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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
L U K E.
CHAP. XVII.
In this chapter we have,
I. Some particular discourses which Christ had with his disciples, in
which he teaches them to take heed of giving offence, and to forgive
the injuries done them
(ver. 1-4),
encourages them to pray for the increase of their faith
(ver. 5, 6),
and then teaches them humility, whatever service they had done for God,
II. His cleansing ten lepers, and the thanks he had from one of them
only, and he a Samaritan,
III. His discourse with his disciples, upon occasion of an enquiry of
the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should appear,
| The Treatment of Offences. |
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1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that
offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of
these little ones.
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against
thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and
seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou
shalt forgive him.
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by
the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle,
will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go
and sit down to meat?
8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may
sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and
drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that
were commanded him? I trow not.
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things
which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we
have done that which was our duty to do.
We are here taught,
I. That the giving of offences is a great sin, and that
which we should every one of us avoid and carefully watch against,
We can expect no other than that offences will come, considering the
perverseness and frowardness that are in the nature of man, and the wise
purpose and counsel of God, who will carry on his work even by those
offences, and bring good out of evil. It is almost impossible
but that offences will come, and therefore we are concerned to
provide accordingly; but woe to him through whom they come, his
doom will be heavy
(v. 2),
more terrible than that of the worst of the malefactors who are
condemned to be thrown into the sea, for they perish under a load of
guilt more ponderous than that of millstones. This
includes a woe,
1. To persecutors, who offer any injury to the least of Christ’s
little ones, in word or deed, by which they are discouraged in
serving Christ, and doing their duty, or in danger of being driven off
from it.
2. To seducers, who corrupt the truths of Christ and his ordinances,
and so trouble the minds of the disciples; for they are those by
whom offences come.
3. To those who, under the profession of the Christian name, live
scandalously, and thereby weaken the bands and sadden the hearts of
God’s people; for by them the offence comes, and it is no abatement of
their guilt, nor will be any of their punishment, that it is impossible
but offences will come.
II. That the forgiving of offences is a great duty, and
that which we should every one of us make conscience of
(v. 3):
Take heed to yourselves. This may refer either to what goes
before, or to what follows: Take heed that you offend not one of
these little ones. Ministers must be very careful not to say or do
any thing that may be a discouragement to weak Christians; there is
need of great caution, and they ought to speak and act very
considerately, for fear of this: or, “When your brother trespasses
against you, does you any injury, puts any slight or affront upon
you, if he be accessary to any damage done you in your property or
reputation, take heed to yourselves at such a time, lest you be
put into a passion; lest, when your spirits are provoked, you speak
unadvisedly, and rashly vow to revenge
I will do so to him as he hath done to me. Take heed what you
say at such a time, lest you say amiss.”
1. If you are permitted to rebuke him, you are advised to do so.
Smother not the resentment, but give it vent. Tell him his
faults; show him wherein he has not done well nor fairly by you,
and, it may be, you will perceive (and you must be very willing to
perceive it) that you mistook him, that it was not a trespass
against you, or not designed, but an oversight, and then you
will beg his pardon for misunderstanding him; as
2. You are commanded, upon his repentance, to forgive him, and to be
perfectly reconciled to him: If he repent, forgive him; forget
the injury, never think of it again, much less upbraid him with it.
Though he do not repent, you must not therefore bear malice to him, nor
meditate revenge; but, it he do not at least say that he
repents, you are not bound to be so free and familiar with him as
you have been. If he be guilty of gross sin, to the offence of the
Christian community he is a member of, let him be gravely and mildly
reproved for his sin, and, upon his repentance, received into
friendship and communion again. This the apostle calls
forgiveness,
2 Cor. ii. 7.
3. You are to repeat this every time he repeats his trespass,
v. 4.
“If he could be supposed to be either so negligent, or so impudent, as
to trespass against thee seven times in a day, and as often
profess himself sorry for his fault, and promise not again to offend in
like manner, continue to forgive him.” Humanum est errare–To ere is
human. Note, Christians should be of a forgiving spirit, willing to
make the best of every body, and to make all about them easy; forward
to extenuate faults, and not to aggravate them; and they should
contrive as much to show that they have forgiven an injury as others to
show that they resent it.
