Luke 21:36, commentary and pictures

Christ's plain warning commands constant watchfulness and continual prayer so that people may be counted worthy to escape the troubles and judgments coming upon the whole earth and to stand before the Son of man at His appearing. Spoken in His discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming, it joins those two events so that words about Jerusalem reach to the final judgment and the last scenes of earth's history, and it applies especially to believers living now in this hour of peril. Watching guards against Satan's devices, temptation, cherished habits and deception, and it means more than waiting, leading to obedience, purifying life, faithful duty and working for the salvation of others. Hearts must not be weighed down with surfeiting, drunkenness, self-indulgence and the cares of this life, for that day will come suddenly as a snare upon all the earth and as a thief upon those saying peace and safety, while the obedient who watch and are sober will not be overtaken. Escape is deliverance from the coming time of trouble and the seven last plagues before the second advent, given only through being clothed with Christ's righteousness, and standing before Him in judgment requires repentance, confession and cleansing now, because character must be fitted for eternity during this probation and cannot be changed after it closes.

Setting in Luke 21

Luke 21:36 belongs to Christ's discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming, which joins those two events together so that words spoken about Jerusalem reach beyond that crisis to the final judgment and the last scenes of earth's history. It is therefore addressed not only to the disciples but also to those living in the end times, as Christ's warning about Jerusalem and the events preceding His return in glory. Those who know the testing truths of their time must prepare rather than become spiritually careless or absorbed in worldly pleasures and concerns.

Luke 21 presents the signs of Christ's coming and contains a warning message from God to the world whose importance calls for earnest attention. The chapter describes events and conditions relevant to the last days and the coming of the Son of man, including conflict, violence, calamity, increasing drunkenness and crime, and it plainly foretells the condition of the world just before His second coming. Destructive calamities now occurring show the prophecy rapidly fulfilling, so the chapter has great meaning for the present time and should be read and studied. This warning is a message to be given at this time with power, and there is no excuse for failing to give it to the world.

The verse is Christ's plain warning reaching to our time, spoken to His disciples but applying especially to believers now in this hour of peril. It commands watchfulness, prayer, and work as the true life of faith, keeping the heart from being overcharged and keeping a person in readiness for the Lord's coming.

Instead of satisfying curiosity about the secret time of His coming, Christ bids His followers to prepare themselves for that great event, because they do not know the exact time. That preparation is watching and praying always so as to be accounted worthy to escape all the things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man, guarding against hearts overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life lest that day come unawares as a snare on all dwelling on the face of the whole earth. It calls each one to perform individual duty faithfully and to give to others the warnings Christ gave, for watching means more than waiting: it leads to heeding God's warning, obeying, purifying life, and working for the salvation of others. Those who heed the warning of Christ's second coming will be saved from the destruction coming upon the world, just as those who obeyed earlier warnings escaped judgment.

Call to Watch and Pray

The command is to stay continually watchful and to pray always so as to be counted worthy to escape all the events, troubles, perils and judgments coming upon the world and the whole earth and to stand before the Son of man at His appearing. That day will come suddenly upon the world as a snare, and hearts overcharged with surfeiting, excess, drunkenness and the cares of this life will be caught unprepared. Escape from those coming judgments is possible only by being clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness, not by any readiness of one's own. No period of spiritual carelessness or slothfulness is excusable, and those who know the testing truths for this time must prepare with earnest devotion rather than become absorbed in worldly pleasures and concerns. Christ's warnings are being fulfilled, so the remaining time of probation is the opportunity to repent, be converted, forsake sin, lay hold of gospel hope, and receive the blessing of readiness to stand before Him.

To pray always is to remain ever in the spirit of prayer, to be sober, to seek grace each day, and to maintain a complete living connection with God. It brings the whole person under consecration and obedience to His commands, for present and eternal good. It means never resting or relaxing effort but continually striving and agonizing to enter the strait gate and to reach perfection, putting away every sin and cherished indulgence that hinders the religious life even at the cost of self-denial, worldly associations, or human approval. Keeping in that spirit of prayer keeps a person in readiness for the Lord's coming and keeps that day from coming unawares.

