eth, he may say unto thee, Friend, | friends, nor thy brethren, neither go up higher then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy table. Go up higher. Take a place nearer the head; a more honorable station. Worship. Honor, respect. Seeing the master of the house show you this attention, others will regard you as worthy of honor; or, thus will the master of the house honor you in the presence of his guests. The second argument, by which Jesus commended humility, was drawn from the fact, that it is the surest means to acquire permanent honor. 11. For whosoever exalteth himself, &c. A universal truth is here stated. God humbleth the proud and lifteth up the humble. And there is a strong disposition manifested among men, to honor the meek, retiring, humble man, while they endeavor to abase the haughty, and to mortify the pride of those who exalt themselves. thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; 14 And thou shalt be blessed : for they cannot recompense thee: sistent with the spirit of the gospel, and more becoming a servant of Christ, to bestow favors on the poor than on the rich. 13. The poor. Those who are destitute of the necessaries of life. ¶ Maimed. Having lost any member of the body. 14. Thou shalt be blessed. Men are blessed, or happy, in the act of doing good. See James i. 25. The benevolent emotions which prompt us to relieve the distresses of others are a blessing; and the reflection that others have been made happy by our instrumentality is a blessing. In the latter clause of the verse, an additional blessing seems to be indicated. ¶ They cannot recompense thee. That is, they cannot recompense thee, as the rich do, by inviting thee to feasts, in their turn. 12. The precept, contained in ver. 7 And for this very reason it is, that -11, was addressed to the guests. favors bestowed on them are to be reWhat follows, in ver. 12-14, was spo-garded as acts of true charity and kindken to the master of the feast. T Call ness. T Thou shalt be recompensed not thy friends, &c. This is not to be at the resurrection of the just. This understood as a prohibition against has been generally understood by extreating friends, and kinsmen, and even positors, as a promise of reward in the rich neighbors, with affection and with future life, at or subsequent to the procustomary civility. It is a common per resurrection of the dead. But to Hebraism, meaning that, for the reasons this exposition there are several objecassigned, it was more proper to invite tions, which are entitled to serious conthe poor, the maimed, the lame, and the sideration. (1.) It is the plain doctrine blind. See note on Matt. ix. 13. Rel- of the scriptures that virtue is rewarded atives and friends should not be neg- and vice punished here; that the way lected; and neighbors should not be of transgression is hard, and the way slighted, because they are rich, if of wisdom or religion is pleasant; that otherwise deserving of respect. They a recompense is rendered on the earth should all be treated with kindness, to both righteous and wicked; in short, courtesy, and generosity, according to that all, even in the present life, are our ability. But more good is accom- rewarded according to their works. plished, more generosity manifested, and Prov. iii. 17; xi. 31; xiii. 15; Matt. a more pure desire exhibited for the xvi. 27, 28; Gal. vi. 8. (2.) No well general happiness of mankind, by feed-informed Christian pretends to claim ing the poor, the infirm, and distressed, than by feasting those who are able, not only to support themselves, but to feast us in return. It is therefore more con the happiness of heaven, as his just due for services rendered; but all acknowledge that they are unprofitable servants; that they have done no more than their for thou shalt be recompensed at duty, Luke xvii. 10; that, on the other hand, they need forgiveness for their sins; and that, if saved at all, they must be saved by divine grace, manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord. Such I understand to be the feeling of every true Christian. And, feeling thus, I see not how any one can consistently expect to be recompensed in the future life for showing kindness to the poor in the present life, bestowing on them a part and only a part of what God has bountifully given to him; especially when every one must be conscious that he has done no more than his duty, and most have fallen far short of it. (3.) This kind of virtue, generosity to the poor and kindness to the distressed, is elsewhere referred to, and a peculiar reward described, in terms bearing a general resemblance to this passage, yet evidently not referring to the future life. Comp. Matt. xvi. 27, 28, with xxv. 3140; and see the notes. (4.) Our Lord nowhere else describes the transition from this to a future life, as the resurrection of the just; but that is described, either as the resurrection of the dead, or simply, the resurrection. It is difficult to assign any good reason for this deviation, if the same event were described. (5.) Whenever the resurrection of the dead, or the transition to a future life, is mentioned, nothing is said of a judgment, or rewards or punishments attending it. See Luke xx. 35, 36; 1 Cor. ch. xv; and note on John v. 28, 29. It would be contrary to his usual practice, then, if he here referred to a reward in the future life. (6.) The hearers of our Lord did not understand him to refer to the future life, as is evident from the exclamation of one of them, in ver. 15, and the remark of Jesus in regard to it, in ver. 16-24. Yet the scribes and Pharisees believed in a future existence; and, what is still more material to the present case, they are represented by Josephus as believing in a proper resurrection of the just, but in the final misery of the unjust without a resurrection. Antiq. B. xviii., ch. i., § 3; J. Wars, B. ii., ch. viii., § 14. See note on Matt. iii. 7. But notwithstanding they believed the just should enjoy so great advantage over the unjust, in the future life, they evidently did not understand our Lord to speak of that life, or its blessings, in this place; they rather the resurrection of the just. understood, by the resurrection of the just, the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom, or the blessings attending it. Such are some of the difficulties attending the common