King James Version
Luke 6
49 verses with commentary
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.</strong> This incident ignites controversy over Sabbath observance. The phrase <strong>the second sabbath after the first</strong> (ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ, <em>en sabbatō deuteroprōtō</em>) uses a compound ad...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
VI.
(1) **On the second sabbath after the first.**—Literally, *the second-first Sabbath.* There is nothing like the phrase in any other author, and its meaning is therefore to a great extent conjectural. Its employment by St. Luke may be noted as indicating his wish to be accurate as an historian. He sought to gather, as far as he could, definite dates; and hearing, in the course of his inquiries,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. down to Capernaum--**It lay on the Sea of Galilee (Mt 4:13), whereas Nazareth lay high.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath.(1-5)
Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day.(6-11)
The apostles chosen.(12-19)
Blessings and woes declared.(20-26)
Christ exhorts to mercy.(27-36)
And to justice and sincerity.(37-49)
**Verses 1-5**
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and tha...
Read full commentary →And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?</strong> The Pharisees immediately challenge the disciples' actions. <strong>Certain of the Pharisees</strong> (τινες δὲ τῶν Φαρισαίων, <em>tines de tōn Pharisaiōn</em>)—not all Pharisees but some, likely those following Jesus to monitor His teaching and behavior. The Pharisees (Φαρισ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath.(1-5)
Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day.(6-11)
The apostles chosen.(12-19)
Blessings and woes declared.(20-26)
Christ exhorts to mercy.(27-36)
And to justice and sincerity.(37-49)
**Verses 1-5**
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and tha...
Read full commentary →And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him.</strong> Jesus responds not with defensiveness but with Scripture. <strong>Jesus answering them said</strong> (ἀποκριθεὸς πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, <em>apokritheos pros autous eipen ho Iēsous</em>)—the participle <em>apokritheis</em> (ἀποκριθείς, "an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Lu 4:33-37. Demoniac Healed.
**33. unclean--**The frequency with which this character of impurity is applied to evil spirits is worthy of notice.
**cried out, &c.--**(See Mt 8:29; Mr 3:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath.(1-5)
Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day.(6-11)
The apostles chosen.(12-19)
Blessings and woes declared.(20-26)
Christ exhorts to mercy.(27-36)
And to justice and sincerity.(37-49)
**Verses 1-5**
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and tha...
Read full commentary →How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread , and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?</strong> Jesus continues recounting David's actions. <strong>He went into the house of God</strong> (εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ, <em>eisēlthen eis ton oikon tou theou</em>)—the <em>oikos tou theou</em> (οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath.(1-5)
Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day.(6-11)
The apostles chosen.(12-19)
Blessings and woes declared.(20-26)
Christ exhorts to mercy.(27-36)
And to justice and sincerity.(37-49)
**Verses 1-5**
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and tha...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.</strong> Jesus concludes His argument with a stunning claim. The conjunction <strong>And</strong> (καὶ, <em>kai</em>) connects this statement to the David example—because David's need superseded ceremonial law, and because a greater than David is here, the <strong>Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath</strong> (κύριός...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. rebuked them, &c.--**(See on Lu 4:41).
**thrown him, &c.--**See on Mr 9:20.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath.(1-5)
Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day.(6-11)
The apostles chosen.(12-19)
Blessings and woes declared.(20-26)
Christ exhorts to mercy.(27-36)
And to justice and sincerity.(37-49)
**Verses 1-5**
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and tha...
Read full commentary →A Man with a Withered Hand
And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.</strong> Luke alone specifies the <em>right</em> hand (ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἡ δεξιὰ, hē cheir autou hē dexia), heightening the man's disability—the dominant hand for work and social interaction. Jesus <strong>entered into the synagogue and taught</strong> (...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **It came to pass also on another sabbath.**—See Notes on Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6.
**Whose right hand was withered.**—St. Luke alone specifies which hand it was that was affected.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. What a word--**a word from the Lord of spirits.
Lu 4:38-41. Peter's Mother-in-law and Many Others, Healed.
