“Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:”
My Notes
What Does Luke 21:14 Mean?
"Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer." Jesus instructs the disciples about their FUTURE persecution trials: when you're dragged before kings and rulers (verse 12), DON'T PRE-REHEARSE your defense. SETTLE it in your hearts — resolve, decide, commit NOW — that you will NOT prepare a speech in advance. The non-preparation is the preparation. The decision to not meditate beforehand IS the meditation.
The phrase "settle it therefore in your hearts" (thete oun en tais kardiais hymōn — place/settle therefore in your hearts) means this decision must be made NOW, before the crisis: the settling is PRESENT tense. The persecution is FUTURE. The decision to trust is made BEFORE the trial, not during it. The heart-settling is the advance preparation that eliminates advance preparation. You prepare by deciding not to prepare.
The "not to meditate before what ye shall answer" (mē promeletān apologēthēnai — not to pre-practice/rehearse your defense) means DON'T REHEARSE: the word promeletan means to practice beforehand, to prepare a speech, to rehearse the defense. Jesus says: don't do it. Don't spend tonight writing tomorrow's courtroom speech. Don't rehearse the answers. Don't craft the defense. The preparation that the world demands is the preparation Jesus prohibits.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you anxiously rehearsing that Jesus has promised to provide in the moment?
- 2.What does settling the decision NOW (before the crisis) teach about pre-crisis faith?
- 3.How does the prohibition against rehearsing model trust in divine provision?
- 4.What 'mouth and wisdom' has Jesus given you in a moment you didn't prepare for?
Devotional
Settle it NOW — in your hearts. Don't rehearse your defense in advance. The decision to NOT prepare IS the preparation. The resolve to NOT meditate beforehand IS the meditation. You prepare for persecution by deciding, right now, to trust the moment when it comes.
The 'settle it in your hearts' is a PRESENT decision about a FUTURE crisis: the persecution hasn't happened yet. The trial hasn't been scheduled. But the DECISION is made NOW — settled, resolved, placed in the heart. The heart-settling happens BEFORE the crisis so that DURING the crisis, the settled heart produces the right response. You don't decide during the trial. You decide before it.
The 'not to meditate before' prohibits the REHEARSAL: don't stay up the night before crafting your defense. Don't practice your speech in the mirror. Don't write and rewrite the courtroom argument. The prohibition isn't against THINKING (Jesus wants them thoughtful). It's against REHEARSING — the anxiety-driven preparation that tries to control the outcome through advance scripting.
The reason follows (verse 15 — 'for I will give you a mouth and wisdom'): the non-preparation is grounded in DIVINE PROVISION. Don't rehearse because I WILL GIVE you the words. The mouth and the wisdom come FROM JESUS at the moment of need, not from your own advance preparation. The words you need will arrive when you need them — provided by the one who settled the matter before the trial began.
What are you rehearsing in anxiety that Jesus has promised to provide in the moment?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren,.... See Gill on Mat 10:21.
and kinsfolks, and friends. The…
The account of the destruction of Jerusalem contained in this chapter has been fully considered in the notes at Matt.…
Settle it therefore, etc. - See on Mat 10:19 (note).
See here, I. With what admiration some spoke of the external pomp and magnificence of the temple, and they were some of…
not to meditate before Luk 12:11; Mat 10:19-20. The meaning is that they were neither to be anxious aboutthe form of…