Luk 11:1

PLACE: In OT, “place” = holy place, sanctuary. Was Jesus praying in the Temple? Cp usage of sw in Mat 27:33; 28:6; Joh 4:20; 11:48; 14:2,3; 18:2; Act 6:14; 7:35,49; 21:28.

“He might well have been in the garden of Gethsemane at the time… it was a favourite resort of the Lord, and near Bethany” (GEM).

Luk 11:2

V 2: Three requests that God be glorified.

Luk 11:3

Vv 3,4: Three personal requests.

Luk 11:4

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa 66:18).

Cp Mat 6:13: “For thine is… kingdom, power, and glory.”

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION: Cp 1Co 10:13.

DELIVER US FROM… EVIL…: “Although all natural evolutions are not of God, some may be so that apparently present no features to distinguish them from natural occurrences in general. This double fact has the double effect of restraining presumption and encouraging faith towards God. We may not as a matter of natural discrimination be able with certainty to distinguish between what is providential (or truly of God) and what is not: but this we know, that the hand of God is at work, and that all who know and fear and truly love and obey Him, are the subjects of that guidance which constitutes the answer to the prayer: ‘Deliver us from evil’ ” (WP 174).

Luk 11:6

“The friend who came on his journey with ‘nothing’ refs to the disciples whom Jesus had sent out on their journey with nothing (Luk 9:3). When He told them to ‘eat such things as are set before you’ (Luk 10:8), he did not just mean they should not be picky about their food. He used the same word in Luk 11:6 to describe how the faithful friend ‘set [food] before’ his visitor. As they travelled around, the disciples were to be received in the way he was describing. Those in that early brotherhood of believers who received and supported them were to do so knowing that these brethren were in their turn responding to human need, and they could be fellow-helpers in the gospel’s work by showing hospitality. John says just the same: ‘Because that for his name’s sake they went forth [alluding to the great commission to go into all the world], taking nothing of the Gentiles [ie the unbelievers]. We therefore ought to help receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth” (3Jo 1:7,8)” (DH).

Luk 11:7

WITH ME IN BED: Prob a one-room house.

“The Lord will one day come to us at midnight, and the unworthy will not open to Him (Song 5:2, etc). And right now he stands at the door and knocks (Rev 3:20). The rejected will know what it is like to stand knocking at the Lord’s shut door and be unanswered (Mat 25:10; Luk 13:25). He surely intended us to make such links within His teachings. The message is quite clear — those who can’t be bothered to respond to the knocking of others, who refuse to feel for others in their desperation, are the ones who will then come to know just how that feels, as in ultimate spiritual desperation they hammer at the Lord’s door. From this it surely follows that in our response to the desperation of others, we are working out our own eternal destiny” (DH).

Luk 11:8

BOLDNESS: Lit “without shame”: cp ideas: Luk 18:1… Gen 18:23-33; 32:24-29; Isa 62:6,7.

Luk 11:10

FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES; HE WHO SEEKS FINDS; AND TO HIM WHO KNOCKS, THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED: “The briefest way to cover all that God does for His children”, ie without exceptions cluttering up the statement.

Luk 11:11

BREAD… FISH: Jesus exemplified God’s love in giving bread and fish to his “children”: Luk 5:6,10; Mat 14:19; 15:36; Joh 21:9.

Luk 11:12

Scorpions, at rest and curled up, resemble eggs (PM 40). “Scorpion”, in Gr, may sig a biting retort (Isa 59:5; Eze 2:6; Luk 10:19).

Luk 11:13

GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT: If future, may sig “Holy Spirit-empowered nature”, or immortality.

Luk 11:14

He that had been dumb now spoke. And they that had spoken were now dumb.

“Demoniacs” suffered from: blindness, dumbness (Mat 12:22; Luk 11:14), insanity, schizophrenia (Mar 3:21; 5:1-5; Joh 10:20), epilepsy (Mar 9:17-27), and arthritis (Luk 13:11-17).

Luk 11:15

BY BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEMONS, THAT HE IS DRIVING OUT DEMONS”: Perhaps they took their lead from Christ’s own family (Mar 3:21). This campaign continued (Mat 10:25; 12:24; Mar 3:22; Luke 11:15; Joh 7:20; 8:48,52; 10:20).

BEELZEBUB: Lit, Beelzebul = “Lord of the dwelling”. Corrupted by the Jews to Beelzebub: “Lord of the flies”, and (by implication) “Lord of the dunghill”. Irony: it was in fact by the TRUE “LORD” of the TRUE “dwelling” that Jesus did his work!

Luk 11:16

A SIGN FROM HEAVEN: Cp 2Ki 1:2,3,6; Luk 23:8.

Luk 11:17

Christ is speaking by parable (Mar 3:23), thus precluding a lit interpretation (cp v 18: ‘I am only arguing this way because…’).

Vv 17-20: ‘If by my works I show my opposition to demons, and since you oppose me, then you must be on the side of Beelzebub!’

Luk 11:18

// Rom 6:16, where “Sin” // demons, etc.

Luk 11:19

‘And if I — who am yet sinless! — you be the judge — do this…’ etc.

Luk 11:20

See Exo 8:19: context of Moses and the magicians of Egypt: rival “magicians”. See lessons there: even the conjurers of Egypt admitted that they were facing an obviously greater power.

Luk 11:21

“Satan” possessing a man: cit Isa 49:24,25.

Luk 11:22

By Jesus’ “logical” reasoning, only a stronger can overcome “Satan”. And who is stronger than “Satan” except God?! Therefore Jesus must be “from God”.

TAKES AWAY THE ARMOR: That is, cast him out, with all his “goods” or works. Cp David with Goliath in 1Sa 17:54.

DIVIDES UP THE SPOILS: See Isa 53:12; Col 2:15.

Luk 11:23

Ct Mar 9:40.

In Luk 9:50 those not against the disciples and their work will not lightly speak evil of Christ. It isn’t ours to forbid any work done, however imperfectly, in Christ’s name. But in Luk 11:23 neutrality now becomes an impossibility.

Luk 11:24

AN EVIL SPIRIT: Sig a wicked thought or teaching, or an evil practice (Eph 2:2,3).

SEEKING REST AND DOES NOT FIND IT: Because the only true rest is to be found in Christ (Mat 11:28-30).

IT: The “evil spirit”, not the man!

Luk 11:25

Vv 25,26: Much of the nation had “repented” at the preaching of John the Baptist, but it was not enough! It is not enough to cast out the “demon” of wicked thoughts and actions; the void must be filled with good and positive things. Since “nature abhors a void”, then other wicked thoughts and actions will rush in to fill the mind and life of the one who casts out the negative, but does not put the positive in its place.

Luk 11:26

AND THE FINAL CONDITION OF THAT MAN IS WORSE THAN THE FIRST: Cp case of Saul: 1Sa 16:14; 18:10.

Luk 11:27

BLESSED IS THE MOTHER: No ref to a human father.

Luk 11:28

Same lesson as Luk 10:37. Jesus does not condemn this woman, but he doesn’t support her either. He makes the point that whilst Mary was to be called blessed (Luke 1:42-48), the real blessing was on those that turned to him and believed: Luke 6:47,48; 8:21; Psa 1:1-3; 112:1; 119:1-6.

Luk 11:32

THE MEN OF NINEVEH WILL STAND UP AT THE JUDGMENT: Gentile repentance is a witness to faithless Israel.

“Is it possible to understand a reference like this on the nonhistoric theory of the book of Jonah? The future Judge is speaking words of solemn warning to those who shall hereafter stand convicted at his bar. Intensely real he would make the scene in anticipation to them, as it was real, as if then present, to himself. And yet we are to suppose him to say that imaginary persons who at the imaginary preaching of an imaginary prophet repented in imagination, shall rise up in that day and condemn the actual impenitence of those his actual hearers” (TT Perowne).

THE JUDGMENT: Definite article: the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Luk 11:33

BOWL: Or “bushel” (RSV; AV). Gr word only in this instance, ie Mat 5:15; Mar 4:21; Luk 11:33: an instrument of commerce!

Luk 11:34

BUT WHEN THEY [YOUR EYES] ARE BAD: View distorted by wealth: Deu 15:9; Pro 23:6,7; 28:22.

Luk 11:39

What you put in the cup or dish (ie food to cook) was obtained by greed and wickedness!

Surely there’s a lesson in there somewhere. The “outside” of our “cups” and “dishes” can never be made clean (Luk 11:37-41), by anything we can do… until the whole is cleansed by Christ, with the “redemption of the body” (Rom 8:23).

And Christ himself, in offering the one perfect-and-final-and-for-all sacrifice, was of necessity befouled by the process itself — just like the priests under the Law, and more so! He was “cursed” by hanging on a tree, sure… but more than that — he was treated in all outward appearance as the worst of criminals, left beaten, bloody, spat upon, and probably abused and insulted with other unmentioned horrors. Blood, sweat, and tears… and then driven down into the dust under the burden of a heavy cross. Dragged back to his feet, pushed and bullied along to the place of crucifixion, stripped possibly of even the last bit of clothes, and the last vestige of modesty, and lifted up high — where nothing could be hidden — and all the “beasts” that surrounded him could look, and laugh, and mock.

But it was all the “outside” of the “cup”. The “inside” was pure and clean and white. It could not be tainted by anything cruel men might do to the “outside”.

Luk 11:42

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Mat 23:23).

Tractate Maaseroth opens with a ruling on what is liable to the tithe, “all that which is food”, and then defines when that food is liable — not in its early stage but in its later stage (1:1). The determinations become more detailed in the eight mishnot that follow: “figs” (1:2); “carabs” (1:3); “greens — cucumbers, gourds, melons…” (1:4); etc. The attention given every plant reflects the rabbinic concern to legislate on every detail of life, to leave nothing unaddressed. The Lord condemns the scribes and Pharisees as “hypocrites” because they tithed “mint, dill, and cummin” but neglected the “more important requirements of the law.”

Maaseroth 4:5 gives instruction on dill and seed. In the Law of Moses none of these are listed for tithing, but evidently because these were herbs and seed used as seasoning in food they were considered tithable. It may be that the rabbis went beyond the intent of the law with such concern for detail, but it was not their meticulous observance of tithing that Jesus condemned but their lack of equal or greater attention to “justice and mercy and faithfulness.” In Maaseroth 5:7 the exact rulings reach the absurd with legislation regarding ant-holes alongside a heap of corn. “The corn inside of them is also liable” to be tithed.

BUT YOU NEGLECT JUSTICE AND THE LOVE OF GOD: “After all that the prophets had said, Christ needed to explain the law of justice again. His contemporaries were zealous for their traditions but they neglected the weightier matters of the law of God, justice, faith and love. They were eager to lade men with heavy and unnecessary burdens but they could not apply the just balance and just measure to the affairs of spiritual life. So has it been in later days. There has often been a passionate zeal for rectitude in little matters of form and expression, resulting in bitter criticism and often injustice to fellow labourers. We have a strong conviction that when the Just One passes final judgment, some well-meaning but self-centred men will be reproved because they have rigorously enforced so many rules of their own and have been neglectful of justice, mercy, faith and the love of God” (PrPr 186). See Lesson, Weightier matters.

Luk 11:43

“They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi’ ” (Mat 23:6,7).

Luk 11:44

UNMARKED GRAVES: Not whited graves, as ct Mat 23:27. Here, hypocrisy. Cp Psa 5: inwardly, like a grave!

Luk 11:47

Vv 47,48: Cp Mat 23:29-31. “How? Why? Might not the Pharisees have replied that, by honoring their remains and their memory, they condemned their murderers? The greatest sin of Israel and of the world was and is, apostasy from the true God and His worship by idolatry; and the most prevalent mode of this apostasy is sacrilegious reverence for dead men’s tombs and bones… Now, it was for rebuking this and other kinds of idolatry, that ‘the fathers killed the prophets’; and those who built their tombs would, in like manner, kill anyone who condemned their idolatrous reverence for these very sepulchers. Thus the Pharisees, by the very act of building those tombs of the prophets, and ‘honoring’ them as they did, showed plainly that they were activated by the same spirit that led their fathers to kill them; and, to make this matter self-evident, they very soon proceeded to crucify the Lord of the prophets because of his faithful rebukes. Nor has this spirit changed in the least during the subsequent eighteen hundred years. Now, here, in Jerusalem, should the Savior reappear, and condemn with the same severity our modern Pharisees, they would kill him upon his own reputed tomb. I say this not with a faltering perhaps, but with a painful certainty. Alas! how many thousands of God’s people have been slaughtered because of their earnest and steadfast protest against pilgrimages, idolatrous worship of saints, tombs, bones, images, and pictures! And whenever I see people particularly zealous in building, repairing, or serving those shrines, I know them to be the ones who allow the deeds of those who killed the prophets, and who would do the same under like circumstances” (LB 639,640).

Do we “build up” the “tombs” of our Christadelphian “prophets”? If so, is there any danger in doing so?

Are dead “prophets” less threatening than living ones? Seems to me that dead “prophets” (and I use the term loosely here — whether referring to Isaiah and Jeremiah, or John Thomas and Robert Roberts) can be shut up in books, closed between the covers, and “controlled”… whereas living “prophets” go walking around sticking their noses into our business when we least like it, encouraging us more directly by word or deed to DO something when we would rather do nothing, and generally kicking us out of our “comfort zones”. They can’t be as easily “shut up” or “put on a shelf”. Maybe that’s why we don’t care for the living “prophets”. Maybe that’s why we sometimes hasten their demise! Jesus also said, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mar 6:4).

Luk 11:49

Vv 49-51: “Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar” (Mat 23:34,35).

Luk 11:51

ABEL… ZECHARIAH: For Zechariah, see 2Ch 24:20,21. Thus the first and last martyrdoms in OT. (By Jewish reckoning, Chronicles is the last book of the Scriptures.)

Luk 12:3

FROM THE ROOFS: “Epi” = “upon” (as KJV), not necessarily “from”. Quiet discussion with friends and neighbors in evening gatherings on the cool rooftops.

Luk 12:7

THE VERY HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD ARE ALL NUMBERED: A phrase descriptive of long life: Luk 12:7; 21:18; Mat 10:30; Acts 27:34; 1Sa 14:45; 2Sa 14:11.

YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS: One day some workers on a British railroad found a thrush’s nest under a rail. The mother bird was sitting peacefully on her eggs, undisturbed by the roar of the fast trains above and all around her.

“Said the robin to the sparrow, ‘I should really like to know, Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so.’ Said the sparrow to the robin, ‘Friend, I think that it must be That they have no heavenly Father Such as cares for you and me.”

Jesus used the carefree life of birds to show that worrying is unnatural. In our own lives day by day we are learning to keep our minds centered on Christ so that the worries and concerns of the world will pass, leaving nothing but a “perfect peace” in our hearts. God has taken the responsibility for our care and worry. Let us trust Him to do it, do our best each day, and be grateful for Him.

