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day, that they P watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, a Is it lawful to heal on the 4 sabbath day? 4 And a Matt. xii. 10. they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 and answered them, saying,

Deut. xxii. 4.

c. xii. 15.

b Which of you shall have 8 an ass or an ox fallen into a b Exod. xxiii.5. pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief trooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest ▾ room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee,

P render, were watching.

4 read, sabbath day, or not?

r some ancient authorities have, said unto them. See Matt. xii. 11. read, a son, or an ox.

" render, hast been.

W render, shall have been.

Gamaliel, &c. to eat bread] The Jews used to give entertainments on the Sabbath, see Neh. viii. 9-12; Tobit ii. 1. The practice latterly became an abuse,see quotations from Augustine in my Greek Test. 2.] before him, not as a guest ; see ver. 4, and compare ch. vii. 37, and note on ver. 45. "He was standing there," says Euthymius, "not daring to ask to be healed, on account of the Sabbath, and the Pharisees; but only shewing himself, that our Lord might see him and be moved with pity, and so proceed to heal him." It does not appear, though it is certainly possible, that he was set there by the Pharisees on purpose. This was before the meal (ver. 7). 5.] There is a strict propriety in the comparison: the accident and disease are analogous. ox] This reading, which, from the weight of ancient testimony in its favour, evidently was the original, seemed incompatible with the supposed argument from the less to the greater :-son was therefore altered to ass (as in ch. xiii. 15) or sheep, as one of our ancient MSS. has it. But our Lord's argument is of another and a far deeper kind. The stress is on you: and the point of comparison is the ownership, and consequent tender care, of the object in question. 'Those who are in your possession and care, whether belonging to your families, or your herds, are cared for, and

son, or an

trender, places. ▾ render, place.

rescued from perishing: am I, (the possessor of heaven and earth,-this lies in the background) to let mine perish without care or rescue?' There may be in the words the meaning "son, or even ox;" but I prefer rendering them simply.

7-24.] SAYINGS OF OUR LORD AT THIS SABBATH FEAST. 7-11.] It does not appear that the foregoing miracle gave occasion to this saying; so that it is no objection to it, that it has no connexion with it. Our Lord, as was His practice, founds His instructions on what He saw happening before Him. As Trench remarks, it is probable this was a splendid entertainment, and the guests distinguished persons (ver. 12). 7.] chief places, i. e., see Matt. xxiii. 6, the middle place in each couch, which was the most honourable. At a large feast there would be many of these. 8.] The whole of this has, besides its plain reference, a deeper one, linked into it by the important word wedding, carrying with it all that meaning which it always has when relating to the Kingdom of God. Both senses are obvious, and only one remark needed;-that all that false humility, by which men put themselves lowest and dispraise themselves of set purpose to be placed higher, is, by the very nature of our Lord's parable, excluded for that is not bona fide abasing one's self. The exaltation at the hands of

Give this man place;

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e Prov. xxv. 6, the lowest Y room.

7.

and thou begin with shame to take 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher : then shalt thou have worship in the presence of a them that sit at meat with thee. 11d For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade 1 Pet. v. 6. him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not

d Job xxii. 29.

Ps. xviii. 27.

Prov. xxix

28. Matt.

xxiii. 12. ch. xviii. 14. James iv. 6.

thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a Neh. vil. 10, feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

12.

f Rev. xix. 9.

:

15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, 'Blessed is he that 16 g Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade y render, place.

g Matt. xxii. 2. shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

I render, then shalt thou begin. 2 render, glory. a read, all them. the Host is not to be a purposed end to the guests, but will follow true humility. 9. then shalt thou begin . . .] The form of expression sets forth the reluctance and lingering with which it is done.

11.] As an example of the first clause, see Isa. xiv. 13-15; of the second, Phil. ii. 5-11. 12-14.] The composition of the company before Him seems to have given occasion for this saying of our Lord. The Pharisee his host had doubtless, with the view (of watching Him) mentioned in ver. 1, invited the principal persons of the place, and with the intention of courting their favour, and getting a return. The Lord rebukes in him this spirit;-and it has been well remarked, that the intercourse and civilities of social life among friends and neighbours are here presupposed, (inasmuch as for them there takes place a recompense, and they are struck off the list by this means,) with this caution, that our means are not to be sumptuously laid out upon them, but upon something far better,-the providing for the poor and maimed and lame and blind. When we will make a sacrifice, and provide at some cost, let us not throw our money away, as we should if a recompense is made to us in this world: but give it to

b

see above on ch. xi. 37. the poor, i. e. lend it to the Lord; and then, as in ver. 14, there will be a recompense at the resurrection of the just, which shall not be a mere equivalent, but a rich reward. 14.] the resurrection of

the just, the first resurrection, here distinctly asserted by our Lord; otherwise the words of the just would be vapid and unmeaning. See 1 Cor. xv. 22 f.; 1 Thess. iv. 16; Rev. xx. 4, 5. 15-24.] Parable of the Great Supper. One of the guests takes this literally, and imagines the great feast to which the Jews looked forward to be meant. He spoke as a Jew, and probably with an idea that, as such, his admission to this feast was sure and certain. Our Lord answers him by the parable following, which shewed him that, true as his assertion was, (and He does not deny it,) the blessedness would not be practically so generally acknowledged nor entered into.