(See on Mt 8:14-17.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the scribes and Pharisees watched him</strong> (παρετηροῦντο, paretērounto)—the Greek carries the sense of malicious surveillance, watching closely with hostile intent. They weren't seeking truth but <strong>an accusation against him</strong> (κατηγορίαν, katēgorian), legal grounds for prosecution. The question <strong>whether he would heal on the sabbath day</strong> reveals their har...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The scribes and Pharisees watched him.**—Better, *were watching.*
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But he knew their thoughts</strong> (αὐτὸς δὲ ᾔδει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς αὐτῶν, autos de ēdei tous dialogismous autōn)—Jesus possessed supernatural knowledge of their <em>dialogismous</em> (διαλογισμούς), their inner reasonings and hostile deliberations. This divine omniscience appears throughout Luke's Gospel (5:22, 9:47, 11:17). Jesus didn't wait for them to voice objections; he brought the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.**—Here again, and throughout what follows, we have another example of a narrative in which St. Mark and St. Luke agree much more closely than either agrees with St. Matthew.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?</strong> (ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀπολέσαι, psychēn sōsai ē apolesai)—Jesus reframes the debate with penetrating logic. The choice isn't between healing and doing nothing; it's between doing good (<em>agathopoiēsai</em>, ἀγαθοποιῆσαι) and doing evil (<em>kakopoiēsai</em>, κακοποιῆσαι). By this standard, refus...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And looking round about upon them all</strong> (περιβλεψάμενος πάντας αὐτούς, periblepsamenos pantas autous)—Jesus' penetrating gaze surveyed every face, reading hearts. Mark 3:5 adds he looked with anger and grief at their hardness. Then the command: <strong>Stretch forth thy hand</strong> (Ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρά σου, Ekteinon tēn cheira sou). This required faith—stretching forth a withered, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **And looking round about upon them.**—See Notes on Mark 3:4.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they were filled with madness</strong> (ἐπλήσθησαν ἀνοίας, eplēsthēsan anoias)—<em>anoia</em> (ἀνοία) means senseless rage, irrational fury, mindlessness. Confronted with undeniable evidence of Jesus' divine power and compassion, they responded not with wonder but with insane hatred. They <strong>communed one with another what they might do to Jesus</strong> (διελάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τί...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **They were filled with madness.**—The expression is peculiar to St. Luke’s report.
**Communed one with another.**—It seems singular that Luke, who in other respects seems to have had so many points of contact with people connected with the Herods (see *Introduction*)*,* should have omitted the fact which St. Mark records, that it was with the Herodians that the Pharisees took counsel. Possib...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41. suffered them not to speak--**The marginal reading ("to say that they knew him to be Christ") here is wrong. Our Lord ever refused testimony from devils, for the very reason why they were eager to give it, because He and they would thus seem to be one interest, as His enemies actually alleged. (See on Mt 12:24, &c.; see also Ac 16:16-18.)
Lu 4:42-44. Jesus Sought Out at Morning Prayer, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Before choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus 'went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.' The Greek 'dianyktereō' (δι αν υκτερεύω, continue through the night) emphasizes extended, intensive prayer. Jesus consistently prayed before major decisions and events, modeling dependence on the Father. Choosing apostles—men who would lead the church—required divine wisdom. All...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **He went out into a mountain to pray.**—Better, *into the mountain,* or, *the hill-country.* The stress laid on the prayers of Jesus is again characteristic of St. Luke.
**Continued all night in prayer to God.**—The original, at least, admits of another rendering. The word translated “prayer” (*proseuchè*) had come to be applied to the place dedicated to prayer—the chapel or oratory by the r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42. stayed him--**"were staying Him," or sought to do it. What a contrast to the Gadarenes! The nature of His mission required Him to keep moving, that all might hear the glad tidings (Mt 8:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
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KJV Study Commentary
When it was day he called unto him his disciples of them he chose twelve whom also he named apostles. Day hēmera after night prayer. Called prosephōnēsen summoned. Disciples mathētas learners followers. Of them ex autōn from among. Chose exelexato selected. Twelve dōdeka symbolic number. Named ōnomasen designated. Apostles apostolous sent ones. Jesus chose twelve after prayer. Deliberate selection...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And when it was day.**—In the place which he assigns to the choice of the Twelve, St. Luke agrees more closely with St. Mark than with St. Matthew, who makes it precede the narratives of the disciples plucking the ears of corn, and the healing of the withered hand, which here it follows. A precisely-harmonised arrangement seems here impossible, and is, happily, unimportant. We must be conte...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**43. I must, &c.--**but duty only could move Him to deny entreaties so grateful to His spirit.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
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KJV Study Commentary
Simon whom he also named Peter and Andrew his brother James and John Philip and Bartholomew. List of twelve begins. Simon Simōn Jewish name. Named Peter Petros rock. Andrew Andreas Peter brother. James Iakōbos son of Zebedee. John Iōannēs James brother beloved disciple. Philip Philippos. Bartholomew Bartholomaios likely Nathanael. Jesus renamed Simon Peter prophetic rock solid foundation. Twelve n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14-16) **Simon, (whom he also named Peter).**—For the list of the Twelve Apostles see Notes on Matthew 10:2.
