Luke 13

Luke 13:6

And he spake a parable to them, of which this is the plain meaning: This people hath long been unprofitable, made no returns to all God’s husbandry bestowed upon them, and yet God hath given them space to repent, and sent his Son to dress and manure them; and if this do not work upon them, there is nothing to be expected, but destruction and excision. The parable was this: A certain man—

Luke 13:9

And perhaps it will bear fruit; or, make this experiment, whether it will bear fruit or no: and if— a sore disease inflicted on her by the devil, ver. 16, for the space of eighteen years, and she did so extremely stoop, that she could hardly see the heavens. a thy disease.

Luke 13:19

[a] a great tree] That a mustard seed grows into a tree, is affirmed Matt. xiii. 32; and thereupon it is there said, that it is μεῖζον λαχάνων, not the greatest of herbs, or things that grow of seeds, but (as μεῖζον imports) greater than such; and therefore it follows there, that it becometh a tree; and here, that tree a great one, δένδρον μίγα. This is not to be measured by what we see of this seed among us, but by considering the Hebrew soil and clime, of which this is ordinarily affirmed among their authors. In the Babylonish Talmud, Ketub. fol. 3, there is mention of three boughs of חרד, or mustard, “one of which being broken off from the rest, yielded nine cabs of seed, and the wood thereof was sufficient to cover a little house.” So in the Jerusalem Talmud, Peah, c. 7, there is mention of “a bough which yielded three cabs of that seed.” And again in the same place, “of a stem or bough of mustard which Simon, the son of Chalaptha, had in his garden, into which he could climb up as into a fig tree.” And therefore agreeably to this it is that our Saviour here speaks so great things of it. And whereas it is said, Matt. xiii. 32, that it is the least of all seeds; although among us some other seeds may be found less than that, as rue and poppy; yet it is not necessary it should be so there. However, it is apparent that the smallness of it was proverbial among them; and is therefore mentioned by Maimonides, More Neb. p. 1. c. 56, and set opposite to the firmament, the one as an instance of the smallest, the other of the greatest magnitude.

Luke 13:21

Matt. xiii. 33. h is the doctrine of the gospel likely to be received by the generality of men, or only by a few disciples of us? And the reply that Christ made to this question was to advise him and all others,

Luke 13:23

[b] saved] What is the notion of σώζεσθαι in the New Testament hath already been touched on, note [n] Matt. x. (see Matt. xix. 6.) And

Luke 13:24

That they should not be led away with the example of the many that neglected the present opportunity, and after would not find admission when they should desire it, either into the church here or the kingdom of God at the day of doom; that the gospel should at length be removed from the obstinate Jews, and consequently heaven also. 25—27. That a great deal of timely care and industry and contention was required to get the end of our Christian faith and hope, and that a little formal seeking of him, a desiring the reward upon no farther pretences than that the gospel hath been preached among them, that they have eat and drunk in Christ’s presence, nay, that they have by him been enabled to work miracles, Matt. vii. 22, &c., would not serve the turn, without a careful and due performance of all that Christ requires of us. As for others, be their pretences and confidences never so great, they shall at the day of judgment be utterly rejected, and their wicked doings rewarded with everlasting fire.

Luke 13:28

And then, what a restless torment will it be to you to see the fathers of the old world, that never saw or heard Christ preach among them, as you confess you have, received by God into his kingdom, and you rejected! Matt. viii. 11, 12. I escape.

Luke 13:29

And though but few Jews should receive the faith, yet disciples shall come in to Christ from all quarters of the world, and by him in the church be received and entertained as at a feast, (which is some farther answer to the question, vor. 23,) and so consequently bear the patriarchs company in heaven.

Luke 13:30

And they that are now afar off, the Gentiles, shall be admitted to his favour, while the present Jews through their obduration shall be cast out, ver. 28.

Luke 13:31

Upon his instructing the people, and doing miracles in this manner, some of the Pharisees, unwilling that they should thus see his power and hear his doctrine, were very desirous to have him gone, and for a pretence suggested the danger that he was in from Herod if he should stay any longer, saying, Go out of Galilee, Herod’s jurisdiction; for if thou stay here, he will put thee to death.

Luke 13:32

And Christ (according to his prophetic office, which gave prophets authority to reprehend all, were they never so great in this world, and their commission to the execution of that office made them superior to all to whom they were sent, Jer. i. 8, 9, 10.) answered them, saying, Go tell that great artificer, or subtile disguised person, Herod, (by the manner also of the expression, left dubious, intimating the subtilty of the Pharisees, disguised by them, but by him discerned, who by the mention of Herod’s design to kill him thought to drive him out of their coasts,) that I attend the decree of my Father, and in the mean time perform the office for which I was sent, not fearing what he can do unto me. Behold, I cast out devils, cure diseases for a while at present; and after a while, when my course is finished, I am to suffer death.

