Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 19:42
saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
42. at least in this thy day ] Isa 55:6 ; 2Co 6:2.
which belong unto thy peace ] Perhaps with a paronomasia on the name of Salem or ‘Peace,’ and on the sound though not the derivation of Jerusalem ( Yeroo Shalom ‘they shall see peace,’ comp. Psa 122:6-7). Such plays on words often spring from deep emotion. (See my Chapters on Language-pp. 269-276.) Isa 48:18, “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 42. The things which belong unto thy peace!] It is very likely that our Lord here alludes to the meaning of the word Jerusalem, from yereh, he shall see, and shalom, peace or prosperity. Now, because the inhabitants of it had not seen this peace and salvation, because they had refused to open their eyes, and behold this glorious light of heaven which shone among them, therefore he said, Now they are hidden from thine eyes, still alluding to the import of the name.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Speeches which are the products of great passion, are usually abrupt and imperfect:
If thou hadst known, that is, Oh that thou hadst known, or, I wish that thou hadst known. We are said in Scripture not to know more than we believe, are affected with, and live up to the knowledge of. They had heard enough of the things which concerned their peace, Christ had told them to them, but they attended not to them, they believed them not, and so cared not to direct their lives according to any such notions.
At least in this thy day; the time in which I have been preaching the gospel to thee (for so I had rather interpret it, than of this last journey of our Saviours to Jerusalem). This was properly the Jews day, for the first preachers of the gospel spent all their time and pains amongst them.
The things which belong unto thy peace, that is, to thy happiness, for so the term often signifies, and it refers as well to the happiness of the outward as of their inward man.
But now they are hid from thine eyes: God will not suffer his Spirit always to strive with man, because he is but flesh, not fit to be always waited on by the great Majesty of heaven. First men shut their eyes against the things that do concern their peace, then God hideth them from them. No man hath more than his day, his time of grace: how long that is none can tell: if he sleepeth out that, his case is desperate, past remedy.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
42. at least in this, &c.evenat this moving moment. (See on Lu13:9.)
thy peacethinkingperhaps of the name of the city. (Heb7:2) [WEBSTER andWILKINSON]. How much isincluded in this word!
now . . . hidIt wasHis among His last open efforts to “gather them,”but their eyes were judicially closed.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Saying, if thou hadst, known, even thou,…. As well as other cities; or who hast been so long a flourishing city, the metropolis of the nation, the seat of the ancient kings of Judah; yea, the city of the great God, the place of divine worship, whither the tribes came up, time after time, to serve the Lord; a city so highly honoured of God and man: or, who hast despised the messages of the servants of God, mocked and misused the prophets in time past, beat one, killed another, and stoned another: if such a city, after all this, had but known its true interest,
at least in this thy day; the day of thy visitation, the last day thou art to have, though it is so late:
the things [which belong] unto thy peace; meaning, not peace with God, and the things belonging, or conducing to that, which are not men’s works of righteousness, nor tears of repentance, nor even faith itself, but the obedience and righteousness, the blood, sacrifice and death of Christ; nor spiritual peace, or internal peace of conscience, which comes in a Gospel way, through believing, in a course of obedience, and all from Christ, the peacemaker, and peace giver; nor eternal peace hereafter, which the grace of God gives a meetness for, and the righteousness of Christ a right unto; the knowledge of all which is not natural to men, or to be obtained of themselves, but is the gift of God’s grace, and the operation of his Spirit: but supposing such a peace, and such things relating to it, were intended, nothing more can be inferred from hence, than that if the Jews had known these things, they had been happy; and since they had the means of knowing them, they were, of all men, inexcusable; and that Christ, as man, and one of their nation, and as a minister of the circumcision, had a passionate concern for their welfare: but not that these Jews, or any men, can of themselves, and without the unfrustrable grace of God working upon their hearts, and enlightening their understanding, know these things; or that Christ acted any insincere part in wishing for these things for them, as man, and a minister of the word, when he knew, as God, it was not consistent with the will of God that they should have them; since Christ, as man, sometimes earnestly prayed for that, which he, as God, knew could not be, as in the case of his own sufferings and death; nor is this irreconcilable to his dying intentionally only for those who are actually saved: but after all, these words are, only spoken of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of that city, and not of all mankind, and regard only their temporal peace and welfare, whose destruction Christ knew was near at hand; and of which he afterwards speaks in the following verses:
but now they are hid from thine eyes; their eyes were blinded; they were given up to a judicial blindness, and hardness of heart; a spirit of slumber and stupidity had seized them; they could not discern the signs of the times and so disbelieved Jesus as the Messiah, and rejected him as such; whom, had they received only in a notional way, though they had not believed in him spiritually, to the saving of their souls, they would have been secured from outward calamities, and would have enjoyed peace and prosperity, and the things belonging to it our Lord speaks of. Christ alludes to the name of Jerusalem, which signifies the vision of peace; or they shall see peace; but her name and case now did not agree. His wish is the same the Psalmist encourages in Ps 122:6 which, in the Septuagint version, is rendered, “pray for the things” that belong “to the peace Jerusalem”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If thou hadst known ( ). Second aorist active indicative of . Second-class condition, determined as unfulfilled.
