Luke 11:1-13
Luke 11:1-13. THE LORD’S PRAYER. PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 11:1-13. THE LORD’S PRAYER. PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ἘΝ ΤΩ͂Ι ΕἾΝΑΙ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ἘΝ ΤΌΠΩΙ ΤΙΝῚ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΌΜΕΝΟΝ. The better order is ‘as he was in a certain place, praying.’ The extreme vagueness of these expressions shews that St Luke did not possess a more definite note of place or of time; but if we carefully compare the parallel passages of Matt... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPS. Luke 9:51 to Luke 18:31 This section forms a great episode in St Luke, which may be called the departure for the final conflict, and is identical with the journey (probably to the Feast of the Dedication, John 10:22) which is partially touched upon in Matthew 18:1 to Matthew 20:16 and Mark 10... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΤΕΡ. This is the reading of אBL Ti[229] W.H[230] ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς is read by ACD La[231] [229] Ti. Tischendorf. [230] W.H. Westcott and Hort. [231] La. Lachmann. After ἡ βασιλεία σου, אACD La[232] read γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, which is omitted by BL Ti[233] W.H... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸΝ ἌΡΤΟΝ ἩΜΩ͂Ν ΤῸΝ ἘΠΙΟΎΣΙΟΝ ΔΊΔΟΥ ἩΜΙ͂Ν ΤῸ ΚΑΘ' ἩΜΈΡΑΝ. The prayer (i) acknowledges that we are indebted to God for our _simplest_ boons; (ii) asks them for _all_; (iii) asks them only day by day; and (iv) asks for no more, Proverbs 30:8; John 6:27. St Luke’s version (δίδου) brings out the continu... [ Continue Reading ]
After ΠΕΙΡΑΣΜΌΝ, ACD La[235] read ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς�. These additions may be from Matthew 6:9-10. [235] La. Lachmann.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΡΕΎΣΕΤΑΙ ΠΡῸΣ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ΜΕΣΟΝΥΚΤΊΟΥ. Orientals often travel at night to avoid the heat. Although idle repetitions in prayer are forbidden, persistency and importunity in prayer—wrestling with God, and not letting Him go until He has blessed us—are here distinctly taught (see Luke 18:1-8), as they als... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἜΧΩ Ὃ ΠΑΡΑΘΉΣΩ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι. Even the deepest poverty was not held to excuse any lack of the primary Eastern virtue of hospitality. Allegorically we may see here the unsatisfied hunger of the soul, which wakens in the midnight of a sinful life.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚἈΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. The construction is an _anakoluthon_, as though the sentence had begun with ἐάν, as is shewn by the εἴπῃ in Luke 11:5 for which Lachmann reads ἐρεῖ following AD. There is a similar anacoluthon (due to the words in _oratio directa_) in Matthew 7:9. ΜΉ ΜΟΙ ΚΌΠΟΥΣ ΠΆΡΕΧΕ. The answer is roug... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΚΑῚ ΟΥ̓ ΔΏΣΕΙ. Even if he will _refuse_ him. Greek idiom would require μὴ after εἰ (since supposed conditions are necessarily subjective) were it not that the οὐ here belongs to the verb, the meaning of which it reverses. Comp. Luke 16:31. εἰ οὐ δύναται Matthew 26:42, εἰ οὐκ ἔχει Romans 8:9, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚἈΓῺ ὙΜΙ͂Ν ΛΈΓΩ. _And I say to you_. The argument is the _a minori ad majus_ which is sufficiently obvious in itself, but had been specially formulated by Hillel in his seven ‘rules’ (_middoth_) for the interpretation of Scripture. ΑἸΤΕΙ͂ΤΕ, ΚΑῚ ΔΟΘΉΣΕΤΑΙ ὙΜΙ͂Ν. Matthew 7:7-11; Matthew 21:22; Mark 1... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸΝ ΠΑΤΈΡΑ. ‘Whom of you _as a father_?’ ΜῊ … ἘΠΙΔΏΣΕΙ. The construction is an anakoluthon, as though the sentence had begun ‘_If_ the son of any of you, &c.’ The word ἐπιδώσει means ‘Will he go out of his way to give him?’—i.e. will he _venture to_ give him? The son asks for bread, fish, &c., and... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑἸΤΉΣΕΙ. Some MSS. read ἣ καὶ ἐὰν αἰτήσει, and according to the MSS. there are in the N. T. some instances of ἐὰν with the indic. See Winer, p. 369.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΝΗΡΟῚ ὙΠΆΡΧΟΝΤΕΣ. _Whose whole condition is evil_. The verb is stronger than if ὄντες had been used, but Bengel presses the word too much when he calls it “_illustre testimonium de peccato originali_.” ΟἼΔΑΤΕ. It is the tendency of Hellenistic Greek as of all later forms of language to substitute... [ Continue Reading ]
ἮΝ ἘΚΒΆΛΛΩΝ. The _continuous_ analytic imperfect perhaps implies that this was like some of those later miracles of Christ in which the result was not instantly accomplished. ΑΥ̓ΤῸ ἮΝ ΚΩΦΌΝ. i.e., of course, the possession by the spirit caused dumbness in the man, comp. Mark 9:17. If this incident... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DUMB DEVIL. BLASPHEMY OF THE PHARISEES... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΝῈΣ ΔῈ ἘΞ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν ΕἾΠΟΝ. We learn from St Matthew (Matthew 12:24) that this notable suggestion emanated from “the Pharisees” and, as St Mark (Mark 3:20) adds, from “the scribes _which came from_ Jerusalem,” i.e. the spies who had been expressly sent down by the ruling hierarchs to dog the footstep... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΕΙΡΆΖΟΝΤΕΣ, i.e. wanting to _try_ Him, to put Him to the test. The temptation was precisely analogous to that in the wilderness—a temptation to put forth a self-willed or arbitrary exertion of power for personal ends, see Luke 4:3; Luke 4:12. ΣΗΜΕΙ͂ΟΝ ἘΞ ΟΥ̓ΡΑΝΟΥ͂. They persuaded the people that Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν ΤᾺ ΔΙΑΝΟΉΜΑΤΑ. ‘Their machinations.’ ΠΑ͂ΣΑ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΊΑ ἘΦ' ἙΑΝΤῊΝ ΔΙΑΜΕΡΙΣΘΕΙ͂ΣΑ. More briefly and graphically in St Mark “How can Satan cast out Satan?” ΚΑῚ ΟἾΚΟΣ ἘΠῚ ΟἾΚΟΝ. The words may be rendered ‘and (in that case) house falleth against house.’ Comp. Thuc. II. 84, ναῦς τε νηΐ προσέπιπτε... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΔῈ ΚΑῚ … ΔΙΕΜΕΡΊΣΘΗ. ‘But if Satan too is divided against himself.’ ὍΤΙ. (I ask this) _because_, &c. Comp. Mark 3:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΥἹΟῚ ὙΜΩ͂Ν ἘΝ ΤΊΝΙ ἘΚΒΆΛΛΟΥΣΙΝ; The “pupils of the wise” might be called the ‘sons of the Pharisees’ just as the youths in the Prophetic schools were called ‘sons of the Prophets.’ The reality of the Jewish exorcisms is not here necessarily admitted (Acts 19:13). It was enough that the admitted p... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ΔΑΚΤΎΛΩΙ ΘΕΟΥ͂. St Matthew has ἐν πνεύματι Θεοῦ. “Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, _This is the finger of God_,” Exodus 8:19. ἜΦΘΑΣΕΝ ἘΦ' ὙΜΑ͂Σ. _Is come unawares upon you_; or ‘is already come.’ The word and tense imply suddenness and surprise, although in some passages the force of φθάνω... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΤΑΝ Ὁ ἸΣΧΥΡῸΣ ΚΑΘΩΠΛΙΣΜΈΝΟΣ ΦΥΛΆΣΣΗΙ ΤῊΝ ἙΑΥΤΟΥ͂ ΑΥ̓ΛΉΝ. ‘The strong’ is Satan, Matthew 12:29. Αὐλὴ means ‘_premises_’ or ‘homestead,’ Matthew 26:3. The same metaphor is used of the Christian opposing Satan, as here of Satan opposing Christ, Ephesians 6:13. The world is here Satan’s court-yard (Joh... [ Continue Reading ]
