And it came to pass,.... The Persic version adds, "on a certain day"; and it is afterwards said to be the sabbath day. This seems to have been somewhere or other in Galilee; see Lu 17:11. As he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees; or rather, one of the rulers, and of the sect of the Pharisees: and he might be either a ruler of a...
In this chapter we have, I. The cure which our Lord Jesus wrought upon a man that had the dropsy, on the sabbath day, and his justifying himself therein against those who were offended at his doing it on that day, ver. 1-6. II. A lesson of humility gives to those who were ambitious of the highest rooms, ver. 7-11. III. A lesson of charity to those...
14:1-6. And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And...
And behold, there was a certain man before him,.... Who sat just before him, as he was at table; who either came there of himself, in order to receive a cure; or rather, since it was in a private house, and he at table too, was brought and set there on purpose by the Pharisees, to try whether Christ would heal him on the sabbath day, that they...
And Jesus answering, spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees,.... All the Oriental versions, for "lawyers", read "Scribes": these, with the Pharisees, were got together in a body, in their brother Pharisee's house, to watch the motions of Christ; who knew their designs upon him, and the thoughts of their hearts, and made answer to them, by putting...
And they held their peace,.... Or were silent, choosing to say nothing, which might countenance such an action; and yet knew not how to condemn it: and he took [him], and healed him, and let him go; he took him by the hand, or laid his hands on him; he touched him, and, it may be, stroked the part affected, and in an instant the prodigious...
And answered them, saying,.... Murmuring secretly at what he had done: which of you shall have an ass, or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? being just ready to be drowned there; and therefore it must be much more right and necessary to cure a man, a reasonable creature, just drowning with a dropsy,...
And they could not answer him again to these things,.... The justice, equity, mercy, and humanity that appeared in our Lord's reasonings, and the cases he instanced in, being agreeable to their own tenets and practices, their mouths were shut up, and they could not return an answer to them, without being exposed,
And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden,.... To the dinner at the Pharisee's house, particularly the lawyers, or Scribes and Pharisees: when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; the uppermost places at the table, which these men loved, coveted, and sought after; [See comments on Matthew 23:6] saying unto them; as follows.
And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; — This parable was by far the best part of the entertainment of the day: —
Saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be hidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. For, of course, the next room is full, and the next, and the only vacant...
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,.... To a wedding dinner, or to any other; such an one as the present entertainment was, which was not a marriage feast, for they might not marry on the sabbath day; [See comments on John 2:1] but a common sabbath meal: sit not down in the highest room: in the chief place at table, as soon as come in:...
And he that bade thee and him,.... To the feast, and who is the master of it, and has a right to dispose of, and order his guests at his table, as he thinks fit: come and say to thee, give this man place; pray rise up, and give this honourable man this seat, which is more suitable for a person of his rank and figure, and take another: and thou...
But when thou art bidden,.... To an entertainment, and the time is come, go and sit down in the lowest room: place thyself at the lower end of the table, or in the most inferior seat; which will show humility and lowliness of mind, and prevent shame and mortification; since there can be no putting into a lower place, and there may be an advance to...
But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. Note that our Saviour was not just then talking to his disciples, or else he would have given more spiritual reasons for his...
For whosoever exalteth himself,.... Either in the above way, or any other, shall be abased, humbled and mortified: and he that humbleth himself; behaves in an humble and modest manner, shall be exalted; [See comments on Matthew 23:12].
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. There is a conspiracy of heaven and earth and hell to put down proud men, neither good nor bad, the highest nor the lowest, can endure those who are self-exalted; but if you are willing to take your right place, which is probably the lowest, you shall...
Then said he also to him that bad him,.... As he had given advice and instructions to the guests, so he likewise thought fit to give some to the master of the house, that had given both him and them an invitation to the present meal; observing, very likely, that his guests consisted of such persons as are hereafter described. When thou makest a...
Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbor; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. Our Saviour, you see, keeps to one line of instruction. It was a feast, so he used the feast to teach another lesson. It is...
But when thou makest a feast,.... An entertainment for others, a dinner, or a supper: call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind; that is, the poor maimed, the poor lame, and the poor blind; otherwise it is possible that rich men may be maimed, lame, and blind; whereas these are not intended, but such who are in indigent circumstances,...