GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth. Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:33-36 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He told them a parable. “See the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see it and know by your own selves that the summer is already near. Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that God’s Kingdom is near. Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth. Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth.
Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Heaven and erth shall passe: but my wordes shall not passe.
Take hede to youre selves lest youre hertes be overcome with surfettinge and dronkennes and cares of this worlde: and that that daye come on you vnwares.
For as a snare shall it come on all them that sit on the face of the erthe.
Watche therfore continually and praye that ye maye obtayne grace to flye all this that shall come and that ye maye stonde before the sonne of man.
Heauen and earth shall passe away, but my wordes shall not passe away.
Take heede to your selues, lest at any time your hearts be oppressed with surfeting and drunkennesse, and cares of this life, and least that day come on you at vnwares.
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watche therefore, and pray continually, that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these thinges that shall come to passe, and that ye may stand before the Sonne of man.
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv35–36 On all men wheresoever they be.
On all men wheresoever they be.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv33–36 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and…
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
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32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Ver. 33. See Mat 5:18.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v34 I take the Luk 21:34 to be a good…
I take the Luk 21:34 to be a good exposition of the term watch, Luk 21:36. Avoid sin industriously, in a prospect of my coming to judgment: for sin is compared to sleep, Rom 13:11; Eph 5:14; and as he that watcheth doth not only wake, but setteth himself designedly to forbear sleep, in order to some end; so he who keepeth the spiritual watch must set himself designedly to avoid sin, upon a prospect of Christ’s coming, and the uncertainty of it. Particularly he cautions his disciples against luxury and worldly mindedness. The first he expresses under the notions of gluttony and drunkenness, which are two eminent species of it.
The latter, under the notion of the cares of this life; not necessary and provident cares, but superfluous and distracting cares. These things he presseth them to avoid, lest they should be surprised by Christ’s coming, as he tells them the most of the world would be.
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He further exhorteth them to pray always; the sense of which precept we showed largely in our notes on Luk 18:1.
He further presseth both these duties in those words,
That ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass; those that should come to pass at or before the destruction of Jerusalem, or afterward;
and to stand before the Son of man, that is, in the last judgment; for, The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, Psa 1:5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v34 Here our Lord cautions his disciples against such a…
Here our Lord cautions his disciples against such a distemper and indisposition of mind, as may render them unfit and unready for his coming and appearance; and to take heed of two dangerous sins, namely, voluptousness and earthly-mindedness, which above any other sins will indispose us for the duty of watchfulness. There is a three-fold reason why our Saviour forewarns us of these sins, with reference to the day of judgment;
1. Because there are certain prognostics of the day of judgment approaching; As it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of man be.
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2. Because there are certain prognostics of the day of judgment approaching, they do not only foretell, but hasten the coming of Christ, to see the world drowned in voluptousness and earthly-mindedness, in security and sensuality, is not only a sign to foretell, but a sin that hastens judgment, and pulls down vengeance upon a wicked world.
3. Christ bids us beware of these sins with reference to the day of judgment, because these sins are derisoria judicia, they beget in men a profane spirit of scoffing and deriding at the notices of Christ’s appearing to judgment. In the last days there shall come scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? 2Pe 3:3-4
Our Saviour having thus warned them of these sins, he next exhorts them to watchfulness; Watch ye, therefore, for as a snare that day will come upon you; that is, very suddenly, and very unexpectedly: a snare has a threefold property, to catch suddenly, to hold sure, to destroy certainly. Our Lord’s coming to Jerusalem was very unexpected, and his coming to us by death and judgment will steal upon us if we are not watchful.
Watch ye then, for our Lord will come; at what hour he will come cannot certainly be known; there is no time in which we can promise or assure ourselves, that our Lord will not come; the time of our whole life is little enough to prepare for his coming. Our preparation for, will be no acceleration or hastening of, our Lord’s coming. And oh, how dreadful will his coming be, if we be found off our watch, and altogether unready for his appearance: appear we must in judgment, but shall not be able to stand in the judgment; see Christ we shall as a judge, but not behold him as a redeemer.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv34–36 Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be…
Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be overloaded with gluttony and drunkenness - And was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is reason to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise, if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin: and so that day - Of judgment or of death, come upon you, even you that are not of this world-Unawares. Matt. xxiv, 42; Mark xiii, 33; Luke xii, 35.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv34–36 Verse 34. Take heed to yourselves] See our Lord's…
Verse 34. Take heed to yourselves] See our Lord's parable, relative to this matter, explained, Mr 13:34.
