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Acts ix. 17.

10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And, behold, [PP there was] a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and I could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, b Mark xvi. 18. thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 b And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, © There are six days in which men ought to work in them therefore d Matt. xii. 10. come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. 15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16 And

c Exod. xx. 9.

Mark iii. 2. ch. vi. 7:

xiv. S.

e ch. xiv. 5.

PP not expressed in the correct text.

¶ render, could not lift herself upright: see note.

I read, Ye hypocrites.

reason to fill up the sentence did not belong to the purpose of this parable.

hereafter] This word belongs to bear fruit, not as in A. V., to the latter clause of the verse. We must remember, that as regards the Jews in the collective sense, the sentence lingered 40 years. THOU shalt cut it down-not, "I will cut it down;" and I find in this an additional proof of the correctness of the foregoing interpretation. It is the "lord of the vineyard" who "when He cometh, shall wretchedly destroy those wretches." All judgment is committed to THE SON:it is not the work of the Holy Spirit to cut down and destroy, for He is the Giver of life. The above interpretation is partially given by Stier, who has however in my view quite missed the vine-dresser, understanding by him the husbandmen in Matt. xxi., forgetting that they are destroyed in the sequel of that parable, and that their position, that of the tenants of the vineyard, does not appear at all in this, any more than does the vine-dresser

in that.

10-21.] HEALING OF A WOMAN ON THE SABBATH: DISCOURSE THEreupon. Peculiar to Luke, except the parables, which are in Matt. xiii. 31-33; Mark iv. 31-34. 10.] Time and place alike indefinite. 11. a spirit of infirmity] Her weakness was the effect of permitted power of the evil one (ver. 16); but whether we are to find here a direct instance of possession, seems very doubtful. There is nothing in our Lord's words addressed

с

e

12.]

to her, to imply it: and in such cases He
did not lay on His hands, or touch,-but
only in cases of sickness or bodily infirmity.
The A. V. has here mistaken the
position of the word which it renders "in
no wise." It means altogether, and be-
longs to the verb lift herself.
There is no reason to suppose any eminence
of faith in her-though we may fairly
conclude that she was there with some ex-
pectation of a cure: see ver. 14.
thou art loosed, expresses the setting free
of her muscles from the power which
bound them down,-and then, ver. 13, the
laying on of the divine hands confers upon
her strength to rise and stand upright.
It would be, in such a case, one thing to
be loosed from the stiffening of years,-
and another to have strength at once con-
ferred to stand upright.
14.] The

ruler speaks not either to Jesus or to the
woman; but covertly and cowardly, to the
multitude. Stier notices the self-stulti-
fication of this speech, in making "to be
healed,"-which is in fact a reception of
divine grace and help, a species of "work-
ing." 15. Ye hypocrites] The Lord
saw the real thoughts of his heart, that
they were false, and inconsistent with his
pretended zeal, and addressed the multitude
as represented by him, their leader. A
man hardly could give forth a doctrine so at
variance with common sense and common
practice, without some by-end, with which
he covered his violation of truth. That
by-end here was enmity to and jealousy of
Jesus. The instance chosen exactly fits

s be

g Matt.xiii, 31.

ought not this woman, 'being a daughter of Abraham, fch. xix. 9. whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? 17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. 18 g▾ Then said he, Unto what is the Markiv. 30. kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a [great] tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mark vi. 6.

22 h And he went through the cities and villages, h Matt. ix. 55. teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then said

one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And

he said unto them, 24 i Strive to enter in at the strait i Matt, vii. 13.

$ render, to be.

t render, while he was saying, or, on his saying,

a render, multitude.

render, Thereupon.

womitted by several most ancient authorities, but perhaps because it does not occur in Matt. xiii. 32.

woman was.

