SUGGESTIVE COMMEiNTAEY 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT; 
 
 ST. LUKE— VOL. II. 
 
 BY 
 
 KEY. W. II. VAN DOEEX, 
 
 o Kyx^'ot avTrj^ rb 'Api'ioj'. Eev. ssi. 23 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 443 & 445 BROADWAY. 
 
 1868.
 
 SUGGESTIYE COMMENTARY 
 
 ST. LUK 
 
 CRITICAL AND IIOMILETICAL NOTES. 
 
 BY 
 
 KEY. W. II. YAI^^ DOREN, 
 
 6 \vxfO'; auTJjs TO 'ApvCov- Itev. sxi. 23. 
 
 vol.. II. 
 
 NEW YOEK: 
 
 D. APPLE TON AND COMPANY, 
 
 443 & 445 BROADWAY. 
 
 1868.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Cougiess, in tlic year 18G7, by 
 
 W. II. VAN DOKEN, 
 
 lu the Clcrlv's Oflice of the District Court of tlic United States for tlic Nortlicm 
 
 District of Illinois. 
 
 ; '*' t .i t\
 
 65 . 
 
 LUKE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 1. TJTETIE were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose 
 hlood Pilate had mingled u'ith their saerifucs. 
 
 There were present, &c. Gr. Tlierc came some at that time telling 
 
 Him. 
 Season, opportunely. The same time the above address was given. 
 As He had been speaking of the punishment of sinners, they tell Him of 
 
 the punishment of certain particular sinners. 
 Told. Many persons take pleasure in being the first to bear sad news. 
 The Greek word used generally implies something recent. 
 Galileans. Luke i. 26. Followers of Judas Gaulonites, a.d. 11. 
 
 Last year of Augustus. 
 He taught it was unlawful to pay tribute to Cffisar. God, their only 
 
 Master. 
 He forbade also that sacrifices should be offered for the safety of tha 
 
 Emperor and Roman people. 
 Christ being a Galilean, He might be thought to favor this sect. 
 " He perverteth the nation, — forbade tribute to Cicsar." Luke xxiii. 2. 
 Blood. Pilate being enraged against the Galileans ordered them to be 
 
 slain in the midst of the victims they were offering according to 
 
 Mosaic law. 
 So that the blood of the offerers was mingled with the blood of the 
 
 victims offered. 
 These insurrections ended in open resistance to Pvome, followed by 
 
 national ruin. 
 Amid cruelties by the Piomans, this was a drop to the ocean. 
 We are far more ready to speak of the death of others, than of our ovra. 
 A dreadful accident at sea or land, occupies all tongues. 
 God's providence at limes vindicates His justice, 
 isot the most guilty however are always punished in this life. 
 An argument and proof that there will bo a general judgment. 
 Pilate. Life and character. Luke xxiii. 1. See Notes. 
 
 .75691
 
 2 suggestiat: commentary [chap. xni. 
 
 Tliis act of Pilate is in accordance -with his hatred of Herod. 
 The suggestion is, that God must have been specially angry with these 
 Galileans, cut off by a heathen, in His House, and at His altar. 
 
 Olshausen regards this chapter as " a sermon on repentance, addressed to the people ; 
 and an admonition calling for entire decision on the part of the disciples." This sermon 
 on repentance possesses peculiar solemnity, from the fact of its being the Saviour's last 
 admonition of that kind. Our Lord is not treating so much of sin in the individual 
 man, as of sin in the race to which he as an individual belongs. " Galileaiin." — 
 ToUowers of Judas Gaulonites. Euthymius. Theophylact, Cyril. Doubted. De Wette, 
 Meyer, Alford. No allusion to them by Josephus. Li<jhifoot. Passed over, like the 
 murder of the babes of Bethlehem. Bloomjicld. 
 
 airayyt'AAoi'Tes — Came with the news. Bvaiiov — Heathen regarded such an act, 
 Bacrilege, since the offering of the sacrifice was "sacer" unto the gods. A malefactor, 
 doomed to atone for the sins of the people during an impending calamity, viewed as 
 "eacer" to the gods. Becker's Char. 
 
 2. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners 
 above all the Galileans, because they suffered such thineis ? 
 
 Answering. Our Lord takes advantage of occurring incidents to teach 
 
 spiritual truths. 
 He judges not the Eomans but the sins of Israel. 
 Such events types of coming judgments, and appeals for penitence. 
 S'^ppose ye ? He docs not deny that the Gahleans were sinners, but 
 
 that they were pre-eminently so. 
 Sinners. Ho would hold up their own guilt, to averted eyes. 
 Jesus restrains the rashness of human judgments. 
 No one suffers here that docs not desciwe chastisement. 
 By it God vindicates justice and checks sin. 
 
 Tbeir misconceit was in thrusting sin and guilt from themselves. 
 The heart is evil and proud that thinks any man worse than himself. 
 Connection between sin and suffering is of the closest kind. 
 Yet we seldom trace the connection without jprf^wm^^/Zo)!. 
 Job's friends ask, "Whoever perisbed being innocent?" Job iv. 7. 
 We ought not to consider so much the mischances of othors, or why they 
 
 happened, as ottr own dangers airl the remedy for them. 
 Because, &c. Individual sins cannot justly be inferred frum individual 
 
 misfortunes. 
 Borne persons arc still ready, notwithstanding our Lord's v.'ords, to attach 
 
 the idea of great guilt to temporal calamities. 
 Judgment belongs to God, and to God only.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] . ON ST. LUKE. 3 
 
 afiapmXoc — Not msirtyis. Oosterzee. Topa — beside, passing beyond, more thau, 
 beyond a real or imaginary line. Compare napa Trdi/xas Axo-tovs /n-eyas, Xenoijhou, bo 
 Luke iii. 13 ; Rom. xii. 3. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 " S''_/r<>r»!(i : " Raeriiiced to justice, refusing Ilia mercy. 7re7rdi/9acni' — They have 
 suf"'red, not the historic jiast, but reaching unto the jpresent. Trench, b 'Irja-ov;, 
 omitted. Tlichcndor/, Alj'ord, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 3. I tell you, Naij : but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise ■/.erish. 
 
 I tell yoti, Nay. He draws on the treasures of His divine knowledge. 
 
 "This is what I, your compassionate Judge and Saviour, say to you." 
 
 Nothing more than that ancient word, Eepext ! Repent of your oicnsini. 
 
 A word which sinners on the road to judgment dread to bear. 
 
 Repent. Very searching, since they hinted a similar fate awaited Him. 
 
 Without it, the sword of God, instead of Pilate's, is at hand. 
 
 Ye shall. Our Lord hesitates not to speak in the most alarming 
 
 manner. 
 He who is infinite Love neither hides nor lessens the threatenings of 
 
 everlasting woe. 
 All. None are excepted — all have sinned, all must repent. 
 Impunity hardens the wicked, " Because sentence against an e\il work," 
 
 &c. Eccl. viii. 11. 
 Ijikewise. Gr. in the same manner ; more forcible than in like manner. 
 The Jewish people, continuing impenitent, perished in the same manner, 
 
 i.e., by the Koman sword. 
 But our Lord's words have a deeper meaning — they point to a perdition 
 
 of a far more awful kind, future, personal, eternal. 
 His threatening the impenitent implies willingness to pardon ths 
 
 penitent. 
 Repentance is enjoined in the New Testament as indispensable to the 
 
 salvation of the soul. 
 Net that repentance merits salvation — it prepares for receiving Jesus. 
 But it is not merely an act, it is a habit, and extends over Christian life. 
 The clearer our views of Divine mercy, the deeper our repentance. 
 It involves a total change in the spirit and character. 
 It is hatred to all sin, and turning away fi-om it with full pui-jipso of 
 
 heart. 
 Not merely because of future punishment, but on accotmt of its opposi 
 
 tion to the holy nature and law of God. 
 It is manifestly gerr.lne when it leads to the Blood and Eighteousness 
 
 of GhiTiit.
 
 J: SXJGGESTrV'E C0M3IENTAET [CHAP. XIH. 
 
 Judas repented, but he went out and banged bimself in despair. 
 Peter repented, but be went out and -wept bitterly. 
 
 Tbe more tender tbe conscience, the deeper the sense of the evil of sin. 
 The more the evil of sin is felt, the more will Jesus be valued and loved. 
 Wrong views of the nature and demerit of sin lie at the foundation of all 
 heresies concerning the atonement of Christ. 
 
 utravTio^ .—Tischcndorf. ofioi'ws. — LacJimann. axraurto?. — ^Not ■weaker than ofioiio?. 
 Stier; stroiiKer, Alford. For many diil actually perish by the sword of the Romans. 
 "Pcr/s/i," under the ruins of Jerusalem. Ehley, (rrotiu^. Prophetic of the slaughter at 
 the siege of Jerusalem. Many slain in the temple itaell. Calvin. The Divine displeasure 
 Overtating offenders, proves an overruling and a watchful Providence ; and crimes 
 escaping unpunished, tostihes to a future day of retribution. 
 
 4. Or those eighteen, vpon wham the toirer in SiJonm feU, and slew them, think ye that 
 they were simiers above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? 
 
 Or. He passes from tbe Galileans to the people of .Jerusalem. 
 
 Tower. A part of the city walls near the fountam of Siloam. 
 
 These Babel towers crushed the guilty in Jerusalem. 
 
 But the mountains will fail to crush the offender on the dread day of 
 
 decision. 
 "What men call accidents are ti'aceable to the finger of God. 
 " Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it ? " 
 
 Amos iii. 6. 
 His long-suffering prevents us from being examples of Plis justice. 
 Siloam. Shiloah ; Ncli. iii. 15 ; Isa. viii. 6. Heb. sent. 
 A pool under mount Zion flowing into the Kcdron. 
 It rises and falls at irregular intervals — 53 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 
 
 19 feet deep. 
 Unites with the fountain of the Virgin, 1,100 feet cut through the rock, 
 " Tbe people refused the waters of Shiloah, which go softlj." 
 This perennial fountain a symbol of Divine pi-otection. 
 " Siloa's brook, that flow'd 
 Fast by the oracle of God." Mlllon. 
 Sinners. Gr. debtors. Open judgments arc not the most severe. 
 Nor arc greatest sins the most visible to men. 
 These sinnc IS did not owe a larger debt to God, than othcxB.
 
 CrtAP. XIII.] OS ST. LUKE. 5 
 
 Above. Temporal calamities, not proofs of special guilt as the Jews 
 
 hekl. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. See Notes. A city otherwise holy. 
 In the former case, slaughter was inflicted by man ; in this case no cause 
 
 is apparent. 
 But in both cases — the Hand of God is to be humbly recognised. 
 The same principle should be applied to all similar calamities. 
 If destruction may overtake men sacrificing to God in His Temple, or 
 
 when they think themselves safe in the tower, none should put off 
 
 their repentance. 
 
 iriipyoT. — One of the city towers. Meyer. Tbe IS prisoners of the Sanhedrim conflned 
 there. Stier. ©(^eiAeVat. — Debtors to justice. Luke sii. 58-5!). Not the word used v. 3. 
 The tower, a debtor's prison. OUhausen. Garden tower, a turret of the city walls. W. & 
 \V. Pool of Bethesda belonged to the Tower of Siloam. Lightfoot. The sheep-gate at 
 the south east of the city. Robinson. Tower of Shlloh. Erasmus. 
 
 5. I tell you, Kay : hut, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 
 
 Repent. Transgressors are liable to mistake aUrUion for contrition. 
 
 An error which Satan craftily labors to establish. 
 
 Attrition is sorrow arising from the fear of the consequences that are about 
 to fall upon the transgressor. 
 
 It is the lowest order of repentance, and the least influential. 
 
 True repentance is a change of mind, accompanied by a sincere renuncia- 
 tion of sin. Its evidences are 1, a consciousness of the evil of sin. 
 2. Self condemnation. 3, a sense of unworthiness. 4. Great grief 
 on account of the sin committed. 5, a truthful confession before 
 God. 6. Prayer for power to resist temptation. Y, a mind open to 
 good impressions. 8. Its emblem among plants is a " bruised reed," 
 9. Its model among men is Cliristian weeping before the cross, but 
 afterwards Christian rejoicing in hope. This is " repentance that 
 needeth not to be repented of." 
 
 "I desire to die, preaching repentance; if out of the pulpit, I desire to 
 die repentinff." Philip Henri/. 
 
 If penitent, it is a small thing to pcrisli under a wall. 
 
 Likewise. The resemblance between these and the Jews' ruin, more 
 til an accidental. 
 
 Roman darts, mingled the blood of many with their sacrifices.
 
 6 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XIU. 
 
 Not the stroke of excision, but the proof of God's long suffering. 
 This discourse of severity, ends in a parable of mercy. 
 Judgment is God's strange work, and He delays it to the last moment. 
 " Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come tc 
 
 repentance." 
 120 years before the deluge, mercy's ann vrearied, ringing the bell ol 
 
 alarm. 
 Jerusalem did not fall, until 40 years after these warnings. 
 Final ruin of the world delayed, by God's patience. 2. Pet. iii. 9. 
 Periiih. How terrific the fall from the chamber of final impenitence to 
 
 the unfathomable abyss ! 
 An implied prophecy, impenitent Jews should perish. 
 Churches of Corinth, Philippi, Galatia, Ephesus, blotted out. 
 Eeference to Jerusalem's calamities, exhausts not the sense. 
 It shadows forth a future, personal, remediless ruin. 
 There is a perdition, unseen, on the other side of death. 
 Impenitence and this perdition, God hath linked together. 
 Repentance and eternal life are inseparable. 
 He would take their eyes from others and fix them on themselves. 
 He alarms, that He may reclaim; He admonishes, that Ho may amend; 
 
 He warns beforehand, that He may forgive. Amhrose. 
 The calamities of persons and nations, are loud calls to repentance. 
 Escaping, we are not more righteous, but God is more forbearing 
 Guilt denied in prosperity, oft confessed in adversity. Gen. xlii. 21. 
 
 1. Kings xvii. 18. Acts xxviii. 4. 
 
 The Jews wore slaughtered on the day of the Passover, in the midat of the BaciiQcea, 
 and many of them buried in the ruins of the city. Joscphus. 
 
 6 H Ilespnkc aho this parable ; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his rinryard; 
 and kc came and auiight fruit thereon, and found none. 
 
 Parable. Luke v. 30 ; iv. 2.3. See Notes, 
 
 Fig tree. A tree for which there is no place in a vineyard — God frc-'.'lj 
 
 adopted Israel. 
 Coramfjn in tropical climates and grows among the rocks. 
 Its five lobid b'aves, a shade, its delicate fruit, invaluable. 
 Early figB mature in June and continue till the season clopcn.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] OX ST. LUKE. 7 
 
 The fruit comes wilhout visible blossom, and is pear shaped. 
 
 Tlie aiKuents were accustomed to train vines upon fig trees. 
 
 They were often planted together, the phrase occurs 20 times in the 0. T. 
 
 201 diflerent species, two only, bear edible fruit in the third year. 
 
 To sit under his own vine and fig tree, symbolizes special divine favor. 
 
 Mic. iv. 4. 
 This fig tree represents Israel, but generally, all within the pale of the 
 
 visible Church of God. 
 Vineyard. A spot selected for its fertility, separated from the sur- 
 rounding fields, cultivated with special care, with a view solely to 
 
 fruit. 
 Descriptive of God's dealings with His ancient people, and with the 
 
 Christian Church. 
 Fruit. "A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit." Luke vi. 43. 
 A barren fig tree is faith without woi-ks. Jas. ii. 20. 
 Pruit, like holiness, the evidence of the unseen inner life. 
 With great privileges and bearing muA fruit, we glorify God. John 
 
 XV. 2. 
 Fruit cannot be tied on, union must be vital. 
 Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, Greece, never had our mercies. 
 None. A true church with sacraments and all other privileges, without 
 
 spiritual life, avails nothing. 
 So also a profession of faith, without obedience, is worthless in the sight 
 
 of God. 
 Wild grapes, no place in the vineyard. Isa. v. 4. Wicked works. 
 
 1. John iii. 12. 
 Works of darkness. Rom. xiii. 12. Works of the flesh. Gal. v. 19. 
 The true Israel are God's people by grace, others aliens. 
 " He shall be like a tree planted, &c." Psa. i. 3. 
 This tree, unfruitful, does not prove others fruitful. 
 
 TavTTjv. — The period of our Saviour's ministry. Bengel; to the whole nation. Alex- 
 ander; to individuals. Alford, Slier. "U'hole nation, not an unsheltered waste. Jfujor. 
 ZyKTif. — Fi?-tree, Irom its wide-spreading branches. Ileb. stretched out. A prophetic 
 symbol of the whole nation. The fruit coming without blossom. — Hab. iii. 17, should 
 read " bear.'''' afj.neXMvi. — The whole house of larael. Ifa. v. 7. Gospel dispensation. 
 A/forcf, Lange. 
 
 7. Then said Tie unfo the dresser cf/iis vineyard, Behold, these three years I come 
 seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut itdoieii; why cnmhereth it the 
 ground f
 
 8 SUGGESTIVE COMMEXTAET [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Dresser. In the spiritual vineyard, all instrumentalities the Holy 
 
 Ghost uses. 
 God, the proprietor ; the dresser is the Son of God. 
 The one personality pervading all — the Holy Spirit. 
 Three years. Long enough to test the fruitfulness of a tree. 
 He notes the time: how long? Prov. i. 22. It is time. Hosea x. 12. 
 Patience of God with sinners one of His "strange works." 
 When pillars are removed the building is near its fall. 
 Forbearance unimproved is wearied out at last. Gen. vi. 3. 
 I come. Not at the Judgment, but visitations of mercy and wrath. 
 He seeks fruits of humility and penitence after crushing trials. 
 Let us seek fruit in our own lives, before God comes seeking it. 
 Fig tree. Watched and cherished, then patiently waited for. 
 Having made no returns stands tiiiconscious of impending doom. 
 A compendium of Israel's history, a just portrait now of thousands. 
 Many fail to ask, "Did such perisli through my neglect ? " 
 Wouhlcst thou be grateful to God for tliy redemption — care for others. 
 Cut it down. Great severity here expressed, and the supreme power 
 
 of the vine dresser. 
 Command not given to men but to angels. 
 
 To destroy a fruit-bearing tree in the East, a high crime. Deut. sx. 19-20. 
 Still, the stern command was, "Cu( it down ; " so with fruitless professors. 
 This command from Him, who makes no mistakes, whose right it is to 
 
 condemn. 
 " The feet of avenging deities arc shod with wool." Greek Proverb. 
 Before the hewing down, " IVie axe is laid " — a solemn warning is given. 
 
 Matt. iii. 10. 
 Trees that are not fruit-))earing are for tlic fire, 
 (iod will lay down Itts basket and take up His axe. 
 Cumbereth. Gr. renders useless, i.e., injures. Tlic injurious shade — 
 
 withdra.ving fatness, occupying room. 
 Every tree planted in God's vineyard has God's care. 
 Guilt of l^arrenncss increased by ahsorbiuc/ good intended for others. 
 Refraining to do good tends to discourage and harden others. 
 Corrupt maxims and evil cxamjihs are slunibling-bloeks. 
 A larr/e tree of long standing (if unfruitful) is the more noxious. 
 The barren vineyard to be dismantled, thrown open. Isa. v. 5-0. 
 IjOVC divine breathes in the wry judi/mcnfs of our (lod. 
 His thrcatcnings are only invitations to repentance. 
 The fig tree charged, not witli bearing noxious fruit, l)ut no fruit. 
 A life of mere harmlessness is not a life for eternity.
 
 OHAP. XIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 9 
 
 A tree is for fruit ; and but for the fruit there would he no tree. 
 It is first set for fruit, oud for this end let grow and cultivated. 
 When it serves not for fruit it must serve for fuel, the end of all fruitless 
 
 trees. 
 It is not faith is sought for, but the fruits of faith. 
 This principle strikingly put forward in Matt. xxv. 35-46. 
 
 "Behold these three years." From this circumstance in the parable, it may bo 
 reasonably conclutled that Jesus had been, at the time o£ saying this, exercising his 
 ministry for three years past. Clark. 
 
 aixir(\ovpy6u — Vinedresser, only hero in N.T. Moses, Prophets, Apostles, Son of 
 God, the Holy Siiirit interceding. Auffustine ; Apostles. Ambrose, Stella ; Christ. Euthy- 
 mius, Theophijlact, Henry ; Holy Spirit. ^IJ/ord : Gospel dispensation. JDa7i<7«. rpCa erq 
 — The time of our Lord's ministry. Olshausen, Bengel, Wieseler, Slier. Times of Israel 
 before the law. Gregory, Grotius. ChUdhood, youth, old age. Thcophylact. Time before 
 the Babylonish captivity. S<t'Z?a. Last period of Christ's public ministry. No chrono- 
 logical value. Meyer, Trench, Andrews. The Christian era. Grollns. Three official 
 slates. Prophet, Priest, and liing. Euthymius. Period of the trees coming to maturity. 
 Broion. Period of John's ministry to this occasion, Uttlo less than thi-ee years. 
 Oosterzee. The three years before bearing. Bloomficld. Jews had preaching forty years. 
 Elslcy. The reign of natural law. ^ur/iistinc, ^mfcros?. The reign of grace. Theopky- 
 lact. The season of mercy given to every man. exKotpov. — Implying stern severity and 
 punishment. Karapyil — AVhy doth it, ever, or so much as cumber ? &c. Oxford. The 
 lie}' word of the sentence. Ut quid ci/nm terram occupat ? Vul. " C«mberet/i," too weak 
 — it implies positive mischief. Trench, Beza. 
 
 This parable should be viewed in connexion with the xcithcring of the fig tree. The 
 parable deUvered now the u-arning ; the withering which took place in the ensuing 
 spring, just before our Lord's crucifixion, a picture of the judgment denounced. Words- 
 worth. 
 
 S. And he annccrinig said unto him. Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig 
 about it, and dung it : 
 
 Answering-. Because of his concern for the tree, under his care. 
 Lord. The Son of God, our only Intercessor. Job xxxiii. 23. Zech. 
 
 i. 12. Heb. vii. 25. 
 Thrice happy are they who have praying vineckessers to intercede for 
 
 them. 
 Let it alone. " The Lord is slow to anger, and of great power." Kah. 
 
 i. 3. 
 This year, He does not mean, never ; He asks only one more trial. 
 Do not remove the dresser, nor withhold the sun, the dews, or the rain. 
 We can ■pray for the impenitent, but not to be spared in their barrenness.
 
 10 SUGGESTI\'E COMMENTAKY [cH/iP. XIU. 
 
 This plea, a ■warning, " Tiie axe is laid at the root of the tree." Matt. 
 
 iii. 10. 
 God does not secretly or silently inflict piinishment. 
 Delay of justice, pervades the entire Old and Nev/ Testaments. 
 The flood was delayed 120 years by Divine long- suffering. 
 Sodom's doom was held back by Abraham'.^ i^rayer. 
 Jerusalem's ruin delayed forty years, and Christ's coming 1800 j'cars. 
 Christ's coming delayed through God's long-suffering. 
 ^Yaming given to Pharaoh, Balaam, Saul, Herod, Judas, old world, 
 
 Sodom, Nineveh, Jerusalem. 
 This year also. In God's calendar a day may outweigh centuries. 
 Eeprieves of mercy are short — but true tests of character. 
 BejJrieves not pardons ; repentance alone will save. 
 Dig. Loosen the earth about it, and enrich it with manure. 
 Points to changes in the Divine method of treatment. 
 The ordinary and extraordinary means of gi'ace. 
 Neglected lessons enforced with unknown power. 
 Prayers must be seconded by endeavors, else we mock God. 
 BaiTcn professors must be roused by the terrors of the law. 
 The impenitent fallow ground mast be broken up. 
 Thus, the old world was warned by Noah, and Jerusalem by Jeremiah. 
 Ciitical moments in life, unimproved, rarely renewed. 
 
 a(f)es awTTji'. — This intercession is conditional; for time, not for salvation. W. (t W, 
 r-dipia. — Literally, " keeping in rank." Spades are not used at present in vineyaids ol 
 Iho East, l)ut a Bhallow plough, drawn by oxen. Our Saviour probably refers to this 
 ploughing. "Aut prosso exerccre solum sub vomoro." Georgics ii. 356, Virgil, The 
 Bame process in Italy, in the time of Christ. Dloomficld. 
 
 9. Arul if it hear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. 
 
 If it bear. God's patience teaches us to hope, it may be fruitful. 
 
 "Well. Not in the Greek. The delight of the dresser is implied. 
 
 If sinners repent, saints rejoice, and God is pleased. 
 
 " There is joy among the angels of God over one sinner," &c. Liike xv. 10. 
 
 Cut it down. AVlien the day of grace ends, the inexorable blow falls. 
 
 Every wicked man's life is prolonged, cither for his own amendment, or 
 
 the trial of good men's charity. Aiirjiisline. 
 Liuvc und fidelity, interceding, said, " Spare it."
 
 CHAP. XIII.] ON ST, LUKE. H 
 
 The same love at length call? for tJie axe of vengeance. 
 
 In the simple story of tliis tree, are shadowed the operations of grace. 
 
 This parable shows that God's long suffering, has its limits. 
 
 " There is a lino unseen, and mercy turns to vengeance there." 
 
 Unbelief closes the door of hope, and fixes his doom. 
 
 Patience of God, through eternity, the wonder of the redeemed. 
 
 When the day of grace is past, Ciirist intercedes no more. 
 
 .\ prophecy fulfilled literally and typically in the barren tree. Matt. 
 
 xxi. 18-21. 
 Ihe nation slain or enslaved, save a few believers in Pella. 
 TUe barren fi(j tree. 1. The active care. 2. The righteous search. 3. 
 
 The sad result. 4. The just judgment. 5. The intercessor. 6. The 
 
 last respite. 
 We have been planted in the vineyard of God's church. 
 Ihe fruits which God expects are 1, repentance. 2, faith. 3, obedience 
 
 the result of faith. 
 If these be not produced the viuedi-csser will no longer noiu'ish the 
 
 vineyard. 
 
 Kav fiiv TTOi^oTj Kapnov — If so, well. Examples of a similar aposiopesis may be seen 
 in 2. Sam. v. 8; 1. Chrou. iv. 10; Mark ix. 23; Luko xis. 42. Wordsioorih. 
 
 tU -RO fjidWou. — The next year, etos understood. Three Passovers elapsed between 
 the baptism and resurrection. Fausact. Kav. — Perhaps it may bear fruit. Doddridge, 
 
 10. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 
 
 11. 1[ And, behold, there was a woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, 
 2nd was bowed togetlier, and could in no wise lift up herself. 
 
 Synagogue. Luie ^i. 6. The locality of this miracle unknown. 
 
 House of God, the best resort of sufferers. 
 
 Sabbath. Luke vi. 2. Our Lord was found ever in His place. 
 
 The soul's market day, on which, says an old writer, Christ sells to Hia 
 
 people " gold tried in the fire, and white raiment." Eev. iii. 18. 
 A woinan : a pious woman apparently, for our Lord did not say, TIiij 
 
 sins are forgiven thee. 
 Spixit of infirmity. Oiu- Lord e::plaius this to be no melancholy 
 
 mood. 
 Jews and Greeks held that genii presided over hmnan affairs.
 
 12 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP, XIII. 
 
 Jews believed demons could inflict disease on men. 
 
 Bowed together. The postnre of her body, a picture of the miseiy of 
 
 her infirmity. 
 It is probable her disease was some milder form of possession. 
 Yet she was "a daughter of Abraham" evidently in a gracious sense, 
 liift up herself. Gr. coidd not lift herself xqmght. 
 Her state, symbolical of the condition of man by sin. 
 God made man upright in body and in soul. 
 Sin has cast man down. Christ raises him up. 
 Sin prevents man looking up to heaven. Christ lifts heart and face to 
 
 God. 
 This woman, bowed by infirmity, represents the Church raised and 
 
 invigorated by Christ. Ambrose. 
 Vi"hei-evcr Jesus goes, He finds niiseiy, and offers relief. 
 
 7iv SiSao-/c(oi' — a periplirastic usage which denotes habit or the uninterrupted con- 
 tinnance of an action. Similar expressions are in Luke xxi. 17-24; JIatt. xix. 22 ; Mark 
 XT. 43. Webster's Syntax, yv, there was, omitted. Tisckendorf, Cod. Sinai ; retained, 
 Alford. 
 
 Man's erect posture a sjinbol of his nohler destiny. — 
 
 " Os liomini sublime dedit, coelumque tuori 
 Jussit, et ereetos in sidera toilers rultus." Ovid. Met. 
 "Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell 
 From heaven ; for even in heaven his looks and thoughts 
 Were ahvajs downward bent." Milton. 
 
 yvvTi — Woman. A believer. Bcngel. avaKv\{/ai.. — Lift vp herself. So that she did 
 not perceive the presence of Jesus. Sticr. A strong expression. Branne. In accordanco 
 with a condition, neither natural sickness nor customary possession. Stier. A mild iypo 
 of demoniacal possession, with a spark of faith. Oosterzee. eis to n-avrcAe's. — PerlecUy 
 unable, not able at all. MeUinethon, Michaelis. 
 
 12. And when Jesjis saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou 
 art loosed from thine infirmity. 
 
 Saw her. Eye of mercy finds the sinner in the depths of misery. 
 Witliout nsliiiig aid, the j>Tcticncc of the sufferer was a prayer. 
 Tlic woman seems to liavo longed for, and trusted in Him. 
 An example of the diligent use of the means of grace. 
 He called. " Ihr '" imt in Uie Gr. Yet evidently tlic' call was addressed 
 
 to lior. 
 In bcKtowing mercy 1I(? docs not always wait for i\ plea. 
 TbJH poor victim was in iho place whore God meets Ilis people.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] OX ST. LUKK. 13 
 
 Sickness not pleaded, nor the ruler's jcalous_v, for absence. Verse 14. 
 
 She may have entered the presence of the Lord m faith. 
 
 " I was glad when they said, Let us go into tbe house of the Lord." 
 
 Psa. cxxii. 1. 
 Woman. In direct address, expresses kindness and respect. 
 Loo-sed. What tidings for a captive, bound by Satan eighteen years ! 
 "A stronger than the strong man," speaks — her fetters fall. 
 "The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down." Psa. cxlvi. 8. 
 ' Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage, He shall strengthen," &c. 
 
 Psa. xxvii. 14. 
 Ulan cannot make that straight which God hath made crooked. Eccl. 
 
 vii. 13. 
 Relieving the body, evinces what He can do for the soul. 
 " I am sought of them that asked not for me." Isa. Ixv. 1. 
 She doubtless souglit her soul's good but left with a body healed. 
 He used no means to astonish by unnecessary display of His power. 
 Said nothing of the hiveteracji of the disease. 
 Absence of all human emotion proves tbe record Divine. 
 Friends and enemies saw the cure was instant and complete. 
 
 "Loosed,^' Gr. uuchained, set free, having no :isylums madmen are still cliaiaed in 
 the East. dTroAe'Aucrai, spiritual, and ividriKev, physical cure. 
 
 IS. And he laid bis hands on her: and immediatelij she was made straight, and 
 glorijied God. 
 
 Hands. His words, laying on his hands, and cure, at the same time. 
 
 He thus pointed out the object of His mercy, and of prayer. Heb. vi. 2. 
 
 Divine power needs no material channels for its flow. 
 
 Her faith demanded no show of insirumentaJity. 
 
 Immediately. God alone can renew in nature and in grace. 
 
 " I know Thou canst do everything." Job xlii. 2. 
 
 Glorified. She adores .Jesus as the eternal God and promised Messiah. 
 
 It was " God in Christ, reconciling the world," &c. 2. Cor. v. 19. 
 
 He can now do in Heaven what he did on earth. 
 
 In the healing of this woman our Lord is said to have done five things. 
 
 1. He compassionately saw her; 2. He called her; 8. He healed her; 
 
 4. He touched her ; 5. He lifted her vp. 
 Thus does He also perfectly cure a sinful soul.
 
 14 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 1. He sees it in His compassion ; 2. He calls it by His internal in- 
 sinration ; 3. He heals it by remitting its sins ; 4. He touches it by 
 the afflictive chastenings of His hand ; 5. He raises it up to things 
 above in the warmth of Divine love. Ludolphus. 
 
 The cure was, 1, speedy ; 2, perfect ; 3, public ; 4, permanent ; and 5, 
 hpr soul was benefited — she glorified God. 
 
 God alone can reform and coiTect His own work both in nature and in 
 grace. 
 
 14. And the ruler of the synagogue anstoered toith indignation, because that Jesus had 
 heaJed on the eahhath day, and said unto the people. There are six days in which men 
 ought to %(iork : in tliem there/ore come and be healed, and not on the sahhath day. 
 
 Euler. Luke viii. 49. Synagogue. Luke vi. G. See Notes. 
 Compelled to witness this divine offence — Sabbath healing. 
 He says more loudly to the jxiople what he da^ not say to Jesus. 
 Indignation. He that will bo augiy and not sin must be angry at 
 
 nothing but sin. 
 Men are prone to condemn eveiything in those they hate. 
 Bigotry and fanaticism burned out all sjTnpathy for the woman. 
 Never before had the synagogue been honored as now with Jesus. 
 The light of the miracle, instead of convincing the ruler, blinds and 
 
 hardens him. 
 Sabbath, day. Luke vi. 1. Religion's mask, used to cover envy and 
 
 avarice. 
 Blind judges of the law, unjust accusers of the elect confound mercenary 
 
 works With charity. 
 Be healed. As though miracles were things of course. 
 His impudence ranks the Son of God with quacks and moxmtebanks. 
 Sabbath. The ruler of the synagogue cared nothing for the desecration 
 
 of the Sabbath. 
 Jesus was glorified — this kindled the fire of his fanaticism. 
 A heartless formalist condemns in another what he allows himself. 
 So ho seeks indirectly, through the people, to attack Him. 
 People. Tho hypocrite daro not look upon the Holy One and thus 
 
 speak. 
 He wou.ld ratbcr the woman rcmiiincd bound tliaii that Christ should bo 
 
 glorified. 
 This incarnalion f)f envy— a ruler in tlio liou.te of God! 
 He wrcal;H his iiirIIco on Jesus on pretext of reverence for His Sabbath. 
 "Jlic nearer Christ comes to tho wicked, oft the more bitter they become.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] on ST. LUKE. 15 
 
 Whether saints sing in the cell (Acts xvi. 25), or stand in the temple 
 (Acts V. 25), — It is impossible to please the wicked. 
 
 Would that envious ruler have welcomed those afflicted people to be 
 healed on the iccck-day I 
 
 It was doubtless by design that our Lord wrouglit so many miracles on tlie Sabbath 
 day; not that ho meant to lesson the reverence of the Jews for the Sabbath day, but to 
 correct their superstitious notions, who, because they wero forbidden secular labor on 
 that day, converted it, in a great measure, into a day of idleness and indulgence ; 
 ■whereas, to a good man, especially in this age of Christian actirity, benevolence and 
 devotion afford equal employment to any day of the week ; such it did to our Lord 
 Himself. On that day we always £-nd Him, either in the Temple or in the Synagogue; 
 cither instructing the minds o-r healing the diseases of the poor ; and thereby mai'king 
 out the Sabbath day as a proper season, not only for devotion, but for the religious 
 instruction of all classes. Therefore the visiting of the sick, and carrying to them the 
 instructions and consolations of the Gospel, is a holy work, eminently suited to this holy 
 day. Williams. 
 
 15. The Lord, then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one o/you 
 on the sahhath lease his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him aivay to watering ? 
 
 Hypocrite. J.esus addresses the multitude iu their leader and ruler. 
 
 Hypocrites have the least care in what is greatest, the gi-eatest iu what 
 is least. 
 
 Hypocrisy tried and condemned at the tribunal, 1, of reason, 2, of con- 
 science, 3, of feeling, 4, of the Gospel. 
 
 His zeal for the sabbath only a pretended reverence for the law. 
 
 The true cause of his anger was the glory reflected upon Jesus. 
 
 This interpreter of the law, in Moses' seat, deceives liimsielf as well as tho 
 people. 
 
 He well knew that loosing the bond was not servile work. 
 
 He intends the rebuke to glance off the people and to strike the Saviour. 
 
 Iioose his ox. To water him, a work of necessity and mercy. 
 
 More compassipn for a brute, than for a fellow creature, proves very 
 great depravity. 
 
 Grod gave no laws about the care of beasts on the Sabbath except that 
 they shoidd not be worked. 
 
 Kevelatiou was given to guide and not to supersede common sense. 
 
 viroKpiTai—SchoU, Lachmann, Tiichcndorf, Alford, Wordsirorth, Cod. Sinai.
 
 IG SUGGESTWE COUMENTAEY [cHA?. Xlli. 
 
 16. And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Ahraham, whom Satan hath hnuTid, 
 lo, th»se eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day ? 
 
 Daughter, of Abraham, one who enjoj'S the proudest of titles. 
 
 Must she be denied favors, granted to a beast ? 
 
 She had been bound, like a beast, not for a few hours, but 18 years. 
 
 Abraham. Luke i. 55. See Notes. 
 
 Satan hath bound. Satan, the enemy, the author of all evil, 
 
 physical and moral, in the world. 
 Our Lord in this place, and His apostles elsewhere clearly teach this 
 
 truth. 1. Cor. v. 5. 
 We read how Satan went forth from God's presence and smote Job. 
 
 Job ii. 7. 
 "We read also that an evil spirit from the Lord, troubled Saul. 1. Sam. 
 
 vi. 14. 
 Saf^an is described as having had the power of death. Heb. ii. 14. 
 Bound. Bigotry might have thought, these fetters worn sufficiently long. 
 Bigotry would leave souls bound to perdition, while releasing an ass for 
 
 tcater. 
 The ferocity of sin, veiled by fanaticism, knows no bounds. 
 This ruler would have prefeiTed the disease held her till death. 
 Which was the more terrible — the bondage of the woman's body or the 
 
 ruler's soul? 
 Eighteen. Jesus, omniscient, knows cause of, and remedy, for all 
 
 diseases. 
 He came to open the prison of them that are boimd. Isa. Ixi. 1. 
 He first bound the strong man, and then spoiled his goods. Luke xi. 2"2. 
 All His miracles, revelations of spiritual power and love. 
 The nearer He approached sin and misery in the flesh, the more radiant 
 
 His holiness and love became. 
 Jesus can break all bonds and fetters even those of eighteen years 
 
 continuance. 
 Great encouragement to all oppressed and despairing souls. 
 Though He tany, wait for Him ; He will surely come, He will not tarrj'. 
 Sabbath day. Nothing better becomes the Lord's day, than the 
 
 Lord's work. 
 This bond. If such the chains of the body, what are the fetters of the 
 
 soul '! 
 Evil passions in hell bind souls with " linked thunderbolts." 
 
 /.'a.'a ■!. Jews held (lisooscfl aud dcatli tbo result ol evil spirits. Qroilui, Li(ihljDCt.
 
 Cn\P. XIII.] ON ST. LTJKE. 17 
 
 17. And when he had said these things, all his adversaries u-cre ashamed : and all th: 
 people rejoiced for all the glorious things th^t were done by him. 
 
 Adversaries. The spotless Son of God hath His enemies. 
 
 "A'A who live godly iu Christ Jesus," will also have theirs. 2. Tim. 
 
 iii. 12. 
 The ruler's influence prejudiced others against Jesus. 
 Judas carried others with him in his hypocrisy. John xii. t-t). 
 Aslianied. When Christ speaks, every mouth is stopped. Eom. iii. 10. 
 Sooner or later, God's enemies, will be put to everlasting shame. Dan, 
 
 xii. 2. 
 Truth confounds many whom it does not convert. 
 Passion renders sinners deaf and blind, to its claims. 
 Sejoiced. "Iwill glorify Thy name for evermore, for Thy mercy," &c. 
 
 Psa. Ixxxvi. 12-13. 
 
 13. II Then said he. Unto what is the kingdom of Ood like ? and whercunto shall I 
 resemble it} 
 
 19. It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and caH into his garden; 
 and it grew, and waxed a great tree ; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches 
 of it. 
 
 Sesemble it. He might have compared it to the vine or the cedar. 
 
 He illustrates a "despised beginning, with a glorious end." 
 
 A Luther or a Knox, under God, may turn a nation upside down. 
 
 The mustard seed of Judea's gardens, has become a great tree. 
 
 The cross Qi Christ is the sj'mbol of victory over a ransomed world. 
 Isa. xlix. 6. 
 
 The despised Nazarene — King of kings, and Lord of lords. 
 
 Mustard. A shrub bearing pods and growing vald in the East. 
 
 In Judea it sometimes reaches the dimensions of a small tree. 
 
 It shows the unfolding of the Kingdom iu silence and in strength. 
 
 Least. Matt. xiii. 31-32. Christ's poverty ; apostles, fisherman ; doc- 
 trine, the cross. 
 
 Garden. Gr. does not describe its size, but its cultivation. 
 
 Grew. Despite persecution and violence the church increased. 
 
 EmiDerors and statesmen, by force, tried to check its progress. 
 
 The tide swells, the sun rises, without asking leave of man. 
 
 Great. Christianity reflects the majestij and hmnility of its founders. 
 
 God's works all commence small in the eyes of the irorld. 
 
 The commencement of humanity — the first jiair, Adam and Eve. 
 
 The founder of the covenant people — a stranger of Ur, of Chaldea.
 
 IS SUGGESTRTJ COMJrENTAKY [CHAP. XIII, 
 
 Tiie Head of Ihe Christian cliiirch— tlie Babe of Betlilehem. 
 
 Tlie heralds of the Gosi^el — a few men in an upper chamber. 
 
 There is nothing more despised among -worldlings than the Gospel. 
 
 Yet nothing more full of Divine poiocr and glory. 
 
 The things which are not, confounding the things which are. 
 
 Earth's kingdoms begin full of promise and end in ruin. 
 
 Tower of Babel threatened the heavens, now a formless mass. 
 
 Fov/ls. " Under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing." Ezck. xvii. 23. 
 
 Saints in the church are protected from worldly oppression. 
 
 In revivals they come to it, "like doves to their windows." Isa. Ix. 8. 
 
 The true birds of heaven sing under its branches. Psa. civ. 12. 
 
 Storks dwell in the firs, sparrows rest under the altar. Psa. Isxidv. 4 ; civ. 3 7 
 
 liOdgcd. Kot only sweet songsters but birds of prey came. 
 
 The church on earth is dwarfed in her humiliation. 
 
 Her light is obsciured, her love is cold, yet she will rise. Isa. xl. 31. 
 
 " Out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God hath shined". Psa. 1 2. 
 
 o/ioiwcrw. — P.efera to proverbs of the Eabbis. Sticr. Our Lord was cheered by the 
 prechdieg scenes, Meyer. Both parables eiplain the previous miracle. Langc. 
 
 An Eastern traveller says, I was taking a walk by the bank-ot a river, and came to a 
 tnns'ard field. I was so astonished at the size of some of the stems and branches, that I 
 measured them, and found Ihit one of them was twenty-two feet round tho branches. 
 In some places, it is said, ihoy are much larger. Many birds had built their nests In the 
 branches. 
 
 <Tiva.n(u/<;. — Salvadora Persica. Meyer, Boyle. Proverbial among tho Jews for tho 
 smallest tiling. Bnxtorf. Botanists number several smaller. Winer. Pictorial niinuto- 
 BPss. Meyer, ka^iiv — seizing it, lest he should lose it. Lange. Among the nobler Pytha- 
 gorean Rj-mbols. They thought it a euro against venomous bites. The Saviour selected 
 it, on account of its heat and fiery vigo-r. Barius sent to Alexander the Great, a bag of 
 Bcsame seed, symbolizing the number of his army. In return Alexander scut a sack of 
 mustard seed, showing not only tho numbers, but the fiery energy of his soldiers. 
 jyilerhclot. 
 
 "Least." ixiKpoTcpov — /nci^oi'. Matt. xiii. 32. Kvinoel makes tho comparative same 
 as tho superlative ; questioned by Trcneh. Mustard yielded wood sulTicicut to cover a 
 Braall house. Buxlurf. It grows from fifteen to twenty-five feet high. Ucuhncr. We infer 
 tlio si/.o of tho mustard tree, from tho fact, that the red pepper grows on, year after year, 
 and castor bean linos tho iJamascus brooks like willows. Thompson. 
 
 "Fouls." jfcTi'ii'a KaTKrKTJi'ioo'ti' — A man can climb into its branches. IJahhis. Liglxt- 
 fuol. In Chili, a horse can stand under its sliado. In Spaiu ovens arc heated with its 
 brauclies. Maldanalus. In I'ulesti.io, fowls lod^'o in its boufjlis. llackttt. 
 
 imrwii. — Corruptions ereeijiug into tho Church, llov. xviii. 2. JIase. "Lodged," 
 bill, Tyudiilr ; iiiado noKts. Ocncva. ixeya — omitted. AlJ'ord, Cod. Sinai, tt? hero 
 ImpUoii utlainmcut an in 2. Coi. viit. ; Qal. ui. 24. H'lmotimcs tU implicu intention,
 
 OUAP. Xm,] ON ST. LUEE. 19 
 
 nim, as 1. Thoss. v. 15 ; 1. Tim. vi. 17 ; but -withoul tho accessory idea of attainmeat. 
 Webster's Syntax. 
 
 20. And again he said, Whcreunto shall I liken the kingdom of God 9 
 
 21. It is like leaven, which a ivoman took and hid in three measures of meal, till tha 
 whole was leavened. 
 
 Leaven, Some take it as a symbol of evil. 1. Cor. v. 7; Gal. v. 9; 
 
 Luke xii. 1. 
 Leaven has the po-wer of transfonning meal and changing it into bread. 
 "Woman. This woman an apt figure of the ministry. 
 Hid. Not so much for secresij as for safety. Luke ii. 51. 
 The Gospel seems lost amid the confusion of sin. 
 To be sanctified by the Word it must be treasiu-ed iip in the heart. Johu 
 
 xvii. 17. 
 The parable sets forth to us the mysteries of regeneration. 
 The more fully leaven is hid, the more rapidly it leavens the limip. 
 Yice as well as virtue, like leaven, penetrates society. 
 Gra-ce subdues, transforms, and assimilates the soul unto God. 
 Enemies of Christ compelled to acknowledge the energy of Truth. 
 This leaven wanting, the whole mass of society becomes comipt. 
 Three measures. About a peck and a half each, equal to a bushel. 
 Whole. This leaven works speedily and powerfully. Heb. iy. 12. 
 What a change Elijah's mantle made i;pou Elisha ! 1. Kings xix. 20. 
 It puts the world into a ferment turning it upside down. Acts xvii. 6. 
 Its force is not outward, but mighty through the Spirit. 2. Cor. x. 4. 
 It does not change the substance but the soul's desires. 
 The tree grew, and the height thereof reached unto heaven. Dan. iv. 11. 
 Leavened. Man, partaking of the Divine nature, a changed being. 
 Change is, — 1, individually, 2, socially, 3, rationahy, to God's imago. 
 The former shows the wondrous increase ; latter, its mysterious working. 
 It works invisibly, gradually, effectually, irresistibly. 
 Affections— penetrated, subdued, transformed, assimilated. 
 In each believer divine grace operates as holy leaven. Gal. ii. 20. 
 1. Special work of God's power. 2. Exhibition of His wisdom. 3. 
 
 luestimablo fruit of His love. 
 ♦' Old things pass av/ay, all things become new." 2. Cor. v. 17. 
 Highest possible assurance of the final triumph of the Messkh.
 
 20 SUGGESTrV'E CUMMENXAKY [CIIAP. XIII. 
 
 ical. — Caneelled. Scholz, Tischendorf, Oostcrzee; retained. Mcy/'r. a-ara rpia. — 
 Three sons of Noah. Stier. Body, soul, and spirit, or three jiarts of the world evange- 
 lized. — No exegesis can interpret their fulfilment. Oostersce. fu^trj— Luke xii. 1. Some- 
 times like Lion, applied to Satan or the Lord; like "serpent"- — Be ye wise as serpents. 
 Augustine, Gregory, Lange. Used of fatal corruptions. Hicgcr. Of original sin and 
 grace. Makarius. aAeiipou. — Introduced into the text from Malt. Ambrose, Bengel. 
 Common text right. Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 22. And he went through the cities aud villages, teaching, and journeying toward 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 "Went. Joiimeyiug to Jemsalem to the feast of the dedication. 
 
 It was winter. But He must be about His Father's business. Luko 
 
 ii. 49. 
 This Prince of pastors, ever seeking His lost sheep. 
 All true pastors are called on to imitate His fidelity and courage. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. This memorable jom-ney had been arranged 
 
 to end at Jerusalem. 
 
 irdA.et5. — IIo inado a journey of throe days from Perea in Judea. Wieseler, Oosterzec. 
 
 23. 2'hen said ona unto him. Lord, are there few that be saved ? And lie said unto 
 them. 
 
 Then said. A solemn question to our Lord, on His way to the cross. 
 
 I'trliajib hcuKjhtlhj, because Christ had spoken of but/t'!r. Matt. vii. 14. 
 
 Or, dvapondiiKjhj , disheartened at all attempts to be saved. 
 
 Or sheer cnriosily, to pry into the divine coimscls. 
 
 Few. The spirit of this enquiry is, that none out of the Jewish 
 
 church, could be saved. 
 It indicates the solemnity of Jesus' discourse. 
 
 "Dost Thou, Lord, actually intend to say, that but few arc saved ?" 
 From this question, the Pharisee thought himself secure. 
 Our Lord does not say, there are but few saved. 
 The number saved is actually very great. 
 
 " I beheld a great multitude, which no man could number." Eev. vii. 9. 
 But relativrh/ few, compared with the number lost. Matt. vii. 11- 
 "I will bring you into tlio land of Canaan " — yet only 2 out of the 
 
 multitude that came forth from Egj'pt. Num. xivi. Gu.
 
 CHAP. XTII.] ON ST. LUKE. 21 
 
 He did not ask out of compassion to the many perishing 
 
 Nor out of concern for his own salvation. 
 
 It may bo asked out of various reasons. 1. Vain cmiosity. 2. Silent 
 
 concern. 3. Concealed insolence. 4. True philanthropy. 
 The kind rather than the number saved, concerns us. 
 Saved. Equivalent to entering the kingdom of heaven. Matt. xix. 24. 
 All Israelites felt sure of a good portion in tho world to come. 
 Questions of cm-iosity, our Saviour never directly answered. 
 Unto tlLem. Questioner, the mouth-piece of all, Christ replies to all. 
 Indirect, but satisfactory, powerful, and overwhelming answer. 
 It is clear, He did not teach that all will be saved. 
 Men often dispute on questions, called religious, with much earnestness, 
 
 who have no religious principles. 
 They seem to think that there is something good in such disputes and 
 
 questionings. 
 A delusion of Satan, to keep them from seeking personal salvation. 
 Much more wisely did the jailor ask — " "What must I do to be saved ? " 
 If men are saved, they are saved alone : if they are lost, they arc lost 
 
 alo7ie. 
 The elements of heaven or of hell are in the soul itself. 
 " I have a desire to depart, and be with Christ," saith Paul. 
 Judas, the unhappy traitor, went to his oion place. 
 "Give all diligence to make your caEing and election sure." 
 
 ot croi^6ix(voi. i.e. the saved, the class assumed to be eavecl. So Acts ii. 47; Kev. xxi. 
 24. Compare ol airo,\\u|a^>'0', the perishing, the class assumed to be perishing, 1. Cnr. i. 
 18; 2. Cor. ii. 15. E^Jicoit says the present tense is a sermon of ■warning, consolation, 
 and hope, to those who will meditate on its sigiiiflcance, and a protest against those who 
 deny the existence of two classes of men, animated by two opposing principles. Wehxtcr's 
 Syntax, The present participle is used by way of anticipation, in a future sense. Words- 
 worth. Are the saved few? Tlie half of mankind. Sui-prise at the few' disciples. 
 Oosterzee. Doubtful, captious, but sincerely put. Lightfoot. Curiosity, levity, and 
 insolence. Stier, o-w^eo-flai. — Put in tho way of salvation. Hammond, Wetstein, 
 
 24. II Strive to enter in at the strait gate : far many, I say unto you, will seslc to enter 
 in, and shall not be able. 
 
 Strive. Agonise ; the term iadicatea the great eevcrity of the sinner's 
 struggle. 
 
 25
 
 22 SUGGESTI\Ti; COMMENTARY [OHAP. XHI. 
 
 The tremendous interests involved allow no delay. 
 
 Let none tbink to live in Delilah's lap, and then to rest in Abraham's 
 bosom. 
 
 Men must not sport with Satan all day, if they deaire to sup witliCluist 
 at night. Trapp. 
 
 The straight gate is beset with many enemies through which, if wo 
 aspire to the crown of eternal glorj% we must force our way, Looking 
 to heaven for our armor and to God for our strength. 
 
 Many pass by the straight gate and knock at a false door. 
 
 True striving is not of him who willeth, or of him who mnnoth, but of 
 God who showeth mercy. Eom. ix. 16. 
 
 It is a warfare of self-denial, giving all glory to Divine grace. 
 
 Men try to make devotions easy and to make loide the gate. 
 
 Eut the door remains "narrow" still, and " fevv' there be that find it. 
 Matt. vii. 14. 
 
 Sea and lana are vexed age after age for small spots of earth. 
 
 Surely licavm is but & fancy, or the world is mad. 
 
 What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue ! 
 
 He alone is wise who is wise for eternity. 
 
 Labour fervently. Col. iv. 12. Fight the good fight. 1. Tim. vi. I'i. 
 
 Obstacles are great, and the idle and careless will lose the crown. 
 
 Important demand : reasonable, benevolent, practicable. 
 
 " A remnant saved," is taught in the Old Testament. Isa.xxsva.3L 
 Keh. i. 2-3. 
 
 Enter. Open, it is a door of mercy ; closed, one of denial. 
 
 Door of the ark safety to Noah, exclusion to pressing crowds. 
 
 Strait. Gr. narrow, difficult io find, and hard to enter. 
 
 Oriental .towns walled, gates narrow, and streets often G feet wide only. 
 
 1, Humility, 2, trials, 3, repentance, 4, faith, 5, self-denial, 6, self- 
 righteousness, 7, trying to serve God and Mammon, narrow the, vay - 
 few righteous companions, vast crowd of worldlings, narrow thi v:ay. 
 
 The wide gate has many attractions to imrenewed hearts. 
 
 " The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent, l-c, 
 Matt. xi. 12. 
 
 "Work out your o\n\ salvation with fear and trembling." riiil, ii.l2. 
 
 " Foar, lest a promiso being left, any of yon seem to como thort.'» 
 Hob. iv. 1. 
 
 " If the righteous scarcely be saved," etc. 1. Pet. iv. 18. 
 
 Narrow, yet open to all, and wide enough for all. 
 
 Many. The many professing compared with few entering. 
 
 Multitude!) shared Kis miraculous bread who refused the Bread of Life
 
 CDAJ?. XIH.] ON ST. LUKS. 28 
 
 Those seeking to enter, but not striving, are lost. 
 
 The question arose from a false sense of self-security. 
 
 Answer is, ''Look not to others, but to yourselves.''^ 
 
 A heart-searching prophecy is here announced. 
 
 Er.rth is the only jjlace where infidelity is found. Luke xvi. 24. 
 
 Hell is a place where truth is known too late. Luke xvi. 28. 
 
 All must fail, who seek too late. Luke xvi. 24. 
 
 Many seek with a cold indifference, and do not find. Prov. i. 28. 
 
 Many endeavour to widen the gate of heaven. 
 
 Others take some pains but perish because they do not persevere. 
 
 Many desire to be happy but few desire to be holy. 
 
 All attempts at entrance vain when the gate is once closed. Matt. 
 
 XXV. 10. 
 Presuming to the last on God's mercy, some do not seek Him at all. 
 Some stop to settle questions of theology, dispute about decrees. 
 Many begin where they ought to end, and end where they should begin. 
 The great question answered. Acts xvi. 30-31. 
 I say unto you. " I solemnly declare unto you on the authority of 
 
 God." 
 Many are very curious to know if their neighbours are to be saved. 
 Christ guides the conscience but gratifies not curiosity. 
 •' Question not much, but strive rather," the key-note of reply. 
 A mere human teacher might have extenuated the difficulty. 
 Our Lord, with merciful severitj', discloses the whole truth. 
 Ho assumes to be absolute Disposer of men's destinies. 
 Not able. " I am the door ; " they climb up some other way. John 
 
 X. 1-7. 
 " They attained not to righteousness, they sought it not by faith." 
 
 Eom. ix. 32. 
 "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. 
 Their desires and resolutions end in themselves, instead of Christ- 
 Jacob Avi'estled not for his own but for the angeVs blessing. 
 Men must give tip all, in order to gain all. 
 Mariners in a storm, to save the ship, fling all into the deep. Acts 
 
 xxvii. 33. 
 Eai-nest agonizing would not be able, if too late. 
 No energy, with plough and seed, out of season, secures a crop. 
 Some fail because they seek by another gate, others try to make the 
 
 strait gate wider. 
 M.ojiy will not leave behind, what cannot pass through, their sins and 
 
 the world.
 
 24 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XIH. 
 
 aywt't'fecrflf . — contest, agonize. Eiiert your utmost strength. Doddridge. Athletao 
 endm-ed their severe trials, for the purposes of health. Sometimes for the prize, a-svarded 
 at the games. Becker's Char. a-revrj? — strait, opposite of broad. The image, that of a 
 city Trailed Trv'Aijs— Svpas. Tischendorf, Alford. The former, the gntes of a palace; 
 latter, of a city. 
 
 23. TFlicn once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye 
 begin to stand without, and to Icnock at the door, sayinp. Lord, Lord, open unto tis; and 
 lie shall answer and say unto you, I knoiv you not whence ye arc : 
 
 The 24:tli and the 25th verses must be read together, or an eiToneous 
 
 meaning vrill be assigned to our Lord's words. 
 "Wlieii once. Gr. from the time that: explanatory of the fonner 
 
 sentence. 
 From that moment, all efforts to enter in, -will be in vain. 
 Master of the house. The Lord Himself, who has been waiting to 
 
 receive all striiirig aright. 
 Hisen up. From the banquet, not Christ's advent. 
 Piisen after long and patient v,-aiting. " My spirit will not always 
 
 strive." Gen. vi. 3. 
 Shut. Hitherto the gate was narrow, now absolutely closed. 
 Allusion to ancient banquets, celebrated at night. 
 Halls illuminated, narrow entrance was well guarded. 
 Uninvited carefully excluded, " in outer darkness." Matt. viii. 12. 
 When guests entered, porters prevented the rush of the crowd. 
 " They shaU call, but I will not answer." Prcfv. i. 28. 
 Hypocrisy, and too late repentance, alike lead to utter ruin. 
 The judgment day closes the door of mercy, and terminates the long.. 
 
 suffering of God. 
 The throne oi grace, gives place to the throne oi judgment. 
 Door shut. 1. When? 2. Against whom ? 3. How long? 
 Genuine members of the family always enter in time. 
 Begin. A hint at the terrible self-delusion, in which men live and die. 
 First realizing sense of then- misery in eternity. 
 Some begin too late, having quenched the Spirit. 1. Thess. v. 19. 
 Knock. Knocking avails on this side the grave, but not on the other. 
 They knock as if they had authority and right to enter, as servants of 
 
 the Lord. 
 Some approach yory near the kingdom, '^almost Christians." Acta 
 
 xxvi. 28. 
 Some Bail roimd tlio world, and perish not far from port. Mark xii. 34.
 
 CnAP. XIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 25 
 
 liOrd, Lord. A repetition implies great urgency and importunity. 
 
 They ■will passionately plead for admission into heaven. 
 
 They will even remonstrate with the Master, as if He were unjust. 
 
 Had they cried as fervently in time, this importunity had been spared. 
 
 They now beg to be among His sen^ants, whom they once scorned. 
 
 Open. Their prayer however earnest will not he. heard then. 
 
 Answer. Decisions of Christ the unchangeable pm-poses of Heaven. 
 
 The Judge ever able to give good reasons for all His acts. 
 
 Justice will wring a reluctant " Amen," from the lost! Eev. vi. 16. 
 
 I know. He denies not a perfect knowledge of their inmost character. 
 
 It means, " Ye know not Hie." " I know My sheep." John x. 14. 
 
 " The Lord knoweth the way of the righteoiis." Ps. i. 6. 
 
 "He hath respect unto the lowly, but the proud," &c. Ps. cxxxviii. 6. 
 
 "If any man love God, the same is known of Him," 1. Cor. viii. 3. 
 
 A false righteousness and a repentance that comes too late are equally 
 
 rejected. 
 To conceal painful truths is to affect to be wiser than wisdom herself 
 
 who has revealed them to us. 
 It was too late, " The harvest was past," &c. Jer. viii. 20. 
 Be they who they may, they are not members of His family. 
 
 eyep6ri. — Eiscn from his seat. Grotius, Kuinocl. From a banquet. Keander. 
 dn-OKAcio-rj. — An exclusion on earth, emblematical of the final condemnation in judgment. 
 The second xvpie omitted by Beveral ancient authorities. Perhaps it was inserted from 
 Matt. XXV. 11. Alford; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 20. TIic7i shall ye begin to say. We have eaten and drunh in thy presence, and thou 
 htist taught in our streets. 
 
 Then shall ye begin. Though they previously relied on other 
 pretexts they plead former intimacy, but they had never hioicn and 
 loved the Lord. 
 
 Eaten. As Christ's guests, they made it their plea for entrance. 
 
 Judas and other hypocrites, have thus received the Lord's supper. 
 
 Not all children, because they eat the children's bread. Psa. xli. 9. 
 
 Familiarity with holy things, hardens, if it does not soften. 
 
 Privileges unimproved, enhance condemnation. Prov. i. 24. 
 ' Drunk. Sacraments, communions, passover, unaccompanied by Divine 
 grace save not the soul.
 
 20 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [OHAP. Xin. 
 
 Israelites ate of tho sacrifices, but perished in the flame. Num. xvi. 3?. 
 The seventy Elders saw God and did eat and drink. 
 The learning in Matt. xxv. 12, -was to teachers, here to the j^eople. 
 Thy presence. Denotes intimate acquaintance and intercourse. 
 Not sharing 'E.is privileges, but partaking of His nature, alone avails. 
 Taug-lit. "What vrilt thou say, -when He shall punish thee?" Jer. 
 
 xiii. 21. 
 ' When God riseth up, what shall I answer Him ? " Job xxxi. 14. 
 To plead His instructions, while disobeying, is solemn mockery. 
 Streets. Of Capernaum, Bethsaida, Jerusalem, Nazareth, &c. 
 We must open not only our streets, but our hearts, to His saving 
 
 doctrine. 
 
 27. Slit he shall sny, I tell you, I Icnoio you not rchence ye are ; depart from me, all 
 ye workers of iniquity. 
 
 I tell you. Implying a fixed unchangeable decree of Heaven. 
 
 Not that it was strange, but a very solemn truth. 
 
 I know, djc. He knew they had eaten His bread and listened to His 
 
 voice. 
 That they had despised His instructions and disowned His authority. 
 Not branches of His vine, but fuel for the flame. 
 •' The Lord knoweth them that are His." 2. Tim. ii. 19. 
 Whence. Speaking the language of Canaan without right of inheritance. 
 Clothed in Christ's livery but doing tho world's drudgery. 
 Depart. Among orientals cjrile from court was worse than death. 
 In leaving the door of Christ they part from all hope ! 
 The righteous shall ever be with the Lord. Matt. xxv. 46. 
 Eeiug in His presence saints find their chief source of happiness. 
 His absence chief ingredient in the misery of the damned. 
 Workers. Industry in sin is but making ropes in the flames. 
 Outwardly so 7iear to Him but inwardly such strangers. 
 The Lord of the universe refuses to recognise them. 
 Such, tho Saviour testifies, tho dcformitij wrought by sin. 
 Iniquity. Abandoned to the love, and busily occupied in devices, of sin. 
 Binncrs first separate themselves from God. Matt. \iii. 34 ; Luke xv. 15. 
 Then God separates Himself from them for ever. Matt. xxv. 41. 
 
 u/»ot, you, omitlod, Tischcndorf ; rotainoJ. Alford. Acym ot tt^s— omitted. Cod,
 
 CHAP. XIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 27 
 
 28. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and 2/ott yourselves 
 thrust out. 
 
 Weeping". The brief tears of penitence cease in heaven. Isa. xxv. 8. 
 Tears in hell! The curtain here seems to tremble as though it would 
 
 part and reveal the secret woes of the lost. 
 Gnashing. The natural expression of despairing grief and rage. 
 Shall see. But shall- not taste the blessedness of the banquet. 
 " The godly shall see the wicked perish." Eev. xiv. 10. 
 Being so entirely one with God, as to acqiiiesce in His justice. 
 Old Testament saints are fully blessed in the Kingdom. 
 The lost axe witnesses of the joy of the redeemed. Luke xvi. 23. 
 "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with 
 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God." Matt. viii. 11. 
 Exclusion from that blessed host was full of woe to a Jew. 
 These patriarchs still thought to be presiding over the family of Israel. 
 The bliss of heaven due, in part to the communion of saints. 
 The wicked shall see it, and gnash with their teeth. Psa. cxi.i. 10. 
 Abraham. Luke i. 55. Prophets. Luke i. 70. See Notes. 
 Whoever docs not belong to Christ can belong only to the Devil. 
 King-dcm. This embraces all who have the Spirit of Christ. 
 Thrust out. Gr. being thrust out. Implies that attempts to enter will 
 
 be resisted. 
 Our Lord refutes their impression that all Jews will be saved. 
 
 Future ptmishment seems to consist partly in tlie loss of God's favor and protection, 
 and of the beatifia vision of his presence, commonly called the punishment of loss; and 
 partly in etei-nal torment, called the punishment of sense. To which two heads, says 
 Eerridge, all that is necessary to be known concerning this everlasting punishment, may 
 be reduced. "J know yau not," coming from the lips of the Son of God, is equal to the 
 dismissal, " Depart from me." 
 
 29. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and 
 from the south, and shall sit doivn in the kingdom of God. 
 
 They shall. Had He said many it would have been liable to abuse. 
 Our Saviour here refers to the converaion of the Gentiles. 
 East and West. Almost the order in which the nations were con- 
 verted to CLristianity.
 
 28 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAJP. XHI. 
 
 Heaven not empty if Gospel despisers are absent. 
 
 " Many mansions in our Fatlier's bouse," will all be filled. Isa. Ix. 5 to 
 
 ' tbe end. 
 "He ■will say to tbe nortb, Give up, and to tbe soutb, Keep not back." 
 
 Isa. xliii. 6. 
 Sit down. Witb orientals tbe reclining postm-e equivalent to luxury. 
 Tbe Jevrs, Greeks, and Piomans, introduced it from Persia. 
 Kingdom. Messiab's kingdom, a sumptuous, everlasting banquet. 
 
 Isa. XXV. 6. 
 
 li'aToXCiv. — Tne Gospel in the four qcpjters of the globe. Origen. 
 
 80. And, hehold, there arc last ichich shall be first, and there are first which shall be 
 last. 
 
 First a,nd last. A momentary exultation, followed by eternal 
 bumiliation. 
 
 The Jews bad been first, in sbaring tbe privileges of tbe covenant. 
 
 Tbe Gentiles who were last, sball move on to hejirst. 
 
 Tbougb Israel be not gatbered, Cbrist will be glorious. Isa. xlix. 5. 
 
 Those first in mental endowments, often last in wisdom. 
 
 The first in religious privileges are often last in their improvement. 
 
 The first in social rank are often last in deconim. 
 
 The first in religious profession arc often last in holiness. 
 
 The first called to the Idngdom are often tbe last to enter. 
 
 Men who have teen among tbe first in their national privileges, in 
 their civil station, and in their intellectual attainments and 
 general conduct — have failed to attain the Idngdom of God- 
 
 The last, &c. Implies, they will share the felicity of the blessed. 
 
 These words should fortify the soul against despair. 
 
 The first, &c. Should sound an alarm against presumption. 
 
 Note, with wonder. His holy severity, His condescending love. 
 
 No external privileges can secure a reversionary interest in Christ. 
 
 Tlieso warning words arc designed to put down presumption. 
 
 They aro also calculated to inxvent despair. 
 
 iJou c'kAv. — Absence of (ho iirticlo (Icnotos nn inlcrchnnKO in their relative positions* 
 Sliijor. This Hajing bliouM alarm tlio frcutcist sainti. Lulhcr.
 
 CHAP. XIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 29 
 
 31. IT The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him. Get thee out, 
 and depart hence : for Herod will kill thee. 
 
 Same day. Galilee, Perea, -where Jesus -was now, was under Herod. 
 It was about three days before Jesus was seized in the garden. 
 Pharisees. Luke v. 30 ; vi. 2. Their character and history. Bee 
 
 Notes. 
 This sect were ever prowling along the pathway of Christ. 
 Their envy of the holy Jesus amounted to ferociti/. 
 They longed to banish such a censor of their sins. 
 Saying-. "When they speak fair, let us not believe them. Prov. 
 
 xxvi. 25. 
 "With cunning craftiness, they lie in wait to deceive." Eph. iv. 14. 
 Their voice is the voice of Jacob, but their hands are the hands of Esau. 
 Henae. Satan appeals to every passion and infirmity of man. 
 Employs every kind of artifice, to obstruct the work of the ministry. 
 He opposes the truth, he mingles error with the truth. He ui'ges on 
 
 injudicious men to advocatethe tri;th. 
 In the statement of a doctrine, if error be amalgamated with that which 
 
 is true, Satan gains an advantage, unless men distinguish between 
 
 things that differ. 
 If the doctrine thus erroneously stated be received on account of the 
 
 truth that is in it, error is imbibed. 
 If the doctrine be rejected on account of the error that is in it, truth is 
 
 discarded. 
 Therefore doctrinal statements must be tried by the uuen-ing standai-d 
 
 of God's word. 
 Men made wise by the Holy Spirit reject these teachings of the evil one 
 
 and abhor his corruptions ; they hold fast the truths of God and 
 
 sanction no perversions. 
 With holy boldness they " fear nothing that is not eternal.^' 
 Ministers need 1. Knowledge to discover his wiles. 2. Fidelity to dis- 
 charge their duties. 3. Com-age to despise their dangers. 
 Depart. " See my face no more," as Pharaoh to Moses. Ex. x. 28. 
 This wicked, weak, selfish Tetrarch was anxious to be rid of Christ. 
 His spreading fame made him doiibt whether to lionor or persecute. 
 Herod. Antipas. Luke iii. 1. His character and histoiy. See Notes. 
 He feared a rival king in Jesus. Eulers are ever jealous. 
 Thovigh after beheading John, he feared to attack Jesus. 
 He trembled in secret at the shadow of John the Baptist. 
 Yet believed neither in immortality nor in eternal life. 
 Now associated with Pharisees, then with Pilate, to oppose Jesus,
 
 30 * SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 What die Herod begins, Matt. ii. 13-16, another continues 30 years 
 
 after. 
 "Will kill. He desired to see Ilim, hut afterwards mocked Him. 
 
 Luke xxiii. 11. 
 Inconsistency characterizes the guilty conscience. 
 Thas Shemaiah threatened Nehemiah, building Jerusalem. 
 Had they really believed this, they would not have warned Him. 
 There is no artifice whatever, of which the devil does not make use by 
 
 his servants to obstruct the work of God. 
 The threats of men are nothing so long as God permits them to do 
 
 nothing. 
 In the path of duty there may be raging lions, but they are lions 
 
 chained. 
 Oar life belongs to God, and Christian men are all immortal until their 
 
 work be done. 
 
 For ^fie'pn, dajj, uip^, hour. Tischcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. BcXei. — Not the future 
 merely, but also the desires. Ityle. ]Vishes to kill thee, not will. Footc. Intcudeth. 
 Campbell. Jesus was in Decapolis. Robinson. awoKTsivai, — Christ's death due mainly 
 to the instigations of this Herod. Lnctaniius. The scene changes back to Galilee. Scholz, 
 Gricsbach, OlshauKcn. This story invented by the Pharisees. Euthymins, Wetstcin. 
 Message sent at Herod's instigation. Meyer, Ay'ord. Friends kindly ■n-amecl Jesus. 
 Andrews. 
 
 32. And he said unto them, Go ye, and. tell that fox. Behold, I cast out devils, and I 
 do cures to day and to-morroic, and the third day I shall he perfected. 
 
 Fox. Noted for sublety, treachery, and preying far from ils own den. 
 Tliat crafty, cruel enemy of God's innocent sei\ants. 
 Contrast Herod's malignity with intense hatred of the Jews. 
 Our Lord shows them that He penetrates their bearts' design. 
 Propbets insph-ed are not to spare the sins of rulers. Isa. i. 10, 
 Ministers are bound faithfully to rebuke wicked i)rinccs. 
 Sin to speak ill of the righteous ruler of God's people. Acts, xxiii. 5. 
 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curso the ruler of thy people. 
 
 Exodus xxii. '28. 
 Jesus, as King of kings, gives the tyrant bis character. Zep. iii. Sj 
 
 Ezck. xxii. 27. 
 He shows the Pharisees He has no fear of Tlcrod or tlu inselves. 
 Tho wicked, cowardly by nature, ever prefer crovhcd ways.
 
 (JHAP. XIII.] ON ST. LUKE. ^1 
 
 Our Lord has less regard to the man than to the prince. 
 
 Cast out. His work was full of Divine benevolence to the wretched. 
 
 He alludes to no doctrine, as \h.ej could not gainsay His miracles. 
 
 " Plot on vnth thy wiles, I also have plans." 
 
 Devils. Luke iv. 2. See Notes. 
 
 Do cures. "I injure no one, am ever doing good." 
 
 " I shall not long weary him by My presence, but soon depart." 
 
 Contrast Herod's snares and malice with Christ's mercy. 
 
 To day. Until His woi"k was finished He was immortal. 
 
 The same trusting faith is " not afraid of evil tidings." Psa. cxii. 7. 
 
 The Jiairs of the head, and believers' days, are numbered. 
 
 Life, death, things present, things to come are theirs. 1. Cor. iii. 22. 
 
 Third day. "Fearless and undisturbed, I shall finish My work." 
 
 A minister needs knowledge, fidelity, courage, hmnility. 
 
 Perfected. Gn-. am perfected. " I end my course ; " fulfilled soon at 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 " If Herod should kill Me he will not surprise Me." 
 It aids ns in our duty to be above the fear of death. Dan. iii. 18; 
 
 Acts XXV. 11. 
 "I have a baptism, and am straitened until," &e. Luke xii. 50. 
 •• My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." John iv. 3i. 
 " I have glorified Thee on the earth ; I have finished," &c. John xvii. 4. 
 "By one offering He perfected, for ever, the sanctified." Heb. x. 14. 
 
 aA(jT6(ct. — Crafty, sly fellow. aAMTrcKi'^eif — to play the fox. A metaphor implying 
 resemblanoe between the objects to which the word is applied. Compare Kvve<;, Phil iii. 
 2 ; KvKoi, Matt. x. IG; oifisr.^, Matt, sxiii. 33. Wishing Jesus to remove out of his territory, 
 Herod employs a skatasem, by sending persons, under the garb of friendship, who 
 pretend anxiety for the Saviour's safety. W. iC- W. 
 
 " Go ye,, and tell that fox." Our Lord does not call him lion, wolf, or hear, as tlio 
 prophets often called wiclced princes. " Tell him from me," saith Jesus, " that my times 
 are set in the eternal counsels of God, and when my prefixed time is accomplished for 
 my labour and sufferings. I shall, in spite of all the opposition of earth and hell, be 
 perfected : i.e. be consecrated to my priestly office, by dying a sacrifice for the sins of 
 the world." (See Bishop Hall ) 
 
 Jesus did not feol Himself bound to acl;nowledgo Herod as His governor. At least. 
 He scrupulously maintained decorum towards the rulers. This word, in reality, is only 
 aimed at themselves. Olshaiiseti, Sticr. (^apto-atoi.— Under the name of Herod, the 
 Pharisees alone ai-e aimed at. since the threat came really from them. Olshausr.n, Sticr, 
 Ebrard, Oosterzee, Alexander. Collusion between them and courtiers. Rigijcnhach. 
 Herod stirred up the Jews. Alford, Major, Bengel. W. d- \V., Brown. «irii€«<i.— awo. 
 Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. Conticio. Vulgate. Perficio., X use dispatch in per- 
 forming. I am urgent, inaamucli us my time ia short. Major, (r/jfuepov. — He said tliii
 
 32 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XIH. 
 
 in Novem'ber, and sofEered the nest April. ElsUy. rpCrri. — " TJiree days," a figure of His 
 thi-ee year's ministry. Sepp. Three actual days. Alford, Meyer. Each day 1000 years, 
 2. Peter lii. 8, L.H.V.D. UntU His work was perfected by death. Lichtenstein, Stier, 
 Andrews. Go without haste or constraint. Schleiennacher. Three days before crucifixion. 
 Meyer. Euripides uses three as proverbial. Major. 
 
 TeAeioOfxat. — I reach the goal, i.e. censummation. Grotiug. I complete. Oosterzee. 
 Reach the priestly office. Elsley. One of the deepest sayings of the Lord, glancing at 
 His divine work : brought to My end, — die. Wetsteiyi. I shall finish these -works. Kuinoel. 
 Consummor. Syr. and Vulg. Present passive. ElUcott. Present middle. Meyer. The 
 passion on the cross. Cyril Alex, 
 
 33. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morroic, and the Aaj following : for it 
 cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 
 
 "Walk. Quietly, but itntiringlj', the Lord presses to the goal. 
 " No one can hinder Me in his impotent rage." 
 Successive steps show calm deliberateness in His course. 
 " Our life hid with Chi-ist," is safe while the Church needs it. 
 Threats of men nothing, while God binds their hands. 
 Believers are immortal until their work is done. 
 "Witnesses not slain until their testimony is finished. 
 Jesus contkasted with H!eeod* 
 
 1. Steadfast courage with wretched cowardice. 
 
 2. Heavenly simplicity with grovelling craft. 
 
 3. Iron resolution with painful indecision. 
 
 4. Calm assurance of certain knowledge with impotent threats of wavering 
 
 ignorance. 
 To day. Sjinbol of the entire ministry of om- Lord. 
 To mori'ow. Shows the rapid march of His shortening career. 
 It cannot be. A most terribly scathing sentence against the Sanhedrim. 
 HitL(;rto, the prophets ; soon, they would murder the Messiah. 
 Prophet. Luke i. 70. Character and duties. Sec Notes. 
 Perish. Saints and prophets ever slandered before being put to death. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. No sacrifice was to bo offered except in the 
 
 Temple. 
 It was the centre of national and religious life. 
 Also the great altar, on which the saints were victims ! 
 JcHus retires, but not because Herod compels Him. 
 " Go tell Herod, I neither fly from, nor fear him." 
 A sciithing satire upon the bloody city.
 
 CHAP. SIII.] OX ST. LTTKE. 33 
 
 ■tropevea-Bai as elvat, to live, SO 7ropeue<r9ai, going away, in the sense of dying. Dying, 
 and not walking, Luke xxiii. 22. JRearce, Major. Set — epyd^ecdai or its equivalent has 
 duubtless been lost from the Greek. Wukejield, Major. 'lcpovaa\rjij.. — Not literally 
 True of a majority, but John died in Machaerus, in the land ofMoab. Olshausen. An 
 "exception." Euthymiiifi, Heyne. The great prophet, foretold by Moses. Barradius. 
 
 Jernsalem had as it were an exclusive claim to the guilt and infamy of murdering 
 the Prophets of God. The design of our Saviour, by this observation, seems to be to dis- 
 play the wickedness of this city. But many eminent critics refer this to the right which 
 the Sanhedrim alone had to punish a person as a false prophet. Yalpy, Drusius, So. 
 
 &4. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, wJiieh IcUlest the prophets, and stonest them, that are 
 sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen 
 doth gather her Itrood under her icings, and ye would not ! 
 
 Jerusalem, was at once the mother and the altar of saints. 
 
 To fill up the measure of her guilt she must crucify the Saviour. 
 
 She was the representative of the life and of the honor of the Fathers. 
 
 The glory of the youth and the hope of the nation. 
 
 Neither Matthew, Mark, nor Luke allude to His being there until just 
 
 before dying. 
 How often ? Goodness of God, only equalled by the obduracy of 
 
 sinners. 
 " As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of," &c. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 
 A call to Jerusalem is a call to every sinner. 
 1. Loving care watching over it. 2. Enmity prevailing in it. 3. Pity 
 
 mourning over it. 4. Retribution coming upon it. 5. A ray of light 
 
 breaking over Jerusalem. 
 Would I. Gr. Have Iivished. 
 
 He was willing to save, but they were not willing to be saved. 
 They loved their sins above their Redeemer or their salvation. 
 Infinite wisdom and love had exhausted all means deemed proper. Isa. 
 
 V. 4. 
 He might have used stronger means ; Jehovah deemed the Gosjiel 
 
 enough. 
 His benevolence even now glows towards His infatuated enemies. 
 Children. To the laothev Justice, to the children rnerci/. 
 Hen ; sees the eagle threatening in the sky, and seeks to gather her 
 
 young. 
 Jesus sees Rome's gathering storm and yearns to rescue the exposed. 
 Jehovah had ever been gathering His saints. Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 Brood. Parent birds oft peril life, in snow or flame, for their young.
 
 84 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP, XIII. 
 
 Wing's. A tender expression of maternal love. 
 
 The wings of clierubiin, overshadowing the mercy seat. Ex. xsv. 20. 
 
 Healing as well as safety, under Christ's wings. Mai. iv. 2. 
 
 The sinner's inlicrited guilt, becomes his own, by personal sins, 
 
 Seciirity alone found imder the shadow of His wings. Ruth ii. 12. 
 
 " He shall cover thee, and under His wings shalt thou trust." Ps.xci.4. 
 
 "Would, not. The Talmud veil still hangs over their eyes. 
 
 " Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life." John v. 40. 
 
 " Nothing doth burn in hell, but our will." Bernard. 
 
 Equally true nothing reigns in heaven but the ivill. 
 
 In the will are waters of salvation, and in it are waters of bitterness. 
 
 When the will is turned, the soul is saved. 
 
 A man may lose the good things of this life against his will, but if ho 
 
 lose eternal life, he does so with his own consent. Augustine. 
 It is a more difficult work to reconcile men to God, than to reconcile 
 
 God to men. 
 Nevertheless Jesus did then, and ever wiU, gather His own. 
 
 'Icpovcra\rjfji. — 34 and 35 introdneed from Matt. Major, De Wette, Neander. Twice 
 uttered. Slier. Once in Matt, xxiii. 37. Ebrard, Lange. Meyer. Onco as in Luke xiii. 34. 
 OUhausen, Oosterzee. In chronological order, Alford. riQi\-r]<Ta. — Almighty grace 
 Impotent before the hardness of unbelief. Olshauscn. Note, — saving grace is irresistible, 
 " Thy people Khali bo villiny in the day of thy power," Tsa. ex. 3. Omnipotence of grace 
 abundantly taught in Scripture, Phil. ii. 13; Dcut. xxs. 6; Eph. ii. 5. A\Tiat could have 
 been done more ? Isa. V. 4. Ans.— Nothing, consistent with His plans of mercy. Res- 
 pojtsihility of the loss, attaches to tlie soul alone. 
 
 85. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall 
 !'/)t see me, until the time come when ye slutll say. Blessed is he that cometk in thf nana 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Your house. The temple, Luke i. 9, the centre of all (heir hopes. 
 Ho who spake against it, was as though he blasphemed God. 
 Stephen's liint, that its glory would pass, incurred a martyr's deatn. 
 " Destroy this temple," the heaviest charge against Him, on His trial. 
 Malignantly they Hung it in His face on the cross. Matt, xxvii. 40 
 Desolate. Luke xix. 43-44. History of Temple and city niincil. 
 
 Sc(! Notes. 
 The T(!niplo desolate, brought down the Sanhedrim. 
 Priestly dominion of Pharisee and ycribc, passed away for over.
 
 CUAP. Xjn.] ON ST. LUKE. 35 
 
 A soul ahandoned by tnitli and God, a friglitful desert. 
 
 God at last wearied, reluctantly blots out the nation's glory. 
 
 The nation, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the temple, and the ciiy all 
 
 testify to the accomplishment of the Saviour's prediction. 
 " City made a heap, a defenced city, a ruin." Isa. xxv. 2 ; xxvi. .5. 
 Shall not see. Christ bids sad farewell to the unbelieving nation and 
 
 their temple. 
 "Until, " He come in the clouds, and eveiy eye shall see Him." Eev. 
 
 i.7. 
 Then they who pierced Him, will gladly bow the knee before Him. 
 
 Eom. xiv. 11. 
 "Workers of iniquity, under His wrath, will cry, " Lord, Lord." Matt. 
 
 vii. 22. 
 Shall say. Yo will then acknowledge me to have been the Messiah. 
 Ye, the righteous, who will gladly welcome My return. 
 Blessed, " is the Iving that cometh in the name of the Lord." John 
 
 xii. 13. 
 High Pnests will gladly in place of children then cry Hosanna ! Matt. 
 
 xxi. 15. 
 Cometh. The idea of Christ's speedy return, runs through the N. T. 
 "And to wait for His S.on from heaven." 1. Thess. i. 10. 
 " "We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord," &g. 2. Thess. 
 
 ii. 2. 
 " Looking for that blessed hope, and glorious a.ppcaring," &c. Tit. ii. 13. 
 " We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord." 1. Thess. 
 
 iv. 15. 
 "Even so. Lord Jesus, come quickly." Eev. xxii. 20. 
 
 a/iTji' — cancelled, Ti'sc/ieTKio?;/' and others. Denunciations of Lnko no severer than 
 in Matt. Bengel. cprjuios. — From Matt. Oosterzce ; cancelled. Tuchendorf, Scholz, 
 Lnchmann. av — cancelled. Tixhendorf, Oosterzec. eiiAoyijueVo^. — Passover salutations. 
 Erasmus, Wieseler. The conversion of the Jews (Cocceius) maj or not be inferred. 
 Liphtfoot. Triuinpl;ant entrance into Jerusalem. Grotius, Langc. Destruction of 
 Jerusalem. Pearce, Wotstein. His coming in judgment. O'.sltausen. His first advent. 
 Meyer ; second, TlGV. i. 7. Rule. (px6iJ.evo?, speedily, runs through the whole of the N.T. 
 Olshausen. The great Hallel was Psa. cxviii, sung at Passover. Doddrhltje. 
 
 cpTjuos dp.iji' Se — omitted. Cod. Sinai, ore is regularly used with the indicative, 
 describing an a-ctual event, usually of time past, bat sometimes of the future. This is 
 the only instance where ore is joined with the subjunctive mood. Webster's Syntax.
 
 36 SUGGE3TIYE COMMEISTTAEY [CHAP. XtT. 
 
 CHAPTER XI Y. 
 
 1. AXD it came to pass, as he icent into the liouse of one of the chief Pharisees to 
 eat bread on the sabbath, that they watched him. 
 
 Went. Gr. whoi He had come. The Lord declined no opportunity of 
 
 healing or teaching. 
 Though He knew their malice He condescended to become their guest. 
 Ever ready to feed them with the Bread of Life aud with the instruction 
 
 of His divine works. Cyril. 
 House. Luke i. 40. See Notes. 
 
 Houses for public use were very rare then as now in the East. 
 Chief. Gr. one of the rulers who was a Pharisee. 
 
 All the rulers were by no means of the sect of the Pharisees. John vii. 48. 
 Rank, office, influence, increase moral responsibility. 
 Pharisees. Luke v. 17 ; vi. 2. See Notes. 
 After His severe denunciation He readily accepts the invitation. 
 Contrast with their malignity, truth in simplicity and love. 
 Eat bread. A phrase frequently used for a sumptuous feast. 2 Sam. 
 
 ix. v. 
 Luke loves to show Christ's pure humaniiij in social life. 
 Sabbath. Tlie Jews spread better tables on this day. 
 With all their sanctimoniousness their rlolons feasts broke the sabbath. 
 Tlie religion of some professors confined to sabbath feasting. 
 Our Saviour did not decline the society of despised publicans. 
 Nor did He refuse the hospitality of envious Pharisees. 
 Moses and Jethro, on the sabbath, ate bread before (!od. 
 Jesus selected it as the time for works of mercy. Mark i. 21 ; Luke vi. ; 
 
 John ix. 14. 
 Watched. During sabbath meals, sabbath journies, sabbath duties. 
 We are watched by jealous eyes when least expecting it. 
 Others had warned Him, pretending friendly interest. Luke xiii. 31. 
 These Pharisees, like the fowler, were silcuf, in laying their snares. 
 Luke notes tlieir treacherous violation of the laws of hosjjitality. 
 Tlic sabbath of the soul is i)rofaned by crafty and wicked thoughts. 
 By our Lord going into the company of Pharisees and eating bread we 
 
 arc taught : — 1st. An example of forbearance aud kindness to 
 
 enemies. 2ud. Au assurance of His interest and sympathy in our
 
 CHAP. XrV.] ON ST. LUKE. 87 
 
 daily life and wants. Srd. That His presence should oonsecralc 
 
 every meal, and every -word and action. 
 We have a lesson of His great humility — the Creator a guest of the 
 
 creature. 
 AVc have a lesson of His patience and boundless love— a guest of a 
 
 Pharisee. 
 We have a lesson of the reality of His human nature — He ate bread. 
 We have a lesson of His constant goodness — He healed the dropsical 
 
 man. 
 The Pharisees xvatchcd Him : 1st. If he did not heal the man it would 
 
 show He feared them, and would make the people doubt either His 
 
 power or His love. 2nd. If He healed. He would be open to a charge 
 
 of sabbath breaking. 
 They were a type of the nation, and of multitudes of people since and 
 
 now. 
 Watching for Christ, with evil intention, hardened their hearts and 
 
 blinded their spiiitual perceptions. 
 Those who go to God's Word only to seek contradictions, or to defame 
 
 truth, reap the reward of their intentions, and are confiitned in 
 
 their wickedness. 
 The world takes note of all that good men do and say. 
 Therefore, the statue that is to stand upon a pedestal must be larger 
 
 than life. 
 They tcatchcd Him. If we watch Christ also, we see how exalted piety 
 
 instructs the worldly-minded. 
 
 1. He condescends to accept in friendly spirit the invitation that ap- 
 
 peared to be friendly. 
 
 2. He explains and defends the right iise of the sabbath. 
 
 3. He rebukes pride by inculcating humility. 
 
 4. He unfolds to those around Him, the natm-e of true humility. 
 
 5. From hiunility as His subject in the presence of the proud. He pro- 
 
 ceeds to speak of hospitality in the presence of the selfish. 
 G. Our Lord distinguishes between the hospitality of ostentation and the 
 hospitality of true benevolence. 
 
 7. He deduces His instruction from passing events osr from surroimding 
 
 objects. 
 
 8. Seated at the supper, He utters to His host and the guests th" 
 
 parable of the Great Supper. 
 Inns and places of refreshment for strangers were far from common in 
 the East ; this rendered hospitality a duty. The office of inviting 
 gkangers to take food often devolved on the chief man in each 

 
 88 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 village or town. Orientals are very hospitable, and the desire to 
 converse with travellers and weU-informed strangers makes them 
 eager to obtain society. 
 
 " Chief Pharisees." OfBcial distinction. Andrews. Mag'stratos frequently were not 
 Pharisees, allhougli Hillel, Gamaliel, Schammai, were. The host, a member of the San- 
 hedrim. Grotius, Kuinoel. A niler of the synagogue. De Wctte. 
 
 "Eat bread." Jews often feasted with hilarity on the Sahbath. Christ, by this 
 visit, improved an opportunity of doing good, without in the least approring the desecra- 
 tion of holy time. Lightfoot. Certainly not of Sabbath hilarity. Jewish feast compared 
 to Bacchanalian festivity, by Plutarch, Wctsteiri. Jews' excesses and riotings noted by 
 Augustine on Psa. xci. 1 : same as Matt. xxU. 2-14. McKnight. 
 
 2. And, hehold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 
 
 Behold. Indicates surprise that such a diseased guest was present. 
 Oriental vanity is flattered at a feast, having gazing crowds present. 
 Our Lord sends him away, the moment he is cm-ed. 
 
 Before him. Doubtless afraid of asking aid, because of the Pharisees. 
 Though in the presence of all, he is spoken of as before Christ alone. 
 He evidently regarded the Lord as the source of healing, and Jesus saw 
 
 him with that pai'ticular regard He has for every sinner separately. 
 Our misery need only be brought to Christ, to excite His mercy. 
 Dropsy. An unnatura-1 collection of water in any part of the body, 
 accompanied with burning thirst, which is only increased by efforts 
 to gratify it. 
 This disease a striking type of sin in general. 
 
 Indulgence of lusts of body or mind torments with thirst of more. 
 Yet every attempt to obtain gratification only increases the evil. 
 Especially true of the sins of avarice, sensuality, and ambition. 
 Avarice is not cured by all a num can obtain, but is increased by each 
 
 fresh gain. 
 In senmality the appetite is whclted by every act of indulgence, and is 
 
 the further from satisfaction the more iudulgod. 
 In ambition the striving for pre-eminence is followed by disappointment 
 
 as soon as the desire is obtained. 
 Christ aloue can cure the disease of sin in all Hk form.';. 
 "lie tliat cometh to me shall never hunger, and ho that bolieveth on uio 
 Bhull never thirst." John vi. i>5.
 
 OHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LTTEE, 39 
 
 ^'- Behold," &c. Perhaps placed there hy the Pliarisees, with evil design. Sticr, 
 Oosterzee. '■^Dropsy:'' He would sciireely enter a private house without permission. 
 Trench. Oriental manners do not condemn the crowd, nor tent-life secure seclusian. 
 Owing to want of physicians, the diseased press themselves upon the host, in a mau- 
 jier that astonishes a stranger. Chardin. 
 
 3. And Jesus answering spake imto the laicyers and Pharisees, saying. Is it law- 
 ful to heal on the sabbath day t 
 
 Answering. Their thoughts evidence of His omniscience. Matt. 
 xxii. 1 ; Luke v. 22 ; Mark xiv. 48. 
 
 In so doing He showed Himself to be God, and prepared the way for the 
 manifestation of His divine power in healing the man. 
 
 The angel answered tlie /ear of the woman. Matt, xxviii. 5. 
 
 The high priest answered the silence of Christ. Matt. xxvi. C3. 
 
 Christ answered their deed. Mark xiv. 48. 
 
 Here tlieir malicious schemes hidden in their hearts. 
 
 He answered their looks of craft and cruelty of spirit towards the unfor- 
 tunate man. 
 
 They probably placed him there with treacherous intent. 
 
 The last degree of depravity is reached, when men take pleasure in tempt- 
 ing others to sin. 
 
 He answers deeds tioio by providential love or vengeance. 
 
 He works no miracle until they feel their designs penetrated. 
 
 The man himself was ignorant of their base intentions. 
 
 Lavryers. Luke vii. 30. Who, nevertheless did not understand the law 
 of the Sabbath. 
 
 Doubtless dogging His steps for proofs to be used against Him. 
 
 Lawful. To heal on the sabbath dav, or not ? 
 
 He was often accused of healing on the sabbath day. 
 
 It is not out of ignorance but charity that Christ asks this question. 
 
 Not to do good, having the power, is to do evil. 
 
 The mere proposal of such a question puts gainsayers to silence. 
 
 They would not say, " Yea,'''' for tlicy envied Him a prophet's reputation. 
 
 Nor, " Nay,'''' because that was against their own conscience. 
 
 Cur Saviour treated Pharisees as finally hardened against the truth. 
 
 The invitation accepted in love, hardly given in good faith. 
 
 Those unjustly interpreting law here, will meet the responsibility hero^ 
 after. 
 
 You grudge that I should deliver one from water killiug him.
 
 40 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 Yet you make no scruple in siipplying a beast in need of Avater. 
 
 He tells tliem that those who blamed Him for heahng, were yet ready 
 enoi;gh to do servile work on the Sabbath day, merely for the pre- 
 servation of their i^roperty. 
 
 This condemned them when they said that His miracle of mercy was a 
 violation of the letter of their law. 
 
 The bare letter might be broken for an object of charity or mercy 
 without violating the sinrit of the commandment. 
 
 aTTOKpiSeU is frequently used with reference to Becret reasoning as an action exprea- 
 Eive of sentiment, Luke v. 22 ; rii. 40 ; xxii. 51 ; Matt. xi. 25. W. & W. Oepantvcrai -^ So. 
 — Tisekendorf, Lachmann, Oostcrzce. 
 
 4. And they lield their peace. And he took him, and lieaUd him, and let him qo ; 
 
 Held their peace. Although silenced, their hearts were iinchanged : 
 
 enmity to Christ not to be removed by reasoning merely. 
 Had they said "Yes," it would have sanctioned His mii'acles, and 
 
 oi^posed their glosses on' the Sabbatic law. 
 Had they said " No," it would have laid them open to the charge of 
 
 inconsistency and uncharitableness. 
 Not quite so lost to decency as to condemn doing good on the Sabbath. 
 Tmth that docs not win, generally exasperates. 
 Before they were silenced through subtlety, now through shame. 
 "Unable to maintain, but too proud to acknowledge, their error. 
 There was meanness, as well as ohstiuacii, in their conduct. 
 Took liim. Our Lord is often said to have touched or laid haiids on 
 
 those He healed. 
 Teaches us Ho does not despise or shrink from any one however foul or 
 
 loathsome his sins. 
 H-is mercy could not bo bound by their envy, nor intimidated by their 
 
 threats. 
 Healed. By one single act of Ills omnipotent will. 
 " lie is able to save to tlic uttermost all who come unto God by Him." 
 Let him go. Dismissed him to his home, ciuxd in body and blessed 
 
 iu soul. 
 In this miracle we have a picture of tbo Lord's mercy to man. 
 lie is contiinially dealing thus with siniKSTS — 
 1. Ho lays His bunds upon them and moves them to repentance.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 41 
 
 2. He heals and pardons, strengthens and forgives. 
 
 3. He grants His Spirit for perseverance in the ways of holiness. 
 
 "We have also an example for our imitation, if we would be healed of sin — 
 
 1. To stand before Christ, having come to Him with fiill confidence in 
 
 His power and willingness to save us. 
 
 2. To come to Him on the Sahhath, resting, that is, from all omr own 
 
 works. 
 
 3. When we so come, to be assured He will lay His hand upon us, release 
 
 us from our sins, and bid us go in peace. 
 
 €n-iAa/3o/x6i'05. — Laid hold on him, embraced him. Major, 
 
 6. And answered them, saying, Wliich of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a 
 pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day ? 
 
 Answered. In meekness and love, He instructs, without insulting. 
 
 Silent, but fierce thoughts are words in the ear of God. 
 
 His speech was with grace, seasoned with salt. Col. iv. 6. 
 
 A Hebraism, in which there is a response to the silent feeling. 
 
 Ox. They willingly violate the Sabbath, for an ox. 
 
 They could bestow thoughts on their cattle, but were indifferent to the 
 
 wants of their brethren. 
 The Lord ccnsm-ed by these same hypocrites, for healing the sick. 
 "Doth God take care for oxen? — for our sakes this is written." 1. Cor* 
 
 ix. 9, 10. 
 Straightway. Humanity to animals, required by the Lord. 
 Works of mercy do not include Simday trading, dinners and excursions. 
 SerA^ants, engineers, coachmen, and porters have souls. 
 Our Lord's conduct on this occasion manifested His wisdom, power, and 
 
 goodness. 
 Wisdojn, in answering the secret thoughts of men's hearts. 
 Power, in healing the sickness of the man who stood before Him. 
 Goodness, not only in the miracle but in His forbearance towards tho?o 
 
 watching to entrap and accuse Him. Denton. 
 The Christian Sabbath. 
 It admits of works of piety, charity, and necessity. 
 It is God's sacred enclosure. 
 It is the sanctifying portion of the week. 
 Though belonging to God it is lent to man.
 
 42 SUGGESTIVE COMMSNTAEY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 It is a gift wliicla gratitude expends in the service of the Giver. 
 
 It is the first day of the world's history. 
 
 It is one day younger than man himself. 
 
 It ranks in the higher Table of the Law. 
 
 It is placed as the middle command, to unite man to God. 
 
 It is part of the moral law and therefore perpetual. 
 
 "When the sabbath was cast aside : 
 
 1. The house of God was turned into a stable. 
 
 2. The Bible was paraded through the streets on an ass. 
 
 3. And then was consumed u^Don a bonfire. 
 It is a rest for cattle as well as for man. 
 
 The sabbath is necessary for the body, the viind, and the soiil. 
 
 He who seeks to desecrate the sabbath is an enemy to God and a foe tc 
 
 man. 
 Man is born for eternity as well as for time. 
 
 It is necessary that he should be instructed in the language of eternity. 
 The Lord's day is the pi'eparation period. 
 It preserves in the world the worship of the one true God. 
 To banish the Christian sabbath is to banish the Christian religion. 
 Take away the Lord's day and ignorance and crime prevail. 
 Take away the sabbath and a million of children would remain untaught. 
 The sabbath, like the earth, is the Lord's, and so ought to be " the ful- 
 ness thereof." 
 Eendcr therefore to Cajsar the things that are Caesar's, and Lo God the 
 
 things that are God's ; and give not to Cajsar that which belongs to 
 
 God, nor to God that which pertains to Caasar. 
 Nothing is lost by serving God, nothing is gained by defrauding Him. 
 A little damaged com may spoil the contents of a whole granary. 
 Bo temperate in all things ; add not for selfishness the night to the day, 
 
 nor the sabbath to the week. 
 Jewish and Christian sabbaths are the morning and evening services 
 
 to God. 
 The commandment that relates to the sabbath is blended with nine 
 
 others, all of perpetual obligation. 
 The command to reverence the Sabbath day was wi-ittcn by the finger of 
 
 God; was written on tables of stone and laid up in the ark. 
 Tlic other precepts were written by the hand of Moses. 
 They were written on less endurable niatcriaks, and laid up by the side 
 
 of the ark. 
 The sabbath was 0710 of the seven commandments enforced by the 
 
 penalty of death.
 
 CUAP. XrV.] ON ST. LUKE. 43 
 
 The observance of the sabbath is based upon reasons -which embrace tho 
 
 ■whole earth. 
 The clay is changed but the worship of God is preserved. 
 The sabbath was from the beginning of time, for many nations regarded 
 
 the seventh day as holy who could not have had their knowledge 
 
 from Mos«s. 
 It is tho means appointed by God of imparting rehgious instruction to 
 
 tlie great mass of mankind. 
 The sabbath does not enjoin the seventh day of the week, but the seventh 
 
 part of our time. 
 The sabbath was man's first day and God's seventh. 
 Neither morning nor evening is mentioned in relation to the seventh day, 
 
 thus showing it to be a symbol of the eternal sabbath. 
 Its holy origin is seen in the holy character of its observers. 
 Therefore a voice from heaven says, Eemember to keep holy the sabbaib 
 
 day. 
 It is called by the Jews — the Day of Light. 
 It is called by the Africans — the Day of Silence. 
 It is called by the Cree Indians- -the Praying Day. 
 It is called by the Early Christians — the Queen of Days. 
 A man seventy years of age has had ten j^ears of sabbaths. 
 The Christian's sabbath is a path that leads to the Celestial City. 
 It is a revolving light to save from shipwreck. 
 The sabbath is a blessing of Paradise lent to earth, and to be enjoyed in 
 
 Heaven. 
 The sabbath is spent by many in settling their accounts. 
 The Day of Judgment will be spent in the same manner. 
 
 Several uncial MSS. read vtb; -17 /3ov?, -(vhich. is the reading of (he Coptic version 
 followed by Clemens of Alexandria, Kuinoel, Trench, Wordsworth. Alford ado^its this 
 reading in preference to that of the Vulgate, and of the Textus reccptus. If this is tho 
 tiTie reading, our Lord's; words would mean, — If a son, or even an ox shonid fall into a 1 iC 
 on the Sabbath day, ye would release them ; how much moi-e should I heal my son, and 
 the creLture of my hand who has faUen into a worse calamity. Tho Textus Receptui 
 oi/os retained. Elzevir, Slier, Oostcrzee, Campbell. 
 
 G. And they could 7iot answer him again to these things. 
 
 Could not. Christ is "justified when Ho speaks, and clear \vhon IIo 
 judges." Ps. li. 4.
 
 44 SUGGESTIVE COMilE.NTAEY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 A liome tlirust, ■whicli could not be parried. 
 
 Answer. Before they would not., now, emphatically tliey could not. 
 
 None was shamele&s, or irrational enough, to reply. 
 
 Conscience, as well as the intellect, is silenced, by Christ's reasoning. 
 
 Impotent silence, 1. From animosity. 2. Perplexity. 3. Disd'ain. 
 
 We are boimd to save a neighbor's life, why not his soul ? 
 
 Lesson to ministers — Let them not wonder if their labors seem disregarded 
 
 and lost uj^on an iingodly world. 
 Even Christ's perfect life and divine wisdom failed to move the hearts of 
 
 sinners hardened in unbelief. 
 They were unable to ansiver Him, though they continued to lay snares 
 
 for Him, and at last crucified Him. 
 " The servant is not greater than his Lord" — If they persecuted the 
 
 Truth incarnate, they will persecute aU of the truth. 
 
 oivtS. Caneellecl by Oosterzee. Cod. Sinai. Passage not nttered in tho liouse of tho 
 PhaiiKce. Norton. 
 
 7. IT And he put forth a pnrnble to those which were hidden, when he nmrkcd lioio they 
 chose out the chief rooms ; saying unto them, 
 
 Parable. Parables are truths taught by symbols. 
 
 Like "the pillar of tho cloud," they are light to the Israelites but 
 
 darkness to the Egyptians. 
 Tlie parables in the Gospels are 27 in number. 
 The parables utter tho very words of inspiration. 
 The names given to them are of human origin. 
 Out of the 27 parables delivered by our Lord, 17 of them were spoken 
 
 within three months of His death. 
 Tliorc are two classes of parables. — 1. The Prophetical. 2. Tho Historical. 
 The uucxidained parables may be interpreted by those tliat arc explained. 
 Tho first of tho iirophetical parables is that of tlio Sower. 
 Tlie last is tho parable of tho Talents. 
 Iho first of tho historical is that of tho King taking an account of his 
 
 Debtorfl.
 
 CHAP. XrV.] ON ST. Lt-'KK, 45 
 
 The last is that of the Pharisee and the Publican. 
 
 Out of the 27 parables, 12 of thera have the same espics3iOJi, viz. : " The 
 
 Kingdom of God is likened unto." 
 Having the same introduction, we imagine that they all refer to the 
 
 same subject. 
 That is to the Kingdom spoken of by Daniel. 
 
 The mysteiies of the Kingdom are the truths relating to that Kingdom. 
 The truths of the Christian faith are shadowed forth by the parables. 
 We learn that the present state of the world is a mixed state, and the 
 
 forthcoming state is that of separation. 
 The separation once made, is made for ever. 
 
 Parable. Drawn from outward usages but relating to the inner life. 
 To the strife for precedence going on at the table. Luke iv. 23 ; v. 36. 
 It seems rather to be an admonition than a comparison. 
 When the wicked were before Him, our Lord did not keep silence. 
 
 Psa. xxxix. 1-2. 
 His miracle, an image ,'f spiritu:d truth ; His parable completes tho 
 
 lesson. 
 He points out the means of cure for men's sjnriiual di'opsy — their 
 
 ambition and insatiable self-seeking. 
 Marked. Heathen taught the gods disregarded tho common actions of 
 
 life. 
 The Lord, doubtless, was found among the humblest in the room. 
 Humility becomes the family table as well as house of God. 
 Virtue appears the brighter for shining out of obscurity. 
 His seeming undue severity caused by their fierce hostility. 
 Chief rooms. See Luke v. 29. (A plate illustrating the ancient table.) 
 Gr. chief peaces ; the middle p?«ce in each couch, which was the most 
 
 honorable. 
 "Only by pride cometh contention." Prov. xiii. 10. 
 The brilliant company invited were characteristically proud. 
 No one invited the Lord to take the highest seat. 
 He calmly waits, but His voice hushes their tumultuoi:s strivings. 
 
 " Chief room." At tho time our Translation -was made tlie words "room" acu 
 "place" were used as synonymous terms. Thus in Shakespeare — 
 
 " Lueentio, you shall supply the bridegroom's place. 
 And lot Eiauca take her sister's room.'' 
 n-o«.iTO«\io-tas. At a great feast there would bo many of these triclinia, or sots of 
 three couches. Amonf; tho Komans, and probably among the Jews, the " chief," not tho 
 
 2fi
 
 46 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 "highest,' "place" was the centre of each touch; the most honored of aU was the 
 centre of the centre couch. Virgil, ^n. i. 698 : — 
 
 " Aurea coraposuit spondi, mediamque locavit." 
 e'feAevoi'To. Were choosing out. Trench. 
 
 8. When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; 
 lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him ; 
 
 Wlien. At times sin needs to be ojienly reproved. 
 
 Wedding. Luke v. Si. No wedding on this occasion ; introduced out 
 
 of courtesy. 
 An entirely different kind of banquet noted in the following parable. 
 The words condemn externals but lay bare heart sins. 
 Sit not down. After a solemn blessing how shameful ! 
 A petty contention on the holy sabbath about their several seats. 
 The Lord condemns the internal disposition betrayed by external acts. 
 The morbid and restless desire of the creature for the better place. 
 Highest room. Chiefest place — couches reserved for honoured guests. 
 The truly humble man esteems all others more honom-able than himself. 
 The Lord fathoms depths which the self-sufficient Pharisees would 
 
 conceal. 
 
 " Wedding," Our Lord delicately avoids personality, by naming a different kind of 
 feast. Bengel. 
 
 9. And he that hade thee and him, come and say to thee, Qivc this man place; ar.J 
 llidii begin with shame to take the lowest room. 
 
 And him. Tlic dignity, and degrees of dignity, depend on llie 
 
 invitation. 
 Give. Observe, He does not say " Friend," as in verso 10. 
 Our Lord's gracious words arc for types and warnings. 
 Tlicy remind us of our frequent humiliations in social life. 
 Place. Men instinctively resist one, thrusting himself fonvard. 
 Shame. To be the last is not disgraceful except to tho ambitious.
 
 OIIAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 47 
 
 Our Lord openly reproves tlie vtuiity of the Pharisees, 
 
 Shame generally attends the proud person. 
 
 Envy is ever seeking to humble his vanity. 
 
 Dread of having pride punished oft mistaken for humility. 
 
 Lowest room. Not merely Iowa-, but lowest of all. 
 
 Thus humbled, he takes the external place of humility. 
 
 Only ignominious to one striving to be highest. 
 
 Pride will bring him low, but honor upholds the humble. Prov. 
 
 xxix. 23. 
 " Stand not in the place of great men." Prov. xxv. 6-V. 
 Custom of reclining, rendered this more conspicuous, than our clianfjbig 
 
 chairs. 
 The standard of honor is changed, the instant the bridegroom enters. 
 There is a shame and contempt, which is everlasting. Dan, xii. 2. 
 
 epei marks the remote consequence resulting from 17 KeK\rjiJ.euo^ the immediate con- 
 Beqnenco. In earlier Greek the optative would have been employed instead of the 
 indicative. So in John xv. S; Eph. vi. 3. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 Aos. Our Lor<l intentionally omits the respectful c^i'Ae, Friend. Jews often dis- 
 puted ahout the honors of feast. Joscphiis. Ileathen strove thus. Plutarch, Epicte- 
 tus,Ocid, Terence, Oicero, Seneca, Wetsiein. ^'- J.oivest.'''' Three men were bidden to 
 a feast. One sat highest, for said he, " I am a prince ; " the other next, for said he, 
 "I am a wise man ; " the other lowest, for said he, "1 am an tniinbleinan.^'' The king 
 seated the humljle man highest, and the prince lowest. Lighf/oot. 
 
 10. Bui ichen Viou art bidden, go aiid, sit down in, the lowest room ; that ichen he 
 that bade thee comeih, he may say unto thee. Friend, go vp) higher : then shalt thou 
 liave worsliip in the presence of them tliat sit at meat with thee. 
 
 Go. Readily, cordially, not with aifectcd or constrained humility. 
 Lowest room. He who intentionally sets himself above onc^ may be 
 
 forced to give way. 
 Some by a show of great humility, display greater vanity. 
 Lowest room, as, 1, It suits best among thy fellow guests. 2. Master 
 
 best pleased. 3. Feast most refreshing. 4. Thence reach honor 
 
 soonest. 
 Friend. This endearing appellation will be given at judgment, to all 
 
 those who humble themselves for His sake, in time.
 
 48 SUGGESTIVE COIIMENTABY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Said to tbe modest, not the conceited guest. 
 
 The choicest jewels are fotmd in darkest mines. 
 
 '" Kings and jDriests nnto God," found among the despised of earth. 
 
 Go. Gr. having gone, i. e. do it with alacrity. 
 
 The glory coming from God alone, deserves the Christian's ambition. 
 
 "Worship. Gr. glory, honor, in the old English sense of respect. 
 
 Our Lord sanciions the effort to gain the respect of others. 
 
 " A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." Prov. xxii. L 
 
 True religion ever softens and refines the manners. 
 
 " Ornament of grace imto thy head, and chains about thy neck.'" 
 
 Prov. i. 9. 
 This parable contains deep spiritual truth. 
 
 He who bids the soul to the marriage feast is Christ, the Bridegroom. 
 He comes to us with this word of confidence, Fiicnd. 
 To those walking in humility He says. Go up higher. 
 He calls to higher life, to advancement in holinees. 
 At death He calls to a higher position, from earth, to the Kingdom of 
 
 glory. 
 
 Sofa. The motive here appealed to is the desire of respect and honor, -which may 
 therefore be lawfully entertained, Mark xi v. 9. Much injury is done from indisicrimi- 
 nately decrying all a.ctions which proceed from inferior riiotivea. W. (0 W. 
 
 Glory or /to«or, at the ret)!'sio7i of the ancient version, synonymous with worship. 
 Alexander. In WycUffc's translation of John xii. 2G, Tve find — " If ony man serve me, 
 my fadir schal worschip hjTa ; " -where our translation has — "Iliin will my Father honor." 
 
 I'ho same use of the -word appears in Spencer : — 
 
 " Elfm born of noble state. 
 And mncldo worship in his native latid." 
 
 The verb " to -woi-ship " is constantly used in the N.T. in the sense of to do honor or 
 reverence, more especially -with respect to the Eastern custom of jirostration before a 
 superior. Compare Matt. ii. 2 ; xviii. 26 ; Mark xv. 19. The word is used in the Book of 
 Common Prayer of the Church of England, in a similar sense. In the Marriage Service, 
 the bridegroom is required to say to the bride, "with my body I thee tcorship." See 
 Trench's Select Glossary. 
 
 11. For whosoever cxaltelh himself shall he aliased; andhethathumhlcth himself shall 
 he exalted. 
 
 Whosoever. Gr. every one : a lesson often and impressively repeated. 
 Exaltoth himself. The exaltation of self, the essential spirit of the 
 FhariscGS.
 
 OOAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 49 
 
 Many are exalted without sceldng it on their ovni part. 
 
 " God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." Jas. iv. G. 
 
 The carnal prefer momentary, to substantial and eternal glory. 
 
 Abject cringing before men, regardless of a higher Master's favor. 
 
 Indolent indifference to a higher or lower seat, is not humility. 
 
 He who presses forward, is repelled ; the retiring, advanced. 
 
 This typified in common life, has its consummation in judgment. 
 
 The ambitious request of Zcbedee's sons excited the jealousy of the 
 
 ten. Matt. xx. 24. 
 The humility of Abraham towards Lot avoided a bitter dispute. Gen. 
 
 xiii. 9. 
 Believers thus " put to silence the iguoraiice of foolish men." 1. Peter 
 
 ii. 15. 
 " Humble yourselves therefore imdcr the mighty hand of God." 1. Pet. 
 
 v. G. 
 Abased. " Only by pride cometh contention." Prov. xiii. 10. 
 " Hence come envying and bitter strife in your hearts." Jas. iii. 14, 
 "Hence come fightings and wars among nations." Jas. iv. 1. 
 Eumbletli. This removes the vexation of pride and envy. 
 No suspicion of being slighted torments the lowly in heart. 
 Our dependence upon God is a ground for self-abasement. 
 Our Saviour's example in washing the disciples' feet. John xiii. 5. 
 Angels, " veiling their faces with their wings," teach the same lesson. 
 
 Isa. vi. 2. 
 " In lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself." 
 
 Phil. ii. 3. 
 "Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus." Phil. ii. 5. 
 Humility is called the queen of the Christian graces. 
 Abraham, Moses, Job, David, Daniel, and Paul eminently humble. 
 The root of humility, knowledge of one's uuworthiness. 
 Job (xl. 4.) "I am vile," Paiil (1. Tim. i. 15.) I am "the chief of 
 
 sinners." 
 Whosoever exalteth /tzjHse?/ because of his merits, the Lord will abase. 
 He who humbleth himself, on account of his mercies, the Lord will 
 
 exalt. 
 The road to the honors of heaven passes at all times through the gate 
 
 of humility. 
 The promise is not to him who endeavors to appear Icwly before men, 
 
 but to him who is lowly in heart before God. 
 Humiliation is the way to humility, those desiring humility must not 
 
 shrink from humiliation.
 
 50 SUGGESTIVE COMJIEXTARY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 ITumility is first among tlie beatitudes, lilie charity, " it never faileth." 
 
 It accompanies the Christian into glory, where in its highest exercise it 
 will be "made perfect." 
 
 Humility to be rightly exercised must be rightly understood. 
 
 It is the negation of self-love and self-conceit. 
 
 It is the noblest species of self-denial. 
 
 It gains grace and flomdshes by grace. 
 
 To sink from Christian motives in humbleness of mind, is to rise in 
 celestial glorj- : — 
 
 Highest -when it stoops lo^vest before the Holy glory. 
 
 It ia a grace gi'aciously bestowed upon the lowly. 
 
 Humility is unable to gaze at itself, it is oft unknown to its possessor. 
 
 Moses wist not that his face was radiant. 
 
 In nature, trees laden with the finest fruit, bend lowest to the ground. 
 
 The valley fnictifies while the mountain top is sterile. 
 
 Self-distiiist is the daughter of Humility. 
 
 The sufficiency of my merit is to know that my merit is not sufficient, 
 Augustine. 
 
 Humility gives her gloiy to God. 
 
 Pride takes her glory /rorn man. 
 
 Humility is Mai-y's posture at Christ's feet. 
 
 Humility is to the gi-aces of the Christian what holiness is to the attri- 
 butes of the Deity, the beauty and perfection of them all. 
 
 " Ahascd." So thought not Rabbi Simeon. Being asked -why ho took his seat 
 between the king and queen, replied : — " Exalt Wisdom, and she shall exalt thee." Siiach. 
 Prov. iv. 8. Elslcy, Lifjhtfoot. lie fathoms those depths of character, cropping out in 
 spiritual am. Olshauscn. Reproduction of Prov. xxv. G, 7, with chaste simplicity and 
 proverbial tor-scncs?. Brown. What does God do ? Eumbles the proud, and exalts tho 
 lowly, JEsop. 
 
 12. II Tttcn said he also to him that bade him, 'niicn thou viakcst a dinner or a supper, 
 etitlnot thy friends, 7wr thij brethren, ncitiicr thy Icinsmen, nur thy )tc/t nei'jhboura ; 
 lent they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 
 
 Bade him. Our Lord warns His host against making a feast to obtain 
 
 fuvur of men. 
 Ho Haw a hrUUant company invited on this occasion. 
 III! would huvo us lift up and befriend tho jxwr and miserable. 
 Friends. Cull not thy friends onlij.
 
 CIIA.P. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 51 
 
 The interpretation must be limited ; He did not mean that it was wrcwj 
 to show hospitality to relatives and friends. 
 
 Higher Gospel love ennobles the natural ties of affection. 
 
 He suffers invitations growing out of natural or social tics to rest on 
 their own merits. 
 
 He teaches inviting one's friends to a banquet, is no act of charity. 
 
 Such feastings, to the prejudice of tlie poor, cannot be innocent. 
 
 He would not encourage profuse expenditure on the poor. 
 
 Such unwise charity fosters mendicancy and idleness. 
 
 Louis king of France, daily fed 123 poor at his palace gates. 
 
 St. Iledwiij of Poland, daily fed 900 poor at her door. 
 
 " If any will not work, neither let him eat." 2. Thess. iii. 10. 
 
 Rich neighbors. Fashionable costly feasting of professors, con- 
 demned. 
 
 Exclude the satiated rich, invite the humble poor. 
 
 Former esteem not feasting, because of their sumptuous fare at home. 
 
 " Send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared." Neh. 
 viii. 10. 
 
 Hecompense. This /car of being feasted iu return is unknown to the 
 world. 
 
 AYho wishes his acts, bad and good, to be rightcoushj reeonipensed ? 
 
 Most desire all they give or lend, quickly repaid with interest. 
 
 An ardent pantiny, for things jiresent, betrays want of faith in tho 
 future. 
 
 Many oppress out of avarice, as though there was no resurrection. 
 
 The principle is, a postponement of our expectations of reward, to another 
 world. 
 
 Only that friendship which has religion fov its basis will endure to all 
 eternity. 
 
 Sishop Hooper had his board of poor men, who were daily seiwed by four 
 at a mess, with wholesome meats before he would sit down to 
 dinner. 
 
 " It is more than probable, that our Lord had observed the Phaiusces 
 prone to make sumptuous feasts to which from pride, ambition, and 
 ostentation, they invited the wealthy and honorable ; his counsel 
 therefore to his host was peculiarly suitable, especially, if he were 
 like the chief persons of his sect, deficient in works of charity. 
 Davidson. 
 
 "SrtiJ." Iniplyiug the Phaiisco's motive was Mtcntation. Andrews, afjurrov. —
 
 62 SUGGESTIVE C05IJIENTAEY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 1. Breakfast. 2. Noon-day meal. 3. Principal feast or banquet. Amenities of social ties. 
 Ho leaves in their own place. He liimself enjoins a better class of invitations. Bengel. 
 
 (JMi'ei — to speak londly or clearly. 1U17 ^uivsl, i.e. prefer viercy. On this mode of 
 teaching the paramount importance of a particular duty, by colnparing it with another, 
 by means of a prohibition or negative, see Matt. ix. 13. 
 
 Kai. Ycnjxat crot oi'Ta7r63ona. — "Hospitalem esse remuneraturis affectus est avaritiae." 
 Ambrose in Wordsworth. Ko rebuke to the host. Ehrard. He could expcBd hia hospi- 
 tality in a better manner. Stier. Love-feasts traced to this parable. Van Hengel. The 
 Lord's words here are sublimely earnest, when He declares that the only goal of honor, 
 worth the name, is the resurrection. Stier. 
 
 18. But when tJiou malcest a feast, call tlw poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 
 
 Peast. Ought t-o be feasts of love. — Slander often the first dish served. 
 Poor. Pious poor, princes in need, witli a kingdom in reserve. Matt. 
 
 V. 3. 
 Tlieir very poverty leads Christians, like Jesus, to befriend tliem. 
 Arabs frequently after feasting, invite the poor to finish the remains. 
 They invite them " in the name of God," to come and share. 
 Om- Lord teaches, if a man is able to entertain his equals, he is equally 
 
 able, and therefore hound, to feed the poor. 
 " lie that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want." Prov. xxii. 16. 
 JIany, like Ahasuerus, spread their tables to gratify vanity. Est. i. 3. 
 To entertain the poor, is to receive Christ. Matt. x. 40. 
 " The poor shall never cease out of the land." Deut. xv. 11. 
 lie endorses kindness to the poor, as part of religion. Matt. xxv. 42. 
 " They would that we should remember the poor." Gal. ii. 10. 
 Maimed. Charity to the humble, recompensed on earth by their 
 
 prayers. 
 The humbler our brother is, so much the more does Cheist come 
 
 through him and visit us.. Chrysostom. 
 The Arabs, when they kill a sheep, dress the whole, and call in their 
 
 neighbors and the poor. Thus the sequel of the parable is quite in 
 
 harmony with oriental manners. Burder. 
 
 joj^jj,,. — Eoligions feasts. Miehnclis, ItosenmuUer. All kinds of hospitalities. Bloom- 
 fiihl. dcan^pout.— From Tnjpdui, to mutilate. This has been common for ages with 
 lower cluHHCH of orientals under duspols, to avoid military conscription. Uouco the term 
 poltroon, troiri poUice tnmcalo. This act is often iiorformcd by Turkish and Egyptian 
 Iiareuls on thoir iufauto. Cluirdin.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 53 
 
 KoXci, simply ; not <}>u>vei, formally invite, as in verso 12 ; tho latter is more pompons 
 and formal. Bcngel. 
 
 14. And thou shalt he hle-fscd ; for ihry cannot recompense Vice: for thou sludt be 
 recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 
 
 Blessed. Gr. means more than liapfiy. It expresses dec}) abiJiug 
 
 bliss, such as God Himself enjoys. 
 " Send iDortions unto them for whom nothing is prepared." Neh. viii. 10. 
 " I have not eaten my morsel myself alone." Job. xxxi. 17. 
 Dorcas, in making garments for the poor, a sermon on kindness. Acts 
 
 ix. 39. 
 " This is the fast I have chosen, Deal thy bread to the hungry." Isa. 
 
 Iviii. 6-7. 
 Sumptuous entertainments no recompense in the world of woe. Luke 
 
 xvi. 23. 
 One thinks himself happy, in pui'chasing tho friendship of a great person. 
 We venture much upon deceitful hopes, but here, Christ Himself is 
 
 securitij. 
 What we " give to the poor, we lend to the Lord." Prov. xix. 17. 
 Cannot recompense. We should not be disappointed and troubled 
 
 at not receiving a recompense from men on earth. 
 Eather sh9uld we be troubled when we receive it, lest we learn to look 
 
 for reward on earth, and so lose the reward of heaven. Chrjjsostom. 
 Recompensed. The essence of true piety is the principle of self- 
 sacrificing love. 
 Whatever is done from this princiiDle will be acknowledged amidst tho 
 
 solemnities of the last great day. 
 In charity let the streams be seen, but the fountain concealed. 
 While blessing others, we are ourselves blessed. 
 A good man will not enjoy that which no one shares. 
 Do not so do good that men may thank your death-bed, and not you. 
 
 BinJtoj) Ilall. 
 At death all is lost save that which we have given away. 
 The heathen moralist says — "Wish well to all, and do good only l-o yr.ur 
 
 friends." 
 The Christian rule is — "Do good to all, especially to the hou.sehold of 
 
 faith." 
 A good man's praise is — he dispensed his goods ; not, he left thorn 
 
 behind him.
 
 54 SUGGESTIVE COMIIENTARY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 The cheerful giver is the giver beloved. 
 
 Christian charity says to God.— Is it not of Thine own I give unto 
 
 Thee? 
 I am a jDensioner of the divine bounty, is the langitage of the man of God. 
 Kindness shall not lose its recompense, is the language of God to Hia 
 
 servants. 
 Heaven not a state of simple happiness. 
 It depends essentially on present character. Gal. vi. 7. 
 It is the unfolding of piety here, result of divine grace. 
 The biu-sting of the flower, the ripening of the fruit. 
 Believers find themselves at home in heaven. 
 The comijany, congenial ; its services, /a?)n7iar. 
 Resurrection. Our Saviour discriminates between the first and second 
 
 resurrection. Eev. xx. 5. 
 The doctrine of the resurrection, the peculiar glory of the New Testament. 
 No distinct traces of it are found in the scriptures, until the time of 
 
 Isaiah. 
 In Daniel, twilight gives way to a noon-day revelation. Dan. xii. 2. 
 Sadducees alone, of the Jews, denied this doctrine. Acts xxiii. 8. 
 If the soul can survive death, Jehovah can give it another body. Matt. 
 
 xxii. 29. 
 Jewish conceptions of the future state, were quite gross. Matt. xxii. 30. 
 The relation of the spiritual to the earthly, as that between the seed and 
 
 plant. X. Cor. xv. 37. 
 Paul intimaies the risen body needs no nourishment. 1. Cor. vi. 13. 
 Jews beheved the wicJced would not rise ; corrected — Acts. xxiv. 15. 
 Chrif:t represented as the author of the resurrection of the just. 
 Believers have good cause to rejoice like Paul. 2. Tim. iv. 8. 
 The righteous only will share in the first resun-ection. Eev. xx. 6. 
 
 avacTaa-d. Tho distinction between fiiEt and second by Jews, hero endorsed. 
 OWiaiuirn. Rev. xi. 5 ; 1. Cor. xv. 23 ; 1. Thesa. iv. 16. Onr Lord distinctly assorts ft 
 fimt resurrection, otherwise, " of the just," would bo vapid and unmeaning. Afford. The 
 dead ill ChriH shall riwo first, and bo first jndRod and rewarded. Wordsworth. Tho 
 celebrated jrassane, Job. xix. 25, docs not refer to tho doctrine of tho resurrection. Calvin, 
 Orolius, Ln Clerc, Patrick, Warhurton, Kennicolt, Vodarkiii, Dathr, Eichhorn, Jahn, 
 Ve WcUc, UfisnnmuUcr, Jlinkr, Knajip. Strabo, Cicero, Salliuit, Juvenal, Seneca speult 
 H'itb coiitcmi't of tho resurrection or future state. At tho bar of tho Senate of Home, it
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. B5 
 
 vas ijublicly pronounced idle and extravagant. " Mors omnium dolorum et salutis et 
 iinis est." Post mortem nihil est ipsaque mors nihil. Seneca, Pliny, Nat. His. Virgil 
 teaches a future state, rather as a poetic fancy, than sober creed. Homer's Elysium 
 differs but little from Phfegethon. Ubjfsses is discontented. Tiresias prefers the realms 
 of humanity. Agamemnon v/aila. .^jax is still implacable. Acliilles would rather live 
 in poverty on earth, than reign in eternity. Hercules is disconsolate. No belief of the 
 body rising ever seemed to have entered the mind. " Just." Ethical, not Pharisaical 
 ecnse. Ootterzee. Bemuneratioa from God and man, seldom come together. Stier. 
 
 15. H And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto 
 Idm, Blessed is lie that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 
 
 The present feast seems to have been a sumptuous entertainment. 
 These things. The Jews held the kingdom of God, would begin with 
 
 a splendid feast. 
 Blessed. His words have an undertone of earth. 
 The true future felicity has another source, viz. sin forgiven. Ps. 
 
 xxsii. 1. And holiness imparted. Matt. v. 8. 
 Jews beUeved their birth infallibly secured heaven to them. 
 Hence the self-complacency and security of the speaker. 
 It soimds like Balaam's wish to die the death of the righteous. 
 
 Num. xxiii. 10. 
 It is not enough to i^ronouncc the godly blessed ; each one must strive to 
 
 be godly. 
 Eejecting ■present offers, he wishes to bo happy at last. 
 Great truths are often uttered by those, not of the truth. 
 Heaven, an everlasting banquet that never ends, where plenty relgug. 
 Fulness, instead of creating satiety, awakens only delight. 
 The call of earthly appetite, strong, but soon appeased. 
 To eat bread is a well-known Hebrew idiom, for to share in a repas';, 
 
 whether it be at an ordinary meal, or at a sumptuous feast. 
 Bread, of the Kingdom of God, is God Himself. 
 This man longs for it as if afar ; yet the very Bread of Life was 
 
 reclining before him. Augustine. 
 " I am the living bread that came down from heaven." John vi. 51. 
 Open not thy mouth, but thine heart. AugiLstine. 
 By union with Christ, the soul is eternally nourished. 
 Men over count it a transcendent honor to eat at a king's banquet. 
 Any els, at this feast, will make it a banquet indeed.
 
 56 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 Kingdom. It imi^lies the restoration of the earth to its Eden state. 
 Nothing hke malice, deceit, or scorn can be traced in these words. 
 Follo^Ying parable expresses the mere loorldly feelings of this class. 
 
 " One." One of the rich friends of the host. Oosterzee. ijxiyeTai. — A Jew,-vrith grogg 
 Meas of a spleutiid hanqnet of flesh, fish, fowl, a.Ti(i.u-ine, kept from the creation of the 
 world, &c. Gill. Sensible of mere animal feasting, he speaks of spirituals. Braune. Joyful 
 enthusiasm. Olshausen. A vague wish of an indolent man, desiious of saying something; 
 when religion was the subject. Stier, To close remarks unpleasant to the host. Oosterzee. 
 Not a carnal Phaiisaic spirit. Lanrje. A holy frame seized him. Bengel. 
 
 " Blessed." Meanwhile let us enjoy ourselves here, without too much of discourse. 
 Stier. Happy for him who lives fo/eas< in the kingdom. Bahrdt. "What blessedness, 
 Bven to feel this /ore(asie / Muller ; a Wish to fare well at last, while rejecting present 
 in\-itations. Brown. "Kingdom." Messiah's reign on earth. Campi^ci?. The restoration 
 of the oortltto its piimitive blessedness. Olshausen. 
 
 16. Then raid he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. 
 
 Said He. This parable a reply to the words expressed in the preceding 
 
 Tcrsc. 
 Our Lord teaches that only those shall share the banquet who obey the 
 
 message God has sent. 
 At the same time He corrects the notion of the Jews, that only their 
 
 nation would be admitted to partake. 
 Certain man. Our Lord here speaks of the Almighty Father 
 
 as man. 
 ^Mlen Go-d is represented as executing judgment on account of sin, He 
 
 is usually spoken of under the ligure of a raging animal. 
 'Wlicn His love and mercy are revealed He is spoken of as a man. 
 When man approaches nearest to God, ho is nearest the nobility of his 
 
 own nature as it was when unfallen. 
 Supper. It was in the evening, often the last hour. 
 Most imjjortant meal among the Greeks and Eomans. 
 Man's percejjtion and relish for heavenly things \cry faint. 
 Thfy arc therefore presented under inviting images. 
 Gospel as a banquet: — 1. Abundance variety and richness cf itp 
 
 blessings. 
 2. Their suitabloness to our sjiirilual wants. 
 ;'. High Htttiafaction fvnd perfect enjoyuient they yield.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 57 
 
 Groat supper. The Christian dispensation and celestial glory aro 
 
 spolicn of as a supper. 
 It was in the latter days of the world, in fulness of time, Christ came. 
 It is at the end of our life and of the world we receive the full enjoyment 
 
 of bliss. 
 It is a siq^pcr — no toil or trial after, we shall rest from our labors. 
 Provisions of gi^ace only limited by the soul's capacity. 
 Great, because of the greatness of Him who has prepared it — God. 
 Great, because for the whole world — "Preach the Gospel to every 
 
 creature." 
 Great, because of the company — the Holy Trinity, angels, and saints. 
 Great, because of its duration — it will be an eternal feast. 
 Great, because th-o place of joy and re-st — " They arc before the throne." 
 Great, because purchased at a great price — the blood of Christ. 
 Great, in the mercy and love which hath prepared it for those so tm- 
 
 worthy of it. 
 Great, in its excellence — " Eye hath no.t seen, n.or ear heard," &c. 
 Bade. Gr. a technical word for inviting to a festival. 
 God calls men by various ways and at various times. 
 At one time His voice is heard without us ; the teaching of nature, the 
 
 preaching of His Word, the ways of His providence. 
 At other times the Spirit s-tirs the soul and draws the heart. 
 This parable is to be understood in imison with the invitations of Isaiah 
 
 Iv. 1, and with the parable of the marriage feast, Mait. sxii. 
 Many. Christ invited the whole nation to a "feast for all ;peo;^le." 
 
 Isa. XXV. 6. 
 Invitations now are as free as the provisions arc boundless. 
 If men hibor Christ says, " Come imto Me, I will give you rest." Matt. 
 
 xi. 28. 
 Are men thirsting ? " Let them come unto Me and drink." John 
 
 vii. 37. 
 Are men hungry? " Come and buy wine and milk," &c. Isa. Iv. 1. 
 All are welcome — " Him that cometh I will in no wise cast out." John 
 
 vi. 37. 
 
 eKa\eo-e. — Called. KArjo-et ayta — 2. Tim. i. 9. icXijcris ToO 0eoC — Piora. si. 29. icAjjcreus 
 i-ovpaiiiov — Heb. iii. 1. a.va> KA^creco?— Phil. iii. 14, calling from on high, or "high 
 calling." Stier. The announcement and inward impvilso to enter, not comi^ulsory. 
 Ohhausen.
 
 58 SUGGESTH^ COJIJIEXTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 17. And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden. Come ; for all 
 things are now ready. 
 
 His servant. This does not hint a slight of their invitations. 
 Having accepted, this second notice was customary. 
 Merely to tell the guests they were expected then to come. 
 Invited guests were summoned while the dishes were coming in. 
 Having no markets their supplies depended on chance. 
 Jesus in the form of a servant invites the hungry of our race. 
 Supper time. Gr. Jwnr. Prophets first, then John bade them. 
 In Old Testament light, a distinguished testimony to Jesus' dignity. 
 Come. Preachers, evangelists, and apostles invite guests. 
 The more pressing the invitation the greater the guilt. 
 The great repast :■ — 1. Lovingly prepared ; 2. Urgently offered ; 3. Un- 
 
 thankfully rejected ; 4. Still open to acceptance. 
 None must come with money in hand or thoughts of worthiness. 
 " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye," — this is our only title. Isa. Iv.l. 
 All things. The fulness of time had come in the mission of Christ. 
 Kingdom of Heaven was set up, and world at its height of wickednesa. 
 Heady. The Gospel ministiy and ordinances are here noted. 
 Church open day and night ; reign of the Spirit begun. 
 " Now is the accepted time, now the day of salvation." 2. Cor. vi. 2. 
 " Eat friends, drink abundantly, beloved." Song Sol. v. 1. 
 Invitation to prayer, the return of sacred seasons and sabbath bells. 
 Bible blessings, eternal hopes and fears. 
 Afllictions, troubles, and blessings invito mankind to come. 
 God the Father is ready to receive — " Be ye reconciled to God." 
 God the Son has died for all and opened the new and living waij. 
 God the Spirit is willing to lead and sanctify ail who will come. 
 " ^Yisdom hath mingled her wine and furnished her tables." Prov. ix. 2, 
 " The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 Is ready with their shining host ; 
 All heaven is ready to resound ; 
 The dead's alive ! the lost is found." 
 " The blood which is to cleanse you is already shed ; 
 The Spirit that is to renew you is already poured out ; 
 God is reconciled and is ready to receive you ; 
 
 Nothing is wauling but that you come and fill the iilaco prepared for 
 you." 
 
 " Ills fnrvant." Not all BonaiitH. Jleuhncr on tho Vocator. The servant reprcsenta 
 ono spirit, pno meatagc ; but not noccBKftrily ono and tho samo person, Tho thrfu
 
 rnAP. XIV.J ON ST LUKE. 59 
 
 messages were delivered (1) by John the Baptist and our Lord : (2) by our Lord and tho 
 Apostles ; (3) by tho Apostles and those who came after them. Al/ord. Observe tho 
 successive step";: verso 17, to say to them that were hidden; verse 21, brino in the poor ; 
 verse 23, compel those wlio are in the highways Bengel. 
 
 "Messengers ore sent to invite the guests to a Hindoo feast; -when, not only 
 relations, but all persons of the same division of caste in the neighbourhood are irndtod. 
 A refusal to attend is considered a great affront." In the East an invitation to a feast, 
 to be held sincere, requires to be repeated twice or thrice. 
 
 18. And they all tuith one consent began to malce excuse. Thef.riit said unto him, I 
 hare bought apiece of ground, and I must needs go and see'iti I pra]/ thee have mc 
 excused. 
 
 Consent. Not in the Greek, but understood. 
 
 This is the key-note, resolving not to go to the feast. 
 
 As though their refusal had been i7reconccrted. 
 
 Not the act of the leaders of the Jewish church only. 
 
 The excuse they made is in the heart and on the lips of all who reject 
 
 Christ. 
 Many are bidden, but it is a painful fact, many reject the offer. 
 Excuse. T]ie art of making excuses. — 1. An ancient art. 2, A uaii- 
 
 versal art. 3. An lonavailing art. 4. A perilous art. 
 Their e.'ccuses: numerous, vrovthless, ruinous. 
 Each one pretends to be hindered only ^'jitst now" 
 He professes when these obstacles are removed, he will most certainly 
 
 come. 
 But all ai-e held, by the Master, to bo refusers. 
 When they call, then the Master will refuse. Prov. i. 2. 
 Ashamed to avow his refusal, he begs to be excused. 
 Christ foretells, the heirs of the kingdom will reject this banquet. 
 Idleness, pleasure, and pride great obstacles to salvation. 
 I have bought. Implies eagerness for gain, as is usual in a new 
 
 transaction. 
 Gospel demands seldom interfere with life's weighty affairs. 
 The bargain complete, his request was simple rudeness. 
 Not in the spirit of Ahab, demanding the vineyard by violence. 
 None are kept away by an occupation not in itself sinful. 
 Yet all become sinful, when interfering with higher objects. 
 His spirit is Nebuchadnezzar's. — " Is not this great Babylon '" ttc. Dan. 
 
 iv. oO. 
 " The lust oi the eye, and the pride of life," snares for the soul. 1. John 
 
 ii. Iti.
 
 60 SUGGESTH'E COJi:\rENTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 " Those laying lioiise to house, p.ud field' to field." Isa. v. B. 
 
 A frivolous escus.e satisfies conscience ; his lands could not changCf 
 
 There may be conviction of duty, without inclination. 
 
 Lawful mercies often prove fatal hindi-ances. 
 
 In the career of covetousness, desires kindle by their own action. 
 
 It is hard to cany a full cup even. 
 
 Piece of gi'ound. A morsel of earth outbalances a crown and hiugdom. 
 
 He prefers the flesh-pots of Eg}-pt to angels' food, on the way to Canaan. 
 
 Now-a-days men speak loftily of material interest and enterprise. 
 
 Endless schemes of imjirovement steal away oar relish for heaven. 
 
 The excuse of this man is not that which indicates scornful rejection. 
 
 It is the language of those who neglect or are indifi'erent to the invitation. 
 
 The source of this indifference not haruness of heart, wilfully refusing. 
 
 It is the deadening effect of lawful possession of good things of this life. 
 
 The parable is not dii'ected against possession of laud, pursuit of trade, 
 
 or married life. 
 But aguinst those who make these gifts of God snares to their souls. 
 I must needs go and see it. This is all the man of the largest 
 
 possessions can do ; he cannot hue]} them. 
 He can but see what holds him in slavery, but which he cannot hold. 
 I pray tli'ee have me excused. He wishes not to offend the giver 
 
 of the feast. 
 His words arc humble, but he gives up eternal riches for temporal. 
 This is the common temper which loses salvation by neglect. 
 Like many who have no time for religion, and yet trust to find mercy at 
 
 last. 
 Like all sinners, he clings to the belief there is something in his case 
 
 different from other men. 
 Hence he prays to be excused. A wretched jiraycr, whereby the Kingdom 
 
 of God is rejected. 
 The parable shows salvation lost through three things. — 1, tlie cai-e of 
 
 possessions; 2, the care of business ; 3, the care of domestic Hfe. 
 
 dirb /xiS?, Hnpply ■yi'oj/xt;?. Tlrnrfrl, Olilinuscn, Al/ord, Wordnwnrth. ■>t(o/x7); /^odAi'i',- 
 intent. All the refusals proceeded from one spirit; the lovo of the world destroyed tho 
 ■wl.ih forBpiritual tliiriRs. W. rf> W. 
 
 afpjjc. The iiricst.4, by ciiUivatin'^ tho land, cliiiR to power over tlio people. Oxen 
 refer to earthly rulcrH, Tsa. xxii. Striving after earthly honors. Lulhcr. 1. To thO 
 tcnnntR, who ciiltivato tho land. 2. Tho Pharisees, wlio woro violent as oxen. 8. Tho
 
 CHAP. XIV.J 
 
 ON ST. LUKE. 61 
 
 Sadducees, who were entirely camaI.H'(;)-6cr(7, 1. Plnasnreg. '2. Industry. 3. Sensuality. 
 Sepp. "Bought" {-rty 6 fuxa-a). Turohasc completed. DoddridQc, Mean to purcliaso. 
 UoRenmuUcr, Euinoel. Purchase conditional. Wetstein. 
 
 exe /u-e 7rapT)TT)|iifVof . — " Whatever may be the case -with others, -who ran and ocght 
 to come, I ■am obliged to asli tb3e to excuse me." The applicant does not wish to detach 
 himself from his lord,. he wishes to bo cpnsiderod his fi'iend and dependent, but on 
 terms of his own. Wordsworth 
 
 19. And anothorsaid^ Ihave bought five yol-e of oxen, and X 0° toproveihem : Iprny 
 thee have me excused. 
 
 I have bouglit. The niimber need not perplex U3. 
 
 Elisha -was found by Elijah, ploughing vrith twelve yoke of oxen. 1 Kings 
 
 xix. 19. 
 Familiarity with the yote, tested, before the bargain is completed. 
 It was the care and anxiety of business, which filled his soul. 
 Our Lord, speaking of Sodom, notices these very things. 
 He pui"poscly omits all mention of their sin. 
 Things, innodent in themselves, absorbing the soul, become sins. 
 Ho alludos to no open sin, committed in the days of Noah. 
 Prove them. Better, poor sinner, test thine o■s^^^ heart, than the.qc 
 
 oxen. 
 The first excuse is of something to do, the next apology of something to 
 
 enjoy. 
 Excused. Many, bearing a heavy yoke of lust, are slaves to earth. 
 All innocent employments, cease to be such, causing us to forget heaven. 
 They all acknowledge it is their duty to come some time. 
 This man, a type of the great mass of men who blindly sacrifice salvation, 
 
 ior the world, without having j^roued it. 
 They barter heaven for the brief enjoyment of earth, and when they 
 
 seek-to prov^ those things they have gained, they find them unreal, 
 
 fleeting, delusory. 
 
 " Oxen." Wielding the whip over oxen may denote ambition. Tropevoiiat. — I sm 
 ■now on my way, when only about to do part. Oosterzec. e^^ /xe zrapriTrjixcmv is peihaps 
 aLatinism. — Excusatum me habeas. Perii)hrastic tenses are often formed with the 
 purticiple and ex^. Thus ari/xacraj toc avSpa «x^t, having dishonored the man, ho 
 oontfciues to dishonor. Webster's Syntax.
 
 C2 SUGGESTIVE COJIJIENTAEY [CIJAP. XIV. 
 
 20. And another said, I have married a wife, and ih/rcfore I cannot come. 
 Harried. First excuse is pride ; second, business ; third, pleasure. 
 "See you not that I have a feast of vuj own, why trouble me then wilb 
 
 yours?" 
 The others said, " I pray thee," conscious of a poor excuse. 
 The last, without a courteous denial, blindly refused. 
 The first year the bridegroom was excused from going to battle. Deut. 
 
 xxiv. 5. 
 For the same Crccsus excused his sou from a himting party. 
 " If any man come to Me and hate not his wife and childi-en," &c. 
 
 Luke xiv. 26. 
 " It remaineth that they who have wives, be as though they had none." 
 
 1. Cor. vii. '20. 
 The sin is not in having lawful things, but in undulij loving them. 
 I cannot. A mild form for I iciU not, 
 Ilis pretended inability is merely an evasion. 
 Affection to relatives a frequent stumbling-block to duty. 
 " The woman Thou gavest me," was Adam's excuse for sin. 
 Mai-riage, the most sacred and binding of all earthly relations. 
 " He ought to have come and brought his bride with him." Henvyt 
 I'crsistentlij refusing, he should have come without her. 
 Apart from her, he hnoics, t]iin]cs of, cares for nothing. 
 The thorough men of the world are ever ready with their excuses. 
 The marriage tie, which ought to help toward salvation, often ruins it. 
 Husband and wife, both rejecting, lay the blame on each other. 
 Threatenings, allurements, example, ridicule, shut partners oirt of heaven. 
 Ties of unsanctified affection in eternity become living chains of fire. 
 Mutual blessings in time may be mutual tormentors in eternity. 
 Some courteously, otliers rudely, reject the offers of mercy. 
 Our Lord discriminates between possessions and pleasures of the world. 
 Domestic comfort and case are often as great a hindrance as riches. 
 In an untroubled life, often a more subtle temptation than in a more 
 
 active career. 
 Sloth and ease deaden the powers of man, and leisure becomes a snare. 
 Perhaps it is to this he refers when ho says, " I cannot come." 
 "I have no lopger ihc i^ower, since I have not the desire to accept God's 
 
 offers." 
 Homo and friendship weave their own web of entanglements. 
 The parable teaclicH us the common hindraiu'cs to salvation : — 
 1. Ambition, and the pride of worldly jioiutiou, and the care which 
 
 properly brings.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 03 
 
 2. Avarice, aud the eugi'ossing anxieties of gaining tlie riches we desire. 
 
 3. The ease and comfort, the quiet enjoyincnta and pleasures of life. 
 Not that any of these is necessarily evil, or essentially a hindrance to 
 
 the Christian. 
 But there is nothing so innocent as may not he perverted, and made tho 
 mearuj of hardening the heart against God. 
 
 The first alleges an ai'ay/cr;, — he must go and sec his lantl ; tho second, not so nnich 
 aa this, only his own plan and purpose — Tropeuojaai; the third, not so much as cither of 
 Ihosc, but rudely asserts ou ovvajj-at {i.e. ov povKonai.) iK0ilv, Alford, 
 
 21. So that -terrant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the 
 house being antfrg sq.id to his serva7it, Go out quicklg into the streets and lanes of the 
 city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 
 
 Shewed. The servant told his lord how his message had been 
 
 received. 
 Not a single spiritual chief of the Jews joined the Saviour. 
 The servant had no power to excuse them, he could only tell his Lord. 
 Beyond the prerogative of any minister to grant such a prayer. 
 Ministers must give account of the reception of their ministry. 
 They mourn at the Mercy Seat, " if no man regarded." Prov. i. 24. 
 " Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord 
 
 revealed ? " Isa liii. 1. 
 Angry. A proof he had invited them with tho utmost sincerity. 
 There is a line beyond which mercy turns to vengeance. 
 He sware in His wrath that they should not enter into His resL 
 
 Heb. iii. 11. 
 Grace dcapiscd, like Esau's birthright, is gvo.CQ forfeited. 
 " God is angiy with the wicked every day." Psa. vii. 11. 
 Go ovit quickly. God the Giver of tho feast about to illustrate Hie 
 
 l^arable. 
 Expedition and importunity should hasten our efforts. 
 In the similitude, it implies before the banquet grows cold. 
 The rich spread table of grace is not to be prepared in vain. 
 Shows the ardor of redeeming love for sinners. 
 The work of grace among Israel was limited to time. 
 The call to the Gentiles extends over centuries. 
 Imjicnding eternal peril threatens the rejecters. 
 Streets, lanes, the residences of the common people.
 
 64 RUGGESTIYE C0JI1MENTAU7 [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 First, broad avenues ; second, nan'ow alleys. 
 
 We must not ■wait for the -wretclied to coma to the house of God. 
 
 Streets represent the poor without shelter or dwelling. 
 
 The down-trodden millions degraded throughout the East. 
 
 Puhlicans and sinners, half heathen in their midst. 
 
 ■\Vhen the Pharisees rejected Him, He turned to the multitude on their 
 
 ■way to the feast. 
 "When the rich refused to hear Him, the common people heard Him 
 
 gladly. 
 When the rulers crucified Him, He desisted not from His work of mercy, 
 
 but spent His dying breath in blessing the penitent thief. 
 Poor : who are destitute of spiritual riches, poor in spirit. 
 Maimed, halt. The world a vast hospital of incuraliles. 
 Self-righteous, rich in their o^-n virtues, are passed by. 
 Ho calls publicans and sinners, whom the Pharisees called " cursed." 
 
 John vii. 49. 
 Great, wise, and proud who "thanhcdGod they were not as other men," 
 
 passed by. 
 The parable, before historic, now becomes prophetic. 
 Ho had founded a church with room for Gentiles and Je^ws. 
 Even heathen should become "fellow citizens of the household of God." 
 Spiritually maimed, " If thy hand offend thee, cut it off." Mark ix. 43, 
 Under transforming grace, common beggars become kings. 
 Chri'3Vs condescension to them, should enlist our compassion. 
 Blind ; therefore pow-crless to help themselves, and for that reason, 
 
 more distrustful of themselves. 
 Those who liiow that they arc blind. — These, with all their sins, enter 
 
 t.he lungtlom of God before the proud and couHdeut Pharisee. 
 Ering- in. Not as in the previous class, — call. 
 Those to be hroiight in stood in need of help. 
 He does not say, as in the case of tho next class, — compel. 
 The poor and destitute, tboso who have nothing to trust to, need, as a 
 
 class, no-compulsion. 
 Our Lord teaches, — 1. That lie rejects no one; that ho calls all mankind 
 
 to share in His mercy, and to receive His salvation. 
 2. That none, however laden with sins, ho^wcvcr •wretched, however 
 
 broken and crushed, need despair; Ho calls such (v^JcciaZZ;/ to His 
 
 Kingdom. 
 If God is aii'jrii with those who come not to His supper, how much moro 
 
 HO with those who not only do not come ilicmaelces. but lander ctlicra 
 from coming ? T)^';7ilon.
 
 XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 
 
 Omit cKeii'o?. Alford, Tisclicndorf, Cod. Sinai. nKaTeCag. — Nations among ■wbich 
 the Jews ■were clisperscd. Vers. Ger. 
 
 " The poor." A twofold calling of the Gentiles. Gerlach. Crreetg and Komans, then 
 the harbarians. Roos. Jews, not proselytes from the heathen. Lisco. Publicans and 
 sinners. Oosterzee. 
 
 22. And the servant said. Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is 
 room. 
 
 The servant. Eepresentative of all Gospel ministers. 
 
 It is done. Faithful ones respond to their weighty responsibility. 
 
 " They watch as they who must give account." Heb. xiii. 17. 
 
 It will be a sad report for those who refused their invitation. 
 
 There is room. Not the lord, but the servant, speaks of the room. 
 
 1. A condemnation of those who ought to come. 
 
 2. Allm-ement to those desiring, but daring not to come. 
 
 3. A warning to ministers never to cease inviting. 
 God's servants always take counsel of their Master. 
 
 Remaining faithful, Paradise would have been too narroio for man's seed. 
 
 Noah's preaching obeyed, the ark had been too small for the saved. 
 
 But the Gospel feast has room for all manldnd believing. 
 
 Though there is room, the banquet haU is not empty. 
 
 The multitude, robed and palmed, " no man could number." Eev. vii. 9. 
 
 They are watching and longing for wandering ones to join them. 
 
 " The Spirit and the Bride say. Come." Eev. xxii. 17. 
 
 1. There is room in the mercy of God, for He is gracious. 
 
 2. There is room in the merits of Christ, " His blood cleanseth from all 
 
 sin." 
 
 3. There is room in the Grace of the Spirit — He enlightens the darkest 
 
 mind. 
 
 4. There is room in the Church of Christ on oai-th. 
 
 5. There is room in Heaven — saints and angels will welcome you. 
 " In My Father's house are many mansions." John xiv. 2. 
 Every place shows the Kingdom of Heaven is for the looor in spirit. 
 Although the mansions and stars of Heaven are numbered, yet in tho 
 
 Saviour's heart there is room for all who will come. 
 Provision will never be wanting while God is the Host. 
 
 " There is room." On some occasions, so numerous are the guests that there ic no\ 
 room for tbem to sit in tho court of tlio person who makes the feast, and a larger room
 
 66 SUGGESTIVE COilMENTAEY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 is therefore borrowed. " It is done." Servant did not wait for the sesond command, 
 but of his own accord had done it. Meyer. Oosterzee. "Room," expresses the longing 
 that should -iill ministers' hearts, to see the Master's table filled. Brown. Grace will 
 endure a vacuum, as little as nature. Beilgel. 
 
 23. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the hi(]hways and hedges, and com- 
 pel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 
 
 Highways. The broad well trodden -^vays of tlie world, the open 
 
 notorious sinners. 
 The Giver of the Supper anticiijates no rejection on their part. 
 They might hesitate to a^jproach from luncorthiness not unwillingness. 
 Christ's ambassadors urge them with importunate entreaties. 
 Thus angels laid their hand on lingering Lot and brought him forth. 
 God entreats and commands " all men everywhere to rejDent." Acts 
 
 xvii. 30. 
 By " the terror of the Lord we persuade men " to repent. 2. Cor. v. 11. 
 By calamities God drives men to seek refuge in Christ. 
 Teuitent publicans and harlots, offscom-ing of earth, are welcomed. 
 Homeless aliens, left out " in the world," by a selfish race. Eph. ii. 12. 
 Orphans, in theii- abandonment, gladly return to their Father's house. 
 Hedges. The neglected rustic population, or perhaps, secret offenders 
 
 against God. 
 Historically, the heathen sunk in the lowest depths. 
 It contemplates, prophetically, the great work of missions. 
 Direct Gospel offers to be made to the outmost circles of humanity. 
 The invitation which was first addressed to the higher classes is now ad- 
 
 di-csscd to the lower. 
 From the poor dwellers in the city the parable passes on to the despised 
 Gentiles of the country. 
 
 This inviting of new guests sets forth the gi-ace of God. 
 
 Grace, which embraces the most distant and the most lowly. 
 
 Compel. The Divino urgency of Love would wrest all from ruin. 
 
 Not by force of arms, but by force of arguments ; those dra(j(jed in do 
 not come in. 
 
 To prevail onhy prayer ■•f, counsels, and entreaties. 
 
 Every otlier kind of conii'ulsiou is opposed to the sjiirit of the Gospel. 
 
 Persecution is inconsistent with the principles of morality. 
 
 It is not doing to otliers, as we woidd that tlicy sliould do unto UB.
 
 CIIAr. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. . G7 
 
 The cliurch which tolerates, encourages, and practises persecution is not 
 
 the Church of Christ. 
 "The wcajions of our -warfare, are not carnal, hut mighty," &c. 2. Cor. 
 
 X. 4. 
 It shows the relative position of the humble guest, compared with the 
 
 feast of the exalted householder. 
 Knowing their unworthiness, they demand urgent pressing. 
 With the zeal of Paul for Judaism, but let it be for Christ. 
 No dragoonmg to the sanctuary, but forced by love. 
 
 They may say " we homeless wi'etches are no company for such a feast." 
 
 ." I cannot go to that high table, in my beggar's garment. 
 
 ' We in the dusty dreary high ways have no dress for such a banquet" — 
 
 The Lord's servants are to say " I cannot can-y back such a message to 
 
 my Lord." " Thy misciy is no hindrance, such as thou art, I am 
 
 to bring." 
 
 It represents the fears of the sincere. But the Divine commission says 
 
 " Take no excuse, dispel their fears, silence their objections." 
 " Ering them as they are, think not of preparation. 
 " Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for mc, 
 
 Lamb of God I come." 
 My house. Heaven no tent, but a palace "not made with hands." 
 
 2. Cor. V. 1. 
 King of kings, " dwelling in light, and inhabiting eternity." Isa. Ivii. 15. 
 Many mansions, for many sons, to be brought to glory. John xiv. 2. 
 The urgency of love, excludes none, not excluding themselves. 
 The greatness of His grace, and urgency of His love, compel men. 
 Filled. God's grace embraces the most distant and lowly. 
 He who provides a boundless banquet, shall not need for guests. 
 " Though Israel be not gathered, I shall be glorious." Isa. xlix. 5. 
 The unbelief of man shall not make God's promises void. Eom. 
 
 iii. 3. 
 The riches of Christ inexhaustible, as they are unsearchable. 
 Kote, 1. The mercy. 2. Freeness. 3. Eilicacy, of the Divine calling. 
 
 ^^ Hedges." Pertains to tlie ceremonial law. BreriMius. Tho Gentiles without law, 
 the pagani. Denton, Bengel. avdyKaa-ov, io compel,io force, to constrain, to constrain 
 by argument. Liddell & Scott. This -word gives no warrant for violence in propagating 
 religion. Grotius, Wordsioorth. Use so much zeal and importunity they may feel 
 constrained to come in. Shows the power of the Gospel for tho conversion of tho 
 heathen. Thcoplujlact. Moral force. Justin, Tcriullian, Minutius, Lactantius. Com-
 
 68 SUGGESTIVE COMBIENTARY [CIIAP. XIV. 
 
 pulsion to heretics, sueli as Donatists. Augustine. Press them to come in. Doddridge. 
 "\Vith her much fair speech, rivdyKaaev, she compelled them, Prov. vii. 21. Importune 
 them. Frequently used by the Greek classics, in tMs sense, as eogo and compello, in 
 Latin. 
 
 airdyKaieTai — was compelled or persuaded, by the Cnidians. Thucyd, Lib. viii. " I 
 force not ; I compel not ; but each one I mate lord of his own choice. A\Tierefore also I 
 say, " If any man will."-Chrysostom. God does not compel men against their will, hut 
 makes them nilUng to come to Him. Isa. xxvi. 9; Hag. ii. 7. -P/os/)er. Perhaps au 
 allusion to infant baptism. Alford. Such were His preparations, He must have guests, 
 if He. made them of stones. Lutlicr. 
 
 Ii. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my 
 iitppcr. 
 
 I say. Kot tlio -words of tiie host, but God's decree. 
 
 Solemn, -well known emphasis, hints at the significance of the parable. 
 
 This discourse fitly concludes, -with the j^ersonal testimony of our Lord. 
 
 The slight echo to such parable, need not surprise us. 
 
 None of those. Gr. not one ; by look and voice, He might refer to tho 
 
 Pharisees. 
 This finally excludes from the feast, those refusing. 
 Those refusing the mamage feast, according to oriental ideas, rebels. 
 After the final rejection of Christ, many Jews believed. 
 But theirs was the same faith as that of the Gentiles. 
 They were saved not as Jcios, but as believers iu Jesus. 
 Taste. Those hidden who refused, shall \>o forbidden, when the door is 
 
 shut. 
 The parable here becomes prophetic, lie utters His own warning to those 
 
 for whom lie had spoken. 
 Present despisers, shall not be future partakers. 
 There are four sorts of grace granted by God to sinful men. 
 These divers kinds of grace are denoted by divers words. 
 I, jainners invited ; verso 16. 2. Sinners called; verso 17. 3. Sinners 
 
 Jjrought; verse 21. 4. Sinners compelled; verso 23. Tho grace of 
 
 Cavitation and of outward call is insufficient. Quesnel. 
 My supper. A majestic turn to Plis words at once reveals His 
 
 meanin;;. 
 " 1 ALSO iiwv. A suri'ER, wliich I AND My Fatuer have prepared." 
 " Ye arc as truly called to cat bread in tho Kingdom, as yo eat to-day at 
 
 •ihifl table." 
 Droppnig tho metaphor, Ho proclaims tho supper "His own." 
 Imphcft tliat 11(3 Will refuse, wlieu they aak for mercy.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 69 
 
 For even mercy may be sought too late. Prov. i. 24. 
 
 Those expected _/(?'sf to receive, are first to slujht the offer. 
 
 Those, the least likely to value it, most gladly accept it. 
 
 From the 1st to the 24th verse may have occm-red in the space of half 
 an hour. 
 
 Thi-ee epochs noted, 1. Gospel preached to Je-wish rulers, &c. 2. To the 
 common people. 3. To the Gentile world. 
 
 God oilers His spiritual gifts to all manldnd, hut will compel no man 
 against his will to accci^t offered mercy. 
 
 Those who receive not that mercy, do so by their owu deliberate pre- 
 ference of the world. 
 
 No excuse which men may offer for that preference, and the rejection of 
 mercy, will be accepted by God. Denton. 
 
 " 1 iaij." Speaker, the Savionr. Kumoel, Stier, Oosterzee. Lord of the feast. 
 Grotius, De Wette, Olshausen, Meyer, v/xiv f" You "). To the introduced poor. Bengel. 
 To the messenger. Stier. The transition from iiixlu to the cKeCvuiv of the parable, gives a 
 still keener edge and delicacy of precision to the Lord's words. Schlciermacher. For 
 these scoraers, however much they may assume to be men of understanding, tuiT away 
 from the invitation in their folly. They, contemning the poor, will see themselves passed 
 by in the eternal banquet of mercy. Stier. 
 
 25. H And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 
 
 Went. It is evident. He had left the house of the Pharisee. 
 IiTCsolute and wavering, they did not openly confess Him. 
 Multitudes. Many followed for love, and more for company. 
 He foresaw that multitudes would soon fall away from Him, and that 
 
 multitudes would soon cry " Crucify Him." 
 He shows them that He reads their hearts and foresees the future. 
 He winnows them, as Gideon did 32,000, to 300, by prophecies of trials 
 
 and tribulations. 
 He saw where there was an indistinct inclination towards Himself. 
 In the Pharisees, He had seen aversion ; humility wanting in all. 
 Said. He summons the irresolute hearers, to a speedy decision. 
 
 " Went." His final journey to Jerusalem, after His departure from Galilee. Brou-7i. 
 "Multitudes." Breach between Him and Thariseea widened. As His words becomo 
 sharper, the crowd rallied round Him. Andrews, 
 
 27
 
 70 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and chil- 
 ch-en, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 
 
 t 
 If any man. Where the gi-eatest multitude assembled, there at times 
 
 He spoke most severely. 
 Come. Our Lord at first sight seems to repel," instead of attracting 
 
 discijiles. 
 He is more anxious about the qualit!/, than the number. 
 Hate. Is an idiomatic expression for lociitrj less. Gen. xxix. 31; 
 
 Eom. ix. 13. 
 The doctrine of Christ does not permit us to hate even an enemy. 
 That no such thing as active liatred is meant, is plain ; it often denotes 
 
 that Avhich is an inferior degree of love, Avhcn contrasted with the 
 
 love shown to some higbly favored object. 
 The Son of Peace enjoined none but a lioUj hatred. 
 Love lesn. Matt. vi. 21 ; Eom. ix. 13 ; Gen. xxix. 30-31. 
 We are not often called actually io forsahe all for Christ. 
 But we must liave a lieart ready to do it. Acts. xxi. 13. 
 He who finds " his all"' in Christ, can easily give up all for Him. 
 Jacob did not hate Leah, but preferred Eachel. 
 An ungodly thing, to liate a parent ; literally to hate one's sc// impossible. 
 
 Eph. V. 29. 
 He who serves God without loving Him, builds without foundation. 
 The very spirit of the Gospel is love even to our euemies. 
 Malevolence toward our connections is not even hinted at. 
 A Christian wishes his friends well ; ready to do them good. 
 Fidelity to Christ, may disobey their injunctions. 
 Tc thwart (/icir inclinations, reject Jieir entreaties, renounce their zociet^ 
 
 is not wishing ill, but rather lose these than heaven. 
 " Ho that loveth father or mother more than Me, not worthy of Me." 
 
 Matt. X. 37. 
 Thus Moses and Abraham parted with all earthly connexions. 
 He names not houses and lands, for ijliilosophu has taught men to 
 
 despise tlicm. 
 riiilip of Macedon conquered less by the sword than by gold. 
 .Mohammed multiplied his converts by flattering the people. 
 Our Saviour ensnares no one by foretelling a smooth path to ])eavcn. 
 He told — 1, of trials and comforts ; 2, of labour and reward ; 3, of a race 
 
 and a prize ; 4, of a battle and victory. 
 f£is father. When duty to our parents comes into competition with 
 
 Christ — .strongest tics of friendsiiip yield to the stronger love of 
 
 Jesus.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 71 
 
 Demand of self-denying love: 1, seemingly incougruous, yet simple ; 2, 
 
 seemingly prejudicial, yet profitable; 3, seemingly arbitrary, yet 
 
 justifiable ; 4, seemingly superlluous, yet indispensable ; 5, seemingly 
 
 superhuman, yet certainly jDracticable. 
 Own life. " Every man loves Lis own life and clierislieth it." Eph. 
 
