Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 18:28
Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee,
28. Then Peter said ] The feeling which dictated his remark is uncertain; perhaps it was a passing touch of self-congratulation; perhaps a plea for pity in the hard task of salvation.
we have left all ] Rather, we left all, alluding to a particular crisis, Luk 5:11 .
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 28. We have left all] Our trades, our houses, and families. The reader is desired to consult the notes on Mt 4:20; Mt 19:27, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Poole on “Mat 19:27” and following verses to Mat 19:30, See Poole on “Mar 10:28” and following verses to Mar 10:30. The difficulty is only to reconcile Luk 18:30 to Gods providences. For the everlasting life promised in the world to come, that is matter of faith, and not so much as seemingly contradicted by any providence of God. But how many lose much for Christ, that in this life do not receive manifold more, or a hundredfold!
Answer. It is true, if we understood it in specie. But the promise is not so to be interpreted. It is enough, if they do receive much more in valore, in value upon a true and just estimation. And this every sufferer for Christ hath, either,
1. In a joy, and peace, and assurance of Gods love, which is a thousand times more.
2. Or at least in a contentment of mind with that state into which the providence of God bringeth them: this also is much more, as any will judge it a happier state never to thirst, than to have much drink to satisfy the appetite.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28-30. Lo, c.in thesimplicity of his heart (as is evident from the reply), consciousthat the required surrender had been made, and generously taking inhis brethren with him”we” not in the spirit ofthe young ruler. “All these have I kept,”
left all“Theworkmen’s little is as much his “all” as the prince’s much”[BENGEL]. In Matthew (Mt19:27) he adds, “What shall we have therefore?” Howshall it fare with us?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then Peter said,…. “To him”, as the Syriac and Arabic versions add; that is, to the Lord Jesus, as the Ethiopic version expresses it; who was always the most forward to speak on any occasion: he observing what was required of the young man, and how unwilling he was to comply with it, and the difficulty in every rich man’s way of entrance into the kingdom of God, spoke as follows;
lo, we have left all: the Arabic version reads, “all ours”; all we had, our friends, trades, and worldly substance;
and followed thee: in Mt 19:27 it is added, “what shall we have therefore”; referring to the promise of Christ, to the young man, that should he sell all he had, and give it to the poor, he should have treasure in heaven; [See comments on Mt 19:27].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Our own ( ). Our own things (home, business, etc.). Right here is where so many fail. Peter speaks here not in a spirit of boastfulness, but rather with his reactions from their consternation at what has happened and at the words of Jesus (Plummer).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
All [] . The best texts read ta idia, our own. So Rev.
31 – 34. Compare Mt 20:17 – 19. Mr 10:32 – 34.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Then Peter said,” (eipen de ho Petros) “Then Peter said,” to Him, to Jesus, from earnestness of heart.
2) “Lo, we have left all,” (idou hemeis aphentes ta idia) “Behold, lo, or take note, that we have left (turned away from) all our own things,” we have done what this ruler refused to do, Php_3:8.
3) “And followed thee.” (ekolouthesamen soi) “To follow you,” at your call, Mat 4:18-22. The common laborer’s “little,” when it is all that he has, is as much to him, as the king or president’s “much”. Mat 19:27 recounts Peter’s further words “what shall we have therefore?” To this Jesus replied, as follows:
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(28-30) Then Peter said, . . .See Notes on Mat. 19:27-30; Mar. 10:28. The better MSS. have, We have left our own (possessions). All was probably substituted from a recollection of the words as found in the other reports.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And Peter said, “Lo, we have left our own, and followed you.” ’
Impetuous Peter, ever the one to break in, was now stirred in his heart by the thought of the impossibility of salvation without God’s working in the heart and cried, ‘Look, we have left all and followed you, like you are asking this ruler to do. What about us?’ He was probably seeking to gain assurance for himself and his fellow disciples that they did have the certainty of eternal life rather than thinking only of reward. He wanted to be sure that God was doing the impossible in his heart. For the disciples were still very much learners (as will shortly become apparent in Luk 18:31-34). That is why Jesus could answer as He did.