The only special points in St. Luke’s list are (1) that he gives Simon Zelotes, obviously as a translation, for Simon the Cananite, or Cananæan, of the other two lists, and gives *James’s Judas,* leaving it uncertain whether he means that the latter was son or brother of the former. His us...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
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KJV Study Commentary
Matthew and Thomas James son of Alphaeus and Simon called Zelotes. Matthew Matthaion Levi tax collector. Thomas Thōmas doubting Thomas. James Iakōbos son of Alphaeus. Simon Simōn. Zelotes Zēlōtēs Zealot revolutionary. Continued list. Matthew despised tax collector. Simon Zealot anti-Rome revolutionary. Polar opposites united in Christ. Zealots used violence overthrow Rome. Tax collectors collabora...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
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KJV Study Commentary
Judas brother of James and Judas Iscariot which also was traitor. Judas Ioudas Jude Thaddaeus. Brother of James likely author of Jude. Judas Iscariot Ioudas Iskariōtēs. Was traitor prodotēs betrayer. Tragic note. Among twelve was betrayer. Judas heard same teaching saw same miracles yet betrayed Jesus. Chosen by Jesus yet not elect unto salvation. Hypocrisy possible in church. Not all who profess ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
And he came down with them, and stood in the plain , and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
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KJV Study Commentary
He came down with them stood in plain and company his disciples great multitude people out all Judaea Jerusalem seacoast Tyre Sidon which came hear him healed diseases. Came down kataba mountain. Stood estē. In plain topou pedinou level place. Company ochlos company. Disciples mathētōn learners. Great multitude plēthos poly large crowd. Out of ek from. All Judaea Ioudaias. Jerusalem Ierousalēm. Se...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **And he came down with them, and stood in the plain.**—We are again confronted with harmonistic difficulties. In St. Matthew (Matthew 10) the mission of the Twelve is followed by a full discourse on their Apostolic work and its perils. Here it is followed by a discourse which has so many points of resemblance with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, 7, that many have supposed it to be i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed</strong> (οἱ ἐνοχλούμενοι ἀπὸ πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων καὶ ἐθεραπεύοντο, hoi enochlumenoi apo pneumatōn akathartōn kai etherapeuonto). The verb <em>enochlumenoi</em> (ἐνοχλούμενοι, from ἐνοχλέω) means to be troubled, harassed, tormented—present passive participle indicating ongoing torment. These weren't merely sick but demoniz...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 5 Lu 5:1-11. Miraculous Draught of Fishes--Call of Peter, James, and John.
Not their first call, however, recorded in Joh 1:35-42; nor their second, recorded in Mt 4:18-22; but their third and last before their appointment to the apostleship. That these calls were all distinct and progressive, seems quite plain. (Similar stages are observable in other eminent servants of Christ.)
**3. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The Power of Christ's Healing Presence</strong><br><br>This remarkable verse captures a mass healing event that demonstrates Jesus's divine power and compassion. The Greek word <em>ὄχλος</em> (ochlos, "multitude") emphasizes the large crowd pressing around Jesus. The phrase "sought to touch him" uses <em>ἐζήτουν ἅπτεσθαι</em> (ezētoun haptesthai), indicating earnest, determined effort to m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **There went virtue out of him.**—The use of the term “virtue” (or *power*) in this technical sense is peculiar to St. Luke, and may be noted as characteristic of the medical Evangelist. (Comp. *Introduction.*)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. for a draught--**munificent recompense for the use of his boat.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19**
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Tho...
