The Widow’s Two Coins
1Looking up, he saw the rich dropping their gifts into the treasury. 2He also saw a needy widow put in two lepta, 3and he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4For all of these gave out of their abundance; but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had to live on.”
The Temple and the Days to Come
5Some were speaking of the temple, of how it was adorned with fine stones and votive offerings. He said, 6“These things you are gazing at — days will come when not one stone will be left here upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7They asked him, “Teacher, when will these things happen, then? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” 8He said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time has come.’ Do not go after them. 9And when you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be terrified; these things must happen first, but the end does not follow at once.” 10Then he told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in place after place; there will be terrors, and great signs from heaven. 12But before all this they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be led before kings and governors for the sake of my name. 13And it will give you your chance to bear witness. 14So settle it in your hearts not to rehearse your defense beforehand, 15for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be handed over even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17You will be hated by everyone because of my name. 18Yet not a hair of your head will be lost. 19By your endurance you will win your lives.
Jerusalem Surrounded
20When you see Jerusalem ringed by armies, then know that her desolation is near. 21Then those in Judea must flee to the hills, those inside the city must get out, and those in the countryside must not go into it, 22for these are days of reckoning, when everything that is written will be fulfilled. 23How terrible for those who are pregnant and to those nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles have run their course.
The Coming of the Son of Man
25There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and on the earth anguish among the nations, bewildered by the roar of the sea and its surge. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to happen, stand up straight and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 29And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30As soon as they bud, you can see for yourselves that summer is already near. 31So it is with you: when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until it has all happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Stay Awake
34Watch yourselves, or your hearts will grow heavy with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day will close on you suddenly 35like a trap; for it will come upon everyone living on the face of the whole earth. 36Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.” 37By day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and stay on the hill called the Mount of Olives. 38And all the people came to him early in the morning at the temple to hear him.
