Luke 21:34 (NASB1995) (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of Luke 21 verse 34? ›

Luke 21:34–36 records Jesus telling His followers how to live as they await His second coming. They must be alert to what is going on around them: to how God and the enemy are working in the world.

Don't let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man."

Jesus' principle here shows us that God does not need our money. If God needed our money, then how much we give would be more important than our heart in giving. Instead, it is our privilege to give to Him, and we need to give because it is good for us, not because it is good for God.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

Luke 21:34-36. "Surfeiting" (KJV) or "carousing" (NKJV) means indulging in one's appetites excessively. It could be food or drink or many other things. This world, especially in its advertising, is pushing the overuse of our appetites all the time.

The meaning of the verse isn't to predict the destruction of the heavens and earth. The point is that ultimate truth—represented by Jesus' words—are more sure than the heavens and earth. As a side discussion, in the context of the chapter, His oath has interesting repercussions.

The Bible commands us to pray for one another, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16, ESV).

Matthew 5:43-45:

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

In Luke 21:12–19, Jesus backtracks and describes what His disciples will face as they build the church. In Luke 21:20–24, Jesus gives more details about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Matthew and Mark word this as a double prophecy which also refers to events during the tribulation.

What is the book of Luke trying to teach us? ›

Through parables, he teaches us how to treat one another and live in the world with kindness and humility. In Luke, we also learn about what Jesus holds in high regard. That he has love for the afflicted and the sinners and we we become amazed at the miraculous power of Christ to perform healing.

A major theme in Luke's Gospel is God's care for people who were seen as insignificant in the society of his day. Specifically, this referred to women, children, the poor, and disreputable “sinners”. Luke thus gives a prominent place to women in his gospel (1:5-2:52; 7:36-50; 8:1-4; 10:38-42; 15:8-10).

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.

[14] For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. [15] What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

D. A. Carson says such people are “thoughtfully, willfully, and self-consciously rejecting the work of the Spirit.”¹ Their blasphemy is to deny the Spirit's testimony and to knowingly ascribe it to some other (usually evil) source.

Formerly, when the Disciples had gone out, on mission, they had not lacked anything. Now they would need a purse, a bag and even a sword. The saying is heavily ironical, for Jesus knew that now He would have to face universal opposition and be put to death. But the disciples misunderstood Him and produced weapons.

This verse was Jesus' supernatural guarantee that when they went to preach, they would have divine protection against serpents, scorpions, and anything else the enemy might try to use to stop or hurt them. This is why Jesus concluded by saying, “… nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Pleading the blood is not begging God to do something. It is not a statement of unbelief or fear! Pleading the blood activates what happened through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is asking God to provide what Jesus' blood has already purchased. It's a statement of faith about what happened at Calvary.

It means that God won't change His mind about what he has called you to do. If God has called you, that calling is still there, whether or not you have obeyed. And if God gave you a gift, that gift is still there! Whatever God has called you to do, He has also gifted you to do it.