When or under what circumstances our Lord departed from Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, in the last autumn of His earthly life, we are not told. The writers of the synoptic Gospels have recorded numerous discourses, parables, and miracles, as incidents of a journey toward Jerusalem. We shall here as heretofore devote our study primarily to His words and works, with but minor regard to place, time, or sequence.
As the time of His betrayal and crucifixion drew near, "he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" He turned northward on two occasions, once when He retired to the region of Bethabara, and again to Ephraim. In one of the Samaritan villages He was refused entertainment and a hearing. Racial prejudice had superseded the obligations of hospitality. James and John, those Sons of Thunder, were so resentful as to yearn for vengeance.
Luke gives next place to the incident of three men who were desirous or willing to become disciples of Christ. One of them seems to have been discouraged at the prospect of hardship such as the ministry entailed. The others wished to be temporarily excused from service, one that he might attend the burial of his father.
This, or a similar occurrence, is recorded by Matthew in another connection, and has already received attention in these pages. The supreme importance of our Lord's ministry, and the shortness of the time remaining to Him in the flesh, demanded more missionary laborers. The Twelve were to remain with Him to the end; every hour of possible instruction and training had to be utilized in their further preparation for the great responsibilities that would rest upon them after the Master's departure. As assistants in the ministry, He called and commissioned the Seventy, and straightway sent them forth into every city and place, whither he himself would come. The need of their service was explained in the introduction to the impressive charge by which they were instructed in the
Many matters on which the Twelve had been instructed prior to their missionary tour were now repeated to the Seventy. They were told that they must expect unfriendly and even hostile treatment; their situation would be as that of lambs among wolves. As their mission was urgent, they were not to stop on the way to make or renew personal acquaintanceships. On entering a house they were to invoke peace upon it; if the household deserved the gift peace would rest therein, but otherwise the Lord's servants would feel that their invocation was void.
They were not to go from one house to another seeking better entertainment, nor should they expect or desire to be feasted, but they should accept what was offered, eating that which was set before them. If rejected in any city, they were to depart therefrom, leaving, however, their solemn testimony that the city had turned away from the kingdom of God, which had been brought to its doors. It was not for them to pronounce anathema or curse, but the Lord assured them that such a city would bring upon itself a fate worse than the doom of Sodom. He reminded them that they were His servants, and therefore whoever heard or refused to hear them would be judged as having so treated Him.
They were not restrained, as the Twelve had been, from entering Samaritan towns or the lands of the Gentiles. This difference is consistent with the changed conditions, for now the prospective itinerary of Jesus would take Him into non-Jewish territory. The narrow Jewish prejudice against Gentiles in general and Samaritans in particular was to be discountenanced. We must keep in mind the progressiveness of the Lord's work.
Mention of the condemnation that would follow wilful rejection of the authorized servants of God aroused in our Lord's mind sad memories of the repulses He had suffered. In profound sorrow He predicted the woes then impending over Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Considerable time may have elapsed, weeks or possibly months, between the departure of the Seventy and their return. We are not told when or where they rejoined the Master; but this we know, that the authority and power of Christ had been abundantly manifest in their ministry. "Lord," said they, "even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." This testimony was followed by the Lord's solemn statement: "I beheld
This was said with reference to the expulsion of the rebellious son of the morning, after his defeat by Michael and the heavenly hosts. "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you," he said.
The righteous joy of His servants and His contemplation of their faithfulness caused Jesus to rejoice. Compared with the learned men of the time, such as the rabbis and scribes, these devoted servants were as babes in humility, trust, and faith. Such children were and are among the nobles of the kingdom. As in the hours of darkest sorrow, so in this moment of righteous exultation over the faithfulness of His followers, Jesus communed with the Father, to do whose will was His sole purpose.
Our Lord's joy on this occasion is comparable to that which He experienced when Peter had burst forth with the confession of his soul: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." In solemn discourse Jesus said: "All things are delivered to me of my Father" Then in more intimate communion with the disciples He added: "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see"
Luke tells us that the "certain lawyer," of whom he speaks, put a question to tempt Jesus. Viewing the questioner's motive with all possible charity, we may assume that he wished to test the knowledge and wisdom of the famous Teacher, probably for the purpose of embarrassing Him. Certainly his purpose was not that of sincere search for truth.
