LUKE 16:19-19:40
D. The rich man and Lazarus. V. 19-31
V. 19
1. There are some who called this illustration a parable, but our Lord did not label this a parable. I see this as an illustration which could be called an allegory which is defined in the dictionary as a figurative description of real facts.
2. "There was a certain rich man" = the use of "certain" meaning existing in fact and truth, leads me to believe this is an allegory; also the beggar is named "Lazarus," which also leads me to believe this is an allegory; the design of this narrative is to be collected from the previous conversation; Jesus had taught the danger of the love of money (verses 9-11), that what was in high esteem on earth was hateful to God (verse 15), that men who did not use their property aright could not be received in heaven (verse 11-12), that they ought to listen to Moses and the prophets (verses 16-17), and that it was the duty of men to show kindness to the poor; thus the design of this allegory was to impress all these truths more vividly on the mind, and to show the Pharisees that, with all their boasted righteousness and their external correctness of character, they might be lost.
3. "Which was clothed in purple and fine linen" = "purple" refers to a robe or garment dyed purple which was expensive as well as splendid, and was chiefly worn by princes, nobles, and those who were wealthy; "fine linen" was chiefly produced of the flax that grew on the banks of the Nile in Egypt; it was particularly soft and white, and was therefore sought as an article of luxury, and was so expensive that it could be worn only by princes, by priests, or by those who were very rich.
4. "And fared sumptuously" = feasted or lived in a splendid manner.
5. "Every day" = not merely occasionally, but constantly.
6. This was a mark of great wealth, in view of the world, and evidence of great happiness. It is worthy to note that:
A. Jesus did not charge him with any crime.
B. He did not say that he had acquired his property by dishonesty or even that he was unkind or uncharitable.
V. 20
1. "And there was a certain" = the use of "certain" meaning existing in fact and truth which leads me to believe this is an allegory and not a parable.
2. "Beggar" = destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor; simply means he was poor and needy.
3. "Named Lazarus" = means whom God helps; same name as the one Jesus raised from the dead in John 11.
4. "Which was laid at his gate" = the Greek seems to indicate that others brought this beggar to the entrance of the rich man's house.
5. "Full of sores" = his body was covered with ulcers and boils; he was constant sufferer, covered with sores, wasting under the dominion of a loathsome, incurable disease, unable to walk for someone brought him and laid him daily by the rich man's gate.
V. 21
1. "Desiring" = he was hungry and longed for anything that would satisfy his hunger.
2. "To be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table" = refers to a little morsel; fragments of food and the left-overs; could refer to pieces of bread which the rich used to wipe their hands after the meal, which was tossed under the table to be swept up and thrown to the dogs in the street; Lazarus was asking for the dog's food.
3. "Moreover" = indeed.
4. "The dogs came and licked his sores" = these were wild, homeless dogs, common in all Eastern cities, who act as street-scavengers, and are regarded as unclean; the beggar was too helpless to drive them away and so was at their mercy--they licked his sores; the language could imply that Lazarus was forced to fight with these dogs for mere scraps of food.
V. 22
1. "And it came to pass" = in the process of time; indicates that Lazarus laid at this gate many days.
2. "The beggar died" = refers to natural death of a man which refers to his soul and spirit being separated from his body; no mention of burial occurs, not because the corpse (body) was left exposed but because he was probably buried in a pauper's grave with no ceremony.
3. "And was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom" = angels are God's messengers beholding the face of God waiting for instructions (Mat. 18:10; Heb. 1:13-14); they carried his soul and spirit into "Abraham's bosom" which in OT time was paradise--proof text: Mat. 12:40 where Jesus said He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth; this was not the burning compartment of Hades for He paid our hell from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm while on the cross as our passover Lamb, and then He went to paradise which was Abraham's bosom in OT time; proof text: in Luke 23:42 when Jesus saved the thief on the cross next to Him and told him, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise;" after three days and three nights He led captivity captive (Eph. 4:8), thus emptying paradise in the heart of the earth and carried all those OT saints to paradise which now is in heaven; II Cor 12:1-4 puts paradise equivalent with the third heaven.
4. "The rich man also died" = his soul and spirit was separated from his body which "was buried" = this was not said of the beggar; burial was thought to be an honor, and funerals were often expensive and showy; this is said of the rich man to show that he had every earthly honor, and all that the world calls happy and desirable.
V. 23
1. "And in hell" = the burning part of hades--place where all wicked (unsaved) spirits go; this occurs at the instant of death.
2. "He" = first "his" = the rich man.
3. "He lift up his eyes" = a common phrase used among the Hebrews, meaning he looked.
4. "Being in torments" = pain; anguish; to be vexed with grievous pain of the soul; Note: he suffered all the senses of the body even though his body is not there.
5. "And seeth Abraham afar off" = a gulf (verse 26) separated the burning part of Hades from the paradise compartment; this lets us know that Abraham and Lazarus were not yet in the kingdom of God for John 3:3 states, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
6. "And Lazarus in his bosom" = one of the first things that occurred in hell was to look up and see the poor man that lay at his gate now completely happy.
V. 24
1. "And he cried and said Father, Abraham, have mercy on me" = the rich man in his arrogance called on Abraham as "Father" and in so doing, he was guilty of the very presumption which John the Baptist had earlier condemned in Luke 3:7-8; the Jews of Jesus' day were convinced that they merited eternal life because they were descended from Abraham (John 8:39-44); this rich man is not represented as calling on God for "mercy" = to pity; kindness or goodwill towards the miserable and the afflicted; the mercy of God will be at an end when man dies without Christ.
2. "Send Lazarus" = before he died, he could not expect to derive any benefit from Lazarus, but now he asks a high favor--that Lazarus might come and render him relief = "that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame" = this was a small favor to ask and it shows the greatness of his distress when such a small thing would be considered a great relief.
3. Note: The rich man did not ask to be released from that place. Lost souls who die and wake up in hell know that their sufferings will have no end, and that it would be in vain to escape the place of torment--suffering in the place of torment of fire, yet not burned up but will be there forever and ever. (Rev. 20:10)
V. 25
1. "But Abraham said, Son" = he was a descendant of Abraham, a Jew, and Abraham called this to his remembrance; it would not lessen his sorrows to remember that he was a son of Abraham, and that he ought to have lived worthy of that relation to him.
2. "Remember" = to be recalled to mind; one of the chief torments of hell will be the remembrance of what was enjoyed and of what was done in this world; nor will it be any lessening of the suffering to spend an eternity where there is nothing to do, day and night, but to remember what was done, and what might have been if his life had been right.
3. "That thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things" = refers to material possessions, splendor, honor. (Rom. 2:4)
4. "And likewise Lazarus evil things" = "likewise" means in the same manner Lazarus received evil things--poverty, contempt, disease, and injuries.
5. "But now" = at this time; how the scene had changed; how different the condition; how much better was the portion of Lazarus, after all, than that of the rich man:
A. "He is comforted" = strengthened, consoled, and encouraged.
B. "And thou art tormented" = the comforts of the rich man are gone for ever, and the joys of Lazarus have just commenced.
6. How much better, therefore is poverty, with the friendship of God, than riches with all that the world can bestow. How foolish to seek our chief pleasures only in this life!
V. 26
1. "And beside all this" = refers to the remembrance referred to in verse 25.
2. "Between us and you there is a great gulf" = a chasm, or the broad, yawning space between the two realms of Hades; it means there is no way of passing from one to another.
3. It is "fixed" = strengthened; made firm or immovable; the Greek language means it will forever divide paradise and hell; once a man has died and in either place, there is no way to pass to the other = "so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence" = it is impossible to conceive that the righteous would desire to leave their abode in paradise to go and dwell in the world of torment; no doubt the wicked would desire to pass the gulf that divides them from paradise, but they will never be able to do so.
4. Who can pass across this gulf, when Jesus Christ says it cannot be passed? Who can build a bridge over that chasm which the Lord says is "fixed?" No one can! If anything is certain from the Scripture, it is that they who enter hell return no more. It is unbridgeable and permanent.
V. 27
1. "He" = "I" = the rich man.
2. "Thee" = "father" = Abraham.
3. "Pray" = to ask, beg, beseech.
4. "Therefore" = in view of the fact that Lazarus could not cross the gulf to him, the rich man asked, "that thou wouldest send him to my father's house" = reason:
V. 28
1. "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them" = he had five living brothers who needed to hear the truth concerning the torment of hell and the comfort of paradise. 2. Lazarus could testify to them--to give a solemn testimony to them concerning the rich man's situation, and the dreadful consequences of the life he had lived on earth = "lest they also come into this place of torment."
V. 29
1. "Abraham saith unto him" = even though Abraham spoke these words to the rich man in hell, Jesus through this allegory was addressing those Jews who were standing around Him.
2. "They have Moses" = Moses had been dead about 1450 years, but this is referring to the first five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch, from which the brethren and the Jews had sufficient warning; in fact many of the religious Jews had memorized a large portion of these books.
3. "And the prophets" = refers to the remainder of the OT--what the prophets had written; the OT scriptures are an adequate source for men to learn the way of salvation. (II Tim. 3:16-17; John 5:39-40)
4. "Let them hear them" = hear Moses and the prophets speak in the Scripture; read them or hear them read in the synagogues, and attend to what had been delivered; to hear implies obedience; for the Hebrew, if one did not obey a command, he had not really heard.
V. 30
1. "He" = the rich man.
2. "And he said, Nay, father Abraham" = the rich man said to father Abraham, "No" referring to the scripture--they have not heard; they have heard so long in vain that there is no prospect now that they will attend the message.
3. "But if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent" = he is referring to a miraculous messenger who came back from the dead--the novelty of the message from that one would attract their attention, and they would listen to what he said, and "repent" = a change of heart, mind, attitude and a turning from a life of sin to take up sides with God against yourself.
4. It is important to see that the message from hell is that one must repent to escape the torment of hell, and we know that for one to do that there has to be a complete work of reproval or Holy Ghost conviction. How sad it is that many preachers preach today, that repentance is not for a lost man.
V. 31
1. "He" = Abraham.
2. "Him" = the rich man.
3. "They" = the rich man's five brothers; applied to the religious Jews that were present that day with Jesus.
4. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets" = refers to hearing the OT Scriptures and obeying them; if they do not hear the Scripture:
5. "Neither will they be persuaded" = be convinced of the truth, danger, and folly of their way, of the certainty of their suffering hereafter, and be induced to turn from sin to holiness, and from Satan unto God; the use of the word "neither" is negative--they will not be convinced.
6. "Though one rose from the dead" = Jesus' words were prophetic:
A. Not long after this discourse, Jesus raised another Lazarus from the dead (John 11), while the result for many was belief (John 11:45), the religious leaders began to plot to murder the miracle worker. (John 11:53)
B. Then just a few days later, Jesus Himself suffered death and was raised from the dead. The response of some was again faith, (John 20:26-29), but not so with the religious leaders. (Mat. 28:11-15) His enemies were no more inclined to accept Him than they had been before--referring to His resurrection.
CHAPTER 17:
A. Temptations to sin. V. 1-4
V. 1
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah; He is still on the way to Jerusalem for His last Passover.
2. "The disciples" = those following Jesus to the feast of the Passover; includes the apostles; some were not saved but professed to be--Judas for one.
3. "It is impossible" = it cannot happen.
4. Such is the state of things that it will be = "offences will come" = any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall; refers to acts that cause others to deviate from the path of right; refers to things that will produce sin--temptations that induces others to sin.
5. "But woe unto him through whom they come" = "woe" is a primary exclamation of grief; expresses dismay and regret--term used to introduce judgment; "they" refers to offences; Mat. 18:7 states "it must needs be that offences come" = such is the depravity of man that there will always be some who are attempting to make others sin; therefore, verse 2 gives us the punishment for causing offences to come.
V. 2
1. "Him" = "his" = "he" = the one who causes offences.
2. "Better" = more advantageous; better off--the one through whom offences comes would be better off dead than to offend a young Christian by introducing temptation.
3. "Millstone" = a stone belonging to a mill; a stone so large that it took a donkey to turn it.
4. "Hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea" = to be thrown into the sea with such weight around one's neck would guarantee a quick death; "cast" means to throw; the tense is perfect, speaking of the fact that he stays down.
5. "Than that he should offend one of these little ones" = Mark 9:42 adds "that believe on me" = refers to men and women who become "as" a little child in faith and humility, thus being saved; refers to saints.
6. An offended man is hard to reach. (Pro. 18:19)
7. It is possible to be an innocent cause of stumbling; the Lord Himself was such. (Mark 6:3; I Cor. 1:23; I Peter 2:8) The Lord was careful to abstain from placing unnecessary stumbling-blocks in men's way, and so should we.
