King James Version
Luke 16
31 verses with commentary
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.</strong> Jesus introduces the parable of the unjust steward, one of Scripture's most perplexing teachings. The phrase "said also unto his disciples" (ἔλεγεν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητάς, elegen de kai pros tous mathētas) indicates this parable ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XVI.
(1) **There was a certain rich man, which had a steward.**—There is, perhaps, no single parable that has been subjected to such various and discordant interpretations as this of the Unjust Steward. It seems best to give step by step what seems to be a true exposition of its meaning, and to reserve a survey of other expositions till they can be compared with this.
The word “steward” had, we mu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-6. (See on Mt 12:11, 12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Christ's resurrection made known the women.(1-8)
Christ appears to Mary Magdalene and other disciples.(9-13)
His commission to the apostles.(14-18)
Christ's ascension.(19-20)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus brought a large quantity of spices, but these good women did not think that enough. The respect others show to Christ, should not hinder us from sh...
Read full commentary →And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.</strong> The master confronts the steward with the accusation, demanding accountability. The phrase "How is it that I hear this?" (τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ, ti touto akouō peri sou) suggests investigation based on credible reports—the steward's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **How is it that I hear this of thee?**—(1) The opening words of the steward’s master imply wonder as well as indignation. They remind us so far of the words of the lord of the vineyard in another parable, “Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:4). Speaking after the manner of men, it was a marvel and a mystery that men with so hig...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-6. (See on Mt 12:11, 12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Christ's resurrection made known the women.(1-8)
Christ appears to Mary Magdalene and other disciples.(9-13)
His commission to the apostles.(14-18)
Christ's ascension.(19-20)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus brought a large quantity of spices, but these good women did not think that enough. The respect others show to Christ, should not hinder us from sh...
Read full commentary →Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.</strong> The steward's internal deliberation reveals his desperate situation. The phrase "within himself" (ἐν ἑαυτῷ, en heautō) indicates this is private calculation, not conversation—he's weighing options without counsel. His question "What shall I do?...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.**—In the outer framework of the parable there is something eminently characteristic in this utterance of the steward’s thoughts. He has lost the manliness and strength which would have fitted him for actual labour. He retains the false shame which makes him prefer fraud to poverty. He shudders at the thought that it might be his lot to sit, like Lazarus, an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-11. a parable--**showing that His design was not so much to inculcate mere politeness or good manners, as underneath this to teach something deeper (Lu 14:11).
**chief rooms--**principal seats, in the middle part of the couch on which they reclined at meals, esteemed the most honorable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Christ's resurrection made known the women.(1-8)
Christ appears to Mary Magdalene and other disciples.(9-13)
His commission to the apostles.(14-18)
Christ's ascension.(19-20)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus brought a large quantity of spices, but these good women did not think that enough. The respect others show to Christ, should not hinder us from sh...
Read full commentary →I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.</strong> The steward reaches a decision—the verb "I am resolved" (ἔγνων, egnōn, aorist of γινώσκω, ginōskō) means "I know" or "I have realized," indicating a decisive epiphany. He has formulated a plan to secure his future. The temporal clause "when I am put out" (ὅταν μετασταθῶ, ho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **I am resolved what to do.**—More literally, *I know,* or even, *I knew,* as of a man to whom a plan occurs suddenly. The dramatic abruptness of the parable leaves us uncertain who “they” are that are to “receive” him. The context that follows immediately supplies the deficiency. What answers to this, in the interpretation, is the moment when a Church or party or an individual teacher, halts ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-11. a parable--**showing that His design was not so much to inculcate mere politeness or good manners, as underneath this to teach something deeper (Lu 14:11).
**chief rooms--**principal seats, in the middle part of the couch on which they reclined at meals, esteemed the most honorable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Christ's resurrection made known the women.(1-8)
Christ appears to Mary Magdalene and other disciples.(9-13)
His commission to the apostles.(14-18)
Christ's ascension.(19-20)
**Verses 1-8**
Nicodemus brought a large quantity of spices, but these good women did not think that enough. The respect others show to Christ, should not hinder us from sh...
