About Luke

Luke presents Jesus as the perfect man and Savior of all people, emphasizing His compassion for the marginalized.

Author: LukeWritten: c. AD 59-63Reading time: ~7 minVerses: 54
Universal SalvationSon of ManHoly SpiritPrayerJoyCompassion

King James Version

Luke 11

54 verses with commentary

The Lord's Prayer

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Lord, teach us to pray</strong> (Κύριε, δίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι, <em>Kyrie, didaxon hēmas proseuchesthai</em>)—The disciples' request reveals the rabbinical context where each teacher had distinctive prayers for his followers. John the Baptist taught his disciples specific prayers; now Jesus's followers desire their own instruction in prayer.<br><br>The Greek verb <em>didaxon</em> (teach...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XI. (1) **As he was praying in a certain place.**—The facts of the case as here narrated, the common practice of the Jews, and the analogy of the prayers in John 11:41, Matthew 26:39, and, we may add, of the thanksgiving in Luke 10:21, Matthew 11:25, all lead to the conclusion that our Lord prayed aloud, and that some, at least, of the disciples heard Him. They listened, unable to follow, or to re...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Lu 9:46-48. Strife among the Twelve Who Should Be Greatest--John Rebuked for Exclusiveness. 46-48. (See on Mt 18:1-5).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 11 Chapter Outline The disciples taught to pray.(1-4) Christ encourages being earnest in prayer.(5-13) Christ casts out a devil, The blasphemy of the Pharisees.(14-26) True happiness.(27-28) Christ reproves the Jews.(29-36) He reproves the Pharisees.(37-54) **Verses 1-4** "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ ...
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And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

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KJV Study Commentary

Jesus teaches: 'When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.' This prayer model begins with 'Our Father'—intimate relationship, not distant deity. 'Hallowed be thy name' (Greek 'hagiasthētō,' ἁγιασθήτω, let it be sanctified) prioritizes God's glory—His name, character, and reputation. 'Thy kingdom come' requ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **When ye pray, say, . . .**—The reproduction, with only a verbal variation here and there, which may well have been the work of the reporter, of what had been given in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-11), is every way significant. That which had been given to the multitude was enough for them. If they wanted to be taught to pray at all, if earnest desires did not spontaneously clothe the...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Lu 9:46-48. Strife among the Twelve Who Should Be Greatest--John Rebuked for Exclusiveness. 46-48. (See on Mt 18:1-5).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 11 Chapter Outline The disciples taught to pray.(1-4) Christ encourages being earnest in prayer.(5-13) Christ casts out a devil, The blasphemy of the Pharisees.(14-26) True happiness.(27-28) Christ reproves the Jews.(29-36) He reproves the Pharisees.(37-54) **Verses 1-4** "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ ...
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Give us day by day our daily bread. day by day: or, for the day

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Give us day by day our daily bread</strong> (τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ' ἡμέραν, <em>ton arton hēmōn ton epiousion didou hēmin to kath' hēmeran</em>)—The petition for <em>arton epiousion</em> (daily bread) centers on present dependence, not hoarding for the future. The rare Greek adjective <em>epiousion</em> may mean 'necessary for existence' or 'for the coming day,' em...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**49-50. John answered, &amp;c.--**The link of connection here with the foregoing context lies in the words "in My name" (Lu 9:48). "Oh, as to that," said John, young, warm, but not sufficiently apprehending Christ's teaching in these things, "we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and we forbade him: Were we wrong?" "Ye were wrong." "But we did because he followeth not us,'" "No matter. For (...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 11 Chapter Outline The disciples taught to pray.(1-4) Christ encourages being earnest in prayer.(5-13) Christ casts out a devil, The blasphemy of the Pharisees.(14-26) True happiness.(27-28) Christ reproves the Jews.(29-36) He reproves the Pharisees.(37-54) **Verses 1-4** "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ ...
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And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

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KJV Study Commentary

Jesus teaches: 'And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.' This petition acknowledges ongoing need for forgiveness—even believers sin daily, requiring daily forgiveness. The phrase 'for we also forgive' isn't earning forgiveness through forgiving others but demonstrating that forgiven people forgive. The Greek 'gar' (γάρ, for) indicates explanation, not conditi...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**49-50. John answered, &amp;c.--**The link of connection here with the foregoing context lies in the words "in My name" (Lu 9:48). "Oh, as to that," said John, young, warm, but not sufficiently apprehending Christ's teaching in these things, "we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and we forbade him: Were we wrong?" "Ye were wrong." "But we did because he followeth not us,'" "No matter. For (...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 11 Chapter Outline The disciples taught to pray.(1-4) Christ encourages being earnest in prayer.(5-13) Christ casts out a devil, The blasphemy of the Pharisees.(14-26) True happiness.(27-28) Christ reproves the Jews.(29-36) He reproves the Pharisees.(37-54) **Verses 1-4** "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ ...
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The Parable of the Persistent Friend

