1. The Gospel of Luke
Truth & Testimony
Quarterly Magazine Issue 3 2015

2. Editorial85
Luke’s Presentation of Jesus 86
H A Ironside
Luke 1–4: The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Lord Jesus in Luke 89
Hadley Hall
The Prayers of the Lord Jesus in Luke’s Gospel 93
Ernie Brown
The Parables of Luke 99
J T Mawson
Luke 15 — God’s Grace Seeking the Sinner 100
Ernst-August Bremicker
Some ‘Rich Men’ in Luke’s Gospel 106
Michael Vogelsang
‘Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over’ (Luke 6:38) 111
Simon Attwood
The Perfectness of Christ as Man116
J N Darby
Emmaus120
Hamilton Smith
Table of Contents
Quarterly Series, Volume 15, No. 3
Page
Quotations from Scripture are generally taken from
the King James or J N Darby translations. We will indicate in
the text or a footnote if an article uses another translation.
Cover photo: ‘Jesus said to Simon, Fear not; henceforth thou shalt be catching men.
And having run the ships on shore, leaving all they followed him.’ (Luke 5:10, 11)

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Editorial
Luke (his name means ‘a light’) writes ‘with method’ for the benefit
of Theophilus (1:3, 4). His exercise sets the personal tone of the
gospel — more people are named in its pages than in the other
gospels. Its perspective is moral rather than dispensational or
chronological, like Matthew and Mark. The subject is the Lord Jesus
in the beauty of His manhood, His dependence upon God and His
grace towards sinners (see e.g. 22:42; 23:46).
Our Lord’s words about Zacchæus are key to the gospel: ‘the Son of
man has come to seek and to save that which is lost’ (19:10). Reading
it, we go with Him as He brings peace and joy to men, women and
children in their everyday lives. He enters their homes and has
fellowship with them, often at the meal table. Truly ‘God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their
offences’ (2 Cor. 5:19).
Leaving aside the prologue, we can divide up Luke’s account of the
Lord Jesus as follows:
1:5–4:13 His birth, early years and entrance into service
4:14–9:50 His service in Galilee
9:51–19:27 His journey to Jerusalem
19:28–23:56 The events that lead up to His death
24 His resurrection and ascension.
Many things are opened in the closing chapter: the tomb, the
Scriptures, the disciples’ eyes and understanding, and the heavens
(24:2, 27, 31, 45, 51). And instead of a ‘dumb’ priest at the hour of
incense, we find the disciples ‘continually in the temple praising
and blessing God’ (1:8–22; 24:52–53). What a wonderful prelude to
the Acts of the Holy Spirit by the apostles and other servants of the
Lord.

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Luke’s Presentation of Jesus
Luke presents the Lord Jesus Christ as man in all perfection, the
‘Son of man’. That is Luke’s favourite expression. As we examine this
book carefully, we shall see many evidences of this.
Luke dwells much on the prayer life of Jesus Christ, and prayer, of
course, is connected with His manhood. Jesus never makes a move
but He looks first to His Father in heaven. We see Him praying,
praying, praying, as every important occasion arises.
In this gospel we also see frequently the Lord Jesus Christ as a guest
in the homes of various people. He sat with them and ate with
them, and talked over their problems. No other gospel presents
Christ going out to dinner so often as Luke does. Jesus shares their
joys and sorrows and partakes of the good things that are presented
to Him. When you meet a man at the dinner table you find out what
he really is. So these accounts of Christ at the dinner table give us
an understanding of His manhood which we would not get in any
other way.
Luke was an educated man. He was a ‘beloved physician’ (Col.
4:14), and yet a very humble man. He never mentions himself,
either here or in the book of Acts. He was a widely travelled man,
and was of a scientific mind and temperament. In all likelihood he
was a Gentile. He may have been of Jewish descent, but his name is
a Gentile name, and he writes for the information of Gentiles. His
special object in writing this letter was to make clear to a Gentile
the facts concerning the life, ministry, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. His friend, who is mentioned in chapter 1:3 as ‘most
excellent Theophilus’, was possibly a governor of a Roman province.
Luke gives us a great deal of information that is not found in the
other gospels. It is he alone who relates the stories of the visits of
the angel Gabriel to Zacharias and to Mary. No-one else tells us
of the ‘song’ of Mary, and the prophecy of Zacharias. The birth of
Christ is recorded only here, as also the angel’s announcement to
the shepherds. The presentation of the child Jesus in the temple at
Jerusalem, and the welcome given by Anna and Simeon, are also

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mentioned only here. The first meeting in Nazareth, as recorded in
chapter 4; the great draught of fishes (ch. 5); the interview with the
woman of the city in the house of Simon the Pharisee, as found in
chapter 7; the beautiful incident of Mary at the feet of Jesus; and
the mission of the seventy (ch. 10) are found only here. Much of the
material of chapters 11 to 18 is told only by Luke, as also the story of
Zacchæus. It is he alone who mentions the coming of the angel to
our Saviour to strengthen Him in His Gethsemane agony. And had
it not been for Luke, we would never have known of the penitent
thief, or of the visit of our risen Lord with the two disciples on the
way to and in their home at Emmaus.
Then when we think of the parables, it is striking to note how many
are only related in this gospel. The story of the good Samaritan, the
rich fool, the barren fig tree, the great supper (not to be confounded
with the marriage of the king’s son as given in Matthew), the lost
coin, the prodigal son, the unjust steward, the story of the rich man
and Lazarus, the unjust judge and the widow, the Pharisee and
the publican, and the parable of the pounds are all given by Luke
(the last-mentioned, while similar to the parable of the talents, is,
nevertheless, quite a different story).
Of how much we would be bereaved if Luke had not been moved by
the Spirit of God to search out so many things that no other inspired
writer has recorded. There is nothing redundant here. All is of great
importance and cannot be overestimated, so far as its value to the
church of God is concerned, and also its importance in presenting
the gospel of the grace of God in its manifold aspects.
In each gospel the cross is linked with a different offering, as
found in Leviticus 1–5. Luke brings Christ before us as our great
peace offering. In the book of Ezekiel we have the four faces of the
cherubim — the lion, ox, eagle and man. These answer to the four
gospels. Luke shows us the face of the man.
Luke was a careful and conscientious investigator. He sought out
those who had known the Lord Jesus personally and learned the
facts from their own lips. He was, of course, inspired by God, but
the Spirit of God led him to make use of all reliable sources of

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information.
Let us stop there for the moment. Luke was sure of his ground.
He knew the certainty of the things of which he wrote. There
were doubtless many uninspired records, now lost, setting forth
much that was commonly reported concerning our Lord’s life and
ministry. These, however, were not authoritative; God would not
leave us dependent upon untrustworthy records. Whether Mark
and Matthew had written earlier than Luke we cannot say. If so,
he did not copy from them. He wrote as divinely directed, just as
they did. Luke was not seeking to cast doubt on any other apostolic
record, but he wished Theophilus to have an altogether accurate
account of ‘all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in
which he was taken up’ (Acts 1:1–2), so he wrote as an independent
investigator.
He speaks of those who were ‘ministers of the word’ (Luke 1:2). The
last term may be either the word of the gospel, or perhaps we should
capitalise it and read ‘the Word’, thus referring to Him who, though
the eternal Word, became flesh for our redemption. Whether we
think of Christ’s servants as ministers of the written word or of the
living Word, it comes to one and the same thing, for Christ is the
theme of all Scripture. He is the gospel personified.
We need not fear to rest our faith upon this definite testimony,
which God has preserved for our instruction.
H A Ironside1
1 Adapted from Addresses on the Gospel of Luke.

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Luke 1–4: The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Lord
Jesus in Luke
Conceived of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:31, 35)
In the word of God the first mention of the Holy Spirit is in relation
to the creation (Gen. 1:2). When all the work was done it could be
said ‘it was very good’ (Gen. 1:31). But after the fall the first man was
so completely under the dominion of sin and Satan that God acted
to bring One into this world who was fully man and yet untainted
by sin. This could only be done by divine power, and early in
human history God intimated His plan for this in His reference to
the woman’s seed (Gen. 3:15). Later, to unbelieving King Ahaz, He
declared how He would achieve it: ‘the virgin shall conceive and
shall bring forth a son’ (Isa. 7:14). How could this be? ‘The things
that are impossible with men are possible with God’ (Luke 18:27).
In the Gospel of Luke, six months before God revealed His plan
to the chosen virgin, He gave assurance of His great power to an
ageing, childless couple by promising them a son in answer to
their prayers. Only the power of God could change their childless
condition (Luke 1:11–17). When Zacharias doubted the angel’s
words, he declared to him his identity as Gabriel, gave the source of
his authority and the announcement, and, finally, pronounced the
penalty the priest would pay for his unbelief (vs. 18–20). The angelic
word came to pass because it was the word of God.
Luke’s account also narrates the conversation between the
same angel, Gabriel, and the virgin who was engaged to Joseph.
He announced to her the fulfilment of God’s plan (see again
Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14). Mary’s response gave him the
opportunity to declare the wondrous working of the power of God,
the Holy Spirit: ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of
the Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which
shall be born shall be called Son of God … for nothing shall be
impossible with God’ (Luke 1:35, 37). He also assured her that it was
God’s power that had given Elizabeth a pregnancy in her old age
(it is indeed a tribute to the wisdom of God that He sent Gabriel —
God is powerful — to deliver such messages).

