Luke 20:42

>Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? 45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; 47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. The scribes were students in the law, and expositors of it to the people, men in reputation for wisdom and honour, but the generality of them were enemies to Christ and his gospel. Now here we have some of them attending him, and four things we have in these verses concerning them, which we had before:— I. We have them here commending the reply which Christ made to the Sadducees concerning the resurrection: Certain of the scribes said, Master, thou hast well said, v. 39 . Christ had the testimony of his adversaries that he said well; and therefore the scribes were his enemies because he would not conform to the traditions of the elders, but yet when he vindicated the fundamental practices of religion, and appeared in the defence of them, even the scribes commended his performance, and owned that he said well. Many that call themselves Christians come short even of this spirit. II. We have them here struck with an awe of Christ, and of his wisdom and authority ( v. 40 ): They durst not ask him any questions at all, because they say that he was too hard for all that contended with him. His own disciples, though weak, yet, being willing to receive his doctrine, durst ask him any question; but the Sadducees, who contradicted and cavilled at his doctrine, durst ask him none. III. We have them here puzzled and run aground with a question concerning the Messiah, v. 41 . It was plain by many scriptures that Christ was to be the Son of David; even the blind man knew this ( ch. xviii. 39 ); and yet it was plain that David called the Messiah his Lord ( v. 42 , 44 ), his owner, and ruler, and benefactor: The Lord said to my Lord. God said it to the Messiah, Ps. cx. 1 . Now if he be his Son, why doth he call him his Lord? If he be his Lord, why do we call him his Son? This he left them to consider of, but they could not reconcile this seeming contradiction; thanks be to God, we can; that Christ, as God, was David's Lord, but Christ, as man, was David's Son. He was both the root and the offspring of David, Rev. xxii. 16 . By his human nature he was the offspring of David, a branch of his family; by his divine nature he was the root of David, from whom he had his being and life, and all the supplies of grace. IV. We have them here described in their black characters, and a public caution given to the disciples to take heed of them, v. 45-47 . This we had, just as it is here, Mark xii. 38 , and more largely Matt. xxiii . Christ bids his disciples beware of the scribes, that is, 1. "Take heed of being drawn into sin by them, of learning their way, and going into their measures; beware of such a spirit as they are governed by. Be not you such in the Christian church as they are in the Jewish church." 2. "Take heed of being brought into trouble by them," in the same sense that he had said ( Matt. x. 17 ), " Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils; beware of the scribes, for they will do so. Beware of them, for," (1.) "They are proud and haughty. They desire to walk about the streets in long robes, as those that are above business (for men of business went with their loins girt up ), and as those that take state, and take place." Cedant arma togæ—Let arms yield to the gown. They loved in their hearts to have people make their obeisance to them in the markets, that many might see what respect was paid them; and were very proud of the precedency that was given them in all places of concourse. They loved the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts, and, when they were placed in them, looked upon themselves with great conceit and upon all about them with great contempt. I sit as a queen. (2.) "They are covetous and oppressive, and make their religion a cloak and cover for crime." They devour widows' houses, get their estates into their hands, and then by some trick or other make them their own, or they live upon them, and eat up what they have; and widows are an easy prey to them, because they are apt to be deluded by their specious pretences: for a show they make long prayers, perhaps long prayers with the widows when they are in sorrow, as if they had not only a piteous but a pious concern for them, and thus endeavour to ingratiate themselves with them, and get their money and effects into their hands. Such devout men may surely be trusted with untold gold; but they will give such an account of it as they think fit. Christ reads them their doom in a few words: These shall receive a more abundant judgment, a double damnation, both for their abuse of the poor widows, whose houses they devoured, and for their abuse of religion, and particularly of prayer, which they had made use of as a pretence for the more plausible and effectual carrying on of their worldly and wicked projects; for dissembled piety is double iniquity. In this chapter we have, I. The notice Christ took, and the approbation he gave, of a poor widow that cast two mites into the treasury, ver. 1-4 . II. A prediction of future events, in answer to his disciples' enquiries concerning them,

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

2 Samuel 23:1

Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

2 Samuel 23:2

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

Matthew 22:43

He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

Matthew 22:44

The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

Matthew 22:45

If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

Mark 12:36

For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Mark 12:37

David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

Luke 24:44

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Acts 1:20

For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. bishoprick: or, office, or, charge

Acts 2:34

For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

Acts 2:35

Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

1 Corinthians 15:25

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

Hebrews 1:13

But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

Hebrews 3:7

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,