Read full commentary →So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?</strong> The steward begins executing his plan with urgency—the verb "called" (προσκαλεσάμενος, proskalesamenos, aorist middle participle) suggests he summoned them quickly, exploiting his remaining authority before dismissal becomes public. The phrase "every one" (ἕνα ἕκαστον,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **So he called every one of his lord’s debtors.**—The debtors might be either men who had bought their wheat and their oil at the hands of the steward; or, as the sequel renders more probable, tenants who, after the common custom of the East, paid their rent in kind. Who, we ask, are the “debtors,” in the interpretation of the parable? The Lord’s Prayer supplies the answer to that question. Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-11. a parable--**showing that His design was not so much to inculcate mere politeness or good manners, as underneath this to teach something deeper (Lu 14:11).
**chief rooms--**principal seats, in the middle part of the couch on which they reclined at meals, esteemed the most honorable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. measures: the word Batus in the original containeth nine gallons three quarts
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.</strong> The first debtor owes "a hundred measures" (ἑκατὸν βάτους, hekaton batous) of olive oil—approximately 875 gallons, representing the production of about 150 olive trees or substantial commercial quantity. The steward's command is decisive: "Take thy bill" (δέξαι σου ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Take thy bill, and sit down quickly.**—The better MSS. give, *thy bills,* or *thy documents,* in the plural. These would include that which answered to the modern lease, the contract which specified the rent, and probably also the memorandum of the due delivery of the annual share of the produce. In this case the measure is the Hebrew *bath,* which has been variously estimated, the data bein...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-11. a parable--**showing that His design was not so much to inculcate mere politeness or good manners, as underneath this to teach something deeper (Lu 14:11).
**chief rooms--**principal seats, in the middle part of the couch on which they reclined at meals, esteemed the most honorable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. measures: the word here interpreted a measure in the original containeth about fourteen bushels and two quarts
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.</strong> The steward continues his strategy with a second debtor, who owes "a hundred measures" (ἑκατ�ὸν κόρους, hekaton korous) of wheat—approximately 1,000 bushels or 10-12 tons, representing the yield of about 100 acres. This reduction is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **An hundred measures of wheat.**—Here the measure is the Hebrew *cor,* which is reckoned as equal to ten *baths* (the latter, however, is a liquid, the former, a dry measure), and accordingly varies, according to the estimate given above, from thirteen to about ninety-seven gallons. One calculation makes it nearly equal to the English “quarter.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-11. a parable--**showing that His design was not so much to inculcate mere politeness or good manners, as underneath this to teach something deeper (Lu 14:11).
**chief rooms--**principal seats, in the middle part of the couch on which they reclined at meals, esteemed the most honorable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus concludes the parable: 'And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their wisdom wiser than the children of light.' The master commends (ἐπῄνεσεν, epēnesen, praised) 'the unjust steward' (τὸν οἰκονόμον τῆς ἀδικίας, ton oikonomon tēs adikias)—not his dishonesty but his shrewdness in securing his future. The comparison 'children ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And the lord commended . . .**—The “lord” is, of course, the rich man of the parable, the steward’s master. He too, in the outer framework of the story, is one of the children of this world, and he admires the sharpness and quickness of the steward’s action. In the interpretation of the story, we trace once more the grave, half-veiled indignation, more keenly incisive than if the veil had be...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-14. call not thy friends--**Jesus certainly did not mean us to dispense with the duties of ordinary fellowship, but, remitting these to their proper place, inculcates what is better [Bengel].
**lest ... a recompense be given thee--**a fear the world is not afflicted with [Bengel]. The meaning, however, is that no exercise of principle is involved in it, as selfishness itself will suffice to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. mammon: or, riches
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus applies the lesson: 'And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.' The command 'make to yourselves friends' (ποιήσατε φίλους, poiēsate philous) 'of the mammon of unrighteousness' (ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ek tou mamōna tēs adikias) means use money (inherently tied to this fallen world...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And I say unto you.**—The pronoun is emphatic, and stands, as in Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 5:32, in contrast with what had gone before.
**Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.**—On “mammon,” comp. Note on Matthew 6:24. The word was Syriac in its origin, and was found also, as Augustine testifies, in Punic. It was in common use in the Targums or Paraphrases of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-14. call not thy friends--**Jesus certainly did not mean us to dispense with the duties of ordinary fellowship, but, remitting these to their proper place, inculcates what is better [Bengel].
**lest ... a recompense be given thee--**a fear the world is not afflicted with [Bengel]. The meaning, however, is that no exercise of principle is involved in it, as selfishness itself will suffice to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus states a principle: 'He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.' This maxim establishes that character, not circumstances, determines behavior. Faithfulness in small matters (ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ, en elachistō) proves faithfulness in large matters (ἐν πολλῷ, en pollō). Conversely, injustice in small things reveals ch...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **He that is faithful in that which is least . . .**—The context shows that by “that which is least” is meant what men call wealth, and which to most of them seems as the greatest, highest good. To be faithful in that is to acknowledge that we have it as stewards, not as possessors, and shall have to give an account of our stewardship. The word of warning was meant, we may believe, specially ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12-14. call not thy friends--**Jesus certainly did not mean us to dispense with the duties of ordinary fellowship, but, remitting these to their proper place, inculcates what is better [Bengel].
**lest ... a recompense be given thee--**a fear the world is not afflicted with [Bengel]. The meaning, however, is that no exercise of principle is involved in it, as selfishness itself will suffice to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? mammon: or, riches
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus presses the point: 'If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?' The logic is compelling: if you can't handle 'unrighteous mammon' (τῷ ἀδίκῳ μαμωνᾷ, tō adikō mamōna)—mere earthly wealth—why would God entrust 'true riches' (τὸ ἀληθινόν, to alēthinon)—spiritual treasure? Money management reveals spiritual maturity. The questi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon.**—Better, *if ye were not,* or, *became not.* Here the “true riches” stand in contrast with the vain, deceitful, unrighteous mammon, and answer to the true spiritual wealth of peace, pardon, wisdom, or, in St. Paul’s language, here again coloured by St. Luke’s, the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). Our Lord tea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?</strong> Jesus extends the stewardship principle with penetrating logic. The phrase 'that which is another man's' (τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ, tō allotriō, 'what belongs to another') refers to all earthly possessions—nothing is truly ours but belongs to God. We are stewards, not owners. If we prove...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s . . .**—The ruling idea of the verse is clearly that which the parable had enforced, that in relation to all external possessions and advantages we are stewards and not possessors. The Roman poet had seen that to boast of such things was the emptiest of all vanities—
“At genus, et proavos, et quæ non fecimus ipsi,
Vix ea nostra voc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-25**
The father and mother of John the Baptist were sinners as all are, and were justified and saved in the same way as others; but they were eminent for piety and integrity. They had no children, and it could not be expected that Elisabeth should have any in her old age. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying without. All t...
Read full commentary →No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus states an absolute: 'No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' The impossibility is categorical: 'no servant can serve two masters' (οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν, oudeis oiketēs dynatai dysi kyriois douleuein). Divided loyalty is impossible—ei...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **No servant can serve two masters.**—See Notes on Matthew 6:24. Here it obviously comes in close connection with the previous teaching. But its occurrence, in an equally close sequence, in the Sermon on the Mount, shows that it took its place among the axioms of the religious life which our Lord, if we may so speak, loved to reproduce as occasion called for them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →The Law and the Kingdom of God
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.</strong> Luke records the Pharisees' hostile response to Jesus' teaching on money. The description 'who were covetous' (φιλάργυροι ὑπάρχοντες, philargyroi hyparchontes, 'being lovers of money') exposes their core motivation. The Greek <em>philargyros</em> (φιλάργυρος) combines <em>philos</em> ('lover')...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **And the Pharisees also, who were covetous.**—The words are important as showing that they had been listening during the previous parable, and that the words, though addressed to the disciples, had been meant also for them. (See Note on Luke 16:1.) The word for “covetous” is literally *lovers of money,* as distinct from more general cupidity, and as being used by St. Paul in 2Timothy 3:2, an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.</strong> Jesus exposes the Pharisees' fatal error: self-justification. The phrase 'justify yourselves' (δικαιοῦντες ἑαυτούς, dikaiountes heautous) means they declared themselves righteous based on external confo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Ye are they which justify yourselves before men.**—The character described is portrayed afterwards more fully in the parable of Luke 18:9-14. The word there used, “this man went down to his house *justified* rather than the other,” is obviously a reference to what is reported here. They forgot, in their self-righteousness and self-vindication, that they stood before God as the Searcher of a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.</strong> Jesus announces a pivotal shift in redemptive history. 'The law and the prophets' (ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ho nomos kai hoi prophētai) refers to the entire Old Testament revelation, which governed 'until John' (μέχρι Ἰωάννου, mechri Iōannou)—John the Baptist, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The law and the prophets were until John.**—See Notes on Matthew 11:14-15. What had then been said to the disciples of the Baptist is now reproduced to our Lord’s own disciples and to the Pharisees. The latter had closed their eyes to the fact that all previous revelations led up to the work of John, as that in its turn was preparatory for the work of Christ.