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On the other hand, in the gospel account given by Matthew, Joseph
was in a dilemma on discovering that Mary was already pregnant
before their wedding day. As a righteous and also a gracious man,
he struggled with how to be obedient to the law and at the same
time not expose her to public disgrace. God assured him, ‘that
which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit’ (Matt. 1:18–20). In this
way His plan was achieved. He was bringing a man — human but
untainted by sin — into this world of sin for His purpose and His
glory. The child who was born was the seed of the woman through
the pregnancy of the virgin yet conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Anointed by the Spirit (Luke 3:22)
Among the offerings at the beginning of the book of Leviticus, the
meal offering was unique because it was the only one that did not
involve the death of an animal (Lev. 2). It was made from fine flour
mingled with oil or anointed with oil. We know that the Scriptures
speak of the Lord Jesus throughout (Luke 24:27; John 5:39), and that
the meal offering is a picture of His life here on earth to and for the
glory of God. The offering ‘mingled with oil’ and ‘anointed with oil’
(Lev. 2:4) presents aspects of the humanity of our Lord Jesus, for
which we look in the Gospel of Luke.
The fact that the Lord was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18;
Luke 1:35) is illustrated by the flour ‘mingled with oil’. But what
about the oil poured upon the offering? This anointed it, and
points to the event which immediately followed the baptism of
the Lord Jesus. The ministry of John the Baptist prepared the way
of the Lord. John preached the baptism of repentance to all: rich
and poor, religious and irreligious, enlisted and unenlisted (Luke
3:7–14). He also made it clear that he was not the Christ (vs. 15–18;
John 1:19–27). When the Lord Jesus also came to be baptised, John
remonstrated with Him but nevertheless baptised Him. So it was
that the Lord took a place among the repentant in Israel, standing
with His people as it were, though sinless Himself. Immediately,
‘the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily
form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art
my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight’ (Luke 3:21–22). This

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blessed scene and wondrous event commands our rapt attention,
giving us a distinct glimpse of the persons of the Godhead. Only the
Father could speak from heaven declaring that Jesus, who was on
the earth, is Son. Only one who is God — here, the Holy Spirit — can
proceed from heaven, for angels are only said to be sent (Luke 1:19,
26; Heb. 1:14). The Father spoke and the Spirit descended upon the
Lord Jesus. He was declared Son of God. The Godhead — Father,
Son and Holy Spirit — comes before us at the banks of the Jordan.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at the Jordan, it was
as the oil poured upon or anointing the meal offering. In the Old
Testament persons were anointed for three offices: priest (Lev. 8);
king (1 Sam. 10; 16); and prophet (1 Ki. 19). None of these chose
the office; God alone chose the persons, determined the office and
brought them into it (Heb. 5). Moreover, the anointing was selection
for work and not just position. There was work for the priest (we
often say that there was no seat in the tabernacle; see also Hebrews
10). There was also work for the prophet. For example, Elijah’s
ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord, and ‘turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers’ (Mal. 3:1; 4:6). Finally, there was the work of the king (e.g.
1 Sam. 9:16). These three offices belong to our Lord Jesus. He was
the ‘prophet mighty in deed and word’ while here on earth (Luke
24:19). He is the ‘great high priest’ now in heaven (Heb. 4:14). He
will manifest the office of ‘the prince of the kings of the earth’ when
He returns (Rev. 1:5). He was anointed by the Holy Spirit for all
these offices, and to fulfil them according to the delight of God.
One more thing attracts our attention. It is the manner in which
the Holy Spirit came upon Him. He came as a dove, speaking of
purity and devotion. The first mention of the dove is in the story
of Noah who sent her out from the ark. She found no place on the
earth to rest her foot, so great was the judgment of the flood and so
deserving of this judgment was the earth. The carnage that resulted
from such judgment covered the earth and left no place where this
clean bird could rest. She returned to the place of refuge (Gen. 8:9).
Even in the beginning when forming the world to make it fit for
human habitation, ‘the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the

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waters’ (Gen. 1:2). Now, for the first time the dove found a resting
place where there was no taint of sin or residue from the execution
of a deserved judgment. Here was a person on the earth who did
not bear the stamp of Adam’s sin, who answered to the heart of a
holy God. He alone could be — He alone has been — anointed by
the Holy Spirit in this way.2
Full of the Spirit; led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1)
In the descent of the Holy Spirit in bodily shape as a dove, the
Lord is shown to be the only man on earth on whom the serene
nature of the dove could rest. It found in Him a nature entirely
complementary to its own. He the sinless one was its chosen resting
place in the midst of the troubled sea of sinful humanity (Isa. 57:20).
The first expression in Luke 4:1, ‘full of the Holy Spirit’, bears
testament to the purity of the nature of the Lord Jesus. He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit, and the result of that conception was
‘the holy thing ... born’ of Mary (Luke 1:35). The descent of the Holy
Spirit on Him at the Jordan also confirms the purity of His nature.
What a wonderful testimony to His purity that no other power
occupied Him! He was full, having no room for anything else. This is
illustrated at the marriage in Cana of Galilee when He instructed the
servants to fill the water pots with water. Theirs was total obedience
for ‘they filled them up to the brim’ (John 2:7). There was no room
for anything else to be added. This reminds us that our blessed
Lord, as dependant man, served His God in the power of the Holy
Spirit. When in Gethsemane He prayed intensely for the cup to be
removed, He closed His prayer by choosing to do His Father’s will
(Luke 22:41–44). It was this that always motivated Him (John 14:31).
It was His normal condition of life — full of the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, the children of Adam who have become subject
to God have been filled with the Spirit on occasion for certain
exploits God desired them to do. Such was the experience of
2 Following our Lord’s work of redemption, those who believe on Him are also anointed
by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:21–22; Eph. 1:13). But note the Spirit came upon the disciples at
Pentecost in the form of ‘parted tongues, as of fire’ (Acts 1:3) and not as a dove. This contrast
is further testimony that our Lord is preeminent in His moral perfection (eds.).

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Samson (Jdg. 14:6, 19; 15:14), Elisha (2 Ki. 2:9, 15), Peter (Acts 4:8),
the entire company of saints (Acts 4:31) and Paul (Acts 13:9). There
were also those in the New Testament who were ‘full of the Holy
Spirit’ such as the seven in Acts 6, especially Stephen (Acts 6:3, 5;
7:55), and Barnabas (Acts 11:24). This seemed to be their state, at
least for a period. All saints are exhorted: ‘be ye filled with the Spirit’
(Eph. 5:18), which shows it is not always the case with believers
though God desires it to be.
Returning to our Lord Jesus, what resulted from His being full of the
Holy Spirit is seen in the expression that follows — He ‘was led by
the Spirit’ (Luke 4:1).
Hadley Hall
The Prayers of the Lord Jesus in Luke’s Gospel
In Luke 18:1 we read: ‘men ought always to pray, and not to faint’.
Man is not to regard himself as independent of God. He is to learn
to be fully dependent upon Him and to avail himself of the help that
He alone can give him. Prayer is the God-given vehicle for that.
Many important concepts in Scripture are emphasised by being
expressed in series of sevens. This is true in a special way in Luke’s
gospel to emphasise that the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son
of God, is a perfect man, in spirit, soul and body. There are seven
occasions where the verb ‘pray’ is used by the narrator Luke about
the Lord Jesus. He is not saying that there were only seven occasions
in the Lord’s life upon earth when He felt constrained to pray.
Rather, he is referring to seven specific occasions to demonstrate
that it was characteristic of the Lord Jesus, the perfect man,
throughout His life upon earth to live in total, constant dependence
upon God in heaven. He expressed that dependence in prayer in
every circumstance and situation in that life, and particularly at
special junctures or crises.
As man, He drew all His strength and support from God. God was
His constant, continuing resource.

