King James Version
Luke 17
37 verses with commentary
Temptations to Sin
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus warns about causing sin: 'Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!' The word 'offences' (σκάνδαλα, skandala) means stumbling blocks, enticements to sin, or causes of spiritual ruin. Jesus states these are 'impossible' not to come (ἀνένδεκτόν ἐστιν τοῦ τὰ σκάνδαλα μὴ ἐλθεῖν, anendekton estin tou ta skandala mē elt...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XVII.
(1) **It is impossible but that offences will come.**—In this instance, the absence of any apparent connection might, perhaps, justify us in looking on the two precepts as having been noted by St. Luke for their own intrinsic value, without regard to the context in which they had been spoken. (See Notes on Matthew 18:7.) Even here, however, we must remember that there may have been what we h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
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KJV Study Commentary
The severity of judgment: 'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.' The comparison is stark: being drowned with 'a millstone' (λίθος μυλικός, lithos mylikos)—a massive grinding stone—'hanged about his neck' (περίκειται περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, perikeitai peri ton trachēlon autou) and cast int...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **It were batter for him . . .**—See Note on Matthew 18:6, where the order of the two sayings is inverted. Assuming the words to have been repeated where we find them here, the “little ones” must mean the disciples of Christ who are, in both senses of the word “offended” by the worldliness of those who profess to be religious. They are made to stumble by the temptation to follow the bad exampl...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 15 Lu 15:1-32. Publicans and Sinners Welcomed by Christ--Three Parables to Explain This.
**1. drew near ... all the publicans and sinners, &c.--**drawn around Him by the extraordinary adaptation of His teaching to their case, who, till He appeared--at least His forerunner--might well say, "No man careth for my soul."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus teaches: 'Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him' (προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς. ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ, ἄφες αὐτῷ). The command 'prosechō' (προσέχετε, take heed) warns of spiritual danger. The verb 'epitimaō' (ἐπιτίμησον, rebuke) means to confront or admonish, not merely overlook sin. Conditional fo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Take heed to yourselves.**—The position of the words is remarkable, and they have nothing corresponding to them in the parallel passage in Matthew 18:21, where see Note. It is as though our Lord saw in the disciples the tendency to sit in judgment on the sins of others, on such sins especially as He had just condemned, and checked it by the words “take heed to yourselves.” They were in dange...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. murmured, saying, &c.--**took it ill, were scandalized at Him, and insinuated (on the principle that a man is known by the company he keeps) that He must have some secret sympathy with their character. But oh, what a truth of unspeakable preciousness do their lips, as on other occasions, unconsciously utter., Now follow three parables representing the sinner: (1) in his stupidity; (2) as ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Unlimited forgiveness: 'And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.' The repetition 'seven times in a day' (ἑπτάκις τῆς ἡμέρας, heptakis tēs hēmeras) indicates repeated offenses in a short period. Despite frequent failures, if the offender 'turn again to thee' (ἐπιστρέψῃ, epistrepsē, turns back) 'sayin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **If he trespass against thee.**—Better, *if he sin.* The better MSS. omit the words, “against thee,” and so make the command more general, and the verb is the same as that in Matthew 18:21, the teaching of which is here manifestly reproduced. The outward form seems at first to present a somewhat lower standard of forgiveness, “seven times,” instead of “seventy times seven.” Here, however, it ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:3-7. I. The Lost Sheep.
3-7. Occurring again (Mt 18:12-14); but there to show how precious one of His sheep is to the Good Shepherd; here, to show that the shepherd, though the sheep stray never so widely, will seek it out, and when he hath found, will rejoice over it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →Increase Our Faith
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
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KJV Study Commentary
The apostles respond: 'Lord, Increase our faith' (Κύριε, πρόσθες ἡμῖν πίστιν). Jesus' demanding teachings on forgiveness (vv.3-4) prompt this request. The verb 'prostithēmi' (πρόσθες, increase/add to) assumes faith is quantifiable. Jesus corrects this misunderstanding: faith's power is not its size but its object. 'If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed' (v.6)—the smallest seed—'ye might say u...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.**—The form in which the fragment that thus commences is brought before us suggests, as has been stated before (see Notes on Luke 7:13; Luke 10:1), that it was a comparatively late addition to the collection of “the words of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:35), and this is confirmed by the exceptional use of “the Apostles” for “the disciples.” It ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:3-7. I. The Lost Sheep.
