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복음서 5–9장: 갈릴리 사역

예수님은 잃어버린 자를 찾아 구원하러 오신 구주이십니다.

누가는 자세히 살펴본 내용을 바탕으로 차례대로 기록했습니다. 세례 요한과 예수님의 탄생을 풍성하게 묘사하며, 가난한 이들과 여성들, 소외된 이들과 죄인들을 향한 예수님의 긍휼을 부각합니다.

저자: 의사이자 바울의 동역자인 누가 · 기록 연대: 기원후 60–80년경으로 추정

책 개요, 구조와 핵심 구절
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1그 후에 예수님은 여러 도시와 마을을 다니시며 하나님의 나라를 선포하시고 기쁜 소식을 전하셨는데 열두 제자도 동행하였다. 2또 악한 귀신들과 여러 가지 병에서 고침을 받은 여자들도 예수님과 동행하였다. 그들 중에는 일곱 귀신이 나간 막달라 마리아, 3헤롯왕의 재산 관리인 구사의 아내 요안나, 수산나, 그 밖에 다른 여자들도 여럿 있었다. 그들은 자기들의 재산을 바쳐 예수님의 일행을 도왔다. 4사람들이 여러 마을에서 모여들어 마침내 큰 군중을 이루었을 때 예수님은 비유를 들어 이렇게 말씀하셨다. 5“한 농부가 들에 나가 씨를 뿌렸다. 그런데 어떤 씨는 길가에 떨어져서 발에 밟히고 새들이 와서 먹어 버렸다. 그리고 6어떤 씨는 돌밭에 떨어져서 싹은 나왔으나 물기가 없어 말라 버렸다. 7또 어떤 씨는 가시덤불에 떨어졌는데 가시나무가 함께 자라 그 기운을 막았다. 8그러나 어떤 씨는 좋은 땅에 떨어져서 잘 자라 100배의 열매를 맺었다.” 예수님은 이 말씀을 마치시고 “귀 있는 사람은 잘 들어라” 하고 외치셨다. 9제자들이 이 비유의 뜻을 묻자 10예수님은 이렇게 대답하셨다. “너희에게는 하나님 나라의 비밀을 아는 것이 허락되었으나 다른 사람들에게는 비유로 말한다. 이것은 그들이 보아도 알지 못하고 들어도 깨닫지 못하게 하기 위해서이다. 11“이 비유의 뜻은 이렇다: 씨는 하나님의 말씀이다. 12길가에 떨어진 씨는 사람들이 말씀을 듣기는 하였으나 그들이 믿고 구원받지 못하도록 마귀가 와서 그 말씀을 빼앗아 가는 것을 가리킨다. 13돌밭에 떨어진 씨는 말씀을 들을 때 기쁨으로 받아들이지만 뿌리가 없으므로 잠시 믿다가 시험을 받으면 떨어져 나가는 사람을 말한다. 14또 가시덤불 속에 떨어진 씨는 말씀은 듣지만 살아가는 동안에 세상의 걱정과 재물에 얽매이고 쾌락에 빠져 말씀대로 생활하지 못하는 사람이다. 15그러나 좋은 땅에 뿌려진 씨는 바르고 착한 마음으로 말씀을 듣고 그 말씀을 잘 간직하여 인내로 열매를 맺는 사람을 가리킨다. 16“등불을 켜서 그릇으로 덮어 두거나 침대 아래 둘 사람은 아무도 없다. 오히려 그것을 등잔대 위에 올려놓아 들어오는 사람이 그 빛을 볼 수 있도록 하지 않겠느냐? 17감추어진 것은 나타나기 마련이고 비밀은 알려지고 드러나기 마련이다. 18그러므로 너희는 내 말을 귀담아 들어라. 누구든지 가진 사람은 더 받을 것이고 갖지 못한 사람은 가졌다고 여기는 것마저 빼앗길 것이다.” 19예수님의 어머니와 형제들이 예수님을 만나러 왔으나 군중들 때문에 만날 수가 없었다. 20그래서 어떤 사람이 예수님께 “선생님, 어머니와 형제분들이 선생님을 만나 뵈려고 밖에서 기다립니다” 하였다. 21그러나 예수님은 그들에게 “내 어머니와 형제들은 하나님의 말씀을 듣고 실천하는 이 사람들이다” 하고 대답하셨다. 22어느 날 예수님이 제자들과 함께 배를 타시고 “호수 저편으로 건너가자” 하고 말씀하셨다. 그래서 그들은 떠났는데 23가는 도중에 예수님은 잠이 드셨다. 그때 갑자기 큰 폭풍이 휘몰아쳐서 배가 침몰하게 되었다. 24그러자 제자들이 예수님을 깨우며 “주님, 주님, 우리가 죽게 되었습니다!” 하고 부르짖었다. 예수님이 일어나 바람과 성난 파도를 꾸짖으시자 폭풍이 그치고 물결이 잔잔해졌다. 25그때 예수님이 제자들에게 “너희 믿음은 어디 있느냐?” 하고 물으시자 그들은 두려워하고 놀라며 “도대체 이분이 누구신데 바람과 물을 보고 명령해도 복종하는가?” 하고 수군거렸다. 26예수님의 일행은 갈릴리 건너편 거라사 지방에 도착하였다. 27예수님은 육지에 내리셨을 때 그 도시에 사는 귀신 들린 어떤 사람과 마주치게 되었다. 그는 오랫동안 옷을 입지도 않았고 집을 뛰쳐나와 공동 묘지에서 살았다. 28그가 예수님을 보자 소리지르며 예수님 발 앞에 엎드려 “가장 높으신 하나님의 아들 예수님, 내가 당신과 무슨 상관이 있습니까? 부탁드립니다. 제발 나를 괴롭히지 마십시오” 하고 외쳤다. 29그것은 예수님이 더러운 귀신에게 그 사람에게서 나가라고 명령하셨기 때문이었다. 귀신이 자주 그를 사로잡기 때문에 쇠사슬과 쇠고랑으로 그를 묶고 지키는데도 그는 그 모든 것을 끊고 귀신에게 몰려 광야로 뛰쳐나가곤 하였다. 30예수님이 그에게 “네 이름이 무엇이냐?” 하고 물으시자 그는 “군대입니다” 하고 대답하였다. 이것은 그에게 많은 귀신이 들어가 있었기 때문이었다. 31그리고 귀신들은 예수님께 제발 무저갱으로 들어가라는 명령만은 하지 말아 달라고 간청하였다. 32마침 그 곳 산에는 많은 돼지떼가 풀을 먹고 있었다. 귀신들은 돼지떼 속에라도 들어가게 해 달라고 간청하였다. 그래서 예수님이 허락하시자 33귀신들이 그 사람에게서 나와 돼지떼 속으로 들어갔다. 그러자 돼지떼가 가파른 비탈로 내리달려 호수에 빠져 죽고 말았다. 34돼지를 치던 자들이 이것을 보고 도망하여 읍내와 촌에 이 일을 말하자 35사람들이 일어난 일을 보려고 모여들었다. 그들은 귀신 나간 사람이 옷을 입고 맑은 정신으로 예수님 앞에 있는 것을 보고 두려워하였다. 36그 일을 지켜 본 사람들이 어떻게 해서 귀신 들린 사람이 낫게 되었는가를 이야기해 주자 37거라사 지방 사람들은 크게 두려워하며 예수님께 그 지방을 떠나 달라고 간청하였다. 그래서 예수님은 되돌아가려고 배를 타셨다. 38그때 귀신 나간 사람이 함께 가게 해 달라고 간청하였으나 예수님은 그를 돌려 보내시며 39“집으로 돌아가 하나님께서 너에게 행하신 큰 일을 이야기해 주어라” 하고 말씀하셨다. 그래서 그는 곧 가서 예수님이 자기에게 행하신 큰 일을 온 마을에 알렸다. 40예수님이 돌아오시자 기다리고 있던 사람들이 영접하였다. 41그때 야이로라는 회당장이 와서 예수님의 발 앞에 엎드려 자기 집에 와 주시기를 간청하였다. 42이것은 열두 살쯤 되는 그의 외딸이 죽어 가고 있었기 때문이었다. 그래서 예수님이 가시는데 군중들이 마구 밀쳤다. 43그때 군중 가운데 12년 동안 피를 흘리며 앓던 한 여자가 있었다. (그녀는 여러 의사들을 찾아다니며 치료하느라고 자기 재산을 다 허비하였으나) 그녀를 고칠 수 있는 사람은 아무도 없었다. 44그 여자가 뒤로 가서 예수님의 옷자락을 만지자 흐르던 피가 즉시 멎었다. 45이때 예수님이 “누가 내 옷을 만졌느냐?” 하고 물으시자 모두 모른다고 하였고 베드로는 “주님, 사람들이 이렇게 밀치고 있는데 어떻게 알겠습니까?” 하고 대답하였다. 46그러나 예수님은 “내게서 능력이 나갔으니 나에게 손을 댄 사람이 있다” 하고 말씀하셨다. 47그 여자는 더 숨길 수 없게 된 것을 알고 떨며 예수님 앞에 나와 엎드렸다. 그러고서 그녀는 예수님을 만진 이유와 어떻게 해서 즉시 낫게 되었는가를 모든 사람 앞에서 말하였다. 48그러자 예수님은 그 여자에게 “딸아, 네 믿음이 너를 낫게 하였다. 이제 평안히 돌아가거라” 하고 말씀하셨다. 49예수님이 아직 말씀하고 계실 때 회당장의 집에서 사람이 와서 “따님이 죽었습니다. 이제 선생님을 더 괴롭히지 마십시오” 하였다. 50예수님은 그 말을 들으시고 회당장에게 “두려워 말고 믿기만 하라. 그러면 딸이 살아날 것이다” 하고 말씀하셨다. 51예수님은 그 집에 도착하셨을 때 베드로와 요한과 야고보와 소녀의 부모 외에는 아무도 집 안에 들어오지 못하게 하셨다. 52사람들은 모두 소녀의 죽음을 슬퍼하며 울고 있었다. 그때 예수님이 “울지 말아라. 소녀는 죽은 것이 아니라 자고 있다” 하고 말씀하시자 53사람들은 소녀가 이미 죽은 것을 알고 있기 때문에 예수님을 비웃었다. 54그러나 예수님은 그녀의 손을 잡고 “소녀야, 일어나거라!” 하고 외치셨다. 55바로 그 순간 소녀의 영이 돌아와 그녀는 즉시 일어났다. 예수님이 소녀에게 먹을 것을 주라고 말씀하시자 56소녀의 부모는 놀라 어쩔 줄 몰랐다. 그러나 예수님은 이 일을 아무에게도 알리지 말라고 그들에게 명령하셨다.
주석 4
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Benson
Luke 8
Benson Commentary Luke 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, Luke 8:1 . And it came to pass afterward — Probably the day after he had dined with Simon; or, as the expression, ?? ?? ??????? , may be understood to imply, in the order of his work; for he went through it regularly, and the end of one good work was with him the beginning of another; he went throughout every city and village — Namely, in those parts, preaching and showing, &c. — ???????? ??? ??????????????? , proclaiming, and evangelizing, or publishing; the glad tidings of the kingdom of God — The kingdom which he was now about to erect among mankind: or, the glad tidings of his reconcileableness to men, of the necessity of reformation, and of the acceptableness of repentance, even in the chief of sinners. And the twelve were with him — As he thought it proper they should be for some time, that they might be further instructed for their important work, and that their having been thus publicly seen in his train might promote their reception, when they afterward came to any of these places by themselves. Luke 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, Luke 8:2-3 . And certain women — There were also some women with him; the monuments of his power and mercy, for they had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities — Some of them had been troubled in mind, and in a state of melancholy, through the influence of evil spirits, and others of them afflicted in body in different respects, and he had healed them all, and thereby had shown himself to be the physician of both soul and body. Mary, called Magdalene — Doubtless from ??????? , the place of her residence, which was a town in Galilee beyond Jordan. Matthew 15:39 . She seems to have been a woman of high station and opulent fortune; being mentioned by Luke here even before Joanna, the wife of so great a man as Herod’s steward. Besides, the other evangelists, when they have occasion to speak of our Lord’s female friends, commonly assign the first place to Mary Magdalene. Susanna also seems to have been a person of some considerable rank and circumstances in life, as were probably most of the others here referred to. These pious women, deeply sensible of the obligations which they were under to Jesus, for the deliverances he had wrought out for them, and the great blessings which they had received through his heavenly doctrine and holy example, were concerned to render unto him, in some measure, according to the goodness which he had shown them; and therefore ministered to his necessities. Mark, it must be observed, agrees with Luke in the circumstance of our Lord’s being supported by the charity of his friends. For, speaking of the women who were present at Christ’s crucifixion, he says, Mark 15:41 , that when Jesus was in Galilee, they followed him, and ministered unto him of their substance. The evangelists nowhere else tell us in what way our Lord and his apostles were supported. Luke 8:3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: Luke 8:4-15 . And when much people were gathered together — To be instructed by his discourse, as well as to see, or be healed by, his miracles; and were come to him — In crowds; out of every city — In that part of the country; he spake by a parable — Having first, for greater conveniency of being better heard and less incommoded by them, entered into a ship, where he sat, and from thence taught them. A sower went out to sow, &c. — See this parable explained at large in the notes on Matthew 13:3-23 ; and Mark 4:3-20 . Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. Luke 8:6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. Luke 8:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. Luke 8:8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Luke 8:9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they , which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it , and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. Luke 8:16-18 . No man, when he hath lighted a candle, &c. — See on Matthew 5:15 ; and Mark 4:21 . Nothing is secret, &c. — See on Matthew 10:26 . Take heed, therefore, how ye hear. In Mark 4:24 , it is, Take heed what you hear. As it is the indispensable duty of all ministers of the Word to take heed what they preach, 1st, That their doctrine be true, that they may not deceive their hearers. 2d, That it be important, that they may not trifle with them: and, 3d, That it be suitable to their state and character; that they rightly divide the word of truth, and give to every description of hearers their portion of meat in due season; so it concerns all hearers to take heed what they hear. They must not take it for granted that what they hear is true, important, and suited to their state and character: but must bring it to the test of the Holy Scriptures, and examine it thereby; and for that purpose, must endeavour to make themselves well acquainted with the Scriptures: and if they find that, according to the divine oracles, the doctrine which they hear answers the above description, they must so take heed what they hear, as to attend to, and consider it well, that they may thoroughly understand and lay it to heart, and that it may have its designed effect upon their spirit and conduct. But, according to Luke here, our Lord’s caution, inferred from the preceding parable, implied another thing equally important, Take heed how ye hear — 1st, That you do not hear so inattentively, and in such a prayerless state of mind, as not to understand, nor afterward meditate on what your hear, and so receive the seed as by the way-side. See on Matthew 13:19 . 2d, That having heard, and understood in a measure what you heard, and being affected thereby, you do not rest in any ineffectual and transient impressions made on your mind, and therefore be offended and fall away in time of trial and temptation; but that the truth may take deep root in your mind, and that you may have root in yourself. See on Matthew 13:20-21 . Take heed, 3d, That you guard against the cares of the world, the love of deceitful riches, the vain pleasures of life, and desires after other things; those pernicious weeds, which in so many choke the springing blade, or forming ear, so that no fruit is brought forth to perfection. See on Matthew 13:22 . But hear, 1st, In simplicity of intention, with a single eye to the glory of God and your own salvation, present and eternal. 2d, In sincerity of heart, truly and earnestly desiring to discover and put away every error and every sin, and to know and do the whole will of God. 3d, In humility, conscious that you are unworthy to know the great and important things revealed in the gospel, the will of God, and the way of salvation from such great misery to such great happiness, unworthy that God should speak to you by his Son, and his inspired prophets, apostles, and evangelists. 4th, With reverence, remembering it is God’s word, and you are in God’s presence and under God’s eye. 5th, With seriousness, persuaded the truth you hear is no light matter, but for your life, your better and everlasting life. Would you not hear with seriousness the advice of a skilful physician respecting your health, or of a lawyer concerning your property? And will you not hear with equal, nay, with greater seriousness what concerns you infinitely more? 6th, With deep attention: let no sentence, or even word, that is uttered escape you, and fail not afterward seriously to consider what you have heard, and to examine yourself thereby. 7th, With prayer, while hearing, and before and after you hear, for the spirit of wisdom and revelation, Ephesians 1:17 : persuaded the things of God knoweth no man but by the Spirit of God, 2 Corinthians 2:11 ; 2 Corinthians 2:14 . 8th, Hear with faith, firmly believing the certainty and importance of what is taught you from the oracles of God, always remembering the word preached does not profit those who hear it, in whom it is not mixed with faith, Hebrews 4:2 . 9th, In love to the truth, though searching and cutting, though disagreeable to your mind, like a bitter medicine to your taste, or giving pain, like a lance which opens an imposthume. 10th, With meekness, with a calm, unruffled, peaceful mind, that what you hear may prove an ingrafted word able to save your soul, James 1:21 . Above all, 11th, Hear with a fixed resolution, formed in the strength of grace, to be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only, to practise all you hear as far as you see it to be agreeable to the word and will of God. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given. See note on Matthew 13:12 ; and Mark 4:25 . Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Luke 8:18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. Luke 8:19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. Luke 8:19-21 . Then came to him his mother, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 12:46-50 ; and on Mark 3:31 . My mother and my brethren are they which hear the word of God and do it — In these words we have an important branch of the character and the great dignity and happiness of the true disciples of Christ. As they make conscience of embracing all proper opportunities of hearing the word of God, so they take heed what and how they hear, as directed in Luke 8:18 ; and endeavour to hear it in the manner and spirit explained and inculcated in the last note. And their great honour and dignity Isaiah , 1 st, That they are regarded and esteemed by the Lord Jesus as his nearest and dearest relations; they are not only his subjects and his servants, but his brethren, his spouse, his members. They bear his name and image, and share his nature. The consequence of which is, that the relation in which they stand to him shall subsist, when all the relations of flesh and blood shall have ceased for ever. 2d, They are unspeakably dear to him; he loves them above all other men, and it should seem above all angels. He has their welfare infinitely at heart; in all respects acts the part of a kinsman, in caring and providing for them: he sympathizes with them in their infirmities and afflictions, and takes a share in their joys and sorrows. 3d, He admits them into his presence, — to his table, and the rich provisions of his house, — allows them the nearest access to, and greatest intimacy and familiarity with himself. He converses and corresponds freely with them, and even dwells among them. 4th, He is not ashamed of them, although poor and mean. When he died, he left them rich legacies; and does not forget them now he is in his kingdom; but defends, supports, directs, and comforts them many ways; sends them many rich presents and donations; will confess them as his friends and relations before all the principalities and powers of the universe, and will have them all, at last, to live eternally with him. Now from this near relation, in which those that hear the word of God, and do it, stand to the Lord Jesus, and from the great regard he has for them, it is easy to infer that all such should consider themselves as being nearly related to each other, and therefore should be very dear to one another. Being the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, 2 Corinthians 6:18 ; and the brethren and sisters of his blessed Son, they are of course brethren and sisters to each other; not only bearing the same common name of Christian, but partaking of the same heavenly nature, and manifesting the same divine likeness, as the children of the same family generally resemble each other. And as their relation to each other, like