Even thou ( ). Emphatic position of the subject.
But now ( ). Aposiopesis. The conclusion is not expressed and the sudden breaking off and change of structure is most impressive.
They are hid (). Second aorist passive indicative of , common verb, to hide.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Wept [] . With audible weeping.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Saying, If thou hadst known,” (legon hoti ei egnos) “Saying, If you just knew,” as a city. If you had only recognized, realized, or comprehended, Luk 13:34; as is also recounted Mat 23:37-39; Job 16:4.
2) “Even thou, at least in this thy day,” (en te hemera taute kai su) “Even in this particular day,” your day of opportunity, yet your limited day, after often being warned and informed by the law, and the prophets, and by me, Pro 29:1; For you have your day of grace, Deu 5:29; Psa 29:7-8.
3) “The things belong unto thy peace!” (ta pros eirenen) “The things meant to be for your peace,” to bring peace to you, of which the wicked are void, Isa 57:20-21; Luk 1:77; Luk 1:79; Isa 48:18; Act 10:36; Rom 5:1; Eph 2:14.
4) “But now they are hid from thine eyes.” (nun de ekruke apo ephthalmon sou) “Yet, now and hereafter forever, they are and will be hidden from your eyes,” for the coming Gentile age; you all have chosen spiritual blindness for you and your children, as surely as Adam and Eve did in Eden, Rom 11:25; They were blind and willfully blind, ignorant and willfully ignorant, by the god of this world, by choice of rejecting Jesus Christ, Joh 1:11; 2Co 4:3-4. Having willfully closed their eyes to grace, they then had them judicially sealed, till the “times of the Gentiles,” be fulfilled, Rom 11:26. Judicial blindness had set in upon them as a penalty for a long pursuit of moral perverseness by the leaders of the nation of Israel, Mat 23:13-14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
42. O if even thou hadst known! The discourse is pathetic, and therefore abrupt; for we know that by those who are under the influence of vehement passion their feelings are not more than half-expressed. Besides, two feelings are here mingled; for not only does Christ bewail the destruction of the city, but he likewise reproaches the ungrateful people with the deepest guilt, in rejecting the salvation which was offered to them, and drawing down on themselves a dreadful judgment of God. The word even, which is interwoven with it, is emphatic; for Christ silently contrasts Jerusalem with the other cities of Judea, or rather, of the whole world, and the meaning is: “If Even thou, who art distinguished by a remarkable privilege above the whole world, — if thou at least, (I say,) who art a heavenly sanctuary in the earth, hadst known ” This is immediately followed by another amplification taken from the time: “Though hitherto thou hast wickedly and outrageously rebelled against God, now at least there is time for repentance.” For he means that the day is now at hand, which had been appointed by the eternal purpose of God for the salvation of Jerusalem, and had been foretold by the prophets. Thus (says Isaiah) is the accepted time, this is the day of salvation, (Isa 49:8; 2Co 6:2.)
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near, (Isa 55:6.)
The things which belong to thy peace Under the word peace he includes, according to the meaning of the Hebrew phrase, all that is essential to happiness. Nor does he simply say, that Jerusalem did not know her peace, but the things which belonged to her peace; for it frequently happens that men are far from being unacquainted with their happiness, but they are ignorant of the way and means, (as we say,) because they are blinded by their wickedness. Now since the compassion is mingled with reproach, let us observe, that men deserve the heavier punishment in proportion to the excellence of the gifts which they have received, because to other sins there is added an impious profanation of heavenly grace. Secondly, let us observe, that the nearer God approaches to us, and holds out the light of sound doctrine, the less excusable are we, if we neglect this opportunity. The gate of salvation, indeed, is always open; but as God is sometimes silent, it is no ordinary privilege, when He invites us to himself with a loud voice, and in a familiar manner, and therefore the contempt will be visited by severer punishment.