III. That we have all need to get our faith strengthened,
because, as that grace grows, all other graces grow. The more firmly we
believe the doctrine of Christ, and the more confidently we rely upon
the grace of Christ, the better it will be with us every way. Now
observe here,
1. The address which the disciples made to Christ, for the
strengthening of their faith,
v. 5.
The apostles themselves, so they are here called, though they
were prime ministers of state in Christ’s kingdom, yet acknowledged the
weakness and deficiency of their faith, and saw their need of Christ’s
grace for the improvement of it; they said unto the Lord, “Increase
our faith, and perfect what is lacking in it.” Let the discoveries
of faith be more clear, the desires of faith more strong, the
dependences of faith more firm and fixed, the dedications of faith more
entire and resolute, and the delights of faith more pleasing. Note, the
increase of our faith is what we should earnestly desire, and we should
offer up that desire to God in prayer. Some think that they put up this
prayer to Christ upon occasion of his pressing upon them the duty of
forgiving injuries: “Lord, increase our faith, or we shall never
be able to practise such a difficult duty as this.” Faith in God’s
pardoning mercy will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties
that lie in the way of our forgiving our brother. Others think that it
was upon some other occasion, when the apostles were run aground in
working some miracle, and were reproved by Christ for the weakness of
their faith, as
&c. To him that blamed them they must apply themselves for grace
to mend them; to him they cry, Lord, increase our faith.
2. The assurance Christ gave them of the wonderful efficacy of true
faith
(v. 6):
“If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, so small as
mustard-seed, but yours is yet less than the least; or so sharp
as mustard-seed, so pungent, so exciting to all other graces, as
mustard to the animal spirits,” and therefore used in palsies, “you
might do wonders much beyond what you now do; nothing would be too hard
for you, that was fit to be done for the glory of God, and the
confirmation of the doctrine you preach, yea, though it were the
transplanting of a tree from the earth to the sea.” See
As with God nothing is impossible, so are all things possible
to him that can believe.
IV. That, whatever we do in the service of Christ, we must be very
humble, and not imagine that we can merit any favour at his hand, or
claim it as a debt; even the apostles themselves, who did so much more
for Christ than others, must not think that they had thereby made him
their debtor.
1. We are all God’s servants (his apostles and
ministers are in a special manner so), and, as servants,
are bound to do all we can for his honour. Our whole strength and our
whole time are to be employed for him; for we are not our own,
nor at our own disposal, but at our Master’s.
2. As God’s servants, it becomes us to fill up our time with duty, and
we have a variety of work appointed us to do; we ought to make the end
of one service the beginning of another. The servant that has been
ploughing, or feeding cattle, in the field, when he
comes home at night has work to do still; he must wait at
table,
v. 7, 8.
When we have been employed in the duties of a religious conversation,
that will not excuse us from the exercises of devotion; when we have
been working for God, still we must be waiting on God,
waiting on him continually.
3. Our principal care here must be to do the duty of our relation, and
leave it to our Master to give us the comfort of it, when and how he
thinks fit. No servant expects that his master should say to him, Go
and sit down to meat; it is time enough to do that when we have
done our day’s work. Let us be in care to finish our work, and
to do that well, and then the reward will come in due time.
4. It is fit that Christ should be served before us: Make ready
wherewith I may sup, and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink.
Doubting Christians say that they cannot give to Christ the glory of
his love as they should, because they have not yet obtained the comfort
of it; but this is wrong. First let Christ have the glory of it, let us
attend him with our praises, and then we shall eat and drink in
the comfort of that love, and in this there is a feast.
5. Christ’s servants, when they are to wait upon him, must gird
themselves, must free themselves from every thing that is
entangling and encumbering, and fit themselves with a close application
of mind to go on, and go through, with their work; they must gird up
the loins of their mind. When we have prepared for Christ’s
entertainment, have made ready wherewith he may sup, we must
then gird ourselves, to attend him. This is expected from
servants, and Christ might require it from us, but he does not insist
upon it. He was among his disciples as one that served, and came
not, as other masters, to take state, and to be ministered unto, but
to minister; witness his washing his disciples’ feet.