3-7. Occurring again (Mt 18:12-14); but there to show how precious one of His sheep is to the Good Shepherd; here, to show that the shepherd, though the sheep stray never so widely, will seek it out, and when he hath found, will rejoice over it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus teaches about faith: 'And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.' The disciples requested increased faith (v. 5). Jesus responds that even 'faith as a grain of mustard seed' (πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, pistin hōs kokkon sinapeōs)—proverbially the s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed.**—The words remind us, and must have reminded the disciples, of those of Matthew 17:20, which were called forth by the failure of the disciples to heal the demoniac boy after the Transfiguration. The “sycamine tree” (probably not the same as the “sycamore,” but identified by most botanists with the mulberry tree, still cultivated on the slopes of t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:3-7. I. The Lost Sheep.
3-7. Occurring again (Mt 18:12-14); but there to show how precious one of His sheep is to the Good Shepherd; here, to show that the shepherd, though the sheep stray never so widely, will seek it out, and when he hath found, will rejoice over it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →Unworthy Servants
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?</strong> Jesus begins a parable challenging assumptions about merit and reward. The phrase <strong>which of you</strong> (τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν, <em>tis ex hymōn</em>) invites hearers to imagine themselves as masters. A <strong>servant</strong> (δοῦλον, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **But which of you, having a servant . .?**—The words contain in reality, though not in form, an answer to their question. They had been asking for faith, not only in a measure sufficient for obedience, but as excluding all uncertainty and doubt. They were looking for the crown of labour before their work was done, for the wreath of the conqueror before they had fought the battle. He presses h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:3-7. I. The Lost Sheep.
3-7. Occurring again (Mt 18:12-14); but there to show how precious one of His sheep is to the Good Shepherd; here, to show that the shepherd, though the sheep stray never so widely, will seek it out, and when he hath found, will rejoice over it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?</strong> Jesus continues the parable with the expected master's response. The Greek construction <strong>will not rather say</strong> (οὐχὶ ἐρεῖ αὐτῷ, <em>ouchi erei autō</em>) expects the affirmative answer: "Of course he ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Gird thyself, and serve me.**—Better, *minister to me.* The words receive a fresh significance if we connect them with Luke 12:37, of which they are, as it were, the complement. There the Master promises that He will gird Himself, and minister to His disciples. Here He tells them that He too requires a service. They must give Him the meat and the drink of seeing that His Father’s will is don...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:3-7. I. The Lost Sheep.
3-7. Occurring again (Mt 18:12-14); but there to show how precious one of His sheep is to the Good Shepherd; here, to show that the shepherd, though the sheep stray never so widely, will seek it out, and when he hath found, will rejoice over it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.</strong> Jesus concludes the parable with a rhetorical question: <strong>Doth he thank that servant</strong> (μὴ ἔχει χάριν τῷ δούλῳ, <em>mē echei charin tō doulō</em>—literally "Does he have gratitude toward the servant?"). The expected answer is negative. The phrase <strong>because he did the things...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Doth he thank that servant** . .?*—*The words are spoken, of course, from the standpoint of the old relations between the master and the slave, not from that of those who recognise that master and slave are alike children of the same Father and servants of the same Master. In order to understand their bearing, we must remember how the subtle poison of self-righteousness was creeping in, even...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:8-10. II. The Lost Coin.
**8. sweep the house--**"not done without dust on man's part" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus concludes the parable of the unprofitable servant: 'So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do' (οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ποιήσητε πάντα τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν, λέγετε ὅτι Δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν· ὃ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν). The term 'achreios' (ἀχρεῖοί, unprofitable) means unwor...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Say, We are unprofitable servants.**—There is something very suggestive in the use of the same word as that which meets us in the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:30). God, we are taught, may recognise and reward the varying use which men make of gifts and opportunities. But all boasting is excluded; and in relation to God the man who has gained the ten talents has to own that he has noth...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
To avoid offences, To pray for increase of faith, Humility taught.(11-19)
Ten lepers cleansed.(1-10)
Christ's kingdom.(20-37)
**Verses 1-10**
It is no abatement of their guilt by whom an offence comes, nor will it lessen their punishment that offences will come. Faith in God's pardoning mercy, will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties in ...
