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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 12:32

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.There is a glimpse in this verse, "the only verse in this section not paralleled in Matthew,"[32] of the circumstances under which the sermon was delivered. The Pharisees, like one of their number at a later date, were breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Lord; but Jesus calmly assured his chosen that, despite all that, the kingdom would indeed occur and that they should possess it. In Luke... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 12:33

Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.There is no suggestion here that heaven can be purchased; but benevolence is laid down as a prime characteristic of all who would enter heaven. Not even fear of poverty should prevent almsgiving. One is almost compelled to seek a relative meaning here.... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 12:35

Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 12:39

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through. Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.Jesus was still preaching a warning against unreadiness; and he here dramatically shifted to another metaphor in which he compares his Second Coming to the unexpected arrival of a thief. "Paul applied the same figure of speech to the Second Coming in 1... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 12:32-34

Luke 12:32-34. Fear not, little flock, &c.— "Since the will of God is your everlasting happiness, he will surely bestow on you the necessaries of the present life." This part of the charge may be considered as parallel to the directions given to the twelve, Matthew 10:9. Provide neither gold, &c. That is, "make no provision for your journey, but rely wholly on the providence of God." Only our Lord added a precept peculiarly calculated for those times, in which the profession of the... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 12:35-36

Luke 12:35-36. Let your loins be girded about— As the eastern nations wore long garments, it was necessary that, when they had any thing to do which required them to exert their strength or agility, they should tuck them up, and gird them close; a practice to which there are frequent references both in the Old Testament and the New. That the lamps should be found extinguished, might be an inconvenient circumstance to the master, would deprive his procession of all its grandeur, and would be a... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 12:37-40

Luke 12:37-40. Will come forth, and serve them, &c.— It was usual for servants to sit at table, and for the master to wait upon them, among the Babylonians, at their feast called Saccas; among the Cretans, in their Hermoea; and among the Romans, in their Saturnalia: but whether our Lord alluded to these, or any of these, it is difficult to judge. The words certainly are very intelligible, without supposing any such reference. Our Lord, in the next verse, enforced constant watchfulness, and... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Luke 12:32

32. little flock, c.—How sublime and touching a contrast between this tender and pitying appellation, "Little flock" (in the original a double diminutive, which in German can be expressed, but not in English)—and the "good pleasure" of the Father to give them the Kingdom the one recalling the insignificance and helplessness of that then literal handful of disciples, the other holding up to their view the eternal love that encircled them, the everlasting arms that were underneath them, and the... read more

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