Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
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In Luke 21, Jesus speaks again as a prophet with specific warnings about the days to come following his death and resurrection. I considered spending some time elaborating on my views of the end times, explaining how what is called Preterism may shed light on passages like verse 32, where these earth-shattering predictions are promised to take place within one generation. But I feel particularly drawn to verses 10-19, especially verses 14-15:
"Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict." (Luke 21:14, 15)
To me, this is surprising. The whole context of this passage appears to be about readiness. Jesus is preparing his followers, equipping them for the dire challenges they are soon to face. Why tell them to NOT meditate on their answers or what they will say to their accusers? I can think of a few answers:
1. Silence. Perhaps Jesus was encouraging them to be silent in the face of persecution. This is, in fact, what Jesus modeled for us at his own trial before Herod and Pilate. He was like a lamb who was silent before the slaughter. On the other hand, this very passage makes clear that persecution should be met with not just silence, but seen as opportunity to witness. Jesus promises that he himself will provide the words and wisdom which will confound our enemies and leave them with nothing to say in reply.
2. Mindless answers. Since we are encouraged to bear witness, but not to meditate beforehand on our answers, perhaps this passage is telling us to have a radical reliance on the illumination of the Holy Spirit in the heat of the moment, and in such a way that all faculties of the mind are ignored and exchanged for an ecstatic channeling of the power of God. This passage does not elaborate on how much of our mental faculty should be used to witness to the resurrection, but there is ample evidence elsewhere. There is the example of Paul, who defended the resurrection throughout the book of Acts in the courts of Roman officials and then later exposited the logic of the gospel in letters to the Romans and Colossians. And then there is the simple command stated in 1 Peter 3:15, which seems to work against Jesus in this instance:
"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15)
So, if we are not to be merely silent, and if we know our minds must be engaged in the work of defending and witnessing to the gospel story, what exactly does Jesus mean by encouraging us to NOT prepare answers beforehand?
3. Peacefully Prepared. The balanced answer we seek may simply be that Jesus was speaking words of gracious concern for a collection of followers who were racked with anxiety about the coming trials they faced. By telling them not to meditate beforehand, he was reminding them that God Almighty was on their side and would not fail them, no matter how weak and inadequate they felt as they stood before the rulers of this world. As Jesus' own example shows in this passage, we are to seriously consider and prepare for the trials that lie ahead. But at the same time, our preparations and answers will never be sufficient without the indwelling power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who works with our minds to give an answer that our adversaries will not be able to withstand or contradict.
Paul sums up this kind of peaceful preparation in his first letter to Corinth. May we find the foolishness of the cross of Christ to truly be the wisdom and power of God, especially in the face of our trials and persecutions:
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)
