Luke 21:38Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Now the Evangelists are silent as to the greater part of Christ’s teaching; for whereas He preached for the space nearly of three years, all the teaching which they have written down would scarcely, one might say, suffice for the discourse of a single day. For out of a great many things extracting a few, they have given only a taste as it were of the sweetness of His teaching. But our Lord here instructs us, that we ought to address God at night and in silence, but in day time to be doing good to men; and to gather indeed at night, but in the day distribute what we have gathered. As it is added, And at night he went out and abode in the mount that is called Olivet. Not that He had need of prayer, but He did this for our example.

But because His speech was with power, and with authority He applied to spiritual worship the things which had been delivered in figures by Moses and the Prophets, the people heard Him gladly. As it follows, And the whole people made haste to come early to hear him in the temple. But the people who came to Him before light might with fitness say, O God my God, early do I wait upon thee.

If that group acted in such a manner, how much more should we, a community much closer to Him, eagerly approach His sanctuary each morning to hear from Him through the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and not merely to hear, but to follow.

What our Lord commanded in word, He confirms by His example. For He who bid us watch and pray before the coming of the Judge, and the uncertain end of each of us, as the time of His Passion drew near, is Himself instant in teaching, watching, and prayer. As it is said, And in the day time he was teaching in the temple, whereby He conveys by His own example, that it is a thing worthy of God, to watch, or by word and deed to point out the way of truth to our neighbour.

The witnesses of this significant moment surely anticipated greater events on this day, envisioning the complete establishment of the Messiah's reign. Yet, through this solemn procession, the Lord merely accomplished what the prophets had predicted about Him, and without abandoning His lowly form, He departed from Jerusalem in the evening. His adversaries felt emboldened, while others awaited the next developments. In the brief remaining days of the Son of Man's time on earth, He visited Jerusalem each morning, engaging with the people in the temple, while dedicating the remainder of His time to His disciples, retreating with them at night to Bethany, where His friends were.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it is noted that Jesus Christ concluded His prophetic teachings regarding the end times for Jerusalem and the world with a foretelling of His impending sufferings during the approaching Passover, set to occur just two days later. These prophetic messages were delivered by Christ on Tuesday evening, as referenced in Luke 21:37-38. Consequently, His announcement of His impending sufferings was made to the disciples on the same Tuesday evening. The assembly of the Sanhedrin could not have happened until the following morning, which would be Wednesday. However, since Tuesday evening, by the standards of that timekeeping, had already transitioned into Wednesday, it is stated that "then the chief priests were assembled," and so forth.

The significant dialogue on the Mount of Olives came to a close. With the sun already dipped below the horizon, He rose and walked with His disciples along the path leading to Bethany. This marked His final journey on this road during His time on earth, and after the trials faced, the exhaustion endured, the profound teachings delivered, and the intense emotions of that remarkable day, how wonderfully peaceful these moments of twilight and evening reprieve must have felt to Him; how rejuvenating was the atmosphere of tranquility and love that enveloped Him in this serene village and cherished home! It seems quite fair to note that Jesus Christ held a preference against cities and rarely spent the night within their confines.

A general observation regarding Christ's actions during the final days of his earthly ministry (Luke 19:47-48) is that he "spent the nights on the mountain," likely seeking solitude for prayer.

After concluding His discussion, the Lord Jesus Christ reminded His disciples of the predictions He had made regarding His impending suffering (Matt. 16:21; 17:22; 20:18). To illustrate that His suffering was known beforehand and undertaken willingly, as St. John Chrysostom noted, He clearly indicated the precise day of His crucifixion: “Behold, it shall be the Passover in two days, and the Son of Man shall be delivered up to be crucified.” This marked the day when the God-Man spoke of the future of Jerusalem, Israel, and the entire world during His teachings in the temple and on the Mount of Olives. As the day drew to a close, the teacher and His disciples rose to retreat to their resting place for the night.