Verse 22
When ye shall desire to see one of the days - As it was our Lord's constant custom to support and comfort the minds of his disciples, we cannot suppose that he intimates here that they shall be left destitute of those blessings necessary for their support in a day of trial. When he says, Ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, he either means, ye of this nation, ye Jews, and addresses his disciples as if they should bear witness to the truth of the declaration; intimating that heavy calamities were about to fall upon them, and that they should desire in vain to have those opportunities of returning to God which now they rejected; or, he means that such should the distressed state of this people be, that the disciples would through pity and tenderness desire the removal of those punishments from them, which could not be removed because the cup of their iniquity was full. But the former is more likely to be the sense of the place.
Verse 23
And they shall say - Or, And If they shall say. Two MSS., the Syriac and Armenian, have εαν, If.
See here - KM, sixteen others, and the later Syriac, have ὁ χριστος, Behold the Christ is here. This is undoubtedly the meaning of the place. See on [Mat 24:23] (note).
Verse 24
As the lightning, that lighteneth - See this particularly explained, [Mat 24:27], [Mat 24:28] (note).
Verse 25
But first must he suffer many things - As the cup of the iniquity of this people shall not be full till they have finally rejected and crucified the Lord of life and glory, so this desolation cannot take place till after my death.
Verse 26
As it was in the days of Noe - See on [Mat 24:38] (note).
Verse 27
They did eat, they drank, etc. - They spent their whole lives in reference to this world; and made no sort of provision for their immortal souls. So it was when the Romans came to destroy Judea; there was a universal carelessness, and no one seemed to regard the warnings given by the Son of God.
Verse 29
It rained fire and brimstone - Instead of it rained, [Gen 19:24] justifies the insertion of the pronoun he, as implied in the verb εβρεξε; for it is there said that Jehovah rained fire and brimstone from Jehovah out of heaven.
Verse 31
He which shall be upon the housetop - See this explained on [Mat 24:17] (note).
Verse 32
Remember Lot's wife - Relinquish every thing, rather than lose your souls. She looked back, [Gen 19:26]; probably she turned back also to carry some of her goods away - for so much the preceding verse seems to intimate, and became a monument of the Divine displeasure, and of her own folly and sin. It is a proof that we have loved with a criminal affection that which we leave with grief and anxiety, though commanded by the Lord to abandon it.
Verse 33
Whosoever shall seek to save his life - These or similar words were spoken on another occasion. See on [Mat 10:39] (note); [Mat 16:25], [Mat 16:26] (note).
Verse 34
On the subject of these verses see [Mat 24:40], [Mat 24:41] (note). The 36th verse is, without doubt, an interpolation. It was probably borrowed from [Mat 24:40]. The whole verse is wanting in - ABEGHKLQS, more than fifty others, the Coptic, Ethiopic, Gothic, Slavonic, and many of the fathers: Griesbach has left it out of the text. Well might our translators say in the margin, This 36th verse is wanting in most of the Greek copies. Griesbach thinks it might have been omitted on account of the similar ending, (see the preceding verse), or that it was borrowed from [Mat 24:40].
Verse 37
Where, Lord? - In what place shall all these dreadful evils fall? The answer our Lord gives in a figure, the application of which they are to make themselves. Where the dead carcass is, there will be the birds of prey - where the sin is, there will the punishment be. See on [Mat 24:28] (note).
Thither will the eagles (or vultures) be gathered together. The jackal or chakal is a devourer of dead bodies; and the vulture is not less so: it is very remarkable how suddenly these birds appear after the death of an animal in the open field, though a single one may not have been seen on the spot for a long period before. The following chapter seems to be a continuation of this discourse: at least it is likely they were spoken on the same occasion. Both contain truths which the reader should carefully ponder, and receive in the spirit of prayer and faith, that he may not come into the same condemnation into which these have fallen.
