PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1
Henry Donald Maurice Spence [1836–1917] · 342,562 words · 357 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 181
frng-ront ointment on the fc-et whore her character of the J ewe In this reepeot h11a t,,ars had fnllen. It was the perfume of the never ch,mged from the days of their nom11d ointment which called the host's attention life-from the times of their slavery under to this BOOne of eorrow and heartfelt peni- the Pharaohs to…
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anoint; but this woman he.th anointed my other words,•• I eay unto thee, Her many Bins feet with ointment. "It never entered thy o.re forgiven, and thou, must infer from tlti• tboughte to pa.y me the homage-11.nd yet that ehe loved much, or, she loves much, I ha.d helpecl thee, too, a little-of pouring for (that is, be…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-10.-771., centurion. . He is a_ Roman, whose !nclinatlons were natur11lly opposed to all that seemed Jewish. He 1s a heathen by bll'th, whose early education _was wholly_ removed from the worship of the Father. He is e. soldier with a charge m the garrison of Capemaum, tempted, therefore, to ind…
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nl\lion. I am here only for a time," etc. But he loved the God of the Jews; 1md tbe !(fl.lCij of Godharl ed ucaterl tbe conviction that wherever the opportunity of Wiefuloess 01,.,us there is the door of service, Faith is 11lways evidenced by a similar zeal, by a desire to give as we have received, to witness for him t…
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l'\ote: 1. The whisper straight from the heart of the God-Man to the heart of the ~ufferer: "iVeep nol I" 2. The touch of the open colfo1, cauAing ceremonial defilement, buL expressive of the attitude of him who is the "Resurrection and the Life:"" He came and tonch,•d the bier." 3. Th .. n, as the pRll-bearrrs stand s…
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Mrl thRt ao much of tho culture of Israel has sepe.rated from Isre.el's hope, has declared its contentment with e. mere barren pantheism; that so much of its piety is busied wiLh the eITort to explain away the obvious mea.ning of the old prophecies, or to deny their reference to the Anointed One. But the Jew still live…
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Vere. 36-50.-The woman who was a sinner. It is a truly lovely story which the evangelist tells-one of those pass.iges io the life of Christ which we are never tired of reading, and as full of meaning as it is full of beauty. We may regard it from many points, and present its didactic force in many ways. Perhaps we shal…
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ing of Christ ; Bnd it was not. It is not the quantity of sins, hut the conscience of sin, the sense of its sinfulness Bnd bitterness and tyranny, which determines the ques- tion of the IBrger or smaller debtor. In the ca.qe before us, one steeped in iniquity represents the larger, the l'hBrisee the smaller. But, to pr…
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Ver. 5.-Patriotism and piety. The mutual respect shown here by Jew and Roman is very pleasing, anJ the more so that it was so rare. Disdain rather than regard, hatred rather than affection, characterized both peoples ; and it is a very agreeable change to find so different a state of mind. Here the Roman loves the …
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lneetlmnble service to the nation. The i11fl11encee which ra<liated from them h1ui k,·pt ihe people loyal to their faith, anrl had preserved in them all the better qualities they possessed. And what can we do to serve the country wbich bas nourished us in the faith of Christ? We can do all that lies in our power to pro…
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Vere. 19-22.-Human goodness and the permanency of the gospel. We he.Te here- I. A CONSTANT OBARACTERISTT0 OF RUMAN GOODNESS. How came John to send this mess:i.ge? W1LS he really doubtful-be who had prepared the way of the Lord who had baptized him, who had recognized in him the Lamb of God? Even so: Many ingcnio~s…
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wliich the gospel takes of the lowly, Consider the fo.ct that wherever the truth of Ohriet has been preached in its purity and its integrity, man ae man has been approached; all human souls have been treated ae of equal and incalculable worth, the poor a.e well ae the rich, the slave a.e well ae hie master, the illiter…
