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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

OBITUARY. ,'
KEV. CHARLES H. HALL, D. D. '42.
Rev. Charles H. Hall, D. D., '42. died
| at his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., on
I September 12. Dr. Hall was born in
', Augusta, Ga... in, 1820. He;, prepared
j for college at Andover and graduated
at Yale in 1842. After graduation he
' took a course in the General Theologi-
| cal seminary in New York, and in 1845
i-Avas ordained to the ministry of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, at Fair
Haven, Conn, He was successively
rector of St. John's Church, at Hunting
don, L. I., Of the Church of the Holy
' Innocents, at West Point, N: Y., and
! chaplain of the U. S. Military Academy
! in the same place. After two years
1 at West Point he was called to St.
John's Church on John's Island, S. C,
^ from which .place he went to the
Church of the Epithany in Washington.
' Thirteen years later he (became rector
< of Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn.
^.Dr. Hall became the leading rector of
lite diocese, ranking next to the, Bishop,
and was Chancellor of the Cathedral.
i at Garden City. He was a Civil Ser
vice Commissioner during the adminis
tration of Mayor Chapin, and at one
time was Chaplain of the 23d regi
ment. N. Y. S. N. G.

OK

NOTES,
PRACTICAL AND ^J&3?"
ft
0/^HE GOSPELS:
7
FOK THB USE OF

BIBLE CLASSES, SUNDAY SCHOOL TEAOHEKS, CATEOHISTS,
AND OTHER PIOUS LAYMEN.

"Vdrbum Doi est Christus, Qui non solum sonis, sed etiam faotis loquitur hominibus."
St. Augustine.

BY
Rev. CHARLES H. HALL.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL I.

NEW" YOKK :
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 346 & 348 BROADWAY.
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.
aiDCCCLvn.

Entebed according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856,
By D. APPLETON & CO.,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern
District of New York.

INTEODUCTION

NEW TESTAMENT.

The title of New Testament, by which the collection of writings
now reverenced as the Christian Scriptures, is known, was given at
an early period. It first occurs in a work of the learned Catechist
of Alexandria, Origen, who lived in the third century. Since that
period it has passed into general use. It is a title dear to us now
for its ancient and universal use, and well adapted to express the real
character of these sacred writings. Though not given by divine
authority, it is justified by many passages of Scripture (Matt. xxvi.
28 ; Gal. iii. 17 ; Heb. viii. 8 ; ix. 15 — 20). St. Paul, in particu
lar, terms the sacred Gospel containing the promises and pledges of
salvation by the same words in Greek, though it is translated in
his epistles by the corresponding name — The New Covenant.
These writings contain the Gospel as it was finally delivered in
writing by the inspired authors. It is a Testament, that is, a will
and holy bequest, sealed by the blood of the Testator, left by Him
to all believers who in filial love and faith seek to walk in His steps ;
bequeathing to them the blessed inheritance of the saints, a life of
peace here, a title to a better country, " that is an heavenly," here
after. It is a Covenant, ratified by the Redeemer of mankind,
binding all that believe in Him to holy, constant obedience to His
commands ; binding Him to aid them in their pious designs, to
reward them for their constancy. It is New, as opposed to that
older covenant which opened the way for it, and then waxed old and
vanished away, to make room for it : new, in that it never waxes
old, never fails to raise in the generations of believers the same
strong faith, the same immortal hope and love, that actuated its ear
liest followers. What words, then, can give to the Christian a better
idea of this divine volume ? While he calls the whole canon of
Scripture, with pious fondness, the Bible, that is, the one Book, let

4 INTRODUCTION.
him know that this holy portion of it bears comfort in its very title,
of the New Testament of his dear and dying Lord.
The New Testament is a collection of inspired writings, which
contain " all things necessary to salvation." It is divided into
four great divisions. The Gospels — the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles — the Epistles, and the volume of Revelation. There
are twenty-seven treatises on various occasions and subjects, by eight
different authors. The Gospels are independent narratives of the
Life of Christ. The Acts relate the various wonderful events
which attended the organization of the Church of Christ after the
great Christian era of the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
The Epistles were written by St. Paul, St. James, St. Peter, St.
John, and St. Jude, on such subjects of importance as occurred in
the space of their busy and stormy lives, to guide the faith of the
first believers, and to be the future infallible standard of doctrine
to the whole Church. The Revelation is a prophecy, written in a
troubled time, to animate the Christians by a view of the advance and
final glory of the Gospel dispensation. All are written simply as if
the writer had no other intention than such as appears upon the
surface ; to cheer this and that particular church or class of Chris
tians. Yet all were inspired by the Holy Spirit, who guarded and
guided the minds of the authors, so that, without error or defect,
they have given to the holy Catholic Church of all ages a volume
perfect in its kind, and adapted to all the wants of penitent and
faithful men. The whole Christian world professes to yield to its
authority, and to be guided in all things by its plain assertions. In
other languages, amid other customs, climates, and far different races
than those of its authors, it holds undisputed sway. The polished
nations of Europe— the wild tribes of Asia — the colonies of Africa
and the islanders of the Pacific, all reverence the words of the
unlearned fishermen of Galilee, and the scholar of Gamaliel.
Learned authors have adduced many arguments to prove the
truth and authenticity of these writings. It will be possible only
to recapitulate the heads of a few of them here. They may be di
vided into two classes, those which regard the internal character of
the volume, and those which regard the external history of it. Of
the first class are the arguments drawn from the style of the writings,
the descriptions of customs, countries, rites, and ceremonies, the
allusions to contemporaneous history, the simplicity of the authors,
being unlearned men, and unable to form a conspiracy to deceive
the world, the elevation of sentiment, the sublime morality which
is taught, embracing in brief sentences the supremest wisdom, the
coincidences which are discovered by any candid reader  all these
and others like them, give the volume a living witness in the heartj
and are, if we may so speak, its own voice uttered to the inner soul

INTRODUCTION. 5
of man, that its laws, morality, and promises are all in harmony with
that secret conscience which God has given to be his chief guide.
The arguments from the history of the volume are equally powerful,
and convince the logical understanding ; the long line of authors
witnessing to the Scriptures, bishops and learned men in all coun
tries citing texts from them with unhesitating credit, the heathen
and hostile writers recognizing their existence ; all confessing to
the belief that such men as the Apostles did truly live, and taught
these things, not only without profit, but at the cost of constant
suffering, and finally of life itself, that they began the foundation of
the Church, instituted the sacraments, the custom of preaching to
men in order to turn them from their sins, the orders of the minis
try to govern and feed the Christian flock ; all these facts, in the
language of Dr. Home, give us " infinitely more satisfactory evi
dence than we have for the production of any classic authors,
concerning whose genuineness and authenticity no doubt was ever
entertained." The Christian may rejoice in the unhesitating faith
which God has given to him to enjoy, by the Holy Spirit, showing
him the inner wants of his spirit, while his faith receives so strong
support from the history of the Church and Scripture.
The reader must desire to learn the history of the Scripture in
his own tongue, in our ancestral land, dear England. She has
long borne a brave part in the work of spreading the written word
of God to all nations and tongues. When and how did she receive
it ? It is believed that the ancient Saxons had parts of the Scrip
tures in their own language. Some portions were translated by
Adhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, Egbert, Bishop of Lindisferne, the
venerable Bede, and King Alfred (A. D. 706-721). There were,
however, very few copies of them ever made, as printing was
unknown. Only the wealthier class could pay the great cost of
manuscript copies. The fact, however, gives us a glimpse of that
strong love of the Bible which was afterward to become a distin
guishing mark of the Anglo-Saxon mind. The Abbot of Malmes-
bury translated into Saxon the books of the Pentateuch, Judges,
and Job. A translation of the four Gospels has been printed at
Oxford from an ancient Saxon manuscript, which is now in the
Bodleian library. Richard Rolle, a hermit, translated the Psalms
in 1349. Thus by these fragments, from time to time, the nation
manifested its constant desire to read in its " own tongue the won
derful works of God."
But the history of the English Bible begins properly with that
noble leader and herald of the coming Reformation, John Wick-
life. He translated the entire Bible about the year 1380. Being
unacquainted with the original languages, Hebrew and Greek, he
made his translation from the Latin Bibles which were then in use,

INTRODUCTION.

His work was very offensive to the Romish party of the nation, so
that in 1390 a bill was introduced into parliament for the purpose
of suppressing it. The king's brother, the Duke of Lancaster,
spoke against the bill, manifesting the same strong English spirit
of resistance to foreign authority which has always marked the
national character, to this effect : " We will not be the dogs of all,
seeing other nations have the law of God, which is the law of our
faith, written in their own language ; that he would maintain the
having this law in our own tongue against these, whosoever they
should be, who brought in this bill." The bill was rejected by
his influence. This encouraged Wickliffe's followers to issue ano
ther edition more correctly translated. Afterward this translation
was condemned by a convention held at Oxford by Archbishop
Arundel, and persecutions ensued against the venders of it. The
Bible of Wickliffe has never been printed ; the New Testament was
printed in A. D. 1731, in England.
In the reign of Henry VIII., William Tyndal, a favorer of
the Reformed doctrines, was driven by the Romish party out of
England. He travelled in Germany, where he made the acquaint
ance of Luther and other learned men, and finally settled at Ant
werp. He translated the New Testament from the original Greek,
and printed it with brief glosses or notes, without his name, about
the year 1526. This was the first printed edition of any part of
the English Scripture. It was sent over to England, and eagerly
read by the common people. The enemies of the Reformation
became alarmed, and sought to destroy the edition. Sir Thomas
Moore, Lord Chancellor, and Bishop Tonstall of London, bought up
all the copies which they could find, and burnt them at St. Paul's
cross. Tyndal now associated with himself Miles Coverdale, and
undertook the rendering of the Old Testament. He published the
Pentateuch in 1530, with prefaces against the English bishops and
clergy, and in 1531, the book of Jonah. Being seized and impris
oned by the Emperor, at the instance of Henry VIII. and his min
isters, he was put to death at Villepont, near Brussels, 1536, in conse
quence of a decree made in an assembly at Augsburg. He was the
victim not only of his desire to spread the Scriptures, but also of
his bitter invectives against the English clergy, as may be gathered
from the history of his death.
In 1535, one year before his death, Miles Coverdale, who had
been associated with him, published a translation of the whole Bible
at Zurich, and dedicated it to King Henry VIII. Much of it is
supposed to have been due to Tyndal, though his name was not men
tioned from reasons of policy. This was the first printed English
Bible. Cranmer had been Archbishop of Canterbury two years,
and used his influence to protect the readers of the English Scrip-

INTRODUCTION. '
tures, and to increase their number. This he did in spite of great
and often successful opposition. He projected an authorized trans
lation. But by the refusal and opposition of Stokesby, Bishop of
London, he failed to carry it through. In 1537-9, three editions
of the Bible were printed by Coverdale, the last under the patron
age of Cranmer. " It was wonderful," says Strype, " to see with
what joy this book of God was received, not only among men
learned, and those who were noted lovers of the Reformation, but
generally all over England, among all the common people, and with
what greediness God's word was read, and what resort there was
to the places appointed for reading it. Every one that could,
bought the book, and busily read it, or heard it read : and many
elderly persons learned to read on purpose." This translation is
now called Cranmer's Bible. The Psalter in the Prayer Book is
taken from it. In 1557-60, the Geneva Bible was printed by refu
gees from the persecutions of Queen Mary. It is of a Calvinistic
cast, and has mostly passed out of use.
But soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, a translation
of the Bible was undertaken by royal authority under the direction
of Archbishop Parker. Fifteen distinct parts were allotted to as
many learned prelates and others. It was completed and printed
in 1568, and is now generally called the Bishop's Bible, because
eight of the persons concerned in it were of that rank.
The Romanists, when pressed by the influence of these efforts
of the Protestants to promote the reading of God's word, were
obliged to issue a translation of their own. Many reasons conspire
to make it of no authority, and it is used only by themselves in
order to keep out of the hands of their followers the more correct
Protestant Bibles. Much like this pitiful grafting of Latinism into
the pure stock of the honest English, is the effort of that corrupt
Italian Church to defile and pervert by its corruptions the English
and American character. May we see them defeated by God's
favor, in all their wicked undertakings.
In a conference held at Hampton Court, 1603, before King
James the First, it was complained that many errors and defects
existed in the Bibles then in use, and the request was made of
his Majesty that a new one should be made. Accordingly, the
king set about it with great and honorable zeal. He ordered, by
a special decree, that all the learned men of the kingdom should be
sought out, settled in benefices with competent means, and employed
in this work ; that all who had skill in Hebrew and Greek, and had
written or done any thing in elucidating the sacred text, should be
sought for by the bishops, and enjoined by royal command to assist.
It was truly a national work — one that reflects undying lustre on
the king, and excites in us lively gratitude to the Giver of all good

0 INTRODUCTION.
gifts. After more than two centuries, we use it with reverence and
love. Its words are linked to our earliest associations. It is the
real bond and safeguard of unity among all who speak the English
language. Some particular account of it will therefore be profita
ble. Fifty-four of the most learned men in the Universities and
other places were nominated to perform this work ; but before it was
begun, seven of them had died, or declined acting in it. The forty-
seven who remained were divided into six divisions, and places as
signed where they were to meet and consult together — Oxford, Cam
bridge and Westminster. The Bishop's Bible was to be made the
general guide in their proceedings. Names were to be altered as
little as possible. Words were to be chosen such as had received
the consent of the Fathers and other best writers of divinity. No
alteration was to be made of chapters or verses. No marginal
references were to be admitted except such as were necessary to
explain the text, and references to parallel places were to be set
down in the margin. Each individual of a division was to take
the same chapters and interpret them to the best of his ability.
Then all of the divisions were to meet together and compare their
works. After this, each book was to be written out and sent to all
the other companies for their approbation. In disputed cases, they
were subjected to a general committee, who were to consult the most
learned men in the kingdom and obtain their opinions. The work
was divided as follows :
1. To ten learned men at Westminster, as far as the first book
of Chronicles inclusively.
2. To eight others at Cambridge, from the first of Chronicles,
the remainder of the historical books, and the Hagiographa, namely
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles, and Eeclesiastes.
3. To seven at Oxford, the four greater prophets, the Book of
Lamentations, and the twelve lesser prophets.
4. To seven at Cambridge, the Apocrypha. Mr. Miles Smith,
afterwards Doctor of Divinity and Bishop of Gloucester, was one
of this division. He was the author of the Preface to the whole
yolume, and one of the general committee of revision.
5. To eight at Oxford, the four Gospels, the Acts, and Revela
tion. 6. To seven at Westminster, the remainder of the New Testa
ment. The work was begun in 1607, and finished after three years
careful deliberation. Six persons, two from each place, then met
at Stationers Hall, and read over the whole. The translation at
length came out in 1611, the monument of the pious care of the
learned men concerned in it. This is the Bible now in common use

INTRODUCTION.

among all classes. Its superior excellence is such as might be
expected from the pains which were taken in its compilation. Says
Dr. Gray : " It is a most wonderful and incomparable work, equally
remarkable for the general fidelity of its construction and the mag
nificent simplicity of its language." Though the gift of tongues has
long ceased in the holy Church, and men can no longer look to
others for miraculous and infallible declarations on the various dis
puted points of theology, yet the English reader may thank God
for the more useful gifts to his Church of industry and fidelity, by
which the divine word is put into the hands of all, and things which
are needful for the soul's health are set forth in plain and common
language. The division of the Bible into chapters and verses is of no very
ancient date. About A. D. 1240, Hugo de Sancto Caro, commonly
known as Cardinal Hugo, in making an index or concordance of
the Latin Bible, found it necessary to divide it into chapters and
sections. The latter were made by placing the letters of the
alphabet at certain distances along the margin. The subdivisions
into verses came from the Jews ; for about A. D. 1430, Rabbi
Nathan, an eminent Jew, published a concordance of the Hebrew
Bible, adopted the system of chapters of Cardinal Hugo, and
divided the chapters into verses by affixing letters. About a
century later, Vatablus, a Frenchman, an eminent Hebrew scholar,
published a Latin Bible, with chapters and verses marked by figures
instead of letters. This example has been since followed in all
languages by general consent. The present division of the New
Testament into verses was made by Robt. Stephens, a printer of
Paris, in an edition issued by him in A. D. 1551. Occasional
defects are suggested in this division, but with no very good
reason. It is well nigh as perfect as may be, and it is perhaps
impossible to expect that it will ever be altered. The reader, how
ever, may often with great profit read the books of Scripture without
any reference to this human arrangement. He will discover new
beauties in taking a single book as a whole, and often gain a glimpse
into parts of the reasoning, by taking in all at once. It was in this
way that most of the books of Scripture were written, and it. is true
of St. Paul's epistles especially, that the train of reasoning passes on
as a unity, without the possibility of being limited to chapters.
Particular editions are now published with a view to this kind of
reading. Thus it has happened by little and little that we have the
Bible in its present form. It is a gift of God to us ; a gift, even if
locked up in a dead language, and explained by learned men ; a gift,
even shut out from the poor as it once was by the enormous price
of copies (once as high for a single copy of the New Testament alone
I*

10 INTRODUCTION.
as one hundred and seventy-seven dollars), but a gift now free, and
in reach of all, simple and learned, rich and poor alike. The
English and American nations have at this day the proud boast —
may they be humble, and rightly use the blessing — of having done
more than other nations to make the word of God free to the whole
world. On every cottage table may be found, if there be the will
for it, the Scriptures. In scores of languages the English and
American presses multiply the editions, and send them, on the wings
of their immense commerce, to all people, nations, and languages,
that all may serve God. Like the decree of Darius in inten
tion, but sublimer in execution and love, the press now effects
" that in every dominion men tremble and fear before the God of
Daniel ; ' that they love and rejoice before the God of the Chris
tians : ' for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and His
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall
be even unto the end ;" Dan. vi. 26.
The reader will suffer a word of advice, in conclusion, as to the
manner of reading the Holy Scriptures — especially the Gospels.
And 1st. Bear in mind that these sacred books do verily and
indeed " contain all things necessary to salvation : so that whatso
ever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be
required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith,
or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." — Article VI. of
XXXIX. Articles. You are, therefore, to look hitherward for the
way of safety. You come not for amusement, nor for human
learning, for sport nor levity. The book is to you a sacred trust.
It lays before you a path by which it is certain that you may
be saved. The Church to which you belong says to you freely,
" Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal
life." She assures you that " all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God may be per
fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works;" 2 Tim. iii. 16,
17. Examine carefully, anxiously, freely, all that it contains. See
to it that you do not build upon the sand. The Lord Himself
invites you. " Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord ; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool ;" Isaiah
i. 18. Be not afraid of the Scriptures, but learn them ; learn them
with a faithful heart, a clear mind, and a resolute will. They will
convince you, invigorate your whole being, and give you a good
hope through grace.
2d. Read them in a strong and filial gratitude to the Church
which has preserved them so long for you, and opened the way for
you to the understanding of their mysteries. (See the following

INTRODUCTION. 11
texts : Mat. xvi. 18 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 4, 5 ; Eph. i. 22 ; iii. 10 ; v.
25, 32 ; Col. i. 18, 24.)
It is an evil and wicked design that has been shown by some
of late to set the Scripture and Church in array against each other.
They are one ; they must stand together. And in other countries
where this opposition has been made, the loss of the one has insured
the corruption and rejection of the other. Think who wrote the
Christian Scripture. Christian Bishops. Some we term Apostles
by honor, but they were Bishops. Who copied them — spread
them ? Who rescued them in the great councils from the spurious
works of uninspired men ? Who have guarded them in all ages ?
Christian Bishops. And are all deceived ? Have all lent them
selves to propagate a book which condemns them ? Are they, or
can they be in any sense hostile ? No. Believe it not. You are
to read the text. The Church alone can give you its history, that
history which must often fix the true signification thereof. Who
baptized you ? Who gave you the first impressions of religious
truth? Who have taught you how to think by creed, prayer,
commandment, sermons and other things which a Christian ought
to know and believe to his soul's health ? The ministers, the
mothers and fathers of the Church. Thus there is one object, one
work between them. Suffer them not to be divided in your mind.
As you read, do it with a conviction that the Holy Catholic Church
has not feared to give you the word of God, but not to be read with
the ungrateful desire to subject her love to your soul to the
common questioning and skeptical harshness, which would horrify
you in any analogous case. The doctrines of the Church, as they
appear in the Prayer Book, are the true guide to you in the study
of the Gospels. She claims to have " power to decree rites or
ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith," yet " not to
ordain any thing that is contrary to God's word written," nor to
"so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to
another. Wherefore, although the Church be a witness and keeper
of Holy Writ, yet as it ought not to decree any thing against the
same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be
believed for necessity of salvation." — Article XX. Guarded by
these limits, your love may flow safely forth to the Church of your
fathers. Lastly. Read the Scripture with a sense of the important
fact of its inspiration. It is no common Book — but the One
Book, in which the Holy Spirit of God has mingled its own infinite
wisdom with human thoughts. In vain do men strive to reduce its
words to all the shallower laws of human volumes. It is subject to
them so far as it had human originals. But in the one great
mystery of its inspiration it transcends them all. To discover

12 INTRODUCTION.
the meaning and mind of men — say of St. Matthew or St. Mark —
of course you are bound to use all the human helps, and be subject
to all the laws of interpretation which are usual with other books.
But then you must not think to treat this sacred volume only thus.
What in others is only careless, or unpremeditated, or defective, has
here its uses and meanings. There may be an error in this matter.
Men have forced meanings on the text which it does not bear. But
it is a safer error. No mysticism has ever equalled in evil the
abominations of rationalism. No spiritualizing of Origen or
Chrysostom has ever approximated in defect to the horrible com
ments of Strauss or Paulus. Keep the talisman of good sense in
your hands, but fear not to fall down and kneel low before the
Inspiring Spirit, whose voice speaks to you in this Book, if so be
you are humble, docile, and pious to hear it. Treading among
the sacred things of God — near the Burning Bush of His presence,
put off the poor dependencies of human wisdom and semi-skeptical
reasonings from thy soul and listen to God, and not to man.
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written
for our learning ; grant that we may in such wise hear them, read,
mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and
comfort of thy Holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast
the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
ST. MATTHEW

INTRODUCTION.
St. Matthew, also called Levi, was a Son of Alphaeus (Mark ii. 14), not how
ever of that one who was spoken of as the father of James and Joseph. He was a
native of Galilee. He was, when we first hear of him, a publican or tax-gatherer,
on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, probably collecting toll from persons who
passed over that sea. Our Saviour commanded him to follow Him, which he did
cheerfully, Ch. ix. 9. He was soon after appointed as one of the twelve disci
ples who were to be the future Apostles of the Church. He made an entertain
ment for Jesus, at which were several publicans, Ch. ix. 10 ; Luke v. 29. After
the ascension of our Lord there are no certain accounts of him. Until he wrote
the Gospel he probably remained in Judea. After that, as ancient writers of the
fifth century relate; he went into Ethiopia. If so, it is likely that he there suffered
and died in his work.
There is a great difference of opinion among the learned, as to the date when
this gospel was written. Some have placed it as early as 38 A. D., others as
late as 64 A. D. The year 40 A. D. seems to satisfy many. It is too late in
the world's history for us to expect to settle questions as obscure as this. And it
is enough for all practical wants, for us to believe that the Gospel was written
between these periods, and before the destruction of the city Jerusalem. It seems
reasonable that the Church, which increased rapidly at first, should be carefully
instructed in the events of the life of Jesus, with which the Apostles were familiar ;
and it was to meet this want of the early Christians that the Evangelists wrote.
At the same time the Christian Church began in common life, not in external
written laws, as the Jewish Church had done. The Christians received the words
of grace and truth from the lips of the Apostles. They would naturally, therefore,
feel less regard to the exact order of events in relation to a written Gospel of
parchment, while they had the Apostles with them. But as the Apostles died off
it became more important to preserve their testimony, and the manuscript gospel
rose in value. Meanwhile, the exact date of its origin was lost, though there was
no doubt at all of the fact of its authorship. It is an ingenious and satisfactory
argument, though too long to be presented here, by which the learned show from
the style of St. Matthew, the general date at which he wrote. All agree that it
was the first of the four Gospels, and that it was written before the fall of the holy
city.

14 MATTHEW.
Another question of great difficulty is, iu what language St. Matthew wrote.
On this the Presbyterian, Mr. Barnes, says : " The Fathers, without any excep
tion, assert that Matthew wrote his gospel for the use of Christians in Palestine ;
and all say that it was written in the Hebrew dialect. This testimony it is im
possible to refute, and the fact is therefore established. In a question about mere
matter-of-fact, no modern can be better informed than those who lived near the
time of the fact recorded." A most healthful principle of investigation in matters
of sacred lore and church discipline, and concisely expressed. Bishop Tomline
in view of the same evidence ventures no farther than "many ancient Fathers"
and, " in a question of fact, the concurrent voice of antiquity perhaps ought to
be decisive with us." Many learned men have argned against the opinion that
St. Matthew wrote in Hebrew. Still it seems to be the opinion of our own, as
of all other ages, that such was the fact. As he wrote for Jews, he has con
formed his narrative, in many respects, to their more intimate knowledge of
Scripture, argues frequently from their prophets, and avoids explaining familiar
customs. But though wo may decide this question, in accordance with the good lnen of
the past, we find no facts to explain to us, how the Gospel was translated into
Greek, or by whom, or when the original perished, and how it should have been
so soon neglected. These matters can give us no uneasiness. The very silence on
these points, shows us either that St. Matthew also wrote his Gospel in Greek, or
that the change took place very early, when Christians had the infallible author
ity of inspired men in their midst, and could not be left in doubt on matters of
such importance. It is believed that St. John wrote his gospel as a complement
to the other three. If so, and he at any time saw the Gospel of St. Matthew in
Greek and approved it, we have a sufficient imprimatur. But these doubts ought
to make us modest and. reverent to that ancient Church, which, under God, pre
served these records for us. The arguments of careless men against a due regard
to the authority of the Fathers, may be put to silence by the principles which
every earnest Christian scholar (such as Mr. Barnes) finds himself compelled to
adopt when accounting for the great gift of the ancient Church to us, namely,
the authentic books of Scripture. God has bound together the Church in one, so
that we cannot break away from Ignatius, Athanasius, or Jerome, without loss.
Let us receive the Gospel as we have it at their hands, saying, with the author
above cited : " The proper inquiry is whether it [the Greek copy] had such evi
dence of inspiration as to be satisfactory to the Church in the times when they
were under the direction of the Apostles. That it had such evidence none
acquainted with ancient history will doubt." For the silence of the Fathers is
the best proof of their entire satisfaction.
In all the copies and translations of the New Testament, St. Matthew's gospel
is placed first. It shows a universal conviction, reaching back to the earliest
times, that it was written first, and also that it serves as the fitting introduction
to the others. The Fathers delighted in the mystical allusions of Ezekiel [i. 10]
copied also by St. John [Bev. iv. 7] concerning the forms of a man, lion, ox and
eagle, sustaining the throne of the Mediator. " Matthew was denoted" according
to them, " by the Man, because he dwells chiefly on the humanity of Christ ;
Mark by the Lion, because he treats of His Resurrection ; Luke by the Ox, be
cause he insists on his Priesthood; John by the Eagle, because he describes the
sacraments of His divinity."
St. Matthew seems to have written his Gospel with a particular view to the
order of subjects, rather than of time. He begins with the Incarnation, showing
the genealogy and birth of Jesus, according in all respests with ancient prophecies.
He narrates the chief events of our Saviour's life in their general order. He gives
three chapters to the Sermon on the Mount ; gives examples through two chap
ters of the miracles of our Lord ; one to the mission of the disciples ; one to the

CHAPTER I.

15

teachings suggested by the question of the Baptist ; another to his public rebukes ;
one to parables, and thus onwards. We will find occasion to apply this principle
in explaining these events, preferring the order of time given by St. Luke. An
ancient writer has thus spoken of this peculiarity : " Matthew has arranged his
narrative in a regular series of events. First, the birth ; secondly, the baptism ;
thirdly, the temptation ; fourthly, the teachings ; fifthly, the miracles ; sixthly,
the Passion ; seventhly, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ ; desiring
by this not only to set forth the history of Christ, but to teach the order of the
evangelic life. It is naught that we are born of our parents, if we be not re-born
again of God by water and the Spirit. After baptism we must resist the Devil .
Then being, as it were, superior to all temptation, one is made fit to teach, and
if he be a priest, let him teach and commend his teaching, as it were, by the
miracles of a good life: if he be a layman, let him teach faith by his works.
In the end we must take our departure from the stage of this world, and then
remains that the reward of resurrection and glory follow the victory over tempta
tion." St. Matthew was well qualified for his work. He was not a man of much
learning, and his style is not impeded by any of the arts of the ancient rhetori
cians. It is a plain ungarnished tale such as a simple and honest-minded man
would have given of things which he saw and heard. He hardly ever mentions
himself. His forgetfulness of himself, his artless style, and his unhesitating
declaration of facts, give to his narrative a degree of credit, which convinces tho
mind, while his evident sympathy with those portions of the truth, which were
most useful and comforting to fallen nature, render it interesting and invaluable.
His style is simple, native, clear and truthful, such as befitted one who had sat in
the lowly seat of the publican, and studied human nature among the blue skies,
green swelling hills and calm waters of Galilee. It is a fitting vehicle to bear the
Gospel, or, as old Wickliffe wrote the two Saxon words god, or good-spell, i. e.
the good word, to all who, like him, learn the dangers and evils of the stormy sea
of human life.

CHAPTER I.

THE book of the generation of
Jesus Christ," the son of Da
vid,6 the son of Abraham."
a Luke 8. 23. &c. 6 Psa. 132. 11 ; Jer. 23-
5. John 7. 43. Acts 2. 80. « Gen. 22. 18-
Gal. 8. 16.

CHAPTER I.
1. The book of the generation. The
list of the forefathers ; or possibly, the
book which relates the history of jesus
Christ, his pedigree, birth, actions, doc
trines, death, &c. In either sense the
words are a proper title to the Gospel,
and were so used in the Hebrew writ
ings. See Gen. v. 1 ; vi 9. The Jews
preserved with great care the registers
of their families, from one of which this

2 Abraham d begat Isaac ; and
Isaac ' begat Jacob ; and Jacob f
begat Judas and his brethren ;
.2-5. eGen. 25. 26. /Gen.

dGen.
29. 35.

record of the family of Joseph was prob
ably copied. As the Messiah was to be
a descendant of David and Abraham,
according to the ancient promises and
prophecies, it was necessary for the
writer, who claimed that Jesus was that
Messiah, to demonstrate his lineage from
them, at the very outset of his under
taking. If Jesus. Saviour. See ver. 21.
John xii. 47. f Christ. The Anointed. Tho
corresponding Hebrew word is Messiah,

16

MATTHEW.

derived from a verb, to amoint with oil.
The Jews anointed their prophets,
priests and kings, to consecrate them to
their offices. See Ex. xxix. 7 ; 1 Sam.
x. 1 ; 1 Kings, xix. 16. The pouring
of oil on the head in this sacred rite,
was symbolical. It signified the divine
appointment to an office, and the gifts of
spiritual grace, which alone could ena
ble those who were set apart, to perform
its duties. Jesus was to be called the
anointed one, or Messiah, because he
was sent into the world, by the Father,
to be the great Prophet, Priest, and King,
over the whole human race. Dan. ix.
24. As a Prophet he taught all truth
(Deut. xviii. 15 ; Acts, iii. 22) ; as a
Priest, he offered one perfect sacrifice
for all sin (Heb. v. 10 ; vii. 27) ; as a
King, he reigns over all his people, in
an everlasting kingdom. Ps. ii. 6 ; John
xviii. 37 ; Is. ix. 7. He was not anoint
ed with oil, which was the symbol only,
but with the Holy Ghost, called by Da
vid the " Spirit of gladness." Ps. xiv.
7 ; Heb. i. 9 ; Acts x. 38. This occur
red first, privately, at his conception
(Luke i. 35) ; again publicly at his
baptism. Luke iii. 22 ; John iii. 34.
If Son, of David. Descendant of David
by natural lineage. In Hebrew every
ancestor was called a parent, and every
descendant, a son. It was requisite to
show that Jesus was descended from
David (Ps. cxxxii. 11), inasmuch as the
Jews expected it, and would have re
jected all other evidence, if this had
been wanting. These first sixteen
verses demonstrated this descent ; and
though in this late age. we cannot verify
every statement made in them, it is
enough for us that those who knew the
facts of the case were satisfied. Matt.
xxii. 42; Acts xiii. 23. % Son of Abra
ham. A name very dear to the Jews,
who often boasted that they were Abra
ham's children. John viii. 33, 39. To
him the promises had been made, which
Christ was to fulfil. Gen. xii. 3 ; xxi.
12. He is therefore put forward as an
ancestor of Jesus, in whom all the pro
mises and prophecies had a perfect and
glorious fulfilment.
2-16. A similar catalogue of the an
cestry of our Lord is given by St. Luke,

ch. iii. It differs, in many of the names,
from this of St. Matthew. Jesus being
the incarnate Son of God, born of the
overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, of a
virgin, could have no human sire exoept
in a legal sense. To establish this legal
fiction,° which was fully sufficient with
the Jews, according to their own ideas
and customs, was the apparent intention
of this author. Now if one should disbe
lieve His Incarnation, then His human
origin was of course by His reputed fa
ther Joseph, in a direct line from David.
Therefore if the Son of God was made
man, He was given by God to the family
of David, and the promises were all
verified. If only man, then He was the
son of David by Joseph. The Jews
were obliged to assent to this fact, or
be silent. If we now living, believe that
Jesus " was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary," we
have need of no other argument to con
vince us that the author's reasoning was
conclusive with his countrymen, than
the certainty of the divine inspiration
directing his pen. This same dilemma,
which is such only to the unbeliever,
our Lord pressed upon the Pharisees.
" If David call him Lord, how is He
then his son ? " (ch. xxii. 42-45.) They
were silenced. The difficulties which
arise in comparing this register of
names with that of St. Luke, has ex
ercised the ablest minds and called out
a great display of learned conjectures.
The question is still an open one. We
cannot decide which of these ingenious
conjectures is the right solution. Nor
need we decide. He who believes in
the fact of the Incarnation on other
grounds, can easily dispense with this
argument from the human descent of
Jesus, which was meant for him only
indirectly, when he reflects, that they
for whom it was intended, directly,
found no serious objection in the two
accounts. The Christian may allow,
without danger to his faith, that there
are some things which he does not
know, when he is assured that those
who did know all the facts, both friends
and foes, accepted them. The caviller
will seek in vain to prove mistakes,
after eighteen centuries have passed

CHAPTER I.

17

3 And Judas' begat Phares
and Zara of Thamar ; and Pita
s' Gen. 88. 29, 30.

away. We may allow that one of these
solutions offered by scholars is the true
one, and confess that we know not which
is. We need not perplex ourselves, when
we are convinced of one fact, that
the veracity and correctness of these
authors rest upon their characters, in
spiration, and the silence of all those
who could properly have found fault.
The following explanations of three of
the most venerable Fathers of the early
Church are offered, that the reader may
choose among them for himself. St.
Jerome, who lived A. D. 378, a learned
presbyter and monk of Bethlehem, thus
speaks of this difficulty: — "This pas
sage is objected to by the Emperor Ju
lian, in his Discrepancy of the Evange
lists. ' Matthew calls Joseph the son
of Jacob. Luke makes him the son of
Heli.' Answer. He did not know
the Scripture manner; one was his
father by nature, the other by law. For
we know that God commanded by
Moses, that if a brother or near kins
man (Deut. xxv.) died without children,
another should take his wife to raise up
seed to his brother and kinsman. But of
this matter Africanus the chronologist
and Eusebius of Caesarea have disputed
more fully." Musebius, archbishop of
Cassarea, lived A. D. 315, and thus ex
plains : — " For Matthan and Melchi at
different periods had each a son by one
and the same wife, Jesca. Matthan,
who traced through Solomon, first had
her, and died leaving one son, Jacob by
name. As the law forbade no1| a widow,
either dismissed from her husband or
after the death of her husband, to be
married to another, so Melchi, who
traced through Matthan, being of the
same tribe but of another race, took his
widow to his wife, and begat Heli his
son. Thus shall we find Jacob and
Heli, though of a different race, yet by
the same mother, to have been breth
ren; one of whom, namely, Jacob,
after Heli his brother was deceased
without issue, married his wife, and be
gat on hpr the third, Joseph, by nature

res begat '' Esrom ; and Esrom
begat ' Aram ;
h Gon. 46. 12. i Ruth 4. 19.

indeed and reason his own son ; where
upon also it is written, and Jacob begat
Joseph. But by the law he was the sen
of Heli : for Jacob being his brother,
raised up seed to him. Thus the gene
alogy of both, as recited by Matthew
and Luke, stands right and true : Mat
thew saying, And Jacob begat Joseph :
Luke saying, Which was the son, as it
was supposed (for he adds this withal),
of Joseph, which was the son, of Heli,
which was the son of Melchi. Nor
could he more significantly or properly
express that way of generation accord
ing to the Law, which was made by a
certain adoption that had respect to the
dead, carefully leaving out the word be
getting throughout even unto the end."
Saith St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo,
A. D. 396 :— " And suitably does Luke,
who relates Christ's ancestry, not in the
opening of his Gospel but at his Bap
tism, follow the line of His adoption,
as thus more clearly pointing him out
as the Priest that should make atone
ment for sin. For by adoption we are
made the sons of God by believing in
the Son of God. But by the descent ac
cording to the flesh which Matthew fol
lows, we rather see that the Son of God
was for us made man. Luke sufficiently
shows that he called Joseph the son of
Heli, because he was adopted by Heli,
by his calling Adam the son of God, as
he was set in Paradise, though he lost
it afterwards by sinning." It is proper
to add that other learned men explain
the difficulty, and with great appearance
of truth, by supposing that Heli was
actually the father of Mary, who was
beyond doubt of the house and lineage
of David. See Lu. 1, 32.
3. Thamar. Four women are men
tioned by name in this register against
each of whom some crime had been
charged. Thamar, Rahab, Ruth (hea
thenism), and Bathsheba. Three kings
are omitted, for their crimes and the
curse denounced against their race,
namely, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah.
That royal line, in which the Saviour

18

MATTHEW.

4 And Aram begat Aminadab ,
and Aminadab begat Naasson';
and Naasson begat* Salmon ;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of
'Rachab; and Booz begat™ Obed
of Ruth ; and Obed begat Jesse ;
6 And Jesse begat" David the
king ; and David the king begat

j 1 Chron. 2. 10. * Ruth 4. 20.
6. 25 ; Until 4. 21. m Ruth 4. 13.

I Josh.

appeared to perfect the promises which
had been made to the righteous Abra
ham, was not free from the sin, which
was brought on the race by the first
Adam, and which was to be forgiven and
done away by Christ, the second Adam.
8. Ozias, Uzziah, 1 Kings xv. 32.
Three kings are omitted. The Jews
omitted the names of persons stained
with crimes, from their genealogies.
Five descents are left ont in Ezra vii.
compared with 1 Chron. xi. The whole
tribe of Dan is passed over in Rev. vii.
16. The husband. The one legally
betrothed, or espoused by promise. The
Jews gave this name to persons under
promise of marriage. See Gen. xxix. 21;
Deut. xxii. 24. St. Matthew ends his
register with Joseph, by the male line
the reputed father of Jesus. The words
of whom are feminine, and refer to Mary.
That public tables of families, besides
those given in the Old Testament, were
kept by the Jews, we may collect from
Ezra and Nehemiah. St. Luke mentions
that " Anna was of the tribe of Aser ; "
St. Paul, that he was of the tribe of Ben
jamin. From some such table this list
must have been filled out. Joseph had
married in his own tribe and family.
There were no records of female lines.
Mary was of the tribe and family of
David, as is evident from her going to
Bethlehem to be enrolled, and from the
words of the angel, "the throne of His
father David." Luke i. 32. Mary
made no question of the correctness of
the words.
17. Fourteen, generations. Fourteen
names. A generation is the lifetime of
a man, about thirty years ; but here it
is used rather as a summation of the

0 Solomon of her that had been
the wife of Urias ;
7 And Solomon begat p Robo
am ; and Roboam begat Abia ;
and Abia begat Asa ;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat;
and Josaphat begat Joram ; and
Joram begat Ozias ;
n 1 Sam. 17. 12. o 2 Sam. 12. 24.
p 1 Chron. 8. 10.

foregoing names. The number is a
convenient help to the memory, and is
not exact. It is not necessary that it
should be exact, if it does with a little
accommodation conveniently help one
to remember this list. The Jews
counted always the first and last of any
cluster of names, and in going on to the
next, they repeated the last name, as
first on the next list. In these fourteens
David is last on the first list and first
on the second, and Josias last on the
second and first on the third. Nor are
these lists merely notional, they mark
great national distinctions. The first
fourteen persons lived under the pro
phets and judges from Abraham till
David ; the second under the kings
during the period of the prosperity of
the nation, and the existence of the first
temple; the last under the Asmonean
priests, from the captivity till the com
ing of Him in whom centred the glories
of all their sacred orders, ^f Carrying
away into Babylon. See 2 Chron. xxxvi.
It occurred 588 years before Christ.
Nebuchadnezzar carried the Israelites
captive to Babylon, as God had threat
ened them by the prophets. There
they remained in a miserable condition
for seventy years, as a punishment for
their sins against the law of Moses,
and a warning to them to refrain from
idolatry. Deut. xxviii. 15, &c. ; Ezek.
xx. Babylon was situated on the river
Euphrates, a city of great power and
wealth, the capital of ancient Chaldea.
Its splendor was almost fabulous. The
prophets use the loftiest epithets to tell
of its magnificence ; the Golden City !
Is. xiv. 4 ; the glory of kingdoms, the
glory of the Chaldees' excellency, Is.

CHAPTER I.

19

9 And Ozias begat Joatham ;
and Joatham begat Achaz; and
Achaz begat Ezekias ;
10 And Ezekias" begat Manas
ses ; and Manasses begat Amon ;
and Amon begat Josias ;
11 And' Josias begat Jecho-
nias and his brethren, about the
time they were carried away to
Babylon :
12 And after they were brought
to Babylon, Jechonias begat6 Sa
lathiel ; and Salathiel begat" Zo
robabel ;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abi
ud; and Abiud begat Eliakim;
and Eliakim begat Azor :
14 And Azor begat Sadoc ;
and Sadoc begat Achim: and
Achim begat Eliud ;

a 2 Kings 20. 21. * Some read Josias begat
Jakim and Jakim begat Jechonias.
b 1 Chron. 8. IT. o Neh. 12. 1. d Luke

xiii. 19. Its power was first made use
of by the Providence of God to punish
the kingdom of Israel for its idolatries,
and then the pride of Babylon was
humbled to the dust. See Jer. 1.
18. Birth of Jesus Christ. This is the
event which marks the Christian era.
The practice of dating from it began as
late as A. D. 730. Learned men are of
opinion that an error" oFlrom*ionjl!o'"six"
j4ars waTfflaoTni We7J8mmon"calcula-
gpna— In thiT-'bobkT^e^true era is
"nxed after the tables of Rev. Dr. Jarvis,
historiographer of the Church, as being
six years and one week earlier than
January 1, A. D. 1, by the common
date, y On this wise. In this way. As
follows. If Espoused. A Jewish maiden
was often espoused or contracted to a
man a year or more before marriage.
See Gen. xxiv. 55 ; Judges xiv. 8. She
was called his wife from the time of her
espousals, and any unfaithfulness during
this period was considered and punished
as adultery. Deut. xxii. 23, 24. If
With child of the Holy Ghost. A mira-

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar ;
and Eleazar begat Matthan ; and
Matthan begat Jacob ;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph
the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called
Christ. 17 So all the generations from
Abraham to David, are fourteen
generations ; and from David un
til the carrying away into Baby
lon are fourteen generations ; and
from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ are four
teen generations.
18 If Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise: When
as his mother Mary was espoused
to Joseph, before'' they came to
gether, she was found with child
of the Holy Ghost.
1. 27, &c. * Tiie fifth year before the com
mon account called Anno Domini.

culous conception. Thus " God was
manifest in the flesh." Our Saviour
received human flesh from the Virgin,
hut H'^"origin~was"by TfiePBpirit of God.
Luke'i. 35. Tnislr^algrBrrTncar-
nation, His being macSTrTesh'. It "is

aught tnroughout~Hie~New Testament,
and summed up in the Nicene Creed,
which says, " We believe in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of
God, begotten of His Father before all
worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very
God of very God, begotten, not made,
being of one subtance with the Father,
by whom all things were made, who
for us men and for our salvation came
down from heaven, and was incarnate
by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man." God had spoken
before by prophets, but now by his
Son. Heb. i. 1, &c. ; see Phil. ii. 5-12 ;
John i. 1, &c. The Church has always
celebrated the feast of the nativity, or
Christmas, December 25th, by solemn
services, to express her joy and grati
tude to God for the gift of his only Son.

20

MATTHEW.

19 Then Joseph her husband,
being a just man, and not wil
ling to make her a public exam
ple, was minded" to put her away
privily. 20 But while he thought on
these things, behold, the angel of
b Deut. 24 1.

In Him were fulfilled all the promises
made to a ruined world. Gen. iii. 15 ;
1 Tim. i. 15. ff Holy Ghost. See Luke
i. 35. 19. A just man. The righteous man,
saith David, is ever merciful. By a just
or righteous man is meant in Scripture
a pious or good man, one believing the
whole law and regulating his life by it,
by both its mercy and its justice. See
Ps. i. As such, Joseph had pity on
her, and was unwilling to bring her be
fore the tribunal, to be sentenced to
death by stoning, which would have been
" making her a public example." Deut.
xxii. 23, 24. Believing her to have
become a guilty woman, he was desir
ous to pursue the milder course allowed
him by the Mosaic Law. Deut. xxiv.
ff Was minded. Was disposed, was
meditating this course. It required
great caution. The law required him
to give some sufficient reason for the
act, and he was considering on the best
way of doing it, that he might save
his conscience and avoid unnecessary
scandal, ff To put her away primly.
To divorce her privately. This was
done by the husband giving a paper to
the woman, setting forth that she was
free from his control. He was delay
ing the divorce, perhaps from affection
to Mary or from grief. He knew her
to be a pious and pure maiden and was
perplexed. Mary had been absent on
a visit of three months, to her cousin
Elizabeth. Lu. i. 56. It was after her
return of course that Joseph noticed
her condition, and was minded to put
her away.
20. The angel of the Lord. Rather
an angel, namely Gabriel, see Ch. ii. 13.
ff . In a dream. In this way God had
frequently. made known his will to pi-

the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son
of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife; for that
which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his

ous men. See Gen. xx. 3 ; xxviii.
12. Dan. vii. 1. There were about
all such inspired visions sufficient marks
to signify that they came from God.
Since the volume of revelation has been
completed, Christians have no occasion
for these inspired dreams, and are not
so visited. The angels now minister in
other ways to the heirs of salvation.
The angel salutes Joseph as Son of Da
vid, to prepare him for the annunciation
of the Messiah. He was a poor man
but of a royal race. He had feared
disgrace to his honest name, he now
finds that Mary is to be honored above
women, in becoming the mother of the
Lord, and fears no longer. The Virgin
would have been exposed to unjust and
cruel suspicions, if Joseph had been
permitted to separate from her. ff Of
the Holy Ghost. This is one of the tes
timonies of angelic beings to the divin
ity of Christ. Lu. i. 32, 35; ii. 11.
They are greater in power and might
than we, and have clearer knowledge
of celestial events and of God's wih.
They declared the descent of Jesus to
be of the Holy Ghost. Thus was He
" seen of angels." 1 Tim. iii. 16.
21. Jesus, In Hebrew it is Joshua.
Compare Acts vii. 45. Heb. iv. 8.
It there means Joshua the son of Nun.
Numb, xiii, 16. The name is com
posed of two Hebrew words signifying
" Jehovah his help." Joshua was at first
named Oshea ; Jah was afterward add
ed by Moses when he was sent to spy
out the land of Canaan. He received
the Israelites from Moses, led them in
to Canaan, and by the help of the Lord
established them there. He acted in
types as the Saviour of that race, that
which our Lord Jesus performed in truth
for the souls of men. This name Jesus

CHAPTER I.

21

name JESUS," for he shall save
his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that
a Luke 2. 11. 1. 69-71.

was given to the Son of God, at His in
carnation, as His name among men. It
is explained by the angel " He shall
save his people from their sins," both
from the power of sin, by making them
holy, and from its eternal punishment,
by obtaining pardon from God, It is up
on this, and such Hke promises, that the
Christian depends for his salvation. If
Jesus has not lived and died to save
us from sin and lead us to the land of
true rest, then we are without hope. —
But having a firm assurance of his in
carnation and atonement, we have
hope in Him, that if we keep His com
mandments; we shall at last receive
from Him " the rest that remaineth for
the people of God."
22. That it might be fulfilled. These
are the words of St. Matthew, not of
the angel. They are thought by some
good men, to mean, only, " thus it was
fulfilled." But there seems to be no dan
ger in giving them their plain force,
namely, this happened that the words
of tho prophet might be verified in their
full sense. For the same Lord who in
spired the prophets of the Jews, also
foresaw the future in all its events, and
therefore so shaped the words and events
that they should exactly correspond.
The events fulfilled the words ; the words
proved the events to be ordered by the
Omniscient. St. Matthew cites that
part of the prophecy of Isaiah ch. vii.
14, which related to this one event of
the incarnation of the Son of God. And
He was not incarnate simply that Isaiah
should be made a true prophet, but that
by the prophecy which had been made
740 years before, agreeing with the
event, men should believe that Jesus
was sent from God. The word fulfill
ed admits different shades of meaning,
all however consistent with this view.
1st. Days are fulfilled, when they are
observed and finished, Gen. 1. 3. 2nd.
A prediction is fulfilled, when it is
fully and finally accomplished. Dan.

it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the proph
et, saying.6 b Is. 7.14

iv. 33. Matt. v. 18. 3rd. A type or
ceremony is fulfilled when the event or
character which it taught appears.
Thus sacrifices foreshadowed the great
sacrifice of Christ. Heb. ix. 4th. When
the previous prediction, and some
former partial application are seen to
be more fully renewed by the life or
actions of the Lord Jesus. In this lat
ter sense we understand this passage.
There had been a partial fulfilment of
this prophecy of Isaiah near the time
when it was uttered. The wicked king
Ahaz, alarmed at a threatened invasion
of Judea, was about to apply to the
Assyrians for assistance. Isaiah was
sent to him by the Lord, to command
him to put his trust in God alone for
deliverance, and to ask of Him a sign
of His gracious intention. Ahaz refused,
and God volunteered a sign by the pro
phet, namely, that the young wife of
Isaiah should bear a son, and that be
fore the child should know, " to refuse
the evil and to choose the good," i. e.
before he should come to years of dis
cretion, the hostile kings whom Ahaz
feared should both perish. But this
prophecy was couched in language, the
literal fulfilment of which, could and did
happen only in the incarnation of the
Eternal Son of God. We are to regard
the former fulfilment therefore only as
an acted prophecy, an historical type and
occasion of foretelling the miraculous
birth of Emmanuel of a pure virgin.
It is not uncommon to find in the Old
Testament prophecies of the Messiah,
combined with prophecies to particular
individuals, for we may regard almost
all which is recorded there as typical
or prophetic of Him. The prophecy is
often fulfilled soon after it is given, and
finally accomplished in Christ, partly at
his birth, fully at his future coming to
judge the world. For instance, Ps. ii.
8, applied first all to Solomon, who
was a type of the Prince of Peace. It
then received greater force in Christ,

22

MATTHEW.

23 Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they] shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being inter
preted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph, being raised
from sleep, did as the angel of the

when he began to conquer the evil of
the world : will receive its full meaning
in the future great day of the Lord. By
this plain rule of interpretation, the
reader of the gospel may satisfy his
mind and repel all the cavils of unbe
lief, in such passages as the present.
23. Emmanuel. A compound Hebrew
word, meaning God with us. The in
terpretation was doubtless added in the
text, when this Gospel was translated
into Greek. This name given to the
Lord Jesus declares his nature to be of
one substance with the Father. Many
Hebrew names are made up with the
name of God ; as Eli, my God ; Isaiah,
Jah, i. e., Jehovah will save, etc. The
name Emmanuel might possibly have
been given to the son of Isaiah (of
which we have no evidence), and sig
nified God with us, in the sense that
God was manifestly favorable to his
people, in giving them this child as a
sign of his special care of them. But
in the use here made of it by St. Mat
thew, especially as we should read ' He
shall be called ' as meaning ' He shall
be,' we must believe the divinity of
Christ to be acknowledged, that He was
truly God manifest in the flesh. Isaiah's
words in this same prophecy (ix. 6.) be
yond all cavil, apply to Christ, and
describe Him as God. See 2 Cor. v.
19. John xiv. 11. Col. ii. 8, 9. John
i. 1. This demonstrates the doctrine of
the second Article, of the XXXIX. ' Of
the Word or Son of God made flesh.' ' ' The
Son which is the word of the Father,
begotten from everlasting of the Father,
the very and eternal God, of one sub
stance with the Father, took man's na
ture in the womb of the Blessed Virgin,
of her substance ; so that the two whole
and perfect natures, that is to say, the
Godhead and manhood, were joined to
gether in one person, never to be divided,

Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife :
25 And knew her not till she
had brought forth her first-born
son ; and he called his name
JESUS.
1 or, his name shall be called.

whereof is one Christ, very God and
very man ; who truly suffered, 'was cru
cified, dead and buried to reconcile the
Father to us, and to be » sacrifice not
only for original guilt, but also for
actual sins of men." On this foundation
the Christian faith rests. Let us re
member, in humble awe, that we are to
believe these truths as they are revealed,
though the human mind cannot pretend
to grasp them fully.
24. Took unto him his wife. Espoused
her, acknowledged her to he his wife.
There is no evidence that the Virgin
Mary had other children, and on the
other hand the pious feeling and tra
dition of the whole church, from the
first, have been- opposed to the notion,
as unworthy of one who had been so
highly honored in the birth of the Sa
viour of men. The persons who are
called the brethren of Jesus (Matt, xii
46. John vii. 5) were his cousins, as is
shown in the notes on these passages.
When Jesus died on the cross, He gave
his mother in charge to St. John, telling
her, ' Woman, behold thy son.' If she
had had other sons at the time, this
would have been contrary to those laws
of family order, which our Lord both
obeyed and encouraged.
25. First-born son. Not that others
followed, but simply that He was the
Son by whom she became a mother.
The Hebrew word b-cor, as every scholar
can testify, has no allusion to any child
which may or may not follow the first.
We are wholly ignorant, however, of the
life of Joseph and Mary. She is revered
as blessed, but may not be regarded
superstitiously, or as miraculously lifted
above her race and sex. She was a
woman of humble, innocent, sincere
piety, severely tried by the very bless
ing which she received. Lu. ii. 35.
St. Jerome, a learned monk and pros-

Tbue Eka. 2.]

CHAPTER II.

23

CHAPTER II.
"VTOW when Jesus was born1 in
J." Bethlehem of Judea in the
1 4th year before the account called A. D.

byter of the fourth century, says: —
From these words, first-born son, some
most erroneously suppose that Mary
had other sons, saying that ^rsi-born
can only be said of one that has breth
ren But this is the manner of Scrip
ture, to call the first-born not only one
who is followed by brethren, but the
/Srsi-bornof the mother. For if he only
is first-born who was followed by breth
ren, no first birth could be due to the
priests (Ex. xiii. 2) till such time as the
second birth took place. He may have
been called first-born among the elect
through grace ; but by nature, the only
begotten of God the Father, the only
son of Mary, ff His name Jesus. Sa
viour. The name was given on the
eighth day, in the rite of circumcision.
Lu. ii. 21. The prophets had given
significance to this name, which is
translated Saviour and Salvation. Ps.
xiii. 5. cxix. 81. Joseph was obedient
to the angel, and adopted the son of
Mary, named and reared him as his
own. St. Luke gives more of the events
of the birth of Jesus than St. Matthew.
See Lu. ch. ii. It occurred December
25, six years before the common date,
as universal tradition and astronomical
and historical calculations make mani
fest. This day has been observed by
the church throughout all the world
from the earliest times, certainly before
A. D. 379, in commemoration of this
precious gift of God, and the great
blessings which followed the Incarna
tion. The Fathers have left sermons
which were preached by them on that
day. Our Church observes the same
under the old name of Christmas, or
the Nativity of Our Lord. She bids us
partake of the holy Communion on
that day with these words of devout
thanksgiving : " We give thanks unto
thee, 0 Lord, because Thou didst give
Jesus Christ, thine only Son, to be born
as at this time of a pure Virgin ; who
bv the operation of the Holy Ghost was

days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the
east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is

made very man of the substance of the
Virgin Mary, His mother; and that
without spot, to make us clean from all
sin." And we unite in this Collect, as
the student of this chapter may well do :
"Almighty God, who hast given us
Thy only begotten Son to take our na
ture upon Him, and as at this time to
be born of a pure Virgin ; grant that
we, being regenerate, and made Thy
children by adoption and grace, may
daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit,
through the same our Lord Jesus
Christ, who liveth and reigneth with
Thee and the same Spirit, ever one
God world without end. Amen."
" Veiled in flesh the Godheau see,
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased, as man with man to dwell,
Jesus now Emanuel.1' — Hymn 45.
CHAPTER II. <Jk
1. Jesus was born. See notes Luke
ii. 1—20. ff Bethlehem of Judea. Call
ed Judea because there was another vil
lage of the same name situated in the
tribe of Zebulon. Josh xix. 15. It
was called also Bethlehem Ephratah,
i. e., in the land of Ephrath. Gen.
xxxv. 19. Ps. exxxii. 6. The words
signify, Beth, the house, lehem, of bread.
It was tbe"towh and'KrtlE-pIace of King
David (Ruth i. 1, 2. I. Sam. xvi 1, 18)
and the burial place of Rachel. It is
called at this time Beit-lehem, and is
about six miles south of Jerusalem, still
visited by thousands of Christian pil
grims yearly. The monks claim to have
preserved the knowledge of all the spots
which are celebrated in the Scriptures,
and show the place at the east of the
village where the Saviour was born.
The original church, built by the em
press Helena over it, fifteen hundred
years ago, still exists, as also the tombs
of certain eminent early Christians,
Jerome, Eusebius, Paula, and others.
The town lies on a ridge, overlooking a
valley which opens to view the Dead
Sea in the distance. The region is fer-

24

MATTHEW.

[T. E. 2.

born King" of the Jews ? for we
have seen his6 star in the east,
a Zech. 9. 9. 6 If umb. 24. IT ; Isaiah 60. 3.

tile though neglected. Fruits, vines
and olives grow here extremely well.
ff Says of Herod the King. This fixes in
some measure the date of this event.
In the 713th year of the city Rome,
the Senate passed a decree making
Herod King of Judea, then aged 33,
Three years after, Herod with the aid of
Sosius took the city and became king
in fact, as he had been already by right
of the decree. In the 32-35 of Herod
Jesus was born, in a time of univer
sal peace. Herod reigned 34-37
years, and died at the age of seventy,
in the year of Rome 749, A. D. 2. —
Herod the Great was an Edomite, the
son of Antipater. He professed the
Jewish faith. He was a man of great
energy, courage, sagacity, enterprise, al
so of great subtlety, boldness and cru
elty. He gained his title by success in
war and intrigue, and by his public
works. He repaired the Temple of the
Jews, and built several cities, and left
a name that can never be forgotten in
history. He was father of Herod men
tioned Matt. xiv. 1, grandfather to He
rod Agrippa spoken of in Acts xii. 1, 6.
He extirpated the Maccabean family,
and being a foreigner and the viceroy
of a heathen power, he put an end to
the political existence of tho Jewish
kingdom. St. Matthew follows the
custom of ancient authors in dating
from the reign of a man so well known,
and perhaps would suggest the fulfil
ment of two ancient prophecies : 1, that
of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10. The Sceptre de
parted from Judah, when the son of an
Idumaean ascended the throne. 2, That
of Daniel ix. 24. It had been revealed
to him, that in a set time ' seventy
weeks,' i. c, counting each day ( 70
times 7 days) for a year, in 490 years
the Messiah would appear. This period
expired in the time of Herod, two years
before his death, ff Wise men. Magi
or magicians. They were learned men
of the East, who studied chiefly the sci
ences of astronomy, theology, natural

and are come to worship him,
3 When Herod the King had
heard these things he was troubled

philosophy and medicine. They mix
ed up with their sound learning many
superstitious notions and practices, such
as astrology, divination and magic.
They had as a general thing juster no
tions of God and his worship than the
other heathen. Daniel in his time had
condescended to be ' master of the ma
gicians ' (Dan. iv. 9 ; v. 11), and is be
lieved to have left among his associates
and successors much of that diviner
knowledge revealed to him. We are
not to regard these men as mere sorcer
ers. They came from a good motive,
were led by the power of God to find
their king. They are supposed to have
been three in number, of royal degree,
having come out of Arabia or Persia.
The gifts which they brought are found
in those lands. " Kings of Arabia and
Saba shall bring gifts." Ps. Ixxii. 10.
Psalter. These countries lay to the east
of Judea.
2. Where is He, Sec. ? The Macca
bees, the Jewish rulers, had been de
stroyed. Herod was not king by divine
right. Where is this lawful king?
God did not lead them, at first, to Beth
lehem, but left them to search for Je
sus, in order that they might announce
His birth to the people. Heathen au
thors have left the record, that there ex
isted a general expectation among men
of that age that some great king was
to appear on earth, in the East, who
" should proceed from Judea and pos
sess the dominion ;" who should restore
all things to peace and order. The
Jews were anxiously looking for their
Messiah, now that the seventy weeks
of Daniel were expiring, and their scep
tre evidently wrested from them. They
were scattered through all nations of
men, and of course would communicate
their opinions and hopes to others. And
Daniel had held a rank among these
very magi at the court of Persia, which
would account for their question. They
may have been acquainted with his
writings and the whole Jewish Scrip-

T. E. 2.] CHAPTER II. 25
and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered

tures. A prophet of Mesopotamia, " a
wise man of the East," Balaam, had
been the first to join in his prophecy tho
Star and the Sceptre of the Messiah.
Numb. xxiv. 17. ff His star. This
is so named because it appeared in the
sky, with the form, radiance and appa
rent situation of the stars, but of course
was some luminous appearance, nearer
to the earth ; for the stars could not be
seen to move and stand over any single
house as this did. Again they would
not have been astonished at one star
more becoming visible among the myri
ads on high. It was as we know only
a temporary provision to guide these
men to Jesus — it appeared and disap
peared, moved slowly before them, till
it stood over the end of their journey.
It is a pleasing suggestion of some one,
that the luminous appearance, which
they first saw, was the vision of the an
gels to the shepherds, seeming at the
distance which they were like a star.
After they left Jerusalem a similar ap
pearance guided them to the inn at
Bethlehem. It could not have been a
comet, for they were regarded as por
tents of misery. It was a strange vis
itant to this earth for this one purpose.
They saw it, ronsulted_feeir a lore, _and
their bo"oli5rand wereled bytne Spirit
3J"GocQo thejusf, conclusion that it wsis
Tfifiiar, "i. e^, ffie star of the"King of the
Xfe^^fTnTkTEast. « We in the
"east "have seen it." — The star of course
appeared to them in the direction of
Jerusalem, or they would not have
come thither to ask for this informa
tion, ff To worship Him. Among the
ancient heathen, kings were regarded
with superstitious reverence, as either
gods or children of divinities. The
Egyptians began this custom of deify
ing their monarchs, to which most oth
er nations conformed. Hence worship
was offered in much the same manner
to a king and a divinity. In other cases
with equal idolatry, as the idol was a
false god and the king only a man.
But in this case the magi, in worship
ping the King, do it after their coun
try's custom, on bended knee or pros-
Vol. I.— 2

trate, with every expression of rever
ence — as to a divinity. Such He was.
The wise men weredivinely led. They
may have aiterwardTEainlsaT'who this
King was, and, according to the gentle
tradition of the Church been saved by
faith in Him. Their notions were ob
scure, and their worship was imperfect.
See Matt, xviii. 26. The Jews only as
a nation worshipped God alone, and
many of the pagan persecutions of
Christians were intended to compel them
to pay this idolatrous service to images
of the Roman Emperor. See Mat. iv.
10, Dan. iii. 18.
3. Had heard. They were probably
men of consequence and wealth, and at
tended by a retinue of guards, servants,
&c. It was the intention of Providence
that. their object should be extensively
known to the Jews, as, an ,, annunciation
of their Messiah, ff Troubled. Agitated,
put in commotion as water. John v. 4, 7.
The word may apply to opposite feel
ings, fear, and expectation of a joyful
event. Herod was agitated with fear,
all Jerusalem, i. e. the Jews of the eity,
with hope and joy. Herod, who had
gained the kingdom by crime and held
it against the religious opinions of the
people, always sat uneasily upon his
throne. The news of any claiming to
be legitimate king with signs from
heaven, were dreadful. The Jews, ever
rebellious, and now superstitiously obe
dient to the letter of their system,
abominated Herod and the Romans,
and were easily fired with hopes of their
Messiah coming to deliver them from
their oppressors, ff All Jerusalem. All
the people of the city. Jerusalem, ' the
city of peace,' was anciently called Sa
lem (Gen. xiv. 18), and afterwards Je
hus. 2 Sam. v. 6-9. It had been the
capital of the Jewish theocracy from
the time of David. There the temple
stood, where all worshipped. They
visited it yearly, and earnestly desired
to die and be buried near it. It was
the scene of many of the sublime
events of Holy Scripture. It "is now
called by the Arabs El-Kods, The Holy.
It stands on three eminences : Zion,

26

MATTHEW.

[T. E. 2.

all the chief priests and scribes
of the people together, he de
manded of them where Christ
should be born.
Moriah, and Calvary; the last having
been formerly beyond the walls. It is
surrounded by a high wall, outside of
which are deep valleys on three sides.
It is on the borders of the lands assign
ed to Benjamin and Judah, about forty
miles from the Mediterranean and twen
ty-five from the Jordan and Dead Sea.
The city was destroyed by the Romans
A. D. 70, and rebuilt by Hadrian A. D.
136, who named it Elia-capitolina. In
the time of Constantine, the former
name was restored. It was held by the
Christians for several centuries, till it
was conquered by the Mahometans,
who hold possession of it to this day.
4. Chief Priests and Scribes. They
composed the grand council or consis
tory of the nation, called the Sanhedrim.
They had cognizance of all causes, civil
and ecclesiastical, and were able to
satisfy Herod in this matter. The San
hedrim was composed of seventy mem
bers, beside the Chief Priest, in imita
tion of the elders appointed by Moses.
Numb. xi. 16. The High Priests
were the high priest for the time, to
gether with those who had been in the
office, and displaced, by the whim of
their pagan rulers, contrary to the cus
tom of Moses. There were the heads
of the twenty-four sacerdotal courses,
called Chief Priests or Elders (1 Chron.
xxiv. 7-19) and the Scribes or lawyers.
Their place of meeting was in a hall
near the Temple, or at extraordinary
times in the high priest's palace, also
near the temple. The Scribes were of
two classes, civil and ecclesiastical.
Their chief study was the sacred ora
cles. They copied them out when
necessary, and kept all public writings ;
expounded the meaning of the laws of
Moses, taught the people, and explained
the traditions and opinions of the most
learned men. They are called lawyers
(Matt. xxii. 35) or doctors, i. e. teach
ers of the law. Luke v. 17. They seem
to have been mostly of the sect of the
Pharisees. They were familiar with

5 And they said unto them,
In Bethlehem of Juda : for thus
it is written by the ° prophet,
a Mich. 5. 2; Jno. T. 42.

their Scriptures, and could demonstrate
to Herod at once, that Christ was to be
born in Bethlehem. They were blind
only when spiritual truth and mercy
were revealed by God. ff Where Christ,
&c. Where the Messiah, the King of
the Jews, should be born. We should
fix in the memory once for all the dis
tinction of these names of our Lord.
He was named Jesus as an individual,
Christ by virtue of his office ; or Jesus
as He was a man, Christ or Messiah as
He was sent from God. Herod did not
inquire where Jesus should be born, for
of that name there was nothing yet
known, but where the Messiah or Christ
should appear. The object of much of_
the argument of the Gospels is this, to
show that Jesus was the Christ. We
shaU"" never" "find "the " two names con
founded by the Evangelists, as is too
common in these days. See Acts ii. 36.
John ix. 22.
5. By the Prophet. By Micah, ch.
v. 2. St. Matthew appears to quote these
words as the words of the Sanhedrim in
reply to the question of the king : or he
might have added the noble words
which follow them : " Whose goings
forth have been of old, from everlast
ing," i. e. who is God from everlasting.
And he says Bethlehem in the land of
Judah, in place of Bethlehem-Ephra-
tah, because their answer had made
this verbal change. Herod, a foreigner,
might more easily understand the pas
sage with this alteration. Comp. Ruth
i. 1, with iv. 11. This variation, in
stead of giving any room for cavil, is
rather a confirmation of the veracity of
the statement. It shows their exact
knowledge of the case. They use a
synonyme Judah, for Ephratah, be
cause they knew them to mean exactly
the same thing, and make the change
in order to explain the prophet's words
to one who was only a proselyte to
their religion. No forger of history can
be exact and consistent in these trifling
particulars.

T. E. 2.]

CHAPTER II.

27

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the
land of Juda, art not the least
among the princes of Juda : for
out of thee shall come a governor,
that shall' rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had
privily called the wise men, in
quired of them diligently what
time the star appeared.
[I or, feed.

8 And he sent them to Bethle
hem, and said, Go, and search
diligently for the young child;
and when ye have found him,
bring me word again" that I may
come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the
king, they departed ; and lo, the
star, which they saw in the east,
a Vs. 55. 21.

6. Art not ike least. This translation
of Micah differs slightly from the He
brew as we now have it, and from the
Septuagint Greek ; but the meaning in
the three is exactly the same. The
passage exactly described the fact of
our Lord's birth, and was properly cited
by the Jews. Though the place was
small, ' a little one,' it was to be famous
for the birth-place of the Son of David,
and honored above the grander cities,
which outvied it in splendor, ff Gov
ernor. A leader, a guide, as Joshua had
been to the Israelites, ff Rule. In the
margin feed, for the original signifies
both ; to rule as a shepherd does his
flock. He guides them to green pas
tures, preserves, protects them, and re
quires their obedience that he may be
nefit them. Such is the Scriptural idea
of the relation of ruler and ruled, in
every rank of life — the ruler, master,
father, husband, rules, that he may
bless the ones ruled. See John x. 11.
Is. xl. 10. 11. Ps. xxiii. 1 Pet. ii. 25.
7. Privily. In secret, so as not to
call public attention to it. ff Inquired
of them diligently. Herod was a man of
great cunning and ruthlessness in carry
ing out his purposes ; as many events
of his life show. He had no desire to
discover a king, who would dethrone
himself. Knowing that he could not in
timidate nor bribe the magi into mur
dering the infant Jesus, he inquired of
them secretly, that the Jews should not
know it, the circumstances of the star's
appearing, its time, form, situation, etc.
We see the providence of God mani
fested, in His concealing the star from
them for a season. They answered
Herod's questions truly, yet left him
none the wiser. They set out for Beth

lehem and the star becomes visible
again, ff What time. It was not visible
at all times. It is thought by the best
authorities, and most of the early
Fathers, that Jesus was now a year old,
so that the star had appeared to the
Wise Men during the previous year.
They had been consulting concerning it
and travelling towards Jerusalem. Jo
seph appears to have abandoned Naza
reth and fixed his abode in Bethlehem,
perhaps with a desire of obeying the
prophet, and marking the origin of
Jesus from that place. But this human
wisdom God rejects. Micah had said,
" Out of thee shall come, etc.," which
words were exactly fulfilled by the birth
of Jesus.
8. And he sent them, etc. He will not
have them linger — he will not go him
self as yet — though it is only six miles
off. Behold his energy. The magi
were deceived, they imagined him
piously inclined to do honor to this new
prince, they hastened to fulfil their mis
sion and return to him. This was his
cunning. His only object in this
treacherous course was to slay the
child, as he had before murdered every
living thing that opposed his power,
even his own children. He deceived
the magi, but there was One whomThe
wicked can never deceive^" Who was

watching overTheTielpless' cniloT ""
-~*97Wsfaf "Sine, etc. The Church
from early times has celebrated a festi
val, January 6th, in remembrance of this
visit of the magi, by the leading of a
star, called the Epiphany, anciently
Epiphanies in the plural, i. e. the mani
festations or glorious appearances of
Christ. Nazianzen has left a sermon
on "the holy lights." St. Augustine

28

MATTHEW.

[T. E. 2.

went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young
child was.
5 10 When they saw the star,

speaks of it as celebrated by the whole
Church, the Donatist schismatics ex
cepted. Three great events are said
to have occurred on this same day of
the year. 1. This event which is here
related. These magi were Gentiles,
and were ISoTSyflliF special miracle in
*th'e'ir favor, not" as individuals, "but as
the 'representatives of the whole Gentile
world," the nations who were not in the
covenant" made by Moses. The shep
herds were'representatives of the Jews,
the chosen nation. That which was
said to the shepherds (Luke ii. 10-14),
was doubtless impressed upon the minds
of the magi, that this was a King sent
down from God, to save a ruined world.
2. The Epiphany celebrates the mani
festation of the glory of Christ, which
was made at His baptism, as related in
the Second Lesson of Morning Prayer.
Luke iii. 22. 3. Also the exhibition of
divine power in the first of the grand
series of his miracles, that of Cana.
See Second Lesson, Evening Prayer.
John ii. Christians have always viewed
these wise men with tender interest, as
miraculously led to present unto the
infant king, the first frnits of the Gen
tiles, to fulfil the prophecy, " Gentiles
shall come to Thy fight, and kings to
the brightness of Thy rising." Is. Ix. 3.
We may learn from it joyfully to adore
the love of God, which was shown to us
Gentiles, in providing a Saviour for
those who were His enemies. See 1
Tim. ii. 4. John iii. 16. And we
should learn to improve this mercy, and
to walk not in the darkness of our own
judgment, but in the light, which Christ
gives, of the will of God, and the paths
of righteousness. See Eph. v. 8. 1
John ii. 9.
11. The house. Jesus had been born, if
we receive the testimony offered by the
monks of Bethlehem, in a cave or grotto
cut out of the solid rock, which was
sometimes used as a stable. But it is
probable that at this time, a year after-

they rejoiced" with exceeding
great joy.
11 IT And when they were
come into the house, they saw the
a Is. 9. 2; 11.10; 42.6; 60.1-8.

wards, His parents occupied some house
in the town, ff Worshipped Him. Paid
Him the homage due, according to their
ideas, to kings. Doubtless some im
pressions of the greatness of this Prince
of Peace, had been received in their
following this celestial guide the star,
in Jerusalem, from conversation with
the learned Jews, and from their own
meditations. Wise men of that day in
all nations, saw the need of a divine
messenger to restore the sinful and
ruined world to order and peace. These
bow humbly down before a Deliverer,
though His only court and guards are
an aged man, and a weak virgin mother.
ff Opened their treasures. Rather the
receptacles containing them, their sacks
or chests, in which they carried these
things, ff Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
These were native products of Arabia
or Saba, and according to the custom
of the East, then and now, they would
not come to honor a king, without the
best which they could bring. See Gen.
xliii. 11. 1 Sam. x. 27. 1 Kings x. 2.
Frankincense or olibanum. Little is
known concerning it. It was a resinous
gum, occurring mostly in small round
kernels, of a light yellow, and semi-
transparent. It burned with a pleasant
odor, and diffused a dense smoke around.
It was used in the worship of the tem
ple, mixed with sweet spices. Ex. xxx.
34-38. Also by the High Priest once
in the year. Lev. xvi. 13. The heathen
also used it. Myrrh was also a resin,
of a yellow or reddish color, and bitter
taste, whence came the name. It flows
from a tree common in Arabia, and is
found in small round grains. It has
been in demand in all ages, first for
embalming the dead, and mixing with
perfumes, next for mingling with wines,
and as a medicine. Irenasus, an early
Father, allegorizes after this manner:
" They offered myrrh (used about the
dead) because He was to die for man
kind ; gold because He was a king ; and

T. E. 2.]

CHAPTER II.

29

young child with Mary his mo
ther, and fell down, and worship
ped him : and when they had
opened their treasures, they" pre
sented unto him gifts ;" gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God
in a dream6 that they should not
return to Herod, they departed in
to their own country another way.
13 And when they were de
parted, behold, the angel of the
Lord appeareth to Joseph in a
I offered. a Ps. T2. 10. Is. 60. 0.
6 Numb. 12. 6. Job 83. 15, 16.

frankincense (used in temples) because
He was God." Better perhaps Bishop
Home : "Let us offer Him faith, tried,
precious, resplendent as gold ; devotion
ascending from fervent affections, like
the smoke of frankincense from the holy
altar; love, peace, joy, and the other
graces of sanctification, fragrant, cheer
ing, and diffusive hke," myrrh and
aloes, and all the chief spices of the
merchant. See Ps. cxli. 2.
12. Warned of God. They would
have returned to Jerusalem, being de
ceived as to the true character of He
rod. This was prevented by the provi
dence of God, which was often revealed
to pagans by dreams Dan. ii. 1, 20-
22. They turn south from Bethlehem,
and are gone before the wicked king
could discover them.
»_, 13. The angel of the JLord. Rather an
angel, probably Gabriel. See Luke i.
19. The phrase, 'The angel of the
Lord,' in the Old Testament, frequently
marks the second person of the Trinity.
Gen. xxi. 17-19; xxii. 11, 12. Angels
are messengers of God, pure spiritual
beings endowed with supernatural pow
ers, of various ranks of intelligence and
might, serving God continually in hea
ven, or carrying out the works of crea
tion under Him. or administering to
the heirs of salvation upon earth. They
rejoice to be employed in the works of
grace, and their chief, Gabriel, appeared
to announce the coming of Jesus — pos
sibly to occupy to Him the same posi-

dream, saying, Arise, and take
the young child and his mother,
and flee into Egypt, and be thou
there until I bring thee word : for
Herod will seek the young child
to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the
young child and his mother by
night, and departed into Egypt ;
15 And was there until the
death of Herod : that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the "prophet, saying,
c Hos. u. l.

tion which inferior angels hold with us.
ff Into Egypt. Egypt was the nearest
country in which he could be protected
from the rage of Herod, and be also
among his countrymen. It was about
sixty miles distant. Before this visit of
the wise men and the consequent flight,
we must place the visit to the temple,
forty days after the birth of the child.
Lu. ii. 22. Lev. xii. 2-6. The visit of
the magi we put with all antiquity a
year and twelve days after the birth of
Jesus. 15. The death of Herod. He died
about one year afterwards, in the
thirty-seventh year of his reign. See
v. 19. ff That it might be fulfilled.
See note, ch. i. 22. See Hosea xi. 1.
This passage of the prophet, beyond a
doubt, referred, in the first place, to the
calling of the Israelites out of Egypt un
der Moses. Ex. iii 10. The nation of
Israel was dear to God, was tenderly
loved as if a son. God heard his cry
in Egypt, and came down of Himself to
call him thence. This name of son be
longed to them, because of the future
mercy of God to be shown them in
Christ (see 1 Cor. x. 4), and because
they were types of Him, in leading
souls on to a higher spiritual rest. It
is common for prophetic language to
have this double significancy. 1. Of
the type : Israel, David, Solomon, and
others. 2. Of the one fully perfecting
the work which God had in hand And
in this case God called His Son, the

30

MATTHEW.

[T. E: 2.

Out of Egypt have I called my
Son. 16 T Then Herod, when he
saw that he was mocked of the
wise men, was exceeding wroth,
and sent forth, and slew all the
children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof, from

Israelites out of Egypt, to give them a
country here, His Son our Lord, to give
Him ' the heathen for his inheritance.'
16. Mocked cf the wise men. His
intentions frustrated. The wicked are
always suspicious. Herod supposed
that the wise men had discovered his
evil thoughts and deceived him, where
as they had acted in simple faith.
ff Exceeding wroth. Angry beyond
measure. His atrocious nature dis
played itself. The wise men had escaped
him, and as he supposed put him at
naught ; and he wreaks the vengeance
of his fears and wounded pride upon the
poor infants of Bethlehem, ff Slew all
the children. In Greek, all the male
children. In this general massacre, he
thought to slay the infant Messiah.
He went somewhat beyond the time of
his probable birth, and slew all under
two years. It is evident that the age of
Jesus was about that, namely, u year
and some weeks, at which the tradition
of the Church has placed it. This hor
rible cruelty of Herod was in keeping
with his general character. Probably
a hundred or more children perished in
this slaughter, ff Coasts. The parts
adjacent, the neighborhood. It has no
reference in this use to any sea. Beth
lehem was an inland town. The original
word means borders, or bounds. Ra
man, of which mention is made, was
ten miles off : if it was visited by this
order, it shows that Herod made a wide
sweep in his rage. These infants slain
at and around Bethlehem, have ever
been reckoned by Christians to be the
first martyrs for Christ ; inasmuch as
they died on His account and in His
stead. A festival was appointed De
cember 28, in remembrance of them,
calling them the Holy Innocents. The

two years old and under, accord
ing to the time which he had
diligently inquired of the wise
men. 17 Then was fulfilled that
which was spoken by Jeremy the
prophet," saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice
a Jer. 81. 15.

Church, like our Lord, loves to ' carry
the lambs in her bosom.' She will have
honorable mention made of even the
little ones who perished for Him, who
came to earth as an infant, that He
might save infants. On the return of
this feast, we are bidden to have in
mind how God did, " out of the mouths
of babes and sucklings, ordain strength,
and make infants to glorify Him by
their death," and to pray "that He
would mortify and kill all vices in us,
and so strengthen us by His grace, that
by the innoeency of our lives and con
stancy of our faith, even unto death, we
may glorify His holy name, through
Jesus Christ our Lord.", The passage
chosen for the Epistle (Rev. xiv. 1-5)
sets before us the preciousness of that
purity of heart and mind which belongs
to infants. We learn from the very fact
of this celebration, the faith of the
Church, that children, even the least,
are capable of being made ' children of
God, members of Christ, and inheritors
of the kingdom of heaven.'
17-18. Was fulfilled. The words of
the prophet were recalled in this scene.
That weeping which his imagination so
forcibly pictured in the idea of the de
parted Rachael, weeping for her chil
dren in their distress, received another
fulfilment. For the words of Jeremiah
are not cited here as a prophecy, but
"then was fulfilled," only as a striking
renewal of an ancient passage. See
Jer. xxxi. 15. After the destruction of
Jerusalem, the captives were led away
in great companies to the land of Baby
lon. Jeremiah, with an exquisite beau
ty of language, gives us an idea of the
weeping of this great company, by call
ing up the image of their ancestress
weeping over her descendants. No ac-

T. E. 2.]

CHAPTER II.

31

heard, lamentation, and weeping,
and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, and
would not be comforted, because
they are not.
19 If But when Herod was
dead, behold, an angel of the

count of multitudes mourning could so
emphatically express the depth of their
affliction as this one image. And only
in an accommodated sense, as any man
recites the striking language of another,
St. Matthew repeats it. He does not
give the exact number of the slain, nor
the various grief of the parents, but pic
tures the one mother wringing her hands
over them. Rachel was the mother of
Joseph and Benjamin. Her grave was
at Bethlehem. Jeremy speaks of her
shade, as if it had been seen at Ramah,
weeping the loss of her children. St.
Matthew is thought to imply that the
slaughter of the children extended to
Ramah, but this seems not very proba
ble, as Ramah was six miles to the
north of Jerusalem, on the road to
Samaria, ff Weeping for her children.
It is common in this day in the East for
mothers to seek the graves of their
children, to weep over them. It was
probably the custom anciently, for in
that country customs seldom change.
There is great beauty in the imagination
of this, the dearest wife of the ancestor
of the Jews, rising from her grave to
appear in the times of the affliction of
her children.
19. But when Herod was dead. " Ac
cording to S. Athanasius, who lived
A. D. 326, the holy family returned
from Egypt in the consulship of Silva-
nus, when Jesus had completed His
fo urth year. This consulship was in the
year after Herod's death." Dr. Jarvis.
At his death Herod left his kingdom to
be divided between his three sons. Ar
chelaus received Judea, Idumea and
Samaria ; Philip Herod received Bata-
nea, Trachonitis and Gaulonitis ; and
Herod Antipas, the tetrarch, notorious
for the murder of John the Baptist, Gal
ilee and Perea. The name Herod was

Lord appeareth in a dream to
Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the
young child and his mother, and
go into the land of Israel : for
they are dead" which sought the
young child's life.
a Ex. 4. 19.
given them as a title of royalty, and the
division ratified by the Romans.
20. They are dead. Antipater was
dead as well as Herod. He was put to
death by his father, for conspiring to
poison him and seize the kingdom.
The character of Herod is thus summed
up by Josephus : " He was a man uni
versally cruel and of an ungovernable
anger ; and though he trampled justice
under foot he was ever the favorite of
fortune. From a private station he rose
to the throne. Beset on every side
with a thousand dangers, he escaped
them all, and prolonged his life to the
full boundaries of old age. They who
considered what befell him in his own
family, -pronounced him a man most
miserable ; but to himself he ever seem
ed most prosperous, for of all his ene
mies there was not one whom he did
not overcome." De Bell. xvii. 8. Jo
sephus found no room in detailing the
greater crimes of Herod, to speak of
the murder of the innocents of Bethle
hem. He cruelly destroyed numbers
of persons opposed to him. At the con
quest of Jerusalem he put to death for
ty-five friends of Antigonus, whom oth
ers would have spared. He murdered
the young high priest Aristobulus, and
sought to elevate a man unfit for the
office. His children became victims of
his anger or jealousy, till the Emperor
Augustus said bitterly, " It were better
to be Herod's hog than his son," as his
religion would withhold him from slay
ing the animal, but his conscience would
not restrain him from his children. He
loved Mariame, and destroyed her.
Though a Jew, by profession, he sought
to paganize the nation, till compelled by
fear to abandon the plan, he tried to
atone for it by rebuilding the temple.
He was the victim of terrible remorse.

32

MATTHEW.

[T. E. 2.

21 And he arose, andtook the
young child and his mother, and
came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that
Archelaus did reign in Judea in
the room of his father Herod, he
was afraid to go thither : not
withstanding, being warned of

When near his latter end, eaten up by
a loathsome disease, he sought to com
mit suicide. Then, to crown all, he or
dered the death of one of his sons, and
summoned the chief men of Judea to
Jericho. They were shut up in the cir
cus, and he besought his sister Salome
and her husband, with tears in his eyes,
to put them to death, as soon as he ex
pired, that the Jews might have reason to
mourn for him. Such was the monster
who planned the death of the infant Je
sus. Yet St. Matthew says not a word
to brand him, for his purpose was not
to give the life of Herod, but of Jesus.
The angels, in communicating his end,
say only, They are dead. This silence.
should teach us pity of the -wicked,
who are the most miserable often when
they seem the most prosperous.
22. He heard that Archelaus did reign.
He was son of Herod by Maltace, and
of a disposition similar to his father's.
He began his reign with a deed of cru
elty, slaying three thousand Jews, at
one time, in the temple. He was at
last banished by the Roman Emperor to
Nicene in Gaul, to satisfy the Jews.
He was the last of the kings. The na
tion was then reduced to a Roman pro
vince. Joseph had great reason to fear
such a man ; but it was the design of
Providence, by causes apparently nat
ural, to bring the Saviour into notice first,
as a native of Galilee, then the most
ignoble part of Palestine. Joseph in
tended to dwell in Bethlehem, but was
overruled, ff He was afraid. The an
gel bade him to go into the land of Is
rael. He hesitated about returning to
his own city until warned to do so. We
see in this the piety of Joseph, who was
fain to return to Bethlehem, supposing
that the son of David should appear
first from that towa ff Parts of Gali-

God in a dream, he turned aside
into the parts of Galilee :
23 And he came and dwelt in
a city called" Nazareth : that it
might be fulfilled which was spo
ken by the prophets, He shall be
called a Nazarene.

a Luke 2. i

John 1. 45.

lee. The northern section of the Holy
Land was called Galilee. It was sepa
rated from Judea by Samaria. For
merly occupied by the tribes of Zebu-
Ion, Naphtali and Asher, it became the
possession after the captivity, of a mix
ed population. Josephus described it
as very populous, containing two hun
dred and four towns and cities. The
people were brave, warlike, and resolute
lovers of liberty — strongly impressed
with the belief that they ought to serve
God alone as their king. Our Lord
was surnamed the Galilean, from his
youth being passed there.
23. Nazareth. It was a small village
of Galilee, west of Mount Tabor, about
fifty-six miles north of Jerusalem. It
was built partly in a valley, partly on
the declivity of a hill. Lu. iv. 29.
A village called Nassara is still to be
found there, in which is a convent, said
to be built on the spot of the Annuncia
tion, and two churches. The monks,
who seem pious and credulous men,
point the traveller to the very house
where Jesus spent his'early life in sub
jection to his parents. Bp. Wainwright
thus speaks of it : — " Nazareth reposes
in the bosom of a beautiful valley,
abounding in rich pastures, groves of
fig-trees, and gardens hedged with the
prickly pear, surrounded by picturesque
but barren mountains. ' It seems,'
says a graphic writer, "as if fifteen
mountains met to form an enclosure for
this delightful spot : they rise around it
like the edge -of a, shell, to guard it from
intrusion.' The village stands on the
side of a hill that bounds the valley on
the west, and contains a mingled popu
lation of Greeks and Roman Catholics,
Maronites and Mahommedans. The
convent is upon a rocky eminence,
rising directly from the valley, upon the

T. E. 30.]

CHAPTER HI.

33

CHAPTER III.
IN those days" came John the
Baptist, preaching in the wil
derness of Judea,
a Mark 1. 4. Lu. 8. 2. John 1. 28.

eastern border of the village. It is a
substantial building of massive stone,
enclosed in high walls. Within, there
is the church built upon the place
where the house of Joseph and Mary is
supposed to have stood." Bp. Wain
wright was sick at the convent, and was
attended by a pious and skilful monk,
of whom he says : " So he administers
to the Arabs of the desert; and the
convent itself is the centre of charities
untold. Truly wonders of love have
sprung from the Godlike benevolence
of the carpenter's son of Nazareth ! "
23. By the prophets. Not by any
single prophet, but by them as a whole.
The words are not found in any of the
ancient prophecies. Some would refer
them to Judges xiii. 5. There Samson
is called a Nazarite. But a Nazarite
and a Nazarene are two entirely different
names, of things as different. A Naza
rite was a man honored by the Jews ;
a Nazarene is here used as a mark of
contempt. Others deduce a meaning
from Isaiah xi. 1, from the word
Branch — in Hebrew, Netzer. But the
interpretation is stretched and unwor
thy. Did Jesus dwell in this town sim
ply to call attention to the similarity of
sound between the words Netzer and
Nazarene ? And St. Matthew says, by
the prophets, not by one of them. We
read, too, that the word Nazarene was
not given to Jesus in honor of the
Branch, but as a sneer, to show the
doubt of His claims of being such. It
follows, therefore, that the writer refers,
as most commentators have shown, to
that large class of prophecies which
foretold that the Messiah should be a
man despised and rejected. See Is. liii.
2, 3. Ps. xxii. 7. Zech. xi. 12, 13. The
inhabitants of the towns of Galilee were
despised by the Jews. Nathanael
showed the prevalent feeling. John i.
46. See Matt. xxvi. 69, 73. To be a
Nazarene was therefore to be a person
of no repute, despised and rejected.