Read full commentary →Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Journey context: 'And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.' Luke again notes Jesus' determined journey 'to Jerusalem' (εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ, eis Ierousalēm), emphasizing the cross's centrality. The route 'through the midst of Samaria and Galilee' (διὰ μέσον Σαμαρείας καὶ Γαλιλαίας, dia meson Samareias kai Galilaias) took Jesus through the bor...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem.**—This is the first distinct note of time in St. Luke’s narrative since Luke 9:51. It appears to coincide with the journey of which we read in Matthew 19:1, Mark 10:1, and is the commencement of the last progress through the regions in which our Lord had already carried on His ministry. The fact, peculiar to St. Luke, that it led Him through Sam...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Likewise--**on the same principle.
**joy, &c.--**Note carefully the language here--not "joy on the part," but "joy in the presence of the angels of God." True to the idea of the parables. The Great Shepherd. The Great Owner Himself, is He whose the joy properly is over His own recovered property; but so vast and exuberant is it (Zec 8:17), that as if He could not keep it to Himself, He...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
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KJV Study Commentary
The lepers approach: 'And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.' The 'ten men that were lepers' (δέκα λεπροὶ ἄνδρες, deka leproi andres) formed a community of afflicted outcasts. They 'stood afar off' (ἔστησαν πόρρωθεν, estēsan porrōthen) as Mosaic law required—lepers had to maintain distance and warn approaching people (Leviticus 13:45...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Ten men that were lepers.**—On the general character of leprosy, see Notes on Matthew 8:2. As only one of these was a Samaritan, it seems probable that the unnamed village was, as has been said, on the border-land of the two provinces. It is, perhaps, significant that our Lord takes neither of the usual caravan roads—one of which passed through Samaria, the other through Peræa—but chooses o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
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KJV Study Commentary
The lepers cry out: 'And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.' From their required distance, 'they lifted up their voices' (αὐτοὶ ἦραν φωνήν, autoi ēran phōnēn)—they had to shout to be heard. They address Him as 'Jesus, Master' (Ἰησοῦ ἐπιστάτα, Iēsou epistata)—acknowledging His authority. Their plea: 'have mercy on us' (ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς, eleēson hēmas). They don't sp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.**—The Greek word for “Master” is again that which has been noticed as St. Luke’s usual equivalent for “Rabbi.” (See Note on Luke 5:5.) We may believe that the earlier instance of leprosy being cleansed (Matthew 8:2), possibly many such instances (Matthew 11:5), had in some way come to their knowledge.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 15:11-32. III. The Prodigal Son.
**12. the younger--**as the more thoughtless.
**said, &c.--**weary of restraint, panting for independence, unable longer to abide the check of a father's eye. This is man impatient of divine control, desiring to be independent of God, seeking to be his own master; that "sin of sins, in which all subsequent sins are included as in their germ, for they are ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went , they were cleansed.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' unusual command: 'And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.' Jesus doesn't touch them, speak healing, or even pronounce them clean. Instead, He commands: 'Go shew yourselves unto the priests' (Πορευθέντες ἐπιδείξατε ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν, Poreuthentes epideixate heautous tois hiereusin). Levitic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Go shew yourselves unto the priests.**—On the meaning and object of this command, see Note on Matthew 8:4. Here, however, it may be noted, there was no accompanying touch as the outward means and pledge of healing, and the command was therefore, in a greater degree than it had been before, a trial and test of faith. It did not necessarily imply a journey to Jerusalem. Any priest in any town...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. not many days--**intoxicated with his new--found resources, and eager for the luxury of using them at Will.
**a far country--**beyond all danger of interference from home.
**wasted, &c.--**So long as it lasted, the inward monitor (Is 55:2) would be silenced (Is 9:10; 57:10; Am 4:6-10).
**riotous living--**(Lu 15:30), "with harlots." Ah! but this reaches farther than the sensualist;...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
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KJV Study Commentary
One of ten healed lepers returns: 'And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God' (εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἰδὼν ὅτι ἰάθη, ὑπέστρεψεν μετὰ φωνῆς μεγάλης δοξάζων τὸν θεόν). The participle 'idōn' (ἰδὼν, when he saw) indicates recognition of God's work. The verb 'hypostrephō' (ὑπέστρεψεν, turned back) shows deliberate return. His worship is vocal (μετὰ φωνῆ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Turned back, and with a loud voice.**—The words imply that the work of healing was not accomplished till the company of lepers were at least out of sight.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. when he had spent all ... a mighty famine--**a mysterious providence holding back the famine till he was in circumstances to feel it in all its rigor. Thus, like Jonah, whom the storm did not overtake till on the mighty deep at the mercy of the waves, does the sinner feel as if "the stars in their courses were fighting against" him (Jud 5:20).