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, er. 23.-Clwist as an offence. "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in mf'." It was simply inevitable that our Lord, if he laid himself out to do the very best and grea,~est that could _be _done, shoul~ be an offence to many. "Not to send peace, but a sword, was a purely mc1dental, but 1t was a necessary…
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2. Ilia iocorrupt1ble fidelity to the work committed to hie charge (eh. iii. 15, 16) 3. Hie fearlPBs, holy courage--a courage which was based on a sense of God'H nearneHB to him 11ml hie Divine faithfulness toward him; a courage manifested in public (eh. iii. 7-i}), and, what is more and what is worthier, shown in priv…
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we mny form, by v,hioh we help men upwarde and God wards, must be an eesontially •n<l radicalll' Chri~tian thincr. II. CnRrBTIAN PARTICIP;TION. "The ~o!1 or man came eating and drinking." He W1'S no RRcet1c; he was present at the fest1v1ty; he accepted the invitation to the rich man's board; he did not choose the coar…
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~ood discern the good,'' writes one of our truest poets and deepest thinkers. It is only they who are sincere seekers after the truth who reach the goal. It is" to the upricrht that there nriseth light in the darkness;" it is to the pure and the upright and the merciful that God shows himself to be such, and by them is…
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, er. ,40.-Chri.d and SimMI ~ the oorre.cting 'll'ord. There were some good. points nl,nnt Simon. 1. He was nn emmently respectable mnn; he was so in the true sense of tbo w,1rd, for as a virtuous mnn be could respect himself, and his neiahbours coulrl rightly re~pect him; he c<;mf,,rmcd bis conduct. to a high stnud…
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of it, be fillecl continually with a. eenae of it. For tt,P-y who a.re (consciously) forcriven much will lovo much; nncl they who love much will 1,e much beloved of God (John xiv. :l3). 2. 'fliat we should be ready to receive (fhrist'8 correcting word. Simon was wholly wrong in his estimate of men and of things; but he…
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fonnd in the simple soldier, CleM)Y faith is not always in proportion to opportunity and advantages. How woak the faith of many who have been all their lives Ion" in th<' e1IjoynH"nt of the me~ns of grace I 3. Christ responds to sti-ong failh by a ;;ord of pn1oer. Ilad he continued to pre~s himself upon the centurio…
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from his people's faces every tear shall be wiped away. 1 The miracle thus throws II clear and steady light upon those last things which perplex so many people now.-R. M. E. Vere. 18-35.-The deputation from John. Jesus pursued a policy of mercy and of salvation. He healed all who asked for healing or were brought to …
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Vers. 36-50.-Lovetheproofofpardon. The generation to which Jesus had come with his social gospel thought him too "free and easy" with sinners. 'l'he Pharisees thouuht he had no riuht to associate with publicans and sinners, although he did so to save"them. But the" wisdom of his policy would be justified by the conduct…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER VITI. ~i,i daily we.nte. The presenoe and loving interest of these and such like kindly gene- Ven. 1-S.-St. Ltike'B brief noti,ce of tM rous friends answers the question-How did toomen v,ho fanned part of the oompany of the Master and his disoiplea, poor men Jew.a. among poor men, live during t…
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out of every oity, he spake by a para.bis. A to hee.r his words and look on his miracle-, gront change, it is clenr, took place in onr the Lord knew that his work had practically Lord's wo.y of working at this period. We failed. At the first he spoke to the people hnve nlrendy (in the note on ver. 1) reme.rked pie.inl…
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"'"011 free~, mig-ht be repr0ecntccl a■ reaenn- t'h1tn twenty-two W••l'\lA in I.ho lfrhrew Dible i ni; Rnd spm,king. The parabl11, on the denoling thorny a11,l prickly pla11ts" (Pro- o,,11trary, never viofated probability, but fessor lfoc ket ). told ils solemn lesson, often oortainly in a, Ver. 8.--And bare fruit l…