**Every man presseth . . .**—Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.</strong> Having just announced the new kingdom era (v. 16), Jesus immediately affirms the law's eternal authority. The comparison is absolute: 'it is easier for heaven and earth to pass' (εὐκοπώτερον δέ ἐστιν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν παρελθεῖν, eukopōteron de estin ton ouranon kai tēn gēn parelthein)—the diss...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **It is easier for heaven and earth to pass.**—See Notes on Matthew 5:18. Our first impression on reading the words here is that there is less logical sequence in their position. They seem unconnected with the teaching as to the mammon of unrighteousness. It is possible that here, as elsewhere, some links of the chain have been dropped; but the explanation that has been given of the preceding...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.</strong> Jesus gives a concrete example of law's enduring moral authority (v. 17). The statement is absolute: 'Whosoever putteth away his wife' (πᾶς ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, pas ho apolyōn tēn gynaika autou), 'and marrieth another...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Whosoever putteth away his wife.**—On the special points involved, see Notes on Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:3-9. Here, again, the explanation that has been given of the parable of the Unjust Steward, offers the only satisfactory explanation of the introduction of a topic apparently so irrelevant. The doctrine and discipline of divorce which the Pharisees taught, lowering the sacredness of t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-18**
To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous stick...
Read full commentary →The Rich Man and Lazarus
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus begins His parable of the rich man and Lazarus by describing extreme wealth and luxury. Purple dye was extracted from murex shellfish and was extraordinarily expensive, while 'fine linen' (Greek 'bussos') referred to expensive Egyptian linen worn by the wealthy and by priests. The phrase 'fared sumptuously every day' emphasizes continuous extravagant living. This parable, unique to Luke, ill...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **There was a certain rich man . . .**—Here, also, there is a certain appearance of abruptness. But the sneer of Luke 16:14 explains the sequence of thought. On the one side, among those who listened to our Lord, were the Pharisees, living in the love of money and of the enjoyments which money purchased; on the other, were the disciples, who had left all to follow their Master, poor with the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus introduces the poor man: 'And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores.' The name 'Lazarus' (Λάζαρος, Lazaros) is the Greek form of Eleazar, meaning 'God helps.' This is the only person named in Jesus' parables, suggesting either historical reality or emphasizing God's personal knowledge of the poor. The phrase 'laid at his gate' (ἐβέβλητο πρὸς τὸν ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus.**—The word for “beggar,” it may be noted, is the same as the “poor” of Luke 6:20. The occurrence in this one solitary instance of a personal name in our Lord’s parables, suggests the question, What was meant by it? Three answers present themselves, each of which is more or less compatible with the other two. (1) There may have been an actual beg...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-24. when one ... heard ... he said, Blessed, &c.--**As our Lord's words seemed to hold forth the future "recompense" under the idea of a great Feast, the thought passes through this man's mind, how blessed they would be who should be honored to sit down to it. Our Lord's reply is in substance this: "The great Feast is prepared already; the invitations are issued, but declined; the feast, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.</strong> Lazarus' degradation continues its vivid description. He 'desired to be fed' (ἐπιθυμῶν χορτασθῆναι, epithymōn chortasthēnai, 'longing to be satisfied') with mere 'crumbs' (ψιχίων, psichion)—bread pieces used by diners to wipe their hands, then discarded. The ri...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **And desiring to be fed with the crumbs.**—The habits of the East, the absence of knives and forks and the like, made the amount of waste of this kind larger than do the habits of modern Europe. (Comp. the language of the Syro-Phœnician woman, in Mark 7:28.) Here the picture is heightened by two touches. The dogs are there, and get the crumbs, which the man fails to get, and then they come a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 14:25-35. Address to Great Multitudes Travelling with Him.
