so wide from the sense and meaning of Malachi as the Greek interpreters, who by a And he shall go before him, &c.— That is, before Jesus Christ, here stiled the Lord their God. "Commentary on Luke 1:17". A.). All rights reserved. Compare, however, the use of the kindred word φρόνιμος in Romans 11:25; Romans 12:16: wise in your own conceits; and the adverb φρονίμως ,wisely, of the unjust steward, Luke 16:8. (1-2) The danger of stumbling another. Turn the hearts of the fathers, &c. The angel applies these words (Malachias iv. Amplified® That the words in To such it is that our Evangelist here refers, and in terms of studied respect, as narratives of what was 'on sure grounds believed among Christians, and drawn up from the testimony of eye-witnesses and ministers of the word.' Elijah, since there are not a few Christians that would be looking for the same thing, Peace is a sounding and imposing term, and, whenever the Papists meet with it in scripture, they eagerly seize upon it for the purpose of raising dislike against us, as if we, who are endeavoring to withdraw the world from its base revolt, and bring it back to Christ, were the authors of divisions. The Hebrew scribes were always accustomed to repeat the verse just before the last in these cases, so as to close the reading with something besides a malediction. Compare Isaiah 63:16, where the people cried ‘Israel (Jacob) does not know us’. Greek. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. See notes on Job 28:28; Job 40:4. In the spirit and power of Elijah. ].” Yes: he was “Emmanuel, God with us,” or, as he is elsewhere called, “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ [Note: Titus 2:13. Nearly to the same purpose is Dr. Doddridge’s paraphrase. Let the antithetic terms be noted, ἀφρόνων and φρονήσει; and the kindred terms כן and ἑτοιμάσαι. That the work of the Son of Sirach is far from a low and common one, its accordance with the angel’s words proves. to pronounce what things are clean or unclean), and to remove afar off, and to bring near (i.e. αὐτοῦ—i.e. Zacharias shall have a son in his old age, who shall be instrumental in the conversion of many souls to God, and preparing them to receive the gospel of Christ. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. 1. Please try again soon. This is the same as "turning the hearts of the children to the fathers," as it is stated in Malachi, meaning that they will repent and again honor the faith of their father Abraham. John was commissioned to fit or mould to Christ a people which, formerly ignorant and uneducated, had never shown a desire to learn. Justice comes almost fiercely forth, and bars the gate of revelation, because children are despised. Prayers of faith are filed in heaven, and are not forgotten. Traditions, to whom God forbid any should be turned to those fathers in the folly of 1897-1910. First, you must be prepared to know your Lord when He comes. 29) in explaining this to mean that John should make the Jews as pious as the Patriarchs were. BibliographyWesley, John. Joseph Benson's Commentary. the great work of the gospel, to bring over the Jew and Gentile into mutual embraces Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children; see note on Malachi 4:6. And when both preparations are complete--a prepared soul, and a prepared heaven--what perfectness! "Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament". 1887. 5 Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the … ), How, and in what sense, was Malachi’s prediction of the Messenger fulfilled in John the Baptist? At the same time she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and under his influence declared that Mary and her expected child were most blessed and happy, as peculiarly honoured of and dear to the Most High God. Click on the different category headings to find out more. John Trapp Complete Commentary. καρδίας πατέρων ἐπὶ τέκνα. Jesus summed it up in Matthew 17:11 by saying John would "restore all things." When God opens our lips, our mouths must show forth his praise; and better be without speech, than not use it in praising God. Rome, and zealots or patriots; and into religious factions, as The Baptist is Elias, as our Saviour was https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/luke-1.html. (2) The diversity which obtains among these Four Gospels is as beautiful a feature of them as their inner harmony. (To walk) in or by wisdom. I.S.V. Surely it is no less so to us: our salvation depends upon it, as well as theirs: and therefore we should all ask ourselves, ‘What think I of Christ? What and if Wisdom come, and find ignorance? This seems to be a clear ascription of the divine title to the Messiah, before whom John was to go. 1675. Compare, “Clarence, whom I indeed have cast in darkness.”, “And let the sounds of music | Creep in our ears.”. ‘The wisdom of the just’ might very much have in mind such words as those of the wisdom books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and also include the words of the prophets. The Greek in Malachi hath it, the "Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges". (5-25) Christ's birth announced. ©2018 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission. prophet, Luke 4:25 (where yet it is said, 'Eliseus the prophet'); nor by St. James 5:17. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. ), 3. Respecting this person, thus solemnly foretold, and thus miraculously born, we shall be led to notice two things; It is in a comparative view that the text requires us to consider this: He came “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” whom he closely resembled—, [The resemblance may be seen in the endowments of their mind [Note: They were both men of eminent piety. “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” No one must stand there who has not learnt to stoop very low. Strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. The costliest jewels will only drift down the current and be lost in the sands, unless somebody goes to crown-making and gathers them carefully up. to St. John the Baptist; telling his father, that he shall convert many of the children of Israel, &c. by bringing them to the knowledge of Christ. v., p. 273. The doctrine of Christ is what the wisest and best of men have ventured their souls upon with confidence and satisfaction.