“Two mites make a codrant”
Christ did not know the Temple well - the main shrine and the center of the religious life of the Jewish people - and did not like this place. One day, the students, who knew Jerusalem better than the teacher, wanted to draw his attention to the beauty of the building, the wealth of decorations and gifts.
“Do you see all this? - Jesus told them. “Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left upon another here.” And he did not want to be surprised or rejoice at anything, except for the poor widow who was passing by at that moment and threw her gift into the temple treasury. “Two mites make a coin,” says Evangelist Mark. And further according to St. Mark: “Calling his disciples, Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all food is your own.”
There were special coins for donations - shekel and half-shekel - they were traded in the temple.
The modern reader is unlikely to guess why the widow's small gift required the special intercession of Jesus. St. Mark does not talk about this either. Today we know that donating to the church is voluntary, and those who can give as much as they can. But in the Jerusalem temple completely different orders were in effect. The widow's mites caused sincere indignation among those present in the temple. The scandal was the same as if someone had given a war veteran a badge with a portrait of Hitler on May 9th.
Lepta is a small copper coin, 1/6 of a Greek drachma. Not only was this amount at face value 12 times less than the minimum amount of a gift to the Temple established by the Sanhedrin, but it also depicted something completely indecent from the point of view of Jewish law. It could be the head of a king, Greek or Parthian, an image of Pallas Athena with an owl, or simply an owl without its mistress. Or even a woman stretched out in an indecent pose - such mites are still kept in numismatic collections. The law strictly forbade bringing images of people or animals into the Temple, let alone throwing them into the treasury!
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exegetik
I have long wanted to write one very entertaining exegetical observation. My good friend Andrei Shitov pointed me to it, for which special thanks to him. This observation concerns the event recorded in the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, and it was also illuminated by Luke in the 21st chapter. We are talking about a poor widow who put “all her food” into the treasury.
An illustration from the Children's Bible, familiar to us from childhood.
Was made based on an engraving by Gustave Doré
Typically, when reading this account, we pay attention to the virtue of the widow, we praise her for her sacrifice, we set her up as an example, implying that this was also the main task of the evangelists and Christ - to provide an example of sacrifice and to show the relative value of donations. However, very often we miss the context. Mark writes that Christ purposefully sat down at the treasury. He wanted to show the students something, give some kind of lesson. Christ highly appreciated her action, but is the widow even being talked about in these two passages? What do wise men say? Barclay believes that Christ's purpose was to teach three lessons:
- Genuine giving must be benevolent, sacrificial;
- There is something reckless about true giving;
- Jesus can do great things even with our little things;
Matthew Henry says that this story is written down twice for the purpose of teaching us some lessons, namely:
- That charity to the poor is the chief essence of piety;
- Jesus Christ watches us: how we give to the poor, how we sacrifice for works of piety and mercy;
- Christ especially notices the charity of the poor, it is especially pleasing to Him;
- We must respect everything that can be called a gift to God, and give generously, according to our strength and beyond our strength;
Even Mac Arthur writes that “The Widow set a good example of true giving.”
. In my opinion, it is absolutely obvious that this event is connected with the previous conversation, because even the location of the story does not change, these are the same events, the conversation continues. In general, what I cannot agree with is that widows are a good example. I cannot agree that God values highly when we donate our food and there is something reckless in genuine giving. After all, it is obvious that if we do the same, then it is at least reckless, and to some extent such sacrifice may simply be a temptation of God. Don't get me wrong, I want to live under the guidance of God and I know that sometimes what God calls to do, what the Holy Spirit prompts to do, is indeed somewhat foolish. I know many examples of true sacrifice - fortunately in my church, among my friends, there are so many examples of real true Christian sacrifice, which sometimes stuns me. There are many examples of abnormal kindness, which has no explanation other than God living in them. But this sacrifice always stems from need! But the widow’s sacrifice was not beyond the need. Her coin went into the treasury to support the priesthood and others. Matthew Henry several times in his conclusions refers to works of piety and speaks of sacrifice to the “poor.” But was this the poor widow’s sacrifice? The treasuries of the Temple were managed by its servants, scribes and Pharisees. They clearly did not belong to the category of poor. Moreover, Christ repeatedly reproached them for their love of money. Let us also remember the very good business that the temple servants established by renting out the sacred square meters of the temple territory (probably at fabulous prices, because it was the most accessible place with the target audience). But what can we say, literally higher in the text, Christ has a conversation with his disciples, in which he gives this to the experts in the Law of that time: “devouring the houses of widows and praying for a long time for show” (Mark 12:40) Christ contrasted the teaching of the Pharisees with a common understanding of the truth. You can remember how Christ condemned Corvan, how he argued with the Pharisees about whether it was possible to do good on the Sabbath, and so on. We see that for God there is something more important than even the fulfillment of the Law. This is humanity, the ability of people to understand the heart of God. Here is another example: why did Moses command to divorce, why did God allow this commandment (and this is precisely a prescriptive commandment) to be written in the Law? Christ answered: because of your hardness of heart. Imagine, at that time the husband hated his wife, but divorce was impossible. What would be? Everyone I didn’t ask answered: “I would have killed” or made life unbearable. For God, human life is valuable, therefore, He allowed the commandment of divorce in the Law. So, in this case, in the light of these arguments, it is not entirely clear how we should treat the widow’s two mites.