The

Parable, whatever analogy it may bear with that in Matt. xxii. 1 ff., is wholly different from that in many essential points. 16.] The great supper is the kingdom of God, the feast of fat things in Isa. xxv. 6; completed in the marriagesupper of the Lamb; but fully prepared when the glad tidings of the Gospel were pro

many: 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to h Prov. ix. 2, 5. them that were bidden, Come; for [all] things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 Sod that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house be filled. may

claimed.

comitted by several ancient authorities.
read, the.

d

bade many: these first bidden are the Pharisees and Scribes and the learned among the Jews. 17.] The servant represents one spirit, one message: but is not necessarily, in the three cases, one and the same person. The three messages were delivered (1) by John the Baptist and our Lord: (2) by our Lord and the Apostles; (3) by the Apostles and those who came after. The elder prophets cannot be meant, for [all] things are now ready was the message, representing the proclamation of John the Baptist and our Lord, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

18-20.] with one consent; so (ch. vii. 30) they had rejected John's baptism, and (John vii. 48) the Lord himself. The saying is not to be taken strictly without exception, e. g. that of Nicodemus: but generically. So also ver. 24. The temper of these self-excusers is threefold; the excuses themselves are threefold; their spirit is one. The first alleges a necessity,-he must go and see his land: the second not so much as this, only his own plan and purpose-"1 go to prove them" the third not so much as either of these, but rudely asserts "I cannot (i. e. I will not) come." Also the excuses themselves are threefold. The first has his worldly possession (one to his farm,' Matt. xxii. 5) to go and see: the second his purchase (another to his merchandise,' ibid.) of stock to prove the third his home engage

24 For I

e render, didst command.
ments and his lust to satisfy. All are
detained by worldliness, in however varied
forms. 21.] The gathering of guests
is still in the city (Matt. xxii. 7); that is,
still among the Jews.
the streets

and lanes, the broad and narrow streets :
perhaps the cities and villages through
which the Lord and his Apostles jour-
neyed preaching.
Here appear

again the very persons of ver. 13; the
representatives of the wretched and de-
spised: "the common people (great mul-
titude)," Mark xii. 37: not perhaps with-
out a hint, that only those who knew
themselves to be spiritually poor and
maimed and halt and blind would come
to the Gospel feast. 22.] The palace

is large, and the guest-room: "neither nature nor grace endures a vacuum," Bengel. 23.] The calling of the Gentiles, outside the city; in the country (Matt. xxii. 9, 10). compel them to come in] Is there not here an allusion to Infant Baptism? for remember they who come in are good and bad. (Matt. i. c.) 24.] I think with Stier, that our Lord here speaks in his own Person : unto you will fit no circumstance in the parable; for the householder and his servant are alone: the guests are not present. He speaks, with His usual For I say unto you, to the company present : and half continuing the parable, half expounding it, substitutes Himself for the

xxii. 8. Acts

i Matt. xxi. 43: say unto you, i That none of those men which were bidden xiii. 46. shall taste of my supper.

:

25 And there went great multitudes with him and he k Deut. xiii. 6: turned, and said unto them, 26 k If any man come to me,

xxxiii. 9.

Matt. x. 37.

Mark viii.

ch. ix. 23.

27.

1

1 Rom. ix. 13. and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and m Rev. xii. 11. children, and brethren, and sisters, m yea, and his own life n Matt. xvi. 24. also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 [8 And] "whosoever doth 2 Tim. iii. 12. not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my diso Prov. xxiv. ciple. 28 For which of you, hintending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? render, not one. h render, wishing.

f

g omit.

master of the feast, leaving it hardly doubtful who those men which were bidden are.

