4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes and salute no man by the way.

5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you :

9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,

11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you notwithstanding be ye

[to work miracles.

sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.

15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy

name.

strangers. He who made all things, lives upon the benevolence of his own crea

tures!

Others, who had been called to follow Jesus excused themselves, on the ground of their secular concerns, and those too the offices of humanity. "Lord (said one), let me first go and bury my father:" and another, Lord, let me first go and bid them farewell that are at home." Το the former our Lord replies, "Let the dead bury their dead:" let those who are absorbed in secular concerns, and thus spiritually dead, let them attend to services of this nature: but there are in Christianity, duties paramount to all the obligations of civil life, even as the concerus of the soul and of eternity rise infi

nitely superior to those which regard only the body and the present transitory life.

To the other professed disciple, our Lord applies a kind of proverbial saying, intimating, that as he who put his hand to the plough, must drive straight forward his furrows, and not look behind him; so he who has once engaged in the gospel ministry, must bend all his attention to fulfil its duties. He whose heart is in his work, will not look behind him; and he whose heart is not in this work, had far better never enter on it. To look back is the first step to go back; indifference to the cause of Christ is the prelude to apostacy; and "If any man draw back (saith the Lord), my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Heb. x. 38.)

Ver. 4. Salute no man by the way. This direction evidently implies haste: not that they were to renounce the courtesies of civil life; but the Eastern salutations were formal, and often accompanied with impertinent enquiries, which, leading to what we call gossipping, occasioned great hinderances. Niebuhr, Horneman, and other travel'ers particu larly complain of this among the Arabs. Orient. Cust No. 443, 1262.

Ver. 5. Peace be to this house--" When a Persian enters an assembly (having left his shoes without) he makes the usual salutation, Peace be unto you! which is addressed to the whole assembly, as it were, saluting the house." Morier's 2d Journey, P. 143.

Ver. 6. If the son- Camp. "A son;" the Greek article being wanting in many MSS, the best editions, and the comments of several fathers. A son of peace, means a friendly, hospitable man; but "the son of peace" has been explained (though improperly) of the Son of man himself. The parallel text of Matthew x. 13 says, "If the house be worthy;" i. e. fit, suitable, and willing to receive you. The terin "house" is frequently used for family.

Ver. 10. But into whatsoever city, &c.-Compare Matt. x. 14, &c.

Ver. 13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin-See Matt. xi. 21, &c. These woes are rather to be considered in the light of lamentations, as when Christ wept over Jerusalem, than as curses denounced against them.

CHAP. X.

[of his heavenly Father.

you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (R)

21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight..

22 All things are delivered to me

(R) Ver. 1-20. Jesus sends forth his seventy disciples. We have already seen our Lord send forth his twelve apostles, probably about a year before this period, with instructions very similar to those now before us, as may be seen by turning to Matt. chap. x. ver. 1 to 16. The object of both missions seems to have been, like that of John the Baptist, to excite public attention, and to prepare the way of their Master. He sent them therefore, "two by two, before his face, into every city and place, whither he himself would come." This increase of labourers seems to indicate the enlargement of the work before them; and here is no prohibition, as in Matthew, of visiting either Samaritans or Gentiles; and a farther increase of labour is strongly intimated, when our Lord says to these, as well as to the apostles (Matt, ix. 37), "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into the harvest." Indeed several circumstances seem to indicate that though their first labours were to be restrained to the land of Israel, yet this was but for a short period; for, immediately after Christ's resurrection, their commission was indefinitely extended; and the Acts of the Apostles contain the travels of many of the seventy (of whom Luke probably was one), as well as of the twelve, throughout the then known world. At the present period the number of preachers is vastly increased; yet if we contemplate the work before them, namely, the conversion of the world, we

may well say as the apostle Andrew did of the five loves and two fishes, which fed the 5000,"What are these among so many?" What, indeed? but he who mul tiplied that food, can easily multiply his missionaries to a full adequacy of their work. He can fill the world with them; let us pray the Lord of the harvest, that he will so do!

