10 ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; 11 and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, 12 who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give 13 you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God 14 and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these 15 things; and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomi16 nation in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and 17 every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth 18 to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth 10, 11. Compare Mat. xxv. 21-23. He that is faithful, &c. The whole tenor of this passage was admirably adapted to the publicans, to warn them of their moral dangers. The argument he draws in these verses is this: since fidelity may be shown in small things, as well as in great, if you have been unfaithful in worldly goods, how can you be trusted with the true riches, the heavenly treasure of the gospel? 12. This verse also refers to the above parable. That which is another man's. Riches are here spoken of as intrusted to us, as stewards, by God, and as not being properly our own, but his. Your own. That which is essentially your own, the treasures of the soul. 13. See note on Mat. vi. 24. The contrast is still continued between the possessions of earth and the service and favor of God. 14. The Pharisees also. They, as well as the publicans, were present as auditors. Who were covetous. Jesus often alludes to this trait in their characters. Mat. xxiii. 14.— Derided him. Or, sneered at him. The verb in the original signifies, to turn up the nose. 15. He here more pointedly condemns them as hypocrites, who, wearing a cloak of pretended holiness in the sight of men, were yet open to the searching inspection of God, and were abominable in his pure sight. For that which is highly esteemed, &c. This is by no means laid down as a universal rule, but as a fact respecting the Pharisees. 16, 17. See Mat. xi. 12, 13, and ver. 18, and notes. · Every man presseth, &c. Is pressing. The people were occasionally powerfully moved during the ministry of Jesus, though the number of true converts would seem to be small. It is easier. The strictness of the law will not be abated, or any of its moral requisitions made null and void. 18. Compare Mat. v. 32. He here gives a particular illustration of the away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery. · There was a certain rich man, which was 19 clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which 20 was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the 21 crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried and in hell he lifted up 23 general remark in ver. 17. So far from relaxing the moral code of Moses, he would give it an even purer and stricter tone. 19-31. This parable of Dives (a Latin word meaning rich) and Lazarus, appears to have been addressed to the Pharisees to rebuke their covetousness, ver. 14, and to teach them, that riches and luxury were but a poor preparation for the coming scenes of their being, and that poverty and sickness were by no means certain marks of the divine displeasure. There is no reason to suppose, that this is a literal history, any more than other parables of Christ. Indeed, many of the incidents are utterly inconsistent with such a conjecture. The general purport, according to Paulus, is, that the consequences of the covetousness of the Jews, who slighted the law of Moses and the censorship of the prophets, verses 29-31, would be so miserable hereafter, that the poorest good man would be in a far more enviable condition. 19. Purple and fine linen, &c. A description of the most luxurious life, under the two principal heads of dress and diet. 20, 21. A certain beggar. In the Greek, simply, "poor man." Laza person, and is the origin of the modern 22. Was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. A description in Jewish phraseology of the happiness of the righteous hereafter. It was said, that none but the just can enter paradise, whither their souls are carried by angels. As Abraham was the father of the faithful, to recline in his bosom, as if at a feast, was a figure to describe the honor and bliss, to which the poor man was admitted. John i. 18. Was buried. It is observable, that this particular is naturally thrown in respecting the rich man, who would be interred with pomp, but that nothing is said of the burial of Lazarus. 23. In hell. In Hades or Sheol; the place of departed spirits, both good and bad. In conformity to the prevalent ideas among both Jews and Greeks, the rich man and Lazarus, according to Bloomfield, would be equally in Hades, though in different his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and 24 Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue: for I am tormented in 25 this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil 26 things but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither 27 can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my 28 father's house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto parts. Being in torments. If language has any meaning, these words signify, that the rich man was in suffering and in punishment, and that Jesus thus portrays the consequences of his selfish and luxurious life. 24. Father Abraham. Such was the Jewish appellation of the patriarch; and even the suffering sinner is represented as still clinging to the gracious name. Send Lazarus. A striking delineation in the picture, as if he, whom the rich man had not helped while living, would help him after death. Cool my tongue, &c. A figurative representation of his intense sufferings. He was parched by the fever of remorse and the flames of self-reproach. No argument can be drawn from such figures of speech in support of the doctrine, that the wicked suffer in a material fire. Campbell views the strength of the parable, as consisting in the representation of the punishment, not of a monster in wickedness, but of one who did little good, and lived for his own selfish gratifications, without relieving others, however necessitous. 