10 And he said, To you is given knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to the others, they are given in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and though they give hearing, the sense will not be clear to them.
And he said to them in answer, To you is given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Because whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have more; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. For this reason I put things into the form of stories; because they see without seeing, and give ear without hearing, and the sense is not clear to them. And for them the words of Isaiah have come true, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you: For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well. But a blessing be on your eyes, because they see; and on your ears, because they are open. For truly, I say to you that prophets and upright men had a desire to see the things which you see, and saw them not; and to have knowledge of the words which have come to your ears, and they had it not.
The secret which has been kept from all times and generations, but has now been made clear to his saints, To whom God was pleased to give knowledge of the wealth of the glory of this secret among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we are preaching; guiding and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that every man may be complete in Christ;
What then? That which Israel was searching for he did not get, but those of the selection got it and the rest were made hard. As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day. And David says, Let their table be made a net for taking them, and a stone in their way, and a punishment: Let their eyes be made dark so that they may not see, and let their back be bent down at all times.
Go to this people and say, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you: For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.
For the prophets who gave the news of the grace which would come to you, made search with all care for knowledge of this salvation; Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them. And it was made clear to those prophets that they were God's servants not for themselves but for you, to give you word of the things which have now come to your ears from the preachers of the good news through the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; things which even angels have a desire to see.
How by revelation the secret was made clear to me, as I said before in a short letter, By the reading of which you will be clear about my knowledge of the secret of Christ; Which in other generations was not given to the sons of men, but the revelation of it has now been made to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit; Which is that the Gentiles have a part in the heritage, and in the same body, and in the same hope in Christ through the good news, Of which I was made a preacher, through that grace of God which was given to me in the measure of the working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ: And make all men see what is the ordering of the secret which from the first has been kept in God who made all things;
But we give the news of the secret wisdom of God, which he had kept in store before the world came into existence, for our glory; Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross: But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him. But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God. For who has knowledge of the things of a man but the spirit of the man which is in him? in the same way, no one has knowledge of the things of God but the Spirit of God.
In that same hour he was full of joy in the Holy Spirit and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children: for so, O Father, it was pleasing in your eyes. All things have been given to me by my Father: and no one has knowledge of the Son, but only the Father: and of the Father, but only the Son, and he to whom the Son will make it clear. And, turning to the disciples, he said privately, Happy are the eyes which see the things you see: For I say to you that numbers of prophets and kings have had a desire to see the things which you see, and have not seen them, and to have knowledge of the things which have come to your ears, and they had it not.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 8
Commentary on Luke 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Lu 8:1-3. A Galilean Circuit, with the Twelve and Certain Ministering Women. (In Luke only).
1. went—travelled, made a progress.
throughout every city and village—through town and village.
preaching, &c.—the Prince of itinerant preachers scattering far and wide the seed of the Kingdom.
2. certain women … healed, &c.—on whom He had the double claim of having brought healing to their bodies and new life to their souls. Drawn to Him by an attraction more than magnetic, they accompany Him on this tour as His almoners—ministering unto Him of their substance. Blessed Saviour! It melts us to see Thee living upon the love of Thy ransomed people. That they bring Thee their poor offerings we wonder not. Thou hast sown unto them spiritual things, and they think it, as well they might, a small thing that Thou shouldst reap their material things (1Co 9:11). But dost Thou take it at their hand, and subsist upon it? "Oh, the depth of the riches" (Ro 11:33)—of this poverty of His!
Mary Magdalene—that is, probably, of Magdala (on which see Mt 15:39; see on Mr 8:10).
went—rather, "had gone."
seven devils—(Mr 16:9). It is a great wrong to this honored woman to identify her with the once profligate woman of Lu 7:37, and to call all such penitents Magdalenes. The mistake has arisen from confounding unhappy demoniacal possession with the conscious entertainment of diabolic impurity, or supposing the one to have been afflicted as a punishment for the other—for which there is not the least scriptural ground.
3. Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's steward—If the steward of such a godless, cruel, and licentious wretch as Herod Antipas (see on Mr 6:14, &c.) differed greatly from himself, his post would be no easy or enviable one. That he was a disciple of Christ is very improbable, though he might be favorably disposed towards Him. But what we know not of him, and may fear he lacked, we are sure his wife possessed. Healed either of "evil spirits" or of some one of the "infirmities" here referred to—the ordinary diseases of humanity—she joins in the Saviour's train of grateful, clinging followers. Of "Susanna," next mentioned, we know nothing but the name, and that here only. But her services on this memorable occasion have immortalized her name. "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done," in ministering to the Lord of her substance on His Galilean tour, "shall be spoken of as a memorial of her" (Mr 14:9).
many others—that is, many other healed women. What a train! and all ministering unto Him of their substance, and He allowing them to do it and subsisting upon it! "He who was the support of the spiritual life of His people disdained not to be supported by them in the body. He was not ashamed to penetrate so far into the depths of poverty as to live upon the alms of love. He only fed others miraculously; for Himself, He lived upon the love of His people. He gave all things to men, His brethren, and received all things from them, enjoying thereby the pure blessing of love: which is then only perfect when it is at the same time both giving and receiving. Who could invent such things as these? It was necessary to live in this manner that it might be so recorded" [Olshausen].
Lu 8:4-18. Parable of the Sower.
(See on Mr 4:3-9, Mr 4:14-20.)
16. No man, &c.—(see on Mt 5:15, of which this is nearly a repetition).
17. For nothing, &c.—(See on Lu 12:2).
18. how ye—in Mr 4:24, "what ye hear." The one implies the other. The precept is very weighty.
seemeth to have—or, "thinketh that he hath" (Margin). The "having" of Mt 13:12 (on which see), and this "thinking he hath," are not different. Hanging loosely on him, and not appropriated, it is and is not his.
Lu 8:19-21. His Mother and Brethren Desire to Speak with Him.
(See on Mt 12:46-50).
Lu 8:22-25. Jesus Crossing the Lake, Stills the Storm.
(See on Mt 8:23-27, and Mr 4:35-41).
23. filled—literally, "were getting filled," that is, those who sailed; meaning that their ship was so.
Lu 8:26-39. Demoniac of Gadara Healed.
(See on Mt 8:28-34; and Mr 5:1-20).
Lu 8:40-56. Jairus' Daughter Raised and Issue of Blood Healed.
(See on Mt 9:18-26; and Mr 5:21-43).
40. gladly received him, for … all waiting for him—The abundant teaching of that day (in Mt 13:1-58; and see Mr 4:36), had only whetted the people's appetite; and disappointed, as would seem, that He had left them in the evening to cross the lake, they remain hanging about the beach, having got a hint, probably through some of His disciples, that He would be back the same evening. Perhaps they witnessed at a distance the sudden calming of the tempest. Here at least they are, watching for His return, and welcoming Him to the shore. The tide of His popularity was now fast rising.
45. Who touched me?—"Askest Thou, Lord, who touched Thee? Rather ask who touched Thee not in such a throng."
46. Somebody hath touched—yes, the multitude "thronged" and pressed Him—"they jostled against Him," but all involuntarily; they were merely carried along; but one, one only—"Somebody Touched" Him, with the conscious, voluntary, dependent touch of faith, reaching forth its hands expressly to have contact with Him. This and this only Jesus acknowledges and seeks out. Even so, as the Church Father Augustine long ago said, multitudes still come similarly close to Christ in the means of grace, but all to no purpose, being only sucked into the crowd. The voluntary, living contact of faith is that electric conductor which alone draws virtue out of Him.
47. declared … before all—This, though a great trial to the shrinking modesty of the believing woman, was just what Christ wanted in dragging her forth, her public testimony to the facts of her case—both her disease, with her abortive efforts at a cure, and the instantaneous and perfect relief which her touch of the Great Healer had brought her.
55. give her meat—(See on Mr 5:43).