ἸΣΧΥΡΌΤΕΡΟΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. Christ, “having spoiled principalities and powers, made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in His Cross,” Colossians 2:15. ΤᾺ ΣΚΥ͂ΛΑ. The spoils which Satan had won from the race of man.—Bengel.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΜῊ ὪΝ ΜΕΤ' ἘΜΟΥ͂ ΚΑΤ' ἘΜΟΥ͂ ἘΣΤΊΝ. Neutrality is sometimes opposition; see on Luke 9:51 (where we have the complementary truth). ΣΚΟΡΠΊΖΕΙ. An Ionic and Hellenistic verb for which the Attics use σκεδάννυμι.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙΈΡΧΕΤΑΙ ΔΙ' ἈΝΎΔΡΩΝ ΤΌΠΩΝ. The unclean spirits were thought to frequent ruins (_Berachôth_, f. 3_a_) and the waterless desert, Tob 8:3; Bar 4:35; see on Luke 4:1. The goat “for Azazel” was driven into the wilderness. ΖΗΤΟΥ͂Ν�. Not to be in possession of some human soul, is (for them) to be in tor... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΕΣΑΡΩΜΈΝΟΝ ΚΑῚ ΚΕΚΟΣΜΗΜΈΝΟΝ. The mischief and danger of the emancipated soul is that it is not occupied by a New Indweller. It has not tested the expulsive power of holy affections. It is ‘lying idle’ (σχολάζοντα, Matthew 12:44), i.e. ‘to let.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΤΕΡΑ ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΑ … ἙΠΤΆ. Compare Luke 8:2; Luke 8:30. The number is figurative of complete wickedness and (in this case) final possession. ΤᾺ ἜΣΧΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ͂�. The most striking comment on the verse is furnished by Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-29, and especially 2 Peter 2:20-21. “Sin no more,” said our Lo... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΆΡΑΣΆ ΤΙΣ ΓΥΝῊ ΦΩΝῊΝ ἘΚ ΤΟΥ͂ ὌΧΛΟΥ. _A woman uplifting her voice out of the crowd_. “Bene sentit,” says Bengel, “sed muliebriter loquitur.” ΜΑΚΑΡΊΑ Ἡ ΚΟΙΛΊΑ Ἡ ΒΑΣΤΆΣΑΣΆ ΣΕ. See Luke 1:28; Luke 1:48. “How many women have blessed the Holy Virgin, and desired to be such a mother as she was! What hin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WOMANLY EXCLAMATION. THE PERIL OF PRIVILEGES ABUSED... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΝΟΥ͂Ν ΜΑΚΆΡΙΟΙ ΟἹ�. ‘_Yea truly, but_ &c.’ In classical Greek μὲν οὖν (or μενοῦνγε, _immo vero_) never begins a sentence, as it does here and in Romans 9:20; Romans 10:18. With the thought compare Luke 8:21. Our Lord invariably and systematically discouraged all attempt to exalt the merely human r... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΑΘΡΟΙΖΟΜΈΝΩΝ. ‘Were densely gathering.’ The word occurs here alone in the N.T.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΝΙΝΕΥΪ́ΤΑΙΣ ΣΗΜΕΙ͂ΟΝ. Jonah 1:17.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΒΑΣΊΛΙΣΣΑ ΝΌΤΟΥ. The queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12). The visit of this queen of Yemen made a deep impression on Oriental imagination, and is found in the Koran (xxvii., &c.) “diluted with nonsense and encumbered with fables.” ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΩ͂Ν�. Woman though she was she will rise wit... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΝΔΡΕΣ ΝΙΝΕΥΙ͂ΤΑΙ. Men of Nineveh or Ninevites; not ‘_the_ men of Nineveh.’ ΜΕΤΕΝΌΗΣΑΝ ΕἸΣ ΤῸ ΚΉΡΥΓΜΑ ἸΩΝΑ͂. “The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them,” Jonah 3:5. The εἰς is difficult to explain. Perhaps it... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΎΧΝΟΝ. _A lamp_. ΕἸΣ ΚΡΥΠΤΉΝ. _Into_ ‘a crypt’ or ‘cellar.’ If the κρύπτη be thus regarded as a subst. (the Latin _crypta_) it should be paroxytone. Euthymius defines it to be τὴν�. Some have here most needlessly supposed it to be used by a Hebrew idiom for the neuter. See Winer, p. 298. ὙΠῸ ΤῸΝ... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INWARD LIGHT... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΛΎΧΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ͂ ΣΏΜΑΤΌΣ ἘΣΤΙΝ Ὁ ὉΦΘΑΛΜΌΣ ΣΟΥ. ‘_Thine_ eye is the lamp of the body,’ since the word is the same as in the last verse. ὍΤΑΝ Ὁ ὈΦΘΑΛΜΌΣ ΣΟΥ ἉΠΛΟΥ͂Σ ἮΙ. The eye in this clause is the ‘inward eye’ of conscience; the ‘illuminated eye of the heart,’ Ephesians 1:17-18. “Single,” i.e. unsophi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜῊ ΤῸ ΦΩ͂Σ ΤῸ ἘΝ ΣΟῚ ΣΚΌΤΟΣ ἘΣΤΊΝ. The _indicative_ following σκόπει μὴ shews the apprehension that such _is_ the case. Hermann on Soph. _Aj._ 272 says “μὴ ἐστί _verentis_ quidem est ne quid nunc sit, sed _judicantis_ simul _putare se ita esse_ ut veretur.” Comp. Galatians 2:2 ἀνεθέμην … μήπως εἰς κ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΩΤΊΖΗΙ ΣΕ. The verse may be rendered literally, ‘If then thy body be wholly illumined … it shall be illumined wholly as when the lamp with its bright shining illumines thee.’ The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. “God will light my candle,” Psalms 18:28. “Thy word is a lantern unto my feet.”... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΡΩΤΑ͂Ι. ‘Asked’ (A. V[244] “_besought_”). [244] A. V. Authorised Version. ὍΠΩΣ�' ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι. The meal was not dinner (δεῖπνον), but an earlier, lighter, and more informal meal (ἄριστον). ΕἸΣΕΛΘῺΝ ΔῈ�. The words imply that immediately He entered He sat down to table. The meal was merely some slight... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INVITATION OF THE PHARISEE AND THE OPEN RUPTURE... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΘΑΎΜΑΣΕΝ ὍΤΙ ΟΥ̓ ΠΡΩ͂ΤΟΝ ἘΒΑΠΤΊΣΘΗ. Literally, ‘_bathed_.’ No washing was necessary to eat a few dates or figs. At the chief meal of the day, where all dipped their hands into a common dish, it was a matter of cleanliness. But the duty of cleanliness had been turned by the Oral Law into a rigorous... [ Continue Reading ]
ΝΥ͂Ν ὙΜΕΙ͂Σ ΟἹ ΦΑΡΙΣΑΙ͂ΟΙ. Doubtless other circumstances besides the mere supercilious astonishment of the Pharisee led to the vehement rebuke. The eightfold woe in Matthew 23. is fuller than here. Jesus denounces their frivolous scrupulosity (39), combined with gross insincerity (42), their pride ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΤῸ ἜΣΩΘΕΝ. See Mark 7:18-19, which contains our Lord’s distinctest utterance in abrogation of the Levitic Law—“This He said … _making all meats clean_.” (Revised Version.)... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤᾺ ἘΝΌΝΤΑ. St Matthew’s τὸ ἐντὸς καθάρισον is clearer. Theophylact explains this to mean τὰ ὑπάρχοντα ὑμῖν. Euthym. τὰ ἐναποκείμενα. Luther, ‘_of that which is true_.’ A. V[245] ‘_of that which ye have_.’ Grotius, ‘_of what is possible_.’ This is followed by the _marg._ of the R. V[246] ‘_that which... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΟΔΕΚΑΤΟΥ͂ΤΕ ΤῸ ἩΔΎΟΣΜΟΝ ΚΑῚ ΤῸ ΠΉΓΑΝΟΝ. Deuteronomy 14:22. In the Talmud there are elaborate discussions whether in tithing the seeds of potherbs one ought also to tithe the stalk, &c. ‘Tithes’ and ‘washings’ occupied the chief thoughts of Pharisees. Sacrificial details were all-important among pr... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΓΑΠΑ͂ΤΕ. ‘_Ye highly value_.’ John 12:43. ΤῊΝ ΠΡΩΤΟΚΑΘΕΔΡΊΑΝ. These were places in the synagogue in a conspicuous semicircle facing the congregation, and round the _bema_ of the reader, Luke 14:7-11; Matthew 23:6. ΤΟῪΣ�. In which they addressed one another by extravagant titles, and required from... [ Continue Reading ]
