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the-christian-walk · 3 years

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FAITH WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to [email protected] In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.”

But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.”

And all the other disciples said the same.

Matthew 26:31-35

“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown Me three times.”

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.”

And all the others said the same.

Mark 14:27-31

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death.”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Luke 22:31-34

Simon Peter asked Him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.”

Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for Me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times!

John 13:36-38

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s been said that it’s easy to have faith when things are easy but the true test of faith is when things aren’t going well.

After living more than 60 years of life, I think I tend to agree with that statement.

It’s really a saying grounded in intuitiveness. When things are going great, we tend to not worry about anything. Life is good and faith is sort of pushed off into a corner of our existence, ignored but not forgotten because we know circumstances can change, sometimes on a dime, thrusting us out of our place of comfort and into the storm.

In support of this, I reflect back on the disciples and Jesus on a boat, transiting the Sea of Galilee. Everything was good at first. The disciples were at peace and Jesus was getting some rest below decks when suddenly a great storm came, causing waves to sweep over the boat.

What happened to the disciple’s faith when this occurred?

It was washed overboard. For the scriptures tells us that the disciples quickly went to wake up Jesus, afraid they were about to capsize and drown.

Now, just think for a moment how ludicrous this sounded to Jesus.

After all, it was He who led His disciples into the boat so they could go to the other side of the sea and continue their ministry work.

Would Jesus really lead His disciples into a boat and then sleep while they all perished in the storm?

Seriously, it was all too ridiculous to even think this but that’s what happens when we abandon faith. And so it’s little wonder that we find Jesus admonish His followers saying, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” before He easily rebuked the winds and waves, bringing nothing but instantaneous calm.

When the chips were down, the disciples lost their faith and Jesus showed them that if they just trust in Him, He could bring miraculous peace, the kind of peace the world couldn’t offer.

You would think the disciples would have learned a lesson or two from this but as we’ll see in today’s scripture passage, Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ first called disciples would once again fail to have faith it mattered. We know this well before it happened because Jesus called it.

The stage for Jesus’ revelation came as night had fallen on the day before Jesus would be crucified and die. He had just finished His final Passover meal with His disciples and then provided them with some final teaching before they departed for the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas would betray Jesus and help those who had come to arrest Him. Knowing He was in His final hours, Jesus made sure His disciples know they would depart from Him when things started to fall apart saying:

“This very night you will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Quoting the prophet Zechariah, Jesus made sure that the prediction regarding their pending scattering was not from Him. It had been foretold well before.

Indeed, Jesus was the Good Shepherd as He had made clear and His disciples were clearly part of His flock. Soon the Shepherd would be arrested, hauled into an unjust trial with the scales of justice tilted far from Him, sent off to be beaten and brutalized by Roman soldiers, and then sentenced to a criminal’s death, all within less than 24 hours time. And when this happened, the sheep would scatter but one member of the flock, Simon Peter, rejected this notion proclaiming:

“Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

In Luke’s account, we read where Peter said:

“Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death.”

Jesus knew otherwise. For although it would be bad enough that none of Jesus’ faithful disciples would stand by His side through His darkest hours, Peter would do even worse than that. For Jesus tells him that he would actually deny knowing Him, a complete act of disownment, not once or twice but three times. There wouldn’t be a lot of spacing between these denials as Jesus tells Peter they all would happen that same night and before the rooster crows twice. In other words, Peter would turn away from Jesus in the worst way possible, refusing to admit he knew Him, and do so three times before dawn.

Well, Peter was indignant regarding what Jesus said. He boldly asserted that Jesus’ accusations would never come true, even though He knew that Jesus had never told a lie. He declared:

“Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.”

The scriptures tell us that all the other disciples said the same but none of them would deny Jesus by losing faith when the chips were down as Peter did.

You see, Peter talked a good game and maybe we do the same more times than we care to confess. For how well do we handle issues when they come? How well do we maintain our trust in a Lord who can do all things when difficulties come our way? Do we run to our Lord in times of need or do we run away and scatter, like the sheep who had lost their shepherd?

