Unshaken: Chapter a Day

Luke 21 Discussion

• Pastor Plek

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A widow drops two small coins and heaven stands to applaud. That single act in Luke 21 unlocks a bigger question we wrestle with throughout the chapter: what does God truly value when everything around us feels fragile? We move from the treasury to the temple, from AD 70 to the future return of Christ, and draw a line between sacrificial generosity and a life that stays awake in uncertain times.

We start by reframing generosity: not the amount, but the faith and sacrifice behind the gift. Then we trace Jesus’ prophecy about Jerusalem’s fall and how it anchors trust in his words. From there, we explore the signs that shape the entire age—wars, earthquakes, famine, betrayal, and persecution—and why they shouldn’t surprise a resilient church. We compare end-times views with care, touching on Revelation 6 and the question of tribulation and timing, without losing the practical heart: pray for strength, bear witness, and keep your footing when the world shakes.

The fig tree’s leaves become a tool for discernment. If you can read summer from a branch, you can read your moment from its moral and spiritual weather. We talk about apathy, dissipation, and anxiety as quiet threats that dull the soul, and we offer concrete steps to stay ready: give by faith like the widow, cultivate habits of watchfulness, and share hope in your daily circles. The promise stands at the end of the road: the Son of Man will come in glory. Until then, let your life point to a better kingdom.

If this conversation helped you think clearer and live braver, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help others find it. What sign do you see in your world today?

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Pastor Plek:

And welcome back to a chapter a day. Keeps the devil away. I am Pastor Plek. This is Pastor Holland. We're talking Luke chapter 21. We're gonna outline it. We are going to observe it. We're gonna interpret it, and then we're gonna finally land the plane some application that you could take with you this very day to your workplay class, wherever you may end up going today, that you could engage the world with the living God. All right, verses one through four talk about just Jesus hanging out, watching uh people give, and he notices the widow's offering, which is far greater than anybody else's, even though it was only two mites. All right, then we get into the destruction of the temple foretold, verses five and six, and as the disciples just gawk at the lavishness of the incredible um structure. He's like, nah, not one of these rocks will be left on top of each other. Then uh we got the signs of the end of the age, verses seven through nineteen, and then we've got uh the destruction of Jerusalem in 20 through 24. We've got the coming of the Son of Man in 25 through 28, uh, and then we've got the lesson of the fig tree in 29 through 33. Finally, we got verses 34 through 38. We've got um Jesus kind of saying, Hey, watch yourselves. Uh beware of hearts weighed by drunkenness, anxiety, and pray constantly to escape it all, to stand before the Son of Man. And then we learn that he by day he teaches, and at night he hangs out in the garden, the Olivet garden. All right, and the crowds show up at dawn to watch. Okay, let's get into this. Uh, what observations do you make?

Pastor Holland:

A lot of uh destruction and persecution and more destruction from this chapter. Right? Yeah, I mean it's a lot of wreckage.

Pastor Plek:

So that's good to know. Um you know, it's like a lot to look forward to. Uh when you when you look at all that, it's kind of wild that that Jesus is saying, like, here come some crazy things, and are you guys ready for it? And and it kind of gets into some end times things. So this is like this is where we might have to get into a debate here on our end times theology. All is ready. But let's before we jump into that, I I love the fact that Jesus watches what people give. Like he could have been watching anything, he could have been like, he could have sat down to watch how husbands treated wives, he could have sat down to watch how parents treated children, he could have sat down to watch all sorts of stuff, but he was interested in how people gave. And he noticed the rich people gave uh and kind of made a big show of it, and then the poor person gave, and Jesus like stood up, got excited about it, was like, look, look, look that that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, because she had complete faith that God would take care of her, even though she gave all she had. So this is really important uh about what biblical generosity is.

Pastor Holland:

Yeah, it gives us is not the amount given. Because Jesus said she contributed more, she put in more than all of them. Right. So how in what by what standard did she put in more? Not the amount that she gave, but by the sacrifice required to give it, by the faith required to give it. And so, what is biblical generosity? It's not the amount that you give, it is the faith and the sacrifice required to give that gift. Yeah. And so that might be, you know, uh very different amounts for different people who have different amounts of resources. And so sometimes we think, oh, I don't have that much, you know, what what's it really gonna do if I give this? But this widow understood that um to honor God is not about the amount, it's about the faith required to give it.

Pastor Plek:

I love that. Yeah, okay, good. All right, let's talk about um if is there anything else in here that we can get to before we get to the end time stuff? Uh well, yeah, okay, so I would say you have two things here. Well, yeah, the less of the fig tree I'm seeing. Go ahead.

Pastor Holland:

You have the destruction of the temple, and then you have the coming of the Son of Man. And these are two different events, but Jesus kind of goes back and forth talking about both of them. Right. Um, and so there's some sense where, you know, this is where I think a lot of people get confused. And uh when he says, you know, these things are gonna happen before this generation passes away. And you're like Which things? Yeah. Yeah. So what I would say he's referring to there is the destruction of Jerusalem. Right.

