Annotations Upon the New Testament, Luke · Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI.
Verse 1. THere was a certaine rich man which had a Steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods, &c.] Our Saviours intention in this Parable is to exhort all men, especially those in great place,Summa hujus Parabolae est, humaniter & benignè cum proximis nostris esse agendum, ut quum ad Dei tribunal ventum fuerit, liberalitatis nostrae fructus ad not redeat. Quanquam dura & longè petita videatur similitudo, clausula tamen ostendit non aliud fuisse Christi consilium. to improve these outward things for the advancement of their own Spirituall and everlasting good, v. 9.
Christ propounds in the Parable two person, 1. A rich man. 2. His Steward. 1. The rich man is God, whose Stewards are all men; because he gives their good things to them, although to one more, to another lesse. Those good things are 1. The goods of the world or fortune, as some call them, gold, silver, fields, cattle, livings, dominions, Gen. 9.2. 2. Goods of the body, as health, beauty, strength, all the senses. 3. Goods of the mind or Spirituall, wit, wisedome, prudence, memory, eloquence, peace, the word of salvation, the promise of grace, righteousnesse and life eternall; God hath bestowed his gifts on us, that we may moderately use them in his feare, serve our neighbours with them, and improve them for the Lord; because wee shall give an account of them.
How to use our goods so as to shew our selves good Stewards,
1. In respect of God, we must serve him with all these goods of ours.
2. For our neighbour, if we have more than he, we should communicate freely to him. Prov. 5.16.
Vers. 8. The Lord commended the unjust Steward, because he had done wisely] Propter solertiam non propter fallaciam. Prudenter] non quod pic & rectè. Non lau davit factum, sed prudentiam & industriam qua ut poenam essugeret, usus fuerat. Maldonatus.Grotius. As we may condemne a matter, yet commend the parties wit. The children of this world are in their generation wiser] They are not in genere wise, but in genere suo, wise to do evill, Ier. 4.2. not wiser absolutely, but secundum quid, in their generation, that is, in the things of the world. The children of light] That is, Christians, who by the Holy Ghost and baptisme are made the sons of God.
Vers. 9. Make to your selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousnesse] Riches are called unrighteous,Mammon] Significat copiama… the sauros divitiarum hujus mundi. They are not so in themselvs but in the common use, or rather abuse of wicked men. 1. Because they are commonly unjustly gotten. 2. Made an instrument of many evils. 3. Evill gotten goods are unjustly possessed. Mr. Perkins. not because they are always unjustly possessed, but because they are occasions and motives of great unrighteousnesse, or else rather unrighteous is put here for false, in the Hebrew phrase, that is, they are not true riches; the words following confirme this exposition. See Heinsius.
That when ye faile] That is, die, so the Septuagint useth this greek word, by which it renders Moth. Ier. 42.17, 18. They may receive you] Receiving is not mentioned here in regard of merit (as the Papists say) as though a man could deserve it by giving almes, but either by way of hearty prayers made by the poore, that they may be received, or else because their almes shall be unto them a pledge and earnest of their receiving into Gods kingdome.
Vers. 12. And if ye have not been faithfull in that which is another mans, who shall give you that which is your own] Teaching that he which is unfaithfull to another, seldome is faithfull in his own affaires.
Vers. 13. No man can serve two Masters] Not contrary masters, as God and Mammon are.
Vers. 14. And they derided him] The Pharisees did not simply laugh at Christ, but gave also externall signes of scorne in their countenance, gestures, they blew their noses at him, for that's the meaning of the originall*Graecè foreign, id est, subsannabant quasi contracto naso, foreign enim est nasus: atque hic est gestus fastidientis, spernentis, vafrè & callidè irridentis. Ignotos naso suspendit adunco. Horat. Serm. Satyr. 6. Tales sunt nasones, nasuti. à Lapide.
