XII. (1) IN THE MEAN TIME. — More literally, _When the myriads of the multitude were gathered together._ The words must be taken in immediate sequence with the close of the previous chapter. The dispute that had begun in the Pharisee’s house, and had been carried on by the lawyers and scribes as th... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THERE IS NOTHING COVERED. — More accurately, _but there is nothing_... The Greek conjunction cannot possibly have the meaning of “for,” and the latter word suggests a logical connection which is different from that of the original. What our Lord seems to say is, “Beware ye of... hypocrisy...; bu... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE WHATSOEVER YE HAVE SPOKEN IN DARKNESS. — See Note on Matthew 10:27. There is, it will be noted, a difference of the same character as in the last verse. As recorded in St. Matthew, it is “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light.” The disciples were warned of their responsibilit... [ Continue Reading ]
(4-9) I SAY UNTO YOU MY FRIENDS. — See Notes on Matthew 10:28. The opening words, however, in their tender sympathy, anticipating the language of John 15:14, may be noted as peculiar to St. Luke.... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE NOT FIVE SPARROWS SOLD FOR TWO FARTHINGS? — The variation from St. Matthew’s “two sparrows sold for a farthing,” seems to reproduce the very bargains of the market-place. The sparrow was of so little value that the odd bird was thrown in to tempt the purchasers. Both this difference, and that be... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO I SAY UNTO YOU. — Again we note another like variation between St. Matthew’s “before My Father which is in Heaven,” and St. Luke’s “before the angels of God.”... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHOSOEVER SHALL SPEAK A WORD AGAINST THE SON OF MAN. — See Note on Matthew 12:32. Here the words which had first been uttered in connection with the special charge of “casting out devils by Beelzebub,” seem to be repeated in their more general bearing.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY BRING YOU UNTO THE SYNAGOGUES. — See Note on Matthew 10:18. What had been a special promise to the Twelve is now extended to all whom the Lord calls His friends. Note, as characteristic of St. Luke’s phraseology, the combination “magistrates” (better, _principalities,_ or _authorities_... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ONE OF THE COMPANY. — Better, _one of the multitude._ The request implied a recognition of our Lord’s character as a scribe or Rabbi, but it was for the purpose of asking Him to assume that office in its purely secular aspect. As interpreters of the Law, the scribes were appealed to as advocates... [ Continue Reading ]
MAN, WHO MADE ME A JUDGE...? — This is the only instance of our Lord’s so addressing one who had come to Him as a questioner. As in Romans 2:1; Romans 2:3, the form, “O man,” was one which expressed grave censure and indignation. Was it for this that men came to Him instead of seeking for the kingdo... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE HEED, AND BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS. — The better MSS. give, “of all (_i.e.,_ every form of) -covetousness.” Our Lord’s words show that He had read the secret of the man’s heart. Greed was there, with all its subtle temptations, leading the man to think that “life” was not worth living unless he h... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE THOUGHT WITHIN HIMSELF. — The parable, like that of the Good Samaritan, is more than a similitude, and reads like an actual history. There is an almost dramatic vividness in the rich man’s soliloquy. It was the very “superfluity” of the man’s goods that became a new cause of anxiety. In such... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL PULL DOWN MY BARNS. — The Greek noun (_apothekè,_ whence our “apothecary,”) has a somewhat wider meaning, and includes storehouses or warehouses of all kinds. ALL MY FRUITS. — Here, too, the Greek word is somewhat wider. Literally, _produce_ — _i.e._, crops of every kind.... [ Continue Reading ]
EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY. — The words remind us of St. Paul’s “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32), and may possibly have suggested them. There is, however, a suggestive difference in the context. Extremes meet, and the life of self-indulgence may spring either from an... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT GOD SAID UNTO HIM. — The bold anthropomorphic language seems intended to suggest the thought not only that death came suddenly, but that the man felt that it came from God as the chastisement of his folly. THY SOUL SHALL BE REQUIRED. — Literally, _they require thy soul of thee._ The idiom, as i... [ Continue Reading ]
SO IS HE THAT LAYETH UP TREASURE FOR HIMSELF. — See Note on Matthew 6:19. To be “rich towards God” finds its explanation in the language, probably suggested by it, which bids us to be “rich in good works” (1 Timothy 6:18).... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAID UNTO HIS DISCIPLES. — The previous words had been spoken generally to all who needed their warning against greed. What follows is addressed to those who had already been called to the consciousness of a higher life. TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR YOUR LIFE. — Another reproduction, in a distinct co... [ Continue Reading ]
CONSIDER THE RAVENS. — See Notes on Matthew 6:26. Here, however, we have the more specific “ravens” instead of the wider “fowls of the air,” as another example of independence. The choice of the special illustration was possibly determined by the language of the Psalmist, “He giveth to the beast his... [ Continue Reading ]
IF YE THEN BE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT THING WHICH IS LEAST. — The words are peculiar to St. Luke’s report. If no amount of anxious care can add one cubit to our stature or the measure of our days (see Notes on Matthew 6:27), how much less can we control all the myriad contingencies upon which the happin... [ Continue Reading ]
(27-31) CONSIDER THE LILIES HOW THEY GROW. — See Notes on Matthew 6:28. There are, however, some noticeable variations, as (1) in Luke 12:27, in the better MSS., _they spin not, they weave not;_ (2) the use in Luke 12:29 of a new verb, “Neither be ye of doubtful mind.” The word is not found elsewher... [ Continue Reading ]