Pastor Plek:

What he says, you know, that happens in AD 70, about 40 years, roughly after 40 years is about the time of a generation.

Pastor Holland:

Um and so he says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know its desolate desolation has come near. Well, that happened, like you said, 70 AD. Um, you have the Romans um sacking Jerusalem. And so there is in in that sense, this thing does happen before that generation generation passes away. Right. But then the other thing is the coming of the Son of Man, which has still not happened. Jesus has not yet returned. Um, and this is it's been 2,000 years. So there's two things being addressed: one that is going to happen before that generation passes away, and one that still has not happened yet. Do you agree with that?

Pastor Plek:

Yeah, yeah. I I totally I think he's going out of order on a whole bunch of stuff here. Uh specifically, and I think there is like, you know, I think him juxtaposing the destruction of Jerusalem with the coming of the Son of Man. So it's like, hey, out with the old, in with the new, even though the the timing factor is not immediate. Yeah. All right, let's talk through this. So how would you take the uh signs of the end of the age? Where would you say that that that fits? Which verses are you talking about? Uh verses seven through nineteen, like, you know, uh warning of the sept of messiahs, nation against nation, upheavals, earthquakes, famines, plagues, parental betrayals, imprisonments, hatred of his name.

Pastor Holland:

So my take on this is that these are things that will mark the the current age, the time between um the resurrection, ascension of Jesus, Pentecost, you know, wherever you want to choose for that to start, um, and the second coming of Christ. And that whole age, um, some call it the church age, um, that whole age is going to be marked by these things wars, famine, all that stuff. Um, and there will be uh an uptick of it toward the end of that age, um, right before the return of Christ.

Pastor Plek:

And I would take that as this is like full, this is like the prophecy that kind of is revealed in Revelation 6. So you've got uh Revelation 1 through 3, which is like Jesus talking to the churches, and then you kind of do a uh scene change to the throne room of heaven, the scrolls are open, he unleashes uh the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and uh you've got plague, you've got war, uh, you've got uh earthquakes and and all that. That comes as part of the wrath of God coming on uh those who are on earth. And obviously, we know that because of the rapture, those who have uh put their faith and trust in Jesus will be raptured out of that season. Uh so according to pre-trib, pre-millennial dispensation. According to which you hold. That's what that's that's that is the view. That is the official view of the association. That is the official view. So I'm very excited about that view. Uh which you know, it's okay that you disagree. You're allowed to be wrong. It doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes you not understand your pre-trib rapture millennial kingdom. I understand it. Yeah. No, okay, so uh, and then I would take the destruction of Jerusalem is the destruction of Jerusalem. So there it's an out-of-order kind of thing, which you would also kind of take that as a little bit out of order. Um, and then the coming of the Son of the Man, he comes in glory. That that comes at the very end of the tribulation where he comes to claim his kingdom and stand on the earth, which you would say that that just happens without tribulation.

Pastor Holland:

Yeah, or that his entire church age is marked by trib tribulation.

Pastor Plek:

Yeah. Um, okay, let's get to the the fig tree. Like this is you know, usually the last time we we talked about the the fig tree, it was like, you know, Jesus cursed it and it showed how uh the the the temple and the sacrificial system was no longer in season and it was cursed. What is this less of the fig tree implying um as it talks about like the signs? What is it implying here?

Pastor Holland:

Just the basic principle that is observable in nature that um when the leaf comes, then the fruit will come.

Pastor Plek:

Right. Um right, that's it's the signs that Harold the nearness is at hand. Like you know how to interpret the times by looking at the the the leaf.

Pastor Holland:

Yeah, not even the fruit, just the leaf indicates summer is near, is what he says. And similar way, you could say, oh, when the leaves start turning brown, you know, here in Texas, start changing yellow or red or brown, like a fruit. You know what's coming. You can look and observe something in nature and you know what's coming next.

Pastor Plek:

All right. What about just verses 34 through 38? Just like, watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life. Uh first off, who knows what dissipation means? To dissipate, you know, like to um be scattered. Um yeah, I mean, like, but like how does one I guess it's just like just losing your motivation?

Pastor Holland:

Yeah, losing your motivation. Yeah, basically just kind of like um letting go of the expectation of like, hey, a day is coming when Christ will return and you'll stand before his throne.

Pastor Plek:

Yeah.

Pastor Holland:

And when you start going, eh, is it coming? or it's probably really far off, and who really cares?

Pastor Plek:

You know, so it'd be like a wasteful uh just use of money, pleasure, time.

Pastor Holland:

Thinking that it's no big deal, it's not really gonna, you know, um affect you. And so like the fall of Jerusalem is a parable for that in a sense. Right. And that, you know, they're they're um one day Jerusalem's fine, and the next day you're destroyed by the Romans, you know. And um, not that it happened exactly in one day, but you know what I mean? Like it came upon them suddenly, and in the same way, the return of the Son of Man will come upon you suddenly if you're living in this way that's like, eh, you know, I'm I'm lazy, I'm apathetic, I'm uh yeah, not not really putting God first.

