PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2
Henry Donald Maurice Spence [1836–1917] · 272,049 words · 292 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 121
serious ~acrifices on your behalf; but they are not gracious, genial, winning. They are not apprna,chabl,e; you are not drawn to them; you are not inclined to address them and make friends with them; they rather repel than invite you. Such wa.s not Jesus Christ. He was not only kind at heart, but kindly in manner an…
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rejection; it takes in the light, the truth, which is offered and it grows thereby. Men of mature years and powers, who have had all the advantages of Christian privileaes, ofton stand without the kingdom because they will not receive the truth that is off:red them; their mind is preoccupied with theories, systems, ima…
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we carr· about him, we watch his career; we are specially glad if he takes a wiso course aud are specially grieved if he goes astray. ' III. A YOUNG MAN WITII SOME OF THE NOBLER QUAl.ITIES OF YOUTH. 1. We note his reverence. Youth should be reverent. Ignorance and inexperience should pay to kno'l"l"ledge and wisdom…
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The e:ile e.nd distrib:1tion of property in apostolic times was an expedient which we.11 adopted for the occasion; but it was not insisted upon as necessary even then (Acts v. 4), and it wae very soon abandoned. Paul, writing to Timothy, wrote on the sup- position that the Christian Church included many wealthy men (L …
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God and in ~he light of his truth, is worth a hundred times more than any human or earthly blessmgs can be. We shall better see the truthfulness of this declaration if we approach the main thought from a little distance, and consider that human life is some- thing _the val1te of whi;ch depen~s no~ on the qoontity but o…
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Vers. 31-34.-God's concealing ldndness, etc. The clear prevision which the Lord Jesus Christ had of the future which was before him may suggest to us the thought- !. GoD'S KINDNESS IN CONCEALMENT. We often try to forecast the future and sometimes wish that we could do so less imperfectly than we can. But, our' very in…
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Ver. 3i.-Present lmt passing opportunity. Pathetic stories are told of those who in circumstances of the greatest danger or distress, hnve suddenly found themselve~ almost within reach of blessed deliverance, but who just failed to realize their hope. It is the captive knight past whose dungeon a. friendly host is f…
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Ver. 41.-What we want of Ghrist. Our hearts are drawn towards blind Bartimreus; we compnssionate him for his long-continued blindne8s; we enter into his feeling of keen hopefulness when he hears of the passing of Jesus Uhrist; we like the importunity of the man, his sturdy refusal to be put down by popular clamour; w…
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accotmted for on several grounds. (1) The procession of nature is so uniform. All things seem to continue as they were from the creation. Nature is on so large and grand a scale that we do not appreciate the real progress, and imao'ine 0 that we are in the midst of a standstill. Unifonuity, however, is not standsti…
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It is when we recognize in him onr Father, and are prepared to accept as little children all he sends, and to do all he commands, that we truly belong to his kingdom. Hence the two characteristics specially brought out are (1) trust, and (2) obedience. It is thus we are to test ourselves. Do we trust God our Father as …
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Vers. 31--43.-Blindness, mental and physical. Having spoken to the disciples about recompense, he balances his consolation by giving them fair warnin" of his owu approaching humiliation and death. Ilut they were so infatuated about the honours that they were totally blind to the humiliation. Christ's words were no b…
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EXPOSITION. announced hie intention of lodging for the OBAP'l'ER XIX, night with one whose life's occupation was Vere. 1-10.-Jeau, lodges in Che hou,e of so hateful to the Jewish religions world. Zaoch211,s, " the chief among the publicans" at The Master recognized in the intense eager- Jericho. This episode, which …
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God. but only the way in which the work he proposed to moderate the wild romo.ntio is dn11e, and the position used, which are of enthusiasm of his immediate followers and price in his pure eyes. The hated publican of the Passover crowds by painting for them at the receipt of custom-the servant of a quiet picture of the…
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The Attic pound was in value somewhat Vere. 20, 21.-And another came, saying, less than £4 sterling. In the pamble of the Lord, behold, he:re is thy pound, which I talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30), where although have kept le.id up in e. napkin: for I feared very different lessons e.re inculcated, yet the thee, because thou …
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the fittest of the proffered robee would be with reepect and attention to the Master, selected by the disciples" (Morri•on). looking npon him as a most able and power- Ver. 36.-And aa he went, they apread ful Rabbi, but refusing to entertain any of their olothea in the way. A common act of ~he gr_owing Meesianio conce…
