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t sce ch. ii. 13: be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city,

iv. 12: xii.

15. John vii.

1. Acts

1: ix. 25: xiv. 6.

viii. flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall

u see ch. xvi.

28.

v John xiii. 16: XV. 20.

w ch. xii. 24.

John viii. 48,

52.

u

not have gone over the cities of Israel, " till the Son of man be come.

24 v The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not x Mark iv. 22. therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I a render, finish.

Luke xii. 2,

3.

X

here bears its full scripture meaning, of everlasting salvation; and the endurance to the end is the finished course of the Christian; and the precept in the next verse is to apply to the conduct of Christians of all ages with reference to persecution, and the announcement that hardly will the Gospel have been fully preached to all nations (or, to all the Jewish nation, i.e. effectually) when the Son of Man shall come. It is most important to keep in mind the great prophetic parallels which run through our Lord's discourses, and are sometimes separately, sometimes simultaneously, presented to us by Him.

24-42.] THIRD PART OF THE DISCOURSE. See note on ver 5. It treats of (I.) the conflicts (vv. 24—26), duties (vv. 2628), and encouragements (vv. 28-32) of all Christ's disciples. (II.) The certain issue of this fight in victory; the confession by Christ of those who confess Him, set in strong light by the contrast of those who deny Him (vv. 32, 33); the necessity of conflict to victory, by the nature of Christ's mission (vv. 34-37), the kind of selfdevotion which he requires (vv. 37-39): concluding with the solemn assurance that no reception of His messengers for His sake, nor even the smallest labour of love for Him, shall pass without its final reward. Thus we are carried on to the end of time and of the course of the Church. 24.] This proverb is used in different senses in Luke vi. 40 and John xiii. 16. The view here is, that disciples must not expect a better lot than their Master, but be well satisfied if they have no worse. The threefold relation of our Lord and His followers here brought out may thus be exemplified from Scripture disciple and teacher, Matt. v. 1; xxiii. 8: Luke vi. 20; servant and lord,

John xiii. 13: Luke xii. 35-48: Rom. i.
1: 2 Pet. i. 1: Jude 1; master of the
house and household, Matt. xxvi. 26-29 || :
Luke xxiv. 30: Matt. xxiv. 45 ff. .
25. Beelzebub] (or-bul) (Either 'lord
of dung,'-or, as in 2 Kings i. 2, 'lord of
flies,'-a god worshipped at Ekron by the
Philistines; there is however another
derivation more probable than either of
these, from baal, lord, and zeboul, a house,
by which it would exactly correspond to
the term used.)-A name by which the
prince of the devils was called by the Jews,
ch, xii. 24,-to which accusation, probably
an usual one (see ch. ix. 34), and that in
John viii. 48, our Lord probably refers.
In those places they had not literally
called Him Beelzebub, but He speaks of
their mind and intention in those charges.
They may however have literally done so
on other unrecorded occasions.
The force of this is: Notwithstanding
their treatment of Me your Master, Mine
will be victory and triumph; therefore ye,
My disciples, in your turn, need not fear.'
Compare Rom. viii. 37.
for there

26.]

is nothing] This solemn truth is again and again enounced by our Lord on different occasions, and with different references. See Luke viii. 17; xii. 2. The former part of the verse drew comfort and encouragement from the past: this does so from the future. All that is hidden must be revealed-(1) it is God's purpose in His Kingdom that the everlasting Gospel shall be freely preached, and this purpose ye serve. (2) Beware then of hypocrisy (see Luke xii. 2) through fear of men, for all such will be detected and exposed hereafter: and (3) fear them not, for, under whatever aspersions ye may labour from them, the day is coming which shall clear you and condemn them, if ye are fearlessly doing the work of Him that

tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And y fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold

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sent you' (ch. xiii. 43). 27.] An expansion of the duty of freeness and boldness of speech implied in the last verse. The words may bear two meanings : either (1) that which Chrysostom gives, taking the expressions relatively, of His speaking to them only, and in a little corner of Palestine, as compared with the subsequent publicity of the Word; or (2) as this part of the discourse relates to the future principally, the secret speaking may mean the communication which our Lord would hold with them hereafter by His Spirit, which they were to preach and proclaim. See Acts iv. 20. These senses do not exclude one another, and are possibly both implied. There is no need, with Lightfoot and others, to suppose any allusion to a custom in the synagogue, in the words hear in the ear. They are a common expression, derived from common life: we have it in a wider sense Acts xi. 22, and Gen. 1. 4. upon the housetops] On the flat roofs of the houses. Thus we have in Josephus, Going up on the roof, and with his hand quieting their tumult... he said. . . ." 28.] On the latter part of this verse much question has of late been raised, which never was, as far as I have been able to find, known to the older interpreters. Stier designates it as the only passage of Scripture whose words may equally apply to God and the enemy of souls.' He himself is strongly in favour of the latter interpretation, and defends it at much length; but I am quite unable to assent to his opinion. It seems to me at variance with the connexion of the discourse, and with the universal tone of Scripture regarding Satan. If such a phrase as "to fear the devil" could be instanced as equivalent to "to guard against the devil," or if it could be shewn that any where power is attributed to Satan analogous to that indicated by "able to destroy both soul and body in hell," I then should be open to the doubt whether he might not here be intended; but seeing that "fear not," indicating terror, is changed into "fear" so usually followed by "God" in a higher and holier sense (there is no such contrast in ver. 26, and therefore that verse cannot be cited as ruling the meaning of this), and that GOD ALONE is throughout the Scripture

Isa. viii. 12, 14.

13. Luke xii. 4. 1 Pet.

Fear

the Almighty dispenser of life and death both temporal and eternal, seeing also that Satan is ever represented as the condemned of God, not one able to destroy, I must hold by the general interpretation, and believe that both here and in Luke xii. 3-7 our Heavenly Father is intended, as the right object of our fear. As to this being inconsistent with the character in which He is brought before us in the next verse, the very change of meaning in "fear" would lead the mind on, out of the terror before spoken of, into that better kind of fear always indicated by that expression when applied to God, and so prepare the way for the next verse. Besides, this sense is excellently in keeping with ver. 29 in another way. Him who is the only Dispenser of Death and Life of death, as here; of life, as in the case of the sparrows for whom He cares.' 'Fear Him, above men: trust Him, in spite of men.' In preparing the 2nd edn. of my Greek Test., I carefully reconsidered the whole matter, and went over Stier's arguments with the connexion of the discourse before me, but found myself more than ever persuaded that it is quite impossible, for the above and every reason, to apply the words to the enemy of souls. The similar passage, James iv. 12, even in the absence of other considerations, would be decisive. Full as his Epistle is of our Lord's words from this Gospel, it is hardly to be doubted that in "there is one lawgiver [and judge] who is able to save and to destroy," he has this very verse before him. The depth of this part of the discourse I take to be, the setting before Christ's messengers their Heavenly Father as the sole object of childlike trust and childlike fear -the former from His love,-the latter from His power,-His power to destroy, it is not said them, but absolute, body and soul, in hell. Here is the true depth of the discourse: but if in the midst of this great subject, our Lord is to be conceived as turning aside, upholding as an object of fear the chief enemy, whose ministers and subordinates He is at the very moment commanding us not to fear, and speaking of him as he that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, to my mind all true and deep connexion is broken. 29. sparrows] any small birds.

a far

z see 1 Sam. xiv. 45.

2 Sam. xiv.

11. Acts xxvii. 34.

2 Tim. ii. 12.

b

с

for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye a Rom. x. 9, 10. are of more value than many sparrows. 32 a Whosoever b Rev. iii. 5. therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess e Mark vili. 38. also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny bed Luke xii. 40 fore my Father which is in heaven. 34 d Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, a MICAH vii. 6. but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. b Luke xiv. 20. a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

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Ps. xli. 9:

lv. 13. John xiii. 18.

c ch. xvi. 24.

36 a And 37 b He

that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 c And he that taketh not his cross, d John xii. 25. and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 d He that W findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life ▾ literally, behind. W render, hath found.

those who come after Him. The imme-
diate reference is to the divisions in fami-
lies owing to conversions to Christianity.
Ver. 35 is quoted nearly literally from
Micah vii. 6. When we read in Com-
mentators that these divisions were not
the purpose, but the inevitable results
only, of the Lord's coming, we must
remember that with God, results are all
purposed.
37.] Compare Deut.
xxxiii. 9, and Exod. xxxii. 26-29, to which
passages this verse is a reference. Stier
well remarks, that under the words worthy
of me there lies an exceeding great reward
which counterbalances all the seeming
asperity of this saying.
38.] How

I render, hath lost. thing] Gr. assarion. This word, derived fromas,' was used in Greek and Hebrew to signify the meanest, most insignificant amount. fall on the ground] which birds do when struck violently, or when frozen, wet or starved: it is therefore equivalent to die: "not one of them is forgotten before God," Luke xii. 6. 30.] See 1 Sam. xiv. 45: Luke xxi. 18: Acts xxvii. 34. The your is emphatic, corresponding to the ye at the end of ver. 31. But the emphatic ye spoken directly to the Apostles, is generalized immediately by the whosoever in ver. 32. 32. confess me] The context shews plainly that it is a practical consistent confession which is meant, and also a practical and enduring denial. The Lord will not confess the confessing Judas, nor deny the denying Peter; the traitor who denied Him in act is denied: the Apostle who confessed Him even to death will be confessed. Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 12.