Bronze mit, also known as mite,
introduced into circulation by the Jewish king Alexander Yannai, 103-76 BC.
In order to give a correct assessment of this event, you need to look at the context. Both Mark and Luke present the events in the same way. This day was a day of questions (Matthew also describes this day in chapter 22) - the chief priests and scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees united in their hatred of Christ. Various worthless people were sent to Him with provocative questions, to which Christ wisely answered. “Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar? The woman was the wife of seven brothers, whose wife will she be after the resurrection? What is the greatest commandment? Each of these questions is like a minefield. But after each question there was a categorical answer from the Messiah. After this, Jesus warns the disciples: “Beware of the scribes.” All the synoptic gospels agree on this warning (Mt 23, Mk 12, Lk 20). After which Christ illustrates the hypocrisy and depravity of the scribes and high priests. The incident with the widow is a continuation of the conversation, and Christ’s task was to show the depravity of the current system. And He showed! With this story, He seemed to say to the disciples: “Look, look what these priests have brought people to! She puts down the last one, she has nothing else to eat.” The example of a poor widow who was convinced that she needed to put more into the treasury, all that she had, is an example of the rottenness of the existing religious system. Instead of helping the widow, her house was devoured by those who were called to serve. Craig Kinnear notes that the teachers of the law profited from the poor by imposing exorbitant fees. Therefore, the example of the poor widow’s two mites is an example of an incorrectly designed donation collection system, an example of an unreasonable sacrifice. Yes, the sacrifice was accepted by God and highly appreciated, because it is not the widow’s fault in this situation. However, those who taught her this way will receive the full... “they will receive greater condemnation” (Luke 20:47). It's also interesting that none of the commenters I usually use pay attention to this. Not Barkley, not MacDonald, not Mac Arthur, not Matthew Henry. For a long time I even doubted whether it was worth writing about this. However, studying the context of the passage, I became more and more convinced of the correctness of this idea. It is also interesting that we have become so accustomed to the positivity of this example that in some churches even collection boxes are called “church treasury” without understanding the negative connotation of this phrase. I see the practical application of this truth in the following: of course we need to live by the guidance of God, however, Scripture notes that zeal should be according to reason (Rom 10:2), and service should be reasonable (Rom 12:1). Therefore, if someone convinces you to donate all your food, ask Christ if He really needs it. And yet... no matter how much we earn, we can always donate “out of poverty,” if only it really belongs to God.
https://exegetik.livejournal.com/30731.html
Den of Thieves
There was a special coin for donations - a shekel and a half-shekel - and these coins were traded right there, in the sacred enclosure of the Temple. And not only coins, there were also shops selling animals for sacrifices here. Lambs, goats, and even pigeons—the whole herd scurried, scurried, and gurgled under the arches of the galleries that surrounded the first two courtyards of the Temple. All this fuss irritated the Teacher very much. So much so that once he could not contain his anger and snatched the whip from the hands of the driver who was driving a new flock of sacrificial lambs.
This is how Jose Saramago describes everything that happened next in the “Gospel of Jesus”: “Jesus, going to where the money changers were sitting, said to his people: “That’s why we are here,” and immediately began to destroy and overturn the tables, pushing and hitting the sellers. and those buying, which caused a noise and roar so unimaginable that the words he uttered would have been hopelessly drowned in them, if for an inexplicable strangeness his voice had not become more sonorous than a bronze bell: “My house is a house of prayer, but you turned it into a den of thieves, - and the tables of the money changers continued to fly to the ground, columns of coins scattered on the ground, to the great joy of other onlookers who rushed to collect this manna.”
