Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Luke
Book: Luke
Chapter: 21
Overview:
Christ commends a
Poor widow.
(1-4) His
Prophecy.
(5-28)
Christ exhorts to watchfulness.
(29-38)
1-4 From the
Offering of this
Poor widow, learn that what we
rightly give for the relief of the
Poor, and the support of
God's
Worship, is given unto
God; and our
Saviour sees with
pleasure whatever we have in our hearts to give for the relief
of his members, or for his service. Blessed
Lord! the poorest of
thy servants have two mites, they have a soul and a body;
persuade and enable us to offer both unto thee; how happy shall
we be in thine accepting of them!
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 perilous, trying times, to secure the
safety of our own souls. It is
By Christian patience we keep
possession of our own souls, and keep out all those impressions
which would
Put us out of temper. We may view the
Prophecy
before us much as those Old
Testament prophecies, which,
together with their great object, embrace, or glance at some
nearer object of importance to the
Church. Having given an idea
of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come,
Christ
shows what all those things would
End in, namely, the
Destruction of
Jerusalem, and the utter
Dispersion of the Jewish
nation; which would be a
Type and figure of
Christ's second
coming. The scattered Jews around us preach the
Truth of
Christianity; and prove, that though
Heaven and
Earth shall pass
away, the words of
Jesus shall not pass away. They also remind
us to pray for those times when neither the real, nor the
spiritual
Jerusalem, shall any longer be trodden down
By the
Gentiles, and when both Jews and
Gentiles shall be turned to the
Lord. When
Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem
the Christians that were persecuted and oppressed
By them; and
then had the churches
Rest. When he comes to
Judge the world, he
will redeem all that are his from their troubles.
So fully did
the Divine judgements come upon the Jews, that their
City is set
as an
Example before us, to show that sins will not pass
unpunished; and that the terrors of the
Lord, and his
threatenings against impenitent sinners, will all come to pass,
even as his
Word was true, and his wrath great upon
Jerusalem.
29-38 Christ tells his disciples to observe the signs of the
times, which they might
Judge By. He charges them to look upon
the ruin of the Jewish nation as near. Yet this race and family
of
Abraham shall not be rooted out; it shall survive as a
nation, and be found as prophesied, when the
Son of Man shall be
revealed. He cautions them against being secure and sensual.
This command is given to all
Christ's disciples, Take heed to
yourselves, that ye be not overpowered
By temptations, nor
betrayed
By your own corruptions. We cannot be safe, if we are
carnally secure. Our danger is, lest the
Day of
Death and of
Judgment should come upon us when we are not prepared. Lest,
when we are called to meet our
Lord, that be the furthest from
our thoughts, which ought to be nearest our hearts. For
So it
will come upon the most of men, who
Dwell upon the
Earth, and
mind earthly things only, and have
No converse with
Heaven. It
will be a terror and a
Destruction to them. Here see what should
be our aim, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those
things; that when the judgements of
God are abroad, we may not
be in the common calamity, or it may not be that to us which it
is to others. Do you ask how you may be found worthy to stand
before
Christ at that
Day? Those who never yet sought
Christ,
let them now go unto him; those who never yet were humbled for
their sins, let them now begin; those who have already begun,
let them go forward and be kept humbled. Watch therefore, and
pray always. Watch against
Sin; watch in every duty, and make
the most of every opportunity to do good. Pray always: those
shall be accounted worthy to live a
Life of praise in the other
world, who live a
Life of
Prayer in this world. May we begin,
employ, and conclude each
Day attending to
Christ's
Word,
obeying his precepts, and following his
Example, that whenever
he comes we may be found watching.