Verse 39
39. If he were a prophet The discerning of spirits was, according to the opinion of the Jews, one of the characteristics of the Messiah. (Isaiah 9:3-4.) But it was hasty reasoning for Simon to conclude that every prophet must know the secret character of every person who approaches him.
Perhaps the character of this Simon is treated more severely by commentators than he is by the Saviour or by the evangelist. He evidently invited Jesus for the purpose of forming a correct judgment as to his true prophetic mission. He was respectful, but not affectionate; he is candid in his replies, and, at the close, he does not join with the cavillers at the claim of Jesus to forgive sins. In his parable our Lord seems to hold that he was a forgiven man. We see, then, no reason forbidding us to classify him with Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea, whom we hold to have been true disciples of Christ; or his justification was, perhaps, like that of Zacharias and Elisabeth, complete under the old dispensation.
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