Watchfulness guards against Satan's concealed approach, his devices, cherished habits, temptation and ever-near danger, and deception capable of misleading even the faithful, keeping the human will subject to God's will. It guards thoughts, speech, use of money, and faithfulness through daily circumstances, so that confusion or loss of self-control does not dishonor God. It requires a careful, circumspect life with which joking, careless words and actions, and an inconsistent example are incompatible. Communion with God must be kept in order to receive light and strength, as the failure of the sleeping disciples in Gethsemane shows, and all, whatever their experience, intelligence, or station, must become learners to gain spiritual education. Obeying this oft-repeated injunction brings happiness and changes the character, so that the sour and cross become sweet and gentle and the proud become meek and lowly, and the heart is kept one with Christ. With daily control by the Spirit this is the only safety, for without watchfulness and continual prayer a person is controlled by Satan, fails to advance in the divine life, and falls away, and such neglect becomes the beginning of neglect of all religious duties.

Watching is more than waiting, for instead of satisfying curiosity about the secret time of His coming, Christ bids His followers to prepare since they do not know the exact time. It leads to heeding the warning, obeying, purifying the life, and working for the salvation of others, so that those who heed the warning of His second coming are saved from the destruction coming upon the world as those who obeyed earlier warnings escaped judgment. It calls each one to perform individual duty faithfully, to give to others the warnings Christ gave, to be steadfast and unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord, and to draw near to God. It requires dedicating oneself wholly to the Lord rather than with a divided heart that brings darkness and may lead to rejecting truth and God's word. It requires giving time to that appointed work rather than becoming absorbed in serving at the table, while working and watching and waiting with all hope founded in Christ, for the time is not long and His promise is sure.

Snare of Sudden Day

Take heed lest the heart be weighed down and overcharged with surfeiting and overindulgence and drunkenness and the cares of this life, for that day will come unawares as a snare upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. It is a plain and solemn warning reaching to this time, bidding followers not to satisfy curiosity about the secret time of coming but to prepare by watching and praying always in order to be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man. The warning is a message to be given now with power against coming fearful destruction, with no excuse for failing to give it to the world. Guarding against excess and anxiety over worldly life is what keeps the world-focused from being caught unprepared like a snare.

Absorption in worldly business and pleasure and the cares of life must not be allowed to bring that day unexpectedly upon those living before the return. Pleasure and excess and self-indulgence and worldly aims and deceptive practices and love of the world distract from vigilance, dull spiritual attention, and leave people spiritually asleep and unready. All who are careless and indifferent and give themselves to the world in body and soul and spirit will be unready for the appearing and will fail the examination of fitness of character now going on, whatever their position. Readiness therefore includes casting love of the world out of the heart and having fellowship with God, and guarding by watchfulness and prayer against temptation and against being overtaken unprepared.

The day of God and day of the Lord will come suddenly upon the world as a thief in the night, with sudden destruction upon those saying peace and safety. Those not watching and waiting for their Lord will be caught in a snare, for the coming is near and may arrive unexpectedly. Those obedient to knowledge received from the word and walking according to the word are children of light and of the day, not of night nor darkness, and if they do not sleep as others do but watch and are sober they will not be overtaken as by a thief. Believers must therefore examine their position and show by actions that they are ready for the end, rather than living as though worldly security were assured, keeping up earnest devotion and preparation for the coming judgment in a real spiritual battle in which there are no idle spectators.

The warning is especially urgent because the signs of the times are being fulfilled yet the churches are spiritually asleep. Its call to readiness is illustrated by the foolish virgins, who lacked oil when the bridegroom came and were shut out of the marriage feast. No period of spiritual carelessness or slothfulness is ever excusable, and Christians who know the testing truths for this time must prepare rather than become spiritually careless or absorbed in worldly pleasures and concerns. If the church pursues a course similar to that of the world it will share the same fate, and because it has received greater light its punishment will be greater than that of the impenitent. Scoffing at the second advent is inconsistent with readiness and will require an answer for how that solemn event was treated.

Escape and Standing Worthy

To escape all these things is to be delivered from the coming time of trouble, which is the day of the Lord identified with the seven last plagues. Those plagues come before the resurrection and change of the saints and before the second advent, so the saints escape them before they stand before Christ. The living wicked who survive the plagues are then destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

Escape from the coming judgments is possible only by being clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness, never by one's own righteousness. Readiness for that escape must be formed during this life, for the robe and a character fit for eternity cannot be put on after probation closes.