Luk 12:9

HE WHO DISOWNS ME…: Not restricted to those who “disown” or “deny” AFTER baptism!

Luk 12:10

ANYONE WHO BLASPHEMES AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT: This the Jews had done, in Luk 11:15, when they accused Jesus of casting out demons through Beelzebub.

Luk 12:14

The same problem that Moses encountered: “The man said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?’ ” (Exo 2:14).

The man’s brother was no doubt covetous, but it had not dawned on him that — in disputing the claim — he was also covetous (v 15).

Luk 12:15

The headlong pursuit after cars, well-furnished houses, and an array of sports equipment and amusement devices does not, in itself, guarantee happiness. ‘If only I had… such-and-such, and so-and-so… things would be so much better’ is a view of the world which underlies the appeal of lotteries, TV give-away programs and advertisements. It is a mistake to think that the more one has, the better things will be. What is required is a determination to live within one’s income and to have the right perspective on this world’s goods. No less a prophet than Elisha was furnished with only a bed, lamp, table, and chair! (See Lesson, Money.)

“For even when man has more than enough, his wealth does not give him life” (NEB). It is poss to “gain whole world” and yet “lose one’s life” (Mat 16:25,26; 6:25-34; Phi 3:5-8; 4:11,12).

The real measure of a person’s wealth is how much he would be worth if he lost all his money.

Luk 12:16

RICH MAN: He was ALREADY rich, so this additional prosperity was a superfluity! Cp Rev 3:17: “I am rich.”

This man, in terms of the base standards of the world, had made a success of life. He became rich because of the productivity of his labor, and the fruitfulness of the ground he owned. But did he ever stop to think of why his land yielded its fruits in such abundance? Did he ever reflect upon the fact that “the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God” (Heb 6:7)? Job did, and concluded: “If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much… this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above” (Job 31:25-28).

But in contrast to Job, the rich man, having more food than was sufficient for him, did deny God: trusting in his own labor, he seemingly gave little thought to the One who so greatly blessed the land upon which he worked. Thus, he was a failure.

Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1,000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy’s story was: “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”

Luk 12:17

WHAT SHALL I DO?: What a question, when all around him were the poor!

Luk 12:18

“Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof”: Rom 13:14.

ALL: All! Leaving not even a little for the poor (Deu 26:1,2), or the “corners of the fields” (Lev 23:22; Deu 24:19).

Ct Mat 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

A preacher was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, “That’s all mine.” Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That too is all mine.” He paused, expecting his guest to compliment him on his great success. The preacher, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, “How much do you have in that direction?” The man hung his head and confessed, “I never thought of that.”

Luk 12:20

Biblical “Fools”: The rich fool (Luke 12:20). The unbelieving fool (Psa 53:1). The self-righteous fool (Pro 28:26). The scornful fool (Pro 14:9). The righteous “fool” (1Co 4:10).

The High Priest and his followers were building “bigger barns” (temple, revenues, etc), not knowing that their “time” was coming.

THIS NIGHT YOUR LIFE WILL BE DEMANDED FROM YOU: Cp Mat 16:26; Pro 23:4. Rather than to trust in our own wisdom and labour to obtain the empty riches of this evil world, we must seek the wisdom of God, for therein lies true riches — riches which can sustain us beyond the grave. “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather than to be chosen than silver” (Pro 16:16).

THEN WHO WILL GET WHAT YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR YOURSELF?: The abundance accumulated by the rich fool was a standing monument to his folly, even after he died. “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Pro 1:32).

Luk 12:22

The vanity of materialism: Luk 12:16-19 / cp with Ecc 2:4-10 Luk 12:20 / Ecc 2:15-19 Luk 12:22,23 / Ecc 2:22,23 Luk 12:24 / Ecc 2:24 Luk 12:27 / Ecc 2:25 Luk 12:28-31 / Ecc 2:26

Cp exhortations to work: 2Th 3:10; 1Ti 5:8.

Seven reasons not to worry: (1) Life itself is more important than things that sustain it; thus anxiety is forbidden (v 23); (2) The birds do not make frantic provisions (v 24); (3) Worry does not lengthen life (v 25); (4) God takes care of the flowers (v 27); (5) Those who do not know God, ie the Gentiles, seek after material things (v 30), but believers seek after the kingdom (v 32); (6) God knows what you need (v 30); and (7) Our Father is pleased to give you the kingdom (v 31).

“Worry can consume us and make us very unproductive in our lives. It steals our time and energy from God and His purpose. We are assured by Jesus that we are part of his flock and that his tender mercies are bestowed upon us. We are his, and he will guide and feed us and lead us to the pastures which nourish and give health. Our part is to keep our eyes on him and follow him. Not to try to look for ourselves to find the path, but keep our focus on him and his word. In doing this we can receive gifts of our Father and give thanks and praise continually. God’s plan has taken from us the time we would spend on worrying and has allowed us to use that time in seeking the kingdom and His righteousness [v 31]. We are so blessed to be loved with such great love” (CPv).

Luk 12:23

// Psa 55:22; 1Pe 5:7; Phi 4:6.

Luk 12:24

RAVENS: Unclean birds (Lev 11:15; Deu 14:14), fed by God. The first to be cared for after Flood (Gen 8:7); cp Psa 147:8-11.

Luk 12:25

LIFE: “Span of life” (RSV). “Helikia” = “age, in years” (cp Joh 9:21,23; Heb 11:11; Luk 2:52).

Luk 12:26

See Psa 39:5.

Luk 12:28

Cp Isa 40:6: “All flesh is grass!”

FIRE: “Klibanos” = earthen pot for baking. “Oven” in KJV. The hot wind from the desert (cp Isa 40:6-8).

Luk 12:32

LITTLE FLOCK: Some of us even worry (v 22) about being a “little flock”!

YOUR FATHER HAS BEEN PLEASED: “Go for pleasure! Go for it with all your heart and might! That is what you are put here on earth for — to enjoy yourself to the uttermost. But — be sure it is pleasure. The world is full of tragic, tempting, cheating counterfeits that never satisfy, but at best only stupefy with temporary excitement or sensation or absorption, like a brief drug high — but all lead at last to the same dead end. There is only one true, real, permanent pleasure — unalloyed, unassailable, and everlasting. Ignore the myriad masks of the empty face of Folly, and heed the solitary sound of Wisdom’s call to everlasting joy. God guarantees ‘pleasures for evermore’ ” (GVG).

TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM: “The offer of reward from God to His sons is the final proof of His true personality. To an abstract Supreme Being it would be impossible; to a Father it is not only possible but natural; and to those who are truly His sons the reward is the occasion of responsive delight in that personality. When we are pleased with a gift the choice of which conveys the very personality of a beloved friend, we say, ‘It is just like him (or her) to send me that.’ And it is just like the Heavenly Father to give His children the Kingdom: the gift is as it were a part of Himself; He has planned it throughout the ages: He has ‘prepared’ it with loving care. And for His children the gift is the bond of love” (TM 166).

Luk 12:33

// Mat 6:19-24.

THAT WILL NOT WEAR OUT: Ref the “wilderness” journey of Israel — a journey of faith, where God provides (Deu 29:5).

Luk 12:35

DRESSED READY: “Loins girded”, as in 1Pe 1:13.

LAMPS BURNING: See Phi 2:14-16; Mat 5:14-16; 25:7,8.

Luk 12:37

HE WILL DRESS HIMSELF TO SERVE: Jesus actually did this (John 13:4). Did the disciples remember this comment on that occasion?

TO SERVE: The master will return to serve the servants!

Luk 12:39

Christ is portrayed often — he even portrays himself — as a “thief” in the New Testament, in connection with his Second Coming (Mat 24:42-44; Luk 12:39,40; 1Th 5:2,4,6; 2Pe 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15). This may seem extraordinary, since stealing is a sin, and a “thief” therefore must be a sinner — and how could Christ be a sinner? (A similar question might be asked: how could Christ compare himself to a serpent: John 3:14; Num 21:7-9? But that’s another story!) However, there is one instance when a “thief” is not committing a crime, and that is when he is simply reclaiming (by stealth or surprise) what is rightfully his (cp David and his men, who followed the Amalekites and retrieved their kidnapped families and stolen goods: 1Sa 30!). And that seems to be exactly the point in these NT instances also: Christ when he returns will be merely taking back what is rightfully his! The true “thieves” will be seen to be those servants who ate his bread and drank his wine and enjoyed themselves in leisurely consuming that which belonged to their Master (see the parable in Mat 24:48-51 and Luk 12:45-47). Their mistake — and it was a crucial one — was in forgetting they were mere stewards or caretakers, and instead supposing that all their Master’s properties belonged to them, and acting accordingly! So, if we are to be sure that Christ does not come as a “thief” to us, we must not act as “thieves” ourselves now, stealing from him what is rightfully his. We must remember that all we possess really belongs to the One who is our true Lord and Master; that we merely hold it all in trust, to be used to serve him.

Luk 12:41

TO US, OR TO EVERYONE?: Christ’s answer: to servants (vv 42-48).

Luk 12:44

See parable of Luk 19:17,19.

Luk 12:45

EAT… DRINK… GET DRUNK: See Luk 17:27; 21:34.

Luk 12:46

UNBELIEVERS: Or “hypocrites” (Mat 24:51).

CUT HIM TO PIECES: Cp “and shall cut him asunder” (Mat 24:51): The Greek is “dikotomesi” (cp Engl “dichotomy”) lit to cut in two. The “Lord” upon his return will, by the “sword” of his judgment, separate the real man from the actor, revealing him for a hypocrite.

Luk 12:50

DISTRESSED: “Constrained” (RSV).

Luk 12:51

Vv 51-53: Fulfilling Mic 7:6: “For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.” Firstly in the way his own family responded to him, and secondly in the response of families to the beliefs of the followers of Christ. In a Jewish context, where being “put out of the synagogue” was the price paid for being a disciple of Jesus, being ostracized would be common for Jews who accepted Jesus as Messiah.

Luk 12:53

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death” (Mar 13:12; cp Mic 7:6).

Luk 12:58

Here, a change from plural to singular pronouns. An appeal for individual action. God is the “accuser”; settle with Him before it is too late (Psa 32:6; Isa 55:6).

Luk 10:1

SEVENTY: Cp 70 palm trees in Marah (Exo 15:27). Cp Luk 9:1,2: “12” and “70” together.

Luk 10:3

I AM SENDING YOU OUT LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES: The disciples should not have been unsure as to who the “wolves” were, since Eze 22:27 depicts faithless Israel’s “officials” or “princes” as wolves, and in Mat 7:15 Jesus warns of “false prophets” who look like sheep but are, in fact, wolves.

Luk 10:4

DO NOT GREET ANYONE ON THE ROAD: Cp 2Ki 4:29. Do not be detained on your important mission. Oriental greetings were long, tedious, distracting, deceitful, flattering, insincere, and wasteful (LB 346).

Luk 10:7

Cp 1Ki 17:9-16: Elijah and widow of Zarephath.

THE WORKER DESERVES HIS WAGES: “Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him… Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight” (Lev 19:13).

DO NOT MOVE AROUND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE: Strict Oriental etiquette: to visit a round of houses for meals, etc. Such was another means of being distracted from mission, leading to leisure and laxity. Disciples were sent, not to be honored and feasted, but to preach the gospel (LB 346).

Luk 10:9

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR YOU: Near through the preaching of its plan (Luk 8:1; 9:2). Near when offered for man’s acceptance (cp Mat 3:2). “In what way had the kingdom come near? To the eastern mind a kingdom is not a kind of constitutional pyramid with a king at its decorative apex; the kingdom emanates from the king, it is the extension of his kingly power” (SMk 21).

Luk 10:11

Cp Luk 9:5: the charge to the 70 is the same as the charge to the 12.

Cp Luk 10:9.

Luk 10:12

MORE BEARABLE… FOR SODOM: Israel likened to Sodom (Deu 32:32; Isa 1:10; 3:9; Rev 11:8), and worse (Lam 4:6; Eze 16:46-49).

Luk 10:13

There is comfort in this — that the finest preacher who ever lived — backed by Holy Spirit power — could achieve nothing in some of the cities he visited.

KORAZIN… BETHSAIDA: These cities of Galilee were homes of some of Jesus’ disciples.

SACKCLOTH AND ASHES: Eze 27:30,31. See Eze 3:6: “Surely if I had sent you to them…”

Luk 10:14

Allusions to Isa 14: Luk 10:14 // Isa 14:13,15. Luk 10:18 (lightning) // Isa 14:12 (Lucifer). Luk 10:19 // Isa 14:29.

TYRE: See Act 21:3,4; cp Mar 3:8.

Luk 10:15

YOU WILL GO DOWN TO THE DEPTHS: Cit Isa 14:15: “But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” (cp with Luk 10:18 here: falling from heaven).

Luk 10:16

Spoken to the 70 (vv 1,17). The “authority of church”: Mat 16:18n.

Luk 10:17

Luk 7:1

CAPERNAUM: His own home (Mat 4:13), called his “own city” (Mat 9:1).

Luk 7:2

This centurion: possibly Cornelius? See Luk 7:4n. Every NT ref shows centurions in a good light: Luk 7:1-10; 23:47; Act 10:1,2; 22:25,26; 23:17,18; 27:43.

ABOUT TO DIE: Note progression: “about to die” (Luk 7:2); just died (Mat 9:18); about to be buried (Luk 7:12); and dead 4 days (Joh 11:39).

Luk 7:4

Were the centurion of Luke 7 and Cornelius the same person? A comparison: Each was a lover of Israel (Luke 7:5; Acts 10:2,22). Each was a lover of God (Luke 7:4; Acts 10:2,22). Each was a lover of Christ (Luke 7:6; Acts 10:37,38).

Luk 7:5

The elders’ test of worthiness: “He has built” — Jewish dependence upon works.

OUR SYNAGOGUE: The only one in Capernaum (cp Mar 1:21).

Luk 7:6

I DO NOT DESERVE: The Jewish elders had said, “This man DESERVES to have you do this” (Luk 7:4). But of course he did not deserve it on merit, and HE knew it: “I do not deserve…”

Yet, by a strange but Biblically explainable paradox, he became worthy in the very act of declaring his “unworthiness”! The one who thinks himself worthy is NOT worthy, and the one who thinks himself unworthy IS worthy!

The Jews clearly believe that a man is justified by his works, but they are wrong. The centurion seems to understand that a man is justified only by his faith! And he is right.

TO HAVE YOU COME UNDER MY ROOF: The centurion knew the Jewish prejudice and hatred Christ could arouse by entering a Gentile house (cp Act 10: 28).

Luk 7:8

A man with delegated authority recognizes Christ as “sent” from God, with same delegated AutoRoute: (1) Emperor –> Centurion –> Soldiers. And (2) God –> Christ –> Angels –> Diseases, etc.