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1. Luke 3:21–22 (at His baptism)
At the very commencement of His public ministry, the Lord
Jesus was pleased to identify Himself with that which was of God
and for God at that time. He was at the age appropriate for men
commencing to bear responsibility in spiritual matters in Israel,
being, as the scripture affirms, ‘about thirty years of age’ (v. 23), and
at the very outset of serving God in the public domain. He acted in
a way that publicly dissociated Himself from the ungodly mass of
the nation and its leaders, and identified Himself with that small
remnant that was true to God. This was not by any means in the
nature of a public initiation ceremony. As a godly Jew, He submitted
Himself to John’s baptism to fulfil all righteousness (Matt. 3:15).
In this context, only Luke records that He is seen to be praying. Fully
dependent! No show! No ostentation! No bravado! His submission
to that which was instituted by God, His dissociation from that
which was false or spurious, His identification with that which was
true to God — all was done in expressed dependence upon His God.
In response, and in recognition, we are told in verse 21 that ‘the
heaven was opened’. Why? In tribute to His perfect dependence! To
highlight the fact that there was no barrier between Him and His
God! Heaven declares the divine approbation: ‘Thou art my beloved
Son; in thee I am well pleased’ (v. 22).
Note, the converse is true with us. We can pray because the heaven
has been opened and made accessible to us because Christ is there
as our forerunner, and our great high priest above (Heb. 6:20).
2. Luke 5:12–16 (when busy or popular)
Tests present themselves in different ways. Very often, opposition
is first presented by direct, frontal attack. When this is met by stern
resistance, the violence is replaced by the more subtle attack of
corruption, using circumstances, health, adversity, opposition or
even popularity. This often succeeds where violence has failed.
The Apostle Paul was able to say, ‘when I am weak, then am I strong’
(2 Cor. 12:10). The converse might so easily be true of us. When I
(think I) am strong, then am I (in reality) very weak indeed. We

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are especially vulnerable when we are apparently on the crest of a
wave. Satan usually attacks us, and we usually fail, in that which is
normally our strong point. Simon Peter was normally fearless and
forthright. Yet, under stress, he denied the Lord three times (John
18:15–27).
The Lord Jesus prayed even in the busiest of days. He knew the need
and found the time for prayer. It is said of Martin Luther that on one
occasion he was heard to remark, ‘I have so much to do tomorrow
that I cannot possibly get through the day unless I spend at least four
hours in prayer before I start’. With us, the danger is that on what
we recognise to be a busy day, we might find it difficult to spend
more than a cursory moment in prayer. Can we be too busy to pray?
Colossians 1:7 and 4:12 give us the good example of Epaphras to
show us that we need to be exercised and to pray after an event as
well as before it.
In this incident, we read (only in Luke) that in the midst of all the
necessary activity, the Lord ‘withdrew himself into (the privacy of)
the wilderness, and prayed’.
3. Luke 6:12–19 (choosing the twelve)
The background
Verse 7: ‘the scribes and Pharisees watched him … that they might
find an accusation against him.’ Verse 11: ‘they were filled with
madness; and communed one with another what they might do
to Jesus.’ What a contrast to His attitude to them. He desired their
blessing. Only a man in full communion with His God can act in
such a way. How was that communion expressed? He ‘went out
into a mountain to pray (only recorded by Luke), and continued all
night in prayer to God’ (v. 12).
The result?
Verse 13: ‘And when it was day’. Light came when God gave it. We
can take this morally as well as actually. In the light and fruit of a
night spent in prayerful communion with His God, He came forth
and chose His disciples; that happy band of men who would be His
constant companions during more than three years of preaching,

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teaching and healing such as had never before been seen.
The effect?
Verse 17: ‘a great multitude of people … came to hear him, and to be
healed of their diseases.’ Verse 18: ‘they that were vexed with unclean
spirits … were healed’. Verse 19 — delightful summary — says that
He ‘healed them all’. What a glorious outflow resulting from a life
spent day by day, moment by moment, in total, constant, humble,
prayerful obedience.
4. Luke 9:18–26, 51 (in crises)
This incident marks a turning point in the Lord’s public ministry.
It is absolutely crucial. Notice what is going on. In verse 20, Peter
makes his confession of faith in the Lord Jesus. In verse 22, the Lord
foretells His own death and resurrection, the basis of all true justice
and blessing. In verses 23 to 26, the Lord outlines the absolute
necessity of the cross to God’s plan of grace and mercy. In verse 51,
He ‘stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem’, God’s centre on earth,
where the Lord’s ministry came to such a dramatic climax, and
where Jesus ‘our Lord was crucified’ (Rev. 11:8).
How can a man on earth possibly face such a series of challenges?
Only in manifest dependence on God, expressed in prayer! So we
read (only in Luke) in verse 18: ‘as he was alone, praying’. That’s
it! Here He was, on earth, surrounded by those who were plotting
against Him, ‘how they might kill him’ (Luke 22:2). His strength,
amidst apparent outer weakness, was to be alone in the presence of
His God, waiting upon Him in humble, dependent prayer.
Note, this is the central incident in the gospel where the Lord
Jesus is recorded as praying, expressing His awareness that for a
man upon earth to be enabled to please and serve God, constant,
fervent, dependent prayer is essential.
5. Luke 9:28–29 (the transfiguration)
We have already noted that, in Luke, God’s man, the Lord Jesus,
is recorded as doing things in sets of seven to confirm and
demonstrate the fullness and completeness of all that He did. Here

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(and only in Luke), with the mention of an eighth (day), there is
an indication of a new start: ‘about an eight days after’ (v. 28) — an
entirely new beginning. Ultimately the whole cleansed universe will
display the glory of God. That day of glory will be ushered in by His
appearing in power and great glory (Matt. 24:30). In the meantime,
the preview of His death and resurrection is taken account of by
the Father expressing His personal assessment and appreciation
of His Son. The future day of glory foreshadowed here is the only
right terminus for the dependent man — receiving the kingdom,
not from man, but from the Father (see Ps. 2:8; 1 Cor. 15:24). He is
content to wait dependently until then (see Ps. 110:1: ‘until’). As
in humiliation (Luke 3:21), so in anticipation of glory, the perfect,
subject, dependent man prays (again, recorded only in Luke).
6. Luke 11:1–13 (the pattern prayer)
This incident begins, ‘as he was praying (only in Luke) … one of his
disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray’. And He did.
This prayer is often called ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. It would be better to
call it ‘The Disciples’ Prayer’. The Lord said in effect to His disciples,
‘You should be praying according to this pattern’. Of course, in
line with everything else He did and said, He Himself exemplified
to perfection what He was recommending to them. He was
demonstrating to His own the manner in which they should carry
out His injunction of chapter 18:1: ‘men ought always to pray’.
He is, of course, in person the Son of God, indeed the Son of the
Father’s love. But, in His holy manhood, having become man, He
acted throughout His life on earth in complete dependence on His
God in heaven. He set down the perfect pattern in prayer: first of
all, God’s glory and interests; then, and only then, their own needs
and concerns. He enjoined this upon His immediate disciples, and
through them to all who since then have believed upon His precious
name.
7. Luke 22:39–46 (Gethsemane)
Here (and included in Matthew 26 and Mark 14) we have the kernel
of all true prayer, exemplified as the perfect man approaches the

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performance of the work that He came to earth to do.
He did not dwell on the wickedness of the priests, the will of the
people, or the injustice of Pilate. His entire concern was that He
might be given the grace and the courage to drink the cup that the
Father had given Him (Luke 22:42; John 4:34; 18:11). He enjoyed
perfect communion with and dependence upon His Father in
heaven in connection with the immense trial, the ultimate test that
lay ahead for Him, before it came. Once more, He gave a positive
confirmation of His perfect, dependent, subject manhood, which
qualified Him for the support and power of the angel who appeared
unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him (v. 43).
Throughout this continuing test, the Lord Jesus conducted Himself
with total, complete dignity and humility. The cup which the Father
gave Him (John 18:11; 4:34) was all-important to Him.
May that same God give all of us who believe that Jesus died for us
and rose again a measure of that same grace to live in dependence
upon Him while we wait for the Lord to come to take us to be with
Himself and like Himself for evermore. We shall be like Him then.
God grant that even now we shall be enabled, by His bountiful
grace, to be like Him in measure, in spirit, in soul, and in the way
we use the members of our body. What a wonderful testimony that
would be to His saving grace, and His glorious name!
Ernie Brown

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The Parables of Luke
The parables peculiar to Luke are strikingly different from those
of Matthew. They set before us for the most part the tender
compassions of God, and that grace of His which flows forth
without measure wherever there is need. But observe that this
grace only reaches those whose need is manifest. In the parables,
as in the whole gospel, the words of Mary, most blessed of women,
are illustrated: ‘He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and
exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good
things; and the rich he hath sent empty away’ (1:52–53) — words
which may be taken as a key to the gospel.
The rich fool goes into eternity stripped of his possessions (12:16–
20). Those who possess the oxen, the ground and the wife, and want
nothing outside these things, miss the great supper (14:16–24). The
rich man passes from his gorgeous attire and sumptuous fare to
a shroud and unquenchable thirst (16:19–31). The Pharisee goes
down to his house without the blessing (18:9–14).
On the other hand, how untiring is the grace of God. We have not
here the attitude of God, but His activity.3
It is seen in the pardon
of the debtors (7:36–50), in curing and caring for the robbed and
ruined traveller on the Jericho road (10:25–37), in compelling the
hungry and homeless to come into the great gospel supper (14:16–
24), in searching out that which was lost and receiving that which
was repentant (ch. 15), and in justifying the publican who had
nothing to plead but the mercy of God (18:9–14).
But while the poor and needy become the objects of compassion
and blessing as magnificent as it is undeserved, we are also taught
the absolute necessity of dependence upon God the giver. If we
have learnt that He is gracious, He would have us to act upon
this knowledge and go to Him with importunity and expectancy,
whether for the blessing of others (11:5–10) or for our own
deliverance (18:1–8).
3 We have both in Luke’s gospel, but we believe the author is making the point that God’s
grace is not simply His disposition but His determined activity, and that this is what is
emphasised in the chapters to which he draws attention (eds.).

