Luke 20:44

riarchs." And one not less remarkable in Shemoth Rabba, fol. 159. "Rabbi Abbin saith, The Lord said unto Moses, Find me out ten righteous persons among the people, and I will not destroy thy people. Then said Moses, Behold, here am I, Aaron, Eleazar, Ithamar, Phineas, Caleb, and Joshua; but God said, Here are but seven, where are the other three? When Moses knew not what to do, he said, O Eternal God, do those live that are dead! Yes, saith God. Then said Moses, If those that are dead do live, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So the resurrection of the dead, and the immortality and immateriality of the soul, were not strange or unknown doctrines among the Jews. Verse 40 They durst not ask - Or, did not venture to ask any other question, for fear of being again confounded, as they had already been. Verse 41 How say they - See the note on Mat 22:42-46 (note). Verse 43 Thy footstool - Literally, the footstool of thy feet. They shall not only be so far humbled that the feet may be set on them; but they shall be actually subjected, and put completely under that Christ whom they now despise, and are about to crucify. Verse 46 Beware of the scribes - Take heed that ye be not seduced by those who should show you the way of salvation. See on Mat 23:4-14 (note). 1. How it can be supposed that the ancient Jewish Church had no distinct notion of the resurrection of the dead is to me truly surprising. The justice of God, so peculiarly conspicuous under the old covenant, might have led the people to infer that there must be a resurrection of the dead, if even the passage to which our Lord refers had not made a part of their law. As the body makes a part of the man, justice requires that not only they who are martyrs for the testimony of God, but also all those who have devoted their lives to his service, and died in his yoke, should have their bodies raised again. The justice of God is as much concerned in the resurrection of the dead, as either his power or mercy. To be freed from earthly incumbrances, earthly passions, bodily infirmities, sickness; and death, to be brought into a state of conscious existence, with a refined body and a sublime soul, both immortal, and both ineffably happy - how glorious the privilege! But of this, who shall be counted worthy in that day? Only those who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and who, by patient continuing in well doing, have sought for glory and honor and immortality. 2. A bad example, supported by the authority, reputation, and majesty of religion, is a very subtle poison, from which it is very difficult for men to preserve themselves. It is a great misfortune for any people to be obliged to beware of those very persons who ought to be their rule and pattern. This is a reflection of pious Father Quesnel; and, while we admire its depth, we may justly lament that the evil he refers to should be so prevalent as to render the observation, and the caution on which it is founded, so necessary. But let no man imagine that bad and immoral ministers are to be found among one class of persons only. They are to be found in the branches as well as in the root: in the different sects and parties as well as in the mother or national Churches, from which the others have separated. On either hand there is little room for glorying. - Professors and ministers may change, but the truth of the Lord abideth for ever! Introduction The poor widow casting two mites into the treasury, Luk 21:1-4. The destruction of the temple foretold, Luk 21:5, Luk 21:6. The signs of this desolation, Luk 21:7. False Christs, Luk 21:8. Wars, Luk 21:9, Luk 21:10. Earthquakes and fearful sights, Luk 21:11. Persecutions against the godly, Luk 21:12-19. Directions how to escape, Luk 21:20-22. The tribulation of those times, Luk 21:23-28. The parable of the fig tree, illustrative of the time when they may expect these calamities, Luk 21:29-33. The necessity of sobriety and watchfulness, Luk 21:34-36. He teaches by day in the temple, and lodges by night in the mount of Olives, and the people come early to hear him, Luk 21:37, Luk 21:38. Verse 1 The rich men casting their gifts into the treasury - See all this, from Luk 21:1-4, explained on Mar 12:41-44 (note). Verse 2 A certain poor widow - A widow miserably poor; this is the proper import of πενιχραν, and her being miserably poor heightened the merit of the action. Two mites - Which Mark says, Mar 12:42, make a farthing or quadrans, the fourth part of an As, or penny, as we term it. In Plutarch's time we find the smallest piece of brass coin in use among the Romans was the quadrans, but it appears that a smaller piece of money was in circulation among the Jews in our Lord's time, called here, and in Mark, Mar 12:42, a lepton, i.e. small, diminished, from λειπω, I fail. In ancient times our penny used to be marked with a deep indented cross, dividing the piece into four equal parts, which, when broken in two, made the half-penny, and, when broken into four, made the fourthing, what we have corrupted into farthing. Probably the Roman quadrans was divided in this way for the convenience of the poor. Our term mite seems to have been taken from the animal called by that name; for as that appeared to our ancestors to be the smallest of all animals, so this being the smallest of all coins was called by its name. Junius says that mite was a small base coin among the Dutch. Our word mite seems to be a contraction of the Latin minutum, a small thing, whence the French miete, a crumb, a very small morsel. See the note on Mar 12:41. Verse 5 Goodly stones - Or, costly stones. It has been thought by some that this relates not so much to the stones of which the temple was built, as to the precious stones with which it was decorated. For an account of the stones of the temple, see on Mar 13:1 (note). And gifts - Or, consecrated things, αναθημασι. Αναθημα properly signifies a thing consecrated to sacred uses: Αναθεμα signifies a thing devoted to a curse, or to destruction. They both come from the same root, ανατιθημι, I lay up, separate; and though two meanings cannot be more opposite than those assigned to these words, yet in the words themselves a short vowel (ε) in the place of a long one (η) makes all the difference between blessing and cursing. Verse 6 One stone upon another - This was literally fulfilled. See Mat 24:2. Verse 8 Many shall come in my name - Usurping my name: calling themselves the Messiah. See Mat 24:5. Concerning this prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and its literal accomplishment, see the notes on Matthew

The Scribes Confounded. 39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. 40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. 41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? 42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The 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.