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight</strong>—Jesus introduces the parable of the importunate friend with a scenario testing the boundaries of ancient Near Eastern hospitality. The setting at <strong>midnight</strong> (μεσονύκτιον, <em>mesonyklion</em>) creates maximum inconvenience, yet the cultural obligation to provide for a traveling guest supersedes pers...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **Which of you shall have a friend** **. . .?—**The illustration, we can hardly call it a parable, is peculiar to St. Luke, and, as setting forth the power of prayer, is specially characteristic of him. (See *Introduction.*) The familiar tone, as of one appealing to each man’s natural good-will, and the dramatic vividness of the dialogue, make it almost unique in our Lord’s teaching. “Midnight...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Lu 9:51-56. The Period of His Assumption Approaching Christ Takes His Last Leave of Galilee--The Samaritans Refuse to Receive Him. **51. the time was come--**rather, "the days were being fulfilled," or approaching their fulfilment. **that he should be received up--**"of His assumption," meaning His exaltation to the Father; a sublime expression, taking the sweep of His whole career, as if at on...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? in: or, out of his way

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him</strong>—The explanation reveals the desperation: a traveling <strong>friend</strong> (φίλος, <em>philos</em>) has arrived unexpectedly <strong>in his journey</strong> (ἐξ ὁδοῦ, <em>ex hodou</em>, literally 'from the road'). Ancient travel was dangerous and unpredictable; travelers often arrived at odd ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**52. messengers before his face ... to make ready for him--**He had not done this before; but now, instead of avoiding, He seems to court publicity--all now hastening to maturity.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed</strong>—The friend's initial refusal shocks Jesus's audience because it violates sacred hospitality norms. The Greek verb translated <strong>Trouble me not</strong> (μή μοι κόπους πάρεχε, <em>mē moi kopous pareche</em>) literally means 'Do not cause me troubles/labors.' This response would bring communal shame in tha...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(7) **Trouble me not.**—As afterwards in the parable of the Unjust Judge, so here, the illustrative matter cannot be pressed into an interpretation. It seems, indeed, to have been purposely so stated that it could only suggest an *à fortiori* argument. Thus man might answer, but so does not God. If prayer prevails over apathy and impatience, how much more will it prevail when we pray to One who kn...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**53. did not receive him, because, &amp;c.--**The Galileans, in going to the festivals at Jerusalem, usually took the Samaritan route [Josephus, Antiquities, 20.6.1], and yet seem to have met with no such inhospitality. But if they were asked to prepare quarters for the Messiah, in the person of one whose "face was as though He would go to Jerusalem," their national prejudices would be raised at ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth</strong>—The Greek noun <em>ἀναίδεια</em> (<em>anaideia</em>), translated <strong>importunity</strong>, literally means 'shamelessness' or 'bold persistence.' It's the audacity to keep knocking despite initial refusal. Some scholars translate it as 'persistence' or 'avoidance of shame' (the friend outside would brin...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **Because of his importunity.**—Literally, *because of his shamelessness.* The word is not used elsewhere in the New Testament, and exactly expresses the pertinacity that knows no restraint.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**54. James and John--**not Peter, as we should have expected, but those "sons of thunder" (Mr 3:17), who afterwards wanted to have all the highest honors of the Kingdom to themselves, and the younger of whom had been rebuked already for his exclusiveness (Lu 9:49, 50). Yet this was "the disciple whom Jesus loved," while the other willingly drank of His Lord's bitter cup. (See on Mr 10:38-40; and ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.</strong> This verse contains Jesus' famous threefold encouragement to persistent prayer. The emphatic "I say unto you" (<em>kagō hymin legō</em>, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω) asserts Jesus' authority to teach about prayer and to make promises about God's responses. Each command uses pres...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9-13) **Ask, and it shall be given you.**—See Notes on Matthew 7:7-11; but note (1) the greater impressiveness of the opening words, “And I say unto you, . . . “as connected with the previous illustration; and (2) the addition of the “scorpion” to the “serpent,” as though the recent combination of the two words in Luke 10:19 had so associated them that the one was naturally followed by the other.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**55-56. know not what ... spirit--**The thing ye demand, though in keeping with the legal, is unsuited to the genius of the evangelical dispensation. The sparks of unholy indignation would seize readily enough on this example of Elias, though our Lord's rebuke (as is plain from Lu 9:56) is directed to the principle involved rather than the animal heat which doubtless prompted the reference. "It i...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.</strong> This verse reinforces the previous verse (Luke 11:9) with emphatic, universal language. The phrase "every one" (<em>pas gar ho</em>, πᾶς γὰρ ὁ) removes all exceptions—the promises apply to all who pray, regardless of status, worthiness, or circumstance. The conjunction "f...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**55-56. know not what ... spirit--**The thing ye demand, though in keeping with the legal, is unsuited to the genius of the evangelical dispensation. The sparks of unholy indignation would seize readily enough on this example of Elias, though our Lord's rebuke (as is plain from Lu 9:56) is directed to the principle involved rather than the animal heat which doubtless prompted the reference. "It i...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father , will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?</strong>—Jesus escalates from friendship to fatherhood, the most intimate human relationship. The rhetorical question expects a resounding 'No!' The contrast between <strong>bread</strong> (ἄρτον, <em>arton</em>) and <strong>stone</strong> (λίθον, <em>lithon</em>) emphasizes absurdity—round limestone rocks r...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? offer: Gr. give