Currency exchange in Jerusalem
It is difficult for the reader who today encounters the “Currency Exchange” window dozens of times a day in the most unexpected places to understand why Christ was so angry with the money changers. Indeed, the currency circulation system in the Roman provinces made this profession vital. The Roman denarius, Greek and Parthian drachmas, the Jewish shekel, coins of Carthage, which had already been destroyed by that time, gold, silver, copper and bronze of various weights and denominations, just silver in the form of small ingots, jewelry scrap - all this riot of money required the attention of specialists with scales , touchstone and extensive experience.
And the trouble is not that sometimes the money changers deceived their clients and bargained desperately when converting each mite into an assarium (the difference in price was a few kopecks in today's money). The money changers' guilt was that they were directly involved in a dubious financial transaction called "replenishing the Temple treasury."
Shekel in relation to denarius
Shekel = shekel
The shekel is the only currency that has survived thousands of years and is today the currency of the State of Israel. In Russian, this currency is called “shekel”. At the only surviving fragment of the Temple - the Western Wall - there is also now a tabernacle filled with shekels, both metal and paper.
On the coins, as two thousand years ago, there is a bowl, a bunch of grapes and a ritual seven-branched menorah.
The official currency of the Roman provinces was the silver denarius (3.89 g), as well as the smaller sestertius (1/25 denarius). Its officiality was that residents of the provinces paid taxes with these coins. There was no way to bring such a coin into the Jewish temple, since it depicted the Roman Caesars and gods of the pagan pantheon. Therefore, the local administration of Judea, alone among the provinces, received permission to mint its own ritual coin - the silver shekel. It depicted the same thing as on the sacred shekel of the 4th–5th centuries BC. BC: bowl and vine.
The shekel was a fairly large coin - 14.55 grams of silver. In the times we are describing, a shekel was a weekly wage for a faithful worker. The gift to the Temple, established in Old Testament times, amounted to “bekah,” or half a shekel. The tax rate for the population census was the same. But precisely half-shekel coins were not minted during the time of Emperor Tiberius. If you want to make a donation, buy a whole shekel or bring your wife with you and contribute from two of them. And only my wife! Sharing with other relatives was condemned by the temple servants. The shekel that was exchanged in the temple fence was worth 5 denarii, that is, by weight of silver, exactly a denarius more than it should have been. But that's not all.
Jesus sees a widow
It is impossible to read about the widow without coming to the conclusion that when she offered her tiny but enormous sacrifice, she was absolutely alone in her humility and poverty. It seemed like no one was paying attention to her or her plight on the most important day of her life.
But Jesus noticed. He saw her. It was the One Whom she prayed for help who noticed her! The God of heaven was in His holy temple, which is what she prayed for, and He saw her there in His house!
This brings us to a difficult question: was Jesus merely an observer, or did His noticing her move Him to action? To answer this question, we might ask ourselves if we have ever seen Jesus observe someone in pain without rushing to help. Can we imagine that He would take the opportunity to use the widow and her despair as a convenient visual teaching aid, and then turn His back on her? We simply cannot imagine the image of a Savior who watches but does not save.
There is another important part of this story that we need to pay attention to. When Jesus pointed out the widow and her sacrifice to the disciples, He seemed to know everything about her. For example, He knew that she was a widow. How did He know this? Of course, not just by looking at her clothes. After all, she was very poor and these were probably her only clothes. In addition, in those days, mourning was usually demonstrated by tearing clothes and sprinkling ashes on the head. So this happened long before she visited the temple.
Moreover, Jesus knew that she had put two mites into the treasury. How could He know the size and number of coins when they were too small to be seen or heard from such a distance?
For that matter, how did He know that two mites was “all she had”?” It is obvious that Jesus knew her very well. They had never met, and yet He knew everything about her!
Sacrificial animals
Sacrificial animals were sold in the temple only for shekels. And the lamb cost two shekels—three times more than in the market outside the temple walls. And if we take into account that most of the parishioners had relatives in the village and could receive animals for free, then the organization of temple trade seemed to people an outrageous scam. The rules did not say anything about the animal having to be purchased directly from the temple. But Jewish law regulated certain requirements for a sacrificial animal: a lamb, kid or calf must be without a single anatomical defect, normally well-fed, without scabs or scabs, with a clean skin under the tail, and, as especially Fr.
