The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 252

Rn<l takrn his wny through the Plain of Es<lrnelon, past Nnin and Shunrm bonnd for ,l,•rn~Hlrm. Il11t this is suhlime: "He steadfastly set biR lace." It im1•lie~ that thero \\Tre solicitntions, temptations in ,mother <lirection. 'l'be Christ of Gud needed to i::ir<l up all his Puergies. Flesh an<l blood cric<l, "Stay a little longer at l,·Mt." 'l'he 11,m,l of_ the ~~n m~rle ans,wr, '.' Na}'., _how am I straitened until the baptism be 0,·c 11 mpl1shed ! It 1s of an hour m this Journey that Mark speaks, when he says that ".lcs11s "'.en,~ bef?re the disciples: 1_1nd they were amazed; and, as they followed, they were afra1<l. v\ hy they were afraid, we are not told; but we may well conceive that thrre was the print of 11_ S<'cret agony on his brow, that there was something in hia aspect, as he v.. alked a little way ahead of them, which awed and silenced. His face was "steadfastly set." And would that we better knew the secret of this steo.dfast face! How we shrink from the duty which our Father lays on us I How we withdraw our gaze from tbe cups of suffering, from the cross-bearing, which our Father assi"nB us I How we run away from what is irksome I or, when we must do it, how often we 'ineet it ,, ith a countenance awry l Lord, we cannot penetrate the mystery of thy way. At times even tby pre~ence seems dreadful. But lead us in the truth of thy steadfastness, and keep us followmg thee, even although amazed and afraid l Two features of the be;.:inning of the journey are set before us in the passage under review. I. Tu F. OKE, THE REJECTION OF THE LORD BY A VILLAGE OF THE SAMARITANS. And this for a reason which suggests to us many similar mistakes and misjudgmentH. lligotry dethrones reason, and stirs up what is worst against what is best in the heart. 'l'o these rude villagers, the one condemnin_g circumstance is that his face is towards Jerusalem. If he had been only going in the other direction, they would have been forward with welcomes, a.nd in return would have received unspealrnble blessings. Let us no~ be too ready to cast the stone. We a.re all apt to be carried away by the arpearance of a persou or thing, and, in advance of rational considerations, to judge, sentence, or condemn. 'l'hus ma.ny a time the messengers of the Lord, with blessings in their hand, seeking to make ready for him a. place in human charities and kindnesses, are repelled. "What wonder," says an old Latin Father, " that the sons of thunder wished to flash lightning!" (ver. 54). There have been many such Boanerges since the days of Ja.mes and John. They are the exponents of a. tendency too frequently illustrated in the ecclesiastical world, to meet Samaritan disdain and rebuke by the terrors of the Lord. by the mere force of authority, in mistaken zeal to denounce and excommunicate. Ah ! how often has the voice of the Gentlest repeated the rebuke in the ears of his followers," Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." lL THE OTHER FEATURE (though it does not seem clear when it occurred) is, THE WORD BEARIKG ON DISCIPLESHIP GIVEN IN REPLY TO THE THREE MEN WHO ABE IllTRODUOED TO us AT THE CLOSE OF THE CHAPTER. These three men are types of classes whose represen- tatives we need not go far to seek. 1. There is the hasty disciple. (Ver. 57.) "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." There is no discernment of what is implied in the "whitbersoever." There is no counting of the cost. He is the man of impulse and fresh warm feeling, who has" received some word of Jesus with joy, yet bas no root in himse!L" The " I will" stands forth in its own strength, which is but weak- ness. Obsen•e bow the Lord deals with him. He does not reject the offer made; only he sends the man to prayer a.nd self-review, giving him, in one far-reaching sentence, to see what in hi8 rashness he had been undertaking. "Follow me whither- soever I go ? Koowest thou not that I am the poorest of all ; that, in my Father's world, I am the One' despised and rejected. No throne, no royalties, no kingdom as thou concdve8t of a kingdom? The fox has its hole, the bird has its nest, the Son of man bath not where to lay his head. 'l'hink, then, on that to whicb thou wouldst pledge thyself." A word still called for I The will which is eager to follow is sometimes 1;low to receive the Law of the spirit of the life which is in Christ Jesus. 2. As the Lasty disciple pa~ses out of sight, lo I another appears, he who may be called the dilatory. Notice the difference between the two. In the former, the initiative is taken by the man; in the latter, the initiative is taken by Jesus, with the short, peremptory, "Fol- low me." Tbe one has no misgivings; the other desires to follow but has not courage 111,ou;'.h to ex prc:ss his convictions. And the mind is not decided. Secretly there is the attractiur,, to tL.e Loni, but there is also the home, the aged father, tlrn circle in the on. rx. 1-62.] TIIE GOSPF,T, ACCORDING TO ST. LTJKF,, 253