6. Christ’s servants do not so much as merit his thanks for any service
they do him: “Does he thank that servant? Does he reckon himself
indebted to him for it? No, by no means.” No good works of ours can
merit any thing at the hand of God. We expect God’s favour, not because
we have by our services made him a debtor to us, but because he has by
his promises made himself a debtor to his own honour, and this we may
plead with him, but cannot sue for a quantum meruit–according to
merit.
7. Whatever we do for Christ, though it should be more perhaps than
some others do, yet it is no more than is our duty to do. Though we
should do all things that are commanded us, and alas! in many
things we come short of this, yet there is no work of
supererogation; it is but what we are bound to by that first and
great commandment of loving God with all our heart and
soul, which includes the utmost.
8. The best servants of Christ, even when they do the best services,
must humbly acknowledge that they are unprofitable servants;
though they are not those unprofitable servants that bury their
talents, and shall be cast into utter darkness, yet as to
Christ, and any advantage that can accrue to him by their services,
they are unprofitable; our goodness extendeth not unto
God, nor if we are righteous is he the better,
Ps. xvi. 2; Job xxii. 2; xxxv. 7.
God cannot be a gainer by our services, and therefore cannot be
made a debtor by them. He has no need of us, nor can our
services make any addition to his perfections. It becomes us therefore
to call ourselves unprofitable servants, but to call his service
a profitable service, for God is happy without us, but we are undone
without him.
| The Ten Lepers. |
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11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten
men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they
went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks:
and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but
where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save
this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made
thee whole.
We have here an account of the cure of ten lepers, which we had not in
any other of the evangelists. The leprosy was a disease which the Jews
supposed to be inflicted for the punishment of some particular sin, and
to be, more than other diseases, a mark of God’s displeasure; and
therefore Christ, who came to take away sin, and turn away wrath, took
particular care to cleanse the lepers that fell in his way. Christ was
now in his way to Jerusalem, about the mid-way, where he had little
acquaintance in comparison with what he had either at Jerusalem or in
Galilee. He was now in the frontier-country, the marches that lay
between Samaria and Galilee. He went that road to find out these
lepers, and to cure them; for he is found of them that sought him
not. Observe,
I. The address of these lepers to Christ. They were ten in a company;
for, though they were shut out from society with others, yet those that
were infected were at liberty to converse with one another, which would
be some comfort to them, as giving them an opportunity to compare
notes, and to condole with one another. Now observe,
1. They met Christ as he entered into a certain village.
They did not stay till he had refreshed himself for some time after the
fatigue of his journey, but met him as he entered the town,
weary as he was; and yet he did not put them off, nor adjourn their
cause.
2. They stood afar off, knowing that by the law their disease
obliged them to keep their distance. A sense of our spiritual
leprosy should make us very humble in all our approaches to Christ. Who
are we, that we should draw near to him that is infinitely pure? We are
impure.
3. Their request was unanimous, and very importunate
(v. 13):
They lifted up their voices, being at a distance, and cried,
Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. those that expect help from
Christ must take him for their Master, and be at his command. If he be
Master, he will be Jesus, a Saviour, and not otherwise.
They ask not in particular to be cured of their leprosy, but, Have
mercy on us; and it is enough to refer ourselves to the compassions
of Christ, for they fail not. They heard the fame of this Jesus
(though he had not been much conversant in that country), and that was
such as encouraged them to make application to him; and, if but one of
them began in so cheap and easy an address, they would all join.
II. Christ sent them to the priest, to be inspected by
him, who was the judge of the leprosy. He did not tell them positively
that they should be cured, but bade them go show themselves
to the priests,
v. 14.
This was a trial of their obedience, and it was fit that it should be
so tried, as Naaman’s in a like case: Go wash in Jordan. Note,
Those that expect Christ’s favours must take them in his way and
method. Some of these lepers perhaps would be ready to quarrel with the
prescription: “Let him either cure or say that he will not, and not
send us to the priests on a fool’s errand;” but, over-ruled by the
rest, they all went to the priest. As the ceremonial law was yet
in force, Christ took care that it should be observed, and the
reputation of it kept up, and due honour paid to the priests in things
pertaining to their function; but, probably, he had here a further
design, which was to have the priest’s judgment of, and
testimony to, the perfectness of the cure; and that the priest
might be awakened, and others by him, to enquire after one that had
such a commanding power over bodily diseases.