that in which they stand to the Lord Jesus, shall subsist and be a firm bond of union among them, when all the relations merely human, and all the ties of nature, civil society, and worldly interest shall have ceased for ever; surely a consideration of this ought to make them esteem and love each other with pure hearts fervently, notwithstanding any little difference of opinion, or mode of worship, or such like circumstance which may have place among them. And they should show how dear they are to each other every way in their power; and in particular by their delighting in each other’s company, and being free and familiar with each other, and by cultivating a spirit of sympathy and fellow-feeling with and toward one another; never being ashamed of each other, however poor or despised by the world; but acknowledging, supporting, and comforting one another, as children of the same family, and members of the same body; and, above all, always endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Luke 8:20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it. Luke 8:22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. Luke 8:22-25 . It came to pass on a certain day — According to Mark, the same day, when the evening was come; he went into a ship with his disciples — With a view to cross the lake. And they launched forth — Attended by a number of other little boats, which were full of people, Mark 4:36 . But as they sailed, he fell asleep — In the stern of the vessel, fatigued with the work of the day. And there came down a storm, &c. — The weather suddenly changed, and a storm came on, which threatened to sink them to the bottom. The tempest increased the horrors of the night; the sky lowered; the wind roared, the sea and clouds were driven with the fury of the storm. Now they were tossed up to the top of the billows, then sunk down to the bottom of the deep, buried among the waves. The disciples exerted their utmost skill in managing their vessel, but to no purpose; the waves, breaking in, filled her so that she began to sink. Being now on the very brink of perishing, and ready to give themselves up for lost, they ran to Jesus, crying out, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the wind — Which instantly became silent; and the raging of the water — The huge waves of which sunk down on every side in a moment. And there was a calm — The sea was perfectly still around them, and not a breath of wind moved, nor was the least sound heard, except from the oars and sails of the boats which composed this little fleet. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? — In Mark it is, How is it that ye have no faith? As if he had said, After having seen me perform so many miracles, it is extremely culpable in you to be thus overcome with fear. Did you doubt my power to protect you? When they first awoke him, and before he had stilled the storm, he said, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? but their confusion and dismay, it seems, prevented their deriving any benefit from the rebuke: he therefore now repeats it, when the storm was over, and they had leisure to attend to it: and doubtless it contributed to make them more sensible of the evil of their fear. And they being afraid, wondered, &c. — When by the continuance of the calm they found what a great miracle was wrought, they were inexpressibly amazed, and their amazement was mixed with fear, because he had rebuked them so sharply. See this miracle more fully elucidated, on Matthew 8:23-27 ; and Mark 4:35-41 . Luke 8:23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water , and were in jeopardy. Luke 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. Luke 8:25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him. Luke 8:26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. Luke 8:26-39 . See the contents of these verses explained at large, on Matthew 8:28-34 ; and Mark 5:1-17 . I beseech thee, torment me not — Let me continue where I am, and do not, before my time, cast me into the place of torments. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man — Being moved with pity at the sight of such a miserable spectacle; for oftentimes it had caught him — Therefore our compassionate Lord had made the more haste to cast it out. That he would not command them to go into the deep — This expression, the deep, in English, is invariably, the sea. In this sense it occurs often in Scripture. We find it in this gospel, Luke 5:4 , where the Greek word, so rendered, is, ?? ????? . That the sea is not meant here, is evident; for to the sea the demons went of themselves, when permitted, at their own request, to enter into the swine. The word ??????? , here used, evidently signifies the place where the wicked spirits are punished, as it does likewise Revelation 20:3 , where it is translated, the bottomless pit. Indeed, it properly denotes a place without a bottom, or so deep that it cannot be fathomed. The Greeks describe their Tartarus in this manner: and the Jews, when they wrote in Greek, did not scruple to adopt their expressions, because they were universally understood. There was a herd of many swine feeding — Within their view, though at a distance. They besought him to suffer them to enter into them — Not that they could have any more ease in the swine than out of them: for had that been the case, they would not so soon have dislodged themselves, destroying the herd. Luke 8:27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. Luke 8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) Luke 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. Luke 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. Luke 8:32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Luke 8:33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. Luke 8:34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Luke 8:35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. Luke 8:36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. Luke 8:37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Luke 8:38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Luke 8:39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. Luke 8:40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. Luke 8:40-56 . When Jesus returned, the people gladly received him — At landing, he met with a better reception than among the Gadarenes, for the multitude gathered round him to hear him preach, many having waited there in expectation of his return. To these, therefore, he preached the doctrines of salvation, for Mark represents him as tarrying with the people some time before he went into Capernaum. Behold there came a man named Jairus, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 9:18-26 ; and Mark 5:22-43 . Luke 8:41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: Luke 8:42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. Luke 8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Luke 8:44 Came behind him , and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. Luke 8:45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee , and sayest thou, Who touched me? Luke 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. Luke 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. Luke 8:49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house , saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard it , he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. Luke 8:51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. Luke 8:52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. Luke 8:53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. Luke 8:54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. Luke 8:55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. Luke 8:56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.
Expositors
Luke 8