2 And saying, Repent ye ; for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken
of by the prophet Esaias,6 saying,
b Isaiah 40. 8.

The Messiah, least of all, was to be
sought for in that province, as the
Pharisees sneeringly told Nicodemus:
" Search and look : for out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet." John vii. 52.
St. Matthew manifests his own truth
fulness in giving these particulars. For
the brand which was put on the early
Christians was the name of Nazarenes
Acts xxiv. 5. He takes it freely, and
showing the order of events, how it
came about, refers to the prophets,
whose words described the reproach
which would be cast upon the Messiah.
He seems to show the spirit manifested
by St. Paul on another occasion : " God
forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of Christ." Gal. vi. 14. Heb. xiii.
13. St. Augustine remarks : " The
whole of this history, from the account
of the Magi inclusively, St. Luke omits.
Let it here be noticed, once for all, that
each of the Evangelists writes as if he
were giving a full and complete history,
which omits nothing ; when he really
passes over anything, he continues his
thread of history as if he had told all.
Yet, by n. diligent comparison of the
several narratives, we can be at no loss
to know where to insert any particular
that is mentioned by one and not by
the other." CHAPTER HI.
1. In those days. Twenty-six years
had passed. Those days, therefore, refer
to that period in general, the days of
the life and ministry of Jesus. St.
Luke makes mention of Jesus at twelve
years of age. Lu. ii. 42, &c, and
passes on, as St. Matthew and the oth
ers do, to the ministry of Christ. For
this was especially the Gospel — the rev
elation of the will of God in the evan
gelical covenant. The date of the event
recorded in this chapter is given by St.
Luke iii. 1. It is thought that St.
John began his work on the great day
of atonement, the 10th of the month
Tisri, answermg^te*oiff~2mnffi" Sep-,,

swo^r

34

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 24.

tember 29th. See Lev. xvi. 10 ; Deut,
xvi. 16. On the day that the high-
priest entered the most holy place, to
offer atonement for the sins of the na
tion, he began to preach of that great
atonement of our High-Priest, the Lord
Jesus. After the feast of Tabernacles,
Oct. 4th to 11th, the Jews were free to
leave the city, and came to him in mul
titudes to be baptized by him. ff John
the Baptist. That is, the Baptizer. See
Luke i. He was the last of the Jewish
prophets. Like them rude, abrupt in
speech, simple, severe in his manner of
life and dress, bringing with him the
unmistakable signs of his office, the
" greatest" in power and privilege of all
before him. Lu. vii. 28. He was six
months older than Jesus, and related
to Him. He knew Him of course as a
cousin, but not at first as the Messiah.
His chief duty was to preach the bap
tism of repentance and remission of sin,
as a preparation for the coming of the
Messiah. Baptism is said to have
been practised by the Jews, as a mode
of receiving proselytes into their church.
It was expressive with them, of the
cleansing from the defilement of heath
enism, and a general purification to fit
persons to appear before the Lord.
John, in adopting this custom, does not
stop to explain it, except as a baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins.
Lu. iii. 3. His disciples confessed their
sins and expressed a resolution of amend
ment of fife. v. 6. It was distinguished
from Christian baptism by John him
self, v. 11. It was temporary, to last
only for a season, and was to be re
peated after the Holy Ghost came. Acts
xviii. 25 ; xix. 1-7. Our Lord makes
the distinction between the two rites.
Acts i. 5. ff Preaching. Crying aloud
as a herald or public crier. He came
to announce Christ ; to warn the people
of His coming. He warned all that the
Lord was near, and instructed them in
the righteousness which they should
have, to be ready to meet Him. His
style was simple. He did not anticipate
the Gospel doctrines, but only gave ut
terance to that same exhortation made
by all the prophets — to live soberly,
righteously and godly. So should " the
ministers and stewards of the divine

mysteries seek to prepare and make
ready the way of the Lord, now by turn
ing the hearts of the disobedient to the
wis lorn of the just, so that at Christ's
second coming we may be found an ac
ceptable people in His sight." Collert
3d Sun. in Adv. The Church has set
apart June 24th in honor of this holy
man, and holds up his example to us,
that, like him, we may constantly speak
the truth boldly rebuke vice, and pa
tiently suffer for the truth's sake, ff Wil
derness of Judea. A wild place with
few or no inhabitants. The valley of
the Jordan, from Jericho southward,
was mostly uninhabited, occupied most
ly by wild beasts and wandering tribes.
See v. 5. John lived apart, an ascetic
life, as Elijah had done before him, in
order to manifest a disregard of the
vanities of life. Ch. xi. 18. He called
men from their homes into a wild re
gion, because it was necessary to rouse
them to a work of preparation. To do
this now, as some enthusiasts would at
tempt, is to act without warrant, to
interfere with the due order of Christian
society, and promote enthusiasm and
folly. We live under a different dis
pensation from St. John.
2. Repent ye. The repentance which
was here meant, was a determination
to forsake the vices and sins of their
past fives and to do good works, meet,
i. b., worthy of a resolution of repent
ance. It was prompted by a fear of Je
hovah, a sense of the guilt of offending
Him, and a desire to receive a share in
the blessings of the Messianic kingdom.
It differed from Christian repentance,
according as the Jewish expectation of
a temporal kingdom differed from the
hope of a spiritual sanctification in the
soul and the future rewards of heaven.
The Greek word implies a change of
mind and life. The Prayer Book sets
forth the elements of Repentance. " The
way and means whereto, is 1st, to ex
amine your lives and consciences by
the rule of God's commandments, and
wherein soever ye shall perceive your
selves to have offended, either by will,
word or deed, then to bewail your own
sinfulness, and to confess yourselves to
Almighty God, with full purpose of
amendment of life." It adds the duty

T. E. 30. J

CHAPTER III.

35

The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way

of restitution to others, and forgiving
them their offences. He who does this
perseveringly, knows in himself what
repentance is. SeePs. Ii. 10, 11; Luke
vii. 37-47 ; xix. 8 ; xxiii. 40-43.
ff The kingdom of heaven. The time
has come that the kingdom spoken of
by the prophets shall be set up — the
king of it is about to appear. The
Greek reads, the kingdom of the hea
vens, in the plural, probably a Hebra
ism for the heavenly kingdom. It is
elsewhere called the kingdom of God,
of His dear Son, of Christ, &c. The
Old Testament has very numerous pre
dictions of a kingdom to be set up in
the last times, by the Messiah on the
earth, over which He was to role for
ever. Dan. vii. 13, 14. The Jews
misunderstood the spirit of these proph
ecies, and instead of a kingdom of grace,
they imagined a temporal reign of
Christ, a glorious conquest of the whole
earth to be achieved by war, an univer
sal realm in which -they were to be
kings and priests over the Gentiles. It
was a fascinating delusion. Images of
the greatest beauty and happiness
which the imagination can conceive, are
found in the prophetic writings on this
subject. As troubles gathered over the
Jews, these images grew brighter. Uni
versal plenty, unfailing health, prosper
ity and peace, no troubles at home, no
fears abroad, all noxious animals de
spoiled of their wildness and venom,
disease, weeping, death unknown, all
that poetry can discover to paint a tem
poral Paradise, had been used of this
Messianic reign. See Is. ix. For all can
but feebly portray the joy which peace
with God can give. The Jews did not
reflect on other portions of their Scrip
tures, that true joy was to be found in
another kind of conquest, that a king
dom must be set up in the soul, in order
to secure its happiness. This delusive
vision of a temporal kingdom had ta
ken such hold of the Jewish mind, that
even the disciples could not give it up,
till illuminated by the Holy Ghost.
Acts i. 6. If we do not keep in mind
Vol. I.— 2*

of the Lord, make his paths
straight.

this fact, we shall fail to understand
many things which are recorded in the
Gospels. We now know that the Mes
sianic kingdom is heavenly and spirit
ual. It is the new covenant, the Holy
Catholic Church, the spiritual reign of
Christ begun in the Church on earth,
completed in heaven. In the Gospels it
is called a kingdom, because the king
was the main idea, Who demanded obe
dience of His chosen people. In the
epistles it is called not only kingdom,
but the Church, i. e. the Lord's pos
session, because He has bought and
united His people to Himself. See Matt.
xvi. 18 ; Acts ii. 47 ; Eph. i. 22 ; iii. 10 ;
v. 25-29. This kingdom embraces
Christ the King, the Head over all,
and His Body the Church, or "all who
are united to Him, 1, by the rites of in
itiation and fellowship ; 2, all who are
united to Him by spiritual obedience
and growth in grace ; 3, those who
are in His holy keeping, in the world
of departed spirits. The visible Church
here contains good and bad members ;
the Church in the other life only will
contain those who have been faithful to
the end. John the Baptist doubtless
had only confused notions of the spirit
ual covenant, for Jesus warned him
not to be offended at His want of tem
poral greatness. Ch. xi. 6. But he
saw its shadowy outlines, and taught
by inspiration the duties which would
have made men apt to receive it.
3. Esaias. Isaiah. See Is. xl. 3. The
words are quoted from the Septuagint
Greek, with a trifling difference, ff The
voice of one, etc. This had been said in
the first place of the Jews returning from
Babylon, and is applicable to John only
as the one fulfilling the former typical
event. When St. Matthew says, This is
he of whom, etc., he is to be understood
as saying, " Now that the return from
captivity has begun under Christ, of
whom all the Old Testament and the
Jewish history were typical, this John
is exactly described by the words of
Isaiah." If any cavil is made, it is suf
ficient to know that both Jews and early

36

MATTHEW.

[A D. 24.

4 And the same John had his
" raiment of camel's hair, and a
leathern girdle about his loins;
a 2 Kings 1. 8. Matt. 11. 8.

Christians understood the language of
the ancient prophecies according to this
rule. The words of Isaiah give us the
picture of a herald or pioneer going
before an army to announce the ap
proach of a king, and command every
one to prepare the roads, remove rocks,
level obstructions, and cast up a high
way, so that he and his army may travel
easily. Such were the customs of the
East. Isaiah foretells to his country
men a future return in this royal man
ner from Babylon, under the providen
tial guidance of their king, Jehovah.
All impediments should be removed,
and they should be brought back. Now,
if we look to the fulfilment : the Jews
did return, but by no means in a royal
or triumphant manner. The words
therefore pass beyond this event to
some other future one, which we find to
be this coming of the Messiah ; and in
this fulfilment John is the herald spoken
of by the prophet. He cried out to all
that their King came, bade them pre
pare in their hearts the royal highway,
that they might make Him welcome.
He was a voice only to prepare the way
for the Word of God. The spiritual
covenant was only shadowed out in his
preaching. He was in the wilderness,
to announce in a startling manner the
coming of Him whose goings forth have
been of old, from everlasting.
4. Tiie same John. He imitated the
other prophets by a life of poverty,
seclusion, and asceticism. Elijah, the
type of John, " was a hairy man, and
girt with a girdle of leather," i. e. he
was clothed in the skins of beasts, such
as could be obtained in the wilderness.
See 2 Kings 1, 8. Zech. xiii. 4. This
garment of John's was not of fine
camel's hair, such as we are accustomed
to see in camlet cloth, but either the
hide of the animal with the hair upon it,
or else a very coarse cloth made from it,
and now called sackcloth. Chaudin, the
traveller, states that such garments are
worn now in the East by dervishes, i. v.

and his meat was locusts and wild
honey. 5 Then went out to him Jeru-

false prophets of the Mohammedans.
This clothing marked the poverty which
John had adopted as the servant of God.
ff His meat. His food. Locusts of
some sort could be eaten by the Jews.
Lev. xi. 22. Bochart mentions ten
species of them, which were ' clean
meat,' that is, not forbidden by the Mo
saic ritual. They were insects about
two or three inches in length, shaped
like grasshoppers, appearing at times in
immense numbers, like black clouds,
and devastating large tracts of country.
They were one of the plagues of Egypt.
Ex. x. 12-16. See Joel i. 4. Is xxxiii.
4. Though small, they are a great
terror to the Orientals, and give a fear
ful point to the wrathful denunciations
of Joel (ii. 2-11) and St. John (Rev.
ix. 3—12): They were eaten, and are
still, by the dervishes and poor of the
East, ff Wild honey. This was abun
dant in Palestine. Moses speaks of the
people "as sucking honey out of the
rock, and oil out of the flinty rock," and
the land " as flowing with milk and
honey." Deut. xxxii 13. Ex. iii. 8.
There seems to be two kinds still found
in this country: the bee-honey, which
is deposited in holes in the rocks and
holes in trees, in great abundance. The
inhabitants mix it with their food of all
kinds. Also a sweet vegetable liquid is
found in the valley of the Jordan, called
Beyrouk honey. Burckhardt says that
it was described to bim as flowing from
the leaves of a tree found there, as sweet
as fruit, but becoming sour after two
days. The Arabs eat it with butter.
It is enough that there was enough food
of these kinds to be found by John in
his wanderings to sustain life. He
came not "eating and drinking," as
other men. Matt. xi. 18. His mode
of life called attention to him, his
spiritual elevation compelled men to
think, and his simple truth and fervor,
aided by the inspiration of his divine
message, persuaded many to enter on
the formal preparation, some in the sin-

T. E. 30.] CHAPTER III.
salem, and all Judea, and all the
region round about Jordan,

37

cere, penitent expectation of the Mes
siah, whose way he thus made ready.
5. Jerusalem. The whole city was
moved. All went forth. If it was the
season of Feast of Tabernacles, the
city was filled with devout Jews, who
may be intended by all Judea. Judea,
formerly the possession of Benjamm and
Judah, lay to the south of Palestine.
It was occupied by Jews until the de
struction of the city, ff Jordan. This
famous river flows from north to south
through the holy land. Rising in the
mountains of Lebanon to the north, it
first flows thirteen miles under ground,
as far as Cassarea Philippi, when it finds
the light again, in a scene of great
beauty. It flows into the lake of Me-
rom (now called El-Haleh) a spot cele
brated in the history of the Israelites.
Josh. xi. 5, 7. Ten miles further south
the Jordan enters and flows through the
Sea of Galilee, which is about twelve
miles long and six wide. The current
of the river is perceptible through the
whole length of the lake. Thence it
flows by a serpentine course to the
Dead Sea, which is about sixty miles in
a direct line, though the river by its
mcanderings reaches the length of two
hundred miles. Lieut. Lynch, U. S. N,
was the first to survey the course of this
stream, and describes it as a rapid, dan
gerous river. His party passed over
twenty-seven rapids, some very perilous.
Towards the end of its winding course
it becomes more navigable. The vafiey
of this river is one of the most remark
able spots of the world. It is called
El-Ghor, i. e. the depressed plain, and
is from 650 to 1,300 feet below the level
of the ocean, and removed by this cir
cumstance from all connection with it.
The river flows into the sultry cauldron
of the Dead Sea, and is evaporated by
the heat of the sun, and sent out again
in clouds to water or be wasted on the
surrounding deserts. The Jordan has
in many places two distinct banks on

6 And were baptized' of him
in Jordan," confessing their sins.
a Acts 1. 5; 2. 88; 19. 4,5. 6Ezra9;Neh.
9; Dan. 9; Lev. 16. 21.

each side, two confining its ordinary
current, and two reached by it, in its
annual inundations. See Josh. iii. 15.
1 Chron. xii. 15. The higher level is
overgrown with weeds and rushes, in
which the wild beasts take refuge, till
driven out by the " swellings " of the
stream. See Jer. xlix. 19. High pre
cipitous hills, bare of vegetation and
rocky, rise on both sides of the valley,
giving room at intervals to little valleys
of the richest, most picturesque verdure
and beauty. In one of these, at Betha-
bara, near Jericho, John fixed the scene
of his baptism. He baptized at first
"beyond Jordan," on the east side, at
Bethabara, at the very spot, as it is
supposed, where the Israelites crossed
the river under Joshua ; afterwards he
retired to Enon or Saleim, on the west
ern side. The Jordan has been the
scene of some of the most important
events of sacred history. It was
divided by a miracle for the passage ot
the Israelites. Josh. iii. & iv. There
they were typically baptized in it, as
St. Paul reasons of the same event in a
similar case. See 1 Cor. x. 2. The
Christian feels the force of this analogy,
as is shown in the Hymn 199 of the
Prayer Book. Elijah again divided its
waters for his passage to a better land.
Kings ii 8. Naaman was cleansed from
the leprosy by dipping seven times in it.
2 Kings v. 14. Our Saviour was bap
tized beneath its waves, thus " sanctify
ing the element of water to the mystical
washing away of sin." Prayer Book.
These events prefigured the spiritual
significations of baptism, as a rite, of
admission into the Church, the better
Canaan ; as a means of washing off by
the Spirit the otherwise incurable lepro
sy of sin, and as a sign and sacrament,
uniting us to the Lord Jesus, and " gen
erally necessary to salvation." The
Fathers considered St. John's bap
tism as a forerunner only of the Chris
tian, to be only a shadowy outline of

38

MATTHEW.

[A D. 24.

7 T But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees

the latter, which began in its fulness on
the day of Pentecost.
6. Were baptized. The force of the
word baptize, which is now so hotly de
bated, seems to have been simply to
wash, whether by plunging a thing into
water, or by water poured upon it. The
former mode of ablution, that is, by
immersing a person under the water,
" burying him in baptism " (Col. ii. 12),
and lifting him again out of it, was
without any question the ancient cus
tom, was doubtless the manner in which
Jesus was baptized by John. St. Paul,
therefore, speaks of our baptism as re
presenting the death, burial, and resur
rection of Jesus, and as grounded upon
that representation, our " being dead
unto sin," " buried with Him by baptism
unto death" (Ro. vi. 4), renouncing sin
and being acquitted of it, by rising
again ' to walk in newness of life.'
The other mode of washing by emble
matic pouring or sprinkling sufficiently
symbolizes the same effects, and re
presents in a more striking manner
" the sacrificial sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. i. 19 ; Heb. x. 22),
which eleanseth from all sin, and must
necessarily have been used in the first
ages of the Church, though less fre
quently, as, for instance, when so many
thousands were baptized in one day
(Acts ii. 41), when the family of the
jailer were baptized in the prison (Acts
xvi. 33), and in the case of all sick per
sons and delicate infants. We are left
at liberty as to the mode we shall prac
tise ; because were there more to be
said for immersion than there is, " God
will have mercy and not sacrifice." Hos.
vi. 6 ; Matt. ix. 13, xii. 7. Washings
were common among the Jews, to ex
press a moral or ceremonial cleansing.
Heb. ix. 10 ; Mark vii. 4 ; Numb. xix.
7. The Episcopal church, in her rev
erence for the spiritual truth, suppos.es
either form of baptism to be good and
valid, as is shown in the rubrics of the
office of baptism. It speaks thus :" And
from thence to the prayer immediately
before the immersion or the pouring of
water on the infant." Again, " And then

naming it after them, the minister shall
dip it (the child) in the water, or shall pour
water upon it," &c. "Either of the3e
modes is sufficient ; for it is not in this
spiritual washing as it is in the bodily
washing, where, if the bath be not large
enough, some parts may be foul when
the rest are cleansed. The soul is
cleansed after another manner, a little
water can cleanse the believer as well
as a whole river." — Bp. Sparrow. The
Church feels no difficulty in allowing
an indifference in the mode of adminis
tering the rite, and the quantity of
water used in it. She only requires for
regular baptism that it be duly adminis
tered in two respects: 1. That the sa
cred names of the Trinity be used in the
prescribed manner, with water. 2.
That it be done by a lawful minister,
properly ordained, and iu the regular
discharge of his office, ff Confessing
their sins. This was strictly commanded
in the law of Moses. See Lev. v. 5,
xvi. 21, xxvi. 40 ; Ps. xxxii. 5. John,
as a Jewish prophet, taught this con
fession according to his law. St. Peter
calls it " the answer of a good con
science toward God," and opposes it to
the outward form. See 1 Pet. iii. 21.
It contains repentance of sin and due
confession thereof; faith that God has
provided forgiveness of all sin ; obedience
to the requirements of this appointed
way of pardon ; a heart moved with
charity to the Giver of all good, and the
sincere proposition of mind to do all good
works as opportunity may be given.
These were doubtless required by St.
John; they are required by the Lord
Jesus now. Iu the former case, the
corresponding blessing was " forgiveness
of sins," to prepare for the Messiah.
Luke iii. 3. In the latter there are
added "the gift of the Holy Ghost"
(Acts ii. 38), and the promise of eternal
salvation. 1 Pet. iii. 21. John fore
told this higher gift of the Messiah,
v. 11. Thus he made ready, in a moral
sense, in the desert of a sinful nation, a
highway for the Lord. So must we,
according to the Christian covenant,
make our hearts ready for His ap-

T. E. 30.]

CHAPTER HI.

39

come to his baptism, he said un
to them," O generation of vipers,
a Matt. 12. 84 ; Gen. 8. 1 ; Key. 12. 9.

proach, by repentance, confession, and
forsaking of all sin.
7. Pharisees. The Jews were di
vided at the time of Christ into the two
rival sects of Pharisees and Sadducees,
the former strictly holding to the law
of Moses, the latter inclined to a more
liberal interpretation, and to laxer mo
rals ; the former strict religionists, the
latter more worldly and philosophic ;
both sadly departed from the truth and
purity of the Mosaic spirit. We hear
of a third sect, the Essenes, but they
were of smaller number, lonely habits,
and exercised no influence upon their
countrymen or the disciples of Christ.
Hence we find no mention of them in
the Gospels. Of the two principal sects,
the Pharisees are oftenest mentioned,
as most bitterly opposed to Christ, so
that we must know something of them,
in order to understand the records of
His life. They are mentioned by the
Jewish historian, Josephus, as in high
repute in the time of Hyrcanus, 130,
B. C. See Jos. Ant. xiii. 10, 5, 6.
Their name signified Separatists, the
pure, by a proud claim of superior sanc
tity, moral and ceremonial They be
lieved in a system of traditionary ex
planations of the law of Moses, of which
they were the special guardians, by
which while pretending the greatest
reverence for the law, they often sub
verted and corrupted it. Matt. xv. 6.
Their tradition they pretended to have
come down with the same authority as
the written word. They believed in
fate, much as the heathen Stoics did
(see note ch. xviii. 11), yet did not
entirely reject the notion of a free will.
In opposition to the Sadducees, they
believed in the existence of spirits and
souls, though with some erroneous no
tions (see Jos. Bel. Jud. ii. 8, 14), and
in the resurrection of the body. Their
religious practices or morals come be
fore us most frequently. They profess
ed great strictness of life, and skilfully
veiled all their faults under a merely

who hath warned you to flee from
the6 wrath to come ?
); Dan. 12. 2; Is. 13

SNah. 1, 2; Job 21. !
6.11.

external piety, whereby they gained as
their reward, the greatest influence over
their countrymen. They were guileful
and hypocritic, on account of which,
St. John here, and our Lord in ch.
xxiii. 33, calls them vipers. They were
scrupulous for certain rites, the wash
ings of the body, their clothes, cups, ta
bles, &c, fastings, long prayers in pub
lic, alms, tithes, and their phylacteries,
i. e. certain badges on their dress, whieh
distinguished them from the rest of
men. Their religion was a showy out
side, to be seen of men, and it was, in
their hands, an instrument of fearful
power. They gained by it wealth, in
fluence and power, and as a consequence
became factious, intolerant and corrupt.
There were some good men in their
ranks, for instance, Simeon, Joseph of
Arimathea and Nicodemus ; but the
great body of the sect was worldly,
corrupt, haughty, and ignorant of the
spirit of the law which they professed,
deceitful in their dealings with men,
and hostile to the religion of Christ.
They effected the death of Jesus, and
are ranked by Christians as the worst
of men. We should study their char
acters, in order to avoid foolish preju
dice against them, and especially to
escape their errors. They degenerated
from the model of a pious Jew, as
drawn by Moses and David. What shall
we be, if we neglect the sublimer and
purer example of piety which is set be
fore us ? ff Sadducees. Little is known
of these men. The name was either
derived from the Hebrew word Tsadah,
meaning to be just, or from one Sadok,
who lived about 300 B. C. They de
nied the existence of spirits and souls,
hence, also, the resurrection of men.
They erred also concerning the provi
dence of God. They held to the wri
tings of Moses, by rejecting traditions,
and were accused of rejecting all the
other inspired writings. They were
wealthy men, worldly, easy, selfish,
with no belief of a future life, nor fear

40

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 24.

8 Bring forth therefore fruits
meet for repentance :'
[ or, answerable to amendment of life.

9 And think not to say within
yourselves, We have Abraham

of a future judgment. Opposed to the
Pharisees in most of their opinions,
they paid to the law a careful heed, so
far as to avoid all scandal and incon
venience. They lived for this world only.
They sometimes were led by their
more zealous enemies to join in the war
against our Lord, but with far less in
terest in it than the Pharisees. The
Pharisees were superstitious ; they were
skeptical. The former sought from re
ligion a means of power over the con
sciences of men, the latter compromised
with it, lor the quieting of their own.
Well might John express his wonder,
that such men had been startled, the
one from their pride, the other from
then' indifference, to come out and lis
ten to a rude preacher of righteousness.
ff 0 generation of vipers. Children of
serpents, malicious, cunning and dan
gerous men. Says an old writer : " Vi
pers have a beautiful and speckled out
side, but are filled with poison within.
So these men's countenances wore a
holy appearance, but their deeds were
evil." The viper is common in Pales
tine, about five feet in length, yellowish,
speckled with oblong brown spots, and
of deadly venom. The serpent, in all
its forms, is a type of that evil spirit
which first appeared in it, to ruin man,
and bring death upon the race of
Adam. St. John uses these words to
remove the veil which had concealed
from the eyes of these men their mal
ice and hypocrisy, in coming to hear
him. Truth is gentle to the penitent, but
in mercy is stern in rebuking the bold
ness of sinners, ff Who hath warnedyou ?
You pride yourselves on your intimate
acquaintance with the law and the
prophets. Which of them has warned
you to come to me ? Which of them
has broken the ice of your pride and
unbelief? Has any one of them sent
you hither with the worldly motives
which now actuate you ? The Phari
sees sent out a commission to examine
tho claims of John to being a prophet,

John i. 19-24. This question was re
corded by St. Matthew, probably, as
a result or index of the meetings of
John and these great men of Jerusalem.
ff Wrath to come. That future punish
ment of the wicked in which the Jews
believed. Dan. xii. 2. The know
ledge which we now have of future
punishment is far more definite and
certain than any which existed before
the gospel. The word Hell has a dif
ferent meaning in the two Testaments.
See note, chap, v 22. God's wrath
against the wicked was a tenet of the
Pharisees and denied by the Sadducees.
Hence, John wonders what motive
could have joined them together, in
seeking him, who feared not to tell them
they deserved it, and would find it, if
they failed to repent.
8. Meet for repentance. Such evi
dences of a thorough repentance as may
prove you to be changed, in heart and
soul, from your former error and pride.
Repentance consists of two parts — the
secret, a sorrow for sin and a resolution
to lead a new life ; aud the outward
and visible forsaking of sin, reparation
for all past injuries, and humble confes
sion of such resolution and change to
proper persons. Thess are fruits, or
results of a genuine sorrow for sin as
against the mercy and love of God ;
and as the tree has its inner secret sap,
by which it puts forth leaves and
flowers, but may not put out good and
ripe fruit, so these outer professions,
unless attended with good works, are
only as the leaves of a corrupt and use
less tree. The life must answer in holy
works and graces to the inner repent
ance, to show that it is unto godliness
and salvation. The Pharisees had been
very wicked — they were to repent
thoroughly, nor hope to deceive John
with a wily show of regard.
9. Abraham to our father. We are
Jews, and descendants of him " in
whom all the nations of the earth were
to be blessed," therefore, we are, of

T. E. 30.]

CHAPTER ni.

41

to our father : for I say unto you,
that God is able of these stones
to raise up children unto Abra
ham. 10 And now also the axe is
a Lu. 18. 7. 6 John 15. 6 ; Heb. 6. 7, 8.

course, safe before God, and of some
importance, to His prophet. The Jews
took great pride in their descent from
Abraham, and leaned on the promises
made to him as certain evidences of
the favor of God. Psa. cv. 8, 9. The
Epistle to the Romans was written to
break down this notion in the minds of
Jewish Christians. See Rom. iv. ix. 8.
John begins the war upon this false
notion by assuring them that God would
sooner make men out of the stones lying
around them, than give the blessings
of His grace to men whose hearts were
evil and harder than stones, ff These
stones. It is possible that John may
have pointed to the stones which marked
the ancient crossing of the Israelites,
and so to that miraculous power of God
which had worked against the laws of
nature in reversing the current of a
rapid river, but never against the eter
nal laws of justice by rewarding the
wicked. 10. The axe is laid to the root of the
trees. For years trees grow, for good
or ill, but at last the axe is laid ready
to cleave them, or to cut down at least
the useless and noxious ones. This
representation was most expressive of
the great change which was about to
come upon the men of Judah, " the
Lord's pleasant plant." The Theocracy
¦was about to end. Their law, covenant,
national pre-eminence, were all to cease
with the new kingdom of Christ.
Hitherto the Lord had winked at many
evils. Sects had struggled, sins had
passed unvisited, sinners had grown
gray in prosperity, for the state was
imperfect, the revelation incomplete.
But now the full light was to come —
the entire plan of salvation to be made
known, and sudden vengeance to visit
those of the nation who refused to
listen to their Messiah.
11. Baptize you. See note v. 6. St.

laid "unto the root of the trees :
therefore every tree which bring
eth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire.6
11 I indeed baptize 'you with
a Acts 11. 16 ; 19. 4
John here, 1. Contrasts his mission and
baptism with those of Christ. 2. Fore
tells the Christian rite. His own rite
was with water, without an inward
spiritual gift. It was to repentance,
and it sealed for a definite purpose the
" forgiveness of sin." It said nothing
of the gift of the Holy Ghost ; his dis
ciples knew nothing of it (Acts xix. 2),
because it was not yet given. John vii.
39. John's baptism ceased as a rite,
and in its effects. It was always re
peated by the Christians. On the other
hand, the Christian baptism was with
the Holy Ghost, in the " new birth " of
water and the Spirit (John iii. 5), was
made perpetual, universal, and neces
sary to salvation. Mark xvi, 16 ; Matt.
xxviii. 19. See, on this important rite,
the following passages : Eph. iv. 5 ;
Rom. vi. 4 ; Col. ii. 12 ; 1. Pet. iii. 21 ;
Acts ii. 38, xxii. 16; 1 Cor. xii. 13;
Gal. iii. 27; Tit. iii 5. The catechism
sums up the nature of baptism : 1.
Water and the appointed form of words.
2. " A death unto sin and a new birth
unto righteousness ; for being by na
ture born in sin, and the children of
wrath, we are hereby made the children
of grace." In baptism the child is
made " a member of Christ, a child of
God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of
heaven." And this is true, inasmuch
as it is a covenant between God and the
soul, and ' represents unto us our profes
sion, which is to follow Christ and to
be made like unto Him ; that as He died
and rose again for us, so should we die
from sin and rise again unto righteousness,
continually mortifying all our evil and
corrupt affections, and daily proceeding
in all virtue and godliness.' Thus, on
the one hand, we receive the everlasting
benediction of the heavenly washing, in
answer to faithful prayer, since Christ
keeps faithfully His part of the cove
nant. On the other, we must come to it

42

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 24.

water unto repentance ; but he
that cometh after me is mightier
than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear : he shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire :

with faith, repentance, and resolution of
amendment, and continue the rest of
our lives according to this beginning.
Thus, born again, and rooted and
grounded in faith, hope and charity, we
may pass safely to the haven of final
peace. See ch. xix. 14, additional note
ch. xix. 30. ff Holy Ghost. With the in
fluences or gifts of the Holy Spirit, that
third Person of the Trinity, who is re
vealed in the Christian Scriptures in his
powers, in the Church by His graces.
See note, John xvi. 7. Our Saviour
did not baptize with water. After His
ascent He baptized His disciples with
fire. See Acts i. 5, ii. 2-4. ff With
fire. This was exactly fulfilled in the
inauguration of the Church (Acts ii.),
by a visible descent of the Holy Spirit
from Christ. Eph. iv. 8. The Spirit
is likened to fire, as it is a warmth and
vital breath received from heaven —
warms us — guides, purifies and sancti
fies the soul. Mai. iii. 2 ; 1 Pet. i. 7 ;
1 Thess. v. 19. All graces of the
Christian are fruits of the Spirit, which
works in him to will and to do accord
ing to the divine will, ff Shoes. San
dals, consisting of pieces of wood or
leather under the foot, and thongs of
leather passing over the instep to hold
it. It was the office of servants only to
remove these on the return of their
masters. John declares his idea of that
Messiah who was to come, and his own
unworthiness when compared with
Him. 12. Whose fan. A sort of sieve or
shovel, of a rude shape, used by the
Jews. Their grain was separated from
the chaff by the feet of cattle. The
mass left in the threshing-floor was no
unfit emblem of the Jewish nation.
This was then thrown up against
the wind by shovels ; the chaff and
dirt were blown away, leaving behind

12 Whose fan is in his hand,
and he will thoroughly purge" his
floor, and gather his wheat into
the garner ; but he will burn up
the 'chaff with unquenchable fire.
a Mai. 8. 2, 8. 6 Mai. 4. 1 ; Ps. 1. 4.

the wheat. The floors or areas used for
this purpose were often on hill tops,
open to the wind. Mount Moriah was
so used by Araunah the Jebusite. 2
Sam. xxiv. 16-23. It was sold by him -
to king David. Araunah offered to
give the king "the oxen for burnt
sacrifice, and the threshing instruments
and other instruments of the oxen, for
wood." These instruments were prob
ably the heavy cars or wheels used in
breaking and bruising the chaff. Our
Lord takes up the mass — bad and good
mingled together, and exposes it to the
sun and air, separating the wheat from
the refuse portion. The wheat is ga
thered into the garner, and the chaff
burned in the fire. These terms are
taken from agricultural life, and are of
value to teach ns the truths of religion.
ff Will thoroughly purge his floor. The
Messiah would purify His people ; take
away from them all tho wicked men
who oppressed them, and lead them to
clearer knowledge of the Lord. St.
John's language is remarkable for this
circumstance. It is derived from the
Old Testament, and exactly describes
the mind of one who looked for a king
to restore the Jews to purity and glory
as a people, while it is conceived in that
spiritual clearness which makes it fit
for the mouth of the most intelligent
Christian. Our Lord now purifies His
Church by removing wickedness from
it — purifies the " ground of the heart "
by renewing it in holiness, and will finish
all in the grand purifying of the holy
Church in the last day. ff Unquench
able fire In eternal punishment which
is prepared for the wicked.
14. To be baptized of Him. We sup
pose this to have happened January 6.
Epiphany, A. D. 25. True era 31. It
begins the ministry of Christ. He was
now about 30 years of age. Lu. iii. 23.

T E. 31.]

CHAPTER IH

43

13 If Then cometh Jesus from
Gallilee to Jordan unto John, to
be baptized" of him.
14 But John forbade him, say
ing, I have need to be baptized
a Mark 1.9; Lu. 8. 21.

He had resided in Nazareth since His
return from Egypt, in obedience to His
parents, and working at the trade of a
carpenter. Ch. xiii. 55. He went thrice
in each year to Jerusalem, to appear be
fore the Lord. Jesus delayed entering
on His public work until the age at
which a priest entered on his active du
ties. Num. iv. John preceded the Mes
siah. 1. To prepare the way for Him, by
forming a link between Him and the
prophets. John was acknowledged to
be a prophet by the whole nation of the
Jews. He, the last of the line, points
out as a witness sent from God, that the
former prophecies centered in Jesus.
2. To excite the nation to an instant
expectation of their King, so that he
might honor Jesus in a public and un
mistakable manner. 3. To anoint Him,
not with oil, but in the rite of Baptism,
the vehicle in His case of a wonderful
manifestation of the divine choice of
Jesus. Thus pious and learned Jews,
who were expecting their King, would
recognize the claims of Jesus of Naza
reth. 14. John forbade Him. John the Bap
tist twice said (see John i. 31, 33) that
he did " not know Him " — that is, did
not at first know who would prove to be
the Messiah, but that God had given
him a sign, by which he would know
Him in the act of baptizing Him. Why
then does John now say this, when as
yet he did not know his kinsman (the
son of his mother's cousin) to be the
Christ. 1. This expression of humility
may be a testimony of John to the
blameless, holy life of Jesus. John had
dwelt in the desert, but probably often
met with Jesus, and probably had heard
of His miraculous conception. He knew
His blameless life, and was amazed to
see Him too, coming to be baptized for
the remission of sins. He confessed him-

of thee, and comest thou to me ?
15 And Jesus answering said
unto him, Suffer it to be so now :
for thus it becometh us to fulfil
all righteousness. Then he suf
fered him.

self unworthy to baptize one, who, as he
knew, had done no sin, neither was
guile found in His mouth. 1 Pet. ii.
22 ; Heb. iv. 15. 2. Or John regard
ing Jesus as a prophet, may have been
inspired to utter these words, though
as yet not altogether certain of the fact,
as one surprised that the Christ whom
he was expecting to appear in some
great way, with lofty state, of powerful
parentage, should suddenly come to
him, as his well-known kinsman and
companion. John, however, was fully
certified by the miracle that followed.
He confessed in advance his inferiority,
a confession, all things considered, hon
orable to his own singleness and hu
mility of mind.
15. To fulfil all righteousness. To
obey the will of God. You are his pro
phet I render you this honor. It_is,
according to the purpose of My mission
fixaFTJE>ffi''6e subject'to" all'ffie'cpn-
ditions In which My "disciple's afe" to be
placecf"' JeWs ' acted"ln'all"thmgs as a
"manpure and perfect according to that
state of life in which it had pleased God
to call Him. He obeyed the whole law,
attended the feasts in the city three
times each year, offered sacrifices, here
pays reverence to a prophet of God
performing his office. The Apostolical
Constitutions, a very ancient writing,
has this passage : " Christ was bap
tized, not that He needed any purga
tion, but that He might testify the
truth of John's baptism, and be an exam
ple to us." And the Prayer Book speaks
thus: "Almighty and everlasting God,
who — by the baptism of Thy well-be
loved Son in the river Jordan, didst
sanctify the element of water to the
mystical washing away of sin," &c.
Says an ancient writer : " It was to give
an example of perfect justification in
baptism, without which the gate ot

44

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 25.

16 And Jesus, when he was
baptized, went up straightway
out of the water : and To, the
heavens were opened unto him,
and he saw the" Spirit of God
a Is. 11. 2; 42. 1; John 8. 84.

heaven is not opened." Jesus fulfilled
all righteousness : 1. That He should be
in every thing a righteous man, a per
fect model of what His servants must
be. As all Christians are to be bap
tized (John iii. 5), He was the first to
submit to it. 2. In his baptism were
shown in visible signs, that which hap
pens invisibly, to faith in their baptisms.
In baptism sin is forgiven. Acts ii. 38 ;
xxii. 16. He knew no sin, yet receives
the form. It regenerates by the Holy
Spirit. Tit. iii. 5. The sign of the
Spirit, a dove was seen to descend on
Him. In it we are adopted into the
covenant as sons of God. Rom. vi. 4 ;
Col ii. 12. A voice proclaiming the
adoption of Jesus was heard then.
Hence this fulfilling all righteousness
assures us of that invisible work which
goes on in us who seek to be pure as He
was pure.
16. Straightway. As soon as He rose
from the bath or immersion in the river.
ff Out of the water. It is beyond rea
sonable doubt that the custom of the
early Christians was to immerse the
whole body of the baptized, as a general
rule ; and as little doubt that they re
garded the quantity of water as indiffer
ent, often using the form of pouring or
sprinkling. The Anabaptist is to be
answered in other ways, that by a de
bate on the amount of water necessary
to save the soul in the Christian cove
nant. See note, v. 6. ff The heavens
were opened. Some remarkable opening
of the blue vault of the firmament, by
which the eye seemed to penetrate far
into its secret depths. This was done
as Jesus was praying. Lu. iii. 21. For
this ordinance must be attended with
devout prayer, that God would vouch
safe His blessing upon it. ff He saw.
Jesus saw it. John did also. John i.
33. St. Matthew is describing the
event as it affected Jesus, and omits the

descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him :
17 And lo, a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well6 pleased.
 6 Matt. 17. 5; Ps. 2. 7. 
influence it had on others. Parts of
this sublime vision were probably seen
by all present, ff The Spirit of God.
The third person of the Trinity, the Spirit
of regeneration, who was to succeed the
Son of God in the great work of human
salvation (John xiv. 16, 17; xvi. 7-15),
to be the Comforter, Advocate, Gather
er, and Sanctifier of the faithful, dwell
ing in the Church, giving grace to
preaching and the sacraments of a law
ful ministry to the end of the world.
Here it appeared ; after this, by faith,
it effects the regeneration and adoption
of all the sons of God. 1 Cor. xii. 13 ;
Eph. iv. 8 ; Gal. iv. 6. ff IAke a dove.
In such a form, but with greater splen
dor of light and size. The dove was an
historical bird among the Jews. It
brought back the olive branch to the
ark. Gen. viii. 11. This dove brought
the sign of salvation to those receiving
" the like figure whereunto." 1 Pet.
iii. 21. This was not of course a real
bird, but some appearance which should
arrest the attention by its glory ; as the
burning bush (Ex. iii.) and the cloudy
pillar (xiii), and the phenomena around
Sinai, appeared for a while and then
vanished. It sat on the head of Jesus,
to point Him out to all present as the
Son of God.
_ 17. A voice from heaven. A voice
fromGod the Father. We have here
in this passage a glorious gathering of
symbols to teach us the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity. It is chosen by the
Chureh as the Second Lesson for Trin
ity Sunday. The Father speaks from
heaven, the Spirit descends as a, dove,
the Son is approved, being in form as a
man. Baptism began therefore with
this faith " in the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost." So the Creed
which we profess in baptism, is ex
panded from these same three names :
God, the Father, His works of creation ;

T. E. 31.]

CHAPTER IV.

45

CHAPTER IV.
THEN" was Jesus led6 up of the
Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted of the devil.
a Mark 1. 12; Lu. 4 1-14.

God, the Son, His acts of redemption ;
and God, the Holy Ghost, and His opera
tions in sanctification. This we call
the doctrine of the Trinity, or Tri-uni-
ty, i. e., the unity of three Persons in
one God. We profess not to compre
hend the deep mysteries which the
Scriptures reveal ; we believe them.
ff This is my beloved Son. This Jesus is
Messiah, my Son. Jesus in His human
nature was Son of Mary, but being
born of the power of the Most High,
He was in His mysterious union of
natures, of two natures, but one Person.
God and man were one Christ. See
Article II. of xxxix. Arts., in Pr. Bk.
and notes John i. 1. Says S. Hillary,
Bp. of Poictiers, A. D. 354 : " From
these things, thus fulfilled upon Christ,
we learn that after the washing of wa
ter, the Holy Spirit also descends on us
from the heavenly gates ; on us also is
shed an unction of heavenly glory, and
an adoption to be sons of God, pro
nounced by the Father's voice." ff In
whom, Sec. In whose obedience God
was satisfied. This was said for the
first time of any one of our race. In
Jesus sin was first conquered, and hea
ven reconciled. This chapter is select
ed for the morning lesson of the Feast
of St. John the Baptist, June 24. We
find him represented in the Collect, as
holy iu life, and now awaiting a bless
ed resurrection. John began from this
event, recorded above, to decrease. He
soon after retired to the more secluded
haunts of Enon. The people regarded
him as a prophet, and Herod feared
him. But his work was done. Herod
took offence at his rebukes, and put
him in prison. Then his death was
effected by two abandoned females. He
was the last of the Jewish line of pro
phets, and was fearless, plain spoken
and humble in spirit as any of them.
He was born out of the course of na
ture, and sanctified from his mother's

2 And when he had fasted forty
ys and forty nights, he was
afterward an hungered.
6 1 Kings 18. 12; Ezek. 8. 14; Acts 8. 89.

womb. It was God's will that he should
live the fife of a Nazarite or ascetic.
Well may we desire that God would
make us " so to follow his holy life, that
we may truly repent, according to his
preaching ; and after his example con
stantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke
vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's
sake." CHAPTER IV.
1. Then. Immediately after His
baptism Jesus went into the wild soli
tudes on the east bank of the river, and
" was with the wild beasts." ff Led up.
St. Mark says driven by the Spirit ; St.
Luke that " He was full of the Holy
Ghost." From the three we learn that
He yielded to an inspiration from God
of a most powerful- character. The
same had been exercised at times up
on others. 1 Kings xviii. 12 ; Acts
viii. 39. ff The Spirit. The same
which came upon Him at His baptism,
now led Him by impressions made upon
His soul, to a period of trial and pre
paration for His ministry. Jesus be
gan His work where Adam fell, by re
sisting the devil ff To be tempted. To
be tried by all the seductions of the
evil spirit. Men are tempted through
their evil passions. James i. 14. Je
sus being sinless, the temptation came
upon him through the weakness of a
body miraculously macerated, and a
head dizzy with extreme hunger. It
is an awful and mysterious transaction.
We must, however, look upon Him in
it, as a man " tried in all points," like
as we are ; resisting sin, by the help
of that grace, which we too may have,
in answer to prayer. For it is thus
that He shows us the spiritual wisdom,
by which we may be saved from the
evil of this world, ff Devil. The Slan
derer or false accuser. He is one of the
angels which kept not their first estate,
for whom hell is prepared. Jude 6 ;
Matt. xxv. 41... They are numerous

46

MATTHEW.

[A D. 25.

3 And when the tempter came
to him, he said, If thou be the
(Lu. viii. 2, 30), powerful in the hearts
of the wicked. John viii. 44. Satan
is called by many names, in Scripture,
which betray his abominable nature ;
Beelzebub, prince of this world, of the
powers of the air, of devils ; liar, mur
derer, the serpent, great dragon, a,
roaring lion seeking whom he may de
vour. He first ruined the human race.
Jesus, in saving it, began the war with
him, that He might destroy the works
of the devil. The first vow of our bap
tism is, that we renounce the devil and
all his works. This the Spirit helps us to
accomplish. Eph. vi. 11 ; 1 John iii.
8-10. There is on this account a per
sonal interest for us in this evangelical
narrative. 2. And when He had fasted. Jesus ate
or drank nothing (Luke iv. 2), being
sustained by a miracle. Moses did the
same twice (Ex. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. ix. 9,
25 ; x. 10), and " did neither eat bread
nor drink water. Elijah did it, " going
in the strength of the meat" he had
eaten forty days and nights to Horeb.
1 Kings xix. 8. Israel, God's chosen
people, were miraculously fed by manna
by the command of God forty years.
In these events, this trial cf the Messiah
was foreshadowed. In these instances,
the immediate presence of Jehovah ap
pears to render earthly sustenance of
secondary importance. Jesus was in
this manner made as nearly like unto
us, in temptation to evil, as was possible
for His sinless nature. It was a fearful
situation at the last. The clamors of
appetite, dizziness of the brain, the wild-
ness of the whole nervous frame, made
Him as weak in body and mind as it'is
possible to conceive of Him. And we
may learn from this, that no weakness
or clamor of appetite in us can ever
justify the least sin. Fasting, in a strict
sense, now signifies abstinence from
food from morning till night, and then
a moderate and not too dainty refresh
ment. In this manner we are expected
to observe two days, Ash Wednesday
and Good Friday. In a larger sense it

Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread.

signifies " such a measure of abstinence
as is more especially suited to extra
ordinary acts and exercises of devotion."
See the Table of Fasts in Prayer Book.
Lent, which is an old Saxon word for
Spring, is a season of forty days' absti
nence, observed in the Church, from the
earliest times, in memorial of this fast
of Jesus, and His victory over the devil.
It precedes Easter, the Sunday of the
Resurrection. The Jews in hke man
ner observed a period of afflicting them
selves and eating bitter herbs, to pre
pare for the Passover. The reason for
this institution is founded on the prin
ciple, that the life of Jesus is the model
of that of His followers. They must
keep it always in view, each part in
succession, and strive to become like
Him in spirit. By this principle we
may be kept in the limit of a reveren
tial and ever-deepening piety. Lent is
a season of self-examination and repent
ance. Ministers must exhort the peo
ple to renewed repentance and humilia
tion for sins past, and passions still
lingering. " 0 Lord, who for our sokes
didst fast forty days and forty nights,
give us grace to use such abstinence,
that our flesh being subdued to the
Spirit, we may ever obey Thy godly
motions in righteousness and true holi
ness, to Thy honor and glory."
3. The tempter. Satan. It is sup
posed that St. Paul alludes to the form
in which he came in 2 Cor. xi. 14, " as
an angel of light." Others imagine his
form at this time to have been that of
a pious, inquiring Jew. ff If thou be,
S/-c. If you are the Messiah. He
alludes to the voice heard at the pre
vious baptism, and calls on Him to prove
it for his satisfaction, by working a
miracle. There are three temptations
in this account, addressed to three prin
cipal passions. In us sinners they are
called, 1. The lust of the flesh, the animal
appetites, hunger, thirst, love of ease,
aversion to pain, &c. 2. The lust of the
eye, the desire of some external good,
real or fancied, such as power, flatterers,

T. E. 31.]

CHAPTER IV.

47

4 But he answered and said,
It is written," Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God.

a Deut. 8. 8.

vanities of the world, &c. 3. The pride
of life (or perhaps better), living pride,
the intense, abandoned pursuit of self-
will, or mere abstract, spiritual tempta
tion, by which Satan fell from heaven.
These passions did not exist in Jesus as
sinful, but as He was man, and ren
dered Him capable of temptation. To
them Satan presented his wiles, 1. To
the flesh. He tempted Jesus to satisfy
His hunger by a useless miracle, show
ing a distrust of God. 2. To the desire
of gaining followers. He tempted him
to seek human glory by a rash daring
test of the Almighty. 3. To commit
bold and mortal sin for a vast and glit
tering prize. By the first mode of
temptation Adam fell; by the second,
fajse prophets ; by the last, Satan him
self, and many an angel of light, and
angelic mind among men, have been
ruinedj 4. But he answered. The Spirit which
led Jesus thither indicated to Him to
wait on God to preserve Him. He as
man was under the laws of Providence,
and could not, when " driven by the
Spirit," reassume the control of things
without self-will and distrust of God.
It was the sign of " an evil and adul
terous generation " to desire miracles,
when God does not see fit to use them.
Lu. xxiii. 8, 9. We may doubt whether
" bread alone " without the help of God
could have restored the animal frame
after such a fast. The suggestions of
Satan leave the ruined soul to mourn
over a lie. ff It is written. Deut. viii.
3. He does not deny the desire for
food, but replies by a text which was
exactly suited to his case. The Israel
ites, as Moses reminded them, had gone
forty years sustained by a heavenly
food. As they had been happy while
obedient to God, and miserable when
ever they thought to relieve themselves
by their own power, Jesus intimated,

5 Then the devil taketh him
up into the6 holy city, and setteth
him on a pinacle of the temple,
b Neh. 11. 1 ; Matt. 27. 53 ; 1 Kings 14. 21.

that He had so clear a sense of the
moral of their history, as to know that
His own safety consisted in obedience
and simple trust in the Almighty.
Man does not live by his own power.
In troubles and trials it is better to trust
in the Lord and be doing good, than
to become prosperous by the vicious
maxims of wordly prudence.
5. Taketh him up, Sfc. The word in
Greek signifies that Satan used such a
degree of force as to render it necessary
for Jesus to yield to it. In the same
sense we read Matt, xxvii. 27, " The
soldiers of the governor took Jesus," &c,
i. e., with the strong hand of authority.
See John xix. 6. It was permitted by
God for the time that the tempter
should have a limited power over the
weakened physical frame of Jesus, in
order that his weakness might be the
more manifest in the failure of his
temptation. How Satan accomplished
this passage is not related ; but, con
sidering all the circumstances, it was
probably by supernatural power, ff Holy
city. It was the dearest spot of earth to
the Israelite, for there was the holy
temple of God, the seat of His presence,
the centre of His promises. Is. Ix. 14 ;
Ps. xxvi. 8. ' It was equally dear to
the Christians for whom this Gospel was
written. To this day the Arabs around
call it El-kods, The Holy. ff Setteth
Him, or, made Him stand by exercising
power over His body. It was not the
will of our Lord to " enter into tempta
tion " by his own act. ff Pinnacle of
the Temple. The verge of one of its
hin-hest columns or towers. There was
one over the South Porch called after
Solomon, which looked into the valley
of Hinnom 700 feet below, of which
Josephus says, that it was hardly pos
sible to stand upon it without dizziness.
This wing or pinnacle was itself 150
feet high. The Temple was possibly at

48

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 25.

6 And saith unto him, If thou I thee, and in their hands they

be the Son of God, cast thyself
down ; for it is written," He shall
give his angels charge concerning
a Ps. 91. 11. 12.

the time filled with the crowd of wor
shippers, who would have witnessed this
novel descent. See notes, ch. xxi. 12.
The blessed Jesus, weak with long fast
ing, could only by the strongest re
sistance conquer the morbid desire of
sinking down and giving way to the
suggestion of Satan, and with the ex-
tremest difficulty stand on this dizzy
precipice. The body is in a manner
made the partial avenue of temptation,
and pleads to sink back or desperately
venture on the leap, trusting to the
care of the Almighty for preservation.
We can imagine the potency of this
temptation over our own riotous, de
praved natures, the physical suggestions
which would have been craving change,
the fearful nervousness impelling tho
will, inventing sophistries, and deceiving
the conscience. What sinner, then, but
must feel that the usual " deceitfulness
of sin," which is offered as an excuse
for sins, namely, that one could not help
the fall into sin, is absurd and wicked.
Perhaps no man has ever felt a stronger
temptation than this one. How subtle,
too; the reason which the place would
suggest. The Jews expected the Mes
siah to come to Jerusalem through the
air in some supernatural manner. Satan
caloulated on this expectation, and im
plies it — " If thou be the Son of God, i. e.,
the Messiah, now show it to the people
and they will beheve." False prophets
and false churches invent startling and
useless miracles to astonish men ; but
not so the true Prophet. Jesus knew
that God was to prove Him to have
come down from heaven, by works cf
holiness and power, and He leaves all in
His hands. John vi. 38.
6. It is written. That is, concerning
the Messiah. Ps. xei. 11, 12. " If you
are the Messiah of whom Daniel spake
(vii. 13. See notes, chs. xii. 38 ; xvi. ] )
as coming in the clouds of heaven, then
prove it now by this miracle, for surely

shall bear thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a
stone.

you will be saved in the descent, by
angels." Satan was correct in citing
this Psalm of the Messiah, as the Gos
pels show by many other similar cita
tions. See Luke xxiv. 44. And the
Christian church uses the Psalms in
worship as referring principally to the
perfections and holiness of the Messiah,
which Christians are to imitate, in order
to receive in Him all necessary bless
ings. It was, however, a wicked per
version of the Psalm, as Satan intended
it. We have only to open it to see that
it promises the Son of God that entire,
continual care of Divine Providence
which is represented as being conducted
in its various parts by the angels. They
should have care of Him — of all Chris
tians in Him (see Heb. i. 14), to keep
Him from injury. But they have no
charge for such as go out of the pure
and perfect way to venture rashly on
their own safety, that the consequences
of their folly may be averted by a
miracle. When a viper fastened on the
hand of St. Paul, he shook it off without
receiving injury. Acts xxviii. 3-5. So
says the 91st Psalm: "Thou shalt
tread upon the lion and the adder."
And Jesus promised the disciples im
munity from many natural dangers
while serving Him. But if St. Paul
had offered his hand to the viper, or
takeu it into his bosom and been bitten,
he would doubtless have died. The
temptation offered here was to do a
startling and showy miracle, whose re
sults in a moral sense would have been
evil. He would not have persuaded
the Jews, He would have left an exam
ple of self-will and " tempting God."
7. Tempt the Lord thy God. See Deut.
vi. 16. To tempt God is not to seek to
induce Him to do evil, which is impos
sible (James i. 13), but it is to doubt
His presence aud care, to complain at
necessary evils and dangers, and to seek
to escape from them by our own will

. E. 31.]

CHAPTER IV.

49

7 Jesus said unto him, It is
written again," Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him
a Deut. 6. 16.

and wisdom. The words quoted are
from Deut. vi. 16, and they refer again
to the conduct of the Israelites at Mas-
sah. Ex. xvii. 1-7. The last verse
says, the people tempted the Lord, i. e.,
doubted and murmured against Him
for the lack of water at Massah, say
ing, " Is the Lokd among us or not ? "
Jesus foils the tempter by this instance
of the sad consequences of yielding to
his seductions. He will wait for God's
time to give Him credit with men and
followers who shall helieve in Him.
8. An exceeding high mountain. A
venerable tradition fixes this tempta
tion on Mount Quarantania, " a miser
able dreary place," says the traveller
Maundrell, " consisting of rocks and
mountains, so torn and disordered, as
if the earth had suffered some great
convulsion, in which its very bowels
had been turned outward. From the
top of these hills of desolation we had,
however, a delightful prospect of the
mountains of Arabia, the Dead Sea and
the plains of Jericho, into which at last
we descended, after about five hours
march from Jerusalem. As soon as we
entered the plain, we turned to the left
hand, and going for about an hour that
way, came to the foot of the Quaranta
nia, ( so called from our Lord's forty
days' fast,) which they say is the
mountain where the devil tempted Him,
with the visionary scene of all the
kingdoms of the world." Others favor
Mt. Nebo as the spot, because it is
something higher, and was the place
to which Moses went up, to view the
land of Palestine. But in a story plain
ly miraculous, a few feet of altitude
cannot weigh against ancient testimo
ny ; and the memories of Moses would
not be of a kind agreeable to the pur
pose of the fiend. The vast inhabited
eastern world could be seen from any
mountain only by a miracle, real or de
lusive, ff Of tlte world. Of the inhab-
Vol. L-3

up into an exceeding high moun
tain, and showeth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the
glory of them ;

ited eastern continent, or so much as
was governed in organized kingdoms.
The Greek word, kosmos, is not used in
a single instance in the Gospels, in the
sense which some here give it of the
land of Palestine. It always signifies
the world, in its largest and most ab
stract sense. John i. 10 ; xv. 19. St.
Luke uses a word which signifies the
inhabited world, then governed mostly
by the Roman Emperor. Luke iv.
5 ; ii. 1. And why against the plain
force of the words should the spirit of
unbelief invent here an absurdity?
The kingdoms which could be seen from
any mountain of Judea and their glo
ries, would have been a paltry bribe.
The view from Quarantania, was little
likely to tempt ambition. Satan, the
prince of this world, could work false
miracles; and his causing the Lord
Jesus to see the glorious cities and
courts of the whole known world, from
Gaul to the distant India, we can only
believe. Whether it was done by ac
tual inspection or delusive visions, we
have no means of determining. The
two Evangelists have left us words
which cannot be confined to the small
territory lying around any mountain of
Palestine. Moses on Nebo also was
caused to see, by an increase of vision,
the whole land of Palestine. Jesus
was to be greatly tempted, for on this
last die, was the whole power and skill
of Satan to be shown. All the world
from Britain and Spain to the Euphra
tes, from Germany to the sources of
the Nile, was given up to the worship,
of devils. He is willing to yield his
control over individuals, if he can cor
rupt the only Saviour who can keep
them from him at last, ff The glory
of them. Their wealth, great buildings,
armies and commerce. He had ruled
men for ages by these toys, and offers
all to Jesus.
9. If thou wilt fall down. "Do this

50

MATTHEW.

[A D. 25.

9 And saith unto him, All these
things will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then said Jesus unto him,
Get thee hence, Satan : for it is
written," Thou shalt worship the
a Deut. 6.18; 10.20.

little act, kneel to me as the one able
to give them to you, and they are
yours. You shall be Messiah, if you
will in my way. They are mine, for
my children, wicked men, rule them
under me. I will join to make you
popular, all-powerful in them." False
religions, heresies and schisms are those
which have yielded to this temptation.
Satan was the god of this world, but
severely ruled by the Almighty. So
there was a lie in his mouth. He could
not bestow the kingdoms of the world
at his pleasure. This last trial of the
devil was a bold, desperate venture.
The other temptations had concealed
the hook. Here a bold, impious sin is
daringly proposed for a delusive bribe.
There are degrees in sin. The basest
is sensuality, the most common is the
sin of ambition, the blackest is the
defiance of truth and God. ff Worship
me. See note ch. ii. 2. To worship
Satan, was to kneel to him, as the one
able to bestow this gift of the world,
to be bound under him, and to rule it
for him. It seemed a small act, but
would have ruined the world if He had
yielded. Beware the little acts of sin ;
they may entangle you in the sad sla
very of evil before they are done .
10. Get thee hence, Satan. Begone,
my enemy. The word Satan means
an enemy ; hence by bad pre-eminence
the great enemy, the devil. To the
other trials of His virtue Jesus had re
plied without emotion, but now that
the dignity of His Father is insulted,
He drives the wicked one from His
presence with indignation. As the
brook which glides in light, receives
no soil from the clouds which shadow
it for a moment, so the purity of Je
sus receives no injury from these wick
ed suggestions. How perfect His ho
liness, which under such suffering man-

Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him,
and behold, angels6 came and
ministered unto him.
JLu. 22. 43; Heb. 1. 6 14.

ifested no quiver of doubt, no forget-
fulness of the will of God. Jesus now
names the tempter, to show him that
he is known, and therefore powerless.
He foils bim with the " sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God."
Eph. vi. 17. ff Thou shalt worship.
Worship is due to God only. It was
paid by Jesus in His human nature.
There can be only one supreme object
of our affection and service. That
object is God, who will not give His
glory to another.
11. Leaveth Him. St. Luke says
" for a season," being to return again
either in the trials of opposition to His
ministry or amid the terrible scenes of
His Passion, ff Angels came, Sfc. After
this fast of forty days, His body was
probably in such a condition as to re
quire supernatural assistance, in order
to its restoration to the common life of
other men. And after His trials He
is cheered in spirit by the company of
the pure inhabitants of heaven. An
gels are described in Scripture as the
spiritual agents of God, in carrying out
the plans of His providence, and in
ministering to the children of God. Ps,
xxxiv. 7 ; Matt, xviii. 10. We learn
from this scene of our Lord's life, that
our human nature for the first time
gained an entire victory over all the
arts and powers of evil ; that God suf
fered Him to be tempted by sin, that
He might be an example and guide to
us in the great battle with it, in which
all are engaged ( Heb. ii. 10), that He
might win upon us as a Saviour and
Guide, by showing Himself as one not
too far removed from this scene of
earthly sorrow ( Heb. iv. 15 ) ; that
He might prove to us, that though
Adam in his innocence had fallen by
the wiles of the evil spirit, yet that
man, sustained by the divine grace.

T. E. 31.]

CHAPTER TV.

51

could, and following His example
would conquer him. Observe that Je
sus uses no weapon against the devil,
drawn from his sublimer nature, but
defeats him on the ground of our com
mon humanity. His defence was the
love of God, and unfaltering trust in
His word. 1 John iv. 4, If we have
this faith and love, we may still he

penitent for sin and conscious of guilt,
but we may avoid and repel the pre-
sumptious sins of wicked men, See 1
John iii. 3-9. The Church uses this
portion of St. Matthew, as the Gospel
for the first Sunday in Lent, and bids us
us pray that from this example "we may
have grace to use such abstinence that
our flesh being subdued to the Spirit,

Map of Galilee.
This map contains the region of country in which our blessed Saviour spent the larger-.
portion of the period of His life among men. He often visited Jerusalem, hut He abode in
Galilee, chiefly in the towns of Nazareth (from which He was expelled by His neighbors)
and Capernaum. In Oana, Nain, and other villages, He performed His wonderful works.
Near Bethsaida He fed the multitudes with bread by a miracle ; and on Mt. Tabor He was
transfigured. Every portion of this favored land of Galilee is made sacred to the Christian by
the thought, that here walked and taught the Incarnate Saviour of the race. Here was
manifested that divine life of love and mercy, by which we leain to escape from sin and
evil, and become the children of God. We present to the reader a similar map of the -Era-
virons of Jerusalem in the second volume of this work. See note St Lnke, Ch. II. 4.

52

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 25.

12 T Now when Jesus had
heard that John was1 cast into
prison, he departed into Galilee ;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he
came and dwelt in Capernaum,
which is upon the sea-coast, in
the borders of Zabulon and Neph-
thalim ; B Marg. delivered up.

wo may ever obey Thy godly motions
in righteousness and true holiness."
12. Now. This was about one year
after the baptism of Jesus. In the
meantime had occurred John's testi
mony to Jesus, and other events re
lated in John i. 15-51 ; the marriage
in Cana of Galilee, John ii. ; the first
Passover, and the conversation with the
Samaritan woman. John iv. 1—42.
See the death of John, ch. xiv. 1-13.
It is to be borne in mind that St. Mat
thew has regulated his narration more
by the order of his subjects than by the
order of time, ff Galilee. This was
the home of Jesus, so far as He had one.
Ch. ii. 22. He went into the province
of Herod perhaps to keep attention
upon Himself and His connection with
John ; perhaps to complete the choos
ing of His disciples before entering on
his more open ministry. He had noth
ing to fear from this Herod, who,
though he imprisoned John, did not
intend to proceed to any cruel meas
ures against him or his friends.
13. Leaving Nazareth. That is, after
they had wickedly rejected Him, and
sought His hfe. See Luke iv. 14-30.
ff Dwelt at Capernaum. This was a
small town situated on the north-west
coast of the Sea of Galilee, about seventy
miles north-east of Jerusalem. It is
marked as " upon the sea coast " to dis
tinguish it from another town of the
same name. It was probably built after
the return of the Jews from captivity.
The name signifies the Ci'y of Comfort.
It received it from a small spring of
great repute which ran through the
valley of Gennesaret. It is now a poor
ruinous village, occupied by a few fisher
men, and called Tel-Hoom. This town

14 That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet," saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and
the land of Nephthalim, by the
way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles :
16 The people which sat in
a Is. 9. 1—2.

became the chief residence of Jesus,
from this time, and was called " His
own city." Matt. ix. 11. Here he did
many notable miracles. John iv. 46;
Matt. viii. 13, 14 ; ix. 23, &c. It was,
indeed, exalted unto heaven in privi
lege. It is now in ruins, darkness and
poverty. It was well fitted for the re
sidence of Jesus as His disciples chiefly
dwelt here, and the lake offered Him
facilities for visiting the country around.
He sought none of the great cities of
Judea, but began the Gospel of Salva
tion in this little obscure fishing village.
14. That it might be fulfilled. St.
Matthew does not give the exact words
of Isaiah ix. 1, but rather the sense, ap
plying it to this period of our Lord's life.
ff Beyond Jordan. Either on the east
or west side. In this case it is the
western side. The Hebrew word from
which these are translated has this am
biguity. See Deut. iii. 25. ff Galilee of
the Gentiles. The word Galilee is from
the Hebrew Galal, to go about, signi
fying a country frequented by the pagan
nations. It was probably used in the
mouth of the Jew as a term of con
tempt, until it came into common use.
It seems at first to have been the name
of the tract of country lying around the
sources of the Jordan ; but, in our Sa
viour's time, it was extended to the
whole region as far south as Samaria.
This was divided into Upper and Lower
Galilee. It was mostly occupied by
Gentiles, that is, persons of otiier na
tions, not in covenant with Jehovah.
Foreigners from Egypt, Arabia, and
other countries were mixed up with the
population of Galilee. Many Jews re
sided there who seem to have been des
pised by the dwellers in Judea.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IV.

53

darkness, saw great light; and
to them which sat in the region
and shadow of death, light is
sprung up.
17 If From that time Jesus be
gan to preach, and to say," Ee-
pent ; for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. a Matt. 8. 2; 10.7.

16. People which sat in darkness. In
great ignorance of the true rehgion, and
of the proper service of the one true God.
The people of this region were given to
idolatry and, at the same time, to the
worship of Jehovah, as the tutelary
deity of that land. See 2 Kings xvii.
24-34. ff Shadow of death. Thickest
darkness, such as is in the abyss of the
dead. Job x. 21, 22. The Hebrews
taught that all the souls of the dead
were detained in the abyss of Sheol, a
place of utter darkness. Such was the
spiritual ignorance of those nations
which were not in covenant with God,
their souls were " dead in trespasses and
sin," — buried, as it were, in their bodies
as in the grave. The light which was
in them was darkness, aud their sins
enormous, and their condition miser
able. Such was the condition of the
world when the True Light shone and
instructed men in the will of God here,
and His intentions in regard to the
future. This instruction, which gives
peace and purity for this life, and hope
and consolation for another, is called
light — that which makes manifest what
the will of God is. Eph. v. 13. This
light of the gospel first appeared in the
obscure retreats of Galilee, a place which
was so given up to ignorance aud sin, that
it is "impossible to imagine any other
origin in it of this gospel than from God
Himself. 17. Repent, fyc. In these few words
is the epitome of all that prophets and
apostles have written. Repentance —
the Church — as * way in this life to
heaven hereafter. See chap. iii. 2.
18. Sea of Galilee. It has other
names, taken from cities upon its
shores, as Chinneroth, Gennesaret and
Tiberias. Deut. iii. 17. It is now

18 T And Jesus, walking by
the sea of Galilee, saw two
brethren, Simon6 called Peter,
and Andrew his brother, casting
a net into the sea ; for they were
fishers.

b John 1. 42.

called the Sea of Tabaria, Tiberias being
the last city of importance upon it.
This celebrated lake is about twelve
miles long and six broad, surrounded
by huge precipitous mountains and fer
tile valleys between. On the east the
shores are in many places inaccessible.
On the west there are found valleys
watered by small streams, and adorned
with cities and villages. The water is
clear, pure, and deep, abounding in fish.
Flocks of pelicans, storks, and wild
ducks visit it, and occasionally vultures
and eagles are seen flapping their broad
wings above it. Through the centre of
the lake, the ripple of the strong current
of the river Jordan appears. This cur
rent, and the mountains around, com
bine to render it subject to sudden and
violent storms from the south. On the
shores once stood the flourishing cities
of Chorazin, Capernaum, Tiberias, Hip
po, &c, where are now found only a few
huts of poor fishermen or solitary ruins.
Josephus described the shores as fertile
and beautiful, especially the valley of
Gennesaret, lying to the north-west.
But, under the present misrule of the
Turks, it is a scene of poverty and de
solation, giving a scanty support to its
few inhabitants. Lonely, desolate, and
silent, it is sacred to the Christian, who
remembers that there lived once the
Saviour of mankind, teaching men of
the fountain of life and offering them the!
riches of His grace, ff Two brethren.
Peter and Andrew — one, famous, as in
one sense, though not the Romish, the
chiefest of the Apostles — the other
barely mentioned in the sacred history,
and little known otherwise. Peter, the
chief of the Apostles, not by rank, but
by his bold, energetic character, was to
open the gates of fhe Church to the

54

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

19 And he saith unto them,
Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left"
their nets, and followed him.
21 And going on from thence,
a Mark 10. 28-81.
Gentiles, and is known as having a part
in all the important events of the first
history of the Church. He was bold to
resist danger, impetuous in his passions
against wrong, proud of his Jewish birth,
faithful, with one sad exception, as a
friend; obedient as a disciple, and,
when aided by grace and warned by ex
perience, unyielding in the course which
he knew to be right. He was often the
first of the disciples to speak, manifest
ing the impression that he had made
upon them. The disciples were fisher
men, but men doubtless of great natural
energy and decided character. They
were unskilled in the sophistic learning
of their age — but rudely versed in their
dangerous occupation to stem the wilder
sea of human passions. Let us not
imagine that God chooses to have men
of feeble mind and little capacity to
serve him. The Ministry, which began
with these two brethren, has room for
an Andrew unknown to fame, but it
needs and uses the high resolve, the
sublime repose and the unhesitating con
fidence of such men as St. Peter.
19 Fishers of men. Jesus was known
to these men before this call. John i. 40-
42. We are not to imagine this a sud
den, unexplained call of a total stran
ger, but the summons of One, of whose
right to their obedience they were al
ready aware. He speaks in their lan
guage, as if' to say, ' As fishermen you
have the skill, knowledge and patience,
to catch the tribes of the deep, and
courage to dare its storms. Come with
me, I will call for all these talents in
the nobler work of winning men ? St.
Austin happily says : "Jesus chose not
kings, senators, philosophers, or orators,
but He chose common, poor, and un
taught fishermen. Had one learned
been chosen he might have attributed
the choice to the merit of his learning.

he saw other two brethren, James
the son of Zebedee,6 and John his
brother, in a ship with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets :
and he called them.
22 And they immediately left
b Mark 1. 19.

But our Lord Jesus Christ, willing to
bow the necks of the proud, sought not
to gain fishermen by orators, but gained
an Emperor by a fisherman. Great
was Cyprian the pleader (Bp. of Car
thage A. D. 248), but Peter the fisher
man was before him."
20. Straightway. Without hesitation.
They were willing and ready to obey.
ff Left their nets. They left them in
care of others, as Elijah once did with
his plough. 1 Kings xix. 19-21. They
were ready to follow the Messiah.
Their ideas were confused and erroneous.
They looked then for a temporal king
dom, and little dreamed of the trouble
and persecution before them. They
had very little notion of the spiritual
character of Christ and the cross, but
knew Jesus to be powerful, wise and
good, working miracles, teaching with
authority, and claiming to be their
Messiah. When we read (Acts 1. 6.)
of them in the very last interview with
Jesus, still imagining Him to be an
earthly sovereign, we can hardly consid
er them now moved by purely spirit
ual motives in obeying His call. They
were as yet Jews, disciples or learners,
following their teacher ; or, as they pro
bably thought themselves, unarmed
soldiers following a disguised Prince.
Their docility led them on till by de
grees they learned other things, and
saw the heavenly light, felt the divine
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and be
came Christian Apostles and Martyrs.
So may we follow Christ, leave the
world and sin, and obey Him as we best
can to-day. It may be poorly done,
but if we follow on, it will be to conquer
the world, and win a heaven, of whose
real glories we may to-day have but
httle notion.
21. James, John. See note, ch. x 2.
Left their father. These events, so

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IV.

55

the ship, and their father, and
followed him.
23 Tf And Jesus went about
all Galilee, teaching in their"
synagogues and preaching the
a Matt. 9. 85 ; Lu. 4 IS, 45.

briefly told by St. Matthew, were not
done in a sudden, unnatural way. They
were often with their father after this,
and knew of his welfare. They left
him with ' hired servants ' and doubtless
a sufficient support. But this act signi
fied that henceforth they would make
it their first business to follow Jesus. A
Christian must always esteem the direct
command of God as supreme, but must
be sure that it is such before he fails in
the duties which are already binding
upon him. Salome, the mother of these
two men, was at times with them (Matt.
xx. 20), probably their father also. The
call of Christ is now made to us in the
preaching of the Gospel, and the ad
ministration of the Sacraments, which
we should regard with faith, and follow
along the spiritual .way of righteousness,
as these disciples did at the personal
call of Jesus. In the words of the
Collect for St. Andrew's day, of which
this passage is the Gospel, we may
pray " Almighty God, who didst give
such grace unto Thy Holy Apostle St.
Andrew, that he readily obeyed the
calling of Thy Son Jesus Christ, and
followed Him without delay ; grant unto
us all that we being called by Tliy holy
word, may forthwith give ourselves up
obediently to fulfil Thy holy command
ments through the same Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen."
23. Galilee. See note, ch ii. 22.
ff Synagogue. This word signified at
first an assembly, and was afterward
applied to the Jewish places of worship.
The Jews could have but one Temple,
that on Mount Moriah, where they
could meet God with sacrifices and
oblations. In the Temple, the worship
was conducted by a Levitical succession
of priests, divided into three orders of
divine appointment and unchangeable.
The synagogues were of human insti
tution, as good men were led by the I

gospel6 of the kingdom, and heal
ing" all manner of sickness, and
all manner of disease among the
people. 24 And his fame went through-
b Matt. 24. 19 ; Mark 1. 14. c Lu. 4-16.

spirit of piety to build them. How pious
men may have worshipped in early
times we know not, but find David
bitterly lamenting his absence from the
Temple. Ps. xiii. xliii. lxiii. lxxxiv. In
the time of Ezra (Neh. viii. 1-9) the
people met in other places than the
Temple for prayer and explanations of
the Scriptures. Very httle is now
known of the regulations of the Syna
gogue. Wherever ten pious, learned
and wealthy men were found to attend
the worship, there was a synagogue. The
buildings were of two parts — the western
end containing an ark or chest where the
rolls of the law and prophets were de
posited ; the other, or body of the Church,
occupied by the people, who sat with
their faces toward the Temple, the el
ders sitting in the chief seats facing them.
The pulpit or reading desk was between
them. The reader for the time stood
to read the Scriptures, and sat to ex
pound them. The services were held on
Saturdays (the Sabbath), and in some
places on Mondays and Thursdays.
There were, according to the Rabbins,
480 synagogues in Jerusalem alone.
Jesus attended the synagogue wherever
He went, as also His disciples. Lu. iv.
15-22. Acts xiii. 14, 15. They also
observed carefully the laws in regard
to the Temple worship in Jerusalem.
Now it is certain that our Lord and His
disciples therefore used a liturgy or set
form of worship. The Form of prayer
of the synagogue was, according to
Lightfoot, 1st. Nineteen prayers of
fered by the Minister, the people stand
ing; 2. The repetition of their Phy
lacteries ; 3. The reading of the Law
and the Prophets. These were divided
into fifty-four sections, to be read
through annually. Acts xv. 21 ; xiii.
27. 4. The expounding the law in a
simple manner or preaching. Lu. iv.
20. 5. The whole concluded with u,

56

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

out all Syria : and they brought
unto him all sick people that
were taken with divers diseases
and torments, and those which

short prayer or benediction. This
liturgy our Lord countenanced, and in
this act justified this form of public ad
dress to God. Therefore we find the
first Christians in all the world using
an established form of common prayer
in their public services, ff Preaching.
Plain explanations of the Scriptures
showing the character of the Messiah's
Kingdom. See note, ch. iii. 2. ff Gos
pel of the kingdom. The glad tidings
of His coming to reign among men. It
is noticeable that the doctrine which
our Lord and His disciples preached as
prominent over all others, was that of
the Kingdom, the Dispensation or
economy of grace. Ch. xxiv. 14 ; Neh.
i. 14 ; Eph. iii. 8-13. We should there
fore so believe the Gospel of the king
dom, as to do supreme honor to the
King ; so love the Church as to see in
all her services the presence of the
Lord, blessing His faithful people.
24. Syria. All the region lying about
Palestine, ff Divers diseases. Various
sorts of disease ; more than can be men
tioned. Jesus in this manner proved
that He was gifted with supernatural
powers, and sent from God, as He could
cure every disease in simple miraculous
ways, and used His power only in doing
good to men. When such preaching
was pressed home by such arguments,
we may wonder that any could refuse to
believe in Him. Says an ancient wri
ter : " The diseases are the more griev
ous pains of the body; the sicknesses,
the slighter. As He cured the bodily
pains by virtue of His divine power, so
He cured the spiritual by the word of
His mercy. He first teaches, and then
performs the cures, for two reasons.
First, that what is needed most, may
come first, for it is the word of holy in
struction, and not miracles that edify
the soul. Secondly, because teaching is
commended by miracles, not the con
verse." ff Possessed with devils. De
moniacs, persons ruled by evil spirits

were possessed with devils, and
those which were lunatic and those
that had the palsy ; and he healed
them.

against their own wills. We should not
be surprised, that at the coming of our
Lord to conquer the powers of evil, they
were allowed to make unusually clear
proofs of their malice. Evil spirits, dae
mons or devils occupied-the persons of
certain unfortunate men. causing gene
rally some terrible and incurable dis
ease. Sometimes it took the form of
epilepsy, or madness or lunacy, but was
none of these. For as soon as the evil
spirit was expelled from the soul, the
physical symptoms ceased. The Jews
had among them men called exorcists,
who professed to expel these spirits, by
using over the patient a holy name, or
by prayers and other ceremonies. Matt.
xii. 27 ; Mk. ix. 38. Jesus cast them
out in His own name. Lu. iv. 33-38.
He gave a similar power to His disciples.
Thus He began to triumph openly over
the kingdom of Satan. It is a curious
instance of the abiding spirit of unbe
lief in us, of which the Evil one takes
advantage, that some, even good men,
have perplexed the plain language of
the Gospels, by doubts of the reality of
these possessions. A little reflection
will show us the folly of such doubts.
1. The evangelists declare these spirits
to have been devils or unclean spirits.
2. They distinguish them from diseases.
3. The evil spirits knew, and saluted
Jesus as the Messiah. 4. They an
swered questions, gave their names, and
passed into unreasoning animals. See
Lu. viii. 27-37; iv. 34; Matt. xii. 25-28.
These things leave no doubt, but that
evil spirits did actually hold possession
of certain guilty and unfortunate men
at that time. The custom of exorcism,
and the belief in demoniac possession,
passed into the Christian Church, and
continued for some ages. If it then be
came a superstition, it is now too much
a subject of rationalism, showing that
Satan has more than one method of
ruling men. Jesus cast his legions out
of men's bodies, in order to manifest

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER TV.

57

25 And there followed him
great" multitudes of people from
dLn. 6.1T-19.

His divine power to cast the unclean
spirits out of their souls. Let us beware
the latter evil, of unbelief, which is
worse thau the first, ff Lunatic. In
sane persons whose madness was perio
dical and increased at the time of the
full moon. They were so called from
the Latin word Luna, the moon. In
English we say, moonstruck. Physi
cians inform us of certain kinds of mad
ness, to which the term lunacy proper
ly belongs, though they give a different
reason for it from the ancients. The
latter supposed some malign diabolic
influence in the moon, to account for
facts which they observed. The phy
sicians declare that one species of mad
ness is attended with great irritability of
the nerve of the eye, and is always in
creased by the continued action of light
upon it. This of course occurs with the
increase of the length of the moonlight,
and is prevented by confining the pa
tient in a dark room at such times.
The " stimulus of light," says Esquinol,
physician to the Hospital La Salpetriere,
Paris, " frightens some lunatics, pleases
others, but agitates all." The ancients
and cornmon people now had good rea
son for the name, though they may
have erred in assigning the cause. St.
Jerome says, that it was not the moon
that affeoted such, but " the subtlety of
evil spirits." Who can say the good
Father nay ! ff Palsy. Several species
of disease are contained under this name,
according as the shock strikes the whole
or a part of the body. Paralysis signi
fies a loosening of the part with the loss
of motion and sensation in it. By this
relaxation of the nerves and muscles, a
man is disabled from all voluntary mo
tion and ability of helping himsc If. It
is hardly ever curable, being produced
generally by some injury of the great
centre of hfe and motion — the spine.
St. Matthew mentions three sorts of tor
menting incurable disease, as extreme
cases to show the power of Christ.
ff He healed them. By miracle. A
Vol. I.— 3*

Galilee, and from Decapolis, and
from, Jerusalem, and from Judea,
and from beyond Jordan.

miracle is a deed above the common
powers of nature and man. God con
fines both to certain laws, which He
alone can forego or neglect. Therefore
when a man has this same power, it is
given him by God. Jesus doing mira
cles in His own name, by His own right
asserts, and proves a claim to be the
Son of God. John x. 25-38. Jesus
did not as yet require any confession of
faith, in those whom He cured, as He
afterwards began to do ; for, 1. Their
actions in bringing the sick to Him
from such distances, showed faith; 2.
He had not as yet so spread abroad a
knowledge of His name and doctrine
that all who came to Him could be
expected to know it. The expressions
of faith in Him become more clear and
decided as we go on.
25. Decapolis. Deca-polis, the region
of ten cities. It lay to the east of the sea
of Galilee in the limits of Manasseh.
The names of these cities are supposed
to have been Hippo, Gadara, Pella,
Capitolias, Arbela, Caratha, Gerasa,
Philadelphia, Dium and Sychopolis.
Additional Note.
1, verses 18, 21. The three dis
ciples, Peter, James and John, are fre
quently mentioned in the Gospels, and
we will have occasion to speak of them
hereafter. But St. Andrew hardly
appears after this. A festival is ap
pointed in remembrance of him Nov.
30, in which the Church calls on us
to commemorate his willing, prompt
obedience to the call of Jesus. Lit
tle is known of him for certain. Ori
gen gives a tradition that he labored
among the Scythians, a wild tribe liv
ing to the north of the Black Sea.
Others fix the place of his preaching
at Sogdiana, near Cholcis on the Eux-
ine. A church is said to have been
founded by him at Byzantium, and he
may have afterward altered his resi
dence to Epirus and Achaia in Greece.
He is believed to have suffered martyr
dom at Patrae, in Achaia, upon a

58

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

CHAPTEE V.
AND seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain :
and when he was set, his disci
ples came unto him.
a Lu. 6. 20, &c. 6 Is. 57. 15; 66. 2.

cross, which from its shape ( x ) still
bears his name. The Greeks of Con
stantinople were certainly persuaded
that his body was conveyed to that
city about A.D. 357 — a proof that the
traditions concerning him were cur
rently believed in the 4th century.
One brother was exalted to a h'gh sta
tion among the apostles ; the other is
known only by the dim light of tradi
tion. Birth gives us no station in
Christ's Church, and fame is an acci
dent. Whether we are known as
Peter, or obscure as Andrew, let us
seek to be holy in imitation of them
both. In heaven all accidental differ
ences will be compensated and ended
CHAPTER V.
1. The multitudes. See last verse,
ch. iv. Great numbers of people fol
lowed Jesus at this time, expecting
some public declaration of His being
the Messiah, in keeping with the mer
ciful deeds which they had beheld.
This is called the Sermon on the Mount,
the first and most complete exposition
of the terms and requirements of the
Gospel covenant. The crowd looked
for the Messiah to be an earthly king,
and were hoping that Jesus was about
to set up His government among
them, free them from the Roman yoke,
and restore to the world the golden age
of plenty. Jesus set forth another sort
of kingdom. The substance of this
discourse is contained in the sixth chap
ter of St. Luke's Gospel, and many of
its teachings are scattered through
the same, as they were repeated at
different times, ff A mountain. He
did this to be the better seen and heard
by the people. A little to the north
of Mount Tabor, and near Capernaum,
is a remarkable elevation, called to this
day the Mount of Beatitudes, and be
lieved to be the one on which this ser
mon was given. Tradition has fixed

2 And he opened his mouth,
and taught them," saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spi
rit :6 for" theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. c Is. 2. 8.

on it as the same, on which Jesus
spent the night in prayer, before the
solemn election of the twelve disciples.
ff Was set. The Jewish teachers sat
down to teach. Lu. iv. 16-20 ; Acts
xvi. 13. Standing was a mark of rev
erence for the inspired writings, ff His
disciples. Learners, persons attached
to Him closely. They sat near Him,
and were in a manner identified with
Him. 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit. " I
bless them, I count them and declare
them blessed, for such is their reward."
He spake as one having authority. The
people looked to hear a king speak and
call his armies to the field, and condemn
the Roman oppressors. To correct these
notions, Jesus begins with a blessing on
the poor in spirit — the humble and un
worldly. To pronounce blessed, in the
mouth of Jesus, was to declare one so ;
or to convey a spiritual favor to one, as
He did to the little children, ff Poor
in spirit. St. Luke says, more briefly,
the poor, meaning the same. The poor,
if they are proud, envious, or profligate
are not blessed in any sense. The word
here means humble, the lowly in spirit,
no matter in what rank of life — such
men of all classes as did follow Jesus
and obtain this kingdom. 1 Pet. v. 6.
Three sorts of men are here blessed : 1.
Such as have followed Jesus in His pov
erty, embracing an humble and poor
estate from a sense of duty. Such are
missionaries now. 2. They who, poor
by necessity, are still contented and
pious in their poverty. 3. They who,
like Zacchaeus and Dorcas, use wealth
as stewards for the good of others, and
are ready to welcome the Saviour at His
coming. Humility is confined to no
rank — it makes a man contented in any
station, obedient in all. The great Ex
ample of it was Jesus Himself. PhiL
ii. 5-12. After Him, the Scripture

T- E. 32.] CHAPTER V.