I read and render, the narrow door. the circumstances. A beast tied to the manger is confined down as this poor 16.] The contrast is strongly drawn-between a dumb animal, and (not merely a human creature, but) a daughter of Abraham--one of the chosen people (I cannot see any necessity for a spiritual daughtership [Gal. iii. 7] being here implied),-between a few hours, since the last watering, and 'lo these eighteen years' (compare ver. 7, "Behold these three years".. . .). 17.] So far am I from thinking a description of this kind to be a mere general close, put in by the Evangelist, that I would take it as an accurate and graphic account of the immediate effect of our Lord's power and irresistible words, and the following parables as spoken immediately thereupon, shewing the people the ultimate conquest which the Kingdom of God should obtain over all opposition, however strong. On the parables themselves, see on Matt. xiii. 31-33. 18-21.] These two parables, found in Matthew as above, and the former of them in Mark iv. 30-32, seem to have been again spoken by our Lord at this time, in reference to the progress of His Gospel in

dicated in ver. 17. The rendering thereupon is important, as pointing out the connexion.

22-30.] ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

AS TO THE NUMBER WHO SHALL BE

SAVED. Our Lord repeats, occasion being
given by a question peculiar to Luke, parts
of His discourses spoken elsewhere, as re-
ferred to below. 22.] This notice in-
cludes what follows in the cycle of this last
journey, but disclaims any definiteness of
place or time for it. But certainly it
seems to follow in natural order after our
Lord's solemn warnings to repentance at
the beginning of this chapter.
enquirer can hardly have been a disciple of
Jesus (see ver. 28), but most likely a Jew
from the multitude, who had heard his
discourses, and either from Jewish pride,
or perhaps out of real desire to learn from
Him, put this question.
23.] On the

The

word rendered that be saved, see note, Acts ii. 47. Here, the implication of final salvation is obvious. unto them, i. e.

the multitude. Similar sayings have occurred in the Sermon on the Mount, but the connexion here is intimate and strict. 24.] See on Matt. vii. 13. The de

k see John vil. gate: for k many, I say

34: viii. 21:

ix. 31.

unto you,

1

will seek to enter in,

xiii. 33. Rom. and shall not be able. 25 y When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye

1 Ps. xxxii. 6. Isa. lv. 6.

m Matt. xxv.

10.

n cho vi. 43.

o Matt. vii. 23: XXV. 12.

p Matt. vii. 23: xxv. 41. ver. 25.

q Ps. vi. 8.

Matt. xxv. 41.

presence,

begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, "Lord, [ Lord,] open unto us; and he shall answer and 26 then say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 a P But he shall say, I tell you, I know [you] not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 dr There xiii. 42: xxiv. shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall s Matt. viii. 11. see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit xx. 16. Mark down in the kingdom of God. 30 And, behold, there are render, From the time when.

r Matt. viii. 12:

51.

t Matt. xix. 30:

x. 31.

Z omitted by several ancient authorities.

XXV. 11.

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d render, There shall there be. The first "There" is local,-" in that place." render, being thrust.

scription of the broad and narrow ways is not here inserted, as probably by this time, the narrow door (or gate was a familiar image. In what follows we must not understand, shall seek to enter by it, and shall not be able:'-the emphasis of the command is, seek to enter at the narrow door for many shall seek to enter (elsewhere), and shall not be able. After enter is to be supplied, in both places, into salvation, or into the Kingdom of God.

25.] A reason why this strive is so important :—because there will be a day when the gate will be shut. The figure is the usual one,-of a feast, at which the householder entertains (in this case) the members of his family. These being assembled, he rises and shuts the door, and none are afterwards admitted.

The

from the time when extends to the end of ver. 25,- and the second member of the sentence begins with Then shall ye begin &c. to say The door is shut, ye begin to stand without and knock. On the spiritual import, see note on Matt. xxv. 11. I know you not whence ye are: i. e. 'Ye are none of my family-have no relationship with me.' 26. We have eaten and drunk in thy presence] As applied to the then assembled crowd, these words refer to the miracles of feeding,

perhaps also to His having so often sat
at meat in the houses of various persons
(the drinking must not be pressed as
meaning any thing different from the
eating-the expression is a general one
for taking a meal); as applied to Chris-
tians, to the eating and drinking whereof
those miracles were anticipatory.
Both
these are merely in His presence ;-very
different from the drinking
"with you'
of which He speaks Matt. xxvi. 29, and
from "I will sup with him and he with
me," Rev. iii. 20. thou hast taught

in our streets] Applicable directly to those
to whom the words were spoken; and fur-
ther, in its fuller sense, to all among whom
the Gospel is preached, even till the end.