Expositor's Bible Commentary Luke 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, 3 Chapter 15 THE KINGDOM OF GOD. IN considering the words of Jesus, if we may not be able to measure their depth or to scale their height, we can with absolute certainty discover their drift, and see in what direction they move, and we shall find that their orbit is an ellipse. Moving around the two centers, sin and salvation, they describe what is not a geometric figure, but a glorious reality, "the kingdom of God." It is not unlikely that the expression was one of the current phrases of the times, a golden casket, holding within it the dream of a restored Hebraism; for we find, without any collusion or rehearsal of parts, the Baptist making use of the identical words in his inaugural address, while it is certain the disciples themselves so misunderstood the thought of their Master as to refer His "kingdom" to that narrow realm of Hebrew sympathies and hopes. Nor did they see their error until, in the light of Pentecostal flames, their own dream disappeared and the new kingdom, opening out like a receding sky, embraced a world within its folds. That Jesus adopted the phrase, liable to misconstruction as it was, and that He used it so repeatedly, making it the center of so many parables and discourses, shows how completely the kingdom of God possessed both His mind and heart. Indeed, so accustomed were His thoughts and words to flow in this direction that even the Valley of Death, "lying darkly between" His two lives, could not alter their course, or turn His thoughts out of their familiar channel; and as we find the Christ back of the cross and tomb, amid the resurrection glories, we hear Him speaking still of "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." It will be observed that Jesus uses the two expressions "the kingdom of God" and "the kingdom of heaven" interchangeably. But in what sense is it the "kingdom of heaven?" Does it mean that the celestial realm will so far extend its bounds as to embrace our outlying and low-lying world? Not exactly, for the conditions of the two realms are so diverse. The one is the perfected, the visible kingdom, where the throne is set, and the King Himself is manifest, its citizens, angels, heavenly intelligences, and saints now freed from the cumbering clay of mortality, and forever safe from the solicitations of evil. This New Jerusalem does not come down to earth, except in the vision of the seer, as it were in a shadow. And yet the two kingdoms are in close correspondence, after all; for what is the kingdom of God in heaven but His eternal rule over the spirits of the redeemed and of the unredeemed? What are the harmonies of heaven but the harmonies of surrendered wills, as, without any hesitation or discord, they strike in with the Divine Will in absolute precision? To this extent, then, at least, heaven may project itself upon earth; the spirits of men not yet made perfect may be in subjection to the Supreme Spirit; the separate wills of a redeemed humanity, striking in with the Divine Will, may swell the heavenly harmonies with their earthly music. And so Jesus speaks of this kingdom as being "within you." As if He said, "You are looking in the wrong direction. You expect the kingdom of God to be set up around you, with its visible symbols of flags and coins, on which is the image of some new Caesar. You are mistaken. The kingdom, like its King, is unseen; it seeks, not countries, but consciences; its realm is in the heart, in the great interior of the soul." And is not this the reason why it is called, with such emphatic repetition, "the kingdom," as if it were, if not the only, at any rate the highest kingdom of God on earth? We speak of a kingdom of Nature, and who will know its secrets as He who was both Nature’s child and Nature’s Lord? And how far-reaching a realm is that! From the motes that swim in the air to the most distant stars, which themselves are but the gateway to the unseen Beyond! What forces are here, forces of chemical affinities and repulsions, of gravitation and of life! What successions and transformations can Nature show! What infinite varieties of substance, form, and color! What a realm of harmony and peace, with no irruptions of discordant elements! Surely one would think, if God has a kingdom upon earth, this kingdom of Nature is it. But no; Jesus does not often refer to that, except as He makes Nature speak in His parables, or as He uses the sparrows, the grass, and the lilies as so many lenses through which our weak human vision may see God. The kingdom of God on earth is as much higher than the kingdom of Nature as spirit is above matter, as love is more and greater than power. We said just now how completely the thought of "the kingdom" possessed the mind and heart of Jesus. We might go one step farther, and say how completely Jesus identified Himself with that kingdom. He puts Himself in its pivotal center, with all possible naturalness, and with an ease that assumption cannot feign He gathers up its royalties and draws them around His own Person. He speaks of it as "My kingdom"; and this, not alone in familiar discourse with His disciples, but when face to face with the representative of earth’s greatest power. Nor is the personal pronoun some chance word, used in a far-off, accommodated sense; it is the crucial word of the sentence, underscored and emphasized by a threefold repetition; it is the word He will not strike out, nor recall, even to save Himself from the Cross. He never speaks of the kingdom but even His enemies acknowledge the "authority" that rings in His tones, the authority of conscious power, as well as of perfect knowledge. When His ministry is drawing to a close He says to Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven"; which language may be understood as the official designation of the Apostle Peter to a position of pre-eminence in the Church, as its first leader. But whatever it may mean, it shows that the keys of the kingdom are His; He can bestow them on whom He will. The kingdom of heaven is not a realm in which authority and honors move upwards from below, the blossoming of "the people’s will"; it is an absolute monarchy, an autocracy, and Jesus Himself is here King supreme, His will swaying the lesser wills of men, and rearranging their positions, as the angel had foretold: "He shall reign over the house of David for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Given Him of the Father it is, { Luke 22:29 , Luke 1:32 } but the kingdom is His, not either as a metaphor, but really, absolutely, inalienably; nor is there admittance within that kingdom but by Him who is the Way, as He is the Life. We enter into the kingdom, or the kingdom enters into us, as we find, and then crown the King, as we sanctify in our hearts Christ as 1 Peter 3:15 . This brings us to the question of citizenship, the conditions and demands of the kingdom; and here we see how far this new dynasty is removed from the kingdoms of this world. They deal with mankind in groups; they look at birth, not character; and their bounds are well defined by rivers, mountains, seas, or by accurately surveyed lines. The kingdom of heaven, on the other hand, dispenses with all space-limits, all physical configurations, and regards mankind as one group, a unity, a lapsed but a redeemed world. But while opening its gates and offering its privileges to all alike, irrespective of class or circumstance, it is most eclective in its requirements, and most rigid in the application of its test, its one test of character. Indeed, the laws of the heavenly kingdom are a complete reversal of the lines of worldly policy. Take, for instance, the two estimates of wealth, and see how different the position it occupies in the two societies. The world makes wealth its summum bonum ; or if not exactly in itself the highest good, in commercial values it is equivalent to the highest good, which is