Luke 10:15

10:15 Capernaum was Jesus’ base of operations during his Galilean ministry; this town saw many of his miracles (see 4:31-41). • to the place of the dead: Though Capernaum was blessed by the Messiah’s presence, it would be judged for its pride and rejection of Jesus.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. To hell.] To hades. See this explained, Mt 11:23.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. And thou, Capernaum) Christ’s “own city.”

exalted to heaven] by inestimable spiritual privileges. “Admitted into a holier sanctuary, they were guilty of a deeper sacrilege.” A better reading is (for ἡ … ὑψωθεῖσα) is μὴ ὑψωθήσῃ; “Shalt thou be exalted to heaven? Thou shalt be thrust down...!”

shalt be thrust dawn to hell) Rather, as far as Hades. When our Lord uttered this woe these cities on the shores of Gennesareth were bright and populous and prospering; now they are desolate heaps of ruins in a miserable land. The inhabitants who lived thirty years longer may have recalled these woes in the unspeakable horrors of slaughter and conflagration which the Romans then inflicted on them.

It is immediately after the celebrated description of the loveliness of the Plain of Gennesareth that Josephus goes on to tell of the shore strewn with wrecks and putrescent bodies, “insomuch that the misery was not only an object of commiseration to the Jews, but even to those that hated them and had been the authors of that misery,” Jos. B. J. III. 10, § 8. For fuller details see my Life of Christ, II. 101 sq.

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.

And thou Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven,.... Referring either to the situation of it, which was on a very high hill; or to its privileges, through the ministry and miracles of Christ; or the phrase may be expressive of the pride and loftiness of the inhabitants of it, who were elated with the mercies they enjoyed, it being a most delightful, pleasant, and comfortable place to live in, as its name signifies. It was a famous port, commodiously situated by the sea of Tiberias; and, as Josephus (f) says, was in an excellent temperament of the air, and watered with a most choice fountain, called by the same name.

Shalt be thrust down into hell; meaning either the low condition to which it was to be, and has been reduced in a temporal sense, and continues in to this day; there being nothing of it now remaining, as travellers, who have been eyewitnesses of it, say (g), but a few little houses and cottages; or else the sad and miserable condition of the inhabitants of it hereafter: and so it is, that such who have lived in great plenty and pleasure in this life, and have thought themselves to be the favourites of heaven, and that they should enter there, shall be thrust down to hell by the arm of vengeance, with the utmost indignation in God, and shame to themselves: it follows in Matthew, "for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day; but I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee".

(f) De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 35. (g) Vid. L'Empereur, Not. in Benj. Itinerar. p. 68.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And thou, Capharnaum, &c. Capharnaum is situated on the western coast of the sea of Tiberias. Christ having left Nazareth, made the former city the usual place of his abode. There was no city in which he had preached so much, or wrought so many miracles. On this account, he said it was exalted to the heavens; but for its incredulity he threatens it shall be cast down even unto hell. (Calmet)

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).

15. Thou, Capernaum—In neither of the awful maledictions upon the incorrigible cities, as reported by different evangelists, does Jesus include Nazareth. The reason assigned for this by commentators, namely, that its inclusion might have been attributed to personal resentment, would apply equally well to either of the cities by whom he was rejected. May we not rather suppose that it was a manifestation of human tenderness for the home of his mother and of his own childhood? Nor has Nazareth so been blotted from existence, like the others, as that its site is doubtful.