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Yet we may not too definitely and strictly divide one side of the truth
from the other, for if in the parables of Matthew’s gospel the rights
of the Lord are prominent, yet His grace cannot be hidden. It is seen
in His treatment of the labourers in the vineyard, who only toiled
one hour (20:1–16), and it is seen also in His forbearance with the
second son in that space for repentance was given to him (21:28–
32).
While if in the parables of Luke the unmerited grace of God is
proclaimed, yet His rights are fully and clearly maintained as set
forth in the parable of the fig tree (13:6–9), and in the parable of the
pounds (19:11–27).
J T Mawson4
Luke 15 — God’s Grace Seeking the Sinner
Luke’s gospel is the gospel of grace. It speaks of the undeserved
grace of God that has appeared in order to offer salvation to all
men (Titus 2:11). God’s grace and mercy flow out to each and every
person who accepts the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour. We can take
chapter 19:10 as the key verse of the gospel: ‘the Son of man has
come to seek and to save that which is lost’.
There are some typical incidents which are only recorded in this
gospel. One example is the story of the merciful (good) Samaritan.
Another example is chapter 15. This chapter shows on the one hand
the natural condition of the sinner but on the other God’s dealing
with him in grace and love. It not only speaks of a seeking and
giving God but also of His joy. Our God rejoices in showing grace.
Let us briefly consider some of the key elements of the chapter, and
in doing so let us never forget that it tells us about our own past
condition and how God has dealt with us.
One Parable
First of all we notice that the chapter contains just one parable.
There are three parts to it, but it is one great lesson. The thread that
4 From ‘Comparative Studies in the Synoptic Gospels’, Scripture Truth (1911) vol. 3 beginning
at p. 6.

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runs through it is God seeking and finding lost and dead people and
showing them grace.
Two sides need to be distinguished:
1. God’s grace
He seeks and receives sinners. The three persons of the Trinity are
involved in this activity of seeking, loving, blessing and rejoicing.
The shepherd speaks of the Lord Jesus who came to find and save
His lost sheep. The woman speaks of the activity of the Holy Spirit
who uses God’s word in order to bring man into His light. In the
father who was looking for his son we identify God the Father who
is waiting for those who come back to Him. The shepherd speaks
of divine perseverance in seeking, the woman speaks of divine
patience and diligence, while the Father displays divine love and
forgiveness.
2. Man’s condition and his responsibility
The chapter makes clear what we were as sinners and what we had
to do to be saved. Our condition was desperate: as the sheep we
were hopelessly lost; as the coin we were ignorantly lost; and as the
runaway son we were deliberately lost. The sheep was in danger; the
coin was in darkness; the son was in great need and distress. This
is man’s natural condition. There is no contribution we can make
to our salvation. The only thing required is that we turn to God in
repentance. God does everything but a sinner must turn to him.
The Starting Point
Chapter 15 starts with a dispute with the religious people of the
day about the tax collectors and sinners Jesus had received. There
have always been these two types of men on earth: those who seek
salvation and grace — they accept their lost and dead condition;
and those who think that they do not need God’s salvation — they
might appear to be near to God but inwardly they are very far from
Him.
The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
The first two parts of the parable belong together. They are a kind of

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preparation for and introduction to the third part. I would just like
to emphasise four links between them:
1. The natural condition of those who are lost
The lost sheep illustrates the condition of the sinner who has run
away from God. The Epistle to the Romans takes this up and makes
it clear that man is actively living in sin. We were desperately lost
and it required God to make all the effort to find and bring us back.
The lost coin is a picture of man’s condition as spiritually dead. This
is the teaching of the Epistle to the Ephesians. A dead person is
entirely useless but, more than that, he cannot change his condition
at all. This was our natural condition: useless for God and unable to
do anything to change our situation.
The third part of the parable reprises these two viewpoints. Twice
it is said that the son was dead and had come to life again, that he
was lost and had been found (vs. 24, 32). This is exactly what has
happened in our case.
2. No human contribution is possible
The sheep and the coin could not contribute to being sought and
found. They were not involved at all. Nevertheless in both cases the
importance of repentance is mentioned. This is worked out in the
narrative of the prodigal son. He had to come back, acknowledging
his terrible situation. It is true that salvation is an act of God’s
sovereign grace. But at the same time it is also necessary that the
sinner returns and confesses his failure. Only those who want it will
‘take the water of life freely’ (Rev. 22:17).
3. The value of man
There were 100 sheep and 10 coins and ‘only’ one of each was lost.
Nevertheless, maximum effort was made to find that one. This
shows the great value of each person in God’s eyes. If only one
sinner had to be saved, the Lord Jesus would have come to die on
the cross. There is joy in heaven for just ‘one’ repenting sinner. This
one comes to the fore in the last part of the parable.

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4. The joy of having found the lost
In the first two cases joy in heaven is mentioned. Heaven takes note
if a sinner turns from being ‘lost’ to ‘found’, from ‘death’ to ‘life’. The
third narrative also mentions the joy. It is the joy of the father and
the son who was found: ‘they began to be merry’ (v. 24).
The Lost Son Went Home
The third part of the parable speaks of a father with two sons.
We apply this in a general way by thinking of two great groups of
people. There are always those who think that they are all right and
that God can be pleased with them (the older son) and others who
know how alienated they are and return (the younger son).
The younger son went far away and wasted his father’s property.
Every sinner is characterised by his own will and independency.
When the famine occurred, the younger son started to feel his
scarcity and realised the ‘deceitfulness of sin’ (Heb. 3:13). He was
hungry, humbled and lonely. That is always the end of a course of
self-will and sin. We have turned ‘every one to his own way’ (Isa.
53:6; Rom. 3:12).
This son realised first that he could not help himself. Therefore he
sought employment with one of the citizens of the country. But he
had to learn a second lesson (one every sinner has to learn), namely
that no-one could help him. The world and the devil pretend to
give, but in the end they are always demanding. In this sense their
resources are simply empty pits.
Verse 17 marks the big change in the story. The poverty-stricken
younger son internalises his abject condition. He not only realises
what he is lacking but also knows that he is perishing. So he makes
the right decision: he goes back to his father to tell him all the wrong
he has done.
There are three vital elements to note in his going back to his father:
1. Repentance
Repentance is to do with our mind. We start to think differently.
Prior to this, the younger son thought that his father was a hard

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man who stopped him enjoying the pleasures of this world. Now,
having changed his mind, he thinks in a completely different way of
his father. But he also thought differently about himself.
2. Conversion
Conversion has to do with our feet. It is not enough to think
differently. We have to turn around. Repentance is always a
complete change of direction (see e.g. 1 Thess. 1:9). The young man
put his purpose of heart into practice. Repentance and conversion
are inseparable (compare e.g. Acts 3:19; 26:20).
3. Confession
Confession has to do with our mouth. Without confession there is
no forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:9). We have to admit and confess
what we have done and what we are. The young man told his
father that he had sinned (the deeds) and that he was unworthy
(his condition). This is exactly what Paul explains in Romans. The
passage from chapter 1 to chapter 5:11 speaks of our sinful deeds
while that from chapter 5:12 to the end of chapter 8 speaks about
our condition as sinners.
The text does not give any details about the inner feelings of the son
when he was going back home. But we can be sure that he thought
about how he would be received there. How would his father react?
By law he even had the right to put him to death (Deut. 21:18–21).
No doubt the feelings of the son were conflicting as he went back
home.
The Father Received the Son
When the son left his father’s house nothing was said about his
father’s inner feelings. Now he returns we are given interesting
details:
1. The father saw him
He must have been waiting for him daily. It is God who seeks the
sinner. The first person in the Bible who came seeking was God
Himself (Gen. 3:8–9).