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?</strong>—The third contrast completes Jesus's trilogy of absurd substitutions: egg for scorpion. A <strong>scorpion</strong> (σκορπίον, <em>skorpion</em>) when coiled resembles a pale egg, yet delivers venomous sting instead of nourishment. Palestine's scorpions (particularly <em>Buthus</em> species) were common household pests whose...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

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KJV Study Commentary

Jesus concludes teaching on prayer: 'how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?' The phrase 'how much more' (Greek 'posō mallon,' πόσῳ μᾶλλον) argues from lesser to greater—if sinful human fathers give good gifts, infinitely more will the perfect heavenly Father give. The greatest gift is 'the Holy Spirit'—not material blessings but God Himself dwelling in ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(13) **How much more shall your heavenly Father** **. . .?—**We note a change here also, the one highest gift of the “Holy Spirit” taking the place of the wider and less definite “good things” in Matthew 7:11. The variation is significant, as belonging to a later stage of our Lord’s teaching, and especially as spoken probably to some of the Seventy, who were thus taught to ask boldly for the Spiri...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 5-13** Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order ...
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Jesus and Beelzebul

And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb.</strong> Luke introduces the Beelzebub controversy with a specific miracle: Jesus exorcising a demon that caused muteness (κωφός, kōphos—deaf or mute). The imperfect tense "was casting out" (ἦν ἐκβάλλων, ēn ekballōn) suggests ongoing action or perhaps that observers watched the process. The demon is described as "dumb" (κωφόν, kōphon), havin...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14, 15) **He was casting out a devil.**—See Notes on Matthew 9:32-34.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. Beelzebub: Gr. Beelzebul

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.</strong> This verse records the ultimate blasphemy: attributing Jesus' works to Satan. The name "Beelzebub" (Βεελζεβούλ, Beelzeboul) derives from the Philistine deity Baal-zebub ("lord of flies," 2 Kings 1:2) but had become a Jewish title for Satan as "lord of the dwelling" or prince of demons. Calling ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**61. I will follow ... but--**The second disciple had a "but" too--a difficulty in the way just then. Yet the different treatment of the two cases shows how different was the spirit of the two, and to that our Lord addressed Himself. The case of Elisha (1Ki 19:19-21), though apparently similar to this, will be found quite different from the "looking back" of this case, the best illustration of wh...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.</strong> A second group responds to the exorcism not with accusation but with demand for further proof. The phrase "tempting him" (πειράζοντες, peirazontes) indicates their motive was not genuine inquiry but testing—attempting to trap or discredit Jesus. They "sought of him a sign from heaven" (σημεῖον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐζήτουν παρ' αὐτο...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**62. No man, &amp;c.--**As ploughing requires an eye intent on the furrow to be made, and is marred the instant one turns about, so will they come short of salvation who prosecute the work of God with a distracted attention, a divided heart. Though the reference seems chiefly to ministers, the application is general. The expression "looking back" has a manifest reference to "Lot's wife" (Ge 19:26...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.</strong> Jesus demonstrates divine omniscience: "knowing their thoughts" (εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὰ διανοήματα, eidōs autōn ta dianoēmata) reveals His penetration of unspoken motives. He responds with irrefutable logic: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation" (πᾶσα βα...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(17-23) **But he, knowing their thoughts.**—St. Luke seems here to bring together into one narrative two incidents which in St. Matt. (Matthew 9:32; Matthew 12:22) appear as separated. The points of resemblance, the dumbness in both cases, both followed by the whisper that Jesus cast out devils by Beelzebub, may have easily led one who collected the facts some years after they occurred to regard t...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?</strong> Jesus applies the divided kingdom principle specifically to Satan's realm. The conditional "if" (εἰ, ei) introduces a reductio ad absurdum—if the Pharisees' accusation were true, Satan would be self-destructing. The phrase "his kingdom" (ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ, hē basileia autou) acknowledges Satan's organized domini...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 10 Lu 10:1-24. Mission of the Seventy Disciples, and Their Return. As our Lord's end approaches, the preparations for the establishment of the coming Kingdom are quickened and extended. **1. the Lord--**a becoming title here, as this appointment was an act truly lordly [Bengel]. **other seventy also--**rather, "others (also in number), seventy"; probably with allusion to the seventy ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out?</strong> Jesus introduces an ad hominem argument that devastates His critics. The phrase "your sons" (οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν, hoi huioi humōn) refers to Jewish exorcists among the Pharisees' own disciples and followers. Jewish exorcism was practiced (cf. Acts 19:13-16 for 'sons of Sceva'), though with limited success compared...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**2. The harvest, &amp;c.--**(See on Mt 9:37). **pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest--**(See on Mt 9:38).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.</strong> This verse contains one of Scripture's clearest proclamations of the kingdom's arrival. The phrase "finger of God" (ἐν δακτύλῳ Θεοῦ, en daktulō Theou) echoes Exodus 8:19, where Pharaoh's magicians recognized God's power in the plagues. It's an anthropomorphism indicating divine power and...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(20) **If I with the finger of God . . .**—Note the substitution of this language for “by the Spirit of God,” in Matthew 12:28, and its connection with the use by the older prophets of “the hand of the Lord,” to indicate the state which issued in prophetic inspiration (Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 37:1), and with “the finger of God” as writing the Commandments on the tables of stone (Exodus 31:18), and Ph...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace.</strong> Jesus shifts to parabolic imagery, introducing "a strong man armed" (ὁ ἰσχυρὸς καθωπλισμένος, ho ischyros kathōplismenos)—fully equipped with weapons and armor. This figure represents Satan, whose "palace" (αὐλή, aulē—courtyard, domain) is the world system under his temporary control (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 5:1...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(21-23) **When a strong man armed keepeth his palace.**—See Notes on Matthew 12:29-30. The only noticeable variations are the use of “palace” for “house;” of the strong man being “armed;” of the “armour” or “panoply” (the same word as in Ephesians 6:13) in which he trusted; of the “division of the spoils.” It is throughout a fuller and more vivid report, but apparently of the same sayings.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.</strong> This verse depicts Christ's victory over Satan through vivid military imagery. The phrase "a stronger than he" (ἰσχυρότερος αὐτοῦ, ischyroteros autou, comparative adjective) refers to Jesus, whose power infinitely exceeds Satan's. The ve...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.</strong> Jesus eliminates neutral ground in the cosmic conflict between God's kingdom and Satan's. The phrase "not with me" (μὴ ὢν μετ' ἐμοῦ, mē ōn met' emou) and "against me" (κατ' ἐμοῦ, kat' emou) create a binary—no middle position exists. Similarly, "gathereth not with me" (μὴ συνάγων μετ' ἐμοῦ, mē synag...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.</strong> Jesus shifts from the Beelzebub controversy to warn about incomplete deliverance. The phrase "unclean spirit" (τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα, to akatharton pneuma) emphasizes demonic defilement—these beings pollute and corrupt....
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(24-26) **When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man.**—See Notes on Matthew 12:43-45. Here the only variations are (1) the omission of the house being “empty,” and (2) of the application of the parable to “this wicked generation.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.</strong> The returning demon discovers the formerly occupied person in a condition that is both promising and perilous. "Swept" (σεσαρωμένον, sesarōmenon, perfect participle) indicates thorough cleaning—past action with continuing result. "Garnished" (κεκοσμημένον, kekosmēmenon, perfect participle from κοσμέω, kosmeō) means decorated, ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself.</strong> The returning demon, finding the house empty despite being clean, recruits reinforcements—"seven other spirits" (ἑπτὰ ἕτερα πνεύματα, hepta hetera pneumata), a number suggesting completeness or fullness. These are "more wicked than himself" (πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ, ponērotera heautou)—escalating malevolence ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 14-26** Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of...
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True Blessedness