Luk 7:9

AMAZED: Ct Mar 6:6: sw re unbelief of Jews. The only 2 times Christ was “amazed”.

NOT… IN ISRAEL: Cp Mat 8:9; Luk 7:8: the Jews could not see, in Christ, the delegated authority of God.

Here was an indication to those around Jesus that in fact there would be salvation for the Gentiles. Although it is extensively spoken of in the prophets, especially the later chapters of Isaiah, it seemed that the Jews — even his disciples, who listened to his words every day — were unable to accept that Gentiles could be part of God’s purpose. We really should be careful that our views as to whom we expect God to save are not as blinkered or arrogant as was theirs.

Luk 7:10

V 10: Power of faith and intercession of others: Mat 8:13; 9:32; 15:28; 17:14-18; Luk 7:10; 8:50; Joh 4:49; Jos 6:17; Gen 7:1; 18:32; 19:12; Act 27:24.

Luk 7:12

Cp Elijah’s resurrection of widow’s son of Zarephath (1Ki 17), and Elisha likewise at Shunem (2Ki 4:21-37).

Note progression: “about to die” (Luk 7:2); just died (Mat 9:18); about to be buried (Luk 7:12); and dead 4 days (Joh 11:39).

THE ONLY SON: Mourning as for an only son (Jer 6:26; Zec 12:10; Amo 8:10).

Since the dead child was the only son of a widow, there was no opportunity for further seed. Notice how often the only son/child figures in resurrections: Isaac (Gen 22); Jephthah’s daughter (Jdg 11:34); the son of the family with whom Elisha stayed (2Ki 4); a man’s only son (Luke 9:38). Surely these miracles point directly to the resurrection of Jesus, the only begotten of the Father!

Luk 7:13

DON’T CRY: Cp Rev 21:4. Ct other women, told to weep (Luk 23:28).

Luk 7:14

The 3 persons whom Christ raised:

Luk 8:1

Luk 8: “The narrative of the work of the Lord reveals the pressure of labour that constantly swirled around him. He travels around Galilee, preaching, healing, ministering in all kinds of ways to the needs of the people. So Luke records: (1) Preaching and teaching the people: vv 1-3. (2) The parable of sower: vv 4-10. (3) Parable of the sower explained: vv 11-15. (4) Additional comments illustrative of the parables: vv 16-18. (5) His relations try a second time to see him: vv 19-21. (6) Jesus calms a violent storm: vv 22-25. (7) The maniac of Gerasa: vv 26-39. (8) Jesus returns to Capernaum: v 40. (9) Jesus delayed by the woman with the issue of blood: vv 41-48. (10) Jairus’ daughter is raised from the dead: vv 49-56” (GEM).

Luk 8:4

Vv 4-8: More detail in Mat 13:1-23.

Sowing: what to sow (Luk 8:11), what not to sow (Deu 22:9), how to sow (Psa 126:5,6), when to sow (Ecc 11:6), reward of sowing (1Co 15:58).

Luk 8:8

A HUNDRED TIMES: “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him” (Gen 26:12).

Luk 8:10

THOUGH SEEING, THEY MAY NOT SEE: Cit Isa 6:9.

Luk 8:11

Sowing: What to sow: Luke 8:11. What not to sow: Deu 22:9. How to sow: Psa 126:5, 6. When to sow: Ecc 11:6. The reward of sowing: 1Co 15:58.

THE WORD OF GOD: Which stands forever (Isa 40:8).

Luk 8:12

Vv 12-15: 4 hearers: careless, casual, worldly, and sincere.

SO THAT THEY MAY NOT BELIEVE AND BE SAVED: “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed” (Isa 6:10).

Luk 8:13

BUT THEY HAVE NO ROOT: “No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff” (Isa 40:24).

Luk 8:14

THORNS: “They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. So bear the shame of your harvest because of the LORD’S fierce anger” (Jer 12:13).

Luk 8:15

AND BY PERSEVERING: “He who would go a hundred miles should consider ninety-nine as halfway” (Japanese proverb). “By perseverance the snail reached the ark” (CHS).

A CROP: 30, 60, and 100-fold (Mat 13:23; Mar 4:20).

Luk 8:16

Ref to ecclesia: The only purpose of a lamp is to give light!

BED: An instrument of leisure. “Light” obscured by “sleep”: see Pro 26:14.

THOSE WHO COME IN: That is, priests who enter the holy place (WGos 268).

Luk 8:17

The manifestation of the hidden/concealed glory out of the sanctuary: Psa 27:5; 31:20; 81:7.

Luk 8:19

Does he know the motives of his brothers? (Mar 3:21).

Luk 8:21

“An alien to my mother’s children”: Psa 69:8.

“Are we doing the will of the Father in heaven? That is the real test. It is not a question of doing what we assume ought to be His will. It is not enough to find in our hearts general desires and aspirations in the right direction. Is the work we are doing now in accordance with the revealed will of God? Are we engaged in the works of love, dispensing the bread and water of life, doing good to all men, especially those of the household of faith? Are we crucifying the flesh by enduring evil treatment without retaliation, leaving vengeance of all degrees to the Lord?” (PrPr). See Lesson, Brethren of Christ do the will of Father.

Luk 8:22

Vv 22-25: Cp experiences of Jonah.

Jesus needs solitude for thought and prayer (cp Isa 50;4; Psa 119:147,148). A list of “solitude passages”: Mar 1:35-37; 3:7,9,20,21; 4:35-38; 6:31; 7:17,18,24; 8:10,11,27; 9:30; 10:32; 14:32.

JESUS: “Just as he was” (Mar 4:36).

LET’S GO…: Were they reluctant to follow him, seeing the signs of impending storm?

Luk 8:23

HE FELL ASLEEP: The only sleep of Jesus mentioned in the gospels.

A SQUALL: The sea of Galilee is very susceptible to sudden storms. “The wicked as a troubled sea” (Isa 57:20). “The wind strove upon the great sea” (Dan 7:2,3). But God rules, even over the storms at sea: Psa 107:28-30; 89:9: 65:7; 93:3,4; Isa 57:20; Dan 7:2,3; Rev 15:2.

Luk 8:24

WE’RE GOING TO DROWN!: Christ will not be raised by the “storm”, but only by the power of prayer. “To be tossed by the waves is no proof of desertion, or even of danger” (Burgon, WGos 280).

AND REBUKED THE WIND: As a father addressing children! Cp Rev 15:2: the Lamb and the sea of glass.

THE STORM SUBSIDED, AND ALL WAS CALM: “The passage over the sea to the distant shore is the disciples’ journey through life. The frail boat that undertakes the crossing is the human heart. But Christ is there. His protecting influence will remain however sudden the storms, however dark the night. But he will not be awakened by the fury of the gale nor the shudder of the boat. Only the voice of the disciples will rouse him. Then he will bring peace into the heart and save the life from disaster. The memory of the disciples working feverishly to save themselves, with fear in their eyes and despair in their hearts, should be a warning of our own insufficiency; and the sublime picture of the Master sleeping peacefully amid the raging storm should be an abiding incentive to a living faith in him who ‘stilleth the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves, and the tumult of the peoples’ ” (MP 172).

Luk 8:25

A growing fear of Jesus, traceable in Mar 4:41; 6:50; 9:6,32; 10:32; 16:8.

IN FEAR AND AMAZEMENT: One fear (v 38) is removed, but is replaced by another, greater fear!

WHO IS THIS?: Or “What manner of man is this?” (AV). Their proper estimation of Jesus still needed scaling upward (WGos 281).

A seagoing captain commanded a passenger ship that was sailing from Liverpool, England, to New York. His family was on board with him. One night when everyone was asleep, a squall unexpectedly swept over the waters and tossed the ship violently, awakening the passengers. They were all terribly afraid because of the storm. The captain’s little 8-year-old girl was also awakened. “What’s the matter?” cried the frightened child. Her mother told her that a sudden storm had struck the ship. “Is Father on deck?” she asked. “Yes, Father’s on deck,” came the encouraging answer. Hearing this, the little girl snuggled back into her bed and in a few moments was sound asleep. The winds still blew and the waves still rolled, but her fears were calmed because her father was at the helm.

Luk 8:26

“Demoniacs” suffered from: blindness, dumbness (Mat 12:22; Luk 11:14), insanity, schizophrenia (Mar 3:21; 5:1-5; Joh 10:20), epilepsy (Mar 9:17-27), and arthritis (Luk 13:11-17).

GERASENES… GADARENES… GERGESENES: Gadara, in Decapolis, near sea of Galilee (LB 375). Gergesa, a city on east shore of lake, a suburb of Gadara, one of the “ten cities” of Decapolis (v 20), inhabited by many Gentiles. Distinguishing characteristics: ruins, cliff, lake, old tombs.

THE LAKE: Or “sea” (AV). The sea of Galilee. Also called the sea of Gennesaret (Luk 5:1), sea of Chinnereth (sig harp, because of shape? — in OT), and sea of Tiberias (Joh 6:1). On route of Jordan River from Mt Hermon (life: Psa 133) to Dead Sea (death).

Luk 8:27

A DEMON-POSSESSED MAN: Another “storm” to be stilled! Cp Mat 8:28: “2 men”. One came near, while the other stood back? Cp the two thieves, but only one believed. (NR 155).

IN THE TOMBS: In the region and shadow of death: Isa 9:1,2; (cp Isa 65:2-4).

Luk 8:28

Even the “demons” believe and tremble: Jam 2:19.

Luk 8:29

Insane men are known sometimes to have superhuman strength. In the East, they inhabit cemeteries.

Luk 8:31

THE ABYSS: Cp Rev 9:1.

Luk 8:32

A LARGE HERD OF PIGS…: “Humans become infected when they ingest the cysts of the tape worm in the flesh of the pig… Unfortunately humans can also ingest the eggs from their own or another’s infection, and they then develop a much more serious form of the disease, with cyst formation throughout the body. These cysts can infect the brain, and it is poss that Legion was suffering from this disease. A link between his condition and the herd of swine seems very likely, and not just in his mind” (SP, Tes 71:205).

Luk 8:33

// Exodus: Legion, like Israel of old, naked, miserable, in tombs (pyramids), now sees the bodies of its enemies, perished in the (Red) sea.

Christ’s two destructive miracles: (1) 2,000 unclean swine (unclean Gentile nations) destroyed, but one man (a Gentile) is saved. (2) The fig tree (Israel) cursed, but one man (Christ, a Jew) is saved.

The madness of the man was transferred to the swine, but this does not prove the existence of lit demons, any more than the fact that the leprosy of Naaman cleaved to Gehazi implies that leprosy is caused by demons (2Ki 5:27) (DGD 69). The unchosen uncleanness of the madman evoked mercy from Jesus, but the willful uncleanness of the swinekeeper called forth wrath.

THEY WENT INTO THE PIGS: Poss, “the unclean spirits attacked the swine”. Perhaps the man himself rushed into the herd, stampeding them over the cliff, while at that very moment being healed himself of his illness. This seems to be the most natural explanation of the event.

AND WAS DROWNED: Cp the great choking mass of pigs with the press of the crowd in v 30.

Luk 8:35

Sitting: for rest (Luk 8:35); for communion (Song 2:3), as disciples (Deu 33:3), in worship (2Sa 7:18-27), in resurrection (Eph 2:6), in glory (Rev 3:21).

At Jesus’ feet, the place of: rest (Luk 8:35); pardon (Luk 7:38); healing (Luk 17:16); teaching (Luk 10:39); comfort (Joh 11:32); intercession (Mar 7:25); and worship (Mat 28:9).

Luk 8:37

“Pigs” meant more to them than salvation! They could see only what they might lose (the pigs), not what they might gain (healing, salvation). Jesus does not argue. He simply leaves.

Luk 8:38

BEGGED TO GO WITH HIM: And he did! He went with Christ when he went to tell others of what Christ had done for him.

Luk 8:41

A RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE: A president of synagogue, who had likely ignored Jesus until now. Some synagogues probably had more than one ruler (Act 13:15). “He WAS a ruler…” (KJV). Was Jairus later demoted through becoming a follower of Jesus?

CAME: He did not send for Jesus, as might one in his position; instead, he came to Jesus, as a lesser comes to a greater.

Luk 8:42

AS JESUS WAS ON HIS WAY: “Jesus is passing through the throng to the house of Jairus, to raise the ruler’s dead daughter; but he is so profuse in goodness that he works another miracle while upon the road. While yet this rod of Aaron bears the blossom of an unaccomplished wonder, it yields the ripe almonds of a perfect work of mercy… It is enough for a tree to yield one sort of fruit, and for a man to fulfil his own peculiar calling. But our Master knows no limit of power or boundary of mission. He is so prolific of grace, that like the sun which shines as it rolls onward in its orbit, his path is radiant with lovingkindness… What delightful encouragement this truth affords us! If our Lord is so ready to heal the sick and bless the needy, then, my soul, be not thou slow to put thyself in his way, that he may smile on thee. Be not slack in asking, if he be so abundant in bestowing. Give earnest heed to his word now, and at all times, that Jesus may speak through it to thy heart. Where he is to be found there make thy resort, that thou mayst obtain his blessing. When he is present to heal, may he not heal thee? But surely he is present even now, for he always comes to hearts which need him” (CHS).

THE CROWDS ALMOST CRUSHED HIM: “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4). “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden” (Mat 11:28,29).

Luk 8:43

SUBJECT TO BLEEDING: Ceremonially unclean, and a social outcast (Lev 15:19-30). She was supposed to be separated from other people, and from the synagogue, and from Temple worship — not for any moral reason, but for a physical condition. In effect, she was being punished for something of which she was not guilty.

TWELVE YEARS: Cp the 12 years of v 42. This woman’s misery was as old as the daughter of Jairus.

Luk 8:44

SHE CAME UP BEHIND HIM: By rabbinical law, she should not have even been in the city — much less in a crowd of people. This took great courage on the part of a poor, and probably weak and frail, woman.

We have to seek out and reach for Jesus; he will not be handed to us on a silver platter!

AND TOUCHED THE EDGE OF HIS CLOAK: With its border of blue (cp Num 15:37,38). To do so, she must have fallen to her knees.

“In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’ ” (Zec 8:23).

All the occasions of Jesus touching, or being touched, in the context of healing (notice that not one of them is in John’s gospel): Mat 8:3,15; 9:20,21,29; 14:36; 17:7; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 3:10; 5:27,28,30,31; 6:56; 7:33; 8:22; 10:13; Luk 5:13; 6:19; 7:14,39; 8:44-47; 18:15; 22:51.

Luk 8:45

WHO TOUCHED ME?: Jesus knew who had touched him! He asks this so as to reveal this woman to the onlookers.

Other questions, designed to lead to the repentance of the hearers: Gen 3:9; 4:9; 2Ki 5:25.

TOUCHED: With feeling of our infirmities: Heb 4:15.