position. Gold is all-powerful, the goal of man’s vain ambitions, the panacea of earthly ill. Men chase it in hot, feverish haste, trampling upon each other in the mad scramble, and worshipping it in a blind idolatry. But where is wealth in the new kingdom? The world’s first becomes the last. It has no purchasing-power here; its golden key cannot open the least of these heavenly gates. Jesus sets it back, far back, in His estimate of the good. He speaks of it as if it were an encumbrance, a dead weight, that must be lifted, and that handicaps the heavenly athlete. "How hardly," said Jesus, when the rich ruler turned away "very sorrowful," "shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God"; { Luke 18:24 } and then, by way of illustration, He shows us the picture of the camel passing through the so-called "needle’s eye" of an Eastern door. He does not say that such a thing is impossible, for the camel could pass through the "needle’s eye," but it must first kneel down and be stripped of all its baggage, before it can pass the narrow door, within the larger, but now closed gate. Wealth may have its uses, and noble uses too, within the kingdom-for it is somewhat remarkable how the faith of the two rich disciples shone out the brightest, when the faith of the rest suffered a temporary eclipse from the passing cross-but he who possesses it must be as if he possessed it not. He must not regard it as his own, but as talents given him in trust by his Lord, their image and superscription being that of the Invisible King. Again, Jesus sets down vacillation, hesitancy, as a disqualification for citizenship in His kingdom. At the close of His Galilean ministry our Evangelist introduces us to a group of embryo disciples. The first of the three says, "Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest". { Luke 9:57 } Bold words they were, and doubtless well meant, but it was the language of a passing impulse, rather than of a settled conviction; it was the coruscation of a glowing, ardent temperament. He had not counted the cost. The large word "whithersoever" might, indeed, easily be spoken, but it held within it a Gethsemane and a Calvary, paths of sorrow, shame, and death he was not prepared to face. And so Jesus neither welcomed nor dismissed him, but opening out one part of his "whithersoever," He gave it back to him in the words, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." The second responds to the "Follow Me" of Christ with the request that he might be allowed first to go and bury his father. It was a most natural request, but participation in these funeral rites would entail a. ceremonial uncleanness of seven days, by which time Jesus would be far away. Besides, Jesus must teach him, and the ages after him, that His claims were paramount; that when He commands obedience must be instant and absolute, with no interventions, no postponement. Jesus replies to him in that enigmatical way of His, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead: but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God"; indicating that this supreme crisis of his life is virtually a passing from death to life, a "resurrection from earth to things above." The last in this group of three volunteers his pledge, "I will follow Thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house"; { Luke 9:61 } but to him Jesus replies, mournfully and sorrowfully, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God". { Luke 9:62 } Why does Jesus treat these two candidates so differently? They both say, "I will follow Thee," the one in word, the other by implication; they both request a little time for what they regard a filial duty; why, then, be treated so differently, the one thrust forward to a still higher service, commissioned to preach the kingdom, and afterwards, if we may accept the tradition that he was Philip the Evangelist, passing up into the diaconate; the other, unwelcomed and uncommissioned, but disapproved as "not fit for the kingdom?" Why there should be this wide divergence between the two lives we cannot see, either from their manner or their words. It must have been a difference in the moral attitude of the two men, and which He who heard thoughts and read motives detected at once. In the case of the former there was the fixed, determined resolve, which the bier of the dead father might hold back a little, but which it could not break or bend. But Jesus saw in the other a double-minded soul, whose feet and heart moved in diverse, opposite ways, who gave, not his whole, but a very partial, self to his work; and this halting, wavering one He dismissed with the words of forecasted doom, "Not fit for the kingdom of God." It is a hard saying, with a seeming severity about it; but is it not a truth universal and eternal? Are any kingdoms, either of knowledge or power, won and held by the irresolute and wavering? Like the stricken men of Sodom, they weary themselves to find the door of the kingdom; or if they do see the Beautiful Gates of a better life, they sit with the lame man, outside, or they linger on the steps, hearing the music indeed, but hearing it from afar. It is a truth of both dispensations, written in all the books; the Reubens who are "unstable as water" can never excel; the elder born, in the accident of years, they may be, but the birthright passes by them, to be inherited and enjoyed by others. But if the gates of the kingdom are irrevocably closed against the halfhearted, the self-indulgent, and the proud, there is a sesame to which they open gladly. "Blessed are ye poor," so reads the first and great Beatitude: "for yours is the kingdom of God"; { Luke 6:20 } and beginning with this present realization, Jesus goes on to speak of the strange contrasts and inversions the perfected kingdom will show, when the weepers will laugh, the hungry be full, and those who are despised and persecuted will rejoice in their exceeding great reward. But who are the "poor" to whom the gates of the kingdom are open so soon and so wide? At first sight it would appear as if we must give a literal interpretation to the word, reading it in a worldly, temporal sense; but this is not necessary. Jesus was now directly addressing His disciples, { Luke 6:20 } though, doubtless, His words were intended to pass beyond them, to those ever-enlarging circles of humanity who in the after-years should press forward to hear Him. But evidently the disciples were in no weeping mood today; they would be elated and joyful over the recent miracles. Neither should we call them "poor," in the worldly sense of that word, for most of them had been called from honorable positions in society, while some had even "hired servants" to wait upon them and assist them. Indeed, it was not the wont of Jesus to recognize the class distinctions Society was so fond of drawing and defining. He appraised men, not by their means, but by the manhood which was in them; and when He found a nobility of soul-whether in the higher or the lower walks of life it made no difference who stepped forward to recognize and to salute it. We must therefore give to these words of Jesus, as to so many others, the deeper meaning, making the "blessed" of this Beatitude, who are now welcomed to the opened gate of the kingdom, the "poor in spirit," as, indeed, St. Matthew writes it. What this spirit-poverty is, Jesus Himself explains, in a brief but wonderfully realistic parable. He draws for us the picture of two men at their Temple devotions. The one, a Pharisee, stands erect, with head uplifted, as if it were quite on a level with the heaven he was addressing, and with supercilious pride he counts his beads of rounded egotisms. He calls it a worship of God, when it is but a worship of self. He inflates the great "I," and then plays upon it, making it strike sharp and loud, like the tom-tom of a heathen fetish. Such is the man who fancies that