To stand before the Son of man is to stand before Christ at His appearing and second coming, when all nations are gathered before Him and eternal destiny is decided. It is to stand in the Judgment and in the heavenly courts, where at the final hour of trial God's angels guard those who obey and acknowledge His rule, and they see Christ and inherit the prepared kingdom. The gospel work and Christian perfection prepare a people for that moment, and the nearness of the end should shape plans.

That standing belongs to the true consecrated child of God whose only ambition is to be His messenger, with Christ living within as adviser. Such a one daily unlearns the lessons learned in the world and comes into blessed relationship with Him, instead of trusting in men or making flesh an arm. He will then stand in great boldness before those who afflicted him and made no account of his labor, who will fear and be troubled and amazed at the strangeness of his salvation far beyond expectation. They will repent and groan in anguish of spirit, saying he is the one they held in derision and reproach, whose life they counted madness and whose end without honor, while now he is numbered among the children of God and his lot is among the saints.

Being counted worthy to stand when He appears requires seeking God now by repentance and confession, sending sins of omission and sins of commission beforehand to judgment so that pardon is written against the name. It requires cleansing the soul from every spot and stain of sin and removing defects of character. Those who give themselves to worldly aims and deceptive practices will be unready whatever their position, but those so cleansed will be acquitted by Him and stand holy, blameless and without fault.

Ready Character in Probation

Readiness for standing before the Son of man must be formed in this life, for there is no second probation after this life ends and the robe of Christ's righteousness and a character fit for eternity cannot be put on after probation closes. When the Lord comes in the clouds with glory and angels there is no further probation, no atoning blood pleading to wash away sin, and no work of purification or perfecting of character possible for the impure. Character is then fixed as it is at death, so as a person is at death so he rises in the resurrection, and if alive when the Son of man is revealed, as found when He appears so he must remain. While probation still remains it is the opportunity to repent, be converted, forsake sin, lay hold of gospel hope, and receive the blessing of readiness to escape and to stand before Him, and because Christ's warnings are being fulfilled that call is urgent.

Being counted worthy requires watching and praying always with humble earnest seeking of God, confession of sins and transgressions, and faith for pardon and for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It means needing Jesus every moment as a personal Saviour, opening the chambers of the mind and the soul temple and the door of the heart to let Him in as an honored guest and to let in the sunshine of His righteousness. It refuses to let God-given faculties become narrowed and overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life or dwarfed by dwelling on commonplace matters. It means awaking from spiritual slumber to obtain now the oil of character that is not transferable when the cry of the bridegroom comes, and feeling travail of soul to awaken a world lying in wickedness and deception and delusion in the shadow of death. That call to come forward, give the heart fully to Jesus, and unite in prayer of faith for the bread and water of life applies to the afflicted and troubled in mind, those in sorrow and despondency, the lukewarm, backslidden and unbelieving, and youth.

Using probationary time means uniting with God and molding character after the Divine similitude, becoming fit to associate with sinless angels and the redeemed without rebellion, while the careless and indifferent who give themselves to the world in body, soul and spirit will be unready and will fail the present examination of fitness of character. Every sin and cherished indulgence that hinders religious life must be put away at any cost of self-denial, worldly association or human approval, in a life of faith that works and fights against sin. The time granted is opportunity to overcome defects of character and help others to holiness, purifying the soul through obedience to truth, with faith working by love to purify the soul. Daily advancing toward perfection and pressing toward the prize of the high calling creates a fragrant atmosphere around the soul, keeps surrounding infirmities from overcoming, gives victory through the strength of Jesus, and makes the heart one with Christ so His presence expresses His image. Truth applied practically purifies the soul and reveals purity, modesty, humility and contrition.

The verse means living in expectation of the Lord's soon appearing, with that blessed hope and its solemn realities kept often before the mind. Looking, expecting and being ready is a duty serving everlasting welfare and happiness, and hope of His appearing inspires a life distinct from the world. Earthly things and all worldly honor and distinction are regarded as emptiness and nothingness, and the believer lives above the world as pilgrim and stranger with citizenship above. Gathering the righteousness of Christ into the soul makes a burning and shining light in moral darkness, shown in vigorous faith, lively hope, fervent love and holy consecrated zeal. Preparation also means being aroused to see the evils of this age and being stirred to reformation from self-indulgent and unhealthful habits, with health reform and health truths preparing the way for His coming and for other essential truths.

The same passage presents Christ's sacrifice in taking Adam's place and enduring the test Adam failed in Eden. In taking humanity He united divinity with humanity, reaching the human race while remaining joined to God, His name the link between humanity and God.