THE PEOPLE ARE CROWDING AND PRESSING AGAINST YOU: Multitudes throng Jesus today, but only a few touch him in faith, and are healed.

Luk 8:47

AT HIS FEET: Whereas previously she had come behind him (v 44), now she kneels in front of him. An embarrassing process, but a necessary public profession.

Luk 8:48

DAUGHTER: This is the only occasion when Jesus so addresses any woman; he demonstrates that there is a spiritual relationship between them, beyond all natural ties.

HAS HEALED YOU: With restored ability to bear children, as Hannah?

Luk 8:49

The three persons whom Christ raised:

Luk 9:1

TWELVE: Cp 12 springs at Marah (Exo 15:27). Cp Luk 10:1,2: another “12” and “70”!

Joshua had taken 12 stones out of Jordan, as a token of Israel’s dedication to turn the land of promise into God’s kingdom.

Jesus (“Joshua”) now selects 12 men (the first, Peter, called a “stone”), baptized in Jordan, to become the foundation stones of a new Jerusalem (Rev 21:14).

Luk 9:3

TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY: Not so unusual in the Mideast (LB 345). Hospitality was expected.

Similar provisions (no extra money, no shoes, no staff, etc) were enjoined upon temple worshipers (Temple 65). The disciples were now engaged in the service of the true “temple”, Christ!

We are given so many reminders that God will provide for us, and yet we still worry and panic so much that we possibly even prevent His provision by our attitude of anxiety. The simple and childlike faith of these disciples, who were with Jesus, should be reflected in believers today, even though we have not seen with our eyes and handled with our hands.

NO EXTRA TUNIC: Not necessary at all in the East. Merely ostentatious.

Luk 9:5

SHAKE THE DUST OFF YOUR FEET: The practice of pious Jews before entering the Holy Land after a journey abroad. Used in Act 13:51. Or, because their feet had not been washed as was custom (cp Luk 10:11).

Luk 9:6

The gospel of the Kdom was preached even without full knowledge of Christ’s death and resurrection: cp Luk 9:44,45; 18:31-34; 24:25-27.

Luk 9:7

Vv 7-9: Notice John the Baptist is now dead — Luke does not record the events associated with his death.

Source of this story: Manaen, former friend of Herod (Act 13:1)?

Luk 9:8

Clearly there was a great expectation at this time that Messiah would come, and that he would be preceded by the coming of Elijah: Mat 16:14; 17:10; Mark 6:15; 8:28; 9:11; Luke 9:19; John 1:21. Additionally, there were those “looking for the consolation of Israel”: Luke 2:25.

Luk 9:9

Was there a family resemblance between John and Jesus?

Luk 9:10

This, the third of four Passovers (Joh 2:13n).

Seven points of weakness in disciples: vv 10,12,32,40,46,49,54.

Contrast the two feasts: (1) Herod’s: sumptuous, captains and kings, a “strange woman”, a feast of death. A righteous man is slain on a whim. (2) Christ’s: frugal, for the poor, Christ’s “bride”, bread of life. The typical death of one who lays down his life for his friends.

Luk 9:11

The time of this incident: the 3rd of 4 Passovers in Christ’s ministry (Joh 6:4n).

Jesus submerged his personal sorrow (at the death of John the Baptist) by ministering to others.

Luk 9:12

FOOD: Sw Exo 12:39; Psa 78:25. This was a Passover meal.

Luk 9:13

// Psa 23.

Luk 9:14

SIT DOWN IN GROUPS: Cp special ordering of wilderness encampments (Num 2). The people encamp in orderly fashion around Jesus, who is the “Ark” of God, and the “Shekinah Glory”!

Luk 9:16

Cp language of Last Supper.

Cp 2Ki 4:42-44: Elijah feeds a multitude.

Luk 9:17

SATISFIED: Satisfied with the bread of heaven: Psa 105:40; cp Psa 22:26; 12:13-16; Isa 25:6-8.

AND THE DISCIPLES PICKED UP TWELVE BASKETFULS OF BROKEN PIECES: Twelve baskets = twelve apostles! In ministering to others, they lost nothing themselves. (In the atonement of Christ, there is ample provision for all.)

12 BASKETFULS: “Kophinos” = small basket, in ct “spuris” (large basket) of Mat 15:37; Mar 8:8. Twelve full baskets, ie, the 12 apostles, full of the “bread” of life. In ministering to others, they lost nothing themselves. In the atonement of Christ, there is ample provision for all.

BROKEN PIECES: Which the Canaanite woman, like a “dog” under the Jewish “table”, was only too willing to eat (Mat 15:27; Mar 7:28).

Luk 9:18

They had come to Caesarea Philippi, the furthest possible point from the temple ritual (Mat 16:13; Mar 8:27).

WHO DO THE CROWDS SAY I AM?: Jesus said unto them, “Who do you say I am?” And they replied, “You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationship.” And Jesus said, “Come again?”

Luk 9:19

Follow the religious notions of the crowd, and you are almost certain to be wrong. (Notice that popular sentiment did not proclaim Jesus as Messiah any more; very evidently, this man did not WANT to be king!)

Luk 9:22

This is the first time that Jesus has clearly stated that he is to die. That this is so is made more clear in Matthew’s account of the same incident: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Mat 16:21).

Cp Elijah, rejected by Ahab and Jezebel, but “raised” from despondency (1Ki 19:2-8).

Luk 9:23

AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS: If you’re not going to carry your cross, don’t bother making the trip!

AND FOLLOW ME: “Of the three things enjoined, the last is a vital thing: to follow. The other two [denying self and taking up the cross] are utterly essential because through the essential you achieve that which is vital. The reason is this. You can approve, and not follow. You can applaud and not follow. You can understand and preach, without following. You can defend the Truth pugnaciously, without following. You can tire yourself out on busy works — without following… The central thing is the denial of self. It is utterly radical. Denial of self is the inward thing. Taking up the cross daily is the external manifestation of the inward condition. To talk of it is not to realize it. To write about it is not to achieve it. The use of the word ‘daily’ emphasizes that it is not just a theory but something that is real and practical; facing squarely every new circumstance; confronting bravely every impediment; grasping joyfully every new opportunity. In practice it means giving unhindered access to the Master into every chamber and especially into every dark corner. To think of that possibility might make us feel ashamed but at the same time it may do us good” (GD).

Luk 9:25

WHAT GOOD IS IT FOR A MAN TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD: Square miles they conquered: 1. Genghis Khan (1162-1227), 4,860,000. 2. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) 2,180,000. 3. Tamerlane (1336-1405), 2,145,000. 4. Cyrus the Great (600-529 BC), 2,090,000. 5. Attila (406-453), 1,450,000. 6. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), 1,370,000, all of which he lost in 3 years. 7. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) 720,000. 8. Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1030) 680,000. 9. Francisco Pizarro (1470-1541), 480,000. 10. Hernando Cortes (1485-1547), 315,000.

Luk 9:26

The Jews’ judgments are for our example and admonition (1Co 10:11).

Luk 9:27

BEFORE: See Lesson, AN, Conditional deferment.

How will they “see”? By seeing the glory of God in His only Son (Joh 1:14; Jam 2:1), esp at Transfiguration (vv 28-36; cp 2Pe 1:16-18).

Luk 9:28

EIGHT DAYS: Given as 6 days in Mat 17:1; Mar 9:2. Perhaps Luke counted beginning and ending days, whereas Matthew and Mark did not (WS 243).

A MOUNTAIN: Climbing the mountain: a parable of our journey to the Kdom. Poss site: Mt Nebo, where Moses died (Deu 34) and Elijah ascended (2Ki 2).

Instances of Jesus withdrawing into a mountain, apart — sometimes for privacy and prayer, and sometimes to instruct his followers: Mat 5:1; 8:1; 14:23; 15:29; 17:1; 24:3; 28:16; Mark 3:13; 6:46; 9:2; 13:3; Luke 6:12; 9:28; 22:39; John 6:3,15; 8:1.

Luk 9:31

DEPARTURE: Gr “exodus”: ie Christ’s mission, the deliverance of brethren from Egyptian bondage (cp Heb 2:15).

Luk 9:33

HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS SAYING: Do we always have to say something?

Luk 9:34

Cp the overshadowing Cloud of Presence in wilderness.

Luk 9:36

THE DISCIPLES KEPT THIS TO THEMSELVES, AND TOLD NO ONE AT THAT TIME WHAT THEY HAD SEEN: Silence was his settled policy for most of his ministry (Mat 9:30; 17:9; 12:16; Mar 1:34; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26; Luk 5:14), with one notable exception (Mar 5:19 — Legion with his family). But in last days of ministry, a change of course (Mat 21:1-11; Joh 7:37; 9:3; 11:4).

Luk 9:37

Vv 37-43: Power of faith and intercession of others: Mat 8:13; 9:32; 15:28; 17:14-18; Luk 8:50; Joh 4:49; Jos 6:17; Gen 7:1; 18:32; 19:12; Act 27:24.

Luk 9:39

“Demoniacs” suffered from: blindness, dumbness (Mat 12:22; Luk 11:14), insanity, schizophrenia (Mar 3:21; 5:1-5; Joh 10:20), epilepsy (Mar 9:17-27), and arthritis (Luk 13:11-17).

Luk 9:40

Cp 2Ki 4:29-37: child healed, but disciples (ie Gehazi) impotent.

Luk 9:46

AS TO WHICH OF THEM WOULD BE THE GREATEST: Cp 2Ki 5:22,26: the disciple Gehazi seeks “greatness” and wealth. Don’t many of our little ecclesial disputes have their roots in this question? This dispute did not cease altogether until Christ’s death (Mar 10:35; Luk 22:24-30).

Suggestion: the special three at the Transfiguration (Luk 9:28…) arouse envy in others.

Luk 9:48

Astounding! The smallest child = Christ, and Christ = God!

“Today’s great men are the ones who are in powerful positions, the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of England, President and Prime Minister of Russia and successful business people like Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch.

“But today’s great men are there because they have climbed their way to the top, doing all they have to do to get there and using anyone they need to use on the way. More often than not they are power-hungry or money-hungry and willing to do anything to get what they want.

“Jesus tells us of a different type of great man. ‘He who is least among you — he is the greatest.’ And he spoke about children, who, as far as greatness goes, are least of all. The great man is the one who can welcome a child, make him feel at home and wanted, who has time for him, putting the needs of the child ahead of his own. The great man is the one who is the servant of everyone else, putting the needs of others first.

“The difference between the great men of today and the great men of God is that today’s me will have had their time — and it ends in death — but God’s great men will live for ever. Be great for God” (RP).

Luk 9:49

A MAN DRIVING OUT DEMONS IN YOUR NAME: Something the 9 disciples could not do (Mar 9:18,28; Luk 9:40). A further fear for loss of status. (We may assume Christ knew the man and his mission).

NOT ONE OF US: Not one of the disciples. But he may have been a follower of Christ. Even if he did not acknowledge their precedence, he might still acknowledge Jesus.

Luk 9:50

FOR WHOEVER IS NOT AGAINST YOU IS FOR YOU: In Luk 9:50 those not against the disciples and their work will not lightly speak evil of Christ. It isn’t ours to forbid any work done, however imperfectly, in Christ’s name. But in Luk 11:23 neutrality now becomes an impossibility.

Luk 9:51

APPROACHED: “Sumpleroo” = to be filled up together; an intensive form: ‘when the time was fully come.’

TAKEN UP: “Heaven” not in orig. KJV has “received up”. May sig: sacrifice and resurrection (taken up from grave), and then (later) ascension.

JESUS RESOLUTELY SET OUT FOR JERUSALEM: Jesus is beginning his journey to Jerusalem. Whilst this is a spiritual journey the focus is now on the cross. We can trace the journey thus: Luk 9:51,53,57; 10:38; 13:22,33; 17:11; 18:31; 19:11,28. This is a spiritual journey rather than a direct route: this will be seen by noting where Jesus is on each occasion.

Luk 9:54

TO CALL FIRE DOWN FROM HEAVEN: // 2Ki 1:10,12. Christ’s mission: to save and not to destroy (v 56). (Perhaps John himself preached in this very village later: Act 8:25).

Luk 9:57

I WILL FOLLOW YOU WHEREVER YOU GO: A “volunteer”. Did he know what he was saying?

Luk 9:58

THE SON OF MAN HAS NO PLACE TO LAY HIS HEAD: It had been true even at his birth (Luk 2:7)!

Luk 9:59

Examples of prophetic reluctance: Exo 4:10; Jer 1:6; Eze 3:14; Jon 1:3; 1Ki 19:10; Luk 5:8,10; 9:59; 18:23; Act 13:13; 18:9. Ct Isa 6:8.

LORD, FIRST LET ME GO AND BURY MY FATHER: Lamsa writes: ” ‘My father is an old man, over seventy years of age. I have to support him until he dies.’ In the East when a man reaches this age, he is considered dead. He has finished his work and has no more interest in life. He can no longer earn and produce. He is a burden on the family. He entrusts everything to his oldest son, his first born; the son who is to continue his posterity. He has labored and toiled with the sweat of his brow, and raised his children. Now he expects them to take care of him. One often hears Easterners say: ‘My father is near the grave!’ ‘My father is at the side of the grave.’ The real meaning is, ‘My father may die any day. My father is very old; I expect him to pass away any time.’ If this man’s father had been dead Jesus would not have been preaching that day. Instead He would have been one of the mourners until the dead man was buried.”

Or, possibly such a figure of speech could also have been used by a man whose father was not nearly that old, nor at the point of death. “First let me bury my father” might then be his idiomatic way of saying: “I cannot commit myself to such an enterprise so long as my father is alive. I must first of all honor his wishes.” Thus implying: “When my father has died — 20 or 30 years from now — then I will be my own man, and I can follow you.”

Luk 9:60

LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR OWN DEAD: Or, “Leave dead to the burier of the dead.” Lamsa writes: “The Aramaic word for ‘dead’ is ‘metta’, and the word for ‘town’ is ‘matta’… It seems more likely that the early copyists and translators confused the [two words] and what Jesus meant was, ‘let the town bury the dead.’ This seems more reasonable because each town buries their own dead.”

Luk 9:61

Vv 61,62: Cp Elisha when called by Elijah: 1Ki 19:19-21n.

SAY GOOD-BY: Farewells, like greetings, could be very long (Luk 10:4).

Luk 9:62

AND LOOKS BACK: Ct Luk 9:51: Jesus did not look back. See Lesson, Plowing and looking back

Luk 6:1

Cp Deu 23:25: Gleaning was permissible.

ONE SABBATH: “On the second sabbath after the first” (Luk 6:1, KJV, but phrase omitted in some mss): Prob the Sabbath which concluded the feast of Unleavened bread, 7 days after Passover sabbath (Lev 23:8) (WGos 149).

HEADS OF GRAIN: The month “Abib” (or Nisan) sig “early grain”, ie spring.

