of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

CHAPTER XV.

THEN drew near unto him all

35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

True and honest disciples might be disheartened by the desertion of their associates; and he did not wish to expose them to that peril. He therefore checked the forward zeal of the enthusiastic, and cautioned them not to profess discipleship; unless they loved him so much more than all things else, as to be willing for his sake to lose all possessions, and even seal their sincere devotion to his cause with their own blood. Though this admonition had special reference to the then existing state of things, it is worthy of the most serious consideration now. No man should profess to embrace religion, unless he is prepared to perform its duties faithfully and unshrinkingly, even though he be opposed, taunted, and ridiculed, by others. Loss of property and of life, under our mild and equitable laws, is not now to be apprehended. May God make us grateful for this blessing, and enable us to preserve it, and transmit it to our posterity.

34, 35. See notes on Matt. v. 13; Mark ix. 49, 50. "This excellently connects with the discourse preceding, thus: the gospel I require you to adhere to is that salt with which every oblation that is acceptable to God must be seasoned, Mark ix. 49, 50; the preachers of it are the salt of the earth, Matt. v. 13; as then salt, when it hath lost its savor, becomes good for nothing, but to be cast out into the dunghill, so the Christian professor, who lives not according to the prescripts of the gospel, can do no good to himself or others, and, if he fall off from it, can scarcely be recovered. Heb. vi. 6; x. 17."— Whitby. He that hath ears, &c. See note on Matt. xi. 15. By this proverb, our Lord indicated that his language had application to his hearers in a figurative sense. They were to understand that they could not be disciples, unless they had within them such a spirit of love, and such faith in him, as would pre

to hear him.

2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

serve them from defection, even though called to forsake everything else and put their own lives in peril. They would otherwise be useless and unserviceable. In the hour of trial they would desert his standard; they would neither sustain others, nor themselves be sustained. They would be rejected and cast aside as unprofitable servants; and would have their portion with their unbelieving brethren.

CHAPTER XV.

1. Publicans and sinners. See notes on Matt. v. 46; ix. 10, 11.

2. Murmured. Expressed dissatisfaction. They were scandalized that a person, reputed to be a prophet, and even supposed by some to be the true Messiah, should admit to his society the despised publicans and sinners. They trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others, Luke xviii. 9; and they supposed that any true prophet, much more the Messiah, would court their society, as the more respectable and suitable, and would hold no intercourse with the vicious and depraved. They considered it especially disgraceful to eat and drink with sinners; and even intimated that a person who would suffer himself to be contaminated and disgraced by such society could not be a true prophet. See Luke vii. 39. The real source of dissatisfaction was, that Jesus did not confine his attention exclusively to themselves. If he had associated with them, flattered their vanity, praised their formal piety, and neglected and despised the lower classes, they would have been highly pleased. But as he denounced their hypocrisy and iniquity, and labored to convert sinners, they murmured.

3-7. See notes on Matt. xviii. 12, 13. The meaning of this parable is obvious, when the circumstance which drew it out is considered. The Pharisees alleged that it was improper for

3

4 What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5 And when he hath found it,

Jesus, if he were a prophet of God, or a religious teacher, to associate with sinners instead of devoting his whole attention to the pious, that is, to themselves. In this and the two following parables, he taught them, that, according to their own estimate of the characters of themselves and others, he was doing precisely what his duty, as a religious teacher, required. If they had never strayed from the path of righteousness, there was no necessity to bring them back the lost and wandering were those whom he ought to seek, and restore to the true fold, ver. 3-7. If they had never been lost, they were safe now it was his duty to seek and find what was lost, ver. 8-10. If they had never wandered from their father's house, they were now happy it was his duty to seek the wandering and distressed prodigal, and persuade him to return to the abode of love, peace, and plenty, ver. 11-32. He was laboring, therefore, on behalf of those who most needed his assistance, and doing precisely what was consistent with his vocation. If any were as pure as the Pharisees pretended to be, they did not need his labors; but if others were as corrupt and abandoned as they represented, they certainly needed reformation and deliverance from their miserable state; and such aid it was his office to render. The idea running through these three parables is similar to that which Jesus expressed, when, in reply to the same accusation, he said, "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Matt. ix. 12, 13; Mark ii. 17; Luke v. 31, 32. As in this declaration, so in the parables, the terms are not to be understood strictly, as if any were absolutely pure and holy, having no need of reformation; but Jesus reasoned with the Pharisees on their own principles, admitting them to be thus

6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

joy

I say unto you, That likewise shall be in heaven over one

pure; and upon this ground showed them, that his own conduct was proper, and their accusations groundless.

