And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all . The words here used are few, and we pass them over often without pausing to think of what they involve. It was, perhaps, the hour in the ministry of Jesus when his miraculous power was most abundantly displayed. read more
Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God ; better rendered, blessed are ye poor , etc. It is the exact equivalent of the well-known Hebrew expression with which the Psalms begin: שׁיאִהָ ירֵשְׁאַ , which should be rendered, "Oh the blessedness of the man," etc.! This was probably the exact form in which Jesus began the sermon: "Blessed are the poor." He was gazing on a vast congregation mostly made of the literally poor. Those Standing nearest to him belonged to the... read more
The blessedness of humility. Acting on the established and valid principle that we must interpret the less by the more complete, we determine the meaning of this passage by the words as recorded in Matthew's Gospel, "Blessed are the poor in spirit ,' etc.; and thus taking it, we conclude— I. THAT NARROWNESS OF MEANS IS NOT A DESIRABLE THING . Our Lord could not have intended to teach that the poor (in outward circumstances) were necessarily blessed, for poverty... read more
St. Luke ' s report of the discourse of our Lord commonly termed the sermon on the mount. We consider that the discourse contained in the following thirty verses (20-49) is identical with that longer "sermon on the mount" reported by St. Matthew (5.). Certain differences are alleged to exist in the framework of the two discourses. In St. Matthew the Lord is stated to have spoken it on the mountain; in St. Luke, in the plain. This apparent discrepancy has been already discussed (see... read more
The Legislator on the mount. We have seen how, after a whole night spent in prayer, our Lord proceeded to the important work of selecting his apostles. In this way he organized his kingdom. And now, having healed all who needed healing, and had been brought or had come to him, he has the ground cleared for legislative work. From this mountain-top in Galilee he publishes the laws of the kingdom, and thus gives to the world such a high-toned morality as has not been surpassed or superseded... read more
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled . A similar question probably to the one suggested above, brought out the addition reported in St. Matthew's account—" after righteousness." Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh . There is a mourning which, as Augustine says, has no blessing from heaven attached to it, at best only a sorrow of this world and for the things of this world. What Jesus speaks of is a nobler grief', a weeping for our sins and the sins of others,... read more
The blessedness of spiritual hunger. On the same principle of interpretation as that which applies to the preceding verse (see preceding homily), we conclude that our Master is referring to those who hunger after righteousness , who are affected by a keen spiritual appetite. These are in a state of earnest religious inquiry; they are like the young man who ran eagerly and anxiously to "know what he must do to inherit eternal life" ( Luke 18:18 ). In other words, they are earnestly... read more
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. An onlook into the yet distant future. These words would be repeated by many a brave confessor in the days when persecution, at the hands of a far stronger and more far-reaching government than that of Jerusalem, should be the general lot of his followers. We find from pagan writers of the next age that... read more
The blessedness of martyrdom. Using the word 'martyrdom' in its broader sense, we have to consider the Lord's saying respecting it. It certainly is paradoxical enough. Yet his meaning is to be found for the looking. It is, indeed, true— I. THAT THE ENMITY OF OTHERS IS A SORE TRIAL TO OUR SPIRIT . Other things bruise us beside bludgeons, and other things cut us beside whipcord. The manifest hatred of other hearts, the cruel reproaches of unsparing lips,... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 6:17
And he came down with them, and stood in the plain . Leaving the uppermost slopes of the hill—the modern Kurm Hattin , or "Horns of Hattin"—where he had spent the night alone in prayer—Jesus probably descended a little and rejoined the band of disciples. Out of these he called the twelve above mentioned; and titan, with the whole body of disciples—the twelve, no doubt, closest to his Person—he continued the descent for some way. On a level spot situate on the hillside, very likely a fiat... read more