The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 174

tbe.t thedonrl mnn WRB ahout t.o hnve been lnid thorn "e.s illuetmtione of Christ's Divine when the Muster met the little mourning power and love in raising the rnul, dead in procession wiuding down the steep roa,l e.s trespasses and sins, from everv kind of be e.nd hie crowd of followers wne toiling spiritual death, whether the soul be dead, up the a.scent nenring the g .. te of the city. but not yet carried out, like the dauvliter Vor. 13.-And when the Lord 1&w her. of Jaime ; or dee.d and ce.rried out, but not It is ro.re in the Gospels to find the ex• buried, like the widow's son; or dead, carried, pression," the Lord," uaed by itself, "J oaue" e.nd buried, likA Lnzanll!. He who raised being the usual term. It agrees with the himself from the dead can raise e.11 from unnnimoue tra<lition in the Church respect- the tleafh of sin. Tlu,reforo let no one ing the authorship of this Gospel-neither despair" (St. Augustine,' Sermon' xcviii., Luke nor Pnul he.d been with Jeane. These quote<l by Biebop Wordsworth). Godct had e.lwaye looked on Jesus, thought of has a curious e.nd interesting note on what him, e.s the Lurd risen from the dead, en- he calls e. difficulty peculiar to the miracle, throned in heaven. At the peiiod when St. owing to the e.hsence of e.ll moral recep- Luke w1ote, not earlier than A.D. 60, this tivity in the subject of it. "Lazarus was title had probably become the usual term e. believer. In the case of the dau g later of by which the Redeemer we.a known among Jairus, the faith of the pa.rents to a cerfair1 his own. He had compassion on her. In extent supplied the place of her personal this instance, as in so many others, our faith. Ilut here there is nothing of the Lord's niire.clee were worked, not from e. kind. The only receptive element that ran distinct purpose to offer credentials of hie be imagined is the ardent desire of 11 1 mission, but proceeded rather from his with which this young man, the only so11 intense compassion with and his Divine pity of e. widowed mother, had doubtle,e yielded for human sufferings. his last br,,ath ; and this indeed is sufficient, Ver. 14.-And he came e.nd touched the for it folluws from this that Jee.us did not bier, The young man we.a a.bout to be dispose of him arbitrarily." buried in the Jewish manner, whicndiffered Ver. 16.-And there came a fear on ell : from the Egyvtie.n custom. The corpse was e.nd they glorified God, saying, That e. great not le.id in a coffin or mummy-case, but prophet is risen up among us; and, Ths.t God simply on an open bier, on which the dead he.th visited his people. Witli the exception lay wrapped in folds of linen; so Lazarus of two or three like the centurion, wl1ose was buried at Bethany, e.nd our Lord in sick servant was healed, this was the gene-re.I his r,1ck-tomb in Joseph of Arime.thma's conception which the p~oi,le had of Jesus- garden. A napkin, or sudarium, was lightly e. tear is mentioned in this place-the natural luid over the fe.ce. It was pollution for the result of the marvellous works, especially living to touch the bier on which e. corpse those worked in the case of the ali-eady we.a lying. The bearers, in their amazement dead, but nothing more. The sublime that one so generally respected and admired humility of the great Wonder-worker failed e.s was Jesus, the Teacher of Nazareth, at to persuade the bulk of men e.nd women this period of his career, should commit so with whom he came in contact. They strange e.n e.ot, would naturally e.t onee stand could not look on this quiet Rabbi-Physicfan, still to see what next would hoppen. who gently put all state e.nd pomp and Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. The glory aside, e.s the Divine Messiah; bui Lord of life performed his miracle over that in Jesus Israel possessed e. great death in a very different fe.shion to those Prophet the people were persua.tleu-they great ones who, in some respects, had recognized that at llll!t, after four long e.ntioipated or followed him in these strange centuries of absence, God again had visited deeds of wonder. Before they recalled t.l,e his people. There had a.risen in the coasts dead to life, Elijah mourned long over the of Israel no prophet of the Highest since son of the widow of Se.repte., Eliaho re- the far-back days of Malachi, some four peatedly stretched himself as he agonized hundred years before the de.ye of the Lord iu proyer upon the lifeless oorpse of the e.nd his forerunner John. Slmne.mmite boy, Peter prayed very ce.rucstly Vars. 18-35.-John the Baptist sends over the body of Dorce.a at Ly<lde.. Tl,e messengers to ask a question of Jesus. The Master, with one solitu.ry word, brings the reply of the Master. spirit from its mysterious habite.lion bark Ver. 18.-And the disciples of 1oh.n to its old earthly tenement--" Kum!" showed him of ell these things. St. Luke, "Arise I" St. Augustine has e. beautiful unlike St. Matthew, in the corresponding comment on the throo miracles of raioing pasange in his Gospel, does not specittlly the dead related in the Gospels. He hos mention that John wo.s in prison; he el'i- been saying that all our Lord's works of Jently took it fo• granted the.t tlris would mercy to the body he.ve e. spiritual reference be known to Ilia readers from thi, account to tl.to soul; he thun proceeds to oou~iuer of the Bapti~t'e u.rreijt untl i..w11n•u~ uJ li2 Tim GOSrEL ACCORDIXG 1.'0 ST. l,UKE. [en. VII. 1-60,