Friends, when the storms of life come upon us, Jesus is still there to bring calm and peace. All we need to do is unconditionally place our faith, hope, and trust in Him, now and forever, no matter what.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to [email protected]

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dailyaudiobible · 7 years

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02/10/2017 DAB Transcript

Exodus 30:11-31:18 ~ Matthew 26:47-68 ~ Psalm 32:1-11 ~ Proverbs 8:27-32

Today is the 10th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and I am thrilled that we can come together here at the end of a week. This is not exactly the end of the week. That is tomorrow but it's the end of the work week and I'm glad that we can get together for the rhythm that we’ve established in our lives to take a step forward each day and feast on the word of God. So we’ll go back out with Moses and the people of Israel as God continues to give instructions for what this new people is supposed to look and act like. We’re reading from The Voice Translation this week. Exodus chapter 30, verse 11 through 31, verse 18.

Commentary

It's only been a couple of months since I was last in the land of the Bible and walking the path that we’re reading of today with Jesus. And these places still exist—the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus cried out to the Father in anguish and the place where he was arrested in our reading today. There is a valley between the Garden of Gethsemane and where the high priest's quarters would have been because Gethsemane is on the Mount of Olives. The Kidron Valley runs between the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount and that entire area of the City of David. So Jesus would have been bound and walked the path back across the Kidron Valley into Caiaphas’ quarters where all this is going down. You can imagine the disciples all running off into the trees, all hiding, all staying on the periphery. They’re not exactly sure what is happening. Jesus has told them what is going to happen, but they have this worldview that Jesus is the Messiah and somehow the way that this ends is that he takes over. So they are on the periphery of all this. Peter is in the courtyard outside as this trial of sorts is taking place.

If you don’t just read the story and say yeah, I’ve heard this a thousand times, if you put yourself in the story, become one of the disciples, put yourself in these places, not only can you enter into the story, but you find yourself in the story. Where would you be? Because we read these stories and we can think easily ‘I would have come in with a sword and shield and rescued Jesus and died if I must,’ but they all said that. They all said that and they had been walking with Jesus all the years of his ministry.

Peter is in the courtyard of Caiaphas’ quarters. Not a big place. I mean, you can imagine these things in your mind and picture this courtyard at a distance, but it's not. They are close. Peter was not too far away from Jesus, maybe within ear shot because Jesus ended up in storage rooms and cisterns that were pits for holding the supplies and storing the people that they needed to bring in for questioning and such. They are not far away from each other, but they are very far away from each other. Jesus is now a captive. His freedom has been taken. There is not really any going back from here. So you can only imagine the things that were going through his mind after being accused of blasphemy, sentenced to death under Mosaic Law, thrown into a pit to be stored until the proper arrangements could be made, because the Jewish people couldn’t just go stone Jesus or kill him some other way. I mean, they could by riot, but that would bring more trouble upon them. The Romans would be brutal in stamping it down. So they had to get the Romans to cooperate if it was going to be a public, humiliating execution, one that would send a signal to anyone else thinking of believing in this man, Jesus, or having plans of their own similar. Galileans were known to be insurrectionists.

Then there is Jesus just down in a pit, thinking about what is coming. Sometimes when we think about Jesus’ suffering, we think about the crucifixion, that he had to endure that, and it is grisly and really impossible to imagine, but he endured a lot more than that. He is already suffering, carrying the weight of all of the lies and misrepresentations and mischaracterizations, all of the upheaval of the world around him, one that he came to rescue, one that was rejecting him outright. Can you imagine? Can you imagine that the creation that he had set in motion he was about to submit himself to and allow this creation to kill him dead by torture?