V. 3
1. "Take heed to yourselves" = to attend to one's self; to apply to one's self; watch how you act and react toward your "brother" = refers to professed believers.
2. "If thy brother trespass against thee" = sin against thee, or does anything that gives you an offence or does you an injury in any way--by words or conduct.
3. "Rebuke him" = censure severely; go and tell him his fault, and seek an explanation; this must be done with a proper motivation and attitude; if we condemn sin merely as a vindication of our own self-righteousness, we are no better than the Pharisees; if we confront sin, motivated by an attitude of loving concern for the offending brother, then we are acting as Jesus desires.
4. "And if he repent" = reversal; to change one's mind, attitude, heart, and direction, involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God; this is a work of God worked by godly sorrow (II Cor. 7:10); this involves a confession that he was wrong in what he did, thus agreeing with the one who rebuked him.
5. "Forgive him" = to release; indicates you no longer hold a grudge against that person; Mat. 18:15 states, "thou hast gained thy brother"--back in fellowship again.
V. 4
1. "If he trespass (sin) against thee seven times in a day" = we are to accept a profession of repentance when it is offered to us, as many as seven times a day if need be.
2. "Thou shalt forgive him" = you take him at his word; "saying" means to maintain or affirm over that he repented.
3. Peter may have used this statement of Jesus when he asked a question in Mat. 18:21 and Jesus said, not "Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven" (Mat. 18:22); this requires repentance on his part each time.
B. Increase our faith. V. 5-6
V. 5
1. "The apostles" = the 12 the Lord chose; means one sent; commissioned to deliver a message; they were among the group of disciples Jesus was preaching to. (verse 1)
2. "Lord" = Jesus, supreme in authority; Master; as Lord, He was a revelation of God Himself--the express image of God's person.
3. They said, "Increase our faith" = the apostles could not believe that a habitual offender could be forgiven.
V. 6
1. So the Lord did not just grant their request but gave them a lesson on faith--even a small amount of faith properly applied can achieve tremendous results.
2. "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed" = the mustard seed is the least (smallest) of all seed when it is sown or at the time of sowing (Mark 4:31), yet it grows into a tree large enough for the birds to lodge in. (Luke 13:19)
3. "Sycamine tree" = most scholars identify it with the black mulberry tree, cultivated in Palestine for its fruit and could be found almost everywhere; it grew to a height of 30 feet and known for its deep roots.
4. Jesus did not actually answer the request put to Him, but challenged the apostles to a new level of understanding--make use of the little faith you have. "Ye might say unto this sycamine tree (Jesus seems to have been giving this discourse while setting under a sycamine tree), Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
5. The transplanting of such a tree into the sea was something to think about but not actually done, but Jesus was endeavoring to show His disciples that faith knows no impossibilities.
C. Unworthy servants. V. 7-10
V. 7
1. "But which of you" = referring to the apostles' request "increase our faith" = (verse 5); this illustration (verses 7-10) of the slave-master relationship of Jesus' day was a perfectly normal description and given to the apostles, all His disciples, and to the Pharisees who were gathered around Him.
2. "By and by" = in the remote future--immediately.
3. "Having a servant (slave) plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?" = Jesus asked the disciples to put themselves in the role of a master who owned a slave--would they greet the slave returning from his daily task with a prepared meal (meat) and an evening of rest?
V. 8
1. The answers to such a question would be "Of course not!" As master they would require their slaves to fix the master's dinner before the slaves would be allowed to dine. (read this verse)
2. While this treatment may seem harsh and unfair to us today, it was a perfectly normal description of the slave-master relationship of Jesus' day.
V. 9
1. "He" = the master.
2. "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?" = the slave received and deserved no special treatment or thanks for doing his assigned tasks; they were his duties; he was expected to prepare the master's meal before he ate, even after a long day's work.
3. "I trow not" = Jesus said, "I think not;" Jesus made no comment on the slave-master relationship, neither to condemn nor to approve; He merely used this relationship to illustrate His teaching on the life of faith.
V. 10
1. "So likewise ye" = Jesus put the disciples in the slave's shoes to make His point.
2. "When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants" = we have merited nothing; we have conferred no favor; we have not benefitted God or laid Him under obligation.
3. "We have done that which was our duty to do" = only that which is done beyond the line of duty calls for special commendation.
4. Salvation is the free gift of a gracious God. (Eph. 2:8-9) We cannot earn salvation, but a living, vibrant faith will produce good works as a natural outgrowth. (Eph. 2:10)
D. Jesus cleanses ten lepers. V. 11-19
V. 11
1. "And it came to pass" = in the process of time; indicates some time may have elapsed since speaking about the unprofitable servants.
2. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
3. "As he went to Jerusalem" = refers to Jesus continuing His journey toward Jerusalem for the passover feast. (Luke 13:22)
4. "That he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee" = the wording indicates that Jesus passed along on the borders of Samaria and Galilee headed east toward the Jordan river which was the custom of the Jews so as not to go through Samaria to go to Jerusalem; although that would have been closer but the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans because they were half-breeds--the poorer of Israel were left behind when the Assyrians captured Israel (Northern kingdom) and some of the Assyrians married those Jews and their children were half-breeds, despised by the Jews; Jesus had gone through the cities of Galilee and even caused Herod to want Him out of his territory (Luke 13:31-32); the next city mentioned by name in Luke is Jericho (Luke 18:35), which is where the feast goers crossed the Jordan to go up to Jerusalem.
V. 12
1. "And as he entered into a certain village" = as He was entering--He was just outside the village; this may have been a Galilean village on the edge of the border between Galilee and Samaria.
2. "There met him ten men that were lepers" = leprosy is a full skin disease, appearing in dry, white, thin, scurfy scabs, attended by violent itching; even though it is on the skin, it is deeply seated in the bones, marrow, and joints of the body; it was viewed as a physical symbol of uncleanness (Lev. 13:14) and as an act of God as a result of sin--Ex: Uzziah. (II Chron. 26:16-20)
3. "Which stood afar off" = Hebrew law forbade lepers to approach close to anybody else (Lev. 13:45-46); the exact distance required varied, but 100 paces (about 250 feet) is often cited as authority.
V. 13
1. "They" = "us" = the lepers.
2. "Lifted up their voices" = lepers were required to stay at a distance and to warn others; they spoke loud enough for Jesus to hear them even though at a distance.
3. "Said, Jesus, Master" = they not only called out His name but also called Him "Master" = this Greek word for master is used only in the gospel according to Luke seven times, and applied only to Jesus; means any sort of superintendent or overseer--the one who stands over; thus it implies one with authority; it is a respectful form of address.
4. "Have mercy on us" = "mercy" means kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them; refers to favor shown to the miserable and the guilty.
V. 14
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Them" = "yourselves" = the lepers.
3. "When he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests" = this was necessary for the verification of cleansing from leprosy (Lev. 14:2); the leper was considered legally dead and was no longer part of the congregation of God's people; they needed an official approval before being restored to the community.
4. "And it came to pass" = indicates they started toward the place where a priest was which may have been in this village, they were near.
5. "It came to pass, that, as they went" = going to see the priest, "they were cleansed" = the healing took place not at Jesus' word, nor at His touch, but as the lepers obeyed Jesus' instructions; it was the leper's faith, as shown in their actions, which brought about their healing--they accepted the healing as accomplished, though they had not experienced it; they evidently believed in Jesus' healing power, for without further question they went on their way as He commanded, and as they went they were healed; they may have heard the testimony of the leper healed in Luke 5:12-13.
V. 15
1. "And one of them" = "he" = one of the lepers.
2. "When he saw that he was healed" = while he was walking to see the priest he saw his skin return to normal and also no doubt felt it in his body--aches and pains were gone.
3. "Turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God" = turned around and spoke loud enough for the group, that was traveling with Jesus, heard this healed leper giving thanks and praising God for being healed; leprosy was an incurable disease--only God could heal a leper.
V. 16
1. "And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks" = indicates that the healed leper came back to where Jesus was (I believe he ran) and "fell down on his face at his feet" = this is a position of worship--the posture of ultimate respect and submission.
2. "Giving him thanks" = being grateful for being healed; the most surprising detail here is that the single thankful leper was a "Samaritan" = a mixed race; descendant of the imported Gentile Assyrians and the poor Jews left in Palestine from the Assyrian captivity; they were hated by the Jews and despised by the Gentiles, due not only to their being a mixed breed but also due to the worship, for the Samaritans refused to worship in Jerusalem, preferring instead their own temple on Mount Gerizon (John 4:20); by implication the other nine lepers were Jews.
V. 17
1. "And Jesus answering" = begin to speak when something which was done to which the remarks refer--the Samaritan's actions.
2. "Were there not ten cleansed?" = all ten were cleansed of leprosy as thy went to see the priest.
3. "But where are the nine?" = they had gotten what they asked for--mercy--cleansing; but where are they?--headed to the priest to obtain their certificate of health, that they might plunge at once again into the varied distinctions of every day life, such as business, pleasures, and the like with no thankfulness to the Lord.
V. 18
1. "There are not found that returned to give glory to God" = our Lord answered His question of verse 17.
2. "Save" = but.
3. "This stranger" = this foreigner, or this alien, or this man of another tribe; this man who might have been least expected to express gratitude to God; refers to the Samaritan.
V. 19
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Him" = "thy" = "thee" = the cleansed leper.
3. "Arise" = he had fallen down at the feet of Jesus who said, "Get up on your feet."
4. "Go thy way" = go to the priest for without his certificate of health, he could not again be restored to the society of his friends, or to the public worship of God.
5. "Thy faith hath made thee whole" = "whole" is translated from the Greek word meaning salvation or deliverance from sin; this leper, after being healed, came back to Jesus and trusted on Him, thus being saved while the other nine only were healed physically, not spiritually.
E. The coming of the kingdom. V. 20-21
V. 20
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees" = this lets us know that there were some Pharisees in the group that was traveling with Jesus on His way to Jerusalem for the Passover; "demanded" means to address with a request or demand.
2. "Pharisees" = "them" = a Jewish sect which was organized during the period between Malachi and Matthew when there was no recorded open revelation from God; they placed oral tradition equal to or above the Word of God; they were bitter enemies of Jesus.
3. "When the kingdom of God should come" = "the kingdom of God" refers to the kingdom which belongs to God, and is the place of God's rule, domain, and authority; it is both a present reality and a future event; at times it is synonymous with kingdom of heaven (Mat. 3:2; 4:17); the context will let you know--sometimes the kingdom of heaven refers to professing Christianity which includes tares and wheat; the kingdom of God is pure--no tares.
4. "He answered them" = means to give an answer to a question proposed.
5. "And said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation" = "observation" means to watch carefully; Jesus meant that the kingdom of God would not come slowly as a political movement or coup or the result of some visible movement (John 18:36); the Pharisees expected that if Jesus was the Messiah, He would introduce His rule with a sudden assertion of power and an outward conquest of the land.
V. 21
1. "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! = "lo" means to look; this phrase represents what would occur if an earthly prince would visit different parts of his territories--he does it with pomp and public attention and people would say "look here" or "look there;" but the use of "neither" lets us know that the kingdom that Jesus was referring to would not come like that.
2. "For, behold" = "behold" means to divert or fix your mind upon this--"the kingdom of God is within you" = Jesus is saying His kingdom had already began in the hearts of His followers--began when born again (John 3:5); it reigns in the heart by the law of God and sets up its dominion over the passions, and brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
3. He is not saying that the Pharisees were saved.
F. Jesus foretells His second coming. V. 22-37
V. 22
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Said unto the disciples" = the Lord Jesus now turns to His disciples, and bases His words upon the question of the Pharisees (verse 20); He proceeds to deliver a weighty discourse upon the coming of the kingdom--His second coming.
3. "Disciples" = refers to the followers of Jesus; indicates the 12 apostles and others who had made a profession of faith.
4. "The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man" = this could have double application:
A. Could refer to the days of vengeance which were about to fall on the Jewish nation. Heavy calamities would befall the Jewish people in AD 70 when the Romans led by Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem. Then they would long to be back again among the days of old Galilean life, when they could take their fears personally to their Master.
B. Seems the context is referring to the coming earthly kingdom the Lord will set up. Before that, there will be great afflictions and persecutions, so great that the disciples will greatly desire a deliverer, one who shall come to them in the character in which they had expected the Messiah would come, and who would deliver them from the power of their enemies.
5. "Ye" = you who now number yourselves among my disciples.
6. "Shall desire" = to long for.
7. "The Son of man" = means the Messiah, without affirming that He was the Messiah.