4. A hundred sheep. Large flocks of sheep were kept in Judea, under the care of shepherds. Frequent reference is made to this fact in the figurative language of the Bible. The imagery of this parable was very familiar to a Jewish mind. ¶ Go after that which is lost. The good shepherd manifests peculiar anxiety concerning that part of his flock which most needs his attention. If a sheep stray, he seeks for it, and does not petulantly abandon it to destruction. Until he find it. He searches diligently. His efforts for its restoration are not a mere form; but they are zealous and persevering. A shepherd's search must sometimes be ineffectual; yet Jesus represents it as resulting successfully. It is not unreasonable to suppose he intended to convey the idea, that his own labors should never fail of success; that he would persevere until his object should be fully accomplished.

5. Layeth it on his shoulders. When the good shepherd finds a sheep which had strayed from the flock, he does not treat it roughly; but in the most gentle and affectionate manner restores it to the flock. ¶ Rejoicing. Because he has rescued his sheep from the dangers and perils to which it had been exposed.

6. The language in this verse seems to be added, to give life to the parable, and make its meaning more vivid to a pastoral people, like the Jews. Very probably, shepherds were accustomed to congratulate each other, on such occasions.

7. Likewise, &c. Here is the application of the parable, recognizing a general principle of human nature; namely, that possessions, regained after a

temporary loss, afford more pleasure than those which have been enjoyed without interruption. Thus the clear

said to his father, Father, give me | the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his sub

of the elder son, the envy and other unholy emotions of the Pharisees are embodied. If they had common discernment and common sensibility, they must have writhed under this scorching and withering rebuke. Much of the imagery in this parable is designed only to give animation and life to the picture, and needs not a particular application. For some excellent remarks on the folly of spiritualizing every incident in a parable, see a quotation from Campbell in the note on Matt. xiii. 3.

11. A certain man had two sons. This is not called a parable, though it evidently is such. The introduction, like Luke xvi. 19, seems like the commencement of a literal history of a particular case which had occurred; yet no one disputes that it is a parable, and nothing more. This remark may not be regarded as useless, when it is recollected that some have denied the propriety of considering any passage to be a parable, unless it be expressly so denominated by the sacred writers.

12. Give me the portion, &c. "It may seem strange that such a demand should be made, and that the parent should have acceded to it, when he knew that it was to minister to his debauches that his profligate son made the demand here specified. But the matter will appear plain, when it is considered that it has been an immemorial custom in the East, for sons to demand and receive their portions of the inheritance, during their father's lifetime; and the parent, however aware of the dissipated inclinations of the child, could not legally refuse to comply with the application."-Clarke. By this younger son, we are to understand the publicans and sinners, whose lost and ruined condition is represented by the course of the prodigal, until "he came to himself."

13. Into a far country. It is immaterial to what distance the young man travelled. The idea is, that he endea

vored to escape the supervision of his father. Many young men have become impatient of parental restraint, and desirous of departing, that they might give unrestrained indulgence to their propensities. Little considering a parent's anxiety, and the value of his lessons of wisdom, they have vainly imagined that their highest happiness depended on their enjoyment of the largest liberty, and have departed not only from their father's house, but also from his counsels and the way in which he had instructed them to walk.

Wasted his substance in riotous living. Not an unusual event in the life of a young man who mocketh at his father, and despiseth to give heed to his mother. Prov. xxx. 17.

14. Mighty famine. This figure is natural. The countries of the East are often visited by this scourge. It was a famine, which caused Jacob to descend into Egypt with his family. A severe famine was in Israel, in the days of Elijah, when it rained not for three years and six months. Famines are occasioned, sometimes by the failure of rain in its season, sometimes by untimely frosts, sometimes by blight or mildew, or by any cause which diminishes or utterly destroys the fruits of the earth, over a large extent of territory. The prodigal was ill-prepared for such a famine; for, while the means of sustenance were scarce and to be purchased only at a high price, his substance was wasted, and he had no means to buy. Other young men have also been reduced to want, by forgetting the prudential precepts and example of their parents, and living extravagantly, riotously, and wickedly.

15. Joined himself, &c. Became a servant to the citizen. He had been unwilling to be under the control of his father; he now became a servant to a stranger. He thus began to reap the reward of his folly. To feed swine. This, to the mind of a Jew, was the