 V. 29. 
 " Skin for skin, all tbat a man bath, will he give for his life." Job ii. 4. 
 Kefers to robes of fur, costly pieces of jDroperty in Job's time. 
 One would yield all, nay, the very garments he wears for life. 
 "When they persecute you in one city flee ye to another." 
 In a storm at sea men cast all overboard to save their lives. 
 But Christ's disciples must part with life itself for life eternal. 
 Witnesses of blessed memory " loved not their lives unto death." Ecv. 
 
 xii. 11. 
 Tins hate, not only consistent with, but ahsolutelij necessary to the very 
 
 highest kind of love. 
 That element in love which makes a man a ivise and good friend, not for 
 
 time only, but for eternity. Alford. 
 
 el Tt? cp;(CTai. 1 1 with ns loses its hypothetical force, like " si quis,'' in case any, 
 whosoevei', whatever, Mark iv. 23, Phil. iv. 8. Wehstcr's Syntax. 
 
 Trpos — to; oTTiVto. — n/<cr, Matt. xvi. 24, differs. Oostcrzee. juto-et. Is not prepared 
 to give up, does not offer to renounce. Our Lord frequently introduced His teaching by 
 some hard saying or startling announcement to attract attention. W. & W. The hate is 
 the general, not personal, feeling of alienation, in the inmost heart. Alford. iDemand of 
 self-denying love. The expression is too cutting, not to be chosen int^-ntionally, and 
 love less (minus amare. Kuinoel, De WetteJ only weakens the thought. Oosterzee. 
 
 27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot he my dlsfiple. 
 
 Bear liis cross. These words explanatory of the preceding verse. 
 
 Men follow after the world to avoid the ci'oss. 
 
 A cross-bearer, among the Romans, a teiin of highest infamy. 
 
 Jesus, unlike all impostors, honestly exposes the hardships of His sonrice. 
 
 Satan shows the best, but hides the worst of his cause. 
 
 Cross of humiliation, of renunciation of self-righteouness, of the 
 
 crucifixion of sin, of reproach, and of affliction. 
 It is easier to die the death of a maetyr, than to live the life of a 
 
 Christian. 
 The terrible penances, self-inflicted, by Flagellants, prove this.
 
 72 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CTHAP. XIV. 
 
 ^If- immolations of Faquirs, in India, demonstrate it. 
 
 Unfinished towers, make scoffers mock at the city of our God. 
 
 The tower viust be built ; the fight viiist be finished. 
 
 Heaven must be sought at any price. 
 
 Every Christian is a cross-bearer. Luther. 
 
 The cross is God's free school, where we learn much. Bridge. 
 
 The cross must be borne, carried ; we are not at hbeiiy to step over it, 
 
 or go round, to avoid it. Baxter. 
 Come after MS. He may be a man's disciple without these sacrifices, 
 
 He cannot be Christ's. Wcrdsu-orih. 
 No hearer of the Gospel can be saved who is not the disciple of Christ. 
 No man is Christ's disciple who does not embrace His doctrines. 
 No man can embrace Christ's doctrines without loving His precepts. 
 Love to Christ leads to self-denial and obedience to the will of Christ. 
 Affliction, in its various kinds, is the cross which the disciple of Christ 
 
 must endure. 
 He will bear it in patience when God sends it, but he will not go forth to 
 
 seek it. 
 He knows that without the battle there can be no victory. 
 Without the cross there can be no crown. 
 Sanctified afflictions are in the way to the Kingdom, but are not the 
 
 cause of reigning. 
 Christian — Let Christ's precepts be the rule of thy life. 
 His Ivingdom the subject of thy prayers and the object of thy hope. 
 To promote the glory of God, be it thy daily effort and thy unceasing 
 
 desire. 
 In all things pertaining to mortals bchold^Christ as the Great Example. 
 
 28. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, aiid counteth 
 the cost, whether he liave sufficient to finish it? 
 
 Intending. Gr. iclsliiufj. "Whole energies of the mind, for a life-timo 
 
 engaged. 
 TlioughtlcKs indifference, never leads one to ar/onizc, to cuter in. 
 Men would fain bo Christians at a cheap rate. 
 But without serious, resolute purpose, myriads fail. 
 Tower. An edifice not to be reached by ordinai-y means. 
 Wc Hcc in this figure, the crpcnscs; by the next, the perils of our course. 
 They of Babel memory left their tower unfinished. Gen. xi. 1-9 
 All half CJiristianily becomes a Babel in the end. 
 Decided, whole-hearted religion, commands the respect of enemies.
 
 CHAP, XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 73 
 
 Liilvc-warm Christianity attracts the scorn of men. 
 
 Counteth.. Gr. pebble. Ancient counting by dropping pebbles. 
 
 Eepiitatiou, liberties, estate, life itself, all sacrificed. 
 
 Giving up our sins, self-righteousness, ease and worldliness. 
 
 Finish. Schemes incomplete, strongest proof of human folly. 
 
 lleligion will cost something, irreligion ■will cost more. 
 
 It is a reasonable service and therefore demands reflection. 
 
 The motive for embracing Christ's Gospel must be considered. 
 
 The power to remain faithful to the Truth professed. 
 
 A consciousness of inherent weakness and disinclination to spiritual 
 
 things. 
 Knowledge of the som-ce from which strength is to be obtained. 
 
 TTvpyor. In a vineyard, or from wMch to guard a flock. Doddridge, EUley. A 
 dwelling house. Horace calls Ms house on ahill, an arx. Pearce. Livy calls Hannibal's 
 garden-house, turrim. Harmer. A great palace-liko edi&cc. Olshausen. A high palace. 
 Oostcrzce. i/(7)<;)t'fet. — Calculates. Gi-. and Eng. from calculus a pebble, used hy tho 
 Greeks. American Indians and African natives count by pebbles and sheila. 
 
 29. Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that 
 behold it begin to mock him, 
 
 30. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish, 
 
 Foundation. Matt. vii. 24. A firm foundation ; this the preseiwation 
 
 of the building. 
 Even after laying the foundation, the builder may be put to confusion. 
 It is easier to throw life aicay, than to lead it to Christianity. 
 " Broad is the way which leads to death, and many there be," &c. Matt, 
 
 vii, 13, 
 Able. Sinner convicted of his own weakness, the \'ictoiy is begun. 
 He flics to God, to provide him for the battle. 
 Mock, Verse 10, Christ appeals to a man's sense of shame; here, 
 
 pride. 
 The complete and decided Christian alone enforces the respect of men. 
 Half Christians, like tmfinished palaces, are objects of contempt. 
 This condemnation, maliciously passed by sinful men, fore-shadows and 
 
 fore-annoimces the condemnation of God.
 
 74 SUGGESTI^Ti COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 If men praise us for returning to tlie -world, the Devil will finish the 
 
 mockery, in his time and way. 
 There never %'^'ill lack mockers at true, or false Christianity. 
 
 fiT) IcrxvovTo?. Da quod jubes, et jube qnod vis. Memorable prayer of Augustine, 
 These warnings not vitiated by the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Doddridge* 
 Traths have a theological and anthi'opological aspect. Stier. 
 
 81. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and 
 consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him 
 with twenty thousand ? 
 
 Going. A beginning of discipleship is here hinted at. 
 
 Make war. The man building without coimtiug the cost, implies 
 
 folly. 
 The king going to war without taking counsel, implies danger. 
 These parables therefore convey instruction to four classes of persons — 
 1. To the inconsiderate Christian. 2. To the mistaken Christian. 3. To 
 
 the timid Christian. 4. To the steadfast Christian. 
 From the word building we derive the term edify. 1. Cor. iii. 10. 
 The Christian's life is a life of warfare and a life of watchfulness. 
 He has to contend against all the unfruitful works of darluiess. 
 Against the enemies of God and of his own soul. 
 Having for his armor, truth, righteousness and faith. 
 A war discreetly carried on requires reflection. 
 A knowledge of the enemy's power and of the stratagems to which ho 
 
 may resort. 
 Satan, the world, and self are the forces combined against the Christian. 
 Of no one of them must he ever desire conditions of peace. 
 He must take counsel and that by frequent prayer. 
 
 Ho must follow Christ as the Captain of salvation and the Lord of hosts. 
 And look to Him for direction in the warfare and for support when 
 
 pvesflod by the foe. 
 You must " endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 
 
 2. Tim. ii. 3. 
 Snlnmon hints, " Witli good advice, make war." Prov. xx. 18. 
 King. "ISclidld the Lord cometh with 10,000 of His saints." Jude 
 
 verso 11. Dan. vii. 10. 
 "Who may abide the day of His coming ? " Mai. iii. 2.
 
 CHAP. XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 75 
 
 The Cliristian warfare has something Idnijlij about it. 
 
 His foes not alone mortal, but ^'^ ijriiLcipalilles and powers.'''' 
 
 Sitteth. down, at the council table ; implies deliberation. 
 
 The wise ministers of state, consulted, seldom rashly rush into folly. 
 
 Cometh. The Lord may delay His coming, but judgment is sure. 
 
 Against him. All our equipments of moral excellence God converts 
 
 into sins. 
 If one is filled with good resolves this test wiU expose them. 
 However well armed to appear before Him at His coming, He will at last 
 
 remain mightier than thou. 
 Twenty thousand. Contest for salvation is unequal with lis. 
 But human vml, hy faith, can overcome the world. 1. John v. 4. 
 Self must be absolutely surrendered to God or we are lost. 
 
 Pao-iArus. The king, an emblem of a belieTer. The 20,000, of Satan, &c. .4!(.7i(s/i;!e. 
 Herod. Isaac Newton. But he does not appear to have been weaker than Aretas, Idng of 
 Arabia. fia-aiKel. — Prince of darkness. Lange, Braunc. God. Stier, Benr/cl, Alford, 
 Lisco. The spirit, not the phraseology, to be noted. Brown. If the ijarable stood bj 
 itself, it might show the danger of contending with God. 
 
 " flitteth down." Magnus sedet, ^neaa. Ftr^/J. " Ten thonsan(j." Ten command- 
 ments. Lisco. '"Tower" builders, refer to inward conflicts; the "tt'or," to outward 
 enemies. Oostcrzee. Our Lord had been giving high and heavenly precepts ; He tells us 
 if we will erect our tower, i.e. build up our lives, we must frame our account for a large 
 amount of ditSculty and suffering. Gregory. He had been speaking also ot S2)i ritual 
 warfare against the powei-ful enemy of our soula. We must prepare our forces 
 accordingly. Cyril. 
 
 32. Or else, iBhile the other is yet a great way off, he sendcth an ambassage, and dcs-rrth 
 conditions of peace. 
 
 Ambassage. He who refuses to treat for peace fights against Go(k 
 
 He who takes' up his cross submits. John v. 23. 
 
 From beginning to end the cost of being a Christian is great. 
 
 It is not too great for the broken heart and contrite spirit. 
 
 Desireth. Gr. betjrjing, as one entreats for alms. 
 
 With greater ease the king prevails on himself to sacrifice an army than 
 
 to seek peace. 
 The request for peace expresses the hatred of one's o-i\m soul, by which 
 
 he entirely renounces and resigns him unreservedly to gi-ace. 
 
 Ta TTpbs eiptjiTjc . — an armistice ; arrangements with a view to place.
 
 76 SUGGESTIVE COMIMENTAEY [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 S3. So Wkeiviac, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot 
 be my disciple. 
 
 Forsaketh. We renounce all Triien we do not set our affections upon 
 
 tlie things of tliis life. 
 We renounce all when we are ready to forsake all at the command of God. 
 We renounce all when we use it only, like travellers, as a provision for 
 
 our journey. 
 That journey being daily onwards towards the Heavenly Canaan, and in 
 
 obedience to a Divine command. 
 The builder renounces and expends money ; the waiTior, troops ; and the 
 
 disciple, parents and all social ties. 
 Self-renunciation and humbly acknowledging our poverty and helpless- 
 ness alone counts the cost, and is the submission to our King. 
 It is a mighty undertaking to compass being a disciple ! 
 Better leave Christ sorroiving than stay dissembling. 
 All he hath. Gt. possessions, both persons and property. 
 If you do not love those things you possess, you forsake them, even 
 
 while you possess them. We may retain them ; and yet leave them. 
 
 Gregory. 
 
 aTTOTa.a-<T(Tai. 1. Range into parts. 2. Take apart. 3. Bid farewell. 4. Kenonnc©. 
 Qescnius. Bids farewell to, implying deliberate anangements. Tlie present tense is 
 used to announce a general truth. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 34. H Salt is pood: hut if the mlt have lost his savour, wherewith shall ithc seasonedt 
 
 Salt. A figure of nourishment and preservation. 
 
 For.the tliird time He repeats the saying concerning salt. Matt. v. 13; 
 Mark ix. 50. 
 
 Salt is, in Scripture symbolism, the whole life-retaining, pm-ifying in- 
 fluence of the Spirit of God. 
 
 A symbol of heavenly wisdom and of perpetuity. Col. iv. 6. 
 
 Symbol of barrenness. Judges ix. 45. Of hospitality. Ezra iv. 14. 
 
 Sjnnbol of gratitude. Eating salt, Arabs esteem you a friend. 
 
 Mixed with fodder. Isa. xxx. 24. Sprinkled on sacrifices. Lev. ii. 13. 
 
 llomans and (!rccks used salt on all animal sacriliccs. 
 
 Tncenso perfumed (Kx. xxx. 35), had salt in it. 
 
 It does not exclusively refer to salt in sacrifices. Num. xviii. 19. 
 
 Every oblation of the meat offering, seasoned with salt. Lev. ii. IS.
 
 CHAP, XIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 77 
 
 Christianity arrested the corruption bcgiin, and imparted a fresh and 
 
 lasting savor. 
 God manifests the savor of His knowledge, by His Church. 2. Cor. 
 
 ii. 14. 
 Good. It prevents corruption, and promotes life. 
 Saints faithful in persecutions, prove themselves good salt. 
 liOst. Pure salt dissolved, ceases to bo, is annihilated. 
 No ojie really converted, will ever be finally lost. John xvii. 24. 
 Angels rejoice over conversions ; no possible error can take place. Luke 
 
 XV. 10. 
 Salt, the inner power of divine grace, preserving the believer. 
 It cannot any more become saltless, than light, darkness. 
 Without salt, the " earth is corriipt before God." Gen. vi. 11. 
 Abiding virtue within, divine energy without, strictly inseparable. 
 He who ceases to salt others, shows himself saltless. 
 They had no root in themselves, who perish under persecutions. 
 If the world persecute, it is because they feel the salt. 
 Saltless salt is despised, hypocrites are ever scorned. 
 " They went out from tis, because they weio not of ms." 1. John ii. 19. 
 Nominal professors are oft among the most abandoned of men. 
 Savour. It gives a relish lo the food of man and beast. 
 It forms an essential element in human blood. 
 In the hot climates, no meat can be preserved without it. 
 The most familiar and necessary substance of hfe. 
 It seasons what is insipid, and preserves the corruptible. 
 Seasoned. Salt cannot be restored, nor an apostate, remaining such. 
 If the Gospel cannot change them, what else can ? 
 It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. Heb. vi. 4-G. 
 If the earth, bearing thorns, is rejected, how will backsliders fare? 
 
 Heb. vi. 8. 
 
 aAa?. — Chloride anil sodium. After KaXov, add olj'. Tischendorf, Oostersee. Means 
 the disciples. Bengel, Alford. Salt of learning, savorless of grace. Hamami. Salt, lost 
 its savor, cast on the great road of life, exemplified, 1. By heathen antiquity. 2. By 
 Theocratic Judaism. 3. By mediicval traditioflaUsm. Langc, Oostcrzee. Add /cat a.ftor 
 f6.vhi. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, ^wpavflij, fj-uipo^, — Foolish. Applied to 
 inanimate objects, insipid, unsalted. Salt may never lose its saltness, it still illustrates 
 the point. Infatuated if it were possible. Markland. Eesiduum of wood ashes. Le 
 Clerc. Any saltish body. Hammond. Travellers profess to find salt, literally without 
 saltness. Schocttigen. Four hours from Aleppo, I broke off a piece of ground, exposed to 
 the rain and sun, I found it contained particles of salt, which had wholly lost its peculjur 
 savor. MoundrcU,
 
 78 SUGGESTH'E COMMENTARY [CHAP. XTV. 
 
 "Be salted." WTiat can be salted therewith? Tyitdale. What shall be seasoned 
 therewith ? Cranmer. What can be substituted for seasoning ? Alexander. If even the 
 B:iXt, may become rejected salt, then a soul can become a lost soul! the noblest thing 
 exposed to the greatest ruin. Stier. 
 
 35. It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; hut men cast it out. He 
 that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 
 
 Neither fit. That is, it is directly and indirectly unprofitable. 
 
 Nature of salt to be good for nothing but its peculiar use. 
 
 Professed believers in Christ failing to glorify Him are useless in the 
 
 universe. 
 Love announces this warning, inexorable Justice vrill execute it. 
 Land. Salt was not used for land. Psa. cvii. 34. 
 Promotes barrenness, an emblem of sterility. Jer. xvii. 6. 
 Jerusalem sacked and ploughed — sowia with salt. 
 Dunghill. Not used for mingling with manure. 
 Cast it out. Trodden under foot. Matt. v. 13. 
 Salt was i;sed as sand to sprinkle the pavement in the temple. 
 A dead profession, a dead ministry, useless to the church. 
 Ears. To be used seriously, prayerfully, and practically. 
 Hear. A proverbial formula, by which attention was desired to things 
 
 of seiious import : but, alas ! " Israel doth not know. My people do 
 
 not consider." Isa. i. 3. 
 
 '' Cast it out." Allusion to the formal degradation of unworthy ministers. The 
 excoramunicatcd penitents, in primitive atjea, used to cast themselves on the floor, to be 
 trodden under foot, of those entering chui'ch. Hammond. Thus did Etiholiiis, on the 
 death of Julian. Socrates. "Quo sale sal condiotur? aon datur snl salis." Maldon. 
 Janietu
 
 CHAP. XV.l ON ST. LUKE. 79 
 
 OHAPTEB XV. 
 
 1. THEN drew near unto him all tlie publicans and sinners for to hear him. 
 
 Drew nes,r. Gr. were drawing near: not specially at present, but 
 
 this was their habit. 
 Long treated with scorn by Pharisees they still fear rejection. 
 Curiosity brings some, but most come craving for life and peace. 
 They approached Him not with the body only but also with the heart. 
 They drew near freely, and through their sense of the great need of 
 
 a Saviour. 
 Though He came to save sinners, He required then, as now, that they 
 
 draiv near to Him. 
 Those drawiuf) near as sinners, depart havi^^ been made whole. 
 Yet their drawing near tlie effect of His love in fii'st seeking them. 
 Jill. Without distinction of rank and condition, all who felt that they 
 
 were sinners. 
 This hints at the character of our Lord's audience. 
 Secret but divine attraction ever drew the wretched to Him. 
 The fresh and delicious scent of Thy wonderful mercy invites us to 
 
 " run after Thee." Bernard. 
 Publicans. Luke iii. 12. Their character and history. See Notes. 
 Piauked by the Saviour himself with " harlots." Matt. xxi. 32. 
 For the most part ajoostate Jews, traitors to their country and their God. 
 Their evidence was not received in com-ts of justice. 
 It is thought they were left out of the census of the population. 
 They were more abhorred than even the v^ry heathen. 
 Most of them may have probably deserved the contempt they received. 
 Men knowing they have no character to lose, often throw off all restraint 
 
 and plunge into wickedness. 
 Sinnc-rs. Open and notorious offenders against the law of God. 
 Probably Gentiles, drawn by His words and acts of gi'ace. 
 Tenderness towards the most abandoned sinners the highest instance of 
 
 a Divine and God-like soul. Lata. 
 A physician's special work is among the sick and perishing.
 
 80 SUGGESTmi: COMilENTARy [iJHAP. XV. 
 
 There are three classes of sinners : — 
 
 1. Open and notorious sinners, hardened in sin, who come not near to 
 
 Christ in any way. 
 
 2. Secret sinners, who make a show of religion like the Pharisees, and 
 
 who draw near to Christ outwardly. 
 
 3. Penitent sinners, who, feeling their need of a Saviour, come to Christ 
 
 to he taught and saved. 
 
 Those whom He received during His earthly ministry were only 
 testimonies of His saving mercy now. 
 
 As He drew Mary from her notorious sins, as He forgave the penitent 
 thief, as He looked with pity on Peter whilst denying Him, and took 
 Saul even while breathing out threatenings and slaughter against 
 His saints, so now does He receive those, however gi-eatly they 
 may have sinned, who sincerely draw nigh to Him and hear Him. 
 Denton. 
 
 afiapTiaXoi, tloprayed chai-acters of all kinds. Meyer. They came by special appoint- 
 ment. Doddridge, eyy. — just within hearing distance. Eesorted. Tyndale. Busied in 
 drawing near. Alford. This form denotes habit or the uninterrupted continuance of an 
 action, as Luke xiii. 10. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 2. And the Fharisecs and scribes murmured, saying, Tliis man receiveth sinners, and 
 eatclh icith them. 
 
 Pharisees. Character, Luke v, 17, and \'i. 2. Scribes. Luke v. 21. 
 Murmured. Gr. audibly, so as to he heard among the audience. 
 Envy had for ages held the key of knowledge. 
 Yoid of all sympathy, they pretended tho multitude were desperately 
 
 ignorant. 
 They scomed those who kindly mingled with tho down-trodden crowd. 
 They censured His eating, hut more intensely hated His preaching. 
 Tlio three parables liint at heavenly sympathy for tho lost. 
 Ho would shame these murmurers out of their selfishness. 
 Cod and angels rejoice, Pharisees gi-ieve, at a sinner's conversion. 
 His \cry presnncc was fulfilling His Divine ofiico. 
 Rcceiveth. Gr. with a willing welcome to His society. 
 What a precious truth they unconsciously uttered ! 
 The VC17 thing they censured was His special delight.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 81 
 
 A malijiTiant mind convei-ts all virtues into vices. 
 
 Tlicy murmured against Him for doing that He came on earth to do. 
 
 In their pride and blindness they rejected Him for the cause whicll 
 
 should have led them to see in Him the Messiah. 
 Our Lord not only received sinners, hut allowed them to receive Him. 
 He receives 'promptly — He keeps none waiting in suspense or anxiety. 
 He receives imreprovinrjhj — He never upbraids with remembrance of the 
 
 past. 
 He receives tcnderhj — even little children find a i^lace in His hear*-. 
 He receives scciu-fZ(/ — " None can pluck them out of My hand.'' John 
 
 X. 28. 
 In the New Testament the Lord seems to have selected some of eyoiy 
 
 kind and class to show He will receive all. 
 He will receive the rich — Josejjh of Ai'imathea, an example. 
 He will receive the poor — Lazarus the beggar, an example. 
 He will receive the learned — Diouysius the Ai'eopagite, an example. 
 He will receive physicians — Luke, an example. 
 He will receive soldiers— the Eoman centmdon, an example. 
 He will receive fishermen — Peter, &c., examples. 
 He will receive extortioners — Zacchajus, an example. 
 He will receive tax-gatherers — publicans, examples. 
 He will receive thieves — the dying robber, an example. 
 He will receive harlots — the woman who was a sinner, an example. 
 He will receive adulterers — the woman of Samaria, an example. 
 He will receive persecutors and mm-derers— Saul, an example. 
 He will receive persons possessed of devils — many examples. 
 He will receive backsliders — Peter, an examjjle. 
 
 He will receive persons in trade — Lydia, a seller of purple, an example. 
 He will receive statesmen and courtiers — the eiinuch of Ethioijia, an 
 
 example. 
 He will receive families— that of Bethany, an example. 
 He will receive whole multitudes — those at the Day of Pentecost, an 
 
 examjjle. 
 Eateth, &c. This social recognition of them as human beings was t j 
 
 their bitter selfish hearts a special aggravation. 
 It seemed to them to imply that He must secretly sijmpatliizc with tho 
 
 wicked. 
 Instead of repelling their very touch as pollution, as did the Pharisees, 
 
 He actually encouraged their approach and confidence. 
 Alas, neither the cold formalist nor boasting philosopher ever had a 
 
 remedy for the wretched.
 
 82 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 This -world's pliysicians have admitted the heart's disease is beyond their 
 
 skill. 
 We have here both the tenderness of Christ, and His oneness with the 
 
 penitent expressed. 
 His arms were open to receive, and those He received He united so 
 
 closely to Himself as to make them companions and friends. 
 " If any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and 
 
 sup with him and he with Me." Kev. iii. 20. 
 
 Sieydyyv^oi'. — Sia intensive — implying frequency, or in parties among themselves. 
 Campbell; eagei-ly. Wordsworth. vpoaSe^^eTai. — ^He may that day have been entertained. 
 Sepp. 
 
 3. IT And he spalce this parable unto them, saying. 
 
 Spake, to publicans, but intended for Pharisees and Scribes. 
 
 Their murmurings and comijlaints the key-note of the entire chapter. 
 
 He would shew, the greater the degradation of the converted, the more it 
 
 illustrated the glory of God. 
 There is no greater sign of holiness than procuring and rejoicing in 
 
 another's good. 
 
 ■rrapaPo\r)v. The three grouped to express one idea ; imitated hy latter Eahhis. 
 Sepp. Stupidity represented by lost sheep. Self-deceived by drachma. Voluntary 
 crime by the lost son. Bengel. The Good Shopherd, the Woman, the Father, represent 
 the Iloly Trinity. Ambrose, Origen. 1. The innocent state of man at first— sheep. 2. Ho 
 bears God's imago, though lost— drachma. Sons of God, though prodigals. Denton, 
 Trench. 
 
 4. What man of yon, hariti/i an hnndrcd sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave 
 lite ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? 
 
 Man. Tlio man having the flock, is plainly the Son of God. 
 
 David an eminent type of Christ, was a slicplicrd. 
 
 1. Tlio carcB of a sliepherd and of a pastor, must be inircmUlcd. 2. 
 
 Tciulfvhj exercised. 3. Ever vtitrhful of the enemy of the Hock. 
 
 4. WiHely io provide for wantH of butli ul' liiiiibs antl gbeep.
 
 CnAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 83 
 
 Hundred. Keprescnts Israel tended for ages, by under-sliephcrda. 
 Spiritual rulers are thus named in Ezek. xxxiv. and Zech. xi. 
 They ought to have sought the lost and brought back the straying. 
 They censure the Good Shepherd for doing, what they neglected. 
 Thus the Spirit named Jesus, long before by the prophets. Ezek. 
 
 xxxiv. 15. 
 " I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord." 
 Sheep. Peculiarities. Luke x. 3. See Notes. 
 Sheep noted, 1, for stupidity. 2, for innocence. 3, for unconsciousness 
 
 of perils. 4. Having wandered they seldom find their way back to 
 
 the fold. 
 Sheep in tlie fold represent the race of man unfallcn in Paradise. 
 Each lost sheep represents each sinner wandering far from safety. 
 The perils of starvation and of a hungry cruel foe await him. 
 liOse. Daily experience proves the danger of sheep wandeiing. 
 Sheep perchance may very rarely return to the fold. 
 But sinners never return. Once lost, lost for ever. 
 Sinners are lost, 1, to God. 2, to holiness. 3, to happiness. 
 They are lost, 1, to the Church. 2, to safety. 3, to themselves. 4, to 
 
 usefulness 
 My sheep wander through all the moimtains. Ezek. xxxiv, 6. 
 A mother shows herself most a mother when she loses a child. 
 Also a pastor, faithful and true, when he loses one of his flock. 
 0ii3. Having an hundred, He might afford to lose one. 
 It is but one, let it go. — A hireling would say. 
 Leave. Not for want of care, but since they are quite secm-e. 
 Folded in the heavenly enclosure, they rest from their labors. Eev. 
 
 xiv. 13. 
 Ninety and nine. Some refer to His great flock tkroughout the 
 
 universe. 
 This thought admissible, but is no exposition of the text. 
 Wilderness. Luke i. 80. Some few in Judea, for a brief season. 
 
 have grass. 
 The flock is left in comparative safety from wild beasts or wandcrin& 
 
 hordes. 
 Go aftor. Christ's love is an active working love. 
 He did not sit still in heaven, bewailing the lost sinners. 
 He never rested until He had made an atonement. 
 " And how am I straitened till it be accomplished ? " Luke xii. 50. 
 Christ's love is a self-denying love. 
 Shepherd brought the sheep home on his oicn shoulders. Isa. liii. 6.
 
 84 SUGGESTIVE COMSIENTAEY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 " He endured tlie cross, despising the shame." Heb. xii. 2. 
 
 " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man," &c. John xv. 13. 
 
 Christ's love is cleej), mighty, everlasting. 
 
 He rejoices to save sinners — It was " His meat and drink." John iv. 34. 
 
 If He did not seek us, v,-e would never seek Him. 
 
 Which, is lost. Greek has the article, the lost, i.e. the iccll-known 
 
 lost sheep. 
 The image of a silly, wandering sheep, amid unknown dangers. 
 The sinner knows not what he does, and sins through ignorance. 
 In one aspect, he deserves wrath, and in another he claims pity. 
 Some wander without knoving they have a shepherd or a fold. Acts 
 
 xvii. 27. 
 "AH we like sheep have gone astray." Isa. 53. 6. 
 " For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned." 1. 
 
 Pet. ii. 25. 
 The fientlest view of the apostasy, a wretched wandering sheep. 
 Until, &c. He rests not until He has found it. 
 We see our Lord following sinners to daily meals even to their tables, 
 
 where sin abounds. 
 Love is enduring, and continually increasing in effort. 
 God does not wait for the lost one, to return himself. 
 We sliould beware of losing what God wishes to be saved. 
 God is ever represented as the source of man's repentance. 
 The Father first loves us before we can love Him. 
 He seeks us, and withoiit His seeking we shall never seek Him. 
 He labors for our salvation while we are dead to all care for om* soul. 
 He labors perseveringly, not giving over till He hath foiind the lost 
 
 sheep. 
 As He came into tlic v.-orld by His incarnation, so He comes now 
 
 Himself in every act of grace by which He recalls us. 
 As Christ is, so His ministers should endeavour to be, good shepherds. 
 Good shepherd. 1. Unexampled compassion. 2. Long-su£fcring. 
 
 3. Sparing tenderness. 4. Blessed joy. 
 
 iv. The lost sheep is Mankind. Wordsworth. " Ovia ilia, quro poiicrat in Atlom, 
 Invalur in Cliristo." Ambrose. Every Kinnor before his conversion. Oostcrzce. to. 
 ifffi'rjKovTatiivcai—UMso who have not hecomo conaciouH of evil, liraunc. All Israel. 
 Ilichter, Alfard. Ili.s nnfallen thouKanda on the licavenly mountaina. Ciiril; the 
 niyrioda of lieavcn. — " AnKeloruin, Arthangelormn, &c., innuinorabiles grcRea." Ambrose, 
 lircntiuf. Sninta in licavcn. Sticr. EatabliKhod saints. Doddridge, W. £ W., Jthcimish 
 Nole$. Irouicttlly of the Scribes and PliariBoos. Trench, Major. But our Saviour never 
 admitted Irony in Ko aoloinn a Bcono.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 85 
 
 epriij.li) — not a barren place, but one abounding Tvith pastures. Alford; down or 
 pasture land, woodlaud, &c., opposed to the city — not necessarily a harrcn -wilderness. 
 Wordsworth. " Mille meac SicuUs errant in montibtis otjnae." Virg.Ec. tws ti/pT)— Tlio 
 certainty of finding does not nullify the necessity of effort. Divine decrees embrace 
 means as well as ends. 
 
 5. And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 
 
 Found. Christ's incarnation, was the girding of Himself to go after 
 
 His lost sheep. 
 His whole life of obedience and suffering, was following the straying. 
 He was not "wearied by the greatness of the way." Isa. Ivii. 10. 
 He shrank not when the thorns wounded His flesh. 
 With strong crying and tears He offered prayers and supplications. 
 
 Heb. V. 7. 
 He followed us in the depths of our misery, and to the extremity of tho 
 
 curse. 
 It implies seeking the lost till the death of the cross. 
 There alone it was completed, He cried " It is Finished ! " 
 Shoulders. An image of the sustaining gi-ace of Christ. Isa. liii. 6. 
 He layeth it not on the shoulders of His ministers, but on His own 
 
 shoulders. 
 His twofold nature, the Di^•inity by which He supports us, the humanity 
 
 by which He sympathizes with us. 
 He strengthens the weak and penitent soul by the grace which flows from 
 
 His whole nature. 
 He bore our sins, laying the burden of our transgi'essions upon His 
 
 shoulders. 
 He bears us still upon His sJiouhlcrs, enduring with us in our frequent 
 
 falls from grace. 
 He wiU not cease till His rescued are made final partakers of salvation. 
 He sought His own and would not pause until He found it. 
 He does not smite or drive it harshly back to the fold. 
 " He shall gather the lambs in His arms, and cany them in His bosom." 
 
 Isa. xl. 11. 
 The sheep is weary with long wanderings, hunger, and thirst. 
 The pastor is " to bear with the infirmities of the weak." 
 Nothing is burdensome to charity, nothing is troublesome to true love. 
 Love and joy make labour pleasant to Himself. 
 Hejoicing-. 1. Eepentant heart of the sinner. 2. The envious heart of 
 
 Phazisees. 3. The loving heart of Jesus.
 
 86 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTARY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 His love, free from all reproaches, thinks only of the recovery of the lost. 
 " For the joy that was set before Him, He endm-ed the cross." Heb. xii. 2. 
 " He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied." Isa. Uii. 11. 
 " He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love." Zeph. 
 
 iii. 17. 
 She^jherd-feeling indicates much more than the care oi property . 
 In Christ, love and self-interest are one. 
 
 He who has untold myriads of sheep is unwilling to find one wanting. 
 He counts that lost which He cannot feed and bless for ever. 
 He rejoices over the accomplishment of His work, and the rescue of the 
 
 soul He has long sought to save. 
 
 wfiov5, est Euavis significatio inscrta passionis Christi, qui fit victima pro nobis. 
 Mclancthon. Humeri Christi, crucis brachia sunt. Ambrose. 
 
 6. And when he eometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying 
 unto them. Rejoice with me ; for I have found my sheep which ivas lost. 
 
 Cometh., to heaven at the time of His ascension. 
 
 Home. Christ has returned home and will take all believers to Himself. 
 
 Eph. i. 20, ii. 6. 
 His friends. Those happy myriads dwelling in other unfallen worlds. 
 Neighbours. Those blessed hosts of angels filling the heaven of 
 
 heavens. 
 The great Proprietor summons others to share His joy. 
 What immeasurable depths of divine sympathy arc hinted at in this 
 
 figure ! 
 Is there joy at thy conversion ? will there not be greater at thy glorifi- 
 cation? Baxter. 
 Friends, because they do their Father's will, "ministering spirits," &c. 
 Neighbors, because they stand in his presence and gather brightness 
 
 from His gloiy. 
 " Wlicn one member is lionorcd, all the members rejoice with it." 
 Hcjoico with me. As if too much for Himself to bear. Ho seeks 
 
 relief by imparting it to others. 
 A law of our nature — excessive joy or grief relieved liy syin)i;itliy. 
 His joy exceeds His gratitude fur tbe quiet possession of the ninety and 
 
 nine.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 87 
 
 The redemption of a sinner is a cause of greater joy to the Saviom- than 
 
 to the redeemed one himself. 
 Christ alone knows the worth of a soul, and the blessedness of eternal 
 
 salvation. 
 Our life is His joy. Gregory. 
 A parent rejoices more over a child raised from the borders of the grave, 
 
 than those in health. 
 I have found. Implying that the penitent's name is written in 
 
 heaven. 
 A soul is a kingdom ; souls converted are so many kingdoms reconquered. 
 My sheep. Gr., that sheep of mine — ^chlch you tvell know. 
 The heavenly beings are aware of the loss and recovery of souls. 
 My sheep. Though the sheep was lost the Shepherd's right remained. 
 Even when we are wanderers from God, we are still His, and still the 
 
 objects of His solicitude and love. 
 "I will seek out My sheep which are scattered." Ezek. xxxiv. 12. 
 In this parable God's great love to man shown in three particulars : 
 
 1. In the manner of his creation — He inade.man upright. 
 
 Created in* innocency, he has wandered from the fold of God by his 
 
 own will. 
 The confession of the penitent is, I have gone astray, like a sheep that 
 
 is lest. 
 
 2. In the work of man's redemption — -His care in seeking us, His patience 
 
 with us, His power in strengthening us. 
 The price of our redemption was the precious hlood of the Son of God. 
 
 3. In that glorification which is the inheritance of all whom He has re- 
 
 deemed — the Shepherd bears back the sheep to His own home ; 
 the Saviour ceases not from His care until He gives us a share in 
 His heavenly joy and in the happiness of angels. Denton. 
 In His life He sought the sinner till He found him, in His death He 
 laid him on His shoulders, in His resurrection He rejoiced for him, 
 in His ascension He did open the doors of heaven and biing him 
 to His Father's house. Panygarda. 
 
 rov oIkov. His o-wn dwelling. Heaven. Wordsworth. Jesus Christ returned home at 
 His ascension, for heaven is His home. Bcnrjel. <|>iXou? and yecVoi/a? — Angels. Mci/er, 
 The spirits of the just made perfect. Alford. Angels in heaven, and those engaged in 
 foreign labors. Benpcl. jrpd/3aT6i' jaov. Man}' gems, seals, fragments of glass, relics of 
 the primitive church, represent the Good Shepherd, bringing home the lost sheep upon 
 His shoulders. It was painted upon the communion cup. TcrtulHan. It is found in 
 bas-reliefs on sarcophagi, and paintings in the catacombs. Sometimes He holds the
 
 88 SUGGESTI^•E COMilEXTAEY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 seven-reeded pipe, to show the attractions of divine love, or sitting down, as if weary of 
 the length of the way. MacFarlane's Catacombs of Rome. They are among the most 
 deeply interesting memorials of the Church of God, found in the Vatican, that vast 
 Treasure-house of classical and sacred antiquities. 
 
 7. I say utito you, that likeieise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repcnteth, 
 more than over ninety and nine just jycrsons, which need no repentance. 
 
 I say. Oiu" Lord often thus introduces his revelations of the tmseen 
 
 world. 
 The majesty of this expression forms the subHme transition to its 
 
 interpretation. 
 I, the Great Shepherd, say unto you shepherds of IsraeL Ezek. 
 
 xxxiv. 7. 
 Unto yovL. Mm-min-ing Scribes and Pharisees, -who imderstand not 
 
 the dei^ths of Divine love. 
 Murmur not, for I kaow full •well what passes in hell and heaven. 
 "VMiat grieves you on earth, causes a jubilee of joy in heaven. 
 Likewise. Gr., in like manner. 
 
 Joy. Solemn and festive, at the news of the salvation wrought on earth. 
 Joy, a deep natiu-al feeling springing up in the heart, at any happy but 
 
 unexpected event. 
 The Pharisees' murmimng sternly rebuked by the announcement of thip 
 
 joy- 
 
 The church militant, the church triumphant, have but one heart. 
 
 The Jews represented angels as weeping over the ruins of our race. 
 
 The joy of Christ runs over and wets the fair brows and beautiful locks 
 
 of Cherubim and Seraphim ; and all the angels have part in the 
 
 banquet. Taylor. 
 Wc may well suppose their jo?/ is "not without song." 
 In heaven. The divine compassion of those exalted beings strangely 
 
 contrasts with tlic vexation of the Pharisees. 
 Among the most deeply interesting revelations of the secrets ef heaven. 
 Implies acquaintance and concern of holy beings in the salvation of 
 
 sinners. 
 Angels intensely desire to look into the mysteries of redeeming love. 
 
 1. Pet. i. 12. 
 "Unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places is made known 
 
 by the church tlio manifold wisdom of God." Eph. iii. 10. 
 Tlie law of loving Bymi)atliy prevails amongst all holy beings. 
 The source and homo of this law is in the bosom of the infinite God.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 89 
 
 Joy over a sinner's conversiou is as natural as a sliepherd's over a 
 
 lost lamb found. 
 Angels rejoice, 1, for God's sake ; 2, for Jesus' sake ; 3, for the sinner's 
 
 sake ; 4, for their own sake. 
 1. No loss so great as the soul. 2. No pains too great to save it. 3. No 
 
 joy so great as over its salvation. 
 No penitent sinner too mean to become the object of joy in heaven. 
 How does the joy of angels put us men to shame ! 
 Eepenteth. Tke joy is not because he is a sinner, but because ho is a 
 
 jDeniteut retm-ning sinner. 
 The sinner hearing the voice of the Shepherd irresistibly follows Him. 
 With the call to Levi at the receipt of custom there went power to make 
 
 it effectual. Mark ii. 14. 
 More. The motlier rejoices more over her recovered child than at the 
 
 health of the others. 
 We rejoice more at finding a lost treasure than if we had ever kept it. 
 The conqueror triumphs more in a victory than if there had been no 
 
 perils of battle. 
 The sailor rejoices more from escaping a threatened shipwreck than if the 
 
 sky had ever been calm. 
 The husbandman rejoices more over one bad field that now brings him a 
 
 good crop than over aU the rest of his land. 
 
 XOLpa, This fact mast be revealed to angelg as there can be no deception in heaven 
 — the repentance must result in the salvation of the soul. A proof of the preservation 
 and perseverance of the saints. Dwight. Sixaiots — Scribes and Pharisees. Calvin : like 
 the well-behaved brother. D. Brown. Childi-en trained religiously, who have, under 
 parental faith and fidelity, grown up in the fear of the Lord. Hammond. 5iKaiot;. To 
 angels who have never sinned. Ambrose, Hilary, Chrysostom. Dwellers in the worlds 
 nniaMen. Cyril. Glori&ci S!i,int3. Doddridge. Living heVieyeia. Luther, Spener, Bengel. 
 Those thinking themselves righteous, as Pharisees, &c. Meyer. More just than publicans 
 and sinners. De Wette. A mere addition to the picture. Grotius. Used ironically. 
 Oosterzee, W. ct W. Jews. Wliitby, It seems strange that the sinner reluming is 
 elevated more highly than the just persons. Olsliausen. To reason it remains an 
 insoluble problem, how God can pardon sinners simply on repentance, and yet remain 
 righteous towards the unsinning. The only key that tinlocka this mystery, was found 
 hanging on the cross. Stier. Subjectively righteous in their own estimation. Or it may 
 apply to the worlds that have not fallen. Alford. 
 
 XpeCav — A hint at the conceited hypocrisy of Pharisees belie^'ing that they had co 
 need of repentance. Wordsworth.
 
 90 - SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 8. IT Either wliat woman having ten ■pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not 
 light a candle, and siveep the house, and seek diligently till she fi7id it? 
 
 Ten pieces of silver. Gr. ten dracLmas, sixteen cents each. 
 
 The numbers in the three successive parables a climax — one hundred, 
 
 ten, tiro. 
 The sense of loss is in proportion of the part lost to the whole. Trench. 
 The nine remaining drachmas may hint at the part of God's creation re- 
 taining their iutegrit}-. 
 The comijaratively small value of this coin may indicate the proportion 
 
 the human family bear to the vastness of God's empire. 
 The Jews never coined any money of their own. 
 
 Herodian coins of that age were medals struck on particular occasions. 
 This had not, like the Eoman denarius, the image of the emperor. 
 Athens had no sovereign ; the image of an owl, tortoise, or the head of 
 
 Minerva commonly found on their coins. 
 One piece. The soul, originally stamped with the image of the Greal 
 
 King. 
 It was precious because it bore the image and likeness of God. 
 It still retains traces of its original beai^ty, though by sin they are much 
 
 effaced. 
 This piece of money was lost for all useful purposes to its owner. 
 Man has become altogether i^nprofitable unto God. 
 Yet, however fallen and defiled, he is still God's creature and capable of 
 
 restoration. 
 Candle. Luke viii. IC. Ancient mode and materials of light. 
 Glass was very rare and windows very small in ancient houses. 
 Hundreds of dwellings now in Egypt have no window whatever. 
 Dwellings at Pompeii, covered by an eruption of Vesuvius 10 years after 
 
 Christ, reveal a similar fact. 
 The candle is the Word of God, which the Church holds forth. 
 Not to light Jesus' way to us but to show us the way to Him. 
 " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 
 
 cxix. 105. 
 Some sec tlie Saviour's divinity sliining through the flesh. 
 Sweep the house. This corresponds to the shepherd going out after 
 
 the sheep. 
 Ancient dwellings liad the cartli generiilly for the floor. 
 This was covered with straw instead of a carpet. 
 Dwellings of the rich liad floors of marble in mosaic work. 
 It represents the various methods of God to bring home lost souls. 
 Or the lighting and sweeinug may show llic oflico of the Spirit.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 91 
 
 Implies also purging the Churoh from pernicious principles. 
 How unwelcome to those who have no interest in finding the lost. 
 Evermore the charge is, the Gospel turns the world upside down. 
 Secret aversion hecomes open enmity, quiet alienation hecomes active 
 
 hostility. 
 There is an outcry against the hest Christians as troublers of Israel. 
 The sweeping chastisements of the law necessary to the sinner. 
 The house must not only be penetrated by the light, it must be s-;^•cpt 
 
 diligentlj'. 
 Diligently. Her heart is intent upon recovering the lost coin. 
 Tlio witnesses of Jesus are said to torment the dwellers upon earth. 
 But they, bearing the candle of the Lord must not cease their diligence. 
 Sinner imaged by the lost drachma. 1. His original splendor. 2. His 
 
 present fall. 3. His recovered value. 
 
 yvvri. Qui sunt isti, imter, pastor, mulier? nonne Dens pater, Christus jiastor, 
 mulier ecclesia. Represents the Holy Ghost. Bengel, AlJ'ord, Stier ; the Church. 
 Ambrose, Wordsworth, Olshausen ; Christ's mission. Owen. 
 
 SpaxiJ^a.^- — A silver coin in use among the Greeks, from 5pacrjo(xat to clutch in the 
 hand, equal to six bpoKoi or bars of iron, of such a size that a man could grasp but six 
 of them. Hcmptterhtas. The coin was not hers, but property of another ; it was lost by 
 her. JVordsworth. Her joy might seem unseasonable over so small a sum, were it not 
 the tenth of all she hail. 
 
 Au'xcoi', by means of the mmistration of the word, the search is made, crapoi. Tliis 
 is not to be done without dust on man's part. Bengel. Everrit. Old Vulg. ; by the error 
 of copyists it was written "evertit," " tumcth up so down." Wickliffe. Pope Gregory wrote 
 a long commentary on "evertit,' fi'ora which he defends persecution. Trapp ; indicating a 
 low state of scholarship, during the dark ages, and the pope's ignorance of Greek. Beza. 
 
 oiKiav is here the Church, and yui'tj the indwelling Spirit, ^//brri. As the wells (Gen. 
 xxvi. 18), stopped by the Philistines, were opened by Isaac, the son of gladness, so the 
 money was found within, and not without, the house. Thus, at the bottom of evciy 
 man's soul is this image of God, covered with dust and defUement, which may recove' 
 its lirst brightness in the hands of the Spirit. Trench. 
 
 9. And when she hath found it, she caVeth her friends and her neighbours together, 
 saying, Uejoice with me ; for I hare found the piece which I had lost. 
 
 Calls. The Spirit abides in the church, and angels are ever present. 
 Rejoice with ine. All holy beings are invited to shaxe in her mys- 
 terious joy.
 
 92 SUGGESTIVE COMMEXTARY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 Found. The piece of silver had never been found, had it not been 
 
 sought. 
 The sheep had never returned, had it not been brought. 
 liOst. The sinner lives all unconscious of his real worth. 
 Like a precious coin, he lies valueless in the mine of this world. 
 Observe the woman does not call the piece of silver her men. 
 The penitent sinner, stam2:)ed with God's image, though marred and 
 
 bedimmed is God's. 
 The woman owns that she lost it, perhaps by neglect, not imputable to 
 
 Christ. Wordsworth. 
 " He came to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke xix. 10. 
 He employs means and agencies, but to be successful all must be 
 
 animated by His Spirit. 
 The special work of the Gospel ministi-y here indicated, viz. the recovery 
 
 of the sinning, the erring, and the lost. 
 
 yeCrova^, The finder, being a female, invites her female friends and neighbors, 
 which is not expressed by the E.V. Herein the proprieties of language are observed. 
 fV. (0 W. avyxapv^- Exclusively to the Holy Ghost. Benoel, Sticr ; the Church. 
 Luther, Lisco ; hoih. Oostersee, Sum nummus Dei Thesauro aberravi, miserere me. 
 4ugustine. 
 
 10. Likewiie, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of Ood over one 
 sinner that repentcth. 
 
 Joy. God the Father has no pleasure in the death of a sinner. 
 The sons of God shouted for joy, at the first creation. Job xxxviii. 7. 
 Greater joy finds place at the birth of a soul unto everlasting life. 
 One, void of interest in the welfare of Zion, should mistrust his piety. 
 Woe to those pastors, who should be angels in their ministry, but envy 
 
 even the good performed by other hands. 
 Some are ashamed of penitent tears, as signs of weakness. 
 "While man is mocking, angels arc rejoicing. 
 The presence, not among. The Great Sliei)hcrd rejoices. 
 In verse C, IIejoice with mh, angels catch the rapture. 
 Having been " ministering spirits to the heirs of salvatiou," their interest 
 
 abates not, returning to their bright abodes. 
 rharisecH mm-niured — In heaven the recovery of one is hailed with joy. 
 In tliesc outcasts, Incarnate Love is revealed. Luke xix. 10. 
 
 I
 
 CHAr. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 93 
 
 Angels. Sec Luke i. 11. Their history and character. 
 
 The angels are introduced rejoicing, in contrast with the sullen silence of 
 
 malignant Pharisees. 
 Instead of slighting penitents, they wait with joy to receive them as 
 
 comi^anions in service and sharers in blessedness. 
 Angels rejoice more for the conversion of one penitent, because he riser 
 
 again from his state of sin more watchful, more humble, and more 
 
 full of godly zeal and charity. Gregory. 
 
 Xa-pa. The tears of penitence are the wine of angels. Bernard. Their conversion 
 causes Te Donms among the heavenly hosts. iviiiKiov — not with, among, or on the part 
 of. It is the Great Shepherd manifesting this joy. D. Brown. ayyiKiav — angels and 
 saints, they being all on an equality. Rheimish Notes. 
 
 11. H And he said, A certain man had iivo sons : 
 
 Said. This parable has been styled The Pearl and Ceown of all Hid 
 
 parables. 
 It has the silver lining of Mekcy gilding all its scenery. 
 It is transparently artless, as a chapter of human life. 
 It reveals many of the sacred mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. 
 Saints and sinners find themselves reproduced in it. 
 It is a gospel within a gospel. 
 Main design twofold. 1. To show God's willingness to receive 'penitent 
 
 sinners. 2. The causeless ground of Jewish jealousy toward 
 
 Gentiles. 
 Certain man. The Creator and Father of all mankind. 
 All nations are of one blood. His offspring. Acts xvii. 26. 
 Two sons. Man originally bore the image of his heavenly Father. 
 Generally applied as denoting the two classes — Jews and Gentiles. 
 Pharisees were brethren of publicans. Jehovah, God of Jew and 
 
 Gentile. Eom. iii. 29. 
 All men morally are on an equal level before God. 
 Those trained under one roof with equal fidehty, at times take different 
 
 ways. Grace runs not in families. -^ 
 
 " A wise son gladdens his father, but a foolish son is," &c. 
 Jacob and Esau, Absalom and Solomon illustrate this truth, 
 Abel and Cain were doubtless brouglat up in sight of Paradise itself. 
 28
 
 94 SUGGESTIVE COJIilENTARY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 Su'o viou's. Jew3 and heathen. Augustine, Bcdc. Angels and men. Herberger. 
 Pharisees and publicans. Alford, Oosterzee. ^^ Elder brother." Those content with 
 legal obedience. Trench; Pharise&s of the better sort. JYeander ; saints. i>e?t<7e; ; scribes. 
 Calvin; angels, ilaldonaius. All sinners in their federal head sons o£ God. Oosterzee. 
 
 12. And the younger of them said to hiafatlier, Father, give me the portion of yoods 
 that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 
 
 ITouiig'er. His departtire hints at the great apostasy of the Gentiles. 
 His return, their reception into the privileges of the New Covenant. 
 Estranged in heart, he cannot longer tolerate holy restraints of home. 
 He is strongly urged by the lust of setting up for himself. 
 Said. His claim is urged in technical, almost legal form. 
 This delicate touch shows a stranger's heart in his fathers's house. 
 It requires far advance in alienation to utter such a bold demand. 
 It may be called the practical atheism of every soul forsaking God. 
 Give me. No proof of this being his right, or a custom among Jews. 
 Levitical law would give him half of his elder brother's inheritance. 
 
 Dettt. xxi. 17. 
 A far better prayer had been, " Give us this day our daily," &c. 
 He had lost conscious dependence on God, the true source of peace. 
 The demand at the close, outweighs the petition at the beginning. 
 This is no sudden impulse of a fiercely tempted soul. 
 The father watched the germ gi-adually growing into a spirit of 
 
 rebellion. 
 Unthaukfulness and forgetfuluess of God's goodness are precursors of 
 
 apostasy. 
 He proclaims the sad severance of an intcmal bond. 
 Pride and sensuality are fruits of tbe root, seljisliness. 
 Desiring to be one's own master the beginning of sin ; all afterward the 
 
 unfolding of this germ. 
 Supposed origin of sin, the pride of an archangel. 1. Tim. iii. G. 
 Some vainly apologise for the waywardness of youth. 
 Alas, ho will no longer tolerate the holy fellowship of his father. 
 We see the death and extinction of the filial sentiment. 
 lie passionately contemns his only trne possessions in God. 
 He would bo independent of God, the root of all evil. 
 Ho seems to regard his rights as equal to his father's. 
 A sure sign of Divine wrath when such a prayer is heard. 
 A sinner's prayer granted, often the final token of perdition. Mark v. 17.
 
 CHAI'. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 95 
 
 Portion. Custom of distributing an estate during the father's life 
 
 known in the East, but not among the Jews. 
 The elder sou had a double share in his father's estate. Deut. xxi. 17. 
 The object was to enable him to provide for his sisters. 
 Each child of Adam receives a portion in this state. 
 Goods. What a mockery of the wants of a man's soul are earth's 
 
 treasures ! 
 He had gi'own weary of living upon his father's fulness. 
 He trusted to become a fountain of joy to Jdmself. 
 He seems desirous of carrying away his own share as spoil. 
 He fancies that his infatuated plan is wisdom. 
 Thus men deem health and wealth the only goods. 
 He seems to have esteemed things of sense above gifts of grace. 
 Falleth. A polite term for grasping after what he had a right to. 
 Ingratitude, one of the fruits of original sin. 
 A most fatal error to mistake God's gifts as debts. 
 The sinner's ruin is not being satisfied with what God gives. 
 Paradise ought to have made our first parents content. 
 License to sin is a most perilous liberty. 
 Men madly deem they have freedom, when they break all the bands 
 
 binding them to God. 
 A filial spirit of dependence on God, only true blessedness. 
 Divided. The father is imwilling to find a servant in a son. 
 The only true freedom for a creature is in God's service. 
 He knows all restraints fruitless in keeping him as a child. 
 Divine mercy will never dragoon a creature to share His love. 
 In bestowing the inheritance He foresaw it would be all consumed. 
 That the prodigal in deep distress must learn the folly of his course. 
 He suffers us to chose our own path, but hedges it with thorns. Hos. ii. G. 
 Though he forgat his parent the father's heart ever follows him. 
 Unto them. Unto the elder as well as the younger. 
 The elder's share remains under the father's guidance. 
 The yoimger, conceited in his folly, bids his aged fatJicr and wisdom 
 
 " farewell," at once. 
 Ijiving'. Herds, grain, and other oriental treasures. 
 
 vcwT-epo?. Publicans and Gentiles. Hilffenfcld. The sinner Tvitliiu the covenant. 
 Tcrtullian. eiri^aXAoi'. A singular but genuine Greek expression. Orotius. 'iho 
 phrase, like so many in Luke, is classical. WaJceflcld. Descriptive of the mind of the 
 Gentile ^orld. Words:to)th. ne'po;. Those marrying Amazons obtained their portion
 
 96 SUGGESTIVE COSIMENTAEY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 first from their own parents. Herodotus. A picture of the Gentile Tvorld lea^-ing the 
 tents of Shem. Sticr. The pei-mission of free-will toman. Alford. But though the fall 
 has so benumbed or pai'alvzed man's powers, that his freedom is imperfect, his respon- 
 sibilitij is as entire as in Paradise. Els bondage of soul to Satan is his sin and ruin. 
 
 SiiiKiv. Pieserved his lands, family, servants, &c.i;!oom_/ifZi:[. fiiov. The substance 
 of vnan is the capacity of reason, accompanied by free wiH. Thcophylact. 
 
 13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his 
 journey into afar country, and there wasted his salstance with riotous living. 
 
 Days. He had liis prayer gi-autcd, and believed himself happy. 
 
 But secured in possession he hastens to his ruin. 
 
 It marks the impatience of the sinner, in breaking away from God. 
 
 Gathered. He converted them into ready money. 
 
 Like men unrenewed, he mistook entirely the chief end of his creation . 
 
 All, he could command ; he left his best treasure behind. 
 
 In his father's heart was a depth of love he little understood. 
 
 With deliberate resolve, he collects all his energies and goods. 
 
 He intends the earth shall yield him a rich hai-vest of joy. 
 
 Sinner turning his back on h,is Father, trusts his own feeble arm for the 
 
 future. 
 He defiantlj' declares the creature better than the Creator. 
 Journey. Liberty unseasonably obtained, is commonly intemperately 
 
 used. 
 Sin first is sweet, but afterwards is bitter. 
 The young prodigal dreams he has all he desires. 
 " Lord of himself ! that heritage of woe." 
 
 Ho knows not the terrible bondage of his own lusts awaiting him. 
 Sad experience proves true liberty only in the resh'aints of our Father's 
 
 house. 
 Apostasy of the heart, oft precedes the apostasy of life. 
 Man cannot wander long in safety by his own guidance. 
 Fatal experience will prove the heart a most deccitiirul guide. Jer. 
 
 xvii. 0. 
 Selfishness, set to guard divine gifts, will sooner or later bankrupt a soul 
 
 for time and etei-nity. 
 Far country. Distance from God is not in space, but in affections 
 Any ))lacc where the heart can play atheist. [Bede. 
 
 A disbelief in Omniscience the root of myriads of sins, 
 ■ Departure from God is the full consummation of guilt. 
 Even allusions to a faithful father become irksome to a profligate sou.
 
 CHAP. Xy.] dN ST. LUKE. 97 
 
 Sinners at first think such a Life the only one wortliy of the name ! 
 But God calls it death begun, — " My son was Dead, but," &c. v. 2-1. 
 The history of all sinners : — 1, independence ; 2, apostasy ; 3, indulgence ; 
 
 4, sensuality ; 5, self-destruction, if not arrested by God. 
 Away from Christ is to be without God, without hope, withoiit a home. 
 
 Eph. ii. 12. 
 1, Christlcss, 2, Godless, 3, hopeless, 4, homeless are all imbelievers. 
 Wasted. Gr. dissipated. Figure taken from winnowing the chaff. 
 The sinner is the greatest waster in God's universe. 
 All creature possessions consume themselves in the using. 
 Even riches the surest "make themselves %v in gs and fly away." Prov. 
 
 xxiii. 5. 
 Covetousness makes the soul lean in wishing, and turns all wealth into 
 
 poverty. 
 The more men's goods increase the less and less do they satisfy. 
 Lords of their means but slaves to their desires. 
 Adam squandered the finest inheritance ever bestowed on man. 
 Folly thinks life long and wealth to be inexhaustible. 
 But misei-y comes treading on the heels of riot. 
 Pleasures of sin are very brief but its sorrows are long. 
 Vanity desires to outshine those in the same race of folly. 
 " He tliat follows vain persons shall have jooverty enough." Prov. 
 
 xxviii. 19. 
 Substance. His shelter, his raiment, his food, his gold are ended. 
 With loss of these his credit is bankrupt : the poor have but few friends. 
 Mankind avenges itself on its dupes by first betraying, then disoivniiig 
 
 them. 
 If the world injure one it is sm-e to scorn its own victim. 
 The envious Sanhedrim first ruin Judas, then scorn him. 
 But there are greater treasures squandered than gold. 
 Spiritual bankrupts lose that which angels might desire, the true riches, 
 
 without which they are poor in time and ■svretched through eternity. 
 Riotous living^. Gr. Not caring 4o save any portion. 
 Sin makes men recldess — they pawn their fortune, their credit, their 
 
 character, and at last their souls! 
 The world has its attractions and the flesh its pleasures. 
 One element they continue to forget — 
 For all these things God will bring them to judgment. Eom. xiv. 12 ; 
 
 Ecc. xi. 9. 
 The path of sin a descending path — 1, pride, 2, departure, 3, waste, 4, 
 
 servitude, 5, misery.
 
 98 SUGGESTHTE COilHENTAEY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 The path of salvation an ascending path — 1, reflection, 2, penitence, 
 3, return, 4, liberty and hie. 
 
 Xuipav jxa.Kpa.v. Forgetfulness of God is that far off land. Augustine. acruTco?, 
 a and cruj^iu, without salvation ; accursed, ahandoned, desperate. Lidd. tt Scott. Self- 
 dcstrojing life. Stier. Incorrigible. Alford. Latins called such pcrditum, ruined. 
 Olshausen, Trapp : dissolutely. Wordsworth. The adjective acrtoTo; is defiiied by 
 Ajistotle to mean, riiijifrf 62/ himself: the noun aatarCa denotes prodigality combined 
 with intemperance. Bengel, Luxuriose. Vulgate. More than luxuriose, implies a 
 ■waster of himself, faculties, time, health. atrcAyeia. A synonjin with aouTos, sup- 
 posed by some to be derived from Selge of Pisidia, of infamous morals : — one doing all 
 that caprice or wanton insolence suggest. Trench. One who cannot be saved, 
 Bloomfield. Dead to his native countrj-. Vers. Ger. 
 
 14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; and he hegan 
 to be in wa7it. 
 
 Spent all. " '^Tierefore spend ye money for that -^hich is not bread ? " 
 
 Isa. Iv. 2. 
 He called the goods his ovm, but they -were his father's goods. 
 Time passed merrily for a while, but such pleasures soon die out. 
 "While his substance lasted, conscience was silent. 
 Belish for cai-ual joys often lost, long before they arrive. 
 It shadows forth the deej^ internal gnawings of the soul. 
 Dreadful horror, bitter emptiness, agonize the heart. 
 He found slavezy, when he fondly hoped for independence. 
 Seducing, apostate companions, now mock over his ruin. Prov. 
 
 x.\.viii. 19. 
 Degraded to the level of beasts, he covets swine's husks. 
 Strong colors, but Ho who paints, knows the sinner's heart and liistory. 
 More is spent than gold can buy. Eiches of sovereign grace. 
 Bible, sabbaths, admonitions of couficieuce, Spirit's strivings, throne of 
 
 grace, hope of glory, all madly Hung away. 
 Arose. Sent in mercy to bring back the prodigal to penitence and his 
 
 home. 
 Let sinners thank the Lord for such roiKjh warnings to a slumbering 
 
 (■onscicnce. 
 Famine, of truth and love, whereon the soul can alone live. 
 It is an evil thing and bitter to forsake tlio Lord. .Tor. ii. 19. 
 CalamilicB iu this sinful world, are visitalious of mercy.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUICK. 99 
 
 The miseiy was general, but God's aim was personal. 
 
 Mysteriously held hack uutil iu heart he could feel its rigors. 
 
 The storm did not descend, until Jonah was in the ship. 
 
 Iu that land, there is always a famine of the Spirit. 
 
 The candle of the lord had almost gone out within him. 
 
 Trying to keep goods without God, is to recklessly scatter them. 
 
 This famine does not come with earthquake suddenness. 
 
 Natural delight is a scanty cistern, not a living fountain. 
 
 But the faster prodigals live, the sooner comes exhaustion. 
 
 Yet ofttimes a man's earthly wealth remains while his soul is famishing. 
 
 27(1.9 famine sits down an unbidden guest at rich men's tables. 
 
 His boasted freedom, is bondage, under another name. 
 
 Belshazzar was starving at his own princely feast. Dan. v. 1. 
 
 Like all prodigals, he soon made himself a beggar. 
 
 " They became vain, &c., and their foolish heart was darkened." Eom. 
 i. 21. 
 
 Greeks and Eomana had thoroughly tested all earthly good. 
 
 With Solomon they agreed that it was " vanity of vanities." 
 
 All child-like faith in the old allegiance, had departed. 
 
 Worn out creeds, could not nom-Lsh the spirit of man. 
 
 Some, iu mockery and some, in despair, asked " What is truth ? " 
 
 But the oracles were silent and none seemed to regard. 
 
 They had exhausted every energy for that which satislieth not. Isa. 
 iv. 2 ; Ezek. ^ii. 19. 
 
 They had for long sad a^es cried, "Who will show us any good?" 
 Psa. iv. 6. 
 
 Heaven answered back, " No peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 
 Isa. Ivii. 21. 
 
 This foretaste of coming woe should have summoned him to his home. 
 
 Self-confident, his proud heart was still unsubdued. 
 
 Barrenness, .'^hame, and death the fruits of persistent sin. Kom. vi. 21. 
 
 In want of what he once enjoyed, and of what his father's servants then 
 enjoyed. 
 
 This famine is the shepherd seeking his stray sheep, the woman sweep- 
 ing to find the lost. 
 
 Ktti avTo? TJpsaTo. He 'bos^'n liimsclf. Et ipse csepit egere. Vulgate ; he, &s •well as 
 others ; ho, who had lived so recklessly, avro^ is nsed to give emphasis to the action or 
 state signified by the verb, especially where a series of actions or circumstances is i-eeorded 
 respecting a certain subject. Luke svi. 23-24; svii. 16; xxiy. 31. Wehster's Syntax. Sin 
 roigns where the love of God is not. Qiusnel.
 
 100 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 Xtfibs. A poet, in the noon of life, of fortune, and full pursuit of pleasure thna 
 w:'ote : — 
 
 " My days are in the yellow leaf, 
 
 " The flowers and fruits of love are gone— 
 
 " The -worm, the canker, and the grief, 
 
 "Are mine alone.' 
 " The fire that on my hosom preys 
 " Is lone as some volcanic isle, 
 " No torch is lighted at its blaze, 
 
 " A funeral pile," Byron. 
 
 15. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him 
 into his fields to feed swine. 
 
 Joined. Tlie stricken sinucr cries, "Bricks are fallen, I ■will build 
 
 •witli hewn stone." Isa. ix. 10. 
 Eesolvecl in defiance of heaven and earth to hold out to the last. 
 The wretched, in want, begin tiying to help themselves. 
 Human devices are utterly unequal to secm-e the soul's peace. 
 " He that commits sin is the servant of sin." John viii. 34. 
 " Make me a keeper of swine," he asks, " lest I starve." 
 He had become before a slave to his own wicked lusts. 
 Now he surrenders his liberty as a slave of the world. 
 Satan verily is a hard master, and sooner or later it will be known. 
 His being in the service of another hints at the relation of publicans to 
 
 the Eomans. 
 Citizen. Some sxippose him to be Satan or one of his angels. 
 It sets forth a deeper depth of the sinner's downward course. 
 Miserable as he was the prodigal was a stranger, not a citizen of that 
 
 country. 
 It hints at a self-conscious yielding of himself to the world. 
 Ho had not cut off the last link binding him to his fatherland. 
 The famine it seems had not yet reached the citizen. 
 But, though he knew it not, he was more miserable than the prodigal. 
 There is hope for the sinner as long as he feels he is an alien in the 
 
 service of Satan. 
 Hope becomes diiri when he has no longings after Home ! 
 Feed swine. Swineherds tlio only class excluded from temples in 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 ricsh of Bwino was forliiddon as focul to the Jews. Lev. xi. 7 ; Deut. 
 
 xiv. 8. Held in uljomination. Isa. Ixv. 4. 
 Klcazar, an aged Kcrilje, died a martyr rather than cat it.
 
 CHAP. XY.] ON ST. LUKE. 101 
 
 Moslems forbidden by the Koran to eat it. 
 
 This degrading office was another step in the prodigal's downward 
 
 progress. 
 He who begins by i;sing the world as sei-vant to his forbidden pleasures 
 
 will end by becoming the slave of his own passions and desires. 
 The world who seduced him will then scorn the voluptuary. 
 He who crouches to the world for a crust of bread must not be sm-priscd 
 
 to be sent to feed brutes. 1. Sam. ii. 36. 
 It was the very lowest grade of infamy among the Jews. 
 There is no master so cruel as Satan, no yoke so heavy as sin. 
 "All thy lovers have forsaken thee." Ezek. xvi. 37, also xsiii. 22. 
 Eefusing to be' God's children — Satan secures us as his slaves. 
 Behold the son sunk into a swineherd .'' 
 
 €KoAA7)9r)— Attached himsoli, KoAAa gluo ; clave to, Acts y. 13; ix. 26. IF. li- W. So 
 obtrusit, thrust himself on him ; adhaesit. Vulgate. Contempt not implied iu the word, 
 but in the person to whom one clings. Campbell ; bound himself. Major. /Soo-Ktiv. The 
 rich Gentile would insult the needy Jew. Oosterzec. x°^P°^''y Eumaeus in the Odyssey of 
 Homer was a chief swineherd, a proof of low civilization. Foote. Egyi)tian priests could 
 not eat it. Herodotus, Wilkinson. 1. 322. Ai'abians did not use it. Pliny ; neither 
 Phoenicians nor Ethiopians. Its unhealthinoss the cause assigned. RawUnson. Ques- 
 tioned by Hamilton, Smith. Among the Egyptians this animal was sacred, because by 
 turning up the soil it taught ploughing. Plutarch, Bochart. 
 
 16. And he would fain have filled his bcUij with the 7iusl;s that the sicine did eat : and 
 110 man gave unto him. 
 
 Fain. Gr. intensely desiird. His soul was fainting within him. 
 
 A thousand criminal desires of worldly pleasure mock his hopes. 
 
 Some " feed on wind," — Hosea xii. 1 ; others " on ashes." Isa. xliv. 20. 
 
 FiUed. Sensttal i3leasm'es_/(ZJ but never satisfij the man. 
 
 Soitl never saith. It is enough, until " filled with all the fulness of God." 
 
 Eph. iii. 19. 
 Husks. A kind of pod G inches in length, of the carob tree. 
 Around the seed, a sweetish pulp is foimd. Tree bears 800 pounds. 
 War horses were fe'd on these pods in the Peninsular war. 
 Kow called locust honey, or St. John's bread, in Palestine. 
 In times of famine, the fruit is eaten by the poor in southern Europe. 
 JEe could barely hope to satisfy by them, the gnawings of himger. 
 The food of beasts, cannot satisfy the cravings of man.
 
 i02 SUGGESTIVE COJniENTARY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 The type of the gross sinners fleshly hists. 
 
 Sensual appetites of men, oft wear the guise of fair names. 
 
 Tbe Spii'it of God calls things by terms significant of truth. 
 
 Sin ceasing to be disgraceful, the lowest depth is reached. 
 
 Even in such depths, God's tenderest calls are unheeded. 
 
 Eefusing to be a son to his father, he is compelled to be a slave. 
 
 He who would not be ruled by God, will be fonnd serving Satan. 
 
 He who abides not in his father's palace, is sent to the field among 
 
 hijids. 
 He who would not dwell among brethren, is doomed to herd with brutes. 
 Eefusing bread among angels, he must welcome the husls of swine. 
 Men seem resolved to icjnore the teaching of 6000 years experience. 
 No degree of gratification to the appetites can appease the soul. 
 " It enlarges its desire as hell, and as death cannot be satisfied." Hab. 
 
 ii. 5. 
 Fire cannot be quenched by adding fuel. Ezek. xvi. 28. 
 The monstrous luxury and frantic prodigality of Eome's monarchs, 
 
 stand as despairing efforts of man to fill his belly -^ith husks. 
 Their incredibly sumptuous feasts. Apicius cost £2,000,000 a year! 
 Then" golden palaces, their gigantic baths, still stupendous in ruin. 
 Their immense circuses, their costly spectacles in theatre and Coliseum, 
 
 were men's inner icants, uttering in thunder, their dej^th and 
 
 strength. 
 Without God, all dainties in golden dishes, are but husks still. 
 The prodigal had sinned with both hands and in dead earnest. 
 Yet his long departure' from God, rendered not return impossible. Isa. 
 
 i. 18. 
 Though forsUkilig God — God has not forsaken him. 
 His very misery in that far off land, was an expression of the father's 
 
 love to him, and of anger toward his sin. 
 C>od oft hedges the way with tlroms to make gin bitter. Hos. ii. 6. 
 He allows the world to make its bondage felt, to those He loves. 
 Tljey will Icani the difference, between God's and the world's service. *• 
 " It is an evil and bitter thing that thou hast forsaken the Lord." Jer. 
 
 ii. 19. 
 ," He fcedeth on ashes, a deceived heart hath turned him aside." Isa. 
 
 xliv. 20. 
 (jod al<ine can " satisfy the longing soul, and fill the hungry soul." Po. 
 
 c^rii. 9. 
 No raan, troubled himself, whether the prodigal perished or nul. 
 The sinner finds no pity from those who iiiined him.
 
 CIJAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 103 
 
 The prodigal could not get bread by u-orldiiij, and tulccs to hc/jping. 
 But the world heeds not the cry — It can poison, but not feed the soul. 
 The world will exliaust your purse, credit, health, and then mock your 
 
 folly, and requite all your favors with a curse. 
 The soul finds no sympathy from those who urged to ruin. 
 In the lowest depth of despair, neither deserving nor receiving pity. 
 Ready to perish, conscience long hushed, at length is heard. 
 Midnight before the dawn. Manasseh's woes drove him to God. 
 
 2. Chron. xxxiii. 12. 
 
 tneOvixei yefxCaai, wag gisil, or was thamtful to fill. Of this mean fare no one could 
 deprive iiim ; the remark ouSeU tStSov applies to more suitable food. W. & W. (cai for — 
 through the avarice of his emi^loyer. De Wette. Kepari'ioi', the siliqua?, or pods of the 
 carob. They were given to swine, and are called Kepana, from their horn-lil-;e form. 
 Wordsworth. iSiSov, KepaTia understood. Meyer, Grcsviell; absolute. Alford, Stier. 
 4>aye<.v. Major. 
 
 17. And when he came to himself, he said, How viatvi hired servants of my father's 
 have bread enough a7id to sjiare, and I perish with hunger t 
 
 Came to himself. Before this, he was beside himself. 
 
 " Madness is in the hearts of the sons of men, whUe they live." Ecc. ix. 3. 
 
 He who would return to God, must first return to himself. 
 
 He finds himself, when he is found of God. 
 
 Greatest torment of the lost, that they realize their madness too late ! 
 
 Of all diseases, insanity is the greatest enemy to its own cure. 
 
 Many deny their misery, until they seek consolation in vain. 
 
 Conscience long unheard, first makes itself heard among the swine. 
 
 Conscience if unheard through life, will compel a hearing when death is 
 
 desired and not found. 
 Brooding over son-ows, is not a change of heart, but precedes it. 
 " When he thought thereon, he wept bitterly." Mark xiv. 72. 
 Conviction is not conversion, but a step in the right way. 
 In the depth of his folly, he sought reUef among kindred profligates. 
 Now he seeks it in penitent tears, at his father's knees. 
 2Sto repentance more bitter, than that, for rejected love. 
 He had wilfully veiled his heart, with delusions of sin. 
 The SiJU'it tears off this veil, and reveals himself to himself.
 
 104 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTAEY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 He sees all nature calmly sleeping under the smile of the Creator. 
 The rejoicing animals are undisturbed by his achings of heai't. 
 "The curse fell on unsinning nature, but not in vengeance." 
 lie beholds all around him, peace and joy, himself only condemned. 
 "To be a jarring and dissonant thing, 
 Amid this general dance and minstrelsy." 
 Many now, -wretched as he, endeavor to disguise their heaii-aches. 
 Endeavor to dress their husks, after the likeness of human food. 
 Others glorying in their shame, claim kindred tastes and end of brutes. 
 Horace boasted he was a beast from the sty of Epicurus. 
 Hired. Allusion to his being hired but receiving no hire. 
 Servants. Gr. slaves. History and laws. Luke vii. 2. See Notes. 
 Poor sinners whom He had graciously and hospitably received. 
 My father. His heart's first utterance is of his father's forsaken 
 
 house. 
 He remembers his filial relation although all rights are forfeited. 
 Bread. Contrasts strongly with the husks for swine. 
 Christian privileges are embraced in one word — " children's bread." 
 
 Mutt. XV. 26. 
 The Spirit reminds him of the fulness of the provisions of grace. 
 Spare. Eeminding us of our duty to distribute to others in want. 
 Many a prodigal at this hour longs for the crumbs under his father'fci 
 
 table. 
 And how viany in that world xchcrc Dives thirsts/ 
 Perish.. "Here " is in the Greek, omitted in the English Version. 
 This is my sin, my misery, which I have deliberately chosen. 
 Thus sin makes light hearts heavy, and repentance heavy hearts light. 
 Hunger. The most terrible of all capital punishments is starvation. 
 The prolonged, feverish, excruciating agonies, are all written out. 
 The doomed ones have been dying eighteen days, and its end is 
 
 madness ! 
 Vilest need not despair ; sins of scarlet and crimson dye are forgiven. 
 
 Isa. i. 18. 
 The prodigal's experience is renewed by all lovers of pleasure. 
 " Miserable comforters and i)hysicians of no value arc yc all." Job xiii.4. 
 "In adversity consider.^' Ecc. vii. 11. "Ho considers and turns." 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 28. 
 Though compelled to fly to Jesus Ho receives us gladly. 
 Young men of Succoth needed " briars and thorns to teach them." 
 
 Judges viii. I'J. 
 God's Hloriu ))iirsuiiig fugitives first awakens s(nsibilily in the sinner.
 
 CIIAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 105 
 
 eis iavTou. Ecpcntance in tho buck Bround, is disthictly liere pre-snpposcil. 
 Olshausen. Conviction no subjective clelusion, bnt the voice of God in the conscience. 
 Oostcrzee. noa-oi, &c. — brute creation, Gerlach; saints. Pauliig ; men in worWly 
 prosperity. Sd'cr; overseers of fanus. Oosicrrfc. <I>Se, before Xiiiui. Gricsbncb, Meyer, 
 Alt'ord ; after Ai/ixco. Cod. Sinai. Atfiii. His raaiiter was bouiul to furnish him food. 
 ICuinoel. Oriental masters tnow little of any bindicg law, but that of the .icimitur. 
 KCLL, cancelled. Tischendorf, Oosterzec ; pmitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 18. I uill arise and go to my father, and will say unto liim. Father, I have sinned 
 against heaven, and before thee, 
 
 I will arise. From the lowest depths of helpless despondency he looks 
 
 iiY> to the throne of mercy for help. 
 He desi^airs of any help being had from his o\vn plans. 
 Grace alone preserves the convicted soul from absolute despair. 
 He consults no profligate companions. 
 
 They might have mocked his pious resolve with ironical malice. 
 " You retiun home, poor besotted one, there is no bread for you! " 
 "Hinder -me not," he cries, "for I am starving here." 
 "Your father will never oivn one who has so deeply wounded his heart." 
 He answers : " It is like Him to pardon, I will arise and go." 
 "But you have disgraced your family, and they will repel yotx." 
 " What matters all beside if there's room in my father's heart ? " 
 " They will treat you as one of the dogs or slaves." 
 
 " Let them. I am willing to share a slave's pai't in my father's hoitse." 
 " Hinder me not ; I saw the tear in my father's eye, when he said to 
 
 me, adieu." 
 " Hinder me not, I am bound for my blessed homo on high." 
 And go. Many would prefer joining some other citizen of the land. 
 Many would Usten to fairer promises or higher offers. 
 He who delays an hoiu: perils the salvation of an eternity. 
 Every moment's delay, every step back, must be retraced in tears and 
 
 sorrow. 
 He must resolve to risk all, to stay is to starve. 
 This is the spirit of adoption, inspiring him with filial love. 
 " He gave them power to become the sons of God." John i. 12. 
 Father, The name Father remains though the son be so degenerated. 
 His confidenco in Lis father's affections not extinguished. 
 This filial trust and fear the constant fruit of tnie repentance. 
 Sinned.. The change has come at last, and what a change !
 
 106 SUGGESTIVE COSIilENT.^JlY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 It IS exjiressly framed as the form for all tnie lieart-brokeu ponitentg. 
 
 Terms are of divine choice, and of exquisite simplicity and power. 
 
 JHe first discerns sin in its root and essence. 
 
 It is the sinner's heart crj' to an aU-merciful Father. 
 
 Paternal compassion alone could teach a sinning, son thus to speak. 
 
 The shepherd's voice goes out after the wandering sheep. 
 
 A willingiiess to confess sin the first step tcnvards pardon. 
 
 With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Eom. x. 10. 
 
 Eefusing, a sure sign of continued incomgible obduracy. Prov. xxviii. 13 ; 
 
 Jer. ii. 35 ; Hosea xiv. 2 ; 1. John i. 9. 
 This heart-breaking fulness is given the soul by the Holy Ghost. 
 All the details of a sinful life cannot be set before God. 
 Although at the moment of supposed death memory seems invested with 
 
 almost omniscient power as to one's past life. 
 Unlike Adam, the prodigal does not palliate sin by pleading some 
 
 extenuation. 
 We can see him in the dust, bitterly lamenting his folly and madness. 
 The earth becomes the natural throne of the desolate heart. 
 " So they sat do>vn on the ground seven days." Job ii. 13. 
 Heaven, i.e., against God ; sins crying to heaven. Gen. xviii. 21. 
 We may wrong our neighbor, but all sin is, in its fulne.ss of guilt, against 
 
 God alone. 
 Malignity of sin aims high. Psa. Ixxiii. 9. 
 
 It ifl impotent and Insolent madness shot against heaven. Psa. vii. 10. 
 Before tkee. As well as in the presence o£ angels and saints on eartli. 
 First of all, in thy sight I stixnd convicted. 
 Cain and Judas would not return to God or confess their sin. 
 TJndutiful children are guilty of great sin against God. 
 " The eye that mocketh his fatlicr, and scornetli to obey," &c. 
 The prodigals of earth sooner or later \nU. learn that a child breaking a 
 
 parent's heart " will reap the whirlwind." Hos. viii. 7. 
 
 7ropfi5(ro/iat. No Polagianisra hero. a.d. 420, Pola^i'is adduced this as proof that 
 man necdH no divino gracu to ropcut. Modem frcetliiakora erroneously afViiTa Uiat 
 repentance alimc will roroncilu tlio Koul to God, without an atonoraeut. Channinf), 
 Norton. Jolin vi. 44, teachon another way of Kalvation. Paul also, Ilob. x. 1!), with 22. 
 EventB beyond human control (fauiino, &c.), compul him to roalizo tho bittonicss of sin. 
 Oo.itcrzcc. 
 
 ipi). "Etui Dcusnovit omnia, vocent tamcn turn confeitsionia expectat." Ambrose, 
 nmipa. iknv. Ho received tho adoption of Bonship at hiiplUm. Trench, Denton. Holy 
 Scripture teachcB that it iH by repcntanco towardn GckI and faith in our Lord Jesus 
 Chriat Uio Hiniior ia received. 2 Cor. vii. 10 ; AclH xi. 18 ; Psa. xli. 4; Ezck. xvi. 61;
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 107 
 
 Eom. ii. 4; Joelii. 13; 2 Cor. v. 19 ; Rom. iii. 25 ; Jer. xxxi. 19 ; Ezel;. xxxvi. 31 ; Tsa. 
 cxix. 128 ; Ezek. xviii. 30 ; Jur. xxxi. 18 ; Lam. iii. 40 ; Psa. cxix. 59 ; Horn. vii. C. 
 
 eis Tov uvpavbv — Great God of heaven. Doddridge. Against God. Major. As the 
 abode of God put for Jehovah himself. Gesenius, Wetstcin. His father's yoke had been 
 BO easy, that filial disobedience was sin against Jehovah. IJertidlian ; against the right 
 order of heaven. Stier. Some render it — Even unto heaven, that is exceedingly. 
 
 19. And 07)1 no more worthy to be called thy son : malce me as one of thy hired servant". 
 
 Worthy. Confession that liis father's door might ho justly shut 
 
 against him. 
 Humility is chief of the graces, not esteeming itself to be a grace. 
 Peter with self-reliant pride, refused to let the Lord wash his feet. 
 Peter humbled, gladly welcomed this act of condescending love. 
 Thy son. Although once was rightly called thy son. 
 Now an alien. I deserve banishment among thine enemies. 
 Father receive thy penitent, and call me son once more. 
 Make me. Only suffer me to dwell within thy sight. 
 A sinner never learns his utter helplessness and misery, imtil he tric^ to 
 
 viahe Jiimself what he desires to be. Isa. vi. 5. 
 As one. Emphatic, on a level with, in every respect. 
 Hired. Slavery was the normal condition of heljJ among Jews. 
 Voluntary' toil was the exception, and of rare occm-rence. 
 Elisba's servant was hired. — 2. Kings iv. 12. Amnon's. — 2. Sam. 
 
 xiii; 17-18. 
 He^re in the back ground, the ineradicable self-righteousness of the 
 
 human heart, appears. 
 I will toil as a sei-vant, and earn my morsel of bread. 
 In coming years, I may win back the right to be called a son. 
 Man fallen, clings desperately to that delusion of the evil one, that 
 
 mutual obligations, bind sinners and God alike. Eom. vii. 19. 
 Or that all our mercies are not fruits of sovereign mercy alone. Eoiu. 
 
 X. 21. 
 Servant. He was not a reputable servant offering himself for seiTico, 
 Hather a worthless wanderer, deserving the father's rod. 
 The entrance into the kingdom, is by the gate of humility. 
 Sinners lost, degraded, defiled, are encouraged to retm-n. 
 A lost relationship may be re-established, son made as a servant. 
 Once it was, any place but home, with its restraints. 
 Now, Oh that I could but hope my father's heart and door are not closed 
 
 for ever !
 
 108 SUGGESTIATS COMJIENTARY [CUAP. XV. 
 
 Conversion gives no new powers, but renews all old affections. 
 Desires, affections, hopes, plans, all are sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Kal, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Shuii. iroCritTOv, Fae me eicut. Vulgate. 
 Tractare tanquam. Bengel. Mark me, once thy son. Stier, Claiming baptismal rights. 
 Trench. iiiixQChiv. Hh does not yet understand grace. Stier, Oostcrzec. vio? crou. He 
 nowhere gives up his relation. Alford. Baptismal regeneiation inferred. Trench. How 
 could it have availed him, -when ho is twice pronounced dead t "Whatever relation he 
 sustained, it availed nothing now. He must be born again. St. John; created anew- 
 Eph. iv. 24. 
 
 20. And he arose, a7id came to hU father. But when he was yet a great way off, his 
 father saw him, a7id had compassion, ajid ran, and fell on his nccli, and kissed him. 
 
 He arose. Perhaps from the prostrate posture of penitential prayer. 
 
 Orientals often publicly pray, lying with their face on the ground. 
 
 Between the resolve and doing, many a fatal delay, ruins men. 
 
 Baxter tells us hell is paved with good resolutions, but broken. 
 
 Many vibrate like a pendulum between duty and sin. Judg. v. 15. 
 
 He who counsels with himself or the migodly will never come. 
 
 As the angel said to Lot, so to each prodigal " Escape for thy life." Gen. 
 
 xix. 17. 
 He must feel that lie is a " strcivger'" on earth. 1. Pet. ii. 11. 
 Many a son says, " I will arise," and yet sits still. 
 The most " blessed" said and done in the history of a soul. 
 Came. Gr. denotes an object in view, but not attained. 
 Father. One thing to come to himself, another to come to his father. 
 Great way. Son might have paused, fearing a repulse. 
 Before they call, I will answer. Isa. Ixv. 24. 
 Puthcr actually showed this kindness, before the sinner showed his 
 
 repontapce. 
 Divine {(race kindled the spark in that smoking flax. 
 ^Vitll boundless love, he listened to the first sighings for reconciliation. 
 Tlic Lord draws nigh unto them who draw nigh, itc. Jas. iv. 8. 
 A dreary apprenticeship of sei-vilo fear, is not a proper part of conversion. 
 Coiivictioiis may endure for a season, " Lord is long suffering.^' 
 But the moment bo is adopted, he is cleansed and robed. 
 Saw him, i.e., quickly recognized at that distance his long lost oou.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 109 
 
 Picture of one -waiting anxiously for the prodigal's return. 
 
 This seeing him afar, was a Divine drawing of the heart. 
 
 It excites a hope " Perchance 7ny Father will receive me." 
 
 He dare not once imagine that He will welcome him. 
 
 The atmosphere of paternal love begins to warm his cold heart. 
 
 Had his father kept silent, he might retire in utter despair. 
 
 Self-ahhorrencc di-ove him back, but humjcr urged him onward. 
 
 " All that a man hath will he give for his life." Job ii. 4. 
 
 Compassion. Gr. Ilis bowels yearned, esteemed the seat of pity, by 
 
 Jews. 
 Paternal affection recoils not from swiny vestments. 
 The worldly heart would in dignity, withdraw from tatters and filth. 
 Pardons from God are absolutely sovereign and gratuitous. 
 No depths too low for that mercy to reach. Isa. i. 18. 
 Knowledge of divine love, turns the bitter streams of remorse, into tho 
 
 healing waters of repentance. 
 Ran. God makes gi-eater haste to the sinner, than the sinner does to 
 
 God. 
 " He is wont to do more than we desire or deserve," and is more wilUng 
 
 to hear than the sinner is to jDray. 
 In the ninning, is forclinoirlcdye, in the embrace, there is mercy. 
 Though the mountain burden of shame made jjrodigal move slowly. 
 A father's steps are winged by urgent, deep-toned ajlection. 
 Son came shamefully and doubtingly : father ran. 
 The father's haste contrasts beautifully with the son's hesitation. 
 God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy. Neh. ix. 17. 
 The consciously guilty child, enters his father's presence slowly. Gea. 
 
 xxvii. 18. 2. Sam. xiv. 33. 
 God's love, 1. A pitying love. 2. A preventing love. 3. A forgiving love. 
 
 4. An all-restoring love. 
 Pell neck. Salutation among Orientals a well-known sign of recon- 
 ciliation. 
 Pub-lie salutations re-instato him an a son. 
 
 What a weary and heavy-laden biu'den fell from that aching heart ! 
 Verily " There is a joy, with which, the world intermeddleth not." Prov. 
 
 xiv. 10. 
 Kissed. Literally, eagerly hissed. Luke x. 4. Various forms of 
 
 oriental salutixtion. 
 Salute and bless, were interchangeable tonus with Hebrews. 
 Travellers saluted or blessed the worker in the field. Psa. csxix. 8. 
 Members of the family exchanged moi-niug greetings. Prov. xxvii. 14.
 
 110 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP, XV. 
 
 Salayn, Arabic salutation is a prayer for x>eace, "Peace be witli tlice." 
 
 Luke X. 5. 
 In silence ! a lull and ineffable answer is given the penitent. 
 The father reads a confession in the prodigal's look and heart. 
 How often preventive grace, answers prayer before it had been uttered ! 
 He who knew how to show mercy, impires also the petition. 
 The noblemen's sad steps were directed towards the Saviour. 
 Before his prayer is uttered, the Eye of compassionate power is healing 
 
 the child. John iv. 52. 
 
 rov TTarepa. Kepeiltance issuing in regenei-ation, mnst be cbep, earnest, long 
 continuMl, and seU-niortifying. Truo tlicology makes repoiitanoe continue throtif/hout 
 life. No saint has ever i-Kicli'^A the jioint, when he neeil no longer utter the Lord's 
 in-aver, "Fouoivjj us oTir Sixs ! " itrirKayxvCa-lhi. A Hellenistic verb, not found in 
 cJassic •writers. Dc Wette. aivexoi'Tot. If a man draw an iiich towards God, He wiU 
 draw niah or all to the sinner. Oriental Pnrahle. No necessity of a plain notice of a 
 Jlediator here. Softie seek the Slediator iu the person of the father. Melancthon. 
 Others in the fatted calf. Si ier. Our Saviour's object was not, mont cydnntlj, to teach a 
 systematic scheme of divinity. The groat central truth here is, that God as a Sovereign, 
 in mercy forgives jjenitent sinners, without rerjard to JiationiU or er:cttiriaxi prejudice or 
 bigotry. " Kissed him." According to our thoughts and waya lie ought to have kicked 
 hiiQ, but God is Pater miserationum. Trapp. 
 
 21. And the son said unto him, Father, I luive sinmd against hear>c<\, a-nd in thy siffht, 
 and am no more wortliy to he called thy son. 
 
 Said. Observe, he persevered in the resolution expa-cssed before in his 
 
 exile. 
 He wa:? not spoiled by his father's kindness. 
 Eiirnest repentance is not satisfied with a single listless thought. 
 He never knew, until affliction came and until forgiveness came, what a 
 
 father he had slighted. 
 The sin of men and plan of redemption make new discoveries of God's 
 
 grace to a wondering universe of clierubim, seraphim, and angels. 
 "Wliich things angels desire to look into." 1. Pet. i. 1'2. 
 Father ! A conflict between filial confidence and humility. 
 God loves to ])■; called a Fatlicr, " Is not ]''phraim a dear son? " 
 " If I. bo a fatlicr, wlicrc is mino honor ? " Mai. i. (J. 
 Worthy. Acknowledging the sin tlio debt is cancelled. 
 Thy eon. That word touched the depths of Divine compassion.
 
 CIUP. XV.] ox ST. LUKE. Hi 
 
 The prodigal penitent is prodigal no more — a son ! 
 
 "Why should he utter the words of an alien whilst his heart is knit to hio 
 
 fatlter's ? 
 All the rest is repressed by the father's overpowering embrace. 
 This confession is made after the kiss of reconciliation. 
 
 afios. lufemus sum Domine, &c. " I am lioll, but Thou art heaven," said Hooper 
 the noble martyr, at tho stake. Trapp. Omit Kal, before ouke'ti. TUdiendorf, Alj'o/d, 
 CocL Hinai. After vtoj crov, Cod. Sinai, adds troirjaov fi€ (is eVo.Twi' )Jli<t6ii»v aov. 
 
 22. Bat the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him ; 
 and put a ring on his hand, and shoes cm his feet : 
 
 Servants. " Those heavenly ministers of His that do His pleasure." 
 
 Psalm ciii. 21. 
 Heavenly Father makes household sei-vants sharers in His joy. 
 Bring. Implying it is done in the presence of all the family. 
 Best robe. Gi. first rohe. A long wide white otiter garment of the 
 
 iipper classes. 
 If he had performed the noblest achievements, he could not have 
 
 expected greater honor. 
 Of custom, this robe belonged to the first-born. 
 Here the implication is, that the prodigal's rags were yet upon him. 
 Eomans, whsn adopting a son, flung a robe around him. 
 Typical of transferring to him rank, name, and right of inheritance. 
 This alien, " dead" son, is thus adopted among his father's children. 
 It is generally thought to typify Christ's righteousness. Eev. iii. 18. 
 
 Isa. Ixi. 10. 
 The polluted garments, all stained, were removed. Zech iii. 4. 
 A robe and ring highest tokens of favor in the East. Gen. xli. 42. 
 Among Eomans, given to a slave, when lifted to a state of freedom. 
 " Thou shaft not die, the Lord hath taken away thy sin." 2 Sam. xii. lo. 
 " Thou shalt wonder when I am pacified with thee." Ezek. xvi. 63. 
 When Ephraim bemoaned, then God comforted him. Jer. xxxi. 18. 
 ^Ye hear not a word of the rod, when God forgives. 
 They who put on Christ's robe of righteousness, are clothed with the 
 
 sun. Eev. xii. 1. 
 Hing. Symbol of elevation to office among Orientals. Gen. xli, -l^. 
 As nionarchs seldom could write, the ring was used to stamp their 
 
 initials or the name to a law or a despatch.
 
 11:2 SUGGESTFV'E COMMENTARY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 In the absence of loclis, it was used to seal a door or chest. 
 
 Presented by Pharaoh to Joseph ; Ahasuerus to Haman. Est. iii. 10. 
 
 Antiochus to Philip. Highly valued. Jer. xxii. 25. Hag. ii. 23. 
 
 Rings contained a stone engraved with the owner's name. Ex. xxviii. 11. 
 
 Slaves wore iron rings : one becoming rich had it cased in gold. 
 
 The number of rings worn by Jews, Eomans, and Greeks was remarkable. 
 
 A rich man is called, Jas. ii. 2, ^' golden-rin-j^d,^' not with one gold ring. 
 
 Every freeman in Greece wore a ring, Eomans wore gold rings. 
 
 Freedmen wore silver rings, some werfe of immense size. 
 
 Some had sets for summer and winter. 
 
 Originally they were confined to high oflicers of state. 
 
 Lacedemonians always wore iron rings, and used iron coins. 
 
 Jewish females wore rings in their noses. 
 
 Signet ring of So, king of Egj-pt, was found in Nineveh. 2. Kings xvii. 4. 
 
 Some thought to possess magic power, preserAdng those wearing them 
 from danger. 
 
 It was typical of a sealing by God's Spirit of a right to a better 
 inheritance. Ej^h. i. 13. 
 
 Piing was also a pledge of betrothal. Hos. ii. 19, 
 
 Shoes. Manner and customs and materials. Luke iii. 16. See Notes. 
 
 Made of various materials, hence named, Athenian, Persian, and Mile- 
 sian shoes. 
 
 "Weak and vain persons then injured their gait, by tight shoes. 
 
 Slaves and ^irisoners comptllcd by usage, to go barefoot. Isa. xx. 4. 
 
 Voluntarily going barefoot also indicated deep grief and calamity. 
 
 At funerals, m.oumcrs laid aside shoes in the procession. 
 
 Prodigal's days of servitude ended, he is now shod as a freeman. 
 
 Orientals ornament shoes in a costly manner. 
 
 "How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, priuce's daughter I " Sol. 
 Song vii. 1. 
 
 Thou shalt not walk in thy father's house, with the step of a slave. 
 
 Entering a house in the East, shoes are withdrawn. 
 
 Especially temples or mosques ; derived by Moslems from Ex. iii. 5. 
 
 " I give you power to tread on scorpions." Luke x. 19. 
 
 Christian warrior's panoi)ly includes being " shod with the preparation of 
 the gospel of peace." ]'j>li. vi. 15. 
 
 tovXovi. RlmrcrH in dm FiiIIku-'h joy. <7To.\i;i' irpuir-qv. Stolam iirimnin. Viilqal-e 
 I/rtlg iol)CH iiIuik; worn liy frooilnaii. FricdUch. Nii)itiii,l (,'ariiiunt. Jcrume. Kcibo of Uio
 
 XV.] 
 
 ON ST. LUKK. .1K5 
 
 Spirit. Tertullian. That which we lost hy Adam. Augustine, 'ilegencration of baptism. 
 Trench. God's righteousness. Kom. iii. 21. Olshauscn. The robe lying last in the cher.t, 
 vas offered to Athenae. W. d- W. SoktuKiov. Slaves were forbidden to wear gold rings, 
 and their assuming it, a sign of the decline of Eome. Eosenmuller. Cqlebrated ring of 
 Polycrates made B.C. 530, was so splendid, tliat it was described as an emerald. 
 Herodotus; as a sardonyx. Pliny. Carried to Eome and placed in temple of Concord, 
 in a horn of gold, preseated by Augustus. The artist was Theodoras, of Samos. Ita 
 fonn Mas that of a lyre. Grcswcll. Pythagoras forbade his followers the use of rings, 
 except on the tip of a man's finger, simply for a signet. Clemens Alexandrinus. Einga 
 still worn by oriental rulers. Chardin, Harmer. Pledge of the Spirit. Augustine. 
 Spiritual marriage. Clemens Alexandri. As baptism la -called a signaculum lidei. 
 Tertullian. Seal of Christ's imago. Jerome. A filial right to seal in the father's name. 
 Lange. viroSrjiJiaTa., by no means generally worn by ancients. Socrates, Phocion, Cato, 
 frequently went out barefoot ; children and slaves universally. Becker's Char. A sign 
 that the reformed oae may go in and out when he pleases. Lange. 
 
 23. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry : 
 
 Fatted calf. That fatted calf. Greek article is repeated, denoting 
 
 something extraordinary. 
 Abraham brought fatted calf for the angels. Gen. xviii. 7. 
 Sorceress of Endor brings a fatted calf for Saul. 1 Sam. xxviii. 24. 
 Gideon was commanded to kill his father's young bullock of 7 years old, 
 
 rendered in the Sept. fatted calf. 
 Thus the father solemnly re-instatcs his son iu all the honors lost. 
 Let us eat. This festal banquet is now celebrated throughout tho 
 
 world. 
 Earth's starving millions are invited to come and eat frcchj. 
 IKervy. Among orientals, feasts come but seldom in a hfetime. 
 Hunger and want are tho rule among tho down-trodden crowds. 
 Life is one long, hard battle for Iread with the many. 
 
 fido-xoi' — Tov, article repeated— </^e calf, the fatted, implying something extraordinary. 
 Bengel; that the father spared no expense. iaHjrc. Simple festal entertainment cele- 
 brating the return of the son. Greswell. Christ's vicarious sacrifice. Maldonatus, 
 Jerome, Augustine, Melancthon. Questioned by Stier. One of the phases in the plan of 
 salvation. Eichter. Eucharist. Augustine, Rheimish Notes, Wordsworth. Mediation 
 concealed in the kiss. Eiggenbach. As dawn to mid-day, so is this parable to tho 
 doctrine of atonement in Paul. Oosterzcc. Pascitur in vestrum rcditum votivajuvenca. 
 Horace, Ep. 1. 
 
 a-i-TevTov, fatted with corn — article in the singular, implying a valuable animal. 
 C!n,mpbcU. Some call fatted for a par+icnlar feast or ajtmiverattrv, and standing in thr.
 
 114 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 BtaU. Alford. Egyptians presented Agesilaus -with fatted calves. Athettatus. 
 
 Olio-are — flucii', originally confined to offering fruits and flowers an ong the Dorians. 
 Aristojihanes ; incense to the gods. Hojiier ; sacrificing victinis. ThHci;dides. 
 
 24. For this my son was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is found. And 
 tliey began to be merry. 
 
 This my son was dead. This great festal hj-mn the father himself 
 
 intones in this sublime Psalm strain. 
 This the lofty annoimcement of the Father's joy over repentant sinners. 
 He who was lately a beggar amid the husks, scorned by many, is now 
 
 acknowledged a son before the holy universe. 
 Dead. He had lost his proper spiritual life, the only life worth the 
 
 name. 
 To the love and gloiy of God he was dead. 
 Under the sentence of the spiritual law. Gen. ii. 17. 
 Spiritual death benumbs the affections and the will. 
 It darkens not the eye, but obsciu-es the understanding. 
 It paralyzes not the feet nor hands, but all desires for \'irtuc. 
 It parts not soul and body, but makes a wide gulf between soul and God. 
 Its funeral is not with the trapi:iings of earthly jxjm]). 
 But the gatliered millions at the judgment bar as witnesses, God and 
 
 angels hearing the saddest funeral note — Depart ! 
 The soul apart from Christ, as the branch cut from the vine, is dead. 
 " Awake thou that slccpcst, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give 
 
 thee light." Eph. v. 14. 
 A sinner's life called death. 1 John. iii. 14 ; Eph. ii. 1 ; 1 Tim. v. 6. 
 Alive. Death and life stand for sin and conversion. Eph. ii. 1. 
 
 1 Tim. V. G. 
 The true penitent becomes alive, and never dies through eternity. 
 XiOst. "Yo wore as sheep going astray, but arc now returned." 1 Pet. 
 
 ii. 25. 
 Lost to honor, virtue, to obedience and happiness. 
 As a traveller out of his way in the desert, or a shij) witljout a compass at 
 
 sea, 80 is a soul lost to the fellowship of God and the hajipiness of 
 
 heaven. 
 ITcund. Prodigal restored, 1, to his former possessions. 2, former rank. 
 
 3, liis lost enjoyment. 
 Be merry. Joy in the prodigal's home, corresponds to the joy of tho 
 
 angels. Verso 10.
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 115 
 
 oTi. A rythmical formula often repeated. Ancients expressed strong emotions in 
 verse. Beiincl. Although this hints at sovereign grace, yet it does not act arbitrarily. 
 veKp'o^, qui me a morie ad vitam, a desjjerationo ad spem revocavit. Cicero. Dead to 
 bira. Paulus, De Wette : thought my son was dead. Eosenmuller ; spiritual death. 
 Theophylact. Bad men even alive are dead. Jewish proverb. The living dead man is 
 truly dead, Arabic maxim. The death and loss ar« of sin ; the living again and finding 
 are of repentance. Euthymiiis, in Meyer. When one forsoolc the school of Pythagoras, 
 the philosopher, he placed a coffin in his place, as one morally dead. ev(^paiVca-9ai— 
 epulari. Kuinoel. Glad of heart. 
 
 25. Now his elder son was in the field : and as he came and dreio nigh to the house, he 
 heard musick and dancing. 
 
 Elder son. Made colJ in heart by trusting alone to legal rigliteoiisncss. 
 The Pliarisocs said, vcr. 7, we are the ninety and nine just persons. 
 Tlie sin of the elder son, before hypocritically concealed, now betrays 
 
 itself. 
 The Pharisees see themselves mirrored in his conduct. 
 His heart is not right, therefore he is not asked to join his father's 
 
 counsels. 
 Knowing him well, the father passes him in gathering to the festal boarcl 
 
 all who would sliare his joy. 
 He had no sympathy with the scenes transacting within. 
 His father leaves him in his selfishness and solitude. 
 In the field. Spending the day in self-imposed menial serace. 
 In the evening he retiu-ns when the feast was in progress. 
 These supercilious ones are not at hand when the lost sinner rctm'ns. 
 Drew nigh. "While the house is ringing with festal joy, the elder son 
 
 retui'ns, and hears the music and dancing. 
 Music, to a heart out of tune, kindles rage. Prov. xxv. 20. 
 Jubal was the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ. 
 
 Gen. iv. 21. 
 Laban would send away Jacob with song, tabret, and harp. Gen. xxxi. 27. 
 Miriam with timbrels celebrated Pharaoh's defeat on the Eed Sea. 
 In social gatherings music was ever welcome. Isa. v. 12. Amos vi. 5. 
 Silver trumpets used to call public meetings. Num. x. 2. 
 Battle was begun. Josh, vi, and enemies terrified by music. Job. xxxix. 25. 
 Music introduced in the temple service, 4000 Levites. 1. Chron. sxiii. 5. 
 Damsels with timbrels seemed to take part in the service. 1. Chr. xiii. S. 
 288 were skilled, under the lead of 120 priests. 2. Chr. v. 12-13. 
 Bridal processions have always been accompanied with music. Jer. vii. ?>L 
 During war, famine or pestilence, no music at weddings. Ezek. xxvi. 13. 
 Vintage hai^est celebrated with music. Jer. xlviii. 33.
 
 116 8UGGESTIVK COMMENTARY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 The Hebrews bad mnsic at their feasts and funerals. 
 
 The ^Yieked prostitute the tabret and pipe at their feasts. Isa. v. 12. 
 
 Such abuse of God's mercies leads to the world, where music never cheers. 
 
 Dancing, as prttctised at present in the East, is very lascivious. 
 
 Respectable persons in the East never dance. 
 
 Dancing in itself not sinful, but often surrounded witli Binfnl and 
 
 dangerous associations. 
 Eeligious influence is often destroyed by worldly gaieties. 
 The worldly (their assertion notwithstanding) have no confidence in 
 
 dancing Christians. 
 Living and dying, their influence is against the cause of Christ. 
 It was alien to the manners of those in the East, to suppose the host 
 
 or guest ever engaged in dancing. 
 Those hired for singing and dancing were of the lowest class in society. 
 Dancing first introduced heathenish abominations. Ex. xxxii. 19. 
 
 1 Kings xviii. 26. 
 The eai'liest notices mark its practice by worldUnrjs. Job sxi. 11. 
 Virtuous heathens like Cato retired from the theatre when the dances 
 
 began. 
 " No one dances who is not either dnink or mad." — Cicero. 
 John was miu'dered by Herod, inflamed, by the lust of the dance and 
 
 wine. 
 Salome well knew that waiting until morning the passion might cool ; 
 
 her request was at once. 
 Gestures of oriental dances are lascivious to the last degree. 
 There is a world where none will ever desire to dance. 
 No one of our Lord's hearers supposed the host or guest engaged in 
 
 dancing. 
 It is a double triumph when Satan's kingdom lessens and Christ's 
 
 increases. 
 The third repetition of this idea may have irritated the Tharisees. 
 Their visible displeasure leads Him to unfold the elder son's course. 
 Tluis human pcrvcrscncss originates a beautiful passage. 
 
 it vpajftvTcpo';. Who is this older son? Somo say the Pharisees. Trctich ; solf- 
 rigliteous Jews, In contrast with tho Gentiles. Juntos seel modioores. Salmcron. 
 "Mujor liliua, populus Israel Becundura carncm in agro est ; iu hrcreditariu opulcntia 
 Lcgis ct rroiiliclaruin : " in Wordsworth. Krummachcr of IClberfuld was asked this 
 qiiCHlion, and ho answered, mjKclf. llo then confessed ho murmured at a niiseral'lo 
 creature liaving suddenly become rich, with a reinarkaldo visitation of grace. " Somo 
 arc KO iupromoly selfish, they would constnict a special heaven for thomselvoa and 
 friends." — Kmpcror Conalantine, to ono who wos dioiiatislicd with every church ho
 
 CHAP. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 117 
 
 attended. Milner, This parable breaks off suddenly, leaving it uncertain -whether the 
 elder son became a prodigal also. Aimnon. Others, Pharisees, v;hose righteousness was of 
 .1 low sort. 
 
 <rvfi(#)<ui'i'as. Even of angels. Wordsworth. Tho ancient Greeks had music at their 
 feasts. "Music and dancing." Have we not here the lawful, innocent, and even 
 religious use of these recreations, as at Matt. xiv. 6, the licentious and unlawful ? Funl. 
 
 Some make the angels the harpers, Eev. xiv. 2. x°P'^''~* choir of musicians. Le 
 Clcrc ; minstrelsy and dancing. Tijndale ; melody. Geneva; symphony and a crowd. 
 Wickliffc; Gr., symphonies and choruses. Campbell; bands of dancers esultiiiR. 
 Bengel. 
 
 26. And he called one of the servatits, and asked what these things meant. 
 Called. He sullenly remained without aa an uninvited guest. 
 He imperiously summoned a servant to explain the affair. 
 Servants. So estranged from his father, he goes to the servant. 
 These things. He inferred a person of distinguished rank had 
 
 arrived. 
 Meant. FoiTQalist^-3 know not, and care not, for the joy of salvation. 
 
 naiSiav. Foot boys; same as fiCcrBiot, SoCAot, all denote the wealth of the father. 
 His servants. Steven*; the servants. Elzevir, Tischendorf, Alford, Lachmann, Cod. 
 Sinai., Brown. en-ui/flareTo, inquiring ; this tense expresses admirably the earnestness 
 of one wishing satisfaction. 
 
 27. And he said unto him, Thy hrotlier is come ; and thy father Imth killed the fatted 
 ealf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 
 
 Safe and sound. Literally, in health. The sei-vant looks upon tho 
 external common blessing. 
 
 vyiaivovra. The lesser proprieties of the narration are nicely observed. Tho 
 father, in the midst of his natural affection, thinks only of the joy concerning his son, 
 who was dead, and is aUve, and who was lost and is found. But the servant confines 
 himself to the external features. After his various hardships, he has returned homo in 
 good health. 
 
 28. And he was angry, and would not gain: therefore came his father out, and !ni 
 treated him. 
 
 Ajigry. Amid the general joy his soul was full of envy. 
 A graphic picture of the jealous self-righteous Pharisees. 
 It shows supremo contempt of the heathen world. 
 It contrasts with the humble submissiveuess of the yoimgor. 
 29
 
 118 SUGGESTIVE COSniEXTARY [CHAP. XY. 
 
 It was a sudden throwiug off of the li;v'pocritical mask. 
 This hateful selfishness contrasts with the love of our Heaventy Father. 
 His sun, lite love, shines more brightly upon the guilty and miserable. 
 ■^Tien God spared Nineveh, with G0,000 children within her walls, Jonali 
 
 was displeased exceedingly and he was very angry. Jonah iv. 1. 
 Jews were angiy when the Gentiles were converted to God. Acts xi. 1 ; 
 
 Eom. xi. 
 Others forbade Paul even to preach to Gentilo.s. 
 To the wilfully obdurate this love becomes the fire of Divine wrath. 
 Would not go in. He shows his displeasure and envy of his younger 
 
 broilior. 
 He would not go in except his brother was turned out. 
 This elder is now the lost son ; he has lost all childlike feeling. 
 " iStand by thyself, for I am holier than thou." Isa. Ixv. 5. 
 *' I am not as other m-en, or even as this publican." Luke xviii. 11. 
 A.rsligion that cannot receive those whom Christ receives is of Satan. 
 He blackens his brother's faults that he may incense his father against 
 
 him. 
 Ho represents peevisl: professors, who find fault with everything. 
 Came. The love and forbearance of the father contrast with the envy 
 
 and uncharitableness of the son. 
 The benignant father comes out because the proud son will not go in. 
 Ordinarily no man, as a father, would do this. 
 
 Through Jesus Christ the Heavenly Father thus acted at this very time. 
 Ho c.me oiit through this very parable which fell from His lips. 
 Ambassadors of God must come forth with the same kind words of 
 
 entreaty. 
 Entreated. Instead of his father commanding him, he entreats. 
 The law does not work a filial loving obedience. Gal. iii. 2. 
 "Like as a father pitieth his children, so doth," «S:c. Psa. ciii. 13. 
 He might have thrust him out of the door and shut it against him. 
 Ti.e father had a right to dispose of his house and his fatted calf as 
 
 he pleased. 
 God's sovereignty will ev-er displease the Pharisee. Eom. ix. 19. 
 He reasoned with Cain — Why art thou wroth ? Gen. iv. 6. 
 lie gently bore Israel's mapners in the wilderness. Acts xiii. 18. 
 
 iipyitrOri. A distinct prophecy of the conduct of tlio envious .Tews towards converted 
 Criitilcs, Acts vii. 51, proving tlio prescience of our Lord. ]yorilswortU. wapfKo/Ui — 
 prayed liim. Lulhrr : culled. Kuiiwel; required liiju. Meyer; persuaded. Oosterzee. 
 I'or our, llurrfore, read 5c. but, Tifchcndorf, Alforil, Cod. Sinai.
 
 CHAP. XV.] OX ST. LUKE. 119 
 
 29. And he ansiieritiy said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, nf.UUe> 
 transgressed I at any time thy commaKdment : and yet tliou never gavest me a kid, thai 
 I might make merry with my friends : 
 
 Serve thee. The loving " Father" of the younger son is not named, 
 
 V/'itli greatest effrontery jiossible, he reckons up his services. 
 
 Mechanical obedience, wanting the power of love. 
 
 The want of a heart, rendered all his effoi'ts vain. 
 
 In his blindness he forgat both love and mercy. 
 
 Hypocrites always think injustice is done them. 
 
 Emboldened by his father's entreaty, expostulates with his father. 
 
 He reckons like a hired servant, but rebukes like that servant's master. 
 
 In his fathei-'s house, he has utterly lost all fiUal feeling. 
 
 He stands disclosed the perfect Pharisee. 
 
 The slave concealed in the son, betrays himself in this, " I sekye." 
 
 " Here am I, who have been serving thee as a slave." 
 
 A sou speaking in this slavish style, is worse than he cerviug for 
 
 bread. 
 Here the Pharisee still more strikingly appears in the miiTor which he 
 
 himself iinconsciousbj holds up. 
 Transgressed. Almost the very spirit of the Pharisees to Christ. 
 
 John viii. 33 and 41 ; Eom. ii. 17-19. 
 As if it were no breach of a commandment to murmur at the salvation of 
 
 a brother. Jerome. 
 Proves hn is transgi-essing at once two laws. Matt. xxii. 38-39. 
 "Thy commandments are exceeding broad." Psa. cxix. 96. 
 "In many things we offend all." Jas. iii. 2. 
 " There is not a just man upon earth, that doethgood, and siuneth not." 
 
 Ecc. vii. 20. 
 " If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves." 1 John i. 8. 
 Tne Pharisees poison all, by their murmuring against poor sinners. 
 Their envy and pride betray an evil heart, which peiTades all their good 
 
 works. 
 Unconsciously, they enter into a league with sinners against him who 
 
 repents. 
 They believe in no conversion, because they have never experienced it. 
 They mock the gracious joys of the pardoned sinner. 
 This reproach throws a dark shade over all his lustrous virtues. 
 His regard is bestowed upon good things alone, instead of his father's 
 
 love. 
 True love says — Give thy gifts to whom thou wilt, but as for mc — 
 
 Give me thij heart with it, all things else are given.
 
 120 SUGGESTn^E COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XV. 
 
 He has played tlie hypocrite, for the sake of the whole inheritance. 
 His serving his father had been no joy to him. 
 
 His ser\-ice, instead of a debt of love, had been a constrained bondage. 
 Transgressed. It is common for those who think themselves better 
 
 than their neighbors to boast of it. 
 On the contraiy, true piety confesses, " I am not worthy of the least of 
 
 all thy mercies." 
 At any time. He parades his constancy in contrast with his brother. 
 Job, resenting charge of hypocriay, challenges accusers, xxiii. 10-12. 
 Hypocrites often boast their religion, while defiantly sinning. 
 "Blessed be thou — I have performed the commandment of the Lord." 
 
 Saul to Samuel, 1 Sam. xv. 13. 
 ITever gavest. Those desiring temporal rewards, are soiling before- 
 hand their eternal inheritance. 
 Esau for a mess of pottage sold his birthright and father's blessing, 
 
 Heb. xii. 16. 
 Me. Emphatic, to 7hc, thy dutiful and affectionate sou. 
 A kid. Why did they ask for a kid ? God gave them a Lamb ! 
 Hifjh conceit of one's self is apt to think hardly of God. 
 I do not say a calf — not even a kid. 
 Merry. It is better to be happy with God, than merry with a world of 
 
 friends. 
 Here was his mistake, — The feast was not for the prodigal — 
 But the lather's joy felt at his recovery. 
 My friends. Who are these friends whose society he relishes apart 
 
 from his father ? 
 The same sinful love of pleasure which made his brother a prodigal, is 
 
 the ground of this suspicious love of independent merriment. 
 His forbidden commerce with his friends, is only a decorous name for 
 
 the brother's intercourse with harlots. 
 
 SovAcwoj. I slave; as thoiiRh tho glad otodicnco of a loving child was slaTery. 
 Wnrdawnrth. napfjKOov, Neandcr calls liim « Pharisee of tho better sort. ipij>iov. 
 JCivald, Onsterzce. avrov admitted. Tischcndorf, Oostcrzcc, Laclimann. All the selfish- 
 ncBS, coarseness, and depra\'ity concealed in the Jewish heart here breaks forth, as in tlio 
 flays of the Apostles, Thus tho priests, in Liither's tunc, and has been repeated a 
 thousand t.mes. Langc. Angry rationalists, in their allusions to Augustine's ■writings, 
 aulold the same opirit.
 
 CHAP. XV. J ON ST. LUKE. 121 
 
 30. But as soon as this tliy son loas comc,u'hich halh devoured thy living with haflots, 
 tltou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 
 
 Thy son. A nide and impertiuent designation of bis brother. 
 
 He may be good enough to be thy son, but not my brother. 
 
 He lifts the \eil hitherto covering his sinful life. 
 
 The proudest scorn betrays itself in this finger-pointing. 
 
 Thou mayest acluiowledge him as thy son. 
 
 I will not own him, a wretched prodigal, as my brother. 
 
 Thy living. Is an ironical allusion to " thy son." 
 
 Thou fooUsh father, didst give up thy goods to be wasted. 
 
 Devoured. A gross exaggeration of his brother's sins. 
 
 A coiTeet worldling ever dwells on the failings and sins of penitents. 
 
 Vainly thinking the violence of the disease reflects discredit on the 
 
 physician. 
 Some good jDcople, looking with disdain upon others, show the spirit of 
 
 the Pharisee instead of Christ. 
 The elder son is in sad state, 1. He may lose his father's love. 2. His 
 
 brother's affection. 3. The joy of his father's house, 4. The fame 
 
 of his seeming virtue. 
 Fatted Calf. Above an equal, thou hast prefeiTed him before me. 
 For his father's sake he should have sympathized with his joy. 
 None but the disloyal refuse to sympathize with the joy of their Lord. 
 Was come. It does not say, was returned, but speaks of him as a 
 
 stranger. 
 
 6 vios (Tov. He ■would not say 6 aSeX(f)os fiov. Contrast -with this tbe langnago ol 
 the servant (verso 27), and of the father (verse 32), and contrast also iiKOev with are'^Tio-e 
 'j'erse 32). 
 
 o-ov Tor /3i'oi'. Homark the emphatic position of crov, "ad angendam invidiam." 
 Wordsworth, avroi ; the dative of advantage. Bengel. The elder brother moans, for 
 that profligate. Vers. Ger. 
 
 31. And he said unto him. Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 
 
 Son. The compassion of God remains unchanged. Psa. cxxv. 6 ; 
 
 cxxxvi. 1. 
 Divine grace moves on despite the carpings of sceptics. Ex. xxxiv. 6. 
 
 2. Pet. iii. 9. 1. Pet. iii. 20. 
 The pubhcans and profligates were openly godless.
 
 122 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cUaP. XV. 
 
 The Pharisees ■were " imvarcUy, ravening -wolves." Matt. vii. 15. 
 
 Sin, assuming holy foi-ms, becomes dangeroiis and ruinous. 
 
 More difficult to be detected, and takes a deeper hold of the soul. 
 
 Ko class of sinners so hopeless, as those living under the mask of piety. 
 
 Ever with. me. Thou art my heir, therefore owner of all. 
 
 Unless estranged in heart, thou be disinherited also. 
 
 Instead of judging the self-condemned Pharisee, he would gi'aciously opeii 
 
 his heart to instruct and humble him. 
 His father had long known his selfish habitual hypocrisy. 
 All thine. Everything shall be yielded to filial love, nothing to thy 
 
 demand. 
 Not thou shalt have all, but all is thine. Augustine. 
 But he is looking for rewards from God, instead of possessing all things 
 
 in God. Trench. 
 Am I not better to thee than many friends ? 
 ■^lierefore hast thou coveted merriment apart from me ? 
 Are thy friends nearer to thy heart, than thy father ? 
 Dost thou seek my goods, instead of my protecting love ? 
 The idea is. He shoiild lose nothing by either his brother's prodigality or 
 
 his father's kintlness and forgiveness of the wanderer's sins. 
 God's treasui-es are infinite for both Jew and Gentile. 
 But poor selfish humanity cannot comi^rehend how a neighbor caa 
 
 receive so much, without lessening his share. 
 The father's long sitSering alone tolerates this dissembler in his house. 
 The toleration of this self-deceived one is a wonder of grace. 
 There impends over the imdutiful one the danger of being disinherited. 
 He thought that the gifts to his brother, must impoverish himself. 
 Because He had enriched Abraham's seed so much, Eom. iii. 2 ; can 
 
 He not also adojjt the Gentiles into His heavenly family? 
 " Though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not," 
 
 "Yet thou art our Father." Isa. Ixiii. 16. 
 But in heaven, one has not less, because another has more. 
 Grace is not a little scanty spring in the desert. 
 Travellers need not struggle and muddy the waters, in their conflict. 
 They cannot be drawn dry by others, before they partake. 
 It is an inexhaustible ocean which remains full after all have drunk. 
 If any one is straitened in the kingdom of love, it is not in God, but ill 
 
 his own grudging heart. 2. Cor. vi. 12. 
 The Lord did not declare the elder son refused to the last. 
 The Jews refused to take part in the great festival with the Gentilci. 
 
 Acts xiii, 45; xiv. 19 ; xvii. 5.
 
 CUM'. XV.] ON ST. LUKE. 123 
 
 Te'/ccoi'. The text proves not the elder son humble, charitable, or acquamted with 
 his own heart. He had no right to complain of his father, but the father had a right to 
 complain of him. I^y!e. navTa. ra. e^xa. It is incomprehensible how this could be 
 applied to this hypocrite. All shall bo thine if thou becomest my son in truth. Sticr. 
 The selfish brother, thinking the Infinite Father altogether such an one as himself, 
 Yainly believes all bestowed on the prodigal will be only a lessening his own inheritance. 
 The law, prophets, temple services, gospel promises, hope of glory in revcniun. Words- 
 worth. Is thine, in thy conceit at least. As the madman at Athens claimed as his every 
 ship entering the Piraeus. Trapp. Thou maycst use mine as thine. Kuinoel. Our Lord 
 hsre shows there will be no partiality with God. Doddridge. 
 
 32. It was meet that we should make merry, and he (/lad: fur this thy brother wa^ 
 dead, and is alive again ; and teas lust, and is funnd. 
 
 lyieet. He might have said, it is my pleasure, my will. 
 
 God will be justified when He speaks aud all flesh shall be silent befoie 
 
 Him. Hab. li, 20. 
 'The festivities shall by no means be interrupted for his sake. 
 He must decide, whether he will exclude himself or no. 
 The Pharisees may refuse to share the joy of heaven over sinnerg 
 
 converted. 
 Nevertheless heaven's banquet and music shall welcome all penitent ones. 
 Merry. There is here au oblique hint and a denunciation of his envy. 
 Nothing was taken away from him, nothing given to his brother but the 
 
 festal joy. 
 Providence frequently gives preference to the younger son. 
 Abel, Seth, Shem, Peleg, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim, Judah, 
 
 Pharez, Moses, aud David were all younger sons. 
 Glad. Since God acts the Father to sinners, we should act the 
 
 brother's part. 
 Proving ourselves void of a brothers heart, shews us unworthy of a 
 
 Father's treasures. 
 Thy brother. This implies a reproach. 
 Thou shouldest have been glad in common with myself. 
 He had said, "this thy son; " the father says, "this thy brother.''^ 
 The penitent prodigal had become a son, and the elder sou was fast 
 
 becoming a prodigal. 
 "Was dead. This gi-eat festal hymn sounds out once more undisturbed. 
 The brother must hear its glad strains from the father's own lips, 
 liyhat father is there among you, who would not do the same over a 
 
 returning prodigal ?
 
 12'1 SUGGESTIVE CO:\niENTAEY [cHAP. XV. 
 
 This parable contains, 1. The history of all. 2. Warning for all. 3. 
 
 Comfort for all. 
 We are all in turn examples of both brothers ; having the seeds of both 
 
 evil courses in onr hearts. Alford. 
 1. The loss one soul is felt to be. 2. Pity for one soul. 3. Care devoted 
 
 to one soul. 4. Grace magnified by the salvation of one soul. 5. Joy 
 
 caused by one soul. 
 
 eSet, Kot only is it implied, thou shouldest rejoice; bnt also, rejoicing should heffin 
 at home. Bengcl. The Pauline doctrine of the incapacity of the law, and necessity of 
 faith, is taught in this jiaiable. OUhausen, Oosterzee. The croTni and pearl of all 
 parables- Stier. The parable sets forth human agency in conversion. Olshausen. Tho 
 dirine agency. Lange. The parable of the Lost Sheep -would hint the work all to be 
 God's, as He goes after the wanderer. The absence of a mediator is noted. The 
 mediator is concealed in the father's kiss. Eiggenbach. Elder left home, became worse 
 than his brother, a slave, was at length taken by robbers, — might complete the picture. 
 Michaelis. Object twofold — 1, establish His projjhetic character, foretelling the condnc' 
 of Jews and Gentiles. 2, to cncoiu-age sinners to repent. Jortin.
 
 CHAP. XVl.J ON ST. LUKE. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 1. AND he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, fil;'.cK Tial a 
 iteward ; and the same was accused wito him that he had wasted his goods. 
 
 The last cliaptcr left the father rejoicing over the lost found. 
 
 The restored prodigal not to have daily music, hut daily duty. 
 
 He said. Jesus draws instruction from the cunning of men and hirJs 
 
 of the air. 
 Ingratitude condemned hy the ox, that Imoweth his o^yner. Isa. i. 3. 
 Indolence condemned hy the ant. Prov. vi. 6. 
 
 Heathen's trust in idols, condemned Israel's instahility. Jer. ii. 11. 
 A crafty steward, condemns indifference in providing for eternity. 
 Disciples. Not exclusively, Phai-isees and Puhlicaus were present. 
 They had left the service of the world, and taken a decided stand as 
 
 helievers. 
 Steward. Generally old slaves, this man a freeman. 
 Euler over all his goods, as Eliezer in the house of Ahraham. Gen. 
 
 xxiv. 2. 
 One principal duty to give food to the household. Luke xii. 42. 
 Ministers are " Stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1, Pet. iv. 10, 
 Implies they are not depositaries as Papal priests assume. 
 " It is required in a steward, that he he found faithful." 1. Cor. iv, 2. 
 Accused. Implying a secret envious information. 
 He was not calumniously accused. 
 Chaldeans accused three Hehrew youths of refusing to worship (he 
 
 image. 
 Daniel was accused malignantly, not falsely, of praying to his God. 
 Spies' to inform of unjust stewards are never wanting. 
 Leader of all accusers, "the accuser of the brethren." Eev. xii. 10. 
 Many would desii'e to get the place, and do as he had done. 
 Sooner or later, aU unfaithfulness will be known to God. 
 "Wasted. Gr. was wasting ; literally, scattering, stern necessity, makes 
 
 even a reckless spender, thrifty. 
 He had lived in unblushing extravagance. 
 In a moment, he finds himself a beggar and friendless.
 
 126 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [OHAP. XVI. 
 
 Vi^e scatter our goods, that are God's, when vre do not spend for Hi3 
 
 gloiT. 
 
 Whole system of the world's conduct, a ■wasting and scattering.- 
 
 The thrifty seem, but only seem, to gather, rather than waste. 
 
 He alone who scatters for Christ's sake, gathers treasure for heaven. 
 
 Goods. Those the Prodigal wasted, bodily and spiritual resources. 
 
 These refer to more than money. 
 
 He lost honesty, char-acter, and conscience, but enriched not himself. 
 
 He proposes no defence, thereby acknowledging his guilt. 
 
 avTov omitted after /xaflrjTos. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. yttaOrjTa!. The Lord 
 was speaking, not to them, but at the Pharisees. Trench. The newly received publican. 
 Bengel, Stier. The multitude. Srown. wAouo-ios. The parabolic machinery is from the 
 stand-point of the children of this world ; mammon. Meyer, Lange ; Koraans. ScWeier- 
 macher ; Judas Iscariot. Berthold; Pontius Pilate. Origen; devil. Olshauscn ; God. 
 Oosterzce, Brown, Alford ; Eoman Empire. Gossman ; nothing essential to the parable. 
 Dc Wette, Alexander. 
 
 o'lKovoti-ov. Villicum. Vulg. Dispensator, cashier, procurator. In the Egyptian 
 tombs, paintings show the steward, taking exact note of the amount of the harvest. 
 Steward not an image, but an example of an unrighteous raan, exercising the virtue of 
 prudence. Ebrard. An oblique parable. Wcisse. It was not addressed to the people of 
 the world, ever ready to put a wrong construction upon His words. Reiger. The Divine 
 speaker not only withholds this censure, but leaves the doctrinal ax^plication very far 
 from being obvious. Michaelis. 
 
 Siep\ri9r}. Sometimes said of a true, at others, of a false accusation. Olshauscn. 
 Delatus erat. Bosenmuller, Kuinoet. ws Siao-Kopn-t^iui'. In causal sentences, cos assigns 
 ihe reason, Acts ixiii. 20, 105 ix^Wovre^, on the ground that they intend ; so Acts sxviii. 
 19. Webster's Syntax. Dissipasset. Vulg. Evidently an erroneous translation, as the 
 charge i-s of an actual and present unfaithfulness. Campbell. The most difficult of 
 onr Lord's parables, called crux interpretum. Delivered at same time as the last. 
 huinoel, Rosenmuller. 
 
 2. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that 1 hear tliis of thee .' give an 
 acci)unt of thy stewardship ; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 
 
 Called. God calls by whatsoever speaketh of a judgment to come. 
 
 Hitherto, he had reposed entire confidence in him. 
 
 Heathen would not condemn one unheard. Acts xvi. 37. 
 
 How is it. Gr. Whij do I hear this of thee? Alford. 
 
 IvNltostuIiition of indignant surprise, not an examination. 
 
 Implies tljat God puts trust in man. 
 
 X hear. God represented as hearing, as though lie did not eoe.
 
 CHAP. XVI,"] ON ST. LUKK. 127 
 
 He is the Great Listener, " The Lord hearkened and heard." Mai. iii. 10. 
 
 Controh all our actions, out never interferes with rcxpondhililij. 
 
 Give an account. Give vp llie account, the rcckonimj, the accouiil 
 
 vouic. 
 This remonstrance to the sinner, the voice of God. 
 Brings home to his conscience the abuse of his stewardship. 
 Means sermons, siclmess, losses and other providences. 
 The Spirit makes hhn feel the day of reckoning is near. 
 Knows full well he cannot answer for one in a thousand. Job ix.. 3. 
 Was not to be dismissed, unless he failed to clear himself. 
 God supreme j)roprietor of our goods. 
 1. Man placed in a dependent position. 2. Bound to be faithful. 3. To 
 
 (jive a strict account of our blessings, of our trials, of oiir time, of 
 
 the messages of mercy. 
 Life a time of grace preceding the final rcchoning. 
 1. Short. 2. Uncertain. 3. Decisive. 
 Mayest be. Gr. canst be. Interpretation of this announcement-- the 
 
 certainty of conscience. 
 We must at death give an account of our stewardship. 
 This greiit truth lies in the background. 
 WastiuK our goods results in dismissal or death. 
 
 ^(opTjo-os. In the pi-esence of his Master. Braune ; in his absence. OostfTzre. li 
 TovTo. " ^\llat is this that I hear of theo ? " JFo?-6i«u)ori/t. ou yap Suvjjcnj. Thou wilt ho 
 precluded from. Major. 
 
 3. Then the steward said wiiliin himself, What shall I do f for my lord taketh away 
 from me the stewardship) : I cannot dig ; to haj I am ashamed. 
 
 Shall I do ? These reflections spring from a consciousness of guilt. 
 
 The sinner's sad note of utter helplessness. 
 
 In wasting his Lord's property he has not enriched himself. 
 
 Has Hved effeminately and now cannot do an honest day's work. 
 
 Observe contrast between worldlings and professed believers. 
 
 1. Worldlings are careful ; believers are too often careless 
 
 2. Former see danger ; latter often self-deceived. 
 
 3. Former ingenious ; latter too often indolent. 
 
 4. Former decided ; latter frequently procrastinating. 
 Cannot. Indolence exclaims cannot, rather will not.
 
 128 SUGGESTIVE COMlfENTAEY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Dig-. A worldly ■wise man planning to extricate himself. 
 
 He would cast off everything bui'densome or unpleasant. 
 
 The delicately educated steward asks, What, not hoic, he should act^ 
 
 Unable to dig, but ashamed to be a beggar before God. 
 
 How often are men ashamed of what is right.' 
 
 In the night of the grave no man can work. 
 
 His luxurious life imfitted him for labor. * 
 
 It implies impotence of natural man to pray or repent. John vi. C5. 
 
 " There is no work nor device in the grave, to which," &c. Ecc. ix. 10. 
 
 Implies also the soul in this world, cannot be provided for at all. 
 
 Beg. Ashamed to beg for that mercy he thinks might be refused. 
 
 Pride disqi:alifies from begging, as indolence from toiling. 
 
 Sinner ofttimes thus abandons himself to reprobation. 
 
 Prodigal and unjust steward, in trouble, seek to help themselves. 
 
 One at last applies himself to penitence, prayer, and return. 
 
 The other, with pride, indolence, and fraud, plimges deeper into ruin. 
 
 Aiihamed to explore the recesses of his imiDure heart. 
 
 A sinner begging, is a penitent on his knees, crying for mercy. 
 
 Prayer, a heavenly carriage, brings a blessing, if driven well. 
 
 Ashamed. The wicked shall arise to shame and contempt. Dan. 
 
 xii. 2. 
 '• What fruit had ye in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed?" 
 
 Eom. vi. 21. 
 Implies an utter failure, of all resources of the impenitent. 
 
 xrKai7T€iv, nsed for all kinds of mannal labor. Alford. iirxvia. "I am not strong 
 enough," Ac, refers to both physical and moral power. Chrysostom. Natural feebleness 
 or self-indulgence may have been the cause, Ohhau^cn. Fallen are unable to do any 
 good thing. Quesnel. This proposition v.as condemned by Clement ii., 1713, in the BuU 
 Unigenitus. inandv, to become a beggar. Wordsworth. aicrx>J>'onai. Excess of 
 modesty. Bengel. 
 
 4. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the steuardship, they may 
 receive me into their houses. 
 
 Resolved. A sudden thought strikes him, and ho resolves what to do, 
 
 Doteniiination, if not honest, promptly taken. 
 
 Children of the world are unfaithful from the beginning. 
 
 Stem necessity urges them to a crafty prudence.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 129 
 
 The Lord hears all thotights ; and will reveal them at the Great Day. 
 What to do. All the craft of -worldlings ends in insane forgotfulnesa 
 
 of eternity. 
 His purpose, I will provide for myself a pleasant home on earth. 
 He forgets he will not be there, to have or enter a home. 
 Put out. Gr., transfer, soft term for depose. Col. i. 13. 
 He had the miserable prospect of utter destitution and want. 
 Time allowed to arrange his accounts. 
 Time given to the sinner to set his house in order. 
 Knows his dismissal certain, the Master's inexorable resolution. 
 Entertains no vain hope of compassion and feeling. 
 Sinner, despairing of God's mercies, has no refuge of his own. 
 
 eyvtav. Scio. Vulg. It is accurately disti'nguislied from eyvuKa. I have just arrivo3 
 at the knowledge, as it were evpij/ca. Sticr, Bi^uivrat. The subject here, as in verse 9, 
 is omitted as the action alone in regarded. See Notes Lute xii. 20. Here it means llvo 
 man whom ho had in his mind; these ■with whom ho was going to treat. W. <£ W. 
 otKovs. Families. Schultz. 
 
 5. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him., and said unto the first, How 
 much owest thou unto my lord ? 
 
 Called. A collusion probably between the steward and his lord'3 
 
 debtors. 
 Every one. In order to lay as many as possible under obligation to 
 
 him. 
 But two instances therefore are subjoined as examples. 
 The enormous amount of oil and wheat proves the lord to have had great 
 
 possessions. 
 They were evidently men of wealth whose payments were in arrear. 
 Doubtless had given their notes of hand as evidence of debt. 
 The steward returns them and substitutes others in their room. 
 Ho seems generous, but it is at his lord's expense. 
 All men are only stewards at God's will, and debtors to His jtistice. 
 Unwilling to sin alone they draw others with them. 
 Eow much ? Sinners owe a debt, ever increasing and unable to pay. 
 
 Luke xi. 2. 
 Believers gratefully acknowledge to eternity that they owe all to in&nito 
 
 love.
 
 ISO SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Tov KvpCov kavTov, his own lord. Al/ord. eca €Ka(rTov " one hy one : " he stimmoued 
 them singly and privately, a mai-k of his worldly prudence. Wordsicorth. 
 
 6. And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and 
 fit down quiekly, and write fifty. 
 
 Measures, or baths. The largest Jewish measure, a tenth of an homer. 
 
 Contains 3 pecks 3 pints, dry ; or about 9 gallons liquid measure. 
 
 Oil. Luke vii. 46. In Judaa, pressed from olive-tree berries. 
 
 Take thy bill. " See how much more merciful I am than my lord." 
 
 Q,uickly. Implies the haste with which the stealthy business is done. 
 
 Was not done secretly, for his affairs were desperate. 
 
 Being reckless he braves all consequences, however perilous. 
 
 It intimates the absence of his lord ; debtors all present. 
 
 How willingly all these debtors became accomplices in this fraud ! 
 
 A sad comment on the low state of morals in business circles. 
 
 "Write fifty. These debtors true children of the world, unfaithful iu 
 
 their trust. 
 They hasten to share in this advantageous piece of villainy. 
 The frauds of others make the possessions of men uncertain. 
 The most trusted are often the most treacherous. 
 Friends in this world are too often gained at a great cost. 
 He adapts his plan to the circumstances of the debtors. 
 In this case he deducts 50 measures of oil and leaves 50 to be accounted 
 
 for. 
 He desired to make the contract square with his accounts. 
 
 pdroi. Ten gallons each. Hammond, Elsley. The tenth of an homer ; and was for 
 liquids what the cphah was for solids, and held 72 sextarii, about 9 gallons. Joscjyhus, 
 IVincr. ypaij.ix.a. 1. A picture. 2. A letter. 3. A writing. 4. A bill. 5. A book. 
 G. Letters or learning. <rou to -ypo^/xa ; notypa.)j.iJ.a(rav. o-ou is emphatic here and in verso 7. 
 Ho makes him write the bill, his own bill, that ho may have the evidence of his 
 hand writing and so protect himself, and secure the tenant on his own side — another 
 proof of his worldly shrewdness. Wordsworth. 
 
 Taxe'ws. Characteristic of a man who wishes to conceal his faults. Bengel. To 
 pr,;vcnt further demurs and misgivings on the part of the tenant's conscience. Words- 
 worth. ?,{) 6c, and thou, slightly indicates the jjrosence of many debtors at the earns 
 desk. Slirr. nfvrqKoirra. It was within the prerogative of tho steward to lower the 
 debts. Schleicrmacher, Sticr, Ocrlach.
 
 CHAP. XVI.J ON ST. LUKE. 131 
 
 7. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou ? And he said, An hundred mca' 
 sures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy hill, and write fourscore. 
 
 Measures. Same as homer, largest dry measure, 8} buslicls. 
 Wheat. Egj^i^tian wheat had six or seven heads on one stalk. Gen. 
 
 xli. 57. 
 The meat offerings of the Mosaic service, were of wheaten flour. 
 \\Tieat often eaten in the field, being rubbed, to separate the kernel. 
 Parched wheat formerly food of the Israelites and is now used by Arabs. 
 Fourscore. Attempts to mitigate the dishonesty of this act, hopeless. 
 Displays weak side of the relation, between the steward and his lord. 
 The earthly relation inadequate to set forth the divine. 
 The interests of this steward and his lord, entirely diverse. 
 But the interests of Jehovah's stewards and His, identical. 
 "Why does he not remit to any of them, the whole debt ? 
 With rare knowledge of the heart, he knew they wov;ld forget to be 
 
 thankful. 
 He would keep the sense of obligation, in the minds of the debtoi'S. 
 He deducted 170 bushels aud left 680 to be paid. 
 
 «7reiTa is closely connected with iweC, marking the sequence of one thing from 
 another; therefore, immediately afterwards. Wehster's Syntax. koI. Cancelled. jTjs- 
 chendorf, Oosterzee, Alford. Cod. Sinai, has 6e xdpovs. The same in size as the homer. 
 Wordsworth. About 12 Attic bushels, according to Josephus. Alford. 
 
 "Fourscore." Our Lord here teaches a discreet distribution of our benefits, 
 according to present need. Olshausen. He acts recklessly in the first instance, and 
 yields to more prudence toward the close. Lange. These easy-minded i^eople may havo 
 still found themselves out of their reckoning. The steward, used to high living, might 
 cost them more in the long run, than the amount he remitted. Sticr. Remits in 
 proportion to their ability to pay. Brown. 
 
 8. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because lie had done wisely : for the 
 children of this icorld are in their generation wiser than the children of liijht. 
 
 The lord. Gr. his lord, of the steward in the parable ; not our 
 Saviour. 
 
 Commended. The cunning of selfishness, triumphs over righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 And men forget their personal interests for the gains or pleasures of a 
 moment.
 
 132 StTGGESTITE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 The steward by virtue of his ofl&ce fixed the amount of rent. 
 This rent -was a certain portion of the produce and to be paid in kind. 
 Diminishing the quantity that "«"as afterwards to be rendered, was re- 
 ducing the rent. 
 Thus by his craft the steward made friends of the tenants. 
 By his wickedness he made them sharers in his guilt. 
 He secured their hospitality, and by hospitality they secured his silence. 
 His lord conjectured the artifice, and extolled the worldly wisdom but not 
 
 its pen^ersion. 
 The forethought exhibited by the steward was commendable — but, the 
 
 mode in which it was exercised was criminal. 
 Hence the importance of distinguishing between things that diiier, and 
 
 not employing the gifts of God in the service of Satan. 
 Done wisely, prudently, would more happily translate the Greek. 
 Wisdom in the Scriptures, never disconnected from vioral goodness. 
 He had the debtors in his iwiccr, so that he could extort favors 
 
 afterwards. 
 The crooked policy of worldlings is but the wisdom of the serpent. 
 There is a wisdom, not from above, worldly, sensual, devilish. Jas. 
 
 iii. 15. 
 There is a wisdom, jnire, peaccahU, and without hj^pocrisy. Jas iii. 17. 
 True wisdom cannot exist apart, from true fidelity. 
 This world. WTiose portion is of the earth, adopting its spirit and 
 
 maxims. 
 Men of the world, who have their portion in this life. Psa. xvii. 14. 
 Children of this world. Eph. ii. 2. Worldlings. Psa. xvii. 14. 
 In their generation. Gv. unto, or toward their generution ; in iheii 
 
 dealings with each other, worldly things as opposed to spiritual. 
 Earthly men more prudent, than spiritual men in earthly things. 
 They give more thought, and bestow more labor to procure them. 
 Owls are far better than eagles, in the dark. 
 Worldly men are often wiser in worldly things, than bcUevcrs in 
 
 spiiitual. 
 Scoffers cry " A good religion, but Christians arc vciy simple." 
 Our Lord hath said the same, before the malignant critic. 
 Christians are less provident in heavenly things, than worldly men, in 
 
 eartbly. 
 The world is better served by its servants, than Christ, by His. 
 'I]ieiT forecast for this world, condemns our improvidence for the nest, 
 liul children of the earth, live as though they were immortal. 
 He stirs up our jealousy, to roll away the reproach.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 133 
 
 It means more tlian earnest exhoi-tation to liberal alms-giving. 
 Wiser. Not absolutely, but -with reference to the things of tliis gen- 
 eration. 
 A grain of heavenly tvisdom, surpasses all the prudenceoi earth. 
 The latter reaches its farthest goal in the grave. 
 The fruits of heavenly wisdom, are only fully seen in the everlasting 
 
 habitations. 
 True wisdom consists in knowing how to make everything instrumental 
 
 to oiu- salvation. 
 True wisdom can make a treasure of poverty itself. 
 Earnest diligence and prudence of worldlings should put us to shame. 
 We should copy their industry and energy, bi;t sanctified. 
 We should provide for our reception in eternity, as they do in time. 
 1. There is no true wisdom, without fidelity. 2. No fidelity, without 
 
 resolution. 3. No resolution, without sacrifice. 4. No sacrifice, 
 
 ■without reward. 
 They show l.More ingenuity of contrivance. 2. More unity of plan. 3. 
 
 Greater earnestness of purpose. 4. Greater perseverance. 
 " They are wise to do evil, but to do good, no knowledge." Jer. iv. 22. 
 " If any man seemeth to be wise in the world, let him become a fool.'' 
 
 1. Cor. iii. 18. 
 Not wiser, but they show more sagacity and energy and determination in 
 
 their affairs. 
 They take a clear and fii-m gi-asp of earth's entire interests. 
 What sacrifices of time, what risks of life, what wounds of conscience ! 
 What vivid apprehensions of the value of this world's wealth ! 
 What habits of untiring diligence, in gathering ! 
 What mighty desires fii-ing the soul in its career of sense ! 
 God's children oft cold and heartless, reaching after heaven. 
 Our Lord's apostles furnish an example of spuitual negligence contrasted 
 
 with the sinner in his pursuit of evil. 
 They slept when bidden to watch with Christ, whilst Judas was wakeful 
 
 to betray Him. 
 Merchants an'd tradesmen more unceasing in their exertions to promote 
 
 their trade, than the Church to extend the Gospel. 
 Sinners more active to corrupt others than saints to convert them to 
 
 Christ. Benton. 
 Children of light. Children of Him who is the True Light. 
 Children of earth, childi'en of darkness, in self-deception. 
 This makes their narrow prudence, unutterable folly. 
 " While ye have hght, beheve in the hght." John xii. 56.
 
 184 SUGGESTIATi COilMENTAP.Y [cHAP. XVI. 
 
 " God -who commanded the light to shine out of darlmess." 2. Cor. iv. 6. 
 This parable is not a picture of life, in its innocent realities, but of its 
 
 unrighteous worldliness. 
 It is a parable for instruction in righteousness, in the hands of Jesus. 
 
 6 Ku'pto?. It seems strange how any intei-preters (as Origen and Erasmus) could 
 understand this of the Lord Jesua, since it has been already twice used in the parable, 
 verses 3 and 5, and the special address of our Lord begins so distinctly at verse 9 ; more- 
 over the epithet " unjust," applied to the steward, quite puts the idea of bis being praised 
 by Jesus out of question. The steward and his lord were both " children of this world." 
 Prescolt. " Commended.'' He praised him because he had acted ijrudently. His 
 injustice is mentioned lest it should be supi^osed that shrewdness can be a substitute for 
 honesty. Wordsworth, B. Crusius. The steward, the Pharisees. They were accused by 
 the Prophets of neglecting their stewardship. They seek to make wicked men God's 
 debtors, by loweiing the standard of the law, thus obtaining themselves favor with men. 
 Vitringa. 
 
 T^s dStKLas means muchmore than " unjust steward," as it implies that the qualitj' of 
 injustice was an essential and component part of his character. "The steward, the 
 minister, the servant, the son of injustice." Compare the expressions — son of peace, 
 sons of Belial. So James i. 2S, dxpoar))? cTrtArjcrnoi'ijs, forgetful hearer means " a hearer, 
 noted for forgetfuln3S3." Webster's Syntax. The rich householder, the Romans; the 
 steward, the Publicans ; the debtors, the Jews. The lesson : — If the Publicans show 
 themselves indulgent toward their nation, the Eomans wiU praise their skill, and they 
 vrill be favorably received by their countrymen, who now hate them. Schlciermacker. 
 The blending of simplicity and prudence. Wakefield. The translation of evil example 
 into good, Heubner. 
 
 <l>poviy.tii<;. Never used in the N.T. in a bad sense. But this must not imply that 
 the steward had not acted dishonestly. <f>pdi'7((n9 opposed to ixavia. Prudence makes 
 the best of things, doing good or evil ; wisdom, a susceptibility to higher influences, 
 Olshausen. Formerly ''ivisely" had another sense, that of cunning: compare Jer. iv. 
 22) " they are jcise to do evil." Prescott. Our Lord strives to win us by even adapting 
 himself to this passion of men, showing us how we may eternally enjoy our possessions, 
 liicger. 
 
 viol. Constant Jewish term for disciples or followers. This man's acts have two 
 asp'ects — dishonesty, which is blameworthy; and his foresight, which is praiseworthy. 
 It supijlies a suflicieut analogy to Christian virtue, showing the boldness and decision 
 of bad men, rebuking the deeds of vacillating good men. "Martyres Diaboli olacrius 
 cummt ad mortem quam nos ad vitam." An Egj-ptian hermit, seeing by chance a 
 beautiful dancing girl, was moved to tears. In reply to the question, why he wept, 
 he said, that she should be at so much pains to please men in her sinful vocation, 
 and wo use ho little holy diligence to jilease God. Trench. The cliildren of light can- 
 not adoi)t their means. Dc Wettc. 
 
 yevtav. 'Vnlg., In gcncrationo sua. Are more prudent, looking to the interests of 
 their generation, in arrangement of plans, choice of means, and decision in action. 
 ytveU vtandH for what wo call society. W. it; W. ivni [iiui, Throphylnrt, but t'i9 cannot bo 
 changed for iv. It BignilioB, unto or towards their generation. In business. Orotius, 
 Camjibcll. To their neighbors. Kuinoti, liosenmullcr. Aio move shrewd for tho purposo
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE, 135 
 
 of thsir self-interest than the children of light. But ttji' eavTuc indicate that there -is a 
 better and higher yeviav. Slier. A sennon of good works. Luther. In some expositiona 
 it is taken for granted that the lord found out the artifice of the steward. Eut this siip- 
 position impairs, if not destroys, the beauty and moral of the parable. How could he be 
 said to have acted (ftpouifi-ui^ if his device was detected and exposed? His lord knew him 
 only as a wasteful person ; he knew nothing of hi-s collusion with the debtors; he only 
 saw its results, viz., his reception into their habitations. Wordsworth. 
 
 9. And T say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; 
 that, wlicn ye fail, they may receive you, into everlasting habitation. 
 
 Unto you. The cliildrcn of liglit, wlio cau do uo such act, yet "I say 
 
 Tiuto J'OU." 
 Make to yourselves. Not palaces, nor barns, nor estates, hut friends. 
 When earthly riches fail rents may be still received in heaven. 
 When turned out of one home they may secure another. 
 Friends. The hard-hearted man prepares for himself accusers at tho 
 
 etei'nal bar. 
 The benevolent man on the contrary makes friends. 
 Many by mammon make themselves tools and companions. 
 Eut it is not in gold to buy or hire true friends. 
 He alone makes himself friends who wins hearts. 
 They are not made by ivJiat we give but by the manner of giving. 
 Money cannot be made a key to heaven. 
 A mere test of character, not of merit, in judgment. 
 Works of charity to the poor must be for Christ's sake. 
 " Ho that giveth a cup of cold water in my name." Mark ix. 41. 
 What is done fo.r His poor He considers done for Himself. Matt. xxv. 4.0. 
 Ood hath left his poor to receive his rents. 
 " Cast thy bread (that is, seed) upon the waters." Ecc. xi. 1. 
 UufaithfuLuess in their use is a forfeiture of His grace. 
 Almsdeeds from a wrong motive are not promised a future reward. 
 Charities performed from \vTong motives are only shining sins. 
 " God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love." Heb. 
 
 vi. 10. 
 Mammon. Uncertain, unstable wealth. 
 Wealth, a creatme of God, becomes a curse if coveted. 
 Fundamental unrighteousness ever adheres to wealth when men make it 
 
 an idol. 
 Host publicans, for its sake, were double slaves of Satan and Home. 
 Men seek the secm'ity of title deeds, in principle of well defined right.
 
 135 SUGGESTIVE COJniEXTARY [cHAP. X'\^. 
 
 But God allows no such rights to human hearts over their possessions. 
 Ceasing to esteem it as a loan from God its o-sraer becomes its slave. 
 
 Prov. i. 19. 
 Unrighteousness converting gold into Mammon avenged by deceived hope. 
 Let the " unsanctified gold " pass through your hands to benefit others. 
 Worldlings, in gathering, practice a self-deception, ending in eternal 
 
 want. 
 God's stewards only are gathering when they are scattering. 
 The band which binds each soul to the world and its prince makes 
 
 worldlings di'ead death. 
 Unrighteousness. Not so necessarily or essentially, but — 
 
 1. Because often iinjustly acquired or retained. 
 
 2. Becaiise unrighteouslj', that is, unequally distributed. 
 
 3. Because often the moans of lasting injuiy to the possessor. 
 
 4. Because dangerous to purity even in the holiest of men. 
 
 6. Because perishable and transitoiy, therefore vain. Denton. 
 
 1. Eiches promise much and perfonn nothing : 
 
 2. They excite hope and confidence, and deceive both, 
 
 3. In making a man depend upon them for happiness, they rob him of 
 
 the salvation of God and of eternal glory. 
 
 4. For these reasons they are represented as unjust and deceitful. 
 
 Clarke. 
 " The love of money is the root of all evil." 1. Tim. vi. 10. 
 " The deceitfulness of riches." Matt. xiii. 22. " Uncertain riches." 
 
 1. Tim. vi. 17. 
 Eiches make themselves wings, fly as an eagle. Prov. xxiii. 5. 
 Hy making wings it avenges itself on its idolaters. 
 Active charity alone extracts this power of becoming winged. 
 Ye fail. A mild way of saying, when ye die. 
 The expression implies a peaceful and happy end. 
 Is there joy in heaven at thy conversion? will there be none at thy 
 
 glorification? 
 The recipients of earthly charities, whose burdens we lightened, may 
 
 then receive us and share in the joy of our salvation. 
 Thoughts of death an antidote against covcioi;sness. 
 A tradesman is said " to fall " when he is bankrupt. 
 Tlie impenitent at death become hankrvpt for eternity. 
 1. An evil conscience. 2. Judgment. 3. Loss of all on earth. 
 Heceive you. Some refer this to angels, othei-s to saints, aided in 
 
 want. 
 By being witnesses of what was done for them, by believers.
 
 CHAP. XYI.] ON ST. LUKE. 137 
 
 Others regard it as a Hebraism — they may receive you. 
 
 Everlasting. Contrasts with the temporal shelter, which the steward 
 
 ohtaiued. 
 The children of the world, plot, by cunning and dishonesty, but they are 
 
 but pilgrims at best. 
 The earthly house of this tabernacle, will soon be dissolved. 
 The building of God, not made with hands is eternal. 2. Cor. v. 1. 
 Heaven is, as it were, the estate of the poor, out of which they can be- 
 queath legacies to their benefactors. 
 Charity bears interest in charity, even to the cuj^ of cold water. 
 Habitations. Gr. Tents, frail structures, common in the East. Heb. 
 
 xi. 9. 
 Of planks, skins, hair, cloth, branches, emblems of frailty. Heb. xi. 9. 
 Their color was yellow, red, white, or black. Cant. i. 5. Psa. cxx. 5. 
 The pins held them to the ground. Isa. xxxviii. 12. Job xxvii. 18. 
 With one of those pins Jael pierced the head of Sisera. Judg. iv. 21. 
 Tents were pitched in the evening, and taken down in the morning. 
 Those pitched by God shall not be taken down ; no stake removed, or 
 
 cord broken. Isa. liv. 2. 
 The heavens are called " the tabernacles of Jehovah." Psa. Ixxxiv. 1. 
 Body, the tabernacle of the soul, taken down at death. 2. Cor. v. 1. 
 Our tents taken down, we may find ourselves shelterless for eternity. 
 Houses of stone, and cities of rock, were tents unto Israel. Jos. xxii. 4. 
 We are pihjrims, before reaching the siu'e dwellings in the heavenly 
 
 Canaan. Isa. xxxii. 18. 
 These words show the social character of future life. 
 Human ties sanctified will prove a blessing in eternity. 1. Thess. 
 
 ii. 19-20. 
 
 (^t'Aous. Make, &c., by liberal almsgiving. Theophj/Iact, Augustine, Aihanasius, 
 Irenrvus, Erasmtis, Calvin. The Lord and Father. Lightfoot. Pre-eminently God and 
 Christ. Wordstcorth. Poor brethren aided, and Christ. Matt. xxv. 40. Preseo^J. A master 
 might teU his maid servant that the fniit in the garden is hers, to distribute among her 
 neighbors, that the poor oi-phan may thus raise up unto herself friends. Flattick. God 
 Bomewhat recedes from His right, and gives up His goods. Make thyself rich by thy 
 Lord's goods, it is no loss to Him. Hiller. Secure rich friends to aid you, poor. Hart- 
 man. " Mammon." Alms given from wealth acquired by fraud, condemned by Plutarch. 
 Somb actually practised it. Augustine. Inherent defilement of wealth. Leighton. 
 Temporal, ojiposed to spiritual riches. Lightfoot. Deceitful riches. Eisner, Campbell, 
 Wetstein, Hammond. A hope entrusted to the enjoyment of wealth. Tertulllan, 
 Melancthon. The demon of avarice. Lange. Kiches, worldlings idolize. Browiu 
 Exercise charity with ill-gotten gain* Oosterzee.
 
 138 SUGGESTIM3 COJIMENTAHY [cHAP. XYX. 
 
 aSiKia?. The idea of falsehood pertains to this word, through the Sept., Deut., xix. 
 16, false witness; Job xiii. 4, physicians of no value. With a deceitful mammon. Major. 
 False riches, not to be relied on. It is opposed to aKri0€ia, in Eom. ii. 8. Because 
 ordinarily obtained dishonestly. Euthymius, Oostcrzee. Deceitful and transitory. 
 Kuinoel, Wieseler. Conduct springing from false principles. A moral condition, 
 oi-dinarily intended. Meyer. Unrighteous to you, who are betrayed by it. Gerlach. 
 Because it deceives the hope reposed in its promise. Quod si dolosi refulserit spes 
 Eummi. Persius. 
 
 eKkCmrire — singular eKXtjrj]. When it has failed. Lachmann, Tregelles, Meyer. 
 Present exXeiTrr;, when it fails. Tischendorf, Oosterzee. exAt'injTe, when ye fail, i.e. when 
 ye die ; retained. Preseott, Wordsworth. Euphemism. Major. Stewardship finished 
 by death. Elsdetj. After your discharge. Camphell. When your wealth fails. Grotius. 
 Lite a thankful guest, Else cheerfully from life's abundant feast. 
 " Lusisti satis, edisti satis, atque bibisti, 
 Tempus abire tibi est." Hor., Epis. ii. 
 
 Se^uvrai, Impersonally. Starcke, Rosenmuller, Hammond. An impersonal plural. 
 You may be received. A recei"itk>u effected by benevolence. Oosterzee. Angels. 
 Blackwell, Wolf. Exclusively to the Lord. Sehultz, Olshausen. Make friends with 
 God, by charity, &c. Kuinoel. Glorified saints. Trench, Stier (verse 22). Befriended 
 poor, aiding the rich in the future, a Rabbinical idea. Grotius, Mead. Deeds of 
 charity and mercy are to be our s-piritual shrewdness, by which we may turn to 
 our account the unjust mammon, — providing o-urselves with friends out of it. God 
 repays in their name. They will receive us there with joy, if gone before. Alford. 
 Our Lord cautions us against two opposite mistakes about money. (1) The idolizing 
 it, as if it was a good in itself. (2) The supposing it so profane, worldly, unclean, 
 that it cannot be employed in the service of God. W. d- W. Spirits in the kingdom of 
 heaven, Matt. sxv. 34, 40. Alford. By these heaven-stored treasures, John Howard, 
 Francke, and others, made a " perpetuum hospitium," a life-long abode, which alone the 
 children of light should care for. Stier. Future kingdom of the Messiah, Meyer. 
 
 10. He that is faithful in that whichis least is faithful also in much : and he that if 
 unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 
 
 Faithful. He passes from.the pruilcuce ^ylJiela the steward had, to the 
 
 fidelity which he had not. 
 Fidelity to God, in the least, always lias in it, the (jrcatcst. 
 The least fault, oft leads to the most fatal consequences. 
 Ho condescends to point out to us the way of true thrift. 
 Those securing possessions for the future, alone are prudent. 
 Thai farmer loves not his corn, refusing to plant it, for an hundred fold. 
 Unfaithfulness diverts God's gifts, from their proper chauucl. 
 Ho that buries the one talent, w"Ould not improve five. 
 Least. The Lord hero casts a slight upon the possessions of earth, 
 iiut their right use, lie counts an earnest of future hope.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 189 
 
 He may be eiitrusted with that, wbich is of euduring value. 
 
 David, as an under shepherd, was found faithful in the least. 
 
 Therefore God took him to rule the flock of Israel. 
 
 True conscientiousness, will discipline for greater things. 
 
 Fidelity in great things, and dishonesty in httlo things, hypocrisy. 
 
 " Straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel," defines a Pharisee. 
 
 Two 7nites well laid out, will gain you friends in eternity, (Luke xxi. 2.) 
 
 when tlie millions of Croesus are forgotten. 
 All earth's treasures, are turned by the ungodly into the " least." 
 The use men make of the trifling possessions of earth, shows what they 
 
 icould do, with treasure of infinite value. 
 Fidelitj' depends not ou the amount entrusted, but on exercising a sacred 
 
 responsibility. 
 Unjust. Applying God's property to our own use, a breach of trust. 
 Parable of the talents, embraces all endowments. 
 Here it is money alone, whose " love is the root of all evil." 1. Tim, 
 
 vi. 10. 
 
 h eKaxC(TTw, what is least ; for sucli is all eartUy substance, when compared with 
 heavenly wealth, which is ^ic'yio-Tos ; and tho nse we make of our earthly substaueo, 
 which is li;as.t, is our trial whether we are fit to be possessed of what is greatest, tho 
 etomal wealth of heaven. Wordsworth, 
 
 11. If therefore ye have not hern faithful in the unrighteous mammon, wlio will 
 commit to your trust the true riches? 
 
 Mammon. In this world, two masters claim our allegiance. 
 
 The commands of the upstart lord, if obeyed, will cause those of God, to 
 
 be slighted and despised. 
 If God bid us gather, during the harvest, for eternity. Mammon bids ns 
 
 spend all, upon our presen-t pleasures. 
 Abraham, Jacob, and Job, though rich, were soi-vants of God. 
 True riclies. Naturally, intrinsically, and really true, as alErmed. 
 Mammon by reason of its perishable nature, can never be true riches, to 
 
 the immortal nature of man. 
 Alien, earthly goods, can never be realhj personal property. 
 It changes owners in every generation. 
 Our very homes eject us as tenants, at death.
 
 140 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Treasures whicli must be relinquished, at death, prove those to be fools, 
 
 who, thought them true riches. 
 Man has only a life interest in his property. 
 Let him take heed not to give more for a life interest than for a 
 
 perpetual possession. 
 He alone is wise who regards himself as a steward of this world's goods 
 
 and not as an owner. 
 
 TO aXrjflii'bi'. " Eiches," not in the original. A king appointed one servant over his 
 pold treasures, another over his straw ; the latter's honesty being suspected, he was 
 angry because the gold had not been trusted to him. The king said, " Thmi fool, if thou 
 couldest not be trusted with straw, how can any one trust thee with gold ? " quoted by 
 Trench. 
 
 12. And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you 
 that which is your own ? 
 
 Ye have not. Hitherto hirelings of CiEsar, henceforth stewards of 
 
 God. 
 The rewards promised to virtue, a stimulus, not a motive. 
 Though the hypothesis of its being practised for its own salie, is 
 
 reasonable. 
 Pious endowments at the approach of death to atone for past remissness, 
 
 have no sanction here. 
 Another man's. That is, God's. He is the real Christian's nominal 
 
 owner. 
 The wealth of this world, is forfeited by sin. 
 Put into oiur hands not as depositaries or owners, but stewards. 
 They are foreign to the nature and interests of the soul. 
 The title of these things is, in God, and we are His tenants. 
 Eternal riches become oiirs by inheritance, through Christ. 
 Let no one use another's goods, as his ojcji. 
 
 Your own. Inheritance of the faithful above, tlicir oicn, by grace. 
 Knowledge, righteousness and holiness, wasted in the fall. 
 By a sure tenm^e, an everlasting possession, bestowed in Christ. 
 If one embezzles, who will trust him with an estate in porixtuity ? 
 Money is neither to bo idolized, nor desjiised. 
 
 akXoTpiio. TO aAAoTpioi/ and b j'j/itTf pof. Alionum and proprium or suum, contmsted 
 by several (jr. and Lat. authors, Plato. Nam propriao tclluris herum uatura, nequo
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUEE. 141 
 
 Sllmn nee mo, nee qneroqnam statnit. Horace. Originally yours in the counsel of God, 
 to be yours by redemption. Meyer. " Your own." According to ttat which is apiiro 
 priatcd to yom- own true nature. Meyer, 
 
 13. IT No servant can serve two masters : for eithei ne will hate the one, and love the 
 other ; or else lie will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve Qod and 
 mammon. 
 
 Can serve. Be entirely at the command of two masters. 
 Worldliness, bidden under the garb of false spirituality, unmasked. 
 It means to dedicate all that we have, and are, to another. 
 Masters. Prince of this world, concealed in the enticements of the 
 
 creature. 
 All are verily idolaters, who serve another, besides God. 
 Such dnplicihj. of life, ever springs from hyi^ocrisy of heart. 
 The Pharisees dreamed, of combining the sei-vice of heaven, with that of 
 
 earth. 
 The heart and life fully fixed on God, subordinates everything else. 
 Created in His image, the heart has unrest-, until it reposes in Him. 
 Samaria anciently professed to fear the Lord, but served their own gods. 
 