The first mission of the seventy seems to have been very short, and immediately on their return, it is probable that they accompanied their Master in his last circuit through Galilee, which Doddridge thinks must have been between the feasts of Tabernacles and the Dedication; that is, about the beginning of the winter.

But let us attend to their report: "Lord (say they), even the devils (or demons) are subject to us through thy name!" This seems to have been uttered with surprise, as well as joy, probably recollecting that a short time before, some of their brethren had failed in their attempt to eject a demon (Matt. xvii. 16), and delighted that no similar disappointment had occurred to them. Jesus, while he admits the fact, represses their exultation; "True! (as if he had said,) I saw Satan, with all his subject demons, fall, as lightning from the skies; and I shall employ you in still farther victories over the old serpent and his agents: but triumph not in this. You maycast out devils,' and do many wonderful works, and yet be for ever banished from my presence. (Matt. vii. 22.) Rejoice, rather, that you have a name and a place in my kingdom above, and shall reign for ever with me."

Ver. 18. I beheld Satan, &c.-See John xii. 31; xvi. 11; Rev. xii. 8, 9. This is generally understood to refer to the sudden and precipitous fall of Satan's kingdom by the preaching of the gospel; but Erasmus understands it as a caution to the disciples against spiritual pride, as if our Lord had warned them of Satan's fate. Comp. 1 Tim. iii. 6. Ver. 20. Rather rejoice-the word rather, according to Camp. is wanting in almost all the MSS, Editions, Versions, &c., and is therefore rejected by many critics. But the context seems to favour it, and Doddr. Boothroyd, &c. retain it. Either way the sense remains the same.

Ver. 21. That thou hast hid.-The ground of our Lord's rejoicing here, is evidently not so properly that the gospel was concealed, or not revealed to any, as that it was revealed to some, and those the most insignificant and unworthy. Camp. renders it, "Because, having hidden these things from sages and the learned, thou hast revealed them to babes;' and Doddr. though he retains the common version, inserts in his paraphrase the word while; “ (While) thou hast hid these things." &c. perhaps the conjunction although would be still better. See Rom. vi. 17. See our Exposition of the parallel text, Matt. xi. 25-27,

The lawyer's]

of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

24 For I tell you, that mány přőphets and kings have desired to see

[important question.

those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. (S)

25¶ And, behold, a certain Lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

(S) Ver. 21-24. Jesus rejoices in the sovereign good pleasure of God, and teaches his disciples so to do. "The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John iii. 8), and in no instance do we find his mournful heart rejoicing, but in the downfall of pride, and ignorance, and sin; and on the other hand, in the revelation of mercy and salvation to his meek and humble followers; that while it had not pleased God to reveal his grace to" the wise and prudent," the learned and the intelligent, either among Jews or Gentiles, he had condescended to reveal it to his disciples, though comparatively babes. "This is the hour, the eventful hour (says Dr. H. Hunter) when Jesus rejoiced in spirit: the hour when the great Sovereign of the universe was subjecting spiritual wickedness to human agents; and perfecting praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings; when all the glories of the kingdom of heaven unveiled themselves to his view, and the nations of the earth hastened into it. The scenes of sorrow and suffering which must intervene, are absorbed in contemplating the blessed effects which they were to produce. Here we behold our great pattern setting us the example of referring every thing to God, as the first cause and the last end of all; who acts by his own uncontrollable, inexplicable supremacy, and with a view to his own glory."

Having made this ascription of universal power, authority, and property to the Father, he represents himself as invested with an equal extent of dominion; as sole and sovereign administrator of the world which he upholds, and which he

came to redeem. All things are delivered to me of my Father.' Now, where ALL power is lodged, there is Deity; In that he put all things in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him.' Behold, Christian, and rejoice in spirit; the powers of darkness under the feet of the Prince of peace!.... Behold the heathen given him for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession! He must reign until he hath put all things under his feet.'