Read full commentary →The Beatitudes and Woes
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus begins the Sermon on the Plain: 'Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.' This beatitude pronounces blessing on the 'poor' (Greek 'ptōchoi,' πτωχοί, destitute, beggars), not merely low-income but utterly dependent. Luke's version says 'ye poor' (you who are poor) rather than Matthew's 'poor in spirit,' emphasizing actual poverty but with spiritual implications—those who recogniz...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Blessed be ye poor . . .**—See Notes on Matthew 5:1. The conclusion there arrived at—that the two discourses differ so widely, both in their substance and in their position in the Gospel narrative, that it is a less violent hypothesis to infer that they were spoken at different times than to assume that the two Evangelists inserted or omitted, as they thought fit, in reporting the same disc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Master--**betokening not surely a first acquaintance, but a relationship already formed.
**all night--**the usual time of fishing then (Joh 21:3), and even now Peter, as a fisherman, knew how hopeless it was to "let down his net" again, save as a mere act of faith, "at His word" of command, which carried in it, as it ever does, assurance of success. (This shows he must have been already and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus continues: 'Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.' Physical hunger represents spiritual hunger—deep longing for righteousness, satisfaction, fulfillment. The Greek 'peinōntes' (πεινῶντες, hungering) indicates ongoing, present-tense hunger—not past hunger but current experience. The promise is 'ye shall be filled' (Greek 'chortasthēsesthe,' χορτασθήσεσθε, future passive—you ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Blessed are ye that hunger now.**—In the second beatitude, as in the first, we note the absence of the words that seem to give the blessing on those that “hunger and thirst after righteousness” its specially spiritual character. The law implied is obviously the same as before. Fulness of bread, a life abounding in comforts and luxuries, like that of the Rich Man in the parable of Luke 16:19...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. net brake--**rather "was breaking," or "beginning to break," as in Lu 5:7, "beginning to sink."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares: 'Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.' This beatitude promises blessing for persecution endured for Christ. The progression—hatred, separation, reproach, slander—describes escalating opposition. The phrase 'for the Son of man's sake' (Greek 'he...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Blessed are ye.**—See Notes on Matthew 5:10-12. The clause “when they shall separate you from their company” is peculiar to St. Luke, and refers to the excommunication or exclusion from the synagogue, and therefore from social fellowship, of which we read in John 16:2.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
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KJV Study Commentary
Rejoice ye in that day leap for joy for behold your reward great in heaven for in like manner did fathers unto prophets. Rejoice charēte be glad. In that day en ekeinē tē hēmera time of persecution. Leap skirtēsate jump exult. For joy chalasis joy. Behold idou pay attention. Reward misthos wage. Great polys substantial. In heaven en ouranō eternal. For gar reason. Like manner kata ta auta similarl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Leap for joy.**—The word is peculiar to St. Luke in the New Testament, and occurs elsewhere only in Luke 1:41; Luke 1:44.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Depart, &c.--**Did Peter then wish Christ to leave him? Verily no. His all was wrapt up in Him (Joh 6:68). "It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for Thee." (Compare Is 6:5.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
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KJV Study Commentary
But woe unto you that are rich for ye have received consolation. But plēn strong contrast. Woe ouai judgment pronounced. Rich plousiois wealthy. Have received apechete full payment. Consolation paraklēsin comfort. Warning to rich. Riches provide temporary comfort but no eternal security. Danger of riches is false security. Trust in wealth replaces trust in God. Not that riches themselves evil but ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **But woe unto you that are rich!**—Better, *woe for you,* the tone being, as sometimes (though, as Matthew 23 shows, not uniformly) with this expression, one of pity rather than denunciation. (Comp. Matthew 23:13; Mark 13:17; Luke 21:23.) We enter here on what is a distinct feature of the Sermon on the Plain—the woes that, as it were, balance the beatitudes. It obviously lay in St. Luke’s pu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
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KJV Study Commentary
Woe unto you that are full for ye shall hunger Woe unto you that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe ouai judgment. Full empeplēsmenoi satisfied sated. Shall hunger peinasete lack. Laugh gelōntes make merry. Now nyn present. Shall mourn penthēsete grieve. Weep klausete cry. Two more woes. Full now hungry later. Laughing now mourning later. Eschatological reversal. Those satisfied comfortabl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Woe unto you that are full!**—The fulness is, as the context shows, that of the satiety of over-indulgence. The word is closely connected with that *fulness* (rather than “satisfying”) of the flesh of which St. Paul speaks in Colossians 2:23.
