Luke 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall Uncertain. from heaven. 23. 24. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have de- Lnke x. 25. 26. SECTION VIII. Christ directs the Lawyer how he may attain eternal Life. LUKE X. 25-28. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Uncertain, him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Probably ou He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou 1? to x. 22. before Luke x. 17. and continuing as far as chap. xiii. Michaelis seems to have laid aside, in this part of his har- 13 The Seventy received their commission in Galilee, some time before the feast of tabernacles. The exact period of their going out, and of their return, are uncertain; it is most probable, however, as the Jews were accustomed to go up to the feast, that they were proceeding to Jerusalem, and met our Lord returning from the feast, in consequence of the opposition of the Jewish rulers to his person and teaching. Ἡ Ἐν τῷ νόμω, τί γέγραπται; πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις. There seems to be some abruptness in this question. Our Saviour, in his reply to the young man, is supposed by Heinsius (a), to refer him to the texts (Deut. vi. 5. and Levit. xix. 18.) which were joined together by the Jews, as a compendium of the whole law, and repeated twice every day in the synagogue. Kui a tour. Luke x. 27. 28. Luke x. 29. a tour. And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy Uncertain, God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with probably all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. SECTION IX. The Parable of the good Samaritan. LUKE X. 29-37. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour"? noel (b), that the word we must be rendered as ri, what; as, Whenever an opportunity presented itself, our Lord re- (a) Exerc. Sacr. p. 153. (b) Kuinoel in lib. Hist. N. T. comment. vol. ii. p. 459. 15 In attempting to discover the sense of a parable, we are required to take into consideration the purpose for which it was delivered, and the circumstances that occasioned it. We find here that the young lawyer, wishing to justify himself, and considering that he had observed this law, as far as it related to the Jews, whom he only acknowledges as his neighbours, inquires, "Who is my neighbour ?" Our Lord answers the question by a parable, in which the duties we owe to our neighbour are forcibly defined, and the extent of those duties pointedly demonstrated. We are taught that not only our acquaintance, our friends, and countrymen, are included under this term, but that our very enemies, when in distress, are entitled to our sympathy, our mercy, and our best exertions for their relief. The Jews held the Samaritans in utter abhorrence; in order therefore to impress the mind of the enquirer more fully, our Saviour obliges the young man to reply to his own question: for he was compelled to acknowledge that he who showed mercy on him was his neighbour. Our Lord having represented to him the extent of the law, commands him to follow the example of the good Samaritan, and to go and do likewise. The circumstances mentioned in this parable are, by many, considered as real: the road from Jerusalem to Jericho lay through a desert infested by robbers, and which was principally frequented by Priests and Levites, in their journeyings from the latter to the former place. The parable itself has been variously interpreted, and by some commentators it is supposed to relate only to the compassionate love of Christ (who was called by the Jews a Samaritan) to mankind. In whatever way we consider it, the duty it inculcates is most evident, and the parable must be regarded as a beautiful exemplification of the law "of loving our neighbour as ourselves," without any distinction of person, country, or party. Jones, with other commentators, has given a fanciful illustra Luke x. 30. 31. 32. 33. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down Uncertain, from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which probably on stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on 34. him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35. 36. 37. Luke x. 38. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out twopence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Which of these three thinkest thou was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. SECTION X 16. Christ in the House of Martha. LUKE X. 38. to the end. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into tion of this parable; and several of the primitive Fathers have Lightfoot has given the same interpretation. It is necessary 16 This section is placed by Archbishop Newcome before the account of the resurrection of Lazarus. As his arguments for so doing do not appear satisfactory, I have followed the autho a tour. Luke x. 38 a certain village and a certain woman, named Martha, Uncertain, received him into her house. 39. 40. 41. 42. Luke xi. 1. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her ". SECTION XI. Christ teaches his Disciples to pray. LUKE xi. 1-13. And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a cerrity of Lightfoot, Pilkington, Doddridge, and Michaelis, and have preserved the order of St. Luke's Gospel. 17 The excellence of our Lord's manner of teaching, and the wisdom of his lessons, are so evident, in the present and the following sections, that there can be no necessity for entering into any discussion on this portion of the arrangement. The tenth section affords us a complete picture of the admirable manner in which our Lord deduced the most impressive lessons, from the most common occurrences. In the eleventh, he gives to his disciples the same perfect and beautiful form of prayer which he had previously made known to assembled crowds. And it is probable he was requested to do so at this time, by a new convert. In the twelfth, we hear his severe and just reproof to the Pharisees, who regarded only the externals of religion, and were pleased with the homage of the multitude, and their own outward sanctity. He also encourages his disciples to acknowledge Him, to fear God rather than man, who has no power over the soul; and he warns them, that if they deny him against the witness of their conscience before men, they shall be denied before the angels of God-and that to blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, which was to impute the actions of Christ to an evil spirit, was an unpardonable offence, never to be forgiven. That he might not excite the indignation of the Pharisees, by the exercise of temporal authority, he refuses (sect. 14.) to decide a controversy, when applied to for that purpose; but takes advantage of the opportunity to reprove covetousness, and, by a most beautiful and appropriate parable, proves the vanity and helpless insufficiency of earthly possessions, and the uncertainty of this life, in which alone we can enjoy them. In the 16th section, he especially charges his disciples not to be of uncertain, anxious, wandering, unsettled, distracted, mind; (Luc. xii. 29. un μerεwpisε0ɛ, vide Kuinoel in h. v.) but to place their faith and confidence in Him who provides even for the sparrows and lilies of the field. The 16th section is a continuation of the same address, exhorting to the punctual performance of every duty, as we know not when the Son of Man cometh. In the 17th he again reproves the fastidious and absurd manner of keeping the sabbath, when an act of mercy was considered a violation of the law. probably on a tour. Luke xi. 1. tain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto Uncertain, him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his dis- probably on ciples. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me 8. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, 9. 10. 11. 12. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. : For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Luke xi. 37. 38. 39. 40. SECTION XII. Christ reproves the Pharisees and Lawyers. LUKE xi. 37. to the end. And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him; and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled, that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup, and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also? a tour. |