1 And it came to passe, that as he was praying in a certaine place, when hee ceased, one of his disciples said vnto him, Lord, teach vs to pray, as Iohn also taught his disciples.
2 And hee said vnto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heauen, Halowed be thy Name, Thy kingdome come, Thy will be done as in heauen, so in earth.
3 Giue vs day by day our dayly bread.
4 And forgiue vs our sinnes: for we also forgiue euery one that is indebted to vs. And lead vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill.
5 And he said vnto them, Which of you shall haue a friend, and shall goe vnto him at midnight, and say vnto him, Friend, lend me three loaues.
6 For a friend of mine in his iourney is come to me, and I haue nothing to set before him,
7 And he from within shal answere and say, Trouble mee not, the doore is now shut, and my children are with me in bed: I cannot rise and giue thee.
8 I say vnto you, Though he will not rise, and giue him, because he is his friend: yet because of his importunitie, hee will rise and giue him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say vnto you, Aske, and it shalbe giuen you: seeke, and ye shal find: knocke, and it shalbe opened vnto you.
10 For euery one that asketh, receiueth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shalbe opened.
11 If a sonne shall aske bread of any of you that is a father, will hee giue him a stone? Or if he aske a fish, will he for a fish giue him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall aske an egge, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being euill, know how to giue good gifts vnto your children: how much more shall your heauenly Father giue the holy Spirit to them that aske him?
14 ¶ And he was casting out a deuil, and it was dumbe. And it came to passe, when the deuill was gone out, the dumbe spake: and the people wondred.
15 But some of them said, Hee casteth out deuils through Beelzebub the chiefe of the deuils.
16 And other tempting him, sought of him a signe from heauen.
17 But he knowing their thoughts, said vnto them, Euery kingdome diuided against it selfe, is brought to desolation: and a house diuided against a house, falleth.
18 If Satan also be diuided against himselfe, how shall his kingdom stand? Because yee say that I cast out deuils through Beelzebub.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out deuils, by whom doe your sonnes cast them out? therefore shall they be your iudges.
20 But if I with the finger of God cast out deuils, no doubt the kingdome of God is come vpon you.
21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger then he shal come vpon him, and ouercome him, hee taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and diuideth his spoiles.
23 He that is not with me, is against me: and hee that gathereth not with me, scattereth.
24 When the vncleane spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through drie places, seeking rest: and finding none, he sayth, I will returne vnto my house whence I came out.
25 And when hee commeth, hee findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seuen other spirits more wicked then himselfe, and they enter in, and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse then the first.
27 ¶ And it came to passe as hee spake these things, a certaine woman of the company lift vp her voice, and said vnto him, Blessed is the wombe that bare thee, and the pappes which thou hast sucked.
28 But hee said, Yea, rather blessed are they that heare the word of God, and keepe it.
29 ¶ And when the people were gathered thicke together, hee began to say, This is an euill generation, they seeke a signe, and there shall no signe be giuen it, but the signe of Ionas the Prophet:
30 For as Ionas was a signe vnto the Nineuites, so shall also the Sonne of man be to this generation.
31 The Queene of the South shall rise vp in the iudgement with the men of this generation, & condemne them: for shee came from the vtmost parts of the earth, to heare the wisedome of Solomon: and behold, a greater then Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineue shall rise vp in the iudgement with this generation, and shall condemne it: for they repented at the preaching of Ionas, and behold, a greater then Ionas is here.
33 No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither vnder a bushell, but on a candlesticke, that they which come in may see the light.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light: but when thine eye is euill, thy body also is full of darkenesse.
35 Take heede therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darknesse.
36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, hauing no part darke, the whole shalbe full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doeth giue thee light.
37 ¶ And as he spake, a certaine Pharise besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sate downe to meate.
38 And when the Pharise saw it, he marueiled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39 And the Lord said vnto him, Now doe ye Pharises make cleane the outside of the cup and the platter: but your inward part is full of rauening and wickednesse.
40 Yee fooles, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also?
41 But rather giue almes of such things as you haue: and behold, all things are cleane vnto you.
42 But woe vnto you Pharises: for ye tythe Mint and Rue, and all maner of herbes, and passe ouer iudgement, and the loue of God: these ought yee to haue done, and not to leaue the other vndone.