The Seventy went their ways, and Jesus proceeded to Jerusalem, where took place the events of the FEAST OF TABERNACLES. Joh_7:14; Joh_10:21. Luke, however, as if to complete the history of the Seventy in one passage, immediately subjoins their return.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. When the Lord came to speak of the woe of Capernaum, his own chosen city, his favourite earthly home, his words grew even more solemn. The simile he uses, "hell," better rendered Hades, is chosen to paint the contrast between the glorious destiny this beautiful lake-city might have chosen, and the tremendous woe which she had voluntarily brought on herself. The present state of the Plain of Gennesaret is indeed so desolate and miserable that we can scarcely picture to ourselves that it was once a populous, crowded district, the blue lake covered with fishing and trading vessels, its shores and the plain inland highly cultivated, a very garden in that part of Asia. Rich towns and thriving villages in that favoured neighbourhood are described by contemporary writers in such glowing terms that we, who are spectators of the dreary and melancholy shores of the Gennesaret lake, are puzzled as we read, and should suspect an exaggeration, only an exaggeration would have been purposeless (see Josephus, "Bell. Jud:," 3:3:2). Some thirty years after the woe had been uttered, in the terrible wars in which Rome avenged herself on the Jewish hatred and scorn, the garden of Gennesaret was changed into a ruin-covered solitude. Joseph"s, who had been dwelling on the loveliness of the place, describes the state of the shore strewn with wrecks and putrefying bodies, "insomuch that the misery was not only an object of commiseration to the Jews, but even to these that hated them and had been the authors of that misery" ("Bell. Jud:," 3:10:8; and see Dr. Farrar"s" Life of Christ," 2:101).

The largeness of our life.

Jesus Christ is sending his disciples, two and two, to prepare his way; it is certain that by some towns and villages they will be well received, and equally certain that by others they will be repelled. He tells them that those who received them would be doing more and better than barely receiving them, they would be entertaining him; but those who rejected them would do more and worse than repulsing them, they would be despising him, nay, even the Father himself. That there is more in our acts, and so in our lives, than appears on the surface was a frequent doctrine of our Lord. In his first sermon he intimated that those who cherished a causeless anger or spoke a contemptuous word against their brethren were guilty of a very serious offense in the sight of God; and so also they who imagined themselves chargeable with nothing more than a hasty word. (see Mat_5:22, Mat_5:34-36) He told his disciples that that "poor widow" was making a very much larger offering than the rest a much greater one, we may be sure, than she herself suspected. (Luk_21:1-4; see also Luk_23:34) Christ saw more in men"s actions, both for good and evil, than they saw themselves at the time. It is the wisdom of the wise to recognize much in words and deeds, in decisions and in actions, which seem small to those that do them. Our human life is larger than we think as we live it; its several actions have more seriousness in the sight of God, and from our life greater issues will proceed than any we can estimate. This main underlying principle will apply to

I THE MESSENGERS AND THE MESSAGES THAT COME TO US FROM JESUS CHRIST. There may come to speak to us concerning the habits or the purpose of our life, or the character we are forming, or the good we are doing or leaving undone, or the prospects that are before us, some messenger that appears in very humble form, not delegated by any high authority, not sustained by any learning, not armed with any eloquence; there may be nothing more about the outward spokesman than a plain or even a blunt man, nothing better about the form of the message than a periodical which has no worth in the market at all; and yet the message which comes through that very common, through that vulgar medium, may come from above, may come from Christ himself, to warn or to arrest us, to lead us out of the dark shadows we were entering, into the path of life. And in repelling that message we should be rejecting the very truth of God; in accepting and heeding it we should be welcoming our Lord himself, and taking his Divine influences into our soul. This principle of the greater value and seriousness of our life finds an illustration in

II THE STUDIES OF YOUNGER DAYS. They who have to go through the daily task in the school or home see nothing more in their work than the laborious gratification of their teacher. But there is much more in it than that. There is obedience to parents; there is the consequent pleasing of God, and the reward of filial behavior; there is the serving and honoring of Jesus Christ by diligence and dutifulness, by doing the right thing as in his presence and as unto him; there is the mental and moral growth which prepares for an honorable and useful manhood. Life at home or at school, in our earlier days, is really a larger thing, with larger and greater issues, than it seems to be at the time. The same is true of .

