The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 10

response. Perhaps they intended, at some time, to enter; like Augustine, who prayed :lbr bis conversion, and added, "Hut not yet." .Anyhow, the hour is coming when the impotence of unfulfilled intentions will be made manifest. Jesus' language passes (ver. 25) into the familiar form of parable. He imagines the Master of the house allowing the door to stand open-the invitation to all free and full. But at length he rises and Hhuts the door, and then those who had thought that any time would do, that there wns no call to make haste, rush forward, clamouring for the entrance of which they had thought little-their clamour to be met only with the retort, "I know you not whence ye are." "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them." These bad not beard his voice. It is not the attraction of bis voice to which they confess; it is only the sense of their danger. And the word goes forth for judgment: "I know you not; you are not mine." The parable is not to be unduly strained; but the point which it tends to illustrate is the necessity of instant, as well as earnest, agonizing. '!'here is a "too late, too late!" From its unutterable darkness may the good Lord deliver us I 2. Enfoyment of privilege will not avail as a plea. (V ers. 26, :.l7.) To have had the teaching of the Lord in street and house, to have lived in the marvellous light of his gospel, to have realized his fellowship and the influences of his grace,-this is much. But the vital matter is, what is the use which has been made of privilege, of opportunity, of instruction, of means of grace? That the Lord displayec;. his tokeli.s in our midst may only add to our condemnation. Negligence, hardness of heart, the contempt of his Word and commandments, which is evidenced in the refusal to yield ourselves wholly to him who speaks from heaven, is iniquity; and most solemn is the protestation," Depa.rt from me, all ye workers of iniquity." 3. Grace unavailed of is blessing lost. (Vers. 2~0.) The Jew assured hi=elfthat in the kingdom of God, when declared, he would share the everlasting banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and that part of the zest of this feast would be the consciousness that the hated Gentiles were excluded. The Lord warns his audience that the picture might be, would be, reversed. The grace which they would not use would be transferred to others, coming from the east, and the west, and the north, and the south. And he concludes with th-~ sentence, which at other times also he utters, "There a.re last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." Verily it may here be added," He that bath an ear, let him hear." Vers. 31-35.-The composure and the emotion of Jesus. I. THE COMl'OSURE IY THE FA.OE OF A MESSAGE WHIOH ll4IGHT HAVE AGITATED. The message may have been a concoction of the Pharisees, who, wishing to have him removed from the district, used the name of Herod to alarm him ; or it may have been inspired by Herod himself, who, although desiring to see Jesus, was jealous of bis popularity, and was fearful lest in some way an uproar might be excited among the people. 'l'he latter seems the more likely supposition. The circumstance that Jesus sends his reply to the king, and that in so doing he singles him out as crafty and subtle, trying to do by intrigue what he could not do openly-" that fox "-gives weight to the ,riew that, in saying what is recorded, certain of the Pharisees obeyed the command of the human tyrant. Be that as it may, the message was calculated to disturb the mind with secret terrors. For, of all the persons who pass before us in the life of our Lord, none was more capable of doing "the hellish thing" by mean ways than this petty ruler of Perrea.. His character has been thus described: "He was false to his religion, false to his nation, false to his friends, false to bis brethren, false to his wife-the meanest thing the world had ever seen," What could not such a man do? Would it not be well at once to take the hint, "Get thee out and depart thence"? But how perfectly calm is Jesus ! No word like tbat could throw his soul off from its centre. 'l'he only phrase es.pressive of sheer scorn and contempt which ever fell from his lips belongs to this occasion (ver. 32). "Go tell that fox "-that human embodiment of deceit and cunning- " I shall take my time; he cannot frighten me; he cannoc hasten me. My work in his country will be done. I must work to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a. prophet perish out of Jerusalem." Notice some characteristic points in this reply. 1. 'l.'he three days. Is it a definite space of time that is marked out? If so, does it point to the remaining portion of the Galilrean ministry? or to the time which would elapse before his departure from Herod's territory? I iucline to the 12 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [err. xm. 1-35.