2 him. And behold, there was a certain man before him which 3 had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, 5 and let him go and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway ́6 pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer 7 him again to these things. And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out 8 the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a 9 more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; 10 and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them 11 that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee 7. Parable. A precept or direction. Chief rooms, i. e. the highest places at table. 9, 10. Worship. Honor, respect. Jesus here appeals to motives of respectability; first, the shame of being degraded to a lower seat, and next, the praise of being summoned to a higher one. The saying in Proverbs is here illustrated: "Before honor is humility." 12. The preceding parable was applied to the guests. This one is addressed to the host. - Call not thy friends. Jesus would teach that there was no peculiar merit in entertaining one's friends, who, in due time, would return the favor, but that disinterested goodness consisted in benefiting the poor, who could not make any recompense. It was not his design to prohibit the agreeable offices and in again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest 13 a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou 14 shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when 15 one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great 16 supper, and bade many and sent his servant at supper-time, to 17 say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. 18 The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it; I pray thee, have me excused. And 19 another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I have 20 married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant 21 came, and showed his lord these things. house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and tercourse of social life, but rather to condemn the show and pride of luxurious entertainments, and "to inculcate that charity is a duty far more obligatory than hospitality." 13. Call the poor, &c. In the east, relief is given to the poor in this way, and they are admitted to the tables of the rich. Harmer says, " An Arab prince will often dine in the street before his door, and call to all that pass, even beggars, who come and sit down." 14. As the wise man said, Prov. xix. 17, "He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given him will he pay him again." James i. 27.-The resurrection of the just. This does not imply but that there will be a resurrection of all, both just and unjust. Jesus conversed with them upon their own principles, for the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the just. 15-17. Eat bread in the kingdom of God, i. e. partake of the honors and pleasures of the supposed temporal Then the master of the reign of the Messiah. Come, for all things are now ready. As was usual, the guests had already been invited, had accepted the invitation, and promised to attend when notice was given. Hence the insult cast upon the master of the feast by afterwards refusing to come, when the summons was given, under the plea of various engagements. 18-20. Compare Mat. xxii. 1-10, and notes. The unbelief and obstinacy of the Jews, in not coming to the gospel feast of Christ, are here portrayed, and the readiness with which they excused themselves from accepting the terms of salvation. There was no positive sin in the affairs, which detained many of them from the spiritual entertainment, but the guilt consisted in allowing these inferior matters an ascendency over the supreme and all-glorious interest. - With one consent, &c. Or, from one reason or motive. 21-24. Reference is made, in these verses, to the mission of the 22 the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be 24 filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden, shall taste of my supper. 25 And there went great multitudes with him; and he turned, 26 and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, 28 cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he 29 have sufficient to finish it? lest haply after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin 30 to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not 31 able to finish. Or what king going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with 32 twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that apostles to the Gentiles, after the Jews had rejected the gospel. Compel. Rather, persuade or prevail upon. The preachers of Christianity, being endued with wisdom and power from on high, constrained their hearers by the strongest moral obligation and necessity, to comply with the invitations of divine mercy. 25. There went great multitudes with him. They were, probably, enthusiastic in the hope of his approaching kingdom; but Jesus showed them, upon what conditions they must follow him. They must be ready to abandon their friends, take their life in their hand, and bear their crosses, as if condemned to death. They must count the cost of the undertaking beforehand, lest they should fail of its accomplishment. 26, 27. If any man come to me, and hate not, &c. i. e. by a Hebrew comparison, love less. It is explained in Mat. x. 37; 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30.- Bear his cross. See Mat. xvi. 24. The frankness and sincerity of Christ are clearly exhibited in these sayings. 