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which filled up the measure of Jerusalem and acted as King Messiah, wns a fulfilment 8 nd her pMple's iniquity. Still on~ day in of Mai. iii. I, 2. In the outer coul't of the which, had they only known "the things temple stl\lls had been erected in which which belonged to their peace," they might money-changers were…
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·his soul makes him quick in invention. He forces his way through the crowd, climbs the small sycamore tree, o.nd there be we.its. He knows, confusedly enough, but by a. kind of intuition, tho.t the Poorest of all who on foot treads the street is his Lord; that with him is the wealth wanting which a man has no real …
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Vers. 11-27.-The parable of the pounds. This parable closely resembles that rcport':'d rn Matt. xxv. 14-30. The two a.re undoubtedly different, but they have much lil common. We cannot rightly nnderstand each without balancing it by the other. Certamly we realize the full effect of their application when, to borrow …
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liecollect that the self in each of us connects with two factors-God who made us; and our brother, whose good is to be as sacred to us 38 our own. We cannot be making increase unless we are true to him whose we are, and to every one who is near us; unless both God and man are benefited, and benefited the more the gr…
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Vers. 28-44.-From Jericho to Jerusal,em. The last glimpse which we obtain of Moses presents him wending his way up the slope of Mount Nebo, thence to give one fond gaze towards the land he might not enter, and, having so done, then to lay himself down and die. Imagination has often attempted to portray the working o…
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Ver. 45~h. xx. 18.-Passion Week. The last of the old Hebrew prophets, Malachi (iii. and iv.), had announced that the Lord, the Sought One, would come "suddenly" into his temple, and manifest himself there in a threefold character-that of Judge, that of the Purifier and Refiner, and that of the swift Witness of the king…
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which, in the form of bis human presence, the Lord could no more work. "He taucrht dail~, in the temple" (ver. 47). The events of the Monday would seem to be the~e: ln tlie keen-aired early morning, Jesus, on his way to the temple, is huncrry. He sees (lllatt. xxi. 19; Mark xi. 12-14) a fig tree, evidently a conspic…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHOns. Vere. 1-9.-Zaccltreus; the triumph of earnestness. The incident here recorcled provides a very good opportunity for the imagination. W c can picture the scene before :us quite vividly; it is a subject for the sacred artist. But let us look at the triumph of earnestness as illustrated in th…
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Ver. 9.-Foifeiture and recovery. Our Lord's words refer in the first instance to-- 1. THE Loss AKn RECOVERY BY ZACCH.lEUS of his place in the commonwealth of Israel. 1. He had forfeited this. It was by no means inalienable. Only they were the true children of Abraham who did the deeds, who lived the life, who were p…
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erring and lost race, to lead it back again, to re~tore it to its heritage in wisdom, in righteousness, in God, 'l'his great and most beneficent purpose is enough of itself to explain such action ae he took on this occasion; it covers the propriety of the conduct which seemed at the time so inexplicable to the good peo…
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called up before us by the sound of the word," lost "I It speaks to us of the ve.~scl, for 0ut of its track and drifting toward the rocks where it will find its ruin; it speakH of the tmt'ellcr lost among the mountains, moving toward the precipice over which he i& bound to fall and perish; it speaks of the .firm who…
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libcrnl re'l"l"ard; to him are those most gladdening words addressed, and to him are entrusted_ not five b~;t ten cities over which to rule (ver. ! 7). "Then ehall every man have praise of _God. But then shall th?se who he.ve striven hard e.nd toiled long e.nd suffered much m the cause of Jesus Chnst have a full measur…
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Vers. 28-38.-0hrist's royalty. Something like a royal procession is here described. On the foal of an ass, on which it comported as well with Oriental ideas of honour as with Christian ideas of peace that he should ride, the "King came, meek," but not without attention and acclaim, into Jerusalem. A large company of th…
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Ver. 28.-Eagerness in the upward path. "He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem." "To go to Corinth" once meant to give way to dissipation. What did it mean to " go to Jerusalem"? To the Jews generally it meant to go to some sacred service, to visit the temple of Jehovah, to enter the sacred precincts where sacrifi…
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~ well, opponents have_ not only "rebuked," but tried arrogantly and foroibly to silence, those who have differed from them. But they have not succ'-ieded. Reli<>ious 0 con net ion is an inextinguishable force; slain in the persons of its champions it rises agnin and reappears, often in tenfold power. ' V. RELIGIOUS …