We don’t know what it’s like with the yatras, but ordinary Jews had no chance of bringing a kid of a goat from Galilee on their own (the journey took the pilgrims 12 days) without tangles. Temple servants rejected cattle for a torn ear, scratched side and other minor defects. Such an animal could be sold outside the temple fence to a reseller for a denarius and bought again in the shops on the porch for a shekel. Sacrificial animals from “licensed” shops were accepted by temple servants in any condition.
Finally, the most effective way to replenish the Temple treasury was through currency arbitrage. The price of gold in Jerusalem was significantly lower than in Rome. 1 gram of gold in the metropolis cost 12.6 grams of silver, and in the eastern provinces they gave 4.7 grams of silver for the same gram of gold. The money changers at the temple exchanged gold coins (Roman aureuses or Persian darics) for shekels, the gold was sent to Rome, where they were used to buy bullion silver, from which shekels were again cast in Jerusalem at its own mint. Arbitrage with 300% profit on one operation - this was something currency speculators never dreamed of either before or after the era of Christ. It was this whole well-established business that Jesus encroached on.
A widow comes to the temple
Although the widow and her contributions are mentioned in only four verses in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, we can learn a lot about this faithful woman from her story.
Even just getting into the temple was not an easy task. Much like temple worship today, if you were going to go to the temple, you had to plan to spend most of your day there. The main purpose of visiting the temple was prayer and sacrifice. In addition to worship, you could also turn to God for help in matters the solution of which was beyond your own strength. The poor, the desperate and the unfortunate of all ages sought refuge in the temple - the closest place to God on earth. There they hoped to see and hear God and receive His help.
Most likely, this was the case with this poor widow. Since she was destitute, she most likely did not have children, and it is likely that her husband's family abandoned her. She was probably alone in this world, without support, protection or close relationships. After her husband's death, she found herself with nothing, and even if there was something left after him, it was all gone.
After his death she had no dowry to support; brides in Israel received a similar dowry, but apparently it had already been spent. This widow was reduced to the level of a widow who helped Elijah. Her two mites were priced at no more than “a handful of flour in a tub and a little butter.”
But there was another similarity between them: like the widow of old, the widow Jesus saw was also ready to give God everything she had. I wonder if this widow, like the other, considered her sacrifice to be the last thing she could give before she lay down and died.
The widow's decision to make a sacrifice led her to a long bridge that led to the Temple Mount, a huge complex on fourteen hectares of land that rose high into the air and eclipsed Jerusalem. She should have seen the massive retaining walls that supported and surrounded the complex. In the center of the Temple Mount, she would look at the holy Temple, the House of the Lord, the sacred structure that links earth and heaven.
The popular saying must have sounded in her head as she looked at him: “He who has not seen the Temple has not seen anything beautiful.”
Looking up, she would have seen the imposing pointed tower of the temple, from which the priest blew the trumpet every morning, marking the beginning of the daily sacrifices.
From there one could see the whole of Jerusalem, the Roman fortress of Antonia on the corner of the Temple Mount, the rich palace of Herod near the city walls, and beyond the walls, the ominous Golgotha and the frightening Rocky Hill with cavities like the eyes of a skull. Opposite Golgotha was the Mount of Olives with its beautiful garden called Gethsemane. Events soon unfolded there that she probably never could have imagined.
The widow would have found herself at the wide steps that led to the Temple Mount. At the top of these stairs was the Hulda Gate, and just beyond the gate were three pools where she would have ritually cleansed herself in order to gain access to the temple's holiest areas. Many poor and weak people lay there, hoping and begging for alms from the temple visitors. Was it destined for her to one day become one of them?
Passing through the temple gates, she would ascend the ornate, dimly lit staircase that ran beneath the Temple Mount and led to the temple courtyard above. When she came out of the darkness into the light, she had the feeling that she was in a heavenly world, and as a result of this, she might have hope.
This place was called the Court of the Pagans, because representatives of any nation and religion could be there. It was a huge courtyard with two rows of stunning white marble columns, each over twelve meters high, that ran around the perimeter of the Temple Mount and supported a roof that served as both a walkway and an observation deck.
While crossing the Court of the Pagans, the widow would encounter people of various nationalities and hear dialects from many parts of the world. She would also see famous rabbis as they instructed their students in different parts of the courtyard. And, of course, she would again notice the destitute people who begged - the blind and the crippled - of which there were so many that one could easily become insensitive to their plight. Did her heart ache at the thought of being so close to joining them?