Be overcharged] Literally, be made heavy, as is generally the case with those who have eaten or drank too much. Take heed that ye be not rendered secure by an improper use of lawful things: do not make this earth your portion: expect its dissolution, and prepare to meet your God.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v34 Luk 21:34-36. Take heed, &c. — Here our Lord…
Luk 21:34-36. Take heed, &c. — Here our Lord cautions them against the security and sensuality, to which, if they should yield, they would unfit themselves for the trying times that were approaching, and would render those times a great surprise and terror to them; nay, and involve themselves in the ruin about to come on others of their countrymen. By this we learn, 1st, That Christ’s promises of deliverance to his disciples and the first Christians were conditional, and only to be fulfilled, provided that, through divine grace, they made it their care to guard against those sins which would have exposed them to God’s judgments: and, 2d, That there is a close connection between our duty and safety; between our obedience to God and the divine aid and providence, for our preservation, whether temporal or spiritual: and that we are not to expect preservation immediately from his hand, without the use of those means which he has put it into our power to use in order to it. Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged, &c. — The original word βαρυνθωσιν, here rendered overcharged, properly signifies burdened, or, pressed down, and so very elegantly and strongly expresses the hateful consequences of intemperance; and the load which it brings on those rational faculties, which are the glory of the human nature. Thus Horace, — corpus onustum Hesternis vitiis animum quoque prægravat unà, Atque affigit humo divinæ particulam auræ. SAT. 2. lib. 2. lin. 77. The immoderate use of meat and drink not only burdens the mind with the guilt thereby contracted, but it renders it dull, stupid, and lifeless in duty, and indeed unfit for prayer and praise, for the exercise of any grace, and the practice of any virtue: nay, it stupifies the conscience, and renders the heart unaffected with those things that are most affecting. And cares of this life — Anxious cares about visible and temporal things, and the inordinate pursuit of them. The former is the snare of those that are given to their pleasures; this is the snare of the men of business that will be rich. Observe, reader, we have need to guard against both, also against all other temptations, lest at any time our hearts should be thus overcharged. Our caution against sin, and our care of our own souls, must be constant. But was there need to warn the apostles themselves against such sins as these? Then surely there is need to warn even strong Christians against the very grossest sins. Neither are we wise if we think ourselves out of the reach of any sin. And so that day — That awful and important time, of which he had been speaking, when these dreadful calamities should come upon that nation; and overwhelm the unwary and carnally secure. For as a snare, &c. — For the character of the generality of people in the Jewish nation, at that time, would be such that this ruin would come on all — Or on the greatest part of all; that dwelt on the face of the whole earth — Or, of the whole land, as a snare upon a thoughtless bird, which, in the midst of its security, finds itself inextricably taken. Thus should we take heed, lest either the hour of death or day of judgment should come upon us, when we neither expect nor are prepared for such awful events. Watch ye, therefore — This is the general conclusion of all that precedes. Watch against every temptation to negligence and sin, and against every thing which might lull you into a dangerous security; and pray always — With the most fervent importunity; that ye may be accounted worthy — Through pardoning mercy, and the renewing, assisting grace of God; to escape all these things — Those calamitous and destructive events; that shall assuredly come to pass — In the very manner I have described them. And stand before the Son of man — With courage and acceptance, acquitted and approved as his servants, and may not fall before him as his enemies in that day of awful visitation. In Rom 14:4, standing and falling are terms used to signify the being approved or condemned. Those of our Lord’s disciples who followed his directions, and were faithful to the grace they had received, not only escaped the destruction coming on the great body of the Jewish nation, but were acknowledged as his servants, and appointed to be the ministers of his word, and the heralds of his grace and mercy to the Gentile nations. The expression, καταξιωθητε, here rendered accounted worthy, sometimes implies an honour conferred on a person, as when the apostles are said to be counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ, Act 5:41; some times the being meet or fit for any thing, or