This is what sacrificial, unconditional love looks like and we can just go through our days just oblivious to it. We’ve never not known it. It is done, it's ours, so we can treat it with less gravity than it deserves, but we gather here today because of the moments that we’re reading about in the scriptures now. This is how we got here and it is costly and compelling, especially if you love Jesus. If you’ve given your heart, if you’ve fallen in love with the Savior, then you can’t read back into the story with indifference. You have to go there and understand that he loved you first. He died for you in advance. Our denials and betrayals, things we see playing out in the disciples’ lives, they play out in our own lives and you have to wonder, is it worth it? Really? What are we running from? What are we hiding from? What more do we want than the true love of the Savior? What is more valuable than that? We can say nothing. Of course, absolutely nothing, but the Bible being the mirror that it is, forces us to look at that question. What are the distracting things in my life that make me just forget this even happened and take it for granted? We can start digging up idols in our lives pretty quick that way, so may we invite the Holy Spirit into this moment, the first time we come across the passion narrative, the last moments of Jesus’ life, and give it the gravity and the weight that it deserves. This is how you have attained eternal life. It is certainly worth paying attention to. But what is stealing that eternal life and that intimate relationship with the Savior? Those things become the idols of our lives that we give our hearts in worship to.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, we come into your presence inviting you into that. As we move through this story, Jesus, we are unspeakably grateful because it has been brought to mind, but we just live with this freedom that you have given us. We’ve never not known it. All of our lives, from the day that we were born it was in the world. It was available. So yes, we know the alternative. We’ve run our own race. We’ve crashed our own car. We’ve destroyed our own lives in different ways. We walk with the limp and the bruises and the scars of the choices that we’ve made, but we still very easily make them. We still go after whatever promise is the fastest path to whatever pleasure it is we’re looking for without paying attention to the fact that this cost something. You came and, in advance of our even being here, loved us and died for us. So we invite you, Holy Spirit, to begin to reveal in our hearts and actions and thoughts and motives and our will the things that we have prioritized in front of this sobering reality that our salvation came at a cost and our mission in this world is to bring your kingdom and to restore things to how they were supposed to be for us. Help us, God, because it is everywhere. Our cultures are built upon these distractions where products become pleasure and pleasure becomes purchasable life and it is all an illusion. Help us, Lord, because we run from void to void trying to fill it and there is only one way and it is intimacy with you. So Jesus, we love you. Your sacrifice, although we know the details, is really beyond what we can comprehend, but we can be grateful because the difference that you have made is irreversible in this world and in our lives unless we consciously choose to betray and turn our backs on you, to be another Judas. That is not who we want to be. So come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It's home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here so check it out. Resources, events, the More Gathering for Women is coming up. It's almost Valentine's Day. I can’t believe that, but it is almost Valentine's Day. Guys, this would be the ultimate Valentine's Day gift for your spouse or the one that you love. Send her away for a couple of days in a couple of months and give her space to just be with this Jesus that we’re talking about, this one who loved us before we were ever here and loved us enough to die. We never get the space. We never make the space to just be in that story and be in that kind of intimate love. We never get the time to say the things that need to be said. We never take the time to hear the things that need to be heard. But the More Gathering is like that. It is a beautiful time to unplug and be with God and it’s remarkable, the things that Jesus says to each individual woman in her own story, in her own station in life. It's not that God is not willing to speak. It is that we’re not willing to slow down and listen and this is just a prepared time to slow down and listen and orient life correctly and move properly in a good healthy direction. So, yeah, it's a great Valentine's Day gift and if you don’t have anybody to give it to you, give it to yourself. Jesus can give it to you. So you can check it out. All the details, all of the particulars, all of the questions that you might have like how do I get there, how does it work, all of that stuff is at www.DailyAudioBible.com. Just look for the More Gathering. You’ll find it and you’ll find also everything you want to know. So check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link. It is on the home page. And if you find Daily Audio Bible to be life-giving, then thank you for being life-giving so that we can continue our journey together. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, If you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I'm Brian. I love you. I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Hi Daily Audio Bible community. This is Janice from the UK, in midland. I’ve rung before. I’ve been listening for a couple years. This is my second full year now and I'm loving it. It blesses me. As I was listening to the prayer requests the other night and praying along with each one of those, it struck me that this Prayer Wall is like a Mexican wave going around the world. When you think about it, there are people all across the world listening to the Daily Audio Bible whatever time of day it might be for them. They are all praying at this time. It's like this huge wave that goes around the earth and as Brian records the next day, that one comes __________ over and there is a next wave coming across. That really blessed me and I hope that really blesses the people who are ringing with actual prayer requests as well. Keep going people. We do pray for you, even if you don’t hear from us. We’re praying for you. Thank you.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is your brother Regid, formally calling from Iraq, now in Nairobi, Kenya. I really need your prayers. First, for Brian, so sorry for the loss of your mom. I'm happy that I heard what you said how it went through a process. It is really helpful. But I need your prayers. I’ve been jobless now for 10 months and it is getting very difficult, unbearable with the family and I pray that you guys would join with me and pray that God would open a door for me to get __________ or a job for me to provide for my family. Thank you so much for your support. I pray with you always. I listen. I cry with you. And please join me. Let's ask God to open a door because it has taken too long and it is quite difficult. Life is getting harder. I can’t pay the school fees for the children. I can’t provide. It's hard. May God bless you. I love you. Bye-bye. God bless.