 2. Kings x^di. 28-29. 
 " Oh house of Israel, go ye, serve ye everyone his idols." 
 " But pollute ye no more My holy name, with your gifts." Ezet. sx. 39. 
 The idolatrous Chemarims " sware by the Lord, and by Slalcham," 
 
 i.e. by their king. Zeph. i. 5. 
 Hate. Our Saviour exalts this simple proverb, into an important 
 
 sermon. 
 A man cannot travel north and south, at the same time. 
 This worldhng makes his religion, subserve his secular designs. 
 Despise. If we despise Satan's mastery, we soon shall reject his service. 
 They only serve Satan, loho love to have it so. 
 The principle is true, where no hostility exists. 
 Much more where a deadly opposition divides the masters. 
 Cannot. Seeking heaven in the world, is acting contraiy to sound 
 
 reason. 
 A solemn warning against any attempt at compromise. 
 The Christian must live above the world while living in the world. 
 A double minded man, through his duplicity, fails in all. Jas. i. 8. 
 He traces xvill-worship, and aU forms, to their true source, self. 
 Their interests so diverse, their service can never be confounded. 
 30
 
 142 SUGGESTI-\^ COJIJIENTAKY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 God, &c. Proves an uncompromising hostility between them. 
 
 Mammon. The greatest of all the idols of eaiih. 
 
 Tradition, that this was a Syrian god of riches, historically untrue. 
 
 1. This IS the idol of all times. 2. The idol of all nations. 3. The idol 
 
 of all unrenewed hearts. 4. The origin of all idolatry. 
 The first and last, among all the hidden idols of God's people. 
 SeiTice of Mammon converts the service of God into a lie. 
 "We may hate but cannot cast off God's authority. 
 Pharisees oittwardlij served God, inwardly Mammon. 
 The service of Christ is liberty. — " Thy service is perfect freedom." 
 
 8u(j-t irvptot?. Chinese have their saying: — "Lay not two saddles on one horce." 
 A true subject serves not two sovereigns. A virtuous woman cannot have two husbands. 
 Trench. txicnja-iL. Will love but little, il/^ycr, De IFffi»!. This and aydTrrj (love) must 
 have their full meaning, and not be interpreted by posthabere, and pracfci-re. Stier. 
 Attend to the one, and neglect the other. Campbell. 
 
 14. And the Pharisees also, loho were covetous, heard all these thiriQS : and they 
 derided him. 
 
 Pharisees. Luke v. 17; vi. 2. See Notes. 
 
 Covetous. Gr. greedy of gain, lovers of money. 
 
 Making Mammon their friend instead of God. 
 
 Eegarding worldly wealth and glory as the criterion of Di\'ine power. 
 
 The covetous heart hardened is hard beyond all others. 
 
 It pre-eminently extinguishes all faith in invisible things. 
 
 Christ had touched their Delilah, their darling lust. 
 
 Derided. Gr.sneei-ed; as though they said, " Poor creatures like you 
 
 may well despise riches." 
 They thought themselves so wise as to be able to blend the service of 
 
 God with that of Mammon. 
 His words pressed hard upon their avarice. 
 It is far easier to ridicule than refute. 
 Tlicir wincing the best evidence of the Teacher's power. 
 Truth, opposing love of earthly things, treated with contempt. 
 A preacher, striking at the darling passion, unwillingly heard. 
 God in His turn will laugh at those who now deride His word. Prov. i. 23. 
 Iilockory is the last resort of those silenced by argument. 
 Men hate the light of truth whcu their deeds are evil.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 143 
 
 " I am a reproach of men, and despised of the people." Psa. xxii. 6. 
 
 A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him. Job. xii. 4. 
 
 "I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me." Jer. xx. 7. 
 
 Paul, speaking of the resurrection, was mocked by the Athenians. Acts 
 
 xvii. 32. 
 "There shall come scoffers in the last days, walking after their own 
 
 lusts." 2. Pet. iii. 3. 
 " How long will scorners delight in scorning ? " Prov. i. 22. 
 
 <f>(.kdpyvpoi. — n-Aeoi'efi'a. The former the passive, the latter the active, sin. The 
 former seeks to retain, the latter to grasp. It is joined with apira^. While ^iXapyvpoi, 
 on the other hand is cautious, and consistent with an outward show of holinesn. 
 TrAeoi'efia is the drawing and snatching to himself, oh the sinner's part, every kind of 
 good out of himself. It is the fierce and ever iiercer longing of the creature, which hns 
 turned away from God. This remorseless desire resembles the sieve of the Danaides, 
 which they were ever filling, but might never fiU. Having abandoned God, by a just 
 retribution, it is abandoned by Him. Trench's Synonyms. 
 
 i^efj.vKTripi.^ov. Turned up their nose, sneered. Campbell. Used by the LXX for 
 Hebrew word signifying " laugh," Psa. ii. 4. Wordsioorth. Suspendere omnia naso. 
 Horace. Snuffed at. Bloomficld. The deep solemnity of our Lord suppressed audible 
 insult. Major, Slier. 
 
 15. And he said unto them. Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God 
 knoweth your Iiearts : for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in 
 the sight of God. 
 
 Justify. They constantly asserted their righteousness before tho 
 
 people. 
 They made an ostentatious display of pretended goodness. 
 The lawyer desired to justify himself. Luke x. 29. 
 
 The young ruler said, " All these commands have I kept from my youth." 
 No one can justify himself before God. 
 
 However daringly we boast, " God knoweth our heart." Psa. vii. 9. 
 The applause of the world is his main spring of action. 
 " It is a small thing that I should be judged of men." 1. Cor. iv. 3. 
 Knov/eth. Fellow creatures deceived, but " I the Lord search the 
 
 heart." Jer. xvii. 10. 
 " Look not upon his countenance, the Lord sceth not as man seeth." 
 
 1. Sam. xvi. 7. 
 Highly esteemed. Our Lord's words express " that ichich is lofty." 
 He addressed the dominant sect among the Jews.
 
 141 SUGGESTH'E COMMENTABY [cHAP. XVI. 
 
 Notorious for ambition, self-rigLteousness, vain-glorious pride. 
 
 They fence themselves vrithin the sanction of the law. 
 
 " To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me ? " 
 
 " Yoiir new moons and yoiu- appointed feasts My soul hateth." Isa. i. 14. 
 
 " The wicked hlesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." Psa. x. 3. 
 
 Abomination. Over their love of gold they cast a garment of zeal for 
 
 God. 
 He knoweth that you are alive to the tvorlcl and dead to God and 
 
 goocbicss. 
 Therefore, however esteemed among men, ye are an abomination before 
 
 Him. 
 
 SvKaiovvrei, By pretended sanctity, Impose on others. Kuinoel. Effected by parade 
 of ceremonies. Uosenmuller. vi//r)Abi/. " Highly esteemed^" which magnifies. Tyndale ; 
 is high. Coi>. ; e's.a.lteii. Norton. High, lofty, opposed to Taireivo;. Horn. xii. 16. Pride 
 opposed to humility. They proudly scorned Jesus, as an unauthorized teacher of the 
 Law. Schleierma.cher. pSeKiryixa, Abomination, from ^oeu- to stiiik. That -which yon 
 worship — mammon, is ahhorred aa a false god by the Most High. For irKeove^ia. i3 
 ei5u)Ao\aTpei'a, Col. iii. 5. Wordsworth. 
 
 Ifi. The law and the prophets were until John : since that time the kingdom of God is 
 preached, and every man presseth into it. 
 
 Prophets. God's ambassadors revealing His will. Luke i. 70. See 
 
 Notes. 
 Until Joh.n. Thence through his agency began the free preaching 
 
 of Messiah's Idngdpm. 
 Every man. " Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and 
 
 sinners." Lulie xv. 1. 
 Every used as a imiversal term ; here, a great number. 
 PublicauH and sinners avail themselves of the open ark of God's 
 
 salvation. 
 Pliaris-ccH loft WTCcks of obstinate blindness and unbelief. 
 Presseth. "With holy violence or agony. Luke xiii. 24. 
 Publicans wrest the kingdom from the Scribes and Pharisees. 
 Evoiy one who enters it, enters hj force. Matt. xi. 12. 
 Those unworthy take it from those to whom it seems of right to belong. 
 As Canaan of old was wrested from its ancient possessors. 
 Pliarisccs, in their privileges, " dwelt carelessly, after the manner of the 
 
 Zidoniaus." Judg. xviii. 7.
 
 CHAP. XVI.J ON ST. LUKE. 145 
 
 Ancient theocracy, and husks of Levitical forms, were their glory. 
 Holy violence made Jacob wrestle with the angel. Gen. xxxii. "24. 
 Holy violence characterized Christ iu Gethsemane. Luke xxii. 44. 
 \Ye must be thoroughly in earnest, if we will ever reach heaven. 
 It implies that there are great obstacles in the way. 
 
 6 voixo?. The Lord taught the Pharisees, that their day was passed. Lange. The 
 Gospel is the perfection of the Law. Wordsivorth. tKJjpucro-oi'TO supplied. De Wette, 
 Ewald. The O.T. dispensation not yet abolished. Ohliausen. Supreme selfishness and 
 sensuality are hero condemned ; characteristics of the Jews, at Jerusalem, at this day. 
 
 jStd^erat. Fiom /Si'a, violence. Frequently applied to usurpers. Does not imply 
 Low great the number was, but the manner of obtaining admission. "Ye Pharisees 
 strive mightily against tiie Kingdom of God. Use a noble violence in prayer, and 
 strive to enter into it. Ye, in scorn, think such a gospel, and such a kingdom, only 
 fit for publicans and harlots." Stier. It implies that those who ought to have opened 
 the door, had barred it against the many. Augustine. Every one breaketh in by force. 
 Beza. Commits violenoe. Vulgate. Violence, that is, persecutes it. Llghtfoot. 
 
 17. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the lata to fail. 
 
 Heaven and earth, A Hebraism for " the world ; " a proverbial ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The dangerous impression of the Pharisees was, that a change of in- 
 stitutio7i would also change moral princijyles. 
 
 The frame of nature a standing emblem of immutability. 
 
 The changes of the universe are entirely left out of view. 
 
 The whole drift requires an absolute assertion of imviutability. 
 
 Pharisees hoped to be delivered from the ceremonial law. 
 
 The ceremonial law a temporary form of the law, not the law itself. 
 
 Pass. Christ came to destroy nothing but sin ; holiness is immortal. 
 
 Earth and sense are transient, only a likeness ; heaven is reality. 
 
 " The grass withereth and the flower fadeth." Jas. i. 11. 1. Pet. i. 2-1. 
 
 All is transient but God and His promises. 
 
 Our Saviour refers to the eternal principles of law. 
 
 Paul to the form or scaffolding, the external restraints. 
 
 Tittle. A little ^Ulot " inserted in the smallest Hebrew letter — iota. 
 
 The immutability of the Divine Word yields as much comfort to the 
 righteous as it gives despair to the wicked. 
 
 liaw. Chrisl's appearance was its fulfilment. 
 
 His life carried it out,' His chm"ch is still developing it.
 
 14G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XVI. 
 
 llie law. in its essence, is eternal — a reflection of its Author. 
 
 Christ has fulfilled the law by His ohedience and suffering;. 
 
 A carnal observance of the law may be its virtual abrogation. 
 
 Under the guise of allegiance hypocrites rebel against its authority. 
 
 There is a Divine grandeur in angelic free obedience to the law. 
 
 •' The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Psa. xix. 7. 
 
 " The law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good." Eom. 
 
 vii. 12. 
 Fail. God would rather destroy the universe than one tittle of His 
 
 law vanish. 
 "While Pharisees held up the law to confront Jesus it would inevitably, 
 
 righteously, and eternally condemn themselves. 
 
 napekOe'Lu. Go hy, become invisible, and by imiilication, cease to be. Alexander. 
 Kfpaiav (tittle). Reference to the apex of a Hebrew letter, or little bom. Implies never. 
 Calvin, Luther, Ziiinrile. As tbe heavens and earth were regarded as everlasting — The 
 end of the world. PrtH^Hi, jT/ioZMcfc. vo/nov. Summum jus, summa injuria, realizes the 
 sad imperfection of human legislation. Stier. 
 
 necrelv, StaffiVreiv ; Josh. xsi. 45, there failed not. Since the universe shall one day 
 be destroyed, it cannot mean that the law will then be nullilied. These changes are 
 left entirely out of view. Quid, si redeo, ad illos, qui aiunt ^lu'tZ si ««)ie coelum mat. 
 Terence, Major. 
 
 18. Wlwsoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, commiltcth adultery : and 
 whosoever marrielh her tltat is put away from her husband committeth adultery. 
 
 Whosoever. Sanhedrim had lately receded from the high standard of 
 
 God's law. 
 They had tolerated the scandal af Herod's marriage with his brother's 
 
 wife. 
 This solemn sanction renders the marriage relation indissolitble. Matt. 
 
 V. 32. 
 Divorce not a relative good but a necessary evil. 
 
 Putteth. Divorce then and now most shamefully abused in Jerusalem. 
 Polygamy, though esteemed lawful, was then in disuse. 
 The great lawgiver of the church rcneiced the law of marriage. 
 Marrieth. Marriage is an institution of God, a basis of the family. 
 Ty])ifj'iug the union between the Lord and His Church. Epli. v. 25. 
 Cliristianity elevates woman to her primitive rights. 
 Christ is the Founder of the Christian family. Psa. Ixviii. 6.
 
 CHAP. X\T:.] on ST. LUKE. 147 
 
 Husbantl and wife should be one iu heart as well as in flesh. 
 Many cutor the state without God, and against His will. 
 Marriage, not celibacy, received Christ's sanction. John ii. 1. 
 Adultery. Sin has deranged marriage among other ordmaaees of God. 
 
 was. Cancelled. Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischeiulorf ; retained. Alford, ^Vords'vorth. 
 6 aTToAiiwi'. Luke seems studiously to use a word wliicli ancient Greek writers did not 
 apply to divorce ; they called it a7ro7re'|u.7reii» yvvalxa. Wordsworth. Allusion to the 
 adultery of Ilerod and Antipas, sanctioned by the Pharisees. Tertidlian, Meyer. The 
 spiritual adultery of the Jewish nation. Olshaii-ten. Indirect rf.ferenco to Herod's ain. 
 Stier. '' Adalteri/." Believers do not regulate their marriage relation by caprice. They 
 do not ask divorce at every gust of passion, as one does not amputate a limb, because it 
 {s convulsed with pain. Auiiusline. A husband or wife, guilty of adultery, ceases to be 
 Buch ; hence he docs not put away a wife, but the adulteress. De Weite. 
 
 19. IT There wax a certain rich man, which icas clothed in purple and fine linen, and 
 fared siimptuouslij every day : 
 
 There was. Many commentators think this part of the Gospel real 
 
 history. 
 Chief grounds — the absence of our Lord's declaration that it is a parable 
 
 and mention of the name of the poor man. 
 Others amongst the early writers regard it as a genuine parable. 
 Others think it of a mixed character; partly history, partly parable. 
 However it may be viewed the great truths disclosed remain the same. 
 Rich man. Evidently one who had made no friends witli the un- 
 righteous mammon. 
 Lived as though there were no spiritual nature in man, and no heaven or 
 
 hell. 
 It is not said he had acquired his wealth by extortion, or that he was 
 
 a miser. 
 His was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fullness of bread and idleness, 
 
 Ezek. xvi. 49. 
 Clothed. Gr. liahiluaUi/, not tlius aiTaj'ed on some high-day merely. 
 It was his ordinary apparel of pride and luxury, indicating his love of 
 
 pomp and splendor. 
 He exhibits his costly dress like Ahasuerus of old. Esth. viii. 15. 
 Purple. Originally dress of lungs, common to the nobility in cur 
 
 Saviour's day. 
 Although ivhite was the usual roijal color at that time. Luke xii. 27.
 
 148 suGGESTm: comsientaey [chap. xvi. 
 
 It -was mentiouecl by Closes, similar to scarlet or crimson. 
 
 The cm-tains of the Tabernacle. Ex. xxvi. 1. The priest's ephod. 
 Ex. xxviii. 5. 
 
 Obtained from a fish, yielding but a few drops of the precious dye. 
 
 Silk and woollen garments were thus dyed. 
 
 Kero punished any subject with death who should wear it. 
 
 Babylonians clothed their idols in robes of purple. 
 
 A purple robe was given by Ahasuerus to Mordecai. Esth. viii. 15. 
 
 Another was given by Belshazzar to Daniel. Dan. v. 7. 
 
 The Lord here grasps covetousness and worldliness by the root. 
 
 A godless and loveless self-seeking ruins myriads. 
 
 Saying ia heart and acting in life, " there is no God." Psa. xiv. 1. 
 
 Fine linen. Distinct from silk. Eev. xviii. 12. Sold for its weight in gold. 
 
 Egyptian linen celebrated before Abraham's time. Ezek. xxvii. 7. 
 
 Mummy linen has 270 threads double wai-p, 170 woof, per inch. 
 
 Linen garments peculiar to females, hence effeminate. 
 
 One denotes Syrian vjyper, the latter Egyptian luuler gannents. 
 
 Eich men may be poor : 1, in true joy ; 2, in sjinpathising lovo ; 3, in 
 well-founded hope ; 4, in eternal consolation. 
 
 A luxurious life hardens, not softens the heart. 
 
 He forgat how many beggars this sumptuous array would clothe. 
 
 He splendidly enjoyed his substance, as no miser does. 
 
 His open house welcomed epicm-ean guests around his table. 
 
 He is not charged with injustice or blasphemy. 
 
 He glitters day by day in royal magnificence, as though it would never enrZ. 
 
 People deem him fortunate, and many envy his circumstances. 
 
 Sumptuovisly. Gr. rejoiced or feasted sjAendidlij, called " tlie rich 
 fjlutton.'^ 
 
 " They lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon couches." 
 
 " Chant to the soimd of the viol, drink wine in bowls." 
 
 " But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Amos vi. 1-6. 
 
 Parable applies to those who earnestly wish te live luxuriantly. 
 
 His only crime seems to have been that he lived for himself, and this in- 
 cluded all. 
 
 It is not the iwssessor of riches who cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, 
 but rather he who is possessed by riches. Augustine. 
 
 The man who does not hold them, but whom they hold and bind down 
 to earth. 
 
 Tts V- ^"i" Lortl rotums to the sulijcct of woallh, rnul danger of abusing it. Rosen- 
 viuVcr. " liich man." Friars, at this day, Bbow tho rich luan'u liouso, in Jarasalem.
 
 CHAP. XAa.] ON ST. LUKE. 149 
 
 Parable directed against tlie Sadduceos, who were characterized by selfishness, and hard 
 beartedness. Poverty, an evidence of the displeasure of God, fonued a part of their 
 oreed. Moshcim. Pharisees, whose sin was an undue gatberiiif;, rather than an wulue 
 BpentUng, growing out of the same evil root. The fearful consequences of unbelief, and 
 fie foolish setting of the heart on this world, result in refusing credence to the invisible 
 world. Trench. The future relations of Jew and Gentile are here set forth. Dive, the 
 Jew, clothed in the purple and fine linen of the priest, refuses to impart blessings to the 
 Gentiles, the miserable Lazarus, lying at his gate. The Pharisees, Jewish representa- 
 tives, admonished that these things must come to an end. Both are to die. Eelie\'ing 
 Gentiles, Lazarus, are to be brought by messengers of the new covenant, into the 
 consolations of the Gospel. But the Jews having forfeited all their privileges, will find 
 themselves exiled from God. Theophylact. 
 
 ''Rich man." A reiJi-escutative of the house of Herod; Lazams, John Baptist. Tcr- 
 tullian, Schleicrmacher. Jewish nation, and Jesus Christ. Vitringa. Five brethren, 
 Babylonish Jews. Dogs licking. Gentiles converted. Vitringa. Kich and poor rewarded 
 and punished as such. De Wettc. Pleasure-seeking world compared with the pious, 
 who have not where to lay their head. Olshauscn. A ■paraMel on\y. Theophylact. Con- 
 cealment of name, a sign of his rejection. Euthymiux. A true history. Ireneeus ; founded 
 on partial fact. Gro<U(S ; a Sadducee. Wcistcin; a. pava.hle. Eosenmiiller. 
 
 Trop<litJpai>. English, porphyry. Courtiers were called " inirple-clad." JToj-ncc. This 
 shell-fish was discovered by the Tyrian Hercules, who found his dog's mouth stained 
 with a beautiful color. The master tried its properties on wool, and gave a specimen to 
 the king of Tyre. Purpureus, beautiful. Geor. i. 
 
 "Fine linen." He is not punished for his wealth, but for his ai^w-ism / Heaven 
 confesses, in his prayer to Abraham, that he had not believed in Moses. " Sumptuously," 
 Enjoyed himself sumiituously. ^?/or(J. Literally, glad-minded. Implying that he made 
 inen7 wich his companions. Stier, Wakefield. 
 
 20. And there was a certain hcggar named Lazarus, xohich was laid at his gate, full of 
 eoree, 
 
 Beggar. Let iis not malign providence on this account. 
 
 "We know not what ministfations of angels, tho poor may enjoy. 
 
 Nor what seasons of nearness to their God. 
 
 Nor what " songs in the night He giveth." Eev. xiv. 3. 
 
 " The poor shall never cease out of the land." Deut. xv. 11. 
 
 Poverty, resulting from profligacy, is a punishment for past sin. 
 
 Spiritual training of the righteous poor is in the way of mercy. 
 
 Though he could scarcely obtain crumbs, be had the bread of life. 
 
 Outward appearances no criterion of a man's well being. 
 
 *' No man Imoweth, either love or hatred, by all before him." Eccl. 
 
 ix. 1. 
 " Sorrowful may rejoice, having nothing, yet jDOSscssing all things." 
 
 2. Cor. vi. 10. 
 Lazarus. " Help of God,^^ only proper name, in the parables.
 
 150 SUGGESTR^ COMilEXTAliy [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Lazar, in all modern languages, proves imiiression, this parable has made 
 
 upon the xoorld. 
 Does he not seem to be quoting from that Book, -where the poor man's 
 
 name was found? 
 But the rich man's name blotted out, he is nameless in eternity. 
 While the righteous are had in everlasting remembrance, the name of 
 
 the wicked shall rot. Prov. x. 7. 
 " His remembrance shall jjerish from the earth." Job xviii. 17. 
 ' Thou hast put away the name of the wicked for ever and ever." Psa. 
 
 ix. 5. 
 " I saw the wicked buried and they were forgotten in the city." Eccl. 
 
 viii. 10. 
 Laid. Gr. habitualhj cast down, on purpose to get alms. 
 " A certain lame man was laid at the gate of the temple." Acts iii. 2. 
 Carried thither by his friends, himself helpless. 
 Beggars often sat near the porch of the wealthy. 
 Not only to excite the charity of the inmates, but wealthy visitors. 
 Gate. Luke xiii. 25. Gates in the East, the strongest portions of the 
 
 mansion. 
 Made of iron, brass, stone and wood. 
 " Gates of pearls," belonging to the " Golden City." Isa. liv. 12. Eev. 
 
 xxi. 21. 
 The word implies Dives' mansion, was of palatial character. 
 Dives could not plead ignorance, of this man's misery. 
 "Why had he leisure given, if not to search out the misery around him ? 
 The people jjacified their conscience, by placing him at the rich man's 
 
 gate. 
 Lying in the dust, before the door of festal conviviality, was his dwelling. 
 Diseases, which he cannot hide, are liis oiily covering. 
 A craviog for crumbs, never fully satisfied, his only banquet. 
 Naked, forsaken, outcast, and hungiy. 
 
 This paints- his outward condition, but not his frame of mind. 
 Before men, he is helpless, but God is his help. » 
 
 He sees afar off the table, to which he is never invited. 
 Uncertain whether any crumbs fell from that table, for him. 
 
 iTTtuxo? is translated poor, 81 out of 32 places. Se. Particlo omittoil, I'.ut tborn was, 
 &z. nnnLii. I'l/ and 05, cancelled. Gricsbach, Lachmann, Tischctidorf. " Jjazartts,"— 
 "Ililp in Olid," Ilcb. IClcazar. iUcns auxilium. Lif/ht/oat, Meyer. Chosen with 
 lOXcrence to the brother of Uary, Wkeelcr, Oostcrzee. Forsaken. Olshauacn, Baum-
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 151 
 
 gnrtcn, Lanrfe. Hefers to John Baptist. Schlcicrmacher. Ilia name proves it a history. 
 Itoos, Calvin, Ilistoiical character deiiicd. OhUawsen, Wolf. 
 
 e/3e'^A7)TO. Was lying. Bcnqel; or had been laid by others. Faiisset, Wordnvorlh. 
 " Gate." For the sake of the crumbs. Sticr, Meyer. 
 
 21. And desiring to he fed with tlw crumhs which fell from the rich viaii's table : more- 
 over ike dorjs came and lieked his sores. 
 
 Desiring', to be fed, but some tbink iu vain. 
 
 His desire was modest, be vftus content witb little. 
 
 He miglit bave raged and "blaspbemed in bis bcart." Eev. xvi. 9-10. 
 
 But c .Im, patient, serene faitb in God implied. 
 
 He did not envy or condemn tbe ricb man before bim. 
 
 He did not murmur against Providence as unequal. 
 
 He was content to eat witb tbe dogs as bis companions. 
 
 Tbe essential glory and gn-^ndeur ot bis cbaracter was moral. 
 
 His profound distress made deatb welcome. 
 
 Yet be bad. less confidence in reacbing beaven tban Dives in bis blind 
 
 pride. 
 Crumbs. He did not receive sufficient to satisfy bis bunger. 
 Tbe ricb man must bave seen bim, but witb absolute indifference. 
 In hell it was brougbt to bis remembrance. 
 Full of Idmsclf, be troubled bim self about no one else. 
 He certainly did not himself send bim tbe crumbs. 
 He did not command tbe offensive s gbt to be removed. 
 Notbing distm-bed tbe bard beart, covered witb purple and fine linen. 
 It was icarmed indeed witb wine, but cold to all sympathy. 
 Tbe servants secretly may bave tbrbwn bim tbe scanty crumbs. 
 Tbe meanest kennel of tbeir master was too good for tbe dying saint. 
 Shut out of society witb tbe brutes be laid claim to tbeir portion. 
 Disproves tbe Pbarisaic doctrine, " A sufferer can never be one fearing 
 
 God." 
 Tbougb be scarcely bad crumbs be feasted on " angels' food." Psa. 
 
 Ixxviii. 25. 
 Tbougb a beggar be was ricb in grace. 
 
 Tbougb in rags be was clotbed in tbe garments of salvation. 
 Tbougb bis body was sick bis soul was in bealtb. 
 Dogs. Contrast witb angels in verse 22. 
 Denotes tbe entire abandonment of bim by man. 
 Some make tbem exasperate bis pain and aggravate bis misery.
 
 152 SUGGESTIVE COMHENTARY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Anciently, a medicinal virtue attiibnted to the tongne of a dog. 
 
 It is mentioned to enhance the cruel neglect of Dives. 
 
 A Dives may he found in oiu- days who fattens horses and dogs but 
 
 neglects the poor. 
 Dogs thus put to shame men, abandoning him in his misery. 
 Kot the unowned myriads of hungiy dogs of the East. Psa. lix. G. 
 He who sent ravens to Elijah sent them to His poor servant. 
 Because there were none to bind up his wounds. 
 More full of sympathy than their hard-hearted master. 
 Their half friendly, half instinctive good will, shines forth. 
 Mohammedans call Christians " dogs," by way of supreme contempt. 
 Sores. Thei'e were no hospitals or asylums in those days. 
 Paganism had millions for superstition but nothing for charity. 
 The pm-ple vestments of Dives contrast with the rags of Lazarus. 
 The sumptuous fare nf the one contrasts with the crumbs of the other. 
 The numerous attendants of the one contrast with the dogs of the other. 
 The health of the one contrasts with the foul disease of the other. 
 
 Tliis parable is not so uracil designed to condemn Tioeg as to censTire the absence of 
 virtues. " It is designed to shew the danger of li-s-ing in the neglect of duties, though 
 not chargeable with the commission of crimes ; and ijarticularly the danger of considering 
 the gifts of Providence as our own property, and not as a trust from our Creator, to be 
 employed in His service, and for which we ar« accountable to Him." Campbell. 
 
 " If Cliristianity," says A, Clarke, " only required men to live without gross outward 
 sin. Paganism could furnish us with many bright examples of this sort. But the religion 
 of Christ requires a conformity, not only in a man's conduct, to the principles of the 
 gospel, but also a conformity in his heart tQ the spirit and mind of Christ. Hence the 
 solemn duty of Christian benevolence." 
 
 €iTi9viJ.uiv. 5Iany MSS. add xa 'ouiSels iSCSov avrw. Looked for, and willingly took 
 them. He pined in vain for a crumb. Neander. He received them. Stier. Being con- 
 tented or reckoning it a great matter. Lyciaa. Orat 24. (Sept. Isa. Iviii. 2). Being 
 delighted, glad to be fed. Eisner, Campbell, Major. Desiring, but denied them. Grotius, 
 Bengel, Meyer, Broion, Trench. Gladly fed. Alford, W. d- W. air'o tuv i//t,xi'&>i' twv 
 inserted from Matt. xv. 27. Alford. Not cnxmbg, but scrajjs, which chanced to be sent 
 from the table. 
 
 aAAa Ktti. Usually intensifies the word which follows. Tills pi-ovcs the dogs came 
 with deiire, rather than friendship. Erasmus, Beza, Calvin. " Dops," refers to their 
 greediness, not sympathy. In the O.T. a character exclusively evil. Bengel, Olshausen. 
 Tliat the increase of pain was not intended, is seen by the decisive a.\Ka. koX. Stier, 
 The wretched competitors of the helpless man, for the cnimbs. Lanrje. " Came." Not 
 coming for Lazarus' sake, but for their own, as to a carcass. Their saliva imparts 
 relief to a slight wound, but exasperates ulcers. Bengel. " Licked." In pity. Alford, 
 Slier.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 153 
 
 22. And it came to pass, that the hecigar died, and was carried by the anpcU into 
 Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, and wai buried; 
 
 Came to pass. This trivial formula, reverses tlicir position for 
 
 eternity. 
 Into this great world of confusion, heaven and hell, enter daily, 
 
 iiirnoticed. 
 Beggar. Christianity feeds her poor, while heathenism has asylums 
 
 for brutes. 
 Nothing was said of Lazarus' faith or patience. 
 His povcrt!/ never would have hrought him to Abraham's hosom. 
 Bodily suffering however great, never of itself iproiits the soul. 
 Impenitence and unbelief will shut out any beggar from heaven. 
 Abraham, into whose bosom Lazarus was earned, was rich in flocks and 
 
 herds. 
 Died. We rejoice in this, as the end of all his trial and need. 
 His sorrow and tribulation came to a joyful end. 
 He felt the embracing arms of rejoicing angels. 
 Nothing is said of the burial of the beggar. 
 Socic'ty is too often glad to be rid of those, it styles, burdens. 
 Lazarus is soon delivered from his earthly miseiy. 
 This beggar's plea, may have been Dive.s' last call. 
 Neglect of him, the last drop, that filled the cup of his guilt. 
 Entertaining him, he might have " unawares entertained angels." 
 The bitterness of his death, under a siUven covering, is veiled. 
 No word of the deeji remorse, which wrung his departing spii-it. 
 Death is acknowledged by all, but realized by few or none. 
 Carried. Gr. tenderly, no more rude insults of men or brutes. 
 From a place, in which he was a stranger, to his own country. 
 Angels. Luke i. 11. Not one, but many, are eager to share the honor. 
 Ministering spirits, waiting permission gladly bear him on high. Luko 
 
 XV. 10. Heb. 1. 14. 
 Sublimely recognizing him as a child of God, redeemed and glorious. 
 He had no brother upon earth, like Dives, to biiry him. 
 Dogs give place to holy angels, who had rejoiced over his repentance. 
 The forsaken one is now carried, carefully and tenderlj^ with high honor. 
 One angel might have sufficed, but many come to bring him out of his 
 
 prison. 
 They were not ashamed of his rags and sores. 
 
 Amasis of Egypt had kings to draw his chariot, but no honor like this. 
 Christians are too prone to judge by outward appearance. 
 We are prone to gaze at the chariot and not at the man.
 
 154 SUGGESTIVE COIIMENTAKY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Saints' death-beds sometimes in-adiated by angels' visits. 
 
 Angels took hold of the table of the covenant, when a good man died. 
 
 Rabbis. 
 Mighty change. — A few moments before, he had only dogs, as friends. 
 Abraham's. Luke i. 55. Believers not homeless wanderers, between 
 
 death and resurrection. Phil. i. 23. 
 Bosom. Kefers to the ordinary posture at an ancient banquet. Luke 
 
 vii. 36. John xiii. 23. 
 To a Jew the chief place of honor and felicity in Paradise. 
 The true son and heir, and sharer in his inheritance. 
 For this the sons of Zebedee asked the Saviour. Matt. xx. 23. 
 The outcast has the most exalted ministry, and fellowshiii. 
 Communion with all the princes of God, of whom Israel boasted. 
 Eich saints and poor meet in heaven. 
 He was among the dogs on earth, but now v.ith patriarchs and prophets, 
 
 with angels and with God. 
 Died. Friends, physicians, treasures, cannot detain the fleeting spirit. 
 " There is no discharge in that war." Eccl. viii. 8. 
 
 With equal step, impartial fate knocks at the cottage and the palace gate. 
 The rich man was unconscious of his weei^ing friends. 
 Buried. Ancient usages in bm-ials. Luke vii. 12. See Notes. 
 "\^'c may infer a splendid fiineral, and world's api3roved pomps. 
 Doubtless a becoming monument marked the place of his rest. 
 But it is a rebuke solemn and sad upon what follows. 
 The flattering epitaph, too often a mockery of a ruined soul. 
 " One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet." Job 
 
 xxi. 23. 
 " Another dieth in the bitterness of his s&ul." Job. x:d. 25. 
 " The saints enter into peace and walk in their uprightness." Isa. Ivii. 2. 
 The rich man's "glory did not descend after him." Psa. xlix. 17. 
 His sumptuous fare was ended for ever. 
 This forms the conclusion of the " good things." 
 No attendant angels, but alas, demons hurried him away. 
 Funereal splendor vainly conceals his cquali-tij with the beggar, in death. 
 Had funeral oration been in vogue, his i)raise would have been told. 
 Hurried away with festal flatteiy and falsehood in his ears. 
 There remains nothing of him ujion cai'th, save, " There was a certain 
 
 rich man." 
 Is bis history ended, when we read, he died ? 
 As in relation to his dying, and being buried, so now there follows yet 
 
 one more direful ''And."
 
 CHAP. XVI. J ON ST. LUKE. 155 
 
 Awaking results, in consciousness, in individuality, and in memory. 
 Now ctase for ever, delusive joys, mysterious trials of llie pious, and 
 
 the work of grace. 
 Now begin, surprising meetings, righteous retribution, aud eternal 
 
 separation. 
 Eemcmber the worLl's pleasures, pomps, and rent-roll avert not death : 
 
 for He comes alike to the mud-walled cot, and to the turreted 
 
 castle — 
 There is wisdom therefore in the oriental proverb, aud he is wise who 
 
 profits thereby. 
 " To day wc visit the Tomb of our friends, to morrow friends will visit 
 
 om's."' 
 
 OLTroOaveiv. Jews believed angels carried the righteous into paradise. Lightfoot. 
 Greeks and Eomans assigned this to Mercury. TrofiTroios ij/vxayM-yo^. Tu pias laetis 
 animas reponis sedibus. Horace, Becker's Char. irrcoxbi'. From tttwo-o-w, to crouch. 
 Beggars in the East, crawl upon the earth, Uke dogs. " Carried." Greeks assign guides 
 to souls of the dead, to conduct them to their respective seats. Potter's Ant. '■^ Anriels." 
 The gods guide the souls of the vh'tuous. Plato. "Bosom," Metaphor, borrowed from 
 the reclining at meals. 
 
 " Quos inter Augustus recumbcns, 
 Purpureo bibit ore nectar." Horace, Ode iii. 
 The happy side of the Hades, where the fathers rest in bliss. Hades, not place of a 
 festival, but of quietness and fellowship. Trench, a&ri, verse 23. A synonym for 
 Paradise, or under the throne of glOry. Olshausen. The perfect felicities of Paradise. 
 Lightfoot. Jews believe soul and body went to Hades. They understood the Lord to 
 say, that angels carried Lazarus' soul and body to Paradise. Meper. But our personality 
 is complete, when the soul is disembodied. As the players going forth, lay aside their 
 masks, and appear as they truly are, the humblest slaves ; so death, when the audience 
 is dismissed, unmasks wealth and poverty. Augustine, 
 "If thou art rich, thou art poor; 
 For like a beast, whose back with ingots bows, 
 Thou bear'st thy heavy burdens, but a Journey, 
 
 And death unloads thee." Shakspeare. 
 
 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being i?i torments, and seeth Abraliam afar ojf, 
 and Lazarus in. his bosom. 
 
 Hell. The death of the body, the beginniug of real existence. 
 Immediately, withoi;t any sleep of the soul, or interval of time. 
 He awakes from his fluttering dream of ease. 
 Has sought to save his life, but has lost it.
 
 150 SUGGESTIVE COJniEXT.VKY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 He acts the king on the stage, in the end, proyes a statue. 
 He who is esteemsd the rich man, is oft the poorest of all. 
 , Grave strips the worldling ol his mask, and remorse claims its victim. 
 We here enter the -world of spirits, and the parable passes beyond the 
 
 range of experience. 
 Our Saviour apjjears at home, in both worlds. 
 He speaks without astonishment, of eternal things, as though familiar 
 
 with them. 
 Depicts the perfect misery of one, perfect bliss of the other. 
 A devotedness to self, wholly unfitted him, for the jileasures of the 
 
 heavenly state. 
 Unmerciful to God's poor, now "he has jutlgment without mercy." 
 
 Jas. ii. 13. 
 Near himself he saw devils and condemned spirits. 
 
 liifted up. Implying that he was in " the depths of hell." Prov. ix. 18. 
 Torments. Mockeries are now over, eternal reaUties begun. 
 He who never knew want and rarely felt sorrow now suffers aU their 
 
 extremes. 
 The torments and unspeakable agonies of the soul are rigidly defined. 
 He cries and pleads as one who knows despair. 
 Not only a hell in his own breast but flame's all around. 
 Seeth. We have here a recognition of spirits in the eternal world. 
 " The wicked are tormented in the pressence of the Lamb." Eev. xiv. 10. 
 Yet all " see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom." Luke xiii. 28. 
 Misery aggravated ly the views of the blest. Luke xiii. 28 ; Isa. Ixv. 13. 
 Beggar was tormented by the sight of the rich man's table. 
 " They shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels." Eev. 
 
 xiv. 10. 
 Abraliain. Luke i. 55 ; xiii. 28. He knows that he was hospitable to 
 
 strangers. Heb. xiii. 2. 
 " Doubtless Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us." 
 
 Isa. Ixiii. 16. 
 The prodigal led by faith to a Father who answered his prayer. 
 In life the ground of liis presumptuous confidence. 
 " Think not to say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our father." 
 
 Matt. iii. 9. 
 Sosom. Implies closest intimacy, perfect knowledge. John i. 18 ; 
 
 Gen. xvi. 5 ; Isa. xl. 11. 
 The poor feasting with the rich proves faith tlie foundation of peace. 
 Grief of the lost: 1, at what they arc deprived of; 2, at what they see; 
 3, at what they suffer ; 4, at what tlicy expect.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. Luicr, 157 
 
 a5j)9 — yeevva. Latter denotes a place of pucishment, tlie former the Btato of tha 
 dead, righteous and unrighteous, Orcus and Tartarus, Hcsiod, Homer, Virgil. Orcclts 
 and Momatis believed departed spirits capable of enjoyment and suffering. Cicero, Seneca, 
 Lucretius. '^Hades," the intermediate state of the soul. Meyer, Bloowfield, Horsley, 
 Bengel. The abode of all disembodied spirits, till the resurrection ; not the place of 
 torment, — much less licll, as understood commonly in the A. V. Lazarus was also in 
 Hades, but separate from Dives ; one on the bUssful, the other on the baleful side. 
 Alford. Only used hero for hell, (rrotius, Stewart. Common dwelling of the dead. 
 Wetstein, Rosenmuller. Good and bad both went thither. Sophocles, Dio. Siculus, Plato 
 Plutarch, Pindar. 
 
 aSris diilers from yievva, as a ■whole from a part, " I will go down (ei; aSrjf ) to 
 Hades, to my son mourning." Yet Jacob did not despair of salvation. Camjyhell, Bengel. 
 As Abraham's bosom is not heaven, though it will issue in heaven, so Hades is not hell, 
 though it will issue in it. Trench. Common realm of the dead. Sticr. Some derive 
 Sheol, a6r)5, from the Heb., Best: from Heb. for cavitas. Gesenias. An insatiable abyss, 
 because it inexorably requires the living. Stier. aSrjg, in N.T., only in reference to 
 departed sinners. Volenti, Hengstenhcrg. Acts ii. 27, it is used in reference to Christ. 
 The invisible world. W. d- W. Heb., Sheol, signifies the unseen land ; land of forget- 
 fulness ; the region of shadow; the twilight of severed existence. aSrj;. A N. T. 
 description of the place and condition of the lost, and of azarus, a N.T. saint made 
 perfect. Valenti. This narrative belongs to a period before the death of Christ. Olshaascn, 
 Bossier. 
 
 Paa-avoi^, a touchstone, a test : anciently persons gave testimony under torture of 
 the wheel, the rack, the iron boot, or thumbscrew. Foreign to the object of the parable, 
 to give us any clue to the nature of future life. Neander. We have here a veritable 
 window open into hell, through which wo see what is passing there. Herbergcr. 
 
 "Abraham." Possible allusion to Jewish tenet, that hell-fire could have no power 
 over his descendant. Pococ/t, Elsley. k9\wois, plui-al, from the breasts to the knees. Be?; (;eZ. 
 This does not imply a painless, pleasureless, and di-eary rest in the realm of the dead. 
 Valenti. The Holy Spirit, wi-iting by Luke, to Gentiles, has been specially studious to 
 record in this Gospel, portions of our Lord's teaching, which might correct the erroneous 
 notions derived from heathen, mythological, and poetical representation of the Nt-Kui'a, 
 Tartarus, Elysium, &jc., concerning the state of the soul immediately after death. 
 Wordsworth, 
 
 24. And he cried and said. Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, 
 tliat he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented 
 in thisfiame. 
 
 And he. Gr. himself. No longer enjoys the attendance of slaves, but 
 
 is a beggar in hell. 
 Cried. Gr. mixing shrieks with his jDetitions, to move to comiiassion. 
 He, who used to command in a lordly style, now begs for smallest relief. 
 His songs of revelry are exchanged for lamentations. 
 Father. There are those in hell who call Abraham Father. 
 In his carnal mirth he may oft have ridiculed Abraham's piety. ^
 
 158 SUGGESTIVE COr.niENTARY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 The wickecl hereafter may claim despised saints for their friends. 
 
 He still clings iu his desjjair to external privileges. 
 
 This privilege made his sin so great and his fall so deep. 
 
 This, once his glory, is now the very stress of his guilt. 
 
 It implies the rich man was a Jew, aud had therefore peculiar privileges. 
 
 He dares not call on the Divine father whom he had forgotten in hfe. 
 
 He seeks relief from Abraham not from Gad. 
 
 Praying to saints finds no encouragement in this passage. 
 
 The only invocation of a saint in the Bible — the supphant, a damned 
 
 soul ; the response a declaration of hopeless misery. 
 Have mercy. Those making light of mercy here beg hard for it there. 
 With all his sense of guilt he could not pray in penitoice. 
 Send. He still thinks Lazarus as only fit for menial service. 
 The rich man is now a beggar at the gate of him who once begged at his. 
 liazarus. He treats him iu a spirit of unconscious earthly assumption. 
 The smallest boon is craved from one despised before. 
 Dip. Gr. tinge; i.e., merely moisten, slightest possible assuagement. 
 
 He does not ask to be relieved from torment. 
 It shov.'s the slightest mitigation was not vouchsafed. 
 This, "the wrath of the wine of God without mixture." Eev. xiv. 10. 
 A drop of divine compassion not mixed with the rich feaster's cup. 
 Tija of finger. Infinitely slight was the best alleviation for which he 
 
 looked. 
 His desires are shrunken, his hopes lowered, to one drop of water. 
 He that denied a crumb, is now denied a drop. 
 Now it is, " Ask and it shall be given." Matt. vii. 7. 
 " There the harvest is passed, and the summer ended." Jer. viii. 20. 
 In ■water. He cries not for mercij but for icater. 
 
 Cool. Eelease he knows to be impossible, he simply seeks alleviation. 
 Tongue. With this member the glutton had sinned. 
 Unbridled speech the attendant of banqueting wine. 
 There is a tongue and o. finger in Hades as there were eyes before. 
 There is a profound allusion to the awful retributive change passed upon 
 
 the once so dainty organ. 
 Not one of the rich man's sins are recorded. 
 He, from whose lips this revelation came, delighted in MEncr. 
 This is the most feakful passage in the Bible ! 
 Instead of water, there remains eternal fire and eternal thirst. 
 No unbelief or scepticism after death dare reveal thcmselvcfl. 
 Men find out the value of their souls when it is too late. 
 Ucll, a plain Bible truth, to some ku.own too late.
 
 OHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 159 
 
 Tormented. His purple robe liati become a f^ai-ment of fire. 
 
 His eailhly labors Lad been richly rewarded with wealth. 
 
 But the foundations sinking the reward sank with them. 
 
 Flame. Nothing causes fiercer agony than fire on the flesh. 
 
 A symbol of the wrath which will consume the soul for ever. Mark ix. 44. 
 
 (^wDjo-a?. This conversation passed in the conscience of Dives, and Abraham's roply 
 the voice of an accusing conscience. Chnjsostom, Theophylact, Luther, Gerlach. The 
 enduring existence of the lost and the saved rests upon the same evidence. So the un- 
 chanj^ing condition knows no respite. Alexander. "Send." — Th3 master trait of tlie whole 
 parable. He treats the saint with the same unconscious presumption as he did the beggar 
 in life. Lange, Bengcl, yKuxra-a, tongue. — External bodily organs the expression of the 
 faculties of the soul. Meyer, ZelUr. The organs of the body have left behind their 
 vestiges on the soul. Oetinger. Appears to be specified because he had specially sinned 
 by sins of the palate, surfeiting, and gluttony, and perhaps by proud and wicked words, 
 their usual accompaniments. Wordsworth. 
 
 hSvi'uiixai from 65oii9, a tooth, because the extreme pain produces a gnashing of teeth. 
 ■Wicked are represented as railing on those whom they have murdered, and calling upon 
 them to forgive the wrong. Pinto. Classic fable attributes to Nessus the act of im- 
 parting the fatal tunic to Hercules. The fiei-y venom caused the garment to cling to 
 his ilosh. Restless in his agony, ho ascends his funeral pyre, where his sufferings and 
 immortality begin together. Trench. The pains of the wicked after death, are to their 
 jiains after their resurrection only as the pains produced by a (/)Ad| (Jlame), compared 
 with those of KCixvri irvpo? (the lake of fire). Wordsworth. 
 
 25. But Abraham said. Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime reeeivedst thy pood 
 things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : but now he is comforted, and thou art 
 tormented. 
 
 But. Not so; the request was, 1. nnrcasonahle. A law of God's King- 
 dom — Earthly desires rule not hereafter. 
 
 2. Impossible. A gulf fixed by irrevocable decree. 
 
 Son. Joshua called the wicked Achan " son," after his guilt. Joshua 
 vii. 19. 
 
 Abraham does not deny the relationship. 
 
 But the refusal of his request rings the knell of his latest hope. 
 
 He speaks in words dignified and full of tenderness. 
 
 Son or not, this avails not here, where thou receivest thy doom. 
 
 He uses no term of severity or affected compassion. 
 
 A kind word only aggravates the denial of the request. 
 
 He graciously speaks the words of sternest juscice.
 
 IGO SUGGESTIVE COJIMEXTARY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 He had been a rebellious son, and is now a disinherited one. 
 
 There is room in perdition, even for the sons of Abraham. 
 
 Some perish from the house of God, and the very gate of heaven. Matt. 
 
 viii. 12. 
 The pity -which he failed to show, he failed to obtain. 
 " With what measm-e ye mete, it shall be measm-ed to you again." 
 
 Matt. vii. 2. 
 " How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof!" Prov. 
 
 v. 12. 
 He who would not reflect on earth, would willingly not reflect there. 
 Eeflect and weep and sigh they must who enter the kingdom of despair. 
 In that dread world, the inhabitants are for ever sad. 
 " Their hollow eyes did utter streams of woe 
 And there were groans that ended not, and sighs 
 That always sighed, and tears that ever wept, 
 And ever fell, but not in mercy's sight — 
 And soiTOw, and repentance, and despair, 
 Among them walked * * « * 
 And to their everlasting anguish still 
 * * * these words * * * fell on every ear 
 Yc Inicio your dutij, but ye did it not." PoUok. 
 Hemembfer. The memory will never grow dull in perdition. 
 Everything will bring more fuel to the flame. 
 
 Memory will ring that dreadful peal " for ever" in the ear of the lost. 
 He would not remember his bountiful benefactor. 
 " Remember thy Creator, in the days of thy youth." Ecc. xii. 1. 
 Some refuse, until the undying worm comj^els them. 
 The human spirit eventually forgetting, is a thing impossible. 
 The dreaded book of account, is adman's own soul. 
 In hell there will be tivie, to think over the past. 
 Many have not, or think they have no leism'e now for thought. 
 Life time. Life seed time, eternity produces the ]iarvest. 
 Tlic rich man cared for no other life but this. 
 Hoceivedst. Gr. hadst carried off, according to thy desire ; received in 
 
 full. 
 The price is large, both of prosjierity and adversity. 
 He sacrificed his soul's salvation, for his " (jood things.'^ 
 But he never gave God a receipt, by gratitude, for those blessings. 
 God's blessings all buried in him, as in a grave. 
 Ills mind ought to have been as a field, in which they were sown. 
 Memory would tell him now, from whom his mercies came.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. IGl 
 
 Here it is often well witli the wicked, and evil with the good. Isa. iii. 10. 
 
 External evil, in the appointment of God, becomes internal good. 
 
 Good thing's. His sin, sel/iuli luxmy, not inhumanity. 
 
 He failed to make a friend of the mammon of unrighteousness. 
 
 A course of unbroken prosperity, augm'S a sad eternity. Psa. xvii. 14. 
 
 Luke vi. 24-25. 
 "Woe unto you rich! for ye have received your consolation." Luke 
 
 vi. 24, 
 His sins, those of omission, rather than commission. 
 The things were not really good, but he loved them as such. 
 He had no treasure, no hope, no concern in a. future world. 
 Abraham pronounces wealth to be among earth's good things. 
 But by sin, they become a snare to the many. 
 Uninterrupted prosperity is a great affliction. 
 •It is, saith the ancient proverb, " the sunny day that calls forth the 
 
 adder." 
 The harder prohlem of life, seems to have been set before Dives. 
 If riches damaged- his soul, how could he have endm-ed the test of Lazarus ? 
 Evil things. Great affliction, the fruit of great guilt, here disproved. 
 " The poor raised out of the dust." 1. Sam. ii. 8. Luke i. 52. 
 " Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and not receive evil ? " Job 
 
 ii. 10. 
 The patience and humility of Lazarus, matured imder trial. 
 Henceforth an everlasting change came over their respective states. 
 But now. An argument based on the principle of fair compensation. 
 Conscience, ever revolving like a wheel, self-tormenting, self-consuming. 
 Comforted. In his bliss, he is not permitted to serve the enemies of 
 
 God. 
 In man's futm-e life " the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are 
 
 at rest." Job iii. 17. 
 Tormented. "He will recompense tribulation to them, who troiiLle 
 
 His people." 2. Thess. i. 6. 
 
 61776. The patriarch spote kindly. Not lite the blessed in the Koran, mocl?ing the 
 damned. Nor even with that sorrow of the blessed over the lost, which Klopstock sings. 
 "Remember." The human spirit forgettins is a thing impossible. De Quincy. "WTiy did 
 not the Lord deprive him of his property, and make him remember, in his lifetime ? 
 But this is a mystery of grace. The Lord knew his heai-t, and he might not have 
 reflected even then. Dives' restoration was possible. Ohhauscn. A father's " Kememher, 
 vty son," under chastisement, causes distant designs of love to glimmer through all th<3 
 punishments.
 
 162 SUGGESTI^'E C0M3IENTAEY [cHAP. XVI. 
 
 aneKafie^, receivedst ; taken offanCi spent, so that nothing now remains. Words- 
 ■worth. " Good thing!." A scholar, seeing his master, a Eabbi, in deep affliction, 
 commenced smiling, -while all were weeping around him. He replied, on being asked the 
 reason : He had often feared, lest his master was recei^^ng his portion in this world ; 
 but now, seeing him so afflicted, he took courage and believed his good things were to 
 come. Trench. To \-indicate our Lord, some make Dives a very wicked man. But it was 
 not his crimes committed, but duties neglected that sent him to jjerdition. Campbell. 
 " Noic.'' His sentence is irrevocable. Foster. On earth the comfort of Lazarus was 
 temporary. 
 
 For 63e, he, read a>Se, here. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, cru omitted in soma 
 USS. and editions ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 26. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed : so that they 
 whi'ch u-ould pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to tis, that ■wonld 
 come/rom thence. 
 
 Beside. An argument, drawn from the impossibilitj' of the case. 
 
 This has almost the apologetical tone of grace. 
 
 Even if Lazarus and I, were ever so wiUing to help, vre cannot. 
 
 Great gulf. Not a hand-breadth, as Eabbis fabled, and the Koran. 
 
 A j'awning chasm, too deep to be filled, and too wide to be bridged. 
 
 The everlasting barrier between good and evil. 
 
 Not to be overleaped by presitmption or sympathy. 
 
 This for ever destroys all ground for the conception of a Purgatory. 
 
 Fixed. Denotes the imchangeable nature of this appointment. 
 
 Not the slightest or briefest abatement of his woe. 
 
 This cuts off the last hope of the lost soul. 
 
 Once in hell, the doomed ones are there for ever. 
 
 Cannot. The most daring sinner cannot force his way out of that 
 
 prison. 
 In this world, there is ?!o gulf, which mercy has not spanned. 
 In eternity, a stone is rolled to the door of hope, which no angel can 
 
 remove. 
 To us. A sudden multiplication of persons, showing felloicsldp in 
 
 heaven. 
 
 iiiibw. The plural does not appear in the English Version, implying that there aro 
 many in perdition. " Gulf.'" Surely this is a strong word against tlioso who would 
 believe only in a temporary pnuishmont of the wicked. Prcscott. Classic writers speak 
 of a x"<''/"i /"-'va. J" th-j unseen world. Jles. Thco., 729. Same idea occurs in Plato, 
 riularch, Lucian. "Inter huno divitem, et paupercin chaos magnum est, quia jpott
 
 CaAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 1G3 
 
 mortem nequeunt merita mutari." Ambrose. Do the righteous behold, and desire to 
 comfort the sufferers ? And does the sight cast a shade over their heavenly feUcity ? 
 These questions wait a solution iu another world. Stier The Holy Spirit has answered 
 already, Rev. xix. 3. 
 
 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my 
 father's house : 
 
 I pray thee. On earth, bis jjrayers miglit have been beard, but now 
 
 too late. 
 All externals were cbangecl, bnt bis soul was the same. 
 Send. Tbis apparently unselfish request, has an under tone of 
 
 rebellion. 
 It is a murmuring ebjection, tending to self-justification. 
 Had I but rightly known, had I- bad sufficient testimony, I might bav9 
 
 repented. 
 He has the clearest consciousness, of all that be has left behind. 
 One coming from the dead, would invest him with dignity. 
 He did not believe a gulf existed, between the upper and nether worlds. 
 My father's. "There is no gulf fixed between this place and my 
 
 brethren." 
 Lazarus knows well where to find his father's house. 
 They will recognise him and heed bis warnings. 
 He does not say, give me leave to go. 
 He now knows the gulf impassable to himself. 
 
 28. For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also comeinto 
 this place of torment. 
 
 Five brethren. Perhaps five Pharisees who bad especially ridiculed 
 the Lord, verse 14, who contemned the law and the proi^bets, verses 
 IG, 29, and who resembled the sensualist, if not outwardly at least 
 inwardly. Bengel. 
 
 He was worse amid the blessings of Providence than amid the tortures of 
 beU. 
 
 On earth he never showed such compassion as be shows now. 
 
 Pharisees in name may often be Sadducees in heart. 
 
 They may have often mocked together about an unseen world. 
 
 We behold here the strivings of a fruitless remorse. 
 
 He dreads the mutual torment of the presence of his bretlren.
 
 164 SUGGESTI\T3 COMIIENTAKY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Perhaps his example or influence may have led them astray. 
 
 Judas makes restitution after Jesus is condemned. 
 
 Esau makes an exceeding bitter cry, but his father's blessing is lost. 
 
 This one would warn his brethren of danger too late for himself. 
 
 Unavailing sorrow the bitter ingredient of his torment. 
 
 'WTiile he lived he had done nothing for their spiritual good. 
 
 They would only increase his tonnent by their reproaches. 
 
 A frightful contrast with their former reckless fellowship and merriment. 
 
 " Misery loves company," a reversed adage in hell. 
 
 Testify. A secret justifying of himself and accusing of God. 
 
 Implies, if he had only been sufficiently warned he might have been 
 
 saved. 
 " Though I was not duly warned let my brethren be." 
 Does not simply imply to inform, but solemnly to warn. 
 ^Believe imj testimony, there is an aicful justice in Hades." 
 The legends about ''HelV^ have a tremendous truth. 
 Let faithful preachers ' discharge the mission on which Lazarus was 
 
 never sent. 
 We detect here only a certain carnal love to his brothers. 
 But no waking up of the heart to God. 
 A bitter reproach against the old economy. 
 Abraham's answer calmly rolls back the reproach. 
 " Thet aee sufficiently warned," is endorsed by the Son of God. 
 Also come. He may have used his influence to ruin their souls. 
 Partners in sin, becoming sharers in woe, mutual tormentors. 
 Arc as tares, bound in bundles for the flames. 
 Earth's social links unsanctified become chains of fire hereafter. 
 Torment. Perfect unrest, revolving like a wheel, in eternal flames. 
 His conscience ever consumes itself without being consumed. 
 Greeks fabled a vulture as feeding upon Prometheus, bound to a rock on 
 
 Mount Caucasus, which ever fed upon his unconsumed vitals. 
 
 irf'n-e aSeA(J)ov!. A perverse idea to render tlie paraljle liistorical, and find allusion 
 licre to the fiye sous of Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphaa. The constant dignity of (he 
 Lord forbids any such offensive iiereonalities. Sticr. "Testify.'" Teach. Grotiua; 
 seriously admonish. Camj'hcll. 
 
 29. Abraham saith unto him. They have Mnscif and the prophets; let them liear them. 
 Abraham. Tho brief reply was, " They arc warned."
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 1G5 
 
 For heathen, having no prophets, the request might have force. Eoiu. 
 X. 14. 
 
 The Jews have Moses and the prophets, hut they will not hear them. 
 
 Saith. Abraham gives no answer to his request conceruing Lazarus. 
 
 The compassionate " son" of the last is here omitted. 
 
 They have. Valid witnesses enough without one returning from iL.-:: 
 dead. 
 
 Moses. Luke ii. 22. A personification of the law- 
 Points to relations previous to the publishing of the Gospel. 
 
 As though they had Moses instead of Lazarus preaching face to face. 
 
 Our Lord would commend the Scriptui-es which they despised. 
 
 Self -righteousness nullifies the law and ignores the prophets. 
 
 Jhe prophets. Luke i. 70. The especial witnesses for Jesus. 
 
 Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and 12 
 minor prophets counted anciently one book. 
 
 A formula for all the Scriptures, the teachers of the five brethren. 
 
 God never suffers a lack of teachers, giving man a conscience. 
 
 Conscience and the written Word condemn impenitent Pharisees. 
 
 A dead Moses is a better teacher than a living Lazarus. 
 
 If the Old Testament is better than a risen man's testimony how in- 
 excusable are they who have the whole Bible ! 
 
 God has jiromised to bless His own means. 
 
 There is no wizard deception, no delusion of spirit, as there might be in 
 
 the questioning of the dead. Isa. viii. 19-20. 
 They had the Prophets themselves, in their writings, as though living in 
 
 their midst. 
 The poor heathen, it is certain, have no such Word. 
 Xiet them hear. This is said stcrnhj. " Faith cometh by hearing." 
 
 Eom. X. 17. 
 Not only outward perception, but inward obedience. 
 The Spirit of God, will di-aw but never drive a man into the Idngdcm. 
 Many drudges in the Church, through motives oi policy. 
 Faith in the word heard, not apparitions, lead men to Christ. 
 It is not the result of visions, signs and miracles. 
 Faith of the trembling devils, is of no avail. Jas. ii. 19. 
 Only that faith which works by love purifies the heart. 
 The simple Word of God, a sufficient rule of faith. 
 
 Mwiio-ea koI tous npotpi^Ta.';. Omits the other gaered booliS, as not publicly read. 
 Lightfoot. Moses nowhere expressly teaches future retribution, but all his facts load to 
 
 31
 
 166 STJGGESTrVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XVI. 
 
 it. Doddridge. " Sarely thoa canst not feel more anxious for thy friend's salvation, than 
 Jehovah Himself." Euthymius. Here is a remarkable testimony from Christ Himself, 
 speaking hy Abraham, from the heavenly world, that the Jews have " Moses and the 
 Prophets;" i.e. that the " Canon of the Old Testament" is what it was believed by the 
 Jews to be, viz., the Word of God, speaking by Moses and the Prophets ; and that it had 
 been preserved by the Jewish Church, to our Lord's age, (whence it has come down to 
 our own) in purity and integrity ; that it is genuine, authentic, and divine, and not as 
 some, contradicting Christ, would now have us to believe, a mere farrago of fragments 
 put together by writers more recent than "Moses and the Prophets;" and, that its 
 testimony is so cogent, that they who will not receive it as such, are in so hardened and 
 desperate a state, that they would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 
 Wordsworth. This passage a sufficient reply to Dr. Colenso et hoc omne genus. 
 
 SO. And he said, Nay, father Abraham : but if one went unto them from the de(Kl, they 
 if ill repent. 
 
 Nay. He thinks he kno^vs his brethren, better than Abraham. 
 
 He was wilfully ignorant of the plan of salvation in life. 
 
 He carries with him to hell, his contempt for God's Word. 
 
 Those who listen to Moses, will not need a message from Lazarus, dead. 
 
 Apparitions from the invisible world, appeal alone to sense and /ear. 
 
 If the Word ai God does not convert, no evidence will do it. 
 
 Foolish men think, any other method better, than that chosen by God. 
 
 He would not listen to Moses on earth, will not listen to Abraham now. 
 
 Pride of heart, requires something stronger than flames, to subdue it. 
 
 He becomes bold, his parched tongue, throws "Kay" into Abraham's 
 
 face, 
 The Prophets, without actually hearing them, proudly neglected. 
 lie has become so infatuated, he will not receive instruction even now. 
 As the works of the blessed dead follow them. Rev. xiv. 13. 
 So ipjnorance, self-will, and demand of signs, follow this man. 
 li" one went. This last lowered petition, scarcely seems to ask at all. 
 He presumes such an extraordinary call, might have saved his soul. 
 But now silently concludes, that for himself, it is too late. 
 The dead. Practical Atheism, not SadJuceelsm, implied in these 
 
 words. 
 Tiic five deriding mockcr.«, would have scorned an apparition. 
 Christianity's evidences dear enough, to seekers after truth. 
 God will bless I!is own means, but frowns on Ills foes. Isa. viii. 19. 
 
 Deut. sviii. 11-12.
 
 CHAP. XVI.] ON ST. LUKE. 1G7 
 
 " In tlie Scriptiu'es there is light enough to guide him who lovelh light : 
 
 and darkness enough to confound him that lovcth darkness." 
 
 (Pascal.) 
 The madness of men after spirit-rappings, leads to open infidelity and 
 
 hlasphemy. 
 The rich man's brethren might charge Lazarus' ghost, with slandering 
 
 their relative. 
 The dead, may frequently he thinking more of the living, than the living 
 
 of the dead. 
 Repent. In hell, the necessity of repentance admitted. 
 He thus acknowledges that he had not repented, and thereby admits 
 
 that his condemnation is just. 
 
 81. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will 
 they he persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 
 
 He said. He does not deny the request, but says, it will be imavailing. 
 
 The sufficiency of Scripture, is here most clearly taught. 
 
 Fear not. Dives said, they will repent ; Abraham said, they will not be 
 
 l)crsuadcd. 
 Dives said, " if one went unto them from the dead." 
 Abraham, said "though one rose," a prophetic glance at the world's 
 
 unbelief. 
 The glorious Resurrection of the Savioiu" left Pharisees more hardened in 
 
 their unbelief. 
 Greater miracles than you demand, will not produce the results. 
 Their true cause of impenitence, not want of truth. 
 But the want of a heart to believe the truth they had. 
 Many now side with Dives, after the express testimony of the Lord. 
 Be persuaded. Roman soldiers, who saw Jesus raised from the dead, 
 
 on the same day Idred themselves basely to slander the Lord. 
 
 Matt, xxviii. 11-15. 
 The risen dead could tell them no more than the Bible contains. 
 The weighty final declaration is, even repentance itself not sufficient. 
 Rose. The Pharisees' insatiable desire for miracles is here rebuked. 
 Devils, though witnesses of stupendous miracles, are devils still. 
 Miracles cannot force affections estranged from God. 
 Miracles may make men wonder but will not make men believe. 
 God will do no miracle to please Atheists. 
 A real Lazarus did rise, and instead of being persuaded they immediatolj' 
 
 conspired to murder him and JesuSi John xii. 10.
 
 168 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Herod still a Saclducee, Pharisees scoffed on. 
 
 A phantom from the realm of shadows would have been but shadowy 
 
 authority. 
 Saul did not repent when Samuel came preaching from the dead. 
 Faith is confirmed only by the proof God gives. 
 The risen Christ appeared to no unbelievers. Acts x. 41. 
 All complaint of want of light is temptation of Satan. 
 He points at their infidelity, even after His resurrection. 
 This i:)arable a constant impressive revelation to man. 
 The sufferings of every Lazarus point us to eternal consolation. 
 There is no gulf between earth and hell, only a thin veil. 
 The voice of warning closes and leaves its echo in our ear. 
 
 avaa-rrj takes the place of the rich roan's nopevBrj, as the soul and hody differ from 
 the spirit; and Treto-flijo'ovTat takes the jSIace of iJ.(Tavori(Tovaiv. Light foot. neiaBuja-ovTai., 
 — '^Persuaded." Faith, a laoral act, dependent on the exercise of the will or affections, 
 as well as the understanding. Where there is a settled alienation of the will and 
 affections from the Truth, no impression made by miracles can be permanent, John xi. 
 47 ; xii. 10. The mere wonder of a miracle could not produce true faith. Hence the 
 appeal to the affections iu our Lord's miracles. W. & W. This Tiazarus a type of Christ : 
 his sores tji)ify blasphemies ; the death of Dives, the downfall of the Jewish polity ; the 
 request of Dives, the vain desii-e for the Messiah. Vitringa. Dives and his brethren 
 probably Sadducecs. Not a person raised from the dead, but an apparition (he thinks) 
 could convince. Macknight. Parable addi-essed to the Pharisees. Sherlock. Not the 
 evil effected, but the good left undone, condemned. Oosterzee, Campbell. Keforence to 
 the Sadduceeism of Annas and Caiaphas. Wetstein; denied hy Bengel. Our sufferings 
 on account of poverty and wealth, great enigma of Providence, Deut. xv. 7, 9 ; Mai'k xiv. 
 7. Oosterzee. But He casts the light of eternity on the darkness of time. To correct 
 the notion that wealth, as such, excludes from heaven ; or that poverty, as such, ensures 
 heaven, it is observed by the Fathers, tkat the beggar Lazarus is carried by angels into 
 the bosom of the rich man Abraham, who made God his friend, by a right use of this 
 world. Wordsworth. Table-turning, spirit-rappin-g, all such legerdemain, condemned as 
 vnin efforts to pierce the secret of the eterna 1 world. Stisr. Spirit communications 
 proposed in hell, but condemned in heaven. L.H.V.D.
 
 CnAP. XVII.] ON RT. LUKE. 1G9 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 1. THEN said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but tliat offences will Oitic ; hit 
 woe unto liixn, through whom they eume 1 
 
 Impossible. Offences inevitable as the world and men are. 
 
 Unavoidable, but their authors responsible. 
 
 The circumstances of the case do not admit of any other result. 
 
 Sucli is the perverseness and malignity of the human heart. 
 
 But God's sovereign wisdom makes the wrath of man to praise Him. 
 
 Satan's wiles and the world's rage only mature the purity of the saints. 
 
 Offences may be expected while the world stands. 
 
 Human infirmities explain their presence, but are no excuse. 
 
 By oven these God's counsel will carry on the good work. 
 
 Offences. Gr. stiunhling Mocks.. 
 
 " Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind." Lev. xix. 14. 
 
 Even stumbling blocks become instruments of the Divine purposes. 
 
 By civil and ecclesiastical oppression, false zeal, distortions of truth, 
 
 God sanctifies His children. 
 Sinners, the instruments, without excuse and withoi;t share in the good. 
 " If thy hand or foot offend thee," or " cause thee to stumble." Matt. 
 
 xviii. 8. 
 Sinful inclinations or false reasonings oft fatal to the unwary. 
 Eli's sons made the offerings of the Lord to be abhorred. 1. Sam. ii. 17. 
 "Woe. The woe pronounced is : — 1, tenible ; 2, just ; 3, salutary. 
 To parents who lead children away from the Cross. 
 To persecutors who discourage souls from doing their duty. 
 To those who corrupt the minjls and hearts of youth. 
 Ko other crime equals that of injuring souls. 
 It refers to the fiercest persecutor, like Nero, down to the inconsistent 
 
 believer. 
 Christ pronounces the severest doom on those who betray others into sin.
 
 17C SUGGESTRTB COMIIENTAEY [cHAP, XVU. 
 
 £c77e. The connection with the preceding does not now appear. De TTt-iie. God's words, 
 like His works, are complete in themselves. Our Lord often addressed himself to that 
 which was passing in men's minds, and not to words uttered. He addressed his remarks 
 to their thonghts, thus showing that to Him all hearts are open, and from Him no 
 secrets are hid. 
 
 avevSeKTov. Inadmissible. W. <t W. ; cannot he aToided. Tyndale ; pre-supposed. 
 MicUter, Larige ; it is not othenvise to be expected. Stier. avdyKr;, It must needs be. 
 Major. With ovK, &c.; it is not a thing unusual to happen. Bengcl; not an absolute, 
 but conditional necessity. Theophylact, RDScmnullcr. Among the divine purposes, 
 leaving human responsibility perfect. Calvin. dvdyKi;, not refoixing to fate, but the 
 connection between guUt and judgment. Sticr. 
 
 <TKa.vScLKa. A crooked stick on which the bait is fastened, which the animal strikes 
 against, and so springs the trap. Here the departing of the Pharisees in disgust or a 
 quarrelsome temper. Doddridge. 
 
 2. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into 
 the sea, tlian that he should offend one oftlicse little ones. 
 
 Better. Better lie sLould perish before lie thus si}is. 
 
 An iinspeakable misery to be op^Dressed -with the burden of ojie's own sin. 
 
 A far greater to draw upon one's self the giiilt of another's ruin. 
 
 A teacher of heresy palliates sin and ruins souls. 
 
 Millstone. Gr. nether stone, one turned by an ass not by hand. 
 
 Matt, xviii. 6. 
 Designates a very large stone. Eev. xviii. 21. 
 His neck. To increase the infamy of his death. 
 
 Cast into the sea. Common punishment among Syrians and Romans. 
 The Syrians rolled a criminal in lead and cast him into the sea. 
 Sea. Gr. into the main sea, where the water was deep. Matt, xviii. 6. 
 Offend. Gr. cause to offend, be a stumbling block. 
 Believers are neither safe nor perfect while in this state. 
 <' Beware lest your liberty become a stumbling block to the weak." 
 
 1. Cor. viii. 9. 
 " Giving no offence neither to Jews nor to Gentiles." 1. Cor. x. 32 ; 
 
 Horn. xiv. 13. 
 Christ crucified is a stone of offence to many. Rom. ix. 33. 
 Our tmhallowed temper ofttimes a stumbling block. 
 •'If meat make my brother to offend," or " prove a stumbling block.' 
 
 i. Cor. viii. 13. 
 These. Implying that little children were then in their midst. 
 Iiittle ones. Disciples of Christ, young in years or weak in faith. 
 Esteemed little by the proud ones of earth.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 171 
 
 They arc, liowevcr, among the great ones in the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 "I will turn My hand ui^ou the little ones," i.e., for protection. Zech. 
 xiii. 7. 
 
 XvcriTeXei — Auio Tf Ao?. To indoranifj- for expenses, lienee, impersonally " it profits 
 me." naAAof undcrstooil. 5('. d- II'. The act committed may, apparently, profit or 
 gratify the offender while, in reality, it lienefits alone the persecuted. Better for him 
 thu3 to perish, than to incur the woo! Matt, xviii. 6. 
 
 \C9os /ivAucbs. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Al/ord, Cod. Sinai, ftvKtK oft/cbs. Major, 
 W. d: IF., Wordsworth. Augustus thus punished a Macedonian and the foiiowors of 
 Caius. Custom alluded to by Aristop-haneg. OdKacra-av — the deep main sea, opposed to 
 that near the shoi-e. HierarchUm destined to jxirish in the revolutions of nations, Rev. 
 iii. 1. Lange. "Little ones." Little, because they take offence at everything. Sticr. 
 
 8. IT Tal-e heed to yourselves : If thy brother trespass aoainst thee, rebuke him ; and 
 if he repent, forgive him. 
 
 Take heed. Fly from these stumbling blocks, if it be possible. 
 Separate yourselves from the Pharisees and the wicked world. 
 Beware that you talx no offence, on account of the brethren. 
 Beware that you give no ofieuce yourself to the children of the world, or 
 
 to the children of God. 
 We are warned not to be dismayed nor discouraged. 
 *' Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart." Lev. xix. 17. 
 S-ebuke. Love begins by speaking truth. 
 We must not only a,void giving olTence, but endeavour to reform those 
 
 who offend. 
 *' Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor." Lev. xix. 17. 
 It is not honest to say behind him what we would not say before him. 
 If. It does not imply that we must not forgive unless he repent. 
 If without repentance there can be more cordial reconciliation. 
 Repent. To meditate revenge, though he should not repent, is great 
 
 guilt. 
 iOi'give. Forget the injury, and never upbraid him with it. 
 Christians are to be as anxious to j^itblisli theivfurgivenrss as the wicked 
 
 their revenge. 
 Some affirm they forgive but cannot forget an injury. 
 This policy of earth intends taking revenge when convenient.
 
 172 suGGESTma cojoientary [chap. xvii. 
 
 Christ teaches entire and complete forgiveness of our enemies. 
 Seven-fold vengeance permitted in the Old Testament. Gen. iv. 23-24. 
 Seven-fold forgiveness is enjoined in the New Testament. 
 
 TrpooVxere. Guard yonr spirit. Brown. Govern yonr passions. Doddridge, aix-dprrf, 
 literally sin. eis ere, omitted by nearly all the ancient authorities. Alford; omitted. Cod, 
 Sinai. Be w illin g to forgive. Oosterzee. Do not offend others. Bengel. 
 
 -. 4. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a dap, and seven times j;t a day turn 
 again to thee, saying, I repent ; thou slialt forgive him. 
 
 Seven times. Luke viii. 2. Seventy times seven. Matt, xviii. 22. 
 
 Seven is a number signifying perfection or completion. 
 
 " There are seven abominations in his heart," i.e. he is fearfully depraved. 
 
 Prov. xxvi. 25. 
 Charity and true mercy rejoice in having no bounds. 
 It is the greatest folly to refuse mercy while we om-selves need mercy. 
 Those needing ivfinite forgiveness oiight not to limit theirs to their 
 
 fellow men. 
 A symbolized expression for never-ending forgiveness. 
 Infinite Love in its fulness and strength sweeps away all bamers. 
 Tiules of arithmetic cannot measure a mother's love. 
 Neither should a sinner's acts of forgiving kindness be counted. 
 Sanctified love, like its Author, never wearies in forgiving. 
 A forgiving temper alone secures peace of mind. 
 Saying. The bare acknowledgment is to be received. 
 " Charity believeth all things." 1. Cor. xiii. 7. 
 
 I repent. To say this ingenuously honors, not disgraces the penitent. 
 Each particular sin should be confessed before God. 
 ITorgive. Gr. dismiss, that is, remit all obligation or penalty. 
 
 a^apnjtri) for a/iapTjj. Tischendorf, Oosterzee, tVordswortii, Alford. Not general 
 Bins, hut those committed in social intercourse. Oostcr-zec. One discriminates between 
 malicious (TKavSaXa, and mere inCrmitic-;, a/iapria. Olshauscn. "Seven times in a day." 
 Docs not imply (Prov. xxiv. 17) that a just man niiy fall seven times into sin. Campbell. 
 
 Taj rjptt'pa?, the second time omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, C.od. Sinai. FortTrio-i, 
 Cod'. SiiM has rrpbs (xi. so Mill, Alford; omitted by Tischendorf.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 173 
 
 5. And the aposlUs said wito the Lord, Increase our faith. 
 
 Lord. This word implies intense earnestness and solemnity. 
 
 They hereby recognize the Divine Power of Jesus. 
 
 Increase. Gr. add; sacrifice to charity, the deceitful sweetness of 
 
 revenge. 
 Amazed at the greatness of the faith required for this forgivenosr. 
 It demands a depth of faith no created will can exercise. 
 They felt the difficulty of avoiding offence and of forgiving their,' sc per- 
 
 fcctUj and so divinely. 
 Only recorded instance of their asking a spiritual gift of Christ. 
 Chiist's intercession prevents our faith from utter extinction. 
 A confession that their hearts were in the hands of their Master. 
 They ask for faith, and show their faith by asking. 
 Implies that He could mould them according to His will. 
 Inspired men looking to a Divine Being for a Divine gift. 
 The prayer poured out and the grace implored denote the Divinity cl 
 
 Christ. 
 This prayer presupposes: — 1, we have faith already; 2, but too little; 
 
 3, it is from God alone. 
 Faith.. Which surmounts stumbling blocks and freely forgives sins. 
 Prayer owes its birth to faith, and faith its increase to prayer. 
 Even the AjDostles, prime ministers of state in Christ's Kingdom, confesb 
 
 their weakness. 
 Contrast with presumption and arrogancy of the Pope in proffcsting to 
 
 dispense Divine mercy to his fellow men. 
 Meaning of this prayer: — Let the discoveries of faith, 1, be more clear; 
 
 2, its desires stronger ; 3, its foundations firmer ; 4, its dedication 
 
 more entire ; 5, its delights more pleasing. 
 Those often sadly torn by envy lovingly unite in this prayer. 
 The only example we have of such unanimity. 
 
 Faith — 1, needed before communion ; 2, required at communion ; 3, ex- 
 posed to heavy trials after. 
 
 Qi oiroo-ToXot. The only time in the N.T. distingnished from the " di8ci;i'!os," in 
 addressing their Lord. Stier, Alford. Thou hast taught us about charity, now reach na 
 about faith. Wetstcin. A time when they failed to work a miracle. Hase. But tc forgive 
 a deep insult, requires a fai*ih bordering on that of miracles. Augustine. ^'Increase." 
 Give us strongei nsrmrancc, Norton. Add faith to u?, — "appone nobis fidem." Word-i' 
 worth.
 
 174 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTARY [cHAP. XVII. 
 
 6. Jnd the Lord said. If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto 
 this sycamine tree. Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and 
 it should obey you. 
 
 If. The Divine -wonders of an efficacious faith are made to rest upon the 
 exercise of a childhke trust. 
 
 The energies of the soul are roused to action by the Saviour's word. 
 
 Mustard. Luke xiii. 19. Faith appears contemptible to the eye of a 
 carnal world. 
 
 Sycamine tree. Pointing to one in sight, speaking in the open air. 
 
 This tree, like oiu- oak, was wide-branched and deep-rooted. 
 
 Plucked up. A proverbial saying for anything very difficult. 
 
 It is a greater victory to root out self-love from the heart than a moun- 
 tain tree by its roots. 
 
 " AU things are possible to him that believeth." Mark ix. 23. 
 
 " Though I have faith that I could remove mountains." 1. Cor. xiii. 2. 
 
 Planted. A type of the Divine power in confirming believers amid the 
 tumultous shiftings of this world. 
 
 Sea. A tjj>e of tumult, danger, gloom, and restless change. 
 
 Heav-eu, one of rest — " There was no more sea." Eev. xxi. 1. 
 
 With strong faith offences fall harmless against believers, as the waves 
 against the rock. 
 
 Perfect faith resisting a world in arms is of God. 
 
 The lack of faith has its ground in self-reliance — " imstable as water." 
 Jas. i. IG. 
 
 " With God all things are possible," He is the source of faith. Luke i. 37, 
 
 For e'xeTE, cxeTE. Tischenrlorf, Cod. Sinai. "Faith." 'Uliy ask increase of faith ? 
 First, use wlint you have. Wctstein. o-uKaniVw. Must not be confounded with the 
 <rvKOnop4a, wliich is the Egyptian fig. The Sept. rendering is a-vKafjuvot. The mulberry 
 tree, common in Palestine. Bengcl, Elsley, Groti-its, Covcrdalc, Geneva, Bheimish, 
 Al/ord, Wordsworth. " The sea." This tree was actually to take root and grow, 
 standing in the sea. Sticr. Tavrr;, omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 7. But which of you, having a servant ploughing or feeding cattle, will say unto him 
 by and by, when he is come from the field. Go and sit down to meat 7 
 
 Servant. Our Lord teaches, with us belongs duty, with God comfort. 
 Ploughing. The church is the field, and is to be laboriously tilled. 
 Feeding. Gr. shepherding or tending. John xxi. 16; Acts xx. 28; 
 1. Pet. V. 2.
 
 CHAP. r.VII.] ON ST. LUKE. 175 
 
 By and by. Gr. imviecUatehj, go directlj' and sit down. 
 
 Unwearied continuance through the wLole day's labor righteously 
 
 measured out. 
 Count not the time long before the rest comct.h. 
 
 They who, in faith p.itiently hold fast the promises, shall aftenvards, (tc. 
 Go. Gr. come in. Luke xii. 37 ; Acts xxiv. 7. 
 Sit down. An unexact translation ; Gr. recline. 
 We are to exi^ect here neither re. t nor caressfs from our Master until our 
 
 work be done. 
 Perseverance in the path of duty alone will hear the joyful " Well dotie.'" 
 
 Matt. XXV. 21. 
 
 Je marks a return (o llie discourpe. Even if you have this faith, do uot suppose you 
 are entitled to any rewaid im that account. SovAcv. Slave. Kuinoel, Doddridge, 
 Alexander, TrotfiatVoi'Ta. To heid, John xxi. evflc'ws. To be taken with rropeAfiioi', 
 come directly and sit do^^u. W. dj W. Tiaus^ated, immediately, 15 other jilaces in the 
 N.T. In the text, it is ivrougly joined with e'pet. It corresjionds to fxera ravTa, 
 Forthwith sit down to meat. Bcngel, Alford. " Go," &q. Might be, " Come hither and 
 eat with me, at yeur loid's table," This is the prerogative of tke children, not of the 
 Bcrvants, whUe tliey, remain such, Lu-ke xvil. 10. This jiamble spoken on another 
 occasion. Kuiiwel. Checks vanity after being insti-ucted. Euthymivs, W. d- W. Lovo 
 must bo humble. Stier. Fears of future trial. Ohhauscn. Necessity of patient 
 endurance. Oweii. After epei, Cod. Sinai, supplies airw. 
 
 8. And will not rather say unto him, 3Take ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thy- 
 self, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken ; and, afterward thou Shalt eat and 
 drink ! 
 
 Rather. A servant should not refresh himself before his master. 
 
 Make ready. This directs all our labors to God's glory. 
 
 Gird. Girdle, an article of dress worn by men and women iu the East. 
 
 Also by priest, soldiers, and kings in their military capacity. 
 
 Materials, leather, such as that now worn by the Bedouins. 
 
 Others, silver, fine linen embroidered wath silk, silver, or gold threaJ, and 
 
 frequently studded with precious stones. 
 Fastened with golden clasps, or tied in knots, the ends hanging down. 
 In times of mourning girdles of sackcloth were worn. Isa. iii. 24. 
 Villages were given to the Persian queens for a supply of girdles. 
 Inkliorns, money, and sword carried in the girdle. 
 Servo ine. Patient endurance in our lot here taught.
 
 176 suggkstive commentary [chap. 
 
 Labor of the longest life is but short compared -with eternal reward. 
 We are bonnd to God, but not lie to ms. The reward is of love. 
 Afterward. Short indeed had been their labour at the plough. 
 Slight indeed had been their shepherding. 
 The rewards of a prolonged service are not yet to be claimed. 
 Shalt eat. Happy the fidelity admitted to the heavenly banquet. 
 
 Trepiftotrajjtei'o?. A Costly girdle, worn by females, named in Isa. x^t^" ixecfo-jroppvpos, 
 Sept. A tonic ■wrought with purple. Smith. Used as purses among the orientals; 
 hence zonam perdere, to lose one's purse. Major. Aiter cToi'fi'woi'. Cod. Sinai., adds ^ot. 
 
 9. Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him t 
 I trow not. 
 
 Thank. Our all should be spent for God, since He has given us all. 
 
 God's promises have made Him a debtor, to his own honor. 
 
 None should count his ploughman as if he were no better than the field 
 
 he labors in, or as if like the cattle, to be fed for his own profit. 
 The Lord, whose we are by creation, does not thus treat His servants. 
 He both abundantly thanks and rewards them. 
 Servant. Luke vii. 2. Not hired, but personal property by birth or 
 
 purchase. 
 All the thanhlng must be on om* side, and all the giving on God's. 
 Even the Apostles themselves, in their full duties, unprofitable servants. 
 The rightful relation between us and Him, " whose we are, and whom we 
 
 serve." 
 I trow not. Gr. I think he will not. From the Saxon, true, fuiUij'ul. 
 It is not enough to begin well the work of eternity. 
 No rest promised until wo enter upon a sinless state in a world exempt 
 
 from sin. 
 
 XapH'. Luke i. 50. Oar Lord is not laying do^vn rules for oartljy masters. Stier 
 eVeiVu) and ciuTu) cauccllod. Lachmann, 7'ischendor/, Alford ; onxMvi. Cod, Sinai, ov 
 SoKut, cautollod. Lachmann, Tinchrndjjr/, Alford; retained. Cod., Sijtai., yVordmrorth.
 
 CHAP. X\T;I.] on ST. LUKE. 177 
 
 10. So likewise ye, when ye sliall have done all those things which are commanded you, 
 say, We are unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our duty to do. 
 
 Unprofitable. Gr. not properly useless, but 7icedlcss ; ono wlio may 
 
 be dispensed with. 
 We can never place God under any obligation to us. 
 Worthless ourselves, God must ever give us power to serve Him. 
 This excludes the Pap?,l delusion of meriiorioiisness. 
 " Though I preach, I have nothing to glory of." 1. Cor. ix. 16. 
 True servants of God, never think they have done enough. 
 Always grieve they have done so little, and done it so imperfectly. 
 Vninofi.tahle — 1. It was our duty. 2. Duty was done by God's grace. 
 
 3. Always imperfect. 
 Although doing things impossible, except to faith, yet we have not 
 
 benefited God, by our service. 
 Human pride trusts that it han done God a favor by doing well. 
 Our worthlessness contrasts, with what Christ will say at the end. Matt. 
 
 XXV. 21. 
 Of the earth, saints are the salt; of the world, the light. Matt. v. 13-14. 
 And, as such, are vessels of honor in the great Master's hand. 2. Tim. ii. 21. 
 This shows the true gi'ound of inheriting eternal life. 
 Death is the wages of sin, but eternal life, the gift of God. 
 Our Lord gives a heavy blow to self-righteousness. 
 Each one secretly llatl:ers himself, that some one is worse than he is. 
 Servants, of God, retain the honored title of holg ones in His presence. 
 
 Eev. vii. 3. 
 Elsewhere He caUs us not servants, but " friends." John xv. IS. 
 Kot to serve Him would be failure in a bounden duty, and entail a woe. 
 
 1. Cor. ix. 16. 
 It would make ourselves a shameful stumbling block. 
 Duty. Slaves then ovied all their time and toil to their master. 
 They had nothing and did nothing their master did not claim. 
 We are, and ever can be, only vessels. 
 Whatever of grace is in us must be firsi. poured in. 
 He must give us p>oicer to labor, and existence to our faith. 
 Impatience of reward springs from mistaken views of our relations. 
 God's claims upon us are infinite, om-s upon Him nothing! 
 Conscience ever dashes the balance, trying to prove God oiu: debtor. 
 " By the grace of God I am what I am." 1. Cor. xv. 10. 
 Believer having no confidence, yet has comfort in his obedience. 
 Woe to him whom his Lord calls unprofitahie servant; happy he who 
 calls liimself so. Bengel.
 
 17S SUGGESTIVE COJIMSINTARY [CHAP. XVlf. 
 
 Hxp^wC. Mean. Rosenmuller, Christ speaks concerning external works after the 
 manner of men. iutJier. In love, perform more than is expressly commanded; senice 
 not insignificant or unworthy. Neander. It does not signify indolent servants. Stier. 
 Those of -nhom there is no need, or whom we can dispense with. Bengel. Acts xvii. 25, 
 (u(J)fi'Ao|uei', owe, account for, to be under obligation : coronabit gratiam suam. Augustine. 
 Kon est beneficium sod ofSeium facere quod debeas. Seneca. VitaTi denique culpam non 
 landcm merui. Hor., Wakefield. 
 
 11. IT And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst 
 of Samaria and Galilee. 
 
 It came to pass. The raising of Lazarus and consequent consultation 
 
 belong here. JoLn xi. 1-53. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. History, geography, and antiquity. See 
 
 Notes. 
 Samaria. Heb. watch height ; city founded, e.g. 925, by Omri 
 Scene of Elijah's and Elisha's labors ; residence of kings. 
 Ahab built a i^alace of ivory here ; denounced by the prophet. Isa. ix. 9. 
 Since besieged by SjTians, captured by Shalmaneser, b.c. 720. 
 Eebuilt by Cuthitep, taken by Alexander the Great, destroyed by 
 
 Hyrcanus, Gabinius rebuilt, called Gahinia. 
 Herod the Great adorned it ; called it Sebaste, Greek name of his patron, 
 
 Augusta. 
 Now called Sebastia ; one splendid column remains. 
 The Samaritans avoided intercourse with Christ. John iv. 9. 
 Still in mercy, " He was found of those that sought Him not." Isa. Ixv. 1. 
 Galilee. Luke i. 26. Galileans avoided Samaria, going to the feasts. 
 Their bigotry especially ferocious during these annual feasts. 
 Our Lord with His disciples took the shorter route through Samaria. 
 During this His last journey in mercy He remembers these Strangers. 
 
 iytveno. He stayed in a town of Ephraim until the Passover called Hun to 
 Jerusalem. jRobinion, Oostcrzee. Miracle performed on leaving Ephrafm. Olshausen, 
 OcrUich. auToj. He for Ilis jmrt, would go diiect. il/fi/er. iia jxecrou. On the frontier, 
 lictwecn Samaria and Galilee. Confines of Samaria, Atford, Brown. In the cxmfines. 
 Bengel; xuiiiii. De Wettc. Last journey to Jerusalem. iSVu'r. To feast of Tabernacles. 
 Stier. To foant of Tabernacles. OUhavnen. Out of its ckronological place. liobiMoiu 
 tLvrhv, omitted. Cud. Sinai.
 
 CHAP. XVn.] ON ST. LUKE. ^'^^ 
 
 12. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, 
 which stood afar off: 
 
 Entered. Our Savionr met them before He entered the village. 
 By law, lepers were excluded from entcriug towns. Lev. xiii. 46. 
 A type of the unclean ones shut out from the city of our God. Ilev. iii. 7. 
 Villag-e. In the East a collection of houses with walls. 
 It is not safe to dweU apart from the protection of neighbors. 
 
 Since the theocracy ceased the land had been exposed to marauders. 
 
 Ten men. Proves the wretched half-iwssesscd creatures numerous. 
 
 A common misery had drawn them together. 
 
 A divine law : The leper shall dwell alone, i.e. apart. Lev. xiii. 4G. 
 
 Lepers were seen by the author, dwelling quite alone in Syria. 
 
 In the border-land, a Samaritan had joined their forlorn band. 
 
 Their miaeiy had broken down their national distinction. 
 
 Lepers. Luke v. 12. Leprosy, an outward symbol of sin, in its 
 deepest malignity. 
 
 It tjTified entire separation from God, spiritual death. Luke iv. 27. 
 
 Jews' believed it the punishment of some particular sin. 
 
 Afar ofiF. Lev. xiii. 45-46. At a distance from the healthy. 
 
 Lcpiosy of sin renders us unworthy to draw near to God. 
 
 Every sin cherished, excomnmnicatcs us from God. 
 
 One realizing his unworthiness, begins actually to draw near to Ilim. 
 
 Unwilling to bear the shame of sin, we have yet to repeiit. 
 
 Afn-poi cifSpes. The Persian lepers anciently were forbidden to mingle in societj-. 
 Herodotus. '^ Afar off." Some Rabbis name four feet, others one bundled feet. Z/i'jht- 
 foot. AVe are ignorant of sin, if unwilling to bear our shame. Quesnel. Condemned by 
 Clement II, in the Bull Unigeniiiu ,l7i3. 
 
 13. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us, 
 
 Xiiftcd up. Leprosy renders the voice hoarse and feeble. 
 
 The gift of prayer, is the beginning of conversion. 
 
 The more inveterate our disease, the more earncsthj must we pray. 
 
 Double leprosy, of ignorance and love of sin, demands double mercy. 
 
 He needs a Priest lo deliver, and a Prophet to enlighten him. 
 
 If satisfied with mere forms, we do not ftel our spiritual disease. 
 
 Cry of ilistress, 1. Universally raised. 2. Graciously heard.
 
 180 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVII. 
 
 1. Great miseiy, and great mercy. 2. Great ingratitude, and great 
 
 thankfulness. 3. Israel blessed, but rejected through unbelief. 
 Mercy. Felt misery, a quick and iirgent teacher. 
 Man's misery, and Christ's compassion, suited to each other. 
 If God has heard thy cry for mercy, let Him hear thy Hallelujah. 
 
 i-ni.tna.Tx,. A Tvord peculiar to Lute, instead of /cvpie, of Matt. Major, 
 
 14. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yoia-selves unto the pricstc. 
 And it came to pass, that, as they went, tliey were cleansed. 
 
 Go Shew. Lev. xiii. 2. The mysterious way He chose to strengthen 
 
 their faith. 
 This direction was itself, an indirect promise of cure. 
 To set out uncured, demanded no small degree of faith. 
 Uncleansed, a test of faith, cleansed, of obedience. 
 "WTicn ordered, they had not yet been cleansed. 
 He iDrescribes no medicines or washings. 
 
 Physician, in wisdom and tenderness varies his treatment. Matt. xi. P. 
 He resists strong faith, to make it stronger still. Matt. xv. 24. 
 He aids weak faith, lest He " quench the smoking flax." Matt. xii. 20. 
 He softens another's heart, by first giving an earthly benefit. 
 They were bidden to go and act, as though they were cleansed. 
 Their journey would have been useless, had not Christ's words proved true. 
 " Go thy way, thy son liveth," He said to the nobleman of Capemaiua. 
 
 John iv. 50. 
 Elisha to Naaman, " Go, wash seven times in Jordan." 
 In Luke v. 20, He forgives _^rst and heals after. 
 Here, JIc first heals, and then pardons. 
 Those who expect Christ's favors, must follow His words. 
 If we do what we can, God will do what we cannot. 
 Priests. Luke i. 5. His office was to declare cured, not to cure. 
 He honors God's ordinances, then in their deep degradation. 
 Theif going, constrained His enemies to admit, Christ vindicated the law. 
 " Observe diligently and do, all that the priests shall teach you." Den*"!. 
 
 x-dv. 8. 
 This awakened their interest in the Wondcr-Worker of Galilee. 
 It established ijiconlrovertibly the fact of the miracle.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 181 
 
 Thus Latliing in Jordan tested the faith of Naaman. 
 
 They went, both Jews and Samaritan, towards Jerusalem. 
 
 The Samaritan obeying, passed by Samaritanism and Judaism, on to 
 
 Christ. 
 If they had indulged in doubts they woidd have died lepers. 
 " If any man will do Ilis will," he shall receive the adoption of sons. 
 Cleansed. They had no sooner begun their journey than they Vr-cro 
 
 cleansed. 
 However small the effort they were bound to return and give thanks. 
 Ingratitude would not endure the slightest labor to acknowledge it. 
 So speedy a cure the reward of ready obedience. 
 He heals ten with a single icord and without a touch. 
 Divine meekness, avoiding ostentation, heals without a witnesi. 
 Instead of enhancing He veils the splendor of the miracle. 
 Oft the miracles of God are " the hidings of His power." 
 Christ saw the deep-seated contempt entertained for Him. 
 If we obey in faith the buds of promise will open into fruit. 
 The narrative is set before us as the report of an eye-icitness. 
 Faith can do what no earthly physician can. 
 He may have designed to prove the ingratitude of the Jews, 
 
 7ropei)0cVTe?. To test the faith of one rejecting Jewish lavr. Lightfoot. Onr Lord 
 heie sinks, as it were, the healing, for reasons unknown to us. A marvellons fact; they 
 had faith to be healed. Tliey had not faith to return and giva thanks. Stier. " Priesti." 
 Eorae sanctions a Christian priesthood, and tells her followers that sinners slrould go to 
 the priest. Bossuet, Decrees of Trent. Sound and scriptural adrice, when rightly 
 understood, for Christ is the only priest. There are no priests upon earth, for a priest 
 implies a sacrifice. Jews went to Jerusalem, and Samaritan to Gerizim. Wetslein, 
 Owen. All to Jerusalem. Tertullian. Uncertain. Stier. To have sent the Samaritan to 
 a Jewish priest, would have secured his rejection. Lightfoot. He thus converted the 
 Samaritan's prejudices. Neandcr. He who healed him would open the temple to him. 
 Roos. The Samaritan did go to Jerusalem, and returning, met Jesus. Gerlach. This 
 healing, a prophetic type of what would take placii under Chi-ist's reign. Brown. 
 
 15. And one of them, when he saw that he %i:as healed, turned back, and toith a loud 
 voice glorified God, 
 
 Turned back. Forgetting all about priests. 
 
 In the fulness of a grateful heart this poor Gentile returned thinking to 
 honor his Saviour.
 
 182 SUGGESTR^E COMMENTARY [CHAI'. XVII. 
 
 Naaman returned to bring thankful blessing to the man of God. 
 Gratitude for blessings acceptable to God, because so rarely rendered. 
 All were healed and all ought to have presented themselves to the priests 
 
 and then return. 
 Not hours but minutes elapse between the command and cure. 
 Millions lift up their roit'cs praying for benefits. 
 But are dumb, through ingratitude, when they once receive them. 
 IiOud voice. As he had been loud in prayer so loud in jn-aiscs. 
 A grateful heart will find a tuneful tongue. 
 Glorified. His gratitude to the Author of his cure shows itself ia 
 
 thanl;s. 
 In offering Divine homage to Christ he acknowledges His Diviniti/. 
 "All men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father." 
 
 John V. 23. 
 
 v7r€OTpei//6. Before being cleansed, Oosterzee. Before be bad shown himself to the 
 priest. Hence it appears that the obligation to gratitude to God, and, in like manner, to 
 other moral virtues, grounded on Love and Faith, is prior and superior to all positive 
 law. Wordsuorth. Eatber let us say, obedience is the highest proof of gratitude to God. 
 No action ia pleasing to tbe Almighty that comes into His preseace charged with the 
 neglect of some other duty. When G'jd clearly enjoins some act to be performed, men 
 are not at liberty to prefer their judgment to His, and to substitute a deed of man's 
 selection for one that is of God's appointment. A faithful compliance with the 
 instruction which, for our guiilance, God has given, forms the foundation of all lawful 
 worfibip. The above lesson was taught of old symbolically ; the lights in the Sanctuaiy 
 •were to be trimmed only with the oil which bad been prepared according to divine 
 instruction. The grateful man was a Samaritan — that is, in the estimation of a Jew, 
 a heathen, therefore bis knowledge of God's ways, and of the obedience due to His 
 commands, was inferior to that which the ungi-ateful nine possessed, for they were Jews. 
 
 IG. And fell down on bis/dfc at his feet, giving him thanks: and hcu-asa Samaritan. 
 
 Fell down. Prostration still practised in the East. 
 
 The guilt that coustantly ^;()/Z((^'s should keep us in the dust. 
 
 Anciently j'hysicians were tlius embraced by patients cured. 
 
 Greek devotees embraced the knees of gods while praying. 
 
 They supposed mercy had its dwelling there. 
 
 Thanks. Many who profess religion, excelled by those who do not. 
 
 Our Lord remembers, and will requite the grateful heart. 
 
 A deep sense of guilt, the only secret of a thankful heart.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 183 
 
 The root of Immility alone, bears the flower of thankfulness. 
 
 Infinite pardon, demands infinite gratitude. 
 
 We remember our bodily cures, and too often forget the healing of 
 
 our souls. 
 Samaritan. An alien of an unmixed heathen stock. Luke ix. 52. 
 A stranger by birth, to the covenant of the promise. 
 The nine unthankful ones, were of the seed of Abraham. 
 
 TToSas. Medicorum genua tangontes. Seneca. " Samaritan." Our Saviour preached 
 by miracles as well as by parables. His wonders wera not mere feats displaying super- 
 natural power. Alford. 
 
 17. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed } but xohere are the nine 7 
 
 Ten. A proof of Christ's omniscience and Divinity. 
 
 He had counted ten, and knew all were healed. 
 
 He that numbers the stars, numbers our mercies too. 
 
 They are still bound, and hereafter must stand before their Benefactor. 
 
 His love asks after them now, waiting to win them back. 
 
 He will one day as their judge, put the fearful question, — Whebe ? 
 
 He knew before He healed them, they would not return. 
 
 For the honor of God and the good of men, He desires our thankfulness. 
 
 Grace is not lessened to us, because others share it. 
 
 He might justly have revoked their cure. 
 
 Where are the nine ? Gr. But the nine, cohere are they ? 1. Wliero 
 
 were they once / 2. Where are they now I 3. Where will they bo 
 
 hereafter ? 
 Not ignorant of their locality, but He would prove their piety or 
 
 ingratitude. 
 " God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou ?" Gen. iii. 9. 
 Ingratitude, the beginning of all heathenism. Eom. i. 21. 
 David prayed, he might not " forget the Lord's benefits." Psa. ciii. 2. 
 It was the root of much of the apostasy in Israel. Deut. xxxii. G. 
 " Their goodness is as the morning cloud, and the early dew." Hos. vi. 4. 
 These nine represent rebellious Israel. 
 "He slew them, and they returned and inquired after the Lord." Psa. 
 
 Ixxviii. 34. 
 "They remembered not His hand, when He delivered them." Psa. 
 
 Ixxviii. 42.
 
 184 SUGGESTH^ COMMENTARY [CHAP. XTII. 
 
 But sins in Gospel neglecters, are greater^ and need deeper repentance. 
 
 We open not om- mouths, till He opens His hand. 
 
 But supplying our wants, closes our hearts, and silences our tongues. 
 
 " Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His henefits." Psa. ciii. 2. 
 
 We hide mercies under a bushel, and set our wants upon a hill. 
 
 The Lord is not concerned about the honor from men. 
 
 But obedience to God, is paramount to sacrifice. 1 Sam. xv. 22. 
 
 AfHictions sanctified, lead men to cry mightily for mercy. Heb. xii. 11. 
 
 Gratitude is the turning back of the heart. 
 
 This stranger received benefit, from chance JeUoiL-ship, with Israelites. 
 
 His ignorance of the true worship, might have excused him. 
 
 Heathen honored Jesus, more generally than Israel. 
 
 ol Bexa. Were not the ten cleansed? but the ?iine, where are they? Wordsxcorth. 
 Formerly one mh'acle animated a hundred tonfnies, now the ten cleansed, extorted not 
 a word of praise. The disi^osition of the crowd had changed toward Him. Stier. First 
 Been at Nazareth, Matt. siii. 56. Robinson. 
 
 18. Tlicre are not found, that returned to give glory to God, save tllis stranger. 
 
 Returned. Refusing thanks to God, dries up the Fountain of mercies. 
 
 The Jewish peoj^le would not return from their wanderings. 
 
 Thus Naaman returned, and offered a princely gift to his benefactor. 
 
 Christ was pleased with the leper's seeming disobedience. 
 
 "Obedience better than sacrifice," a lesson Saul never learned. 1 Sam. 
 
 XV. 22. 
 Stranger. An alien of another and purely heathen stock. Luke is. 
 Now " a follow citizen," — "an Israelite indeed." John i. 47. 
 This " stran';;er to the covenant of promise " believed in the Ecdecmer. 
 His faith surpassed that of the nine, who were probably Jews. 
 The centurion's faith put to shame the children of Abraham. Matt. 
 
 viii. 10. 
 Ingratitude has deprived the Church of many blessings. 
 Hczckiah, on his recovering, rendered thanks to God. Isa. xxxviii, 20. 
 David also ; " I love the Lord, becauso He has heard my voice." Psa. 
 
 cxvi. 1.
 
 CHAP. XVU.] ON ST. LUKE. 185 
 
 akkoyevy)';. It occurs nowhere else. One of another nation. Our Saviour clearly 
 teaches that the Samaritans were only Gentiles. akXoeOvrj^. Josephus. They were 
 an unmixed Gentile race. Trench, Alford. Their religion -was mixed. It does not 
 appear that the Samai-itan healed, was going to Mount Gerizim. They claimed, in our 
 Lord's time, to be descended from the patriarchs. Lightfoot. 
 
 56fai/, to ascribe to God His true character, John ix. 24 ; Acta xii. 23. fidfacroi' irou 
 TO oi-ona. Manifest Thyself according to that which Thou art, John xii. 28. IVchstcr'g 
 Syntax. 
 
 19. And he said unto him. Arise, go thy way : thy faith hath made thee whole. 
 
 Arise. Tlie deeper Lis penitence, the liiglaer Christ lifts him up. 
 
 Eph. iii. 19. 
 Christ rewards even thanks with new favors. 
 Faith., cleansed the nine also, but they were without gratitude. 
 It introduces Christ into the soul, and with Him, the fullness of God. 
 Whole. In a higher sense than the mere cleansing of leprosy. 
 Faith of the nine reached the body, of this body and soul. 
 This acceptance by Chiist, secured his salvation. 
 
 (reVcoKe. The act of Christ which we term acceptance is fully represented hern. 
 Acceptance depends on our part not so much mion a creed as upon our faith ; not so 
 much upon belief about Christ, as in a i)ersonad application, and consequent relation to 
 Him. W. & W. 
 
 20. fl Aiid when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should 
 come, he answered them and said. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation : 
 
 Demanded. Gr. questioning. They had no good end in view. 
 
 As usual, their object was to entangle, in order to accuse Him. 
 
 Light had come, but they had not an eye to behold it. 
 
 These men knew not for what they asked. 
 
 The Pharisees would know the time of His coming. 
 
 They expected the Kingdom foretold by Daniel to appear. Dan. ii. 44. 
 
 Kingdom. The Jews then universally expected the Messiah. 
 
 They knew that cm- Saviour laid claim to be the promised Shiloh. 
 
 They would have another salvation than that from sin, through faith. 
 
 Miracles and testimonies prove their time of visitation, nearly ended. 
 
 "With closed eyes, they murmuringly ask, " Will it be soon ?"
 
 186 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [ciIAP. XVII. 
 
 The universal expectation of the Jews, came into conflict with Jesus. 
 
 Their sensual eye looked out for great tilings. 
 
 Power of this kingdom seen in penetrating the heart. 
 
 It is no visihle church, though it ever builds up many. 
 
 It has no geographical where, and cannot be marked on the map. 
 
 It is " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Eom. xiv. 17. 
 
 Should come. Pharisees might have known Christ taught his disciples 
 
 so to pray. 
 It began in the manger at Bethlehem. 
 None but the angels and she23herds knew it. Luke ii. 9. 
 It, appeared in the temple, and Simeon and Anna alone, recognised its 
 
 King. 
 'Jliirty years after, a few fishermen and pixblicans read it. 
 But the kingdom will come " as a thief in the night." Matt. xxiv. 44. 
 Answered. ^Yhcn asked, if few are saved? He answered, " Strive ye." 
 If John would ever die ? He answered, " Follow Me." John xxi. 22. 
 Shall the kingdom of heaven come ? He answered, " Look within." 
 His love was never embittered ; His patience never exhausted. 
 He annihilates their viaterialistie views of a splendid manifestation. 
 Their kingdom was to be reared iirith observation. 
 Cometh.. In my own person and manifestation. 
 It shall be announced by true witnesses after Me. 
 Observation. Or, Anticipation. 
 Those seeking it in the pomp of this world, run the risk of never 
 
 finding it. 
 It would be marked, but thcij would not see it. 
 It foretells their false security and infidelity. 
 It is established upon the ruins of all, in which carnal men glory. 
 When it comes, there will be no difference of opinion, whether it has 
 
 come or not. 
 It cometh not with legal works, or ecclesiastical display. 
 The changes in earthly kingdoms, marked by great show. 
 A monarch visiting his territories, rouses half the nation. 
 Many are curious concerning times and revolutions. 
 But have no pleasure in securing an interest in Christ's kingdom.. 
 The history of the Incarnate One, a striking proof of this text. 
 
 «Vfpwn)Ocii. In dcriBion. EuthymUis, Andrews. Their superficial views, anJ self- 
 coaiplaccnt ij.Tiorancc. Olshauacn. wapaTripi/o-ews. " Observation," parade. Doddridge,
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 187 
 
 Campbell: attention. Marsh; splendor. Euthymiiis. So that it may be kno'wn. Eisner. 
 Eoyai splendor and triumph. Elslcy. As to external features. Luther. Not Vith 
 watching. StlcT, Jirotcn. The evidence complete and overwhcliuing. Norton. 
 
 21, Neither shall they say, Lo here I or, lo there 1 for, behold, the kingdom of God is 
 within you. 
 
 Neither shall they say. Gr. Not even shall men saij. 
 
 So opculy and suddenly, will it break upon the world. 
 
 XiO here ! Many look to missionaries, schools, and ministers, to con- 
 vert the world. 
 
 Its Master, cradled in a manger, came not with observation. 
 
 Paul, bound like his own King, represents the church. 
 
 Peter in Babylon, instead of Jerusalem, illustrates it. 
 
 John, in the isle of Patmos, unfolds its nature. 
 
 Constantine patronized the Church, but it was a false, " Lo here I " 
 
 The Reformation sang for a while, " God is with us." 
 
 A thousand sects have ^iroudly cried, " God is with ?(s." 
 
 But these pretensions disproved, by a thousand inJJrmities. 
 
 Within you. The elements of this kingdom, found alone in the 
 heart. 
 
 Empire of Satan, there destroyed, and Christ's throne re-established. 
 
 They will miss finding it, who neglect Christ's marks. 
 
 This lungdom " without form or comeliness," to the natural eye. Isa. 
 liii. 2. 
 
 Its glory the "hidden life of Christ in God." Col. iii. 3. 
 
 " There standeth one among you, whom ye know not." John i. 26. 
 
 'ISou, " Lo." — A warning here to all expositors of prophecy, who are ever crying, Lo 
 here! and Lo there! whenever a revolution breaks out. Alford. "Kingdom." — Jewish 
 nation. Campbell. ixeao^ vni>v.- — John i. 26. eVrbs. Among. Beza, Fleck, Bortteman : 
 already among you. Oosterzee. The Pharisees, being bitter enemies, might have taught 
 the translators, that it certainly was not in their hearts, John. i. 26; sii. 35. The King- 
 dom of God was begun.among them. "Among you" includes, of course, the deeper and 
 personal one within each of you, but they are not convertible terms. Alford. Kef erring 
 to the presence of Jesus Himself, the King. We are not to be too curious and inquisitive 
 about the future of Messiah's Kingdom, bnt to recognise it as present and a fact. IJ'. d- W. 
 Both among, but unseen by you. Grotius, Bengel, De Wette, Stier, Lange. An ethical 
 condition within us. Schleusner. A modern, not Biblical idea. Meyer. ChiUasm overlooks 
 the spirit for the body ; spiritualism, the body for the si^irit. Oosterzee. Christ's advent. 
 Be:a. Spiritual, not external. Lutlier, Erasmus, Calvin. Campbell, Olshausen, Brown. 
 The second iSov omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai,
 
 188 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVII. 
 
 22. And he said unto the disciples, Tlie days will come, when ye ehall desire to see one 
 of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 
 
 Said. This discourse takes a prophetic character. 
 
 Begins with His own age and extends to the end of the world. 
 
 Days will come. In the midst of calamities, you will look for a 
 
 Deliverer, 
 You spend time in questioning, while the day of grace is passing. 
 Ye shall. Discij^les and Pharisees, shall wish back, the days of tho 
 
 Son of man. 
 Desire to see. Men will rise, pretending to be able to deliver you. 
 One of the day^. Sabbath days, sacrament days, praying days. 
 Days when the angel comes down to stir the waters. John v, 4. 
 "When the Son of man rides forth, with His bow and crown. Eev. vi. 2. 
 He counsels them to pre^jare for seasons of spiritual gloom. 
 Highest knowledge avails only those improving the same. 
 Son of man. Luke v. 24, See Notes. 
 
 Not see it. Time will have passed, while ye are inquiring after it. 
 Teachers will be silenced, and solemn assemblies scattered. 
 Saints will be exiled, imiorisoned, or on the cross. 
 Men do not know the worth of mercies, xxntU they want them. 
 
 e-iTL6viJ.rjcreT€. The Paraclete, Bengel; the coming. Oosterzee. "■Days," of the 
 Pharisees recognizing, in their future misery, the Messiahship of Jesus, too late. Stier. 
 The general blessedness of the Messiah's reign. Alford, Meyer. They shall desire to 
 liave Him for one day only in their midst again. Neander. The misery of the uncon- 
 verted, at the time of the Saviour's second advent. Stella. The state of the apostles after 
 the ascension ; the fasting, when the Bridegroom is taken, Eyle. One day of the Master's 
 presence. Brown. 
 
 2.3. And they shall say to you, See here ; or, see there : go not after thoia, nor follow 
 them. 
 
 See here. The world, ever full of false prophets, and daring leaders. 
 Oracles of truth alone, with tho Eternal Spirit, can pierce their masks. 
 False church never bears the marks, of a true spouse of Ctu-ist. 
 *' Art thou not that Egyptian, who before these days ? " Acts xxi. 38. 
 The Jews have ever been too willing, to be deceived by impostors. 
 Their persistent rejection of the Ecdeemcr for 1800 years, is a standing 
 fuliilmcut of Prophecy. Luke xiii. 35.
 
 CUAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE, 189 
 
 Go not. Go not from duty, to chase every idle, boastful rumor. 
 
 A v?arning to those, expounding unfulfilled pro^jhccy. Matt. xxiv. 23. 
 
 In great calamities, impostors try to seduce bad and good alike. 
 
 'ISoii uiSe. False Chi'ists arose : Baxchochabas in the reign of Adrian ; in i?A. Moses 
 Cretensis; 520. Dunaan ; 529. Julian; 571. Mohammed ; 721, A Syrian Impostor; 1137. 
 In France ; 1138. A Persian ; 1157. At Corduba, in Spain ; 1167. In the kingdom of Fez ; 
 1168. An Arabian ; 1170; One arose near the Euphrates ; 1174. A Persian magician ; 1176. 
 Aknusser, a Moravian. Virgae mebtions one in 1160 ; Alroi, a Persian, 1199; h,opliU3 in 
 Spain, 1497 ; Lemlem in Austria, 1500 ; Pfefferkom, of Cologne, 1509 ; Jlalcho in Spain, 
 1534 ; One arose in the East Indies, 1615 ; One arose in Holland, of the lino of Nathan, 
 1G24 ; The illustrious Sabatai Sevi, 1666 ; They believed that a ship arriycd in the North, 
 with sails and cordage of silk, and the maruiers speaking only Hebrew. The motto flying 
 from the mast was " The Twelve Tribes of Israel ; " Mochiah, of Germany. Jortin, vol. 
 ii. 302. ri cancelled by Tischendorf. Retained, Lachmann, 
 
 SiwfijTf. "Follow." — To pursue vigorously, as one in hunting. Slier 
 
 24. For as the lightninri, that lightencth out of the oiie part under heaven, shineth 
 unto the other part under heaven ; to shall also the So7i of man be in his day. 
 
 X.igh.tning'. 1. Its majestic glory. 2. Its purifj-ing effects. 
 
 3. Its clear manifestation. 4. Its sudden appearance. 
 
 The kingdom has its visible, and external side too. 
 
 "With no human pomp, but He shall come as at Mount Sinai. 
 
 ♦' The lightning cometh out of the east," &c. Matt. xxiv. 27. 
 
 Our Lord points out by this, the very march of the Eoman army. 
 
 Pompey came from the valley of Jordan, up to Jerusalem. 
 
 Their natural coui'se from Eome, would have been from west to east. 
 
 In the invasion of Judea, the Koman army was not secret or slow. 
 
 But open, sudden, tremendous, and overspreading. 
 
 Lightning in its course and descending woes, not to be arrested. 
 
 Implies also the illuminating of the human mind, by truth. 
 
 Trophies of Christ's victories, on the nuns of Satan's kingdom. 
 
 The cross triumphal, where the Eoman eagles failed. 
 
 Signs of the kingdom are, 1. Not so palpable. 2. Not so doubtful. 3. Not 
 
 so limited, as vain men believe. 
 His day. The day of His manifestation. 
 Christianity did not llouiish until the Jewish dispensation had pa.=5eed 
 
 ftway. 
 
 32
 
 190 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XVII. 
 
 aarpairri. One speaks of the illuminating lightning. The world purifyicg stonn 
 of the spirit of John, in his power of light and love. Lange. Eoman army. WUithij^ 
 The unexpected vengeance. Xir;/i t/oo^ Last judgment, ic CJerc. ^' Lighteneth." That 
 flashes over the whole heaven. Norton ; that flashes so suddenly that it cannot ba 
 pointed out. Foote ; as iinlooked for. Sumner. 
 
 vtt' ovpavov. Not the whole earth. iJcTijreZ ; from land to land. Grotius; the lowei 
 world. Erasmus. Our Lord blends distinctive epochs into one. Stier. His second 
 coming in person. Sroiv7i. Efiusion of the Spirit. Beza. koI omitted. Tischendorf, 
 Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation, 
 
 First. Ambition's imi:)atieuce checked, by placing the cross before the 
 
 crown. 
 Contrast depth of His humiliaticn, -with height of His glory. Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 36. 
 He departs as a criminal, despised, He returns as a Prince triumphant. 
 "Last of all he sent unto them his son, saying," &c. 
 The builders rejected the stone, "elect, precious." 1 Pet. ii. 6. 
 The Jews at His crucifixion, cried, "His blood be onus," &c. Matt. 
 
 xsvii. 25. 
 This act filled i;p their cup. That blood rests on them still, 
 "The wrath of God has come upon them to the uttermost." 1 Thess. 
 
 ii. 16. 
 Suffer. The cross, the foimdation of every true creed and hope. 
 Humblest believer endures the cross, befoi-e he weai's the crown. 
 Rejected. The Jews killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. 
 
 1 Thess. ii. 15. 
 
 28. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of tire Son of man. 
 
 As it was. Eesembling the days and doom of the antedikivians — 
 
 universality and depravity. 
 As the old world rejected Noah, and Sodom rejected Lot, so the Jews 
 
 rejected Jesus, and felt secure on the brink of ruin. 
 The days. Image of those of the Son of man. 
 1. A terrible sentence pronounced. 2. Long respite granted and careless 
 
 security. 3. A righteous retribution exercised. 4. A refuge opened. 
 The hour of death and of judgment imcertain. 
 I'carful judgments, preceded by feast days of security. 
 " The whole earth was filled with violence," distinctly warned of cominc 
 
 ruin.
 
 CHAP, XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 191 
 
 Woe. Hcb. rest. The second fonudcr of the human race. 
 
 Walked with God. Born, a.m., 1056. Tenth from Adam. 
 
 Son of Lamech. Grandson of Metliuselah. 
 
 Lived COO years before the dehige, 350 after. 
 
 Died two years before Abraham was born, aged 950 years. Gen. ix. 29. 
 
 A just man and a preacher of righteousness. Ezek. xiv. 1-1; 1 Pet. iii. 19. 
 
 120 years building the ark, and warning men of their danger. 
 
 So sliall. When Noah entered the ark, the world perished. 
 
 When Lot left Sodom, the cities of the jjlain sank. 
 
 Flood and flame found them rushing after vanity. 
 
 When Jesus was crucified, vengeance came on the Jews. 
 
 The longer judgments delayed., the worse the wicked become. 
 
 This solemn warning, ever preached to the Jews at Jerusalem. 
 
 The Dead Sea is visible fkom the Mount of Olives 1 
 
 A monument of human guilt and divine justice. 
 
 The history of the past, a prophecy of the hidden future. 
 
 27. Theij did cat, they drank, they married wives, they vere given in marriage, until 
 the day that A'oe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed thetn all. 
 
 Eat, drank. A perfect immersion in temporal concerns. 
 
 An entire ignoring of iJl that is spiritual and divine. 
 
 Sensuality, the fundamental sin, of the antediluvians. 
 
 They counted upon the perpetuity of their flourishing state. 
 
 Noe, and Lot, endorsed as true historical characters. 
 
 Ark. The ark was three stories, 450 feet long, 75 broad, 4.5 high. 
 
 Seven of each kind of clean beasts, and birds, and two of the unclean. 
 
 Animals, birds, miraculously led, by pairs, into it. 
 
 Noah and wife, three sons and their wives, eight persons saved. 
 
 It rose on the waters for five months. 
 
 Flood came. After the old world had heard Noah preach 120 years, 
 
 they were still surprised at the coming of the deluge. 
 Men now do not differ from them, in their selfish stupidity. 
 Worldlings aet as if life were given for one purpose, that of pleasure. 
 The coming of the Sou of man, as unexpected as the flood. Gen. vii. 21. 
 
 It took place a.m. 1G56. 
 After Noah and family entered, there was a pause of seven days. Gen. 
 
 vii. 10. 
 " The door was shut." Gen. vii. 10. Another door will be shut. Luko 
 
 xiii. 25. 
 The long-suffering of God had come to an end.
 
 192 SUGGESTIVE COlIilEN-TAKY [CHAP. XVII 
 
 Mercy's ann became wearied, ringing the bell of warning. 
 
 For forty days the rain descended. The waters rose for five months. 
 
 The highest mountains were covered and all flesh died. 
 
 Traditions of the flood among the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Hindoos, 
 
 Chinese, Japanese, Scythians, Celts, Mexicans, and Peruvians. 
 The ark rested on Ararat, a mountain about 16,257 feet above the sea. 
 Their ruin was their wordliness, this their wickedness. 
 Theu" unpreparedness held up as a warning. 
 
 28 LVceu-ise also as it wag ir. ii,e days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, 
 they sold, they planted, Lhey buildcd ; 
 
 Xiike"\!7iss. The generality of men live as though the world to come waa 
 
 a fable. 
 National judgments, types of individual punishments. 
 The day of our death hidden, that we may ever live in preparation, 
 ^Ye know the signs of old age, but not the day of death. 
 So we know not the time of the end of the world, but signs of its ai)proacb. 
 Careless life of worldling!, repeats itself from age to age. 
 Days of Lot. Lot, the son of Haran, nephew of Abraham. 
 Herdsmen quarrelled with Abraham's, and separated. 
 In an evil hour, he pitched his tent towards Sodom. Gen. xiii. 12. 
 Eight years after, taken prisoner by Chedorlacmer. Gen. xiv. 12. 
 Sitting at the gate implies he was a magistrate. 
 Visited and warned by the angels, he left the city. 
 His sons-in-law refused to escape, and perished. 
 Not ten righteous persons were found in Sodom. Gen. xviii. 32. 
 Lot and liis daughters escaped to Zoar, spared for his sake. 
 Moabites and Amorites, incestuous descendants of Lot. 
 Sodomites vexed his righteous soul from day to day. 2. Pet. ii. 8. 
 They are standing prophecies, of the futiire of all impenitents. 
 Our Lord endorses the inspiration of the Pentateuch. Luke x. 12. 
 Bought, sold. Childi-en of earth, with supreme devotion still cling 
 
 to earth. 
 As their fathers, so are they, carried to judgment from age to age. 
 Their t'hildrcn, with the sai-ae avidity, pursue the same vanities. 
 The wharf, market, counting room, bar, and workshop, are crowded from 
 
 generation to generation. 
 They bought everything, except the Pearl of great price. Matt. xiii. 40 ; 
 
 Prov, xxiii. 23. 
 Buying and selling intimates a Idgli culture in the days of Lot.
 
 CHA-P. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 193 
 
 Planted. Under the curse, not iu the house of tlic Lord. Psa. xcii. 13. 
 Builded. They fgrgot that they had no abiding city. 
 They erected all kinds of palaces, but neglected one eternal, Luke xvi. 9. 
 Lilte Nineveh, praying, fasting, repenting, they had been saved. 
 " "When they say, Peace and safety ; sudden destruction cometh." 1 Thess. 
 V. 3. 
 
 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom ii rained fire and 'brimstone frcm 
 heaven, and destroyed them all. 
 
 Same day. The sensual are dreadfully surprised by death. 
 
 The stujjidity of the carnal heart is deep and fearful. 
 
 Judgments will not linger, nor their damnation slumber. 2 Pet. ii. 3. 
 
 Went out. He forsook all, rather than incur the wrath of God. 
 
 We peril everlasting joy while procrastinating a moment. 
 
 Sodom. Luke x. 12. Piuin of Pompeii, Lisbon and Lima, nol foretold 
 
 by prophecy. 
 Angel, by prophecy, connects Sodom's guilt with Sodom's doom< 
 This gives a key to the cause of the ruin of other cities. 
 Rained. God took care of those who feared Him. 
 The wicked surjjrised by a ruin they did not fear. 
 Fire. A constant symbol of Jehovah. Luke iii. 16. 
 By it He answered sacrifices, showing His acceptance. Gen. xv. 17; 
 
 Judges xiii. 19. 
 Christ's second coming will be in flaming fire. 2 Thess. i. 8. 
 The earth is to be destroyed by fire. 2 Pet. iii. 7. 
 Brimstone. Heh. resin; Or. suljihin: Found near the Dead Sea. 
 God has many arrows in His quiver, for His war with rebels. 
 All the elements of nature unite in the conflict of their Creator. 
 
 "Sodom." The natural change of a bituminous soil into a marsh, and then a 
 stagnant pool. Miehaelis. He did not seem to know that the "Dead Sea marsh " was a 
 lake, clear as crystal, with pebbly beach, 1500 feet deep, e^pefe. From Heb., resinous) 
 electric fluid condensed. W. d W. TrCp, 0ecoi'.— Divine fii-e. Places struck with lightning, 
 called Dcia, and were sacred. Euthymius. 
 
 SO. Even thus shall it he in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 
 Even thus. No random words; His eye foresaw a burning world. 
 Men encourage themselves in neglect, by vain thoughts of mercy. 
 Divine justice seen in examples, chosen by the Judge himself. 
 Not peace and safety, but sudden destruction cometh. 1 Thess. v. 8.
 
 194 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVII. 
 
 For Kara TaCro, read Kara, ra airra. Tischendorf, Alford, CoJ,. Sinai, ij/xe'po. — Vulg. 
 hora. Eefers to the thief in the nigbt. X»e Wette. Sudden, breaking. OUhausen. Otir 
 Lord's second coming. Brown. Mark xiii. 26. 
 
 31. In that day, he which shall be itpon the housetop, and his stufi in the house, let him 
 not come down to take it away : and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return 
 back. 
 
 In that day. The period of the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 It is our duty to meditate on prophecy. 
 
 But the event alone will unfold its right meaning and application. 
 
 Housetop. Flat roofs result from the stone arches, of which houses 
 
 are built. 
 No timber for beams is found in Palestine. 
 
 Flat surface used for drying com, figs, raisins, and for hanging up linen. 
 They were used for reception, devotion, and sleep. 
 Booths were erected on the housetops. Neh. viii. 16. 
 People publicly walk on the housetop. Isa. xv. 3 ; Jer. xlviii. 38. 
 The floors are plastered with mortar, ashes, and tar. Luke v. 19. 
 Pharisaic Moslems seen hourly, prostrating on the housetops. 
 Ruins of Jerusalem. Luke xxi. 5, 20. See Notes. 
 Stuff. Let us leave that to perish, for it must i^erish. 
 There is nothing in this world worth the hazard of eternal life. 
 Come down. By miracle, their lives may be saved, but not their 
 
 property. 
 " Save yourselves from this untoward generation." Acts ii. 40. 
 Not return. A lingering reluctance to part with present treasures. 
 Remember her who did turn back. Gen. xix. 26. 
 They were not to return home, but to fly to the mountains. 
 Those flying /rojft Jerusalem, must not retm-n thither. 
 
 dKrurj, Matt. xsiv. 17, was not yot spoken. Oosterzee. Flight to the Saviour. Meyer, 
 
 82. Remember LoVs wife. 
 
 Remember. Gen. xix. 26. Memory, a faculty of the mind, which 
 
 makcB past events present. 
 lutcmpcrance, indolence, and sin, obscm'c but cannot quench it.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 195 
 
 Eemember her look of disobedience, and her fearful doom. 
 
 In dying, the entire life seems to jjass before the mind. 
 
 Like an old coin in the fire, memory regains its brightness. Liike xvi. 25. 
 
 Remember her privileges, her sin, and her punishment. 
 
 XiOt's wife. A warning to unbelievers. 1. Graciously warned. 2. 
 
 Mercifully spared. 3. Wilfully disobedient. 4. Miserably perishing. 
 She seems to have been arrested in a slandinr/ posture. 
 Disobej'cd the divine injunction, angels laid upon her. 
 That silent monument on the plains of Sodom, still, thi-ough God'a 
 
 word, preaches to an impenitent world. 
 Lot's wife, from a godly family, went far in religious /o?-)«. 
 She must have gone far in religious professions. 
 The wife of a religious man, and connected by marriage to faithful 
 
 Abraham. 
 She fled with Lot from Sodom, by the command of God. 
 But she left her heart, with her treasures, in the burning city. 
 Thus many now follow their friends to the Lord's table. 
 They use the language of Canaan, but leave their hearts behind. 
 A religion of convenience, will never save the soul. 
 
 IturqfioveveTe , The power of inemorj'. An auctioneer of Kome, after selling tha 
 furniture of a large house, on the following day, gave a complete catalogue of all the 
 articles, prices, and purchasers. QtiinliUan. Scaligcr could repeat a hundred verses 
 after reading them but once. " Wife." Actual pillar of mineral salt. Josephus, Grotius, 
 Beza, Bengel. One of natural formation, 80 feet, ntUl there. Lynch's Dead Sea. She 
 turned to get some article of furniture, sank in the marsh, and was suffocated by 
 sulphurous smoke. Lc Clcrc, RosenmuUer, Kuinocl. Her punishment temporal, tnt her 
 60ul saved. Luther. 1 Cor. v. 5. 
 
 SS. Whosoever shall seek to iiivclda life shall lose It ; and whosoever shall lose his 
 life shall preserve it. 
 
 Seek to save.— Read, shall have sought. Christian discipleship oft 
 
 puts life in peril. 
 Christ calls us to crucify our lusts, not sacrifice our lives. 
 He does call us to sacrifice the lesser to the greater good. 
 Life. Natural life of the body is first referred to. 
 Secured as the highest good, for its own sake. 
 They do best for themselves, who trust in God.
 
 196 SUGGKSTI\Ti: COJniENTAEY [CHAP, XVll. 
 
 IjOse. B.ea.d, shall have lost. He caunot 23erpetuate it on earth. Heb. 
 
 ix. 27. 
 Eefusing to look higher one forfeits heaven. , 
 
 XiOse his life. For the sake of the Gospel, ia My service. 
 Shall lose his natural life, in the lowest sense. 
 Preserve. Bead, quicken. Save it in the highest conceivable sense. 
 
 ^TjT^cTT). Wlio shall have souffht, i.e. during his life, shall lose it then. Whoever 
 shall seek to save his life by remaining in Jerusalem shall lose it. Those Tvho risk it by 
 flight shall save it. Grotius. Apostates shall perish, but martyrs shall finJ life. Major. 
 oTToXeVet. Not lose, but destroy. The true antithesis to save. fiooYonjcrei. Gr. — To 
 bring forth alive. Alexander. For aierai, read TrepiTToiija'acrSai.. Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 34. Hell you, in that night there shall be two men in one hed ; the one shall he taken, 
 the other shall be left. 
 
 I tell you. These examples selected from very humble life. 
 Two laboring in the field, the other two, slaves grinding at the miU. 
 They are samples of the future heirs of glory. 
 
 " God has chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith." Jas. ii. 5. 
 One bed. In the East, single beds were used by the upper classes only. 
 Hence He alludes to the humblest members of society. 
 Taken. Sets forth even the division of families in that day. 
 Myriads were seized by the Romans for bondage or execution. 
 " The sword devours the one, as well as another." 2 Sam. xi. 25. 
 " The Lord knoweth them that are His." 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
 Sovereign gi-ace discriminates between "the precious and the vile." 
 
 Jer. XV. 19. 
 Thus " the wheat and tares " can gi'ow together no longer. 
 Those who labored and communed together, will be parted. 
 Left. An awful separation, when Christ comes again. 
 It will matter not how persons have lived and loved together. 
 Every bond of union unknown to the Gospel, will be for ever broken. 
 The only chain binding the unconverted, will be remorse. 
 
 yvKTL. Calamity describing Messiah's advent. Orotius, Bosenmullcr ; judgment. 
 Bloomfield. Job ix. 4. kAiVtjs. Banquet couch. Markland, Kuinoel; Bedchamber. 
 Owen. Discriminating between the righteous and the wicked. Horsley. The sudden, 
 extensive, and signal distinctiim of the time. Major, Wakcfeld. Men have a Donatist 
 tendency, verily essaying to form a perfectly pure church on earth. Separation antici- 
 ratcB the judgment. Stier. Kealized at the destruction of Jerusfllem. Brown. Not oar 
 circumHtiiiices, but our boarls, will determine our fuluro condition. Wordiworlh. ¥oi 
 otU, rcftd tis. licngcl, Tischendorf, Alford, Wordsworth.
 
 CHAP. XVII.] ON ST. LUKE. 197 
 
 85. Two women shall be grinding together ; the one shall he t<iken, and the other left. 
 
 Grinding-. The mortar used previously to the mill. Num. xi. 8. 
 
 Two circular stoues, about two feet in diameter, and six inches thick. 
 
 Tlie nethcr-milhione. was fixed to the floor. 
 
 The upper had an upright stick with a handle. 
 
 Each family owned a mill. There were no public millers, or bakers. 
 
 A millstone could not be taken for a " pledge on a debt." Dcut. xxiv. 6. 
 
 Noise of "the grinding being silent," an emblem of dcsolalion. Jer. 
 
 XXV. 10. 
 Commonly turned by two female slaves, or by captives taken in war. 
 In warm climates, grain is still dailij ground and baked. 
 Their songs exceedingly harsh, while driving the mill. 
 " The first-born of Pharaoh, to the maid servant behind the mill." Ex. 
 
 xi. 5. 
 "In the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon, and grind meal." Isa. 
 
 xlvii. 1-2. 
 Softening of these notes for nervous ones, sign of old age. Ecc. xii. 4, 
 Taken. Or " caug'ht up to meet the Lord in the air." 1 Thess. iv. 17. 
 Left, i.e., The wicked, to incur their tremendous sentence. 
 
 For i\ Ilia, rend jiita. Tuehendorff Alford, &o. 
 
 36. Two men shall he in the field ; the one shall be talcen, and the other left. 
 
 This verse is omitted in most of the ancient authorities. Prohably it has been 
 brought into the text of some MSS. from the margin, -where it had been written as a 
 parallel from Matt. xxiv. 40. Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregellcs, Alford, 
 Wordsworth; omitted. Cod. Si7iai. 
 
 37. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, 
 Wheresoever the body is, thither will tlie eagles be gathered together. 
 
 Where ? Shall this happen in the Holy Land ? 
 Wheresoever, the wicked are, God's judgments will find them. 
 Wheresoever final iinbclief ia, there the ven()eance of God fastens. 
 "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies." Psa. xxi. 8.
 
 198 SUGGESTIVE COjIMENTAEY [cnAP. XVII. 
 
 " Though thou set thy nest among the stars, yet ■will I bring thee 
 
 down," &c. Obad. verse 4. 
 Body. Fundamental principles in God's judgments remain the same. 
 Corruption grown to maturity, draws down punishment. 
 The eagles are made for finding out the carcass. 
 Dead forms in religion, crj-ing sins of a nation, compel angels of Judgment 
 
 to come. 
 Eagles. "Where the slain are, there is she." Job xxxix. 30. 
 He alludes also to the ensign of the Eoman armies. 
 Eagles were characterized by their swiftness of flight. 
 Their strength of wing, their lofty nests, and moulting. 
 The training of then- young, and " renewing their youth." Psa. ciii. 5. 
 " She dwelleth in the rock and in the strong place." 
 " The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from afar, as the eaglo 
 
 flieth." Deut. xxviii. 49. 
 "Waiting on the Lord, we mount up with wings as eagles." Isa. xl. 31. 
 Where a mass of incurable moral corruption is, there the ministers 
 
 of Divine vengeance are seen to alight. 
 Gathered. A mysterious instinct, defying hiiman investigation. 
 It gathers birds even from beyond the sea. 
 Instinct differs from intellect, by its unerrin;] certainty. 
 Besults uniform, and work perfect, yet uninstructed. 
 
 ■nov. Disciples, terrified, may have thought the heathen Tvorlcl the theatre of events. 
 Olshamcn. crwjua. "Wherever my Body is, there, if you are Eagles of the Gospel, you 
 ■will be gathered together." Ambrose, Tltcophijlact in Wordsworth, a-uifxa. Jerusalem. 
 Lightfoot, De Wctte, Major; spiritually dead. Meyer. Jewish nation, offensive as a 
 carcass (o-wfxa). JJoos. Those who die to themselves. Grating. First, Jenisalem; 
 secondly in its final fulfilment, — over the whole world; — for that is the TTTui/xa now, and 
 the aeroi, the angels of vengeance. Alford. Jews gathered at Jerusalem, during last 
 Passover. Bengcl. Wheresoever sinners dwell, there shall my vengeance overtake them. 
 Horsley. koX admitted before aeroi. Tischcndorf, Oosterzee. 
 
 olacToC. The Roman armies. The expression is proverbial; intimaling that the 
 disine judgments will fall on those who are ripe for them, as surely as the eaglo or 
 Tulture hastens to the carcass, when the spirit has left it. W. ct W. '^Eiigles," applied 
 to vultures. Pliny ; saints. Chrysostom, Jerome, Luther, Calvin, Beza, Cocceius, Pearce, 
 Wordsworth ; llomau annics, with eagles for ensigns. Hammond, Lightfoot, Doddridge, 
 J)e Welte, Major, Davidson, Slier; false prophets. Aretius, Montaniis; mankind. 
 Stella, MaUlonatus : Christ's rapid return. Heyne ; angels of vengeance. Hoffmann, 
 Alford; gifts of the spirit. Grotijw; inevitabloness of the event. La/ijc. Roman ensigns 
 were, the eagle, cross, wolf, horse, and boar. Tlio eagle was made of brass, with 
 expanded wings. The cross was placed under the eagle by Constantine. The eagle 
 also ensign of I'ersia. Smith, Kitto.
 
 CHAP. XVm.] ON ST. LUKE, 199 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 1. AND he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men, ought aUcays to pray, and 
 nut to faint ; 
 
 Spake. To all His disciples ; refers more especially to times of per- 
 secution. 
 
 In churcli history, to the hirth pangs of the new creation. 
 
 Parable. Luke iv. 23; v. 33. Simili'ude. Tyndale. 
 
 To this eYid. Author His own interpreter, the key hangs at the door. 
 
 IVIen. Is not in the oiiginal. It is addressed to the disciples. 
 
 Ought. He refers, not so much to the duty, as to the importunity of 
 prayer. 
 
 It is far more easy to begin the habit, than to continue it. 
 
 The temptation to quit it, is Satan undermining om- citadel. 
 
 This very statement demands our gratitude. 
 
 Always. No exaggeration. The constant desire of the soul after God. 
 
 The knee cannot always be bent, but the heart can bow. 
 
 The habitual spirit of supplication, not the act, is enjoined. 
 
 The needle may be withdrawn, but its attraction continues. 
 
 It will be. quiet, until it tremblingly points to its faithful star. 
 
 Prayer should season all our words, thoughts and deeds. Col. iv. 6. 
 
 Ceasing to love, is ceasing to pray. 
 
 The coldness of love, is the silence of the heart. 
 
 Whatever chord is struck, let it ever be in harmony with God. 
 
 Morning, noon, and evening, we should be offering a continual sacrifice. 
 
 The tempter is never weary in assaulting us. 
 
 Let us never weary in resisting him. 
 
 Pray. Prayer, Luke i. 10. 1. Thanksgiving for the past. 2. Confession 
 for the present. 3. Supplication for the futm-e. 
 
 Pray. Presupposes a struggle. 
 
 The duty of praying always, but saying little, a gospel jDaradox. 
 
 It requires littlt of the tongue, but much of the heart. 
 
 A cross patiently endured, or an act of charity is real praj-er. 
 
 The ancient heathen never started on a journey without prayer. 
 
 Their monuments, quarriesj and pyi-amids still bear prayers to gods.
 
 200 SUGGESTH'E COMMENTAE'S [CUAP. XVIII. 
 
 The wicked onglit to pray. " Pray God " said Peter to tlie sorcerer. 
 
 Acts Tiii. 22. 
 The best support in trouble, " -wlien my soul fainted," &c. Jonah ii. 7. 
 ' I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord." 
 
 Psa. xxvii. 13. 
 " "Will the hj'pocrite always call upon God ? " Job xxvii. 10. 
 " Te shall find me when ye search for me with all your heart." Jer. 
 
 sxix. 13. 
 It supposes that all God's people, are praying jDcopIe. 
 Prayer is to be continued until it ascends into everlasting praise. 
 Paint. The hiiman heart wearies, when it hath not quick success. 
 Importunity sways men when nothing else will. 
 Persevering prayer, the token and pulse of spiritual life, it teaches, 
 
 1. The duty of faith. 2. Support of faith. 3, Conflict of faith. 
 
 4. Victorious power of faith. 
 1. Consciousness of our dependence. 2. Greatness of our need. 3. 
 
 promised assistance. 4. Certainty of success. 
 
 apxn iiSiviav. JIatt. xxiv. 8 ; John xiv. 21 ; Eom. viii. 22. wpos to. With reference 
 to.Alford. Addressed to disciples, ilfei/er. Selv, Fereist. Campbell. Prayer, a medi- 
 cine, a foundation; prayerless, a city Tvithout -wralls. Augjistine. iKKaxelv. — Grow 
 sluggish.. Euthymius ; betraying cowardice. Welstein; to langaiRh. Alford, Olshansen; 
 give np, through ]ac]j of courage, Eph. iU. IS. Stier ; blending of •working with prayer. 
 Sehleierviachcr; vdthout gro-viing -wcarj. Campbell ; despair. Ifnjor. Said properly of a 
 coward (kokos) in battle. Wordsworth. 
 
 npo<7cvx^<^^°-'- Clamant tua opera, clamat fides, clamat affectns, clamant paasiones, 
 clamat sanguis. Ambrose. To bo ever longing, one is ever praying. Augmtine. Those 
 ofTering Bethulian devotions, limiting the Divine answer to a given period, Judith vii, 
 •wUl fail. Brou-nrig. After Trpoo-evx^crSai, add avrois- Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 2. Saying : There v-as in a city a judge, ichich feared not God, neither regarded man. 
 
 A judge. Judges were appointed in all the gates of their cities. 
 
 Deut. xvi. 18. 
 Patriarchal seniors, first elected from the Levites. 
 The Levitical judges, were also the ordinary instructors. 
 His person was considered sacred as that of the herald. 
 Obtaining his decision, called " enquiry of God." Ex. xviii. 15. 
 Divine charge was given to the judges, in regard to their duty. Psfl. 
 
 ii. 10.
 
 OHAP. XVin.] ON ST. LUKE. 201 
 
 The Higli Priest was the chief of the Judges of Israel. Deut. xvii. 12. 
 Israelites demanded a king to judge them, rather than fight for them. 
 Duty to avenge the oppressed ■widow. Psa. Ixviii. 5 ; Deut. xxvii. 19 ; 
 
 Isa. i. 17 ; Jer. vii. 6. 
 " The Rock of Israel said, He that ruleth over men must bo just," 2 Sam. 
 
 xxiii. 3. 
 Judges should be men of God, men of trust, " hating covetousuess." 
 
 Ex. xviii. 21. 
 " Take heed ^Yhat ye do, for ye judge for the Lord." 2 Chron. xix. 6. 
 Feared not. Denotes the most consummate and imblushing wicked- 
 ness. 
 Not a forgetfulness of duty, but a bold rebellious spurning of it. 
 I know it all, but I fear not. An atheist in power. 
 " The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Prov. ix. .tO. 
 He first scorns God's holiness, then fears not His powfr. 
 Briefly, this judge, the proud worm sets himself up as a God. 
 It is base enough to he vile, but it is daring blasphemy to hoast of it ! 
 One stroke of the Divine pencil strikes out this dreadful character. 
 "Wickedness in the place of judgment," Solomon names a sore evil. 
 
 Eccles. iii. 16. 
 Regarded. Supremely independent, he neither would ask, nor give 
 
 a favor. 
 The case of any suppliant hopeless, especially of one weak and poor. 
 Human applause merely, neither the rule, motive, nor end of our actions. 
 " They were not ashamed, neither could they blush." Jer. vi. 15. 
 Most men are unquestionably under the influence of one or other of 
 
 these motives. 
 It is thus that public injustice is kept in check. 
 
 /ut>) <j>oftoviievo';, Vt sine metu deonim hominnmque. Seneca, Epis. 29; same 
 character. Homer. Sallust of Emperor Vitellius, and Dion Cassixis. Neither religion 
 nor honorable feeling. Weisse. The Athenians, during the plague, ■were restrained 
 neither by the fear of the gods, nor the laws of men. Thucydides. Some stumble at 
 such a judge being a type of God. To portray it were blasphemy in any but the Son of 
 God. Trench. The single point in the parable is importunity in prayer. The shadows 
 of the picture bring out more brightly the lively colors. Theoplujlact. 
 
 8. And there was a ^oidow in that city ; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge mc of 
 mine adversary. 
 
 ■WidO"w. Weak, defenceless, desolate ; not alojjc in heathen landi?.
 
 202 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTABY [CHAP. XVIU. 
 
 An emblem of every soul having no hope, but in God. 
 
 Too poor to bribe, too weak to compel him do her justice. 
 
 Many warnings are found against oppressing the widow. Deut. xxiv. 17 ; 
 
 xxvii. 19 ; Mai. iii. 5. 
 The widow represents the Church in her persecution and desolation. 
 Although a bride, Eev. xxi. 9, yet in the absence of her Lord, a bereaved 
 
 widow. Isa. liv. 1. 
 Saying'. Our Lord must be desirous of granting, when He constantly 
 
 bids us ask. 
 If the inflexibility of an i;njust judge can be overcome, what must be the 
 
 success v/hen the Spirit of God inspires His saints ? 
 Avenge me. Gr. has nothing of revenge. Do me justice. 
 " Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord." Eom. xii. 19. 
 " Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of the poor," &c. Ex. xxiii. 6. 
 "Neither does the cause of the widow come imto them." Isa. i. 23. 
 "A judge of the widow is God in His holy habitation." Ps. Ixviii. 5. 
 " I delivered the poor that cried, and caused the widow's heart to sing 
 
 for joy." Job xxix. 13. 
 Mark ! God reserves to Himself the punishment of those sinning against 
 
 widows. Ex. xxii. 22. 
 Adversary. An alien power holding us in bondage. Rom. vii. 23. 
 The adversary of the Church, the prince of darkness. 1 Pet. v. 8. 
 The spiritual Herod, ever seeking to destroy the heavenly child. 
 The world always, consciously or unconsciously, by flattery or violence, 
 
 oppressing the Church. 
 Satan ever tries to hinder the growth of spiritual life in every member. 
 The one great work of the Spirit, to make us feel our relations to this evil. 
 The new' creation marks the boundary Ime between light and darkness. 
 Renewed hearts feel the power that tyrannizes over them. Rom. vii. 23. 
 The Church dear to Him, even when her prayers are denied. 
 
 xfiP"- The widow is the Church; tho judge, her God and Father in heaven; her 
 adversary Uie devil. Alford, Olshausen. ijpxeTo, used to come often. Wordsworth, 
 " Avenge" E.T. inexact. (KhUr^trov. The idea conveyed, not one of vengeance, but of 
 Justice, deliverance from oppression: "Do me right of mine adversary." Prcacoit. Like 
 vindicarc, sometimes is revenge. Grotius ; first, vindicate ; second, punish. OJsftaitsen. 
 Do me justice. Campbell. No revenge in the Greek. Doddridge. Give the verdict; I am 
 weary of litigation. Schlcicrmacher. Defend the injured judicially; deliver me from. 
 dl/ord. avTiiUov. Antichrist, with Sf.tau behind him. Coccciua.
 
 CHAP. XVin.] ON ST. LUKE. 203 
 
 4. And he would not for a while : but afterward he said within himself, Thourjh I fear 
 riot God, nur regard vian ; 
 
 Would not. Nothing to hope from her gifts, nothing to fear from her 
 
 displeasure. 
 Does not teach, that God ever turns a deaf ear to prayer. 
 Implies that we should never he impatient under affliction. 
 For a while. Extortion of riijkt from such a man hy importunity, key 
 
 to the parahlc. 
 His motive supx-eme selfishness, instead of a sense of duty. 
 Afteiward. Many actions which appear f;ood, are supremely selfish. 
 " God makes the wrath of man to praise Him," &c. Psa. Ixxvi. 10. 
 A while. Some desire a speedier dehverance than God is willing to 
 
 grant. 
 The hands of our enemies, and the furnace of affliction, fret the heart. 
 We are too prone to think God takes jjart with jDroud oppressors. 
 Cato fell on his sword, crying, " The gods side with my foes." 
 Tempted in the storm to say. " Carcst thou not that we jierish?" 
 Within himself — or thought, clos-e connection between evil thoughts 
 
 and evil words. 
 The voice of the heart, is a loud cry in the ear of God. 
 Our Lord reminds us, by these words, that He is the Searcher of hearts. 
 I fear not. Unjust men from policy, not princi'ple, often do acts of 
 
 justice. 
 Men are prone to ascribe to the instrument, credit due to God alone. 
 The um-ighteous judge not merely an accident cleaving to the earthly 
 
 form, under which the heavenly truth is set. 
 The circumstance is deliheratchj chosen for the mightier setting fortli 
 
 of the truth. 
 "In righteousne-ss shalt thou judge thy neighbor." Lev. xix. 15 ; Deut. 
 
 i. 16, 17 ; 2 Chron. xix. 6, 7. 
 This man was conscious of his depravity, and desired no change. 
 God. His arrogance and selfishness are seen in full deformity. 
 While speaking of Gxxl's presenc-e, he contemns His power. 
 Sin overcoming conscience, makee men shameless in their degradation. 
 Regard man. He feared not their enmity, and coveted not their 
 fiiendship. 
 
 5. Te*, because this widow troubleth mc, I n-iU avcnrje her, lest by her continual coming 
 she weary vie. 
 
 Troubleth me. The importunity was founded on hope in God. 
 Her entreaty secures moce than the fear of God or the dread of man.
 
 204 SUGGESTIVE COMIMENTAKY [CHAP. XVni. 
 
 Her ever waxing boldness would utterly destroy his peace. 
 " Send her away, for she crieth after us." Matt. xv. 23. 
 Weary. "Who does not heed man's words, will weary God at length. 
 In the East they heg at the door, follow in the street, and solicit in court. 
 At the palace gate, cries are at times heard during the icJiolc night. 
 Forced respect for the supplication of a wretched woman. 
 I will avenge. Sin and virtue both, will illustrate God's glory. 
 Faith like the blessing of Elisha converts poison into food. 2 Kings 
 iv. 41. 
 
 eis Te'Aos, in aternum, lest coming to the end. Wordsworth : coming for ever. Alford. 
 "Wcarii," condemn. Wickliffe ; defame. Ulieims ; weary me out at last. Wakefield. 
 vTTuTria^r), Doric form. He transfoi-ma tlie poor widow into a spiteful pugilist. T<j 
 Btrike under the eye, 1 Cor. ix. 27. Major. To smite in the face, mortify, incessantly 
 annoy. Ne me obtundas hoc de re saepius. Terence. A Latinism. Grotius. Lest 
 becoming desperate, she strike me in the face. Meyer. Eeproach one. Hammond. To 
 beat one black and blue. Bengel. Moved by pity, but without reason. Chrytostom. 
 Some peasants' crops failing, in Persia, they desired a remission of tax ; they assembled 
 at the gate of the officer, and there continued howling, and throwing dust in the air. 
 Job ii. 12 ; Acts xxii. 23. They would not be driven away nor silenced, until he had 
 heard a statement of their griefs. Chardin. The mob in Constantinople, unable either 
 to obtain work or bread, set their own city on fire, in order that the Pashaw should be 
 compelled to pay them for putting it out. Common usage Las a similar term, " One 
 torments me to death." Trench. 
 
 C. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 
 
 XiOrd. Expressive of his own authoritative stylo. 
 
 Said. After a proper pause, to excite the attention of the hearers. 
 
 Hear. An emphatic encouragement to importunate prayer. 
 
 Unjust. Gr., judge of injustice. 
 
 Not touched with pity, but weary of trouble. 
 
 Not mindful of the widow's \vrongs, but careful of his own ease. 
 
 o (fptT/jj represents the Koman emperors : and the widow, the early Church. Coceeiru. 
 Tho widow, tl:e earthly .Torusalcm ; the unjust judge, Antichrist. Vitringa, God, to 
 cnconrago individual believers in peracvoring prayer. Eylc,
 
 CHAP. X-V7II.] ON ST. LUKE. 205 
 
 7. And sliall not God avenge liis own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though 
 Tie bear long loii/i them } 
 
 Shall not ? If a bad man v/ill yield to importunities, \\hicli be hates, 
 
 how mnch more will a merciful God, yield to prayer He loves. 
 In the contrast between the judge and his suppliant, there is a secret 
 
 transition to the relation, between the siippliaut and God. 
 This almost inextinguishable desire " to do justly," is planted by God. 
 " He who planted the ear, will He not hear? " Psa. xciv. 9. 
 He who taught us to pray, wiU He not hear us ? 
 Avenge. Gr., accomplish the avenging of: the sacred anchor of David's 
 
 hope. Psa. Iv. 17. 
 " Then the wicked shall fall and not rise, and the Church be at rest." 
 He will be overcome by the true Israelites as by their forefathers. Gen. 
 
 xxxii. 26 
 O^WTi elect. " Own " not expressed in the Greek. 
 God elected His people in Christ, before the foundation of the world. 
 
 Eph. i. 4. 
 Grace which was given them in Christ Jesus, before the world began. 
 
 2 Tim. i. 9. 
 "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Jer. xxxi. 3. 
 " As many as were ordained to everlasting life believed." Acts xiii. 48. 
 " He hath called them according to His own purpose." 2 Tim. i. 9. 
 This doctrine is despised by some, and misunderstood by others. 
 If not for the electing grace of God, none would be saved. Eom. viii. 30. 
 The carnal mind turns the grace of God to lasciviousness. Jude 4. 
 Where there is no faith there is no election; no election save to salvation. 
 Golden links that form the chain of God's love to His people, noticed. 
 
 Eom. viii. 29-30. 
 Paul knew election by its appointed fruits — faith, hope, charity. 1 
 
 Thess. i. 3-4. 
 Doctrine of election revealed for the comfort and helj) of saints in times 
 
 of temptation and trial. 
 Doctrine of election abused when made a stumbling block in the way of 
 
 the penitent coming to Christ, or when used to excuse slothfulness 
 
 or sin in a Christian. 
 Cry. An effectual prayer has strength, fervency and elevation. 
 The cry is wrung out from them, for salvation, by the Spirit. Eom. 
 
 viii. 26. 
 " Eends the heavens " enters the ear of the God of Sabaoth. Isa. Ixiv. 1. 
 Poor widow made a feeble moan, saints a long bitter cry. 
 Denotes the ever increasing vehemence of a fervent spirit.
 
 206 SUGGESTIVE COMJIEXTARY [CHAP. XVni. 
 
 Faith with loud imi^ortunity and intensity jjleads the promises. 
 
 It is the pleasure of His love to be urgently and fen'ently prayed unto. 
 
 Day and night. A proverbial word for " alicaijs.^' 
 
 Eevolving of the earth, sends up a continuous praj-er. Psa. Iv. 17. 
 
 " Oh Lord I have cried day and night unto Thee." Psa. Ix.^xviii. 1. 
 
 No obstacles can oppose, nor enemies sUence the fervent prayer. Psa. 
 
 Ixiii. 6. 
 " Mine ej'es prevent the night watches to meditate." Psa. cxix. 148. 
 At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises. Acts xvi. 25. 
 " Arise ! cry out in the night, in the beginning of the watches," &c. 
 
 Lam. ii. 19. 
 " I besought the Lord thrice ; " — Paul as to the thoni in the flesh. 
 
 2. Cor. xii. 8. 
 Sear. Gr., long -suffering. A delay is not a denial to His people. It 
 
 tries their faith. 
 It calls forth greater eaniestness, and makes deliverance more welcome. 
 His delays mercifully design the purifying of the elect. Psa. Ixxxiii. 1. 
 "How long, Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not avenge our blood?" 
 
 Rev. vi. 10. 
 What is hardness of heart in the unjust judge is, in God, forbearance. 
 He lengthens mercy to a wicked world, for the elect's sake. 
 He does not drive away the petitioners as the judge. 
 " The vision will surely come, it will not tarrj'." Hab. ii. 3. 
 A miracle illustrates this, the bUud followed him into a house. Matt. 
 
 ix. 27. 
 He suffered the waves to well nigh destroy the ship. Mark iv. 38. 
 He tested the importunity of the Canaauitish mother. Matt. xv. 22. 
 Abraham patiently waited 25 years for the promised son. 
 A long sharp winter oft between sowing time and reaping time. 
 Persevering and agonizing i^leadiugs, win with God. 
 God ceased not yielding, until Abraham ceased praying. Gen. xviii. 83. 
 "We !;ccount that the long-suffering of God is salvation. 2 Pet. iii. 15. 
 Be not sm-prised if the bridegi-oom tarry. Matt. xxv. 5. 
 "With them. Gr., over them. His long-suffering is exercised toward 
 
 their oppressors. 
 He tolerates persecutions, but forgets not His elect. 
 He long suffered the bondage of Egj-pt, but the day of vengeance came at 
 
 last. 
 
 tuAcKTaif. God either saves, or tho sinner saves himself; if the latter, there is no 
 graco in Balvation ; if the foiinor, God intended to save: this intc7Uion is eleotiou.
 
 CHAP. X\-riI.] ON ST. LUKE. 207 
 
 Poole. Their election, not their praj'ing, the condition of their being avenged. OUhausen, 
 Electi-on imiilies perseverance, perseverance Divine grace. Toplady. Ordinary grace 
 failing, God uncovers his purposes of mercy. Bengr.l. Election into the church, electa 
 thee u priest, thy pcj-Ron a teiuple, thy prayer a sacrifice. Ford. 
 
 T)lj.ipa^ KoX vvKTOi. Saints wore but icd at night. Wuodrow, \ol. ii. Celebrated the 
 Lord's supper at midnight in Lyons. Brown's Huguenots. Prayer during the entire 
 night, ends in the conversion of a Romish j)riest. Vol. i, i). 8-37. iJ.aKpo9viJ.wi', literally, 
 Blow-mindfcd. Eathymiiis. ixaxpcjOv/j-el. Tischendorf, Alford, Broioii, Cod. Sinai. 
 Codices being without points, the sense is materially changed by an interrogation point 
 after naxpoSufiuf. Kcwcombe. Will he linger in their cause. Campbell. Neither will 
 lie restrain His anger. Major. Thou hearest, therefore Thou wilt surely grant it. 
 OUhausen. He doloijcth tlieir cause so long. JVakcjield. Ho delays to execute veugciince 
 in their cause. Word$worth. Is it Uis way to delay help, although He forbear towar-d 
 them ? Meyer. Course of lloman Emperors toward the Church. Vitringa. Ail troublous 
 times. Oostcr:ee. With heavenly greatness of mind. Langc. 
 
 8. I tell you tluit he will avenge tliem speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man 
 con.cth, ■'ihah he fend faith on the earth ? 
 
 I tell. Such solemn words are with our Lord half au outh. Ileb. 
 
 vi. 13. 
 Avenge. Taking the power of hurting from evil men, as Absalom, 
 
 and Haman. 
 Or by taking His elect into eternal rest, as Enoch and others. Isa. 
 
 Ivii. 1. 
 Or by His glorious advent in the heavens. 2 Thess. i. 4-9. 
 Widow no relation to the judge, but the elect God's own children. Eom. 
 
 viii. 15. 
 She had no friend to plead, the elect have an advocate before the throne. 
 
 1 John ii. 1. 
 She had nothing to encourage her, the elect many promises. 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 She came alone, but all saints on earth besiege the Throne. Matt. 
 
 xviii. 20. 
 He will reveal himself in ovei-flowing kindiiess to the desolate one. 
 
 Isa. liv. 1-5. 
 The judge kept her at a distance, but we come boldly. Heb. 4. 16. 
 She to an unjust judge, we to a lighteous Father. John xvii. 25. 
 She had no encouragement, we behold the golden sceptre. Esther v. 2. 
 She seldom liad access, His gate is open day and night. Eev. xxi. 25. 
 Speedily. That which comes in the best time, comes speedily. 
 The Lord wiU help the righteous, and that right early. Psa. xlvi. 5. 
 Of the ungodly, " their judgment lingereth not," &c. 2 Pet. ii. 3.
 
 208 SUGGESTIVE COMJIEXTAUY [cHAP. XXIU. 
 
 Speedily. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed 
 
 speedily.'^ Ecc. viii. 11. 
 " The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." 2 Pet. iii. 9. 
 On the dial of God, a thousand years are but as one day. Psa. xc. 4. 
 " He that is often reproved, shall suddenly he destroyed." Pro. xxix. 1. 
 Cometli. The coming of the Pioman anny, and destruction of Jerusalem. 
 Christians were disheartened and many professors apostatized. 
 Because iniquity abounded, the love of many waxed cold. Matt. xxiv. 12. 
 Scoffers in the last days, " Where is the promise of His coming?" 2 Pet. 
 
 iii. 4. 
 Delay will breed despair, as if Christ had not triumphed. 
 Jilany false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many. Mark xiii. 22. 
 Satan shall be loosed, go out and deceive the nations. Eev. xx. 8. 
 " For He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth." Psa. xcvi, 13. 
 Find faith. Gr., the faith. Slender, tottering faith, infinitely small, 
 
 yea, as nothing. 
 Compaies it with the immeasurable love of God in the Gospel of Sh Son. 
 Shows most strongly the trial to which faith will be put, and the need 
 
 of Divine aid. 
 Vtlien faith fails, prayer ceases and charity dies oiit. 
 Faith, the grace, for which Christ looks towards our earth. 
 All the Epistles were written to build up the Chitrch in faith. 
 Many will " have the form of godliness, but deny its power." 2 Tim. 
 
 iii. 5. 
 The f aithfid will fail, and the last times be the most perilous. Psa. xii. 1 ; 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 1. 
 Believers may grow v:eary, yet God remains true and faithful. 
 
 Taxet. Beference to what precedes. Rosenmuller. irXriv, but notwitlistanding this. 
 W. (t W. And yet, though the day of retribution is so near at liand, will the Son of 
 Man, when He comes, find the faith on earth ? iVordsworth. e\6uji'. Cometh in judg- 
 ment. iJenj/c?. apa. Slight mcilsuro of doubl. il/ajor. apa, an illative particle, marking 
 a transition, or drawing a conclusion. "Can wo infer that lie will find?" Webster's 
 .S'yjifds,. tvpijcrct, unless Ho find, &c. Sc/iJcHSHcr. tticttii'. LiUc the "utrtKe" of Plato; 
 if a man lack it, all the virtues are wanting. Ford. Taith in the truth. Campbell. 
 Infidelity will prevail bofoi'e the millenium. Wct^lcin; faith in the destruction of 
 Jerusalem. Kuinocl; faith in the Messiah. Meyer; faithfulne.ss. De Wette ; faith in 
 God a? judge. Oosterzce ; sense ambiguous. A/nr7,7n /id; evangelical faith. Benjc/. 
 
 yrii., I'alfistine. Campbell, ttji' omitted from some manuscrrijts. They mistook the 
 moiining. Tha wnrlJ Will have little faith in God's retributive justice ; and even many 
 of the good will faint through fear. Therefore do yu " pray always,'' and not lay down 
 your aricH in thia divine warfare. " Ut oremus cradamus, et ut ipsa uou doCciat fidoa
 
 CHAP. XVin.] ON ST. LUKE. " 209 
 
 qnA oraraus, oremns. Fides fundit orationem ; fusa oratio fidei impetrat flrmitatem. 
 Augustine, in Wordsitjorth. 
 
 T'riv nio-TLu. The force of tlio article, T^hich is unmarked in our translation, is of 
 great consequence hero, as showing the peculiar development of faith which is siioken 
 of. Prcscott. Saints prayed for Christ's first advent, because of Jewish depravity ; thoy 
 may pray for the second, because of universal crime. Horns. 
 
 9. And he spake tlm parable unto certain ivhich trusted in themselves that they were 
 righteous, and despised others : 
 
 He spake. Persistent crj'mg of God's elect, contrasts witli diffident 
 
 prayer. 
 Boldness of faith and depth of humihty, must co- exist in all true prayer. 
 Parable. Lukev. 3G; iv. 23. Former teaches to pray earucst^i/ ; this 
 
 teaches to pray huinhhj. 
 Certain. Our Lord never sends an aimless arrow. 
 " My word shall not return unto me void." Isa. Iv. 11. 
 Highteoyis. This is contradicted by the very act of despising others. 
 " Most men will proclaim eveiy one his own goodness." Prov. xx. 6. 
 " There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not." 
 
 Ecc. vii 20. 
 No state of soul can be conceived so dangerous, as that of a self-deceiver. 
 Insensibility to disease, precedes the death of the body. 
 Insensibility of the heart precedes the death of the soul. 
 Many believe themselves quite holy, and God their debtor ! 
 Despised others. " To Imow one's self," the most difficult of thingff. 
 If we overtop others, we are very apt to overlook them also. 
 Self-ignorance begets self-conceit, this, contempt of others. 
 Self-knowledge, begets humility of spirit and charity to others. 
 Human nature repels indignantly the vanity of officiousness. 
 It is always lenient toward the failings of the meek. 
 Few defects so mar one's usefulness, as supercilious manners. 
 No stumbling block in the path of life more perilous, than uncharitable- 
 
 ness. 
 The vain seldom continue to frequent the mercy-seat. Job. xxvii. 10. 
 " The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee." Obad, verse 3. 
 "If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me." Job. ix. 20. 
 "He that is void of wisdom, despisejh his neighbor*" Prov. xi. 12. 
 " They comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." 2 Cor. 
 
