Bible Commentaries
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament
Luke 8
Luke 8:1. αὐτὸς διώδευε κατὰ πόλιν καὶ κώμην, The Lord Himself was passing throughout every city and village [lit. city by city and village by village]) How great was the loving condescension of the Son of God! [There is no need that we should be anxious to form a calculation of the number of His journeyings. The several evangelists record them on different occasions: in fact, all the daily life of Jesus was spent in conferring benefits on all by word and deed.—Harm., p. 315.]
Luke 8:2. τεθεραπευμέναι, healed) By this the power of Jesus was being shown, as well as the pious affection of the women, in that they were following Him. [Though these women were not present at the voyage to Gadara, which is to be presently mentioned by Luke, although it in reality occurred previously, nor, as it appears, at the journey which the Lord took “in secret” (John 7:10) to the feast of tabernacles, and which is narrated by John alone; yet, from this point of time, which was (distant) by the interval of a year from the Passion, they endeavoured in every way to show their adherence to the Lord Jesus, and to minister to Him: for it was during this very attendance on Him that they accompanied Him to Jerusalem; which is the reason why Luke, ch. Luke 23:49; Luke 23:55, thinks it unnecessary to repeat their names, as he refers to this very passage, ch. Luke 8:2.—Harm., p. 315, 316.] This retinue of women were, from the utmost wretchedness [viz. their possession by evil spirits], admitted to the utmost felicity [viz. their hourly communion with Jesus], just as happened in the case of David’s veteran band. It was a matter of custom among the Jews (as Simonius remarks), that women, especially widows, should relieve doctors and Rabbis out of their private resources, and should, for that purpose, accompany them on their journeys.—[ ΄αρία, Mary) Somewhat fastidious men, even then, may have been inclined to turn away from her with disgust, on account of her former wretchedness: but she was held in high account with Jesus.—V. g.]
Luke 8:3. ἰωάννα, Joanna) the wife of a husband of high standing in the world. [Her public attendance on the Saviour does not seem to have been without effect, in bringing it about that Herod came to know something concerning Jesus, ch. Luke 9:7.—V. g.]: yet in the household of Jesus Mary Magdalene takes precedency of her.— ἐπιτρόπου, steward).— διηκόνουν, ministered) The record of their ministry to the Lord is an ample reward of their liberality. But at that time, no doubt, many supposed them to be silly women.
Luke 8:4. τῶν κατὰ πόλιν) out of every city there was some body of men.— ἐπιπορευομένων) ἐπὶ is to be referred to the multitude of the people.
Luke 8:5. ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον, a sower to sow his seed) Conjugate words excite attention.
Luke 8:8. ἑκατονταπλασίονα, a hundredfold) Matthew and Mark add sixty and thirty. Luke, wishing to give but one genus, expresses, as is customary, the highest; in which the others are included.
Luke 8:12. ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας, out of their heart) Implying the great power of the Devil; [who, however, has less power on the second and third classes mentioned in this place than on the first.—V. g.]— πιστεύσαντες, having believed) We are saved by the word through faith: Luke 8:13. Faith is the appropriate fruit of the word.
Luke 8:13. δέχονται, receive) This is the beginning of faith.— πρὸς καιρὸν) So 1 Corinthians 7:5.
Luke 8:14. καὶ πλούτου) Repeat ὑπὸ; comparing Mark 4:19, [where the cares of this world are made distinct from the deceitfulness of riches: showing that πλούτου here is governed, not by μεριμνῶν, but by ὑπό.] Construe the words with συμπνίγονται, they are choked.— πορευόμενοι, setting out, going their way) without any rapid and manifest apostasy (falling away), nay, even with some degree of progress. For this is the force of the verb ילך πορεύομαι. The increments in good and evil go on simultaneously, not only in the case of men collectively, Matthew 13:30, but also in the case of individuals.— οὐ τελεσφοροῦσι) they do not hear the fruit perfected and ripened, viz. faith itself, in such a way as that they should attain the τέλος, or “end of faith, the salvation of their souls:” Luke 8:12 : comp. 1 Peter 1:9. Plutarch, τελεσφόρα δένδρα.
Luke 8:15. [ ἐν τῇ καλῇ γῇ, on the good ground) Lest such a soil should not be sown upon, it is better that some seed should be thrown away on the wayside, etc.—V. g.]— καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ) See Matthew 7:17. A frequent compound is καλοκἀγαθός. καλὸς has somewhat of a relative meaning, ἀγαθός is absolute.— κατέχουσι, retain, keep it fast) not as on the wayside.— καρποφοροῦσι, bear fruit) not as among the thorns.— ἐν ὑπομονῇ, with patience) not as on the rocky ground. ὑπομονή answers to the one Hebrew word תקוה, waiting, hope. It is strength of mind, sustained by good hope. It precedes the act of bearing fruit in such a way as even to accompany it: on this account it is here put at the end. This constitutes the sum of Christianity.