Luk 6:2

Four occasions in Luke where there is conflict about Jesus performing miracles, etc on the Sabbath: Luke 6:2,9; 13:14; 14:3.

SOME: Impl two different attitudes now discernible among the Pharisees.

WHAT IS UNLAWFUL ON THE SABBATH: By rabbinical tradition, eating corn on Sabbath was lawful, but “harvesting” and “threshing” were forbidden.

Luk 6:3

Key point: David was the “anointed one” who came “on king’s business”!

Luk 6:4

THE CONSECRATED BREAD: “Shewbread” (AV), “bread of the presence” (RSV).

Luk 6:5

THE SON OF MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH: The Sabbath was designed for positive good; it should have been a blessing, not a burden.

Israel was not to be a “slave” to the Sabbath, but to be made free by it.

Jesus is the king of the future “rest”, the true “Sabbath”!

The KJV has “Lord ALSO of the Sabbath”, impl Christ’s lordship over everything else.

OF THE SABBATH: May be “ON the Sabbath”.

Luk 6:6

Cp 1Ki 13: Jeroboam stretches out his arm — withered — then restored. The outcome: altar was destroyed, sacrifice ceased.

HAND: “Arm” (NEB).

Luk 6:7

One man with a withered hand. Many men with withered hearts!

Luk 6:8

JESUS KNEW: Looking round about on them with anger (Mar 3:5n).

Luk 6:9

Four occasions in Luke where there is conflict about Jesus performing miracles, etc on the Sabbath: Luke 6:2,9; 13:14; 14:3.

DO GOOD… SAVE LIFE: The true purpose of the Sabbath from the beginning.

Luk 6:10

“Jesus looked”: vv 5,34; Mar 5:32; 6:41; 7:34; 8:33; 11:11.

Mark’s account says they were all silent (Mar 3:4).

STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND: An act of faith. As the lame man stood up to walk, so the man with a withered hand stretched it out! To “stretch out hand” is to seek fellowship with Christ. See Isa 35:3.

HAND: “Arm” (NEB).

HAND… RESTORED: Isa 35:3.

Luk 6:11

Long or repeated conferences. All plots and attempts to get rid of Jesus: Joh 5:16; Mar 3:6; Luk 4:29 (“common people”); Luk 11:54; Joh 7:19-21,25; 8:59; Luk 13:31; Joh 10:31,39; 11:8,16,44-54; Luk 20:14-26; Mat 26:3-5,16. OT prophecies: Psa 140:2; 59:3; 10:9; 71:10,11; 41:7.

PHARISEES: Prob, Jews of influence who favored the rule of Romans and Herod. The aristocracy.

WHAT THEY MIGHT DO TO JESUS: Or, how they might destroy him (Mar 3:6). The downward path of Pharisees — they question inwardly (Mar 1:27), they ask his disciples (Mar 2:16), they openly accuse (Mar 2:24), and finally they plot (Mar 3:6).

So, evidently, it is wrong to heal someone on the Sabbath, but not wrong to plot a murder!

Luk 6:12

First Christ prays — before any decision.

Instances of Jesus withdrawing into a mountain, apart — sometimes for privacy and prayer, and sometimes to instruct his followers: Mat 5:1; 8:1; 14:23; 15:29; 17:1; 24:3; 28:16; Mark 3:13; 6:46; 9:2; 13:3; Luke 6:12; 9:28; 22:39; John 6:3,15; 8:1.

“If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect a Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with Him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us — he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps. The time he chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour; and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their applications to Him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged — prayer was his refuge and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles — prayer was the gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the Master’s glory?” (CHS).

Luk 6:13

// Num 11:25: Moses chooses 70 elders to assist him. Joshua had taken 12 stones out of Jordan, as a token of Israel’s dedication to turn the Land of Promise into God’s Kdom. Jesus (“Joshua”) now selects 12 men (the first, Peter, a “stone”), baptized in Jordan, to become foundation stones of a new Jerusalem (Rev 21:14). Cp Num 11:25: Moses delegates 70 elders to assist him.

TWELVE… APOSTLES: With 3 purposes (Mar 3:14,15): fellowship, preaching, healing.

Luk 6:15

SIMON WHO WAS CALLED THE ZEALOT: Simon the “tax-hater” (being a Zealot!) joined Matthew the “tax collector”. “Strange bed-fellows!”

Luk 6:16

ISCARIOT: Prob “Man of Kerioth”, town in south Judea (Jos 15;25). If so, the only non-Galilean (Act 2:7). His father is mentioned (Joh 6:71) — thus prob a well-known (and rich?) family.

Luk 6:17

STOOD ON A LEVEL PLACE: As though to survey the Land. The seed of Abraham was asserting his right to inherit the Land of promise.

FROM ALL OVER…: See Mat 12:5-21; Mar 3:7-12.

Luk 6:19

All the occasions of Jesus touching, or being touched, in the context of healing (notice that not one of them is in John’s gospel): Mat 8:3,15; 9:20,21,29; 14:36; 17:7; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 3:10; 5:27,28,30,31; 6:56; 7:33; 8:22; 10:13; Luk 5:13; 6:19; 7:14,39; 8:44-47; 18:15; 22:51.

Luk 6:20

See Lesson, Poverty, peculiar blessings of.

BLESSED: “Not a passing joy, but a continuing condition of heart.”

THE POOR: See Mat 5:3. “Those who are oppressed by the tyrannical power of sin, and who long for the intercession of God” (TM 36). Thus turning upside-down the world’s assessment of poverty and riches. Being poor means opportunities for faith, and dependence on God, which the rich must find in other ways.

Luk 6:21

BLESSED ARE YOU WHO HUNGER NOW, FOR YOU WILL BE SATISFIED: Kingdom as a banquet (Mat 8:11,12; Luk 13:29; 22:30; 14:15-24). The only one of the beatitudes to imply an aspiration after something not attained.

BLESSED ARE YOU WHO WEEP NOW: Not for personal loss, but for: (1) Zion (Psa 137:1); (2) God’s delay (Dan 10:2); (3) the sins of believers (Ezr 10:6); (4) one’s own sins (1Co 5:2; Jam 4:9).

FOR YOU WILL LAUGH: Jesus wept many times (Luk 19:41; Joh 11:35; Heb 5:7). But never is it recorded that he laughed.

Luk 6:22

Vv 22,23: Mat 5:10-12.

WHEN THEY EXCLUDE YOU: Disfellowship.

Luk 6:23

Persecution as a special privilege (Phi 1:29)!

FOR THAT IS HOW THEIR FATHERS TREATED THE PROPHETS: “By such an experience one joins a noble and glorious fellowship” (WGos 179).

Luk 6:25

// Ecc 7:6.

Luk 6:26

See Jer 5:31. The world’s approval can be a danger signal.

Luk 6:27

Nonviolence, submission: Mat 7:12; 10:16; Luk 6:27-31; Isa 53; Rom 12:14-20; 1Co 4:11-13; 6:7; Gal 5:22,23; Eph 4:13; 2Co 11:20; Heb 10:34; 12:14; 1Pe 2:21-23; 3:9; Tit 3:2; Jam 5:6; 1Th 5:14; 2Ti 2:24. Cp examples of Christ (Joh 18:23) and Paul (Act 23:3). Revenge is wrong: Lev 19:18; Pro 20:22; 24:29; 1Co 6:7.

“The sacrifice of God’s son bore no relation to justice — the redemption of the world is upon the principle of forgiveness” (MP 141,142).

Luk 6:28

See Mat 5:10-12; 1Pe 3:16.

Luk 6:30

EVERYONE: Not just your “brother”.

Christians should give sacrificially to help people in need. That’s what Henry Richards did when he brought the gospel to the people of Banza Mateke. Each day he would translate and explain 10 verses from the book of Luke. When he came to Luk 6, he hesitated because most of his followers were very poor, and might misunderstand this verse. He said that Jesus’ words illustrate a principle and had to be interpreted in the light of other Scriptures. But they took them literally and quickly asked for almost everything Richards owned. Without hesitation he gave them what they requested. Soon, his most cherished possessions were in their hands. After talking among themselves, the people concluded that Richards was truly a man of God, for they had never seen anyone so self-sacrificing. One by one they came and returned what he had given them.

Luk 6:31

// Mat 7:12.

Luk 6:35

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES: “Lay your foundation in love and service and kindness. We are never going to help anyone to make a hard decision against the pull of their own animal desires, if we have already embittered them against us by criticism and unconcern: rather in such a case we re-enforce their resistance. We may have gratified our ego by condemning them, and achieved cheap self-satisfaction, but we have done no service for God” (GVG).

SONS OF THE MOST HIGH: The “family likeness” of Rom 8:29.

BECAUSE HE IS KIND…: The Father asks His children only to do what He himself does (Deu 10:17-19).

In Christianity Today, psychiatrist Robert Coles told an amazing story of a girl who had learned to pray for those who were hostile to her. Coles was in new Orleans in 1960 when a federal judge ruled that the city schools must be integrated. A 6-year-old girl, Ruby Bridges, was the only black child to attend the William T Frantz School. Every day for weeks as she entered and left the building, a mob would be standing outside to scream at her and threaten her. They shook their fists, shouted obscenities, and threatened to kill her. One day her teacher saw her lips moving as she walked through the crowd, flanked by burly federal marshals. When the teacher told Coles about it, he asked Ruby if she was talking to the people. “I wasn’t talking to them,” she replied. “I was just saying a prayer for them.”

Coles asked her, “Why do you do that?”

“Because they need praying for,” came her reply.

General Robert E Lee was asked what he thought of a fellow officer in the Confederate Army who had made some derogatory remarks about him. Lee rated him as being very satisfactory. The person who asked the question seemed perplexed. “General,” he said, “I guess you don’t know what he’s been saying about you.” “I know,” answered Lee. “But I was asked my opinion of him, not his opinion of me!”

Luk 6:36

Cp Mat 5:48.

Luk 6:37

JUDGE: “Krinete” = to criticize, discern, divide, as a judge.

CONDEMN: “Katadichazete” = to speak against, formally, as in a courtroom.

FORGIVE, AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN: Joh 5:22: judgment committed to Son: 1Co 4:3-5; Rom 2:1,3; 14:4,10,13.

“You are the man!” (2Sa 12:7).

Should we “judge”? Cp sw 1Co 5:3; Luk 12:57; Joh 7:1.

The context in Mat 7 is the “parable” of the mote and the beam (Mat 7:3-5). The saying is found in the rabbinical writings, and is an example of the caustic Jewish humor. It is not difficult to make the transition here from the case of individuals to that of ecclesias or “fellowship” groups. “With what measure we mete and with what judgment we judge, we shall ourselves individually and communally be assessed” (CMPA, Xd 109:12). Who belongs to a “perfect” (or even “near-perfect”) group? Are there not always problems nearer to home to occupy the industrious brother, without the necessity of seeking to remove a “mote” from an ecclesial “eye” half-way round the world? We should never judge those in other “fellowships” more severely than we would wish to be judged in the weakest link of our own “fellowship”. And if such judgment would make us wince, then perhaps we should re-evaluate our situation!

“The wonderful thing about the Speaker [of Mat 7:1,2] is that he himself is so clear-eyed! There is neither beam nor mote there! He can judge without ‘hypocrisy’. And he will. ‘The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son’ (Joh 5:22). Whosoever therefore usurps this function is guilty of ‘contempt of court’, ‘the court above’! Hence an apostle says to his brethren in the midst of their carnal jealousies and strifes: ‘With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you… but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes….’ (1Co 4:3-5)… Do not behave as though you sought your brother’s damnation rather than his salvation. ‘He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends’ (Pro 17:9). Do not do it; God hates it!” (CCW, Xd 61:266).

It must not be supposed that Mat 7 [or Luk 6:37] prohibits all ecclesial “judging”. Obviously, there are times when ecclesias (through their arranging brothers, or by other means) are called upon to “judge”. But in such cases it must be the clear pronouncement of Holy Scripture which provides the basis, and not a whim or passing fancy or even a tradition, well-intended though it be! And judgment must be approached very carefully and humbly, according to the spirit as well as the letter of Mat 18. Some good rules to observe in such cases:

1. Do not impute to your brethren evil motives (Jam 4:11).
2. Do not condemn your “weak brother” for what you may consider to be his “imperfect” service (Rom 14:1-13).
3. Do not withhold forgiveness when the Bible teaches that God can offer it (Jam 2:13). Under no circumstances has our Father laid upon us the burden of being stricter than He has expressly said Himself to be!
4. Do not anticipate Christ’s judgment (1Co 4:5). Our brother is above all else “another man’s servant” (Rom 14:4), not our own!

In all the above the emphasis is upon this: We must only with extreme care and reluctance undertake to pass any judgment. We must do so only when absolutely necessary, and not just to satisfy some whim or to elevate ourselves by casting others down. And we must never assume our own infallibility; the Holy Spirit power of “judging” (such as that employed by the apostle Peter upon Ananias and Sapphira) has long since ceased from among the ecclesias.

“It is certainly true that no man ought to speak of a brother’s faults behind his back until he have spoken to himself alone, and afterwards with others. But even then, you must be quite sure that the fault is of a kind that would warrant you in withdrawing if he do not submit. If there is any doubt on this head, be silent, and leave the Lord to judge at his coming. We generally find men unwilling to leave things to the Lord. They act as though they had no faith in the Lord’s coming, and as if Paul had never written: ‘Judge nothing before the time, till the Lord come who will make manifest the counsels of the heart’ (1Co 4:5) — that is, the secret motives which no man can know, and which require to be known before a correct estimate of his action is possible…. It would be wrong for us to judge in personal cases. It is possible to say what ought and what ought not to be done, as a matter of duty for all men; but when it comes to a question whether these are or are not done by particular men, we enter a forbidden field. We must not judge; we must not condemn. We must leave the Lord to do that at his coming. We can, of course, withdraw from a brother who walks disobediently and defends it; but even this we must not do till we have seen him a few times and given him every opportunity of justifying himself. If men were more busy judging THEMSELVES, which they are COMMANDED to do, they would not have so much propensity for judging others, which they are forbidden to do” (RR, Xd 35:388,389).

“The scriptural command is, over and over: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’ With our puny little limited minds, it is impossible for us to judge fairly, even if we should have all the facts. And we never have ALL the facts…. We must never judge motives, or seek occasions of fault-finding, or believe and peddle hurtful rumors, or talk behind peoples’ backs, or speak of sins — either real or supposed — TO ANYONE EXCEPT THE PERSON INVOLVED. In doing such, we condemn ourselves. The stern penalties of the law of Christ are very fearful against any of these fleshly abominations: ‘As ye judge, so shall ye be judged’ ” (GVG, Ber 61:81).

“It is always wisdom to judge with mercy and kindness and compassion and fellow-feeling, wherever we must judge at all. When we indulge in the flesh-satisfying practice of judging and criticizing others, we are not only directly disobedient to this command — we are also manifesting that we do not have the mind and spirit of Christ, and therefore are none of his” (GVG, Ber 57:51).

