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MATT. XVIII.

fore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would 24 take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was 25 brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch

as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and 26 children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, 27 and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with 28 compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same

servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, say29 ing, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay 31 the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very 32 sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord,

after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I for33 gave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should 35 pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

§ 80. JESUS GOES UP TO THE FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES. HIS FINAL DEPARTURE

FROM GALILEE. INCIDENTS IN SAMARIA.

JOHN VII. 2-10.

2, 3

6

Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also 4 may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these 5 things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in 6 him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time 7 is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I 8 testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I 9 go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he 10 had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. [See in § 83.]

1 Ten thousand talents. This immense sum (reckoning a talent at £187 10s., or at £216 according to some) well expresses the incalculable number of our sins against God in thought, word, and deed; and it plainly teaches the utter impossibility of the sinner's self-justification before God, and the entire freeness of the Divine forgiveness.

2 Lev. 25. 39; 2 Kings 4. 1. 3 Eph. 4. 32. 4 James 2. 13. 5 The feast of tabernacles, held in October, during eight days, and so called because the people then dwelt in tents or booths to commemorate the dwelling in the wilderness in tents, Lev. 23. 34-43; Neh. 8. 14-18. It was also the feast of the ingatherings, (somewhat like our harvest home,) and as such was a time of high rejoicing, Ex. 23. 16; Deut. 16. 13-15.

6 Our Lord evades the hypocritical urgency of his relatives; and afterwards goes up to the festival more privately. The journey mentioned in Luke 9. 51 was obviously his last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem; and ver. 53 shows that he was passing on without delay. In both these circumstances, Luke accords with John; and the two accounts are therefore properly arranged together. See more in Introd. Note to Part VI. 7 Comp. Acts 1. 14.

8 In secret, that is, through Samaria (see Luke 9. 52) instead of Peræa, which was the usual and most frequented though much longer route from Galilee to Jerusalem, because the Jews generally did not like to pass through the country of the unfriendly Samaritans (see Luke 9. 53; John 4.9).

LUKE IX. 51-62.

51

And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, 52 he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make 53 ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as 54 though he would go to Jerusalem.' And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come 55 down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?2 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. 57 And they went to another village. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whither58 soever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first 60 to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their 61 dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at 62 home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

§ 81. THE SEVENTY INSTRUCTED AND SENT OUT.--Samaria.

3

LUKE X. 1-16.

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before. his face into every city and place, whither he himself 2 would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he 3 would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send 4 you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor 5 shoes and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye 6 enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, 7 your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the 8 labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set 9 before you and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The 10 kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God 12 is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable 13 in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe

11 say,

1 Comp. John 4. 9.

2 2 Kings 1. 9-14.

3 This specification of time seems to forbid Robinson's order, who considers that the seventy were sent out before, and not after, the things related in ch. 9. 51-56. Both he and Greswell suppose, on account of ver. 15, that Capernaum was the place, whereas the context, in ch. 9. 52, rather favours Samaria.

In this transaction of our Lord's, which is recorded only by Luke, who wrote especially for Gentile Christians, the number, the place, and the time, are all significant. He sent forth seventy, to indicate that the gospel was to be preached to the heathen nations, which the Jews of that day set down at that number (Olshausen, Comment. in loc.); just as he had before [see § 62] sent forth

the twelve to the tribes of Israel. The place is Samaria, representing the heathen world, to which the apostles were at first not allowed to go, Matt. 10. 5, 6. The time too is full of meaning: the twelve had been sent out about the season of the passover, that is, nearly six months before the sending of the seventy, which took place about the feast of tabernacles following; whereby our Lord indicated his pleasure to send the good news first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, Luke 24. 47; Acts 3. 26; Rom. 1. 16. See Wieseler's Synopse der 4 Evang. p. 326.

The instructions to the seventy strikingly resemble those given to the twelve: see in § 62. 4 Comp. 2 Kings 4. 29.

LUKE X.

unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, 14 sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and 15 Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art ex16 alted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. [See in § 89.]

11

$82. TEN LEPERS CLEANSED.-Samaria?

LUKE XVII. 11-19.

And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through 12 the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, 13 there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they 14 lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And

when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests.2 15 And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice 16 glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and 17 he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten 18 cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to 19 give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. [See in § 102.]