Jesus replied by a counter question, in which was plainly intimated that if this man, who was professedly learned in the law, had read and studied properly, he should know without asking what he ought to do. The man replied with an admirable summary of the commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart"
We may well be grateful for the lawyer's question; for it served to draw from the Master's inexhaustible store of wisdom one of His most appreciated parables. The story is known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan ; it runs as follows: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead"
The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbour?" aside from that of self-justification and a desire to retreat in the best form possible from an embarrassing situation. His desire may have been somewhat akin to that of Peter, who was eager to learn just how many times he was required to forgive an offending brother. If he had to love his neighbors as he loved himself, he wanted to have as few neighbors as possible.
The parable with which our Lord replied to the lawyer's question is rich in interest as a story alone, and particularly so as an embodiment of precious lessons. It was withal so true to existing conditions, that, like the story of the sower who went forth to sow, and other parables given by the Lord Jesus, it may be true history as well as parable. The road between Jerusalem and Jericho was known to be infested by highway robbers; indeed a section of the thoroughfare was called the Red Path or Bloody Way because of the frequent atrocities committed thereon. A priest, who, out of respect to his office, if for none other cause, should have been willing and prompt in acts of mercy,
These ought to have remembered the specified requirement of the law. If such was their duty toward a brother's beast, much greater was their obligation when a brother himself was in so extreme a plight. Doubtless priest as well as Levite salved his conscience with ample excuse for his inhumane conduct. He may have been in a hurry, or was fearful, perhaps, that the robbers would return and make him also a victim of their outrage. Excuses are easy to find; they spring up as readily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside. When the Samaritan came along and saw the wretched state of the wounded man, he had no excuse for he wanted none.
The Samaritan took the injured one to the nearest inn, where he tended him personally and made arrangements for his further care. The essential difference between the Samaritan and the others was that the one had a compassionate heart, while they were unloving and selfish. That the merciful one was a Samaritan, showed that the people called heretic and despized by the Jews could excel in good works. To a Jew, none but Jews were neighbors.
We are not justified in regarding priest, Levite, or Samaritan as the type of his class. Martha was housekeeper, and therefore she assumed responsibility for the proper treatment of the distinguished Guest. While she busied herself with preparations and "was cumbered about much serving," well intended for the comfort and entertainment of Jesus. Mary sat at the Master's feet, listening with reverent attention to His words.
bid her therefore that she help me." She was talking to Jesus but really at Mary. For the moment she had lost her calmness in undue worry over incidental details. There was no reproof of Martha's desire to provide well; nor any sanction of possible neglect on Mary's part. We must suppose that Mary had been a willing helper before the Master's arrival; but now that He had come, she chose to remain with Him. Had she been culpably neglectful of her duty, Jesus would not have commended her course.
He desired not well-served meals and material comforts only, but the company of the sisters, and above all their receptive attention to what He had to say. He had more to give them than they could possibly provide for Him. Both these women were devoted to Jesus, and each expressed herself in her own way. Martha was of a practical turn, concerned in material service; she was by nature hospitable and self-denying. Mary, contemplative and more spiritually inclined, showed her devotion through the service of companionship and appreciation. By inattention to household duties, the little touches that make or mar the family peace, many a woman has reduced her home to a comfortless house. Many another has eliminated the essential
In every family time should be found for cultivating that better part, that one thing needful—true, spiritual development. As he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. No form of private prayer was given in the law, but formal prayers had been prescribed by the Jewish authorities. John the Baptist had instructed his followers in the mode or manner of prayer. Responding to the disciples' request, Jesus repeated that brief epitome of soulful adoration and supplication which we call the Lord's Prayer. This He had before given in connection with the Sermon on the Mount.
