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The Poor Widow Who Cast Two Mites into the Treasury
(Luke 21:1-4 Mark 12:40-44) 1 AND looking on, he saw the rich men cast their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in two brass mites. 3 And he said: Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings of God: but she of her want, hath cast in all the living that she had. Prediction of the Destruction of the Temple
(Luke 21:5-6 Matt 24:1-2 Mark 13:1-2) 5 And some saying of the temple, that it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said: 6 These things which you see, the days will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down. Signs before the End
(Luke 21:7-11 Matt 24:3-8 Mark 13:3-8) 7 And they asked him, saying: Master, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when they shall begin to come to pass? 8 Who said: Take heed you be not seduced; for many will come in my name, saying, I am he; and the time is at hand: go ye not therefore after them. 9 And when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified: these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet presently. 10 Then he said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there shall be great earthquakes in divers places, and pestilences, and famines, and terrors from heaven; and there shall be great signs. The Coming Fate and Persecution of the Disciples
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for my name's sake. 13 And it shall happen unto you for a testimony. 14 Lay it up therefore into your hearts, not to meditate before how you shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay. 16 And you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren, and kinsmen and friends; and some of you they will put to death. 17 And you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake. 18 But a hair of your head shall not perish. 19 In your patience you shall possess your souls. The Desolating Sacrilege
(Luke 21:20-24 Matt 24:15-22 Mark 13:14-20) 20 And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army; then know that the desolation thereof is at hand. 21 Then let those who are in Judea, flee to the mountains; and those who are in the midst thereof, depart out: and those who are in the countries, not enter into it. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things may be fulfilled, that are written. 23 But woe to them that are with child, and give suck in those days; for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword; and shall be led away captives into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles; till the times of the nations be fulfilled. The Coming of the Son of Man
(Luke 21:25-28 Matt 24:29-31 Mark 13:24-27) 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; 26 Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; 27 And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. 28 But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. The Time of the Coming. the Parable of the Fig Tree
(Luke 21:29-33 Matt 24:32-36 Mark 13:28-32) 29 And he spoke to them in a similitude. See the fig tree, and all the trees: 30 When they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; 31 So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. 32 Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Conclusion. “Take Heed, Watch!”
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. 35 For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man. The Ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem
(Luke 21:37-38) 37 And in the daytime, he was teaching in the temple; but at night, going out, he abode in the mount that is called Olivet. 38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, to hear him. Gospel Harmony of Luke 21
The Poor Widow Who Cast Two Mites into the Treasury
(Luke 21:1-4 Mark 12:40-44) Mark continues as follows: “And He arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as He was wont, He taught them again;” and so on, down to where it is said, “For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”(Mark 10:1-11-44) In this entire context, all the above has been subjected to investigation already, with the view of removing the appearance of any contrariety, when we were comparing the other Gospels in due order with Matthew. This narrative, however, of the poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury is reported only by two of them, namely, Mc and Luke.(Luke 21:1-4) But their harmony admits of no question. And from this point onwards to the Lord’s Supper, which latter act formed the starting-point for our discussion of all the records of the four evangelists taken conjointly, Mc introduces nothing of a kind to make it necessary for us to institute a special comparison between it and any other statement, or to conduct an inquiry with the view of dispelling any appearance of discrepancy. (St. Augustine Harmony of the Gospels 4.7) Prediction of the Destruction of the Temple