Luke 8:16. τὸ φῶς) the light, not the candlestick [or lamp which holds the light, λύχνον]. Man’s nature no more has light of itself [derived from itself], than the material of the candlestick has it. For this light is added from without, that is, by Divine agency, through the word. Therefore the candlestick does not seek to be beheld, as far as itself is concerned, but serves that the light may be beheld: and the good hearer, like the candlestick, always hears in such a way as that he may be of use to as many as possible by his shining: and he himself, in turn, day by day increases in the brightness of his shining.
Luke 8:17. γὰρ, for) The light even now already loves to be seen, because it is about to be wholly revealed.
Luke 8:18. [ πῶς, how) With what result and fruit.—V. g.— ἀκούετε, ye hear) Ye especially who are appointed to instruct others.—V. g ὅς γὰρ ἂν ἔχῃ, for whosoever hath) and has accordingly done his best, by word and deed, to effect that the word or light should strike the eyes of others.—V. g.]— δοκεῖ, seems) He only seems to have who does not use. Accordingly, if that too[the semblance of having] be taken away, what, I would ask, will remain left to the wretched being?
Luke 8:20. λεγόντων) The genitive absolute, i.e. when they were saying, לאמר. So the LXX. 1 Chronicles 17:24, etc.
Luke 8:21. [ ΄ήτηρ μου, my mother) See Luke 8:2.—V. g.— ἀδελφοί μου, my brethren) Luke 8:1, at the end.—V. g.]— οὗτοι, these) Used demonstratively.
Luke 8:22. καὶ ἐγένετο, and it came to pass) The author, in the Harm. Ev., § 49, shows that a transposition has place here in Luke, and also in Mark; and in the same work, p. 264, he considers as most corresponding to the truth such a series of events, as that there should follow after one another in succession: 1) The evening, on which Christ bade them get ready for the voyage (sailing) across (Mark 4:35; Luke 8:22); 2) The morning, in which, having been sought out by the multitude, He declared that He must preach to others also (Mark 1:35-36; Luke 4:42-43); 3) The voyage, and the preaching throughout the whole of Galilee, partly before, partly after the voyage (Matthew 8:23; Mark 4:36-37; Mark 1:39; Luke 8:22-23; Luke 4:44).
Luke 8:24. ἐπιστάτα, ἐπιστάτα, Master, Master) An Epizeuxis [a repetition of the same word in the same sentence to give force. Append.] answering to the feeling of the moment.
Luke 8:25. ποῦ, where) There was some faith on their part, but it was not ready at hand in the emergency.
Luke 8:27. [ ἀνήρ τις, a certain man) A remarkable and extraordinary instance of demoniacal possession.—V. g.]— οὐκ ἐνεδιδύσκετο, wore no clothes) Satan, when he can, reduces man to such a state of misery as even to neglect natural decorum. God loves order, propriety, measure, etc.
Luke 8:29. γὰρ, for) This assigns the cause of the expulsion, and of the greater suffering which was conjoined with it.— ἠλαύνετο, was driven) with the utmost violence; comp. Luke 8:33; and without his being able to exercise Ins reason, Luke 8:35.
Luke 8:31. εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον, into the deep) תהם, LXX. ἄβυσσος; often; comp. Revelation 9:11; Revelation 20:3. In the deep or abyss, 1) They are not worshipped by bad men; 2) They cannot injure men; 3) They feed (brood) upon their own wretchedness, and do not, however, as yet seem to be tortured in that place of confinement. The power of Jesus Christ extends over animals, demons, and the abyss: and the demons acknowledged the fact.
[39. σοὶ, unto thee) Every one can be the weightiest witness of those things which have been vouchsafed to himself by the Divine favour.—V. g.
Luke 8:43. ἰατροῖς, physicians) Luke, being a physician himself, writes candidly.— προσαναλώσασα) The πρὸς implies, besides his affliction of body.— οὐκ ἴσχυσεν— θεραπευθῆναι) was not able—to be healed, i.e. the physicians were not able to heal her.
Luke 8:47. οὐκ ἔλαθε, that she had not escaped notice [was not hid]) She had wished to escape Jesus’ notice.— ἐνώπιον, in the presence of) Faith drives away all unseasonable modesty.
Luke 8:50. καὶ σωθήσεται, and she shall be saved [made whole]) from death. The word was one suited to give hope.
Luke 8:51. ἰωάννην καὶ ἰάκωβον, John and James) That John should be at times put first is the less wonderful, as even John alone is sometimes added to Peter: ch. Luke 22:8.
Luke 8:53. εἰδότες knowing) Therefore all of these persons must have recognised the reality of the miracle.
Luke 8:54. ἡ παῖς, maid) Luke has least of all employed Hebrew idioms.
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