Lk 21:12-19
Give testimony: Before there are signs of the end of the age, there will be plenty of time for followers of Jesus to bear witness to what he said and did. As had already happened in Luke’s community, some disciples had been seized and persecuted; they had been handed over to synagogues and prisons; they were led before kings and governors. And there was going to be a lot more seizures, persecutions, imprisonments, and trials, as Luke develops in his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. All of these trials lead to witnessing.
In giving witness, Luke urges his readers to remember not to prepare ahead of time how to defend themselves for Jesus himself will give them an eloquence and wisdom which all those opposing them will not be able to resist or refute. This guidance will come from the Holy Spirit, who, even though he has been active throughout the Gospel, will be received by Jesus’ followers in a dramatic way in the Acts of the Apostles.
While standing firm, by perseverance followers of Jesus will save their lives, even when their own relatives hand each other over to death. Jesus had already prepared for this when he said, “I tell you [I have come] for division” (12:51). In Luke’s community, there were parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, who betrayed their Christian relatives.
But there is hope in the midst of persecution. Luke slips into hyperbole in order to stress that witness, testimony, leads to dependence upon God. Jesus has already instructed his followers to seek his Father’s kingdom first and all other things would be given to them (cf 12:22-34). The Father is pleased to give them the kingdom. Now is the time to bear witness that this is true.