he is rich toward God, that he has need of nothing, not even of mercy, when all the time he is utterly blind and miserably poor. The other is a publican, and so presumably rich. But how different his posture! With heart broken and contrite, self with him is a nothing, a zero; nay, in his lowly estimate it had become a minus quantity, less than nothing, deserving only rebuke and chastisement. Disclaiming any good, either inherent or acquired, he puts the deep need and hunger of his soul into one broken cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner". { Luke 18:13 } Such are the two characters Jesus portrays as standing by the gate of the kingdom, the one proud in spirit, the other "poor in spirit"; the one throwing upon the heavens the shadow of his magnified self, the other shrinking up into the pauper, the nothing that he was. But Jesus tells us that he was "justified," accepted, rather than the other. With nought he could call his own, save his deep need and his great sin, he finds an opened gate and a welcome within the kingdom; while the proud spirit is sent empty away, or carrying back only the tithed mint and anise, and all the vain oblations Heaven could not accept. "Blessed" indeed are such "poor"; for He giveth grace unto the lowly, while the proud He knoweth afar off. The humble, the meek, these shall inherit the earth, aye, and the heavens too, and they shall know how true is the paradox, having nothing, yet possessing all things. The fruit of the tree of life hangs low, and he must stoop who would gather it. He who would enter God’s kingdom must first become "as a little child," knowing nothing as yet, but longing to know even the mysteries of the kingdom, and having nothing but the plea of a great mercy and a great need. And are they not "blessed" who are citizens of the kingdom-with righteousness, peace, and joy all their own, a peace which is perfect and Divine, and a joy which no man taketh from them? Are they not blessed, thrice blessed, when the bright shadow of the Throne covers all their earthly life, making its dark places light, and weaving rainbows out of their very tears? He who through the strait gate of repentance passes within the kingdom finds it "the kingdom of heaven" indeed, his earthly years the beginnings of the heavenly life. And now we touch a point Jesus ever loved to illustrate and emphasize, the manner of the kingdom’s growth, as with ever-widening frontiers it sweeps outward in its conquest of a world. It was a beautiful dream of Hebrew prophecy that in the latter days the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of the Messiah, should overlap the bounds of human empires, and ultimately cover the whole earth. Looking through her kaleidoscope of ever-shifting but harmonious figures, Prophecy was never weary of telling of the Golden Age she saw in the far future, when the shadows would lift, and a new Dawn, breaking out of Jerusalem, would steal over the world. Even the Gentiles should be drawn to its light, and kings to the brightness of its rising; the seas should offer their abundance as a willing tribute, and the isles should wait for and welcome its laws. Taking up into itself the petty strifes and jealousies of men, the discords of earth should cease; humanity should again become a Unit, restored and regenerate fellow-citizens of the new kingdom, the kingdom which should have no end, no boundaries either of space or time. Such was the dream of Prophecy, the kingdom Jesus sets Himself to found and realize upon earth. But how? Disclaiming any rivalry with Pilate, or with his imperial master, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," so lifting it altogether out of the mould in which earthly dynasties are cast. "This world" uses force; its kingdoms are won and held by metallic processes, tinctures of iron and steel. In the kingdom of God carnal weapons are out of place; its only forces are truth and love, and he who takes the sword to advance this cause wounds but himself, after the vain manner of Baal’s priests. "This world" counts heads or hands; the kingdom of God numbers its citizens by hearts alone. "This world" believes in pomp and show, in outward visibilities and symbols; the kingdom of God cometh not "with observation"; its voices are gentle as a zephyr, its footsteps noiseless as the coming of spring. If man had had the ordering of the kingdom he would have summoned to his aid all kinds of portents and surprises: he would have arranged processions of imposing events; but Jesus likens the coming of the kingdom to a grain of mustard cast into a garden, or to a handful of leaven hid in three sata of meal. The two parables, with minor distinctions, are one in their import, the leading thought common to both being the contrast between its ultimate growth and the smallness and obscurity of its beginnings. In both the recreative force is a hidden force, buried out of sight, in the soil or in the meal. In both the force works outward from its center, the invisible becoming visible, the inner life assuming an outer, external form. In both we see the touch of life upon death; for left to itself the soil never would be anything more than dead earth, as the meal would be nothing more than dust, the broken ashes of a life that was departed. In both there is extension by assimilation, the leaven throwing itself out among the particles of kindred meal, while the tree attracts to itself the kindred elements of the soil. In both there is the mediation of the human hand; but as if to show that the kingdom offers equal privilege to male and female, with like possibilities of service, the one parable shows us the hand of a man, the other the hand of a woman. In both there is a consummation, the one par perfect work, an able showing us the whole mass leavened, the other showing us the wide-spreading tree, with the birds nesting in its branches. Such, in outline, is the rise and progress of the kingdom of God in the heart of the individual man, and in the world; for the human soul is the protoplasm, the germ-cell, out of which this world-wide kingdom is evolved. The mass is leavened only by the leavening of the separate units. And how comes the kingdom of God within the soul and life of man? Not with observation or supernatural portents, but silently as the flashing forth of light. Thought, desire, purpose, prayer-these are the wheels of the chariot in which the Lord comes to His temple, the King into His kingdom And when the kingdom of God is set up within you the outer life shapes itself to the new purpose and aim, the writ and will of the King running unhindered through every department, even to its outmost frontier, while thoughts, feelings, desires, and all the golden coinage of the hear bear, not, as before, the image of Self, but the image and superscription of the Invisible King-the "Not I, but Christ." And so the honor of the kingdom is in our keeping, as the growths of the kingdom are in our hands. The Divine Cloud adjusts its pace to our human steps, alas often far too slow! Shall the leaven stop with us, as we make religion a kind of sanctified selfishness, doing nothing but gauging the emotions and staging its little doxologies? Do we forget that the weak human hand carries the Ark of God, and pushes forward the boundaries of the kingdom? Do, we forget that hearts are only won by hearts? The kingdom of God on earth is the kingdom of surrendered wills and of consecrated lives. Shall we not, then, pray, "thy kingdom come," and living "more nearly as we pray," seek a redeemed humanity as subjects of our King? So will the Divine purpose become a realization, and the "morning" which now is always "somewhere in the world" will be everywhere, the promise and the dawn of a heavenly day, the eternal Sabbath! Chapter 14 THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER. Luke 8:1-18 IN a single parenthetical sentence