III. As they went, they were cleansed, and so became fit to be
looked upon by the priest, and to have a certificate from him that they
were clean. Observe, Then we may expect God to meet us with
mercy when we are found in the way of duty. If we do what we can, God
will not be wanting to do that for us which we cannot. Go, attend upon
instituted ordinances; go and pray, and read the scriptures: Go show
thyself to the priests; go and open thy case to a faithful
minister, and, though the means will not heal thee of themselves, God
will heal thee in the diligent use of those means.
IV. One of them, and but one, returned, to give thanks,
v. 15.
When he saw that he was healed, instead of going forward to the
priest, to be by him declared clean, and so discharged from his
confinement, which was all that the rest aimed at, he turned
back towards him who was the Author of his cure, whom he wished to
have the glory of it, before he received the benefit of it. He appears
to have been very hearty and affectionate in his thanksgivings: With
a loud voice he glorified God, acknowledging it to come originally
from him; and he lifted up his voice in his praises, as
he had done in his prayers,
Those that have received mercy from God should publish it to others,
that they may praise God too, and may be encouraged by their
experiences to trust in him. But he also made a particular address of
thanks to Christ
(v. 16):
He fell down at his feet, put himself into the most humble
reverent posture he could, and gave him thanks. Note, We ought
to give thanks for the favours Christ bestows upon us, and particularly
for recoveries from sickness; and we ought to be speedy in our
returns of praise, and not defer them, lest time wear out the sense of
the mercy. It becomes us also to be very humble in our thanksgivings,
as well as in our prayers. It becomes the seed of Jacob, like him, to
own themselves less than the least of God’s mercies, when they
have received them, as well as when they are in pursuit of them.
V. Christ took notice of this one that had thus distinguished himself;
for, it seems, he was a Samaritan, whereas the rest were Jews,
The Samaritans were separatists from the Jewish church, and had not the
pure knowledge and worship of God among them that the Jews had, and yet
it was one of them that glorified God, when the Jews forgot, or,
when it was moved to them, refused, to do it. Now observe
here,
1. The particular notice Christ took of him, of the grateful return he
made, and the ingratitude of those that were sharers with him in the
mercy–that he who was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel
was the only one that returned to give glory to God,
v. 17, 18.
See here,
(1.) How rich Christ is in doing good: Were there not ten
cleansed? Here was a cure by wholesale, a whole
hospital healed with one word’s speaking. Note, There is
an abundance of healing cleansing virtue in the blood of Christ,
sufficient for all his patients, though ever so many. Here are ten
at a time cleansed; we shall have never the less grace for others
sharing it.
(2.) How poor we are in our returns: “Where are the nine?
Why did not they return to give thanks?” This intimates that
ingratitude is a very common sin. Of the many that receive mercy from
God, there are but few, very few, that return to give thanks in
a right manner (scarcely one in ten), that render according to
the benefit done to them.
(3.) How those often prove most grateful from whom it was least
expected. A Samaritan gives thanks, and a Jew does not. Thus many who
profess revealed religion are out-done, and quite shamed, by some that
are governed only by natural religion, not only in moral value, but in
piety and devotion. This serves here to aggravate the ingratitude of
those Jews of whom Christ speaks, as taking it very ill that his
kindness was so slighted. And it intimates how justly he resents the
ingratitude of the world of mankind, for whom he had done so
much, and from whom he has received so little.
2. The great encouragement Christ gave him,
The rest had their cure, and had it not revoked, as
justly it might have been, for their ingratitude, though they had such
a good example of gratitude set before them; but he had his cure
confirmed particularly with an encomium: Thy faith hath made thee
whole. The rest were made whole by the power of Christ, in
compassion to their distress, and in answer to their prayer; but he was
made whole by his faith, by which Christ saw him distinguished
from the rest. Note, Temporal mercies are then doubled and
sweetened to us when they are fetched in by the prayers of
faith, and returned by the praises of faith.
| The Progress of Christ’s Kingdom; Destruction of Jerusalem. |
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20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom
of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God
cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,
the kingdom of God is within you.
22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye
shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye
shall not see it.
23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not
after them, nor follow them.
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part
under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so
shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of
this generation.
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were
given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire
and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his
stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he
that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and
whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one
bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and
the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he
said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the
eagles be gathered together.