8. Jesus is speaking of their longing for the beginning of the Kingdom Age. Believers should be longing for that day. (II Thess. 1:4-10)
9. "And ye shall not see it" = you shall not see such a day of deliverance--such a Messiah as the nation has expected, and such a deliverance as you would desire; this also could mean the coming of the Messiah would be long delayed.
V. 23
1. "They" = refers to groups of people.
2. "They shall say to you, See here; or, see there" = many false christs according to Josephus, a Jewish Historian, appeared at the time attempting to lead away the people; Jesus likewise predicted in the Olivet discourse that false christs will come. (Luke 21:8; Mat. 24:24-26)
3. "Go not after them, nor follow them" = believers should not follow those who claim the Messiah is here or there; Paul warned believers that the Antichrist will deceive many. (II Thess. 2:8-12)
V. 24
1. "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven" = as a flash of lightning is immediately apparent from one end of the horizon to the other, so the true Messiah will be evident to all men when He comes back in the second coming.
2. "So shall also the Son of man be in his day" = He will not come in obscurity, nor be confined to one locality, but all the tribes of the earth will see Him coming with power (Mat. 24:30); the apostle John recorded that every eye shall see him. (Rev. 1:7)
3. This is the rapture (Mat. 24:31) which is just after the tribulation (Mat. 24:29), but before the wrath of God is poured upon this earth--all saints will be gone. (I Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 6:17) Then John sees the saints of God in Rev. 7:9 before the wrath is poured out--the trumpets, vials, and thunders which are wrath not tribulation.
V. 25
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "But first must he suffer many things" = He is speaking about the suffering Jesus was to face connected with the cross--which must come before they would see Him coming with power and great glory. (Mark 8:31; Mat. 24:30; Rev. 1:7)
3. "And be rejected of this generation" = refers to the generation of Jews then living who would reject Him (John 1:11); Jesus referred to this generation as an "evil generation" (Mat. 12:39), a "wicked generation" (Mat. 12:45), an "adulterous generation" (Mat. 16:4), and a "faithless and perverse generation." (Mat. 17:17)
V. 26
1. "Noe" = Noah who built the ark in Genesis.
2. "And as it was in the days of Noe" = what was it like in the days of Noah? (verse 27a; Gen. 6:5)
3. "So shall it be also in the days of the Son of man" = refers to the condition of mankind when the Lord Jesus (Son of man) comes back for His saints in the first part of His second coming when He comes in the air to gather His saints--this is known as the rapture, not a Bible word but a Bible principle (I Thess. 4:16-17); iniquity will abound and love of many will wax cold (Mat. 24:12); evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. (II Tim. 3:13)
V. 27
1. "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage" = these things were not wrong within themselves; but mankind of Noah's day were over eating--gluttonous (Pro. 23:1-2); refers to unlawful works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21); Gen. 6:2 states they married who they chose instead of who God wanted them to.
2. "Until the day that Noe entered into the ark" = mankind was preoccupied with the materialistic things of the world, with no thought of God right until the day Noah entered the ark; Noah and his family entered the ark. (Gen. 7:1,7)
3. "And the flood came" = Noah was in the ark seven days before God shut the door. (Gen. 7:9-10)
4. "And destroyed them all" = refers to those outside the ark who perished--were given over to eternal misery in hell, while the righteous escaped the wrath (flood) of God. (I Thess. 5:9)
V. 28
1. "Likewise" = equally; in the same way that people were indifferent to the things of God in the days of Noah also "it was in the days of Lot."
2. "They did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded" = they were busy in the affairs of this life as if nothing was about to happen.
V. 29
1. "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom" = the Lord led him out of Sodom before the wrath of fire and brimstone rained from heaven; this lets us know he was a righteous man, thus escaping the wrath of God. (I Thess. 5:9)
2. This brings up a question, when was he saved? II Peter 2:6-8 declares plainly that he had a righteous soul, therefore, he was saved. As I was studying about Lot, I believe the Lord showed me when he was saved and it wasn't in Gen. 13 where Lot left Abraham and pitched his tent toward Sodom. I think he was saved a little while before wrath fell on Sodom. I wrote an article for "The Persuader" our church's paper in April, 1995 showing Bible proof of his salvation. See the article in "Articles from The Persuader" Volume II, page 35.
3. "Sodom" = is one of four cities (Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim--the other three) destroyed by fire and brimstone--wrath of God due to the sin of the people; these sins are listed in Ezek. 16:49-50--pride, fulness of bread, abundance of idleness, not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy, haughty, and homosexuality referred to as an abomination--disgusting and hated by God.
4. "It rained fire and brimstone from heaven" = the wrath of God poured on those left in the city when God led Lot out; history explains that God produced an earthquake or a volcanic like eruption that opened up a fissure (crack) in the rocks to release stored up gas that would explode and throw immense supplies of petroleum into the air; when all the inflammable stuff was ignited, sheets of literal fire pour back to complete the destruction; the dead sea is believed to be where these cities were; in 1974 I had the privilege to travel south down the Jordan on the east side to the city, Petra and saw large rocks blackened by what we were told, from the eruption of Sodom and they laid east of the dead sea area; God can do what He wants.
5. "And destroyed them all" = with the wrath of fire and brimstone; refers to those left in those cities died and all accountable perished in hell.
V. 30
1. "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" = each of the events, Noah and Lot, were preceded by warning from God, a rejection of God by the wicked, the longsuffering of God, and the judgment of God; so will it be when Jesus comes in the rapture.
2. "When the Son of man is revealed" = many say that this is when the Lord comes back in the second part of His second coming when He comes in glory and sets his feet upon the mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4); but when He is revealed is at the rapture--the first part of His second coming; when the Lord ascended, 40 days after His resurrection, He ascended in a cloud (Acts 1:9-11) and the angels promised this same Jesus, not another, will come back in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven--and He will (I Thess. 4:16-17; Luke 21:25-28); and every eye will see Him. (Rev. 1:7; 6:15-17)
V. 31
1. "In that day" = it seems the Lord Jesus is giving a warning in this verse to the Jews who were almost always gathered around His disciples as He was speaking; the flight of this verse follows the abomination of desolation (Mat. 24:15) spoken by Daniel the prophet (Dan. 9:27); the third Jewish temple will be rebuilt at the beginning of this 70th week of Daniel (7 years) and the Jews will re-establish OT worship involving sacrifices and also receive the Antichrist as the Messiah; and when he gets control enough of the nations he will set himself up as God in the temple and the Jews will know they received him in error--he is not the Messiah; then the Lord gives in this verse and also in Mat. 24:16-20 a warning to flee and also there will be many Jews saved during a short period of time.
2. This period of time corresponds to the seven days Noah was in the ark before the door was sealed shut and the night the angels no doubt warned the men of the city outside Lot's house as they smote them with blindness. We know that Lot warned his married children in the city and left out the next day--all the time those in the city had an opportunity to follow after Lot. So the warning to the Jews here.
3. "He which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away" = the roofs of the houses of that day were flat, accessible by an outside stairway, and were used as a place for keeping cool and a place for sleeping=; thus when they hear of the abomination of desolation, heed the warning, do not take time to go into the house and pack your suitcase--just flee.
4. "And he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back" = when you hear of the abomination of desolation heed the warning, do not go back to the house to pack your suitcase--just flee.
5. Mat. 24:19 adds, "Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days" = if a woman was expecting or giving suck to a child, she would become weary and be overcome by the enemy.
6. Mat. 24:20 adds two more situations:
A. "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter"= the cold would frost bite or even freeze them as they were fleeing without proper clothes--thus they would be overtaken by the enemy.
B. "Neither on the sabbath day" = long journeys were prohibited on the sabbath day; they could only travel about 3/4 mile, thus if the abomination of desolation was set up on the sabbath day, a devote Jew would only travel 3/4 a mile and set down and be overtaken by the enemy; this was not law but tradition.
7. Mat 24:21 speaks of this time as great tribulation which means calamity and suffering. Some specifics of this is given in Luke 21:24.
8. Mat. 24:22 says these days will be shortened or else all the saved would be killed.
V. 32
1. "Remember" = to call to mind; to be mindful of.
2. "Lot's wife" = Gen. 19:24-26; she looked back after Gen. 19:17 where all were told not to look back; she delayed; perhaps she desired to take something with her, and God made her a monument of His displeasure--a pillar of salt; she lost her life.
V. 33
1. "Whosoever shalt seek to save his life shall lose it" = refers to anyone who is anxious to save his temporal life or his conduct and security here, shall lose eternal life or shall fail to enter heaven.
2. "And whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it" = refers to anyone that is willing to risk his comfort and life here "for my sake" (Mat. 10:39; Mark 8:35 adds "for the gospel's") shall find life everlasting or shall be saved.
3. When one lives for the things of the world, he loses the life God intended him to live. The rich young ruler is an example of an unbeliever who lost eternal life because he sought to hang on to the things of this world. (Luke 18:20-25)
4. When one dies to the things of the world, he lives the life God intends him to live.
V. 34
1. "I" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "You" = refers to Jesus' disciples.
3. "In that night" = indicates the point in time when the rapture occurs (I Thess. 4:16-17); this is after the abomination of desolation occurs, then there will be great tribulation (mark of the beast) of which we do not know how long it will last (maybe 2 1/2 years or could be 1 1/2 years) but we know those days will be shortened for the elect's sake (saved). (Mat. 24:22)
4. "There shall be two men in one bed" = "men" is in italics which means it was supplied by the translators for smooth English reading; really says two people, thus husband and wife = "the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left" = the one saved will be taken in the rapture and the lost one left behind to face the wrath of God.
V. 35
1. "Two women shall be grinding together" = "women" is in italics, thus supplied by the translators for smooth English reading; thus refers to two people who may have been women working together grinding grain, one turning the grinding stone and the other pouring in the grain.
2. "The one shall be taken, and the other left" = the one saved will be taken in the rapture and the lost one left behind to face the wrath of God.
V. 36
1. "Two men shall be in the field" = "men" is in italics, thus not in the original text but placed there by the translators for smooth English reading.
2. "The one shall be taken, and the other left" = the one saved will be taken in the rapture and the lost one left behind to face the wrath of God.
3. The suddenness of Christ's coming in the rapture is illustrated by the separation of people occupied with everyday activities. The rapture will result in the separation of believers and unbelievers.
4. The separation of these three groups (verses 34-36) of people in bed, at the mill, and in the field, take place at the same time in different areas of the world. Those in bed are separated during the night, those at the mill in the morning, and those in the field during the day.
5. This language does not mean that those left behind would wonder what happened to those taken, for in the rapture every eye will see Him. (Rev. 1:7; Rev. 6:12-17 = the rapture)
V. 37
1. "They" = "them" = the disciples.
2. "Answered" = refers to a response to what has been said.
3. "Him" = "Lord" = Jesus, the Messiah.
4. "Where, Lord?" = some believe that the disciples asked where would those that were taken be? Of course the answer would be, heaven; their question was answered by a proverb which indicates the disciples wanted to know where those left behind would be; this proverb was probably taken from Job 39:27-30 of which verse 30 says, "Where the slain are, there is she" (the eagle).
5. "Body" = corpse; carcase in Mat. 24:28.
6. "Eagles" = since true eagles do not usually eat carrion, this may be a vulture that resembles an eagle.
7. This proverb is best understood to simply mean where men are ripe for judgment, judgment will be executed.
8. The context makes it clear that the Lord is speaking of judgment which will take place after the trumpets, vials, and thunders of Revelation 8, 9, 10, 11 and 16 when the unholy trinity (beast, dragon, and false prophet; Rev. 16:12-16) gathers multitudes in the valley of Megiddo to go against the Lord one more time--the battle of Armageddon. At that time the Lord will come back on a white horse and set His feet upon the earth (second part of the second coming) and speaks (Rev. 19:15), thus causing all in the valley to kill one another. (Rev. 14:17-20) Then Rev. 19:17-21; 20:1-3.
CHAPTER 18:
A. Parable of the unjust judge. V. 1-8
V. 1
1. "And he spake" = Jesus, still on the way to Jerusalem (might have crossed the Jordan river into Judaea near Jericho) to attend the passover, spoke to the group that was traveling with Him--primarily disciples and the Pharisees that were with them.
2. "Parable" = means to throw alongside; comparison of one thing to another; a window through which one can see truth; incidents taken from daily life by which He conveyed spiritual teaching.
3. "To this end" = to show this = "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" = "always" means at all times; we need to maintain a spirit of prayer; "not to faint" means we are not to grow weary or give over.
4. This parable is designed to teach us that, though our prayers seem long to be unanswered, we should preserve, and not grow weary in supplication to God.
V. 2
1. "There was in a city a judge" = an arbitrator--one who understands the law and also understands the one who has been accused of breaking the law; one appointed by law to determine causes brought before him.
2. "Which feared not God" = this judge had no reverence for God and consequently no regard for the rights of man, "neither regarded man" = these two things go together.
3. Our Lord has taught us what ought to be the character of a judge--that he should fear God and regard the rights of man. (Deut. 1:16-17)
V. 3
1. "Widow" = a woman whose husband had died.
2. "In the city" = refers to the city where this judge was ruling.
3. "She came unto him" = the Greek construction reveals that she kept on coming to him; this widow was desperate and sought justice.
4. "Saying, Avenge me of mine adversary" = "avenge" means to vindicate one's right or to exercise justice; "adversary" refers to an opponent in a suit of law; this does not denote vengeance or revenge, but simply that she desired to have justice done for her--a thing which this judge was bound by law to do, but which it seems he had no disposition to do.
V. 4
1. "He" = "himself" = "I" = the judge.
2. "And he would not for a while" = probably this means for a considerable time; it was his duty to attend to the claims of justice, but this was long delayed.
3. "But afterward he said within himself" = he thought or came to a conclusion.
4. "Though I fear not God, nor regard man" = the widow's persistence wore down the judge's hardness of heart.
V. 5
1. "Yet because this widow troubleth me" = the reason he attended to the case was to avoid trouble; "troubleth" means to annoy or to damage reputation or to embarrass by distracting; note "eth" which means continuous action.
2. "I will avenge her" = do her justice.
3. "Lest by her continual coming she weary me" = gives the reason the judge acted on her case--for fear that by her continual coming she would weary him; "weary" means that which was employed to denote the wounds and bruises caused by boxers, who beat each other, and blacked their eyes, and disabled them; literally, lest she give me a black eye--to annoy or to damage reputation.
V. 6
1. "And the Lord said" = Jesus, the Messiah speaking to the multitude around Him as He spoke this parable to them.
2. "Hear what the unjust judge saith" = means listen to the moral or spiritual lesson of this parable.
V. 7
1. "And shall not God avenge his own elect" = "avenge" means to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on the wrong doer; "elect" refers to the people of God, saints, Christians; so called because God has chosen them to be His which is done "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ"--this is God's way (I Peter 1:2)--Jesus is the door; and Jesus said if a man comes any other way, he is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)
2. "Which cry day and night unto him" = this is the characteristic of the elect--they pray constantly; this passage supposes that when the elect of God are in trouble and pressed down with calamities, they will cry unto Him.
3. This passage affirms that if the elect continue to cry day and night unto Him, He will hear their cries and answer their request, "though he bear long with them" = means though He defers long to avenge them and greatly tries their patience (the quality of an individual who does not surrender to the circumstance nor succumb to the trials but presses toward the goal set before him), yet He will avenge them in His time for His glory; He is trying their faith.
V. 8
1. "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily" = "speedily" means suddenly, unexpectedly; He will surely vindicate them and that at a time, perhaps, when they were nearly ready to give over and to sink in despair--when all hope is gone, then you can hope against hope. (Rom. 4:16-20--Abraham had an expectation contrary to human expectation.)
2. "Nevertheless" = but; not withstanding this; though this is true that God will avenge His elect, yet will he find His elect faithful: "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" = this refers to the rapture; "faith" has a definite article "the" in the Greek which implies that Jesus is speaking of the particular kind of faith illustrated in this parable; the implication is that this kind of faith will be rare.
3. The truth that Jesus was teaching was that God would deliver His people from their calamities, though He allowed them to be tried long. Mat. 24:22 says the days of great tribulation will be shortened for the elect's sake so that not all saved that are alive at that time will be martyred, so there will be some of the elect alive when the rapture occurs. The question Jesus asked implies that faith will be scarce.
B. Parable of the Pharisee and the publican. V. 9-14
V. 9
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Parable" = means to throw alongside; comparison of one thing to another; a window through which He conveyed spiritual teaching.
3. This parable may have been spoken on the same occasion as the first in this chapter. Both are parables on prayer. The first illustrates the kind of faith God desires in prayer, while this one illustrates the kind of attitude one must have in prayer.
4. "He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous" = this was the common attitude of the Pharisees--self righteous; Jesus, time and again, had exposed the Pharisee for who he was. (Mat. 5:20)
5. "And despised others" = "others" mean the rest; self-righteous people boast of their achievements and despise all others; "despise" means to count as nothing.
V. 10
1. "Two men went up into the temple to pray" = they went "up" because the temple was situated on Mount Moriah above all the buildings of the city; they went into the courts of the temple, the court where prayer was commonly offered.
2. "The one a Pharisee" = see notes on Luke 15:2.
3. "The other a publican" = tax collectors, noted for their undue exercise of power; a certain part of man's earning was demanded for taxes, but the publicans usually asked more and enriched themselves by the difference; they were hated by the people, who considered them traitors because they worked for Rome; they were considered the height of sinners.
V. 11
1. "The Pharisee stood and prayed" = standing was a common posture for public prayer (Mat. 6:5); in the case of the Pharisee, it may mean that he sought to be noticed.
2. "Prayed thus with himself" = this does not mean that he prayed silently for such hypocrites sought to be seen and heard by men when they prayed; this statement refers to his attitude in prayer--wholly self-centered and self-righteous.
3. He addressed Him as "God" = refers to God the Father, the first person of the trinity.
4. "I thank thee, that I am not as other men are" = he thanked God he was not as other men are:
A. "Extortioners" = one guilty of robbery; he may have had the publican in mind when he said this.
B. "Unjust" = speaks of one who is not in conformity with what is right; one who deals fraudulently with others--may have had the publican in mind when he said this.
C. "Adulterers" = one who is involved in a sexual relationship with another's spouse.
D. "Or even as this publican" = tax collector for Rome; considered the height of sinners.
V. 12
1. Notice he did not speak of what God had done but of how good he thought he himself was.
2. "I fast twice in the week" = fasting was a part of the Jewish ritual, but the law did not require two days fasting per week; this Pharisee was exceeding the requirements of the Law.
3. "I give tithes of all that I possess" = "possess" refers to what one obtains or acquires; the word refers to income not possessions; it refers to a tenth part of the increase (Pro. 3:9-10); Jesus said they ought to tithe but not leave the other undone--judgment, mercy, and faith (Mat. 23:23), which deals with the soul being saved--they were more concerned with their outward conformity to the law--self-righteousness and rejected the Lord Jesus. (John 5:39-40)
V. 13
1. While the Pharisee was occupied with his self-righteousness, the tax collector was occupied with his sinfulness.
2. "And the publican, standing afar off" = the Pharisee stood in a place where he would be noticed, while the publican not wanting to be noticed by man, stood maybe in the corner, in an out-of-way place, or in an inconspicious place.
3. "Would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven" = he was conscious of his guilt and shame, and sorrow prevented him from looking up; this was an expression of his humility; also it was a common way to express one's sinfulness. (Psa. 40:12)
4. "But smote upon his breast" = an expression of grief and anguish in view of his sins.
5. "Saying, God be merciful to me a sinner" = "merciful" is from a kindred Greek word as "propitiation" in Rom. 3:25 which refers to the Lord Jesus as our sacrifice, substitute, and mercy seat; there had to be some understanding about the work of Jesus for this publican to be "justified" (verse 14) which took the complete work of Holy Ghost reproval (John 16:8-11; Mat. 13:23; the soil of his heart being plowed by the Holy Ghost); there are many preachers today who call this the sinner's prayer, and say if you prayed that prayer you are saved using this text; prayer does not save you; the Lord does when the Holy Ghost has completed His work of reproval--conviction.
6. "A sinner" = the Greek actually has a definite article "the" in front of "sinner," thus "the sinner;" this shows that this brokenhearted publican saw himself as "the sinner"--worse than everybody else. (I Tim. 1:15)
V. 14
1. "I" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "This man" = the publican of verse 13.
3. "You" = those He was speaking this parable to--those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.
4. "I tell you" = denotes a tone of authority.
5. "This man went down to his house" = he left the temple which was on Mount Moriah and went down--descended to a lower elevation where ever his house was located.
6. "Justified" = denotes being made right or righteous in God's sight--accepted or approved by God; he was saved; because of his trust in the sacrifice and his confession of sin; the publican was accepted as right in the sight of God; those who believe in Christ are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24), on the basis of the blood of Christ (Rom. 5:9); no person can be justified by the works of the law. (Gal. 2:16)
7. "Rather than the other" = the Pharisee, who thought he was better than everyone else.
8. "Exalteth himself" = to raise with pride; to make undue pretensions to power, rank, or estimation; the tense refers to having a continuous lifestyle of exalting himself.
9. "Shall be abased" = to bring into a humble condition (Pro. 16:18); it is part of God's regular plan to abase the proud and to bring down the lofty.
10. "Humbleth" = of low degree; lowly in spirit; opposite of proud (James 4:6); the tense refers to having a continuous lifestyle of humility.
11. "Shall be exalted" = to be raised to dignity and honor; this is also part of God's regular plan--to raise up those who are bowed down, and show His favors to those who are poor and needy.
C. Jesus blesses little children. V. 15-17
V. 15
1. First "they" = second "them" = refers probably to mothers with young children, who were traveling with the group going up to Jerusalem to the passover feast.
2. "Him" = "he" = "his" = Jesus, the Messiah.
3. "Also" = indeed.
4. "Infants" = first "them" = babies; Mark and Matthew speaks of young children--boys and girls not yet grown, still under the mother's care (Mark 10:13; Mat. 19:13); parents often brought small children to a rabbi to be blessed; there is no question of baptism or salvation involved in this passage.
5. "That he would touch them" = means that He should lay hands on them; the laying on of hands implies a blessing pronounced--invoking of divine grace upon them, that they might grow up into wise and holy men and women; Mat. 19:13 adds "pray."
6. "Disciples" = second "they" refers mainly to the 12 apostles--those who had close relationship with Jesus.
7. "They rebuked them" = to address in sharp disapproval; they thought these continue interruptions would be a hindrance to the Lord's ministry by imposing on the Master's time and strength.
V. 16
1. "But Jesus called them unto him" = Jesus' attitude was contrary to that of His disciples; in fact Mark 10:14 states He was "much displeased" = moved with indignation; a strong word of deep emotion; this is what Paul meant in Eph. 4:26a; He was displeased at what His disciples had done--rebuked the mothers for bringing their children.
2. "Suffer" = to permit; allow.
3. "Little children" = Luke uses the same words as Mark 10:13; this includes "infants" of verse 15.
4. "To come unto me" = allow them to come to Jesus.
5. "And forbid them not" = hinder not; prevent not; stop hindering; that is what the disciples were doing and Jesus forbids the continuance of their actions.
6. "For of such is the kingdom of God" = those who have not reached the knowledge of accountability are "safe" and will go to heaven when they die; therefore, the kingdom of God will be made up of many of those who were born dead, aborted, miscarriages, or died at an early age, especially in the third world countries which have a high mortality rate. (II Sam. 12:22-23)
V. 17
1. "Verily" = truly.
2. "I say unto you" = Jesus is speaking to His disciples, some of which were not saved.
3. "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child" = "as" means in the same manner as; like as; Jesus is not speaking of the child being saved, but using the child as an example; children exemplify innocence, dependence, openness, and complete trust; one must come to Jesus with childlike faith to be saved; and if a person does not come that way he "shall in no wise enter therein" = that one will not be saved--will not enter the kingdom of God.
4. Mark 10:16 tells us what Jesus did after He said these things:
A. "He took them up in his arms" = to embrace and fold the child in His arms; He did more than the mere touch asked for. (verse 15)
B. "Put his hands upon them, and blessed them" = to ask blessings on; He laid His hands on each one, prayed for them, and sought a blessing on them.
C. The dedicating of our children to the Lord at an old fashion altar is as close as we come to this experience. Would to God more parents would desire the Lord's touch upon their children's life and dedicate them to the Lord!
D. The rich young ruler. V.18-24
V. 18
1. "A certain ruler" = "certain" is used to mean existing in fact and truth; "ruler" means a leader--probably in a local synagogue; we usually refer to him as the rich young ruler, and you have to look at all three of the synoptic gospels, which records this incident, to get that description.
A. Luke calls him a ruler in this verse.
B. Matthew says he is "young." (Mat. 19:20)
C. All three say he was rich. (Luke 18:23; Mat. 19:22; Mark 10:22)
2. "Asked him" = he addressed Jesus with a question; Mark 10:17 states he came running--showing great earnestness and anxiety.
3. "Saying, Good Master" = a title of respect meaning simply a teacher described as "Good" which denotes moral goodness and nobility of character; this one regarded the Lord as merely a human teacher.