Introduction
The parable of the importunate widow, [Luk 18:1-8]. Of the Pharisee and the publican, [Luk 18:9-14]. Infants brought to Christ, [Luk 18:15-17]. The ruler who wished to know how he might inherit eternal life, [Luk 18:18-23]. Our Lord's reflections on his case, [Luk 18:24-27]. What they shall receive who follow Christ, [Luk 18:28-30]. He foretells his approaching passion and death, [Luk 18:31-34]. He restores a blind man to sight at Jericho, [Luk 18:35-43].
Verse 1
Men ought always to pray - Therefore the plain meaning and moral of the parable are evident; viz. that as afflictions and desolations were coming on the land, and they should have need of much patience and continual fortitude, and the constant influence and protection of the Almighty, therefore they should be instant in prayer. It states, farther, that men should never cease praying for that the necessity of which God has given them to feel, till they receive a full answer to their prayers. No other meaning need be searched for in this parable: St. Luke, who perfectly knew his Master's meaning, has explained it as above.
Verse 2
A judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man - It is no wonder that our Lord calls this person an unrighteous judge, [Luk 18:6]. No person is worthy to be put in the sacred office of a judge who does not deeply fear God, and tenderly respect his fellow creatures. Because this person feared not God, he paid no attention to the calls of justice; and because he respected not man, he was unmoved at the complaint of the widow. Even among the heathens this was the character of a man totally abandoned to all evil. So Dion Cassius says of Vitellius, that he neither regarded gods nor men - ουτε των ανθρωπων, ουτε των θεων εφροντιζεν.
Verse 3
Avenge me of mine adversary - The original, εκδικησον με απο του αντιδικου μου, had better be translated, Do me justice against, or vindicate me from, my adversary. If the woman had come to get revenge, as our common translation intimates, I think our blessed Lord would never have permitted her to have the honor of a place in the sacred records. She desired to have justice, and that only; and by her importunity she got that which the unrighteous judge had no inclination to give, but merely for his own ease.
Verse 4
He said within himself - How many actions which appear good have neither the love of God, nor that of our neighbor, but only self-love of the basest kind, for their principle and motive!
Verse 5
She weary me - Ὑπωπιαζῃ με, Stun me. A metaphor taken from boxers, who bruise each other, and by beating each other about the face blacken the eyes. See [1Cor 9:27].
Verse 6
Hear what the unjust judge saith - Our blessed Lord intimates that we should reason thus with ourselves: "If a person of such an infamous character as this judge was could yield to the pressing and continual solicitations of a poor widow, for whom he felt nothing but contempt, how much more ready must God be, who is infinitely good and merciful, and who loves his creatures in the tenderest manner, to give his utmost salvation to all them who diligently seek it!"
Verse 7
And shall not God avenge his own elect - And will not God the righteous Judge do justice for his chosen? Probably this may refer to the cruel usage which his disciples had met with, and were still receiving, from the disobedient and unbelieving Jews; and which should be finally visited upon them in the destruction of their city, and the calamities which should follow. But we may consider the text as having a more extensive meaning. As God has graciously promised to give salvation to every soul that comes unto him through his Son, and has put his Spirit in their hearts, inducing them to cry unto him incessantly for it; the goodness of his nature and the promise of his grace bind him to hear the prayers they offer unto him, and to grant them all that salvation which he has led them by his promise and Spirit to request.
Which cry day and night unto him, etc. - This is a genuine characteristic of the true elect or disciples of Christ. They feel they have neither light, power, nor goodness, but as they receive them from him; and, as he is the desire of their soul, they incessantly seek that they may be upheld and saved by him.
Though he bear long with them? - Rather, and He is compassionate towards Them, and consequently not at all like to the unrighteous judge. Instead of μακροθυμων, and be long-suffering, as in our translation, I read μακροθυμει, he is compassionate, which reading is supported by ABDLQ, and several others. The reason which our Lord gives for the success of his chosen, is,
1. They cry unto him day and night.
2. He is compassionate towards Them.