**25. great multitudes with him--**on His final journey to Jerusalem. The "great multitudes" were doubtless people going to the passover, who moved along in clusters (Lu 2:44), and who on this occasion falling in with our Lord had formed themselves into one mass about Him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
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KJV Study Commentary
The great reversal begins: 'And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried.' Death equalizes: both men die. But their destinations differ radically. Lazarus 'was carried by the angels' (ἀπενεχθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων, apenechthēnai auton hypo tōn angelōn)—divine escort to 'Abraham's bosom' (εἰς τὸν κόλπον Ἀβρ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.**—Of the three terms in common use among the Jews to express the future state of blessedness—(1) the Garden of Eden, or Paradise; (2) the Throne of Glory; (3) the bosom of Abraham—this was the most widely popular. It rested on the idea of a great feast, in which Abraham was the host. To lie in his bosom, as St. John in that of our Lord’s (John...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26-27. If any man, &c.--**(See on Mt 10:34-36, and Mr 8:34, 35).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
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KJV Study Commentary
The rich man's torment: 'And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.' The location is 'hell' (ᾅδῃ, hadē, Hades)—the place of the dead, here specifically the compartment of torment. He 'lift up his eyes' (ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, eparas tous ophthalmous autou) suggests conscious awareness. He is 'in torments' (ἐν βασάνοις, en basanoi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **And in hell.**—The Greek word is Hades, not Gehenna; the unseen world of the dead, not the final prison of the souls of the lost. (See Note on Matthew 5:22.) It lies almost on the surface of the parable that it describes an earlier stage of the life after death than that in Matthew 25:31-46. There is no mention here of the Advent of the Judge. As far as the parable itself is concerned, ther...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26-27. If any man, &c.--**(See on Mt 10:34-36, and Mr 8:34, 35).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
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KJV Study Commentary
The first request: 'And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' The rich man addresses 'Father Abraham' (Πάτερ Ἀβραάμ, Pater Abraam), claiming covenant relationship, but Abraham cannot help. His plea 'have mercy on me' (ἐλέησόν με, eleēson me) comes too late—mercy's...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger . . .**—The words, in their relation to the effect of the punishment on the rich man’s character, offer two tenable explanations. On the one hand, they have been thought to indicate the old selfish arrogance and heartlessness of the man who still looks on Lazarus as one who may be sent hither and thither, at any cost of suffering, to do hi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
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KJV Study Commentary
Abraham responds: 'But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.' Abraham addresses him as 'Son' (τέκνον, teknon, child), acknowledging physical descent but unable to help. The command 'remember' (μνήσθητι, mnēsthēti) indicates conscious memory in eternity—the rich man recalls...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **But Abraham said, Son, . . .**—There is surely something suggestive that the Patriarch is represented as not disowning the relationship. If we find a meaning in the “friend” of the parables of the Labourers in the Vineyard (see Note on Matthew 20:13) and the Wedding Garment (see Note on Matthew 22:12), we ought not to ignore the thought that seems to be implied here. Here, too, was one who,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
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KJV Study Commentary
Abraham explains the impossibility: 'And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.' The phrase 'beside all this' (ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις, epi pasi toutois) introduces an additional, decisive factor: 'a great gulf fixed' (χάσμα μέγα ἐστήρικται, chasma mega estēriktai). ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **There is a great gulf fixed.**—Literally, a *chasm,* the opening or gaping of the earth. The scene brought before us is like one of the pictures of Dante’s *Commedia*—steep rocks and a deep gorge, and on one side the flames that burn and do not consume, and on the other, the fair garden of Paradise and the kingly palace, and the banquet at which Abraham presides. And those that are bearing ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
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KJV Study Commentary