“However damning the evidence may be against our brother, if we pause and look into our own hearts, we shall go quietly away and leave him with his Lord. There are times when it becomes necessary to take action, but that action must not be taken because we have condemned our brother. It will be taken in the painful consciousness of our own unworthiness, and with a love which will plead intercession before the Throne of Grace. We shall wait with eagerness for the first signs of penitence so that we can joyfully restore the erring one to the fellowship of the saints” (MP 235).

For some reason, it is easier to jump to negative conclusions about people than it is to assume the best about them. When we do this, we ascribe to them bad intentions and evil purposes that may not be true. We also reveal something about ourselves, for the faults we see in others are actually a reflection of our own.

In his little book “Illustrations of Bible Truth”, HA Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter. He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser’s desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person.

The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, “It’s all right, bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason!”

“We know that all judgment has been committed to the Son of God and that we are warned not to judge each other. We can all remember the instruction so easily when men try to measure our faults with the unfairness which is nearly always characteristic of human judges. Yet how difficult it is to refrain from judging others. There is a difference of opinion, and human mentality shows at its worst. Instantly there is a tendency to judge motives, to exaggerate faults and to utter condemnations in a manner as if the Lord had never spoken. Some judge the faults or the supposed faults of weaker brethren. Others are busy judging the judges. It is difficult to steer a proper course, but we all are quite well acquainted with the guiding principles. Our difficulties would nearly vanish if we consulted principles more” (PrPr).

Luk 6:38

“With what measure we mete, and with what judgment we judge, we shall ourselves individually and communally be assessed” (CMPA, Xd 109:12; see Mat 7:1,2n).

WILL BE POURED INTO YOUR LAP: Not by men (as KJV puts it), but by God!

Luk 6:39

“The importance of self-criticism in one who is an ecclesial leader” (WGos 223).

Luk 6:41

Vv 41,42: “A hallmark of the unworthy leader: his penchant for wholesale self-righteous censure of others” (WGos 229).

Luk 6:42

“Those things that one cannot improve in himself or in others, he ought to endure patiently, until God arranges things otherwise. Nevertheless when you have such impediments, you ought to pray that God would help you, and that you may bear them kindly.

Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects of others, whatever they are; for you also have many failings which must be borne by others. If you cannot make yourself be as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person be to your liking in every way? We desire to have others perfect, and yet we do not correct our own faults. We would allow others to be severely corrected, and will not be corrected ourselves. We will have others kept under by strict laws, but in no case do we want to be restrained. And so it appears that we seldom weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves” (Thomas a’ Kempis).

Luk 6:43

What are “fruits”? (1) type of disciples produced; (2) works in general; or (3) attitude toward Christ.

BAD FRUIT… GOOD FRUIT: Gal 5:22,23; cp Mat 12:33. See 1Ch 4:8n.

Luk 6:44

EVERY TREE IS RECOGNIZED BY ITS OWN FRUIT: Cp parable of tares: sown by the enemy: Mat 13:24-30,36-43.

Cp 1Ch 4:8n.

Luk 6:46

LORD, LORD: Repeating a person’s name is a Hebrew expression of intimacy. When God speaks to Abraham at Mount Moriah, as he is about to plunge the knife into the breast of Isaac, He says, “Abraham, Abraham” (Gen 22:11). Or when God encourages Jacob in his old age to take the trip to Egypt, He says, “Jacob, Jacob” (Gen 46:2). Cp the call of Moses from the burning bush: “Moses, Moses” (Exo 3:4) or the call of Samuel in the night, “Samuel, Samuel” (1Sa 3:10). Or consider David’s cry of agony, “Absalom, Absalom” (2Sa 18:33), and Jesus’ cry of desolation on the cross, “My God, my God” (Mat 27:46). When Jesus confronted Martha (Luk 10:41), when he warned Peter (Luk 22:31), and when he wept over Jerusalem (Mat 23:37) — in each case we find the word repeated for intimacy’s sake.

Some pretend to have a deep relationship with Christ, but this claim is not borne out in their lives. There are many who say, “Lord, Lord”, while in fact they live in contempt for Christ’s commandments. “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” said Jesus (Joh 14:15).

AND DO NOT DO WHAT I SAY: Spoken against those who would “water down” the uncompromising commandments of Jesus.

Luk 6:47

Vv 47-49: // Mat 7:24-27. The language of a “law-giver”. All the force of Moses’ “10 commandments”.

Luk 6:48

WELL-BUILT: That is, built on a rock (Eph 2:20). “Success is simply a matter of pleasing God: happiness is simply a matter of God manifesting His pleasure in our hearts. All else is illusion and delusion: all else is vanity, and — finally — sorrow and death. Life can be all deep, quiet, trustful pleasure, even in its pain. Life can be all empty tragedy and failure, even with its glitter and ‘success.’ Don’t build anything on anything but solid rock. If there is no eternal foundation beneath it, then the better we build and the harder we labor, the greater the ultimate loss and remorse. God is the Rock: the only Rock. Build everything you do on Him. It will then stand firm to all eternity” (GVG).

Luk 6:49

// Pro 12:7; 14:11.

A MAN WHO BUILT A HOUSE ON THE GROUND WITHOUT A FOUNDATION: That is, on the sand (Mat 7:26). A parable of the Jews, who relied on their natural descent from Abraham: “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as… the sand on the seashore” (Gen 22:17).

Luk 5:1

Background: John Bapt had been recently imprisoned (Mar 1:14). Now Jesus calls John’s former followers to follow him (Jesus) instead.

ONE DAY: Very early in the morning, as implied by v 5: “We’ve worked hard all night.”

Luk 5:2

WASHING THEIR NETS: “The necessity to rid the gospel net of old useless accretions” (WGos 115).

Luk 5:3

Cp Mar 4:1: a later occasion.

Luk 5:5

V 5: Parable: at first, disciples’ reluctance to cast out into Gentile “deep”. And when they did, they needed help to pull in catch of men: Thus Paul and Barnabas in “fishing” among Gentiles (Gal 2:9) — WGos 115.

BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO: The Master’s word turns fruitless service into fruitful service.

Examples of doing things which, logically, seem to make no sense… simply because they are commanded: Psa 127:1,2; Luke 6:46-48; John 15:14; 2Ki 5:10-14 (Naaman).

Luk 5:6

See Psa 8:6,8: dominion over fish of the sea.

Luk 5:7

SIGNALED: “Kataneuo” = to nod; once in NT.

SINK: “Buthizo”: only once elsewhere: 1Ti 6:9, where materialism “drowns” men in destruction.

Luk 5:8

Peter’s recognition of his own sin, like Isaiah’s (Isa 6:5-8), prepared him to be a preacher (“catch men”: v 10). Thus, Joh 21:15-17 and Act 2:39. Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2Co 7:10). Peter, convicted, draws near; Pharisees, convicted, go out (Joh 8:9).

GO AWAY FROM ME… I AM… SINFUL: Similar reaction in the presence of divine glory: Exo 4:10-17; 20:18-20; Isa 6:1-7; Jer 1:4-10; Act 9:3-9; Dan 10:7-12; Rev 1:13-20.

Examples of prophetic reluctance: Exo 4:10; Jer 1:6; Eze 3:14; Jon 1:3; 1Ki 19:10; Luk 5:8,10; 9:59; 18:23; Act 13:13; 18:9. Ct Isa 6:8.

Luk 5:9

Did they remember Israel’s greed in a similar circumstance in the wilderness (Num 11:32-34)?

Luk 5:10

CATCH MEN: So, v 11, they “left everything and followed him”. If they did not preach, they were not following Christ! “Catch men alive”: ct 2Ti 2:26. “Fishers of men” (Mat 4:19n), requiring patience, perseverance, caution, hiding of self, adapting to failure (LB 401-403).

Luk 5:11

LEFT EVERYTHING: Mar 1:20 adds that they left “the boat with the hired men”, suggesting some wealth. Zebedee’s family was quite prosperous, having a house in Jerusalem.

Did the apostles retain the means, individually or collectively, to go back to fishing as a livelihood? Does “left everything” mean “for all time and for good”? Or does it mean that they “left everything” for a period of time only? Did they perhaps return to their fishing to support themselves and their families in between preaching efforts and time spent with Jesus?

Luk 5:12

The leper came: (1) earnestly; (2) humbly; and (3) believingly.

A MAN WITH LEPROSY: Officially such a man would be banned from the city. This was a measure of the determination he had, that he was able to penetrate to the very presence of Jesus.

COVERED: “Full of” (KJV), ie saturated, from within, incurable by natural means.

HE FELL WITH HIS FACE TO THE GROUND AND BEGGED HIM: The leper should not have been so close — he should have cried “Unclean!” and dwelt alone. That he came close — not mark of disregard, but of his confidence in Christ. Christ accepted this without embarrassment, and touched him without suffering any harm.

IF YOU ARE WILLING: He had more faith in Jesus’ power than in his own goodness.

Luk 5:13

The man was “filled” with leprosy (v 12); Jesus was “filled” with compassion (Mar 1:41)! A High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb 4:15). “Jesus wept” (Joh 11:35).

JESUS REACHED OUT HIS HAND: The heart moves the hand!

AND TOUCHED THE MAN: “Whatever touches any of the flesh [of the sin offering] will become holy” (Lev 6:27). But both Elijah and Elisha contracted “defilement” by touching dead (1Ki 17:21; 2Ki 4:34). Jesus, however, was a High Priest “touched” with feelings of our infirmities (Heb 4:15), yet he was not defiled in the least. Moreover, by his touch he REMOVED the defilement from others!

All the occasions of Jesus touching, or being touched, in the context of healing (notice that not one of them is in John’s gospel): Mat 8:3,15; 9:20,21,29; 14:36; 17:7; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 3:10; 5:27,28,30,31; 6:56; 7:33; 8:22; 10:13; Luk 5:13; 6:19; 7:14,39; 8:44-47; 18:15; 22:51.

Luk 5:14

DON’T TELL ANYONE: Silence was his settled policy for most of his ministry (Mat 9:30; 17:9; 12:16; Mar 1:34; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26; Luk 5:14), with one notable exception (Mar 5:19 — Legion with his family). But in last days of ministry, a change of course (Mat 21:1-11; Joh 7:37; 9:3; 11:4).

THE SACRIFICES THAT MOSES COMMANDED: Christ did not despise or disregard the law he came to fulfill.

AS A TESTIMONY TO THEM: Christ’s power was greater than the priests — even greater than Moses (Num 12:13).

Luk 5:15

Here is the reason Christ so often asked for silence. Too much publicity hindered his quiet work of preaching! See Psa 66:13-20.

Luk 5:16

JESUS OFTEN WITHDREW TO LONELY PLACES: How often Jesus avoided fame and notoriety. Christ’s life was full of the needs of the people pressing on him. He could barely find a way to get away. But he did make a way to slip into the wilderness to pray. Prayer is our connection to God. God gave us prayer as a means of nourishing, restoring, healing, and changing us. Prayer is a way of opening ourselves to the gifts of God. It is truly an opportunity to experience God’s healing and transforming love. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jer 33:3).

We are able to separate ourselves as Christ did. We have this great conduit to the Father which is available at any time or place. What wonderful mercies our Father bestows on us!

“Even when we try to limit the amount of things we do, our lives can still get crowded in with pressures, people and deadlines, leaving us stressed, losing control and our minds in a whir. But at times like this let us take heart in the fact that Jesus has been through it all before us — and overcome it. He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.

“It is here that we get a glimpse as to how he did it. Jesus was under pressure by people to preach to them and to heal all their sick. He barely would have had a moment to himself and he was crowded — mobbed almost — by all the people. More and more people were coming all the time and the pressure on him must have been intense. ‘But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ That is such a wonderful idea! Why is it that we find it so hard to be motivated to do it ourselves? All we need to do is to take a walk, a bike ride, a drive or whatever, to be alone and to focus our minds on God. Then we need to pray. Talk to him. Tell him our needs, worries, pressures, and above all to praise him for his countless blessings.

“Try it today. Make it a habit” (RP).

Luk 5:17

This happened at Capernaum: Mar 2:1.

AND THE POWER OF THE LORD WAS PRESENT: A hint at the spiritual healing available to them all.

Luk 5:18

SOME MEN: Four of them (Mar 2:3).

CARRYING: “Like an empty pitcher to the fountain”. Some cannot/will not come on their own; they must be “brought”!

PARALYTIC: One who is helpless. “When we were without strength Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6). Cp Rom 7:24,25; Isa 35:8.

Luk 5:19

Such a house, with removable roof, described in LB 358. “Those who bring others to Christ must not be afraid of new methods.”

LOWERED HIM ON HIS MAT THROUGH THE TILES: Lit, “they unroofed the roof”.

Luk 5:20

“Him that comes to me I will in no way cast out” (Joh 6:37). The divine order: first, sins; then illnesses.

THEIR FAITH: Power of faith and intercession of others: Mat 8:13; 9:32; 15:28; 17:14-18; Luk 8:50; Joh 4:49; Jos 6:17; Gen 7:1; 18:32; 19:12; Act 27:24.

YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN: Fulfilling Mar 1:4.

Luk 5:21

WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE?: See Isa 43:25; Dan 9:9. But surely they were forgetting that on the Day of Atonement the High Priest acted on God’s behalf to do this very thing!

Luk 5:22

Similar “hearings” by the Spirit in Luk 7:39,40; Mar 2:8; 9:33-37.

Luk 5:23

It is easier to SAY, “Your sins are forgiven”, but harder to DO! But the two are related: the best proof of sins forgiven is to stand up and WALK!

Luk 5:24

The main purpose of the literal miracle was to demonstrate Christ’s spiritual power to forgive sins.

THE SON OF MAN: “The embodiment of the race in whom the divine purpose with man is fulfilled; the second Adam who is the beginning of a new creation” (SMk 31). The title used of Ezekiel (Eze 2:1…) and Daniel (Dan 8:17). Cp Gen 1:26; Psa 8:4-6; 80:17,18: “Ben-Adam”; Dan 7:13,14.

AUTHORITY: “There was given to him dominion (ie authority)” (Dan 7:14).

GET UP: The best proof of forgiveness: to “get up” and “walk” in new life.

Luk 5:25

Vv 25,26: Praising God for his healings: Psa 103:2,3. Healing and forgiveness together in Jam 5:15; Psa 107:17-21.

Luk 5:27

Vv 27-32: // Isa 58:4-12: fasting, garments, feasting, healing.

Luke’s interest in tax-collectors: Luk 3:12; 5:27; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10; 19:2.

LEVI: Matthew (Mat 9:9-13; Mar 2:14).

FOLLOW ME: This calling of a new type of disciple — a publican, not a fisherman — emphasizes the broadening appeal of Christ’s call — and also that aspect of his ministry that brings him into conflict with the Pharisees: “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ ” (Mat 9:11; Mar 2:16; Luk 5:30).