The widow would make her way to the magnificent temple, which rose, soaring upward, with a marvelous view above the balustrade of the imposing walls that surrounded it, each entrance bearing a warning to strangers not to dare, on pain of death, to pass any further. The white and pink surface of the limestone temple was so shiny that she would have to cover her eyes to look at it. From a distance the temple would look like a large snowy mountain.
Parts of the structure were decorated with pure gold and blue and green precious stones. Gold and cool colors contrasted elegantly with the dominant white façade of the temple. Towering, gilded pilasters emphasized the beauty of the temple. At the top of the pilasters were even crenellations along the roof, resembling the crown of a king.
Contrasting this impressive visual feast were nearby tables of vendors who made the temple a place of commerce. Earlier that week, Jesus had cleared the temple of these people, and this event also affected His upcoming crucifixion.
Approaching the sacred courtyards, she would choose one of the three gates that led to the first courtyard, which was called the Court of Women. Here Jesus noticed her. Beyond this courtyard was the Court of Men or the Court of Israel and the temple itself with the sacrificial altar in front of it.
From this description it is not difficult to understand that this widow did not end up in the temple by chance. She planned the whole day, and her intention was obvious - to sacrifice and pray. We can assume from her meager offering that she went there because she was desperate. She had no one and nothing.
She had two mites - no doubt she decided to sacrifice them because she had a burning belief that "sacrifice brings the blessings of heaven." She had no other hope. Everyone who was supposed to care for her had abandoned her, and since she didn't have a man in her life to help keep her safe, giving her stability and love, she now turned to the only One she could trust. Here in His house she relied on His mercy.
"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's"
There is another version that explains the inappropriately harsh reaction of the Temple administration to the actions of Christ. Two years before Jesus’ last visit to Jerusalem, the Pharisees had already complained to the metropolis about the actions of the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. He actually forced the Sanhedrin to pay for the repair of the Jerusalem sewer system from Temple funds. In all provinces, money collected in the form of local taxes formed the budget of the province or city and was spent on improvement. Only in Jerusalem the tax was of a ritual religious nature and the money was at the full disposal of the Sanhedrin. This situation did not suit not only Pilate, but also numerous parties of dissidents, whose representatives not only followed wandering prophets through the streets of the ancient city, but even had their own wing in the Sanhedrin, among the Sadducees.
Let us cite a well-known story from the New Testament (Mark 12–15 ff.):
“Then the Pharisees went and consulted how to catch him (Jesus) in words. And they send their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying: Teacher! We know that you are fair, and you teach truly the way of God, and do not care about pleasing anyone, for you do not look at any person; so tell us: what do you think? Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not? But Jesus, seeing their wickedness, said: Why are you tempting me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that is used to pay the tax. They brought him a denarius. And he says to them: whose image and inscription is this? They tell him: Caesar's. Then he says to them, “Render therefore the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar, and the things that are God’s to God.”
Many interpreters of the New Testament interpret this plot literally: Christ proposed to transfer control of the Temple treasury to the Roman administration. Obviously, the activities of such a dangerous troublemaker required, in the opinion of the Pharisees, immediate measures of suppression. And it is all the more surprising that such a low price was set for the capture of Jesus.
Chapter 21
1–4. Two widow's mites. – 5–38. Prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming of Christ.
Luke 21:1. Looking, He saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury;
Luke 21:2. I also saw a poor widow who put two mites there,
Luke 21:3. and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than anyone else;
Luke 21:4. for all of them, out of their abundance, put in as a gift to God, but she, out of her poverty, put in all the food she had.
The story of the widow who put two mites into the temple treasury is an almost exact repetition of the story of the Evangelist Mark (Mark 12:41–44).
“Just by looking.” Until now, the Lord had been talking with His disciples. Now He looks around the people entering the temple and sees a widow.
“As a gift” (verse 4) more precisely: “as gifts” (εἰς τὰ δῶρα), i.e. the rich added from themselves to the gifts that were in the treasury.
Luke 21:5. And when some said about the temple that it was decorated with expensive stones and inlays, He said:
Luke 21:6. the days will come in which from what you see here, not one stone will be left upon another; everything will be destroyed.
Luke 21:7. And they asked Him: Teacher! when will this be? and what is the sign when this should happen?
The introduction to the speech about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world is presented according to the Gospel of Mark with abbreviations (Mark 13: 1–4).
"Some". These were, in all likelihood, disciples of Christ (cf. verse 7 and Mark 13:1).
“With costly stones” (cf. Mark 13:1).
“Deposits” (ἀναθήμασι). These are various offerings to the temple, made on famous occasions, for example, the golden vine given by Herod the Great (Josephus, “The Jewish War”, VI, 5, 2).