27. workmen of iniquity] This unusual expression seems to mean, persons engaged in the hire and receiving the wages of unrighteousness: - see Matt. vii. 23, where "ye that work lawlessness" (so literally) answers to it. 28, 29.] See

Matt. viii. 11, 12, and notes.
The
verses occur here in a different connexion:
'Ye Jews, who neglect the earnest endea-
vour to enter now, shall weep and gnash
your teeth when ye see all the saints, Jews
and Gentiles, in the Kingdom of God, and
yourselves excluded' (see ch. xvi. 23).
In these two verses is the real answer to

last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence for Herod will kill thee. 32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures

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to day and to morrow, and the third day Iuh shall be per- u Heb. ii. 10. fected. 33 Nevertheless I must i walk to day, and to

I read and render, In that hour. h render, am.

the question of ver. 23 given :-'they shall be MANY-but what is that to you, if you be not among them?' 30.] As the words here stand-somewhat different from those in Matt. xx. 16-they seem to be a prophetic declaration of what shall be in the course of the ingathering of these guests;-viz. that some who were the first, or among the first to believe, shall fall from their high place, and vice versâ. This former has, as Stier notices, been remarkably the case with the Oriental Churches, which were the first founded and flourishing:-and, we may add, with the mother church of Jerusalem, which has declined, while her Gentile offsets have flourished.

31-35.] WARNING OF HEROD'S ENMITY; OUR LORD'S REPLY. Peculiar to Luke-the apostrophe in vv. 34, 35 was spoken by our Lord also on another occasion, Matt. xxiii. 37-39. 31.] In

that hour is not necessarily definite. These Pharisees appear to have been sent by Herod for the purpose of getting rid of Jesus out of his jurisdiction. Considering his character, it is hardly possible that he should really have wished to kill one who was so popular;-he refused to do so when Jesus was in his power afterwards in Jerusalem;-but, as great multitudes were now following Him about, and superstitious fears, as we know, agitated Herod, he wished to be quit of Him, and took this means of doing so. I think this view is necessary to justify the epithet applied to Herod, which certainly implies cunning on his part. Stier thinks the Pharisees invented the tale about Herod: but then how can the epithet applied to him be explained? I cannot for a moment believe, as he does, that our Lord saw through the lie of the Pharisees, and yet adopted it, meaning the fox to signify themselves. "That Jesus in a public discourse uses such an expression of the ruler of his country, is not to be judged of by the manners, and ways of speech, of our times. The VOL. I.

8 render, is minded to.

i render, journey.

The

free-spokenness of the ancient world, which we meet with especially in the Hebrew prophets, allowed such strong expressions, without any thing peculiarly offensive being found in them." Bleek. 32, 33.] The interpretation of this answer is difficult, for two reasons-(1) that the signification of the to day, to morrow, and the third day is doubtful—(2) that the meaning of I am perfected is also doubtful. days mentioned are ordinarily supposed to be proverbially used; to day, for his present working-to morrow, for that between the present time and his arrival at Jerusalem-the third day, for that arrival, and the end of his work and course by his Death. Against this, is (1) the positive use of the three days, in an affirmative sentence, of which no instance can be brought where the proverbial meaning is implied:-(2) the verb journey, proceed on my mission, belonging to all three in ver. 33, whereas thus it only belongs to the two first. The interpretation adopted by Meyer (and Bleek) is this :-In three days (literal days) the Lord's working of miracles in Galilee would be ended, which had excited the apprehension of Herod: and then He would leave the territory, not for fear of Herod, but because He was going to Jerusalem to die. The objection to this is, that the sense-of ending these present works of healing, &c. does not seem a sufficient one for I am perfected, which, as applied to the Lord, surely must include His Death. I own that neither of the above interpretations satisfies me, still less the various modifications of them which have been proposed. Nor can I suggest any less open to objection:-but merely state my conviction, (1) that the days mentioned must have some definite fixed reference to three actual days: (2) that perfected is used in the solemn sense elsewhere attached to the word: see John iv. 34, "finish :" v. 36, xvii. 4; Acts xx. 24; 2 Cor. xii. 9; Heb. ii. 10, v. 9, vii. 28, especially; x. 14, xi. 40, xii. 23; in all

