Luke 9:37

Ver. 37-45. See Poole on "Matthew 17:14", and following verses to Matthew 17:21. See Poole on "Mark 9:14", and following verses to Mark 9:29. Of the people's astonishment and amazement at the sight of Christ's miracles, we often hear much; of their embracing him as their Saviour, and owning him as the Christ, we read little. Thus far many of them were come, indeed the most, (the Scribes, and Pharisees, and Sadducees only excepted), that they believed Christ was a great Prophet, a man sent of God; authorized by God to reveal his will, and empowered from God to do many things, which none but God had originally a power to do. Others were gone a step further, viz. to believe not only that he was a Prophet, but that Prophet foretold by Moses, Deuteronomy 18:15 1 Thessalonians 1:21,45; the Christ of God, as Peter expressed it, he that should redeem Israel, Luke 24:21. That they had not a true notion of the Messias, either as to his person, that the Divine and human nature were united in his person, or as to his work, that it was not to redeem Israel from their bodily servitude, but from their sins only, will appear to any from the whole history of the gospel. Nor indeed doth our Saviour hasten their faith in this revelation, I mean the perfecting and confirming of it, knowing that it would be a great shaking to their faith in him, in this notion, and indeed as the Messias, to see him so shamefully abused by the vilest abjects of the people, (as he was at his passion), and then hanging upon the cross, and dying, until they should also see him by his own power risen from the dead, and be confirmed concerning the truth of his resurrection. Where therefore he saw this seed of precious faith springing up, as it did in Peter and divers others, who it is plain apprehended him more than man, as he did not discourage nor blame it, but highly commended it; so neither did he please to strengthen it, so as to put them out of all doubt about it, and often charged them not to publish it abroad, and bends himself to prepare them against this great obstacle, which he saw would be in their way, to wit, his sufferings. This is the second time now that in this chapter we find him inculcating it. And there was need of it, for the evangelist telleth us that they understood it not, it was hidden from them. They could easily understand how an ordinary prophet might be delivered into the hands of men, but how the Messias, the Christ, that Prophet, he of whom some of them believed that he was more than a mere man, how he should be thus delivered, thus suffer, they could not understand; and they saw Christ as to this point so reserved and private, and forbidding the publication of it, that they feared to be too particular with him about it.