Luke 21:21
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Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
THE WIDOW'S TWO MITES. (Luk 21:1-4) looked up--He had "sat down over against the treasury" (Mar 12:41), probably to rest, for He had continued long standing as he taught in the temple court (Mar 11:27), and "looking up He saw"--as in Zaccheus' case, not quite casually. the rich, &c.--"the people," says Mar 12:41 "cast money into the treasury, and many rich east in much"; that is, into chests deposited in one of the courts of the temple to receive the offerings of the people towards its maintenance (Kg2 12:9; Joh 8:20).
Open source ↗In this chapter we have, I. The notice Christ took, and the approbation he gave, of a poor widow that cast two mites into the treasury (Luk 21:1-4). II. A prediction of future events, in answer to his disciples' enquiries concerning them (Luk 21:5-7). 1. Of what should happen between that and the destruction of Jerusalem - false Christs arising, bloody wars and persecutions of Christ's followers (Luk 21:8-19). 2. Of that destruction itself (Luk 21:20-24). 3. Of the second coming of Jesus Christ to judge the world, under the type and figure of that (Luk 21:25-33). III. A practical application of this, by way of caution and counsel (Luk 21:34-36), and an account of Christ's preaching and the people's attendance on it (Luk 21:37, Luk 21:38).
Open source ↗21:21 Those in Jerusalem must get out: Because of this prophecy, Christians in Judea fled to the town of Pella in Decapolis before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Eusebius, Church History 3.5).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house.
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.