We have here a discourse of Christ’s concerning the kingdom of
God, that is, the kingdom of the Messiah, which was now shortly to
be set up, and of which there was great expectation.
I. Here is the demand of the Pharisees concerning it, which occasioned
this discourse. They asked when the kingdom of God should come,
forming a notion of it as a temporal kingdom, which should
advance the Jewish nation above the nations of the earth. They were
impatient to hear some tidings of its approach; they understood,
perhaps, that Christ had taught his disciples to pray for the coming of
it, and they had long preached that it was at hand. “Now,” say
the Pharisees, “when will that glorious view open? When shall we see
this long-looked-for kingdom?”
II. Christ’s reply to this demand, directed to the Pharisees first, and
afterwards to his own disciples, who knew better how to understand it
(v. 22);
what he said to both, he saith to us.
1. That the kingdom of the Messiah was to be a spiritual
kingdom, and not temporal and external. They asked when it
would come. “You know not what you ask,” saith Christ; “it may come,
and you not be aware of it.” For it has not an external show, as
other kingdoms have, the advancements and revolutions of which are
taken notice of by the nations of the earth, and fill the newspapers;
so they expected this kingdom of God would do. “No,” saith Christ,
(1.) “It will have a silent entrance, without pomp, without noise; it
cometh not with observation,” meta
paratereseos—with outward show. They desired to have
their curiosity satisfied concerning the time of it, to which
Christ does not give them any answer, but will have their mistakes
rectified concerning the nature of it: “It is not for you to know
the times of this kingdom, these are secret things, which
belong not to you; but the great intentions of this kingdom, these are
things revealed.” When Messiah the Prince comes to set up his
kingdom, they shall not say, Lo here, or Lo there, as
when a prince goes in progress to visit his territories it is in every
body’s mouth, he is here, or he is there; for where the king is
there is the court. Christ will not come with all this talk; it
will not be set up in this or that particular place; nor will the court
of that kingdom be here or there; nor will it be
here or there as it respects the country men are of, or
the place they dwell in, as if that would place them nearer to, or
further from, that kingdom. Those who confine Christianity and the
church to this place or that party, cry, Lo here, or Lo
there, than which nothing is more contrary to the designs of
catholic Christianity; so do they who make prosperity and external pomp
a mark of the true church.
(2.) “It has a spiritual influence: The kingdom of God is
within you.” It is not of this world,
Its glory does not strike men’s fancies, but affects their spirits, and
its power is over their souls and consciences; from them it receives
homage, and not from their bodies only. The kingdom of God will
not change men’s outward condition, but their hearts and lives. Then it
comes when it makes those humble, and serious, and heavenly,
that were proud, and vain, and carnal,–when it weans those from
the world that were wedded to the world; and therefore look for
the kingdom of God in the revolutions of the heart, not of the civil
government. The kingdom of God is among you; so some read it.
“You enquire when it will come, and are not aware that it is already
begun to be set up in the midst of you. The gospel is preached,
it is confirmed by miracles, it is embraced by
multitudes, so that it is in your nation, though not in your
hearts.” Note, It is the folly of many curious enquirers concerning the
times to come that they look for that before them which is
already among them.
2. That the setting up of this kingdom was a work that would meet with
a great deal of opposition and interruption,
v. 22.
The disciples thought they should carry all before them, and
expected a constant series of success in their work; but Christ tells
them it would be otherwise: “The days will come, before you have
finished your testimony and done your work, when you shall desire to
see one of the days of the Son of man” (one such a day as we
now have), “of the prosperity and progress of the gospel, and
shall not see it. At first, indeed, you will have wonderful
success” (so they had, when thousands were added to the church
in a day); “but do not think it will be always so; no, you will
be persecuted and scattered, silenced and imprisoned, so that you will
not have opportunities of preaching the gospel without fear, as you now
have; people will grow cool to it, when they have enjoyed it awhile, so
that you will not see such harvests of souls gathered in to Christ
afterwards as at first, nor such multitudes flocking to him as doves
to their windows.” This looks forward to his disciples in
after-ages; they must expect much disappointment; the gospel will not
be always preached with equal liberty and success. Ministers and
churches will sometimes be under outward restraints. Teachers
will be removed into corners, and solemn assemblies scattered. Then
they will wish to see such days of opportunity as they have formerly
enjoyed, sabbath days, sacrament days, preaching days, praying days;
these are days of the Son of man, in which we hear from him, and
converse with him. The time may come when we may in vain wish for such
days. God teaches us to know the worth of such mercies by the want of
them. It concerns us, while they are continued, to improve them,
and in the years of plenty to lay up in store for the years of famine.