4. "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" = "inherit" = means to obtain; he asked a good question to the right person--Lord Jesus; his concept of acquiring eternal life was based upon what he did--works; Scripture makes clear that eternal life does not come through works but it is a gift of God--Christ is the giver of life. (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 6:23)
V. 19
1. "Him" = the rich young ruler.
2. "Why callest thou me good?" = the Jews never referred to a rabbi as "good teacher;" Jesus challenges him to think of his attitude toward Him--he was looking at Jesus as a man, thus the Lord says, "Why do you give me this lofty title?"
3. "None is good, save (except) one, that is, God" = (Psa. 53:1; Rom. 3:12)
V. 20
1. "Thou" = the rich young ruler.
2. "Thou knowest the commandments" = "knowest" means to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts; a Jewish ruler would know them even though he probably did not understand them; in Mat. 19:17-18a Jesus told him to keep the commandments and he asked "which." (Mat.19:18b-19)
3. Then Jesus listed five of the commandments here and added the sixth in Mark 10:19.
A. "Do not commit adultery" = this is the 7th commandments listed in Exo. 20:14; means do not have unlawful (God's) sex relations with another's mate.
B. "Do not kill" = this is the 6th commandment listed in Exo. 20:13; means do not commit murder, so translated in Mat. 19:18; this applies to abortion because that is murder, but it does not apply to capital punishment because that was in effect before the law. (Gen. 9:6)
C. "Do not steal" = this is the 8th commandment in Exo. 20:15; means not to take that which does not belong to you.
D. "Do not bear false witness" = this is the 9th commandment in Exo. 20:16; means you are not to utter falsehoods in giving a testimony; do not testify falsely; simply means do not tell a lie.
E. "Honour thy father and thy mother" = this is the 5th commandment listed in Exo. 20:12; means to have a high regard and great respect toward your parents; to look upon with feeling of deep respect and reverence, Eph. 6:1-3 says this is the first commandment with promise--live long on the earth.
F. Mark 10:19 adds "defraud not" = this it the 10th commandment listed in Exo. 20:17 as "thou shalt not covet," which means do not deprive or rob one by force; applies to the 10th commandment since covetousness would be involved. (Lev. 19:13)
G. Mat. 19:19 adds, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" = this is the second great commandment mentioned in Mat. 22:39, which is the summary of all the others just mentioned; our Lord stated only the six commandments which regulate man's duty to his fellow-man, and said nothing about the other four which regulate men's duty to God.
V. 21
1. "And he said" = the rich young ruler.
2. "All these" = referring to the commandments mentioned.
3. "Have I kept" = translated "observed" in Mark 10:20; means to guard for one's self; not to violate; to keep; to watch; here it refers not only to the act of obeying them, but to that care given for their preciousness and honor, that leads one to carefully guard them from being broken; the rabbis taught one could keep the law entirely because they interpreted it as external obedience; therefore, this young man was sincere in his evaluation of himself; Jesus represented the true teacher when He contrasted the teachings of the rabbis with the true intent of God's word. (Mat. 5:21-22, 27-28)
4. "From my youth up" = youthful age; boyhood; may refer to his bar mitzvah at age 13, when he became a child of the law; this religious ceremony in the life of a Jewish child marks the time in his religious experience when he is recognized as being responsible before God to keep the law.
5. Mat. 19:20 adds the man asked the question, "What lack I yet?" = what else must I do to inherit eternal life?
V. 22
1. "Now when Jesus heard these things" = his answer (verse 21) to what Jesus said in verses 20 and also his question in Mat. 19:20.
2. "He said unto him" = Mark 10:21 states that Jesus was "beholding him loved him" before He spoke; "beholding" = to fix the eyes for a moment on an object; it speaks of a searching gaze turned on an individual; "loved" is "agape" or the God kind of love; it refers to a love called out of one's heart by the preciousness of the object loved--He loved him even though He knew that he would turn and walk away from Christ and be doomed for ever; look at our Lord's love for Jerusalem in Mat. 23:37 while Luke 19:41 says He wept over the city.
3. Then He said, "Yet lackest thou one thing" = "lackest" means to be wanting.
4. "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute (give) unto the poor" = Jesus always fitted His instructions to the need of the individual--Jesus knew what was holding him back; his riches had become his god therefore breaking the first commandment. (Exo. 20:3)
5. "And thou shalt have treasure in heaven" = he was laying up treasure on earth rather than treasure in heaven (Mat. 6:19-20); one can not live for God and money. (Mat. 6:21)
5. "And come, follow me" = Mark 10:21 adds "Take up the cross" speaks of wholehearted receiving of Jesus as Lord; "follow" means to obey His commandments, to imitate His example, and to live like Him--God's word states that those who are saved do follow Him. (John 10:27)
V. 23
1. "He" = the rich young ruler.
2. "Heard this" = sell what you have, give to the poor, and follow me.
3. "He was very sorrowful" = very sad, deeply grieved, or very unhappy; the reason: "for he was very rich" = Matthew and Mark states he had "great possessions;" His countenance fell because his hopes were dashed; also inward he was grieved, because he was not willing to pay the price to be saved and he was controlled. (Eph. 2:2)
V. 24
1. "When Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful" = "saw" means to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts--Jesus knows your condition inside and out.
2. First "he" = rich young ruler.
3. Second "he" = Jesus, the Messiah.
4. "He said" = according to Mark 10:22-23 the rich young ruler had gone away from the crowd and then "Jesus looked round about" = Jesus' eyes swept round the entire circle of the twelve and the others that were gathered and taught them an important lesson.
5. "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God" = "hardly" means with difficulty; our Lord does not declare the impossibility of a wealthy person being saved, but the difficulty of his being saved.
6. Luke does not record the disciples' reaction to the statement He had just made and what He said to them, but Mark does. (Mark 10:24) Their amazement arose from the fact that as Jews they regarded wealth as a token of God's favor.
E. Jesus' warning against riches. V. 25-27
V. 25
1. "Needle's eye" = speaks of a needle used with thread to sew; some teach, wrongfully, that the needle's eye here refers to a gate in the wall of Jerusalem through which a camel, when the main gates were closed at night, could get on its knees and go through by means of pushing and pulling--that would teach salvation by works--not so!
2. The needle mentioned in this verse would have been impossible for a camel to go through which is evident from the apostles question in verse 26.
3. "Than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" = refers to a rich man being saved; it is therefore impossible for anyone to be saved whose love of riches keeps him from trusting the Lord Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour.
V. 26
1. "They that heard it said" = refers to the apostles and those around them who heard Jesus make this statement; one may have asked the question as a spokesman of the group; Mark 10:26 says, "They were astonished out of measure" = "were astonished" means to fill with sudden wonder and surprise; "out of measure" means exceeding; super abundantly; very much.
2. "Who then can be saved?" = the longing to be rich was not confined to one class or order of people, it was a conceived passion; and of all the people the Jews in every age have been credited with the blindest devotion to this idol--wealth; so they asked this question.
V. 27
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. Mark 10:27 states, "And Jesus looking upon them saith" = "looking" implies an earnest, intense looking upon them.
3. "The things which are impossible with men" = "impossible" means unable.
4. "Are possible with God" = "possible" means mighty; having power for something; "with" means alongside; beside; in the presence of; the Greek construction reveals that Jesus is saying, "Taking your stand beside man on the question of riches makes it impossible to be saved; but taking your stand beside God on the matter, and that which was impossible becomes possible."
F. The apostles' future place in the kingdom. V. 28-30
V. 28
1. "Peter" = one of the 12 apostles; he spoke many times as a mouthpiece for the rest--he was always quick to speak up.
2. "Lo" = behold; see; word that demands the hearer to attend to what is said.
3. "We have left all" = "left" means to send or bid go away; yield up; the idea is that of abandoning; tense speaks of a once for all act.
4. "And followed thee" = the tense speaks of a past, completed action having present results; the idea here is that the apostles had made an irrevocable decision to leave all they had forever, and to follow the Lord permanently.
5. Peter probably brings up this subject due to what had just been said about possessions and riches.
V. 29
1. "He" = "I" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Them" = "you" = the apostles whom Peter was speaking for when he said "we" in verse 28.
3. "Verily" = truly.
4. "I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children" = Jesus includes the sacrifice of all material possessions under three heads: homes, relatives, and property.
5. "No man" = no one; includes all mankind--male and female.
6. "For the kingdom of God's sake" = for the cause of Christ; Mark 10:29 states, "for my sake, and the gospel's."
V. 30
1. "Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time" = "manifold more" is one word in the Greek and means much more; Mark 10:30 states "hundredfold" which is a hundred times as much--that is 10,000 % interest; this shows the greatness and multitude of the recompense; Mark 10:30 list houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands and then adds "persecutions" = to afflict constantly so as to injure or distress; this is added to Mark 10:29 over what one will receive as a Christian in "this present time" = refers to this life; many in this life will take you into their family as one of their own, feed you, and supply your need simply because you are saved while many will persecute you. (II Tim. 3:12)
2. "And in the world to come life everlasting" = "world" means age; refers to the Millennial Age to come when all saved will have "everlasting life" which is the same as "eternal life" in Mark 10:30.
3. Mat. 19:28 gives additional recompense for forsaking all: "regeneration" which refers to the renewal of the earth when the kingdom shall come.
G. Jesus foretells His death a third time. V. 31-34
V. 31
1. "Then he took unto him the twelve" = Jesus took the 12 aside "and said to them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem" = this is the last stage of the journey to Jerusalem; He now seemed to have crossed the Jordan river into Judaea. (Mark 10:1)
2. "Behold" = used to call special attention to what He was about to say; direct or fix your mind upon this.
3. "And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished" = the all things concerning our Lord was going to be completed, executed, finished--referring to His death on the cross; He told them at least twice before and alluded to it many more times, and now He gives more details of what He was to face and the night before His death He told them again (Luke 22:37); even after his death and resurrection, Jesus said (Luke 24:44, 46); Mark 10:32 records the disciples were afraid, mainly due to their failure to understand.
V. 32
1. "He" = refers to the Son of man of verse 31, who was Himself, Jesus, the Messiah--God the Son manifest in human flesh identifying Himself in incarnation (God robed in flesh) with mankind.
2. "For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles" = Mat. 20:18-19 gives more details; "betrayed" means to hand over into the hands of another--Judas did this--he handed over Jesus into the hands of the chief priests and scribes, the Sanhedrin who condemned Him to death (Mat. 26:57; 59); but they had not power to inflict death, as the power had been taken away by the Romans, but they had the power of expressing an opinion, and of delivering him to the Romans (Gentiles) to be put to death (Mark 10:33)
3. "And shall be mocked" = to ridicule; to jeer at, deride; make fun of; this is the first time Jesus mentioned the specifics of what He would endure.
4. "And spitefully entreated" = means treated shamefully--this would include the beatings, mockery, and being spitted on.
5. "And spitted on" = to eject saliva from the mouth at or on another. (Mat. 26:67)
V. 33
1. "And they shall scourge him" = to flog; to whip unmerciful with possibly a cat-o-nine-tails; it is said that the scourge consisted of a number of leather thongs set in a wooden handle each of which was usually loaded with small pieces of lead tied into it at intervals; in a few strokes it could cut a man's back to ribbons. (Isa. 50:6; Psa. 129:3)
2. "And put him to death" = Mat. 20:19 says "to crucify him;" means to put Him to death on a cross--the common punishment of slaves; means to be nailed to a cross, a most inhuman form of death; the usual manner of the crucifixion was as follows (copied):
A. "After the criminal had carried the cross, attended with every possible reproach, sneering expression and insult, to the place of execution; a hole was dug in the earth to receive the foot of it.
B. "The cross was laid on the ground; the person condemned to suffer was stripped and was extended on it, and the soldiers fastened the hands and feet either by nails or thongs.
C. "After they had driven the nails deeply in the wood, they elevated the cross with the agonizing sufferer on it, and in order to fit it more firmly in the earth, they let it fall violently into the hole which they had dug to receive it.
D. "This sudden fall gave to the person that was nailed to it a violent and convulsive shock, and greatly increased his sufferings.
E. "The crucified person was then allowed to hang, commonly, till pain, exhaustion, thirst, and hunger ended his life.
F. "Sometimes the sufferings continued for days, and when finely death terminated the life, the body was often allowed to remain, a loathsome object, putrefying in the sun or devoured by birds.
G. "This punishment was deemed the most disgraceful form of death that was practiced among the Romans. It was the way in which slaves, robbers, and the most notorious and abandoned wretches were commonly put to death.
