THE UNJUST STEWARD. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS 1-13. Parable of the Unjust Steward (peculiar to Lk). The details of this somewhat difficult parable are probably not significant. It is intended to illustrate the proper use of wealth. Christians should use it so well here on earth, by expending it not... [ Continue Reading ]
AN HUNDRED MEASURES] lit. 'baths,' the 'bath' being a Heb. liquid measure = 9 gallons. BILL] RV 'bond.'... [ Continue Reading ]
MEASURES] lit. cors, the _cor_ being a Heb. dry measure = 11 bushels.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD] RV 'his lord,' i.e. his master. Many readers wrongly imagine that Jesus is the speaker here. BECAUSE HE HAD DONE WISELY] i.e. 'prudently.' The master praised not the morality of the transaction, but its far-sighted prudence, and it is just this that Jesus holds up for imitation. FOR TH... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE TO YOURSELVES] i.e. make to yourselves friends in heaven by means of a prudent use of your wealth (viz. by hospitality, alms-deeds, etc.), that when ye fail, i.e. die (or, according to the RV, when 'it,' i.e. your wealth, 'fail'), the angels may receive you into the eternal habitations. OF] RV... [ Continue Reading ]
11. Luke 16:11 explains Luke 16:10. If you are unfaithful in such an unimportant matter as money (i.e. if you do not spend your incomes to the glory of God), God will not entrust you with those spiritual gifts, graces, and virtues which are much more important.... [ Continue Reading ]
If you do not spend your money rightly, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Money is here called THAT WHICH IS ANOTHER'S, because Christians are to regard it not as their own, but as a trust for which they must one day give account. THAT WHICH IS YOUR OWN is the joy of heaven, 'the kingdom p... [ Continue Reading ]
See on Matthew 6:24.... [ Continue Reading ]
COVETOUS] RV 'lovers of money'; see on Mark 12:40. 15, 16. See on Matthew 11:12; Matthew 11:13. The connexion (if such is to be sought) is this: Before Christ began to preach, it was comparatively easy for the Pharisees to justify themselves before men, but now that the deeper morality of the Gospe... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PHARISEES MOCK JESUS. HIS REPLY. The connexion of Luke 16:16; Luke 16:18 is difficult, and it may be that they do not properly belong here, but it is also possible that our Lord's discourse is abridged, the connecting links being left out.... [ Continue Reading ]
RICH MAN] conveniently called 'Dives' (Lat.). He represents all those who in the enjoyment of wealth forget God and the world to come, and neglect all acts of charity and love. PURPLE] i.e. a rich material dyed with the liquid obtained from the shellfish 'murex,' formed the rich man's upper garment,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS: peculiar to Lk, and full of that sympathy with the poor which characterises his Gospel. It does not, however, as Strauss maintains, assert that the mere possession of wealth is wrong, or that mere poverty justifies. On the contrary, the rich man is condemned, not because he... [ Continue Reading ]
LAZARUS] = _Eleazar_, i.e. 'He who has God for his help.' His name expresses his character. Prom Lazarus is derived _lazar_ = leper. DESIRING] but not obtaining his desire.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DOGS] Since the dog was in the East an unclean animal, the licking was an aggravation of the poor man's misery.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE ANGELS] The rabbis said: 'None can enter Paradise but the just, whose souls are carried thither by angels.' 'When an Israelite departs to his eternal home, the angel in charge of the garden of Eden, who receives every circumcised son of Israel, introduces him into the garden of Eden.' 'When t... [ Continue Reading ]
IN HELL] RV 'in Hades.' Hades is here used in a wide sense for the intermediate state of all souls, just and unjust, between death and judgment. In this sense both Dives and Lazarus were in 'Hades,' though the one was comforted and the other tormented. This usage of the word is quite common. 'Hades,... [ Continue Reading ]
FATHER ABRAHAM] He spoke as a Jew, thinking that Abraham had power over the fires of Hades, and would help his own descendants. The rabbis said, 'The fire of Gehenna has no power over the sinners of Israel, for Abraham descends and rescues them from it.'... [ Continue Reading ]
THY GOOD THINGS] i.e. thy wealth and pleasures. Dives was punished, not for his wealth, but for his abuse of it. Lazarus was justified, not for his poverty, but for his patience and humility.... [ Continue Reading ]
BESIDE ALL THIS] better, 'in all these regions of the dead.' A GREAT GULF FIXED] Somewhat different from the representations of the rabbis, who said (see Ecclesiastes 7:14), 'God hath set the one against the other, i.e. Hell and Paradise. How far are they distant? A hand's breadth. Rabbi Jochanan sa... [ Continue Reading ]
MOSES AND THE PROPHETS] These would give them sufficient light and guidance. 30, 31. Our Lord disbelieved the power of signs and wonders to produce repentance, and here declares that even the sign of His own Resurrection will leave many hard hearts unmoved. The pains of Dives being those of Hades,... [ Continue Reading ]