But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
We have in these verses, I. The application that was made to Christ, very unseasonably, by one of his hearers, desiring him to interpose between him and his brother in a matter that concerned the estate of the family (Luk 12:13): "Master, speak to my brother; speak as a prophet, speak as a king, speak with authority; he is one that will have regard to...
Commenting on Luke 12:13-21
And he said unto him, man,.... Or "friend", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, Jesus said to him, as the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions express it: who made me a judge, or a divider over you? referring to the words of one of the Hebrews to Moses, when he interposed in a difference, Exo 2:14 suggesting, that the same might be retorted...
Verse 14. Who made me a judge? It is not my business to settle controversies of this kind. They are to be settled by the magistrate. Jesus came for another purpose--to preach the gospel, and so to bring men to a willingness to do right. Civil affairs are to be left to the magistrate.