Of the rich man who pulled A. D. 29. CHAP. XII. down his barns to build larger. f AM. 4033. An. Olymp. A. D. 29. CCII. 1. A. M. 405S. The ground of a certain rich man | fore I say unto you, Take no thought An. Olymp. brought forth plentifully: for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. CCII. 1. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? -18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull с d 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this nightthy soul shall be required of thee: " then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed and is not rich toward God. 22 ¶ And he said unto his disciples, There Eccles. 11. 9. Ecclus. 11. 19. 1 Cor. 15. 32. require thy soul. Job 20. 22. & 27. 8. like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is James 5. 5.b Or, do they Ps. 39. 6. Jer. 17. 11. Verse 17. He thought within himself] Began to be puzzled consequence of the increase of his goods. Riches, though ever so well acquired, produce nothing but vexation and embarrassment. Verse 18. I will pull down, &c.] The rich are full of designs concerning this life; but in general take no thought about eternity till the time that their goods and their lives are both taken away. Verse 19. Soul, thou hast much goods] Great possessions are generally accompanied with pride, idleness, and luxury; and these are the greatest enemies to salvation. Moderate poverty, as one justly observes, is a great talent in order to salvation; but it is one, which nobody desires. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.] This was exactly the creed of the ancient Atheists and Epicureans. Ede, bibe, lude; post mortem nulla voluptas. What a wretched portion for an immortal spirit! and yet those who know not God have no other, and many of them not even this. Verse 20. Thou fool!] To imagine that a man's comfort and peace can depend upon temporal things! or to suppose that these can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit. Matt. 6. 20. ver. 53. 1 Tim. 6. 18, 19. James 2. 5. f Matt. 6. 25. Job 58. 41. Ps. 147. 9. This night] How awful was this saying! He had just made the necessary arrangements for the gratification of his sensual appetites; and in the very night in which he had finally settled all his plans, his soul was called into the eternal world! What a dreadful awakening of a soul, long asleep in sin! He is now hurried into the presence of his Maker, none of his worldly goods can accompany him, and he has not a particle of heavenly treasure! There is a passage much like this in the book of Ecclesiasticus, chap. xi. 18, 19. There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward: Whereas he saith, I have found rest, and now will eat continually of my goods; and yet he knoweth not what time shall come upon him; and that he must leave those things to others, and die. We may easily see whence the above is borrowed. Verse 21. So is he] That is, thus will it be. This is not an individual case; all who make this life their portion, and who are destitute of the peace and salvation of God, shall, sooner or later, be surprised in the same way. Layeth up treasure for himself] This is the essential characteristic of a covetous man; he desires riches; he gets them; he lays them up, not for the necessary uses to which they might be devoted, but for himself; to please himself, and to gratify his avaricious soul. Such a person is commonly called a miser, i. e. literally, a wretched, miserable man. Verse 22. Take no thought] Be not anxiously careful. See, on Matt. vi. 25. Verse 25. To his stature one cubit?] See on Matt. vi. 27. Verse 29. Neither be ye of doubtful mind:] Or, in anxious suspence, μn μstewed. Raphelius gives several examples to prove that the meaning of the word is, to have the mind agitated with useless thoughts, and vain imaginations concerning food, raiment, and riches, accompanied with perpetual uncertainty. Verse 30. The nations of the world seek after] Or, earnestly seek, Tu from e, above, over, and TW, I seek; to seek one επιζητεί επι, ζητεω, thing after another, to be continually and eagerly coveting. This is the employment of the nations of this world, utterly regardless of God and eternity! It is the essence of Heathenism to live only for this life; and it is the property of Christianity to|| lead men to live here in reference to another and better world. Reader! how art thou living? Dr. Lightfoot observes on this place, that xogos, the world, and as24, world or age, have a meaning in the sacred writings which they have not in profane authors. A has relation to the Jewish and ages, κόσμος to the that are not Jewish: hence ages by συντέλεια του alvos, Matt. xxiv. 3. is meant the end of the Jewish age or world: and new Xgovwv aswwv, Tit. i. 2. means before the Jewish world began; and hence it is that the term world is very often in the New Testament, to be understood only of the Gentiles. Verse 32. Fear not, little flock] Or very little flock, to μixgov TOO. This is what some term a double diminutive, and literally translated, is, little little flock. Though this refers solely to the Apostles and first believers, of whom it was literally true, yet we may say that the number of genuine believers has been, and is still small in comparison of Heathens and false Christians. It is your Father's good pleasure] Eudoxnoty, it hath pleased, &c. though this tense joined with an infinitive, has often the force of the present. Our Lord intimates, God has already given you that kingdom which consists in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, and has undertaken to protect and save you to the uttermost; therefore fear not, the smallness of your number cannot