Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
Luke Ch.18 / 24 Ch.s
LU:18
* The parable of the importunate widow. (1-8) The Pharisee and
the publican. (9-14) Children brought to Christ. (15-17) The
ruler hindered by his riches. (18-30) Christ foreshows his
death. (31-34) A blind man restored to sight. (35-43)
#1-8 All God's people are praying people. Here earnest
steadiness in prayer for spiritual mercies is taught. The
widow's earnestness prevailed even with the unjust judge: she
might fear lest it should set him more against her; but our
earnest prayer is pleasing to our God. Even to the end there
will still be ground for the same complaint of weakness of
faith.
#9-14 This parable was to convince some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. God
sees with what disposition and design we come to him in holy
ordinances. What the Pharisee said, shows that he trusted to
himself that he was righteous. We may suppose he was free from
gross and scandalous sins. All this was very well and
commendable. Miserable is the condition of those who come short
of the righteousness of this Pharisee, yet he was not accepted;
and why not? He went up to the temple to pray, but was full of
himself and his own goodness; the favour and grace of God he did
not think worth asking. Let us beware of presenting proud
devotions to the Lord, and of despising others. The publican's
address to God was full of humility, and of repentance for sin,
and desire toward God. His prayer was short, but to the purpose;
God be merciful to me a sinner. Blessed be God, that we have
this short prayer upon record, as an answered prayer; and that
we are sure that he who prayed it, went to his house justified;
for so shall we be, if we pray it, as he did, through Jesus
Christ. He owned himself a sinner by nature, by practice, guilty
before God. He had no dependence but upon the mercy of God; upon
that alone he relied. And God's glory is to resist the proud,
and give grace to the humble. Justification is of God in Christ;
therefore the self-condemned, and not the self-righteous, are
justified before God.
#15-17 None are too little, too young, to be brought to Christ,
who knows how to show kindness to those not capable of doing
service to him. It is the mind of Christ, that little children
should be brought to him. The promise is to us, and to our seed;
therefore He will bid them welcome to him with us. And we must
receive his kingdom as children, not by purchase, and must call
it our Father's gift.
#18-30 Many have a great deal in them very commendable, yet
perish for lack of some one thing; so this ruler could not bear
Christ's terms, which would part between him and his estate.
Many who are loth to leave Christ, yet do leave him. After a
long struggle between their convictions and their corruptions,
their corruptions carry the day. They are very sorry that they
cannot serve both; but if one must be quitted, it shall be their
God, not their wordly gain. Their boasted obedience will be
found mere outside show; the love of the world in some form or
other lies at the root. Men are apt to speak too much of what
they have left and lost, of what they have done and suffered for
Christ, as Peter did. But we should rather be ashamed that there
has been any regret or difficulty in doing it.
#31-34 The Spirit of Christ, in the Old Testament prophets,
testified beforehand his sufferings, and the glory that should
follow, #1Pe 1:11|. The disciples' prejudices were so strong,
that they would not understand these things literally. They were
so intent upon the prophecies which spake of Christ's glory,
that they overlooked those which spake of his sufferings. People
run into mistakes, because they read their Bibles by halves, and
are only for the smooth things. We are as backward to learn the
proper lessons from the sufferings, crucifixion, and
resurrection of Christ, as the disciples were to what he told
them as to those events; and for the same reason; self-love, and
a desire of worldly objects, close our understandings.
#35-43 This poor blind man sat by the wayside, begging. He was
not only blind, but poor, the fitter emblem of the world of
mankind which Christ came to heal and save. The prayer of faith,
guided by Christ's encouraging promises, and grounded on them,
shall not be in vain. The grace of Christ ought to be thankfully
acknowledged, to the glory of God. It is for the glory of God if
we follow Jesus, as those will do whose eyes are opened. We must
praise God for his mercies to others, as well as for mercies to
ourselves. Would we rightly understand these things, we must
come to Christ, like the blind man, earnestly beseeching him to
open our eyes, and to show us clearly the excellence of his
precepts, and the value of his salvation.