But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
Parallel Translations
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But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
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And he sayde vnto him: Man who made me a iudge or a devider over you?
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And he said vnto him, Man, who made me a iudge, or a deuider ouer you?
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Luke 12:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 2:3 Do you think this, O man who judges those who practice such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
- Romans 9:20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
- Exodus 2:14 He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.”
- John 6:15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
- Romans 2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.
- Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Luke 5:20 Seeing their faith, he said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
- John 8:11 She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”
- John 18:35-36 Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
- Luke 22:58 After a little while someone else saw him, and said, “You also are one of them!” But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made…
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
Ver. 14. A judge or a divider over you] It is work enough for a minister rightly to judge of the estate of his flock, and to divide the word of God unto them daily and duly. "What is that to thee?" said Christ to Peter when he meddled with that which belonged not to him, Joh 21:21. Age quod tui muneris est, said Valentinian to Ambrose: Do thine own business. And Verbi minister es, hoc age, was Mr Perkins’ motto. Clericus in foro est piscis in arido.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said unto him, man,.... Or "friend", as…
And he said unto him, man,.... Or "friend", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, Jesus said to him, as the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions express it:
who made me a judge, or a divider over you? referring to the words of one of the Hebrews to Moses, when he interposed in a difference, Exo 2:14 suggesting, that the same might be retorted on him, should he engage in such an affair: the reason why Christ avoided meddling with it, was not because it is unlawful for Christians to concern themselves in arbitrations about civil affairs, and in making up family differences, which is very commendable; but lest by such a step, he should give occasion to them, to conclude he was a temporal king: whereas his kingdom was not of this world, and his business lay not in civil affairs, and the management of them; but in spiritual concerns, in preaching the Gospel, and doing good to the souls of men; wherefore this was out of his province: and besides, it was a matter of covetousness, either in this person, or his brother, or both; which Christ takes an occasion from hence to expose, agreeably to his office; to which may be added, that this man seems to have disturbed Christ in his public work, and was of such a worldly spirit, as to prefer the care of his secular affairs, to the hearing of the word, and the welfare of his immortal soul.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who made me a judge? - In worldly things.…
Who made me a judge? - In worldly things. His kingdom is not of this world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. A judge] Without some judgment given in…
Verse 14. A judge] Without some judgment given in the case, no division could be made; therefore Jesus added the word judge. PEARCE. A minister of Christ ought not to concern himself with secular affairs, any farther than charity and the order of discipline require it. Our Lord could have decided this difference in a moment; but the example of a perfect disengagement from worldly things was more necessary for the ministers of his Church than that of a charity applying itself to temporal concerns. He who preaches salvation to all should never make himself a party man; otherwise he loses the confidence, and consequently the opportunity of doing good to the party against whom he decides. Better to leave all these things to the civil magistrate, unless where a lawsuit may be prevented, and the matter decided to the satisfaction or acquiescence of both parties.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Who made me a judge? - It is not…
Who made me a judge? - It is not my business to settle controversies of this kind. They are to be settled by the magistrate. Jesus came for another purpose - to preach the gospel, and so to bring people to “a willingness to do” right. Civil affairs are to be left to the magistrate. There is no doubt that Jesus “could” have told him what was right in this case, but then it would have been interfering with the proper office of the magistrates; it might have led him into controversy with the Jews; and it was, besides, evidently apart from the proper business of his life. We may remark, also, that the appropriate business of ministers of the gospel is to attend to spiritual concerns. They should have little to do with the temporal matters of the people. If they can “persuade men” who are at variance to be reconciled, it is right; but they have no power to take the place of a magistrate, and to settle contentions in a legal way.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Judge, &c. Our Saviour does not here mean to…
Judge, &c. Our Saviour does not here mean to say that he or his Church had not authority to judge, as the Anabaptists foolishly pretend; for he was appointed by the Father, the King of kings, and the Lord and Judge of all. He only wished to keep himself as much detached as possible from worldly concerns: 1. Not to favour the opinion of the carnal Jews, who expected a powerful king for the Messias. 2. To shew that the ecclesiastical ministry was entirely distinct from political government, and that he and his ministers were sent not to take care of earthly kingdoms, but to seek after and prepare men for a heavenly inheritance. (St. Ambrose, Euthymius, Ven. Bede)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Man, &c.--Contrast this style of address with "my friends,"…
Man, &c.--Contrast this style of address with "my friends," (Luk 12:4).
who, &c.--a question literally repudiating the office which Moses assumed (Exo 2:14). The influence of religious teachers in the external relations of life has ever been immense, when only the INDIRECT effect of their teaching; but whenever they intermeddle DIRECTLY with secular and political matters, the spell of that influence is broken.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Man—A word of solemn rebuke.
14. Man—A word of solemn rebuke.
A judge or a divider—Jesus uses of himself words which were used in reply to Moses. Exo_2:14. The judge is an official magistrate, and an arbitrator is voluntarily chosen. It was customary for contestants to choose a Rabbi for arbitrator. The custom came into use as early as the Captivity, when the Jews preferred to have their own cases tried, not by foreign courts, but by their own Jewish referees. An excellent but over-churchly commentator on this passage, draws a lesson from these words against those who assume, in Church or State, official functions to which they have not been regularly called, that is, in a so styled apostolic succession. But if Jesus had accepted this man’s request, it would have been no assumption of office at all, but the performance of a voluntary kindness. One would expect such a commentator to know that some of the noblest early bishops of the Christian Church, Ambrose and Augustine, felt obliged to undergo the onerous task of arbitration against their own wills, but in obedience to conscience, and according to the doctrine of Paul. Our Lord refused: first, in order to admonish this man of his folly in thinking of lawsuits in the midst of a discourse on the judgment day of God; and second, because as Son of God, in a brief mission for mankind, the hours of his brief ministry could not be devoted to secular matters between man and his fellow.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. Man] The word is sternly repressive. Comp. Rom_2:1.
14. Man] The word is sternly repressive. Comp. Rom_2:1.
who made me a judge] “My kingdom is not of this world,” Joh_18:36.
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or a divider] i.e. umpire, arbitrator. There is an evident allusion to Exo_2:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) Man, who made me a judge . .…
(14) Man, who made me a judge . . .?—This is the only instance of our Lord’s so addressing one who had come to Him as a questioner. As in Rom_2:1; Rom_2:3, the form, “O man,” was one which expressed grave censure and indignation. Was it for this that men came to Him instead of seeking for the kingdom of God? He accordingly distinctly repudiates any but the purely spiritual aspect of a scribe’s work, and will neither act publicly as judge nor privately as arbitrator. (Comp. Joh_8:11.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.