43 Woe vnto you Pharisees: for ye loue the vppermost seats in the Synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44 Woe vnto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye are as graues which appeare not, and the men that walk ouer them, are not aware of them.
45 ¶ Then answered one of the Lawyers, and said vnto him, Master, thus saying, thou reprochest vs also.
46 And he said, Woe vnto you also ye lawyers: for ye lade men with burdens grieuous to be borne, and ye your selues touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe vnto you: for ye build the sepulchres of the Prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 Truely ye beare witnesse that ye allowe the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and yee build their sepulchres.
49 Therefore also said the wisedome of God, I wil send them Prophets and Apostles, and some of them they shal slay and persecute:
50 That the blood of all the Prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
51 From the blood of Abel vnto the blood of Zacharias, which perished betweene the Altar and the Temple: Uerely I say vnto you, it shall be required of this generation.
52 Woe vnto you Lawyers: for ye haue taken away the key of knowledge: ye entred not in your selues, and them that were entring in, ye hindred.
53 And as he said these things vnto them, the Scribes and the Pharisees began to vrge him vehemently, and to prouoke him to speake of many things:
54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
The disciples taught to pray. (1-4) Christ encourages being earnest in prayer. (5-13) Christ casts out a devil, The blasphemy of the Pharisees. (14-26) True happiness. (27,28) Christ reproves the Jews. (29-36) He reproves the Pharisees. (37-54)1-4 "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ only can teach us, by his word and Spirit, how to pray. Lord, teach me what it is to pray; Lord, stir up and quicken me to the duty; Lord, direct me what to pray for; teach me what I should say. Christ taught them a prayer, much the same that he had given before in his sermon upon the mount. There are some differences in the words of the Lord's prayer in Matthew and in Luke, but they are of no moment. Let us in our requests, both for others and for ourselves, come to our heavenly Father, confiding in his power and goodness.
5-13 Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order to our praying well, but as all spiritual blessings are included in that one. For by the influences of the Holy Spirit we are brought to know God and ourselves, to repent, believe in, and love Christ, and so are made comfortable in this world, and meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenly Father is more ready to bestow on every one that asks for them, than an indulgent parent is to give food to a hungry child. And this is the advantage of the prayer of faith, that it quiets and establishes the heart in God.
14-26 Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of the judgment to come. But observe the wonderful change made in conversion. The conversion of a soul to God, is Christ's victory over the devil and his power in that soul, restoring the soul to its liberty, and recovering his own interest in it and power over it. All the endowments of mind of body are now employed for Christ. Here is the condition of a hypocrite. The house is swept from common sins, by a forced confession, as Pharaoh's; by a feigned contrition, as Ahab's; or by a partial reformation, as Herod's. The house is swept, but it is not washed; the heart is not made holy. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner, the beloved sin, is untouched. The house is garnished with common gifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true grace; it is all paint and varnish, not real nor lasting. It was never given up to Christ, nor dwelt in by the Spirit. Let us take heed of resting in that which a man may have, and yet come short of heaven. The wicked spirits enter in without any difficulty; they are welcomed, and they dwell there; there they work, there they rule. From such an awful state let all earnestly pray to be delivered.
27,28 While the scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed the discourses of our Lord Jesus, this good woman admired them, and the wisdom and power with which he spake. Christ led the woman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege to hear the word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and keep to it as their way and rule.
29-36 Christ promised that there should be one sign more given, even the sign of Jonah the prophet; which in Matthew is explained, as meaning the resurrection of Christ; and he warned them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the constant preacher in any congregation, and worked miracles daily among them, yet unless his grace humbled their hearts, they would not profit by his word. Let us not desire more evidence and fuller teaching than the Lord is pleased to afford us. We should pray without ceasing that our hearts and understandings may be opened, that we may profit by the light we enjoy. And especially take heed that the light which is in us be not darkness; for if our leading principles be wrong, our judgment and practice must become more so.
37-54 We should all look to our hearts, that they may be cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great things of the law and of the gospel, we must not neglect the smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch something out of our mouths, that they may insnare us, O Lord, give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil purposes. Furnish us with such meekness and patience that we may glory in reproaches, for Christ's sake, and that thy Holy Spirit may rest upon us.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.