“When will this be?” Apparently, those asking only mean the destruction of Jerusalem, but since this fact in their minds was closely connected with the destruction of the world, they do not ask anything about the latter (see Mark 13:4).
Luke 21:8. He said, Beware that you are not deceived, for many will come in My name, saying that I am He; and that time is at hand: do not go after them.
Luke 21:9. When you hear about wars and turmoil, do not be horrified, for these things must happen first; but the end is not immediate.
Luke 21:10. Then he said to them: nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
Luke 21:11. there will be great earthquakes in places, and famines, and pestilences, and terrible phenomena, and great signs from heaven.
The Lord speaks here about the harbingers of the coming of the Messianic time, the time of the opening of the glorious Kingdom of the Messiah.
“Then he said to them” (verse 10), i.e. After a preliminary exhortation, he began to depict the impending disasters.
“In places”, i.e. now there, now in another place.
"From the sky". This definition applies to both the previous expressions "appearance" and "sign". This is discussed in more detail in the comments to Mark. 13:6–8; Mf. 24:4–7.
Luke 21:12. First of all, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, and leading you before kings and governors for My name’s sake;
Luke 21:13. This will be for your testimony.
Luke 21:14. So make it your heart not to think in advance what to answer,
Luke 21:15. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all who oppose you will not be able to contradict or resist.
Luke 21:16. You will also be betrayed by your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and some of you will be put to death;
Luke 21:17. and you will be hated by everyone because of My name,
Luke 21:18. but not even a hair of your head will be lost,
Luke 21:19. With your patience save your souls.
The Evangelist Luke speaks, in general, in agreement with Mark (Mark 13:9-13) about the calamities that will befall the disciples of Christ before the onset of this time.
“Above all these things” (verse 12), i.e. these disasters will befall you even before the destruction of Jerusalem.
“This will be for your testimony” (verse 13), i.e. By doing this you will be able to show your loyalty to Me.
“Mouth” (verse 15), i.e. ability to speak eloquently and persuasively. The apostles received this through the sending of the Holy Spirit to them (see Acts 6:10).
“Nevertheless a hair of your head shall perish” (verse 18). According to the usual interpretation (see, for example, the Explanatory Gospel of Bishop Michael), here we are talking about the fact that God will protect the disciples, protect their life, which is necessary for the preaching of the gospel. But this explanation does not correspond to the expression of verse 16: “some of you will be put to death.” More likely is the opinion that here we are talking about preserving the disciples spiritually: “none of the above will harm you in the matter of your salvation.” The meaning of verse 19 also fits this interpretation, where it is undoubtedly said that through patience in suffering, the disciples of Christ will preserve themselves for eternal true life (Mark 13:13). Finally, one could understand this passage in such a way that even if the apostles endure misfortunes and torment, it will only be where it is God’s permission (cf. Matt. 10:30).
Luke 21:20. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is drawing near:
Luke 21:21. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and whoever is in the city, come out of it; and whoever is in the vicinity, do not enter it,
Luke 21:22. for these are the days of vengeance, that all that is written may be fulfilled.
Luke 21:23. Woe to them that are pregnant and to those who nurse at the breast in those days; for there will be great disaster in the land and wrath against this people:
Luke 21:24. and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be carried away into captivity among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Evangelist Luke speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem, in general, in agreement with Mark (Mark 13ff.), but there are some peculiarities here.
“Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (verse 20). Some (for us - Bishop Michael) believe that the Evangelist Luke here explains what the “abomination of desolation” is, which Mark (and Matthew) speaks of. But such an interpretation is not based on anything. Surrounding a city with troops does not mean “desolation” of it...
“Those who are in Judea” (verse 21). This refers to the disciples of Christ, as can be seen from verse 20 (“you will see” - “know”). The opportunity to flee the city will therefore still present itself, even though the city will be surrounded (verse 20).
“Let all things that are written be fulfilled” (verse 22). This refers to numerous prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem, including Daniel’s prophecy about the 70 weeks (Dan. 9:26–27).
“From the edge of the sword” (verse 24) – more precisely: “from the mouth of the sword” (στόματι μαχαίρας). The sword is depicted as a biting beast (cf. Gen. 34:26; Deut. 13:15). According to Josephus, about a million Jews died during the siege and capture of Jerusalem.
“They will be taken prisoner.” 97 thousand were taken captive - mostly to Egypt and other provinces.
"Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles." The city is here portrayed as a person whom the Gentiles will treat with utter contempt (cf. Isa. 10:6; Rev. 11:2).
“Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” i.e. until the period of time appointed for the pagans to carry out God's judgment on the Jewish people has passed (St. John Chrysostom). These “times” (καιροί) must end at the second coming of Christ (cf. verses 25–27), which must occur during the lifetime of the listeners of this speech (verse 28: “lift up your heads”). Therefore, there can be no talk here about long periods and, therefore, there is no prophecy about the fall of paganism under Constantine the Great, much less about the conversion of “the full number of the pagans” (Rom. 11:25) to Christ. It is clear that by the coming of Christ here we will need to understand not His coming before the end of the world, but His coming in the Holy Spirit, or we will consider the speech about the Second Coming spoken in the spirit of Old Testament prophecies (see comments on Matthew 24).
Luke 21:25. And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on earth there will be despondency of the nations and bewilderment; and the sea will roar and be troubled;
Luke 21:26. people will die of fear and anticipation of the disasters coming to the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken,
Luke 21:27. and then they will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.
Luke 21:28. When this begins to happen, then look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Luke 21:29. And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree and at all the trees:
Luke 21:30. when they are already blooming, then, seeing this, you know for yourself that summer is already close.
Luke 21:31. So, when you see these things coming true, know that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Luke 21:32. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen;
Luke 21:33. heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
The Second Coming will be preceded by special signs, which the Evangelist Luke speaks of, closer to the Gospel of Mark (see Mark 13:24-31).
“Signs in the sun” (verse 25; see Mark 13:24).
“Despondency of peoples and bewilderment” - more precisely: the grief of peoples in a hopeless state of mind in front of the noise of the sea and waves (the noise of the sea and its indignation is exactly what people will stand in front of in a hopeless state of mind, συνοχὴ ἐθνῶν ἐν ἀπορίᾳ).
“To die of fear” (verse 26). Since the image moves at an increasingly stronger pace, what we need to see here is not simple powerlessness, but directly the emission of the last breath of people.
“For the powers of heaven will be shaken.” This will be the reason for the extraordinary noise of the sea and other turmoil in the world.
“Your redemption” (verse 28) is the same as “vengeance of the elect” (Luke 18:7). The judgment of the evildoers and the glorification of the sufferers for the name of Christ will begin.
Luke 21:34. Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and lest that day come upon you suddenly,
Luke 21:35. for he will come upon all those who live on all the face of the earth like a snare;
Luke 21:36. Therefore, watch at all times and pray, that you may be worthy to escape all these future disasters and to stand before the Son of Man.
The exhorting character at the conclusion of this speech can be observed in both Matthew and Mark, but in Mark and Matthew this exhortation is much simpler and shorter (cf. Mark 13ff; Matt. 24:42).
“Intoxication” – more precisely: “hangover”, as a result of yesterday’s intoxication (κραιπάλῃ) as opposed to drunkenness (μέθῃ).
“That day”, i.e. the day of the second coming and judgment.
“I have not comprehended you.” This day is personified as seizing people unexpectedly.
“Like a snare” is a net that is thrown over animals or birds by hunters (cf. Isa. 24:17).
"For all time." It is more correct to relate this expression to the word “pray” (δεόμενοι), because the Lord spoke about constant prayer above (Luke 18:1-7).
“May you be worthy” is the goal and together the content of the prayer. According to the best codes, it reads here: so that you have strength, be able (κατισχύσατε, and not καταξιωθῆτε).
"Avoid everyone..." Those. happily overcome all the dangers that lie ahead of you and save your life, i.e. their position as God's chosen ones (cf. verse 19 and Luke 18:7).
“To appear before the Son of Man” (see Mark 13:27). The elect will be placed (σταθῆναι) before Christ by the Angels and will form a chosen retinue around Him (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17). There is no talk here about the judgment of these chosen ones of God.
Luke 21:37. During the day He taught in the temple, and when He went out He spent the night on the mount called the Mount of Olives.
Luke 21:38. And all the people came to Him in the temple in the morning to listen to Him.
Here is a general overview of Christ's activities during the latter part of His life. The Lord continued during the day, without fear of enemies, to act in the temple as a teacher, and at night he retired to Mount Olivet (cf. Mark 11:19).