suitable thereto, as when John the Baptist exhorts to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, Luk 3:8. And so to be accounted worthy to escape, is, to have the honour of it, and to be fitted, or prepared for it. “The reader will observe that Luke’s account of this discourse is very short, in comparison with that of Matthew and Mark, for this obvious reason, that he had given the chief heads of it before, partly in a discourse of our Lord’s last coming, which was delivered to a very numerous assembly in Galilee, (Luk 12:35-48,) and partly in another discourse, relating only to the destruction of Jerusalem, which was delivered in his journey thither, at the feast of dedication, Luk 17:20, &c. Here, therefore, he chooses to omit what had been inserted on either of those occasions; as John, who probably wrote after the accomplishment of this prophecy, entirely omits it, as already so largely recorded by the former three, from whom, considering the circumstances of time, it came with infinitely better grace, than it could afterward have done from him.” — Doddridge. See notes on Mat 24:42-51; and Mar 13:33-37.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 surfeiting, and drunkenness--All animal excesses, quenching spirituality.
surfeiting, and drunkenness--All animal excesses, quenching spirituality.
cares of this life--(See on Mar 4:7; Mar 4:19).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv33–36 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away] 2Pe_3:7; Isa_51:6;…
33. Heaven and earth shall pass away] 2Pe_3:7; Isa_51:6; Psa_102:26.
but my words shall not pass away] Rather, my sayings, my utterances. Isa_40:8.
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 On vv34–36 (34) Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time…
(34) Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time . . .—We again pass into what has nothing corresponding to it in the other reports of the discourse, and may therefore be assumed to be of the nature of a paraphrase. We note in it, as such, that, as far as the New Testament is concerned, St. Luke only uses the words for “overcharged” and “surfeiting” (the latter word belonged, more or less, to the vocabulary of medical science); St. Luke and St. Paul alone those for “drunkenness” (Rom_13:13; Gal_5:21), and cares “of this life” (1Co_6:3-4), and “unawares” (1Th_5:3). In the last passage we have what reads almost like a distinct echo from this verse. The whole passage, it may be noted, falls in with St. Luke’s characteristic tendency to record all portions of our Lord’s teaching that warned men against sensuality and worldliness.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv33, 34, 36 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words…
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. A general conclusion to the whole prophecy. "No word of mine," said the Master, "will ever pass away unfulfilled. Some of you will even live to see the terrible fulfillment of the first part of these utterances. All that mighty pile of buildings called Jerusalem will pass away, but my words which told of their coming ruin will remain. All this vast creation, earth, and stars will disappear in their turn, but these sayings of mine, which predict their future passing away into nothingness, will outlive both earth and heaven.
The immortality of Christian truth.
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These striking words suggest to us
I CHRIST"S CONSCIOUS CONNECTION WITH THE ETERNAL FATHER. Had there not been in him a profound and abiding consciousness that, in a sense far transcending our own experience, God dwelt in him and he in God, these words would have been wholly indefensible; they would have been in the last degree immodest. Proceeding from any other than the Son of God himself, they would have simply repelled us, and would have cast grave discredit on every other utterance from the same lips. It was because he was Divine, and felt the authority which his Divinity conveyed, that he could and did use such words as these without any trace of assumption; without violating that "meekness and lowliness of heart" which he claimed to possess the possession of which neither friend nor enemy has attempted to dispute.
II THE PERMANENCE OF TRUTH COMPARED WITH THE TRANSITORINESS OF MATTER. It is only in a limited and figurative sense that we can speak of material things as eternal. The hour will come when they will perish; indeed, they are perishing as we speak. The immovable rocks, the everlasting hills, are being disintegrated by sun and rain; the fixed earth rises and falls; the "changeless rivers" are cutting new courses for their waters. Only truth abides; it is only the words in which the thought of the Eternal is expressed that do not pass away. Fashions do not touch it with their finger; revolutions do not overthrow it; dispensations leave it in its integrity. We look particularly at
III THE IMMORTALITY OR THE THOUGHTS OF CHRIST.