And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.</strong> A woman in the crowd interrupts Jesus' sobering warning with an emotional exclamation blessing Mary, His mother. The phrase "lifted up her voice" (ἐπάρασά τις φωνὴν, eparasa tis phōnēn) indica...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(27) **A certain woman of the company.**—The incident is peculiar to St. Luke, and, like many other of the facts recorded by him, seems to have been derived from the company of devout women (Luke 8:1; see *Introduction*) with whom he came into contact. It is interesting as being the first direct fulfilment of the words of the Magnificat, “All generations shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48), and as ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 27-28** While the scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed the discourses of our Lord Jesus, this good woman admired them, and the wisdom and power with which he spake. Christ led the woman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege to hear the word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and keep to ...
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But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

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KJV Study Commentary

Jesus responds: 'Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.' This corrects a woman's statement that Jesus' mother was blessed for bearing Him (v. 27). Jesus doesn't deny Mary's blessedness but redirects focus—true blessing comes from hearing and obeying God's word, not merely physical relationship to Jesus. The Greek 'phylassontes' (φυλάσσοντες, keep/obey) means guarding,...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(28) **Blessed are they that hear the word of God.**—The term thus used clearly designates here the message of the Kingdom spoken by our Lord Himself, as in the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:20). In its wider application, it of course includes, though it must not be confined to it, the record of that spoken Word, or of subsequent revelations of the Truth in what we know as Scripture.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 27-28** While the scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed the discourses of our Lord Jesus, this good woman admired them, and the wisdom and power with which he spake. Christ led the woman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege to hear the word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and keep to ...
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The Sign of Jonah

