Luke 21:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.

NIV: How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

NASB: Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people;

CSB: Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

NLT: How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people.

KJV: But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

NKJV: But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

Jesus told the disciples that though the temple is beautiful, it will be destroyed. The disciples want to know when this will happen (Luke 21:6–7). Jesus places the destruction in the context of several prophecies that will focus on Jews from the time of His ascension until His return. First, His followers will face horrible persecution (Luke 21:12–19). Then, the Romans will come.

Jesus doesn't identify the Romans, but it is their armies that will surround Jerusalem: the sign that the temple is about to be destroyed. Jesus warns them: escape Jerusalem if you can. If you're in Judea, flee to the mountains. If you're not in Judea, stay away. God's vengeance is here (Luke 21:20–22). In the Mosaic law, God promised if His people rejected Him, He would destroy their cities, their land, and their population (Leviticus 26:14–39). Soon, they will reject their God by rejecting Jesus, their Messiah (Luke 19:41–44).

From AD 66 through 70, the Jews fought the Roman occupation. At first, they did well. Before long, however, the Roman army sent reinforcements. Zealots from Galilee fled to Jerusalem and started a civil war against the more moderate Sadducees. The Jews fought each other while the Roman army marched to Judea and set up siegeworks. Between the civil war and the Romans, the people fell into extreme famine. In any famine, pregnant and nursing women are particularly vulnerable. But it gets worse.

Leviticus 26:29 prophesied that if God's people rejected Him, He would cause a famine so severe the people would eat their children. Josephus, an ancient historian, tells the story of a woman who had fled from Perea to Jerusalem. As she went, all her belongings were taken from her. In Jerusalem "seditious" Jews regularly came to her home and took what little food she could scrounge. Realizing that she and her nursing son were destined for either slavery or death by famine, she roasted her baby and ate half. When the rebels smelled the meat, she offered them the other half. Her tormentors and the city were horrified that the situation had come to this (Josephus, Jewish War, 6.3.4).

Leviticus 26:32 continues, "And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it." When the emperor found out that a woman had eaten her son, he used it as proof that the city and its inhabitants needed to be destroyed (Josephus, Jewish War, 6.3.5). The soldiers were horrified and had "wrath against this people."

Jesus' prophecy continues. Many who survive the famine will die from violence or be taken captive. Josephus reported that over one million Jews died and ninety-seven thousand were taken into slavery. The city, itself, is still under partial control of Gentiles some two millennia later (Luke 21:24).

Luke 21:20–24 answers the disciples' question regarding what signs will precede the destruction of the temple (Luke 21:6–7). Jesus reveals that all Jerusalem will be destroyed. This happened decades after Jesus' ascension, during the Roman attack in AD 70. Jesus' next prophecy skips the church age and covers His return at the end of the tribulation (Luke 21:25–28), mentioning the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24) but not providing specific details. Matthew 24:15–20 and Mark 13:14–18 also record Jesus' words about the destruction of Jerusalem.

Luke 21 records the last of Jesus' teachings before the Last Supper, His arrest, and His crucifixion. Luke 21:1–4 fits well with the themes of Luke 19:28—20:47. Luke 21:5–11 describes how false messiahs, war, and natural disasters will become normal. Luke 21:12–24 prophesies challenges prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Luke 21:25–28 moves to the tribulation. Luke 21:29–36 is Jesus' instructions about the disciples' lives and ministries with respect to the delayed kingdom. Luke 21:37–38 is a note about Jesus' schedule in the days between the triumphal entry and His arrest.

Luke 21 finishes the presentation of Jesus in Jerusalem as the Messiah of the Jews. This lays a foundation for the Passion Narrative: the final days before Jesus is crucified. Luke 19:28—20:47 covered most of the discussions about His authority which are completed with His words about the widow's sacrificial offering (Luke 21:1–4). The rest of the chapter records His warnings to the disciples about the violence they, the temple, Jerusalem, and the world will face between His ascension and His return. Matthew 24 and Mark 12:41—13:37 cover the same material.