Pastor Plek:

Okay, let's get into some uh interpretation of the nature of man. How about um there's a tendency to get excited about generous giving that is just over the top, uh, and then to sort of discount a widow's wholehearted uh giving.

Pastor Holland:

Yeah. Yeah, it's good. We we tend to think that the amount is what matters to God as opposed to the faith and the sacrifice required.

Pastor Plek:

Yep. What else you got for nature of man?

Pastor Holland:

Um the warnings about watching yourselves and letting your hearts be weighed down and stuff, I think says about the nature of man, we tend to be apathetic, to get lazy, to start filling our life our lives with worldly concerns instead of the kingdom of God.

Pastor Plek:

Yeah, yeah. Uh and I also think we just we don't realize the spiritual war that's going on all the time, yeah, and that Jesus is coming back, and he's coming back soon. Yeah, and there is that doctrine of eminency that uh I hold to that he could come back now or now or now. And uh just if we kind of like in Noah's day, if you just say, like, that come on, crazy person building a boat. Um, there's not, it's never gonna rain. It's I've never seen it rain. If you if you're kind of in that position where, like, listen, life has gone on, presidents have come and gone, wars have started and war wars have ended, there's times of peace and times of war, and guess what? Life is just gonna continue like it always has. You're gonna miss Jesus' coming back. Uh, what about the character of God?

Pastor Holland:

Um, you know, I find it interesting that he he brings up in verse 12 that you're gonna be persecuted and delivered up to synagogues and prisons, and you'll be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. Yeah. God wants his gospel um to be proclaimed, not just to all people, but even to the rulers of the people, to the kings, um, to the governors, to the leaders of um nations and peoples. Um that this is like a big theme in scripture that you see a lot in the old testament, but it continues here in um Luke.

Pastor Plek:

You know, that that is incredible, and then it happens. Yeah. Like eventually the gospel gets to the king and turns the empire. Right. Uh, which is wild to think about.

Pastor Holland:

And it happened in the Old Testament in um Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and then Darius in Babylon, and you you know, God Cyrus, right? Yeah, they sent out decrees saying, hey, the the Lord is the God and king, his kingdom lasts forever. And so God has done that, and now he continues to do that moving forward.

Pastor Plek:

Man, I I get really encouraged by every aspect of that. Um, what about else about God? Um yeah, he's got a plan for the future. Yeah, like he has laid out um destruction, rebuilding, a plan for the saved, and a plan for sinners and all that. That's that's wild that he's got a plan for everybody.

Pastor Holland:

And I would say he's so merciful and patient. If you look at all, I mean, this is just full of warnings. Just like, hey, watch out, hey, keep keep awake, hey, look out for this, pay attention to this, you know, and all of that is God mercifully and patiently warning people that we might repent and find life.

Pastor Plek:

Okay, let's get into then the application. I think we're it's pretty obvious. And for sin to avoid, promise to claim, example to follow, command to obey, knowledge to believe. Uh, command to obey is be ready. Jesus is coming back soon. Heed the warnings, don't shrug them off. Man, yeah. And don't be anxious at the same time. Don't be anxious, but just know he's coming and you know, be vigilant, look for the signs. At the same time, always be, you know, have your go bag for Jesus ready. I mean, keep your life ready for him, um, trusting and believing that he is good and he will do good things. He has good things for us.

Pastor Holland:

Related to that, command to obey, verse 36, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and stand before the Son of Man. The the I I think when he says to escape, I mean, I I think he means to endure through, that you make it through to the other side. Um, that's why you're praying for strength so that you can persevere under trial. And so I think a command to obey, pray for strength to endure the hard times and stay faithful to Jesus.

Pastor Plek:

How about uh just an example to follow, uh, the widow's might, you know, giving, giving like she gave. And imagine like if you could time the market, like in the stock market world, you know, you kind of you always want to buy low, sell high. Imagine if you could time the market where you gave all your wealth at like the last second, and man, you got credit for it on the other side. You don't never know when that is, but it could be that you're that you just you gave extraordinarily and generously to God to seeing God's kingdom advance, and then bam, you're on the other side of that going, wow, what a that was the best thing I could ever do with my wealth. And the reality is your life here is so short that it's exactly like that.

Pastor Holland:

Yeah, and you know, to take take heart, like if you don't have a lot of wealth, right? You giving five of your ten dollars is you know, gonna receive applause and commendation and reward in heaven way more than you know, the rich man giving a hundred thousand out of his millions. That's good. Um, and so like take heart, like whatever the amount is, just give by faith, knowing that you're honoring God and that he's pleased with it.

Pastor Plek:

Yeah. Uh, another thing to think about today who are you gonna share the hope that you have with where you live, work, or play? Be vigilant. Let's lean into him today as you go about your day. We'll see you next time on a chapter a day.

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