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weep. Ho wae most powerfully affected by the thought that Jerusalem might have been so much to God and man, and was-what she was. Jesus Christ was not so much angered as ho was saddened by the presence and the sight of sin. He might have withered it up in hie wrath, but he rather wept over it in his pity. This is the C…
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~trong organizations covering the land, whose function is to teach, to guido, to gunrd, to rescue, and redeem. l\fay we »,ot say, "He bath not dealt so with any nation ; 11s for his st.atutes and commandments, they have not known them" as we have known them? 2. God has gi ,en us a high and a great mission to perform. R…
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occasion is a plain inclicntion of the importance be attached to ri<1ht tbou<1bt concernin" the sanctuary, and to the right use of it. He brought into prominen°ce the act of prayer as that which should, above all thingR, characterize the house of God. We enter into bis thought if we consider- !. THE BENSE IN WHICH S…
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make it a place for distinguishing ourselves, or for advertising our respectability, or for gaining enjoyment which is wholly unspiritual. II. 'rHE HOME. When that which should be the abode of peace, of love, of purity, of fellow8hip, of tenderness, of gracious ministry, of quiet growth and joy, is turned into a scene…
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II. Two THINGS wmorr CONTRIBUTED TO, WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR, HIS POPULARITY. 1. The illustrativeness of his style. He called to his aid all visible nature all homely occupations, the familiarities of social and domestic life. ' " He talked of grass and wind and re.in, And fig trees e.nd fair weather, And made it his…
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c~owd, his curiosity prompted him to lrnve a look at him if possible; but, being little ot stature, he. could not from the ground obtain the view he wished. Accordingly he ran before, clnnbed up into a sycnmore tree, one of whose branches it has been supposed ma)- have extended across the road, and, perched upon thi…
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Vers. 11-27.-The law of capital in (Jhrist's lcingdom. Zaccbreus's conversion and all the stir on leaving Jericho led many in the crowd to imagine that Christ was immediately to assume a visible kingdom. To remove misappreheru;ion, therefore, he proceeds to tell them a parable which would at once rouse them to the nece…
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Vers. 28-48.-The advent <!I the humble King. To illustmte still more thorou"hly the character of his kingdom as one not of ostentation and worldly glory, but of humility, our Lord directed two of his disciples to procure for him a colt, the untrained foal of an ass, that he might ride into Jerusalem thereon. The mar…
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EXPOSITION. he was walking in the temple. The jealous OHAPTER XX. anger of the rulers of the Jews bad been Vere. 1-8.-Question of the priests and lately specially excited by the triumphant scribes as to the nature of the authority under entry on Palm Sunday, and by the stir and which Jesus was acting. commotion whic…
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From heaven; he will say, Why then be.iev~d be sure fo submit to mo if only ve were ye him not 1 Ilut a.nd if we say, Of men; o.11 satisfied tlmt I was f\ll l\CCreditod hieesen.,or the people will stone us : for they be pe:- of God" (Prof~ssor Drucc). For a l;ng snaded that John was a p~opllet. The reply time. Repre…
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here by Jcsus as spoken by God, possess the increases in hie next words, when, looking deepest dootrinal value. They, under the at them with gi-avee.nger (lµ/3>,.11/,as), he pro- thin veil of the parable-story, answer the ceeds to speak of himself under the figure question of the Sanhedrin (ver. 2), "By of the rejec…
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rule was ever being plotted, a oomparatively the once beautiful but uow depraved fCl\tures eRsv mntter. The incident of the tribute of Tiberius; the title ' Pontifex Maxim us' rnonc)', which immediately follows, was part WIIS probably inscribed on tile obverse" of this new dep&rture in the Sanhedrin (Farrar). polic…
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any resurrection; and they asked him, say- for instance, finds no place. Marriage ia, ing, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any accol'ding to our Lord's teaching, but a mnn's brother die, having a wife, and he temporary expedient to preserve the human die without ohildren, that his brother should race, to which death wo…
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in llfns<>s without finding it; th(lv (lrtnnot his favour. Whn.t the scribes persistently ~estmin th~mselws from testify{ng their repelled, and in the end condemntJd him Joyful surprise. Aware from this time forth for, was his asse,·tion of Divinity. In this tlu,t <'Very snn.re laid for him will be the passage he sh…
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 19-ch. xxi. 38.-The last working day. It is Tue5day, the last of the Lord's working days; for Wednesday and the early part of Thursday were spent apparently in the quiet of his Bethany home. A busy, trying day, crowded with events in which we see the Son of God enduring against himself the contradi…