Cc

and

37.

morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a

x Matt. xxiii. prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 34 x O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under 35 Behold, your house is

y Lev. xxvi. 31, her wings, and ye would not!

32. Ps.

25. Isa. 1.7.

Micah iii. 12.

:

Dan. ix. 27. left unto you [desolate] and [m verily] I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until [ the time come when] ye shall z Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

z Ps. cxviii. 26.

Matt. xxi. 9. Say,

Mark xi. 10.
ch. xix. 38.

John xii. 18.

XIV. 1 And it came to pass, • as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath

render (for perspicuity), outside of.

1 omit.

momit: not in any ancient authority.

■ omitted (but perhaps because it does not occur in Matt. xxiii. 39) by many

ancient authorities.

• render, when he had come.

which places it is used in the original. If this Gospel had been a chronological calendar of our Lord's journey, the meaning would probably have been clear: but as we have none such, it is, and I believe must remain, obscure. Dr. Wordsworth's note is much to the point: "It must be remembered that Herod was ruler of Perea as well as of Galilee: and that John the Baptist had been put to death at Macharus, where Herod had a palace, about ten miles E. of Jericho, and thirty E. of Jerusalem. St. Matt., xix. 1, and St. Mark, x. 1, 46, speak of our Lord being in Peræa, whence He passed over the river Jordan, and so came to Jericho, and thence to Bethany and Jerusalem for His Passion. Herod had put John to death not in Galilee but in Peræa; and if our Lord was now, as seems probable, in Peræa or near it, it was very likely that the Pharisees should endeavour to intimidate Him with a threat of Herod's anger." the day following means the same as "the third day" above. I must journey-in the original, it is the very word in which they had addressed Him, Depart (journey) hence," ver. 31. for it cannot be . ., a monopoly not without exceptions, for John had been put to death by Herod out of Jerusalem. But our Lord's saying is not to be so literally pressed; He states the general rule, which in His own case was to be fulfilled. There is no reference to the power of the Sanhedrim to judge and condemn false prophets (as some think), for the fact of perishing only is here in question;-and our Lord never would place himself in such a cate

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34, 35.] These verses are in too close connexion with the preceding to allow of the supposition that they are inserted unchronologically, as many suppose : and their variations from those in Matthew (xxiii. 37-39) are striking and characteristic. For "for," which there accounts for the desolation of the temple, then for the last time left by our Lord, does not appear here, but and (or but) introducing a fresh saying, having I believe another meaning: and the words "from henceforth," which follow " ye shall not see me there, marking that moment as the commencement of the dereliction, are here omitted. Surely these differences indicate an uttering of the words prophetically, previous to their utterance in the act of departure. Our Lord overleaps in prophetic foresight the death just set forth as certain, and speaks of the ages to come, during which the holy city should be desolate and trodden down of the Gentiles. That the very words, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, were used by the multitude at the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, I should much rather ascribe to a misunderstanding by them and the disciples of this very declaration, than for a moment suppose, as some have done, that these words found any sufficient fulfilment in that entry.

CHAP. XIV. 1-6.] HEALING OF A DROPSICAL MAN ON THE SABBATH. Рeculiar to Luke. 1.] when he had come, viz. during the journeying, ch. xiii. 33. one of the chief [men of the] Pharisees] Though the Pharisees had no official rulers as such, they had men to whom they looked up, as Hillel, Schammai,

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