 X. 12. 
 " Stand by thyself, for I am holier than thou." Isa. Ixv. 5.
 
 210 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVIIT. 
 
 elire. At the same time as the preceding. Meyer : diffei-ent. Oosterzee. rii'as, not 
 the Pharisees. Schleiermacher, Stier. Pharisees should be present when Pharisees 
 were to be censured. Olshausen. etj)' eaurois, in themselves, not in God. Wordsworth. 
 In themselves, not in the grace of God, when they prayed. The antithesis is Tritrnv, 
 fnith ioviaxAs Godi. Bengel. The verse reads thus in the original. — And he spake also 
 unto certain u-hich trust in themselves that they are righteous, and despise others, this 
 parable. Alford. wpos, purpose of the parable. Meyer, 
 
 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray ; the one a Pharisee, and the other a 
 publican. 
 
 Two men. Our Lord seems to avoid abstract truths for the sake of 
 
 the humble. 
 "Went up. The temple stood on Mount Moriah. Luke i. 9. 
 Temples and altars anciently built on hills and mountains. 1 Kings 
 
 xii. 32. 
 This was an every day occurrence of two men going up. 
 But a Pharisee and a Publican, -would excite the attention to the 
 
 highest pitch. 
 Temple. Not only the place, but medium of prayer. 2 Chrou. vi. 21. 
 " My house shall be called the house of prayer." Matt. xxi. 13. 
 Christ is our temple, and we must keep Him in view in approaching God. 
 Many seen at the temples here, may be excluded from the Temple above. 
 Many high in earthly churches, may find their religion no religion. 
 Athenians were astonished to find their gods no gods. Acts xvii. 29. 
 Pray. A sinner cannot contend before God, but must sue for mercy. 
 
 Ecc. vi. 10. 
 The usual hours of prayer at the tcmi3le, third and ninth, i.e., 9 and 3 
 
 o'clock. 
 " Let us go into the house of our Lord." Isa. ii. 3. 
 Borne " draw near to God with their mouth, but not with their heart," 
 
 &c. Isa. xxix. 13. 
 ♦' When ye come to appear before Me, who liath required this at your 
 
 hands?" Isa. i. 12. 
 Pharisee. Luke v. 17 ; vi. 2. For ages the people had reverenced the 
 
 Pharisees' teachings. 
 In face of universal prejudice, our Lord declared war against them. 
 Their specious sanctity had long dazzled the ignorant Jews. 
 Thus Cain and Abel, bad and good men will come to God's house. 
 Thus some for vanity, others for interest, frequent the church. 
 There the hypocrite displaya las piety, for the flattery of witnesses.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 211 
 
 Publican. Luke iii. 12. At times, ranked by our Loru v.itli the 
 
 harlots. Matt. xxi. 31. 
 With the people, this parable described a saint and a sinner. 
 
 iepov. Christ, after di-iving out sheep and oxen, still called the tcmplo house oj 
 prayer. Though sacrifices had ended, yet this should never end. Plume. -nitoa-ev^acrOaL. 
 Probably at one of the stated times of prayer, sacrifice, and offering of incense, in the 
 temple. WordsMorth. Omit 6 before els. Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not 
 as other men are, extortioners, uvjust, adulterers, or even as this 2>u.hlican. 
 
 The Pharisees were revered as holy ,■ publicans were despised as apostaies. 
 Pharisee. The great man has the precedence, as he was first named. 
 Stood. The ordinary position among the Jews in prayer. Matt. yi. 5. 
 
 "When ye stand praying, forgive." Mark xi. 25. 
 33ut aiiected sanctity displays itself now, in standing or kneeling. 
 He thought far more of placing himself vi position, than of God or ot 
 
 his sins. 
 He stretches forth his hand, as a model statue of devotion. 
 Solomon kneeled at the dedication of the temple, while the people stood. 
 
 Psa. cxxxiv. 1 ; exxxv. 2 ; Mark xi. 25 ; 2 Chroti. vi. 3. 
 Hannah stood, 1 Sam. i. 26, and our Saviour kneeled. Luke xxii. 41. 
 Thus. Gr., thfse tldngs, or ivords. 
 
 His prayer was profuse and stately, but perfectly heartless. 
 With himself. Gr., apart; so that he might be seen of all. Matt 
 
 vi. 5. 
 Doubtless would have preferred not to worship in the same temple will 
 
 the publican. 
 It was intended to be loud enough for all to hear. 
 
 Properly speaking, he did not stand before God at all, only before men. 
 It was an exhibition of himself, as though he were upon the stage. 
 Israel failed to be justified, " Wherefore ? because he sought it not by 
 
 faith." Eom. ix. 32. 
 He was giving car to himself, as though he could bear no man next him 
 Both stood before God unseen ; what a difference in their similarity ! 
 God. Familiarity with God ever indicates an uuhumbled heart. 
 I thank Thee. Gratitude is proper at aU times, and in all places. 
 Angels having nothing to pray for, only praise God.
 
 212 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 We should be thankful for the double benefit, of creation and redemption. 
 
 Is it for God's grace that he is thankful? Far from that. 
 
 A believer's thanksgiving, always proceeds onwards to confession. 
 
 " Come, I will declare what God hath done for my soul." Psa. Ixvi. 16 ; 
 
 1 Tim. i. 12. 
 The Pharisee went to pray, but ewiivGly forgets his errand. 
 He did not think even the favor of God, worth the asking. 
 I am. In this treacherous and presumptuous word, the entire hj-pocrito 
 
 stands forth. 
 " By the grace of God, I am, that I am," said Paul. 1 Cor. xv. 10. 
 A deceitful compliment to God, assuming the form of a prayer. 
 This Pharisee knows nothing of sin or grace, in relation to himself. 
 It was a denial of his being a sinner at all, in the sense that should cause 
 
 him any fear. 
 To the blind, God said " How canst thou say, I am not polluted ?" Jer. 
 
 ii. 23. 
 " I will plead with thee because thou sayest, I have not sinned. " Jer. ii. 35. 
 A prayer without penitence is a bird without wings. 
 Not as other men. Gr. the rest of men. I am righteous in myself, 
 
 and was never anything else. 
 He had commenced praying with " Oh God," but finds himself wanting 
 
 in nothing, and omits praying altogether. 
 Even hypocrisy becomes magisterial and presumptuous. 
 Extortioners. Bobbers. Coverdale. Those injuring others by force. 
 The wounding of his selfishness, he conceives the most grievous offence. 
 Mammon being his supreme good, he places it first. 
 He doubtless had given a side glance at the publican. 
 He had in his view this abhorred fellow-worshipper from the beginning. 
 Hn builds jiroudly on his morality, and thus ruins his sold. 
 Unjust. Those who defraud under semblance of justice, 
 Adulterers. All unclean, breaking the letter or spirit of the seventh 
 
 commandment. 
 This publican. lu plain terms " I alone am righteous, and all the 
 
 world are sinners." 
 He scornfully points with his finger, and utters fearful "words of 
 
 vanity." Isa. Iviii. 9. 
 Invading God's prerogative, he gives judgment on the secrets of the 
 
 heart. 
 Ho is honest in his hypocrisy, ho sincerely trusted in his own righteous- 
 ness. 
 WitJiout even a mark, the nakedness of Lis soul appears.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] OK ST. LUKE. 213 
 
 In his profound self-deception, lie was doubtless in earnest in Lis state- 
 ments. 
 
 He could not oven say bis i^rayers without slandennfj his neighbor. 
 
 Some flatter neighbors and friends in public and social devotions. 
 
 It is not evident that he knew anything of the i^ublicau's private 
 character. 
 
 It is not enough for him to despise the whole race ; he must attack the 
 publican. 
 
 The sight of one truly guilty, should have awakened all his charity. 
 
 David uttering a sinner's doom, in humiUty, checks himself. " Try r.'j/?, 
 Lord, and know my thoughts." Psa. cxxxix. 2-3. 
 
 trTa9eis, lilce a statue. Words^forth. This form, which has a middle force, means 
 more than etrro)?, standing, said of the publiean, verse 13. The Pharisee stationed 
 himself, the publican simijly stood. Bengel. "Stood." The posture of the Jews 
 and ancient Christians, in prayer. Tholuck. The present attitude in the Greek Chnrcli. 
 Brown. It -was the ancient custom to stand at prayer during the seasons of Easter and 
 Pentecost, and according to some, even on the Lord's Day, in commemoration of their 
 Bpiritual resurrection. Prescott. Trpbs eavToi/ may be joined with <rra0eis, standing h;i 
 himself. Campbell, Beza, Doddridge ; with kavTov. Meyer, Lisco, Oosterzee. Ho 
 placed himself apart boldly. Von Gerlach. Publicans in Gentile court, Pharisees in 
 Israelites. Ctrotius. Silently. Wetstein. None but nobles could pray sitting. Schoettgen. 
 
 TTpbs eouToi' TTpooTju'xeTo. Rightly rendered in E. V., "prayed with himself, ' 
 listening to himself, recounting his own merits in prayer ! Wordsxoorth. Praying as 
 one dependent on himself. Bengel. evx.'^pi.a-Tio. Each day true Eabbi thanked God, 
 1, that he was not a Gentile. 2, that he was not one of the common people. 3, that he 
 was not bom a woman. Buxtorf. 
 
 ol KoLTToC. Omnes proeter ipsum. ^MjKsiide. Ho censures God in his prayer : Thou 
 bust not one righteous on earth but me. Basil, r; koi. As for instance. W. <£• W. 
 Uncertain if heard of others. Stier. 
 
 12 I fast twice in the xeeck, I give tithes of all that I possess. 
 
 Fast. Luke v. 33. God enjoined them to fast on the tenth day of tho 
 
 seventh month. Lev. xxiii. 27. 
 The day of atonement, the only fast appointed by the law of God. 
 The Jews in captivity observed four fasts. 
 The modern Jews have twenty eight special fasts. 
 A public fast was appointed by Samuel at Mizpeh. 1 gam. vii. 6, 
 33
 
 214 SL'GGESTm: cojxjiextaky [chap. xvm. 
 
 Another by JeLosliapLat, 2 CLron. xx. 3 ; by Jehoiakim, Jer. xxxvi. 10 ; 
 by NeLemiah, on the completion of the temple, Neh. ix. 1 ; 
 by Esther, on Haman's conspiracy against the nation. 
 
 Nineveh fasted as an expression of humiliation and penitence ■when it 
 was doomed. Jonah iii. 7. 
 
 The Jews added to the number of fasts, but failed in spirit. Is. Iviii. 3, 
 
 Monday and Thursday fast days, because Moses was said to have 
 ascended and descended on those days." 
 
 Frail humanity gathers food for vanity from its very humblings. 
 
 We convert our virtues into veils, wherewith to hide our sins. 
 
 The Tempter so magnifies our suiDposed virtues, that we can see nothing 
 of our failings. 
 
 But the more of such virtue a man accumulates, the deeper he sinks. 
 
 A self-denying life may lead straight to perdition. 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 
 Twice in the week. Balaam boasted of his sacrifice and sacrilege. 
 Num. xxiii. 4. 
 
 Like boasting Israel of old, " T\Tierefore have we fasted, and Thou sees^ 
 not ? " Isa. hdii. 3. 
 
 " When ye fasted, did ye at all fast unto Me I " Zee. vii. 5. 
 Formal services drive the soul fiuther from God, than actual sins. 
 
 Self-loving, arrogant fnltillcrs of the law, rapidly harden their souls. 
 
 Give tithes. Priests and Levites maintained by tithes. 
 
 " Will a man rob God ? yet ye have robbed me." Mai. iii. 8. 
 
 His prayer contains no confessio7i of sin, thinking he had none. 
 
 He prays for no pardon, having no sense of guilt. 
 
 He prays for no salvation, fearing no danger of ruin. 
 
 He petitions for no grace, feeling quite able to pay all debts to God. 
 
 Yet he was wretched, misei-able, poor, blind and naked. Eev. iii. 17. 
 
 First he shows what he does, and then what he gives. 
 
 It by no means implies alms are worthless in forming character. 
 
 He thinks he not only pays all God's law demands, but more. 
 
 I possess. Instead of praying, he simply praises himself. 
 
 With boundless arrogance, he thus exalts himself above others. 
 
 The proud fool inspires compassion, rather than disgust. 
 
 Sad for those, whose alms come short of even the Pharisee's. 
 
 mritrrevo). Privately enjoined hy the divino laiv. Suxtorf. Kabbis trifled egi'Cgiously 
 with conscleneo. llabbinical pride seen in the followinj^ — " If ton righteous among 
 men, I and my son ore ol the unmber; il but ouo, I would bo that one," Rabbi Simeon.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 215 
 
 Lightfont. " The week," Greek toS a-aPfioLTov, the Sabbath. The eliief day of tlio ■(\-holo 
 ■week. Bemjcl. xTMixai. I have acquired. Trench. Kxao-Sat is not necessarily /o aoijin're 
 in N. T. 1 Thess. iv. 4. Wordsworth. The present tense may be noticed in aTroSeKarii 
 and KTo^ixai. ; " I am in the habit of iiaying the tenth of all my gains." Webster's Syntax. 
 
 13. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto 
 heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 
 
 Publican. Luke iii. 12. Matthew and ZacchiBus were Publicans. 
 Standing. ludicates the imblican's imstucliecl posture after entering 
 
 the sanctuary. 
 A.far off. Gr., apart from the holy place. 
 
 But not far from God, who is nigh to the contrite. Psa. xxxiv. 18. 
 " One stands up close and treads on high, 
 Where the other dare not bend his eye. 
 One nearer to God's altar trod. 
 The other to the altar's God." Crashaio. 
 Impenitence alone creates a wide gulf between us and God. Luke xv. l.S. 
 The Pharisee's fierce spirit and piercing glances repelled the publican. 
 The publican under the mighty influence of a first repentance, comes 
 
 to pray. 
 God seizes his spirit, and he feels as if all saw his guilt. 
 The Pharisee pushed ambitiously forward, to the upper end of the Cuart 
 
 of Israel. 
 Those seeming farthest from God in deep humiliation, then ever draw 
 
 nearest. 
 The publican in faith, strangely dares to enter the sanctuary. 
 In his humility, he does not deem himself worthy to press fon\-ard 
 
 toward the holy place. 
 He felt that justly he was excluded from the temple below. 
 His mouth would acknowledge the justice of God, if shut out from that 
 
 above. Eom iii. 19. 
 Eyes. Jews prayed with iiplifted eyes, Psa. cxxiii. 1-2, and hands 
 
 raised. 1 Tim. ii. 8. 
 But his heart hurde^icd, dared not yet hope for acceptance. Isa. l\-iii. 5. 
 Au exquisite picture of a broken heart and contrite spirit. Psa. li. 17. 
 It was an abandonment, utterly and for ever, of all self-righteousness. 
 Had he spoken of self, it would only have been of his countless sins. 
 The Pharisee cast his eye around for admirers of his devotion. 
 The publican has no one to think of but his guilty self. 
 " Mine iniquities take hold upon me, I am not able to look up." Psa. ' 
 
 xl. 12.
 
 216 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTAPvY [C'HAP. XVni. 
 
 " my God, lam ashamed and bliisli to lift up my face !" Ezra ix. 6. 
 Smote. Gr. Continued smiting. " This heart, this guilty heart of 
 
 mine !" 
 Ihc author met a female in Eg;vi3t, smiting her breast, with earth en 
 
 her head, and loudly wailing. Jer. xxxi. 19. 
 Davifl, penitent, smitten by a strohc lapon his heart. 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. 
 Smiting on his breast he chid his heart — the seat of all evil in man. 
 " Sm-ely I repented, I smote upon my thigh." Jer. xxxi. 19. 
 Saying'. The prayers a deep sigh, bursting from the depths of his soul. 
 Sighs have been called the voice of God's Spirit, 
 "la sinner went up to pray, but could only utter one word." 
 Deep emotion has few words, hght hearts have many. 
 Ee merciful. Salvation by grace alone known in the Bible. 
 But no salvation without the fruit of good works. Matt. vii. 20. 
 "Righteousness belongeth vmto the Lord! But unto us confusion." 
 
 Dan. ix. 7. 
 Hypocrites convert Scripture formulas into refuges of lies. Isa. xxviii. 
 
 15. 17. 
 The Pharisee trusted to his 7ncrit in fastiq.'j and tithing. 
 The pubUcan flies to mercy, as the city of his refuge, and clings to that 
 
 altar. 
 Many postpone repentance, by pleading the dying thief's accejjtance. 
 Many apologize for their sins, because Noah, David, and Peter sinned. 
 A man must not play the orator before God. Psa. xxxix. 9. 
 The most eloquent prayer, the moaning of a broken heart for mercy. 
 Human argument, or the most rigid logic, equal not a penitimtial tear. 
 He understood the promises, better than the Pharisee his Bible. 
 Conscious or unconscious, his prayer is in the spirit of David. 
 This is either the easiest or the hardest prayer, as it is received by 
 
 the heart. 
 One glance upward to God, by the heart through faith. 
 One glance imcardly, where the sinner has sinned against Heaven. 
 Sinner. Gr., the sinner — " If ever there was a sinner, I am one." 
 Grace alone reveals unto us the dc2:)ths of sin, " Behold I am vile." Job. 
 
 xl. 4 ; John, xvi 8. 
 This great word In luminous force, ever stands and utters the mighty 
 
 testimony of a broken heart ! 
 This word, the Pharisee passes by, and never finds. 
 It was uttered by the Apostle Paul at the close of his life. 1 Tim. i. 15. 
 David said " I acknowledge my transgressions, my sin is ever before 
 
 mo." Psa, li. 3.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] oV ST. LTTKE. 217 
 
 " Have mercy iipon me, God, according to thy loving kindness." Psa. 
 
 li. 1. 
 The publican's prayer was the simjile outgusliing of Lis sin-troubled 
 
 heart. 
 The Pharisee's was suited for an angel, but not for a sinner. 
 Vagueness and generality, the great defects in most petitions. 
 It was an humble prayer ; it put self in the lowest place. 
 It exalted the Divine hohness in its sole cry for mercy. 
 
 finKpoBet'. Court of the Gentiles. Starcke : from the Pharisee. Meyer ; from tho 
 Holy Place. Ooslerzee. In the same court, that of the Israjslites, as the Pharisee, vetije 
 11. Wordsworth, icnio^, not (rraSel?, taMvfi his stand, verse 11, Bcngel. tous o09aAju,ous. 
 Christians and heathens thug lifted their eyes and hands in prayer. TerfuUian. 
 Publican refused lost he should see his sins written in the very heavens. C7i7-i/sos(oni. 
 
 erttTTTev. XJbi dolor, ibi manus. Bengcl. It chastises the hidden sin openly. 
 Augustine. Rome finds authority tov penance : he chastised sin in himself, il/a;TJo<i, 
 Rheimish Notes. What is a penitent but a man angered with self. Augustine. l\da-9riTC, 
 from t'Acwj propitious. Doctrinal reference denied. Alford : affirmed. Major, Stier. 
 l\a(TTqpi.ov, propitiation, Rom. iii. 25 ; reconciUation, Heb. ri. 17 ; mercy scat, Heb. ix. 5. 
 Isaiah liii. is a condensed biography of the Lamb, typified by every sacrifice. Grotius do 
 Jiostoc!;, dying, cried "I am that publican." Eome nullifies this doctrine by her 
 dogmas. Decrees, Council of Trent. Canon De Justijicatione anathematizes all who 
 hold Bible teaching on this vital subject. 
 
 d/iapToiAoi. A miserabl-e sinner, Luke xiii. 2; a wicked wretch or abandoned 
 profligate. Doddridge, Psa. Ixxix. 6; Matt. ix. 10; Luke vi. 32; John ix. 21; 1 Tim. i. 9. 
 riZ aixapTU)\w. The sinner: article emphatic.JJoscnmun.fr, Wetstein, Bengel, Wordi- 
 ivorth, Grcswell, Stier ; pleonastic. Bloomfield. Probably the article is only generic, 
 pointing him out as one of a classs The arti-cle implies not bo much comparison with 
 others, as intense self-abasement ; — " Sinner that I am." Alford. Who am confessedly a 
 sinner. Middleton. He does not say, I am a creature dependent upon God, &c. Boos. 
 He came as a ripe believer. Lange; a penitent sinner. Stier, Trench. 
 
 14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other : far 
 every one that cxaltcth himself shall be abased; and he that humhlcth himself shall fi.i 
 exalted^ 
 
 I tell you. For I know, and have heard many such jjrayers before. 
 Jesus knew not only the heart of man, but the counsel of God. 
 The proud Pharisee goes away, like Cain, rejected of Heaven. 
 The briefest prayer on record, was an answered prayer. 
 Publican's prayer. 1. Comprehensive but rare. 2. Suitablo yet in- 
 disiiensable. 3. FuU of sorrows, but fuU of blessings.
 
 218 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEy [cHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Iilany take care that they pray, but not lioto they pray. 
 
 True humility. 1. Acknowledges his sin. 2. In its full extent. 3. As 
 
 Ms own sin. 4. Seeks pardon from God. 
 The parable of the woman eucoiu-agcs believing perseverance. 
 That of the publican enjoins humble apiiroach to the mercy-seat. . 
 To h.is liouse. This is not intended simply to round off the narrative 
 Although he remains a i^ublican, he returns a new man. 
 ins new life will shew that he was sanctified, as well as justified. 
 lie does not give to God only a tenth, but consecrates all to God. 
 The Pharisee went down with a heart fuU of scorn and pride. 
 Ills conscience unsilenced, and " the wrath of God abiding on him." 
 
 John iii. 86. Psa. Hx. 8. 
 Tut the way of peace have they not known. Kom. iii. 17. 
 Justified. The publican is acquitted, pardoned, and accepted of God. 
 God grants more than we ask; mercy only sought, justification unto 
 
 eternal life given. 
 Zacchffius only wishes to see Christ, but receives the Lord a guest ! 
 Dying thief prays for rcmeinhrance but is welcomed to paradise. Eph. 
 
 iii. 20. 
 The Pharisee literally supplicated nothing, least of all justification. 
 Justification has no degrees, it is a complete, and perfect act. Ptom. 
 
 iii. 24. 
 The meritorious obedience and death of Christ the alone ground of a 
 
 sinner's justification. Piom. v. 1 ; iii. 22 ; Gal. ii. 16. 
 "It isGod whojustifieth. Who is he that condemneth? " Kom. viii. 33-31. 
 Every soul is either within, or without the kingdom of God. 
 "There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Eom. viii. 1. 
 " The beUever hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemna- 
 tion." John V. 24. 
 "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive." 1 John 
 
 i. 9. 
 Elatfering cm-selves to be a little holier than another is Pharisaic 
 
 leaven, 
 ilatlier. Nothing here touches, one justified a little, and the' other 
 
 much. 
 The publican went home pardoned and accepted before God. 
 One gives thanks, so as to forget to pray. The other prays, so as to have 
 
 cause for thanks. 
 Cue compares himself with others, the other with the law. 
 One counts Lis virtues, the other mouma over his sins.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 219 
 
 One witli all Lis virtues, loves siu; the other with all hia sins loves 
 
 virtue. 
 1. The publican's prayer. 2. His spirit. 3. His reward. 
 Exalteth. Substance of these words repeated 7 times. Matt. viii. 8 ; 
 
 XX. 26 ; xxiii. 12. Luke xiv. 11 ; xxii. 26. John xiii. 14. 
 As pride excluded archangels from heaven, so it will men also. 
 Like the fly in the ointment, pride nullities all our virtues. Eccles. x. 1. 
 The proud prayer of the pretender to righteousness is sin. 
 The Gospel leads to depths (one's depravity) and to heights (communion 
 
 with God). 
 Abased. Illustrated by Pharaoh, Goliath, Hamau, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 
 Herod. 
 livimbleth. The only spot on earth where a sinner can commune, 
 
 is in the dust. 2 Cor. vii. 10. 
 '* To this man will I look ; even him that is poor and of a contrite spirit." 
 
 Isa. Ixvi. 2. 
 " God resisteth the proud, biit givcth grace to the humble." Jas. iv. 6. 
 "Our iniquities like the wind have carried us away." Isa. Ixiv. 6. 
 Hiunility the grace of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Job, Daniel, 
 
 Isaiah, John, Paul. 
 Exalted. Three times our Saviour repeated these words. Matt, xxiii. 
 
 12. Luke xiv. 11. 
 Our prayers are our judges, foreshadowing the final decree. 
 
 Se5i/cotM|iieVos — fi, acquitted and pardoned, not more than tlao other, but rather thaa 
 the other. For y\ eKeLvo<;, Tischcndorf reads tj yap e/ceiros, fio also Wordsworth, on tho 
 authority of many of the best MSS. Laclunanii, Meyer, and Al/ord read-jrap' ix^lvoi', so 
 also Cod. Sinai. In either case fj.aX\ov is to be understood, as in chap. xv. 7; 1 Cox-. 
 xiv. 19. The Pharisee was not justified in any sense ; for ho was abased. Bt'nf/cL God 
 is high; exalt thyself, He iiees from thee; humblo thyself, and He stoops to thee. 
 Augustine. I'havisee also justified, but not so fully as tho publican. Von, Gerlach, 
 There h) danger in preferring the publican's sins to the Pharisee's virtues. These things 
 (fasting, tithing, &c.) ye ought, lic. Hammond. God more pleased with penitence after 
 sin, than pride in acts of piety. Auyustine. He prefers a contrite pcccavi to the 
 conceiicd Deo aratias. Andrews. Proverb like Shu.shan witnesses ; — Mordecai honored, 
 and llaraan humbled. Hall. Tho debtor, in the parable, forgiven little, was not forgiven 
 at aU. Calvir>. The narrative of Luke here unites with Matt, and Mark after being 
 parted for nine chapters, or 351 verses. Ooslerzee. 
 
 15. And tliey hrought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: hut tclwn his 
 disciples saw it, they rebuked tlicm. 
 
 Infants. Gr., cUo the, or, their infants. The people not only came 
 tiiemselves, they brought their infants.
 
 220 SUGGESTIVE COISTMENTABY [CHAP. XVin. 
 
 An example to all parents — to come to Jesus and bring their cliildren 
 
 ■with them. 
 " I ■will ponr my spii^it upon thy seed, and my blessing lipon thine off- 
 spring." Isa. sliv. 3. 
 Our spiritual interest for children measures our love for the Saviour. 
 Heathen feel little concern for the soul or body of children. 
 None but Christian parents rightly regard the richest legacy of hcayen. 
 
 Acts ii. 39. 
 Touch them. Put his hands on them. Matt. xix. 13. 
 Jacob laid his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh. Gen. xlviii. 14 ; Nimi. 
 
 xx-vdi. 18 ; 2 Kings v. 11. 
 Aaron ■with lifted hands blessed the people. Lev. ix. 22, and Christ 
 
 the disciples. Luke xxiv. 50. 
 Not to say anything unto them, but to pray over them. 
 A sign of dedicating persons to God, and imparting to them spiritual 
 
 gifts. 
 "With our Saviour, ho-wever, it ■was an actual conveying of blessing. 
 " Men shall be blessed in Him, and all nations shall call him blessed." 
 
 Psa. Ixxii. 17. 
 No superstitious notion of magical efficacy in the touch. 
 Parents here remembered the benedictions of patriai'chs. Lev. i. 4 ; 
 
 Lev. xvi. 21. 
 The more toiiching, as it ■was a farewell scene. 
 The vei-y request, proves the majesty and gentleness of the Lord. 
 Kehuked them. Thinking the intrusion useless, and the Gospel only 
 
 for adults. 
 Instead of children first becoming like adults, adults must become like 
 
 children. 
 He shews infants as such, are capable of the kingdom of God. 
 Whom men reject as ■worthless, the Lord often welcomes as His, 
 It is no strange thing to be rebuked by those ■who should encourage. 
 It ■was no envy but a sincere regard to the Master's convenience. 
 An officious sense of their o^wn importance as " His followers." 
 Rashness and over-haste too often characterize new converts. 
 What good can sucli children get from His laying hands upon them? 
 This great word rebukes the proud contempt in which the world held 
 
 children. 
 The kingdom of heaven consists of such children, and child-like men. 
 Not through their original innocence, but promised grace. Acts. 11. 39. 
 Jesus had much more condescension than his disciples supposed. 
 It was not their first error, another at Sychar. John. iv. 27.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 201 
 
 7rpoo-c'f/)fpov. Tho tense denotea continued action, icat to. Ppe<i>r), their very hahes. 
 los apTtyeVi'TjTa Pp<i<l>Vi 1 Peter ii. 2; a-b ^pe'i^ou;, i.e. from the cradle, 2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 Webster's Si/ntar. irai&Cov. New bora iufantg, Matt. ii. 8; Luke ii. 17. .\. child, Mat*. 
 xviii. 2. For a prl twelve years of age, JIark v. 39. ^pe'||)»). New bora babe. Aesch; 
 suckliitg. Pind, words usad by Matt, and Mark, may signify a youth. Norton. 1','natiaj, a 
 pupil of John, given to the lions at Antioch, one of these infants, Nicephorus. Luke here 
 eAArji'ifwi' has Ppi<l>ri ; the others have naiSCa., which Luke also has in verses 16, 17. Words- 
 worth. Babbis taught children perished like brutes. Lightfoot. The question of being 
 permitted to dedicate infants to God was sure to rise. Our Lord, by anticipation, 
 furnishes an answer for all future ages. Not only is infant baptism justified, but this 
 act is the normal pattern of all baptism. Brown. I will not assert a sec-ret, impercep- 
 tible, habit of faith, but there is in infants au innocency instead of faith. Jer. Taylor. 
 None can enter the Kingdom, except as a Utile child. Adults, seeming exceptions, must 
 come as little children. Alford. airrnTai. To cure the sick. Eisner. iiKTiiiL-qa-ay. Ttey 
 were presented at once, in a throng. Olsluixcsen. 
 
 16. But Jeiug called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, 
 and forbid them not : for of such is the kingdom of God. 
 
 Called. Many eliglitecl of men are chosen of God. 1 Cor. i. 2-8 ; 
 
 Heb. xi. 38. 
 Suffer. He here blesses with no unmeaning and empty ceremony. 
 He endorses no pagan or Romish superstition of amulets or charms. 
 A blessing for children. 1, earnestly requested. 2, hastily denied. 3, 
 
 graciously granted. 4, abidingly confirmed. 
 Unto Me. Not that the children must first become as you, but you as 
 
 the children. 
 A child in the arms of its mother, an embodied call for help to a faithful 
 
 God. Isa. xlv. 10. 
 •' Eeceive me ; I have nothing, I need everything." 
 A hving expression oi faith — " I trust I shall not be left to perish without 
 
 help." 
 A child lets itself be carried and brought, caressed and blessed. 
 We need child-like simplicity, humility, and trust. 
 If we have to do with men, the rule is " beware of men." Matt. x. 17. 
 " I said in my haste. All men are liars." Psa. cxvi. 11. 
 " Cursed be he who trusteth in man or maketh flesh," itc. Jer. xvii. 5. 
 Forbid. Gr. Hinder, either by word, deed, or even look. 
 His heart yearned after these innocents, as such. 
 
 The Ouly-begotten of the Father ! with an unconscious babe in His arms 1 
 He did not forbid infants to be circumcised imder the 0. T.
 
 222 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 He does not now forbid parents to indenture their children to God in 
 
 baptism. 
 Christian dispensation does not lessen but enlarges believers' pri\ileges. 
 He ■who lets children die, bids them to better things -nith Him above. 
 The only time the Redeemer " was much displeased" was with officious 
 
 interfering with children coming to Him. 
 Displeased. Mark. x. 14. Gr. denotes great pain, implying grief and 
 
 indignation. 
 Of such. Simjjlicity, innocence, humility give free access to Christ. 
 It implies that children may be truly regenerated by the Spirit. 
 Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John, Timothy, instances. 
 Children under the former dispensation were recognised as members of 
 
 the visible church. 
 " Ye stand this day before your God, your little ones," &c. Deut. x.xix. 10. 
 Circiuncision at 8 days old a seal of the righteousness of faith, Eom. iv. 11. 
 Infant baptism generally regarded as in the place of circumcision. Acts 
 
 X. 2 ; xi. 14 ; Acts xvi. 15 ; xvi. 31 ; xviii. 8 ; 1 Cor. i. 16 ; vii. 14 ; 
 
 Isa. xxviii. 9. 
 Church on earth largely consists of those called in early life. 
 Kingdom above, consists in a great degree of those dying in infancy. 
 They are those " who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's sin." 
 
 Eom. v. 14. 
 They are therefore justified without the similitude of Adam's faith. 
 Children receive the inheritance as the free gift of God. 
 " Is it well with thee ? with the child ? It is well." 2 Kings iv. 26, 
 "Eachel (without cause) wept for her children, refusing to be comforted." 
 
 Matt. ii. 18. 
 If children were not too young to be circumcised in the 0. T., they aro 
 
 not too young to be baptized under the Gospel. 
 By this sacrament they are indentured to the Lord. 
 
 Blessed. Mark. x. 16. What did this mean, if it did not benefit them ? 
 " If the root be holy, so are the branches." Eom. xi, 18. 
 Kingdom. Some believe it has more children than adults. 
 
 TOiovTutv, unto Ruch. Tyndale. 1. The principal portion of heavenly ctwellers aro 
 infants. 2. Kingdom Indongs to bolievjiig children as well as adults. 8. Child-like in 
 disposition. 4. Eofcrs to believing children, and those who resemble them in qualities. 
 Alexander. Children from infancy up, may bo subjects of grace, Edwards, Brown. 
 KwAueTf. The children of freemSn aro free. Lewes. After the sin and misery in 
 iimrricil lite, this breaks, like abeam of sunshine, through tho dark clouds. OotterMec, 
 Uuplism of iiifuutu an indenture. Miller.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 223 
 
 17. Verily I say vnto you, Wliogoever shall not receive the Idnf/dom of Qod as a lillla 
 child shall in no loise enter therein. 
 
 King-dom. God is said to have two residences, Heaven and the con- 
 trite heart. Isa. Ivii. 15. 
 
 I^ittle child. Bom under sin, by natm-e are etiildren of wrath. I'sa. 
 li. 5 ; Ephes. ii. 3. 
 
 But comparatively they arc Jmmble, contented in a hut as in a palace. 
 
 The royal robe, and the Indian blanket, are esteemed alike. 
 
 They are teacltablc, not too proud to learn, nor puffed u^j with conceit. 
 
 Thej' are not envious, the gay dress of others does not rouse their anger. 
 
 They are not inalicious ; infant quarrels, arc soon forgotten in love. 
 
 " Be not children in understanding, but in malice be ye chiltken." 1 Cor. 
 xiv. 20. 
 
 Children are without guile ; their sins are bursts of passion, not well- 
 planned assaults on virtue. 
 
 Free from covetousness, they desire neither power nor wealth. 
 
 "He feeds his flock like a shepherd, and gath'ers the lambs in his aims." 
 Isa. xl. 11. 
 
 Christ's last injunction to Peter. (John xj;i. 15.) " Feed my lambs." 
 
 Teaches us to be " gentle, instructing in meekness." 2 Tim. ii. 24-25. 
 
 " We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth." &c. 1 Thes. 
 ii. 7. 
 
 Ttaihiov. A little child can partially uso his reason, so as to receive ; but an infant 
 expresses a lower degree, suited to the Lord's touch. Bcnpel. A child is no hypocrite 
 held in thraldom by worldlincss and wealth. Chrijsostom, Ellicott. 
 
 18. And a certain ruler asked hivi, saying, Good Master, ivhat shall I do to inherii 
 eternal life l 
 
 Certain. Matt. Behold ! calling si^ecial attention. 
 
 Rtiler. Either in the synagogue or was a civil magistrate. 
 
 This eye-witness relates the deep impression made by this incident. 
 
 Christ was still surrounded by the Pharisees tempting him. 
 
 This ruler had been partly gained over by Jesus. 
 
 Pharisees would prove our Lord an impostor by their question. 
 
 ■' Have any of the rulers, or Pharisees believed on him?" Jtihn vii. 48. 
 
 The conversion of those high in wealth, power, or talents, is noticed. 
 
 Ruler. Young man. Matt. xix. 20. A prince. Wicldiffe, liheims^
 
 224 SUGGESTIVE COMIIEXTARY [cHAP. XVIII, 
 
 Diligence rewarded, Jeroboam. 1 Kings xi. 28. Virtue crowned, Solomon. 
 
 1 Kings iii. 13. 
 Hunning. Mark x. 17. Time may be improved, and yet the kingdom 
 
 be lost. 
 " Your goodness is as a-momiug cloud, and as the early dew." Hos. vi. 4. 
 Afterwards he went slowly and soiTOwfully away. 
 Kneeled. Denoted reverence, courtesy and humility. 
 He was not ashamed like Nicodemus, to meet him in the highway. 
 Asked. If we would leam how to be saved we must api^ly to the Great 
 
 Teacher. 
 To arrogate to ourselves ability to win eternal life by good works, is 
 
 sacrilege ; to defile the gift (Jas. i. 17.) with polluted hands. 
 He is not accused of tempting Christ like the Pharisees. 
 An honest, though erroneous, and self-righteous seeker after peace. 
 Good Master. A good man teaches good things in a good way. 
 Israel's old sin, "they flatter me with their lips." Psa. Isxviii. 36. 
 "Master, we know that Thou teachest the way of God truly." Luke xx. 21. 
 " Leam of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest." 
 
 Matt. xi. 29. 
 There is no learning the way to heaven but in the school of Christ. 
 Sliall I do ? He seeks not grace, but reioard for his own viiiue. 
 A man full of good intentions, but no self-knowledge. 
 Respect for the law, but full of self-complacency. 
 Strange mixture of sincerity and lutiable self-deception. 
 His question speaks well for the earnestness and zeal of his early training. 
 He felt he still lacked something, although he knew not what. 
 In every age men have proved by their costly sacrifices their misgivings, 
 
 of a. fatal defect of title to heaven. 
 Saul of Tarsus said, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Acts. ix. 6. 
 The jailor of Philippi said " Wliat must I do to be saved ?" Acts. xvi. 30. 
 The same enquiry was urged on the day of Pentecost. Acts. ii. 37. 
 It implies a concern not felt by the xmthinldng world. 
 Good thing. Matt. xix. 16. He takes for granted, that out of his own 
 
 good treasure he can bring an acceptable offering for God. 
 I do. Restless at heart with all his virtue and wealth. 
 To good already done he would add new forms of splendid piety. 
 He exi^ected some penance that should flatter his pride. 
 Inherit. Possess in my own rigid, everlasting happiness. 
 The young ruler does not j)erceive the inconsistency between doing and 
 
 ifilieritiiig. 
 He blindly aims at extraordinary merit to become like Christ.
 
 CHAP. XVni.] ON ST, LUKE. 225 
 
 JL'ternal life. These words occur first, Dan. xii. 2 ; here and Matt. 
 
 XXV. 40. 
 1^0 Sadducee : conscience compelled him to confess another world. 
 With young gay worldlings thoughts of an eternal life are rare. 
 They tax themselves to rid their minds of such unwelcome themes. 
 The dance, cards, chase, theatre, iDublic life, are successively plied. 
 
 apxi^v. — Prince. Tijndale. ayaOi. — Not so much of flattery as tbougbtfulness. Stier. 
 Excessive admiration for our Lord's superior virtue. Alfurd. If he was ignorant of Ilis 
 divinity, the term was used as flattei-y, and therefore to bo rebuked. Foster He hud 
 probably heard of Jesus' condemnation of tradition. Hawcs. 
 
 19. And Jesus said -unto him, Why callest thou vie good ? none is good, save on«, that is, 
 Qod. 
 
 Why callest ? Ckrist takes care not to say " I am not good^ 
 
 He calls himself the " Good Shepherd,''^ more than " Good Master." 
 
 John X. 11. 
 He objects to the siq)erficial and outward meaning attached to the word. 
 Truth is the salt of cotu'tesy, making it differ horn flattery . 
 Good. He dechued being classed with other " good masters." 
 '' By such terms you acknowledge me to be divine.'" 
 
 The ruler with all his humility and reverence held Christ to be a incrc man. 
 Christ attests His own divinity, affirming " none is good, save One." 
 
 Luke 1. 35. 
 Christ knew Himself not after the flesh. 2 Cor. v. IG. 
 Christ, not only the Highest Good but the Source of all good to others. 
 " There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none be^de Thee." 
 
 1 Sam. ii. 2. 
 " All men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father.''^ 
 
 John v. 23. 
 Jesus, the full Hght of divinity, " God, manifest in the flesh." 
 
 1 Tim. iii. IG. 
 God. Goodness infinite, — itnderivcd, and unchangeable. 
 We likewise should turn our commendations to his glory. 
 
 In the parallel passage, JIatt. xix. 17, the following reading is adopted. — rt ue 
 lpu>Ta% -nepX ToC ayoudov; cts iaTiv 6 ayaflds. Qrotius, Mill, Griesbach, hachmavn, 
 Tiichendorf, Tregcllcs, Al/ord, Wordsworth, Muller, Cod. Sinai, rine Ae'yets o.yaB6v.-~
 
 226 suGaESTi\'E commentaky [chap. xvin. 
 
 To ti7 tho young man's Imowledge, as when He enquired why David called Kim Lord. 
 W. Jones. Merely an ancient interpretation. Wetstcin, Matthias, Oosterzee. No 
 Marcionite emendation; our Lord neither directly asserts his own divinity (old 
 Dogmatists) ; nor decidedly denies it (modern Eationalists). God alone is good, since 
 Christ's humanity was liable to temptation. Oetenger. The Good One is to be asked 
 concerning good. Bengel. The human goodness of Christ reaches perfection, through 
 conflict. Ullmann. Never has Jesus iwotested against any degi-ee of adoration. Iloos. 
 "Why askest thou me about that which is good ? One is good ; address thyself to Him. 
 Neander. 'UTiy askest thou me about the good ? Lange. Various readings from Origcn.' 
 Matthias. Marginal gloss : answer more suitable to the question. Wetstcin. Rec. text. 
 Brown, Scrivener, Sticr. God to the sinner: — Do this, and live. . It is to awaken 
 conviction of his deep need of grace. Oosterzee. Unanswerable, and about the highest 
 good. De Wette. That goodness is referred to in the ssnse, " My doctrine is not mine" 
 (John vlii. 16). Lutkardt. Why call me " good," unless you own me to be God ? You come 
 to me, why not go to God at once. His will alone is the absolute rule of good. Alexander, 
 Contrast between the divine perfections, and the humanity of Jesus. Meyer. In directing 
 him to God, He directed him to Himself. Sujjreme goodness belongs alone to God. 
 Brown. 
 
 oiiSels. Translators dispense with their favorit-e solecism ; no man, except God. 
 Alexander. If I am only master, why call me gaud .' if i am God, why call me master t 
 Why not call me God ? for there is none good but God. V/ordsworth. Quid me dicis 
 bonum, quern negas Deum? Non ergo se bonum nogat, sed Deuia dcsignat. Ambrose. 
 
 20. Thoa l;howest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill, Do not 
 steal, Do not bear false witness. Honour thy father and thy mother. 
 
 Kno"west. Implies he must liave carefully read the law of God. 
 
 Our Lord treats him as a wise physician does a patient. 
 
 Cominaiiclinents. A Jew understood the ten commandments, definitclij. 
 
 Christ endorses them as universally hinding to the end of the world. 
 
 He begins with the second tabl6, since men could see the fruit. 
 
 This is an easy and natural test of man's conduct to man. 
 
 Outward obedience, would never have made him perfect. 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 
 ^Ve learn that keeping all the commandments is perfect holiness. 
 
 The holy patriarch confessed, he did not keep one of a thousand. Job. 
 
 ix. 3. 
 This young man's perfect obedience was a fatal delusion. 
 He who expects salvation on this ground must show a life of sinless 
 
 obedience. 
 " Cursed is every one that coutinueth not in all things," &c. GaL 
 
 iii. 10. 
 "Whosoever offendeth in one point, is guilty of all." Jas. ii. 10. 
 Do not. Repeated witli delicacy, to its keenest climax. 
 Hast thou kept this? and actually this also ?
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 227 
 
 These vciy prohibitions unnecessaiy, were men natm-ally good. 
 
 Because man vill sin therefore God must legislate. 
 
 At heart man is revengeful, impure, dishonest and false. 
 
 By these humble lessons, the Great Master has trained his disciples in 
 
 every age, to understand their utter inability to obey. 
 The duties of the first table did not furnish so decisive a test to men. 
 Honor. The fifth named law, is positive, the others are negative. 
 Our Lord thus introduces a youth to a perfect stranger viz., himself. 
 
 ti'ToAo?. Against the Antinoniians, the Lord hero maiutains that the law must ha 
 kept in order to salvation. Only by no other way than by grace. LiyUtjout. M<). Our 
 Saviour enumerates all these commands, in order more clearly to bring out the young 
 man's self-righteousness. Da Wette. Tested tho youth's inability to perceive his deep 
 need of grace. Oosterzce. 
 
 21. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 
 
 All these. This was no hypocritical profession, but an honest belieL 
 
 He thought he hadjijtislicd, Jesus Icnew he had not begun. 
 
 The young man is too much blinded, to understand Chiist's meaning. 
 
 1. Self-righteousness of doctrine and sentiment, head and heart. 
 
 2. Self-righteousness of the heart, with orthodoxy of the head. 
 To be undeceived by the shock of death is a fearful surprise ! 
 Fancied spiritual riches, lead to conceit and jjride. 
 Temporal riches often cover spiritual poverty. 
 
 An answer more full of da-rlmess, impossible to conceive. 
 
 "Whoso trusteth his own heart is a fool," God being judge. Pr&v. 
 
 xxviii. 26. 
 We continually break the law in thought, if not in deed. Psa. li. 6. 
 I kept. The profoundest ignorance, here utters a fearfully artless hV 
 No mere man has ever loved his neighbor as himself, Eccles. vii. 20. 
 His candor contrasts with hypocritical Pharisees, " Jesus loved him.' 
 
 Mark x. 21. 
 He entirely overlooked all the spirituality of the law. 
 Every imagination of the thought of the heart, had been evil from his 
 
 youth. Gen. viii. 21. 
 "I was alive without the law once : when the commandment came, sin 
 
 revived, and I died." Piom. vii. 9. 
 Men tliiuk themselves innocent, because they are ignorant.
 
 228 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTAEY [CHAP. XVxn. 
 
 Prom my youtli. But all these things had not given him pcaoo of 
 
 mind. 
 His conscience still required something more to pacify it. 
 Others think it a vain conceit, laying a train for the applause of 
 
 Jesus. 
 Satan never has such success, as when he spreads out our virtues. 
 The Saviour knew all the windings of the young ruler's deceitful heart. 
 Without directly contradicting him, he effectually exposed him. 
 "What lack I yet?" Matt. xix. 20. He desires to secure a rightful 
 
 claim to heaven. 
 It argues an extremely superficial view of the meaning and extent of tho 
 
 law. 
 Something whispered, it was too easy a way of getting to heaven. 
 
 Tavra iracra. Self-righteousness prompted this boast. A sad confession of a deep 
 want remaLQing unsatisfied. Lange. icpvKa^afjL-qv, literally to have the custody, tvatched, 
 guarded. veorqTOi. — Matt. xis. 20. This proves nothing as to the precise age of the 
 ruler. Alexander. Kot precisely a youth, according to the jiresent use of the term, yet 
 he was a young man to he a ruler. Stier. Speaks as one looking back complacently on 
 his past life. Ncander. ixov omitted. Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 22. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said xinto him. Yet lacTcest thou one thing : 
 sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in 
 heaven : and come, follow me. 
 
 Jesus heard. With divine amazement. Mark vi. 6. Marvelled, 
 
 Contrast his ingenuousness Avith the cunning hypocrites of the Sanhedrim. 
 
 liOved. Mark x. 21, Meek, attractive, interesting, amiable, pro- 
 mising. 
 
 Loved the sincerity, earnestness and frankness of the youth. 
 
 Tears oftener named than smiles in our Saviour's life. 
 
 Yet at times raaiance divine seems to beam forth. 
 
 Yet lackest. If we would win souls, wisely admit all they do well; no 
 one will be confuted, until first convinced. 
 
 Without charging him, the Lord clearly brings out supreme love of earth. 
 
 One thing. Not, hut one thing. God knew he lacked many. 
 
 With the waut of tho principal thing, he lacked all. 
 
 Complete suljjection of the heart to God was the one great need. 
 
 Tho youjig man was now to give proof that he was in earnest.
 
 CHAP. XVin.] ON ST. LUKE. 229 
 
 It was a test of bis having broken Ibc /rs< command of tbe table. 
 
 If found wanting in tbe first balance, all else is wortblcss. 
 
 Every one of us has sometbing be must give up, in order to enter the 
 
 kingdom. 
 He was guilty of " covetousness, which is idolatiy." Col. iii. 5. 
 Christ requires him to abandon what He kneiv to be his idol. 
 Had his ruling passion been the love of pleasure another test was needed. 
 Multitudes have given up their wealth and retained some other idol. 
 Sell all. It involves willingness to lay all he has at tbe feet of Him 
 
 who Was Author of the commandments. 
 Tbe Divine Teacher made his compliance necessary to salvation. 
 Love of earth, too heavy a. weight to win in tbe Christian race. Heb. xii. i. 
 Charity smoothes the path of others, and speeds tbe way of tbe giver. 
 This simple test proved his ignorance of tbe first commandment. 
 A human sage would have contradicted the young man, saying, " Thoa 
 
 art, in the love of thy riches, still an idolater." 
 A believer is taught that all his possessions are only in trust. 
 Paul's companions cast overboard tbe cargo to save their lives. 
 A man miist not only give up all but also himself 
 In giving up himself, all he has, always goes with this gift. 
 In seeking first the kingdom, the heart cares for no second. 
 He alone can attain chief good, who renounces what he most values. 
 The Lord opened his spii-itual vision, to see bis secret sin, hence his sad 
 
 sense of shame ! 
 He loved tbe world, above the one " Good God.^^ 
 
 He evidently stood at tbe.gate of the kingdom, opened by the Saviour. 
 The bond binding him to the earth could alone be broken hj faith. 
 The sacrifice was valueless, unless done for Jesus' sake. 
 The Spirit accompanied the word and revealed the hitherto unknown 
 
 way of life. 
 Distribute. Gr. donate piece by piece with his own hand. 
 No more exquisite joy can tbe righteous desire than realizing, "It is more 
 
 blessed to give than to receive." Acts xx. 35. 
 Dry up the source of earthly joy, drop by drop. 
 Not until self-will is sacrificed, can he follow Christ. 
 The S2)irit of tbe command is universalhj binding on us. Matt. xvi. 27. 
 External obedience will never give a claim upon heaven. 1 Cor. xiii. 2. 
 Persecution, one of the Jjcstj^ossessioJis a believer has in this life. Markx. 30. 
 The poor. If thou lovest thy poor neighbor as thyself, sell and give 
 
 to tbe needy. 
 This test would set him free for the command '■'Follow vtie."
 
 280 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 He vras to expect no compensation in the present life, only in the future. 
 Have treasure. He clung to his imaginary righteousness as true 
 
 treasui-es. 
 And to his earthly wealth with all his strength and mind. 
 Monks have parted with their goods, only to be more covetous in their 
 
 heart. 
 " They who sow bountifully, shall reap also bountifully." 2 Cor. ix. 6-7. 
 Uich as he was, the loss of all his wealth would have been more than 
 
 comj)ensated. 
 Our Saviour' put His Jlnger upon the delight of his heart, and touched his idol. 
 And proved the sad fact that his riches were dearer to him, than Christ 
 
 and salvation. 
 Note the poverty of the rich, and the riches of the poor. 
 iFoHow me. Our Lord shews his obedience to be utterly worthless. 
 Instead of treating his deficiency in general terms, or with a doctrinal 
 proposition, he requires him at once, before all men, to abandon his 
 known idol. 
 This was a personal test, and not a general rule of duty. 
 Sacrifice requu-ed, not the thing lacked, but the proof of it. 
 In Christ's school of grace, we learn our only treasure must be in heaven. 
 To sell all would have been a profession of his faith in the despised 
 
 Galilean. 
 Pride dreaded this wound — covetousness dreaded poverty. 
 Had he been icilling to make the sacrifice his Isaac would have been 
 
 given him back again. 
 Youth here solemnly warned, " Eejoice young man in thy youth." 
 
 Eccl. xi. 9 ; Titus ii. 6 ; 1 Kings xviii. 12. 
 " Lord God, Thou art my trust from my youth." Psa. Ixxi. 5. 
 "Wherewithal sh-all a young man cleanse his way? " Psa. cxix. 9. 
 
 TaOra, omitted. Tischcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, elncv: loved, Mark x. 21 ; lovo 
 of complacency; otherR, with compassion. Ho disdained all Jewish conven- 
 tional i)roprieties in casting himself at the Lord's feet. Sticr. Mark draws his 
 inference from the Lord's treatment. Orotiua. ttwAtjctoi'. The Divine Teacher lavs hold 
 on his own test. Eoraanists quote it as authority for voluntary poverty, conciliuin 
 evangelicum. 5id5o5, distribute. Bengal. -Beliovers not required to pauperize thejnselves. 
 It wns the heart to di* it, when possession interfered with soul's interest, which the Lord 
 required. Alexander. Some strangely donbt that Christ would overburden this jomig 
 man, at this time. Stier. To a lovin;/ heart any yoke is easy, any burden light. 
 
 dicoAouffct. If one will not follow Christ, he need not se'il all ; feeding the streams, 
 ho will dry the fountain. Lord Bacon: — That is, sacrifices for heaven, without 
 siirrt.-idoriiig tlio heart, only lessen x)rosont comforts, and he loses heaven after all.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LTTKE. 231 
 
 23. And telicn he heard this, he was very sorrowful : for he teas very rich. 
 Sorrowful. Sorry to part with Christ, but more so witla -wealtli. 
 Eiclies and heaven, show on which side is the balance of affection. 
 To be rich — yet free, and not to covet while yet poor — is hard. 
 Endeavoring to burst the bands of earth, reveals their tremendous power. 
 He is caught by his own enquiry, sharply smitten by his own conscience. 
 He dare not ask, " Where then is such a commandment?" 
 He feels what our Lord purposed to make him feel. 
 To disobey is hai'd for his conscience, to obey, harder still for the flesh. 
 " Ye have taken away faiy gods, and what have I more ? " Jud. xviii '24. 
 " Demas hath forsaken me, and loves this present world." 2 Tim. iv. 1 0. 
 Many struggle between convictions and coniipfious, and yield to sin at 
 
 last. 
 The Lord's kindness, and the inward conflict, make him sad. 
 To leave Christ, give up heaven, must cause a struggle. 
 He went away. (Mark s. 22.) This was the saddest journey he 
 
 ever took. 
 The way seemed right, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov. 
 
 xiv. 12. 
 Men are enslaved by a thousand domineering affections. 
 It is vain to enquire after eternal life, if rmprepared to part with all. 
 Did he admit this Teacher's right to exact this fearful sacrifice'? 
 He tacitly admits his own heart to be incapable of obedience. 
 Upon his history, and final destiny, the Scriptures drop a veil. 
 "Very rich. His boasted virtue, when tested, proved radically defective. 
 God's trial discovers false principles, and earth-bom morality. 
 "Willing to give up much, but not all. One master-sin ruins him. 
 Though a young man, he was no expectant, he actually enjoyed it. 
 He looked forward, to "inherW another portion, in another world. 
 In the struggle, mammon is retained, God given up. 
 That wealth is dear bought, if it was the price of his soul. 
 It is better to go away sorrowing, then remain dissembling. 
 His jewelled robe seemed too precious to scatter to the poor. 
 Drawing it closely around him, it may have proved his soul's winding 
 
 sheet ! 
 " The rich hath many friends," hence too often flattered. Prov. xiv. 20. 
 Herod, although oft the hearer of John, would not part with Herodias- 
 
 at last he ranks among the murderers of the Lord. 
 How little avail all treasures of religious knowledge to save a soul ! 
 Note the Lord's loving severity to the self-righteous and wordly-minded. 
 How infinite His gentleness to the contrite sinner. Matt. xii. 20.
 
 232 SUGGESTIVE COMIIENTAEY [cHAP. XVIII. 
 
 This young ruler was trebly rich ; 1, possessions ; 2, virtues ; 3, earnest 
 
 enquiry. 
 At the same time trebly .poor; 1, in self-knov-iedge ; 2, in love; 5, in 
 
 heavenly treasiu-e. 
 Why is it so hard for the rich to be saved ? 
 1st. A word of terror to the worldjy rich. 
 2nd. A word of congratulation to the heavenly-minded poor, 
 ."rd. A word of thanksgiving to those who have overcome diflicultiCL'. 
 Without sharing Christ's lot, we cannot share his inheritance. 
 He, for oirr sakes became poor, that we through his poverty, dhc. 
 " If we suffer with Him, we shall be gloi-ified together." Eom. viii. 17. 
 
 irepiXuTTo?, heavy. Tyndale. The demands made seem too harsh. Olshauien, 
 Jehovah has oft been esteemed a "hard master," Matt. xxv. 24, Emperor Julian 
 latterly rails at God's benevolence. Hume's Essays. Talking of strictness, who, dying, 
 ■would not prefer to have erred on the side of self-denial, rather than indulgence ? H. 
 Martyn. Not said to perfect him, but for trial. Origen. Adam and Eve, the guilty 
 source of our apostasy, are believed to have been saved, notwithstanding the silence of 
 the record. The patriarchs •withdraw from view as soon na they cease to be actors. 
 Here there is a positive, though slight, hint at a favorable issue, that Jesus loved him. 
 In this conclusion it is pleasing, since it is allowable, lo rest. Alexander. Case hopeful. 
 OUhaiuen. Continued impenitent. Calvin, Stier. This account the cause of the eon- 
 version of two eminent youths of wealth and genius, St. Anthony and St. Augustine. 
 Keble. This last was converted through the spirituality of the tenth commandment. 
 Confessions. 
 
 24. And when Jesus saw that lie was very sorrowful, he said, IIow hardly shall they 
 that have riches enter into the kingdom of God 1 
 
 Jesus saw. A look of divine sorrow, perhaps, an irrevocable farewell. 
 
 His great self-love shewn in the struggle through which he passed. 
 
 It could not have been a look of complacency, since he went away dis- 
 obedient. 
 
 It was a tender regret and compassion for tbe ingenuous youth. 
 
 His engaging appearance, high rank, ample fortime, courteous bearing, 
 and pure morality, still left hrm in a perishing condition. 
 
 Man could not detect his secret idolatry. The Lord soarcheth the heart. 
 
 " He whose eyes are as a flame of fire," stood before him. Bev. i. 14. 
 
 Very sorrowful. W^e know not how deep otir love of earth until torn 
 from it. 
 
 To have a competence and not trast to it (Mark x. 21), a greater wonder 
 than to gather a fortune, without the stain of fraud.
 
 cnAP. xvin.] ON ST. luke. 233 
 
 He runs to Jesus enthusiastically, but leaves Him sorrowfully. 
 
 He comes unconscious of his lack, he leaves conscious of his slavery. 
 
 " Looked," Mark. As though He would follow the youth. 
 
 Hardly. The very care necessary to take charge of wealth, blocks up 
 
 the way to heaven. 
 How desperate the hope of him, who wins wealth by fraud ! 
 Despite the record from Abraham, to Joseph of Aiimathea, riches have 
 
 ever proved serious hindrances to piety. 
 The difficulty is not in being rich, but in becoming poor in spirit. 
 Money possessing us, not our possessing inoney, perils the soul. 
 This idolatrous trust, alone conquered by almighty grace. Eom. ix. 15. 
 Heaven's gate to the unrenewed, is inaccessible, — always a strait gate. 
 It is widely open to believers, leading to Christ's banqiieting hall. 
 Oiu" Lord's word has no reference to the sufficiency of God's grace. 
 Have riches. Those who give their heart and life to those things. 
 Solemn words of warning for the present time, when the desire of wealth 
 
 is the besetting sin of thousands. 
 Many " maldng haste to be rich," are simking into perdition, although 
 
 professing the Christian name. 
 
 liiav. When Jesu3 sa-iv him, He said. Tischendorf. "Son-oirfi/?," stricken sad. 
 Rheims. "iJVirrfZ;/," with what difficulty. Tyndale ; unwillinglj-. TTafcc^fJi/. "Shall 
 they," do they. Tischendorf. Quia dives salutem. Clem. Alcxandrinus. SuctkoAo)?. If a. 
 man pledge his head an hundred times, if anyone jiroceedfid to take it from him, after a 
 forfeit, he would feel for the first time how firmly it sticks to him. Ge.fSTKJr. So with 
 the young man, he perceives, with deep shame, how idolatrously he clings to the world. 
 Stier. 
 
 TO. xp>5M«Ta, — literally, things needed, funds and means. To be very rich and 
 eminently good is impossible. Plato de Lcijibus, book v. tvcpikunov yci'o/u.ei'oc, omiited. 
 Tischendorf, Al/ord, Cod. Sinai. Per eio-cA.euVoi'Tai, elo-Tropeu'oi'Tai after @iOv. Tischen- 
 dorf, Alford. 
 
 25. For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, thayi for a rich man to 
 enter into the kingdom of God. 
 
 Easier. Such are the perils of wealth, one might thank God for poverty. 
 
 A large sail and a little boat soon sinks him who trusts it. 
 
 It is thought a fearful misfortune by the wealthy, to be beggared. 
 
 Often the same kindness which takes a sword from a madman. 
 
 The ' ' covetous man— an idolater, cannot inherit the kingdom. " Eph. v. 5.
 
 234 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XVIII. 
 
 " Love not the tvorld, neither the things that are in the -world." 1 John 
 
 ii. 15. 
 " Charge them that are rich, not to trust in uncertain riches." 1 Tim. vi. 17, 
 Camel. It is a native of Asia, and called " the ship of the desert." 
 It is among the unclean animals, mentioned in the Pentateuch. Lev. 
 
 xi. 4. 
 Garments were manufactured of its coarse hair. 
 It is used as a beast of burden, and its name signifies revenge. 
 It is its characteristic, notwithstanding its proverbial 'patience. 
 Wonderful power of endurance — living in the desert on thistles and cacti, 
 
 and travelling far without food and water, constitute its value. 
 Slowly kneeling, it receives the load, lying on its breast. 
 Their broad cushioned feet are adapted to the sand of the desert. 
 Their sure-footeduess and measured tread prevent them from ever falling. 
 Go throvigli. This great human impossibility magnifies divine grace, 
 
 which could accomplish even that. 
 A camel, with its huge burden, before the eye of a needle, an emblem 
 
 of a worldling at the gate of heaven. 
 Some object, it renders salvation not only difficult, but impossible. 
 Our Lord intended to say VaaX precise truth, limited, as in verse 27. 
 The idea of difficulty is swallowed up in absolute impossibiUty . 
 Neither poor man nor rich, without divine grace, can enter the kingdom 
 
 of God. 
 Needle's eye. Through the strait gate one must come poor and 
 
 naked, and not buxdened with goods and virtues. 
 The figure is inadequate, strong as it is, to represent the whole tnith. 
 It would imply that no soul could enter the kingdom, while hanging to 
 
 the world, though it were only by a thread. 
 As a camel cannot see a needle's eye, neither a worldling the narrow gate. 
 Most men va. finding a fortune, lose themselves. 
 Rich man enter into. Many cables of wealth must bo untwisted, 
 
 before entering the kingdom. 
 Their hearts are so wedded and wedged to the world. 
 To hearts unrenewed, to separate trust, from owning wealth is the work 
 
 of God alone. , 
 
 He is over ready to answer prayer, and strike off the fetters. 
 
 Kdiir]\ov, retained. Liijhtfoot, Wctatcin, Tischcndorf, Alford, Wonlsworlh. KatiLXov, 
 — A Bbiji'H c<ibl6-; both worilH refer to a cable. IChlcy, Dc Wettc. Ka/nqKoy. — A small gato 
 In tUo city, called " tlio Needle's I^jc," wbcro camels bad to unload before they entered.
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 23J 
 
 Harmer. "No man sees a palm tree of gold, nor an elephant passing through the eye of 
 A needle." Michaelis. Proverb stolen by Mohammed from the N. T. 
 
 Tp^H-aTos |SfA6i/T)9. Cod. Sinai., Tischendor/', AlJ'ord. Tpu/iaAta<; pa<l>CSo':. Words- 
 worth, Tex. Bl'C. Tpw7n'/(iioTos pa<()iSo^, JIatt. xix. 24, Alford. Entering tlie ministry, I 
 had some hope of being saved ; becoming a cardinal, I doubted it ; becoming a pope, I 
 almost despaired, Pius Quintus. Trapp. 
 
 26. And they that heard it said, Who then can he saved ? 
 
 Heard it. Astonislied oiit of measure. — Mark x. 26. Exceedingly 
 
 amazed. — Matt. xix. 25. 
 They began to bo alarmed on tbcir own account. 
 
 Who then ? We answer, no one ! if salvation dejjended u;iou man. 
 But almighty grace can make the camel thread the needle's eye. 
 Do not the poor also cleave to their scraps, and strive after more? 
 How can the poor enter into heaven, who love their little, so much ? 
 Has not every man in reality something he will not let go ? 
 If the gate is so narrow, who can give up enough to press through ? 
 The disciples were amazed at the obstacles in the way to life. 
 Since every one has more or less, of the same love of the world. 
 They felt themselves included. Their hearts condemned themselves. 
 An admission that all men share the same guilt, and many, alas will 
 
 perish ! 
 This question shews their characteristic tenderness for others' salvation 
 This saying made the disciples tremble for the whole xcorld. 
 Saved. Heaven's mansions are many and large, but its gate is 
 
 narrow. Matt. vii. 14. 
 
 ivvarah. If the rich, who have the means of doing good, cannot, &e. Meyer. I' 
 riches hinder a man from entering, some thread may hold even the poorest. Lanrje. 
 The disciples had not learned that every sin sprang from worldliness of he^rt; and their 
 Jewish prejudices rebelled against this teaching. Lange. 
 
 27. And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. 
 
 He said. Mark, "beholding," evidently arousing them by some (jesture. 
 However stern the word, the manner was ever full of grace. 
 Well! it docs pass human, but not Divine power!'
 
 236 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Impossible. For an iinrenewed heart to live, -without some idol. 
 
 Ordinarily money " the love of -which, is the root of all evil.'" 1 Tim. vi. 10. 
 
 He strengthens the "hardly" into " imi^ossible." 
 
 "Who -would be saved, -were it not for sovereign grace? 
 
 With affections paralyzed and our jaowers benumbed. 
 
 "With our hearts veiled, our minds blinded. — 
 
 It is impossible for man to exercise repentance or faith. 
 
 By the power of God. 1. Pet. i. 5. By the energy of God. Col. ii. 12. 
 
 This is the miracle of all miracles, through faith in the Son of God. 
 
 Possible. He is able to do all, not inconsistent -with His nature. 
 
 To change His pm-poses, -would put a stain on His -wisdom. 
 
 To originate sin, "would put a stain on His holiness. 
 
 An easier -work for omnipotence to create than convert a soul. 
 
 In creation, fierce passions, present no obstinate resistance. 
 
 Man can hcg that from God, -which he can never perform himself. 
 
 Faith in God is strong like the ivy by its grasp on the strength of the 
 
 oak. 
 The chains of the soul's bondage stronger than madmr-,n's fetters. Mark 
 
 V. 4. 
 God can empty His own children's hearts, and make them poor. 
 His grace makes us -willing to lay on His altar, more than part of our 
 
 goods. Acts iv. 34. 
 It is not the saving of the rich, but the making the rich, poor. 
 "I am the Almighty God, is there any thing too hard for the Lord?" 
 
 Gen. x-viii. 1-4 
 ' I know that Thou canst do everything." Job xlii. 2. 
 'Lord God, behold there is nothing too hard for Thee." Jer. xxxii. 17. 
 ■■'Is the Lord's hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now," &c. Num. xi. 23. 
 " Twice have I heard this, power belongs to God." Psa. Ixii. 11. 
 
 ai'0pwrrois. — Accordlnp; to their judgment. Ewald; according to their ability. De 
 Welle, Meyer, Lange. The uniform exporionoe of the elect confirmg Uhh. Tiengel. to. 
 aSui/aTa.—Thia is the .generic use of the article, "the things assumed to ho impossible 
 ■with men." The article distinguishes all the individuals, members, or object^, belonging 
 to a particular class, species, or genus. Such is frequently its use in English :—" The 
 poet's CYC in a 0ue frenzy rolling." Webster't Sij-titax. " In the prcsciit intractable stale 
 of mankind, that which is infmitely difficult, God can make gradually to become easier." 
 Biihrdl. The golden age philosophy dreams of, will come ■when there is no sin, and not 
 till then. Su»'<*Ta. Zacohilius affords an oxan>plc, see chap. xii. 2-9. Bcngel.
 
 CHAP. XVm.] ON ST. LXJKK. 237 
 
 28. Tlien Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 
 Peter. Beady, bold, even rash. His character, Luke vi. 14. See 
 
 Notes. 
 Lo, we- Unlike tlie rich youth "comparing tliemselves with," &c. 2 
 
 Cor. X. 12. 
 Peter self-complacently hides his self-righteousness by "we." 
 The idea of merit, again creeps forth from his heart. 
 Peter puts his question in the spirit of Job, xxxi. 2. 
 Left all. This was spoken vdth a wi-ong self-complacent spirit. 
 The difliculty is not in leaving all, but in leaving one's self. 
 It is not the amoimt forsaken but the completeness of the smTender. 
 In the divine estimate it is clearly called Death ! Eom. vi. 2 ; Gal. vi. 14. 
 Little, was Peter's all, but to him doubtless much. 
 The tools of the workman are to hivi, as the palace to the prince. 
 Peter speaks somewhat presumptuously of his scanty possessions. 
 They were certainly not worth heaven, at a purchased price. 
 Christ might indeed have sharply reproved his claim. 
 But he knew it was hard for the fisherman to leave his boat, or thfc 
 
 publican his cabin. 
 The heart of the pauper may cleave more to a few pence than the rich 
 
 to his thousands. 
 There are those rich who have left all, having nothing. 
 Others are self-made i^oor, by giving all to the needy. 
 What shall we have ? Matt. xix. 27. Peter is not here negotiating 
 
 a self-righteous bargain. 
 He is enquiring into the great and precious promises. 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 
 fi/jLeU, emphatic ; we have done what Thon eommandest others to do. Wordsworth. 
 ■nivTa, cancelled for to. I5ia.. Teschendorf, Lachmann, Alford, Cod. Sinai. Eetia,^ 
 navigia, reticulas, a few broken boats, nets, household stuff. Pareus. riKoKovS^vaiiev. — 
 We became followers of Thee, ahd still are. 
 
 29. And he said tinto them. Verily I say tinto you, There is no man that hath left 
 house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake. 
 
 Hath left. It implies a spirit imperfect, " Give me the portion," &c. 
 
 Luke XV. 12. 
 The Jew and Hindoo converted now, make sacrifices similar to those our 
 
 Lord describes. 
 34
 
 238 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAPvY [CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 The cup of sorrow, is pressed upon them by persecutors. 
 
 The Lord graciously accepts the complete surrender. 
 
 Eouse. It begins with j roperty, rises gradually to r. sacrifice of feeling. 
 
 It requires a rjrcat mind to bear it calmly when unavoidable. 
 
 But when it can be avoided, by a slight sacrifice of princijile, nothing but 
 
 almighty grace can uphold a Christian in integrity. 
 Parents. To forego the society of friends for Christ's sake, is a heavier 
 
 trial. 
 Our Lord promised in the future world to right all the wrongs of this. 
 Wife. No divorce can be sanctioned by this ^cell-weighed saying of 
 
 Christ. 
 A spiritual fellowship of believers, finds a mother for Paul. Piom.xvi. 13. 
 Nature gives us but one, but love gives us many. Luke viii. 21. 
 Christian commimion finds brothers and sisters for Timothy. 1 Tim. 
 
 V. 1-2. 
 The great principle holds good, " all things are yours." 1 Cor. iii. 22. 
 Christ takes better care of His followers, than if they had retained house 
 
 and lauds with unbelief. 
 For the kingdom of God's sake. " My sake." Markx. 29, and Matt. 
 
 xix. 29. Identified His and God's interests. 
 
 \eyw. HaMiromcal. Liebc,\a Winer. Dominioa referring to tho twelve apostolic 
 Lhrones. Maithai. Read house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, &e. Tischendorf, 
 Atford. 
 
 SO. Wlio shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to 
 come life everlasting. 
 
 Seceive. The comforts of the Gospel of Christ, the substance of this 
 
 promise. 
 Gc-d becomes debtor, not by owing saints, but by promise. 
 Manifold more. Matt. A hundred-fold. An honest heart, humbled 
 
 by the very greatness of the promise. 
 " Lord, this comes not as a recompense for leaving our nets.' 
 " GoiUiness is profitable unto all things in time and eternity." 1 Tipi. iv. 8. 
 " The Lord turned the captivity of Job, and gave him twice as much as 
 
 he had." Job xlii. 10. 
 The promises of God are " better unto them than thousands of gold and 
 
 silver." Pea. cxix. 72.
 
 CHAP. XVIU.] ON ST. LUKE. 289 
 
 " They glory in tribulation and in reproaches for Christ's sake." Eom. 
 
 V. 3 ; 2 Cor. xii. 10. 
 They count it an honor to suffer shame for their Master's name. Acts 
 
 V. 41. 
 Faithless friends ! broken promises ! and -winged riches ! contrast with 
 
 the covenanted, unfailing promises of. Christ. 
 The ■well of living wateris ever near the unconscious believer. 
 But worldlings fuint, having no angel to point it out. Gen. xxi. 19. 
 Present time. God often visibly, far oltener invisihli/ rewards His 
 
 faithful. 
 World sees the Christian's sormrs, but not his consolations. John xiv. 27. 
 By a divine chemistry, God extracts plenty from want. 
 The treasures of earth are deceitful and yield a harvest of trouble. 
 " Amaziah, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this." 
 
 2 Chron. xxv. 9. 
 "Hearken, daughter ! forget thine own people, and thy father's house." 
 
 Psa. xlv. 10. 
 A reconstruction of all. human relationship, on a Christian basis. 
 Pie adjusted anew His own and His follower's relationships. Matt. xii. 49. 
 World to come. They knew that "they had in heaven a better and 
 
 an enduring substance." Heb. x. 34. 
 Compensation so certain, thatfailingto receive it proves our not having 
 
 given up the world. 
 
 TToKXairXaaCova. I^iterally fulfilled in the Church's history. Paul's experience, 
 Huguenots or French refugees, &c. Oosterzee. New England Puritans. Julian, the 
 apostate, in his scoff, hinted at a truth, as he stripped the saints of all, to help them on 
 to heaven, Heb. xi. 34. Gibbon, xaipw. This expresses something nearer than if ho 
 Lad said aluvi.. Bengel. 
 
 31. X Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we g.o vp to 
 Jerusalem, nud all th<nss that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man 
 shall be accomplished. 
 
 Took. Matt, apart. Psa. xxv. 13. The Church has revelations the 
 
 world knoweth not of. 
 He severs them from the wider circle of His followers. 
 Indicates the deep solcmuity He attached to the revelation. 
 We go up. Jerusalem on the summit of the mountains of Juda3a.
 
 240 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [OHAP. XVni. 
 
 The Messiah's journey the saddest, yet the happiest event in history. 
 
 The t]nrd announcement tc- almost deaf ears. 
 
 First had been made after the apostles' confession. 
 
 Second after His transfiguration on the mount. Mark ix. 12. 
 
 Third is the most unexpected and solemn of all. 
 
 They seemed much astonished after each announcement. Luko ix. 43. 
 
 To Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. " It cannot be that a prophet perish 
 
 out of Jerusalem." Luke xiii, 33. 
 All things. A two-fold betrayal, and a two-fold rejection. 
 A two-fold sentence, spiritual and temporal — as a criminal and heretic. 
 A deep mystery. The Jews deliver their long expected Messiah into the 
 
 hands of hated Gentiles. 
 
 1. A sin of the disciples toward their Master. 
 
 2. The sin of the people toward their Messiah. 
 
 3. The sin of the Gentiles toward the Son of man. 
 Are ■written. In Psa. xxii ; Isa. liii ; Dan. ix., &c. 
 Prophets. Luke i. 70. God's ambassadors' revealing His will. 
 Son of man. Luke v. 24. Refers to His humiliation and Divinity. 
 Accomplished. Note, our Lord consciously conne-cts His sufferings 
 
 with Scripture. 
 His impending sufferings, clear to His mind, but convey no terror. 
 Christ, distinctly and minutely foretold His future persecutions. 
 It is folly in man to desire to know what is to befall him. 
 A clear sight of all our calamities would be intolerable. 
 A dread of the future would blast every enjoyment. 
 
 The wheels of society's commerce, depend on our ignorance of the future. 
 In great kindness God has cast a veil over things to come. 
 Why Christ saw his cross afar off : — 
 
 1. Predetermined, He saw it all through His life. Zee. xiii. 7. 
 
 2. He prepared for it, enduring many preliminary trials. 
 
 3. The harbinger of His exaltation. 
 
 The Messiah submits to anything to fulfil the Scripture. 
 
 They "were amazed. — Mark x. 32, at the divine heroism with which 
 
 He faced danger and death. 
 •' Lo ! I come ! in the volume of the Book it is written." Heb. x. 7. 
 "I have a baptism, and I am straitened till it bo accomplished." 
 
 Luke xii. 50. 
 
 ■mapnXafiiiv. Privately, BOO Matt. XX. 17. ra ycypo/uncVa. Jesus laid special cmplMSlB 
 cn what had boon ■writton. lov viov. Tischcndorf. Will be accomplishcil in the yon of
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 241 
 
 Man. WakeJieUl. tw vlw, tho dative expresses the force of the Hebrew prefix, -which is 
 equivalent to, as CO rtcerTis the Son of Man; and involves tho notion of the dative of 
 advantage. Benqel. 
 
 32. For he shall he delivered unto the Ocntiles, and $hall he mocked, and spitcfalhj 
 entreated, and spitted on: 
 
 Delivered. By the chief priests, Matt. xx. 18, refers to the Sanhedium. 
 In the supreme ti'ibunal, rcpreseutiug the professing people of God. 
 His fohowers betraj' Him to the Sanhedrim, and they to the Geu tiles. 
 Jews condemn Him to death and Gentiles decide the piode. 
 The import of this sad secret — 
 
 1. Not fully disclosed, as it is the saddest part of all. 
 
 2. It may not bo more fully disclosed, because the free act of the 
 
 betrayer. 
 
 3. It need not be, because the slightest hint proved a solemn warning to 
 
 all. 
 It was the principal end for which He came into the world. 
 His frequent reference shows its great importance to them. 
 He was to "make His soul an offering for sin." Isa. liii. 10. 
 " While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." — Corner-stone of all our 
 
 hopes. Psa. cxviii. 22. 
 Gentiles mocked. The incarnate wisdom was mocked by folly I 
 The incai'nate truth was betrayed by falsehood ! 
 The incarnate glory was spit upon by wretched worms ! 
 The incarnate innocence was scourged by heathen soldiers I 
 The incarnate life was killed by dying mortals! 
 Far better be the victim, than instruments of persecution. 
 The insults offered the Saviour, prepare His followers to bear their cross, 
 
 and despise the shame. Heb. xii. 2. 
 Spitefully. Gr. with insolence, as an impudent enthusiast. 
 Sufferers to be pitied, but woe to those who by sin become self-destroyers ! 
 " Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter?" &c. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 26. 
 He calmly approaches the bitter cup, " not my will," &c. Luke xxii. ■42. 
 The believer in Christ need not fear the gi-ave. 
 
 "■S/iall be niooJeed."—ln jest. " Spitefully entreated."— In earnest. Bengcl.
 
 242 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTAEY [CHAP. XVm. 
 
 83. And they shall scourge Mm, and put him to death : and the third day he shall rise 
 again. 
 
 Scourge. A common punishment, 1 Kings xii. 11, with cords or rods, 
 
 stripped to his loins and bound to a low pillar. 
 Forty stripes, less one, at one time. Deut. xxv. 3. Ju'l<re repeatedDeut. 
 
 xxviii. 58 during the scourging, at the end he repeated Psa. lxx\-iii. 38. 
 The memories of His agonies ever arm His followers against assaults. 
 Trusting to sh\m afflictions proves our faith weak. 
 Mournings of saints here, hut preludes to songs hereafter. 
 Faith in Christ, converts the bed of death into a triumphal chariot. 
 Third day. Joseph's intei-pretation of the dreams, in each case the 
 
 third day. Gen. xl. 11-18. 
 The law at Sinai delivered three days after the people came. Ex. xix. IG. 
 T7iirrfda?/Esther in royal apparel appeared before Ahasuerus. Esth. v. 1. 
 Third day Abraham came to the foot of the mount of sacrifice. Gen. xxii. 4. 
 His predictions so literally fulfilled prove Him a Prophet. 
 His willingness to offer Himself a sacrifice — a High Priest. 
 His confident expectation of victory — a King. 
 He unfolds by degrees His sufferings, and ends their false hopes. 
 The cross manifested, 1, the guilt of the world, 2, the love of Christ, 3, 
 
 His obedience, 4, the grace of God. 
 Believers are sharers in the sufferings of Christ — 
 
 1. By participation in the saving benefits flowing therefrom. 
 
 2. By loving sympathy with Him in the ground and object of His 
 
 sufferings. 
 
 3. By the power of his example, " Arm yourselves with the same mind." 
 
 1 Peter iv. 1. 
 The king of terrors at the worst, is a conquered foe. 1 Cor. xv. 57. 
 
 Eom. viii. 38. 
 ilise again. Eesurrection, Luke xx. 27 ; xiv. 14. His anticipations of 
 
 glory, the result of his deep faith. 
 This expectation detracted neither from the merit or intensity of His 
 
 Kuffexings. 
 Saints' similar hope makes not their contest more easy nor less glorious. 
 
 a-rroKTevova-iv. A strong proof of tho spirit of prophecy in onr Lord. It -was more 
 probable that lie would be stoned, or put to death in a tumult. Kvcn when delivered by 
 Pilate to the JewH, to be punished aecordiut; to Imv, stoning was proscribed. Bat tho 
 Bcrii)turca must bo fulDllud. Doddridge. aracmjo-tTai, to make to stand up, to raise up, 
 to set up, to raitcjrom sleep, to raise from the dead. Liddell and Scott.
 
 CHAF. XYIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 243 
 
 84. And they undentood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, 
 neither knew they the things which wci'e spoken, 
 
 IJiiderstood not. Their ideas of a temporal Messiah, irreconcilable 
 
 ■with His dying. 
 Their fixed plan made the Master's kingdom temporal. 
 No real criminal can persnade himself he is worthy of death. 
 This humiliation inconsistent with tlteir idea of His kingdom. 
 We wonder at their blindness, forgetting a lifetime of Jewish prejudice 
 
 and ignorance. 
 To them His sufferings were lost in His glory, His cross hid in His crown. 
 The sacrifice of Christ ever a stumbling block to proud hearts. 
 " The cross is foolishness to many," even after His enthronement. 
 
 1 Cor. i. 23. 
 This truth is often rejected by Christians so called. 
 Komanists nulhfy each Gospel doctrine by superstitions. 
 By penance, by the mass, by indulgences, by purgatory, &c. 
 In all Eoman churches Mary is First ; our Saviour ever an infant. 
 Martyrs and confessrors gloried in the cross of Christ. Gal. vi. 14. 
 Pi'om infancy the d-lseiples were trained to expect a Messiah in Majesty. 
 Their hearts were as blind as the eyes of Bartimteus. 
 Human things must be knoirn to be loved. 
 Divine things must be loved to be known. 
 How slight their profit under an infallible teacher ! 
 Shows the absolute necessity of the influences of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 iyivuxTKOv, Did not completely comprehend ; perhaps was taken for an allegory. 
 Jtosenm idler, "Eating His flesh," &c. would lead to au explanation of this also 
 figuratively. Sticr. They were shocked at it, as something strange. So in liom. vii. 15, 
 ov yi.vuj(rKii>, I do not recognize (I allow not, E. V.). BengeU 
 
 86. IT And it came to pasx, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man 
 sat by the way side begging : 
 
 Come nigh. Jericlio. Intimates that he wrought the miracle near 
 
 Jericho. 
 Our Lord had just crossed the Jordan homeward. Mark x. 1-25. 
 .Toshua proceeded from Jericho to the conquest of Canaan. 
 From it the Messiah proceeded to the conquest of a rebel world. Psa, ii. 8.
 
 244 SUGGESTIVE OOMMENTAKY [cHAP. XVm. 
 
 Blind man. Luke iv. 18. Emblem 1, of soul ignorance, 2, misery, 
 
 3, poverty. Eev. iii. 17. 
 "Who maketh the diimb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?" Ex. 
 
 iv. 11. 
 "He that folloveth Me shall not -walk in darkness." John viii. 12. 
 Yery touching is Milton's description of his blindness. 
 " Seasons return, but not to me returns 
 The sight of vernal bloom, or summer rose, 
 But cloud instead, and ever during dark 
 Surround me ; from the cheerful ways of men 
 Cut off ; and for the book of knowledge fair, 
 Presented with a universal blank." 
 The immortal poet lived to recognise the divine purpose in his affliction, 
 aa the following lines written shortly before his death, show — 
 " On my bended knee 
 I recognise Tnv purpose, clearly shown ; 
 My_^ vision Thou has dimm'd that I may see 
 Thyself, Thyself alone." 
 *' Thou shalt not put .a -stumbling block before the blind," Lev. xix. 14. 
 " Ciused be he, who maketh the blind to wander." Deut. xxvii. 18. 
 Jesus came into the world " that they who see, might be made bhnd." 
 
 John ix. 39. 
 Borne are alienated through the blindness of their hearts. Eph. iv. 18. 
 The things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 " The god of this world, hath blinded the minds of them." &c. 2 Cor. iv. 4. 
 In the gaiety of the world's sensuality, they indignantly ask, are we 
 
 blind also ? John ix. 40. 
 "Jesus opened their imderstanding to understand tho Scriptures." 
 
 Luke xxiv. 45. 
 "Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things." Psa. 
 
 cxix. IS. 
 "I never saw till I became blind,^' said a blind man converted. 
 Begging. He did not sit lazily at home, waiting for relief to come to 
 
 him. 
 Objectors forget that election embraces 7nea7is as well as ends. 
 Although " God will have mercy on whom he v;ill have mercy." Eom. 
 
 ix. 15.— 
 Yet is always found of those who dihgently seek Him. Prov. xi. 27. 
 Persisting in spiritual blindness, men dig graves for tlicir souls. 
 Strange providence, i)lacing a believing soul in such a tormented body I 
 Stranger still that moral evil was permitted to mar liis works.
 
 OHAP. X\^^.] ON ST, LUKE. 245 
 
 Myriads of difficult questions a'^ait the light of the upper vrorld. 
 
 Our duties remain: "Follow thou Me" — Christ to curious ones. John 
 
 xxi. 22. 
 The blind man little dreamed of seeing the sun that day before it set. 
 A. groaning creation in Bartima3us, at the gate of Jericho, Eom. viii. 22. 
 
 iyyC^eiv. As Ho drew near (viz., to Jerusalem, that being the object of the Saviour's 
 joumej') Jericho. Markland. This took place in the year 33 a.d. He remained in the 
 house of Zacchajus, but set out too late to reach Jerusalem before sunset, and tarried in 
 a tent, near the Mount of Olives. The next evening He feasts at Simon the Leijer's, 
 where He isi served by Martha, and anointed by Mary. On the Sabbath morning, the 
 festal company set out from Bethany, in the triumphant procession, for Jerusalem. 
 Lange. 
 
 Matt. XX. 30, and Mark x. 46. Matt, speaks of two blind men ; Mark and Luke of 
 one. One healed entering, the other dei^arting. Lightfoot, Tischcndorf, Wieseler, Gres- 
 well, Neander. Two healed ; one better known than the other. Doddridge. Newcomhe, 
 Lichtenstein, Friedlieb. One sought healing on Christ's entering, but failing, joined 
 another, and both were healed. Stier, Trench, Ellicott. One healed on Christ's leaving. 
 Matt, uses the plural. Oosterzee, Da Costa. Another joined the one healed, while Christ 
 was dining with Zacchajus. Bengel, Harm. 
 
 fyyyCC^eLv, departing. Grotius, Uobinson, Owen, Met Him between Old and Now 
 Jericho. Macknight. Declines harmonizing. Ohhausen. Allegorical reconciliation. 
 Origen. If wo knew the particulars, there would be no difficulty. JSroion. Difference 
 was in the original documents. Meyer, De Wette. Differences only show independent 
 writers. Norton. Two acts combined by the writers. Ebrard. Miracle took place in the 
 «cinity, and He afterwards returns to Jerusalem. Campbell, Two miracles; the first on 
 one blind man, when our Lord was coming to the city ; the second on tivo, when He was 
 departing out of it ; Luke relating the one, Matt, the other. Augustine. Discrepancies 
 really exist. Chrysostom, Olshausen, Alford, Oosterzee. So slight as to be mere spots on 
 the sun. Alexander. Because iho disciples, being yet carnal, were unable to receive His 
 words, they arc brought to a miracle. Before their eyes a blind man receives his sight, 
 that their faith might bo strengthened. Gregory. The blind man's defect of sight, a type 
 of the blindness of the disciples, and of all men ; the miracle was to show them and all 
 how spiritual blindness was to be cured. Denton, 
 
 36. And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 
 
 Hearing. Loss of one sense renders others more acttte. 
 
 Feeling of some blind is said to be so delicate, as to distinguish colors. 
 
 Professor Saunderson although blind knew the height of persons who 
 
 spoke on entering the room. 
 Multitude. The first, who always keep ahead of the crowd.
 
 246 StIGGESTI"\T: COMMENTARY [CHAP. XVUI. 
 
 Asked. Enquiring souls convert everytliing into a liand-hoard point- 
 ing to Christ 
 
 " I said unto the watchman, sa-w ye Him ^vliom my soul loveth?" Cant, 
 iii. 3. 
 
 •'Mary Magdalene supposing Him to be the gardener" enquired for 
 Jesus. John xx. 15. 
 
 " Ji." — Gr., TovTO, thiiy this crowd. Bengel. 
 
 87. And they told him, that Jesus of Xasareth passeth by. 
 
 They told liim. Happy news for this jioor blind man. 
 
 Did some secret divine influence lead him to be at that spot at the 
 
 right moment? 
 VTho can unravel the unseen threads which providence weaves for us ? 
 A thousand domestic incidents might that hour have detained him. 
 Jesus of Nazareth. Luke i. 31. The usual appellation bestowed 
 
 by the multitude. 
 To the superficial multitude He was only Jesus of Nazareth. 
 To Bartimrous in his deep darkness, " gi-eat David's greater Son !" 
 To the believing disciples He was the " Son of the living God." 
 Passeth by. Thus seasons of mercy are " harvest" times for eternity. 
 
 Jer. viii. 20. 
 It awakened slumbering remembrances of strange reports. 
 The Lord is nearer to us than we think in time of need. 
 "58. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy onme. 
 
 He cried. Most believe eye-blindness a greater evil than soul-blindness. 
 How many " blind that have eyes," Isa. xliii. 8, too proud to ask for sight ? 
 To deny our blindness is by far the greater peril. 
 Ye shall seek for Me, and find Me, when ye search for Me with aU your 
 heart." Jer. xxix. 13. 
 Agonizing sense of his wretchedness urged him to apply for help. 
 Hpirit alone could have taught him to believe in the Messiah's grace. 
 Have mercy. This prayer, unwritten, imlearued, uutaught save by 
 
 the Holy Spirit, full of zeal, full of feeling, full of importunity. 
 The Great God sending us to a blind beggar to learn to pray I
 
 CHAP. XVin.] ON ST. T.nKK. 247 
 
 One of the briefest, greatest, and most successful prayers on record. 
 
 Christ is much more willing to help than \ve are to ask him. 
 
 " He is wont to give more than we desire or deserve." 
 
 David. Luke i. 32; vi. 3; xx. 42. Equivalent to "Thou promised 
 
 Messiah. " 
 This expression is remarkable, as men called him " Jesus of Nazareth." 
 " Son of David" was a sign of faith in His Messiahsliij). Matt. xxii. 42. 
 The fame of the Wonder- Worker of Galilee kintlicd his hopes. 
 
 "And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth bij." But the blind man cried, — 
 "Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Wlio tauglit thee this, man? 
 Hast thou that art deprived of sight read books? 'Whence then knowest thou the 
 Light of the Wokld ? Verily the Lord givcth sight to the blind. Clirysottom, Augustine. 
 
 39. And thny irhirh went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace : but he 
 cried so mucii the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 
 
 Rebuked him. Importunity of prayer often ridiculed by the fiold-hearted. 
 
 Thus they rebuked the parents who brought infants to Christ. 
 
 Pharisees rebuked those shouting " Hosannas" to the son of Da\T[d. 
 
 Jewish rulers rebuked the disciples for healing the lame man. Acts iv. 18. 
 
 Michal the queen rebuked David for his zeal in devotion. 2 Sam. vi. 20. 
 
 Blind man rebuked by those who knew nothing of the misery of blindness. 
 
 His cry was to them discord amid sounds of rejoicing. 
 
 Devil never more on the watch than when we are at prayer. 
 
 Sold Ms peace. Courtiers earnestly strive to keep misery from ap- 
 pearing at a royal feast. 
 
 Many neither enter, nor permit others to enter the Mngdom. 
 Matt, xxi-ii. 13. 
 
 So much, the more. Importunity rewarded in the Syro-Phoenician 
 woman. Mark vii. 26. 
 
 Christ's works of love ever attracted the wi^etched. 
 
 How \ery few of the wealthy of earth attract the miserable 1 
 
 Hearts oft repelled, beheve all, are supremely sc{fish. 
 
 He who yields to threats lacks the strong urgency of a true heart. 
 
 Happy he whom nothing restrains in his believing cry. 
 
 Let not the world, flesh or devil hinder our prayers. 
 
 Jaoob conquered in conflict with the Angel of the Covenant by holy 
 violence Gen. xxxii. 25.
 
 248 aUGGESTIVE COMMENTAET [OHAP. XVUI. 
 
 "Because of his vnportuniti/ he ■will arise and give him," &c. Luke xi. 8. 
 Paul prayed the Lord thrice that the thorn might be removed. 2 Cor. xii. 8. 
 Jesus being in agony went and prayed thrice. Matt. xxvi. 44. 
 " The Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered." 
 
 Eom. viii. 26. 
 Son of David. The crisis of our Lord's life was come. 
 Li the presence of all the people He suffered Himself to be publicly a|>- 
 
 pealed to as the messiah. 
 Blind Bartimteus may have heard He never yet refused a suppliant. 
 " An opportunity has come for which I never dared to hope." 
 Mercy. No word has such poxccr with God. Psa. ciii. 8. 
 No word puts such honor on the plan of redemption ! 
 
 effeTt'nwv. — Eebniing without convincing the -wrong-cloer. Gampbell. In imnixav 
 lies simply the notion of rebuking, which word can therefore be used of one unjustly check- 
 ing or blaming another ; in this sense Peter " began to rebuke " Jesus (TJpfaTO eTrtrijaai/, 
 Matt. xvi. 22 ; xix. 13 ; Luke xviii. 39) : — or ineffectually, and without any profit to the 
 person rebuked, who is not thereby brought to see his sin ; as when the penitent thief 
 "rebuked" (tTrerina) his fellow malefactor, Luke xxiii. 40. But c\eyx^i-v is a much more 
 pregnant word; it is to rebuke another, so as to bring him, if not to a confession, yet at 
 least to a conviction of his sin. Trench's Synonyms. 
 
 40. And Jrsns stood, and commanded him to he brought unio him: and when he wa* 
 come near, he asked liim. 
 
 Stood. AMiat the powers of earth and hell could not do is done by the 
 
 power of faith, the Almighty Saviour stops. 
 Thus the march of the sun was arrested by Joshua's faith. Jos. x. 12. 
 By the faith of Isaiah, as a sign to Hezekiah, the shadow went back upon 
 
 the dial. Isa. xxN.viii. 8. 
 Good comfort. Mark x. 49. They well knew he would be cured. 
 Casting away his g-arments. Mark x. 50. A word of an eye witness. 
 Cain sacrificed unto the Lord but could not cast oil his envy. Gen. iv. 3. 
 Wages of vnrii)Jitf07isness seemed to Balaam goodly garments. 
 Gehazi wist not tliat the leprosy cleaved to the raiment he sought. 
 Felix; trembling still wrapped himself in the garment of procrastination. 
 
 Acts. xxiv. 25. 
 Herod heard John gladly, but he clung to the robe of lust. 
 Judaa an apostle still wore the secret robe of avarice.
 
 CnAP. XVIU.] ON ST. LUKE. 249 
 
 Self-rigliteousness a miserable, filthy patcliwork of rags. Isa. Ixiv. 6. 
 Stood still. The coronation jouruey of Christ, — glorified by every 
 
 seeming interruption. 
 " He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him tbr.t 
 
 hath no helpei"." Psa. Ixxii. 12. 
 Going np to Jerusalem, He had weighty matters on his mind. 
 But He found time to stop, and bestow sight on the blind. 
 Christ casts a favorable eye on the common beggar. 
 The gay sons of eaith do not deign to notice the victim of woe. 
 The whole crowd must halt for the cure of Bartimajus. 
 Commanded. The prayer of faith, renders Christ attentive to our 
 
 miseries. 
 God approaches earnest souls rising above the censures of the world. 
 Through the multitude of noises. He detects the cry of a trae heart. 
 Brought. He is waiting that He may be gracious unto us. Isa. 
 
 XXX. 18, 
 "Without faith men are blind, deaf and diimb. 
 
 A broken heart and stammering i^rayers. He welcomes. Isa. xxviii. 11. 
 Those seeking Him, should lend their hands, to lead others to Christ. 
 " If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of His." Eom. 
 
 viii. 9. 
 
 41. Saying, Wliat wilt thou that I shall do unto thee f And he said, Lord, that I may 
 receive viy sight. 
 
 "What wilt thou ? He enquires not for Himself, but for the sake of 
 
 the people. 
 This cjuestion answered. 1, by the sick at heart — " Peace." 
 2, by the diseased— " Health." 3, by the covetous — " Wealth." 
 4, by the penitent — "Pardon," 5, by the dying believer — "Eternal 
 
 life." 
 That I. Note Christ's kingly word to a blind mendicant. 
 How can deniers of His divinity rescue this from blasphemy? 
 The very request of Bartimfeus w^as proper to God alone 1 
 " I will be enquired of by the House of Israel, to do it for them." Ezek. 
 
 xxxvi. 37. 
 Sight. " Triply the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to bchc-ld 
 
 the sun." Eccl. xi. 7. 
 Blind Ajax prays for light to revenge himself on his foes. 
 Bai'timseus prays for light that he may glorify the goodness of God. 
 Th9 blind owner of millions would gladly give all for his sight.
 
 250 SUGGESTIVE COJIirENTAP.Y [cHAP. XVm. 
 
 The loss of sight may be expressed in human language. 
 
 Eut not the height and depth of the woes of spiritual blindness. 
 
 AcViov, cancelled. Tischendorf, Oosterzee ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 Tt o-oi ee'Aets. He asks wliat the blind man wished, that He might stir wp his heart 
 to prayer, for He wishes that to be sought in prayer, which He knows beforehand both 
 iJiat we seek and He grants. Ambrose. Or, He asks the blind man to the end that we 
 might believe, that without confession no man can be saved. Gregory. 
 
 avapKeifjio. JJcZi'snrius, the illustrious general, under Justiiiion, through blindness, 
 became au object of universal sympathy, and begged his bread at the gate of Byzantium, 
 his valor had saved. Gibhon, Mahon. 
 
 42. And Ji'sus faid unto Uim,Iieccive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 
 
 Thy sight. The sun is seen by its own light, so Christ through the 
 
 Spii'it 
 The sun mates dark things clear, Christ makes blind to see. 
 Christ illumines both the medium and instniment. 
 
 Clears up the mysteries of the kingdom, and aids the blind to see them. 
 Thy faith.. Saving faith the gift of God. Eph. ii. 8. 
 His faith was that Jesus was the SIcssiah and could give sight. 
 Yet it is our own, for "He worketh in us, to «-z7Z and to do." Phil. 
 
 ii. 12. 
 He first gives us faith to pray, and then grants all the rest to prayer. 
 There was an instrumental connection between his faith and cure. 
 
 'Avdp\c\ljov. He who of old had said, Let there he light: and there icas light, 
 manifests Himself to he the same God, by giving sight to the blind, creating both the 
 light and the power to see light. Denton. Our Lord offers no prayer for power to do 
 what the blind man asked for. By a simple word He communicates sight, showing that 
 He is very and eternal God. Ambrose. 
 
 T] vians aov (jiiriaKt iTn, thy faith hath saved tiice. Divine grace alone heals soul 
 and body. Quesnel. Condemned by Pope Clement II, Bull Unigcnitus, 1713. 
 
 43. And immediateUj he received his sight, and followed him. glorifying God : and all 
 Ihe people, when they saw it, gave praise unto (lad. 
 
 His sight. The first object ho saw after his long night, was liia 
 Divine Physician.
 
 CHAP. XVni.] ON ST. LUKE. 251 
 
 Thus the sinner after the long niglit of sin, first beholds in the morning 
 
 of his change, the Sun of Jlii/htcousnetis. 
 " Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened." Isa. xxix. 18. 
 Christ's mission is to ojien the blind eyes, to free the prisoner, itc. 
 
 Isa. xlii. 7. 
 Followed. Him. Faith works by love, and love with open heart flows 
 
 forth on Christ. 
 Ho who sees, also follows, because the good ho understands he practises. 
 
 Gregori/. 
 Divine love teaches our feet to follow, our tongue to i^raise, and our soul 
 
 to adore and serve the Lord. 
 The triumphant processions of Christ a swelling throng of saved souls. 
 Following Christ, is the best practical proof of gratitude. 
 Jesus, a mister worth following. " I was blind but now I see." John 
 
 ix. 25. 
 A real disciple is known by the general bias of his life. 
 Too many call on the Lord in trouble, and forget Him in deliverance. 
 
 Hos. V. 15. 
 " They have not cried unto me with their heai-t, when they howled upon 
 
 their beds." Hos. vii 14. 
 " Were there not ten cleansed but where are the nine ?" Luke xvii. 17. 
 Glorifying-. Cavils of Pharisees, sneers of Sadducees, could not repress 
 
 his praise. 
 Praise. The environs of Jericho, late a rendezvous of robbers is now 
 
 enlivened by the cry of salvation. 
 Lately the scene of Christ's temptation, now of His glorification. 
 " Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness." Psa. cvii. 8. 
 On hearing of Paul's conversion " they glorified God." Gal. i. 23-24. 
 The cry at the gates of Jericho a prelude to the Hosannas at Jenisalem. 
 M^in refusing, stones and earth will praise. Luke xix. 40 ; Jer. xxii. 29- 
 Praise. 1. For the greatness of the blind man's faith, by which this 
 
 gift was obtained. 
 
 2. For the gift of light by which he saw. 
 
 3. For the manifestation of that glory by which they also saw God's light. 
 We should learn from this miracle the gracioiis lessons which Christ 
 
 • gives us — 
 
 1. He who was not able to come to Christ, to him Christ went ; an image 
 
 of His love who, whilst we ivcrc yet sinners, died for us. 
 
 2. He stayed on his waj% and stood to listen to the prayer of this pooi 
 
 blind man, to rewind us of his promise, call upon Me, and I will 
 hear thee : yea, I am with thee in trouble.
 
 252 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XVIH. 
 
 3. He called this poor man to Him as he calls the ^Thole race of man- 
 Iviud, come unto vie, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I tvill 
 give you rest. 
 
 4:. ISe asked him, zvhat wilt thoii? as He encourages us to make known 
 all our -wants by the word of comforting assurance, whatsoever ye 
 shall ash the Father in My name. He ivill give it you; so that we 
 may therefore come boldly unto the throne oj grace. Denton.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE, 253 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 1. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 
 
 2. And, behold, there was a man named Zacch(sus, which was the chief among Vie 
 publicans, and he was rich. 
 
 Jesus. Not in the Greek, read He. 
 
 Jericho. Luke x. 30. Built under the cui-se, but honored by ChxisVs 
 
 presence. 
 Behold. No unmeaning formula, solemn attention is Invited. 
 Zacchseus. Gr. justice ; only alluded to by Luke. 
 Through. Implies that Zacchceus lived in the further part of the tovm. 
 Chief publican. Gv. chief tax-gatherer. Their character. Litkeiii. 12. 
 Their notorious rapacity rendered them odious to the Jews. 
 They -were detested as plunderers, and traitors to the liberties of tho 
 
 nation. 
 Exactors and publicans, were excluded from court. 
 The Eoman taxes were felt to be an intolerable grievance. 
 God has His remnant among all classes. 1 Tim. i. 15 ; Eom. ix. 27. 
 Rich, Jesus had just shown the perils of being rich. 
 In Zacchfeus, God's grace shows its discriminating care. 
 Men have double chains to break, when they are rich. 
 In Zacchffius we see the camel passing through the needle's eye. 
 A covetous tax-gatherer, changed into a liberal Christian. 
 Hospitals discharge many cases as incurable. 
 There are none incurable, under the Divine Physician. 
 Grace fi-nds prodigals amid want, and Zaccha3us amid wealth. 
 
 ti-ripxeTo. He was passing through, i.e. He was not goiDg to make any stay there. 
 
 Wordsivorth. 
 
 Za/cxaios. An Israelite, from his Hebre-w name; Zachah, pure, "Justus fuit." 
 Mintert. Ezra il. 9; Nsh. ^^i. 14. Tho father of a famous family. Meyer, Alford. 
 A Gentile. Chrysostom, Doddridge. Tradition makes him a disciple of Peter, and first 
 bishop of Caesarea. Beard, icai avTos. 'SMion a succession of facts is stated, rising one 
 above the other in importance, koX avTo? is followed by Kal outos. Webster t Syntax. 
 
 apx'iTeAciiTjs. One who farmed a large district, which he again sub-let to the 
 ordinary rekiavai. Perhaps Zacoha}U3 was the superintendent of the taxes, or an officer 
 corresponding to our Commissioner of Customs. W. <£• W. The large security required
 
 254 SUGGESTIVE COIOIENTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 of cne advanced to bo responsible a situation implies he was rich before. Stier. The 
 source of wealth was the revenue from balsam. Alford. His conversion was probably 
 followed by that of many. By means of this man, the evil which another rich man had 
 caused by his example is remedied, chap.-xviii. 23. Bengel. 
 
 8. And, he sought to see Jesus who he ivas ; and could not for the press, because he wa$ 
 little of stature. 
 
 Scught. Gr. Jccpt seel-ing, resolving not to cease. 
 
 With the curiosity of Herod and Greeks. John xii. 21. 
 
 Place and interest are ever to be sacrificed for salvation. 
 
 Another can fill thy place, but not save thy soul. 
 
 Drawing with the cords of a man. Hos. xi. 4. 
 
 On his part, all was natural, daily princiiDles of action. 
 
 On Christ's all was supematiural. Divine. 
 
 It encourages the Church, to bring all within Gospel means. 
 
 Men are prone to assign earth-bom motives to believers. 
 
 Believers are also apt to forget the Divine work on the heart. 
 
 It is strange that he had never yet become acquainted with the "Friend 
 
 of publicans." 
 He would hot presume to detain Him in the public way. 
 H3 would not pressingly obtrude his own heart's need. 
 With more faith than Nicodemus, he is more easily won. 
 Here the Publicans entered the kingdom before the Pharisees. 
 He comes in open day before the multitude. 
 
 A desire for invisible wealth proves extraordinary grace in the rich. 
 Eut He who sows the seed, can render the barren rock fruitful. 
 See Jesus. Certain Greeks said to Philip, " We would see Jesus." 
 
 John .xii. 21. 
 All his riches had not yet satisfied his heart. Matt. vi. 19. 
 Envious Pharisees also watched for Christ, hut with no earnestness, 
 liittle. What trifles seem to be links, in the soul's salvation ! 
 We must never "despise the day of small things." Zech. iv. 10. 
 The stature of Christ alone makes a perfect man. Eph. iv. 13. 
 Press. Gr. vndiitiide. Too often the multitude hide Christ from the 
 
 soul. 
 Our Saviour made no exhibition of Himself, as popes arc borne on men's 
 
 shoulderd. 
 Nor rode in open chariots as princes, but mingled with the crowd- 
 Ho was " meek and lowly in heart." Matt. xi. 29.
 
 CnAP. XIX.] ON ST. LTJKE. 255 
 
 efi/rei. Kept seeiing for sorno time, and then resorted to the above expetlient. 
 Ifuilor the iuflueuco of grace. OUhausen, Trapp ; mere curiosity. Stier, Brown, Dod- 
 dridge ; had no previous acquaintance. Bengcl : unknown. Oo.iterzcc. r]\iKCa. Some 
 persons of small stature have been remarkable for intellect, as Plato, St. Paul, and Pope. 
 Deus maximus in minimis. Trapp. 
 
 4. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him : for He was 
 t.i jiass that way. 
 
 Ran before. Gr. having run forward in front. 
 The venerable Abraham ran to meet the angels. Gen. xviii. 2. 
 People saw Jesus dejjart and ran thither out of all cities. 
 Women departed from the sepulchre and ra7i to bring His disciples 
 
 word. 
 If He by His spii-it draws wo shall run after Him. Cant. i. 4. 
 Climbed. Ceremony does not usually allow a man of wealth or rank to 
 
 climb a tree, but faith overcomes everj'thing. 
 He hastens to see Jesus unnoticed by the multitude. 
 To us these providential guidings to Christ are a wonder of grace ! 
 Had Zaccha3us been influenced by the principles of this world, he would 
 
 never have exposed himself to ridicule. 
 Thus the thought of his ingratitude, sensuality, disgrace, might have 
 
 delayed the prodigal. 
 But " I will arise" carried him triumphant through grace. 
 The biistle of this world still prevents many from seeing Jesus. 
 Sycamore. The Egj'ptian fig, fruit and leaves resemble the mulberry. 
 An oil extracted from it, Arabs say, hag virtue to cure wounds. 
 Wood is incorruptible, valued for coffins and building. 
 It is still found here and there in the plains of Jericho. 
 " He made cedars as the sycamore trees in the vale for abundance." 
 
 1 icings X. 27. 
 It is a low tree and easy to ascend. 
 
 Orientals hang hammocks from the branches for their pleasure. 
 Screened by its foUage Zacchaius thought to remain unseen. 
 The all-seeing Eye that detected Nathaniel under the fig tree, saw him. 
 Amos was a gatherer of sycamore fruit. Amos vii. 14. 
 To see. A crowd went to the house-top to bring the sick into the 
 
 presence of Jesus. 
 God always anticipates us if He sees us eager for good. Tlicophylact. 
 Often by reason of the crowd of worldly affairs and om- low spiritual 
 
 statiu'e we cannot see Christ. 
 But there are sycamores in the road by which He will pass.
 
 256 SUGGESTIVE COMIIENTAEY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 He hap given us the means of grace — Scriptiire, prajer, ordinances. 
 
 These are the trees He has planted in the -waySide of life. 
 
 Like Zacchajus let us ascend the tree, and we shall not only see Christ, 
 
 hut He ■will come and abide with us. Wordsworth. 
 Many are under sad delusions as to religion. 
 They believe its truths noble, but its duties dry and repulsive. 
 
 avePrj. Holy Ghost relieved him of hi3 modesty that he might leceive better things. 
 Leigh. Keprescnts the Gentile world low in grace, but by the cross, a tree, they climb to 
 Bee Jesus. Isidore. Eeason by nature low, we climb by faith. Ournall. After exciin^s 
 Eupply 65o0. 
 
 5. And tehen Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw htm, and said unto him, 
 Zacchceus, make haste, and come down : for to day I must abide at thy lioiise. 
 
 Looked. Gr. Implies purpose, knowing full well who was there. 
 
 1. There is a look of love as on Peter. 2. A look of i^ardon as on 
 
 Zacchasus. 3. A look of vengeance as on Pharaoh. Ex. xiv. 24. 
 At conversion He knocks at our door, in prayer we knock at mercy's gate. 
 Unasked our Lord stops and s^jeaks to Zacchaus. 
 Unasked He invites Himself to be a guest with a sinner. 
 Unasked He sends renewing grace into the publican's heart. 
 " It is not of man that willcth, but of God that giveth." Eom. ix. 16. 
 God has various methods of calling wanderers to Himself. 
 ZacchaBus, penitent thief, Saul, Cornelius, Philippiau gaoler. 
 Zaccliaeus. Must have wondered and rejoiced, hearing his name. 
 " He calleth His own sheep by name, and they hear." John x. 3. 
 " He that caUeth the stars by name" will not forget His Children. Psa. 
 
 cxlvii. 4. 
 This stranger fcflt as Nathaniel when Jesus spoke of the fig tree. John 
 
 i. 48. 
 Make haste. A slight, but gracious rebiikc for the method he had 
 
 adopted. 
 Jjoave all thy own inventions and devices in thy timid coming. 
 The Lord is more in haste than he, on His last visit to Jericho. 
 It was his final testimony before His entrance into Jerusalem. 
 Come down. Not only must he obey, but it must be promptly. 
 The sinno r humbled before Christ, Christ will abide in his soul. 
 The omniscient Lord knew the man who knew Him not.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 2D7 
 
 Tie crieth in bis heart " I knew thee, I knc-w what thon defiirest." 
 .Abide. Gr. remain quiet. While Zacchacus lived, Christ was to Lo 
 
 his guest. " If a man love me," &c. John xiv. 23. 
 He will come to his house having already come into his heart. 
 Me well knew Zacchmus and how welcome he would make him. 
 His grace anticipates the desire of the man who dared not even draw near. 
 Until this moment Zacchajus was possibly a stranger to faith. 
 The Lord waives all formal ceremony and offers to be a guest. 
 To day. A high honor, for He never before went an uninvited guest. 
 He invites Himself in a right royal style. 
 The honor is done to the subject, not the sovereign. 
 When Christ invites Himself, He ever creates His own welcome. 
 Opening avenues to his heart, explains all the change. 
 I must. For the sake of thy salvation — a divine purpose. 
 He speaks, knowing how the honor would be appreciated. 
 What dignity in answer to every objection of haste and surpriae ? 
 Grace chooses, without even the sinners desire. Eph. i. 4. 
 " I was found of those who sought me not." Eom. x. 20. 
 His humility like the centurion's prevented him from inviting tho 
 
 Saviour. 
 House. Modes and materials. Luke i. 40. This house still pointed 
 
 out in the plains of Jericho. 
 " I will tarry that thou mayest better see 3Ie and hear ilfc." 
 The blessed days of om- life, when Jesus draws near and visits us. 
 If such happiness flows from His visits now, what will be the bliss of the 
 
 soul when it beholds the King in His beauty, and is for ever with the 
 
 Lord! 
 
 ai'apXeipai, purposely looked up and saw. W. d- W. "Saw Mm," singling him out 
 from all others. Euthijmius. Hs learned his name in a supernatural manner. Olshausen. 
 Brnion, Alford. Some unknown relation existed. Meyer. Hl-will of the crowd to a rich 
 puhlican might point to him. Oostersee. Christ, the Good Shepherd, knows all His 
 sheep, and calleth them by their names, John x. 3. Wordsworth. Etsi voccin invitautis, 
 Jesus non audierat, yiderat tamen affectum. Amhrose. 
 
 Sti jxe /jiuvai, not I will, but I must. Every event determined by a divine plan. 
 Alford. Conscious of a divine purpose. Meyer. The account of the conversion of 
 Zacchaeus alone narrated by Luke the Evangelist, who has specially magnified the grace 
 with which the Lord received publicans and sinners. Lange. 
 
 6. And he made haste, and came doicn, and received Mm joyfully. 
 Made haste. Vrith an alacrity, which, in him surprises ns. 
 First evidence of conversion, ready obedience to Christ. Acts ix. 6.
 
 258 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTAEY [ciIAP. XtX. 
 
 " What thy hand findeth to do, do it with," &c. Eccl. ix. 10. 
 
 " Behold I stand at the door, and knock." Rev. iii. 20. 
 
 Received. He protests nothing, good or evil. 
 
 Instantly won, he joyfully leads his divine guest to his home. 
 
 Conscious majesty and loving power complete the conquest. 
 
 The Saviour had found the sinner and the sinner the Saviour. 
 
 The Good Shepherd had foimd a stray sheep and rejoices over him. 
 
 Matt, xviii. 13. 
 Christ to the outside world was a poor pilgrim stranger in His day. 
 " Entertaining strangers, we often entertain angels unawares." Heb. xiii. 2. 
 The deep gratitude of Zacchsus only equalled by the wonder of tho 
 
 populace at seeing Him enter a publican's house. 
 Eeceiving Him into his house, betokened His reception in his heart. 
 We cannot entertain Christ as Zacchajus did, but He has left the poor in 
 
 His stead. Matt. xxvi. 11. 
 Joyfully. He graciously inspires a heart to love where he chooses tc 
 
 dwell. 
 Jesus' presence ever diffuses heaven through the soul. 
 What Court ought not to have been delighted to have received Jesus ! 
 In a far more important sense he who keepeth His words receives Him. 
 " My Father will love him, and We will come and make our abode with 
 
 Him." John xiv. 23. 
 Lydia said, *' If ye have judged me faithful, come into mine house." 
 
 Acts xvi. 15. 
 " Lovers of hospitality, and lovers of good men." Tit. i. 8. 
 The change as perfect as it was instantaneous. Matt. xi. 5. 
 Whence this sudden joy in the cold-hearted publican ? 
 It was wrought by the same power that said ■' Follow Me." Matt. iv. 19. 
 That said, " Stretch forth thy (withered) hand." Mark iii. 5. 
 Whc at the beginning said " Let there be Ught; " He had but to " speak, 
 
 and it was done." Psa. xxxiii. 9. 
 The miracle of grace far transcends the miracle of creation. 
 This forms a contrast to His presence in the house of the Pharisee. 
 Instead of being honored, Simon thought he rendered Jesus a service. 
 Some will bewail Him coming in the clouds — Piev. i. 7, and some rejoice — 
 
 Isa. XXV. 9. 
 Observe the gracious kindness of tho Redeemer — 
 He tlie innocent and holy One associates with the guilty. 
 The Fountain of Justice with covetousness, the source of injustice. 
 But He suffers no stain from the mists of sin and avarice. 
 Like the sun, He disperses them by the bright beams of His righteousness.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 259 
 
 7. And when they taw it, they all mxirviurcd, saying, That he was gone to he guest with 
 3, vtan that is a sinner. 
 
 Murmured. Tlie Pharisees indignant and envious at His popularity. 
 
 The world still takes offence when the Saviour visits a sinner. 
 
 We have become accustomed to this envy of Pharisees. 
 
 The ways of God's mercies towards sinners, hid from carnal men. 
 
 An anti-pharisaic demonstration of Christ against hypocrisy. 
 
 It made a deeper impression than doctrinal statements. 
 
 Gone. He went of His own accord to be a guest contrary to His custom. 
 
 This act was going further than eating with sinners. Luke xv. 2. 
 
 To be a guest. Gr. nn-harness — take up His lodging for a season. 
 
 Sinner. This the gi-eat mj'stery of infinite love — The Christ of Ciod 
 
 come to be a guest with sinners ! 
 Pharisees now, as then, stumble at this mystery of grace. 
 They called him a sinner, only because he was a publican. 
 Had his cliaracter been bad they would have told it now. 
 But what Pharisee could ca-st the first stone ? John viii. 7. 
 How much slander would cease if men were honest in judgment ! 
 Zaccha3us might say "Yes, I am a sinner, but Jesus has como to save 
 
 sinners." 
 He icas even no2v a new creature in Christ Jesus. 
 Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matt. 
 
 ix. 13. 
 God allows room for repentance and so must we. 2 Pet. iii. 9. 
 
 Sieyoyyviov, grnigei. Wicldiffe, Tyndale. The Hisci-plcs. Calvin; JexfB. Ooster-ec. 
 avSpl, iileonastic, John iv. 16. avSpl yet a/j.apiioA(3, because a publican, Luto iii. 1:2. 
 Jlost of them murmured from tloubt, rather than anger. Bcngel. 
 
 KarakviraL, divcrsari, "to be a guest with;" hence the inn or lodging, dtpersorium, 
 in which Christ was born, is called KardXvixa, and the guest chamber for refreshment, 
 where He ate the Paschal Supper, and instituted the Holy Eucharist. Wordsioorth. 
 KaTa\v(7ai. Spent onlj' a few hours ; Ojsterzcc. cUveriissi:;. Vulg., Euthytnius ; refreshed 
 himself. Doddridge ; tarried over night. Meyer; but a sojourner of a night would scarcely 
 have been dismissed by the host, speaking, standing. Stier. 
 
 8. And Zacchmus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my good t 
 I give to the poor ; and if I have taken any thing from anj mart by falsa aeeusat ion I 
 restore hxai fourfold. 
 
 Stood. Stood forth, TijndaU. A posture of dchberation, reverence ai-d 
 prayer. Mark xi. 25.
 
 260 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Better seen of the crowd on account of his low stature. 
 This last act was more like Mary than Martha. 
 
 1. Boldly, neither ashamed, nor afraid to confess Christ. 
 
 2. PromiDtly, "What thy hand findeth to do," &c. 
 
 3. Openly, Eeligion is no secret society, her light shines. Matt. v. 16. 
 Zacchffius TOWS in a deliberate and solemn manner. 
 
 Th.8 liOrd. The arfic/e strongly expresses Christ's Divinity. Luke i. 35. 
 
 Trrm implies, 1, autlwrity. 2, dignity. 3, grace. 4:,j)02ccr. 
 
 An apfieal to His omniscience as to the heart-sincerity of his vow. 
 
 Half. The law required a fifth of their income for charity. 
 
 His alms like Cornelius' might go up as a memorial before God. 
 
 Acts X. 4. 
 Tyre's merchant princes converted, shall do the same. Isa. xxiii. 17-19 » 
 Here the strong man's love of money overcome by a stronger. 
 Love makes and masters the ruHng passion, covetousness. 
 Here the camel is disencumbered of his costly burden. 
 This is by no means to be considered as self-righteous boasting. 
 But as humbly comfessing his past transgressions and proof of change. 
 He does not presume to atone for his sins as Eome teaches. 
 The Lord prefers such sacrifice, to the most sumptuous entertainments. 
 My goods. It does not imply that he had defrauded any one. 
 He proposes no charity out of other persons' means. 
 " My goods," were those he honestly under God had secured. 
 " God hates robbery for burnt offering or sacrifice." Isa. Ixi. 8. 
 Or that he made restitution before he exercised benevolence. 
 
 Give. Gr. I iioio imrpose to give. This is to silence those who murmured 
 at the Lord's sitting at his table. 
 
 A resolve as good as done. The poor wiU claim its completion. 
 
 Many buds bloom in spring, which bear no fruit in autumn. 
 
 The ripe fruits of repentance and faith spring forth quickly. 
 
 Best and only proof of change, the effort to undo former sins. 
 
 As the light in the closed lantern, still must shine. Matt. v. 16. 
 
 Reality and decision speak of no future intentions. 
 
 Faith that does not expand the heart, is no faith at all. 
 
 Grace not seen as light, nor tasted as salt, is questionable. 
 
 Treasures bequeathed a.i death, misnamed charities. 
 
 Are they not generally levies made by an unquiet conscience ? 
 
 Believers are "rich in good works, ready to distribute." 1 Tim. vi. 18. 
 
 He had been laying up treasures on earth, now he lays them up iu 
 heaven. Matt. vi. 20. 
 
 If we were more self-denying we should bo far more charitable.
 
 CHA.P. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 2G1 
 
 "With the spirit of Zaccliffius, i.e. the mind of Christ, the treasmy of tho 
 
 Church would overflow as that of the Hebrews. 
 Poor. Eestitution to the proper persous is oft impossible. 
 Contrast the covetousness of the rich young ruler in the previous chapter, 
 
 with tho expansive charities of the heart under grace. 
 If. In so far as I have defrauded, no fraud however, is confessed. 
 Taken. Defrauded any riian, Coverdale. 
 
 Accusation. Figure implies to extort money by false accusation. 
 Law carried out is often the instrument of the greatest injustice. 
 But far oftcner by perjury so prevalent among men. 
 " Exact no more than that which is appointed to you." Luke iii. 13. 
 John implies that the publicans were liable to this temptation. 
 Restore. In restitution we should be generous, rather than exact. 
 A penitent regards divine favor, not the world's censure. 
 Fourfold. Roman law lequiied fourfold, Jewish, one-fifth. 
 His charity transcends any sacrifice required. Ex. xxi. 1 ; 2 Sam. :ai. 
 
 6 ; Num. v. 7. 
 It is not the bold challenge of 1 Sam. xii. 3 ; overreaching was not his 
 
 practice. 
 Now he is a righteous man according to Ex. xxii. 3-15. 
 He through grace joyfully resolves to impose upon himself tho severest 
 
 measure of the law. 
 His frozen heart is melted, the idol, covetousness, dethroned. Luke 
 
 iii. 10. 
 There was no demand made for his goods, but for his heart. 
 " My son, give Me thy heart," with it, goods and all go aZso. Prov. xxiii. 20, 
 Home teaches a religion without giving up one's sins ; repentance without 
 
 restitution, charity without love, or Christianity without holiness. 
 Some think he would revenge himself on his reigning sin. 
 
 o-TaSfls. Apparently the court of liis house. Andrews. On the morning of his 
 SiCT^Bxlnve. Olshausen ; he addressed those who were Btanding without. "We are left by 
 Luke to judge of our Lord's sermon by its effects. Probably Zacohteus had been 
 reclining at meat, but was so penetrated by our Lord's teaching that he stood, iq', and 
 made his confession before men. Wordsioorth. 
 
 TO. i9/x''<"), the plural, so the Sept., Josh. siii. 31. Scngcl. SCSu/xi, present for future. 
 Orotius, Wetstcin. A firm, certain, intention. Kuhioel. Does not wait for to-morrow. 
 Thcophylact. Indefinite, " I am aooustomod to give." Elsley. " Brave piety that hoards 
 till death compels a will, then ink and paper do it all. It is death, and not you, that 
 gives it." Basil, el ti. — A mild form of self-accusation, awed by tho immediate personal 
 mprfssiOrt the presence of Jesus made upon him. Meyer. Open dishonesty confessed. 
 Brown. No uncertainty. Alford. icruKo^di^ricra, Luke iii. li : he obtained his wealth 
 dishonestly. Olshausen. A common Greek idiom (for whomsoever I have defrauded), 
 Eendrick. 
 
 35
 
 262 SUGGKSTIVE COilMENTAP.Y [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 aiToSiSton'. TSTpairXovv. "I will restore voluntarily at least, what the law requires." 
 See Ex. xxi. 36; xxii. 1. He thus vindicates Christ from the cavils of those who said ha 
 was gone to be a guest with a sinner. Wurdsworth. Eo?uan law required fourfold; 
 Athenian, double. The result of our Lord's counsel. Kuinoel. Denotes an integrity 
 unimpeachable. Schneider. A proof of his gi-atitude for His visit. Oosterzee. An 
 evidence of the power of conscience : — a j^erson for fifty years felt he wronged another 
 five shillings, and then restored it. Trapp. That which is the fi-uit of fraud, adds to the 
 Bin, each day restitution is delayed. Quaile-f. Non dimittetur peccatum, nisi restituatur 
 ablatura. Auuuntine. If Zacchaeus gave half his property to the poor, he might not have 
 enough left for the purpose of restitution. It may be that the present tenses Si'owui and 
 a-o5i5a)(u.i denote wliat had been his habit during along and successful career. Zaccha/us 
 may have been one of those who, living up to the light he possessed, is now brought to 
 the true light. W. <£■ W. 
 
 vTrapxovTiiiv denotea gains rather than property. "I mal;e a practice of giving half 
 my (70 J HS to the poor; I make a practice of restoring fourfold whatever I find has been 
 taken by fraud ; " thus he was of the character addressed Isa. hi. 1, 4, 6. W. £• W. 
 
 9. And Jesus said unto him, Tliis day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he 
 also is a son of Abraham. 
 
 Him. Jesus evidently addressed Himself to tlie people concerning 
 
 Zacchffius. • 
 
 This day. The day of blessing to the once accm-sed city. 
 Ko know-ci person in that home till then had been converted. 
 It justifies a hope that he woiUd succeed in promoting the salvation of 
 
 others. 
 "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and Thy 
 
 House." Acts xvi. 31. 
 Joshua said " As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Josh, 
 
 xxiv. 15. 
 Salvation. Health. Tijndalc. His bodily defect was conducive to 
 
 salvation. 
 Disadvantages, in God's providence often prove rich blessings. 
 Entrance of Christ brings "joy in the tabernacles of the righteous." 
 
 Psa. cxviii. 15. 
 Thei-e is an " J am 77e /" graciously illustrating in these last days His 
 
 name " Jesus." John iv. 2G. 
 " Though given up by you Pharisees in your heartless bigotry." 
 " He was yet a lost sheci? of the house of Israel, a true sou of Abraham." 
 Whose sins are of such crimson dye that he need despair ? 
 By faith, like the Gentiles, he recovered his forfeited birthright. Isa. 
 
 Ixiii. IG. 
 House, ilodcs, materials of oriental houses. Luke i. 4.0. 
 This house. Designed to meet the taunt of the Phariseee.
 
 CHAP. XXX.J ON ST. LUKE. 263 
 
 'Tis now a saved Louse, meet for the Master's reception. 
 
 A publican's dwelling was deemed no better than a den of thieves. 
 
 A family generally follow the faith of its head. 
 
 The head alone may openly sin, but others oft perish with him. 
 
 When religion enters the heart, it oft does the liouse also. 
 
 The family in the N.T. is invested with new responsibilities. 
 
 Henceforth it is to be the foundation of the Church and State. 
 
 This visit a contrast with that in the house of the Pharisee. Lukexiv. 1. 
 
 He remained unblest, as in his pride he had no heart to receive it. 
 
 Abraham. Luke i. 55. They sneeriugly called him a sinner, Jesus 
 
 answered, He is a son of Abraham. 
 One by national descent, and, also in a way the Pharisees were not. 
 He followed Abraham's works, in heart as well as blood. 
 "If j'e were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." 
 
 John viii. 39. 
 "They who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Gal. 
 
 iii. 7. 
 " If children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." 
 
 Eom. viii. 17. 
 He probably remained in office, not called like Matthew to leave it. 
 Christ left Jericho conscious that salvation had been offered the pcoiolc. 
 More might have been saved, but they knew not the time of their 
 
 visitation. 
 Forsoinuch. Inasmuch as, i^ublican though he be. 
 Though deemed unworthy by his occupation — 
 Yet proved to be a Jew in the best sense by his charity and piety. 
 Is. Not was, before he resembled not righteous Abraham. 
 Son. That by hirtli, noio partaker of Abraham's faith. Gal. iii. 29. 
 Jews knew no relationship but that of the flesh. 
 
 jrpb? aviTovs. Pcarce, -withont any authority whatever, on. — E.V. omits this particle, 
 intimating that liis fruits of repentance and faith were to Jesus evidence of their sin- 
 cerity. Just because tliis day salvation has come to this house. Lanije. Trpos. With 
 reference to him, and not his family; concerning him. Major, De }]'ette, UoscnmuUcr. 
 Zacchreus addressed. Doddridge, Wolf, Hammond. oZko). Confined to the master. 
 Theophylact, Grotius; to his household. Le Clera, Elsie]/. Actsxvi. 34; Actsxviii. 8; 
 John iv. 46, 53. vibs. Once a heathen, now fi convert. Maldonatus ; a Jew, now 
 regenerate. Kuinoel. Despised of the people, aa an alien, now a true Jew. Oostcrxcc. 
 A son of faith as well as blood, for he was imijuesticnably a Jew, as his Hebrew naiuo 
 Bhowo.
 
 264 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that tiihich was tost. 
 
 Come. This repels the insiuuatiou against our Saviour's visit to 
 
 Zacchffius. 
 He declares the Phai-isees shewed their ignorance of His purpose. 
 Seek. My work is to seek as well as save such. 
 Characteristic featirre of the kingdom of heaven, is compassion. 
 Christ condescending to seek the lost, a model to His servants. 
 None need despair, while God Himself is seeking them. 
 The righteous with all their progress have still their wanderings. 
 Divine grace begins, Divine compassion completes spiritual life. 
 " I am found of those that sought Me not." Isa. Ixv. 1. 
 Come to seek. Implies it was his chosen work, not out of His way. 
 
 Here He hints at His Divinity as the promised Messiah. 
 1, An extremely liumhling ; 2, indescribably consoling ; 3, powerfully 
 
 saving word. 
 Lost. Not them alone, but the entire host of lost sinners. 
 Lost, 1, to holiness. 2, the Church. 3, heaven. 4, God. 
 A life of sin does not exclude hopelessly from the kingdom. 
 But while the door of repentance remains open mercy cannot be trifled 
 
 with. 
 " Go ye rather to the lost sheep, of the house of Israel." Matt x. 6. 
 " I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matt.xv. 2i. 
 A city is lost to loyalty and revenue when in rebellion. 
 A traveller is lost when he has missed his way in the wilderness. 
 A patient is lost when his disease is inciirable. 
 A prisoner is lost, sentence of death being passed upon him. 
 
 fijT-iio-at. God seeks in man something whicli comes to meet His eternal lore, with 
 the susceptibility of receiving it. Meyer. Instead of attracting, everything in the natural 
 heart repels God. on-oXuAot. Those incurring damnation. Meyer. Those both care- 
 lessly lost, and actually ruined. Thue. iv. 21, Bewjel. 
 
 11. And as they heard these thinrjs, he added and spake a parable, hccnuse he wastiigh 
 to Jerusalem, and hecause they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately 
 appear. 
 
 Heard these things. People were attentive, "fuith comes by hear- 
 ing."
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE, 265 
 
 Nigh to Jerusalem. Lnke ii. 22. Jcricbo was about 20 miles from 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 Jews thougbt that the Messiah -would collect them in Galilee, and reign 
 
 on the mount of Olives. 
 Added. In the presence of the murmuring multitude. 
 Things contradictory to all their expectations of the Messiah. 
 Parable. Notes Luke iv. 23 ; v. 36. To teach a patient waiting, and to 
 
 encourage active working during his absence. 
 Disciples were disposed to share the imiversal hostility to their Master's 
 
 views. 
 This tide would set heavily against Ilim, especially after his death, and 
 
 seem to falsify His pretensions. 
 The excitement of expectation was at its height on His approach to 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 His enemies gathered in force were about to test His claims. 
 Kingdom. The world cares not for a king whose throne is a cross. 
 His approacli to Jerusalem shews high courage and quiet dignity. 
 Immediately. Jews everyvs'here hoped the Messiah's kingdom was 
 
 about to appear. 
 Daniel's seventy weeks were just expiring. 
 The sceptre had recently departed from Judah and pointed to Shiloh. 
 
 Gen. xlix. 10. 
 All " the signs of the times" proclaimed the Messiah's advent. 
 Jews soon gathered from all nations to Jerusalem. Acts ii. 5. 
 Jesus would REPRESS impatience in waiting for the Christ. 
 He would enjoin icorhing for Him during His absence. 
 Ho would strengthen His disciples against that stream of hostility now 
 
 running fearfully against Him. 
 He knew His death would soon destroy all their lofty expectations. 
 
 irpoa^ifis etTTc. He went on to cTeliver a parable. Wordsioorih. Trapa^oXrfv . Spoken 
 in the court of Zacchceus' house. Meyer, Andrews. Spoken in the house of Zacchaeus 
 Alj'nrd. At his departure from Jericho. Stier, Oosterzee. Life of ArchelaUB, son of 
 Herod the Great, seems the ground-work of tliis parable. The kings of the Herodian 
 family made journeys to Rome to receive their " kingdovi." Alford. At a time when tha 
 Roman senators made and unmade king?, such events were of frequent occurrence. 
 The Jews sent an embassy to Rome, to dissuade Caesar from permitting Archelaus to 
 reign over them ; but Augustus would not listen to them. Trench. The situation was 
 appropriate ; for at Jericho was the royal palace which Archelaus had built with great 
 Splendor. Different from Matt. xxv. 14-30. Lange, Ebrard, Neander, Dc Wette, Stier. 
 An expansion by Luke. Oosterzee. Identical. Calvin, Olshausen, Meyer, ey-yvs. The 
 distance of Jericho from Jerusalem was 150 stadia, about 16 English miles and 6 furlongs: 
 AlJ'ord.
 
 266 SUGGESTIVE COMSIENTAEY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 12. He said therefore, A certain nobleman xocnt into afar country to receive for him,' 
 self a kingdom, and to return. 
 
 Nobleman. Signature of the Lord's royal descent and dignity. 
 
 The nobility of Jesus was the highest of all, uniting all. 
 
 Son of God, from eternity, and Son of David in time. 
 
 He concealed the greatness of His first, and regarded not that of the 
 
 second. 
 He hath on His vesture. Kino of Kixgs and Lord of Loebs. Rev. xix. IG. 
 Far country. Prophecy of His dejiarture from earth to His Father. 
 His design is to repress the prevalent idea of an immediate reign. 
 The heavenly world an actual region opposed to this. 
 " Sit on My right hand, vmtil I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." 
 
 Heb. i. 13. 
 Greater his long-suffering, the more dreadful the doom of His foes. 
 Kingdom. Gr. royaltij. He departs to receive the crovrn and return. 
 Christ's kingdom confirmed on the manifold groimd of right. 
 As the Son of David He receives the patrimonial inheritance which 
 
 belonged to Him from eternity as the Son of God. 
 God " set Him at His own right hand far above aU principalities and 
 
 powers." Eph. 1. 20-21. 
 " He gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church." Eph. i. 22. 
 
 euyei'r;?, well-born, above otbers, a man of noble descent, famished with the highest 
 title to command, by right of birth. Lange. xihi>a.v y-aKpav. — His ascension to heaven. 
 Trench, Bengel ; His leaving the Jews, and going over to the Gentiles. Augiustine. 
 
 Paa-iKeiav. The E. V. implies a different kingdom from that which he had. Any 
 other explanation supposes many circumstances not related. Campbell. A priviii« of 
 high lineage, but not king by bii-th. Slier. Herod, under the government of Antigoir.is, 
 journeyed to Rome, pretending to seek a crown for Aristobulus, but was himself con- 
 secrated king, amid idolatrous rites. Archclaus, his son, afterwards went to Home, and 
 contended with his brother Antipas for the royalty. Herod the Great went up to Eomo 
 for this Jiurpose. Mark Antony and Cssar esjjouscd his cause, and Messala introduced 
 llerod in the senate, and a decree was passed in his favor. Herod, with Antony and 
 Caesar on cither arm, with the consuls and other magistrates before him, left the senate 
 house, in order to offer up sacrilicos, and lay up the decree in the Capitol. Smith, Kitto, 
 Milman. This parable was spoken to His disciples generally. I'arablo of The Pounds, 
 to the Apostles. Trench, 
 
 V-i. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 
 Occupy till I come. 
 
 Ten. Gr. ten of IIU servants, as there were ten virgins.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] OK ST. LUKE. • 267 
 
 Ten commandments. Ten implies abundance of gifts. 
 
 Servants. All adhering in fidelity and obedience to their future king, 
 
 His attendants expected preferments at His court. 
 
 Their only preferment here, devoted laborious energy in His service. 
 
 Delivered. None so humble as to have been forgotten in this dir,- 
 
 tributiou. 
 " No man liveth unto himself." Eom. xiv. 7. 
 Sloth or vanity, will cause some sad accounts to be rendered. 
 The confidence reposed, should secm-e the fidelity of the servant. 
 Pounds. Minae ; Piecrs of mo>ieij, gencralli/ about £(j esich. 
 lie gave precisely the same amount to each servant. 
 All are cquaUij responsible, and it cannot be transferred. 
 A caviller asks, "Why did He not distribute arms, while His subjects 
 
 were in rebellion?" answer in John xviii. 36. 
 It sjaubolizes the peaceful occupation and law of love of His future reahn. 
 The Lord puts in their hands a slight gift, as te&t of their fideUty. 
 Manifold gifts, but one duty, and but one Spirit. 
 The endowments of a Christian, are a call to the work of the Lord. 
 God distributes His gifts, to our -weak minds, strangely, but holily. 
 The Apostles in parable of " The Talents," receive infinitely the largest 
 
 gifts. Matt. XXV. 14. 
 Bankrupts dread to know the amount of their debt, sinners of res2Donsibility. 
 Scriptures, Sabbath, ministry, conscience. Throne of Grace. 
 Phocion refusing Alexander's gift, said " IE I take it and occuiiy it not, it 
 
 is as though / hud it not.''' 
 Trading in spiritual gifts, most perilous, jet safest commerce. 
 Yet gifts are not bestowed to be wasted, buried, or appropriated. 
 Not jriven to buy liveries, robes, equipages, and palaces. 
 Occupy. Gr. trade, negotiate, do business. 
 
 Wisely trading in the riches of Christ, the highest and noblest gain. 
 The best merchant is he who gains for his master. 
 With regard to God, this trade impUes, giving up all to gain all ! 
 With regard to men " more blessed to give than to receive," Acts xx. 35, 
 Holy personal influence unseen and unceasing. 
 As money at interest is not idle, it knows no sabbath. 
 " Receive ye the Holy Ghost." — Gave them their ten pounds. 
 Believert\ ministers, are not baptized nor ordained to be idle. 
 " Spirit is given to eveiy man, to profit withal." 1 Cor. xii. 7. 
 " As every oiie has received the gift, so let him minister." 1 Pet. iv. 10. 
 Jacob saw angels ascending and descending, none standing stiil. Gen. 
 
 xxviii. 12.
 
 2G8 SUGGESTIYE COJUrENTARY [cHAP. XIX. 
 
 Come. In Judgment to recompense to every man, &:c. Matt. xvi. 27. 
 The uncertainty of the time, should render us ever -watchful. 
 As it respects the world, to give up the visible for the invisible. 
 The myriad-tongued voice of nature is ever preaching, and the life of 
 every man of God illustrating these words, " Occupy till I come." 
 " Work ye manful while ye may, 
 Work for God in this your day. 
 Wait His coming ; it is srure ; 
 Godly deeds alone endure." 
 
 Se'/ca fii'Ss. The mina, a weiglit or sum of money, sixty of ■which went to the talent 
 Attic, this, doubtless, being the system referred to in the N.T. The mina, = 100 
 drachma = about £3 Gs. 8d. at that time. Prcscott. The Attic mina is one-sixtieth of a 
 talent, and equal to about £S English money. Alford, Bcngel. 
 
 Parable of The PojincZs shows coequal fidelity, with different degrees of advantage. 
 jTaZenfs, different degrees of improvement of coequal opportunities. Brown. Talents, 
 inward gifts; Pounds, spheres of labor. Stier. St/ca. The households oi the ancient 
 noblemen resemble nations rather than families. Seneca. 
 
 UpayiiaTevfraa-Oi, properly "trade." Bengel. Like negotior, to do business?. 
 " Occupii,"a, Latinism, occupare pecuniam. Cicero. " Occupy" had formerly the meaning 
 of to "employ " or "use," especially in business. The following, out of North, Plutarch's 
 JDives, p. 505, is given in Trench, Select Glossary, a. v. — "He made as though he had 
 occasion to occupy money, and so borrowed a gi-eat sum of them." Compare Ex. xxxviii. 
 24; Judg. xvi. 11. Prescott. 
 
 ep^ofiai. WTiUe I am departing and returning. So some find " descensus ad inferos" 
 intimated in this passage. i?ossuef. ews (pxaixai.,^^ while I am coming." The indicative 
 mood marks more forcibly the uncertainty of the time of our !J.ord's advent, and that He 
 is always coming to every man. 1 Tim. iv. 13 ; John xxi. 22. Wordsworth. 
 
 14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying. We icill not liave 
 this man to reign over us. 
 
 Citizens. Jews, seed of Abraham, were Christ's fellow citizens. 
 
 Hated him. The wisest rulers cannot satisfy the populace 
 
 This is but the shadow of the sinner's rebellion against God. 
 
 Eejectiug Jesus' reign, we become slaves of Satan. 
 
 Following the maxims of this world, we renounce Christ's authority. 
 
 They hated Him living, hated Him dying, and now hate Him on the 
 
 throne. 
 All the persecutions of His followers illustrate this rebellion. 
 The stoning of Stephen, the beheading of James, the persecution of Paul. 
 Message of defiance sent after Him, " IVe have no Iring hut Cccsar.^' 
 " Now have they both scon and hated Me, and My Father." John xv. 21. 
 The excited passions of men hate with, or without reason.
 
 ClIAT. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE, 269 
 
 All tbo proofs of a Saviour's love, avail nothing to melt this deep seated 
 
 enmity. 
 The more intensely lie loved them, the more intensely they hated Him. 
 Message, Gr. deputation. EightyJews followed Archclaus. 
 Eight thousand followed Augustus for the same purpose. 
 On his return he gave cities to his faithful followers, but slew his enemies. 
 Our Lord hints, that our rebel race had sent a solemn and formal protest 
 
 against Himself, to the Throne of God. 
 The Jews would not have the Saviour of sinners for their Messiah. 
 
 Luke XV. 2. 
 Their daring treason culmiuatcd at and after his death. 
 This man. " Write not The King of the Jews" ih.Q rejection of the 
 
 Messiah in His highest act of mercy. 
 " Man," not in the original: Greek, indicating great scom. 
 "Will not. The fearful obstinacy and rebellion of a depraved Will ! 
 Men sacrifice health, character, wealth, life itself for the will ! 
 A threefold submission, 1, our carnal hearts to His holiness. 
 2, our proud hearts to His mercy. 3. our revolting hearts to His 
 
 sovereignty. 
 " The kings of the earth have set themselves against the Lord." &c., 
 
 Psa. ii. 2. 
 To reign. " He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." 
 
 John i. 11. 
 " The carnal mind is enmity against God." Rom. viii. 7. 
 Doctrines are well enough for the unrenewed, if there were no precepts. 
 Christianity would be tolerated if it did not demand holiness ! 
 
 ■cpecr^eCav. As the Jews sent counter emtassies to Home, to frustrate the appeal 
 mentioned in a preceding note, in the case of Ai-chelaus. Inciilent inserted for onia- 
 ment. Kuinocl. ov 9i\oixei>. — We do not n-ish, u-c refuse. No fuel makes a fiercer flamo 
 in Tophct than a sinful will. Bernard. toCtoc, this fellow — with open contempt. Stier. 
 
 15. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the Jclngdom, then 
 he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, 
 that lie might know how much every man had gained by trading. 
 
 Returned. Eefers to our Lord's glorious coming at the end of the 
 
 world, the Great Day of account. 
 Alexander on his retm-u from India, iDuuished those who denied his 
 
 return.
 
 270 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Christ returned at Pentecost, and when Jerusalem was destroyed. 
 But the return here intended is the Day of Judgment. Acts i. 11. 
 Kingdom, the actual government, that for which we daily pray to come. 
 Then will be " given Him dominion, glory, and akingdom. Dan .vii. 14. 
 Called. Every one shall give an account of himself to God. Eom. xiv. 12. 
 Teachers, pastors, and parents are entrusted with immortal souls. 
 Solemn will be their accoiuit, and no man will be forgotten. 2 Cor. v. 10. 
 Disorder, confusion, and unpunished sin will not always cover the earth. 
 Men trust, His eye cannot pierce the veils, the crowd, the night of guilt. 
 Gained. All persons trading for Christ shall be gainers. 
 Though Israel be not gathered, yet they will be glorious. Isa. xlix. 5. 
 All who are alike faithful are not alike successful. 
 Abraham, Enoch, Noah, Lot, Daniel, had but few converts. 
 Trading. Chi-istian life. 1, the capital. 2, income. 3, profits. 
 
 6ie77pavjuaT£vcraTo, what business they had carried on. Alford, ti's tL. A double 
 question. — Who had gained ? and what? Webster's Syntax, 
 
 16. Tlien came the first, saying. Lord, thy pound hath gained tenpoutids. 
 
 Thy pound. He does not say I have gained, but tliij pound has gained. 
 
 It is the Lord's gift, not the servant's industry. 
 
 Every sanctified heart will render all the praise to sovereign Grace. 
 
 Eev. i. 5. 
 Ignorance and vanity mny claim some credit now, biit nothing then. 
 Not the amount of gain, but the degree of diligence will be rewarded, 
 " I labored more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the gi-ace of 
 
 God which was with me." 1 Cor. xv. 10. 
 He speaks of what the Lord had done by him. Eom. xv. 18. 
 Gained. Ineffable joy will fill the heart of the faithful in that day. 
 The least gift may be a source of inexhaustible blessing. 
 Even a cup of cold water given in the name of Christ shall not loso its 
 
 reward. Mari ix. 41. 
 
 17. And he said unto him, TIV//, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful 
 in a very little, have tlwu autiiority over ten cities. 
 
 Well done. The end of our spiritual work, a divine rest for ever. 
 Ueb. iv. 9.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 271 
 
 "Well. The praise of God at the last, the only praise worth the name. 
 
 The praise of men is oft deceitful, always dangerous. 
 
 Faithful. Earth can give no such patent of nobility as this. 
 
 Many once full of earthly honors, in cteruitj- may hear, " I'liou fool." 
 
 In little. Mercies and gifts few or many alter not our accountubihty. 
 
 " He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eat the fruit thereof." I'rov. xxviii. 18. 
 
 He who begins low, is in a fair way to rise. 1 Tim. iii. 13. 
 
 Have tliou. Gr. Be assured that you have. 
 
 The certain reward of all true Christians in the world to come. 
 
 In this world, they receive little recompense save persecution. Luko 
 xvi. 25. 
 
 Their names are east out as evil, they enter the kingdom through tribula- 
 tion. 
 
 " The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared Vvitb 
 the glory to be revealed." Eom. viii. 18. 
 
 Authority. Believers now toil like servants, will then reign like kings. 
 Piev. XX. 6. 
 
 Ten cities. The reward corresponds, not to the one pound given, but 
 to the ten gained. 
 
 This imjjlies, deg*.'ees of rewards in the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Antony gave Cleopatra three cities in Spain. 
 
 Artaxerxes the Persian gave Themistocles the Greek hero five citioB. 
 
 Alexander returiiing from India thus treated his friends. 
 
 Archelaus as Ethnarch gave his friends cities to possess. 
 
 A pound will not purchase a cottage much less a city. 
 
 What unspeakable grandem- must there be in Jehovah's kingdom I 
 
 The duty performed was that of a private servant to a master. 
 
 The reward is hiniibj, that of a sovereign prince to a noble. 
 
 If we serve our Master as a Jdng, He will recomi^euse us. 
 
 The gifts bestowed in this life do not compare with those of heaven. 
 
 God's rewards regard the Fullness of His Mercy, not our wretchedly 
 poor service. 
 
 ccrfli ex"^"! "*'''^' te liabere." Valck. in Wordsworth, Be asBtirod that you have. 
 Jf\bstcr'3 Syntax. irdAecuf, — literally, as referring to the saints reigning on car.h 
 during the millennium. Sticr. 
 
 18. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 
 Thy pound. Saints of God of one mind while toiling day by day.
 
 272 SUGGESTIVE COBIMENTAK"S [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 " Not unto US. Lord, but to Thy name give the praise." Psa. cxv. 1. 
 " Not I, but the grace of God which was with me." 1 Cor. xv. 10. 
 Gained. Wealth unimproved 77iakcs ifseZ/ wings. Prov. xxiii. 5. 
 Gifts and graces improved secure a blessed reward. 
 Five pounds. Fidehty, God requires, whether trusted with much or 
 
 little. 
 Each one brought at least as much as he had received. 
 Alas ! how many from gospel lands will not be able to do even this. 
 One star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Cor. xv. 41. 
 The glory of each saint differs, their common joj' is the same. 
 The dcgi-ees of gloiy in heaven will depend on our fidelity here. 
 Eveiy vessel on the sea alike full, but not alike large. 1 Cor. iii. 8. 
 
 e-oirjo-e, made, not "gained," as in E.V. ; not the same ■word as in verse 16. Alford, 
 
 19. And he said likeicise to him, Be thou also over jive cities. 
 Be thou. The Lord kindly reckons to him as merit what he ascribed to 
 
 the gift. 
 Five cities. God receives nothing from us however laborious we may 
 
 be. 
 Like a king. He scatters crowns, thrones, and kingdoms to His servants. 
 The boimdless resources of Christ's kingdom are hinted at. 
 A believer's prefermenx will be as if a poor mechanic were transferred 
 
 from his shopboard to rule over ten or five cities. 
 Both servants had doubled that entrusted to them. 
 Not our success, but our constant aim, the criterion. 
 Hasty judgments so very common are here rebuked. Luke xiii. 2. 
 "We measure the fruit, not knowing how much God has sown. 
 Nor what glorious rewards there are for fidelity unknown to us. 
 
 20. And another came, sayii>g, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have hcyt laid 
 v]i in a napX-in : 
 
 Another came. Contrasted with the two former. 
 Tlicro are only two classes however dilToring in degrees. 
 1. Tlie faithful servants. 2. The unfaithful. 
 
 This man camo forward witli Bclf-conlidcucc, characteristic of the un- 
 faithful, luatt. vii. 22.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 278 
 
 Saying. Every rational creatiire in His hingdom has one talent. 
 
 Tliis man evidently tlionglit it so little, as not worth the trouble of in- 
 creasing. 
 
 It is the world-wide excuse of guilty indolence. 
 
 Not positive c\i\ doing, but guilty idleness. He knew but did not. 
 
 He is not merely a timid character, but slothful. 
 
 Indolence on earth will be siirely punished as crime. Eev. xx. 4 ; xxii. 1-1. 
 
 Burying his talent, as much trouble as improving it. 
 
 Many toil harder, endure far more, to force their way to ruin, than would 
 require to believe, repent and be saved. 
 
 A sullen liind of labor, idly resists the impulses of the Spirit. 
 
 Called by some " hoarding up the merit of Christ." 
 
 He that would wickedly bury one talent, would bury a thousand. 
 
 Here is thy pound. The greatest boasters are ever the least doers. 
 
 1. It is fearful to sin. 2. Worse to delight in it. 3. Worse to defend it. 
 
 A perfect breach with God, he daringly throws up his Saviour altogctheii 
 
 He had only hoarded the diy seed, instead of letting it bear fruit. 
 
 Fidelity in little things, with God, is a great price. 
 
 Each one is prone to disparage his ov/a opportunities of usefulness. 
 
 The business man persuades himself, that he has no leisure. 
 
 Will he find leisiu'c to sicken, to die, to stand in judgment ? 
 
 A man of fortune speaks of " virtuous povei'ty, and of piety practised in 
 a cottage." 
 
 The poor man talks of his miracles of goodness, if he had the means. 
 
 I have kept. A so-called innocent life, another word for buried talent. 
 
 " So live, that you will be ready for your last reckoning," said the 
 heathen Cicero. 
 
 Improving the beginnings of grace, one will soon grow rich in faith 
 
 The pilot called to the helm in a storm, dare not slumber. 
 
 Idleness ever thrusts from one's Keif the gift of grace. 
 
 This evil servant never appropriated God's mercy. 
 
 Laid. Thus God's gifts to Christians are often concealed, to quiet 
 concience. 
 
 He buries his Lord's goods, who seeks only his own pleasure and honor. 
 
 These say they have done no harm, if they have done no good. 
 
 Sins of omission will receive punishment, as those of commission. 
 
 Napkin. A handkerchief of any kind. 
 
 The idle servant did not need it, for its proper use. 
 
 " In the sweat of thy face, thou shall eat thy bread." Gen. iii 19. 
 
 As it was used for binding the dead, some make it here allegorical of a 
 sleeping conscience, of a dead soul. Theophylact.
 
 274 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [OHAP. XIX. 
 
 6 before eVepo?. Lachmann, Tischendorf. trovSapiia. — Sweat-cloth. This is the 
 body. MuUer. The Latia -word sudarium (from sudor) passed into many Eastera 
 dialects. Buxtorf. The Papacy provides a aovSapiov for its children, and requires them, 
 on pain of damnation, to wrap up their conscience, as if it were a dead corpse, in the 
 folds. IVordsu-ortli. Of Latin origin, Roman hand-kerchief ; head-cover, among the 
 Greeks, a napkin, nappa, little wiper. Bloomficld. Rabbinical citations show that the 
 Jews used the napkin or handkerchief for wrapping and keeping their money in. Alford. 
 
 21. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man : thou takest up that thou 
 layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 
 
 Feared. Half true, for an evil conscience ever convicts us. Gen. iii. 10. 
 
 An impudent speech and self-contradicting. 
 
 With an honest fear of a strict reckoning he could not have remained 
 
 idle. 
 Our first parents after sinning wero afraid of their Father. 
 This was the fear of devils, believing and trembling. Jas. ii. 19. 
 David was afraid to bring home the ark of the Lord. 2 Sam. vi. 9. 
 Austere. Every thing is hard when running counter to oiu luill. 
 Accusing God of injustice will not cancel our sins. 
 Humble faith conceives of a God of justice as well as of mercy. 
 Idleness to palliate its own shame, murmurs against Divine goodness. 
 Man becomes wicked evermore through thinking evil of God. 
 No one with wrong ideas of God can have a correct creed. 
 God's attributes are the foundation of all true theology. 
 God appears hard when not seen by faith in His Son. 
 The murmuring Israelites thus charged God in the wilderness. 
 The wicked first misrej^resent God, then excuse themselves from loving 
 
 Him. 
 Satan began his evil work by insinuating hard thoughts about God. 
 
 Gen. iii. 1. 
 Every scoffing infidel since has only echoed his master. 
 Reapest. This self-seeker separated his own interests from that of his 
 
 Lord. 
 Ho promiseth himself no comfort in improving tho gifts entrusted to him. 
 Ho would tacitly reproach his Lord, for having given him too little. 
 He would excuse his own sloth, by censuring his Lord. 
 But such language proves he thought his Lord indulgent. 
 If he gained anything his master would reap tlie fruits. 
 If ho lost, the responsibility would bo his own.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 275 
 
 Takest wp. Proverbial for a griping disposition. 
 
 Acknowledging be knew bis muster sooner or later icould reap. 
 
 But tbat His demands, surpass imparted grace or gifts. 
 
 Tbe sluggard folding bis arms, cries, "It is vain to try to satisfy His 
 
 strictness." 
 Like tbat unfaithful servant, each unrenewed one would excuse his 
 
 rebellion. 
 But of all these attempts at self-justification, we must repent. 
 
 £0o/3o',Vt'- He might have lost it by trading. De Wctte, Meyer. Oiio not an apos- 
 tate, who forgat his master's love, but remembered his inexorable rigor. Olshauscn- 
 Against the entire spirit of the parable. Oosterzee. ouo-njpbs. — 1, dry. 2, sour. Servile 
 fear only esteemed God as a severe master. Qucstiel. atptis, taking up and keeping what 
 others had laid down. TTf^sfeire. ecrffcipa?, ■winnowing out of season. Meyer; sowing. 
 Erasmus, Bcza. 
 
 22. And he saith unto him, Out of tliine oion mouth, will I judge thee, thou wicJ^cd eer- 
 vant. Thou knewcst that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and 
 reaprng that I did nut sow : 
 
 Own mouth. A guilty conscience seeking an excuse, only deepens 
 
 its guilt. 
 Self-love by nature atheistic, still must have some fancied god. 
 This being is over indulgent at one time, and a tyrcnt at another. 
 " Ye thought Mo altogether like unto yourselves." Psa. 1. 21. 
 Confession as ground of judgment, a common principle of justice. 
 An Amalekite confessing he had slain Saul, was put to death. 
 
 2 Sam. i. 16. 
 Eliphaz to Job — " Thine own mouth condemueth thee." Job xv. 6. 
 Many plead infirmities and native tendencies. 
 But no excuse will avail there with the Judge. 
 
 " Every mouth will be stopped, all the world stand," &c. Rom. iii. 19. 
 Judge thee. False profession and formality abide not the fire of 
 
 God's judgment. 
 " For the fire shall try every man's work of what sort." 1 Cor. iii. 13. 
 Excuses quieting concience here, will avail nothing there. 
 Possessors of buried talents will wish their privileges had been less. 
 Millions grasping after wealth, may then wish they had been beggars on 
 
 earth. 
 Myriads toiling after honor, may wish they never had any influence.
 
 270 SUGGESTIVE COJIMEXTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 IVicked. Let no man undervalue the gifts whicli God entrusts. 
 ludolcnce and impertinence characterize unfaithful servants. 
 He who shuns self-denial vdll condemn his Lord for hardness. 
 Equally insolent and cowardly are false thoughts concerning God. 
 Thou knewest. Those condemned at the last day, will not .perish for 
 
 lack of knowledge. 
 Our very pleas will furnish gi-ouud to convict us. 
 The veiy talent he produced is a witness to his falsehood. 
 A single talent is much (of gold £5'475) viewing our uuworthiness. 
 Thou surely couldest have done something with it. 
 Austere. This murmm-ing, the accusation of a rebellious heart. 
 God, unlike Pharaoh, never requires bricks without straw. 
 Our moral powers are benumbed by original and actual sin. 
 Out depravity alone disables us from doing our duty. 
 He demands nothing except He offers us grace to perform. 
 Not sow. This was a falsehood, His very poimd was the seed. 
 Faithless disciples' excuses result only in shame and contempt. 
 Indifierence to Christ's kingdom was disloyalty at heart to his King. 
 
 JTonjpe. — Thou malignant servant. Major, irorrjpos contemplates evil on the sitle of 
 Hs positive malignity ; its will and power to work mischief. <#)a{)\os, on the contrary, 
 contemplates evil on the side of its good-for-nothingness, the impossibility of any trne 
 gain ever coming forth from it. Trench's Synonyms. • 
 
 6e after Ae'-yet, omitted. Tinehendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. ^Yc learn nothing of his 
 rovcllings, but first of his sloth. Malice, the feature of his chara'^ter shewn in the 
 unprovoked slur which, under pretence of vindicating his own conduct, he threw upon 
 his master. Stier. avcrrripo^ primarily, dry, then hard, sour. Ironically Rppkcn. I>« 
 Weite, Lange ; a question of indignation. iUcj/er. 
 
 23. Wlieref ore then fjavest Vdt thoh my money into the hanlc, that at my coming I 
 might have required mine oicti u-ilh ujiury } 
 
 Bank. The tabic or counter at which oriental money changers still sit. 
 
 Matt. xxi. 12. 
 It is found as often in the street as in an office. 
 Anciently Greeks and others deposited treasures iu their tcmplo.i. 
 Conquerors in taking the temples seized the icealth of the nation. 
 Thfir treasures were under the doxible protection of the priests and tho 
 
 gods. 
 Tho firai public Ixnik was founded in Vtuico in 1157.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 277 
 
 In Athens and Eome private bankers lent money at 25 per cent. 
 Usury. " He that putteth not out his money to usury." Psa. xv. 5. 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 8. 
 They were permitted to take interest of other nations, not of Jews. 
 
 Deut. xxiii. 20. 
 One of many dividing lines between Jews and surrounding tribes. 
 If we refuse sowing in time how can we reap in eternity ? 
 If we hide oru: talent on earth how can we find it in heaven? 
 
 rpaKc^av, the exchange table. Bengel. TpaTrci'iVai?, monpy chanperg. Gricabach. 
 A low table ; Bancua, Latin, hence Bank. This question of our Lord's may throw somo 
 light on the question concerning the lawfulness of usury. One of our Lord's reputed 
 sayings was yiyveaOe Sokihoi. Tpane^CraL. Origcn, quoted in WordsxDOrth. 
 
 Who are the TpaTre-fiVai ? Stronger characters who may lead the more timid to useful 
 employment of gifts. Olsliausen, Trench. Objectionable, not answering to the charactet 
 addressed, he was not timid, but false and slothful: — nor to the facts of the case; 
 impossible to employ the grace given to one, through another's means, without working 
 one's self. Had he been afraid, he fcight at least have provided that his lord would not 
 have lost the interest of his money, but in this injustice ho proved himself not only 
 slothful, but wicked. Alford. 
 
 24. And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to Jdm 
 that hath ten pounds. 
 
 Stood by. Angels who take an active part in the final judgment. 
 Take. Those who will not righteously use their gifts must lose them. 
 A law which holds good in things bodily and mental as well as spiritual. 
 Disciples who were grasping earthly honors needed this warning. 
 To gain nothing in spiritual as natural husbandry is the way to losa 
 
 everything. 
 Eefusing to use our means for Christ v^e forfeit all. 
 Give it. Those doing good find their sphere ever enlarging. 
 Ten pounds. This disproves the charge of the Lord being severe. 
 He gives freely of His treasures to those who have been faithful. 
 Characteristic of His reign ; it is not unreasonable exaction but free 
 
 reward. 
 
 TrapeoTuo-tv. Others who had given up their account. Stier ; royal guards. Oosterzfe ; 
 added fos the sake of ornament. Kuinocl ; angels. Bengel,
 
 278 SUGGESTIVE COMMKNTARY [cHAP. XIX. 
 
 25. (And they said unto him. Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 
 
 Said. Spoken by standers-hij, in the parable, surprised at sucli a 
 
 decision. 
 Thie faint remonstrance gives emphasis to the Lord's declaration. 
 It .indicates the amazement of all beholding the reward of the righteous. 
 Some have an envious eye since Christ has a bountiful hand. 
 Ten pounds. Among the strangest sights to the sons of earth is the 
 
 prosperity of the righteous. 
 They are ever scattering their wealth, yet increasing. 
 Not said perhaps through envy, but in astonishment at the strange 
 
 decision. 
 He hath ten pounds and ten cities beside. 
 God's mercy to redeemed sinners will kindle wonder among angels 
 
 through eternity. 
 
 »cai elvov. In parenthesis. Lacltmann, Ewald, Alford. To the other servanfa. 
 Kuincel. Others Teicr to angels, but the object of such a saying being introdaeed is not 
 yet satisfactorily exijlained. Stier, 
 
 26. Fur I say unto you, Tliat unto every one which hath shall be given ; and from 
 liim that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 
 
 Which hath. Those who improve their privileges obtain greater. 
 He will mark not the number or greatness of our deeds but our fidelity. 
 Hath not. Those who are content with the idle possessions of Christian 
 
 name. 
 The barren fig tree represents also a cumhcrer of the ground. 
 The unprofitable servant is cast into outer darkness as an evil doer. 
 
 Matt. viii. 12. 
 Taken. Saltless salt, and a candle giving no light, arc useless. 
 He who will deserve a throne, must not lose his crown. Eev. iii. 11. 
 
 Yop, omitted by the most ancient aulhoritics. Trobalily inserted from Matt. xxv. 29. 
 Alford : omitted. Cod. Sinai. itJ-lv, omitted. Cod. Sinai, air' aiiTov, omitted l)y mauy 
 aiicii;nt authoiiticB. Alford; omitted. Cod, Sinai.
 
 ' 
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 279 
 
 27. Bat those viine enemies, which would not that I should rcifjii over them, bring 
 hither, and slay them before me. 
 
 Mine. Thus majestically in nis own person, the Lord prououncca 
 
 sentence. 
 Enemies. Wlio sbould have been my subjects, but now cnc7iiics, nay, 
 
 rebels. 
 " My hand findeth them out." Psa. xxi. 8. None can escape. 
 " Though thou set thy nest among the stars, yet will I bring thee down." 
 
