Luke 12:47

And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. AND THAT SERVANT, WHICH KNEW HIS LORD'S WILL, AND PREPARED NOT HIMSELF, NEITHER DID ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, SHALL BE BEATEN WITH MANY STRIPES - his guilt being aggravated by the extent of his knowledge....

Luke 12:47._But that servant. _There is great weight in this circumstance, which is mentioned by Luke alone, that, in proportion as any man knowingly and willingly takes pleasure in despising the Lord, he deserves severer punishment. A comparison is made between the greater and the less to this effect: If punishment does not fail to be inflicted on a _servant _who errs through mistake, what shall become of the _wicked _and rebellious _servant, _who purposely, as it were, tramples under foot the authority of his master? It ought to be remembered, however, that those who are appointed to govern the Church do not err through ignorance, but basely and wickedly defraud their Master of his right. Yet we ought to gather from this passage a general doctrine, that it is in vain for men to betake themselves to the plea of ignorance, in order to be freed from condemnation.

41-53 All are to take to themselves what Christ says in his word, and to inquire concerning it. No one is left so ignorant as not to know many things to be wrong which he does, and many things to be right which he neglects; therefore all are without excuse in their sin. The bringing in the gospel dispensation would occasion desolations. Not that this would be the tendency of Christ's religion, which is pure, peaceable, and loving; but the effect of its being contrary to men's pride and lusts. There was to be a wide publication of the gospel. But before that took place, Christ had a baptism to be baptized with, far different from that of water and the Holy Spirit. He must endure sufferings and death. It agreed not with his plan to preach the gospel more widely, till this baptism was completed. We should be zealous in making known the truth, for though divisions will be stirred up, and a...

Verse 47. _SHALL BE BEATEN WITH MANY STRIPES._] Criminals among the Jews could not be beaten with more than forty stripes; and as this was the sum of the severity to which a whipping could extend, it may be all that our Lord here means. But, in some cases, a man was adjudged to receive fourscore stripes! How could this be, when the law had decreed only forty? Answer: By doubling the crime. He received forty for each crime; if he were guilty of _two_ offences, he might receive fourscore. See _Lightfoot_....

WHICH KNEW HIS LORD’S WILL - Who knew what his master wished him to do. He that knows what God commands and requires. MANY STRIPES - Shall be severely and justly punished. They who have many privileges, who are often warned, who have the gospel, and do not repent and believe, shall be far more severely punished than others. They who are early taught in Sunday schools, or by pious parents, or in other ways, and who grow up in sin and impenitence, will have much more to answer for than those who have no such privileges....

EXPOSITION LUKE 12:1 _The Lord_,_ after leaving the Pharisee_'_s house_,_ speaks at great length to a numerous crowd waiting for him_,_ addressing his words principally to his own disciples. _The foregoing scene (Luke 11:1.), when the Master addressed his bitter reproaches to the learned and cultivated of the great Pharisee party, took place in a private house belonging to an apparently wealthy member of this, the dominant class. The name of the large village or provincial town where all this happened is unknown. The crowd who had been listening to the great Teacher before he accepted the Pharisee's invitation still lingered around the house. Many from the adjoining villages, hearing that Jesus was in this place and was publicly teaching, had

AND THAT SERVANT WHICH KNEW HIS LORD'S WILL,.... Not his secret, but his revealed will; the will of God, which lies in the declarations of his grace and mercy in the Gospel, and in the commands and ordinances expressed in his word; and which are the good, perfect, and acceptable will of God; the knowledge of which is necessary, in order to practice: and where there is a spiritual and saving knowledge, there will be practice: but there may be knowledge, where there is no practice, and which was the case here: Christ here distinguishes between wicked servants, some being knowing, and others ignorant; and accordingly the aggravations of their guilt are more or less: AND PREPARED NOT himself; so the Arabic and Ethiopic versions supply, but the Syriac version, "for him", that is, for his Lord: but it may as well be read as in the Vulgate Latin, without any supplement, "and prepared not"; he...

Luke 12:22. _And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment._ If you are God's servants, he will clothe you. There is no servitor of the Lord of hosts who will have to go without his livery, and not one who belongs to his vast household, even though he is but a menial in God's kitchen, who will ever be permitted to starve. Luke 12:24. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be able to do that thing which is least, why take

CHAPTER 12 _ 1. Warning Against Hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)_ 2. Encouragements. (Luke 12:4) 3. Warning Against Covetousness. (Luke 12:15) 4. Warning Against Anxiety. (Luke 12:22) 5. The Disciples Comfort and Hope. (Luke 12:32) 6. The Parable of the Steward. (Luke 12:41) 7. The Purpose of God and the Resulting Division. (Luke 12:49) 8. Concerning signs.

THE FAITHFUL STEWARD (Matthew 24:45 *). Luke 12:39 is peculiar to Lk. The answer to Peter's question is that the injunctions to watchfulness are particularly applicable to the Twelve. This is emphasized by Lk.'s use of steward for Mt.'s servant. The other variants are not significant, but Luke 12:47 f. is found only in Lk.: it seems to refer to another affair, and may have been originally a continuation of Luke 12:35. It contains a lesson either for Jews (especially Scribes) in contrast with Gentiles, or for Christians (especially teachers and leaders) in contrast with heathen....