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2. He was moved with compassion
This speaks of God’s motive. It is love. God proved His love in giving
His Son for sinners (Rom. 5:8).
3. He ran towards him to meet him
This makes us think of God coming to us in Jesus. The ‘meeting
point’ of God and the sinner is Calvary’s cross.
4. Despite his rags he took him into his arms
This speaks of God who is rich in mercy and love (Eph. 2:4). There
was no distance, no reproach, and no rancour. The son was safe in
the arms of his father.
5. He kissed him
A kiss is an outward expression of love but also speaks of
reconciliation. We have been reconciled to God (Col. 1:21), which
means that we have been given more than we ever had before.
The three gifts he subsequently received show us how far
reconciliation goes. The young man got much more than he ever
had before. He was not made a servant but he was his father’s son
even more than before.
1. The garment has to do with our new position. It speaks of the
robes of salvation with which we are covered now. In Christ we
are ‘God’s righteousness’ (2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 61:10).
2. The ring speaks of our new relationship. It reminds us that we
have eternal life. Like a ring, it has no beginning and no end. It
is life in abundance (John 10:10).
3. The sandals speak of the divine provision that we might be able
to walk worthily in this world. We go into God’s presence to
worship as holy priests and go out in testimony as royal ones
(John 10:9; 1 Pet. 2:5–10).
Finally, the fatted calf was killed. This was something father and
son enjoyed in common. It speaks of the sacrifice of Christ and of
the fellowship we have now with our Father in the enjoyment of His
Son. The work He accomplished on the cross is the foundation of

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everything we have. It is a joy to share this in common with God the
Father. Indeed, our fellowship with Father and Son is the reason for
the full and complete joy that will never end (1 John 1:3–4).
Ernst-August Bremicker
Some ‘Rich Men’ in Luke’s Gospel
Luke’s gospel, the gospel of the perfect manhood of Christ, also
contains a number of characteristic features of humanity in
general. One thing that has always driven the history of man
(individually and as a society) is desire for money and material
possessions. As a result, it is not surprising that the Lord in Luke’s
gospel has something to say about this matter. In chapter 12, when
a man wanted Him to speak to his brother about dividing their
inheritance, the Lord is very clear: ‘Take heed and keep yourselves
from all covetousness, for it is not because a man is in abundance
that his life is in his possessions’ (v. 15).
Shortly afterwards He teaches His disciples about the same matter,
concluding with the words: ‘And ye, seek not what ye shall eat or
what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety; for all these things do
the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye
have need of these things; but seek his kingdom, and all these things
shall be added to you’ (vs. 29–31).
In chapter 18 He gives a clear warning about the difficulty rich
people have entering the kingdom of God: ‘How difficultly shall
those who have riches enter into the kingdom of God; for it is easier
for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, And
who can be saved? But he said, The things that are impossible with
men are possible with God’ (vs. 24–27). Why is it so difficult for rich
people to get saved? Because they set their hearts and minds on the
things they possess and consequently neglect their deeper, spiritual
needs. Luke’s gospel brings a number of rich men to our attention,
and the Lord made both the remarks above in connection with
people who wanted or had riches. Let us consider four stories about
rich men in this gospel.

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A rich man who did not see eternal realties (12:16–21)
This rich farmer obviously thought himself very clever with all his
plans, but he did not realise or take into account realities he could
not see in the same way he saw his fields and barns. But they were
no less real because of that.
• ‘He reasoned within himself’ — even his thoughts were confined
to his ‘own little world’.
• ‘What shall I do?’ — everything in his life revolved around ‘self’.
How often he speaks about ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’ in the short speech
he makes.
• ‘I have not a place where I shall lay up my fruits’ — that was
the only thing that bothered him: he had no room for his
possessions! Did it not occur to him that he also had no room
for others? We do not read that he ever considered using his
wealth for the benefit of those less fortunate than himself. And
above all he had no room for God in his thoughts, and it was this
that finally led to his disastrous end.
• ‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid
by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry’ — what
tragic mistakes! For many years? How did he know he had them?
He did not know. He just thought that everything was going
to continue as it had done. He did not realise that eternity lay
before him and that there was someone else who would decide
the moment when he would have to leave this scene. He did not
make sure that he was prepared for that moment. ‘I will say to
my soul … eat, drink, be merry’ — he confused his soul with his
body. Our souls cannot be really satisfied with eating, drinking
and material things. There are deeper spiritual needs which
only God can satisfy.
• ‘But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required
of thee’ — not many years, not even one year, no, not even one
more day but tonight! When this moment comes in a person’s
life, all his or her earthly possessions count for nothing. The only
thing that counts then is: are we rich toward God?

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A rich man who saw the eternal realties — but when it was too
late! (16:19–31)
In this story a rich man is contrasted with a poor one, a beggar
named Lazarus. It continues, so to say, where the story of the rich
farmer finishes. We are told that the farmer’s soul is required of
him but what happens to his soul when he dies? This is what this
story tells us about. The rich man died and was buried, and he lifted
up his eyes in hades in torment. This is the awful fate of those who
neglect their soul’s salvation.
It is often said in connection with this that it was not because he
was rich that the rich man went to hades and it was not because he
was poor that the poor man was saved. But is that so? The answer is
‘Yes’ and ‘No’.
It is certainly true that men are not lost just because they are rich.
But sadly it is also true that millions will be lost because they are
rich. They permit the abundance of material things they own to
close their ears and hearts to the voice of God’s grace. That is why
the Lord says, ‘How difficultly shall those who have riches enter into
the kingdom of God’.
It is also true that men are not saved on account of being poor.
Nevertheless millions will be saved who have very little or nothing
of this world’s possessions in which they can trust. Because of this
they readily open their hearts to the message of God’s love and
grace: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to preach glad tidings to the poor’ (Luke 4:18). ‘Has not God chosen
the poor as to the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom,
which he has promised to them that love him?’ (Jas. 2:5).
Here on earth Lazarus was a beggar, but on the other side of death
he was truly a rich man. And it was the rich man in this life who
became a beggar in hades — he begged for a drop of cold water. But
it was too late!
We do not read that the rich man prayed while he was here on earth
— he may have been a Laodicean in spirit (‘thou sayest, I am rich,
and am grown rich, and have need of nothing’ — Rev. 3:17) — but

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he prayed in hades! He prayed for his brothers living on earth. He
did not want them to end up in that place of torment! Nobody will
be able to deny eternal realities there — but then it will be too late
to change anything. However, the living (his brothers) have all they
need to escape that dreadful place: the eternal, living word of God.
A rich man who saw the eternal realities — but refused to act
accordingly (18:18–23)
What a strange sentence at the end of this passage: ‘he became very
sorrowful, for he was very rich’ (v. 23). This ruler was not just rich; he
was ‘very rich’. Matthew tells us that he was young too. Many would
think he had every reason to be happy but it was not the case —
in fact, just the opposite. He must have felt some void in his life in
spite of all his wealth. He knew about eternal realities — that is why
he wanted to inherit eternal life and approached the Lord Jesus as
a ‘good teacher’ (v. 18), wanting Him to tell him what he had to do.
First the Lord pointed out to him that if He was only a ‘good teacher’
to him then He would be of little use in answering his question.
‘There is none good but one, God’ (v. 19). This young ruler had to
accept that the one speaking to him was none other than the Son of
God. And if he wanted to do something — well, he knew the law of
God. The Lord directed his attention to the second table of the law,
so to say — those commandments that deal with our relationships
with others. He answered, ‘All these things have I kept from my youth’
(v. 21). The Lord did not argue about that but simply pointed to the
other table of the law — those commandments that define man’s
relationship with God. The very first of them said: ‘Thou shalt have
no other gods before me’ (Ex. 20:3). How about that, young man? Is
there any other ‘god’, any idol in your life? The Lord knew exactly
where his problem lay and put His finger on it. ‘Sell all that thou
hast … and come, follow me’ (Luke 18:22). Then it became clear
where his heart lay. It was bound to all his possessions. So he went
away sorrowful. What a sad picture! Here is someone who does not
run away in opposition or rebellion. He knew exactly what he had
to do, that it was his time to decide for time and eternity. But he was
not willing to take the right decision because of his heart’s bondage
to the things of this world. So he left — and I am afraid that it was

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for his eternal loss.
Perhaps we as believers should not be too quick to judge this young
man. If the Lord put His finger on something in our lives, asking us
to give it up and follow Him more devotedly, would we be willing to
follow His voice or would this only reveal how strongly we are still
bound to the things of this earth?
A rich man who saw the eternal realities — and did the only right
thing! (19:1–10)
At the beginning of this article we quoted the Lord’s words from
Luke 18 where He spoke about how much difficulty rich people
have entering the kingdom of God. The reaction of those who heard
this was, ‘And who can be saved?’ (v. 26). Our Lord’s answer was
clear enough: ‘The things that are impossible with men are possible
with God’ (v. 27). How impossible it was for the natural man we have
considered in the three stories so far. But now we have a beautiful
case that shows that such things are possible with God. At least one
rich man in this gospel found greater riches and true satisfaction in
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. He knew that he was
a sinner and needed a saviour. How simple the matter becomes
the moment a seeking sinner and a seeking Saviour desire to meet.
In this case they met at the tree where Zacchæus had hidden to
see Jesus. And it is still ‘the tree’ (the cross of Calvary) where the
Saviour, Jesus Christ, meets every sinner who wants to meet Him.
Much could be said about this interesting passage but it may be
sufficient to emphasise that something that is ‘impossible with men’
becomes a matter of simplicity if the heart is right in relation to its
own condition and the need it has of a Saviour. The Lord closes His
encounter with Zacchæus with the marvellous statement: ‘the Son
of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost’ (v. 10). This
sentence contains, if we may say so, the essence of this gospel — it
is the key verse of the Gospel of Luke.
Michael Vogelsang