interpretation; and they are not easily removed. The true meaning of this passage may be understood, by comparing it with Isa. lxv. 17-25; lxvi. 20-24; Dan. xii. 1-3; Mal. iii. 16—18; iv. 1—6; Matt. xiii. 40-43; xvi. 27, 28; Luke xxi. 28-33. The ancient prophets predicted that, on the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom, a manifest distinction should be made between the wicked and the just or the righteous; that the wicked should be punished and the just rewarded. A peculiar exaltation, or lifting up, or deliverance, which is the primary meaning of resurrection, is indicated as the portion of the righteous, at that period. And our Lord taught the same doctrine. The redemption of his true disciples was to be accomplished when he came to establish his kingdom; and then were they to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. To this blessedness of his followers I suppose Jesus to have referred, by the resurrection of the just. And this supposition is confirmed by the fact, that what he required the Pharisees to do, in order to share that blessedness, was precisely what, at other times, he required others to do, in order to enter his kingdom, or to partake in the benefits of the Messiah's reign. For example; he required the rich young man to bestow his possessions on the poor, if he would obtain eternal life, or, as he subsequently explained the phrase, enter into the kingdom of heaven. And he assured his disciples, who had already forsaken all, that they should be abundantly rewarded, when the Son of man should sit on his throne; in other words, when his kingdom should be established in power and great glory. See Matt. xix. 16-30, and the notes. It should be remembered, that the two grand and fundamental laws of this kingdom require supreme love to God and universal love to men. The requisition here is, that the second great commandment be obeyed. When men feed the rich, and bestow favors on them who are able to repay them in kind, no true benevolence is displayed; but it is characteristic of pure love to 15 And when one of them | Blessed is he that shall eat bread that sat at meat with him heard in the kingdom of God. these things, he said unto him, others, to feed the hungry and relieve the destitute and distressed, as here required; and such love was indispensable to admission into the gospel kingdom. It is needless to quote examples, in proof of this fact; for it stands out prominently almost everywhere in our Lord's instructions. It may be objected, that the resurrection of the just is an unusual phrase to describe the events consequent upon the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom on earth. It is not denied that the word anastasis, (avάotaois,) here rendered resurrection, is generally applied to the transition from the present to a future life; "yet this is neither the only, nor the primitive, import of the word. It denotes simply being raised from inactivity to action, or from obscurity to eminence, or a return to such a state, after an interruption. — Agreeably therefore to the original import, rising from a seat is properly termed anastasis; so is awaking out of sleep, or promotion from an inferior condition. The word occurs in this last sense, Luke ii. 34." -Campbell. See note on Luke xv. 18. In this definition of the word, most lexicographers substantially agree. And, in this sense, the term is not inappropriately applied to those events which are so glowingly and in such highly figurative terms described by the prophets, and by our Lord, in the places before referred to. It might well be called a resurrection of the just or righteous, when their redemption should come, and they should shine as the sun in the kingdom of God. Matt. xiii. 4043; Luke xxi. 28-33. But whether or not the phrase was unusual, the Jews evidently understood Jesus to refer to the Messiah's kingdom, by the resurrection of the just; see ver. 15; and, in the parable which follows, ver. 16-24, he confirmed them in the belief that they understood him correctly, so far as the subject of conversation was concerned. The additional instructions, ver. 25-33, relate to the same general subject, and afford still further evidence of the same fact. 15. Eat bread. A common Jewish phrase for partaking of a feast, or of an ordinary meal. The figure used here, 16 Then said he unto him, A to denote a participation in the blessings of the kingdom of God, was doubtless suggested, at this time, by the fact, that the guests were reclining at the table of the ruling Pharisee. ¶ In the kingdom of God. That is, in the Messiah's reign, often so denominated, both by Jesus, and by the Jews themselves. "It appears from the ensuing parable, that the kingdom of God here doth not signify the kingdom of heaven in the highest sense, but only the kingdom of the Messiah, of which the carnal Jew here speaks, according to the received sense of his nation, as of a glorious temporal kingdom, in which the Jews should lord it over the Gentile world, enjoy their wealth, and be provided with all temporal blessings and delights, in which they placed their happiness."-Whitby. Campbell translates, "the reign of God;" and adds this note:-"The English Translation makes, to appearance, the word here refer solely to the future state of the saints in heaven. This version makes it relate to those who should be upon the earth in the reign of the Messiah. My reasons for preferring the latter are these: (1.) This way of speaking of the happiness of the Messiah's administration suits entirely the hopes and wishes which seem to have been long entertained by the nation concerning it. See Luke x. 23, 24; Matt. xiii. 10, 11. (2.) The parable which, in answer to the remark, was spoken by our Lord, is on all hands understood to represent the Christian dispensation. (3.) The obvious intention of that parable is to insinuate, that in consequence of the prejudices, which, from notions of secular felicity and grandeur, the nation in general entertained, on that subject, what in prospect they fancied so blessed a period, would, when present, be exceedingly neglected and despised; and in this view nothing could be more apposite; whereas, there appears no appositeness in the parable, on the other interpretation." 