our Evangelist indicates a marked change in the mode of the Divine ministry. Hitherto "His own city," Capernaum, has been a sort of center, from which the lines of light and blessing have radiated. Now, however, He leaves Capernaum, and makes a circuit through the province of Galilee, going through its cities and villages in a systematic, and as the verb would imply, a leisurely way, preaching the "good tidings of the kingdom of God." Though no mention is made of them, we are not to suppose that miracles were suspended; but evidently they were set in the background, as secondary things, the by-plays or "asides" of the Divine Teacher, who now is intent upon delivering His message, the last message, too, that they would hear from Him. Accompanying Him, and forming an imposing demonstration, were His twelve disciples, together with "many" women, who ministered unto them of their substance, among whom were three prominent ones, probably persons of position and influence-Mary of Magdala, Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, who had been healed by Jesus of "evil spirits and infirmities"-which last word, in New Testament language, is a synonym for physical weakness and disorder. Of the particulars and results of this mission we know nothing, unless we may see, in the "great multitude" which followed and thronged Jesus on His return, the harvest reaped from the Galilean hills. Our Evangelist, at any rate, links them together, as if the "great multitude" which now lines the shore was, in part at least, the cloud of eager souls which had been caught up and borne along on His fervid speech, as the echoes of the kingdom went resounding among the hills and vales of Galilee. Returning to Capernaum, whither the crowds followed Him, every city sending its contingent of curious or conquered souls, Jesus, as St. Matthew and St. Mark inform us, leaves the house, and seeks the open stretch of shore, where from a boat-probably the familiar boat of Simon-He addresses the multitudes, adopting now, as His favorite mode of speech, the amplified parable. It is probable that He had observed on the part of His disciples an undue elation of spirit. Reading the crowds numerically, and not discerning the different motives which had brought them together, their eyes deceived them. They imagined that these eager multitudes were but a wave-sheaf of the harvest already ripe, which only waited their gathering-in. But it is not so; and Jesus sifts and winnows His audience, to show His disciples that the apparent is not always the real, and that between the hearers of the word and the doers there will ever be a wide margin of disappointment and comparative failure. The harvest, in God’s husbandry, as in man’s, does not depend altogether upon the quality of the seed or the faithfulness of the sower, but upon the nature of the soil on which it falls. As the sower went forth to sow his seed, "some fell by the way-side, and it was trodden under-foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it." In his carefulness to cover all his ground, the sower had gone close up to the boundary, and some of the seed had fallen on the edge of the bare and trampled path, where it lay homeless and exposed. It was in contact with the earth, but it was a mechanical, and not a vital touch. There was no correspondence, no communion between them. Instead of welcoming and nourishing the seed, it held it aloof, in a cold, repelling way. Had the soil been sympathetic and receptive, it held within itself all the elements of growth Touched by the subtle life that was hidden within the seed, the dead earth itself had lived, growing up into blades of promise, and from the full ear throwing itself forward into the future years. But the earth was hard and unreceptive; its possibilities of blessing were locked up and buried beneath a crust of trampled soil that was callous and unresponsive as the rock itself. And so the seed lay unwelcomed and alone, and the life which the warm touch of earth would have loosened and set free remained within its husk as a dead thing, without voice or hearing. There was nothing else for it but to be ground into dust by the passing foot or to be picked up by the foraging birds. The parable was at once a prophecy and an experience. Forming a part of the crowd which surrounded Jesus was an outer ring of hearers who came but to criticize and to cavil. They had no desire to be taught-at any rate by such a teacher. They were themselves the "knowing-ones," the learned, and they looked with suspicion and ill-concealed scorn upon the youthful Nazarene. Turning upon the Speaker a cold questioning glance, or exchanging signals with one another, they were evidently hostile to Jesus, listening, it is true, but with a feline alertness, hoping to entrap the sweet Singer in His speech. Upon these, and such as these, the word of God, even when spoken by the Divine Son, made no impression. It was a speaking to the rocks, with no other result than the awaking of a few echoes of mockery and banter. The experience is still true. Among those who frequent the house of God are many whose worship is a cold, conventional thing. Drawn by custom, by the social instinct, or by the love of change, they pass within the gates of the Lord’s house ostensibly to worship. But they are insincere, indifferent; they bring their body, and deposit it in the accustomed pew, but they might as well have put there a bag of ashes or an automaton of brass. Their mind is not here, and the cold, stolid features, unlighted by any passing gleam, tell too surely of a vacancy or vagrancy of thought. And even while the lips are throwing off mechanically " Jubilates " and " Te Deums " their heart is "far from Me," chasing some phantom "will o’ the wisp," or dreaming their dreams of pleasure, gain, and ease. The worship of God they themselves would call it, but God does not recognize it. He calls their prayers a weariness, their incense an abomination. Theirs is but a worship of Self, as, setting up their image of clay, they summon earth’s musicians to play their sweet airs about it. God, with them, is set back, ignored, proscribed. The personal "I" is writ so large, and is so all-pervasive, that there is no room for the I AM. Living for earth, all the fibers of their being growing downwards towards it, heaven is not even a cloud drifting across their distant vision; it is an empty space, a vacancy. To the voices of earth their ears are keenly sensitive; its very whispers thrill them with new excitements; but to the voices of Heaven they are deaf; the still, small voice is all unheard, and even the thunders of God are so muffled as to be unrecognized and scarcely audible. And so the word of God falls upon their ears in vain. It drops upon a soil that is impervious and antipathetic, a heart which knows no penitence, and a life whose fancied goodness has no room for mercy, or which finds such complete satisfaction in the gains of unrighteousness or the pleasures of sin that it is purposely and persistently deaf to all higher, holier voices. Ulysses filled his ears with wax, lest he should yield himself up to the enchantments of the sirens. The fable is true, even when read in reversed lines; for when Virtue, Purity, and Faith invite men to their resting-place, calling them to the Islands of the Blessed, and to the Paradise of God, they charm in vain. Deafening their ears, and not deigning to give a passing thought to the higher call, men drift past the heaven which might have been theirs, until these holier voices are silenced by the awful distance. That the word of God is inoperative here is through no fault, either of the seed or of the sower. That word is still "quick and powerful," but it is sterile, because it finds nothing on which it may grow. It is not "understood," as Jesus Himself explains. It falls upon the outward ear alone, and there only as unmeaning sound, like the accents of some unknown tongue. And so the wicked one easily takes away the word from their heart; for, as the preposition itself implies, that word had not fallen into the heart; it was lying on it in a superficial way, like the seed cast upon the trampled path. Is there, then, no hope for these way-side hearers? And sparing our strength and toil, shall we leave them for soils more promising? By no means. The fallow ground may be broken up; the ploughshare can loosen the hardened, unproductive earth. Pulverized by the teeth of the harrow or the teeth of the frost, the barren track itself disappears; it passes up into the advanced classes, giving back the seed with which it is now entrusted, with a thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold increase. And this is true in the higher husbandry, in which we are permitted to be "Go