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‘Good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over’ (Luke 6:38)
These lovely words in Luke’s gospel are part of an exhortation to
believers to be merciful to others as their Father is merciful. They
implicitly describe the manner of His own giving to us, which has
its greatest and most endearing expression in the gift of His well-
beloved Son. Surely we can also use them as a description of His
word, which brings the Lord Jesus before us so wonderfully, and of
the very gospel in which they occur, which paints such a fulsome
picture of Him as the perfect man.
Uniquely among the gospel writers, Luke writes for one person in
particular. He wants to give ‘most excellent Theophilus’ 5
certainty
about the things in which he has been instructed (Luke 1:3–4). This
concern for another soul sets a very personal tone that characterises
the whole gospel. Luke names more people in his narrative of
events — especially women — than Matthew, Mark or John. We see
this in the first two chapters where, besides the rulers of this world,
we read of Zacharias and Elizabeth (1:5, 6), Mary and Joseph (v. 27),
John (vs. 57, 63), Simeon (2:25), and Anna (v. 36). It is evident that
God’s interest is in these people and others like them (v. 38) rather
than the ‘wise according to flesh … powerful … high-born’. They
might be ‘weak … ignoble … despised’ in the world’s estimation but
God has chosen them (1 Cor. 1:26–28) and they are the only ones in
Israel ready to receive His Son when He comes in accordance with
prophecy.
In the closing days of the Old Testament, God had appealed to the
remnant of Judah and Benjamin to return to Him. They resisted and
forwent the promise ‘all nations shall call you blessed’ (Mal. 3:12),
but this did not stop Him observing the few who feared Him and
spoke often one to another. If the nation would not let Him open
the windows of the heavens and pour out a blessing, He would
open a book of remembrance for ‘them that feared Jehovah, and
5 It is interesting to note that Luke greets him simply as ‘O Theophilus’ in Acts 1:1. Would any
Christian want to be called ‘most excellent’ after the wonderful presentation of the perfect
man in this gospel?

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that thought upon his name’. He adds, ‘And they shall be unto me
a peculiar treasure’ (Mal. 3:16, 17). What a glory to be called ‘my
own possession’ by Jehovah, and what a blessing to be present
when the long-promised Messiah appeared. Mary, His mother, is
a special example of this — if the nation was not called blessed,
she was: ‘Blessed art thou amongst women’ (Luke 1:28, 42). May we
be faithful too despite all the adversity that marks the close of the
Christian day.
There is no room for the Lord Jesus in the inn at Bethlehem so Mary
wraps Him up in swaddling-clothes and lays Him in the manger.
Only the shepherds — ‘abiding without, and keeping watch by night
over their flock’ (Luke 2:8) — are fit persons to see their Messiah at
this time. The angelic announcement to them, ‘Fear not, for behold,
I announce to you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the
people; for to-day a Saviour has been born to you in David’s city,
who is Christ the Lord’ (vs. 10–11), contains words that are typical of
Luke’s gospel:
• ‘Fear not’ (1:13, 30; 2:10; 5:10; 8:50; 12:4, 7; 12:32)
• ‘glad tidings’ (1:19; 2:10; 3:18; 4:18, 43; 8:1; 9:6; 16:16; 20:1)
• ‘great joy’ (1:14, 44; 2:10; 6:23; 10:17; 15:7, 10; 19:6; 24:41, 52)
• ‘to-day’ (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 19:5, 9; 23:43).
God had used angels already to communicate His intentions to
Zacharias and Mary, and here He does the same. The Jews were
familiar with the ‘ministry of angels’ (Acts 7:53) so it was a suited
way of sharing the wonderful message with them. This shows how
much He wants them to receive it. The angelic throng respond
with words that anticipate still wider blessing: ‘Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace, good pleasure in men’ (2:14). How
lovely to hear the shepherds echo this as they wend their way back
to their flocks ‘glorifying and praising God for all things which they
had heard and seen’ (v. 20).
Joy is a hallmark of Luke’s gospel. It is not simply the absence of fear
— wonderful as that is in a world of sin, sorrow and death — or even
just joy, but great joy and rejoicing! What God gives from above as
glad tidings forms an inner spring in repentant, believing souls, and

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overflows. In Luke 15 the shepherd goes after the lost sheep until
he finds it ‘and having found it, he lays it upon his own shoulders,
rejoicing; and being come to the house, calls together the friends and
the neighbours, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my
lost sheep’ (vs. 5, 6).6
In the case of the lost coin, the woman lights
the lamp, sweeps the house and seeks carefully till she finds it, and
when she does she also invites her friends and neighbours to rejoice
with her (vs. 8–9). The energy and diligence of both are designed to
impress on us the length to which the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit
have gone to bring us into blessing. The third part of the parable
speaks of the Father’s love. The lost son returns but ‘while he was yet
a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion,
and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses’ (v. 20).
In very short order ‘they began to make merry’ (v. 24).
Peace is another word that is typical of Luke’s gospel (1:79; 2:14,
29; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5, 6; 19:38, 42; 24:36). In a previous issue of this
magazine we learnt that Luke is the gospel of the peace offering.
This offering ‘was the only sacrifice eaten in its entirety (except for
the fat and the blood) and the only one of which all parties were
allowed to eat: the offering priest, the whole priestly family and
the offerer and, last but not least, it was the food of God Himself
(Lev. 3:11, 16; 7:13ff). Hence the peace offering speaks of fellowship
or communion. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is often connected
with thanksgiving and joy. This communion, thanksgiving and joy
are brought out in the Gospel of Luke as in no other gospel.’7
This
is exactly what we have been finding. The peace offering is not so
much the matter of the Lord Jesus making peace with God on the
cross as the celebration of the fellowship and spiritual prosperity
He has secured. It is the sense of this that permeates the gospel —
every chapter of the gospel contains a reference to eating, food or
being filled. God is visiting His people (1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44), and
how can they not but respond by ‘glorifying’, ‘praising’ and ‘blessing’
6 In Isaiah 9:6 the future government of this world is said to be on the shoulder (singular) of
the Lord Jesus. But when it comes to the matter of salvation He brings His lost sheep home
on both shoulders.
7 Michael Hardt, ‘Luke — the Gospel of the Peace Offering’, (2013) issue 3, p. 74.

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Him (1:64, 68; 2:13, 20, 28, 38; 4:15; 5:25, 26; 7:16; 13:13, 35; 17:15,
18; 18:43; 19:37, 38, 44; 23:47; 24:53). Let us apply this to ourselves.
How much is ‘the sacrifice of praise … the fruit of the lips’ a feature of
our lives, individually, family-wise and in our gatherings? Hebrews
13:15 says it should be our continual occupation. After all we have
the full New Testament revelation of the fruits of our Lord’s work
on the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives the power for
thanksgiving, praise and worship today (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 2:18–20;
John 4:14, 23–24).
Luke’s gospel is also about openings: Zacharias’ mouth (1:64);
the heavens when the Lord Jesus is baptised (3:21); the door of
God’s will to the knock of urgent faith (11:9, 10); the eyes of the
two disciples at Emmaus (24:31); the Scriptures (v. 32); and the
disciples’ understanding (v. 45). We also witness the way God
opens out His message of blessing. This is the only gospel that
mentions the mission of the seventy as well as the twelve disciples
(10:1; 9:1, 2). But Simeon’s words in the temple went even further:
‘mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before
the face of all peoples; a light for revelation of the Gentiles and the
glory of thy people Israel’ (2:30–32). When the Lord visits the home
of Zacchæus, He speaks of coming ‘to seek and to save that which is
lost’ (19:10). The chief tax collector was ‘a son of Abraham’ but also
a collaborator with the Gentile power. The Jewish crowd murmurs
when they see the Lord enter his home and his joy at receiving
Him, but they are out of step with their God whose grace longs to
go over the wall to the Gentile (Gen. 49:22). In resurrection the Lord
commissions His disciples to preach repentance and remission of
sins ‘to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem’ (Luke 24:47; Eph.
2:14–17).
In Luke’s gospel, the Lord Jesus journeys (Luke 10:33; 13:22),
coming and then going. He comes because we are ‘afar off’ (16:23;
17:12; 18:13; 22:54; 23:49) and ‘lost’ (15:4, 6, 9, 24, 32; 19:10). Like
the Samaritan in His parable, He comes where we are, half-dead —
indeed as Gentiles ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ (Eph. 2:1). He binds
up our wounds and pours in oil and wine speaking of the blessing
and joy of salvation. He takes us to the inn (this time where there is