Note the words ‘we have left our own’. This gave a wide coverage, their own homes, their own land, their own fishing businesses, their own families, their own environment, their own possessions, and so on. All that they had treasured they had left for Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Peter’s question:
v. 28. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all and followed Thee.
v. 29. And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God’s sake
v. 30. who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come life everlasting. The disciples of Jesus had experienced in their own lives the wonderful mercy of God, who had not only caused them to forsake the things of this world and had wrought faith in their hearts, but had given them the additional privilege of being disciples and friends of their Savior. Peter now reminded Jesus of the fact of their having forsaken all in order to follow Him. It appears even here, however, that the thoughts of Peter were still engaged with things of this world, that the idea of a temporal Messianic kingdom had not yet been driven out entirely. But Jesus deals with him in all patience. He tells him and all the apostles with solemn emphasis that there is no one that has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who would not receive in return, as a reward of grace, much more, a hundred times more, even in this present world. Even here on earth, in Christ and in the Kingdom of Grace, a Christian finds full compensation for everything that he has given up and sacrificed in this world’s goods; for the standards of the kingdom of God are entirely different from those of the world, Mar 10:30. And finally, when the time set by God has come, He will give to the believers the inheritance of eternal life, not on account of any works or sacrifice, but as a reward of grace. Then all that he may have been obliged to suffer, to sacrifice, to deny, will sink into insignificance and be forgotten in the enjoyment of the heavenly bliss.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 18:28-30 . See on Mat 19:27-29 ; Mar 10:28-30 , the latter of whom Luke follows with abridgment.
. . .] Comp. Mar 13:2 . In respect of no one who has forsaken, etc., will it be the case that he does not receive, etc. In the choice of there is implied the idea of what he receives being due . Comp. Luk 16:25 , Luk 6:34 , Luk 23:41 ; Dem. 78. 3 : , ; 162. 17 : , .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
Ver. 28. See Mat 19:27 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 18:28 . Peter’s remark about leaving all, as in Mk., without the question, what shall we have? appended to it in Mt.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 18:28-30
28Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” 29And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Luk 18:28 Peter and all the Apostles were shocked at Jesus’ response to this moral, sincere, prosperous, Jewish leader. They wanted to reaffirm that they had left all (cf. Luk 5:11).
Luk 18:29 “Truly” See SPECIAL TOPIC: AMEN at Luk 4:24.
“there is no one who has left” See Mat 19:29; Mar 10:29-30, where the lists of things left differ.
Luk 18:30 The rewards of the kingdom are of the spirit/Spirit. There is a peace and joy now and in the future and there will be a face-to-face fellowship with the Triune God.
“not” This is a strong double negative, which emphasizes that they will surely receive their future reward. The family one leaves will multiply into the fullness of God’s family.
“the age to come” See Special Topic at Luk 9:2.
“eternal life” This is a characteristic of John’s Gospel (cf. Joh 3:15; Joh 4:36; Joh 5:39; Joh 6:54; Joh 6:68; Joh 10:28; Joh 12:25; Joh 17:2-3), but it is also mentioned a few times in the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Mat 19:16; Mat 25:46; Mar 10:17; Mar 10:30; Luk 10:25; Luk 18:11). It seems to reflect the Hebrew of Dan 12:12 (“everlasting [‘olam, BDB 761] life”).
In Greek there are three terms for life (bios and psuch earthly life and zo spiritual life). This is not chronological life, but life in fellowship with God, life as it was meant to be!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Lo. Greek idou. App-133. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
have left = left
all. The critical texts read “our own”, marking a particular case (Luk 5:11). Compare Deu 28:8-11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 25
A Promise, A Prophecy, And A Problem
In Luk 18:18-27 we read about the rich young ruler who came to the Lord Jesus, fell on his knees, and worshipped him saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? You know the story. The Master said to him, Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. This rich young ruler looked at all he had, looked at what Christ required, counted the cost, and said, No. He chose to save his life and lost it.
That rich young ruler possessed three things. He possessed them and they possessed him. They are snares by which Satan keeps multitudes from faith in Christ. First, religion without Christ: the rich young ruler was a self-righteous religionists. He was like those who eat and drink unworthily in 1 Corinthians 11. He presumed that he knew God, but did not.
Second, the care of this world: he was a ruler among men, and had many great cares. Third, the deceitfulness of riches: the young ruler, that lost, self-righteous religious man had great wealth.
When he walked away from the Saviour, the Master said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needles eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. The disciples were astonished. They said, Who then can be saved? If it is left up to men, it is impossible. But, blessed be his name forever, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. With God all things are possible.