Illustrator
Luke 8
He went throughout every city and village, preaching. Luke 8:1 Village preaching Essex Congregational Remembrancer. I. WE HAVE HERE THE SUBJECT OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY — "the glad tidings of the kingdom of God." In these words there is a manifest allusion to the predictions in which the prophets foretold the dispensation of grace and truth by Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated "kingdom" is of a more extensive meaning than the English one by which it is rendered, being equally adapted to express both the terms "reign" and "kingdom." The first relates to the time or duration of the sovereignty, the second to the place or country over which it extends. Yet although it is much oftener the time than the place that is alluded to in the Gospels, it is never in our common version translated "reign," but always "kingdom." The expression is thereby often rendered obscure and awkward, as for instance, when motion is applied to a kingdom; when it is spoken of as coming, approaching, being near at hand, and the like. The word is rightly translated "kingdom" when it refers to the state of perfect felicity to be enjoyed in the world to come; but it is not always thus rendered with the same propriety when it relates to the reign of Christ, by His truth and Spirit upon earth. If, therefore, it be asked, when did the reign of heaven properly begin? we answer, When that prediction in the Psalms was fulfilled — "Thou hast ascended up on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God (the Holy Spirit) might dwell amongst them." To a limited extent Jesus reigned before His ascension. He pardoned sins, promulgated laws, and brought very many under the dominion of His truth and grace. But the plenitude of the Holy Spirit's miraculous gifts and sanctifying influences was reserved till Christ was glorified, to grace His inauguration as King of Zion; as monarchs when they are crowned, although they may have reigned some time before, on that great occasion bestow favours on their subjects, and elevate sonic to distinctions and honours. II. WE NOW PROCEED TO CONSIDER THE SCENE OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY. He preached in Judaea, and Samaria; in Jerusalem, in Sychar; but His time was chiefly spent in the towns and villages of Galilee — a distant and despised province, which the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judaea regarded with such contempt that it was asked, " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" One would think that had our Saviour intended that secular princes should rule in His Church, that the head of the State should by virtue of His office be also the head of the Church within His dominions, instead of spending so much of His time in Galilee, He would have converted Herod, and given him authority to settle all matters of doctrine and discipline for His subjects. 1. We have fully revealed to us and in our possession that truth by which Christ reigns, and accomplishes His gracious purposes. No new, additional revelation will be granted to the end of time. 2. We have Christ, enthroned in universal dominion, full of grace and power, present by His Spirit, with all His faithful servants, to make His truth effectual in the accomplishment of the purposes of eternal mercy. ( Essex Congregational Remembrancer. )
Matthew Henry
Luke 8
8:1-3 We are here told what Christ made the constant business of his life, it was teaching the gospel. Tidings of the kingdom of God are glad tidings, and what Christ came to bring. Certain women attended upon him who ministered to him of their substance. It showed the mean condition to which the Saviour humbled himself, that he needed their kindness, and his great humility, that he accepted it. Though rich, yet for our sakes he became poor. 8:4-21 There are many very needful and excellent rules and cautions for hearing the word, in the parable of the sower, and the application of it. Happy are we, and for ever indebted to free grace, if the same thing that is a parable to others, with which they are only amused, is a plain truth to us, by which we are taught and governed. We ought to take heed of the things that will hinder our profiting by the word we hear; to take heed lest we hear carelessly and slightly, lest we entertain prejudices against the word we hear; and to take heed to our spirits after we have heard the word, lest we lose what we have gained. The gifts we have, will be continued to us or not, as we use them for the glory of God, and the good of our brethren. Nor is it enough not to hold the truth in unrighteousness; we should desire to hold forth the word of life, and to shine, giving light to all around. Great encouragement is given to those who prove themselves faithful hearers of the word, by being doers of the work. Christ owns them as his relations. 8:22-40 Those that put to sea in a calm, even at Christ's word, must yet prepare for a storm, and for great peril in that storm. There is no relief for souls under a sense of guilt, and fear of wrath, but to go to Christ, and call him Master, and say, I am undone, if thou dost not help me. When our dangers are over, it becomes us to take to ourselves the shame of our own fears, and to give Christ the glory of our deliverance. We may learn much out of this history concerning the world of infernal, malignant spirits, which though not working now exactly in the same way as then, yet all must at all times carefully guard against. And these malignant spirits are very numerous. They have enmity to man and all his comforts. Those under Christ's government are sweetly led with the bands of love; those under the devil's government are furiously driven. Oh what a comfort it is to the believer, that all the powers of darkness are under the control of the Lord Jesus! It is a miracle of mercy, if those whom Satan possesses, are not brought to destruction and eternal ruin. Christ will not stay with those who slight him; perhaps he may no more return to them, while others are waiting for him, and glad to receive him. 8:41-56 Let us not complain of a crowd, and a throng, and a hurry, as long as we are in the way of our duty, and doing good; but otherwise every wise man will keep himself out of it as much as he can. And many a poor soul is healed, and helped, and saved by Christ, that is hidden in a crowd, and nobody notices it. This woman came trembling, yet her faith saved her. There may be trembling, where yet there is saving faith. Observe Christ's comfortable words to Jairus, Fear not, believe only, and thy daughter shall be made whole. No less hard was it not to grieve for the loss of an only child, than not to fear the continuance of that grief. But in perfect faith there is no fear; the more we fear, the less we believe. The hand of Christ's grace goes with the calls of his word, to make them effectual. Christ commanded to give her meat. As babes new born, so those newly raised from sin, desire spiritual food, that they may grow thereby.