But now they are hid from thy eyes. This is not said for the purpose of extenuating the guilt of Jerusalem; for, on the contrary, it marks with disgrace the monstrous stupidity of that city, that, when God is present, it does not perceive him. I do acknowledge that it belongs to God alone to open the eyes of the blind, and that no man is qualified for understanding the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, unless God enlighten him inwardly by his Spirit; but it does not follow from this that they who perish through their own brutal blindness are excusable. Christ intended also to remove an offense, which might otherwise have perplexed the ignorant and weak; for when the eyes of all were directed to that city, his example might have very great influence in both respects, either for evil or for good. That no man then may be perplexed by its unbelief and proud contempt of the Gospel, Jerusalem is condemned for disgraceful blindness.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(42) If thou hadst known, even thou.The emphatic repetition of the pronoun, as in Isa. 48:15; Isa. 51:12; Eze. 5:8; Eze. 6:3; Ps. ixxvi. 7, speaks of the strongest possible emotion. The broken form of the sentence, If thou hadst known . . ., with no corresponding clause as to what would then have followed; the at least in this thy day, the day that was still its own, in which it was called to repentance and action, all point to the words as being the utterance of the deepest human sorrow that the Son of Man had known.
The things which belong unto thy peace.Literally, the things that make for, or tend to, peace. The Greek is the same as that translated conditions of peace in Luk. 14:32 (where see Note); in this case, obviously, the things that make for peace are repentance, reformation, righteousness.
Now they are hid.The Greek tense implies, by a distinction hard to express in English, in conjunction with the adverb now, that the concealment of the things that made for the peace of Jerusalem, was a thing completed in the past.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
42. If thou hadst known but now The sentence is broken, as if by the impulse of feeling.
Hid from thine eyes For sin hath a blinding power. The man who wilfully gives himself up to one deception, knows not to what endless snares of error he may have surrendered himself as a consequence.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which belong to peace! But now they are hid from your eyes.” ’
His heart was torn because Jerusalem could not recognise its day. He was here as its King, and through Him they could have found peace. And that would have saved them from the ferment of their hearts that would bring destruction on them. But their eyes were closed and God’s offer was hidden from their eyes. They were lost in darkness (Act 26:18). They did not know where they were going (Joh 12:35). And thus they did not see. Their Day had come, but apart from the few, they had failed to see it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 19:42. If thou hadst known, O that thou hadst known! It is certain, as we have before observed, that the particle is sometimes used to express an ardent wish; and the connection here will very well bear it. But if our translation be retained, it must be acknowledged that the broken manner of speaking is very emphatical: our Lord will then seem to pause, in a silent reflection on the happy consequences which would have attended their obedient regard to his invitations and addresses. See on Luk 19:44.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Ver. 42. Oh, if thou hadst known ] They had cognitionem historicam non mysticam, speculativam non affectivam, apprehensionis non approbationis, discursivam non experimentalem.
At least in this thy day ] The time of grace is fitly called a day in regard of, 1.Rev 2:1-29Rev 2:1-29 . Adornation; 3. Consolation; 4. Distinction; 5. Speedy pretrition. Amend before the drawbridge be taken up. No man can say he shall have 12 hours to his day.
But now they are hid from thine eyes ] Yet they lived under the ministry long after, and no outward change to be discerned. As Plutarch writes of Hannibal, that when he could have taken Rome, he would not; when he would, he could not: so the procrastinators.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
42. ] , Euthym [107] Perhaps in the actual words spoken by the Lord there may have been an allusion to the name Jerusalem: ‘Utinam qu diceris Jerusalem re ipsa esses Jerusalem, ac videres ea, qu pacem tibi prstare possent.’ Wetstein.
[107] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
, thou also, as well as these My disciples.
[ , et quidem even: Hartung remarks, Partikellehre i. 397, that this expression is confined to the Attic dialect. But in classic Greek the emphatic word always intervenes between and , so , sch. Prom. 1009: whereas in Latin et quidem is usually found undivided. ]
Luk 19:42 . : with the aorist indicative in a supposition contrary to fact, the apodosis being omitted by an impressive aposiopesis. . ., in this (late) day, not too late yet. , thou too, as well as my disciples: their insight will save them , but not you and the nation; you must know for yourselves. (T.R.): the combination ( vide critical notes) is suspicious. Coming before . , etc., as in T.R., it will mean: even at this late hour. , the things tending to thy peace = thy salvation. , but now as things stand; the day of grace therefore is already past. : judicial blindness has set in, the penalty of a long course of moral perversity.
Saying, &c. Peculiar to Luke.
If thou, &c. Assuming it as an actual fact. App-118. Not the same as in verses: Luk 19:8, Luk 19:31, Luk 19:40.
hadst known. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6, for heeding. See note on Isa 1:3.
day. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct). App-6, for the events taking place in it.
which belong unto = for (Greek. pros. App-104.) thy peace. For these see Isa 48:18 and Psa 122. Note the Figure of speech Aposiopesis (App-6), denoting that the blessedness involved in this knowledge was overwhelmed by the thought of the tribulation which was to come on account of their ignorance of it.