**Woe unto you that laugh now!**—We note here, as so often elsewhere, an echo of our Lord’s teaching, in that of James the brother of the Lord. He, to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Simon, fear not--**This shows how the Lord read Peter's speech. The more highly they deemed Him, ever the more grateful it was to the Redeemer's spirit. Never did they pain Him by manifesting too lofty conceptions of Him.
**from henceforth--**marking a new stage of their connection with Christ. The last was simply, "I will make you fishers."
**fishers of men--**"What wilt thou think, Sim...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
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KJV Study Commentary
Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you for so did fathers to false prophets. Woe ouai judgment. All men pantes anthrōpoi universal approval. Speak well eipōsin kalōs positive reputation. Fathers pateres ancestors. False prophets pseudoprophētais false messengers. Final woe. Universal human approval is warning sign. False prophets popular told people what they wanted hear. True prophets ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **So did their fathers to the false prophets.**—The words are of very wide application, but it is probable that there is a special reference in them to the time of Hezekiah and the later kings of Judah. (Comp. Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 5:31.) They open a wide question as to the worth of praise as a test of human conduct, and tend to a conclusion quite the reverse of that implied in the maxim, *V...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. forsook all--**They did this before (Mt 4:20); now they do it again; and yet after the Crucifixion they are at their boats once more (Joh 21:3). In such a business this is easily conceivable. After pentecost, however, they appear to have finally abandoned their secular calling.
Lu 5:12-16. Leper Healed.
(See on Mt 8:2-4.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-26**
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Mt 5; 7. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world ...
Read full commentary →Love Your Enemies
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.</strong> This verse introduces one of Jesus' most radical ethical teachings, directly challenging natural human inclination and conventional morality. The emphatic "But I say unto you" (<em>alla hymin legō tois akouousin</em>, ἀλλὰ ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἀκούουσιν) asserts Jesus' divine authority to establish moral s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27, 28) **Love your enemies.**—See Notes on Matthew 5:44. It should be noted that the great command of the gospel is set forth in the Sermon on the Plain in its width and universality, without being formally contrasted with the Pharisaic gloss, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy,” as in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.</strong> This verse continues Jesus' radical ethic of enemy love with two specific applications. "Bless them that curse you" (<em>eulogeite tous katarōmenous hymas</em>, εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς) commands responding to cursing with blessing. The verb <em>eulogeō</em> (εὐλογέω, "bless") means to speak well of, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other</strong>—the blow to the cheek (τύπτοντί σε ἐπὶ τὴν σιαγόνα, typtonti se epi tēn siagona) was not life-threatening violence but an insult to honor, a backhanded slap of contempt. Jesus commands <em>pareche</em> (πάρεχε, offer/present) the other cheek—active non-retaliation that absorbs evil without returning it. The cloak...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **And unto him that smiteth thee . . .**—See Notes on Matthew 5:39-40.
**And him that taketh away thy cloke.**—St. Luke’s report of the maxim points to direct violence, St. Matthew’s to legal process. It is noticeable also that St. Luke inverts the order of the “cloke” and the “coat.” *“*If he takes the upper garment, give him the under one also.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Give to every man that asketh of thee</strong> (παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, panti aitounti se didou)—the present imperative demands continuous action: keep giving to everyone who keeps asking. <em>Panti</em> (παντί) means every/all without discrimination. This challenges selective generosity. <strong>And of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again</strong> (μὴ ἀπαίτει, mē apaitei)—do...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Give to every man that asketh of thee.**—See Note on Matthew 5:42.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. But so, &c.--**(See Mr 1:45).
Lu 5:17-26. Paralytic Healed.
