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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:13

Speak to my brother, that he divide - Among the Jews, the children had the inheritance of their fathers divided among them; the eldest had a double portion, but all the rest had equal parts. It is likely the person complained of in the text was the elder brother; and he wished to keep the whole to himself - a case which is far from being uncommon. The spirit of covetousness cancels all bonds and obligations, makes wrong right, and cares nothing for father or brother. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 12:13

Verse 13 13.Bid my brother divide Our Lord, when requested to undertake the office of dividing an inheritance, refuses to do so. Now as this tended to promote brotherly harmony, and as Christ’s office was, not only to reconcile men to God, but to bring them into a state of agreement with one another, what hindered him from settling the dispute between the two brothers? (265) There appear to have been chiefly two reasons why he declined the office of a judge. First, as the Jews imagined that the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:1-12

An evil to be shunned, and a virtue to be cultivated. Jesus had been partaking of the light forenoon meal with a Pharisee. In this Pharisee's house he proclaimed war to the death with the bigots who had been dogging his steps. A small fire may kindle much wood. For some reason unknown to us, he had omitted the washing of hands before sitting down to meat. Instantly the whole company turned on him with scowl and sneer and shrug. And the action of the Truth incarnate, in reply to this, was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:1-12

A call to courage. The commotion between the scribes and Pharisees and our Lord seems to have increased his audiences, as we find "an innumerable multitude," as the Authorized Version has it, or "the many thousands of the multitude,'' as the Revised has it, treading on one another in eagerness to hear him. And his subject at this time is important—a denunciation of Pharisaic hypocrisy and a call to courage under their certain opposition. And here we have to notice— I. THE CURE FOR... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:1-59

The Lord , after leaving the Pharisee ' s house , speaks at great length to a numerous crowd waiting for him , addressing his words principally to his own disciples. The foregoing scene ( Luke 11:1-54 .), when the Master addressed his bitter reproaches to the learned and cultivated of the great Pharisee party, took place in a private house belonging to an apparently wealthy member of this, the dominant class. The name of the large village or provincial town where all this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:10

And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him . And yet even that offense, which consisted in playing the renegade and the coward; which refused to suffer for him here; which, out of slavish fear of man, consented to abandon his pure and righteous cause;— that offense, which would be proclaimed before the angels of heaven, would in the end find forgiveness. Some commentators point, as an illustration of this, to the fact of the dying Lord praying on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:11

And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer. The Master comes back again to his old calm, and continues his loving instructions to his disciples; and turning again to the little group of his friends, he says. to them." When they bring you before hostile tribunals, special help, you will find, will be given you. Have no fear, then, that you will be wanting in wisdom or courage; the Holy Spirit of God will... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me . Apparently there was a pause here in the Lord's teaching. The Master was about to enter on a new subject, and at this juncture one of the crowd, waiting for such a break in the Master's discourse, came forward with a question. It was purely connected with his own selfish interests, He seems to have been a younger brother, discontented with the distribution of the family property, of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-21

A warning against covetousness. Amid the important teaching of our Lord there comes an interlude by reason of a brother, who had been wronged out of his share of the inheritance, appealing for redress to Christ. He wanted our Lord to play the part of a small attorney and get conveyed to him some share. This our Lord deliberately declines to do, indicating that he has come into the world for higher work than worldly arbitration. This aspect of the subject has been well handled by Robertson... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 12:13-31

Worldliness. To the earnest teacher nothing can be more irritating than a half-attentive attitude or a remark which indicates preoccupation of mind with other and inferior things. Think of Christ, towards the close of a day of controversy with the Pharisees, and in the midst of solemn speech as to the duty of a true man, invited on a sudden to decide in a family quarrel, to settle a dispute about some money or some acres of soil. We know nothing about the person who appealed to him ( Luke... read more

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