1. We have found him a true Prophet. Events have happened according to his word.
2. We are finding hint to be the Divine Teacher of truth to-day. He has that to say to us which, in our better moods and worthier moments, we hunger and thirst to hear. In his deathless words there are still treasured for us salvation from our sin, comfort in our sorrow, sanctity in our joy, strength in our struggle, companionship in our loneliness, and peace and hope in our decline and death. Unto whom shall we go if we sit at his feet no longer?
3. We shall find him the Source of truth in the after-life. Death will not make his words less true, even of it makes some of them less applicable than they are here and now. His thoughts will never lose their hold upon our heart, never cease to affect and shape our course. The truths which Jesus spake eighteen centuries ago will beautify our life and bless our spirit in the furthest epochs and the highest spheres of the heavenly world.
(1) If we would render the truest service to ourselves, we shall do our utmost to fill our minds with the thoughts of Christ; for these will prepare us for any and every condition, here or hereafter, in which we can possibly be placed.
(2) If we would serve our race most effectively, we shall consider in how many ways we can impress his thoughts upon the minds of men and weave them into the institutions of the world. And we shall find, at any rate, these three:
(a) The testimony of a Christian life.
(b) The utterance, in public or in private, of Christian doctrine.
(c) The support of Christian institutions. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 Surfeiting and drunkenness
Luk_21:34-35
Surfeiting and drunkenness
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Gluttony and drunkenness to be avoided
I.
I will attempt to show you THE EVILS AND MISCHIEF OF THESE SINS WHICH OUR SAVIOUR HERE CAUTIONS US AGAINST. Be it known to you, then, that miserable are the effects and fruits of these vices. Gluttony and greediness drove our first parents out of Paradise. They tell us that Heliogabalus used to bring his parasites into dining-rooms that had deceitful floors, and thence they fell and were destroyed. This is but an emblem of the ruin which attends those who are addicted to immoderate eating and drinking. Besides what I have said already, I will farther show you the pernicious effects of this luxurious practice in these five particulars.
1. This vice is generally fatal to mens estates, as the wise man observes, and therefore dissuades from this folly (Pro_23:20-21).
2. How unspeakably pernicious is this sin to the body as well as the estate!
3. This sin is injurious not only to the body of man, but to his mind and soul, his better and move refined part. Its operations are stifled and choked, its faculties are rendered dull and useless, and the excellent spirit which was made to look up to heaven bows down to the earth, becomes gross and carnal, and is plunged into dirt and mire.
4. Luxurious eating and drinking are the nurses of wantonness and uncleanness.
5. Contempt and disgrace are the just reward of luxury.
II. I am to lay down CERTAIN RULES AND DIRECTIONS WHEREBY YOU MAY ORDER YOURSELVES ARIGHT IN THE USE OF THE PLEASURES OF MEAT AND DRINK. These are things natural and necessary, and therefore lawful and innocent in themselves.
1. Offend not as to quantity; eat and drink no more than what is requisite. Nature is content with slender provision, and Christianity maintains the same moderation.
2. Offend not as to quality, that is, be not over-curious in the choice of your meats and drinks.
3. Desire not to fare more costly than is agreeable to your condition.
4. Be careful that you spend not too much time in eating and drinking.
5. (And which is near a-kin to the former rule) Make it not your grand business to eat and drink.
6. Then these bodily refreshments of meat and drink are lawful and commendable, when they are accompanied with charity towards the needy.
7. Let your eating and drinking be attended not only with charity, but with all other testimonies of religion and serving God. Among the pagans their tables were sacred. It should be much more so among Christians, that is, we should make them serviceable to virtue, and to the promoting of our own and others spiritual good.
III. I will propound to you some HELPS AND ASSISTANCES.
1. That you may not offend God by the extravagant use of meats and drinks, begin within, and strive to check your undue appetites there.
Intemperance and luxury begin at the heart; stifle it there.