Vers. 15. Christ doth not yeeld to the scoffes of the Pharisees, but defends the authority of his doctrine, and in like manner inveighes against them with a just zeale, and puls away the maske of hypocrisie from them.
Ye are they which justifie your selves] As if he should say, you would know what you are, I will in a few things declare it to you, whatsoever things you do, you doe them all for that end that you may get an opinion of holinesse and righteousnesse before men, but howsoever before men who onelyonly judge by outward things, you may are accounted holy and righteous,Polyc. Lyser. God knows your hearts, which he abominates, because they are full of hypocrisie, envie, pride and scorne.
Highly esteemed] Pharisaicall and hypocriticall pride, by which they boast themselves before men that they may seeme to be holy, they be inwardly hypocrites.
The same thing is exprest Matth. 11.13.Vers. 16. The Law and the Prophets were untill Iohn] If the Law was to have its period in Iohn, then the subordination of it now to the Gospell is taken away. But the Law was not then abolisht, as the next v. shewes, as if he should say, do not mistake mee, ac si post…at lex in ecclesia …xauctorata sit. Secondly, that manner of dispensation which was under the Old Testament was to last till then.1 Pet. 1.12. The Revelation of the mind of God then was but in glorious promises of things to come; we now injoy the things under the Gospell.
Vers. 19. There was a certaine rich man which was cloathed in purple and fine linnen, Ambrose from the adding of the name saith it is a History not a Parable, many things are related in modum Parabolae, neither eyes, finger, tongue, nor water are in hell. and fared sumptuously every day] Whether it be a History or a Parable, *Rainoldus de lib. Apoc. tomo primo. praelect. 79. Credo ego, nec solam historiam, nec folum Parabolam esse, sed mixtum quiddam ex utraque, qualis apud Poetas Tragicomaedia esse dicitur, atque haec ipsa est Iustini sententia. Nam quòd dives ille, & Lazarus fuerit, quodque ille in inferno sepultus, hic ab Angelis in sinum Abrabae portatus fuerit, historia est. Quòd autem dives ille cum Abraham locutus fuerit, eum que rogaverit, ut Lazarum ad se mitteret, qui gutta aquae linguam suam refrigeraret, parabola est historiae adjuncta, nec enim qui in inferno sunt sanctos rogare solent. Maldonatus in loc.(of which there are divers opinions) that is of no moment, because whether Lazarus were truely a certaine poore man and begger, so handled by the rich, whose soule was after carryed by the Angels into Abrahams bosome, or whether by the name of Lazarus, Christ signified a begger, (as Lawyers are wont to propound their species under the name of Titius & Sempronia) the matter comes all to one, all confessing that under that narration Christ describes the state of the faithfull and unfaithfull departing out of this life.
Cloathed in purple] foreign frequentativè, a new suit for every day like our Gallants, Purple a precious garment, and proper to Kings, and those which are neere them. Marke. 15.17. Fared sumptuously] Which Irenaeus some where turnes Iocundabatur, for the Greeke word signifieth both, laetitiam mentis & hilare convivium, joy of the mind,foreign Eras. Brugens. and a merry banquet; it signifies feasted and rejoyced*Iansen. Harmon., so that not only the delights of feasting are signified, but that he feasted with pleasure.
Every day] That thou maist understand that he was wholly given to his belly, and was not at leasure for any other things; and this he did foreign, splendidè, magnificé, pomposé, therefore he was wholly of their number who daily with the Epicure sing that hymne, Ede, bibe, lude, post mortem nulla voluptas.
Vers. 20. A certaine begger named Lazarus] The Hebrew (for Lazarus) sounds helped by the Lord, that very word also makes for a History; He was forsaken by men,Erasmus. Quod autem Tertullianus, Prudentius atque alij eandem hunc mendicum Eleazarum vocant, non de nihlio est, idem est Eleazari & Lazari nomen. Grot. Quanquam quibusdam simplex videtur esse Parabola: quia tamen Lazari nomen exprimitur, potius rem gestam narrari arbitror. Calvin. but had God for his help.
