Christ's manifestation of himself. He had just given proof of his power to heal mortal diseases by a word, even by an act of his will. That had followed upon the announcement of his high claims as Messiah, and of the corresponding duties and privileges of his adherents as constituting the kingdom of God. It had been preceded by a number of miracles specially selected to show his power over Satan's kingdom (4:31-37); over all manner of diseases (4: 38-41); over the kingdom of nature (5:1-11); over leprosy, emblem of man's sin (5:12-16); cerning his character and ability, above which we are lifted at once, in the faith of the centurion: "Give command only, and whatever thou biddest shall be done." Here is a beginning of receptivity, and that in the case of one of the Gentiles-happy omen!-to which the Saviour may now reveal still more of himself. Hence the presentation, next, of our Lord's dominion over death. 11. And it came to pass the day after (or, Revision, soon afterwards), that he went to a city called Nain. This city, which still over paralysis, emblem of man's helplessness | exists under the same name, Nein, was situated (5:17-26); over prevailing prejudice and groundless moral distinctions, in the special calling of a publican (5: 27-32); over the morally crippling fetters of tradition, in the elucidation of the principles of fasting (5: 33-39), and the Sabbath (6:1-11). But in all this, up even to the great exercise of his restorative and delivering power preceding his Sermon on the Mount (6: 17-19), where the people felt it necessary "to touch him," that they might share the outstreaming virtue (as it seemed to them), there was a certain poverty of apprehension con twenty-four miles nearly south of Capernaum. This was a long distance for Jesus to have walked by the "next day," and the preponderance of authorities, in our judgment, supports the Revision. In either view, knowing how much the Saviour would find to do in passing that distance through a populous country, we see the urgency with which he pressed to "preach the good tidings of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also" (4:43).-And many of his disciples went with him, and much people (a great mul 12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city | 12 him, and a great multitude. behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city 13 was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came nigh and touched the bier: and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say 15 unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 And fear took hold on all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us: and, a ch. 8:54; John 11: 43; Ac's 9: 40; Rom. 4: 17....b ch. 1: 65....e ch. 24: 19; J hn 4: 19; 6: 14; 9: 17....d ch. 1: 68. titude). Now and henceforth, we find him frequently accompanied by a crowd of disciples and others on his journeyings. 12. Behold-a sad and striking encounter at the gates of the city. The town stood on the side of the Little Hermon mountain, and was reached by a steep, rocky ascent, through this one gate.-There was a dead man carried out-more literally, there was carried out one who was dead.-Was carried out was in the act of being carried out.The only son of his mother, and she was a widow. The case was thus a peculiarly sorrowful one, and had evidently excited deep interest among the people of the town; for much people (a considerable crowd) of the city was with her. It was doubtless no uncommon thing for Jesus to meet a funeral, and we do not know that on any other occasion he interfered with the course of nature under such circumstances. But now, apart from the solemn shock of disputing the way with a corpse through the gate of the city wall, the circumstances of this death becoming known to him, would be peculiarly suited to touch the sympathetic heart of the Son of man. Mourning for an only son" was a type of the sorest grief. Jesus himself signalized the love of his Father in giving his only begotten Son for the salvation of the world. And now an only son, followed by his mother, and she a widow, probably indigent and dependent on him for support what element of the pathetic was wanting? 13. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her. As we might expect, he did not wait for faith; her distress evoked his pity, and pity moved him to comfort. He said unto her, Weep not. He was probably a stranger to her, and his words would naturally first occasion wonder, or even fear. It would be rude and cruel if he stopped with | that. However it may have been with the mother, none of those who had been with him in Capernaum could have lacked faith that he could, or hope that he might, do even this wonder of mercy, and restore the dead to life. 14. And he came nigh and touched the bier (coffin) in which, with the lid removed, the body seems to have been carried on a bier. The Greek word is not that appropriate to a bier, but to a coffin. The object of the act was to arrest their movement. As before, in touching the leper, Jesus now ignored the ceremonial scruples against even indirect contct with the dead. The bearers stopped, in suspense, we must presume, about what was to happen.-And he said-addressing the dead youth, over whom as yet only a cloth would rest, in his coffin-I say unto thee, Arise. It was the voice which shall one day summon the nations under ground forth to the judgment bar. Will they hear? This "one that was dead" heard. 15. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. Performing plainly the deeds of a living man, he proved that life had gone forth in that command. And he delivered [gave] him to his mother. What a present! How simple the relation! It leaves us free to imagine the look, the manner, the tone, the language, with which Jesus would convey the unparalleled gift. And her emotions! She had lost her only son, and now he was hers again by a direct gift of God. As for the multitude, surely there could never again be a doubt that here was the Messiah, and that the Messiah was divine! Alas for the obstinacy of prejudice, and the slowness of men to realize how great a boon God has sent them in Jesus Christ! 16. And there came a fear on all—or, And fear took hold on all-the natural effect of such a manifestation of supernatural power. 17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about. 