Bible Commentaries
Luke 7

Verse 1

32-36 Compare Mat_5:44-48 .

35 We have here the substance of the new covenant which the Lord will make with Israel when He restores them to their land and to His favor ( Jer_31:27-34 ). After those days, He says I put My law within them, And I wIll write It on their hearts. The second greatest commandment, to love your associate as yourself, never had more than a superficial and perfunctory observance. But Ezekiel declares that in that day He will give them a new heart and a new spirit, and will take away the stony heart and give them a heart of flesh ( Eze_36:26 ). This is the essential basis of the kingdom in Israel. The law will not be enforced from without but by a vital power within. They will actually care for the welfare of others rather than their own. So long as each one is concerned for himself alone, the best that government can do is to restrain the resultant evil. This happy form of rule will not extend beyond the people of the covenant. The nations will be ruled with an iron club ( Rev_19:15 ). Their obedience will not be from the heart but compulsory, so that, when Satan is loosed, they are ready to rebel against the most beneficent form of government the world has ever seen ( Rev_20:7-10 ) .

36 The principle underlying these precepts is quite applicable in this day of grace, but a literal fulfillment of the promises is out of the question. Indeed, grace goes far beyond the spirit of this passage, for it gives freely without the promise of a recompense.

37-38 Compare Mat_7:1-2 ; Pro_19:17 ; Jam_2:13 .

38 The figure is very expressive to one who has seen grain measured in the East. By squeezing down, shaking together and piling high until it runs over, the quantity of grain in a given measure is vastly increased. Grain was carried in the loose folds of the bosom of their garments.

39 Compare Mat_15:14 .

39 Besides its general application, the Lord undoubtedly referred especially to the religious leaders in Israel. On several occasions He characterized the scribes and Pharisees as blind guides ( Mat_15:14 ; Mat_23:16 ; Mat_23:24 ). The light that was in them was darkness, hence it was very dense.

40 Compare Mat_10:24-25 ; Joh_12:36 .

41-42 Compare Mat_7:3-5 .

41 Even those who are not blind should distrust their own eyesight. We can all see the obstructions in the discernment of others. Heredity, environment, religious associations, all intrude into our perception of things divine. If each one were more anxious to discover his own defects, he would be more fitted to help others. But how shall we extract the beam in our own eye? By carefully comparing our conclusions with evidences of revelation. Too many of us stereotype "truth" rather than hold to the facts on which all truth depends. Truth that does not bear a microscopic comparison with the minutest fact of the inspired Scriptures has no right to the name. A careful presentation of all the facts in available form should be the most efficient of all aids to remove our prejudices and reveal the truth.

43-45 Compare Mat_7:16-20 ; Mat_12:33-37 .

43 In the kingdom "they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree" ( Mic_4:4 ), The fig tree figures their righteous government, hence the prophet adds, "and none shall make them afraid", The vine portrays the gladness and joy that ensue. The nation of Israel will never produce figs or grapes so long as they are thorns and thorn bushes. Far less can the nations of the world who have not received the cultivation accorded the people of the covenant. Good government and happy homes come from the heart and cannot be imposed on the unregenerate by penal laws.

46-48 Compare Mat_7:21-25 ; Isa_26:3-4 ; Isa_28:16 ; 1Co_3:10-11 .

46 This parable presents the permanent character of the kingdom. Its foundation is laid deep in the solid stratum of God's purpose rather than the insecure sand of human expedience. The superstructure may look safe, but the stress of political storms will wreck every state but the one which will displace them and have no end. So, also, are those who are allied with these ingdoms. Those who heard and obeyed Him built a house whose foundations would last for the eon. Those who do not obey are caught in the crash preceding the kingdom.

1-10 Compare Mat_8:5-13 .

Verses 2-18

2 What He has said has neither interpretation nor application to nations outside the Israelitish fold. None of those present could so have understood His words, for their prejudice against the gentile nations was extreme, and He made no effort to disabuse their minds on this score. But we know that the nations will have a place in the kingdom, and that blessing will flow out to them through Israel. Does He give no hint of this? The centurion's slave gives us a graphic picture of the benefits which come to the nations through the mediacy of Israel. The centurion himself is undoubtedly a proselyte to the Jewish faith or he certainly would not build a synagogue for them. The slave represents the subservient position of the nations in that day. But the most remarkable similarity is suggested by the distance between the Healer and the one who is healed. In Israel, all healing was done in His presence. They were at great pains to bring their sick from afar; they broke through the roof; His touch or the sound of His voice seemed essential to secure the desired blessing. And so it is with Israel. Until His future presence, they have no hope of partaking in the promises of the prophets. His feet will stand on the mount of Olives, His capital will be Jerusalem. The other nations, though at a distance, will also receive His healing balm as did the centurion's slave. There is no necessity for identifying this incident with that in Matthew's account. The lesson is the same, but the time and setting seem different. The great principle of blessing at a distance through faith is followed much further in God's dealings with the nations in the present secret administration ( Eph_3:9 ). Though Christ has not returned, and though Israel is not blessed, yet by faith we receive a blessing far superior to anything suggested by this scene. We are not slaves of Israel and do not depend on any intervention through Israel, but we have a place and a portion among the celestials which is immeasurably beyond both.