H. "It was this, among other things, that exposed those who preached the gospel to so much shame and contempt among the Greeks and Romans. They despised everything that was connected with the death of one who had been put to death as a slave and an outlaw.
I. "Not only was it the most disgraceful punishment known, it was the most painful. The following circumstances made it a death of peculiar pain:
1) "The position of the arms and the body was unnatural, the arms being extended back and almost immovable. The least motion gave violent pain in the hands and feet, and in the back, which was lacerated with stripes.
2) "The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet, which abound with nerves, created the most extreme anguish.
3) "The exposure of so many wounds to the air brought on a violent inflammation, which greatly increased the painfulness of the suffering.
4) "The free circulation of the blood was prevented. More blood was carried out in the arteries than could be returned by the veins. The consequence was, that there was a great increase of blood in the veins of the head, producing an intense pressure and violent pain. The same was true of other parts of the body. This intense pressure in the blood-vessels was the source of inexpressible misery.
5) "The pain gradually increased. There was no relaxation and no rest. There was no prospect but death. The sufferer was commonly able to endure it till the third day, and sometimes even to the seventh day. The intense sufferings of the Saviour, however, were sooner terminated. This was because perhaps, in some measure by His previous fatigue and exhaustion, but still more by the intense sufferings of His soul in bearing our grief and carrying our sorrows--in making an atonement for the sins of the world." (End quote)
3. "And the third day he shall rise again" = the Lord Jesus closed this revelation by predicting His speedy resurrection; the Greek construction implies that Jesus would raise Himself from the dead; He predicted this earlier when He spoke concerning His life in John 10:18.
V. 34
1. "They" = refers to the apostles to whom Jesus was addressing these words to about His death and resurrection.
2. "And they understood none of these things" = "understood" means to comprehend; to put together as pieces of a puzzle; to set or join together in the mind; negated by "none."
3. "These things" = "this saying" = "the things which were spoken" = refers to what Jesus said in verses 31-33 concerning His death and resurrection.
4. "Was hid from them" = to conceal that it may not be known; Luke 24:16 refers to the eyes of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus as being "holden" = to have possession of; the Lord has to enlighten one's eyes, ears, and heart for a person to get hold of the meaning of words that are spoken to them. (John 3:27)
5. "Neither knew they" = means to experience something or understand; negated by "neither;" this is repetition for emphasis.
6. These apostles did not understand what Jesus had just said. Nor did they understand until after the resurrection when Jesus appeared in the room where the disciples were gathered on that first Sunday night after the resurrection and opened their understanding. (Luke 24:45)
7. Someone of yesteryear wrote this and I quote, "Toward everything which is contrary to natural desire there is produced in the heart a blindness, which nothing but a miracle can heal."
H. Jesus heals a blind beggar near Jericho. V. 35-43
V. 35
1. "And it came to pass" = this phrase, Luke uses many times; means as Jesus and the group following Him were still on their way to Jerusalem; may indicate a little time passed since the last incident was recorded--they may have walked a few miles toward Jericho.
2. "That as he was come nigh unto Jericho" = Mark 10:46 states "he went out of Jericho" and Mat. 20:29 states, "as they departed from Jericho; the difference--Luke was probably speaking of the Gentile city of Jericho, built by Herod and situated some distance from the site of old Jericho that had been destroyed by the Lord in Joshua 6:20-21, 24, 26; therefore, another city was built by Herod and named Jericho a short distance from the old Jericho--maybe one to three miles, do not know distance; there is no discrepancy here--Matthew and Mark had in mind the old city and Luke the new, therefore the miracle took place between the old Jericho and the new Jericho.
3. "A certain blind man sat by the way side" = refers to the blind man sitting by the side of the path or road probably near to the gate of the city of Jericho (new); Matt. 20:30 speaks of two blind men, which Mark 10:46 speaks of one blind man and gave him a name, Bartimaeus, and Luke speaks here of one blind man labeled as a "certain" blind man; the common language of the synoptic gospels seems to indicate that this is the same miracle.
4. "Begging" = asking for alms; blind beggars were a common site in Jesus' day; begging was a blind man's only source of income.
V. 36
1. "He" = the blind beggar.
2. "Hearing the multitude pass by" = refers to Jesus and the group of people that was with Him traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover--there was a crown in front of Jesus.
3. "He asked what it meant" = what is all the noise about--what is happening; Luke is the only one that records this statement.
V. 37
1. "They" = refers to a spokesman for the multitude.
2. "Him" = the blind beggar.
3. "That Jesus of Nazareth passeth by" = Jesus was often identified as "Jesus of Nazareth" because He was raised in the city of Nazareth, which had a bad reputation. (John 1:46)
4. "Passeth by" = traveling by and would not be by this place again.
V. 38
1. "And he cried" = Mat. 20:30 says "They (both of them) cried out" = when they heard it was Jesus of Nazareth; he called out with a high strong voice in desperation to the only one who could help him.
2. "Jesus, thou son of David" = this is the messianic name of Jesus, the Messiah; "son of David" means one who was of the family of David; it was important to trace the genealogy of Jesus back to David, because the promise had been made that the Messiah should be of his family, and all the Jews expected that it would be so; it would be impossible to convince a Jew that Jesus was the Messiah, unless it could be shown that He was descended from David; thus the blind beggar using this title involved belief in His Messiahship; notice he did not call Him, Jesus of Nazareth.
3. "Have mercy on me" = means to succor one afflicted or seeking aid; refers to being sympathetic to the needs of another and seeking to help him; the tense speaks of the fact that this blind beggar asked for Jesus to heal him at once.
V. 39
1. "They which went before" = it must be remembered that our Lord was surrounded by a great host of Passover pilgrims, thus those that were in front of Jesus got to the blind beggar before Jesus did.
2. "Rebuked him" = to address in sharp disapproval the blind beggar.
3. "That he should hold his peace" = to be silent; calm it down; the crowd that was in front rebuked the blind man because he was disturbing the peace; he was creating a disturbance, and interrupting the Master, who may have been teaching as He was walking along.
4. "But he cried so much the more" = the cry in this verse is different from that in verse 38; he had shouted at first to attract attention and now this cry is a frenzied scream or an emotional shout, almost an animal cry; he used the same title now as at the first, "Thou son of David, have mercy on me" = see notes on verse 38; the blind beggar was desperate--if he was to have help, it was now or never; Jesus would not visit Jericho again in His flesh.
V. 40
1. "And Jesus stood" = Mark 10:49 states, "And Jesus stood still" = He stopped that He might heal this blind beggar who cried out to Jesus.
2. "And commanded him to be brought unto him" = Jesus ordered His disciples to bring the blind beggar to Him--to help him for he was blind.
3. "And when he was come near" = the blind man was determined to come to Jesus for He would not be silenced, and the only direction he would move was toward the One he knew could help him; so he came near--approached Jesus by the hands that guided him.
4. "He asked him" = put a question to; Jesus asked the blind beggar a question.
V. 41
1. "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee" = the blind man had cried for mercy, but Jesus wanted him to be specific in his request.
2. "And he said Lord, that I may receive my sight" = "Lord is a title of respect and reverence; the blind beggar's request was simple and direct.
V. 42
1. "And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight" = Mat. 20:34 states that Jesus touched the two blind men's eyes; He healed them because He had compassion on them; the wording here seems to indicate the man had been able to see at one time.
2. "Thy faith hath saved thee" = Jesus spoke the word of healing when He said, "Receive thy sight;" in this man's case, faith was instrumental to his healing, but that is not always the case; those who were raised from the dead could not have exercised such faith; this man was not only healed but He was saved--his sins were forgiven.
V. 43
1. "Immediately" = instantly.
2. "He" = "his" = the blind beggar.
3. "Him" = Jesus, the Messiah.
4. "He received his sight" = his lost sight was recovered.
5. "And followed him" = to be in the same way with; to accompany as a disciple; the tense gives us a picture of the healed man following Jesus in the crowd that was on its way to Jerusalem; this action revealed the reality of this man's faith. (John 10:27)
6. "Glorifying God" = honor; magnify; to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifested and acknowledged; he knew Jesus was God incarnate for he called out to Him, "Jesus, thou son of David"--the Messiah.
7. "And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God" = "saw" means to have absolute positive knowledge that this beggar who had been blind now had his sight; "praise" means to extol; to praise highly; speak well of.
CHAPTER 19:
A. Conversion of Zacchaeus. V. 1-10
V. 1
1. "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho" = this is right after Jesus had healed the blind beggar as He came nigh to Jericho--new Jericho which Herod had built. (see notes on Luke 18:35)
2. After healing the blind beggar, Jesus entered new Jericho and passed through it headed for Jerusalem which is said by some to be about 17 miles from Jericho.
V. 2
1. "Behold" = used to call attention to what is about to be stated.
2. "There was a man named Zacchaeus" = name means "pure;" a Hebrew name which means he was a Jew.
3. "Which was the chief among the publicans" = head over the tax collectors--means he received other publicans' collections and transmitted them to the Roman government.
4. "He was rich" = the publicans was noted for their undue exercise of power; a certain part of man's earnings was demanded for taxes, but the publicans usually asked more and enriched themselves by the difference; as chief of the publicans, Zacchaeus no doubt told those under him that the Romans required a certain amount which was higher than they required so he could keep the excess of all those under his authority; "rich" means he was abounding in material resources--money and possessions.
V. 3
1. "He sought to see Jesus who he was" = the Greek construction bears out that he was repeatedly seeking to see Jesus, no doubt due to his hearing about Him before.
2. "And could not for the press" = refers to the crowd or multitude that surrounded Jesus--the crowd was all around Jesus as He and they were going through new Jericho headed to Jerusalem.
3. "Because he was little of stature" = means he was not a tall man, thus he was short and could not see Jesus because of the crowd of people around him.
V. 4
1. "And he ran before" = after repeated attempts to see Jesus through the crowd, Zacchaeus gave up and ran ahead of the crowd.
2. "And climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him" = the word is different from the one in Luke 17:6, yet it may be of the same family of the fig species; it is believed to have leaves like a mulberry tree and fruit like a fig tree; its branches spread out in all directions, with a diameter of 60 to 80 feet; it had a short trunk making it easy to climb; Zacchaeus may have thought to hide in the tree to be concealed from the Jews who hated him as a tax collector; yet we must not forget he wanted to see Jesus.
3. "For he was to pass that way" = the tree was situated by the road way through new Jericho.
V. 5
1. "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him" = ordinarily men are not likely to see what is above eye level when there are interests and distractions around them; Jesus was already aware of the presence of Zacchaeus, and was interested in him; earlier Jesus revealed His omniscience in John 1:47-48.
2. "And said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house" = Jesus accepted invitations to the houses of the Pharisees (Luke 7:36) and His friends; but this is the only recorded instance when He invited Himself to anyone's home; the word "must" was often used by Jesus to refer to things which must come to pass in accordance with God's will; "abide" means to tarry or stay for a short time.
V. 6
1. "He" = Zacchaeus.
2. "Him" = Jesus, the Messiah.
3. "And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully" = this implies eager reception or welcome into one's house as a guest.
4. "Received him joyfully" = means more than Jesus just coming into his house for verse 8 reveals repentance in this man, thus he was saved as Jesus said so in verse 9.
V. 7
1. "And when they saw it, they all murmured" = "they" refers to the scribes and Pharisees in the crowd around Jesus; "murmured" means complaints half expressed or uttered in a low muttering voice; to grumble; to complain.
2. "Saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner" = the Pharisees looked upon a publican as the height of a sinner; probably in priestly Jericho (where many priest resided when not ministering in Jerusalem) this stern spirit was especially dominant.
V. 8
1. "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord" = he stood in the presence of Jesus after climbing down out of the sycomore tree and spoke to Jesus.
2. "Behold" = used to call attention to what he is saying.
3. "Lord" = a title of respect; acknowledging He is supreme in authority.
4. "The half of my goods I give to the poor" = this is evidence of the sincerity of his repentance and the confession which with the mouth is made unto salvation. (Rom. 10:10)
5. "If" = since; in the Greek this is a condition of first class sentence assumed as being true, not a hypothetical condition; this implies that it was well known that he had extorted money from others.
6. "If I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation" = refers to the act of charging excess tax--above what is due--by false accusation; Zacchaeus was confessing he had done this.
7. "I restore him fourfold" = Zacchaeus imposed upon himself a more severe penalty than the law required (Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:7); the law required only restoration of the principal, with 20% interest; fourfold would be four times more or 400% interest.
V. 9
1. Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus, "This day is salvation come to this house" = "salvation" means deliverance and in this context it refers to having his sins forgiven--saved.
2. "This house" = may indicate they had traveled to Zacchaeus' house which was in Jericho. (new)
3. "Forsomuch" = because.