1 The healing of the ten lepers was probably connected with the same journey through Samaria; and is, perhaps, narrated by Luke out of its proper order. Greswell and Wieseler, however, consider that Luke here follows the chronological

order, and so they bring it in after § 101, among the events subsequent to the departure from Ephraim, § 93.

2 Lev. 13. 2.

PART VI.

THE FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES, AND THE SUBSEQUENT TRANSACTIONS UNTIL OUR LORD'S ARRIVAL AT BETHANY SIX DAYS BEFORE THE FOURTH PASSOVER.

TIME: Six months less one week.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

IN this interval of time, from the festival of tabernacles to our Lord's last arrival at Bethany, we encounter one of the most difficult portions of the whole Gospel Harmony. According to John's narrative, Jesus, after leaving Galilee to go up to the festival of tabernacles in October (John 7. 10), appears not to have returned again to Galilee; but to have spent the time intervening before the festival of dedication in December, probably in Jerusalem, or, when in danger from the Jews, in the neighbouring villages of Judea; John 8. 59; Luke 10. 38, sq. Had Jesus actually returned to Galilee during this interval, it can hardly be supposed that John, who had hitherto so carefully noted our Lord's return thither after each visit to Jerusalem, would have failed to give some hint of it in this case also, either after ch. 8. 59, or after ch. 10. 21. But neither John, nor the other evangelists, (unless perhaps Luke in ch. 17. 11,) afford any such hint.Immediately after the festival of dedication, Jesus withdrew from the machinations of the Jews beyond Jordan; whence he was recalled to Bethany by the decease of Lazarus; John 10. 40; 11. 7. He then once more retired to Ephraim; and is found again at Bethany six days before the passover; John 11. 54; 12. 1.

Matthew and Mark contain no allusion at all to the festival of tabernacles; nor do we find any express mention of it in Luke. Yet Luke 9. 51 is most naturally referred to our Lord's journey at that time; and it implies also that this was his final departure from Galilee; see Note on § 80. Luke and John are therefore here parallel. The circumstances of danger which had induced Jesus during the summer to retire from Galilee in various directions (see Note on § 68), as well as the approach of the time when "he should be received up," are reasons of sufficient weight to account for his having transferred, at this time, the scene of his ministry and labours from the north to Jerusalem and Judea, including excursions to Samaria and the country on and beyond the Jordan. In regard to the transactions during the whole interval of time comprised in this Part, Matthew and Mark are silent, except where they relate that our Lord, after his departure from Galilee, approached Jerusalem for the last time through Peræa and by way of Jericho, where he was followed by multitudes; Matt. 19. 1, 2; 20. 29; Mark 10. 1, 46. With the transactions recorded by these two evangelists during this last approach, Luke also has some things parallel; Luke 18. 15-43. The arrival at Bethany is common to the three; and in this they all accord with John; Matt. 21. 1; Mark 11. 1; Luke 19. 29; John 12. 1, 12, sq.

There exists consequently no difficulty in harmonizing Matthew and Mark, and so much of Luke as is parallel to them (18. 15, sq.), with John. But in Luke, from ch. 9. 51, where Jesus leaves Galilee, to ch. 18. 14, where the record again becomes parallel with Matthew and Mark, there is a large body of matter peculiar for the most part to Luke, and relating prima facie to the time subsequent to our Lord's departure from Galilee. How is this portion of Luke's Gospel to be arranged and distributed, in order to harmonize with the narrative of John? The difficulty of course does not exist in the case of those Harmonists, who, like Calvin, Griesbach, and others, attempt to bring together only the first three evangelists.

Those Harmonists who have likewise included John's Gospel, have hitherto generally,

