Is Luke 21.25-36 about the Second Coming—or something else?

---

Advent is once more upon the states (pun intended!), and with it comes 2 sets of confusion:

• the idea that Advent is the anticipation of Christmas (when information technology is actually about looking forward to Jesus' return and The Stop);
• and the notion that the set passages in the lectionary are all about Jesus' return.

As we are about to enter Yr C of the Revised Common Lectionary, and so we turn to the Gospel of Luke and its distinct focus. (If you demand the lectionary for your electronic calendar, the all-time place to get is Simon Kershaw'southward offering at Oremus. You can specify exactly which parts of the lectionary information you lot want in your calendar, and choose the advisable format.)

I have previously argued (like-minded with K B Caird and R T French republic, who influenced Tom Wright) that in the parallel account in Matt 24 (and Marking thirteen), the section read in the lectionary which is commonly taken to refer to Jesus' return is really about the Ascension and the annunciation of the gospel to the nations, which we read almost in Acts. The key elements of the statement are:

1. the 'technical' language ofparousia (used repeatedly past Paul in e.m. i Cor xv.23, 1 Thess 2.19) occurs in thesecond half of Matt 24 (Matt 24.37, 39) but is absent in the start one-half, except in Matt 24.27 when Jesus says all that is happening isnotsign of his coming;
2. English translations confuse this, past using the same wording ('coming') to translate both this give-and-take and the quite unlike present participleerchomenos;
3. the language of the 'coming of the Son of Man' in Matt 24.xxx is a straight allusion to Dan 7.13, which refers to the Son of Man coming from the earth to the throne of the Aboriginal of Days. Matthew conflates it with a reference to Zech 12.10, which talks of the Spirit being poured out on the House of David, and all the tribes of State of israel seeing the one they have pierced—used in reference to Jesus' crucifixion and so the events of Pentecost;
4. the principal stumbling block for the 'traditional' reading comes in Matt 24.34–35:

Amen I say to you: this generation will not pass away until all these things have place. Heaven and world volition pass abroad, but my words volition never pass away.

• Despite some attempts at fancy footwork, the term 'generation' does refer to those listening to Jesus, so Jesus emphatically states that all these events will happen within the adjacent 30 to xl years. If you do not think that 'these things' relate to the fall of Jerusalem, the Ascension, and the preaching of the gospel including the gentile mission, then the just coherent thing to do is (with Albert Schweitzer and others) believe that Jesus was a deluded apocalyptic prophet, and that the early Jesus movement was constantly concerned with managing its disappointed apocalyptic hope.

I recall the strongest statementagainst this reading is that the events in Matt 24.4–35 don't come in the correct order, in that if the linguistic communication of the 'coming of the Son of Man' refers to Jesus' ascension, why doesn't this come in the narrative ahead of what most everyone agrees are events associated with the autumn of Jerusalem? In response to this, I would annotation that the presenting question is about Jerusalem and its fate, and this is what Jesus addresses first. And the whole soapbox deals with themes rather than chronology; Jesus talks of the events that are to come, cartoon on linguistic communication from Daniel to connect it with God's purposes, and the suffering that will be involved—but only then turns to the source of hope and the reason why the disciples should stand firm. It is quite characteristic of both Marking and Matthew to organise their record of Jesus' teaching thematically.

---

With all that in heed, permit us turn to the Lukan parallel to Matt 24, and in particular Luke 21.25–36 which is the lectionary reading for the Starting time Sunday in Appearance in Year C. Matthew and Mark run quite closely in parallel, at least until Matt 24.36, when Matthew includes Jesus' extended teaching well-nigh theparousia but Mark's account finishes quite abruptly. But Luke'due south record is quite distinct here, not least in setting the teaching in the city of Jerusalem itself (and so that others can hear, and not only the disciples) rather than on the Mount of Olives. Let's look at the relevant sections side by side (this is a photo of the folio from Throckmorton, the standard English synopsis of the first three gospels):

You lot tin can run across immediately that, even in this short department, Matthew and Mark agree closely, whilst Luke is looking quite different at several points. There are two main trends in Luke's presentation of Jesus' education here.

The commencement is the downplaying of the cosmic and 'eschatological' language of the discourse in several unlike means.

• The language of sunday, moon and stars loses its particular details (darkening, not giving its lite, and falling) which comes from the source in Is 13.x and Is 34.4. Instead, Luke postpones this detail to Peter's Pentecost spoken communication, where he cites similar language from Joel 2.28–32.
• Matthew'south commendation of Zech 12.x, and the language of 'gathering the elect' from both Matthew and Mark are omitted.
• Several parts of the Matthew/Marker account are relocated before in Luke: Matthew's reference to the coming of the Son of Homo as lightning and the parallel with the 'days of Noah' are found in Luke 17; and the subsequently 'Parable of the Talents' (highly abbreviated in Mark) becomes the Parable of the Pounds in Luke 19. Another sayings gathered into this section by Matthew are establish in Luke 12. (This is like to the fashion that Matthew has gathered education of Jesus into the Sermon on the Mount in Matt v–vii which is found in other places in Mark and Luke.)

But the 2nd, complementary, trend in Luke is the much more explicitclan of these events with the fall of Jerusalem. As elsewhere in his gospel, Luke 'translates' Jewish apocalyptic ideas and language into more prosaic terms in order to make information technology understandable to a wider, non-Jewish audience.