(See on Mt 9:1-8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse encapsulates Jesus' ethical teaching through a comprehensive principle of reciprocal justice and love. 'As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise' reformulates behavior based on the golden rule principle, the deepest expression of covenant love. The construction employs 'katheios' (just as, in the same way) to establish proportional response: our treatment of ot...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **As ye would that men should do to you . . .**—See Note on Matthew 7:12. The very different arrangement of the precepts in the two discourses is obviously an argument against their identity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
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KJV Study Commentary
If ye love them which love you what thank have ye for sinners also love those that love them. If ei conditional. Love agapate sacrificial love. Them which love tous agapōntas those loving. What thank charis grace credit. Have ye humin for you. Sinners hamartōloi moral failures. Also kai even. Love those that love reciprocal affection natural. Challenge to exceed natural love. Love for enemies next...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **For if ye love them which love you.**—See Note on Matthew 5:46, and note St. Luke’s use, as writing for Gentiles, of the wider term “sinners,” instead of the more specific “publicans,” which pointed the maxim, perhaps, for those who originally heard it, and certainly for St. Matthew’s Jewish readers. There is also a slight variation in the form of the closing questions—St. Luke’s “what *tha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. Pharisees and doctors ... sitting by--**the highest testimony yet borne to our Lord's growing influence, and the necessity increasingly felt by the ecclesiastics throughout the country of coming to some definite judgment regarding Him.
**power of the Lord ... present--**with Jesus.
**to heal them--**the sick people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
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KJV Study Commentary
If ye do good to them which do good to you what thank have ye for sinners also do even same. Do good agathopoiēte benefit help. To them which tous agathopoiountas those doing good. Same pattern as v. 32. Doing good to those who reciprocate is natural. No special credit. Even sinners do this. Golden Rule do unto others as they do unto you. Christian ethic is do unto others as you would have them do...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **If ye do good to them . . .**—Actual deeds of kindness take the place in St. Luke which in St. Matthew is occupied by the salutations which were but the outward signs of kindness.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
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KJV Study Commentary
If ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive what thank have ye for sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. Lend danisēte give loan. Hope to receive elpizete apolabein expect repayment. No special credit. Sinners do this self-interest lending. Expecting return. Christian lending should be generous without expecting return. Generosity exceeds enlightened self-interest. Grace-based e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) I**f ye lend to them . . .**—This special illustration of the law of unselfish kindness is in this collocation peculiar to St. Luke; but it is implied in the precept of Matthew 5:42.
**To receive as much again.**—It is noticeable, as implying that the precepts were given in the first instance to Jewish hearers, that receiving interest on the loan is not contemplated at all. (See Note on Matth...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. housetop--**the flat roof.
**through the tiling ... before Jesus--**(See on Mr 2:2).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus commands: 'Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.' This radical ethic of enemy love reflects God's character—He shows kindness to those who don't deserve or appreciate it. The phrase 'children of the Highest' (Greek 'huioi hypsistou,' υἱοὶ ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **Love ye your enemies.**—The tense of the Greek verb may be noted as implying a perpetual abiding rule of action.
**Hoping for nothing again.**—Better, *in nothing losing hope.* It is possible that the Greek verb may have the sense given in the text, but its uniform signification in the LXX. (as in Ecclesiasticus 22:21-24; Ecclesiasticus 27:21), which must be allowed great weight in interpre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus commands: 'Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.' The word 'merciful' (Greek 'oiktirmones,' οἰκτίρμονες) means compassionate, showing pity. The standard is divine—'as your Father is merciful.' We're to mirror God's character, showing the same kind of compassion He shows. This isn't advice but command—'be ye'—and the motivation is family identity—'as your Father.' Childre...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **Be ye therefore merciful.**—The form of the sentence is the same as that of Matthew 5:48, but “merciful” takes the place of “perfect,” as being the noblest of the divine attributes, in which all others reach their completeness. The well-known passage in Shakespeare on the “quality of mercy,” is, perhaps, the best comment on this verse (*Merchant of Venice,* iv. 1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 27-36**
These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even acco...
Read full commentary →Judging Others
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.</strong> This verse contains three parallel prohibitions and promises regarding judgment, condemnation, and forgiveness. The command "Judge not" (<em>mē krinete</em>, μὴ κρίνετε) uses the present imperative with <em>mē</em> (μή), meaning "stop judging" or "do not make a hab...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.**—See Note on Matthew 7:1. In St. Luke’s report there is something like a climax. “Seek not to judge at all. If you must judge, be not eager *to* condemn.”