Sometimes they will be under inward restraints, will not have
such tokens of the presence of the Son of man with them as they
have had. The Spirit is withdrawn from them; they see not their
signs; the angel comes not down to stir the waters; there is a
great stupidity among the children of men, and a great lukewarmness
among the children of God; then they shall wish to see such
victorious triumphant days of the Son of man as they have
sometimes seen, when he has ridden forth with his bow and his crown,
conquering and to conquer, but they will not see them. Note, We must
not think that Christ’s church and cause are lost because not always
alike visible and prevailing.
3. That Christ and his kingdom are not to be looked for in this or that
particular place, but his appearance will be general in all places at
once
(v. 23, 24):
“They will say to you, See here, or, See there; here is one that
will deliver the Jews out of the hands of the oppressing Romans, or
there is one that will deliver the Christians out of the hands of the
oppressing Jews; here is the Messiah, and there is his prophet;
here in this mountain, or there at Jerusalem, you
will find the true church. Go not after them, nor follow them;
do not heed such suggestions. The kingdom of God was not designed to be
the glory of one people only, but to give light to the Gentiles;
for as the lightning that lightens out of one part under heaven, and
shines all on a sudden irresistibly to the other part under
heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in his day.”
(1.) “The judgments that are to destroy the Jewish nation, to
lay them waste, and to deliver the Christians from them, shall fly
like lightning through the land, shall lay all waste from one end
of it to another; and those that are marked for this destruction can no
more avoid it, nor oppose it, than they can a flash of
lightning.”
(2.) “The gospel that is to set up Christ’s kingdom in the world shall
fly like lightning through the nations. The kingdom of the
Messiah is not to be a local thing, but is to be dispersed far
and wide over the face of the whole earth; it shall shine from
Jerusalem to all parts about, and that in a moment. The kingdoms
of the earth shall be leavened by the gospel ere they are aware of it.”
The trophies of Christ’s victories shall be erected on the ruins of the
devil’s kingdom, even in those countries that could never be subdued to
the Roman yoke. The design of the setting up of Christ’s kingdom was
not to make one nation great, but to make all nations
good–some, at least, of all nations; and this point shall be
gained, though the nations rage, and the kings of the earth
set themselves with all their might against it.
4. That the Messiah must suffer before he must reign
(v. 25):
“First must he suffer many things, many hard things, and be
rejected of this generation; and, if he be thus treated, his
disciples must expect no other than to suffer and be
rejected too for his sake.” They thought of having the kingdom
of the Messiah set up in external splendour: “No,” saith Christ, “we
must go by the cross to the crown. The Son of man must suffer many
things. Pain, and shame, and death, are those many things.
He must be rejected by this generation of unbelieving Jews,
before he be embraced by another generation of believing Gentiles, that
his gospel may have the honour of triumphing over the greatest
opposition from those who ought to have given it the greatest
assistance; and thus the excellency of the power will appear to be
of God, and not of man; for, though Israel be not
gathered, yet he will be glorious to the ends of the
earth.”
5. That the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah would introduce
the destruction of the Jewish nation, whom it would find in a deep
sleep of security, and drowned in sensuality, as the old
world was in the days of Noah, and Sodom in the days of Lot,
&c. Observe,
(1.) How it had been with sinners formerly, and in what posture the
judgments of God, of which they had been fairly warned, did at length
find them. Look as far back as the old world, when all flesh had
corrupted their way, and the earth was filled with
violence. Come a little lower, and think how it was with the men of
Sodom, who were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Now observe concerning both these,
[1.] That they had fair warning given them of the ruin that was
coming upon them for their sins. Noah was a preacher of
righteousness to the old world; so was Lot to the Sodomites. They
gave them timely notice of what would be in the end of their wicked
ways, and that it was not far off.