Legendary pieces of silver
Thirty pieces of silver is a legendary figure; one wonders what could be bought for that money. According to Tacitus, the denarius was the daily pay of a soldier in the time of Tiberius. During the period of high prices, a denarius could buy a quinix (about a liter) of wheat and three quinix of barley. A piece of silver, and this is the silver shekel that is already well known to us, was four times heavier in silver content than a denarius. So it turns out that Judas' benefit consisted of a couple of bags of wheat. It is difficult to believe that Judas, who served as treasurer of the party of Christ, was tempted by such a small amount. The New Testament brought to us the story of a minor incident between the Teacher and Judas, which was based on an amount comparable to 30 pieces of silver. A week before Easter, on Saturday the 8th of Nisan, Christ reached the suburb of Jerusalem - Bethany - where he stayed in the house of Simeon the Leper. Mary, who served at the table, brought in a jug of incense during dinner and anointed Christ's feet. After which she deliberately broke a vessel full of precious liquid, observing the custom of destroying dishes that were used when receiving a particularly honored guest. The room was filled with wonderful aromas to the delight of everyone present, except for the stingy Judas. The treasurer immediately calculated how much money could be raised by selling the incense. Today we know that a standard 2.5-liter jar of myrrh cost about 20 silver shekels at the time. When Judas remarked to the Teacher that this money could be put in the cash register and then distributed to the poor, Christ sharply objected: “You always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
What happened to the widow?
Unfortunately, we don't know the rest of the widow's story.
But we can make assumptions. We know, for example, that the eternal law regulates the payment of tithes and offerings. When faith is demonstrated in this way, holes in heaven are opened. This poor widow came to the temple to make a donation.
Another law of heaven says that we must ask in order to receive and knock so that the Lord will open to us. Moreover, we know that when we ask and knock, we must also sacrifice, or our prayer is in vain. This widow came to the temple to ask, knock and make a sacrifice.
If this widow was fasting that day - and we assume that this is possible - the law of fasting also requires a sacrifice, which, as we noted, the widow came to offer in the temple. We have been told that the law of fasting brings incredible blessings, such as the lightening of heavy burdens, the liberation of the oppressed, and also from the yoke that holds us captive. Weren't these blessings also available to her by obedience to this law?
Finally, we know that temple service provides the greatest blessings available to God's children. The widow in the temple was certainly worthy of such blessings.
We can confidently hope that this widow's life has changed. Perhaps the hearts of her husband's family had softened towards her. Maybe someone took pity on her, or she suddenly had money. Maybe another man came into her life and saved her from loneliness and poverty? Anything could have happened, and we have every reason to believe that something did. Why? Because we know who noticed her!
We can learn a lot from this widow. When we are lonely, sad, desperate, or impoverished in any sense of the word, we can also rely on faith and draw closer to the Lord to give him all that we have left. This sacrifice is called the sacrifice of the heart.
Most likely, when we make our pathetic sacrifice, we will ask ourselves the question: is this enough?
We may even ask ourselves, “Will He see me? Will my meager contributions attract the attention of the God of heaven? Will He hear my prayer? Does He know me? Does He know what I'm going through? Will He help me?
And the answer to that is yes.
This article was originally published online at Meridian Magazine. By Larry Barkdall. Translator Elena Shannon.
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Elena
Lena is a hopeless optimist. She loves golden sunsets, good books, children's hugs, running barefoot on green grass and hates getting up with roosters. She deeply values family relationships and believes in the power of prayer. Lena has three sons and a sweet daughter. With her entire large family, she and her beloved husband live at the foot of the mountains in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
Pilate's Silver
The mite has sunk into the euro
The name of the coin comes from the ancient Greek π (leptos - small, thin). This copper or bronze coin came into use after Alexander the Great (356–323 BC). In modern Greece, the mite was used from 1827 to 2002, when it was replaced by the euro cent.
In the story of the betrayal of Christ there is another plot related to money, only with much more than 30 pieces of silver. The apocrypha called “The Acts of Pilate” claims (by the way, this information is also confirmed by Josephus) that for an unjust decision in the case of Christ, Pilate received 30 talents of silver from the high priest Kiaphas. This amount deserves attention. The Old Testament talent is 3,000 shekels, that is, about 43 kilograms of silver. We know that Pilate's annual salary was about 3,000 denarii per year, which is the amount he had the right to withhold from the collected taxes in his favor. So, the bribe to the Roman official amounted to approximately four years' salary.
Pilate's appetites should be considered very moderate compared to our times. Moreover, the apocrypha states: 30 talents were spent by the procurator on the salaries of the soldiers of his cohort.
Author: Alexey Savin
