_THE COMMISSION OF THE TWELVE_ ‘And He sent them to preach … and to heal … and they departed … preaching the Gospel, and healing every where.’ Luke 9:2 The passage throws much light on the work of Christian ministers in every age. I. AUTHORITY OVER EVIL AND DISEASE.—The commission to the Apostl... [ Continue Reading ]
_NO POWER IN OURSELVES_ ‘Give ye them to eat.’ Luke 9:13 There is an important principle underlying these words. It is that men are often put under obligation to do that for which they have, in themselves, no present ability. I. HUMAN STRENGTH.—It is the nature of human strength and bodily fort... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE CHRISTIAN LIFE_ ‘And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ Luke 9:23 Are we Christians in life and conduct? That there was a kind of life quite different from the life which men were commonly living, to which Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
_GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT_ ‘Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ Luke 9:26 If our Lord’s sayings on this subject are considered, it will be found that there are three... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE VISION ON THE MOUNT_ ‘As He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered.’ Luke 9:29 The vision of the Transfiguration was the joint experience of three men. I. A LOFTIER MOUNT.—The Mount of the Transfiguration is a loftier mount than the Mount of the Beatitudes. The lowlier leads to... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE MOUNT AND THE PLAIN_ ‘But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him.’ Luke 9:32 A glorious scene lost because they were ‘heavy with sleep.’ The same men lost, not long after, in the Garden, an op... [ Continue Reading ]
_A MISTAKEN VIEW_ ‘It is good for us to be here.’ Luke 9:33 What St. Peter meant when he uttered these words, ‘It is good for us to be here,’ what the feelings were which prompted him to use them, it is, of course, impossible for us to say. Holy Scripture makes but one short, significant comment... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE OVERSHADOWING CLOUD_ ‘There came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.’ Luke 9:34 How like were the disciples then to some of us who are Christ’s disciples now! That overshadowing cloud warns us, as it warned St. Peter, that this world is a battle-fi... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE CARE OF THE CHILD_ ‘O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?’ Luke 9:41 Christ is speaking to them all. He includes in the sweep of His censure the whole generation of them, parent and patient, and would-be physicians. He condemns them all. ‘You fat... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE PRIDE OF THE DISCIPLES_ ‘He that is least among you all, the same shall be great … he that is not against us is for us.’ Luke 9:48 Two important warnings— I. AGAINST PRIDE AND SELF-CONCEIT.—Filled with the vain notion that our Lord’s Kingdom was to appear immediately, the disciples were re... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE FASCINATION OF THE CROSS_ ‘He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.’ Luke 9:51 The fascination of the Cross! Why was Christ so enamoured of such a goal? Why did He hasten to its outstretched arms, as He did to Mary? I. HE WISHED THAT NONE WHO FOLLOWED HIM SHOULD DRINK OF A MORE BITTE... [ Continue Reading ]
_SONS OF THUNDER OR SONS OF CHRIST?_ ‘And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?’ Luke 9:54 I. THE NAME AND THE LESSON.—The question naturally arises, Was this the incident which le... [ Continue Reading ]
_NOT DESTRUCTION BUT SALVATION_ ‘But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ Luke 9:55 No one can have failed to notice the marked difference between the stern spirit of Elijah an... [ Continue Reading ]
_LESSONS FROM THE PLOUGH_ ‘And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ Luke 9:62 The point of view from which the Lord regards nature is often novel and unlooked for, producing all the effects—moral as well as intellectual—... [ Continue Reading ]