Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

Luke IY. 42, 43 ; V. 1. 353
iiicand to us [Luke xviii. 1], but still as having tlicir points of eleva-
tion in peculiarly consecrated moments) were, so to speak, seasons
of heavenly refreshment and strengthening from above, in order to
overcome the power of darkness that incessantly assailed him. But,
at the same time, these moments of prayer arc to be viewed as sea-
sons when the Saviour Avas absorbed in the contemplation of the
high purposes of the Father with him, and in the depths of divine
love, in order to consecrate himself more and more to the comple-
tion of his work.
Ver, 43.—The people, however, touched with the impression
which the demeanour of Jesus produced, hastened after him into the
and Peter, always the most active among the apostles,
wilderness ;
goes to Jesus to inform him that the multitude was seeking for him.
But our Lord withdraws, with the observation, that he must extend
his ministry over the whole of Israel. The ministry of the Saviour,
according to its entire plan, was not intended to be exercised con-
tinually in the same place, but to arouse from its death slumber the
mass of the nation. Hence he never stayed long in a place, but
journeyed hither and thither. Meantime he limited his more special
oversight of souls to the narrower and wider circles of his disciples,
who so yielded themselves to his sanctifying influence, that they
forsook all—came out from their previous connexions, and followed
liim. (Mark [i. 38] uses the expression ix^fxevat k^iiottoXek;, which
occurs only in this passage. By KunoTioXeig, he means villages
of some size, approaching towns in extent. The participle t:x6-
l-ievog is to be taken as in ijn^Qa ixofdv?] [Luke xiii. 33 ; Acts xiii.
44], in the sense of " near," " neighbouring." The words in Mark :
eig TovTO i^eXijXvda, for this have I come forth^ which corresponds to
Luke's expression :
elg tovto dmaraXfiat, foo' this am I sent, are also
remarkable. It is true, there is the various reading in Mark, tA?/-
kvOa, which, as being the more co7iimon phrase [tpx^oOai sc. elgrbv itoa-
/tov], must be regarded as inferior in value to the less common. 'E^ep-
X^r^Oat, come forth, refers to the formula used by John : t^EQxeadai. ek
rov Qeov, t/c rov -ra-rpo^, come forth from God, from the Father, with
which t/c ru)v ovpavCJv would be synonymous. [See John viii. 42 ;
xiii. 3 ; xvi. 27, 28 ; xvii. 8.] In t:^eXriXvOa, have come forth, a dis-
tinct reference is implied to the original relation of the Son to the
Father ; while arrtrj-raP/w/, have been sent, refers only to the appearance
of Jesus as determined by God.)
Luke V. 1.—With an indefinite transition, the narrative of
Peter's draught of fishes is appended ;
for the multitude, whose in-
convenient proximity is here spoken of (KmicelaOai, to croiod, to press
upon, a sign of eagerness indeed, but still an amioyance to Jesus), is
not the same as that mentioned in ver, 42, because the clause inter-
posed, he loas 'preaching in the synagogues, etc. (ijv ictjqvoocjv iv ralg
Vol. I.—23