Luke 6:7

Luk_6:7

And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him

The wily watchers of the good

I.

THEY ARE EVER ON THE OUTLOOK FOB AN APPARENT BREACH OF SOME CONVENTIONAL LAW.

1. These men are cunning.

2. They are diligent.

3. They are malicious.

II. THEIR GREAT DESIRE IS TO SLANDER THOSE WHOM THEY WATCH.

III. THEY ARE NOT TO BE ALLOWED TO INTERRUPT THE DUTY OF THE GOOD. Lessons:

1. Never be set by Satan to watch the conduct of the good to find defects.

2. Seek to find all the good in men you can.

3. Think of the heavenly watchers of the good. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Unsabbatical

The Pharisees are looking with keen hungry eyes upon One whom they have marked as their victim. To cherish these feelings, to be plotting murder, was not in their judgment at all unsabbatical. Their reverence for the law of God led them, so they believed, into this state of mind. (F. D. Maurice.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 6:7 . παρετηροῦντο , they kept watching, in a sly, furtive manner, ex obliquo et occulto , Bengel on Mk. εἰ θεραπεύει , whether He is going to heal, if that is to be the way of it.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

WITHERED HAND HEALED. (Luk 6:6-11)

watched whether, &c.--In Matthew (Mat 12:9) this is put as an ensnaring question of theirs to our Lord, who accordingly speaks to the state of their hearts (Luk 6:9), just as if they had spoken it out.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Watched him] Παρετηρουν αυτον, They maliciously watched him. This is the import of the word, Lu 14:1; Lu 20:20, and in the parallel place, Mr 3:2. See Raphelius on the last-quoted text, who has proved, by several quotations, that this is the proper meaning of the term.

An accusation against him.] Instead of κατηγοριαν αυτον, his accusation, several eminent MSS. and versions add κατα, against, which I find our translators have adopted.

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

(7) The scribes and Pharisees watched him.—Better, were watching.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. the scribes and Pharisees watched him] Luk_20:20. The followers of Shammai, at that epoch the most powerful of the Pharisaic Schools, were so strict about the Sabbath, that they held it a violation of the Law to tend the sick, or even to console them on that day. Hence what the Pharisees were waiting to see was whether He was going to side with them in their Sabbatic views, or with the more lax Sadducees, whom the people detested. If he did the latter, they thought that they could ruin the popularity of the Great Prophet. But in this, as in every other instance, (1) our Lord absolutely refuses to be guided by the popular orthodoxy of the hour, however tyrannous and ostensibly deduced from Scripture; and (2) ignores every consideration of party in order to appeal to principles.

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.

But he knew their thoughts,.... Being the omniscient God; though they had said nothing of their intentions, he knew what they designed, should he heal the man with his withered hand, as they expected he would:

and said to the man which had the withered hand, rise up, and stand forth in the midst. The Syriac and Persic versions add, "of the synagogue", and which is the true sense; See Gill on Mar 3:3.

and he arose and stood forth; he rose up from his seat, and stood up in the midst of the synagogue, and of the people, that he might be seen of all.

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

And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. The Pharisee emissaries from the capital were carefully watching him. The Master was perfectly aware of their presence, and well knew the spirit in which they listened to his words and marked his acts, and on this sabbath day he was evidently determined to let them see clearly what was in his mind respecting the present state of Jewish religious training.

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

7. παρετηροῦντο δέ. See Luk 20:20. The verb implies that they watched, ex obliquo et occulto (Bengel). The followers of Shammai, at that epoch the most powerful of the Pharisaic Schools, were so strict about the Sabbath, that they held it a violation of the Law to tend the sick, or even to console them on that day. (Shabbath, 12. 1.) Hence what the Pharisees were waiting to see was whether He was going to side with them in their Sabbatic views, or with the more lax Sadducees, whom the people detested. If He did the latter, they thought that they could ruin the popularity of the Great Prophet. But in this, as in every other instance, (1) our Lord absolutely refuses to be guided by the popular orthodoxy of the hour, however tyrannous and ostensibly deduced from Scripture; and (2) ignores every consideration of party in order to appeal to principles.

εἰ θεραπεύει, ‘whether He intends to heal.’ The present being a continuous or imperfect tense often implies an intention or an attempt (conatus rei perficiendae) as here, ‘whether He is for healing.’ Comp. Joh 5:32, λιθάζετέ με; Do ye mean to stone me? Joh 13:6, σὺ μοῦ νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας; Dost Thou mean to wash my feet? See Winer, p. 332. The other reading, θεραπεύσει, is a more commonplace idiom.

ἵνα εὕρωσιν. According to the ordinary law of the sequence of tenses the word here should have been the optative, “They watched him that they might find.” No doubt the subj. is sometimes substituted for the optative, even by classical writers, to make the narrative more picturesque (πρὸ ὀμμάτων ποιεῖν). In Hellenistic writers however the rule of the sequence of tenses is constantly violated, because of the gradual obsolescence of the optative, which was chiefly used in literary language. See Winer, p. 360.

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.

7. παρετηροῦντο δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ φαρισαῖοι. Lk. alone tells us who the spies were. Mt. puts their inquisitiveness into words, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” The verb signifies “watch narrowly,” esp. with sinister intent, perhaps from looking sideways out of the corner of one’s eyes, ex obliquo et occulto. As in Gal 4:10, the mid. gives the idea of interested observance. Mk. has παρετήρουν: comp. 20:20; Sus. 12, 15, 16; Polyb. xvii. 3. 2; Aris. Rhet. ii. 6, 20; Top. vii. 11, 1.

εἰ ἐν τῷ σαββάτῳ θεραπεύει. The present has reference to His habitual practice, of which His conduct on this occasion would be evidence. But א B with other authorities read θεραπεύσει, which is probably genuine in Mar 3:2, and may be genuine here. The future would limit the question to the case before them.

ἵνα εὕρωσιν κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ. According to what is probably the invariable rule in N.T. we have the subj. in spite of the past tense on which the final clause is dependent. The opt. for this purpose is obsolete; for γνοῖ (Mar 9:30) and similar forms are probably meant to be subj. Simcox, Lang,. of N.T. p. 107.

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

They watched [παρετηρουντο] . Imperfect. They kept watching. See on Mr 3:2.

He would heal [θεραπευσει] . So Rev. Some authorities, however, read qerapeuei, "whether he is healing." This may mean either "whether it is his habit to heal," which is far - fetched, or "whether he is actually healing."

Find. Peculiar to Luke, and emphasizing the eagerness of the Pharisees to discover a ground of accusation.

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