CHAPTER 18 VER. 1. _He spake a parable unto them to the end that._ Christ had said, at the end of the last chapter, that the Apostles and the faithful should suffer persecutions, in which they should wish for His presence that they might seek and receive help from Him. He now names a remedy for all... [ Continue Reading ]
_Saying there was in a city a judge which feared not God._ This judge was wicked, unjust, cruel, and godless, one who feared neither the vengeance of God, nor the ill-report of men, who cared nothing for his conscience or his character. For the wicked who have no fear of God are often deterred by th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there was a widow in that city._ Avenge me, that is, vindicate my right against my oppressor, and free my innocence; righteousness, substance, and character, which are brought to trial by my enemy who is powerful, and against whom I cannot stand. She did not ask for vengeance but only for justi... [ Continue Reading ]
_When the Son of man cometh._ He comes to the universal judgment, when He will deliver His elect, whom He ordered to be always ready and eager; and to await that day patiently, preparing themselves for it by prayer and good works. For that day will be sudden and unexpected like lightning, as He Hims... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He spake also this parable unto certain that trusted in themselves._ Which, however, might truly happen, nay often has happened, so that it may be historical. The introduction to the parable shows its scope and the design of its introduction, namely, to rebuke the supremacy of the Pharisees, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two men went up_. The one a Pharisee, with the pharisaical pride, puffed up and haughty. The other a publican, that is a sinner, and deprecating pardon. Publicans were held infamous by the Jews, nay, were termed Parisim that is, public robbers, for, as Suidas says, from Jamblichus, "The life of a p... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself._ The Jews prayed partly kneeling and partly standing, when their prayer was longer than usual sacrifice or psalmody. For in the temple there was no place to sit, except for the High Priest and king alone, as I have showed on Ezekiel 46:2. The word... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the publican, standing afar off._ The publican did not resent the insult offered by the Pharisee, nay, he admitted it, confessed it, and sought pardon for it with patience. He was, therefore justified before the Pharisee. S. Chrysostom, in his Homily on David and Saul, says, "The publican accep... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they brought unto Him also infants, that He should touch them._ And by touching might bless them. Christ confirms the doctrine of humility by His own example. "Infants," says the Gloss, "are brought to the Master of Humility, that innocence and the age of simplicity might be shown to belong to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Suffer the little children to come unto Me._ The Arabic: For the kingdom of God is theirs who are like them" not in infancy but in innocence, simplicity, humility. So Bede. "He does not say theirs, but such as they, meaning their manner of life, not their age." And S. Ambrose: "It is not childhood,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass as He_, &c. Of this blind man restored to sight I have treated. Matthew 20:30.... [ Continue Reading ]