**Forgive.**—Better, *set free, release,* or *acquit;* the word expressing a quasi-judicial act rather than the forgiveness of a private wrong.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.</strong> This verse establishes the reciprocal principle of generosity. The command "Give" (<em>didote</em>, δίδοτε) is a present imperative, indicating continuous, habitual ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **Good measure, pressed down.**—The imagery clearly points to a measure of grain, so pressed and shaken that it could hold no more.
**Into your bosom.**—The large fold of an Eastern dress over the chest, often used as a pocket.
**With the same measure that ye mete.**—See Notes on Matthew 7:2, Mark 4:24, for the varied applications of the proverb.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
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KJV Study Commentary
Can blind lead blind shall they not both fall into ditch. Rhetorical question expects no. Blind tuphlos spiritually blind. Lead hodēgein guide. Both amphoteroi leader follower. Fall pesountai stumble. Ditch bothynon pit. Blind leading blind results in disaster. Spiritually blind teachers lead followers to ruin. Pharisees were blind guides (Matt 15:14). Need teachers who see spiritual truth. Reform...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **And he spake a parable unto them.**—The verse is noticeable (1) as causing a break in the discourse which has no parallel in the Sermon on the Mount; (2) as giving an example of the wider sense of the word “parable,” as applicable to any proverbial saying that involved a similitude. On the proverb itself, quoted in a very different context, see Note on Matthew 15:14. Here its application is...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. take up thy couch--**"sweet saying! The bed had borne the man; now the man shall bear the bed!" [Bengel].
Lu 5:27-32. Levi's Call and Feast.
(See on Mt 9:9-13; and Mr 2:14.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. that: or, shall be perfected as his master
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KJV Study Commentary
Disciple is not above his master but everyone perfect shall be as his master. Disciple mathētēs learner. Not above hyper beyond. Master didaskalon teacher. Everyone pas each. Perfect katērtismenos fully trained. Shall be estai will become. As hōs like. Master. Students do not surpass teachers. Fully trained disciple becomes like teacher. Application do not presume to judge (vv. 37-42) when you are...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **The disciple is not above his master.**—See Notes on Matthew 10:24, John 15:20. Here the application of the proverb is obviously very different. The connection of thought is somewhat obscure, and we may not unreasonably believe that some links have been omitted. As it is, however, we can infer something from what precedes and follows. We are still in that section of the discourse which warn...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
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KJV Study Commentary
Why beholdest thou mote in brother eye but perceivest not beam in own eye. Why ti what reason. Beholdest blepeis observe notice. Mote karphos splinter speck. Brother adelphou fellow believer. Eye ophthalmo. Perceivest katanoeis consider. Not ou negative. Beam dokon log plank. Own idiō your own. Hyperbole exaggeration for effect. Judge minor faults in others ignore major faults in self. Hypocritica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(41) **And why beholdest thou** . .?—See Notes on Matthew 7:4. The two reports of the proverb agree almost verbally, as if its repetition had impressed it deeply on the minds of the hearers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
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KJV Study Commentary
How canst thou say to brother let me pull out mote in eye when behold not beam in own eye Hypocrite cast out first beam then see clearly to pull out mote. How pōs in what way. Canst dynasai are able. Say eipein pronounce. Pull out ekbalō remove. When seeing not ou blepōn while not seeing. Beam dokon log. Own eye. Hypocrite hypokrita actor. Cast ekbale remove. First prōton priority. Then tote after...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →A Tree and Its Fruit
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit</strong>—the principle is inexorable: <em>kalon dendron</em> (καλὸν δένδρον, good/beautiful tree) produces good fruit; <em>sapron dendron</em> (σαπρὸν δένδρον, rotten/corrupt tree) produces bad fruit. The adjective <em>sapros</em> (σαπρός) means rotten, putrid, worthless. This agricultural ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(43-46) **For a good tree bringeth not forth . . .**—See Notes on Matthew 7:16-21. Here again, judging by what we find in St. Matthew, there may have been missing links; but even without them the conjunction “for” does not lose its force. The good tree of a Christ-like life cannot bring forth the “corrupt fruit” (better, perhaps, *rotten* fruit) of censorious judgment; the *rotten* tree of hypocri...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. grapes: Gr. a grape
