated to sacred uses_: αναθεμα signifies a thing _devoted to a curse_, or to _destruction_. They both come from the same root, ανατιθημι, _I lay up, separate_; and though two meanings cannot be more opposite than those assigned to these words, yet in the words themselves a

GOODLY STONES - Beautiful stones. Either referring to the large, square, and well-finished stones of which the eastern wall was built, or to the precious stones which might have been used in decorating the temple itself. See the notes at Mark 13:1. GIFTS - This word properly denotes anything devoted or dedicated to God. Anciently warriors dedicated to their gods the spoils of war - the shields, and helmets, and armor, and garments of those slain in battle. These were suspended in the temples. It would seem that something of this kind had occurred in the temple of Jerusalem, and that the people, to express their gratitude to God, had suspended on the pillars and perches of the temple gifts and offerings. Josephus mentions particularly a golden “vine” with which Herod the Great had adorned the columns of the temple (“Antiq.” xi

EXPOSITION LUKE 21:1 _The_ _widow_'_s mite. _We find this little sketch only here and in St. Mark (Mark 12:41). The Master was sitting—resting, probably, after the effort of the great denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees—in the covered colonnade of that part of the temple which was open to the Jewish women. Here was the treasury, with its thirteen boxes in the wall, for the reception of the alms of the people. These boxes were called _shopheroth, _or trumpets, because they were shaped like trumpets, swelling out beneath, and tapering upward into a narrow mouth, or opening, into which the alms were dropped. Some of these "trumpets" were marked with special inscriptions, denoting the destination of the offerings....

AND AS SOME SPAKE OF THE TEMPLE,.... These were the disciples; Mark says, one of them; but it seems there were more than one; one might begin the discourse, and others join him: HOW IT WAS ADORNED WITH GOODLY STONES AND GIFTS; Matthew 24:1. HE SAID; what follows. This was as he went out of the temple....

Luke 21:1. _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 like 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._ This was literally true of the temple at Jerusalem; and today there remains nothing of it. It is also true of all earthly buildings and of all earthly things. However firm they appear to be, as though they might outlast the centuries themselves, yet the things which a

CHAPTER 21 _ 1. The Widow's Mite. (Luke 21:1)_ 2. The Destruction of the Temple Predicted. (Luke 21:5) 3. The Disciple's Question Concerning the Future. (Luke 21:7) 4. Things to Come. (Luke 21:8) 5. The Destruction of Jerusalem and the World-wide Dispersion of Israel. (Luke 21:20) 6. The Return of the Lord with Power and Great Glory. (Luke 21:25) 7. The Fig Tree and Warnings. ...

THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DISCOURSE (Mark 13*, Matthew 24*). Lk. follows Mk., though with certain modifications and amplifications. In Mt., Mk. is blended with Q, but Lk. has already used the Q material in ch. 17. The following table shows the parallels: Luke 21. Mark 13. Matthew 24. Introduction Luke 21:5 Mark 13:1 Matthew 24:1 First Signs of the End Luke 21:8 Mark 13:5 Matthew 24:4 Persecution Luke 2

THE PRECIOUS GIFT (Luke 21:1-4)...