[ὙΠΟΚΡΙΤΑΊ.] The first meaning of the word is ‘actors.’ ὩΣ ΤᾺ ΜΝΗΜΕΙ͂Α ΤᾺ ἌΔΗΛΑ. Any contact with sepulchres involved Levitical uncleanness. Hence graves and tombs were whitewashed that none might touch them unawares. Perhaps our Lord was alluding to Tiberias, which when it was being built was disc... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΣ ΤΩ͂Ν ΝΟΜΙΚΩ͂Ν. See on Luke 7:30; Luke 10:25. This Scribe thought that Jesus could not possibly mean to reflect on the honoured class who copied and expounded the Law. ΚΑῚ ἩΜΑ͂Σ ὙΒΡΊΖΕΙΣ. ‘_Thou insultest even us_,’ who are superior to ordinary Pharisees. The word is a strong and an unjust one. A... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΟΡΤΊΑ ΔΥΣΒΆΣΤΑΚΤΑ. These burdens of the Oral Law became yearly more and more grievous, till they were enshrined in the boundless pedantry of ceremonialism which fills the Talmud. But even at this period they were an intolerable yoke (Acts 15:10), and the lawyers had deserved the Woe pronounced by I... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΔῈ ΠΑΤΈΡΕΣ ὙΜΩ͂Ν�. This is holy sarcasm. They boasted that they would _not_ have done as their fathers had done to the Prophets (Matthew 23:30), yet they rejected John, the greatest of the Prophets, and crucified the Just One, Acts 7:51-52. Thus they proved their _moral_ as well as their literal... [ Continue Reading ]
After ΟἸΚΟΔΟΜΕΙ͂ΤΕ, AC add αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα, which words are omitted by אBDL Ti[236] [236] Ti. Tischendorf. 48. ΜΆΡΤΥΡΈΣ ἘΣΤΕ … ΣΥΝΕΥΔΟΚΕΙ͂ΤΕ. We find the same two words used of St Paul in Acts 7:58; Acts 8:1. ‘Allow’ means ‘approve after trial,’ and is derived from _allaudare_. “The Lord _allowet... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἡ ΣΟΦΊΑ ΤΟΥ͂ ΘΕΟΥ͂. Comp. Luke 7:35. There is an allusion to 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 (comp. 2 Chronicles 36:14-21), or perhaps to Proverbs 1:20-31. But as the exact passage nowhere occurs in the O.T. some suppose that our Lord quotes (1) from a _lost book_ called ‘The Wisdom of God’ (Ewald, Bleek, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
49–51. These verses were arbitrarily omitted by Marcion.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΖΗΤΗΘΗ͂Ι. A Hellenistic verb used in the sense of the Latin _exquiro_. ἘΚΧΥΝΝΌΜΕΝΟΝ. Literally, ‘which is being poured out,’ i.e. which is being constantly shed.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΩΣ ΑἽΜΑΤΟΣ ΖΑΧΑΡΊΟΥ. His murder by Joash is described in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, and also filled a large place in Jewish legends. The words “the son of Barachiah,” in Matthew 23:35, are probably an erroneous gloss which has crept from the margin into the text. The murdered Zacharias was the son of t... [ Continue Reading ]
ἬΡΑΤΕ ΤῊΝ ΚΛΕΙ͂ΔΑ ΤΗ͂Σ ΓΝΏΣΕΩΣ. D reads ἀπεκρύψατε, _Ye concealed the key_, but that is implied in their _taking it away_ and rendering it inaccessible. Our Lord here denounces the common spirit of theological exclusiveness and pride. A key was the regular symbol of the function of a scribe (Matthew... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚἈΚΕΙ͂ΘΕΝ ἘΞΕΛΘΌΝΤΟΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂, אBCL Ti[237] W.H[238] In AD La[239] we have λέγοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα πρὸς αὐτούς. There are other variations. [237] Ti. Tischendorf. [238] W.H. Westcott and Hort. [239] La. Lachmann. 53. ΚἈΚΕΙ͂ΘΕΝ ἘΞΕΛΘΌΝΤΟΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂. ‘When He had gone forth from thence.’ The Pharisees... [ Continue Reading ]
54. There are many variations and glosses in this verse owing to its peculiarity. The words καὶ ζητοῦντες are omitted in אBL, and also ἵνα κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ. 54. ΘΗΡΕΥ͂ΣΑΙ. Literally, ‘_to hunt_.’ They were members of a sort of ‘commission of inquiry’ which had been sent from Jerusalem for this... [ Continue Reading ]