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further respecting thnt dny's pBrahle-tcnch- 0080 of mnny of his own tme servnnts, the lng. It is most probe.blo thut e.11 these prophets. It mirrored, too, the many fulllr~ reported discourses, paro.bles, expoRitione, failures and the few Ju.tu.re successes of the or sermons, a.re simply e. r~urru! of the listening di…
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awny like corn growing on rocky plRces a hated and persrcnted sect, eaoriflced a hP11m(h the burning summer sun. John lnrge portion of their property to help the llhrk, the would-be missionary comp1tnion poor of the llook, and yet these app1uently of Pnul and Barnabas, was one of this devoted ones were living a doub…
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hnd just given them, showed them bow during his pablio ministry, not among hia ro1>Ily simple and ndapted to everyday life "own," but still near him, watching him, his tenching wns. "No man," said the Lord, and listening to him with a half-wondering, "when he hath lighted the candle of the half-grudging admir!ltion. Bu…
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nose of hie own etnte of morn) disort1"r" •My name is Logi•m, for we are many.' ( Go,let). Thou Bon of God most high. The irresistible might, the full array nf the Thero seems eome prohability that this Roman legion, with its six thouaa.nd w,ldier~, flxpreeaion wne rroqnonlly uoo<l in cnsce or seemed to the demon ia.c …
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p,-i! spirits. in their r<>qnest, WAB tll injure rushed rrom the pltiteau down a steot in- .fpans in thRt part or the country by aroue- clinf', which travellers since think they ave iug f,,Rre amo11i;: the covetous inhabitants identifle<l, and the deep wntere of Genne- lPst. they too might loae, in a similar way, sa…
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"the lo.nd Is plougbe,1 up by wil,1 hogR in with intonee earnest,ness, of one ho!,ling ee11rch of roots on whioh they live" (' The such II position, is e. clear proof the.t tbo Lo.nd nnd the Dook,' ii. oh. 25). Ga.lilee enthuRie.am for Jesus was by no Ver. 88.-Now the man out of whom the means confined to the pooror p…
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this poor loving superstitious soul, to the diseMe, he never seems for II moment tn splendid proportions which it reaohed in the he.ve contemplated hie wrestling with death; lives of e. Stoplicn and e. Paul. Faith in indeed, the bare thought of recalling the him, from its rudOBt form to it& grandest spirit to the de…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-21.-TM e:vangelistic cfrcu,it. Observe- !. THE PLAN OF cmcurT. (Ver. 1.) "He went," or "went about," or "bpt journeying." Hitherto Capemaum had been the centre from which short excursions were taken, the Lord always returning to it. Now he moves steadily on from place to place," passing in patienc…
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ln which the seed le sown: the wayside, where the 11eed is trodden .\own and devoured by the fowls; the rock, or stony places, where the seed springs up, but eoon withere through want of moisture; the Uwrny ground, where the seed and the thol'Illl grow together, and the thorns choke the seed; and the good ground, wh…
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educntive service th,m the male. The apostles are with Jesus; but certain women miniswr to him of their substance. These are the helpers: who are the hinderers, His mother and his brethren (ver. 19). The Lord is compelled to say that, whilst the relation according to the flesh is respected, they a.re not e.t the.t mome…
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Vers. 26--89.-ne demoniac whose name wa8 Leg{O'II,, Two mieernble creatures are mentioned in Matthew. No sooner has Jesus come forth on the land than they rush towards him. Human, yet without the mental attributes of humanity, shunned by all, left in the lonely place, to rend the air with fearful cries, to dash them…
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tu be e. trustworthy guide ae to events which are out of the plane or ordinary lif11. Somewhere, somehow, the work done ie reconcilable with the true nature of things, with t.he mercy o.nd the truth which o.re o.round o.ll God's po.the. Observe two point.II by wo.y of pro.ctical improvement. J. To TH.E DEM0NIA0 HIMSEl…