On this occasion of its repetition, the Lord supplemented the prayer by explaining the imperative necessity of earnestness and enduring persistency in praying. The lesson was made plain by the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. The man to whose home a friend had come at midnight could not let his belated and weary guest go hungry, yet there was no bread in the house. He made his visitor's wants his own, and pleaded at his neighbor's door as though asking for himself.
The parable is regarded by some as a difficult one to apply, since it deals with the selfish and comfort-loving element of human nature. The hospitable man in the parable had refused to be repulsed; he kept on knocking until the door was opened, and as a result received what he wanted. The Master added by way of comment and instruction: " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find"
The Lord's lesson was, that if man, with all his selfishness and disinclination to give, will nevertheless grant what his neighbor with proper purpose asks. No parallelism lies between man's selfish refusal and God's wise and beneficent waiting. There must be a consciousness of real need for prayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer effective. In mercy the Father sometimes delays the granting that the asking may be more fervent. But in the words of Jesus: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Parable of the Unjust Judge or of the Importunate Widow. Judge was of wicked character; he denied justice to the widow. He was moved to action by the desire to escape the woman's importunity. Let us beware of the error of comparing his selfish action with the ways of God.
Jesus did not indicate that as the wicked judge finally yielded to supplication so would God do. He pointed out that if even such a being as this judge, who "feared not God, neither regarded man," would at last hear and grant the widow's plea, no one should doubt that God, the Just and Merciful, will hear and answer. The judge's obduracy, though wholly wicked on his part, may have been ultimately advantageous to the widow. Had she easily obtained redress she might have become again unwary, and perchance a worse adversary than the first might have oppressed her. The Lord's purpose in giving the parable is specifically stated; it was "to this end, that men ought always to
The old Pharisaic theory, that He cast out devils through the power of "Beelzebub, the chief of the devils," was revived. The utter foolishness of such a conception was demonstrated, as it had been on an earlier occasion to which we have given attention. The spiritual darkness, in which evil men grope for signs, the disappointment and condemnation that await them, and other precious precepts, Jesus elucidated in further discourse. Then, by invitation He went to the house of a certain Pharisee to dine. Other Pharisees, as also lawyers and scribes, were present. Jesus intentionally omitted the ceremonial washing of hands, which all others in the company scrupulously performed before taking their
The Pharisees and scribes resented the censure to which they had been subjected, and "began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things" Popular interest in our Lord's movements was strong in the region beyond Jordan, as it had been in Galilee. Jesus' recorded utterances on this occasion appear also in His final denunciation of Pharisaism, later delivered at the temple.
We read of Him surrounded by "an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another" Jesus warned them of the leaven of the Pharisees, which He characterized as hypocrisy. One man in the company, intent on selfish interests and unable to see beyond the material affairs of life, spoke out saying, "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" Jesus promptly refused to act as mediator or judge in the matter. "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" was the Master's rejoinder.
As in the case of the guilty woman who had been brought before Him for judgment, Jesus refrained from intervention in matters of legal administration. An opposite course would have probably involved Him in useless disputation, and might have given color to a complaint that He was arrogating to Himself the functions of the legally established tribunals. The man's appeal, however, was made the nucleus of valuable instruction; his clamor for a share in the family inheritance caused Jesus to say: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness"
The man's abundance had been accumulated through labor and thrift. He is not represented as one in possession of wealth not rightfully his own. His plans for the proper care of his fruits and goods were not of themselves evil. He might have considered better ways of distributing his surplus, as for the relief of the needy.
His sin was twofold; first, he regarded his great store chiefly as the means of securing personal ease and sensuous indulgence; secondly, in his material prosperity he failed to acknowledge God, and even counted the years as his own. In the hour of his selfish jubilation he was smitten. Whether the voice of God came to him as a fearsome presentiment of impending death, or by angel messenger, or how otherwise, we are not informed. But the voice spoke his doom: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." He had used his time and his powers of body and mind to sow, reap and garner—all for himself. And what came of it all? Whose
Turning to the disciples Jesus reiterated some of the glorious truths He had uttered when preaching on the mount. "Fear not, little flock," He added in tone of affectionate and paternal regard, "for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" They were urged to store their wealth in bags that wax not old, suited to the heavenly treasure which, unlike the goods of the foolish rich man, shall not be left behind when the soul is summoned. The man whose treasure is of earth leaves it all at death; he whose wealth is in heaven goes to his own, and death is but the portal to his treasury.