The Lord Jesus had just told the rich young ruler that if he would forsake all and follow him, he would have treasure in heaven. Peter latched onto that and said to the Saviour, Weve done that. Weve forsaken all and followed you. And Matthew tells us he then asked, What shall we have therefore.
There is nothing in Peters question that implied pride, arrogance, ambition, or unbelief. He did not say, I have forsaken all. What shall I have? He said, we. And the Lord Jesus said nothing to correct him or chastise him. Neither will I. The fact is if I had heard what Peter had just heard, I suspect I would have asked the same thing. In fact, I have asked the same thing. I am very interested in knowing what that treasure is that is laid up for us in heaven. Arent you?
A Promise
Here is the Saviours answer to Peters question. Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of Gods sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting (Luk 18:29-30).
Our Saviour here makes a broad, blessed promise to all who follow him regarding his all-sufficient, boundless grace. It is not merely a promise about the glory that awaits us, but is primarily about the grace that is ours in this world. Yes, in the world to come we shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away and everlasting blessedness beyond the scope of human imagination. But our Saviour here promises us that all who forsake all and follow him shall receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. This promise refers distinctly to the life that now is. It is spoken of as this present time.
We will never suffer loss at the hands of our Master! He promises us manifold more than we forsake by following him. Does that mean that we will have greater riches, more property, greater fame, better health, a more tranquil life in this world, as the health, wealth, prosperity wolves of today promise? Of course not!
Our Lords promise obviously has a higher meaning. The manifold more of the promise refers not to carnal, but to spiritual things. Our Lord Jesus always gives infinitely better than he gets. He here promises us that he will give us, in this present time, indescribably more than we will ever be obliged to give up for his sake.
Yes, we must lose our lives to save them. We must forsake all, if we would have Christ. But giving up our lives is giving up nothing. The life we get is everything. What we forsake for Christ is nothing. What we get is Christ, who is all! For this Pearl of Great Price, any man who will not sell all that he has is a fool.
Come, sell all that you have and buy the Pearl of Great Price, the Lord Jesus Christ, without money and without price (Isa 55:1), and you shall find everything your soul needs in him. You will have no lack of righteousness, for he is the Lord our Righteousness. You will have no lack of atonement, for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. You will have no lack of holiness, for Christ is our Sanctification. And you will have no lack of grace, for all grace is ours in Christ. In Christ you will find everything your soul needs. Our Lords disciples found it so, and we shall, too (Luk 22:35).
My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus! He will give you, in this present time, such peace, hope, joy, comfort, and rest in sweet communion with himself, that you shall never lack anything. The Lord Jesus Christ shall be more to you than money, or property, or relatives, or friends. In our darkest hours he keeps them in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon him (Isa 26:3). He will give you grace to glory in tribulation and take pleasure in reproaches, in infirmities, and in persecutions for his sake (Rom 5:3; 2Co 12:10). In your greatest heaviness, he will give you such joy unspeakable and full of glory that you will count it an honour to suffer shame for his names sake (1Pe 1:18; Act 5:41; Rom 8:28; Rom 11:36; 1Th 5:25).
Friends have often proved faithless. Great promises have often been broken. Riches have made themselves wings and flown away. But not one of Christs promises has ever fallen to the ground. Yes, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus! He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32).
In a word, no matter how long this present time shall last, no matter what woes this present time shall bring, no matter how dark this present time shall appear, the Lord God, our great and gracious Saviour, promises to all who forsake all and follow him, My grace is sufficient for thee (2Co 12:7-10). There is an infinite, super-abounding, overflowing sufficiency in the grace of God to meet all the needs of all his people forever. No matter who you are, no matter what your needs may be, no matter what circumstances you are in, if you are a believer, if you trust the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord God says to you, My grace is sufficient for thee! His grace is sufficient to sustain you in your trials (Isa 43:1-5), sufficient to uphold you in temptation (1Co 10:13), sufficient to enable you to perform all his will (1Th 5:25). The providence of God will never take you where the grace of God will not keep you. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it! His grace is sufficient to uphold, sustain, provide for, and protect his servants and to make their labours effectual to the souls of men. Our sufficiency is of God! And his grace is sufficient even for, no, especially for his fallen saints (Psa 37:23-25; Mar 16:7).