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of the workR. But whatever the precise period in the biography to which it belongs, the tale tdd is one which appeals to the more domestic affections of the heart; one too which gives a graciously lull manifestation of Jesus the Resurrection and the Life. fhe tranesction resli11ed M he went illustrates chiefly Chris…
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not IIO with the womiin? After ebe was hcalc,l he br1111ght her into the spiritu,d knowledge of himself Bnd his will. She bB<l stolen to Jesus, but she must nnt skal from him. He see.rches her out. She see~ that she is not hid; and trembling, fearing, she falls down Bnd tells him all the truth. Precisely what he des…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-The gospel of the king<W'T!". In a parallel pa.sse.ge in Matthew (iv. 23) we read th!\t Jesus wen_t a~out all Gal~lee, "pr~nching the gospel of the kingdom ; " here "t> read of the same thmg m a ~ery slightly different form-" showing the glod tidings '.'' the kmgdoru of God." It…
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and now meane being & happy citizen somewhere for evermore. Life under the benign 11way of thie heavenly King is not counte<l by years or decades; it is without a bound; it ie continued, J>erpetuated, in other regions of hie glorione domain. This is the "glorious gospel of the kingdom. le it well to wait for a. better?…
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nnt ent.er into the ROil, and is readily borne away. They who do not know l&oto td l,~<ten when God speaks to them, need not be aurpri~ed if they are of those who are "enr learning, and never coming to II knowledge of the truth." "Give earnest heed" as the Word is being spoken. 2. Want of refection. (Ver. 6.) Many l…
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with their vision, beOll'l.lee it ie distorted by prejudice? Or shall we say that where no goodness ie seen it is because there is none to see; that piety, being popular, is simu- lated, and they e.re looking at those who are only pretending to be Christian men, anr1 that godliness is no more aecountable for hypocrisy …
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that dncth e\·j] hatetb the light ... lest his deeds should be reproved." Men that sin against Goo and their own 00nscience wonld be only too glad to know thBt their deeds were finally buried Rnd would never rearpear. But no man may take this consolation tn bis soul. Secret things Rre disclosed; there is an instinct…
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we do not become Christ's, we are not numbered amongst his own, nntil we so hea1 and heed and feel that we resolve to be and strive to do what we know is his holy w,11 concerning us. We may fail frequently to realize our own intention; we may strive upwards and God wards with many a stumble on our way; but if there be …
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Ver. 2S.~The skep of Christ "As they sailed he fell asleep." Christ asleep I Christ asleep in the daytime I Christ asleep in the storm I Christ asleep with his disciples in danger and distress I What have we here? I. TIIE SoN OF IIIAN ASLEEP IN THE HOUB OF HIS OWN BODILY WEARINESS. A hard and Jong day's work bad th…
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Vore. 38, 39.-Our return/or God's greater kindnesses. The outcasting of a demon from II man was certaiuly one of the greater miracles Christ wrought, and the greater benefits he bestowed. It required special power, and it conferred a boon of the highest onler. We look at- I. THI!: onEATER KINDNESSES WE RECEIVE FROM Go…
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them; but the long ~st~nement of bis claime lea,IR on 1md down to a decieive rejec- tion; at length the m1~d 1s fuUy me.de up, the eoul resolveJ. tbl\t it will seek ita good el~cwh~re, tuat the pntient Sanour may knock but he will wait in vain. 2. It may 1-.roced from motives that are_ dist,>nctly unworthy. It wae a …
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touched me,' for the cootnct hBa not heco between soul a.or! soul, bnt r,nl_v bctwe,,n form and form," We are very much thronged in this modem life we live, but we are not very often touched to newness of thought and feeling; and except we Jive a life of prnyer and genuine hum1m sympathy, we must not expect to "tonch" …