Luke 13:33

In the mean time I must do what I do, and then go and suffer at Jerusalem, being designed by my Father first to do these works, and then to die there, that being the place where all people have been wont to be put to death, at the council of the great sanhedrim, and where, though capital judgments are now taken from the Jews, yet the prophets are to be tried.

[c] I must walk] That there is in this verse an ellipsis or defect there is little doubt, and what it is will be best judged by comparing it with the former verse, or with John v. 17. In the former verse he tells Herod, that for a time he is about the business of his miracles, curing diseases and casting out devils, and it shall not be in his power to hinder him; though he threaten or design to kill him, ver. 31, he should not be able to do it; but shortly indeed he should have made an end of his business, and then he should be put to death. The time of his doing miracles, &c. he there calls to-day and to-morrow, as the time of his being put to death, the third day; and so in this verse he gives him a reason why he should not fear his threats, nor go out of the way, which he was advised to, ver. 31, because, saith he, δεῖ με σήμερον καὶ αὔριον, there is a necessity, in respect of God’s decree, that to-day and to-morrow, that is, for that space before mentioned, I should cure, &c.; or, as it is John v. 17, ἐργάζεσθαι, work; (so Theophylact, Δεῖ με χρόνον τινὰ προσμεῖναι ἐνταῦθα θαυματουργοῦντα, “I must stay here a while and do miracles;”) and then indeed it is as necessary, τῇ ἐχομίᾳ, the third day, or the day immediately following, or adjoining, (see note [b] Mark i.); or after my work is done, πορεύεσθαι, to go, either in that sense, wherein that word is taken, ch. xxii. 22, that is, to be put to death, (and so it will be all one with τελειοῦσθαι, which is to be martyred, as we have τελείωσις ἀθλητοῦ, in Nyssen and other Christian writers; or else πορεύεσθαι, to go from thence (as he was advised to do, ver. 31.) up to Jerusalem, that being the place where the judgment of the great sanhedrim was, where (and nowhere else) the cases of prophets, which were accused of any great crime, were to be tried, (see Cunæus de Repub. Heb. l. 1. c. 12); whereupon it follows immediately, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

c P. 58.

Luke 13:34

See Matt. xxiii. 39.

¹ this, ταύτη. ⁴ to day and to morrow it is necessary for me to do what I do, and on the day following to go. ⁵ a bird doth her young ones: ὀρνὶ τὰ ἑαυτῆς νοσσία, the King’s MS. reads, and the ancient Greek and Latin.

⁶ οὐκ εἶπεν ἀλώσκει ἑαύτη, ἀλλὰ ταύτη, εἰφυλίσττα μίση τινὶ χρώμενος φωνῇ, καὶ σαφῶς δει-πλαν ἑγγῆς ἕντας τῇ ἀλώσκει τοὺς φαρμαίους, διὰ τὴν ναυαγγείαν. Titus Bostrensis, p. 805, II.

Luke 13:50

[d] a baptism] The phrase ἴχω βαπτισθῆναι is all one with μέλλω, the note of the future. So 2 Esdras iv. 45, habet venire is used for μέλλει ἔρχεσθαι, is to come. And in the Athanasian Creed, ἀναστήσονται, they shall rise, is rendered in Latin, habent resurgere. So in 9 Chrysostom, ἴχῃ διακεῖσθαι for μέλλῃ; and ʿagain, διδάξαι εἶχε, that is, ἔμελλε; and so ˢoft in Lactantius, quod carne indui haberet in terra, that is, “that he was to be incarnate;” and ˢagain, quod plurimæ sectæ et hæreses haberent existere, “that there should be many sects and heresies.”

Luke 13:56

Ye that can judge by sight of the skies and the winds, what will befall, why should ye not have as great sagacity to discern and presage the judgments that are near approaching towards this nation, if they do not suddenly repent and receive Christ? 57, 58. And why do you not, (without need of looking upon the skies for the presage,) by the same rational way of judging in which you proceed in other matters, use the same prudence in divine matters of danger which you do in human worldly contentions? and so when you see an action coming against you, wherein you are sure to be cast, set presently to reconcile the adversary, to make your peace and escape the danger? (to which purpose was this which Christ said at another time, Matt. v. 25.) ### CHAP. XIII. Galilæans, a faction of Judas Gaulonita, which taught doctrines contrary to subjection to the Roman empire, whom, it is thought, Pilate set upon and killed when they were offering sacrifice, and poured out their blood, as the blood of beasts was poured out in the sacrifices. if you continue your present wicked practices, raising sedition under pretence of piety, as frequently you are apt to do, (see Titus Bostrensis, p. 803. C.) then, as they perished at the day of Pascha at their sacrifice, so shall a multitude of you on that very day (see Josephus of the Jewish War, l. 6. c. 11, and l. 7. c. 17, and Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 5.) in the temple be slaughtered like sheep, and that for the same cause, a sedition raised in the city.