The disciples were admonished to be ever ready, waiting as servants wait at night with lights burning, for their master's return. So is the Son of Man to come, perhaps when least expected. The faithful steward is a good type of the apostles, individually or as a body. "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?"
As stewards they were charged with the care of the other servants, and of the household. The Lord then referred feelingly to His own mission, and especially to the dreadful experiences then soon to befall Him. He told again of the strife and dissension that would follow the preaching of His gospel. To those who, ever ready to interpret the signs of the weather, yet remained wilfully blind to the important developments of the times, He applied the caustic epithet, hypocrites! "EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH."
Some of the people who had been listening to our Lord's discourse reported to Him the circumstances of a tragical event that had taken place inside the temple walls. A number of Galileans had been slain by Roman soldiers, at the base of the altar, so that their blood had mingled with that of the sacrificial victims. It is probable that the slaughter of these Galileans was incident to some violent demonstration of Jewish resentment against Roman authority, which the procurator, Pilate, construed as an incipient insurrection, to be promptly and forcibly quelled. Such outbursts were not uncommon, and the Roman tower or fortress of Antonia had been erected in a commanding position overlooking the temple grounds.
The purpose of the informants who brought this matter to the attention of Jesus is not stated. Some may have wondered as to whether the fate of the Galilean victims had befallen them as a merited retribution. By question and answer He assured them that those who had so been slain were not to be considered as sinners above other Galileans. "But," said He, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish"
There were perhaps some who believed that the men upon whom the tower had fallen had deserved their fate. It is not man's prerogative to pass upon the purposes and designs of God, nor to judge by human reason alone that this person or that suffers disaster as a direct result of individual sin. Nevertheless men have ever been prone to so judge. There are many inheritors of the spirit of Job's friends, who assumed his guilt as certain because of the great misfortunes and sufferings that had come upon him.
Even while Jesus spake, calamity dark and dire was impending over temple, city and nation. Unless the people would repent and accept the Messiah then in their midst, the decree of destruction would be carried to its dread fulfilment. The imperative need of reformation was illustrated by the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In Jewish literature, particularly in rabbinical lore, the fig tree is of frequent mention as a symbol of the nation.
The warning conveyed in the parable is plain; the element of possible escape is no less evident. The Baptist had cried out in warning that the ax was even then in readiness, and every unfruitful tree would be hewn down. If the fig tree represents the covenant people, then the vineyard is naturally the world at large. The dresser of the vineyards is the Son of God, who by personal ministry and solicitous care makes intercession for the barren tree, in the hope that it may yet bear fruit.
Jesus called a woman to Him, and without waiting for petition or request, said simply, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity." These words He accompanied by the laying-on of hands, a feature of His healing ministrations not always performed. She was healed forthwith and stood erect; and, acknowledging the source of the power by which she had been released from her bonds, glorified God in a fervent prayer of thanksgiving.
Instead of addressing himself to Jesus, he vented his ill feeling upon the people. He told them there were six days in which men ought to work, and that on those days they who wished to be healed should come, but not on the Sabbath. The rebuke was ostensibly directed to the people, especially to the woman who had received the blessing, but in reality against Jesus. If there were any element of work in the healing it had been done by Him, not by the woman nor by others. "Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham
It may be inferred that the woman's affliction had been more deeply seated than in the muscles. The rebuke to the ruler of the synagog was followed by a brief discourse. Jesus gave to these people some of the teachings before delivered in Galilee. These included the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.