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which he woulcl di~own; e.g. carrying on & cruel, th,mgh it may bo a relined, porsocu- tion of thuse. who "follow not _with _us" in. the mode of our worship, or the method of our Chrie~111n work, 2. Asking his blessmg on that which he disapproves; e.g. on the war which ie an unrighteous one, on the cause which is au un…
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of ministrat.i<>n. It would seem that np to this time he had pmichr<l less figuratively, bur ns the Pharisees had taken up their position of hostility, it was absolutrly necessary for him to exercise what may be called intermediate jud;;mcnt (cf. Godct, in loc.). Thie was by taking to parabolic teaching. While to a doc…
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Vers. 22-56.-..4. group of m!'.railee. The mother Rnd brethren of Jesus had trird i~ va_in. to in~rfere with the importl\~t work \n wh~ch he was eugag_od ; he olung to his dmnples as the real members of his FRther s fa.,nly. Aud so we tind his cnrl'er ae a merciful Miracle-worker continuing. We have hero a group of …
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OHAPTEB IX, whose hearts he knew were trembling in the balance between the choice of life and good, Vere. 1-6.-TM Master ,end.a out th6 and death and evil To help these he sent twewe on a miallion. out this last mission. The word rendered Ver. 1.-Then he called his twelve dis- "called together" indicates a solemn ga…
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iB Administered whPn Rll hope of 1ho p9.lknt's Anrl perfect a hatred, en,lnring, too, for r<'ro.-cn- from 1hc sickness is o.-er Anoint- centuries, hM never been witncHsed in the ing t.h,;sick with oil wns R favourite prRcti,·e ?9-Be of Rny other P"nples. This accounts amnug tlie Ancient Jews (see Ise.. i. li nnd eh.…
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Ho would not believe it wne hie olrl monitor tho return of the twelve from their mission. risen, but rot the prince Wfl8 0,nxious 0,nd He e.nd they were no doubt very weary of pel'turbed m his mind, The murmur that the crowds which continually now thronged the greRt prophet wns EliRs (Elijah) dis- them. The ellcitement…
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tion, were In the hribit of distributing, out sa!.iefe.ctorily explained the reuon o.f this of their comprirative e.bnn<lrince, food to omission of important portions of our Lord's thoBB persona in the villriges who wore poorer publio ministry. The roe.son for St. Luke's tlmn themeelvee. It we.a, no doubt, for some suc…
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men rnying- About me f I\?'(' 'Whom do they John i. 29, 33, 8!, 4 l, 45, 49, eto.). Dut, think thR1. I Rm?" though glenm succeeded gle"m, in fl11sheH Ver. 19.-They answering ■aid, .Tohn the that r0vealed the Illimilablo; tbe darkness Baptist ; but 1ome eay, Elias ; and others would ever, more or less, close in agnm…
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prediction came upon the rlisci plos evidently signifies the natural animal life, of wt,ich the as somothing now. It was their Master's main interests are centred in the earth. H reply to their confession of faith in him. It a me.n grasp at this shadowy, (jnickly pnss- s11irl in other words, "You 11re right in your ing…
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c-,,me in thl' clorv of hi~ Fatb,•r, wiLh Iii• Ver. 28.-And it oame to pass about an nn!.'.els. nnrl tl1<•n he slrnJl rewe.rd evpry me.n eight days after these sayinga, he took n,'<'c>r,ling to his works." The kseon WI\S Peter and John and Jrimeg, and went up v,·ry cll'nr. His own might eurely be oon- into a mounttlin …
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Iulo communion with tho High e.ncl Holy under the commission of the Moat Highest, 0110, e. new e.ncl etwnge benuty. Very many kept alight the t.orch or the know led~e of hnve noticed at times this peculiar and the one true Goel. And (2) because theao lovely olmuge pass over the faces of God's men alone of the race o…
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let ns make throe t11bernacle1; one for th~e, Ver. ll5.-And there came a voioe out of and one for Mosee, and one for Elias: not the aloud, aaying, This is my beloved Bon: knowing what he said. The three evnngo- he11.r him. The reading here of the older lisl• who rclato the Tra.nRRgnrntion eccno, authm:ities must be …
983 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.