Chapter 18:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Lightfoot
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGarvey Pendleton
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Mark John
Luke 18
Concise Complete
The parable of the importunate widow. (1-8) The Pharisee
and the publican. (9-14) Children brought to Christ. (15-17) The ruler hindered
by his riches. (18-30) Christ foreshows his death. (31-34) A blind man restored
to sight. (35-43)
Verses 1-8 All God's
people are praying people. Here earnest steadiness in prayer for spiritual
mercies is taught. The widow's earnestness prevailed even with the unjust judge:
she might fear lest it should set him more against her; but our earnest prayer
is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there will still be ground for the same
complaint of weakness of faith.
Verses 9-14 This
parable was to convince some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others. God sees with what disposition and design we come to him in
holy ordinances. What the Pharisee said, shows that he trusted to himself that
he was righteous. We may suppose he was free from gross and scandalous sins. All
this was very well and commendable. Miserable is the condition of those who come
short of the righteousness of this Pharisee, yet he was not accepted; and why
not? He went up to the temple to pray, but was full of himself and his own
goodness; the favour and grace of God he did not think worth asking. Let us
beware of presenting proud devotions to the Lord, and of despising others. The
publican's address to God was full of humility, and of repentance for sin, and
desire toward God. His prayer was short, but to the purpose; God be merciful to
me a sinner. Blessed be God, that we have this short prayer upon record, as an
answered prayer; and that we are sure that he who prayed it, went to his house
justified; for so shall we be, if we pray it, as he did, through Jesus Christ.
He owned himself a sinner by nature, by practice, guilty before God. He had no
dependence but upon the mercy of God; upon that alone he relied. And God's glory
is to resist the proud, and give grace to the humble. Justification is of God in
Christ; therefore the self-condemned, and not the self-righteous, are justified
before God.
Verses 15-17 None
are too little, too young, to be brought to Christ, who knows how to show
kindness to those not capable of doing service to him. It is the mind of Christ,
that little children should be brought to him. The promise is to us, and to our
seed; therefore He will bid them welcome to him with us. And we must receive his
kingdom as children, not by purchase, and must call it our Father's gift.
Verses 18-30 Many
have a great deal in them very commendable, yet perish for lack of some one
thing; so this ruler could not bear Christ's terms, which would part between him
and his estate. Many who are loth to leave Christ, yet do leave him. After a
long struggle between their convictions and their corruptions, their corruptions
carry the day. They are very sorry that they cannot serve both; but if one must
be quitted, it shall be their God, not their wordly gain. Their boasted
obedience will be found mere outside show; the love of the world in some form or
other lies at the root. Men are apt to speak too much of what they have left and
lost, of what they have done and suffered for Christ, as Peter did. But we
should rather be ashamed that there has been any regret or difficulty in doing
it.
Verses 31-34 The
Spirit of Christ, in the Old Testament prophets, testified beforehand his
sufferings, and the glory that should
1 peter that they would not
understand these things literally. They were so intent upon the prophecies which
spake of Christ's glory, that they overlooked those which spake of his
sufferings. People run into mistakes, because they read their Bibles by halves,
and are only for the smooth things. We are as backward to learn the proper
lessons from the sufferings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, as the
disciples were to what he told them as to those events; and for the same reason;
self-love, and a desire of worldly objects, close our understandings.
Verses 35-43 This
poor blind man sat by the wayside, begging. He was not only blind, but poor, the
fitter emblem of the world of mankind which Christ came to heal and save. The
prayer of faith, guided by Christ's encouraging promises, and grounded on them,
shall not be in vain. The grace of Christ ought to be thankfully acknowledged,
to the glory of God. It is for the glory of God if we follow Jesus, as those
will do whose eyes are opened. We must praise God for his mercies to others, as
well as for mercies to ourselves. Would we rightly understand these things, we
must come to Christ, like the blind man, earnestly beseeching him to open our
eyes, and to show us clearly the excellence of his precepts, and the value of
his salvation.
Chapter 18:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Lightfoot
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGarvey Pendleton
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Mark John
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