 Ob:ul. verso 4. 
 " Let us break his bonds asunder, and cast his cords." &c. Psa, ii. .'5. 
 Unbelievers are willing to be saved by Christ, but not ruled by him. 
 "Would not. Not to obey, may be ignorance, would not was rebellion. 
 They would not permit Me to secm'e their salvation. 
 Those rejectiug the Lamb to atone, will have the Lion to tear. Psa. 1. 22. 
 Heign. "^Ye have no king but CaDsar," points at the Jews. John 
 
 xix. 15. 
 To Ca;sar shall they go, Crosar shall be Iheir ruin eternal. 
 Bring-. Command given to the royal guards or angels. 
 Sanlicdrim aiding at Christ's death, will stand at His bar. 
 Annas and Caiaphas will j'et be brought l)efore Jesus, once their prisoner. 
 Hered, robeless and crownless, with Pilate, will be there. 
 Sla,y them. Implying degrees of punishment as of guilt. 
 Acoomplished in the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 History cannot parallel the slaughter during, and at Jerusalem's cajiturc. 
 It will be colnpletely fulfilled in the Day of Judgment. 
 Not only the Lord's, but enemies of all righteousness. 
 A testimony of the "fierceness of the -wTath of the Lamb." Eev. vi. 16. 
 As the guilt of the Jews was greater, so their punishment was moro 
 
 terrible. 
 They saw Christianity victorious among the Gentiles, and themselves 
 
 taken away as dross. 
 Those who reject or neglect everlastino salvation, " shall be punislicd 
 
 with everlasting destruction." 2 Thess. i. 9. 
 After uttering this solemn sentence, He proceeds to Jerusalem to be 
 
 crucified. 
 Before me. In His presence. This was familiar in Eastern courts. 
 
 1 Sam. XV. 33. 
 Captives not slain, were sold into slavery. 
 American jury in some states are compelled to witness the verdict 
 
 finished. 
 He who now intercedes for all contrite sinners, wiU be silent in that d.iy.
 
 280 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Those ■who -will not be naled by the grace of Christ, •will inevitably be 
 
 ruined by the xcrath of Christ. 
 The King of Heaven. 1. His origin. 2. His destiny. 3. His departure 
 
 and retiu-n. 
 His servants. 1. Their calling. 2. Their responsibility. 3. Their 
 
 recompense. 
 His enemies. 1. Their hatred. 2. Their -weakness. 3 Their punishment. 
 
 TrA:^!', eqnivalent to ttKcoi', and more than this. For t/ceiVous read toutov?, Tischen- 
 do'f, Alford, Cod. Sinai. They had insultingly c Jled Him tovtov, this fellow. Stier. 
 TO. T fJ-r) fleAijo-ai/Tos, who refused, A prophetic reference to the cry, — " We have no king 
 bn t Csesar." Wordsworth, aydyeje. The -words of the king, not Chi-ist's. Doddridge, 
 KiJnoel. Alter KaTag-cpd^are , add oirovs. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 28. ^ And when he had thus spolcen, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 
 Went. In all our sad journeyiugs, Jesus is our guide and forentnncr. 
 "^'ith -what alacrity He makes arrangements for His end I 
 Avoiding all His enemies' snares. He no-w goes directly to meet death. 
 He suffered death that He might gloriously conquer in it. 
 He received His right to His kingdom on the cross. 
 Eis death no self-sought refined act of suicide as scoffers charge, kno-wing 
 
 His Father's decree, " He -was obedient unto death." Phil. ii. 8. 
 
 Heb. V. 8. 
 Before. Many suiopose that our Lord proceeded on His -way in advance. 
 Christ our Head i.nd Pattei-n goes before us to the sacrifice. 
 Millions no-w share the fruits of the cross, but refuse to trust it. 
 Amazed. Mark x. 32. At his hasting to a baptism of blood. 
 A mysterious -word, thought to have been added by Peter. 
 He was greatly "straitened until it should be accomplisTied." Lute 
 
 xii. 50. 
 This festal procession from Jericho, halted on the Moimt of Olives 
 
 d.irir.gth. Sabbath. 
 Bound in spirit. He knew full well -vchat awaited Him. 
 Moving the day following, the procession was increased by His f ollowe; b 
 
 from Jerusalem. 
 Ascending'. Disciples, willing to join in the celebration, but not in 
 
 the sacrifice. 
 V/hcn Religion leads in fashion the Church is thi-onged. 
 In times of persecution few join her solemn feuste.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 281 
 
 Jerusalem. A mysterious glory hangs over its situation, histoiy and 
 
 religious position. 
 His friends were waiting to see Him come forth in the fulness of His 
 
 glory. 
 His enemies hoped to expose Him, as the false Messiah. 
 
 «7ropeufTo. Not immcdiateJj/ after saying these things, unless they -were said ip the 
 morning, on His departure. AlJ'urd. AVe can trace our Lord from hour to hour, ahnost 
 to His death. He came to Bethany six days before the Passover, John xii. 1. He spent 
 either Friday or Saturday there. At the close of weekly worship, Mary anointed Him. 
 His entry into Jerusalem took place on Sunday. John xii. 13. Oosterzee. 
 
 29. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to JBethphage and Bethany, at tlie 
 mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 
 
 Bethphage. Heb. Fiff plantation. No vestige of it can bo found. 
 
 Doubtless a very small village, its location being unknown. 
 
 Tradition locates it half-way between Bethany and the Mount of Olives. 
 
 The entire distance of two miles is a rocky barren gorge. 
 
 Bethany. Luke xxiv. 50. Heb. -House of dates, two miles from 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 A village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. 
 A mile from the western summit overlooking Jerusalem. 
 On the first day of the week, Jesus amved at Bethany. 
 This was the last week of His great work before His crucifixion. 
 Here He raised Lazarus, feasted at the house of Simon the leper, 
 
 anointed by Mary. John xi. 43 ; Matt. xxvi. 6. 
 His nightly visiting place for a week preceding His death. 
 In the circle of Martha and Mary, we view Him in domestic life. 
 Near by, in the act of blessing His disciples, He ascended to His throne. 
 
 Acts i. 9. 
 The place is surrounded with olives, pomegranates, almonds, oaks, carobs, 
 
 scarcely worth the name of trees. 
 Now El Azarii/eh — from Lazarus, a ruinous, wretched village of some 
 
 twenty families. 
 A square tower, a vault excavated in the limestone rock, twenty-six stcpti 
 
 deep, called Lazams' tomb. 
 The evening before, many Jews went to Bethany to see Jesus and 
 
 Lazarus.
 
 282 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Olives. Mount of. Luke zix. 37. See Notes. 
 
 Sent. Final scenes were divinely arranged and carried out with oare. 
 
 His solemn entry pointed Him out as tlie " passover" lamb. 1 Cor. y-. ?. 
 
 He held Himself as set ajmrt for the sacrifice. Heb. x. 7. 
 
 Two. It is generally believed they were Peter and John. 
 
 B7j6iJ)aY7). " Bethpharje,'' a house of unripe figs. Lightfoot. A Braall village 
 lie'ongin;,' to the priests, on Mount Olivet. Bcde. Probably east of Bethany. Itohinson; 
 north of Bethany. OZi»; in sight of Jerusalem. Hug; a district. Lightjoot; south of 
 the Mount of Offence. Lichtenstdn, Ellicott ; nearer to Jerusalem. Wicselcr ; a village. 
 Eusebius; between Bethany and Jerusalem. Calmet; between Bethany and the Dead 
 Sea. Jerome, Origcn, Beland. The Lord arrived at Bethany on Frid?"; entry into 
 Jerusalem on Sunday. Lichtenatein, Stier, riohimon, Wicaeler, Meyer, avrov, omitted. 
 Tischcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 SO. Saying, Go ye into the inllage oiier against j-ou ; i?! the which at your entering ye 
 shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat : loose him, and bring him hither. 
 
 Go ye. With alacrity the Lord makes arrangements for His end. 
 Jesus having often avoided or divinely defeated the snares of His enemies, 
 
 now goes directly to the death which He had long predicted. 
 ShaU find. His knowledge boundless, reached even thoughts. Matt. 
 
 xii. 25 ; John ii. 25. 
 Prom the beginning He knew His betrayer. John vi. 04 ; Eom. ix. 5. 
 No darkness can ever conceal workers of iniquity. Job. xxxiv. 22 ; 
 
 Eom. ii. 16. 
 Colt. Eastern asses noted for speed, uutameableness and beauty. 
 No better description of them can be foiind than in Job xxxix. 5., (fee. 
 On them princes entered their capital. Judges, v. 10 ; 1 King. xxii. 34. 
 Used also as a beast of burden, and for ploughing, riding, and draught. 
 The wild ass of Asia, among the fleetest of the dweUers in the v/ilderness. 
 
 Jer. ii. 24. 
 In God's service, unclean becomes clean, vile,. becomes honorable. 
 The horse in Scripture is generally the icar-]iorse. Jer. viii. G ; Zee. x. 3. 
 Messiah, thus movmtcd, represents the " King of Peace." Zech. ix. 9. 
 Jesus, King of Israel, gives tJie answer to many questions. 
 In the meekness of majesty. He ignores external grandeur. 
 Tied. Typifies as some suppose the binding of nations by Satan. 
 Minutest particulars impressed by the Holy Spirit in the Apostles' 
 
 memory.
 
 CHAP. MX.] ON ST. LUK3. 2S3 
 
 Never sat. Beasts unused were better for the sacrifice. 
 
 Greeks and llomans owe to rtvelation all the interest of their altar. 
 
 Loose. The jjrophet of Galilee bids the dumb brute to be loosened. 
 
 The same word of Divine power strikes off the fetters of sin. 
 
 Jesus, a king, at whose disposal all things stand. 
 
 For Himself and servants, no provision is laid uji hcforchand. 
 
 In Christ, sain+s live " as having nothing, yet possoasin^' all things." 
 
 2 Cor. vi. 10. 
 Hither. Christ has a prior title to all our estates. 
 At His call, we must surrender goods, friends, our own souls. 
 No tie can bind on earth, when the Lord is pleased to imloose. 
 
 For eiirioK, Cod. Sinai, has Kiytav. irwAor. Luke does not mention tljo pr-jphcey 
 from Zech. ix. 9. History gives no instance of a king riding on an ass. Slier. Ila 
 forgets Darius, in a battle with the Scythians, rode on an ass. Persian kings would not 
 mount, but were lifted on their asses. Bcngcl. cKaOiae. New peiiod, 7icw prince, iiew 
 animal. Lanije. New grave, new milch-kine, new cart, 1 Sam. vi. 7. Lewis. The ashes of 
 the heifer, sprinkling the unclean one, never under the yoke. 
 
 irioXov. A type of the Gentiles. Brentius, Liithardt. Untamed heathenism. Justin 
 Martyr. As yet wild, younger, and untamed in the faith. In prophetic symbolism, the 
 ass signifies peace, the horse, tear. Lange. Luke makes no allusion to Zech. ix. 9, as ho 
 wrote to the Gentiles, who knew not the prophecy. Major. The evangelist accommodatog 
 the record to the projihecy. Wakefield. Intacta totidem cervice juvencas. Geor. iv 
 Currus et intactas boves. Horace, Epod. ix. Owners the secret friends of the Lord. 
 Oosterzee. Divinely made willing to lose their goods. Alexander. Matt, speaks of an 
 ass and a foal, while JMark and Luke say nothing of the ass ; when both may be conceived 
 there is no v.:riiince, though one relate one thing, and another another; much less whoro 
 one relates one thing, another both. Augustine. Kal before Au'crai'Te;. Tiscliendorf, 
 Alford. 
 
 31. And if any man asJc you, Why do you loose him ? thus shall ye say unto him. 
 Because the Lord hath need oj him. 
 
 Thus say. When the Lord has a work for our tongue, words will not 
 
 be wanting. 
 Lord. As a divine name equivalent to Jehovah. 
 The owner a disciple, would understand the title in this sense. 
 If a mere stranger, his consent was secured by divine influence. 
 The Lord's methods of reaching the wards of the heart are secret. 
 Thoro is no evidence whatever of a previous arrangement.
 
 284 SUGGESTIVK COJIMENTAEY [CHAP. XIXt 
 
 No one can resist Goil calling for wLat is His o-nii. 
 
 Our Lord's foreknowledge of the incidents, evidently superliuman. 
 
 " T/ic" desio;nates Christ the proprietor of all things. 
 
 " Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." 
 
 Psa. 1. 10. 
 Needs. Strange words, He mysteriously held the keys of the human 
 
 heart. 
 A panllel 1 Sam. x. 2-7, hut Samuel speaks as God's servant. 
 How easily can almighty grace turn a nation as a river ! Psa. cvii. 33. 
 
 avTw, omitted by many ancient authorities. Alford; omitted. Cod. Sinai. After 
 Xvere add avrov. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 32. And they that were sentivent their way, and found even as he Imdsaid unto them. 
 
 Found. Some think this to have been chance, but there is no such 
 
 divinity in God's empire, and no such, word in the Christian's 
 
 vocabulaiy. 
 Nc one ever disappointed in obeying the Lord's commands. 
 Uncertainty hangs on all things, but the promises of God. 
 They that go on Christ's errands, are sure to succeed. Isa. Iv. 11. 
 Went their way. Their obedience was a severe test of their faith. 
 So likewise should we set about even the lowest works with greatest zeal 
 
 and love, knowing that whatever is done for Christ is not slight, but 
 
 meet for the kingdom of God. Basil. 
 
 33. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Wlty loose yt 
 the colt ? 
 
 liOOsing. Publicly and without addressing any one. 
 
 There was no resistance on the part of the beast or its owners. 
 
 Thus easily doth Christ subdue the rebellious wills of men. 
 
 He came to open the prison doors of them that were bound. Isa. Ixi. 1. 
 
 IiOOSe ? Is a demand by what autlioritij they did so. 
 
 iTttiAoi'. God, to prevent intercourse with boathon, discouraged the use of horses and 
 c1iarir>t8. " The king shall not multiiily horses to himself," Deut. xvii. 16. Joshua was to
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 285 
 
 hough the horses, and bum the chariots, Josh. xi. 6. "Woe to thorn that stay on 
 horses, and trust in chariots. Ashur shall not save us, wo will not ride upon horses," 
 Hosea xiv. 3. Da^id directed Solomon, on his coronation-day, to ride upon an ass. 
 Abraham, Moses, and Jail's thirty sons rode upon asses, Gen. xxii. 3 ; Ex. iv. 20; Judges 
 X. 4, 
 
 oi KvpLOL, Mark says only nvh tS)v iuTrjKOTutv (li. 5). ThJD is a mark of the later 
 composition of Luke's gospel. Wordsworth, 
 
 34. And Vicij said, Tlie Lord hath need of him. 
 
 Need of him. The owner is lionored in answering the Ccall of 
 
 Providence. 
 Christians should freely give their substance when required by Him. 
 
 Acts iv. 34. 
 The Lord hath need of each, heart, treasures, influence. 
 
 eln-oi'. In the words they had been commanded to use. Bengel. 'O Evpios, suppo9ca 
 oa acquaintance with the owners. Lange, 
 
 85. And they brought him to Jesus: and they east their garments upon the colt, and 
 they set Jesus thereon. 
 
 Brought. The imresisting owner obeys the irresistible impulse. 
 Branches of palm trees were cut down and strewed in the way. Matt. 
 
 xxi. 8 ; John xii. 13. 
 Garments. Luke vi. 29. The usual tokens of honor offered to Eastern 
 
 kings. 
 Eomans thus honored Cato, Commodus, and Maximus. 
 " They took every man his garment, and blew the trumpet." 2 Kings 
 
 ix. 13. 
 Many willing to attend Christ at other i)eople's expense. 
 But these gave their garments for His trappings. 
 He prefers the heart to the costliest sacrifices. Mic. vi. 7. 
 "Eend your heart, not yom- garments," &c. Joel ii. 13. 
 Colt. The ass, according to ancient and oriental customs. 
 Our Lord might have called for cherubim or flaming wings lo bear Him. 
 But He is meek and lowly, for the sake 6f the weaiy and heavy laden. 
 3G
 
 286 SUGGESTIVE COJIIIEXTAEY [CKAP. XIX. 
 
 Set Jesus thereon. That is on tbe garments, for Lis comfort, ancl 
 
 acknowledgmg Him as King. 
 S;Tnbolical of His rule over men's soiils, guiding the footsteps of the mind, 
 
 bridling the wantonness of the heart. His ^Yord is a rein and a goad. 
 
 Ambrose. 
 
 inepipaa-av. Heferring to the clothes. Theophylact, Beza. Chi-istians deridcJ as 
 Asinarii. TtrtuVian. Mockiug Jews ask — Did Jesus Christ, a God, ride on an unclean 
 animal? S<pp. Sime the Eternal Word Avas made ^esfe, there is nothing common or 
 Tinclean. 
 
 {/Trip TO. iixaTia, inteBtionally carries out the propheiy, causing Him to ride both 
 animals. Strauss. He rode both alternately. Fiitzsehe. He rode upon the /oaJ, and tha 
 mother followed. Alj'onl. AVhen Slordecai was led forth, the streets were covered with 
 myrtle, the porches with purple. Compare 1 Mac. xiii. 51, and '2 Mac. x. 7. He rode on 
 an ass in His Urst advent; in His second He will appear on a white horse. L.H.V.D. 
 
 86. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 
 
 As He went. Over tlie Mount of Olives, tlac only -way -wlience the 
 
 templo could be seen. 
 Our Lord's last entry into Jerusalem was imhlic. 
 Kejoicing of the multitude at this triumph contrasts with his previoits 
 
 seclusion. 
 He would draw the eye of the entire nation upon himself. 
 The Lamb of God is about to be slain as a sin-offering. 
 Whatever men may think of the sacrifice, they cannot deny the fact of 
 
 His death. 
 Jesus comes publicly to the city ; it was a day of decision. 
 Prepared for with sacred foresight ; longed for with fervent desire. 
 Adorned with the richest miracles and a festal revelation. 
 Spread. Clytemnestra spread garments before Agamemnon. 
 Ahasuen;s stripped himself of his royal apparel for Mordecai. Esth. vi. 10. 
 Jonathan stripped himself of his garment for his friend. 1 Sam. xviii. 4. 
 Jesus Christ divests Himself of His Divine robe, to clothe us sinners. 
 Similar respect is now shewn to men of rank in Hindostan. 
 Clothes. They divested themselves of their raiment to honor the 
 
 Messiah. 
 Thus we must divest ourselves of all garments of self-righteousness. 
 Thus martyrs laid down life itself to place the crown upon Christ.
 
 CHAP. XIX. J ON ST. LUKE. 287 
 
 Note three degrees of loyalty to Christ. X, some shouted Hosannas. 2, 
 some cut down branches of trees and strewed them in His way. 3, 
 some stri^iped off their garments and spread them in His way. 
 
 S7. And when he icas come nigh, even noio at the descent of the mount of Olives, the 
 irlinle multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God witha loudvoice foi all 
 
 the miifiitii works that they had seen: 
 
 Come nigh. His public entrance prepared with divine foresight. 
 
 Mount of Olives, Gehd et Ter, 200 feet higher than Jerusalem. 
 
 West is bounded by vaJley of Jehoshaphat and Kedron. 
 
 The road winds round southerly to Bethany and Jericho. 
 
 Under strata, red marble filled with white veins. 
 
 Of this marble the three Temples were mainly built. 
 
 Olive trees, reduced to a few ancient ones at present. 
 
 Two are said to have paid tax for 1000 years. 
 
 "West side is full of tombs cut out of the rocks. 
 
 Of these the monolith (Absalom's tomb), is by far the largest. 
 
 Gethscmane lies at its feet west, Bethany invisible is on the eastern 
 
 slope. 
 A ridge narrow and rapidly sloping on each side, extends two miles in 
 
 length to the village of Bethany. 
 From the eastern end our Lord ascended to heaven. Acts. i. 12. 
 On this Mount three days before His death, He wept over the city. 
 
 Matt, xxiii. 87. 
 His future judgments are connected with the Mount of Olives. Zech. xiv. 4. 
 It is 700 feet high, and separated from Jerusalem by the valley of 
 
 Jehoshaphat and the brook Kedron. 
 David and Comi exiled ascended in tears and bare foot. 2 Sam. xv. 30. 
 The view from the Mount of Olives, of Jerusalem. 1. Site of Temple. 
 2. Gethsemane. 3. Bethlehem. 4. Heights of Bethel. 5. Sepulchre 
 of kings. 6. Cedron. 7. Vale of Jehoshaphat. 8. Mount of 
 Offence. 9. Mountains of Moab. 10. Dead Sea. 11. Eiver of Jordan. 
 1'2. Valley of Jericho. 13. Mount Zion or city of David. 14. Jerusalem 
 with its walls and its thousand domes. 
 Nothing on earth can equal it for beauty or depth of interest, 
 Lebanon, Tabor, Ararat, have not a tithe of the interest. 
 Though Mount of Olives is a mere hill, compared with them. 
 Multitudes. The welcome immense in its reach and volume. 
 Unconscious response of earth to the angel-song. Luke ii. 13. 
 A mysterious impulse from above, swept over the mass.
 
 2SS SUGGESTI-STi COJIMENTABY [ciIAP. XIX. 
 
 For once, a visible, amlible, glad welcome to His own city. 
 
 Disciples. All who followed Christ either di-awn by his miracles or 
 
 charms of His teaching. 
 Our Sa-i-iom' had at hast 500 converts. 1 Cor. xv. G. 
 Rejoice. Hearts swollen with adoring wonder, gratitude and love. 
 "With the festive offerings of o\vc substance let us also greet Him. 
 Jerusalem once more excited by the expected Messiah. Matt. ii. 3. 
 XiOud voice. They were doubtlessly seized by a sacred inspiration. 
 His hoiu" of triumph, was one also of the deepest comiDassion. 
 Praise. Christ's triumph over the curse, the theme o-f their song. 
 Creation unites in honoring its King though in exile. 
 
 1. Inanimate nature ; stones, verse 40. 2. Brutes, verse 30. 3. Eesponsible 
 
 immortal beings, the righteous and wicked. 4. Angels join also. 
 Mighty works. Gr. miracles, over diseases, blindness, storms, death 
 
 and hell. 
 4.t their accession lungs, 1, ennobled favourites. — Christ saved sinners. 
 
 2. They remitted ciimes and opened prisons. Christ pardoned, &c. 
 
 3. They bestowed medals. Christ scattered health, speech, sight, &c. 
 The crowning series of imparalleled wonders pressed upon them. 
 JBartimccits from Jericho, may himself have been present. 
 
 The home of Lazarus, as well as his emj^ty grave, just in sight. 
 The name of Lazanis was doubtless on eveiy tongiie. John xii. 17. 
 The memory of these splendid miracles fresh in all minds. 
 Alas ! soon to bo forgotten in the cry " Crucify, Crucify Him. 
 
 KaTa^dcrei. His course swept round the southern s'^vell of the Mount of Olives. 
 Stanley, Ellicott. Jews led a red cow yearly to be sacrificed there. 3Iaimonides. 
 
 tia.6r)Tui'. Eoused by Hia miraclos. JRosemnuller. The multitude who followed 
 Clirist. Kuinocl. 
 
 38. Saying, Blessed bo the King that comctli in the name of the Lord : peace inhcavcn, 
 and glory in the highest. 
 
 Blessed " Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy liing comcth." 
 
 Zech, ix. 9. 
 Expressly acknowledges Jesus, Messiah-King. Psa. cxviij. 25. 
 Saying. The Jews coming from Jerusalem fonncd iho first cJiortts. 
 The people v.ho met them (John xii. 18,) formed the response.
 
 ' 
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKB. 289 
 
 King that cometJh. In all, men could carnally see of Jesus, there 
 
 ■was nothing roj'al. 
 Multitudes had entered the city in the same way unnoticed. 
 They were doubtless insjured of God thus to honor His Son. 
 And to fulfil ancient prophecy, for not a word shall fail, Zech. ix 9. 
 Our King is ever coming, His best throne a believing heart. 
 Only two dwelling places attributed to Jehovah, heaven and contrite 
 
 hearts. Isa. Ivii. 15. 
 When glorified. His disciples remembered these things. John xii. 16. 
 ' ' Prayer shall be made for Him, and daily shall he be praised." Ps. Ixxii. 15. 
 This entrance was not unintentional, or merely to fulfil the prophecy. 
 Its emphasis is dccplij founded on the whole ordering of His life. 
 This entry, a type of His taking possession of another Kingdom. John 
 
 xii. 16. 
 King. Christ is not called king as one who exacts tribute or crashes 
 
 His enemies. 
 But because He rules men's minds, and brings them believing, hoping/, 
 
 loving, into the kingdom of heaven, 
 lie was willing to be king of Israel, to shoAv His compassion, not It 
 
 increase His power. 
 Having appeared in flesh, the Eedeemer of the world, heaven and earth 
 
 chant His praises. 
 Peace. God through the presence of His Son, desires peace with Israel. 
 Their belief, the Messiah's reign to be one of xmiversal peace. 
 He was the King of Peace in the city of peace — Jerusalem, i.e. vision of 
 
 ])eace. 
 Peace of heart with God, or fellowship with men. Luke ii. 14. 
 In heaven. The palm-entiy of Christ, a tj-pe of His entrance into 
 
 heaven. Psa. xxiv. 8. 
 At His birth angels sang — " Peace on earth." Luke ii. 14. 
 This earthly but inspired throng sang — " Peace in heaven." 
 The ancient warfare, wherein we were at enmity against God, has ceased. 
 The fact that God visibly walks in the land of His enemies shows that 
 
 He is at peace with men. Theoplujlact. 
 Glory. Light or fire a chosen emblem of Deity. Luke. xii. 49. 
 The multitude recognized God's glory in the advent. 
 The redeemed ascribe the glo^y of their salvation to Him alone. 
 " Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His owJi 
 
 blood." Eev. i. 5. 
 Highest. Luke. ii. 14. 1, in the highest strain. 2, by the highcct 
 
 angels. 3, in Uie Liyhest heavens.
 
 290 SUGGESTIATE C0M3IENTARY [CUAP. XIX. 
 
 Tbs Lord Himself iniroilncei festally as their Messiah. 
 
 Hosanna. Matt, xxi 9. Hoso.ima's eehocs given back by the walls of 
 
 the temple. 
 Translated signifies " Save now we beseech thee," referring to Psa. 
 
 cxviii. 25-26. 
 It was a prayer to Christ as Jehovah, by the people, to sav-e them. 
 Triumphant exultation and praises, as " God save the king." 
 Probably they understood not many of them, the deep significance of 
 
 what they said. 
 Doubtless some of them a few days after joined to swell the cry " Crucify 
 
 Him." 
 This palm-entiy of Christ a type of His universal triumph. 
 Christ ^^'ill be received, 1, with heart devotion. 2, grateful reverence. 
 
 3, festive offerings. 
 Hosanna, the cc/io of the angels' songs, (Luke ii.) in the hearts oi men. 
 1. Echo of many O.T. Psalms. 2. Beginning of the songs of the N.T. 
 
 3. Prophecy of the perfect praises in heaven. 
 His royal dignity. 1. King of a spiritual empire. 2. The promised 
 
 Messiah. 3. Conqueror of the world. 
 Iso neutraUty, enthusiasm on the one hand, hatred on the other. 
 
 'na-awa, " Save roe pray thee;" nsecl by the priest, -when victims were offered in 
 sacrifice. Isidore. Name given to the branches used at Feast of Tabernacles. Bengel. 
 
 tip^i'r) ti'ovpai'w. Angels loolced on sinful men with displeasure. Christ's atone- 
 ment reconciled ; thus making peace. Faussct, Bengel. Felicitas in ccelo parata est. 
 Kuinocl. vi|/iVtoi9, plural, and in Matt, xxi 9. In the highest regions. Lange. May 
 glory, be confirmed by God in heaven. Beza. May it be cried by angels in heaven. 
 Frilzsche. May it come down from heaven. Meyer. 
 
 39. And tome of the Pharisees from among the multitiids said uiito Mm, Jilaster, 
 rchnlce thy disciples. 
 
 Pharisees. Luke v. 30, & vi. 2. Ever present spies, were grievously 
 
 oiicnded. 
 Hebuke. They would make Him responsible for all His friends did. 
 Yet despised the people as cursed, not knowing the law. John vii. 49. 
 Tlie praise of God is annoying to the ears of worldlings. 
 But delightful sounds, well merited honors, to angels, 
 rhahsees intimfite sedition might disturb the public peace.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 291 
 
 Christ fulfilling prophecy deepens their malice. 
 
 They auJaciously require Him not to permit such improprieties. 
 
 They did not venture themselves to silence the multitude. 
 
 With scornful bitterness, they implied " Take heed to thyself." 
 
 They thought the multitude treated Jesns as the Messiah. 
 
 Receiving homage, was the same as claiming the Messiahship. 
 
 He came to His chosen city, Jerusalem, for their Hosannas. 
 
 How desperate must human depravity he, when the King of Peace in 
 
 every age, raises such opposition ! 
 1, He accepts the praises of the humble. 2, despises the contempt of 
 
 the proud. 3, and punishes the guilt of His foes. 
 
 Ttve? Twv iapiaauiiv. \Miatever is not common, and of daily occurrence, seems 
 excessive to conceited and vain hypocrisy ; but God's power cannot be checked. -Ben»jfeJ. 
 fi.adrjTa.1%. All the followers of Christ. Euinocl : those following, admiring the miracles. 
 Rosenmuller. 
 
 40. Arul Jk antwered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their 
 peace, tlie stones tcould immediatdi/ ery out. 
 
 I tell you. It is nevertheless the truth, though so hateful to you. 
 
 It was decreed for the sake of those very blind Pharisees. 
 
 Those wlro ought to be forward in praising Christ, are silent. 
 
 God raises up despised ones, to do the blessed work. 
 
 Let not infidels, formalists, or Pharisees, awe us into silence. 
 
 We having no heart now to praise Him, would have been sullenly silent 
 
 then. 
 He, whom Pharisees insulted then, is now crowned vdth many croions. 
 
 Eev. xix. 12. 
 Some under pretence ot prudence, censure such out-spoken loyalty. 
 " On such a theme 'tis impious to be calm, 
 "Passion is reason, transport temper here." Young. 
 Stones. Dumb nature at His death spake, when men were silent. 
 The sun withdrew his beams, and the tombs opened their mouths. 
 The veil shrunk from its duty, and the earth trembled. 
 Greek and Hebrew poets make stones cry, when guilt was concealed. 
 
 H b. ii. 11. 
 He made the stars fight against Sisera and his host. Josh. x. 11. 
 He made the iraters, the tomb of Pharaoh, and his jMemphian chivaliy. 
 He ma,de liailstones proclaim His just vengeance. Psa. xviii. 12.
 
 292 SUGGESTIVE COMirENTARY [cHAP. XIX. 
 
 It hints, Jerusalem destroyed, -would be changed into a Babylon ; foreteUa 
 
 Babylon's doom. 
 While on the cross, the disciples were sinking into a profound silence. 
 
 The rending rocks and quaking earth praised the Lord. 
 His friends silent through fear, -while stones and rocks cried out. 
 Cry. Up to the present our Lord had discouraged outward honors. 
 But no-w His praises -would have been wrung from the stones 
 Neither earth nor hell can resist the advancing kingdom of Jesus. 
 Testimony of the stones, increases continually in value. 
 He converts stony hearts, into loving faithful childi-en. 
 The stones -wottld speak of the great question, between Him and 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 He foretells the mysterious pangs, -which soon afterwards shook the 
 
 YTorld.. 
 
 ttVToij, omitted. TiscTiendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, ol KCdoi KeKpd^ovTai. Whatel^ 
 remarks, " The highest degree of energy is i^roduced hy such metaphors as attribute lile 
 and action to things inanimate." Messiah's kingdom must prosper. Grotius. Said oj 
 *hat \vhich cannot be concealed. Drusius, Wetstei'n. KeKpa^ovrai. — It must so be. Laeh- 
 mann. More clamabunt. Erasmus. Kpa^ovaLV. Griesbach, SchoU, Tischendorf, Cod, 
 Sinai., Tregelles. A Greek proverb. W. d- W. "^Tien power has once gone forth from 
 God, it does not return -without accomplishing its purpose. Bengel. The obtuse hearts 
 would be aroused. Neander. Inanimate nature would literally cry out. Gerlach. Stones, 
 witnesses of My deeds, would echo My praises, ffess. Stones of the Temple, in desolation, 
 will testify against your unbelief. Stier. 
 
 And so the Ai'floi did cry out, when one Ai'0os was not left upon another, according to 
 His proi^hecy (xii. 44), and proclaimed His truth, justice, and power, in thus punishing 
 those that rejected the divine Ai'9os, who became the Head Stone of the comer. Words- 
 worth. Temple stones cried for vengeance in the day of Titus. Superscription at 
 Salzburg, in the rocks, "Te saxa loquntur," is now history. Oosterzce. Kuins of 
 Kinevch, Babylon, Egypt, tombs and temples, confirm the -word of the Lord. 
 
 41. H And when he teas come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 
 
 Come near. His first and last kingly entrance into Jerusalem. 
 His last festal proclamation of His coming and honor. 
 Tlic Lamb presents Himself, the time of sacrifice is come. 
 Beheld. Thoughts more than human stiiTcd to its depths the soul of 
 the Sou of man.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST, LUKE. 293 
 
 The past and future, fraught ■with their sad stories rose .before His 
 
 view. 
 Contrasting its present splendor with its coming desolation. 
 He mournfully jDondercd the still deeper riiin of the finally impenitent. 
 Deeper than the desolation caused hy the Eoman armies yawned the pit 
 
 of woe. 
 He beheld her towers and palaces glittering with marble and gold. 
 It had been written " The Lord loveth the gates of Zion, more than all," 
 
 &c. Psa. Ixxxvii. 2. 
 Its natural and moral sublimity made it a type of Jerusalem above. Eev. 
 
 xxi. 2. 
 The temple then crowned the height, the everlasting hills standing round 
 
 about it, emblem of His own i;ndying love. Psa. exxv. 2. 
 " Walk about Zion, tell the towers thereof, mark ye well her bulwarks, 
 
 and consider her palaces." Psa. xlviii. 13. 
 City. " Beautiful for situation." Psa. xlviii. 2. In Europe, Asia, 
 
 Africa, America, the Author has not seen anything comparable for 
 
 beauty to the view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. 
 The Lord looked in vain through street and sanctuary for faith. 
 No external appearance of glory can deceive Him. 
 No Hosauna of His disciples could then give Him joy. 
 In the midst of acclamations His heart breaks into tears. 
 Wept. Gr. 2cith a loud voice, heicailing, not tears only. John xi. 35. 
 The Son of God shed tears at the grave of Lazarus, and over Jerusalem. 
 The palm branches were still unwithered at His feet. 
 The echoes of the Hosannas had scarcely died away. 
 Contrast i\xe jubilant crowd and the weeping Eedeemer! 
 The tears of the Saviour are the joy of the world. 
 A part of His intercession, continues within the veil. Heb. vii. 25. 
 At His entry Jesus weeps. Dejmrting He said, " Weep not for me, but 
 
 for yourselves," &c. Luke xxiii. 28. 
 Christ's tears over Jerusalem. 1, compassionate. 2, terrible. 3, per- 
 suasive. 4, consoling. 
 This deep shade fell on Him while the echoes of praises went up. 
 The light from the praises still beamed amid His tears. 
 The eternal results of men's wilful rejection made Him weep. 
 Not tears of weakness but the compassion of a God. 
 At the grave of Lazarus He wept among others, weeping with Mary. 
 Here, He alone is the weeper amid universal joy. 
 " In the days of His flesh, He offered up prayers with strong crying and 
 
 tears." Heb. v. 7.
 
 294 SUGGESXn'E CO^niENTAEY [cHAP. XIX. 
 
 Wo never read of our Lord laughing, and but once that lie rejoiced in 
 spirit. Taylor. 
 
 " We often read our Blessed Saviour wept, 
 But never laughed, and seldom that He slept. 
 Ah ! sure His heavy eyes did vrake and weep 
 For us who sin so oft in mirth and sleep." Quarles. 
 Tliose not melted by tears will feel His sword. Eev. xix. 11. 
 His heart's deepest woes in Gethsemane were not for His own soitows. 
 Even love divine, after doing all, in vain, can only wee}). 
 Jji what multitudes of His followers have these tears continued to flow ! 
 Over it. Not for Himself, His mock trial, unrighteous sentence 
 
 dreadful death. 
 We err in supposing Christ cares for none but His believing people. 
 David said, "Elvers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep 
 
 not thy law." Psa. c-xix. 136. 
 Paul had " great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart." Rom. ix. 2. 
 Christ shed tears as a man, for what he foretold as God. 
 Joseph thus wept, while binding Simeon before his brethren. Gen. xhi. 
 
 11-2-4. 
 Tears of Christ measured the depth of their future misery. 
 The ruin, even of those who reject Him, calls forth His tears. 
 None knows as He, the worth of the soul, and the appalling misery of 
 
 eternal death. 
 On this very spot. His father David wept over a rebellious nation. 
 We never read of our Saviour's giving way to merriment. 
 Weeping, consistent with true courage, and the loftiest Christian 
 
 heroism. 
 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, wept, Gen. xxxvii. 35 ; Joseph, Gen. xlv. 2 ; David 
 2 Sam. XV. 30 ; Jonathan, 1 Sam. xx. 41 ; Hezehiah, Isa. xxxviii. 3 ; 
 Job, xvi. 16 ; Ezra, x. 1 ; Nehemiah, i. 4 ; Peter, Matt. xxvi. 75 ; 
 Paul, Phil. iii. 18 ; Jeremiah, xiii. 17, iccpt. 
 There are no tears in heaven. " Tears shall be wiped from all faces." 
 Isa. XXV. 8. 
 
 " And doth the Saviour weep 
 Over His peojile's sins, 
 Because we will not let Him keep 
 The souls He died to win ? 
 Ye hearts that love the Lord, 
 If at this sight ye burn, 
 See that in thought, in deed, in word. 
 Ye bate what made Iliui mouxn." Kchlc.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 295 
 
 IStov. The view not particulaily intei-Bsting. Roblnton. Lauguaga failed to convey 
 llie emotions of sublimity the sight of it awakcnoil. Clarke, Chatcubriand, Limartini'. 
 Nutbing at Hume, Memphis, Thebes, Constantinople, Athens, can approach it, iu beaii'v 
 or interest. On surmounting the ridge where the descent towards Jerusalem begins, 
 the first view is caught of the south-oaatern comer of the city. The road descends a 
 slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening 
 ridge of Olivet. A few moments, and the path mounts again ; it climbs a rugged ascent ; 
 it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city bursts into view : 
 at this point the Lord stood. Stanley. The Author prefers believing IIo stood on the 
 summit of the mount, as he returned from Bethany. 
 
 iK\av(Tcv, He wept aloud. Not iilent tears, as expressed by iSaKpva-ev, in .John xi. 
 35. Prescott. Achilles, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Aeneas, Alexander, Ciesar, Brutus, Calo, 
 Marccllus, Scimo, were not ashamed of their tears. 
 
 "Ilumani generis dare nos natura fatetar 
 
 " Quae laci-ymas dedit." Juvenal. 
 iSdKpvtTci', John xi. 35, implies merely tears. Christ never laughed. Lentuliis. 
 Weak minds, more Stoic than Christian, expunged the two passages recording the 
 Saviour's weeping. Epiphanius. Our Lord weeping, an argument against the doctrine of 
 the eternity of future punishment. Gerhard, GauUier, John Foster, OUhausen. The 
 arj^Timont is overwhelming to the contrary. Nothing short of the most tremendous 
 irremediable ruin could have so affected the heart of the Son of God. They forget that 
 vicrcij has ever characterized the most exact and just of all human rulers. 
 
 42. Saijinrj, I/thou hadit knoxvn, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 
 belong unto thy peace ! but noio they are hid from thine eyes. 
 
 Saying. The miglaty passion seizing the Lord's heart, permits no 
 
 parable. 
 The iindertone of love, predominates over anger against their sins. 
 If. The most emphatic utterance of a icish, for that which is not likely to 
 
 be realised. 
 The bitter cutting of this la-mentation is its accusation. 
 Thou. Jerusalem, murderess of the Prophets and slayer of the Messiah. 
 Thou Jerusalem, at once the mother and altar of the saints ! 
 Thou e^peciallij whom it concerns more than the world beside. 
 Known. Some knew, but as a city, Jenisalem rejected her King. 
 He regards their sin in its mildest form of ignorance. 
 Men study favorable moments, which lead to wealth and honor. 
 But how few are anxious to know the harvest time of salvation. Jcr. 
 
 Tiii. 20. 
 There is a deeper peril than hcbig a sinner, viz., not to know it. 
 "Wilful self-condemned ignorance marks this guilt. 
 Hosannas were not the result of knowledge, but of passion. 
 " T)je ux kuoweth his owner, birt Israel doth not know." Isa. i. 3.
 
 296 SUGGESTrVTS COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIX 
 
 ''Hearkening to My commandments, thy peace had been as a river." Isa. 
 
 xlviii. 18. 
 ". My people would not hearken, Israel -woiildnone of Me." Psa. Ixxxi'. 11. 
 Least. This time of visitation, of final opportunities and invitations. 
 Thy day. The time of the Lord's public ministry on earth. 
 Twenty centuries of promise, centred in anc day of the Lord. 
 The day of Jerusalem was when the day of salvation came. 
 The day of grace, contrasted with the coming day of trouble. 
 On this brief word, hangs an eternity of bliss or woe. 
 Thy King has come once more, as Prince of Peace. Psa. cxviii. 24-26. 
 She was honored with the visible presence of the Son of God. 
 " Through the tender mercies of our God, the day spring," &c. Liike i. 78. 
 Not His coming crucifixion, hut their folly caused His tears. 
 Had Jerusalem in penitence wept, Christ would have rejoiced. 
 Things. Their sins and salvation ; prophecy and judgment. 
 1. The way. 2. Terms. 3. Offers. 4. Benefits of Peace. 
 Peace. It includes the idea of heavenly peace. Isa. ix. 6 ; Psa. Ixxii. 3-7. 
 An allusion to the name, "Vision of Peace," Hebrew, Jerusalem. 
 Israel ought to know, that Christ was their i^cade. Acts ii. 36. 
 Hid. An affecting proof of the boundless compassion of God. 
 1. Great gi'ace. 2. Great blindness. 3. Great retribution. 
 Through wilful and inexcusable ignorance and obstinacy. 
 Mei'cy's offers, had for ages been pressed on their acceptance. 
 His last open oiier to reclaim the in-eclaimable city, is by the Son of 
 
 of God. 
 All are pitied, biit believers alone are saved. 
 Their wilful ignorance was fast becoming judicial blindness. 
 " that they were wise, that they imderstood this ! " Dent, xxxii. 28-23 
 "Light shineth in darkness, but the darkness," &c. John i. 5. 
 The notion of the day of grace and day of hfe running parallel, a 
 
 dangerous delusion. 
 " My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Gen. vi. 3. 
 " God limiteth a certain day, saying, To day if, &c." Heb. iv. 7. 
 " Their feet shall slide in duo time." Deut. xxxii. 35. 
 ■' The iniquity of tlie Amorites is not yet full." Gen. xv. 16. 
 " They shall call upon Me, hut I will not answer." Prov. i. 28. 
 Turned like Ejihraim to idols, God's Spirit says "Let him alone." 
 
 IIos. iv. 17. 
 The sun, rain, and dew fall on the girdled tree, but it withers still. 
 I'ridc and worldliuess blinded their minds, the vail of unbelief was on 
 
 their hearts. 2 Cor. iii. 14
 
 CHAP. XrS.] ON ST. LUKE. 297 
 
 A creature's sins causing gi-ief in Heaven's King, sin indeed 1 
 
 ** As I live, I Lave no pleasure in the death of the wicked." Ezck. 
 
 xxxiii. 11. 
 In their unbelief, God " gave them a spirit of slumber." 'Eom. xi. 8. 
 
 El, which hag been rendered if, after the earlier German translators, is here 
 distinctly expressive of a wish, "would that," and equivalent to the Latin utinam. 
 Prcscott, Major. Then thou wouldest not sleep so securely. liosennuller. on gives an 
 answer to those who saw Him weep. Stier, ra. Trpbs eipjjnjc, which make for thy peace. 
 Luthardt, Brown. Cond*ieive to blessing, glancing at the name of the city originally, 
 Salem, Heb. vii. 2. W. & W. Allusion to the name of the city, "Vision of Peace." 
 Wetstcin. koX <rv, and thou, the metropolis of the land. Kuinoel. So many days of 
 mercy, but none so peculiar as this. OWiausen. 
 
 et eyvws — o<^0aA/iu)f crov. A remarkable saying: Thou art called Jerusalem; thy 
 name means, "they sJtaH S(^<; peace." And so God intended it should be, for He sent 
 thee the Prince of Peace, to preach peace. But thou hast closed thine cars and eyes ; 
 thou hast not linown, i.e. considered, the things that belong to thy peaj:v ; and now they 
 are hid from thine eyes. Wordsworth, uov, omitted by many ancient authorities. 4.lhrd- 
 (cai. yf , and ctov, omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 4.S. For the dajis shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about 
 thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in oti every side, 
 
 Days. On that very spot the Eoman siege afterward took place. 
 Those who bow not to His sceptre shall fall beneath His rod. Psa. ii. 9. 
 Days of wrath were present to the eyes of the Saviour. 
 The exact time intentionally concealed, though exactly fixed. 
 Enemies, The Roma?is at the siege of Jerusalem, witnesses for the trutli. 
 He plainly designates the Eomans, whose Ciesar they wickedly preferred 
 
 to their own king. John xix. 15. 
 He does not design to summon the Jews to a conflict with that power. 
 Trench. Gr. a lyalisadcd rampart, both a prophecy and description. 
 
 Isa. xxix. 1. 
 Titus built two walls and prevented any leaving the city. 
 Natural mountains and position render Jerusalem an inland Gibraltar. 
 The siege began Nov. 6, a.d. 70, under Titus Vespasian. 
 With 30,000 soldiers, or four legions, bearing eagles as banners. Luke 
 
 xvii. 37. 
 His engines upon the Mount of Olives hurled stones upon the city. 
 City surrounded with 3 walls and 3 impregnable towers, Hippicus, 
 
 PhnsiB!u3, and Mariamne.
 
 298 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 On the seventeenth of Pancmus, the daily sacrifice failed for want of 
 
 priests. 
 It was ou the same day Nebuchadnezzar fired ihc firat temple. 
 The two outer walls had now been taken by storm. 
 Tae original wall of Solomon still guarded the temple. 
 When the last wall was forced, the leaders took flight. 
 Oa July 15, a.d. 73, the temple was set on fire by a Eoman soldier. 
 Titus forbade it strictly, bat Christ had foretold it. 
 " Not one stone shall be left upon another." Matt. xxiv. 2. 
 Jerusalem was taken, a large portion had been burnt by the Jews. 
 In distress they ate sJiocs, belts, shields, hay, huiiiaji flesh.' 
 The aged and infirm unfit for slaves were put to death. 
 C aildren imder 17 were sold as slaves at ninepence a head. 
 Sjme sent to mines of Egypt, others to be gladiators. 
 " Butchered to make a Eoman holiday." 
 Some to grace the triumph of the Eoman conqueror. 
 J(tws believed it the residence of God, and therefore could not he taken. 
 Eleep thee. Gr. press hard upon. Titus' wall, five miles long, with 
 
 castles one mile apart. 
 A a entire enclosure, anguish added to anguish, without hope or salvation. 
 
 XapoKa, not used in any other place. A rampart always requiring a trench, to 
 sTjpply the earth or stone. To build thia, a certain divine fury came upon the soldiers, 
 so that legion strove with lotion. The valleys were so full of the dead when Jerusalem 
 D irrendered, that Titus cast his hands towards heaven — called the gods to witness, that 
 
 " THE WOUK WAS NOT HIS 1 " JoSCphuS. 
 
 Xapa-Ko- — nepLKVKKu)cTov<Ti. — eSa.if>i.ov(7i., These were remarkable circumstances : and 
 the prophecy in these respects was signally fulfilled by the Roman general Titus, and 
 his army, against his own intention and desire. .Ho wished to be spared the labor and 
 delay of making the x«piKes and wepi.KVKKio(Tii, (see Joseph. B. J. vi. 7. 13). He wished 
 to spare the city and temple ; and it was with great reluctance that ho destroyed the 
 city ; and the temple was burnt in contravention of his cxijross command. M'orilsioorth, 
 Accumulated terms paint the terrors of the siege. Kui7ioel. 
 
 44. And shall lay the<! even with the ground, and i)nj children within thee ; and tliey 
 'if. all not leave in tlice one stone upon another ; beccuise thou knewest not the time of thy 
 visitation. 
 
 Lay thee, Gr. diisli thee level icilli the (jround.
 
 CIUP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 299 
 
 The temple, chosen dwelling place of JeLovali, house of sacrifice and 
 prayer. 
 
 It had been consecrated by the divine manifestations and presence. 
 
 City of theii- solemnities, whither the tribes went up three times a year. 
 
 Age after age as they entered her gates they cried, " Peace bo within thy 
 walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." Psa. cxxii. G. 
 
 Nation's hopes political and religious, centred in the Temple. 
 
 Whib it stood, they felt safe from the wrath of God and vengeance of 
 Eome. 
 
 Slultitudes refused to survive it, and fell by their own hands ! 
 
 " Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou (the Gentile) standest 
 by faith." Eom. xi. 20. 
 
 ""Woo to Aiiel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt." Isa. xxix. 1. 
 
 Ground. A city with walls levelled, open to every enemy. 
 
 A soul without God, open to malignant fiends. 
 
 Children. Jews were present from all parts of Juda3a at the Passov^T. 
 
 About two millions were then in the metropolis. Josephus. 
 
 Stone. Less than forty years after it was fully accomplished, a. d. Sep. 8, 70. 
 
 Solomon's wall around the base of Mount Moriah, still seen at tho 
 "place of wailing. '^ 
 
 But the Temple proper, has been perfectly destroyed. 
 
 By Titus' order its ruins were ploughed, to complete tho desolation. 
 
 Terentiiis Rufits, a heathen Eoman, fulfilled Jer. xxvi. 18. 
 
 The Jews had fumed the Temple of God into a " den of thieves." 
 
 Matthew, Mark, and Luke died before these predictions were fulfilled. 
 
 John siurvived them, hut does not allude to them. 
 
 A.D. 135, Jews again rebelling, Hadrian completed the utter ruin of the city. 
 
 A soul in ruins, a nobler Temple in desolation. 
 
 Its carved work broken down, its incense ceased, its fire gone oiit. 
 
 Altar overthrown, foundations scattered, habitation of i;nclean birds. 
 
 Still a subject of controversy between fallen and holy angels. 
 
 Because. Some Jews believed they were destroyed for sabbath 
 
 desecration. 
 Others for neglecting- their phylacteries, or neglect of children. 
 Or for licentiousness, or insolence to rulers, or refusing instruction. 
 Knewest not. This is the true cause, neither did they wish to know. 
 "When they would Imow, they could not, "harvest was imst." Jcr. 
 
 Tiii. 20. 
 He who refuses to light his lamp in time must sit in darkness. 
 The flames and earthquake followed the preaching of Lot. 
 Tho ruin of wasting war foUqwed the miracles of Capernaum.
 
 800 SUGCKSTIA-E COMMENTARY [CHAP. XlX. 
 
 Perilous times. — 2 Tim. iii. 1. Departing from tlie faith. — 1 Tim. iv. 1. 
 
 Scoffers at religion. — 2 Peter iii. 3. 
 It "was a season of many Auti-Chridts. 1 John ii. 18. 
 The best of times, but worst of generations lived in it. 
 "If thou wouldest even now receive Me as thy iing, all would be forgiven." 
 But He knew they would not, aud speaks of future as past. 
 Wilful ignorance left Jerusalem without excuse. 
 lyre and Sidon heaxd not these precious tidings, and perished. 
 Visitation. While grace appoints, it also Uinlts the visits of mercy, 
 "^"hen Noah entered the ark, the time of mercy ended. 
 When the angels came to Lot, Sodom's day of grace closed. 
 "Who can endure when He girds on His sword ? Kev. xix. 11. 
 No people ever witnessed such mighty miracles, or heard so divine a 
 
 gospel. No people were ever so fearfully punished for imbelief. 
 Points to a deeper, and more awful doom, the ruin of the impenitent 
 
 in ExEENAL Death. 
 
 €So<Jiiov<ri. — 1. lievel vrith, and, 2. Dash to the grotmd, Psa. cxxxvii. 9. Wetstein. 
 Shall level thy buildings to the foundation, and dash thy children to the ground. Alford. 
 hCOov k-rri KCBio. I'he summit of Mount Moriah was taken down by Solomon, to enlarge 
 the area. The wall erected at the base, to receive this debris, still remains, although it 
 was concealed for many centuries. As to the temple pi'oper, every vestige was brought 
 down, and the mosque of Omar stands on the very spot. 
 
 €-to-ico77Tjs, E. T. "visitation; " good sense, but not the idea in the Greek. 
 This word brings at once before us the coming seeking fruit, chiip. xiii. 7, and the 
 returning of the Lord of the vineyard, chap. xx. 16. Alford, Kind concern. Wakefield, 
 Visitation of mercy. Thcophijlaet. Visitation, may be of vengeance or mercy; here it is 
 the latter. Stier avO' Siv, iat avTi. loviuv ori.^In resjuital for this, that. Webster's- 
 Siintax. 
 
 i'>. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out tlicm that sold therein, and 
 them that bought : 
 
 Went into. " The Lord will suddenly come to His temple." Mai. iii. 1. 
 Jesus ruled personally only 07ie day in the court of the temple, but it 
 
 had eternal significance. 
 It re establisshcd for ever its spiritual destination. 
 it confounded in tlic temple itself all its false ministers. 
 " Glory of the latter house greater than the first." Hag. ii. 9. 
 Temple. Luke i. 9. Description and history. Sec notes.
 
 CHAP. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 801 
 
 Many visiting tlic Capital hasten to amiTsemcnts instead of the Louse of 
 
 God. 
 1. Tlio outer coui"t of the Gentiles. 2. Court of the Jews into which 
 
 the proselytes entered. 3. Court of the priests and the altar of burnt 
 
 offerings. Beyond these three stood the Holy of Holies. 
 Deep insult to Jehovah and Gentiles to establish a cattle market in outer 
 
 court. 
 Avarice of dealers applied for it. Avarice of priests let it. 
 Some make gain of godliness, others cloak of covetousness. 1 Tim. vi. 5. 
 Pharisees interested in these corruptions, opposed the Saviour. Luke xx. 1, 
 Teniiile, mysterious centre of Israel's hopes and ^irivileges. 
 1. The period of the patriarchal altar. 2. Tabernacle moving and resting. 
 
 3. The temple of Solomon. 4. The temple of Zerubbabel. 5". TLo 
 
 temple of Herod. 
 Attempt of Julian to rebuild it, and signal diseomfitui'e, proves its final 
 
 doom. 
 Jewish temple at Lcntopolis in Egj"[3t, a transitory imitation. 
 Cast out. The same zeal for God's house becomes the ministry. 
 This enthusiasm is a true gospel call to the ministry. 
 This was the second purging of the temple. John ii. 13. 
 "Alienee comes this indignation in the King of Peace ? 
 He judged an adulteress ■without punishing her. John viii. 11. 
 He rebuked His disciples, for wanting to destroy the Samaritans. 
 What now arms His gracious hand with the rod of wrath ? 
 The profaners had the audacity to dishonor His Father's House. 
 Though doomed to desolation it must still be kept pure. 
 Its purity was more its gloiy than its wealth. 
 If gentleness will not, then stripes must drive oiit the wicked, 
 " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God ? " &e. 1 Cor. iii. 16. 
 The Divine Son in the desecrated house of His Father — 
 1. Earnest in His anger. 2. Dignified in His words. 3. Gracious in Ilia 
 
 blessing. 4. Purifying in His deed. 
 Jesus still purifying the temple, 1. Of the heart. 2. Of the family. 3. 
 
 Of the church. 4. Of creation. 
 The Church, under God, owes much to reformers asHezekiah, Josiah, 
 
 Wickliffe, Jerome, Huss, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Eidley, Latimor, 
 
 Tyndale, "Whitfield, Oberlin, and a host of others. 
 
 lepbi/. — Luke ii. 27; iv. 9. Pigure of tlie universe. Philo, Josephvs ; symbol of the 
 dwelling ol God. Bcffman; a figure of tlio human form and nature. Luthtr; of liCR.en.
 
 302 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTAP.Y [CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Bahr ; symbol of the diving kingdom, under tho old covenant. Tholuclc, Hengstenberg ; 
 figure of the body of Clirist and Church. Langc. 
 
 TTiuA.oOi'Ta!. — Persons who sold animals for sacrifice. Cyril. Mark omits thia act. 
 He first purged the temple at the entrance of His ministry, John ii. 13. c/c^aA.Aeii'. 
 Cleansing; identical with John ii. 13. Luckc, Nennder, De Wctte. A repetition of the 
 other. Augustine, Calvin, Thnluek, Olshausen, Slier, Oosterzce, Ellicott, Lange. A. 
 specific and glorious miracle. Origen, Jerome, Lampe. Breaking up old forms and 
 establishing new. Herder, Lueke. Another instance of Luke's practice in dispatching a 
 subject; preferring internal connexion to exact order of time. He describes the 
 cleansing of the temple immediately after the narrative of the triumphal entry; but it 
 ■lid not take place till the day after. See Mark xi. 12. Wordsworth. 
 
 iv avTu) Kal 6.yop6.^ovTa.<;, cancelled. Tischcndorf, Alford; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 46. Saying tinto them, It is written. My house is the house of prayer : but ye have made 
 it 1 den of thieves. 
 
 Written. Luke i. G3. Ancient materials and metbods. .See Notes. 
 My liouse, &c. By these words Christ chums to be very God, since a 
 
 temple can belong to none but God. 
 The temjile. Luke i. 9 ; ii. 27. 1. Inestimable privileges. 2. Holy 
 
 obligations. 3. High expectations of there sharing the privileges of 
 
 God's house. 
 ♦' Ye shall reverence my sanctuary : I am the Lord." Lev. xix. 30. 
 BCouse. Form and materials. Luke i. 40. See Notes. 
 Eouse of prayer. Our Lord drove out sheep and oxen from tho 
 
 temple. 
 He abolished all the train of sacrifices, and appointed praj/er. 
 The two passages are joined. — Isa. Ivi. 7 ; Jer. vii. 11. 
 All hohj worship, is in a temple, which the Lord will glorify. 
 Christ finds His temple, where men worship in spirit. Johuiv. 24. 
 Thieves. Seeking their own honor, and not Christ's in God's house. 
 Leaving tho heart out of the service, is to rob God in Hijs house. 
 "Is this house called by My name, a den of robbers ?" Jer. vii. 11. 
 Those robbing God in His temple, will defraud their fellow-creatures. 
 
 Mai. iii. 8. 
 Abuses may creep into the church, however pure tho creed. 
 Some entered the sacred office " to eat a piece of bread." 1 Sam ii. 3G. 
 " Shophenls look every one for his gain from hi? quarter." Isa. Ivi. 11. 
 Demetrius zealous for Diana's honor, but more for her shrines. 
 Athenians fearfully given up to demon worship, robbing God. Acts 
 
 xvii. IG. 
 " Sirs, yu know by this craft, wo have our wealth," kindled Paul's zeal. 
 
 Acts xix. 25.
 
 CHAi>. XIX.] ON ST. LUKE. 303 
 
 Dnder shepherds ought to feed the flock of God, not for filthy lucre. 
 
 1 Pet. V. 2. 
 Covetousness " with feigned words, makes merchandise." 2 Pet. ii. 3. 
 " A zeal according to knowledge " is free from bigotry and passion. 
 
 Eom. X. 2. 
 The Laodicean church rebuked, for being lukewarm. Eev. iii. IG. 
 The peculiar people of God are " zealous of good works." Tit. ii. 14. 
 Eegeneration changes a den of thieves, into a house of prayer. 
 " Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God? " 1 Cor. iii. 16. 
 Jews thought it a greater sia to sin in the temple than in one's own 
 
 house. 
 A saint sinning against his body is guilty of sacrilege. 1 Cor. iii. IG.. 
 
 (cai lorai o o'ko? ixov oTkos 7rpo(revx>5s. Tischendorf, Alford. eo-raijfor eo-rif. Cod, 
 Sinai. <rmiKai.ov. Love of gain, an emotion of thieving. Theophylact. Animals and 
 money were gathered as booty by robbers, Fritzsche. By these things Gentiles are dis- 
 couraged from coming to the temple. liausche/i, Orirjen complained of churches sold to 
 2>agtors. Jerome hints that his age had robbers in God's house, ^\'hat ago has been 
 free ? What branch of the church dare cast the first stone ? 
 
 47. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and tlia 
 chief of the people sought to destroy him, 
 
 Taug-lit. Church — a house oi prayer, and a place of instruction. 
 The Apostles gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. 
 
 Acts vi. 4. 
 Jesus, " anointed to preach good tidings to the meek." Isa. Ixi. 1. 
 He leaves Jerusalem by night, but resorts daily to the Temple. 
 Daily nearer His end, the more interested in His holy work. 
 Ly and bye He will reaUze " I have iinished the work Thou." &c. 
 
 John xvii. 4. 
 He walked, talked and taught as though it were His own house. 
 Chief priests. Luke xx. 1. Scribes. Luke v. 21. Temple. 
 
 Luke i. 9. 
 'Destroy. The more He displays His grace, the more they were bent on 
 
 His death. 
 Those whom faithful rebukes, will not reform, are more deeply incensed 
 
 and soon become incorrigible. 
 
 Hia nights were employed in ijraycr, amid the solitude of Olivet Alexander.
 
 301 -SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XIX. 
 
 43. And could not find wliat they might do : for all the people were very attentive 
 til hear him. 
 
 Gould not. How energetic is Satan's host, under their dark king ! 
 Tiie people. No sacrifices too great for the faithful in honoring 
 
 Christ. 
 Their loving zeal proved a life-guard against His foes. 
 Having purified the temple, He remains on the field conqueror. 
 Attentive. Hung on His vrords, as bees to the floAver. 
 Or birds to the parent bird expecting their food. 
 It belongs to Christ to teach, to us to listen, to God the increase. 
 
 GaL vi. 6; 1 Cor. iii. 6. 
 
 ffot^cTMo-a'. — Could not devise how to effect it. Camphcll. f'^cKpeVaTo. — Hung on 
 Him, hearing. Facte. Hung round Him, to hear Him. Slmrpe. "His life is hung upon 
 (bound up in, E.V.) the life of the lad." Gen. xhv. 30. Wetstein. egficpefiaTO, ^^ pendebat 
 111 ore." Wordsworth. The constant attendnuce cf the people prevented the approach cl 
 Hii! enemies. BengeU
 
 ' 
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LTJKIS. 805 
 
 OHAPTEE XX. 
 
 1. A'KJi it came to pass, that on one of tliose days, as he taught the people In the 
 temple, atid preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came uptm liim with tho 
 elders, 
 
 Luke omits Christ's going to Betbany and His return again to the city. 
 He omits also the account of the fig tree, and the Lord's answer to the 
 
 disciples concerning the power of faith. 
 Not his object to pursue the events of each day in order so much as to 
 
 present them in their spiritual connexion. 
 Came to pass. The Lord now permitted the people to pay Him roytil 
 
 honors. 
 His ministry soon to end, He restrained them no longer. 
 The jealousy of the rulers was intensely excited. 
 They saw Him supplanting theu* authority among the people. 
 He had exposed their avarice, fraud, and bji^ocrisy. 
 He reproached them for their indecent pollution of the temple. 
 Those days. These events took place, during one or at most, two days. 
 Temple. Description and history. Luke i. 9. see Notes. 
 Preached. Gr. evangelized. He first purchased, then published 
 
 salvation. 
 Christ risked His life daily in prosecuting His Divine work. 
 Preachers despised by the world are honored by Jehovah. 
 Chief pi'iests. The Sanhedrim with a high priest at their head, 
 
 confronted the Lord with an official inqiiiiy. 
 Hostile in their design, they would oppress Him at once with authority. 
 Scribes. Their character aud history. Luke v. 21. see Notes. 
 Came upon Him. Marking the deliberate and solemn nature of 
 
 their approach. 
 Envy regards neither sacrcdness of the place nor goodness of the work. 
 The priesthood, scriptures, and state, employed to oppress Christ. 
 The wicked try to rule or ruin those reproving them. 
 They expect Him to be struck with awe and thus overpowered. 
 
 iKeiviav, omittecl. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. For apxi-fpeU, icpeij, Tisclteii- 
 dor/, Alford. en-corrjcrap. — Stood by Him. No hostile intent is implied. Tho word 
 denotes suddenness of ai^proach. '^Elders," members of the Sanhedi-im,
 
 30G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 S. And BpaTce unto him, saying. Tell us, hy what authority doesl thou these things ? 
 or who is he that gave thee this authority ? 
 
 Tell us. They persist asking after answer is given a thousand-fold. 
 
 The first direct public conflict between Him and the authorities. 
 
 All i^revious collisions had been with^J^iffltf i^arties. 
 
 The Sanhedrim, the authorized guardians of the temple. 
 
 At this late hour to ask for evidence, was sheer pretence and mockery. 
 
 The Saviour had already asstimed the Messianic office. 
 
 The people had unexpectedly recognized its Divine natiu-e. 
 
 Where there is honorable, reasonable doubt, God will clear it. 
 
 To the disputer of this world, shutting his eyes, nothing is granted. 
 
 Their demand, strong proof how they feared and respected Him. 
 
 Authority. Dost Thou claim Divine power to do these things ? 
 
 " What" refers to the nature of the power itself. Divine or human ? 
 
 This contemptuous question implied, they believed He had none. 
 
 Zedekiah, with insolence, smote Micaiah for his zeal. 1 Kings xxii. 24. 
 
 Pashur smote Jeremiah and i^ut him in the stocks. Jer. xx. 2. 
 
 Sadducees grieved that Peter and John taught the people. Acts. iv. 2. 
 
 Pro2:)hets ran to prophecj-, whom God never sent. Jer. xxiii. 21, 
 
 " Tiie works that I do in My Father's name, bear witness of Me." John 
 
 X. 25. 
 The question hj'pocritical, they well knew His authority divine. 
 In these last days of His grace He compels them to judge themselves. 
 They should have compared tliei)- scrijitures with His teaching. 
 Believers treated as their Master, servant not above his Lord. 
 Liable to be called meddlesome, disorderly, a brawler in Israel. 1 "Kings 
 
 xviii. 17 ; Acts xxiv. 5. 
 Will often find enemies where they ought to meet friends. 
 " The world hated Me before it hated you." " If ye were of the world tho 
 
 world would love its own." John xv. 18-19. 
 Priests pitifully or impudently repeat the old question. 
 They had a right to demand His warranty as a prophet. 
 But no right to interrupt Him in the midst of His teachings. 
 His miracles had already vindicated His claim. 
 Their seemingly jusi act, a shameless avowal of unbelief. 
 The rankest rebellion, in the disguise of strict loyalty. 
 Priest's office under Eoman rule the foot-ball of political parties, and 
 
 even of mobs. 
 These things. Healing tho sick, lame, blind, dumb, possessed, His 
 
 miracles generally.
 
 OnAP. XX.] OK ST, LUKE. 307 
 
 But especially the daring act recordcJ at the close of chap, xix, the 
 
 cleansing of the temple. 
 Who gave thee? Jesus outraged by servants, anil treated as a usurper. 
 The Lord in His own house, called to defend His rights. 
 Christ dc'-raded these unlaithful stewards from office. 
 
 ciTc- rjixtv. Captions inquiries, in the very spirit of Eabbinical dialectics. Sirnvsa. 
 tfoucria. Tlie two qucstiDiis identical. De Wette. One, the origin of His mission; 
 other, the medium <if ordination. Oontereee. raina. — Things he taught. Groiim; 
 Bengel. Cleansing of the Temple. Meyer. Ilis whole work. De Wette. Manifesta- 
 tion of superiority. Oostersee. cin-e ij/ntj', omitted Cod. Sinai. 
 
 8, And he ansioered and said unto them, I will also asic you one thing; and 
 ansicer me. 
 
 He answered. Unfriendly critics make this an evasion of a captious 
 question. 
 
 He evades no question, nor despises the Sanhedrim's power; it was an 
 answer direct, conclusive, referring to testimony. 
 
 I will also ask. This counter question shows His heavenly supremacy, 
 
 He:ir another parable, and they inust stand still. 
 
 Held fast by divine force, they can neither leave, nor interrupt, imtil com- 
 pletely convicted, condemned, and dismissed. 
 
 Those disturbing the Church, must give a reason for their conduct. 
 
 Those whom Christ catechizes, will always be silenced. 
 
 One thing. The importance of John's ministry is not appreciated. 
 
 The brightness of the Lord overshadows His forerunners. 
 
 Except Christ's, John's ministry is the only one foretold in the Old 
 Testament. 
 
 It aroused the expectation of all Israel. 
 
 They were not taken by surprise, when Jesus preached. 
 
 Answer me. This enforcing the reply, put them on double guard. 
 
 " Ye hypocrites ! ye are not in earnest with your questioning," 
 
 " Ye asked this question three years ago," 
 
 •' If you can, or if you dare " — A peremptory challenge. 
 
 Iro, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai.
 
 808 SUGGESTIVE COililENTAEY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 4. The baptism of John, icas it from heaven, or of men 9 
 
 Baptism of Jolin. Our Lord never separated His ministry from John's. 
 
 This question was strictly pertinent to the one put to Him. 
 
 Our Lord never evaded a disagreeable query by counter enquiry. 
 
 His q^iestion, "svas really an ansicer to their question. 
 
 Christ's mission and ministry, the central point and seal of the office 
 
 and teaching of John's ministry and baptism. 
 This refers to His ministry, as the cross is put for the Gospel. 
 Prom heaven. Was he a true prophet, under di^dne authority ? 
 
 Dan. iv. 9. 
 He opens up a way for enemies to acknowledge His Messiahship. 
 Or of men. Did He come as an enthusiast, with confederates of the 
 
 came spirit ? 
 The silent secret hero hinted at, is, the Sanhedrim had a suspicion 
 
 of John perhaps, as Jesus, as the Messiah. 
 Our Saviour does not hint at its being from Satan. 
 " If this counsel be of men, it will come to nought." Acts v. 38. 
 
 His question concerning John is not from ■whenco waa he Bpmng, but whence 
 i'oceived he hia law of baptism. Eusebiua. 
 
 5. And they reasoned with themselves, saying. If we shall say. From heaven; he will 
 say, Wliy then believed ye him not ? 
 
 They reasoned. They stepped aside a moment, to agree as to an 
 
 answer. 
 They did not discuss the subject proposed by the Lord, but the means of 
 
 withdi-awiug from a dilemma. 
 The mind is degraded by evading, not eliciting truth. 
 They deliberately resisted conviction forced upon them. 
 They consulted only their own credit and safety in the falsehood. 
 Herod restrained from the murder of John, a mere providence. 
 Boman officers also feared the people when arresting the apostles. 
 
 Acts v. 26. 
 " The wrath of man shall praise Thee, the remainder shalt Thou restrain." 
 
 Psa. Ixxvi. 10. 
 The right way, open and strait; oM policy is crooked and dangerous.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 309 
 
 The three Evangelists strikingly represent the heart-thoughts of thoso 
 
 men. 
 In vain they attempted to hide their crafty malice from God. 
 Shall say. These hj^iocrites only think of what they shall say. 
 Not of what is right and true in conscience before God. 
 Why then ? Their conscience ahcady pronoimccs their own sentenco. 
 A minister suppressing a self-condemning truth, most miserable. 
 A veiy insufficient reason for refusing to acknowledge Him. 
 But they only care for being thus reproached. 
 Christ had uttered more grievous charges against them. 
 Believed. May specifically refer to John's testimony for Chiist. 
 If they admitted it they must acknowledge His Messiahship. 
 
 crui/eXoyio-ai'TO. — Still more accurately reckoned, calculated, tlio effect of tlieir reply, 
 Alexander, ovv, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, 
 
 6. But and iftve say, Of men; all the people will stone us : for they be persuaded that 
 John was a prophet. 
 
 And, not in the original. 
 
 Of men. They dare not come in collision with the unanimous opinion of 
 
 the people. 
 Their timidity was, through fear, not of God, but of men. 
 Not a single word about duty to God. 
 
 Will stone. Their example had trained the nation to acts of violence. 
 They feared the people's wrath, hut not the grinding of the Eock of Israel. 
 
 Matt. xxi. 44. 
 *' The fear of man bringeth a snare." Prov. xxix. 25. 
 Saul transgressed against the Lord, fearing the people. 1 Sam. xv. 24. 
 When they could not legally convict, they incited the people to stone. 
 It was called the judgment of zeal. John x. 31 ; Acts xiv. 19. 
 He who stifles the truth, has already betrayed it. 
 He is tried and condemned at the irresistible tribunal of God. 
 Be persuaded. Impenitent as priests, yet they obstinately held John 
 
 to be a prophet. 
 This belief was imdiminished by our Saviour's appearance. 
 It shows that the two were not considered rivals. 
 Co-workers, but unequal in rank, origin, and authority. 
 Prophet. Luke i. 70. Their office and duties. See Notea. 
 37
 
 310 SUGGESTrV'E COMaiENTAUY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 o \abs. — Common people, rbv o^Aoi'. — Matt. xxi. 26, is scornful. The mob, as John 
 vii. 49. 
 
 7. And then answered, that they could not tell lohence it was. 
 
 They answered. Wicked regard not a lie, serving their piu'pose. 
 
 Could not tell. Gr. they did not know. 
 
 He compelled them to pronounce their own sentence, as incompetent to 
 
 Jill Moses' scat. 
 If they cannot answer one here, can they a thousand ? Job ix. 3. 
 Caught in a hard alternative ; extricated by an act of desperation. 
 They were thus convicted by all of gross hijpocris'j. 
 Elements of their future vengeance were slowly gathering. 
 Before the Lord, all the world must keep silence. Hab. ii. 20. 
 These " great kuowjrs," who have always their "we know," at hand, 
 
 for once, after their arrogant question, say with shame, in the 
 
 presence of the people, " We know not.'' 
 Many a so called " honest doubter," aga-inst his own conviction, 
 
 resembles them, i.e. they know it well, but " ivill not say it." 
 Thousands will say anything, rather than " ice are ivrony." 
 Gehazi, Ananias, and Sapphira, have more imitators than Peter or Paul. 
 The unrenewed often feel more than they confess. 
 Knowing the Gospel true, they want couraye to confess it. 
 They know Christianity is right, but too proud to say it. 
 They pretend to judge Christ's mission, and cannot tell even that of 
 
 John. 
 Those who imprison the truth stifle conviction. 
 This declaration made them cease to he a SanJiedrim. 
 After this fhey were to Jesus only as usurpers. 
 The people could have answered without hesitation. 
 Eulers' refusal showed a want of courage and honestxj. 
 Jesus and John were not their kind of prophets. 
 
 lit) (ISevai. — Luko; see, perceive, know. ol5a/ier.— JIatt. ; we do not Icnoio. Campbell 
 
 8. And Jeaua mid unto them, Neither tell 1 3011, by what authority I do these things. 
 
 Neither. Christ in the tomplo, tho avenger of the Baptist's blood.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 311 
 
 Our Lord never refused to answer an honest inquirer. 
 
 He unveils Himself to the simple, liidcs light from the crafty. 
 
 Those who bury their knowledge, will be denied further privilege. 
 
 TeU I you. A direct answer would not convince or gain them. 
 
 lleckless in impiety, men deserve to perish in darkness. 
 
 With eyes and ears closed, the scriptures are a sealed book. Isa. vi. x. 
 
 " The Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of deep sleep." Isa. xxix. x. 
 
 Let us meet question for question as Christ met cavils. 
 
 "Answer a fool according to his folly." Prov. xxvi. 5. 
 
 We should know how to answer every man. 
 
 '* In meekness and fear" give the ground of oiur hope. 1 Pet. 'iii. 15. 
 
 Boasting freethinkers often slaves to their own sophistries. 
 
 Tl^is was not an answer to their " We cannot telL" 
 
 But to their imeard thoughts "We do not ivish to tell." 
 
 This was no evasion of a lawful and reasonable question. 
 
 It was a virtual though not forvial answer in disguise. 
 
 A call for more, testimony, Avhen enough has already been given, is a 
 
 virtual rejection of that previously introduced. 
 Those making it, are dealt with as guilty of tempting God. Ex.xvii. 2-7; 
 
 Dent. vi. 16. ; Isa. vii. 12. 
 A stronger name is given by 1 John v. 10.- — -They make God a liar, i.e., 
 
 a false witness. 
 He ctocs not deal merely w^ith a momentous but a malignant question. 
 By what atithority. His miracles told them very plainly. 
 He teari off the mask of hypocritical anxiety about truth. 
 He saves the name of God from profanation. 
 
 He demands whether they believe the testiraonj previotishj given V 
 Those-Avho contemn His miracles would not respect His word. 
 The silence of truth is one of the most terrible punishments. 
 These things. His miracles, parables, teachings, claims. 
 Both parties now were silent. 
 The bystanders could not deubt who was conqueror. 
 
 oi&i lyu>. It implied, you dare not deny Jolin's testimony concerning My MessiaJi- 
 Bliip. Therefore, &c. Alexander. The charge that our Lord answered a question by 
 referring to a different point is unfounded. There are two reasons especially why wo 
 Aould conceal the truth from those that ask ; when the questioner is incapable of 
 imdarstanding what he asts, or when, from hatred or contempt, he is unworthy to hav 
 his question answered. Bede,
 
 312 SUGGESTIYE COSIMENTAKY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 9. Tlien began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vine- 
 yard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into afar country for a long time. 
 
 Began. Eesninecl the series interrupted. Matt. xxi. 28-33, &c. 
 Speak. He turns from the Pharisees to the docile multitude. 
 Eepelling the attack, He no-w jnirsues the retreating foe. 
 He -will unmask their hypocrisy and show their guilt. 
 People. Directed to the crowd, hut meant for tlie Pharisees. 
 Hear, ye self-willed questioners, I have somewhat to say unto you. 
 Parable. Luke v. 36 ; iv. 23. An echo of the song touching tlio 
 
 vineyard. Isa. v. 1-7. 
 The cro-wning act of mercy and judgment in Jewish histoiy. 
 Another parable. Matt. As if He had said, I have another word of 
 
 warning. 
 Those uttered during our Lord's last visit to Jerusalem, arc significant, 
 
 solemn, and appropriate to the crisis. 
 Their privileges and warnings surpassed those of any other people. 
 Gentiles were also noted for hardness, unhelief, and superstition. 
 This parable, a remarkable combination of figure, history, and prophecy. 
 Parables of the sower, mustard-seed and husbandman, in the synoptical 
 
 gospels. 
 Here He more definitely specifics the nature of their guilt. 
 Certain. Gr. a man. There is no qiiahfying epithet in the original. 
 Planted. "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted." 
 Believers, trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. 
 The church surrounded by a wall of fire, is here typified. 
 Hedged. Matt. xxi. 33. Winepress. Matt. xxi. 33. Typifying the 
 Jewish sacrifices. 
 
 Tower. Matt. xxi. 33. Typifying the temple of Jerusalem. 
 
 " For upon all the glory shall there be a defence." Isa. iv. 5. 
 
 God's priests are watchmen. Acts. xx. 17 ; xxviii. 31. 
 
 " At Salem was His tabernacle. His dwelling place in Zion." Psa. Ixxvi. 2. 
 
 Vineyard. Emblem of Palestine, on Maccahfcan and Pioman coins. 
 Isa. V. 1-7. 
 
 Vineyard, an image of the kingdom. Dcut. xxxii. 32 ; Isa. v. 1-7 ; Psa. 
 Ixxx. 8-lG ; Jer. xii. 10. 
 
 The CBpecial fitness is, that no property yields so large a return. 
 
 None requires such unceasing care and attention. Lukoxiii. 8. 
 
 The vino, the native of the Caspian Sea and Persia. 
 
 They climb to the tops of the loftiest trees in Italy and America. 
 
 The sap was formerly used for medicine. 
 
 The vines of Eshcol, Num. xiii. 2i. The choicest vines of Sorck, Isa. v. 2.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 313 
 
 The clusters of Hebron {i.e. Eshcol), still among tlie fmost on earth. 
 A Syrian cluster JT'o/i^cc/i, vreighed 19 lbs., 23 in. long and 58J in. around. 
 Let it fortli. Solemn committal of the instruction of the peojile to the 
 
 priests andLevites. 
 Solomon's vineyard at Baal-hamon worth a thonsand pieces of silver. 
 The record of unacknowledged kindnesses, is a scroll written without and 
 
 within — a dark catalogue. 
 Mercies before and after, conversion, should make thankless saints 
 
 ashamed. 
 Mercies providential and sparing, of warning and visitation. 
 At judgment, will confound lost sinners on account of their unbelief. 
 Wo shall find that God was often speaking, and we not hearinfj. 
 " The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, and irot v;illing," &c. 2 Pet. 
 
 iii. 9. 
 Husbandmen. A failure of these, involved forfeiture of all privileges. 
 They were the spiritual leaders of the people. 
 Adam's work in innocence, was to dress the garden. 
 Believers called to similar work in the Lord's vineyard. 
 Prophets first sent, 430 years after the Exodus. 
 A succession of men, prophesied until John. 
 Far country. Gr. went abroad, without reference to distance. 
 It expresses a cessation of visible appearances of God to Israel. 
 Faithful pastors realize Him to be present in Spirit. 
 He is distant only to those, who have no faith. 
 The good sheijherd watches, expecting his Master every moment. 
 The hireling, negligent, for his faith in Christ's coming is dead. 
 Long time. At Sinai and in Canaan, God openly shewed Himself. 
 Then He withdrew, not speaking to them face to face. Deut. xxxiv. 10-12. 
 From the entrance into Canaan, till the destruction of the Temple, 1500 
 
 years. 
 
 TTapaPoKrjv. Addressed to Pharisees, Matt.; people, Luke. Luke records what 
 Matt., for brevity's sake, has omitted, namely, that the parable was spoken not to the 
 niler's only, but to the people. Augustine. 
 
 aii.ve\wva. Isaiah has it planted, on a fruitful hill. " Apricos Bacchus amat colics." 
 Tirg., ?.?. sloping towards the rays of the sun. Stones were gathered out. 2 Kings iii. 
 19, is the casting out of the Canaanites. To say that the vineyard is not the Jewish 
 church, but the kingdom of God, rather an evasion, than an explanation. Alexander. 
 The hedge, eircumcisiore; in'S.T., baptism. Winepress, the altar; in^.T., the Lord's 
 Supper. Chrysostom, Lange. The propriotor'.s departure, the time of Ihe divine silence. 
 Bengcl. Vineyard at times had ten acres, Isa. v. 10. tis, omitted. Tischendorf, Alj'ord^ 
 Cod. SirMi.
 
 314 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTAKY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 10. Xnd at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him 
 of the fruit of the vineyard : but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 
 
 Season. At the time of viutage, at any moment He may reijuire the 
 
 fruit. 
 Servant. Sent at particular times, on particular missions. 
 Should give. A covenant ^ith the proprietor distinctly implied. 
 
 Neh. ix. 25. 
 Hebrews at Horeb coyenanted -with God. Ex. xix. 8. 
 Fruit. " Let on shares," a common custom still in the east. 
 More advantageous to cultivators, than to proprietors. 
 " Adcording to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath 
 
 not." 2 Cor. viii. 12. 
 A summons to account for advantages, especially in official stations. 
 The fruit for the first year, was ceremonially uncZea/i. Lev. xix. 23. 
 The fruits of the foiurth year, consecrated to the Lord. 
 " Honor the Lord with thy substance, and first fruits of thy increase." 
 Fruit of the fifth year, eaten in the common way. 
 This sowing and planting, for ages carried on by prophela. 
 The law's innermost princii^le, sincere humility and constant repentance. 
 The time of blossom, was under David and Solomon. 
 Th^r fruits generally were false doctrines and superstitions. 
 The unprofitableness of the Jews in the parable, a great crime. 
 A breach of the most solemn trust, deepest ingratitude. 
 Enjoying church privileges, we must pay rent to God. 
 Their response to their blessings, idolatry and rebellion. 
 They murmured against Moses, and rejected Samuel's counsels. 
 Even Solomon, in his old age, went after Ashtaroth. 
 Warnings of Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi, were forgotten. 
 Husbandmen. Regularly established, ecclesiastical authorities. 
 Beat. Persecuted the bearers of mercy's offers. 
 The outrage to the servant, an insult to the Throne. 
 They needed only the power, to have dethroned God. 
 Christ never fully valued, until sin's enormity is seen. 
 We must know disease's malignity to apj^reciate the Physician. 
 The disowning of their Lord, the giving up the title to the vineyard. 
 They contemned the message and the bearer with insulting violence. 
 
 SoCAof. 1, the IToly Gliost. 2, tho Scriptures. 3, conscience. Quesnel, Seipamc^, 
 from Si'pu). to Klay, to flay alive. iK(4>aKauorTap. — Mark xii. 4, i.e. Uicy mado short work 
 with hLm. Squared accounts with him. Li'jhtfoot.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 315 
 
 11. AkiI again he sent another servant : and they beat him also, and entreated hita 
 shamefully, and sent liim away empty. 
 
 Sent another. The differeut sendings imply, sufficiency of warnings. 
 His messages neglected, God docs not cease from His demands and 
 
 entreaties. 
 Beat him. also. It is expressly said, " tbey slew the prophets." Nch. 
 
 ix. 2G. 
 This charge was solemnly rc-affirmed by Stephen. Acts vii. 52. 
 Those of whom the world was not worthy, had the worst usage. 
 " Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them," &c. 
 They misunderstood the Lord's absence and long-suffering. 
 Ambition ever turns an olTice of labor, into one of rule. 
 Shamefully. Indicates the wantonness of cruelty and pride. 
 Insulting outrages, not expres!>ly named in the parable. 
 Thus Hanuu insulted the ambassadors of David. 2 Sam. x. i. 
 Despising God's oracles, results in everlasting shame. Eom. vi. 21. 
 Sent away. Those resolved not to do their duty, dread to be reminded 
 
 of it. 
 Israel hardening its heart, an eternal warning to the church. 
 
 7rpo<re'9ero irifx-^a.!., addressed himself to sending. A Hebralara often found in tha 
 Sept. Bevgcl. an/uiao'ai'Tes-— rpav/aartVai^es. The cliaracteristios of the Evangelists — 
 Luke, in exactness; Mark, in graphic style; Matthew, in condensed brevity. Olshauscn. 
 
 12. And again he sent a third : and they loounded him also, and cast him. out. 
 
 A thi-rd. Implies, the long-suffering of the householder. 
 
 Wounded. Killing some. Mark xii. 5. Jezebel slew the prophets of 
 
 the Lord. 
 Ahab said to Elijah, " Art thou he that troubleth Israel ?" 
 Every wound given to conscience, leaves a scar upon the soul. 
 Faithful rebukes of the wicked are received with insults, as a reward. 
 Those who resolve to admonish faithfully, must suffer severely. 
 Increasing rebellion, showTi by increasing ill-treatment. 
 Cast him out. Jeremiah was put into the stocks by Pashur, the 
 
 governor; the people of Anathoth sought his life. 
 Stoned by Jewish exiles in Egypt, according to tradition. 
 Isaiah was sawn asunder, under King Mauasseh.
 
 316 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTARY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 Others mocked and stoned. Heb. xi. 36 ; Jer. xxxviii. 19 ; 1 Kings xviii. 
 13 ; 2 Kings vi. 31 ; 2 Chron. xxiv. 19-22. 
 
 Zacliarias, son of Barachias, Tv-as slain in the temple. 
 
 rpiTov. — The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Bede. 
 
 13. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do ? Iivill send my beloved son : 
 it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 
 
 What shall I do ? The exponent of infinite love divine. 
 
 Patience of the householder, under provocations, wonderful. 
 
 He does not at once resume possession and inflict summary vengeance. 
 
 " Howbeit, I send unto you all My servants, rising up early," &g. Jer. 
 
 xliv. 4. 
 "Nevertheless they rebelled and slew Thy prophets." Neh. ix. 26. 
 Unwilling to proceed to extremities. He would bring them to duty. 
 "The Lord is merciful and gracious, long-stiffering, abundant in 
 
 goodness." 
 Beloved Son. Luke iii. 22. God in these last days hath spoken unto 
 
 us by His Son. Heb. i. 2. 
 The eternal counsels of the Divine Trinity here shadowed forth. 
 The resources of heavenly love being examined on the one hand. 
 The measure of sins perpetually filling up on the other. 
 Beloved Son. Marks strongly difference of rank and dignity of the 
 
 Person. Heb. iii. 5. 
 Our Lord's actual hearers, doubtless, quite understood Vvhat He meant. 
 The Father sends Him last, as if H-e Himself had come to entreat rebels. 
 He knew while He was speaking they were plotting His death. 
 The prophets spake as servarits, Christ as the Son. 
 It may be. Gr. equally. His gracious adoption for man's sake, of 
 
 every means whicli may turn the sinner to repentance. 
 Will reverence. Indicates His entire willingness to be reconciled. 
 
 1. Note the oiler made : eternal life. 1 John v. 11. 
 
 2. The mercy of the message : herein is lave. 1 John iv. 10. 
 
 3. The authority of the Messenger : God so loved the world. John iii. 16. 
 
 4. The mighty works done, and excellent doctrines taught. 
 
 5. The subjects of the oiler, dependent, uncertain of a day. 
 
 Bee Him. The Sou appears not as a Eedecmer, but as a rrcachex.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 317 
 
 Tt m>:-q<T<ji. The Lord is said to hesitate, that the free ■will of man may be presei-ved. 
 Theophi/lact. oyamjTO:', -Equivalent to ftoroyei/oC!, John i. 14; Luke iii. 22; ix. 20. 
 There is a uifficult.f here, which runs through everything referring to the relation which 
 mans freedom and God's foreknowledge sustain to each other, viz. : — The Father fully 
 knew from the beginning what treatment T[is Son would receive. This circumslanec, 
 admirably suited to command our sympathy in a human case, becomes revolting when 
 transferred directly to a divine subject. Thus to interpret parables, avoid gross 
 incongruities, violating the general analogy of language. Our Saviour adopts this 
 principle, Matt. iv. 10-12. To this supreme authority it is vain to oppose that ol 
 Bernard or Augustine, \1z.: — That a parable must be made to mean as muoii as possible 
 Alexander. 
 
 10-W9, equaliter, or fortasse. Dcmosthcna ; used in this sense by Xcnophon. i<ras 
 occurs once in the N.T., and once in the Sejit., 1 Sam. xxv. 21. It denotes, in a human 
 sense, an opinion, conjecture, or reasonable hop* ; intrinsically, it denotas the all-wise 
 sincerity of God. Dcngel. Surely. CumpheU, Foote, Major. The Spirit could be under 
 no doubt. Numberless predictions in the O.T. plainly show that God foresaw Chrisfa 
 death, as a certain event Bolng ornnmental, it cannot without absurdity be applied 
 in the interpretation of the parable. Stier. iSovre^, omitted by many ancient authorities, 
 hut perhaps as not being es^jressed in Matt, and 'M.a.ik. Alford ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 14. But v^hen tite husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying. This 
 is the lixir : come, let us kill him, that the inlieritance may be our's. 
 
 Saw him. Compare Jobu xi. 47-53, aud counsels of Joscpli's bretLren. 
 
 Gen. xxxvii. 19. 
 Thinking to defeat, like Satan in Eden, only advance God's counsels. 
 
 Acts iii. 18. 
 Christ connects future events into one history of the past. 
 The murderous decree of the priests, a secret to the world, known to the 
 
 Son. John xi. 53. 
 The awful deed was already perpetrated in purpose. 
 Amor ^^ thems £ Ives. The heart speaks in God's hearing. 
 The Thoughts of men, truer speech than the Words of men. 
 Implies & plurality of actors, consequentlj' of plotters. 
 The heir. Not earthly relations by death, but the Father's free gift. 
 One not in possession of a good, but hereafter to come into possession. 
 Christ is indeed the heir of all things. PhU. ii. 9-11 ; Pleb. i. 2. 
 He is Heir, not as the Son of God, but as the Son of man. 
 As God, Ho is the creator of all things. Col. i. 15-16. 
 " Had the princes of tke world known Him they would not have crucifieJ 
 
 Him." 1 Cor. ii. 8. 
 Tliey suspected He was the Messiah and ^•ic•lated their consciences.
 
 318 SUGGESTIVE C0M3IENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 Nicodemus ■was satisfied that Jesus was the ^Messiah. John iii. 2. 
 
 This latent consciousness is seen in the prophecy of Caiaphas. John 
 
 xi. 50. 
 Thtir ignorance, Acts iii. 17 was icilful, therefore inexcusable. 
 They who reject the Heir, cannot share the inheritance. 
 Those now casting Jesus out of their hearts, share His murderers' guilt. 
 Pretending ignorance, their conscience responded to the testimony of John. 
 Hence before they nrucify Him, He is searching their hearts as Judge. 
 They knew from scripture where to find the newly bon^ Saviour. 
 But they had no desire to go to Him with the wise men. 
 Thcij knew the Son, and yet they kneic Him not. John i. 10. 
 Their blindness was self-inflicted sealed as a judicial curse. 
 Kill him. An unconscious side-glance at Joseph as type of Christ. 
 The murderous resolve stands in the same words. Gen. xxxvii. 20. 
 Joseph coming forth from the pit, in opposition to the bloody counsels of 
 
 his brethren ; 
 Predicted the Lord's resurrection, and the fulfilment of his own dreams. 
 The Pharisees, in secret counsels, never trusted one another so far, or 
 
 dared look their own ^-ickedness so directly in the face, as to say 
 
 " This is the Messiah, let us kill Him." 
 The Great Master-Builder was aoout to take down the scaffolding, the 
 
 ancient Levitical ritual. 
 The selfish and proud under-builders set themselves to resist His purpose. 
 Jehovah says " A'lss the Son," Psa. ii. 12., but sinners said " ief us 
 
 kill Ilivi." 
 This resolution had aciuaUy been taken in the Sanhedrim. John xi. 53 
 The measure of their sin is thus filled to the last drop. 
 Type, parable, and history, point to one great truth. 
 In Christ's death, the guilt of the whole world is summed up. 
 The inheritance. Self-righteousness is ever seizing on the divine 
 
 inheritance. 
 Angels obtained their sad inheritance by rebellion. 
 Man, in Paradise, obtained his fearful lot by disobedience. 
 Their mournful experience, proved their inheritance, their ruin. 
 A ray of light cut off from the sun, becomes darkness. 
 Tliey wasted it then, and on earth, He offered it in heaven. 
 His kingdom was spiritual, they desired a temporal. 
 Hcnc*! their rejectio.n of the Messiah, and bitterness towards Him. 
 May be ours, llulers would make their provisioi»al authority perpetual. 
 Ill bolstering ixp Mcjsaic institutions beyond prescribed limits, they were 
 
 guilty of usurjiatiun.
 
 CHAP. Xi.] OM ST. LUKE. 319 
 
 They dreamed that tbe Lord would suffer them to I'ob Hira •with impimity. 
 It is the deceit of Satan, wnose thought here is properly exjiressed. 
 The parable shows a fearfully /ooZts/t, obstinate jJcrsevcrancc ia evil. 
 As there is no other Son to be sent, we will not be molested with othoi 
 
 demands. 
 Thus scribes and Pharisees, trusted to abide for ever, masters of the 
 
 Jewish church. 
 
 KAt)poi'd/xo?. Not here, like the Latin haeres, but equal to Dominus or Lord. Camp- 
 bell. Christ is the Heir and the Testator likewise. The Heir, because Ho survives His 
 own death ; and of the testament which He Himself bequeathed, He reaps as it were the 
 hereditarj' profits iu our advances. Ambrose. For iavrovs, aAAijAous. Cod. Sinai. SeiTc, 
 omitted. Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 15. So therj cast him out of the vine'jard, and killed him. What therefore shall tlu 
 lord of the vineyard do unto them J 
 
 Cast hiin out. Matt., Mark, and Luke describe him as thus treated. 
 We are reminded that Jesus suffered without the gate. Heb. xiii. 13. 
 Exclusion from the Hebrew camp styled, being " cut off from" God'd 
 
 people. 
 Thus tlie leper was put out of the camp of God. 
 
 " Naboth was carried forth out of the city and stoned." 1 Kings xxi. 13. 
 They flung iorth the body, denying it common sepulture. Mark xii. 8. 
 As if they said, " That is our answer to the householder's demands." 
 Rejection of the Son, the culminating point in the sin of the world. 
 Pastors are taught to peril their life, in fidelity to their charge. 
 Paul willing to be anathematized for the salvation of his countrymen., 
 
 Eom. ix. 3. 
 Multitudes have been cast out of the church for clinging to the cross. 
 Those who thus persecute saints, cast Christ out of the vineyard. 
 An undoubted allusion to excommunication before death. 
 Others refer to the crucifixion outside Jerusalem. 
 Killed him. This was charged on the men of Israel by Peter. 
 ' Him have ye taken, and by wicked hands, have crucified and slain." 
 
 Acts ii. 23. 
 Beginners in sin, Imow not the fearful extreme they may attain. 
 " Which of the prophets, have not your fathers persecuted '" Acts vii. 52, 
 " I send you prophets and wise men, some of them ye shall kill." Mfitt. 
 
 xxiii. 34. 
 The ncminal church has often been the scene of frightful ciueltv.
 
 320 SUGGESTrVE COMMENTAKY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 Wliat therefore? The parable finished, our Lord appeals to the 
 
 priests. 
 Do unto them. Successive generations, filling up their iniquities, 
 
 a living unity. 
 Were it not so, all confession of our fathers' sins mere mockery. Matt. 
 
 xxiii. 32-35. 
 Shall He return armed with irresistible power to execute justice ? 
 The abrupt question, a summons to judge themselves. Isa. v. 3-6. 
 
 cK/SaAovTej. His suffering -(rithont tlie city does not exhaust the meaning of the 
 prophecy any more than John's ijreaching in the ■wilderness exhausted Isa. xl. 3, or the 
 fli\iding the Sa\iour's garments, Psa. xxii. 18. Alcxandct. 7roir;(7ei. The question would 
 imply a hypothetical case, but the future treats it as a real one, still in progress, 
 implying — " Well there is such a vineyard, and there are such husbandmen. Kow, I 
 ask how the owner of the soil may be expected to treat such tenants?" The answer of 
 our Lord clearly intimates a change of dispensation, a destruction of the faithless 
 Jewish rulers, and transferring their privileges to a community, composed of Gentiles 
 and Jews. Alexander. 
 
 16. He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. 
 And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. 
 
 He shall come. Because in the Son is present the Father's majesty. 
 Destroy. These words of our Lord hint at their murderous guilt and 
 
 punishment ; He had compelled them to condemn themselves. 
 An echo of the divine warnings from the depths of the soul. 
 Implies that they had little more time to repent. 
 The Great Judge cometh, " and who will be able to stand ?" 
 ^Yhcu God appears to take vengeance, where shall a refuge be found ? 
 What must be their poi-tion with no God, but an almighty avenger ? 
 The parable here passes into a direct prophecy. 
 
 Hubbandmen. While there is life of a nation, also a life of each part. 
 A generation, chastened for its own and for its fathers' iniquities. 
 Having filled up its measure, the accumulated weight of punishment 
 
 descends. 
 It remains for each indicidual to withdraw himself from the outv.'ard 
 
 calamity. 
 Tiicre will ever be an ark, when the world perishes. 
 There was a Pella when Jerusalem was destroyed. 
 Viueyard. Made desolate, the sanctuary laid waste. 
 To others. Chuixh taken from priests and given to aposllcB.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 321 
 
 Privileges exalting the Jews to heaven given to the Gentiles. 
 
 " Ye judge yourselves unworthy, lo ! wo turn to the Gentiles." 
 
 They virtually declare themselves surrendering the vineyard to others. 
 
 lu a suicidal luanner they depose themselves. 
 
 The light unheeded, the candlestick is removed. Eev. ii. 5. 
 
 God forbid. Gr. Let it not be so. The word " God" is not in the 
 
 Greek. 
 Flattering hearts weigh siu in different scales from God. 
 The scope of the parable had not escaped theh comprehension, 
 " That shall never be. Our privileges can never be so forfeited." 
 There was no faith nor fear ; hence no repentance. 
 It was not a pious prayer, but a protest against judgment. 
 "Within three days they perpetrated the Very crime which they now 
 
 dei^recated. 
 The anticipated stroke came, and the prediction was verified. 
 But far more fearfully fulfilled in the doom of the impenitent in the 
 
 world to come. 
 The arrested hypocrite pronounces his own sentence. 
 Although in their intense hypocrisy they pretend to know not of whom 
 
 He spake. 
 It is the last form of Divine warning addressed to men. 
 Notorious sinners often confidently assert they can never perish eternally. 
 But denial or unbehef cannot falsify Di^dne truth. 
 
 Aeyoutriv avTw, KaKoiis KaKois a7roA.tcrei avToiis. — Matt. xxi. 41; omitted by Lnke and 
 Mark. But Luke gives us the key to them, by telling us the parable was spoken in the 
 hearing of the people, who seem to have made the answer. Alford. By the Pharisees 
 pretending to miss the sense of the parable. Trench, Olshausen, Stier. The Jews at 
 first pronounced that opinion, then, perceiving the point of the parable, said what Luke 
 relates. Theophylact ; or else, in the multitude were two classes, from whom the 
 different expressions came. Augustine, 
 
 The Jewish historian traces the destruction of Jerusalem to the murder of one man, 
 fhe high priest, Ananias. Josephus. He errs only in the name of the person. Mali cum 
 sint male perdet illos. Erasmus. 
 
 (i») 7eVoiTo. Far be the thought; may it not occur. W. d- W. An ejaculation of 
 their consciences, applying the parable to themselves. Wordsworth. Far be it from us 
 to kiU the heir. Bejigel. Lnplying in general a virtuous indignation at the conduct of 
 the husbandmen. The propriety of the measure could not be questioned. Wakefield. 
 The council daringly gave their decision, although they felt that the parable referred to 
 them. Stier.
 
 B22 SUGGESTn^ COMMEXTAEY [chap. XX. 
 
 17. And he belield them, and said, TVliat is this then that is written, The stone which 
 the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner f 
 
 Beheld them. Gr. having looked stedfasthj tipon them, to arouse 
 
 attention. 
 A calm and solemn penetration of their thoughts and purposes. 
 They felt the same searching eye they will at judgment. 
 At length Christ and His adversaries stood face to face. 
 Thus the prophet in disguise obtained a sentence from the lips of the 
 
 king against himself. 
 " Eemoved the ashes from his face, and the king discerned that he was 
 
 of the prophets." 1 Kings xx. 41. 
 He beheld them with compassion and grief. 
 He saw them deliberately ruining their souls and nation. 
 Written. Luke i. 63. Ancient materials and methods of writing. 
 
 See Notes. 
 The text precedes the Hosanna uttered by the people, Mark xi. 9., and 
 
 implies His sanction of that application. 
 In the cross of Christ, every thing is done as foreseen by the Lord. 
 " If you cannot prevent My exaltation, how can you escape My judgment ?" 
 Jesus honors the scriptures everywhere as the counsel of God. 
 The stone. Psa. cxviii. 22. Every line of this psalm seems to ajjply 
 
 to the Redeemer. 
 By the Jews applieu to the Messiah. Acts iv. 11, 
 The rejection of the corner stone corresponds with murdering the heir. 
 Our Saviour for a moment leaves the image of the vineyard. 
 It was inadequate to set forth one important truth. 
 The malice of the Pharisees could not defeut the counsel of God. 
 The Son should bo heir, despite their treason and malice. 
 This prophecy primarily refers to David's rejection by Saul. 
 Christ rejected at the temple, at the bar, at t-he cross, at the sepulchre. 
 Exalted in the resurrection, the ascension and gospel triumph. 
 He was made Head over all things to the Church. Eph. i. 22. 
 Ministers resolved to walk in His steps, must expect rejection too. 
 A plain identification of the stone in Dan. ii. 34, and Psa. cxviii. 22. 
 The whole kingdom- and power of the Messiah, summed up in Himself. 
 It is at once a stumbling block, and a foundation. Isa. viii. 13-14. 
 This rock was hewu out, and rolled down from the everlasting hills. 
 
 Dan. ii. 34. 
 Unbcl-ef turns the waruiug of the prophet into a new snare. 
 The builders. Elders, High Priests and Scribes. 
 Answers to the Son's rejection by the husbandmen.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 323 
 
 Boasting, vain-glorious builders of the cbiu'cli, cast away the cliief comer 
 
 stone. 
 With them, to " kill Ilim," was to preserve their place and power. 
 With God, the very means to make Him " head of the corner." 
 In the conflict, success was their defeat. His fall, was victory. 
 The Church's triumph certain, friends and even foes are builders. 
 A token that wicked schemes shall bo overruled to the Church's 
 
 advancement. 
 It, "standcth sun'," haxdng this seal " the Lord knoweth them that are 
 
 His." 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
 Rejected. The human master builders had marked this stone to he 
 
 cast away. 
 God, the true Master Builder, reai-ed a building upon it defying the gates 
 
 of hell. 
 Human reason would never have inferred, that one hanging between 
 
 two thieves would yet receive the icorship of the. world. 
 Head of the corner. The great enigma of the corner stone solved at 
 
 the resurrection. 
 Its ever growing fulfilment, prevades the whole N.T. Acts iv. 11. 
 Jesus shows their ignorance to those boasting they had the key. 
 The lot of persecuted ministers, was that of the Prince of Pastors. 
 Their reward will be from Him, on His thioue of power and glory. 
 Christ is the key-stone of the universe, binding all under it more closely 
 
 together. 
 Marvellovis. Mark xii. 11. The Church built upon a crucified Jew, 
 
 the great enigma of the world's history. 
 
 KiBov. Our Lord changes the figure. In 1 Cor. iii. 6-9, the two ideas of husbandly 
 and building are combined. W. & W. Ki^aX-<\v yujuVs. The point of comparison is the 
 junction of the two walls, the Jews and Gentiles. Augustine. The meeting of Jews and 
 Gentiles in one faith. Ci/ril. An emblem of the Gentiles rejected by Jews, but iiut in 
 their place by Jehovah. Eeferred to Christ. Alexander. Not the foundation stone, 
 though this be first laid. Pearcc. The foundation comer stone. Doddridge, The union 
 of the Jews and Gentiles in Christ's descent. Eahab and Euth were Gentile ancestors. 
 Amonius, Cyril. Psa. cxviii. not a direct Messianic psahn. Oosterzee. 
 
 18. Wliosocver shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but onwhomsocvfr it shall 
 fall, it uill grind him to jMwder. 
 
 Shall fall. Gr. hath fallen. They who ai-e offended at Christ's low 
 estate. Isa. viii. 14.
 
 824 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 There is ■worse sin of which ciir Saviour now warns the Pharisees. 
 Those who understand not the Scripture?, " Have ye not read?" Mark 
 
 xii. 10, 
 Such ought to be rebuked with Christ's words in Luie xxiv. 25. 
 Their burning hearts will read it, in the hght of Pentecostal fires. 
 It signifies every one that stumbleth at the Gospel of Christ. 
 " Blessed is he who shall not be offended in Me." Matt. xi. 6. 
 That stone. A sanctuary and asylum for all believers. 
 At once the foundation and key-stone of the building. 
 Every soul particijijates in the divine nature in the foundation rock. 
 Hence all saints are living stones, bi;ilt on the Rock of ages. 1 Peter 
 
 ii. 5. 
 These stones cemented by love, hence the Church grows. Eph. iv. IG. 
 Shall be broken. Gr. shall be crushed together, shattered ; the sinner's 
 
 doom, terrible. 
 The Jews rejected Christ, when in His humiliation. 
 Gospel despisers put Him to shame, in the time of His glory. 
 Persecutors in spite of their malignity, are instruments only of good, to 
 
 the righteous. 
 The bringing out of the grain, is due to the strokes of the flail. 
 But He will come to avenge His elect. Luke xviii; 7. 
 Vain devices to hope to suppress the truth, or thwart God's counsels. 
 It is wise to build on, it is madness to rush against the Bock. 
 On ■whomsoever it, &c. Those who hate the Lord, shall be crushed. 
 It falls on none, who have not first fallen on it. 
 
 Shall grind. The corner stone at rest, is Jesus revealed in the Gospel. 
 The comer stone grinding, is Jesus judging on the Throne. 
 The corner stone lies eveiywhere in thy way, reader ! 
 We must in faith build upon it, or without faith, fall upon it. 
 It has become a great mountain, and is filling the earth. Dan. ii. 35. 
 This dispensation utters a fearful, yet merciful warning. 
 " Behold ye despisers, wonder and perish." Acts xiii. 41. 
 To iD0"vvder. i.e., "like the chaff of a summer threshing-floor." Dan. 
 
 ii. 44. 
 The act of threshing, crushed the chaff into minute fragments. Matt. 
 
 iii. 12. 
 "He shall be a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence." Eom. ix. 33. 
 From a scaffold 12rt. high, a rock flung, crushed the criminal. 
 The guilt of persecution much greater than tbat of careless believers. 
 "He shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces," &o. 
 
 Psa. ii. 9.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 325 
 
 " Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His 
 
 ■wrath," &c. Psa. ii. 12. 
 If thou art God's building, thou art safe from floods, wind and storm. 
 Happy those who " build on the foundation of the Apostles and Proijhcts, 
 
 Jesus being the corner stone." Eph. ii. 20. 
 
 e<li' 6v S'av irdayf, refers to tlioso found unbelieving -when Clirist cornea. Baradiits, 
 Augustine, Clirysostom, Theophi/lact. Some discrimiuato here between the guilt of the 
 Jewish Church, at Christ's first advent, and that of the Gentile, at Ilis second coming. 
 Proverbial: Qui saxa Ligustica portat, &c. 
 
 '•ObtriVim vulgi perit omne cadaver 
 More animjE." Juvenal, Sat. iii. 
 
 Aiic/ijjcrei. — Literally, to ■winnow, i.e. throw them off as chaff. Meyer, W. d- W, 
 
 19. IT And the chief priests and tlie scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him ; 
 and they feared the people : for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against 
 thim. 
 
 Chief priests, and Pharisees, Matt. xxii. 15, and Herodians. Mark 
 
 xii. 13. 
 Unity of compact, determined resistance, and incorrigible folly, plot 
 
 against Christ. 
 Ecclesiastics, politicians, orthodox and liberals, all conspire. 
 In persecuting saints men co-mbine, who differ in everything else. 
 Pharisees and Herodians. Mark xii. 13. Their only bond of union, 
 
 hatred of our Lord. 
 Same hour. Their hatred of Him, increasing in violence. 
 Lay liands. They no longer intended to keep on terms with the Lord. 
 Lawless violence is often prevented by fear of personal safety. 
 Desperate indeed must be men's state when they are provoked to sin by 
 
 mere admonition. 
 Their corruptions rebelled against their convictions. 
 When "the heart is fully set in man to do evil," Ecc. viii. 11, the 
 
 warnings pass like the shadow over the rock. 
 The more light in their mind, the more hatred in their heart. 
 There is something awful in the terrible blindness of these men 1 
 They well understood the penalty, yet defiantly reject the Stone, that 
 
 will soon grind them to powder. 
 This hatred of the truth discovers one of the depths of Satan.
 
 32G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. KX. 
 
 Sin by sceptics callv3cl an infirmity, or excessive sensitiveness. 
 
 Feared. They knew that peoj^le counted Jesus, as well as John, a 
 
 prophet. 
 They resolved to have Him accused in the forms of law. 
 The fear of God's eternal justice, is utterly despised. 
 Fear only chains the hands, the heart is abandoned to iniquity. 
 The Sanhedrim was pressed within by the spiritual icords of our Lord. 
 It was pressed from without by the tenqjcj' of the people. 
 Unbelief reaches its climax of malignity in feeling its weakness. 
 The Lord's enemies harden themselves afresh after each defeat. 
 Perceived. Conscience is often blinded for a while. 
 Their passions like slumbering tigers were aroused by truth. 
 Unbelief comprehended the words, although it fiercely rejected them and 
 
 the Teacher. 
 Spoken against. He had indeed said many things against them, 
 
 but not enough. 
 They are determined to bring greater shame on themselves. 
 A good man's deeds an indirect censure of the wicked. 
 Parable. Luke iv. 23 ; v. 36. See Notes. 
 
 01 ypo.ixixaTtl<; KaX ot apxiepeis. Tischendorf, Alford, kol (<jiopT^9r)<Tav, KoX befOIU 
 r<^jo/3>j9. is not" but ; " the clause signifies the state of mind in which their attempt was 
 inaJe. Alford. Yea for all that. — Fear restrains the hands, hut not the evil heart. 
 Quesnel. Condemned hy Popo Clement II, in the Bull Unigenitua 1703. Eome ever 
 tries to make the Scriptures sanction persecution. 
 
 20. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should fei/in themselves just men, 
 that they migltt take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and 
 authority of the gvvernor. 
 
 Watched. Seeking the opportunity to injure Him. 
 Through His entire life, with malice, they haunted His steps. 
 
 1. They take counsel. He is thoroughly armed. 
 
 2. They would entangle Him. He seeks to deliver them. 
 
 3. They flatter Him. He rebukes them, to save them. 
 
 Sjoies. Gr. men saJinrned, instructed for that purpose, Pharisees and 
 
 Herodians. Matt, and Mark. 
 Enemies suspend mutual hate, to persecute a third, dangerous to both.
 
 CIIAr. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 827 
 
 "Wlicn bad men conspire, good men should associate. 
 
 " The cbiklreu of the world are wiser than the children of light." Luko 
 
 xvi. 8. 
 Feign themselves. Gr. Play the hypocrite. Vain cxiicctation. 
 " He needed not that any should testify what w-as in man." John ii. 25. 
 The servants of Satan often assume the livery of Christ. 
 The wicked, never profounder hypocrites than when they net honestly. 
 Many speak the language of Canaan who are strangers at heai-t. 
 " Even Satan is transformed into un angel of light." 2 Cor. xi. 14. 
 Just men. Piously inquiring how to settle their scruples of conscience. 
 They only desire a fair pretence for taking Him before the governor. 
 The Sanhedrim had no longer power to punish by death. 
 Charity iorhids judging our neighbor's heart. 
 Prudence forbids trusting our neighbor's tongue. 
 
 An ignorant bystander might have said " These are sincere inquirers." 
 Wolves in sheep's clothing could not deceive the Shepherd. 
 " Their words were smoother than oil, but war was in their hearts." 
 
 Psa. Iv. 21. 
 Might take hold. Gr. of lam by a word. Men failing to be judgeu 
 
 become accusers. 
 Slander, failing to blast, may yet stain the good man's name. 
 They coidd succeed only by making Him suspected of crime. 
 They wanted a political Messiah, tliat. He would not become. 
 The governor. Persecutors aim to make secular powers, tools of 
 
 their malice. 
 Pilate would have suffered Jesus to live in peace, but for the priests. 
 
 iyKo-BiTov^, Persons suljonieil or sent by others to lie in amtiush. Herodians, 
 Matt. xxii. 16. They were favorable to the Koraan government, while the Pharisees 
 opposed it. Origen, Jerome. The former saw, in the Herodian family, a pledge of the 
 national existence, in the face of Roman ambition. They were pleased with the com- 
 promise of the ancient faith and heathen civilization. Their conflicting doctrines were 
 thrown into the background by political expediency or necessity. The Syrian version 
 renders it. — The domestics of Herod, Campbell. Their doctrinal tenets were chiefly those 
 of the Sadducees. Major. 
 
 VTroKpii/ofieVou?, (uffo and KpCvot) to answer, to respond; to act a part upon the 
 ttage ; hence to assume a counterfeit character ; to jiretcnd, to feign. Liddetl d- Scott. 
 
 avTuv \6yov. The E.V., in rendering " Ids words," has mistaken the construction of 
 the clause. It is, that they might lay hold of Him by some saying ; "catch Him by a 
 word," see Mark xii. 13. Alford. rfj apxii. The ruling power, and unto the authority of 
 the governor. Alford.
 
 328 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 21. And they aslced him, eaying. Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest 
 rightly, neither aeceptcst thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly : 
 
 They asked. The Pharisees' si^okesmen, " coveting this bad pre- 
 eminence." 
 What they do in cunning and malice we should do iu earnest sincerihj. 
 Look to Christ for counsel, in all cases of doubt. 
 Master. We should always suspect the praises of the worldling. 
 The hypocrite seldom speaks the truth, except to deceive. 
 The power of truth is such, it will make their tongues condemn thera. 
 The Gospel iu an iingodly ministry, a light canied by an enemy. 
 It disGovers to us the very pitfalls, into which the bearer falls. 
 Enemies publishing the truth, illustrate the wisdom of God. 
 We know. These knaves speak, as if they would submit to 111'? 
 
 authority. 
 They do not however, say, " We know Thou art the Messiah." 
 It seems to imply that they were ready to honor Him as such. 
 " We know that Thou wilt tell us to our faces what Thou thinkest." 
 Such flattery blinds the eyes, and warps the judgment of myriads. 
 These crafty casuists, regarded Jesus as a mere man. 
 Though eminently wise, they trusted He was thus to be reached. 
 They came to Him, trausfonned like Satan into angels of light. 
 The devil has sometimes worn the garb of a theologian. Matt. iv. 6. 
 Teachest rightly. Twice these shameless hypocrites speak the word 
 
 which judges them. 
 The faithful ■witnes.s, Eev. i. 5, receives the highest praise of His 
 
 enemies. 
 The wretches think they can overcome Christ with flattery. 
 Unaware that this eulogj' was the sharpest satire upon themselves. 
 His enemies compassing His death, said, "He spake as never man ' 
 
 spake." John vii. 4G. 
 " Even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God." 1 Thess. ii. 4. 
 Hypocri.tes have honey on their lips, but gall in their hearts. Psa. Iv. 21. 
 Tlieir voice is the voice of Jacob, but their hands arc the hands of Esau. 
 
 Gen. xxvii. 22. 
 He who has God's truth, is sure at last to carry off the victory. 
 He who would put tlic saints to shame, will himself be confounded. 
 Acceptest, &c. A formula, influenced by partiality iu any one's favor, 
 " I charge thee before God that thou do nothing by partiulit}'." 
 They flattered Him, with the hope of putting Him off His guard. 
 "Tell ua now with Thy well laiowu uniform frankness, here in tho 
 
 temple, before all tho jieoplc."
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 929 
 
 " Thou carest notLiug for Cassar, nothing for these Heroclians." 
 
 " Thou kuowest wo Pharisees differ from them in judgment." 
 
 A hint to lift Himself in His answer, above the lloman authorities : 
 
 And trust the Pharisees and Jewish people to stand by Him. 
 
 Thej saw their power did not intimidate Him, in the way of truth. 
 
 " The kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Prov. xxvii. G. 
 
 And Joab to Amasa, "Ai't thou in health, my brother?" 2 Sam. xx. 9. 
 
 " Their words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords." Psa. 
 
 Iv. 21. 
 The way of God truly. A Hebraism for " The true icay of God." 
 A most abandoned falsehood to them, yet constrained to confess his 
 
 sincerity. 
 This avowal of His enemies obliges us, 1, faithfully to receive Hid 
 
 instruction. 2, willingly to follow it. 3, to labor to spread Hid 
 
 doctrines. 
 
 opflws. Oi\r Saviour's universal reputation for integrity, may vindicate the character 
 of these spies, in speaking the truth. Olshausen. irpoa-M-nov. — A Hebraism, Gal. ii. 6. 
 oil Aa/ii/Sarcis np6<Tu>-ov, Used by LXX. for Hebrew (seth panim), " to respect persons." 
 Matt, and Mark have here ov j3A.eVf is eis Trpocriawov. Wordsworth. It is metaphorically 
 for the external rank and condition. 
 
 aArjflei'ay. No poet could portray the united falsehood and folly, Tvith more psycho- 
 logical depth anHstrikini} effect, than tliese miserable men depict them in themselvee, 
 by a word or two from their own lips, in the simple language of the Evangelist. Stier 
 
 22. Js it laxcful for us to give trihute nnto Casar, or no ? 
 
 Is it lawful ? " Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, who is not 
 
 thy brother." Deut. xvii. 15. 
 Proud obstinacy, not religious j^rinciple, refuses submission to a foreign 
 
 power. 
 But the Lord distinctly demanded submission to an alien monarch. 
 " Bring j'our necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon." Jer. xxvii. 13. 
 They falsely declare, " We were never in bondage to any man." John 
 
 viii. 33. 
 Ministers should shun the petty politics of party, in the pxdpit. 
 The pulpit should speak on the duties of subjects, Eom. xiii. 7 ; auJ 
 
 doom of ungodly rulers. Psa. cslis. 8-9.
 
 330 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 Our Lord condemns both a suspicious silence and an impudent partisan- 
 ship. 
 
 As if they had said, It is with us, an important matter of conscience. 
 
 It appears to us Pharisees actually sin to pay poll tax. 
 
 The people of Jehovah, ought not to be subject to a heathen government 
 
 The Sanhedrim had protested against the Idumean Herod. 
 
 He who rejects the yoke of God, is likely to fret under that of his ruler. 
 
 He who serves God best is happy to serve a lawlul ruler. 
 
 They we»'e very willing to receive tithes in Cresar's money. 
 
 Bat their selfishness would excuse them withholding justice from CsBsar. 
 
 Their expectation of the Messiah became stronger and stronger. 
 
 Jewish fanaticism flamed higher, from generation to generation. 
 
 Resolved to resist unto rebellion, the dominion of the Eomans. 
 
 They hoped He would answer against the Herodians. 
 
 For us. The freeborn seed of Abraham who pay the Lord's tribute. 
 
 Tribiite. The usual poll tax throughout the Roman empire. 
 
 It was called for in Roman, and not in Jewish coin. 
 
 Pride and oovetousness made them loth to pay tax. 
 
 Csesar. His character. Luke iii. 1. See Notes. 
 
 Or no ? An artful presentation of the question requiring a direct answer 
 yes or no. 
 
 <f)6pov. Matt, and Mark never use ij)opos, which is used by Luke here, and xxiii. 2, 
 and by St. Paul, Rom. xiii. 6,7. They have Krjpa-ov, which is never used by Luke. 
 Wor(h'a-ort!i. Strictly an enrollment of the jieople, and assessment of their property. 
 Probably the very tax levied when Joseph and Mary werg enrolled, Luke ii. 1. <^opoi'. 
 The tribute paid to a foreign prince, levied by direct taL'ation ou property and persona, 
 for which purpose, the a.voypa(j>ri or Krjvirov, poll-tax, was taken. Webster's Syntax. The 
 dispute was between the Pharisees, the strong theocratic repudiators of Roman rule, and 
 the Herodians, the hangers-on of a djTiasty created by Copsar. This ^opov, a poll-tax, 
 had been lened ever since Juda?a became a province of Rome. Sticr. 
 
 Tjixa^ for -qtMlv. Tischcndorf, Oosterzce, Alford, Cod. Sinoi. They hesitated to pay 
 tribute to a heathen king, especially to Ca;sar, who had threatened to take the place of 
 the Me.ssiah, as His rival in the rule of this world. Olshauscn. They intended, in case 
 He should say they ought to give tribute to Ca;sar, to accuse Him to the people, as 
 placing the nation under the yoke of slavery; but if He forbade them, to denounce Him 
 to the governor, as a stirrer up of sedition. Theophylact. 
 
 2.S. But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, ]Vliy tempt ye me 1 
 
 Perceived. Ho saw not only through their question, but through 
 thansclvcs.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 331 
 
 With one stroke He solves their difficulty, and defeats tbeir malice. 
 
 " His undcistaudiug is inliuite." Psa. cxlvii. 5. 
 
 He saw through the disguise of the wife of Jeroboam. 1 Kings xiv. 6. 
 
 Absalom's mask, covering treason with a vow of religion. 
 
 The ambition of Jehu under pretended zeal for the Lord. 2 Kings x. IG. 
 
 " Ever act as in the presence of an illustrious Eoman." Seneca to Liicellius. 
 
 "As ever in my great Task-Master's eye." Milton. 
 
 Craftiness. No duplicity or hypocrisy can elude His eye. Ecc. i. 10. 
 
 The Church shall know " I am He who searcheth the heart." Eev. ii. 2. 
 
 Di: honesty in devotion is treason to the ICing of kings. 
 
 " Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted." 1 Cor. 
 
 X. 9." 
 They imagined He could not escape their cunningly twisted snare. 
 The Herodians were favourably disi;)osed, toward the Eomans. 
 Should He say, "yes," He would compromise Himself with the people. 
 " Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird." Prov. i. 17. 
 Had He been a successful rebel against Casar, thousands would have 
 
 eagerly flocked to His standard. 
 They would impose on IlUn, the sedition of their own hearts. 
 They actually brought Him to the cross, imder this charge. 
 Why tempt ye ? With a glance in majestic calmness, He tears tho 
 
 net in pieces. 
 He repels with becoming dignity, the flattery of their lips. 
 "Ye hypocrites, under the mask of a tender conscience, hide perfect 
 
 malice." 
 His first word, with a look of judicial anger, silences them. 
 He condescendingly teaches them, even when malice prompted them. 
 His victory becomes manifold and complete. 
 1. His love beats down their malice. 2. His humilitj% their impudence. 
 
 3. His wisdom, their folly. 
 He will make the tempters (taken in their own snare) decide their own 
 
 question. 
 A conscience sensitive about civil taxes, recJcless in affairs of holiness ! 
 All civil governments must be the result of compromise. 
 Anabaptists at the lleformation, under color of conscientious scruples 
 
 resisted all governments. 
 If every subject's objections were regarded, the wheels of government 
 
 would stand still.. 
 His attempt to determine such a question, -would be interpreted, a 
 
 pretence to sovereignty. 
 All their attacks were first made on His moral character.
 
 332 SUGGESTIVE COJISIENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 They accused Him of gluttony, and violating the sabbath, of being a 
 
 friend of publicans and sinners. 
 In His miracles, of being in confederacy with Beelzebub. 
 At the close of His life, the assault was upon His civil character. 
 
 KaTai'oijaa';. JIatt. uses the stronger expression yvovs, and Slark eiSui;, enhancing 
 the directness of His knowledge. Oosterzee. iravovpyiav. — Craft. Sept. : villainy. Aesch. 
 Latin, facinus. Used five times in N.T. The same word iisod in describing the subVety 
 of the serpent, 2 Cor. xi. 3. It denotes the character of a man who is ready for anj-thing. 
 Hence the character Panurge, in Rabelais. W. d W. Tt /if Treipafere, omitted. Tischen- 
 dorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. Probably added from Mark sii. 15. 
 
 S<L Shew me a penny. Wliose image aad superscription Tuithitf Theij answered and 
 said, Casar's. 
 
 Show me. The tribute money was api^lied to tyranny and idolatry. 
 
 Yet in their political condition it was right to pay it. 
 
 He gives striking vividness to what He is about to say. 
 
 He addresses not only the cars, but eyes, of those about Him. 
 
 He thus attracts attention, and prepares them for His memorable answer. 
 
 " That image, see it," a grave censure self-inflicted. 
 
 This request really decided the question. 
 
 He discloses His knowledge of their secret motives, and His scorn of 
 
 their hypocrisy. 
 Subjects have right to judge if their rulers are ministers of God. Rom. 
 
 xiii. 4. 
 A penny. Eoman denarius so called from the letter x i;pon it : worth 
 
 7id : in law books, an English penny. 
 It was the principal silver coin of the Empire. 
 First made 269 b.c. The price of a day's labor in Palestine. 
 A Eoman soldier's daily pay was somewhat less. 
 Julius Cajsar first coined Roman money with his image. 
 The national faith was thus pledged for its purity and value. 
 For one hundred years, the Roman i^ower had prevailed in Judaea. 
 Money represents the earthly side of government. 
 It is a permanent symbol of subjection and mark of allegiance. 
 Whose image ? Doubtless, Ho took and held up their denarius in Hia 
 
 hand.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 333 
 
 It deepened their curiosity, and prepared them for the solution. 
 
 He refers to the well-known head and title of the coin, hy which it was 
 
 authenticated as a legal tender. 
 The image of the emperor on one side, the suporscrii^tion on the other. 
 We sec how He catechises the hypocrites again. 
 With natural simplicity and great depth of meaning. 
 Our Lord makes a sudden advance of the capital doctrine of Moses. 
 The soul at creation was stamped with the image of God. Luke xv. 8-9. 
 That image lost by the apostasy is restored by the Spirit through Christ. 
 Cffisar is satisfied with the outward act of tribute and honor. 
 But God requires the whole man, in heart, word, and deed. 
 The soul has no value, except that given it by God's pleasure. 
 The Lord's answer gains infinite emphasis, connected with His action. 
 They were obliged to appear Cesar's subjects bearing Caesar's coin. 
 Caesar's. Lays the groixnd oil which He suddenly takes His judicial 
 
 stand. 
 Withoat a Yes or No — He settles the question for all coming time. 
 This proof given by their own hand shows they had two kinds of coin. 
 Temple money was stamped differently from that of Eome. 
 To give Cffisar his own for God's sake, meant only to obey God. 
 The first question was, " Should they have received Cfesar's money ?" 
 Having freely admitted it as the instrument of commerce, they were 
 
 bound to sustain Ctesar, who protected their interests. 
 It was the mark of his sovereignty and their subjection. 
 It was absurd to scruple giving homage to a sovereign, thus acknowledged : 
 Since it expressed not the least p-eference for the Eoman Government, 
 
 Seifare. As if He had said, "Whatl are you required to pay taxes to tho Romans, 
 and in what coin 1 Let Me see one." It was not to gain time. Oosterzee. S-qvaptov — 
 apyvpiov. For five hundred years of the Eoman KepuhUc neither sUver nor gold were 
 used as money, but copper. Afterwards coins bore images of the gods, and then of the 
 emperors. Among the Russians and- Indians, skins were used; among the ancient 
 Dorians, oxen; hence pccunia (pecus, cattle). Among the Lacedemonians, iron; 
 among the Abyssinians, salt; among the Polynesians, shells; Icelanders, dried fish; 
 West Indians, su jar; ancient Scots, iron TtaiZs. Sultan Mohammed, a.d. 999, ordered the 
 queen of Persia to coin her money with his image, as token of submission. Mark adds 
 'iva iJu>, — That till now, Christ had never had such money before his eyes. i'lKoua, The 
 Jewish tradition was, the admitting title of any prince on their current coin, was an 
 acknowledgment of subjection. Lightfoot. Their not daring to refiue the coin when 
 offered, was a confession of submission to Rome. Doddridge, 
 
 88
 
 334 SUGGESTH'E COMMENTARY [CHAP, XX. 
 
 25. And he said xmio them, Uender therefore unto Casar the things which he Ceesar't, 
 and unto God the things which be God's. 
 
 Hender. A clear acknowledgment of the divine authority of human 
 government. 
 
 1. Though they went to pnij Casar's tribute, they were not to adopt 
 
 Cresar's religion. 
 The paying earthly tribute does not defraud the Lord's service. 
 " Fear God, honor the king." 1 Pet. 2. 17. 
 " Curse not tlie king, no not in thy thought." Eccl. x. 20. 
 " Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." Acts xxiii. 5. 
 " The vickcd are not afraid to speak evil of dignities." 2 Pet. ii. 10. 
 
 2. Obedience to the laws. "Let eve3-y soul be subject to the higher 
 
 powers." Eom. xiii. 1. 
 *' Use not your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness." 1 Pet. ii. 16. 
 " License they mean, when liberty they ciy." Milton. 
 There are times when resistance becomes a virtue. Psa. cxlix. 8-9. 
 
 3. Duty of prayer, supplication for all that are in authority. 1 Tim. ii. 1. 
 Darius gives gold to the temple, and the people must pray for him. 
 
 Ezra. vi. 10. 
 Marcellus, a bitter persecutor., begged an interest in the prayers of saints. 
 There is a depth and fullness of meaning in the wondrous word. 
 This proves the right of Cassar to his money or tax. 
 " Give to each of yoiu- two masters his own tribute." 
 "Ye men of Israel, ye bear in yourselves, a special superscription." 
 Many ask about Ciesar's image, few about God's image. 
 ■Whiy were the people of God to pay tribute to a heathen ? 
 Because they had fallen from their allegiance to God, 
 That they had two masters, the penalty of their sins. 
 They rejected God as their king, when Saul was elected. 
 God said in the wilderness, " Go up," and they would not. 
 But when He said, " Go not up," they went, and perished. 
 These questioners refuse to submit either to Cctsar, or to God. 
 Obedience to governments is conditional, i.e. on obedience to God. 
 The answer is addressed to the multitude, as well as to captious enquirers. 
 Kondci-ing to Cicsar that which is his, is rendering to God also. 
 If you repay Cicsar's kindness, forget not God's infinitely gi-eater gifts. 
 Render unto God. Honor, love, obedience, faith, fear, prayer. 
 1, a simple, but comprehensive, 2, a natural, but needful, 3, a difliciUt, 
 
 but blessed injunction. 
 Bender unto God, 1, a penitent, 2, believing, 3, patient, 4, nbcdien*; 
 
 hourt.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 835 
 
 "With these daily payments to God, Caesar could never intcrjcre. 
 Piety never causes a collision between temporal and spiritual sovereignty. 
 We owe no obedience to human powers, when interfering with God's will. 
 Apostles would not obey rulers, when forbidden to teach. Acts iv. 19. 
 Hebrew youth would not how down to the image on the plain of Dura. 
 
 Dan. iii. 18. 
 Daniel would not cease praj-ing at the command of Darius. Dan. vi. 7. 
 llcligion should p('rrfl(/e men's ^JoZiJtcfl^, as their ecclesiastical life. 
 CfEsar evidently had not taken away their temple-tax. 
 Vespasian required the half-shekel for the Cajjifo^ instead of the Temple. 
 "Ye Pharisees (disloyal) render to Ctesar his due." 
 " Ye Herodians (impious) render to God His due." 
 A conscientious recognition of duties to Cajsar, and to God. 
 These words unite, rather than divorce political and religious duties. 
 Which, be God's. Things earthly for your ruler, but the soul for 
 
 God! 
 " Serve Cffisar for God's sake, who has placed him over you." 
 " Thus your fathers served Nebuchadnezzar." 
 " Give to God that which bears His image, — your soul." 
 Never was reply more unexpected or ovei-whelming. 
 Their plot was detected, and malicious hypocrisy exposed. 
 The stater paid by Peter was an ecclesiastical, the present, a civil tribute. 
 Civil power at times an intolerant interference, " lording over conscience." 
 Morbid scrupulosity and servile obsequiousness are both condemned. 
 
 1. There are some who render his due neither to Cajsar nor to God. 
 
 2. Some to Cajsar, and not to God. 3. Some to God, and not to Casar. 
 4. Some to both God and Ca;sar, but either too weakly, too late, or too 
 
 little. 
 To everyone his due : — to God, obedience ; to oui' neighbor, love ; to tho 
 authorities, honor ; to the devil, resistance. 
 
 Ta KoiVapos. It -was a saying of tho Eabbis, " wherever any king's money is current, 
 there that king is lord." Lightfoot. Signifies, first the coin, hut also, latiori sensu, civil 
 fidelity and submission, -which were concentrated in the tribute-money. Oosterzee. 
 
 TO. Toi) ©coC. A proverb of folly among infidels, that religion has nothing to do with 
 politics. Our Saviour teaches that a Christian can go nowhere, without carrying his 
 divine principles with him. To dcmagogiTes in pursuit of office and plunder, such 
 Bcnlinients may quiet the reproaches of conscience, where there is any left. No people 
 can adopt it without bidding & final adieu to their virtue, and safety as a nation. Dwight. 
 Others do not mix political and religious duties, or attempt to bring them into conflict or 
 agreement. Mendelssohn. The Lord afllrms their consistency and equal obligation, when
 
 836 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTABY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 they are not in collision. Alexamler. The Stuarts strained the claims of Caesar, and the 
 Eoman Hierarchy continually interfered with the civil power. Slier. A caution against 
 omitting the sacred tribute, Ex. xxx. 13. Diodati, Eaphelius. A caution to the Pharisees, 
 against using religion as a pretence for sedition. The Herodians were too much inclined 
 to make a compliment of their religion, to the Eomans. Doddridge, Major, lempl'i 
 tribute. Milman. The inner life. TcrtuUian, Langc. 
 
 oTToSoTf . A troublesome text, which has bitten so many preachers. Justus Jonas. 
 It resembles those boxes in which every one is found to enclose another. Stier. Dr. End, 
 preaching from these words, before Frederick the Great, 1756, drew from them the motto 
 of the Prussian Emi>ire : — "Suum cuique." This utterance encourages a collision of 
 duties. Mendelssohn. It is no Pharisaical advice to serve two masters, — to carry the trc-e 
 on both shoulders. Stier, 
 
 26. And thc'j could not talte hold of Ms words before the people : and they marvelled 
 at his answer, and held their peace. 
 
 Take liold. They desired a pretence to stir up the people against 
 
 Him, as a betrayer of their liberties. 
 Their hands ■were tied by themselves, despite their malice. 
 God guides the tongue, -where the heart is devoted to Him. 
 Christ purposes no political change in an earthly -way. 
 There is not a. single instance oj ignorance or mistake in His words or 
 
 deeds. 
 They marvelled.. Whoever read this scene, and did not marvel ? 
 His enemies, foiled, were taken in their own net. 
 " God will ever make the wrath of man to praise Him." 
 Those who will encounter Christ, must look for shame and contempt. 
 At His answer. Grace alone holds the scales even between God and 
 
 Cajsar. 
 Held their peace. Temporal authority upheld, and rights of 
 
 conscience defended. 
 The Sadducees were not present when He silenced the Pharisees. 
 Christ supremo Victor, over the cunning and violence of His enemies. 
 In Christ, His saints will be victors over all the craft of the wicked. 
 
 airroO pqiiaTot. Not as in E.V., "of his words;" but, "of Him, hy a wor,:l." Alford.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 837 
 
 27. IT Thai came to him certain of the Sadducccs, which deny that there is any resur- 
 rection; and they ashed him, 
 
 Then. On tLo same day. Matt xxii. 23. 
 
 Sadducees. NotLiug certain known of their origin. 
 
 ZaJok a traditional personage ; they were the Epicureans of Judaism. 
 
 Taught soul and hody perished together; materialists. 
 
 That there was neither reward, nor jjunishment after death, 
 
 Tliey afBrmed obedience founded on fear a viercenarij motive. 
 
 They denied the resurrection, or that there is either angel or spirit, con- 
 sequently the immoi'tality of the soul. Matt xxii. 31. 
 
 This should bo kept in mind, as our Lord's answer is directed against 
 both errors. 
 
 Tliey taught that the will of man is as free as before the fall. 
 
 They rejected all the traditions of the elders. 
 
 They professed to recognise the authority of the Pentateuch and ac- 
 knowledged the prophets. 
 
 High in wealth and station, they were the freethinkers of the day. 
 
 Eepulsive in then- manners, and hostile especially to the Pharisees. 
 
 Not given to proselyting like their modem followers. 
 
 Denying Providence, they held all things at their own disposal. 
 
 They boasted of entire freedom from superstition. 
 
 Yet in reality were the veriest slaves of their own fears. 
 
 Their creed was drawn chiefly from the Greek philosophy during the 
 Syrian Kings. 
 
 The leading principle of the Sadducees, was lov-c of pleasure. 
 
 That of the Pharisees, love of power. 
 
 Deny. Truth is ancient, error is an iipstart spirit of contradiction. 
 
 Freetbinkers, i.e., false thinkers, are ever subverting divine truth. 
 
 We see here, how old a thing is unbelief, and Paradise proves it. 
 
 We find in the Church of Moses, Samuel, and David, unblushing 
 sceptics. 
 
 Modern theories of infidelity, old forms of unbelief undei neio names. 
 
 Resurrection. Life and immortality brought to light by the Gospel. 
 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 
 Brought out of dim twilight into clear and glorious day. 
 
 Enoch's trailslation, first intimation of a future state. 
 
 Hannah the mother of Samuel alludes to the resun-ection. 1 Sam. ii. 6. 
 
 Job, " I know that my Kedeemer liveth." Job xix. 25. 
 
 Isaiah, " Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust." Isa. XKvi. 19. 
 
 Daniel, " They that sleep in the dust, shall awake." Dan. xii. 2. 
 
 The appearance of Moses and Elias ou the mount. Luke Ia. 30.
 
 838 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 " This day shalt thou be mth Me in Paradise." Luke xxiii. 43. 
 Eestoration of the young man at Nain, and resurrection of Lazarus prove 
 
 the doctrine. 
 Denying it, man's responsibility and retribution fall with it. 
 Not caused by any process or law of nature, but by the Almighty power of 
 
 God. Phil. iii. 21. 
 Christ draws no reasons from the alleged indestructible nature of the 
 
 soul. 
 No proudly speculative dreamings about the " spirit divine." 
 It is founded on God "Who alone hath immortality ^ 1 Tim. vi. 16. 
 No tribe has ever been found withoiit an idea of future life. 
 " Gathered to their fathers," implies more than buried beside them. 
 Abraham in offering up Isaac had faith to receive him back again from 
 
 the dead. Heb xi. 19. 
 Asked Him. Catechized, Satan never ceases to lay snares for the 
 
 ministry. 
 They would render the Saviour odious, making Him to appear a Sadducee. 
 
 'S.ah&avKaiuiv. Some of the early Christian writers (Epiphanius, OTigen,nnd. Jerome) 
 attribute to the Sadduceea the rejection of all the Facrod boobs, except the Pentateucn. 
 But it is now generally admitted that this is an error, which arose from a confusion of 
 the Sadducees with the Samaritans. Sadducees denied that the Israelites were in pos- 
 session of an Oral Law transmitted by Moses. Smith's Dictionary. It is a mistake into 
 which many commentators have fallen, to suppose the Sadducees recognised only the 
 Pentateuch : they acknowledged the prophets also, and rejected tradition only. Winer, 
 AJj'ord. A middle \'iew, endorsed by some of the Fathers, is that they subordinated the 
 Other writings to the Pentateuch. Neander, Stier. Their position towards the remainder 
 of the Scriptures was officially an ambiguous one. They dared not reject them, but 
 desired to class them among traditions. Lange. Denied by Brorvn, Sepp. 
 a.va.<rta(Ti.u. "Ne forte animas Acheronte reamur 
 Effngere aut umbras inter vivos volitare." Lucretius, b. iii. 
 
 Pythagoras maintained the transmigration of the soul. Ilis motto : — Omnia mu- 
 tantur, nihil iuturit. Plato held matter and the soul eternal. The Mohammedans hold 
 there is a certain bone in the body, which resists dissolution, and will serve as seed for 
 the next body. Origen, Ossian, Doddwell, held the soul resides in the air after death. 
 Gauls and Egyptians buried with their dead their arras, utensils, &c. " They have gone 
 down, they have laid their arms under their heads," Ezek. Wilkinson. The Gospel, not 
 the Law, revealed «the resurrection. Oostcrzcc. As to the identity of the body to be 
 raised, it is replied, one foot of the surface of the earth would supply material for the 
 bodies of a constant iwpulation of six hundred millions, for twenty thousand years. 
 Ifoadly's Doctrine of the Resurrection; Locke's Controversy with V/orcester. The 
 resurrection of the same person is promised, but not of the same body. Reason digs 
 beside this doctrine, sweeps past it ; pride flies over it. Zinzindorf. In the promises of 
 the O.T. every one finds what lies at the bottom of his own heart. Blessings for timo
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 83'J 
 
 and elernity. Pascal. The key to the enigmas of Job's history found in xix. 25. Stier. 
 Those only can speak of immortiUity who, through the higher life, have won a. victory 
 over death. Sclileiermachcr. The Egjptiims, among whom the Hebrews lived, had mail/> 
 the future life a caramon doctrine o£ the people. Immortality must have be«n cc'itjcni) J 
 to a people, who amidst Polytheists, could rise to the sublime idea of one God. Moliter. 
 SimjJy a renewal of life, and not a reunion of the soul and body, — the error of the 
 Saddueees, a denial of the immortality of the soul. Campbell. 
 
 " Aikcd." Curiosity of seeing how He would solve a difficulty their antagonists could 
 not. 3Icyer, Andrews. 
 
 28. Sailing, Master, Moses wrote unto us. If any man's brother die, having a wife, and 
 lie die without children, Oiat his brother should take his wife, and raise uv seed untu hiv 
 brother. 
 
 Saying'. Doitbtless a hackneyed objection against tLe resurrection. 
 TLiey ■would tempt Him either to contradict Moses, or, sanction their 
 
 frivolous argument. 
 If they knew the prophecy of His o\vn resurrection, they would hint Hid 
 
 hope to be mere enthusiasm. 
 Caiaphas and many of the Sanhedrim were Saddueees. 
 Master. Teacher. They admit His authority as a Teacher, if not as 
 
 a Prophet. 
 The question im23hes our Lord's belief in the resurrection. 
 Moses. Luke ii. 22. Imiilies that Moses could not have presupposed 
 
 tlie resun-ection. 
 The very precept appealed to was intended by God to hint at the resurrec- 
 tion. 
 "Wrote. Luke i. 63. Method, materials of writing. See Notes. 
 Erother die. Mortals on the borders of the grave should not be afraid 
 
 to look into it. 
 " All men think all men mortal but themselves." Yoimrj. 
 The spirit needs consolation under its terrible bereavementa. 
 Yet the Saddueees would deprive us of this source of comfort. 
 Infidels, Saddueees revived, would wrest from us the gospel hopes. 
 A wife. A large share of onr enjoyments found in domestic comforts, 
 '■ God setteth the solitary in families." Psa. Ixviii. 6. 
 Raise up seed. Gr. After-growth out of his grave. 
 The verb has the root of the noun resurrection. 
 This well known lav/ is founded on Deut. xxv. 5. 
 To preserve the inheritance and genealogy of the families distinct.
 
 340 SUGGKSTITE C0M2IENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 The general precept expressly /or&acZc a man to maiTy his brother's wife. 
 
 Lev. xviii. 16. 
 Building up families and providing for them engross most minds. 
 A half restrained sensual sneer perhaps at the whole Mosaic ordinance 
 These inquisitors, blunted in moral preceptions, did not discover this 
 
 arrangement to continue a name, foreshadowed immortality. 
 
 The qnestion -was coarsely devised and coarsely pnt. Ellicott. The question from 
 the Sanhedrim, in fact, a concealed threatening of death to Him. Deficit nubos atque 
 ahiit, sic descendens in sepnlchrum non rcdit. Lightfoot, 
 
 Ka\ OUT05. The introduction of oCros giv-es emphasis to the occurrence signilled by 
 the verb, and is thus used where a series of actions or circumstances is recorded 
 respecting a certain subject, Webster's Syntax. 
 
 29. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first tool: a icife, and died without 
 children. 
 
 Seven brethren. Extravagant fiction invented to perplex, or perhaps 
 
 to throw ridicule on the doctrine of a resurrection. 
 The Sadducees a perfect type of infidelity in all ages. 
 
 1. Boasting their freedom, they are slaves of unbeliel 
 
 2. Seemingly unijrejudiced, they are bigoted and contemptuous. 
 
 3. Prating about the si>irit they are entangled in sensuality. 
 
 4. Pretending to be inquirers, they propagate fables. 
 
 5. Confident in their weapons they show stupidity in their use. 
 
 SO. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. 
 
 Childless. Some refer this allegorically to the Jewish sjiiagogue. 
 Avihrose, Jerome, Oxford. 
 
 This verse, except the words /tat 6 ievrepos, omitted by many ancient authorities. 
 Titchendorf, Alford ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 81. A7id the third took her; and in like manner the seven also : and they left no child- 
 Ten, and died. 
 
 No children. God frequently confounds the plans of men concerning 
 their honors. "*
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. '611 
 
 Ho compels them to think rather of dying to this present world, than of 
 immortalizing their names in their posterity. 
 
 Omit Kol before ov KareAinov. Tischcndorf, Alford. 
 
 82. Last of all the woman died also. 
 
 S3. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she ? for seven had her to wtjf. 
 
 Therefore, i. e. well then, as au example of tltis Jaiv. 
 
 Resurrection. Ironically for the so called resurrection. 
 
 On the so called last day, in which we would willingly believe. 
 
 Did Moses in his law prepare such confusion for the future life? 
 
 "Whose wife ? The superficial objection partakes of sensual levity. 
 
 They profess to be those who kneio ; the iUumi'iati of Israel. 
 
 Their knowledge a delusion resting on a twofold ignorance. 
 
 They anticipated on the part of Jesus a distinction vain as their o-ma. 
 
 The seven. Not a Herodian question, to embroil Him with the 
 
 Government. 
 It "was a mere i^uzzle, or a scoff at the resurrection. 
 
 TsavTiav, omitted. Tischendorf, Afford, Cod. Sinai. For iv -no ovv, &c., -q yviTj oiv iv 
 TJi, &c. Tischendorf, Alford. yCi/eTai yvvi], doth the woman become. Alford. i'or 
 yCvitai, lo-Tai. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 84. And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and arc 
 given in marriage : 
 
 Jesus answering. We admire His patience and gentleness towardt 
 
 such folly. 
 It showed great condescension to notice an absurd question. 
 Do err. Matt. xxii. 29. With keen rebuke He conceded to tbc Pharl' 
 
 sees, certain knowledge of the scriptures. Luke xi. 52. 
 The Sadducees charged with wilful ignorance of the word of GovL. 
 The former He pronounced hypocrites ; to the latter, " Ye err." 
 Errors concerning God, ruin all other truth.
 
 842 SUGGESTIVE COMHENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 Children of this world. The error of the peculiar sanctity of celibacy, 
 
 not sauctioued by this text. 
 Grace abolishes not, but elevates the law^ of nature, for they are the laws 
 
 of God. 
 •'Forbidding to marry, " one of the distinctive marks of the man of sin. 
 
 1 Tim. iv. 3. 
 Marry. Kefers to males. Given in marriage, to females. 
 
 an-oKpiSeW, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, oi viol tov aiwi-o?, Of this 
 age, or fleeting, transitory, period. Stier. Luie here omits our Lord's words, as recorded 
 by Matt. xxii. 29, -KKavaad^ /iij eiSdrej tos ■ypa(^as, -which were specially relevant to 
 Jewish readers ; and records the argument derived from the differer.ce of this world (6 
 aioi;' ovTos) and the next. Wordsworth, vioi. More given to sensuallifo. ISIoom^eW. 
 
 35. But Viey which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resuirtiC' 
 tionfrom the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage : 
 
 Accounted worthy. Implies despising the present world. 
 
 He prepares "many mansions," and saints for them. 
 
 it intimates that there is some difficulty in reaching them. 
 
 " So run," 1 Cor. ix. 24, implies a danger of not reaching the goal. 
 
 That world. Many worlds, from all which heaven is distinguished. 
 
 This world's purpose accomplished, it will be no more needed. 
 
 That icorld will be the final state of the universe. 
 
 It will be peopled by angels and the redeemed. 
 
 Resurrection. The glorious resurrection alone renders us immortal. 
 
 " Why should it be thought incredible, that God should raise the dead ? " 
 
 Acts xxvi. 8. 
 This sublime expectation ever sustained suffering saints. 
 " They had respect unto the recompense of reward." Hcb. xi. 2G. 
 " They hoped to obtain a better resurrection." Heb. xi. 33. 
 The resurrection of the good, called " the resurrection of the just." 
 
 Luke xiv. 14. See Notes. 
 The resurrection. By way of excellence, alone dcscrviug the name. 
 Tiiere is to be " a resurrection of the just and unjust." Acts xxiv. 15. 
 Marry. The i-elations arising from distinction of sex will cease. 
 The redeemed will be new creatures in Christ Jesus. 
 Clothed in spiritual bodice, adapted to their own sphere. 1 Cor. xv. 44.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 343 
 
 *' 01(1 things Lave passed away ; behold, all things have become new." 
 
 2 Cor. V. 17. 
 No other marriage in heaven, thaft " the marriage of the Lamb." Kev. 
 
 xix. 7. 
 But no indirect depreciation of marriage found here. 
 Jlarriage instituted in Eden, before man fell into sin. 
 The original law, confirmed by our Lord's precepts, and sanctioned by 
 
 his presence and miracle. 
 A type of the spiritual union subsisting between Christ and His Church. 
 That alone is eternal, in married love, which is spiritual in its foundation. 
 The redeemed will meet each other, not as man and wife, but as angels. 
 
 KaTa.^ua8ivTe<s. Made agreeable to that world, i.e. through or by the imputed 
 righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification of the Holy Ghost. toC oXiavoi; tKfivov. 
 The Messianic aialc is represented as coincident with the resurrection of the jhs*, chap, 
 siv. 14, which is heie exclusively spoken of. It is a privilege which shall not be shared 
 by all, but only by the txAeKTois. Oosterzee. e/ceiVou. That age : that permanent, abiding, 
 etato. Olshausen. 
 
 avaa-Tacreto^. Applied to the rising of the wicked, but not with the addition of eV 
 veKpuin, out from, aniony the dead. Stier. yafjiova-iv. As they cannot die any more, 
 they will have no need of a succession and renewal, which is the main purpose of 
 marriage. Alj'ord. In the words, "for neither can they die," we have the reason why 
 they do not marry. Wordsworth. A new proof indicated by Mosea, that what in man 
 conforms to God's image, cannot be destroyed in eternity. Stier. The doctrine of two 
 resurrections distinctly taught, 1 Thess. iv. 14-17 ; Kev. xx. 5-6. Nitzsch, Olshausen. 
 
 86. Neither can they die any more : firr they are equal unto the angels ; and are the 
 children of God, being Vie children of the resurrectioTU 
 
 Neither die. God alone hath immortality in Himself. 1 Tim. vi. 16. 
 
 Their only Father, Jehovah ; their only brethren, angels and spirits. 
 
 Death is ever emptying the homes of earth's inhabitants. 
 
 As there are no births there, so there will be no funerals. 
 
 If not the " voice of the bridegroom," neither the funeral wail ia 
 
 heard. 
 Death stains the beauty, and damps the comforts of this world. 
 Here indeed, " death reigns," universal victor. Rom. v. 11. 
 The spiritual body, one of the new things revealed in the Gospel. 
 " This mortal shall have put on immortality." 1 Cor, xv. 5i. 
 The cup of domestic comfort is mingled with joys and sorrows. 
 A painful certainty pervades family life, that its bonds may at any timo 
 
 be broken by the " king of terrors."
 
 344 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. TfX. 
 
 Equal to angels. Luke i. 13-30. With masterly tact, He defends the 
 
 existence of angels, 
 Angels are, 1, entirely spiritual. 2, perfectly holy. 3, immortal. 4, for 
 
 ever happy. 
 Christ made a little lower than angels, that He might raise His people 
 
 to an equality -with angels. 
 Angels, spiritual, pure, immortal, happy. 
 Saints becoming as angels cease to be sensual, sinful, mortal. 
 With no fear of death, no spot of corruption, no(juality of earthly 
 
 condition. 
 Eejoicing in the perpetual beholding of God's presence. Bede. 
 There remain, angelic purity, angelic love, angelic joy. 
 Higher development, more perfect communion ■with God, imlimited 
 
 delight in God. 
 Holiness and spiritual mindedness are the atmosphere of heaven. 
 Family cares -will no longer distract the mind. 
 Saints naturalized, have their- conversation (Gr. citizensldp) in heaven. 
 
 Phil. iii. 20. 
 1. Same king. 2. Same laws. 3. Same society. 4. Same privileges. 
 Perfectly and for ever free, " Ephraim wiU not envy Judah." Isa. xi. 13. 
 Like PaiU, they " obtained this freedom with a great sum." 
 " Believers wait for the adoption, even the redemption of the body." 
 
 Ptom-. viii. 23. 
 He thus refutes the scepticism of the Sadducees who denied spiritual 
 
 existence. 
 He assumes the personal existence of spirits in heaven. 
 " Here the law of our members is ever warring, ite." Rom. vii. 23. 
 There the adversary will not watch to destroy. 
 The youth of our immortality is educated here. 
 Children of God. Because it is God alone who worketh in the 
 
 resurrection. 
 There is nothing carnal seen in the regeneration of them that rise again. 
 There is neither father nor mother, neither womb nor birth. Theophylact. 
 Participants of Divine blessedness and immortality. 
 '• But it doth not yet appear what we shall be." 1 John iii. 2. 
 Bom from above, and bound for glory, God owns believers as His family. 
 
 laoyyeKoi. In Malt, and JTark, w; oyyeAoi oi ev to"? ovpa.v. Not equal, but similar. 
 i.e. iinrnoi-tiil. Itoscnviuller. Angels not naked iniraort:il RjiiiitH, bin have a heavenly 
 corporolity, Bioce saints are to have a colowtial bod;. Angels have no sex, being all
 
 CnAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 345 
 
 upolion of as males, but the difference that pervades the sexes here, may cling to their 
 spiritual natures there. Stier. Immortal and sexless as angels, but celibacy docs not 
 make an angel, any more than a crown makes a king. Bernard. The glorified saints 
 eniiiloyed in training those dying in infancy, for a glorious immortality. Stella. 
 
 vIoCtov @eov. Not used iu its ethical se!\se, as applied to believers in this world, 
 hnt in its metaphysical sense, as denoting the essential state of the blessed, after the 
 resurrection: — " they are, by their resurrection, essentially partakers of the Divine 
 nature, and so cannot die." Al/ord. Divine sonship, not in a moral (as Matt. v. 9), but in 
 0, physical sonse (as Luke iii. 88). Oosterzee. 
 
 37. ^010 that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he callcth the 
 Lord the Qod of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the Ood of Jacob. 
 
 Are raised. Our Lonl speaks not in the future, but in the present 
 
 tense. 
 He does not, however, teach a resurrection occurring immediately after 
 
 death. 
 It simply shows how firmly rooted is this hope in our Lord's view. 
 The soul's immortality does not secure the body's resurrection. 
 " The grave cannot praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee." I?a. 
 
 xxxviii. IS. 
 Moses sh.ov/ed. Luke ii. 22. Moses, to whom you have appealed. 
 That very Moses whom you allege as showing by inference the contrary. 
 The citation takes for granted, the divine authority of Moses. 
 The prophets also. Isa. xxvi. 19 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14 ; Dan. xii. 2, 
 
 testify to it. 
 Many errors are removed by a single text, read in the light of God. 
 The Sadducees cited Moses, our Lord goes higher still. 
 God hath said many things also, which Moses writes. 
 Can a being, holding communion with God, become a heap of dust ? 
 The secret of all unbelief, alienation of the inner life from God. 
 Moses showed, not an inference, supplementarily drawn from the sccue : 
 But the /act itself; those dead to us, were alive to God. 
 The innermost meaning and kernel oi the divine word, is no mere inti- 
 mation, lying deep beneath the surface. 
 Moses writing it down, could evidently understand nothing else. 
 Christ's exegesis, slandered by ignorance and by impudence. 
 If the patriarchs had been annihilated, as the Sadducees taught, the 
 
 language was a bitter irony, on the part of God, against Himself. 
 The everlasting One would not have been glorified by being called thoii- 
 
 God, — the God of beings of an hour, Heb. xi. IG.
 
 84G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cUAP. XX. 
 
 The patriarchs conscious, that li^^ng and dying God was their God. 
 They knew He would always remain such. 
 
 The hope of Jacob, Asaph and David, clearly expressed. Psa. xvii. 15. 
 The bush. Either the place where the words were first uttered, or the 
 
 portion of the Pentateuch, where they are recorded. Ex. iii. 6. 
 The five books in Hebrew have no titles. 
 Known by initial words or phrases, e.g., the first book, Bereshith in 
 
 Hebrew; Genesis in Greek, i.e. " in the he ginning y 
 The Angel at the bush, a pledge of that which the Sadducees denied. 
 When he calleth. God spake unto him. Mark xii. 26. 
 He did not say "Jit^as," but " J awi," self-existing and eternal. 
 A glorious truth to all Christians, that Christ Himself was the Speaker. 
 After 1500 years we behold Him, interpreting His own words. 
 The covenant of God, highest pledge of the eternal life of the saints. 
 God of Abraham. Luke i. 55. Neither forgotten, nor indifferent to 
 
 promises. 
 Neither the remembrance nor the inheritance of the righteous lost. 
 Though their bodies be dishonored by death, they shall be renewed in 
 
 the image of Christ. 
 Oflering themselves living sacrifices, they receive immortahty. 
 Abraham offered himself a sacrifice in Isaac, and found life in his son's 
 
 life. 
 A depth of meaning is brought out by our Lord's answer, which without 
 
 it, we could not have discovered. 
 "Without the body, there can be no hfe of the entire man. 
 " Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers," was said unto Moses. Deut. xxxi 16. 
 " I will establish My covenant for an everlasting covenant." Gen. xvii. 7. 
 Unlike Jehovah, to desert at death, those trusting Him through life. 
 For hundreds of years the dust of the patriarchs had rested in Machpelah. 
 
 " I am their God," not merely, " I was : " — not found in the original, yet 
 lies in its spirit. 
 
 " Thy God," implies all that " I, as God, can do, as long n.s- I am God." 
 
 "He whom the Lord blesses, is blessed for ever.'^ 1 Chroii. xvii. 27. 
 
 To whom God gives Himself, to him, He has given eternal life. 
 
 Death only seemingly and partially suspends the relation. 
 
 Abraham's soul without the body, is not the entire Abraham. 
 
 So long as the body lies in the earth the man is reckoned dead. 
 
 The God of Jacob. " I am thy God." Gen. xxviii 21, implies a 
 covenant. 
 
 There is another side : " Tiiou akt Mine," follows upon, ''I am Thine." 
 
 It could not be said of an annihilated being.
 
 CHAP. XX.J ON ST. LUKE. 3<17 
 
 Abraliam's hodij had tlie.s^aZ of the covenant. Eom. iv. 11. 
 This disproves the sleep of the soul, between death and judgment. 
 The antiquity of belief lU the resuiTection, traceable to Adam. 
 Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, "looked for a city." 
 They desired a better country, that is a heavenly. Heb. xi. IG. 
 The affectionate piety of patriarchs asked no higher assurance of the 
 resurrection. 
 
 iyetpovrai. This is an inference from tlie continued existence of the dead. Our 
 Lord spoaks of them as being now in the resurrection state, implying their present cou- 
 Bciousness, and probably also their independence of time. W. d W. 
 
 Koi Mujuo-i^j. Not only the rest of the prophets, but even Moses. Bengel. efi^i'uo'Ei'. 
 To disclose what is secret; to indicate; to declare. Here indicates, rather than proues. 
 irrl Tris pdrov, in the section which treats upon the bush, enl, with the genitive, answers 
 to the question, where? Webster's Syntax. 
 
 0eov 'A/3paaja. This only proves the immortality of the soul, not the resurrection of 
 the body. Campbell. It refers to a covenant, represented as still valid, implying the 
 future re-union of the soul and body. Not an argument, but an authoritative declaration. 
 of the truth. Alexander. The promise of the land of Canaan, made to Abraham, being 
 0,3 yet unfulfilled, he must rise again. Mede. It is something bordering on profaneness, 
 to suppose any deficiency of proof, such as fell short of what the occasion demanded. 
 As the Sadducees were silenced, the suspicion arises that we do not undeistand tho 
 Scriptures. As faith alone could dictate, so faith alone could receive the-exposition. 
 Stier. Not resurrection, but the glorious truth, out of which that doctrine springs. 
 Alford, Brown. The words testify against the sleep of the soul, hange. They testify 
 against the inactive repose of the dead. Muller. Pantheism, one of the deadly errors of 
 the day, destroys human peraonality, by repjesenting all forms of creaturely life as mere 
 manifestations of the Infinite, in space and time. Our Lord's words cut up this error by 
 the roots. 
 
 38. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living : for all live unto him. 
 
 Dead. Not of dead cor^Dscs, but of living men. 
 
 Clearly ttaches that at death, the man lives on in the soul. 
 
 Those raised without holiness, raised tc immortal death. 
 
 Those spiritually minded, who have crucified the flesh, raised to immortal 
 
 life. Gal. v. 24 ; ii. 20. 
 Living. Their relation to God indissoluble because of "covenant." 
 
 Heb. viii. 10. 
 The Spirit oft reminds us o! the joyous character of the hfe to come. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 21. 
 Of its social aspect. Matt. viii. 11. A coronation banquet, of kinn-s.
 
 348 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 Even relation between pastor and flock is not forgotten. 1 Thes. ii. 19. 
 
 Xiife is never ascribed to the icickcd in the future world. 
 
 They rise indeed, but to a " resurrection of damnation." Dan. xii. 2. 
 
 The sleep of the soul after death, proved a mere dream. 
 
 Live unto Him. No one is dead to Him, or in His sight. They have a 
 
 living, abiding interest in Him. 
 1. They live. 2. They live to Him, and therefore an imperishable, holy, 
 
 blessed, and common life. 
 I'hey who have not fotmd God have lost even themselves. 
 True believers, though dead, live more truly than when on earth. 
 Bond of faith vfith the living God, a pledge of resurrection. 
 Life of believers is as secure as the life of God ! 
 Our covenant with God abolishes death as well as sin. 
 Immortality and resm'rection, indissoliably linked together. 
 Christ, the Conqueror of unbelief, reproving and correcting it. 
 Men, dead to this world, still living for the next. 
 Visible and invisible worlds, present to God, as one community of beinge. 
 
 ^(^I'TMi'. Talmud speaks grossly of those raised. "The woman, having had two 
 husbands, in the world to come will be given to the firirt." Liijhtfuot. ^Cocnv. "We have 
 in this argument a further generalization than in Matt, and Mark. There it is a covenant 
 relation; here a life of all, living and dead : in the sight of God, who inhabiteth 
 eternity, the being of all is a living one, in all its changes. Alford. A sublime er- 
 pressioD, especially if we do not limit tire iroi'Tes to the vexpoi, but refer it to all the 
 creatures of God. Oosterzee. To depend upon God for life. Bloomfield. Still living, 
 since all things are present to Ilim. WeUtcin, Doddridge. Death does not terminate 
 our living unto Him. Campbell. 
 
 89. ^ Then certain of the scribes ansicering said, Master, thou hast well said. 
 
 Scribes. Enjoying His victory over the Sadducees. History, Luke v. 21. 
 
 Master. Gr. Teacher. Next to the atonement, Christ's great work. 
 
 Well said. Some approve truth, because it flatters their own opinion. 
 
 Others, from contempt of those who oppose them. 
 
 Others from mere want of ability to contradict it. 
 
 And others faom a i)roud usurjoation of the key of knowledge. 
 
 Truth should be loved for its own sake, and from an humble love of tho 
 
 God of Trutli. 
 Tlie ground of all contention, is ignorance of the Scriptures.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 8*40 
 
 40. And after'that they durst not ask him any question at all. 
 
 Dvirst not. Gr. no longer daring to question Ilim. 
 
 Some retreat to renew more cunningly and vigorously the assault. 
 
 God for His oven glory, always renders truth finally victorious. 
 
 Yet its defenders often permitted to sink under violence. 
 
 Wicked, unlike honest assailants, stealtlnhj attack the truth. 
 
 They create perplexities only to mystify and confound. 
 
 They caricature Christianity, then ridicule their own picture, 
 
 Satan's old craft, first blackens, then persecutes goodness and truth. 
 
 They charge their own absurdities on the Divine wisdom. 
 
 " Avoid profane and vain babblings." 2 Tim. ii. 16, 23. 
 
 " HymeuEeus and Philetus erred, saying the resurrection is past." 2 Tun. 
 
 ii. 18. 
 To the Bible alone, not nature, we owe our faith in immortality. 
 Sad and dark indeed is the sceptic's Iwpe of annihilation. 
 Wretched as it is, even that shall be blasted. 
 
 " The Lord Jesus Christ shall change our vile bodies." Phil. lii. 21. 
 The most endearing relations of life are limited in duration. ' 
 " lie that is manied, careth for the things of the world." 1 Cor. vii. 33. 
 Ties of friendship innocent; ties of parents and children, of husband and 
 
 wife, tender, but all destined to perish. 
 Those of grace alone, prove everlasting through our " Elder Brother." 
 Pharisees and Sadducees, ruling spirits of error, ever divide the world. 
 The human mind vibrates between superstition and infidelity. 
 Question. This ends the interrogatories addressed to Jesus. 
 Worst opponents, those unable to convict of error, or betray us into 
 
 mistake. 
 His foes intensely malignant no longer dare question Him. 
 The complete rout of the Sadducees called forth the Scribes' praise. 
 They felt the full force of the argument, though we may fail to do so. 
 He knew the manifold resources of the Scriptures ; He inspired them. 
 From their varied stores. He selected weapons to confound all opposers. 
 Two sources of unbelief with the Pharisees. 1. A low grpvelling idea of 
 
 the Messiah. 
 2. Pride in a literal, but superficial scripture knowledge. 
 Silence of impenitent cavillers, no sign of conversion. 
 