One of those who had been impressed by His doctrines submitted this question: "Lord, are there few that be saved?" Jesus replied: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate" The counsel was enlarged upon to show that neglect or procrastination in obeying the requirements for salvation may result in the soul's loss. When the door is shut in judgment many will come knocking, and some will plead that they had known the Lord, having eaten and drunk in His company. But to them who had failed to accept the truth when offered the Lord shall say: "I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity"
Some commentators regard this warning as another evidence of Pharisaic cunning. Ought we not to be liberal and charitable in our judgment as to the intent of others? Doubtless there were good men in the fraternity of Pharisees. Those who came informing Christ of a plot against His life were possibly impelled by humane motives, and may even have been believers at heart.
"Go ye," said He, "and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow" The specifying of today, tomorrow, and the third day was a means of expressing the present in which the Lord was then acting, the immediate future, in which He would continue to minister. He placed beyond doubt the fact that He did not intend to hasten His steps, neither cut short His journey nor cease His labors through fear of Herod Antipas, who for craft and cunning was best typified by a sly and murderous fox.
Christ intended to go on, and soon in ordinary course He would leave Perea, which was part of Herod's domain, and enter Judea. "It cannot be," He explained, "that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" The awful reality that He, the Christ, would be slain in the chief city of Israel wrung from Him the pathetic apostrophe over Jerusalem.
It appears improbable that the numerous works recorded by the synoptic writers as features of our Lord's ministry, which extended from Galilee through Perea, into Samaria and parts of Judea, could have attended that special and, as it were secret, journey, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The lack of agreement among writers as to the sequence of events in Christs' life is wide. A comparison of the "Harmonies" published in the most prominent Bible Helps (see e.g. Oxford and Bagster "Helps") exemplifies these divergent views. The subject-matter of ourLord's teachings maintains its own intrinsic worth irrespective of merely circumstantial incidents.
"It is well known that the whole of one great section in St. Luke—from 9:51 to 18:30—forms an episode in the Gospel narrative of which many incidents are narrated by this Evangelist alone," he says. "This great journey, therefore, from Galilee to Jerusalem, must have been either a journey to the Feast of Tabernacles or to the feast of Dedication," he adds.
"I will narrate this period of our Lord's life in the order which, after repeated study of the Gospels, appears to me to be the most probable, and in the separate details of which I have found myself again and again confirmed by the conclusions of other independent inquirers. "1. That the episode of St. Luke up to 18:30, mainly refers to a single journey, although unity of subject, or other causes, may have led the sacred writer to weave into his narrative some events or utterances which belong to an earlier or later epoch. "2. That it could not have been the former may be regarded as settled, not only on other grounds, but decisively because that was a rapid and secret
That the order of the facts narrated even by St. Luke alone is not, and does not in any way claim to be, strictly chronological. "3. That this journey is identical with that which is partially recorded in Matt. 18:1; 20:16; Mark 10:1-31. "4. That (as seems obvious from internal evidence) the events narrated in Matt., Mark, and Luke belong not to this journey but to the last which Jesus ever took"
The place given it in the text is that in which it appears in the scriptural record. Those who obtain place in the Telestial, the lowest of the three, are shown to be "as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore" See Doc. and Cov. 76:111, 112; read the entire section; see also The Articles of Faith.
The charge given the Seventy with that of the Twelve, Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-11; Luke 9:1-5. The expression 'if the son of peace be there' is a Hebraism and refers to the character of the head of the house and the tone of the household. In this dispensation, many quorums of Seventy are maintained for the work of the ministry. See also "Articles of Faith," xi:20, 28; Doc. and Cov. 107:25; 124:137-140.
The office of the Seventy is one belonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Pages 238-241 . Luke 18:2-5; read verses 1, and 6-8. See also Doc. and Cov. 101:81-94.
Luke 12:1-12. Luke 12:14-21. Compare the fate that overtook Nebuchadnezzar, while the words of boastful pride were yet in his mouth (Dan. 4:24-33); and that of Belshazzar, before whose eyes appeared the hand of destiny in the midst of his riotous feast. See also Psa. 39:6: 49:6-20; Job 27: 16, 17.
In the revised version the last clause reads "for Herod would fain kill thee" Paul the apostle had been a Pharisee of the most pronounced type. (Acts 23:6; 26:5.) Luke 13:34, 35: compare Matt. 23:37-39.