59

4 Blessed are they that mourn :'
for they shall be6 comforted.
a Joel 2. 12, 14. b Is. 40. 1 ; 6. 12.
2 Cor. 1. 4

saints testified their humility by endur
ing patiently every misfortune and
affliction. Here at the outset of Christ's
teaching we are warned that if we will
gain heaven we must keep no hold on
this world, nor err, by supposing that
God intends to make us happy in His
service by gratifying all our selfish,
worldly desires. Some Christians find
out late in life that they began to follow,
as the disciples did, expecting satisfac
tion in their own way. They at last find
that God's way is better than theirs,
and become humbled by His grace.
ff Kingdom of heaven. Kingdom of the
heavens or heavenly kingdom. Again
it is called the kingdom of God. These
words are adopted from Daniel ii. 44,
vii. 13, 15, and denote that everlasting
kingdom which the Lord was to set up
on earth ; that spiritual covenant of
Christ, which was to subsist in imperfect
circumstances here, to become complete
in the heavens hereafter. In some pas
sages the words refer to that kingdom
here, as Matt. xiii. 41, 47 ; xx. 1. In
others to .the future kingdom. 1 Cor.
vi. 9, 10 ; xv. 50 ; Gal. v. 21. Generally
they include, as here, both ideas, and
are equivalent to the word in common
use now — the Church. This word is from
the Greek Kurios, the Lord. Kyriarke,
Kyrch, Kirk, Church, meaning the
Lord's people or possession. It is fit to
translate these words of our Lord, king
dom of heaven. The Apostles used it al
together. The Church belongs to the poor
in spirit : 1. In this life. They humble
themselves to repent and receive its yoke,
and become as little children to learn
wisdom. 2. In the future Hfe. They
have the mind of Jesus, and the gracious
fruits of the Spirit. 1 Pet. ii. 2-5.
4. They that mourn. There are two
sorts of mourning of which the Scrip
tures speak, mourning of necessity, for
affliction, sickness and sorrow, and
mourning for sin with a ' godly sorrow.'
They who mourn in either manner must
be piously disposed in order to receive

5 Blessed are the meek : for
they shall inherit the earth."
a Ps. 87. 11 ; Num. 12. 13.

this comfort. ' The sorrow of the world
worketh death. ' 2 Cor. vii. 10. What
ever trouble comes upon those who truly
sorrow for sin, it does not spring from
the ground, it is God's visitation, " and
for whatever cause it be sent upon us,
whether to try our patience for the ex
ample of others, and that our faith may
be found in the day of the Lord, laudable,
glorious and honorable, or else it be sent
upon us to correct and amend in us
whatsoever doth offend the eyes of our
heavenly Father ; we may know that
if we truly repent us of our sins and bear
our sickness or trouble patiently, trust
ing in God's mercy, for His dear Son
Jesus Christ's sake, and render unto
Him humble and hearty thanks for his
fatherly visitation, submitting ourselves
wholly unto His will, it shall turn to
our profit and help us forward in the way
that leadeth unto everlasting life.". See
Visitation Office in Prayer Book. The
ordinances of religion comfort us here
when all other things fail, and God at
the last will wipe tears from all eyes
which have mourned for sin. — " In the
eye of heaven blessedness begins there,
where misery begins in human estima
tion." — St. Ambrose.
5. The meek. " There are two op
posite characters under which mankind
may generally be classed. The one
possesses vigor, firmness, resolution, is
daring, active, quick in its sensibilities,
jealous of its fame, eager in its attach
ments, inflexible in its purposes and vio
lent in its resentments. The other
meek, yielding, complying, forgiving,
not prompt to act but willing to suffer,
silent and gentle under rudeness and in
sult ; suing for reconciliation when
others would demand satisfaction ; giv
ing way to the pushes of impudence,
conceding and indulgent to the preju
dices, the wrongheadedness, the intrao-
t ability of those with whom he has to
deal." — Dr. Paley. Contrast Moses and
Pharaoh — David and Saul. David was
meek before Satd, reverenced his per-

60

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

6 Blessed are they which do
a Ps. 41. 1, 2; 107. 9. b Ps. 81. 10.

son, and left vengeance to God. He was
king, when Saul had miserably perished,
and perhaps spake from experience when
he said (Psalm xxxvii. 11), " Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the
earth and delight themselves in great
abundance." Meekness is not to be
confused with a tame, passionless char
acter. It never degenerates into cow
ardice or insensibility. The Christian
must have a fervent earnest love for
holy things, and for his brethren, which
may often excite his anger against ir
reverence and wrong. John ii. 17.
He must be angry and sin not. His
zeal must be unselfish, just, and sub
missive to God. The Catechism sums
up the practical traits of the meek.
' Our duty is to walk humbly with God,
to submit to all our governors, teachers,
spiritual pastors and masters, to order
ourselves lowly and reverently to all
our betters ; to hurt nobody by word or
deed, to bear no malice nor hatred in
our hearts, to esteem others better than
ourselves.' The perfect example of
meekness was seen in our Lord, who
dying on the cross prayed for the par
don of his enemies, because of their
ignorance. Luke xxiii. 34. ff Inherit
the earth. Bp. Porteus says : ' ' By in
heriting the earth, our Lord meant, in
heriting those things which are without
doubt the greatest blessings upon earth,
calmness and composure of spirit, tran
quillity, cheerfulness, peace and com
fort of mind. Now these I apprehend
are the pecuhar portion and recompense
of the meek. Unassuming, gentle and
humble in their deportment, they give
no offence, they create no enemies, they
provoke no hostilities, and thus escape
that large proportion of human misery
which arises from dissensions and dis
putes." Jesus did not mean to promise
great earthly riches, as other scriptures
show, and also, as such a promise would
be unsuited to the end. For the more
one becomes meek and unworldly, the
less he desires the " mammon of un
righteousness; " the less he values it as a

hunger and" thirst after righteous
ness : for they shall be filled.6

reward. Of these worldly things, the
Christian shall have enough. Our Lord
promises a spiritual gift in these words
— power over others for good. He knew
that He founded this blessing on a deep,
a vital truth of human nature, and He
indicates to Christians, that the true way
to gain a right influence over others,
and to hold in check the passions of
others, is to begin by controlling our own.
We imagine that the meek are of course
weak, but hear Solomon : " He that is
slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he that ruleth his spirit than he that
taketh a city. Prov. xvi. 32. Moses
was " very meek above all men" (Num.
xii. 3), yet for forty years he ruled suc
cessfully the wild tribes of Israel. Such
as desire power to do good must begin
with self-control, for they can never do
good to others who cannot rule them
selves. See Gal. vi. 1, 2 ; Eph. iv. 2 ;
Tit. iii. 2 ; Jas. iii. 13.
6. Hunger and thirst. These well
known appetites of the body are chosen
to represent the strong desires which a
Christian feels for the spiritual blessings,
which alone satisfy the soul. This il
lustration is frequently used in the
Gospel. Jesus answered the temptation
of Satan to make bread of stones, " Thou
shalt not live by bread, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God." As bread satisfies the body,
so do the promises of God sustain the
spiritual life. He instituted the sacra
ment of the Lord's Supper, representing
his broken body and blood spilled for us ;
by this symbol teaching us, that as our
bodies are sustained by the bread and
wine, so, after a heavenly and spiritual
manner, our souls are therein nourished.
John vi. 53-63. Again: He used the
language of one thirsty, at the well of
Samaria, to explain to the Samaritan
woman, the Gospel that prevents man
from ever thirsting again — that is,
which so fully satisfies his soul, that he
need never seek for more truth elsewhere.
John iv. 14. Fasting, likewise, is a
lesson derived from the same analogyj

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

61

7 Blessed are the merciful : for
+hey" shall obtain mercy.
a Ps. 41. 1, 2.

to teach us, that as at such times we
experience the earnest desire for earthly
food, so must we have an earnest, con
stant desire for the " sincere milk of the
Word of God," whereby we may grow in
grace. As the prodigal son perishing
with hunger, so the sinner must flee to
the pardoning love of God, with an in
tense desire for pardon. As the Is
raelites lived for forty years on the man
na, so must the Christian seek his sup
plies from above. No one can look to
God with true hunger and fail to be
filled ; here filled with all things neces
sary for the body, filled hereafter with
more than tho heart of man, in its
wildest imaginations, has ever conceived.
We must hunger for righteousness, i. e.
true, entire obedience to the laws of
God, perfect holiness of heart and life.
See note v. 20 ; Ps. xiii. 1-5.
7. The merciful. The doctrine that
God will be merciful to us by the rule of
our mercy to others, is often taught in
Scripture (Ps. xviii. 25-26 ; Matt. vii.
1 ; x. 42 ; xxv. 34, &c), is repeated
hourly on the lips of Christians in the
Lord's Prayer (Matt. vi. 12), and is made
the test of acceptance (Matt. xxv. 40) in
the awful description of the last day.
It becomes us, therefore, to lay it to
heart. The merciful are they who are
gentle and forgiving of the wrongs, as
well as kind and pitiful to the woes of
others ; they who show a ready sympa
thy for human sorrows, and forbear
much for the best good of others. See
1 Cor. xiii. 4-8; Jas. iii. 17. God
hangs his pardon of us conditionally, on
the spirit of forgiveness in us toward
others. Matt, xviii. 32-35 ; Prov. xxi.
13 ; Mk. xi. 26 ; Jas. ii. 13. For a
main part of true holiness is that we
imitate and illustrate to others the
divine mercy. We must be " partakers
of the Divine nature" (2 Pet. i. 4), chil
dren of God in truth as well as in name,
and especially in " the quality of mercy,"
by which he is chiefly known among
men. Ex. xxxiv. 6. This same lesson

8 Blessed are the pure6 in
heart : for they shall" see God.
b Ps. 24. 4; Jas. 1. 27. o Hab. 1. 18.
is practically taught by the Church,
which addresses fit and worthy commu
nicants thus : " And if ye shall perceive
your offences to be such as are not only
against God but also against your neigh
bors, then ye shall reconcile yourselves
unto them ; being ready to make restitu
tion and satisfaction, according to the
uttermost of your powers, for all injuries
and wrongs done by you to any other,
and being likewise ready to forgive
others who have offended you, as ye hope
for forgiveness at God's hand; for other
wise the receiving of the holy commu
nion doth nothing else but increase
your condemnation." See also 2d Rubric
of Communion Office. This duty is so
powerfully enforced, that we cannot
escape it. We must be of the right
spirit to meet our Judge, saying, " In
asmuch as ye did it unto one of the
least of these My disciples, ye did it
unto Me." Saith St. Augustine : "He
pronounces those blessed who succor the
wretched, because they are rewarded
in being themselves delivered from all
misery." — See Hymns 115-117.
8. Pure in heart. Says Bp. Beve-
ridge: "The heart is pure which is
sound in the faith, submissive to the
will, obedient to the law, constant in the
service, and zealous for the glory of
God ; which is meek, humble, just and
charitable towards others ; in short, that
exercises itself to * have always a con
science void of offence towards God and
man.' " The Bishop seems to have in
mind the various texts in which purity
is enjoined. — 1 Tim. iii. 9, iv. 12 ; 2 Tim.
ii. 21 ; Tit. ii. 14 ; Heb. ix. 14, x. 27 ;
Jas. L. 27; 1 Pet. i. 22 ; 2 Pet. i. 9.
The hearers of Christ esteemed with
superstitious reverence mere bodily pu
rity. They were Careful to go to the
Temple with bodies washed with pure
water, but forgot the greater need of
having their " hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience," by repentance and
amendment. Purity, which is here
taught, is not only freedom from filthy

62

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

9 Blessed are the peace-ma
kers : for they shall be called the
children of God.
10 Blessed are they which

obscene thoughts, as we now often use
the word, but is taken in that large
sense given to it by Bishop Beveridge.
ff Sliall see God. The Jews believed
that no man could see God and Uve ; and
it is certain that the wicked will never see
him. Rev. i. 7. To see him is to enjoy
His gracious presence here (Lu. x. 22),
and to be admitted to His immediate
presence hereafter. This blessing, and
the two which follow, are in the manner
of a climax. The poor shall see God,
the peacemakers become His children ;
they that suffer persecution for Him
here, are possessors of the kingdom of
heaven, " great is their reward." These
blessings began with the Church on
earth, and end with the Church glori
fied in heaven.
9. The peacemakers. Those who are
disposed to make peace and preserve it
among men. They who soothe angry
feelings in others, reconcile quarrels,
prevent violence and lawsuits, keep a
quiet, orderly neighborhood, are praise
worthy. But in a far higher sense
must we make peace, to be called God's
children. The highest peace is in the
unity of the Christian Church. The
peacemakers, those who promote peace
at the centre by holding and extending
the true faith. We must avoid dissen
sion, headstrong self-will, heresy and
schism, that we may have peace within.
Thus we " keep the unity of the spirit
in the bond of peace.'' — Eph. iv. 3, &c.
" For God is not the author of confusion
but of peace, as in all the churches of
the saints." — 1 Cor. xiv. 33. " And let
the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to the which ye are called in one body." —
Col. iii. 15 ; Jas. ii 18 ; Eph. vi. 15
ff Called the children of God. To be call
ed with the Hebrews was often the same
as to be: they shall be the children of God.
Peacemakers will be esteemed among
men as genuine Christians, truly moved
by the Spirit, and acceptable to God.
God will adopt them, and reward them
with the blessing of eternal peace.

are persecuted for righteousness
sake :" for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. a 1 Pet 12. 19-25; 8.14.

10. Persecuted. Afflicted, harassed
or killed by wicked men for the sake
of religion. There were many vio
lent persecutions of the Church in
the first ages. Acts viii. 1 ; xi. 19.
Sometimes of particular persons. Acts
xiii. 50 ; 2 Tim. iii. 11. The only
persecution, if it can he called such,
which now exists, is that of the tongue,
in evil speaking, inventing abusive
names, and exciting public odium against
individuals, for the truth's sake. There
are times of external peace, which we
may enjoy and thank God. We need
not adopt strange manners, nor utter
harsh and obnoxious sentiments, in
order to be disliked. 1 Pet. ii. 20.
Sir Thos. More tells in his quaint style
of certain men in his day, who could
not think themselves Christians until
they had set all men of sense against
them by their vagaries, and rebellious
practices. This is fanaticism, not piety.
We must hold the truth, if in peace,
with thanksgiving; if in trouble and
enmity, still with thanks and patience.
ff Righteousness' sake. Because of a
righteous Hfe, as Christians. This word
in the Gospels means a holy life of faith
and good works. If we are persecuted,
it must be a matter of self-examination,
whether it is for our own faults, or for
the truth. If the latter, the kingdom
of heaven is ours, in its comforts here,
and its future rewards. 2 Cor. iv. 17.
ff The kingdom of heaven. Evil men
may rob the Christian of everything
else, they cannot rob him of the con
solation and joys of this kingdom, nor
dim his faith that " the Lord know
eth how to deliver the godly out of
temptation." 2 Pet. ii. 9. These bless
ings begin and end with this one prom
ise, this in which all the others result.
Single graces are blessed, but not ex
isting alone. Men differ in their reign
ing tempers ; some are meek, some
humble, some energetic as peace-ma
kers, some peculiarly innocent and pure
in heart, and these different graces

T. E. 32. J

CHAPTER V.

63

11 Blessed are ye when men I 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding
shall revile you, and persecute glad : for great is your reward

you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you1 falsely, for my

have different rewards. But every
man must have all in some degree,
though not the same. No single vir
tue can save us, if we are altogether
wanting in the others The blessings
are also in a climbing scale, one be
getting another. A man begins in
penitence and humility for sin, adds
to it patience and self-control, gains
zeal, which hungers for pious deeds of
righteousness, learns to forgive others,
by the law of his own experience of
pardon ; then being pure in heart, he
finds peace within, and promotes it
without, and hke an oak well rooted
in the Rock of Ages, can bear any
storm of affliction or persecution.
11. Revile you. Reproach falsely,
with insulting and degrading names.
Jesus was reviled, called a Samaritan,
i. e., a mongrel heretic and schismat
ic, as having a devil working by Beel
zebub, &c, by the contemptuous mal
ice of the Jews. They would be as
harshly treated in their turn, ff Per
secute. Drag you before kings and gov
ernors, as disobedient subjects. Acts
iv. 21 ; vi 12 ; xii. 1, 4 ; xxiv. 5.
Most of the disciples who sat to hear
these words, looking off to the still wa
ters of Galilee, with dreams of an earth
ly kingdom, perished by the cruelty of
wicked men ; to find out how much
more glorious was God's way . than
theirs, ff All manner of evil falsely.
Two things are required in us, to re
ceive this blessing. 1. Men must say
evil falsely, as St. Peter shows. 1 Epis.
ii. 20. A man must be a Christian
and do well, and suffer for the well
doing, not for personal faults. Nothing
is more injurious to religion, than to
see men casting the blame of their own
faults upon it. A minister, for instance,
corrupts the Gospel, becomes a politi
cian, or fanatic, indulges a morbid tem
per against men who differ from him,

in heaven : for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before
you.

and then foolishly complains of the con
tempt which he deservedly meets, as a
persecution against the godliness which
he has caricatured. 2. It must be
for my sake ; evil charged for holding
the true faith. When one firmly and
humbly believes the doctrines which
may be unpopular at any time, as the
unity of the Church, the apostolic suc
cession, &c, and is calied by petty
names, or his motives suspected, he
should bear it with patience, and re
joice that puritan violence can go no
farther. We meet now only the paltry
persecution of tongues. Let us learn
peace and patience in holding truth.
12. Rejoice and be exceeding glad.
Neither wonder nor be cast down, but
hail, welcome it, and recognize it as a
blessing. It is a mystery of grace
that the world knew little of, before
Christ, that a man should rejoice at
trouble. The Christian learns that all
things work together for his good, and
like Paul and Silas, finds no dungeon
of adversity so dark and deep that he
cannot " pray and sing praises to God."
1 Pet. i. 1, 6.; Heb. xii. ff The pro
phets. The holy men of the ancient
covenant. See the list of them, Heb.
xi. The disciples were to bear the
same relation to the new covenant, and
must expect the same experience.
This chapter, to this verse, is the Gos
pel for All Saints day, Nov. 1st. It re
minds us annually of that " communion
and fellowship in the mystical body of
Christ, in which God has knit together
His chosen people, to the intent tha£we
may continue steadfast in the church
militant here on earth, and so be fit
ted to join forever the Church trium
phant in heaven. To that end we
must follow the blessed saints in all
virtuous and godly living, that we may
come to their unspeakable joys. And
we bless God " for all those who have

64

MATTHEW.

[A D. 24.

13 If Ye are the salt of the
earth : but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be
salted ? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and

departed this life in the faith and fear
of Him, and give Him hearty thanks for
the good examples of those His servants
who, having finished their course in
faith, do now rest from their labors."
They are one with us, knit, together in
one body, from Abraham and Peter to
the httle child which died to-day. This
is the faith they have followed.
These through fiery trials tiod,
.These from great afflictions came.
Hymn 201.
13. Salt of the earth. The effect of
salt is silently to preserve the purity of
bodies and contend against the active
tendencies of decay. It is necessary to
animal life and health, and is wonder
fully spread abroad over the earth and
sea. The disciples were to preach that
religion which alone could do this same
work in the moral world. Christians,
cast into the wicked and corrupt mass of
the world, arrested its downward pro
gress and did " dry up the humors of
carnal works, remove the foulness and
putrefaction of evil conversation, and
kill the work of lustful thoughts, and
also that worm of which it is said
" their worm dieth not." ff Hath lost
its savor. In our country salt is known
only in its purest state, so that it can
not lose its savor without disappearing.
But with the Jews it was very impure,
and mixed with a whitish earth, which
remained in the same form after the
saltness had melted away. There is
a valley of this mixed salt near Gelu,
about four hours journey from Aleppo,
in which is a precipice made by the
crumbling of the salt. Maundrell the
traveller says of it : "I took a piece of
it, of which that part which was ex
posed to the rain and air, though it had
the sparks and particles of salt, < yet it
had perfectly lost its savor. The inner
part, which was connected with the
rock, retained its savor." How fit an
image of one who seems to be a saint,

to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a can-

yet has within neither grace nor active
power to do good to others. He is re
jected by God, and despised by men.
14. The light of the world. The sun
gives light to the physical world —
Christ, to the spiritual. The disciples
were to spread this latter light by their
instructions. As the sun gives light to
men, that they walk safely and work
efficiently, so the knowledge of the
divine will, communicated by the dis
ciples, would illuminate the minds of
men, to walk humbly before God, and
to work out their salvation. John xi.
9 ; Phil. ii. 15. They could teach the
ignorant, point out the great truths of a
holy life, instruct them in its laws, and
fill them with hopes of God's favor.
ff A city set on a hill. True grace can
not be concealed. " Christians are God's
building." 1 Cor. iii. 9 ; Eph. ii 21.
They are necessarily purer and holier
than other men, and their virtues and
graces must be visible, being as irrepres
sible as the light of day. Jerusalem, a
type of the church, was built on a hill.
The city Bethesda was situated on a
hill, in full sight of the Mount of Beati
tudes. Jesus may have pointed to it
as a graceful illustration of his meaning.
The gifts of grace exalt us, but give
us new duties. To teach others well
we must be pure and active — the salt
of earth before we -can be its light.
15. Neither do men, Sfc. As no one
lights a candle to hide it, hut that it
may be of use, so did Christ instruct
the disciples, that they might bear
witness to Him, and give spiritual light
to others. Jesus was to remain on
earth for a short time only. His work
was then to be carried on by His fol
lowers — His mystical body, acting for
Him, until He comes again. Matt. ch.
xxyiii. 20 ; Eph. i. 23 ; Col. i 24.
This figure of fight is frequently used
in the Gospel of St. John. John i 7-
9. Christians now bear witness to that

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

65

die, and put it under a1 bushel,
but on a candlestick : and it giv
eth light unto all that are in the
house. 16 Let your light so shine be-
R The word in the original signifieth, a
measure containing about a pint less than
a peck.

light, by suffering it to shine in their
lives, in obedience to the Gospel. Piety
shut up in profession only, is a light
hidden. It shines out in good works,
done in faith and godly sincerity.
ff Bushel. A modion, a measure contain
ing about one peck, one large enough
to cover the light of a candle.
16. Let your light so shine. Not
make it, but suffer it to shine. It is its
nature to shine, to flow forth in mercy
and truth Be humble and consistent
Christians, and let the influence of your
piety work out its own nature on oth
ers. How sweetly are we warned of
our duty and place. The light of a
candle throws out its beams, not to ex
alt itself, for it perishes in the act.
The Christian is not to seek his own
honor or gain, but to shine, as it were,
because he cannot help it. Piety should
flow forth as freely as light, as sim
ply, as unconsciously as innocence from
a child. It shines in the harmony of
the whole character, by avoiding a
cowardly surrender of truth, avoiding
heresy aud false doctrine, selfishness
and self-will, all of which discolor the
purity of true godliness, ff May see
your good works. This is the end of a
pious life, not the motive : that is, we
are not to do good works to be seen of
men, ch. vi. 1-6, but in the fear of God,
who will make this use of them to His
own glory. We should be careful to do
good works from love and obedience,
unselfishly, from an honest and pure
heart, and a right faith. We may pray
God " to assist us with His grace, that
we may continue in the fellowship of
His faithful people, and do all such good
works as He has prepared for us to
walk in." " Albeit good works, which
are the fruits of faith, and follow after
justification, cannot put away our sins
and endure the severity of God's judg-

fore men, that they may see your
good works," and glorify6 your
Father which is in heaven.
17 If Think not that I am
come to destroy the" law, or the
a Eph. 2. 10; 1 Tim. 6. 18; Tit. 2. 14; 8. 8.
b 1 Pet. 12. 12. c Eom. 10. 4; Gal. 8. 21.

ment ; yet are they pleasing and accept
able to God in Christ, and do spring
out necessarily of a true and lively
faith, insomuch that by them a, lively
faith may be as evidently known, as a
tree discerned by its fruit. " Art. XII.
See Gal. vi. 10 : James ii. 17 ; Heb.
xiii. 16. *5
17. To destroy, Sec. To set aside for
mer truth. Christ came not to do away
the revealed religion of the Jews, which
was from God, and approved by Him in
divers ways, but to enlarge it, and build
upon it the superstructure which they
knew was necessary to its perfection. It
was wanting in two respects : 1. It was
to be changed in its ceremonial, from
" carnal ordinances " to a spiritual ser
vice. John iv. 24. 2. Jesus was to
break down the wall of partition be
tween Jews and Gentiles. Eph. ii. 14.
The same elements of pure morality are
found in both covenants. " Although
the law, given from God by Moses, as
touching ceremonies and rites, does not
bind Christian men, nor the civil pre
cepts thereof ought of necessity to be
received in any commonwealth, yet,
notwithstanding, no Christian man what
soever is free from the obedience of the
commandments which are called moral."
Article VII. ff Law and the prophets.
The Hebrew division of the Old Testa
ment was into the Law, or five books of
Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, or
as here, for brevity's sake, ff To fulfil.
To verify and do all that they for§-
shadowed in types, symbols, or, in plain
language, to supply their imperfections,
provide a better covenant, and reveal life
and immortality.
'Tis finished — all that heaven decreed,
And all the ancient prophets said
Is now fulfilled, as long designed,
In Me, the Saviour of mankind. Hymn 66,

66

MATTHEW.

[A.D. 26.

prophets : I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot
or one" tittle shall in no wise

a Lu. 16. 17.

18. Verily. In Greek Amen. A so
lemn affirmation. Truly. Indeed. Placed
at the end of a prayer it signifies, as the
Catechism has it, " Therefore, Is_
Amen. So be it." 1 Kings i. 36. ff Jot
or tittle. The Hebrew letter yodh was the
smallest of their letters, the keraia, or
tittle, the least point used in writmg. The
least fraction of the law will be fulfilled.
No command is too small to be unob
served by the Almighty. The heaven
and earth will be destroyed, for to this
they are appointed, but it is impossible
for one precept or type of the law to fail,
since it was inspired by the wisdom and
sustained by the power of God. The
ceremonial law of the Mosaic system,
which stood only in meats and drinks,
and divers washings and carnal ordi
nances imposed on them till the time
of reformation (Heb. ix. 10, 11), was ful
filled by Christ, the High Priest of a
more perfect covenant. The judicial
law of the Jews, which constituted and
guarded them in their national life, as a
separate and peculiar people, was com
pleted and ended when Shiloh came to
gather in the nations. Both these sys
tems of law were only as a scaffolding,
to be removed when the building was
raised. All those portions of the Old
Testament which do not come under
these two classes, are called the Moral
Law, and are held by Christians as al
ways binding. It includes prominently
the Ten Commandments, the compend
of all laws ; also, all the moral and
spiritual precepts ; all the apparitions
and declarations of God ; all revelations
of His spiritual intentions in prophecies ;
all the examples and sayings of good
men, such as the books of Psalms, Pro
verbs, &c, and all other spiritual pre
cepts and influences, which are not
evidently transient and Jewish in their
nature, and which make one wise unto
salvation. These are esteemed to be

pass from the law, till all be ful
filled. 19 "Whosoever therefore shall
break one of these least com
mandments, and shall teach men
part and parcel of the Moral Law, which
pervades the Old Testament, as warmth
and life do the human body, and make
it worthy the praises of the Psalmist.
Psa. xix. 7-11; Matt. xxii. 37-40;
Rom. xiii. 9. 10. This moral law can
never pass. It must be kept by all, for
all are sinners, to be pardoned only by
the redemption of the Lord Jesus.
19. Shall break. It may allude to
these laws of the Old Testament which
Jesus now reinforces and explains ; but
it seems better, as St. Chrysostom says :
" He says the least, not of the old laws,
but of those which he was now going to
enact." Our Lord here lays down the
system of Christian law — the Covenant of
Grace. Moses received the law for the
Jews, Jesus now declares the conditions
of salvation under the Gospel. This
appears from two facts, among many :
1. No one of these commands can be
violated without danger to the soul.
Therefore, nothing short of them will
suffice for salvation. They are the vital
condition of salvation. 2nd ch. vii. 24-
27. Jesus sums up His discourse by de
claring that the only foundation of hope
is, hearing these sayings of His and do
ing them. Otherwise the foundation is
sandy and false. Setting aside the me
taphor, the idea is, that obedience to the
laws set down in these chapters is abso
lutely necessary to salvation, ff Least
in the kingdom of heaven. Of little use
or account here, of httle reward here
after. False, heretical teachers, who
carve and separate and omit parts of
the laws of God, are injurious to the
Church and will be lightly esteemed by
God and His people. The Pharisees are
an example of this perverseness. Ch. xv.
3-9. St. James repeats this truth.
Ch. ii. 10 11. St. Augustine being con
sulted by St. Jerome, concerning the
meaning of these two passages, an
swered, that " the reason of it, why one

T. E. 30.]

CHAPTER V.

67

so, he shall be called the least" in
the kingdom of heaven : but
whosoever shall do, and teach
them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That
except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the
a Jas. 2. 10.

one who broke, and taught others to
break, the least point of the law should
be guilty of all, is, that he thereby de-
spises the authority of the Giver oftEe
law, anol olrends against" thalT'cnarrly
which is the spirit common to all its
commands." ff Be called great. Shall
be so esteemed. He that teaches the
whole law, in every point, wisely and
faithfully, is a " workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth." 2 Tim. ii. 15.
20. Righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees. Says Bp. Hall : " The
poor Jews were so besotted with the ad
miration of these two, that they would
have thought if but two men must go
to heaven, the one should be a Scribe,
the other a Pharisee. What strange
news was this from Him that kept the
keys of David, that neither of them
should come there ! It was not the
person of these men, not their learning
nor wit, not eloquence, not honor they
admired so much, but their righteous
ness : and lo nothing but their righte
ousness is censured ! Herein they seemed
to exceed all men ; herein all that would
be saved must exceed them." Their
righteousness was defective,!, perverting
the truth with false traditions, ch. xv. 3-
12; 2, preferring external marks of devo
tion to integrity of mind, ch. xxiii. 25 ; 3,
partial, compounding for sins by single
acts of obedience, ch. xxiii. 23 ; 4, pre
sumptuous and proud, Luke xviii. 12 ;
6, degraded by hypocrisy and cruelty,
ch. xxiii. 14. It was a form of godli
ness without the power. It was the
chief enemy of Jesus and prompted His
death, and led to the ruin of the nation.
Our Lord here speaks of it as a righteous
ness, not of its baser parts. The Chris-

Wibes and Pharisees, ye shall
in no case enter into the kingdom
of heaven.
21 T Ye have heard that it was
said' by them of old time," Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill, shall be in danger of
the judgment :

b Matt. 23. 18-28.
0. 18 ; Deut. 5. 17.

\ or, to tliem, c Ex.

tian must exceed it in all that was good
in it, by actual holiness in thought, word
and deed, living soberly, righteously and
godly in this present life, ff King
dom of heaven. See note ch. iii. 2.
" Beautiful entrance He here makes to a
teaching beyond the works of the Law ;
declaring to the apostles that they
should have no admission to the kingdom
of heaven without a righteousness be
yond that of the Pharisees." — S. Hillary,
21. Ye have heard. Jesus proceeds
to instance certain kinds of the false
teaching of the Pharisees. His hearers
were familiar with them. They knew
the law (Ex. xx. 13), and the gloss or
explanation put upon it by the tradi
tion of the elders, or learned teachers of
their nation. They must feel at once the
contrast of that gloss with the simple
truth, ff By them of old time. Or
as in the margin, to them, &c. The
Greek word may have either sense,
without altering much the meaning of
the passage. 2b them, taught to those
who lived before Christ by the doctors,
or by them, that is by the doctors or
rabbis. The Jewish rabbis taught as
is here noted, by giving a text, and
then adding an explanation of it. But
they erred in many cases, aud mystified,
perverted or nullified the sense of scrip
ture. Jesus does not cite this case
from Moses as differing from him, but
quotes both text and gloss from them of
old time, or from the traditions of the
rabbins, ff Thou shalt not kill. The rab
bins seem to have explained this com
mandment, as literally forbidding only
murder with one's own hands. If a man
hired an assassin to do it, suffered a
wild beast to do it, or in any way pro
cured it, without his personal act, he

68

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

22 But I say unto you, That
" whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause, shall be
in danger of the judgment : and

a 1 John 3. 15.

was not punishable by the law — though
they confessed that he might deserve
punishment from God. ff Danger of the
judgment. Murder was a capital crime.
Numb. xxxv. 31. The cases of it were
tried before inferior courts, sitting in
the towns and villages, , not by the
Supreme Court of the Sanhedrim. The
Pharisee emphasized the actual crime
of murder, but said nothing of the cause
of it, in sinful, ungovernable passions.
22. But I say unto you. I say by
authority, as a lawgiver to be obeyed.
He comments on the words of the rab
bins with a voice, and application of right
reason, such as never were heard be
fore. The form of His teaching mani
fests supreme authority. He spake as
He worked-— royally and majestically; as
one who thought it no robbery to be
equal with the Giver of the former law.
ff Angry. Anger without a cause or
in excess is condemned, not a just in
dignation against wrong and wicked
ness. The passion is a part of our
natural constitution, to prompt us to
ward off danger and injury, with pro
per energy. As killing in self-defence,
war, or in the execution of a judicial
sentence, is not murder, so anger against
those things or persons, which deserve
it, is not of itself blameworthy. It
must not run into violence, malice or
revenge. See Mark iii. 5. ; Eph. iv. 26.
It is a matter for great watching and
care, for the flame is too dangerous to
burn often or long without harm. Anger
without a cause, or to a degree of violence,
evil speaking and hatred, leads to the
most atrocious crimes and is hostile to
the spirit of the Gospel. John iii. 15 ;
iv. 20. ff His brother. His brother
Jew, brother Christian, or brother man,
for in this broad sense our religion has
put the word. It is sufficient to give it
the stricter sense of the Christian bro
therhood, as these laws are meant for
Christians especially. Jesus runs an

whosoever shall say to his brother,'
Kaca, shall be in danger of the
council : but whosoever shall say,
1 That is, vain fellow.

analogy here between the punishment
due to the degrees of unreasonable
anger, and the common sentences of the
Jewish courts. Causeless anger, which
goes no farther, shall be in danger of
ihe judgment of the inferior court of
twenty-three members ; if words of
bitter railing are added to the passion,
it shall deserve a sentence similar to
that of murder, inflicted by the council,
the Sanhedrim — but if to this there is
joined the contemptuous treatment
implied in the -woiifool, it shall become
liable to a more grievous punishment,
comparable only to that custom of
burning alive in the valley of Hinnom.
ff Raca. A Hebrew word, a term of
contempt, " worthless, vain fellow."
7^0!* fool signified one wanting in true
wisdom, an apostate and rebel against
God. It may seem difficult to account
for these degrees of punishment follow
ing mere words ; but in serious minds,
— and the Jews were a serious people,
— words are things. To call names and
treat accordingly followed of course.
These words imply a corresponding
conduct. Raca, thou witless fool, and
then came contempt. See 1 Cor. viii. 11 ;
Lu. xvii. 1, 2. Then moreh or fool in
a religious sense, and then treatment
tending to destroy the soul of the offen
der. All degrees of anger are there
fore to be condemned, ff The council.
The Sanhedrim or Council of seventy-
two. It was instituted in the time of
the Maccabees, B. C. 200. It was
composed of, 1. The High Priest who
was President. 2. The Chief Priests,
i. e. the Saga or deputy of the High
Priest ; such as may have been High
Priests, and the heads of the twenty-four
courses of Priests, as appointed by
David. 3. The Princes of the tribes
and those who were venerable for much
learning. It was the supreme court,
from whose sentence there was no ap-
peaL The place of its session was in a

T. E. 30.]

CHAPTER V.

69

Thou fool, shall be in danger of
hell-fire. 23 Therefore, if thou bring thy

"gift to the altar, and there re-
memberest that thy brother hath
aught against thee,

a Matt. 8. 4: 23.19.

building adjoining the temple. The
lesser council- was composed of twenty-
three members, of whom seven were
judges, as Josephus informs us. Jew.
War. i. 20. 5. Antiq. iv. 8. 14. ff Hell
fire. In Greek, the Gehenna of fire. This
word Hell, originally meaning a deep
dark place, inhabited by departed spirits
good and bad, answering to the word
Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek,
is here used/br the first lime in the Bible
as the place of punishment. It is from
the Saxon verb helan, to cover, and sig
nifies simply a covered place or the
abyss of the grave. This was the
common meaning in the old English.
It is the meaning in the Old Testament.
Ps. xvi. 10. It is there sheol, the
grave, or hell, i. e. the place of the
spirits of the dead. So the creed ex
plains "He descended into Hell — He
went into the place, of departed spirits."
This is the sense of the word in the
Old Testament. Eternal life and eter
nal death are, clearly revealed only in
the New Testament — sound theology
teaches us :
" The Font of Love, His servants sends to
tell „ , „ .
Love's deeds : Himself reveals the sin
ner's hsU.n
The word hell translates Gehenna, a
place of future torment, twelve times in
the New Testament. Matt. v. 22, 29,
30 ; x. 28 ; xviii. 9 ; xxiii. 15, 33 ; Mark
ix. 43, 45, 47 ; La xii. 5 ; James iii. 6 ;
once Tartarus, 2 Pet. ii. 4. It is used
eleven other times in the New Testa
ment to translate Hades, the place of
departed souls. Matt, xi 23 ; xvi. 18 ;
Lu. x. 15 ; xvi. 23 ; Acts ii 27-31 ; 1
Cor. xv. 55 ; Rev. i. 18 ; vi 8 ; xx. 13,
14. Then says St. John,_ " death and
hell were cast into the lake" of fire. This
is the second death." Hell is here plain
ly distinguished from the place of tor
ment. The Hebrew word Gehenna
has its own history. It is made of two
words Ge-Hinnom— the land or valley

of Hinnom. Josh, xviii. 16. St. Jerome
speaks of it as a beautiful spot at the
foot of Mount Moriah, south of the tem
ple, watered by the fountain of Siloam.
It is a deep dell or ravine, surrounded
by precipitous hills. It was the scene
of the horrid worship by the people of
the idol Moloch, the abomination of the
Ammonites. Mothers offered their in
fants in sacrifice to this monster, fas
tening them to its brazen lap to be
burned to death. 2. Chron. xxyiii. 3.
Drums (Heb. Tophim) were used to
drown their cries, whence came the
name Tophet. Jer. xix. 11-13. The
place was at length defiled by Josiah
(2 Kings xxiii. 10.) in order to prevent
these rites. It became the receptacle
of the filth and offal of the city, that it
might be further polluted. Jer. vii. 32,
33. This in time produced noxious
malaria, and it was found necessary to
keep fires burning continually in the
valley, to perserve the health of the
city. What a comment does the ima
gination now perceive in this word
Gehenna, Hell — a scene that defies
description — " their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched." Providence
thus prepared through several ages this
fearful symbol and type of future pun
ishment, against the time when the Son
of man, revealing the truths of life and
immortality, should also teach in all its
horrors, the contrast to them — the second
death. 23. Therefore, &c. Seeing there is
this danger, learn first of all to love
your brethren. The highest act of
public worship with the Jew was to
offer sacrifice to Jehovah. For this
purpose he went up to Jerusalem. And
the Pharisees taught them to do this,
to the neglect of the charities of life.
Now, says our Lord, if you are at the
altar's foot, and remember this offence,
go back and learn that God " will have
mercy, and not sacrifice" — rather than
sacrifice and not mercy. Ps. Ii 16.

70

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

24 Leave there thy gift before
the" altar, and go thy way ; first
be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift.
a 1 Tim. 2. 8.

1 Sam. xv. 22. The Church now gives
her members the same warning. The
Minister exhorts all who would come to
the Holy Communion, " if any of you be
in malice or envy, &c, repent ye of your
sins, or come not to that holy table."
And it is made his duty by the rubric
" if he perceive malice or hatred to
reign between any persons, he shall
advertise them that they presume not
to come to the Lord's table, until they
be reconciled. And if one of the par
ties so at variance be content to forgive
him from the bottom of his heart, all that
the other hath trespassed against him, and
to make amends for that , wherein he
himself hath offended; and the other
party will not be persuaded to a godly
unity, but remains still in his froward-
ness and malice ; the Minister in that
case ought to admit the penitent person
to the Holy Communion, and not him
that is obstinate." ff Thy gift. Thy
offering, sacrifices or presents. Deut.

Altar of Solomon's Temple.
xvi. 16. ff The altar. The altar of burnt-
offerings, stood before the porch on the
east front of the Temple. It was the
only place where the Jews could offer
sacrifices to the Lord. They joined in
public prayer and praise in the syna
gogues, which were to be found in every
village. But it was only at this one

25 Agree with thine adversary
quickly, while thou art in the
way with him ; lest at any time
the adversary* deliver thee to the
b Prov. 25. S; Lu. 12. 58, 59.

altar that they met Jehovah in the sa
cred rite of sacrifice. Yet in this their
most solemn rite, He would rather brook
delay, than accept the service of the
lips or hands, while the heart was filled
with anger or malice, ff Hath' aught.
Has any just ground to complain of
thee. " Pure religion (pure religious
worship of God) is to visit the widow
and the fatherless, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world." ff Leave
then, &c. God will wait, rather than
be worshipped by one who has willingly
injured his brother. The gift is to be
left, as already given in intention, and
cannot be reclaimed^. This language is
to teach us that God is pleased with'
the spirit of love and obedience in His
children, ff Be reconciled. Be earnest
to make peace, restitution if necessary,
so as to worship God with a clear con
science. There is*a limit to this law,
since, when others will not make peace,.,
we are to be satisfied with having made-';
proper efforts for it. Thus has Jesns
laid down the law of love, as an integral
element of the covenant of His Church.
25, 26. Agree with thine adversary
quickly. With the plaintiff or creditor.
In the way, is on the way to the presence
,3£ffil3p|Sr^nsria^s' mult ISeKTo
give satisfaction to every one, even as
one who at the very last, who is on the ¦¦'•
way to a trial, in which he may be the
winner, does yet, in a spirit of kindness
and forbearance, stop his opponent and
reconcile their difference. This precept,
as that of St. Paul (1 Cor. vi. 6-7) does
not forbid " Christians from obtaining
redress from civil courts for outrageous
injuries, it forbids them from being li
tigious and obstinate. The adversary,*.
if he make his case good, delivers you
to the judge, the judge sentences you to
the power of the officer or sheriff, and
he must hold you in durance until you
pay the last farthing of the debt. For
so just and stern is that human law to
which you appeal ; it knows no pardon.

, E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

71

judge, and the judge deliver thee
to the officer, and thou be cast
into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou
shalt by no means come out
__thence, till, thou hast paid the
uttermost farthing.
27 If Ye have heard that it
was said by 'them of old time,"
Thou shalt not commit adultery :
28 But I say unto you, That
whosoever looketh' on a woman
to lust after her, hath committed
adultery" with her already in his
heart. a Ex. 20. 14.

All this seems to he an analogy of God's
manner of dealing with the harsh and
oppressive Christian, who will not for
give his brother his offences. Ch. xviii.
32-35. We must be ruled by that law
of mercy, which we need for our offences,
lest we fall by having the measure that
we mete returned to us. Thus far Je
sus comments on the sixth command
ment, which implies forgiyeness of
others, restitution for wrongs, and an
active desire to prevent any just com
plaint. To be wise in this we must be
gin by restraining the native passion of
anger from all excess, by prayer and
watchfulness, ff Farthing. Equal to
about half a cent of our money.
L 27-28. Thou shall not, &c. The seventh
commandment. Probably the Jewish
doctors had erred, for the Jews were
peculiarly guilty in this sin. Jesus
goes to the root of the matter, and ex
tirpates in its beginning. A roving eye
inflames a passion, which rages into a
huge fire to ruin body and soul. 2 Sam.
xi. ; 2 Pet. ii. 14. Let the young keep
their bodies " in soberness, temperance
and chastity," make a covenant with their
eyes, and_jn an evil generation dare to
"Be pure, refuse to be led into scenes of
temptation, avoid idleness, excess and
luxury, and earnestly pray God to pro
tect them in innocence. Scorn the
tempter who by one foul word, or im
pure imagination, would lead yon astray,

29 And if thy right eye offend
thee, pluck it out, and cast it
from thee ; for it is profitable for
thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy
whole body slould be cast into
hell. 30 And if thy right hand1 offend
thee, cut it off, and cast it from
thee : for it is ^profitable for thee
that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into !hell.c
6 Job 81. 1 ; Prov. 6. 25.
I or, do cause thee to offend. \ or, Gehen
na, e Eom. 5. 18.

Modest women should remember to
shun every article and fashion of dress
of an immodest character. 1 Tim. ii.
9-10. The saddest wail of the Old
Testament is the fifty-first Psalm, the
grievings of a broken heart, brought
low by the consequences of one lustful
look. " Be earnest and frequent in
prayer ; and if thou sometimes joinest
fasting with thy prayers, they will be
shot up to heaven with a cleaner
strength ; for the sin of uncleanness is
one of those devils that ' goes not out
but by fasting and prayer.' God is a
God of purity ; instantly beg of Him
that He would send down His pure aud
chaste Spirit into thy heart, to cleanse
thy thoughts and thy affections from all
Unclean desires. Beg that the Holy
Ghost would but once touch thy heart
with the sense of His eternal love ; that
He would diffuse' such a celestial flame
through thy soul as may ravish it with
a heavenly zeal and ardor, and make it
scorn to stoop to the ignoble love of
poor inferior objects ; represent to Him
that thy body is His temple and thy
heart His altar in it1; and desire of Him
that no strange, unhallowed fire may
flame on His altar." — Bp. Ezek. Hopkins.
29-30. Thy right eye. The right eye
or right hand is most useful to us. To
lose either is a great misfortune. But
no self-discipline is to be avoided by the
Christian, in order to conquer the world,

72

MATTHEW.

fA. D. 26.

31 It hath been said, Whoso
ever shall put away his wife, let
him give her a writing of divorce
ment :"
32 But I say unto you, That
whosoever shall put away his
a Deut. 24 1 ; Mark 10. 2-9.

the flesh and the devil. 1. It would be
better to do this literally, than by in
dulging the heart in sin go to hell by
this right eye or hand. 2. We are not
to do this literally, because these mem
bers are not the causes of sin, which
begins in the heart (Jas. i. 14), but we
are, at any pain or cost, to rid ourselves
of the incitements of the passions and
to preserve purity. The poor drunkard
was wise, who begged to be shut up in
prison, till he could gain courage from
reflection, to conquer his besetting sin.
No discipline is to be feared, which is
rationally suited to repress and remove
this forbidden passion. ff To offend.
To cause thee to stumble, as if the law
were a stumbling-block. The English
words, scandal and scandalize, are de
rived from this Greek word, ff Cast
into hell. The bodies and souls of the
wicked will be united at the resurrec
tion and cast into " the lake of fire."
Rev. xx. 14. Neither are there, until
both are. In Luke xvi. 23, the word
hell, in which the rich man was, is not
the place of eternal torment, but Hades,
the place of spirits. The punishment of
sinners begins at death in horrors of
conscience and a fearful looking for of
judgment and fiery indignation, and is
completed with the sentence, "Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."
What is the agony of that final torment
no tongue of man can describe.
31. It hath been said. By Moses.
Deut. xxiv. 1, 2. This liberty was grant
ed to a rebellious and sensual people in
the times of their ignorance, in order to
prevent other and worse crimes, ff A
bill of divorcement. A Jewish husband
was allowed to put away his wife, for
certain reasons, by giving her a writmg
stating, that having been his wife, she
was no longer bound to him. They

wife, saving for the cause of for
nication, causeth her to commit
adultery : and whosoever shall
marry her that is divorced, com
mitteth adultery.4
33 If Again, ye have heard that
b Matt 19. 9; 1 Cor. 7. 10, 11.

had stretched this privilege to an abuse,
and being judges in their own cases, had
been unjust and wicked. The prophets
Malachi and Micah rebuked them for this
temper. Mai. ii. 15 ; Mic. ii. 9. Our Lord
has suffered a single reason or cause of
divorce to Christians, and shown a care
for the weaker party. No set of men,
legislature or congress can rightfully
give divorce for any other reason. If
they do so, they cease to be Christians.
None who are divorced for other reasons
are to be otherwise esteemed than as
here described. If again married, they
" being married otherwise than as God's
law does allow, their marriage is not
lawful." Marriage was ordained by
God for the union of one of each sex.
Ch. xix. 4. It is not a sacrament,
much less » mere legal institution, as
infidels regard it, but a solemn ordi
nance of God, fixed on the irreversible
laws of nature. There are no sins more
ruinous to society than sins against this
rite. No practice, perhaps, so depraves
the public opinion in regard to it, as the
permission of marriage by the officers of
the law. If it need no blessing from the
ministers of religion, it becomes no cere
mony of religion ; and if not religious,
then it is merely legal, and therefore to
be changed and altered as the laws of
men may be varied.
33. Not forswear thyself. See Lev.
xix. 12. To forswear oneself is to fail
to do that which one has promised on
oath to do, i. e., by calling on God to
punish him if he failed. Instances of
oaths are found in the Old Testament.
Gen. xxviii. 20 ; Ex. xxii. 12 ; Jud.
xi. 30, 31. They were allowed, being
a more saored sort of promise, Ps. xv.
4 ; a sort of prayer to God to punish
the violator of the oath. The Jews had
abusod this custom, 1 , by profaneness,

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

73

it hath been said by them of old
time," Thou shalt not forswear
thyself, but shalt perform unto
the Lord thine oaths :
a Lev. 19. 12 ; Numb. 30. 2.

34 But I say unto you, Swear
not6 at all : neither by heaven ;
for it is G-od's throne :
35 Nor by the earth ; for it is
b Matt. 28. 16-22; Jas. 5. 12.

introducing oaths into common con
versation. 2, by making a pestilent
distinction between oaths, to deceive
others. A Jew made use of certain
oaths, meaning to break them, while
other forms he held to be binding.
Thus the Latin poet, Martial, speaking
to a Jew who denied a crime, " You
deny it, and swear by the temple of the
Thunderer (Jupiter.) I do not credit
you. Swear, Jew, by the Most High
God." This doctrine of mental reserve,
and swearing by rule and distinction,
ruins public faith and degrades a peo
ple. The third commandment forbids
perjury. "Thou shalt not "put the
name of the Lord thy God to a vanity
or falsehood ;" i.e., make a false vow. It
forbids perjury and all profane swearing.
34, 35,. Swear not at all. In these and
other evfi ways. The life of the Chris
tian must be trustworthy, so that his
communication, if only yea, and nay,
will be credited. Unless a man lives
in strict regard for truth, his swearing
will hardly procure belief in his words.
Jas. v. 12. This injunction is to be
interpreted by a sound discretion, or
we will run into perplexity and fanati
cism. St. Paul hesitated not to adjure
God to witness solemn assertions of his
in certain cases. Rom. i. 9 ; 2 Cor.
i. 23; xi31; Gal. i. 20; Phil i 8.
Oaths required by courts of justice do
not go beyond this practice of the apos
tle. " As we confess that vain and rash
swearing is forbidden Christian men by
our Lord Jesus Christ and James His
apostle ; so we judge that the Christian
religion doth not prohibit, but that a
man may swear when the magistrate
requires it, in a cause of faith and cha
rity, so it be done according to the pro
phet's teaching, in justice, judgment
and truth." Art. XXXIX. See Jer. iv.
2. ff Nor by the earth. These are spe
cimens of the false distinctions which
had been invented ; that a man should
Vol. I.— 4

observe only vows made to God, and
disregard others. Ch. xxiii. 16-20. To
swear by any possession of God, is to
call on Him to punish the vowing of a
false oath, ff Of the Great King. Jeru
salem ; which belongeth to the King of
Kings, the Lord. 1 Tim. vi. 15. To swear
by it, was to invoke its ruler and God.
36, 37. By thy head. A common
oath. They meant by it, that they put
their heads into the power of the per
son for whose benefit the oath was
made. But this was wrong ; we have
not power over the head to make a
single hair grow otherwise than as Ho
wills it to grow ; and by inference we
have not so great a right in it as He
has, and cannot pawn to another that
which is His property, ff Your com
munication. Your conversation, man
ner of speech ff Yea, yea, nay, nay.
Let your conversation with men be so
truthful that your words of simple af
firmation will be received. It would be
affected for a Christian to adopt this
style of speech, as if the merit of hon
esty lay in these words. He would be
ridiculous, and might find it tending to
prevent that very confidence in bim,
which the use of common language
would have given him. ff Cometh of
evil. The word may mean of the evil
heart, or of the evil one, the devil
Evil is the work of the devil, prompting
the evil of the heart. Profane swear
ing is fearfully common with the men
and boys of our country. We may re
flect then ; 1. That all such cursing is
in direct disobedience to God. It is a
hateful sin, a mere damning oneself
in wantonness. 2. It is no excuse
to say that one does not mean any
thing by it, or cannot help it. God
forbids it, and will mean something
when He punishes the man who has so
often called on Him to do it. 3. Many
fanciful exclamations are signs of
this evil. Gad, Geds'blood, and the

74

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

his footstool : neither by Jerusa
lem; for it is the city of the
great King :
36 Neither shalt thou swear by
thy head, because thou canst not
make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication

like, are only preparative to this habit.
4. The causes of this national profan
ity seem to be at present, the loss
among us, as a people, of reverence for
the distinctive marks of a Christian
gentleman. Many swear, not to seem
proud or peculiar. It is a free and easy
habit, a, descent to vulgarity, which too
many make, whose sense should disgust
them with such a degradation. We
must again reverence the refinement
and manners of gentlemen, and teach
boys to scorn to assume vulgar habits
to please others. But the main cause
of this national trait is, that " out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh ;" we are a profane people, in
wanting reverence for holy things.
We have ceased to regard reverently
the ordinances of God, the houses of
His worship, the Scriptures and offices
of law and religion. Sacred things are
degraded by sectarian disputes and
careless, unlearned teachers. We have
fled from superstition, till religion itself
has little hold upon us. To correct
profaneness in speech, we must begin
with it in the heart. Christians must
again be marked for a deep, rational,
constant reverence for sacred things, be
fore the devastating tide of corruption
will be checked.
38. An eye for an eye. The law of
retaliation by which the Jewish judges
or magistrates were to assign to an in
jurious person a punishment equal to his
injurious actions, is found Ex. xxi. 24 ;
Lev. xxiv. 20 ; Deut. xix. 21. It was
purely a Judaic law, of stern Mosaic
justice, ordained in' accordance with the
spirit oi that polity. It had been cor
rupted. The Jew took justice into his
own hands instead of referring it to the
laws. Like the modern duellist, he would
be the judge or executioner in his own

be, Yea, yea ; Nay, nay ; for
whatsoever is more than these
cometh of evil.
38 If Ye have heard that it
hath been said," An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
39 But I say unto you, that ye
a Ex. 21. 24; Ley. 24. 20; Deut. 19. 21.

case. Jesus reverses the law, as liable
to abuse and inconsistent with the spirit
of His gospel. The laws of Christian
states still aim at exact justice between
man and man, but are tempered by a
spirit of mercy. The individual now in
Christian lands has no such plea as the
Jew had for the dangerous custom of
retaliation. The law of honor ha, savage
legislation, at which even a Jew would
have been ashamed and shocked. It is
a blot and disgrace in any society.
ff Resist not evil. This rule is not to be
pressed to unreasonable extremes, as if
we are bound by it to submit to every
insult and injury which can be offered us,
without complaint or resistance. Com
mon sense requires that we regard this in
junction in connexion with the examples
and precepts of the whole Bible, as well
as the common laws of human reason and
society. It is couched in general terms,
to impress on us the importance of a spirit
of patience, moderation and forbearance,
such as becomes the follower of Jesus ; a
desire to seek peace with all men. The
example of Jesus in His last suffering is
to be urged only upon martyrs ; for then.
he acted under immediate inspiration,
was in the hands of magistrates, and
knew that His hour had come. At other
times He rescued Himself from danger
by supernatural means. Luke iv. 30;
John viii 59 ; x. 39. His followers not
having this resource, are left to natural
means of defence, which they may pro
perly use, even to extremity. Our fa
milies, property, and persons, and, in a
broader circle, our country, are all to be
protected b y us, if need be, with a strong
hand. And if in some cases it is neces
sary to save them by killing the assail
ant, we are doing only that duty which
results from the natural law and right of
self-defence. " But here, (because all

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

75

"resist not evil; but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other
also. 40 And if any man will sue
thee at the law, and take away

cases of blood are tender) let me caution
you, that it is not enough the danger be
impending, but it must be instant and
present, such wherein a man's life is in
all probability lost if he doth not stand
on his defence; for in dangers that are
only threatened and approaching we
ought to trust to Providence, and to use
our best ability to work our escape from
them. But if the assault be sudden
and no way of escape visible, we may
lawfully take away the life of him who
unjustly seeks to take ours ; for this is
not a design to kill him, but to preserve
ourselves." — Bp Ezek. Hopkins.
39—41. Smite thee on thy right cheek.
To give the cheek was a proverbial ex
pression among the Romans, signifying
a willingness to bear an insult. To
take the coat or cloak may have had
some such meaning with the Jews, and
to compel one to go a mile on public
business was an Eastern custom. 1. The
first is a petty insult, not great wrongs,
of which nothing is here said. These
insults the Christian should bear with an
enlarged, patient spirit, not showing
eagerness to strike back and take re
venge for every trifle. 2. The second
case is a precept in relation to lawsuits.
We should be willing to give up trifling
ordinary rights rather than be anxious
to grasp and hold everything which strict
law would allow. The coat was an in
ner robe, fitting rather closely, with
sleeves. The cloak was a wide, nearly
square garment, worn loosely over the
former, and generally of more value. If
any one was disputatious, and could lay
claim to one of these garments, it were
better to give up both than stand on so
small a matter and appear litigious.
Raiment could not be retained from the
owner more than one day, by the law of
Moses. Ex. xxii. 26, 27. 3. The third
instance forbids the insubordinate spirit,
which resists every exaction of the

thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also. 41 And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him
twain. a Lu. 6. 29 ; Eom. 12. 17 ; 1 Cor. 6, 7.

" powers that be." To compel one to
go a mile was a purely Eastern phrase,
derived from a custom introduced by
Cyrus, the Persian king. He was the
first to establish relays of horses on the
great routes of his empire, and to enact
laws by which to obtain the greatest
despatch in his communication with the
remote parts of the kingdom. His ex
press messengers were allowed to press
men, horses, boats, <fec, to expedite their
journeys. Any one could be compelled
to be an angaros, or messenger for the
time. This custom would at times be
oppressive to individuals : but Jesus bids
His hearers rather to submit^ and do
more than necessary, than to be rebel
lious against the laws. We are to apply
this rule to our own circumstances. It
is better to bear patiently little inequali
ties of the law of the land, and to show
a generous obedience, than to be restless
and turbulent. Rom. viii. 1 6 ; Titus
iii. 1. ff A mile. A Roman mile was
1000 paces, estimated at 1611 yards.
42. Give to him that asketh thee.
Great promises are made to charity, or
almsgiving. 1 Tim. vi. 17-19 ; Gal. vi
10. Noble examples are recorded of it ;
Lu. xix. 8; Acts x. It is made im
portant to us, as being a duty prepara
tory to the due reception of the Holy
Communion. The rich who are able,
are to be earnestly exhorted to be lib
eral to the poor. See Prayer Book.
The Christian who would give alms,
must be sure — 1. That he is able to
give. He must own that from which he
gives. See 2 Cor. viii 21 ; Rom. xiii.
8. 2. He must not injure his family,
who have a right to a due support from
his goods. 1 Tim. v. 8. This direction
of our Lord is in general terms, and
must be explained by the laws of sound
reason. " If any will not work," says St.
Paul, "neither may he eat." 2 Thess.
iii. 10. Idle, vagabond persons aro

76

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

42 Give to him that asketh
thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee, turn not thou
away. 43 If Ye have heard that it
hath been said, Thou shalt love"
thy neighbour, and hate thine
enemy :
a Ley. 19. 18. b Lu. 6. 27.

charitably treated, when they are ap
prehended and made to work. Our
alms should be guided by a generous
prudence : 1. Search and find if the
beggar is worthy. A walk in such a
quest is often instructive. 2. Give rather
by cool judgment, than hasty sympa
thy. 3. Give a portion of your alms in
Church, as an offering to God, that it
may come to the poor as the droppings
of the sanctuary. 4. Divide a part
amongst works of public charity, mis
sions, asylums, hospitals. 5. Give a
part in person, with acts of nursing the
sick poor, teaching the ignorant, when
possible. Such works of sympathy
often sink deeper into the troubled
spirits of the poor, than all your pelf.
6. Be not over-anxious how every gift
may go. If deceived at times, know, it
is better to give to an idler than to
turn away by over-strictness a follower
of Jesus. Jas. ii. 14-17. ff Would
borrow. This too is a kind of charity ;
mere worldly business is not ; but when
we can help one by such favors, we
are to do so. Often mere worldly men
may shame over-rigid believers in this
respect. Let a generous discretion be
the rule, not lending to all who .may
ask, but willing to hear all, turning a
kind ear to them, compassionating their
difficulties, and as we can, relieving them.
43. Ye have heard, cic. Our Lord
exposes a corruption of the Law of
Moses, which commanded the Israelites
to love " The children of thy people," i.
e., their own tribes. Lev. xix. 18.
They inferred that they might hate
others. They became notorious for
this hatred of other nations. Moses
left them without excuse. Lev. xix. 34.
They were to hate idolatries, but not

44 But I say unto you, 6Lovo
your enemies," bless them that
curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and'' pray for them
which despitefully use you, and
persecute you ;
45 That ye may be the children
of your Father which is in heaven :
c Prov. 25. 21, 22. d Lu. 28. 84 ; Acts 7. 60.

the persons of other nations. The Gos
pel transcends the law, in bidding us
" do good unto all men, and especially
unto those of the household of faith. "
Gal. vi. 10.
44. Love your enemies. It is not com
manded to do this with the same kind
or degree of affection, which we have
for our friends. This is impossible.
God loves all His creatures, and gives
all the common blessings of His provi
dence, but He does not love the bad and
the good alike. " He is angry with the
wicked every day." Ps. vii. 11. He is
" nigh unto all them that call upon Him ;
to all that call upon Him in truth." Ps.
cxlv. 18, &c; 1 John iv. 19. Chris
tians must do good to all men, even
their enemies, by praying for them, not
repining at their prosperity, holding
them in such kindliness, that they will
freely assist their temporal, or pray for
their eternal good. They are not to
aim at having the same warmth of feel
ing for strangers, heretics or infidels,
that they have for friends and believers.
Jesus as man, cherished natural affec
tions. He had a beloved disciple among
the twelve, and loved the twelve with a
particular regard. John xiii. 1. ff Bless
them that curse you. Speak gently and
kindly in remonstrating with even the
outrageous and profane, rather than imi
tate their wickedness. The Litany bids
us pray " that it may please God to
forgive our enemies, persecutors and
slanderers, and to turn their hearts."
Another prayer reads " Reward all those
who have done us good, and pardon all
those who have done or wish us evil,
and give them repentance and better
minds." See Lu. xxiii. 34. ff Despite
fully. Who with rancor seek to injure

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

77

for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust."
46 'For if ye love them which
love you, what reward have ye ?
do not even the publicans the
same ?
a Rom. 12. 19-21. 6 Lu. 6. 32.

us. It is the hardest lesson of the
Christian discipline, for man to learn
this gentle, celestial wisdom. The dis
ciples often failed. Lu. ix. 54. Mat.
xxvi. 51. ff Persecute. See ver. 10.
45. That ye may be children. Children
of God are those who are in covenant
with Him, and adopted by Him, and
shew forth in a holy life the Spirit
which He gives them. They have a
likeness to the divine nature, and are
known by it, even as children of earthly
parents show their ancestral traits.
Eph. v. 1. In contrast, Judas is called
" the son of perdition," Elymas " the
child of the devil," and wicked men " the
children of this world." They shew the
temper and character that manifests
who has the greatest influence with
them. 46. What reward have ye ? The ques
tion leaves each to draw the conclusion
for himself, that the Christian grace is
something unworldly, whose perfect ex
ample is found only in the example
of the Son of God. The cheap virtue
of loving those who love us, is not to
be put on the same footing, ff Publi
cans. Ancient governments were harsh
and despotic. The modern name of
tax-gatherer gives us little idea of the
true position of this class. After the
Romans had conquered a nation, they
imposed a heavy annual tribute upon
it. This was collected by underlings,
who, in collecting it, often extorted as
much more, on their own account.
They spied out all that could be taxed,
and were unjust, merciless and avari
cious. Matthew and Zaccheus were fa
vorable specimens, but uncommon. The
Jewish Publican was detested by the
nation, not merely for the collecting of

47 And if ye salute your breth
ren only, what do ye more than
others ? do not even the publi
cans so ?
48 Be yec therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
e Gen. 17. 1; Lev. 19. 2; Jas. 1. 4; 1 Pet.
1.15.

this tribute, which was a mark of na
tional degradation, but as defiled by
mingling with pagans, and as traitors to
the Law of Moses. There is no English
word to express the infinity of bitter
ness, hatred and contempt with which
the Jews regarded the Publicans. It
was a part of their religion to detest
them. 47. If ye salute, Sfc. To salute is to
greet every one with kind wishes, or to
use gestures of reverence toward them.
The Jews conscientiously avoided, when
it was possible, saluting any but their
own people. They scorned all Gentiles.
Their salutations to each other were
gracious. In this easy virtue there are
always proficients. A Chesterfield is
not of course a Christian. It is our
duty to use these innocent customs of
civility and politeness, not from mere
selfishness, but rather as a fruit of that
benevolence to all men which makes
our courtesy, graceful and gracious. 1
Pet. iii. 8.
48. Be ye therefore perfect. In strict
ness of speech this is impossible. We
cannot equal any divine perfection.
Wo may therefore regard it in two
ways. 1. The Greek word perfect,
means complete, entire, exactly propor
tioned to its uses and ends. It is used,
Phil. iii. 15, 2 Tim. iii. 17, &c. of
Christians, as complete in all things re
quired in a consistent member of the
Church. They are not sinless. So to
aim at the- perfection of God, is our
duty. As Ho is perfect in a supreme
sphere, we may endeavor to attain
completeness, that " beauty of holiness"
which will fit us for our sphere. A
fruit and proof of it is this love for all
men. Phil. iii. 15-17, 1 Pet. v. 10;

78

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

CHAPTER VI.'
TAKE heed that ye do not
your alms" before men, to be
seen of them : otherwise ye have
II or, righteousness. || or, with.

2 Or, we may, as the learned explain
it, regard this precept as directing our
conduct in respect of our loving our
enemies, as a conclusion from verse
45th. Says Bp. Porteus: "In your
conduct toward your enemies, approach
as near as you can to that perfection
of mercy, which your heavenly Father
manifests towards His enemies ; toward
the evil and the unjust, on whom He
makes His sun to rise as well as on the
righteous and the just."
CHAPTER VI.
1. In the last chapter our Lord spake
of righteousness in general. He now
pursues it through its various parts.
He made its general obligations more
close and spiritual, and now directs His
hearers in the Christian mode of ful
filling the law in respect to its promises
and privileges. Earthly good is found
in two things, fame or good report and
wealth. Jesus substitutes for human
praise, His own approval, and for world
ly wealth, a trust in Providence for
daily bread. These are to be the marks
of His disciples. He gives in this chap
ter the three great practical laws of
Christian life, alms, prayer, and a trust in
God. 1. Take heed. Be careful to act from
right motives. We do not now sound
trumpets of brass when about to do
religious acts, but we need still to be
careful to avoid seeking notoriety and
human praise. There is always a fash
ion in these things, and some give alms
in subscription lists, not to seem close or
singular ; and not from right motives.
ff Alms. In old English Almose, or
Alimosine from the Greek word. It is
a good deed done to those we pity;
goods or moneys given to the poor, pri
vately or in public worship, as at the
Holy Communion. Privately done it is
blessed. See CoL iii. 17. 1 Cor. x. 31.
1 Pet. iv. 9, 10. We should give in
Church, as St. Paul recommends. 1

no reward of your Father which
is in heaven.
2 Therefore, when thou doest
thine alms,1 do not sound a trura-
U or, cause not a trumpet to be sounded.

Cor. xvi 2. It aids the usefulness of
the Church, when besides giving sound
doctrine, she can abound in works of
mercy. 2. Sound a trumpet. This absurd
custom seems to have been practised
among the Jews. It seems ridiculous
to us, but we must bear in mind, that
God looks through all customs of soci
ety, to see the motives of the heart,
and approves, not the custom so much
as the intention, ff Hypocrites. Those
who act apart, or whoseyaces are mask
ed. The word was taken from the
stage. In Scripture it signifies one
who pretends to be very pious or virtu
ous, for false or selfish ends. The
Pharisees were examples of this vice.
ff In the Synagogues. Note iv. 33. In
the public assemblies of people, in the
house or streets. It seems to have
been a proverbial expression, to signify
a show of virtue, ff They have their
reward. The rewards of true rehgion
are mostly future. Here it gives only
foretastes and reminders. But false
piety is begun and ended here. The
hypocrite is seen of men, passes for a
pious man, but finds no favor with the
Judge of men hereafter. Christians
are sometimes troubled with scruples,
and strive unduly to conceal their alms
deeds. But the rule is spiritual and
simple. The safe ground is — do them
not, merely to be seen of men. If we
are seen it matters not, if our hearts
are right. Says St. Chrysostom, " If an
idle thought seeking to be seen of men,
mount up in any one's heart, but is
resisted by the understanding spirit, he
is not therefore to be condemned of
man-pleasing : for that the thought
came to him was the passion of the
flesh, but that which he chose was the
purpose of his soul."
3. Let not thy left hand Sfc. This
was a proverb or highly figurative ex
pression to signify tiie secresy which

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

79

pet before thee, as the hypocrites
do, in the synagogues, and in the
streets, that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms,
let not thy left hand know what
thy right hand doeth ;
4 That thine alms may be in
secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret, himself shall" re
ward thee openly.
a Lu. 8. 17 ; 14 14.

modest humble piety seeks. It repre
sents one hand boasting to the other of
its deeds. But may there not be right
hands now, that have no reason to ex
ult ? The Christian must do works of
mercy. He need not affect secresy, but
should avoid ostentation, being simple
and honest in doing good works, nor
too much troubled at being seen. A
good man must often do good works
in a public way. He does them as
good, not as public. If one resolves to
hide his light, he fails to glorify his
heavenly Father. A golden mean is
to be desired, in doing good, ff Reward
thee openly. Certain rewards follow pi
ety on this earth. 1 Tim. iv. 8. Its
chief reward is openly given in the day
of Judgment. Our " deeds done in the
body," with a right faith and simple
love, will receive every one a recom-
pence of reward. A part of our recom-
pence is that very thing which we are
forbidden here. lPet.i 7. The de
sire of being thought well of, is a nat
ural passion. Piety regulates, but does
not extinguish it.
5. To pray standing, SfC These distinc
tions, as Bp. Porteus remarks, concern
private prayer. They do not relate to
public worship, for that must be in
common, but condemn only, a bold pa
rade of private devotions, over and
above the public worship of others.
Says the Jerusalem Talmud: "I ob
served Rabbi Janai standing and pray
ing in the corner of the street Trippor,
and repeating an additional prayer at

5 Tf And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypo
crites are : for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues, and
in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Ver
ily I say unto you, They have
their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet,6 and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to
thy Father which is in secret ;
b 2 Kings 4. 83 ; Dan. 6. 10.

each of the four corners." Jesus did
not either prescribe or condemn public
forms of prayer in these verses. He
and His disciples used the Jewish Lit
urgy. Lu. iv. 16. We yet need this
caution to avoid a spirit which leads
to shows of devotion. We should con
form to the rules and customs prescrib
ed by the Church, in all sincerity, not
violating propriety by a trifling manner,
nor affecting singularity and superior
devoutness. We may bow in the creed
at the name of Jesus, but need not bow
to the floor ; we may be deeply moved
with penitence in the Lord's supper, but
not to the disturbance of others. In
public worship all things are to be
done decently and in order ; in private,
as our own discretion may decide.
6. But thou, &c. Be thou of a dif
ferent spirit in private prayer, for as
it is to God alone that thou prayest, it
is well to guard the mind from all ob
jects that can distract it from Him.
ff Thy closet. Any private room. The
roof in a house of Jerusalem, was flat
and in many cases secluded from ob
servation by high walls. See Acts x.
9. There was in most houses a small
room over the entrance, where one
could retire. Convenient places for
prayer are easily had, when there is a
heart to pray, ff Seeth in secret. God
is invisible and everywhere present to
us. He may be said to see in secret,
for men have found Him in troubles and
desertion, when only God could see
them. Hagar found Him in the desert.

80

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

and thy Father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not
vain repetitions," as the heathen
do : for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking.6
a Eccles. 5. 2.

Gen. xvi. 13 : Jacob, in a journey,
Gen. xxviii. 16, 17 : Daniel, in a lion's
den, Dan. vi. 22 ; The three children
in a flaming furnace, Dan. iii. 25, 28 :
Peter and Paul in dungeons, Acts xii.
5, 7 ; xvii. 25 : and John in Patmos,
Rev. i. 10. God loves to answer pray
er, when not only the body is in the
closet, but the heart driven in there
too, by storms without. Prayer in
this discourse follows alms, because some
preparation of life is essential to fervent
prayer. James v. 16.
7. Vain repetitions. The Greek means
talking as Battus. He is said to have
been a babbling Greek poet, who wrote
unmeaning verses. Do not indulge in
senseless calling over the names and at
tributes of God, as if He could be flat
tered by it into granting prayers. The
heathen were much given to this cus
tom. See 1 Kings xviii. 26 ; Acts xix.
34. If The heathen. This word in Saxon
meant a person living on a heath, or in
the country ; and as such were Chris
tianized last, it was used for the uncon
verted, the gentiles or pagans. With
the Jews all men were called the iwtwns.
We translate this word sometimes in a
bad sense — gentiles or unbelievers ;
sometimes in a good, people. " Bless
our God all ye people, i. e. gentiles."
Ps. lxvi. 8. So St. Paul speaks, Rom.
xv. 9-12. It is sometimes vainly ob
jected that this verse condemns a liturgy,
especially that part of it which is called
the litany, in which certain words are
repeated. But, 1. Our Lord condemned
only vain repetitions, not those which
are proper and expressive. 2. He
speaks of the manner of private prayer,
not of public. 3. Our Lord gave us a
form of prayer which is repeated daily
in private by thousands with profit. 4.
Our Saviour in His own prayers hesi-

8, Be not ye therefore like unto
them : for your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of be
fore ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore
pray ye : Our Father which art
b 1 Kings 18. 26, 29; Acts 19. 84.

tated not to repeat His petitions in the
" same words." The Litany is a repeti
tion of words, but not of wants. It is
the most plain, proper, and compendious
prayer which can be found. .Jfcfe
9-13. The following is caued"ifi6
Lord's Prayer. It is perfect in its kind ;
short, plain, suited to all classes and
ages ; it suits the services of the Church,
meets our wants in times of trouble or
danger, and as a seed contains in it the
germs or principles of all that man can
ask of God. It prays for all wants,
spiritual and temporal, for pardon of sin,
a godly temper, safety from temptation
and evil. It begins in ascription to God
and ends in giving Him all glory.
Though it wants the usual end of our
Christian prayers, the words "for
Christ's sake," this is more than supplied
by the fact that it is His prayer, and
ascends in His own words. It is used
by us as a model of prayers, and a
complement, to supply their imperfec
tions. It was in the earliest times the
root from which sprang the liturgies of
Christians, which are still used and imi
tated by nineteen-twentieths of Chris
tendom. The vain cavil is now and
then raised, that Jesus and his disciples
are not expressly said to have used this
prayer. The disciples received it in
reply to this wish, " Lord, teach us to
pray, as John also taught his disciples."
Lu. xi. 1. Did they refuse to be taught ?
Surely they must have used it. But
the cavil is vain ; for granting it, our
Lord and His disciples always used a
liturgy in public worship, that is, the
Jewish. It contained forms similar to
this, so that some maintain that He de
rived this prayer mostly from the ser
vices of the Jews. The disciples attended
the synagogues and the temple ; and
the first pages of Church History record

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

81

in" heaven, Hallowed be thy6
name. 10 "Thy kingdom come. ''Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. a Lu. 11. 2. 6 Mai. 1. 6. c Heb. 11. 89,
40. d Ps. 103. 20, 21.

evidence of liturgies being in use among
Christians. They are necessary for
myriads, and will be used and serve as
wings to bear up devout souls to heaven,
until the archangel's trump. The reader
may consult Bingham's Chris. Antiq. b.
xiii. ch. v. ; Henry's Church Antiq. b.
v. ch. i § 161 ; and a tract, " The Com
panion to the Book of Common Prayer."
9. After this manner. St. Luke more
stringently, "When ye pray, say — " No
command could be plainer. We there
for exalt this prayer to that honor, that
we do not willingly omit it in our pub
lic services, and we make it a part of
private devotion. The Catechism thus
explains it: " I desire, my Lord God, our
Heavenly Father, who is the giver of all
goodness, to send His grace unto me and
to all people ; that we may worship Him,
serve Him, and obey Him as we ought
to do ; and" I pray unto God that He
will send us all things that are needful
both for our souls and bodies ; and that
He will be merciful unto us and forgive us
our sins ; and that it will please Him to
save and defend us in all dangers both
of soul and body ; and that He will keep
us from all sin and wickedness, and
from our spiritual enemy, and from
everlasting death ; and this I trust He
will do of His mercy and goodness,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, and
therefore I say Amen ; so be it." ff Our
Father. God is father from eternity in
the Trinity ; again, of all creatures by
creation ; but in this sense, by redemp
tion and adoption. We should cast
away all sin, and strive with all the
soul to be, in aspiration at least, worthy
to say Our Father. Christ only could
say My Father. We must go in Him ;
in His Body, the Church, and as one of
a brotherhood in Christ, and are taught
by this plural word our, to carry with
us before God a heart filled with love of

11 'Give us this day our daily
bread :
12 And forgive us our debts,
'as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into' temp-
e Prov. 80. 8 ; John 6. 35. /Lu. 7. 40, &o.
g 2 Pet. 2. 9.

the people of God. ff Hallowed be Thy
name. Hallowed, made holy, used re
verently and manifested in holiness.
The name of God is put for all his attri
butes, all that we know and believe of
Him. 10. Thy kingdom come. See note, ch.
iii. 2. That spiritual kingdom begun
here, which is to be perfected at the
final coming of Christ. Rev. xxii. 20.
This petition is for the extension of that
kingdom now, for the good of all men
who are saved by it, for the perfection
of the saints, and our own personal sal
vation in it. It will certainly come,
but we pray for its power to be in us.
ff Thy will be done. God's will is guid
ed by infinite mercy and wisdom, and is
therefore best for all His creatures. It
will be done in His kingdom, and we
pray for submission of our wills to His,
that we may act here with the active
obedience of the angels ; that the will
of the wicked may be restrained and
thwarted. While we are submissive to
God's will we are safe and happy.
11. Our daily bread. This prayer is
in common, for the common good. No
Christian must desire to be blessed alone.
He prays for all. It is a daily prayer,
since it needs to be repeated for each
day's bread ; as St. Luke has it, " day
by day." Bread is here used for all that
is necessary for the support of body and
soul. Matt. iv. 4. It teaches us our
daily dependence upon Godfor all things.
This petition was touchingly illustrated
by a missionary to the Indians, who
went among them in the wilderness,
" as," he said, " trusting to that Provi
dence, which fed the httle birds, and
clothed the fields, and taught man this
prayer." He was not deserted in his
work. 12. Our debts. Debts as here used are
failures in duty to God — those things

82

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

tation, but deliver us from" evil ;
For thine is the6 kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, for
ever. Amen."

a John 17. 15; 1 John 5. 18.
2. 9, 11. o Ps. 41. 18.

b 1 Chron.

which His commands make necessary ;
in which we are conscious of being want
ing. Debts to us are the same failures
in others, offences against us, in our
rights or affections. It has no reference
to debts of business, but only of duties.
St. Luke is rendered, " forgive us our
sins; for we also forgive every one that
is indebted to us." Luke xi. 4. Our sins
are done away by the covenant of Christ.
He therefore annexes one single com
ment to this prayer, to inform us on
what condition He will confirm our par
don, v 14. ff As we forgive our debtors.
This is the condition of this pardon, the
temper which any one using this prayer
must have. For unless one has a Chris
tian temper he may be calling down
vengeance on himself, since he has not
pardoned others. How important there
fore is it that we examine our hearts
and lives to find if we have that mar
riage garment, required by God in Holy
Scripture — a loving and obedient mind.
Said St. Gregory, " That good thing,
which in our penitence we ask of God,
we should first turn and bestow on
our neighbor."
13. Lead us not. Suffer us not to
be led. For God tempts no one. If
we fall, it is by the fault of our own evil
passions. James i 13-15. ff Into
temptation. This word, in Scripture,
has two shades of meaning. 1. Trial,
when God chastens us, or suffers
trouble to come on us for our good, in
order, as the Prayer Book has it, " to
try your patience, for the example of
others, and that your faith may be
found, in the day of the Lord, laudable,
glorious and honorable, to the increase
of glory and endless felicity." Trials
sent by Him have no natural tendency
to beguile one into sin. 2. Tempta
tion means, the wickedly inducing any
one to commit sin. Satan and evil men
are the actors in such tempting to wick-

14 rfFor, if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you :
15 But if ye forgive not men

d Mark 11. 25.

edness, and a wicked heart is the prime
doer. We pray God not to permit tri
als to overpower us, by their bitterness
(see 2 Cor. xii. 8), nor suffer the devil,
the world, or ¦ the flesh to triumph over
us. If it is His will, we would avoid
temptation, if not, would trust in Him
to lead us safely through it. Prayer
before trial is the surest defence against
a fall. Eph. vi. 18. ff Deliver us
from evil. The Greek word has the
meaning in the New Testament. 1.
Evil, as seen in human actions or cir
cumstances. 2. The devil, the author
and mover of it. By some it is here
considered to mean both, certainly the
latter, as it does, ch. xiii. 19 ; 1 John
ii. 13, 14 ; iii. 12. Hence the Cate
chism words it "deliver us from all sin
and wickedness, and from onr spiritual
enemy, and from everlasting death,"
This petition ends the Prayer proper,
the rest being an ascription of praise.
There is a b^^utifnl. analogy, visible
with a httle study, Detweenthe seven
petitions of this prayer, and the seven
blessings with which this discourse be
gins, ff Thine is the kingdom. All
power in heaven and earth belongs to
God, who can deliver us frum evil,
and promises to do so in His eternal
kingdom, if while we ascribe to Him
the glory which is due, we also obey all
the laws which He gives us in His king
dom here, namely, the holy Church.
ff The power. Thou, 0 God, canst do
all that we ask, and we ask that Thy
will be done. Short-sighted and weak
as we are, we rejoice to submit all
things to Thy power, and feel under us
Thine everlasting arms, ff The glory.
From this word in Greek we term such
ascriptions as this, doxologies. The glo
ry of God is the supreme end of His
creation. For this a Christian thinks,
labors and prays, ff Amen. So may
it be. We seal this blessed Prayer

E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

83

their trespasses," neither will
your Father forgive your tres-
passses. 16 TT Moreover, when ye fast,
be not as the hypocrites, of a6 sad
a Jas. 2. 13. o Is. 58. 5.

with this old Hebrew word, with which
the Israefites once sealed the curses of
their law. Deut. xxvii. 14-26 ; Numb.
v. 22. It was used by them also in
response to blessings. 1 Chron. xvi.
36; Ps. cvi 48. Jeremiah explains
it, " The Lord do so, the Lord perform
the words which thou hast prophesied,
&c." Jer. xxviii 6. The Hebrew word
means Truth. As a response it means,
" may all this that I have uttered come
to pass. I assent to it, I build on it."
It was so used by the first Christians.
1 Cor. xiv. 16. We continue it, with
great profit in all public prayers. The
people thereby assent to them, and
make them their own. Responses in
worship are the dictate of our common
nature. They give unity, force and
interest to our services. They are built
on ancient custom (Ex. xv. 21), and
have been practised in all ages.
_ 14, 15. For if ye forgive. This is
the only comment made on the Lord's
Prayer. Being all that He saw fit to
add, it is emphatic. It lies at the
foundation of the Gospel covenant, ch.
xviii. 35 ; Mark xi. 25. There is to
be no limit to our forgiveness, and
but one condition, the penitence of the
offender. Ch. xviii. 22. " We call in
vain for mercy, if we will not show
mercy to our neighbors ; if we will not
put wrath and displeasure forth from
our hearts, toward our Christian broth
er, no more will God forgive the wrath
and displeasure that our sins have de
served from Him.-" — Church Homilies.
ff Trespasses. Sins against God, or
offences to men ; those things which
conscience, enlightened by the Scrip
ture, tells us to he wrong in ourselves,
or those which we feel as wrongs in
others. 16. Be not as the hypocrites. Be not
ostentatious in thy fasting, but do it to
God. When a corruption of anything

countenance : for they disfigure
their faces, that they may appear
unto men to fast. Verily I sav
unto you, They have their re
ward.

is reprehended, it shows that the thing
itself is good and useful. If fasting
had been of no use to spiritual men,
Jesus would have passed it by in
silence. Hence it is not too much to
say that it is here not only commended,
but virtually commanded. Jesus says
when ye fast, when ye pray, when ye give
alms, of course expecting us to do each
of these necessary works of piety. And
after prayer He comes to fasting, its twin
sister and helper. Fasting is absti
nence from our usual food and pleasures
in whole or part, for a portion or the
whole day. Its object is to deny
oneself mere physical delight, to leave
the mind clear, to remind us of the ne
cessity of keeping the body in subjec
tion, to afflict the proud spirit, and to
use larger measures of devotion. Public
fasts are meant to humble a people, call
them off from the vanities of the world to
confession of sin, in such wise as to pray
more earnestly to God for their pardon.
See Joel ii. 12. 13 ; Lev. xvi. 29-31 ;
xxiii. 27 ; Is. lviii. 5, 6 ; Matt ix. 15 ;
xvii. 21. This help to devotion and
successful prayer is sadly neglected at
present. Some say, " It is not com
manded." But is it not commended and
implied ? The Gospel is of a generous
spirit ; some of its laws are the more
binding for being implied. So says our
Lord, " Then shall they fast." Ch. ix.
15. It is an unworthy quibble. Ex
amples of this practice are given in
great saints, who received large meas
ures of grace, Moses (Ex. xxiv, 18),
Elijah (1 Kings xix.), David (2 Sam. iii.
35), Ezra, and others (see 2 Cor. vi.
4. 5. xi. 27). The Jews fasted publicly
four times in the year, — in memory of
the capture of Jerusalem, of the burn
ing of the Temple, of the death of
Gedaliah (Jer. xli. 4), and of the com
mencement of the attack on tho holy
city. Zech. viii 19. The Church

84

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

17 But thou, when thou fastest,
"anoint thine head, and wash thy
face ;
18 That thou appear not unto
men to fast, but unto thy Father,
a Ruth 8. 3.

enjoins on her members certain annual
and weekly fasts, as free-will offerings
and helps to " extraordinary acts and
exercises of devotion;" and private fasts
with prayer in certain cases, as for
those seeking baptism, ff Of u sad
countenance. Of a sour, austere or
mortified look. The private fast which
is made known intentionally or by
want of self-control so far fails of its
object. Is. lviii. 4. A man cannot be
gay or trifling, for hunger makes him
sober. Fasting may show itself in
spite of us, we should only avoid the
desire of making a show of it. ff Dis
figure their faces. Those who fasted
acted as mourners, (Lev. xvi. 29), " to
afflict their souls." The Pharisees put
on sackcloth, rent their clothes, strewed
ashes over their heads, and adopted all
the external signs of grief, but did not
take care to rend their hearts, and
turn unto the Lord their God. When
ever one loses the inward delights of
piety, he is apt to seek for the wretched
pleasure of being seen of men. Let
him seek the influence of God's Spirit,
and he neither overvalues the esteem of
others, nor seeks to impress them by a
sanctimonious countenance.
17. 18. But thou, &c. The Church
has regulated this subject, so far as it
relates to public worship. Her mem-
bers.are bound to conform to her laws.
See rule of fasts in the Book of Com
mon Prayer — private fasts are left to
the discretion of each man. Let all
pray for "grace to use such abstinence,
that the flesh being subdued to the
Spirit he may ever obey its godly mo
tions, in righteousness and true holi
ness." Fasting is made a part of the
preparation for Baptism. The rubric
bids such to give timely notice of their
wish to tho parish minister, that among
other things " they may be exhorted
to proparo themselves with prayers and

which is in secret : and thy
Father, which seeth in secret,
shall reward thee openly.
19 If Lay not up for your
selves treasures upon earth, where

fasting, for the receiving of this Holy
Sacrament." ff Anoint thy head. In the
hot, dry climate of Palestine, oil was
used as an article of luxury, for soften
ing and perfuming the skin. The
climate rendered it peculiarly grateful.
The same cause rendered frequent
washing and baths necessary. The
Mosaic Law also commanded them.
See Mark vii 2, 3 ; vi. 13. Of course
those who used these articles would feel
their want, and be noticed by their
neighbors. The Eastern Dervishes still
practise all the forms of piety, which
can be set off by slovenliness and dirt.
We are cautioned to avoid singularity
in trifles of dress and ornament. A
member of a family cannot fast in
secret, because all will know his habit.
This is not to be regarded. Let him
not parade his fasting nor judge others.
The reward of fasting is found in
greater fervency and purity of devotion,
in a larger measure of grace, in a cer
tain gentle, subdued, docile character
of piety, which is unmistakable, and
in the future favor of the Saviour.
19. Lay not up, Sfc. Jesus passes
from prayer and fasting to their result,
heavenly mindedness, a treasure in heav
en. His disciples are not to be covet
ous, nor lovers of this world, but to use
their goods in charity as wise stewards.
St. Chrysostom says, " Mercy and piety
are the wings of fasting, by which it
mounts up to heaven, without which
it lies dead upon the earth. Therefore
when we fast, let us lay up our dinner
in the hands of the poor, that the hands
of the poor may preserve for us what our
bellies would destroy. The hands of
the poor is the treasury of Christ ; fast
ing without mercy, is but an image of
famine ; fasting without works of pi
ety, is but an occasion of covetousness,
because by such fasting, what is taken
from the body, only swells the purse."

E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

85

moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and
steal :"
20 But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where nei
ther moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break
through nor steal.
a Prov. 23. 4, 5 ; Jas. 5. 1-4. b Lu. 12. 33 ;
i Tim. 6. 19.