16-24. This parable is almost precisely the same as that in Matt. xxii. 1-14, except that Luke omits what Matthew relates concerning the guest who was destitute of the wedding-gar certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go 17 And sent his servant at sup-to prove them: I pray thee have me per-time, to say to them that were excused. bidden, Come, for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes made excuses." I must needs go and see it. It is necessary that I should go and see it; intimating either that he had purchased conditionally, and must examine whether it were worth the price, or that he was so much pleased with his bargain, that he had rather forego the feast, than delay looking upon his purchase. 19. I go to prove them. To try whether they are valuable and serviceable. This, as the former, was a trifling excuse. ment. The leading idea of the parable is, that the Jews, on frivolous pretences, would reject the gospel, or the kingdom of God as it is termed Matt. xxi. 43, which should thereupon be taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth its appropriate fruits, namely, the Gentiles. The imagery, like the previous remarks, is drawn from the feast at which the parties were sitting, and need not be very strictly interpreted. The main idea is all which materially concerns us; and this is so obvious, that the parable "is on all hands un- 20. I cannot come. Perhaps no pecuderstood to represent the Christian dis- liar emphasis is designed here; yet it pensation."-Campbell. Or, more par- may be remarked, that he who had ticularly, "the meaning of the parable purchased a farm and he who desired is this the leaders among the Jews to prove his oxen preserved an appearrejecting the doctrine of Jesus, he call-ance of politeness, and requested to be ed upon the common people, and they not coming in any sufficient number, the Gentiles were afterwards called in, to supply the room which the absence of those others had made. See Rom. xi. 11, 12, &c."-Pearce. To the same effect, Whitby and others. See Selections, sect. xxxiv. 16. A great supper. Matthew calls it a wedding feast, or dinner. The general idea is the same; namely, he prepared a feast for his invited guests. 17. See note on Matt. xxii. 3. 18. All with one consent. There is no word in the original, answering to consent. The translators were unfortunate in their choice of a word to supply what they considered to be the sense. The phrase, as it stands, intimates that there was some concert of action among those who refused to accept the invitation, which does not otherwise appear to have been the fact. Campbell's version is more judicious, and more accurately expresses the meaning of the original: "they all, without exception, And excused; while this man, having mar- 21. See notes on Matt. xxii. 7-9. of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 22. Yet there is room. It was not enough, that a few of the common people among the Jews acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, and entered into his kingdom. There was room also for the Gentiles, who were invited, and who gladly accepted the invitation. So of all the spiritual blessings of God. There is room in his house for all. There are provisions for all. What he bestows on them does not impoverish himself; but from everlasting to everlasting he is rich in grace, and his mercies never fail. 23. See notes on Matt. xxii. 9, 10. Compel them. "That is, by arguments of persuasion, not by force. The nature of the parable shows this plainly; it being a feast to which they were invited. And in the sense which I have given here, the word is used by Matthew, xiv. 22, and Mark, vi. 45, in both which places, when Jesus is said to constrain his disciples to get into the ship, nothing but his commanding or persuading them to do it can be reasonably understood. See also Gal. ii. 14."-Pearce. No argument can be drawn from this passage, in favor of compulsion in religious matters, or of restricting liberty of conscience. Error may be overcome by persuasion. Opposition may be conquered by argument. The heart may be compelled to submit by the power of love. But outward force is wholly unjustifiable. 24. None of those men which were bidden, &c. Those who had so unreasonably slighted his invitation should not be admitted. The kingdom of God was utterly taken away from the Jews, as a nation who had rejected and crucified the Messiah; and they were filled with madness, when they saw themselves excluded from the feast at which Gentiles from the four winds of heaven 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden, shall taste of my supper. 25 And there went great multitudes with him and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. sat down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God. Luke xiii. 28, 29. But because the Jews failed to enjoy the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom on earth, we are not to conclude that they shall never be saved from their sins. It was according to the divine purpose, that they should be blinded for a season, until the fulness of the Gentiles should be gathered. Then, the Jews living shall be converted to the faith of the gospel. And, eventually, every knee in heaven, earth, and elsewhere in the universe, shall bow in the name of Jesus, and confess him to be Lord to the glory of God the Father; Phil. ii. 10, 11; for he will have not only all Israel, but all men, to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim. ii. 4, and Rom. ch. xi. On this parable generally, see Whittemore's Notes on Par. pp. 162—177. 25. There went great multitudes with him. That is, when he departed from the house of the Pharisee, at the close of the foregoing conversation. And said unto them. It will be perceived, that this address to the multitude was upon a subject similar to that of which our Lord had been speaking to the Pharisees; namely, the necessity of being willing to forsake or distribute all earthly possessions, and even to sacrifice the friendship of relatives and dear associates, in order to become true disciples and partakers of the blessings belonging to the kingdom of God. 26, 27. See notes on Matt. x. 37, 38. ¶ Hate. This word is not here to be understood literally; for the gospel prohibits us from cherishing hatred towards any one. It is absurd to suppose that our Lord required men to hate their parents and near relatives, in order to be true disciples, when he most |