25-35.] DISCOURSE TO THE MULTITUDES. Our Lord is at some time further on in the journey, going forward, and speaking to the multitude on counting the cost before any man becomes his disciple. 26, 27.] See Matt. x. 37, 38, and note. The remark there made of the strangeness of this sound of the Cross, still applies our Lord had not yet announced his death by crucifixion. hate not It is well to enquire what sense this word here bears. That no such thing as active hatred can be meant, is plain our Lord himself is an example to the contrary, John xix. 25-27: the hate is the general, not personal, feeling of alienation in the inmost heart,-so that this world's relationships, as belonging to the state of things in this world, are not the home and rest of the heart. This is evident from the yea, and his own life also, which follows. Let the hate begin here, and little explanation will be further wanted. This addition also shews that the saying was not meant only for those times, in which more perhaps of the disruption of earthly ties was required, but for all time: for his own life is equally dear to every man in every age. It hardly need be observed that this hate is not only consistent with, but absolutely necessary to the very highest kind of love. It is that element in

love which makes a man a wise and Christian friend,-not for time only, but for eternity. 28-30.] Peculiar to Luke. The same caution is followed out in this parable. This is to be borne in mind, or it will be misinterpreted. The ground of the parable is, that entire self-renunciation is requisite, to become a disciple of Christ. This man wishes to build a tower: to raise that building (see 1 Cor. iii. 11-15), which we must rear on the one Foundation, and which shall be tried in the day of the Lord. He is advised to count the cost, to see whether he have enough thoroughly to finish it. If he begin, lay the foundation, -however seemingly well it may be done, it is not well done, because he has not enough to complete it; and the attempt can only lead to shame. So it is with one who would be Christ's disciple: but with this weighty difference, lying in the background of the parable-that in his case the counting the cost must always issue in a discovery of the utter inadequacy of his own resources, and the going out of himself for strength and means to build.

31-33.] This same lesson is even more pointedly set before us in the following parable, which, as well as the other, is frequently misunderstood. The two kings here are, the man desirous to become a disciple, to work out his salvation, - and GOD, with whose just and holy law he is naturally at variance;-it is his "adversary," see ch. xii. 58, and note:-these

33 So

p Matt. v.

32 or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34 Pj Salt is good: Mark 10. but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

XV. 11 Then a drew near unto him all the publicans and a Matt. ix. 10. sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and beateth b Acts xi. 3. i render, biddeth not farewell to.

k

some ancient authorities read, Salt therefore is good.
read, even the.

1

Gal. ii. 12.

render, Now there were drawing near.

two are going to engage in war; and the question for each man to sit down and ask himself is, 'Can I, with (the word may probably mean clad in,-surrounded by, all that I have, all my instrument of war) my ten thousand, stand the charge of Him who cometh against me with (the preposition is different, and may represent only as many as He pleases to bring with Him for the purpose, see Ps. lxviii. 17, A.V.) twenty thousand?'-see Job xv. 24-26.

Here the inadequacy of man's resources is plainly set forth, not left, as in the former parable, to be inferred. Then, finding that he has no hope of prevailing, while the other is yet a great way off, while there is yet time, -he sends an embassy, and sues for peace, abandoning the conflict throwing himself upon the mere mercy and grace of God;-bidding farewell to all that he hath in both cases.

:

The ordinary misinterpretation of this parable is in taking the king with twenty thousand to be the ruler of this world, i. e. Satan-which destroys all the sense-for with him the natural man is at peace, but the disciple of Christ at war. 34, 35.] For the third time, our Lord repeats the saying concerning salt: see Matt. v. 13: Mark ix. 50, and notes. The therefore and even, here restored to the text are both valuable; the former as importing the recurrence of a saying known before, the latter as giving force to the supposition. The salt, in Scripture symbolism, is the whole life-retaining antiseptic influence of the Spirit of God:--this, working in the being My disciple, is good: but if even this be corrupted-if the mere appearance of this, and not the veritable salt (which is the savour), be in you

wherewith, &c.? Such a disciple is to be cast out. Salt was not used for land, Ps. cvii. 34, nor for mingling with manure; it is of no use for either of those purposes, but must be utterly cast out.

CHAP. XV. PARABLES, Setting fortH GOD'S MERCY TO SINNERS. 1-7.] THE LOST SHEEP. It does not appear where or when this gathering of publicans and sinners to hear Him happened, but certainly in the progress of this same journey, and, we may well believe, consecutively on the discourses in the last chapter. This first parable had been spoken by our Lord before, Matt. xviii. 12-14: but, as Trench has remarked, with a different view: there, to bring out the preciousness of each individual little one in the eyes of the good Shepherd; here, to shew that no sheep can have strayed so widely, but He will seek it and rejoice over it when found. The second is peculiar to Luke. 1.] there were drawing near-were busied in drawing near-were continually about Him, struck perhaps with penitence,-found, by His seeking them :-having come from the husks of a life of sin, to the bread of life; -so the three parables seem to imply. all the publicans, a general term, admitting of course of exceptions, see ch. xiii. 33 and note. 2.] receiveth into His circle of adherents-eateth with them, allows them to sit at meat with Him;-on the journey, or at entertainments, as in Matt. ix. 10. Stier remarks (iii. 214, edn. 2) that this receiveth sinners is an important and affecting testimony, from the mouth of the enemies of our Lord, to his willingness to receive them. The peculiar word rendered murmured implies either that they did so throughout the

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