Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 20)

• For the entire itinerary, see Ministry Itin'ry;
• in (parentheses) is the location per today's geography.

[18] in Galilee; along the border of Galilee & Samaria; in Judea;

[19] 3rd time in/around Jerusalem-- mid-fall, Feast of Tabernacles:

1. in Jerusalem-- halfway through the Feast, to the Temple courts;
2. to the Mount of Olives (south-central West Bank)-- for 1 night;
3. back in the Temple courts of Jerusalem;
4. Jesus spoke again to the people; as He went along...;

[20] 4th time in Jerusalem-- winter, Feast of Dedication;

[21] to Judea & surroundings (southern West Bank & E of the southern Jordan River):

1. went on the other side of the Jordan R. (west-central Jordan);
2. approached, entered & left Jericho, NE of Jerusalem (southeast-central West Bank);
3. in Bethany (El-Azarireh, SE of Jerusalem; south-western West Bank) on the Mount of Olives, less than 2 mi. from Jerusalem-- raised Lazarus;
4. in Ephraim (NE of Jerusalem; central West Bank);
5. back in Bethany, 6 days before the Passover-- Jesus' feet anointed:
6. came to Bethany & Bethphage (between Jerusalem & El-Azarireh in the West Bank), at the Mount of Olives-- 2 disciples sent;

D. (cont'd) During the 5th time in/near Jerusalem 

  13. Jesus again lamented over Jerusalem [22] above (2nd pt.)-- as he had as he was approaching Jerusalem this 5th time (see PerMtMkLk17  C.10. (Luke acct.), he expressed sorrow as he was leaving (to go out to the Mount of Olives):

• Matt 23:37-39 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets & stone Those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD (Psa 118:26).
• Mark
• Luke

  14. 'She put in all She had to live on' [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt
• Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put & watched the crowd putting their money into the Temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came & put in 2 very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, I tell You the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-- all she had to live on.
• Luke 21:1-4 As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the Temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in 2 very small copper coins. I tell You the truth, He said, This poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.