11 Death was defeated whenever it entered the presence of Christ. This was the greatest sign of His messiahship. For the kingdom will consist, to a large extent, of those who have died in expectation, not having received the promises. Abraham will be there and David, but holy can they enter except through resurrection? Therefore, Christ is the Resurrection and the Life. He that can raise the dead is the Messiah of Israel, He is the Son of God. Besides the rousing of Jairus' daughter, He brought Lazarus back from the tomb. The little girl had scarcely died, the widow's son was on his way to the tomb, and Lazarus had been dead three days. One was but a child one a youth, the other a mature man.' But each one responded to His word, and passed from death back into life. Thus will it be in the former resurrection, which will occur some thirteen hundred and thirty-five days after the middle of the seventieth heptad of the ninth of Daniel ( Dan_12:12 ) or about seventy-five days after His epiphany. The faithful in Israel will arise to die no more, but the unbelieving will not awake until the close of the day of the Lord ( Dan_12:2 ).

18-20 Compare Mat_11:2-3 .

18 By this time John had been in prison more than a year. Reports of the wonderful works of Christ probably brought to him the question of his own release. He had lived his whole life in the wide open spaces and close confinement must have been most depressing to his spirit, and led him to brood over his own fate. The news that he received concerning Christ seemed to cover only one phase of the activities of the One he had heralded. He baptized in holy spirit but not in fire. He did not burn up the chaff with fire. Were there to be two Messiahs? This one did only good and no evil. He could not hope to be released from prison by Him. Would He later execute the judgment foretold or was that the work of a different One? Such seems to be the trend of John's thoughts. He was anticipating the day of vengeance, When Christ would take His great power and reign. To have answered his question would involve the revelation of secrets which were not due to be kown at that time. The kingdom was still being proclaimed. Its rejection could not be predicted without nullifying its proclamatIon. Hence the Lord does not reply to John's question, but bids those sent by him to note the character of the works He is doing. This may be taken as a personal message to John that his suffering would be relieved even to the extent of rousing him from the dead.

Verses 19-43

19 As the form of the Greek word for different or "another" is indefinite as to gender, it may be rendered "a different thing" or "another thing". That is, John may have hoped that Christ was about to change His ministry of mercy to one of judgment, in which case he would be delivered.

21-23 Compare Mat_11:4-6 .

24-28 Compare Mat_11:7-15 .

24 Notwithstanding his question, John was no weakling or lover of luxury. He was not wavering in his confidence in Christ or desirous to escape merely for his own comfort. No one could call him a reed subject to the whim of every current of air! His imprisonment was proof of this, for he stood against the storm when he boldly accused Herod of his sin. His camel's hair garment proved that he was no silk robed courtier. They came out to see a prophet and that was what they saw. His present imprisonment was only an added proof of that, for such was the treatment which they usually gave a man of God. John, as the immediate forerunner of Christ, was the greatest of all the prophets.

27 Compare Mal_3:1 .

29 Compare Luk_3:12 .

29 John's call to repentance was to the whole nation, but the Pharisees and lawyers could not accept God's estimate of their lives. They justified themselves. The rest justified God. The common people and the tribute collectors, by undergoing his baptism at least acknowledged their own sinfulness. To this day the same principle obtains. Self-condemnation is a sure road to righteousness; self justification is the road to ruin.

31 Compare Mat_11:16-19 .

31 Those who wish to oppose God's work have no difficulty in finding fault, for every virtue, fitly displayed, is turned into a vice by the distorting eyes of jealousy and hate. John's subject was sin, so he was an ascetic. It was not his work to lead them into the joys of the kingdom. That was for Messiah. He satisfied their souls with food and made the wine for a marriage feast. All this was in accord with their message and ministry. Silly men, knowing neither, would have them mar their message by acts which jar with their ministry.