**in want--**the first stage of his bitter exp...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
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KJV Study Commentary
One returns: 'And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.' Only one of the ten returned. He 'fell down on his face at his feet' (ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, epesen epi prosōpon para tous podas autou)—full prostration, the posture of worship. He was 'giving him thanks' (εὐχαριστῶν αὐτῷ, eucharistōn autō), from which we get 'Eucharist.' The shocki...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **And he was a Samaritan.**—As in the parable of the Good Samaritan, St. Luke’s purpose in the selection of the incident falls in with what may be called the Catholicity of his Gospel, the breaking down of every middle wall of partition that divided the Jew from the other nations of the world. As the narrative is peculiar to his record, we may reasonably believe that it was one of the facts w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. joined himself, &c.--**his pride not yet humbled, unable to brook the shame of a return.
**to feed swine--**glad to keep life anyhow, behold the son sank into a swineherd--among the Jews, on account of the prohibition of swine's flesh, emphatically vile! "He who begins by using the world as a servant, to minister to his pleasure, ends by reversing the relationship" [Trench].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?</strong> Jesus' question cuts with surgical precision. The Greek <strong>Were there not ten cleansed?</strong> (οὐχὶ οἱ δέκα ἐκαθαρίσθησαν, <em>ouchi hoi deka ekatharisthēsan</em>) uses the passive voice—God cleansed them, not they cleansed themselves. The verb <em>katharizō</em> (ἐκαθαρίσθησαν) indicates comple...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Were there not ten cleansed?**—There is, it is clear, a tone of mingled surprise, and grief, and indignation, in the question thus asked. Looking to the facts of the case, an ethical question of some difficulty presents itself. If the nine had had faith to be healed—and the fact that they were healed implies it—how was it that faith did not show itself further in gratitude and love? The ans...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. would fain have filled--**rather, "was fain to fill," ate greedily of the only food he could get.
**the husks--**"the hulls of a leguminous plant which in the East is the food of cattle and swine, and often the nourishment of the poorest in times of distress" [Stier].
**no man gave ... him--**not this food, for that he had, but anything better (Jr 30:14). This was his lowest depth--peris...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.</strong> Jesus' assessment is both observation and indictment. <strong>There are not found</strong> (οὐχ εὑρέθησαν, <em>ouch heurethēsan</em>) indicates a search that came up empty—Jesus looked for worshipers but found only one. The phrase <strong>to give glory to God</strong> (δοῦναι δόξαν τῷ θεῷ, <em>dounai doxan...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Save this stranger.**—The word for “stranger” means literally, *a man of another race,* an *alien.* It is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, but is used in the LXX. of Isaiah 56:3. It was probably a term of contempt in common use among the Jews. (Comp. the kindred word “aliens,” with special reference to the Philistines, in Hebrews 11:34, and “one of another nation” in Acts 10:28.) I...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. came to himself--**Before, he had been "beside himself" (Ec 9:3), in what sense will presently appear.
**How many hired, &c.--**What a testimony to the nature of the home he had left! But did he not know all this ere he departed and every day of his voluntary exile? He did, and he did not. His heart being wholly estranged from home and steeped in selfish gratification, his father's hou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' pronouncement: 'And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.' Jesus tells him 'Arise, go thy way' (ἀναστὰς πορεύου, anastas poreuou)—you may leave. Then the crucial statement: 'thy faith hath made thee whole' (ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε, hē pistis sou sesōken se). The verb 'sesōken' (σέσωκέν, perfect tense of sōzō) means saved, healed, made whole—comprehensive resto...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Thy faith hath made thee whole.**—The verb, elsewhere rendered, as in Luke 7:50, “hath saved thee,” is obviously used here so as to include both its higher and lower meanings. The nine had had sufficient faith for the restoration of the health of their body; his had gone further, and had given a new and purer life to his soul.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. I will arise and go to my FATHER--**The change has come at last, and what a change!--couched in terms of such exquisite simplicity and power as if expressly framed for all heart-broken penitents.
**Father, &c.--**Mark the term. Though "no more worthy to be called his son," the prodigal sinner is taught to claim the defiled, but still existing relationship, asking not to be made a serva...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-19**
A sense of our spiritual leprosy should make us very humble whenever we draw near to Christ. It is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions of Christ, for they fail not. We may look for God to meet us with mercy, when we are found in the way of obedience. Only one of those who were healed returned to give thanks. It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings,...