28-33. He continues to illustrate and impress upon them the same subject, and to show the eager multitudes the necessity of preparing for the trials and difficulties, which would be inseparable from their discipleship to him. Thus, by comparison, too, he would intimate the surpassing excellence of his gospel; for, if he required his followers to relinquish friends, and goods, and life, for his sake, surely it must be for some worthy and inestimable object. By the forethought and prudence, practised in worldly he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt 34 have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is 35 neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. CHAPTER XV. The Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Piece of Silver, and Prodigal Son. THEN drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, 2 This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he 3 enterprises, of building edifices and waging war, he would urge the necessity of their being fully apprized of the moral nerve, requisite to be the disciples of a despised and crucified Master. 34, 35. Salt is good, &c. See notes on Mat. v. 13, and Mark ix. 49, 50. Jesus virtually says, "My disciples are to be the salt of the world, a holy, self-denying community, Be not, then, too hasty in espousing my cause, lest you should apostatize. A good disciple is good, but a bad disciple is able neither to enrich others, nor to preserve himself." "Here our Lord admonishes us, that the profession of Christianity is a serious thing, and requires great firmness of mind, if we mean to live up to the profession, and secure the proper and great rewards of it. We ought, therefore, to consider well with ourselves, whether we are determined to maintain the profession and practice of Christianity at all risks. Without this, we are no Christians, but merely men of the world, who follow the multitude, which happens to be what is called Christian; but who, from the same principle, would have been Mahometans or Pagans. To be Christians indeed, we must be so in principle and from reflection, weighing well the truth and the value of the profession, and determined to 1. The publicans and sinners. The kind and gracious manner of Jesus naturally attracted those, who felt themselves to be despised and guilty. The publicans were especially odious to the Jews, as being the taxgatherers of a foreign power. "Come! said Jesus' sacred voice, Come, and make my paths your choice." "Come, wanderers, to my Father's home; Come, all ye weary ones, and rest." 2. This man receiveth sinners, &c. i. e. He admitted them to his acquaintance, and still further to his intimacy, by eating with them. This charge was repeatedly made against Jesus, and the highest honor was unintentionally conferred, by calling him the friend of publicans and sinners. Mat. xi. 19. But nothing better shows our Saviour's knowledge of human nature and character, than his deep sympathy for the degraded. His love found some chord to respond to it, in the most hardened heart. We are also here taught the true method of successfully appealing to the vicious, in every age. The most abandoned may be thus reclaimed, for they have yet" moral remains," sparks and em 4 spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, 5 until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his 6 shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth to gether his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice 7 with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which 8 need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and bers of a spiritual and immortal nature, still alive in the ashes, which require but to be blown upon, to kindle into brightness and warmth. "The idea that takes so strong a hold, when the character of Christ is exhibited to such poor creatures, is, that they are objects of affection; miserable, wicked, despised as they are, yet Christ, the Son of God, loved them, and loved them enough to suffer and to die for them, and still loves them. The thought that they can yet be loved, melts the heart, and gives them hope, and is a strong incentive to reformation." 3. This parable. Jesus proceeds, in the following discourse, to correct the false notions of the scribes and Pharisees, and delivers three parables on, what Olshausen calls, the "compassionate love of God." 4-6. To a pastoral people, like the Jews, this parable would be peculiarly attractive. — Layeth it on his shoulders. Oriental shepherds have the strongest affection for their flocks, and treat them with great tenderness. 7. Joy shall be in heaven. This imagery is not to be pressed too far; but our Lord would justify his interest in publicans and sinners, and his friendly intercourse with them, by asserting that the beings of higher worlds sympathized with the woes of man. Heaven and earth are bound together by the ties of a common love, as the planets_by the laws of gravitation. More than over, &c. This is on the principle, that joy is a compound feeling of surprise and pleasure, and that we usually rejoice more in a small, unexpected blessing, than in a far greater good, with which we have long been familiar. Which need no repentance, i. e. comparatively speaking, or in allusion to such as thought they needed no repentance. Jesus spoke according to the common conceptions of the Jews, who made a distinction between "the penitent" and "the perfectly just." As no man liveth and sinneth not, our Lord could not have meant, that there was literally any one who needed no repent ance. 8-10. This parable has the same purport as the foregoing. - Ten pieces of silver, i. e. in the original, ten drachmas, or drachms. This was an Attic silver coin, worth about 16 cents.-Light a candle. The ancient houses, being unprovided with glass windows, were darker than ours. — Jesus, in these parables, appeals to common and natural feelings, which the lowest in the moral scale could understand, and he wishes thus to quicken a more spiritual sentiment. |