18 And the disciples of John shewed him all these things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples 17 God hath visited his people. And this report went forth concerning him in the whole of Judæa, and all the region round about. 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these 19 things. And John calling unto him two of his a Matt. 11: 2....1 Gr. certain tao. 18-35. JOHN THE BAPTIST IN PRISON SENDS MESSENGERS TO JESUS. CHRIST'S (Comp. 1: 12; 2: 9; 5: 8, 9). And they glorified God-clearly recognizing a marvelous instance of his power and mercy, yet by no means apprehending how near he was to them in it.-A great prophet is risen upposed to be the plan of this portion of Luke's among us-was true, and expressed the narrative, that this incident should be prehighest conception to which the mass, even of sented just here, to carry forward, another those who knew most about Jesus, had yet at- step, the revelation of our Lord's Messiahtained. (Comp. 9: 18, 19, and par. John 6: 66). ship. John's state of mind may well have They saw in him what Nicodemus saw-"a been not very different, at that time, from teacher sent from God"; some, even a spokes- that of other thoughtful observers of the man for God (prophet); but with diverse course of Jesus. At all events, we can see ideas as to his rank and relation to the Mes- that if the design of Luke were to select such siah. Even in this they saw proof that "God facts in his career as would bring his readers hath visited his people." From the days of by degrees, analogous to the actual stages, to Samuel to those of Malachi, pious Jews had a full recognition of Christ as the Son of looked on the presence among them of Jeho-man, his procedure is happily adapted to vah's prophets, as a token of his own presence that end. and favor, and their absence as a cause for regret and mourning. Now, after a famine of the direct prophetic word for four hundred and fifty years, with no "open vision" (1 Sam. 3:1), the appearance of a great prophet, one who, with a word merely, accomplished what Elijah did only with great pains and protracted exertion (1 Kings 17:21), was a joyful proof of God's visitation. Christ's dealing with John aims to satisfy an honest doubter of this truth, without, at the same time, deviating from his settled policy of letting the facts work their own way to the understanding and hearts of men. 18. And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. Thus "the report concerning him (ver 17) went forth" beyond Judea, even to the dismal rock-fastness of Machærus (Makor), east of the Dead Sea, where we left the Baptist in confinement (3:18-20), perhaps (as we cannot reach certainty concerning the dates) about eighteen months before. The word brought to him of the remarkable works of Jesus, such as, if correctly reported, were worthy of the Messiah, yet not all that the pious had expected of him, greatly disturbed his mind. What was he to conclude about the true character and 17. And this rumor of him [or, report concerning him] went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about. Some have scented a mistake in this mention of Judea, when the Saviour was yet in Galilee. But he was in the extreme southern part of that province, if not actually within the border of Samaria; and what was to be particularly stated was, that whereas already the rumor concerning him had spread widely through Galilee, this won-office of this extraordinary personage? It is derful work of his carried the word southward into Judea and Samaria, and the country beyond Jordan. Besides the simple delight which Jesus had in acts of mercy, assuaging pain, preserving life and useful strength, and even restoring life where this might be, he certainly attached an evidential value to these deeds of his, as proving his character and disposition, and would rejoice in having them widely known and truthfully interpreted. evident that his imprisonment was not so rigorous as altogether to prevent the access of his disciples and friends, and he must have had other intelligence of Jesus since they were last near each other at "Enon, near Salim." 19. And John, calling unto him two of his disciples-thus showing his state to have been not unlike that of Paul, at Cesaræa, according to Acts 24: 23.-Sent them to Jesus, sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? disciples sent them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he 20 that cometh, or look we for another? And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that one prominent element of the prevailing conception of the reign of the Messiah, could he recognize in the proceedings of Jesus. (or, the Lord). We have here, and in the preceding statement, another evidence that some who had embraced the teachings of John still adhered to him, and were distin- Had he been allowed to share the Saviour's guished from the disciples of Jesus. Whether company, to receive the silent influence of they also recognized Jesus as the Messiah, his example, and his truth, to ask for exand only waited on John from friendly re-planations, and to hear reasons, we may be gard, and to aid him in his afflictions, or from sure that his mental state would have been some other cause, we do not know. Sayingthe Greek participle is singular to say, John speaking through them.-Art thou he that should come (or, cometh), or look we for (are we to expect) another? 20. Arriving where he was, these men faithfully proposed their master's question. The phrase, "The coming one," or He that cometh, was a familiar designation of the Messiah. After the incidents of the Baptism, and the previous intercourse of the families of the two at the period of John's nativity, it seems so strange, on a superficial reading, for John now to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah whom he had predicted and pointed out, that commentators have put various violent twists upon his language, to make it consistent with some other purport. But we have only to remember that John, though a prophet, and Christ's herald, was "a man of like passions with us," to clear the subject of peculiar difficulty. At once we notice that John has such confidence in Jesus, that he is sure he can have from him the clearing up of his perplexities. If the latter is not himself the Messiah, he can explain what is yet to be looked for. John seeks his instruction. Recall now that in our