2. You may be helped in the discharge of the duty which I have been treating of, by understanding your selves aright, by considering your excellent nature and make.
3. To antidote you against this immoderation in meats and drinks, think seriously of the dreadful judgments of God which attend this sin (see Isa_5:11; Amo_6:1, etc.).
4. Think of death and judgment, and the serious consideration of these will be serviceable to check you in your intemperate courses.
(John Edwards, D. D.)
Ruined by drink
The following fact is related by a worthy clergyman, who lived and officiated not far from this place. There are persons so hardened in sin, and so totally given up of God, that neither sickness nor death can make any impression on them. I remember one of this unhappy description, in the county of Essex, whom I both visited during his illness, and interred after he was dead. He was a clever fellow, and of good family, but so totally depraved, that when one of his bottle companions wrote to inform him that he was about to die and go to hell, and desired to know what place he should bespeak for him there, he sat down and gave him for a reply, that he did not care where it was if there was only brandy and rum enough. Thus he lived, and soon after died a martyr to spirituous liquors, cursing and blaspheming, notwithstanding all that could be done to bring him to a better mind. Being possessed of two bank bills, of the value of ten pounds each, which was all the little property he had left,--Now, said he to a person who stood by, when I have spent these in brandy and rum, I shall be content to die and go to hell. He sunk, however, before they were expended, and left just enough to bury him. (Essex Remembrancer.)
The luxury and worldliness of the present age
I. First, THE WARNING. To whom is that warning addressed? Take heed to yourselves;… for as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. You see there is a contrast drawn between yourselves and the whole earth. Yourselves shows us to whom the warning is spoken--it is to the Church. To His own washed, saved, sanctified ones, He says, Take heed to yourselves. He says to them, Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life. Mark that expression, at any time. It would seem as though the prophecy has a continuous bearing, from the time that it was delivered up to the end of the world--that this warning is spoken to the Church of God in all ages. Take notice here that the heart is spoken of as meaning the inner life of a Christian. Take heed lest the springs of spiritual life be weakened by the cares, or the frivolities, or the ease, or the luxury, or the gains, or the occupations of this present life. The word overcharged literally means weighed down. You see that not only surfeiting and drunkenness are spoken of, but the cares of this life. On the one hand the Lord speaks of all the glare of earth, on the other hand He speaks of the toil of earth.
II. Now, see THE REASON OF THE WARNING--For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. The meaning of this is, that the day of the Lord will take the world by surprise.
III. Thirdly, we come to speak of THE PRECEPT GROUNDED UPON THE WARNING, and the reason of the warning--Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and stand before the Son of Man. You may have marked in history, that before empires fell, or great capitals were destroyed, luxury in the empire or in the capital had reached a climax. It was so at Herculaneum and Pompeii; it was the case at Rome. Every species of indulgence, luxury, and comfort seemed to be gathered together by the inhabitants around, when the burning mountain poured forth its flames, while streams of lava buried the cities, and hurried the people into eternity. And so, when Rome was taken by the Goths, or northern nations, it had reached the highest point of luxury, pomp, and pride. So Babylon is described in the Revelation--whatever that Babylon means--it is described as saying, just before it is destroyed--I sit as a queen, and am no widow. In the very heigh of her pomp--in the very zenith of her pride--in the midst of her magnificence, God casts her down, and she sinks likelead in the mighty waters. It will be so, doubtless, with the nations of the world--with the kingdoms of professing Christendom--with the great capitals of Europe; there will be pride, and luxury, and magnificence, and men will be passing their time in ease and affluence, and self-indulgence, when sudden destruction shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. Watch ye, therefore; watch against the prevailing taste for show--watch against the prevailing love of ease--watch against the selfishness of the age, the luxury that creeps even into the Church; watch and take heed, brethren, lest you tread in the worlds footsteps. (W. Pennefather, M. A.)
A heart overcharged with care
I. Let us, think, then, in the first place of WHERE THIS INJUNCTION REALLY APPLIES TO US--When is the heart overcharged with care? Distinguish between care and sorrow. Goal sends sorrows but He never sends cares. No one can doubt the necessity Or sorrow, it has a part in our development which nothing else can fulfil, and, there fore, as long as God loves us and would do His best for us we may be sure we shall suffer, and that such suffering never need be a curse, but care always must. Who are the most miserable to-day? Not the sorrowful, but the careworn. When Christ said Take heed lest your hearts be overcharged with care, He pointed to lifes great tyranny. When, then, does this concern us? The word means oppressed, weighed down.
1. Then it is true when the heart is not able to rise. Spiritual aspirations have not quite died out nor are heavenward promptings ever felt, but the soul cannot respond to them; response needs thought, time, effort, and these cannot be spared, so life is absorbed by the earthly, and the higher things are as though they were not. Then, indeed, the heart is overcharged (oppressed, weighed down) with care.
2. So, too, is it when the heart has no room for the play of its best affections. So I say is it right to be so absorbed by business that we are practically lost to everything else, are practically slaves to money-getting, and deadened to those influences and enjoyments by which our better nature is developed and the deep places of our heart satisfied? We cannot believe it is.
3. And so, too, when the heart finds care to be a burden that crushes it. God means us to be free from oppression. His promises and requirements and the provisions of His grace all point to that: Come unto Me and I will give you rest, says He, peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, be careful for nothing, take no anxious thought, the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your heart and mind.
II. Consider WHAT OUR LORD SAYS ABOUT THIS STATE. Take heed! He says, take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with care. That is, you may fall into this state unawares, to avoid it needs much watchfulness. Glance at two or three facts which blind us to the perils of a care-burdened heart.
1. For instance, it seems inseparable from duty. The tendency of our time is opposed to calm life, and even to calm pauses in the midst of life. How seldom one sees a really quiet face! Care need not be, that is. Let us not be misled into it with the idea that it is unavoidable, that we cannot perform our proper task and keep our proper place without being oppressed by it. Christs Take heed! means that if we will, for all appearance to the contrary, we may escape the evil.
2. Them, it seems consistent with devotion to Christ. That is another point which makes us think lightly of care--there seems to be no sin in it. But see the company this keeps in the text: Hearts overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares! Surfeiting and drunkenness and cares--these are classed together in the mind of Christ. Then failure in these matters, as much as failure in the other, is to be abhorred as disloyalty to God. Care springs from very evil roots, from unbelief and waywardness and very often from an idolatrous spirit. Therefore let us not go into it or live in it deceived as to its nature, as though it were harmless, but let us shrink from it alarmed at our Lords warning: Take heed!--Take heed lest at any time your heart be overcharged with care.
3. Then, too, it seems the natural result of temperament. That is another fact which blinds us to its evil, for we are apt to excuse certain forms of wrong-doing if we have, as we think, a tendency to them. Let us give up making light of the sin of care because it is natural, and of thinking that because it is natural it is unconquerable. Consider, thirdly,
III. WHAT THIS WORD OF OUR LORD YET FURTHER IMPLIES. The command not under any circumstances to have hearts overcharged with care, is a most solemn assurance that this is possible. We can rise to some measure of it at once, but its full measure is the fruit of spiritual culture. Briefly notice the lines this culture must take.
1. We must train ourselves to undertake nothing but at the bidding of God. Cares are largely due either to a consciousness that we have taken our affairs into our own hands and must be responsible for the result, or to a feeble realization that having obeyed God we are His servants and are thus under His protection. Deliberate obedience is one of the great secrets of peace.
2. And we must train ourselves to commit our cares fearlessly to Him. Many of them are self-imposed, and, as I implied, it will not be easy to lose their burden. We must avoid such.
3. I need only add that we must train ourselves to regard communion with God as our first duty. For that communion is the basis of the faith I speak of. (C. New.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v34 34–36. Take heed to yourselves. The words here, but…
34–36. Take heed to yourselves. The words here, but not the ideas, are peculiar to Luke. See notes on Matt. 24:37–51.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v34 A final warning:
A final warning:
v. 34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
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v. 35. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
v. 36. Watch ye therefore and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
v. 37. And in the daytime He was teaching in the Temple; and at night He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives.
v. 38. And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the Temple for to hear Him.
It is not an easy matter to remain steadfast in the Word and faith under the conditions as pictured here by Christ; in fact, no person could hope to stand firm and brave all dangers to the end. But by following the Lord’s admonition here given, the impossible becomes possible, and we shall be able to stand against all our enemies and against all the temptations of the latter days. We should take heed, watch ourselves very carefully, not permit our flesh and its lusts to gain the ascendancy. We should not weigh down our hearts with the burden of gluttony and drunkenness, for this causes headache and stupidity, and makes the Christian unfit for the battle with the powers of darkness. His heart and mind must be clear as a bell at all times, in order that he may recognize the dangers described in Scriptures and fight them with the weapons suggested by the Lord. But just as dangerous for true Christian watchfulness are the cares of this life, the anxiety and concern for the future which always threatens to fill our hearts and to drive out all trust in the Lord and His gracious providence. Where care becomes supreme, there faith cannot exist, but is invariably suffocated. With such a lack of proper preparation, the coming of the last day will prove a calamity and will catch even those that professed Christianity unawares. For just as a snare falls down over the head of the unsuspecting animal that is not ever on the alert for signs of danger, so will the day of the Lord come upon all those that dwell upon the face of the earth. And therefore the Lord once more, in conclusion, urges watchfulness, tireless vigilance at all times, with unceasing prayer to the Lord, in order that the Christians may be enabled to escape from all the terrible punishments that await the unbelievers and scoffers, and to stand before the Son of Man on that last great day with cheerful trust. This is not a matter of individual worthiness, but of being declared worthy through the blood and merits of Jesus Christ the Savior. "For the godless and unbelievers He will come as a Judge and punish them as His own enemies and those of His Christians. But for the believers and Christians He will come as their Savior. This we should firmly believe and joyfully look forward to His advent, and see to it that we, when He comes, as St. Peter says, be found in faith and holy life and in peace, without spot, and blameless before Him. " Luke adds a final note as to the way in which Jesus spent His last days. All day long He was teaching in the Temple, but night after night He went out and lodged in Bethany, which was on the southeastern slope of Mount Olivet. There was no need of His sleeping in the open air, as some commentators think, for He had His friends in Bethany, but a short distance from the city. However, in the morning He was always in the city betimes; not too soon, however, for the people, for they surged to Him early in the morning, earnestly desiring to hear the Word of Grace from His lips. Note: Many a Christian of our days might learn a lesson from these people that got up unusually early and thronged to the Temple to hear the Lord, whereas many in our days act as though they were conferring a favor upon the Lord by appearing at His house some half hour after service has begun.
Summary.Jesus commends the poor widow for her love in giving her last mite to the Lord, and gives a long discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, with warnings and admonitions that are in full force in our days.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv34, 36 so that your hearts are not burdened
so that your hearts are not burdened
The "heart" here refers to the mind and thoughts of the person. AT: "so that you are not occupied" (See: Metonymy)
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are not burdened
Jesus here speaks of the following sins as if they were a physical weight that a person had to carry. (See: Metaphor)
the effects of drinking
"what drinking too much wine will do to you" or "drunkenness"
the worries of life
"worrying too much about this life"
then that day will close on you suddenly like a trap
Just as a trap closes on an animal when the animal does not expect it, that day will happen when people do not expect it. AT: "that day will happen when you are not expecting it, as when a trap closes suddenly on an animal" (See: Simile)
that day will close on you suddenly
The coming of that day will appear to be sudden and unexpected to those who are not ready and watching for it. AT: "life. For if you are not careful, that day will close on you suddenly" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
that day
This refers to the day when the Messiah returns. AT: "the day when the Son of Man comes"
it will come upon everyone
"it will affect everyone" or "the events of that day will affect everyone"
on the face of the whole earth
The surface of the earth is spoken of as if it was the face of a person. That is, the outward part. AT: "on the surface of the whole earth" or "on the entire earth" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
burden
drunk
snare
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv33, 34, 36 21:33 Heaven and earth will disappear: See study note…
21:33 Heaven and earth will disappear: See study note on 16:17.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.