“The coming of the Son of Man”

Read Luke 21:5-38

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In all three Synoptic Gospels the final teaching of Jesus before his Passion begins is about his future return (Mt.24:1 - 25:46; Mk.13:1-37). They are difficult chapters to understand but all three passages follow the same basic outline, with six topics occurring in the same order:

• Prophecy of the temple's destruction (5-6)

• Troubles and persecutions (7-19)

• The destruction of Jerusalem (20-24)

• The coming of the Son of Man (25-27)

• The lesson from the fig-tree (28-33)

• An exhortation to watchfulness (34-36)

The disciples thought that the temple’s destruction and Jesus’s return would occur simultaneously (7). But that’s not so, and persecution and trouble will characterise the whole age (8-19). The destruction of Jerusalem is one example of how things will be (20-24) until Jesus returns (25-28). So all of these troubles are in fact a sign that Jesus will one day return (29-33).

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So what matters is to watch and be ready (34-36; Mk.13:33-37; Mt.24:42-44) i.e. “be careful” not to be distracted by the sins and worries of this world. That day will be unexpected but it is certainly coming and therefore the important thing is to “be always on the watch”.