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plenty of room) and arranges for the inn-keeper — a dual picture,
no doubt, of the assembly and the Holy Spirit — to take care of us
while He is gone (Luke 10:30–35). This agrees with the parable of
the pounds (19:12–27)8
in which the nobleman goes to a distant
country — heaven, in effect — to receive for himself a kingdom and
return. He gives the pounds to His servants, saying ‘Occupy till I
come’ (v. 13) — a reminder of our responsibility to serve the Lord in
His absence. When does the coming stop and the going start? The
answer is in Luke’s account of the transfiguration, that wonderful
preview of our Lord’s kingdom glory. He speaks with Moses
and Elijah ‘of his departure which he was about to accomplish in
Jerusalem’ (9:31). He goes by way of the cross.
Luke’s gospel is very intimate. Simeon receives the Lord Jesus ‘into
his arms’ (2:28). Peter, seeing the miraculous draught of fishes, falls
at ‘Jesus’ knees’ (5:8). The child of wisdom, the woman in Simon the
Pharisee’s house, ‘began to wash his feet with tears; and she wiped
them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed
them with the myrrh’ (7:38). The Lord is very close to us in the
circumstances of our lives whatever our need — five widows are
mentioned in the gospel (2:37; 4:26; 7:12; 18:3, 5; 21:2, 3). The meal
table speaks of fellowship (5:29; 7:36, 49; 11:37; 12:37; 13:29; 14:8,
10, 15; 16:21; 17:7; 22:14, 21, 27, 30; 24:30), reminding us again of
the peace offering. How many times we read in this gospel of the
Lord taking His place at table in people’s homes. On the eve of His
death, He says to His disciples, ‘With desire I have desired to eat this
passover with you before I suffer’ (22:15). How must it have been for
Him — the perfectly sensitive man — to be delivered up by one of
His own ‘with a kiss’ (22:48).
Let us close with our Lord’s death. It is often said — rightly — that
every act of healing sealed His death. He could not dismiss the sad
effects of sin in His creation during His life without dealing with sin
itself in His death on the cross. At twelve years of age in Jerusalem
He had said to His mother, ‘wist ye not that I must be about my
8 Note the allusion in this parable to the testimony of Stephen (Luke 19:14). Before the gospel
went to the Gentiles after the Jews rejected the Lord Jesus, God appealed in long-suffering
grace to the nation. What a God of peace!

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Father’s business? (Luke 2:49). Now on the mount of Olives He must
reckon with the greatest transaction of all. He craves the company
of His disciples but must withdraw from them about a stone’s throw.
Prayer had been part and parcel of His life as this gospel testifies —
He is the only truly dependant man — but His prayer now is also
very distinct because of what it involves: ‘Father, if thou wilt remove
this cup from me: — but then, not my will, but thine be done’ (22:42).
He prays more intently and His very sweat manifests the intensity
of the conflict He experiences as He contemplates all the suffering
of the three hours of darkness. He rises from prayer and goes to
the place of sacrifice. What a Saviour! But even as he suffers at the
hands of men He turns round and looks at Peter as he denies Him (v.
61), and prays to His Father for forgiveness for His enemies as they
crucify Him (23:34). Just before the hours of darkness, He promises
the repentant thief, ‘Verily I say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with
me in paradise’ (v. 43). At their close, He commits His spirit into His
Father’s hands (v. 46). Fellowship with the Father and fellowship
with the thief, even at a time like this. Truly, Luke’s gospel is rich
indeed.
Simon Attwood
The Perfectness of Christ as Man
Our blessed path, while waiting for God’s Son from heaven, is to
feed upon Him as the living bread. In the midst of the toils, and
tossings, and buffetings which belong to God’s people in this world,
where they must be for a little while, He gives Himself as the food of
our hearts, and all that He was as a man here below becomes most
precious to us. We must see Him crucified to be able to feed upon
Him as the incarnate Saviour.
In the Gospel of Luke you get the Lord Jesus especially brought
before you as the Son of man. I have often remarked the contrast
there is between John’s gospel and Matthew’s. In John’s gospel He
is the Son of God — a divine person. Whether in Gethsemane or on
the cross you get no suffering at all. It is the same scene, and you
will find that, when the band of men comes to take Him, He says,

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‘I am he’ (John 18:6). They fell to the ground when they heard this,
and if He had walked away He might have left them lying there; but
He gave Himself up freely to them, and shows His loving care of His
disciples by saying, ‘If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way’ (v.
8). He puts Himself forward in the gap that they might escape.
When on the cross you do not get in John’s gospel any mention
of ‘why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27:46). He gave up His own
Spirit. He said, ‘It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave
up the ghost’ (John 19:30). In Matthew you get the other side in
Gethsemane: ‘if it be possible, let this cup pass from me’, etc. (26:39–
44); and on the cross, ‘why hast thou forsaken me?’
In Luke’s gospel you have more suffering in Gethsemane than in
any other gospel, and on the cross none at all. Why is this? Why do
I find Him on the cross above it all? It brought home to my soul all
the blessed truth of how thoroughly He was man: ‘handle me, and
see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have’ (Luke
24:39). He would have us remember this. He wants us to recollect
for the precious comfort of our souls how perfectly He is man (see
Luke 22:39ff). He went as He was wont to the mount of Olives, and
when He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast He kneeled
down and prayed. In Luke you find Him constantly praying as
man. Perfect man, obedient and dependent. We get Him all night
in prayer to God in chapter 6:12. We get Him again going up into a
mountain to pray, and as He prayed He was transfigured (9:28–29).
Here He prays, saying, ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup’
(22:42). Mark, then, how in this gospel you get more development
of the sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane than in any other.
‘And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly’ (v. 44). The
more He felt the depths of this dreadful cup the more earnestly He
prayed. With us too often the trouble that fills our minds turns us
away from God, but it drew His soul out as man more earnestly, and
brought Him to God: ‘his sweat was as it were great drops of blood
falling down to the ground. And when he … was come to his disciples,
he found them sleeping for sorrow’ (vs. 44–45). The poor disciples
were sleeping for sorrow, while He was praying more earnestly in

36. 118
an agony.
We have here a threefold picture of man. In the disciples we
see what man is in his infirmity; in Judas, man in his hatred and
wretched wickedness; and in Christ, man in His perfection. When
we come to the cross we find no trace of the agony or sorrow. He
had gone through it all in spirit in Gethsemane, and He is above
it all (I am not speaking now of His atoning work, for we do not
get that here). There is no mention of the cry, ‘My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?’ Here I find the perfectness of Christ as
man: ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’ (23:46). You have
the perfect unclouded consciousness of the man giving up His
spirit in full confidence to His Father. You see that characterises all
that Christ was on the cross (see 23:34). We see Him entirely above
all the circumstances by which He was surrounded, so completely
above them that His occupation is with others. His first word is,
‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’.
The wretched malice and wickedness of man had led Him to His
crucifixion, but the poor Jews did not know what they were doing.
It is not judgment here, not simply a divine person suffering as a
man yet above it all, but one who could say, ‘Father, forgive them’.
Go through all the insults here recounted which they heaped upon
Him. They parted His raiment and cast lots; they derided Him,
saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself’ (23:35). The soldiers
also mocked Him, and the very malefactors railed on Him, and
what do I find? That He is above it all. He can turn to the poor thief
beside Him with these words: ‘To day shalt thou be with me in
paradise’ (23:43). There was a blessed work going on in the poor
malefactor’s heart when he said, I am dying, and You are dying, but
‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom’ (v. 42).
The Lord could tell this poor thief ‘to day’, though he had asked
Jesus to remember him when He returned in His kingdom. He
believed in the kingdom when the King was rejected. Blessed faith!
But the Lord was now showing the present place He was taking
as man, and that he should not wait for that day of manifested
glory, but that very day he should be with Him in paradise. Blessed

37. 119
compassion of the spirit of the man Christ Jesus.
‘And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness’ (23:44). In
this gospel the blessed truth in Matthew and in Mark is passed over
when He uttered that wondrous cry, ‘My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?’ Here we find that ‘when Jesus had cried with a
loud voice’ (which is specially noted here), He said, ‘Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit’ (23:46), showing, as a man, perfect faith
and confidence in His Father. If we have seen Jesus at the right hand
of God, we can say, as Stephen did, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’
(Acts 7:59); but He could say, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit’. This blessedness He had as man, that passing through the
bitterness of the cup of wrath we see Him go into its fullest depths.
The agony was such that His sweat was as it were great drops of
blood, yet He passed through it all with God, so that when He came
to the cross we find no mention of suffering. He is above it all!
In a certain sense this is our place, if we could only be like Him. In
our little conflicts and little sorrows, if we go through every trial
with God beforehand, as He did, we shall have all settled according
to God, and be really above the trial when it comes. Ours are little
trials, no doubt, when compared with His; still they test us and try
us; but the principle is the same. We have to follow in His steps. He
had but one path, and whatever the sorrow or trial may be, if we
could only go on through it with God, even if it put us into an agony
as it may (for presenting it to God makes it more acute), still, if I
carry my agony to God, I shall be quite above the circumstances,
having gone through them perfectly with Him. As we see in
Hebrews 2, He was the perfectly tried one, but always perfect
in the trial. All is perfect in Him, and it does us good to meditate
upon Him; to study what Christ was: ‘He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him’ (John 6:56). If we
want to be like Him, we must see Him as the bread that came down
from heaven. In studying what Christ is, we are taught by the Spirit
of God. If you want to get the graciousness of Christ, if you want to
grow in likeness to Him, you must feed upon Him: ‘being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross’ (Phil. 2:8).