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet</strong> (Γενεὰ πονηρά ἐστιν· σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ)—Jesus pronounces this generation <em>ponēra</em> (evil, morally corrupt) for persistent <em>epizēteō</em> (sign-seeking). Despite witnessing miracles, they demand more authenticating wonders. The 'sign of Jonah' is deliberately...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(29-32) **This is an evil generation: they seek a sign.**—See Notes on Matthew 12:38-42. The words here spoken are clearly an answer to the demand for a sign in Luke 11:16. In St. Matthew the demand and the answer appear in close sequence. The variations in St. Luke are (1) the omission of the explanation of the manner in which the sign of the prophet Jonah was to be fulfilled by the three days an...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation</strong> (καθὼς γὰρ ἐγένετο Ἰωνᾶς τοῖς Νινευΐταις σημεῖον, οὕτως ἔσται καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου)—the comparative structure establishes typological correspondence between Jonah and Jesus. Jonah became a <em>sēmeion</em> (sign) to Nineveh through his three-day entombment in the fish followed by emer...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here</strong> (βασίλισσα νότου ἐγερθήσεται...καὶ κατακρινεῖ αὐτούς...ἰδοὺ πλεῖον Σολομῶντος ὧδε)—Jesus invokes the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13) as eschatological witn...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here</strong> (μετενόησαν εἰς τὸ κήρυγμα Ἰωνᾶ, καὶ ἰδοὺ πλεῖον Ἰωνᾶ ὧδε)—Jesus's second witness comes from Nineveh, the notoriously wicked Assyrian capital that repented at Jonah's preaching (Jonah 3:5-10). These Genti...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3-12. (See on Mt 10:7-16).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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The Lamp of the Body

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light</strong> (Οὐδεὶς λύχνον ἅψας εἰς κρύπτην τίθησιν οὐδὲ ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν)—Jesus returns to the lamp metaphor (also 8:16) illustrating truth's self-evident nature. A <em>luchnos</em> (lamp) exists to illuminate, not be ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(33, 34) **No man, when he hath lighted a candle, . . .**—See Note on Matthew 5:15. Here also it seems, on the whole, more probable that we have a portion of our Lord’s previous teaching repeated by Him in almost identical terms, than that a fragment of that teaching has either been torn from its proper context by St. Luke, or artificially woven into a discourse to which it did not belong by St. M...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**16. He that, &amp;c.--**(See on Mt 10:40).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness</strong> (Ὁ λύχνος τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου. ὅταν οὖν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς ᾖ, καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα σου φωτεινόν ἐστιν· ἐπὰν δὲ πονηρὸς ᾖ, καὶ τὸ σῶμα σου σκοτεινόν)—Jesus shifts from external illumination (lamp) to in...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(34) **The light of the body is the eye.**—See Note on Matthew 6:22. In some respects the sequence of thought in St. Luke differs from that in St. Matthew, and seems somewhat closer. In the Sermon on the Mount, the company of Christ’s disciples are the light, and each of them is as the lamp on its proper stand, and the teaching as to the “light of the body,” and the corresponding “‘eye” of the sou...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**17. returned--**evidently not long away. **Lord, &amp;c.--**"Thou hast exceeded Thy promise, for 'even the devils,'" &amp;c. The possession of such power, not being expressly in their commission, as in that to the Twelve (Lu 9:1), filled them with more astonishment and joy than all else. **through thy name--**taking no credit to themselves, but feeling lifted into a region of unimagined supe...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness</strong> (Σκόπει οὖν μὴ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἐν σοὶ σκότος ἐστίν)—the imperative <em>skopei</em> (take heed, watch carefully) warns against self-deception. One can possess what they consider 'light' (<em>phōs</em>) while actually dwelling in 'darkness' (<em>skotos</em>). This paradox describes those confident in their spiritual insig...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(35) **Take heed therefore that the light . . .**—Better, *See to it whether the light that is in thee be darkness.* This takes the place in St. Luke’s report of St. Matthew’s (Luke 6:23) “If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” The warning is one which calls men to self-scrutiny. They need to examine their primary beliefs, their very intuitions of right and wrong, l...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**18. I beheld--**As much of the force of this glorious statement depends on the nice shade of sense indicated by the imperfect tense in the original, it should be brought out in the translation: "I was beholding Satan as lightning falling from heaven"; that is, "I followed you on your mission, and watched its triumphs; while you were wondering at the subjection to you of devils in My name, a gran...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. the bright: Gr. a candle by its bright shining

