The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 237

prediction came upon the rlisci plos evidently signifies the natural animal life, of wt,ich the as somothing now. It was their Master's main interests are centred in the earth. H reply to their confession of faith in him. It a me.n grasp at this shadowy, (jnickly pnss- s11irl in other words, "You 11re right in your ing earthly life, he will assuredly lose tho conception of me and my work. I am the substantial enduring heaven-life. If, on the promised King Messio.h; but this po.rt of other band, he consents, "for my sake," to my reign will be ma.de up of affliction and sacrifice this quickly fading life of enrth, he mourning and woe. The great council of shall surely find it again in heaven, no the people will reject me, and I shall only longer quickly fading, but a life fadeles.s, enter into my grand Messianic kingdom eternal, e. life infinitely higher than the one through the gate of suffering and of death. he has for righteousness' sake consenter! to But do you, my own, be of good cheer. lose here. The same beantiful and comfort- Three days after ttiat de11th I shall rise ing truth we find in that fragment, as it is again." The enumeration of "elders, chief supposed, of a ,;ery early Christian hymn, priests, and scribes" is simply a popular woven into the tapestry of St. Paul's Second way of describing the great council of the Epistle to Timothy- Jewish nation, the Sanhedrin, which was " If we be dead with bim, composed of these three imporlant u.nd in- We shall also live with him: fluential sections of the people. If we suffer, Ver. 23.-And he said to them all, If any We shall also reign." man will oome after me, let him deny him- (2 Tim. ii. 11, 12.) self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Before sketching out the life whicl1 Ver. 25.-For what is a man advantaged, the true disciples of a suffering King Mes- if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, siah must lead on earth, our Lord seems to or be cast awayl Godet's comment here is have given notice of one of his public dis- pithy and quaint: "Jesus supposes, in this courses. Even though his greaLpopula.rity twenty-fifth verse, the act of saving one's was now on the wane, to the last he was own life accomplished with the most com- evidently listened to by crowds, if not with plete success . . . amounting to e. gain of enthusiasm, certainly with eager and im- the whole world. But iu this very moment, patient curiosity. 'l'he sermon, of which we the master of this magnificent domain finrls have the outline in the next five verses, and hiruself condemned to periah I Wl111t gain the subject-matter of which was," No cross, to drnw in a lottery a gallery of pictures ... no crown," wo.s preached evidently to the and at the same time to become blind! " masses. This is plain from the opening "0 flesh," writes Luther (quoted by Dr. words of ver. 23. The sermon was evidently Morrison), "how mighty art thou, that thou a hard saying, and, no doubt, gave bitter ce.nst still throw darkness o·,er those things, offence to many of the hearers. "If any man even to the minds of the holy I" will," that is, wishes to, " come after me, to Ver. 26.-For whosoever sb.e.ll be ashamed follow me where I am going" (Jesus was of me and of my words, of him shall the going to his kingdom)," let that man be pre- Bon of me.n be a.shamed, when he shall coma pared to give up earthly ease and oomfort, in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of and be ready to bear tlie sufferings which the holy angels. Here follows the punish- will be sure to fall on him if he struggle ment in the world to come. It consists in after holiness." This reo.diness to give up the Judg.,'s solemn a.ward to the man who e11se, this williugness to bcur suffering, will bas succeeded in saving hi:i lifo in t11is be e. ruatter, they must remember, of every- world. The u.wnrd ia, "Depart from me: I day experience. The terriblti simile wiLh know you not." ()f such a sel!lsh soul, wllo which the Lord pressed his stern lesson here has loved his own ease, a•HI h~s home was, of conrso, suggested to him by declined nil self-sacrifice, will the Son of the clear view he had of the fcat·ful end of man, in tho day of his glory, be ju.st!y his own earthly life-an end then so near at ashamed. The suffering l\Iessinh thus com- hand, though the disciples guessed it not. pleted his vivid picture of himself. Not 'l'he cross was no unknown image to tho 1,lwaYs was Lie to suffer, or to wear the robe Jaws who th11t day listened to lho l\foster. of htimiliation. The Ucspi,r<l and I:ejcete,I The gloo,ny pror.ession of robbers and of would nsourcdly return with a glory iu- rebels against Rome, e,lCh condemned one de,nibabh,, inconceiv1tble. His asscrtiun, hcariug to the place of death the cross 011 1dve.·,red here, that he will return as which he was to suffer, was a sadly familiar Alu,ig-hty Judge, is very remark:>Llc. In im1\ge thon in their unhappy land. the p.. rallol pass,,gein St. l\fattbcw (xvi. 13) Ver. 24.-For whosoever will eave hie it is p,,t even more clearly. There Jesus life shall lose it : but whosoever will lose fiSks his Jis"iples, ",vhom ,lo men siiy t l11,t hi.9 life for my s11ke, tho same shall save it. I, the S011 o/ mall, '""?" In ver. 27 Je,ns '1'110 Grnek word here rendured "life" goes on to ll&J', " The S011 o/ lflf.lll shall 238 THE GOSrEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [en. rx. 1-62,