The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 177

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 period; we hear of them in 1-'alestine, Italy, iu glory. The disciples' hearts must have Greece, ~sin Minor, Orete, Syrin. Fe.mines sunk ns they listened; for how many ages ~d J!SStilenoe!. .The Jewish and pa.ga.n lay between nou, and then! Yet was the h1stor1ans of this tune--Josephus, Suetonius. great prophecy full of comfort, and in Taoitus, and others-enumerute several later days was of inestimable practical m~more.ble in~ta.nces of these scourges in t~1s eventful time. Fearful sights and great value to the Jerusalem Christians. The BlgUS. Among the former may be especially discourse, which extends from ver. 8 to enumerated the foul and terrible scenes ver. 36, has been well divided by Godet connected with the proceedings of the into four dfrisions. (1) The apparent signs Zel\lots (see Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' iv. 3. § of the great catastrophe, which must not 7; v. 6. § 1, eto.). Among the grea.t signd " would be the rumour of monstrous births ; be mistaken for true signs (vers. Sb--19). the ory, 'Woe I woe I' for seven and a half (2) The true sign, and the destruction of years of the pea.se.nt Jesus, son of Hnnan; Jerusalem, which will immediately follow the voice and sound of departing guardian- it, ";th the time of the Gentiles, which will angels ; nnd the sudden opening of the vast be connected with it (vers. 20-24-). (3) brazen temple ga.te which required twenty men to move it" (Farrar). The coming of the Lord, which will bring Ver. 12.-:But before e.11 these, they shall this period to an end (vers. 25-27). (4) lay their hands on you, and perseoute you. The practical application (vers. 28-36). The Master continues his prophetic picture. From speaking generally of wa.rs, and dis- Vers. 8-19.-The apparent si,gm tohicT. asters, and tumults, and awful natural phe- toould show themsel11es, but which •must not nomena, which would mark the sad age in be mistaken for the true signs immediately which his hearers were living, he proceeded preceding tJ,e catastrophe. to tell them of things which would BUl'ely Ver. 8b.-Ms.ny shall come in my name, befall them. But even then, though terrible saying, I am Christ. Many of these pre- trials would be their lot, they were not to tenders appeared in the lifetime of the be disma.yed, nor to dream that the great apostles. J osephns mentions several of these ea.ta.strophe he had been predicting wa.s yet impostors (' Ant.,' xx:. 8 §§ 6-10; 'Bell. at ha.nd. Some doubt exists as to the mean- J ud.,' ii. I::!. § 5 ). Theudas, onA of these ing of "before" (1rp&) in this twelfth verse. pretenders, is referred to in Acts xxi. as It usua.lly has been understood in a. temporal· (see, too, Josephus, '.Ant.,' xx. 5. § 1). sense, i.e. "Before all the wars, etc., I have Simon Magus announced that he was been telling yon of, you will be persecuted." Messiah. His rive.l Dositheus, his disciple A more definite sense is, however, produced Menander, advanced similar pretences. Mr. by giving the word 1rpl, (before) the signi- Greswell (quoted by Dean Mansel,' Speaker's flca.tion of •• before," eqniva.lent to "more Commentary,' on Matt. xxiv. 5) has called important"-" more impm-te.nt for you as attention to the remarka.ble fact that, while signs will be the grnve trials yon will have ma.ny of these false Messiahs appeared in to endure : even these signs must not dis- the interva.l between the Lord's ascension may you, or cause you to give up your and the Jewish wa.r, there is no evidence poBts a.s teachers, for the end will not be that nny one arose claiming this title before heralded even by these pel'sonal signs." tlie beginning of his ministry. It was Delivering you up to the synagogues, and 1Jecessary, he infers, that the true Christ into prisons, being brought before kings iliuuld first appear and be rejected by the and rulers for my Nams's sake. Vi'hut may great body of the nation, before they were be termed insta.nces of mnny of these special judicially given over to the delusions of the persecutions are detailed in the Act~ (see, false Christo. for instance, Acts v. 40; and portions of vi., Vera. 9, 10.-Wars and oommotions ... vii., viii., xii., xiv., xvi., xxi., and following). nation shall rise against nation, and king- Ver. 15.-For I will give you e. mouth dom against kingdom. Josephus the Jewish, and wisdom, whioh all your adversaries and 1'acitus theRoman,Wl!torian-the former sha.11 not be able to gainsay nor resist, in his' Jewish Wars,' and the latter in his Insta.nces of the splendid fulfilment of this • Anuals '-<leseril,e the period which imme- promise are supplied in the " Acts" report diately followed the Crucifixion as full of of St. Stephen's speech (vii.), and St. Puul's wars, crimes, violences, earthquakes. "It defence spoken before the Roman governor wa, a time," says TacitUB, "rich in disasters, Felix (xxv.)and before King Ag1ipp~ (xxvi.), 011. xxr. 1-38.J THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 185