Luke 21:15

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) I will give you a mouth and wisdom.—The promise, even in its form, reminds us of that given to Moses when he drew back from the task of uttering God’s message to His people (Exodus 4:15-16). The inward faculty of thought, the outward power of uttering thought in words, should both be given. The words are not without their importance as bearing on the supposed distinction between verbal inspiration and that which is confined to thoughts. So far as it goes, it is against that distinction. And indeed, useful as it may seem in theory, as meeting some of the difficulties, real or supposed, which attach to the theory of verbal inspiration, it seems clear, even on purely psychological grounds, that, as men think through the medium of language, the inspiration which extends to thoughts must extend also, and under the same laws and conditions, to the words in which they are expressed. What those laws and conditions are is a wider question, on which this is not the place to enter. The answer is to be found in a reverential and careful induction from the facts which the phenomena of inspiration present to us.

Adversaries.—Another favourite word of St. Paul’s (1Corinthians 16:9; Philippians 1:28, et al.), and used by no other writer in the New Testament except St. Luke.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:5-28 With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the great desolation should be. He answers with clearness and fulness, as far as was necessary to teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common in gospel times, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work, notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you, and own you, and assist you. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance. Though we may be losers for Christ, we shall not, we cannot be losers by him, in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especially in perilous, trying times, to secure the safety of our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep possession of our own souls, and keep out all those impressions which would put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old Testament prophecies, which, together with their great object, embrace, or glance at some nearer object of importance to the church. Having given an idea of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come, Christ shows what all those things would end in, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter dispersion of the Jewish nation; which would be a type and figure of Christ's second coming. The scattered Jews around us preach the truth of Christianity; and prove, that though heaven and earth shall pass away, the words of Jesus shall not pass away. They also remind us to pray for those times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shall any longer be trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroy the Jews, he came to redeem the Christians that were persecuted and oppressed by them; and then had the churches rest. When he comes to judge the world, he will redeem all that are his from their troubles. So fully did the Divine judgements come upon the Jews, that their city is set as an example before us, to show that sins will not pass unpunished; and that the terrors of the Lord, and his threatenings against impenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true, and his wrath great upon Jerusalem.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A mouth - Eloquence, ability to speak as the case may demand. Compare Exodus 4:11.

Gainsay - Speak against. They will not be able to "reply" to it, or to "resist" the force of what you shall say.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

13. for a testimony—an opportunity of bearing testimony.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 15. See Poole on "Luke 21:14"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For I will give you a mouth,.... A faculty of speaking, a freedom of expression, a door of utterance, a good degree of elocution, to speak properly, pertinently and freely to any point:

and wisdom; to answer with great propriety, and in the most prudent manner, to any difficult and ensnaring question; and to furnish with such knowledge of the Gospel, and with such gifts and abilities to preach and defend it, that they should be able to give a clear and distinct account of it, and prove every point in it, by the most strong and convincing arguments, and vindicate it against all objections:

which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist. This was remarkably fulfilled in Peter, and John, and in Stephen, Acts 4:13. The first word, "gainsay", is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions.

Geneva Study Bible

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Luke 21:15. ἐγὼ, I, emphatic, the exalted Lord, instead of “the Holy Spirit” in Mk. and “the Spirit of the Father” in Matthew 10:20. The substitution bears witness to the inspiring effect of the thought of the Lord Jesus ruling in heaven on the minds of Christians enduring tribulation, at the time when Lk. wrote.—στόμα, a mouth = utterance.—σοφίαν: the wisest thing to say in the actual situation.—ἀντιστῆναι refers to στόμα, and ἀντειπεῖν to σοφίαν = “They will not be able to gainsay your speech nor to resist your wisdom” (Farrar, C. G. T.).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. I will give you a mouth] as in Exodus 4:11-12; Jeremiah 1:9; Isaiah 6:6. God, as Milton says, ‘sendeth forth His cherubim with the hallowed fire of His altar to touch the lips of whom He will.’

shall not be able to gainsay] See Acts 4:14; Acts 6:1 o.

Bengel's Gnomen

Luke 21:15. Ἐγὼ, I) In Matthew 10:20, this is attributed to “the Spirit of the Father;” whereas now Jesus speaks in accordance with His state in His exaltation.—δώσω, I will give) being always most immediately present with you.—στόμα, a mouth) Refer to this presently after the word ἀντειπεῖν, to gainsay. Often speech was given to the martyrs, even after their tongue had been cut out, in Africa, Belgium, etc. See Wits. Misc. T. 2, p. 901, et seqq. [Also comp. Casp. Sagittarii de martyrum cruciatibus, Ed. ii., 1696, p. 285, seqq. Add the observations made on Mark 16:17.—E. B.]—σοφἰαν, a wisdom) To this refer presently after the word ἀντιστῆναι, to resist. Wisdom is power.—ἀντικείμενοι, the adversaries) It is easy to act as adversaries of believers; it is not easy to gainsay or resist them.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Instances of the splendid fulfillment of this promise are supplied in the "Acts" report of St. Stephen's speech (7.), and St. Paul's defense spoken before the Roman governor Felix (25.) and before King Agrippa (26.). Luke 21:15