Lazarus by changing of the dialect, is the proper name of Eleazar the servant of Abraham. Thus Christ placeth Lazarus in the bosome, or at the Table of this Patriarke, whose houshould servant hee had been.
Laid at his gate full of sores] That if he desired to stand or sit, yet being pained with the greatnesse and multitude of sores, he could not.
Vers. 21. The crumbes] Which otherwise would be trod by the feet of men, or gathered by the dogges.
Vers. 22. By the Angels] Behold a sodaine change, he that even now was not onelyonly scorned by men but dogges, is honoured with the ministrie of Angels.
Abrahams bosome] The glory of heaven or heavenly Canaan is rather called the bosome of Abraham *Perkins. Vide Cameron. myroth. & Capelli. Spicil. Christus foreign loquitur in similitudine. Quemadmodum liberi quando in absentia parentum à familia malè tractantur, à matribus, quae tenerrimè ipsos amant, in sinum excipiuntur, ibi solatia audiunt, & omnium malorum facilè obliviscuntur, sic Lazarus benignè in consortium beatorum suscipitur, atque gaudijs regni coelestis quod Abraham promissum recreatur. Polyc. Lyser. Vide Calvinum.than of any other of the Patriarkes. 1. For the excellencie of his faith. 2. Because the promise of inheriting the land of Canaan was first of all (personally) made to him. He alludes either unto the practice of the Eastern Countrys, where when any made a feast, the guests did sit leaning about the Table, and the most beloved guest leaned in the bosome of the Feast-maker, as Iohn at the Passover in Christs bosome, so Grotius, or else to the practice of parents which lay a sicke child in their bosomes.
Vers. 23. And seeth Abraham afarre off, and Lazarus in his bosome] Seeth Abraham rich afarre off, and Lazarus poore in his bosome, both in heaven.
Vers. 25. Son] An Ironie, being a sharpe exprobration to pricke the rich man, who in his life boasted of being Abrahams son. By the scope of the Parable, the soules of the dead are but in two places, therefore no purgatory. Thou in thy life receivedst] foreign here, is fully to receive.
Thy good things] This is spoken also emphatically. Those good things which thou countedst the true, yea the chiefest good things, which thou hast used not as committed to thee under a certaine law and manner, but as thine owne proper goods, in which also thou hast placed all thy confidence. Grotius.
Vers. 26. Between us and you there is a great gulfe fixed] Gulfe] As there useth some times to be in earth-quakes.foreign Graecè vulgatus interpres reddit Chaos, quod per errorem vid…tur factū pro Chasma sic enim principio probabile est adhibitum fuisse nomen Graecum à Latino Interprete. Quemadmodum in ejusmodi hiatu in quo vrb… vel terrarum tractus absorbentur, non potest transtri ab uno hiatus labro ad alterum cum os non sit compressum sed hiatus maneat, ita significat Dominus fieri non posse ut ullo modo transeatur ab eorum statu qui sunt tormentis adjudicati ad statum quietis & consolationis aeternae, est, sive constitutu… est & firmatus foreign. Rainold. de lib. Apoc. praelect. 1 62. Vide Grotium.
Great gulfe] Signifieth the eternity of their state, Significat decretum Dei firmum & immutabile, ne quisquam unquam transiret à statu damnatorum ad statum fidelium. Rainold. de lib. Apoc. They which would passe from hence to you cannot] The glorified soules cannot go from heaven, worst themselves though they would, and those that would come hither cannot; there is an everlasting decree against it. Psal. 36.6. fixed] foreign a metaphore (saith Maldonate) taken from Forts and Castles which are fortified by a broad and deep ditch about them.
Ambrose will have this to be an Historie, because of the addition of a name and other circumstances, but though the narration may be grounded on a historie, yet it hath many things in it parabolicall, and we may argue from the scope of a Parable, as Iud. 9.8.