We may lay up here for the support of
our families or for our own security,
but must avoid covetousness. A part
of our gains should go to the poor.
We cannot keep riches. We can only
use them upon ourselves, or in doing
good. The Christian chooses the lat
ter, ff Moth. A small insect destroy
ing cloths. The Jews laid up their
treasure very often in fine, showy
cloths, which were exposed to this in
sect, ff Rust. In Greek brosio, any
thing that eats; here that which de
stroys grain ; locusts, vermin or mildew.
Grain was of great value in a country
situated like Palestine, and was kept
with difficulty. There is allusion to
another sort of wealth, which a man
keeps in his house, which was liable to
be stolen by robbers. All worldly
wealth is uncertain. Love and care
for it make one anxious, and turn the
thoughts off from heaven. Ps. xxxix.
6 ; Ixii. 10.
20. Treasures in heaven. So Solo
mon, "There is that maketh himself
poor, yet hath great riches." Prov.
xiii. 7. These are true riches. Lu.
xvi. 11. We lay up treasure in hea
ven by a holy and charitable lite. We
are justified by faith and saved by grace,
and without holiness no man shall see
the Lord. Of this holiness there are
these three vital parts, faith, hope and
charity, but the greatest of these is
charity. 21. Your heart also. Says Dr.
South, " no man ever went to heaven,
whose heart was not there before." All
our desires must tend thither, and then
with heart and treasure both there, it
is certain that all else about us will

21 For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the
eye :• if therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be
full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of dark-
e Lu. 11. 84, 86.

follow in due time. Acts of mercy and
love, when done in a true faith, send
the heart above. By giving freely we
learn to sever our hold on earth, be
fore we are called to leave it.
22, 23. The light oftheiody. A sin
gle eye is one in perfect health, which
receives and enjoys pure light, and sees
things as they are. A sickly eye is un
able to bear the fight, or is unsteady
between two objects ; and another stage
is, the eye blinded and lost in darkness.
So the eye of the soul, the conscience,
troubled, painful and unsteady in a
man who yields to every worldly temp
tation, is corrupted in one given up to
covetousness. 1 Cor. ii. 14. Jesus
warns us against this covetous spirit,
which " walks after the flesh." We can
have but one supreme good, but one
chief treasure, and God means that to
be Himself. If we look up to Him, we
have light, and become pure and good.
If we look to any thing else, we stum
ble and become darkened in mind, and
are lost, ff Single. Sound or healthy.
A healthy eye sees the fight of day
with pleasure. ff The body shall be
full of light. It shall have all the
light which it needs to enjoy life. This
figurative use of light, is common in the
New Testament, "whatsoever doth
make manifest is light." Eph. v. 13.
The reason and conscience are to the
soul, what the eyes are to the body.
They see and apprehend moral and
spiritual truth, and, if not perverted by
the corrupt desires of the heart, they
see by the light of Scripture, the will
of God and all duties. John i. 4 ; ix. 4,
5. This light in the heathen is much
darkened (Acts xvii 27) ; in worldly

86

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

ness. If therefore the light that
is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness !
24 If "No man can serve two
masters : for either he will hate
the one, and love the other ; or
else he will hold to the one, and
a Lu. 16. 13.

and vicious men, it is more obscured
(Rom. i 19), and in the reprobate seems
wholly extinct. Balaam had a double
eye. He saw God's will, but loved the
wages of unrighteousness. 2 Pet. ii. 15.
Saul, the king, was agonized by the
fight, and perished : while Judas was a
more fearful instance of this darkness.
Avarice ruined Demas, as it does now
the thousands, who refuse to obey and
fear God.
24. No man can serve two masters. Two
supreme lords, each demanding his
whole service. The heart must be fixed
either on this world or on God. There
is no compromise. If we choose one,
we cannot choose the other, for they
are opposite. They are like light and
darkness. He that will love the world,
is the enemy of God. James iv. 4.
The Christian is one who hates the
world, that is, places it secondary, and
if need be, rejects its wisdom and honors,
and chooses the ways of piety, ff Mam
mon. This was the Syriac name of an
idol, esteemed to be the god of wealth,
called Plutus by the Greeks. It per
sonifies wealth, and in a more extend
ed sense, every thing which is an ob
ject of desire to a carnal heart, as
honor, fashion, business, pleasure, and
gayety. No one can unite these pur
suits to piety, and be bad and good,
proud, humble, sensual and pure at one
and the same time. See Rom. viii. 13 ;
xii. 2.
25. Therefore. If then ye give up
the world, if ye are willing to put the
service of God before the care of the
body, He will take care of you. Here
follow several arguments, which a timid
heart may offer, fear of want, hunger,
&c, and they are disposed of with prom
ises, which we should offcener study

despise the other. Ye cannot
serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you,
6Take no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Is
SLu.12. 22; Ps. 55. 22.

and apply, ff Take no thought. Be
not in such care and trouble of mind as
to distrust the providence of God
Unreasonable anxiety about this life is
unbecoming in a believer. He may labor
diligently for his daily bread, and be
careful to provide clothing, and a com
fortable home for himself and children.
This is right. See Rom. xii. 11. 2
Thess. iii. 10. But in doing this, he
must trust in God, and feel a constant de
pendence upon Him for life, food and all
things. He is " Lord of life and death,
and of all things to them pertaining, as
youth, strength, health, age, weakness
and sickness." God will ensure to
Christians all the necessaries of life. The
luxuries He often withholds, for their
good, ff Is not the life, &c. ? If God
gives life and a body, will He not as a
wise Ruler sustain them, if used in His
service ? Will He give the greater gift,
and withhold the less ? ff Meat. Food
of any kind. Raiment is any sort of
clothing. These words imply that ne
cessaries will certainly be given to those
who serve God. Among the Eastern
people there was always a large class of
persons, who lived from day to day, not
having it in their power to lay up a
store for the future. We in the West
seldom are pushed for actual bread for
the morrow, but may feel the need of
this entire trust in God, against cares
which come to all men in common.
There is a touching incident related of
a poor clergyman in England. He
wrote in his diary, "To-morrow I and
my family will be turned into the street,
as I cannot pay a debt forced on me by
another person." He paused a moment
and added, " What then, poor soul ?
God is in the street." His faith was
rewarded, and the evil averted.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

87

not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment ?
26 Behold the fowls of the air :
for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns : yet
your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better
than they ?
26. The fowls of the air. How gently
and forcibly do these words urge the
Christian to trust his Father in heaven,
by the example of the irrational crea
tion. Man has reason and revelation
to guide him : they only instinct. Bp.
Wainwright, when- on Mount Tabor,
which is in sight of this spot, on which
Jesus was sitting, saw an illustration
of this verse. "In the East two im
mense flocks of cranes were seen poised
, in majestic flight, over the valley of the
Jordan. Their movements were slow
and orderly, and seemed, like the evolu
tions of two immense armies, now wheel
ing, now in close columns, then display
ing the column in a long fine to the right
and left, again forming themselves in a
wedge-like battalion. The number of
these birds must have been immense,
and their white wings reflecting the sun,
gave them a most brilliant appearance."
Such may have been wheeling above
this assembly, or others singing in the
trees near by. They sow not, nor spin
— man must do both. But when he
sees or hears these birds, he has a re
minder to do this with an unfaltering
trust in God, nor suffer the cares of this
life to lead him into sin and forgetful-
ness of his birth-right as a child of God.
ff. Better than they. God has freely
given His Son to redeem the souls of
men from death — will He not then
value them far above all creatures, and
give them all things ? Read the 162
Hymn.
27. Which of you, dec. Jesus now
shows the folly of such anxiety. Man
cannot control the future in the smallest
things. He cannot change a hair in its
source, nor add to his natural height
by his own power. " The lot is cast
into the lap, but the whole disposing

27 Which of you by taking
thought can add one cubit unto
his stature ?
28 And why take ye thought
for raiment ? Consider the lilies
of the field how they grow ; they
toil not, neither do they spin ;
29 And yet I say unto you,
thereof is of the Lord." Prov. xvi. 33.
Men put forth efforts, boast of the future,
and say, " To-day or to-morrow we
will go into such a city and continue
there a year, and buy and sell and get
gain : whereas ye know not what shall
be on the morrow. For what is your
fife ? It is even as a vapor, that ap-
peareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away. For that ye ought to
say, If the Lord will, we shall live
and do this or that. But now ye re
joice in your boastings : all such rejoic
ing is evil. " James iv. 13, <fec. Our
best possession is the intelligent con
viction that "godliness with content
ment is great gain." 1 Tim. vi 6.; iv. 8.
ff One cubit. A measure from the
elbow to the end of the middle finger,
or about eighteen inches. To give this
increase to the length of the body is
impossible, and equally so in a moral
sense, to exalt one's station without
permission from God. ff Stature. Dr.
Hammond perfers to render this dura
tion of life. A cubit is a large measure
to be added to the body, but a small
consideration, added to one's life. It
seems more to the point, to call men off
from too great concern about their life,
by reminding them that they have no
power to prolong it for an hour. Either
rendering teaches us how little wisdom
is shown in anxiety about things which
are not under our control.
28, 29. The lilies of the field. Je
sus removes one by one the causes of
our anxiety; 1. Anxiety about daily
support, v. 2. 2. For the future in lay
ing up a store for evil days, v. 26. 3. For
station or long life, v. 27. 4. Ambition
to appear in great splendor or style, an
object which the worldly mind is con
stantly seeking. Nature rebukes the

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

That even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one
of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field, which to
day is, and to-morrow is cast into
the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, 0 ye of little faith ?
31 Therefore take no thought,
saying, What shall we eat ? or,
a Ps. 87. 23.

vices of artificial society. The grass
utters a sermon of reproof. The lilies,
growing day and night out of the unsight
ly ground, washed by dew and rain,
and covering at times the fields of Pales
tine in myriads, are arrayed without
art or labor in the various colors of
white and red ; and yet simple as is
their beauty, not the grandest and most
magnificent of all the Oriental Kings, at
the highest pitch of his splendor, was
arrayed like them. Solomon was the
wonder of the East for wisdom and
riches — and yet the saddest preacher of
all, on the subject of the vanity and
vexation of worldly care and ambition.
Hardly a page of his writings but might
serve as a comment on this declaration
of our Saviour, ff Cast into the oven.
Any thing smaller than a tree may be
called grass. " In Barbary it is usual to
employ stalks of flowers, myrtle, rose
mary, &c, to heat their ovens. This
circumstance affords a clear commen
tary on the words of our Saviour." — Dr.
Shaw. Wherever wood is scarce, peo
ple resort to every kind of fuel ; and the
ovens of the Jews were of the simplest
character, often probably a mere hole
in the sand, which could be heated with
the simplest fuel
32. The Gentiles seek. All other na
tions were so called by the Jews. Gen
tiles were idolaters, and for the most
part very wicked The Jews were
wicked enough, but pagans surpassed
them in guilt. Jesus uses the name,
as a convenient one, for all those who
are not in covenant with Him ; for world
ly people or sinners, ff Your heavenly

What shall we drink ? or, Where
withal shall we be clothed ?
32 (For after all these things
do the Gentiles seek) "for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye6 first the king
dom of God, and his righteous
ness, and all these things shall
be added unto you.
b Mark 10. 30 ; Lu. 12. 81 ; Eom. 8. 28.
Father. A Father, above all the All
Merciful, cannot suffer His children to
suffer, and the Gentiles to triumph over
them. He knows how to give good
gifts to them. It is an argument to
tho affections. See ch. vii. 11.
33. This precept sums up the matter.
He who seeks the glory of God as the
prime object of life, will so entirely
rely on Him for help, that judging Him
by his own faithful love, he will dismiss
all care about earthly things. He may
plunge into deserts, go as a missionary
to ignorant and hostile tribes, if such is
his vocation, and God will raise him
up friends wherever he goes. Men
will spontaneously honor the zealous
Christian, and give him of their abun-'
dance. Let us bear each day's burden,
toil cheerfully, and fight down with
prayer all the spectral cares and doubts
which gather around us. We need
never sin in order to five, nor seek the
tricks of double dealing to be safe from
harm. " Keep innocency, and take
heed unto the thing that is right ; for
that shall bring a man peace at the
last." See Ps. xxxvii. 38, 25. Psalter
translation. To be simple, quiet, stead
fast in the path of duty, is the best policy
and tho truest wisdom.
Additional Note.
This chapter, from verses 16 to 21, re
lating to fasting, is used by the Church
as the Gospel for Ash Wednesday. This
is the first day of the Quadrigesimal or
Forty days' fast, observed annually with
religious services in honor of the events
recorded ch. iv. 2. &c. It comes forty-

T. E. 32.] CHAPTER VH.
34 Take therefore no thought
for the morrow : for the morrow
shall take thought for the things
of itself. Sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof.
a Lu. 6. 87 ; Eom. 14. 4, 10 ; 1 Cor. 4. 5,

six days before Easter. The six Sun
days are not reckoned as days of fasting,
being always Feasts. The observance
of a Lenten season annually, began in
the earliest ages of the Church, and has
been universally observed. It has wise
reasons to commend it, even without the
argument from its antiquity. At one
time Christians began it on Ash Wed
nesday by frequenting the Churches,
putting dust and ashes upon their heads,
and on the floors of the Churches, as
marks of mourning for sin, and to re
mind them of the death which came
into the world by sin. This custom
gave the, name Ash Wednesday. The
name of Lent is retained, as also many
others, by the Prayer Book, not because
Churchmen imitate or sympathize with
the corruptions of the Church of Rome ;
but because they claim to be, in respect
of doctrine and discipline one and the same
with the early Church in its purest and best
days. We value certain customs, names,
feasts and fasts, holy days and creeds, not
only as good in themselves, but also be
cause we believe, that the early Fathers
from whom they came, as they had the
best opportunity of judging of the right
interpretation of the Lord's will in faith
and practice, had also a remarkable
measure of piety and honesty, as witness
es of facts which were then recent. And
we value them as useful against the false
claims of Rome, who is never stronger
in argument, than when she has to deal
with men ignorant of or despising the
light of primitive antiquity in explaining
Scripture. The abuse of religious cus
toms, when they symbolize important
truths — and what is more important
than the unity of the Church ? — is no
good argument against their use. We
could do without these ancient names
and customs, but we cannot do without
the fact of our ecclesiastical descent from
the Apostles. Families retain their heir-

89

CHAPTER VII.
JUDGE" not, that ye be not
judged.
2 For with what judgment ye
judge,6 ye shall be judged : and
b Jas. 2.13.

looms and relics ; these are ours. All
Churchmen are instructed by these an
cient names, that their Church is not of
yesterday. She has no ism or human
name, but has kept her Lents with
Gregories and Augustines in all the
ages past. We join hands over the cen
turies gone, with all the good and saint
ly souls who have gone to rest, and we
retain even names for their sakes : while
we observe the sacred customs which
these names teach us to hold in honor,
for our own. CHAPTER VH
1. Judge not. Jesus condemns a cen
sorious, fault-finding temper ; that evil
disposition which, devoid of charity,
thinketh all evil, and even invents :
which spies out faults better left secret;
drags to fight stories of shame ; magni
fies trifling offences ; sees a mote in
every eye, and in a word is merciless
to the faults and frailties of human
nature. James iii. 6. Men take re
venge against such persons, and judge
back with a severe retribution. They
are also condemned by God; for the
native virulence of such a temper is a
deadly poison to peace and piety.
There is nothing in this command to
prevent judges by office, from passing
sentences according to law. Nor does
it forbid Christians from making proper
distinctions between good and evil in
men or actions. They cannot confuse
these distinctions and be true. Isa. v.
20. St. John bids us not to say God
speed to the heretical, "for he that
biddeth him God-speed is partaker of
his evil deeds." 2 John 10, 11.
2. For with what judgment, Sfc. This
seems to have been a proverb, which
our Lord adopted as containing a sound
truth, which His hearers would recog
nize at once, ff Mete. Measure. Many
persons who now complain of harsh
judgments in others, may find this text

90

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the
mote that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye ?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy
brother, Let me pull out the mote
out of thine eye ; and behold, a
beam is in thine own eye ?

true, by adopting a milder rule in their
own judgment of others. A Christian
who feels himself a sinner before God
will deal gently with the infirmities of
others. 3, 5. Hypocrite. See note, ch. vi. 2.
ff The mote. This is a proverb, and
similar ones are found in all languages.
We say in English, in some cases, " It is
Satan reproving sin." The mote is any
small speck or spot floating in the eye
ball, without destroying the vision : the
beam, a piece of square timber, which
would cover the whole eye. It teaches
us that thosel who have great faults,
are found judging severely the less
faults in others. The wicked and irri
table are not fit judges of others. The
blind are not oculists, ff First cast
out, See. We are taught to begin with
our own faults, when we aspire to
remove those of our neighbors. There
is always freedom given us to judge
and chastise self as much as we will.
It would be a happier world if men
would transfer the energy of reproof
which they now waste on their neigh
bors, to their own faults and follies ;
would look into the perfect law of lib
erty, and there seeing how far short
they are of all that God desires in them,
would correct and purify themselves.
If one spends most of his censoriousness
on himself, he will doubtless be easily
pardoned for any seeming blindness to
the infirmities of others. The charity
which " thinketh no evil," is that which
" never faileth."
6. Give not, Sec. Give not the sacri
fices of the temple to dogs. Do not put

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye ;
and then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy
brother's eye.
6 If Give not that which is
"holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine, lest
they trample them under their
feet, and turn again and rend you.
a Prov. 23. 9 ; Acts 18. 45, 46.
before wicked and scornful men, the holy
and sacred thoughts and feelings of a
religious life. Judge them not, but at
the same time be discreet in your con
versation with them. The dog was an
unclean animal under the law, for its
quarrelsome, filthy nature. The Jew in
sulted another bitterly when he likened
him to a dog dead or living. 1 Sam. xxiv.
14 Ps. xxii. 16. ff Pearls. . These are
valuable gems, found in the ocean, hard,
white, with a peculiar soft light, which
gives them their beauty. A single
pearl brought from Catifa in Arabia,
was bought by Tavernier for £110,000.
By them our Lord represented rare,
precious, spiritual truths. Ch. xiii, 45 ;
Rev. xxi. 21. The holy feelings of a
pure, sensative soul, are its treasures — as
we would not cast pearls to swine, so we
are not to desecrate holy things, by ex
posing them to the cavils of sensual
and abandoned men. See Tit. i. 15.
We are not to seek spiritual- aid from
the base and wicked. Holy things are
to be used in a holy manner. The
Christian should guide himself with
discretion and modesty, and not expose
himself to the injuries of those who
know no better. Acts xiii. 45,46.
7, 8. Ask, seek, knock. This repetition
is a climax, to impress the privileo-e of
prayer and its success. Ask, and yet
stop not with that, "for men ou"ht
always to pray and not to faint." If we
ask any thing of a great person, we are
willing also to go to and seek him, in
order to obtain it. We go to his dwel
ling and knock till we are admitted. So
with prayer, use the same means that

T- E- 32-] CHAPTER VII.
7 If "Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened
unto you :
8 For every one that asketh,
receiveth; and he that seeketh,
findeth; and to him that knocketh,
it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you,
whom if his son ask bread, will
he give him a stone ?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he
give him a serpent ?
a Matt. 21. 22; Mark 11. 24; Lu. 11. 9;
John 16. 24; Jas. 1. 5, 6.

you would use in a similar case, and you
will succeed. The Prayer Book has
adopted these words in the service for
baptism. We pray for the persons
desiring the rite, "Receive them, 0 Lord,
as Thou hast promised by Thy well
beloved Son, saying, Ask and ye shall
receive, seek aud ye shah find, knock
and it shall be opened unto you: so
give unto us who ask, let us who
seek find, open the door unto us who
knock, that these persons may enjoy the
everlasting benediction of thy heavenly
washing, and may come to the eternal
kingdom which Thou hast promised by
Christ our Lord." Thus we have in
Scripture the promise, in the Church
the example of effectual prayer. James
iv. 3 ; v. 16, 17.
9 — 11. A Stone. This would not only
refuse his request, but also mock the
son, with that which might have the
form of bread, but would not be harder
than such a parent's heart. So giving a
serpenl for a fish, not only mocks but
destroys the son. Though we are evil
as a race, we cry out against such
monsters of inhumanity. And so, con
versely, we should strengthen our faith
in our Father above. He will not give
stones or serpents, if we are His children,
not even if we ask for them, but will
give us good continually. 2 Cor. xii.
7—9.
12. Therefore all things. Therefore,
as your Father in heaven does good to

91
1 1 If ye then being evil know
how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall
your Father which is in heaven
give good things to them that
ask him ?
12 Therefore all things what
soever ye would that men should
do to you,6 do ye even so to them :
for this is the law and the proph
ets. 13 If "Enter ye in at the strait
gate ; for wide is the gate, and
O Ley. 19. 18 ; Gal. 5. 14. c Lu. 18. 23-27.

all by His love, so live by the same rule.
This is called the Golden rule. All men
perceive its truth and value, and ac
knowledge that the thousand troubles
and evils of life would be removed
by its observance. It is subordinate
only to the " first and great com
mandment," of supreme love to God.
It flows from that command, being
the same feeling shown in mercy and
justice to all men. The Christian
may know his own heart and glorify
God, by his care of this command. He
must put himself in the place of others,
and judge impartially how they can be
affected by his actions. He is not to do
to others all they may wish to extort
from him, but only such things as they
may justly, fairly claim at his hands.
ff The law and the prophets. The Old
Testament. Love to God and men was
the spirit and end of the Jewish dispen
sation. It fulfilled the law. Rom. xiii.
10. The prophets exhorted men to that
holiness which resulted in it. Our Lord
says therefore, and joins this verse to the
preceding, as if He said, " Avoid harsh
judgments, pray earnestly ; and to com
plete the circle of duties, live innocently
with all men, doing to others, as you
pray God to do to you."
13, 14. Strait gate. The narrow or
small gate. Dr. Whitby sees in these
words an. allusion to the Jewish custom
of having a small gate left open in the
houses where marriage's are celebrated,

92

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat :
14 ' Because, strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there
be that find it.
15 If Beware of false" prophets,
I or, how. a Deut. IS. 1-8 ; Matt. 24. 4, 5.
which little gate the guests could find,
but which would be unnoticed by the
passing orowd. Others imagine two
gates of a city, differing from each
other in size. But the image is simply
of two gates, perhaps only taken from
the common similitude of life as a path
way to another world. Ps. xvi. 11 ;
Prov. iv. 14, 18. On the one the worldly
pass in crowds ; at either end the gate
may be ; the little gate opens out of it,
which the few who are in earnest can
find. We must be energetic and active
to find out the path of duty, to repent,
to throw off our sins, to walk with pa
tience the path of God's commands.
We are not to look to the crowd, nor
follow with them. One gate is wide
and the way broad, because crowds go
upon it, and because men have a long
catalogue of sins, by which they travel
the primrose path. GaL v. 19, 21. The
other gate is strait and the way narrow,
because few find it, and because the
fine of duty is single, and a pious life is
one of self-denial of all the evil passions.
Its rewards are given in pious contem
plation, by the Spirit of God.
15. False prophets. Do not follow
false guides, i. e. heretical teachers and
vain men, who pretend to be ministers
of God. See 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2. Ancient
prophets often wore garments of sheep
skin, such as they could obtain from
shepherds. To put on such a robe was
equivalent to setting up the character of
a prophet. 2 Kings i 8 ; Zech. xiii. 4.
Or we may imagine one coming to the
flock of the Church as a wolf might be
fancied to come into a flock of sheep in
disguise, in order to do greater mischief.
Heretics and false teachers are the
wolves of the spiritual flock. Acts. xx.

which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by
their fruits : Do men gather
grapes6 of thorns, or figs of this
tles? 17 Even so" every good tree
6 Lu. 6. 43. c Jer. 11. 19 ; Matt. 12. 33.

29 ; Tit. i. 16 ; 1 Tim. vi. 5. ff Rav
ening wolves. Hungry wolves, the ter
ror and abomination of shepherds. Such
are heretics and schismatics. How
many Christians now guard their sheep,
but feel no fear in exposing their souls
to every wind of false doctrine.
16. By their fruits. By their actions,
their life and conversation. We may
not always know them at once, but time
will disclose their true nature. God's
laws act against the hypocrite to drag
him to the light. A tree seems good,
puts out leaves and flowers, but its fruit
tests and manifests its character. A
man may deceive for a while, but his
character will be put in trial before he
is aware and shown to all. Judas for
three years passed, as Bp. Andrews
quaintly says, as a " pater pauperum," a
father of the poor. It was inevitable
that his hour should come to appear in
his true character. So of false doctrines.
The truth abides ; error changes and
shifts ; alluring, novel, original, startling,
and always changing.
17. A corrupt tree. The word sapros
signifies a tree which has been good and
is corrupted, rotten at the heart, and
cannot bring forth sound fruit. So a
corrupt man may repent and do works
of righteousness. Rom. vi. 21. It is
while corrupt and deceitful that he is
unable to do good works in faith.
21. Not every one, etc. These false
prophets and their victims, who err
from the truth, -and follow ways of un
righteousness, are warned of their de
struction. They now profess to follow
Christ, and cry with the loudest, " Lord,
Lord," but they are not His servants.
He has not sent them. There is a unity
of faith which alono brings forth the

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER "VTI.

93

bringeth forth good fruit ; but a
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. 18 A "good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a
corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth
not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore, by their fruits
ye shall know them.
21 Tf Not every one that saith
unto me,6 Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven ; but
he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not" prophesied in thy name ? and
in thy name have cast out devils ?
and in thy name done many won
derful works ?
a Matt. 8. 10 ; John 15. 2, 6. b Matt. 25.
11,12; Lu. 6. 46. c Numb. 24. 4; John 4
51; ICor. 13. 2.

highest fruits of piety. That we must
seek, since it is certain that " They are
also to be had accursed that presume to
say, that every man shall be saved by
the law or sect which he professeth, so
that he be diligent to frame his hfe
according to that law and the light of
nature. For Holy Scripture doth set
out unto us only the name of Jesus
Christ, whereby men must be saved."
Article XVIII. The vital duties of piety
are faith in Christ, " humility and re
pentance, meekness and righteousness,
mercifulness, purity and peaceableness,
patience under persecution and sufferings
for righteousness' sake." Our professions
will not save us without these, for
" without holiness no man shall see the
Lord." Heb. xii. 14 ; 2 Cor. vii. 1.
22, 23. Many will say, Sec. Dreadful
thought, that men can be so deceived !
We may escape that error, by having
now that which they do not claim.

23 'And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. 24 T Therefore, whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken" him
unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock :
25 And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house ;
and it fell not ; for it was found
ed upon a rock/
26 And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth
them not, shall be likened unto
a foolish" man, which built his
house upon the sand :
27 And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that

(ZMatt. 25. 12; Lu. 13. 25. eLu. 6. 47,
&c. ; Prov. 23. 3. /I Cor. 8. 18. g Matt.

25.1-12.

They boast of knowledge of the future,
of power to cast out devils, and to
work miracles — but not of holiness.
They mistook the shell for the sub
stance, and thought power was sanctity,
and privilege piety. Some think popu
larity, skill in speaking and praying, in
fluence with others will serve their turn,
but if they have not charity it is noth
ing. 1 Cor. xiii. 2. ff In that day.
The Jews had expectations of a future
judgment. Ps. xcviii. 9; Joel ii. 1.
It is more clearly revealed in the New
Testament. ff Profess. Solemnly,
publicly declare, ff Depart. Leave
me — I am not your Lord. " Out of
Christ, God is a consuming fire." Heb.
xii. 29. They are punished as wrong
doers. 2 Tim. iii. 5.
24-27. And every one. This is tho
seal of the discourse, the solemn decla-
I ration that in these chapters is found
I the Spikitdai. Covenant. By these

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

house ; and it fell : and great8 was
the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass when
Jesus had ended these sayings,
a Heb. 10. 26, 27.

terms we Christians live and will here
after stand or fall. The language here
assumes a sublime, yet simple majesty.
The Jews felt it with peculiar force.
The day was fair, all was quiet. The
wadies and gullies around were empty :
the Jordan flowing by in its distant bed,
the sea of Galilee lying in calm pictur
esque beauty below them. All knew
how soon this could be changed. A
little cloud in the west, the heavens
growing black ; storm and rushing
winds with floods of rain, thunder and
lightnings, and these wadies would be
roaring with irresistible torrents down
to the lake, sweeping away trees, houses,
and men in common ruin. 1 Kings
xviii. 44, 45. In such a land a pru
dent man would build in safe places, lay
deep his foundations, and build not for
the fair day only, but also for the day
of tempest and flood. Thus appealing
to their everyday prudence Jesus dis
misses the people back to daily life,
with a warning image of simplest
beauty, which would linger in their
memories after He was gone. Be as
prudent in your spiritual as in your
temporal labors. Hear these sayings
of Mine, the law of My kingdom, the
new Covenant which I make with you,
and build on it, by faith and obedience.
A storm must come to try every man's
work, If the soul is built on this rock
it is safe — if not, it is doomed to ruin.
Ps. xi. 6. The prayer of the Visitation
office is one that harmonizes with these
solemn words. " 0 God, whose days
are without end, and whose mercies
cannot be numbered, make us, we
beseech Thee, deeply sensible of the
shortness and uncertainty of human
life : and let thy Holy Spirit lead us
through this vale of misery, in holiness
and righteousness all the days of our
fives ; that, when we shall have served
Thee in our generation, we may be
gathered unto our fathers, having the

the people were astonished at his
doctrine. 29 For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the
scribes.

testimony of a good conscience ; in the
communion of the Catholic Church, in
the confidence of a certain faith ; in the
comfort of a reasonable religioui and
holy hope ; in favor with Thee our God,
and, in perfect charity with ihe world ;
all which we ask through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen."
28. Were astonished. Were filled
with a tumultuous feeling of surprise,
wonder, conviction and admiration at
this new doctrine of The Kingdom. As
the learned Bp. Bull has so clearly de
monstrated, Jesus had in this sermon
set before them, the Covenant of Grace :
the righteousnes of the kingdom which
He was to set up : the " Sayings " on
which men were to build for salvation.
It was old, for conscience approved it, —
it was re«c, for they had never heard the
pure truth so forcibly brought home to
them. The golden rules of this dis
course are so familiar to us, that we can
hardly fancy the eager groups of peo
ple, then questioning and discussing
with each other. They had gone out
with a vague notion of a temporal
kingdom. They had gained a glimpse
into the very world of light. Truly
an amazed crowd was it that left that
hill of Beatitudes in the fight of the set
ting sun — where the Son of God promul
gated His Divine Law of Grace, not
amid thunders and lightning as He did
on Sinai ; but with the gentle tones and
home-breathing sympathies of daily
life — a discourse, simple as the beauty
of lilies and birds, profound as the last,
eternal destinies of the soul, ff Not as
the Scribes. The Jewish teachers
spent most of their labor on the explana
tions and traditions of the Rabbis. —
They had mystified the law until the
common people could understand very
little of its meaning. They spoke but
little from pure love of God, and mostly
dwelt on the outside of their glorious
dispensation. It is this very power,

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VHI.

95

CHAPTER VIII.
WHEN he was come down
from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him.

which the hearers wondered at ; the
power of the intrinsic, simple truth of
the rehgion which Jesus had come to
teach. Additional Notes.
The Fathers delighted in tracing the
golden clues and harmonies of this di
vine sermon in all its parts ; and many
of them have done so with a degree of
unction and success, that may well
shame those of our own age who pre
tend to despise them. They were in
some respects less guarded in their lan
guage than we might desire, but they
often tower above the writers of this
day, in their superior knowledge of the
harmonies of Scriptural truth. The
following brief comment of St. Augus
tine, Bishop of Hippo, upon this sermon
of the Lord Jesus, is worthy of care
ful reading. " This is that which is sig
nified in the eleventh Psalm. I will
deal mightily wilh him ; the words of the
Lord are pure words, silver tried in the
fire, purified of earth, tried seven times.
Ps. xii. 5, 6. The mention of this
number admonishes us here to refer
all these precepts to these seven senten
ces that He placed in the begining of
this Sermon ; these I mean concerning
the beatitudes. For one to be angry
with his brother without a cause, or
to say to him Racha, or call him fool,
is a sin of extreme pride, against which
is one remedy, that with a suppliant
spin t he should seek pardon, and not be
puffed up with a spirit of boasting.
Blessed, then, are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven He is
consenting to his adversary, that is, in
showing reverence to the word of God,
who goes to the obeying of His Father's
will, not with sententiousness of law,
but with meekness of religion, there
fore Blessed aire the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth, and whosoever feels
carnal delights rebel against his right
will, will cry out, 0 wretched man that I

2 And behold, there came a
"leper and worshipped him, say
ing, Lord, if thou wilt thou canst
make me clean.
a Mark 1.40; Lu. 3. 12.

am; who shall deliver me from the body of
this death ? (Rom. vii. 24) and in thus
moaning he will implore the aid of the
Consoler ; whence, Blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted. What
is there that can be thought of, more
toilsome, than in overcoming an evil
practice, to cut off those members within
us that hinder the kingdom of heaven,
and not to be broken down with the
pain of so doing. To avoid all accusa
tion of uncleanness, to speak the truth
and approve it, not by frequent oaths,
but by probity of life. But who would
be bold "to endure such toils, unless he
burned with the love of righteousness
as with a hunger and thirst. Blessed,
therefore, are they that hunger and thirst
after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Who can be ready to take wrong from
the weak, to offer himself to him that
asks him, to love his enemies, to do
good to them that hate him, to pray
for them that persecute him, except he
that is perfectly merciful? Therefore
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy. He keeps the eye of his
heart pure, who places the end of his
good actions not in pleasing men, nor
in getting these things that are neces
sary to this life, and who does not rash
ly condemn any man's heart, and what
ever he gives to another, gives with
that intention, with which he would
have others give to him. Blessed,
therefore, are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God. It must needs be more
over that by a pure heart should be
found out the narrow way of wisdom,
to which the guile of corrupt men is an
obstacle ; Blessed are the peaceful, for
they shall be called the sons of God. But
whether we take this arrangement, or
any other, these things which we have
heard from the Lord must be done, if
we would build upon the rock."
CHAPTER VHI.
1. Followed Him. Accompanied Him

96

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

on His way. They were surprised,
delighted, and unwilling to part from
His company at once.
2. There came a leper. Jesus was
then near to Capernaum. This man
was "full of leprosy." Lu.v. 12. He
was a confirmed case and incur
able by any medicines or powers of man.
The miracle is placed beyond all doubt,
since the power of God only could heal
by a touch and a word, that distem
per which was beyond all hope of
cure. The leprosy is a fearful disease, and
occupies a conspicuous place in the Holy
Scriptures. In the Old Testament, laws
were passed concerning it, and cases of
it are described ; since it seems to have
been chosen and stamped as a disease,
calculated in many respects to prove in
bodily symptoms, the incurable disease
of sin. It was made unclean. Lev.
xiii. Numb. v. 2. Certain rites were in
stituted. Lev. xiv. It seems to have
been brought on at times as a special
curse to mark God's anger at great
crimes. Numb. xii. 10 ; 2 Kings v. 21.
xv. 5. ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 19. It was
sometimes removed by means of reli
gious rites, and remarkably healed in
the instance of Naaman. 2 Kings v. 1,
&c. We can hardly obtain a right
notion of it, if we neglect those teach
ings of the Old Testament, which mark
it as an emblem of sin. It was ritually
unclean. It caused the sick person to
be excommunicated from the congrega
tion. He was turned out of the camp.
Numb. v. 2. He was commanded to
rend his clothes ; which was a sign of
mourning for the dead, to bare his head,
a mark of shame, and to cover his upper
lip with a covering, and cry Unclean !
Unclean ! to warn away every passer by.
It was incurable, except by divine mercy.
The cure was to be witnessed before
the priests, by sacrifices for sin and by
an escape-offering of a living bird. All
these things show us, in lively emblems,
the evil and guilt of sin. Says Bp.
Kidder on Lev. xiii. " The leprosy here
is considered not only as a disease, but
as an infliction for sin, and a defilement
and turpitude, and though it be allowed
(as the Jews would have it) to be the

effect of the pollutions forbid in the two
foregoing chapters, yet it may, notwith
standing, be considered also, as a legal
pollution of the highest nature, as well
as a divine infliction and representation
of the filthy and destructive nature of
sin." Therefore we see it hold a nota
ble place, among the miracles of Jesus.
It shows Him to us, as the One bringing
to us " the balm of Gilead as the phy
sician of souls. The leprosy is a disease
of most loathsome nature, propagated
by descent, from one generation to an
other. It is doubted whether it is con
tagious, unless by constant intercourse
with the afflicted. It is a subtle disease,
usually beginning in the vital centres of
the system, and making its appearance
only after years of silent ravages. A red
spot like a burning boil is the first sign.
It becomes white in the centre. Others
follow, attended by an intolerable itch
ing. A fetid matter is discharged, a
white scab succeeds, and underneath a
new sore establishes itself, and so on,
until the whole system corrupts and the
extremities fall off with tetter. The bones
decay ; the muscles lose strength and
size, a deadly paleness, humid breath,
and general collapse come on, and the
victim dies, crushed down mentally,
morally and physically under a fear
ful curse. It is akin to the horrible
diseases which follow on the crime
of debauchery. Bishop Wainwright de
scribes the lepers at Samaria (1849)
thus: "These poor creatures were
covered with lumps and blotches, some
blind, others with limbs deformed in
every frightful way, hands swollen and
crooked faces distorted, many with
their voices reduced to a horrible husky
whisper, and worst of all, making a
parade of their misery to excite com
passion and extort charity. This
wretched class of human beings, accord
ing to the custom of ancient times, live
iu communities entirely seperate from
their fellows. Their marriages are ex
clusively with each other. It is a very
remarkable fact, that their offspring,
until about the age of ten, are comely
like other children, when the fatal
hereditary taint is sure to develop it
self." There is but one disease proper-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VHI.

97

3 And Jesus put forth his
hand and touched him, saying, I

ly called- leprosy, and it has now been
brought into the Western States of
America, by emigrants from Norway.
Unless vigorous means are adopted by
government to prevent its spread, we
shall know more of its ravages than we
desire, by its presence. It may remove
our fears to know, that unless by mar
riage, or constant connection with lepers
or by certain shameful sins, we are not
In danger of receiving this fearful taint.
Let us rather fear . the leprosy of sin,
and find no rest until we have obtained
the cure of that which has power " to
cast both soul and body into hell." Jesus,
while on earth, healed the sick, that we
might believe that He is able and will
ing to wash away our sins, and to make
us truly clean. Heb. ix. 13, 14. ff
Worshipped Him. By falling down be
fore him. Lu. v. 12. It was customary
in the East to do this before great men,
kings and prophets ; 1 Sam. xxv. 23,
41. xxvfii. 14 ; Dan. ii. 46. ff If thou
wilt, &c. This was his confession of
faith. The act of kneeling manifested
his humility and earnestness. Only
divine power could help him. He had
heard of Jesus, of His claims to divine
mission, and His miracles. And he has
believed that this Saviour can cure him.
We do not look for spiritual faith ; that
is, a clear apprehension of the whole
Gospel, in any one, until after the Des
cent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
ff Make me clean. He was physically
and ritually foul. It was a great act of
venturing to come so near to Jesus.
Lu. xvii 12. To be made clean, was
not only to be healed, but to be restored
to his religious rites, (Lev. xiii. .46.)
and to be allowed again to enjoy the
intercourse of his fellow men.
3. Touched Him. A prophet alone
could depart from a ritual law of Moses.
To touch a leper or a dead body, was
forbidden, yet Elijah did it, when he
would pray for its restoration to life, 1
K. xvii 19, 21, also Elisha, 2 Kings iv.
34. Our Lord here shows Himself a
greater than either, in healing not by
Vol. I.— 5

will ; be thou clean. And imme
diately his leprosy was cleansed.

prayer, but in His own name and by
His divine power.
•%: See thou tell no man. See ch. ix. .
30 ; Mark. v. 43. Jesus often bade the
persons whom He healed among His
own people, to keep it in a measure
private. Of course the command was
limited, by the fact that they could not
conceal it from their acquaintances.
They were nor to blazon it, or go about
from a sense of gratitude, to preach of
His miraculous power. He sometimes
commanded the heathen to publish His
merciful kindness to them, among their
own people. Murk v. 19. Miracles
were only an incident of the Gospel.
For much attention to them might hide
the spiritual meaning of His mission.
He healed bodily complaints that men
might believe in His power to heal spir
itual maladies. But as they, in their
selfish and carnal hearts, preferred health
to innocence, a sound body to a pure soul,
He endeavored to keep down the fame
of the miracle that it might not conceal
the higher and greater work of salva
tion. Again, He is thought to have had
two strong reasons for this charge iu
this and other cases. 1. To avoid the
malice of the rulers. It was fear of the
fame of His miracles, which at last
drove them to put Him to death. John
xi. 47-54. 2. To avoid the conceit of
the Jews that the Messiah was to be
known by these temporal, physical
signs of power, and so to gain conquest
over their enemies. They would thus
be tempted to make seditions and seek
to force on Him the sovereignty of the
nation. Christians may learn from
this not to exalt miracles of power above
miracles of grace. To save and sanc
tify a soul is a greater deed than to
cure a body. The soul lives forever,
the other yields to decay and death.
The one Jesus would not have publish
ed ; His spiritual works He would have
known and imitated, ff Sliexo thyself
to the priest. To fulfil the precepts of
the law of Moses. As the disease was
virtually unclean, the man could not be

98

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

4 And Jesus saith unto him,
See thou tell" no man ; but go
thy way, show thyself to the
priest, and offer the gift that
Moses commanded,6 for a testi
mony unto them.

received into the congregation again,
until be had done all which the ritual
commanded. Lev. xiv. We may see
from this how httle reason Christians
have to fear that the unworthiness of
ministers will be any bar to the valid
ity of their acts in the Word and sac
raments. Those Jewish priests had cor
rupted the law of God by their false
traditions, yet they sat in Moses' seat,
and Jesus orders men to go to them to
obey them in their official capacity.
Ch. xxiii. 2. See Article xxvi. in Pray
er Book, ff Priest. One who offered
sacrifice in the Temple, a descendant
of Aaron. Numb. xvi. 40. A priest
among the Jews was one of the sacred
tribe, whose duty it was, after his sol
emn consecration and anointing, to
teach the people, to pray for them, and
especially to offer sacrifices for his own
and their sins. Lev. iv. v. vi. Such
offices in divine things have always
existed, and Noah, Abraham and oth
ers were priests of God. They were
all types of Christ, the great High
Priest of the whole race. Heb. vii. 17;
ix. 11-25. The name is still retained
in the church, to distinguish the sec
ond order of the Christian ministry.
Their duty, according to the solemn
vows of their ordination, is to instruct
the people, and to minister with faith
ful diligence, the doctrine and sacra
ments and the discipline of Christ, as
the Lord hath commanded. The order
is fo nded on the Word of God, and the
wants of the human race. It is as ne
cessary in the Church of Christ as ever
it was in that dispensation of Moses ;
and Christian people ought reverently
to esteem them and aid them in their
office. It was appointed for the perpet
ual memorial of Christ, for the increase
and knowledge of the faith, and for the
salvation of mankind. It was a con-

5 % And when Jesus was en
tered into Capernaum, there
came unto him a centurion," be
seeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my ser-

a Ch. 9. !

0 Lev. 14 8-10. cLu.7.2.

stant employment of Jesus to make
the preparation for this sacred order, by
instructing the disciples in the time of
His earthly ministry. To it He gave
the grandest of human duties (John xx.
21-24), and the precious promise of
His perpetual presence. Ch. xxviii
20. " So shall the bright succession run
Through all the courses of the son ;
Whilst unborn Churches by their care,
Shall rise and flourish large and fair.
ff For a testimony. That is, a proof to
them that you have been cured by the
power of God (2 Kings v. 7), for a con
demnation of them if they refuse to be
lieve. The word testimony is often
used of that which will rise to condemn
any of wilful and obstinate unbelief.
Ch. x. 18. The man wa to hasten,
for he had fifty miles to travel, to
Jerusalem, and without telling those
whom h met by the way of his cure,
obtain from the priests the prescribed
certificate, that he was truly cured, so
that they might, if possible, be convinc
ed of the divine power of the Lord Je
sus. Grotius explains it as if Jesus had
said, " see thou tell no man till thou
hast shown thyself to the priests, lest if
a rumo of these things go before thee,
they out of envy may deny either that
thou wast before a leper, or that thou
art now truly cleansed."
5. Capernaum. This was now His
dwelling place. See note ch. iv. 13.
ff Centurion. The commander of a
century or a body of one hundred sol
diers. The Romans had conquered
Judea and established divisions of their
army in the various provinces. This
man had been born a pagan, but as we
learn from St. Luke had been very
kind to the Jews and perhaps had some
convictions of the fundamental truth of
their religion. Lu. vii 2. &c ff Be-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VHI.

vant lieth at home sick of the
palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I
will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and
said, Lord, I am not„ worthy that
thou shouldest come under my
roof; but speak the word6 only,
and my servant shall be healed.
¦ a Lu. 15. 19, 21. b Ps. 107. 20.

seeching. As we would say, praying
Him with his whole soul to do this.
6. The palsy. See note ch. iv. 24.
The servant could not go himself. This
miracle is a kind of sequel to the fore
going. In that, the man could go to
Jesus. In this he could not, and ap
peared by his master. Let us pray
for mercy for those whom we love by
this example.
8. I am not worthy. Think of the
scene for a moment. On the one side
was an officer of a proud and conquer
ing army, accustomed to rule over
others with an imperious power, living
in a conquered country, one of a race
likened by the Almighty to iron, for
their stern, unyielding military genius.
Dan. ii. 40. On the other hand was
Jesus, a wandering, poorly clad pro
phet in his eyes ; descended of a car
penter as far as he knew ; attended by a
few humble followers, going about on foot
from village to village of Galilee. The
humility, the earnest love for his ser
vant, the faith of the centurion in the
power and will of Jesus to help him, are
grand. The most beautiful touch of
the picture is its simple nature. The
man is so in earnest, that he does not
know, that he is to be seized upon as he
stands, by an apostle, to be handed
down to the Christian Church as an ex
ample of the humility and faith which
obtains all it asks.
9. Under authority. He was sub
jected to the Roman Emperor, as also
were his soldiers. They obeyed him
as having that station over them, in re
verence to the Imperial power. So he
supposed Jesus to be a prophet under
authority of God, and might exercise

9 For I am a man under au
thority, having soldiers under
me : and I say to this man, Go,
and he goeth; and to another,
Come, and he cometh ; and to
my servant, Do this, and he doeth
it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he
marvelled, and said to them that

this control to command the spirits of
evil and the diseases of the flesh to sub
mit to His word. " If I can give com
mands to be executed implicitly at a
distance, surely you may much more
exercise this distant control over
spirits." The servant was "ready to
die." Lu. vii. 2. Hence he is too
much in earnest to suffer the delay of
the journey to his house, when one
word can anticipate death and save
his servant.
10. So great faith. Perfect Christian
faith, which worketh in love, and is
instructed by all the commands of God,
and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, in
a regenerate soul, is of a higher kind
and degree than this of the Roman
officer. Gal. iii. 23-27. There are
divers and various meanings to the
Scriptural word faith. Here it means
confidence or belief that Christ, as a
good man or prophet, had power to heal
his servant, and assurance from his own
better feelings that He would do so, if
earnestly asked by him. He was a
Roman, and may have been partly per
suaded of the Jewish religion, or a prose
lyte of the gate, that is, one of that class
of persons who had by baptism and an
oath of obedience to the patriarchal
creed (Heb. xi. 6), obtained the privi
lege of living with the Jews with some
thing of a hope of receiving a part in
the promises, which were made to
Abraham's seed. It is possible, as St.
Jerome suggests, that " he may, under
the veil of the person of Jesus, have
discovered something of His latent di
vinity." ff No, not in Israel. Not among
the chosen people who boast to be the
descendants of him, who wrestled all

100

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

followed, Verily I say unto you,
I have not found so great faith,
no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That
many shall come" from the east
and west, and shall sit down with
a Mai. 1. 11.

night with an angel in the form of a
man, and would not let him go until
his visitor blessed him. It was God
the Lord, who appeared to Jacob, and
who gave him the name Israel (Gen.
xxxii. 28), because " as a. prince he had
power with God." The word Israel is
made up of two words ; Isra, to war,
to prevail with, and el, God, the Strong
one. How forcible the rebuke of the
mention of this particular name. Ja
cob has prevailed by his resolution to
obtain a blessing ; yet the Son of man
is prevailed with by the noble faith of
one, not of the race of Jacob. The de
scendants of Jacob were called by this
honorable name, Israelites, till the time
of their great schism under Jeroboam.
Then, ten tribes were separated, and
afterwards they were frequently called
by the prophets Ephraim, after the
younger son of Joseph. Is. vii. 9.
They were corrupted by idolatry, and
finally fell away from the true faith.
The other two tribes were called for
convenience Judah, from whence the
name Jews, which was applied after
the return from Babylon, to all the
remnants of the tribes who held the
right faith and worshipped at the Tem
ple on Mount Zion. Esther iii. 6 ;
Matt, xxviii 15 ; Acts xviii. 2. The
Jews were misled by pride and preju
dices, which this Roman did not feel.
He was more ready to seek their own
prophet, in his time of trouble, than
they themselves, to whom He had
especially come. Ch. xv. 22, 24,
28. 11. East and wesf. This phrase, as
also the "four winds" (ch. xxiv. 31),
signify the whole world. From this in
stance of Gentile faith, He foretells and
prepares them for the doctrine, so hard
to be understood by them, that God
would jet do away with their preroga-

Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom of heaven ;
12 But the children of the
kingdom shall be cast out into
outer darkness : there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

tives and offer salvation to all men,
without respect to the Mosaic law and
the lineal descent from Abraham. Rom.
iv. 3; James ii. 23; Gal. iii. 7, 8.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had lived
before the law, " by faith," as distinct
from the system of Moses. Rom. x. 5,
6, &c. Men would so five again, and, as
even the apostles were so long in learn
ing, God would be no respecter of per
sons. Acts x. 34. To sit down with
one, as here represented, is to partake
of a feast or enjoy a common privilege.
Here it is true both of the Church here,
which is likened to a supper or feast,
(Lu. xiv. 16), and in heaven, whose
joys the figure of a marriage feast
typifies. Rev. xix. 9. A marriage
feast combines many of the ideas which
we form of innocent enjoyment and
festivity. They are chosen as images
of the pure and perfect joys of the
blessed, which after all human eloquence
is exhausted, are yet beyond our con
ception. 12. The children of the kingdom. A
Hebraism, to express the chosen people,
the Jews. They were born in the
covenant. For them the blessing was
intended. They enjoyed every privilege
of the Divine Covenant. As a branch
of the olive tree, they were the original
stock, to which the blessings of grace
were first vouchsafed; but, though
children, they would be rejected and
turned out of doors in the darkness of
night, where were dogs and thieves
and murderers, and where they could
only weep with fear and remorse,or gnash
their teeth in anger and hatred. But
they would not by any means prevail
upon the porter to readmit them. Lu.
xiii. 24, 25. The imagery is taken from
anEastern street by night. The houses
have no windows towards the street, but
only high, dead walls. The streets are

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER Vm.

101

13 And Jesus said unto the
centurion, Go thy way; and as
thou hast believed, so be it done
unto thee. And his servant was
healed in the self-same hour.

narrow and without pavements, and gen
erally in a most filthy condition, and oc
cupied by dogs. For a child to be cast
out at a time of high festivity, when
the lamps shone brightly and all were
happy, into the blinding darkness with
out, with no hope of return, to be ex
posed to robbers or to be torn to pieces
by dogs, presents a dreadful image. Ch.
xxii. 13 ; Rev. xxii. 15. The reality must
infinitely exceed it. Jude 13. Jesus
begins to teach His disciples step by
step the horrors of that lake of fire or
second death, into which all who are
finally wicked must be cast by the
angels. They will weep one while
with infinite and eternal sorrow ; again
they will gnash their teeth in useless
rage against their inexorable doom.
The Jews did not expect this fate for
themselves. They and many lukewarm
and worldly Christians will be amazed
to find that they will not be able to
carry the erroneous judgments of men
up to the bar of Christ, as efficient
pleas for honor and salvation from the
last Judge. Christians are now children
of the kingdom by the inestimable
privileges of the Covenant of Christ.
They are now in a state of salvation,
that is,- in which they can be saved if
they are faithful to the conditions of the
Covenant. But let them take warning
not to be slothful and presumptuous.
They must be holy to be saved.
13. As thou hast believed. This does
not imply any doubt of his faith, but
grants to it the great blessing which it
had asked, inasmuch as the faith was
great. The Roman had believed
wholly. The gift is granted freely.
He had cast himself on the mercy of
Jesus with a hearty confidence. His
reward is in proportion. We may hope
that seeking one blessing for his ser
vant, he found a richer one for his own
soul. This miracle is recorded as a
second kind of mercy, showing another

14 If And when Jesus was
come into Peter's house, he saw
his wife's mother laid, and sick
of a fever.
15 And he touched her hand,

side of the love of Jesus to men. Be
fore, in the first miracle, He healed the
man himself who could come. Now He
yields to the prayer of the first respon
sible actor for the dying servant, name
ly, his master. In the next miracle He
blesses a relative of one of His disci
ples, almost unasked ; at least two evan
gelists do not record the fact of the
asking. If we are defiled by sin, let
us cry unclean, aad pray Him to make
us clean. If it has palsied us that we
are ready to die, happy is it for us, if
our parents, relatives, friends, have
grace to pray for us. If one of a
Christian family relapses into its fever
for a time, while the rest follow with
Jesus, He may still recall the wan
derer and soothe the passion for evil,
while it is yet felt as a weariness and a
burden. We learn from this miracle
the power of faithful prayer with God.
It teaches us to keep in mind, that as
the human heart of the Son of God
was moved and affected by the simple,
loving earnestness of this man, so that
same Advocate and Mediator sitteth at
the right hand of God in heaven, to
make intercession for us. Let us pray
to Him, and in His name. Let us pray
for each other, by the pattern of the
Centurion's faith, ff In the self-same
hour. In Greek, on the very instant.
His faith did not reach so far as to
think that Jesus would raise the dead.
Therefore he is not farther tried, but
the cure is effected on the instant.
14, 15. See also Mark i. 30, 31,
and Lu. iv. 38, 39. Simon Peter and
Andrew lived together. James and
John also were present with them.
Luke says that they, meaning the dis
ciples present, "besought Him for her :"
but Matthew and Mark were not so
much struck with the request, it being
so natural that they should ask it, as to
mention it. It did not appear so great
a conquest of faith in those who had

102

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

and the fever left her ; and she
arose, and ministered unto them.
16 If When the even" was
come, they brought unto him

a Mark 1. 82:

followed Jesus, and seen His power, as
it would have been in strangers. The
miracle is a part of their home life. It
was complete, for she who had been
sick, was at once able to attend on them,
Theophylact notes on this verse, that
marriage is no hindrance to virtue, since
the chief of the apostles had a wife. St.
Basil reckons among those who were
married, " Peter and the rest of the
apostles." St. Ambrose saith, " all the
apostles, except John and Paul, are
said to have had wives." " Bishops,
priests, and deacons, are not commanded
by God's law, either to vow the estate
of a single life, or to abstain from mar
riage : therefore it is lawful for them,
as for all other Christian men, to marry
at their own discretion, as they shall
judge the same to serve better to God
liness." Article XXXII. The Romish
doctrine and practice on this subject have
led to great abuses, which should make
us dread their evil ways, and arm our
minds with the truths of God's holy
word, against all their errors. Their
present madness in the idolatry of the
Virgin Mary, as a more able advocate
in the court of heaven for them, seems
an infatuation, resulting from their
overweening regard for the superiority
of a single life.
16. When the ever, was come. This
was the evening of the Sabbath, or
Saturday. Mark i. 21—32. The Jews
observed their days, from sunset to sun
set. Their Sabbath began therefore on
Friday at even, and continued till sun
down the next day. During its holy
hours, they would not even bring the
sick to be cured, but waited till the first
day of the week had begun. As soon as
tho sun had gone, they brought them to
Jesus. St. Matthew mentions this one
evening, to describe at once and sum
marily, the varions miracles of Jesus.
He was, however, constantly employed
in doing good to the afflicted. We have

many that were possessed with
devils : and he cast out the spirits
with his word, and he healed all
that were sick :

only a small portion of His deeds and
words on record. Those who had
friends possessed with devils (see note
chap. iv. 24,) or sick, brought them to
Him at Capernaum. Perhaps they had
come from a distance, hoping to find
Him. He cast out the devils "with
His word." By this He manifested His
power, inasmuch as they were compelled
to obey Him ; and His goodness, because
He destroyed in this manner the king
dom of the evil one. Jesus wrought
such works, to convince men then of
His mission from God, — to convince us,
who live now, of His power to cast out
the evil spirits from our hearts, and to
restore us whole and sound, to work out
our salvation. These supernatural
deeds were miraculous, i. e. things to be
wondered at : the deeds of grace which
the Spirit now works, are to be sought
for and cherished Jesus fulfils in this
manner, the ancient type of the brazen
serpent, which Moses had raised in the
desert. As that had healed all who
looked upon it, so does He now heal all
who come to Him.
17. That it might be fulfilled. The
words of Is. liii. 4, are, " Surely He
hath borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows." St. Matthew says the same,
as he translates the Hebrew exactly.
It is only the translation which differs.
The word " infirmities " is put for
" griefs," both meaning these calamities
of the body, sickness, possession, &c, of
which the Evangelist has already spoken.
The word " sicknesses" is put instead of
"sorrows' — both meaning troubles of the
inner man,the heart and mind. The Jews
applied this prophecy to the Messias. He
took our infirmities, by removing them.
Many of them were temporal punish
ments for sin. He " bare our sicknesses,"
by offering an atonement for the sins of
men, by destroying the power of sin, by
reconciling men to God, whom they had
offended, by washing them, regenerating

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VUX.

103

17 That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, saying," Himself took our
infirmities, and bare our sick
nesses. 18 H Now when Jesus saw
great multitudes about him, he
gave commandment to depart un
to the other side.
a Is. 53. 4; 1 Pet. 2. 24.

them, and giving them the powers of
the Holy Ghost, to wean them from sin,
sanctify them to God, and incorporate
them into His own divine nature. 1
Pet. ii. 24. This doctrine of atonement
is the teaching of the Old Testament, in
its types, sacrifices, priesthood, ritual,
and laws : of the New, in the whole of
the gospels, epistles, and the book of
Revelation. It is especially drawn
out in the Epistle to the Hebrews. We
may read it as a doctrine expressed in
exact terms, in the second of the thirty-
nine Articles. It has been the faith of
all Christians, except a mere handful
called Arians and Socinians, after the
names of their leaders. It seems strange
that any can have a doubt of it. And
it is unfortunate, for nowhere else on
earth can sinful men find a sufficient
expiation for sin, or a wholesome balm
for their sorrows.
18. The other side. Capernaum was
on the north-west shore of the sea of
Galilee, in the beautiful valley of
Gennesaret. See note, ch. iv. 18. He
wished to escape from the great crowd,
to avoid the suspicion of the rulers, and
to suffer the people to return to their
homes. He takes a boat to the other
side, or the eastern shore, which was a
wild desolate place. He would not
have His favors engender idleness and
vagrancy. It has never been recorded
of any other founder of religion, that' he
avoided making disciples and followers.
They have all been only too glad to
receive them. But Jesus took greater
pains to prevent His followers from
adopting the usual measures for exalt
ing Him to a royal position, than all
others have made to gain it.

19 And a certain scribe came
and said unto him," Master, I will
follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. 20 And Jesus said unto him,
The foxes have holes, and the
birds of the air have nests ; but
the Son of man hath not where to
lay his head. 6 Lu. 9. 57.

19, 20. A certain scribe. This man
probably, on seeing the miraculous
power of Jesus, and reasoning with him
self that He would be able by such tre
mendous agencies to make all His fol
lowers rich and powerful, came to a
sudden determination to follow Him.
His motive was, at least, selfish. Jesus,
who knew all that was in man, instantly
laid bare the fault of the man's faith, by
setting before him the poverty in which
He lived. He thus warned the scribe
not to venture his fate with Him ou
selfish motives. Besides, the scribe
came uncalled. Jesus chose His own
immediate followers. They were to be
the future witnesses of Him, and He
would not suffer any to follow Him, ex
cept those whom He saw to be fit for
His great work of preaching the Gospel
in the midst of worldly opposition. The
foxes, the birds, were all supplied with
what was needful for them, and had
their homes ; He was poor and had noth
ing. He was a wanderer in the world,
He lived for a while in Capernaum with
His disciples, but He claimed no place
for His home, and would never have in
His possession the worldly treasures,
with which to tempt such interested
followers, ff Son of man Son, in the
Hebrew language had various shades of
meaning. See note, ch. i. 1. Hers* it
means that Jesus was truly a man, and
is used by Him to harmonize with the
assertion of the want of » home, ot
which as man He, like others, felt the
need. It belongs to Him in His nature,
derived by true conception and birth
from the Virgin Mary. " When thou
tookest upon thee to deliver man, Thou
didst humble Thyself to be born of a

104 MATTHEW. [A D. 26.
21 And another of his disciples I 22 But Jesus said unto him,
said unto him, Lord, suffer me ; Follow me ; and let the dead

first to go and bury my father.

"bury their dead.
a Is. 59.10; Eph. 2. 1.

Virgin." As Son of God, He was Lord first, and as if Jesus intended to cast
of all things, and had no need of help some contempton the social duties of life.
or home on earth, for His abode is from j These, we know, He was first to respect.
everlasting to everlasting in the bosom ! He wept at the grave of His friend Laza-
of the Father. He is Creator and Pre- rus (John xi. 35, <fec), and indulgently
server of all things. The word Son of ': allowed the grief of others. He now
man, He most frequently uses to speak j gives this order, to instruct us that a clear
of Himself while on earth. The disci- j call or command of God must be consid-
ples use the phrase " Son of God :" as I ered the highest duty of man, and must
was more proper in their mouths. Only j take rank over all others. The dead fa-
St. Stephen calls Him Son of man (Acts ' ther would receive the rites of sepulture
vii. 56) when seeing Him ready to re- ; from his friends, as yet dead spiritually to
ceive his soul, at his martyrdom. St. \ Christ ; but the disciple must not, even
John speaks twice of seeing " one like ' for so high a duty, defer the prompt
unto the Son of man '' (Rev. i. 13 ; xiv. i obedience to His plain call to obedience.
14), taking the phrase from the Pro- ' In St. Luke, ix. 59, He forbids another
phecies of Daniel:_ Dan. vii. 13. It j at the same time with the warning that
is used seventeen times in St. Matthew's ; one must not put his hand to the plough
Gospel, twelve times in St. Mark's, ! and look back. His design is therefore
twenty-one times in St. Luke's, and j evidently to impress upon His disciples,
eleven times in St. John's, and always I and on us, the paramount importance of
by Christ of Himself. It is a mark of j plain religious duties. But let no one
humility, to teach men that He was ' now use this example lightly. A man
truly man of man, and would pass must have an open, unmistakable corn-
through hfe and death as other men. j mand to a religious work, before he can
Heb. iv. 15 ; John xii. 34 ; i. 51. | avoid the regular social and family du-
21,22. Another of his disciples. This ' ties which bind him. One who has
word disciple signifies one receiving the j others dependent on him, may not rush
discipline or instruction of a teacher, into the ministry or seek a missionary
It belongs to all who followed Jesus, ! life, if he thereby consigns them to want

(John vi. 66 ; ix. 28,) though more par
ticularly in the Gospels to the Twelve
who were afterwards to be the great
Apostles, to teach in their turn the doc
trines of the Church of Christ. See

or poverty. He may go uncalled, and
find little blessing in such rash zeal. It
is a sad sight, to see Christians neglect
ing the common duties of daily life,
under a, mistaken notion of superior

notech. v. 1. This man had been called pie'ty in so doing. It is not piety, but
by Jesus before he offered this excuse, oftener selfishness or fanaticism. A
Lu. ix. 59. His duty was at once to Christian should be made, by his reli-
obey, since he had an express and per- gion, a better father, husband, wife, or
emptory call. Jesus could even raise son : otherwise he gives room for serious
his father if he saw fit to do so. He j cavils against his piety.
takes advantage of this to teach an im- [ 23. A ship. This was a very small
portant lesson to the remainder of his open fishing skiff, such as were used on
followers, ff Let the dead, &c. This the Sea of Galilee. The vessels of the
was probably a proverbial expression, i ancients were none of them large.
Let those who are not called by me to \ They were ill calculated to withstand
preach the Gospel, do the various deeds storms, were supplied with small sails,
of common life ; your duty is now plain and mostly propelled by oars. There
to obey my call. It may seem harsh at , were other smaller boats in company.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VHI.

105

23 T And when he was enter
ed into a ship, his disciples fol
lowed him.
24 And behold, there" arose a
great tempest in the sea, inso
much that the ship was covered
with the waves ; but he was
asleep. a Mark 4. 87; Lu.8. 28.

Mark iv. 36. Being open, they were in
great danger of filling with water, in the
short chopping waves made by the sud
den wind storms of the Lake of Tiberias.
24. A great tempest. A strong cur
rent is caused in the Sea of Galilee by
the river Jordan running through the
midst of it in a southerly direction. A
violent wind from the southeast, increas
ing, from the situation of the mountains,
to a hurricane, blows directly - against
this current, and produces very suddenly
a frightful and dangerous storm.- The
waves are high and short ; the boat can
not ride above them, but fills with water
and founders. See ch. xiv. 24. ff Was
covered with the wav(s. St. Luke says,
"was in jeopardy." The httle vessel
was foundering, and about to sink.
There is hardly any situation' in life
more certain to fill men with fear, and
to deprive them of all presence of mind,
than to be in danger of death in a storm
on the water. See Ps. cvii. 25-30.
ff He was asleep. It was in the after
part of the vessel. It was now night,
and Jesus slept after the labors of the
day. The disciples should have learned
from this very repose that they were
safe. They are awake while he sleeps.
Afterwards, when real danger comes in
Gethsemane, they sleep and He wakes.
Could we but learn to fear what Jesus
feared, we would fear nothing else.
Temptation and sin are worse foes than
any physical dangers. The Christian
is one striving to fear God most, that
he may conquer all other fears.
25. Save us. They were in mortal
fear. The ship sinking, the wind and
waves roaring, the water chilling them
and leaping towards them through the
darkness like wild beasts, they can
Vol. I.— 5*

25 And his disciples came to
him, and awoke him, saying,
Lord,6 save us : we perish.
26 And he said unto them,
Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little
faith ? Then he arose, and re
buked the winds and the sea;
and there was a great" calm.
b Ps. 107. 28, a Ps. 89. 9 ; 107. 29.

only cry to Him, we perish. Is not this
a picture of some sinful men, who re
pent of sin under great excitement?
Yea, and such may be in a tumult of
fears. But it should not be held up as
the rule or the example, for all who
seek the way of lift, for the disci
ples certainly never had less faith than
they manifested at this time. Some
souls are converted in storm and tem
pest, but Jesus did not seek to use such
means of gaining followers. He does
not use a word to encourage his minis
ters to their too frequent use of terrors,
to bring men to Him. He loves " the
waters of Shiloah that go softly " (Is.
viii. 6), and only brings the fearful
floods to punish the evil doers. It
may seem justifiable to some to use
any means to convert men, even the
excitement of their physical fears, by
violent gesticulations, fearful scenery,
and midnight assemblies, but the re
sult is almost certainly pernicious. The
heart becomes, hardened The means
are not Scriptural, and sooner or later
bring on infidelity.
26. 0 ye of little faith. Matt. vi.
30 ; xiv. 81. They had some faith or
they would not have looked to Him to
save them. They, had very little, or
they would have known that no dan
ger could " come nigh to hurt them "
while the Messiah was with them.
They might have reasoned, but men in
fear do not reason, that if Jesus was
to be followed at all as Messiah, then
the Messiah could not perish in a mid
night storm. They bore His fortunes.
So fear and dangers throng the Chris
tian's way ; he has faith, for he prays
to Jesus ; he has httle, for he is fright
ened, and wavers before opposition. Let

106

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

27 But the men marvelled, say
ing, What manner of man is this,
that even the winds and the sea
obey him !
28 If And when he was come
to the other side, into the country

us fear God, and fear nothing else.
Nothing can separate us from the love
of Christ, but our own wills. Rom.
viii. 38, 39. ff Rebuked the winds. He
said to them, "Peace, be still ! " To
rebuke is to chide with severe words.
It is so natural to look upon the winds
and waves in such a case as living crea
tures, striving to do mischief, that the
word rebuke is the most natural ex
pression, ff A 'great calm. In this sea
the current of the Jordan is so strong
that it soon lays the motion of the waves
when the wind has once ceased This
is an instance of the exactness of the
evangelists. These minor beauties of
their style, which are too simple to
have been intentional, are indirect
proofs of their honesty.
27. The men marvelled. Those in
the vessel were astonished at this dis
play of power. They may have seen
His miracle on land, and imagined that
He had no other power than over single
diseases. Or they may have been in
fluenced by the false notion that it
was too great a deed for Him, to rule
the raging of the sea, a work ascribed
to God alone. Ps. lxv. 7 ; cvii. 25—29.
Men are apt to judge of power by size
and noise. In one sense it is a greater
miracle to save a soul than to guide a
storm, ff The winds and the sea obey
Him. The Son of God is Creator. Heb.
i. 2, 10. He divided the sea from the
dry land by the " word of His power."
He who " divided the sea, whose waves
roared, the Lord of Hosts is His name."
Is. Ii. 15 ; Lev. v. 22 ; Ps. xciii. 3, 4.
He now, in form as a man, speaks the
same word to rule its raging. These
men felt an awful dread of Him, and ex
perienced some little sense of this divine
Presence in Him, though they knew not
how to express it. They question if
He can be a man. To this Saviour we
trust in all troubles and dangers, and
in death itself. He is with us : nothing

of the Gergesenes, there met him
two possessed with devils, coming
out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
so that no man might pass by
that way.
29 And behold, they cried out,

can harm us. How beautiful the par
aphrase of these verses in the 119th
Hymn, written by one who dared all
the elements in the service of his mas
ter; Bishop Heb er. We can all join in
the prayer of the last stanza.
u And oh I when the whirlwind of passion is
raging.
When, in our hearts its wild warfare is wag
ing
Then send down Thy Spirit, Thy ransomed
to cherish,
Eebuke the destroyer ; Save, Lord, or we
perish."
28. Country of the Gergesenes. See
Markv. 1-20; Lu. viii 26-38. The
city of Gergesa or Gerasa was situated
on the eastern shore of the sea of Galilee.
It is the modern Jerrush, in which are
still to be seen signs and relics of its
former splendor. The country of the
Gergesenes, means the province gener
ally. He landed in their neighborhood.
St. Luke calls them Gadarenes, which
may have been one of their general
names, taken from the town of Gadara,
which was also near the sea, about
twelve miles distant from the former
place. He landed between the two
towns, in the country common to
both. Such little differences of style
are confirmations of the truthfulness of
the narrative of the Evangehsts. If
they had conspired to deceive men,
they would have avoided such apparent
discrepancies. But each writing only
what he knew, and what particularly
struck on His own mind in these narra
tives, would naturally differ in minor
matters ; thereby confirming, not weaken
ing their evidence as a whole. And in
like manner, St. Matthew mentions
two men, the other Evangelists mention
but one. This only proves to us that
the Divine Master did not intend that
the inspiration employed in writing the
Holy Books should so overpower all
the faculties of the writers as to make

T. E. 32.] CHAPTER VIII.
saying, What have we to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?
art thou come hither to torment
us before the time ?

107

them unnatural. They have those va
rieties of style which must occur in all
human productions. If they had them
not, their style would not be man's
style. It would be too perfect, and
lose nature, which in ah men is imper
fect. And losing this, it would actually
lose force as evidence. We know there
fore that no material error, no false
hood, no corruption, no misstatement
was allowed in the writers. Inspira
tion saved them from all such, and
protected them in giving a plain, honest
and true narrative. Their apparent
differences aje the varieties of honest
men. Each tells what he particularly
noticed ; all together tell us the truth as
far as is necessary for us — " the things
necessary to salvation." St. Mark and
St. Luke do not deny the presence of
the second man. It is likely that one
of them was especially furious — the
other more silent. Or one may have
been a citizen, before this time, of high
standing, or possessed of wealth, whose
fall and maniacal possession was no
torious ; the other some stranger, of
little repute, who had nothing to make
him conspicuous. Many suppositions
may be made, but unless we falsely im
agine that the Holy Books are unhu-
manized by their inspiration, we have
little need to feel anxious for such ex
planations. The one who cavils at
them, will cavil still, until he has met
the Saviour, and had the demons of
doubt and infidelity cast out of him.
ff Possessed with devils. See note, ch.
iv. 24. ff Coming out of the tombs.
They dwelt in these tombs, which were
in some cases caves or vaulted rooms
hewn out of the solid rock, sufficiently
large to furnish shelter for them. Jose
phus informs us that sometimes robbers
made use of them for concealment.
Along the eastern shores of the Sea of
Galilee, may be still seen the remains of
these sepulchral caves in the rocky

30 And there was a good way
off from them an" herd of many
swine, feeding.
31 So the devils besought him,
a Ley. 11. 7; Deut. 14. 8 ; Is. 65. 4.

precipices which face the water. How
awful is the end of sin, when these evil
spirits so degrade the mind, and rob it
of all joy, that the possessed can find no
other residence than the dwellings of the
dead. St. Chrysostom says that this
fact about them is added in allusion to
a mischievous opinion that the souls of
the dead became demons, and entered
into other bodies, and that magicians
were accustomed to kill young children,
in order to have the aid of their souls.
Thus the errors of heathenism result in
horrid superstitions. And as a land
becomes irreligious, it is found to doubt
about monstrous and debasing spiritual
phenomena. Rehgion only can keep us
from the gloomy fears of infidelity.
29. What have we to do with thee ? The
Hebrew idiom is, " What is there to us
and thee ? what have we in common ?"
It was a usual salutation, when asking
any one coming suddenly upon another,
the reason of his coming. 2 Sam. xvi
10 ; 2 Kings ix. 18. ff Son of God.
" The devils also believe and tremble."
James ii 19. They are subtle spiritual
beings, of greater intellectual powers
than men, to penetrate into the facta of
the eternal world. Though fallen and
wicked, yet the great racts of our faith
are open to them. They believe, but
they will not love. This band of spirits,
for they were Legion, are forced by fear
to hail Jesus as tiie Son of God, and to
obey Him. Satan scorns the fatuity of
unbelief in men, while he promotes it
to seek their ruin. The name Legion is
taken from a division of the Roman
army, and was in number about six
thousand. It means, however, any large
number, ff Before the time. Before
the day of judgment, which is the time
appointed for their punishment in heli
2 Pet. ii. 4 ; Jude 6 ; Rev. xx. 10. Hell
is prepared to follow that awful day.
Evil spirits and wicked men are not as
yet confined in it. The former have

108

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

saying, If thou cast us out, suffer
us to go away into the herd of
swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go.
And when they were come out,
they went into the herd of swine ;
and behold, the whole herd of
swine ran violently down a steep

some liberty to range and tempt men to
sin, and the latter are kept in the "place
of departed spirits " against that last
day. Some of these evil spirits are, by
a new school of interpreters, thought to
have been the souls of wicked men. The
devils are in great fear of Jesus, lest he
should at once increase their punish
ment. 30, A herd of swine. This was an
unclean beast, according to the law of
the Jews (Lev. xi. 7; Deut. xiv. 8), and
an image of abominable sin. Is. lxv. 4
If, therefore, this herd of two thousand
swine (Mk. v. 13) was owned or kept
by Jewish owners, it was an act of
Divine justice to suffer their destruc
tion. 33. They that kept them fled. The
keepers were probably not the owners.
They flee at the sight of this destruction
of their charge, and tell all to the people
of the city. This is the only recorded
miracle of our Lord which was attended
with the loss of property. What m.ny
have been the reason of His permission
in this case, we can only conjecture.
We have no reason to doubt for one
moment but that there was a good one,
one fully satisfying the minds of His
disciples. Otherwise, if it seemed for a
moment strange, they would have taken
note of the reason, as they often did in
other cases of doubt. John ii. 17, 21.
When, therefore, we have every reason
to feel that a perfectly good cause for
this action existed, we must not look to
our imagined reasons as absolutely
necessary. They are gratuitous. Jesus
may have had other intentions than we
can now imagine. If we knew them,
we woum see the mercy of even this
permission. We dp not know them —
we must therefore beheve in them.

place into the sea, and perished
in the waters.
33 And they that kept them,
fled, and went their ways into
the city, and told every thing;
and what was befallen to the
possessed of the devils.
34 And behold, the whole city

Faith begins where knowledge ends.
God often suffers ruin to befall property
and life, by storm, hurricane, shipwreck,
war, &c. It is His prerogative. This
may be a proof to us of the like claim
in Jesus. The swine may have been
held by Jews, or have been a constant
temptation to them, and a cause of
vexation and sin. He punishes, then,
the guilty owners. Or why may not
the possessed have been the owners, and
the loss made the price of their cure.
Or it may have been to set before the
people of the country the great truth of
the Gospel, ,the mercy of God, the evil
of sin in striking and memorable signs.
The men are cured and found clothed
and sitting in their right minds. The
devils, who had so long ruled in their
land, were evidently driven out of it,
causing destruction even to the last.
What could preach louder to them than
these actions ? No other mode of ex
pelling the demons could have so clearly
shown, 1. Their malice ; 2. Their ac
tual departure. We may read one les
son from the spirits entering the swine,
which is now useful, namely, the reality
of such possessions. Had the men been
mad, or subject to epileptic or other fits,
as the rationalists of this day do vainly
talk, the disease could in no way have
passed into the swine and caused such
results. Being devils, they could pass,
and they proved their presence by actu
ally entering into brute beasts. Says Dr.
Doddridge : " Christ could not have
encouraged the notion of real pos-
session more than by His conduct on
this occasion ; and it is highly probable
that this extraordinary occurrence was
permitted chiefly to prove the reality of
these possessions." It seems very cer
tain that only an overwillingness to find

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

109

came out to meet Jesus : and
when they saw him, they besought
him that he would depart" out of
their coasts. o Job 21. 14; Acts 16. 89.
fault, or a secret sympathy for the
swine above men, can incline one to
find fault with the act. The wretched
Gentiles seem to have taken this view,
and to have manifested a swinish dispo
sition in taking no note of their coun
trymen who were restored to them, in
their alarm for their herds. Jesus
proved by this miracle that he had the
same power in every land. It was an
opinion of that day that such powers
were limited to certain districts. See
Numb, xxiii. 13, 27. It may have been
one reason for this passage of the sea,
that Jesus desired to disabuse the minds
of His disciples of this error, and to
make it manifest to them that He had
power to bless the Gentiles equally as
the Jews.
34. The whole city. Of Gadara (Luke
viii. 37), to which the swineherds had
fled. All the people of the city. They
were curious to see Him, angry at their
loss, yet convinced of the miracle, they
dared only to beg His departure. We
need no greater proof of the utter un
worthiness and stupidity of these citi
zens. They preferred their swine to
the blessed conquest over the demons —
their wretched gains to the presence of
One so mighty to do good, ff Out of
their coasts. Their country. They
were in great fear. Luke viii 37. This
was probably the stratagem of the
wicked spirits, and the cause of their
wish to be sent into the swine. Often
men are prejudiced against the gospel
by some false fear which they have
conceived. They imagine some evil,
some dreadful thing to happen in
seeking its ways, and therefore put
away from them its blessings. This
event teaches us also that avarice and
piety are incompatible. " The love of
money is the root of -all evil." 1 Tim.
vi. 10. It cannot flourish in a Chris
tian's heart, without choking the good
seed and making it barren and unfruit
ful. Matt. xiii. %•>. -

CHAPTER IX.
AND he entered into a ship,
and passed over, and came.
into his own city.

We have in this chapter an epitome
as it were of the miracles of Christ.
They are not related in the very order
of their occurrence, but are brought
together as specimens only of His
modes of showing mercy to men. , First
there is a power manifested over an
incurable disease which was present
before Him — next, over an absent case
as fatal, and more imminent. First
He grants mercy to the humble prayer
and faith of the sufferer, touches him
by an act of healing, as gentle as it is
sublime. Next He grants the cure to
the humble, earnest prayer of a master
for one who is at a distance. Again
He raises a sick relative of a disciple,
as it were of His own will, in order to
bless a friend. Then He is shown tri
umphing over the complicated ills of
humanity, healing all infirmities and
sorrows. The scene changes, and He
commands the tremendous agencies of
nature, the stormy wind and raging
sea, and they sink abashed before Him.
And lastly He shows His power over
the wildest, fiercest demons, which seem
to have raged with their greatest power
over the guilty and depraved heathen
who lived beyond the limits of the holy
land. Yet, alas ! the chapter ends with
an instance of the weakness and folly
of man. He is rejected after ah, and a
few trifling possessions, a love of the
things of this hfe, are valued above the
richest blessings of this heavenly visitor.
CHAPTER IX.
1. Passed over. He yielded to the
wish of the Gadarenes. He visited
them no more. When Satan and men
combine, they can reject the Lord
.Jesus, and secure their eternal destruc
tion. Rev. ii 5. ff His own city. Ca
pernaum. It became His residence
after leaving Nazareth (Matt. iv. 13),
for about two years (Mark ii. 1), until
He departed to spend the latter portion
of His ministry in or near the land of
Judea. He went to Jerusalem three

110

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

2 And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying

times a year to the great feasts, but
Galilee was the place of His abode.
2. Sick of the palsy. See note ch.
iv. 24 ; St. Mark ii 1-12, and St. Luke
v. 17-26. ff Lying on a bed. On a small
mattress, or perhaps only a few blank
ets, by which the sick man could be
more easily transported. It was light,
for he afterwards takes it up and car
ries it away with him. ff Seeing their
faith. He saw their faith by the works
they did. They came to the house,
which was crowded, and they could not
get in through the crowd of listeners.
Without hesitation, they carry the man
up to the roof, which was flat, remove
the tiling, and with cords, let him
down through it into the immediate
presence of Jesus. Mark ii. 4 ; Luke
v. 19. It was a novel and bold act.
The sick man looks to Jesus inquir
ingly, perhaps abashed at the action.
Henoe Jesus begins with a sentence of
pardon of his sins, before He heals
him. Doubtless He saw in the man
some peculiar signs of penitence, or
knew that he had mourned over the
sins which had caused his punishment,
or He would not have spoken the free
pardon that He did.
The Eastern houses differ in many
respects from any which we see in our
own land. See note ch. xxvi. 56. The
climate is hot, and the government so
ill able to repress violence, or so apt to
promote it by their own officers, that
the Orientals have always built their
houses with the two objects in view of
safety and coolness. Hence they are
built in a quadrangle around a square
court. The outer walls are made very
strong, and sometimes with only a small
window toward the street, over the
chief entrance, sometimes with no other
communication than the door and roof.
On the inner side the houses are more
open. They are of one story, with flat
roofs, and are entered from the street,
on one side of the square, by a main
entrance, secured by a strong door.
Sometimes a smaller door or gate is
built in this, to be used in general by
the family. The rooms, which are

usually one on each side of the quad
rangle, open into the court, a flight of
stairs leads up to the roof, on which the
family frequently assembles in the even
ings of summer, often sleeping there.
They are used for prayer and meditation.
Acts x. 9. A parapet runs around it to
prevent falling. In extremely hot weather
the centre court is sometimes covered
over, by canvass or otherwise. Some think
that it was this canvass or temporary
roof, which these men removed. But
St. Luke speaks distinctly of the tiling,
by which we mean a permanent roof.
Besides this, if the men could get up to
the roof at all, and Jesus had been
sitting in the court, they could doubtless
have attracted His attention below. But
He was in one of the rooms. They can
not pass the door. They go up the
sfairs, to the roof over Him, aud making
an entrance large enough, succeed in
bringing their sick friend into His
presence. He saw their faith by their
deeds, and to manifest His approval of
their zeal, and to bless the deeper,
though silent aspirations of the para
lytic, as also to confound the proud
hearers present, He begins with a title
of endearment, Son, and a pledge of
peace, Son, thy sins — sins known by
thee — which brought on this affliction,
and for which I know you have now
sorrowed — be forgiven thee. As much
as the soul is better than the body, it is
so far a better and greater miracle to
forgive the sins of the soul, than to heal
the sickness of the body. But as the
former is not visible to the eyes of men,
He heals his malady, in order to make
the greater miracle perceptible. The
miracles as related by St. Matthew, rise
one upon the other in import and
dignity, ff Be of good cheer. Do not
despair of mercy ; or be not alarmed,
although yon see the eyes of these
proud men turned threateningly upon
you. ff Thy sins be forgiven thee. There
was a large company of subtle and
learned Jews present. The man was
abashed at the boldness of his intrusion,
and the knowledge of his guiltly life
before this. The sentence is intended

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

Ill

on a bed : and Jesus, seeing their
faith, said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, be of good cheer ;
thy sins be forgiven thee.

3 And behold, certain of the
scribes said within themselves,
This man blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus," knowing their
oPslS9. 2; John 2. 24, 25.

to cheer him, and first remove the
radical cause of his disease ; as also to
assert to him and others present, that
Christ could forgive the sins of men. It
was a belief of the Jews, justified in
part by many passages of Scripture,
that diseases were the punishments of
sin. We know this to be often true
now. Violent and indulged passions may
shock the nervous system, and produce
the first seeds or causes of palsy. Sudden
anger has often caused apoplexy.
Drunkenness ruins the system and in
duces disease and death. Prov. xxiii.
29-35. Lechery will destroy the body
as well as the soul. Prov. vii. 22, 23.
The book of Job is a series of conver
sations concerning this very subject,
whether such afflictions as Job's were
always the punishments of great sins.
Deut. xxviii. 20, 21 ; 2 Sam. xii. 13 ;
xxiv. 13 ; 2 Chron. vii. 14 ; Isa xxxiii.
24 ; and 1 Cor. xi. 30, and James v.
15. This man may have been a great
sinner, and by some violent act of sin,
may have, evidently to himself and
others, been visited by God in punish
ment. It was necessary, therefore,
for Jesus to remove first, the causes of
his palsy, namely the gufit of sin, and
thus to prepare the way to a cure,
Otherwise the man may have lost the
impression, that if he continued in
the same sins, they would recall his
guilt, and thereby his malady. His
health became, as it were, a constant
reminder to him, to sin no more, lest a
worse thing should come upon him,
Our Lord also asserts, which probably
has caused this insertion of the miracle
in this place, that the forgiveness of
sins was now to be committed to Him
as man, that is ministerially, that He
might organize the constant means of
forgiveness for all mankind. And
though the hearers thought that He
blasphemed, i e., that He arrogated
falsely a power of God, Jesus leaves
them to think this of Him, and works

the miracle to prove His assertion. The
miracle establishes two important doc
trines. 1. That He was God, for He
forgives sins judicially, in His own
name alone, which power belongs to
God alone. 2. That to Him, as man,
this power was committed for its minis
tration. From both these doctrines result
a vast portion of Christian faith and
practice. From the former we beheve
that our sins are truly pardoned ; from
the latter we receive the signs and seals
of it for our daily encouragement.
3. Blasphemeth. This was a serious
charge, for the crime was punishable
by death. Lev. xxiv. 16. The Jews
attempted to convict Jesus of it at the
last, and make it a plea for destroy
ing Him. See notes ch. xxvi. 65. To
blaspheme in the Scripture sense, de
notes improper and unworthy speeches
against God, His attributes, works or
temple ; to ascribe to God the weak
nesses of men, or to attribute to men
the perfections and operations of God.
It is here used in the latter sense. If
Jesus had not been God, it would have
been a true charge. If He had been
only a man, it is impossible to con
ceive that a "jealous God " could have
suffered Him to cure a palsy, with the
express object of proving that He was
thus " equal with God " in the right to
forgive sins. How could they — how can
any now beheve the Scriptures, and
hesitate to fall down and kneel before
" God manifest in the flesh ! " To for
give sins belongs to God alone. Is.
xliii. 25 ; xliv. 24. Against Him have
we offended, and to Him alone we must
go for pardon. Whatever ministrations
may be established for certain ends,
" to God only it appertaineth to forgive
sins." Christ is therefore truly the
Son of God, since he has claimed this
unlimited power, and proved His right
by a miracle. See Mark ii 7.
4. Knowing their thoughts. This is a
second miraculous or divine gift. Mark

112

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

thoughts, said, Wherefore think
ye evil in your hearts ?
5 For whether is easier to say,
Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to
say, Arise, and walk ?
6 But that ye may know that
the Son of man6 hath power on
earth to forgive sins, (then saith
he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise,
a Acts 5. 81 ; 18. 88 ; Eph. 1. 7.

take up thy bed, and go unto
thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed
to his house.
8 But when the multitude saw
it, they marvelled, and glorified
God, which had given such power
unto men.
9 Tf And as Jesus passed forth

says, " Jesus perceived in His spirit that
they so reasoned within themselves."
He shows them by this supernatural
knowledge of their own unuttered
thoughts, that He had before spoken to
the sick person, "knowing what was
in man," and with authority. This
knowledge was purely divine. 1 Chron.
xxviii 9 ; Ps, cxxxix. 7, &c. ; Rom.
viii. 27 ; Rev. ii. 23.
6. Power on earth. He says, the
Son of Man, which words imply His
Messianic nature, God and man. He
claims this power on earth, since God
had sent Him to be the source and
means of forgiveness and salvation to
all mankind. Acts ii. 38 ; x. 43 ; xiii.
38 ; Col. i. 14. This power He exer
cised in forgiving men and releasing
them from the temporal punishment of
sin, while in His humiliation on this
earth. Lu. xxiii. 34 ; vii. 47. After
His Atonement on the cross and Ascen
sion into heaven, He gave the richer
gifts of spiritual release from all guilt,
and absolute sanctification of the soui
ff Take up thy bed, Sec. This action
proved that the cure was perfect. As.
the man had been a subject of faith
in being brought to Him, he must now
give proof of obedience by departing to
his home.
8. Glorified God. That is, they prais
ed Him in words, they spoke to each
other of His wonderful gift, and de
voutly honored His mercy. They were
mostly struck by the miracle done in
the body of the paralytic, ff Such
power unto men. Their ideas were er
roneous and imperfect, but they had a
glimpse of the wonderful work and
mission of Jesus. The scribes were

silent and hardened themselves in their
doubts. "The sight of Christ's -mira
cles is not sufficient to work faith in
the soul, but requires the concurring
operaf on of the Holy Spirit ; the one
may make us marvel, the other must
make us believe." — Burkitt. We some
times imagine falsely that if we had
lived in those days and seen the mira
cles of Jesus, we would have found it
easy to believe in Him, easy to realize
His power and grace in the soul. But
we may take warning from this and
like instances, and be sure that our op
portunities of faith are not inferior now
to theirs. If we will submit to Jesus
and believe in Him, we may.
9. The receipt of custom. The place
of receiving custom; the toll-house.
He was a toll-collector or publican.
See Note ch. v. 47, and Introduction to
this Gospel. St. Mark ii. 14, and St.
Luke v. 27, 28, call him Levi It was
common among the Jews for a man to
have two names. Peter was also called
Simon and Cephas, and Lebbeus had a
surname Thaddaeus. He collected toll
of those crossing the lake, or possibly a
tax on the vessels of the port. It was
by the "sea-side" that Jesus found
him. ff Arose and followed him. Mat
thew was the writer of this Gospei
How unselfish the spirit in which he
speaks of himself. He does not stop to
mention, as St Luke has done of him,
that " he left all " to follow Christ. St.
Matthew must have known Jesus, whose
abode was at this time in Capernaum.
He differed from other publicans, who
were notoriously cruel and avaricious ;
otherwise his extortions would have
hindered his immediate obedience. He

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

118

from thence, he saw a man named
Matthew, sitting at the receipt
of custom : and he saith unto him,
Follow me. And he arose, and
followed him.

left all ; but he could leave it, since he
left no wrongs or exactions to be re
paired, no dishonesty to be made good
by refunding what he had unrighteously
taken. Some are willing to leave all,
when their all is very little. They must
also make reparation, before they can
be safe. There were some honest pub
licans : Zaccheus and St. Matthew. He
was prepared by this honesty, and also
by some knowledge of Jesus, to follow
Him. We are not to suppose that he
began to follow Christ with clear spir
itual ideas of His work ; for we repeat,
that till the last appearance of Jesus
to them, the disciples desired and dream
ed only of a temporal kingdom (Acts i.
6) ; enough that from obedience in the
first instance, he arrived at the illu
mination of tho Pentecost in the sequel.
Thus, while we obey, we are on the way
to knowledge and grace, above all that
we either desire or deserve. Let us
pray God " to grant us grace to forsake
all covetous desires and inordinate love
of riches, and to follow His Son Jesus
Christ wheresoever he may lead us."
See Collect for St. Matthew's day, Sep
tember 21. Many a Christian can look
back with wonder at the httle faith with
which he began his Christian course,
and behold in his own chequered life the
marvellous leadings of the Holy Spirit,
by which he has been gradually made
wise unto salvation.
lo. In the house. St. Matthew does
not mention that he himself was the
giver of this feast. Lu. v. 29. It is a
grace sometimes to forget ourselves.
Oh. vi.3. ff Sat at meat. The original
is, while tliey were reclining ; that is, on
the couches around a table at the feast.
The Jews did not sit at their feasts, but
reclined on couches around a table,
shaped after the manner of the three
sides of a square, and called a Tri-
cliuuin. ff Publicans and sinners. No
toriously low and despised people. The

10 If And h came to pass, as
Jesus sat at meat in the house,
behold, many publicans and sin
ners came and sat down with him
and his disciples.

word sinners means a class of people,
such as were impious and profane ; such
as did not obey all the traditions of the
Pharisees, nor attend to the fulfilment
of the duties and sacrifices of the Tem
ple. The Hebrew word which corres
ponds to the English sinners, means
persons careless of religion and more or
less of a profligate life. Ps. i. 1. They
were men really sinners, yet little cared
for by others, Publicans were also sin
ners. Theocritus, a heathen writer,
in one sentence shows their standing.
He says that " bears and Rons were the
most savage beasts in the mountains,
but in the cities publicans and syco
phants." The strict Jew would not be
seen eating with such men. Acts x. 28.
In one sense all men are sinners ; but
here the word means those who openly
and wilfully break the laws of religion,
or lawless men. There are many in all
age£ who are not found in this class.
11. Why, Sj-c. To partake of then-
hospitality implied friendship for them,
and was a pollution in the view of the
Jews. They often blamed Jesus for
this condescension, as something strange
and outrageous. See in Luke xviii. 10,
the true picture of the pride of the
Pharisees. They put this question to
the disciples, perhaps to shame and
perplex them. They may have feared
to ask Jesus; or -they may not have
dared to show the multitude their con
tempt of them. They fancied them
selves infinitely removed from all such
persons, and, in their spiritual pride
could not explain the conduct of Jesus.
12. They that be whole, frc. He came
to save all sinners who would repent.
It was necessary that He should go
among them, especially among such as
from their poverty and despised condi
tion, were overlooked by their appointed
teachers. The physician must visit the
sick, even when he may have reason to
fear contagious diseases, and the phy-

114

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

11 And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples,
Why eateth your Master with
publicans" and sinners ?
12 But when Jesus heard that,
aLu. 7. 34, 37, 89; Gal. 2. 15.

sician of souls must not fear such
opinions of evil minded men, when
seeking to " save them that are lost."
The Pharisees were by no means whole.
They were unsound in faith and practice,
but they had the art to seem righteous.
Ch. xxiii. 29. They thought that
Jesus could do nothing for them, to
make them holier. Hence He tells
them that according to their own esti
mate of men, they ought not to wonder
that He should go to such as needed
religious instruction. The reader may
be warned here, that the comparison
which is made so often in the gospels of
whole and sick, righteous and sinners,
is not in the strict meaning of these
words, as abstractly defined, but as
they are used in every day life. In the
former sense none are whole or righteous ;
in the latter, Zacharias and his wife
(Luke i. 6), Simeon (Luke ii. 25),
Joseph the counsellor (Lu. xxiii. 50),
and others were righteous persons.
There were some Jews, hke Zacharias
and Timothy, needing spiritual enlight
enment and Christian regeneration, who
would still have need only to walk as
holily under new light as they had
done under the former dispensation, to
obtain salvation. Mark vi. 20 ; ii. 17.
Says Bp. Tomline, " The word sinners,
in this text, imports such persons as
live in the customary practice of sin, so
that the tenor of their lives is wicked,
and who are therefore to be called to
that repentance, which consists in the
change of their lives from the service of
sin to holiness : and therefore, by the
righteous, we are not to understand
those who are entirely free from sin —
for in this sense there is not a righteous
man on the earth — but those who are
truly and sincerely righteous, have truly
reformed their lives, carefully endeavor
to abstain from all known sins, and set
themselves sincerely to the performance

he said unto them, They that be
whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what
that meaneth, I6 will have mercy,
b Hos. 6. 6.

of their whole duty, both to God and
man : and so are righteous and accepta
ble in the sight of God."
13. But go, Sec. The words cited are
from the prophet Hosea vi. 6. They
mean that, when the two things are to
be compared, or are in any instance
opposed, God prefers, the spiritual prin
ciples of love and good will, here called
mercy, before the positive precepts, or
external acts of worship. Preceptive
religion is not an end, but a means to
spiritual, and is inferior to it. In the
rare cases where a moral duty is
clearly incompatible with a precept,
He prefers the former. David and his
company ate the sacred bread of the
temple, which only priests were allowed
to eat, in a case when that food was to
keep them from starving. Ch. xii. 4.
The Jews in the time of the Maccabees
were compelled, against their first con
victions to adopt the resolution to fight
a battle, if they should be attacked by
the heathen on the Sabbath day. 1
Maccabees ii. 41. Sacrifices were the
beasts slain by the priests, and offered
on the altar to God. They were strictly
commanded by Jehovah. Yet David
saw in the spirit, that God loved the
service of the heart, and meant to pro
mote it by means of the sacrifices. Ps.
Ii. 16, 17 ; Is. i. 11-18. But when the
precepts of religion, appointed for a
certain end, or for external service, do
not contravene the moral duties, they
are by no means to be set aside for any
plea of conscience. External worship,
in its own place and time, is as neces
sary as spiritual worship. Without the
spirit of obedience and truth, it is
mockery ; with it, is useful and blessed.
ff Not come to call, Src. He came of
course, to call all, both righteous and
sinners, all classes of people, to a new
spiritual kingdom, by repentance. But to
repentance specially, i. e. to a plain, pub-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

115

and not sacrifice ; for I am not
come to call the "righteous, but
sinnners to repentance.
14 T Then came to him the
a Acts 10. 22; 8.86, 87.

he, turning from the error of their ways,
their immorality, vice and irreligion,
He called especially such men as He
was then in company with. All men
are to be converted. Those who are
openly profane, are to turn from their
sins at once. The change must be
marked. All who are moral must still
repent of their sins against conscience
and God, and seek for pardon.
14. Fast oft. See Mark ii. 18-22;
Luke v. 33-39. They fasted twice in
the week, on Mondays and Thurs
days. Luke xviii. 12. Besides they
observed the national fasts four times
in the year. Zech. viii. 19. See note
ch. vi. 16. John the Baptist was at
this time in prison. He was a prophet,
and had come to perform a special mis
sion. His teachings and life therefore,
in all respects, were those of a pious
Jew. He had no right to change any
of the customs of Moses, nor is it at all
likely that he had any notion of the
great change which would be made in
those customs by the Messiah. There
fore his disciples were taught to obey
the usual customs and precepts of the
Old Testament. They did as pious
Jews should have done ; obeyed the
laws and prevalent customs of the na
tion as they found them. Knowing,
however, that Christ had been pointed
out as a messenger from God, they
could not discover why He should ne
glect a practice so proper for pious
persons. And grieved by the absence
and imprisonment of their prophet,
they felt hurt "at a change which they
knew not how to justify to others.
John had come "neither eating nor
drinking ; " that is, he practised all the
asceticism of a severely pious prophet.
Jesus came in a different manner. He
lived as other men, mingled with them
in their daily life, and disregarded those
peculiar customs which He was so soon
to abrogate. It may have been a fast

disciples of John, saying, Why
do we and the Pharisees fast oft,
but thy disciples fast not ?
15 And Jesus said unto them,

day on which this feast had been made.
If so these followers of the stern prophet
may have implied a complaint in their
question— that such men as were then
with Jesus, would learn to despise the
custom of fasting, and think lightly of
so good a man as John, who had prac
tised it. How gentle and satisfactory
is the explanation made to them. Those
illustrations teach them the intention
of Jesus, an intention which at that
date was hardly conceivable by any of
the Jews ; that Christ came to put away
the ceremonial observances of Moses,,
and to begin a new dispensation. He
says nothing against fasting. He fore
tells that it would still be observed in
His kingdom. Only He would change
the face of things, so that Christians
should have other reasons for it, and
fast on other grounds than they did.
The Pharisees for the nonce make com
mon cause with the disciples of John,
in this question. They were all rigid
observers of Jewish customs.
15. Children of the bridechamber.
These were the attendants upon the
bridegroom, and his particular friends.
A Jewish wedding lasted for seven
days, during which ah gave themselves
up to joy and feasting. Jesus was to
them all and more, than a bridegroom
could be to his friends. They had
greater reasons to rejoice in His pres
ence. And as Christian fasts could
only be on grounds of mourning pecu
liar to Christians mourning for the
absence of their Lord, those grounds
could only appear after He had left
them. As they fasted twice a week,
on Thursday to commemorate the day
when Moses went up on Mount Sinai :
and on Monday, in memory of his com
ing down — thus recalling their reasons
for honoring the Law, so Christians
would yet fast on Wednesday, the day
when Jesus was betrayed, and on Fri
day, the day when He was crucified.