42.] – , Euthym[107] Perhaps in the actual words spoken by the Lord there may have been an allusion to the name Jerusalem:-Utinam qu diceris Jerusalem re ipsa esses Jerusalem, ac videres ea, qu pacem tibi prstare possent. Wetstein.
[107] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
, thou also, as well as these My disciples.
[ , et quidem-even: Hartung remarks, Partikellehre i. 397, that this expression is confined to the Attic dialect. But in classic Greek the emphatic word always intervenes between and ,-so , sch. Prom. 1009: whereas in Latin et quidem is usually found undivided.]
Luk 19:42. ) Would that! , which the LXX. render , Jos 7:7.-, thou hadst known) the things which make for (belong unto) thy peace. Comp. Luk 19:44 [where, knowing the time of thy visitation, answers to, knowing the things which make for thy peace, here].- ) even thou, thou also, after the example of the disciples, Luk 19:37.- ) even truly (at least, Engl. Vers.), as yet [even still], after so many acceptable days.- , in this thy day) A day altogether peculiar and extraordinary. See the end of Luk 19:44; Psa 118:24 [This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice, etc.]-, in this) after so many other days, when thou mightest have taken measures to ensure thy salvation.-) This word depends upon .-, peace) In antithesis to , enemies, in the following verse. [There is included in the idea heavenly peace;[212] comp. Luk 19:38.-V. g.]-, they have been hidden) also[213] by the just judgment of God.
[212] i.e. Peace with heaven.-E. and T.
[213] Even as thou knewest not when thou mightest have known, so now, when thou wouldest wish, thou canst not know.-E. and T.
If: Deu 5:29, Deu 32:29, Psa 81:13, Isa 48:18, Eze 18:31, Eze 18:32, Eze 33:11
in this: Luk 19:44, Psa 32:6, Psa 95:7, Psa 95:8, Isa 55:6, Joh 12:35, Joh 12:36, 2Co 6:1, 2Co 6:2
the things: Luk 1:77-79, Luk 2:10-14, Luk 10:5, Luk 10:6, Act 10:36, Act 13:46, Heb 3:7, Heb 3:13, Heb 3:15, Heb 10:26-29, Heb 12:24-26
but: Isa 6:9, Isa 6:10, Isa 29:10-14, Isa 44:18, Mat 13:14, Mat 13:15, Joh 12:38-41, Act 28:25-27, Rom 11:7-10, 2Co 3:14-16, 2Co 4:3, 2Co 4:4, 2Th 2:9-12
Reciprocal: Gen 6:6 – grieved Gen 37:14 – see whether it be well with Gen 41:16 – peace Deu 31:29 – and evil Jdg 21:6 – repented them 2Sa 3:32 – lifted 1Ch 4:10 – Oh that Est 8:6 – For how Job 18:20 – his day Psa 35:14 – I behaved Psa 45:5 – sharp Psa 119:53 – horror Psa 147:13 – blessed Pro 1:22 – ye simple Ecc 8:6 – therefore Ecc 9:12 – man Son 2:13 – Arise Isa 27:5 – let him Isa 48:22 – General Isa 49:5 – Israel Isa 65:2 – spread Jer 4:19 – My bowels Jer 13:17 – my soul Eze 4:2 – lay Hos 6:4 – what Hos 7:1 – I would Hos 11:8 – How shall I give Zep 3:7 – Surely Zec 7:13 – as Mat 21:19 – Let Mat 22:7 – he was Luk 4:19 – General Luk 12:56 – that Luk 13:3 – ye shall Luk 13:34 – Jerusalem Luk 19:27 – General Joh 5:34 – that Act 13:41 – for Act 26:29 – that not Rom 2:10 – and peace Rom 5:1 – we have 1Co 13:6 – Rejoiceth not 1Th 2:16 – for
THE COMMANDINGNESS OF CHRIST
If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:42
There is a commandingness about the figure of Christ here which we at once feel, and for reasons of which we are mostly conscious.
I. The occasion itself in its historic importance demands it.This is the Royal entry of the King of the Jews. They are around Him with the palm branch, the Hosanna, the acclamations which proclaim His Messiahship. This is a coming which brings salvation to the Jew. This advent, above all other advents of the Son of Man, is His advent, to His own.