Hi, my name is Kristin and I'm calling for Amanda who has been separated from her husband for seven months. I encourage you to read Isaiah 40:20-31. I have that on my computer at work and I read that every day multiple times. My husband and I were separated for 14 months. I don’t know your situation, but it was a very unhealthy relationship for me. He was very verbally abusive to me. But anyway, I wanted to go ahead and give you encouragement to continue to pray even if you don’t see anything. God is always working. It took 14 months for me and my husband to get back together and it has been amazing. He has been so much more open to everything. He went to church with me. He has prayed with me. Just keep praying and pressing into God and seeing what God wants you to do, even if you don’t want to, even if you have a lot of resentment towards him. It doesn’t matter. Pray for him because even though we don’t see it, God is always working. I would also encourage you to write down everything that he said to you, any emotion or resentment that you have against him. Write it all down and pray over it every day. It works. I don’t have any resentment towards my husband anymore and I had a lot. I filled up a front and back page and probably could have filled up another couple pages with stuff, but God has helped me and he will help you and he will help your situation.

Hello and good afternoon Daily Audio Bible family. It's a two for one Jay from New Jersey special. Okay, so I'm reaching out to my Daily Audio Bible family to get you guys to pray for my family members. I have a lot of brothers and sisters and some of them are believers. Some of them are not believers, but the long story short of it is many of them are carnal Christians, meaning they believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior but they are living in unconfessed, unrepentant sin. As a result, they are living in situations that are just deplorable. My one brother is being exploited by his biological mother. We were all adopted together, and she is exploiting him for all of his money. He has a learning disability so he can be easily exploited. But long story short, he was going to kill himself today if it were not for him posting that on Facebook and another member calling me to contact him, so let's pray for him and the rest of my family. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we lift up my brothers and sisters and the brothers and sisters of all the Daily Audio Bible family members. Father, we ask that you will manifest yourself to them in a way that only you know how. Father, give them the opportunity that you gave us to see the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, we ask that any situation that they are in it will be an opportunity for you to be glorified. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen. Thanks Daily Audio Bible family. I love you. Have a great evening.

Good night, Daily Audio Bible listeners. This is Katie. I'm calling from Minnesota and it is February 7th. Well, it would seem that I can’t get, I believe his name Kevin who was recently diagnosed with bipolar and starting life all over, off my mind. I just want you to know, Kevin, that I have been praying for you nonstop, constantly and first I want to say it is so good that you have been diagnosed so that you are able to get treatment. And I want to say to you also that I know starting over is difficult. I’ve done that twice in my life in two different countries and I’ve never liked either of them, but what I’ve learned in it all is that if God has brought you to it, he will bring you through it, and so I want you to just trust and believe that. God has it all laid out for you. You just need to step out in faith. Trust and believe that he has you covered because he does. He will not leave you anywhere that he will not take you through and I am absolutely certain about that. Also to the young lady, I think I’ve heard you call a second time. You’re from somewhere in Michigan and you are driving a bus, a school bus, and you’re not certain about where your life is taking you and are seeking direction because you are not happy with your job at the moment. You are seeking a job that has a better salary, something to that effect. And I just wanted to say to you remember to pray for yourself as well. Continue to pray to God. He will provide you with directives. I’ve been at that place in my life before and trust me when I tell you that God turned up and he directed me and showed me where I need to go and I know for a fact that he will show you where you need to go. I have been praying for you since the first time you called the program to ask for prayers and I continue to pray for you. I just want to say guys, just remember to pray for me on February 16 as I take my board exam and just thanks to everyone and know that I pray constantly for every single person that calls in because I do this every day.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible. This is Loralee in Boynton Beach. After much wrestling with the Lord and trying to leave a place of employment that the Lord clearly said ‘this is where I want you, submit to me, I will take care of your needs,’ I have repented and I work for an Orthodox Jewish assisted living community and I have some Jewish widows in their 90s that are coming to me and want to reason in the temple about Jesus and the Old Testament and I have to say what an honor it is and I need these names lifted up as a start: Rosalie, Elaine, Naomi and Janet. Please, Lord, I pray that you would open their eyes. Have the Holy Spirit move as we open your word. Your word has the power because it is Jesus from beginning to end. You see the end from the beginning, Genesis to Revelation. Help me. Like Paul and Moses, I feel the burden of closed eyes, but only you can open the eyes of the blind, Lord, so this is the scripture. For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all that I may win more of them. To the Jews, I became a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as under the law though not being myself under the law that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I…

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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THE HOLY GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE, FROM THE LATIN VULGATE BIBLE

Chapter 13 - Part 1

PREFACE.