 For St-, read yap. Tiachcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai,
 
 350 SUGGESTIVK COMMENIARY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 •J I. And he said unto them. How say tliey that Christ is David's son ? 
 
 B;iid unto them. Cur Lord had hitherto been wholly on the defennive. 
 
 He pur^Doses to silence His enemies, and assert His claims as Messiah. 
 
 The contest now approaches its turning point. 
 
 His prolonged i:iaiise gives deeper emphasis to His question. 
 
 Whose son? Proposed to Pharisees, Matt. : to the people, Mark. 
 
 1. A vital question. 2. A question for conscience. 3. A question of 
 
 faith. 
 Christ. Gr. anointed ; Heb. Messiah, Luke ix. 20 ; longed for by all. 
 The great error of the Scribes, their low carnal view of the Messiah's 
 
 mission. 
 They wanted a prophet greater than Moses, a king greater than David. 
 Borne wonder Jesus did not apply prophecies publicly to Himself. 
 God never forces conviction on the minds of men. 
 Though freedom of the will is lost, man's responsibility is as complete as 
 
 before the fall. 
 No resijonsible being to be dragooned into allegiance to the King. 
 XJuwiUiug to believe, there is always room for unbelief. 
 David's Son. The prevalent, but not universal opinion. John, \'ii. 27. 
 To fulfil the promise Christ was born the Son of David. 
 The royal family had fallen into poverty and obscurity. 
 This humiliation confounds all prido in noble blood. 
 Descendant and heir of David, thy first and greatest theocratical 
 
 sovereign. 
 "What think ye (Tf Christ?" Matt. xxii. 42. The great question of 
 
 questions. 
 Some do not think of Him at all, others as "without form or comeliness." 
 
 Isa. liii. 2. 
 But " to those who believe, He is precious." 1 Pet. ii. 7. 
 To us the mystery of His divine and human nature, is familiar. 
 But one truth for our belief ; for faith in God, in Providence, in immor- 
 tality, impossible, without acknowledging Christ. 
 His name implies that He is 1. The great Prophet. 2. The true High 
 
 Priest. 3. The eternal King. 
 What think ye of Christ? 1. A vital question, the pivot of all moral 
 
 teaching. 2. A question for conscience, penetrating to the roots of 
 
 individual character. 3. A question of faith, only to be solved by 
 
 revelation. 
 
 w/109 nirov's. To the Scribes. In Matt, tlio queslijn is addrossod to tho PhurisOL'B. 
 UTjc tv/o ivirtioB acrooJ in their view of tlio Mossiali, bonco tlio Lord adiUosaed bollu
 
 t'JIAP. XX.] ON ST, LUKIS. 351 
 
 I/uke omits tho question of the lawyer, ■which occurred immediately on the gathcrinj,' o{ 
 the Pharisees, after the last incident. This question of our Lord seems to liavo followed 
 close on that, which was their lest to Him. Alford. None but captious sciolists question 
 the projiriety of the inscriptions of the Psalms. Groiius. "David's son." — Not a political 
 Messiah. Dc Wette. He convicted them of their infatuation touching the Messiah, 
 Meyer, llo was the Son of Man, and the Son of God. Lanqe. 
 
 42. And David himself sailh in the book of Psalms, The Loud said unto my Lord, Si' 
 thou on my right hand, 
 
 David. Heb. Beloved. Luke i. 32. Character of David. See Notes. 
 Saith. Matt. xxii. 43, "In sjnrit ; " Mark xii. 36, "/?// the Holy Ghost." 
 Our Lord endorses the plenai-^y inspiration oi the Psalms. Psa. ex, 1. 
 Book. Luke iv. 17. His reference proves them collected and read as 
 
 one Book, 
 He sends them to a sanctuary whose key they had lost. 
 Psalms. David the sweet psalmist of Israel, (2 Sam. xxiii. 1.) wrote 
 
 seventy-one psalms, father of Hebrew poetry, and music. 
 He colle<;ted the wild field flowers and planted them on Moimt Zion. 
 Plis prevailing strain plaintive, owing to His many trials. 
 Lovers of pleasure, made them a model for their worldly songs. 
 Asaph, David's chief musician, wrote twelve Psalms. 
 Asaph's sons coniinued in the choral service of the Temple, 
 Sons of Korah, of the family of Korah, wrote eleven Psalms. 
 Heman, one of David's chief singers, wrote Psa. Ixxxviii. 
 Ethan, an Ezraite, wrote Psa. Ixxxix ; a Messianic prophecy. 
 Solomon wrote the Ixxii. and cxxvii. Psalms. 
 Moses wrote the xc. Psalm when near to Canaan. 
 Book of Psalms has ever been a special favorite to the Church of God. 
 Every form of religious thought and Ufe there expressed. 
 All changes of spiritual experience represented, each soul finds its o\vu 
 
 mood described. 
 Gi^owth in divine life may be tested by relation to this invaluable portion 
 
 of the word of God. 
 Some of the Psalms Messianic, David a type of Christ, 
 The hand that held the pen, was David's, but he was moved by something 
 
 deeper and higher then the experience of the son of Jesse. 
 Hence some Psalms are full of Christ's sufferings, Christ in humiliation, 
 Christ dying, Christ rising, Christ comiug to judgn;ent, Christ reigning. 
 Here are His advents to bear the cross and wear the crown.
 
 852 SUGGESTIVE COIIIIENTAKY [CHAP. XX. 
 
 The Kingdom of Grace and the Kingdom of Glory are liere. 
 
 The Bible scenes become broader and deeper, the more they are explored. 
 
 The liOrd. Heb. Jehovah. Literallj' denotes, He who is the Eteenal. 
 
 This text quoted three times. Acts ii. 34 ; Heb. i. 13 ; x. 12. 
 
 My Lord. i.e. David's. Not as a private person, or individual king. 
 
 But rejiresents his o-^n royal race in the house of Israel. 
 
 This Pekson, the superior and sovereign of David, and of all Israel. 
 
 " God, over all, blessed for ever." — " Made of the seed of David." &c. 
 
 Eom. ix 5 ; i. 3. 
 His twofold nature made Him at once David's sovereign and son. 
 Ancient Jews universally identified this Person as the Messiah. 
 An independent monarch like David, acknowledged no Lord but God. 
 Sit tliou. Implies rest, glorij, and majesty of royalty. 
 The sitting postvu-e appropriate to kings on their throne. Psa. xxix 10 ; 
 
 ex. 1. 
 Not inactivity, but an investiture with power to punish His fo6s. 
 This verse more frequently referred to in the N. T. than any other. 
 The foimdation of Matt. xxvi. 64 ; 1 Cor. xv. 25 ; Eph. i. 20 ; Phil. ii. 11 ; 
 
 Heb. viii, 1 ; x. 12 ; 1 Pet. iii. 22 ; Eev. iii. 21. 
 Our Lord's words a key to the secret nature of His kingdom. 
 To reason, they prove nothing ; to faith, they reveal the divine economy. 
 He who was enthi'oned in the hearts of a few disciples, would soon sit 
 
 in majesty and reign King of kings. 
 
 Iv pC^Xo) xf/aK/j.uji'. Not in Matt. xxii. 43, or Mark iii. 36 ; added here as conveying 
 information necessary to Gentile readers. He omits oi ypantxarels after Ae'youo-t (verse 
 41), as less interesting to them. Wordsworth. Not the words of Luke, but the words of 
 the Lord IllmKelf. Alford, xj/aXfiCiv, from i/(aAA<D, to strike a chord, on the lyre to which 
 they were sung. Called the " Prayers of David," Psa. Ixii. 20. Augustine and Chriisnstom 
 attribute them all to David. Their authors as given. Jerome. 74 to Darid. De Wette, 
 Tlioluck. Anonj-mous Psalms ascribed to Jeremiah, Jeduthun, Haggai, and Zechariah, 
 all arranged by Ezra. Hen'jstenhcrr/, Alexander. The ex. written to Darvid. Eicald, 
 Mctjer ; by David. HenQStenherrj, Alexander. Our Lord conformed to the popular im- 
 lirsssion. De Wette. 
 
 Ki/pios. Those evasions by which the Jews would nullify the text as a proof of 
 Christ's divinity, had not yet been invented. The Talraudists apply it to Abraham 
 llxe Targumists to Darius ; and others to Hezekiah. Smith's Test, to the Messiah. 
 
 43. Till I m.n'ke thine enemies thij footatool. 
 
 Till I make. " My Father workcth hitherto, and I work." John t. 17. 
 Jesus is ever destroying sin, and lighting against the powers of darkness.
 
 CHAP. XX.] ON ST. LUKE. 353 
 
 Enemies. He has no other than those of man, sin, death, and hell. 
 Our greatest enemies, our bosom sins, are over ready to betray us. 
 Devil could have no power over us were it not that we caiTy the elements 
 
 of evil within. 
 Christ could say, " The prince of this world cometh, but hath nothing in 
 
 Me." John xiv. 30. 
 Christians should earnestly seek that the Ecdeemer would reign in them. 
 
 Lord of every motion. 
 Footstool. Eefers to the complete and everlasting subjugation of His 
 
 enemies. 
 Allusion to the practice of ancient conquerors placing feet on the neck 
 
 of defeated kings. Josh. x. 24. 
 " For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies imder ffis feet." 1 Cor. 
 
 XV. 25. 
 
 44. David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son ? 
 
 Lord. Was made flesh and dwelt among us. John i. 14. 
 
 The mystery of God incarnate. 1. Eevealed to David. 2. Hidden from 
 
 the Pharisees. 3. Confirmed by Jesus. 4. Brought to Ught for us. 
 How is he? At once his " Eoot and offspring," his Sovereign and son. 
 The only key to this enigma, Messiah's two-fold nature. 
 The doctrine had long been lost among Jews and their leaders. 
 Their inability to answer, shews their ignorance of Scripture. 
 Those who know the least often profess to know the most. 
 No part of the Bible is better known in the letter than fhe Psalms. 
 No part so little apprehended, and appreciated in the spirit. 
 Hitherto the Saviour treated the Pharisees with courtesy. 
 He never flattered their vanity, nor courted their favor. 
 When they censured Him, He replied with mildness. 
 When they preferred charges against Him, He mildJy confuted. 
 Mark exhibits Christ as silencing their question. 
 Jfatthew farther describes Him as silencing their very answer. 
 The Scribes held fast to Christ's being the " Son of David." 
 That day. Matt. xxii. 46. The silence of the Pharisees marked the 
 
 crisis of then- hardening. 
 The final rebuke of Jesus, and departure from their temple, a symbol of 
 
 their desolation and judgment. 
 In true Christianity, the right estimate of Christ is all. Col. iii. 11. 
 Our Lord seemed to live the last week of His life, in the Psalms. 
 A fact which should not be lost on us in times of conflict and suffering.
 
 354 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XX. 
 
 45. H Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, 
 
 Audience. Our Saviour never kept back knowledge from the people. 
 The tone with which He leaves the temple seems severe. 
 Their pernicious principles, not their persons, He condemns. 
 His first and last visits to the temple differ widely. 
 
 Different discourse from Matt, xxiii. Greswell; identical. Ebrard, Robinson, Meyer, 
 Alford. For to?s /naSrjTai; avrov, read jrpbs aiirous. Tischendorf, Alford. Matt. (xxii. 
 4G) and Mark (xii. 37) tell us of the impression made by this question of our Lord. Luke 
 evidently hastens rapidly onward, relating but very briefly the detailed warning pro- 
 nounced by Christ, with respect to the Scribes and Pharisees, before his departure from 
 the temple. Oosterzee. 
 
 46. Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in 
 the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts ; 
 
 Beware. Literally be on your guard against. 
 
 Proud hypocritical teachers more dangerous than ordinary sinners. 
 
 A bad example, sustained by the authority of religion, a subtle poison. 
 
 A sad judgment, beicare of those who ought to be 2}at(eriis. 
 
 Scribes. Luke v. 21. They had lost sight of the Messiah's kingdom. 
 
 To walk. Implying a needless moving about for display. 
 
 Pride, self-conceit, covetousness, hypocrisy are all condemned 
 
 The doom of a religion without piety is here pronounced. 
 
 They pretend to honor God with the lips. Isa. xxix. 13. 
 
 Long robes. Luke vi. 29. They swept the ground and concealed their 
 
 feet. 
 There was no sin whatever in walking in long robes. 
 But a wrong motive makes innocent acts, criminal. 
 Lengthened by their phylacteries or strips of parchment. Ex. xiii. 16. 
 They were worn on the head, arms, and on the garments. 
 They were used during stated prayers, only by men. 
 
 To gross hypocrisy they add contemptible foppery. 
 
 Greetings. Heartless compliments, profuse with orientals. Luke 
 X. 4. 
 
 Some magnify their ofice in order to magnify themselves. 
 
 Markets. The Forum became the place for display and sale of goods. 
 
 Highest seats. Luko xiv. 10. Vanity ever the characteristic of 
 hypocrisy. 
 
 True grace eyes only thehonor coming from above. 
 
 Synagogues. Luke iv. 15. Their form and histoiy. See Notes. 
 
 Chief rooms. The triclinium, a festal couch holding three persons.
 
 CHAP. XX,] ON ST. LUKE. , 355 
 
 The central place, considered chief a.mon[i Greeks and Romans. 
 A humiliating picture of the vanity and levity of the Jewish clergy. 
 Jesus reading the heart, hrings out the darker traits. 
 
 Trpo(Te'xeTe arrb tmv ypa^iixatiuiv. Tho Scribes hero take prececlonee of the rest of the 
 Pharisees, as tho worst corrupters of tho people, and are described from life, 1, in social 
 life:— lou^ robes — greetings iu market places — ceremonious titles, &c. 2, in the syna- 
 gogue;? :— aspiring to highest seat^, itc. 3, at home : — struggling for places of honor, die. 
 4, in the department of philanthropy: — devouring widows' houses, &c. Hypocrisy, pride, 
 and covetousness, tho three chief features of which this picture is composed. A i^eopla 
 •with such guides must ever be on the verge of ruin. Oostcrzee. 
 
 47. Which devour ti'idows' houses, and for a shoio make long prayers: the same shall 
 receive greater damnation. 
 
 Devour. Consuming or spending for their own advantage. 
 
 Widows. Luke xviii. 3. The most defenceless class of oriental poor. 
 
 Always the especial objects, both of divine and human pity. 
 
 The unrighteous spoliation of these bereaved and helpless ones deepened 
 
 the Pharisees' guilt. 
 Expounders of law, and ghostly advisers of the sick and dying. 
 Executors of their wills, and guardians of their children, often fearfully 
 
 corrupt. 
 Houses. Luke i. 23. Material and form of oriental houses. See Notes. 
 A show. They cloaked their extortion under a show of holy zeal. 
 Long' prayers. Disguising their real characters, a pretext for villain}'. 
 Damnation. They sell their prayers at a dear rate in losing their 
 
 souls. 
 This implies, there will be degrees of misery in Hell. 
 " It will be more tolerable for Sodom," &c. Luke x. 12. 
 Eeality and eternity of future punishment, a great truth revealed. 
 A thoughtful mind cannot think of it without a shudder. 
 This heavier doom wiil not fall upon the heathen. 
 Nor on ignorant profligates who have never had Christian privileges. 
 But upon those who have persisted in sinning against light and knowledge^ 
 
 baptized practical atheists. 
 Pharisees had corrupted the law by their traditions. 
 They had given the people a false idea of the Messiah. 
 Jesus exposed their ignorance in thek teaching. 
 And their hypocritical zeal iu making proselytes.
 
 356 SUGGESTIYE COMMENTARY [CHAP. 
 
 He proved their traditions led to impiety and perjury. 
 
 Their ceremonies and hj-pocrisy only disguised their rapacity. 
 
 Those highest in Bible privileges may be io'west in hell. 
 
 Infidels affirm a profession of religion, proof of hypocrisy. 
 
 If there were no originals there could be no imitations. 
 
 If no genuine coin there could be no counterfeit. 
 
 The objection establishes what it was intended to disprove. 
 
 Kp'fj.a, judgment, Matt. vii. 2: a judicial »c-ntence, Luke xxiii. 40: an adverse 
 sentence. Matt, xiiii. 14 : execution of justice, 1 Peter iv. 17. This word affords indirect 
 proof tliat the Lord, on tliis occasion, brought forth more than these few charges against 
 these connpterB of the nation. Oosterzee.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 357 
 
 OHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 1. AND he looked up, and saio the rich men easting their gifts into the treasury. 
 
 To obtain a just idea of this toucliing narrative we must connect Marli'p 
 
 account with Luke's. 
 Sat. Mark xii. 41. The Lord sits in the second court to observe the 
 
 doings in the temple. 
 The i^lace where He is found, opposite the treasury, known from John 
 
 viii. 20. 
 He had finished the awful series of woes pronounced against the Scribes 
 
 and Pharisees. 
 His ominous farewell, "From henceforth ye shall see me no more,' 
 
 still ringing in their ears. 
 But He avoids the slightest appearance of departing in irritation, or that 
 
 He feared further attacks. 
 His calm silence an impressive challenge to answer His upbraidings. 
 In ijerfect gentleness of spirit He rests, surrounded by His disciples. 
 Xiooked up. As though He had been meditating with dowTicast eyes. 
 The Lord's last look upon His audience in the temple! 
 Note His sublime peace of soul, although " He is despised and rejected 
 
 of men." 
 Those He looked on would soon excite the fearful cry " Away with Him." 
 Men offering gifts to Grod in His temple with murderous malignity in 
 
 their hearts ! 
 A solemn comment on the words of inspiration, " The heart is deceitful 
 
 above all things," &c. Jer. xvii. 9, 
 Saw. We may escape the notice of men but not of God. 
 His divmity is seen in discerning their respective motives. 
 Offerings for His service are weighed in His balance. 
 " Christ seeeth in secret ; the Lord's eyes are in every place." 
 
 Pro. XV. 3, 
 In all our acts and gifts we must desire to bo seen by Christ only. 
 He then looked up hom. His seat, He now looks down from His throne. 
 This incident probably occurred Tuesday of the last week. 
 , 39
 
 358 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARy [CHAP. XXJ. 
 
 The Lord neitlier blames nor despises the gifts of the rich. 
 Gifts. Even heathen often make great sacrifices out of sympathy. 
 This instinct of fallen humanity is like a smile on the face of death. 
 Desire of making some sacrifice inseparable from the religious feeling. 
 " Thou shalt not appear empty before the Lord." 2 Kings xii. 9. 
 Treasury. In the court of the women. No one ever allowed to sit 
 
 in the court of Israel. 
 Thirteen chests called trumpets, from their shape, received the gifts. 
 They had inscriijtious, shewing the objects of their charities. 
 Two were for the half -shekel tax fixed by law. Ex. xxx. 11. 
 Others for purchasing altar victims, wood, and incense. 
 The money went to buy wood (very costly), salt, &c. 
 Here precious treasures were kept, as now in banks. Neh. x. 37-38. 
 He rests at the temple gate, after He had refused a throne. 
 The righteous Eequiter of hidden evil, Bevealer of hidden good. 
 Jerusalem's ruin and His kingdom filled His mind. 
 Yet he had an eye for the humble devof;ed widow. 
 Though He left the doomed temple with words of holy wrath, He lovingly 
 
 noticed her gift, and for ever honored her devotion. 
 
 avaj3Ae'i|/as. From liis hearers. -BeH(7fZ; disfiiples. Jirci/er. y.a.^oi^v\6.Kiov . It may bs 
 that we are to understand this of the si^ecial treasury chest, spoken of by Josephus, Ant. 
 Jud.19, 6, 1; comp. 2 Kings xii, 9. Ooster:ee. Some part of the court of the women 
 intended, perhaps a chamber in connexion with the thirteen chests. Lu^ke. Sotpa. Mark 
 uses x'l'^Ko*', the Roman as ; and specifies that the sum cast in by the widow made a 
 Eomau quadrans. Luke says Bvo Kctrrd, and explains to his readers that what thsy were 
 casting in were Suipa, offerings to God. Wordsworth. These offerings made at the three 
 great feasts, to compound for tithes. Mitjor. 
 
 XaXxbi/. This compound of copper and zinc was unknown to the ancients. It 
 referred to copper, Pent. viii. 9; Job. xxviii. 2. Hebrew, shining. nkovcrCovs belongs to 
 TOus^aAXoi'Tas. It was not the ricli only, but 6 oxAo; (Mark) who were castmg gifts in. 
 Alford. 
 
 2. And he saw also a certain poor icidow casting in thither two mites. 
 
 Saw. The Lord of heaven calmly watches tlic humblest of Ilis creatures. 
 He saw in the future the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. 
 Ho saw burning worlds, and the judgment throne set up. 
 Tet Ho weighs in a balance, and pronounces on an humble act.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 859 
 
 He observes the tlpng embers of the expiring fire of' God in the temple. 
 
 Certain. Marie, oiifl. The mimerical indicates she came alone. 
 
 Poor widow. Perhaps one of those whoso tragic fate the Lord had 
 
 just depicted. 
 She must have been poor indeed when two mites wei-e her alL 
 Notwithstanding her empty purse, she might be ealled the " w!i»i/(cc/it 
 
 ti'idow.'^ 
 He lovingly traces the vestiges of piety still found in this den of thieves. 
 The poorest believer, in His eye, one of God's own nobihty. 
 Widows' prayers often render them public benefactors. 
 Thus those who have nothing to give may exercise the noblest charity. 
 Two mites-. Names tico, because she might have kept one. 
 Made of brass ; | of a penny English, J of a cent, American. 
 Lulce gives a coin well known to his Gentile readers. 
 He knew the amount, who knew Nathaniel and Zacchaaus. 
 He praised her labor of love, knowing its source,. 
 He compared the liosses.-iions, and the motives of donors. 
 Jesus estimate-s each one as to what he is, not what he has. 
 He offers the greatest gift to God, who believes it scarcely anything. 
 "I am poor and needy, but the Lord thinketh upon me." Psa. xl. 17. 
 Subject is peculiarly heart-searching, as many are willingly deceived. 
 The poor give far more in proportion to tlieir means than the rich. 
 The success of Christ's word does not depend on gold. 
 Yet we may well doubt our faith if we lack charity. 
 Oiu- income and expenses hid here, will be brought to light, as well as 
 
 the amount of our charities. 
 No one ever found himself poorer by lending to the Lord. 
 The value is only of importance, as showing upon how minute a gilt the 
 
 Lord pronounced such praise. 2 Cor. viii. 2. 
 It might be envied by the proudest millionaire on earth. 
 
 3. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor icidow hath cast in more than 
 they all : 
 
 Said. " Called His disciples.'" Markxii. 43. Desires careful attention. 
 A cublime elevation of tone characterizes the decision. 
 Of a truth. Amid all the chaff of seeming religion He finds a few 
 
 noble grains of truth. 
 Tlie Saviour an ever-enduring example of charity in our judging. 
 Paul credits even superstitious Athens for an altar " to the unknown 
 God."
 
 360 SUGGESTIVE COIIMENTAEY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 Poor widow. Men violate language saying, We give our mite. 
 
 The widoiv^s mite was a princely sum. 
 
 He passes by heroic deeds of world-wide fame, but not the cup of cold 
 
 water, Mary's box, or the widow's mite. 
 In His eyes her heart was infinitely richer than her gifts. 
 He knew the treasures given were abused, and the temple doomed. 
 Her motive secured imperishable honor to her two mites. 
 Mistrust that reasoning, that discourages the humblest offerings. 
 He weighs acts of munificence in a heavenly balance. 
 A secret how one may be liberal without giving much. Acts. iii. 6. 
 No sacrifice too great for love to His cause. 
 In God's eye no sacrifice of love is too little. 
 How really little a rich man does when he only gives. 
 The holy simplicity of heart, the best of all our charities. 
 This history teaches, 1. Charity in judging others. 2. Strictness in 
 
 judging om-selves. 3. Watching for the judgment of the Lord. 
 Pleasing assurance, the poor can give more than the rich. 
 Characteristics of the poor widow — 
 Liberality, reverence, love to the temple, contempt of earthly goods, and 
 
 trust in God. 
 Cast in more. What manner of man is this ? He speaks as ii omniscient ! 
 With calmness and fulness of sympathy, Heobseiwes the smallest good. 
 From the cold, hollow hypocrisy of the Pharisees, He turns with a warm 
 
 look of love iipcn tsrue piety in the temple. 
 This record has gladdened many a saint in his or her humble gift. 
 The praises of the Bedeemer were not heardhy the widow deserving them. 
 At the great day. He will say, Well done good and faithful servant. 
 A lioor person, in faith offering anything, presents no small gift. 
 Our Lord does not censure the giving of money to the treasury. 
 If all gave their mite as the widow, Christ's treasury would overflow. 
 Value of a gift estimated by the sacrifices it involves. 
 Our Lord gives the hey to this jDaradoxical assertion, next verso. 
 It by no means implies other gifts are valueless. 
 
 i\ jTTiox'r) auTvj. God accepts a willing mind : bo thought the heathen, and if a roan is 
 jjrateful he is accepted with either a lamb or an ox. Ovid. A person killed a friend, 
 •while defending IiIh life : the oracle pronounced hira purer than before, because his act 
 proceeded from the purest principles. Jjidkely. A poor man offering himself to Socrates, 
 uutdid Alcibiadcs, presenting hia abundance. Acschincs.
 
 CUAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. . 3G1 
 
 4. For all theic have of their abundance cant in. xinto the offerings of Ood : hut she of 
 her penury hath cast in all the living that slie had. 
 
 AbtincTance. Gr. superfluity, what they had over and above. 
 
 The rich seklom feel what they give, so much is left behind. 
 
 Charity maldng no sacrifice, little esteemed, though commendable. 
 
 One may " bestow all his goods to feed the poor," and not have charity. 
 
 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 God expects the motive right, and the gift right also. 
 " Jcpus was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor." 2 Cor. viii. 9. 
 Many rich persons were assembled for the feast at Jerusalem. 
 Jlany displayed their wealth in their large offerings. 
 But in view of the cross, He utters no language of reproof. 
 Too many now content themselves giving that which they will never 
 
 miss. 
 Although obedience is far better than sacrifice, yet love will ever make 
 
 the sacrifice, with obedience. 
 Do the majority of Christians act on this principle ? 
 Paul mournfully writes to the Philippians (chap. ii. 21.), "All seek their 
 
 own, not the things," Szc. 
 Unlike Macedonian believers who gave even beyond their power, 2 Cor. 
 
 viii. 3. 
 A " man accepted according to what he hath, and not," &c. 2 Cor. viii. 12. 
 OSeriugs of God. " Poor shall never cease out of the land." Deut. 
 
 XV. 11. 
 Even " a cup of cold water in Christ's name," remembered in heaven. 
 
 Matt. X. 42. 
 " He that hath pity iipon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord." Prov. xix. 17. 
 God is here the borrower, and his pi'omise is the security. 
 Even under a religious economy provided for by law, a system of voluntary 
 
 liberality existed. 
 Sad for those Christians whom even the charity of Pharisees rises in 
 
 judgment to condemn. 
 Penury. Gr. deficiency. This gift, left the widow nothing in hand to 
 
 supply her wants. 
 The Lord speaks positively, gracious condescension appears in the fulness 
 
 of His language concerning this munificent widow. 
 She might have asked alms publicly or privately, being in need. 
 But she gives out of her deep necessities her last pittance. 
 Her splendid charity forgotten in the glory of her exalted faith. 
 All her living. Substance. Tyndale. The Lord wiU provide. 
 An empty, yet boimtiful hand, but Jesus remains.
 
 362 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTABY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Faith thinks not of future necessities, but present diiti/. 
 
 He is the znosi provident househokler having the greatest faith. 
 
 She forgot her penury, in the abundance of God's promises. 
 
 He could read by a glance her heart full of His own love. 
 
 Thus clearness of vision and fulness of love dwelt in Him to the last. 
 
 Faith in God alone, reserved by him, who offers his all to God. 
 
 He who ofiers necessaries, offers life itself. 
 
 How far is the spirit of Christ's wisdom from those who blame tho 
 
 humblest act of devotion. 
 Those who give the most, give often the least. 
 
 To be raised above fhe fear of poverty shows the power of divine grace. 
 Christ does not blame her for indiscretion in giving her all. 
 He docs not censure her vanitij for casting in with the rich. 
 He praises hex faith in Jehovah Jireh. Gen. xxii. 14. 
 Had Jerusalem been filled with such behevers, the city and temple, 
 
 despite Eome had been standing still. 
 
 ToO ©cov, omitted by some ancient authorities. Alford; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 5. V And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts 
 he said. 
 
 Some spake. Tempter bids us look here and look there, never look up. 
 Temple. Luke i. 9. At the solemn moment He was leaving it, never 
 
 to enter again. 
 Gfoing to tho Mount of Olives, these stones must have been on the east 
 
 side. 
 Forty-six years this temple in building, it was not altogether finished. 
 It was completed only a short time before its destruction. 
 Solomon's temple stood 420 years, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. 
 Ilebuilt by Zerubbabel, 550 years b. c, and inferior to Solomon's. 
 
 Hag. ii. 3. 
 Herod the Great rebuilt it piecemeal, preserving its identity. Mai. iii. 1. 
 Architecture superior to Solomon's, by a classical standard. 
 During eight years 8,000 men were constantly engaged upon it. 
 Wonder of disciples, tho imtural impress of architectural magnificence on 
 
 all minds. 
 Adorned. Garnished, Tijndale. In tlio ir.no of Christ a thing of 
 
 beauty, without life.
 
 OHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 363 
 
 Curiosity of men is amused by the shadowy glories of earth. 
 
 This praise met with no response from Jesus. 
 
 Goodly stones. Of purest white marble, 37 ft. long, 12 broad, 8 high. 
 
 Its foundation stones, 67 ft. long, 7J high. Josephus. 
 
 Gifts. Gr. offerings. Jewels, Tyrulale. Covsrcrated tilings. 
 
 Crowns, golden and silver vases, arms, shrines, &c. 
 
 A vine with branches and grapes of solid gold surrounded the nine gates. 
 
 The first gate 70 cubits high, 25 wide, and covered with gold. 
 
 The outward face of the temple covered with plates of gold. 
 
 The temple itself resembled a mountain of snow and gold. 
 
 Eabbis say, " He who never saw Herod's temple, never saw a building." 
 
 A golden table by Ponq)cij, a golden vine with clusters as largo as a man. 
 
 by Herod. 
 Spoils taken by him from Barbarians, Arabians, were there. 
 Tacitus calls it " A temple of immense opulence." 
 Cassar, Augustus, and Agrippa presented their offerings. 
 Heathen also offered gifts to their gods in temples of earth. 
 Xenophon gave to the temple of Apollo at Delphi on his safe return. 
 Temple of Bel, in Babylon, was adorned with many gifts. 
 Gifts partly for ornaments, partly lor public use at festivals. 
 Ptolemy gave a table, two cisterns of solid gold, thirty golden vials, 
 
 studded with costly gems. 
 127 columns in the temp'e at Ephesus, were gifts of so many kings. 
 The jasper columns now in St. SoiAia, gifts of Constantine. 
 The disciples seem intercessors for the coudemned sanctuary. 
 If such adornments pertain to things which must perish, what must bo 
 
 the glorious splendors of the heavenly temple ? 
 
 Kat Ttfuv. Lulce's acconut tlie original. Luther, ScUleicrmacher, Sasc, Neander: 
 Matthew's. De Wette, Meyer. di/a0i]/xao-t. et votos suspendere Testes, given as tokens of 
 gratitude for safe-;y from shipwreck. Gilded statues, locks of hair, gold and silver 
 imitations of wounds curt^. Giving up their occupation, soldiers devoted arras ; fisher- 
 men, nets ; poets, lyres, harps, &c. Romans frequently dedicated an altar ; erected a 
 temple. A golden candlestick was given by Qneen Helena. Antiochus, fined by tho 
 Eomans 18,000 talen.s, plundered ii tomple in Elj-mas. Vilis anrea, tcmplo reperta, 
 nierosolymao gsntis caput. lUic immenste opulentioe templum. Tacitus Hist. v. 8. 
 Disciples noted their solidity ; Mark, magiiifcence. Luke alone mentions that our 
 liord'a attention was iuN-ited to the avaO-qixaTa.. Wordsworlh. The eastern wall then only 
 remained of Solomon's structure, caUed Solomon's Porch. Dr. Mead. AWoij, bonij 
 lapidibus, beauty or size.
 
 364 SUGGESTH-E COMMENT^VRY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 6. As for these things which ye behold, the clays will come, in the which there shall not 
 be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 
 
 These things. Spoken after leaving the temple. Matt. xxiv. 1. 
 
 Behold. Destraction of such buildings scarcely conceivable. 
 
 Cambyses' army for vreeks in vain tried to destroy the stupendous monu- 
 ments and temples of Egypt, at Thebes. 
 
 Behold! marks the witness. He would have the Chiurchmark the ful- 
 filment. 
 
 Nothing can resist His Amen, when the day shall come. 
 
 He charges them to look at it aright, as a f/lonj doomed to destruction. 
 
 " To you they appear everlasting, to Me a vanishing vision." 
 
 It is alike an easy thing with God, to ruin an empire, or make a single 
 hair grey. 
 
 Days will come. Jesus saw the fashion of this world passing away. 
 
 He showed a holy indifference to aU mere external magnificence. 
 
 Babylon, '^ I sit a queen," was swept away by divine judgments. Eev. 
 xviii. 7. 
 
 One stone. Terentius Eufus, a heathen commander, fulfils prophecy. 
 
 " Zion, for your sake, shall be ploughed as a field." Micab iii. 12. 
 
 These words must have startled the Jews cherishing the temple with 
 idolatrous pride. 
 
 Ezra, Nehemiah and the prophets, had there worshipped. 
 
 Devout Jews in every quarter of the world, timied toward it. in their daily 
 prayers. 1 Kings viii. 44. 
 
 God's chosen temple. A broken heart and contrite spirit. 
 
 Thrown down. No impostor would have foretold an event so disagree- 
 able. 
 
 At this time Jerusalem might have defied the assaults of all the earth. 
 
 Those glories of architecture doomed only on account of the sins of the 
 people. 
 
 Christianity was established after the temple and priesthood were 
 abolished. 
 
 With this wonderful house, now a spiritual ruin, Jesus will have nothing 
 to do. 
 
 6cfc)pc4Te, "To me these things appear as a vanishing vision." Tjange. 77/xe'pat. 
 The Saviour Bpolio tliis at an earlier period, to avoiil a tyiiiral, doublo sense. Luther. 
 An extKetical caprice. Ruins of Jerusalem exclusively. Michaelis, Hcncke, Barhdt. 
 JowH connected temple's fall with tlio end of the world. Oosterzee. AVhen the Coliseum 
 falle, Kome foils ; and liomo falling, the earth perishes. Church of God alone is enduring.
 
 CUAP, XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 3G5 
 
 "Dnys." Times of Ihc JIfcssiah. E6?-«r./. Events aro connectcil and intervals lost 
 eight of ill iiropheey, as wo see distant mountain tops, but not the intervciiing valleys, 
 Bengel, Stier. 
 
 7. And they asked Mm, saying. Master, htit when shall these things be ? and ti'hat sign 
 viiXl there be ichen these things shall come to pass ? 
 
 They asked him. Our Lord had left tlie temple and was sitting on 
 
 the Mount of Olives. 
 Peter, James, John, and Andrew, privately question Him. Mark xiii. 3. 
 Astonished by the sentence of desolation just pronounced. 
 Temple had been sanctified by the presence of the Almighty for ages. 
 All their present and future hopes were bound up in it. 
 There is a praiseworthy and also a guilty curiosity. 
 Prying into the. sacred mysteries of the ark, slew many inBeth-shemesh. 
 
 1 Sam. vi. 19. 
 Master. Gr. Teacher. The Great Teacher of the church. 
 When. " Of that day knoweth no man, no, not the angels." Mark 
 
 xiii. 32. 
 Present duties, not future secrets, should concern us. 
 Jews identified Messiah's coming with the end of the world. 
 These things. Of great value and figure among men, least admired, 
 
 by Christ. 
 Je^vs littering the Dolores Messiae at the place of wailing seen by tho 
 
 Author. Hos. xiii. 13. 
 End. Matt. xxiv. 3 ; refers to the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 Sign. A prophetic miracle ensuring the occmTence of the eveiiL 
 Shall come. Gr. about to come to imss. 
 
 iroTc ovv, when therefore; ■wonder and assent. Bengel. ravra, votive gifts. Wclsiciiu 
 Days to come. Bengel. Tempio and its furniture, and tho dispensation. Alexander. 
 Christ's coming co-temporaneous with the destruction o£ Jerusalem, I)e Wetie, 
 Olaliatcser;, ■ The following proi^hecy a spiritual vision. Hengstcnberg.
 
 366 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 8. And he said. Take heed that ye he not deceived : for many shall come in my name, 
 saying, I am Christ; and tlie time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. 
 
 He said. Many things supposed as signs, He denies would prove such. 
 
 Tlie Saviour in divine wisdom warns His disciples of their perils. 
 
 Fanatical leaders of sects pursue the opijosite course. 
 
 Take heed. No result of chance, everything actually fulfilled. 
 
 He who pronounces the judgment, secures its accomplishment. 
 
 Watch over yourselves that ye may be saved when I really come. 
 
 Dismiss all thought of My erecting a temporal kingdom. 
 
 Those most inquisitive aboiit the future, often most easily imposed upon. 
 
 Deceived. If Apostles needed warning, how great our danger ? 
 
 The enemies of the truth have ever been strangely active. 
 
 That calm repose of conscious trust in truth is unknown to them. 
 
 Hence the infidel is ever agitating the minds of others by his own 
 misgivings. 
 
 He fondly trusts to find joeace by making proselj-tes to error. 
 
 Thus Satan apostatizing took with him all he could. 
 
 A bad sign not to know a good shepherd by his well ordered flock. 
 
 Many. These are not the specific signs of Jerusalem's r.uin. 
 
 Twenty-four false Messiahs mentioned in history of the Jews from 
 
 Adrian to 1682. Luke xvii. 23. 
 In every calamity, lying consolation repeats itself. 
 At the Captivity, false prophets abounded. 
 I am Clarist. Chris^t not in the original. Head, I am He. 
 Self-constituted representatives of Clu-ist assuming authority over men's 
 
 consciences. 
 In my name. Assiuning my character as foretold in prophecy. 
 Go ye not. Better be instructed in peace, than terrified in danger. 
 Ye know the Messiah has come, therefore look for no other. 
 
 T(p oro^aTi. 'MeXi., false prophets. False Christian teachers. Lange; false Jewish 
 prophets. Meyer; prophets raised from the dead. Kuinoel; apostles of the false Messiah. 
 Grotius; those claiming to bo the Messiah returning, according to Ilis promise. 
 AUxander. It is said by the Jews that there were more than fifty false Messiahs, from 
 Bar Cocheba of the second century, to Sabbatai Zcbhi in the seventeenth. Fanatical 
 impostors as Jonathan, Simon Magus, Elymas, Thcudas, Judas the Gaulonite, Dositheus, 
 Mi-nandcr, CerinOius, were 7iot false Christs. Rhcimish Jesuits refer this to Luther 
 and Calvin ; with the same malice, modern Booffors refer Bible and Missionary Societies 
 to the Frogs, Rev. xvl. 13. 
 
 6 Katp'os 7)77tKe. Messiah, or the false Chrisls. Doddridge ; Christ. Major. This 
 sentence is not the word of our Lord, but of the ttoWoI. Alford. This has been a con- 
 tinued error in the Church, see 2 Thess. ii. 2, and modem predictions of Millenarians. 
 W. d- ir. The readers of Tfa})p's Commentary (published lC-i7) will find that in hitf
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 367 
 
 day Romo had fixed the commencement of the Millenium for 1C94 ; since then, many 
 writers have made tlie beginning of the end to take place within 30 or 50 years from the . 
 time they wrote. Surely these things should teach students of prophecy great caution, 
 seeing that by these professed calculations, the Word of God is exposed to the ridicule of 
 scoffers. See Trapp's Commentury, new edition, Loudon, 1866. Ambiguity of the original 
 jireserved. Campbell, ovf, omitted. Tiichendorf, Alford. oti and ovy omitted by Cod. 
 •Sinai. 
 
 9. But when yt shall hear of wan and commotions, be not terrified: for these things 
 must first come to pass ; but the end is not by and by, 
 
 V7ars. Rumours. Matt. xxiv. 6. Among co-equals, commotions agamst 
 superiors. 
 
 Caligula commanded his statue to be set up in the temple. 
 
 Jews abhorred the thought of this monster, profaning the Lord's House. 
 
 In eighteen months, Nero, Galla, Otho, and Vitellius were emperors. 
 
 The death of Caligula prevented insurrection of the Jews. 
 
 Many Jews alarmed fled from the couutty to the city. 
 
 Having rejected the liberty offered by the Messiah, they grasped in vain 
 at cicil liberty from the Koman yoke. 
 
 Terrified. The yidlty have good cause to dread the agitation around 
 them. 
 
 Cause of fear, not so much in convulsions of nature as in forebodings of 
 
 awakened conscience. 
 Belshazzar, Herod, Judas, Altamont, Spira, Voltaire, illustrations. 
 To punish, God need only abandon men to their own passions. Jer. xx. 4. 
 Ambitious ones are executors of God's judgments, begun. 
 God draws great armies together to punish one another'. 
 The battle field a great scaffold, a spectacle to the world. 
 Fire and sword the arms of His justice. 
 
 In the end, fire and sword will be in the hands of God Himself, 
 Necessity of this caution, not confined to the first disciples. 
 End. Our Lord's teaching, how varied in its endlessly rich significance. 
 1. Instructive. 2. Alarming. 3. Encouraging. 4. Full of promise. 
 By and by. Gr. immediately. Divine patience is long-suffering. 
 Divine purposes are surely, though to sense, slowly accomplislied. 
 Abraham waited 25 years, Israel 4.00 for the promise. 
 Greatest of all promises, Redeemer's Advent, required a period of 4000 
 years for fulfilment.
 
 868 SUGGESTmS commentary [cUAP. XXI. 
 
 jToAeftovf. 'Wars previona to the destruction of Jerusalem, Wetatein. To the end of 
 the world. Lange. irTorid^Te, from irroeo), to puff, of the air, hence a conceit of the niiud 
 Bloomfield. etrSe'w?, rendered, 6;/ and htj, forthwith. reAos, end of the world. Chry- 
 sostom, Be Wette ; end of tribulation. Meyer; destruction of Jerusalem, or flight to 
 Pella. RosenmuUer. 
 
 10. Hien said he unio them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against 
 kingdom : 
 
 Then. Sbe-wing He spake after a period of silence. 
 
 Wations. Distiu-bauces occurred under Claudius and Nero. 
 
 20,000 of the Jews were slain at Cajsarea by the Syrians. 
 
 Bloody contests took place at Scythopolis, Ascalon, Tyre, Ptolemaias, 
 
 Gadara, Alexandria, Damascus. 
 Seditions, rebellions, wars, fruits of Satan. Isa. ii. 4 ; Jas. iv. 1. 
 Convulsions glorify and establish the everlasting word of heaven. 
 Kingdom. Jews of Perea fought the Philadelphians, under C. FabiuB, 
 
 procurator. 
 Galileans fought Samaritans, under Commanus, procurator. 
 Jews fought Agrippa, under Florus procurator. 
 Otho and VitelKus meanwhile, strove for the Eoman throne. 
 
 eAeycv. Spiritually interpreting individual traits. Dorner. Destruction of Jerusalem. 
 Slichaelis. His ideal identified with His real coming, by His disciples. Credner, Meyer. 
 The time of Hadrian, Bauer. Perspective view of the future. BengeU 
 
 11. And great earthquakes shall Tie in divers places, and famines, and pestilences ; and 
 fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 
 
 Earthquakes. In the reign of Clmidian ; at Smj'ma, Miletus, Chios, 
 
 Samos, Crete, and Eome, under Galba. a.d. 51. 
 Under Nero, Colosse, Hierapolis, Laodicea, and Pompeii were rained. 
 In Asia Minor, a.d. CO. — Campania, a.d. G3 ; also in Phrygia, Apamea, and 
 
 Laodicea. 
 Earthquakes attributed then to lire in central parts of the earth. 
 Firat recorded b. c, 918, reign of Ahab ; Elijah etood before God. 
 
 1 Kings xix. 12.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 3G9 
 
 UriJer Uzziali, 811 b. c, the temple -was rent. Zecli. xiv. 5. 
 
 " The earth shook ancT trembled, the foundations were removed." Psa. 
 
 xviii. 7. 
 31 B. c, dm-ing the battle of Actmm, 10,000 men perished in an earth- 
 quake in Judaaa. Tbe earth trembled, but the combatants knew it not. 
 At Antioch, on the Feast of Ascension, 526 a. p., 250,000 persons perished. 
 1G87 A.D., at Lima, Quito, and Table-land, 40,000 perished. 
 1755 A.D., at Lisbon, 30,000 perished. 
 Famines. Foretold by Agabus ; fulfilled under Claudius Cassar. 
 
 Acts xi. 28. 
 Pestilences. Sometimes a solitary judgment, but usually attending 
 
 on famine. 
 While all diseases seem more or less to yield to human skill, God holda 
 
 the results of pestilence alone in His hand. 
 In riome, 30,000 were swept off during a single a.utimin, a. d., CG. 
 Fearful sights. Of themselves they had no connection with futurity. 
 Yet being foretold by God's appointment, were signs of coming judgments. 
 Matt, and Mark were dead before these accounts were fulfilled. 
 Great signs. Signs in the heavens, ahvays a terror to the superstitious. 
 A star resembling a sword hung over Jerusalem for a year. 
 On the eighth of Nisan, a light shone around the altar, at the ninth hour, 
 
 resembling day. 
 The eastern gate of brass required 20 men to open or shiit it, yet, at 
 
 midnight it ©iJened oiits own accord. 
 Chariots filled with armed soldiers at sun-set were seen in the heavens. 
 A voice at night in tlie inner temple said, " Let ns remove hence." 
 A sti'anger passed through the city for seven years and five months, 
 
 crying. Woe ! Wok ! to Jerusalem ! 
 As he cried, '■ Woe .' woe! to myself," a stone from the Eoman engine slew 
 
 him ! 
 Thus Josephus confirms Christ's words, although he rejected Him as 
 
 Messiah. 
 
 AM Te after creL(riJ.oC, and place Kara, tottov? after koI. TiscUendorf, Alfo~d, Cod. 
 Sinai, o-eictmoi. — Very unimportant before the Tcmi)lo fell. De Wette. History au 
 adequate solution. Oostcrzce. oTj/xeia. — Luke iii. 12. A heifer led to sacrifice in the 
 court of the temple, hrought forth a lamb. Josephus. "Evencrant prodigia," &c. Tacitus, 
 V l:!. Prodigies, the Jews reckoned it unlawful to expiate, either by sacrifices or yows. 
 Josephus and Tacitus confirm the predictions of Christ. Jortin, Ecc. His., vol. i., chap. 21* 
 
 Ai^oi Kol KoLuoC. Instances of similar paronomasias in N.T., see Heb. v. 8, qxaQty 
 o</i' uv eiyaeci/, and P.om. xi. 17 ; Matt. xsi. 41 ; Acts viii. 30. Wordsu-urth.
 
 370 SUGGESTIVE COJnrENTARY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 12. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering 
 yon up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for 
 my name's sake. 
 
 Shall lay. Peter, John, Paul, Silas, and many of tlie saints were sliut 
 
 up in prison. Acts xxvi. 10. 
 " Judgment shall begin in the house of God." 1 Pet. iv. 17. 
 " If these things shall be done in the green tree, what shall be done in 
 
 the dry?" Luke xxiii. 31. 
 Founders of other religions never used such repulsive means to gain 
 
 votaries. 
 No honest ministers will decoy members into the Church hy flattery. 
 Jesus required patience and fortitude, startling the most heroic. 
 Persecute. " Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes, thrice was 
 
 I beaten with rods, once with stones." 2 Cor. xi. 24-25. 
 Christ never used violence to force men into the Church. 
 Twice He used violence to drive bad men oiU of the temple. 
 Pagan and papal powers in frenzy, persecuted the Church. 
 The children of Cain will hate the children of Abel. 
 " I have chosen you out of the world, therefore it hates you." John xv. 
 
 19. 
 " They shall suffer great things for Christ's name sake." Acts. ix. 16. 
 Synagogues. Luke iv. 15. Discipline and 25^iiiishment inflicted at 
 
 the church door. 
 Martyrs were frequently burnt near the house of God. 
 Secular notices now in France and Canada fixed on chm'ch doors. 
 Kings and-rulers. Gallio, Felix, Festus, Agrippa and Nero. 
 Christ thus warned tliem, when they were first sent out. Matt. x. 17. 
 " Tliose things have I spoken, that ye should not be offended." 
 Delivery. Afflictions try the jiatience, and jeveal the heart. > 
 The more the world hates Christ, the more it tries to force His saints to 
 
 hate Him also. 
 The greatest gift the world can bestow, is a martyr's crown. 
 The princes of the world do not recognise their true Jriends. 
 Courtiers loaded with favors, oft instrumental in their destruction. 
 Name's sake. The persecutions of Nero a war against a name. 
 
 irpb, here denotes not so much tlio limo (comp. Matt. xxiv. 9), as tho iruiioitanco of 
 tLo ovontH, as 1 Peter, iv. 8. Benffcl.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 371 
 
 13. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 
 
 Testimony. " The Gospel shall be preached for a wituess to all 
 uatious." Matt. xsiv. 14. TraJiiioH reports the fulfillment of these 
 words — 
 
 lu IdumiEa, Sjria, Mesopotamia, by Jude. 
 
 In Egypt, Marmarica, Mauritania, by Mark and Peter. 
 
 In Ethiopia by Candace's eunuch, and Matthias. 
 
 In Pontiis, Galatia, and neighbouring parts of Asia, by Simon. 
 
 In the territory of the seven Asiatic churches, by Jolui. 
 
 In Parthia, by Matthew ; in Scythia, by Philip and Andrew. 
 
 In the northern and western parts of Asia, by Bartholomew. 
 
 In Persia, Media, and perhaps India, by Thomas. 
 
 "From Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum," by Paul. 
 
 Also in Italy, and probably in Spain, Gaul and Britain. 
 
 " A glorious proof of your innocence and of their giiilt." 
 
 Tlie S7ijj'erin(is of Christians prove their belief of the fru^/j ef Christianity. 
 
 Infidels never able to overthrow this argument. 
 
 One martyr's stake was more persuasive than a hundred piiljiits. 
 
 " The blood of the Martyrs became the seed of the Church." 
 
 Had Apostles been honored, heathen would have doubted their sinceritif. 
 
 The witnesses of their dying courage cried, " Co7ne let us die icith them."'' 
 
 anopTja-erai vfjuv eU naprvpiov, i.e. as a testimony to them. Mark xiii. 9, fxaprvpiov 
 auTois, a testimony by which some of them will be convinced and converted, as Sergius 
 Paulus, the governor of Paphos, and D-ionysius the Areopagite, Acts xiii. 7-13 ; xvii. 34. 
 Wordsworth. eU naprvpi-ov, that is, for the glory of martyrdom. Cyril. 
 
 14. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall ansiver . 
 
 Settle it. " Let it therefore stick fast in your hearts." Tijndale. 
 
 Strive for this alone, that ye be not disturbed in spirit. 
 
 Note calmness of Christians amid cjanvulsions of the world. 
 
 Desolating revolutions pave the way of Jehovah's coming. 
 
 The time of persecution is a time of sifting. Dan. xii. 10. 
 
 A storm levels decayed trees and branches of the forest. 
 
 Take no anxious, distressing, unbelieving thought. 
 
 Such distrixst would impede the discharge of their duty. 
 
 " Out of sis troubles, yea, in seven He will save thee." Job. v. 19.
 
 372 SUGGESTR'E COMJIENTARY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 ITot ineditate. These words afford no warrant for ministers neglecting 
 
 pulpit preparation. 
 Tbe chief excellence of prayer and -watchfulness is tnistinp in God. 
 Advocates of God's cause will recei%'e instruction from Him. 
 Prudence and policy avail nothing without Divine guidance. 
 The expressive form of a command, not even to thinl:. 
 Elijah ascending, need not tJmik hoiv he could get up to heaven. 
 Answer. God who makes dumb beasts speak, will never forsake His 
 
 people when oppressed by tyrants. 
 
 15. For I will give you a viouih and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able 
 to gainsay nor resist. 
 
 I will give. In Matt. x. 20, this is attributed to the Spirit of the 
 
 Father. 
 Jesus now speaks in accordance with His own exalted state. 
 A proof of the suprevie Godhead of Christ. 
 The Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son. 
 Tilouth. " I put thee in remembrance to stir up the gift which is 
 
 within thee." 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 The Holy Spirit will spare them the necessity of self-defence. 
 Nor must they even interfere with this mysterious Advocate. 
 They must look on themselves as vehicles of His revelation. 
 Martyrs are said to have spoken after their tongues were cut out, in 
 
 Africa, Belgium and elsewhere. Bengel, Witsius, Jos. Hall. 
 Wisdom. Such assistance promised by man or angel, were mere 
 
 blasi^hcmy. 
 No eloquence or skill, i^roof against the wrath of man. 
 " Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, hast Thou ordained strength." 
 
 Psa. viii. 2. 
 Gainsay. They often silenced, if not defeated their persecutors. 
 Sanhedrim " were unable to resist the wisdom of Stephen." Acts vi. 10. 
 Their adversary did actually contradict them. Acts xiii. 45 ; xxviii. 19. 
 Fulfilled — 1. To the Apostles. 2. Confessors. 3. Martyrs. 4. Eeformers. 
 
 5. Heroes of faith in all ages. 
 Rest. Though the army be on earth, tbe council of war sits in heaven. 
 
 iyu) tutaui. In one pliw^o Christ spoalvS iu Ilia disciples, as bore ; in anotlior, tho 
 FallicT; in another U)0 Siiirit of Ibo FatliLT fipoiiliHh. Those do not differ, but nj 
 together. In tbe one that speakclh, three Bpcak, fur tho voice of tho Trinity is one. Ambr 
 
 res 
 ose^
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 373 
 
 crTo/.ia Kal tro^Cav, — utterances, yea, wisdom. Some 'wonld render this "wise 
 utterances," but it is better to consider the <ro0ia as an additional gift to the trro/xa, and 
 this view is confirmed by the use of the relative fj. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 IG. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends ; 
 and some of you shall they cause to be j)uJ to death. 
 
 Betrayed. Same -word in Greek as in verse 12. Bead, delivered 
 tip. 
 
 Not only by enemies but by blood relatives. 
 
 "Mine own familiar friend hath lifted up his heel against me." Psa. 
 
 xli. 9. 
 Multitudes of Christians destroyed during the persecutions of Nero. 
 Brethren. You will not know in whom to put confidence. 
 Friends. Lovers, Tyndale. Deepest wounds often come from pretended 
 
 friends. 
 The very security of our day, renders times oi peace dangerous. 
 Solicitations to pleasure and honor, are more fatal than the cross or the 
 
 stake. 
 The flatteries of the world, and pride of life, ruin more than i^erseciitions. 
 Put to death. Stephen and James thus perished, the latter by Herod. 
 Instead of expecting honor and wealth, prepare for fiery trials. 
 The Christian witnesses at least believed what they said. 
 Proving their sincerity by going to death rather than yield their trust. 
 
 Ktti. E.V. wronply, both; literally, even; even by them, not only by strangers. 
 Bengel, Wordswortlu 
 
 17.. And ye shall be hated of all men /or my name's saJce, 
 
 Hated. Heathen rulers and idolaters saw Christianity move on with a 
 
 mysterious and irresistible jjower, changing all things. 
 Christianity compelled its disciples to denounce paganism. 
 Its pare creed bore hard on the fearfully licentious princes of Eome. 
 A Christian eveiywhere praised can hardly be faithful. 
 Thrice happy arc they who are hated for Christ's sake. 
 Persecution and hatred do not sanctify, do not detach us from earlh.
 
 STi SUGGESTIVE C01I3IENTAEY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 They who hated Christ must hate those bearing His image. 
 
 The chmax of anticipated honors is unnatural and universal hatred. 
 
 This was not founded on anything belonging to themselves. 
 
 But upon that which related to their Master. 
 
 Because a holy life silently, but powerfully condemns sinners. 
 
 He promises them no exemptions from the common lot. 
 
 He intimates peculiar trials, also a cheering victory. 
 
 The periphrastic future ea-ea-Be ixicrov/j^svoi. espressei? the uninterrupted continuance 
 of an action. So in verse 24, etrrat naTovixii'-q, Webster's Syntax. 
 
 ^.iKrovixcvoi,, odio humani generis convicti. Tacitus. Gibbon has inverted the 
 meaning of Tacitus, by making Chi'istians hate mankind. He exchanges "convicti" iOT 
 " coitjuncti." Suetanius calls Christianity a mischievous superstition. 
 
 IS. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 
 
 Hair. Luke like all the apostles perished by violence. 
 
 Hence our Saviour projjhesies the soul to be imperishable. 
 
 Death itself, not the loss of a hair of one's head, 
 
 When the hajspiness of eternity is taken into account. 
 
 This truth the foundation of all Christian courage. 
 
 Christians nowhere promised exemption from danger or distress. 
 
 Casting the seed in the earth, is not to lose, but increase the gain. 
 
 Unwilling to lose om- comforts, the sure way to peril our souls. 
 
 Some of you shall lose your head but not a hair. 
 
 Many are losers for Christ, but hij Him all are gainers. 
 
 Perish. Eefers to security of life in general, but presci-vation of life in 
 
 particular. 
 Thus the people spoke of Jonathan — 1. Sam. xiv. 45 ; ami David to the 
 
 woman — 2 Sam. xiv. 11. 
 It refers to those loyal to Christ in the ruin of Jerusalem. 
 In the eternal balance of profit and loss, it is absolutely true. 
 "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." Mark xiii. 13. 
 The loss of wealth, health, home, friends, life itself, with an eternal 
 
 interest in Christ, is not to perish, but is Salvation ! Eom. viii. 
 
 3S-9. 
 "Whatever sufferings a disciple endures, liis best things can never be 
 
 injured. 
 The roll of the noble army of martyrs is a long one.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 375 
 
 Kol 0plf , adversative, "yet for all tbat you shall lose nothing." This is not to be taken 
 in a literal sense, as appears from verse 16. Many promises apparently having a temporal 
 Bit;uification, must be understood spiritually, of future and eternal gloiy, Luke xvii. 33, 
 John xii. 25. W. d: W. Equal to, " I will talcf. cognizance of you if you are harmed," or 
 " It shall be upon a valuable consideration." True of the soul, but not of the body. Alford, 
 Shall not perish unreeompensed. Benrjel. "He does not perish who saves a nation by 
 laying down his life." Stier. "For a good man (a great patriot, the heart of a nation) 
 one would even dare to die," Eom. v. 7. Not only noble deeds and words of saints, hut 
 even the slightest thought f" /lairs o/j/0!ir 7iea(J'V shall meet with a deserving reward. 
 Bede. 
 
 19. In your patience possess ye your souls. 
 
 Patience. The only state of mind wlaicli qualified them for the "work to 
 
 be done. 
 The colder becomes our love, the longer He seems to tarry. Matt. xxiv. 
 
 12. " The love of many shall wax cold." 
 At last all the virgins become more or less drowsy. 
 Faith, hope, patience, perseverance, charity, weapons to achieve far 
 
 nobler victories than earth's heroes ever won. 
 When Christ cheers us on, we need not fear the result. 
 A paradox. Christians conquer by being overcome. The world is victor 
 
 repelling force by force. 
 Possess. Gr. acquire. Save your lives by your faith and patience, 
 
 while others by want of faith are destroying theirs. 
 He who preserves patience in adversity is thereby rendered proof against 
 
 all afflictions. 
 By conquering himself, he gains the government of himself. 
 Possession of the soul is laid in patience, because patience is the root and 
 
 guardian of all virtues. Gregory. 
 
 Krria-a.<jde: KTrjcretrBe. Tischendorf, Meyer, Alford, Codices Alex, and Vat. Cod. 
 Sitini. samo a,s Text Rcceptus. By your perseverance ye shall enjoy your lives. Pi'e/ce, 
 Major. None of the disciples are known to have perished in the siege of Jerusalem. Ey 
 your endurance ye shall possess your souls. Bengel. AVin the salvation of your souls by 
 patience. Ryle. Save your lives by your endurance. W. dt W. Be cheerful, come what 
 will. Trapp. Gr. implies constancy in purpose and practice. Vestra patientia, vcstraa 
 saluti, consulite. Cass. He places in the margin, jierseverate ad extremum, et sah'i 
 critis. Campbell. Colligite vos ipsos. Wctstein. By endurance acquire your souls, as 
 indeed your own. Trench.
 
 37G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [c HAP. XXI. 
 
 KT)7cra<r9e, a contrast to airoKriTai, in the precoding verse. You may gain your lifa 
 ■where you seem most likely to lose it. Wordsworth. 
 
 20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the 
 desolation thereof is nigh. 
 
 "Wiien ye. The exact time of the overthrow of Jerusalem vras not 
 
 stated. 
 " When ye see the abomination of desolation in the holy place." Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 15. 
 " After three score and two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off." Dan. 
 
 ix. 2G. 
 This proves our Lord Jesus' perfect knowledge of the future. 
 "I am God, declaring the end from the beginning." Isa. xlvi. 9, 10. 
 Compassed. Gr. being compassed. Vespasian until the death of Nero 
 
 besieged Jerusalem. 
 Hastening to Rome for the crown, his son Titus continued the siege, 
 
 A. D., 70. 
 They were four days destroying gardens and trees on the North. 
 They erected three towers 75 ft. high, overtopping the wall. 
 Balistae from the Moimt of Olives threw red hot stones into the city. 
 Thus a large j^ortion of the dwellings were consumed, water being too 
 
 precious to be used in putting out the flames. 
 Their batteries broke down the three walls around the city. 
 Armies. Sins of men urge them together, and desolation is the result. 
 Tlie repentance of men can alone scatter or disarm them. 
 Then know. This fact was an intimation that they shoiild escape. 
 There is a time to resist, and a time to submit. Ecc. iii. 1. 
 Jeremiah exhorted the Jews to submit to the Chaldeans. 
 Lot was bound to escape from Sodom, and Israel from Korah. 
 As the Jews would not submit, Christians must fly. 
 The sifgij %\ill not be raised until the city is destroj'ed. 
 Desolation. Abomination of, Matt. xxiv. 15. Every idol is an 
 
 abomination. 
 Ashtaroth, the abomination of the Sidonians. 
 The images of the emperors, and eagles were ensigns of the Roman 
 
 army. 
 The Legions worshipped and swore by these ensigns. 
 Many saints were murdered for refusing compliance.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 377 
 
 Placed over the eastern gate after tlie captm-c, and sacrifice offered to 
 them. 
 
 Is nigh. God in mercy and judgment beginning, will make an end. 
 
 Jerusalem. Liike ii. 25. 1. Seat of MelcLisedec. 2. City of David. 
 3. Dwelling place of God. 4. Slayer of the Prophets. 5. Seat of 
 the abomination of desolation. 6. Trodden under foot of the Gen- 
 tiles. 7. The Salem of another Melchisedec. 
 
 Fall of Jerusalem announcing, 1. The shame of Israel. 2. The great- 
 ness of the Lord. 3. Glory of the Kingdom of Cluist. -4. The 
 calling of Christians. 5. The future judgment.- 
 
 epijAKoeri?. By the command of Antiochus Epiphancs. The pSe\vyixa ttjs epij/xwo-ecos 
 of Matt. xxiv. 15, upon the altar. The Ilomaus prefcrreil their ensigns before all other 
 gods. TcriulHnn. Every part of the Holy Land was filled with desolation. Statues of 
 Titus, were placed on Moriah. Ircnaius, Jerome. Imperial statue of Pilate. Josephiis. 
 Kaging of zealots. Metier. Loathsome practices of Romans on Moriah. Grotiut, Bengeh 
 Boman eagles. Doddridge. Caius' statue, Roman armies. Trapp, Neroton. Our Lord gave two 
 signs; one described by Matt. xxiv. 15, and Mark xiii. 14, viz., the abomination of 
 desolation, spoken of by Daniel, set up in the city, in the " Holy Place " of the Temple. 
 The other sign, here mentioned by Luke, was the blockade of the city from without, by 
 the hostile armies of Rome. The former sign was intimately connected with the latter. 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 21. Then let then which arc in Judaaflee to the mountains ; and let them which are 
 in the midst of it depart out ; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 
 
 Tlien. When all human prudence fails, Jesus bids his peoi)le fly from 
 
 the danger. 
 Flee. Woe to the land from which God has departed 1 
 Thou canst only hasten and save thy soixl. Gen. xix. 22. 
 When God removes the righteous, speedy judgments may be expected. 
 The Lord taketh the righteous from the evil to come. Isa. Ivii. 1. 
 When Lot leaves Sodom, the city is destroyed. Gen. xix. 16. 
 Wicked men unconscious of their deep debt to the good. Job xxii. 30. 
 The days of vengeance follow the days of grace. 
 Observe how the Lord provided for the safety of his people — 
 Ccstiu^ Gallus advancing against Jerusalem, suddenly withdraws. 
 At this Josephus expresses surprise, as he might have taken the city. 
 But in the interval. Providence permitted all the Christians to escape. 
 We see in this event incontestable evidence of Christ's true prophecy. 
 All believers doubtless escaped during this opportimity. 
 To court death is the part of an enthusiast, not a disciple.
 
 378 SUGGKSTIVE COIIMENTAEY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Mountains. Wliitber the enemy would not be likely to follow them. 
 
 In another Zoar, in Pella, Perasa, He gathered His faithful ones. 
 
 Agrippa remained faithful to the Eomaus, hence the sen'ants of God 
 were safe. 
 
 Deijart out. Before the trenches are opened and escape ciit off. 
 
 Abandon a country when God has abandoned the people. 
 
 Countries. Gr. fields. Jerusalem, the capital, would disappoint all 
 hopes of safety. 
 
 Its strength, privileges and sanctity, will avail nothing. 
 
 The just decree for its overthrow would ruin it as a place of refuge. 
 
 On the house-top. Mark xiii. 15. The houses in the East are flat- 
 roofed. 
 
 Their flight woiild be so hasty, they could not preserve their valuables. 
 
 In tlie field. Matt. xxiv. 18. At work they laid aside their loose 
 upper garments. 
 
 It implies the absolute necessity of the iitmost haste. 
 
 Let no earthly treasures however valuable, detain you. 
 
 Alius Diomedes, when Pompeii was ruined by Vesuvius, went back for a 
 sack of gold pitchers, and other gems. 
 
 He and his slave were found at his own garden gate ; his [/olden vessels 
 and skeleton together ! 
 
 ot if 7-j5 'lovSaCa, not in Jerusalem only. In consequence of this -naming tlie 
 Christians escaped to Pella, in Percea. Wordsworth. The Jc.vs, instead of obeying this 
 warning, ftocked to Jerusalem, for the Passover, and so were caught by the Romans as in 
 a net. Their unbelief was their ruin. x'^P'"^, rcgionibus. X)e IKetJe; fields. Oosteraee; 
 farms. Meyer. 
 
 22. For these he the days of vengeance, that all fhinos ichicU are written may he fulfilled. 
 
 Vengeance. Gr. of full vengeance. Great sins, great judgments. 
 
 Terrible truth, the nearer God's judgments the worse men become. 
 
 Days of vengeance follow days of mercy luiimproved. 
 
 Sins of the nation had been long noted down in the book of God. 
 
 Tlie storm had been gathering since the days of the kings. 
 
 " God rcquircth that which is past." Ecc. iii. 15. 
 
 In the days of Abraham, the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full.
 
 CHAP. XXI. J ON ST. LUKE. 379 
 
 Four hun Irel yeai'S afterwards, Joshua was the sword in God's hand, 
 lu the latter end, " Be ye sure your siu shall find you out." Ecc. viii. 
 
 11 ; Psa. xxxvii. 35. 
 Wc sleep over God's threatenings, lest a living faith destroy our peace. 
 The wieked are ever mistaking reprieves for pardons. 
 All thing's. Josephus records the fulfilment of these predictions, 
 Witii^' At being conscious that he was the instrument of God himself, 
 Tims Nebuchadnezzar, all unconscious, executed God's wrath. 
 Thus Cyrus decrees Jerusalem must rise, fulfils God's love. 
 "Written. Luke i. 63. Fulfilled. " The Lord shall bring a nation 
 
 from far and shall besiege thee." Deut. xxviii. 52. 
 1500 years before, these predictions were published, and now to bo 
 
 fulfilled. 
 When Jehovah has a judgment for His guilty people. He will nevci Lick 
 
 an instrument. 
 For the wicked of Israel He had the Assyrian monarch, as the rod of His 
 
 anger. Isa. x. 5. 
 
 «/cSiK^cre(os, a full exacting of vengeance. The Emperor Titus said, " That God was 
 so angry with the Jews, that ho would fear His wrath, if he shewed them any favor." 
 lie therefore repelled every honor offered him by the Senate for this victory. Josephus. 
 A most remarkable testimony to the fact that God's hand was in all this ruin. 
 
 TrdvTa TO. yeypafxix^va, esijecially in Dan. ix. 26-27. 
 
 23. But voe unto Ihem that are with child, and to them that give sucl-, in those days I 
 for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 
 
 "Woe. A frenzied band of zealots murdered all trying to escape. 
 
 The compasbionate heart of Jesus, turns especially to the pangs of 
 maternity. 
 
 The anguish of the helpless mother, unable to escape, umoilUng to leave 
 her babe. John xvi. 21. 
 
 This should draw to Christ the hearts of all mothers. 
 
 Those retarded by the tendercst of affections, and most beloved en- 
 cumbrances. 
 
 "Woe unto those who are pregnant with plans and undertakings. 
 
 lime will strip and empty them of everything, save theu- lives.
 
 380 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXI. 
 
 A woe not of imprecation, but of complaint full of mercy. 
 
 Ties of earth dangerous, when forced to break them or perish. 
 
 Woe to those loaded so heavily with worldly cares that wrath cannot 
 
 break the chains. 
 Great distress. Matt., ^' girat tribulation." 
 None of the Apostles saw the ruin of Jerusalem, except John. 
 A new race of converts had arisen, who profited by their warnings. 
 "While Cestius GaUits was retreating, many Christians escaped. 
 Others warned by angels, departed from the city. Eusebius, Epiph, 
 Vespasian hearing the commotions in Gaul, hastencxl the siege. 
 He was made Emperor after the short reigns of Galba, Otho and Vitellius. 
 Titus Flavius Vespasian, his son, the 9th Cssar canied on the siege. 
 Three parties in Jerusalem fought fiercely with each other. 
 Simon, John, and Eleazar, demagogues, ruled with a rod of iron. 
 The zealots in daily contests sprinkled even the altar with human blood. 
 This people. No longer worthy of the honored name, Israel. 
 Nearly the entire nation, on this great feast day, were shut up as in a 
 
 prison, with famine begun. 
 No foreigner for 1500 years invaded the land, during the feasts. 
 "Neither shall any man desire thy land when thou goest," &c. Ex. 
 
 xxxiv. 24. 
 Jehovah would not permit so much as a thought of invasion. 
 Filling up their cuj) they forfeited all interest in this promise. 
 Laud. Palestine. Wrath, of God. Cause put for effect. 
 Stared with provisions, sufficient for a siege of many years. 
 Those stores were burnt to the ground. Pestilence followed famine. 
 Children snatched the morsel their fathers were eating. 
 The old men were beaten for not releasing their food. 
 The leather on their shields was voraciously devoured. 
 " Thou Shalt eat the flesh of thy sons and daughters." Dcut. xxviii. 56, 
 
 and Lam. ii. 20. 
 " I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons." Jcr. xix. 9. 
 Some were whipped, then tormented to death. 
 
 The captives were cnicified, until crosses were wanting for the bodies. 
 "Except the days shall be shortened, no flesh shall bo saved." Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 22. 
 The Jews forsaking their strong towers, hastened the fall of the city. 
 Their obstinacy continued in the face of despair. 
 Imjjostors publicly proclaimed that signs of deliverance would aiipear. 
 Despisers of God's grace, and slayers of His people will sooner or latci' 
 
 learn that God verily reigns.
 
 CHAJP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 881 
 
 War began second year of G. Florus, twelfth year of Nero, seventeenth 
 of Agrippa, May, A. d., 66 ; Jerusalem taken Sep. 8th., second year 
 of Vespasian, A. n., 70. 
 
 Bi, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford. yatrrpX exowo^i'S- A. death stnigglc, tyi^ical of the 
 birth pang of the now Jerusalem. As the last heaven and last earth are destroyed ore 
 the new world is born. Sticr. ttJ? y>js. On the earth. Tischendorf, Alford. avdyK-q (avx-w, 
 to compress) ; Matt, has eXt'i^is, calamity. Bloovificld, 
 
 24. And thcij shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall he led away captive into all 
 nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Oer.tiles, until the times of the 
 Gentiles be fulfilled. 
 Fall. So many priests perished, the daily sacrifice failed on the 17th, 
 
 Panemus or June. 
 On the 15th, of Alibor, Jnhj, a.d., 70, the temple was fired by a Eomau 
 
 soldier. 
 He was urged, according to Josephus, by a certain divine impulse. 
 The same day, of the same mouth, of the burning of the first temple. 
 
 Ominous circumstance ! 
 Titus endeavored by every means to preserve this splendid edifice. 
 " Open thy doors, Lebanon, that the fires may devour the cedars." 
 
 Zech. xi. 1. 
 "The voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled." 
 
 Zech. xi. 2-3. 
 About 10,000 in the courts of the temple perished in the flames. 
 Those attempting to escape perished by the Eoman sword. 
 The shouts of the legions, the groans of the dying, noted by the prophet. 
 "Zion was ploughed as a field," by Tmnus Rufus. Jer. xxvi. 18; Mic. 
 
 iii. 12. 
 Amid these desolations, deluded Jews cling to their dreams. 
 Dispersed through all nations, " peeled and trodden do\vn." Isa. xviii. 2, 
 The sword. The Eomans obtained possession of Mount Zion. 
 They found families dead in their upper rooms, and slew all the living. 
 Having fired the city, they retired for the night. 
 Titus ordered all to be taken captives, who did not resist. 
 50,000 perished at Alexandria ; 16,000 at Cassarea ; 13,000 at Scythopolis ; 
 
 15,000 at Aphek; 11,000 at Gezcrhin ; and 30,000 at Jotapata. In 
 
 Jerusalem more than 1,100,000 perished. 
 Caiotive. Gr. Led captive by the J:>peae. Eomans crossed two spears, 
 
 as a stand, under which captives stood when sold. 
 
 40
 
 882 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 97,000 Jews were camed away captive, according to Josephus. 
 
 Tall and beautiful, reserved to grace the triumphs of Titus at Eome. 
 
 Multitudes were sent in chains to the Egyptian mines. 
 
 Multitudes presented to provincial theatres to fight us gladiators. 
 
 25,000 slain in the amphitheatre at Cassarea-Philippi, in honor of 
 
 Dnmitiun's birth day. 
 11,000 captives perished of famine, after the capture. 
 Titus celebrating his victory at Eome, led many Jewish captives in 
 
 chains. 
 Figures of spoils from the temple are still seen on the Triumphal Arch. 
 
 The GOLDEN TABLE aud CANDLESTICK, AllK of the COVENANT, the TWO 
 TKDMPETS ! 
 
 " Like as corn is sifted in a sieve, so are they dispersed." Amos ix. 9. 
 ♦' They shall abide without a king, prince or sacrifice." Hos. iii. 4. 
 All nations. Jews were virtually enslaved by the Icncs of Europe for 
 
 centuries. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. History and antiquities. See Notes. 
 Trodden. Gr. shall remain trodden down, continue to be held in 
 
 oppressive subjection. 
 Captives in war anciently trodden under the feet of the conquerors. 
 Trodden down by Titus, Hadrian, Cliosrocs, Saracens, Crusaders, and 
 
 Moslems. 
 The land sold by Titus, lias never been since possessed by Jews. 
 Hadrian 47 years after, rebuilt the city, calling it Aelia. 
 Built a temple to Jupiter on Mount Moriah, and placed the figure of a 
 
 hog, over the Bethlehem gate. 
 Eomans excluded Jews (and no others) under pain of death from the city. 
 Constantine cut off their ears and branded them as rebels. 
 Julian tried to falsify Christ's word, by rebuilding the temple, 390 a.d. 
 Three times iniraculoiis fires scattered the men and their work. 
 For centuries the Jews bribed the guards of the city for permission to 
 
 weep over the ruins. 
 The Holy City shall be trodden under foot 42 months. Eev. xi. 2. 
 Jews a proverb, a byword and hissing among the nations, will yet bo 
 
 gathered. Ezck. xxxvii. 21. 
 Others maintain this was fulfilled in their bible history. 
 Modem Jews express their wonder, why the temple was overthrown ! 
 " His blood be upon us and on our children," Matt, xxvii. 25, is the key 
 
 to the answer. 
 These events foretold B.C., 530 years, by Christ 40 years before fulfilled. 
 Humanly s-pciiking, it was improbable ; Jews aud Eomans were at peace.
 
 CHAP. XXI.J ON ST. LUKE. 383' 
 
 Titus, the rod of Goil, was by nature of a very mild disposition. 
 
 He said " he would rather perish, than destroy a man being innocent." 
 
 So cheerful and benevolent, that he was universally beloved. 
 
 He is renowned for the saying, '^Friends, I have lost a day/' 
 
 Jews for 1800 years have, by a constant miracle, been kept a distinct 
 
 people. 
 5,000,000 scattered now in every nation, have no government of their own. 
 " Though I make a full end of all nations, I will not of thee." Jer. 
 
 XXX. 11. 
 Jew, a standing miracle. 1, of their divine call. 2, divine rejection. 
 
 3, divine prophecy. 
 The Messiah was to come while the second temple stood. Hag. ii. 9. 
 Before the daily sacrifice ceased. The former is in ruins, the other ended 
 
 for ever. Dan. vii. 27 ; Heb. x. 26. 
 Note the unconquerable love of degraded Jews for Palestine. 
 Their condition, one of the saddest sights in this sad world. 
 Fiom various nations they constantly come to Jerusalem, to mourn amid 
 
 her ruins. 
 Like their fathei'S, " They weep when they remember Zion." 
 Multitudes of pilgrims starve, but are content to die in the Holy Land. 
 The Jews now in Judaea endure insult, hopeless in demanding justice. 
 Seventeen times have they witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 A companion dying is interred hy stealth in the valley of Jehoshapliat. 
 Crushed by the cross that condemns them, tbey have been oitly tolci-ated 
 
 on earth. 
 Superstitious and impious, many are gloomy in life, and in death incon- 
 solable. 
 We owe them a debt of gratitude for preserving so carefully the Scrii^tures. 
 Our Redeemer by birth a Jew, said, " Salvation is of the Jeivs." John 
 
 iv. 22. 
 Times. Of millennial light and fulfilled promises : Jerusalem is not 
 
 always to be trodden down. 
 Gentile times fulfilled, there shall be one Fold and one Shej^herd. John 
 
 X. IG. 
 Of the Gentiles. A mere glance at the unfolded record of the Church, 
 
 the millennial age, the conversion of the heathen* 
 With the harvest of the world the Jeios will be gathoi'ed in. Eom. xi. 25, 
 
 nea-ovvrai, "shall fall." Slain, 1,100,000. Joscphus. The Jews uever mustered more 
 than 2-1,000 combatants to resist Eome. See Smith's Dictionary, Jerusalem. The sie^o 
 began 70 a.d. ; Titus' force S0,000. a-roixaTi ixaxaCpas. A Hebraism, Deut. xs. 13 ; Hub
 
 384 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 si. 34. o.lxfi-aXioTi.cr9-q(TOvTai. Titus struck a medal of the conquest. His face on one 
 Bide, on the other, a female -weeping under a palm-tree, and -words "Jcdjba capta," 
 Isa. iii. 26 ; Ezek. xxi. 29. 
 
 iraTovnevT). This implies more than n-aT-yjff^a-erai ; it shall be in a trodden down and 
 desecrated state. Bengel. 1. The time will come when this " treading do-wn " -will cease. 
 2. The Gentiles have had a season in the Church, such as the Jews enjoyed. Brown, 
 Fulfilled during the time of the hearers. Meijer. Occupied and profaned, Bev. xi. 2, 
 shall be iguominiously treated. Wetstein. Concalcari miseram Italiam videbis. Cic. ad 
 Attic. Julian, with the church of that day, understood that the Saviour's prophecy 
 implied the temple's continued desolation. Hence his memorable attempt, and utter 
 defeat, at rebuilding the edifice, and of falsifying the Lord's prediction. Gibbon 
 rsluctantly admits that Ammianus Marcellinus' testimony, a heathen historiai., is decisive. 
 This man attributed the miracle to a fatai. resistance of the elements 1 Thus 
 the sceptic of Lausanne affords materials to confute his own unbelief, and buUd up the 
 Truth. 
 
 Kaipol iSvwv. Calling of Gentiles. Stier, Mede, Faber. Seasons of judgment and 
 vengeance on the Gentiles. Meyer. Kaipol, are the seasons for bringing fruit to per- 
 fection. The spiritual E6a,sons in which the eflrr) are ripening to maturity. Wordsworth. 
 GentUes finished their purpose. Pierce, Major, Day of Hadrian. To the Se-cond Advent. 
 Eyle. Eestoration of Jerusalem. Oosterzee. Gentiles visited for their sins. ITuinoe J 
 Eestoration of the Jews. Doddridge, Newton, Stier. Constantine's pagan temples 
 destroyed, and churches erected. Le Clerc. The end of the world. Lightfoot. 'WTien the 
 nations shall no longer exist. Rosenmuller. The fullness of the Gentiles is brought in. 
 Beza. End of the Gentile dispensation. Alford. The beginning of the end, 1230 of the 
 Apocah-pse, or of the Missionaiy age. W. d- W. Christianizing of the Jews, tends to 
 defeat this prophecy. Oosterzee. A mistaken view of Christian missions to the Jews. 
 The existence of the Jews, in their separation, mingling among so many nations, yet 
 isolated, infidel in faith, miserable in their condition, makes them witnesses for Christ's 
 truth. Pascal. 
 
 25. IT And tliere shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 
 upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; the sea and the xcaves roaring; 
 
 Signs. The frame of nature -was convulsed at Sinai. 
 
 The Iieavcnly bodies sympathized -with Christ on the cross. 
 
 Nature -will also be convulsed at Christ's second advent. 
 
 Sun. " The sim shall be darkened in his going forth." Isa. xiii. 10. 
 
 Twice before has this supernatural darkening of the sun occuiTed. — 
 
 1. As a sign of God's displeasure against the Egj-ptians. 
 
 2. At the crucifixion of our Blessed Lord. 
 
 The third time ■s\ill be -when the sin of the -world is consummated, and 
 
 Christ shall come to judgment. 
 Nothing hinders us believing that the heavenly boilics will only for a 
 
 time lose their light.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. S85 
 
 They will l>o swallowed up, as it were, in the glorious effulgence of Christ's 
 
 f'Tcscnco. 
 It represents nations. The sun was worshipped by many. Dent. xvii. 3. 
 Obscuring of the sun expressed great calamities. Jcr. xv. 9. 
 The sun the subject of miracles. Josh. x. 13 ; 2 Ivings xx. 11 ; Matt. 
 
 xxvii. 45. 
 Tcloon. A satellite ; a symbol of the Chin-ch of God. Cant. vi. 10. 
 The moon derives her light from the sun, the Church derives her bright- 
 ness from Christ, the Sun of righteousness. 
 The moon, a symbol of the changes and uncertainties of earth. Kev. xii. 1. 
 Worshipped as Ashtaroth by S^Tians. Deut. iv. 19. As Ai'temis by 
 
 ancient Greeks. 
 Stars. Symbol of an amiy. Isa. xl. 2G. Multitude. Gen. xv. 5. A 
 
 flock. Psa. cxlvii. 4. 
 Babylonians pretended to foretell the futin-e by stars. Isa. xlvii. 13. 
 
 Eulers perish. Isa. xiii. 10. A host. Gen. ii. 1. 
 God at pleasure can arm all nature against the sinner. 
 Stars in their courses fought against Sisera. Judges v. 20. 
 " The liailstoncs slew more than the edge of the sword." Jos. x. 11. 
 The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up Ivorah," &c. Num. 
 
 xvi. 32. 
 Earth. The curse fell on unsinuing nature, but not in vengeance. 
 Sea. In prophetic terms, a woi'ld of fluctuation and tumult. 
 The sea a type of the struggles and storms of life. 
 " There shall be no more sea,^' indicates the everlasting peace of heaven. 
 
 Rev. xxi. 1. 
 "Waves. The massing of the Eoman armies, Isa. v. 30 ; Eev. xvii. 15. 
 Perplexity. They shall not tell which way to turn themselves. Tijndale. 
 Want of means to escape, and knowledge of what to do. 
 
 oTjfiera.— Luke ii. 12 ; xi. 16. Literally refers to the min of Jerusalem ; spiritually 
 to the eud o£ the world. Chrysostom. Proi^hecy concerning Jerusalem ends v. 24; 
 primarily to Jerusalem,, and secondarily to Judgment. T]\Ca refers to revelation ; o-eArjiTj, 
 to science; aj-rpois to the heads of churches. Theoclymenes. -qXCw. — Antichrist, f also 
 teachers. Storc/ic. ao-rpots. —Losing their light. Bengel, OlsUamcn; ruins of common- 
 wealth. Wctstein; fall of heathen star-worship. Dorw^r ; obscuring of the Church. 
 Augustine; phenomenon in the stars. Calvin; literal, jtlsj/er; solar system changed. 
 hange. 
 
 The vrj, or Earth, in this verse, represents mea and nr.tions in their worldly state 
 Was <l>vK6.<; tt;? yrj;, Matt. xxiv. 30), engi-ossed by low and earthly thoughts. The 0aAao-a-a, 
 or Sea, represents them as tossed about on the tumultucus billows of internal and 
 02temal troubles. Wordsworth.
 
 386 SUGGESTIVE COMBIENTAKY [CHAP. XXI, 
 
 aorpoif, Cyril of Jerusalem says, " The stars shall die and rise again, and the Lord 
 will roll np the heavens, not to destroy them, but that He may raise them up again more 
 beautiful," quoted in Denton, trvt/oxi), Anxiety. Bloomjleld ; anguish of mind. Denton. 
 anapCa. A desperate state of affairs, not knowing what to do. W. d- IV. ; wringing of 
 hands. Syrinc ; in perplexity at the roarings. Tischendorf. 
 
 For rixovcni';, tj^ous. Bcngel, Tischendorf, Lachmann, Alford, Cod. Sinai. criKov. 
 The surge, or wave succeeding wave. Hemsterhuis. In despair at the roaring of the sea 
 and the toavcs. Alford. 
 
 26. Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for loolcing after those things which are 
 coming on the earth : for the powers of heaven shall be sliake7i. 
 
 Hearts failing. Terrors can crush but uot convert the heart. 
 
 Sinking under the present, and trembling through fear of the future. 
 
 Fear. Fearful expectation of unkuowTi unavoidable evils. 
 
 They -will fear at last who never foired God in life. 
 
 The dread of future woes makes devils tremble. Jas. ii. 19. 
 
 Dying hours a wretched season to prepare for death. 
 
 Th« earthly minded fear the Lord's coming, as the miser the thief's. 
 
 To him the Lord is only a thief, robbing him of all that he has. 
 
 1. While unbelief is mocking, faith is fearing. 
 
 2. "SMiile unbelief is fearing, faith is hoping. 
 
 3. While unbelief is despairing, faith is rejoicing. 
 
 Looking after. Even saints shall not be exempt from some terror. 
 
 Heb. xii. 21. 
 The sudden appearance of Jesus agitated His disciples with astonishment 
 
 and joy. Luke xxiv. 37. 
 On tlie earthi. The same words in the Greek, translated in fourteen 
 
 other places, the %rorld. 
 Powers. The host of the luminaries of heaven may represent earthly 
 
 monarchies. 
 " I will shew wonders in the heaven and in the earth." Joel ii. 30. 
 " The heavens and the earth are kept in store reserved unto lire." 2 
 
 Pet. iii. 7. 
 " The heavens shall pass away, and the elements shall melt." 2 Pet. iii. 
 
 10. 
 •»I saw a great white throne, and the earth and the heaven fled away." 
 
 Rev. XX. 11. 
 Shaken. "Visible creation perishes before the new heavens and tho 
 
 now earth, llov. xxi. 1.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 387 
 
 t 
 
 ino<iivx6vT<av. Literally unsouled, dying away from fear. Doddridge : equivalent to 
 fu)<; davoLTou, Ua.it. xwi.SS; henamhci. De Wette ; {n'mt. Ilcsychitis ; wilhout beroisin. 
 Oosterzee; everj'thing shall totter. Stier. irpoo-SoKi'a?. Fear of great calamity. Eisner. 
 Tjj oiicou/BieiTj. The world as inhabited, i.e. cities and nations. Wordaworlh, 
 
 27. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great 
 glory. 
 
 Sign of the Son of man. Matt. xxiv. 30. Supposed by nearly all 
 
 commeutatovR to be the appearance of the cross in the sky. 
 When the sun shall be ob..eured the cross shall appear more brilliant 
 
 than the sun. 
 As the banner of an earthly king precedes his entry into a city, so shall 
 
 the cros.s, the standard and sign of Christ, the King of kings, go 
 
 before Him. Cliryaustoii:. 
 Son of man. Luke. v. 2-i. Coming. God's providences in striking 
 
 judgments. 
 " Behold the Lord rideth on a swift cloud, and shall come into Egj-pt." 
 
 Isa. xix. J. 
 " Our Grd shall come, and shall not keep silence." Psa. 1, 3 ; Nahum 
 
 i.3-6. 
 "Behold He comcth in the clouds, anl every eye shall see Him." Rev. 
 
 i. 7. 
 Lord's return. 1. Awakens spirit of hope. 2. It consoles believing 
 
 hearts. 3. Warns us of the final account before the Son of man. 
 His coming tends, 1. To awaken the slumbering. 2. Alarm the bold. 
 
 3. Decide the doubtful. 4. Strengthen the weak. 
 In a cloud. Not the ordinary clouds of heaven, supernatural glory. 
 Clouds anciently disclosed, and at the same time veiled God's presence. 
 
 Ex. xLv. 20 ; Ex. xvi. 10 ; xix. 9 ; Num. x. 34 ; Psa. xcvii. 2 ; Dan. 
 
 vii. 13. 
 In clouds. To temper the brightness of His glorified body. 
 As the symbols of divine majesty, and the mystery of His incarnation. 
 As at once the chariot and shadow of His glory. 
 As He ascended with clouiis, so will He come again. 
 With power. To awaken the dead, and draw all men to His judgment- 
 seat. 
 Those despising Him in His lowliness will meet Him in His majesty. 
 Their infidelity shall be confounded, who were offended at His humility. 
 Those refusing to have Him reign over them, will have Him tramplo 
 
 upon them.
 
 388 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP, XXI. 
 
 Great glory. Unspeakably greater gloiy than that -which appeared on 
 
 the Mount of Trausfigiiration. 
 The gloiy of His Father, His own glory, the glory of His angels. 
 Fire or hght, emblem of Deity. Luke xii. 49. 
 Things causing the world to despair, will inspire believers. 
 Those despising Jesus in His humiliation, vmwiUingly meet Him in His 
 
 glory. 
 "With authority in possession and visible display of it. 
 
 7roA.A>]s refers to Sucaftews as well as Sof?)?. i'e<^e'ATj to tlio Shecliiiiali or clond ol 
 Divine Gloiy. L.H.V.D. 
 
 28. And u-lie-i these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads : 
 for your redemption draweth nigh. 
 
 XiOok up. 1. In good times, to mark the Lord. 2. In bad times, to trust 
 
 Him. 3. In the best times, to be joyful in hope. 
 The imaginary felicity of this world, will soon fade for ever, 
 But the brief captivity and momentary tears of the elect will be changed to 
 
 liberty, joy and glory. 
 The veil hiding the children of God from the world will soon be taken 
 
 away. 
 Heads. Hung so long like bulrushes, are to rise into divine beauty and 
 
 glory. Eom. viii. 19 ; Jas. v. 8. 
 Though a prisoner taken from the dimgeon, yet shall he as a disciple of 
 
 Christ look up with faith in God. 
 Those sorrows, signs to God's childi-en, of a joyous summer of rest and 
 
 glory. 
 Eedemption. Implies former bondage to a foreign power. 
 Their tcmjjoral deliverance from Jewish persecution, was for a timo 
 
 secured. 
 But in judgment, the resurrection will finish their redemption. 
 In this mortal hfc God gives only the beginning of redemption. 
 Then He M'ill gloriously complete His work. 
 " Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of tlieir body." Eom. 
 
 viii. 2:5. 
 " Scaled with tlie Spirit until the redemption of thq purchased possession." 
 
 Eph. i. 1;M4
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 38U 
 
 " Tho Son of man sliall send forth His angels," &c. Matt. xiii. 41. 
 Accomplished at the reunion of believers' body and soul. 
 Coming to destroy Jewish oppressors, He redeems the oppressea. 
 
 eniipaTe. In the Sept., to lift up the head, is expressed by avaKviJ/ai., also ipai 
 K€(f)a\r)v, Judges viii. 28. licngel. Kefers to the resurrection. Ford. aTToXuTpwons. The 
 perfect establishment of tho Redeemer's kingdom, by the abolition of the Mosaic dispen- 
 sation. Stier. Redemption spiritual and eternal was completed by tho Lord's death, 
 resurrection, and ascension. But the symbols of incomplete redemption remained, and 
 wore a bondage to Jewish Christians, until temple and priesthood were destroyed, Hob. 
 viii. l;?; xii. 27-28. W. d- IF., Mnjor. Resurrection morning. Doddridrje. From JcwiJi 
 liersecntion. Bloomfield. Completeness of your redemption by My aiipearance. Alford. 
 araKui/zaxe. 'While the men of this world are looking downwards, do you look upwards 
 ■with faith, hope, and joy. Wordsworth. 
 
 29. And he spalce to them a parable ; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees ; 
 
 Parable. Luke iv. 23 ; v. 3G. God, out of mercy, oft gives foretokens 
 
 of His wrath. 
 Fig tree. Luke xiii. 6. Cursed for its barrenness, a type of the Jewish 
 
 church. 
 
 Trivra. to. Sev&pa. Countries which have no fig-trees, have their parables (Matt, 
 xxiv. 32) for watchful hearts. Wordsworth. 
 
 30. When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now 
 nigh at hand. 
 
 Shoot forth. — Summer. Oriental tropics have but two seasons, 
 
 summer and winter. 
 Fig bloom, invisible ; but leaves are infallible signs of summer. 
 Nature interpreted by the teachings of grace, is vocal with wisdom. 
 The Church invited to study the signs of God's providence. 
 Life of persecuted saints, to carnal eyes, a frightful winter. 
 The inward life radiant with faith in truth, is a continual spring. 
 The unfolding of that inward life in heaven, a perpetual summer. 
 The bloom of spring, with the fruits, without the decay of autumn.
 
 390 SUGGESTIVE OOMMENTAKY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 Not all the bloom of spring yield fruit in the autumn. 
 Bloom, an emblem of the glory and resuiTection of the saints. 
 Kesurrection in nature, an emblem of the resun-ection of the saints. 
 How solemnly has the Lord sealed the secret of the last day ! 
 Judgments from Noah's day have followed the feast days of the -world's 
 
 carnal security. 
 ITigh at hand. The budding; none need mistake the signs of nature 
 
 or grace. 
 Yet neither Noah, nor Lot, nor our Savioiir, was believed. 
 Nations filling up the measure of their iniquity, a sign their ruin is 
 
 nigh. 
 Christ's kingdom was not fully established untU the destruction of the 
 
 Jewish polity. 
 
 81. So likewise yc, when ye see these things come to pass, Jcnow ye thai the Mngdom of 
 Ood is nigh at hand. 
 
 Nigh, at hand. Disciples expecting their blaster xo establish His 
 
 kingdom without delay, were thus undeceived. 
 They dreamed of a carnal empire, and Jesus as its king. 
 
 71 /3a<riXfia tou QeoG. Matt, is indefinite. The kingdom of God. OUhausen. The 
 judgment. Ebrard. The Messiah, Sun of righteousness. Qiiesncl. 
 
 32. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass aicay, fill all be fulfilled. 
 
 Verily. Amen, I, the Son of man, say to you My disciples. 
 
 A formula indicating peculiar solemnity and importance. 
 
 Neither the guilt, nor dispersion of the Jews, nor Jerusalem's ruin, will 
 
 hinder Ood from performing His promises. 
 This generation. Embracing all living, at an average of thirty years. 
 In some tropical climates a generation passes in fifteen. 
 In all lands the half of mankind die in childhood. 
 Forty years after this discoui'se, Jerusalem fell. 
 
 Rabbis Jochamon, Zaccai, Zadoc, aud tlie apostle John sui'vivcd the ruin. 
 Fulfilled, (lod is faiUiful to man, yet man will not trust God.
 
 CHAP. XXI.J ON ST. LUKE. 391 
 
 r) yevea. avTT). The Israel of God. Wordsworth. XJsed hero as in man)' other parts 
 of the Bible, not for those born and living .-it the same moment, but for those belonging 
 to the same family and race. Denton. This also is one meaning of the word in our own 
 language, e.g. — "The broad leaved Virginian daffodil bearcth many flowers on one stalk, 
 like small lilies — of this generation is the Narcissus of Japan, or Guernsey lily." iJea'« 
 Flora. This nation, i.e. the Jews, should continue to exist as a distinct people, through 
 all ages. An interesting fact thus far in Providence, but does not seem to be taught by 
 the text. 2?i/Ze. This race. Mede, Faber, Alford; prophecy divided. Bengstenberg ; 
 human race. Jerome; creation. De Wette, Meyer ; ye will survive the beginning of 
 events. Starclce, Lisco, Gerlach ; generations of men then living. Luther, and most 
 modern Protestant commentators; the whole frame of creation. Maldonatus ; Jewish 
 Dispensation, 1 John ii. 18. Calovius; the faithful, i.e. Christ would always have a 
 Church on earth. Origen, Chrysostom, Thcophylact ; those who understand these signs. 
 hange. The Jews were a separate nation 1431 years before the Christian era. To a.d. 
 1&G6, a period of 3357 years. They have been without a king, prince, and sacrifice, since 
 the crucifixion. German philologists treat this exegesis as without Hellenistic 
 authority. The prophecy is confined to those living. A generation reckoned at 100 
 years or 30. The choice does not lie between fractions of a ccutiiry, but between years 
 and ages. Alexander, Olshausen. That living generation, without seeing this prophecy 
 realized in one specific instance, though not exhausting its whole import. Alexander. 
 
 navTa. Ths destruction of Jerusalem. Hchott. The signs of His coming. Fritzsehe^ 
 The great epochs rise into light, Uke the tops of mountains, •while tho yast intervals ore 
 concealed from our view. Stier. 
 
 33. Heaven and earth, shall pass away : but my words shall not past away. 
 
 Heaven. The existing constitution of the universe strongly expressed 
 
 unchangeable stability. Psa. Ixxii. 7; Jer. xxxiii. 25. 
 This apparent immutability shall ceaso to exist. 
 1. The sublimity. 2. The truth. 3. The consolation. 4. The solemnity 
 
 of this saying. 
 Shall pass. Philosophers think our system has in it the elements of 
 
 destruction. 
 The Creator's word secureg the stability of the visible universe tmtil the 
 
 judgment. 
 " The heavens shall vanish like smoke, and earth like a garment." Isa. 
 
 li. 6. 
 My word. " The Lord's counsel shall stand, and He shall do," &c. Isa. 
 
 xlvi. 10. 
 " The Lord is not man that He should lie, nor the son of man," &c. 
 
 Num. xxiii. 19. 
 " There failed nought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken." 
 
 Josh, xxi 45. 
 A matter of ordained and settled certainty, iu no case of possible 
 
 contingency.
 
 892 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXI 
 
 Nothing exceeds the sublime tranquillity of the Saviour in this word. 
 Mockers reverse this, and trust the words 2vill pass, and the earth 
 
 remain. 
 " Since the fathers fell asleep all things continue," &c. 2 Pet. iii, 4. 
 Shall not pass. Jehovah pre-eminently jealous of His truth, swears 
 
 by Himself. Heb. vi. 13. 
 A king threatens, and a nation believe his word. 
 But man treats God's promises as ^,he predictions of an almanack. 
 
 6 ovpavbs. Non intelligere ut credas, sed credere tit intelligaa. Augustine. 
 
 34. % And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts he overcharged with 
 surfeiting, and drmikenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares. 
 
 Take heed. 1. It is a tribute due to treasm-e to be guarded., 
 
 2. It points to a conflict with an enemy. 
 
 3. To the danger of great temptation. 
 
 4. To fidelity in waiting for the Loi"d. 
 
 The false security of earth, should rouse the eei^vants of Christ. 
 
 A warning to disciples to be on their guard during coming changes. 
 
 He did not address the Pharisees, Sadducees or Herodians. 
 
 It teaches us the immense value of humility and faith. 
 
 There is no sin so great but that a gi-eat saint may fall into it. 
 
 Peter's denial, and the exhortation " Let him that thinketh he standeth 
 
 take heed lest he fall." 1 Pet. v. 5. ; 1 Cor. x. 12. 
 Faith alone, like wings, lifts saints above the snares that are spread 
 
 around them. 
 There is no sin so secret, insiniiating, seductive, dangerous as iiubelief. 
 The root of Abraham's falsehood, Jael's deceit, Moses' anger, Aaron's 
 
 idolatry. 
 Indulgcrs in sensuality open the eye to earth, and shut the car to God. 
 Others oppress their hearts with the burden of care. 
 Security of men, proves how little faith they have in God's warnings. 
 Hearts. Poetically among the Hebrews seat of the passions. 
 The word constantly occurs where mind is to be understood. 
 " Ye have lived in pleasure, ye have nourished your hearts," &c. Jas. v. 5. 
 Overcharged. Gr. burdened or pressed down.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 393 
 
 Excessive gratifications of sense stujjcfy conscience. 
 
 One full of wine cannot be full of the Spirit. Eph. v. 18. 
 
 Surfeiting:. Heavy depression, ■which follows gluttony. 
 
 Here used for all sorts of sensual indulgence. 
 
 A too full meal is like Sisera's banquet at Zaanaim. 
 
 At the end, the spark of divinity is quenched in sensuality. 
 
 Temjierance is reason's girdle, and passion's bridle. 
 
 Our Lord does not bid us retire, but war a good warfare. 1 Tim. i. 18. 
 
 Drunkenness. It drowns cares, but burdens conscience. 
 
 It cheers the heart, but obscures reason, quickens wit, but is profane. 
 
 It hastens disease, and leads down to the second death. 
 
 Drunkard does not commit sin merely but is sin incarnate. 
 
 "No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. vi. 10. 
 
 A sad end to what many call " a merry life." 
 
 Many die intoxicated, but they enter eternity sober. 
 
 " Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess." Eph. v. 18. 
 
 " I will make them drunken that they sleep and not awake." Jer. li. 39. 
 
 Symhois of distress are hung out by inebriates, but unheeded by others. 
 
 The uuwa*y bird snared by the fowler causes the flock to take wing. 
 
 Cares of this life. Many free from drunkenness, yet neglect God. 
 
 Many are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life. Luke viii. 14. 
 
 Unawares. Many men feel secure, and flatter themselves they are 
 
 safe. 
 " When they say, Peace, sudden destruction cometh." 1 Thess. v. 3. 
 "We will not realize earthly things to be temporal until we die. 
 
 PapriBSxriv, /3dpos expresses drowsy torpor. KpotTraAj) koX nf'Sr), is sickness produced 
 by the previous day's drunkenness. Clemens Alexandr., Bengel. KapSCtm. The castrum, 
 Btronghold of the King, by Him put in our possession, for our Tvatchful keeping. 
 Theodorct. " Unawares." Many ancient authorities read — Unawares as a snare. For 
 it shall come, dc. Alford. 
 
 35. For as a snare shall it eome on all them, that dxoell on the face of the whole earth. 
 
 A snare. An image of an unexpected calamity. Psa. cxxiv. 7. 
 
 Men press an eternity into a moment, and expand a moment into eternity. 
 
 '• All men think all men mortal but themselves." Young. 
 
 Men remember they are heirs of everything but immortality. 
 
 *' The fear and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant, &c." Isa. xxiv. 17.
 
 39-i SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXI. 
 
 Treacherous heart, ensnaring world, and busy devil, peril our hopes. 
 " Let us not sleep, but watch and be sober." 1 Thess. v. 6. 
 Christ's coming, as the deluge, will find a faithless, careless race. Luke 
 xviii. 8. 
 
 COS irayU, Tvill come suddenly on them, as a snare or trap on birds or beasts enjoying 
 repose. KaflrincVovs inX yr}';. Those who are of the earth, earthy. Wordsworth. Kadr)- 
 /xcVovs, literally to sit; indicates sitting securely. A'ford. 
 
 36. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape 
 all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. 
 
 "Watcli ye. Gr. watch therefore, i. e. in every season praying. 
 
 "Watching and praying go hand in hand. 
 
 In both languages, signifies to be awake, not to sleep. 
 
 The accessoi-y idea, now the principal, to be on one's guard. • 
 
 Cares, like gravitation, ever drag us downward. 
 
 We need the constant energy of the Spirit to resist this evil. 
 
 Myi-iads of spirits are ever active in ruining our race. 
 
 Our foes are invisible, but they are not the less real and malignant. 
 
 ■\Ye must leave the world before we can escape their assaults. 
 
 Our trust in the conflict must be in the divine shield. 
 
 The worldling watches the markets, the stocks, the harvests. 
 
 But he watches not the approach of the Spirit, or the visitation of mercy. 
 
 Pray always. " We made our prayer unto God, and set a watch." 
 
 Neh. iv. 9. 
 " I must work the work of Him that sent me while it is day." John 
 
 ix. 4. 
 If the tongue cannot at all times utter petitions the heart can. 1 Sam. 
 
 i. 13. 
 Accounted worthy. Implies the ijossibility of some failing to reach 
 
 heaven. 
 Some have "an abundant entrance," 2 Pet. i. 11: Others "saved as by 
 
 fire." 1 Cor. iii. 15. 
 Our only worthiness is in realizing our unworthiuess. 
 Escape. 37 years after this Cestius Gallus marched against Jerusalem. 
 On the lOtli day, October, a.d. GG, he attacked the walls and mysteriously 
 retired.
 
 CHAP. XXI.] ON ST. LUKE. 395 
 
 Christians within fled. He who counselled opened the way. 
 
 It may have been a blast, 2 Kings xix 7. ; or terror divine. Josh. ii. 9. 
 
 Stand. Gr. to be set. Standing or falling is acquittal or condemnation, 
 
 Eom. xiv. 4 ; Eev. vi. 17. 
 Stand as conquerors, Eph. vi. 13. Victors over death. 
 
 aypvTcve'Te. Numa, a pagan Koman, standing by the altar, -witli its incense 
 ascending, heard the cvy, '^ The foe is cominn ; " answered, "J am sncrifciri'j." 
 Alexander was advised to beware of his foe in the night, replied, "Antipater guards." 
 The poor Moslem watchman, during every hour in the night, cries "^/lafe guard the 
 city." 
 
 KaTa^itaOrJTe— "and so shall ye be accounted worthy," as the result of your watch- 
 fulness and prayer, either to be saved at the day of Jerusalem, or to be acquitted at the 
 day of judgment. )V.d-W. Seinsteaiofovv. Lachmann, Tischendorf. Tavra — cancelled. 
 Tischendorf; omitted. Cod. Siiiai. ; letained. De Wctte. 
 
 cradfivai., a forensic term, Psa. i. 5 ; Rom. xiv. 4. W. & W. Oriental courtiers stand 
 in the monarch's presence. Koecher; stand with humble confidence of being acquitted. 
 Rosenmuller. 
 
 87. And in the day time he was teaching in the temple ; and at night he went out, and 
 abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. 
 
 Day time. Gr. during the days. " I must work the work of Him that 
 
 sent me." John ix. 4. 
 From this entrance into the city till His death, ever before His enemies. 
 Teaching. " While in the world, I am the light of the world." John 
 
 ix 5. 
 Temple. Luke L 9. Night. Gr. during the riights, on Moant of 
 
 Olives. 
 Mount of Olives. Luke xix 37. His sanctuary for secret prayer. 
 The Mount of Temptation, Mount of Beatitudes, Mount of Transfiguration , 
 
 Mount oi Crucifixion. 
 Hardest battle was yet to be fought on Calvary. 
 On the Mount of Ascension a splendid crown is awaiting Him. 
 Bethany. Luke xix. 29. The village of Mary and Martha whither He 
 
 returned. 
 There He consecrated Himself to the sufferings of Gcthsemane.
 
 89G SUGGESTI\-E COJIMENTAEY [CKAP. XSI. 
 
 vvKTa';. — "At night." The Lord seems to have spent 'Weduesclay at Bethany. 
 Oosterzee. He revealed to all His followers His coming decease. Lange. John xii. 
 44-50, part of this closing address. Wieseler. Tuesday and Wednesday witnessed no 
 miracles. The time was past : hour of sacrifice was come. TjuAifeTO eU to opos. 
 Resorted for a lodging to Olivet, i.e. to Bethany, Matt. xxi. 17; Mark xi. 11. Wordsworth. 
 
 88. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him. 
 
 People. All the publicans and sinners drew near to hear Jesus. Ltike 
 
 XV. 1. 
 He did not forsake the sanctuary for want of hearers. 
 Early. Gr. at the break of day . " Moses rose early in the morning to 
 
 build an altar." Ex. xxiv. 4. 
 Abraham rose early in the morning to visit Mount Moriah. Gen. xxii. 3. 
 Joshua rose early in the morning to remove the ark of the covenant. Josh. 
 
 vi. 12. 
 Job rose early in the morning to offer sacrifices. Job. i. 5. 
 " My voice (said David) shalt Thou hear in the morning." Psa. v. 3. 
 The Apostles " early in the morning," entered the temple to worship. 
 
 Acts v. 21. 
 In the days of Cromwell, churches in London were filled at sunrise by 
 
 waiting worshippers. Jones'' Life of Bishop Hall, p. 155. 
 Temple. Luke i. 9. Description and history of the three Temples. 
 To hiear Him. He drew the heart by His almighty power. 
 He kept near the city, the path of duty was the way to death. 
 
 wpflpife. Mane venicbat. Luther, Meyer, Ercald. Alexandrian dialect for opBpex'u. 
 1. Rise early. 2. Toil early. 3. To go anywhere early. Bloomficld. leptp. He left the 
 temple on Tuesday afternoon ; Wednc-sday spent in retirement. Andrews. 
 
 It is supposed hy some Biblical critics tliat tne account of the woman taken iu 
 adultery (John viii. 1-11) was originally appended to this chapter. Alford thinks the end 
 of Luke xxi. seems most to approve itself as the fitting place for this narrative, but 
 obsorvea that, if so, it is totally inexplicable that wo should find no trace of the fact, 
 except in four of the (best) cursive MSS. For a most scliolaily examination of the whole 
 question, seo Alford's Greek Tvstament, in looo.
 
 CHAP. XXn.] ON ST. LUKE. H97 
 
 CHATTEE XXII. 
 1. NOW the feast of unleavened hread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. 
 
 In the liistoiy of our Lord's passion Luke agrees most -with Mark, 
 
 altliough paying less attention to chronological accuracy. 
 The distinct transition (Matt. xxvi. 1.) from tlie now concluded ^jrojAetic, 
 
 to the commencing priestly office of the Lord, not so plainly marked 
 
 in Luke. 
 It is clear, however, that he also is bcginnuig a fresh period of the Lord's 
 
 history. 
 The feast. Oldest and most important rite established itnder Moses. 
 It was at once sacrificial and domestic. Ex. xii. 1. 16 ; Isa. Ixiii. 4. 
 ■Unleavened. Swete Brede. Tyndale. No bread was to be eaten by 
 
 the people during the celebration. 
 Leaven, incipient corruption, an emblem of depravity. 
 Salt, a preserver used in all sacrifices of Jews and pagans. 
 Nigh. Fifth day, Thursday of the Passover week. 
 Called. An explanation intended for Gentiles, Jews needed it not. 
 Passover. Pasclia, Hebrew. Ester. Tyndale. After a Saxon goddess. 
 Name, Passover, because the destroying angel passed over the houses of 
 
 the Hebi-ews. 
 It embraced both the sacrifice and the feast following. 
 It was celebrated on the night of the departure out of Egypt. 
 Began 14th Nisan or April, and lasted only one day. 
 Seven following days were days of unleavened bread. Acts xx. 6. 
 The eight days called Feast of the Passover. 
 Jews had three great Feasts. 1. Passover commemorating their deliverance 
 
 from Egypt. 
 
 2. Feast of Tabernacles commemorating their dwelling in tents 40 years. 
 
 Lev. xxiii. 42. 
 
 3. Feast of Weeks commemoi-ating their entry into the Promised Land. 
 Every family reqiiired to prepare for the solemnity of the sacred supper. 
 A whole lamb or kid, a male of the first year withoiit blemish. 
 
 At first the head of the family required to slay the lamb, afterwards, the 
 Lcvitcs.
 
 398 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 The lamb roasted whole, and sei-ved with a salad of bitter herbs. 
 
 The blood was sprinkled on the lintel and door-posts, and afterwards on 
 the altar. 
 
 Lamb was eaten standing, loins girded, shoes on feet, staff in hand, 
 kneading-troughs on shoulders, representing their sudden departure. 
 
 These all gi-adually given up, but the bitter herbs and unleavened bread 
 continued. 
 
 It was connected with the harvest in the ceremonial calendar. 
 
 It was a commencement of the harvest, on the first month of the j'ear. 
 
 By it, Christ's public ministiy is marked in John ii. 12, &c. 
 
 Matt., Mark, and Luke give us no key as to the number of years our 
 Lord's ministry lasted. 
 
 Females absent from other feasts, but j^resent at the Passover. 
 
 Any jjortiou left of the feast was carefully burned the next daj'. 
 
 The eldest male present gave thanks as they ate it. 
 
 The three cups of blessing used by modern Jews, and singing of Psalms 
 cxiii. & cxiv., called the gi-eat Hallel (Hallelujah), belong to tradilion. 
 
 It typified the Lamb of God the great Deliverer from sin. 1 Cor. v. 7. 
 
 The wilful neglect of the Passover forfeited God's covenant favor. 
 
 By the Levitical law he was " cut off" from the people, i.e. either ex- 
 communicated or put to death. Ex. xii. 15 ; xxxi 14 ; Num. xv. SC- 
 SI ; xix. 13. 
 
 Our Saviour partook of it the last time, the evening before He suffered. 
 
 Nut a bone of the lamb was to be broken. Ex. xii. 46 ; Num. ix. 12. 
 
 No uncircuraciscd person could eat it. 
 
 Tlielr children were to be instructed during its celebration. Ex. xii. 26. 
 
 Witliout blemish. Typifies the siuli ssness of Jesiis. Isa. xi. 5. 
 
 The lamb taken out of the flock, that is Christ's share in humanity. 
 
 The Pharisees, Sadducees, Jews and Gentiles, shared in Christ's death. 
 
 The paschal lamb and Jesus were slain at Jerusalem. Luke xiii. 33. 
 
 Being roasted with fire represents the sufferings of Christ. 
 
 Jesus was crucified on the same day of the same month. 
 
 The lamb was killed between 3 p.m. and the setting of the sun. 
 
 The blcod sprinkled on the door-posts saved the Hebrews from the 
 destroying angel. 
 
 Christ's blood is called " the blood of sprinkling." Hcb. xii. 2.1 ; Isa. 
 lii. 15. 
 
 After tljc paschal supper, " they sang a hymn." Mark xiv. 26. 
 
 Note, 1. Tlie simplicity of the Paschal Institution. 2. Its continuance 
 for 1647 years. 3. It was a sacrament. 4. It was a menional of 
 great deliverance. 5, It sealed a covenant between God and believers.
 
 UHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKK. 8P9 
 
 A typo of the gathering of Christ's Church from the Gentiles and Jews. 
 
 The feast was the remembrance of sorrow and joy. Deut. xvi. 3. 
 
 A mixture of death and life, grace and correction. 
 
 A solenmly joyous festival of our pilgrimage between our accompliahed 
 
 redemption and possession of our inheritance. 
 We partake of the life of Him who died for us. 
 " Whoso eateth my flesh, and diiukcthmy blood, hath eternal life." John 
 
 vi. 54. 
 
 TO 7raa-,\'a. Heb. jiciacli, trnnsitus. Some of the Greek and Latin fathers connected 
 the Passover with ths ■nord Traerxw, to suffer, and with the sufferings of Christ, the true 
 Passover. WordSiPorth. A thank-offerinjr. Kurtz ; a sin-offering or expiatory sacrifice. 
 Sfier ; explicitly denied. Ziirtfiner. We need not wonder that ho should not see any 
 atoning sacrifice in the paschal lamb, when he could not, in ths death of the Redeemer. 
 An atonement for death-deserving sin. Ebrard ; a sign of liberation to the Hebrews, but 
 not to God. Bochrtrt ; the idea of substitution i-s involved. Olshausen ; a feast of thank- 
 offering, pointing to a propitiation accomplished. Lange. The Lamb of God, our 
 Passover, was offered in death at the end of the foui'th day of the world's history. Mcjer. 
 
 2. And the chief priests and scribes sought hoio they might kill him; for they feared 
 the people. 
 
 Chief priests. Luke i. 5; Who ought to have welcomed, conspired 
 
 against Him. 
 They claimed to be " guides of the blind," hghts in darkness. Rom 
 
 ii. 19. 
 The authors of the most fatal heresies have been solemnly ordained. 
 General Councils have fatally erred in doctrine and practice. 
 We can trust nothing here but God's iinchaiujinfj promises. 
 Scribes. Luke v. 21. Character and occupation. See Notes. 
 Sought. G.r. loere seriotislij deliberating by force or fraud. 
 He knew well all their secret devices of malice and murder. 
 His enemies disturbed His joy in the old paschal covenant. 
 Unconsciously they began to slay the victim of the New Covenant. 
 Kill Him. No public executions took place during one of the three great 
 
 Feasts. 
 Feared. Under God, this has often checked tyrants in their plans. 
 Pitiful fear followed by an atrocious joy. Luke xxii. 5. 
 Daring and cowardice unite in the enemies of the Lord.
 
 400 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKT [CHAP. XXU 
 
 They must ciiicify Him openly, secretly they cannot destroy Him. 
 The blood of saints will not silently sink in the ground. Gen. iv. 10. 
 Fear of the people, hut not of God, restrains these sanctimonious 
 
 murderers. 
 Temporal fear soon mated and mastered by a mightier passion. 
 People. Not organized, but a mass gathered from the world. Acts u.,Z. 
 
 ai'c'Awcrii'. The priests seized Him on the Passover evening, intending to try and 
 condemn Him during the nigat, and crnci'y Him in the morning, before the multitude 
 assembled. Pearce. Not' before the feast. Neander, Andrexos. 
 
 3. %. Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, heing of the number of the 
 twelve. 
 
 Then. After receiving the sop, not the first, but full possession. 
 
 John. xiii. 27. 
 Entered. At first he entered Judas as a tempter, now as a sole 
 
 jirojjrietor. 
 Having in vain tried to overcome the Lord, in person, Satan essays to 
 
 wound HixQ mortally by a disciple. 
 Eut in overthrowing Judas, and through him seeking to overthrow tho 
 
 Lord, Satan overthrows himself. 
 Judas' fall gradual, Satan cannot gain possession in a moment. 
 He who once yields to Satan may become capable of the greatest crimes. 
 To be sifted^ hiiffeted by Satan is truly temble. 2 Cor. sii. 7. 
 But woe unto him into whose soul he enters as a home. 
 As a beacon, this warns us to resist the devil in the first incitements to 
 
 sin. Jas. iv. 7. 
 Satan. Luke iv. 2. The Bible alone reveals spirits working within us. 
 Beguiled Eve. Gen. iii. 13. Overcame David. 1 Chron. xxi. 1. Destroyed 
 
 Ananias. Acts v. 3. Bules in the childi'en of disobedience. Eph. 
 
 ii. 2. 
 The soul of the reprobate, through constant yielding, is at last wholly 
 
 subject to Satan. 
 He sought to ruin Christ, but only crushed his own head. 
 So all his attempts to defeat, only advance God's designs. 
 The Holy Spirit, a still more powerful agent, can enter the heart. 
 "Blessed be the Lord God, who put this into the king's heart." Ezra 
 
 vii. 27. 
 •• Neither told I what my God had put in my heart to do." Nch. ii. 12.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 401 
 
 " Thanks be to God, who put the care into the heart of Titus." 2 Cor. 
 
 viii. 16. 
 Judas Iscariot. Luke vi. IG. Iscariot, or a man of Carioth, a t/jwn 
 
 beyond Jordan. 
 Christ who knew all men, admitted a disciple who became traitor. 
 Judas had a practical talent for this world's business. 
 He was appointed treasurer for the band of disciples. John xii. 6. 
 Covetousness gained a complete ascendancy over him. 
 The Lord's progress disappointed his greedy anticipations. 
 Eeproof given on Satarday at Bethany, estranged him from Jesus. 
 
 John xii. 7. 
 The triumphal entiy was not imjoroved by our Lord to please His 
 
 ambition. 
 One of the twelve. This henceforth is to be his brand. 
 He only could be a devil to whom it had once been possible to become an 
 
 angel. 
 The treachery of a friend more dangerous than the malice of foes. 
 Stung by the well deserved reproof for his avarice he ap^Dears to have 
 
 resolved on revenge. 
 He left the hospitable board of Simon for the Priests' service. 
 Doubtless he thought Christ's cause falling, and contemplated strengthen- 
 ing himself against future evil, and gratifying avarice at the same 
 
 time. 
 The like has often occurred since in the history of the Church of Christ. 
 There may be one Judas or more in the holiest company ; we need not 
 
 therefore leave it. Quesnel. 
 
 Tho article 6 before Smraraj otiiitted by many editors; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 Xaravaq. Eebiike at Bethany the proximate cause of hia treachery. Alexander. 
 EioTJXfle. Completed plans. Z)e Wette ; preliminary influence. Oosterzee ; a desperately 
 wicked man, not a, cunning rascal. Ebrard ; special demoniacal agencj. Roseiimuller. 
 
 4. And he went his wajj, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he 
 might betray him ur.to them. 
 
 Eis way. The fruit of all our Lord's discourse, and active kindness, 
 
 was a final determination to put Him to death at all costs. 
 Communed. The worst wickedness, in the holiest seasons.
 
 402 SUGGKSTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXH, 
 
 Captains. Not Eomans, but Jewish commanders of temple guard. 
 
 Acts iv. 1. 
 The Jews also bad their guard aud commanders there. 
 The visible Church reaches a point wherein she tries to destroy her 
 
 Eedeemer ! 
 The hardening process goes on veiy rapidly, at this crisis. 
 Betray. Gr. deliver Him rip. His treachery was aggravated by the 
 
 confidence of his Master. 
 •' Tea, mine o^vn familiar friend, in whom I trusted." Psa. xli. 9. 
 Avarice, ambition, and unbelief ruined Judas. Acts. i. 25. 
 " A thief, and had the bag," suc'h union to Christ, useless. John xii. 6. 
 The greatest crime ever committed, overruled for the greatest good. 
 The poioer of Satan, 1. Powerful serva-nts. 2. Strong weapons. .3. 
 
 Willing allies. 
 The weakness of Satan, 1. To conceal his shame. 2. To shake the 
 
 tranrjuillity of Jesus. 3. To frustrate the counsel of God. 
 
 napaS<^. His guilt had been less, had he believed with the Jews, Messiah was im- 
 mortal. Betrayal could not then harm Hira. IFirecr, iJhranJ, Whately. He did believe 
 the Messiah's immortality, see Notes. His motive, one of the darkest treachery. Alfurd. 
 
 5, And they irere glad, and covenanted to give him vioncy. 
 
 They. The Sanhedrim, a council of calumny, bribery, and byi)ocrisj-. 
 Were glad. Threefold process of sin. 1. Suggestion from Satan. 2. 
 
 Pleasure of indulging carnal passions. 3. Consent of our heart and 
 
 head. 
 They desired, but did not expect the result. 
 Their long cherished hopes were to be now fulfilled. 
 Even Jesus's disciples losing faith, were forsaking Him ! 
 Judas glad for the bribe, joy of hell among associates in crime. 
 Covenanted. " Covenant with death and hell shall not stand." 
 
 Isa. xxviii. 18. 
 " Take heed, and beware of covetousness." Luke xii. 15. 
 " The love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Tim. vi 10. 
 Balaam, Achan, Gehazi and Ananias, illustrate this. 
 It is possible to idolatrously love money without having it. 
 It ia possible to l\ave mo.uey without loving it.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. AO'6 
 
 Couteutment one of the hardest lessons Paul had to leam. Phil. iv. 11; 
 
 1 Tim vi. 6. 
 Money. 30 shekels, co-equal with £3 or 15 dollars : " So they weighed 
 
 for my price 30 pieces of silver." Zech. xi. 12. 
 Note the infinite humiliation ot the Son of God. 
 
 An ox killing a servant, 30 shekels fine, if a freeman, 60. Ex. xxi. 32. 
 Being in the form of God, He took upon Him the form of a servant — 
 
 (a slave). Phil. ii. 7. 
 Avarice willingly delivers the key of the heart to Satan, 
 Pitiable are Satan's wages, 30 shekels I an undying soul ! 
 
 ovveBepTo, ecTTyjcrau. Matt. xx\T. 15. Constituerunt. Vulgate. They counted to him 
 (as earuest money beforeliancl}. Stolz. They weighed out for him. De Wette. apyvfuov — 
 "Quid non mortalia peotora cogis 
 Auri sacra fames ! " Virgil. 
 The amount refers not to Zech. xi. 12, nor was this a bribe promising more. 
 Oosicrzee. Sum talieu from Zech., and fixed by tradition. De Wette, Meyer. Sanhedrim 
 chose the price of a slave, with cunning irony. Lange ; therefore not earnest money. 
 
 G. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence oj 
 the midtitude. 
 
 Sought. To wink at the sun may result from weak %'ision. 
 To enter a cavern proves a " love of darkness." John iii. 19. 
 Opportunity. Not long wanted to one loving sin ana its wages. 
 Absence. A tumult might rescue Him from their grasjj. 
 "Wickedness always cowardly, virtue alone is brave. 
 Judas a type of a race of traitors, from time to time in the Church. 
 He sought for the friendship of the great, for gain, and priestly favor. 
 False disciples are now looking for a good opportunity to betray Him. 
 Cursed avarice still sells Christ, reli'gion, fidelity, faith. 
 Man's two greatest enemies, the Devil and Mammon. 
 Judas a type of those who estimate all religion and goodness by tho 
 profit they bring. 
 
 arep ox^ou. "Without a tumult of the multitude arising, see Acts xxiv. 18. Thf 
 poetical word orep is only used here, and at verse 35. Oosterzse,
 
 404 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXU. 
 
 7. iy Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. 
 
 The day. Christ was made under the law, still under that dispensa- 
 tion. 
 
 Labor ceased at mid-day, all leaven was removed. 
 
 Unleavened. Jesus began to eat it on the 14th of the month, 
 
 Passover. Luke xxii. 1. Annual festal commemoration, 1. Of their 
 calling. 2. Eedemption. 3. Pardon. 4. Eudming peace. 
 
 Israel's birth-feast and life-feast. 
 
 The Lord saves and spares, but only through the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 Four times, the Spirit names Christ's death in connection with the 
 Passover. 
 
 Every Paschal lamb for 1500 years pointed to this sacrifice. 
 
 Must be killed. Between 3 p.m., and sun-setting. 
 
 The twofold nature of the God-man becomes clearer as wo approach the 
 cross ; Jesus the Paschal Lamb was then slain. 
 
 rjfj.€pa. Did Jesus eat the Passover at all with His disciples ? If so, was it on the 
 nsnal day and hour, on which the Hebrews ate it ? The Jews from the crowd assembled, 
 took the liberty of eating it any hour, before the fifteenth day. Pearce. Great 
 irregularities had crept into the Jewish customs. There is much force in the ISti, it 
 was necessary, &c. Ryle. Our Lord sacrificed and ate the Paschal Lamb, on the day 
 appointed by Divine law, but the priests and Pharisees did not. Kuinoel and others 
 aiSrm that the law had been superseded by tradition, and that the sacrifice and eating of 
 the Passover was postponed by some of the Pharisees to the following day. Chrysostom, 
 Eusebius, and others of the Fathers suppose that the chief priests and scribes were so 
 busy in plotting the Lord's death, that they omitted to sacrifice and cat the legal Pass- 
 over at the proper time. Wordsworth. rj\6e. — The actual arrival. Bengel, 
 
 8. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare lis the passover, that we may 
 eat. 
 
 Peter and John. Two chief apostles sent with this solemn message. 
 Matt, saj's — " The disciples." Mark notes — " Two of them." Luke names 
 
 them. 
 Peter and John seem to have spent the preceding day and night in 
 
 Bethany. 
 On the morning of Thursday, these two went to Jerusalem. 
 In the afternoon, our Lord followed with the remaining ten. 
 Go. ]\Iark the sublime assurance with which the Lord anticipates His 
 
 death.
 
 CHAP. XXII.3 ON ST. LUKE. 405 
 
 Prepare. Tliougli not sustaining tlio relation, Jesus exemplified the 
 
 duty of the " Head of a family." 
 Despite their own fears, they know from His lips, He will keep the 
 
 FEAST. 
 
 Jews during the Passover expected gratuitous lodgment at Jerusalem. 
 Passover. This familiar event affectingly expresses His human feeling. 
 His heart has all the sensibility, impulses, and emotions of sinless 
 
 humanity. 
 Our Lord points to just such a solemnity as His Church celebrates. 
 We may eat. Thus he abrogated for ever the old Passover. 
 He had abrogated circumcision by submitting to it Himself. 
 
 iracrxot. 1st theory.— Jews kept the Passover on two distinct days, both legal. 2n4 
 theory.— Our Lord kept it on Thursday, but the Jews designedly delayed it. Calvin, 
 Bretschneider, Liyhtfoot, Dc Wettc, Meyer, Luclce, Ebrard, Tiscliciulorf. 8rd theory. — 
 Our Lord anticipated the true Paschal supper, and ate a sacramental one. Kraft, 
 Greswell, Ellicott, Muller, Clinton, Andrews, Hengstcnberg, Tholuck, Wieseler, Lange, 
 Oosterzee, Brown. 
 
 The Jews erring in the time, our Lord corrected it. Cudworth. Paschal lamb 
 legally slain, not on the 14th, but 15th. Itauch. The attempt to harmonize the Synoptista 
 with John, impossible, and unprofitable. Alford. Jews so busy in destroying Jesus, they 
 postponed the feast, till the work was done. Fairbairn. John's supper identical with 
 that of the Synoptists. Tholuck, Greswell, Meyer, Tischendorf, Robinson, Friedlieh, 
 Andrews. 1. Our Lord ate a meal with His disciples on the morning of the 13th of 
 Kisan. 2. In some sense or other this meal was regarded as the eating of the Passover. 
 Matt., Mark, and Luke. 3. It was not the ordinary Passover of the Jews. 4. John omits 
 all mention of the Paschal nature of this meal, and also all mention of the Lord's 
 Supper. Alford. 
 
 {Toifiao-are, Cestius Gallus informed the Emperor Caius that 236,500 lambs were 
 slain annually at the Passover. Josepkus. It would be difficult to find space around 
 the temple for more than a quarter of a million of offerers. Each Jew slew his own 
 lamb, and ate only in Jerusalem, Dout. xvi. 6. Pearce. " Peter and John," precedency 
 on account of dignity. Bengel; of ago; Peter was doubtless older than our Lord. 
 
 9. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare 1 
 
 Where. Being sure of His observing it, they only wait to know whore. 
 They knew that neither fears nor dangers would deter Him. 
 Prepare. Solemn ordinances require solemn preparation. 
 
 41
 
 406 SUGGESXrVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 They help to silence fears, and comfort us iu troubles. 
 ■WTiile trusting in God, we may fearlessly discharge our duty. 
 
 10. And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are enteredinto the city, there shaJla man 
 meet you, bearing a pitcher of water ; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 
 
 Behold. The Holy Ghost notes its miracvlous character. 
 
 He ate the Passover like any other humble Israelite. 
 
 But His divine glory pervaded the way of ordering the repast. 
 
 A man. A more circumstantial account is given by Mark and Luke, 
 
 without contradicting the general account given by Matthew. 
 Among His friends there was a secret enemy, among His enemies a secret 
 
 friend. 
 His divine foreknowledge is shovrn practically to them. 
 His divine power is seen over the heart and will of strangers. 
 Bearing. It was known by virtue of His omniscience. 
 The time sunset, and the bearer j)ossibly a slave. 
 A pitcher. The original refers to the material as being earthen. 
 Of water. A common task in the East : the women at Samaria. John 
 
 iv. 7. 
 A person bearing a pitcher 1900 years before, a sign to Eleazar for Isaac, 
 
 Gen. xxiv. U., and now to the apostles. 
 Follow. They fear no disappointment who go on Christ's word. 
 Every thing ministers to the foreseen need of Christ. 
 With child like serenity and ease He provides for every want. 
 He thus pays His tax with money in the fish's mouth. Matt. xvii. 27. 
 House. Luke. i. 40. Among all of Zion's palaces, there was none for 
 
 Zion's King. 
 
 Luke uses crwarr^o-ei for tlio a-rravToa-ei. of Mark. He ■will so meet you, that you 
 shall be Koing the same way as ho. Oosterzee. KepdfjLiov. A vessel of earthenware. 
 Some fancy an aMusion to baptism, others a syrabol of the heaty law borne by the 
 Jews. Henry. Pitcher, frailty of ministers (oarthen vessel, 2. Cor. iv. 7), instruments. 
 Some are glazed; a little more polished perhaps, but earthen still. 'Water, symbol of 
 grace. Bede. The largo upper room, the fullness of Divine grace. Augustine. By 
 previous agreement. Neander; in a measure. Lange. If previously aiTanged, Ho 
 would have sent the discipl-es forthwith to the house. Alford. Disciples learned hia 
 name by miracle. Calvin; Divine knowledge. Sengel, Alexander. IIo thus concealed 
 the place from Judas. TUeophyluct. The sign had no special significance to tbosa 
 oecustomcd to splendid miracles. They should have boon satisfied, there was no pro- 
 concerted arrangeiuent. Olshaasen.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 407 
 
 11. And ye shall say unto tJie (joodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, 
 Wlure is the guestehamber, cohere I shall eat the passover with my disciples ? 
 
 Of the house. Luko i. 40. Some make it an inn, but more pro- 
 bably a private house. 
 
 Guest-chamber. Strangers during Passover accommodated fi-ec of 
 charge. 
 
 They used hospitality without grudging. 1 Pot. iv. 9 
 
 A signal honor in the Lord inviting Himself. 
 
 He was not asked if he would give it up to the Master. 
 
 It implies, he held it ready prepared for any guests who might come. 
 
 That he would surrender it to none more gladly than to the Master. 
 
 Home and food, God provides for His desolate saints. 1 King xvii. 9. 
 
 My disciples. His family. He speaks as the Master of a house. 
 
 Kol epeiTe. Not a prophetic, but an imperative Future. oiKoSe<r7roT-i]9, — a pleonasm 
 not uncommon among the Greeks in famiUar diction. The remarkable words (Matt. 
 xxvi. 18), "My time is at hand," omitted by Mark and Lxxke, -while they, on the other 
 hand, give the message to the householder in the fonn of a question. Oosterzee, 
 
 KaTdKvfjia, Luke ii. 7. Vulgate, diversorium. A place for temporary refreshment. 
 The traveller unloads his beast to halt for the night. Many let their rooms. Roscn- 
 inuller; without charge. Light/oot. "Master," an early tradition, the man was a 
 believer. Meyer. 
 
 12. And he shall shew you a large tipper room famished : there malce ready. 
 
 Large upper room. Great parlor imvcd. 
 Any room above the ground-floor, the best room. 
 Orientals seldom use the first story for living apartments. 
 A heart expanded by love, and furnished with graces, tj-pified. 
 Those entertaining had the skins of the lamb slain, as compensation. 
 Fux'nished, Or. spread with carpets, but no stately arrangement. 
 Exact fore-knowledge of our Lord, of minute circumstances. 
 Even now He gives signs, by w^hich our path of duty is known. 
 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. Psa. xxv. 14. 
 Samuel after anointing Saul, gave him a variety of signs. 1 Sam. x. 7. 
 He speaks as if he saw the room before Him, just as it was. 
 Make ready. " He loved His own, and loved them to the end." John 
 xiii. 1.
 
 408 SUGGESTIVE COillTENTARY [CHAP. 1X11. 
 
 Our Saviour acted as the head of a Passover company. 
 
 He would in future invite Himself to enter the soul, Kev. iii. 20. 
 
 He holds the true Paschal feast, in the guest-chamher of their hearts. 
 
 icoKeii'of : according to Mark, avToi, he himself. The man with the pitcher having 
 enacted /lis part, the master of the house himself comes forward. Oosterzee. apayaiov. 
 Apartment not in common use. icnpMixdvdv. Provided with cushions, s(ra<!« tricZi'n!!*. 
 Oosterzee. The feast was already provided. Von Gcrlach. Video alios festinare, lectos 
 gtcrncre, coenam appararo. Terence, rumished with couches. Major, 
 
 13. And they wejit, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready ih 
 passover. 
 
 And they went. Obedience of faith never ashamed or disappointed. 
 The true disciple faithful in trifles, as well as great duties. 
 Found as He liad said. With the rejoicings of faith. 
 Bible is of God, since we find all things just as it declares. 
 "Entertaining strangers, some have entertained angels unawares." Heh 
 
 xiii. 2. 
 This man at first little knew the majesty of his guest. 
 " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Psa. xxv. 14. 
 Made ready. The lamb, the bitter herbs, the bread and wine. 
 With solemn and silent order and reverence they make ready. 
 Jesus was prei^aring another Sacrifice, of which ihcy knew not. 
 By the passover and communion — 
 1. A complete deliverance is sealed. 2. A blessed communion instituted. 
 
 3. A glorious prospect opened. 
 
 The hlood of the lamb was not then sprinkled on the door-posts. The priest took 
 it, and poured it on the altar. Starcke, Lundius. 
 
 14. And when the hour was come, he aat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 
 
 Hour was come. The legal hour, divinely appointed, about sis o'clock. 
 Sat down. The original posture was standing. Ex. xii, 11. 
 Slaves alone were compelled to stand while eating.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 409 
 
 Our Lord regarded it non-esseiitial, hence the neglect. 
 A practical reproof of those contending fiercely about postures, &;c. 
 The reclining posture sig)2ified liberty, ease and pleasure. 
 By it, He condemns all hypocritical exactness in external forms. 
 John sat nearest to the Saviour, and Peter opposite. John xiii. 24. 
 Judas is thought to have been nearest on the other side. Mark xiv. 20. 
 Twelve. The ordinary company was from ten to twenty, it must aU bo 
 consumed. 
 
 wpa. In Matt, and Mark, oi^iat. From sunset Thursday to sunset Friday, the first 
 day o£ unleavened bread. Gresici'll. A peculiar Passover, v. 15, lamb oould be sacrificed 
 between the eves of 14th and 15th of Nisan. ElUcott. The supper, John xiii. 2, identical 
 with the supper at Bethany, Tuesday evening. Liglitfoot. Same as Luke's. Tboluck, 
 Greswell, AlJ'ord. " Sat." Ho ate the Passover, standing, Ex. xii. 11, and sat at tho 
 Lord's supper. Lighffoot. SuScko, cancelled. Lachmann, Tischendorf ; omitted. Cod. 
 Sinai. 
 
 15. And he said unto them, With desire I luive desired to eat this passover with you 
 before I suffer : 
 
 "With, desire. Hebraism. Exceedingly desired, an intensive force ; 
 
 key to Luke xii. 50. 
 The strongest manner of affii-mation. Isa. vi. 9 ; Acts iv. 17. 
 It was not merely from His depth of love for His disciples. 
 It refers to completing the work of redemption. 
 He heartily desired to die for us. Shall we not heartily desire to live 
 
 for Him ? 
 On no other occasion is such vehement desire attributed to Him. 
 He thus bids the Passover a cordial welcome. 
 It teaches us to come to the Lord's Supper with an appetite. 
 A preface to His sufferings, in order to His Father's glory. 
 Shall we be backward in His service, who was f onvard in om* atonemeiit? 
 He thereby testified His infinite love to His disciples. 
 Having loved His own. He loved them unto the end. John xiii, 1. 
 Because it was the last time He would ever celebrate it. 
 It was to be the fareirell feast of His undying love. 
 Anticipation of His victory and glory, chiefly moved His spirit. 
 The pain of separation soothed by the consolation of the feast.
 
 410 SUGGESTIVE C03IMENTAEY [cHAP. XXn. 
 
 This confidential, life-time fellowsliip -with His disciples, was never to 
 
 return ! 
 Humanly He clings to this life in the body, even -n-ith His eye upon His 
 
 throne. 
 The purely human side of our incarnate Lord's relation to the Passover. 
 With all true Israelites, He takes delight in the statutes of God. 
 His obedience vras a living fountain of pure, child-like joy. 
 The institution "n-as for their refreshment, union, and edification. 
 Desired. Had desired for the sake of His disciples. 
 He would manifest Himself to them more openly. 
 Even in the act of bidding them farewell. 
 For His own sake, about to enter His glory. 
 He longs for the death that will give life to the world. 
 His love for them made Him forgetful of Himself. 
 This Passover. It was the last Passover He was ever to eat. 
 " There was no Passover like this kept in Israel." 2 Chron. xxxv. 18. 
 The Lord, who, is Himself The Lamb ! keeijs it with His disciples. 
 Celebrating for the last time the shadowy rite. He glorifies it into its 
 
 fulfilling reality. 
 "With you. Judas among them, a grave in a garden. 
 This saddens the last Passover before His passion. 
 He fert He was their friend, as well as their Eedeemer. 
 His deep love for His disciples glowed as He neared the cross. 
 He would derive comfort to cany Him cheerfully through His great 
 
 work. 
 MartjTS were often girded for their fiery baptism by the Lord's Supper. 
 A Christian father's last meal with his family is solemn. 
 All the sweetness and sadness of social intercourse remembered. 
 The transition point between two divine economies. 
 The one closing for ever ; within 36 hours He cried, " It is finished." 
 The other to run its majestic career while the world lasts. 
 Before. His enemies would leave Him no time, but they were forced 
 
 to delay their purpose. 
 He notwithstanding was ready for death. 
 His divine assurance contrasts with His enemies' uncertainty. 
 He the Sacrifice, knows what His murderers do not. 
 He marked out a definite day, they by decree reject it. Matt. xxvi. v. 
 Happy he who can speak hopefully of his own decease. 
 He speaks of suffering. His disciples see there is no chance in them. 
 I suffer, liy this. He would abrogate the ceremonial law. 
 He had sulfcred much, but nothing to what follows.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 411 
 
 eTTi6vij.{a eTre9vnr}(ra. A Hebraism, tlio superlative, " Dying, thou shalt die,'' Gen. 
 ii. 17. " Seeing, I have seen the afiliution of my people," Ex. iii. 7. Those Ilbbraismij 
 appear to have been preserved by the Sacred Writers, to remind the reader that Ho lin3 
 before him the very wonh used by the speakers on the occasion described. Wordsworth. 
 Was it not for the suflerings which should redeem the world? Sticr. Most earnertly 
 have I desired. Major, Macknif/ht. Gen. xxxi. 30, the same term, " thou sore longed^t,"' 
 Brown, tfiayeiv. The consiurators against Jesus took the liberty of eating the Pass- 
 over before the evening of the 15th day. Pearce. TraSeii'. The only instance of the 
 absolute use of the term for His sufferings. Alford. Our Lord had often spoken of 
 Buffering "many things," and suffering "of them," but never used this shnple form 
 embracing His whole fedemption passion. Stier. 
 
 16. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, untilit be fulfilled in the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 Eat thereof. That particular Paf3sover, not the Passover generally. 
 
 To this marriage supper of the Lamb, the parable refers. Matt. xxii. 1-14. 
 
 As the head of the family He drank first. 
 
 At the Supper of the Lord following, He did not eat or drink. 
 
 Not for Himself were His body and blood offered. 
 
 Until. The heavenly banquet is celebrated amid the redeemed above. 
 
 This does not imply that He was to cat it af er that time. 
 
 Yet he did eat and drink with His disciples after His resurrection. Acts 
 
 X. 41. 
 He never again celebrated the Lord's Supper. 
 Some infer that He never again tasted wine. 
 Fulfilled. The Paschal lamb superseded by the anti-type. 
 When Jesus on the cross cried " It is finished," Christ our Passover was 
 
 sacrificed for us. 1 Cor. v. 7. 
 The Passover had its accomplishment in the Lord's Supper. 
 Completely fulfilled in the release of God's Israel from the bondage of 
 
 death and sin. 
 Kingdom. The real and eternal anti-type, to which Christ pointed, 
 
 was the everlasting feast for His glorified Church. 
 
 oiiceTi, omitted by some of the oldest authorities. Alford ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 avTo for tf auToii. Tischcndorf, Oisterzec, Alford, Cod. Sinai, iuis, Hebraism for not 
 doing at all. " Samuel saw Saul no more until his death,'" 1 Sam. xv. 35. Macknight, 
 And yet he did, see the prophet after death. TtXrjpuiOjj, His sacrifice merely a mighty
 
 412 SUGGESTIVE COIIIIENTAEY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 instance of self-saerifiee and self-denial. Norton, Ckanning, anil Unitarians generally. 
 The same view of our Lord's death propounded by Maurice. A fatal error, cleai'ly con- 
 demned, Heb. ix. 28, and in the Word cff God generally. 
 
 He here declares He ■nill celebrate no Jewish Passover after the present, eu? otou, &c. 
 i.e " not tUl all is fulfilled -which must be fulfilled in 5Iy Kingdom of grace."' Stnrckc. 
 iv rjj pacTiX. Tou ©eou. The Lord is aUuding to the eternal festival of His glorified 
 Chmch in His Kingdom, to the bright image of the eternal Supper, a foretaste of which 
 He was about to institute in the communion of the N.T. Lange. "In the Kingdom qf 
 God," — €v irapova-Ca jaou. Oosterzee. 
 
 17. And he tool: the Clip, and gave thanlcs, and said, Tal-ethis, and divide it among 
 yourselves : 
 
 Tlie cup. Of the Passover, not of tlie Lord's Supper. 
 
 Jews used to di-ink a cup of -wine and -water before the supper. 
 
 It -was called the " Cup of the Old Testament " by the Eabbis. 
 
 Gave thanks. For the preservation of the first-bom, and deLiverance 
 
 from Egypt. 
 " "^Tien thou hast eaten, thou shalt bless the Lord thy God." Deut. viii. 
 
 10-13. 
 " Evei-y creatui'e of God is good, and is to be received 'with thanksgiving." 
 
 1 Tim. iv. 4. 
 Take this. Contrast this supper with that in the night of fear, in 
 
 Egypt. 
 Divide it. All the company pledge the master of the feast in this cup. 
 This is the abrogation of an old rite, now fulfilled. 
 Verse 19 refers to the institutian of a neio rite. 
 Yourselves. Implying that the Lord did not Himself partake. 
 The drinking the Paschal cup, was not binding as the_ eating the 
 
 lamb. 
 This is no rule for the administration in after times. 
 
 TTOTiiptoi', for the wine in it, — used thus by clasisics. Virg. Identical with the cnp, 
 yerso 20. Ruhinson, Sticr, Al/ord. eiixapivrija-as. Anciently the mas-ter began the feast 
 with a blessing. Bi-viding the lamb, ho washed his hands. All having tasted it, the 
 youngest asked the cause (Ex. xii. 20), then followed the declaration (alluded to 1 Cor. xi. 
 20). Another cup, another washing followed. After the Passover, a third, the sacra- 
 mental cup, with a piece of bread for each. After Komo pious discourse, a fourth cup 
 waa followed by a song of praise. Lenses' Ilrb, Ant., Doddridge. No cvidenOD whatever of 
 onr Saviour's following tliis custom. Ooslcrzce. Our Saviour ate it standing, Ej:. sij. 11.
 
 CHAP. XXII.J ON ST. LUKE. 413 
 
 Calvin. The strife, verse 24, took place previous to the Lord's Supper. Oosterzee. 
 
 Siatiepia-are This implies our Lord did not drink of this cup. De Wctte, Oosterzee, 
 Lange, Ohhatiscn, Meyer. If He desired to eat the Passover, Ho would also drink of the 
 cup. .■il/ord, Brown. Words of Luke do not exclude His shaiing the cup (verse 15). 
 Andrews. Eoiuish clerical scU-commuuiou not hinted at. Olshausen. 
 
 18. For I say unto yon, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, utitil the kingdom of 
 God shall come. 
 
 Fruit of the vine. Called blood of the grape. Gen. xlix. 11 ; Deut. 
 
 xxxii. 1-1. 
 Kingdom. Lord's Supper commemorated a more glorious redemption 
 
 than the Passover. 
 Christ dying the next day, opened the door of the kingdom. 
 Pleased, He leaves all legal feasts for spiritual sacraments. 
 
 yap, i.e. Do not -wait till I drink any more here. Bengel. vita. Cod. Sinai., adds iiTrb 
 ToO i-vv. y(t'hi]ixo.Tos rris afiwiXov. — A iifjriphrasis for Sci/o;. In order of time, here 
 follows the washing of the disciples feet, John xiii. 1-20. Sticr. 
 
 Careful comparison of the Gospel narratives shows the following sequence of events. 
 Commencement of the repast, almost simultaneously, or before the strife for precedence, 
 Luke xxii. 15-18, 24-27; John i^iii. 1-17. Further sayings of the Lord, John xiii. 
 18-20 ; Luke xxii. 28-30. Diseovei-y of the traitor, Matt. xxvi. 21-25 ; Mark xiv. 18-21 ; 
 Luke xxii. 21-23 ; John xiii. 21-30. After his departure, the institution of the Lord's 
 Sujipcr. Oosterzee. 
 
 19. H And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying. 
 This is my body which is given for you : this do in remembrance of me. 
 
 Luke now proceeds to narrate the institution of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 He evidently makes the Supper, and not the Passover, the chief object in 
 
 His account. 
 Took bread. Took in a marked and solemn manner. 
 Before the third cup, which was couseriuently consecrated as the cup of 
 
 the N. T. 
 The Lord took up one of the remaining Passover cakes, and pronounced 
 
 the words of institution.
 
 414 suGGESTm: cojijientaey [ch/o". xxu. 
 
 Man has bodily, as well as spiritual wants tobe supplied. 
 
 He elevates the bread into a sacramental symbol of His sacrifice. 
 
 It proves no repetition to be made of the propitiatory offering. 
 
 This new solemnity is to be perpetual under the New Dispensation. 
 
 The simiDlicity here, contrasts with the mystery and pomp thrown around 
 
 it by Eomish, and other ecclesiastical systems. 
 We have foiu- distant accounts, Matt., Mark, Luke and Paul. 1 Cor. xi. 23. 
 Arguments, promises, doctiines are addressed to rational nature. 
 Visible emblems and signs, deeper impressions on memory. 
 The eye and ear, taste and touch are appealed to. 
 The first covenant had the tree, oj life as a sacramental symbol or seal. 
 Covenant with Noah had "the bow in the clouds." Gen. ix. 13. 
 Covenant of Abraham had the seal of circumcision. Kom. iv. 11. 
 "Water, bread, and wine, seals of N.T. covenant. 
 Lands are conveyed and contracts ratified hy seals. 
 Bargains struck by shakiny hands, and friendship shown by a kiss. 
 Observe the circumstances of the Lord's Supper. 
 1. The place, a guest-chamber. 2. The time, after the Passover supper. 
 
 3. The persons present, the twelve disciples. 
 
 4. The iDostui-e, that used at a feast, reclining. 
 
 5. The signs or elements, bread and wine. 
 
 Bread being the common food of man, and Christ the Bread of Life. 
 
 Wine pressed from the grape, an emblem of His blood. 
 
 Gave thanks. Blessed it. Mark. Higher food couched under it. 
 
 Not for the old creation's gifts, but for the new. 
 
 This thanksgiving the germ of a Divine blessing upon all communions. 
 
 It transcends the first benediction of the Creator. Gen. i. 28. 
 
 The strength of love established this feast despite the murmurs of hell. 
 
 In this quiet circle He establishes an institution of world-wide interest. 
 
 He erects a monument, outshining and outlasting all those of earth. 
 
 Brake it. It shadows forth the wounding and piercing of Christ's body 
 
 His act predicted His death, and willingness to die. 
 
 Among orientals it typifies also communion of friends as sharers. Isa. 
 
 Iviii. 7. 
 Gave it. The breaking expresses His giving Himself for His pco2:ile. 
 Giving shews His hestoicing on them the benefits of His gift. 
 From our Lord's position at the table, He gave it with His own hand, 
 
 and the nearest disciples handed it to others. 
 This is my body. Simple words, common to all four accounts. 
 Yet made the subject of a most bitter controversy, that has rent the 
 
 Church for ages.
 
 CnAP. XXII.] ox ST. LUKE. 415 
 
 Rome teaches, the bi'cad is transubstantiated into the hodij^ blood, sotd, and 
 
 diviniiy of Jesus Chri.st ! 
 In tbe secret silence of the little circle of His disciples, the Rerleemer 
 
 established an humble rite, to bind all tbe myriads of the redeemed to 
 
 the end of time. 
 He regally appoints by will a gracious mystery. 
 A standing miracle of Ilis love, indicating a union between Ilim and Ilia 
 
 Church. 
 His heart's blood and Himself are given through faith to believers. 
 He renewed the offence of the incomprehensible word. John vL 54. 
 This is opposed to the old shadows : instead of the Iamb, He says, I am 
 
 YOUR Paschal Lamb ! 
 Bread. The noblest gifts of nature, consecrated as symbols of grace. 
 Communion. 1. Of the Lord with His people. 2. Of believers with 
 
 each other. 3. Of believers with heaven. 
 Lord's Supper ma.\\\iQ?,is, 1. The Prophetic. 2, Priestly. 3. Kingly char 
 
 actcr of Christ. 
 The institution meaningless, if there is no atonement for sin. 
 Given for you. "Broken for you." 1 Cor. xi. 24. 
 " God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." John 
 
 iii. IG. 
 " Christ hath also loved us, and given Himself for us." Eph, v. 2. 
 The hour of betrayal, and anguish of death impending. 
 The sacrifice of Christ was strictly vicarious, Isa. liii. 5. That which is 
 
 devoted unto deatli. 
 It had been given from the foundation of the world to the end of time. 
 His whole life on earth was giving and breaking, finished by His death. 
 What they ate, was, by ftith, the body and blood of Christ. 
 He communicated unto them His living breath, His divine influence. 
 This do. This form is only given by Luke and Paul. 1 Cor, xi. 24. 
 This great injunction was laid upon believers, in His humiliation. 
 The request of a. friend, not a command for servanU. 
 What persons should in future dispense these symbols ? 
 With what words, prayers and rites should the elements be consecrated ? 
 Ill what posture, at what time, whether by individuals, or in a body ? 
 What relations this eating and drinking should sustain to other meals ? or 
 
 whether females should ever share at all ? 
 On these points He is silent; leaving it to His people to infrr His will 
 
 from tlie spirit and form of the institution, and from the nature of 
 
 His religion. 
 In remembrance of me. A simple, sublime, memorial of Ciirist.
 
 41 G SUGGESXrVE CX)MMENTAEY [CHAP. XXn, 
 
 Memory, strictly, refers to the past, here to the future. 
 
 This sim-ple meal has outlived all medals and monuments. 
 
 Some commemorated the going out of Egypt, not His death. 1 Cor. xi. 
 
 29. 
 The disciples themselves had not at first a perfect view of it. 
 The blessing does not depend on our perfectly understanding it. 
 This is not a sacrifice, hni commemorates the Great Sacrifice. 
 Many come emjDty oi faith, and empty they go from it. 
 The blessing depends, not upon our iveak faith, but upon His mighty 
 
 presence. 
 "By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified," 
 
 Heb. X. 14. 
 Eomanists nullify this sacrament by the idolatry of the mass. 
 They directly violate His command by withholding the cup. 
 They hold the fatal eiTor, that the mere partaking confers grace. 
 Lutherans teach, Christ's real body is present, and partaken of ivith the 
 
 bread. 
 We are far too prone to dispute where we ought to adore. 
 
 fvxapi<rTqa-ai, evAoTrjo-o?. — Matt, and Mark. In regard to ordinary occasions of 
 eating and di'Lnliing, eiiAoYeic corresponds to asking a blessing, or grace before meat ; 
 evxapi-a'Tfiv to returning thanks, or grace after meat. IV. d; W. There is no word in the 
 Greek corresponding to the word " it '' as rendered in Matt, and Luke. N.T. has no trace 
 of the consecration of dead things. Schultze. A certain power of blessing was derived 
 by the sacramental elements from this thanksgiving. Stier. Not for the bread or wine, 
 but for the person. Meyer. Called Eucharist by Justin Martyr and all the Fathers. 
 Gregory, misnamed the Great, changed the ^' thanlc," into a "si'n "-offering, a.d. 595. 
 Protestants hinting a propitiation being in this sacrament have passed the Rubicon. 
 Lange. 
 
 eKKacre. Lutherans hold it indifferent whether the bread is broken before, or during 
 the administration ; whether by the minister, or any other person. Confessio Marchica, 
 Art. IIS, jiiakcs the breaking as binding as the benediction. 
 
 iSCSov. — Matt. xxvi. 2G. The administraior here represents Christ, in breaking, 
 blessing, and distributing. In another, he is one of the disciples, examining himself, 
 confessing, partaking. AUord. Questioned. Olshatisen. 
 
 «(7-Ti TO (Tw/itt IJ.OV. The Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Aramaic have no sj-nonyme for 
 signifying. The seven kine are, or signify, seven years, Gen. xli. 20. The ten homs are 
 ten kings, Dan. vii. 24. The seven stars are, or signify the angels of the seven churches, 
 llev. i. 20. That Rock was, or represents Christ, 1 Cor. x. 4. t'cmi'. This much 
 contested word is not in the Aramaic, the language used by our Saviour. Alexander, 
 Broxen. Our liOrd never used it. Oosterzee.. Quakers make the body to bo the heavenly 
 teed of the nature of Christ, and the Lord's Supper a more act of frioadship, to stir np
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 417 
 
 their minds to follOTT Christ diligently. They charge tho tying of this Supper of the 
 LiOrd, to that ceremony used by Christ before His death, the result of ■want of a truo 
 spiritual understanding, ou tho part of the Church of Christ. Barclay's Apology, Prop. 
 18. Figura corporis mei. TcrlulUan. The heavenly part of His nature, sentient in tho 
 nerves and fibres of His former body. Eichter. Our Lord's body is ubiquitous. Luther. 
 An vmscriptural representation. Hahn. Tho doctrine of the eorporal body in the Supper 
 was decently and honorably buried witli the person of Luther. Ebrard. A medium be- 
 tween Luther and Calvin. Slier. Christus adest propter honiincm, non propter panem. 
 Melancihon. I am not ashamed to confess that the mystery is rather to be experienced, 
 than understood. Calvin. 
 
 TOUTo. CarUtadt by this word nullified the sacrament, affirming that Christ pointed 
 with His finger to His body, touto, refers to the bread. Bengel, Hengstenberg. " Symbol 
 of My body." Meyer; mystical body. Oecolampadius, Wiisse. Romanist, Idealism; 
 Calvinists, Dualism; Lutherans, Itcalism. Olshausen. Disciples only enjoyed the sacra- 
 ment of tho old covenant. Kuinocl. A sharing in Christ's bloody sweat. Zinzendorf. 
 A commemoration of Christ's death. Zuinglius. He dispensed His glorified bodily 
 nature. Olshausen. A sacrificial repast. Scheibel. The Lord did not Himself partalie. 
 Olshausen. Our Lord merely dispensed forgiveness of sins. Lindner. An emblem of His 
 flesh and blood, spiritually received. Alexander, and all evangelical Christians. Broad 
 and wine emblems of Christ's divine and human nature. Theodoret. They make but one 
 Person, these but one sacrament. Until some expressions of the Fathers becamo 
 petrified into a dogma, no one had an idea of their conveying but oue truth. He calls 
 the bread His body, just as He calls Himself a door, a vine, a root, a star, John x. 9; xv. 
 1 ; Eev. xxii. 16. 
 
 toOto TTOtciTe. Luke's intimacy with Paul may account for the similarity of their 
 forms in the Eucharist. ^J/ord. These words revealed to Paul. Siter. The Komanists 
 hold that these words consecrated the apostles and their successors, priests in adminis- 
 tering the sacrament. They therefore include iho Sacrament of " Orders" in the Sacra- 
 ment of the Mass. A compensating equivalent for His bodily absence, 1 Cor. xi. 26. 
 Bengel. 
 
 20. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying. This cup is the new testament in viy 
 blood, which is shed for yotc. 
 
 Likewise. Infers a similar thanksgiving, blessing and giving. 
 Cup. In Palestine the red wine, the main growth, a symbol of blood. 
 "Wisdom furnishing her table, " Come drink of the wine," &c. Prov. is. 
 
 2-5. 
 In paradise, man's food was entirely of fritit, or vegetables. 
 Thus thia bloodless festival, was reinstituted for man's food. 
 After supper. Not the Lord's Supper, but the preceding Paschal 
 
 supper. 
 New testament. Gr. settlement in a last icill. New covenant.
 
 418 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTARY [CDAP. XXn. 
 
 Mosaic covcDant at Sinai, was ratified with blood. 
 
 It pre-figured the blood of Christ, as the seal of the new covenant. 
 
 Believers inherit the blessings, solely in virtue of Christ's death. 
 
 " If the com die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John xii. 24. 
 
 The blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the door posts. Ex. xii. 22. 
 
 Blood was throughout the 0. T., the covenant sign of forgiveness. 
 
 " Without shedding of blood there was no remission." Heb. ix. 22. 
 
 The Sacrament a refreshing and confirming assurance of forgiveness. 
 
 This simple, sublime, ordinance has been mystified by man's inventions. 
 
 The bitterest controversies, spring from spuitual pride, around the Table 
 
 of the Lord. 
 My blood. Jews from infancy were tanght to abhor tasting blood. 
 
 Lev. iii. 17. 
 In ancient covenant sacrifices, the blood was caught in a vessel. 
 Among Barbarians, the j^arties drank the blood of the victim. 
 Among Greeks, wine (of the color of blood) was substituted. 
 The old covenant was not instituted " without blood." Heb. ix. 18. 
 Jesus is called the " Mediator of the new covenant." Heb. xii. 24. 
 His blood, " the blood of the everlasting covenant." Heb. xiii. 20. 
 
 Zech. ix. 11. 
 " My blood which is shed for the remission of sins." Matt. xxvi. 28. 
 Lord's Supper commemorates a divine sacrifice. 
 A sacrifice was one way of covenanting with God. 
 Shed for you. For those who believe in Me as Eedeemer. 
 Thus the blood of Jesus cries out against all unbelief. 
 Fearful is that protest and exclusion, pronounced against all iinbelievers. 
 The many saved by this blood, are represented by every httle communion. 
 Not only expiation in general, but vicarious, " life for life." Lev. xvii. 11. 
 
 Our Lord Himself, advanced against the cherub's sword. 
 
 It will pierce every heart, that tries to enter, without Him. 
 
 Drink ye all. Matt. xxvi. 27. Only gave the bread, but all drink. 
 
 He intends a prophetic warning against Satan's cunning. 
 
 Eome inasks her denial of the cup by interpolation. 
 
 "Williout shedding of blood there is no remission." Heb. ix. 22. 
 
 aemembrance. No one willing to be forgotten by those ho loves. 
 
 AVeak faith has ever been deepened liy this feast. 
 
 Languishing affections have been kindled afresh. 
 
 Lord's Supper. 1. Love's feast. 2. Love's institution. 3. Love's 
 remembrance. 4. Love's celebration. 5. Love's blessing. 6, 
 Love's atonement. 
 
 1. A true feast for spiritual life. 2. Sacred feast, no carnal joys.
 
 CnA.P. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 419 
 
 3. Covenant feast, sealing redemption. 4. Love feast, uniting the 
 
 redeemed. 5. Typical feast of tlie eternal festival in heaven. 
 Heaven, an eternal feast of love and friendship. 
 The ends. 1. A memorial of Christ's incarnation. 
 
 2. A standing evidence of the truth of Clnistiauity. 
 
 3. It enables one to profess openly his faith 'in Christ's sacrifice. 
 
 4. It promotes fellowship among the saints. 
 
 5. Covenanting with God is the celebrating it by saints. 
 
 6. It tends to cherish the grace of divine life. 
 
 7. A type of the living eternal union between Christ and the believer. 
 
 John XV. 5. 
 The names of the ordinance. 1. A sacrament or oath. 
 This was taken by the Roman soldiers when they enlisted. 
 They vowed to be faithful unto death to their leader and banner. 
 Communicants thus enlist under "the Captain of their salvation." Heb. 
 
 ii. 10. 
 " To endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. ii. 3. 
 " To fight the good fight of faith." 1 Tim. vi. 12. 
 " To be faithful unto death, that they may receive the crown of life." 
 
 Bev. ii. 10. 
 
 2. Eucharist. It wa^ early used by Christians, the ordinance of thanks- 
 
 iJtVlliJ. 
 
 3. Tlie Lord's Supper. 1 Cor. xi. 20. " As oft as ye eat." 1 Cor. xi. 26. 
 Although a literal feast, it was first observed in the evening. 
 
 4. The Lord's Table. 1 Cor. x. 21 ; whose social head is Christ. 
 
 5. The breaking of bread. Acts ii. 42 ; xx. 7. Implies all sharing the feast. 
 " Upon the first day of the week, the disciples came together at Troas to 
 
 break bread." Acts xx. 7. 
 
 6. The communion. 1 Cor. x. 16. Implies a spiritual fellowship. 
 
 •' Had sung an hymn.'' Mark xiv. 26. Our Saviour doubtless jo jn^fZ. 
 Jews sung Psalms cxiii. and cxiv. Heathen seldom sing in worship. 
 
 TO TroTTJpic]/. IJentical with the third and foiirth Passover cnp. Hrjhtfoot, Eobinson, 
 Lange ; with the fourth cnp. Ifpyer, Brojort. Mali, and Mark place the Lord's Supper 
 before speaking of Judas' treason ; Luke, after. Time uncertain. Alford. During the 
 first seven centuries, the wine was mixed with water. Modern Jews, in observing the 
 Passover, place raisins in water, and express the juice. Kestorians of India and Syria 
 adopt the same method. Phrygian Christians, called Artotyritcs used bread and cheese. 
 The Greek Church, leavened bread ; Rumanists, unleavened. 1 Cor. v. 8, " unleavened." 
 The variations of Evangelists and Paul ; the Lord probably repeated the word of distribu-
 
 420 SUGGESTR-E COMMENTARY [cHAP, XXII. 
 
 tion several times. Itichter, Krumviacher. Tnmed to the right hand and to th<> left. 
 Pfenninger. 1 Cor. xi. 24. — An authentic declaration of the risen Lord, as to the 
 meaning of the Sacrament. Gerlach, Olshausen, Stier. Sanguinis virtus fiigura. Tcr- 
 tullinn. The Cum is as it were the flesh of the earth, the vrine its blood. .jK.gusfine. 
 The mystcrium fidei inserted hy Eome, in the Mass, is confessed hy learned Catholics to 
 owe its origin to a tradition of Peter. As Baptism (compared to the birth) can only 
 occur once, thus the Communion (compared to eating food) is often solemnized. 
 