II. It is the coming of the Son of Man as Man to men.Other kings have come to claim from their imperial city the homage of their subjects. But no king on his triumph day shed tears over the fate of his city, and wept aloud over the picture of its fast-approaching doom. The imaginative tenderness of the scene, its intense humanity, its vivid picturesqueness, unite with its historic uniqueness in appealing to our attention. For this day is the triumph day of Jesus Christs Passion, the riding on in majesty of Him Who is about to bow His meek head to mortal pain. It is for us the day of the coming of the Son of Man as Man to men.
III. It is the solemn assertion by Christ of His Lordship over all human history.We behold Him in this scene as the Lord of the ages, the Master of prophetic fulfilments, the Prince of the kings of the earth. In that one prophecy which ushers in the Gentile age in which we live, Christ puts His seal upon all the long Jewish and Gentile history which had gone before, interprets to us and to all men its moral and spiritual meaning, impresses upon us its direct relationship to Himself.
Rev. T. A. Gurney.
Illustration
Christ will be, must be, supreme. For our admonitions as Gentiles and Christians these warnings are given us upon whom the ends of the world are come. Jerusalem will indeed rise again. The hour is very near. Christs supremacy over history secures that. But as we look back over these long ages of her desolation the lesson of her ruin is a solemn one. Thus Christ asserted on one great typical occasion His supreme place in the lives of men. Thus He will once again assert it. Surely our desire must be that He should come and judge our faults and cleanse our characters, and mark keenly what is amiss now that we may have acceptance then. There is mercy with Thee; therefore Thou mayest be feared. Messiah of God, anointed as mans Saviour, Son of Man touched with the feeling of my infirmities and weeping over my sin, Supreme, All-potent Lord of all human history, Masterworker in Whose hands the secrets of the ages lie, search my own heart now and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Luk 19:42. If thou hadst known. The pathetic expression of a fruitless wish.
In this day. That day of entry is meant, as concentrating in itself all the intimations and proofs of His Messiahship, and becoming a direct offer of Himself for their acceptance; comp. the time of thy visitation (Luk 19:44).
Even thou, as well as the disciples, who now testify their knowledge by their shouts of Hosanna.
The things which belong unto peace! Peace here certainly includes the idea of deliverance, safety. Perhaps as originally uttered there was an allusion to the name Jerusalem (Salem = peace). What was necessary for this peace was the recognition of Jesus as the Messiah.
But now they are hid from thine eyes. The city, as a whole, rejected Him that day, though its positive antagonism came later in the week. This hiding was according to the righteous counsel of God (comp. Mat 11:25-26; Joh 12:37, etc.; Rom 11:7, etc.); but the personal guilt of the inhabitants was directly involved, as is evident from the emotion of our Lord.
By the things belonging to their peace, we are to understand the presence of Christ amongst them, the preaching of the gospel to them: She did not know, that is, she did not consider, she did not prize and improve, her privileges as she ought; but stopped her ears against the words of Christ, and closed her eyes against the miraculous works of Christ, till at last they were hidden from her eyes.
Learn hence,
1. That the time of a people’s enjoying the light and liberty of the gospel, is a limited day, it is a short day: If thou hadst known in this thy day.
2. That it is the sad and usual lot of the gospel not to be embraced and entertained by a people to whom it is in mercy sent, till it be too late, and the time of their visitation be past and over,O that thou hadst known; but now thou shalt never know,now they are hid from thine eyes. But how hid? Was there no more preaching in Jerusalem; no public ministry after that day? Yes, behold the patience and mercy of Christ in waiting upon this people. After this, Christ sent the whole college of apostles, and they preached there the things belonging to their temporal and eternal peace; but they wanted hearts to consider and their ruin was unavoidable.
19:42 {g} Saying, {h} If thou hadst known, even thou, {i} at least in this {k} thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy {l} peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
(g) Christ stops his speech, which partly shows how moved he was with compassion over the destruction of the city that was surely to come: and partly to reprove them for their treachery and stubbornness against him, such as has not been heard of before.
(h) You at the very least, O Jerusalem, to whom the message was properly sent.
(i) If after slaying so many prophets, and so often refusing me, the Lord of the prophets, if only now, especially in my last coming to you, you had any concern for yourself.
(k) The good and prosperous time is called the day of this city.
(l) That is, those things in which your happiness stands.
Jesus meant that if the people of Jerusalem had only known then, that day (cf. Luk 4:21; Luk 19:5; Luk 19:9), what would result in peace for them, they could experience peace. Acceptance of Him and the inauguration of the kingdom would bring peace (i.e., salvation) to the city of peace, Jerusalem. However they did not realize the consequences of their decision. God had withheld that insight from them because they were bent on rejecting Jesus (Luk 11:49-51; Luk 13:34).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)