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

and perhaps universally, assumed a return of our Lord to Galilee after the festival of tabernacles; and this avowedly in order to provide a place for this portion of Luke's Gospel. But the manner in which it has been arranged, after all, is exceedingly various. Some, as Le Clerc, Harm. Evang. p. 264, sq., insert nearly the whole during this supposed journey. Others, as Lightfoot, assign to this journey only what precedes Luke 13. 23; and refer the remainder to our Lord's sojourn beyond Jordan, John 10. 40; see Chron. Temp. N. T. Opp. II. p. 37, 39. Greswell (Dissert. xvi. vol. ii.) maintains that the transactions in Luke 9. 51-18. 14, all belong to the journey from Ephraim (through Samaria, Galilee, and Peræa) to Jerusalem, which he dates in the interval of about four months, between the feast of dedication and our Lord's last passover. Wieseler (Chron. Synopse der 4 Evangelien, p. 328-330) makes a somewhat different arrangement, (intermediate between Robinson and Greswell,) according to which, Luke 9. 51-13. 21 relates to the period from Christ's journey from Galilee to the feast of tabernacles till after the feast of dedication (parallel to John 7. 10-10. 42); Luke 13. 22-17. 10 relates to the interval between that time and our Lord's stay at Ephraim (parallel to John 11. 1-54); and Luke 17. 11-18. 14 relates to the journey from Ephraim to Jerusalem, through Samaria, Galilee, and Peræa.

If now we examine more closely the portion of Luke in question (9. 51-18. 14), we perceive, that although an order of time is discoverable in most parts, yet as a whole it is wanting in exact chronological arrangement. This indeed is admitted, at the present day, by all Harmonists, except Greswell (see Dissert. xvi. vol. ii.). It would seem almost as if, in this portion peculiar to Luke, that evangelist, after recording many of the earlier transactions of Jesus in Galilee, in accordance with Matthew and Mark, had here, upon our Lord's final departure from that province, brought together this new and various matter of his own, relating partly to our Lord's previous ministry in Galilee, partly to this journey, and still more to his subsequent proceedings, until the narrative (in ch. 18. 15) again becomes parallel to the accounts in Matthew and Mark. The transactions narrated in ch. 10. 17-11. 13, have marks of chronological connexion; and the scene of them obviously Jerusalem or its vicinity; see §§ 86-89 and Notes. The healing of a demoniac and the consequent blasphemy of the scribes and Pharisees in Luke 11. 14, 15, 17, sq. is parallel with the same events in Matthew and Mark, which these two evangelists describe as having occurred in Galilee; see § 48 and Note. With this passage, again, Luke 11. 37-54 is immediately connected by the words and as he spake; see § 51 and Note. The transition to the next chapter (ch. 12.) is made by the phrase in the mean time, marking proximity of time; § 52 and Note. And, further, the words introducing Luke 13. 1, show that the conversation there given (ver. 1-9) immediately followed.-The remainder of this portion of Luke, ch. 13. 10-18. 14, (with the exception of ch. 17. 1119, which probably connects itself with the journey in ch. 9. 51,) contains absolutely no definite notation of time or place; nor any thing, indeed, to show that the events happened in the order recorded, or that they did not take place at different times and in different parts of the country. The only passage to which this remark does not perhaps fully apply, is ch. 13. 22-35.

For these reasons Robinson has, like Newcome, distributed Luke 9. 51—10. 16, and 11. 14-13. 9, (as also 17. 11-19,) in Parts IV., V., as already specified, among the transactions of our Lord's ministry in Galilee, between his second passover and his journey to the festival of tabernacles. The remainder of this whole portion of Luke, viz. ch. 10. 17-11. 13, and 13. 10-17. 10, as also 17. 20-18. 14, remains to be disposed of in the present Part.

With many leading modern commentators, Robinson prefers here to follow the narrative of John, and infers that our Lord did not again return to Galilee after the festival of tabernacles. On this principle, therefore, the present Harmony is constructed. Hence, Luke 10. 17-11. 13 is inserted between the festival of tabernacles and that of dedication. See the particulars in the Notes on §§ 86-89.

More difficult is it to assign the proper place for Luke 13. 10-17. 10; the transactions recorded in which all cluster around or follow ch. 13. 22, where Jesus is represented as travelling leisurely through the cities and villages towards Jerusalem. Now this journey cannot have been the same with that in Luke 9, 51 and John 7. 10; because there Jesus went up privately, while here he is accompanied by multitudes, Luke 14. 25. Nor can it have been a later journey from Galilee; for that in Luke 9. 51 was, probably, the final one. Nor indeed were the Jews accustomed to go up from the country to Jerusalem at the festival of dedication: see Note on § 91. Lightfoot Hor. Heb. on Joh. 10. 22. Besides, Luke 13. 22 stands in connexion with the warning received by our

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