_OFFENDERS OF OTHERS_ ‘Then said He unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.’ Luke 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE GROWTH OF FAITH_ ‘Lord, Increase our faith.’ Luke 17:5 Whatever admits of increase must have degrees. Faith is a ladder with many and long ascents. And yet the very highest, compared to what it might be, is as nothing. But faith, like every other grace, is a thing which has, in its own natur... [ Continue Reading ]
_SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS CHECKED_ ‘So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.’ Luke 17:10 We are all naturally proud and self-righteous. Seldom will a man be found, however wicked, who... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE CLEANSED MEN_ ‘There met Him ten men that were lepers, … As they went, they were cleansed.’ Luke 17:12 Let us consider each point in the record:— I. THE AWFUL STATE THE MEN WERE IN.—They were ten lepers (Luke 17:12); the disease was incurable (2 Kings 5:7); and it was often sent as a punish... [ Continue Reading ]
_AT THE FEET OF JESUS_ ‘And one of them … fell down on his face at His feet.’ Luke 17:15 I. THE PLACE OF FORGIVENESS.—We cannot tell the origin of sin. ‘An enemy hath done this.’ All beyond that is a puzzle, an insoluble enigma. But we _ do_ know where forgiveness is found. We are sure it may be... [ Continue Reading ]
_INGRATITUDE_ ‘Where are the nine?’ Luke 17:17 (The Gospel) There are few things that we feel more than ingratitude. This was a very bad case, an extreme case, because the disease that these men suffered from was the very worst. And then, not only was the disease such an extreme case, but the cur... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM_ ‘And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ Luke 17:20 Every c... [ Continue Reading ]
_A DAY OF THE SON OF MAN_ ‘The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it.’ Luke 17:22 Two kinds and sets of days are here contrasted: the coming days, and the days that are now. I. THE DAYS OF THE PRESENT.—‘Days of the Son of Man,’ He... [ Continue Reading ]
_THREE CRITICAL DAYS_ ‘And as it was in the days of Noe … when the Son of Man is revealed.’ Luke 17:26; Luke 17:28; Luke 17:30 The subject is the Kingdom of God. A number of Pharisees had forced themselves upon our Lord with the question, ‘when the Kingdom of God should come?’ And our Lord answer... [ Continue Reading ]
_THREE CRITICAL DAYS_ ‘And as it was in the days of Noe … when the Son of Man is revealed.’ Luke 17:26; Luke 17:28; Luke 17:30 The subject is the Kingdom of God. A number of Pharisees had forced themselves upon our Lord with the question, ‘when the Kingdom of God should come?’ And our Lord answer... [ Continue Reading ]
_THREE CRITICAL DAYS_ ‘And as it was in the days of Noe … when the Son of Man is revealed.’ Luke 17:26; Luke 17:28; Luke 17:30 The subject is the Kingdom of God. A number of Pharisees had forced themselves upon our Lord with the question, ‘when the Kingdom of God should come?’ And our Lord answer... [ Continue Reading ]