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contro,crsics over mere pin-points, exclaims, "Maste1, which is tl:.e great commnnd- ment in the Law?" (Matt. xxii. 35). In the school to which he belonued, the precepts of the moral and ceremonial law were reckoned to be more than six h~ndred, although the great Rabbi Hille! reminded his pupils that, after all, the wo…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-8.-The great Teacher's si1ence. The refwal of Jesus Christ to answer the question proposed to him demands explanation and suggests remark. I. •ruE DIFFIOULTY WE FIND IN ms SILENCE. Had not the Sanhedrin a right to ask this of him? lt was a leg~lly constituted body, and one of its …
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c,,urse which led inevitauly to this very doom. If they only walked on in the path al,,ng "·bich they v.·ere then hurrying, they were bound to reach that "miserable" end, II. lTs Al'PLICATION TO OUR OWN HEARTS AND LIVES. 1. We may be supposing ourselves incapable of wrong-doing the seeds of which are already sown in…
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prophecy; there is the valuable contribution of all that is contained in Old Trstament Scripture, which is a rich and precious heritage to the hu,nan race; and there iH, aho,e e.11, the formntion of a pure and reverent people, dist nguished from and iaise,i above nil surrounding nations in the supreme element of mor…
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Vers. 19-26.-Tlie sacred and the secu,lar. There are three preliminary truths which may be gathered before considering the proper subject of the text. 1. The worthlessness of heartless praise. What value do we suppose Jesus Christ attached to the eulogium here pronounced (ver. 2)? How worthless to him now are the ep…
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Vers. 40-44.-The lowliness and the greatness of Jesus Christ. This is the subject of these verses; but they are suggestive of minor truths. "\Ve have- I. A PROOF OF UTTER FALSITY. (Ver. 40.) How came these men to be afraid to ask questions of Christ? Others did not shrink from him, or fear to ask things of him. The ch…
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Vers.1-19.-0hrist's collisirmwith the Sanhedrin. We have studied Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his cleansing of the temple. And now we have to notice the interruptions to which he was subjected as he improved bis last days of ministration in the temple-court. He bacl. exercised authority in God's house, h…
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his approaching and dreadful doom l The result of this murder of God's Son is to be the transference of the theocracy from the Jews to other husbandmen. 'l'he chief pri~ts- a1:1d scribes_ are to be supplanted by apostles; and Judaism to give place to Chnst1amty. Seemg that the parable was spoken against them, they c…
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complicated earthly relations shall give place to the simplicity of sonship. God's family shall embrace all others. His Fatherhood shall absorb all the descending affections which on earth illustrate feebly his surpassing love, and our sonship to him will embrace all the ascending affection which his descending love de…
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the s011ship do~s not cover; there must be more in the 1fossiahship th1tn we suspect; ,ve must reconsider our attitude towards Jesus, and do him justice." llut instead of this, the~ deliberately ignored the ditlfoulty, aud went on with their persecution of the Divine Messiah. Now, this is surely to show us that we n…
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mite (i\<,r-rov) w11s the smallest current coin. probably suggested the discourse, "I am 'l'wo of theso little pieces were the smallest the true Vine" (reported in ,John xv.)-such legol offering which could be dropped into as crowns, shields, vessels of gold anrl sil vcr, the "trumpet." But this snm, o.s the presented …
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the great world lying beyond tbe narrow horrible with battles, torn with seditions, pale of the doomed, chosen people. He sa.vt1.ge eYen in pea.ce itself." closes his grand summary of the world's Ver. 11.--Great earthquakes. These seem fortunes by n sketch of his own return to . have been very frequont during the p…
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Ver. 16.-And ye shall be betrayed both hold it-then, nn,I not till then, let bis by po.rents, e.nd brethren, e.nd kinsfolk, and people take alarm. Let them at once and friends. His disciples must be prepiired to at all cost flee from temple and city, for pe.y, as the price of their friendship with there would be no …
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city An<l tC'mple from the eschntologicn.l So Godet, who picturesquely likens our glnbo portion of tlle snme prophecv. Ritlierto just before the second advent to "o. ship the Lord's words referred solely to the fall creaking in every timber nt tbo moment of of Jerusalem and the ruin of the Jewish Hs going to pieces.…
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fulfilled. In the interprcto.tion of this verse, ealcm will pass A.way, Lut my words which o. verso which has occasioned much per- told of their coming ruin will remain. All plexity to students, o.ny non-naturo.l sense this vast creation, earth, and stars wi II dis- for "genere.tion " (-yeve&), auch e.s being nn appear…
897 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.