Luke 13:29
in Luke 13People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
KJV
And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
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This verse in Luke 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThey shall come - That is, the Gentiles, in every part of the world, shall receive the Gospel of the grace of God, when the Jews shall have rejected it.
This site's exposition
weeping and gnashing of teeth
on Luke 13:28-29
The grief of weeping and gnashing of teeth is sharper for seeing Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets inside the kingdom. The nations come from every quarter to sit with the patriarchs, as in Isaiah's picture of the nations coming to Zion.
This site's exposition
People will come from east and west and north and south
Theophylact notes how hard it was for the hearers to hear that Gentiles would recline with Abraham while they were thrown out. Bonaventure reads east, west, north and south as every nation gathered into the kingdom of God. Isaiah 49:12 pictures the same gathering.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The shepherds therefore come from nearby to see, and the Magi come from afar to worship. This is the humility by which the wild olive tree deserved to be grafted into the olive tree, and to produce an olive against nature; because it deserved to change nature through grace. For when the world was becoming entirely wild and bitter with this wild olive, it shined forth, having been made rich through the grace of grafting. For they come from the ends of the earth, according to Jeremiah, saying: Truly our fathers have worshipped lies. And they come, not from one part of the world, but as the Gospel according to Luke says, from the East, and from the West, from the North and the South, who will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the whole world is called from the four corners into faith by the grace of the Trinity.
(Serm. 111.) Now our Lord in no wise contradicts Himself when He says, that there are few who enter in at the strait gate, and elsewhere, Many shall come from the east and the west; (Matt. 8:11.) for there are few in comparison with those who are lost, many when united with the angels. Scarcely do they seem a grain when the threshing floor is swept, but so great a mass will come forth from this floor, that it will fill the granary of heaven.
Behold, therefore, the things which are foretold in a mystery are fulfilled. But whereas He said also, 'Many shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and shall recline in the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob;' this …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Secondly, as to the consideration of the glorification of others, he adds: And they shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, that is, from the universality of the nations gathered from every part of the world. For when …
For it was especially unpleasant for the Jews to hear that others, from among the Gentiles, would recline with Abraham and (other) forefathers (of theirs), while they themselves would be cast out.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they shall come,.... From all parts the world, from every nation under the heavens; meaning the Gentiles, and which will be a greater aggravation of the punishment of the Jews, and cause still more rage and madness: these shall come from the east and from the west; from the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, Isa 45:6 and from the north, and from the south; from the most distant parts of the world inhabited by men; see Isa 43:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We see in these verses — a remarkable question asked. We are told that a certain man said to Jesus, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" We do not know who this enquirer was. He may have been a self-righteous Jew, trained to believe that there was no hope for the Gentile, and no salvation for any but the children of Abraham. He may have been an idle trifler with religion, who was ever wasting his time on curious and speculative questions. In any case, we must all feel that he asked a question of deep and momentous importance . He who desires to know the number of the saved, in the present time — need only turn to the Bible, and his curiosity will be satisfied. He will read these solemn words in the Sermon on the Mount, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leads unto life — and few there are who find it." (Matthew 7:14.) He has only to look around him, and compare the ways of the many with the Word of God — and he will soon come to the conclusion, if he is an honest man — that the saved are few. It is a dreadful conclusion. Our souls naturally turn away from it. But Scripture and facts alike, combine to shut us up to it. Salvation to the uttermost, is offered to men. All things are ready on God's part. Christ is willing to receive sinners — but sinners are not willing to come to Christ. And hence few are saved. We see, secondly, in these verses — a striking exhortation given. We are told that when our Lord Jesus Christ was asked whether few would be saved, He said, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate." He addressed these words to the whole company of His hearers. He thought it unwise to gratify the curiosity of his questioner by a direct reply. He chose rather to press home on him, and all around him — their own immediate duty. In minding their own souls — they would soon find the question answered.
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἥξουσιν | hexousin | they will come | G2240 → | 26 times |
| ἀπὸ | apo | from | G575 → | 640 times |
| ἀνατολῶν | anatolon | east | G395 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| δυσμῶν | dusmon | west | G1424 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀπὸ | apo | from | G575 → | 640 times |
| βορρᾶ | borra | north | G1005 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νότου | notou | south | G3558 → | 7 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀνακλιθήσονται | anaklithesontai | will recline | G347 → | 6 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῇ | tea | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βασιλείᾳ | basileia | kingdom | G932 → | 162 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεοῦ. | theou | of God. | G2316 → | 1312 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἥξουσινthey will come
hexousinG2240 →26 times
ἀπὸfrom
apoG575 →640 times
ἀνατολῶνeast
anatolonG395 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
δυσμῶνwest
dusmonG1424 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀπὸfrom
apoG575 →640 times
βορρᾶnorth
borraG1005 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νότουsouth
notouG3558 →7 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀνακλιθήσονταιwill recline
anaklithesontaiG347 →6 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῇthe
teaG3588 →19766 times
βασιλείᾳkingdom
basileiaG932 →162 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
θεοῦ.of God.
theouG2316 →1312 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 49:6He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light…
it leads to
- Acts 13:47
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
- Isaiah 42:6
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Luke 2:32
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”
- Psalms 98:2–3
The LORD has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
- Isaiah 52:10
The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
- Acts 13:47
Through
Malachi 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:6
so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Isaiah 45:6
Through
Isaiah 43:6I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:17–18
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:17–18
Where this verse is studied
About Luke
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Luke; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 203; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 13; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Pseudo-Clement, Recognitions (Book IV) and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.