FEAR NOT, LITTLE FLOCK. — The words continue to be spoken to the inner circle of the disciples. They are “_the_ little flock” (the Greek has the article) to whom the Father was pleased to give the kingdom which is “righteousness and peace and joy.” There is an implied recognition of the fact, that t... [ Continue Reading ]
SELL THAT YE HAVE. — In its generalised form the precept is peculiar to St. Luke, but it has its parallel in the command given to the young ruler. (See Note on Matthew 19:21.) It was clearly one of the precepts which his own characteristic tendencies led him to record (see _Introduction_)_,_ and whi... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS. — See Note on Matthew 6:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED... — To “gird up the loins” was, in Eastern habits and with Eastern garments, the received symbol of readiness for active service (Luke 12:37; Luke 17:8; 1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 1:8; John 13:4; 1 Peter 1:13). The “lights” are the lamps (as in Matthew 5:15) which the watchful... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL GIRD HIMSELF. — The words give a new significance to the act of our Lord in John 13:4. Their real fulfilment is to be found, it need hardly be said, in the far-off completion of the Kingdom, or in the ever-recurring experiences which are the foretastes of that Kingdom; but the office which... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF HE SHALL COME IN THE SECOND WATCH. — In Mark 13:35 we have the Roman four-fold division of the night. (See Note there.) Here we find the older Jewish division into three watches. (Judges 7:19; 1 Samuel 11:11.)... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THIS KNOW, THAT IF THE GOODMAN OF THE HOUSE... — Better, “if the _master_ of the house.” See Notes on Matthew 24:43, where the words are almost identical.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN PETER SAID UNTO HIM. — The motive of Peter’s question is not given. Interpreted by the like question in Matthew 19:27 (where see Note), it is natural to suppose that he dwelt, not so much on the last words of warning, as on the greatness of the promise which is held out in Luke 12:37. Was that... [ Continue Reading ]
(42-46) WHO THEN IS THAT FAITHFUL AND WISE STEWARD? — See Notes on Matthew 24:45. Here the words come as an answer to Peter’s question. The promise was spoken, not for the Twelve only, but for every faithful and wise steward. The words are as the germ of the parable which sets forth the wisdom, thou... [ Continue Reading ]
TO BEAT THE MENSERVANTS. — Literally, _the boys,_ but in the sense which the word had acquired, like the French _garçon,_ as used generally for servants of any age. Note the more specific terms as compared with the “fellow-servants” of St. Matthew.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH THE UNBELIEVERS. — Better, perhaps, in a less technical sense, _the unfaithful,_ the word affording sharp contrast with the “faithful and wise steward” of Luke 12:42.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THAT SERVANT, WHICH KNEW HIS LORD’S WILL. — The verses that follow (Luke 12:47) are peculiar to St. Luke, and every word is full of profoundest interest. First there comes a warning to the disciples who knew their Lord’s will, who had been told to watch for His coming, to prepare themselves and... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT KNEW NOT. — The words manifest the tenderness of a considerate equity, like that which uttered itself in our Lord’s words as to Sodom and Tyre and Sidon, in Luke 10:12. Man’s knowledge is the measure of his responsibilities; and in the absence of knowledge, more or less complete, though stri... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM COME TO SEND FIRE ON THE EARTH. — There is a strange unique abruptness in the utterance. We are compelled to assume a pause, a moment’s thought, as in one whose gaze looks out into the future, and who at once feels its terrors and yet accepts them. The fire which He came to send is the fire of... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE A BAPTISM TO BE BAPTIZED WITH. — Here we have a point of contact with the words spoken to the sons of Zebedee. (See Notes on Matthew 20:22, and Mark 10:38.) The baptism of which the Lord now speaks is that of one who is come into deep waters, so that the floods pass over him, over whose head... [ Continue Reading ]
(51-53) SUPPOSE YE THAT I AM COME TO GIVE PEACE? — See Notes on Matthew 10:34. The chief variations are “division” for “sword,” and, in Luke 12:53, the doubled statement of reciprocated enmity in each relationship.... [ Continue Reading ]
(54-56) WHEN YE SEE A CLOUD RISE OUT OF THE WEST. — See Notes on Matthew 16:2. The differences in form are, however, noticeable enough to suggest the impression here also of like teaching at a different time. In St. Matthew the words come as an answer to the demand for a sign, here without any such... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE WILL BE HEAT. — See Note on Matthew 20:12. The word rendered “heat” is probably used here as signifying the “burning wind,” the _simoom,_ which, blowing over the desert, scorched and withered all that was green and fresh. (Comp. James 1:11, where it is rightly rendered “burning heat.”)... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW IS IT THAT YE DO NOT DISCERN THIS TIME? — What had been said before to Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 16:3) is here repeated with a wider application. It was true of the people, as of their teachers, that they did not discern the true import of the time, the season, the crisis in which they fo... [ Continue Reading ]
YEA, AND WHY EVEN OF YOURSELVES JUDGE YE NOT WHAT IS RIGHT? — Better, _judge that which is just._ The meaning of the words is not that they did not know what was right, but that they did not act upon their knowledge. They were passing an unrighteous judgment on the preachers of repentance, on the Ba... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THOU GOEST WITH THINE ADVERSARY.... — Better, with all the MSS., _For as thou goest...._ The conjunction would seem to have been omitted by the translators because they did not see the sequence of thought implied in it. There is, indeed, something at first strangely abrupt in this reproduction... [ Continue Reading ]
I TELL THEE, THOU SHALT NOT DEPART THENCE... — See Note on Matthew 5:26. St. Luke substitutes the yet smaller coin, the “mite,” or _half-quadrans_ (see Note on Mark 12:42), for the “farthing” of St. Matthew.... [ Continue Reading ]