The second request: 'Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house.' Having failed to obtain personal relief, the rich man shifts to concern for others—'send him to my father's house' (πέμψῃς αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου, pempsēs auton eis ton oikon tou patros mou). This reveals he has 'five brethren' (v. 28) who are living as carelessly as he ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **I pray thee therefore, father.**—The re iterated appeal to Abraham as “father” is suggestive in many ways: (1) as speaking out that in which too many of the rich man’s class put an undue trust, resting on the fatherhood of Abraham rather than on that of God (Matthew 3:9); (2) as showing that the refusal of the previous verse had been accepted, as it were, submissively. There is no rebelliou...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.</strong> The rich man's concern shifts from self (v. 24) to family. He has 'five brethren' (πέντε ἀδελφούς, pente adelphous) still living and presumably following his materialistic lifestyle. His request: send Lazarus to 'testify unto them' (διαμαρτύρηται αὐτοῖς, diamartyrētai autois)—t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **For I have five brethren.**—Here again we are left to choose between opposite views of the motive which prompted the request. Was it simply a selfish fear of reproaches that might aggravate his sufferings? Was it the stirring in him of an unselfish anxiety for others, content to bear his own anguish if only his brothers might escape? Either view is tenable enough, but the latter harmonises ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Abraham's response: 'Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' Abraham points to Scripture—'Moses and the prophets' (Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, Mōusea kai tous prophētas)—as sufficient revelation. The command 'let them hear them' (ἀκουσάτωσαν αὐτῶν, akousatōsan autōn) indicates God has provided adequate testimony. The Old Testament Scriptures contain everything ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **They have Moses and the prophets.**—The words are in entire harmony with all the teaching of our Lord. The right use of lower knowledge is the condition of attaining to the higher, and without it signs and wonders avail but little: “He that hath, to him shall be given” (Mark 4:25); “He that willeth to do the will of God,” so far as he knows it, “shall know of the doctrine” which Christ came...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-33. which of you, &c.--**Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish. And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. Nor will any wise potentate enter on a war with any hostile power without first seeing to it that, despite formidable odds (two to one), he be able to stand his ground; and if he has no hope...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
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KJV Study Commentary
The rich man objects: 'And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.' The word 'Nay' (οὐχί, ouchi) rejects Abraham's answer—the rich man thinks Scripture is insufficient. His counterclaim: 'if one went unto them from the dead' (ἐάν τις ἀπὸ νεκρῶν πορευθῇ πρὸς αὐτούς, ean tis apo nekrōn poreuthē pros autous), 'they will repent' (μετανοήσουσιν, metanoēs...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **But if one went unto them from the dead.**—The words are in accordance with the general Jewish craving for a “sign,” as the only proof of a revelation from God. (See Notes on Matthew 12:33; Matthew 16:1; 1Corinthians 1:22.) The return of one who had passed into the unseen world and brought back a report of its realities would rouse, the rich man thought, the most apathetic. So far the pictu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34-35. Salt, &c.--**(See on Mt 5:13-16; and Mr 9:50).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
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KJV Study Commentary
Abraham's final word: 'And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' This verse concludes the parable with devastating logic: those who reject Scripture ('Moses and the prophets') 'will not be persuaded' (οὐδὲ... πεισθήσονται, oude... peisthēsontai) even by resurrection. The condition 'if they hear not' (εἰ... οὐκ ἀκο...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **If they hear not Moses and the prophets.**—We are accustomed, rightly enough, to look on our Lord’s own Resurrection as leading to the great fulfilment of these words. We should not forget, however, that there was another fulfilment more immediately following on them. In a few weeks, or even days, according to the best harmonists, tidings came that Lazarus of Bethany was sick (John 11:1). I...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34-35. Salt, &c.--**(See on Mt 5:13-16; and Mr 9:50).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-31**
Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man...
Read full commentary →