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light</strong> (εἰ οὖν τὸ σῶμα σου ὅλον φωτεινόν, μὴ ἔχον μέρος τι σκοτεινόν, ἔσται φωτεινὸν ὅλον ὡς ὅταν ὁ λύχνος τῇ ἀστραπῇ φωτίζῃ σε)—Jesus describes total illumination, internal consistency where no 'part' (<em>meros</em>) remains in...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(36) **If thy whole body therefore be full of light.**—The statement reads at first like an identical proposition. “If thy whole body be full of light, it shall be full of light all over.” The apparent truism is, however, the most expressive utterance of a truth. If the “whole body”—life in all its various manifestations—is illumined by the divine light; if the character is in its measure perfect,...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**19. Behold, I give you, &amp;c.--**not for any renewal of their mission, though probably many of them afterwards became ministers of Christ; but simply as disciples. **serpents and scorpions--**the latter more venomous than the former: literally, in the first instance (Mr 16:17, 18; Ac 28:5); but the next words, "and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you," sh...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 29-36** Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not prof...
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Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him</strong> (ἐρωτᾷ αὐτὸν Φαρισαῖός τις ὅπως ἀριστήσῃ παρ' αὐτῷ)—the verb <em>erōtaō</em> (besought) appears polite, yet context suggests entrapment given growing hostility (v.53-54). <strong>And he went in, and sat down to meat</strong> (εἰσελθὼν δὲ ἀνέπεσεν)—Jesus accepts despite knowing their hearts, demonstrating accessibili...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(37) **A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him.**—On the act, and the feeling which it implied, see Note on Luke 7:36. The word translated “dine” implies a morning or noon-tide meal, as distinct from the supper of the evening.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**20. rejoice not, &amp;c.--**that is, not so much. So far from forbidding it, He takes occasion from it to tell them what had been passing in His own mind. But as power over demons was after all intoxicating, He gives them a higher joy to balance it, the joy of having their names in Heaven's register (Php 4:3).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner</strong> (ἐθαύμασεν ὅτι οὐ πρῶτον ἐβαπτίσθη πρὸ τοῦ ἀρίστου)—the verb <em>thaumazō</em> (marvelled) indicates shock or disapproval. The ritual washing (<em>baptizō</em>, ceremonial immersion of hands) wasn't biblical law but Pharisaic tradition (Mark 7:3-4). Jesus's deliberate omission challenges human tr...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(38) **He marvelled that he had not first washed.**—See Notes on Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:3. Here the word “washed” (literally, though of course not in the technical sense, *baptized*) implies actual immersion, or, at least, a process that took in the whole body. Mark 7:4 shows that this was the Pharisaic standard of ceremonial purity.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**21-22. Jesus ... said, &amp;c.--**The very same sublime words were uttered by our Lord on a former similar occasion (see on Mt 11:25-27); but (1) There we are merely told that He "answered and said" thus; here, He "rejoiced in spirit and said," &amp;c. (2) There it was merely "at that time" (or season) that He spoke thus, meaning with a general reference to the rejection of His gospel by the sel...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness</strong> (τὸ ἔξωθεν τοῦ ποτηρίου καὶ τοῦ πίνακος καθαρίζετε, τὸ δὲ ἔσωθεν ὑμῶν γέμει ἁρπαγῆς καὶ πονηρίας)—Jesus's response escalates from defending his practice to attacking theirs. The contrast between <em>exōthen</em> (outside) and <em>esōthen</em> (inside) stru...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(39) **Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup.**—See Note on Matthew 23:25. The verses that follow stand in the relation to the great discourse against the Pharisees in that chapter, as the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6) does to the Sermon on the Mount. Here, too, we recognise another instance, not of a narrative misplaced, but of words actually repeated. All past experiences, all fau...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**21-22. Jesus ... said, &amp;c.--**The very same sublime words were uttered by our Lord on a former similar occasion (see on Mt 11:25-27); but (1) There we are merely told that He "answered and said" thus; here, He "rejoiced in spirit and said," &amp;c. (2) There it was merely "at that time" (or season) that He spoke thus, meaning with a general reference to the rejection of His gospel by the sel...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?</strong> (ἄφρονες, οὐχ ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔξωθεν καὶ τὸ ἔσωθεν ἐποίησεν;)—Jesus calls them <em>aphrōn</em> (fools, senseless), the same word used of the rich man who prioritized wealth over soul (12:20). The rhetorical question asserts God's creative authority over both body and soul, external and internal. Thei...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(40) **Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without** . .?—The question is peculiar to St. Luke, and implies a latent parabolic application of the previous words. Outward, positive ceremonial law, ordering the cleansing of the outside of the cup and of the platter, the eternal moral law requiring truth in the inward parts,—these had, to say the least, the same Maker, and one was not to be ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23-24. (See on Mt 13:16, 17).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. of: or, as you are able

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you</strong> (πλὴν τὰ ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην, καὶ ἰδοὺ πάντα καθαρὰ ὑμῖν ἐστιν)—Jesus prescribes the remedy: <em>eleēmosunē</em> (alms, charitable giving) from 'that which is within' (<em>ta enonta</em>). True purity flows from a transformed heart expressing itself in compassion, not ritual compliance. ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(41) **But rather give alms of such things as ye have.**—This, too, is peculiar to St. Luke. In the underlying principle of its teaching it sweeps away the whole fabric of the law of ceremonial purity, as the words of St. Matthew 15:10-20 had, on different grounds, done before. The distinction between the two phases of the truth is that here greater stress is laid on the active purifying power of ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23-24. (See on Mt 13:16, 17).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone</strong> (ἀποδεκατοῦτε τὸ ἡδύοσμον καὶ τὸ πήγανον...καὶ παρέρχεσθε τὴν κρίσιν καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ)—the first 'woe' (<em>ouai</em>) condemns misplaced priorities. Pharisees meticulously tithed garden herbs ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(42) **Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint.**—See Note on Matthew 23:23. Here, again, we note minor variations—“rue and all manner of herbs,” for St. Matthew’s “anise and cummin;” “judgment and the love of God,” for “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith”—sufficient to show independence.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Lu 10:25-37. Question of a Lawyer and Parable of the Good Samaritan. **25. tempted him--**"tested him"; in no hostile spirit, yet with no tender anxiety for light on that question of questions, but just to see what insight this great Galilean teacher had.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets</strong> (ὅτι ἀγαπᾶτε τὴν πρωτοκαθεδρίαν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ τοὺς ἀσπασμοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς)—the second woe targets pride and status-seeking. <em>Prōtokathedria</em> (chief seats) refers to seats facing the congregation, reserved for honored teachers. <em>Aspasmous</em> (greetings) i...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(43) **Ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues.**—See Notes on Matthew 23:6-7.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**26. What is written in the law--**apposite question to a doctor of the law, and putting him in turn to the test [Bengel].