In your last hour, when you come to the swelling of the Jordan and are about to cross over to the other side, you will yet hear him say, My grace is sufficient for thee! When the world is on fire, you will look back over this world and all your lifes experiences and say, He hath done all things well. In that great day should the Lord Jesus ask, Lacked ye anything? Our response will be, Nothing.
Oh, how unsearchable are the riches of Christ in this present time. And after this, in the world to come life everlasting. He gives us grace here, boundless, infinite, free grace, and glory in the world to come!
A Prophecy
In (Luk 18:31-33) we have before us our Saviours clear and detailed prophecy concerning his own death as our Substitute. The Lord Jesus, from old eternity, set his face like a flint to go to Calvary and die in our place, bearing our sins in his own body, that he might suffer all the wrath of God to the full satisfaction of justice, to put away our sins and redeem us from the curse of the law. Now, he says to his disciples, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
It was for this cause that he came into the world (Mat 1:21; Heb 10:5-14). He came here to give his life a ransom for many, to make his soul an offering for sin, and to bear our transgressions in his own body on the tree. He was born in Bethlehem so that he might pour out his lifes blood unto death at Jerusalem.
Let our souls ever be clothed with wonder and amazement before our Saviour and his great love for us (Rom 5:6-8; 1Jn 3:16; 1Jn 4:9-10). Let us ever glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal 6:14).
He never swerved from his path for a moment. He was straitened in spirit, until he had finished the work he came to do (Luk 12:50). Such love passes knowledge. It is unspeakable and unsearchable! We may rest on that love without fear. If Christ so loved us before we thought of him, he will surely not cease to love us after we have believed.
Our Saviours calmness in the prospect of certain death is an example for us. Like him, let us drink the bitter cup which our Father gives us, without a murmur, and say, not my will but thy will be done. Believers have no reason to be afraid of death and the grave. Christ died to deliver us from the fear of death (Heb 2:15; 1Co 15:56-57). Because he died, we shall never die. Because he arose, we shall arise. Because he lives, we shall forever live.
A Problem
Here is a very sad, but very common problem among true believers. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken (Luk 18:34).
When the Lord Jesus described his coming sufferings and death, as he often did, his disciples didnt understand a thing he said. Its significance was hidden from them. They failed to grasp what he was talking about. We read this with a mixture of pity and surprise. We wonder at the darkness and blindness of the Jews. We marvel that in the face of plain teaching, and in the light of plain types of the Mosaic law the sufferings of Christ were not known. But when we read of the ignorance and unbelief of these disciples, these who truly forsook all and followed him, these who truly trusted him, we are amazed. These were saved men, the apostles of our Lord!
What pride, arrogance, and hypocrisy that fact reveals in us. We have greater light than they had. We have the whole volume of holy scripture. We walk no longer, as they did, in the dim light of types, shadows, ceremonies, and carnal ordinances. We have the full sunshine of Gods complete Revelation. Yet, we are still terribly ignorant, fearful, and unbelieving.
Why did God the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to tell us so much about the ignorance and unbelief, the weaknesses and fears, the falls and failings, and even the denials and abandonments of these faithful men? He did so to teach us that were he to leave us to ourselves, we would all soon perish. Thank God, he will not leave us to ourselves!
He did so to teach us that our salvation is not dependent upon the strength and quality of our faith, but upon the strength and quality of our Saviour. It is not our knowledge that saves us, but Christ.
And he did so to teach us that Salvation is altogether the work of Gods free grace in Christ. Gods saints in this world, as long as we live in this world, are still weak, sinful, failing, and ignorant men. Nothing more!
We must, as long as we are in this weak state, live by faith in Christ. As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.
Yet, it is to us, weak, ignorant, sinful believers that the Lord Jesus Christ made the promise we read in Luk 18:29-30. Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of Gods sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Luk 5:11, Mat 4:19-22, Mat 9:9, Mat 19:27, Mar 10:28, Phi 3:7
Reciprocal: Pro 20:6 – proclaim Mat 4:20 – General Mat 13:46 – went Mar 1:18 – forsook Luk 14:33 – General 1Co 13:3 – though I bestow
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
This is commented upon at Mat 19:27.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
LET us observe, firstly, in these verses, what a glorious and satisfying promise our Lord holds out to all believers who make sacrifices for His sake. He says, “There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”
The promise before us is a very peculiar one. It does not refer to the believer’s reward in another world, and the crown of glory which fadeth not away. It refers distinctly to the life that now is. It is spoken of “this present time.”