Typ of Isa 58:4-12: Fasting, garments, feasting, healing.

Levi is “the son of Alphaeus” (Mark 2:14) and so his brother, who was also a disciple, was “James the son of Alphaeus” (Mark 3:18) One wonders how they got on together. Tax gatherers were despised. Probably James and the family thought little of Matthew/Levi whilst he was a tax gatherer; now they would have to change their view of him. Can we say that we do not judge people on their past life?

Luk 5:29

A GREAT BANQUET: Typ wedding feast (Mat 9:15; Mar 2:19; Luk 5:34,35). The calling of a new sort of disciple (a publican, not a fisherman): broadening appeal of Christ’s call, and an affront to Pharisees (v 30). Cp Gen 21:8: a great feast, to publicly designate the heir to the promises. Again (as in Gen), immediately followed by mockery from the supposed “heir” — ie the Pharisees (Mat 9:11; Mar 2:16; Luk 5:30) (WGos 133).

FOR JESUS: A type of the “wedding feast”: Mat 9:15; Mar 2:19,20; Luk 5:34,35.

Luk 5:30

The Song of Songs forms the background for this section, but set also against the prophecy of Hosea: joy and forgiveness; the bride is indeed spotless, but only because her sins have been forgiven (SMk 42,43).

“Any attempt at alliance with the Pharisees was bound to mean ruin for Jesus’ movement, because the Pharisees were interested only in absorbing for their own prestige and benefit this and any other surge of religious enthusiasm” (WGos 137).

BUT THE PHARISEES… COMPLAINED: They would not attend a meal with such guests, but they would watch from a distance to find fault.

TO HIS DISCIPLES: Trying to drive a wedge between leaders and followers. How clever! Jesus is criticized to his disciples (Mat 2:11; Mar 2:16; Luk 5:30), and his disciples are criticized to Jesus (Mat 2:14; Mar 2:18; Luk 5:33)!

Luk 5:31

HEALTHY: The “strong” (in ct to the “weak” of v 18), guilty of “suicidal self-sufficiency” (NMk 24).

Luk 5:32

I HAVE NOT COME… BUT…: A Heb idiom: “Not so much this as that.” “Not only this but that also.” Pro 8:10; Jer 7:22,23; Joel 2:13; Mar 9:37; Luk 14:26; Joh 3:17; 5:30; 6:27; 7:16; 9:30; 12:44,47; 14:24; Act 5:4; Rom 2:13; 1Co 7:10; 15:10; 1Jo 3:18.

Luk 5:33

This is a Mon or Thurs — the 2 weekly fast days of Pharisaic tradition (SMk 42). Cp Luk 18:12n. Their fasting was, supposedly, to hasten the coming of the Messiah (WGos 136).

Luk 5:34

THE GUESTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM: “The children of the bridechamber” (AV). General term for all invited guests. “Eat, O friends, and drink abundantly, O beloved” (Song 5:1): the invitation of the bridegroom. Also an allusion to Joh 3:29.

Luk 5:35

THE BRIDEGROOM WILL BE TAKEN FROM THEM: For the first time, the “shadow of the cross” falls across Mark’s narrative. An allusion to Song 5:6,7. Also to Isa 53:8: “His life was taken away” (LXX).

IN THESE DAYS THEY WILL FAST: The Pharisees fasted to hasten the coming of the Messiah, but now that he had come their whole system of traditions had been rendered meaningless.

Luk 5:36

The new way of life (which Christ brings) cannot be torn apart to patch an old and useless garment. The new “garment” must be used in its entirety. The old garment (fig-leaf covering) must be put aside completely in favor of the new garment (skins, required bloodshed). “Put off old man; put on new man” (Eph 4:23,24; cp Exo 28r; Isa 61:1,3,10).

NEW: Lit “raw”, or “unfulled”. To “full” a garment: to shrink, or otherwise prepare cloth by pressure, heat, or moisture.

THE PATCH FROM THE NEW WILL NOT MATCH THE OLD: The new life in Christ is not a “patch” for the old; it is a new “whole”. Cp Jos 9:4,13; Psa 119:83.

In one dreadful moment the poor boy tripped and fell headlong onto the rough stone path. As he stood up and brushed the stones from his hands and well worn trousers, he discovered that he had ripped both the knees of his pants, ruining them for good. They were the only pair he had and he was sure they would be ripped so badly that they couldn’t be fixed. As he walked home he wondered what to do. Where would he ever get a new pair? Could he patch them? Could he cut some material off the trousers that were too big for him yet, and patch the ruined ones with it? If they were patched would they look even worse than they did now? Would the patch pull away?

In our life without Christ, the Bible describes us as wearing filthy rags. The rags we wear are so full of dirt and holes that they are beyond repair. So what do we do? Can we take the parts of the gospel message — the parts that we like — to patch up the old life? No! That is just like cutting up next year’s trousers to patch the ruined ones. Instead we must completely change. We can either wear our old dirty rags or the rich, pure white garments of sinlessness we are given in Christ. Patches won’t work. We cannot mix the two.

Instead, we must change our “rags” for “riches”, and do it altogether and all at one time!

Luk 5:39

This was the Pharisees’ attitude: the “old wine” (Moses’ Law, tradition) was “better” — or so they thought. But the “new wine” of Christ was ALIVE!

Luk 4:1

Vv 1-13: The temptation: “The most important, memorable, and mysterious battle in history.”

AND WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT IN THE DESERT: Cp Luk 3:22 with Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18: and thus Jesus is led by Spirit into wilderness. It was not for Jesus to bask in the glory of the Father’s blessings; he must be tested. The temptation was by divine intervention (cp Gen 22:1; 1Co 10:13).

Prophets were led by the Holy Spirit to receive visions: Rev 21:10; Eze 8:3; 37:1; 40:2; 2Co 12:2.

IN THE DESERT: With the wild beasts: Mar 1:13.

Jesus is baptized, and immediately taken by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Cp this with Moses’ Psa 90:5-12: his commentary about the generation that was first “baptized” in the Red Sea, and then afterward perished in the wilderness. Secondly, cp this with Joshua’s (this is a guess) Psa 91:1-7: a commentary about the generation that survived the wilderness to enter the Promised Land. Other points of comparison: (a) cp the 40 years there with the 40 days here. (b) Psa 91:11,12 refers to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. (c) Psa 91:13: Cp with Mark 1:13 (Psa 8:6,7; Gen 1:28: Jesus exercises dominion over the wild beasts).

Luk 4:2

FORTY DAYS: // 40 years. Temptation of Christ // temptation of God’s “firstborn” nation. Note similarities in Deu 32:8-20.

THE DEVIL: Also called the “tempter” in Mat 4:3, and “Satan” in Mar 1:13. Poss a member of the delegation from the High Priest and other authorities (cp Mat 3:7), who see Christ baptized, anointed as the “Lamb of God” (Joh 1:29), and hope to find a way to neutralize his influence: ‘Come, join with us, and you will “succeed” far beyond your expectations!’

So someone came to check Jesus’ credentials, much as the “credentials” of John Baptist were checked. Cp John 1:19: “Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.” This could have led, directly, to their need to “examine” the would-be “Messiah” — to whom John pointed (John 1:23-29).

All other refs to tempters in the gospels are to external tempters: Mat 16:1; 19:3; 22:15-18; 26:59-63; John 8:6; Luk 11:15,16.

HE ATE NOTHING: Or an absolute minimum (cp Mat 11:18)?

Luk 4:3

If? See Luk 3:22; Mat 26:63.

Luk 4:4

See Jer 15:16; Job 23:10-12; Joh 4:32-34.

IT IS WRITTEN: Over the course of the 40 days temptation in the wilderness, Jesus resisted the allurements of sin by continual resort to quotations from the Scripture — specifically, in the instances given, from the book of Deuteronomy: Deu 8:3; 6:13; 6:16. Here is a profound lesson for us: while the power of will demonstrated by Jesus is surely extraordinary — even miraculous — and while the Holy Spirit received from his Father must also have played a significant part… nevertheless, there is nothing mysterious about his resorting to the comfort and encouragement of the Bible. This account tells us that the PRIMARY means by which Jesus resisted sin was… the word of God!

And the same will be true of us. Knowing the Bible — its commandments and its promises — and knowing that it IS the word of God, which may effectively work in us… this is the best means to resist all the enticements to evil that come our way. We may pray to our heavenly Father to help us in times of stress and weakness, but surely He will not help us if we have ignored the greatest means of resistance against sin and of growth in righteousness — which we have right here in our hands all the while! — the holy Bible.

Luk 4:5

THE DEVIL LED HIM UP TO A HIGH PLACE: Other prophets received visions thusly: Rev 21:10; Eze 40:2.

AND SHOWED HIM IN AN INSTANT ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD: At the least, all the “kingdoms” of the Promised Land! From traditional mount of temptation, in north of Jeshimon: looking to east, one might actually see the whole of Transjordan: riches of Petra in the south, the castle of Herod, Moab-Ammon in center, Decapolis (Greek influence) to north. All around also was the power of Rome (Baly 185). Cp Abraham surveying Land in Gen 13:14,15.

Luk 4:6

Could the “orthodox” “Devil” give Jesus all these things?

Luk 4:8

Quoting Deu 6:13, which warns against serving other gods. Thus, to serve the “flesh” is to serve another “god”!

AND SERVE HIM ONLY: “Power is a dangerous and coveted thing. Most men seek after it in some form or other: money, standing, influence and the various other aspects of preference in which men delight. Power is a test of character and few come through unharmed. One man only has found the perfect answer. Upon him came the Spirit of God without measure and for forty days and nights he wrestled, Jacob-like, to keep the face of God before him lest he should become tarnished by power. He discovered in his striving the peace which comes by resisting the temptation to serve self: service of others is the true use of power” (TMD 92,93).

Luk 4:9

THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE TEMPLE: See Eze 8:3. It was here also that James (the Lord’s brother) stood to address the crowds — before being thrown down and clubbed to death (WGos 74).

” ‘Our Rabbis give this tradition: In the hour when King Messiah cometh, He standeth upon the roof of the Sanctuary, and proclaims to Israel, saying, Ye poor (suffering), the time of your redemption draweth nigh. And if ye believe, rejoice in My Light, which is risen upon you… Jesus stands on the lofty pinnacle of the Tower, or of the Temple-porch… whence the view into the Kedron Valley beneath was to the stupendous depth of 450 feet… Possibly it may have been the extreme corner of the ‘wing-like’ porch, or ulam, which led into the Sanctuary. Thence a Priest could easily have communicated with his brethren in the court beneath… [This place was] presumably that on which every day a priest was stationed to watch, as the pale morning light passed over the hills of Judaea far off to Hebron, to announce it as the signal for offering the morning sacrifice. If we might indulge our imagination, the moment chosen would be just as the Priest had quitted that station. The first desert-temptation had been in the grey of breaking light, when to the faint and weary looker the stones of the wilderness seemed to take fantastic shapes, like the bread for which the faint body hungered. In the next temptation Jesus stands on the watch-post which the white-robed priest had just quitted. Fast the rosy morning-light, deepening into crimson, and edged with gold, is spreading over the land. In the Priests’ Court below him the morning-sacrifice has been offered. The massive Temple-gates are slowly opening, and the blasts of the priests’ silver trumpets is summoning Israel to begin a new day by appearing before their Lord. Now then let him descend, Heaven-borne, into the midst of priests and people. What shouts of acclamation would greet his appearance! What homage of worship would be His! The goal can at once be reached, and that at the head of believing Israel. Jesus is surveying the scene. By his side is the tempter [a representative of the Sanhedrin?: GB], watching the features that mark the working of the spirit within. And now he has whispered it” (Eder). The beauty of this would be — from the viewpoint of the tempter — that, if Jesus were not the Messiah, he would plunge to his death, and the leaders of Israel would be rid of a potential threat and rival. And if he did succeed, the leaders of Israel would have an “in” with this new “king” — he would be “one of them”!

Luk 4:10

Cp 2Co 11:14: “Satan” masquerading as an “angel of light”.

Luk 4:15

HE TAUGHT IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES: Something John Bapt never did.

Luk 4:16

Jesus’ custom to attend synagogue? Or his custom to read there? Or his custom to preach there (at least, early in ministry)?

HE STOOD UP TO READ: To read the scrolls which spoke of him (Psa 40:7)! Of these he read all the days of his life (Deu 17:19).

Luk 4:17

Ct Isa 29:11,12: others who were handed the scrolls handed them back!

Luk 4:18

In the first recorded announcement of his ministry, Jesus PROCLAIMS gospel of freedom… In his last recorded words (in Luke), Jesus PROCLAIMS freedom through repentance and remission of sins (Luk 24:47). The proclamation of “Jubilee”: freedom! (Isa 61:2; Lev 25:10).

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS ON ME: Likewise, in the first preaching by the apostles, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes upon them all!

Luk 4:19

THE YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOR: Poss year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-10). Freedom, release, return (cp Mat 11:28).

Luk 4:21

TODAY: Cp Deu 30:19.

Luk 4:22

He continued to expound the words…

Luk 4:23

That is, ‘do something to prove that you are more that you seem to be.’

DO HERE IN YOUR HOMETOWN…: Cp Jeremiah’s experiences: Jer 11:21; 12:6.

HOMETOWN: “Patris” = fatherland — either hometown, native region, or whole country. Here, hometown. But ct v 24.

Luk 4:24

HOMETOWN: Here “patris” (cp v 23) = whole land of Israel, because contrasted with lands of Sidon (v 26) and Syria (v 27).

Luk 4:28

ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FURIOUS WHEN THEY HEARD THIS: Because Jesus was plainly saying that miracles were not restricted to Jews, but came also to Gentiles — as in the days of Elijah (vv 25-27).

Luk 4:29

TO THROW HIM DOWN THE CLIFF: So done to Edomites in 2Ch 25:12. Presumably, this is what the priest did to the scapegoat on Day of Atonement (WGos 298). [Between 515 BC and 70 AD, during the second temple period, the “scapegoat” was led to a cliff and forced over the brink to ensure it did not return.] So, was this an attempt to make Jesus the “scapegoat” on the Day of Atonement: ‘Let him bear away all the sins of the nation!’?

This probably occurs in the 7th month, the month of the Day of Atonement: see v 18 and Isa 61 context. It was on the Day of Atonement that the year of Jubilee was proclaimed, when they were to “proclaim liberty” throughout the land, when bought Hebrew servants were to be freed and sold lands restored to the heirs (Lev 25).

Also, in a more general way, this is reminiscent of the words of Caiaphas: “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50).

Luk 4:31

// Mat 4:13-17n.

DOWN TO CAPERNAUM: Nazareth to Capernaum, a drop of c 2000 ft (WGos 122).

Luk 4:32

AUTHORITY: As in Mar 1:22.