We may

observe that both in the Sermon on the Mount (ch. vii, 21-23) and here, after mention of the Father, our Lord describes Himself as the Judge and Arbiter of eternal life and death. 34.] In Luke

xii. 51-53 this announcement, as here, is closely connected with the mention of our Lord's own sufferings (ver. 38). As He won His way to victory through the contradiction of sinners and strife, so must

strange must this prophetic announcement have seemed to the Apostles! It was no Jewish proverb (for crucifixion was not a Jewish punishment), no common saying, which our Lord here and so often utters. See ch. xvi. 24: Mark x. 21: Luke ix. 23. He does not here plainly mention His Cross; but leaves it to be understood, see ver. 25. This is one of those sayings of which John xii. 16 was eminently true. 39. his life. . . it]

refer to the same thing, but in somewhat different senses. The first "life" is the life of this world, which we here all count so dear to us; the second, implied in "it," the real life of man in a blessed eternity. hath found="loveth." John xii.

you re

e

ch. xviii. 5. John xii. 44.

John viii. 19: see 1 Kings

xiv. 8 ff.

xvii.

2 Kings iv. 8

for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth ceiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 8 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 h And whoso- h see ch. xxv. ever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

XI. 1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 Now when John

25 = 66
I will save," Mark viii. 35. The
past participles are used in anticipation,
with reference to that day when the loss
and gain shall become apparent. But "hath
found" and "hath lost" are again some-
what different in position: the first imply-
ing earnest desire to save, but not so the
second any will or voluntary act to destroy.
This is brought out by the for my sake,
which gives the ruling providential ar-
rangement whereby the losing is brought
about. But besides the primary meaning
of this saying as regards the laying down
of life literally for Christ's sake, we cannot
fail to recognize in it a far deeper sense,
in which he who loses his life shall find
it. In Luke ix. 23, the taking up of the
cross is to be "daily;" in ch. xvi. 24 || Mk.
"let him deny himself" is joined with it.
Thus we have the crucifying of the life of
this world, the death to sin spoken of
Rom. vi. 4-11, and life unto God. And
this life unto God is the real, true life,
which the self-denier shall find, and pre-
serve unto life eternal. See John xii. 25
and note.
40.] Here in the con-
clusion of the discourse, the Lord recurs
again to His Apostles whom He was send-
ing out. From ver. 32 has been connected
with whosoever, and therefore general.

receiveth, see ver. 14; but it has here the wider sense of not only receiving to house and board,—but receiving in heart and life the message of which the Apostles were the bearers. On the sense of the verse, see John xx. 21, and on him that sent me, "I send you," ver. 16, and Heb. iii. 1. There is a difference between the representation of Christ by His messengers, which at most is only official, and even then broken by personal imperfection and infirmity (see Gal. ii. 11; iv. 13, 14),-and the perfect unbroken representation of the Eternal

40. Mark ix. 41. Heb. vi.

10.

Father by His Blessed Son, John xiv. 9:
Heb. i. 3. 41. a prophet's reward]
either, such a reward as a prophet or a
righteous man would receive for the like
service,-or, such a reward as a prophet
or a righteous man shall receive as such.
Chrysostom. in the name of] i. e.
because he is: i. e. for the love of
Christ, whose prophet he is.' The sense
is, He who by receiving (see above) a
prophet because he is a prophet, or a holy
man because he is a holy man, recognizes,
enters into, these states as appointed by
Me, shall receive the blessedness of these
states, shall derive all the spiritual benefits
which these states bring with them, and
share their everlasting reward.'
42. these little ones] To whom this
applies is not very clear. Hardly, as some
think, to the despised and meanly-esteemed
for Christ's sake. I should rather imagine
some children may have been present: for
of such does our Lord elsewhere use this
term, see ch. xviii. 2-6. Though perhaps
the expression may be meant of lower and
less advanced converts, thus keeping up
the gradation from the prophet. This
however hardly seems likely for how
could a disciple be in a downward grada-
tion from a righteous man?
his
(i. e. the doer's) reward: not, the reward
of one of these little ones,' as before a
prophet's reward, a righteous man's re-
ward.