 KaivTi hiadrjK-q. '^Testament," rather than Covenant. Bcngcl, Stier. The funda- 
 mental idea of the Saviour in the text, Ex. xxiv. 8., the proper classical sense of the 
 Greek ; Covenant, a secondary sense. Broxvn. Symbol lies in the color, red. Wetstein ; 
 in its being poured out. Meyer. This Supper a mere memorial banquet, in honor of a 
 heroic sufferer for virtue. Channing, Norton, and Unitarians generally. 
 
 21. iy. But, behold, tlie hand of him that betray eth me is with me on the table. 
 
 Ti'oubled in spirit. Jolin xiii. 21. His human sorro^Y was intense. 
 
 Now the sin of man confronts Him in its direst form. 
 
 Judas breaks in on the narrow circle of the beloved ones. 
 
 Frenzy, hypocrisy, malice and ingratitude, condensed in this unhappy 
 
 traitor, " son of perdition." John xvii. 12. 
 He defiles the apostolic foundation of His future Church. 
 Behold. The Lord cannot restrain the sorrow of His soul. 
 " I give My body, I pour out My blood for you." 
 " Yet behold the wicked one follows Me, and troubles Me." 
 " This daring sinner jiresumes to be loith Mc, even until now." 
 ''Behold! I suffer it." 
 
 Hand. Which yesterday received the reward of treachery. 
 No discipline now can prevent this mixing of the wheat and tares, 
 Jesus tolerated Judas. The servant should not be niore cxchisice than 
 
 his Master. 
 Discipline nevertheless is strictly and permanently binding. 
 God tolerated a murderer, Cain. Christ a traitor, Judas. 
 But no well regulated state c«)i, no well regulated Church tcill tolerato 
 
 such guilt. 
 1 Cor. v. 11, has no reference it is believed to the Lord's Supper. 
 Tlie unrenewed cat the bread but receive not the body of Christ. 
 Tliey pollute the ordinance only to themselves. 
 Omniscience for three years, read the heart of the deceiver. 
 The discovery of the traitor began the separation between light aud 
 
 darkness, a prophecy of the judgment day.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 421 
 
 Jesus and Judas. 1. Spotless purity, and enormous guilt. 2. 
 Infallible knowledge, and deep delusion. 3. Unshaken tranquillity, 
 and tormenting restlessness. 4. Boundless love, and burning Lato. 
 
 Betrayetli. " In the night in which the Lord was betrayed." 1 Cor. 
 xi. 23. 
 
 The learning figtire of Judas,' stands at every sacramental board. 
 
 The heart hardened grows harder, even under the sun of Love Divine. 
 
 If the Divine Master, so the servant may be often betrayed. 
 
 With me. Not with you. Thus He separates them. 
 
 On the table. Proving that Judas was actually at the Lord's Supper. 
 
 The lesson taught may well intermingle its bitterness with every com- 
 munion table. 
 
 The first influenoe of this word on him, is veiled in mystery. 
 
 His daring hyi^ocrisy, serving with the rest, honored with the purse 1 
 
 That hand wrung the Lord's heart, and therefore He thus spake. 
 
 Tl xeip. The allusion inserted in the wrong place. Meyer. This cuts the knot. A 
 preliminary notice had been given him, Matt. xxvi. 21. Stier. " Wilt thou extend thy 
 hand stained with blood?" ^mfcrose to Emperor Theodosius, as he repelled him from 
 the communion. Did Judas commune ? Tes. Cyprian, Origen, both Cyrils, Jerome, 
 Augusiinc, Chrysostom, Theodoret, BeUarminc, Baronius ; probably. Calvin, Biiccr, 
 Beza, Bengel, Stier, Lampe, Alford, Lightfoot, Macknight, Aquinas, Andrews. He did 
 KOT. Oostcrzee, Neander, Olshausen, Lange, Doddridge, Meyer, Tischendorf, Robinson, 
 Lichtenstein, Ebrard, Wieseler, EUicott. Anciently it was customai-y for all present, 
 adults, women, and children to partake. BuxtorJ. 
 
 22. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it icas determined : but woe unto that man by 
 whom he is betrayed ! 
 
 Son of man. Messiah still before you, in the form of a seiTant. 
 
 He is nearing the end of His long humiliation. 
 
 He here shewed, 1. Knowledge infallible. 2. Grief without weakness. 
 
 3. Love without envy. 4. Wrath without passion. 
 Goeth, or is about to die. It includes voluntary submission. 
 He goeth His appointed, sure and blessed way. 
 Determined. Gr. accuratehj defined, betrayal and eating bread with 
 
 Christ foretold in Psalm xli 9. 
 The divine decree did not destroy the rcsponsilility of Judas.
 
 422 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIl. 
 
 The divine prediction did in no way extenuate his crime. 
 
 "Determinate counsel and. foreknowledge," yet, "witli jyic/^ed hands." 
 
 Acts ii. 23. 
 From this it is clear, that all evil is of man, and all good is of God. 
 " He maketh the wrath of man to pr.iise Him." Psa. Ixxvi. 10. 
 Christ's death furnishes a shocking display of human depravity. 
 It also furnishes a glorious exhibition of the divine perfections. 
 To charge our sins on God's decrees, is blasi^hemy. Jer. vii. 9 ; Jas i. lii. 
 "This lays me under no constraint, I yield myself to the counsel of God." 
 His holy resolution abides, above the jjurpose of Judas. 
 He knows that this like all evil, will be tiuuied into good. 
 This terrific apostacy will serve the i^ui-pose of eternal love. 
 He iibides in lirm faith in the purpose of God, ^^ It is written.'^ Matt. 
 
 xxvi. 24. 
 Woe. Wrath and pity are here combined. 
 It is not the feeling of anger, but compassionate sorrow. 
 One perfectly conscious of the mysteries of eternity. 
 Not the temporary anguish of Job and Jeremiah cursing their birth-day. 
 He sees no ray glimmering across the darkness of Judas' eternal 
 
 condemnation. 
 So absorbed in Judas' guilt, He seems for a moment to forget His own 
 
 sorrows. 
 " However patiently I suffer, or little God hinders, is certainly foreseen." 
 " Yet fearful is the eternal woe that falls upon My betrayer." 
 No cold and rigorous judgment of a condemned enemy. 
 But a most afflicting lamentation of boundless love. 
 This man is a sorrow to Jesus, back to his very birth. 
 The last cry of a love, which goes in sympathy with a lost one, to tho 
 
 extremest limits of mercy, where he must be abandoned for ever ! 
 He is a type of many found in external discipleship of Jesus. 
 The oiilij one who received his sentence in person before the last day. 
 His disciples might stumble at the eternal condemnation of the lost. 
 I3ut are here strengthened by this lamentation poured out by the Son 
 
 of God. 
 He endures, condemns, bewails, but shews not wrath. Hos. xi. 8. 
 Judas' " high calling" alone gave him a j^osition to betray the Lord. 
 An ambition to become great, ruined this apostle. 
 In a few hours the silver lost all its magical glitter. 
 In the flash of conscieuco tho gold became dim, and most fme gold 
 
 changed. 
 Sconi of a world, cold and revengeful, crushed his heart.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 423 
 
 The dread of Christ's words realized, made bim despair. 
 
 He sought a doubtful refuge, in a suicide's grave. 
 
 That man. He poiuts once more to the general sin of mankind. 
 
 luexijressible condescension to allow, that He belongs to the same raco 
 
 with Judas. 
 Jesus has no other name for that alien, than the one, " that man.'' 
 This solitary woe denounced, 1. Upon only one head. 2. In profound 
 
 patience. 3. Sublime tranquillity, and 4, keen grief. 
 Has a far heavier weight, than the sevenfold woes denounced upon the 
 
 Pharisees. 
 " It had been good for that man if he had not been born." Matt. xxvi. 24. 
 An inscription placed over the grave of this disciple by the Lord Himself, 
 
 the most fearful utterance in the Bible. 
 It closes eternally the door of hope. 
 This fact utterly subverts the heresy of universalism. 
 He resisted the truth, and love only hardened him. 
 He can hear the Redeemer's love cry, Woe ! and asks, " Is it I ?" 
 He can eat and drink the Last Supper, and then go and betray his Master. 
 He was born a man, but yielding to Satan became " a devil." John vi. 
 
 70. 
 His sin shared in the presumptuous daring impiety of Satan. 
 He would sell his Lord, hut really sold himself io hell. 
 Jesus will yet turn Satan's apparent victory, into a disastrous defeat. 
 
 Eph. iv. 8. 
 
 For KoX, oTi. Tischp.nilorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, jropcverai. — Euphemistic, BC. ets 
 BdvaTov. airepxerai, used ill the same sense by Plato and Homer. De Wette, Pearce. 
 Death, Josh, xxiii. 14. Kara, to Mpiaixevoir. Matt, and Mark, xadu; yeypanrac i^p^trfiivov. 
 Jewish idea of fate. De Wette. Facher's counsel. Lange. His treachery seems foretold. 
 Gen. xlix. 17. If so, -Judas must have been of the tribe of Dan. Olshausen. God wills by 
 permission, what He does not by approbation. Augustine. God directs the end, but 
 nothing is further from man's intention than to obey : His decrees, a great deep. Calvin. 
 He is falsely charged as teaching God to be the author of sin. Elsley. Infinite wisdom 
 converts men's sin into means of His glory. Hall. God certainly foresees sins. Origen, 
 Cjipriiin, Ghrysostom, Augustine ; and he was chosen as an instrument. Vllmann. 
 Latent germs of evil foreseen in him. Neander. 
 
 oiial. He is ba'.ieved only to have intended to drive a successful bargain with the 
 Sanhedrim, and gratify his avarice, without any harm to Jesus. Having witnesed the 
 resurrection of Lazarus, and other stupendous miracles, he may have scouted the idea 
 that a Being of such infinite power could possibly receive violence at the hands ■
 
 424 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 mortals. Scattering His foes with a glance, he trusted He would assume the crown, and 
 amid the splendors of His newly founded kingdom, forgive the sin of a dlBciple, which 
 led to so glorious a result. Paulus, Whately, A. Clarke, Lightfoot, Neander, Winer. 
 Some contrive to evade the rigor of this woe, by reading, " It had been better for the Son 
 of Man, U Judas had never been bom." Scepticism has asked, " Why was he bom ? 
 Why was he not annihilated ? " The answer is this. That while annihilation is abstractly 
 possible to Omnipotence, it is not to Justice. An imprecation. De Wettc. Teaching rightly 
 his perdition, but it reflects on God to infer, that it were better that no wicked should be 
 born. Zranf/e. Judas never called Jesus, "Lord." Bcngel. Bible tells of all kinds of 
 ■wretches being converted, but not of a single hrjpocrite. Sir B. L'Estrange. 
 
 23. And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it teas tliat should do 
 this thing. 
 
 They began. Mark xxyI. 22, to be exceeding soiTowful, and say, 
 
 '^ Lord, is it J.'"' 
 With humility they suspected themselves, instead of one another. 
 "Let us be jealous over ourselves, -with a godly jealousy." 2 Cor. xi. 2. 
 All the disciples questioning, proves none suspected Judas. 
 Judas, the dark riddle ; Christ, the bright mystery of Christianity. 
 Sorrowful. Matt. xxvi. 22. The patriarchs were very sad when the 
 
 cup was found. 
 Believers oft mourn more at their own name being scandalized, than at 
 
 the wovrud given by the ti-aitor to the Saviour's cause. 
 Which, of them. " Lord, is it I ?" Matt. xxvi. 22. Who can stand, 
 
 left to himself ? 
 This question was a perfect expression of individual sincerity. 
 It proclaimed feelingly their deep sense of sinfulness. 
 To Him it was consolation, in the midst of His distrefis. 
 The asker judges himself fully, that he may not be judged. 
 The Lord is better satisfied with their ^^ Is it I .'" than He would have 
 
 been with tlie suspicious, ' Is it he?'' 
 The traitor impudently presumes to feign a share in this inquiry. 
 Judas Iscariot, the Ahithophel of the New Testament. 
 Tlic eleven in tlieir guilelessness, could not realize that one of their 
 
 number could be such a villain. 
 It proves Judas' bearing such, as to awaken no suspicion. 
 " Mine own familiar friend, wJio did eat of my bread." Psa. xli. 9. 
 He left the table full of Satan, on his accursed errand.
 
 OUAP. XXII.J ON ST. LUKE. 425 
 
 24. H And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the 
 greatest. 
 
 And. Gr. even. This evening, at tliis table, a strife about pre- 
 eminence ! 
 
 There was. An indefinite formula of a contention. 
 
 We may well wonder at the possibility of a strife, at such a tijie ! 
 
 Strife. A similar spirit in Luie ix. 4G. There Jesus by omniscience, 
 perceived their thoughts. 
 
 " He took a child," &c. " He that is least, the same shall be great." 
 Luke ix 48. 
 
 The mother of James and John asked promotion for her sons. 
 
 The ten hearing it, were moved with indignation. Matt. xx. 24. 
 
 The solemn services of the Passover, and the Lord's Suppei; just closed; 
 
 Soon gave place to a vain-glorious and envious ambition. 
 
 The disciples were still dreaming of Christ's temporal kingdom. 
 
 It however consisted " in righteousness and peace." Kom. xiv. 17. 
 
 Not only the traitor, but actually the eleven troubled the Lord. 
 
 A special temptation of Satan, then, more than ordinarily busy. 
 
 Accounted. Inward jealousies far more disastrous than outward foes. 
 
 Few can heartily rejoice at a neighbor's superiority. 
 
 The amount of envy, a proof of the extent and depth of pride. 
 
 Its root is the belief, that they themselves are more worthy. 
 
 Had there been a shadow of a ground for Peter's primacy, it would have 
 been settled now. 
 
 Eome wants Bible sanction for her i^resumption and blasphemy. 
 
 (JiAorctKia. Between Peter, James, and John, and begun by Peter. Lightfoot, 
 Order, 1, Passover, and Lord's Supper. 2, told Judas' treachery. 3, strife. Falritiiix, 
 Alfurd. Mark's chronology preferred. Calvin, Ehrard, Oosterzee, Wieseler. The thought 
 of the feet-washing occasioned the placing this strife on the evening of the Supper. 
 Ncander. Previous prominence of John, limits the question as to whether Peter or John 
 was the greater. Pfenninger. They wished to know to whom to adhei'e when the Master 
 ■was gone. Rieger. The honors of the kingdom. Hess. The pre-eminence at the present 
 meal. Stier. Who must perform the service of feet-washing. Bengel, Gcrlach, Ebrard. 
 Identical with Matt, xviii. 1. De Wette ; different. Pcarcc, Major. Before coming to 
 Jerusalem. Markland, Campbell, Rosenmuller, Kuinoel, Doddridge. 
 
 SoKei, Greek, redundancy. Which of them had the credit of being the greatest ? Waktt- 
 field, Major. Luke here places together a number of sayings of Jesus, which, accojdh:j 
 to Matt, and Mark, were spoken, some later, some earlier ; as though this sublime part 
 of His history were specially adapted for uniting with the words with which the Lord's 
 Supper was instituted, these thoughts on the iideUty of His disciples. Eicald, Oostcrzee,
 
 42G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 25. And he said ujito tliein, The kint/s of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them ; and 
 they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 
 
 Kings of the Gentiles. Or nations, Emperors generally Avere 
 
 oppressors. 
 Alfred, Washington, Lincoln rare exceptions. 
 
 Exercise lordship. Gr. lord it. Authority. Gr. use oppression. 
 This was liotli Iditory of xhe past, and jjrojjhcoj of the future. 
 Eecords of our race present a misei-able succession of rulers. 
 Power seems to intoxicate and disqualify fallen man for its righteous 
 
 exercise. 
 Called. Affectation of lofty titles is here rebuked. 
 Benefactors. This word, or in Aramaic, implies " proud" and 
 
 " benefieent." 
 To attain this title, they laid out large sums on public buildings. 
 They gave splendid gifts and games to the populace. 
 Ptolemy of Egypt was surnamed Euergetcs, " Benefactor." 
 Tertf.llus thus flattered the vanity of Felix. Acts xxiv. 2. 
 Herod spent vast sums on Athens, Lacedemon, Olympia. 
 He adorned Jerusalem and Jericho with siimptuous edifices. 
 One near Jericho, stiU remains, a magnificent ruin. 
 Julia Berenice was called descendant of Iviugs and benefactors. 
 An inscription to Berenice and statue to Hyrcanus are still in Athena. 
 Om' rule is abasement, before the awful example of our Master. 
 
 (vepytrai.. The vanity Of princes loil tbera to affect this title : to attain it they 
 expended large sums. The same was the case with the SecrTrorrjs. IF. <£ W. The 
 reluming conqueror, stripped multitudes of their farms and homes, and bestowed them 
 as gifts on their veterans, called beneficiarii and their sovereigns Benefactors. The 
 tenn was applied to Caligula, in his evil aim to bo like God. Gerlach. Hyrcanus' 
 ancestor had a statue at Athens. Josephus, Elsley. 
 
 KokovyTtu. The middle voice ; call themselves. Would have themselves called. 
 Bingel. 
 
 " Then swell with pride, and must be titled Gods, 
 Great benefactors of mankind." Paradise Regained, iii. 82. 
 
 28. But ye shaMnofbo so : but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger ; 
 and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 
 
 Ye shall not be so. Arc Christiano forbidden to tako apuhlic offiCfe? 
 The Friends or Quakers s.'iy they are.
 
 OHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUEE. 427 
 
 If it were so, they would hereby ucglcct tho means of doing much good. 
 
 The iT'ins of power would fall into the hands of wicked men. 
 
 The affairs of Church and state, harmonize in their resjjective spheres. 
 
 Civil power is stjlcd " the ordmance of God." Eom. xiii. 2. 
 
 The magistrate is called the "minister of God, for good." Kom. xiii. 4. 
 
 Kings should be "nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers." Isa. 
 
 xlix. 23. 
 " Not as lords over God's heritage, but ensamples to the flock." 1 Pet. 
 V. 3. 
 
 Greatest. Gr. a greater. Not he would be, but really is greater. 
 
 Chrisit teaches, there is a kind of greatness to be sought. 
 
 " Though I be free from all, yet have I made myself seiTant of all." 1 
 Cor. ix. 19. 
 
 Wisdom, laboriousncss and usefulness, the tests of true excellence. • 
 
 The greatness commended by Christ, within the reach of all. 
 
 Humility, path to glory. 1. The old way. 2. Difficult way. 3. Safe 
 way. 4. Happy way. 
 
 He who desires to be greatest, must become greatest in being the lowliest. 
 
 The greater our mercies, the deeper should be our humility. 
 
 The richest mines are deepest, smallest stars are highest. 
 
 The noblest palaces have ever the deepest foundations. 
 
 The greatest pretenders to piety ever have the least. 
 
 The great apostle was the greatest when he felt the least. 
 
 lieC^iov. This comparative may mean elder, aa contrasted with the younger, as 
 James the lesa. It is thought that Peter was tho eldest of the apostles, and this accountg 
 for his being named first. Slier. Peter was undouhtedly older than our Lord. Inferiority. 
 Beza. 
 
 27. For uhcthcr is greater, he. that sltieth at meat, or he that serveth ? ia not he that 
 sitteih at meat i but I am among you as he that serveth. 
 
 Serveth. Evident allusion to washing His disciples' feet. John xiii. 5. 
 
 Never had servants such a compassionate master. 
 
 " He took on Him the form of a servant." Phil. ii. 7. 
 
 He thus engraves a lesson, by the finger of the Holy Ghost, on theii' 
 
 hearts. 
 Believers may fail in knowledge, courage, faith and patience.
 
 428 SUGGESTIVE COIIMENTAKY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Peter humbled and asliamed said, " Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee." 
 
 Johu xxi. 15. 
 I am as he. This refers to the symbolical feet washing. 
 Far from levelling all difference of rank in the circle of the saints. 
 He recognizes an actual aristocraCij, but one of Humility. 
 The depth of His own Jtumilitj/, an element of His own greatness. 
 He rules by serving, and His glory is greatest in condescending love. 
 Christ serving, shews, 1. Condescending, 2. Active, 3. Persevering 
 
 love. 
 He claims, 1. Eeverence. 2. Obedience. 3. Benevolence from Hia 
 
 disciples. 
 
 cyo) ei/ai, " I am among you as he that serveth" -preserved by Lake alone. Oosterzec. 
 Si, hiit. A different style of honour ia yours, even a kingdom. Bcngcl. 6 &i.iiKovlav. 
 Doubtless refers to the incident recorded in John xiii. 14-16. SiaKOj/o; is a word of very 
 extensive signification, denoting one in subordinate station, formed perhaps from Si^kw, 
 run to serve. Applied to St. Paul, 2 Cor. vi. 4 ; to magistrates, Rom. xiii. 4. StaKovCa is 
 especially used of ministering to the poor. Acts vi. 1 ; xii. 25 ; 2 Cor. viii. 4 ; but means 
 service of any kind: a word of wider meaning than Xarpeta, which expresses the service of 
 God. Webster's Syntax. The Pope annually washes the feet of some Jews, who act, as 
 though they were converted, hapidc. This is but one of the many mockeries witnessed 
 in St. Peter's, at Eome. 
 
 28. Ye are they which have continued with me iti my temptations. 
 
 Continued. He had been constrained to reprove them slightly. 
 
 He now blesses, and loads His faithful disciples with His gifts. 
 
 With all their infirmities and follies, they were faithful ones still. 
 
 He speaks in tjiiical prophecy, while speaking of the past. 
 
 Their former fidelity, the tj'pe of their futm-e fidelity. 
 
 Ho frequently reproves their ignorance, and want of faith. 
 
 Their hearts had been right, amid all their mistakes. 
 
 He looks more at the graces imputed by Himself, than their sins. 
 
 .He knew at this time. His nearest discii)lcs would not watch with Him 
 one hour. 
 
 The power of darkness on the Shepherd, beholds the sheep scattered. 
 
 My temptations. The disciples being called, ajter our Lord's temp- 
 tations. 
 
 His ciitiro life a painful experience, in conflict with Satan.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON BT. LUKE. 429 
 
 My. He thus places Himself humbly in tlic midst of sinners, before He 
 proceeds to distribute thrones. 
 
 He knows full well that it is the way for Him to glory, theirs, to a vic- 
 torious fidelity. 
 
 Under the discipline of the Spirit, Ue was tempted in all points, Heb. 
 iv. 15. 
 
 The disciples had not been offended in Him as others. Matt. iii. 6. 
 
 Persecutions are among Christ's legacies to saints. 
 
 If we embrace Him in robes, we must not scorn Him in rage. 
 
 It is Christ Himself, who, through all time, endures, in His Church, tho 
 temptations of the world. Quesncl. 
 
 veipaa-ixotf. This evidently cannot be Iknitecl to Chrisi'a special temptation, Luke 
 iv. 1-8. Tliese words a repetition of Matt. xix. 28. De Wette, Tho wliole earthly life of 
 Jcau3 is thus represented as a continuous temx)tation. Oosterzee, 
 
 29. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; 
 
 I appoint. A glorious promise worthy the King of kings. 
 
 A parting legacy to His little, but beloved flock. 
 
 The eleven, like Barzillai, had gone a little way with Him. 2 Sam. xix, 
 
 35. 
 He assures them, that another world will reward His followers. 
 He bottles their tears, a cup of cold water given cannot be lost, Mark ix. '11. 
 I. Gr. and I, in return for your fidelity. 
 Y/e feel, but cannot describe, the sublimity of this word. 
 A 2)oor Nazarene ; not a garment to leave His followers. 
 Yet He makes over a royal inheritance to His disciples. 
 He had no spot where to lay His head on earth. 
 Yet, He bequeathes the highest posts in God's kingdom, within an hour 
 
 of His being bound as culprit under a Eoman consul, 
 A kingdom. Honor, dignity, reward and majesty, represented by a 
 
 Idngdom. 
 You strive for dominion after tho manner of tho world. 
 "Behold, I give you a kingdom, infinitely higher than that of the Gentilcp. 
 I lift you up into co-regcnts with Me on My throne! 
 Eqiial in dignity, no envious contention can there find place. 
 My Father. He ever holds oneness of counsel with the lufiiu'.e 
 
 Jehovnli. 
 
 42
 
 430 SUGGESTIVE COMiTENTAIlY [CHAP. XXH. 
 
 Appointed Our Forerunner, our King and Finisher of our faith, looiis 
 with steady composure, through His sufferings to our kingdom. 
 
 SioTi'Senai. Paciscor, I covenant to give. Bcza; dispono testamento, I assign by 
 will. Schmidius. The word denotes not only investing or insuring, but su:-h a disposition 
 as a dying man malces by testament, in favor of survivors. Oostcrzee. I will warrant. 
 Benrjel ; bequeath. Albert! ; promise. Roscnmu'ler, Kainoel ; solemnly engage to secure. 
 Bestow. Markland, Doddridge. Apostles will have higher position than other saints iu 
 glory. Mede. If so, only for superior humility and greater devotion. 
 
 80. That ye may ent and drink at my table in my hinjdom, and sit on thrones jtuhjing 
 the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 
 My table. The participation at the royal tahle, a symbol of highest 
 
 dignity. 
 An affectionate allusion to tlie Son of Man, not having a place to lay 
 
 His head. 
 He is now with His disciples, in the guest-ehamhcr of a friendly host. 
 But He speaks of His own Royal table of glory prepared above. 
 He Himself will be Master and Host. We shall eat and drink. . 
 It may refer to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Eev. xi.K. 7-9 ; Matt. 
 
 xxvi. 29. 
 They who " awake in the likeness of Christ, shall be satisfied." Psa. 
 
 xvii. 15. 
 Sit on thrones. The names of twelve apostles, on the twelve founda- 
 tions. Piev. xxi. 14. 
 Judging. Implying authority, always delegated by the Sujpreme Power. 
 A judge of Cajsar, represented the throne of Rome. 
 A judge under Christ in His Church represents the tJirone of Heaven.' 
 Twelve thrones. Matt. xix. 23. Twelve spoken of, despite the apostacy 
 
 of Judas. 
 Twelve tribes. Four times named, Matt. xix. 28 ; Acts xxvi. 7 ; Jas. 
 
 i. 1. 
 Twelve loaves of shew-bread^j^tjced, when only two tribes retiu-ued. Neb. 
 
 X. 33. 
 The ton are romcmbered. Tho Chm'ch must be complete. 
 " Though Israel be not gathered, yet wiU I be glorious." Isa. xlix. 5. 
 
 Opoi'uv. His dnclrines preached by the twelve. Broittu*. Tho apostles sliall witness 
 agalnbtlhouubulieviuj Jews at judgraout. Oauitcr. Literally, assessors with Christ,!
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 431 
 
 Cor. vi. 3. Doddridge, Major. Thoy shall rulo during the Second Advent, Smallridge, 
 Mede. KpiVoi/res. Judging the twelve tribes, shiguline, singulas. Bengcl. SuiSexa. Six 
 from each of the twelve tribes were selected by I>tolemy (B.C. 240) to translate the Hebrew 
 Scriptures into Greek, hence called the Septuagint. Jusephus, Pearce. 
 
 31. IT And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that 
 he may sift you as u-licat : 
 
 The Lord said. From general instruction of the apostles, the Lord 
 
 Ijroceeds to the more special humiliation of Peter. 
 Doubtless spoken before the silent walk to Gethsemane. 
 All offended. Matt. xxvi. 31. All remaining — JuJas just left. 
 "I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall he scattered." Zecb. 
 
 xiii. 7. 
 Scattered in Gethsemane — Gathered in Galilee. Johnx. 4. 
 Simon, Simon. Solemnity and importance. Luke x. 41 ; Acts ix. 4. 
 The enemy would seize upon the natural Simon, as a handle. 
 Christ addresses him only, by this name of his natural birth. 
 Thrice Jesus recurred to this old name, in gentle or severe rebuke. Matt, 
 
 xvii. 25 ; Mark xiv. 37 ; John xxi. 15-17. 
 He had joined in the wicked strife, about pre-eminence. 
 " How can ye believe, who receive honor ?" &c. John. v. 44. 
 Called " Satan," because he stood in the way of the cross to glory. 
 Satan. Luke iv. 2. Desired. Gr. to obtain hij asking. 
 That Peter be delivered to him as was Job. ii. 6. 
 
 By permission, the devil tempts, but works in chains. Jude 6 verse. 
 God gave them over to be sifted. Satan wants all, but Peter especially, 
 
 who vainly contradicted Christ's word, 
 Peter's rashness had betrayed itself, at the washing of feet. 
 His unreasonable self-confidence, rendered particular warning necessary, 
 Herod after killing James, proceeded to take Peter also. Acts xii. 3. 
 Satan having taken Judas, desires to take Peter also. 
 Satan asked leave to tempt Job, he now demands a right. 
 Conflicts are going on in the invisible world, about our poor souIl3. 
 Satan like a night wolf was near the flock, but they knew it not. 
 Few are conscious of his active energy and power. 
 Conqueror of i)a^'id and Peter, and assaulter of Christ, no mean foe. 
 The heart of man has been his yduZy, for nearly six-thousand yea.TtJ. 
 Have you. Not only Simon, but all the disciples. 
 Sift as wheat. Winnow, i.e. most searching trials.
 
 432 SUGGESTIVE coiniEXTAEY [cnAP. xxn. 
 
 God's sieve drives away the chaff, and saves the wheat. 
 
 Satan's sieve saves the chaff, and drives away the wheat. 
 
 In this sifting, Judas proved chaff. 
 
 Sifting is winnotcing, added to terrifying and trying. 
 
 The permitted sifting, does no harm to the wheat of God. ■ 
 
 The sifting not refused him, as the wheat ever stands the test. 
 
 The Lord uses the tempter as a winnowing fan to purge out the chaff. 
 
 Satan is God's sieve holder, and thinks to find all saints chaff. 
 
 The Lord will not suffer one grain of wheat to fall to the earth. Amos ix. 9. 
 
 Simon. 1. Dangerously threatened. 2. Invisibly protected. 3. Power- 
 fully strengthened. 4. Aids his brethren. 
 
 The harassing of saints, shews Satan's malignant intentions. 
 
 But the result through grace, is to purify the soul. 
 
 "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." 1 CoT. 
 X. 12. 
 
 Peace once enjoyed, is no pledge of future safety. Zech. xiii. 7. 
 
 Peter not alienated in affection, but staggered in faith. 
 
 A wonderful revelation of the secrets of the realm of darkness. 
 
 The thoughts in Satan's heart, cherished for three j^ears. 
 
 Satan is a serpent in craft, a lion in assaiilt. 
 
 Soon to be seen, there was chaff enough among the wheat. 
 
 He intends so effectually to scatter, that there can be no gathering. 
 
 The chaff is reserved for bm-ning, but wheat for the gamer. 
 
 You. Emphatic. He desired to ruin all the apostles. 
 
 The most terrible dangers threatened all, imconscious. 
 
 sTn-e Se 6 Kupios, omitted. Tlschendorf, Alford. Warning uttered twice. Meyer, 
 Alford, Oosterzee; three times. Augustine, Greswell ; but once. Newcome, Boblnson. 
 Sai(f at.snpper. Brown ; on His way to Gcthscmane. GreswcU. efTjnjcraTO. Has obtained 
 you, tK denotes success. W. d- fV., Alford. He demanded them on the ground of rij^ht. 
 Stier. Obtained (by asking) you. Broun. Demanded not merely the siftmg, but the 
 apostles themselves. 
 
 u/ioT. The Lord presupposes Peter to he the first of tlio apostles, and that the 
 apostles would stand or fall with hiip. Bengel. So far from this-passage supporting the 
 pro-cmincnoo of Peter, it would rather show ho was in more danger of falling than the 
 rest. Peter, the hand and the heart of the apostolic circle ; Thomas, its head; and .Tohn, 
 its soul. Braunc, Gr. hat^i sxyii/]ht that you should be surrendered to him. Major. Two 
 predictions of the dc'nial. Oosterzee. An allusion to Job's temptation. Euthyniim, 
 WcUita'n, Kuinoel. 
 
 Tou (Tivida-ai, sift, winnoxe, try your fidelity and constancy. W. <i W. The ttrtiu-n. 
 eomparalionis is the tiding Tapdo-creii'. Meyer-
 
 CHAP, XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 433 
 
 32. But I have pratjcdfor thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted 
 strengthen thy brethren. 
 
 But I. Majestically opposes Satan's foil. 
 
 " While Satau was obtaining, I was praying for you." 
 
 Tiie Lord ever retains His own supremacy over His disciples, and His 
 
 authority over Satan. 
 ITo first, shews them the treacherous designs of hcU. 
 'j'iien allows them to view a heaven, in their Saviour's heart. 
 Have prayed, ^\^lo shall describe the i^ower of that prayer! 
 It proves faith is not of man, but the gift of God. Ejah. ii. 8. 
 Peter not aware of his danger, or the Saviour's intercession. . 
 The supplication of mercy, countervails the daring appeal of the accuser. 
 Christ had ah-cady prayed for them, in that mysterious prayer. John 
 
 xvii. 9. 
 God"s gi-aoe never fails, since Christ ever lives to intercede. Heb. vii. 25. 
 His intercession as important as His death, 1800 years ago. 
 For thee. The method of intercession is not stated. 
 Christ's prayer for allbiit Judas, he had no faith. 
 The ruin of Peter, might have earned with it, that of the others. 
 The foremost soldiers, are imperiled more than the rest. 
 Peter's boasted successors have fallen into Satan's sieve. 
 Many a prodigal restored for the sake of the parents' prayers. 
 Aufiii'^tine traced his salvation to his mother Monica. 
 Faith, fail not. Gr. eclipsed. Utter extinction of faith. 
 Faith, the root of the entire Christian character. 
 He did not pray that he might not fall — he needed sifting. 
 But that his faith might not Jail him eventually. 
 He did not pray that ice should be spared the sifting. 
 But that we might not through unbeUef, become chaff. 
 Christ names not his unbelief, so strongly shewn in his denial. 
 This prayer should invigorate oui- failing faith, while in the enemy's 
 
 sieve. 
 Converted. " "^Tien thou dost return in future from thy wanderings." 
 TVhen humbled into self-knowledge of our infirmities, our experience 
 
 becomes a warning to others, of Satan's power. 
 We can detect the voice of the icolf, from that of the shepherd. 
 Ho remembered this word of the Lord, when he wi-ote. 1 Pet. v. 8-10 
 Strengthen. A word thrice used by Peter, in his two eisistles. 2 Pet. 
 
 i. 12 and iii. 17. 
 He obej-ed. Acts ii. 3-4. "Feed my sheep, tend my lambs." John 
 
 xxi. 15.
 
 434 SUGGESTIYE COIHIENTARY [CHAP, XXn. 
 
 God can conTert a fallen brother, into a strcngthener of others. 
 
 Many professors " add nothing," in iutersiews w-ith brethren. Gal. 
 
 ii. 6. 
 They seem to have no Savioiu- to tell of, no grace to report. 
 " "We believe, therefore we speak." 2 Cor. iv. 13. 
 "Answer with meekness." 1 Pet. iii. "Be clothed with humility." 
 
 1 Pet. v. 5. 
 Thy brethjen. He does not say, Sly brethren. 
 They bore a different relation to out Lord from Peter. 
 He hints, they were infected with the same infirmities. 
 
 eKKei-mr). Onr Lord's prayer was heard, though Peter's faith did fail. €k denotes u 
 total extinction, -n-hich Peter's faith did not suffer. AH are speoia'ily prayed lor, John 
 xvii. 9. Total failiu-e of Peter's faith possible. Alford. V^iih. regard to Peter, true, but 
 ■with regard to Christ, impossible, John s. 28. Our Lord's prayer 'was answered always, 
 John xi. 42. Mark ix. 23, It is a thing x'ossible to a believer. " May not utterly forsake 
 thee." Major. Apostate Eome pleads this as a proof that Peter and herself could never 
 fall, while the Churches of Alexandria, Constantinople, and Antioch, have perished. 
 Lapide, Maldonatus. Peter's safety, not honor, especially needed prayer. Li(ihifoot. 
 Eome claims all the Popes to be here included. " Do they need prayer especially because 
 they deny Christ ? " Wordsworth. Infirmity, not infidelity. Quesnel. This might have 
 bolstered him in false security. Brown. Did our Saviour pray for Judas also ? Olshausen. 
 His unbelief shut him out. Stier. 
 
 tri TTOTc. "ttTienever. Bcngel. i-n-ia-Tpixl/as, vicissim, in thy turn. Then God turned. 
 A.V. God in His turn. Fausset. The general N.T. sense is returning to God, as a peni- 
 tent, after sin. .4?/brcZ. Kepent. Theophylact, Beza. Hebrew fonn of speech, "i«r;ica," 
 Acts vii. 42. An en-ioTpo^r), visible to others, the result of an inward /tteTai-oia. Oosterzee. 
 
 o-njpifoi'. Strengthen them again, as I have strengthened thee. Bede, Van Hengel. 
 The modem usage of the term " converted " has no support whatever from this passage. 
 Campbell. Do thou some time or other, convert and strengthen thy brethren. Eisner. 
 A recovery from a faU. Byle. He was converted from an act of sin. Burhitt. ■\^^Jen thoa 
 hast returned back to thy duty. Meyer. Converting thy brethren. Wetstein.. 
 
 83. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to 
 death. 
 
 I am ready. Most unbecomingly, he contradicts his Master. 
 
 Tne old, lofty, but weak sinner, knows not himself. 
 
 " Thy intercession for me is not so necessary, my faith is strong." 
 
 Tncrc is no hypocrisy in tijis vain self-confidence. 
 
 Our Saviour lays the axe at every root of self-glorification.
 
 CHAP. XXir.] ON ST. LUKE. 435 
 
 " lie that trustcth bis own heart, is a fool." Pro. xxviii. 2G. 
 
 Presumption, a true sign of wealmess, always paves the way of Satan. 
 
 Self-complacent boasting, sure token of a speedy falJ. 
 
 To prison. With characteristic forwardness, he boasts an exception. 
 
 Most unfavorable spf'cimen of the dark side of his character. 
 
 To overweening self-sufficiency, he adds an arrogant estimate of his own 
 
 strength, in compariaou with other apostles. Matt. xxvi. 33. 
 Not one of those sank so low as to (levy his Master. 
 Oiu- Lord remembered this boast after His resurrection. John xxi. 17. 
 
 Iiera (tov. Beginning a sentence emphatic. <fivKaKr)v, The voice of a noble and 
 resolute spirit. The warm feeling of love, noble at the moment, as the act itself. 
 Niemeyer. No man is so good as in a moment of glorious inspiration. No man is so 
 wicked as in the -wretched outburst of self-oblivion. Drascke. No self-exaltation is 
 more pardonable than that springing from enthusiasm for the Saviour. Krummacher. 
 
 34. And he iai<t, I tell thee, Pei(r, the Cuck shall not crow this day, be/ore that thou 
 shalt Ihricc deny that thou knowest me. 
 
 I tell thee. The repelled Master, sadly utters a definite prophecy. 
 He foresaw Peter's apostasy in its minutest details. 
 " Wilt thou contradict this also, thou supposed Peter ?" Matt. xvi. 18. 
 Peter. A rock. The only time He used the name in censm-e, not now, 
 
 " Simon, Simon." 
 Cock crow. The cock crow shall awake thee in the deep night, and 
 
 bring thee back to Me. 
 The first cock crowing was soon after midnitjht, the second three o'clock. 
 This day. Jewish day of 21 hours, began and ended at sunset. 
 Thrice. Note the climax, not only fall, hnt forsake his Master. 
 Not only deny having any knowledge of Him, but he will do it thrice, 
 In pe.sisting blindness, and increasing guilt. 
 A remarkable prophecy, fulfilled against all human appearances. 
 That he should deny his Master, the very night of the Lord's Supper. 
 After plain warnings, and such protestations, — three times. 
 Dcnyiny, a formal abjuration of His friendship and authority. 
 He will this very night do all these things. 
 But Peter did not deny, because, the Loixi foretold him. 
 Knowest Me. That thou belougest to Me. 
 It implies a denial of faith in Christ, the Son of God.
 
 43G SUGGESTIVE COMBIENTARY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 For Trplv fj ; ew?. Tisehendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, trfjuejiov. Matt, and JIark's 
 expressions are the same la sense aa Luke's. akixToip. The assertion, cocks not allowed 
 in Jerusalem lias no basis. Liplitfoot, Alford, Andrcirs. Sub (]aUi cantum, coasultor 
 ubi ostia pulsat. Hor. Sat. 1. Homer, Plautus, and Aristophanti allude to these seasons 
 between midnight and morning. Ocrlach. Eqmvalent to before dawn. Lightfoot. 
 
 35. And he said unto them. When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, 
 lacked ye any thing ? And they said. Nothing. 
 
 "When I sent. Hints at mii-aculous superintendence, formerly. 
 
 As Mends parting, love to dwell on happier days of the past. 
 
 Purse. Luke x. 4. Wallet, Tyndale ; without provision, and express 
 
 prohibition to make any. 
 Scrip. Used for food, and pm-se for money. 
 
 Lacked ye ? Superfluity was to the Lord's disciples, too much. 
 He catechises them upon their past 'exiDcrience. Mark viii. 19. 
 The Lord does not ask them concerning the time they were with Him. 
 When I bade you trust no human aid, was it thus ? 
 Mockery, dejection, necessity, self-denial were in that joimiey. 
 But they were never in absolute want, or fatal peril. 
 These preachers of repentance and faith in an unseen kingdom, were no 
 
 {jrumhlers in the service, to be rewarded hereafter. 
 They are now like Paul in tent-making, to work. 1 Cor. iv. 12. 
 They were to claim their legal rights, as Paul before Lysias. Acts 
 
 x.xvi. 25. 
 Nothing. Joyfully, thanldully, sincerely, triumphantly they say, 
 
 " KotJiing !" 
 How imlike those ever complaining, of the want of things, never promised. 
 The Lord has been our Shepherd, we wanted nothing. Psa. xxiii. 1. 
 
 86. Then said he vnto them. But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and like- 
 Kise his scrip : and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 
 
 But. A total change was soon to take place, you must expect want and 
 
 violence. 
 He that hath. Implies that many will have no purse or scrip. 
 There will be something else, still more needful to them. 
 Self-defence, not merely a pressing, but a first necessity. 
 Purse. Not that none will be your friend, but many your enemies.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 437 
 
 From this hour to the Pentecost, they shut themselves up. John, xx 19. 
 
 They are no more to expect miracles, for preservation. 
 
 If they desire bread, they must work for it. 2 Thess. iii. 10. 
 
 If enemies are to be overcome, they must wrestle or fight. 
 
 Looking for success by purse alone, is scIJ'-ri[jliteousncss. 
 
 Looking for victory without the sword, is jyrcsuniptioii. 
 
 Jacob exhausted his skill, in appeasing his brother Esau. 
 
 He then spent the entire night in pr((//er for success. Gen. xxxii. 1-24. 
 
 Sword. The Lord authorizes a sword for defence, but not for assault. 
 
 His disciples in this unfriendly world (at war with their Master), must 
 
 no longer depend on miraculous protection. 
 In times of danger, they must have recourse to the sword. 
 The sword here stands on a level with the purse and the shoes. 
 Manifold provisions for the missionaries' need, are important. 
 The fall of Lyman and Munson among the Battas of Sumatra proves the 
 
 necessity of a sword, amid the ferocity of cannibals. 
 The Lord forbids us from throwing away our lives undefended. 
 Condemning the use of hirman means as " carnal" is fanaticism. 
 Sell. He who has a purse can buy a sword without selling his garment. 
 The very form of expression makes it evident, that no reference- was 
 
 made to that iiigliVs danger. 
 Israel fed by miracle in the desert, must cam their bread in Palestine. 
 Believers may not always expect sirnshine in their path. 
 Ilis miraculous shield, was soon to protect them no more. 
 Instead, He would leave them a legacy of shame in worldly eyes. 
 New scenes and trials, require different methods now. 
 
 oZv. Incident toot place in the -way to Gethsemane. Stier. In the paschal chamber. 
 Andrews, Ehrard, Oosterzee. b jotr; exmv. Not, hath no sword, but hath no money ■with 
 ■which to buy. Bengel. He who hath no PaWavnov. W. & W. Prediction of instant 
 perils. Wctstein, RoscnmuUn: Instead of quarrelling among themselves, better provide 
 against other foes. Lightfoot. Let each buy a sword at any rate. Grotius. He that hath 
 no purse, let him sell his garment, and buy a sword. Stier. 
 
 /jLaxaipav. Those who denounce providing for one's family, collGoting monies for 
 leligious societies, studying for the work of the ministi-y, taking part in civil government, 
 supporting police and civil courts of law, are wiser than their Lord, in theu' own conceit. 
 Footc. A literal sword, in order that the miracle in the garden might occur. Oosterzee. 
 The sword of the Spirit. Olshausen, De Wette, Chrysostom. Eph. vi. 17. Emblematic 
 term, Swier, Theophylact. An intei-polation from verse 38. Pearce. Precaution en- 
 joined against jjerilous times. Major. Sword, a sign of defence against danger. Lightfoot. 
 Weapons of defence in travel. Van Ess, Lange. Disciples misunderstood the Lord.
 
 438 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. X2II. 
 
 Gcrlach. Not so much to use it themselves, as to compel others to keep theirs in their 
 sheaths. Bcngel, Sticr, Couveisation occurred in the supper room. Da Costa, EbrarJ, 
 Oosterzee. 
 
 87. For I say unto you, that this tJiat is written viust yet he aeeomplishcd in mCf 
 And he was reclconcd among the transgressors : for the tilings concerning me have an 
 end. 
 
 Por. Gives the reason of what He had said. 
 
 With Mj'self, the way leads through ignominy and enmity. 
 
 Thence estimate what hatred you may expect from the ■world. 
 
 He first dii'ects us to that complete prophetic history of the cross, Isa. 
 
 liii. 
 The end of My coming cannot be averted by your sword. 
 Christ's coming, had atoning suffering for its end. 
 He yields Himself to the sword, God had summoned. 
 His disciples in cases of necessity, may draw sword against sword. 
 Xs written. Luke i. 63. Often by allusion. He appears to prophesy. 
 
 Isa. liii. 12. 
 Accomplislied. As a wise master-builder, neglects no j^art of tho 
 
 foimdation. 
 Fulfilment of prophecy , and heavenly doctrines rather than miracles, the 
 
 foundation, on which the apostles rested i^roofs of Christianity. 
 This was the thing the Jews persistently denied. 
 
 They did not, would not, accept a solitary jDrediction verified in Jesus. 
 Bo to this day they shut their eyes and ears to any such evidence. 
 Transgressors. This continues the abiding indignity, even to the end 
 Prepare yourselves for danger and enmity, malignant and active. 
 For your Lord must die the death of a malefactor. 
 He avoids stating His death, to be merely an act of self-denial, 
 A vicarious sacrifice is everywhere, the leading thought. 
 An end. His toils and trials were soon to end, tlicirs just to begin. 
 
 Te'Aos. "Whoa this (toOto) comes to pass, because all must come to pass, then tha 
 fulfilment and the event will thereby have an end, Stier. tri, civuccllod. Lachmann, 
 Tischcndorf, Cod. Sinai. Persecution as a heretic, the last, but most useful affliction. 
 Qucsncl. Condenmed by Clement, in tho Unigenitus Bull, 1713.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 439 
 
 38. And they said, Lord, hchohl, here arc two swords. And he said unto them, It is 
 enough. 
 
 Two swords. Excessive zeal to defend Him during this feast. 
 
 Or they Lad brought their weapons from Galilee, as protection. 
 
 The priests and the quiet Essenes, did not then go unarmed. 
 
 He had bid them henceforth, trust to Providence for defence. 
 
 This implies the use of all lawful means, for self-protection. 
 
 It is enough. Not that two swords were enough. 
 
 It implies that they understood the principle He had given. 
 
 This evening's conversation disclosed the Mediator-heart of the great 
 
 Friend of sinners. 
 Henceforth tkey must protect themselves, trusting in God. 
 When government ceases to answer the ends appointed, society resolves 
 
 itself into its original elements. 
 Our Lord fights, by suffefing ; and conquers, by dying. 
 But "if My kingdom were of this world. My servants would fight." John 
 
 xviii. 3G. 
 Ttie Lord's Supper having been closed, " they sang an hymn." Matt. 
 
 xxvi. 30. 
 Then the discourses and prayer recorded, John xv ; xvi ; and xvii. 
 They left devoted Jerusalem, and ueared the Mount of Olives. 
 
 SiSe Svo. Either found them in the room, or brought them. The temporal and 
 spiritual power of Rome, Boniface viii. Maldonatus, Lapide. The Eomanist Stella 
 scouts the idea. Two sacrificial knives. Chrysostom. They took them to sacrifice the 
 Pa:ichal lamb. Euthymiiis. ■ Koadg infested with bands of robbers. Galileans took 
 swords. Grotius, Cyril. This sentence recorded by the Holy Spirit, in order to show how 
 narrow-minded, and enslaved by the letter, the apostles of our Lord as yet were. Words- 
 worth. 
 
 'iKavov i(TTL. A shade of displeasure. Jahn, W. (C- W., Owen. Ironically. Oosterzce. 
 Two-fold meaning. De Wette. Let it be so. Sticr. Enough to show your ignorance. 
 Lange. Two swoi.ds are suilioient. Ohhausen. We need no more. Campbell. They are 
 Kufficient, Syr. and Arab. Ver. Beiigcl. Peter's sword gave occasion for the miracle. Le 
 Chrc. It is the sigh of the Redeemer, hovering like a lamentation over the swords, 
 BcaffiilJs, and camps of Kome, and over all the violence by which men have since 
 Bought to promote His cause. Lange. 
 
 39. 11 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his 
 disciples aho followed him. 
 
 And went. The agony in the garden stands next to Calvary for its 
 viijstcriou.'i solemnitij, among the deep things of God. 1 Cor. ii. 10.
 
 440 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTAKY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 Reader, " The place -wbereon thou standest is holy ground." Ex. iii. 5. 
 
 Master and disciples doubtlessly walked thither in silence. 
 
 Was wont. Oiu- Savioiur's habit was well known to Judas. Luke 
 
 xxi. 37. 
 •lews encamped diu'ing the festival without, for want of room within 
 
 the walls. 
 It shows that the time for avoiding His foes was past. 
 Mount of Olives. Luke xix. 37. His perfect fidelity, keeps the law 
 
 by not going to Bethany. 
 It required all the apostolic band to spend that night in Jerusalem. 
 Holy Mount, happy solitude, consecrated by Jesus. 
 Stiuf) a liymn, Matt. Gr. Jmvinrj hymned, i.e. the Great Hallel. 
 Om- Lord joined in a hj-mn of praise befoi-e going out to Gethsemane. 
 Teaches us that thanksgivings and praises are due to God at all times. 
 In affliction as in health, in adversity as in prosperity, iu life as in death. 
 
 Jesng often prayed, litit nsTer sang. JBenpel. The Lord being sileyit among the 
 eleven singiug, inconceivable. Brown. " Came," midnight. Lichtensteiii. Between 
 eleven and twelve. Grestvell ; nine. Morrison ; eight or nine. Fairbairn. 
 
 40. And when he was at the place, lie said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into 
 temptation. 
 
 The place. Matt, xxvi.36. Gethsemane. Oilpress. 
 Here He awaits the fiercest assaults of Satan before His passion. 
 Gethsemane. Consecrated by Christ's prayer, desecrated by Judas' 
 
 treason. 
 Tradition locates it at the foot of Mount Olives, about J of a mile frcui 
 
 the wall. 
 To the Christian pilgrim it is the most solemn spot on earth. 
 The mind, unable to locate Calvary, feels compelled to find in this garden, 
 
 the scene of the mysterious agonies. 
 The shade of the olive trees invited our Lord's frequent resort. 
 Its inexhaustible associations, arc the offspring of Clirist's agony. 
 "I have trodden the wine press alone." Isa. liii. 3. 
 Disobedience lost the first, obedience won the second garden. 
 The period, was the vernal equinox, during the full moon. 
 The time was the last watch at night, between the hours of 11 and 12.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 441 
 
 Eight olive trees still siirvivo to mark the traditi."uary spot. 
 
 Pliny mentions an olive tree in Athens, IGOO years old. 
 
 J3ove speaks of one tree 24 feet in circumference, and 2000 years old. 
 
 Euscbiits, born a.d. 267, alludes to this spot. 
 
 A fig tree, near Nerbudda in India, is said to be 2500 years old. 
 
 The record of partictdar tribute paid for olive trees near Jcrusaloni 
 
 goes up to G36 a. d. 
 Pray. Luke xi. 1. He took three of His disciples ^Yith Him. 
 "Call upon Me in the time of trouble, I ■will deliver thee." Paa. 1. 15. 
 " Is any afflicted ? let him pray." Jas. v. 13. 
 Job bereaved of his children, Hezekiah threatened, prayed. Job i. 21 ; 
 
 Isa. xxxvii. 15. 
 Enter not. To be tempted, and to enter into temptation, are different 
 
 things. 
 Sinless beings alone, escape entirely the stain of temptation. 
 Temptation. Luke iv. 1-13. While in the flesh, and Satan lives, 
 
 temptations are sure. 
 
 Toirou. Luke never nses the word Gethsemane. Family of Lazama miglit own land 
 there. Gresivell. Foot of Olives. Eusebius, Jerome, Thompson ; doubtful. StanUrj, 
 According to Luke, it would seem the Lord spake these words to all His disciples. Frora 
 Matt, and Mark we leani they were addi-essed particulai-ly to Peter, James, and John. 
 
 41. And he was witlidrawn from them about a stone's cast, and Icneeled doicn, and 
 prayed. 
 
 Withdrawn. Seems to imply something more than mere removal. 
 
 It intimates something of the reluctance of parting. 
 
 With heavy stejjs and visible emotion. He sought retirement. 
 
 There are times when the best company can hardly be borne. 
 
 A stone's cast. Not more than forty or fifty yards. 
 
 Probably the disciples heard the words of His agonizing prayer. 
 
 Kneeled. He fell on His face on the ground. Matt. xxvi. 39 ; Mark 
 
 xiv. 35. 
 He divinely sanctioned the standing posture also. Mark xi. 25. 
 Every knee must bow before His Majesty. Isa. xlv. 23. 
 Prayed. All conflicts of the trusting soul are prayer. 
 " I and the lad will go yonder and worship." Geu. xxii. 5.
 
 442 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XXH, 
 
 Our Lord almost on the same sj^ot, as Priest and Victim. 
 
 He unites Abraham's faith, vrith Isaac's patience. 
 
 The thi-ee assaults of fear now, and three temptations. Luke iv. 1-13. 
 
 a7reo-7ra(707j. No reluctance is imiiliecl. Major. Impelled by a mysterious power, He 
 tore Himself away. P/sdi^or; viiihAm-^. Uoscnmullcr^ Kuinoel. Hebrews, Greeks, and 
 Komans used words in which impetus was Implied, without aHy such idea being involved. 
 " ffHCfZcd," noted earnestness, as the iisual posture was standing Grotius. He took 
 three disciples with Him, in a retired gorge. Alford, ElUcott. The Lord sufficiently near 
 to be heard and seen in the moonlight. Oosterzce, Wordsicorth. 
 
 42. Saying, Father, if thou he icilling, remove this cup from me : nevertheless not my 
 icill, but thine, be done. 
 
 Pather. However trying or awfiil the circumstances, the Lord's faith 
 
 in His divine Father never wavers. 
 An example and encouragement to us in all times of our tribulation. 
 If Thou be ■willing. " If thy glorj% and man's salvation can be 
 
 attained in any other way." 
 " If it be consistent vnth Thy counsel of eternal mercy." 
 Remove. Suffering and dying very strange for a sinless being. 
 Death, to Christ, a total contradiction of His nature. 
 His spirit penetrated the mysterious connection between death, and the 
 
 wrath of God. 
 Impurity of our nature tempted, brings up the sediment of sin. 
 Christ's sinless soul, like the purest water in the crystal vase. 
 Our Lord's inmost life, one of continual trouble of spirit. 
 Extremity of anguish, now reached its titmost limit of endurance. 
 It seemed that more would be death itself. 
 Burden of the world's sin, the only key to these pangs. 
 Consenting to be ''sin for ns," "made a curse for us." '2Cor. v. 21; 
 
 Gal. iii. 13. 
 This interprets the " strong crying and tears " of Ileb. v. 7. 
 Sometimes He speaks as man, and sometimes as God. 
 luiiuite merit of His passion due to this union. 
 Now He veils His divinity, and again reveals it. 
 His humanity comes out clearest in the agony of tiie garden. 
 Cup. Each guest at a feast had a cup — a portion. Psa. xi. C ; Isa. 
 
 li. 17.
 
 OHAP. XXn.] ON ST. LlfKE. 443 
 
 Execution was ancieutly expressed, by sending criminals a poisoned cup 
 
 Ciij) refers to internal, baptism, to external sufferings. 
 
 His severest sufferings, a cup rigorously measured out by Parental Love. 
 
 Not my will. Two natm-es in one person, He said this as man. 
 
 Two natures were uiiited, but two wills were not confounded. 
 
 Such a spirit proves a saint far advanced in the life of God, 
 
 As a man. He naturally and necessarily shrank from pain and death. 
 
 Following our will in preference to God's, becomes sin. 
 
 Here temptation ends, and sin begins. 
 
 Thine be done. Profound emotions speak in broken language. 
 
 He enjoyed perfect assurance of victory, before the hardest trial camo. 
 
 The work of Christ's life, seemed about to be annihilated. 
 
 The bush is burning, yet unconsumed. 
 
 1. Necessity of the sacrifice, the Father did not remove it. 
 
 2. Completeness of it, in the degree of suffering endured. 
 
 3. Crown obtained thus, the priceless fi-uit of His agony. 
 
 The first Grecniander converted, Kajarual, owed Ids conveision to 
 a sermon on this scene. 
 
 irapevnyKtiLv. Not an infinilivus ■pro imperativo (Bengel), but an aposiopesla, strikingly 
 expressing that the request was recalk'd, ahnost before it was quite uttered. Oosterzce. 
 rroTripi.oi'. A portion. Calvin. Special agony. The key to this mysterious enigma, so 
 far as we can judge is, He sank under a sense of God's wi-ath, without sin. Alexander. 
 His sensitive humanity quailed before death; His holy humanity, before the jjowers of 
 darkness ; His loving humanity, before hatred at its fearful climsix. Lange. Our Saviour's 
 sinless body felt pain. Luther. 
 
 43. And ttierc appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 
 
 Appeared. Ministering angels in the darkness of suffering. Psa. 
 
 xxxiv. 7. 
 "He was heard in that He feared," (for his piety) Heb. v. 7; almos'' 
 
 parts the veil of eternity. 
 This heavenly messenger, proves the efficacy of prayer. 
 Hagar — Gen. xxi. 17 ; Daniel — Chap. ix. 23. Cornelius — Acts x. 4. 
 The nature of that Feae, beyond the reach of our mortal mind. 
 " Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me." Psa. Iv. v.
 
 444 SUGGESTIVE C03I3IENTARY [CHAP. XXn. 
 
 Angel. Lute i. 11. In the wilderness, angels ministered unto Him 
 after His first victory. Matt. iv. 11 ; Mark i. 13. 
 
 Here the messenger of heaven appears in the midgt of the conflict. 
 
 Was it a message of assuring love, from the Father ? 
 
 Was it a glance through the futvu-e, of the fruit promised ? Isa. liii. ]1. 
 
 His sinking energies were invigorated by this heavenly minister. 
 
 He was for a little while " made lower than the angels." Heb. ii. 9. 
 
 An object of sympathy. He received comfort from created intelligences. 
 
 He was then actually drinking the cup, His prayers being granted. 
 Heb. V. 7. 
 
 Strengtliening. Probably between the first and second prayer. 
 
 In the wilderness, angels surrounded the Lord also. Mark i. 13. 
 
 Infinite condescension ! receiving aid from one of His creatures. 
 
 The apostle alone alludes to His precious tears. Heb. v. 7. 
 
 Angels' ministry manifests, 1. The depth of His suffering. 2. The great- 
 ness of the Lord. 3. The love of the Father. 
 
 It incites, 1. Humble faith. 2. Unshaken confidence. 3. To aid others 
 
 in suffering. 
 >Ye have here, 1. The Priest kneeling in the sanctuary. 2. The sacrifice 
 constimed. 8. The glory falling upon the sanctuary. 4. Warning 
 voice from the sanctuary. 
 
 The three citps, 1. Temptation. 2. Affliction. 3. Of death. 
 
 God knows hoiu, and when, to send us an angel to aid us. 
 
 And He knows when to send them to punish foes. 
 
 Verses 43, 44 omitted in some of onr oldest MSS-.tut contained in otliera, and in tho 
 most ancient versions. Not found in the Alexandrine and Vatican. It is in Cod. 
 Sinai.^ bracketed by the first hand, and the brackets removed by the second. HanscU. 
 Lachmann brackets it. But the evidence in its favor is so early and weighty, that an 
 apocrj-phal insertion is impossible. Major, Alford; eniorscAhy Justin Martjr, JlippuL, 
 Epipluinius, Chriisustom, Jerome, Wctstein, Jiosenmullcr, Kuijwel, 'I'isclicndorf ; 
 omitted because utterly incomprclicnsiblo. Bengcl. Probably omitted by tho orthodox, 
 who considered this account somcivhat derogatory to the Lord's dignity. No tenable 
 ground for the insertion of these verses in the text, if not origiuaUy in Luke's gospel. 
 Oostcrzee. Angel's visit placed between nrst and second prayer. Meyer, Alford. 
 
 ivi.ax^'^v, with physical strength. IIcssc, A' ford ; a mere bodily aiding. Hoffmann. Jesua 
 received words of consolation and power. Pj'cnninger, Alford. Strengthening to prayer, 
 De Wetle. Not simply exhortation, but iuvigoratiou. Bcngel, Oosterzee. 
 HiltOr] avTti, not dx/jfljj aiiroli. Comforting. Xyndalc,
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 44.5 
 
 44. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly : and his sweat was as it were 
 (treat drops of blood falling down to the ground. 
 
 Being in an agony. Wrestled with death. A mortal agony. 
 
 Satan decisively and vehemently, contended for the world. 
 
 It was the recoil of human nature from the cup of sorrow. 
 
 " He offered prayers with strong crying and tears," Heb. v. 7-9 ; best 
 
 commentary on these words. 
 The soul's actual endurance of the conflict in i^-inning a victory. 
 "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him ; put Him to grief." Isa. liii. 10. 
 His agony was related to the despairing sorrow of the world. 
 As the victory in the wilderness was to its enticing allurements. 
 Tabor and Gethsemane witnessed by Peter, James, and John. 
 The sorrows of the garden, profit more than the heights of Tabor, 
 His sufferings having long burdened him, at last become visible. 
 More earnestly. Somcicliat longer. Tyndale. 
 The same mysterious Being with whom Jacob wrestled. 
 Now in Jacob's nature. He experiences a severer agony. 
 S%yeat. Although a cold night, and He kneeling on cold gi'ound. 
 Drops of blood. Stoical philosophy, boasting its indifference to piiin, 
 
 heathenish. 
 The Gos2iel reveals the tcndercst suscejitibilities to pain. 
 His struggle was an invisible agony of sou'l, as forsaken of God. 
 Christ suffered, as the representative of mankind. Eom. v. 8. 
 Hence its mysterious intensity, seeming to prostrate the .Redeemer. 
 Adam condemned to sweat, but JesiiS" to blood. Gen. iii. 19. 
 Luke a physician, alone mentions this fact, a trait of his profession. 
 Charles IX. of France died of a bloody sweat. Voltaire. 
 Attributed to his excessive fear, or violent passion. 
 It proves the Lord's body to have been no mere phantom. 
 The Lamb of God writhes like a worm, before he can triumph like a Lion. 
 Let no one 7nock at sin and death,- in view of this scene. 
 A serpent's bite in India, caused a sweat of blood. Biodorus Siculus. 
 This was the bite of the old serpent. Gen. iii. 15. 
 He thus undid the curse, by the sweat of His sinless brow. 
 On the morrow, He received the curse in His own flesh. 
 A shuddering nature, and divinely siistained will, in conflict. 
 Levitical economy was everywhere revealed in letters of fire. 
 Without shedding of blood, no remission, key to all this agony. 
 The N.T. economy founded on grace divine. Heb. viii. 12. 
 Ee was made a curse for us ! Language of appalling strength.
 
 446 suGGKSTivE coinrEXTARY [chap. xxn. 
 
 This sweat of agony took place ia a cold night. 
 " By thine unknown sorrows and sufferings." Greek Liturgy. 
 Here our safest eloc[uenco is our silent, adoring love ! 
 Christ's sufferings in Gethsemane. — 
 Manner, 1. Mysterious. 2. Wholly unprecedented. 
 Cause, 1. Treachery. 2. Imminent death. 3. Present temptation. 
 Value, 1. Token of Kedemption. 2. Lesson of holy life. 3. Pledge of 
 Paternal mercy. 
 
 1. The prophetic Eevealer of the depths of man's misery. 
 
 2. The high priestly Espiator of the sins of the world. 
 
 3. The kingly Deliverer from their guilt and curse. 
 
 ayiovia. struggle, faintness, deatli-strtiggle. OUhausen. Only occurs here in the 
 N.T. A distress denoted by the entering a contest {ayav). Bengel. Jesus' cry. — As a 
 beam tested beyond its strength gives way, becanse of the weakness of its nature. 
 Luther. A divine heroism, seeing, but not shrinking from danger. Beeke. 
 
 oilXEL Bpojx^oi. aifj-aTOs- oicrei is to be joined with 6p6fj.poi., not with aijuaros. 6pofi/3oi, 
 clotted drops, from Bpeijiai, i.e. nrj^a.L, to fix, or coa{julaie : real blood. Bengel ; thick, heavy 
 drops, mixed with and colored with blood. Oosterzee ; colored with blood. W. £ W. ; mixed 
 with blood. Lightfoot; actual blood. Pool, Mede, Richter, Doddridje, Wetstcin, Be 
 Wette ; like clots of blood. Theophylact, Euthijmius, Grotius, Scaligcr, Hammond, 
 Maryland; clammy Uroiis. Kitto ; \-iscous. Stuart. The Fatbers, for tbe most pai't, 
 nnderstandit literally as a '^sudor sanguineu.i," so Hilary, Ambrose, Athanasiiis, Jerome, 
 Bernard, Augustin<; ; drops of sweat, mixed and colored with blood. Meyer, Alford. 
 Aristotle speaks of persons in certain diseases pcrspiri?!;; a bloody sweat. In the Medical 
 Gazette for December, 1848, there is an account of a sweat of blood, under circumstauccs 
 of strong terror. It occurred in the case of Norwegian sailors, in a tremendous storm. 
 
 Our Lord showed less heroism than martyrs, if He was only an example of self- 
 Bacrifice. Socrates, PoLycarji, Huss showed more steadfastness. Stier. He desired a 
 deeper degree of suffering. Origen. An ascetic view. Oosterzee. He would avert tho 
 ruin of Jerusalem. Ambrose, Basil, Jerome. He endiired God's wrath for sin. Melatic- 
 than, Bambach. Assaults of hell. Enapp. Not dread, but a part of the passion. Ebrard. 
 Forsaken of the Father. OUhansen. Pain of body, loss of friends, di-ead of death. Meyer 
 A specific agony, not relating to the cross. Lange. The sinless dread of God's wi^ith. 
 Baxter, Alexander. Wrestling with an enraged devil. I/!.7/ii/yot. As a vicarious sufferer, 
 He was treated as If the greatest of sinners. Matthew Hale. If it was God's wrath, an 
 angel could not aid Him. Lightfoot. A sublime model of sCJ-sacrifice does not solve 
 this mystery. Brown. The Eternai. Kedemption of man supplies the only key to this 
 record. 
 
 ini Trjv yrju. Not only on His raiment, but on tho ground, — " propter copiam : o6 
 terra bencdiclionem accepit." Bengal,
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 417 
 
 45. And whcti he rose up from prayer, and ivas come to his disciples, lie found them 
 slrepinrj for soirow. 
 
 Come to His disciples. In the abasement of His liumauity, IIo 
 
 returns between His prayers, to His disciples. 
 He regarded them as some comfort to Him in that fearful hour. 
 But in this great work, the Mediator must be alone. 
 He had asked them " to watch with Him." 
 
 We derive comfort from one watching with us, iu a terrible storm. 
 Even though that iDrcsenco is no real safe-guard. 
 Sleeping. Note the feebleness of the best of the saints. 
 The Redeemer sweating blood, and the disciples sleeping ! 
 It teaches us humility. "Let him that thinketh ho standeth," &c. 
 
 1 Cor. X. 12. 
 The three who slept at the Transfiguration, slept at Gethsemane. 
 Sorrow. Luke alone mentions the cause. Intense grief stupifies. 
 Intense joy or sorrow, soon overcomes human endurance. 
 
 aTTo T7)s XuTTijs. Oil accouiit of, by reason of very sorrow. aTrb here marks an 
 occasion or effect produced by a cause : so in Luke xxi. 26 ; xxiv. 41 ; Acts xii. 14 ; xxiv. 
 11. Such is tho meaning in Heb. v. 7, as in the margin of the A.V., "forlUs piety." 
 ^Yehstefs Syntax. Koi/xtofttVous. Sleeping, Btui«ified with sorrow. Doddridge. Cbiirao- 
 teristic of Lake, a physician. 
 
 46. And said unto them, Why sleep ye ? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. 
 Wliy sleep ye ? "I looked for some to pity, but there was none." 
 
 P..a Ixix. 20. 
 Uis burdened spirit might have been somewhat soothed. 
 But they were broken reeds, " He trode the wine-press alone." Isa. 
 
 Mii. 3. 
 Rise and pray. A standing posture well resists di-owsiness. Luke 
 
 xviii. 11. 
 Lest ye enter. The flesh too weak to stand without grace in tho 
 
 temptation. 
 " It was the hour, and power of darkness." Luke xxii. 53. 
 
 47. H And while he yet spalce, behold a muUitude, and he that was called Judae, (/lie 
 of the twclee, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him, 
 
 Slultitude. Gr. rahhlc or crowd.
 
 448 SUGGESTH'E COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 The sanctuary of prayer, changed into an arena of treachery. 
 
 One of the twelve. Henceforth the traitor is thus branded. 
 
 The Bhame and grief of Christ, but rejoicing of His enemies. 
 
 But "He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light," &c. Psa. 
 xxxvii. 6. 
 
 ""friend. Matt. xxti. 50. A term of relationship, now fearfully dis- 
 honored. 
 
 He had been a co-laborer in the work of Jesus' life. 
 
 "Went before. He met oiir Lord as He entered the garden beyond 
 Cedron. John xviii. 1. 
 
 The traitor may have reached Him before the crowd. 
 
 The Lord between helpless friends, and irreconcilable foes. 
 
 The traitor " was a guide to them that took Jesus." Acts i. 16. 
 
 Kiss Him. Masters generally kissed their pupils, among the ancientt!. 
 
 It vras in the highest degree, an act of daring presumption. 
 
 None of His nearest friends we believe had ever Idssed the Lord. 
 
 The traitor alone with impure lips, dared profane his Maker 1 
 
 This uui^-ecedented act, matched well with his effrontery. 
 
 This kiss upon the cheek of the Holy One of God, was detestable. 
 
 Cur Lord meekly submits to this wicked salutation. 
 
 The kiss of treachery once given, often repeated since. 
 
 77,ooijpxETo> Met our Lord at tlie entrance of the garden. Andrews ; without. Meyer ; 
 front. TJioluclc ; by moonlight, ^//'orcZ. <j>i\ri<ra.i, Luke; KaTft/jiATjirer, Matt, and Mark, 
 riu multumque osculari. To kiss over and over. Xcnophon ii. 6. Ilo embraced Him. 
 Ehrnrd. No sign needed. Andrews. With a devilish spirit, to maintain his consistency. 
 Sticr. The stronger -word only emphasised the fact. Huld Hm/ast, Matt. xsvi. 48. 
 His darkened mind regarded Him as a great magician. Lange. Betrayal preceded the 
 fidling recorded John sviii. 6. Lucke, Olshausen, Tholuck, Ehrard. 
 
 48. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, beiraycst thou the Son of mamcith a kissf 
 
 Judas. That name, '' 2^''<^is<' of ihc Lord," of lovely meaning, for ever. 
 
 branded. 
 Called to be an apostle, with the distinctive name of the " chosen peoijlc." 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 1. The Lord's tranquil presence of mind. 2. His loving gentleness. 
 
 3. His judicial serenity. 
 Eetrayest thou ? Art thou daring enough to carry tliy mockery to 
 
 thie fearful point ?
 
 cnAP. xsn.J ON st. luke. 449 
 
 Tliis sign iudicates tlio most cold-blooded calculation. 
 
 It shows him at once His disciple, and His betrayer. 
 
 The Lord reminds him of all the grace and fellowship he despised. 
 
 All the love manifested, now becomes Coals of fire on his heard. 
 
 It is equivalent to, "I know what this Ijiss signifies." 
 
 The profoundest lamentation of despised love ! 
 
 " Whom seek ye ?" measured the guilt of Judas. 
 
 " Betrayest thou? " rings with sound of impending judgment. 
 
 "With a kiss. In the East, still men kiss each other, after a short 
 
 absence. 
 Practised in apostolic churches. Rom. xvi. 16. 1 Thess. v. 26. 
 The sacred sign of friendship. 
 
 Judas saw his wickedness penetrated, and himself condemned. 
 Each word plunged a sword through his heart. 
 Greek order, " With a kiss, the Soil of man, hctrayest thou?'' 
 Our Lord only showed His meekness, holiness, and majesty. 
 He could not win the wretch, devoted to hell. 
 The traitor's heart remained, as cold as his kiss. 
 Even Moslems mark the place of treason, with a pile of stones. 
 The last words to Judas were heart-appalling enough. 
 They will thunder in his ears through all eternity ! 
 With a kiss ! with such a kiss, a sign of treachery ! 
 This word of the Lord, a condemnation thrown into his face. 
 This question, the last vain thrust at his hard heart. 
 The accompanying glance ! no pen or pencil can give that! 
 He preached to Judas, but gives Peter a look of love. 
 Preaching wasted on Judas, but the lo-ok broiight Peter to tears. 
 An act of lofty sublimity, amid deepest humiliation. 
 
 1. Infinitely gentle, alluding to his ingratitude. 
 
 2. Infinitely severe, taking away the mask. 
 8. Infinitely effectual, Judas despaii's. 
 
 ^iX-i\^aTi, " Whom seek ye ? " John xviii. iv. The kiss was first given, then UiB 
 qnestion, Whom seek ye ? Lampe, Gerlach, Brown. The rebuking voice of Jesus com- 
 pelled Judas to make a hasty retreat, which put the multitude into a sympathetic liight. 
 Laiige. The fright or faUing doubtless a miraculous stroke cf ahnighty Power and 
 insulted Love. He did not give the kiss until after the question, Whom seek ye ? Chnj' 
 sostom, Cyril, Stier. Judas encouraged the multitude ; " Go on, I will show you nothing 
 is to be fcartd." Tischendorf. Omitting the interrogation, it becomes a judicial sout^nce. 
 Krummacher. Invisible tempters, like vipers, gliding, whisperiug through the garden, 
 were cast off with a stroke, and He advanced to meet the bojid. Oostcrgcc.
 
 450 SUGGESTIVE COMSIENTARY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 49. Wlientliey which were about him saio what would follow , they said uniohim, Lord, 
 shall we smite with the su^ord ? 
 
 Lord. Many consult the Lord, and follow their own passions. 
 
 Smite ? Shall we strike at a ventui-e, and drive them hack? 
 
 Magistrates tm-ning tyrants, cease to deserve loyalty. 
 
 Oiu- carnal spirit understands not the divinity of His sufferings. 
 
 Man must not invade God's prerogative. 
 
 In the ease of murderers, society is hound to destroy them. Gen. ix. fi 5 
 
 Eom. xiii. 4. 
 Sword. Not the classical term, hut one used hy Homer. 
 It denoted a knife worn by heroes, for slaying animals. 
 
 Omit uvT(p. Tischcndorf, Alford, 
 
 50. % And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 
 
 Smote. The murderous blow was aimed at the head. 
 
 A new and grievous indignity inflicted on our Lord. 
 
 Por a moment, it disturbs the sacred dignity of His patience. 
 
 It is far easier io fight for Christ, than endure for His sake. 
 
 Crusaders are always more numerous, than viarti/rs. 
 
 Suffering for Christ can he only endured from love to God. 
 
 The first of innumerable wounds by carnal zeal, in the Lord's cause. 
 
 The Lord of the Church often thunders. " Not icith such aids.'" 
 
 The crusaders and the battle-field of Kappel, are examples. 
 
 Suffering and praying, the best weapons for Christ's cause. 
 
 Swords and staves, the chosen weapons of a false Church. 
 
 Servant's name was Malchus, and Peter held the sword. John 
 
 xviii. 10., 
 Even zeal for the Redeemer is sin, if not with knowledge. Eom. x. 2. 
 High priest. Luke i. 5. See Notes. 
 Bight ear. False preachers cut off the cars of the people. 
 They rob them of their willingness to liear the truth. 
 
 Be^ioy. Emblematic of tho priesthood being lioncofovth enslaved. Thcoph>iUct. 
 Jewiak uatiou made judiciaUy deaf. Barradius. Xlio abolitiou o£ tho LcviticiU priest-
 
 CUJJ. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 451 
 
 hood. Major. None of tlio Synopticists say that it was Peter who did the deed : the act 
 did not ledound to his honor, and the account, with the mention of its autlior Ijy name, 
 might have brought Peter into some difficulty. John, however, who did not write his 
 gospel, till alter Peter's death, had no such motive for silence. Oosterzee. 
 
 51. And Jcam ansiucrcd and said, Suffer yc thus far. And he touched his car, (.nd 
 healed him. 
 
 Suffer ye. Suffer them thus far. Geneva. 
 
 Tills sudden ap}>eal to tbe sword, introduces vrratliful confusion. 
 
 He would not bavo them think, they took Him by the sword. 
 
 Much less, that Peter, by it, could defend Him. 
 
 " Let me alone till I heal the wounded man." 
 
 Jehovah bound by i^raycr. "Let me alone that I may destroy them." 
 
 Dcut. ix. 14. 
 It illustrates the depravity of the Hebrews, and the power of prayer. 
 God often permits evil, only to illustrate His grace and power. 
 Healed him. Only miracle of healing, a fresh woimd, caused by 
 
 iHolence, 
 Ujion an enemy who asked no favor, and showed no gi-atitude. 
 The chief priests and captains were desperately depraved, since this 
 
 miracle produced no effect upon them. 
 He illustrates His own word, " Do good to them that hate you." Matt. 
 
 V. 44. 
 Faith was the condition required in all other miracles of healing. 
 The servant may have been compelled to be present. 
 At the same moment He heals the wound, and rebukes the smiter. 
 Often still does He repair wounds, made by rash friends. 
 He proves His power of working miracles had not departed. 
 Thus He provides also, that Peter shall not be punished. 
 Malchus' soul is to be won, rather than his life taken. 
 The last act of i'.iose hands, noxo stretched out to he bound. 
 With this parting ray of kindness, the Sun of Love set in Gefhscmane. 
 He acts with almighty Power, but declines using it for His own 
 
 deliverance. 
 He had endured the kiss, but permits not the sword. 
 His warm love to His foes was but coldly responded to. 
 Jesus /rec in His bonds, His enemies hound in their fi-ccdom.
 
 452 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 tare eu? TovTov, mentioned hy Luke alone. 1. Bear Tvith my disciples. Wliitly, 
 Henry. 2. To restrain the disciples, — " Desist." Calvin, Bcnqcl, Wetslein, Olshausen, 
 Q-rotius, Meyer, RosenmuUer, Kuinoel. 3. To the enemies, — "Permit me to heal it." 
 Barradius, Doddridge, Hammond, Oosterzee. 4. " Let this suffice." Campbell. 5. 
 "Suffer even this." Major. 6. "Excuse their rashness." Lightfoot. 7. "Leave mo 
 alone." Lange. 8. " Suffer them to show their attachment to me." W. £ W, His hands 
 were held, and He says. Suffer, permit me thus far ; i.e. to touch the ear of the wounded 
 person. Alford. Desist no further. Alioli. Enough. Kistemaker. Let them go on thus 
 fai. Luther. Hold hack thus long. iJamfeac/i. He desires His hands free for a miracle. 
 Hess, Stier. 
 
 ida-aTO. Some secret good in the servant, kno-wn only to Jesus, may have been the 
 cause of the cure. Williams. Peter withdrew during the astonishment at the cure. 
 Olshausen. Luke, the physician, adds ical di^djoievos xal auroO. Omitted. Tischendorf, 
 Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 52. Tlien Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the eldem, 
 which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves ? 
 
 Jesus said. Probably spoken while tbey were -binding Him 
 
 Chief priests. Men of rank, not ashamed to act as highwaymen. 
 
 It indicates how important they deemed His apprehension. 
 
 They would thus humble themselves, to be sure of their prey. 
 
 He could not believe Eoman soldiers knew His character. 
 
 Priests came to gratify their curiosity and malice. 
 
 Mob only instruments, proof of their rulers' malice and cowardice. 
 
 The binding of His limbs, the liberation of our souls. 
 
 Captains. Of the temple guards, first placed by Herod the Great. 
 
 Temple. Luke i. 9. Description of edifice and furniture. See Notes. 
 
 Thief. Gr. robber. And requu'ed by the context. 
 
 A touch of human resentment at the indignity offered. 
 
 " Have I ever had anything in common with robbers?" 
 
 Honor wounded, is a deeper injmy than the flesh can receive. 
 
 Christ treated as such, since sinners rob God. Mai. iil 8. 
 
 Swords. "Denotes armed officers. Staves. Armed rubble, with clubs, 
 
 &c. 
 What cowardice for so many to come out to take one unarmed man ! 
 Ir«iocent persons can never appropriute Jesus' words. 
 Joseph's brethren were indeed not spies, but mm-dercrs in spirit. Gon. 
 
 xlii. 31.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 453 
 
 dpxiepcis. Somo were present. Lichtenstein. SciTants sent, masters voluntarily 
 present. £()rarrf, ianije. "Captains;" guaul oSliccis. CamphcU. Belonging to Antonia 
 Fortress. Mcyar. Not of Antonia, but sacerdotal-cbiefs of the several sentries of Priests 
 and Levites, who kept watch and ward in the temple by day and night. Wordsworth. 
 eJcATjAuOaTf. Bcngcl, Tischcndurf, omit the interro^jation point. 
 
 5."?. Whe.n I was .daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against vie: 
 but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. 
 
 Daily. He reminded them of attacks, they had often secretly planned. 
 
 The Lord was silent concerning His miracles performed. 
 
 The many victories gained over their per23lexities and weakness. 
 
 He reproaches them for cowardice, now changed to malice. 
 
 Against me. Me, emphatic, implies violence. I could yield, hut he 
 compelled hy violence, NeveeI 
 
 Your hour. Triumj)hs of evil men and si^u-its, have limits in Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 Satan could not touch Joh, until permitted of God. 
 
 Could not hasten Christ's death, nor prevent His resurrection. Eev. i. 4. 
 
 Their hour was to crucify. His was " to lead captivity captiye." Eph. 
 iv. 8. 
 
 After Stephen was martyred, Saul was converted. 
 
 After Huss was burned, the Eeformation da'mied, 
 
 After Mary's persecution, the Bible spread in England. 
 
 After Christ was taken and crucified, redemption was finished. John 
 xis. 30. 
 
 " At evening time there shall he light." Zech. xiv. 7. 
 
 Two parties are here at work, Satan and the Jews under him. 
 
 " Your Jwur," an hom: longed for, but not given you before." 
 
 The divine permission lies in the hour itself. 
 
 Power. Satan's empne, Judas and his accomplices, subjects. 
 
 Yo have power over Mc, since Satan has power over you. 
 
 They the instruments of the devil, He of Providence. 
 
 The Lord's clearness of mind,, seen amid sm-rounding gloom. 
 
 The long predicted hour of redeeming the fallen race has come. 
 
 At dawn of day Christ rose, at noon He died, at midnirjht was taken. 
 
 His disciples could not watch one hour. His enemies did all night. 
 
 Darkness. Allusion to midnight, Satan's dark empire. 
 
 Those " loving darkness," &c., John iii. 19, under the rule of fiends. 
 
 43
 
 454 SUGGESTIVE COITMENTAKY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 ipa. The hour appointed in the Dirine cotinsels. Meyer, O'^sterzee. Allusion to 
 the brief duration of the power of evil. Neandcr. Such deeds best done at night ; ironical. 
 The time appointed by God, and iniquity has obtained this power. GrotliLX, Wetstein, 
 Kuinoel, Olshausen. The dark hour of night. Jacuii. Discriminates between enemies 
 and Satan. Alford. Favorable moment to encourage cowards. De Wette. Luke, who 
 has exclusively preserved this last saying of the Lord, in the garden, omits, on the other 
 hand, the flight of the disciples, and that of the young man, Mark xiv. 48-52. 
 
 54. IT Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the Idgh priest's house. 
 And Peter followed afar off. 
 
 Took Him. And bound Him. John xviii 12. 
 
 Tlie hcginninrj of His being " reckoned among transgressors." Isa. 
 
 liii. -12. 
 Xed. Him. Far nearer His crown, though a prisoner, than before. 
 Ho surrenders Himself a fiift, tlien a sacrifice. 
 This bound One, is the caiitain of God's host. 
 His fettered hands, tear away the bands of oui death. 
 Higli Px'iest. Probably Caiaphas and Annas used the same residence. 
 
 Matt, xxvi 57 ; John xviii. 13. 
 House. Luke i. 40. Antiquities of oriental buildings. See XoteS. 
 Peter. Knowing his character, we expect him, boldly to stand forth. 
 This eminent apostle shews his strength and weakness. 
 Afar off. They did not seem anxious to arrest the disciples. 
 Followed. Doubtless from true affection, and not of idle curiosity. 
 Peter's fall a beacon to the Cimrch, the record a proof of inspiration. 
 Ko human inventor would have made one of the chief apostles basely, 
 
 three times, deny and desert his Master. 
 The steps of the backsUder gradual. 
 
 1. Self-confidence. Pveady for prison or death. 
 
 2. Indolent neglect of prayer. " I am readj'," says nothing of God. 
 
 3. Indecision. First fought, then fled, then followed afar off. 
 
 4. Bad company. Mingled with the servants of the priests. 
 
 5. Overwhelmed with fear, when discovered by a girl. John xviii. 17 ; 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 71. 
 
 6. Open denial, falsehood and profanity. Matt. xxvi. 74. 
 
 Arrest made at about 10 p.m.; taken to Caiaphas at 11. Jones; \aicr. Andrews. 
 ipXi.tptui<;. Annas. Meyer, Alford, Wordsworth, Caiaphas. Andrews, Oosterzee.
 
 cnAP. XXII.l ON ST. LUKE. 455 
 
 "House ; " palace of Caiaphas, where the denials took place. Lightfoot, Norton, liobinson, 
 Grcs.vcll, Friedlieb, Oosterzee. From the time of being a F.oman province, the right of 
 punishing capitally was taken away from the Jews. This power, an attribute of Roman 
 sovereignty. Dupin. Sanhedrim did not lose the power by neglect. Winer, Friedlieb. 
 Kight continued in ecclesiastical, not in civil cases. Kraft. Had the right, but not on 
 holy time. Augustine. Pilate heard reserved cases, visiting Jerusalem. Ewald, Friedlieb. 
 
 55. And %clien they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down 
 together, Peter sat down among them. 
 
 A fire. Nights in Palestine, especially in spring, often very cold. 
 
 Dwellers in a wann climate, with thin hlood feel the least chill. 
 
 Note Peter's fatal boldness as he rushes in not being sent. 
 
 It wants a proper call, proper weapons, proper courage. 
 
 He warms his hands, but his heart seems to freeze. 
 
 Sky in Palestine for seven months is almost cloudless. 
 
 In Xovcvibcr and December rai'n falls heavily, rarely after that till March. 
 
 The ground is never fi-Dz.en, snow falls in January and February, on the 
 
 m-ountains. 
 If a foot deep it lies but a few days, in the valleys but a few hours. 
 Thunder and lightning are frequent during the winter. 
 The absence of rain for seven months causes the verditre to die. 
 The trees and millet fields alone are green in the fall. 
 The Passover took place in the middle of Nisan or April. 
 House. Qx.liall. Translated paZacc. Matt. xxvi. 3 ; Mark xiv. 54. 
 Among. Alas ! boasting Peter sitting in the seat of the scornful. 
 
 Psa. i. 1. 
 He wished to do better than the others, but fell far lower. 
 
 ai|/avTwv: 7i-6piai/(drT(ui'. Cod. Sinai., Tischendorf. Teter was sitting, JIatt. xxvi. 69, 
 standing by, John xviii. 16. Sometimes one and the other, restless in sin. Oosterzee. 
 avAi)s. High priest's tenure was too fi-ail for a palace ; merely an official residence. Stier. 
 
 56. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked vpon 
 him, and said, This man was aUo with him. 
 
 Certain maid. Gr. generally signifies a slave, maids were usually 
 porters. John xviii. 17.
 
 456 SUGGESTIVE COJJJIENTARY [cHAP. XXII. 
 
 Porter among Greeks and Eomans, a male ; Jews, a female. 
 
 It does not soften Peter's sin, " a certain maid said," &c. 
 
 These are the only females who seem to take part with the enemies of 
 
 our Lord. 
 These only serve to detect Peter, and vindicate Christ's omniscience. 
 Not one female shares openly in the work of persecuting Him. 
 A. heathen wife interceded for His life with the governor. 
 Women bewailed Him when condemned to the cross. 
 Of a wnman He was bom Immcuuiel, God with us. 
 He was anointed by a female for His burial. 
 Women were first at His grave, first at His resurrection. 
 Women ministered to His wants in Galilee. 
 
 Beheld. Favorite word with Luke. A doorkeeper. John xviii. 17. 
 Every enemy however humble, is formidable to one forsaking God. 
 fire. Gr. light, by which Peter was recognized as a disciple. 
 Warm days are often followed by intensely cold nights. 
 " In the day the drought consumed me, frost by night." Gen. xxxi. 40. 
 
 TO 4>u)i is used 69-times in the N.T. ; 67 translated light, as it should have been here. 
 TTvp, verse 55, is the Greek word for fire. Charcoals, John xviii. 18. IV. <C W. TratSi'tr/cT;, 
 All the four Evangelists mention the TTaiSiVxT). Properly a girl, Cut often a maid- 
 servant. Peter did not deceive, as no one had a right to ask him. Pauliis. Kationalists 
 gravely douhting whether sin has in it any guilt, can Bee no turpitude in Peter's denial. 
 
 57. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I knoic him not. 
 
 He denied. A sin of no common magnitude. 
 
 He was a chosen apostle of Christ, witness of his works. 
 
 He had enjoyed greater privileges than all mankind. 
 
 He had just received, under peculiar solemnity, the Lord's Supper. 
 
 He may have just heard the xiv., xv., and xvi. chapters of John. 
 
 Ho had been plainly /orewar/icci of his danger, and ought to have been 
 
 forearmed. 
 Contrast our Lord entering the garden with humhlc ijrayer, and Peter 
 
 rushing into the hall of Pilate, with self-confidence. 
 The love of life, fear of death, obliterate numerous good resolves. 
 I know him not. A quick, cold, vague answer. 1 Cor. x. 12. 
 
 1. In the light of his calling, Peter's denial shows decided guilt, 
 
 2. In the light of liis character — his conduct is in keeping.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LVEiS. 457 
 
 3. In the light of circumstances — his sin is somewhat extenuated. 
 
 4. In the light of conscience — the sentence we must pass, dies on our 
 
 lips— guilty. 
 Peter's denial, an aggravation, his repentance, an alleviation of Christ 'a 
 sufferings. 
 
 Three cUstincI denials. MaeJcnight, Wall, Elsley. Peter's confusion of mind appears 
 in the different accounts. Oostcrzce. yvvai should follow the rei)ly of Peter. Tischr.ndorf, 
 Cod. Sinai, avrbir, omitted by some ancient authorities. Alford; omitted. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 58. And after a little while another saw him, and said. Thou art also of them. And 
 Peter said, 3Ian, Jam not. 
 
 Another. Restless, he approached the door, and foimd it closed. 
 
 I am not. Whilst denying his Master, he is unconsciously denying 
 
 himself. 
 "Whilst denying that he is, he in fact ceases to be a disciple. 
 His very words show the flutter of an agitated guilty mind. 
 Falsehood always self- contradictory, seldom is calm. 
 Underground of all denials, unbelief, the most subtle of all sins. 
 The highest saint a frail creature, apart from divine aid. 
 lie yet has a capacity, almost boundless for doing evil. 
 It was not a premeditated malicious renunciation of his Saviour. 
 But a concealment of his relation, allegiance, discipleship. 
 One sin hardens the heart for another. The com'se of evil is evov 
 
 downward. 
 Combination of falsehood, iugi-atitude, disloyalty and profanity. 
 Peter could not afterward plead he was surprised. 
 
 «Tepos. At the same time as the TraiSiVio;, in Mark. xiv. 69, and theoAAij, Matt. sxvi. 
 71. John xviii. 25 recoaciles the three accounts. Wordsworth.
 
 4.58 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAHY [CHAP. XXII. 
 
 50. /tnd about the space of one liour after another confidently affirmed, sayino. Of 
 a truth this fellow aUo %vas loith him : for he is a Galilaan. 
 
 Ono liour. The shock was not overcome for an hour. 
 
 I'ctcr was hastening out of danger, and went to the gate. 
 
 A space of an hour granted, to a-rouse conscience, in vain, unless the 
 
 Spirit aids. 
 Patience of the Lord, only serves to harden the impenitent. 
 Another. A relative of Malchus. John xviii. 26. 
 Galilean. Luke i. 26. Had he been silent, he would not have been 
 
 recognized. 
 The apostles were styled Galileans by the angels. Acts. i. 11. 
 Galileans spoke rough dialect of the Syriac. 
 
 They could not in-operly pronounce gutturals, and they used " i"/or "s." 
 Their pronunciation v;as broader and flatter, than that of the Jews. 
 
 Wctstein (ad loc.) gives many examples of various provincial dialects of Hebrew. 
 On the peculiarities of the Galilean dialect, and the frequent misunderstandings thence 
 arin'mg, see Friedlicb ; and iJuifor/", in his Chald. and Talmud Lexicon. The pronun- 
 ciation was uncouth and indistinct ; hence the Galileans were not allowed to read aloud 
 in the synagogues. Lanpe. 
 
 60. And Peter said^ Man, I Jsnow not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet 
 spn/iC, the cock crew. 
 Sayest. Idiomatic for meanest. 
 
 Cock crew. Domestic fowls not allowed the Jews by Kabbis. 
 But the Koman masters took them with them, where they went. 
 Roman soldiers in Antouia cared not for Jewish laws. 
 The cock had crowed twice already. Mark. xiv. 72. 
 Warning after warning had jjassed unheeded by. 
 David lived in sin nearly a year before repenting. 2 Sam. xi. 27. 
 The crowing of the cock, should be a daily call to repentance. 
 Yet spake. With terrible oaths and imprecations. Matt, and Mark. 
 
 oiiK oi8o. Some make seven denials. Stroiil; eifiht. Strauss, Pauhts ; nine. Osiandcr, 
 rctei's denial excused by Strauss. Ratioualislic pccpticism and imiuornlity uicct. 
 Owiii^r to the power of darkness. Olaliauacii. " Cock crtw." Firol, 2 a.m.; second, 3 a.m. 
 OrciwcU, Wicseler.
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 459 
 
 61. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of 
 the Lord, how he had said unto him, Be/ore the cock crow, thou, shall deny me thrice. 
 
 The liOrd turned. Mentioned by Luke only, discovering profound 
 
 spiritual insight. 
 Sec the infinite mercy of tlio Lord. 
 
 Just being led to Cuiapbas, wlien the last denial took place. 
 He was surrounded by enemies longing for His blood. 
 He foresaw the outrages of an unjust trial, and painful death. 
 He was suffering for all the world of the redeemed. 
 Yet He did not forget His weak, erring disciple. 
 
 Looked. Gr. with stcadfastne-'is. Implyiug that the Lord remembered. 
 Our Lord had no opportunity of speaking to him. 
 Temples, except the shrines, were divided only by rows of columnfi. 
 Peter could be seen several hundred feet distant. 
 
 1. There is a look of vengeance. 
 
 The three angels ^'looked towards Sodom." Gen. xviii. 16. 
 
 And " the Lord looked on the host of the Egyptains." Ex. xiv. 24. 
 
 2. There is a look of power on the soul, subduing unbelief. 
 
 " The Lord looked upon Gideon, and said, Goin this thy miij lit. '^ Judges 
 vi. 14. 
 
 3. There is a look oljntij. Psa. Ixix. 20. A sermon Peter never forgot. 
 " The Lord looked on their affliction." Ex. iv. 31 ; Deut. xxvi. 7. 
 Peter felt it to be tfie searching Eye of the judgment day. 
 
 If Jesus when & prisoner had a heart so full of gi'ace, what must He have 
 
 now, when on the mediatorial throne.' 
 The Lord's look, the e.riiression, 1. Of kind remembrance. 2. Of inward 
 
 grief. 3 Of blessed consolation. 4. Of a timely hint to depart 
 
 quickly. 
 Christ's faithfulness, 1. Gracious warning. 2. Look of compassion. 3. 
 
 Rousing sign of the crowing cock. 
 The force of the look enhanced by a lifelong intimacy with JesuB. 
 The terrible indignities He was suffering, intensified it. 
 The brevity of the divine record adds to its sublimity. 
 " Let there be light'' in the soul of Peter, and it icas so. 
 The Lord's forgotten divinity, quickly illumined one dark souL 
 Thrice. To the threefold denial, the tlurice repeated question. Jolm 
 
 xxil7. 
 
 tre'iSXeiJ^ev. He had a miraculous knowludgs of all that was passing. When Peter 
 passed, Ke looked upon liim. Some make it an inward transaction. Aiigustini', St'.lla. 
 Court only dividjd from ths Uall of Justieo by a cclounade, Ocstsrzee. According to
 
 4G0 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXH. 
 
 intimationg in Mark and Luke, it is most provable He was taken through the hall in 
 which the servants were warming themselves, to another guard-room, and, indeed, 
 actually at the moment when Peter had just, for the third and last time, denied Him. 
 Lnnge. Denials all took place in the house of Annas. Olshausen, W. (& W. In an open 
 chamber, looking on the Court. Robinson. 
 
 After <{!o!)iT)crai, add o^jxepoi'. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 62. And Peter went out, and leept bitterly. 
 
 "Went out. Into the blaclmess of niglat. JucTas into the blackness of 
 
 despair. 
 The angel of mercy went with him, in the path of sorrow. 
 Wept. 7/is fears, 1. Honoring to Jesus. 2. Eefreshing to himself. 3. 
 
 Significant to us. 
 The bitter tears of Peter, the cast down sUver of Judas, alike honor 
 
 Christ. 
 Weeping bitterly, he waited the dawn of a better mom. 
 It is always a time to weep, because always a time to love. 
 Bitterly. "It is an evil thing and bitter, forsaldug the Lord.'" Jer. 
 
 ii. 19. 
 " The backshder in heart, shall be filled with his own ways." Prov. 
 
 siv. 14. 
 " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job xlii. 6. 
 Kemorse makes man wretched as Cain, Esau, and Judas. 
 Penitence alone can lead them to a Father in heaven, and peace. 
 Peter's fall and repentance indubitable evidence of the authenticity of 
 
 the Gospel. 
 His sin a union of ingratitude, cowardice and falsehood. 
 His pre-eminence among the apostles probably due to his fall, and his 
 
 age. 
 
 iniPaKuiv of Mark xiv. 72, seems to require i/xanof . Fritzsche, Oosterzee. Betook to 
 ■weeping. jBenj/eJ; burst into tears. Stepuifiits. Covering his face. T/icophi/JacJ : he pro- 
 ceeded to weep. Grotius; rushing out to weep. Beza, Eoflecting thereon, &c. Wetstein, 
 Meyer, Alford. 
 
 C3. V And the men that held Jcsiis moclccd him, and smote hini. 
 Mocked. After His first examination, imuoticed by Lake.
 
 CH.\P. XXII.] ON ST. LUKK. 461 
 
 In call this rage of men and hell, His faithful heart was as a dove, with the 
 
 olive Ijranch, high above the floods. 
 Smote. Gr. implies great severity, with blows inflicted. 
 Should Christians hastily resent insults, when the Eedecmer was as a 
 
 Lamb? 
 By a mere act of His will, He might have crushed His foes. 
 Such their malice, the forms of a trial were far too slow for them. 
 Tlie hall of justice, was converted into an arena of brutality. 
 Cowards being no longer afraid, are always ferociously cruel. 
 The treatment of prisoners of war in every age illustrates this. 
 They desired to avenge the repulse received in Gethscmane. 
 His meek submission, measures the infinite dejpth of His love. 
 
 ivinai^ov, wounding with Tiolence. Sipeiv, heating the whole body. Tv-m^iv, striking 
 a part. Bcngel. Jesus -was placed in prison. Sepp. No reason for this supposition. 
 Oosterzce. "Mocked." Council members did not participate. Schleicrmacher. Sepovreg. 
 "Man is half beast, and half devil." Voltaire. Strong testimony of total depravity, from 
 a malignant enemy of the Bible. 
 
 For Tov 'Irjorovy ; avTW. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 64. And when they had blindfolded him, they strucTc him on the face, and asked him, 
 saying. Prophesy, who is it that smote thee .' 
 
 Blindfolded. Soldiers not knowing Him, insult the omniscient Son of 
 
 God. 
 Believers knowing Him, often act, as if Jehovah loas hlindt 
 1. How much He sees. 2. How sublime His silence. 3. How powerfully 
 
 He preaches. 
 Struck Him. The lowest step of Jesus, was nearest to His throne. 
 Who is it ? Many will be desirous of escaping that burning eye. 
 At that day it may be said, Eeadee, '• Thou art the man." 
 " Who smote Thee?" Answer, " I, and my sin." 
 
 trvvToi' avTov TO TTpocTMTTov KaX. Omitted by many ancient authorities: seems to 
 have been a marginal addition, which afterwards crept into the text. Tischendorf, Meyor, 
 Oostersee, Alfordi omitted. Cod. Sinai.
 
 462 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [jKAP. XXH. 
 
 65. And many other things blasphemously spalce they against him. 
 
 Blasphemously. Despite fully. Tyndale. Under all this ■wicked treat- 
 ment our Lord continued silent. 
 
 Four tivies is His silence mentioned before Caiaphas and Herod, twice 
 before Pilate. 
 
 He forbears, when He migbt upbraid ; "wanjs, when He might ciiish. 
 
 Seeing the Holy One of God was blasphemed, let us not fret when our 
 good name is reviled. 
 
 His divinity was eyidently obscured to these wretched men. 
 
 His words were in the despised accents of Galilee. 
 
 At the aspect of the " caipenter's son," no one was ever struck. 
 
 His voice did not flatter, and men cavilled at His speech. 
 
 After all His miracles, common soldiers struck Him with ihevc fists. 
 
 With thorns, scourge, sjnt, gall, spear, nails, they insult Him. 
 
 Only once at Tabor, He partly revealed Himself. Mark is. 15. 
 
 Had they eyes even now they could not, but have known Him. Isa. 
 sliii. 8. 
 
 66. Vi And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and 
 tlie scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying. 
 
 It was day. When taken prisoner — brought at once before Caiaphas. 
 
 Peter's thrice denial, took place after that examination. 
 
 This refers to a second meeting of the Sanhedrim. 
 
 He would not have been mocked before His examination. 
 
 Jews by their Talmud, forbidden to try capital crimes at night. 
 
 Also forbidden to execute the sentence, the same day of trial. 
 
 Both injunctions in Christ's case, were flagrantly violated. 
 
 Elders. Gr. Presbytery. Luke vii. 3. See Notes. 
 
 Priests. Sacerdotal dignitaries have often been persecutors of Christ. 
 
 Scribes. Luke v. 21. Learning unsauctified, oft aims to destroy the 
 
 Church. 
 Prophecy and miracles humbly studied, they might have been saved ! 
 Chief priests. Luke i. 5. See Notes. 
 Led Him. Ho stood before an unjust judge, that we might stand 
 
 before the just judgment of God. 
 
 irpea-pvTcpiov. Presbytery, eldoiship, Luko vii. 3. It seems pi obablo that Lute hero 
 gives an account of a second and formal judgment, held in the morning. Alford. Sanhe-
 
 CHAP. XXII.] ON ST. LUKE. 463 
 
 iTimmothxit once. Poole, Doddridge, Meyer ; twice. Oosterzee, Slier. avviSpiov. Wo 
 must submit to rulers, however unjust. Oosterzee. Bible teaches, rulers, if worthy of 
 death, are to be tried and punished as other felons, Psa. cxlix. 8, 9. Luke alone hero, 
 and in Actsi, gives this name to the Sanhedrim. W. t£ W. A continual sitting from the 
 midnight session. Stier. This Sanhedrim was the fiist complete council. Bengel, Lange, 
 He was now led to the Pretorium. Bynaeus. 
 
 67. Art thou the Christ ? tell us. And he laid unto them. If I tell you, ye will not 
 
 believe : 
 
 Christ. Lulie ii. 11. Anointed. Our Lord's official name. 
 Art thou ? *' We ask Thee most solemnly and authoritatively." 
 Before Caiaphas, they cunningly aim to prove His hlaspheimj. 
 Before Pilate, they try, through policy, to prove His treason. 
 Toll us. Only with malignant desire to destroy Him. 
 Not believe. Depths of Satan, easily penetrated by the Saviour. 
 If ye will not believe My whole life, why believe now ? 
 
 Et. Jif thou art the Christ. j;/or(f. Yu'lgf. ?i!(m. 6 Xpio-rb?. KefeTonce only political. 
 Lange. As all were now i>reseut to hear. DrtMcfcc. eln-w. If I simply tell you, I am the 
 Messiah, ye will not believe it. Kuitioel. 
 
 C8. And If I also ask you, ye will not ansxeer me, nor let me go. 
 
 If I ask you. He hints His right to examine them as a judge. 
 
 If I would prove my Messiahship from the 0. T. 
 
 Jesus argued usually by means of intjerrogations. 
 
 " If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death ?" Jer. 
 
 xxxviii. 15. 
 Argumentation by questions, was usual with Hehreivs and Greeks. 
 liet me go. He knows their foregone conclusions, and they knew- it. 
 
 IpajTrja-ta. If I enquire the kind of Messiah expected, and if I have the signs. 
 Pellic((n. If I require an answer proving my Messiahship. Oill. If I should supplicate. 
 Heyne. A formal protest against their manner of questioning. Alford. (cal and (loi ^ 
 oTToAu'o-TjTe, omitted. Alford, Cod. Sinai., Tischendorf, Meyer. Critically doubtful. 
 Oosterzee.
 
 464 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXH, 
 
 60. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 
 
 Hereafter. Gr. from this point, when ye areuot willing to let Me go. 
 
 An evident allusion to the plain i^rofihecy. Dan. vii. 9-14. 
 
 Tbis was His path to glory, with garments dyed in blood. Isa. Ixiii. 1. 
 
 Son of man. Luke v. 24. The last time, the Lord used this appella- 
 tion of Himself. 
 
 Riglat hand. Liike vi. 6. He quotes Psalm ex. 1. 
 
 He caiTies His point, even with theologians professedly standing on 
 Scrii^ture. 
 
 Christ.'s future glory, as well as past suffering, forms pari of our Christian 
 faith. 
 
 Aiter uvv, add Se. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 70. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of Ood? And he said unto them, To 
 say that I am. 
 
 Art Thou ? Wiliest Thou actually to be the Son of God ? 
 
 Dost Thou, poor vain man ! assert Thyself to be the Son of God ? 
 
 His learned foes, full well saw His reference to Daniel vii. 13. 
 
 Son of man. They understood by this, His claiming to be the Son of 
 
 God. 
 He had only claimed to be the Son of man. 
 He w-as condemned, not for claiming to be Messiah, but for assuming 
 
 the incommunicable attributes of Jehovah. 
 He solemnly confirms their impressions, as the truth. 
 If He was not the Son of God, He must have been an impostor. 
 Ye say. In benevolence and filial reverence. — I am He. 
 He seems first to look round on all the Sanhedrim. 
 He saw their own consciences condcmirinr) them. 
 I am. Mark xiv. 62. He knew well this would cost His life. 
 Life is a debt all believers owe the truth. 
 To sacrifice it to God, is not to lose, but gain it. 
 A form of reluctant admission. Luke xxiii. 3 ; Matt. xxvi. 25 ; Johxi 
 
 xviii. 37. 
 " Ye .vfl//," implies in ancient idiom, " Ye speak the truth.'' 
 His bold confession teaches us never to shun duty in peril.
 
 CIIAP. XXn.] ON ST. LUKE. 465 
 
 The teiTors of enraged men must not seal oiir lipg. Job xxxi 34. 
 Daily opportunities are occurring to speak for Christ. Acts xxvii. 35. 
 "Whoso shall confess Me before men, him -will I confess," &c. Matt. 
 X. 32. 
 
 6 uibs ToO 0COV. The point here involved is tlie identity of Jesus with the Messiah 
 so in Luke iv. 41 ; Mark iii. 11 ; John i. 34-50. la other passages -where vlbs occurs 
 W'itliout the article the point involved is the intrinsic meaning of the expression vibs tou 
 ©eoO. In Matt. iv. 3-6, the challenge is, " If thou claimost relationship of Son to God." 
 " If thou hast extraordinary jiower in virtue of that Divine generation." The enemies of 
 our Lord charged Him with blasphemy, and taunted Him on the cross, with the use of 
 the expression vibsToG ©toC eint. The charge brought against Him was not that He 
 assumed to be the Messiah, but that He professed to be of the same nature with God. 
 John X. 33. Webiter's Syntax. 
 
 Ae'yere, understand opSuis. Major, on, argumentative. Because I am. Donaldson, 
 Ellicott. Does not belong to Ae'yere. Stier. Jewish Sanhedrim believed that the man 
 Jesus, as a prophet, might work miracles ; but claiming Divinitj', He was a blasphemer, 
 end worthy of death. Salvador, a Jew, quoted in Oreenleaf. Jews did not expect the 
 Messiah to be Divine. Luthardt. 
 
 71. And thry said, Wliat need we any further witness f for we ourselves have heard 
 of his own mouth. 
 
 What need ? The Sanhedrim rejecting Jesus undei-went the scntenoe. 
 
 1. Of blindness. 2. Obduracy. 3. Rejection. 
 That is ; " Thou boldest to this, we also to our purpose." 
 With all their malignity, there is also an angry vexation. 
 Ourselves. They give testimony unconsciously against themselves. 
 Have heard. Of Jesus' claiming Divinity, out of His own mouth. 
 This will be their heaviest condemnation in judgment. 
 W^ords of eternal life, they convert into words of eternal death. 
 
 " Witness." The murderers of Farel, the Beformer, used the same words to him. 
 Tho martyr indignantly replied, " Use the words of God, not of Coiaphas." Schmidt.
 
 400 SUGGESTIVE OOMMENTAEY [OHAP. XXm. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AND the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto PiUite. 
 
 Multitude. Chief priests, elders, scribes, captains of the temple. 
 
 Night selected, because Jesus was the Friend of the people. 
 
 Arose. About six o'clock iu the morning. 
 
 They had hurried through a mock trial before the Sanhedrim. 
 
 Judas seeing this, is supposed to have sealed his iniquity. 
 
 They desire a sentence of death, swiftly as possible. 
 
 His renewed avowal of being the Son of God, o^jened the way for Hia 
 
 delivery to Pilate. 
 Lied.. He never went to Court, of His own accord. 
 The Lord in bonds, that He might free the slaves of sin. 
 Defenders of ti-uth, oft martyrs to their loyalty. 
 He was transferred from ecclesiastical, to temporal jurisdiction. 
 Christ's suffering brought into connection with the history of the world. 
 The reins of empire then in the hands of the Romans. 
 Jews would not enter the hated palace of the Gentiles. 
 Hyi^ocrites could find leaven in the Roman Prtetorimn, 
 But could not find murder in their own hearts. 
 The proud Roman bends, Pilate comes out to them. 
 The Sanhedrim thus declared their rejection of the Messiah. 
 From this time Israel's Passover was a vain ceremony. 
 The middle wall fell, as He passed the Gentile threshold. Eph. i. 10. 
 This morning decided the destiny of the Gentile world. 
 As the night (Acts. xvi. 10.) did the spiritual fate of Europe. 
 Pilate. Luke xxiii. 52. His character and relation to Revelation, 
 The sixth procurator of Juda3a, ruled for ten years, 
 liis oUicial residence was Herod's palace in Cicsarea. 
 lie visits Jerusalem to preserve order during the festival. 
 For popularity, ho brought water into Jerusalem with the temple funds. 
 lie first brought Ctusar's eL'litiics into Jerusalem at night.
 
 CHAP. XXm.] ON ST. LUKK. i67 
 
 Jews' boltl protest at Ca5sarea, compellccl him to remove tliem. 
 
 Multitudes of Jews resisting it, were inhumanly slain. 
 
 An embassy to Tiberius, forced him to remove them. 
 
 He dedicated gilded shields with inscriptions in the palace. 
 
 Vitellius governor of Syria, on complaint of Samaritans, sent him to 
 
 Eome for trial. 
 Tiberius being dead, Caligula banished Pilate to Vienne on the Rhone. 
 Tradition says h'e committed suicide on account of his misfortunes. 
 His guilt in delivering Jesus, resulted from weakness. 
 Clemency not generally a virtue of the Roman Governors. 
 He was unjust, cruel, sanguinary, obstinate, impetuous. 
 Stern, but not relentless, a Roman " man of the tvorld." 
 Shrewd and world-Worn, prompt and practical. 
 Haughtily jus.t, yet selfish and cowardly. 
 Able to see the right, but no moral strength to do it. 
 43 years before Jerusalem was destroyed, the Bomans took from the 
 
 Sanhedrim, the jurisdiction of Ufa and death. 
 
 IltAoToi'. "The author of that narao (or sect) Christian, was Christ, who was 
 capitally punislicil, in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius Pilate." Tacitus, Ann. xv. 44. 
 Pilate made an oflicial report of his condemnation of Jesus. Acts of Pilate. Not genuine. 
 Juitin Martur, TertuUian, Chrysostom, Epiphanius. Winer and Lardner endorse the 
 existence of the original Acta Pilati. Pilate committed suicide. Eusehius. Tradition 
 sent him to dwell on J\Ions Pilatun, a lofty mountain in Switzerland, near the lake 
 Lucerne. Being driven by fierce remorse, he cast himself in the lake, and voluntarily 
 perished. Smith. 
 
 ■qyayov. Thrust Him within the portals. Krummaclier. Judicial proceedings before 
 Pilate, at the palace. Lightfoot. Herod, in Antonia. Meyer, Fiiedlieb, .ilford. Herod's 
 palace. Mount Zion, was the Judgment Hall. Winer, Greswell, Andrews. Jews nureiUiug 
 to enter, Pilate goes out. Andrews. Arrival at 5 a.m. Jones; an hour earlier. Ewald. 
 
 2. And they began to accuse him, saying. We found this follow perverting the nation, 
 and forbidding to give tribute to Ctesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. 
 
 To accuse. Tertullus accused the apostle Paul. Acts xsiv. 1. 
 The judges themselves strangely, became the false witnesses. John 
 viii. 44.
 
 468 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXUI. 
 
 False •witnesses and slander, t^ivo favorite -weapons of Satan. Psa. 
 
 XXXY. 11. 
 Wlien be cannot stop tlie career of good men, he blackens their character. 
 
 1 Kings xviii. 17. 
 Our Saviour was called gluttonous., and the apostles, pestilent. Liake 
 
 vii. 34 ; John viii. 48 ; Acts xxiv. 5. 
 We found. A judicial tei-m, i.e. having investigated t^e case carefully. 
 This fello^w. With audible contempt — "fcUoio," not in the Greek. 
 He so seized upon the people, the scribes could not get a hearing. 
 His feeding the crowd in the -wilderness, shut their granaries. 
 He drove out devils, au exorcism -whioh destroyed their infli-ieuce. 
 Per-verting'. This charge, a direct falsehood. No such matter had 
 
 been before the Sanhedrim. 
 They here pretend a previous trial and condemnation. 
 They knew Pilate's judgment -would be most severe on this point. 
 They had pretended to have convicted Him of blasphemj-. 
 But they knew well, this would avail little with Pilate. 
 Slanderers of the righteous inexhaustible, but impotent. 
 Tlie nation. Like genuine demagogues, they are loud for the people. 
 Porbidding-. Nothing could be more intolerably hateful to the 
 
 Eomans than this truth. 
 The gravest charge, and credible against the Galileans. 
 They accuse Him of doing what they themselves did, and what Ho 
 
 forbade them to do. 
 He had directly enjoined paying tribute. 
 Pilate knew, that Jesus would have been no such object of hatred to tho 
 
 Sanhedrim, if guilty of that crime. 
 A rebel against Caisar, would have been a hero, with the Jews. 
 Tribute. They lately tried to array Him against Cassar. Ijuke xx. 22. 
 Now they arraign Him, because He is not for C;Bsar. 
 Such bold slander should raise a blush knowing what He had said, 
 
 recorded Luke xx. 25. 
 They are silent as to Hi-s triumphal entry into Jerasalem. 
 They say nothing of His cleansing the temple. 
 They suppress all tho "Woe ! woes !" denounced against them. 
 Tlicy allude to none of His mighty miracles of love and power. 
 Caesar. Tiberius Claudius Drusus, 2nd Emperor, step-son of Augiistns. 
 
 Luke iii. 1. 
 Tlieir strong bond to Crosar, was hatred to Christ. 
 Christ. Luke ix. 20. See Notes. 
 King. By this term, they utter a double calumny against Him.
 
 CHAP. x:s:iii.] ON st. lttke. 469 
 
 evpo/ncr. A forensic term, denoting conviction after legal trial. As the Jews knew 
 that the charge of blasphemy would avail little with Pilate, they charge Jesus with 
 insurrection, and artfully mention Galileo, knowing how strongly Pilate was prejudiced 
 against the Galileans. Probably they wished Pilate to infer that Jesus was connected 
 with Judas of Galileo. W. eO W. • 
 
 After TO eOi'os, nid-qixoiv. Tischendorf, Meyer, Cod. Sinai. tOi/os. Jews and Gentiles. 
 Xao9. Jews alone. The former hi a genealogical, the latter in a politico-theological 
 Bense, John xi. 50, Bengel. 
 
 ij)6povs. Tribute paid to a foreign power, levied by direct taxation on property and 
 person, for which purpose the airoypaipri or xTJi'tros was taken, which contained an enumo- 
 riition of the people, and valuation of property. Webster's Syntax, 
 
 8. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he unswereil 
 him and said, Thou saycst it. 
 
 Pilate. Saw Him boxtnd, but standing in silent dignity. 
 
 Hg probably knew notliing of Jesus by sight. 
 
 He might know of Him, as celebrated for His miracles and goodness. 
 
 He despises their hypocrisy, prctcndwg loyalty to Coasar. 
 
 Asked, This was privately done in the Prastorium. 
 
 King of the Jews. Gr. Thou art (then) King of the Jnos (sarcastically 
 
 said). 
 Weak and exhausted by conflict and seizure, His exalted innocence 
 
 doubtlessly rendered His aspect noble. 
 Never before had a judge such a prisoner before him. 
 Sayest. " I am, but not a rebel against Cajsar." 
 Greeks having no one word, used thus to say " Yes." 
 A Hebraistic mode of strongly affirming any thing. 
 
 Jesus before Pontius Pilate, witnessed a good confession. 1 Tim. vi. 13. 
 He shrinks from no investigation, but admits the point. 
 It seemed to Pilate, the fixed idea of an enthusiast. 
 His proud sceptical mind could not gain a single glance at The Messiah. 
 
 emjpunjo-ei'. Jesus' silence hints to Pilate, He would speak to him alone. Hesa. Ro 
 took a few Jews into the PriEtorium. Lange. The Lord may have narrated the facts after 
 His resurrection. Slier. ^acriAcus. Spoken mockingly. Luther. Examination of Annas, 
 idle ; Caiaphas, wicked ; of Pilate, extorted. Draske. 20 At'yeis. The Greeks liave no 
 corresponding word to '' Yes." Campbell.
 
 470 SUGGESTH^ COMMENTARY [CUAP. XXIII. 
 
 4. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 
 
 Priests. Character, history, &c. Luke i. 5. See Notes. 
 
 I find no faiilt. Their bold charges and impertinent demands, are 
 
 quietly rebuked. 
 Pilate has been i^roverbially and often censured as an inhuman tp-ant. 
 But now, either he is restrained by God, or is become humane. 
 The public and private innocence of Jesus, must be vindicated. 
 The charges of the venerable Sanhedrim are laid aside. 
 Pilate had heard — " My kingdom is not of this world." John xviii. 36. 
 He saw Christ's kingship would not injure Ciesar. 
 He saw Him deserted, even by His own disciples. 
 Three times he avouched our Lord's faultless innocence. 
 Once h"e took water and washed his hands, saying, " I am rimocent," &c. 
 
 Matt, xxvii. 24. 
 He saw the truth, but He would not acknowledge it. 
 Heathen are not the only ones loving the praise of men, more than that 
 
 of Gad. 
 The dazzling light of the Lord's innocence is testified to by Pilate. 
 It shines more brightly, contrasted with the Sanhedrim's duplicity. 
 He was a Lamb without spot, holy, harmless, undefiled. 1 Pet. i. 19 ; 
 
 Heb. ix. 14; vii. 26. 
 His sinlessness, connected with His atoning virtue. Ex. xii. 5. 
 It is thought Pilate was awed by the Peesencb of the Lobd. 
 
 oiTiov. Pilate, after the public examination related by all tbe Synopticists, entered 
 npon the private one, -which John alone haa preserved, and pronounced, in consequence, 
 that declaration of Christ's innocence related by Luke, chap, xxiii. 4, and John, chap, 
 sviii. 38. In the private discussion between Pilate and Jesus, John xviii. 33-37, the pre- 
 ceding accusation, Luke xxiii. 2, is tacitly imphed. Oosterzee. 
 
 B. And they wrro the more fierce, sa;iin[t. Tie stirreth up the people, teaching through- 
 out all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. 
 
 Fierce. Gr. they strengthened, redoubled the charge. 
 The declaration of Pilate did not answer their expectation. 
 The ferocious leaders fear their victim will escape. 
 Stirreth. up. Gr. incessanthj occupied in utirriiig up.
 
 CHAP. XXin.] ON ST. LUKE. 471 
 
 Judaea. Luke i. 5. Galilee. Tnis place is maliciously selected. 
 Pilate despised the Galileans, for their frequeut civil disturbances. 
 
 Luke xiii. 1. 
 They give Pilate a loop-hole to escape, coudomning Him. 
 Tliis place. He had already penetrated even to Jerusalem. 
 
 intaxyov. Invalescebant. FuJj;. ; make strong, ■uoci/'crate. Sj/nac- Pilate'n motion 
 to get lUl of trouble. Meyer. To get Herod's favorable opinion. Kwald ; or learn more 
 of this strange case. Oosterzee. koX before o.p^afiivo<;. Tischendorf. 
 
 6. When Pilate heard of Oalilee, he asked whether the man were a Oalilaan. 
 
 7. And as soon as he kneio that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to 
 Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 
 
 Herod's jurisdiction. Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perrea. 
 
 Our Saviour as a Galilean, belonged to his jurisdiction. 
 
 Pilate seemed to wish for a reconciliation with Herod. 
 
 Sent Him. Some suppose he did this to rid himself of responsibility. 
 
 Others think he hoped to receive an opinion favorable to the accused. 
 
 Or perhaps he desired more information. 
 
 At the same time, whatever his motive, he showed a politic courtesy to 
 
 Herod. 
 Herod.. An Idumean, and hence descended from Abraham. 
 A descendant of Esau, confronts a descendant of Jacob. 
 He had slain the forerunner, and is about to share in the Messiah's death. 
 The great, have the least opportunity of knowing the things of God. 
 The Gospel in its first propagation, owes no debt to potentates. 
 At Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. To attend the Passover. Dwelt in a 
 
 palace of the Asmoncans. 
 
 ava. Force of "ttp,"tlie highest part of the city,. Each monnt in the city is ol 
 diflerent height, Zion being the highest. Pilate occupied Fortress Antonla ; Herod, his 
 father's palace. Andrews. Both the same palace. Lch<eHstein. It was a regular pi-actice 
 •with the Romans, ioremit a criminal to the ruler or judge of the district in which his 
 crime was alleged to have been committed. Grotius. Luke alone relates this circum- 
 stance, as well <^a the massacre of the Galileans, in the temple, by Pilate, chap. xiii. 1. 
 
 ir. d- ir.
 
 472 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP, XXm. 
 
 8. % And when Herod saw Jcsns, he was exceedinrj glad : for he toas d/isirous to see 
 him of a long Beason, because he had heard many things of him ; and he hoped to 
 have seen some miracle done by him. 
 
 Herod. Antipas, the murderer of John. Luke iii. 1. 
 
 His father had built a great palace in upper Jerusalem. 
 
 One apartment was called Cassar's, another Agi-ippa's. 
 
 Mark (xv. 16) calls it the Prffitorium. 
 
 Saw JeStis. He may hare heard much from Chuza his steward. ' 
 
 Chuza's %Yife Joanna was one of Christ's discii^les. Luke viii. 3. 
 
 He was glad. He once trembled at the fame of Jesus's miracles. 
 
 This arrow of conscience now blunted, he coiUd afterwards deride Him. 
 
 He expected Jesus to entertain him, just as a powerful magician. 
 
 Herod was a sensual man, but his conscience was not at rest. 
 
 Our Lord's fame, as the Wonder-worker of Galilee, had reached the 
 
 Coui-t. 
 The rumom's of His miracles, made Herod restless. 
 Herod's atmosphere one of flattery, it was seldom he heard the truth. 
 He feared to hear the truth, yet could not but desire to hear. Job i. 6. * 
 Storms of lust, or voice of conscience, gave him no peace. 
 Desirous. He was satiated with the hollow pleasm-es of earth. 
 He coveted even the awful presence of the Wonder-worker of Gahlee, if 
 
 change could break the intolerable ennui. 
 Splendor of wealth and office, oft cover an aching heart. 
 They carry too heavy weights in the race for eternal hfe. Heb. xii. 1, 
 Their case is the camel entering the needle's eye. Matt. xix. 24. 
 Miracle. He saw the greatest miracle of love ever wrought. 
 The Lamb of God exposed to depths of shame, yet silent! 
 The resources of the Lord were infinite, but none to waste on sueh a 
 
 creature as Herod. 
 
 rroXAa omitted. Grieshach, Tischcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. The supposition tliat 
 it was inserted, aaeriore manu, to strongtlieu the text, is ju'obable. Oosterzee. 
 
 9. Then he questioned with him in many words ; but he ansrccrcd him nothing. 
 (iuGstioned. Many unprofitable questions, save the one needful. 
 Nothing. A serious reply would only have excited mockery. 
 Christ never hears, when mere curiosity seeks Him.
 
 CHAP, XXm.] ON ST. LUKE. 478 
 
 Herod had listened to Joliu the Baiitist preaching. 
 
 Ho wanted a heart to live, not new knowledge of the truth. 
 
 The time is coming, when the Lord will no more answer opponents. 
 
 Herod a flippant, licentious mocker, was not worthy of an answer. 
 
 Jciits before Herod. 1. An object of indifference. 2. Of vain curiosity. 
 
 3. Of slander. 4. Of mockery. 5. Of worldly policy. 
 Note 1. The despicable servility of Pilate. 2. The mean le\ity of Herod. 
 
 3. The deceitful malice of tJie priests. 
 Silence, instruction to some, a refuge from vulgar intrusiveness. 
 
 10. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 
 
 Chief priests. Luke i. 5. For three years, they had tracked His 
 
 steps. 
 Malignant fanaticism, knows neither rest, nor mercy. 
 Pilate had commanded them also to go to Herod. Ver. 15. 
 Priests accuse through hatred, soldiers mock through contempt. 
 Ungodly teachers, the most irreconcilable enemies of Christ. 
 Scribes. Luke v. 21. See Notes. Stood, were standing, after having 
 
 brought Him in. 
 Vehemently accused — Of worldly kingship and of blasphemy. 
 Herod being a Jew, was able to appreciate the latter. 
 TJnsanctified zeal of priests, makes the bitterest persecutors. 
 Courtiers indifferent, are less cruel enemies of the Church. 
 Spiritual pride hath deeper enmity, than worldly levity. 
 Haller before Voltaire, vindicated Mj ii'ust in the Saviour. 
 Every true disciple will have his Pilate or Herod. 
 
 evToi'w?. straining every nerve. JViJMset; acriter. IFoftI ; cum contentione. FaZc%' 
 ner; oonstanter. Vulgate. 
 
 11. And Herod with his men of war set him at nouoht, and mocked him, a-iul 
 arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 
 
 Herod. Luke iii. 1. What could a glance of the Searcher of hearts 
 
 reveal in such a soul as Herod's.' 
 He saw the hands stained with John's blood, caressing Himself.
 
 474 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Men of war. The body-guard in attendance upon Herod. 
 
 Mocking courtiers, and accusing priests harass Him. 
 
 He miglit have surprised the one, and confounded the other. 
 
 The levity of the court, contrasted with our Lord's seriousness. 
 
 Upper chisses often patronize religion to break the intolei'able ennui of 
 
 a life of pleasure. 
 Set at nought. Great disappointment, because no miracles were 
 
 wrought. 
 Same king and courtiers, alike disappointed if a theatrical shoiv had failed. 
 He esteemed our Lord's claim as triiiing, and as one not to be feared. 
 The Holy One was tossed like a ball, from Pilate to Herod. 
 He was silent, wrought no miracle to dash these bold men ! 
 Mocked. Eevenge of wounded pride, and hence the peculiar form 
 
 adopted. 
 Herod may have regarded Christ as a foolish fanatic. 
 If so, he intended to ridicule His pretentions as a lung. Psa. xxii. 6. 
 Arrayed. They dreamed that in stripping the Lord of His vestments 
 
 they divested Him of all claim, to be a Sovereign. 
 Gorgeous robe. Luke xii. 27. A royal vestment, probably such as he 
 
 hi^mself wore, dazzling white. 
 The soldiers striiDping Him of this, clothed Him in a purjDle military 
 
 cloak. Mark xv. 17. 
 Pilate a Pioman clothed Him in purple, the di-ess of the nobility. 
 Herod a Jew clothed Him in reliite, for the same reason. 
 His white robe prophetic of His royal inauguration. Luke ix. 29. 
 High priest of the Old and New Covenant was clothed in white on the 
 
 great day of atonement. 
 An intended insult, a real, but unconscious honor. 
 Pilate wrote the inscription as an insult to His claims. 
 But God has made it a truth to Eternity. 
 Herod being greatly disappointed, vainly seeks revenge. 
 A miracle of mercy, that all these wretched men did not share the doom of 
 
 other mockers of saints. 2 Kings ii. 24. 
 Sent. Kefusing to release the Lord ho becomes partalcer of Pilate's 
 
 guilt. 
 "Against Thy holy child Jesus, both Herod and Pontius Pilate." 
 
 Acts iv. 27. 
 To Pilate. Herod thus pronounced Jesus innocent. 
 " He was a Lamb witho^it blemish and without spot." 1 Pet. i. 19. 
 The elder Herod flew before conscience, when no man pursued. 
 The younger was reckless amid the most fearful perils.
 
 CHAP, XXIU.] ON ST. LUKE. 475 
 
 iaOriTa Xa^Kpdv. Not exactly of purple, cnccineam I'cstem, ■which tho ■word does not 
 express, hut of dazzling ■\\hite. Oosterzce. Roman cinuUdiitef -wore white gaiTuenta : 
 perhaps to distinguish Ilim as a candidate for somo post of honor. Lnnpf, Kuinoel ; 
 or to characterize Ilim as a king, by enveloping Him in a robe similar to that in which 
 generals marched to battle. De Wctte, Metjcr, Frietllieb. Scarlet. Wakefield, who quotes 
 Horace, riihro ubi cocco. Shining kingly robo. EUicott. The mantle, a pallium dj-ed 
 with cochineal, ironicnUy representing royalty. Lange. Shining robe.. Campbell, Arabic 
 V; Bright, ilitp/ifJ, Woll' ; White. Vulgate. J?nv\-t\o. Syriac V. David makes the battio 
 field u'Mte with the robes of the slain princes, Psa. Ixviii. 14. Mackiiiijltt, EUley. Angels' 
 robes white, and Christ's, on Tabor. Contrary to Herod'a thoughts, His white garment 
 ■was prophetic of Ilis dazzling coronation robe. Slier. 
 
 12. IT And the same day niatc and Herod were made friends together : forhifore tliry 
 were at enmity between tltcmselves. 
 
 Pilate. Luke iii. 1. He seems to have liacT no fear of the power of 
 
 Christ. 
 Herod. Luke iii. 1. He and Pilate despised, but did not hate, Christ- 
 Friends. Heathenism and Judaism, /('ret united against Christ. 
 Envious, cruel, ambitious, they yet agree against Christ. 
 Their reconciliation is moj-e notable than their enmity. 
 Pharisees and Sadducees, irreconcilably opposed to each other. 
 But agree to despise, persecute, and destroy the Eedeemer. 
 Romanists and Socinians, agree only to reject Christ's Gospel. 
 Infidels and idolaters, strangely join to resist Jesus' reign. 
 The Frojiigate and the Monk, imite to oppose the Saviour. 
 All anti-scriptural conflieting sects Joire against God. Psa. ii. 2. 
 All hato each other viuch, but hate Christ more. 
 "While the depraved heart remains, " Tliis Waif^ will be " spoken against." 
 
 Acts xxviii. 22. 
 Christ's " chvsen" are hated, becausa He chooses them. John xv. 19. 
 Peter alludes to this union of ■wicked men against the Lord. Acts iv. 27. 
 This ancient history of our Lord's passion always a modern one, the past 
 
 is but a mirror of the present. 
 
 <pi\oi. The reason of this emnity is unknown : perhaps the occarrence about the 
 Galileans, chap. siii. 1. Oosterzee. The present feeling of Pilate was anything but hostile 
 to Christ, and Herod thought Him beneath his judicial notice. Alford. The comment of 
 the Holy Ghost, Acts iv. 23-30, outweighs all human judgments, and endoraes the 
 received lesson of tliis reconciliation of unprincipled and cunning rulers. Stier. Luke
 
 476 SUGGESTI^'E COHirENTAEY [cHAP. XXIII. 
 
 gathers all testimonies of Ills innocence. Baur. The preposition ixcto. implies mutual 
 action, interest, feeling, and is used after -words implying accord or discord, Eom. xii. 18; 
 ■Rev. ii. 16. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 13. IT And Pilate, when he had called together the chiff priests and the rulers and the 
 people, 
 
 14. Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth Vie 
 pefl2>le : and, behold, I, having examined him before you, liave found no fault in this 
 man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 
 
 People. Pilate not satisfied to communicate his intention to the 
 
 Sanhedrim, merely, called together the multitude. 
 Perverteth. A similar charge has been often brought against His 
 
 followers. 
 Examined. Gr. Judicial term, examined hy questioning. 
 I have. Contrast ■with, ■whatever you may have found. 
 He had passed under the scrutiny of enemies, the most fierce. 
 But Pilate was unprejudiced, and impartial, compared with the JewB. 
 Before you. That is, carefully and in good earnest. 
 Found no. Thus he refutes their " We found, ''^ verse 2. 
 No legal grounds of accusation or punishment are found. 
 No fault. Our Lord ■was about to die for the sins of men. 
 He was formerly prouoimced guiltless, by those who woitld dare to speak 
 
 the truth. 
 Our second Adam, with " clean hands," could enter, &c. Psa. xxiv. 4. 
 Pilate, Herod, Pilate's wife, Judas, the Thief on the cross, the Centurion, 
 
 ALL WIIXESS TO HiS INNOCENCE ! 
 
 15. No, nor yet Herod: for I sent youJ.o him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death U 
 done unto him. 
 
 Sent you. They were compelled to be present as witnesses. 
 Unto Him. Gr. NotJiing worthy of death leas been done by Ilim, i.e. 
 in the estimation of Herod. 
 
 avTw. Nothing done by Ilim. Major, Alford, Pearce. Unto Him. Vulg., Erasmus, 
 irttrpaytiivov avTw. lias been done by Him, i.e. by Jesus. The dativo expresses tho 
 instnimcnt, and hence tho agent, even -with passive verba, ■where ■we regularly find tho 
 genitive with vn-d, Luke x:uv. J35 ; Acta vii-. 12 ; ivi. 9 ; Matt. v. 21. Wehstcr'e Syntax.
 
 CHAP. XXIU.J ON ST. LUKE. <t77 
 
 16. I will therefore chastise him, and release hina. 
 
 Chastise. Gr. by scourging, a relic of a barbaric age. 
 
 Whcu witnesses were wanting, tlio suspected was scourged, to compel 
 
 him to testify against himself. 
 Now no man in England or America can be convicted on his own testimony, 
 
 other proofs must corroborate it. 
 The Bible has ameliorated the laws of the civilized world. 
 Pilate intended this as a slight correction for His assuming the Kingly 
 
 o£5ce. 
 It was also intended as a degradation of his victim. 
 Here Pilate began to concede too much to reckless foes. 
 If Jesus was innocent, why correct Him at all ? 
 Seeing their advantage, they seize it and press it from that momout 
 
 forward. 
 He hoped by a slight punishment, to appease the Jews. 
 He did not use the word "scourge," but he meant nothing else. 
 He consents to give some satisfaction, to their wild hatred. 
 By it, he meant, if possible, to save the life of Jesus. 
 This degrading compromise led to the most unjust sentence ever given. 
 This first concession was not lost on the subtle malignant Sanhedrim. 
 Koman custom was to chastise, before crucifying. 
 Brelease. If guilty, why release ? if innocent, why chastiso? ' 
 
 TracSeuVaj. Chastise by scourging. Doddridge, Major. A softer expression than 
 Pilate meant. Bengel. Thus a subtle poison in Italy was "poudre de succession ; " a 
 murdered victim was "assisted." Trench, The usual course by the Bomans. Cicero, 
 Grotius. This proposal preceded the demands for the release of Barabbas, Matt, xsvii. 
 17. W. & W. 
 
 17. CFor of necessity he must release one unto them at thofead.) 
 
 Of necessity. Gr. often that arising out of mere custom. John 
 
 xviii. 39. 
 Of the origin of this custom, nothing is known. 
 It was probably adopted by the Romans, to conciliato the populace. 
 
 44
 
 478 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXm. 
 
 Verse 17 omitted by most of the ancient autliorities, bnt contained in Bome most 
 ancient versions. Alford. Early omitted. Major; doubtful. Grienburh, Lachmann ; 
 cancelled. Tiaclienilorf, Oosterzee ; bracketed. Cod. Sinai. An unusual pagan custom, 
 a contribution to the general festivities of the Passover. Ellicott. The governor obliged 
 to release a prisoner at the feast of the Passover: origin of ths custom involved in 
 obscurity ; more a Jewish than Gentile custom. Oosterzee. Prisonc-s released at each 
 feast. Friedlieb, Andrews. The origin was, we presume, an imitation by the conquering 
 Eomans, of kings at their coronation. The Passover was the great festal day of the 
 Jews. The Roman governor could easily release one of the \'ictims of law, and thus 
 flatter the Jews, that a coronation act of clemency could be repeated every year. 
 
 18. And they cried out all at once, saying. Away with this man, and release unto US 
 Barahbas : 
 
 All at once. In full crowd, all the people cried oitt at once. 
 Crowd, proverbially fickle, five days before cried " Hosanna !" 
 Disappointed, that He declined accepting royal honors. 
 Hearing He had been convicted of blasphemy they hated Him. 
 Joseph was charged with a sin, because he would not commit it. 
 Babble of Jerusalem, was under the influence of the hierarchy. 
 Away with. This cry, a substantial proof of the first day oil the 
 
 Passover. 
 It is far worse to reject the Lord now. He is the " Foundation Stone !" 
 Blind pi-esumption, blasphemy, mockery of God"s justice, the7t. 
 Their fathers' guilt was expiated by seventy years captivity in Babylon. 
 Contrast with theirs in captivity for 1800 years. 
 
 God has i^reserved them as icitnesses for the truth to Gentiles scepticG. 
 How unceasingly false is the judgment of this world ! 
 Helease. Let the mmxlerer live, and the Prince of Life dio, is tho 
 
 world's sentence. 
 The world, an abotle of caprice and passion, a den of murderers. Gal. 
 
 v. 21. 
 Barabbas. The son of confusion, a robber. John xviii. 4.0 ; a rebel. 
 
 Mark XV. 7. 
 A type of the sinner deserving punishment, but set free. 
 Prefeniug sin to Christ, is to prefer, 1. A robber to the highest Benefactor. 
 
 2. A traitor to the Prince of Peace. 3. A murderer to the Lord of 
 
 Life. 
 The choice of the Jews was tho fruit, 1. Of levity. 2. Seduction. 3. 
 
 Wealaicss. 4. Enmity of the flesh. *
 
 CHAP, xxni.] ON st. luke. 479 
 
 Alpe. In the sanio spirit with modem Tapacy, tolerating in the Eternal City, houses 
 of ill repute and their inmates, but driving out -n-ith tiro and sword, Protestants 
 ^reaching the Gospel of Christ. Langc, Cramer. 
 
 Bapa^^au. Some make the scape-goat a typo of Barabbag. Some readings have 
 'lri(Tovu Bapap^av; adopted Origen, Pritzschc, Olshauwn, Metier, Ewald; rejected. 
 Griesbach, Meyer, All'ord, Tischendorf. The Jews in frenzy prefer the hellish caricature 
 to the heavenly original. OUhausen. The son of a Eabbi. Ewald; son of the devil. 
 Theophijlact ; probably a fanatical zealot who, with his fellow insurgents, precipitated 
 the ruin of the nation, Alexander. 
 
 19. (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 
 
 20. Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 
 
 Miirder. The people showed how little they cared for Cmsar's r'nterest. 
 
 Pilate. Willing- to release. From the robe, he knew Herod es- 
 teemed Him only an enthusiast. 
 
 He tried, by washing his hands, to transfer the guilt. Matt. xx\ii. 24. 
 
 Fearfully and franticly they accept it. Matt, xxvii. 25. 
 
 His wife, mysteriously warned, bids him not condemn Him. Matt. 
 xxvii. 19. 
 
 He was awed by the claim of One, declaring himself the Son of God. 
 John xix. 7. 
 
 He knew Him innocent, and strangely led, feared He might be divine. 
 
 Pilate, a heathen, intercedes for om- Saviour's life. 
 
 Those preferring sin to Christ, are still demanding the Lord's death. 
 
 A solemn warning to all neglecting or rejecting the great salvation. 
 Heb. ii. 3. 
 
 Wife of Pilate named by tradition Claudia Procula, a heathen, with Jewish sym- 
 pathies. Ellicott, Andrews. 
 
 21. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 
 
 Cried. Gr. responsive shouting. Acts xxii. 24. 
 
 Crucify. The first time utterance was given to the dreadful cry. 
 
 Hitherto it had only been the secret wish of the chief priests. 
 
 The Jews entirely assumed the responsibility of His death. 
 
 Peter said, " Ye killed the Prince of Life." Acts iii. 15. 
 
 " Ye blew and hanged on a tree." Acts v. 30 ; 1 Thess. ii. 15.
 
 480 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XKIU, 
 
 Their insane prayer, " His blood be upon us, and on our cbildreii." 
 Matt, xxvii. 25. 
 
 rrovidential retribution has followed this fearful crime. 
 
 "Wanderers, without land, a government, or a home. 
 
 At once a miracle and a warning to the nations of the earth. 
 
 The death of a Eoman slave, a death of ignominy. 
 
 Clamor for Christ's death viewed as to, 1. The judge who elicited it. 2. 
 The people who uttered it. 3. The Lord who heard it. 4. The 
 Father wlio suffered it. 5. The world who report it from age to age. 
 
 Christ's love most active, when seeming most passive. 
 
 'S.To.vpoio-ov. Crudelissimtim, teterrimumque supplicium. Cicero. Jews, compared 
 with Eomans, were exalted to heaven. Yet hero their cruelty, resisting the light, pales 
 f«fore enlightened fanaticism. 
 
 22. And he said unto them the third time, Why, xohat evil hath he done ? I have found 
 no cause of death in him : I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 
 
 Third time. Pilate's account of Christ's death was sent to Tiberius. 
 
 It is found in the acts of his government, alluded to by the Fathers. 
 
 The governor now assumes an appearance of firmness. 
 
 Conviction of entire innocence, and his wife's dream made him hesitate. 
 
 Chastise. Pilate the second time proposed to scourge our Lord. 
 
 Slaves taken, were seom'ged first, then crucified. Livy xxxiii. 6. 
 
 The sons of Brutus were scourged before being crucified. 
 
 The magistrates of Gades were thus scourged by JSIago. 
 
 The Lord was scom-ged by the soldiers. Matt, xxvii. 26 ; Mark xv. 15. 
 
 No cause. No charge amounting to a capital crime. 
 
 TpiTov. Wo are indebted to Luke alone for tho rcmarkablo and internally probable 
 particular, that at this juncture the governor raised his voice, for tho third tune, in the 
 Lord's favor. Oostcrzec. 
 
 7Tai.Scvcrai. lie hero calls upon tho persecutors to " Behold the man," to aronso 
 their syrapathy. Pilate was not a superficial man of the world. lie felt too much tho 
 greatness of tho Lord. Olshausen. Pilate's testimony of Christ's death was scut to 
 Tiberius, and is found in tho "Acts of his government." Tcrtullian, Eusebius, Justin 
 Martyr.
 
 onAP. xxin.] ON st. luke. 4&1 
 
 23. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might he crucified. And 
 the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 
 
 Instant. Gr. i^resscd upon him. Luke v. i. " Lay on tis.'^ Acts 
 
 xxvii. 20. 
 To everj' man, as to Pilate, there is an liour v/hcn lie must decide for, or 
 
 against Clirist. 
 Chief priests. Luke i. 5. Joining with the rabble, forgetting all 
 
 sense of propriety. 
 They shrunk from leaven, though not from Hood. John xviii. 28. 
 Prevailed. His conscience urged the release of the innocent. 
 He was about to follow the convictions of justice, 
 " No friend to Cffisar ! " filled him with dread of disgrace. 
 The Galilean must die — the sentence is pronounced. 
 The secret ties of the world held his feeble moral nature. 
 
 '2i. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 
 
 Pilate. Here we leave this vain uuiDrincipled Koman. 
 
 His name is preserved among Christians, but in infamy. 
 
 Sentence. Gr. confirmed their judgment by a final decree. 
 
 V/eakness as readily as malice leads to enormous crimes. 
 
 Pilate at first only a friend of Herod, because Ilerod was Tiberius^ friend. 
 
 "He that is not with Me is verily against Me." 
 
 In Earabbas, Pilate liberated the murderer oi his soul. 
 
 Li the Lord, he rejected the Saviour of his soul. 
 
 Sequired. Questions o! justice in the hands of a priest-ridden populace. 
 
 Pilate the man who would serve two masters. 
 
 iireKpivev, Adjudicavit. Vulg. Super judicavit, over and above their judgment. 
 Fausset. Adjudge. Bloomfield. The form of Eoman Judge was "Ibis ad cruccm." 
 Friedlieb. 
 
 25. And he released tinto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, 
 whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 
 
 Ileleased. Pilate at first detern-ined to let Him go. Acts. iii. 13. 
 He now condemns the innocent, and acquits the guilty. 
 *' They denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a mm-derer." 
 Acts iii. 14,
 
 482 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cnAP. XXIII. 
 
 Luke may have seen the released robber bounding through the streets 
 
 of Jerusalem. 
 Sad triumj^h of persevering ■wickedness, over hesitating weakness. 
 Yet the fearful defeat of wickedness, even v^hen seeming to triumph. 
 Desired. Majority of mankind, choose the shadow for the substance. 
 The Jews were the most refractoj-y of all the conquered nations. 
 By mildness and severity, combined, Komans kept them under. 
 It was their constant practice, to complain at Eome of oppression. 
 The Emperors paid particular attention to these murmiuers. 
 Felix and Festus tried to conciliate them, by injustice to Paul. 
 Pilate would gain popularity and escape ruin, by sacrificing Jesus. 
 Tlieir will. Matt., Mark, and John speak of the Eoman agency in 
 
 Christ's death. 
 Luke writing for the Gentiles, lays the chief guilt upon the Jews. 
 If some papists of fiery fanaticism, called Christians, had their will, what 
 
 woiild become of scriptural Christianity on earth ? 
 Sceptics urge the great change in public feeling since their " Hosannas." 
 
 Luke xix. 38. 
 That multitude were disciples, tins, the rabble gathered by priests. 
 
 Tu OeATjfirtTi. " Their ipill," lias ever teen mistaken for the " Dens vuU ;" the con- 
 Btant cry of persecutors, in every age. Oosterzee. The mob did ncft unite in the song, 
 Luke xix. 38, but the disciples. The change owed its origin to the force of passion. 
 Carnal hopes may have swayed some at the first, but His condemnation by the Sanhe- 
 drim must have changed their views. Stier, Omit auTots. Tisehendorf, Alford, Cod. 
 Sinai. 
 
 26. And as they led him aivay, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming 
 out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might hear it after Jesus. 
 
 Led Him away. Mark xv. 20., together, shew this to have been 
 
 near a gate. 
 His fl?parture (Heb. xiii. 11-13) contrasts with His entrance. Luke 
 
 xix. 37. 
 The typical Isaac bore the wood of the burnt offering. 
 Love here bears not His, but our cross, as His own. 
 He was cast out of the earthly, that we might enter the heavenly 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 Thuy took away His garment (Matt, xxvii. 31), but left the crown.
 
 CHAP, xxnr.j ON st. luke. 483 
 
 With a law of mercy ior brutes (Ex. xxiii. 5), the Jews mocJc the Bedeemerc 
 
 No cuuipassion, no acclamation, but cruel mocking. 
 
 Laid hold. Jesus bore His cross, until exhausted. John xix. 17. 
 
 Pencil of tradition represents Him sinking under it. 
 
 The condemned were compelled to bear their own cross. 
 
 Simon. His sons, Alexander and Eufus may have been disciplea. 
 
 Mark xv. 21. 
 He is thought to have been at the time, a inlgrim to Jerusalem. 
 Soldiers for convenience compelled him to do militarij service. 
 Cyrenian. A province of Lybia, west of Egjpt, called Pentapolis. 
 Many Jewish dwellers believed, and otUers not. Acts xi. 20 ; vi. 9. 
 rioleviy Lagos sent 100,000 Jews to Pentapolis in Africa. 
 Cross. That is, not the jx)st, but the cross-jncce of wood. 
 It was bound with cords upon the shoulders of the criminaL 
 Bearing the cross, a task seldom u-illingltj performed. 
 Performed in faith, never goes unrewarded. 
 The highest honor of a believer, is to bear the cross of Christ. 
 £ear it. Jesus now exhausted by conflicts of soul and body. 
 
 a.Trfiya.yov avToi'. By soldiers, although t]io duty of lictora. Andrews. Tradition 
 notes the spot, aud that where Mary foil, where Salve Maier was uttered, where 
 Veronica gave Him the napkin, all which Chateaubriand vindicates. We leave them 
 among a thousand other monkish legends. 
 
 eTTiAa/So/nej'oc. The more exact expression, ayyapeveiv. Is found in Matt, and Mark, 
 a word whii;h only occurs in one other passage (Matt. v. 41) in the N.T. The notion of a 
 military compulsion is unmistak-ablc. Oos((7rze«. " .Si«i07i," a follower. Grotius. Had 
 shewed sympathy. Rambach. A slave. Meyer. Military required any one. Tholuck. 
 " Country," field, hence a working day. Meyer; region. Wieseler. Made to atone his 
 Sabbath desecration. Lange. 
 
 t-jriQrjKCLv . The general expression of Matt, and Mark, iVa apri toc a-ravpov, must bo 
 explained by the more definite one of Luke. It is not (Jiepeii/ vnip, but ottiitOcv tov 
 'Iijo-ov, so that the Lord was only assisted, not relieved fi-om bearing the cross. Oocterzee. 
 
 27. 'a And there follow rrl him a great company of people, and of women, jvhich also 
 bewailed and lamented him. 
 
 Women. Luke xxii. 55. Crowds at an execution, as usual, include 
 
 many women. 
 At the Cress, the male friends of the Lord acted Hke women, and the 
 
 female like lieroincs.
 
 484 SUGGESTIVE OOMMENTAKT [CHAP. XXIH. 
 
 Bewailed. Well meant sympathy for an innocent person. 
 
 Tery many, themselves or friends had been healed by Him. 
 
 Their pity cast a last flower in the path of the Divine Sufferer. 
 
 Jewish law forbade shewing criminals sympathy on their way to death. 
 
 They bear myrrh and wine, as opiates for the cmcified. 
 
 The first sign of an altered feeling began to shew itself. 
 
 "We generally weep most, for what we should weep least. Joel. ii. 12. 
 
 The suffering of Jesus, the loudest warning to the impenitent. 
 
 Their lamentations for a moment, di'aw the noisy mob. 
 
 exoTTToi'TOj applies to tlie gestures of one mourning. eOp-qvovv, to the ■weeping tons 
 of voice. Benge.l. Plangere, to mourn, is to smite one's breast. Fausset, Ketuming 
 signs of repentance. Lange. Female tenderness and attracting grace. Hiller. A 
 beautiful trait of genuine humanity, quite in place in Luke's Gospel. Oosterzee. In our 
 days, a new horror shews females lifting up their heel against Christ 1 Souclion. /cac, 
 omitted. Lachmann, Tiscliendorf, Meyer, Cod, Sinai. 
 
 28. But Jesus turning unto. them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but 
 weep for yourselves, and for your children. 
 
 Turning'. He was now relieved from the burden of the cross. 
 
 The record of this action, is from an eye-witness. 
 
 He who had been silent before the light-minded Herod, speaks. 
 
 His eyes heretofore sunk in soitow, turn in mercy. 
 
 His words seem to breathe of reproof, rather than sympathy. 
 
 The last preaching of repentance, on the way to His cross. 
 
 A preaching of the law, amid His passion. 
 
 Daughters. Eepresentatives of Jerusalem, and the land around. 
 
 In His three following sayings, He appears as Prophet, Priest, and King. 
 
 1. As Prophet, to the daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 2. As Priest, interceding for forgiveness for His murderers. 
 
 3. As Kiiifj, acknowledged by the thief, and in His answering the prayer. 
 Jerusalem. Luke ii. 25. Weep not. Luke vi. 21. See Notes. 
 
 He forbids the way, they noio were weeping for Him. 
 
 There is a way of mourning, He does not forbid. Zech. xii. 10. 
 
 Tears on account of sin, are the Saviour's joy. 
 
 He who lundly dried so many tears, now bids them weep for themsclve?. 
 
 It is the only time in all His life, He commanda His hearers to weep. 
 
 Many tears were doubtless shed in secret that day.
 
 CHAP. XXIir.] ON ST. LUKE. 486 
 
 He recognizes these tears, as shed for Himself. 
 
 Weeping and repenting, the first steps of healthy sensibility. 
 
 But tears of mere sympathy, are of no avail. 
 
 Through our weakness, we often take sides with injustice. 
 
 Romance and tragedy, oft excite the wicked to weep. 
 
 Slaves of fleshly lusts, forget their tears, only to sin again. 
 
 The i^assion of Christ, no tragic spectacle to move men's hearts. 
 
 His siifierings not recorded, to excite sentimental feelings. 
 
 God's counsel led Him on to glory ; He did not need tears. 
 
 Not for Me. So far from being crushed, He was close upon Hia 
 
 highest triumphs. 
 The future was all bright and clear. Heb. xii. 2. 
 His conscious innocence and dignity, never forsook Him. 
 No word of bitterness toward His murderers, mingles in His tones of 
 
 compassion. 
 He yearns even toward their childi-en, although cursed by their parents' 
 
 unbelief. Matt, xxvii. 25. 
 Good Shepherd, He sought the lost, under the very shadow of the Cross. 
 For yourselves. He saw days approaching that would wring forth 
 
 other tears. 
 Could you see yoiir own coming woes, you would not weep for Me. 
 Weep for your sin — tears of Godly penitence are the Saviour's delight. 
 He points to sin, as the bitter source of all our griefs. 
 Sorrow the way to joy. Suffering to Him, the way to glory. 
 He Himself had wept over Jerusalem when He entered it. 
 In profound sorrow for others. He forgets His own woes. 
 Weeping for Him, and not for themselves, did not save the weepers. 
 Tears were useless, unless they led to repentance and faith. 
 Many of those now bewailing Him, perished in the siege. 
 Children. The judgment would burst on mothers and children alike. 
 The national depravity would be propagated from generation to genera-' 
 
 tion. 
 Involved in their fearful cry, "His blood be upon us, and upon our 
 
 children." Matt, xxvii. 25. 
 
 Bvyarepsi. Women of Jerusalem. Kuinocl. The iudgmont of Jerusalem shadowed 
 forth the judgment of all unbeUevers, down to the end of time. His word is not merely 
 the voico of a Cassandra, but that of the Saviour of the world. Stier.
 
 486 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [cHAP. XXin, 
 
 29. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say. Blessed are the 
 barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. 
 
 Coming. In this interval, an effectual weeping might save them. 
 The Gospel reveals icrath to those hardening their hearts. 
 The same cloud was light to Israel, hut darkness to the Egyptians, 
 iiest promised to the weary, perdition to the unbelieving. LcLs xiii. 3 ; 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. 
 He will take vengeance on the disobedient. 2 Thess. i. 8. 
 Barren. Their sins will change the divine blessing of marriage into a 
 
 curse. 
 Blessed. He intends to excite the keenest emotions, and maternal 
 
 sensibilities. 
 He shows sparing tenderness, in not jDronouncing a woe upon mothers. 
 But, because of the terrible judgments coming, blessed are they who are 
 
 childless. 
 The men around heard judgnif nts pronounced upon their children. 
 Parents and offspring involved in the same guilt and misery. 
 Childlessness a blessing / a new and terrible thought to mothers. Luke 
 
 xix. 41-i7. 
 
 ipovcriv, a change from the second to the third person. " They shall say," i.e. ^^ not 
 men in general," nor "m;/ enemies," but the impenitent among you— those in Jeru- 
 Balem and its misery. Alford. ai crreipai. Anticipating the scene of a mother, in her 
 starving rage, eating her own chUd. W. ct W., Josephns. 
 
 For i6rjKa.(jav, i0pe\jiav. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 30. Then shall they begin to say to Vie mountains. Fall on us; and to the hills. Cover 
 us. 
 
 Beg-in to say. This proi^hecy is foiind, Hosea x. 8 ; Isa. ii. 10, 19. 
 In the midst of His sufferings, the Scriptm-es are spread before Him. 
 In their words. His own inspiration. He lived and thought to the last. 
 At the opening of the sixth seal, kings, &c. cry, "Mountains fall on us." 
 
 Eev. vi. 1(5. 
 Mountains. Fulfilled by many of the Jews, fleeing to the caveS 
 
 during Jerusalem's siege. 
 And by myriads who, in their despair, never thought of caves or sewers. 
 MountaiuH have often crushed those who dwelt near them. 
 In themselves terrible, they will be sought as a shelter.
 
 CHAP, xxni.J ON st, luke. 487 
 
 Fall on us. They will prefer clcatli rather than witness those terrible 
 
 scenes. 
 " Men shall seek death, but it shall flee from them." Eev. ix. 6. 
 The prayer to the rocks, to nature cold and dead, is vain. 
 The sinner makes the Lord of the hills, his enemy. 
 His voice, and not thine, they will obey. 
 Hills cover us. He, their future Judge, on the way to His cross, 
 
 tenderly warns rejecters of the Messiah. 
 So many will not be redeemed, after all His love, adds sorrow to sorrow. 
 The solemn echo of this awful warning is found in Kev. vi. 16. 
 " Cover us from the (now aroused) icraih of the (once patiently for us 
 
 suffering) Lamb ! That victim who is now about to be offered. 
 Such terror of soul finds refuge in tears no longer. 
 The warning looks through the type to the antitj'pe. 
 It implies the desperate helplessness of all then in Jerusalem. Isa. ii. 19. 
 Rocks. David who had often hid himself among the rocks from Saul, 
 
 sixteen times calls the Lord " Ids Rock," in his Tsalms. 
 Having this defence, we wiU not need rocks to hide us. 
 
 opea-i. Carems in Palestine frequented in war. Kiiinocl. " Mountains," denotei? a 
 wish rather to die, than live through such miseries. W. & W. 
 
 31. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry f 
 
 Green tree. Good men compared to grceii trees. Ezek. xvii. 24 ; xx. 
 
 47 ; Jer. xvii. 8-12. 
 Wicked to dry trees. Jude 12 ; John xv. 6 ; Exek. xx. 47 ; 1 Pet. iv. 18. 
 If an invading enemy spares the green, he will not the dead. 
 But if he hews down the fruitful, surely the barren must go. 
 " The fire shall devour every green tree, and every diy tree." Ezek. xx. 
 
 47. 
 The Lord is the Kighteous One, all suffering is on account of sin. 
 If the green are destroyed, a sign that all trees must fjerish. 
 The pious being cut off, a sign of a fearful doom for the ungodly. 
 If they do these things in Me, green and fruitful, through my divinity, 
 
 what will they do to you, bereft of life-giving righteousness ? 
 Dry. If His sufferings for redemption are such, what will be theirs, who 
 
 will not be redeemed ? 
 God's wTath is heavier than Christ's cross. Rieger.
 
 488 SUGGESTIVE COSUIENTARY [CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 This sumvia injuria, maintained the summumjns. 
 
 A sign beforehand, God will leaviB no sin unpunished. 
 
 A warning of the infinitely heavier wrath, due to the impenitent. 
 
 "If judgment begin in the house of God, what shall the end?" &e. 
 
 1 Pet. iv. 17 
 Jerusalem not destroyed for erucifj"ing, but rejecting the Lord. 
 The wicked cast forth as a severed branch, shall be withered. 
 If the tree planted by the water (Psa i. 3) is thus cut down, what will 
 
 become of those withered trunks, twice dead ? Jnde 12, 
 This verse solemnly closes our Lord's teaching during life. 
 
 fvAtt). The use of this word for tree has been erroneously called a Hebraism. We 
 have in Xen. Anab. vi. 4, 3, &acrv ttoA^oi; koI navToSa-noi'; (cal fieydXois fiiXois. Webster's 
 Syntax, vypta. The feeble and unfruitful by the dry, and the young and vigorous by 
 the green, Isu. Ivi. 3. Benijel. The green tree, the women comparativ(;ly innocent ; the 
 dry, the guilty, Exek. xx. 17. Crusius. In the ruin of Jerusalem, the aged would find 
 les.-i mercy from the Eoraans, than the young. A protest against the identity of the 
 suffering the Redeemer endured, with the remorse of the sinner in despair. Stier. 
 Eoraans subdued the Jews, what will they do with the nation, a, irj sapless trunk? 
 Lightfoot. If My innocence sufiers bo much, how will the guilty fare. Grotiua, 
 
 32. And there were also two other, malefaefors, led with him to be yut to death. 
 Two other. Some suggest our Lord was reckoned one also. 
 This was not intended by Pilate as an indignity to Jesus. 
 Those condemned at one court term, were executed together. 
 laalefactors. " He was numbered with the transgressors." Isa. 
 liii. 12. 
 
 tVepot. The rendering is, not two other malefactors, but two others, malefactors. 
 A-lfo-d. eVepoi expresses dissimilarity, which oAAot would not. Bengel. KaKoCpyot: 
 Ajjo-Tai, Matt, and Mark. Insurgents. Bloomfield. On principle, they resisted the 
 Eoraan government. Maltby. Tradition names Titus and Dumachus, robbers met by 
 Jesus, in Egypt. Andrews. Another calls the convert Dumas. Roman Calendar. 
 
 R^. And when they were come to the place, ivhich is called Calvary, there they cruci- 
 fied him, and the malrfactoris, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 
 
 Were come to the place. Come out. Matt. Without the walls. 
 Hob. xiii. 12.
 
 CHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 489 
 
 " Crucified -witliont tlie city." Num. xv. 35 ; IKingxxi. 13; Actsvii. 58. 
 
 A centurion on liorsebacli required by law to Lead the company. 
 
 A lierald preceding the victim, proclaimed his sentence. 
 
 Tlie most infamous of criminals, alone were thus executed. 
 
 Slaves, highway robbers, rebels, despised prisoners of war. 
 
 No one dare crucify a Iloman citizen save at his i5eril. 
 
 They were first scourged, then compelled to bear their own cross. 
 
 A tablet on their breast, stated their crime. 
 
 They were divested of clothing, and a stupefying draught given. 
 
 They were raised about two ftet from the ground, and nailed to the cross. 
 
 Our Saviour's hands and feet were nailed. Luke xxiv. 40 ; John xx. 25. 
 
 According to the Mosaic law, criminals hanged were not allowed to 
 remain over night. Deut. xxi. 22-23 ; Gal. iii. 13. 
 
 The Romans left those crucified alive, often for three days. 
 
 Calvary. Golghtha. John xix. 17. Gr. " place of a skull." 
 
 Part of the Moriah chain, where Isaac was offered. 
 
 The site cannot now in any way be identified. 
 
 Every conceivable objection lies against the present supposed site. 
 
 Here Christ overcame death, on his ou-n territory. 
 
 The current opinion of its being a hill, is unfounded. 
 
 The four Evangelists unite in calling it a " j;/ace," not a " hill." 
 
 No hill can be found in any direction that will answer. 
 
 The cross of the old world, symbol of the deepest infamy, has became a 
 
 symbol of lienor, hlessinj and redemption. 
 Even superstition and vanity are decorated by this old symbol of shame. 
 Crucified. A punishment of Greece, Eome and Egypt, not of Jews. 
 Naked and poor, He there renounced all the goods of earth. 
 He was an offering of infinite value in Himself alone. 
 The hour of redemption first strikes, after 4000 years of silent hope ! 
 The Lord of Glory, climax of shame, hanging among«murderers ! 
 The chief priests actors, though Roman hands, drove the nails. John 
 
 xix. 16 ; Acts v. 30. 
 The third hour. Mark xv. 25. Nine o'clock in the morning. 
 A belief the crucifixion took place in the afternoon, an enor. 
 Malefactors. Because condemned by the court at the same term. 
 Joseph was in prison between two malefactors. 
 They one was delivered, tlie other was executed. 
 The join tlie greatest ignominy, with the severest pain. 
 The right. Intending to stigmatize Him, as the worst of the three. 
 "But He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." Job v. 13 ; 1 Cox, 
 iii. 10.
 
 490 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAP. XXIU, 
 
 Intended ignominy only irradiates the dying Eedeemer. 
 In the hour of deepest gloom, the Divine gloiy beams forth. 
 In no act does infinite majesty and love shine more brightly than iu 
 imparting Gospel hope to the dying thief. 
 
 ctrravpcoo-ai'. A heathen adjudged it the most excrnciating death. Cic. Con. Ver. 
 The cross generally in the shape of a T, the title being over the head, the upright post 
 projected above the horizontal beam. The criminal being divested of all his clothes, 
 was fixed by nails driven through the hands, not always through the feet. The body 
 ■was not supported by the uaUs, but by a ijiece of wood, which passed between the legs, 
 hence death ensued rcrote from exhaustion, than from the wounds inflicted. Sometimes 
 they were nailed to it before set up. Christ's feet not uaikd. Pauliis, Hcngstenherg, 
 Tholuck, Hug, TertnUian. Hi'S feet were nailed, John xx. 25. Cyprian, Hilary, Ease- 
 bins, Athanasius, Justin Martyr, Gregory, Nazianzen, Oosterzee. Ci'ucifixion practised 
 by Persians. Sufferings shortened by kindling fires under them, or letting lions and 
 bears tear them. A Iliudoo was crucified, and hung on the cross nine hours, was taken 
 down, and survived for fears, more hardened in crime. Cliarles' Miss. Hist. 
 