The “manifold more” of the promise must evidently be taken in a spiritual sense. The meaning is, that the believer shall find in Christ a full equivalent for anything that he is obliged to give up for Christ’s sake. He shall find such peace, and hope, and joy, and comfort, and rest, in communion with the Father and the Son, that his losses shall be more than counterbalanced by his gains. In short, the Lord Jesus Christ shall be more to him than property, or relatives, or friends.
The complete fulfillment of this wonderful promise has been often seen in the experience of God’s saints. Hundreds could testify in every age of the church, that when they were obliged to give up everything for the kingdom of God’s sake, their losses were amply supplied by Christ’s grace. They were kept in perfect peace, staying their souls on Jesus. (Isa 26:3.) They were enabled to glory in tribulation, and to take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses for Christ’s sake. (Rom 5:3. 2Co 12:10.) They were enabled in the darkest hour to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and to count it an honor to suffer shame for their Master’s name. (1Pe 1:8. Act 5:41.) The last day will show that in poverty and in exile,-in prisons and before judgment seats,-in the fire and under the sword,-the words of Christ before us have repeatedly been made good. Friends have often proved faithless. Royal promises have often been broken. Riches have made themselves wings. But Christ’s engagements have never been known to fail.
Let us grasp this promise firmly. Let us go forward in the way of life with a firm conviction that it is a promise which is the property of all God’s people. Let us not give way to doubts and fears because of difficulties that cross our path. Let us press onward with a strong persuasion, that if we lose anything for Christ’s sake, Christ will make it up to us even in this present world. What believers need is more daily practical faith in Christ’s words. The well of living water is always near us, as we travel through the wilderness of this world. Yet for want of faith we often fail to see it, and faint by the way. (Gen 21:19.)
Let us observe, secondly, in these verses, the clear and plain prediction which our Lord makes about His own death. We see Him telling the disciples that He would be “delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, spitefully entreated, spitted on, scourged, and put to death.”
The importance of our Lord’s death appears in the frequency with which He foretold it, and referred to it during His life. He knew well that it was the principal end for which He came into the world. He was to give His life a ransom for many. He was to make His soul an offering for sin, and to bear our transgressions in His own body on the tree. He was to give His body and blood for the life of the world. Let us seek to be of the same mind with Christ in our estimate of His death. Let our principal thoughts about Jesus be inseparably bound up with His crucifixion. The corner-stone of all truth concerning Christ is this,-that “While we were yet sinners He died for us.” (Rom 5:8.)
The love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards sinners is strikingly shown in His steady purpose of heart to die for them. All through His life He knew that He was about to be crucified. There was nothing in His cross and passion which He did not foresee distinctly even to the minutest particular, long before it came upon Him. He tasted all the well-known bitterness of anticipated suffering. Yet He never swerved from His path for a moment. He was straitened in spirit till He had finished the work He came to do. (Luk 12:50.) Such love passeth knowledge. It is unspeakable, unsearchable. We may rest on that love without fear. If Christ so loved us before we thought of Him, He will surely not cease to love us after we have believed.
The calmness of our Lord Jesus Christ in the prospect of certain death ought to be a pattern to all His people. Like Him, let us drink the bitter cup which our Father gives us, without a murmur, and say, “not my will but thine be done.” The man that has faith in the Lord Jesus has no reason to be afraid of the grave. “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Co 15:56-57.) The grave is no longer what it once was. It is the place where the Lord lay. If the great Head of the body looked forward to the grave with calmness, much more may all His believing members. For them He has overcome death. The king of terrors at the worst is a conquered foe.
Let us observe, lastly, in these verses, the slowness of the disciples to understand Christ’s death. We find that when our Lord described His coming sufferings, the disciples “understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
We read such passages as these, perhaps, with a mixture of pity and surprise. We wonder at the darkness and blindness of these Jews. We marvel that in the face of plain teaching, and in the light of plain types of the Mosaic law, the sufferings of Messiah should have been lost sight of in His glory, and His cross hidden behind His crown.