33 Compare Luk_1:15 .

36 Truth is best conveyed by contrast. In fact, all human knowledge is relative. We know nothing absolutely, but by its relation to other things. Herein lies the loveliness of this incident. The Pharisee was at the top, the woman at the bottom of the social scale. It is very striking and instructive to see these two brought together and to note their different reactions to the grace of Christ. The greatest glory of the Saviour was His love for sinners and His holiness which remained unspotted in contact with them. The touch of this woman of ill repute would have sent a shudder through the self-righteous Pharisee. It thrilled Him with compassion. This Simon did not apprehend. He thought his Guest must be ignorant of her character to allow caresses, hence did not have even the insight of a prophet. But the ignorance was not on the Lord's part. He soon proved that by His parable. Neither was it on the woman's part. Her tears, her worship, all she did, show the deepest consciousness of her own sinfulness and of His salvation. It was Simon himself who was ignorant. He did not know his own sinfulness. He did not recognize his Saviour. He did not honor Him with the common courtesies of Oriental hospitality. If he had known Him he would have shown Him the utmost attention and rejoiced in the woman's worship. There is no reason whatever for identifying this woman with Mary Magdalene. She had been a demoniac, not a sinner.

41 This simple parable contains the whole philosophy of sin. However hateful in itself, its ultimate effect is to produce an abundant response to God's love. The greatest triumphs of grace are in the darkest depths of degradation. The Pharisee, instead of being immensely superior to the social outcast, as he supposed, was at a vast disadvantage. His love for the Saviour was shallow, his response to His grace feeble, because he had no dire sense of sin. Without in the least encouraging or countenancing sin, we must acknowledge its place in God's purpose to establish and strengthen cordial relations between Himself and His creatures, and such communion as is quite out of the question by any other means. And the more serious the sin the more certain and loyal will be our love to the One Who delivers us from it. This is the only revealed or rational solution of the temporary presence of sin.

Verses 44-50

44 An honored guest would not only be given water, but would have had his feet washed by a slave; he would have been given a kiss of welcome by his host; and he would have been sprayed or rubbed with the fragrant essential oils or attars which are so common among the upper classes in the Orient. All these Simon had neglected, manifesting the poverty of his appreciation. All these the woman supplied in lavish measure and method, and so manifested the opulence of her love.

48 Undoubtedly, according to the parable, the Lord deals graciously with Simon as well as with the sinner. But it is to her alone He speaks the word of pardon and salvation. And, lest her act, the fruit of her faith, be confounded with it and be made the ground of her salvation, He concludes, "Your faith has saved you."

2 Compare Mat_27:55-56 ; Mar_16:9 .

2 Many of the Lord's disciples have been misjudged, but the case of Mary Magdalene seems to be the most flagrant. The name now stands for a repentant harlot, whereas there is not the least ground for fastening such a sin on Mary Magdalene. She was a demoniac. Seven demons had gone out of her. Now she, with other women, followed Him and the apostles in their journeys. They seem to have had the honor of supplying His wants out of their own wealth. This does not at all accord with the account of the woman who was a sinner in the city of Simon the Pharisee ( Luk_7:37 ). Mary was from Magdala, on the western shore of the lake of Galilee, not far from Tiberias.

4-8 Compare Mat_13:1-9 ; Mar_4:1-9 .

5 The parable of the sower seems to have been repeated with some variations on various occasions at this period of His ministry. He had been proclaiming the kingdom for some considerable time and had noted the effects of His message. This is the gist of the parable. The picture presented was one so common that all His hearers were familiar with it. The roads ran right through the fields. The rocks and the thorns were plentiful. Every Spring they could see this parable repeated before their eyes. It is usual to use this parable indiscriminately of every proclamation of the evangel. But that is surely a serious error. The evangel is preached today to open blind eyes to the salvation of Christ. This parable was spoken that, hearing, they should not be understanding. Only those who already believe can grasp the meaning of a parable. Even they often fail to apprehend its force. The disciples did not understand. How, then, could the multitude possibly discern its hidden meaning? In Israel the festivals represented a cycle of their spiritual history. Firstfruits and Pentecost and Ingathering were intended to tell of a spiritual harvest. Now He tells them of the sowing of the seed. There is only one Sower. The usual elements of opposition were present when the Lord proclaimed the kingdom. The Slanderer, the flesh and the world were the three forces that frustrated His words. First, there was the opposition of the Slanderer that hindered many from believing at all. Among these were the scribes and Pharisees whom He called the children of the Slanderer, and whom John the baptist had called the offspring of vipers. Then,

there was the mass of His disciples who, indeed, believed, in a sense, yet were not fit for the kingdom. The kingdom can be entered only through great trial and it will be most difficult for a rich man to get in. The great affiiction ( Rev_7:14 ) will take its toll of the half-hearted, leaving only the poor and honest hearts for the kingdom. Any attempt to "apply" this parable to the present grace will find its chief interest in the confusion that it creates. The kingdom proclamation demands endurance; the evangel of God's grace supplies it.