4. "As he also is a son of Abraham" = he was a Jew--a descendant of Abraham physically; now by repentance and by receiving the Christ whose day Abraham saw and was glad (John 8:56), he has shown himself to be worthy to be called his son; Abraham is called the father of the faithful (Rom. 4:11)
5. Salvation had come to Zacchaeus, not because of his blood descent, but because of his faith which is like Abraham's.
V. 10
1. "Son of man" = one of Jesus' many titles; refers to God the Son manifest in human flesh identifying Himself in incarnation (God robed in flesh through a virgin's womb) with mankind.
2. "Is come to seek and to save that which was lost" = this is the purpose of Christ's coming--robed in human flesh.
3. "Seek" = to desire; seek in order to find; the Lord Jesus knows where you are and what your condition is, yet He came (robed in flesh) in order to find you; (John 1:43) "findeth" means to find by searching; the word shows that Jesus set a course to find Philip; we speak much about sinners seeking the Lord, but the Lord seeks before you will ever seek Him; salvation is of the Lord!
4. "Save" = to deliver; to make whole; refers to the salvation of man's spirit and soul.
5. "That which was lost" = refers to a person who has reached the knowledge of accountability and at that point that soul is separated from God; the Jewish leaders thought it was the tax collectors and harlots who were lost and only they were saved; Jesus later told this to the Jewish leaders--Mat. 21:31-32.
6. A person cannot be saved until their lostness becomes a reality. And no one will be saved if they pray, "Lord if I am lost, save me."
B. Parable of the ten pounds. V. 11-27
V. 11
1. "As they heard these things" = the words which introduce this parable indicate its close connection with the events which had just taken place; "they" refers to the group following Jesus as He was traveling to Jerusalem for His last passover.
2. "He added and spake a parable" = means to throw alongside; a comparison of one thing to another; a window through which one can see truth; incidents taken from daily life by which He conveyed spiritual teaching.
3. "Because" = introduces the reasons for speaking this parable:
A. "Because he was nigh to Jerusalem" = He had left Zacchaeus' house in Jericho and was nearing Jerusalem; in just a short time He would be in Jerusalem, the capital of the country and that holy city where they supposed He would set up His kingdom.
B. "Because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear" = in spite of Jesus' repeated predictions of the cross, the disciples were still expecting His triumph in the immediate restoration of the kingdom of David; this parable was intended to give them the proper perspective of His plans and to correct their expectations.
V. 12
1. "Therefore" = in view of the fact of what they expected, "He said."
2. "A certain nobleman" = the use of "certain" means existing in fact; "nobleman" means a prince; a man descended from kings, and having a title; this parable may have been modeled after the well known episode of Herod's son, Archelous, who went to Rome to obtain title to the kingdom which his father, Herod the Great, had left to him; his brother, Antipas, supported by many of the leaders among the Jews, protested this claim, and rejected his rulership; since the event took place about the time of Christ's birth, it was a well-known story 30 years later, especially around Jericho.
3. "Went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return" = the parable may refer to Archelous but this nobleman represents Jesus, the Messiah--by His going into a far country it denoted His going to heaven, not Rome, to the right hand of His Father, before He should fully set up His kingdom and establish His reign among men.
V. 13
1. "He" = the nobleman in the parable, represents Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "He called his ten servants" = nothing in particular is denoted by the number ten; by these servants our Lord denotes His disciples, and intends to teach us, that talents are given us to be improved, for which we must give an account at His return.
3. "And delivered them ten pounds" = one pound to each servant; the value is debated for we do not know the exact value; the pound denotes the talents which God has given to His servants on earth to improve, and for which we must give an account at His return--day of judgment.
4. "And said unto them, Occupy till I come" = "occupy" means to improve, to employ in business, for the purpose of increasing it or making profit on it; He is teaching His disciples to improve their talents; to make the most of them; to increase their capability of doing good, and to do so until He comes to call us home by death or the rapture.
V. 14
1. "But" = contrast; instead of occupying, "his citizens hated him" = this was what the Jews had done in the case of Archelous; they had sent a hostile group to complain of their future king before the emperor's court at Rome; this pictures the Jews who utterly rejected the mission of Jesus and brought about the crucifixion of Jesus.
2. "And sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us" = this is designed to state that the Jews would reject Jesus, the Messiah and would say that they did not desire Him to reign over them (John 1:11); natural man does not want Jesus to reign over them, and if it were possible, would cast Him off and never submit to His reign.
V. 15
1. "And it came to pass" = refers to the time the nobleman was gone.
2. "That when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money" = at the judgment seat of Christ all His servants will give an account of what he had gained by trading = "that he might know how much every man had gained by trading" = refers to increasing their capability of doing good by improving their talents; "gained by trading" is from a kindred word as "occupy" in verse 13.
V. 16
1. "Lord" = title of respect and reverence.
2. "Thy pound hath gained ten pounds" = the report of this servant shows great humility; he did not brag about what he did; the results which the believer sees from his ministry are not due to his own greatness, but to that which he was entrusted with--really the one who gave it to him.
3. The sum of money which was given to the servants could represent all the talents, spiritual gifts, and possessions which are entrusted to Christians.
V. 17
1. "Well, thou good servant" = this is the nobleman's response to the first servant who reported; "well" means well done; he was referred to by the nobleman as "thou good servant" = this is used in the sense of the world's standard for Jesus asked the rich young ruler "why callest me good? none is good save one, that is God." (Luke 18:19; Rom. 3:12)
2. "Faithful" = refers to persons who show themselves trustworthy in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.
3. "Because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities" = the reward for faithful service was an opportunity for greater service; the awarding of responsibility over territories implies that the nobleman was parceling out governmental posts, and strengthens the idea that this parable was based on the accession of Archelous; "authority" means to rule and reign; Rev. 20:6 states the saints will reign with Christ 1000 years; therefore, these ten cities may apply to the 1000 year reign--if faithful you may reign over ten cities in the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
V. 18
1. "Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds" = the second servant who reported also gave credit to that which was entrusted to him--really the one who gave it to him.
2. The second servant came and reported he had gained less and he was not reproved for his smaller gain.
V. 19
1. "Likewise" = could imply he was faithful according to his ability.
2. "Be thou also over five cities" = he was commended and was given responsibility equal to his ability.
3. "Over" = means to rule; thus applies to his reigning over five cities in the 1000 year reign of Christ--given responsibility equal to his ability.
V. 20
1. "Another came, saying" = the third servant was giving his report of the pound given him by the nobleman.
2. "Lord" = a title of respect and reverance.
3. "Behold" = used to call attention to what is about to be stated.
4. "Here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin" = the third servant seems to have thought he had done a good thing by simply retaining that which was entrusted to him.
5. "Laid up" = the verb means to put away or store up something, with the idea of a safe deposit; the money entrusted to this servant was simply in a "napkin" = refers to a cloth which was used to wipe sweat from one's face, therefore, it corresponds to some degree to our modern handkerchief.
V. 21
1. "I" = the third servant.
2. "Feared" = to be struck with fear; to be seized with alarm.
3. "Thee" = "thou" = the nobleman.
4. "Because" = introduces the reason for fear.
5. "Thou art an austere man" = "austere" used of people who were harsh or severe; also of one who was strict in his business affairs; could be used of a strict government finance inspector.
5. "Thou takest up that thou layest not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow" = these remarks may refer to the nobleman as being harsh and strict in what he expects from his investment; he looked at his master as one who took advantage of others for his own personal gain; this is designed to show the sinner's view of God; he regards Him as unjust, demanding more than man has power to render, and more, therefore, than God has a right to demand.
V. 22
1. "He saith unto him" = the nobleman spoke to his servant.
2. "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee" = he said that he would be judged by his own words; he then restated the servant's description of him and agreed with that description.
3. "Austere" = used of people who were harsh or severe; no doubt the nobleman considered himself austere in the sense of being strict rather than harsh.
4. "Wicked servant" = this is what the nobleman called this servant; means evil in practice; the servant considered himself honest because he returned the pound with no loss; the nobleman called him wicked because he returned it with no gain.
V. 23
1. "Wherefore" = because of; introduces the reason he called the servant wicked.
2. "Then gavest not thou my money into the bank" = "bank" refers to the table or stand of a money changer, where he sits, exchanging different kinds of money for a fee, and paying back with interest loans or deposits.
3. "That at my coming I might have required mine own with usury" = "usury" is interest which would be gained from money loaned to others; God gave guidelines to the Jews regarding usury (Deut. 23:19-20); Jesus was not giving His approval of charging interest to God's people since that was clearly forbidden in the OT; the concept is simply that of investing money with the bankers who would loan it to others.
V. 24
1. "He" = refers to the nobleman.
2. "Them that stood by" = those that were gathered around the nobleman; may have been soldiers or officials the nobleman brought back with him; yet it seems by the reply they gave (verse 25) to indicate they were fellow-servants.
3. "Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds" = the basic principle is that when one is not faithful in the stewardship of what God entrusts to him, he loses that privilege.
V. 25
1. "They" = refers to those (verse 24) that were gathered around the nobleman.
2. "Him" = "Lord" = a title of respect; refers to the nobleman.
3. "He hath ten pounds" = states their objection; the average person finds it difficult to understand why God prospers and multiplies the ministry of some individuals--application of the parable.
V. 26
1. "I say unto you" = Jesus speaks giving an explanation to those who objected in verse 25.
2. "That unto every one, etc." = these words refer to the nobleman declaring the principles on which he would distribute the rewards of his kingdom; the world claims that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; application: this parable teaches that the faithful get greater responsibilities of stewardship while the unfaithful lose the responsibilities they have.
3. At the judgment seat of Christ the unfaithful servant will suffer loss because his work of wood, hay, and stubble will be burned, and he will suffer loss yet be saved. (I Cor. 3:11-15)
V. 27
1. "But" = reveals contrast between the reproof of a servant and the execution of an enemy.
2. "Those mine enemies" = those who rejected the king, both Israel and the Gentiles rejected the Lord.
3. "Which would not that I should reign over them" = "reign" means to be king, to exercise kingly power; to Lord over; negated by "would not."
4. "Bring hither, and slay them before me" = refers to the enemies of the king as being slain because they rejected his rule over them.
5. Jesus gave this parable because the people thought He was going to set up His kingdom at that time. He taught that the kingdom was to be postponed for a time, and that his servants should be faithful until His return. Those who rejected the king represents both Israel and the Gentiles. The early church prayed for boldness to preach in spite of persecution from those who rejected and killed Christ. (Acts 4:23-31) They quoted Psa. 2:1-2, 6 which speaks of the future coming of the King to judge all who have rejected Him.
6. "Slay" = implies all His enemies who will be cast in the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15)
C. The Triumphal Entry V. 28-40
V. 28
1. All four of the gospels record this incident.
2. "And when he had thus spoken" = referring to the parable of 10 pounds.
3. "He" = Jesus.
4. "Went before" = probably refers to the crowd that had been around Him, now He goes in front of them for they may have followed reluctantly because of the fact that they knew well that their Master was already under sentence of death spoken by Thomas in John 11:16 when they went to raise Lazarus from the dead after which the religious crowd of Jerusalem sought to put Him to death. (John 11:53-54)
5. "Ascending up to Jerusalem" = word is rightly used for Jericho is about 800 feet below sea level and Jerusalem is about 2500 feet above sea level.
V. 29
1. "And it came to pass" = refers to the lapse of time it took to travel the trip to "Bethphage and Bethany" = some say Bethphage is the first village they came to on their way to Jerusalem; but it seems that Bethany is the first village they came to and later went through Bethphage on their trip.
2. John 12:1 states they came to Bethany six days before the passover (Thursday Abib 8th about 6:00 PM--our Wednesday), to the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (whom He raised from the dead) where Mary anointed the feet of Jesus for His burying. (John 12:1-11) It is interesting to note that this Mary did not come to Jesus' tomb to anoint His body for she had already done that.
3. Most Bible divisions (placed by man) place this supper (John 12:1-11) identical with the one mentioned in Mat. 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9. This cannot be the case for two reasons even though Jesus was in Bethany in both instances:
A. This instance occurs in Lazarus, Martha, and Mary's house while the other instance occurred in Simon the leper's house. (Mark 14:3)
B. This instance occurs six days before the feast of the passover while the one in Mark and Matthew occurs two days before the passover. (Mark 14:1; Mat. 26:2)
4. Jesus came to Bethany from Jericho (new). In my notes on John 12:1 I stated Jesus came from Ephraim because John only recorded His going to Ephraim in John 11:54 and left out the fact that Jesus went back to Galilee and after a time proceeded to go up to Jerusalem as Luke's narrative tells us.
