Soglio

Soglio
Village of Soglio Hiking in the Swiss Alps - John 6:3    And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Gill on Luke 18:22 and the blind man who sees.......

Luk 18:18    And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Luk 18:19    And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is,God.

Luk 18:20    Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

Luk 18:21    And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.


Luk 18:22    Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.


Note: There is a principle here of making a point by pointing out the impossibility of doing it.
This comes out  when Jesus remarks.


Luk 18:23    And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Luk 18:24    And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Luk 18:25    For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


Luk 18:26    And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

Luk 18:27    And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.


It appears there may be a connection between all these verses....with the conclusion being the child like faith of the blind man, who continues to cry unto The Lord, who like the widow and the tax collector knew both his need and asked for mercy, and this was a sign of his faith, a faith given by God to His elect, which which cry day and night unto him.

Luk 18:5    Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

Luk 18:6    And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Luk 18:7    And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Luk 18:8    I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Luk 18:9    And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:


Luk 18:17    Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.


Luk 18:13    And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luk 18:14    I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.


Luk 18:24    And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Luk 18:25    For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


Luk 18:26    And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

Luk 18:27    And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.


Luk 18:34    And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.


Luk 18:35    And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:

Luk 18:36    And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.

Luk 18:37    And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.


Luk 18:38    And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

Luk 18:39    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.


Luk 18:40    And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,

Luk 18:41    Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.

Luk 18:42    And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Luk 18:43    And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Luke 18:22

Now when Jesus heard these things,.... That he had kept all these commandments, and that ever since he was a child, and to that very time:

he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing; not but that he lacked many other things, and even every thing: for he had performed no one thing as it should be: but Christ said, partly in answer to his pert question, "what lack I yet?" and partly by an ironical concession, granting he had kept them all, as he had said, yet one thing was wanting; and chiefly with a view to mortify his pride and vanity:

sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me; See Gill on Mat 19:21.


Matthew 19:21

Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect,.... Wanting nothing, completely righteous, according to the tenor of the covenant of works, having no evil, concupiscence, or worldly lusts: our Lord signifies it was not enough to be possessed of negative holiness, and do no hurt to his neighbour, to his person, property, and estate, but he must love him, and do him good; and therefore, though so far as he had complied with the law, it was right and commendable; wherefore it is said by Mark, "that Jesus beholding him loved him"; had an affectionate regard to him as man, and approved of his intentions, seriousness, and actions, so far as agreeable; yet tells him,

one thing thou lackest: not but that he lacked many more, but he was only willing to observe one thing to him, as a trial of his love to his neighbour, which is the fulfilling of the law:

go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: not that either the law of God, or Gospel of Christ, require this to be done of all men, and at all times; for though it is a duty binding upon all, and always, to relieve the poor and the needy, yet a man is not obliged to give all that he has to them; see 2Co 8:11 nor does either legal or Christian perfection lie in doing this: a man may give all his goods to the poor and yet be destitute of the grace of God, 1Co 13:3 much less can such an action merit the heavenly treasure of eternal life. Nevertheless of some persons, and in some cases, it has been required, that they part with all their worldly substance, for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; as the apostles were called to leave all and follow Christ, as this man was also; for it is added,

and come and follow me: between these two, Mark puts, "take up the cross"; all which to do, was much more than to sell what he had, and give to the poor; and indeed, in this branch lies Gospel perfection, or to be really and truly a Christian: for to "come" to Christ, is to believe in him, lay hold on him, receive and embrace him as a Saviour and Redeemer; and to "follow" him, is to be obedient to his will, to be observant of his commands, to submit to his ordinances, and to imitate him in the exercise of grace, and discharge of duty; neither of which can be done, without "taking up the cross"; bearing reproach and persecution with patience; undergoing hardships and difficulties, of one sort or another, which attend faith in Christ, a profession of his name, and following him the Lamb, whithersoever he goes. The consequence of this now, not by way of merit, but by way of grace, is the enjoyment of the rich treasures of eternal glory: but this man was so far from complying with the latter, with coming to Christ, taking up the cross, and following him, that he could by no means agree to the former, parting with his worldly substance; and which is mentioned, as a test of his love to God and his neighbour, and to discover his sinful love of the world, and the things of it; and consequently, that he was far from being in a state of perfection. Moreover, it should be observed, that Christ is here speaking, not the pure language of the law, or according to the principles of the Gospel, when he seems to place perfection in alms deeds, and as if they were meritorious of eternal life; but according to the doctrine of the Pharisees, and which was of this man; and so upon the plan of his own notions, moves him to seek for perfection, and convicts him of the want of it, in a way he knew would be disagreeable to him; and yet he would not be able to disprove the method, on the foot of his own tenets: for this is their doctrine (e);

"It is a tradition, he that says this "sela", or shekel, is for alms, that my son may live, or I may be a son of the world to come, lo! זה צדיק גמור, "this man is a perfect righteous man".''

The gloss adds,

"In this thing; and he does not say that he does not do it for the sake of it, but he fulfils the command of his Creator, who has commanded him to do alms; and he also intends profit to himself, that thereby he may be worthy of the world to come, or that his children may live.''

And so in answer to a question much like this, the young man put to Christ (f);

"How shall we come at the life of the world to come?''

It is replied,

"take thy riches, and give to the fatherless and the poor, and I will give thee a better portion in the law.''

(e) T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 8. 1, 2. & Roshhashanah, fol. 4. 1. (f) Zohar in Gen. fol. 60. 4.




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