The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 88

Thie wne somothing more thnn the first cometh not in conjunction with such obser- noble gift, which he, in common with his va~ion e.nd watching for external glorious nine fellow-sufferers, ha.d received. A new thmgs as now exist among you here. Ln, it power we.s his from thu.t d11y forth. Closely will burst upon you suddenly, unawares." united to his Me.star, we mu.y think of the The English word" observation" answer_; to poor unknown Se.maritnn for ever e.mong the signification of the Greek as meaning a the friends of Jesus here u.nd in the world singnlarly anxious watching. to come. There u.re degrees in gru.ce here. Ver. 21.-Neither shall they se.y, Lo here! The nine hu.d faith enough to believe im- or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of plicitly in the Master's power, e.nd in con- God is within you. That kingdom will be sequence they 1·eceived his glorious gift of marked out on no map, for, lo, it is even health e.nd strength ; but they ea.red to go now in your midst. It may be asked-How no further. The one, on the other he.nd, "in your midst"? Scarcely not e.s Godet struck with the majesty e.nd the love of e.nd Olshausen, following Chrysostom, think, Jesus, determined to learn more of hie in your hearts. The kingdom of God could Benefactor. From henceforth we me.y con- not be said to be in the hearts of those sider the Se.me.rite.n we.a one of " his Pharisees to whom the Master was espe- own." SS. Luke e.nd Paul glndly recorded cially directing his words of reply here. It this "memory," e.nd no doubt not once or should be rather understood in the midst of twice in the eventful story of their future your rank,; so Meyer and Farrar and others Ii ves used the incident e.s a text for their interpret it. teaching when they spoke to the stranger Ver. 22.-And he said unto the disciples. Gentiles in fa.r cities. Being a hated The Master now turns to the disciples, and, Samaritan, they would s11y, argued no hu.rd- be.sing his words still upon the question of ness of heart, nor was it e.ny bar to the the Pharisees, he proceeds to deliver a bestowe.l of Jesus' most splendid gifts, first weighty discourse upon the coming of the of life here, and then of life glorious and kingdom which will be manifest indeed, e.nd full in the world to come. externally, as well e.s internally, exceeding Ver. 20.-And when he was demanded of glorious, and for which this kingdom, now the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God at its first beginning, will be for long ages should come. The following discourse of merely e. concealed preparation. Some of the Lord in reply to the Pharisee question, the imagery and figures lll!ed in this dis- "When cometh the kingdom?" was delivered, course reappear in the great prophecy in clearly, in the closing days of the ministry, Matt. xx.iv. (a shorter report of which St. probably just before the Passover Feast, Luke gives, eh. xxi. 8--<16). Here, how- and in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. ever, the teaching has no reference to the The query was certainly not put in a siege of Jerusalem and the destrnction of friendly spirit. The questioners he.d evi- the Jewish polity, but only to "the times dently caught the drift of much of our of the end." The days will come, when ye Lord's late teaching, and had seen how shell desire to see one of the days of the plainly he was alluding to himself as Son of man, and ye shell not see it. In tbe Messiah. This seems to have been the first place, our Lord addressed these words starting-point of their bitter, impatient to the disciples, who, in the long weary inquiry. We must remember that the great years of toil e.nd bitter opposition which lay rabbinic schools in which these Pharisees before them, would often long to be back had received their training connected the ago.in among the days of the old Galihean coming of Messiah witb a grnnd revival of life, when they could take their doubts and Jewish power. If in reality this Galilrean fears to their Mll.'lter, when they could listen Rabbi, with his strange powers, his new without stint to his teaching, to the words doctrines, his see.thing words of reproach which belonged to the higher wisdom. Oh, which he was ever presuming to address to could they have him only for one day in the lenders in Israel,-if in reality he were their midst again I But they have a broader Messiah, when was that golden age, which and more far-reaching reference; they speak the long looked-for Hope of Israel was to also to all his sermnts in the long Christinn introduce, to commence? But the words, ages, who will be often weary and dispirited we oan well conceive, were spoken with the e.t the seemingly hopeless nature of the bitterest irony. With wh11t scorn those conflict they a.re waging. Then will these proud, rich men from Jerusalem looked on indeed long with an intense longing for the friendless Teacher of Galilee, we l-uow. their Lord, who for so many centuries keeps We seem to hear the muttering which silence. These will often sigh for just one nccompanied the question: "Thou our King de.y of that presence so litthi valued a.ad Messiah I " The kingdom of God oometh not thought of when on earth. with observation. This answer of our Lord's Ver. 23.-And they shall sa.y to you, See mlly be pamphrased: "The kingdom of God here; or, See there : go not after them, nor  90 'l'HE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [orr. xvn. 1-37.