Luk 22:24-30 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 24 There was also a strife among them - There are two different instances of this sort of contention or strife mentioned by the evangelists, each of which was accompanied with very different circumstances; one by Matthew, in , etc., by Mark, , etc.; and by Luke, in , etc. That contention cannot have been the same with this which is mentioned here. The other, related in , etc., and , etc., must be what Luke intended here to record; and this strife or contention was occasioned by the request which Zebedee's wife made to our Lord in favor of her sons, James and John; but, then, Luke has mentioned this very much out of the order of time, it having happened while our Lord and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem: ; . See Bp. Pearce.

Luke 22:24-30

Verse 24

There was also a strife among them - There are two different instances of this sort of contention or strife mentioned by the evangelists, each of which was accompanied with very different circumstances; one by Matthew, in Mat 18:1, etc., by Mark, Mar 9:33, etc.; and by Luke, in Luk 9:46, etc. That contention cannot have been the same with this which is mentioned here. The other, related in Mat 20:20, etc., and Mar 10:35, etc., must be what Luke intended here to record; and this strife or contention was occasioned by the request which Zebedee's wife made to our Lord in favor of her sons, James and John; but, then, Luke has mentioned this very much out of the order of time, it having happened while our Lord and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem: Mat 20:17; Mar 10:32. See Bp. Pearce. Verse 25

Are called benefactors - The very Greek word used by the evangelist, ευεργεται, was the surname of some of the Ptolemies of Egypt; Ptolemy Euergetes, i.e. the Benefactor. It was a custom among the ancient Romans to distribute part of the lands which they had conquered on the frontiers of the empire to their soldiers; those who enjoyed such lands were called beneficiarii, beneficed persons; and the lands themselves were termed beneficia, benefices, as being held on the beneficence of the sovereign; and it is no wonder that such sovereigns, however tyrannical or oppressive they might have been in other respects, were termed benefactors by those who were thus dependent on their bounty. Verse 26

Let him be as the younger - Dr. Lightfoot justly conjectures that Peter was the eldest of all the disciples; and he supposes that the strife was kindled between him and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. These three disciples were those whom Christ had distinguished by peculiar marks of his favor; and therefore it is natural to conclude that the strife lay between these three, the two brothers and Peter. Shall we or Peter be at the head? Neither, says our Lord. Let him, Peter, who is chief (ὁ μειζων, the eldest) among you, be as, John, ὁ νεωτερος, the younger. The younger part of the disciples do not appear to have taken any part in this contention; and our Lord shows Peter, and the sons of Zebedee, that they must be as unambitious as the younger in order to be acknowledged as his disciples. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Peter was the mover of this strife, and therefore our Lord rebukes him by name. Verse 29

I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me - The Codex Alexandrinus, with some other MSS., the later Syriac, and Origen, read in the first clause, διαθηκην, a covenant. I appoint unto you a Covenant, as my Father hath appointed unto me a kingdom: - Ye shall be ministers of the new covenant, as I am king in that spiritual kingdom to which it relates. This is a curious reading: but our Lord is probably to be understood as promising that they should get a kingdom - a state of blessedness, as he should get it - they must go through much tribulation in order to enter into the kingdom of God. So the Son of man suffered that he might enter into his glory: for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, and despised the shame, and is set down on the right hand of God. Verse 30

Sit on thrones - See on Mat 19:28 (note). Marcion left the whole of this verse out, according to Epiphanius: probably because he did not understand it.