The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 264

'RELJG1otr~ EA nNEBT1''E8B. 1. They both receive instruction in the common fl\ith; th~y 1,·:un nnd ndm1l the gree.t fundamental truths of the gospel-the life dco.th resurrec- tion, te~cLing o~ Jesus Chris~.. 2.. They are both impressed by the ;urpassing excellence of Christ; for there 1s m him now, as there was when he lived amon" men that which constrains admiration, reverence, attraction, 3. They both fe;l th~ desirableness of availing themselves of the blessings of the gospel of gro.ce-of the pardon, peace, joy, worth, hope, immortality, which it offers to the faithful, And when Christ's voice is heard, as it is in many ways, each of these men is prepared to say, "Never man ~pake, Lord, as thou speakcst to me; no one else will give me what thou art offering; evermore give me this living bread, this living water. Lord, I will follow thee." II. THE IIAN 01" INT>EOISION AT THE l'OINT OJI' DIVEBOENOB. He says not, simply and absolutely," I will;" he says, "I will follow thee; but," etc. One word more, but how much l.ess in fact and in truth? What is in thst qualifying word? 1. But 1 am young, and there is plenty of time. I am a long way off the "three score and ten yearB ; " and all along the road of life there are paths leading into the kingdom ; let me go on unburdened by such serious claims as these of thine. "I will," etc., but not yet. 2. But J have a bodily a, well as a spiritual nature, and I must satisfy its claims. Theae hungerings and thirstings of the sense are very strong and imperious; let me drink of this cup, let me lay-by those treasures 6.rst. 3. I am waiting for some decisive i.timation from Heaven that my time has come. I do not wish to act precipitately or presumptuously ; I am looking for the prompting of the Divine Spirit, the direction of the Divine hand; when the Master says distinctly, "Follow thou me," I wil, arise at once. 4. I am in embarrassed circumstances, and am waiting until they clear away. 'l'he claims of the business or the home are so urgent, so near, so practical, that they consume my time, and I have none to spare for thee; there o.re bonds I have formed which I do not know how to break, but which must be broken if thy friendship is to be made and kept. 5. But Jam old and unable. I have heard thy voice in my ear in earlier days; but I am old and spiritually blind; old and deaf; old and insensi- tive. I do not expect thee to come this way again; I would follow thee if I felt once more the touch of thy hand upon me. IIL THE GREATNESS A.ND SADNESS OJI' ms IIOBTAXB, A giievous thing it is for a man to buoy himself up with such false imaginations, to build his house of hope on such shifting sands, to rest the weight of his destiny on such a sapless, strengthless reed. 1. Does death never lay his cold and hard hand on youth? and does not Christ command our strength and our beauty as well as our feebleness and our unsightliness? 2. Does Christ ask us to give up one rightftd pleasure? and had we not better sacrifice all wrongftd ones ? And has he not promised all we need if we do but take the one true step into his kingdom (Matt. vi. 33)? 3. No man is waiting for God; but God is waiting for many halting and hesitating human souls. Behold, he stands at the door and knocks! 4. We are not more embarrassed than thousands have been, or more than we shell continue to be. If it is hard to .ftAd time, then for a pw·puse so supreme as this time mu,st be made; if evil friendships are in the way, they must be made to stand out of the way. The voice thst speaks from heaven is commanding; the case of our eternal destiny is critical in the very last degree. 6. It is true that long disuse is dangerously disabling, and spiritual capacity wanes with neglect; but men are not too deaf to hear the sovereign voice of Christ, not too blind to find their way to his cross, his table, his kingdom.-C. Vers. 61, 62.-The workman'• gualifir,ation. What more natural, we are inclined to say, than that, before setting out on an unknown future, a man should wish to say farewell at home? How do we account for this strictness, this disallowance of our Lord? First, however, let us remark- L WHAT CONSCIOUSNESS OF POWEB .AND OJI' ULTIMATE BUCOEBB the Saviour shows I How ea"er we a.re to secure followers, how pleased and proud to add to our ranks I Especially when a cause is yet young are we desirous of making converts and co_unting new disciples. At this time the cause of Curistianity was very far from bemg an assured success; yet Je.sus did not hur~y to be successful, to cro,~d his Church_._, He said w the acribe-not an ordinary disciple-" Foxes have holes, etc. (Matt. VIIL 19, on. 1x. 1-G2.] TI!E GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. LUKE. 265