116

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

Can the children of the bride-
chamber mourn, as long as the
bridegroom is with them ? but
the" days will come, when the

a John 8. 29.

But they could not fast while He was
with them. He was greater than Moses,
and His presence must forbid fasts.
ff Then will they fast. The practice
could not be more a duty, if He had
said — then shall they fast, for He de
clares what He expected, which is in
this case the same as saying that He
wished it. It is in vain to seek to es
cape from the clear inference that
Christians ought to show this honor
to their absent master. Notice that
the word mourn is used as meaning the
same as fast. It is the reason for fast
ing. Mourning for sin and for the
widowhood of the Church, is a sufficient
reason for the custom. See note ch.
vi. 16-18. The great occupation of
fast days should be meditations on
Christ and His sufferings, sorrow for
sin, prayers for pardon and the safety
and prosperity of the Church, and the
return of the bridegroom.
16. New cloth. New cloth was that
which had not been properly dressed
and finished, ff it should be put into
an old garment, it would look unseemly,
would shrink and tear away from the
other, so making the rent worse than
before. The old garment was the Jewish
system — then waxed " old and ready to
vanish away." Heb. viii. 13. The new
piece represented the Gospel, which
could not be adapted to the Jewish dis
pensation, going as it did on other prin
ciples, and filling a wider space. The
very disciples tried long to adapt the
two, until the Spirit of God taught them
the true meaning of the latter. Acts xi.
18. The whole life and labors of St.
Paul were given to the work of resisting
the attempt to make Christianity sub
serve Judaism. The epistles to Rome
and Galatia are filled with remon
strances against it. Rom. iii 21, 22;
Gnl. ii. 16. Or it may mean that Jesus
would not impose on the disciples, who
were yet but weak in faith, and but

bridegroom shall be taken from
them, and then shall they fast.
16 No man putteth a piece of
new' cloth unto an old garment :
fi or, raw or unwrought cloth.

partially informed, any severe and self-
denying regulations. He would wait till
they were ready for this, through grace.
17. Old bottles. Bottles in the east,
and still in the rocky isle of Madeira,
are made of the whole skin of a goat or
sheep. It was taken off entire, and
carefully prepared. Uncouth as it may
seem to us, these leathern bottles are ad
mirably fitted for their use. The Ori
entals have no other mode of trans
porting wines and other liquids across
the deserts of the east, but the camei
and its rough jolting gait would soon
break in pieces any other substance. In
Madeira, the wine is raised on the httle
clefts and terraces of the precipitous
mountains, and must be borne over the
rocky paths on the shoulders of men.
These bottles are of course soon relaxed
and weakened. If new wine should be
put in them in this state, it bursts them
by its fermenting. To withstand the
power of the fermentation, new and
strong skins must be employed. Josh.
ix. 4 ; Job. xxxii. 19 ; Ps. cxix, 83.
How apt is this illustration to the sub
ject. How powerfully did the Gospel
resist the attempts to confine it to the
limits of the Judaical system. The
Jews themselves used this figure of its
power. Acts ii. 13. It sprang up in
the midst of Judaism, but before a gene
ration passed, it had burst its feeble
bonds, and been borne to the most dis
tant nations of the world. The pre
ceding verses, 9-13, are selected by our
ritual for the twenty-first of September,
the feast of St. Matthew. It contains
his call, and teaches us the humanizing
spirit of the Gospel. The blessed pro
mise of salvation condescends to men
of low estate, mingles with their daily
thoughts, and gives them a sense of a
newer and better life. St. Matthew is
worthy of remembrance. He was self-
denying, humble, attentive and faithful.
Though he has written the life of his

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

117

for that which is put in to fill it
up, taketh from the garment, and
the rent is made worse.
17 Neither do men put new
wine into old" bottles : else the
bottles break, and the wine run
neth out, and the bottles 6perish :
but they put new wine into new
bottles, and both are preserved.
18 If " While he spake these
a Josh. 9. 4 b Gal. 5. 12.

Master, he has found no historian to
teU us the events of his own life — con
tent apparently to think that his name
was enrolled in the Lamb's Book of
Life. The little which is known of him
is recorded in the Introduction. See
too ch. x. 3 ; Mk. ii. 14, 15 ; iii. 18 ;
Lu. v. 28 ; Acts i. 13. How weak and
poor a thing is human fame, when it
could preserve so little of the lives of.
twelve men, who carried to all lands
the boon of the Gospel.
18. A certain ruler. Jairus a ruler
of the synagogue. See Mk. v. 22 ; Lu.
viii. 41. He was one of the principal
men of his synagogue. See note, ch.
v. 22. ff My daughter is even now dead.
He also said that she was at the point to
die, as St. Mark and St. Luke have re
corded it. The Evangelists agree per
fectly with each other, as the event
shows, although one has recorded one ex
clamation, and two have given another.
A man in such great distress would ex
press himself by both phrases, " Sir, my
daughter is dying — I left her just ex
piring ; I know that she must be even
now dead, though I have hastened to
find you." The ruler being a Jew, had
two instances in his own Scriptures to
justify his request. 1 Kings xvii. 17-23 ;
2 Kings iv. 32-37. Elijah and Elisha
had recalled by prayer the spirits of
two young children ; and in both cases,
they joined with their prayers, the act
of putting their hands upon them. He
thought therefore that Jesus could do
the same, and thought it necessary that
He too should lay His hand upon her
to bring her to life. St. Luke says that
she was an only daughter, and was

things unto them, behold, there
came a certain ruler, and wor
shipped him, saying, My daugh
ter is even now dead : but come
and lay thy hand upon her, and
she shall live.
19 And Jesus arose, and fol
lowed him, and so did his disci
ples. 20 "If And behold, a woman
a Mark 5. 22 ; Lu. 8. 41.

twelve years of age. ff And she shall
live. This was his faith, Jesus, who
could have spoken the word as He had
before done, is guided by the faith of
this pious Jew, and condescends to fol
low without a comment the examples
of the ancient prophets.
20. A woman, &c. This disease was
pronounced unclean by the Levitical law.
Lev. xv. 25. Every thing which she
touched was made unclean. It was
therefore a brave act in her, a venture
of large affection aud trust in the mercy
of Jesus, to touch the uttermost edge of
the garment of a prophet. Had she not
believed, it would merit a worse name.
She touches not His person, but is con
tent to touch the extremity of His robe.
Her faith is humble and discreet, as v, ell
as brave. It was her only chance, for
she in vain had spent all her property in
seeking a cure. Something she thought
would be pardoned in a desperate cour
age, ff The hem of His garment. This
was an outer garment or cloak, worn
loosely over the shoulders. See Note ch.
v. 38. The fringe of it was a Jewish
badge of distinction, to mark them as
separate from the Gentiles, which the
Jews were commanded to wear. Numb.
xv. 38 ; Deut. xxii. 12. The touch was
no sooner made than she was cured.
Mk. v. 39 ; Lu. viii. 44.
22. When He saw her. The other
Evangehsts relate other particulars.
Jesus asked who touched him ; the dis
ciples wonder at the question ; the wo
man, fearing and trembling, comes
forward and tells him the truth. Hence
the words " be of good comfort," as a,
mark of pardon for what had seemed too

118

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

which was diseased with an issue
of blood twelve years, came be
hind him, and touched the hem
of his garment.
21 For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment,
I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about,
and when he saw her, he said,

daring. Faith may often venture with
a Saviour. He calls her daughter, a term
of affection. She had not suffered the
twelve long weary years for naught,
when they brought her at last to receive
a Saviour's comforting.
23. The minstrels, &c. These were in
the court and lower rooms ; the corpse
being usually laid out in the upper cham
ber. Minstrels or pipers and hired
mourners were commonly employed in
the East, to chant mournful dirges
around the dead, and recite their praises,
their virtues, and the events of their
lives. In all simple and imaginative
nations, their passions manifest them
selves more in expressive actions than
among the people of Saxon descent.
Even the Africans of the Southern States
spend the night with a corpse of one
of their own color in chants and hymns,
and follow it in the same manner to the
grave at early dawn. The ancient Pa
gans used violent and cruel rites at such
a time. They cut themselves, tore out
their hair, made loud lamentations.
Jer. ix. 17 ; xvi. 6, 7 ; Ezek. xxiv. 17.
They hired others to wail over their
dead. Amos v. 16 ; Lev. ix. 20. The
Jews were forbidden to do violence to
their persews. Lev. xix. 28 ; Deut. xiv.
1. They had recourse to many ways of
expressing grief. See Job i. 20 ; ii. 12 ;
2 Sam. i. 2-4 ; xiv. 2 ; xv. 30. Though
these rites seem unworthy to us, our
silence and self-control would doubtless
appear heartless to them. National
customs will always differ, yet nature
remain the same. It was natural for
the Orientals to employ persons to chant
dirges and lamentations over their dead.
34. Bui sleepeth. Saith St. Jerome,

Daughter, be of good comfort :
thy faith" hath made thee whole.
And the woman was made whole
from that hour.
23 And when Jesus came into
the ruler's house, and saw the
minstrels and the people making
a noise, 24 He said nnto them, Give
oLu. 7. 50; 17.19; 18.42.
" mortua est vobis, Mihi dormit." To
you she is dead, to Me she only sleeps.
The damsel was truly dead, that is,
life was extinct. The same language
is used, John xi. 11, " Our friend Laz
arus sleepeth," — and the sacred writers
use the same word to express the state
of the departed. Acts vii. 60 ; 2 Pet.
iii. 4 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6-18 ; 1 Thess. xiv.
13-15. It is thought by some that Je
sus means to imply a special and sin
gular circumstance of these cases,
which He recalled to life, and to inti
mate that their souls were preserved in
transition, till He should recall them.
But why then do the apostles use the
same word of all the pious dead ? They
would have it that she slept, in the
sense that she would awake after the
usual time of a sleep. But Lazarus
had been ieaifour days, and decay had
begun its work. Again, the Jesuits at
tempt to fix on Christ their dangerous
doctrine of mental reservation, as if He
had reserved His meaning thus : "She
sleeps — in respect of My power." Would
that they made no worse use of their
pernicious dogma of reserve. It seems
best therefore to consider the word as
used by analogy, for the usual condi
tion of the departed. " They rest from
their labors.'' They sleep as to the
cares and temptations which vexed
them here. They are with Christ in
joy and felicity, being delivered from
the burden of the flesh ; and in a calm
tranquillity their bodiless spirits await
their perfect consummation and bliss
both in body and soul, in eternal and
everlasting glory. And if we bear in
mind that they do not go at once into
this resurrection-state, we will feel no

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IX.

119

place : for the maid is not dead,
but sleepeth." And they laughed
him to scorn.
25 But when the people were
put forth, he went in, and took
her by the6 hand, and the maid
arose. 26 And the fame hereof went
abroad into all that land.
27 If And when Jesus departed
a Acts 20. 10. b 2 Kings 4. 34.

difficulty in their being recalled to life.
Let us guard against another error.
This maid, the widow's son, Lazarus,
and " the bodies of many saints which
slept," and which arose after the cruci
fixion, were only revivified, or recalled to
this life — not raised to that eternal life
which knows no after decay. They
all died again. Jesus rose by the true
resurrection, "the first fruits of the
dead." No mortals have yet risen in
that spiritual body, like unto His glo
rious body, of which the fifteenth chap
ter of 1 Corinthians Speaks. See Acts
ii 34 ; Heb. xi. 39, 40.
25. Put forth. He admitted only
the parents of the girl with the three
disciples, Peter, James and John. Mark
v. 37-40. The same disciples after
wards were with him in the mount of
¦Transfiguration, when His glory ap
peared (Mark ix. 2 ; 2 Peter i. 16, 18),
and in Gethsemane. Mark xiv. 33.
These five were sufficient as witnesses
of the mode and fact of His recalling the
damsel to life. When she appeared
again ahve, others would be compelled
to believe that she had been truly dead ;
and likewise, that she, as far as the
power of Christ was concerned, was at
the time truly asleep. The miracle as
sures us that the declaration of Christ
is true, that we also shall only be as
men asleep; that we shall start into
life when He " shall descend from hea
ven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of
God." 1 Thess. iv. 16. See John xi. 25,
26. The spirits of the departed, how
ever, sleep to the troubles and anxiety
of this life only. They have an entire

thence, two blind men followed
him, crying, and saying, Thou
son" of David, have mercy on us.
28 And when he was come into
the house, the blind men came
to him : and Jesus saith unto
them, Believe ye that I am able
to do this ? They said unto him,
Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes,
b Ch. 15, 22, and 20, 30, 81.

consciousness of the great facts of the
spiritual world, They are either re
joicing in hope of future reward, or
kept in chains of darkness against the
future day of punishment. They en
joy the bliss which a more peculiar
presence of Christ gives, or suffer the
agony of despair. St. Paul intimates
(Heb. xii. 1) that they behold and sym
pathize with the saints who are strug
gling on earth to join them.
27. Son of David. Thus follows, link
on link, the chain of miracles ; palsy,
uncleanness, death, blindness, all strik
ing analogies of the power of sin over
the souls of men. By this confession
they acknowledge Him to be the Mes
siah. It is now used for the first time,
since it was spoken of Him by the an
gel Gabriel, before His birth. Lu. i 32.
The Jews allowed that the Messiah or
Christ would be the son of David (ch.
xxii. 42 ; John vii. 42), only they were
unwilling to believe that Jesus of Naz
areth was the Christ. It was this un
willingness which led the multitude to
rebuke this cry of two other blind men,
recorded ch. xx. 31, A-c. Isaiah had fore
told that Christ would be known by
these merciful miracles. Is. xxix. 18 ;
xxxv. 5 ; xiii. 7. Poverty and blind
ness had taught these men a grand
lesson, which their rulers could never
learn. Misfortune and affliction are
now often angels of light in disguise.
They teach unearthly wisdom to the
Christian. 28. Believe ye, Src. He questioned
them on their faith in His power to do
this particular miracle. Otherwise,
they, and the rest who heard them,

120

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

saying, According to your faith,
be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened ;
and Jesus straitly charged them,
saying," See that no man know it.
31 But they, when they were
departed, spread abroad his fame
in all that country.
32 if As they went out, behold,
they brought to him a dumb man
possessed with a devil.
33 And when the devil was
cast out, the dumb spake : and
the multitudes marvelled, saying,
It was never so seen in Israel.
34 But the Pharisees said,6 He
casteth out devils, through the
prince of the devils.
a Ch. 12. 16. b Ch. 12. 24; Mark 3. 22 ;
Lu. 11. 15. a Ch. 4. 23.

might have gone away in a great error.
They would have thought that the
general confession of faith in Him, per
haps that this flattering title had pro
cured a cure ; whereas, it was the par
ticular faith which felt its want ; which
saw in Jesus, not only the glories of the
Messiah, but the power of a Saviour,
suited to those wants. A right con
fession is all important — but we must
also have a particular, experimental or
individual confidence in Jesus, as able
and willing to be our Saviour. He holds
up before us our woe and sin until we
feel it and mourn for it, that He may
pardon it, and make us humble and
grateful. 30. See, Sj-c. See note ch. viii. 4.
34. Prince of devils. The Pharisees
were partaking very much of his spirit,
when they so grossly and wickedly yield
ed to their pride ; and, while confessing
the reality of the glorious miracles of
Jesus, yet, attributed them to a devil.
See ch. xii. 24, &c.
35. Gospel, &c. See note ch. iii. 2.
36. They fainted. Sheep, in hot
climates, suffer excessively from the
mid-day heats. If left to themselves
they wander in the morning on the

35 And Jesus went' about all
the cities and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing every sickness, and every
disease among the people.
36 if But when he saw the
multitudes, he was moved with
compassion on them, because
they fainted,' and were scattered
abroad, as* sheep having no shep
herd. 37 Then said he unto the disci
ples, The harvest' truly is plente
ous, but the labourers are few.
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord
of the harvest, that he will send
forth labourers into his harvest.
\ or, were tired- and lay down, d 1 Kings
22. 17 ; Ez. 24 1-6. e Lu. 10. 2 ; John 4. 85.

plains ; the noon finds them remote
from shade or water ; they pant with
the heat of their heavy fleece, and sink
down weary and ready to die. The
shepherd takes care, that they keep
near the green pastures and still
waters, that at mid-day they may be
protected and refreshed. A flock of
sheep was often made the emblem of
the chosen people ; and their distressed
condition, when wanting governors
and teachers of a righteous and pious
spirit, was expressed by their " having
no shepherd" Numb, xxvii. 1 7.
38. Pray ye, therefore. It is the duty
of all Christians to pray that laborers,
i. e. faithful ministers, may be raised up
to go into the harvest and gather souls
unto salvation. In the harvest, when the
grain is ripe, men go in with sickles and
gather it, bind it into bundles to be
kept in the garners ; leaving the tares
to be burned. So the world at that
time was likened to a harvest, because
men were ripe for knowledge, ready to
hear, and in many instances to be saved.
Only teachers were wanting to instruct
them in the " Gospel of the kingdom."
Jesus immediately (ch. x.) appoints and
sends On a short mission the twelve

T. E. 32. J

CHAPTER X.

121

CHAPTER X.
AND when he had called unto
him his twelve disciples, he
gave them power ^against unclean

disciples. The church has instructed
us in the prayers for the Ember weeks,
which happen four times in the year,
how we should pray to Christ for a godly
clergy. The Hymns for Ordination
(97rl00) teach us the same. The
Saviour " continued all night in prayer
to God" (Lu. vi 12), before He chose
the twelve. We now should observe
these seasons, called Ember, from the
ancient practice of strewing the
churches with ashes and embers on
days of fasting. Prayer for a faithful
ministry is of great importance, now
when the world is so given to false doc
trine, contention, and ignorance of
divine things.

" Almighty God, the giver of all good
gifts, who of Thy Divine providence
hast appointed divers orders in Thy
Church: give Thy grace, we humbly
beseech Thee, to all those who are to
be called to any office and administra
tion in the same ; and so replenish them
with the truth of Thy doctrine, and
endue them with innocency of life, that
they may faithfully serve before Thee,
to the glory of Thy Name and the
benefit of Thy holy Church, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
CHAPTER X.
1. And when, Sec. Following mira
cles of power, come the steps taken for
the perpetual miracles of grace. See also
Mark vi. 7 ; Luke ix. 1. Jesus had be
fore this chosen twelve of His disciples
(Mark iii. 14 ; Luke vi. 13), to be His
more intimate friends and witnesses
(Acts i 21, 22), who were afterwards
to become the messengers of His Gospel.
The name disciples or learners, belonged
to them, while He was upon earth, in
structing and preparing them. After
His Ascension they were to be inde
pendent teachers of others, and were
called Apostles, or those sent, i e. messen
gers. In this same sense, the word
Vol. I.— 6

spirits, to cast them out, and to
heal all manner of sickness, and
all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve

angels, which is literally messengers, is
used in Rev. i 20, of the Bishops
of the seven churches of Asia, who
were successors of the Apostles. His
present sending them forth to travel
over the land of Judea and Galilee, is
to be carefully distinguished from their
final mission to the world. This was a
brief experimental mission for about
two months, — that was a life-long ser
vice, as " ambassadors of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God." 1
Cor. iv. 1. In this they knew very
little of spiritual things ; in that, they
established and built up the Church.
Jesus imparts to them powers which
manifest His divine nature. No other
than God can give such gifts unto men,
of His own will and authority.
The office of Apostle has become
much obscured by ignorance in this
age. They were the first order of min
isters, answering to our Bishops. The
Fathers expressly declare that the name
Apostle was given up in the age after
Christ, and Bishop used in place of it,
out of a nice regard and reverence to
the original twelve. The office and au
thority they tell us remained. The sev
enty are thought to have been the
second class of ministers, afterwards
caUed presbyters or elders. And the
deacons were either in existence before,
or were appointed as is related in Acts
vi There were at first twelve Apos
tles, perhaps limited to this from the
number of the twelve tribes. Ch. xix.
28. Judas by transgression fell, and
Matthias was chosen in his room. Af-r
terwards Paul was miraculously called
to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. The
name is used of others, until we may
reckon twenty-four termed Apostles,
in the New Testament. For instance,
Barnabas (Acts, xiv.), Epaphroditus
(Phil. ii. 25), Timothy and Silvanus
(1 Thess. ii. 6.). But soon after the
canon of Scripture was closed, their

122

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

apostles are these; The first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and
Andrew his brother ; James the

successors in the government of the
Church were called Bishops, as they
have continued to be until the present
day, according to the declaration of the
Prayer Book: "It is evident unto
all men reading Holy Scripture and
ancient authors, that from the Apostles'
times, there have been three orders of
ministers in Christ's Church — Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons. " * Jesus now
begins to organize the great System of
Redemption, and instruct the twelve to
tins one end. He is the chief Corner
stone : they also are to be set as the
foundation stones of His spiritual tem
ple, being witnesses to the great mys
teries of the faith. The original twelve
possessed incidental powers of inspira
tion, prophecy and miracles. These
have ceased. But their greater powers
of being instruments of salvation to men,
"stewards of the spiritual mysteries of
God," have not and can not ever cease.
2. The names. See Mark iii. 13, 18;
Lu. vi. 12, 19. This call was made upon
a mountain (the mount of Beatitudes,
in Galilee), and with much solemnity,
after a night spent in prayer to God.
ff Peter. In Syriac, Cephas, which
means a stone. John i. 42. See note
ch. iv. 18. ff Andrew his brother.
See Note ch. iv. 18, and note at the end
of the same chapter, ff James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother. These two
were surnamed, for their natural vehe
mence of disposition, Boanerges — sons of
thunder. Mk. iii. 17. They became
the more powerful preachers after this
temper was controlled and softened by
the Spirit of God. James is mentioned
the first, probably from his age ; John
being the youngest of the disciples.
James was put to death early by Herod.
Acts xii. 2. The other James (ver. 3),
elsewhere called the less was the son of
Alpheus or Cleophas and Mary his wife.
* The reader is referred for information to
the tract "Episcopacy tested by Scriptnre,"
"Percival on the Apostolical Succession," and
other like works.

son of Zebedee, and John his
brother ;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew;

He was a relative of the Virgin — not
her son. He is called the Lord's
brother (Gal. i. 19), meaning His kins
man. He was Bishop of Jerusalem, a
situation of honor and danger, given
him, it may be, because of this relation
ship. He also wrote the Catholic epis
tle which bears his name. On the death
of Festus, the Roman governor, James
the less was arraigned before the San
hedrim, and accused of violating the
law, and condemned to be stoned. At
the Passover he was commanded to
preach to the crowd from the battle
ments of the Temple, against the faith
of Jesus the crucified. He preached the
faith of Jesus sitting in the glory of
heaven and to come again in the clouds.
For this he was hurled down from the
battlements. Not being killed by the
fall, he rose on his knees and prayed for
his murderers. The Jews began to
stone him as he prayed, till one of the
priests cried out against stoning so just
a man. Whereupon a bystander, seizing
a fuller's club, smote him on the head so
that he died (A. D. 62). ff Philip. He
was born at Bethsaida in Galilee, and
was called next after Andrew and Peter.
The Greeks applied to him to see the
Saviour. John xii. 20, 21 ; see also
xiv. 8. Tradition assigns Upper Asia
as the scene of his labors, in the neigh
borhood of Galatia. His last preaching
was in Heliopolis in Asia Minor (now
Aleppo). Eusebius states that he was
there first crucified, and then killed
by stones hurled against him as he
hung on the cross, ff Bartholomew.
Bar-Tolmai, the son of Tolmai. He
is thought to be the same as Nathan
ael. See John xxi. 2. He is believed
to have preached in Armenia and In
dia, and died either by crucifixion after
the manner of St. Peter, or else was
flayed ahve by the barbarous people of
the Indies, ff Matthew ihe publican.
See Introduction, ff Lebbeus whose sur
name was Thaddeus. Mark and Luke
call him Judas, probably another way

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER X.

123

Thomas, and Matthew the pub
lican ; James the son of Alpheus,
and Lebbeus, whose surname was
Thaddeus ;

of writing Theudas for Thaddaeus. He
was the brother of James the less.
Matt. xiii. 55 ; John xiv. 22 ; Acts i. 13.
He wrote the epistle of Jude. He was
cousin of our Lord. He preached the
Gospel in Mesopotamia, Arabia, and
Idumaea, and suffered martyrdom at
Berytus, the present Beiroot.
4. Simon the Canaanite. He is also
called Zelotes, the Zealot. Lu. vi. 15 ;
Acts i. 13. He may before this have
belonged to a sect so called, as Canaan
ite and Zelotes both mean the same ;
or he may have received one name,
Cana— ite, from being born in Cana of
Galilee — the other Zelotes, from his
eager temper. He was cousin of the
Lord Jesus. He preached in Mesopo
tamia with his brother, and perhaps in
Britain. He was martyred in Persia.
ff Judas Iscariot. Iscariot means Ish-
Kerioth, a man of Kerioth, a small town
in the province of Judah. Josh. xv.
25. This was given to mark him from
the other Theudas or Judas. He was
in a measure sincere in following Christ,
but never gave up the love of this
world. He was avaricious, and under
the garb of hypocrisy and profession of
charity, carried the heart that was ca
pable of the fell deed of treachery,
which has stamped him above all com
petition as the Traitor. John xii. 6 ;
vi. 70.
5. Into the way of the Gentiles. Into
the way or region where they were to
be found. This mission was confined
strictly to the Jews. It was the will
of God that the Jews should be allowed
to reject His salvation before it was of
fered to others. Acts xiii. 46. He had
covenanted to be their God. He will
not deprive them of their privileges un
til they have had time to refuse Him.
After Pentecost the Gospel was preach
ed to all men. ff Samaritans. In the
history of this unhappy people, we be
hold the usual degeneration of human
policy and schism in religions things.

4 Simon the Canaanite, and
Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed
him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth,
They began in policy, in the time of
Jeroboam — they ended in disgrace, idol
atry, captivity, and final corruption of
their blood, principles, and customs.
2 Kings xvii. 5-15. They occupied the
country between Judea and Galilee.
Their capital city, Samaria, was situa
ted on Mount Gerizim, whereon they
had been allowed by the king of Persia
to build a temple. It is now called
Nablous. When Nebuchadnezzar car
ried the ten tribes into captivity, he sent
back into their country several races of
people, from Cuth Ava, Hameth, and
Sepharvaim, to take possession of it, in
order to destroy the unity of the nation,
as Jeroboam had before destroyed the
unity of religion. 2 Kings xvii. The
country was infested by lions and wild
beasts. These pagans supposed that
this calamity happened to them because
they did not worship the God of the
country. They obtained, therefore, a
Jewish priest to teaeh them the service
of the Law, and in due time erected a
temple on Mount Gerizim. They be
came most hateful to the Jews, with
whom they, had several causes of quar
relling and hate. 1. The Samaritans
endeavored to prevent the Jews from
building their temple and city; because
their offer of assistance had been refus
ed. Neh. vi. 1-14. 2. They contend
ed that Gerizim was the original and
true place of worship. No quarrels
are sharper than those arising in fami
lies or churches. 3. They held only
the five books of Moses as sacred, reject
ing the rest of Scripture. 4. They re
tained in their worship many of the no
tions and forms of their original pagan
ism. It was natural, therefore, that
the feud between them, and the Jews
should be bitter and irreconcilable.
John viii 48. If the Apostles had gone
to them now, it would have excited
the hatred of the Jews. Our Lord once
taught them (John iv. 6-26) and the
Apostles preached to them the Gospel,

124

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

and commanded them, saying,
Go not into the way of the Gen
tiles," and into any city of the
Samaritans enter ye not.
6 But go rather to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying,
6The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the
a 2 Kings 17. 44. 6 Ch. 8. 2 ; 4. 17.

Acts viii. 25. " The whole number of
Samaritans may be estimated at one
hundred and fifty. The ancient feud
between them and the Jews continues
unabated, and the Samaritans have no
intercourse, and will not even eat and
drink with the Jews. They observe the
Sabbath with great strictness according
to the most rigid construction of the
Mosaic law, and look forward with un
shaken faith to the appearing of the
Messiah, who will present Himself they
say, upon Mount Gerizim. They still
observe the Day of Atonement, and the
three great festivals, the Feasts of Tab
ernacles, of Pentecost and the Passo
ver. On the last day of the Passover
they make a feast, sacrifice seven lambs
and eat the flesh." — Bp. Wainwright.
Strange that Gerizim should witness in
this late day to the Mosaic rites, when
the altar fires of Mount Moriah have
slumbered since the siege of Titus.
6. Lost sheep. See ch. ix. 36. The
poor ignorant Jews who were neglected
by their shepherds or pastors, and were
straying in every direction, into sin
and error, and were in great peril of
destruction. Ch. xv. 24 ; Acts iii. 26.
The increasing hatred of the Pharisees
made it dangerous for our Lord to go
much in certain places, as, for instance,
Judea. He sends the disciples in His
place, as they were less known and in
less danger. His charge to them shows
that they had before them' a delicate
and dangerous mission.
7. Kingdom of heaven. The dispen
sation of' Messiah, which is a spiritual
kingdom with heavenly promises. 1

lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils : 'freely ye have received,
freely give.
9 'Provide"* neither gold, nor
silver, nor brass in your purses ;
10 Nor scrip for your journey,
neither two coats, neither shoes,'
nor yet staves ¦/ for the workman
is worthy of his meat.
11 And into whatsoever city or
c Acts 8. 18-20. 1 or, get. d Lu. 22. 85.
e Deut. 29. 5. /Lu. 10. 7.
Pet. ii. 5, 6. It is called of heaven, in
contrast to the Jewish dispensation,
which was of the earth. Heb. ix. 23.
See note ch. iii. 2.
8. Freely give. Give in the same
measure as ye have received the gift.
He forbids them to make a bargain of
their powers in any case ; thus degrad
ing the glory of His kingdom, which
is beyond all price. 2 Kings Vv 16.
They went two together, to the various
villages and cities of their people. They
could receive support from those whom
they benefited (Lu. x 7), but must
carefully avoid the temptation to be
mercenary. Ministers have a right
still to a full and honorable support
from the people to whom they minis
ter (1 Cor. ix. 8-14 ; 1 Tim. v. 18),
but oh ! let them beware that their
reputation be pure from all appearance
of self-interest. 1 Sam. xii. 3.
9. See Mk. vi. 8-11 and Luke ix.
3-5. These instructions, in their gene
ral sense, apply still. But they are af
terwards modified by Christ. In this
brief journey, the disciples are forbidden
to trust to human help : He would have
them lean only on Divine care. But
He does not debar His ministry now
from the usual means and comforts of
life, as other men. Lu. xxii. 35-38.
ff Nor brass. Brass was used as money
in the smaller coins, as we now use cop
per. They were not to provide money
for this journey. The Jews had several
coins of gold, silver, and brass, ff In
your purses. In your girdles. The
loose outer robe worn by Jews was
gathered at the waist by a sash or gir-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER X.

125

town ye shall enter, inquire who
in it is" worthy ; and there abide
till ye go thence.

a 1 Kings 1. !

12 And when ye come into an
house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy,

die. This was drawn close in labor or
travelling to keep the garment away
from the feet. See note, ch. v. 40. The
hollow part of the robe over the bosom
was used as a pocket, to carry valuables
or money.
10. Nor scrip. A travelling bag or
sack large enough to carry food. It
was usually made of leather or coarse
cloth, and hung over the shoulder.
ff Neither shoes. Sandals. See note,
ch. iii. 11. The idea is, that they were
not to provide extra shoes nor comforts,
but to travel quickly. They were to go as
a light guard, or swift messenger, to ar
rest attention by their unusual conduct,
in passing through the country, so un
prepared for a journey, and impress on
men the truth of that coming kingdom,
as much by their manner as their words.
This was revoked afterwards (Lu. xxii.
36), where we read that they " lacked
nothing" in this journey. ff Nor yet
staves. They might take one staff, if
they had it ; Mk. vi. 8. This was to
aid them in walking, and protect them
from common dangers, ff Worthy of
his meat. This maxim applies always
to the ministry. They being workmen
for God to build up the people in spirit
ual things, are fairly deserving of a
temporal support. It is bad policy in
any people to be parsimonious in the
support of rehgion ; for the sins and
vices which an efficient and faithful
ministry prevent, are far more costly to
a people than all that is needed for their
support. A nation which builds no
churches, will be compelled to spend
greater sums in remedying the evils
which religion would have prevented.
God declares it the duty of Christians
to give liberally to the help of those
whom He has sent to minister in the
Church, (Lu. x. 7 ; 1 Cor. ix. 7 ; Gal.
vi. 6 :) as also to treat them with due
reverence. John xiii. 20 ; 1 Thess. iv. 8 ;
v. 12.
11. And into, Sec. Travellers in the

east, where there are no inns, are
accustomed still, to enter a town and
remain in some public place, until the
sheik or some elderly person, may pro
vide them a suitable lodging during
their stay. Gen. xix. 1-4. They were
to inquire in such cases, for some worthy
host, that is some good and pious Jew,
a " son of peace," and hospitable. Lu.
vii. 4. They were not to change their
lodgings from pride or luxury, nor to
" go from house to house." They were
to maintain the dignity of His servants,
being for the time prophets of God.
Levity and fickleness are great faults in
all who name the name of Christ.
12. Salute it. House, in the ancient
languages, meant both a dwelling and
the family residing in it. The common
salutation of the Turks is now, to inquire
after another's house, i. e. family.
Here it is the dwelling as containing
the family. They were to say, " Peace
to this house." Luke x. 5. See 1 Sam.
xxv. 6. It was a Jewish custom,
meaning a kindly wish for the prosperity
of the family, which is always most sure
ly promoted by peace. Christians are to
be men of peace, to show a gentle and
courteous behavior among others. 1
Peter iii. 8-11. The same gentle salu
tation is still to be made by the priests
of the church, when sent for to houses
of sickness. He then acts more especial
ly for the Master of all, who is absent ;
and desires peace within, that their
affliction may be lessened, or patiently
endured. 13. Return to you. If the family are
kindly disposed and willing to hear you,
your presence and wishes shall bestow on
them blessings. But if they are rude
and inhospitable, refusing your mes
sage, your peace shall come back into
your own bosom. This same form of
expression is used Ps. xxxv. 13.
As a gift when refused returns to one, so
this pious prayer of theirs should bring
them the blessing despised by the others.

126

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

let your peace come upon it" : but
if it be not worthy, let your peace
return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear your words,
a Ps. 35. 18.

They were not to put on the appearance
of wishing peace to the unfriendly.
They who reject the gospel, still lie
under this interdict. 2 John 10, 11.
14. Shake off the dust. The Jews
were accustomed to express their feel
ings and wishes by gestures and motions.
Neh. v. 13 ; Acts xviii. 6. The dust
of heathen countries they supposed to
be unclean and polluted. This act is
significant, as if they rejected all inter
course with them, and held them as
unworthy. The Apostles Paul and
Barnabas were forced to this extreme
action at Antioch. Acts xiii. 51. Jesus
gives His disciples for the time, the
general mission and appearance of the
ancient prophets. Their haste, their
passage from place to place, all their
actions were to be symbolical. Men
would thus be led to inquire into the
meaning of these acts and to seek Jesus.
15. For Sodom and Gomorrah. They
were two heathen cities, whose inhabi
tants were very ignorant. But those who,
having the opportunity, reject the light
of Gospel truth, are guilty of wilful sin,
and shall receive greater condemnation,
ch. xi. 21-24. Lu. xii. 47. 48. It will
be more easy to endure the regrets and
remorse of a heathen man, who " knew,
not his Lord's will," except imperfectly,
than of one who goes down to eternal
misery to endure the " many stripes " of
a conscience enlightened by a life of
church going. Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboim were four cities,
situated in the beautiful and fertile
plain of the Jordan, whose charms at
tracted Lot to settle there. They
were destroyed by divine wrath for their
wickedness. Fire and brimstone from
heaven, volcanic eruptions and earth
quake from below, bituminous streams
of liquid fire from the bowels of the
earth, the plain sinking down some
hundreds of feet — these manifested as

when ye depart out of that house,
or city,6 shake off the dust of your
feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for the

6 Acts 81. 61; 18.6.

divine symbols, what is the terrible fate
of the finally reprobate. 2 Pet. ii. 6 ;
Jude 7. The sluggish and pestilent
brine of the Dead Sea to the south east
of Palestine now pours forth it miasmata
over the graves of these doomed cities.
But more intolerable than this natural
death and destruction will be that of
cities and men who finally reject the
Gospel. See Gen. xix. 24, &c. Ezek.
xvi. 48, 49. Lu. xvii. 28, 29. ff Day
of Judgment. This phrase is used for
the first time in this Gospel. See tho
description of it ; ch. xxv. 31—46. The
Jews believed in the coming of this day,
which they called " the day of the Lord''
or the " great day." Is. xiii. 6 ; xxxiv.
8 ; Zeph. i 18 ; Joel ii. 11.
16. As sheep, &c. Even as the cruel
wolf is eager to destroy sheep, that he
may drink their blood, so will many
men, among whom you are going be
anxious to ruin you, and be restrained
from it, only by your prudence and
innocence, ff Wise as serpents. Pru
dent in avoiding danger as the serpent.
The peculiar wisdom of the serpent, is its
activity and ease in escaping danger.
The rapid evolutions of the serpent,
when excited, are almost inconceivable.
By their gliding motion, avoiding dif
ficulties, reaching their object without
violence, by the imagined charm in '
their active, brilliant eyes, as by other
traits, they were esteemed among the
ancients, a fit symbol of prudence or
wisdom. They served to represent that
innocent subtlety which they, who
would win souls, are allowed to use.
Prov. 1, 4. And to prevent them from
imitating the venom of the serpent,
Jesus bids the disciples to guard their
wisdom by the innocence of the dove.
" As piety without policy is too simple
to be safe, so policy without piety, is
too subtile to be good — "Burkitt.'We
may suppose that Our Lord Himself, in

T. E. 32.] CHAPTER X.

127

land of Sodom and Gomorrah, in
the day of judgment, than for
that city.
16 If Behold, I send you forth
as sheep in the midst of wolves :
be" ye therefore wise as serpents,
and harmless1 as doves.
17 But beware of men:6 for
a Eom. 16. 19 ; Eph. 5. 15. || or,

this wisdom, had at this time scattered
His little band into portions, and sent
them in all directions to avoid some
pressing danger of the time. Saith St.
Chrysostom : " But as we ought to have
the wisdom of the serpent, that we should
not be hurt in any deadly part, so also
v e should have the simplicity of the
dove, not to retaliate when we are hurt,
nor to avenge ourselves on those who
have designed aught against us."
17. Beware of men. Be always on
your guard, that other men do not en
trap you into any imprudence or appear
ance of disobedience to the laws, or
disrespect to the governors of the nation,
either Jewish or Roman ; and so have a
plea to deliver you up to trial. 2 Pet.
iv. 15. If they used so great efforts to
insnare Jesus, they would be more dan
gerous to His followers. But innocence
and prudence are guards in all such
trials. Divine wisdom protects all who
" wash their hands in innocency," and
trust to truth for safety, ff Councils.
The smaller councils held in the syna
gogues in towns and cities. It is
not likely that they went to Jerusalem,
where the Sanhedrim was to be found.
See note, ch. v. 22. ff Scourge you in
their synagogues. It seems that the Jews
scourged in some part of the synagogue,
those who were convicted of heresy.
Acts xxii. 19. According to some
learned men, there was in every syn
agogue a council consisting of three
judges, who had the power of ordering
this punishment. By the law of Moses,
the number of stripes was fixed, in the
case of Jews, at forty, not to exceed it.
Deut. xxv. 2, 3. The Romans had no
scruple as to the number. All the
Apostles were scourged. Acts v. 40.

they will deliver you up to the
councils, and they will scourge
you in their synagogues.
18 And ye shall be brought
before governors and kings for
my sake, for a testimony against
them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you
5 Phil. 8. 2.

St. Paul was thus maltreated five times.
2 Cor. xi. 24, 25. Scourging by the
knout is still practised among the Rus
sians, and by bastinado among the
Turks, and is carried to a terrific ex
treme, in many cases causing death.
18. Before governors and kings. This,
which, considering that the disciples were
poor and unlearned men, was not likely,
was abundantly fulfilled. In God's provi
dence, the efforts of their enemies to de
stroy them were so ruled, as to carry
them before the highest courts of the
nation, and into the presence of heathen
rulers and kings. All stood before the
Jewish council. Paul before Felix, Fes-
tus, and the Roman emperor, Nero ; as
also Peter before Nero, and John before
Domitian. Heathen hatred gave them
pulpits in the palaces of monarchs,
where otherwise they would never have
preached the Word, ff For a testimony.
A testimony against one is that which
rises up to condemn a man for past evil
conduct. In this sense the Apostles would
rise in judgment against these rulers and
the Gentiles, to convict them of haying
heard and deliberately rejected the Gos
pel. Or perhaps the reading a testimony
to is better, a proof and sufficient witness
to them of the truth of the facts and
teachings of the Lord Jesus. This
latter sense includes the former.
19. Take no thought. See note, ch.
vi 25. Do not premeditate or endeavor
to make labored and elegant defences,
as the rhetoricians of the age do.
Speak only the plain and simple facts,
as they shall come into your minds at
the moment. The Spirit would guide
them, if simply earnest for truth, and aid
them to win a way into the hearts of
their hearers. The grand beauty of all

128

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

up, take no thought how or what
ye shall speak; for it shall be
given you in that same hour what
ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak,
but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you.
the speeches and addresses of the Apos
tles, as of their written style, is that
which results from obedience to this
precept. They spoke of facts which
they had seen and knew. They reasoned
by facts, and in the exposition of the
very mysteries of the faith, they are
not more profound than intelligible. The
rulers of that day were accustomed to
hear inflated, cold, and polished orations,
from professional orators. Acts xxiv.
1. The simple, truthful earnestness of
the Apostles astonished and moved them.
It was the Holy Spirit, which drew off
the minds of the apostles from the usual
rhetorical faults of the philosophers, into
which the early heretics all fell, and
made them speak a language suited to
their purposes, and above all comparison
with any other human productions for
truth and usefulness. Christians now
adays must resort to usual, innocent
means of defence in legal trials, only
avoiding, with particular care, the arts
of wicked men in saving themselves from
injury. As inspiration is withdrawn,
we are left again to nature. Only let
nature seek truth and simplicity rather
than vanity and sound.
21. And the brother, &c. The hatred
of the heathen and their persecutions of
the Gospel have made the early accounts
of the Church one of the darkest pages
of human history. It was soon dis
covered, first by the Pharisees and after
wards by the pagan philosophers and
rulers, that Christianity was an entirely
new element in human society, and
must either be crushed, or it would
triumph over every thing else. Hence
the violence, the hostility to it in the
minds of the people, the severe laws and
severe persecutions of it by the gover
nors and emperors. The strife between
truth and error invaded the sacred re-

21 And the brother shall de
liver up the brother to death, and
the father the child : and the
children shall rise up against their
parents, and cause them to be
put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of

treats of home, and every thing which is
here foretold was often fulfilled. Three
centuries rolled wearily away before the
enemies of Christianity were compelled
to cease from their hostile efforts. But
before that happy time, "the noble
army of martyrs" had been swelled by
a glorious host of men, women, and
children in the world of spirits. Let the
reader consult such works as give the
history of the early Church. It will
both interest and profit him. He will
read of holy men and women, whose
courage and love for Christ will shame
the piety of this luxurious age — saints
at whose hallowed feet our wisest and
best would be content to sit.
22. Hated of all men. Of all classes
of unregenerate men, Jews, Gentiles,
wise and ignorant, rulers and ruled.
We cannot conceive it possible that men
in their senses would have gone on such
a mission after such a warning, unless
they had the most certain conviction
that they were in the right way. ff En-
dureth unto the end. To the end of these
trials, or of life. In Revelation it is
called overcoming (ch. ii. 7, 17, 26), for a
Christian can be sure of victory only
when he has overcome all his foes. We
may always, be sure that Christ " for
His part will most surely keep and per
form" the promises made by Him. But
we do not, we cannot know that we
shall overcome and be faithful unto
death (Rev. ii. 10) until our last temp
tation and trouble has been subdued
Piety does not require us to feel per
fectly sure of salvation. We hope, we
believe, but as long as we are in the
flesh we do not know. Our duty is to
work out our salvation with fear and
trembling. Phil. ii. 12. There is no
calling and election so sure but we
must seek to ensure it. 2 Pet. i 10.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER X

129

all men for my name's sake : but
he that endureth to the "end shall
be saved.
23 But when they persecute
you in this city,6 flee ye into an
other : for verily I say unto you,
Ye shall not1 have gone over the
cities of Israel till the Son of man
be come.
24 The disciple is not above
a Eev. 2. 10. 17. b Acts 8. 1.

" 0 thou most worthy Judge eternal !
suffer us not, at our last hour, for any
pains of death to fall from Thee."
23. Flee ye to another. This was a
foresight for their safety, for which they
had reason to be grateful. Acts viii. 1.
In the next ages, it was necessary often
to urge such directions in order to re
press the enthusiasm for martyrdom
which prevailed. Men may use all pro
per means to avoid persecution, but they
must not deny their faith nor do discredit
to the truth. In this and other verses
of this chapter, we discover that our
Saviour goes on in thought to speak of
the apostolic mission after He shall have
departed from earth. It is not unusual
for Him to mingle in one address a
prescience of two similar events, one of
which is typical and experimental of the
other, ff Till the Son of man be come.
See notes on ch. xxiv. 27, &c. This
coming signifies that fearful event which
happened thirty years after this — the
destruction of Jerusalem. That holy
and chosen city had all along been a
type and symbol of the Church of
Christ, and her downfall by the Roman
armies was true to her history from the
beginning. It was spoken of by the
Lord Jesus in the same terms which
mark the destruction of the world.
The coming of the Son of man is in
verify and fulness at the end of the
world — in power and type at the fall of
Jerusalem. The disciples had not ceas
ed from their attempts to reconcile the
Jews to Christianity, till that event
drove them far and wide among the
Gentiles. Vol. I.— 9*

his master, nor the servant above
his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple
that he be as his master, and the
servant as his lord : if they have
called the master of the house
'Beelzebub, how much more shall
they call them of his house
hold ?
26 Fear them not therefore:

24, 25. The disciple, Sec. This was a
proverbial saying among the Hebrews.
They abused the Master; they would
much more seek to intimidate His fol
lowers. Alas 1 that men will fear names
of opprobrium in the mouths of preju
diced persons. We are to fear God and
hold tiie truth, no matter what harsh
names are hurled against us. Think a
moment of the evil names now in use to
impede the truth, and gird your mind
by this counsel of your Lord, to beheve,
profess and do right, though others may
rail, ff Beelzebub. See note ch xii. 24.
26, 27. Nothing covered, &fc. These
words are capable of two meanings. 1.
Fear not for the Gospel which you are to
preach. Lu. xii. 2, 3. It would appear
to be neglected, opposed or hated. It
would seem ready to die out from the
violence of its enemies. It would, how
ever, yet prevail over the surrounding
darkness, and become known and honor
able in all the world. Or, 2. Fear not
for yourselves. Their reputations would
be assailed ; their enemies would seem
to triumph over them; perhaps they
would die in obscurity and disgrace ;
but Jesus would yet clear their fame,
and give them high places of honor
among men and a throne in heaven.
How fully have both been found true !
So, doubting believer, only serve and fear
the Lord God, and the same " everlast
ing arms " are beneath you, to shield
you from all harm.
27. House top. The tops of the
houses in the east are flat. See note ch.
ix. 2. My doctrine, and life, the secret
parable, the agony of Gethsemane, the

130

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

for there is nothing covered," that
shall not be revealed; and hid,
that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in light : and what
ye hear in the ear, that preach
ye upon the house-tops.
28 And fear6 not them which
kill the body, but are not able to
a Lu. 12. 2, 3 ; 1 Cor. 4. 5. 6 Is. 8. 12, 18 ;
51. 7, 12. |j or, Ge/ienna. H It is in value

resurrection, all which you now see and
take note of, all are to be proclaimed
by you to all men. They had httle
idea then, of the tremendous spiritual
depth and meaning of what was quiet
ly passing before them.
28. Fear not them. He sets before
them the two kinds of fear which dis
tinguish the Christian and the worldly
man. They who kill the body are men.
Even this they cannot do, unless per
mitted ; and how transient are the pains
of death. How soon it must come on
us, even at the longest. On the other
hand, God has power to destroy both
soul and body in hell. He will certain
ly subject sinners against Him, those
who have betrayed the truth, to all the
horrors of the second death. Oh that
in this age of vanity and selfishness,
men would dare a. little more to let
their religion appear and honor it, and
cease striving to compromise between
the fear of men and the fear of God.
ff In hell. See note ch. v. 22. St.
Jerome in the fourth century writes
thus of the word Hell. " This word
(Gehenna) is not found in the Old
Scriptures, but it is first used by the
Saviour. Let us inquire then into its
origin. We read in more than one
place that the idol Baal was near Jeru
salem, at the foot of Mount Moriah,
by which the brook SiloS flows. This
valley and a small level plain was
watered and woody, a delightful spot,
and a grove in it was consecrated to the
idol. To so great madness had the chil
dren of Israel come that, forsaking the
neighborhood of the temple, they offered
their sacrifices there, and, concealing an

kill the soul : but rather fear him
which is able to destroy both
soul and body in1 hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold
for a 'farthing ? and one of them-
shall not fall on the ground
without your Father.
30 But the very hairs" of your
head are all numbered.
half penny farthing, in the original as being
ihe tenth part of the Roman penny.
 a Acts 27, 34.  '

austere ritual under a voluptuous life,
they burned their sons in honor of a
demon. This place is called Gehenna,
that is, the valley of the children of
Hinnom. These things are fully de
scribed in Kings and Chronicles, and the
book of Jeremiah. 2 Kings xxiii. 10 ;
2 Chron. xxviii. 3 ; Jer. vii 32 ; xxxii
35. God threatens that He will fill the
place with the carcases of the dead,
that it be no more called Tophet and
Baal, but Polyandrion, that is, the
tomb of the dead. Hence the tor
ments and eternal pains with which
sinners will be punished are signified
by this word." And St. Augustine
says of it, " This cannot be, before
the soul is so joined to the body,
that nothing can sever them. Yet it is
rightly called the death of the soul, be
cause it does not live to God ; and the
death of the body, because, though
man does not cease to feel, yet because
that his feeling has neither pleasure nor
health, but is a pain and a punishment,
it-is better named death than life."
29-31. We have here the declara
tion of a special Providence. God
knows all His creatures and provides
for their wants. If the hairs of the head
are all numbered, how much more does
He know all our thoughts, feehngs,
and wishes ! If a sparrow shall not
fall without His notice, how can a Chris
tian be injured or die without His per
mission, and that in accordance with
His wisdom and mercy ? The apostles
were few, would feel desolate and out
cast, unless they could be as sure of
God's care as these verses would make
them. We may imagine one of those

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER X.

131

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye
are of more value than many
sparrows. 32 Whosoever" therefore shall
confess me before men, him will
I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny
me before me, him will I also
deny before my Father which is
in heaven.

a Eev. 8. 5.
7.6.

b Lu. 12. 49. 58. c Mic.

first Christians, afar from all Christian
sympathy, borne down by a mob of cruel
men, who hated and abused him. How
consoling the very littleness to which
these words condescend ! ' God cares
for the sparrows, has numbered the
hairs of the head : surely I am not for
gotten by His Omniscient Love." Rom.
viii. 28 and 31. ff Sparrows. Small
birds of little value, of black throat and
brown head. See Ps. cii 7. ff Far
thing. See note ch. v. 26. ff Without
your Father. Without His consent.
32, 33. Confess me before men. This
was addressed to men who might after
wards be seized by a raging mob, and
destroyed. They would be called to
make their confession suddenly, under
circumstances of great terror, and must
do it clearly and firmly. Thus 1 Tim.
vi. 12, 13, the same word is used of
some trial to which Timothy had been
exposed, and " had professed a good
profession before many witnesses," and
again to the Passion of Jesus before
Pontius Pilate. It was a source of rich
consolation to the martyrs, that Jesus
would yet confess them, and own them
to be His friends in the Judgment.
The words apply also to the ordinary
profession of a Christian. 2 John 7 ;
Bo. x. 10. All who sincerely profess
Christ He will own. A profession of the
Christian religion requires a union with
the holy Church by the sacraments and
creeds, a life of sanctification, a con
versation purified from worldliness, and a
courage and wihingness to acknowledge
the spirit of obedience to the Gospel

34 Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth ; I came
not to send peace, but a sword.6
35 For "I am come to set a man
at variance against his father,
and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law.
36 And a man's foes shall be
they of his own household/
37 He that loveth8 father or
d Ps. 41. 9. e Lu. 14 26.

under any and eveiy trial — even to
death, if God so wills it. We can con
fess Him by an humble and good life ;
and it is often harder to live well than
to die bravely. On the other hand we
may deny Christ, in doctrine, that is,
deny Him as our God and Saviour, by
corrupting the creed, or in words, by
wicked expressions, and shameful silence
before the world, or vitally, by an un
holy life. For each or all of which
He will deny us, however much we
may at last make our claims to His
notice. 34-36. Think not, Sec. The words
resemble those found in Micah vii. 6.
Jesus foretells that such troubles would
be the effect of man's passions, con
tending against His word. Some Chris
tians would seem to intrepret it as if He
intended them to disturb tiie peace of the
church But not so. He came to bring
peace. It was necessary, however, to
warn the disciples, lest, blindly following
the letter of prophecy concerning Him,
they would expect to lead fives of tem
poral ease and prosperity. This they
would not have. It would require time
and great trouble before Christians
could be safe from their enemies. He
gave them inward and spiritual peace
which "passeth understanding," the
joy of sins forgiven, the hope of holiness,
the satisfactions of a true, faithful
obedience — but it was given "not as
the world giveth it." The real cause
of the troubles which followed was not
religion, but the irreligion of man.
The light shone into the darkness, and

132

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

mother more than me, is not
worthy of me : and he that loveth
son or daughter more than me,
is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his

the darkness comprehended it not, but
sought to overwhelm and destroy it.
ff Send a sword. This means, to be the
occasion of great bloodshed and cruelty.
Many crimes have been done against
religion — but alas ! how many in its
name. In some lands it has been as a
sword in the hands of a madman.
37. He that loveth, Sfc. The closest
natural social ties, when they come in
competition with our duties to God,
must be disregarded ; but only then.
Any one of the disciples who, seeing this
trouble and this general hostility of his
relations, will rather seek for peace, by
yielding to any who oppose, even if they
should be parents, and giving up the
profession of his faith in Christ, is not
worihy to be called His disciple, and to
obtain a disciple's reward in heaven.
When a man who has been educated in
a humanly devised sect, is convinced of
error, and satisfied that the Church of
Christ is still to be found, and forbids his
separation from her, it is sophistry for
him to plead that his fathers have led
him wrong, and that he is unwilling to
discredit their opinions. Rehgious con
victions should be paramount.
38. Taketh not his cross. When a crim
inal was condemned to crucifixion, a
part of his sentence was that he should
carry his cross to the place of execution.
The cross was made of two solid beams,
fixed across each other. To this the
criminal was fastened by thongs or nails
through the hands and feet, and left to
die by exhaustion and indescribable
nervous sufferings. To take up the
cross means here; to suEhut to ftfejale of
trouble ancl persecution wEJcTiwaTTo
come u^^EemTrTymeans generally a
willingness to suffer for Christ, all things
which He requires of us. He desires
His disciples to have courage and faith
to trust Him in ah trials which He may
put on them. It does not mean that we
are to make crosses, and volunteer an

cross, and followeth after me, is
not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall
lose it : and he that loseth his
life for my sake, shall find it.

useless contest with others, by a proud
and Pharisaic manner. "It enjoins,"
says Bp. Porteus, "nothing more than
a constant habit of vigilance and self-
government, a cautious and jealous at
tention to the movements of our minds,
and the progress of our passions, a dis
creet and sober, not a criminal and un
bounded conformity to the world, a strict
abstinence from ah irregular and immo
ral gratifications, without declining any
of the duties, or sullenly withdrawing
from any of the enjoyments, conven
iences and comforts of social life."
39. He that findeth, fyc. These words
suppose one in the times of persecution,
as it were, before a cruel pagan gover
nor or mob, not knowing how his fate
will be decided. If he apostatize and
deny Jesus, and so find his life, he shall
lose his soul, his hope, and the Spirit of
God, which is his true life. But he who
bravely adheres to Christ and dies for
his faith, he shall find by a short transit,
a life such as " eye hath not seen, or
mind conceived." The Greek word yf/vxn
allows this change upon it. It signifies
indifferently, spirit, soul and life.
40-42. He that receiveth, Sec. In the
troubled times which are to follow, he
that receives you and protects you, be
cause you are my disciples and apostles,
shall receive, if he will have faith, Me
also. It would be too much to suppose
these verses general, for many would
gain reward with little trouble. But
read an explanation of them in the cou
rage of Rahab. She received the spies
as the Lord's servants, lodged them,
served them in danger at her own risk,
and sent them away, and was saved and
all her house. Josh. ii. 8-22 ; Heb. xi.
31. So did Obadiah in the wicked reign
of Jezebel. 1 Kings xviii. 3, 4. And it
we recall to mind the persecutions of the
early Church, we can see a satisfactory
explanation of these promises. He who
risks his life, in receiving and defending

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER X.

133

40 If He that receiveth you,
receiveth me; and he that re
ceiveth me," receiveth him that
sent me.
41 He that receiveth a prophet
in the name of a prophet, shall
receive a prophet's reward ; and
he that receiveth a righteous man
a John 12. 44.

in the name of a righteous man,
shall receive a righteous man's
reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to
drink unto one of these little ones,
a cup of cold6 water only, in the
name of a disciple, verily I say
you, he shall in no wise lose his
reward. »1 Kings 17. 10; Heb. 6. 10.

a "righteous man" because he is a
Christian, cannot be far from the king
dom of heaven, ff These little ones. The
disciples. They were poor men, of no
repute or power, and as yet only babes
in spiritual knowledge, utterly uncon
scious of the troubles coming upon them,
and unable to defend themselves against
the arts and violence of a wicked world.
Ch. xi. 25 ; 1 Cor. iii 1, &c.
Additional Note.
The tenth chapter relates the prepara
tory mission and charge to the chief
pastors of the Church. It is believed
by all Christians, that the office then
instituted for a special end and object,
was afterwards renewed and continued
to meet the wants of the Church of
Christ, after its Head had departed into
the heavens. It must strike every
reader that this charge to them dwells
very little upon the formal matters of
their mission. It is taken np with the
great principles of the duty which they
were to perform, and the disposition of
mind, in which they were to set about
it. This fact is in keeping with the
one which is evident in all the gospels,
that the great radical principles of re
ligion were promulgated in the Life of
Jesus, but the matters of the exact
form in which those principles were to
increase and spread abroad, were left
unrevealed until after His resurrection.
Therefore St. Luke (Acts i. 3) informs
us that our Lord was forty days with
the disciples after His rising from the
grave, " speaking of the things per
taining to the kingdom of God." Hence
it is evident that the Church has put

this whole question of the ministry upon
the right ground, when she sends her
members to " holy Scripture and an
cient authors," to learn all that is to be
known of that revelation which the
Lord Jesus made to the disciples con
cerning the " things pertaining " to the
Church. Among them was, beyond
doubt, the declaration of the general
form in which they were to regulate
her growth in the world. And inasmuch
as it is evident that the writers among
the apostles did not any of them set
down to make a definitive declaration of
all the rules and axioms of Church
government, but did only mention them
as they came up to their minds casually
(if we may dare characterize any act of
an inspired mind by such a term), we
see the plain necessity, therefore, of
joining the history of the New Testament
(which is given by ancient authors) to
the New Testament, in order to under
stand it. (See General Introduction.)
There is no book in the New Testament,
answering in any respect to the books
of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the
Old. And why? Evidently because
the two covenants began from two
contrary starting points. The Old from
an objective Law, well defined from the
beginning, cut in as it were in tables of
stone. The New began from the Life of
Jesus, flowed out into actions of His Life,
which were partly recorded, but chiefly
were felt and remembered iu the living
tablets of the souls of the disciples. It
was years after His death before any
gospel was written at all. It seems to
have been a century at least, before any
considerable collection of the New
Testament writings was made by single

134

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

A

CHAPTBE XI.
ND it came to pass when
Jesus had made an end of

churches. And it was certainly not till
a much longer period, that the New
Testament or Canon, as we now call it,
was universally known and recognized
as the authorized word. Who then
gave us this Canon ? Surely the Allwise,
through His ministers the apostles, and
their successors. Those, therefore, who
pretend to receive this Scripture from
them, and yet use it for the purpose of
destroying their authority, who collected
it and sealed it as authentic, are guilty
of a great error. They take the written
word from its history. They receive
this Canon from a church (that of the
second and third centuries) which, be
yond question, acknowledged no other
form of Church regimen, than that of
Bishops, Priests and Deacons, and in
stead of explaining the hints and chance
expressions of Scripture by the known
facts, which the witnesses and keepers
of Scripture declare to have been the
only explanation of them, they invent a
false standard of judging — they disturb
the Book, by denying it that, which such
a book must eminently claim as its au
thorized interpreter— a living history. And
we, in fact, find that all those who are
guilty of this error in the matter of the
apostolic ministry, do yet reject it and
condemn it, when they attempt to argue
for the authenticity of the text. They
claim to be spiritual, yet exalt the
letter of the printed volume, above the
known records of the living Church of
the early ages. In the latter case, they
reject the authority of the Fathers. In
the former they say unhesitatingly, that
that authority is decisive. Therefore we
who are members of a Church, which
loves to join hands with Ignatius and
Irenseus, Clement and Jerome, and
hear from them a united testimony to
those things which we value as the
proper and authorized will of God, are
bound to be grateful and reverent to
that Church, which sends us for the
settlement of all matters of discipline to

commanding his twelve disciples,
he departed thence to teach and
to preach in their cities.
the " holy Scripture and ancient
authors." The only true and satisfac
tory evidence for us of this late age, in
all matters not exactly stated in Scrip
ture, must be the united testimony of
those who immediately succeeded the
apostles. And the united testimony of
the whole Church, without hesitation,
has been given in favor of these three
orders — Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
Our Lord did not see fit to organize a
Church in the midst of the Jews during
His life. That act would have excited
their bitterest opposition, and hastened
His destruction. .In this tenth chapter
then, He lays down only the rudiments
of the ministerial office, its duties and
work. Just after His resurrection, while
in secret with them, He committed to
them their powers. John xx. 21-23.
And during the forty days which He
spent with them He instructed jthem.
They did the same to others. The
secret, unrecorded history of the Church,
went alongside of the written word, and
after the living, infallible teachers had
departed, one after another, and the
authority of the testimony of the
Church became necessary, the living
history became visible in the arguments
drawn from what we now call primitive
tradition. Our Lord Jesus did then
authorize that form of the Church,
which we now have. He copied it from
the things which Moses had seen in the
mount : that heavenly vision, that lay
at the foundation of all the observances
of the Jewish law. That law recognized
three great orders, the High Priest, the
long succession of Priests, and the Le-
vites. The Christian Church in each city
recognized the same. The Apostle or
Bishop answering to the High Priest :
the priest called indifferently for a short
time Bishop or Presbyter,and the deacon.
The Fathers bear testimony to these or
ders and their various and differing
duties. We pretend not in our short
space to give the arguments of history,

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XI.

135

2 Now when John had heard
in the prison the works of Christ,
he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou

and refer the reader to the little tracts
and the learned works which have
abundantly set it forth in order.
CHAPTER XI.
1. And it came to pass. The direc
tions contained in the last chapter had
been given near Capernaum. Jesus
also goes on a mission to the Jews in
the cities and towns of Galilee.
2. Now when John, Sec. See also St.
Luke vii. 18-35. There are two ex
planations of this conduct of St. John.
He wished to obtain fuller satisfaction
for himself, or else to convince his dis
ciples. 1. John assuredly knew that
Jesus, whom he had borne witness to as
the Lamb of God, was the Messiah.
John i. 29-36; iii. 29-36. But this
good man, seeing that he was suffered
to linger in prison, while others were
chosen to be companions, may have
been impatient at this apparent neglect.
If the disciples expected Christ to be
come a temporal prince even till the
last interview with Him, of course
John, in common with others, would be
looking for the signs of it. But as he
does not see any efforts for temporal
greatness, nay, rather that the Messiah's
kinsman is allowed to remain in prison,
he sends to inquire of His intentions.
Jesus with affectionate delicacy in
structs him that the Messiah's kingdom
is not of this world, and warns him not
to take offence at the nature of His
' work. 2. The more general opinion is
that John sends his disciples to Jesus,
that they may be confirmed in the faith
by the sight of the Messiah. If so, the
answer of Jesus, referring them to the
prophecies of Isaiah, proves to them
that the Christ was to be known by
such signs; and warns them not to
stumble at the humble circumstances
in which they found Him. ff Inprison.
John had rebuked Herod, for his wick
ed connection with Herodias. Ch. xiv.
3, 4. He was confined, as Josephus
tells us, in the castle of Machaerus.

he that should come, or do we
look for another ?
4 Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and shew John again
He heard of the works of Jesus from
his own disciples, who seem to have
felt some jealousy on his account.
3. He that should come. The Jews
expected the Messiah to come. Gen.
xlix. 10. They understood by this
question, therefore, " art Thou the
Christ — who is to make the nation
glorious and triumphant over its ene
mies ? " Perhaps there is a covert com
plaint at the delay in assuming regal
state. If so, how gentle is the acted
reply of Jesus. How persuasive the
warning to his sad and impatient fore
runner. 4, 5. Which ye do hear. See Luke vii.
18. It was usual in the prophetic style
to use symbols and actions, and abrupt
sentences, leaving the meaning to be
inferred by the hearer. Jesus bids
them witness His works and report
them faithfully, and leaves John to
make the inference, which he undoubt
edly did make, that He who could do
such works was, beyond all question,
He " who should come." Miracles prove
supernatural power, and works of mercy
prove goodness in the use of that pow
er. And the open invitation to see
His works, and tell all that they see,
shows that Jesus adopted none of the
arts of impostors, ff The poor, Sec. This,
though not a miracle, was abundantly
strange and unheard of. The sects of
the Jews and philosophic schools of the
pagans, all neglected the poor. Isaiah
(xi. 1) had marked it as a noticeable
sign of the Messiah, that He should de
clare His good-tidings to the meek, or
poor in spirit, rather than to the rich.
6. And blessed is he, Sec. To be offended,
in this place, means to be scandalized,
or to take offence. This stumbling-block
was the humble life of Jesus. How
could one, of whose coming, such great
things had been foretold, remain in ob
scurity by His own choice ? The time
had not come to explain this difficulty.
All wondered at it, but none could re-

136

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

those things which ye do hear
and see :
5 The blind receive their sight,
and the lame walk, the lepers
are cleansed, and the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to
them. 6 And blessed" is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me.
7 IT And as they departed, Je
sus began to say unto the multi-
a Is. 8. 14, 15 ; 1 Pet. 2. 8.

ceive grace to understand it, until His
atonement was finished, and the Holy
Spirit was come upon earth. Hence He
warns them, by a promise of blessing,
not to deny Him, because of this one
difficulty yet unexplained. Mysteries
in religion are necessary. We should
receive them in humble faith, and wait
God's time to reveal their meaning.
7. Concerning John. John was in
prison, neglected doubtless by the fickle
people who had at one time flocked to
hear him, willing to hail him as Messiah.
Now the popular current has turned and
left him. Jesus, lest this message sent
by John might occasion cavil, and to
show the vanity of worldly popularity,
utters a commendation of his faithful,
afflicted servant. The questions com
mend John, and rebuke those who, " hke
reeds shaken by the wind," had so soon
forgotten him ; who, being soft and ef
feminate, had shrunk from his self-de
nying doctrines, and deserted him, as if
their once going to the banks of Jprdan
had been only for amusement, ff A
reed shaken with the wind. The banks of
the Jordan were covered with thickets
of reeds or canes, which, being long and
lithe, rustled and bent with every breeze.
It is an image of fickleness and love of
change. Had they gone to see such a
man ? — They knew better. And though
now John might seem to doubt, yet he
was no reed to be shaken about, and
changed without reason. They had
been as httle benefited, by their going
to hear John, and receive his baptism

tudes concerning John, What
went ye out into the wilderness
to see ?6 A reed shaken with the
wind? 8 But what went ye out for to
see ? A man clothed in soft rai
ment ? Behold, they that wear
soft clothing are in king's houses.
9 But what went ye out for to
see ? A prophet ? yea, I say unto
you, and more than a prophet.
10 For "this is he of whom it is
b Eph. 4 14 c Is. 40, 3 ; Mai. 3, 1.

of repentance, as if they had only gone
to look at the winds playing among the
reeds of the river bank.
8. Soft raiment. See vii. 25. The
dress of rich and courtly persons, con
trasted with the coarse garments of
prophets and poor people. Did you go
out expecting to hear a prince, , or a
courtly herald proclaiming the kingdom
of a temporal prince, and are you now
disappointed, that you have left him?
You should have sought courtly heralds
in palaces, not there. You found a man
of sterner qualities, coarsely clad, de
pending on the productions of the wilder
ness, neither eating or drinking as com
mon men. Being such, contrasted to
all effeminate, flattering courtiers, he
taught you the doctrines of a strong and
energetic self-denial and virtue, and how
by " violence" to your sinful lusts, and
repentance, you should seek the Messiah.
And how soon have you forgot his les
sons, and turned back to your former
sins. 9. More than a prophet. The answer
to this question is, that they had gone
there to find a prophet, i. e. a teacher
of divine truth with a message from
God. Yet how soon had they forgotten
His message. John was more than a
prophet. He not only foretold the fu
ture, but his own coming was foretold
(Mai. iii. 1) ; he was born in a miracu
lous manner; he was filled with the
Holy Ghost from his mother's womb
(Lu. 1. 15) ; he seems to have been a
remarkably self-denying and righteous

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XI.

137

written, Behold, I send my mes
senger before thy face, which
shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you,
Among them that are born of
women, there hath not risen a
greater than "John the Baptist :
notwithstanding, he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he.
a John 3. 30.

12 And from the days of John
the Baptist until now, the king
dom of heaven* suffereth vio
lence, and the violent take6 it by
force. 13 For all tbe prophets and the
law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it,
this is Elias which was for to

I or, is gotten by force, and they that thrust
ten. c Lu. 16. IS. d Mai. 4 5 ; Ch. 17.

man; he closed the line of prophets,
bore direct, open testimony to Christ,
baptized Him, and saw the vision of the
Spirit, at that time, and was thus the
link which joins the Old and New cove
nants. He saw not the cross nor the
resurrection, and received not the Chris
tian baptism by the Holy Ghost. Acts
xix. 2, 3. He was saved after the man
ner of faithful men under the olden cov
enant. 10. For this is He, Sec. These words
are found in Mai iii. 1, with one re
markable variation. There it reads,
" before Me" and " My way," meaning
Jehovah who is speaking. Our Lord
now changes the pronoun to the second
person, showing that the one speaking
is the same Jehovah. The two com
pared afford a proof that the Son of
God is the Jehovah of the Old Testa
ment, the Lord Jesus Christ of the
New. See also Is. xl. 3 ; Lu. i 76 ;
Jas. i. 23.
11. Those born of women. Among
all men everywhere, there has not been
a greater, i. e. one endowed with great
er gifts by God. ff Is greater. Not
the least Christian so much, as the
least prophet or teacher in the Church,
is greater in spiritual gifts than John.
In office they are greater, for they
preach the evangelical kingdom of
Messiah ; in doctrine, which is more
spiritual and heavenly; in respect of
the divine assistance, they have rich
er gifts of the Holy Ghost. See John
x. 41 ; vii 39. To be great in the
Gospel sense is to be good and humble,
and diligent in serving God.

12. From the days of John. Since
the first preaching of John there has
been a change of dispensation. Before,
the power of Judaism was undisturb
ed. Since then a change has happened
gradually. John offered his message
to all alike. The Son of man has turn
ed aside from the rich, to preach salva
tion to the poor, ff Suffereth violence.
The Gospel is represented here as a
city taken by storm. Multitudes press
into it. " They that thrust men," i. e.
they who press each other in a crowd,
who long with desire to get to it, suc
ceed. If we would take the kingdom
of heaven, it must be by as great zeal
and earnestness, by as energetic labor
as men show in the storming of a city.
No other violence will succeed But
such earnestness, such resolution not to
fail, will certainly be the first thing
required of us. Lu. xviii. 2-7.
13. The law prophesied. See Heb. x.
1. The law contained types and proph
ecies of the future Gospel By the law
is meant the five books of Moses ; by
the prophets, the remainder of the Old
Testament. The coming of John was
an epoch, marking the change of the cov
enants. Before it, men had only the
law and prophets, and looked for a fu
ture Messiah. Since then, we have the
teaching of the Son of God, with whom
the contrite and earnest prevail by faith
and prayer.
14. If ye wiH receive it. Jf ye will
not take offence at it and cavil, but
believe and ponder it. Religion re
quires us to beheve some things which
we cannot understand. Our reason is

138

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

15 "He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
16 if But whereunto shall I
liken this generation ? It is like
unto children sitting in the mar
kets, and calling unto their fel
lows, 17 And saying, We have piped
a Eev. 2. 1.

given, to show us when it is right to be
lieve. It was right then for them to re
ceive it ; for they had seen the proofs
of divine power in Him enough to con
vince them of His right to explain
prophecy, ff This is Elias. Or Ehjah,
whose history is found in the first and
part of the second book of Kings. He
was a remarkable prophet, living in
a sinful age, austere, bold, poor and
solitary, and appearing from time to
time on the scene, armed with great
powers by Jehovah. He at last vanish
ed from earth in a vision of a chariot of
fire and whirlwind. 2 Kings ii. 11.
The Jews expected the real Ehjah the
Tishbite to come again, perhaps as he
was seen to go, to anoint the Christ
and " restore all things." They un
derstood all in a carnal sense. They
could not receive the spiritual analogy
and likeness of John to Elijah, that he
came in " the spirit and power of Elias."
Lu. i. 17 ; ch. xvii. 10. In a word
they interpreted the splendid visions of
prophecy as wrongfully as we should,
if we expected, from the Revelation of
St. John, a veritable earthly city with
streets of gold and gates of pearl It
was this carnal interpretation which
concealed from them the spiritual
truths of the Gospel. 2 Cor. iii. 15.
15. This form of speech is common
in the New Testament, to instruct all
who hear that the doctrine there de
clared is very important. It was of the
greatest importance that the hearers
should attend and search for the mean
ing of this declaration concerning John
the Baptist ; for until they could allow
that he was in some spiritual sense the
representative of Elijah, they could not
reconcile the Old Testament and the
claims of Jesus.

unto you, and ye have not danced ;
we have mourned unto you, and
ye have not lamented.
18 For John came neither eat
ing nor drinking, and they say,
He hath a devil.
19 The Son of man6 came eating
and drinking, and they say, Be-
5Ch. 9. 10; John 2. 2.

16-19. Whereunto shall I liken, Sec.
As if he looked about to find something
as unreasonable and capricious. They
were not like men, but like perverse
and sullen children. Two bands of
children are together in some place of
sport. One is angry or silent; the
others try to soothe them and persuade
them to join in their sports. They
mimic for them a wedding procession,
with singing and dancing ; but it did not
please them. They next " mourn unto
them," imitate the mournful music and
pace of a funeral, yet without effect.
They then complain of it, that
they • do not know what to do for
them, when neither laughing nor crying
with them will attract their good will. ,
So obstinate, changeful and capricious
was that generation. They cavilled at
every thing, and condemned ah who
sought their good. John came ' neither
eating nor drinking ;" that is, he lived
a prophet's life, was ascetic, was at
no feast, took no wine, no indulgence —
but came exactly as the prophets had
come before. You saw all the signs of
a prophet in him ; yet you did not obey
him. You called him melancholy, wild,
raving, as if he was guided by an evil
spirit. I am come eating and drinking,
living as others, mingling in the com
mon duties and innocent festivities of
daily life, found at feasts and weddings,
neither ascetic nor melancholy. How
perverse and unworthy of men is your
childish slander against Me for this
manner of hfe. ff Markets. Pubhc
places in the streets of a city, wherev
er there was room for sale of articles, or
for children to play, ff Piped. Pipes are
wind instruments, made of hollow reeds
and canes. They were used at feasts.
ff Neither eating nor drinking. John

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XI.

139

hold, a man gluttonous, and a
wine-bibber, a friend of publicans
and sinners. But wisdom is jus
tified of her children.
20 IT Then began he to upbraid
the cities wherein most of his
mighty works were done, because
they repented not.
21 Wo unto thee, Chorazin !
wo unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if
the mighty works which were

was a Nazarite. Lu. i. 15. He was
hardly seen to eat, as he lived alone,
and came out of retirement only on his
mission to preach or baptize. It means
only that he abstained from all the
common gratifications of life — was what
we name a hermit or ascetic, ff Glut
tonous. One given to an excessive love
of good living. They would have it
that Jesus went to eat with sinners be
cause he loved their feasts, not their
souls, ff Wine-bibber. One given to
wine, ff Wisdom is justified, Sec. The
children of wisdom — that is, wise men,
as were the disciples of John and of
Jesus — justify and approve of wisdom,
or the counsel of God, as shown in the
mission of each of them, though the
Pharisees refused When evil men have
exhausted all their enmity and slander
against the ways of God, there will be
found many wise men to confess their
excellence and obey their requirements.
Ps. xcii. 5, 6 ; Prov. xvii. 24.
20. Upbraid. To blame them pub
licly for this want of repentance at the
sight of His works.
• 21. Chorazin, Bethsaida. These were
small towns on the northern shore of
the sea of Galilee, near Capernaum.
Jesus had been present in them at dif
ferent times, and the villagers had been
able to judge of the miracles, done by
Christ in their neighborhood. Beth
saida was the town of Philip, Andrew
and Peter. John i 44. The name
means a " place of hunting or fishing. "
The woe denounced against it, was
soon fulfilled. It is now, if its situation

done in you had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the day of judgment,
than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum,
which "art exalted unto heaven,
shalt be brought down to 'hell :
a Is. 14. 13-15; Lam. 2. 1. or, Hades the
grave.

is at all known, a poor village consisting
of five or six miserable cottages. Cho
razin is thought to have been more on
the west side of the sea. The site is un
known, ff Tyre and Sidon. Cities of
the Philistines or Phoenicians, lying on
the Mediterranean shore. They were
heathen cities, famous for great wealth,
commerce and luxury — and also great
vices. Tyre, about 100 miles north
west of Jerusalem, built 1300 B.C., is
often mentioned in the Old Testament.
2 Chron. ii. 11-16. It was denounced by
the prophets for its pride and wickedness.
It was built partly on the mainland and
partly on a small island, about seventy
paces distant ; of great natural strength,
and fortified by high walls. Its mer
chants were the most famous of the old
world. They brought to the city the
commerce of the Mediterranean, and at
an early period had established flourish
ing colonies. It resisted a siege of Shal-
maneser for five years ; was reduced by
Nebuchadnezzar after a thirteen years
war. Afterwards it was rebuilt and
again taken by Alexander the Great, in
a siege of five months. It is now a
squalid village of no importance. A few
fishermen live on the site, where once
walked the proudest and most successful
merchants of the world. Her merchants
were princes, her traffickers, the hon
orable of the earth, and she, the joyous,
the crowning city. Is. xxiii. 7-3. Now
she is "like the top of a rock — a place
to spread nets on — to be built no more
— the Lord has spoken it." Ezek. xxvi.
14. See Ezek. xxvii. xxviii. ff

140

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

for if the mighty works which
have been done in thee, had been
done in Sodom, it would have
remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, that it
shall be more tolerable for the
land of Sodom, in the day of judg
ment than for thee.
25 If At that time Jesus an
swered and said, I thank thee, 0
a Ps. 8. 2 ; 1 Cor. 1. 27. b Oh. 28. 18 ;
1 Cor. 15. 27.

twenty miles north of Tyre, was in the
bounds of the tribe of Asher. Josh. xix.
28. The tribes however never gained
possession of it. Judges i 31. It was
also a commercial city, and famous for
its valuable timber and skilful workmen.
It is now much less populous. Its pre
sent name is Seide or Saide. ff Sack
cloth and ashes. These were marks of
contrition and humiliation. Is. lviii.
5. Such cloth was the coarsest fabric
for garments then known, and used
only by the poorest people. When any
person or city desired to express sorrow
for sin, and to deprecate the anger of
God, they repented in sackcloth and
ashes, as Nineveh. Jonah iii. 5. They
put off their rich and soft garments,
threw jishes on their heads and sat in
the dust. Better is the mourning of the
soul: but what shall we say of those
who never in any way mourn for sin ?
Will not the people of Nineveh rise up
against them in judgment ?
23. Capernaum. See note ch. iv. 13.
ff Exalted unto heaven, Sec. These are
figurative expressions, adopted from the
style of the Hebrew Testament. Ezek.
xxviii. 2-8. As this village had received
the greatest privileges from God, being
the abode of Christ and the scene of His
wonderful works, and had not repented,
so it would be subjected to the severest
punishment hereafter. In the wars of the
Romans and Jews, Capernaum was ut
terly destroyed, ff Down to hell. The
word hell here is Hades, a vast abyss in
the lower parts of the earth, opposed to
heaven or the firmament over our heads.
It means that the city should be brought

Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and
hast revealed them unto babes."
26 Even so, Father, for so it
seemed good in thy sight.
27 All things6 are delivered
unto me of my Father : and no
man knoweth the Son, but the
Father;" neither knoweth any
o John 1. 18 ; 1 John 5. 20.

down to the grave, i. e. be utterly destroy
ed. See note ch.v. 22 ; x. 28. The threat
of future punishment against the wicked
people of these places follows as an infer
ence from this language. God does not
punish stone walls or houses. Their de
struction is a mark of His wrath against
the sinful men who dwelt in them.
ff Sodom. See note, ch. x. 15. Caper
naum, the most highly exalted, is con
trasted with the place of all others most
terribly punished.
25. The wise and prudent. He does
not thank God so much for concealing
the Gospel from the worldly-minded,
as for revealing it to simple believers,
when the others have rejected it. These
words describe the " wisdom of the
world which is foolishness with God."
The false philosophies of that age, and
the " conclusions of science," were op
posed to the Gospel. Wise men, i. e.
they who were skilled in abstract ques
tions, such as, what is entity, what is
matter, whence came it, What is the
cause of evil, <fec. &c, could not endure
the preaching of Christ's followers, be
cause they asserted facts of faith, and
would not engage in metaphysical sub
tleties, The wise men of Athens called
St. Paul a babbler, because He preached
" Jesus and the resurrection ; " and
did not tell them, how evil came, whe
ther by a property of matter, &c. &c.
ff Babes. The disciples of Christ ; sim
ple, unlearned, believing men. 1 Cor. 1.
27. The mysteries of the Gospel re
quire faith We cannot fathom them :
we can know them only by faith in the
word of God. Reason asks, Is the Bi-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XI.