Read full commentary →The Coming of the Kingdom
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: with: or, with outward shew
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KJV Study Commentary
Pharisees question about the kingdom: 'And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.' The Pharisees 'demanded' (ἐπερωτηθεὶς, eperōtētheis, were questioning/interrogating) about 'when the kingdom of God should come' (πότε ἔρχεται ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, pote erchetai hē basileia tou Theou). The...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **When he was demanded of the Pharisees.**—The question may have been asked in a different tone, by different classes of those who bore the common name of Pharisee. There were some who were really looking for the coming of the Messianic kingdom; there were some who altogether rejected the claim of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ. In the lips of the one set, the question implied a taunt; in...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. within you: or, among you
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus teaches: 'Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you' (οὐδὲ ἐροῦσιν, Ἰδοὺ ὧδε, ἤ, Ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν). The phrase 'entos hymōn' (ἐντὸς ὑμῶν) means either 'within you' (internal, spiritual) or 'among you' (in your midst, referring to Jesus' presence). Both interpretations have merit: the kingdom is present...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **The kingdom of God is within you.**—The marginal reading, “among you.” has been adopted, somewhat hastily, by most commentators. So taken. the words emphatically assert the actual presence of the Kingdom. It was already in the midst of them at the very time when they were asking when it would appear. The use of the Greek preposition is, however, all but decisive against this interpretation....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. a great way off--**Oh yes, when but the face is turned homeward, though as yet far, far away, our Father recognizes His own child in us, and bounds to meet us--not saying, Let him come to Me and sue for pardon first, but Himself taking the first step.
**fell on his neck and kissed him--**What! In all his filth? Yes. In all his rags? Yes. In all his haggard, shattered wretchedness? Yes. "Ou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →The Day of the Son of Man
And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.</strong> Jesus shifts from addressing Pharisees (vv. 20-21) to privately instructing disciples about eschatological realities. The phrase <strong>The days will come</strong> (ἐλεύσονται ἡμέραι, <em>eleusontai hēmerai</em>) predicts a future season of l...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **When ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man.**—The words express both the backward glance of regret, and the forward look of yearning expectation. The former feeling had been described before, when the disciples were told that the children of the bride-chamber should fast when the Bridegroom should be taken from them (Luke 5:34; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19). The latter was exp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Father, I have sinned, &c.--**"This confession is uttered after the kiss of reconciliation" (Eze 16:63) [Trench].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.</strong> Jesus warns against deception during the disciples' longing for His return. The phrase <strong>they shall say to you</strong> (ἐροῦσιν ὑμῖν, <em>erousin hymin</em>) identifies false teachers who will claim special knowledge of Christ's location. <strong>See here; or, see there</strong> (ἰδοὺ ἐκ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **See here; or, see there.**—See Note on Matthew 24:23. The words are all but identical, but the difference in the context and the occasion should be noticed as another illustration of that reproduction of the same forms of thought and language to which attention has so often been called.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. But the Father said, &c.--**The son has not said all he purposed, not so much, because the father's demonstrations had rekindled the filial, and swallowed up all servile feeling [Trench] (on the word "Father," see on Lu 15:18), but because the father's heart is made to appear too full to listen, at that moment, to more in this strain.
**the best robe--**Compare Zec 3:4, 5, "Take away t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.</strong> Jesus provides the reason His return won't require announcement: it will be self-evident. <strong>As the lightning</strong> (ὥσπερ ἡ ἀστραπὴ, <em>hōsper hē astrapē</em>) introduces the simile. Lightning <strong>that lightenet...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **For as the lightning.**—See Note on Matthew 24:27. There is, however, a noticeable variation in the form; the two “parts under heaven” taking the place of the “east” and the “west,” and the “*day* of the Son of Man” taking the place of the more formal “coming,” or *parousia,* which, as far as the Gospels are concerned, occurs only in St. Matthew. There is also, perhaps, more pictorial vivid...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. the fatted calf--**kept for festive occasions.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.</strong> Jesus abruptly shifts from future glory to present suffering. The word <strong>first</strong> (πρῶτον, <em>prōton</em>) establishes chronological necessity—before the glorious return (v. 24), the suffering servant must endure the cross. <strong>Must he suffer</strong> (δεῖ αὐτὸν πολλὰ παθεῖν, <em>dei auton p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **But first must he suffer many things.**—See Notes on Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22. The interposition of this prophecy of the Passion in a discourse which bears primarily on the Second Advent is an individualising feature of this record of St. Luke’s.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. my son--**now twice his son.