"It is added, ' And no man knoweth the Son but the Father; and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.' That is, the nature, excellency, and dignity of the Godhead can be known only by Deity. God is infinite in all his perfections; but in contemplating infinity, all created understanding is lost. This reciprocal knowledge of the Father and of the Son, is itself a mystery in scrutable; for it presents at once plurality and unity which human reason sinks under. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.'" (Sacr. Biog. vol. viii, lect. 15.)

As a proper application of this subject, our Lord addresses his disciples, apart from the multitude, and reminds them of the great privileges they enjoyed, not only in being under the immediate instruction of one who possessed a complete and infinite knowledge of divine mysteries; but also in seeing with their own eyes the fulfilment of those things which prophets and kings had in ages long since predicted, but were suffered only to glance at through the medium of prophetic vision.

Ver. 22. All things are delivered, &c.—A marginal note of our translators informs us, that Many ancient copies add (to ver. 21) these words: "And turning to these disciples he said, All things, &c. So Camp. The all things delivered to the Son, may in the first place intend the doctrines and mysteries of the Gospel, but are not, we conceive, to be confined to these. See Matt. xxviii. 18.

Ver.23. Blessed are the eyes, &c. Comp. the parallel text. Matt. xiii. 26; and 1 Peter i. 10, 11,

which seems a full illustration of the passage before

us.

Ver. 25. And behold a certain lawyer; i. e. a student, or doctor of the Mosaic law, stood up, and tempted him; Doddr. " to try him." Similar incidents occur Matt. xix. 16; xxii. 35, but the party is not thought to be the same.

Ver. 26. How readest thou? - Vitringa observes, that the text quoted by the lawyer, in the next verse, was read daily in the temple.

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain Priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked

[Samaritan.

on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (T)

(T) Ver. 21-37. The self-righteous lawyer reproved by the parable of the good Samaritan." In attempting to discover the sense of a parable (says Mr. Preb. Townsend), we are required to take into consideration the purpose for which it was delivered, and the circumstances that occasioned it. We find here that the young lawyer, wishing to justify himself, and considering that he had observed the law, as far as it related to the Jews, whom only he acknowledges as his neighbours, inquires, "Who is my neighbour?" Our Lord answers the question by a parable,

in which the duties we owe to our neigh bour are forcibly defined, and the extent of those duties pointedly demonstrated. We are taught that not only our acquaintance, our friends, and countrymen are included under this term; but that our very enemies, when in distress, are entitled to our sympathy, our mercy, and our best exertions for their relief. The Jews held the Samaritans in utter abhorrence; in order, therefore, to impress the mind of the inquirer more fully, our Saviour obliges the young man to reply to his own question: for he was compelled to acknow

Ver. 30. And fell among thieves.-From the testimony of Josephus it appears, that not only was Judea at that time miserably infested with robbers, but that this road, in particular, was deplorably harassed by these banditti, as it lay through wild and dreary solitudes. Hence Jerom tells us it was called "the bloody way." Mr. Buckingham, in his late travels, describes it as equally dreary and dangerous to the present day. Orient. Lit. No. 1205.

Ver. 31. By chance Doddr." It happened;" Wesley, "It came to pass;" who adds, "There is no such thing in the universe as either chance or fortune."

Ver. 32. Came and looked curiosity might induce the Levite to do this; but the priest passed on without even stopping to look.