141

man the Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him.
28 If Come unto me, all ye that
labour," and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest.
a 2 Tim. 2.25; Jas. 8. 13.

ble the word of God ? and if satisfied
of this fact, it bids us receive all it con
tains in faith, as a babe or child re
ceives the assertions of its parents.
Ch. xviii. 3. Men educated in science,
without an humble rehgious spirit, are
too apt to despise the believer. Chil
dren must be grounded from infancy in a
belief of the truths taught in the Cate
chism. Only an early education in a
right and simple faith can build up the
true heroic character of Christian piety.
27. All things. The whole natural
creation, the earth and the worlds, and
all things in them have been subjected
to the Son of God. John i. 3 ; Heb. i.
10. The Creed bids us confess faith in
the Only Son, " by whom all things
were made." Here, however, the things
to which our Lord is supposed to refer,
are, all things of His spiritual kingdom
as Mediator — all power in heaven and
earth." Ch. xxviii. 18. These were
committed to Him as Christ, on account
of His Incarnation (Phil. ii. 7-12), and
to be communicated at His will, for the
salvation of His followers, ff No man,
&c. These words declare the existence
of the inscrutable knowledge and being
of the Godhead. The nature of the
Ommiscient only an ommiscient Being
can know. No man hath seen or known
God — except the Son. By knowledge
or science no mere man can know God.
The revelation which is made to us, is
of His character, as loving us, and send
ing His Son to be the propitiation for
our sins. Of this character we gain
glimpses by loving Him, and obeying
Him, and imitating His love, as St.
John teaches at large in his epistles.
1 John ii. 3, 29. Our Saviour does not
mean, that God is a respecter of persons,
and reveals Himself to one man, and
not to another, by any secrecy or par-

29 Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me : for I am meek
and lowly in heart ; and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy,6 and
my burden is light.
b 1 John 5. 8.
tiality in His will. For the same Gos
pel had been made known to Pharisee
and disciple, to wise and prudent and
to babes alike, but the wise had deli
berately refused it — the disciples had
accepted it. Therefore God gives the
latter more grace. He invites all men to
come to Him, and find rest.
28. Come unto me. This is an invi
tation, to all the Jews, in the first in
stance, who labored under the burden
of the ordinances of their dispensation —
(ch. xxiii. 4), aud especially to the poor
and afflicted, who were groaning under
weary troubles. Lu. xiii. 16. Next it
extends to the heathen, who were
weighed down with the burdens of sin
and the accusations of conscience, with
out any revelation to help them to
know God. It is a precious invitation
now, to all sinful men, as it, shows us
the desire of the' Lord Jesus to relieve us
of all sin, torment and sorrow, and to
give us true peace. It is used as " com
fortable words" in the office for the
Holy Communion, because Christians,
in a manner, do then comjaatj* Christ
by faith, to receive refresrfinent and
strength for their souls. To come to
Christ, now that He is in heaven, is
to obey the directions of repentance
and faith which He has left. The
Church is His Body visible on earth to
show us whither we must go to receive
grace. The rest which is promised is
forgiveness of sins and sanctification
here, with hope of eternal rest in heaven.
29. Take my yoke. A yoke is an in
strument used by farmers to couple
oxen together. It is of no great weight,
yet of strength sufficient to confine rest
less and stubborn beasts. It is an apt
figure of the rehgious system or train
ing of Christianity, which is hght upon
the willing and obedient, and yet able

142

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

A1

CHAPTER XII.
T that time Jesus went on
the sabbath-day through the

a Deut. 23. 25.

to restrain the natural rebellion of our
carnal minds. To take the yoke of
Christ is to be His disciple and keep
His commandments. Compared with
the Jewish system, or the natural con
dition of fallen men, it is very light and
easy. He is meek — that is, gentle, not
imposing heavy burdens and galling dis
tinctions, as the Pharisees did upon their
disciples. 30. This passage (verses 25 to 30)
is used as the Gospel for St. Matthias's
day, February 24th. St. Matthias was
chosen by the lot of the apostles, with
prayer, to fill the vacancy of the apos
tate Judas. Acts i. 23-26. This Gos
pel is chosen on the presumption, that
he was one of those humble, obscure,
and docile disciples, to whom the praise
in it applied. He is not spoken of again
in Scripture. Both Eusebius and St.
Jerome affirm that he was one of the
seventy disciples. The latter states that
the province assigned him was one of
the Ethiopias, or, as some think, Cap-
padocia. He was murdered by the
pagans, as Dr. Cave judges, by cruci
fixion. The following remarks of the learned
and pious Bp Beveridge on this pas
sage are worthy of a devout perusal :
"Hearken to your Saviour's call, and
resolve to go unto Him. In order where
unto, observe these few necessary rules :
First, be sure and continue firm and
steadfast to Christ's Holy Catholick
Church, and particularly to that sound
part of it with which you are connected,
and suffer not yourselves to be seduced
from it upon any pretence whatsoever.
For if you either separate yourselves, or
be justly separated from the Church,
which is Christ's body, you will be
thereby deprived of all communion with
Him who is the head of it. But in the
next place, think it not enough that ye
are outward and visible members of
Christ's Church, but five up to the rules
and orders of it, constantly using the

corn," and his disciples were an
hungered, and began to pluck the
ears of corn, and to eat.

several means of grace and salvation,
which are thereby administered to you,
prescribed by Christ Himself as the
way whereby we go unto Him ; such as
fasting, and praying, and praising God,
and hearing His Holy Word publicly
read and expounded to you, and especi
ally receiving the sacraments of Christ's
mystical body and blood, ordained on
purpose for our more intimate access
unto Him and communion with Him,
that we may partake of the influence of
His Holy Spirit, and the merits of that
death which He suffered for us. Lastly,
content not yourselves with the mere
outward performance of these and the
like duties, but perform them heartily
and sincerely with your whole souls as
well as bodies ; still believing and trust
ing on Christ to make them effectual to
the purposes for which He has appointed
them. Do this, and He will soon make
good His word and fulfil His promise to
you. For He, by His Holy Spirit, ac
companying the means, will so enlighteji
your minds, rectify your wills, and
regulate your passions, as to sanctify
your whole souls, and reduce them to a
right temper and constitution, and then
he will soon discharge and absolve you
from all your sins, and give rest to your
souls, not only from all evil here, but in
God Himself, the chiefest of all good
hereafter."
CHAPTER XH
1. At that time, Sec. See Mark ii.
23-28, and Luke vi. 1-5. The season
of the year is thought to be April, A. D.
26. True era, 32. St. Luke says that it
was the " deutero-proteron," i. e. second-
first Sabbath. This word has caused
some difficulty. The best opinion seems
to be that Jesus had gone to the second
passover of His ministry (John v. 1), and
had cured the impotent man at the pool
of Bethesda on the Pascal Sabbath
(April 20). This act increasing the en
mity of the rulers, He prudently leaves
Jerusalem after the days of unleavened

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XH.

143

2 But when the Pharisees saw
it, they said unto him, Behold,
thy disciples do that which is not
lawful" to do upon the sabbath-
day.

a Ex. 31. 15.

bread (Wednesday,) and is now on His
way back to Galilee. The second-first
Sabbath was reckoned from " the mor
row after the Sabbath" (Lev. xxiii.
9-11.), which happened in the Pascal
week, when a sheaf of barley was offered
before the Lord, in the temple. From
this day the Jews reckoned seven weeks
to the Pentecost (Lev. xxiii. 15, 16),
called the feast of weeks, or feast of the
harvest. Ex. xxiii. 16. The seasons
are different in Judea from our own.
" The crops in the southern part of Pal
estine and in the plains come to matu
rity about the middle of April, but in the
northern and mountainous sections, they
do not become ripe till three weeks
after, or even later." On the 9th of
May, between Hebron and Carmel
(2750 feet above the Mediterranean),
wheat was ripening, and Messrs. Robin
son and Smith had there " a beautiful
illustration" of the fact we are now con
sidering. " Our Arabs were ' an hun
gered,' and going into the fields, they
' plucked the ears of corn, and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands.' On
being questioned, they said this was an
old custom, and no one would speak
against it ; they were supposed to be
hungry, and it was allowed as a charity.
We saw this afterwards, in repeated
instances." ff. Through the corn. The
word corn, everywhere but in the United
States, means the smaller grains, such
as wheat, barley, <fec. Such grains they
could get out of the husk easily, by rub
bing tiie ears in their hands, as they
walked through the cornfield. Indian
corn was not known till the discovery
of America, and is properly called
maize, ff To pluck the ears of corn.
This action itself was lawful (Deut.
xxiii. 25), nor do the Pharisees accuse
them of taking what was another's, but
only for doing manual labor on the Sab-

3 But he said unto them, Have
ye not read what David did6 when
he was an hungered, and they
that were with him ;
4 How he entered into the

6 1 Sam. 21. 6.

bath day. They reasoned that the small
labor of plucking and rubbing out the
grain with their hands was to be consid
ered as harvesting and grinding, and
therefore forbidden.
2. It is not lawful. The Jews from
the most profane violations of the Sab
bath and other laws of God in one age,
had now gone to the other extreme, of
superstition. They were over-strict and
scrupulous. The Pharisees watched
Jesus, to do Him harm with the people,
and by this suggestion, intended to in
jure Him. The laws of the Jewish
Sabbath or Saturday are recorded Ex.
xx. 10 ; xxxv. 2, 3 ; Numb. xv. 32-36.
Jesus answers them by fair arguments.
1. The account of David eating the
shew-bread. 2. The priests' work in
the temple. 3. The passage of Hosea.
4. The end or design of the day. 5.
His claim to be " Lord also of the Sab
bath." Mk. ii. 28. Let it be noted that
our Lord does not admit the act to be
sinful. For if a violation of the Sab
bath, He would have condemned it,
however insignificant it may have

3. What David did. The analogy
between David fleeing from SauL and
the Son of David withdrawing for awhile
from the enemies who sought His life, is
very striking. David and his company
were hard pressed by king Saul In
great extremity he came to Ahimelech,
the high priest, to ask for food to save
his company from starvation, and found
only the shew-bread in the tabernacle,
asked it of him, and ate it with his com
panions. This story, recorded 1 Sam.
xxi. 1-7, was well known to the Phari
sees, yet they believed David a prophet
and. righteous man, and therefore, in
this case, justified him. Therefore, in a
case of like necessity, to avoid hunger
and weariness, the disciples, were only

144

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

house of God, and did eat the
shew-bread," which was not lawful
for him to eat, neither for them
which were with him, but only
for the priest ?
5 Or have ye not read in the
law" how that on the sabbath-days

a Ex. 25. 30.
28.9.

6 Ex.!

cNum.

doing as he had done, — keeping the
spirit of the law, though not the letter.
Necessary labor may always be done on
the Lord's day. ff Shew-bread. In
Hebrew it is " the bread of faces." It
was ordered to be set forth in the outer
court, first of the tabernacle, and after
wards of the temple. Ex. xxv. 30 ;
Lev. xxiv. 5-9. It, with wine and salt,
was considered holy, and was a theocratic
emblem, or visible witness to the Jews,
that God, their king, was dwelling in
His " house," in their midst, and would
be served by them in the same manner
as earthly monarchs. Twelve loaves
were kept on the prothesis or shew-
table for a week, when twelve others
were substituted. Those removed could
be eaten by the priests only (Lev. xxiv.
9), and those it was that David ate. A

the priests in the temple profane
the sabbath,'' and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, that in
this place is one greater than the
temple. 7 But if ye had known what
this meaneth,8 1 will have mercy,
d John 7. 22, 28. e Hos. 6. 6.

The Shew Table.
similar table is supposed by the rubric
of the Communion office, to be provided
in Christian churches.
4. House of God. Called so here
with a peculiar beauty. It was the
tabernacle in which God dwelt. The
temple was not in existence in the age of

King David. This bread was set forth
as a symbol of God's dwelling in His
house to rule over and bless His people.
On a similar occasion Jesus called His
body the temple of God. John ii. 19.
Christians are now, in a spiritual sense,
called the house or household of God,
because He dwells in their hearts by
faith. 5. Read in the law. Not these very
words, but that such duties were en
joined on the priests by the law of
Moses, as required them to do servile
work on the sabbath. Numb, xxviii.
9-11. They were commanded to kill
and sacrifice two lambs in addition to
their daily service. The labor of kill
ing the beasts of sacrifice, preparing
them for the altar, removing the ash
es, &c, was not small. They could do
it, by the law, and be without sin:
whereas the same labor done by an or
dinary Jew, would have been a profana
tion of the day. The law of Moses is
shown by this argument to yield to ne
cessity. From which the Jews ought
to have learned that it was inferior in
importance to the law of preserving hfe.
We may do all works on the Lord!s
Day which are necessary for preserving
life and for the public worship of God,
even in some cases at the cost of much
labor. 6. One greater than the temple. That
is Himself. To be greater than the
temple, which was honored by the Jews
as the most holy place of earth, as the
dwelling of Jehovah Himself, was to
claim equality with Him. Haggal (chi
ii. 7-9) delivered a remarkable prophe
cy to encourage the Jews under Zerub-
babel, by foretelling that the smaller
poorer temple which was then building,

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XII.

145

and not sacrifice, ye would not
have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord
even of the sabbath-day.
9 And when he was departed
thence, he went into their syna
gogue.

would exceed the former in glory,
when " the desire of all nations " should
come. And we can explain this proph
ecy only by the faith that the Lord Je
sus Christ was the " glory of the latter
house," and coming in a more excellent
way and covenant than He had come
before in the Shechinah. Whatever
therefore He permitted His disciples to
do, was in fact a divine permission, as
much as the labors of the priests in
the temple on Mount Zion.
7. If ye had known. Superstition and
malice had blinded them to the true
meaning of the law and had led them
into a violation of the spirit of it, in
condemning the innocent. They were
cruel in their rigidness, and while think
ing to keep the letter, they destroyed
themselves by crimes against the mercy
and truth which God loves. The nat
ural heart of man is constantly tending,
even after all these lessons, to make
the blessed mercy of God harsh and
unlovely; and instead of the gentle
ness and humaneness of a living Sa
viour, to dwell on the severe legal jus
tice of secret, and inexorable decrees.
8. The Lord even of the Sabbath-day.
He is the Jehovah of the Old Testa
ment who rested from His works, who
gave the law of the Ten command
ments, and hence the Son of God, able
of His own divine right to order the
day as He would. St. Mark adds
that the sabbath was made for man,
that is, to promote his happiness and
good, and not man to be such a slave to
the day as to suffer by his observance
of it. Bp. Horsley speaks as follows :
" The proper business of the day is the
worship of God in public assembhes,
from which none may without some de
gree of crime be unnecessarily absent.
Vol. L— 7

10 If And behold, there was a
man which had his hand wither
ed. And they asked him saying,
"Is it lawful to heal on the sab
bath-days ? that they might ac
cuse him.
11 And he said unto them,
a Lu. 14. 8.

Private devotion is the Christian's dai
ly duty, but the peculiar duty of the
sabbath is Public worship. As for those
parts of the day whioh are not occupi
ed in the public duty, every man's own
conscience must direct him, what por
tion of this leisure should be allotted to
his private devotions, and what may be
spent in sober recreations. Perhaps no
better general rule can be laid down
than this, that the same proportion of
the sabbath should be devoted to re
ligious exercises, public and private, as
every person would spend of any other
day in his ordinary business." It is cus
tomary to make use of the word sabbath
when we mean a day of rest. Other
wise we do better to drop the Jewish
word and say the Lord's day, or Sunday ;
to keep in mind the distinction between
the first and seventh day. The obser
vation of the Lord's day must rest up
on the command of the Decalogue, for
remembering one day in seven. But
the manner of its observance on the
continual customs of the Christian
Church. 9, 10. And when, Sec. See also Mark
iii. 1—5 ; Luke vi. 6-10, for this same
account. The words of St. Matthew seem
to make this miracle follow on the same
day. We have in this fact another
proof that he did not follow the order of
time, but more the order of subjects.
It was on another sabbath, perhaps the
next one, as we learn from St. Luke,
ff His hand withered. By the palsy.
See note ch iv. 24. Dried up, and the
musoles shrank. The soribes and
Pharisees, from this time forward, plot
the destruction of Jesus. They watch
Him, in order to effect this, and taking
the advantage of the public assembly in
the synagogue, they ask the question,

146

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

What man shall there be among
you, that shall have one sheep,
and if it fall into a pit on the
sabbath-day, will he not lay hold
on it, and lift it out ?
12 How much then is a man
better than a sheep ? Wherefore
it is lawful to do well on the
sabbath-days.

simply to find something for which to
accuse Him. St. Mark says that He
was moved to anger or holy indignation ;
and that He asked them whether it was
better to save life on the sabbath and
do good as He did, or to do evil and
seek His death, as they were doing.
And He presses upon them by the in
vincible argument, that if they would
labor on the sabbath to save the life of
an animal, could not He, to save life
and do good to men f He asserts as a
conclusion of the whole matter that
It is lawful to do well on the sabbath
days. The Evangelists leave us to
imagine the chagrin and rage of the
wicked enemies of Jesus.
11, 12. Better than a sheep. Of
more value. By this simple and natural
question, which all present, who were
perhaps mostly villagers of Gahlee, and.
owned sheep, and had often had oc
casion to consider this doubt in acci-:
dents happening among their rocky
hills, Jesus settles the question more
effectually than volumes of abstract
-proofs could do. He showed every one
of them, that it was a law impressed on
their very consciences, and practically
allowed by them, that it was pleasing
to God, to do well at all times, and to
place charity above cermonial observan
ces. 13. Stretch forth. When a miracle
follows a doctrine as it does in this case,
it becomes the proof of what was before
said. 1. Jesus does not labor on the
sabbath. It is an easy thing for Him
to speak the word, and the hand is
restored. The Pharisees cannot pretend
tnat a word is unlawful labor. 2. He
shows Himself to have divine power to

13 Then saith he to the man,
Stretch forth thine hand. And
he stretched it forth ; and it
was restored whole, like as the
other. 14 % Then the Pharisees went
out, and1 held a council against
him, how they might destroy
him. I or, took counsel.

sustain His claim to a right over the
sabbath. The conduct of the man may
instruct us in the ways of a right faith.
He might have said to this order, " how
can I stretch out my hand? It is
withered." But he obeys, and that
which he could not do, the divine energy
acting with his will, and supplying
what was lacking in him by nature, he
does. So, many men would say, " I
cannot, I cannot," in spiritual tilings,
when they should say I " will not." We
must obey the commands of God,
knowing that if we will to do so, God
will give us sufficient strength. Surely
no one should wait for grace, as too
many claim to be doing. The command
to all is, " awake and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light."
Say not " I cannot," but act at once in
faith in Christ's help, and the power to
serve Him will be given.
14. Then the Pharisees went out. They
consulted together, joining the Herod
ians to their plot. See Mark iii. 7-12.
They were enraged and alarmed for
their own power, which would fall before
such a prophet. The Herodians were
probably a party of men, friends of
Herod, who hke bim paid little regard
to the Jewish laws and customs. If
they were a religious sect at all, it is
probable that their tenets were very
loose, and far different from the school
of the Pharisees. Herod had sought
the life of the infant Jesus : his followers
were hostile to Him to the last. Dean
Prideaux supposes two chief opinions as
belonging to them. 1. That the domin
ion of the Romans over the Jews was
just, and should be religiously respected.
2. That many customs and usages of

T. E.

'¦]

CHAPTER XH.

147

15 But when Jesus knew it, he
withdrew himself from thence:
and great multitudes followed
him, and he healed them all.
16 And charged them that they
should not make him known :
17 That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by "Esaias the
prophet, saying, a Is. 42. l.

the idolatrous nations around them,
were worthy of respect and adoption by
a liberal mind. They would not be
exclusive. 15, 16. Withdrew himself. St. Mark
says to the sea, that is, of Gahlee, and
adds that great multitudes came to
Him from the most distant parts of Pa
lestine, from Jerusalem, Idumea, from
beyond Jordan, and from Tyre and
Sidon. These were all Jews, living in
those places. He seeks comparative
privacy, to avoid the hostility of the
Pharisees and Herodians, as His hour
had not yet come. He charges the
crowd not to think that they will do
Him honor by making Him more
known ; doing this, probably, as one
means of instructing the disciples that
He does not intend to array against the
Jewish rulers any thing hke an army ;
or to nourish sedition, for which they
are all too ready. This verse follow
ing the other, which tells the hatred of
the rulers, seems to intimate that there
was at this time a great readiness for
sedition in the minds of many, which
was promptly suppressed by Jesus. It
is evident that He had the opportunity
to have propagated His rehgion, if He
had intended it, by the sword.
17, 18. That it might be, Sec. This
refusing to excite the "great multi
tudes" to civil war, was so utterly
unlike the common use and wishes of
men, that St. Matthew explains it from
a divine foreordination as declared by
Isaiah, xiii. 1—4. It was conduct very
different from what they as Jews had
at the time expected from Witti as Mes
siah. But how entirely does it agree
with prophecy. And how evident it is

18 Behold my servant, whom I
have chosen; my beloved, in
whom my soul is well pleased :
6I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he shall shew judgment to
the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry;
neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets.
b John 8. 34,

to us that the original idea of such
conduct in the Founder of our religion,
could not have originated within the
heart of man. ff My servant. My be
loved. Christ was the only begotten
and beloved Son of God (Matt. iii. 17),
accepted and beloved in His human
nature also. He was doing God's will
while refusing to do as men would have
had Him do. He was called servant
or minister, because He came in form
as a man (Phil. ii. 7), in which form,
for the space of His natural life He was
to obey the will of God, as an example
to His brethren. John iv. 34. ff Shall
show judgment. He shall teach the
will of God, or His covenant of religion
and righteousness ; the terms on which
He will judge men. It is so used in
Ps. cxix. 7-20. This covenant of the
Gospel He would make easy to all na
tions. The word Gentiles does not
require us to suppose that the multi
tudes were pagans. For such an event
as the coming to Him of Gentiles,
would have been particularly noticed.
They may have been proselytes, but
were probably Jews dwelling in those
countries, and for the time representing
those nations.
19. He shall not strive, Sec. He shall
not be a warrior and conqueror, as St.
Matthew would have us think was at
this time easy for Him, by human
means even, to have been. He was
neither to shout for war, nor cry as the
herald of an army — but He was to bind
up the wounds of the humble and trou
bled children of men. These three
phases, to strive, i. e. to make war,
to cry, i. e. to shout in the street,
as a soldier in the thick of battle,

148

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

20 A bruised reed shall he not
break, and smoking flax shall he
not quench, till he send forth
judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the
Gentiles trust.
22 T Then was brought unto

and " his voice heard in the streets,"
seem the phrases to describe a war
rior. He would be unlike them ; a
Prince of Peace, gentle, meek and con
descending to heal the wounded. It is
this character in Jesus, which has sep
arated Christians as nations from all
others. 20. A bruised reed. A reed growing
on the water-courses, and bruised or
ready to fall and die. This is a strik
ing image of feebleness. It pictures to
us the contrite heart, humbled, bowed
down almost to despair, by infirmity
and sin ; so sensitive that a harsh law
or sentence would destroy all hope.
Such He will not crush by indifference
or severity, but will visit, soothe and
restore them, ff Smoking flax. The
expiring wick of a lamp, for which
purpose flax was used by the Jews.
How affecting a picture of a soul ready
to perish, in which hope is almost gone.
Such an heart He will revive, will re
new the light of gladness, and like one
pouring fresh oil into a lamp, will give
it hope of eternal life. ff Judgment
unto victory. Until the cause of right
eousness and truth is triumphant — till
wars cease and conquerors fail, till the
Gospel of peace is universally known
and practised. This would be the man
ner of His conquest of the world. Alas !
that Christians do not more carefully
strive to show forth His character, and
conquer by the might of love.
21. And in His name, Sec. In the
book of Isaiah, the words run " and the
isles shall wait for His law," and in the
foregoing verse "until He bring forth
judgment to truth." In both cases St.
Matthew, according to his custom in
citing from the Old Testament, gives
the sense of the passage, dropping part-

him one possessed with a devil,
blind and dumb ; and he healed
him, insomuch that the blind and
dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were
amazed, and said, Is not this the
son" of David ?
a Chr 22. 42.

ly its ancient Hebrew dress. " The
isles" are often in the Old Testament
used as a convenient phrase for the
Gentiles generally, being the isles east
of Judea — namely, Greece and the
Archipelago, which were then occupied
by the heathen. To the isles, to all
pagan nations, the offer of free salvation
in Christ would be made.
22. One possessed, Sec. The same
account is given by St. Mark, iii. 22—
27 ; St. Luke xi. 14-28. See note, ch.
iv. 24. This miracle is a sequel to the
prophecy. As He restored this- broken
reed, so would He drive out the evil
spirit, which held possession of the Gen
tile world.
23. Is not this the Son of David? Is
He not the Messiah ? The cure of this
poor demoniac man, seems to have been
a signal instance of power. He had
been as it were doubly possessed ; and
could not hear nor see. Besides this,
scribes had " come down from Jerusa
lem" at this time to seek to injure Him
before the people (Mark iii. 22), and
the miracle is done boldly in their pre
sence, aud that of a great multitude.
The effect was as St. Matthew relates.
The common and unlearned people ask,
is not this the Messiah ? He agrees to
the very letter of prophecy, preaching
as it were by a hving argument and
sign that He fulfilled the words of the
prophets. Is. xxxvi. 5. Surely the
Messiah could not do greater things
than these. John vii. 81. Jesus was
at this time, again in Capernaum, after
the Passover.
24. Beelzebub. A name taken from
an idol of the Philistines of Ekron. 2
Kings 1, 2 ; 2 Sam. v. 11. It meant the
god of tiie fly, and was worshipped to
obtain deliverance from the injuries of

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XH.

149

24 But when the Pharisees
heard it they said, This fellow
doth not cast out devils, but by
Beelzebub the prince of the
devils. 25 And Jesus knew their
thoughts, and said unto them,
Every kingdom divided against

that insect : or according to others, it
signified the god of filth. It was a
name of bitter contempt in the mouths
of the Pharisees, ff When the Pharisees,
dec. There is this difference to be ob
served between ancient and modern
unbelievers : the latter attempt to deny
that any miracles were done t>y Christ :
the former, seeing His works, and afraid
to deny facts, ascribed them to an evil
agency. We have therefore the hard-
wrung testimony of the Pharisees to the
fact that Jesus worked miracles, that
is, deeds beyond the reach of any unaid
ed human powers. We cannot for a
moment admit their explanation that
He did this by assistance from the devil,
since they have been the severest blow
that his kingdom has ever received.
The devil cannot do works of pure good
ness. We must therefore receive the
testimony of the ancient, to the shame
of the modern unbeliever, who will do
well to ponder the description given by
Christ, of those who wilfully reject the
evidence of right reason in religion. It
is easy to fall. How far had these
Pharisees fallen. Men often allow a
cavil against rehgion to dwell in their
minds from carelessness or love of some
sin, which rehgion condemns, who see
not that the cavil will soon lead to other
cavils and objections, and finally to
contempt of the divine word, and to
utter reprobation. Some doctrines may
seem unnecessary to the unlearned
Christian, but let him be sure that he
is only safe in clinging to all the por
tions of truth which are stamped with
the approval of holy men of ah ages.
25. Knew their thoughts. He may
possibly 'have heard these remarks
about Beelzebub, as they had dared not
only to conceive, but to utter their blas-

itself, is brought to desolation ;
and every city or house divided
against itself, shall not stand.
26 And if Satan cast out Satan,
he is divided against himself;
how shall then his kingdom
stand ?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast

phemies in murmurs to each other.
And it seems more than probable that
in denouncing their crime, Jesus
should reply to their words. Or, He
may intend to show them their bold
ness in murmuring against Him, by
showing that He exercised another and
well known attribute of God in which
it is not known that Satan has any
part (Ps. xliv. 21; exxxix. 2;) that
He could read the hearts of men with
out the help of their words, ff Every
kingdom, &c. They are refuted in then-
false reasoning by a simple and uni
versal fact. A family, or state, at war
with itself, is soon destroyed. And
however great the malice of Satan, it
is not supposable that he can be guilty
of a folly, for which he would soon be
despised by men. If he destroys his
own work, destroys at one time what
he builds at another, he is worthy of
ridicule — men can teach him better
wisdom than that. The evil one is
endowed with the intellect of "an
archangel though in ruins," an intel
lect far above the suspicion of such in
constancy and infirmity of purpose. He
has in every age divided the Church by
the chameleon forms of schisms and
heresies, often wrought up with great
skill. But his inventions soon manifest
his hand in them, and one by one die
out, even as trees planted in the earth
without roots.
27. Your children. Your disciples
or followers. Jesus shows them that
their cavil against Him could be retort
ed upon them with more truth than they
had imagined. Your own followers,
against whose actions you have hereto
fore made no objection, if you have not
actually taught and encouraged them
so to do, pretend to cast out demons, in

150

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

out devils, by whom do your
children" cast them out? there
fore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by
the Spirit of God, then the king
dom of God is come unto you.
a Mark 9. 88 ; Acts 19. 18.

some cases, and you find no fault with
them. You claim that in them it is
only the power of God, which can do
this ; it is therefore foolish and wicked
in you now to urge such a cavil against
Me for doing the very same thing. That
some among the Jews claimed this
power of exorcism is evident from Mark
ix. 38 ; Acts xix. 13, 14; and Josephus'
Antiquities, viii. 2. The Christian
fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and
others, tell us the same. It may have
been a pretence, but the power may
have been granted to some persons, in
order to prepare the minds of the nation
beforehand for this astonishing demon
stration of the Divine power in Christ.
David had driven the evil spirit from
Saul by his holy harpings. 1 Sam. xvi.
23. And something of the same kind
may have been customary, though
abused by evil arts. The power of ex
orcism of evil spirits fingered for several
ages in the Christian Church. If They
shall be your judges. They will arise in
judgment against you, to prove that you
are actuated by ill-will and obstinacy.
28. The Spirit of God. St. Luke
says "the finger of God," i. e. the power
of God. Ex. viii 19. St. Matthew is
exact in his words, for the power spoken
of is exercised in the might and inspira
tion of the Holy Ghost. After Jesus
had left the earth, this same power in
Christians was considered as a gift
of the Holy Ghost The words king
dom of God, mean the beginning of the
Messianic reign. It is near enough to
you to require you to believe and seek
it. The kingdom of God is near, and
therefore the kingdom of Satan is in
vaded and weakened. They ought to
have rejoiced in the signs of this con
quest of evil, and prepared their hearts
to receive a kingdom which bogan in
such works of mercy. But truly they

29 Or else, how can one enter
into a strong man's house, and
spoil his goods, except he first
bind the strong man ? and then
he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with "me, is
b Dan. 2. 44. c 1 John 2. 19.

loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil.
29. Or else, Sec. Otherwise, if the
kingdom of the Messiah has not come in
My person, how can this power be
granted to Me ? Jesus now pushes them
to extremity. They knew that no pro
phet had ever claimed such power.
They knew, also, that the prophets had
foretold that this power would belong to
the Messiah. Is. xlix. 25 ; liii 12,
Therefore, if He was not the Messiah,
this power to cast out devils, as He had
done, would be impossible, according to
their own scriptures. But it was possi
ble it belonged to Him ; for they had
seen Him enter the strong man's house ;
that is, actually rescue by force one over
whom Satan had held undisturbed power.
The argument was unanswerable. But
alas, a, perverse will is invincible. While
we feel a just indignation against those
wicked Jews, let us beware of their sin.
Many opinions are linked in one chain,
and we, too, by our wilful errors, may
now be opposing the power of a right
faith as truly as they did the Person of
Christ. 30. He that is not with me, Sec. In
this contest of light and darkness, of the
kingdom of God and of Satan, there is
no middle ground. There is no third
power, to which these miraculous works
can be attributed. The Jews were
obliged either to join with Christ, or be
against Him and against God. To
gather with one and to scatter, is taken
either from the image of a war, with
two opposing sides, or a harvest-field,
where the reapers either gather the har
vest, or insanely waste it. These words
are reversed in Mark ix. 40 ; but with
senses entirely different. Jesns is
here speaking of the war on Satan's
kingdom, but there of that charity
which the disciples were to show to such

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XH.

151

against me; and he that gath-
ereth not with me, scattereth
abroad. 31 % Wherefore I say unto you,
All" manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men : but
the blasphemy against the Holy
a Mark 8. 28; Lu. 12. 10; Heb. 10. 29;
1 John 5. 16.

Ghost shall not be forgiven unto
men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a
word against the Son of man,6 it
shall be forgiven him : but who
soever speaketh against the Holy
Ghost it shall not be forgiven
b 2 John 7. 12 ; 1 Tim. 1. 13.

as used His name, while they were too
timid to follow Him. The maxim is
true in our age as well as then. The
hosts of men in Christian lands who
make no profession of rehgion, are, in
fact, bars and stumbling-blocks in its
way. They are scattering, or opposing
the reign of pure religion.
31, 32. Blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost. Blasphemy is injurious and
malicious speaking against God or His
attributes. See note ch. ix. 3. In
these remarkable words, we have a de
claration of the limit of divine mercy,
which has sometimes given great trouble
to serious minds. What then is this
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost ?
St. Mark (iii. 30,) shows us that the
Pharisees had been guilty of it, " be
cause they said, He had an unclean
spirit." — Their sin, then, was maliciously
ascribing a miracle of Divine power, to
the agency of Beelzebub. It is to be
noted that it is not said here a sin
against, but, "blasphemy against,"
which is explained again by " speaketh
against the Holy Ghost." Words are
in the oriental form of speech "the
fruit of the lips," and manifest the
character of the tree, i. e. of the inner
most mind. Evil speaking against the
Holy Ghost, does not become unpar
donable, otherwise than as it proves a
reprobate heart. Therefore while a
man can repent, mourn over sin, or
walk humbly with God, while he feels
the stirrings of desire to serve Him and
to pray to Him, we judge, with scrip
tural authority and the best divines,
that he is not reprobate, has not finally
grieved nor quenched the Spirit (Eph.
iv. 30 ; 1 Thess. v. 19),i'and so may re
pent and be forgiven. The reprobate
condition of a soul is described in

Hebrews vi. 6, 9. It happens not, as
some penitent persons imagine, at the
beginning, but at the end of a Chris
tian walk, and is often called apostasy
or reprobation. Until one has tried
and enjoyed the means of grace, been
for a while a Church-member and re
ceived the influences of the Spirit, and
afterwards turns away as an apostate,'
denies the Gospel, ridicules the faith,
scoffs at religion, and becomes entirely
hardened and indifferent, it is not likely
that he can have arrived at this mali
cious and dead state of mind, when he
can, as the Pharisees did, ascribe the
power of God to the agency of the
devil. Saul of Tarsus hated Christ and
vilified His rehgion and destroyed His
disciples : yet he did it ignorantly and
was forgiven. Penitent man! have
you done more than he did ? Yet he
was forgiven. A few opinions of divines
of tiie Church are added. The learned
and admirable Dr. Waterland says,
"The Pharisees in their spleen and
rage against the Gospel — and being
wilfully blind, chose rather to impute
Christ's works to the devil " — which act
he says was their blasphemy. Bp.
Porteus — with whom many agree —
says : " This crime was confined solely
and exclusively to the Pharisees, who
attributed miracles wrought by the
Spirit of God to the agency of evil
spirits. Since therefore miracles have
long ceased, and this blasphemy relates
solely to those who saw miracles, &c,
it is impossible for any one in later
times to be literally guilty of this un
pardonable blasphemy to its full ex
tent." The Bishop means that this
literal form of the blasphemy ceased
with the age of miracles. He would
however agree with Archbishop Wake,

152

MATTHEW.

[A D.

him, neither in this world, neither
in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good,
and his fruit good ; or else make

who says : " There are some sins of a
like nature which may be commit
ted by us — apostasy from the Chris
tian religion, after having been con
vinced of its truth, and made partakers
of its promises : apostasy from the truth
and purity of the Gospel, for the sake
of some worldly fears, or of some pres
ent hopes and advantages." Arch
bishop Tillotson terms " approaches to
it," " a profane scoffing at rehgion, and
the Holy Spirit of God which dwells in
good men ; perverse infidelity notwith
standing all reasonable evidence ; obsti
nacy in a sinful or vicious course;
sinning against the clear conviction of
our consciences," — which being long
continued, " God may withdraw His grace
from us, and leave us " hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin." Arch
bishop Seeker terms it " an incurable dis
ease within, prevailing over the most
powerful and the last remedy which
Divine wisdom thought fit to use." Dr.
S. Clarke calls it " an obstinate re
jecting the last means of conviction, and
an evident token of incorrigible malice." ;
None need despair of grace, who will
confess their sins, and seek by repent- I
ance and faith to serve and love God.
ff Against the Son of man. In His
human nature. Many mistook the cir
cumstances of Christ's coming, and at
first denied Him as the Messiah, who
afterwards repented and were pardoned,
and became good Christians. Thus did
some of the persons who repented under
St. Peter's preaching. Acts ii. 37, 38.
Thus did Saul of Tarsus. Acts ix. 1, 17.
Such language in the Jews at that time
did not imply in all cases, that hardened
and incorrigible hatred, which would
not repent. It might proceed from pre
judice and be repented of, or in some
cases from pardonable ignorance, ff In
this world. This is a Hebrew form of
expression, for never be forgiven. St.
Mark hath it " hath never forgiveness,

the tree corrupt, and his fruit
corrupt :" for the tree is known by
his fruit.
34 0 generation of vipers, how
a Ch. 7, 16-19.
but is in danger of eternal damnation."
No sin unpardoned here, will be pardon
ed hereafter. To be in danger of con
demnation, is not exactly the same as
being condemned. Jesus would have a
place for repentance for all men, while
life lasts.
33. The tree good, Sec. The general
principle that a tree is known to be a
sound and useful tree by its fruits, is
often applied by our Lord, to the proof
which a man's actions afford of his heart
and principles. It seems here to admit
of two applications; 1. As an explana
tion of the preced:ng verses concerning
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
Such malicious language is justly con
demned, because it proceeds from a
nature irrecoverably corrupted As the
fruit is elaborated by the secret sap of
the tree, and shows the nature of the
tree, so do the words of the mouth
show the heart, from which come " the
issues of hfe." Or, 2. It applies to our
Saviour, and explains the general ar
gument, that He had worked a miracle
by divine power. It may mean " Judge
of me as you do of trees, by their fruit.
Regard Me either as good or bad ac
cording to My actions. I do works of
mercy, and speak reverently of God.
These results can come only from a
pious heart." John ix. 25, 30, 33.
34, 35. 0 generation of vipers. A
viper is a serpent common in the east,
the poison of whose bite causes death
with great agonies. See note, ch. iii.
7. As docile believers and pious per
sons are likened to doves and lambs,
which are innocent and harmless ani
mals, so the malicious and unbelieving
are compared to goats, dogs, and vipers,
according as they are sensual, foul, or
malicious. The Pharisees had shown
the hatred and venom of serpents, and
deserved this epithet. Good works and
fair reasoning could not be expected
from them. They were entirely cor-~

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XH.

153

can ye, being evil, speak good
things ? for out of the" abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man, out of the
good treasure of the heart, bring
eth forth good things : and an
evil man, out of the evil treasure,
bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That
every idle6 word that men shall
a Lu. 6. 45. 0 Eco. 12. 14 ; Eph. 5. 4-6 ;
Jude 15.

rupted. The " treasure of the heart,"
the inward life and principles were all
wrong, therefore the exhibitions of char
acter were only such as could have been
expected. 36, 37. Every idle word. A com
mon mistake of the meaning of these
verses shows the great danger which
there is in separating any passage of
scripture from its connection. By every
idle word, we now mean any careless,
familiar, innocent talk on subjects
secular and social, opposed to serious
conversation about religion, important
business, death, and the like. But this
is not the meaning of the word idle here.
It signifies wicked, malicious, injurious,
slandering, impious words, and is to be
explained by the gross calumny which
the Pharisees had uttered against Christ.
To " give an account thereof in the day
of judgment," means to be tried and
tested by them, as proofs of character.
James iii. 2-10. Now we cannot im
agine that our social, insignificant words
among friends will be sufficient to
justify us ; so the same will not of
themselves condemn us. Those words
which do either, are only such as mani
fest the real principles of our actions,
whether we love God truly, or love the
world and self. While it is a dangerous
thing for a Christian to be marked for
a foolish, unmeaning conversation, and
more dangerous still, a profane and un
seemly jesting, because such conduct
manifests a state of heart too trifling
to be fixed on serious matters, so it is an
unfortunate mistake for him to affect an
unnatural asceticism and rigidness of
Vol. I.— 7*

speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words" thou shalt
be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned.
38 TT Then certain of the scribes
and of the Pharisees answered,
saying, Master, we would see a
signrf from thee.
39 But he answered and said
oProv. 18. 8. dCh. 16.1; Lu. 11. 20;
1 Cor. 1. 22.

intercourse with his fellow-men. Many
of the best and most serious Christians
the world has seen, have been noted for
a genial and pleasant gracefulness of
conversation in their social relations.
A mother's prattling to her babe may
be as innocent, and as clearly prove a
loving heart, as her tears over its grave.
As members of a family, we should aim
to give ease and grace to the rugged
path of life, just as we plant flowers
around us to adorn the ground we live
on. 38. A sign. St. Luke (xi. 16, 29-32)
says, " a sign from heaven." We are
informed by St. Paul that the Jews
sought after a sign, i e. some particular
exhibition of Divine glory, which they
believed was to be shown by the Mes
siah. We must go back then to the
prophets, from whom the Jews received
this impression. We read in their writ
ings of a surpassing glory which would
appoar in the times of Messiah (Is. lxii.
1, 4) ; of " one like the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven" (Dan.
vii 13), and similar predictions, which
are to be fulfilled at the second coming
of Christ. These the Jewish rabbis
misunderstood. They wished Jesus to
assume that glorious state, to show the
sign from heaven, as well as those upon
earth, and bring about the golden age of
which their Scripture spake. Satan
tempted Him to show a similar sign.
Ch. iv. 6 ; see John ii. 18, and vi 30.
The evil and adulterous, i. e. the carnal
mind of the Jews prevented them from
perceiving the real meaning of the pro
phecies.

154

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

to them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign,
and there shall no sign be given
to it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. 40 For as Jonas" was three days
a Jonah 1. 17.

39. Adulterous generation. A wife
who should leave her husband and com
mit sins against the marriage covenant is
called an adulterous person. The Jews
were bound to the law by a holy cove
nant, having all the sacredness of the
marriage vow (Is. liv. 3), even as Chris
tians now are wedded in the most solemn
manner to Christ. Eph. v. 24, 32.
When the nation committed idolatries,
or sought help from pagan nations, they
received this epithet: they merited it
now because of their unbelief. They re
fused Christ when made known to them
by evident proofs. Therefore He said
they shall have no sign but that of the
prophet Jonas, i e. the sign and omen of
woe which that prophet was to the
Ninevites. So " Ezekiel is a sign." Ez.
xxiv. 4. " Isaiah walked barefoot for a
sign." Is. xx. 3. Jonah was a sign to the
Ninevites to foretell their destruction.
The Son of Man, after His resurrection,
would be a sign to prove to the Jews
the terrible fate of their guilty city,
which His death brought on it.
40. As Jonah, &c. See Jonah i. 17,
and ii. The word whale does not de
termine the kind of animal which be
came the typical grave of Jonah. The
Greek word kijtos means a huge and
monstrous fish, the exact kind the an
cients knew too little of the salt sea to
determine. The writer of the book of
Jonah says only, " the Lord had pre
pared a great fish." There is no reason
to insist on the kind; though it is by no
means decided that it was not a whale.
ff Three days and three nights. We have
here another instance of the folly of any
cavil at the words of Scripture, by those
ignorant of the customs of the people
among whom it was written. Jesus
was in the grave but two nights and
parts of three days, and it is likely that

and three nights in the whale's
belly ; so shall the Son of man
be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall
rise in judgment with this gene-

Jonah was in the fish the same length
of time. Lu. ch. xxviii. 6. If we had
no knowledge beyond the modern di
visions of time, we would be at a loss to
explain the difference between the words
of Christ and the actual event It is,
however, exactly correct, according to
the Hebrew customs, as Dr. McKnight
shows, by a comparison of various pas
sages in the Hebrew Scripture. The
Jews had no word corresponding to
what we mean by a natural day of
twenty- four hours, or from midnight to
midnight. Their meaning, therefore,
was expressed in Greek by a word mean
ing a night-day, and to this they added
the custom of saying, night and day, for
what we mean by a natural day, or a
revolution of the earth. Therefore, to
express the time of a part of three con
secutive days, they were obliged to say,
three night-days, or three days and
three nights. See Esther iv. 16 com
pared with v. 1, and 1 Sam. xxx. 12
compared with verse 13. Esther said
she would not eat for " three days, night
or day," yet on the third day she went
to the king to ask him to her banquet.
The Egyptian whom David found is said
to have eaten nothing " three days and
three nights," yet again he says it was
the third day since he fell sick. See
also 2 Chron. x. 5 and 12. The Jews
in reckoning time counted a part of a
day as a day, and began their days in
the evening. Our Saviour was crucified
on Friday, was buried part of Friday,
all of Saturday, and rose on Sunday
morning, and was, in their language,
three days and nights in the earth.
ff Heart of the earth. The interior or
" lower parts of the earth." Ps. lxiii. 9 ;
Eph. iv. 9. That abyss of which St.
Peter spoke (Acts ii. 27) where "He went
and preached to the spirits in prison."

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER Xn.

155

ration, and shall, condemn it :
because they" repented at the
preaching of Jonas : and behold,
a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen6 of the south shall
rise up in the judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it :
for she came from the uttermost

a Jonah 3. 5.
11. 31, &c.

b 1 Kings 10. 1, &o. ; Lu.

1 Pet. iii. 19. The separate state and
place of spirits the Jews imagined to be
in the region under the earth.
41. Men of Nineveh. Nineveh, the
capital of the Assyrian empire, was a
large city on the river Tigris, north
east of Babylon, built in early times by
Asshur. Gen. x. 11. It was about fifty-
miles in compass, surrounded by a wall
100 high, with 1500 towers, each 250
feet in height. It is computed to have
contained 600,000 inhabitants in the
time of Jonah. They were idolaters
and very wicked, but being summoned
to repent, they humbled themselves and
reformed. God spared them and their
city for 200 years longer. Nahum and
Zephaniah also prophesied their de
struction. The former foretold the
manner of it : " The gates of the river
shall be opened." Nah. ii. 6. During
the siege of the Babylonians, the walls
were injured by an inundation of the
Tigris, and the enemy entered. The
latter has described its present desola
tion. Zeph. ii. 13, 15. Important dis
coveries are now being made in the
mounds of half-burnt bricks, which
alone mark the site, if indeed they
do mark it, of ancient Nimroud, "the
rejoicing city, that dwelt carelessly,
that said in her heart, I am, and
there is none beside me : how is she
become a desolation, a place for beasts
to he down in." ff Shall condemn it.
Compared with that generation, Nine
veh had acted prudently and piously.
She would show by contrast the awful
obstinacy and wickedness of the genera
tion which crucified the Lord.
42. The queen of the south. 1 Kings
x. 1-13. Of Sheba, in the southern part

parts of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon ; and behold,
a greater than Solomon is here.
43 When the" unclean spirit is
gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest,
and findeth none.
44 Then- he saith, I will return
c Lu. 11. 24.

of Arabia Felix, which from its great
distance from Jerusalem is called the
uttermost parts of the earth. If she came
from Arabia, she may have been a de
scendant of Abraham by Keturah, one
of whose sons begat Sheba. She may-
have had a traditional knowledge of the
true God, aud came to hear Solomon
" concerning the name of the Lord." She
was deeply affected by the visit and gave
praise to God. Her conduct in going so
far to seek for better knowledge of God,
her generosity and open confession, will
all manifest in a more hateful light the
hardness of heart which was shown by
those to whom Jesus was speaking.
43. When the unclean spirit, &c.
Jesus warns the Jews that the devils,
which He had cast out, would return,
and finding them impenitent, would take
possession of their hearts with greater
malignity than ever, and would hurry
them on to ruin. Satan, cast out by the
labors of Christ and His apostles, and
being unable to control the nation, while
Christ lived, had fled to the deserts
around Palestine. But he would return
on finding that they had refused the
Messiah, would repossess them with sev
en-fold violence. Or, the parable may
have warned those individuals out of
whom the demons had been cast to
beware how they neglected the time of
repentance given them by God's mercy.
As Archbishop Cranmer has it, " Al
though the house of our conscience be
once made clean, and the foul spirit be
once expelled from us in baptism or
repentance ; yet if we become idle and
take not heed, he will return, with seven
worse spirits, and possess us again."
ff Through dry places. The waterless

156

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

into mine house from whence I
came out ; and when he is come,
he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh
with himself seven other spirits
more wicked than himself, and
they enter in and dwell there :
and the last state of that man* is
worse than the first. Even so
a Heb. 6. 4 ; 10. 26 ; 2 Pet. 2. 20, 22.

regions ; the deserts. The Jews, Arabs,
Egyptians, and others believed that de
serts were the haunts of devils, genii,
spirits, &c. This opinion is by no means
contrary to Scripture or reason. The
words wild beasts, owls, satyrs, &c, in
Is. xxxiv. 14, Jer. 1. 39, are given
only by supposition. The original words
added in the margin by the translators,
signify that they were uncertain of the
meaning. They are supposed to be
foreign names of evil spirits. In Rev.
xviii. 2 the opinion is plainly expressed.
The parabolic form here made use of by
our Lord, and the spiritual sense of the
apostle in the book of Revelation, pre
vent any argument being drawn by us
from these passages, that such an opi
nion is necessarily a true one. Evil
spirits may, as the Fathers believed,
wander in the air, and we may beheve
it. We can only say that it is not in
consistent with -any knowledge of ours.
But on the other hand it is easy to ox-
ilain these passages, without a bofief
• such wanderings of the demons.
! Seeking rest and finding none. An ex-
y ressive image of self-torment. As a man
in a fever, who in vain turns to every
side for ease ; as one whose whole nervous
system is disorganized, cannot remain
still, but is driven about by restless mad
ness ; so a wicked soul is its own inces
sant curse. Goodness is the soul's health :
the reward promised to saints is perfect
soundness, and peace.
44. Garnished. Adorned, and inviting
his return. Alas, what a garnishing is
that which tempts the wicked one to
return ! Judas, as an individual, is an
example of the truth of this parable —

shall it be also unto this wicked
generation. 46 If While yet he talked to
the people, behold, his mother
and his brethren stood without,
desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him,
Behold, thy mother and thy
brethren stand without, desiring
to speak with thee.

the Jewish nation, after the crucifixion,
illustrated this in terrific outlines. Holy
spirits seek their abodes only in the souls
which manifest the desire for grace and
spiritual purity. But how evil must that
heart be, whose best faculties become
only as baits and allurements for the
foul spirits to take up their abode in it.
Many attractions and qualities which
are valued by men, are but parts of this
evil adorning. Strong will, mere physical
beauty, great talents, &c, are often the
vanities which have changed the destiny
of the soul, and given it up to the powers
of evil
45. Seven others. Seven was a fa
vorite number with the Jews, and very
often used to denote any finished or
complete number, also to signify sever
al persons or things, answering to our
word many. 1 Sam. ii. 5. The rab
bis were fond of extracting mysterious
meanings from such circumstances : in
which some Christian writers seem in
clined to imitate them. We frequently
use the word dozen and score, in the
same way as seven is used here, mean
ing many, ff Even so shall it be, Sec.
These words show the application of
the parable. We can now say so it
was with that generation. The ac
count given by Josephus of the last
years of Jerusalem, presents a picture
of infatuation, demoniac madness and
crime, such as the world has never else
where beheld.
46. See also St. Mark iii. 31-35;
St. Luke viii. 19-21. The Virgin, as
it is likely, had come from Nazareth
seeking Him, and she may have brought
with her, or found them in Capernaum,

E. 32.]

CHAPTER XH.

157

48 But he answered and said
unto him that told him, Who is
my mother? and who are my
brethren ?
49 And he stretched forth his
hand toward his disciples, and

either the disciples who were the con
sins of Jesus, or other relations, ff His
brethren. The persons meant here are
probably the children of Mary, wife of
Cleophas or Alpheus, and sister of Mary
the Virgin, namely James the less, and
Thaddeus. Ch. xiii. 55. If other cou
sins are meant, they came with the
Virgin from Nazareth. The word breth
ren in Hebrew has often only the force
of kinsmen. " The ancient and gener
al opinion," says Dr Whitby, "was,
that they who are called our Lord's
brethren were the sons of Joseph by a
.former marriage. But St. Jerome,
,.comparing together John xix. 25, Matt.
xxvii. 56, and Mark xv. 40, infers that
, they were the sons of His mother's sis
ter, the wife of Cleophas; it being
consistent with the language of the
Jews to call cousins by the name of
brethren." It is generally agreed by
the vast majority of Christians, ancient
and modern, that the Virgin had no
other children, after the miraculous
conception. See note on chap. i. 25.
48. Who is my mother ? He does not
imply any want of love for His rela
tions. See Lu. ii. 51 ; John xix. 25-
27. But by this striking and beauti
ful address, He shows the hearer that
all who believed in Him, received His
words and recognized the spiritual re
lations of His kingdom, would be receiv
ed into intimate, affectionate relation
ship. The superstitious worship of the
Virgin, and the notion that she is the fit
mediatrix between us and her Son ac
cording to the flesh, is shown to be false
and foolish. Her relationship to the
Son of man gives her no greater influ
ence with the Almighty God than other
repentant sinners can claim.
49, 60. Doeth the will, Sec. Obedi
ence is the Scriptural test of our disci-

said, Behold my mother and my
brethren !
50 For "whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in
heaven, the same is my brother,
and sister, and mother.
a John 15. 14 ; Heb. 2, 11 ; 1 John 3. 1-8 ;
5. 1-5. 
pleship. Here, he that obeys is call
ed by the endearing names of brother
and sister. Why? Because he that
obeys, does all that the will of God re
quires. He believes, which is the first
step and beginning of future obedience.
He repents and confesses sin, he receives
the sacrament which seals his adoption
to be a son of God, loves God and the
brethren, and becomes transformed from
the world and renewed in the image of
Christ. He grows in grace, and pro
ceeds from strength to strength in the
spiritual life, till he becomes a full
grown saint, or, as St. Paul says, ' ' a
perfect man." The Spirit of God dwells
in him, and shows him to be a " par
taker of the divine nature." He is in
corporated into the Church everlasting,
which is the future Bride of Christ, and
is made one with Christ, by a relation
ship more dear and tender than those
social ties which are produced by the
natural order of human society. He is
one with Christ, one with the Church ;
he lives by faith and love, and leans on
the hope of future acceptance before
God, and future blessedness in the world
of glory. Surely this relationship is
far above that which the Virgin and
His kinsmen could claim by nature.
This spiritual relationship the humble
and pious Virgin could doubtless claim
by grace. All generations call her
blessed — blessed that she was worthy to
provide the earthly tabernacle of the
Son of God, more blessed that she was
a faithful and humble believer of her
Saviour. " Oh God, whose blessed
Son was manifested that He might de
stroy the works of the devil, and make
us the sons of God, and heirs of eter
nal life, grant us, we beseech thee,
that having this hope, we may puri
fy ourselves even as He is pure ; that

158

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE same day went Jesus out
of the house, and sat by the
seaside 2 And great multitudes were

when He shall appear again with pow
er and great glory, we may be like
unto Him, in His eternal and glori
ous kingdom, where with thee, 0 Fa
ther, and thee, 0 Holy Ghost, He liv
eth and reigneth ever one God, world
without end. Amen."
CHAPTER Xin.
1. The same day. This was proba
bly on some afternoon in the fall of the
year. Dr. Jarvis remarks upon this
chapter : " The crowd which assembled,
and which, as St. Luke says, ' were
come to Him out of every city,' was so
great, that he entered into one of the
small vessels on the lake, and taught
them, as they stood on the shore. It
was His custom to derive topics of dis
course from objects within his view.
The lake is surrounded with fruitful
hills, and it was now just seed-time ; for
'sowing,' says Jahn, 'commenced in
the latter part of October; at which
time, as weh as in the months of No
vember and December following, the
wheat was committed to the earth.
Barley was sown in January and Febru
ary.' Lifting up His eyes, therefore,
and beholding a sower sowing his seed,
He took His parable from that circum
stance, representing the effect which the
broad-casting of the word of God would
produce upon men of various tempers,
dispositions and pursuits. The parables
of the tares, of the grain of mustard
seed, of the treasure hid in the field, of
the ieaven put into meal, of the sower's
repose after he had sown his seed, until
the harvest, and many other parables
of a like nature (Mk. iv. 33,) seem to
have been uttered at the same place and
on the same occasion. His being on
the lake suggested the idea of fishing for
^gearls.. aTrOpS3S~the ""jiara'ble 6f'J3ifi,
pearTpf great prieeT" Ho also the draw-

. ing |ojTa seSeietToiir Lord to corny arg^
His kingdom to a "net, it is proi

gathered together unto him, so
that he went into a ship," and sat ;
and the whole multitude stood
on the shore.
3 And he spake many things

a Lu. 5. 3.

too, that He continued His instruction
till the evening had set in ; and the ap
pearance of a light on the surrounding
hills, throwing its beams afar off, led
Him to speak of the impossibility of con
cealing the truth." See also St. Mark
iv. 1-34 ; St. Lu. viii. 4-18.
3. Parables. A parable is literally
something laid alongside of another thing,
to measure, compare, or explain it. It
is sometimes applied to short, pithy sen
tences or maxims. But in the Gospels,
it usually means " an illustration drawn
from natural things to instruct men in
spirituai" Bp. Porteus defines it as "a
short narrative of some event or fact,
real or fictitious, in which a continued
comparison is carried on, frequently be
tween sensible and spiritual objects ; and
under this similitude, some important
doctrine, moral or rehgious, is con
veyed." It differs from a fable in this
respect, that it never represents impossi
ble circumstances, such as trees walk
ing, animals talking, and such hke. It
was a common mode of instruction in
the East. Our Lord never violates the
reahty of things. There is simplicity,
aptness, force, propriety, and pathos in
all that He has uttered. Many advan
tages are gained by teaching in para
bles. 1. Simplicity. When spiritual
and unusual truths are taught by anal
ogies which are well known, the mind
easily grasps them. 2. Interest. Pleas
ing narratives of common events have a
charm for all, especially for common
minds. 3. Discretion. Truths are pre
sented in a manner to leave the actual
understanding of them to the will of the
hearer. What the Jews did not, the
disciples could understand. 4. Reproof.
When the mind is prejudiced or obsti
nate, a parable may drive home a sea
sonable truth. So in the case of Nathan's
parable to David. 2 Sam. xii. 1-7;
Lu. xx. 19. The chief propriety of par-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XIIX

159

unto to them in parables, saying,
"Behold, a sower went forth to
sow; 4 And when he sowed, some
seeds fell by the way-side, and
the fowls came and devoured
them up :
5 Some fell upon stony places,
where they had not much earth :
and forthwith they sprung Tip,
because they had no deepness of
earth :
6 And when the sun was up,
they were scorched ; and because
a Mark 4. 2. &c. ; Lu. 8. 5. &e.

ables in the Gospels is peculiar to them.
Jesus taught by preparation. The dis
ciples could not understand the spiritu
ality of His kingdom, until the Holy
Spirit should come down with power to
teach them. John vii. 39. Parables
would not be forgotten. The scenery,
incidents, turns of conversation, would
be easily remembered until they could
be understood. Jesus filled their mem
ory with forms of thought, which the
Divine Spirit was to fill with spiritual
meaning. He drew on their memories,
by these earthly narratives, the great
outlines of " the truth" (John xvi. 7, 13),
the spiritual system of the Second Cov
enant. Therefore (ch xiii. 34) "without
a parable spake He not unto them." See
Mark iv. 33, 34. Parables, narratives,
analogies from nature, are still a happy
form of instruction for children.
Dim or unheard the words may fall,
And yet the heaven-taught mind
May- learn the sacred air, and all
The harmony unwind.
3. Sower went forth to sow. The ac
tion is simple. Perhaps the hearers
could see the farmer at the very time,
casting the seed into the ground. Yet
the profoundest knowledge of human
nature, the most perfect analogy to the
spread of the gospel, both in the world
at large and in the hearts of individuals,
are alike manifested in it.
4. The way-side. The farmer as he
goes to the field, drops the seed by acci-

they had no root, they withered
away. 7 And some fell among thorns;
and the thorns sprung up, and
choked them :
8 But other fell into good
ground, -and brought forth fruit,
some an hundred-fold, some six
ty-fold, some thirty-fold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let
him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and
said unto him, Why speakest thou
unto them in parables ?

dent along the hard and trodden path,
or in the road, or in some stony places,
among briers. In this respect the sower
of gospel seed differs somewhat from the
sower here mentioned. He casts the
seed of the word in all places, with a
generous hand, for his field is the world.
But it often fails ; for there must be
some preparedness in the heart to
receive it. But whether men receive
or refuse it, he casts it still, ff Fowls.
The birds.
5. Stony places. Places where the
earth was lodged in the hollow places
and basins of rocks. In these the rains
and heat would cause a more rapid
growth than in fallow ground. In
Palestine, while the rains last, any tiling
may grow. The grass springs luxu
riantly in places where it has little or no
root, as for instance on the flat roofs of
houses. Is. xxxvii. 27. As soon as
the rains cease, and the hot suns suc
ceed, the vegetation withers, ff Forth
with. Immediately.
7. Among thorns. Into thorny or
briery places. Certain brambles and
coarse briers, in hot climates, have a
prodigious power of growth. Their
roots occupy the whole earth, and suck
the moisture from every thing else ; their
matted foliage covers the few plants
which may struggle up to the surface,
and shuts them out from the hght. They <
choke them, i. e. they deprive the seed of,
their share of hght, moisture and air, i

160

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

11 He answered and said unto
them, Because it is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given.
12 For whosoever" hath, to him
shall be given, and he shall have
more abundance : but whosoever
hath not, from him shall be taken
away even that he hath.
a Ch. 25. 29 ; Lu. 9. 26.

8. Good ground. Ground which had
been properly prepared by the plough
and rain, from which the stones and
thorns had been removed. We can
learn from this no more than that some
preparation is necessary to receive the
word of God. It must be an honest
heart to receive it effectually ; or should
it seem to arrest us suddenly, and fall
into our souls irresistibly, we must the
more seek to make way for its roots,
and clear away offences, ff Hundred
fold. Each seed produces a hundred
time&sixty, or thirty times as much.
. 107 Came and said, Sfc. St. Mark says
that they did this "when they were
alone." Mark iv.. 10-12; Luke viii.
9, 10.
11. The mysteries of the kingdom. By
mystery, we commonly understand that
which is not or which cannot be under
stood It means also a sign as an index
of something concealed. Rev. i 20.
And of the grander and more spiritual
doctrines of the gospel, we may say,
after all the study of them, there
remains much that deserves this name,
since the human mind cannot grasp
those spiritual truths, and the evil heart
cannot sympathize with them perfectly.
The mysteries of the kingdom are the
doctrines concerning the Church, and the
future extension of it to the Gentiles, by
the preaching of the word ; which were
as yet concealed. Rom. xi. 25 ; xvi. 25 ;
Eph. iii. 3, 4, 9. It was given to the
disciples, to receive this preparatory
teaching, and in some measure to profit
by it, because they were obedient and
attentive, and were to be the future

13 Therefore speak I to them
in parables : because they seeing;
see not; and hearing, they hear
not ; neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy6 of Esaias, which saith,
By hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand;' and see
ing ye shall see, and shall not
perceive :
Sis. 6.9. cEz. 12. 2; Acts 28. 26-27;
Eom. 11. 8 ; 2 Cor. 8. 14, 15.

teachers and rulers of the Church. 1
Cor. iv. 1. The others would not receive
the doctrines of the gospel, even if
plainly revealed, and therefore they
were not yet disclosed in their fulness.
12. Whosoever hath. He that has
and uses his knowledge rightly. We
must bear in mind that in the great
matter of a free offer of salvation Jesus
made all men equal. What then makes
the difference ? they themselves. The
meaning here is clear and satisfactory.
All received the "hearing of the word."
But into some hearts, which listened
with candor and pondered earnestly, it
increased to more knowledge. The
seed grew. In the others it died. He
foresees this. Jesus could not properly
foretell to all, " At the second Passover
from this, you Jews will crucify Me. I
will rise again in three days, I will as
cend into heaven, send the Spirit, and
at Pentecost the disciples will begin to
preach this good seed of the word" It
would have made scoffers, and inter
fered with His future conduct. *He re
veals this system gradually to the dis
ciples, who "had" grace to listen. To
the crowd He imparted it in narrations
and parables, that they might search
into them, if they would : might not be
affected by what was future in them,
if they desired to avoid it.
13. They seeing, see not. St. Mark
(iv. 12) and St. Luke (viii. 10) diffjr
slightly, saying, " That seeing they
may not see ; " but mean the same.
They state the fact, that the people
would not hear, and therefore the truth
was uttered in a form to leave them

T. E. 32. J

CHAPTER Xni.

.161

15 For this people's heart is
waxed gross, and their ears are
dull of . hearing, and their eyes
they have closed ; lest at any
time they should see with their
eyes, and hear : with their ears,
and should understand, with their
heart, and should be converted,
and I should heal them.
16 But blessed "are your eyes,
for they see ; and your ears, for
they hear. aCh. 16. IT; Lu. 10. 23. 24.

hey (
THB

free to hear or not. Hear iwimeam
to be as if they did not hear : to despise

ini ijgjgjgE They had seenthe greatest
miracles, but the sight did them no
good, they were as much opposed as
before. They had heard the plainest
offers of mercy, but were deaf to their
charms. Why then should the more
secret truths of the gospel, which were
yet incomplete, be exposed to the scorn
of unbelievers ? God gives light. If a
man blinds himself, He does not force
him by miracle to see. We cannot
blame the parables of Jesus for being
obscure. They could have been re
ceived with profit by any honest hear
ers. 14. And in them is fulfilled. The
passage of Isaiah (vi. 9, 10) was ap
plied by him to the people of his own
age, and by St. Paul (Acts xxviii. 26,
27), as characterizing the nation in
every age. Isaiah asks, " How long
shall this blindness last ? " And the
Lord answered, " until the cities be
wasted, &c." — extending it into a pre
diction. It is a true picture of the
Jewish nation. They were always ob
stinate and rebellious, and in the latter
years of their history, reprobate. Our
Lord intimates that they would not
receive Him, no matter what He would
¦ do ; and that He would not therefore do
what he had forbidden in His disci
ples — cast the pearls of Christian doc
trine before their sensual and preju
diced minds.
15. Waxed gross. Became fat, as

17 For verily I say unto you,
That many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those
things which ye see, and have
not seen them ; and to hear those
things which ye hear, and have
not heard them.
18 If Hear ye therefore the
parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the
word6 of the kingdom, and under-
standeth it not, then cometh the
b Ch. 4. 23.

applied to the body ; sensual and stupid
as applied to the mind. They were
like a man overcome with obesity, too
heavy and dull to hear or see, sleepy
and brutish. Such is the vicious mind
of a prosperous, worldly man, in respect
to spiritual things. He is carnal — that
is, fleshly. The spiritual spark is
buried in a heap of earthly cares and
pleasures. Deut. xxxii 15. ff / should
heal them. There is an analogy be
tween the diseases of the body and the
sins of the soul. They whose hearts
are surfeited with carnal objects, are
unwilling to listen to the Gospel, lest
it may sting the conscience, destroy
their present ease, and alarm them
into making exertion to escape future
woe. They prefer to close their eyes.
This they now do by avoiding Church
and the Bible, by dress and levity,
cavils at the doctrines which they hear,
and keeping the company of profano
and scoffing persons.
16. For they see. You have received
what was offered, have obeyed the call
to follow Me, have been able to exercise
faith in My miracles and doctrines,
which you have seen and heard. This
faith others seem to despise. You are
blessed. Having used so well what has
been given you, it will be increased, and
enlarge your joys and purify your
hearts. 17. Many prophets and righteous men,
Sec. Though there have been the glo
rious company of prophets and good
men, of whose fame you have been

162.

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26

wicked" one, and catcheth away
that which was sown in his heart.
This is he which received seed
by the wayside.
20 But he that received the
seed into stony places, the same
is he that heareth the word, and
anon with joy6 receiveth it ;
21 Yet hath he not root in
himself, but dureth for a while :

o 1 John 2. 13, 14.
5.35.

JEz. 88, 81, 82; John

for when tribulation or persecu
tion ariseth because of the word,
by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed
among' the thorns is he that
heareth the word : and the care of
this world, and" the deceitfulness
of riches choke the word, and he
becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed
c 1 Tim. 6. 9 ; 2 Tim. 4. 10 ; Heb. 6. 4-8.

proud, yet your lot is more blessed than
theirs. They looked to the future for
My coming ; you see it, and receive
fuller knowledge, greater gifts, and more
excellent promises than they had. Abra
ham is said to have seen the future
times of the Messiah : " Abraham saw
my day, and was glad " (John viii 56),
and Moses, looking to that future day,
" to have esteemed the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt." Heb. xi. 26. In the first ages
of the world, good men walked by faith
in the future coming of the Messiah.
The light of their knowledge increased
from age to age, but never equalled the
full revelation of the Gospel. If, then,
they were so holy under smaller privi
leges and lesser graces, why may we not
be holy ? why need we faiDt at the dan
gers of the way ? If we fall, our con
demnation must be severer than that of
any people in the wide world.
18. Hear ye, Sec. Listen to the par
able again ; to its inner meaning. You,
to whom it is given to know the mys
teries of My dispensation (v. 11), hear
therefore this, your own future duty and
experience as sowers of the word.
19. Understandeth it not. To under
stand, in Scripture, is to receive into
the heart, to appreciate. Om- Lord
does not make distinctions of grace to
depend on the intellect merely, but on
the use of all our faculties. He who
lays the Word to heart and obeys it,
does all he need do to be saved. There
are three kinds of false hearers men
tioned : 1. Who receive, as it were not
receiving. 2. Who receive not into

their affections. 3. Who receive with
out expelling their sinful passions, ff The
wicked one. The devil. When he can
fortify the mind, in advance, with in
fidel cavils, make it a thoroughfare
for every unclean passion, his work is
most sure to be successful. How many
mere nominal Christians there are, who
only wait to be tempted by him, to find
that the " word of the kingdom" has no
power over their passions. 1 Pet. v. 8.
20, 21. Into stony places. The
seed grows in some measure ; seems
awhile to be promising. This descrip
tion of hearers were more clearly seen
to fall away in the times of persecution
of the early Church. But they are
seen to cumber the ground of the vine
yard in all ages ; weak, trifling and un
stable Christians, into whose hearts the
true principles of piety have no more
descended than the fibres of a plant into
the flinty rock. James i. 23-26. The
wicked wish, to conform to the lowest
standard of piety, and keep in with the
world, marks the unstable Christian.
ff Anon. Immediately; hastily, &c.
ff Is offended. Stumbles and becomes
discouraged, at the difficulty in his way.
See note, ch. xi. 6. No man suffers
long for any thing short of principles
and convictions.
22. Among thorns. While the rains
lasted, both thorns and the good seed
grew : when they ceased the bad pre
vailed. So often we see in youth,
while the heart is yet untried in the
ways of the world, inexperienced in its
own fierce passions, and ignorant of the
long summer of endurance yet before it —

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XHI.

163

into the good ground is he that
heareth the word, and under-
standeth it ; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an
hundred-fold, some sixty, some
thirty. 24 IT Another "parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The
a Is. 28. 10, 18.

kingdom of heaven is likened
unto a man which soweth good
seed6 in his field :
25 But while men slept, his
enemy came and sowed tares
among the wheat, and went his
way. 26 But when the blade was
b 1 Pet. 1. 28.

we see it allowing the roots of anger,
love of dress, business, pleasure, desire
for Worldly comfort and splendor, and
such like, to remain and grow. They
refuse the voice of warning. They
show many virtues and some graces, for
the good seed also grows, and they think
that they will yet put down the thorns.
But the sterner times of life come, the
roots of evil will not yield. The man
finds that it must now be at the cost of
pain and long toil to extract the weeds.
His strength fails, his hope sinks, he
finds out his error, but yields to the care
of the world, and the love of riches, and
invents excuses and false hopes to hide
the fact that the good seed has become
hidden and choked in the thorns. Anx
iety for the world's comforts, and
avarice, close the scene. 1 Tim. vi. 7-11.
23. Good ground. St. Luke says,
" in an honest and good heart." A sin
cere and honest desire for truth, a can
dor in hearing it, and a willingness to
" hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly
digest it," while they do not bestow on
us any merit, by which we can claim
forgiveness of Bin, are yet necessary as
a preparation for faith. Nothing that
we can do will merit in any degree jus
tification, but, we must still do it in
order that we may receive it. We are
justified by the alone- merit of the
atonement of Christ: but honesty of
purpose, readiness to hear, courage to
obey, are necessary, as qualities in us
without which we can neither beheve
nor repent.
24, 25. The kingdom of heaven, Sec.
See note ch. iii. 2. This parable de
clares another mystery of the kingdom
or Church of Christ in the earth. It
would not have uninterrupted prospe

rity. Evil disposed men would arise in
it ; heretics, who would corrupt the
faith ; false brethren who would be as
" roots of bitterness " to trouble it ; weak
brethren to torment others and to cavil
at their progress, and wicked persons to
harass the rulers of it, and to cause the
Church to be evil spoken of. They
must expect these troubles, and be pa
tient under them. This parable grows
naturally out of the last. The sower
after his labor rests, and waits for the
seed to spring up. The tares appear
with it; the servants would destroy
them ; and from this arises an instruc
tion of the final judgment. It is often
a stumbling-block to impatient men,
that the Church should be left in this
imperfect state. To remedy this they
have sought from time to time to invent
stricter rules, to fence or weed out the
evil tares, that the wheat may grow
alone and bear fruit. But such theo
ries and attempts, wanting the divine
command, are without success. No
section of the Church has existed with
out a mixture of good and bad; and
the sect-spirit, which aims to root out
the evil, has constantly in the end cor
rupted and destroyed the wheat also.
It is God's will that these imperfections
should exist "in this state of trial. We
may and should cut off by authority,
open, offensive sinners, but we must
not expect all to be complete and zeal
ous Christians. It is a part of the
divine plan that the good and evil
should struggle together here. When
hght conquers darkness, there must be
twilight somewhere ; when leaven
changes a mass of dough, there must
be the antagonism of the active and
the dead elements in it. Only in heaven

164

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares
also. 27 So the servants of the house
holder came and said unto him,
Sir, didst not thou sow good seed
in thy field ? from whence then
hath it tares ?
28 He said unto them, An en
emy hath done this. The ser
vants said unto him, Wilt thou
then that we go and gather them
up?

will the Church be presented pure and
spotless. The parable may explain
the inward and spiritual experience of
a Christian. There too he finds wheat,
sown by a Divine Agent, and tares
springing up from the soil ; good and
evil in commotion and contest. Can
he root up the evil ? Can he destroy
one half his soul, one set of affections,
and leave the other, the good, unharm
ed ? Can he eradicate anger, and leave
zeal; hate, and leave energy to resist
the devil ; rashness, and leave courage ?
No ; groan as he may over the evil, he
must struggle against it until, by gra
cious habits, the good becomes supreme
and the evil subdued and chained — con
tent that at last the evil one and all
his wicked works will be banished, and
leave him pure and holy, ff Tares.
The darnel, a weed which resembles
wheat, and is always found in company
with it. It would be impossible to sepa
rate it from the wheat while growing,
without destroying the wheat also. At
the harvest it can be easily removed
It represents the false members of the
Church, the imitators of the true,
which are found in every age.
26, 27. SheJMade.^ TJs„stalk_ on
which the ear of grain comes. It is a
beautiful touch of the picture that the
discovery is not made until the wheat is
ripening, when it can least of any time
be disturbed by weeding it It shows
us that, according to the divine wisdom,
' the evil is so inextricably mingled with

#-

29 But he said, Nay ; lest while
ye gather up the the tares, ye root
up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until
the harvest ;" and in the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers;
Gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn6
them : but gather the "wheat into
my barn.
31 If Another parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is like to a
a 1 Tim. 5. 24. b Mai. 4. 1. c Lu. 3. 17.
the good, that it is better for us to suf
fer those troubles from it, which we
feel, than by adopting sects, or making
unscriptural distinctions, or seeking a
solitary life, fly to other evils.
29. The wheat with them. The ser
vants represent the ministers and gov
ernors of the Church. They seeing the
imperfections of many Christian disci
ples, would expel them and have a per
fect church, without one lax, one in
consistent member in it. But what
human judgment would suffice for such
a work ? What man, even the holiest,
can pretend to sever the good and the
erring Christians?
30. The harvest. Hntil the day of
judgment. Then the reapers are the
angels. They will receive commission
to separate the good from the bad It
is beyond doubt the duty of ministers
now, to excommunicate all notorious
offenders ; all who are a shame to the
Church. And we are bound, each of
us, to aid, whenever it is proper, to
bring such offenders to the proper cen
sures of the church. Still the day ot
judgment will show many a stalk of
tares, where we saw only wheat, and of
wheat where we neglected, or by preju
dice could see only the hope of the
hypocrite. The duty of discipline is
limited, but that of charity has no
such limits. Let us beware how we in
dulge a spirit of censoriousness against
the brethren. Let us rather labor with
our might to be faithful in every good
work. 4*

T. E. 32.] CHAPTER XHI.

165

grain of mustard-seed, which a
man took, and sowed in his field :
32 Which indeed is the least
of all seeds : but when it is
grown, it is the greatest among
herbs, and becometh a tree," so
that the birds of the air come and
lodge in the branches thereof.
33 If Another parable spake he
unto them; The kingdom of
a Ez. 17. 23.

31, 32. Mustard seed. No other seed
so small as the mustard is commonly
planted in gardens, which produces so
large a tree in time. It is very suita
ble for the use made of it. Cavihers, if
they had sense and candor as a grain
of it, would see that this was oil that
was asserted by the Saviour, and would
Hot manifest their folly, by remarks on
the exact bulk of the seed, whether any
other was then known by the Jews as
small or smaller. As Jesus is speaking
of seeds which men take and sow in
their ground, He compares this kind
only with such. It is smaller than
wheat, rye, barley and such like, and
yet springs into a huge plant compared
with them. It grows in Palestine to
the height of nine or ten feet, quite
large enough to afford a shelter to the
birds. How fit an emblem of the
Church of Christ. It began in the
smallest and wea'kest form, among a
few unlearned men of Galilee. Yet in
a short time, it had given shelter to
thousands of anxious souls in all na
tions. Seeing this success, we are com
pelled to behold the hand of God in it.
And in hke manner the individual Chris
tian may see the natural progress of
spiritual grace in his soul. It is a seed
of the Holy Ghost, implanted in the act
of connection with the Church. 1 Cor.
xii. 13. By prayer and holiness it is
fostered and grows. The Christian goes
on in the strength of faith to hold right
opinions, to cultivate gentle dispositions,
and to do works of piety and mercy.

heaven is like unto leaven, which
a woman took, and hid in three
measures' of meal, till the whole
was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus
unto the multitude in parables ;
and without a parable spake he
not unto them :
35 That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet,
II The word in the Greek is, a measure con
taining about a peck and a, half, wanting a
little more than a pint.

The giving this seed is the act of God.
Conversion, i. e. repentance, is our act,
for we are bidden to do it (Acts iii. 19 ;
James v. 19), God helping us, when we
convert, repent, or turn away from sin.
Regeneration, or the sowing the seed,
is God's act, we not resisting, when He
makes us His children in Baptism.
The seed is then given, as we believe,
by the promise of Christ. Titus hi. 5.
By prayer, by love and obedience, and
Christian duties, we foster it into
growth. The Christian is thus relieved
of all anxiety as to the certainty of
God's doing His part in sowing this
seed, and left to undivided efforts to
do well his own part, in cherishing the
gift. 33. Another parable, Sec. Leaven or
yeast is an element used in making
Dread. The principle of Christianity
would be infused by the Church into the
corrupt mass of mankind, and by a
silent, steady progress change the nature
of men, and in time, the whole moral
face of the world, and make it civilized,
orderly, and holy. It would be, for a
while, in dire struggle with evil, and
little noticed by the world at large, but
having in it a principle of divine life, it
would conquer and renew the race.
These two parables apply to the course
of individual piety in the Church. The
gift of the Spirit is like the grain of
mustard seed, small to appearance, at
the first, but results at length in all the
fruits of a holy life. And, like leaven,
it works out silontly a purer and better

166

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 26.

saying," I will open my mouth in
parables; I will utter things
which have been kept secret
from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multi
tude away, and went into the
house : and. his disciples came
unto him, saying, Declare unto
us the parable of the tares of the
field. 37 He answered and said unto
them, He that soweth the good
seed is the Son of man ;
38 The field is the world ; the
good6 seed are the children of the
kingdom ; but the tares are the
children" of the wicked one ;
39 The enemy that sowed them

a Ps. 78. 2. » 1 Pet. 1. !
Acts 18. 10 ; 1 John 8. 8.

c John 8. 44;

life, changes and sanctifies the old man,
which was corrupt. We must, however,
always bear in mind that to adapt a par-
.able is not the same as*"-to~explain it.
Tne^unplemeaningTSl tne'words relates
to the Church as a body.
34. And without, Sfc. This must be
taken with a limitation. He spake
nothing to the people generally concern
ing His kingdom or Church, except in
analogies. For on matters of duty, of
His own Messiahship, &c, He often in
structed the multitude by direct teach
ing, as in the Sermon on the mount.
There He spake to their reason words
of which they could judge. But now,
speaking of that which was yet future
and concealed, of which they were not
able to judge, He taught them by para
bles, according to St. Mark, " as they
were able to bear it." Mark iv. 33.
35. By the prophet, Sec. The prophet
Asaph, the chief of the singers in king
David's time, 1 Chron. vi. 39. He was
a prophet, and composed the seventy-
eighth psalm. That divine song of
praise deals in parables and ".dark say
ings," concerning the Jewish Church as
a typo of the spiritual kingdom of
Christ. It is wonderful to notice tho

is the devil ; the harvest is tho
end of the world ; and the reap
ers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire ;
so shall it be at the end of this
world. 41 The Son of man shall send
forth his angels, and they shall
gather out of his kingdom all
things that II offend, and them
which do iniquity :
42 And shall cast them into a
''furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous
"shine forth as the sun, in the
kingdom of their Father. Who
I or, scandals. d Eey. 19. 20; 20. 10,
« Dan. 12. 8; Eom. 8. 18.
analogies which are opened to us by
comparing that psalm with these para
bles. St. Matthew does not give the
exact words (Ps. lxxvii. 2), but only
the sense, to mark that Jesus was now
revealing or fulfilling, that is, making
plainer the meaning of that inspired
composition. What in the psalm was
spoken of the type in the past, is now
shown to be near fulfilment. js,
36-43. Declare unto us. Explain to
us the meaning of this parable of the
tares. They say " of the tares." Their
minds had fixed on "that. His king
dom, in their sense of it, could have no
such things in it. Jesus explains the
real meaning of the whole, though He
knew that even they, until their minds
should be illuminated, could not appre
ciate the spiritual character of His
Church, or get over their difficulty. In
an earthly kingdom, tares would be
wicked men and criminals. These, of
course, would be rooted out and de
stroyed; but not so in a spiritual
Church, of which they as yet had little
idea, ff Children of the kingdom.
Members of the Church ; Christians.
ff All things that offend. All scandals. If
we separate this idea from tho next, it

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XHI.

167

hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44 1" Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto treasure" hid
in a field; the which when a
a Prov. 2. 4, 5.
must mean all imperfections and false
notions shall be removed from Christians
themselves, that the Church as a whole
may be pure and spotless. Eph. v. 27.
ff Which do iniquity. All wicked, immor
al, heretical persons. Rev. xxii. 15. The
angels are appointed to gather them out
from the Church. Ch. xxv. 32. All
heathen and unchristianized people will
be judged, but these words show us that
"judgment must begin at the house of
God." 1 Pet. iv. 17. Many, it is to be
feared, have need to ponder deeply on
this view, and engrave it upon their
minds, that privilege is not piety ; that
one may put on all the forms of grace
now, whose naked souls will seem far
different, in that day, from what they now
imagine, ff Furnace of fire. A heated
furnace was used sometimes among the
ancients for burning men alive. Dan.
iii. 21. It is a symbol of hell-fire. We
say a symbol, for the reahty will exceed
it in pain and anguish. We cannot
form a certain notion, as yet, of the exact
kind of body with which either Chris
tians or sinners will rise. 1 John iii. 12,
But it is certain that the bodies of both
shall rise, and after that event, the wicked
will be cast into " the lake of fire," both
soul and body. Therefore, when our
Lord uses such language of future tor
ments, we judge that He speaks with
reference to the anguish of that body
which will be immortal to suffer. And
when the fiercest pains of which we can
imagine are used to warn us, how awful
must the reahty be 1 " From all evil
and mischief; from sin ; from the crafts
and assaults of the devil; from Thy
wrath and from everlasting damnation,
Good Lord, deliver us."
44. The kingdom of heaven. See note
ch. iii. 2. The Church in its spiritual
sense, is adapted to the wants of man.
The Saviour is now addressing the dis
ciples, and informs them of the different
manner in which men will receive

man hath found, he hideth, and
for joy thereof goeth and 'selleth
all that he hath, and "buyeth that
field. b PhU. 3. 7, 8. e Bey. 8. 18.

their message. Two parables show two
differing sorts of men. Some ^will find
the value of the gospel, of a sudden,
as it were — will hasten to sacrifice
everything to obtain it, nor rest until
they are secure of it. Others will be
searching for spiritual good, trying all
forms of philosophy, and studying all
kinds of wisdom, till they find the true.
They will give up all things else for it,
and value it. ff Hid in a field. In the
East, it is very common for mon to hide
their treasures in the ground, either in
the ground floor of a house, or in the
fields. And often the man who has con
cealed it dies, and its situation is known
to none. Others succeed to the field and
find the treasures. So universal is the
excitement of Eastern people concerning
hid treasures, that European travellers
to the ruins of ancient cities, are con
stantly annoyed by the suspicion of the
common people, that they have come
for concealed treasures. Dr. Layard
mentions, that he was seriously dis
turbed by this suspicion in the minds of
the Arabs, while exploring the ruins of
Nimroud, on the river Tigris, ff And
bought that field. This action would be
wrong in a Christian land. Whether it
was reprobated by the Jews, or ancient
heathen, is not determined. It is certainly
neither commended or condemned here.
The Saviour only seeks to explain the
man's earnestness. We are to look
at the point of the parable. No one
can do wrong in seeking to have every
possible right in the salvation of the

45, 46. Pearl of great price. See
chap. vii. 6. Pearls are gems of great
beauty and value. Some have been
valued at $400,000, and some, as that
belonging to Cleopatra, have figured in
the history of nations. It is an article
of commerce in the East, to this day.
The illustration is striking. The dealer
in pearls finds one of exquisite beauty

168

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

45 "[f Again, the kingdom of
heaven is liko unto a merchant
man seeking goodly" pearls :
46 Who, when he had found
one pearl of great price, went and
sold all that he had, and bought
it. 47 If Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a net, that
was cast into the sea, and gath
ered of every kind :6
48 Which, when it was full,
a Prov. 8. 14, 15 ; 8. 11. b Ch. 22. 10.

and rareness. It is the unequalled one,
of which he has dreamed, while his
divers have been searching for him in
the deep. He loves it, will own it, sells
all willingly to possess it. It will make
him happy. Many a man in that age,
some now, are hke him, seeking rest
and peace, anxious for spiritual wealth,
till they find the gospel. Then, like the
wise Jews of Ephesus, they bring
"their books and burn them " (Acts
xix. 19), and give up all to the obedience
of the cross. One must have a power
to feel his want of a Saviour, before
TnTc1!m"willingly forego all else to secure
His love.
47-50. The idea taught in this par
able is much the same as that taught
by the parable of the tares. The former
was delivered to the whole multitude to
warn them against resting in the mere
privilege of Church membership, or as
a witty preacher hath worded it, not " to
flatter themselves tha,t they are no
weeds, because they grow among the
corn :" this inculcates to the future min
isters of the Church, the true idea of
the visible Church, as in part imperfect.
They would, in spite of all their efforts
to prevent it, find many evil, many cold,
indifferent, and some wicked persons
professing the form of godliness, while
destitute of its power. They must be
patient with the weak brethren, nor
unsparingly cut off all who were not as
devout and perfect as they might de
sire. "The visible Church of Christ is
a congregation of faithful men, in

they drew to shore, and sat down,
and gathered the good into ves
sels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of
the world : the angels shall come
forth, and sever" the wicked from
among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the
furnace of fire : there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have
ye understood all these things ?
o Ch. 25. 32.

which the pure word of God is preached,
and the sacraments be duly administered
according to Christ's ordinances, in all
those tilings that of necessity are re
quisite to the same. Many parts of
it have erred not only in their living
and manner of ceremonies, but also in
matters of faith." Article XIX. "And
while it appertaineth to the discipline
of the Church, that inquiry be made of
evil ministers and members, and that
they be accused by those that have
knowledge of their offences ; and finally
being found guilty, by just judgment,
be deposed and excommunicated; yet
we must expect in the visible Church,
the evil to be ever mingled with the
good, and sometimes the evil to have
chief authority in the ministration of
the word and sacraments." See Article
XXVI. We are not at liberty therefore
to condemn and leave the Church, as
some restless and proud persons have
done, because, it hath those imperfec
tions, which Our Lord prophesied should
always be found in this state of trial
ff Gnashing of 'teeth. In the violent pains
of nervous or muscular systems, in
colics and deliriums, as also in the
transports of rage and despair, the pa
tient gnashes his teeth with agony. It
is a frightful indication of the horrors
of everlasting punishment.
51, 52. Every scribe which is in
structed. The scribes as a class were
wicked men, but the word is honorable
in the sense here meant. A scribe here
is a teacher, one knowing the law of

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XIH.

169

They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52 Then said he unto them,
Therefore every scribe which is
instructed" unto the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a man that is
an householder,6 which bringeth
forth out of his treasure things
new and old.
53 If And it came to pass, that
a Prov. 10. 21 ; 1 Pet. 5. 2. 61 Cor. 4. 1, 2.
Christ's kingdom, and able to teach it to
others. The ministers of the Gospel are
the scribes of the Church, to copy out
the law in their own hearts, minds, and
lives, " as examples of the believers, in
word, in conversation, in charity, in
spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Tim. iv.
12. Jesus spent the three years of His
ministry in instructing His disciples,
and grounding them in the great
truths of Christianity, so that they
might be able to teach others. He in
stituted a perpetual succession of min
isters, to carry on the fine of instruction
to the end of the world. They have
endured from the Apostles times till
now, in the three orders, Bishops, Priests
and Deacons. Their office cannot be
taken from them. It is unlawful for
any one to perform their duties, unless
called, examined, and ordained *by Epis
copal ordination. See the Preface to
the Ordinal, ff Treasure. Rather a
treasure-house, in which moneys, clothes
and other useful and precious things
were stored. An householder is one
who has the charge of a family, whose
duty it is to clothe, feed and govern
them. The ministry are Christ's stew
ards over His family, the Church,
1 Pet. v. 2 ; 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2. They must
be so well informed in Scripture, and
the nature and constitution of the
Church, that they may diligently in
struct the people committed to their
charge. They should, as they have
solemnly vowed to do, "be diligent in
prayers, and in reading the Holy Scrip
tures, and in such studies as help to the
knowledge of the same, laying aside the
study of the world and the flesh." And
that they may benefit the family of
Vol. I.— 8

when Jesus had finished these
parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into
his own country, he taught them
in their synagogue, insomuch that
they were astonished, and said,
Whence hath this man this wis
dom, and these mighty works ?
55 Is not this the carpenter's0
els. 53. 8; John 6. 42.

