Luke 13:26

26 Then ye shall begin to say, We have eaten before thee and drunk [We have eaten and drunk before thee], and in our streets thou hast taught.

Luke 13:26 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 13:26

Then shall ye begin to say
Or ye shall say; in favour of themselves, and in order to be admitted within, the following pleas will be made by them:

we have eaten and drank in thy presence:
which may be understood both literally of many, who were miraculously led by Christ, or at whose tables he had ate and drank, and they with him; as did not only publicans and sinners, but some of the Pharisees, who invited him to their houses; and in a religious sense, of many who eat of the legal sacrifices; and of others, who eat the bread, and drink the wine at the Lord's table; all which will be insufficient to introduce men into the kingdom and glory of Christ: natural relation to Christ, which the Jews may claim, being born of them, and personal acquaintance with him, and a bare profession of him, will be of no avail another day:

and thou hast taught in our streets;
in the streets of many cities in Galilee and Judea: it was customary with the Jewish doctors to teach in the streets:

``says Rabba, behold I am as Ben Azzai, in the streets of Tiberias ^F1;''

the gloss upon it is,

``who was (yqwvb vrwd) , "expounding in the streets of Tiberias."''

And it is said ^F2 of Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai,

``that he was sitting in the shade of the temple, and expounding all the whole day;''

the gloss on the place is,

``the temple being an hundred cubits high, its shade went very far "in the street", which is before the mountain of the house; and because "the street" was large, and held abundance of men, he was expounding there by reason of the heat, for no school could hold them:''

and it is also said of R. Chija ^F3, that

``he went out and taught his brother's two sons, (qwvb) , "in the street".''

So that what our Lord did, was no other than what was usual with their doctors; nor is this contrary to what is said in (See Gill on Matthew 12:19): this is also a fruitless plea and which will be of no service; it will signify nothing, to have heard Christ preached, or Christ himself preach, unless there is faith in him, which works by love; for not hearers of the word only, but doers of it are regarded.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 T. Bab. Erubin, fol. 29. 1.
F2 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 26. 1.
F3 T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 16. 2.

Luke 13:26 In-Context

24 Strive ye to enter by the strait gate; for I say to you, many seek to enter [in], and they shall not be able.

25 For when the husbandman is entered, and the door is closed [Forsooth when the husbandman hath entered and closed the door], ye shall begin to stand withoutforth, and knock at the door, and say [saying], Lord, open to us. And he shall answer, and say to you, I know you not, of whence ye be.

26 Then ye shall begin to say, We have eaten before thee and drunk [We have eaten and drunk before thee], and in our streets thou hast taught.

27 And he shall say to you, I know you not, of whence ye be; go away from me, all ye workers of wickedness.

28 There shall be weeping and grinding of teeth [There shall be weeping and beating together of teeth], when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God; and you to be put out.