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For every tree is known by his own fruit</strong> (ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται, ek tou idiou karpou ginōsketai)—recognition comes through fruit. The verb <em>ginōskō</em> (γινώσκω) means to know with certainty, to discern reality. Jesus provides specific examples: <strong>For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes</strong> (ἐξ ἀκανθῶν οὐ συλλέγουσιν σ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(44) **Of thorns men do not gather figs.**—The form of the illustration differs slightly from that in St. Matthew, where the thorns are connected with grapes, and the figs with thistles. The word for “bramble bush” is the same as that used in Luke 20:37, and in the LXX. version of Exodus 3:2-4, and Deuteronomy 33:16, for the burning “bush” on Sinai. We may note further the use of a different Greek...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good</strong> (ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας, ho agathos anthrōpos ek tou agathou thēsaurou tēs kardias)—the heart's treasure (<em>thēsauros</em>, θησαυρός) determines what emerges. A treasury filled with good produces goodness; one filled with evil (<em>ponēros</em>, πονηρός—actively wicke...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(45) **A good man out of the good treasure.**—See Note on Matthew 12:35. There the words are spoken in immediate connection with the judgment which the Pharisees had passed on our Lord as casting out devils by Beelzebub, and follow on a reproduction of the similitude of the tree and its fruit. The sequence of thought in that passage helps us to trace a like sequence here. Out of the “good treasure...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. their scribes--**a mode of expression showing that Luke was writing for Gentiles.
Lu 5:33-39. Fasting.
(See on Mt 9:14-17.)
**The incongruities mentioned in Lu 5:36-38 were intended to illustrate the difference between the genius of the old and new economies, and the danger of mixing up the one with the other. As in the one case supposed, "the rent is made worse," and in the other, "the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →Build Your House on the Rock
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus challenges superficial discipleship: 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?' The repeated 'Lord, Lord' (Greek 'kyrie kyrie,' κύριε κύριε) indicates verbal acknowledgment of Jesus' authority without corresponding obedience. True lordship requires submission and obedience, not merely verbal recognition. Calling Jesus 'Lord' while disobeying contradicts itself—genuine f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(46) **And why call ye me, Lord, Lord.**—The teaching is the same in substance, though not *in* form.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them</strong> (ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρός με καὶ ἀκούων μου τῶν λόγων καὶ ποιῶν αὐτούς)—Jesus establishes three progressive conditions for true discipleship: coming (<em>erchomai</em>, approaching in relationship), hearing (<em>akouō</em>, attentive listening), and doing (<em>poieō</em>, active obedience). Luke's account emphasizes that genui...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(47-49) **Whosoever cometh to me** .—See Notes on Matthew 7:24-27. Here again the all but verbal reproduction of the parable shows the impression which its repetition had left on the minds of men. The variations, however, are not without significance. St. Luke alone reports that the wise man “digged deep” (better, *digged, and made it deep*)*,* and so brings out the toil and labour which attends t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock</strong> (ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ οἰκοδομοῦντι οἰκίαν ὃς ἔσκαψεν καὶ ἐβάθυνεν καὶ ἔθηκεν θεμέλιον ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν)—Luke's version emphasizes the <em>labor</em> involved: he 'digged' (<em>skaptō</em>) and 'went deep' (<em>bathunō</em>), terms suggesting strenuous excavation. Obedience to Christ's teachings...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(48) **When the flood arose.**—Here we have some-what less fulness of detail than in St. Matthew’s mention of “the rain” and the “wind,” as well as the rivers or streams. The word rendered “flood” referred primarily to the “sea,” but had been transferred to the movement of any large body of water.
**And could not shake it.**—Better, *and had no power to shake it.* Somewhat stronger than the form i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But he that heareth, and doeth not</strong> (ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας καὶ μὴ ποιήσας)—The aorist participles emphasize decisive hearing followed by decisive non-doing. This isn't ignorance but willful disobedience—hearing Jesus's words without implementing them. James later warns against being 'hearers only, deceiving your own selves' (James 1:22).<br><br><strong>Without a foundation built an house up...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(49) **He that heareth, and doeth not.**—More specific than St. Matthew in adding “without a foundation,” somewhat less so in giving “on the earth” instead of “on the sand.”
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 37-49**
All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who fol...
Read full commentary →