**dead ... lost--**to me; to himself--to my service, my satisfaction; to his own dignity, peace, profit.
**alive again ... found--**to all these.
**merry--**(See on Lu 15:10).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.</strong> Jesus draws a parallel between Noah's era and His second coming. The phrase <strong>as it was in the days of Noe</strong> (καθὼς ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Νῶε, <em>kathōs egeneto en tais hēmerais Nōe</em>) references Genesis 6-8, when humanity's wickedness provoked God's judgment through the flood. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **As it was in the days of Noe.**—See Notes on Matthew 24:26-27. Here, also, the “days” of the Son of Man take the place of the *parousia.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. in the field--**engaged in his father's business: compare Lu 15:29, "These many years do I serve thee."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.</strong> Jesus details Noah-era normalcy: <strong>They did eat, they drank</strong> (ἤσθιον, ἔπινον, <em>ēsthion, epinon</em>)—imperfect tenses indicating continuous action. <strong>They married wives, they were given in marriag...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **They did eat, they drank.**—Better, as in St. Matthew, *they were eating and drinking, marrying,* . . .; the tense throughout being that which implies continuous and repeated action.
**The flood.**—The Greek word is always used in the New Testament for the deluge of Noah, that meaning having been stamped on it by the use of it in the LXX. version in Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:6-7; Genesis 7:10...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded.</strong> Jesus introduces a second historical parallel: <strong>as it was in the days of Lot</strong> (ὁμοίως καθὼς ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Λώτ, <em>homoiōs kathōs egeneto en tais hēmerais Lōt</em>), referencing Genesis 18-19. Like the Noah comparison, Lot's era feature...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot.**—The illustration does not occur in the otherwise parallel passage of Matthew 24:26-27, but was naturally suggested by our Lord’s frequent reference to the Cities of the Plain (Luke 10:12; Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:23); The allusion to Lot in 2Peter 2:7, may perhaps be traced to the impression made on the Apostle by this revival of the history.
*...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.</strong> The conjunction <strong>But</strong> (δὲ, <em>de</em>) marks the dramatic shift from normalcy to catastrophe. <strong>The same day that Lot went out</strong> (ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐξῆλθεν Λὼτ ἀπὸ Σοδόμων, <em>hē hēmera exēlthen Lōt apo Sodōmōn</em>)—judgment fell immediately after God'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **It rained fire and brimstone.**—The combination of the two Greek words is found in the LXX. version of Genesis 19:24, and obviously suggested the like combination here and in Revelation 14:10; Revelation 20:13; Revelation 21:8.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. came his father out, and entreated him--**"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him" (Psa 103:13). As it is the elder brother who now errs, so it is the same paternal compassion which had fallen on the neck of the younger that comes forth and pleads with the elder.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.</strong> Jesus applies both historical examples (Noah and Lot) to His second coming. <strong>Even thus</strong> (κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ, <em>kata ta auta</em>—"according to these same things") draws direct parallel between past judgments and future eschatological judgment. <strong>In the day when the Son of man is revealed</strong> (ᾗ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29. these many years ... neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment--**The words are not to be pressed too far. He is merely contrasting his constancy of love and service with the conduct of his brother; just as Job, resenting the charge of hypocrisy by his friends, speaks as if nothing could be laid to his charge (Job 23:10-12), and David too (Psa 18:20-24). The father attests the truth...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back .