Christ, it is important for the people to
esteem them in their office, and to con
sider of what dignity and of how great
importance it is to them. Heb. xiii.
7, 17. ff New and old. This does not
authorize strange and novel doctrines,
nor that vain curiosity after original
thinking, which has seized many peo
ple.. 2 Tim. iv. 3. The treasury being
the Bible, the steward can draw only
from it, and suit its truths to all, ac
cording to their wants.
53. He departed thence. In a few
days afterwards. This is thought to
have been in the month of October or
November. And as we may well be
lieve that the Saviour " fulfilled all
righteousness," and acted as a pious
Jew, He probably went to Jerusalem
in December, to attend the Feast of the
Dedication. These events fill up the
remainder of the current year, the
second year of His ministry, supposing
that to have begun on the Epiphany,
Jan. 6, A D. 25. True Era 31. He
now completes His 32d year.
54. Into his own country. Nazareth,
which was a few miles from Capernaum.
St. Mark says that the questions which
follow, were asked on the sabbath day,
after He had taught the people in their
synagogue. It was common for any
prophet or good man to address the
people in the synagogue. His wisdom
amazed those who had seen Him grow
ing up among them.
55, 56. Is not this the carpenters son ?
St. Mark adds : " Is not this the car
penter, the son of Mary ?" A carpenter
here means one who worked in iron,
wood, or stone. The ancient tradition
of the Church is that Joseph was of

170

MATTHEW.

[A D. 26.

son ? is not his mother called
Mary ? and his brethren, James,
and Joses, and Simon, and Judas ?
56 And his sisters, are they not
all with us ? Whence then hath
this man all these things ?
57 And they were offended in

him. But Jesus said unto them,
A prophet is not without honour,
save in his own country, and in
his own house.
53 And he did not many mighty
works there, because of their
unbelief.

this trade. The question in St. Mark's
gospel seems to show that Jesus followed
the humble occupation of His reputed
parent, until He began His ministry,
and went about " His Father's business."
This fact in the history of Jesus, ought
to humble the foolish pride which is
predominant in many hearts, of despis
ing honest industry. There will always
be ranks and classes in society, and
honor will be due to each, according to
the influence it has upon the public
good Some are called to serve Christ
in places of honor, as the rich counsellor
Joseph of Arimathea, the learned member
of the Sanhedrim, Nicodemus. Others
in the lower walks of life. The duty of
each is to keep to his own station, with
a modest and just temper, neither envy
ing those above him, nor despising
those below him, in the ranks of society.
A Christian should act well his own
part, and do his duty in that station of
life, to which it hath pleased God to
call him. If in an humble and laborious
occupation, he should remember that
Jesus lived in just such a rank, and
chose His earliest and most honored
followers from tradespeople and labor
ers. Be industrious and contented. If
you do your duty in a Christian spirit,
as says an eloquent Bishop, " thy re
lations and portion too are great and
rich, for thou hast God for thy Father,
Christ for thy brother, and the whole
heaven of stars for thine inheritance."
ff His brethren, sisters. His kinspeople.
See note ch. xii. 46.
57, 58. Wire offended. They slighted
Him for the meanness of His parentage,
and rejected His doctrines from prejudice
to His person, ff A prophet, Sfc. A
common proverb. As they had often
seen the proverb true, so they should
have profited by it, and not again have

fulfilled it, to their own shame, ff Did
not many mighty works. St. Mark says
that He laid His hands on a few sick
folk and healed them. But because of
their unbelief, their invincible prejudice
against Him, He could not induce them
to listen to His doctrine, and improve by
it. Our Saviour did His wondrous works
for their effect in producing that faith by
which the soul is healed. He did not
wish to do them before men who refused
to see a prophet in their townsman.
These same Nazarenes sought to take
His life. Lu. iv. 29. Familiarity had
bhnded their eyes, aud hardened their
hearts. The gospel is in our hands, we
have heard its sacred words from youth
up, and imagine that it has nothing
which we have not understood long since.
This very familiarity inclines us to
neglect it, and while others less favored
than we are will gladly seize and profit
by its truths, we suffer time to fly by
unimproved Like the foohsh virgins,
we sleep with the fights burning at our
sides. But the coming of the Bride
groom, will find many such among the
lost, who will awake to find that
familiarity with the gospel, has been
their bane ; to them " a savor of death
unto death." Oh, reader! awake to
righteousness, study, search the Scrip
tures. There are mines of treasure,
flowing brooks of refreshment, drops of
a balm of Gilead for healing, of which
you have never in your wildest concep
tions yet dreamed. Ponder the word of
God, and let it make you wise unto
salvation. Be not " ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that
believeth : to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek," the Gentile of any name or
nation. Rom. i. 16.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XTV.

171

CHAPTER XIV.
AT that time Herod the Te
trarch heard of the fame of
Jesus, 2 And said unto his servants,
This is John the Baptist ; he is
risen from the dead ; and there
fore mighty works' do shew forth
themselves in him.
3 IT For Herod had laid hold
on John, and bound him, and put
h/vm in prison for Herodias' sake,
his brother Philip's wife.
B or, are wrought by him.

4 For John said unto him," It
is not lawful for thee to have her.
5 And when he would have put
him to death, he feared the mul
titude, because they counted him
as a prophet.
6 But when Herod's birth-day
was kept, the daughter of Hero
dias danced before them, and
pleased Herod.
7 Whereupon he promised with
an oath to give her whatsoever
she would ask.
a Lev. 18. 16, and 20. 21.

CHAPTER XD7.
1. Herod. See Mark vi. 14-16;
Luke iv. 7-9. There are three men of
this name, and four of the family men
tioned in the New Testament. See note
ch. ii. 19. This was Herod Antipas,
or the tetrarch. Acts iv. 27. He re
ceived a part of his father's kingdom,
namely, Galilee and Perea. He first
married a daughter of Aretas, whom he
dismissed for love of Herodias. He was
banished by Caligula to Gaul, and the
province given to Herod Agrippa.
2. And said unto, dec. Herod was a
Sadducee, and denied a resurrection.
But a guilty conscience terrified him
into a forgetfulness of the opinions of
his sect. He had slain John to please
a lewd woman, against his own convic
tions. From St. Mark vi. 15, we see
that this fear had taken fast hold of
him. He would not believe those who
offered other explanations of the mira
cles of Jesus. He could only see the
consequence of his own crime hanging
over him. It was a common opinion
of that age ; that " it was easy for a
good man to return to life." Josephus'
Antiq. xviii. ch. 2.
3. For Herod, dec. Mark vi. 17-20 ;
Luke iii. 19, 20. This wicked woman
was wife of Philip, the brother of Herod
Antipas, whose wife was living, and
niece to the latter ; a connexion forbid
den by the laws of God. Lev. xviii.
14-16 ; xx. 21. He fell in love with
her on a journey to Rome, while stopping
at his brother's hpuse. He persuaded

her to leave her husband, and divorced
his own wife for her sake. Herod at
first heard John gladly, and reformed in
many particulars, but when John re
proved him for this connexion, it rous
ed the hate of Herodias, at whose in
stigation he was imprisoned. Thus
does one crime lead to another.
6. Herod's birth-day. In monarchi
cal countries, the birthday of the king
has from the earliest ages (Gen. xl. 20)
been observed with various festivities.
This birthday was concluded with a
supper to all the nobles of Galilee.
What adds to the crime, is the season
chosen for it. On such days the king
usually pardons criminals, and is sup
posed to be inclined for the time to
show mercy, ff The daughter of Hero
dias, and Philip, named Salome. We
must suppose this exhibition of herself
immodest. There is hardly a kind of
dance of which we read in history, that
she could have practised, but was im
proper for a modest woman. It shows
the corruption of Herod's court. They
aped the manners and crimes of Ro
mans who had been corrupted by the
Greeks. If this wretched girl's dancing
display partook at all of tiie lascivious
motions of the Greek dances, she was
a fit daughter of such parents. Danc
ing, though perhaps in itself innocent,
has been the bait to many a crime. It
should be regulated by the strictest re
gards to modesty and propriety, by the
parents who permit it.
7. Whereupon he promised, &c. It was

172

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

8 And . she, being before in
structed of her mother, said,

a foohsh and wicked oath. He received
the government of his kingdom from
the Romans, and had no power to give
it away. It was a mere boast. The
rashness and madness of it could be ex
ceeded only by the horrible purpose to
which it was perverted. He had no
right to call on the gods to witness a
promise which was thus made in a
merry party ; and when made, he should
have rebuked her for such a shallow
trick upon his words. If a parent pro
mises a child " any thing it wants," he
is very foohsh to give it, on account of
such a promise, what will injure it.
Herod promised this dancing-girl all
she could ask for — meaning all she
would be expected to ask for in return
for such a feat of dancing. He should
have refused her this bloody request.
Oaths like this are forbidden a Christian.
He cannot be bound by them if they
break any command of God or law of
man, and so must not make them.
8 Before instructed, dec. She went out
after the oath to consult her mother.
ff In a charger. A large deep plate
or basin. This sudden execution is
agreeable to the customs of the East.
As soon as any one is condemned to
death, an officer, called a capidgi, im
mediately takes the warrant, bears it to
the person, suffers him to read it, puts
him to death with the bowstring, cuts
off his head and brings it back to the
monarch, as a proof that he had done
his will. This woman could not be
satisfied until she had seen the ghastly
head of her enemy. Says Bp. Porteus,
" We find here a most awful warning
held out, not only to the female sex, but
both sexes, to persons of all ages and
conditions, to beware of giving way to
any one evil propensity of their nature,
however it may be disguised under pop
ular names, however indulgently it
may be treated by the world, however
it may be authorized by general prac
tice ; because it is here seen that they
may not only be led into the grossest ex
travagancies of that individual passion,

Give me here John Baptist's
head in a charger.

but may also be insensibly betrayed
into the commission of crimes of the
deepest dye, which, in their serious mo
ments, they always contemplated with
the deepest horror."
9. Was sorry. This savage request,
coming upon him so unexpectedly, from
the lips of a young girl, made even the
cruel and cowardly Herod Antipas to
feel appalled. He disliked the boldness
of John, in rebuking him in so sore a
point, but he was unwilling to kill so
good a man, and he feared the people,
who looked upon him as a prophet.
How calmly does the writer relate this
event, without one word of anger. He
evidently represents the story just as it
happened. It gives us confidence in the
truthfulness of the historian, who mani
fests such a regard for truth, ff Fin- his
oath's sake. Shame to do right marks
a man as a coward. No matter if he
can storm a breach before loud-mouthed
cannon ; if he dares not do right before
those who " sit at meat with him," he is
a coward. Herod should have rebuked
the girl, confessed his folly in making
such a boastful oath, and given her any
other present fit for her dancing quali
ties, freed John, and begged of him to
help him to dare to do right. Reader,
there is too much of this wretched
shame now, whch bows us down before
each other and makes us afraid. Let
us have none of it! Settle as your
principle, in httle things or in great, to
do what is right. Moderate your own
temper to an awful regard to the right,
and then go forth to avoid the error of
Herod in this evil world. If not, if you
bow down before others, and fear the
looks of men, tell me how you differ
from Herod in heart. God will judge
you in the little crimes of social life
which make a sacrifice of truth, as He
judges Herod. You may never commit
murder ; but you may still laud that
miserable, foohsh code of honor, for
which a man forgets ah laws of God
and man. You may go out to defy
heaven on "the field," as veritable a

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIV.

173

9 And the king was "sorry :
nevertheless for the oath's sake,
and them which sat with him at
meat, he commanded it to be
given her.
10 And he sent, and beheaded
John in the prison.
11 And his head was brought
in a charger, and given to the
damsel : and she brought it to
her mother.
12 And his disciples came, and
a Eoo. 5. 2.

murderer as was the boastful tetrarch
of Galilee.
10—12. And he sent, dec. John died,
as a saint should, and exchanged his
dungeon, for a world where the wicked
cease from troubling, and the weary are
at rest, a world, in whose light his
rejoicing soul could discover the ways
of God, and settle the questions which
the poverty of the Messsiah had caused
him. Here He had finished his work,
and testified of Christ The speedy end
of the ministry of John the Baptist, as
St. Chrysostom thinks, was designed by
Providence, that the people might not
be divided in opinion between him and
Jesus. He had been in prison a year,
and was sacrificed by a chance as it
seemed. The wrath of man worked out
the design of God. Herod was left to
the stings of a guilty conscience. Of
the daughter of Herodias, it is related by
Josephus, that going at a certain time
upon the ice, she fell in, and her head
was severed from her body by the ice.
13. This remarkable passage in the
hfe of the Saviour is recorded by all the
four Evangelists. Mark v. 32-44 ;
Luke ix. 10-17 ; John vi. 1-14. St.
Mark tells us that at the same time that
John's disciples came to find Jesus, His
own returned from their mission, and
that He went aside to avoid the people,
who were thronging Him constantly —
probably with a design of forcing Him
to lead them in an insurrection against
Herod. St. John records the sermon on
the spiritual food of the Messiah's king-

took up the body, and buried it,
and went and told Jesus.
13 If When Jesus heard of it,
he departed thence by ship into
a6 desert "place apart : and when
the people had heard thereof,
they followed him on foot out of
the cities.
14 And Jesus went forth, and
saw a great multitude, and was
moved with compassion toward
them, and he healed their sick.
6 Ch. 10. 23.

dom, founded on the miracle of the
loaves and fishes. It seems that this
was another of the instances, where the
people showed themselves willing to
take part with Him against His ene
mies. And to prevent it and any collis
ion with Herod, He returns across the
lake, ff A desert place. A place with
very few inhabitants. Bethsaida was a
small town, surrounded by an unculti
vated region. St. Luke calls it " a
place belonging to the city called Beth
saida." See note, ch. xi. 20. ff On
foot. Rather by land, opposed to tra
velling by sea. They had no means of
crossing the water, and could reach the
place by going round the head of the
lake. The people were probably deeply
excited by the murder of John, and bent
on hostile measures.
14. With compassion. Because they
were left to the misguiding of such in
structors as the Pharisees, and such
rulers as the Herods. St. Mark, vi. 34,
says, " because they were as sheep not
having a shepherd : and He began to
teach them many things." Shepherds re
present in Scripture the rulers and
guides of a people. See note, ch. ix.
36. The first duty of a Christian is
docile obedience, innocence of all guile
and double-mindedness. If one will
obey God with a single-mind, he will
find safety, wisdom and pleasure in the
flock of Christ the good Shepherd.
15. The place of this miracle is still
pointed out to the traveller, as also the
mount of Beatitudes near it. It is near

174

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

15 And when it was evening,
his disciples came to him, saying,
This is a desert place, and the
time is now past ; send .the mul
titude away, that they may go
into the villages, and buy them
selves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them,

the modern village of Hatti. ff The
time is now past. The hour of dining.
It was time to dismiss the multitude,
lest they suffer from hunger. It was
kind and discreet in the disciples, to
take this care of the people. Or, per
haps it was designed as a hint to Him
to declare His intentions publicly.
16. Give ye them to eat. St. John in
forms us, that He asked Philip " Whence
shall we buy bread, that these may eat ?"
This He had asked to prove him, that
is, to try whether his faith would ex
press itself as relying on Jesus and His
divine power alone, or whether he would
propose any way of obtaining food for
so many. It was plain that they could
not do it. Philip answered Him that
the disciples had no means of procuring
a supply, for that two hundred penny
worth of bread would not give each one
a little. A penny, or denarius, was a
Roman silver coin, worth about 15 cents,
two hundred pennies being, therefore,
about thirty dollars. This Philip men
tions as a sum beyond their means. We
have a strong proof in this of the pov
erty of the disciples, when so small a
sum exceeded their common hoard.
And we may learn that faith often re
quires of us to look to a higher power
for our blessings than to the riches of
this world. Let the Church but have
faith and prayer enough in her divine
work, and she will increase, and have
enough and to spare for the myriads of
the heathen. Christ bade the disciples,
in view of this miraculous supply, " to
labor not for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life."
17, 18. Fiveloaves. Andrew answers
Him, but hardly dreaming that it would
be of any importance, that there was a

They need not depart ; give ye
them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We
have here but five loaves, and
two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither
to me.
19 And he commanded the

lad in the crowd with "five barley
loaves and two small fishes : but what
are they among so many ? " John vii.
9. The loaves were like large, thin
biscuits. The Jewish bread was all of
that form. The leavened bread was
usually about half an inch thick ; the un
leavened bread thinner, and was broken
by the hands, and not cut with a knife, as
we cut a loaf. Barley was a common,
cheap food. The fish were very small ;
perhaps the whole contents of the boy's
store were hardly more than enough for
his own consumption at one meal.
19. He blessed and brake. The
people sat in " ranks by hundreds and
by fifties " (Mark vi. 40), leaving room
for the disciples to walk ; and showing
their numbers. The thin loaves were
broken by the fingers, ff And looking
tip to heaven, He blessed. He gave
thanks unto God as the author and
giver of every good thing. He has in
this act, now, as at other times, set us
an example. Every Christian should
sanctify the daily life of himself and
family by a Grace at meals. It keeps
all in mind that our life needs grace, and
especially the grace of grateful depend
ence on the Almighty. The Jews asked
a blessing on themselves at their meals.
" Blessed art Thou, oh Lord our God,
the king of the world, that bringeth forth
bread out of the earth." The last words
were varied, according to the thing for
which the blessing was asked. 1 Tim.
iv. 4, 5. This was no ordinary meal.
The secret meaning of the miracle was
expounded by the Saviour. John vi.
It was an acted parable. It typified
the spiritual food of the Church uni
versal. Says Bp. Porteus, "But it
seems to have had a, spiritual as well
as a literal meaning; having refer-

T. E. 33.

CHAPTER XTV.

175

multitude to sit down on the
grass, and took the five loaves,
and the two fishes, and looking
up to heaven," he blessed, and
brake, and gave the loaves to his
disciples, and the disciples to the
multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and
were filled : and they took up of
the fragments that remained
twelve baskets full.6
21 And they that had eaten,
a Ch. 15. 86.

were about five thousand men,
beside women and children.
22 T And straightway Jesus
constrained his disciples to get
into a ship, and to go before him
unto the other side, while he sent
the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the
multitudes away, he went up in
to a mountain apart to pray : and
when the evening was come, he
was there alone.
b 1 Kings 17. 16 ; 2 Kings 4. 1-7.

ence to that spiritual food, that celestial
manna, that bread of life, which our
Lord was then dispensing in such abun
dance to those that hungered and
thirsted after righteousness." He mul
tiplied the loaves among so many thou
sands, without their losing, but rather
gaining in substance, and in hke man
ner He now manifests that no numbers
of men, no extent of space can exhaust
that communion with Him, which is the
source of spiritual life. If it be right to
believe that the life and miracles of
Christ were meant to show us how in
all ages He is still with men, to give
them spiritual blessings, we have here a
striking proof of the doctrine, that He
gives Himself, the true manna, the spir
itual bread from heaven, ever distrib
uted, yet never failing.
20, 21. Twelve baskets full. The only
explanation of this event is, that it was
a miracle, of the manner of which we can
hardly form any conception. The same
power which created the worlds out of
nothing, which increased the widow's
cruise of oil, at the word of a Prophet, is
here shown in increasing the substance of
bread and fish, far beyond all natural
powers. What before was held in the
hand, after satisfying an immense crowd,
cannot now be restored to its original
compass. From the number of the bas
kets being twelve, it is surmised that they
were such as could be commonly carried
about to hold provision, and each belong
ed to a disciple ; but they may have been
any baskets brought with them in the

boat. The people, astonished at such a
proof of power and future success, plot to
make Him king (John. vi. 15), which
causes Jesus again to retire from them.
Piety in the service of Christ is great
gain, both now and hereafter, but it will
not suffer men to follow Him only for a
temporal support,
22, 23. And straightway Jesus con
strained, die. See Mark vi 45-56; Johnvi
15—21. The word constrain implies a
degree of force, moral or otherwise.
From its use it would seem that the
disciples were disinclined to let slip this
opportunity of keeping together the mul
titude, and were something unwilling to
depart. Jesus commanded them there
fore, with authority, to leave Him
(Mark vi. 46) while He dismissed the
crowd If this i dea is correct, then it may
have been the subject of our Lord's pray
er that the disciples should be kept from
worldly temptation, and not suffered to
leave Him as others did. The events of
this night may be again an acted parable,
intended to humble their ambition. Our
Saviour retires into a mountain alone
to pray — 1, to escape the attention of the
multitude and the confusion which had
now been continued since the disciples
of John came to Him : 2, to meditate on
the death of John and His own, which
would, before long, follow it : 3, to pray
for the weak disciples and the multitude,
that they might hunger more for the
spiritual food, than for the bodily suste
nance. It seems fitting that He should
desire this time for lonely prayer, after

176

MATTHEW.

[A. D, 27.

24 But the ship was now in
the midst of the sea, tossed with
waves : for the wind was con
trary. 25 And in the fourth watch of
the night Jesus went unto them,
walking" on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw
him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, It is a
a Job 9. 8.
such painful and exciting events. Jesus
often worshipped in the liturgical forms
of prayer in the temple and synagogues.
He did not, as some vainly pretend,
diminish aught of the respect for or
necessity of public worship in set forms
of prayer. And like Him we may use
the one, yet find peculiar advantage in
secret communion with the Father of
spirits: find in it, a balm for past sorrows
and grace for future, trials. We may
learn from this instance of Jesus leaving
the multitudes who would honor Him in
worldly wise, to shed a tear in solitude
over His cousin, the son of Zacharias,
that in secret prayer is to be found the
best comfort and strength of the Chris
tian. 24. In the midst of the sea. See note,
ch. viii. 24. The storms of the sea of
Gahlee were very sudden and frightful.
St. John says that they had sailed about
twenty-five or thirty furlongs — three or
four miles — or just into the centre of the
sea, where the current of the Jordan
caused the greatest commotion in a
storm. A furlong was an eighth of a
mile or about 200 yards.
25. The fourth watch. A watch is a
period of the night spent by soldiers, in
keeping awake, to guard against ene
mies, or to prevent the escape of pris
oners. It means generally any divi
sion of the night. The Jews had,
just before St. Matthew wrote his gospel,
changed their own ancient custom of
three watches of the night; the first
(Lam. ii. 19), the middle (Judges vii.
19), and the morning watch (Ex. xiv.
24), for the Roman usage of four

spirit;6 and they cried out for
fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake
unto them, saying, Be of good
cheer ; it is I ; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him
and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid
me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And
when Peter was come down out
0 1 Sam. 28. 8, 12, 15 ; Job 4. 15, 16 ; Wis.
2. 8.

watches of three hours each. Mark xiii.
25. These watches began at six, nine,
twelve, and three. It was after three in
the morning that Jesus came to His
disciples. Through the early dawn they
saw Him walking on the sea. To walk
upon the sea is a miracle, which teaches
us that Christ was able to assume the
attributes of God. See Job ix. 8.
26. A spirit. The Jews, as many
other nations, believed in spiritual ap
paritions. 1 Sam. 28, 15. They sup
posed the spirit of a dead man, not as
we now imagine pure spirit to be, of
no form, color or matter, but " a soft or
moist air " (Wisdom ii. 3), in form like
the person, of a pale color, able to con
verse, but like air, not to be grasped.
The sight of such shadows they always
feared, as ominous of evil. The fright
ened disciples can give no other expla
nation of this miracle of Jesus walking
on the waves, than that He is dead,
and His spirit coming to them to an
nounce the evil news.
27-29. He walked on the water, die.
Peter was a man of undoubted physi
cal courage. He shows it now and
when he attacked the crowd in Geth
semane. He was now beginning to see
that there was a mystery about his Mas
ter, which he had not at first dreamed
of, that " He was the Son of the living
God." But how then does he fail in
courage in both cases ? Our answer
must be grounded on the fact that he
was not regenerated, i e. born anew to
spiritual strength and insight, until the
day of Pentecost. And wanting that
strength, he had only his natural cour-

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIV.

177

of the ship, he walked on the
water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind
boisterous,1 he was afraid; and
beginning to "sink, he cried, say
ing, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and
caught him, and said unto him,
O thou of 6little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt ?
32 And when they were come
into the ship, the wind ceased."

[| or, strong.
c Ps. 107. 29.

a Ps. 69. 12. 6 Jas. 1. 6.

age and understanding to trust to, and
the design of this scene, as of that of
the denial, is to teach us that the best
natural gifts of courage and intellect
are insufficient without grace. That Pe
ter had some faith and courage is certain,
because he did walk on the waters, and
a terrible feat it was — he did attack the
rude mob which came to take his Mas
ter. That he had not the strength and
insight afterwards granted to him in
the new birth, is evident from his own
first sermon, and all his epistles. The
lesson which we should draw from his
character as a disciple, is to distrust the
highest and noblest natural gifts, courage,
impetuosity, strong love, fidelity, &c;
and from his character as an apostle to
see how sublime is the power of a man
who forgets himself in the faith of his
being " a partaker of the divine nature."
2 Pet. i 4 ; 1 Pet. v. 6,7. Often he is
called rash, headlong, cowardly and the
like. But there is no mark of such a
character in him — such an one would
not have been so beloved. And if he
were so cowardly, then we have no in
stance in the Gospels, well drawn out
and applied, of the danger of depending
on native strength in spiritual things,
rather than on the Holy Spirit. As
John was an example of natural affec-
tionateness of disposition, so we con
sider Peter the instance of native energy.
Both had the faults belonging to such
characters. Both need the new birth
Vol. I.— 8*

33 Then they that were in the
ship came and worshipped him,
saying, Of a truth thou art the
Son" of God.
34 T And when they were gone
over, they came into the land of
Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that
place had knowledge of him, they
sent out into all that country
round about, and brought unto
him all that were diseased ;
36 And besought him that they
d Dan. 8. 25 ; John 6. 69.

at the Pentecost, to see where their true
love and strength lay.
32. The wind ceased. St. John adds
that they were immediately at the land
whither they went. We have in this
narration a collection of wonders, and
may well ponder them to ask, why
they were done, and what moral and
spiritual lessons do they teach. They
do not cease with the letter, or with
their temporary effect on a few disci
ples, but admit of meanings which ap
ply to spiritual things, in every age of
the Church. But to develop these
meanings, and bring forth out of the
treasure of the Scripture things new and
old, is the duty of the scribes well in
structed, the Bishops and doctors of the
Church. The private Christian may
well apply himself to a prayerful study
of the depth and riches of the Gospels,
under their guidance.
33-36. They that were in the ship.
The mariners and owners of the boat
They are amazed at His power, grate
ful for safety, and convinced, by the
things they had seen, that Jesus is able
to exercise the powers by which the
Messias was to be known. We are not
to suppose that they understood then-
own words in all their depth and ful
ness : for spiritual things must be spir
itually discerned. They do certainly
confess Jesus to be the Son of God, in
the words of Daniel hi. 25. When our
Saviour uses the words, and in the con-

178

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27

might only touch the "hem of his
garment : and as many as touch
ed were made perfectly whole.
a Num. 15. 88 ; Acts 19. 12 ; Jas. 5. 15.

fessions of faith after the descent of the
Holy Ghost, they are to be taken in
the full Christian sense, ff Gennesaret.
They landed here instead of at Beth
saida. Gennesaret was the region on
the west side of the sea, of which Ca
pernaum was the chief town, and from
which the lake was sometimes named.
As soon as His coming was known in
the neighboring villages, the sick are
brought to Him to be healed, ff Hem
of his garment. The fringe of His robe,
which He wore as a Jew. Num. xv. 38.
See note ch. ix. 20. " Nor ought we to
fail to recognize the symbolic character
which this whole transaction wears.
As that bark was upon those stormy
seas, such is oftentimes the Church.
It seems as though it had not its Lord
with it, such httle way does it make ;
so baffled is it and tormented by the
opposing storms of the world. But
His eye is on it still; He is in the
mountain apart praying; ever living,
an ascended Saviour, to make interces
sion for His people. And when at
length the time of urgent need has ar
rived, He is suddenly with it, and that
in marvellous ways past finding out ;
and then all that before was so labori
ous is easy, and the toihng rowers are
anon at the haven where they would
be." Trench. CHAPTER XV.
1. See also Mark vii. 1-9 ; John vii.
1. Our Saviour is supposed by the
learned Harmonists (McKnight, Jarvis),
to have gone up to Jerusalem to the
Passover. Deut. xvi. 16. It was the
third Passover in His ministry. The
Pharisees, whose rage was increased
by the accounts of the disciples who
had fallen away from Him after the
discourse related (John vi.), attempted
His life ; and either then or following
Him to Galilee, renewed their attempts
to make Him unpopular, by showing
that He disregarded the traditions,
which all held sacred. We come now

CHAPTEK XV.
THEN came to Jesus scribes
and Pharisees, which were of
Jerusalem, saying,

to the last year of our Lord's life. At the
next Passover, His hour comes, He lays
down His hfe on the cross, ff Scribes
and Pharisees. See notes, ch. ii. 4, and
hi. 7.
2. The tradition of the elders. St.
Mark says that " they saw some of the
disciples eat bread with defiled, that is
to say with unwashen hands." Not that
their hands were soiled with dirt, but
with ceremonial defilement. In the
Gospels, a tradition signifies a religious
custom or precept, handed down from
former generations, and held to be of
equal sacredness with the written law.
The elders were the learned men living
in old times. These traditions were a
very important part of the Jewish sys
tem. They were so often condemned,
that we should impress on our minds
exactly what it was in them that was
condemned. The Pharisees taught that
when Moses received the written law, he
was instructed also in another law,
which he was not to write down, but to
deliver to the elders of the congregation.
This oral law, they maintained, was the
only authorized interpretation of the
written law, so that a Jew could never
be certain of the meaning of the latter,
until he had inquired of the Pharisees
the explanation of the former. They
were therefore the only infallible inter
preters of this oral law, and of course
held an authority over the common
people of a most dangerous kind ; per
verting the laws of God at their plea
sure, by any explanations of their own,
for which they had the impudence to
claim tradition. The Sadduces opposed
this doctrine, and held only to the law
as written and explaining itself to the
reason and conscience, although they
seem to have leaned to the Samaritan
error of denying the authorized inter
pretations of the inspired prophets.
These traditions are supposed to have
been recorded in a book called the
Talmud: a book that contains most

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XV.

179

2 Why do thy disciples trans
gress the tradition of the elders ?
for they wash not their hands
when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said
unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of
God by your "tradition ?
a Col. 2. 8, 23 ; Tit. 1. 14. b Ex. 20. 12.

valuable information of the ancient life
and manners of the Jews. Our Lord
condemned traditions, i. e. any oral law,
adding to, setting aside, or claiming su
periority to the written law of Moses.
By just inference we conclude that the
same error is condemned now, and we
beheve therefore, that " Holy Scripture
containeth all things necessary to salva
tion: so that whatsoever is not read
therein, nor may be proved thereby, is
not to be required of any man, that it
should be believed as an article of faith,
or be thought requisite or necessary to
salvation." — Art. VI. We deny the
Romish claim to tradition and infallible
explanation of Scripture. Neither our
Lord, nor the Church, condemn a just
and proper reverence for the history of
past opinions and testimonies of the good
men of the Church, if held as subordi
nate to and throwing light on Scripture
in doubtful cases. The New Testament
has a written history, which in many
cases explains the facts and customs re
corded in it. The Church bids us
often to refer to "Holy Scriptures
and ancient authors." 1 Cor. xi 2;
2 Thes. iii. 6. Jesus does not condemn
a submission to the results of the sound
reasonings, nor the testimonies of good
men of tiie past, but, a " making the
commandment of God of none effect
through traditions." The particular
tradition in this case, was founded on
such precepts as Lev. xv. 11. In cer
tain cases men were called unclean. If
others touched them they were to " rinse
their hands in water, wash their clothes
and bathe themselves in water." This
was meant to teach the Jews the un-
cleanness of sin. But this tradition lost
sight of this spiritual end, and invented

4 For God commandeth saying,
6Honour thy father and mother :
and, "He that curseth father or
mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall
say to his father or his mother,
It is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me ;
e Ex. 21. 17; Lev. 20. 9.
a tedious round of washings of pots,
cups, brazen vessels and tables. Mark
vii. 3, 4. When a Jew came to eat he
must wash the arms to the elbow, lest
by any chance he had touched any thing
unclean, and so might swallow unclean-
ness with his food. This was supersti
tion. Verse 11.
3. Why do ye, Sec. He shows them
that their system of tradition is false.
This is a good mode of refuting error.
The law of God is first to be held sa
cred, over all things else. Your tradi
tions violate it, and are therefore false.
The direct question made to the Phari
sees is intended to convict them publicly
for their wickedness. Their secret ob
ject was to prejudice the people against
Him. Jesus afterwards prevents this
by other arguments.
4. For God, dec. This command
ment, fixed on the immutable principles
of the natural conscience, and solemnly
sealed by the voice of Jehovah from
Sinai, could least ofall be misunder
stood. Ex. xx. 12. To ensure its
obedience a, promise is joined to it of
long life, and a threat of certain death
against wilful disobedience. Ex. xxi. 17 ;
Lev. xx. 9. Superstition and infidelity-
meet by different ways in the desire to
set aside the plain laws of God. ff Curseth.
To curse, is the opposite of to honor,
meaning to slight, speak evil of, and
treat with disrespect. Ezek. xxii. 7.
The heathen had laws to condemn those
guilty of such crimes to death, and
would have despised the traditions of
the Pharisees as immoral, ff Let him
die the death. The Hebrews from a
want of adjectives and adverbs often
repeated the verbs. They said let Mm
dying die, or die by death, for let him

180

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

6 And honour not his father or
his mother, he shall be free."
Thus have ye made the com
mandment of God of none effect
by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did
a Deut. 27. 16. 6 Is. 29. 13.

surely die. To honor parents requires
one to make provision for them in sick
ness or old age. Prov. xxiii. 22. This
the Pharisees had discouraged.
5, 6. It is a gift, or " It is corban."
The word is probably quoted from some
set phrase which was used on such occa
sions. Any thing solemnly set apart by
a formal vow to the sacred uses of the
service of God, and so not to be used by
other persons was corban. But the
subtlety of these traditionists had in
vented a secret reserve beneath this
form of words. The Jew said to his
parents, either in selfishness or anger,
" It is corban, all that I can give to
you." From that time he could not
apply any of his property to the support
of his parents, because, said the Phari
sees, he broke a, vow to God ; but he
was not bound nor expected to actually
devote it to God. He was only bound
by it not to support his parents. He
might use it freely upon himself. In
this manner the fifth commandment
was set aside, and the vow to God,
which was binding on them (Deut. xxiii.
21) was mocked by a prescribed form.
If we had not other instances of this sub
tlety in the Pharisees and in the modern
Jesuits, we would doubt the fact that
men could be so deluded. No vow or
oath can release a man from obedience
to moral law. To give alms in the
support of rehgion is a prescribed duty,
but only of that which we can honestly
call our own. A man has no right to
give alms while his whole income is
needed to maintain his family, or while
he is in actual debt, and has no absolute
right to that which he gives. 1 Tim.
v. 8 ; Rom. xiii. 8.
7, 8. Ye hypocrites. See note ch.
vi. 2. They hid a wicked and selfish
avarice under a show of extreme con
scientiousness, ff Prophecy of you.

Esaias6 prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh
unto me with their mouth, and
honoureth me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain do they worship

Isaiah was then prophesying of the
future, and foretelling what God would
do with the Jews, because they were,
and- would continue to be, lip-worship
pers and hypocrites. The most wicked
designs of men are conducted under the
show of great piety. No set of men
ever had the forms of religion more
frequently in their lips than the Phari
sees and Jesuits ; none have ever fur
nished the world with such fearful ex
amples of corruption and cruelty. The
heart must be constantly guarded by
prayer and self-examination, lest it
delude us into substituting the form of
godliness for the true, sincere love of the
duties of piety. Isaiah does not con
demn the drawing nigh unto God with
the lips, that is, the regular, orderly and
devout worship of Him, but he con
demns those who do it insincerely, while
the affections and honest intentions of
the heart are not at the same time en
gaged. There cannot be public worship
without forms. We must give them our
honest affections to make them useful.
9. In vain. To no purpose. God
who sees the heart, will not be propiti
ated, unless men worship him with pure
and sincere hearts. Prov. xv. 8. John
iv. 24. ff Teaching for doctrines.
Teaching as doctrines necessary to sal
vation, in the same manner as the
commands of God were necessary. He
does not condemn the enforcing the com
mands and arrangements of men, as
such, but teaching them as the laws of
God. This error Protestants justly
charge upon Romanists, in the matters
treated of by the council of Trent. They
make ' as necessary to salvation,' a
behef of purgatory, the papacy, worship:
of images, the virgin, saints, &c. The
Episcopal Church cannot be suspected
of this error, as she practises according .
to the profession of the Vlth Article.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XV.

181

me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments" of men.
10 H And he called the multi
tude, and said unto them, Hear,
and understand :
11 Not that which goeth6 into
the mouth defileth a man; but
that which cometh out of the
mouth, this defileth a man.
a Col. 2. 22.

12 Then came his disciples,
and said unto him, Knowest thou
that the Pharisees were offended
after they heard this saying ?
13 But he answered and said,
"Every plant, which my heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be
rooted up.
14 Let them alone : they be
b Acts 10. 15; Eom. 14 14, 20 ; 1 Tim. 4 4;
John 15. 2, 6.

See note verse 2. She does teach us
many commands of men, only as of
human authority, and approved by
reason, exactly as St. Paul did. 1 Cor.
x. 25, 29 ; vii. 6, 12. She declares that of
ah matters which are not doctrines or com
mandments of God "the Church has power
to decree rites and ceremonies, and au
thority in controversies of faith : and yet
it is not lawful for the Church to ordain
any thing that is contrary to God's word
written : neither may it so expound one
place of Scripture, that it be repugnant
to another. Wherefore, although the
Church be a witness and a keeper of Holy
Writ, yet as it ought not to decree any
thing against the same, so besides the
same, ought it not to enforce any thing to
be believed for necessity of salvation."
Art. XX. In this article is found the
best comment upon this verse, and by
this sound principle, the Church is
guided in all her rites and ceremonies.
10. Hear and understand. See Mark
vii 16-17. Observe and ponder this.
Jesus now replies directly to the question
of the Pharisees. As their design in
questioning Him, was to excite the
hatred of the people against Him, Jesus
makes the answer to the people, to show
the Pharisees, how easily their error
could be rebuked, and their malice
avoided. As much in error as the com
mon people might be, He was not afraid
to let them all hear and judge of His
reply. 11. Not that which goeth into the
mouth. Not food and drink. They do
not defile the soul Certain meats were
forbidden in the Levitical law, to school
the minds of the Jews, and prepare
them for the spiritual law of Christ.

But they grossly erred, and imagined
that they could be spiritually debased
by certain meats. Jesus asserts the
broad principle, which human reason
acknowledges as immutably true, that
sin does not lie in food or matter, bnt in
the soul. It is "the transgression of
the .law." 1 John iii 4. ff Defileth.
" Takes away . that purity which you
Pharisees think to keep by incessant
washings." The word signifies to make
common, unclean, as heathen men are ;
hence, to pollute spiritually. Acts xxi.
28. 12. Were offended. Were scandalized,
and angry, at being exposed before the
multitude. Their weapons had been
turned against themselves.
13. Every plant. Some explain this
of every doctrine. The Jews poetically
called a doctrine a seed or plant. In
this case our Saviour means, fear not
their anger. However strong their
prejudices are, this doctrine of theirs
concerning the traditions of the elders
will be overthrown. The truth shall
prevail over all false opinions. You my
disciples will see even this prejudice
overcome. Others explain the word
plant as a plantation of young trees, or
nursery, referring it to the Pharisees, as
a class. They would yet be rejected,
and the Christian teachers prevail over
them. 14. Let them alone. Pay no regard
to their anger, nor fear the effects of it.
They do it from the blindness of their
minds, and, hke blind men, will not in
jure us, but only themselves. From
this we may learn, 1. Not tobe deterred
from doing our duty and speaking truth
by the scandals and name-callings of

182

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

blind leaders of the blind. And
if the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch.
15 Then answered Peter and
said unto him, Declare unto us
this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also
yet without understanding ?
17 Do not ye yet understand,
that whatsoever entereth in at

perverse men. 2. That it is always the
duty of men to compare the precepts of
their teachers with the Scriptures. 3.
That the Christian must be patient at
the sight of the worldly power and suc
cess of unauthorized teachers. When
God wills, their prejudices will be
banished, or their power destroyed.
ff Blind leaders. They did not see the true
light, but refused it, from their violent
prejudices. John ix. 40. No man
would allow a blind man to be his guide
in a path beset with precipices and
pitfalls. How many Christian people
suffer others to become their spiritual
pastors and guides, without inquiry
whether they are sent and authorized
by the chief Bishop and Shepherd of
souls, and are able to walk in the path
of life for themselves, ff Into the ditch.
Become filthy and ridiculous. From
being scrupulous in trifles, they become
wholly defiled in heart.
15. See also Mark vii. 17-20. This
parable. The Hebrews had but one
word for parable and proverb. The
Evangehsts at times used one for the
other. In this- place and in Luke iv.
23, v. 36, that which is properly a pro
verb, or short, pithy saying, is called a
parable ; while in John xvi. 25, 29, the
word proverb is used for parable. There
is no radical distinction in the words.
It seemed obscure to the disciples that
their reverend teachers could be called
blind, their own eyes being but partly
opened to the national errors. Acts x.
14. St. Mark says that all the disciples
asked Him to explain, which, of course,
St. Matthew has not denied. Peter

the mouth goeth into the belly,
and is cast out into the draught ?
18 But those things which pro
ceed out of the mouth come forth
from the heart ; and they defile
the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed
evil" thoughts, murders, adulter
ies, fornications, thefts, false wit
ness, blasphemies :
a Gal. 5. 19, &o. ; Eph. 2. 8 ; Tit. 3. 8.

may have asked for the rest, or before
the rest did. One writer notices the
one fact, the other records the other,
while both are true.
16, 17. Are ye also, Sec. Jesus had
used plain words, but their prejudices
made them obscure. Moses taught
them that though God had, for good
reasons, made a difference between cer
tain animals, forbidding some to be eaten,
yet that He had made sin to consist in
transgression against His laws. The
prophets had fully explained the same.
Food could not defile the mind except
as they Broke the law in taking it. It
was only tradition which erred. Had
they received the spiritual sense of the
Scriptures, they would have had under
standing of the true doctrine.
18-20. Out of the mouth, Sec. Our Lord
speaks of the mouth, as it is the instru
ment of food and conversation, and as
marking certain sins, as lying, blasphe-.
my, &c. James iii. 6. ff From the heart.
St. James (ch. i. 14, 15) gives the pro
cess of sinful deeds : 1. A man is drawn
away of his own lust, i e. evil passions,
and enticed, i. e. taken captive by the
sin and desires it. 2. When lust hath
thus taken the bait or been enticed, it
conceives, and as a serpent its egg,
so in due time it bringeth forth sin. 3.
And sin, when it is finished (reAeioi),
has run its course and come to full age,
bringeth forth death. Thus every sin
must begin in the lusts of a depraved
heart. And this liability of the heart
to conceive sin by its desires, is what is
meant by original sin, which is " the
fault and corruption of the nature of

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XV.

183

20 These are the things which
defile a man : but to eat with
unwashen hands defileth not a
man. 21 IT Then Jesus went thence,
and departed into the coasts of
Tyre and Sidon.

every man, that naturally is engendered
in the offspring of Adam, whereby man
is very far gone from original righteous
ness, and is of his own nature inclined
to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always
contrary to the Spirit, and, therefore, in
every person born into this world, it de-
serveth God's wrath and damnation."
Art. IX. ff Evil thoughts. These are
placed first, as if to represent the foun
tain from which the other sins proceed.
It means evil cogitations, reasonings or
purposes ; that general deliberation be
fore an evil deed, which St. James
speaks of as " lust conceiving," and St.
John as " hating one's brother." 1 Epis.
iii. 15. The evil deeds which are men
tioned here and in St. Mark's Gospel
i (vii. 21), are only a few instances of
each kind. Dr. Whitby has noted that
they are to be reduced to the violation
of the commandments of the second
table, as follows : Against the sixth com
mandment, as murder and the evil eye :
seventh, as fornication, adultery, lascivi-
ousness : eighth, as theft, deceit : ninth,
as false testimonies, blasphemies, evil
speaking : tenth, as covetousness. They
are the violations of those duties so ex
cellently summed up in the answer to
the question in the Catechism, " What
is thy duty towards thy neighbor ?" This
original sin, and these its bitter fruits
brought down the Son of God, to pre
pare a way of cleansing the heart, that
the life may be good. He does this in
our regeneration, when He gives us
those gifts of the Spirit which aid us in
working out our salvation. Let us
adore His grace that He was willing to
save us from our own hearts, and to
give us new hearts, wherewith to bring
forth better fruit than these crimes.
Gal. v. 22-25.
21. Mark vii. 24-30. Dr. Jaryis says,

22 And behold, a woman of
Canaan came out of the same
coasts, and cried unto him, saying,
Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou
son of David; niy daughter is
grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a

" The severity of His reply, and His
warning to the people not to substitute
outward for inward purity, gave them
(the Pharisees) great offence, and alarm
to His timid diseiples. To avoid them
our Lord left the dominions of Herod,
and went into the region of Tyre and
Sidon." ff Tyre, Sec. See note ch. xi.
21. They were cities situated on the
Mediterranean shore.
22. A woman of Canaan, Sic. St.
Mark calls her " a Greek, a Syrophce-
nician by nation." The two names
were given to the same tract of country.
It was originally called Canaan. The
children of Israel drove out the nations
who inhabited it. By a woman of Ca
naan, they meant one who was not a
Jew. The Greeks under Alexander
conquered the country, which they
called Phoenicia near the sea, and more
inland Syro-phoenicia. It is usual now
to say Palestine or Syria. The impor
tant fact about the name is that she
was a Gentile. The word Greek with
St Paul most commonly means Gen
tile. She was a pagan, i. e. was out of
the covenant, and, as the Jews thought,
had no right to receive any blessing from
their prophets. She was what we are,
and the first of the Gentiles to obtain a
blessing by faith. ff Coasts. The
country lying near the sea. ff Thou
Son of David. She confesses Him to
be the Messiah, a remarkable instance
of faith in one not bound by the pre
cepts, nor claiming the privileges of the
Mosaic law. See note ch. ix. 27. ff Is
grievouslg vexed. The demons seem to
have exercised greater power for evil
among the heathen. Ch. viii 28, &c.
See note iv. 24. Would that sinners
could feel their spiritual need as this
woman her daughter's trouble! St.
Mark says that " she came and fell at

184

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

word. And his disciples came
and besought him, saying, Send
her away ; for she crieth after
us. 24 But he answered and said,
I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the "house of Israel.
25 Then came she and wor
shipped him, saying, Lord, help
me. 26 But he answered and said,
It is not meet to take the chil-
a Acts 8. 26.

His feet." Such earnestness is always
successful. "In this confession of this
woman we have an abstract of divinity.
What can we Christians confess more
than the deity, the humanity and the
Messiahship of our glorious Saviour 1
His deity as Lord ; His humanity as a
Son ; His Messiahship as the Son of
David"— Bp. Hall.
23. But he answered her not a word.
For two plain reasons : 1st. To try
her faith before others. He saw her
good faith and develops it, to make
the blessing more remarkable. 2d.
This, as Bp. Horsley remarks, " was the
first instance in which our Lord's aid
had been invoked by =• person neither
by birth an Israelite nor by profession
a worshipper of the God of Israel. The
miracle which He was presently to
work for her was to be an action of no
small importance ; being a prelude to the
disclosure of the great mystery, that
through Him the gate of mercy was
opened to the Gentiles. It was fit there
fore that she should be put to some pre
vious trial of her faith, and show her
self in some sort worthy of so high a
preference." 24. But unto the lost sheep, Sec. The
Jews. He was sent to them, was born
among them, hved with them, and died
by their hands. He came to save all
finally, and this act, as said above, is a
prelude to that great work of saving the
Gentiles. 25. Lord, help me. There is an ex
quisite beauty in the brevity of her pray-

dren's bread and to cast it to
dogs. 27 And she said, 6Truth, Lord :
yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from their master's
table. 28 Then Jesus answered and
said unto her, 0 woman, great is
thy faith : be it unto thee even
as thou wilt. And her daughter
was made whole from that very
hour. 5 Job 13. 15.

er. She urges no argument, perhaps
her voice is choked by her tears, she
looks in the Saviour's face and sees the
mercy that disproves His words, and
she says only — help me ! The soul that
bows as she did, need say no more.
ff Worshipped. See note ch. viii. 2.
26. But he answered, Sec. Our Lord
farther proves her. The Jews consid
ered themselves as the peculiar favorites
of heaven, and despised others. Jesus
to call out her confession, speaks as if
He felt as the other Jews, that she was
too far inferior to Him, to receive such
a blessing. The same principle is rec
ognized in Is. liv. 7, 8. "For a small
moment have I forsaken thee, but with
great mercies I will gather thee. In a
little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment; but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord thy Redeemer."
27. And site said, fyc. The remark
able humility of this woman, may well
put us to shame. Be it so, Lord, my
Master. Give the Jews, the children,
what you will — but give me this mercy.
Out of thine abundance it is only as a
crumb, which the children drop and
neglect. They cannot be the poorer.
Who will falter, when Jesus shows us
by this how He would have us " always
to pray and not to faint."
28. Be it unto thee, dec. We rejoice
at the trial to which she had been put,
when we see the result. Had she gone
away discouraged — had she been grati
fied at the first cry, we had lost the

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XV.

185

29 And Jesus departed from
thence, and came nigh unto the
sea of Galilee ; and went up into
a mountain, and sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came
unto him, having with them those
that were lame, blind, dumb,
maimed, and many others, and
cast them down at Jesus' feet ;
and he healed them :"
31 Insomuch that the multitude
wondered when they saw the
dumb to speak, the maimed to
be whole, the lame to walk, and
the blind to see : and they glori
fied the God of Israel.
32 If Then Je'sus called his
disciples unto him, and said, I
have compassion on the multi
tude, because they continue with
me now three days, and have
nothing to eat : and I will not
a Is. 85. 5, 6.

force and consolation of her story. Now
it is plain of what kind that " great
faith" is which can have all things as it
will : which is omnipotent with Him,
who is omnipotent to save. Says Dean
Stanhope, "In hke manner does our
heavenly Father deal with His children
on all occasions. He tries those tem
pers by suspending His mercies, which
indulgence or readiness to give are apt
to spoil. He makes us feel our depen
dence, and trains us up to patience and
resignation, to trust and constancy : for
indeed we are not worthy to receive, till
we are perfectly satisfied that He is the
properest Judge when, as well as how
and what to give ; and that in ah these
regards, He proceeds upon reasons, not
only wise in themselves, but beneficial
to us."
29-31. The sea of Galilee. He
went through the region of Decapolis
on the east side of the sea, the province
of Herod Philip, as if He still hesitated
about exposing Himself to His enemies
in Capernaum. The people of this prov-

send them away fasting, lest they
faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto
him, Whence should we have so
much bread in the wilderness, as
to fill so great a multitude ?
34 And Jesus saith unto them,
How many loaves have ye ? And
they said, Seven, and a few little
fishes. 35 And he commanded the
multitude to sit down on the
ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves
and the fishes, and gave thanks,6
and brake them, and gave to his
disciples, and the disciples to the
multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and
were filled ; and they took up of
the broken meat that was left
seven baskets full.
b 1 Sam. 9. 18 ; Lu. 22. 19.

ince take advantage of His visit, to
bring to Him all their sick. See note, ch.
iv. 24. ff Maimed. Crippled in a limb,
as a leg or arm. Acts iii. 2. ff Glo
rified the God of Israel. The people
beyond Jordan", being many of them
Jews, had fallen into great errors. But
led by such prodigies, they do honor
to the God in whose name they were
done. 32. And have nothing to eat. It is
not necessary from the words above, to
suppose that the multitude had fasted
three days, but had been with Jesus three
days, and having exhausted all their
supplies, were now suffering hunger. See
Mark viii. 1-10. The only difference
between this miracle and that recorded
eh. xiv. 14-21, is in the multitude. The
place was the same, the plain near the
mount of Beatitudes, close to the sea ;
the cause of it the same ; the manner
the same. Tho persons receiving sup
port in this miraculous manner are not
the same. Before they had come from
the western shore. Now from the east

186

MATTHEW.

fA. D. 27

38 And they that did eat were
four thousand men beside women
and children.
39 And he sent away the mul
titude, and took ship, and came
into the coasts of Magdala.

or the region of Decapolis. Are we to
understand that these latter were Gen
tiles ? If so, the spiritual lessons of the
miracle are read to them, and another
intimation is given to the disciples of
the future admission of the Gentiles into
the Church. It may be that the disci
ples asked the question they did be
cause the multitude were Gentiles.
39. Coasts of Magdala. St. Mark
says of Dalmanutha. The town may
have had both names, as the sea was
called by three titles, Tiberias, Genne
saret and Galilee: or they may have
been neighboring villages. The Evan
gehsts both say the coasts, or parts of
these places, that is, the neighborhood
which may have been common to both.
Magdala, says Dr. Robinson, was " a
place on the western shore of the lake
of Gennesaret, south of Capernaum, and
a few miles north of Tiberias. Seetzen
and Burckhardt found here a miserable
village still called Ml Madgdel."
This chapter, verses 21-28, furnishes
the Holy Gospel for the second Sunday
in Lent. The Collect is suited to it.
"Almighty God, whoseest that we have
no power of ourselves to help ourselves ;
keep us both outwardly in our bodies,
and inwardly in our souls ; that we may
be defended from all adversities which
may happen to the body, and from all
evil thoughts which may assault and
hurt the souL though Jesus Christ Our
Lord. Amen." CHAPTER XVI.
1. See Mark viii. 11. 12. The Phar
isees, Sadducees. See note, ch. iii. 7.
These two sects were opposed and hos
tile, but now, in their combined hate to
Jesus, they begin to conspire together.
The former seem to have grown desper
ate, and now make a powerful attack on
the claims of the Saviour, to destroy, if
possible, His reputation with the com-

CHAPTER XVI.
THE Pharisees also with the
Sadducees came, and, tempt
ing, desired him that he would
shew them a "sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto
a Ch. 12. 88, &e.

mon people. They came from Jeru
salem to Galilee for this purpose.
ff Tempting. The word means to seduce
with evil motive into sin or folly. They
did not really wish to see a sign from
heaven, that they might believe in Him,
or have others do it; but either they
wished Him to fail, or they hoped to
prove to the multitude that, not show
ing such a sign, He was not the Messiah
of the prophets. They seemed to do
him honor ; they wished to injure Him.
ff Sign from heaven. See note, ch. xii.
38. This sign from heaven, they
argued, would prove him to be a prophet,
and the Messiah, according to Dan. viii
13. Prophets had shown signs from
the sky ; Moses, manna ; Samuel, thun
der; Isaiah, a change of the dial.
Ex. xvi. 4 ; John vi. 31 ; 1 Sam. xii.
16—1 8 ; Isa. xxxviii. 8. Jesus had
more than equalled those prophets, so
that they had already sufficient signs. At
His Baptism the heavens were opened
with signs. He gave them miraculous
bread to eat, after blessing it from
heaven. The sign spoken of in Daniel,
ot the "clouds of glory," is to attend the
future coming of the Messiah.
2, 3. The signs of the times. The va
rious indications, that ancient prophecies
were then fulfilled. Gen. xlix. 10 ; Is.
ix. 1 ; xxxv. 5 ; Dan. xii. 24. They
could foretell the weather by the clouds
and indications peculiar to their climate,
and by the very same sign of redness
in the sky, at one time say it would be
fair, again foul weather. Yet they in
sisted in the face of all other proofs on
the actual coming from the skies. This
wish of theirs was insulting, for it
argued that He could not be the Messiah.
For Daniel said he was to come in the
clouds of heaven, but Jesus had already
come in another way. The loss of their
royal line, and their conquest by Ro-

E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVI.

187

them, When it is evening, ye
say, It will be fair weather : for
the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will
be foul weather to-day : for the
sky is red and lowering. O ye
hypocrites, ye can discern the
face of the sky ; but can ye not
discern the signs of the times ?
4 A wicked and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign ;
and there shall no sign be given
unto it, but the sign of the proph
et Jonas." And he left them, and
departed. a Jonah 1.17.

mans, the times fixed by Daniel, the mir
acles He was doing, all were signs of the
times of the Messiah, by which they
could have discovered Him.
4. There shall no sign, dec. See notes,
ch: xii. 38-40. St. Mark says that He
sighed deeply in spirit. Mark viii. 12.
He was grieved by their hardness of
heart, and the certainty of their eternal
ruin. The words of this verse, in Greek,
partake of the nature of an oath.
It is a sentence of reprobation against
them ; as is shown too in the fact that
Jesus no more remonstrates with them
nor reproves them, but leaves them to
themselves. 5. To the other side. To the northern
shore of the Sea of Galilee, to the town
of Bethsaida. This conversation hap
pened in the ship as they were saihng,
for they had but one loaf. St. Mark.
viii 14-21. St. Matthew's words in the
Greek have this same meaning, "they
coming," &c, that is, while they were on
the way. The circumstance, in a ship
where they could get no other supply,
till they landed, is striking, and He
seizes it to teach them an important
lesson. 6-8. Leaven. The doctrines of the
Pharisees. See note chap, xiii, 33. Lea
ven insinuates itself through the whole
mass of dough into which it is put, and
gives its character to all. So the evil
principle of the Pharisees, their false,

5 And when his disciples were
come to the other side, they had
forgotten to take bread.
6 If Then Jesus said unto them,
'Take heed and beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among
themselves, saying, It is because
we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived,
he said unto them, 0 ye of little
faith, why reason ye among your
selves, because ye have brought
no bread ? b Lu. 12. 1.

wicked temper, had changed and cor
rupted the very truths of God. The
disciples must beware of them and
their doctrine, that is, their teaching. It
seems strange to us that the disciples
should have misunderstood this, and
imagined that Jesus spake of a want of
bread. For we cannot perceive how the
Pharisees and Sadducees could in any
way be connected with the fact of their
forgetting bread. And if we regard the
disciples as at this very time all that
we mean now by Christians, that is,spir-
itually-minded men, a dreamy mode of
looking on them which has become
common, we shall have great difficulty
in accounting for such blindness. But
if we bear in mind that the great era
and turning point of their lives, after
their obedience to the call of Jesus, was
the Pentecost, when they were regene
rated by the Holy Ghost and became
Christians, we shall feel no trouble at
seeing them stumble at the spiritual
doctrines of Christ in these years of pre
paratory teaching. Their call was thei*
conversion. Their discipleship, their
preparation and discipline. Their bap
tism by fire (as ours by water) was their
spiritual regeneration. They could not
understand Jesus, simple as His words
seem to us. They reverenced their Jew
ish guides too highly and thought them
above blame. They were yet ofliUlefaith.
They could not see how far the nation

188

MATTHEW.

|A. D. 27.

9 Do ye not yet understand
neither remember" the five loaves
of the five thousand, and how
many baskets ye took up ?
10 Neither the seven loaves of
the four thousand, and how many
baskets ye took up ?
11 How is it that ye do not un
derstand that I spake it not to
you concerning bread, that ye
should beware of the leaven of
a Ch. 14. 19.

the Pharisees and of the Saddu
cees ?
12 Then understood they how
that he bade them not beware of
the leaven of bread, but of the
doctrine of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees.
13 If When Jesus came into
the coasts of Cesarea Philippi,
he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I, the
Son of man, am ?

had departed from truth and righteous
ness, and so supposed, for want of a bet
ter meaning, that the Master was bidding
them, in this singular manner, to be
more provident in their journeys.
9-12. Then understood they, Sec. They
reflected that as He had transformed
five loaves and seven loaves into the
substance of hundreds, so he could as
easily change their one loaf into enough
to supply their wants. The inference
was then inevitable that He had con
demned the false teaching of their rulers.
ff Doctrine. The spirit of their teach
ing. Luke xii. 1. The word means the
body of instruction or disciphne, rather
than any one doctrine. The system
of instruction taught by Jesus is called
His doctrine, and again the Apostles' doc
trine and fellowship. The word (JSioaxv)
is used only once in the plural in the
translation, and then improperly, for
the Greek is singular. Doctrines
(Matt. xv. 9) are the opinions taught
on special subjects ; doctrine, is the
whole system and body of divinity
in its completeness. This system of the
Pharisees was corrupt in the mass ; like
leaven, it puffed up the heart and soured
it. 13. See Mark viii. 27-29 ; Luke ix.
18-20. Caesarea Philippi. The Csesarea
of Philip, to distinguish it from the
Csesarea of Herod the Great, south of
Mount Carmel, on the Mediterranean
shore, near Joppa, about seventy-five
miles from Jerusalem, and named after
Csesar Augustus. Acts ix. 40 ; x. 1.
Csesarea Philippi was in Gahlee, at the

foot of Mount Hermon, near the sources of
the Jordan, and in the district of the tribe
of Naphtali Its ancient name was Paneas,
and more anciently still Laish or Leshem.
Judges xviii. 29. It was rebuilt and
enlarged by Herod Philip, as the seat of
his court, and called by him after Tibe
rius. His own name was sometimes
added to mark it. It retains its original
name. " We arrived at Baniass or Pa-
naass, the ancient Cassarea Philippi. It
is a hamlet of twenty miserable huts,
inhabited by Mahometans. The circuit
of the ancient walls is easily distinguish
able." — Seetzen. It is near the cave from
which the river Jordan issues, fifteen
miles from the little lake Phiala, the
true source of that river, ff Coasts.
Parts, " the towns" in that neighbor
hood. Mark viii. 27. It is common in
the English translation to find came, and
such words, in place of the Greek indefi
nite participle coming. We must bear
this in mind, as the time is in such cases
indefinite, meaning as He was journeying
to a place. He was now on the eastern
bank of the Jordan and in the neigh
borhood of Caesarea. The time of the
year is reckoned to be the middle of
May. True era 33. He draws from His
disciples by this question a confession of
faith, which seems to have been neces
sary that He might begin to instruct
them in the more difficult doctrines of
His mission, namely His death and res-
surection. They were at the time alone,
and our Lord had been engaged in pray
er. Luke ix. 18.
14. John the Baptist. See note ch.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVI.

189

14 And they said, Some say
that thou art John the Baptist :
some, Elias ; and others, Jere
mias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But
whom say ye that I am ?
16 And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ,
the" Son of the living God.
a Ps. 2. 7; Dan. 7. 13; Ch. 14. 33. b Gal.
1. 16. a 1 John 5. 20.

xiv. 2. Elias. See note ch. xi. 14.
Jeremias or one of the prophets. Jeremias
is mentioned, because it was an opinion
with some, that the Messiah would come
" not from the living but from the dead"
— and because of the high character
given of him by the Lord Jehovah.
Jeremiah i. 5, 10. The Jews considered
him as chief of the prophets.
16. And Simon Peter answered. We
have the good and the dark side of St.
Peter's character, in this chapter. Eager
courage and love lead him to catch a
glimpse of truth ; he utters it freely : the
same qualities, not yet enlightened by
the Holy Spirit, lead him to reject as
openly the idea of the humiliation of the
Messiah, verse 22. He is here praised
and there blamed. The virtues and
faults of such hearts as his are alike
noticeable. Gal. ii. 8, 11. ff The
Christ, See note ch. i. 1. He yet un
derstood little of the true character and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts i.
6. He thinks Him a glorious earthly
king, in whose peaceful reign the world
would become a Paradise. Is. xi. 4-9.
ff TJie Son of the living God. The
promised Son of God. That the Divin-
ityr of Christ was shadowed out in the
Old Testament, and believed by the
Jews, is proved clearly by divines. Bp.
Bull has arrayed authorities from the
primitive ages for it, in his " Defence of
the Nicene faith." See Is. ix. 6. The
Jews called God living, to distinguish
Him from the dead idols of the heathen.
See note chap. i. 18.
17. Simon Barjona. The word Bar
is the Syriac for the Hebrew Ben, both
meaning the son of. Jonas was the

17 And Jesus answered and
said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Bar-jona : for 'flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my "Father which is in
heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will ''build my church :
d Eph. 2. 20 ; Eev. 21, 14.
father of Peter, ff For flesh and blood.
This phrase means in the New Testa
ment simply men. Gal. i 16 ; Eph. vi.
12 ; Heb. ii. 14. Men have not taught
you this truth. They differed about Jesus,
and would not believe in Him as their
king. The disciples had not been
swayed by these prejudices to reject
Him, but by obedience and fidelity to
Him, had seen His miracles, heard
His teachings, and gradually arrived at
this conclusion, by the grace which
always attends obedience. God had
revealed this knowledge to them, not by
any unusual or extraordinary communi
cation, as at Pentecost, nor by any
partial or arbitrary favor to them, but
as a result of their obedience and love.
In building an arch, the architect first
places a temporary scaffolding until the
semicircle is finished by the setting of
the central keystone. If we imagine
the workmen laboring in the dark, and
with the setting of the keystone the
light flashes over the whole, we may
have an illustration of the experience of
these disciples. The arch of divine
truth was supported in them as yet by
their implicit obedience. They begin
dimly to perceive it, as Jesus speaks to
them of doctrine : but only with the
perfection of the work, the descent of
the Spirit in a Baptism of fire, does the
central truth of regeneration fall into its
place, and the whole arch appear in
harmony and hght. Imphcit obedience
is often the means of our insight into
truth, to which as a reward, God reveals
spiritual knowledge. Ch. xi. 25.
18. Thou art Peter. The name Pe
ter means a stone. John i. 42. " Thou

190

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

hast confessed Me by a name which
declares My power. I invest you in
return with one showing your charac
ter and mission, in carrying forward the
effects of My work. Be a rock ; firm,
immovable, to fix the earliest preach
ing of the Gospel in the clearest terms,
on facts and reasonings which its ene
mies cannot gainsay nor hide." Peter
was of a firm and bold character that
fitted him to affect vitally the first
preaching of the Gospel. His energy
helped to mould the first growths of it,
in the form of stern, simple, unyielding
reasonings on facts. In the first perse
cutions he was the rock on which the
rage of the Jews spent itself. Acts iv.
8-10 ; xii 3, 5. His inflexible cour
age defended the flock, in the first ab
sence of the chief Shepherd. After
wards his importance was diminished
by the rank of James as Bishop of the
Holy City (Acts xv. 13), and the supe
rior importance of the mission of Paul,
the apostle to the Gentiles. Gal. ii. 8.
ff Upon this rock. The word is femi
nine and refers to the faith which Peter
had professed. The Saviour would oth
erwise have said upon thee will I build
My church. On the profession of that
faith, as professed by Peter, the Church
was to be built. Some explain the
word rock as referring solely to the dis
ciple, others to his faith. It seems
better to admit that which is true in
each — a true faith of the Son of. God and
a firm-, clear profession of It dj living, act
ing, energetic hearts. 1. The Church
is founded on that faith in the divinity
of Christ. She has professed it in every
age, without it she would fall. She of
fers atonement, resurrection, heaven, by
it alone. 1 John v. 20. 2. The founda
tion of the Church is a firm individual
expression of the faith. The Church
began in the life of Christ, unlike Ju
daism, which began in the "tables of
stone and books of the law." 2 Cor.
iii 3 ; 1 Cor. xv. 1-12. The visible
Church, its Scriptures, laws, customs,
all grow out of this real life. The one
Individual life which was the founda
tion is Christ, on whom were laid the
Apostles, in equal rank. Gal. ii. 9 ;
Eph. ii. 20 ; Rev. xxi. 14. Of these

Apostles, Peter was signally honored.
He was the first to preach to the Jews
(Acts ii. 14-16), and to admit the Gen
tiles. Acts x. In both cases he laid
the ground of faith in Jesus as the Son
of God, and began the life of the
Church. The Romish doctrine of the
infallibility of the Romish See, depends
upon a tissue of falsehoods and forged
papers. It depends on a doubtful tra
dition, namely, that Peter was the first
Bishop of Rome, and wants all shadow
of evidence that, had he ever been there,
he was to have an infallible successor.
The Apostles had every power which
St. Peter could claim (ch. xviii 18 ;
John xx. 22, 23), though the same
honor in their one equal rank they may
not have had. St. James and the oth
er Apostles knew no such authority in
Peter. Acts. xv. St. Paul paid it very
little respect. Gai ii. 11. The lan
guage here is figurative language, and
is not to be pressed to unreasonable
lengths. Says Bp. Horsley, "The
Church to which our Lord here prom
ises stability, and a final conquest over
the power of the grave, is the building
raised by Himself as the master-build
er ; that is, by persons commissioned by
Him, acting under His directions, and
assisted by His Spirit, on the solid rock
of the truth of St. Peter's faith. That
faith was a faith in the mediatorial
offices of Christ, in His Divinity, and
in the mystery of the Incarnation.
Whatever be raised by man upon any
other foundation, however it may as
sume the name of a Church, is no part
of Christ's building and has no interest
in these glorious promises." Says Dr.
Barrow, the Apostles may also be
termed foundations, " for that upon
their testimonies concerning the life,
death and resurrection of Christ, the
faith of Christians was grounded; as
also it stands upon their convincing dis
courses, their holy practice, their mi
raculous performances, in all which,
St. Peter was most eminent, and in the
beginning of Christianity displayed
them to the edification of the Church."
ff My church. The word church means
an assembly or congregation. It is here
used for the first time. The Septua-

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVI.

191

and the" gates of 'hell shall not
prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee
the6 keys of the kingdom of heav
en: and whatsoever thou shalt
a Ps. 9. 18 ; Is. 54. IT. 1 or,

gint uses this Greek word in Deut. xviii.
16, for the Jewish Church. It is used
in tho New Testament, 1. Of the whole
body of Christian believers, living and
dead. Eph. iii. 10. 2. Of the society
known and visible in the world (Eph.
v. 23), now called the Church Catho
lic. 3. Of that body which will at last
be saved. Heb. xii. 23. 4. Of partic
ular churches, as the church at Cor
inth. 1 Cor. i 2 ; xvi. 19, &c. It sig
nifies at present that body which holds
to. the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship,
being united to them by uninterrupted
.succession of faith and life, according
to the promise that the succession
should never be broken. " The visible
Church of Christ is a congregation of
faithful men, in which the pure word
of God is preached, and the sacraments
. be duly administered, - according to
Christ's ordinance, in all those things
that of necessity are requisite to the
same." — Art. XIX. And of the Church
as a fellowship, or organic perpetual
body : " It is evident unto all men, dili
gently reading Holy Scripture and an
cient authors, that from the Apostles'
time, there have been three Orders of
ministers in Christ's Church — Bishops.
Priests and Deacons." ff The gates of
hell. Cities were anciently surrounded
by walls with gates. These gates were
often assaulted in battle, and were
guarded by special garrisons. The
word gates is used here for powers. Hell
is Hades, the place of departed spirits.
The powers of Hades, or the grave, is
equivalent to David's expression, " the
gates of death." Ps. ix. 13. The
Church will never fail, though genera
tion after generation yields to the pow
er of death. There shall always be
found the signs of a true Church.
19. Unto thee. This same power was
given to all the Apostles ; ch. xviii. 18.
He could claim no rank above the other

bind on earth, shall be bound in
heaven ; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth, shall be
loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his dis-

6 Is.

Eev. 3. T.

disciples, though the actual admission
of Jews and Gentiles was intrusted to
him. But after he had opened the door,
he claimed no authority over the rest
of his brethren, ff The keys of the king
dom of heaven. The Church, ff The
keys. This is a metaphor, the meaning
of which is very plain from Is. xxii. 22,
and Rev. iii. 7 ; though the custom from
which it is taken seems doubtful. It
occurs also, Luke xi. 52 ; Rev. i 18 ;
ix. 1 ; xx. 1. In all which places he
who bears the keys is the one who has
power over the subjects assigned to
him. And it is understood universally
by learned men to signify the same
here : they who have the power and
authority of governing the Church, sub
ject to the superior power of Christ.
Jesus is dealing with them as represen
tatives. This is plain from the promise
which He makes of the perpetual endur
ance of the Church, as in ch. xxviii
19, 20. This power was not to cease.
Says Dr. Barrow, " What our Lord did
intend to bestow on all pastors, that He
did anticipately promise to him (Peter) :
or, as the Fathers say, to the Church
and its pastors in him. All we Bishops
(saith St. Ambrose) haye in St. Peter
received the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven." So in the solemn form of
Ordination of Priests by the Church
now, as in all ages, the equivalent words
(John xx. 22, 23) are used in convey
ing the office of the ministry. " Whatso
ever thou shalt bind, &c." Whatsoever,
refers to Church laws, ceremonies, rites,
discipline, censures, &c, by which the
Church is edified and governed. To
bind and loose, mean to declare lawful
or unlawful, to prohibit, to allow, to
compel obedience and relax censure, in
a word all the rights and powers neces
sary for the right government of the
Church. This ministerial power, guided
at first by the inspiration of the Holy

192

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27

ciples that they should tell no"
man that he was Jesus the
Christ. 211 From' that time forth be
gan Jesus to shew unto his dis
ciples, how that he must go unto
Jerusalem, and suffer many things
a Mark 8. 80.

Ghost, was exercised by Peter and the
other Apostles : since then, by the min
isters of Apostolic succession, in strict
subjection to the laws of Scripture, and
the canons of the Church. The Apos
tles founded and organized the Church,
and left to it the body of Christian faith
and practice. Ministers now can only
follow the laws and regulations laid
down by them, and the canons of the
branch of the Church to which they be
long. They are not inventors nor lords,
but servants and ministers, to apply the
rules of inspiration to particular cases,
to preach " the faith once for all deli
vered;" to administer the sacraments
and ceremonies prescribed, and to
govern according to law the flocks in
trusted to their charge.
20. Then charged He, dec. He strict
ly forbade it, for two reasons ; 1. It
would endanger His life. He avoided
publicity except when duty demanded
it. He was not to be crucified, except at
a Passover. If His disciples had begun
to preach this faith in Him as Messiah,
it would have brought them into danger
prematurely. 2. The disciples were
very unfit to preach this doctrine. They
knew not yet what rising from the dead
should mean ; they knew nothing of
His dying for sin, and of spiritual rege
neration by the Holy Ghost. They
would have preached of Him as a tem
poral king. See note, ch. viii. 4. This
confession " forms an epoch in the his
tory of our Saviour's ministry ; because
from henceforth that truth which had
been before but obscurely intimated,
became the leading, may I not say, the
all absorbing subject of His doctrine."
Dr. Jarvis.
21. From that time forth. After
their confession that He was the Son

of the elders, and chief priests,
and scribes, and be killed, and
be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and
began to rebuke him, saying, Be
it far from thee, Lord : this shall
not be unto thee.
b Lu. 9. 22 ; 18. 81.

of God. Says Bp. Horsley, "He did
not think proper to disclose to them
His approaching death till their faith
had attained some degree of constancy
and firmness. But when once it ap
peared that they not only esteemed and
loved their Master as a wise and virtu
ous man ; that they not only revered
Him as an inspired teacher of right
eousness, but that they believed in Him
as the Christ, the Son of God, the Re
deemer of Israel ; it then became rea
sonable to remove their prejudices, to
extinguish their hopes of sharing in
the splendor of an earthly kingdom,
and to prepare and fortify their mirids
against all that contradiction of sinners
which they with their Master were
in this world to endure." ff Elders, dec.
The Sanhedrim or great Council of the
Jews. See note, ch. v. 22.
22. Peter took him. The word
took manifests St. Peter's impatience at
such opinions, and his affection. He
took Him by the hand or aside, and ex
postulated with Him. This same im
patience and mistake led him to deny
his Master. He seems to have thought
these prophecies of death a strange lan
guage in Jesus, uttered either to try
the fidelity of His followers, or from
some natural fear or melancholy. It
was this love which made him pledge
to his Master that he was ready to em
bark his all in the war against the
Pharisees and die with Him. It was
this affection, and human, unsanctified
courage, which made it impossible for
Peter to understand that Jesus did not
speak in melancholy, but in sober fact.
For willing ignominy He was not pre
pared, ff Be it far from thee. Often
used in the Old Testament, implying a
prayer against an evil. Gen. xviii. 25.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVI.

193

23 But he turned, and said un
to Peter, Get thee behind me,
"Satan ; thou art an 'offence unto
me : for thou savourest not the
things that be of God, but those
that be of men.
24 If Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come
a 2 Sam. 19. 22. 6 Eom. 14. 18.

23. Get thee behind me, Satan. The
word Satan is from the Hebrew, and
means an adversary, an offence or im
pediment, or more softly, an opposer. It
is, for his bad prominence in evil, appro
priated to the devil David used it as
here, in strong remonstrance against
certain of his zealous friends. 2 Sam.
xix. 22. Jesus does not call Peter a
devil, or an evil-minded tempter, but
simply rebukes his zeal, which, by the
very affection it showed for Him, made
it harder for Him to walk the fearful
path to the cross. A sad smile might
have marked His sense of Peter's affec
tion at the same time that the words
rebuked his worldly pride, ff Thou art
an offence. A stumbling block. "By
urging me in this manner you are
doing you know not what. I came to
die for the sins of the world, and you, for
a dream of temporal glory, would pre
vent me." ff Thou savorest not. You
are acting and feeling now as men do,
not as God wills. The word savor is
emphatic. Peter was reahy hardly
knowing what he was doing. He was
deeply agitated, and his words gush out
of a zealous, loving heart, almost with
out thought. The promise had elated
him. He forgets himself and rebukes
his Lord, and is immediately humbled.
24. See Mark viii. 24-38 ; Luke ix.
23-27. Let him deny himself. "The
self-denial which our Saviour claims
from His disciples is nothing more than
a willingness to part with all earthly
comforts and conveniences, to quit all
our temporal interests and enjoyments,
and even hfe itself, for the sake of Him
and His rehgion." — Archbp. Tillotson.
"The precept directs every one to take
Vol. I.-9

after me, let him deny himself,
and* take up his cross, and follow
me. 25 For ^whosoever will save his
life, shall lose it : and whosoever
will lose his life for my sake, shall
find it.
26 For what is a man profited,
c Ch. 10. 88; Acts 14. 22. d John 12. 25.

up his cross ; not the trouble of another
man, but that which is sent for his own
trial, and adapted to his own case." —
Jones of Nayland. No one is to make
trouble for himself, or repine at blessings
because he cannot feel the cross. In
prosperity let him be humble and will
ing to submit, praying for strength when
the day of trial comes, and tiie cross
lays before his path, — some real, actual
trouble, which must be taken up and
borne with patience, perhaps till the end
of life. See note ch. x. 38.
25. See note, ch. x. 39.
26. For what, Sec. What profit will
it be to you, my disciples, to have all
your earthly dreams fulfilled, if it must
be done without conviction of sin and of
the need of a, Saviour ; and you cannot
have a Saviour until I have offered the
sacrifice, which I came to offer ? What
is a temporal kingdom, even of the
whole earth, compared in value to a
single soul ? These are the considera
tions by which.Jesus presses the oppo
site view from theirs, i. e. the things
that savor of God. And truly they ap
ply to all hearts, from those twelve
men, gasping after the glorious visions
of the letter of the Messianic prophecies,
of gaining the whole world in the cause
of a Prince, armed with such tremendouB
powers over men and nature as their
Master had shown ; down to us, who
often sacrifice a soul for the mere dust
and clods of the earth. It is a question
of incalculable importance. It makes
the heart quake to ask it. To lose the
soul is to be driven away from God and
heaven, light, purity, peace and all
good, and to suffer " shame and ever
lasting contempt" in the indescribable

194

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul ? or what
shall a man give in "exchange for
his soul ?
27 For the Son of man 'shall
come in the glory of his Father,
with his angels ; and then he
a Ps. 49. 7, 8. b Dan. 7. 9, 10 ; Zech. 14.
5 ; Jude 14.

miseries of the second death. " From
Thy wrath and from everlasting damna
tion, good Lord, deliver us."
27. In the glory of his Father. The
same is called the glory of Christ (ch ¦
xxv. 31), and of both in common. John
xvii. 5. He would at His second ad
vent give the sign from heaven — asked
so often by the Pharisees, — and then glo
rify the disciples to a state of joy as yet
inconceivable. Thus Jesus sought to
turn their eyes from earth to heaven,
and give them glimpses, as they could
bear it, of the glorious doctrines now so
familiar to us. We should ponder upon
this language till it makes us solemn in
view of that coming judgment, when we
are to expect the reward of our works.
The mercy of Christ, must be our only
plea then. His righteousness must be,
our model now. Whatever cross He may
put on us, let us bear it patiently, for
the time is short ; the reward will be for
eternity. 28. Verily I say, Sec. The coming
of the Son of man (see notes, ch. xxiv)
in the overthrow of Jerusalem. St.
John, one of the twelve, survived that
event as we know, and perhaps others.
See John xxi. 22, 23. ff Taste of
death. A metaphor, implying the bit
terness and pains of death, ff Son of
man coming in his kingdom. St. Mark
says, " until they have seen the kingdom
of God come with power." ix. 1. St.
Luke again, "Till they see the king
dom of God." ix. 27. Our Lord fore
told the terrific punishment of the Jews
in the fall of Jerusalem, as His coming.
The other two Evangelists, writing from
what they had heard, give the force of
the words, as they were believed by the
Apostles, not as a bodily coming of

shall reward every man according
to his works."
28 Verily I say unto you, There
be some standing ''here, which
shall not 'taste of death, till they
see the Son of man coming in
his kingdom.
a Eev. 22. 12. d Mark 9. 1. e Heb.

Christ, but a manifestation of His power
in destroying the kingdom of the Jews,
to make room in the world for His
Church. Dr. Whitby explains it thus :
" the Messiah affording an earnest of
His intended future punishment, by the
severe punishment He will execute on
the unbelieving and disobedient Jews
of His age." " The evident tendency of
our Saviour's words, in the latter part
of this chapter, was to prepare the
minds of His disciples for the cruel treat
ment which both He and they were to
undergo, and at the same time to raise
their drooping spirits, by setting before
their eyes His own exaltation, and their
glorious rewards in another life." — Bp.
Porteus. Verses 13-19 form the Holy
Gospel for St. Peter's day, June 29th.
"0 Almighty God, who by Thy Son
Jesus Christ didst give to Thy Apostle
St. Peter many excellent gifts, and com-
mandest bim earnestly to feed Thy
flock ; make, we beseech Thee, all
bishops and pastors diligently to preach
Thy holy word, and the people obedient
ly to follow the same, that they may
receive the crown of everlasting glory
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." x,
CHAPTER XVII. ^
1. And after six days. See Mark
ix. 2-10 ; Luke ix. 28-36. St. Luke
says, " about eight days," that is, after
the conversation recorded in the last
chapter. According to the Jewish mode
of reckoning, by counting first and last
days, six whole days intervening, St.
Luke's words may be naturally recon
ciled to those of St. Matthew. Dr.
Jarvis says : " On Thursday the 22d of
May, eight days from Thursday 15th of
May, or six days, excluding the two ex
tremes, ten days before Pentecost, and,

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVII.

195

A

CHAPTER XVII.
ND after six days, Jesus tak
eth Peter, James, and John

therefore, forty days from the morrow
after the Sabbath of the first fruits, oc
curred the Transfiguration, exactly
one year before our Lord's Ascension."
ff Peter, James and John. These three
were afterwards taken apart to witness
the solemn scenes of the Garden of
Gethsemane. Mark xiv. 33. " They
were men of such commanding charac
ter, that their testimony, after our
Lord's death and resurrection, would be
sufficient to convince the great body of
His disciples." — Dr. Jarvis. Thoir na
tural characters also needed particular
instruction and humbling, in view of the
great doctrine of the sufferings of Jesus.
ff Into a high mountain apart. St.
Luke adds that He went thither to pray.
The first part of the time was so spent
by Him, while the disciples slept. The
spot selected has always been beheved
to have been Mount Tabor, situated in
the province of Zebulon, mentioned
Judges iv. 14. " This is a high moun
tain, round and beautiful, standing by
itself in the plain of Esdraelon, at a
short distance from Nazareth, towards
the east. It has a plain area at the
top of an oval figure, fertile and deli
cious, extended about two furlongs in
length and one in breadth. It is en
closed with trees on ah parts except the
south. There are on it several cisterns
of good water ; also three continuous
grottos, made to represent the three
tabernacles, which St. Peter proposed to
erect when astonished at the glory of
the Transfiguration." — Maundrell. The
walls and grottos this traveller speaks
of are the ruins of an ancient monastery
and church, dedicated to Jesus and his
two attendants, Moses and Elias. This
mountain was called from 2 Pet. i. 18,
Age Mons, the holy mountain. Moun
tains have been chosen by Jehovah as
the scene of His most glorious revela
tions. 2. And was transfigured before them.
The word transfigured is used four times

his brother, and bringeth them
up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured" before
a Eev. 1. 16.

in the New Testament. Mk. ix. 2 ;
Rom. xii. 2 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18. "Be ye
transformed by the renewing of your
mind." " We all are changed with the
same image from glory to glory." It
must signify more than a change of
form. Jesus did not ascend up to this
place to be changed in appearance only,
but to manifest, by a radical change for
the time being, His glory. " Thus, for a
httle while, during His state of humilia
tion, the Son of God permitted the glory
of His divinity to break forth, as it were,
and shine through the veil of His human
nature, with which it was covered." —
Dr. McKnight. St. Peter also ex
pressly calls this vision, being " eye
witnesses of His Majesty." 2 Pet. i. 16,
17. St. John, another witness of this
scene, was favored by a vision of the
glorified body of Jesus as it now exists
in heaven, and describes it in the same
terms. "His countenance was as the
sun in his strength." Rev. i 16. All
the language of the Apostles concerning
the future spiritual bodies of the saints,
seems to have been taken from this
vision and the appearance of our Lord's
body after the resurrection. We learn
from this scene something of the ma
jesty of our Lord, who could thus lay
aside the form of man, and manifest
His celestial glory. We learn the glory
of the Spiritual Body. 1. That it is this
same body which we now have, trans
figured, i e. " changed," " made like un
to His own glorious body." Phil. iii.
21 ; 1 Cor. xv. 49. 2. That it is to be
made inconceivably glorious and beauti
ful 1 Cor. xv. 43, 44. 3. That these
changes are not only in the form but
in the very and radical nature of the
saints. 1 John iii. 2 ; 1 Cor. xv. 52, 53.
Our Lord made this change of His hu
man body visible to these three disciples,
for many reasons, as is with reverence
presumed ; 1. To teach them the mys->
teries of His nature. John i. 14. He
was to suffer and die. He admonishes

196

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

them : and his face did shine as
the sun, and his raiment was
white as the light.
3 And behold, there appeared
unto them Moses and Elias talk
ing with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and
said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good

them beforehand, by this vision, that
His death was voluntary. 2. To show
them the cessation of the authority of the
law and prophets, i. e. the Jewish cove
nant. Moses, the lawgiver; Elias, the
inflexible defender of that law, appeared
talking with Him of His decease. Luke
ix 32. They show that they approve
of the design of setting aside the law.
3. To manifest the glorified bodies of the
saints. Phil. iii. 21. " When he shall
appear we shall be like Him." 1 John iii.
2. ff Raiment. His clothing. St. Luke
says : " It was white and glistering." St.
Mark : " shining, exceeding white as
snow, so as no fuller on earth can white
them." They labor to picture to us an
inconceivable, soft, pure effulgence of
hght, that earth has nothing to equal.
Is. lxiv. 4 ; 1 Cor. ii. 9. It symbolizes
the "fine linen, which is the righteous
ness of the saints." Rev. xix. 8. The
Church surplice is in humble and far-off
imitation of this purity, to teach us that
God would have his priests " clothed
with righteousness." Ps. cxxxii. 9.
3. And behold. They being weary
had fallen asleep while Jesus prayed.
They did not see the beginning of this
vision, nor hear ah the conversation.
They heard them converse concerning
" the decease which He should accom
plish at Jerusalem." The conversation
must have shown also who they were, as
St. Peter called their names, ff Moses
and Elias. It is noticeable that there
hangs a mystery over the end of Moses
and Elijah, which agrees with their re
appearance here. Moses, in the full vigor
of his strength, was summoned to the
top of Mount Nebo, where he died. No
human hands buried him or knew his
sepulchre. Deut. xxxiv. 6. The Jews

for us to be here : if thou wilt,
let us make here three "taberna
cles ; one for thee, and one for
Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold)
a bright cloud overshadowed
them : and behold, a voice out
of the cloud, which said, This is
a Heb. 9. 8 ; 2 Pet. 1. 18.
declared that his body was buried by
angels, and that evil spirits contended
for it. See Jud. 9. Josephus says;
" His body was not found, it disappeared,
he ascended, saith the Jews, and min
istered to God in the heavens," which
was another traditon. This was an error,
for it expressly says in Deuteronomy the
Lord " buried him in a valley in the land
of Moab." He was the great Prophet of
the Law; a, type of the Mediator, the
one on whose name and authority the
Jews especially depended. Elias or
Elijah " went up in a whirlwind to
heaven." See 2 Kings ii. 1-1-16. The
Jews supposed that he was translated
to Paradise. But wherever his body
may have been preserved, or in what
condition it was now shown again to
the disciples, in the act of giving testi
mony to the Lord Jesus. He is a repre
sentative, therefore, of the prophets.'
They appeared as yielding to the Mes
siah the power which they had before
held under the legal dispensation.
4. Tabernacles. A tabernacle was
a tent. Numb. xxiv. 5. The Israelites
for a long period dwelt in them, as the
wandering Bedouins do still. The
feast of tabernacles, iu memory of their
once living in tents, was solemnly ob
served by divine command every year.
Lev. xxiii. 34. A tabernacle means also
a tent pitched for the honor of God, in
which the divine glory was present (Ex.
xxv. 8, 9), and sometimes the dwellihg
place of idols, as the tabernacle or
MolOch. Acts vii. 43. ff Peter said,
Sec. St. Mark, who is thought to have
written his gospel with St. Peter's
knowledge and direction, says as if by
way of excuse, " for he wist not what to
say, for they were sore afraid." This

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVH.

