Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St LukeBurton, Henry
Religion
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St Luke
Burton, Henry
Bible. Luke -- Commentaries
St. Matthew and St. Mark insert their abridged narrative of the call
before the healing of the demoniac and the cure of Peter's
mother-in-law; and most expositors think that St. Luke's setting "in
order," in this case at least, is wrong; that he has preferred to have a
chronological inaccuracy, so that His miracles may be gathered into
related groups. But that our Evangelist is in error is by no means
certain; indeed, we are inclined to think that the balance of
probability is on the side of his arrangement. How else shall we
account for the crowds who now press upon Jesus so importunately and
with such Galilean ardour? It was not the rumour of His Judæan miracles
which had awoke this tempest of excitement, for the journey to Jerusalem
was not yet taken. And what else could it be, if the miraculous draught
of fishes was the first of the Capernaum miracles? But suppose that we
retain the order of St. Luke, that the call followed closely upon that
memorable Sabbath, then the crowds fall into the story naturally; it is
the multitude which had gathered about the door when the Sabbath sun had
set, putting an after-glow upon the hills, and on whose sick He wrought
His miracles of healing. Nor does the fact that Jesus went to be a guest
in Peter's house require us to invert the order of St. Luke; for the
casual acquaintance by the Jordan had since ripened into intimacy, so
that Peter would naturally offer hospitality to his Master on His coming
to Capernaum. Again, too, going back to the Sabbath in the synagogue, we
read how they were astonished at His doctrine; "for His word was with
authority;" and when that astonishment was heightened into amazement, as
they saw the demon cowed and silenced, this was their exclamation, "What
a word is this!" And does not Peter refer to this, when the same voice
that commanded the demon now commands them to "Let down the nets," and
he answers, "At Thy word I will"? It certainly seems as if the "word" of
the sea-shore were an echo from the synagogue, and so a "word" that
justifies the order of our Evangelist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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