hurt you, for omnipotence itself has undertaken your cause. Verse 33. Sell that ye have] Dispose of your goods. Be not like the foolish man already mentioned, who laid up the produce of his fields, without permitting the poor to partake of God's bounty: turn the fruits of your fields (which are beyond what you need for your own support) into money, and give it in alms, and the treasure thus laid out, shall be as laid up for yourselves, and families in heaven. This purse shall not grow old, and this treasure shall not decay, Ye shall by and by find both the place where you laid up the treasure, and the treasure itself in the place; for he who hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and he may rest assured, that whatever, for Christ's sake, he thus lays out, it will be paid him again. Verse 34. Where your treasure is] Men fix their hearts on their treasures, and often resort to the place where they have deposited them, to see that all is safe and secure. Let God be the treasure of your soul, and let your heart go frequently to the place where his honour dwelleth. There is a curious pa rallel passage to this in Plautus, quoted by Bishop Pearce on Matt. vi. 21. Nam ego sum hic; animus domi est, sc. cum ar◄ gento meo. "I am here; but my heart is at home, i. e. with my money." Verse 35. Let your loins] Be active, diligent, determined, ready; let all hindrances be removed out of the way; and let the candle of the Lord be always found burning brightly in your hand. See on ver. 37. Verse 36. That wait for their lord] See the notes on Matt, xxv. 1, &c. The wedding] How the Jewish weddings were celebrated, see in the notes on Matt. viii. 12. xxii. 13. The necessity of preparing A. D. 29. CCII. 1. A.M. 4033. An. Olymp. A. D. 29. CCII. 1. A. M. 1033. for their lord, when he will return from || 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his houshold, to give them their portion of meat in due season? An. Olymp: the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Matt. 24. 46.— Matt. 24. 43. 1 Thess. 5. 2. 2 Pet. 3. 10. Rev. 3. 3. & 16. 15. Matt. 24. 44. & 25. 13. Mark 13. 33. ch. 21. 34, 56. 1 Thess. 5. 6. 2 Pet. 3. 12. d Matt. 24. 45. & 25. 21. 1 Cor. 4. 2. Matt. 24. 47. Matt. 24. 48. & Or, cut him off, Matt. 24. 51.- Numb. 15.30. Deut. 25. 2. John 9.41. & 15. 22. Acts 17. 30. James 4. 17. and explained. Those appear to have been stewards among the Verse 37. He shall gird himself] Alluding to the long gar-where the several parts of the steward's office are mentioned ments which were worn in the eastern countries; and which in travelling and serving, were tucked up in their belts. That those among the Romans who waited on the company at table were girded, and had their clothes tucked up, appears from what Horace says, Sat. b. vi. l. 107. veluti SUCCINCTUs cursitat HOSPES, he runs about like a girded waiter; the host himself often performed this office. And ibid. viii. 10. puer altė cinctus: and that the same custom prevailed among the Jews appears from John xiii. 4, 5. and Luke xvii. 8. From this verse we may gather likewise, that it was the custom of those days, as it was, not long since, among us, for the bridegroom, at the wedding supper, to wait as a servant upon the company. See Bishop PEARCE. Verse 46. With the unbelievers.] Or rather, the unfaithful; των απιςων. Persons who had the light and knowledge of God's word; but made an improper use of the privileges they received. The persons mentioned here, differ widely from unbelievers or infidels, viz. those who were in a state of heathenism, because they had not the revelation of the Most High: the latter knew not the will of God, ver. 48. and though they acted against it, did not do it in obstinacy: the former knew that Verse 38. If he shall come in the second watch] See the note will, and daringly opposed it. They were unfaithful, and thereon Matt. xiv. 25. Verse 40. Be ye therefore ready also] It is pretty evident that what is related here from verse 35 to 49. was spoken by our Lord at another time. See Matt. xxiv. 42, &c. and the notes there. fore heavily punished. Verse 47. Shall be beaten with many stripes.] Criminals among the Jews could not be beaten with more than forty stripes; and as this was the sum of the severity to which a whipping could extend, it may be all that our Lord here means. Verse 42. Faithful and wise steward] See on Matt. xxiv. 45. But in some cases, a man was adjudged to receive fourscore The effects which would be A.M. 4033. CCII. 1. a A. D. 29. An. Olymp. CCII. 1. 48 But he that knew not, and did || daughter in law, and the daughter in A. M. 4053. Ant. Olymp. commit things worthy of stripes, shall law against her mother in law. be beaten with few stripes. For unto 54 And he said also to the people, whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much" When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, required and to whom men have committed straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; much, of him they will ask the more. and so it is. a Lev. 5. 17. 1 Tim. 1. 13. Or, pained. ver. 51. Matt. 20. 22. Mark 10. 38. f Mic. 7. 6. Jolin 7. 43. & 9. 16. & 10. 19. Matt. 10. 35.—h Matt. 16. 2. See Ps. 32. 6. Isai. 55. 6. See Mark 12. 