• Luke replaces the rather oblique reference to Daniel in the phrase 'desolating sacrilege' (or 'abomination of desolation') in Matt 24.15 and Mark thirteen.14 with the much more mundane 'When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies…' in Luke 21.20, simply before the lectionary passage that we take (which shows why chunking the text into lectionary bites is not always very helpful).
• This connects the teaching hither with the earlier, uniquely Lukan, passage Luke xix.39–44 where Jesus weeps over the urban center considering 'the days will come on you when your enemies volition build an embankment against yous and encircle you and hem you lot in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, yous and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, considering you did not recognize the time of God'southward coming to you.' Notice here the quite explicit references to the Roman siege of the metropolis ('build up an embankment') and the apprehension of the question about stones that then comes in Luke 21.5 and parallels.
• The language of the 'roaring of the sea and the waves' draws on the apocalyptic imagery of the sea as the peoples of the world from which four beastly empires emerge in Dan 7 and the Roman Empire as the beast from the bounding main arises in Rev thirteen.ane. In fact, there are numerous surprising links between Luke and Revelation, including Luke'south unique addition of 'patient endurance' in the parable of the soils at Luke 8.15 connecting with John's participation in 'suffering, kingdom and patient endurance' in Rev 1.9. In our passage, the language of 'falling past the sword and going to prison' in Luke 21.24 connects with the language of sword and captivity in Rev 13.x, and the 'trampling by the Gentiles' in the same verse connects with the image of the temple existence trampled in Rev xi.2. In both cases, there is a clear focus on gimmicky cultural reality, rather than the distant time to come.
• Luke's unique addition in Luke 21.28 and the further section of encouragement in Luke 21.34–36 connect the events quite specifically to the trials that Jesus' own disciples will face.

I recall information technology is this kind of shift which explains why Conzelmann saw Luke as displacing eschatological expectation with his own perspective of 'salvation history', in which God'southward purposes are worked out and fabricated manifest through the Gentile missionrather than in waiting for the eschaton. I think this is actually a false dichotomy, only information technology does reflect Luke'south unique emphasis on 'salvation' as something that comes in the present, and not merely in the futurity. (On this, see Mark Allan Powell's very helpful study of salvation in Luke-Acts here.)

---

Commentators deal with this all in a variety of ways. Howard Marshall in his NIGTC p 780 explores all the ways in which 'this generation' has been understood, and opts for a reading that gives certainty that the events of the end 'have begun' but are not time express. (Information technology is worth noting that Marshall explicitly rejects France's reading of the parallel passage in Matt on p 776—merely he does then on the basis that 'France applies the parousia language to the fall of Jerusalem'. The center of French republic'due south statement is that theparousia language is actually absent!) But as Tannehill (Abingdon) points out (p 308), the whole point of Jesus' maxim that the generation 'will non pass abroad' is that information technology offers a temporal perspective, and stripping it of its temporal significance renders the statement meaningless. Interestingly, Joel Green (in his very good NIC, and with whom I hesitate to disagree!) sees a switch to the eschatological perspective from the historical at poesy 25, just Mikeal Parsons (Paideia, p 303) notes that the menstruum of the text here is 'seamless', though cartoon more on cosmological images. Parsons then goes on to note something significant: that, in keeping with the consistent and distinctive emphasis in Luke on hope and fulfilment, this passage with its predictions of difficulties for the followers of Jesus is actually fulfilled in a range of elements of the narrative in Acts:

---

What does all this hateful for preachingthis passage on Dominicus morning?

First, we need to take information technology seriously in its historical context, noting that Luke is writing to his first audience, and beingness conscientious to hear what God might be maxim to us through what Luke wrote to his showtime audience.

Secondly, we need to ensure that we read this passage within the context of the whole of Luke-Acts, so that nosotros see the connections Luke makes between the events of the fall of Jerusalem, Pentecost, and the gentile mission. The significance of the fall of Jerusalem, the suffering the comes, and the scattering of the (Jewish) followers of Jesus is leap up with the breaking out of God'south grace in Jesus to gentile also as Jew—it is the reason that about of y'all (who I suspect are non Jewish) are reading this at all!

Thirdly, we need to note that, for Luke, the Finish was non but something future (though information technology is that); rather, the 'finish days' have already commenced with Jesus' Ascension, the fall of Jerusalem, and Pentecost. God'southward covenant grace has at present been broken open to include gentiles within the 'Israel of God'.

Fourthly, because of all this, the troubles that Jesus' followers experienced throughout Acts are troubles that we ourselves might well encounter. Like them, we are to 'concur our heads upward' and not exist dismayed, since this Jesus is Lord, and he volition return.

---

Every bit nosotros approach Advent, how practice we make sense of the language in the New Testament about the 'end of the world'? Why is it pastorally important to become this correct? Is all the language about 'rapture', 'tribulation' and 'millennium' helpful—or a distracting fiction?
Come and notice out at Ian Paul'south Zoom teaching morning on Saturday 4th December:

https://www.eventbrite.com/eastward/making-sense-of-the-cease-of-the-world-tickets-207768409907

If you enjoyed this, do share information technology on social media (Facebook or Twitter) using the buttons on the left. Follow me on Twitter @psephizo. Like my page on Facebook.

Much of my piece of work is done on a freelance ground. If you accept valued this post, yous can make a single or echo donation through PayPal:

Comments policy: Good comments that engage with the content of the post, and share in respectful debate, can add real value. Seek first to understand, so to be understood. Make the most charitable construal of the views of others and seek to acquire from their perspectives. Don't view debate equally a conflict to win; address the argument rather than tackling the person.

phelankationds.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/is-luke-21-25-36-about-the-second-coming-or-something-else/

Share this post