  15. On the Mount of Olives: 'He who stands firm to the end' [22] above (3rd pt.)

• Matt 24:1-25 Jesus left the Temple & was walking away when His disciples came up to Him to call attention to its buildings. Do You see all these things? He asked. I tell You the truth, not 1 stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down-- From Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary (pp. 422-423) we see this was likely a reference to the near-future destruction of Jerusalem (in A.D. 70). Herod the Great had been assigned king of the Jews by the Roman king, Augustus (40 B.C.); Herod began remodeling Jerusalem's Temple (Herod's Temple) in 20 B.C.; Herod died in 4 B.C., but the beautification of the Temple continued & wasn't completed until  A.D. 62 (events in the Temple in the Gospels & Acts transpired in this Temple). Just a few years later (in A.D. 70) this Temple was destroyed-- then "Jerusalem has no history for 60 yrs. (C.R.Condor)." As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. Tell Us, They said, when will this happen, & what will be the sign of YOUR Coming & the end of the age? Jesus answered: Watch out that no 1 deceives You. For many will come in MY Name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' & will deceive many. You will hear of wars & rumors of wars, but see to it that You are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines & earthquakes in various places. All these are just the beginning of birth pains. Then You will be handed over to be persecuted & put to death, & You will be hated by all nations because of ME. At that time many will turn away from the faith & will betray & hate each other, & many false prophets will appear & deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many will grow cold, but He who stands firm to the end will increasingly be saved. And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, & then the end will come. So when You see standing in the Holy Place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11)-- let the reader understand --then let Those who are who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no 1 on the roof of His house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no 1 in the field go back to get His cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women & nursing mothers! Pray that Your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world till now-- & never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no 1 would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to You, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There HE is!' do not believe it. For false Christs & false prophets will appear & perform great signs & miracles to deceive even the elect-- if that were possible. See, I have told You ahead of time-- so you may not be deceived.
• Mark 13:1-23 As He was leaving the Temple, 1 of the disciples said to Him, Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings! Do You see all these great buildings? replied Jesus. Not 1 stone will be left on another; everyone will eventually be thrown down. Again from Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary (p. 423) we see that this did happen in degrees: After the destruction in A.D 70, there was a complete destruction in A.D. 143-- in reaction to the "rebellion led by the false Messiah, Bar Cochba. What was left of the city was leveled to the ground, even the foundation being plowed up. 2 yrs. later the Romans began the rebuilding of the city, now to be called Aelia Capitolina." As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple [across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem], Peter, James, John & Andrew asked Him privately, Tell Us, when will these several things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled? Jesus said to Them: Watch out that no 1 deceives You. Many will come in MY Name, claiming, 'I am HE,' & will deceive many. When You hear of wars & rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, & famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. You must be on Your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils & flogged in the synagogue. On account of ME You will stand before governors & kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must 1st be preached to all nations. Whenever You are arrested & brought to trial, do not worry about what to say. Just say whatever is given You at the time, for it is not You speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, & a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents & have Them put to death. All men will hate You because of ME, but He who stands firm to the end will increasingly be saved. When You see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong-- let the reader understand --then let Those that are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no 1 on the roof of His house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no 1 in the field go back to get His cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women & nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when GOD created the world, until now-- & never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no 1 would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom HE has chosen, HE has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to You, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there He is!' do not believe it. For false Christs & false prophets will appear & perform signs & miracles to deceive the elect-- if that were possible. So, be on Your guard; I have told You everything ahead of time.
• Luke 21:5-24 Some of His disciples were remarking about how the Temple was adorned with beautiful stones & with gifts dedicated to GOD. But Jesus said, As for what You see here, the time will come when not 1 stone will be left on another; every 1 of them will be thrown down. Teacher, They asked, when will all these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place? He replied: Watch out that You are deceived. For many will come in MY name, claiming, 'I am HE,' &, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. When You hear of wars & revolutions, do not be frightened These things must happen 1st, but the end will not come right away. Then He said to Them: Nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines & pestilence in various places, & fearful events & great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay hands on You & persecute You. They will deliver You to synagogues & prisons, & You will be brought before kings & governors, & all on account of MY Name. This will result in Your being witnesses to Them. But make up Your mind not to worry beforehand how You will defend yourselves. For I will give You words & wisdom that none of Your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives & friends, & they will put some of You to death. All men will hate You because of ME. But not a hair of Your head will perish. By standing firm You will gain in eternal life. When You see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, You will know that its destruction is near. Then let Those that are in Judea flee to the mountains, let Those in the city get out, & let Those that are in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of the punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women & nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land & wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword & will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

  16. 'This generation shall not pass away until all happens;' a fig tree parable [22] above (3rd pt.)-- the title of this topic has been chosen to underscore how vastly different the meaning of this generation is here (though not explained until the end of this topic) than what we saw at the end of PerMtMkLk19 D.12. (about this generation of Roman Catholics).

• Matt 24:26-35 So if anyone tells You, 'There HE is, only out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here HE is, only in the inner room,' do not believe it. For as lightening that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the SON of Man. Wherever there is a carcass [are spiritually dead people] there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, & the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, & the heavenly bodies will be shaken (Isa 13:19; 34:4). At that time the sign of the SON of Man will appear in the sky, & all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the SON of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power & great glory. And HE will send HIS Angels with a loud trumpet call, & They will gather HIS Elect from the 4 winds, from 1 end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender & its leaves come out, You know that summer is near. Even so, when You see all these things, You know that it is near, right at the door. I tell You the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. The Greek word (gehn-neh-AH), rendered this generation here, has 3 distinct meanings-- the 3 time spans are: family, race & age. The scholars agree that here the meaning is race. Heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
• Mark 13:24-31 But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, & the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, & the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time men will see the SON of Man coming in clouds with great power & glory. And HE will send HIS Angels & gather HIS Elect from the 4 winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twig get tender & its leaves come out, You know that summer is near. Even so, when You see these things happening, You know that it is near, right at the door. I tell You the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
• Luke 21:25-33 There will be signs in the sun, moon & stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish & perplexity at the roaring & tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of whet is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that very time they will see the SON of Man coming is s cloud with power & great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up & lift up Your hands, because Your redemption is drawing near. He told Them this parable: Look at the fig tree & all the trees. When they sprout leaves, You can see for yourselves & know that summer is near. Even so, when You see these things happening, You know that the Kingdom of GOD is near. I tall You the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven & earth will pass away. but My words will never pass away.