St. Luke was a physician, a native of Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, and well skilled in the Greek language. In some ancient manuscripts, he is called Lucius, and Lucanus. Some conjecture that he was at first a Gentile and a pagan, and was converted by the preaching of St. Paul, at Antioch; others, that he was originally a Jew, and one of the seventy-two disciples. Sts. Hippolitus and Epiphanius say, that hearing from our Lord these words, he that eateth not my flesh, and drinketh not my blood, is not worthy of me, he withdrew, and quitted our Saviour, but returned to the faith at the preaching of St. Paul. But, to leave what is uncertain, St. Luke was the disciple, travelling companion, and fellow-labourer of St. Paul. Of him St. Paul is supposed to speak: (2 Corinthians viii. 18.) We have sent also with him (Titus) the brother, whose praise is in the gospel, through all churches: and again, Luke, the most dear physician, saluteth you: (Colossians iv.) and, only Luke is with me. (2 Timothy iv.) Some are of opinion that as often as St. Paul, in his Epistles, says according to my gospel, he speaks of the Gospel of St. Luke. This evangelist did not learn his gospel from St. Paul only, (who had never been with our Lord in the flesh) but from the other apostles also, as himself informs us in the beginning of his gospel, when he says, according as they have delivered them unto us; who, from the beginning, were eye-witnesses, (Greek: autoptai) and ministers of the word. His gospel, therefore, he wrote as he heard it; but the Acts of the Apostles, from his own observations; and both, as some believe, about the same time in which his history of the Acts finishes, towards the year of Christ 63. But the received opinion now is, that St. Luke wrote his gospel in Achaia, in the year 53, ten years previously to his writing of the Acts, purposely to counteract the fabulous relations concerning Jesus Christ, which several persons had endeavoured to palm upon the world.

There is a plenary indulgence attached to those who study scripture for at least a half-hour per day under the usual conditions.

Chapter 13 - Part 1

The necessity of penance. The barren fig-tree. The cure of the infirm woman, &c.

1 And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Notes & Commentary:

Ver. 1. Whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. These seem to have been some of the seditious followers of Judas, the Galilean, or Gaulonite, who denied that God's people were to pay taxes; and it is thought that some of them, coming to offer up sacrifices in the temple, Pilate caused them to be slain at that very time, so that their blood was mixed with the sacrifices. (Witham) --- Whose blood, &c. i.e. whom he had caused to be massacred in the temple, at the time they were offering sacrifices. The history, to which allusion is made in this place, is not well known; but there is great probability that these Galileans were disciples of Judas, the Galilean, who taught that they ought not to pay tribute to foreigners. As they were spreading this doctrine in Jerusalem, and perhaps even in the temple, Pilate laid violent hands upon them, and caused them to be murdered amidst the sacrifices. (Calmet) --- Galileans, &c. These were the followers of one Judas, a Galilean, of whom St. Luke makes mention in the Acts of the Apostles, (Chap. v.) who held it unlawful to call any one lord. Many of this sect were punished by Pilate, because they would not allow this title to be given to Cæsar; they also maintained that no other sacrifices could lawfully be offered, except such as were prescribed by the law, by which opinion they forbade the accustomed sacrifices offered up for the emperor and people of Rome. Pilate, irritated by these their opinions, ordered them to be slain in the midst of their sacrifices, and this was their blood mixed with that of the victims. (St. Cyril in St. Thomas Aquinas)

2 And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?

Ver. 2. Sinners, &c. People are naturally inclined to believe, that those who are unfortunate, and afflicted with calamities, must likewise be culpable and impious. The Jews were very much given to these sentiments, as we see in many places of Scripture; John ix. 2 and 3. Our Saviour wishes to do away with this prejudice, by telling them that the Galileans, who are here spoken of, were not the most culpable among the inhabitants of that country; shewing by this, that God often spares the most wicked, and sends upon the good the most apparent signs of vengeance, that he may exercise the patience, and crown the merit of the latter, and give to the former an example of the severity which they must expect, if they continue in their disorders. Neither can it be said, that in this God commits any injustice. He uses his absolute dominion over his creatures, when he afflicts the just; he procures them real good, when he strikes them; and his indulgence towards the wicked, is generally an effect of his mercy, which waits for their repentance, or sometimes the consequences of his great anger, when he abandons them to the hardness of their reprobate hearts, and says, "I will rest, and be angry with you no longer." (Ezechiel, Chap. xvi. 42.) This is the most terrible mark of his final fury. (Calmet)