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not</strong> (ὅτι ἐστὲ ὡς τὰ μνημεῖα τὰ ἄδηλα)—the third woe uses cemetery imagery. <em>Mnēmeia</em> (graves, tombs) that are <em>adēla</em> (unmarked, hidden) were problematic because stepping on them caused ritual defilement (Numbers 19:16). Jews whitewashed tombs annually before Passover to mark them visi...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(44) **Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!**—The better MSS. give simply, *Woe unto you, Pharisees,* (See Note on Matthew 23:27.) **Ye are as graves which appear not.**—The comparison, though drawn from the same object, presents a different phase of it. In St. Matthew the contrast is between the whitened surface and the decaying bones within. Here the whitewash is worn out, and there ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**27. Thou shalt, &amp;c.--**the answer Christ Himself gave to another lawyer. (See on Mr 12:29-33).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also</strong> (Ἀποκριθεὶς δέ τις τῶν νομικῶν λέγει αὐτῷ, Διδάσκαλε, ταῦτα λέγων καὶ ἡμᾶς ὑβρίζεις)—a <em>nomikos</em> (lawyer, Torah scholar) interrupts Jesus's denunciation of Pharisees. The verb <em>hubrizō</em> (reproachest, insult) indicates personal offense. The lawyers (also called scribes) w...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(45) **Then answered one of the lawyers.**—See Note on Matthew 22:35 for the term “lawyer.” We note here the sense at once of distinctness and of class fellowship. Though something more than a scribe, he feels that he stands or falls with them.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**28. he said, &amp;c.--**"Right; This do, and life is thine"--laying such emphasis on "this" as to indicate, without expressing it, where the real difficulty to a sinner lay, and thus nonplussing the questioner himself.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers</strong> (ὅτι φορτίζετε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους φορτία δυσβάστακτα, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑνὶ τῶν δακτύλων ὑμῶν οὐ προσψαύετε τοῖς φορτίοις)—the fourth woe condemns hypocritical burden-bearing. <em>Phortizō</em> (lade, load heavily) describes oppressive loading of <...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(46) **Ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne.**—See Note on Matthew 23:4.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**29. willing--**"wishing," to get himself out of the difficulty, by throwing on Jesus the definition of "neighbor," which the Jews interpreted very narrowly and technically, as excluding Samaritans and Gentiles [Alford].