Ver. 33. A certain Samaritan.- From the benevolence of character here exhibited, the principal person in the fable has been distinguished by the epithet of good, and a desire to honour the Saviour of mankind, no doubt led the ancient fathers, and from their time the allegorical preachers of every succeeding age, to apply this character to Jesus Christ,

though he was neither a Samaritan nor a sectary. To complete the allegory, the Jew is supposed to represent Adam; his going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, the fall, the thieves which attacked him, sin and Satan; and his being leit half dead, the miserable state of man since the fall. The priest and Levite who passed him by, the moral and ceremonial law; the in, the church; the host, the ministers of the gospel; the two-pence, the two dispensations, oil and wine, the sacraments, &c. and the repayment, the rewards of another world. We shall cite no name to this interpretation, because we think it unwarranted; but we believe it is ancient as Origen, and as modern as Wm. Huntington.

Ver. 34. Oil and nine-mingled together, were used medicinally by the ancients.To an inn. — Of the eastern inn, see Note on chap.ii. 3. But this inn is not described by the same teim, but was probably a mere resting place (as the original implies), and where some person attended, here called the host, or innkeeper, to assist strangers. To him the good Samaritan gave two pence, about fifteen pence

of our mone;, with a promise of more, if needed.

ledge that he who showed mercy on him was his neighbour. Our Lord having represented to him the extent of the law, commands him to follow the example of the good Samaritan, and to go and do likewise. The circumstances mentioned in this parable are, by many, considered as real: the road from Jerusalem to Jericho lay through a desert infested by robbers, and which was principally frequented by priests & Levites, in their journeyings from the latter to the former place. The parable itself has been variously interpreted, and by some commentators it is supposed to relate only to the compassionate love of Christ (who was called by the Jews a Samaritan) to mankind. In whatever way we consider it, the duty it inculcates is most evident; and the parable must be regarded as a beautiful exemplification of the law of loving our neighbours as ourselves, without any distinction of person, country, or party." (New Test. Arr. vol. i. p. 324.)

"Let us go and do likewise, regarding every man as our neighbour, who needs our assistance. Let us renounce that bigotry and party zeal which would contract our hearts into an insensibility to all the human race, but a small number, whose sentiments and practices are so much our own, that our love to them is but self-love reflected. With an honest openness of mind, let us always remember the kindred between man and man, and cultivate that happy instinct whereby, in the original constitution of our nature, God has strongly bound us to each other." Mr. Wesley.

(U) Ver. 38-42. The characters of Martha and Mary.-These were the sisters of Lazarus, and lived with him, where Jesus visited, and all of whom he loved, as we shall find in St. John's narrative (chap. xi.) of the sickness, death, and resurrection of the latter. At present we shall briefly sketch their characters, which the writer supposes he may be the better able to do, from having known two sisters of the same names, and of characters as similar as can well be conceived. They were both unquestionably pious; but they were so in different ways. The one did not under-value religious services; but she was all anxiety in the fulfilment of her domestic duties, and was fearful lest any apparent neglect should bring reproach on her profession. The other cared little for the world, or its reproaches: let her but enjoy communion with her Saviour, and riches or poverty, health or sickness, were alike to her. To prove that they were both sincere, they both died, (at no great distance of time,) triumphing in their Lord; and the writer, when young, had the happiness to witness the instructive scenes.

But to confine our farther attention to the sisters of Lazarus of Bethany, we may remark, that all the anxieties of Martha were, not to secure the wealth, nor enjoy the pleasures of the world; but Jesus was come with his disciples, probably a large company. She, as the elder sister, had welcomed him to the house, and she was anxious to afford him the best enter tainment in her power. She could therefore find no time to sit at the feet of Jesus,

Ver. 42. One thing is needful-what this is, has been almost as much disputed as the summum bonum among the ancients. Some have suggested, that one dish might be intended; but surely one dish would not serve Jesus and his apostles, to say nothing of the seventy disciples. This besides supposes, when Mary chose the better part, that she had taken care to secure that dish to herself: a most degrading interpretation! When the sacred writers speak of one thing as particularly important, it is something of a spiritual and sublime nature. See Ps. xxvii. 4; Prov. iii, 13; iv. 7; Mark x, 21; Phil, iii. 13, &c.