 Kpuviov. Greek translation of Hebrew Golgotha, place of a skull. Alexander. 
 A'dam's burial place. Origen, Tertullian, Epipkanius, Cyril, Augustine, Athanasius, 
 lieianil. Place of execution. Jerome, Bede, Jansenius. Identified by the Church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre. I.o/!3<', iJairfi, Raumer ; near it. Ellicott. Calvary drew, the present 
 buildings round itself, formerly being outside the city. Major. Near a public street. 
 Andrexcs. Not known. Foote, Robinson, Scholtz, Wolf, Jacobus. Zion Bhut out to 
 admit Calvary within the walls. Meyer. A statue of Venus desecrated Calvary, from 
 Hadrian to Constantine. Eusebius, Jerome. His cross faced the east, malefactors the 
 west. Greswell. 
 
 34. IT Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And 
 they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 
 
 Tlien said. This is the first word uttered from the cross. 
 
 The first of seven sayings of our Lord on the cross ; three of whicn are 
 
 recorded by Luke alone. 
 The stupefying drink offered Him, probably declined by a gcstm-c of the 
 
 head. 
 His high priesthood is now here begun. Heb. vii. 2G-27. 
 Not merely a prayer, but the prayer of the Geeat Ixteecessok, always 
 
 heard. John xi. 42. 
 The fruits of this i^rayerwill only be known, when "the books arc opened." 
 Father. Six hours on the cross, He still speaks and acts as the Son 
 
 OF God. 
 At the beginning and close, I-Ic calls God Father. 
 This prayer probably uttered while the nails were Icinff driven. 
 Ilifl intercession has for its ground, " I will, that Thou forgive theni,"
 
 CHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 491 
 
 Hurnbl}' and sublimely He still avows Himself the Sou of God. 
 
 He hegan His public life, by quotiug the sustaining word of God. Matt. 
 
 iv. 4. 
 Though on the cross, there is no sign of wrath, between the Father and 
 
 the Son. 
 Forgive. He feels the wounds given their souls, more than His own. 
 Our Lord ^^rach'scs, what the best of men had not yet taufilit in theory. 
 With compassionate tenderness, He only alludes to what extenuates 
 
 their guilt. 
 Know not. For those sinning wilfully and incorrigibly, He did not 
 
 pray. 
 " He made intercession for the transgressors." Isa. liii. 12. 
 As a man. He retains nothing but forgiveness and love. 
 His whole life was an expression of love, and His death set the seal. 
 This word points to His atoning and interceding love. 
 It discloses His perfect love, approved even unto death. 
 Observe He does not pray for any forgiveness for Himself. 
 A fact impossible to account for, save on the ground, that He was tho 
 
 Holy One of God. 
 The voice of eternal love itself uticrs its promise " J icill forgive.^' 
 It is the ground as well as the limit for forgiveness of sins. 
 The sad lamentation of the passion, constantly turns to jwaise. 
 Jesus sweetens His bitter death, to His own thoughts, by His testimony 
 
 to the blessedness, which would follow. 
 One may be a king, without the royal trappings of this world. 
 He who wept over Jerusalem, now intercedes for men. 
 Infinite mercy now prays, that miserj' might pray. 
 He paused to call Zaccheus from the tree. 
 He came and stopped and converted the persecuting Saul. 
 Even in the agonies of His cross He finds time to pray for His mm-dcrers. 
 Had He not thus prayed, their penalty might have begun at once. 
 A conclusion o-f His earthly, and symbol of His heavenly life. 
 Forgive whom ? the fonr Eoman soldiers who execute the deed ? 
 It embraces all His crucifiers, that is. All Sinnef.s, fer both Jews and 
 
 Gentiles combined to put Him to death. 
 In His gre9.t intercessory prayer He asks, " That the world may believe 
 
 that Thou hast sent Me." John xvii. 21. 
 " He ever liveth to make intercession for \is." Heb. vii. 25. 
 •'He now appears in the presence of God for us." Heb. ix. 24. 
 " There is a sin unto death," for which no prayer is to be offered. 1 
 
 John v. 16.
 
 492 SUGGESTH^ COJUrENTAKY [CHAP. XSHI. 
 
 He prays during crucifixion, 1. To God His Father. 2. For others. 3. 
 For enemies. 4. With importunity. 5. With abundant results. 
 
 His prayer was, 1. Alone in its sublimity, for ■whom? when? what? 
 
 2. Alone in importance, climax of His life, consecration of His cross, 
 image of His work in heaven. 3. Alone in power, for our 
 humiliation, consolation, sanctification. 
 
 At Golgotha, we see God silent, governing, reconciling the world. 
 
 The best thing we can pray for, for others, is forgiveness from God. 
 
 The fullest answer to this prayer, is yet to come. 
 
 Stephen makes the last word of His cross, hi?, first dying word. 
 
 He also makes the first word of Jesus, his last word in death. 
 
 Tliey know not. It doubtless refers to the Jewish rulers. 1 Cor. 
 ii. 8. 
 
 " I wot that through ignorance ye did it." Acts. iii. 17. 
 
 " Had they known it, they would not have crucified," &c. 1 Cor. ii. 8. 
 
 This does not signify that their ignorance deserves grace. 
 
 Not knowing when we might know, an element of sin, since the deceiv- 
 ing in Paradise. 
 
 People prayed against their forgiveness, when invoking blood-guiltiness. 
 Matt, xxvii. 25. 
 
 Many bring the " sacrifice of fools" for God's service. Ecc. v. 1. 
 
 Deceived by the serj^ent, man's sin of ignorance finds a sacrifice. Heb. 
 ix. 7. 
 
 He does not limit His most gracious expression. 
 
 This awful distinction remains m the background. 
 
 If ignorance excuses guilt, it needed no forgiveness. 
 
 If it did not lessen it, Christ would not have named it. 
 
 Wliat tliey do. To whom they do this. " Gro2ie as the blind at noon- 
 day." Deut. xx%dii. 29. 
 
 Many who we think exhibit unceasingly malignant sinfulness, may to 
 the Searcher of hearts, show something different, 
 
 Ignorance of Jews in this awful sin, is incomprehensible to ^^s. 
 
 This judgment of the dying Lord, sprung from His knowledge. 
 
 Parted. God rules even their avarice, to fulfil prophecy. Psa. xxii. 18. 
 
 Raiment. The spoil of the soldiers, by custom, or perquisite. 
 
 His seamless garment was divided by lot amongst the four soldiers who 
 formed tlie guard. Matt, xxvii. 35. • 
 
 Their last indignity, was to crucify Him naked. 
 
 Another tolls us, this was the vnder garment alone. John xix. 23. 
 
 Ca.st lots. A direct appeal to God, and never to be adopted withoiit 
 prayer.
 
 CHAP. XXm.] ON ST. LUKE. 493 
 
 CLanco, a heat)aen teiTa in God's kingtlom. Gambling eexeatii the 
 
 CROSS. 
 
 In Messina, on the Lord's day, the wi-itcr saw a similar scene. 
 Under a crucifix, three feet liigb, a table stood, at which sat gamblers 
 
 with their cards, driving their work of blasphemy and gain. 
 The feet of the image of the dying Saviour was but a few inches abovo 
 
 tneir heads. 
 
 olSaai. Thii? prayer mentioned by Luke only. The Lord did now -what Ha 
 er.iphaticaUy did uot do in Hig farewell prayer, John xvii. 9. Note how entirely such a 
 prayer, spoken probably during the terrible act of crucifixion (rt iroioOcnv), is in harmony 
 •with the spirit of the third, and Pauline Gosi^el. Oosterzee. Were not ignorance a sin, 
 they would not need forgiveness. This is the first of the seven words on the cross. No 
 single Evangelist has recorded all of them. The four records form one symphony, at 
 one time a solo, at another a duet, at another a trio, and at another all unite in a 
 quartette. Bengel. Compared with the seven petitions in the Lord's prayer. Augustine. 
 Abraham, Mosei!, Jeremiah, prayed for their enemies. Stephen, James, Huss, Zutjjhen, 
 offered like petitions. Glaucus to Socrates, " A righteous man will bo tortured and 
 crucified." Plato^ He prays only for those sins, which were capable of forgiveness, not 
 for the sin unto death, 1 John v. 16. Stier. The law of God known nothing of this plea 
 of ignorance. But His grace judged otherwise. Drascke. 
 
 auToi;. — Mankind. The Jewish nation. For all of us, for our sins. He was bruised. 
 Alford. Not for the soldiers. Gerlach ; for them. Eutlujmius, Kuinoel. *' Raiment." 
 The crucified hung perfectly naked upon the cross. Wctstcin, Not a cloth around tho 
 loins. Meyer. The most jiitiable piece of superstition and priestly deception, the world 
 has ever seen (the holy coat of Treves), is founded on this fact. Gildemeister, Scibel. 
 
 85. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, 
 saying, He saved others ; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 
 
 The people. Not crowd of Jews and Gentiles, but Jews alone. 
 
 His death by His own people, is distinctly foretold. Psa. xxii ; Dan. ix. 
 
 Jews say, that Isa. liii. relates to the Messiah. 
 
 Stood. This is the report of an eye-witness. 
 
 An hour of perilous stillness to the crucifiers. 
 
 Insupportable to concience — they silenced it by mocking. 
 
 Beholding. An unfeeling staring by the indifferent multitude. 
 
 Rulers. Respectable persons seldom mingle with such scenes. 
 
 Derided Him. To a heathen's eye. the inscription was an insult. 
 
 The effrontery of some, sharpened the wit of others. 
 
 It partly refers to the mockery in the Hall of Judgment. 
 
 They reduced themselves to a level with the meanest of the Gentiloo.
 
 494 SUGGESTIVE COJIMENTAEY [CDAP. XXIII. 
 
 A lioly derision unites the purest truth, with the keenest love. 
 
 But the mockery of the ungodly against truth, is fearfully godless. 
 
 Thi'j was crucifixion to the sacred soul of Jesus. 
 
 The highest Love on the cross was praying, they blaspheming. 
 
 These were the nails, that went through His heart. 
 
 Their mockery was to suppress any favorable feeling towards Jesus. 
 
 The malignity of Jews and Gentiles, iinite against the Lord on the cross. 
 
 Saved others. They tirst decree He is not Christ, therefore. He must 
 
 die. 
 Kow He dies, therefore He is not Christ. 
 
 Saved others. A testimony to His devotion and God-like charity. 
 The entire history of the ungodly, an extorted testimony to the excellence 
 
 of Eevelation. 
 Save Himself. Sublimely and tenderly He had hinted, their sins 
 
 might yet be forgiven. 
 But they will hear nothing of their own forgiveness. 
 Thus speaks unbelief, ' Take care of Thyself, if thou cans't." 
 Thus the world coldly repels the falling and unfortunate. 
 But for those not needing kindness, the world hath smiles and treasures. 
 The idea never seems to have dawned on them that His death might save 
 
 others. 
 Be Christ. They mocked Him, as pretending to be the Messiah. 
 
 Luke ix. 20. 
 The Romans derided His pretensions to be a Kijig. 
 Trusted in God. Matt, xxvii. 43. They mock His trust in God ! 
 Thus they really blasphemed God Himself, in Christ His only Son. 
 Perverting Psa. xxii, their mockery becomes a witness to the truth. 
 Ah ! Mark. xv. 29. This bitter scorn came doubtless from the rulers. 
 
 l^efivKTripi^ov. Gr. turned up their nose. Trapp. (rvv avTois. Omitted by many. 
 Afford; omitted. Cod. Sinai.; but retained by 2'ischendorf. tov fleoO exAeicTO! ; 6 
 before exAeKTos. Tischendtirf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. The Christ oj God, His cUct one. 
 Ay'urd. The elect Christ of God. Stier. 
 
 W. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, ajid offering him vinegar, 
 
 Soldiers. They derived their taunts from His title. 
 
 The J.fws from Ilis past acts of grace and power. 
 
 Mocked Him. The time of the mid-day meal of the soldiers.
 
 CHAP. yXIII.] ON ST. LUKE. 495 
 
 Two cups were offered Him, the first of wiue and myrrh to sootlie the 
 pain. 
 
 A Jewish custom tolerated by the P.omans. 
 
 Tlie second was offered by the soldiers while mocking Him. 
 
 Vineg:ar. Gr. sour icine, ordinary drink of soldiers " ic'Uli gall,''' Matt, 
 out of greater rancor. 
 
 This was reckoned among the Messiah's sufferings. Psa. Ixix. 21. 
 
 A potion of wine, frankincense, and myrrh was given the crucified. 
 
 It benumbed the senses, and lessened the agony. 
 
 But the Lord refused this iDotiori, He would drink the bitter cup of suffer- 
 ing even to the very diegs. 
 
 But here they drank Ilis health, in mockery of His siiperscription. 
 
 The sight of liquid beyond His reach, added to His misery. 
 
 Among the causes of death on the cross, thirst is the chief. 
 
 ofo?. The soldiers also, wlirn then came and hrourjht Him vinenar, derided Him. 
 Major. ei'fVoifoi'. Matt. JIark, aud Jobu describe the second offcriug of vinegar in 
 mercy, but Luke here notes the first offered in ruockery. Bengel,Fausset. This first also 
 in mercy. Major, W. £ W. xal before ■npoaepxoiJ.ivoi, omitted. Tischendorf, Alfurd, 
 Cud. Sinai. 
 
 S7. And saying. If thou he the Icing of the Jews, save thyself. 
 
 King- of the Jews. This implied far more bitter contempt of the 
 
 Jews, than an insult to Jesus. 
 The Jews cnicified their Messiah. 
 He has His title of honor — they have their shame. 
 Save thyself. Soldiers caught this up from the multitude. 
 
 S8. And a sxiperscription also u-at written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and 
 Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Supf^rscription. All the tongues of earth were anew to be sanctified 
 
 for this King. 
 A criminal, on his way to execution, bore a title hung around his neck. 
 A tablet naming the crime, was borne before the condemned, and fixed 
 
 there by the Komans. 
 Pilate placed this, not because of its injustice, but absiirditij. 
 The Turks even now, suspend a tablet to the criminal.
 
 496 SUGGESTIVE COMIIENTAET [ciIAP. .\.\lil. 
 
 Tlie Latin, copied by Mark : Greek, by Matthew : Hebrew, translated by 
 
 John. 
 Pilate was doubtlessly inspired divinely to comi^ose it. The Fathers. 
 It announces the innocence, dignity and destination of Jesus. 
 It testifies of Christ, of God, of men, of redemption, of future hope. 
 In the lowest depths, God cares for His Son's royal dignity. 
 Still shows, 1. His majesty. 2. His victory. 3. Foimdation of His 
 
 kingdom. 4. His jurisdiction. 5. His government. 
 Written. Luke i. 63. See Notes. 
 
 Greek. Formed of Pelasgic and Hellenic ; original dwellers in Greece. 
 Its use was almost universal throughout the Pioman empire ; as French 
 
 la now the language of Europe. 
 Edicts of Caesar, to the Siclonians, were in Greek and Latin. 
 So were also the edicts of Mark Antony to the Syrians. 
 That on the middle wall of the temple was Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. 
 Greek, for the Hellenists, who swanned through that land. 
 Latin, for the majesty of the Emperor. 
 Hebrew, for the populace. 
 
 The Passover brought many Hellenists to Jerusalem. 
 Latin. First spoken in Latium, Italy, and afterwards at Eome. 
 Principally derived from the Greek, Etruscan, and Oscian languages. 
 Compared with the Greek, this was spoken by very few. 
 Christ's sentence pronounced by a Latin judge, and executed by Latin 
 
 soldiery. 
 Hebre-w. From Heicr, who outlived six generations of his descendants. 
 The Hebrew ceased to be a living tongue, diu-ing the captivity, b.c. GOG. 
 The Aramaic form was then common among the Jews. 
 Cliiistian ministers, to t]iis da?;, still devote theu" study to these three 
 
 languages. 
 The Eoman emperors had banners bearing the name of conquered 
 
 nations and kingdoms borne before them. 
 " I have writte7i." John xix. 22. Pilate's reply shows a troubled mind. 
 Home thus providentially acknowledges Jesus, King. 
 Pilate thwarted in his efforts to rescue Jesus from their malice. 
 His answer shows the bitterness of his resentment. 
 
 »7riypai^T). lAiVo pHoa tho ybbI oricr. Benpcl. Matthew fjives the Hebrew; Mark, 
 the Latin ; .rohn, the Greek. Fausset. John adopts the order of dignity. The Gospel 
 ■wuH preached ia the same order. Bcngcl. niato would not care in executing a stran'^er
 
 CHAP, XXIII.] ON 8T. LUKE. 497 
 
 as a slave, to be very exact in the translations. The custom is noted by Suetonius. 
 yeypo/oi/xcn;, omitted. Tischendorf, Alforil, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 ypdnfj-aaiv 'E\\r)vLKoli Kol 'PufiaiKor? Koi 'E/Spaifcois, Omitted by some of the most 
 ancient authorities. AlJ'ord, Tischendorf, Meyer; omitted. Cod. Sinai., Vat. and Eph. ; 
 found in Alex, and Cant. 'EXAjji/ikois. The Greek has continued a spoken language for 
 3000 years. Alexander's conquests, the interests and necessities of commerce and 
 literature, rendered Greek, the language of Western Asia and Eastern Em-ope. It was 
 then almost the native dialect of Palestine. Itoman tongue for battle ; Greek, for con- 
 verse ; Syriac, for prayer. Greek, the language of the world; Latin of Juda;a, a Roman 
 province ; Hebrew, the mighty suSerer belonged to the commonwealth of Israel. 
 Parker''s Com. 
 
 39. IT And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou he 
 Christ, save thyself and us. 
 
 One of the malefactors. This railer seems to have been a Jew, and 
 
 tlie other iiialcfactor a Gentile. 
 He sneers at Jesus' assumption of the name of Christ. 
 But the penitent directs his thoughts to Him-, as King. 
 Railed on Him. There is in him no fear of the judgment of God. 
 The miracles of Christ to him, are a matter of mockery. 
 Blind and hard he still continues, under the shadow of the cross. 
 As others equally hardened, lying on their soft death-beds. 
 Bare is conversion if health, strength and luxmy prevail. 
 Suffering and blaspheming, prove this man a reprobate. 
 Christ. Luke ii. 11, and tii. 23. His various names and character. 
 
 See Notes. 
 Thyself and us. He was bold to speak in the name of his crucified 
 
 companion. 
 The daring man thought to excite general derision, by his exploit. 
 Our Lord is silent, and gives his scornful " save," no answer. 
 Punishment in itself, does not lead to penitence. 
 An argument unanswerable against the Romish doctrine of purgatorial 
 
 salvation. 
 The incorrigible are hardened by the stripes inflicted. Eev. xvi. 10. 
 The fire that soitens gold only hardens clay. 
 The righteous are humbled, and their dross consumed. Psa. cxis. G7. 
 
 ets. Matt, and Mark use the plural. A common idiom many, for one ; " Theij nay," 
 see Matt. xiv. 17, wliile in describing the same circumstance, John vi. 8 reads — " One ol
 
 498 SUGGESTIVE C03I5IENTAR7 [CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 His disciples." Cyprian, Cyril, Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome. Luke says, the soldlert 
 moi.'lted; Matt., o»c of them ran. Luke mentions tlie centurion only ; 'Matt, xxvii. 5-i, 
 " eaii those with him." Sucli discrepancies only teacli tliat human hands have copied 
 the divine original text. Two traditions. Meyer. Lul^e more accurate. Alford. General 
 expression indsl^mtely put. Ebrard. Both mocked at first, atterw.irds only one. Athana- 
 sius, Origen, Hilary, Chryaostom, Theophylact, Alexander. Plural for singular. .Sc/iJc M.f- 
 7ier, Doddridge. Ambiguity in a word of Syriac origin. Eichorn. The other class of 
 persons taunt Him. The passers by; the priests ; the soldiers ; now the thieves insult. 
 Augustine, Andrews. Ebrard, Lichtenstein. 
 
 ep\aiT4>ritJ-ei. The intoxication of frenzy, after having received the stupefying 
 draught; said, with a side glance of wretched vanity upon the multitude ("I can mock 
 too"). Sii^r. These records not showing the least emotion, a telling proof of their in- 
 spiration. jVojo?-. ovx'i. crv i\. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. The interrogative form 
 more strikingly expresses the sooni and contempt intended. Oosterzee. kiymv, omitted. 
 Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 40. But the other answering rehuTced him, saying. Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou 
 art in the same candcmnation ? 
 
 But th.e otlier. Perhaps had heard, and believed while in prison. 
 
 " The one is taken, hut the other left." " Even so Father," &c. Matt. 
 
 xxiv. 40 ; xi. 26. 
 God's sovereignty never interferes with man's responsibility. 
 Christ leaves all His disciples behind in His knowledge of divine things. 
 Rebuked him. One malefactor begins to preach to the other. 
 He bears witness to the dignity and power of the Crncified. 
 In the midst of mockery like the blackest hell, this lightning flash of 
 
 faith in the Truth, breaks forth. 
 It is an appeal in thunder to the conscience of all around. 
 One cast out from society, the^rst to confess the gloiy of Jesus. 
 God will never let faith in Christ's name go down. 
 If disciples deny and forsake their dying Master, a malefactor will teach 
 
 what consolation is found in Him, 
 Dost not thou ? A tacit reference to the recklessness of bystanders. 
 As though, '■' Let others jeer, but dost tJiou ?" 
 If long a penitent, he had kept silence, amid the general mockery. 
 His companion in including him in " ws," aroused his indignation. 
 Evidences of genuine repentance and faith, 1. He is concerned for the 
 
 salvation of his fellow sinner. 
 2. Ho frankly makes covfcssion of his own guilt. 
 '6. lie nobly testifies to the innocence of Jesus. 
 4. Ho turns to the Saviour to save him, " Lord," &c.
 
 OUAP. XXllI.] ON ST. LUKE. 499 
 
 !j. He prays, " Beniembcr me -when Thou comest," &c. 
 
 C. lie humhly K'gs for mercy, asking only to be rememhcred. 
 
 Fear. Thi^ convictions of the law, lead the soul to dread the i^enalty. 
 
 His filial fear led him to trust his soul to the Redeemer. 
 
 Indisputable evidence that the change wrought was by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " Every one who hath heard, and learned of the Father, cometh imto 
 
 Me." John vi. 45. 
 " Ni) man can come unto Me, except the Father who scut me draw Him." 
 
 John vi. 44. 
 *' No man calleth Jesus, Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3. 
 He may have heard of Christ while he was in prison. 
 John the Baptist, Peter, James, and we know not how many disciples 
 
 ■were imprisoned for their faith in Christ. 
 
 6 IVcpos, Ilis words, and tliose of Zacchppus, the purest Greek in all the Gospels. 
 Blnckwell. A Gentile. Bengel. But He would not have spoken of Paradise to a 
 Gentile. One of the seditious Jews, Mark xv. 7. Ramhach, Alford. He had heard our 
 Lord preach. Suarez, Bengcl, Pearce, Kuinoel. He had heard Christ's answers to Pilate. 
 Euthymiuis. He was struck by the titk' over tha cross. Stier. Convicted by the terrible 
 darkness. Lighlfoot ; by our Lord's prayer for His enimies. Thcophijlacf, ; Christ's 
 shadow. jBaron IKS ; Christ's Godlike patience and forbearance. ^nrfreiM. A'o/ converted 
 on the cross, but in prison, being instnicted by some Christian fellow-prisoners, such as 
 John in Machaerus. Koecher, Bengel, Boscnmullcr, Elsleij. His name was Diemas, and 
 his place in Papal calendar is March 25. Fererius. An instance of sovereign grace. Dod- 
 dridge, Alexander. A convert under a miraculous call. Tilleviont, Heyne. 
 
 Atjcttt)?. a plunderer, a robber, a highwayman ; an insurrectionist. Le Clere, Bosen- 
 muUer, Kuinoel. ouSi (i>oPrj. Dost not thou, ewu thou, in thy extremity ? Scholefield, 
 W. <C" W. Dost thou also not fear God ? Alford. For en-cTi'/xa auxy, Kdyuii; read eTrtTiMw:/ 
 avTiS e(|)7). Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 41. And we indeed justly ; for we receive the due retvard of our deeds : but this man 
 hath done nothing amiss. 
 We. He classes himself with the other in condemnation, not m 
 
 prayer. 
 Jvistly. " If I have done anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die." 
 
 Acts XXV. 11. 
 Yet some think, such a penalty against God's Word. 
 It is a morbid charity that tries to nullify the decrees of divine justice. 
 In some cases it is a disguised protest against future punishment. 
 With others, traceable perhaps to concciiled sympathy with fellow -workers 
 
 in sin.
 
 500 SUGGESTIVE COiniENTARY [CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Due reward. Sounds in tlie ear of Christ, the universal ci-y of sinful 
 
 humauity- 
 This murderer bearing honorable testimony to Christ, among the first 
 
 fruits of ransomed millions won by the Cross. 
 N'otliing' amiss. A remarkable testimony to the innocence of Jesus. 
 He may have been executed for his part in the very tumults, to the 
 
 exciting of -which, Jesus was charged. 
 He either knew of the innocent life of the Redeemer, or he founded his 
 
 opinion on the results of Herod and Pilate's examination. 
 The worker of such miracles of love, he knew could not but be good. 
 
 aroTToi', harm. Acts xxviii. 6 ; " unreasoncihle," 2 Thess. iii. 2. The very mildness of 
 teiTus more strongly avers His iimocence. Meyer. 
 
 42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 
 
 Lord. Acknowledged His divine name when His disciples had 
 
 abandoned Him. 
 With a painful sense of his guilt, he did not request immediate deliverance. 
 In clearness of conception, strength of faith, he surpasses all. 
 Ill the cross, a stumbling block to mj'riads, he sees a kinghj throne, 
 Hemember. Contrast the derision of one, with this petition. 
 Unbelief mocks, faith prays. Neh. iiii. 14. 
 With astounding faith, in the face of a mocking world. 
 He puts his confidence in the dying One, whose last garment was taken 
 
 from Him. 
 He reads in the deepest night, the superscription aright. 
 He becomes an apostle, at the moment when the apostles had forsaken 
 
 their Lord. 
 He exhibits charity towards his comrade, in his zeal for God. 
 From a robber, he becomes a preacher of righteousness. 
 In the might of his newly born love, he first proclaims the cross among 
 
 the Jews. 
 His acceptance was a perfect justification by fiith alone. 
 Centurion's means of grace very limited, also Sj'rophccnician's. 
 The penitent thief virtually a teacher of the apostles. 
 The thief manifests, 1. Tear of God. 2. Love to the Saviour. 
 3. Honors Jesus as King. 4. Trusts Him as Priest. 
 5. Confesses his guilt. 0. Shows sincerity by prayer.
 
 CHAP. XXUI.] ON ST. LUKE. 501 
 
 7. Expresses bis deep Immility. 8. Forgives his enemies. 
 
 9. Suffers no obstacles (dying agonies) to binder bim. 
 
 10. Peter, and all but Jobnbad forsaken Him, i^enitent thief owned Him. 
 
 11. Almost the solitary witness at that time of the Divinity of Christ. 
 
 12. He recognized a kingdom, whose foundation was the cross, unknown 
 
 even to the disciples. 
 
 13. Admonition of a fellow sinner, shows his faith by his works. Jas. 
 ii. 18. 
 
 The sheep and the goats of Matt. xxv. here find emblems. 
 
 What were the Messianic honors (Luke xxii. 12) of the twelve, to the 
 
 thief? 
 "UTiat were tbcy to penitent Mary, bathing His feet with tears ? 
 Thy kingdom. Luke iv. 43. What unbelief derides, faith rejoices to 
 
 accept and trust. 
 The two ways, in which sinners meet the terrors of eternity. 
 A prayer worthy of one, who had followed Him with apostles. 
 All the disciples save John bad fled. 
 Judas bad betrayed Him, Peter bad denied Him. 
 Pilate had be-en weak, the priests and people malicious. 
 Yet the thief himself dying, trusts Jesus dying, to command and open the 
 
 gates of Paradise. 
 He acknowledges Christ's right to dispose of kingdoms. 
 "In that august moment, only think of such a wretch as I." 
 Apostles could hardly believe, Christ would ever die at all. 
 
 Kvpie. Omitted by the most ancient authorities. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 Mi'ijo-07)Tt. Perilous to imitate this at the last of life. He would be devoid of sense, 
 ■who, on seeing a man fall many fathoms deep, without breaking his neck, should try the 
 same experiment. Vischer. It is often quoted to prove the validity of death-bed 
 repentance. 
 
 " There was one, that none might despair, 
 Ajid but one, that none might pj-esume." You7ig. 
 
 No one dare limit the Holy One of Israel. But here is no evidence of an eleventh 
 hour repentance. Convicts were oftcti coniined for years in prison among the Jews, 
 Gen. xxsix. 20 ; 1 Kings xxii. 27; Jer. sxxvii. 21. This felon may have heard some 
 fcUow-prlsoner (Matt. xiv. 3) unfold the doctrines of grace. " What a man soweth," etc. 
 Gal. vi. 7. This is the only case in the Bible in which an eleventh hour repentance is 
 even pretended to be found. He repented after joining with the other malefactor in his 
 mockery. Ambrose, Lange. If he had not blasphemed, who knows if the Lord would have 
 converted him. Zinzendorf. Among the miracles dmlng the Passion, none greater than 
 this malefactor's faith. Sjjencr, i^c)/7^e. In its features the case can never bo repealed. 
 Parker. His conception of Christ's kingship in advance of the apostles. Lightfoot, 
 Bengel. We are such slaves to an average expericnee in religioii, 'ihat we are sceptical 
 
 45
 
 502 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 with regard to anything greatly transcending it. Brown. ^^ Eemcmher, " implies, 1. The 
 sonl survived the body. 2. The world to come ia one of retribntion. 3. That Christ had 
 a right to a Idugdom. 4. That His kinfrdom was in a better world than this. 5. That 
 Christ would not keep this kingdom to Himself. 6. That He would bestow it on those 
 who are penitent. 7. The key of this kingdom even then hung at Christ's girdle. 8. lie 
 rolls his whole salvation on Christ. A'fss. 
 
 eAOr)?, the chief word in the clause, at Thy cominn, in Thy TtingiTom. iv ttj ^airtXeCa, 
 uov, in reijnum tuum. Vulg. The A. F., following the Vulgate (so also Luther), renders 
 this, " into thy kingdom" which is a sad mistake, as it destroys the f:>rce of the ex- 
 pression. It is, in THY KINGDOM — WITH THY KINGDOM, 80 "s/ia?i come in i?is p/jri/," 
 Matt. XXV. 31, which A. V. has rightly translated. Alford. Tby kingdom upon earth. De 
 Wette, Neander. A present manifestation of His kingly power. Stier. His hope of the 
 Messiah was that of a Jew. Lange. Christ was the centre of His kingdom. Trench, 
 Scholcfield. Fr.ilh in Christ, and confession of Him, can never fail the penitent. Luther. 
 This faith shnii.ed all that stood by, even the twelve apostles. KoUoclc. This thief is an 
 example of electing grace, and good works as its fruit, whilst death-bed repentance is 
 rarely genuine. Baxter. This thief would fill a conspicuous place in a list of the 
 triumphs of faith, supplementary to H?b. xi. Alford. This man's faith dogmaircally 
 considered was truly astounding. Be Wette. Not free from carnal ideas of the Messiah. 
 Oosterzee. The well known eiiitaph of Copernicus. 
 
 Nan parein Paulo veniam requiro, gratiam Petri neque posco, 
 Sed quam in crucis ligno dederis latruni, sedulus oro. Oosterzee^ 
 
 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee. To day shall thou be leith me in 
 Paradise. 
 
 Jesus said. This is the second word from the cross. 
 
 The first was one of intercession, the second of promise. 
 
 The first secm-es a term of grace, the second throws open the door of 
 
 mefcy. 
 The first has for its end justification, the second glorification. 
 The first executes the priestly function, founded on His death. 
 The second, His kiwjlij office, while under supreme contempt. 
 Unto him. The taunts of the others. He did not notice. 
 He had not seen so great faith even in disciples. Luke vii. 9. 
 It was to Him " a song in the night." Psa. Ixxvii. 6. 
 Verily. Implies Divine authority, to make the grant of Paradise. 
 He cannot see these criminals, without adding to His own agony. 
 In the hearing of all that preceded, Jesus had kept silence. 
 No one supplicates in vain. He can-not now keep silence. 
 Hatred is silent, and His love has the last word. 
 His joy over this returning penitent, breaks forth into praise. 
 No strengthening angel from heaven, could have been more welcome.
 
 OHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LtTKE. 508 
 
 On the cross, He Himself has a foretaste of Paradise. 
 His sacred " Verily," recalls the " Verily, verily,'''' oi former days. 
 In this viovd all is certainty. 1. The sincere penitence oi thti Ihief. 2 
 His merciful acceptance. 3. The assurance of future life. 4. The 
 promise of reunion with Jesus. 5. The instant fulfiiment of his 
 prayer. 
 The infinite willingness of Jesus to save to the uttermost. Heb. vii. 25, 
 No man ever received so strong assurance of forgiveness. 
 Yet he was never baptized, and never had communed. 
 Romanists vainly say, Christ's blood from His side sjirinlded 'him. 
 Christ aboii't to open again the closed gates of Paradise. 
 God's sovereign mercy is seen, " one taken, and another left," Luke xvii. 
 
 36. 
 To day. A significant reply, granting more than was asked. 
 His prayer referred to the time future. Verse 42. 
 Our Lord's reply clearly disposes of the question, as to the conscious 
 
 existence of the soul after death. 
 Note, the Lord replies definitely, to all he asked. 
 The appeal eried " Lord," He says " Verily I say," I, Jehovall. 
 He asked for remembrance ; perfect fellowship is promised. 
 A long future delay gives place to " To-day." 
 The " kingdom" gives place to the splendors of heaven itself. 
 The limitless glory of Grace, here begins its dominion. 
 Golgotha becomes an absolving judgment seat. 
 The stake of the cross, becomes a throne of grace. 
 Deaih-bed to the Christian, is as the cross to the malefactor. 
 From it, he turns a supplicating ej^e to the cross of Jesus. 
 Conversion of the thief, gives no encouragement to a death-bed repent- 
 ance. 
 His knowledge is far too great, his faith too mature. 
 His confession too sound, his penitential love too strong. 
 He seems to comprehend the entire plan of salvation. 
 God can do a great work in a short time. 
 At the resurrection, " In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we 
 
 shall be changed." 1 Cor. xv. 52. 
 Paradise. This word is used of the garden of Eden by the LXX. 
 
 Gen. ii. 8. 
 Jewish name for JTades, where the righteous await resurrection. 
 It was a name for the heavenly abode of the blest. 2. Cor. xii. 4. Eev. 
 
 ii. 7. 
 Kote how near eacli dying believer is to glory. Luke xvi. 22.
 
 504 SUGGESTH^ COMMENTARY [CHAP. 300X3. 
 
 lu the liour be departs, lie is with Christ. Phih i. 23. 
 
 We are putting on weeds of viourning, they are rejoicing. 
 
 Death to an unrenewed soul a solemn thing, to a believer, " gnhu^^ 
 
 Phil. i. 21. 
 This word was consolation to the females around the cross. 
 Here grew happier trees, than Golgotha ever knew. 
 He uses the most august term for the seat of happiness, 
 Amidst the profoundest depths of His own sufferings. 
 This word from the second Adam, implies the curse undone. 
 Death overcome. He reinstates men in their lost mercies. 
 The crown of thorns, typical of the sorrows of earth. 
 The cross, an unfolded banner publishes in three tongues His victory. 
 His arms spread, would embrace the salvation of the world. 
 He receives the homage of the dying thief, and opens heaven to him. 
 
 6 'Ijjcrov;, omitted. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, (rqixepov, " To day, I say unto 
 thee." Baronius, Bossuct. Such punctuation absurd. Olshaiisen. It contains a bis dat, 
 qui cito dat. Between his own and the malefactors' death, Christ might perform His 
 triumphal course through the under u-orld, and yet be in Paradise on the same day. 
 Stier, 
 
 ■napaBtCcria. A 'word of Persian origin, signifying apnri; or garden. Ilerodotux, 
 Xenophon, Diodorus. The region of Hades appointed to the righteous. Talmud, Buxtorf. 
 Paradise did not hecome the resting place of the righteous until Christ came. Arndt. 
 Paradise first opened by the second Adam. Clirysostom, Brcntius. A new Paradise wa^s 
 founded. Lange. Another form of consolation, '• Be of good cheer." Stier. Abode of joy 
 in Hades. Meyer. A desire to decree the dogma of purgatory, pretends to find proof 
 here. Strangely misled by 1 Peter iii. 19, Jesus is made to announce His triumph to 
 the imprisoned spirits in a place or state of imperfect bliss. Alford. Leighton, on 1 
 Peter iii. 19. His soul goes to Hades, and His spirit to the Father. Olshausen, A part 
 of Sheol appointed to Gehenna. Grotius. N6t the heaveply Paradise, 2 Cor., xii. 4; 
 Eev. ii. 7 ; but a part of Sheol, opposed to Gehenna and called indifferently Paradise 
 and Abraham's bosom. Oosterzee, Wordsieorth. I'legions of Paradise not heaven. Ter- 
 tullian, Origen, Wetstein. Christ promised more than he aslied. liosenmuUer. Not 
 heaven proper, for David Himself had not yet reached it, Acts ii. 3i. Irenccus. 
 
 41. And it was about the sixth hour, and there loas a daj-kncss over all the earth until 
 the ninth hour. 
 
 Sixth hour. Pilate delivered our Lord to the Jews ab^ut G a.m. 
 
 Day in Winter and Summer was divided into four periods of three Lours 
 
 each. 
 To each of those periods, the term hour was applied.
 
 CHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LUKE. HOD 
 
 The niglit was divicled into four co-equal -watclies. 
 
 They cruciliecl Him about 9 a.m. 15tli of month Nisan. 
 
 Persons generally lived two or three days on the cross. 
 
 The darkness began about 12 o'clock and lasted till about 3 p.m. 
 
 Ivonians reckoned from midnight, Greeks from sunrise. 
 
 Our exact time, unknown to their water clocks and hour glasses. 
 
 No imagination ever pi'oduccd a poem, equal to this reality. 
 
 Loud thunder tones from above and within, interpret the Cross. 
 
 The Cioss, a tree which bears fruit without blossoms. 
 
 This is the second centre of history, the history of histories. 
 
 A revelation of " the deep ikings" of the Godhead. 1. Cor. ii. 10. 
 
 The suffering, dying, and rising of Christ, type of the conflict between 
 
 light and darkness. 
 Darkness. During full moon in Passover, an eclii^se of the sun 
 
 impossible. 
 Nature was in mourning for her Son and Lord. 
 Signs were wrought before all Israel at the giving of the Law. 
 The desperate stupidity and unbelief of men, are roused. Hub. xii. 26. 
 At His birth, night became bi'ight, as though heaven dawned. 
 At His death, day darkened into a miraculous night. 
 But one Evangelist tells of the bright birtli-night. Luke ii. 9. 
 Three inspired witnesses, tell of that superuatm-al darkness. 
 The veil on the hearts of Jews, a thicker darkness. 
 All the earth.. Gr. over all the land; extent unknown. 
 Ninth hour. Infinitely important, to the Lord, His friends, to the 
 
 v.'orld, to His Father. 
 The wonders of Nature, tell of the honors of the dying Saviour. 
 The ministiy of the Spirit, abolishes the letter of the O.T. Col, ii. 14. 
 The heathen oracles were henceforth doomed to silence. 
 The whole empire is in sackcloth, when a monarch dies. 
 To day, the whole creation is in gloom at the death of Jesus. 
 Darkness lasted three hours, half the time He hung on the cross. 
 After ii long silence, this unearthly gloom preceded His death. 
 
 f,S-q added after r'v. Tisehendorf, Alford. eKTr). Ci-uclfied the third hour (9 o'clock). 
 John makes Filate intercede at the sixth hour, 12 o'clocli. John, writing for the Asiatic 
 ChuiChes, uses Roman time (i.e. begun at midnight). Luke uses Greek, (beginning at 
 Bunrise). Grcswell, Andrews. Uncertain if Jewish and Roman time difl3red. Becker. 
 Luke never used the Roman. Meyer, Alford.
 
 506 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [ciIAP. XXIH. 
 
 a-KOTOi. Phlerjon a chronicler, under Hadrian, and Thallus, of the second century, 
 are siipi'osed to allude to it. Josephus' omission favorable to Chi'istianity. Major, Euse- 
 hhi€, Gospel of Nicodemus. The gloom preceding an ordinary earthquake. Pauliia, 
 Lange, Milman, Olshausen. Miraculous; partial until the ninth hour, then total. Meyer. 
 verse 44 the effect, 45 the cause. Oosterzee. Dionysius the Areopagite cried out, " God 
 is suffering, or the world is perishing." Suidcis, Heubner. Thamus the Egyptian pilot 
 heard a voice — " Great Pa~i is dead." Plutarch, Wetstein. Dense clouds. Bloomficld. 
 
 Tqv yrjv. Judaea alopr . Erasmus, Meyer, Alexavdcr, Ebrard, Ohhausen. The word 
 applies to the world. Major; -ahole vorld. Lange, Grotius. As far aa their present 
 knowledge extended. Alj'ord. 
 
 15. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 
 
 Stm darkened. Unspeakable solemnity deepens the -wonders of tlio 
 
 crucifixion. 
 Secret connexion between the kingdoms of Grace and Nature. 
 Nature was in mourning for the greatest of her sons. 
 Light and darkness united at His death on Calvary. 
 The night of suffering, with light of divinity incarnate. 
 The night of death, with light of resurrection hope. 
 The veil. There was one veil before the sanctuaiy. 
 The other between the sanctuary and Holy of holies. Hcb. ix. 3. 
 The latter intended. Heb. ix. 7; x. 19. Cherubim in needlework covered it. 
 Its texture was cloth and leather, looped at either end. 
 Suspended on four columns covered with gold. 
 Terajjle. Luke i. 9 ; and ii. 27. See Notes. 
 Rent. Typified the passing away of the Jewish dispensation. 
 It testifies a new dispensation begun, a perfect atonement made. 
 It being high day, incense was being offered by the High priest. 
 The midst. Being suspended by the two comers, one half fell each 
 
 side, exposing the Holy of holies. 
 The middle wall of partition no longer divided Jew and Gentile. Eph. 
 
 ii. 1-1. 
 Humanity now has free access to God's sanctuary. 
 The great jjall spreading over the nations, is rent. Isa. xsv. 7. 
 Heaven and caitli unite in honoring the crucified Lord. 
 Miracles of nature and grace accompany the salvation of mankind. 
 His funeral, how it was tolled from above, and performed on earth ! 
 Saints arose. Mutt, xxvii. 52. Christ dying rent the rocks, but rising", 
 
 gave life to the dead.
 
 CHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LTJKE. 507 
 
 e<7)coTi'<T0y) . The earth darkened until the ninth hour, then the sun became dark also. 
 Meyer. Genuineness of this verse doubted. Dc WctU^ ; cancelled. Grienbach. Synijiathy 
 of nature with humanity Tradition speaks of similar phenomena at the death of Komu- 
 lus, CKsar, and others. The strikingly expressed idea in the well known — Sol tibi sigua 
 dabit, sokm quis diccre falsum audeat, — became on this occasion a reality. Oos/erzce. 
 Ilis mother, "vfter the darkness, committed to John. Kraft. John took her to a hired 
 house. Greswell. One occupied at the feast. Slier. She is sx)ared the pain of seeing 
 His last agonies. Benrjel. • 
 
 KOTaTreTao-fia. It was not the first veil, hut the second, dividing the Holy place from 
 the Holy of holies. Ellicott. Being suspended by two corners, the priest entered by 
 Bide of it. Linhtfoot, Larmey, Ehley. From Luke's account it might seem as if the veil 
 KVLS rent before the death oi Jesus. Matthew's details (xxvii. 51) correct this. Al/ord. 
 
 4(5. IT And when Jestis had ^Hed with a loud voice, he said. Father, into thy hands I 
 commend ini/ spirit : and having said thus, he gave up tlie ghost. 
 
 liOud voice. Exhausted nature with men, cannot thus be beard. 
 But Christ's divinity ever sustained His humanity. 
 Those words of mysterious import Cok ii. 15., may refer to this cry. 
 Patter. Victory of faith. His confidence in the divine love triumphs 
 
 over all. 
 His last word stretches on to eteraity. 
 It announces His en trance into the presence of God. 
 It is finished. Jchn xix. 30. His farewell greeting to suffering on 
 
 earth. 
 Into thine hands. His entrance greeting into heaven. 
 His last avowal, " I am the Son of Gop," and dies ! 
 Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Actsvii. 59. 
 His death shews 1. The greatest tranquillity of mind. 2. The highoF.t 
 
 love to man. 3. The greatest mediatorial power. 4. The greatcBt 
 
 glory of the Son. 
 The triumph of Christ's euemies, ends in their overthrow. 
 By the tree Paradise was lost, by the tree of the Cross it was regained. 
 Into thy hands. He does not yield Himself up to the blind power of 
 
 nature. 
 A word of Scripture, the torch which lighted Him through the valley. 
 He lived in the Scripture, and died with it, on His lips. Psa. xxxi. 5. 
 'Tis not the battle cry of a conqueror, fighting his way to victoiy : 
 Nor the death-ciy of a spirit, struggling iuto eternal security. 
 This surreuder expresses a profound repose after toil. 
 A majestic word of divine authority, not His death sigh. 
 Into His Father's protection, power, and keeping Ho committed Himself.
 
 508 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 We know but little after death. This word is enough. 
 
 Death is a vanquished enemy, robbed of his sting. 
 
 Paul had committed his immortal hopes to Christ. 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 My Eedeemer dies for me, how ought I to live ? 
 
 Since His death, we need no more sacrifice for sin. Heb. x. 12. 
 
 Like a grain of wheat, He dies to bear much fruit. 
 
 I commend. An act of faith, an act of dignity, revealing the dying 
 
 LOED. 
 
 His dying was not the j'nssii-e dying of any other man. 
 
 At the mysterious moment, He deliberately returns His life. John x. 18. 
 
 He does not lose His consciousness, for one vanishing instant. 
 
 His death is the act of His own will, in the full vigor of life. 
 
 There was no obscuration, gradual weakening, or convulsion. 
 
 Like His birth, His death was the only miracle of its kind. 
 
 Death, to Him His last act. His stepping into Paradise. 
 
 He came from the Father, He goeth to the Father. John xvi. 28. 
 
 In this act Ho commits all the spirits of the sanctified, as one with Him, 
 
 to the Father. 
 The d}ing word of tlie Conqueror and Forenmner, becomes our test-word. 
 What kind of "finish," wilt thou my soul bring before God ? 
 I(Iy spirit. His human spirit, He does not mention His body. 
 Be willing to die ivhere, and hoic, God jjleases. 
 
 Not under gorgeous canopy, but poor, naked, on the cross, Jesus dies. 
 " This much I do for thee, sinner, ichat tvilt thou do for Me ?" 
 He gave up the ghost. Breathed His last. Neither Matt., Mark, 
 
 John or Luke say " He died." 
 An act of divine sovei'eignty, true of n© creature. 
 No creature can detain his spirit, demanded by God. Ecc. viii. 8. 
 Ordinarily, the crucified lived one, two, three, or four days on the cross. 
 Sad prospect, " the Eesun-ection and the Life", dies. John xi. 25. 
 The earth did qtiake. Matt, xxvii. 51. Jerusalem's temple and 
 
 towers totter. 
 Of all the earth, the ci-oss of Chiist nlone, is unshaken. 
 
 tt-rre. Of the seven ■words on the cross ; 1. The ohject of the redeeming work. 2 and 
 8. Its fruit and power. 4. Its price. C. Its extent. 6. Its oonsummation. 7. Its perfect 
 end. Drasckc. 1. Contains the whole doctrine concerning forgiveness. 2. The restora- 
 tion of that which was lost in Adara. 3. Corrects a mistake concerning His mother, 
 which has filled ages with its sad results. 4. Pierces the depths of humauity, struggling 
 towards a Uodcemer. Slier. A parallel -with the seven petitions of the Lord's prayer. 
 llfngel.
 
 OHAP. XXrn.1 ON ST, LUKE, 609 
 
 Trapaf^crofiat. Commendo. Vulgate ; I -wiU commend. Bengel. Coriolanua, Roins 
 Into exile, — " Friends to j-ou, J commend my children.' Bloomfield. 7rapaTL9eiJ.ai.Tis- 
 cheiulorf, Lachmann, Cud. Sinai. The crisis, whon the sudden horror of death came 
 near. Kbrard. A flying from the terrific form of death, into His Father's arms. Lanqe. 
 He is infinitely elevated above the poor question of mortals, — " To be or not to be 1 ' 
 Krummacher. Act of His holy will. Greswell, Alexander, Jones. Came naturally. 
 Pearson, EUieott, Andrexcs. Breaking of His heart, caused by mental anguish. Stroud, 
 Itichter. Huss, on his way to the funeral pile, repeatedly said., "I commit my spirit into 
 thine hands, Lord." Multitudes have innocently used, "J commend," but Stephen 
 core properly says " Receive." The Father received Him in dying. He receives us. A 
 determinate delivering up of His spirit to the Father. Alford. 
 
 nvev/xa. — Luko i. S5. He deposits His spirit as a jewel, hoping to receive it again on 
 the third day. Rumbach. Tho dead appearing in the Scriptures without a body, called 
 ■nvsviJLaTa, Acts xsiil. 8, 9. 
 
 efeVi-eucrev. Term used by Homer, Euripides, Aesch., Sappho; Breathe out or 
 expire. efeVwucrec used also by Mark. Matt, has a<l>rJKev to irvivij.^, emisit spiritum. 
 The A. v., a phrase of our own times. Acts v. 5, a very inexact translation. John only 
 of the disciples present. Sticr. The order of the events : — Before the darkness, 1. Prayer 
 for enemies. 2. Promise to the penitent thief. 3. His charge to John. 4. Cry of dis- 
 tress. 5. "I thirst." 6. " It is finished." 7. Commending His spirit. Stier, Greswell, 
 Andrews, 
 
 47. Noio when the centurion saw lelMt was done, he glorifiai Qod, saying. Certainly 
 this was a righteous man. 
 
 The centurion. Luke vii. 2. See Notes. 
 
 His testimony, undoubted inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 What was done. He had listened to the seven words oi Christ from 
 
 the cross. 
 A divine siguificance of sound, in the seven-toned symphony. — 
 The first gracious word embraced a guilty world. 
 The second invited all in distress, to their sympathizing King. 
 The third a pledge of His care of all He leaves upon earth. 
 The fourth in its mysterious depth, the kernel of redemption. 
 The fifth a touching appeal, to the moral sympathies of our nature. 
 The sixth the sublimest, widest, and most boundless of the series. 
 The seventh the seal of the faith of all the disciples of Christ. 
 Glorified God. First fruits of His death, not a doctor of the law. 
 Nor Pharisee, nor Jew, but a Gentile soldier, who glorifies God. 
 During three hours darkness, light dawned on his pagan mind. 
 The moment of Christ's death, was, to him, one of a new life. 
 Ho was a type of Jews rejected, and of the Gentiles called.
 
 510 SUGGESTIVE COIklMENTAKY [cHAP. XXUI. 
 
 They that were with Him, &c., Matt, xsvii. 54. Roman soldiers, 
 
 Gamblers beneath the cross, became confessors. 
 Those who cast lots for His coat, at the end, become witnesses of His 
 
 Divinity. 
 Military guard beneath the cross, become a camp of peace. 
 Certainly. In very truth, he thus endorses all Christ said. 
 He approves His divinity, in calling God, His Father. 
 His enemies' testimony, was " He made Himself the Son of God." John 
 
 xix. 7. 
 Righteous -man. Perfect, Tyndale. Just, WicUiffe. A common 
 
 appellation of the Messiah, 
 
 eKaTWTapxos. Luke relates it as supernatural. Lightfoot, Benrjel, Oreswell, Lnthardt, 
 Meyer. OrAinaij fact. Calvin, Tholuck, Ebrard, Ewcdd, Al/ord. iixotos. Truly this 
 man was righteous. E. V. wrongly and ungrammatically rendered. It makes " a 
 righteous man " (Lute) stand in the place of " the Son of God " (ilark). Al/ord. " Truly 
 this man was just, i.e. truthful. He was the Son of God, for he asserted it." Alexander. 
 Probably Luke explains by 6iVatos fiv, the sense i-n which the centurion used the words 
 vtbs ^1/ ©eov. Wordsworth. The echo of superstition as well as voice of sincere faith. 
 Oosterzee. Centurion's conception, our Lord was a demi-god. Meyer. Mark fills out 
 Luke's expression. The centurion doubtless spoke in Latin. — Homo Justus erat Filius 
 Dei. Hence the article is wanting in the Greek, as the Latin is without that part cf 
 speech. Stier. Centurlc.-,, a convert. Theophylact. 
 
 48. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the thiigs which 
 trcre done, smote their breasts, and returned. 
 
 All the people.- Gr. the multitudes. Witnesses were many at the 
 
 Passover, 
 Between one and two million of Jews, from all parts, were there. 
 Each one had doubtless heard of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 At that sig-ht. They saw sights, they did not come to see. 
 The thi-ngs. The sun darkened, eaithquake, rending veil, itc. 
 Emote their breasts. Sign of self-accusation. Luke viii. 52 ; xviii. 13 
 The voice of reason and conscience, gave this testimony in answer. 
 After the fearful prodigies, we hear no more raillery. 
 Both Jew and Gentile left Calvary, self-condemned. 
 Proud Pharisees who secured the death of the Saviour, after witnessing 
 
 the sun darkened, veil rent, and nature sighing, found no rest on 
 
 their couch that awful night.
 
 CHAP. XXm.] ON ST. LUKE. 511 
 
 The best friend the prcaclier has in his congregation, is conscience. 
 He who dcsjres peace verily must make it his friend. 
 Thus the hesirts of men were prepared for the Pentecost. 
 
 ox^oi. The priests and scribes, not the people, had derided. PooU. Matt, xsvii. 39 
 eecms to imply the contrary. Stier. 
 
 49. And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood 
 afar off, bclu>lding these things. 
 
 Acquaintance. John had led Mary to his own home. Johuxix. 27, 
 
 Peter was wandering broken and dispirited. 
 
 The sheep were scattered, since the shepherd was smitten. 
 
 Women. Female fidelity remained unshaken, among many faithless. 
 
 " Last at the cross, first at the sepulchre." 
 
 Love kept her place, when faith suffered shipwreck. 
 
 Hope weary and faint had folded her wings in despair. 
 
 The apostles selected to erect His kingdom, were not there. 
 
 The Bible incidentally, hut with divine wisdom, honors the character of 
 
 females. 
 Ever a sign of a very had heart to speak contemptuously of the sex. 
 Galilee. Luke i. 26. See Notes. 
 
 Afar off. Many disciples follow Him at a distance. Matt. xxvi. 58. 
 Beh.olding'. Includes all which had taken place, since the moment of 
 
 crucifixion. 
 Sacred evening of rest on Golgotha, our Saviour's sufferings ended. 
 The rest of friends waiting, a-nd the rest of the holy grave. 
 The Roman guard were required to be present all the time. 
 
 50. IT And, beholil, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good 
 man, and a just : 
 
 Joseph. Bom in Arimathasa, dwelt in Jerusalem. 
 Wealthy, " He was with the rich in His death." Isa. liii. 9. 
 He did not consent to the deed of his colleagues, verse 51. 
 He lacked moral courage to protest against their crime. 
 Through fear of the Jews he had not publicly avowed his discipleship. 
 John xix. .38.
 
 512 SUGGESTA^ COIIJIENTAEY [CHAP. XXHI. 
 
 Some confessed Christ living, Joseph first, after His death. 
 
 Christ has friends, of whom the world knows nothing. 
 
 They ai-e the Lord's hidden ones. Psa. Ixxxiii. 3. " Lilies among thorng." 
 
 Cant. ii. 2. 
 " Seven thousand had not bowed the knee to Baal." 1 Kings xix. 18. 
 Counsellor. " Honorable." Mark xv. 43. Of the 70 members of the 
 
 Sanhedi-im. 
 " Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of," &c. Psa. i. 1. 
 A good. Compassionate, just as to the law. 
 Every (jood man is also just ; but the converse is not true. 
 Luke mentions the whole (good) before the part I just.). 
 Paul in Eomans v. 7, observes the strict difference between those -words. 
 
 'IiooTj(|). Tradition sends him to Great Britain, by St. Pliilip. a.d. 63. He is said 
 to have settled ia Glasloubui-y, Sjmarsetsliire. Thera he built, of wicker twigs, an 
 oratory, geim of the present abbey. The staff he planted, produced the Glastonbury 
 titorn, blooming on every Christmas. Smith. 
 
 ^ouA.evT7)s. A member of the Sanhedrim. Major, Campbell. A city magistrate. 
 Grotius. One of the council chamber of the temple. Lightfoot, MacJniight. ayaSbs, 
 benevolent, and Si'/caios, upright in duties to others. Doddridge, Olsliausen. A large- 
 minded benefactor. Fausset. 
 
 51. (The same had not consented to the eounsel and deed of them ; ) he was o/^ri- 
 mathcea, a city of the Jews : xoho also himself waited for the kingdom of God. 
 
 Consented. Eefused to vote in the Sanhedrim for Christ's death. 
 
 If anything wrong goes on without your consent, at least do not approve 
 
 the act. Vers. Ger. 
 Ariinathaea. The birthplace of Joseph, now identified with Jlainleh in 
 
 the vale of Sharon, eight miles from Joppa, 2-1 miles N.W. from 
 
 Jerusalem. 
 It stands beaittifully on the verge of the valley of Sharon. 
 The land begins to rise into the moimtains of Juda3a. 
 The walls of Joppa and the heights o-f Caesarea are in view. 
 Samuel's birthplace. 1 Sam. i. 1. In the mountains of Ephraim. 
 Surrounded by olive groves, palm trees, Idaarobs, and sycamores. 
 It baa five mosques, a Latin convent, and 3000 inhabitants. 
 A tower 120 feet high, built by Saracens in 718 a.d. 
 Kains cover miles. It was taken by Crusadei-s 1150 a.d., is now held by 
 
 Turks.
 
 CHAP. XXni.] ON ST. LUKE. 51 ii 
 
 Waited. His faith was strong in the Messiah's spiritual Kingdom. 
 It ilenotes the hope of eveiy faithful Israelite from the time the 
 
 promise was first given 
 Kingdom of God. Luke xi. 2. Sec Notes. 
 
 'Api/ia0ai'as. Placo of residence, instead of birth, lienoe his burial place was not at 
 Jerusalem. Michaelis. District belonging to the Samaritans, was given to Judica by 
 Demetrius. Beard. npo<TeSex^TO. Expecting the kingdom of the Messiah would bo 
 established by Jesus. Stier. Kal avrbs omitted. A'.ford, Tiachcndorf, Lachnann, Cod. 
 Sinai. 
 
 52. This man tcent unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 
 
 This man went. Before sunset, at -which time the Sabhath began. 
 
 Eomau custom left the bodies on the cross, tUl devoured by birds. 
 
 A heathen barbarity forbidden bj' Jewish law. 
 
 The event which crushed many hopes, inspired his. 
 
 In this sacred office Nicodemus assisted him. John xix. 39. 
 
 Nicodemus brought 100 pounds weight of spices for embalming. 
 
 Pilate. Luke xxiii. 1. Hated by the Jews, he hated them in turn. 
 
 His heathen spirit constantly resisted Jewish intolerance. 
 
 Pilate's scom of the Jews made him sj-mpathize with Jesus. 
 
 The moral impression, and mysterious religion of the Messiah, 
 
 The warning of his wife, aU made a strong impression. Matt, xxvii. 19. 
 
 He tried to deliver Him from motives of vengeance, easily read. 
 
 Too weak and unrighteous, to pronounce a sentence of justice. 
 
 His carnal wisdom, was overmatched by the superior cunning and malice 
 
 of the Jewish priesthood. 
 A type of the complete unbelief and worldly-mindedness, of Eoman 
 
 civilization. 
 Went boldly. Mark. "Perfect love casteth out fear.'' 1 John iv. 18. 
 Begged. Procurators sometimes granted such favore for money, when 
 
 the victims were not infamous. ■ 
 All things heretofore tended to His deep humiliation. 
 Extraordinary providence protects His remains from profanation. 
 Soldiers' insults, are followed by tenderest attentions of refined friendship. 
 The scourge, the buffet, the spittle, by spices and delicate perfumes. 
 The mock robe and thoniy crown, by pure white linen and a new tomb. 
 His early death prevented the usual profanation of breaking the legs.
 
 514 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIIl. 
 
 Hnnger, thirst, exposure, cramp, spasms brought a sure hut tedious 
 
 death. 
 The law would have had Jesus, dying with the thieves, buried with them 
 
 also. 
 But Providence provided a friend and a rocky tomb. 
 
 TO <n>ixa. Verrea took a bribe for delivering up malefactors. Cic. Ver, v. 45. By a 
 miserable pretence of the production of quasi-ancient manuscripts, sceptics tried to show 
 Joseph discovered traces of life ill the body of Jesus. Oosterzee. 
 
 D3. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that wm 
 liewnin stone, wherein never man before was laid. 
 
 Took it down. The law required this to be done about sunset. Deut. 
 xxi. 23. 
 
 Wrapped. Proves the reahty of Christ's death. 
 
 Incarnation, parables, miracles, teachings in vain, had He not died. 
 
 The centurion who executed the decree of Pilate, 
 
 The friends who took Him from the cross. 
 
 The wo7nen who beheld the lifeless corse. 
 
 The priests who sealed the grave and set a watch. 
 
 The soldiers who guarded the sepulchre, all Witnesses of His death. 
 
 Xiinen. Flax 3000 years ago was manufactured in Egypt. 
 
 Criminals executed, were folded in ragged winding sheets, 
 
 That their atonement to justice might be increased, 
 
 Sepulclire. Luke xi. 47. Modes and time of Oriental burial. Sec 
 Notes. 
 
 Present site selected by those ignorant of the true spot, in the time of 
 Helena, 332 a.d. 
 
 Multitudes of traditions notoriously erroneous as to sites. 
 
 They have no weight whatever as evidence, to one examining the topo- 
 graphy of Jerusalem. 
 
 The church of the Holy Sepulchre stands in the midst of Old and New 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Selected as central, safe from assault, and having a convenient cavern. 
 
 Kings, prcjihets and i^riests alone buried icitltin city walls. 
 
 The Hebrews from the time of Abraham, hewed tombs in the rock. 
 
 " All the lungs lie in glory, every one in his own house." Isa. xiv. 18.
 
 OHAP. XXm.] ON BT. liUKE. 515 
 
 Divided into several chambers, called tlic " chambers of death." Pro. 
 
 vii. 27. 
 " Thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre in the rock (Ilcb. solid rock)." 
 
 Isa. xxii. IG. 
 Of the Kenites, " Tliou puttest thy nest in a rock." Num. xxiv. 21. 
 It was Joseph's own tomb. Matt, xxvii. GO. In a garden. John xix. 41. 
 Samuel was buried iu a garden at Eamah. 1 Sam.xxv. 1. 
 Manasseh and Amou were buried in gardens. 2 King. xxi. 18. 
 Tomb, a resting place. Job. iii. 13. A long home. Ecc. xii. 5. 
 Jews felt diiqraccd not to own a burying place. 
 They thought it charity, to bury the neglected dead bodies. 
 Zealots were branded as neglecters of their dead. 
 Hewn. Not sunk in the earth, but out of the side of the rock. 
 Egypt and Palestine are now full of these rocky sepulchres. 
 !R>ock. There could be no trap door, by which the body could bo 
 
 removed. 
 Was laid. Proves the risen person, was none but Jesus. 
 A virgin mother, an unbroken beast, a new grave. 
 This last is noticed as a mark of honor. 
 
 For avTo, avTou. Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai, fiinjixan. Luke xi. 47. Or. 
 literally a 7)1 ejjiono^ Not cut downwards, but horizontally in the rock, implied in TiJ 
 6vpa, Matt, xxvii. 60. The spot where the crucifixion took place. Cyril, Alford, Tho 
 place of crucifixion, Golgotha, skull, a hill. Alexander, Winer, Bleycr. Centuries have 
 left men in the belief the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre covers the tomb of 
 Joseph. Mount was not named three first centuries. Robinson. True site known down 
 to Titus' siege, 70 A.D., and to the second Hadrian, 136 A.D. (very doubtful.) A church 
 was then erected upon it. Chateaubriand. From 136 to 32-i we know nothing except that a 
 temple to Venus was ei-ected thereon. Euschius. Later Venus' statue was erected there. 
 Jerome. Helena erected a church on its present site, 332 A.D., Constantino learning it 
 by immediate revelation? Eusebius. Coin of Antoninus Pins, C.A.C. Colonia, Actia 
 Capitolina. Winer, Taylor. Moderns denying the present site. Wilson, Barclay, Bonart 
 Stewart, Arnold, Meyer, Ewald, Robinson; defending it. Tischendorf, Olin, Lange, 
 Alford, Friedlieb ; undecided. Stanley, Eliicott, Winer. Historical argument favors, 
 topographical opposes the present site. Andrews. 
 
 54. And that d-ay was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 
 
 And that day was, &c. Gv. and it was the day of jrreparation. 
 Sabbath, drew oii. Gr. began to dawn, an illumination by lamps.
 
 51G SUGGESTIVE COMilENTAKY [CHAP. 22m. 
 
 The conventional Jewish day began at STinset. 
 
 All theories ahout oiu- Lord's state during this period are mere hypotheses. 
 The Saboath spent in the sepulchre, the last of the Old dispensation. 
 His enemies embittered that Sabbath to His friends, securing the coi-pse 
 
 by a seal and watch. 
 They had often accused the Loi'd of Sabbath- breaking. 
 But now, to secure the corpse of their victim, they deliberately desecrate 
 
 the day. 
 
 Tiapaa-Kev-q. That particular part of Friday ■which was looked upon as the com- 
 mencement of the Sabbath {npo&dfipaTov, Mark xv. 42). Highly probable between five 
 and six o'clock is intended. Oosterzce. eTre'c/noirKe. The lighting nf candles. Gill; 
 Bunset. Patritius, Andreivs. Sabbatical candles for searching for leaven. Jews called 
 the evening (the beginning) of a day, " light." Lightfoot. The rising of the evening star. 
 Poole ; the riBiug of the moon. -Sen^e? ; the da-vvning of the next morning. Cocccitis ; Sab- 
 bath dawned. Campbell, Wctstein, Kuinoel, Gcsenius. A Syrianism. Alichaclis. Not of 
 Saturday but the legal Sabbath. Oosterzce, Luke, a echolar from Antioch, could never 
 use an improper word. Marsh, Second Kal omitted. TischendorJ, Alford. 
 
 55. And the women also, ichich came with him from Galilee, followed after, and belield 
 the sepulchre, and how his hody was laid. 
 
 Women. Maiy Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus. Matt. 
 
 xxvii. Gl. 
 The Saviour dead, draws by love, and will for ever draw. 
 Galilee. Luke i. 26. See Notes. 
 
 Beheld. Witnesses of His identity, and of the fact of His burial. 
 The sepulchre. A memorial of the impotent malice of His enemies. 
 The evidence of the end of His sufferings, and beginning of His glory. 
 The scene of the burial of the sins of the world. 
 The pledge of the Christian's rest in the grave. 
 
 Kal omitted. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. (caTaxoAovOiio-atrai. TLb 
 strengthened expression seems to point out a iollowing downwaids, Kara, as far as 
 into the scpukhie. Oosterzce. 
 
 CC. And they returned, and prepared .apices and ointments ; and rrstcdthe sabbath day 
 according to the commandment. 
 
 Returned. Shortly before sun-set, to their homes in Galilee.
 
 CHAP. XXIII.] ON ST. LUEE. 517 
 
 Their labors of love tlie greater, because attended with more care and 
 expense. 
 
 Spices. They believe Him dead, and show no hope of His resurrection. 
 
 Drii drugs — 500 sei-vants bore those for Herod's embalming. 
 
 Ointments. Liquid drugs, Egyptians filled the body with spices. 
 
 The Jews simply wrapped the body round with spices. 
 
 Not aware of the 100 pounds prepared by Nicodemus. John xix. 39. 
 
 Love asks not how little will suffice, but how much can it do ? 
 
 It is great gain to lose one's money, for Christ's sake. 
 
 Crises in Providence, bring to light tlie secret friends of Christ. 
 
 We look in vain for the scattered sheep. Where are the eleven ? 
 
 The care of the body of the Shepherd, caunot assemble them. 
 
 Love for the Lord, changes women into heroines. 
 
 Rested. Contrast their rest with the priests' remorseful anxiety. 
 
 Eager to embalm Him, but would not sin, to do it. 
 
 Coming sooner, the rudeness of the soldiers might molest them. 
 
 Waiting, they found the guard dispersed, and their Lord risen. 
 
 Christ's rest in the sepulchre, claimed the whole Sabbath. 
 
 Sabbath. Far more binding than the rest of the feast. 
 
 Apostles understood no abolition of the day by the Saviour. 
 
 He denoimced human traditions, trammeling His command. 
 
 He firmly maintained works of mercy, were no breaches of the Sabbath. 
 
 It is but a step from " No Sabbath," to " No God." 
 
 Destroying the sabbatic rest inflicts a grievous injury on the human race. 
 
 The great Sabbath, 1, The history. 2. The warnings. 3. The im- 
 portance of this momentous day. 
 
 The great Sabbath. 1. A festival of delusive rest to Israel. 2. A 
 day of refreshing rest to Jesus. 3. A pledge of recovered rest to 
 sinners. 4. A time of active rest to the Father. 5. A type of the 
 rest remaining to the people of God. Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 iiavxi^crav. Their labors had taken hours, and the Sabbath dawned, finding them 
 Btill engaf;ed. Norton. Egyptian embalming complete ; Jewish, superficial. Miehaclis. 
 Nicodemus haying prepared 100 pounds weight, points to customai-y full embalming. 
 Friedlieb. A mark of love. Alexander, Grcsu-cll, Andrews. 
 
 aapparov. The Seventh Day Sablath died and was buried with Christ, and rose 
 again with Him, to new life and beauty, on the First Day of the week, hence called 
 KvpioKv, diei Duminicics, or the Lord's Day. H'ordswortli.
 
 )18 SnOGESTIYE COMMEKTABV [CHAP. XXT?, 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 NOW upon the first day of the week, very early in th^e morning, they came unto thd 
 sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain othors loith them. 
 
 First day. The first Lord's day of the new creation. 
 
 The Resurrection spreads a brilliant dawn over the earth. 
 
 The morning of eternity will continue to beam with its light. 
 
 Very early. Gr. 'tJie deep dawn, hopeful twilight, the dawning day. 
 
 They came. Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Salome and 
 
 Joanna. 
 The first pilgrims went sadly to the sepulchre and came joyfully away. 
 " Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy comcth in the morning." 
 
 Psa. XXX. 5. 
 Sepulclire. Luke xi. 47. ; xxiii. 53. See Notes. 
 Sijices. Love's work for Christ, done liberally, promptly, carefully. 
 How w'id their recollection of His word, spoken just a week before, 
 " This ointment pom-ed on My body, is for My burial." Matt. xxvi. 12. 
 
 opBpov Pa6eo^. Hj HayhreoM. Campbell ; very first dawn. Tra/ccficM; At deep (i.e. 
 dusli) dawn. Plato, Aljord ; The snn having not yet risen. Vulgate, Brzn, Pearce. 
 PaSvi applies to words denoting time. Wetstcin ; deep gray dawn, five o'clock. Winer; 
 Bun-rising. Robinson, Hengstenbergh, Alexander. These facts derived by Lnke from 
 Joanna. Griesbach. Inspired truth, ^aflews. Tischendorf. An unusual ancient genitive. 
 Oosterzee. PaOtw;. Cod. Sinai. 
 
 KoX Tire? <rvv avTaij. Irfterpolation. Kuinoel, Oosterzee ; cancelled. Lachmann, 
 Tischendorf, Alford ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. They went in two hands. Z/anr/f. "Certain 
 others," females, not from Galilee. Bcngel. "iio authority for this statement of Bengel. 
 
 2. And they found (he stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 
 
 The stone. Implies Luke knew of tlio placing of the stone, though not 
 
 mentioned in.his account. 
 Placing the stone, the manner anciently of closing the entrance to the 
 
 Bcpulchre.
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 019 
 
 Those stones elaLorately paralleled, and fitted exactly like a door. 
 
 Still seen in Belzoni's tomb at Thebes, in Egypt. 
 
 Rolled away. By the angel of the Lord. Matt, xxviii. 2. 
 
 They consulted on their way, how this was to be done. Mark xvi. 3 
 
 Mary Magdalene seeing this, hastened back to tell the disciples. John 
 
 XX. 2. 
 Light dawned, 1. In the garden. 2. In hearts. 3. On the cross. 4. For 
 
 the world. 5. In the regions of the dead. 
 No stone is too great for Providence to remove out of the way. 
 
 aTTOKeKvXicTfifVof. He arose with the tomb do.or closed. Theophylaet. Ho loft the 
 tomb before the stone waR rolled away. The Fathers. Doubtful, as the soldiers saw 
 Jesus leaving the sepulchre. Andrews. Could they not have seen Him leaving a closed 
 tomb, just as they saw Him entering a closed room ? John xx. 19. 
 
 3. And they entered ?)', and found not the hody of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Found not. The empty sepulchre, the boundary between the Old and 
 
 New. 2 Cor. v. 17. 
 The silent, but eloquent accusers of the murderers of the Messiah. 
 Eesurrection fulfilled the sublime hopes of the O.T. Psa. xvi. 10. 
 The way of humiliation, leads to the highest triumphs. 
 The body. The same proofs of His resurrection, as of His death. 
 XiOrd Jesns. As Jestis or Joslnta He brings us to the heavenly Canaan, 
 
 to the glory of the resurrection. 
 Creative Love wrought in silence, unseen, and wove for Him, a raiment of 
 
 celestial light, worthy the King of Light ! 
 
 TO a-Mfj-a. During these three days, " He descended into Hell." Horsley. ApoUinaris 
 of LaodicEca, SjTia, 362 a.d., denied the existence of the human soul of Chi-ist. Tliis 
 sentence was added to the Creed, as an eternal protest against this heresy. Parker. 
 The context calls it " Paradise" LuliO xxiii. 43. 
 
 4. And it came to jiass, as they %ccre much perplexed thereabout, hehold, two men stoo 
 by them in shining garments : 
 
 Perplexed. Unbelief deplores the very ground of a diviae hope.
 
 520 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 The empty sepulchre seen with joy, and yet with perplexity. 
 
 Two men. No writer of fiction would have been content with two. 
 
 The beginning of our Lord's life in Bethlehem, and sepulchre scene 
 coincide. 
 
 Troubled spirits of the Lord's friends calmed by these heavenly mes- 
 sengers. 
 
 He was raised from the tomb, as well as begotten, by the power of the 
 Highest. 
 
 Shining garments. Gv. flashing loith light. 
 
 1. The first preachers of the resurrection. 2. The hearers. 3. The 
 message. 4. The result. 
 
 Ten times angels ministered to Christ, between His birth and ascension. 
 
 avSp^i 5vo. Described as seen by the women. Meyer. Svo. That in Matt, and that 
 in Mark — one within, one without the tomb. Sepulchre had a porch. Lichtenstein, 
 Andrews. Accounts of Synoptists not to be harmonized. Alford, Greswell. Neither have 
 men harmonized omniscience of the future with man's responsibility — iv/o facts ! We 
 are not required to comprehend, but adore. Luke speaks of two, Matt, and Mark one. 
 Evangelists did not count the angels. The whole sepulchre, the whole neighbourhood, 
 was swarming with invisible angels. There were not two merely, but millions. Lessing. 
 They can become visible or invisible at will. Olshausen. kiriarqaav. Came upoii them. 
 Alford. oo'TpaTTTov'trats. Flashing with a heavenly effulgence. Major, 
 
 5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their fuccs to tlu: earth, they said unto 
 them, )yhij seek ye the living among the dead ? 
 
 Afraid. Heathen esteemed it dangerous to see celestial beings. 
 
 Jews were forbidden to gaze on heavenly visitors. Ex. xix. 21. 
 
 The angels of the churches are to encom-age timid believers. 
 
 Bowed down. Posture of reverence. 
 
 Said unto them. His birth and resurrection announced by angels, 
 
 worthy of the Redeemer's greatness. 
 Highest created beings honored by serving the humble Galilean. 
 The living. The Living One. Him who is Life itself, and the cause 
 
 of life. 
 A fruitless search, 1. For the living Christ among the dead. 2. For the 
 
 living Christian in the dust of earth. 
 It shows siuprisc at His being there at all. Acts ii. 21. 
 He might submit to death, but impossible to be held in the tomb. 
 Cbrist'a absence for the first and only time, a gi-ound of unspeakable joy.
 
 CHAP, XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 521 
 
 Tt ^ijTtiTc. " Why seek ye ? " Gospel reports differ. Amid tha oxeitement, diplo- 
 matic accuracy not expected. Oosterzee. Tho four writers do not speak with tho 
 measured manner of a chorus in unison. Lange. Tho apostles returning home, left 
 Mary behind, weeping alone, when she saw tho two angels. Olshausen. to. npoa-iana, 
 .Tischcndorf, Cod, Sinai. 
 
 6- He is not here, hut is risen : remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in 
 Qdillee, 
 
 He is not here. The truth of our Lord's resurrection induLitably 
 
 certain. 
 The empty grave reminds us of very many words of the Master. 
 Is risen. A reunion of the broken hnk, between soul and body. Luke 
 
 xxiv. 39. 
 His f-ormer life continued, and identity manifested. 
 His former existence now glorified, and all burdens removed. 
 " I am He that liveth, and was dead." Eev. i. 18. 
 To Jesus, this hour was one oi holy joy, and glorious triumph. 
 The resurrection the work oi the Father, and the Holy Ghost. Eom. i. 4. 
 Hitherto we have known Him, as the Son bearing obedience. Heb. ii. 10. 
 Now we find Him perfected, at the foot of His throne. 
 Remember. Forgetfulness of His words, brings trouble. 
 Strange to hear angels quoting a whole sentence of the crucified Galilean. 
 A wonder it was not as fresh to His disciples as it was to angels. 
 Unbelief prevents us beholding those divine mysteries which "angels 
 
 desire to look into." 1 Pet. i. 12. 
 Where are doubters of Christ's Divinity, when angels adore Him ? 
 " He was seen of angels, and received up into glory." 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 Spake. Gr. made it the frequent theme of discourse. 
 Galilee. Luke i. 26. See Notes. 
 The words referred to were spoken more than a half year before. 
 
 riyepdi]. The Besurrection of Jesus is so sublime, touching, and beautiful, if it were 
 even a /a6/e, which it is not, we should wish it were historical truth. Herder. The 
 reality or identity of His body doubted by Docctae. Rationalists make His resurrection 
 a revival from a trance. Others deny all essential difference between spirit and matter, 
 on Pantheistic grounds. Some identify tho resurrection and ascension in principle.
 
 522 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP. XXIV. 
 
 7. Saying, TJie Son of man rmist he delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be 
 crucified, and the third day rise again. 
 
 The Son of man. Luke v. 2-1. The Lord did not call Himself .Son of 
 
 man after tlis resurrection. 
 Delivered. " By the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." 
 
 Acts ii. 23. 
 His life of thirty three years, a preparation for His crucifixion. 
 His life of forty days a preparation for His ascension. 
 Third day. Triumph of Israel's King, the temporal downfall of Israel. 
 The great atonement completed. — Israel's judicial hardening begins. 
 Yet the Lord's resurrection a pledge of Israel's future restoration. Eom. 
 
 xi. 26. 
 To the apostles, His resurrection a renewal of faith, hope, and love, 
 
 after all had seemed lost by His death. 
 His resurrection alone solves the mystery of His strange life. 
 By this great event the distiu-bed harmony of our views, is restored. 
 It is the climax of aU His stupendous mii-acles. 
 It was the Divine seal on all His declarations concerning Himself. 
 It proves His sacrifice for sin, acceptable to the Father. 
 The Spirit lays more stress on His resurrection, than en His death, 
 
 Eom. V. 10. 
 It con-oborates the possibility, certainty and glory of our resurrection. 
 It alone explains the success of' the apostles, and conversion of thousands. 
 
 avSpi^TTiav cLjiapTuiKiav . Heathen, Ttomans. Slier. 
 
 8. And they rememhered his words. 
 
 9. And returned from, the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and 
 to all the rest. 
 
 10. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other 
 women that ■were witii- tliem, which told these things unto the apostles. 
 
 Mary Magdalene. Luke viii. 2. History and character. Sec Notes. 
 Joanna. Wife of Chuza, Herod's steward. Luke viii. 3. Sec Notes. 
 Salome. Mark. (xvi. 1) adds her name among the witnesses. 
 "With more courage at the cross, first honored at the resurrection. 
 Told these things. ^Yeak women have been at times, evangelists to 
 men.
 
 CnAP, XXIV.] ON ST, LUKE. S23 
 
 "Mary," &c. The Evangelist derived part of these facts from Joanna, and part from 
 iWatthew'R gospel. liosenvtuUer. We cannot believe that an Evauyelist was dependant 
 for matter on an uninspired memory. Mapt'a 'laiculjSou. The article 17 is prefixed to 
 'laKiu^ov in some ancien MSS., perhaps rightly. Wordsworlh. 
 
 11. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 
 
 Their words. "Neither believed they them." Mark xvi. 13. 
 
 Idle tales. Mary Magdalene confirmed their words with no better 
 
 result. John xx. 18. 
 They had forgotten the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. Mark vi. 52. 
 Their hearts hardened, understood none of these things. Luke xviii. 36. 
 
 oicrel Arjpos, Joke, superstitious folly and delusion. Hall. The Lord's brethiea raiiy 
 have received the news in the same manner. Acts i. 14. De Wette. 
 
 12. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre ; and stooping down, he beheld the 
 linen clothes laid hy themselves, and departed, wondering i7i himself at that which was 
 come to pnss. 
 
 Arose Peter. John ran in compr jy with him. John xx. 3. 
 Linen clothes. He omits all allusion to the napkin. John xx. 7. 
 Laid by themselves. Sign of order. It was no hurried awaking. 
 They saw how One had laid down and slept, and awakened. Psa. iii, 5. 
 The napkin folded had been laid by itself. Jolm xx. 7. 
 Departed. Gr. to Jus oivn house. 
 
 TleVpos, &c. If genuine, out of place. Rosenmuller, All bracketed. Lachmann. 
 Tischendurf omits this verse ; Alford and Meyer retain it. Authentic, and merely 
 omitted in some ancient MSS. because it seemed at variance with verse 21. The incom- 
 pleteness and fragmentary nature of the notice evidences of its authenticity. Oosterzee. 
 
 wapaKvipa:; , Btooping to look, Trpcs eavToi', connected with 6av[id^uiv. Erasmus, 
 Beza. ■ Others take it with anTJAfle. Hammond, Kuinoel, Dengel. anriKde. — He went 
 away home. Alford. Eamus ad me. Terence. Let vs go to my house. Major. " Coma 
 to pass."~Oidei of incidents at the resurrection, 1. Two parties of females, one with 
 Joanna, &c. ; another with Mary, Salome, set out from different parts for the tomb : 
 while going, the stone is rolled away, and the Lord rises. 2. Mary arrives at the 
 sepulchre about sunrise ; Mary runs to find Peter and John. The other females enter 
 the sepulchre, see an angel, receive a message, and depart. 8. Joanna's party arrives,
 
 524 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [cHAP, XXIV. 
 
 Bce two angels, and return to the di&ciples. 4. Peter and John visit the sepulchre. 
 D. JNIary Magdalene, who had foUowed Peter and John, sees two angels, then Christ. 
 C. Two disciples leave for Emmaus, hefore Mary Magdalene reports the appearance of 
 Jesus. 7. He appears to Peter. 8. Ho appears to the Eleven. 9. A week after He 
 appears the second time to the Eleven. 10. Ho appears to Mary and Salome and 
 peihaps to Mary Magdalene. Greswell. 
 
 13. IT And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which 
 was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 
 
 Two of tliem. Not of the Twelve, from ■whom they are specially 
 
 distinguished. 
 «' They that feared the Lord spake often one to another." Mai. iii. IG. 
 Same day. They would not have left Jerusalem, had they believed 
 
 His words. 
 Emmaus. Hot baths, 7J miles from Jerusalem, the modern Kuheibeh, 
 Eight hundred veterans of Vespasian were located here. 
 It is now a mass of ruins, uninhabited, save by jackalls. 
 It lay west of Jerusalem, on the road to ancient Mizpeh. 
 It was a charming tract, but nature's beauties, cannot detain or satisfy 
 
 the heart, that has lost Christ. 
 From Jerusalem. A wrong way ; the Good Shc2:)herd seeks the erring 
 
 sheep. 
 The appearances to Peter and James, the Gospels omit. 1 Cor. xv. 6. 
 
 Suo. Cleopas not the same as Cleophas, John xix. 25, but Cleopatrus. With regard 
 to the other disciple, conjectures are numerous ; strong probability it was Luke. The 
 copiousness and evident predilection with which he describes the whole circumstance, 
 presumptive evidence ; the suppression of the name strengthens the supposition. Thj;o- 
 phylact, Lange, Oosterzee. Luke the other. Persian Version. Neither an apostle. 
 Major. Lightfoot thinks it was Peter, on account of 1 Cor. xv. 5, and says Cleophas or 
 Alphaeus, being the father of four apostles, was older than Peter, therefore the speaker. 
 Origcn calls him Simon. Alphrcus, and his son James the apostle. Braune, Wieseler, 
 Cleopas and Nathaniel. Epiphanius, Grieshaeh. Cleopas and Bartholomew. Kuinoel. 
 They were returning homo from the Passover. Qrotius. Luke desires to give prominence 
 te our Lord's appearing to these two disciples. Baur. 
 
 "JSmmaus," not to bo confounded with Emmaus in the plain of Judrea, 17G stadii 
 from JeruBalom ; in the third century called Niuopolis. The Emmaus mentioned is the 
 modern Kulonlch. Oosterzee. Tho true position lost before the times of Jerome and 
 Eusehius. Aecoiding to lo<>al tradition, Kuheibch. Wordsworth. Throe places of this 
 luune, ), tho town afterwards called Nicopolis, 22 Eoman miles from Jerusalem, where
 
 CIUP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE, 525 
 
 Jndas'Maccabens defeated the Syrian general Gorgias : see 1 Mace. iii. 40-57. 2, another 
 Emraaus mentioned by Josephus as being t«/>ont of the Sea of Tiberius. 3, theEmmaua 
 mentioned by Luke. Alford. The true site unknown. Smith's Dictionary. 
 
 li.'^ And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 
 
 Talked. "How good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in 
 
 unity." Psa. cxxxiii. 1. 
 All these things. What tho Lord's disciples always love best to 
 
 speak of. 
 
 15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesua 
 himself drew near, and went xoith them. 
 
 Communed. Gr. to ask each other in turn, a disputation. 
 Reasoned. They seem to have given up all hope, that Jesus was the 
 
 Messiah. 
 They had but little faith iu the words of the women. 
 Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit always present with Christians. 
 The Saviour, a travelling companion, wilHng to accompany us through 
 
 all our jom-ney. 
 Drew near. Gr. coming from behind, from Jerusalem. 
 Instead of seeking a triiunph at Jerusalem, with divine sympathy, He 
 
 seeks in solitude, to bless two sorrowing pilgrims. 
 Our Lord appeared to the womenfirst. 
 Secondly, to some disciples, not honored with apostleship. 
 He appeared unto Peter last, who needed strengthening. 
 Jesus is near, when we think Him afar off. 
 The invisible witness of our most secret converse. 
 
 IG. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 
 
 Eyes holden. It appears as if divine power veiled their mind. Num. 
 
 xxii. 31 ; 2 King vi. 17. 
 He had assumed " another form.'" Mark xvi. 12. 
 This word indicates a definite purpose of love divine. 
 He could have instantly rendered doubt impossible. 
 When Jesus holds the eyes in tho trials of His servants, it is that light, 
 
 joy and consolation may follow. 
 Sinners holdinn their own eyes, incur the danger of eternal blindness. 
 
 46
 
 526 SUGGESTUrE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 The sun is indeed bright, but not to the closed eyes. 
 
 Neither Mary, Cleopas, nor disciples at the Lake recognized Him. 
 
 Not know Him. His appearance was, in some unknown way, 
 
 changed. Mark xvi. 12. 
 Or they would probably have recognized Him during the long interview. 
 But His image was impressed on their minds as that of the dying sufferer. 
 They were not thinking of His resurrection, and still less of His 
 
 immediate presence. 
 How then could they, in such a state of mind, immediately recogni/.o, in 
 
 this tranquil, vigorous, and dignified traveller, their crucified 
 
 expiring Master? 
 It seems certain that a supernatural cause was combined with this natural 
 
 reason. 
 
 ex/jO-xA/ioi. Hindered by divine power. Grot flit, ^?/or(f, Elslcy, Brnum ; blinded by 
 grief. Le Clcrc ; raetaphoricaUy blinded. Rosenmuller, Kuinoel ; bo affected they could 
 not see. Campbell ; failed to recognize, a Hebraism. BIoom_^eW; eyes closed by Satan. 
 L.H.V.D. 
 
 iKparovvro, indicates a definite purpose of love. Oosterzee, The contrast is in verse 
 81, SnqvoCxB-ria-av. Bcnrfcl, He seems to have appeared to them like a Trdponcos. Wordi- 
 worth, irepa jxop^-jj, Mark svi. 12. Our Saviour assumed a scholar's appearance. Ltght- 
 foot ; another dress. Grotius, Beza, BosenmuUer, Kninoel ; disguise of an aged traveller. 
 Doddridrie ; form actually changed by His death. Maywallen; so full of gioiy. Hasse ; 
 Christ disfigured by suffering. Qrotius; their hearts alien from Him. Luther; excite- 
 ment of mind. Klcuker, 
 
 17. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have 
 one to another, as ye walk, and are sad ? 
 
 He said. Great love for Christ, makes religious converse easy. 
 
 A cold heart, only, dragoons religion into company. 
 
 The waters of -Jacob's well, led to the living water. John iv. 7-8. 
 
 Philip finding the eitnuch reading Isaiah, preaches Christ. Acts yiii. 30. 
 
 Communications. Gr. dh2^utatio7is ; He did not ask for information, 
 
 but to instruct them. 
 They were probably comparing the O.T. prophecies with the events of 
 
 their Lord's history. 
 The mystery of the resiirrection, surpasses all the xeasoninigs of men. 
 Ye have. Gr. cast about ; earnest discussion implied. 
 Ai'e sad. 1. How sad is life without this divine light. 2. What hinders 
 
 it from entering our hearts. 3. How twilight begins to dawn. 4. 
 
 How the full light rises in the heart.
 
 CHAP. XXrV.] ON ST. LUEE. C27 
 
 He was silently displeased with their unbelief. 
 
 But He rejoiced at the depth of their love. 
 
 This question He puts to all heavy-laden sinners. 
 
 In all our temptations, Christ seemingly absent, is present. 
 
 Uuljeliovers alas ! are often too gay without Christ. 
 
 Morally and intellectually iusane, even amid chains. Ecc. ix. 8. 
 
 True disciples mourn the absence of the Eedeemer. 
 
 avTipdWere. Ye are debating, or more familiarly — Te are bandying about. Major; 
 cast about. Brown. Wliat subjects are these about which ye confer together ? Campbell, 
 And why are ye sad ? Vers. Ocr. No blame imputed. Alford. Jesus asked in sympathy, 
 and rebuked them for their sorrow. Lange ; full of gracious friendship. Sticr. If, with 
 Tifchendorf, we strike out the words /cat i(TTe, we have then but a single, instead of a 
 double question. Onsterzee. a-KvOpuiToC. External sorrow. Slier, The reading is doubt- 
 ful. The Vatican MS. has, And they stood, looking sad. Alford. Cod. Sinai, also haa 
 eo'Ta^Tjtrai'. 
 
 18. And the one of them, whose name u-as Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou 
 only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not knoivn the things ichich are come to pass there 
 in these days ? 
 
 One of them. The other is not named. — Thus John i. 35. 
 
 Cleopas. Gr. the glory of his country. 
 
 Not the same as Cleophas, John xix. 25 ; a contracted form of Cleopatrns. 
 
 Stranger. Gr. a new comer, they wonder at His ignorance. 
 
 Jesus may have used the dialect of Galilee. 
 
 Alas ! that Jesus is a stranger to so many Christians. John i. 26. 
 
 Jesus' interruption seemed unseasonable to their grief. 
 
 6 els. Cleopas' companion was Cephas, a different disciple from Peter. Sardouiil, 
 Cleopas and Alphajus were the same. Lightfoot; not the same. Prescott ; safer to doubt 
 their identity. Smith's Dictionary. Brother of Joseph, and reputed uncle of Christ. 
 His son Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, after James. Elslcy, Hammond. 
 
 20 ixovoi TrapoiKeli. Dost <Aoit sojourn alone? Alford. Art thou alone a sojourner 
 at Jerusalem, and dost not know what things have happened there ? i.e. all others who 
 sojourn there do know. Have we met in thee the only person who docs not know ? 
 Wordsworth. We had not su2)posed it possible that there could have been one. Major. 
 Thou, the only resident .at Jerusalem, ignorant. Theophylact. Art thou, the only oi:a 
 among the sojourners ? Kuinocl, Wctstein. TrapotKeis. Galilean pronunciation. De 
 Wette. Questioned. Oosterzcc. Thou art the only sojourner at Jerusalem who knowtth
 
 £28 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXIV. 
 
 not. Parlier. The Lord here gives an instructive example how far, in tho wisdom oi 
 love, we may cirry dissimulation, v^iiiiout speaking untruth. Stier. 6 omitted before tis. 
 Tischcndorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 19. And he said unto them. TfOiat things f And they said tinto him. Concerning Jesus 
 of Nazareth, which was a prophet mijhtij in deed and loord before God and all tJie 
 people : 
 
 He said. Ho concealed Himself in love, without dissembling. 
 
 He did not assert Himself to be a stranger in Jerusalem. 
 
 He did not deny that He knew what had taken place. 
 
 "What things ? Without dissembling, we may keep back our thoughts. 
 
 " Woman, why weepcst thou ?" He knew well the cause. John xx. 13. 
 
 He had a right to draw out her whole heart. 
 
 Conceriiing. Prophecies of Christ are very minute and full. 
 
 His humiliation and sufferings are foretold as well as His glory. 
 
 Unbehef too wilHng to veil all His foretold sorrows. 
 
 Jesus of Nazareth.. Confessing the abhorred name without fear. 
 
 They give free vent now, to their disappointed expectations. 
 
 The complaint -of disappointed hope. 1. Sounds painfully. 2. Bat la 
 
 quickly silenced. 
 Prophet. Luke i. 70. Ambassadors revealing God's will to men. 
 The people admitted His claims, because of His miracles. 
 Deed. Expresses a perfect man, among the ancient Greeks. 
 Refers to the stupendous wonders He performed. 
 Word. The supernatural eloquence of a Galilean prophet. 
 
 It appears from ot Se ilirov, that both spoke ; although it is not possible to dis- 
 tinguish exacf.jr between the several words spoken by each. The outpouring of their 
 hearts remarkable, as showing what the Lord had been, and still was, in their eyes, 
 even at thu moment when they saw their fondest hopes vanish. Oosterzee. 
 
 eyfVcTo, was becoming a prophet. Meyer, avrjp, redundant. Major. SwaTo^j applied 
 very often to eloquence. Wetstcin. Pre-eminent in miracles and teaching. TV. & W, 
 A.67W, wiBdom and eloquence; epy?! t° ^^ miracles, Kypke. 
 
 20. And how Vu chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, 
 ■and have crucified him. 
 
 Chief priests. Luko i. 5. Official history and duties. Sec Notes.
 
 CHAP. XXrV.] ON ST. LUKE. 529 
 
 Our rulers. Sbews the speakers to have been Jews, not Hellenists. 
 The great ones of the earth doing wrong, must expect the rebukes of men. 
 Condemned to death. They freely declare an irreconcilable difference 
 between them and their rulers. 
 
 oTTtos continues the nns-vrer to the qnestion asked in verse 19, by Trota, and the manner 
 in which. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 21. But we trusted that it had teen he which ehould have redeemed Israel : and beside 
 all this, to any is the third day since these things were done. 
 
 We. Emphatic. Others thought differently, but %oe trusted. 
 Trusted. Gr. were hoping : it had been their habitual expectation. 
 But the humiliating and unexpected death of Jesus, had crushed their 
 
 hopes. 
 They openly declare that hope is past. 
 Their warm hearts longed for a camal deliverer. 
 He might have done it by some splendid miracle, 
 Like that which accompanied their first redemption from Egypt. 
 Their hope is neither spiritually, nor politically defined. 
 But the grave was the rock, against which all hope had been dashed. 
 Men hoi^e when there is nothing, and despair when they should hope. 
 Hedeemed. Deliverance from Eomo, and setting iip the kingdom. 
 
 Acts i. 6. 
 This shows the kind of Messiah then generally expected. 
 An earthly kingdom, joined with mental and moral imjorovement. 
 Their ideas of a spiritual ransom were very vague. 
 Israel. The name given to Jacob after wrestling at Peniel, with the 
 
 Angel. 
 Beside all this. Increased their feelings of disappointment. 
 They, through excitement or deep disappointment forgot to state, the 
 
 most material point, the Saviour's promise to rise. Mark viii. 31. 
 Faith and imbelief often have hard battles. Eom. vii. 23. 
 Third day. They entertained some hope on the first and second day. 
 " Abraham lifted up his eyes on the third day." Gen. xxii. 4. 
 *' On the third day, the Lord will raise us up." Hos. vi. 2. 
 Jonah on the third day, was restored to the hght. Jonah i. 17. 
 They may have heard the i^rophecy He uttered. Mark viii. 31. 
 They no longer ventiu-ed to chng to the hope of His being the Messiali.
 
 530 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXIV. 
 
 •)}A.7rt^o/xev, not trusted. A word of -weakened trust, and shrinking from tlie avowal 
 that they still believed this. Al/ord. Hope stronger than faith. Stier. They might 
 doubt His Messiahship and yet believe Him a true prophet. Olshausen. "We for our 
 part were hoping." The Imperfect impUes that this had been their habitual expectation 
 for some period of time. Webster's Syntax. 
 
 kvTpoicrBm. PoUtical redemption. Olshausen ; political and moral. Stier ; theocratic 
 sense. Al/ord. 'ItrpariK, A man seeing God. Jerome, Prince with God. Thou hast 
 contended. Gesenius. 
 
 aKKa. ye <rvv Tracri tou'tois. " But moreover in conjunction with aU these events." 
 The force of -je is to strengthen the idea of the verb to which it is attached, see Luke xi. 
 8; Kom. viii. 32 ; 1 Cor. iv. 8. In English ye can only be rendered by laying an emphasis 
 on the word to which it is attached ; here it serves to increase the tone of despondency. 
 Webster's Syntax. Koi after aWa ye has been adopted by Tisclietidorf and Lachmann, 
 Cud. Sinai, mjnepoi', omitted. Cod. Sinai, 
 
 22. Tea, and certain women also of our company made ns astonisJied, which were early 
 at the sepulchre ; 
 
 Yea. Hints at thoughts -n-aYeriug between faith and unbelief. 
 Women. Females generally stronger in their affection : first at the 
 
 tomb. 
 All persons regarded by Him, -without distinction of sex or condition. 
 
 Gal. iii. 28. 
 One third more females, church members, than males. Edwards, 
 Astonislied. They were rather affrighted, than comforted. 
 
 oAAa KoX. But, moreover, equivalent to " certainly, thus much has happened." 
 Alford. Tifes ef t;(xo)>', intimates a confederacy opposed to the rulers. Stier. i^ian^trav. 
 Thrown into amazement. Bloomfield ; a state of vehement agitation and hesitation. 
 Wolfius; quite beside themselves {oomp. Acts ii. 12), and no longer knew what to think 
 of the whole matter. Oosterzee. 
 
 23. And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a 
 vision oj'ancjels, which said that he was alive. 
 
 They found not, -vs-hat they had sought, but heard -what they could 
 
 not believe. 
 Seen. They saw far more than they expected : God gives more than Ho 
 
 promises. 
 Angels. Luke i. 11. Their character and history. See Notes.
 
 CHAP. XXIV.J ON ST. LUKE. 531 
 
 24. And certain of them tchicli were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even 
 so as the women had said : but him they saw 7iot, 
 
 Certain of them. Pctpr and John with otliors went to the grave. 
 
 Him they saw not. Thus tLey bid farewell to all hope. 
 
 Like Mary Magdalene, they said tins before His face. 
 
 There is a tone of melancholy decisiveness in this statement. 
 
 It gently reflects upon the credulity of their fellow disciples. 
 
 It shows a deei) desire, that what they had heard, might be true. 
 
 But there is an under running cuiTent of doubt. The news is too good 
 
 to be true. 
 The flax is only smoking, and the bruise.d reed near to breakiiuj. Matt. 
 
 xii. 20. 
 The sun of faith in the resurrection, struggling still in thick clouds. 
 Sincere disciples loving Christ are often in gloom through unbelief. 
 Their final lamentation allows nothing farther, in their deep emotion. 
 They are now silent in the presence of their unknown fellow traveller. 
 
 Tives TMV <7vv rfixiv. Not only the apostles, but others had undertaken the necessary 
 researches : {jreat confusion and separation on this day. Stier. " But Ilini they saw not." 
 These last words show why they felt they must bid farewell to their hopes. Oostcrzce. 
 
 25. Tlien he said, unto them, fools, and slow of heart to believe all that tite prophets 
 liave spoken : 
 
 He said. Something must have irresistibly attracted these disciples to 
 
 Him. 
 With increasing confidence, they poured out their full hearts. 
 One word, as with Mary, would change their sorrow into joy. 
 O fools. Translation inexact. Our Lord never called disciples '^ fools.'' 
 Gr. tvithout understanding ; unwise in Eom. i. 14 ; foolishin Gal. iii. 1. 
 He diverts them from rumours to the Scriptures. 
 He opens the Imtorical, by first unfolding the scriptui-al account. 
 The sympathizing stranger, changed at once into a mighty rebuMng 
 
 Master. 
 Is it the same questioning and listening fellow traveller? 
 Their smitten hearts penetrated by the fire of His love. 
 " Have ye not farther advanced in my school?" 
 They looked for condolence, but He solemnly reproves them. 
 He shews them the cause of sorrow, is enthely within themselves.
 
 532 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY [CHAI'. XXIV. 
 
 Reproaches of the risen Saviour, kind as a loving visitation. 
 " Faithful are the -wounds of a friend." Prov. xx\ii. 6. 
 If He rebukes our unbelief, it is only in love. 
 Sincere prayer will ever seciire the Expoukder. 
 His teaching makes the head wise, and the heart bum. 
 SloTV of heart. " Ye who gi-oundlessly doubt, ought to believe.^' 
 J')oubts in religion, often spring from an unloving heart. 
 'Many more believed because of His word." John iv. 41. 
 He does not deny that they had believed some things. 
 But their partial belief, had kindled no light in their minds. 
 Indolence and ignorance, cause unbelief. 
 Progress of truth is from the heart to the head. 
 Love alone is the key, to an understanding faith. 
 JBelieve. Saxon hclove. The judgment satisfied, trusts ; tho heart, 
 
 loves, both constitute faith. 
 This great word, a constant and decisive test of a man's heart. 
 It implies far more than historical faith in Eevelation. 
 Apostles themselves " slow of heart," John xx. 9, till the day of 
 
 Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended. 
 It is oiu* sin to be ignorant of, or not believe in the Scriptures. 
 "If ye would understand the Scriptures, all is clear there." 
 All. His sufferings in humiliation, as well as His glories. 
 The prophets. Luke i. 70. The Scriptures cannot be broken. 
 Spoken. Faith must not be grounded on words, or visions of angels. 
 Nor on the word of man, nor on the fact of seeing Himself personally. 
 But on the covenant word and promises of the true and faithful Jehovah. 
 If they were His disciples, words heard before, must now have burned in 
 
 their souls. 
 The wise find in the Prophets, that which He found there. 
 Ignorance in judgment, will be rebuked by the Master. Luke xii. 47. 
 
 av6y\Toi. Deficient in nndcrstanding, insensible in an intellectual sense. Oogterzce. 
 PpaSiU. sluggish. Alford. Not able, because not willing. Stier. Not their unbelief of 
 the ■n-omon, but of prophecy. Braune. "All that Jesus had spoken." ilarcion, according 
 to Tcrtullian. Notwithstanding all. Benpcl. inl, not rendered in the E.V., on the 
 authority of. 
 
 2G. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory f 
 
 Ought not ? A necessity founded on God's prophecy and decrtic.
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. C33 
 
 Thfiir minds -were fixed exclusively on Messiah's earthly glories. 
 They overlooked His bufferings, so oft foretold hy Isaiah, chap. liii. 
 Ought not ? 1. Because it had been thus appointed by the Father. 
 Ought not ? 2. Because by so doing He fulfilled the Scriptures. 
 Ought not ? 3. Because by His sufferings He atoned for guilty man to 
 
 God. 
 Ought not ? 4. Because by suffering He merited the glory of resurrec- 
 tion. 
 Ought not ? 5. Because the greatness of human sin required so great 
 
 a sacrifice. 
 Ought not ? G. Because Ho has left us an example of holy jiatienca 
 
 and resignation. 
 Ought not ? 7. Because by His humiliation and sufferings Ho has 
 
 opened for us the way to eternal glory. 
 Christ. Gr. the Chkist ; the divinely promised and anointed Messiah. 
 Suffered. The severest trials of faith, oft precede the most glorious 
 
 gifts of grace. 
 Imphes that the Scriptm-es clearly taught, that the Messiah icas to be a 
 
 Suffering Messiah. 
 The same ti-uth was taught by Moses and Elijah. Luke ix. 31. 
 Representing the Law and Prophets they spake of His death. 
 All the prophets i^redicted His svfferiiifjs, and His glory. 1 Pet. i. 11. 
 This has ever proved a stumbling block to the proud. John vi. 00. 
 Peter after the noble confession (Matt. xvi. 22) refused to believe it. 
 
 1. Suffering prepares the path to glory, as faith to salvation. 
 
 2. Suffeiiug is soon to be exchanged for glory. 
 
 3. Suffering endured, increases the enjoyment of glory. 
 
 These things. Trials of cruel mockings, scourging and crucifixion. 
 
 These very things creating doubts, ought to confirm faith. 
 
 They are the true characteristic marks of the true Messiah. 
 
 Enter. This they did not think compatible with the Messiah. 
 
 Each day, He made another remove from His vacated gi-ave. 
 
 He di'ew nearer to His crown and throne. 
 
 In these appearings, we learn the power of His resurrection. Phil. iii. 10. 
 
 " Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall 
 
 divide the spoil with the strong." Isa. liii. 12. 
 His glory. Fire, light, chosen emblems of deity. Luke xii. 49. 
 
 eSei. 11 \!an desired. Eoseiirmttlcr, KuinoH ; necessaTj. Tischendorf. Tlie Lord did 
 not intend to say that He has aheady entered into His glory, but s'lake as one who was
 
 534 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAKY [CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 now thus uracil nearer to this glorj', that His sufferings were already passed. Oosterzee. 
 Spokfi-n of as past, eSti, iupast tense, referable to the counsel of God. Stier. ela-e\9nv, 
 marking the ploi-y as a heavenly condition, iaiije. Had already entered. Kinkcl. Stl, 
 supplied by Meyer. It was not the glory, but the suffering, about which they were so 
 "slow of heart." Al/ord. 
 
 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all tlte 
 scriptures the things concerning himself. 
 
 Beg'inning'. As no earthly lips had ever yet expoitaded Scripture. 
 
 Here He establishes the mighty paradox of verse 26. 
 
 If the disciples themselves failed to see prophecy fulfilled in Jesus, how 
 
 much more the blind bigot-s of the Sanhediim ! 
 Mary's privilege of first seeing the Eedeemer, was grea-t. 
 That of the apostles, oi handling the Word of Life, was greater. 
 But to walk to Emmaus with Him, surpassed all others. 
 Angels might well descend to listen to their Lord. 
 Have they ever enjoyed such a walk in heaven ? 
 Paul in bonds thus illumined the wondering Jews at Rome. Acts 
 
 xxviii. 23. 
 All the types in their historic application, were included. 
 Moses. Luke ii. 22. History and character of the meekest of men. 
 
 See Notes. 
 He began with Moses as the source of all prophecies concerning Himself. 
 '• Seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Gen iii. 15. 
 Abraham offering Isaac, the uplifting of the brazen serj^ent, and the 
 
 healing of all who looked to it. 
 " A prophet shall the Lord thy God raise up, like unto me." Deut. 
 
 xviii. 15. 
 He places written word, above all visible manifestations. Luke xxiv. 45. 
 Faith is the most assiu-od iind of knowledge. Heb. xi. 1. 
 The letter doth not kill, unless it drive away the spirit. 2 Cor. iii. G. 
 Prophets. The remaining Scriptures of the Jewish Church. Psa. xxii. 
 
 1-18 ; Psa. xvi. 10-11 ; Psa. Ixviii. 18 ; Psa. ex. 1-7 ; Isa. hii. ; 
 
 Dan. ix. 
 Expounded. An hour spent with such a Master, better than a thousand 
 
 elsewhere. 
 Scriptures. Doubtless the same texts quoted by the apostles. 
 Proves the high value, our Saviour places on the Bible. 
 He who denies the prophecies, denies the Redeemer Himself. Rev. 
 
 xix. 10.
 
 CiIAl». XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 685 
 
 The things. WTiole Scriptures an unbroken testimony to Him. 
 Jcwisli Listorj', types, law, prophecies, sacrifices, 
 The brazen serpent, manna, pillar of fire, the ark of the covenant, 
 The siicrifico of the ram for Isaac, the Paschal lamb, &c., &c. 
 There is a connected unity in all the 3Icssianic prophecies. 
 Himself. The great burden and centre of the O.T, 
 All that is %Yi-itten concerning the MessiaJi, applies to Jes^ts. 
 A denial of references to Christ's death, and glory in the O.T., is hence- 
 forth a denial of His oicu teacliing. 
 Refusing to confess Christ's coming in the flesh is antichrist. 1 John iv. 3. 
 
 apfdfiej'09. An emphatic intimatioa of the snccessive nature of His discourse. 
 Oosterzee. The word {ap^dfj-evo^) belongs to both the following clauses. Slanda by 
 itself. Stier, AlJ'ord. Began with Moses first, i.e. He began with each as He came to 
 them. Alford ; as they occur. Stier. One wonders such an epitome was lost. Hcnnell. 
 Before prophecy is fuljilled. there is no certain understanding of it. Stier. 
 
 Siripfj-rjuivei' , from 'Ep/iVjs — Interpreter of the Gods. A singular cilect of Pagan 
 letters on ecclesiastical language. IF. (£ W. ra. nepl. Things, not parls. Alford. The 
 mystery of Christ'.s death, first disclosed on the way to Emmaus. Ve Wctte. Belie.ving 
 the Scriptures, we must expound them, as did Jesus. Olshausen. Xo doubt of Christ's 
 expositions, is to renounce Christianity. Meyer. For kainov, Himself , read aiirou, Him. 
 Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 28. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went : and he made as though he 
 would have gone further. 
 
 He made as if. He intended actually to proceed further. 
 
 Had they not constrained Him to abide with them. He actually icould 
 
 have gone further. 
 The very thought of His dissembling seoms blaspJieinous. 
 Eeligion ever begets modesty. Sin is presiunptuous. 2 Peter ii. 10. 
 Christians do not (lirust themselves on friends, ^Yithout invitation. 
 They make sure of a welcome, before availing themselves of it. 
 His seeming intention was to bring out their hospitality. 
 He only intended to rouse their cryings after Him. 
 He tests them to see it the truth had entered their hearts. 
 The Lord " tempted," i.e. tested, tried Abraham's faith. Gen. xxii. 1.
 
 53G SUGGESTIVE COMMENTABY [cHAP. XXTV. 
 
 r)yyitiav. This occurred about 3 p.m. Lardner ; between 3 and 4. Jcme»; about 
 sundown. Andrews. TrpocreTroieiTO, the Lnperfect form. He was making as though. 
 Alford. The FHi^aie "finxit" is liable to objection. Finxit suggests the idea of pre- 
 tending. The meaning is, — He was making overtures to go further. He was like one 
 going further. fVordsxcorth. The word (7roo<r7rote'a>) means, 1, to attach to one's self. 
 2, to assume the appearance of. 
 
 29. But they constrained him, saying. Abide with its : for it is toward evening, and 
 the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 
 
 Constrained. Gr. to press with urgent entreaties : moral compulsion. 
 
 He ever acted in perfect strictness and sincerity. 
 
 He had not said anything to indicate that He would go on. 
 
 He had made no contract whatever to remain with them. 
 
 They would not have Him continue His journey hy night. 
 
 We also must wrestle, to secure the abiding presence of Christ. 
 
 *^ Pass not away, I pray Thee, from thy servant," Abraham. Gen. 
 
 sviii. 3. 
 "Lot pi-essed upon the angels greatly, and they turned in." Gen.xix. 3. 
 "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me," Jacob. Gen. sxxii. 26. 
 "I pray Thee, let ws detain Thee," pleaded Mauoah. Judges, xiii. 15. 
 The woman of Canaan followed Him even into the house. Mark vii. 24. 
 He would have passed by the disciples in the storm, had they not cried 
 
 out. Mark vi. 48. 
 He loves to be constrained by persevering faith. Matt. xv. 27. 
 He is pleased with the mightiest wrestling, even when He cries " Lex 
 
 Me alone," to Moses, in prayer. Ex. xxxii. 10. 
 Too oft He tarries not, because suffered by us to depart. 
 We, like them, may constrain Him, for He is willing to be constrained. 
 Without this loving wUl we should have no power to constrain Him. 
 " The kingdom of heaven suffcreth violence, and the violent take it by 
 
 force." Matt. xi. 12. 
 Abide with us. For the love they bear Him, for His gi-acious 
 
 teachings. 
 They desired their hearts to hum on, with the sacred flame He had 
 
 kindled. 
 Tlic more unbelief abounds, the more earnestly should we pray. 
 Abiding of Christ longed for by all true believers. 
 " I have a desire to depart, and be wij;h Christ," Paul. Phil. i. 23. 
 Evening. Clirist the best consolation for the evening of life.
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON BT. LUKE. 5B7 
 
 Far spent. They maliO their care of Him, the pretext of their love. 
 
 Silence invests Him with sacred soleninitj-, while they prepare the repast. 
 "Abide with mc from morn till eve, 
 For without Thee I cannot live : 
 Abide with me when night is nigh, 
 For without Thee I cannot die." Keile. 
 
 rape/Siacraj'TO. Jlost earnestly besought Him ; comp. Luke xiv. 23, — " compel them : " 
 Acts xvi. 15,^" she besought us." Oosterzee. ij.e6' j'jfxwi/ does not imply that they lived at 
 Emmaus. Alford. - 
 
 30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he tool: bread, and blessed it, 
 aita brake, and gave to them. 
 
 Sat at meat. Gr. reclined. Antiquity of the custom. Luke v. 29. 
 
 See Notes. 
 They had not been forgetful to entertain strangers. Heb. xiii. 2. 
 Took bread. As He was wout, with holy dignity and serenity. 
 The guest took on Himself the office of Master of the house. 
 This was doubtless the first thing, startling to them. 
 The entire scene may have reminded them of the Lord's Supper 
 Blessed it. Teacher, Eebuker, Comforter, Giver of thanks. 
 Brake it. A proof that ^'breaking bread" is not the same as the 
 
 Lord's Supper. 
 Gave it. In doing it, He kindled a flame of His own Divine love. 
 He doubtless disclosed some of the glory to be revealed. Eom. viii. 18. 
 He removes the veil assumed, and their last doubt vanished. 
 
 /cAao-as. An ordinaiy tet-nrov, and not the Lord's Supper, and still less a communio 
 sub una specie, which Romanists endeavor to prove. Oosterzce. Our Lord determined to 
 leave in the very distribution, and thus end it before it was begun. Lightfoot. Neither 
 of these disciples was present at the institution of the Lord's Supper. Alford. Not their 
 own house, but an inn. Alford. evAoyijo-ei'. Three Jews eating together were accustomecl 
 to render thanks. Meyer. 
 
 .31. And their eyes were opened, and they Tcncxe him ; and he vanished out of their 
 sight. 
 
 Eyes were opened. Hebraism. They first then really discovered 
 Him.
 
 538 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTAEY fCHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Their eyes supernatm-ally closed (as they were), now supurnaturally 
 
 opened. 
 Used of eyes morally, as well as physically closed. Gen. iii. 7 ; 2 Kings. 
 
 \i. 17-20. 
 Believers must ever " walk by faith, not by sight. ' 2 Cor. y. 7. 
 They may have seen the wounds in His hands. 
 Or perhaps there was something peculiar in His manner of breaking tho 
 
 bread. 
 Or He may have alluded to some saying He had uttered before His 
 
 death. 
 It implies their recognition was sudden and unexpected, and that what- 
 ever means He was pleased to use the revelation was effected by tho 
 
 Lord Himself. 
 " Opened cyes,^' distinguish natural from spiritual men. 2 Cor. v. 7. 
 He stood confessed b-fore them, their risen Loed ! 
 Their depth of wonder, lost in greater depth of adoring Love ! 
 Knew Him. The communion of saints. 1. Anxiously sought. 2. 
 
 Happily enjoyed. 3. Eichly rewarded. 
 Their surjjrise, foreshadows that of believers in heaven. 
 Vanislied. Gr. became invisible, evidently by a miracle. 
 The Lord's first appearances after His resurrection of short duration, 
 
 that there might be more room for faith. 
 The majesty of the Godhead was recognized when the man Jesus was 
 
 withdrawn from their sight. 
 "It was expedient for them that He should go away." John xvi. 7. 
 With His departure came the fullness of knowledge. 
 ■Henceforth not the man merely, but the God-man, Christ Jesus. 
 The time will come, when our Lord will disappear no more. 
 '• I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of 
 
 God is with men, and He will divell with them." Eev. xxi. 3. 
 As to the mode of His coming and going on this occasion, we know 
 
 notliiiig. 
 Had it been the Lord's Supper, He would not have turned His back on 
 
 the sacred scene. 
 
 tn4yv(ji<rav, Ordinary failing rtf recognition rcraovcil. liosenmuller. Tlifs miraculous 
 Toil tnkiii away. Dodilridijc. They miRbt havo seen tho print of the nails. Stier. Somc- 
 tnint,' in HiH manner of breaking the bread, anil helping them. Alford. ev rfi KKatrei, 
 vorsc 35, cither the time, or by the act. SticT : latter. Luther. Eeminded of intoroourse 
 before death. Nitzsch. Itomiaded of tho Last Supper. D. Broivn. He oolebratiul the
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 589 
 
 liOi'ii's Supper. Pfenninger, Augustine, Beza. Partly admitted by Neander. A mystical 
 iutorpretatiou. Grotius. An ordinary meal, haiige, OoHtcrzce, Alford, Brown, Denton. 
 
 atf>avTo<s. Vanished as a spectre. Bcngel. Assumed an angelic body. Origvn. 
 Suddenly withdrew. U'etstcin, UoseiimuUer. Suddenly disappeared. Kuinoel. Took ad- 
 vantage of their tumultuous joy. Oosterzec. Disappeared in a uiiraculoua manner. 
 Ilorsley.. 
 
 a.<\iavTO<;. not avroc;, which would imply His body to have remained, but invisible to 
 them; but an-' aurai' implyicg, besides the suijernatural disaiipearance, a real objective 
 removal from them. Alford. 
 
 S2. And tlie-j said one to another, Did not our heart hum within us, while he talked 
 with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures } 
 
 Heart burn. Gr. ivas not our heart burning ? i.e. all the time. 
 
 A word not coined in the school of human wisdom. 
 
 Heart experience, swiftly finds the right word for its emotions. 
 
 A glowing interest ever deepening, they took in His instructions. 
 
 Did not our hearts more and more burn. He spoke so mightily to 
 
 our hearts ? 
 There was something truly heart-kindling in His discourse. 
 A foretaste ol Pentecostal fire, burning high and long. 
 " While I was musing the fix-e burned." Psa. xxxix. 3. 
 " His word was in mine heart, as a burning fire." Jer. xx. 9. 
 They were just ready to break forth " My Lord and my God !" John 
 
 XX. 28. 
 Affections of joy, hope and adoring love combined, filled their souls. 
 The words of worldlings are cold, selfish and powerless. 
 A glow of self-evidencing light accompanied His wouls ; love and glory 
 
 ravished their hearts. 
 Talked with us. Gr. to us, means more than icith %is. The earnest 
 
 urgency of love. 
 Many believers recognize Him, without seeinr. Him. John xx. 29. 
 Opened to us. The Bible is not a Cealed book when the mind is 
 
 opened. 
 He simplified the Scriptures, as well ao illuminated the mind. 
 Satan holds the mind in bondage or influences it by prejudice, bigotiy, 
 
 malice, envy, &c. 
 Scriptures. The breaking bread did not so much impress them, as tho 
 
 opening of the Scriptures.
 
 540 suGGESTmi; commextary [chap. xxiv. 
 
 KaioiJ-evT] riv. This mode of expression indicates the naintermpted continuance of 
 the action. So Luke xv. 1 ; xxi. 17, 24 ; Acts xii. 5. Weister^s Syntax. He fired those 
 ■who heard Him. Cic. Inflamed with pain. Pindar. My soul is athirst for God. But 
 ■with emotion. Zinzendo)/. Burned not our hearts? LinhtJ'oot. An internal impulse 
 of love. Stier. The word expresses unusual emotion, ?sa. xsxix. 3. Oosterzee. The 
 Lord's words inflamed their hearts with the love of God. Origen, Holy fire. D. Brown, 
 Denton. Kal after bStZ. Tischcndorf, Afford, Cod. Sinai. 
 
 33. And they rose tip the same hour, and, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven 
 gathered together, and them that were with them, 
 
 Same hour. — Of the niglit, probably leaving the meal untouched. 
 They have no fear of a night journey, full of holy rapture. 
 Their Lord is risen, and they ^mtst tell the news. 
 
 Had it been midnight, love ■would have winged their steps to Jerusalem. 
 They could not rest or sleep until they had told their brethren. 
 The women thus obeyed the angels' express command. Luke xxiv. 9. 
 Mary Magdalene the command of our Lord, these two, the voice of love. 
 Gathered. Gr. suddcnhj, probably in the room of the Paschal supper. 
 ' ' Their doors were locked for fear of the Jews." John xx. 19. 
 One of the most glorious moments, in the Eesurrection history, 
 A holy festival, a preparation for another appearing. 
 Together. This is now the Sanctuary, and the Church of the Lord. 
 The High Priest comes with His benediction and peace. 
 Eesurrection a rare conquest over the power of sin and death. 
 The implanting of a new principle of life in humanity. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 Eleven. Thomas -was absent. John xx. 24. Paul calls the apostles 
 twelve, although Judas was dead. 1 Cor, xv. 6. 
 
 " lletnrned," ahout sunset. ArArews. 
 
 84. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 
 
 Saying. Tliat is the Eleven anticipated their message. 
 The two came to give, but received an unexpected aid to faith. 
 As usual the work of love, was rewarded with a blessing. 
 Risen. After days of darkness and trial, light arises to the faithful. 
 Psa. cxii. 4.
 
 <JHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LTTKE. 541 
 
 Indeed. Mutual exiierience aud faith of Paul and Ananias confirmed. 
 
 Acts ix. 10. 
 Cornelius and Peter (Acts x. 3). Moses and Aaron. Ex. iv. 27. 
 Sceptics wonder He did not shew Himself to enemies. 
 A proof of His wisdom, lioUness and love. 
 
 Pearls cast before swine, are trodden in the dust. Matt. ■vii. C. 
 When the Pharisees knew Lazarus had been raised they sought to refuto 
 
 the argument, by proposing to murder him. 
 Had such enemies a ripht to see the risen Lord ? 
 He who puts out his eyes to day, has no right to look for the sun to 
 
 morrow. 
 Men who refused to believe the testimony of His miracles, holy teaching 
 
 and life, would not have believed His resurrection. 
 Appeared. " He was seen of Cephas." 1 Cor. xv. 5. 
 Whether Peter was wandering alone outside the city, orhad just returned 
 
 from the grave, is unrevealed. Luke xxiv. 12. 
 What passed, remains a sacred secret between them. 
 Oiu- Lord appeared again to him at the sea of Tiberias. John xxi. 1. 
 Simon. The only one of the Eleven, to whom He appeared alone. 
 The one who had most shamefully and profanely denied Him. Matt. 
 
 xxvi. 7-4. 
 A proof of unaltered love, 1. Jesus appears ip fallen Peter. 2. To Peter 
 
 firat. 3. To Peter alone. 4. To none others, alone. 
 It affords, 1. Light instead of darkness. 2. Pardon instead of guilt. 
 
 3. Hope instead of fear. 
 No love but Divine love could have performed such wonders. 
 Paul singles this out^7-sf, " He was seen of Cephas." 1 Cor. xv. 5. 
 None of the Evangehsts had distinctly related this incident. 
 
 ovTio? vere, Mark xvi. 13 seems to involve a discrepancy. They at first believeci. 
 Sengel. At first doubted, and afterwards believed. Calvin. Doubts assault those strong 
 in faith. Oosterzee. Merd sticklers for words will never comprehend the deep harmonies 
 of the Resurrection history. Oosterzee. riy^pOrj. Lachmann adds ix vtKpwv. un^Bri. No 
 reason for understanding this of a momentary glimpse, as Sticr insists. Lanrje. 
 
 "^ifxiovi. The apostles anticipated the two from Emmaus. Lightfoot. Before tlia 
 ■walk to Emmaus. Chrysostom. Not clear whether before or after the walk. Alford. 
 
 35. And they told what things wore done in the way, and how he ifas lc7ioivn oj them 
 in breaking of bread. 
 
 They told. Binning hearts, and artless words, show their faith.
 
 64:2 SUGGESTmi COMJIENTARY [oHAP. XXIV. 
 
 What things. 1. He kindly seeks, 2. Lovingly listens, 8. Graciously 
 instructs, 4. Wisely tries, 5. Unspeakably surjDrises His i^eopie. 
 
 Every believer, for wliom God has intei-posed, is bound to tell it. 
 
 The forty days were the second period of the apostles' education. 
 
 " Neither believed they them,'" adds Mark, chap. xvi. 13. How slow of 
 heart to believe I 
 
 "And they" — the travellers, distingnishea from the others. Alford. iyvoJaOr), viade 
 Simself knowti. Bengel. "In the way." The time spent in speaking of the Kingdom of 
 God. L.H.V.D. kv t^ xXacrei toC dprou, in His breaking of bread. Alford. 
 
 86. IT And ax they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto 
 them. Peace be unto you. 
 
 Thus spake. So full of Christ, then- hearts could think of nothing 
 
 else. 
 Doors locked, no sound of footstep being heard. John xx. 19. 
 The comings of Christ in the heart, are sudden and silent. 
 " Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst." 
 
 Matt, xviii. 20. 
 They had regarded His return, as altogether impossible. 
 Bolts of fear, and gates of unbelief, no barriers to Him. Acts xvi. 14 ; 
 
 xii. 8. 
 They saw Him standing amongst ihcm, without seeing Him enter. 
 None but the risen Saviour, could end the sorrows of His friends. 
 They might have recognized the voice among thousands. 
 In no appearing, did He " show Himself by so many infallible proofs." 
 
 Acts i. 3. 
 The empty sepulchre, was the chief comer stone of evidence. 
 Peace be, &c. The ordinary form of salutation then, and now. Luko 
 
 X. 5. 
 The resurrection greeting latest received, but sure. 
 A mighty heart-quickening assurance of past forgiveness. 
 " I come not as a judge to reckon with unbelief." 
 " I bring you from my sepulchre, something else beside upbraidings." 
 He consecrated the boiu after the deluge, the wine at the supper. 
 Here He consecrates the common sabttadoii of friendship. 
 His word divine, carries temporal and eternal peace. 
 *' He came and preached peace to you who wore afar oil." Eph. ii. 17.
 
 cnAP. xxrv.j on st. luke. 648 
 
 This was a sign of that peace, secured by His sacrificial death. 
 
 " Peace on earth," the first and last note of the incarnation peal. 
 
 It was night, " At evening time, it sliall be light." Zech. xiv. 7. 
 
 The King of Peace among His troubled subjects brings peace amid, 1, 
 
 the doubts, 2, the disquietudes, 8, the sorrows of life. 
 Unbelief embitters the happiest hoius of life. 
 1. Peace over us. 2. Peace iu us. 3. Peace among us. 4. Peace 
 
 around us. 
 In Christ we find the peace, the world cannot give. 
 Peace the last word of the prophet Zacharias. Luke i. 79. 
 The burden of the birth-song of the angelic hymn. Luke ii. l-l. 
 The salutation of His ambassadors wherever they preach. Luke x, 5. 
 The precious legacy He left the last evening of His life. John xiv. 27. 
 
 \aXowTwv. This interview after His return from Galilee. Bucher. Necessarily 
 implies a rebuke. Andrews. Disputinp; away their faith. Riehter. With increasing 
 assurance. Tholuck. FuU of doubts. fitieT. Suspect all evidence. Tischendorf. 
 
 6 'Itjo-oCs, omitted. Tisch., Alf'ord, Cod. Sinai. ; retained. Scholzc. KaX Ae'yei aiiTo"?, 
 elprii'i) vfj-lvy omitted. Tiichendorf ; retained. Alford, Oosterzee. Ordinary Jewish 
 salutation. Alford. All the versions, Vulg., Syr., Arab., Copt., Arm., add eyo> ei^ii, ju,^ 
 (/jojSeicrfle, but the reading is not genuine. T' schendorf, Alford. No Greek MS. confirms 
 it. Major ; introduced from John vi. 20. Oosterzee. 
 
 io-rq. John xx. 19 adds Bvpijov KeKAeitr/u-eVtof. A miraculous drawing of bolts. 
 Doddridi/e, Owi'i; through closed doors. Theophylact ; the Lord knocked. Lampe ; 
 twice. Tischendorf. A substance, neither mind nor bodj', inconceivable to us. Lucke. 
 He entered through the door. Theodoret. His body a spiritual essence. Euthymius. 
 Opened by miracle. Jerome, Stier, Tholuck, Alford. 
 
 37. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 
 
 Terrified. They knew no human being could enter with closed doors. 
 His sudden appearance, and miraculous entrance, caused their terror. 
 Jews held, that departed spirits, could be brought up by demons. 
 That the souls of the dead could become visible. 
 Believers often find Christ different from their expectations. 
 The angel messenger had directed them to Galilee, 
 Hence they did not look for Him that evening at Jerusalem. 
 We must discriminate between unbelief, superstition, und faith. 
 Sxipposed. In the miracle of the Eesurrection, we behold, 1. The glory 
 of the Son. 2. The glory of the Father. 3. The glory of the elect.
 
 544 STJGGKS'H\T<: commentary [chap. xxiv. 
 
 A spirit. Gr. a spectre, a ghost, not a Leavonly messenger. 
 
 A phantom clothed in the appearance of a hmnan hotly. 
 
 Man's life sm-vives the stroke of death. 
 
 Ecsiirrectioii the only complete victory over death. 1 Cor. xv. 44. 
 
 TTTorjBa'Te?, terrified by the miraculous entrance. Kla. On account of His sudden 
 appearance, and the likeness to one they knew to have been dead. Alford. irvevixa. Not 
 exactly as a <^ai/Ta(T|aa, Slatt. xiv. 26, which might have been any appearance of a super- 
 natural kind. Alford. Paul seems to discriminate between ■nv^vixa and ^vxn- They 
 knowing Christ was dead, believed this to have been His ghost. Lightfnot. His ghost, 
 not Himself. D. Brou-n. Perhaps they supposed some other spirit had assumed Christ's 
 iomi. Ignatius, Grotius. They believed Him risen, but without a material body. S7jer- 
 lock, West. They thought Him superhuman. Von Gerlach. It would appear as if a kind 
 of bodUy life survives the stroke of death, 1 Cor. xv. 44. Stier. 
 
 38. And he said unto them, Wlnj arc ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your 
 hearts ? 
 
 Troubled ? As though they -were children ; Do ye not then know Me 
 
 again ? 
 He composes their dread as disquietude, and reproaches unbelief only. 
 He graciously stooped to strengthen and increase their faith. 
 That which now is flickering feebly will, by and by become heroic faith. 
 He had infinite fullness of peace and consolation to bestow. 
 They appear to have felt a mysterious dread, mingled with joy, at His 
 
 visits. 
 The spirit world over-awes and painfully affects the mind. 
 Perfect love alone can cast out all tormenting fear. 
 Thouglits. Gr. rea>oninr$.. Our Lord throws open our thoughts. 
 Faith and unbelief at times, biruggle ia the same intlividual. 
 A blending of light and darkness, spiritual twilight. 
 Considerations of discouragement, doubt and gloom, oppress. 
 He rebukes them for the continuance of their doubts. 
 In your hearts. But for t'.ie blindness of their hearts, thnymu^thave 
 
 recognized their own living Master. 
 He then permits them to do, what He did not Maiy. 
 The first flash of thatimion between pf ace and His death.' 
 The true token, by which He comforts the terrified conscience. 
 Jcsua ever presents Himself to believers as the crucified Lord. 
 He thereby manifests His gloiy, and seals their peace.
 
 CHAP. XXrV.] ON ST. LUKE. 545 
 
 Sia\oyi.a-iJ.o\. CoQitationes. Vulg. Why are thoughts in your hearts? JTorae. l!7i.7 
 have you not at once, -without consideration, recognized Mo 1 for I am. Meyer. A. 
 Hebrew formula. Schleiist(er. Critical questionings. Stier, Alford, For rais xapSiats, 
 TJj KapSca. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford. 
 
 39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see ; for a 
 spirit hath notjlesh and bones, as ye see me have. 
 
 BelJold, "was to know. To the words ho added the act of love. 
 
 This appearing proves his corporeity after the resurrection. 
 
 My hands. The scars of the lacerated limbs vrere still visible. 
 
 He would convince them of the reality and identity of Himself. 
 
 Ho would show them the places that still bore the marks of tho 
 
 crucifixion. 
 These scars were the blessed signs of His victory over death. 
 My feet. Luke xxiii. 33. The prints of the nails had left their scarH 
 
 on His feet. 
 The disciples must actually but reverently have touched His hands. 
 Hence the true record of the Apostle. 1 John i. 3. 
 It explains why Thomas also desired similar proof. John xx. 25. 
 The prints of the nails, the honorable badges of His love. 
 I myself. He was the Truth, in all its fullest signification. 
 Death had altered His condition, but not changed His heart. 
 He found them at sea, at night, temfied in the storm. 
 With a word, He calmed their hearts, and hushed the temijest. John 
 
 vi. 21. 
 He wiU be recognized and honored as Lokd, by all true disciples. 
 Handle me. He challenges them calmly to scrutinize Himself. 
 Satisfy yourselves thoroughly, that there is no deception. 
 Why multiply words, when we have the tldnfj ? 
 And see. Both ocular and tangible evidence. 
 Our Lord appeals to the senses, and by thus appealing He overtiuns tho 
 
 doctrine of Transubstautiation which cannot stand a similar ajjpeal. 
 Spirit. Glorified bodies seem to partake food. Eev. ii. 7-17 ; xxii. 2. 
 Although physical processes seem to be expressly excluded. 1 Cor. vi. 13, 
 The three angels shared Abraham's food. Gen. xviii. 8. 
 Flesh, and bones. Angels cannot be tested by sense of touch. 
 Henceforth He was immortal. As "God alone hath immortality." 
 
 1 Tim. vi. IG. 
 Om- Lord created spirits, and pronounces them bodiless. 
 The Lord an image of the perfection of saints, in another world. Eph- 
 
 V. 30.
 
 546 SUGGESTIVE COilJIENTARY [cHj'LP. XXIV. 
 
 A glorified body not obstructing, bnt serving the spirit. 
 
 A clear, but not painful remembrance of the former life. 
 
 A bappy imion and communion, with all the redeemed ones. 
 
 A continuation of the work for God's glory, which death had suspcndcf!,. ' 
 
 iroSat. Feet of the crucified not nailed. Paiilus, Hosenmuller, Kuinoel, Winer, 
 Friedlieh, Meyer ; often nailed, ^ybrd ; always naiXeH.. Tholuck, Stier, Ebrurd, Langc, 
 Ewald, dihausen. tlhseive crapKaKai. oerTc'a, but not olixa.. This the resurrection Body 
 probably Imd ivot, — as being the animal life. Alford. His body had not yet been changed. 
 Owen. Greeks and Eomaus believed spirits to be inimateiial. Oilys. ii. 218, Aencid vi. 
 702. Lord's body only seemed to be palpo.ble. Kuhn, Ziebig. His body was, 1, tangible. 
 2, superior to space. 3, could become visible and invisible at will. A spiritual body, 1 
 Cor. XV. 44. Oosterzce, Auriustine, Zwingle. It settles the objective and subjectivo 
 identity of man, before and after death. Oosterzce. Glorification of the body was begun. 
 Olshausen, Krabbe. 
 
 " Handle," ieet audi marks. "Touch and look." Seller. "Handle and observe." 
 Stolz. "Discoru ye." St/er. ^'^ Flesh," & 2. No aUusicn to blood. .-li/bAf. Blood of thfi 
 Adamic life lost by the apostasy. L.H.V.D. Representing the popular idea concerning 
 Bjiirits. Burton. An assertion which must not be taken. Alford. 
 
 avTos eyu> ei/ii. I am He, and no other, aiirbs is never used as a pronoun in the 
 nominative case, but merely in concord with the subject of the verb, me-aning, " alone," 
 or " of one's own accord." — He and no other. So Matt. i. 21; viii, 17; Eph. v. 23. 
 Webster's Syntax. 
 
 40, And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and hia feet. 
 
 Sliowed them. His scars precious to His friends, terrible to His 
 
 enemies. 
 The difficulty of belief, enhances its worth and power. 
 The love of Christ unchanged by His exalted station. 
 1. Encourages His friends. 2. Comforts His elect. 3. Brings confusion 
 
 to the lost. 4. A sanctuary in trouble. 5. A fountain of grace. 
 His hands. The prints of the nails incontrovertible signs of crucifixion. 
 Identification of His body, tokens of His victory over death. 
 They were the peace tokens, of His sacrificial death. 
 As memorials of death, they might have been obliterated. 
 They may remain as marks on Ilis body even glorified in heaven. EtjV. 
 
 i. 7. 
 He may retain them for ever, as tokens of His atonement. 
 His feet. The feet of the crucified were generally nailed. 
 The beginnings and endings of His appearances, instructive.
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 547 
 
 One manifested the glory of His lo7^e ; anotlicr of Ilig loisdom ; anotiicr 
 
 of His knowledge ; another of Hh faitlifuliiess. 
 The First Begotten from the dead, Himself, the jiiracle of miraclks. 
 His appearing to the women, here the tendcrest character. 
 To the eleven, the most componcd ; a.t Tiberias, the most mysterious. 
 In Galilee to the five hundred, the most sublime. 
 To those on their way to Emmaus, the most human. 
 " And many other wonders did Jesus in the presence of His disciples." 
 
 John XX. 30. 
 The disciples evidentlj' satisfied, all their doubts dispelled. 
 John refers to this scene when he says, " Our hands have handled of tlio 
 
 word of life." 1 John i. 1. 
 
 Tisehendorf omits this verse; good reason for retaining it. Alford. "Hands." 
 Martyrs, in eternity, perhaps will bear the prints of tlieir wounds. Augustine, favored by 
 Stier. Satan is said to have appeared as Christ to St. il/rt?-((H. " ^\^iore are the prints 
 of the nails?" put the demon to flight. Butler. "Feet." To prove He had tlesh. StoZ^, 
 Pavlus. Signs of the nails. Stier, Lange. Does not prove His feet were pierced. 
 Luthardt. Corporeity and prints. Alford. Feet wounds more convincing. Gerlach. Did 
 the disciples actually touch the Lord ? No. Oerlach; Yes. Stier. Handled by His mur- 
 derers, why not by loving discii^les? Pfenninger. 
 
 41. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye 
 here any meat } 
 
 EeHeved not. They distrusted even their own senses. 
 
 The full exercise of their faith, was retarded by their joy. 
 
 It is oft hard to credit, what our hearts desire to believe. 
 
 Eefusing clear testimony, shews wilful hardness. 
 
 Like Babylon's captives, "they were as men dreaming." Psa. cxxvi. 1. 
 
 The news was too good to be true. 
 
 Strong affection and questioning knowledge, impede one another. 
 
 " I will see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice." John xvi. 22. 
 
 Certainty gave new life to their spirits, new joy to their hearts. 
 
 How this certainty could arise, sceptics have never explained. 
 
 Wondered. Before the final, clear, and tranquil assurance. 
 
 At first through fear, now through joy, they cannot believe. 
 
 Any meat. They still recline at the table. Mark xvi. 14. 
 
 Having gone so far, the Lord will perfect His work in His people.
 
 548 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [cHAP. XXIV. 
 
 oirb TTJi X^PW) " ^y Teason of their joy." an-b marks the occasion or effect produced 
 by a cause, as Acts ii. 19 ; Heb. v. 7. Webster's Syntax. A deeply psychological 
 expression, showing the hand of lleevangelist-physician. Oosterzee. 
 
 43. And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 
 
 Honeycomb. Bees in Palestine live in the clefts of rocks. 
 
 " A land Hewing Tvith milk and honey." Ex. iii. 8. 
 
 The probable remains of their evening repast. 
 
 Ordinaiy food of the disciples resembled that of the Baptist. 
 
 KoX a-rro /icAicrcrtov KrjpCov, It is remarkable that these words are omitted in the Ixint 
 MSS., yet retained by Tischendorf, Alford, Oosterzee, D. Brown, Wordsioorth, and other 
 Critical Scholars. The omission may probably have arisen from an idea in some tran- 
 scriber that this moal is the same as that in John xii. 9. The words conld hardly have 
 been an interpolation. Alford. 
 
 43. And he took it, ajid did eat before them. 
 
 Took it. He receives bodily, and gives them apirittml meat. 
 
 Eat before them.. To prove His humanity, an expression of love. 
 
 He ate freely ■without any necessity. 
 
 Angels in the O.T. ato ^'ithout having human bodies. Gen. xviii- 
 
 xix. 3. 
 Eating, as with Jairus' daughter, a sure sign of restored life. 
 They meantime drank full draughts of the holiest rapture. 
 A sacrifice of His heart's love, to His disciples. 
 
 e't>ayey. In theso words, in thig deal, and in this sign, consisted, the upbraiding of 
 their unbelief, JIark xvi. 14. Oosterzee. Ilia eating, a reality. Sticr. Prows the reality 
 of Uis body. Schneider. His energy consumed the food. Kapplingcr. He ate, but did 
 not need nourishment. Oosterzee. Not for His own necessity, but their conviction. D. 
 Srown. Ho drinks nothing, proving He needed no food. Bengcl. A type of beUovera 
 eating at the table in heaven, Luke xxii. CO. L.IT.V.D.
 
 OHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 619 
 
 44. And he said unto them, These are the u-ords which I spake unto you, while I was 
 yet with you, that all things must he fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, 
 and in the prophets, and ia the psalms, concerning me. 
 
 He said unto them. Forty days after His resunrection. 
 
 The words. The prophecies of His death, burial, and resurrection. 
 
 Christ's resurrection puts the seal of Divine truth on liis Mords. 
 
 With you. Now, He was as good as removed from them. 
 
 " My victory over death ought to be your greatest joy." 
 
 He speaks as if Ho was already in heaven. 
 
 I spake. Augols at the sepulchre referred to words He had spolien. 
 
 AH things. His birth, death, resm'rection and ascension. 
 
 Written. Luke i. 63. See Notes. 
 
 After thi'ee years knowing Him, and witnessing His wonderful works, 
 
 He reverently refers them back to their Bible. 
 
 Ijaw. He adduces the three component parts of the Canon, referring to 
 
 the Scriptures in their mutual connexion. 
 The ordinary Jewish division into the Law, Prophets, and Hagiographa. 
 The fii'st contained the Pentateuch.* The second Joshua, Judges, the 
 
 four books of Kings, and the Projjhets, except Daniel. 
 The third the Psalms, and all the rest of the canonical books. 
 
 1. In the Laio we have the book of God's commandments. 
 
 2. In the Prophets the revelation of His will. 
 
 3. In the Psalms the book of devotion for the Church. 
 
 The Laio teaches us what to do, the Prophets what to helieve, and the 
 
 Psalms how to pray for grace to do and to believe. 
 Prophets exercise our faith, Psalms nourish omr hope, Laic tests our love. 
 Prophets. Luke i. 70. Two divisions, foemer and lattee. 
 FoEiiEB, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel ; 1 & 2 Kings. 
 Lattee, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, 
 
 Micah, Nahum, Hab., Zoj^h., Hag., Zech., Mai. 
 Hagiographa. Psa., Prov., Job, Sol. Song, Euth, Lam., EccL, Esther, 
 
 Daniel, Ezra, Nch., and 1 & 2 Chron. 
 Prophecies, the best key to the enigma of Christ's life. 
 Psalms. Luke xx. 42. Contain most of the Messianic prophecies. 
 Jews accustomed to apply many of the Psalms to the Messiah. 
 
 cijTc. The whole course of instruction after the resurrection. Ebrard. A retrospect 
 of His work. Oosterzee. Several sayings corahined. Oerlach. No new instructions. 
 OUhausen. Understood old things in new sense. Stier. This tools place on His 
 ascension day. i5en(7eJ. Bee verse 50. *^ All things." Thou shalt not find a nai-ration, 
 a riddle, a prophecy, a ceremony, but hath some manner of aspect in this glMS, and in 
 ;ome -way points at this mystery. — G-od jianifest in the flesh. Hammond. 
 
 47
 
 O50 SUGGESTIVE COMJIENTAEY [OHAP. XXIV. 
 
 x^oAjaois. Tho Psalms are here mentionecl without the article, both as the com- 
 mencement of the Hagiographa, and, at tlie same time, as that hook among thaw nhich 
 contains the most direct Messianic elements. Oosterzee. 
 
 45. Then opened he their ttndcrstaytdinp, that they vti()ht understand the serlptures. 
 
 Opened He. JIany obstacles are to be removed from tlie heart. 
 
 We cannot command the key, to the head or heart. 
 
 The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, that she heard Paiil. Acts xvi. 14. 
 
 This privilege flowed ft^rth in the blessings of Pentecost. Acts ii. 
 
 " 02)en Thou mine eyes, that I may see wontlrous things," &c, Psa. 
 
 cxix. IS. 
 He -who said " Let there he light (Gen. i. 3)," stood among men. 
 He proves His immediate access to the human spirit. 
 His absolute divine poxccr over the avenues to the soul. 
 Understanding. A direct, divine, illumination of the mind. 
 The head and heart miast alike be, enlightened by the Spirit. 
 The fruit of this blessing, is seen in all the Epistles to the Church. 
 The Lord, 1. Endles a light. 2. Opens the eye to behold it. 
 Understanding the Scriptures, indispensable to Christianity. 
 Eesurreetiou brought, 1. Full certainty. 2. Deep peace. 3. Apostolic 
 
 power. 
 Scriptures. Gr. writings, hoohs. Liike iv. 17. 
 Apostolic method of interpreting the 0. T. is sanctioned by Christ. 
 Promises and types of the resm-rection pervade all the Bible. 
 
 " Understanding." Masorites counted chapters, verses, words, letters, but lost iill 
 spiritual life of tie Divine Truth. Lightfoot. 
 
 46. And said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and 
 to rise from the dead the third day : 
 
 Behoved. Gr. must; He sets this against all doubts of men. 
 Divine will hath determined, and divine power will do it. 
 Suffer. Scriptures indissolubly unite His sufferings and glory. 
 Third day. This period is not distinctly asserted in the O.T. 
 It seems implied in Hosea vi. 2, and typically in -Jonah i. 17. 
 
 Koj. oCtuj? c"oci, omitted. Tisehendorf, Alford, Cod. Sinai. " It is wriitcn (hat Christ 
 elioidd suffvr." Alj'ord,
 
 t/HAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 051 
 
 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name amon\) 
 all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 
 
 Repentance. Men must repent before they receive forgiveness. 
 
 We have the concurrence of man's will with God's grace. 
 
 Repentance is man's act, remission of sins is God's act. 
 
 Ilepentance of no avail without remission, remission not given without 
 
 repentance. 
 Both must bo preached together, both by God's mercy bound together. 
 Sauctilication is continual repentance and faith. Matt. vi. 12. 
 Remission of sins. Is the Lord's present a2:>pointmeut and pledge of 
 
 His favor. 
 This command is a proof, 1. Of the historical truth, 2. Of the heavenly 
 
 origin. 3. Cf the blessed pm-pose of the Gospel. 
 Preached. Gr. hcrahhid. Luke viii. 1 ; ix. 2. Among the Jews and 
 
 Gentiles. 
 The result of the Divine appointment, and fulfilled prophecy. 
 He gave command for the universal publication of His Gospel. 
 
 1. Substance of preaching, repentance and remission of sins, 
 
 2. Extent of commission, to all nations. 
 
 3. Place of commencement, Jerusalem. 
 
 4. Manner of ijreaching, according to the Scriptures. 
 
 5. Ground of preaching. His Name. 
 
 His name. Jesus opens the door for repentance aud remission of siiiS. 
 
 Preaching derives all its importance and authority from Him. 
 
 God shews as much power and love, in bringing men to Jesus, as in the 
 
 sending of His Son. 
 All nations. " Kule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies." Ptia, 
 
 ex. 2. 
 " He shall judge among the nations." Isa. ii. 4. 
 
 " And many nations shall say, Come, and let us go," &c. Micah iv. 2. 
 " From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, My name 
 
 shall be great among the Gentiles." Mai. i. 11. 
 At Jerusalem. Luke ii. 22. "The law from Zion, and the word of 
 
 the Lord from Jerusalem." Mic. iv. 2. 
 An ancient prerogative granted to this city. 
 
 The Gospel has ever proved its power, just when men would crush it. 
 Blessings to be received through God's instrumentalities. 
 A proof that the city denounced, was not yet given up. 
 The city of election, the everlasting metropolis. 
 It will yet give its name to the Ucavenhj city. Pev. iii 12. 
 A hint at the world subduing pm-pose of the Gospel.
 
 552 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTABY [CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 They must not wait, until the last Jew is converted. 
 The Herald's duty is, to make the public proclamation. 
 That -well discharged, the responsibility rests on those who hear. 
 The ministry are not commanded to convert the impenitent. 
 Their names, "Witnesses, Messengers, Heralds, Apostles, prove this. 
 John ii. 22 ; 1 Tim. vi. I'd. ; Eev. i. 5. 
 
 fiejavoiav , change of heart, called by some transmentation ; the coming to a right 
 tmderstanding, the growing wise. /ueTajie'Aeta denotes change of feeling, such as Judas 
 had ; anxiety, remorse arising from a review of the past. W. d- W. jneraj/oia belongs 
 only to the good ; /iiera(xe'A6ia, pain of mind, belongs to evil men. Wonhworth. Here 
 fifTduoia is immediately connected with at^ecrts a./jiapTLum, full and free remission ; the 
 Banclified effect of /aeTauttAcia, the kvirrj Kara ©cdi', 2 Cor. vii. 8, 9, 10 ; whereas unsancti- 
 £ed fi(Taixe\£La, which is ri toO koo-ixov Avn->) induced Esau to say — I will slay my brother 
 Jacob, and has led thousands to self-destruction. Webster. 
 
 ap ja/neroi'. The accusative absolute, as in Acts x. 37. Bengel. Agrees -with Kripvyii.'x, 
 imjilied in /cr/pir^flvjfai, or with the agent. In the spirit of the )?recept, wo should first 
 address those who profess Christianity, and then the heathen. But we are not to wait 
 for success in the former, before we begin the latter. W. £ W. 
 
 "Jerusalem." The name of the earthly derived from the heavenly, Heb. xii.22 ; G^I. 
 iv. 26. X./f.F.i). Hence He wiU begin His reign, Psa. ii. 6, and a second time, Hia 
 •woid go forth from restored Jerusalem. Stier. 
 
 48. And ye are witnesses of these things. 
 
 "Witnesses. Men of sterling integrity, eye witnesses, testifying against 
 
 overpowering interests. 
 Their witness further confirmed hy their miracles, wrought in Christ's 
 
 name. 
 "Witnesses of the offer of mercy having heen tenderly made. 
 "Witnesses of that offer having been madly rejected. 
 Eye witnesses, 1. Of My life. 2. My discourses. 3. My works. 4. My 
 
 resiirrection. 5. Scenes of My ascension. 
 " Ye are My witnesses sailh the Lord." Isa. xliii. 10. Not false witnesses. 
 "Ye shall also hear witness, because ye have been," &c. John xv. 27. 
 The apostles claim this privilege, at the election of Matthias. Acts i. 22. 
 Peter's address on Pentecost. Acts ii. 32. Healing of the lame man. 
 
 Acts iii. 15. 
 Before the Council. Acts v. 32. Before Cornelius. Acts x. 39. St. 
 
 Paul at Antiocb. Acts xiii. 31. 
 He who contradicts the Gospel Herald, contradicts Jesus. 
 These things. Principally concerning Ilis rtsurrectioa.
 
 OHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE. 55'6 
 
 rovnov. Death, resurrection, and commission to preach. Meyer. Facto of the Lord's 
 life and ascennion. Oostcrzee, " Witnesses," Apostles cried with holy fervour, " We are 
 wiinesses." Tischemlorf. hi, omitted. Tischenilur/, Al/'urd, Cud. Sinai. 
 
 49. V And, behoUl,! send thepromise of my FatJier upon you : hut tarry ye in the city 
 of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on hiijh. 
 
 I send. No delegated being, none but the Son of God, could thus ^eak. 
 
 Those whom He sends. He furnishes with necessary gifts. 
 
 Here the Comforter is a promise and a power. 
 
 Promise. Ecfers to the baptism of the Holy Ghost. John xiv. 16- 
 
 2(5 ; Acts i. 5. 
 The la^t, greatest, and most comprehensive of all promises. 
 My Father. Our Saviour acts conjointly with the Father. 
 Tarry. Gr. sit still. God requires patient waiting, as well as swift 
 
 obedience. 
 This command was repeated, as He ascended to His throne. Acts i. 4, 
 The disciples must learn the lesson of waiting. 
 " They also serve, who only stand and wait." Milton. 
 Patient waiting in praijer, secures the divine promise. Luke xviii. 1. 
 They must learn to wait, before ever they can commence. 
 Abraham waited twenty-five years for the fulfilment of Gen. xii. 2-3. 
 Moses had to tarry forty years, waiting for God's time. 
 The woman waited twelve years and was healed. 
 The man at Bethesda waited thirty-eight years for health. 
 Our Lord tarried thirty years in Nazareth before He began His work. 
 The disciples waited ten days for the promise of the Father. 
 Jerusalem. The grave of the Old, and cradle of the New Covenant. 
 Sndued.. Gr. invested with. The Holy Spirit would envelope them as 
 
 a garment. 
 They were not yet fully qualified for beginning at Jerusalem. 
 This the true and complete re-robing our fallen, naked, souls require. 
 " I will clothe (His) priests with salvation." Psa. cxxxii. 16. 
 With power. Evident allusion to the Pentecostal revival. 
 ITrom. on high. Height for heaven. Eph. iv. 8. Calling from heaven. 
 
 Phil, iii. 14. 
 
 eTrayyeAi'ai'. The Promise. The prophecy. Meyer. In answer to ijrayer, John xiv. 
 IC. Oosterzcc. I appoint. Haae, Stier. Implies that the actual work is done, and the
 
 554 SUGGESTIVE COMMENTARY [CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 state brought in, by -which that sending is accomplished. Historically given after return 
 from Galilee. Alford. Promise of the Father to the Son. Grotius. Of the Son to pour 
 out the Spirit. Stier. 
 
 iijuets. Spoken to the apostles only. Alford. " Tarry," opposed to Matt. De ¥'f.lte. 
 Silence no contradiction. Oostcrzee. 'lepovo-oATjn, omitted. Tisckendorf, Lachmann, 
 Oosterzee, Cud. Sinai. evSva-qcrOe. Similar expressions used by Homer and Tacitus. 
 vi/zovs, heaven, from hefen, Saxon, to heave, to elevate, to arch: until you increase in 
 light and strength. Braane. 
 
 50. ^^ And he led them out as far as to Bctliany, and he lifted up his hands, and 
 ilessed them. 
 
 Led them. The intermediata/circumstances, are all omitteJ. 
 
 That same road, which forty d/ys before, He had trod in deep affliction. 
 
 Bethany. Luke xis. 29. Stands on the eastern slopes of the Mount 
 
 of Olives. 
 The place of His ascension, was nigh unto Bethany. 
 The "Sabbath day's joiirney" only reached to the Mount of Olives. 
 
 Acts i. 12. 
 Keleased from the Levitical law, apostles travelled further. 
 The spot where our Lord had often prayed. Fortieth day of the 
 
 resurrection. 
 The scene of His frequent humiliation, now of His exaltation. 
 From this place He made His royal entiy into Jerusalem. Luke xix. 36. 
 He lodged here during the last week of His life. 
 Here He prophesied the end of, and wept over Jerusalem. 
 On its sides. He endured the sorrow of Gethsemane. 
 From its summit, He ascended to Heaven. 
 His hands. Bearing the scars, radiant with divine mercy. 
 The marks of atoning love, begin to be glorified. 
 A pledge that poiver from on high, would protect them. 
 The pro.i>hetic promise, followed by the priestly blessing. 
 He stands near the threshold of the heavenly sanctuary. 
 He docs not now lay His hands 07i them. John xx. 22. 
 Blessed. At another time. He breathed on them. John xx. 22. 
 As Aaron blessed tlic people, the glory of God appeared. Lev. ix. 22-23. 
 There were but eleven apostles present, representing all the elect. 
 
 eo)?. CorZ. Sinai, has Trpo;. efo), omitted. Cod. Sinai. Bethany a district. L/f/ni- 
 fout, Oostcrzee, Schnhcrt, Klslrij. Led forth fiom .Tuliu's house. Drascke. Between
 
 CHAP. XXIV.] ON ST. LUKE, 555 
 
 Bethany and Mount of Olives. Tischendorf, Stier. In siyht of the temple. Gerlach. 
 Present site of tradition where Helena, A.D. 028, erected a church. Williams, Jones, 
 Ellicott. Where He began Ilia entrance into the city, Luke xix. 86. Light/oot. A 
 Sabbath day's journey from Bethphago. Wiese'ler. Bethany, Mount of Olives, used 
 interchanfjeably by Lulse. Rubiimin. In sight of Bethany. Stier. Hill overhanging 
 Betliany. Stanley, Barclay. Ho stands victorious, Prince of Peace. Uraunc. Where 
 most deeply depressed, then exalted. Over the brow of Mount of Olives. ^;/brd. Tho 
 time of day, morning. Drasckc ; before day. Bcas ; mid-day. Stier ; sundown. Tis- 
 chendorf. 
 
 51. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried 
 up into heaven. 
 
 Blessed. Parents leaving the -world, ought to bless their children. 
 
 Why should we fear the curse, when He has left us a blessing? 
 
 He came to earth with a blessing, He passes away with a blessing. 
 
 It was His last act, and a continued act. 
 
 It will not cease, until the last believer is in heaven. 
 
 The incarnate, crucified, risen One, on wing for heaven. 
 
 He goes away in benedictions, enthroned, glorified. 
 
 Parted. He probably retired from them a few steps. 
 
 What a different departure from that on the cross ! 
 
 This separation, the true source of rcumon. 
 
 If angels sang at His birth, on earth, now they shout with heaven in view. 
 
 " Lift up yom- heads, ye gates, that the King of Glory may come in." 
 
 Psa. xxiv. 7. 
 Let the righteous rejoice, their last conflict will be a triumjih. 
 Carried. Gr. taken away, from those He loved, not to leave them. 
 He was impatient for His cross, not for His throne. 
 Not carried away by angels, as were Enoch, Elijah, or Lazarus. 
 Many a word spoken by Him, no-w first understood. 
 The harmony between ax>parent inconsistencies in His life, established by 
 
 this miracle. 
 His ascension, tbe festival oi His coronation. 
 His hardest conflict, ends in His highest honors. 
 Tho source of richest blessings, and highest hopes to the Chiu'ch, 
 Up to heaven. The end and beginning of His life jniraculous. 
 " He sat down on the right hand of God." Mark xvi. 19. 
 His resurrection needed no witness, except His appearing.
 
 556 SUGGESTIVE COMilENTAEY [cHAP. XXTV. 
 
 His ascension could not thus be authenticated. 
 
 His ascension was the conclHsum of His resurrection. 
 
 His resun-ection a glorification still incomplete. 
 
 His ascension not the noal, but a halt, iu His kingly course. 
 
 The apostles' connection with Him continued, after His entrance witluii 
 
 the veil. 
 His ascension the perfection of His prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices. 
 
 1. It manifests the full splendor of the kingdom of God. 
 
 2. It assumes its highest blessings. 
 
 3. It announces its infinite perfections. 
 
 He has left, 1. Over our heads, the open heaven. 2. Before our eyes, a 
 happy home. 3. Under our feet, a path sanctified by His footsteps. 
 What is the earth to thee looking steadfastly towards heaven ? Acts i. 10. 
 
 1. The plain of His sufferings, the jilace of His departure. 
 
 2. The beginning concealed, His departure concealed. 
 
 3. He departed from us, yet remains with us. 
 
 4. Hidden fiom His people, only to be clearly manifested. 
 
 1. Here it is dark, there it is light, " no night there." Rev. x::i. 25. 
 
 2. Here we are strangers, there is our home. John xiv. 2. 
 
 3. Here are conflicts, there palms of victory. Eev. vii. 9. 
 
 4. Here is soitow, there is delight. Job. iii. 17. 
 
 While gazing, forgetting every thing, but Him and heaven, 
 
 Two angels from many thousands present, became visible. Acts i. 10. 
 
 They said to the disciples, " He shall come again in like manner." Acts 
 
 i. 11. 
 Earth gave Him a manger, it will yet give Him a tukonk ! 
 
 SU(TTq, "Went a little distance from them. Meyer. Several ascensions ; first, Luko 
 xxiv. CI ; last, Acts i. 9. Jonex, Kinkcl. Two incidents recorded as but one. Meyer, 
 Atford. During the 40 days, usually a dweller in heaven. Kinkel. As to the hour, some 
 place it in the morning, others at noon. As to the witnesses, others besides the Eleven 
 probably present. Andrews. His a-scension only a consequence of His resurrection. 
 Tholuck. His ascension visible, because invisible after the clouds received Him. Wesley, 
 Apostles did not expect r(si&!e ascension. Draseke, Herder; affirmed. Stier. Two tra- 
 ditions of the ascension arose; one, of the ascension the first day of His resurrection; 
 the other, after forty days. Meyer. Simply absurd for Strauss and Paiilus to say that 
 the lirws of gravity contradict the Evangelists. Oostercee. The other extreme of 
 pretended spirituality reduces us to Pai</ifi«m. " Tioo men'' (Acts i. 101, first fruit.i of . 
 the resurrection — a Moses and Elias. Stier. 
 
 Kal ai'«i/)e'peTO eis Tov ovpavoy, omitted by Tischcndor/. To omit these words is rash 
 in tho oxlreiac. Al/ord.
 
 CHAP. XXXV.] ON ST, LUKE. 557 
 
 52. And they ivorshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy : 
 
 Worshipped. By prostration, a thing not done before His cniciflsion 
 
 by the disciples. 
 The first clear announcing of religious worship to Christ. 
 He was not honored now, exclusively as Messiah. Matt. ii. 2 ; xx. 20. 
 They worshipped Him in His Divine nature. 
 ComniTinity of spirit, causes community of worship. 
 During the forty days, they were studying His divinity. 
 Worship divine is His due, or He would not accept it. 
 God's saints unite in working, praying, suffering and praising. 
 We break the first command daily, if Jesus' Godhead is not a reality. 
 Heturned. No longer alone or forsaken, Christ with them still. 
 To Jerusalem. Remained ivith one accord, their visible Head being 
 
 gone. 
 They remained ten days publicly together, unmolested. 
 Had they stolen the body, this would have been impossible. 
 The Jewish council did not believe their own accusation. 
 Fanatics would not have thus calmly waited for a i)romise. 
 They continued injJraijcr, for the fulfilment of the Lord's word. 
 Great joy. He had ascended as a conquering King. 
 There was also joy within the gates of pearl. Pad. Ixviii. 17-18. 
 The attendant throng of angels, cry to those within the golden city, 
 " Lift up your heads, ye gates, and the King of Gloiy shall come in." 
 
 Psa. xxiv. 7. 
 Sadness at their loss is now absorbed in joy, serving such a Master. 
 They rejoiced at victories, He had won over death, and the grave. 
 Now they rejoice in His promises, so full of glory. 
 They rejoice, despite the separation, even at His parting. 
 It proves the great progress they had made in forty days. 
 
 1. Faith sees Christ's highest glory in this departure. 
 
 2. Love thinks of His gain, not of her loss. 
 
 3. Hope steadfastly looks for the fulfilment of the promises. 
 
 npoa-KvvrjcravTe^, omittted by Tischfndorf ; no sufficient ground. Alford. Luke iv. 7. 
 Worsliiijpers standing, Acts. i. 11. Bengel. Only used twice by Luke. Fel] down before 
 Him. De Wdte ; and yet out of sight. Stier. The Lord Himself lov&UAii. His ascensi'iii, 
 John vi. G2 ; xx. 17 : — it was immediately after His disappearance from the earth, 
 expressly announced by the Apostles, Acta ii. 33, 31 ; v. 31 : — continued to be an article 
 of their preaching and teaching, 1 Pot. iii. 22; Eph. ii. 6; iv. 10; 1 Tim. iii. 16. Alj'ord.
 
 558 SUOGESTH^ COMMENTARY. [fJIIAP. XXIV. 
 
 53. And were ccniinualhj in the temple, praisinq and blessing Qod. Amen, 
 
 Continually. Spent the day, but returned home at night. 
 
 " Anua served God with fastings and prayers night and day." Luke ii. 37, 
 
 Temple. Luke i. 9. There the disciples obeyed His last command. 
 
 The Jews on great occasions travelled far to render thanks in the temple. 
 
 The temple service had become clothed in Gospel robes. 
 
 The song of Moses, had become the song of the Lamb. 
 
 They doubtless met in Solomon's porch, where their Master taught. 
 
 Now they see His face in the city, where the Lamb is the temple. Eev. 
 xxi. 22-23. 
 
 John is thought to represent the Four Evangelists. Eev. iv. 7. 
 
 Praising. The fruit of joy, the work of the upper temple. 
 
 Jesus and His blessing are ours, let us praise Him also. 
 
 Amen. So let it be. It is faithful and true. This wo^d ie used by a soldier 
 in Turkistan ; when he surrenders himself as a i^risoner to him who 
 makes him captive, he exclaims " Amman," which means •' Give me 
 safety." Let the children of God, the disciples of Christ, conclude 
 their prayers with a desire that God will give safety through Christ, 
 who is Yea and Amen. 
 
 Sian-avTo?. Continually, at tho stated hours of prayer. ^Z/or(J. alvovvTii;. Doubtful. 
 Qricsbach ; omitted. Cod. Sinai. ; rcta,me.d.Alford,Wordsicorth. cuAoyoui'Tfs, cancelled. 
 Tiseh<:nd(irJ ; retained. Alford. The number and importance of the authorities furnish 
 ao ground for omitting these words. Oosterzee. aixrjv, cancelled. Tischendorf, Tregellee, 
 Alford, Cod. ifiiuxi; bracketed. Lachmann; retained. Brown, WoriUwortlu 
 
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