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.</strong> Jesus shifts from historical parallels to practical commands for <strong>that day</strong> (ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, <em>en ekeinē tē hēmera</em>)—the day of Son of Man's revelation (v. 30). The imagery: some...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **He which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff.**—Better, *his goods,* as in Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27. (See Notes on Matthew 24:17-18.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Remember Lot's wife.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember Lot's wife.</strong> Jesus condenses an entire warning into three words. The command <strong>Remember</strong> (μνημονεύετε, <em>mnēmoneuete</em>)—present imperative, ongoing obligation—calls for continual mindfulness. <strong>Lot's wife</strong> (τῆς γυναικὸς Λώτ, <em>tēs gynaikos Lōt</em>) refers to Genesis 19:26: 'But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pilla...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Remember Lot’s wife.**—The reference to this, as to the history of Lot generally, is peculiar to St. Luke, and speaks strongly for the independence of his Gospel. The account of Lot’s wife had, however, already been used, or was used shortly afterwards (the date of the Wisdom of Solomon being an unsettled problem), to point a like moral, and the “standing pillar of salt” had become “a monum...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. Son, &c.--**The father resents not the insult--how could he, after the largeness of heart which had kissed the returning prodigal? He calmly expostulates with him, "Son, listen to reason. What need for special, exuberant joy over thee? Didst thou say, 'Lo, these many years do I serve thee?' In that saidst thou truly; but just for that reason do I not set the whole household a-rejoicing o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus warns: 'Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it' (ὃς ἐὰν ζητήσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν, καὶ ὃς ἐὰν ἀπολέσῃ ζῳογονήσει αὐτήν). The term 'psychē' (ψυχήν, life/soul) encompasses both physical life and spiritual existence. The paradox—self-preservation leads to loss, self-sacrifice leads to preservation—appears throug...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Whosoever shall seek to save his life.**—The better MSS. give a word which is rendered elsewhere by “purchase” (Acts 20:28; 1Timothy 3:13), and perhaps always suggests, as the other word for “save” does not suggest, the idea of some transaction of the kind. So here, the man must purchase, as it were, his lower life at the price of the higher, and he will be a loser by the bargain.
**Shall p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. It was meet--**Was it possible he should simply take his long vacant place in the family without one special sign of wonder and delight at the change? Would that have been nature? But this being the meaning of the festivity, it would for that very reason be temporary. In time, the dutifulness of even the younger son would become the law and not the exception; he too at length might venture t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left</strong> (λέγω ὑμῖν, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἔσονται δύο ἐπὶ κλίνης μιᾶς, ὁ εἷς παραλημφθήσεται καὶ ὁ ἕτερος ἀφεθήσεται)—Jesus describes the Second Coming's sudden discrimination. <em>En tautē tē nukti</em> (in that night) emphasizes unexpectedness. Two in <em>klinē</em> (bed)—one <em>pa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34, 35) **Two men in one bed.**—See Notes on Matthew 24:40-41. The one to be “taken” is probably here, as there, the man who is rescued from destruction. Here there is a variation enough to prove independence, the “two in one bed” being prefixed to the examples given in St. Matthew as an instance of even closer companionship.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Two women shall be grinding together ; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left</strong> (ἔσονται δύο ἀλήθουσαι ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, ἡ μία παραλημφθήσεται, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα ἀφεθήσεται)—Jesus continues the separation imagery. Two women <em>alēthousai epi to auto</em> (grinding at the same place)—engaged in identical daily labor. Again, one taken, one left. The repetition emphasizes that external activit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 16 Lu 16:1-31. Parables of the Unjust Steward and of the Rich Man and Lazarus, or, the Right Use of Money.
**1. steward--**manager of his estate.
**accused--**informed upon.
**had wasted--**rather, "was wasting."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. this verse is not found in most of the Greek copies
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left</strong> (δύο ἔσονται ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὁ εἷς παραλημφθήσεται καὶ ὁ ἕτερος ἀφεθήσεται)—Jesus provides a third example: two men <em>en tō agrō</em> (in the field), one taken, one left. Note: this verse doesn't appear in earliest Greek manuscripts and may be a later scribal addition harmonizing with Matthew 24:40. Whether or...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together</strong> (καὶ ἀποκριθέντες λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Ποῦ, κύριε; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὅπου τὸ σῶμα, ἐκεῖ καὶ οἱ ἀετοὶ ἐπισυναχθήσονται)—the disciples ask <em>pou</em> (where?) regarding the separation. Jesus responds proverbially: <em>hopou to sōma, ekei kai hoi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Where, Lord?**—The question comes in naturally here, where the future had been foreshadowed in parables and dark sayings. It would not have been natural in Matthew 24:28, where the whole context determined the locality of which our Lord was speaking.
**Wheresoever the body is.**—See Note on Matthew 24:28, the only variation being the use of “body” instead of “carcase.” The repetition of the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. cannot dig ... to beg, ashamed--**therefore, when dismissed, shall be in utter want.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-37**
The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of them. It was a spiritual kingdom, set up in the heart by the power of Divine grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the judgments of God, which they had been warned of, found them. Here is shown what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual. Thus shall...
Read full commentary →