The Widow’s Offering
1As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their gifts into the temple offering boxes. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3“What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said. “That poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these other people gave a lot because they are rich. But even though she is poor, she put in everything. She had nothing left to live on.”
When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End
5Some of Jesus’ disciples were talking about the temple. They spoke about how it was decorated with beautiful stones and with gifts that honored God. But Jesus asked, 6“Do you see all this? The time will come when not one stone will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”
7“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8Jesus replied, “Keep watch! Be careful that you are not fooled. Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am he!’ And they will say, ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9Do not be afraid when you hear about wars and about fighting against rulers. Those things must happen first. But the end will not come right away.”
10Then Jesus said to them, “Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. 11In many places there will be powerful earthquakes. People will go hungry. There will be terrible sicknesses. Things will happen that will make people afraid. There will be great and miraculous signs from heaven.
12“But before all this, people will arrest you and treat you badly. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison. You will be brought to kings and governors. All this will happen to you because of my name. 13And so you will be witnesses about me. 14But make up your mind not to worry ahead of time about how to stand up for yourselves. 15I will give you words of wisdom. None of your enemies will be able to withstand them or prove them wrong. 16Even your parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends will hand you over to the authorities. The authorities will put some of you to death. 17Everyone will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair on your head will be harmed. 19Remain strong in the faith, and you will receive eternal life.
20“A time is coming when you will see armies surround Jerusalem. Then you will know that it will soon be destroyed. 21Those who are in Judea should then escape to the mountains. Those in the city should get out. Those in the country should not enter the city. 22This is the time when God will punish Jerusalem. Everything will come true, just as it has been written. 23How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! There will be terrible suffering in the land. There will be great anger against those people. 24Some will be killed by the sword. Others will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be taken over by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles come to an end.
25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be in terrible pain. They will be puzzled by the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Terror will make people faint. They will be worried about what is happening in the world. The sun, moon and stars will be shaken from their places. 27At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud. He will come with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up. Hold your head up with joy and hope. The time when you will be set free will be very close.”
29Jesus told them a story. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees,” he said. 30“When you see leaves appear on the branches, you know that summer is near. 31In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is near.
32“What I’m about to tell you is true. The people living now will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.
34“Be careful. If you aren’t, your hearts will be loaded down with wasteful living, drunkenness and the worries of life. Then the day the Son of Man returns will close on you like a trap. It will happen suddenly. 35That day will come on every person who lives on the whole earth. 36Always keep watching. Pray that you will be able to escape all that is about to happen. Also, pray that you will not be judged guilty when the Son of Man comes.”
37Each day Jesus taught at the temple. And each evening he went to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives. 38All the people came to the temple early in the morning. They wanted to hear Jesus speak.
Udovičin dar
(Mk 12:41-44)
1Isus je u Hramu promatrao bogataše kako ubacuju milostinju u kutiju. 2Ugleda tako i neku udovicu kako ubacuje samo dva novčića. 3“Zaista vam kažem, ta je siromašna udovica ubacila više nego svi ostali skupa! 4Jer svi su oni dali od svojeg viška, a ona je, tako siromašna, dala sve što je imala.”
Isus pretkazuje buduće događaje
(Mt 24:1-22; Mk 13:1-20)
5Dok su neki učenici razgovarali o tome kako je Hram urešen lijepim kamenjem i zavjetnim darovima, Isus reče: 6“Doći će vrijeme kada od ovoga što gledate neće ostati ni kamen na kamenu. Svaki će biti razvaljen.”
O počecima nevolja
7Upitaju ga: “Učitelju, kada će se sve to dogoditi? Kojim će se znakom najaviti ispunjenje svega toga?”
8“Pazite da vas tko ne zavede!” odgovori im on. “Mnogi će doći pod mojim imenom proglašujući se Mesijom21:8 U grčkome: …pod mojim imenom i reći “Ja sam”… i govoreći: ‘Kucnuo je čas!’ Ne idite za takvima. 9Kad čujete za ratove i pobune, nemojte se bojati. Sve se to mora dogoditi, ali svršetak još neće doći.” 10Reče još: “Narod će zaratiti protiv naroda i kraljevstvo protiv kraljevstva. 11Bit će velikih potresa, bit će gladi i pošasti na raznim mjestima. Bit će strahota i velikih znakova s neba.
12Ali prije svega toga podignut će na vas ruke i progoniti vas, predavat će vas u sinagoge i tamnice, vući će vas pred kraljeve i upravitelje zato što ste moji sljedbenici. 13To će vas snaći da im možete svjedočiti o meni. 14Zato upamtite: ne morate unaprijed smišljati što reći sebi u obranu. 15Ja ću vam dati rječitost i takvu mudrost kakvoj neće moći proturječiti ni oduprijeti se nijedan vaš protivnik. 16A izdavat će vas čak i vlastiti roditelji, braća, rođaci i prijatelji. Neke će od vas i ubiti. 17Svi će vas zamrziti zato što ste moji. 18Ali neće vam pasti ni vlas s glave. 19Duše će vam se spasiti zbog vaše postojanosti.
Razorenje Jeruzalema
20Kad vidite da vojska opkoljuje Jeruzalem, znajte da će on ubrzo biti opustošen. 21Neka oni koji se zateknu u Judeji bježe u goru. Tko je u gradu, neka bježi iz njega, a ni oni koji su u polju neka se ne vraćaju u grad. 22Jer to će biti dani Božje kazne kojom će se ispuniti sve što piše u Svetome pismu. 23Teško trudnicama i dojiljama u to vrijeme jer će ovu zemlju pritisnuti velika nevolja i velik će se gnjev izliti na ovaj narod. 24Kosit će ih oštrica mača i odvodit će ih u ropstvo među sve narode. A Jeruzalem će gaziti pogani sve dok ne istekne vrijeme pogana.
Isus govori o svojem povratku
(Mt 24:23-35; Mk 13:21-31)
25Pojavit će se znaci na suncu, mjesecu i zvijezdama, a na zemlji će narode pritiskati tjeskoba zbog huke i stihije valovlja. 26Ljudi će umirati od straha i iščekivanja sudbe ovoga svijeta jer će se i sile nebeske potresti. 27Tada će ugledati Sina Čovječjega kako dolazi na oblaku s velikom moći i slavom.21:27 Vidjeti: Daniel 7:13. 28Kad se sve to počne zbivati, uspravite se i podignite glavu jer je vaše otkupljenje blizu.”
Pouka o smokvi
(Mt 24:32; Mk 13:28)
29Zatim im ispriča prispodobu: “Pogledajte smokvu ili bilo koje stablo. 30Kad propupa, i sami znate da je ljeto blizu. 31Također kad vidite da se zbiva sve o čemu sam vam govorio, možete biti sigurni da je blizu Božje kraljevstvo. 32Zaista vam kažem, ovaj naraštaj neće proći dok se sve to ne dogodi. 33Nebo i zemlja će proći, ali moje riječi ostaju zauvijek!
Bdijte!
(Mt 24:36-51; Mk 13:32-37)
34Pazite da vam srca ne otvrdnu u proždrljivosti i pijanstvu ili u životnim brigama te da vas taj dan ne iznenadi 35kao zamka. Jer on će snaći sve žitelje na zemlji. 36Bdijte dakle i stalno se molite da umaknete svim strahotama koje će se događati i da stanete pred Sina Čovječjega.”
37Isus je svaki dan poučavao u Hramu, a noći je provodio na Maslinskoj gori. 38A sav je narod već od ranog jutra hrlio k njemu u Hram da ga sluša.