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them</strong> (ὅτι οἰκοδομεῖτε τὰ μνημεῖα τῶν προφητῶν, οἱ δὲ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἀπέκτειναν αὐτούς)—the fifth woe exposes hypocritical prophet-honoring. They <em>oikodomeō</em> (built) elaborate <em>mnēmeia</em> (tombs, monuments) for the prophets their <em>pateres</em> (fathers, ancestors) <em>apekteinan</em> (ki...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(47) **Ye build the sepulchres of the prophets.**—See Note on Matthew 23:29. St. Luke omits the reference, which we find in St. Matthew, to the “sepulchres of the righteous.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**30. A certain man--**a Jew. **from Jerusalem to Jericho--**a distance of nineteen miles northeast, a deep and very fertile hollow--"the Temple of Judea" [Trench]. **thieves--**"robbers." The road, being rocky and desolate, was a notorious haunt of robbers, then and for ages after, and even to this day.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres</strong> (ἄρα μαρτυρεῖτε καὶ συνευδοκεῖτε τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν, ὅτι αὐτοὶ μὲν ἀπέκτειναν αὐτούς, ὑμεῖς δὲ οἰκοδομεῖτε αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα)—Jesus interprets their tomb-building as <em>martureo</em> (bearing witness) that they <em>suneudokeō</em> (approve, consent to...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(48) **Truly ye bear witness that ye allow.**—The better MSS. give, *Truly are ye witnesses, and ye allow.* The word “allow” has, as always in the English Bible, the meaning of “approving of,” “consenting to,” “having pleasure in.” The last phrase is the rendering of the same Greek word in Romans 1:32, and would express the meaning here. The derivation of “allow” from the French *allouer* and the ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**31-32. came down a ... priest ... and a Levite--**Jericho, the second city of Judea, was a city of the priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The two here mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from temple duties, but they had not learnt what that meaneth, 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice' [Trench]. **saw him--**It was not inadvertently that he acted. **came...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute</strong> (διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ εἶπεν, Ἀποστελῶ εἰς αὐτοὺς προφήτας καὶ ἀποστόλους, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀποκτενοῦσιν καὶ ἐκδιώξουσιν)—Jesus quotes 'the wisdom of God' (<em>hē sophia tou theou</em>), possibly referring to lost Scripture, Jesus's own wisdom, or pers...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(49-51) **Therefore also said the wisdom of God.**—The words that follow are in the main the same as those of Matthew 23:34-36, where see Notes. There are, however, some remarkable variations, each of which suggests some questions of interest. (1) The words here appear at first sight as if they were a quotation from a book recognised as of divine authority, and not a few critics have supposed that...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**31-32. came down a ... priest ... and a Levite--**Jericho, the second city of Judea, was a city of the priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The two here mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from temple duties, but they had not learnt what that meaneth, 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice' [Trench]. **saw him--**It was not inadvertently that he acted. **came...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation</strong> (ἵνα ἐκζητηθῇ τὸ αἷμα πάντων τῶν προφητῶν τὸ ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης)—Jesus pronounces climactic judgment: <em>ekzēteō</em> (required, demanded) suggests judicial reckoning. The blood of 'all the prophets' shed <em>apo katabolēs kos...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(50) **The blood of all the prophets.**—Here again we note a variation from “all the righteous blood” of Matthew 23:35.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**33. Samaritan--**one excommunicated by the Jews, a byword among them, synonymous with heretic and devil (Joh 8:48; see on Lu 17:18). **had compassion--**His best is mentioned first; for "He who gives outward things gives something external to himself, but he who imparts compassion and tears gives him something from his very self" [Gregory The Great, in Trench]. No doubt the priest and Levite h...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple</strong> (ἀπὸ αἵματος Ἅβελ ἕως αἵματος Ζαχαρίου τοῦ ἀπολομένου μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου)—Jesus specifies the range: from Abel (Genesis 4:8, first martyr) to Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-22, last martyr in Hebrew Bible canon, since Chronicles was ordered last). This encompasses ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(51) **From the blood of Abel. . . .**—See Note on Matthew 23:35. We note the absence here of the description “Zacharias, son of Barachias,” which causes so much perplexity in St. Matthew’s report. So far as it goes, the omission favours the view that the additional words were inserted by the reporter of our Lord’s discourse there, or by some early transcriber.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**34. oil and wine--**the remedies used in such cases all over the East (Is 1:6), and elsewhere; the wine to cleanse the wounds, the oil to assuage their smartings. **on his own beast--**himself going on foot.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. hindered: or, forbad

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered</strong> (ὅτι ἤρατε τὴν κλεῖδα τῆς γνώσεως· αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσήλθατε καὶ τοὺς εἰσερχομένους ἐκωλύσατε)—the sixth woe condemns removing the <em>kleida tēs gnōseōs</em> (key of knowledge). The 'key' represents correct biblical interpretation that unlocks sal...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(52) **Woe unto you, lawyers!**—The “woe” in this case is uttered against those who were, by their very calling, the professed interpreters of the Law. Its form rests on the fact that each scribe or “doctor of the law,” in the full sense of the term, was symbolically admitted to his office by the delivery of a key. His work was to enter with that key into the treasure-chambers of the house of the ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**35. two pence--**equal to two day's wages of a laborer, and enough for several days' support.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently</strong> (Κἀκεῖθεν ἐξελθόντος αὐτοῦ ἤρξαντο οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι δεινῶς ἐνέχειν)—Luke narrates the aftermath of Jesus's six woes. <em>Deinōs</em> (vehemently, terribly) describes their intense response. <em>Enechein</em> (urge, press upon) suggests hostile pressure—they began interro...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(53) **And as he said these things unto them.**—The better MSS. give, “When He had gone forth from thence . . . ,” as though Jesus had left the house after uttering the “woe” of Luke 11:52, and was followed by the crowd of angry and embittered disputants. **To provoke him to speak.**—The Greek verb has literally the sense of “causing to speak impromptu, without thought,” and is happily enough rend...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**36. Which ... was neighbour?--**a most dexterous way of putting the question: (1) Turning the question from, "Whom am I to love as my neighbour?" to "Who is the man that shows that love?" (2) Compelling the lawyer to give a reply very different from what he would like--not only condemning his own nation, but those of them who should be the most exemplary. (3) Making him commend one of a deeply h...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him</strong> (ἐνεδρεύοντες αὐτὸν θηρεῦσαί τι ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, ἵνα κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ)—<em>enedreuō</em> (laying wait, plotting ambush) describes military ambush strategy applied to verbal combat. <em>Thēreuō</em> (catch, hunt) uses hunting imagery—they're stalking prey. The purpose clause <e...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(54) **Laying wait for him.**—The better MSS. give the verse in a somewhat simpler form, *laying wait to catch something out of His mouth.* The words throw light on the subsequent question about paying tribute to Cæsar (Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17), and show it to have been the acting out of a pre-concerted policy. **Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com....
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**37. Go, &amp;c.--**O exquisite, matchless teaching! What new fountains of charity has not this opened up in the human spirit--rivers in the wilderness, streams in the desert! What noble Christian institutions have not such words founded, all undreamed of till that wondrous One came to bless this heartless world of ours with His incomparable love--first in words, and then in deeds which have tran...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

**Verses 37-54** We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us w...
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