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The Lord give us to feed upon Christ, and to dwell continually with
Him, to get our hearts filled with the consciousness of what the
Lord was, that we may be able more and more to understand the
love and grace of God!
J N Darby9
Emmaus
How varied are the conditions of soul in which the disciples were
found on the resurrection morning. Peter was a backslider; Thomas
a doubter; Mary Magdalene was desolate, and the two disciples on
the way to Emmaus were disappointed. Moreover, it is blessed to see
with what divine skill and perfect grace the Lord adapts Himself to
those varying states of soul. He has a restoring word for backsliders,
a reproving yet encouraging word for doubters, a comforting word
for the desolate, and an arousing word to touch the heart and reach
the conscience of the disappointed.
The two disciples journeying to Emmaus may well be described
as disappointed saints. Like other believers, driven by their need
and drawn by His grace, they had been attracted to Jesus. They had
seen His mighty acts of power, listened to His words of grace, and
followed His holy pathway of love. They were convinced that He
was indeed the long promised Messiah, and confidently expected
that the Roman yoke was about to be broken and Israel redeemed
by power from all their enemies. But alas! the chief priests and
rulers had delivered their Messiah to death. Instead of taking His
throne as King of kings, He had been nailed to a cross between
two malefactors. Instead of making His enemies His footstool, His
enemies had trodden underfoot the Son of God. All their hopes were
thus rudely dashed to the ground. They were deeply disappointed
saints.
The result of this disappointment is soon made manifest. They turn
their backs on the little company of believers at Jerusalem and,
without hesitation, they went ‘the same day’ (Luke 24:13) to their
home at Emmaus; and as these two wandered on their way they
9 From The Christian’s Friend (1894) vol. 21.

39. 121
‘reasoned’ (v. 15); and as they reasoned they were ‘sad’ (v. 17).
So today, are there not many disheartened and disappointed saints
who, in like manner, turn their backs on the company of the Lord’s
people and wander off into a solitary path? And as such pursue
their lonely way, are they not full of reasonings and sadness?
But, we may enquire, what was the root of the disappointment of
the Emmaus disciples? It was this: they were occupied with their
own thoughts about Christ rather than God’s thoughts. And with
minds possessed by human thoughts they were unable to grasp
divine thoughts — they were ‘slow of heart to believe’ (v. 25) all
that the prophets had spoken. Unbelief was at the back of their
disappointment; unbelief turned their feet away from the Lord’s
people; unbelief set their tongues reasoning, filled their hearts
with sadness, and held their eyes fast closed so that they could
not discern the Lord. And what was the unbelieving thought that
possessed their minds? Simply that they thought to bring Christ
back into their circumstances for their temporal glory, and their
earthly ease and blessing.
Are we not often like these disciples? Is it not a common thought
with many Christians that Christ came into the world to make it
a better and a happier place? Do we not at times still try to bring
Christ back into our circumstances for our temporal comfort and
earthly glory? And with such thoughts in our minds do we not
fall into great disappointment when we find our circumstances
difficult, and that identification with the Lord’s people throws us
into the company of the poor and despised of this world, involves
contempt and reproach, and, it may be, even loss and suffering?
And yet how graciously the Lord pursues His wandering and
disappointed saints. How blessed the way He takes to restore
and hearten up these sad and downcast disciples on the way to
Emmaus. First He ‘drew near’, and it is ‘Jesus himself’ who draws
near (v. 15). No messenger is sent to recall to His presence these
erring saints. When all goes well with His people, angels, apostles,
prophets and others may carry out His behests, as well we know in
many a fine scene recorded in the word. But is there a wandering

40. 122
sheep — dejected and disappointed — behold, ‘Jesus himself’ will
draw near to restore. There is work to be done between a wandering
saint and ‘Jesus himself’ with which no stranger can intermeddle.
‘The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon’ (v. 34) tells
the same blessed tale of a secret and personal interview between a
broken-hearted backslider and ‘Jesus himself’. How different, alas,
the way we often take with one another. If a brother wanders away
from us, how apt we are to draw away from him. But in the day that
the Emmaus saints drew away, Jesus Himself drew near. What a
Saviour! When we were far away He came near, and when we draw
away He draws near.
Having drawn near, how gracious the way He takes. He discovers
to us all that is in our hearts. With divine wisdom and infinite
tenderness He drew out all the difficulties of the two disciples, and
disclosed the root of unbelief that was behind their disappointment.
They were ‘slow of heart to believe’ (v. 25). Nor does He stop there,
for the discovery of what is in our hearts, however important in the
work of restoration, is not sufficient to restore. We need indeed true
thoughts of our hearts to learn how we wander into a wrong path,
but we must have true thoughts of His heart that our feet may be
restored to a right path. And this is the way the Lord takes with the
two disciples. Having exposed all that was in their hearts, He reveals
all that is in His heart. And revealing what is in His heart turns their
slow hearts into burning hearts (vs. 25, 32). He sets their hearts
ablaze with love to Himself by revealing the love that is in His heart.
To reveal the love of His heart He expounds ‘unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself’ (v. 27). And as He expounds
He passes before them the touching story of His sufferings and
His glories (v. 26). The disciples, with their poor human thoughts,
would have spared Him the sufferings, and so withheld from Him
His glories. We know He must needs suffer ‘to enter into his glory’.
What in all the scriptures concerning Himself so touches the heart
as the sufferings and the glories of Christ? And when we find the
sufferings, we are not far from the glories. Psalm 22 speaks of His
sufferings; Psalm 24 of His glories. Again the story of the sufferings
is taken up in Psalm 69, to be followed by the glories in Psalm 72. So

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in like manner the sufferings of Christ in Psalm 109 are followed by
the glories of Christ in Psalm 110. As we look back to His sufferings
and on to His glories, our hearts may well burn as we think of the
love that led Him to the cross that He might lead us into the glory.
The two disciples had been thinking of the things concerning
themselves; the Lord leads them to ‘the things concerning himself’.
Their desire was to bring Christ into their circumstances. He would
lead them into His, and to know Him as the risen one outside this
present evil world. The Lord had exposed their hearts and revealed
His heart, but to what end? Clearly to lead them to desire His
company above all else. Now He will test them to see if ‘the end of
the Lord’ (Jas. 5:11) is reached. So it came to pass having arrived at
the village, whither they went, ‘he made as though he would have
gone further’ (Luke 24:28). He had drawn near to win their hearts;
He will now draw away to lead out their hearts in longing desire
after Him. And very blessedly they respond to the testing of the
Lord: ‘they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent’ (v. 29). He wants them — had
endured the sufferings of the cross to possess them — but He has so
dealt with them that at last they want Him.
Have we so learnt the evil of our hearts in the presence of the
love of His heart that we can say we desire His company above
all else? Search throughout the length and breadth of God’s great
universe and where shall I find another who knows me through and
through, and yet loves me. This it is that makes us more at home
in His presence than in the presence of the nearest and dearest
on earth. And such is His love that we can have as much of Christ
and His company as we desire. Thus the disciples found when they
‘constrained him’, and the Lord loves to be constrained — for do we
not read, ‘he went in to tarry with them’?
Thus at last the Lord does come for a brief moment into their
circumstances, but only to lead them out of their circumstances
into His. For having made Himself known He vanishes out of their
sight. How touching also the way by which He makes Himself
known: ‘he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them’

42. 124
(v. 30). Would it not at once recall that other scene, when in the
upper room, ‘he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave
unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you’ (22:19)?
The whole act proclaimed who He was, and recalled His dying
love. Little wonder that ‘their eyes were opened, and they knew him’
(24:31). Yes! But how did they know Him? Not as in the days before
the cross, in their circumstances, but as the one who was dead but
is alive for evermore. Immediately He vanishes out of their sight.
For if we know Him as the risen one, it can only be by faith while
yet we are in this scene. The disappointment that had possessed the
disciples when they lost Him on earth was changed to delight when
they found Him in resurrection.
The immediate result is that they are recalled from their wanderings.
In spite of having walked eight or nine miles, and though the day
was far spent, and the night fast drawing on, they at once retrace
their steps in their earnest desire to join the little company of the
Lord’s people gathered together at Jerusalem. And having reached
their own company they find, to their great delight, that they are
in the company of the risen Lord, and in His company there is no
room for dissatisfied or disappointed hearts. There all reasonings
and all sadnesses give place to wonder, worship, and ‘great joy’ (vs.
41, 52).
Hamilton Smith
Next issue: Sanctification
Publisher’s note
Chapter Two apologises for the typographical errors in headings 8 and 14 on pages 82 and 83
of the last issue of the magazine which were the result of technical problems at the printer.

43. Further reading
Comments on the Book of Luke by L M Grant
An Exposition of the Gospel of Luke by W Kelly
-- latest paperback edition
-- older hardback edition
The Man of Sorrows by J N Darby
Notes of Meditations on the Gospel of Luke by J G Bellett
The Gospels and Acts by F B Hole
-- latest paperback edition
-- older hardback edition
The Church of the Living God £2.40, 123006
What is a Meeting of the Assembly? £2.40, 123004
£7.95, 104238
£13.50, 105021
£6.00, 190064
£5.50, 113440
£5.50, 113253
£20.99, 104226
£8.50, 182020
You can buy these books from Chapter Two using the information on the
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