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XI. 1. thence] No fixed locality is assigned to the foregoing discourse. It was not delivered at Capernaum, but on a journey, see ch. ix. 35.

their cities is also indeterminate, as in ch. iv. 23; ix. 35.

2-30.] MESSAGE OF ENQUIRY FROM THE BAPTIST: OUR LORD'S ANSWER, AND DISCOURSE THEREON TO THE MULTITUDE. Luke vii. 18-35. There have been several different opinions as to the

a ch. xiv. 3. had heard a in the prison the works of Christ, he sent y two y read, by means of.

reason why this enquiry was made. I will state them, and append to them my own view. (1) It has been a very generally received idea that the question was asked for the sake of the disciples themselves, with the sanction of their master, and for the purpose of confronting them, who were doubtful and jealous of our Lord, with the testimony of His own mouth. This view is ably maintained by Chrysostom, and has found strenuous defenders in our own day. The objections to it are,that the text evidently treats the question as coming from John himself; the answer is directed to John; and the following discourse is on the character and position of John. These are answered by some with a supposition that John allowed the enquiry to be made in his name; but surely our Saviour would not in this case have made the answer as we have it, which clearly implies that the object of the miracles done was John's satisfaction. (2) The other great section of opinions on the question is that which supposes doubt to have existed, for some reason or other, in the Baptist's own mind. This is upheld by Tertullian and others, and advocated by De Wette, who thinks that the doubt was perhaps respecting not our Lord's mission, but His way of manifesting Himself, which did not agree with the theocratic views of the Baptist. This he considers to be confirmed by ver. 6. Olshausen and Neander suppose the ground of the doubt to have lain partly in the Messianic idea of the Baptist, partly in the weakening and bedimming effect of imprisonment on John's mind. Lightfoot carries this latter still further, and imagines that the doubt arose from dissatisfaction at not being liberated from prison by some miracle of our Lord. Others have supposed that John, perplexed by the various reports about the worker of these miracles, sent his disciples to ascertain whether it was really He who had been borne witness to by himself. (3) It appears to me that there are objections against each of the above suppositions, too weighty to allow either of them to be entertained. There can be little doubt on the one hand, that our Saviour's answer is directed to John, and not to the disciples, who are bonâ fide messengers and nothing more:-"Go and shew John" can I think bear no other interpretation: and again the words "blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me must equally apply to John in the first place, so that, in some sense, he had

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The

been offended at Christ. On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult to suppose that there can have been in John's own mind any real doubt that our Lord was He that should come, seeing that he himself had borne repeatedly such notable witness to Him, and that under special divine direction and manifestation (see ch. iii. 16, 17 John i. 26-37). idea of his objective faith being shaken by his imprisonment is quite inconsistent not only with John's character, but with our Lord's discourse in this place, whose description of him seems almost framed to guard against such a supposition. The last hypothesis above mentioned is hardly probable, in the form in which it is put. We can scarcely imagine that John can have doubted who this Person was, or have been confounded by the discordant rumours which reached him about His wonderful works. But that one form of this hypothesis is the right one, I am certainly disposed to believe, until some more convincing considerations shall induce me to alter my view. (4) The form to which I allude is this: John having heard all these reports, being himself fully convinced Who this Wonderworker was, was becoming impatient under the slow and unostentatious course of our Lord's selfmanifestation, and desired to obtain from our Lord's own mouth a declaration which should set such rumours at rest, and (possibly) which might serve for a public profession of His Messiahship, from which hitherto He had seemed to shrink. thus incurs a share of the same rebuke which the mother of our Lord received (John ii. 4); and the purport of the answer returned to him is, that the hour was not yet come for such an open declaration, but that there were sufficient proofs given by the works done, to render all inexcusable, who should be offended in Him. And the return message is so far from being a satisfaction designed for the disciples, that they are sent back like the messenger from Gabii to Sextus Tarquinius, with indeed a significant narrative to relate, but no direct answer; they were but the intermediate transmitters of the symbolic message, known to Him who sent it, and him who received it.

He

It is

a fact not to be neglected in connexion with this solution of the difficulty, that John is said to have heard of the works, not of Jesus, but of (the) Christ: the only place where that name, standing alone, is given to our Lord in this Gospel.

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