LUKE LESSON 50

     We will begin this lesson in Luke 21:1 "And he looked up, and saw
the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury."

     We see from this that the Lord does not overlook anything.  He
knows when you have given and when you have not.  He knows, also,
whether you gave grudgingly or from a free heart.

     Luke 21:2 "And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in
thither two mites."

     We have studied before how important it is to do the best you can
with what has been entrusted to you.  We see, here, this widow by the
world's standards has put in very little and in many groups today
would not be heavily sought after, because she would not have very
much to put in the collection plate.  Jesus looks on things
differently than the world, as we will see in the next few verses.

     Luke 21:3 "And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor
widow hath cast in more than they all:"  Luke 21:4 "For all these have
of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her
penury hath cast in all the living that she had."

     Jesus is saying the rich men did not sacrifice for God's work.
It was no pain at all for them to give in their abundance, but this
woman sacrificed all that she had to give to her Lord.  Great will be
her reward in heaven.

     Luke 21:5  "And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned
with goodly stones and gifts, he said,"  Luke 21:6 "[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 will truly come to pass within 40 years of the time Jesus
was speaking.  Jesus tells them here, you have your eyes on the
beautiful things of this world and you have neglected the weightier
things of the Spirit.  When all of this earthly shall be destroyed,
what will you view then?

     Luke 21:7 "And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall
these things be? and what sign [will there be] when these things shall
come to pass?"

     Everyone from every generation wants an answer to this.  We are
not to fret about when all this will happen.  Our concern is to stay
ready to meet Him.  We dealt with this same thing in Matthew 24 and in
Mark 13 more fully.

     Luke 21:8 "And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for
many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and the time
draweth near: go ye not therefore after them."

     I am just sure that the reason this is mentioned so many times is
because Jesus knows how deceiving these impostors will be.  They have
great deception.  As I have mentioned a number of times prior to this,
the only way not to be deceived is to learn all of the Bible you
possibly can.  Try the spirits and see whether they be of God.  Pray
and trust God.  We cannot let our guard down.  Be careful not to do
anything that appeals to the flesh.  Get the flesh in subjection to
your spirit.  Today, as never before, people are claiming to be
Christ, because the time is near for the second coming of Christ.

     Luke 21:9 "But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not
terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end [is]
not by and by."

     There have been wars and rumors of wars for thousands of years.
 The difference in then and now is that man has the power to destroy
 all of mankind.  Just because there is a war is not reason enough to
 say the end is near.

     Luke 21:10 "Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom:"  Luke 21:11 "And great
earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

     This is speaking of right about the time of the second coming of
Christ.  There are earthquakes more often now than a few years ago.
This year we have seen devastating earthquakes in far away places.
There are famines even now in India, parts of Africa, and Ethiopia.
Most of the people where these great famines are occurring are
worshipping false gods, such as animals.  We deal more fully with all
of this in our teaching on Matthew, chapter 24.

     Luke 21:12 "But before all these, they shall lay their hands on
you, and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues, and
into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's
sake."

     We see here that Jesus jumps from the end of the Gentile age in
verse 11 to the years immediately after His crucifixion in verse 12.
These followers of Jesus will suffer great persecution.  The sad thing
is that this persecution comes from the synagogues and from the
religious leaders of their day.  It really is not much different from
our days.  If you get to the point that you are really serious about
your relationship with God, you will find that your greatest
opposition comes from people in the church.

     Luke 21:13 "And it shall turn to you for a testimony."

     This very fact, that they are persecuted for what they believe,
lets you know that they believe the right thing.  Their persecution
testifies for them.  Jesus was persecuted.  His true followers will be
persecuted, also.

     Luke 21:14 "Settle [it] therefore in your hearts, not to meditate
before what ye shall answer:"  Luke 21:15 "For I will give you a mouth
and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay
nor resist."

     In Exodus 4:11, God tells Moses about his mouth: Exodus 4:11 "And
the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the
dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?"
These two Scriptures above and this one in Exodus make it very clear.
God who made our mouth can surely put the words in there that we need
to say in every situation.  Let the Lord do the talking through you is
what He is really saying.  You can never fail when you do this.

     Luke 21:16 "And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and
brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and [some] of you shall they
cause to be put to death."

     The above mentioned people know you so well that they can never
believe that God has done anything special in your life.  When you
begin in the ministry, the very people you thought would be behind you
100% are seldom behind you at all.  Thank goodness in my particular
case that is not true altogether.

     Luke 21:17 "And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's
sake."

     This is true today, as well as when the apostles were
ministering.  The world hates the believers.  Perhaps, it is because
we make them feel guilty.

     Luke 21:18 "But there shall not an hair of your head perish."

     I believe we must look back at verse 15 to find what this is
saying.  If you say the words the Lord puts in your mouth, then there
shall no harm come to you.  We are not able to defend ourselves, but
God can and will defend us.

     Luke 21:19 "In your patience possess ye your souls."

     We are not to get hysterical or lose our patience when difficulty
arises.  We must depend totally on the Lord.  Our conduct under
pressure really reveals just how devoted and dependent we are upon the
Lord.













                           Luke 50 Questions

1.  In the temple, who did Jesus first notice casting his money into
    the treasury?
2.  How much did the poor widow cast in?
3.  What did Jesus say about her offering?
4.  Why did Jesus not have as much respect for the offering of the
    rich man?
5.  What was the temple adorned with?
6.  What did Jesus say would be thrown down?
7.  What question did they ask Jesus about?
8.  In verse 8, Jesus says take heed that ye be not -------.
9.  These deceivers will claim to be who?
10. How is the only way not to be deceived?
11. What does Jesus say to do when we see wars and rumors of wars?
12. What are some of the natural disasters that will occur before the
    second coming of Christ?
13. Who are people worshipping in India as a whole?
14. Verse 12 happens in what time?
15. What chapter of Matthew is all about the end?
16. Who will be brought before kings and rulers and be thrown in to
    prison?
17. Who persecutes Christians more than anyone else?
18. What will turn to you for a testimony in verse 13?
19. Why should we not meditate on what we will say when we are
    answering for the Lord?
20. Who made our mouth?
21. In verse 16, who betrays whom?
22. Why will Christians be hated?
23. Verse 18 says what will not perish?
24. Explain verse 18.
25. In your -----possess ye your -------.