Luke 12:1

ἐν οἷς ἐπισυναχθεισῶν τῶν μυριάδων τοῦ ὄχλου. ‘Meanwhile (i.e. during the troubled scene inside the Pharisee’s house), when the myriads of the multitude had suddenly assembled.’ It is evident that the noise of this disgraceful attack on our Lord had been heard. This scene was as it were the watershed of our Lord’s ministry in Galilee. At this period He had excited intense opposition among the religious authorities, but was still beloved and revered by the people. They therefore flocked together for His protection, and their arrival hushed the unseemly and hostile vehemence of the Pharisees. The expression ‘myriads’ is obviously an hyperbole, as in Acts 21:20 (Vulg[260] multis turbis).

[260] Vulg. Vulgate.

ὥστε καταπατεῖν�. Literally, ‘trod one another down.’

ἤρξατο λέγειν. The words seem to imply a specially solemn and important discourse.

πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, Πρῶτον προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς. ‘To His disciples, Beware first of all of,’ &c. Though the Greek text is punctuated otherwise, it seems best to take the πρῶτον with the following verb as in Luke 9:61; Luke 10:5. ‘As your first duty beware,’ &c. The construction προσέχετε� is unclassical and is only found in Matthew and Luke.

τῆς ζύμης. See for comment Matthew 16:12; Mark 8:15.