LUKE XIII. 10-17

put to shame: and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

νοι αὐτῷ: καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἔχαιρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐνδόξοις τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπ' αὐτοῦ.

There is no close internal nexus between this event and that which has preceded. The general order. of events is sufficient, by which this event is related to the foregoing in a mere order of succession.

The scene is in a synagogue of the Jews on the Sabbath day. The religious leaders of the people are present, and there is in the assembly a woman bowed by a great infirmity. The Evangelist is careful to describe the gravity of the woman's malady, that the greatness of the miracle may appear in its true light.

It is clear also from the sixteenth verse that this infirmity came upon this woman by the action of Satan.

It is not recorded that the woman asked Jesus to heal her. As a usual thing the healing of the sick was wrought by Jesus, in response to petition; but here he calls the woman, and heals her by a word. To help her to realize that her cure had come from his power, he lays his sacred hands upon her. In this act the human members of Jesus' body became the instruments of divine power. It was not necessary that he should do anything more than merely to will the effect; but he chose to work in this manner. The very manner of Jesus' words expresses the absoluteness of his power. Back of his words was the consciousness of the power that made the universe of

creatures

The Lord chose the occasion for the express purpose of challenging the superstitious hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

The woman recognized God's action in the event, and she gives thanks for her deliverance; but the Pharisees see in the event a direct attack upon their traditions. The ruler of the synagogue acts as their spokesman, but he dares not address his words to Jesus. Falsehood can not bear the direct gaze of truth. The ways of falsehood are not direct and open; it is ashamed of the light. Therefore, this prince of hypocrites directs an attack upon Jesus through the multitude. He wishes to bring Jesus into contradiction with the Mosaic Law;

and therefore quoting the exact words of the sabbatical ordinance from Deuteronomy, V. 13, he charges the people to come on the six days appointed for labor, and not on the Sabbath day.

There seems to be in the Pharisee's words an attempt to belittle the work done upon the woman by Jesus, as though it were an ordinary work that could be done any day in the synagogue. And yet he must have known that there was no power in that synagogue to work that effect save the power of Jesus whom he hates. Neither the ruler nor any of his Pharisaic brethren ever operated a cure by the power of God. By their falseness and wickedness they had put themselves at an immeasurable distance from God. They had transformed the holy covenant of God into an abomination.

Of course, the Pharisee did not believe his own words: he was speaking and acting a lie; no ordinary lie, but a lie that opposed itself to the revealed truth of God. He knew that Jesus had wrought the work by the power of God; the thing itself spoke, there was no doubt, there could not be any doubt. The motive of the Pharisee was to oppose by some casuistry the truth. When men commit such sins, they are no longer men; they are demons acting in human nature.

The ruler of the synagogue was not alone; he was simply voicing the dishonest thoughts of the whole body of Pharisees. Therefore Jesus addresses them in the plural number as hypocrites. Jesus' defense is very simple. The effort required to heal the woman was less than that required to lead a beast to water, and yet every Pharisee would do this. It is a selfevident principle in the application of every law that a grave cause will justify a departure from the law which would be binding in ordinary cases. Therefore, if it was allowed by the Pharisees to loose a beast from the stall, and lead him forth to watering, much more would the mere laying on of a man's hands, unto the healing of disease, be allowed, to release a human soul from such great affliction.

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was cruel as well as absurd. Insupportable burdens were placed upon the people; but the Pharisees took care that these enactments should not fall upon themselves. It would be a disgrace to humanity, if there were

found in all this world one man to approve the conduct of these hypocrites.

The argument of Jesus was unanswerable. It appealed to the common people, and drew them to Jesus. They rejoiced in the glorious deeds of the great Prophet of Israel, while the Pharisees slink away in shame and disgrace. The multitude of the people excites our pity; they are so easily led. Now, they are with Jesus, but again they will be misled by their leaders to demand his death.

LUKE XIII. 18-22

18. He said therefore: Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it?

19. It is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof.

20. And again he said: Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?

21. It is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

22. And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem.

18. Ἔλεγεν οὖν: Τίνι ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ; καὶ τίνι ὁμοιώσω αὐτήν;

19. Ομοία ἐστὶν κόκκῳ σινάπεως, ὃν λαβὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔβαλεν εἰς κήπον ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ηὔξησεν, καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς δένδρον, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατεσκήνωσεν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ.

20. Καὶ πάλιν εἶπεν: Τίνι ὁμοιώσω τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ;

21. Ομοία ἐστὶν ζύμῃ, ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ἔκρυψεν εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία, ἕως οὗ ἐξυμώθη ὅλον.

22. Καὶ διεπορεύετο κατά πόλεις και κώμας διδάσκων, καὶ πορείαν ποιούμενος εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα.

From our of the eighteenth verse some have believed that there is indicated a logical sequence of these parables out of the preceding event. Our observation of New Testament Greek moves us to believe that this adverb here merely serves to connect the successive discourse without attention to any logical nexus. In fact, in classical Greek, the term frequently serves to resume, when a speech has been interrupted, and the

event in the synagogue may have been considered by Luke to have interrupted the course of his relation of Christ's doctrinal teaching.

The parable of the mustard seed and of the leaven is related by Matthew, XIII. 31-35. Mark relates only the parable of the mustard seed, IV. 30-34. To explain why Luke relates these parables here, two ways are open to us. Either these two parables once uttered by Jesus are differently grouped by Matthew and Mark on one side, and by Luke on the other; or Jesus repeated the parables on two different occasions.

The parables have been fully explained in Volume Second of our Commentary.

The account of Luke brings Jesus down to Jerusalem. Then there is in Luke a slight lacuna, which is filled in by St. John. St. Luke next resumes the account after our Lord has gone forth across the Jordan.

JOHN Χ. 22-42

22. And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: it was winter;

23. And Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch.

24. The Jews therefore came round about him, and said. unto him: How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ tell us plainly.

25. Jesus answered them: I told you and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me.

26. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.

27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

22. Εγένετο τότε τὰ ἐγκαίνια ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις: χειμών ἦν.

23. Καὶ περιεπάτει ̓Ιησοῦς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐν τῇ στοᾷ τοῦ Σολομῶνος.

24. Εκύκλευσαν οὖν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ: Ἕως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις; εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν παρρησίᾳ.

25. Απεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησ σοῦς: Εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστεύ σατε: τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Πατρός μου, ταῦτα μαρτυρεί περὶ ἐμοῦ.

26. 'Αλλ' ὑμεῖς οὐ πιστεύετε, ὅτι οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐκ τῶν προβάτων τῶν ἐμῶν.

27. Τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνής μου ἀκούουσιν, κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτὰ, καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσίν μοι: