The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 300

that ask him, In St. Matthew we find the Jesus (ver. li) had been occupied In ono ll\al portion of this tcaehing related oe having of his (probably) daily works of healing. tnken place at a mnoh earlier poriod of the Lorcl's ministry. It ie more than proboble He \1ad expelled an evil spirit from" sufferer tliat much of JeaUB Ohrist's general inetrao- whose malady had assumed the grave fonn t.ion wo• repeated on more than one oooasion. of insanity which refused to Apoak. Tho There is an important diff'erenoe between people around were wondering at this gm- the words reported by the two evo.ngeliste. oious act of .power; then broke in voices of f';t. ll1Rtthew, instead of the "Roly Spirit," has the more general expression, "good accusation, voices to challenge him to show thing>'." In both accounts, however, is the them some sign from heaven, saying tlmt Master's nssurnnce the.t prayer, if persisted his power was only derived from evil sources, in, would ever be heard and granted, and To this the Master replies with eonsnmme.te thl're is the e.ll-importo.nt limitation that the skill, knowing the trained minds with whom thing prnyed for must be something" good" just then he had to do. He is interrupted in the eyes of the heavenly Fe.tiler. How many requests o.re made by us, poor, short- by murmurs of approve.I from tho crowd i;igllte<l, often sp)fish men, which, if gre.nted, (vers. 27, 28). Ho notices these for a mo- woul<l be harmful rather than a blessing to ment, and then proceeds in dete.il ~ reply to the asker I Here the Lord, the Reader of the.t subtle request that he would prove his heart,;, having taken notice of some of the claims by showing them some sign from deep earnest longings, perhaps scaroely crys- tallized into prayer, of his own disciples, heaven. of e. John or a James, pictures the case of Ver. 14.-And he was oasting out a devil, one who deserves a specie.I deepening of the and it was dumb. Some very terrible and spiritual life, e.nd prays some prayer for the apparently helpless form of pOBBession whioh presence of the Holy Spirit. Such a pre.yer, manifested itself in a mute, possibly in a ee.ys Christ, must be granted. motionless, melancholy insanity. And the Vera. 14-36.-The bitter attack of the people wondered. Not improbably the pro- Pharisees. Their accusation of the Lord that fessional exorcists had tried here and signally failed; hence the special wonder of the he was in league with the efJil one. His people. reply. The grave and terrible che.rge which Ver. 15.-But some of them said, Re was formally made by persons evidently of oasteth out devils through Beelzebub the rank and position sent down from the capital ohief of the devils. The accusation seems to to watch, and if possible to entrap, the hated have been whispered among the people by the Pharisee emissaries from the capit,e.l; the Ga.lil.rean Teacher, was a charge no doubt words of the charge were evidently not ad- brought ago.inst the Lord on more than one dressed to Jesus. These men could not occasion. Of this we have clear evidence in deny the reality of the work of healing, so the Gospel narre.tives. Puzzled and dis- they tried to suggest that the great Healer mayed by the me.rvellons acts of power had dealings with some great evil angel, whom they call, from some old Jewish tradi- worked by Jesus, it was only too easy to say tion, Beelzebub. In 2 Kings i. S we read that that he had friends and helpers among tl1is idol-deity was the god of Ekron. The those spirits of evil· which the Jew knew name signifies " lord of flies." He was very well were working nnseen on ee.rth. likely worshipped in the low-lying cities oi The circumstances under which the accn- the sea-coo.et of Philistia as a god who would be likely to e.veri the plague of flies and in- 11ation wa.s made, and the reply of the Lord sects which infested that. locality. Bo Zeus spoken, were as follows: The scene is still was adored n.s Apomuios (the averter of in the provinces, the time somewhere in the flies), aud Apollo as Ipu.ktonos (the slayer period between October and tile spring of of verwin). the last Passover-the period which the Ver. 16.-And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. As in Master spent in that slow solemn progress, the case of Manoe.h or Elijah. Some such through as yet unvisited places, towards sign as the pillar of fire these oe. villing Jerusalem. Lee.rnoo and experienced mem- Jews probably referred to. No doubt, in the bers of the Pharisee party, scribes e.11d doc- course of the public teaching, in the presonce tors of the Law, Lad been told off to watch of his mighty acts, J eeus was e.ske<l for suoh e. sign on severe.I occasions. Hie questioners tile d.H.ngerollB and poptlar Galilwan Teacher, would argue after this fashion : " We sns- and, whenever it WILi poseible, to leBSen his pect that these great works of yours, espe• i..u..floonce e.wong tho people. cially your stro.nge power over spirits of evil, on. iu. 1-IH.J Tim GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 303