5. He came to "Bethany" = six days before the passover. (John 12:1)
A. "Passover" = the feast among the Jews called the passover and sometimes referred to as the feast of unleavened bread since both feasts were to be observed since the day of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, both feasts were connected (Lev. 23:5-6)--total of eight days, started on Abib 14 (we usually state this as being April 14 which is by tradition following some bible notes of man; but it was the beginning of months (Exo. 12:2) which sometimes came in our March or April based upon the moon; this month was later, after the captivity, called Nisan; so for tour purpose we will try to call this month Abib); all Jewish males had to attend three feast each year. (Deut. 16:16)
B. "Bethany" = the place where Lazarus lived with his two sisters, Martha and Mary; a village about 2 miles (John 11:18; furlong = 1/8 mile; thus 1 7/8 miles) east of Jerusalem on the south east slope of the Mount of Olives--a range of mountains with at least three peaks.
6. Jesus spent the night at Martha, Mary, and Lazarus' house. The next morning, still Thursday, Abib 8 (John 12:12) he arose and went to Bethphage, the next village heading to Jerusalem. (Mat. 21:1)
7. "Bethphage" = a larger and more well known village than Bethany; village Jesus "sent two of his disciples" = He sent them on a commission to do something.
8. "Two of his disciples" = refers to two of His apostles; we do not know who they were.
V. 30
1. He gave them instructions, "Saying, Go ye into the village over against you" = means directly opposite; seems to refer to Bethphage which was just west of Bethany, a short distance farther up the slope and on the way to Jerusalem (Mat. 21:1); today there is no trace remaining of the village.
2. "In the which" = refers to the village He told them to go to.
3. "At your entering ye shall find a colt tied" = Mat. 21:2 says "straightway" which means upon entering the village you will "find a colt tied" = refers to a young donkey; a foal; Mat. 21:2 makes mention of the colt and its mother.
4. "Whereon yet never man sat" = the foal was unbroken and had never been ridden; animals which had never been used before were used for sacred purposes; kings and princes commonly rode on mules or donkeys in time of peace. (I Kings 1:33)
5. "Loose him, and bring him hither" = bring the colt to me, Jesus said.
V. 31
1. "And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him?" = referring to the colt; Jesus as God knew all things; He knew where the colt was tied; He knew the opposition the disciples might encounter in trying to obtain the colt--no doubt the owner of the colt did not know these disciples and may have thought they were trying to steal the colt.
2. "Thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him" = some say the Lord made pre-arrangements with the owner to use his colt; but I believe that the Lord put on this man's heart to let the disciples have the colt; Mat. 21:2 states Jesus told the disciples to loose both the mother and the colt and bring them to Him; probably the colt, though not broken in, would go the more quietly accompanied by the mother; Mat. 21:4-5 states that this was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zech. 9:9--the Jews always applied this to the Messiah; "O daughter of Zion" was Jerusalem.
V. 32
1. "They" = "their" = "them" = the disciples.
2. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah.
3. "And they that were sent went their way" = they obeyed the Lord's command.
4. "And found even as he had said unto them" = this shows the display of deity on the part of Jesus; Jesus showed His deity with His statement of omniscience--His words were fulfilled to the minutest detail.
V. 33
1. "And as they were loosing the colt" = refers to the disciples untying the colt and its mother as well--brought out in Mat. 21:2.
2. "The owners" = this is from the Greek word for "lord" and it means one who has control of the colt; they are not named; the "lords" of the animals were willing to be subjected to the desire of the Lord of all.
3. They said, "Why loose ye the colt?" = the question the Lord told the disciple they would be asked.
V. 34
1. "And they said" = the disciples said exactly what Jesus told them to say--"The Lord hath need of him."
2. Notice how instant was their response at this simple statement.
3. "Owners" in verse 33 is plural, thus, this could refer to husband and wife owning the colt. This could also refer to two men as brothers owning the colt together.
4. The owners were probably believers who knew what the disciples meant by the "Lord," and the Lord's need was an irresistible argument. (John 10:27)
V. 35
1. "They" = the disciples--the two Jesus sent to loose the colt.
2. "Him" = the colt.
3. "Garments" = probably their cloaks and were used as an outer wrapping for their body.
4. These two disciples used their cloaks to cover the colt in a royal fashion for their King to sit on as He made His way to Jerusalem.
V. 36
1. "He" = Jesus, the Messiah riding the colt.
2. "They" = the gathered crowd of Pilgrims (disciples) going to the passover feast.
3. "They spread their clothes in the way" = this was a common act of homage to a king or royal personage; Mat. 21:8 and Mark 11:8 states that "others cut down branches off the trees;" John 12:13 states these were palm branches; the palm was an emblem of joy and victory; it has been suggested that the people threw their garments on the road and as Jesus passed over them, the people picked up the garments and ran ahead of Jesus to repeat the process--this could have continued for almost 2 miles, the distance from
Bethphage to Jerusalem; this was their way of honoring Jesus as their exalted King.
V. 37
1. "And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives" = Jesus only needed to cross the brook Kidron and ascend a short distance up a hill to enter the Eastern gate referred to by modern history as the golden gate; now it has been sealed shut for many years in these last days--Ezk. 44:1-2 prophesied of this happening.
2. "The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen" = the language suggests that more then the 12 apostles are included here; Jesus had many friends in Galilee, a large number of whom may have been among the pilgrims, and their excitement increases as the city of Jerusalem came in sight.
3. "They began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice" = refers to the fact that they were glad and rejoiced exceedingly and praised which means to extol and sing praises in honor of God--probably sung some of the Psalms that were written to extol God; they did these things because of "the mighty works that they had seen" = refers to the miracle Jesus had performed on this journey; some were mentioned and no doubt there were others not recorded. (John 21:25); also Lazarus who had been raised from the dead a short time before, after he had been dead for four days--was traveling with this group.
V. 38
1. "Saying" = to point out with words; notice this was with a "loud voice."
2. "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord" = this is a quotation from Psa. 118:25-26 (the entire Psalm may have been sung by the pilgrims as they ascended the road to the Holy City); Luke added the word "King" to clarify who the coming One was; Psalm 118 is Messianic, so that the very use of its words indicated the popular estimate of Jesus; this adequately explains the concept which the people held concerning Jesus--they desired to make Him their longed-for king who would free them from Roman oppression.
3. Mat. 21:9 adds "Hosanna to the son of David" = "hosanna" is an exclamation of praise to God meaning save now, or save, I beseech thee; the "Son of David" refers to the Messiah the Jews were looking for.
4. Luke excludes the hosannas found in Matthew and Mark, but includes the further exaltation and hope of the people with the words "peace in heaven, and glory in the highest" = the word "peace" is used here as significant of joy, triumph, and exultation at this event; there will be increased peace and rejoicing in heaven from the ascension of the redeemed; also there will be increased glory--new songs of praise among the highest angels; "glory" refers to manifestation which brings forth praise.
5. There is no contradiction here among the gospels for among such a multitude, the shouts of exultation and triumph would by no means be confined to the same words. Some would say one thing and some another, and one evangelist recorded what was said by a part of the multitude, and another what was said by another part.
V. 39
1. "And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude" = "Pharisees" were a Jewish religious sect which was organized during the period between Malachi and Matthew when there was no recorded revelations from God; they placed oral tradition equal to or above the Word of God; they were bitter enemies of Jesus; though they were a part of the multitude coming to Jerusalem, they were not caught up in the emotion of making Jesus King so they spoke to Jesus = "Said unto him."
2. "Master" = means perfect or one placed over others, hence it comes to mean teacher or guide, thus looking upon as a most able and powerful Rabbi (John 3:1-2), but refusing to entertain any of the growing Messianic conceptions respecting His person.
3. "Rebuke thy disciples" = admonish or charge sharply thy followers who are crying out; the Pharisees knew they could not control the crowd but they hoped Jesus would.
4. The Pharisees had observed Jesus' popularity was increasing, and they were alarmed. The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem was when He raised Lazarus from the dead which caused the Sanhedrin to meet to decide what they should do to the one called Jesus. (John 11:47-48) They feared the Romans would take away their authority to rule over Jewish affairs. Then Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews (John 11:54) for His time had not come, but now His time has come and He makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
V. 40
1. "He" = "I" = Jesus, the Messiah.
2. "Them" = the Pharisees who rebuked Jesus.
3. "These" = the disciples who were crying out.
4. In response to the Pharisees Jesus told them of the impossibility of His granting their request by using a proverbial expression which is close to what is found in Hab. 2:11--"If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" = Jesus would receive praise either from man or from nature.
LIST OF BOOKS AVAILABLE
Notes on I & II Thessalonians; Mark-Volume I, II, & III; Acts-Volume I, II, III, & IV; Romans-Volume I, II, III, IV, & V; I, II, & III John & Jude; Colossians-Volume I & II (Includes Philemon); Titus; John-Volume I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, & IX; Philippians-Volume I & II; Proverbs-Volume I & II; Ruth; I Peter-Volume I & II; Galatians-Volume I & II; Haggai; Psalms-Volume I, II, III,& IV; II Timothy; Revelation-Volume I, II, & III; Genesis-Volume I, II, & III; Jonah-Nahum; Isaiah-Volume I; II Corinthians-Volume I; I Timothy-Volume I & II; II Peter; Ephesians-Volume I, II, & III; James; Luke-Volume I, II, III, IV, V, & VI; Compiled by Edgar Lee Paschall (These books are a verse by verse study we use in our Sunday School)
STUDY GUIDE FOR DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH; SPIRITUAL CRUTCHES; ARTICLES FROM THE PERSUADER VOLUME I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, & VIII; LADDER OF HAPPINESS; DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; INOCULATED WITH THE GOSPEL (English & Spanish); JUST WHAT IS? THE INTER-TESTAMENT PERIOD; By Edgar Lee Paschall
A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST Testimony of Wilma Collins
FROM RELIGION TO REGENERATION Testimony of D. Timothy Rutherford
SAVED AFTER PREACHING FIFTEEN YEARS Testimony of Charles Shipman
VICTORY IN JESUS Testimony of Wanda Sheppard
HE LIVES Testimony of Linda Gipson
I WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE Testimony of Steven A. Johnson
WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE? By Andrew Murray
ADVICE FOR SEEKERS By C. H. Spurgeon
SPURGEON'S PERSONAL TESTIMONY By C. H. Spurgeon
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN A SINNER By L. R. Shelton
IS IT LAWFUL TO PUT AWAY THY MATE? By Paul Ragland
MAKING SURE HEAVEN IS YOUR HOME By Rex Duff
THE SIN SICK SOUL AND THE GREAT PHYSICIAN By J. C. Philpot
THE MORTIFICATION OF SIN IN THE LIFE OF BELIEVERS By John Flavel
CDS AVAILABLE FOR:
ROAD OF LIGHT for Seeking Sinners and Studying Saints, Correspondence Material Included if needed; THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE MATERIAL OT Survey 101; TRUE SEEKERS; REAL SALVATION; GENESIS 1; A PILGRIM’S JOURNEY; EXAMINE YOURSELF; THE HOME; THE DOCTRINE OF SOTERIOLOGY; THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE; SAVING FAITH IS A MUST; THE WILL OF GOD; THE TROJAN HORSE PRINCIPLE; JESUS PASSING BY; JUST WHAT IS?; WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE?; WHAT CAN GOD DO FOR SINNERS IN THE NARROW WAY; PRESSING INTO THE KINGDOM; THE MIRACLE OF THE MOTHER MINISTRY OF GOD; INVITATIONS GIVEN TO THE LOST; FUNDAMENTALS OF THE NARROW WAY with study aids; WALKING THE PATH OF UNDERSTANDING IS A MUST; GOD’S DRAWING IS A MUST; FRUSTRATIONS IN TRYING TO BELIEVE; SOME PRACTICAL THINGS YOU NEED TO HEAR AGAIN & AGAIN UNTIL YOU HAVE EARS TO HEAR & EYES TO SEE; A LOOK AT THE CROSS; WITHOUT HOLINESS NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD: WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS: THE SEEKERS CONFLICT WITH THE DEVIL; THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN; Series by Edgar Lee Paschall
THE ABC'S OF THE GOSPEL An Alphabetized Life of Jesus Portraying His Life Chronologically- 1 CD & Paper By Edgar Lee Paschall
SERIES ON SPECIFICS ON REAL SALVATION By Charles Shipman
GOOD BIBLICAL SALVATION MESSAGES By various preachers
TRACTS AVAILABLE
ATTENTION IS CHRIST YOUR LORD? By A.W. Pink - In English & Spanish
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First Printing: February, 2021