But are we not forgetting that the vicarious death of Christ has always been a stumbling-block and an offence to proud human nature? Do we not know that even now, after Christ has arisen from the dead and ascended into glory, the doctrine of the cross is still foolishness to many, and that Christ’s substitution for us on the cross is a truth which is often denied, rejected and refused?-Before we wonder at these first weak disciples, for not understanding our Lord’s words about His death, we should do well to look around us. It may humble us to remember that thousands of so-called Christians neither understand nor value Christ’s death at the present day.
Let us look well to our own hearts. We live in a day when false doctrines about Christ’s death abound on every side. Let us see that Christ crucified is really the foundation of our own hopes, and that Christ’s atoning death for sin is indeed the whole life of our souls. Let us beware of adding to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, as the Roman Catholic does. Its value was infinite. It admits of no addition.-Let us beware of taking away from Christ’s sacrifice, as the Socinian does. To suppose that the Son of God only died to leave us an example of self-denial, is to contradict a hundred plain texts of Scripture.-Let us walk in the old paths. Let us say with Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal 6:14.)
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Notes-
v28.-[We have left all.] The remark has often been made, that Peter and his fellow disciples had left little or nothing for Christ’s sake. A few boats and fishing nets were probably the whole amount of their worldly goods. Yet it must never be forgotten that a poor man’s “all” is as dear to him, in a certain sense, as the rich man’s palace. He knows nothing higher or better excepting by report. In giving up everything for Christ’s sake, he makes, at any rate, the greatest sacrifice in his power.
v29.-[There is no man that hath left, &c.] The cases which our Lord here describes are undoubtedly cases which can seldom occur in England. We can hardly conceive a case among ourselves in which religion could oblige a man to separate from his “wife and children.”
But there can be no doubt that sacrifices like this were often necessary when the Gospel was first preached, and was bitterly opposed by prejudiced Jews and ignorant heathen. Moreover, it is a striking fact that at the present day a converted Jew is often obliged to separate from his nearest and dearest relatives, and a converted Hindoo is cast off by all his family.
There can be no doubt that our Lord spoke with foresight of cases like these. In this point of view, His words are singularly full of comfort.
v30.-[Manifold more…this present time.] It is the safest course to give a spiritual sense to this glorious promise. A converted man will no doubt often find new friends among converted people, who shall amply make up to him for the loss of his former worldly acquaintances.-But it is not always so. The wisdom of God is sometimes pleased to allow a converted man to be a loser in temporal things by his conversion. Christ Himself, and all the inward comforts of heart, conscience, and soul which Christ alone can bestow, and the world can neither give nor take away, must be regarded as the real substance of the promise.
v31.-[All things…written, &c.] If we confine this expression to the sufferings and passion of our Lord, the reference must of course be to Psa 22:1-31; Isa 53:1-12; and Dan 9:26. But it admits of question whether our Lord did not refer to all that was to happen at Jerusalem from the time when He rode into the city upon an ass until His resurrection. The passages referred to would then be more numerous. In any case, let it be noted, the book of Psalms is classed among “the prophets.” There is far more of prophetical matter in the Psalms than most readers suppose.
v32, v33.-[He shall be delivered, &c.] The following passage from Doddridge is worth reading: “This prediction is a strong instance of the spirit of prophecy exerted by our Lord. It was more probable that He would be privately slain, or stoned to death in a tumult. And when He was delivered back to the Jews by Pilate, with permission to judge Him according to their law, it is wonderful that He was not stoned. But all was done that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.”
v31.-[They understood none, &c.] The blindness of the disciples about our Lord’s crucifixion and sufferings is, at first sight, very extraordinary. But we must remember that they were all Jews, and trained from their infancy to expect a Messiah in glory and majesty, but not in suffering and humiliation. The influence of early training, and incessant indoctrinating with one set of ideas, is exceedingly great.
Pellican has a clever and ingenious note on this passage, in which he shows how the disciples would probably interpret our Lord’s predictions of His own sufferings, and explain away a sense which was offensive and painful to their own feelings.
He thinks that they would call to mind the many figurative and parabolical expressions which our Lord used in His teaching, such as “eating His flesh and blood,”-“taking heed of the leaven of the Pharisees,”-and would persuade themselves that His strong language about His own death might yet receive some figurative fulfilment without their Master really dying.