3 I say to you, No: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

Ver. 3. This prediction of our Saviour upon the impenitent was afterwards completely verified; for Josephus informs us, that under the government of Cumanus, 20,000 of them were destroyed about the temple. (Jewish Antiquities, lib. xx, chap. 4.) That upon the admission of the Idumeans into the city, 8,500 of the high priest's party were slain, insomuch that there was a flood of blood quite round the temple. (The Jewish War, lib. iv, chap. 7.) That in consequence of the threefold faction that happened in Jerusalem before the siege of the Romans, the temple was every where polluted with slaughter; the priests were slain in the exercise of their functions; many who came to worship, fell before their sacrifices; the dead bodies of strangers and natives were promiscuously heaped together, and the altar defiled with their blood. (The Jewish War, lib. vi, chap. 1.) That upon the Romans taking possession of the city and temple, mountains of dead bodies were piled up about the altar; streams of blood ran down the steps of the temple; several were destroyed by the fall of towers, and others suffocated in the ruins of the galleries over the porches. (The Jewish War, lib. vii, chap. 10.)

4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you that they also were debtors above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem?

Ver. 4. Or those eighteen, &c. The Almighty permitted these people to be thus chastised, that the others might be filled with fear and apprehension at the sight of another's dangers, and thus become the heirs of the kingdom of heaven. But then you will say, is another punished that I may become better? No; he is punished for his own crimes; but his punishment becomes to those that witness it the means of salvation. (St. Chrysostom, Concio. 3. de Lazaro.)

5 I tell you: No: but unless you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

Ver. 5. Unless you do penance, &c. The Jews did not penance; and therefore, forty years after our Lord's Passion, the Romans came, and beginning with Galilee, destroyed this impious nation to its roots, and polluted not only the court of the temple, whither the sacrifices were carried, but the inner sanctuary, with human blood. (Ven. Bede)

6 He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

Ver. 6. A certain man, &c. Each one, inasmuch as he holds a place in life, if he produce not the fruit of good works, like a barren tree encumbers the ground; because the place he holds, were it occupied by others, might be a place of fertility. (St. Gregory)

7 And he said to the tiller of the vineyard: Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and I find none. Cut it done, therefore; why doth it take up the ground?

Ver. 7. No explanation given.

8 But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.

Ver. 8. No explanation given.

9 And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Ver. 9. And if happily it bear fruit. It is a way of speaking, when a sentence is left imperfect; yet what is not expressed, may be easily understood; as here we may understand, well and good, or the like. (Witham)

10 And he was teaching in their synagogue on their sabbath.

Ver. 10. No explanation given.

11 And behold there was a woman, who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years: and she was bent down, and could not look upwards at all.

Ver. 11. No explanation given.

12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said to her: Woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity.

Ver. 12. No explanation given.

13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

Ver. 13. No explanation given.

14 And the ruler of the synagogue, being angry that Jesus had healed on the sabbath, answering, said to the multitude: There are six days wherein you ought to work: in them therefore come, and be healed, and not on the sabbath-day.

Ver. 14. The president of the synagogue, when he saw the woman, who before crept on the ground, now raised by the touch of Christ, and hearing the mandate of God, was filled with envy, and decried the miracle, apparently through solicitude for keeping the sabbath. But the truth is, he would rather see the poor woman bent to the earth like a beast, than see Christ glorified by healing her. (St. Cyril in St. Thomas Aquinas)

15 And the Lord answering him, said: Ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the sabbath-day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead them to water?

Ver. 15. No explanation given.

16 And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath-day?

Ver. 16. No explanation given.

17 And when he said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by him.

Ver. 17. No explanation given.

18 He said, therefore: To what is the kingdom of God like, and where unto shall I resemble it?

Ver. 18. No explanation given.

19 It is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew, and became a great tree, and the birds of the air lodged in the branches thereof.

Ver. 19. Our Lord was this mustard-seed, when he was buried in the earth; and He became a tree, when he ascended into heaven; but a tree that overshadowed the whole creation, in the branches of which the birds of heaven rested; that is, the powers of heaven, and all such as by good works have raised themselves from the earth. The apostles are the branches, to repose in whose bosoms we take our flight, borne on the wings of Christian virtue. Let us sow this seed (Christ) in the garden of our hearts, that the grace of good works may flourish, and you may send forth the various perfumes of every virtue. (St. Ambrose)

20 And again he said: Where unto shall I compare the kingdom of God?

Ver. 20. No explanation given.

#gospel of luke

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