25. Son. Abraham is represented as still acknowledging the paternal relation. In the language of Chrysostom, "he did not say, 'Inhuman, and cruel, and profligate, after having 13 VOL. II. acted thus towards Lazarus, dost thou make mention of humanity, pity, and pardon? Dost thou not blush? Art thou not ashamed?' But what? 'Son, remember thou,' &c." What a useful lesson have we here of gentleness and mildness towards one another! - Thou in thy lifetime receivedst, &c. As much as to say, there is a righteous retribution, and a due requital in the spiritual world for the inequalities of the present state. 26. Great gulf fixed. A figure designed to express moral, rather than local, separation. We ought never to forget this rule of Maimonides in interpreting such particulars: "Fix it as a principle to attach yourself to the grand object of the parable, without attempting to make a particular application of all the circumstances and terms, which it comprehends." 28. For I have five brethren, &c. The rich man is represented as still animated with natural affections, and anxious for the welfare of his brethren. In reference to this, and other passages, Newcome remarks, "that our Lord did not give gloomy pictures of human nature, but intimates, that good feelings might exist, and yet one be excluded from the happiness of futurity." them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham 29 saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went 30 unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto 31 him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. CHAPTER XVII. Parables, Miracles, and Prophecies of Jesus. THEN said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that of fences will come: but woe unto him through whom they come ! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother 3 trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven 4 times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase 5 our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mus- 6 29. They have Moses, &c. As if to imply that they had sufficient means and motives to virtue, if they would use them. John v. 45-47. 30, 31. If one went unto them from the dead. This circumstance is, perhaps, introduced in allusion to Jesus' own resurrection. He did raise the other Lazarus from the dead, John xi., and arose himself; yet the Jews did not believe in him. Even miracles, the greatest of miracles, could not move them when they had turned a deaf ear to Moses and the prophets, and become seared in conscience and heart by sin. "The lessons this instructive parable teaches us, are, that there will be a state of retribution, where those who live a sensual life, regardless of the sufferings of others, shall not escape punishment; that the gifts of Providence are a trust from our Creator, to be employed in his service, and we are accountable to him for a proper use of them; that the good, however poor and destitute, shall be recompensed, and the wicked, however rich and powerful, punished; that the present apparent inequalities in the divine government, shall be rectified in a future state, the triumphs of vice humbled, and the afflictions of virtue exchanged for a crown of glory."-H. ADAMS. CHAPTER XVII. 1, 2. Compare Mat. xviii. 6, 7; Mark ix. 42, and remarks. · Offend. Cause to offend, or to insnare. 3, 4. See Mat. xviii. 15, 21, 22.Seven times, i. e. repeatedly. 5. Increase our faith. As if the duty of forgiveness, which he had just stated, was so hard as to require an increase of faith for them to be able to discharge it. Heb. xii. 2. Others view this verse as independent of the preceding one, and suppose the occasion to have been that of Mat. xvii. 19. 6. Refer to Mat. xvii. 20, xxi. 21. tard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should 7 obey you. But which of you having a servant ploughing, or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come 8 from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward 9 thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant, because 10 he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. 11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed 12 through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, 13 which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, 14 Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it 15 came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with -Sycamine. The same as sycamore, chap. xix. 4. This is "the fig-mulberry, a tree, common in Egypt and some parts of Palestine, with leaves like the mulberry, and fruit like the fig, though not edible." Its roots are said to be large, and to spread widely and deeply in the soil, and hence the difficulty of its being plucked up, or transplanted. 7-9. A new paragraph, not apparently connected with the foregoing verses. This illustration is given to show, that the servant confers no favors upon his master in doing his duty, but simply fulfils his obligations. It is a lesson of fidelity in duty, and of humility, as to any claims or deserts of our own. - By and by. These words are more properly connected with go, in all the best editions, and rendered, immediately; "go immediately, "&c.Trow. Old English for think. 10. Unprofitable servants, i. e. not useless, but who have conferred no favor. Job xxii. 2. This verse contains the doctrine of the preceding parable. When we have done all we are commanded to do, we yet lay God under no obligations to us, nor merit any thanks. It is a passage fitted to humble the greatest, best, and most useful man, and to chasten his highest thoughts and hopes, making him feel how little he is, in his "great Task-master's eye." 11. Through the midst. Probably not through the heart of the country, but through the confines of Samaria and Galilee, or through the middle, between the two provinces. 12-14. Which stood afar off. Because their leprosy made them unclean. Go show yourselves unto the priests. "An indirect and humble way of pronouncing them whole." As they went, &c. It appears, that |