III STRUGGLES FOR HONOURABLE MAINTENANCE. The Christian man who thinks he is doing nothing more than "paying his way," is or may be doing a very great deal more than that. He is illustrating in his sphere the very principles which the Lord himself taught and lived when he was here; he is translating godliness, Christliness, into busy human life; he is preparing for some broader sphere in that higher kingdom where, if not before, he that has been found faithful in that which is least will be proved to be faithful in much. We not only speak in the spirit and strain of our Lord"s words, but we pursue the same subject when we refer to

IV ENDEAVOURS TO SERVE OUR FELLOW-MEN; and this, whether in the way of common philanthropy, or of distinctively religious service. Do we ask of those whom we find in the school, or the mission-room, or the church, "What are you doing here?" And do they reply, "We are only teaching some children, only feeding some poor people, only trying to gather some wanderers into the fold"? Then shall we reply to them, and say, "Nay, but you are doing much more than that: you are serving them; and you are rendering the very highest service you can to yourselves, for you are sowing seed of which you shall one day reap a glorious harvest of joy and power; and you are also serving your Savior, and that in a way in which he most delights to be served. He is saying to you, "If you had eyes to see, you would recognize me in those pinched faces and ill-clad forms; if you had ears to hear, you would recognize my voice in those plaintive tones; it is my need that you are supplying, it is my heart that you are gladdening: inasmuch as you are carrying succor, strength, hope, life, to one of the least of these, you are doing it unto me. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ; אBDL, La[213] Ti[214] W.H[215]

[213] La. Lachmann.

[214] Ti. Tischendorf.

[215] W.H. Westcott and Hort.

15. καὶ σὺ Καφαρναούμ. Christ’s “own city.”

μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ; Shalt thou be exalted by inestimable spiritual privileges? “Admitted into a holier sanctuary, they were guilty of a deeper sacrilege.” A better reading (for ἡ … ὑψωθεῖσα) is μὴ ὑψωθήσῃ; “Shalt thou be exalted to heaven? Thou shalt be thrust down …!” It must however be admitted that μὴ may have originated by homoeteleuton from the final μ of Capernaum.

ἕως ᾅδου καταβιβασθήσῃ. Thou shalt be thrust down as far as Hades. The curse must be understood in a general and national sense. The bright little town on the hill by the lake with its marble synagogues doubtless expected to be the prosperous capital of Galilee. Its fate was far different. When our Lord uttered this woe these cities on the shores of Gennesareth were populous and prospering; now they are desolate heaps of ruins in a miserable land. The inhabitants who lived thirty years longer may have recalled these woes in the unspeakable horrors of slaughter and conflagration which the Romans then inflicted on them. It is immediately after the celebrated description of the loveliness of the Plain of Gennesareth that Josephus goes on to tell of the shore strewn with wrecks and putrescent bodies, “insomuch that the misery was not only an object of commiseration to the Jews, but even to those that hated them and had been the authors of that misery,” Jos. B.J. III. 10, § 8. For fuller details see my Life of Christ, II. 101 sq.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ; “Shalt thou be exalted as far as heaven? Thou shalt be thrust down as far as Hades.” Both here and Mat 11:23 the reading ἡ … ὑψωθεῖσα is found in many authorities; but the evidence against it (א B D L Ξ) is conclusive. Godet supports it as being parfaitsment Claire et simple; which is the explanation of the corruption. There is less certainty as to whether καταβήσῃ, which is probably right in Mt., is right here (B D): καταβιβασθήσῃ is well supported. In Eze 31:16, Eze 31:17 we have both κατεβίβαζον εἰς ᾅδου and κατέβησαν εἰς ᾅδου. Heaven and Hades (not Gehenna) here stand for height of glory and depth of shame (Isa 14:13-15). The desolation of the whole neighbourhood, and the difficulty of identifying even the sites of these flourishing towns, is part of the fulfilment of this prophecy. See Jos. B. J. iii. 10, 9; Farrar, Life of Christ, ii. 101; Tristram, Bible Places, 267; Renan, L’Antechrist, p. 277.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which are exalted to heaven. For hJ, the article, rendered which, the best texts give mh, the interrogative particle; and for the participle having been exalted, the future shalt be exalted. Render, as Rev., Shalt thou be exalted, etc. ?

Hell. Rev., Hades. See on Mt 16:18.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.