Luk 4:33

THE SYNAGOGUE: The only one in town: Mar 1:21; Luk 7:5n.

Luk 4:34

US… US: The other people in synagogue, not a “legion” of demons! That is, ‘you will be like the other pseudo-messiahs, bringing the wrath of Rome down upon us.’

Luk 4:35

BE QUIET: Cp Mar 1:25n.

BEFORE THEM ALL: In the open space before the rostrum.

WITHOUT INJURING HIM: The loud cry was not a cry of pain.

Luk 4:36

The first open contest with the power he was to destroy! This mastery of the unseen powers of darkness (Phi 2:10) was more than they had even expected of the Messiah.

GIVES ORDERS: “Seems always to describe a DIVINE command” (WGos 121).

Luk 4:38

LEFT: “Anistemi” = to arise. The usual posture for teachers in the synagogue was sitting.

HOME OF SIMON: Was Bethsaida (Joh 1:44) a “suburb” of Capernaum? (WGos 122).

SIMON’S MOTHER-IN-LAW: Peter was married (1Co 9:5).

HIGH FEVER: Typhus? (WGos 122) Or malaria?

THEY ASKED JESUS TO HELP HER: Intercession for weak and needy.

Luk 4:39

The first resurrection by Jesus, typical of others to follow.

1. Personal contact. 2. Uplifting power. 3. Immediate cure.

The effect on Peter’s family: “It is no light thing to take a man from his home and wife and family and livelihood to become a… preacher… This healing of Peter’s mother-in-law guaranteed enthusiastic support. From this day forward, Peter need never look over his shoulder wondering how his wandering life… was regarded by the folks at home” (WGos 123).

HE… REBUKED THE FEVER: As though it were a personal thing — which, of course, it was not. Cp Christ’s “rebuke” of “demons” as well.

AND BEGAN TO WAIT ON THEM: No “half-way” cures. The saved should serve!

Luk 4:40

WHEN THE SUN WAS SETTING: That is, as soon as Sabbath had officially ended (cp v 38), the entire town was “synagogued” at Peter’s door!

ALL: The “all” of Isa 53:6.

LAYING HIS HANDS ON EACH ONE: Blessing and personal identification (Gen 48:14; Lev 9:22,23).

HE HEALED THEM: So Capernaum became “well” physically, but not so spiritually (Mat 11:20,23,24)!

Luk 4:41

See Lesson, Demons, what are? Here is cited Isa 53:4 (Mat 8:16,17): “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.”

BUT HE REBUKED THEM AND WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO SPEAK: Silence was his settled policy for most of his ministry (Mat 9:30; 17:9; 12:16; Mar 1:34; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26; Luk 5:14), with one notable exception (Mar 5:19 — Legion with his family). But in last days of ministry, a change of course (Mat 21:1-11; Joh 7:37; 9:3; 11:4).

BECAUSE THEY KNEW HE WAS THE CHRIST: That is, they knew by personal experience his healing power.

Luk 4:42

Jesus needs solitude for thought and prayer (cp Isa 50;4; Psa 119:147,148). A list of “solitude passages”: Mar 1:35-37; 3:7,9,20,21; 4:35-38; 6:31; 7:17,18,24; 8:10,11,27; 9:30; 10:32; 14:32.

Other night prayers: Psa 119:62; Lam 2:19; Luk 11:5; Mat 26:39-46; Act 16:25.

AT DAYBREAK: Lit, “before it was day” (cp Mar 1:35).

THE PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR HIM…: The eagerness of the crowds: Luk 5:1; 6:19; 8:19,40; 12:1; 21:38.

Luk 4:43

Perhaps Christ realizes now that his mission could not be just one of healing — but of proclaiming. He must go to other cities. Perhaps in prayer this was communicated to him by God.

Luk 4:44

PREACHING IN THE SYNAGOGUES: This was a religious, not merely a political, undertaking.

Luk 3:1

Vv 1,2: In two verses only, Luke presents the great parade — of all the powerful and wealthy and prominent men of the world in his day. There they stand on the world’s “stage” for all to respect and admire! But God — being no respecter of persons, and desiring that no flesh should glory in His presence — now absolutely sets all the mighty to one side, passing them by entirely, and condescends to speak to a man of the wilderness — a man of simple food and simple clothes and simple habits. The Creator of heaven and earth has no need for lavish palaces or fine temples; instead, He chooses to dwell with shepherds in the fields (Luke 2:8-14), and a “wild man” on the river bank!

Herod the Great’s old kingdom is now divided into 4 parts, only 2 of which his sons rule. (People governed by such men were surely ready to hear the gospel.)

HEROD: Herod Antipas — “the fox” — brother of Archelaus, and son of Herod the Great.

ITUREA: 1Ch 1:31: Edomite origin of name.

Luk 3:2

ANNAS AND CAIAPHAS: Annas was officially High Priest from 6 to 15 AD. Annas had 5 sons and a son-in-law (Caiaphas) who become High Priests. When arrested, Christ was taken first to Annas, the head of the family (John 18:13).

THE WORD OF GOD CAME: A formal expression (cp Jer 1:2), placing John in the true prophetic tradition.

Luk 3:3

THE JORDAN: Elijah was last seen here (2Ki 2:8). John Bapt was first seen here.

PREACHING: First principles in John’s preaching: See Lesson, John the Baptist, gospel of. Elijah was last seen at the river Jordan (2Ki 2:11); John the Baptist first appeared to Israel at the same place (v 6).

Luk 3:4

DESERT: A “wilderness”, both natural and spiritual.

PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD: How? By preaching (v 3), and by being taken out of the way (Mat 4:12).

LORD: “Yahweh” of Isa 40:3 becomes “Kyrios” here.

Luk 3:6

ALL: Limited sense of “all”: “all flesh” (Gen 6:12; Isa 66:24; Jer 45:5; Eze 20:48; 21:4); “all people” (Est 3:14; Lam 1:8; 1Ki 8:43; Dan 5:19; Mic 4:5). Christ has power over “all flesh” (Joh 17:2).

Luk 3:7

YOU BROOD OF VIPERS: Three and a half years later they have not been touched by the teaching of Jesus — for he calls them “serpents” and “vipers” again (Mat 23:33). Hopefully the words of Jesus have a bigger impact on us!

WHO WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM THE COMING WRATH?: A wildfire driving all snakes and crawling creatures before it (Hist Geog 64).

Luk 3:8

FRUITS IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE: That is, works to demonstrate faith (Gal 5:22,23), esp the work of confession and forsaking sin (1Jo 1:9; Joh 8:11).

STONES… CHILDREN: In Heb, abanim/banim.

THESE STONES: The stones of Jos 4 were 12 great stones placed in river, and 12 more stones taken from river. Sym baptism to new life. (In Heb and Aramaic, the words for “stones” and “children” are almost identical.) Joshua’s great memorial of God’s deliverance — as are all “stones/children” of God!

Luk 3:9

THE AX… AT THE ROOT OF THE TREES: Marking them out for future destruction. Ax = the word of God, brought in the preaching of John — by which the status of every “tree” was made evident.

Luk 3:11

One wonders how much we have the desire to adhere to this type of teaching in our present materialistic age. Most of us are so used to having more than we need, and yet half the world goes hungry and unclothed. It seems that there is something wrong here (Isa 58:7-11; Luke 18:22).

Luk 3:12

Luke’s interest in tax-collectors: Luk 3:12; 5:27; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10; 19:2.

Luk 3:14

SOLDIERS: Prob military irregulars, like followers of Barabbas. Thus “wages” = pay for regular, non-military jobs.

EXTORT: Suggesting political revolutionists (WGos 60).

Luk 3:15

“Wondering” is not the same as being prepared!

Luk 3:16

First water, then spirit. First natural, then spiritual. First cleansing, then forgiveness. First purifying, then raising to new life. (Note “fire” of judgment is omitted.)

Luk 3:17

WINNOWING FORK: The winnowing fork (RSV): a fan or shovel, used by Syrians (ISBE): cp Isa 30:24; Jer 15:7.

HIS THRESHING FLOOR: The Temple of Solomon was built on a threshing floor: 2Ki 24:16,24.

Winnowing = judgment in Mat 3:12n; Dan 2:35; Isa 5:24; 41:15,16; Mal 3:2,3; Jer 23:28,29.

Luk 3:19

Vv 19,20: John had said that he would decrease (Joh 3:30), but he probably did not think it would be a consequence of his being imprisoned. It is good that we do not know the details of the future.

Luk 3:20

HE LOCKED JOHN UP IN PRISON: “From a certain point of view, it is saddening to think of such a man as John the Baptist in the hands of such creatures as Herod and his paramour; and sadder to think that his life should be sacrificed to the feminine malice created by John’s upright attitude as a preacher of righteousness. But the sadness is only for a moment. It is the lot of divine things and divine men to be under the heel of wickedness in the day of sin’s ascendancy. We can comfort ourselves with the thought that they do not come under the heel by chance, or before the appointed time. It is part of the process by which they are prepared for, and ultimately introduced to ‘an eternal weight of glory’. And there is the further consolation that to the victims of the oppression, the triumph of the enemy is ‘but for a moment’. Death is the best thing that can happen to them. Their trials and distresses are annihilated at a stroke: and in a moment, they are face to face with the glory for which their distresses prepare them, for the simple reason that in death there is no knowledge of time, and therefore no conscious interval to the resurrection” (NR 25,26).

Luk 3:21

Why was Jesus baptized (Mat 3:13-17; Mar 1:8-11; Luk 3:21-23)? The most obvious answer is the Scriptural one: in the words of Jesus himself, “to fulfill all righteousness”. This calls to mind Mat 5:17: “I am not come to destroy [the law], but to fulfill.” The work of Jesus, in all its aspects, was to fulfill, or complete, the righteousness of the law of Moses. The law of Moses was a “shadow” (Heb 10:1), pointing forward to the substance, the reality, which was Jesus. As Moses washed Aaron (Exo 30:20,21; 40:12), to sanctify and cleanse him for his mediatorial work, so John washed Jesus. If Aaron had entered the Most Holy without washing, he would have failed; if Jesus had offered himself as a sacrifice with no public baptism (signifying the denial of the flesh), he would likewise have failed. Jesus was absolutely without personal sin. The necessity of his baptism shows how far even sinful flesh alone separates man from God.

Vv 21,22: The anointing of the King. Apparently, the only meeting between John and Jesus. “He had no life of sin to leave behind in the waters of Jordan, but there he did bring to an end the home life of Nazareth, the quiet, peaceful years of preparation, and did accept as the ‘righteous will of God’ the storm and strain and sacrifice of the work which he had come to do” (Erdman, Mat 36).

See Mat 3:13-17n. Reason for Christ’s baptism: found in genealogy, tracing his ancestry back to Adam (v 38). His baptism: a public identification with those he came to save. Cp Christ’s baptism with anointings of David (1Sa 16:13) and Aaron (Lev 8:12).

Luk 3:22

This Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness: cp Luk 4:1 with Rom 8:14.

THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED: The Spirit “brooding” on the surface of the waters (Gen 1:2). “The beginning of the new creation!”

DOVE: Only sacrificial animal to be feathered (Luk 2:24; Lev 1:14,15; 5:7). The dove, with keen eyesight, returned to the safety of Noah’s ark, in peace, bringing an olive branch of new creation. The dove is gentle (Mat 10:16), clean (Song 6:9), particular in its choice of food (Gen 8), swift (Psa 55:6), beautiful (Psa 68:13), constant in love (Song 5:12).

A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN: Sounding, perhaps, like thunder to the bystanders (Joh 12:29). Understood only by Jesus and John. The voice from heaven identifies Jesus as the “prophet like unto Moses” (Deu 18:15-19).

WITH YOU I AM WELL PLEASED: “On whom my pleasure rests.” Cp Isa 42:1: “From this day on Jesus walked in the shadow of the cross” (WGos 66).

Luk 3:23

See Lesson, Luke’s genealogy. Also see Article, Genealogies of Jesus.

The phrase “so it was thought” again indicates that direct parenthood is out of the question. Luke, as well as Matthew, clearly explains why elsewhere (Luk 1:35); so there is no need to suppose that Jesus was lit the son of Joseph. The next phrase however, “the son of Heli”, presents the problem. To take this phrase in the most easily understood sense would mean that Joseph’s natural father had two names: Jacob (Mat 1:16) and Heli (Luk 3:23). This is not necessarily impossible in itself, but further reading compounds the problem since Jacob’s immediate ancestors were Matthan, Eleazar, and Eliud, while Heli’s were Matthat, Levi, and Melchi. Clearly we are dealing, then, with two separate men and two separate lines.

Two possibilities exist to reconcile the difficulty: (1) Luk 3:23 could be read: “And Jesus (being, so it was thought, the son of Joseph) was actually the ‘son’ (ie grandson) of Heli.” Under this alternative, “the son of Heli” would refer further back, to Jesus, and not to Joseph. Heli then would be the father of Mary. (2) “Joseph, the son-in-law of Heli.” Again, Heli would be the father of Mary, and the genealogy of Luke would be Mary’s genealogy, through her father. Joseph’s inclusion at that point is easily explained in that the woman’s identity is often submerged in that of her husband.

Since both Joseph and Mary were David’s descendants their two lines coincide from Abraham to David. Thereafter they diverge, Joseph’s continuing with the kingly line of Solomon and Rehoboam, and Mary’s proceeding from David’s son Nathan. The two lines appear to join briefly with Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Mat 1:12; Luk 3:27). If, however, these two are the same in both records, then one of Shealtiel’s “fathers” — either Jechoniah (Mat 1:12) or Neri (Luk 3:27) — must have been his adoptive and not his literal father.

BEGAN: Cp Gen 1:1; Joh 1:1; etc: “in the beginning”.

SO IT WAS THOUGHT: May mean “as was reckoned by law”.

Luk 3:24

MATTHAT: Same as Matthan (Mat 1:15)

Luk 3:27

SHEALTIEL, THE SON OF NERI: The two lines (Joseph’s in Mat and Mary’s in Luk) converge in 2 successive generations (Shealtiel and Zerubbabel). Was Jeconiah the father of Shealtiel (Mat 1:12), or was Neri the father (here)? One of the two lines (in Mat and Luk) was prob perpetuated through an adoption. Either way, legally and by blood, Jesus was descended from David.

Luk 3:31

SON OF DAVID: Jesus so called in Mat 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9-11.

Luk 3:36

CAINAN: This name does not occur in Heb OT genealogy, but is picked up from LXX.

Luk 3:38

SON OF ADAM: Jesus as son of Adam in Rom 5:12-21; 1Co 15:22,45. This leads into Luk 4, where the wilderness temptation compares to Adam’s Edenic temptation.

SON OF GOD: Every phrase in this genealogy refers back to Christ: Jesus was the “son of Adam”, and Jesus (not Adam) was the “son of God”.