reflections on John's work in ch. 3, we have seen that, as near as he came to Christ, he was far from that view of him which Jesus distinctly presented of himself in his first reported discourse, at Nazareth. The leading features of the work of him that was to come, are seen by the herald in quite other proportions from what the course of Jesus for now many months had realized. The unfruitful trees had not been cut down; the grain had not been winnowed from the chaff, nor was the unquenchable fire kindled to his view. He probably saw no tendency toward any of these results. Not very different. But he had not only lacked the privileges of the humblest of the Lord's disciples, he had, on the contrary, been left to pine, and fret out his spirit in cruel incarceration, brought on him by righteous zeal in the very cause which he was sent to promote. That John should, in these circumstances, have wavered, and been seriously shaken in his conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was the end of the law and the prophets, the restorer of the kingdom to Israel, is not profoundly surprising. He was indeed a special, and for certain uses, an inspired messenger of God. So was Elijah; and Elijah also lost confidence in the methods and the cause of God; he sulked, as we might say, and thought it hard that the Lord did not carry on his work according to the prophet's views. Moses, again, and Jeremiah had their times of great despondency, and no doubt would have then gladly sought light in their perplexities if there had been one like Jesus at hand. Let us notice now what John asks, and what it implies.-Art thou he that cometh? The position of thou in the Greek is strongly emphatic, in anticipation of the next clause. What is implied, suppose the answer to be in the affirmative? Something like, "Let me be assured of the fact. I lack satisfactory evidence." Not, "Let these messengers of mine have the evidence." That, if John were clear in his own mind, would have been a clumsy, if not an insincere way of indicating his desire. And, without discussing the other expedients for avoiding the scandal of a great prophet falling short of a perfect, unintermittent, imperturbable faith in former divine indications which are becoming fulfilled in a sense which the prophet did not put upon them, it is enough to say that the Saviour's kind and faithful hint in verse 23 21 And in that same hour he cured many of their in- | 21 cometh, or look we for another? In that hour he firmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering them said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered and said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings preached to 23 them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in me. 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to be a Matt. 11: 4....b Isa. 35: 5....c eh. 4: 18....d Matt. 11: 7.-1 Gr. scourges....2 Or, the gospel. shows that it was John who was in danger lish. Omitting the article to show that these of stumbling against the Christ.-Or look we for another? This may have meant only, "or not." The whole meaning would thus be, "If thou art not Messiah, thou art nothing; and we must simply wait until he comes." But the words used suggest rather that John questioned, not whether Jesus was an eminent messenger from God, but only whether, as there were some who held that the forerunner would come in one character, some in another, there might not be two, and so Jesus only a second forerunner like himself. 21. Our Lord might have answered him categorically, "Yes, I am"; but this would have been contrary to his chosen course at that time and in that region (comp. his way with the woman at Jacob's well), and would have been less honorable to John, and less helpful than the method he took. And (should be omitted, also same) that hour he cured many of their infirmities (or, diseases, and plagues, and of evil spiritsput here compendiously among the bodily cures and unto (or, on) many that were blind he gave (or, bestowed) sight. Thus he gave to John, through his disciples, to see the powers ascribed in prophecy to the Christ fully operative in him. Taking advantage of the presence of a "great multitude" (ver. 11), among whom would be, according to all experience, a number desirous to be healed of their maladies, the Lord varied and multiplied his benefits to such, in a way which could not fail to suggest to John the prophetic descriptions of Messianic blessings. (Comp. Isa. 29: 18; 35: 5, 6; 60: 1-3.) 22. These things they were to tell (or, report to) John. The variety of benefits flowing from his work is enumerated with a force and vivacity scarcely to be imitated in Eng are merely specimen cases, and the noun to fix attention on the diverse maladies, he says, blind see; deaf hear; lame walk; lepers are cleansed; dead are raised. This might all have passed before the eyes of John's deputies. And so, from the phrase, What ye have seen and heard, we may suppose that these acts of Christly grace were accompanied with instruction concerning his main object on earth, and announcements of the more precious gifts which he had to bestow. This caps the climax of the list of benefits. That to the poor (to poor people) the gospel is preached. Such was generally, no doubt, the relation in which, to our Saviour's view, his temporal and spiritual favors stood to each other. The announcement of the good news crowned all. 23. And blessed (happy) is he, whosoever shall not be offended (shall find no occasion of stumbling) in me. Here is the tender and faithful admonition by which Jesus intimates to John that he recognizes the motive of this deputation, and encourages him to renewed trust, notwithstanding the difference of the Master's procedure from what the forerunner had expected. So much the latter would naturally feel that he had deserved and would be thankful for. 24. But our Lord seemed, in a manner, to regret he had said a word which could even look to others like reflecting upon the course of his faithful and much-tried herald. And when the messengers of John were departed. Matthew's word more directly breathes the feeling: "While they were going." Immediately, as if he could not wait, he began to speak unto the people (or, multitudes) concerning John-the object being to bear witness to his exalted character and function, and to indicate his relation to |