[2.] That they did not regard the warning given them, and gave no
credit, no heed to it. They were very secure, went on in their business
as unconcerned as you could imagine; they did eat, they drank,
indulged themselves in their pleasures, and took no care of any thing
else, but to make provision for the flesh, counted upon the
perpetuity of their present flourishing state, and therefore married
wives, and were given in marriage, that their families might be
built up. They were all very merry; so were the men of Sodom, and yet
very busy too: they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded. These were lawful things, but the fault was that they
minded these inordinately, and their hearts were entirely set upon
them, as that they had no heart at all to prepare against the
threatened judgments. When they should have been, as the men of
Nineveh, fasting and praying, repenting and reforming,
upon warning given them of an approaching judgment, they were going on
securely, eating flesh, and drinking wine, when God
called to weeping and to mourning,
Isa. xxii. 12, 13.
[3.] That they continued in their security and sensuality, till the
threatened judgment came. Until the day that Noah entered into the
ark, and Lot went out of Sodom, nothing said or done to them
served to alarm or awaken them. Note, Though the stupidity of sinners
in a sinful way is as strange as it is without excuse, yet we
are not to think it strange, for it is not without example. It is the
old way that wicked men have trodden, that have gone slumbering
to hell, as if their damnation slumbered while they did.
[4.] That God took care for the preservation of those that were his,
who believed and feared, and took the warning themselves which they
gave to others. Noah entered into the ark, and there he was
safe; Lot went out of Sodom, and so went out of harm’s way. If some run
on heedless and headlong into destruction, that shall be
no prejudice to the salvation of those that believe.
[5.] That they were surprised with the ruin which they would not fear,
and were swallowed up in it, to their unspeakable horror and amazement.
The flood came, and destroyed all the sinners of the old world;
fire and brimstone came, and destroyed all the sinners of
Sodom. God has many arrows in his quiver, and uses which he will in
making war upon his rebellious subjects, for he can make which he will
effectual. But that which is especially intended here is to show what a
dreadful surprise destruction will be to those who are secure and
sensual.
(2.) How it will be with sinners still
(v. 30):
Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
When Christ comes to destroy the Jewish nation, by the Roman armies,
the generality of that nation will be found under such a reigning
security and stupidity as this. They have warning given by Christ now,
and will have it repeated to them by the apostles after him, as they
had by Noah and Lot; but it will be all in vain. They will
continue secure, will go on in their neglect and opposition of Christ
and his gospel, till all the Christians are withdrawn from among them
and gone to the place of refuge. God will provide for them on the other
side Jordan, and then a deluge of judgments shall flow in upon them,
which will destroy all the unbelieving Jews. One would have thought
that this discourse of our Saviour’s, which was public, and not long
after published to the world, should have awakened them; but it
did not, for the hearts of that people were hardened, to their
destruction. In like manner, when Jesus Christ shall come to judge the
world, at the end of time, sinners will be found in the same secure and
careless posture, altogether regardless of the judgment approaching,
which will therefore come upon them as a snare; and in like manner the
sinners of every age go on securely in their evil ways, and remember
not their latter end, nor the account that they must give. Woe
to them that are thus at ease in Zion.
6. That it ought to be the care of his disciples and followers to
distinguish themselves from the unbelieving Jews in that day, and,
leaving them, their city and country, to themselves, to flee at the
signal given, according to the direction that should be given. Let them
retire, as Noah to his ark, and Lot to his Zoar. You would have
healed Jerusalem, as of old Babylon, but she is not healed,
and therefore forsake her, flee out of the midst of her, and
deliver every man his soul,
Jer. li. 6, 9.
This flight of theirs from Jerusalem must be expeditious, and
must not be retarded by any concern about their worldly affairs
(v. 31):
“He that shall be on the house-top, when the alarm is given,
let him not come down, to take his stuff away, both because he
cannot spare so much time, and because the carrying away of his effects
will but encumber him and retard his flight.” Let him not regard
his stuff at such a time, when it will be next to a miracle of
mercy if he have his life given him for a prey. It will be
better to leave his stuff behind him than to stay to look after it, and
perish with them that believe not. It will be their concern to
do as Lot and his family were charged to do: Escape for thy life.
Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
(2.) When they have made their escape, they must not think of returning
(v. 32):
“Remember Lot’s wife; and take warning by her not only to flee
from this Sodom (for so Jerusalem is become,
but to persevere in your flight, and do not look back, as she
did; be not loth to leave a place marked for destruction, whomsoever or
whatsoever you leave behind you, that is ever so dear to you.” Those
who have left the Sodom of a natural state, let them go forward, and
not so much as look a kind look towards it again. Let them not look
back, lest they should be tempted to go back; nay, lest that
be construed a going back in heart, or an evidence that the
heart was left behind. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of
salt, that she might remain a lasting monument of God’s displeasure
against apostates, who begin in the spirit and end in the flesh.
(3.) There would be no other way of saving their lives than by quitting
the Jews, and, if they thought to save themselves by a coalition with
them, they would find themselves mistaken
(v. 33):
“Whosoever shall seek to save his life, by declining from his
Christianity and complying with the Jews, he shall lose it with
them and perish in the common calamity; but whosoever is willing to
venture his life with the Christians, upon the same bottom on which
they venture, to take his lot with them in life and in death, he shall
preserve his life, for he shall make sure of eternal
life, and is in a likelier way at that time to save his life than
those who embark in a Jewish bottom, or ensure upon their
securities.” Note, Those do best themselves that trust God in the way
of duty.
7. That all good Christians should certainly escape, but many of them
very narrowly, from that destruction,
When God’s judgments are laying all waste, he will take an effectual
course to preserve those that are his, by remarkable providences
distinguishing between them and others that were nearest to them:
two in a bed, one taken and the other left; one snatched out of
the burning and taken into a place of safety, while the other is left
to perish in the common ruin. Note, Though the sword devours one as
well as another, and all things seem to come alike to
all, yet sooner or later it shall be made to appear that the Lord
knows them that are his and them that are not, and how to take out
the precious from the vile. We are sure that the Judge of all
the earth will do right; and therefore, when he sends a judgment on
purpose to avenge the death of his Son upon those that crucified him,
he will take care that none of those who glorified him, and gloried in
his cross, shall be taken away by that judgment.
8. That this distinguishing, dividing, discriminating work shall be
done in all places, as far as the kingdom of God shall extend,
Where, Lord? They had enquired concerning the time, and he would
not gratify their curiosity with any information concerning that; they
therefore tried him with another question: “Where, Lord? Where
shall those be safe that are taken? Where shall those
perish that are left?” The answer is proverbial, and may be
explained so as to answer each side of the question: Wheresoever the
body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
(1.) Wherever the wicked are, who are marked for perdition, they shall
be found out by the judgments of God; as wherever a dead carcase
is, the birds of prey will smell it out, and make a prey of it. The
Jews having made themselves a dead and putrefied carcase, odious
to God’s holiness and obnoxious to his justice, wherever any of
that unbelieving generation is, the judgments of God shall fasten upon
them, as the eagles do upon the prey: Thine hand shall find out all
thine enemies
(Ps. xxi. 8),
though they set their nests among the stars,
Obad. 4.
The Roman soldiers will hunt the Jews out of all their recesses and
fastnesses, and none shall escape.
(2.) Wherever the godly are, who are marked for preservation, they
shall be found happy in the enjoyment of Christ. As the
dissolution of the Jewish church shall be extended to all parts, so
shall the constitution of the Christian church. Wherever Christ is,
believers will flock to him, and meet in him, as eagles about the prey,
without being directed or shown the way, by the instinct of the new
nature. Now Christ is where his gospel, and his ordinances, and his
church are: For where two or three are gathered in his name there is
he in the midst of them, and thither therefore others will be
gathered to him. The kingdom of the Messiah is not to have one
particular place for its metropolis, such as Jerusalem was to
the Jewish church, to which all Jews were to resort; but, wherever
the body is, wherever the gospel is preached and ordinances are
ministered, thither will pious souls resort, there they will find
Christ, and by faith feast upon him. Wherever Christ records his name
he will meet his people, and bless them,
John iv. 21, &c. 1 Tim. ii. 8.
Many good interpreters understand it of the gathering of the saints
together to Christ in the kingdom of glory: “Ask not where the carcase
will be, and how they shall find the way to it, for they shall be under
infallible direction; to him who is their living, quickening Head, and
the centre of their unity, to him shall the gathering of the people
be.”
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