After all, we have no right to wonder at the disciples being slow to understand the first advent of Christ in humiliation, when we see how many Christians refuse to acknowledge the second advent in glory, although the texts about Messiah’s glory are far more numerous than those about His sufferings. Above all, we have no right to wonder when we see how many, even now, are utterly in the dark about the true purpose of Christ’s death upon the cross.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
It was well done and wisely done of Peter, to leave all and follow Christ; it was the best bargain he ever made in all his life.
But observe, how he magnifies that little he had left for Christ, and ushers it in with a note of admiration: Lo! We have left all and followed thee.
Learn hence, that though it be very little that we suffer for Christ, and have forsaken upon his account, yet we are prone to magnify and admire it, as if it were some great matter. Lord, says Peter, we have left all. what all, man, had thou to leave? A few ragged nets and tattered fisher-boat: a great all indeed, next to nothing at all: scarce worth mentioning, and yet how is it magnified? Behold, we have left all, and followed thee.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
3 d. Luk 18:28-30. The Conversation regarding the Disciples.
There had been a day in the life of the disciples when a similar alternative had been put before them; they had resolved it in a different way. What was to accrue to them from the course which they had taken? Peter asks the question innocently, in the name of all. The form of his inquiry in Matthew, What shall we have therefore? contains, more expressly than that of Luke and Mark, the idea of an expected recompense. In Matthew, the Lord enters at once into Peter’s thought, and makes a special promise to the Twelve, one of the grandest which He addressed to them. Then, in the parable of the labourers, He warns them against indulging pride, on the ground that they have been the first to follow Him. It is difficult fully to harmonize this parable with the special promise which precedes it, without holding that the promise was conditional, and was not to be fulfilled, except in so far as they did not abandon themselves to the spirit of pride combated in the parable, which savours of refinement. As, therefore, Luke places this same promise in a wholly different setting, Luk 22:28-30, a context with which it perfectly agrees, it is probable that Matthew placed it here through an association of ideas which admits of easy explanation. According to Luke and Mark, the promise by which Jesus answered Peter is such as to apply to all believers; and it behoved to be so, if Jesus did not wish to favour the feeling of self-exaltation which breathed in the question of the apostle. There is even in the form, There is no man that…(Mark and Luke), the express intention to give to this promise the widest possible application.
All the relations of natural life find their analogies in the bonds formed by community of faith. Hence there arises for the believer a compensation for the painful rupture of fleshly ties, which Jesus knew so well by experience (Luk 8:19-21; comp. with Luk 8:1-3); and every true believer can, like Him, speak of fathers and mothers, brethren and children, who form his new spiritual family. Luke and Mark speak, besides, of houses; Matthew, of lands. The communion of Christian love in reality procures for each believer the enjoyment of every sort of good belonging to his brethren; yet, to prevent His disciples from supposing that it is an earthly paradise to which He is inviting them, He adds in Mark, with persecutions. Matthew and Luke had assuredly no dogmatic reason for omitting this important correction, if they had known it.
Luke likewise omits here the maxim, Many that are first shall be last, etc…., with which this piece closes in Mark, and which in Matthew introduces the parable of the labourers.
The common source of the three Syn. cannot be the proto-Mark, as Holtzmann will have it, unless we hold it to be at their own hand that Luke ascribes to this rich man the title, ruler of the synagogue, and that Matthew calls him a young man. As to Luke’s Ebionite tendency, criticism is bound to acknowledge, with this piece before it, that if salvation by voluntary poverty is really taught in our Gospel, it is not less decidedly so by the other two Syn.; that it is a heresy, consequently, not of Luke, but of Jesus,or rather, a sound exegesis can find no such thing in the doctrines which our three evangelists agree in putting in the Master’s mouth.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Peter reminded Jesus that the Twelve had done what the rich young ruler had been unwilling to do (cf. Luk 14:26-27). His comment, as Luke and Mark recorded it, was an implicit request for assurance that they would enter the kingdom (cf. Mar 10:28).
"It is surprising that, although generally Jesus does not think in terms of seeking reward, here he is prepared to respond to Peter’s saying. This suggests that Peter’s question was not regarded by the Evangelists as an implicit claim for a selfish reward. Rather it is seen as an opportunity to give a promise that self-denial for the sake of the kingdom will be vindicated." [Note: Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 688.]