42. stripes! How could this be, when the law had decreed only forty? Answer. By doubling the crime. He received forty for each crime; if he were guilty of two offences, he might receive fourscore. See Lightfoot. Verse 48. Shall be beaten with few] For petty offences the Jews in many cases inflicted so few as four, five, and six stripes. See examples in Lightfoot. From this and the preceding verse we find that it is a crime to be ignorant of God's will; because to every one God has given less or more of the means of instruction. Those who|| have had much light, or the opportunity of receiving much, and have not improved it to their own salvation, and the good of others; shall have punishment proportioned to the light they have abused. On the other hand, those who have had little light, and few means of improvement, shall have few stripes, shall be punished only for the abuse of the knowledge they possessed. See at the end of the chapter. Verse 49. I am come to send fire] See this subject largely explained on Matt. x. 34, &c. From the connexion in which these words stand, both in this place and in Matthew, it appears as if our Lord intended by the word fire, not only the consuming influence of the Roman sword; but also the influence of his own spirit in the destruction of sin. In both these Verse 54. A cloud rise] See on Matt. xvi. 2, 3. Verse 56. This time?] Can ye not discover from the writings of the prophets, and from the events which now take place; that this is the time of the Messiah, and that I am the very person foretold by them? Verse 57. And why-judge ye] Even without the express declarations of the prophets, ye might, from what ye see and hear yourselves, discern that God has now visited his people in such a manner as he never did before. Verse 58. When thou goest with thine adversary] This and the next verse are a part of our Lord's sermon upon the mount. See them explained Matt. v. 25, 26. St. Luke is very particular in collecting and relating every word and action of our Of the Galileans slain by Pilate. Of those CHAP. XIII. killed by the fall of the tower of Siloam. blessed Lord, but seldom gives them in the order of time in which || such persons should know that God will judge them for the they were spoken or done. See the Preface to this gospel. knowledge they might have received, but refused to acquire. Give diligence] Aos egyasıav, give labour, do every thing in No criminal is excused, because he has been ignorant of the laws thy power to get free before a suit commences. The officer] Iganwg properly signifies such an officer as was appointed to levy the fines; imposed by the law for a violation of any of its precepts. See Kypke. Verse 59. Till thou hast paid the very last mite.] And when can this be, if we understand the text spiritually? Can weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, pay to divine justice, the debt a sinner has contracted? This is impossible: let him who readeth understand. The subject of the 47th and 48th verses has been greatly misunderstood, and has been used in a very dangerous manner. Many have thought that their ignorance of divine things would be a sufficient excuse for their crimes; and that they might have but few stripes, they voluntarily continued in ignorance. But of his country, and so transgressed them; when it can be proved that those very laws have been published throughout the land. Much knowledge is a dangerous thing, if it be not improved; as this will greatly aggravate the condemnation of its possessor. Nor will it avail a person, in the land of light and information to be ignorant, as he shall be judged for what he might have known, and, perhaps in this case, the punishment of this voluntarily ignorant man will be even greater than that of the more enlightened; because his crimes are aggravated by this consideration, that he refused to have the light that he might neither be obliged to walk in the light, nor account for the possession of it. So we find that the plea of ignorance is a mere refuge of lies, and none can plead it who has the book of God within his reach; and lives in a country blessed with the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. CHAPTER XIII. Christ preaches the necessity of repentance from the punishment of the Galileans massacred by Pilate, 1 - 3. And by the death of those on whom the tower in Silvam fell, 4, 5. The parable of the barren fig-tree, 6-9. Christ cures a woman who had been afflicted eighteen years, 10-13. The ruler of the synagogue is incensed, and is reproved by our Lord, 14-17. The parable of the mustard seed, 18, 19. of the leaven, 20, 21. He journeys towards Jerusalem, and preaches, 22. The question; Are there few saved? and our Lord's answer, with the discourse thereon, 23—30. He is informed that Herod purposes to kill him, 31, 32. Predicts his own death at Jerusalem, and denounces judgments on that impenitent city, 33-35. A.M. 4033. A. D. 29. An. Olymp. ceri. 1. THERE a A. D. 29. An. Olymp. CCII. 1. HERE were present at that season || all the Galileans, because they suffered A. M. 4033. some that told him of the Gali- such things? leans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above Acts 5. 37. ch. 23. 6-12.-"John 9. 2. Acts 28. 4. с 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they Eccl. 9. 2. Rom. 2. 8, 9. & 11. 22 NOTES ON CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. At that season] At what time this happened is not easy to determine; but it appears that it was now a piece of news which was told to Christ and his disciples for the first time. Whose blood Pilate had mingled] This piece of history is not recorded (as far as I find) by Josephus: however, he states that the Galileans were the most seditious people in the land: they belonged properly to Herod's jurisdiction, but as they kept the great feasts at Jerusalem, they probably, by their tumultuous behaviour at some one of them, gave Pilate, who was a mortal enemy to Herod, a pretext to fall upon and slay many of them; and thus perhaps sacrifice the people to the re sentment he had against the prince. Archelaus is represented Debtors, Qλra, a Jewish phrase for sinners. Persons |