CHAPTER XV. _Publicans and sinners draw near to hear our Lord, at which the_ _Pharisees are offended_, 1, 2. _Christ vindicates his conduct in receiving them by the parable_ _of the lost sheep_, 3-7. _The parable of the lost piece of money_, 8-10; _and the affecting parable of the prodigal son... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:2. _RECEIVETH SINNERS_] προσδεχεται. He receives them _cordially, affectionately _- takes them to _his bosom_; for so the word implies. What mercy! Jesus receives sinners in the most _loving, affectionate_ manner, and saves them unto eternal life! Reader, give glory to God for ever!... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:4. _WHAT MAN OF YOU_] Our Lord spoke this and the following parable to justify his conduct in receiving and conversing with sinners or _heathens_. _A HUNDRED SHEEP_] Parables similar to this are frequent among the Jewish writers. The whole flock of mankind, both _Jews_ and _Gentiles_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:7. _JUST PERSONS, WHICH NEED NO REPENTANCE._] Who do not require _such_ a _change of mind_ and _purpose_ as these do - who are not so profligate, and cannot repent of sins they have never committed. Distinctions of this kind frequently occur in the Jewish writings. There are many pers... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:8. _TEN PIECES OF SILVER_] δραχμας δεκα, _ten drachmas_. I think it always best to retain the names of these ancient coins, and to state their value in English money. Every reader will naturally wish to know by what _names_ such and such coins were called in the countries in which they... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:12. _GIVE ME THE PORTION OF GOODS_] It may seem strange that such a demand should be made, and that the parent should have acceded to it, when he knew that it was to minister to his debauches that his profligate son made the demand here specified. But the matter will appear plain, whe... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:13. _NOT MANY DAYS AFTER_] He probably hastened his departure for fear of the fine which he must have paid, and the reproach to which he must have been subjected, had the matter come before the civil magistrate. See above. _RIOTOUS LIVING._] ζων ασωτως, in a course of life that led hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:14. _A MIGHTY FAMINE IN THAT LAND_] As he was of a profligate turn of mind himself, it is likely he sought out a place where riot and excess were the ruling characteristics of the inhabitants; and, as poverty is the sure consequence of prodigality, it is no wonder that famine preyed on... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:15. _TO FEED SWINE._] The basest and vilest of all employments; and, to a _Jew_, peculiarly degrading. Shame, contempt, and distress are wedded to sin, and can never be divorced. No character could be meaner in the sight of a Jew than that of a _swineherd_: and _Herodotus_ informs us,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:16. _WITH THE HUSKS_] κερατιων. _Bochart_, I think, has proved that κερατια does not mean _husks_: to signify which the Greek botanical writers use the word λοβοι; several examples of which he gives from _Theophrastus_. He shows, also, that the original word means the fruit of the _cer... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:17. _WHEN HE CAME TO HIMSELF_] A state of _sin_ is represented in the sacred writings as a course of _folly_ and _madness_; and _repentance_ is represented as a restoration to _sound sense_. See this fully explained on Matthew 3:2. _I PERISH WITH HUNGER!_] Or, _I perish HERE_. ωδε, _h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:18. _AGAINST HEAVEN_] εις τον ουρανον; that is, _against God_. The Jews often make use of this periphrasis in order to avoid mentioning the _name_ of God, which they have ever treated with the utmost reverence. But some contend that it should be translated, _even unto heaven_; a Hebrai... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:20. _AND KISSED HIM._] Or, _kissed him again and again_; the proper import of καταεφιλησεν αυτον. The father thus showed his great tenderness towards him, and his great affection for him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:21. _Make me as one of thy hired servants_, is _added_ here by several MSS. and versions; but it is evident this has been added, merely to make his conduct agree with his resolution, Luke 15:19. But by this a very great beauty is lost: for the design of the inspired penman is to show,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:22. _BRING FORTH THE BEST ROBE_] _Bring out that chief_ _garment_, την στολην την πρωτην, the garment which was laid by, to be used only on _birth-days_ or _festival_ times. Such as that which Rebecca had laid by for Esau, and which she put on Jacob when she made him personate his brot... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:23. _THE FATTED CALF, AND KILL_ it] θυσατε, _Sacrifice it_. In ancient times the animals provided for public feasts were first sacrificed to God. The blood of the beast being poured out before God, by way of atonement for sin, the flesh was considered as _consecrated_, and the guests w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:24. _WAS DEAD_] Lost to all good - given up to all evil. In this figurative sense the word is used by the best Greek writers. See many examples in _Kypke_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 25. _HIS ELDER SON_] Meaning probably persons of a _regular_ _moral life_, who needed no repentance in comparison of the prodigal already described. _IN THE FIELD_] Attending the concerns of the farm. _HE HEARD MUSIC_] συμφωνιας, a number of sounds _mingled_ together, as in a _concert_. _DA... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 28. _HE WAS ANGRY_] This refers to the indignation of the scribes and Pharisees, mentioned Luke 15:1. In every point of view, the anger of the older son was _improper_ and _unreasonable_. He had already received _his_ part of the inheritance, see Luke 15:12, and his profligate brother had rec... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 29. _NEVER-A KID_] It is evident from Luke 15:12, that the father gave him his portion when his profligate brother claimed his; for _he divided his whole substance between them_. And though he had not _claimed_ it, so as to _separate_ from, and live independently of, his father, yet he might h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:30. _THIS THY SON_] THIS son of THINE - words expressive of supreme contempt: THIS _son _- he would not condescend to call him by his _name_, or to acknowledge him for his _brother_; and at the same time, bitterly reproaches his amiable father for his affectionate tenderness, and readi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:31. _ALL THAT I HAVE IS THINE._] Luke 15:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Luke 15:32. _THIS THY BROTHER_] Or, THIS _brother of_ THINE. To awaken this ill-natured, angry, inhumane man to a proper sense of his duty, both to his parent and brother, this amiable father returns him his _own unkind words_, but in a widely different spirit. _This_ _son of mine_ to whom I... [ Continue Reading ]