(Luke 21:5-6 Matt 24:1-2 Mark 13:1-2) Matthew proceeds with his history in the following terms: “And Jesus went out and departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down.”(Mt 24:1-2) This incident is related also by Mark, and nearly in the same order. But he brings it in after a digression of some small extent, which is made with a view to mention the case of the widow who put the two mites into the treasury,(Mark 12:41-13:2) which occurrence is recorded only by Mc and Luke. For [in proof that Mark’s order is essentially the same as Matthew’s, we need only notice that] in Mark’s version also, after the account of the Lord’s discussion with the Jews on the occasion when He asked them how they held Christ to be David’s son, we have a narrative of what He said in warning them against the Pharisees and their hypocrisy,—a section which Matthew has presented on the amplest scale, introducing into it a larger number of the Lord’s sayings on that occasion. Then after this paragraph, which has been handled briefly by Mark, and treated with great fulness by Matthew, Mark, as I have said, introduces the passage about the widow who was at once so extremely poor, and yet abounded so remarkably. And finally, without interpolating anything else, he subjoins a section in which he comes again into unison with Matthew,—namely, that relating to the destruction of the temple. In like manner, Lc first states the question which was propounded regarding Christ, as to how He was the son of David, and then mentions a few of the words which were spoken in cautioning them against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Thereafter he proceeds, as Mc does, to tell the story of the widow who cast the two mites into the treasury. And finally he appends the statement,(Luke 20:16-21:6) which appears also in Matthew and Mark, on the subject of the destined overthrow of the temple. (St. Augustine Harmony of the Gospels 2.76) OF THE HARMONY SUBSISTING BETWEEN THE THREE EVANGELISTS IN THEIR NARRATIVES OF THE DISCOURSE (Matt 24:3-25-46 Mark 13:4-37 Luke 21:7-36) Matthew continues in the following strain: “And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many;” and so on, down to where we read, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” We have now, therefore, to examine this lengthened discourse as it meets us in the three evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For they all introduce it in their narratives, and that, too, in the same order.(Mt 24:3-25-46 Mark 13:4-37 Luke 21:7-36) Here, as elsewhere, each of these writers gives some matters which are peculiar to himself, in which, nevertheless, we have not to apprehend any suspicion of inconsistency. But what we have to make sure of is the proof that, in those passages which are exact parallels, they are nowhere to be regarded as in antagonism with each other. For if anything bearing the appearance of a contradiction meets us here, the simple affirmation that it is something wholly distinct, and uttered by the Lord in similar terms indeed, but on a totally different occasion, cannot be deemed a legitimate mode of explanation in a case like this, where the narrative, as given by all the three evangelists, moves in the same connection at once of subjects and of dates. Moreover, the mere fact that the writers do not all observe the same order in the reports which they give of the same sentiments expressed by the Lord, certainly does not in any way affect either the understanding or the communication of the subject itself, provided the matters which are represented by them to have been spoken by Him are not inconsistent the one with the other. Again, what Matthew states in this form, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come,”(Mt 24:14) is given also in the same connection by Mc in the following manner: “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.”(Mark 13:10) Mc has not added the words, “and then shall the end come;” but he indicates what they express, when he uses the phrase “first “in the sentence, “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” For they had asked Him about the end. And therefore, when He addresses them thus, “The gospel must first be published among all nations,” the term “first” clearly suggests the idea of something to be done before the consummation should come. In like manner, what Matthew states thus, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth let him understand,”(Mt 24:15) is put in the following form by Mark: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, let him that readeth understand.”(Mark 12:14) But though the phrase is thus altered, the sense conveyed is the same. For the point of the clause “where it ought not,” is that the abomination of desolation ought not to be in the holy place. Luke’s method of putting it, again, is neither, “And when ye shall see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place,” nor “where it ought not,” but, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.”(Luke 21:20) At that time, therefore, will the abomination of desolation be in the holy place. Again, what is given by Matthew in the following terms: “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains; and let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes,”(Mt 24:16-18) is reported also by Mc almost in so many words. On the other hand, Luke’s version proceeds thus: “Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains.”(Luke 21:21) Thus far he agrees with the other two. But he presents what is subsequent to that in a different form. For he goes on to say, “And let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto: for these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” Now these statements seem to present differences enough between each other. For the one, as it occurs in the first two evangelists, runs thus: “Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of his house;” whereas what is given by the third evangelist is to this effect: “And let them which are in the midst of it depart out.” The import, however, may be, that in the great agitation which will arise in the face of so mighty an impending peril, those shut up in the state of siege (which is expressed by the phrase, “they which are in the midst of it”) will appear upon the housetop [or “wall”], amazed and anxious to see what terror hangs over them, or what method of escape may open. Still the question rises, How does this third evangelist say here, “let them depart out,” when he has already used these terms: “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with an army”? For what is brought in after this—namely, the sentence, “And let not them that are in the countries enter there-into “—appears to form part of one consistent admonition; and we can perceive how those who are outside the city are not to enter into it; but the difficulty is to see how those who are in the midst of it are to depart out, when the city is already compassed with an army. Well, may not this expression, “in the midst of it,” indicate a time when the danger will be so urgent as to leave no opportunity open, so far as temporal means are concerned, for the preservation of this present life in the body, and that the fact that this will be a time when the soul ought to be ready and free, and neither taken up with, nor burdened by, carnal desires, is imported by the phrase employed by the first two writers—namely, “on the house-top,” or, “on the wall”? In this way the third evangelist’s phraseology, “let them depart out” (which really means, let them no more be engrossed with the desire of this life, but let them be prepared to pass into another life), is equivalent in sense to the terms used by the other two,” let him not come down to take anything out of his house” (which really means, “let not his affections turn towards the flesh, as if it could yield him anything to his advantage then”). And in like manner the phrase adopted by the one, “And let not them that are in the countries enter thereunto” (which is to say, “Let not those who, with good purpose of heart, have already placed themselves outside it, indulge again in any carnal lust or longing after it”), denotes precisely what the other two evangelists embody in the sentence, “Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes,” which is much the same as to state that he should not again involve himself in cares of which he had been unburdened. Moreover, Matthew proceeds thus: “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day.” Part of this is given and part omitted by Mark, when he says, “And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.” Luke, on the other hand, leaves this out entirely, and instead of it introduces something which is peculiar to himself, and by which he appears to me to have cast light upon this very clause which has been set before us somewhat obscurely by these others. For his version runs thus: “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass.”(Luke 21:34-36) This is to be understood to be the same flight as is mentioned by Matthew, which should not be taken in the winter or on the Sabbath-day. That “winter,” moreover, refers to these “cares of this life” which Lc has specified directly; and the “Sabbath-day” refers in like manner to the “surfeiting and drunkenness.” For sad cares are like a winter; and surfeiting and drunkenness drown and bury the heart in carnal delights and luxury—an evil which is expressed under the term “Sabbath-day,” because of old, as is the case with them still, the Jews had the very pernicious custom of rePelling in pleasure on that day, when they were ignorant of the spiritual Sabbath. Or, if something else is intended by the words whichthus appear in Matthew and Mark, Luke’s termsmay also be taken to bear on something else, while no question implying any antagonism between them need be raised for all that. At present, however, we have not undertaken the task of expounding the Gospels, but only that of defending them against groundless charges of falsehood and deceit. Furthermore, other matters which Matthew has inserted in this discourse, and which are common to him and Mark, present no difficulty. On the other hand, with respect to those sections which are common to him and Luke, [it is to be remarked that] these are not introduced into the present discourse by Luke, although in regard to the order of narration here they are at one. But he records sentences of like tenor in other connections, either reproducing them as they suggested themselves to his memory, and thus bringing them in by anticipation so as to relate at an earlier point words which, as spoken by the Lord, belong really to a later; or else, giving us tounderstand that they were uttered twice over by the Lord, once on the occasion referred to by Matthew, and on a second occasion, with which Lc himself deals. (St. Augustine Harmony of the Gospels 2.77) The Desolating Sacrilege
(Luke 21:20-24 Matt 24:15-22 Mark 13:14-20) Luke, in order to show that the abomination of desolation foretold by Daniel had reference to the time of the siege of Jerusalem, repeats these words of our Lord, “When ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed by armies, then know ye that its desolation draws nigh.” [Luke 21:20] (St. Augustine Ep. 199.31.24.15) In Luke it is thus read, “There shall be great distress upon the earth, and wrath upon this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations.” [Luke 21:23] (St. Augustine Ep 199.30.24.21) For let us not suppose that the computation of Daniel’s weeks was interfered with by this shortening of those days, or that they were not already at that time complete, but had to be completed afterwards in the end of all things, for Luke most plainly testifies that the prophecy of Daniel was accomplished at the time when Jerusalem was overthrown. (St. Augustine Ep 199.30.24.21) |
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