197

my" beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased : hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard
it, they fell on their face, and
were sore afraid.6
7 And Jesus came and "touched
them, and said, Arise, and be not
afraid. a Heb. 1. 1, 2. b Ex. 83. 20 ; Gen. 32. 80 ;
Judg. 13. 20, &c ; Is. 6. 5-8.

amazing glory had dazzled him. He
supposed that Jesus had now entered on
His proper dignity, that Elias was come
according to Malachi's prediction, that
Moses himself was then to reconcile the
Jews, that a tabernacle either as a tent
of abode, or of worship, should be erect
ed there for each, arid a new covenant
and religion go forth from Mount Tabor,
as of old from Mount Zion. His ideas,
at best, were confused.
5. A bright cloud overshadowed. A
soft effulgence, as a cloud of clearest
brightness, seemed to descend from above,
and cover them. Mortals have no
words fit to convey the image of the
divine glory. Therefore it is made
known to us by the purest elements we
have. A cloud is something dark, or
made light by reflection. But this is a
cloud of light. That overshadows, or casts
a shade on objects ; but this is itself a
light brighter than the sun, and floats
over them to illuminate all things.
Jehovah's presence was known by this
glory, called the Shechinah. It was
enveloped in the cloudy pillar, which
led the Israelites, dark by day to shade
them, and light by night. Ex. xiv. 19,
20. It appeared to Moses in the bush.
Ex. iii. 2. It was surrounded by all the
tremendous agents of nature, spiritual
and physical, on Sinai. Ex. xxiv. 15, 16,
17. It dwelt in the tabernacle, and
afterwards in the temple, until it was
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Ex. xl.
35-38. 1 Kings viii. 10, 11. It ap
peared to Isaiah, Ezekiel and others,
and lastly to John the Baptist, the last
of the old covenant prophets, at the
baptism of Jesus. Ch. ii. 17. The
disciples now knew that God was pre-

8 And when they had lifted up
their eyes, they saw no man,
save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from
the mountain, Jesus charged
them, saying, Tell the vision to
no man, until the Son of man be
risen again from the dead.
c Dan. 10. 10, 18 ; Eey. 1. 17.

sent in power among them. They fell
down before Him in dismay. The
voice of God was heard by them, con
firming the Divine Mission of Christ.
Well, then, does St. Peter say, "we
have not followed cunningly devised
fables, when we made known unto you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His
Majesty." 2 Peter i 16-18.
6. They fell on their face. They were
afraid of instant death if they looked
on God. And knowing the dreadful
penalty of offending Him when His
glory was present, which had been
shown in the destruction of Korah and
his company, of Uzziah and others, they
were in mortal terror. Man cannot
behold the manifestations of God's
presence, and not be sore afraid. The
piety of the heart is shown in good
men, in .bowing themselves iu humble
fear before the visitings of His love.
The impious are made to tremble
before His ministering spirits, which are
flames of fire, thunder, and the terrific
agencies of nature. To fear God, is a
Christian's delight and safety. He is
one brought up " in a steadfast fear and
love." The two joined in the heart,
save us from sin and all the terrors of
the wicked.
9. Tell the vision to no man. Se§
note ch. viii. 4. There were evident
reasons for this charge. 1. They did
not understand at all the spiritual mean
ing of what they had seen and heard.
Three great doctrines were, as we can
now see, taught in the transfiguration.
The Divinity of Christ, who in the
words of God himself is declared to be
Tfia Son ; the end of the Jewish cove-

198

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27.

10 And his disciples asked him,
saying, Why then say the scribes,
that Elias must first come ?
11 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, Elias truly shall
first come and restore all things :
12 But I say unto you, that
Elias is come already, and they

nant in the Christian : the resurrection
of the body. These they knew httle
about. St. Mark says they questioned
among themselves, what rising from the
dead should mean. How then could
they promote the progress of spiritual
truths ? 1 Cor. xv. 2d. It would create
envy and evil surmisings in the breasts
of the other disciples, and ambitious
claims on their own part. Such a"
marked favor to them, while none of
the Twelve could see the real bearings
of it, would have damaged the peace of
the little band. They would think that
the vision was meant to entitle the three
disciples to especial rights in the king
dom of Christ. After their regeneration
by the Holy Ghost, they would see and
know better. The Saviour having then
risen and appeared to all, would equalize
what seemed partial. 3. The Lord Jesus,
while He resorted to the great powers
over nature, and the glorious manifes
tations of His greatness, has carefully
in all His mission, kept all such acci
dental powers and scenes in subjection
to His greater work and glory, as a
Spiritual Saviour and King of saints.
This fact after the resurrection, flashed
upon the illumined vision of the Apos
tles; and as St. Peter's first sermon
shows, they saw the greatest glory of
Jesus to shine out from the humiliation
of the cross.
10. Why then say the Scribes, dec. The
question is in consequence of what they
had just seen and heard, and implies
that they believed that Jesus was the
Son of God, and were in perplexity con
cerning His death, that Moses and Elias
had spoken of as about to happen. For
knowing the common opinion taught by
the Scribes that Elijah the Tishbite
must first come (see note, ch. xi. 14 ;

knew him not, but have done
unto him whatsoever they listed :
likewise shall also the Son of man
suffer of them.
13 Then the disciples under:
stood that he spake unto them
of John the Baptist.
14 If And when they were come

Is. xl. 3 ; Mai. iv. 5.), they could not
see how this decease could happen so
soon. The death of Christ, before He
had assumed the regal power over the
nation, was so entirely opposite to their
opinions, that they were troubled by it'
ll. Elias truly shall first come and re
store all things. As if Jesus had said,
" they teach what is true, when they
say that Elias shall come. It is a part
of ancient prophecies that he shall
come." He does not mean to say that
Elias, whom they had just seen was to
come to the nation on a special mission.
To restore all things, is to prepare the
way of the Messiah, to recall men from
the error of their ways, by preaching
repentance and leading them to refor
mation. This was a work well suited
to the character of the ancient prophet,
who had lived in a corrupt age, had
defended the law against idolatrous
kings, and brought down fire from
heaven on its enemies. The work of
preparation for the Messiah, however,
lay not in denouncing vengeance, but
in warning the people, that the last
times had come, in leading them to re
pentance, and pointing out to them the
Christ, that they might believe on
him ; all which had been done by John
the Baptist.
12. Elias is come already. See Luke
i. 17. What the prophets had foretold
of him, had been already fulfilled in
spirit by John, ff Whatsoever they listed.
List is an old English word now obso
lete, from the Danish form of the verb
lust, to desire or choose ; meaning that
they had acted according to their plea
sure, not according to conscience arid
right. It is used of the wind blowing
without reason to guide it. John iii 8.
, So the Jows had without reason rejected

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVH.

199

to the multitude, there came to
him a certain man kneeling down
to him and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my

son ; for he is lunatic and sore
vexed, for oft-times he faileth
into the fire, and oft into the
water.

John's testimony and baptism. Luke
vii 30. Jesus also taught them " how
it is written of the Son of Man that He
must suffer many things, and be set at
naught." Mark ix. 12. He often after
this repeated this instruction both before
and after His decease, giving them the
Scriptural proofs of it, as something
which must be. Those proofs from the
Old Testament are briefly contained in
Is. liii. &c, and were afterwards sum
med up for our instruction in the
Epistle to the Hebrews.
14. See Mark ix. 14-29; Luke ix.
37-43. And when they came, dec. They
remained the part of a day and a night
on the top of the mountain, and came
down the next day to the place where
they had left the other disciples. They
' find a multitude gathered around them,
with signs of great excitement. The
Scribes were present questioning them,
like subtle foes, having seized this ad
vantage given by the absence of Jesus
and the three chief disciples, to con
found the others. The disciples had
tried to cast out a devil and could not.
On this mortifying failure, the Scribes
are questioning and doubtless rejoicing
that a devil is at last found able to defy
their power. They are too skilful in
evil to make an open attack, but con
fine themselves to questions, which are
always the most dangerous weapons in
the hands of a cunning adversary. The
disciples, too highly elated by their
former power over evil spirits, are yet
ignorant that this power must depend
on a devout and humble temper. Con
founded by their failure, they are no
match for their acute enemies. The
cause of Christ in their hands, seems to
be at its lowest point. The scene is
striking. The exulting Scribes, the
confused disciples, the people amazed,
the father despairing and in tears, the
poor young man lying in the dust,
when suddenly the Saviour is seen ap
proaching. All eyes turn to Him. The

miracle becomes a test of His power.
The people salute Him, expressing their
satisfaction at seeing Him, for however
little they were inclined to a spiritual
faith, they were too wise not to desire
that the power over devils should be
continued. Jesus begins His work in
this juncture, by a rebuke to the Scribes,
in form of a question : Why question ye
with them'? They deserve it, for it was
a cowardly act, to worry the sheep in
the absence of the shepherd. They
make no answer, but look on in silence,
and see a miracle, which their previous
pride only served to make the more
glorious. ff A certain man, kneeling.
St Luke says he cried out in great dis
tress. What the Scribes rejoiced at,
namely, the ill»success of the disciples
in healing his son, was anguish to him.
His faith has not, however, failed, but
is stretched to agony by the delay.
Why should Christians ever despair,
when they behold, as in this case, that
" man's necessity is God's opportunity."
15. Lord, have mercy. Lord, i. e.
Master, a title of honor due to a prophet,
who had power over devils. Luke ix.
38. The man urges three pleas for
mercy. It was his only child. The
case was most miserable. The disciples
had failed. Have mercy, have mercy.
ff Lunatic. The original is, he is moon
struck, or ruled by the moon, as the
word lunacy also means. See note, ch.
iv. 24. There was added to this, as a
cause of* the madness, the awful disease
of the epilepsy, or falling sickness,
which disorganizes by its fits, body and
mind. This is also supposed to be influ
enced by the moon, and to become more
severe at its full. It was characteristic
of the epilepsy, to seize the boy vio
lently, cast hurl down instantly with
nervous contractions and spasms, boil
within him, bring foam to the mouth,
agitate the whole body, derange the
mind, and make him in all respects a
horror to himself and friends. Added to

200

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

16 And I brought him to thy
disciples, and they could not cure
him. 17 Then Jesus answered and
said, 0 faithless and perverse
this epilepsy was lunacy, and worse
than all, the possession of the evil
spirit, seizing the moments when he
was near water or fire, to cause the
sudden fits, and endanger his hfe. We
have a cause of complicated agony,
hardly to be surpassed. Alas ! the
weary hours, days, years, of that poor
father and his only son : what despair
ing, touching eloquence was there in this
cry, " Have mercy on my son ! "
17. 0 faithless and perverse genera
tion. 0 ye men without a reasonable
faith, or candid, honest judgment. The
whole generation had become perverse ;
had lost a proper and fair judgment of
Him. This exclamation expresses the
sorrow and indignation of Jesus, at that
universal hard-heartedness and carnal-
mindedness of the Jewish people.
ff How long shall I suffer you I Jesus
gives us a glimpse of that sense of the
" world lying in wickedness," which
constantly pressed upon His spirit.
What infinite patience in Him, that He
endured such contradiction of sinners
to the last ! What mercy, that He bears
with our sins and infirmities now ! St.
Mark tells us that the evil spirit gave
a demonstration of its rage as the boy
was brought to Jesus. It threw him
upon the ground foaming, tore, that
is, raged within him as if destroying
him. Jesus allowed this to last for a
moment, while He makes the case
more noticeable still by asking the
father how long it had been so with his
son. The answer is of a child. The
father's half-despairing faith prompts
him to say, " If thou canst do any
thing, have compassion on us and help
us." He may have thought from this
pause, that it was utterly beyond cure.
But no, Jesus intends a lesson of deep
est wisdom to come out of it, which
shall endure and console myriads of
unhappy souls in their prayers to God,
long after that boy shall have turned to

generation, how long shall I be
with you ? how long shall I suffer
you ? Bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the dev
il, and he departed out of him :

dust. ' The miracle is great, this truth
is greater. The miracle had its ef
fect with that generation : the truth,
which is forced out of the depths of
that agonized heart, shall bloom eter
nally. It was worth the pause. Jesus
answers, " It is not if I can do any thing,
for I can do all things for you — but it
is if thou canst believe — all things are
possible to him that believeth." Blessed
truth ! there shines not a brighter than
this in all the scripture. The father
replies with a a broken heart " with
tears." " Hangs then the cure on me ?
— Lord, I beheve. Oh, pardon, bear
with me ; I am in agony, forgive my
weakness, and help thou mine unbe^
lief ! " and the work is done. The
miracle, hke the wings of certain seeds,
by which they are borne to distant places,
bears this divine truth, to take root in
thousands of troubled hearts.
18. Rebuked the devil. Bade him
depart. He said, "Thou dumb and
deaf spirit, I charge thee (i. e. com
mand thee) come out of him and enter
no more into him." Mark ix. 25. The
unclean spirit " rent him, sore," and
left him in such a state that many of
the bystanders thought him dead. Jesus
took him by the hand, and lifted him
up, and delivered him to his father in
perfect health. This is the most won
derful cure recorded in the Gospel. Its
moral is " all things are possible to him
that believeth," the most precious truth
for us sinners, that can be taught us.
Gal. v. 6, Rom. viii. 25-39.
19. To Jesus apart. The nine dis
ciples seem to have been ashamed to
ask this question before the multitude.
They wait until Jesus has retired with
them. They supposed that having been
once invested with power over devils, it
was not to be limited. They did not
discover the true reason, in their want
of a spiritual faith, in their worldly am
bition and desire for human honor. We

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVH.

201

and the child was cured from that
very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to
Jesus apart, and said, Why could
not we cast him out ?
20 And Jesus said unto them,
Because of your unbelief: for
verily I say unto you, If ye have

regard these incidents concerning that
transitory power of miracles, as a ve
hicle for instructing us in the deeper,
enduring mysteries of sanctifying faith,
which ejects a worse devil, and cures a
deeper seated disease than even this
foul spirit, with his train of physical in
firmities. 20. As a grain of mustard-seed, Sec.
If ye had the least faith. This leads us
to ask whether the disciples had this
spiritual faith ? And we may doubt it.
They believed in Jesus as a powerful
prophet, as a king, as one of prodigious
designs. But it may be doubted whether
they had any idea of true faith in Him
as a Saviour of sinners, and as sent to
save men from sin by the atonement.
They were ambitious ; perhaps had de
signed their own glory in the attempt
at casting out the evil spirit, and lost
sight of their humble position as disci-
pies. Hence their mortification. Hence
their rebuke, in this verse. Hence their
true course shown to be to seek this
faith, by self-mortification, prayer, and
fasting. One grain of the faith shown
in St. Peter's discourse on the day of
Pentecost, was worth all their confidence
in miracles to raise up a temporal king
dom, ff To this mountain, Sec. Ye
shall do the things which seem alto
gether impossible. See Zech. iv. 7.
They have done these things, are doing
them. Christian faith to remove moun
tains is now in the Church. Does the
infidel ask, why then does not some one
remove mountains? We answer, be
cause faith waits for commands of God
to be faith. It is not self-will. If God
commands a mountain to be removed,
or promises its removal, faith would act
on such promise. But to move a moun-
Vol. I.— 9*

faith as a grain of mustard-seed,
ye shall say unto this "mountain,
Kemove hence to yonder place ;
and it shall remove ; and nothing
shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit, this kind goeth
not out, but by prayer and fast
ing. a Ch. 21. 21 ; 1 Cor. 18. 2 ; Zech. 4. 7.

tain is a useless miracle. Faith is re
moving spiritual mountains the world
over, knocking at the gates of heathen
dom, and saying to inveterate preju
dices, Remove and vanish. To convert
and regenerate a human soul is a great
er work than to shake the Alleghanies
from their base. See note, ch. xxi. 21.
21. Howbeit, this land, Sec. It can
not be determined, whether our Lord
here refers to any pecuhar demoniac
possession to be cast out only by a cer
tain high degree of faith, or seeks only
to convey a sense of the pecuhar work
of the ministry, as His instruments for
destroying the power of the devil in the
heart. There are no facts concerning
apostolic miracles by which to decide.
There may have been a kind of demoniac
possession, so remarkable, that only a
high degree of piety could overcome it,
and which St. Paul may refer to (1.
Cor. xiii 2.), as " all faith, so as to re
move mountains." But with the kinds
and degrees of the power of miracles, we
are now little concerned. The removal
of the more secret dominion of sin can
happen only by prayer and fasting, the
moral instruments of sanctification.
They are necessary to that spiritual
power. "Fasting, by weakening the
animal life, subdues such passions as
are nourished by a continued repletion
of the body. Hence fasting has a ten
dency to free the mind from the domff
nation of passion, which never fails to
occasion a great inward perturbation,
and at times is found to make even the
best men inattentive, at least to the
more silent impressions of God's Spirit.
Fasting, therefore, produces an inward
quietness and calmness very favorable
I to the growth of faith." — Dr. McKnight.

202

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

22 T And while they abode in
Galilee, Jesus said unto them,
"The Son of man shall be betray
ed into the hands of men :
23 And they shall kill him, and
the third day he shall be raised
again. And they were exceeding
sorry. 24 TT And when they were come
to Capernaum, they that received
oChs. 16. 21; 20. 17.

22. See Mark ix. 30-33. ; Luke ix.
34, 35. It is to be noticed how the in
struction concerning these facts grows
clearer each time. Compare Acts xvi.
21, and xx. 17. ff Shall be betrayed.
To betray is to deliver up anything
which has been confided by friends, to
their enemies. Jesus now began to
conceal His movements. He put His
hfe in the power of His disciples alone.
They alone knew His haunts, and by
this knowledge Judas betrayed Him.
Ch. xxvi. 14-16.
23. And they shall kill him, Sec.
These things which are now familiar to
all Christians, and which all see to have
connection with the whole spirit and
doctrine of Scripture, were, as yet, hid
from the disciples. St. Luke is very
emphatic. " They understood not this
saying, for it was hid from them that they
perceived, it not ; and they feared to ask
Him." Luke ix. 45. No reader can
get a clear and just idea of the events
which follow without having this in his
mind. The disciples had not as yet that
light of God's Spirit, which should lead
them into all truth. The pentecostal
descent was the era of their regeneration.
This was as yet not so great an evil as
it would afterwards have been. While
Jesus was with them, He was their
Guide, and saw for them, and defended
them from harm. He begins to warn
them of these facts of His death, in
order to prepare them for it. We may
wonder that they should be so obtuse ;
but our wonder should give way to hu
miliation at the view it opens to us of
the blindness of our common humanity,
1 Cor. ii. 14.

"tribute-mowey,6 came to Peter,
and saith, Doth not your Master
pay tribute ?
25 He saith, Yes. And when
he was come into the house, Je
sus prevented him, saying, What
thinkest thou, Simon ? of whom
do the kings of the earth take
custom or tribute ? of their own
children, or of strangers?
II Called in the original, didrachma, being
in value 15 pence. b Ex 88. 26.

24. And when they were come to Ca
pernaum, Sec. See note, ch. iv. 13.
From the time that Herod Antipas kill
ed John the Baptist, Capernaum ceased
to be the ordinary residence of our Lord.
Only twice is it recorded that He visit
ed it again : John vi. 25, on His way
to the third Passover, and now as He
goes up to the Feast of Pentecost.
ff Tribute-money. The didrachm, or
half shekel, in value about 30 cents of
our money. Every Jew, rich or poor,
over twenty years of age, was obliged
to pay this yearly tax. It was used
for purchasing the animals and other
matters necessary for the daily service
of the temple. It was a mark of sub
jection to Jehovah, as their King, and
a symbol of the equal right and respon
sibility which all His subjects had ifl
His temple. See Ex. xxx. 13, 14'.
ff Doth not your Master, dec. Your
teacher. This was a voluntary tax :
there was no power to compel the
payment of it. The law in Exodus
applied only to the occasions of num
bering the people. It seems to have
become an ecclesiastical usage, concern
ing which there was some difference
of opinion and practice. These collec
tors of the tax are therefore in doubt
how Jesus would act.
25 Prevented Him. Literally, went
before, or anticipated him by speaking
first. The word in the Bible and
Prayer Book is often used in this, its
original sense. Peter was in doubt ;
Jesus relieves him by asking this ques
tion. It was the more emphatic, that
it was asked of Peter, who had just
before heard God declaring Jesus to be

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVH.

203

26 Peter saith unto him, Of
strangers. Jesus saith unto him,
Then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we
should offend "them, go thou to
the sea, and cast an hook, and
aEom. 14 21; 15.1-3.

His Son, in the Mount of Transfigura
tion, ff Tlieldngs of the earth, Sfc. Je
hovah was king in the theocratic polity
of the Jews, in a manner analogous to
earthly monarchies. 1 Sam. viii. 5, 7.
Upon this the force of the passage turns.
ff Of strangers. Not foreigners, but
persons out of their own family and kin
dred ; the subjects of the kingdom.
26. The children free. The princes
in a kingdom being part of the royal
family, and supported by the nation,
are not expected to pay taxes. In the
same manner, it could not be asked of
the Son of God, that He should pay the
half-shekel to the temple, which was
a symbol of the national subjection to
God. He was greater than the temple,
and the Son of God : He was not bound
to pay this tax. This reasoning would
satisfy St. Peter, and bring out clearly
in his mind the thoughts which had
been struggling there.
27. Lest we should offend them, dec. Lest
we should give them ground for think
ing that we despise the duties of piety,
and disregard the temple-service. The
doctrine of the Sonship of Christ was
not enough known by the Jews, for
them to perceive the real reasons of His
refusing payment if He had refused,
therefore, although free, He chooses to
avoid every occasion of giving offence.
There is a liberty with which Christ
makes us free, but we should use it in
imitation of His own example. He
chooses to pay tribute, however, in a
royal manner, and by a supernatural
knowledge. ff Go to the sea. The
sea of Galilee. The articles of fishing
were in the house, as doubtless the dis
ciples sometimes assisted in their sup
port, by their former trade, ff A piece
cf money. A Stater, a Greek coin,
equal in value to a shekel, or 60 cents

take up the fish that first cometh
up : and when thou hast opened
his mouth, thou shalt find' a piece
of money : that take, and give
unto them for me and thee.

II Or a stater. It is one-half an ounce of sil
ver, in value 2s. 6d. after 5s. the oz.
of our money, sufficent to pay for them
both. Thus while subjecting Himself
in all points to the law, as a pious Jew,
our Lord demonstrates to the disciple,
His claim to be the Son of God, and
possessed of superhuman knowledge.
To cavil as infidels have sometimes
done, about how the money should be
found in the mouth of the fish, manifests
an intelligence and sense quite worthy
of a fish, which is often tempted to its
destruction by bits of shining metal
placed about the hook, but utterly un
worthy of a rational being. An impos
tor, in describing such an account,
would have given bis attention to such
a matter, and told us some wonderful
story of the fish. The simplicity of
the writer of the Gospel manifests his
own veracity, and his sense of more
important matters. We may learn
from this narration the duty of obedi
ence to the powers that be : and the du
ty of so conducting ourselves in all
matters, wherein we may suppose that
we have particular knowledge and priv
ilege, so as not to offend our breth
ren. CHAPTER XVIII
1. See St. Mark ix. 33-41; St.
Luke ix. 46-50. Who is the greatest,
Sec. The disciples had been greatly
troubled at the news of the Saviour's
sufferings; but their grief soon wore off,
and their thoughts began to turn on
the kingdom which He was to set up.
They thought it would be a kingdom
on this earth, of royal splendor ; to make
the Jews supreme over all other nations.
There would be distinctions and offices
in it. Some must be high treasurers,
some governors and satraps of provinces,
some prime ministers and viziers to
stand near the throne. Who should
have these offices ? On the way to

204

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

CHAPTER XVIII.
AT the same time came the
disciples unto Jesus, saying,
"Who is the greatest in the king
dom of heaven ?
a Lu. 22. 24, &c.

Capernaum they debated this ques
tion. The kinsmen of Jesus supposed
their blood-relationship would entitle
them to peculiar honors. Peter was
proud of the distinction with which
he had been treated, and James and
John were meditating the project, for
which they afterwards received the
rebuke, recorded chapter xx. 20-24.
Thus were the disciples occupied with
unworthy ambition, and longings for
imaginary honors. Jesus asked them
of their dispute, and they, ashamed of
it, held their peace. Mark ix. 33.
He enters in this chapter upon a direct
instruction of them, concerning the un
worldly spirit which they must cherish
in His service.
2, 3. Except ye be converted, Sec. The
word converted in Scripture, means a
change of the will and purpose of life.
A man, for instance, who serves idols,
repents of it, forsakes his idols, and
seeks after God. The word is sometimes
rendered to repent. In this voluntary
change of will, God helps the man by
the common influences of His Spirit. Ps.
Ii 10-12. That man's work is chiefly
regarded in conversion is evident from
two reasons, among others, besides the
natural force of the word. 1. That he
is commanded to do it. " Repent and be
converted." Acts iii. 19. Now whatso
ever we are required to do, we have
some power in doing. Conversion is
therefore the great act of repenting and
changing one's mind, by the help of God.
But nowhere are we bidden to regen
erate ourselves, or to be regenerated, for
that is purely God's work, man only
assenting, or non obstante, not putting an
obstacle in the way. And God's work
is joined to the rite of Baptism, to mark
the time and certainty of it. Conversion
or repentance should come first. St.
Peter said, " Repent, and be baptized for
the remission of sins, and ye shall

2 And Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in
the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto
you, Except ye be converted;6
b Ch. 13. 15 ; Acts 8. 19 ; Jas. 5. 19, 20.

receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, &c."
Acts ii. 38. 2. The example of Saul of
Tarsus separates distinctly conversion
and regeneration.- Saul was converted
by a miracle. Acts ix. 3-9. He fasted and
prayed, showing that he had changed,
and was completely humbled. But
Saul was not regenerate. For his
sins were not then forgiven, nor had he
received the gift of the Holy Ghost,
These he received at the visit of Ana
nias, who came to baptize him, three
days after his change by the miracle,
and who bade him " arise and be bap
tized, and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name of the Lord." Acts xxii.
16. At the time of his baptism he was
"filled with the Holy Ghost." Acts ix.
17. It is important to fix this distinc
tion between conversion and regener
ation, repentance and the new birth,
change of mind and baptism, man's
work and God's work in our spiritual
birth ; for without it we cannot under
stand the Scripture or the Prayer Book.
Great errors have risen from their con
fusion. The Saviour is here speaking,
not of regeneration so much as a change
of mind, from the ambitious thoughts of
earthly empire, to the humility becom
ing disciples ; that, hke children, they
be free from the designs and strifes of
which they were then guilty. Says Dr.
Whitby : " He tells them that these in
clinations, desires and expectations were
inconsistent with their being members of
that spiritual kingdom which He was to
ereot,since they who followed Him chiefly
on these accounts, when they saw no such
thing could be expected from Him, but
rather the quite contrary, must desert
Him." Read the exhortation in the
office of Baptism of those of riper years.
ff Become as little children. Children
arc humble, docile, and free from am
bitious designs. What our Lord asked
of the disciples was trust in Him, and

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVm.

205

and become as little "children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven
4 6 Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child,
the same is greatest in the king
dom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall "receive one
a 1 Pet. 2. 2. 5 Jas. 4 10.

obedience, with a voluntary surrender
of their earthly wealth and power. " God
resisteth the proud, and giveth graces to
the humble." 1 Peter v. 5.
4. Greatest, §v. Greatest in the sight
of God ; most gifted with the spirit of
the gospel, and most honored with the
signs of an Apostle. As we forget our
selves and mortify our evil desires,
God remembers and blesses us. "In
the eye of God, humility is a most sub
lime virtue." — Bp. Porteus.
, 5. One such little one. Not little ones
in age, but in disposition. To receive
such, is to have the humility of a Chris
tian—to be truly a disciple. See note
chap. x. 40-42. To encourage His fol
lowers, our Saviour promises to take
care of them. He makes common cause
with His faithful disciples. See ch. xxxv.
35-40. " In connection with this, St.
Mark (ch. ix. 38-40) and St. Luke (ix.
49, 50) relate the reproof to John in
particular, for having forbidden one to
cast out devils in the name of* Jesus. It
was an unwarrantable presumption of
John, and those who had acted with
him, because the power itself proved
the commissipn." A commission to the
Christian ministry now must be proved
by a regular succession from those who
received it, or by miracle. St. Paul was
called by a miracle to preach, and also
gifted with miraculous powers to prove
it. He seems to have been very tender
on the matter of baptizing, as that par
ticular part of the commission of tiie
ministry which symbolizes and preserves
unity (Eph. iv. 4, 5), and which had been
especially committed to the twelve.
1 Cor. 1-12 ; ch. xxviii 19. We have a
right then to doubt the commission to
preach and baptize of all those, who can

such little child in my name, re
ceiveth me.
6 But, whoso shall offend one
of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that
a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned
in the depth of the sea.
o Ch. 10. 40, 42.
offer nothing better than their own word,
or the choice of fallible men like them-

6. Shall offend, Sec. Shall cause one
to fall away from the faith. See note,
ch. v. 29. " To offend in the Scriptural
use of the word, is to cause any one to
fall from the faith, or renounce his belief
in Christ, and against every one who
causes such a fall the heaviest woes are
denounced." — Bp. Porteus. "False there
fore is it, that they who truly do beheve
in Christ, and are of the number of those
whom God would have not to perish
(verse 14), cannot be so offended as to
fall from the faith and perish. And were
this so, wherein lies the force of this
pathetical discourse, and why are such
dreadful woes and punishments de
nounced to deter men from doing what
not only is itself impossible, but which
they also who are thus threatened be
lieve to be so." — Dr. Whitby, ff That a
millstone, <j-c. This was an ancient mode
of punishment for certain great crimes,
practised by the Syrians, Greeks, and
others. It is said that the Jews " cast
execrable men into the Dead Sea, with
a stone tied to them." It was a punish
ment also for sacrilege, to which the
crime of seducing Christians to their
ruin is akin. To ruin the soul of the
feeblest Christian, will be visited by a
punishment so fearful, that it would
have been better for the one who did it,
if he had been drowned in the sea, as a
criminal or sacrilegious person. There
are grades of punishment in hell. The
one who ruins souls merits the worst.
7. Offences. Things which cause
others to sin, stumblingMocks in the path
of the righteous. These will cause men
to fall from Christ, and will bring upon

206

MATTHEW.

fA. D. 27.

7 T Wo unto the world because
of offences ! for it "must needs be
that offences come; but wo to
that man by whom the offence
cometh !
8 Wherefore, if thine6 hand or
thy foot offend thee, cut them
off, and cast them from thee ; it
is better for thee to enter into
life halt or maimed, rather than
having two hands or two feet, to
be cast into everlasting fire.
a 1 Cor. 11. 19 ; Jude 4. b Ch. 5. 29, 80.

the world which had raised them the
severest woes. See note ch. v. 29, 30.
ff It must needs be. God has not decreed
by any secret decree, that there shall
always be some men in the world who
must necessarily work out their own ruin,
by the temptation of others into sin, by
inventing heresies to corrupt the doc
trines of salvation, by making schisms,
to lead astray the simple-minded and
unlearned Christians, and by spreading
the baits of pleasure before the unwary.
Our Lord only foretells what will hap
pen. God has allowed men liberty and
free-will to choose between good and
evil. It is certain that some will choose
evil and cause the ruin of others. The
cause will be their own evil wills. The
necessity is in the obstinacy of men.
ff Woe to that man, Sec. If offences
came in" any sense, because men could
not help it, either because God had de
termined that certain should be created
to be lost, or had determined to pass
over them and not give them the grace
which was absolutely necessary to enable
them to choose good rather than evil,
then no just woe could be denounced a-
gainst such. That which one cannot help
doing is the law of his being, and to
fulfil the necessary supreme laws of being,
is holiness. God gives men every means
of grace to help them to do good. He
permits them, if they will, to refuse.
The refusal He denounces as wickedness.
8, 9. See notes, ch. v. 29, 30. The
same idea is repeated, almost in the

9 And if thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from
thee : it is better for thee to en
ter into life with one eye, rather
than having two eyes, to be cast
into 'hell-fire.
10 Take heed that ye despise
not one of these little ones : for
I say unto you, that in heaven
their angels" do always behold the
face of my Father which is in
heaven.

H Or, the Gehenna of fire.
Heb. 1 14.

c Acts 12. 15;

same words, as in the Sermon on the
Mount. ' It is better for you, My disciples,
to go into heaven, with nothing but My
word to plead, than to be cast away for
the sake of thrones.' Jesus would mor
tify their ambition. We are not to take
these words literally. God does not
permit us_to injure and maim our bodies
in order to avoid temptation, but shows
us, by this lively figure of speech, that
we should deny our" selfish and proud
desires, and " mortify om- members which
are upon the earth." Col. iii. 5.
10. Take heed that ye, Sec. Disciples.
Christians. St. Jerome understood it
of children also. " Great is the dignity
of these httle ones, seeing every one of
them from his birth hath an angel dele
gated to preserve him." To despise such;
is to neglect to use the means of their
reformation and salvation, which may
be in our power : or to put temptations
in their way. Men often despise the
poor, the infant, or the humble Chris
tian, do them wrong, almost force them,
by oppression into doing evil — not re
membering that God is the avenger of
all such. 1 Thess. iv. 6 ; James v. 6.
The reason of the command not to de
spise such, is that angels are their min
istering spirits. To behold the face of
God, means to be present before. His
more immediate glory, and intrusted
with high commissions and powers. It
has been doubted by some few personSj
whether there are single angels dele
gated to minister a special providence

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVLH.

207

11 Por the Son of man is come
to save that" which was lost.
12 How think ye ? If a man
have an hundred sheep, and one
of them be gone astray, doth he
not leave the ninety and nine,
and goeth into the mountains,
and seeketh that which is gone
astray ? a 1 Tim. 1. 15.

to each one of the saints. The Jews,
and the great majority of Christians
have united in the opinion that there
are such special angels to care for each
soul. See Acts xii. 15 ; Ps. xxxiv. 7 ;
Heb. i 14. The meanest Christian is
guarded in his efforts to be holy by the
subtler spiritual knowledge of his at
tendant angeL Therefore, if the celes
tial powers are ministering spirits to
Christians, and employed in serving
them, bold and foolish must he be who
dares to despise or injure them.
11. For the Son of man, Sfc. Not
only are the angels so employed, but it
was on purpose to save such that the
Son of man came and died. Ezekiel
describes in fearful language, the guilt
ofneglecting and despising the souls of
the Christian flock. Ez. xxiii. 1-10.
And St. Paul (1 Cor. viii. 9-13), ex
horts Christians not to do any thing by
which " the weak brother should perish,
for whom Christ died." Perhaps no other
sin is followed by such a weight of pun
ishment, ff That which was lost. Sin
ners. That our Lord Jesus came to
save all men who will beheve in Him
and keep His commandments, and that
all men need His salvation, and so are
properly said to be lost, is proved by
most certain warrants of Scripture.
Acts iv. 12 ; Mark xvi 16 ; Rom. iii
23-26. Yet here He speaks of those who
like the one sheep wander from the rest,
hke the piece of money are not found
with the others in the treasury, or like
the prodigal son are abandoned sinners,
as we say, and are the opposite of
righteous or good men. If our Lord
came to save such, it is beyond all
question certain, that God has never

13 And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth
more of that sheep, than of the
ninety and nine which went not
astray. 14 Even so it is not the 6will
of your Father which is in heaven,
that one of these little ones should
perish. 6 2 Pet. 8. 9.

left them to be lost. If they are lost,
it is their own sin.
12-14. See St. Luke xv. 4-10. The
three parables contained in St. Luke
xv. are all comments upon this same
principle, that the Lord Jesus values
beyond price, the souls, not only of de
vout and religious men, who need no
repentance, that is, no universal, public
change from a vicious life, but also all
those poor creatures who were despised
by the Pharisees ; the disgraced and de
graded wretches, who, stained with open
crimes, are suffering the contumely due
to them. Such were often spoken of as
" publicans and sinners" — " pubhcans
and harlots." So here the one sheep
which is lost, is not a type of all men
whatsoever, but of all who have stum
bled into great sin, have left those who
were, with all their imperfections, yet to
be considered as righteous men. These
Christ had come to save, and angels re
joiced over when brought back. See
James v. 19, 20. We are not to sup
pose that the Lord Jesus loves such
better than His sons who " are ever
with Him," but simply that the joy of
the shepherd shows his value of the
wanderer, and images to our minds the
tender pity which good beings have even
for the erring and lost member of the
Church. This portion of the present chaptes
forms the Holy Gospel for September
29 : the festival of St. Michael and all
angels. St. Michael was a chief among
the archangels and the princely guar
dian spirit of the Jewish nation. Dan."
x. 13, 21 ; xii. 1 ; Rev. xii. 7 ; Jude ix.
The Jews believed that there were
" seven holy angels which present the

208

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27.

15 If Moreover," if thy brother
shall trespass against thee, go
and tell him his fault between
a Lev. 19. 17; Lu. 17. 3.

prayers of the saints, and go in and out
before the Holy One." Tobit xii. 15.
See Rev. iv. 5 ; v. 6. Besides these
were other ranks and a numberless ar
ray of glorious spirits. Dan. vii 10 ;
Rev. v. 2. Three angels met with
Abraham, one of them the Son of God,
the others created beings. Gen. xviii.
2-20. The one called the Angel of the
Lord in the Old Testament, is by the
best authorities, considered to be the
Son of God. Thus the heavenly hosts
are arrayed. Over all the Son of God
Jehovah, Lord of Hosts, i. e. of the hosts
of the angels. Next archangels, prin
cipalities, powers and dominions. See
Gen. xvi. 7-14 ; xix. 1, 2 ; Dan. vii. 10;
Matt. iv. 11 ; xxviii. 2, 7 ; Luke i, 11-19 ;
xvi. 22 ; xxii. 43 ; Acts xii. 7-9 ; Heb.
i. 14 ; 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. We are taught
by the collect to pray that tiie holy
angels may " succor and defend us on
earth." We should meditate on the an
gelic ministry. 1. To be excited to
thankfulness. Ps. xci. 11. 2. To imi
tate their love and willing labor for
others, their joy for the salvation of
penitents. Luke xv. 10. 3. To take
courage from their defence. They are
God's providential causes to shield us
from harm. 2 Kings v. 16, 17 ; Dan.
vi 22. 4. To bear about with us an
idea of their purity. They see us, per
haps, at all times — we should strive to
feel this, till we may hate secret sins as
much as public. Eccles. v. 6. But
lastly, we should beware of a super
stitious worship of them. Col. ii. 18.
They are our fellow servants, and abhor
the great sin of idolatry. Rev. xxii. 8,
9. The Church of Rome violates the
spirit and letter of the whole Bible, in
commanding, as she so wickedly doth,
the worship of angels and saints.
15. Moreover. Besides what I have
already said, you are to observe certain
rules in dealing with the erring. If any
member of the flock commits a fault,
you are to seek to reclaim him. ff V

thee and him alone : if he shall
hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother.6

b Jas. 5. 20.

thy brother. This brotherhood is a
Christian relation. Christians are mem
bers of the same family, mystically uni
ted to Christ, and are in the truest sense
brethren. This spiritual relationship
the disciples were taught to value so
highly, that they should make all proper
efforts to prevent the most offensive
Christians, so long as there were signs
of a desire to repent and do right, from
finally falling. Church censures are to
bear the marks of love, and to aim at
the salvation of the offender, ff Tres-r
pass against thee. A sin against an in
dividual Christian is some evident, un-
mistakeable offence against the laws of
charity, by evil speaking, harsh judg-r
ment, or injurious or violent conduct.
It must be a definite offence, not any mere
imagined injury, ff Go and tell him his
fault. Go and make him ashamed of
it. Tell him his fault in such a prudent
manner, that he shall feel it and repent.
Lev. xix. 17. It is better to speak out
such wrongs than to brood over them.
This rule will remove mistakes. Parties
who imagine grievous wrongs, will often
find that both have been innocently in
error, both been hasty, and will frerr
quentiy have reason to rejoice in a time
ly explanation. Jesus is here instruct
ing the future rulers of the Church in
all time, how they are to reclaim of
fenders in the Church. He selects the
most extreme case, of one offending
against them to include all others. The
offence must be in some degree against
the laws of Christian fellowship. First
they must go privately and reprove him.
Tit. ii. 15. This reconciliation they
were first to seek alone. Power to re
claim Christian men consists mostly in
persuasion. The minister is not to con
demn unheard. To publish a fault is to
punish it. It hardens the miud of the.
offender, while it may deeply injure
those who are innocent. This private
reproof is often a great blessing. The
offender confesses his fault and amends

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVHI.

209

16 But if he will not hear thee,
take with thee one or two
more, that in the mouth of "two

a Deut. 19. 15.

his conduct. The minister or Christian
who follows any other rule, and begins
his discipline of his brethren by publish
ing a fault, is acting contrary to the
law of Christ, is acting foohshly, and
sometimes wickedly, and may destroy
the souls of his brethren, ff Thou hast
gamed, Sec. James v. 20. The word
gained is used with great force. It joins
this precept to the 13th verse. Thou
hast found the erring brother, who had
strayed away like a lost sheep, and
gained him to Christ and to thee. St.
Paul uses the same word in converting
men to the faith of the Gospel. 1 Cor.
ix. 19. Holy and blessed are such
gains, treasures indeed laid up in heaven
before God.
16. That in the mouth, Sec. The
Jewish law required at least two wit
nesses to every fact of crime and offence
against the laws. Deut. xvii. 6; xix.
15. The Christian rule is the same.
John viii. 17 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 ; Heb. x.
28. The design of taking two witnesses
is twofold. 1. That the offending bro
ther may be possibly induced to repent
and return, if he has been proud and
refractory, when he sees that persons of
serious character and candid judgment
are also condemning his fault. 2. That
in administering the discipline of the
Church, the ministers of it may be cer
tain to proceed on good grounds, and
free themselves from all suspicion of
partiality or passion. The common
reason of men has approved of the
Mosaic regulation concerning two wit
nesses for every fact. The laws of evi
dence in courts of justice consider the
proof as good which is thus supported.
Sometimes exceptions occur, but not in
such cases as are contemplated by this
precept of discipline. In Church disci
pline, the minister is to see to it that he
shall have two responsible witnesses to
the incorrigibleness of a Church mem
ber, before he proceed to extremities.
17. Tell it the church. The Church

or three witnesses every word
may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to
hear them, tell it unto the church :

authorities, who are set and ordained for
this end, and act in the name of the
whole body. See ch. xvi. 18. The
Church has from theearliesttimes recog
nized that the power of discipline is by
Scripture and reason placed in the
hands of the Bishops, as the successors
of the Apostles. The epistles of St.
Paul to Timothy and Titus, both bish
ops, and St. Paul's own practice clearly
show us that the power of punishing of
fenders, and suspending them from the
rites of the Church, lies in the office of
Bishops. They are, as the word bishop
means, the overseers, set over us to this
very end. The Church to which we
belong has as a body, clergy, and laity,
resolved on certain canons and rubrics,
or laws by which discipline shall be ad
ministered in all parishes. If a man
who is a communicant acts as is here
described, and the minister of the parish
is certified that he is " an open and no
torious evil liver," or " has done any
wrong by word or deed, so that the con
gregation be thereby offended," or " is
at variance with others," and remains,
after all efforts to reconcile him, " in
frowardness and malice," he shall " ad
vertise him, that he presume not to
come to the Lord's table until he have
openly declared himself to have truly
repented and amended his former evil
life, that the congregation may be
thereby satisfied." He must at once
give " an account of the same to the
Ordinary," that is, to the Bishop of the
Diocese. If the man who is suspended
from the Communion by the minister of
his parish be dissatisfied at this, he may
appeal to the Bishop, who shall exam--
ine and decide the case. Thus does the
Episcopal Church seek to obey scrip
tural precepts, and promote purity in her
members, ff A heathen man and a pub
lican. Avoid him. Do not let it ap
pear that you despise Church censure,
by treating him as other Christians. By
a prudent conduct in this matter, pri-

210

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

but if he neglect to hear the
church, let him be unto thee as an
heathen" man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth,6 shall be bound in heaven :
and whatsoever ye shall loose on
earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
a Tit 3.10; Eom. 16. 17; 1 Cor. 5. 8-5;
2 Ties. 8. 6, 14. b John 20. 28 ; 2 Cor. 2. 1 0.

19 Again I say unto you, That
if" two of you shall agree on earth,
as touching any thing that they
shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in
heaven. 20 For where two or three are
gathered together in my name,
c Acts 1. 24-26 ; 4. 29-31 ; 12. 12, 16 ; 25. 26.

vate Christians may give great weight
to the lawful judgments of their pastors.
Most disastrous is it to Church order,
when the offender may sneer at the laws
he promised to obey, knowing that any
of half a dozen sects will be willing to
receive him as a convert, and perhaps
sympathize with him as =. persecuted
man ! John x. 11 ; Rom. xvi. 17; 1
Cor. v. 4, 5 ; Tit. iii. 10, 11. Church
discipline is thereby reduced to a mere
name. And too often the bolder of
fenders against the laws of charity are
able to cast contempt upon the clergy,
and after causing turmoil and difficulty
in the Church, may turn to some neigh
boring denomination with every ap
pearance of victory in the struggle. The
ministry have often a thankless duty in
attempting to preserve their flocks from
these wolves in sheep's clothing. The
people should sustain and sympathize
with them while they observe the laws
and canons, ff Publican. See note, ch.
v. 47.
18. See note, ch. xvi. 19. The com
mission of the Apostolic succession is
clearly declared. The bishops and
pastors of the Church, are how to do
the same work as the Apostles, saving
that they do not by inspiration settle
the general principles of truth. It is
their duty faithfully and courageously
to teach and follow the inspired writ
ings. They are one with the Apostles,
and claim a scriptural authority as the
former did, in Christ's name. Says the
late Bp. Henshaw : " We are humble
and unworthy, it is true, but His real
representatives : ' as though God did
beseech you by us, we pray you, in
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."'

Says Bp. McHvaine : " Though many
Iscariots be found under its (the present
ministry's) awful responsibilities, the in
tegrity of the office, as essentially identical
with that of tiie Apostles, is in no wise

19. Again, dec. Though private
Christians may be sure that their
prayers are always heard, yet the truth
here taught is one relating rather to
Church discipline. When two or three
Apostles or Bishops were together, and
in strict obedience to law and right did
pray for the Spirit of God to guide them
in Church discipline, their sentence was
binding. Acts. v. 3. xiii. 9-11. Though
all Church censures now are given by
fallible men, and may he reversed ; yet
if rightly and lawfully done, they must
bind on earth, and be regarded by all
as sacred. The Scripture supplies to
them the lack of inspiration, and hum
ble prayer procures the blessing of the
spirit of wisdom upon their faithful en
deavors to do what is right. John 20.
19 ; Matt. 28. 20 ; 1 Cor. 4. 1.
20 For when, dec. This was said to
the Apostles, and to them in their cha
racter as the representatives of the
whole ministry in all ages and countries,
and again as representatives of the
whole Church in all the world. It is a
general assertion, true in both particu
lars. When two or three of the former —
the Apostofic ministry — are met in
Christ's name for discipline, reclaiming
offenders and the like, matters concern
ing the wise governing and spread of the
Church and Gospel, there will Christ be
to guide them ; and equally, when they
with Christian people, meet for prayer
and praise, the promise holds good,

T.*E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVTH.

211

there am I in the midst of them.
21 If Then came Peter to him,
and said, Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I for
give him ? till seven times ?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say
a Gen. 4. 24

not unto thee, Until seven times ;
but," Until seventy times seven.
23 IT Therefore is the kingdom
of heaven likened unto a certain
king which would take account
of his servants.

provided they fulfil all that is implied
in the words in My name. For this re
quires some more proof than an inward
argument. If two sinners meet
Christ's name to pray,He will hear them,
though that is hardly implied here
It means that we are to have every
proof of an Apostolic doctrine and fel
lowship, that we are outwardly as well
as inwardly united to the Apostles, and
to Him. ff / am in the midst of them.
By the Holy Ghost ; by His divine na
ture, in which He is omnipresent. His
human nature is only and alone in
heaven, and cannot be in all places.
Therefore the Romanists have fallen
into a fond and foohsh error, when
they make an attribute of the Divine
nature to belong to the natural flesh and
blood of the body begotten of the Virgin
Mary. That body cannot be spread
abroad in all the earth in the sacrifice
of Mass, as they pretend. By His Holy
Spirit especially present in the Com
munion does Christ invite believers to
Him, in His mystical Body, as " mem
bers incorporate." And by this spirit
He is with them to the end of the world.
The symbols of Church worship are
mute emblems of that presence. The
growth in spiritual things, in love and
charityj and other graces, are moral
proofs of it. We should rejoice where
all things combine to show the signs of
our Lord's presence.
21. Then came Peter, dec. St. Peter
felt that there had been implied a free
forgiveness of the fault of the offender :
as even in the severest dealing with
him which was allowed, it was all
done in love, and to recall him to duty.
Not knowing how far this might go, he
asks this question, ff Till seven times.
St. Chrysostom well says that "when
Peter instanced seven as the nnmber of
times that an offending brother should

be forgiven, he accounted certainly that
he was doing some great thing ; that his
charity was taking a large stretch, these
seven being four times more than the
Jewish masters enjoined. The Jewish
doctors founded their precept of forgiv
ing three times only on the three pas
sages ; Amos i 3 ; ii. 6. and Job. xxxiii.
29, 30. Peter felt that a larger mea
sure would be prevalent in the Church.
22. Until seventy times seven. An
unlimited number. The same expres
sion is used in the description of revenge
in the case of Lamech; Gen. iv. 24.
The duty of forgiveness in the Church
has no limit, save in the want of peni
tence in the offender. While the offen
der repents, we must forgive. Is it said
that this virtue is beyond our abihty ?
Nay. Two tilings are to be noticed.
1. That the penitence must be sincere,
which can hardly happen so often : yet
as often as the offender may say with a
shadow of truth " I repent," we surely
may forgive. 2. Though we may not
reach the limit, as that limit can, in
the very nature of things, be nothing
short of perfection : yet it can do us no
harm to strive after it. Says Prof.
Trench, "The purpose of Our Lord
is to make it clear, that when God calls
on a member of His kingdom to forgive,
He does not call on Him to renounce a
right, but that he has now no right to
exercise in the matter: asking for and
accepting forgiveness, He has implicitly
pledged himself to show it."'
23. Therefore. Because there is no
limit to this principle among Christians
(Eph. iv. 32.), you may learn your duty
and relations to God in My Church by
the following parable. The law of the
Church in this matter, He says, is like
the disposition shown by this king. This
is the first of a series of parables in
which the Lord of the Kingdom of grace

212

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27.

24 And when he had begun to
reckon, one was brought unto him
which owed him 'ten thousand
talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had
not to pay, his lord commanded
him to be sold," and his wife and
D A talent is 750 oz. of silver which after 5s.
to the os. is £187. 10s. a Neh. 5. 6 ; Is. 58. 6.
is likened to a king. This new feature
grows in clearness as we read on from
this beginning, ff Take account of his
servants. The word servant in this
story, has a wide meaning ; all the
under officers, governors and satraps,
as well as menials. In the East, all the
officers of government were subject to
the will of the despot. He could re
move or destroy any of them. This
king is imagined to desire at a certain
time to discover how affairs were man
aged in his kingdom, and he makes
an examination into the accounts of
his governors, and beginning with some
lordly satrap, he finds him in his debt.
The counterpart of this royal action of
taking account of the servants, is not
the final judgment of all men by the
Lord Jesus, but the awakening of the
conscience here in this life by convic
tion of sin, and fear of future woe. 1
John iii. 20 ; Rom. viii. 24. God may
be said to take account of a man, when
conscience, which is His servant, excites
a penitence for sins, and sends him to
Him for pardon.
24. Begun to reckon. With the first,
who had governed the largest province.
For none but a chief minister or vizier
could owe this sum. How striking is
this feature of the story. God only be
gins to reckon with us, and we are
found to be hopelessly indebted to His
law. Job. ix. 2, 3 ; Ps. cxxx. 3. We
can never answer Him for our sins.
ff Ten thousand talents. Around num
ber is used to give us the idea of the
hopelessness of payment. If the Hebrew
talent is here meant, the sum is enor
mous. The sum in silver was over
15,000,000 dollars. If reckoned in
gold, it was beyond all possibility of

children, and all that he had, and
payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell
down and 'worshipped him, say
ing, Lord, have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant
|| Or besought him.

payment. We may form some idea of
the amount, by comparing other sums
spoken of in Scripture. In the taber
nacle 29 talents of^gold were used (Ex,
xxxviii. 24) ; for the temple David pre
pared 3000 of gold, the princes 5000.
1 Chron. xxix. 4-7. The queen of
Sbeba gave Solomon 120 talents (1
Kings x. 10) ; Hezekiah was taxed 30
talents of gold (2 Kings xviii. 14), and
finally the land was taxed one talent of
gold. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 3. Darius of
fered to buy off Alexander from enter
ing his kingdom, with ten thousand
talents : and the latter, in paying his
army at Suza, used twice the sum.
The defaulter was then some chief per
son, who had kept back and expended
on himself the revenues of his province,
instead of sending them to the king.
Now, the sum has exceeded all possibility
of payment. This huge debt is the
likeness of our sins, which no power of
ours can ever pay. Rom. ii. 5.
22. To be sold, fyc. The Jewish law
and customs allowed the selling of in
solvent debtors into a mild state of do
mestic slavery. Lev. xxv. 39, 41 ; 2
Kings iv. 1. Or the king may have
been a Gentile ruler, and this slavery
may have been a state of harsh and
cruel bondage.
26. And worshipped him. " This for
mal act of worship or adoration, con
sisted in prostration on the ground, and
kissing the feet and knees ; and here
Origen bids us to note the nice obser
vance of proprieties in the details of the
parable. This servant worshipped the
king, for that honor was paid to royal
personages ; but it is not said that the
other servant worshipped, but only be
sought. " — Trench. Dr. Shaw, the trav-

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XVIII.

213

was moved with compassion, and
loosed him, and forgave him the
debt. 28 But the same servant went
out, and found one of his fellow-
servants, which owed him an
¦hundred pence : and he laid
hands on him, and took him by
the throat, saying, Pay me that
thou owest.
29 And his fellow-servant fell
down at his feet, and besought
him, saying, Have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all.
B Tiie Roman penny is the 8th part of an
oa., which after 5s. the oz. is Id. half penny.

eller, informs us that the same custom
is still practised by the Arabs, in the
presence of superiors.
27. Then the Lord, Sfc. Thus does
the severity of God endure only till
the sinner is brought to repentance.
He grants more than we deserve or
desire. The servant who was crushed
to the earth, about to lose wife, chil
dren, liberty and all, and to become a
slave to another ; all which changes
may occur in Eastern countries in a mo
ment, is amazed at this pardon. It
finds a parallel only in the acts of
grace by which God pardons sinners.
ff Loosed him. Set him free. The
same word is used of the act of setting
Barabbas out of prison. Ch. xxvii. 15.
In the East the will of the king is abso
lute, and such sudden changes are very
natural and common. With us, who
are unused to them, it is easier to imag
ine and feel the truth of God's pardon
ing us sinners on repentance, than to
conceive of such an act on the part of
a fellow man. If we value the pardon
of sins in our own case, it moves us to
gratitude, and makes us gentle to the
faults of others.
28. An hundred pence. The denarius,
or penny, was a Roman coin, worth
15 cents of our money. The whole
sum was therefore about $15 ; or^affl.-
nared witiijus_awnjiebt, in the. .propor
tion of one million of dollars to one. It

30 And he would not : but went
and cast him into prison, till he
should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants
saw what was done, they were
very sorry, and came and told
unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he
had called him, said unto him, 0
thou wicked servant, I forgave
thee all that debt, because thou
desiredst me :
33 Shouldest not thou also
have had compassion on thy fel-

should have been a trifling sum to one
who had been able to become so great
a defaulter. This so small sum snows
how httle after all men can sin against
their brethren, compared with their
guilt towards God. Hence the wicked
ness of an unforgiving temper, since it
shows a want of humility under such a
weight of pardon, ff Took him by the
throat, Sfc. Was harsh and violent, as
if to compel immediate payment. He
had no pity ; was not humbled under
the sense of his own pardon. One who
" receives grace must show grace ; find
ing love, he must exercise it."
31. So when his fellow-servants, Sec.
The design of this is not of course to
teach Christians that they are to carry
complaints of their brethren before God,
which would be to destroy the very
principles of humility and charity ; but
to show that such conduct as this man's
meets with condemnation from men as
well as God. Such cruelty and hard
ness is against the common notions of
right. His fellow-servants were grieved,
and in sorrow at such heartlessness, in
form their lord of it. In the breast of
a good Christian the sight of quarrels,
of bickering, and unforgiving tempers
among brethren, will work grief rather
than anger, for he will mourn that the
gentle spirit of mercy is so little cher
ished by those who have only mercy to
look to for salvation.

214

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

low-servant, even as I had pity
on thee ?
34 And his lord was wroth, and
delivered him to the "tormentors,
till he should pay all that was
due unto him.
35 So likewise6 shall my heav
enly Father do also unto you, if
ye from your hearts forgive not
every one his brother their tres-

a 1 Kings 22. 27.

34. The tormentors. Literally the
triers. In the East it was common for
men to conceal property and pretend to
be very poor, in order to escape the ra
pacity of the powerful. Hence the cus
tom was practised of subjecting them to
torture, in order to compel them to
betray their wealth. These tormentors
were jailers and others, who were skil
ful in applying agonies to unwilling
prisoners. The tormentors to whom
the sinner will be subjected, are fellow-
sinners and wicked spirits, instruments
of the just anger of God.
35. So likewise. Upon this condition
hangs the Divine forgiveness of us in
this world. Col. iii. 13 ; Eph. iv. 32 ;
Matt. v. 7 ; Luke vi. 37 ; James v. 9.
" All forgiveness short of the crowning
act of forgiveness and mercy which will
find place on the day of judgment, and
will be followed by the impossibility of
sinning any more, is conditional — in the
very nature of things so conditional,
that the condition must, in every case,
be assumed, whether stated or no ; that
oondition being, that the forgiven man
abide in faith and obedience, in that
state of grace into which he has been
brought, which he whom the unmerciful
servant here represents had not done,
but on the contrary, evidently and plainly
showed by his conduct, that he had ' for
gotten that he was purged from his old
sins.' He whom this servant represents
does not abide in the hght of love (1 John
i. 7), but falls back into the old dark
ness ; he has, therefore no fellowship
with his brother, and the cleansing

CHAPTER XIX.
AND it came to pass, that
when Jesus had finished
these sayings, he departed from
Galilee, and came into the coasts
of Judea, beyond Jordan :
2 And great multitudes fol
lowed him, and he healed them
there. 3 "IT The Pharisees also came
unto him, tempting him, and say-
b CoL 3. IS ; Eph. 4, 82 ; Lu. 6. 87 ; Jas. 5. 9.

power of that blood ceases upon him."
See 1 John iv. 20, 21 ; ii. 9. ff From
your hearts. " In deed and in truth."
1 John iii. 18. This law of pardon
must be supreme, and rule down all
rebellious excuses and httle lingerings
of hatred and revenge.
" 0 Lord, who hast taught us that all
our doings, without charity, are nothing
worth ; send Thy Holy Ghost and pour
into our hearts that most excellent gift
of charity, the very bond of peace and
of all virtues ; without which whosoever
liveth is counted dead before Thee.
Grant this, for Thine only Son Jesus
Christ's sake. A men.
CHAPTER XIX.
1. See Mark x. 1-12. The interval
of time between the last chapter and
this is supposed to have been no less
than five months ; the events and con
versations of the last having occurred in
May, while these happened in October
and November, only five months before
the Crucifixion. Jesus left Galilee,
crossing the lake, and coming down on
the east side of the river Jordan, oppo
site the country of Judea: a region which
He had scarcely visited before. And
His miracles are done for the sick and
afflicted of that neighborhood, as before
in other places, ff Coasts of Judea.
Regions bordering upon or neighboring
to Judea.
2. Tempting Him. Seeking to in
duce Him to express an opinion which
should injure Him in the eyes of the
people. It was an artful question on
two accounts. 1. The Jews were very

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

215

ing unto him, Is it lawful for a
man to put away his wife for
every cause ?
4 And he answered and said
unto them, Have ye not read,"
that he which made them at the
beginning, made them male and
female, 5 And said, 6For this cause

a Gen. 1. 27 ; Mai. 2. 15.
Eph. 5. 31.

6 Gen. 2. !

much divided in opinion as to the law.
It was impossible to satisfy both parties.
He would gain the ill will of those whose
opinion He condemned. There were
two opinions current. The school of
rabbi Hillel taught that a man might
divorce his wife for any reason, for any
slight offence, or merely for his dislike
of her person or manners, because of the
words, "if she found not favor in his
eyes," which occur Deut. xxiv. 1. The
opposite school of rabbi Shammai al
lowed it only for adultery, on account of
the words which follow in the same pas
sage, " because he hath found some
uncleanness in her." The Pharisees
ask Jesus to settle this difficulty, hoping
to injure Him with one side or the other.
2. They probably suspected His opmions
— opinions whose strictness and purity
would, as they thought, seem harsh and
impossible to the carnal multitude about
Him. Thus they would rouse against
Him the worst feelings of men, as against
one who wished to deprive them of a
proper liberty, ff Put away. Divorce.
Many in this day are unwilling to be
bound by any restraint. The Christian
must be firm and well informed on so
important a matter. All must feel that
no matter what license maybe granted by
the laws of the State, " that if any per
sons are joined together otherwise than
as God's Word doth allow, their marriage
is not lawful." And again, that those
whom God hath joined together no man
has power to put asunder, unless for
crime specified by Divine Law.
4-6. And He answered, Sec. The
Saviour in His reply avoids the first
difficulty, by citing a passage of Scrip-

shall a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his
wife : and they twain shall be one
flesh ?'
6 Wherefore they are no more
twain, but one flesh. What there
fore G-od hath joined together, let
not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did
c 1 Cor. 6. 16.

ture, that went behind the interpreta
tions of both rabbis, and settled the
question, by the original design of mar
riage, as shown by an undisputed text.
Gen. i. 27; ii. 21, 24. This would
remove the question from the foolish
glosses of Hillel and Shammai, to the
plain Word of God. Neither school
could oppose Him for it, without im
piety, ff For this cause. Because they
were made as one pair, therefore they
shah be united in pairs. The natural
world is the type of the spiritual. The
Apostle St. Paul has taught us, that in
this act of Divine creation, God has
shown us a groundwork and prepara
tory symbol of " Christ and the Church."
Eph. v. 32, 33. ff Shall leave, dec. It
shall be bis duty to leave father and
mother rather than his wife. The mar
riage tie is the closest and most sacred
in the world, intended for the propaga
tion of the race, and the protection and
education of each successive generation.
ff Shall cleave, dec. The original word
implies a union, which nothing can dis
solve, ff They twain shall be one flesh.
As the original woman was by the
power of the Creator taken out of the
flesh of Adam, so is the wife reminded
that she has something of the same re
lation to her husband. She is wedded
to him, the bond between them being
altogether of another kind from any
human compact or covenant. The only
parallel to this relation is the union of
the soul to Christ. 1 Cor. vi. 15-20 ;
vii. 4, 5 ; Eph. v. 28-33. It is a sad
sign of infidel principles in high places
and low when we see the wicked laws,
which are now made, and the lax pub-

216

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

Moses then command" to give a
writing of divorcement, and to
put her away ?
8 He saith unto them, Moses,
because of the hardness of your
hearts, suffered you to put away
your wives : but from the begin
ning it was not so.
a Deut. 24. 1.

lie opinion which is prevalent upon this
subject. Man's laws cannot change the
law of God, nor the inviolableness of the
marriage bond. It is a solemn oath of
union, in which each party vows fidelity
till death parts them. And from in
fidelity of one kind, unbelief in the
sacredness of marriage; will soon spring
up infidelity of heart towards Him who
has made those sanctions ; and then
comes a long train of crimes and evils
as a consequence.
7. Why did Moses, dec. See note,
oh. v. 31. The Pharisees have lost then-
vantage ground, yet they press the ques
tion, in regard to Moses, hoping yet to
entrap Him. A clear and honest desire
for truth, would have taken another
course. Nothing is more noticeable
than the different manner in which Je
sus refutes the cavilling of His enemies,
and answers the questions of the simple
earnest seekers of truth, ff Writing
of divorcement. A written certificate
of her being divorced, and the cause of
it ; so that the woman could be married
again, if she were so minded.
8. The hardness of your hearts. Un
less they had been allowed this lesser
evil, they were so cruel and sensual
that they would have committed greater
crimes. They would have murdered
their wives, or found false witnesses to
make them out guilty of adultery, or
have fallen outright into the debasing
vices of the heathen. Now, one object
of the choice of the nation by God, be
ing to have them preserved as a distinct
people, till the time of the Messiah, He
permitted them this larger liberty : only
reo-ulating it by certain checks and laws.
'C Moses suffered you, dec. The Phar
isees said "Why did Moses command? "

9 And I say unto you, Whoso
ever shall put away his wife,
except it be for fornication, and
shall marry another, committeth
adultery : and whoso marrieth
her which is put away, doth com
mit adultery.
10 If His disciples say unto
6 Ch. 5. 32 ; Lu. 16. 18.
Jesus reminds them that it was not a
command, but a sufferance. God saw
fit to allow this latitude to the Jews,
but only to allow it. The right and
strict law, such as had been in the be
ginning while Adam and Eve were in
the state of innocence, would now be
restored in the kingdom of grace.
Wherefore it seems that the school of
Shammai taught the purest morality
concerning divorce, while the school of
Hillel gave the true sense of the law.
That law was mainly to regulate a
license, of which the Jews were over
fond. It shows the degeneracy of
mankind ; that the severest penalties,
which human laws can inflict, are ne
cessary to prevent the evils which the
wicked passions of men would otherwise
produce. 9. Marriage is brought back to its
original state and intention, and the sin
of adultery is now made evident beyond
mistake. Whosoever, then, is married
contrary to God's word, that is in the for
bidden degrees, or has put away one
wife, not an adulteress, and married an
other, or vice versa ; or whoever has
married the woman proved to have
been adulterous, such an one is under
the curse of God, and should be excom
municate from the Church, so long as
he or she remains in this connection. '
1 Cor. v. 5. All the legislatures and
infidel presses in the world cannot re
move' the curse. They only number
themselves among those who deny the
Word of God, and call evil good. Each
must guard his own heart, and in the
just and careful regulation of what he
finds there, must seek for safety and
innocence. 10. Not to marry. They thought

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

217

him, If the case of the man be so
with his wife, it is not good to
marry. 11 But he said unto them, All
men cannot receive this saying,
save they to whom it is given.
12 For there are some eunuchs,
which were so born from their
mother's womb : and there are
some eunuchs, which were made
the bond too strict, which was indis
soluble. They saw many cases of weak,
quarrelsome, barren women, marriage
with whom they imagined would be too
great an evil to endure. Unless such
could be put away, then they would
esteem that state of life to be an evil.
But Christians see better, that even in
such cases, the Christian may be sanc
tified by the virtues of endurance under
any afflictions.
11. This saying. That is, that it is
good not to marry. Of course some
may do so. The Church of Rome, with
a suicidal folly, has determined that all
men who serve at her altars, shall re
ceive this saying. She pretends to de
cide by ordination, who are those who
can bear it, and the results show her
mistake of the text. There are always
men who have this peculiar gilt,' and
always peculiar work for them to do.
Universities, learned bodies, and mis-
sipns; especially those to dangerous
points (see the case of Henry Martyn),
should be supphed with a body of sin
gle men. Often, too, the Church may act
powerfully on the world by a body of
men, like the ancient prophets — stand
ing out from the world, and evidently
self-denying in all things. St Paul was
the example for ah such. 1 Cor. vii. 1,
7, 9. Let them however not dishonor
that which is "honorable in ah." Heb.
xiii. 4.
12. These are persons unable or
unwilling to marry. It seems here to
mean, such as make choice of the
chastity of a single life. There are
three ways in which this pure and most
heavenly grace (Rev. xiv. 4.) is gained,
Vol. I.— 10

eunuchs of men : and there be
eunuchs, which have made them
selves eunuchs for the kingdom
of heaven's sake. He that is able
to" receive it, let him receive it.
13 If Then were there brought
unto him little children, that he
should put his handsonthem, and
pray : and the disciples rebuked
them. a 1 Cor. 7. 82 ; Eev. 14. 4.

1. By the happiness of a sweetly tem
pered natural constitution, as in that
eminent saint, Archbishop Leighton.
2. By a violent and wicked maiming of
the body, in which case, the peculiar
grace of God is prepared to temper the
affliction. 3. By a voluntary subduing
of the natural inclinations, and embrac
ing a life of toil and self-denial for the
sake of the Church ; a path of difficulty
in which some may walk on earth, lead
ing to great rewards in heaven. See v.
29. After these sanctions in regard to
the family relationship, follows, natur
ally, a blgssing upon the infant mem
bers of famihes.
13, Then were brought, dec. See
Mark x. 13-16; Luke xviii. 15-17.
They did not bring them to be cured
of any disease, but to receive a spiritual
blessing, which they believed would
result from His putting His hands on
them with prayer. This was taught
them by the ancient custom of the lay
ing on of hands. Gen. xlviii. 14 ; 2
Kings v. 11 ; Matt. ix. 18. They knew
also from the fact of the admission of
their children at eight days old, into
all the privileges of covenant with God,
that children could receive a covenant
blessing. Christian baptism was not in
being until the descent of the Holy
Ghost at Pentecost. Acts ix. 2, 3.
Therefore infants were not baptized
till after that event. We find here
the first foundation of the rite, in
the giving a spiritual gift to infants.
See note, ch. xviii 3. f f The disciples
rebuked them. Rebuked the parents.
The disciples made the same mistake,
as some few do now, thinking that there

218

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27.

14 But Jesus said, "Suffer little
children, and forbid them not, to
a Ch. 18. 3.

was no place in the Church for little
children. Jesus was much displeased
with the disciples, for He meant, and
by His guidance of the Holy Church
has effected it, that infants shall be re
ceived into His covenant of grace,
equally with adults.
14. Suffer little children, dec. This
is in general terms, in order to make it
a perpetual law of His Kingdom. He
does not say, " suffer these children, for
it is pious in these parents to bring
them, and it will do no harm for Me to
pray over them :" but He announces in
general terms a charter and law of
privilege for all time, which must en
dure in all generations, inasmuch as
the reason of it always holds good. His
Church is always composed of such.
ff For of such, dec. First, of such liter
ally, little children is the Church always
largely composed. Secondly, by infer
ence, of such figuratively, that is, of
persons docile and innocent as these in
fants. While this reason holds good,
that is for ever, the Church must, in the
way of infant baptism, suffer little chil
dren to be brought to Christ. For, 1.
The whole authority of the Church from
the first ages has so decided, which
(ch. xviii. 18-20) is able to decide a
matter of this kind. The Apostles
baptized whole families, as families, on
the profession of faith of the head. Acts
xvi 15, 33 ; 1 Cor. vii. 14. 2. The
testimony of the Church from the ear
liest times is in favor of infant baptism.
" The ancients looked upon this text, as
a sufficient ground for it, as appears
even from Tertullian, whilst he shows
his dislike of the custom" (being at
that time in error). — Dr. Whitby. 3.
The reason of the Church of all ages
has acquiesced in it, as a proper deduc
tion from this text, and from aU Catho
lic doctrine. In fact, the cavils made
against the practice by some, are not
so much to be answered by arguments
on this subject, as by showing that they
have lost the body of true divinity— even

come unto me : for of such is the
kingdom of heaven.

as one would not pretend to argue on
every custom of our nation, with one
who refused to beheve the foundation
doctrine of our constitution, that men
have a right to govern themselves.
They who receive the sound circle of
Catholic doctrine, feel no difficulty with
customs which are legitimate effects of
it. Infant baptism rests on the great
law of nature, that God does not mean
men to be sinners, before they can be
saints, lost in order that He may find
them, but intends that from their first
breath, they may be " in a state of sal
vation," i. e. of solvability, in which
they maybe saved, if they will. There
fore the Church is not troubled to
prove the propriety of her use of this
Charter in the Form of infant baptism ;
but bids them be brought to the " Ambas
sadors of Christ," who " speak in His
stead," as soon as " the first or second
Sunday after their birth," " unless on a
great and reasonable cause," the pa
rents are prevented. She reads over
them this authority, saying, " Beloved,
ye hear in this Gospel the express words
of our Saviour Christ — ye perceive how
by His outward gesture, &c. Doubt ye
not, therefore, but earnestly believe that
He will likewise favorably receive this
present infant, that He will embrace
him in the arms of His mercy," &c., &c.
" See exhortation in Bap. Office. Only
those who have eaten the bitter fruits
of sectarian errors, will be prevented
from receiving the truth. We do not
fear but that children are truly received
by Christ, and if they die as infants
after baptism, they are assuredly saved.
The Article asserts to the world with a
confidence in the just inference of this
practice ; that " The baptism of young
children is in any wise to be retained in
the Church, as most agreeable with the
institution of Christ." Art. XXVII. The
Church meantime teaches her children
to say : " In baptism, I was made a
member of Christ, a child of God, and
an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven."

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

219

15 And he laid his hands on
them, and departed thence.
16 Tf And behold, "one came
and said unto him, Good Master,
a Mark 10. 17, &o. ; Lu. 18. 18, &c.

She bids her clergy and parents to seek
that they, by prayer and education, " be- ,
ing steadfast in faith, joyful through
hope, and rooted in charity, may so pass
the waves of this troublesome world,
that they may finally come to the land
of everlasting hfe. See note, ch. iii. 11.
She leaves the inference from Scripture
to be made by the powerful impulses of
parental affection. And surely, to a
Christian parent, nothing short of an
absolute forbiddal should keep them
away from the Font with their httle
ones. Alas for a Church that has no
mercy for babes. Mothers at least
should feel that it has not in this re
spect " the spirit of Christ."
15. And He laid, dec. St. Mark adds,
" and blessed them." This can by no
means be held an idle wish or prayer
which failed of its end, but a, blessing
in them, of all the little innocents on
whom His ministers have since poured
the waters of the baptismal tide. Thus
Jacob (Gen. xlviii. 20), and Moses
(Deut. xxxiii. 1), blessed, not more the
persons present than all those who
would inherit the blessing from them.
The patriarchs were blessed as types
and representatives of their children
and tribes. And we must go to their
acts, to understand the true meaning
of the wish of the mothers, and the
blessing of Jesus. If the Jew would
feel that the blessing of his progenitors
and fathers "prevailed unto the utmost
bounds of the everlasting hills," surely
we may beheve that the blessing of the
Saviour was of greater force and
wider reach and endurance than theirs.
16. One came, dec. As our Lord has
just declared how one may be received
into the Church in infancy, so now He
showeth what is necessary in grown
persons, that they may become as httle
children. This young man was a ruler,
and came running and fell on his
knees, in his zeal and anxiety to find

what good thing shall I do that I
may have eternal life ?6
17 And he said unto him, Why
callest thou me good ? there is
b John 4. 86; Rom. 6. 28.

some better way to be saved. That he
was in some measure sincere and worthy
is shown by what St. Mark says, " And
Jesus beholding him loved him." This
He could not be said to have done, had
the young man been a hypocrite. The
ruler was self-deceived and self-righte
ous, but surely not that wicked charac
ter, a hypocrite. The whole story
teaches us that even- the very best man
has need to give up self and follow
Christ, in order to be saved, ff Good
Master. Good Teacher. This title ad
mitted that Jesus taught the divine
truth. If so, then He could not be a
deceiver. If so again, He, who taught
as Jesus did, that He was the Son of
God, the Messiah, was something more
than a good master. The young man
wanted faith. He knew the law. He
knew the prophets. He knew all that
Jesus claimed to be. He believes Him
in part, but he is a afraid to go too far,
and he compromises on the title, Good
Master. Beggars, spirits, and others
hailed Him as Son of David. Had the
young ruler been consistent, he would
have used some such title. He had
probably debated with himself how to
address Jesus, and finally fell on this as
safest. This compromise with his con
victions was wrong, and our Lord at
once exposes it. ff What good thing
shall I do? "It appears to have been
dictated by a sincere and anxious wish
to be instructed in the way to that ever
lasting life, which he found Jesus held
out to his disciples." — Bp. Porteus.
IT May have eternal life. These words',
hke those in the catechism, " inheritor
of the kingdom of heaven," mean to
have a right hope of being saved A
right hope, is one which is begotten of
the promises and institutions of rehgion,
founded on Christ and Him only, and
proved sound by a holy life. To inherit
is to receive by right of family re
lation. In the language of Scripture,

220

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27

none good but one, that is God :
but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments."
18 He saith unto him, Which ?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no mur
der, Thou shalt not commit adul-
a Lev. 18. 5; Neh. 9. 29 ; Ezek. 20. 11, 13.

it means to receive as the result of
being children of God by adoption.
17. Why callest thou Me good? Jesus
means to show the young ruler that
He has penetrated into the secret of his
speaking to Him by such an address.
" You call Me good. — It is an attribute
of God. How can I be good and with
all My claims to Divine power and
majesty, not be something more than
a Teacher ? You have compromised
with the real conviction of your con
science, in not saluting Me as the
Messiah — the Son of God." Says Dr.
Whitby, "Thou oughtest to beheve
that I am more than human, and that
the Divine nature dwelleth in Me, if
thou conceivest this title truly to- he-
long to Me, since ' there is none good
but One, that is God.' " ff If thou wilt
enter into life, keep the commandments.
This was the Jewish covenant. Lev.
xviii. 5 ; Neh. ix. 29 ; Ezek. xx. 11-13.
God offered salvation to the Jews on
condition of perfect obedience to the
commandments usually called the Law,
of which the Ten Commandments
were the chief articles. Therefore our
Lord refers the ruler to that covenant,
to find an entrance into heaven, ff he
obeyed it, he would be safe. The
young man wanted that deep insight
into his heart, to see what troubled him.
He did not see but that he had kept
the Law ; why was he not at peace ?
Jesus shows him. How clearly is the doc
trine established that we are pardoned
not for any merit of our own. " We
are accounted righteous before God
only for the merit of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith ; and not
for our own works or deservings.
Wherefore, that we are justified by faith
only, is a most wholesome doctrine
and very full of comfort, as more large
ly is expressed in the Homily of Jus-

tery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy
mother : and, 6Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as- thyself.
20 The young man saith unto
6 Lev. 19. 18 ; Ch. 22. 89.

tification.'' Article XI. This article
is explained by the Homily of Salva
tion ; in which we learn that the words
"faith only," are intended to exclude
all human merit in the business of sal
vation ; but by no means to exclude
the necessity of good works, or a holy
and pious hfe.
18, 19. Jesus said, dec. For the
duties which are required by the com
mandments, see the admirable answer
of the catechism to the question,
" What is thy duty toward thy neigh
bor ? ' As we can be more certain of
duties done to our neighbor, because
they are acts seen and known of all, and
duties done to God consist chiefly of
feelings of love, and spiritual obedi
ence ; so the Saviour cites the Second
Table of the law, as that which proves,
as by signs and fruits, the right obser
vance of the First Table. " And this
commandment have we from Him,
That he who loveth God love his bro
ther also." 1 John iv. 20, 21 ; ii. 9.
" Christ hereby declares that the laws
of God are the very way which leads
to everlasting life, and not the traditions
and laws of men. So that this is to be
taken for a most true lesson taught by
Christ's own mouth, that the works of
the moral commandments, of God, are
the very true works of faith which lead to
the blessed life to come." — Church Homi
lies, ff Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. This is a summary of the
rest, and of equal authority. It is
found Lev. xix. 18. See also Matt.
xxii. 39.
20. All these have 1 kept, Sec. He
was sincere, for " Jesus beholding loved
him," which could not have been, had
it been a falsehood. Tho young man
had kept the letter of the law. He had
not stolen, coveted, murdered, nor borne
false witness. He was to worldly eyes

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

221

him, All these things have I kept
from my youth up : what lack I
yet?
5 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou
wilt be "perfect, go and sell that
thou hast, and give to the poor,
olTim. 6. 18, 19; Gen. 12. 1.

a pure character, and in this purity
there is that which Jesus loved. But
what lacked he ? He knew not the
strict requirement of the spirit of the
law, the utter unselfishness of the Chris
tian. He felt a lack. He felt that God
would not receive him only for such a
service. He is therefore tiie very in
stance to come in here, after the ad
mission of httle children to a blessing ,
to show that all men must cast away
all trust in themselves, and all merits of
their works, and trust as totally to
Christ for pardon, and be as humble as
a httle child. How gently, yet effectu
ally, does Jesus show him his lack ; that
under the garment of a fair literal obe
dience the heart in him had been un
subdued, and enslaved to the good
things of this life. Love is the fulfill
ing of the law, but the fulfilling of the
law in its letter only, is not love. He
must now do the same letter, but with
another spirit, and begin his duty by

21. If thou, wilt be perfect. If thou
wilt be truly perfect, as Noah, as Job.
See Gen. vi. 9 ; Job i. 1. The original
word means, that which is complete, that
degree of piety which is possible here.
In the epistles it is applied to the full-
grown Christian. "Let us therefore as
many as be perfect, be thus minded."
Phil. iii. 15. By this, St. Paul means
that there were such Christians as for
their consistency and finished character
were as full-grown men, able " to press
toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
So Heb. v. 14. " But strong mea be*
longeth to them of full age," that is,
perfect, for it is this same word. See
also 1 Cor. xiv. 20, in which the same
word is translated men. Eph. iv, 13 ;
OoL i. 28 ; iv. 12 ; James iii. 2. See

and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven : and come and 'follow me.
22 But when the young man
heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful : for he had great pos
sessions. 6 John 12. 1%.

note ch. v. 48. The young man de
sired this perfection. "One thing,"
said our Lord, " thou lackest of the
obedience which will give you eternal
life. To be really an inheritor of it,
as a complete and consistent child of
God, deny yourself and take up this
cross." Complete perfection as an ideal
is impossible. 1 John i. 8, 9. See Art.
XI. of XXXIX Arts. But consistency
and freedom from all gross and delibe
rate wilful sins is possible and necessary.
1 John iii. 5, 6, 9, 10. We need these
perfect, these finished gems and heroes
of the Christian Church, who may show
us how high and glorious is the attain
ment of grace, when it is made the whole
business of the life, ff Go and sell all,
dec. " You have called Me Good Mas
ter ; come and follow Me, in humility,
and heaven is yours." Jesus did not
choose that one of His disciples should
come among the rest, separated from
them by great wealth. Therefore He
offers this young ruler the great privi
lege (for it says He loved him), of being
one in His apostolic band, one perhaps
to fill the future vacancy of Judas, or to
be as Paul, an Apostle to the Gentilesi
Would that it had been so. But the
ruler's claim to merit vanishes. He
sees his heart enslaved to the riches of
the world. This same demand to sell
all^&c, may not be pressed now as a
rule of the Church upon any, since the
whole case is changed with us ; but it
were earnestly to be desired, that many
whom wealth has cherished into a sur
feit and almost spiritual apoplexy, would
seek for true life and health, by a de
pletion of this kind. There is too much
or this young man's love of money in
the Church.
22. But when, Sec. ¦ "The young
man made no reply ; indeed he could

222

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27

23 If Then said Jesus unto
his disciples, Verily I say unto
you, that "a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you,
It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than
olTim. 6. 9. 10; Jas. 5. 1-5.

not. He saw all his pretensions to per
fection, his hopes of extraordinary re
ward vanish at once ; he was not dis
posed to purchase even treasures in
heaven at the price of all he possessed
on earth. He therefore went away si
lent and sorrowful, for he had large
possessions." — Bp. Porteus.
23. A rich man, Sec. St. Mark ex
plains it, one " that trusteth in riches."
This is the sad moral of the preceding
story. Alas ! that so many of the ami
able and beloved young people of this
day, are not willing to give up that trust
in the world. The rich are hardly or
with difficulty saved, because their pos
sessions tempt them to ease and worldly
pride. 24. It is easier, Sec. This is a proverb,
to express the greatest improbability. If
taken literally, it is utterly impossible
for a camel to go through a needle's eye ;
so then a minister's duty would be, to see
that no member of the Church owned
more than a competency. But we are
to understand proverbs according to the
spirit and custom of the language. This
implies that it would be very difficult for
the rich to humble themselves to the low
liness of the Church of Christ. It was
particularly true of those times. James
ii. 6, 7. ff A camel. It was the largest
animal known to the Jews. The imagi
nation is pleased with this improbability
of ideas ; the largest animal trying to go
through the smallest eye of the needle.
It expresses that which is most difficult.
ff A rich man. " Although these ex
pressions of our Lord allude in their
primary sense to the difficulty of em
bracing the Gospel in His time, and ap
ply properly to those who trust in riches :
yet to all rich men in general, they hold
out this most important admonition ;
that their situation is at best a situation

for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of G-od.
25 When his disciples heard it,
they were exceedingly amazed,
saying, Who then can be saved ?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and
said unto them, With men this is6
b Ps. 62. 11 ; 1 Kings 8. 39 ; 1 Chron. 28. 9.

of difficulty and danger ; that their riches
furnish them- with so many temptations-
to intemperance, pride, forgetfulness of
God, and contempt of every thing serious
and sacred ; that they have peculiar need
to take heed to their ways, to keep
their hearts with all diligence, and above
all, to implore that assistance from
above, which may enable them to over
come the world, and all the enemies
with whom they have to contend." —
Bp. Porteus.
25, 26. Who then canbe saved? " What
rich man can receive the Gospel and
be saved ?" — Bp. Pearce. Or may it not
mean, " Who at all can be saved, by
Thy temporal kingdom, if Thou declinest
the aid of the rich and powerful ? How
are we to get on with our cause ? If the
great and wealthy do not join us, who
will ? They control the poor, and have
all power in the things of the world.
How then can the kingdom spread
among men ?" They had no idea as yet,
' that God had chosen the weak things of
this world and the things that are not,
to confound the mighty.' 1 Cor. i.
26, 27. ff He beheld them. He looked
earnestly at them. " With men this is
impossible. You cannot see how My
kingdom will spread without the rich,
and how the rich must give up their
riches, as I have called on this young
ruler to do, in order to enter that king
dom : yet God has a way . and means of
carrying on both, without tha aid of
riches. With Him even this, to you
contradictory conduct, will effect His
glory and your salvation." We may
suppose that this event began to open
the eyes of Judas to the fact, that he
had mistaken his calling, and would
never become rich in following One,
who would have the young ruler to
sacrifice his station and wealth.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

223

impossible, but with God all things
are possible.
27 Tf Then answered Peter, and
said unto him, Behold, we have

28. In the regeneration. Tla\ivyevveiria.
New birth, or new generation. This
word is used only once more in the New
Testament, " the washing of regenera
tion." Titus iii. 5. It is evident that it
there refers to the spiritual element of
baptism. See notes ch. xviii. 3 ; John
iii 5. The meaning here is doubted.
We mention two interpretations of this
passage, the first supported by good
authorities, the last only suggested. 1.
The regeneration, or new-generation, is
thought to mean the times of the future
resurrection of all men ; the day of
judgment and recompense, when all good
men shall be raised with new powers to
spiritual existence. Then Jesus will sit
upon the throne of His glory. The apos
tles will be present as in a manner
judges. They have here on earth
preached the terms of salvation by
which men will be judged. Their
dignity in that New Jerusalem will be
such as may be well pictured to the
mind by the princes or judges of the
twelve tribes. Rev. xxi. 14. Then all
who have suffered here with Christ will
reign with Him and receive an hundred
fold, even an "exceeding and eternal
weight of glory." And in that crisis
and last judgment, many who have been
first in privilege and in time upon earth
will receive the smallest reward and
will be last in honor in heaven. This
explanation has been supported by ex
cellent authorities, and has a beauty
and consistency which commends it
to every mind. But, 2. We suggest an
other. The regeneration may be used
in harmony with its meaning in Titus,
supposing, as we must, that that spiritual
change, called the new birth, is a law be
longing solely and entirely to the Christian
Church. See additional note, end of this
chapter. The text in Titus shows re
generation to be a law following Christ's
atonement ; a result of His Incarnation,
by which this spiritual change is dif-

forsaken "all, and followed thee ,
what shall we have therefore ?
28 And Jesus said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, that ye

a Phil 3. 8.

ferent in kind from all the faith and
holiness of ages before Christ. 2 Cor.
v. 17 ; Gal. vi. 15 ; Rom. viii. 14-16 ;
John iii 7, 8. The regeneration, then,
is the time or era after the Descent of
the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, which was
the true epoch of the beginning of the
kingdom of Christ : all that happened
before being a preparation for it. Acts
i. 5 ; ii. 4. In Acts xi. 15, St. Peter
speaks of that Pentecost as "at the
beginning." The regeneration is there
fore the times of the Chivrch, when the
law of the new birth is the law of its
increase, when all men shall be in
Christ " new creatures," or a new crea
tion, i. e. a re- or new generation, when
old things are passed away, and all
things have become new. In those
times the Son of Man shall sit (shall
continue to sit) on the throne of His
glory, at the right hand of God. Mark
xvi. 19 ; Heb. i. 3 ; viii. 1 ; Rev. iii. 21.
Note that the Apostles are not promised
thrones of glory, but simply thrones.
And do they not judge the Church?
The idea was not revealed at the time
when this was spoken, that the Gentiles
would be brought in and the Jews re
jected. Therefore the Christian Church
is represented, under the figure of the
Jewish, by the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Apostles are the judges and rulers of
it. During their lives they arranged its
laws and practices, and now, by their
inspired writings, they govern its mem
bers, as infallible and honored judges of
truth and doctrine. In the Church
every one receives that which is " great
gain," namely, godliness, also the ear
nest of the Spirit, the gifts of true hap
piness and peace, which reward them a
hundredfold for all they must give up.
And in the Church they do properly
"inherit," not receive, but expect, as
heirs do, a future possession, " inherit
eternal life." See Mark x. 17. Again,
in the Church the law holds good that

224

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

which have followed me in the
regeneration," when the Son of
man shall sit in the throne of his
glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel.
29 And every 6one that hath
forsaken houses, or brethren, or
a Tit. 3. 5. b Mark 10. 29, 30 Lu. 18. 29, 80.
those who are first and chiefest in the
possession and love of dignity, wealth,
honor and worldly esteem, are last in
the enjoyment of grace ; while they who
are poor, unlearned and unknown men,
and withal humble, are first in the re
ception of honor and grace from God.
Therefore the young ruler ought to
have given up his .vealth for such a
kingdom : therefore the disciples may
well have pondered the words, at which
they had been so much surprised, that
the rich would not be needed in the
propagation of the Church. Why may
not this latter explanation be the direct
meaning, the other the secondary mean
ing of this passage ? Both are true in
the facts on which they are built.
20. Shall inherit everlasting life. To
inherit is to receive by right from an
ancestor, and usually applies to one who
has a claim by expectation, of something
future. . To inherit everlasting life is to
have, not the actual possession, but the
expectation of receiving eternal life, as
a result of the life now led: to be lieirs of
God by faith and obedience. Christians
are inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.
Gal. iii. 9. This word and its cognate
words, inherit, inheritance, heirs, are
found in the New Testament forty-eight
times. In most or all of them, it refers
to the earnest of the Spirit, the promise of
future life which is enjoyed here. Lu.
x. 25; xviii. 18; 1 Cor. vi. 10; Ro.
viii. 17. An exception in Matt. xxv.
34. 30. But many, Sec. Many now first
in the eyes of the world, or first in hear
ing the offers of the grace of God, many
of great esteem and rank in the Church
here, shall be last in the kingdom of
God ; either not receiving it for want of

sisters, or father, or mother, or
wife, or children, or lands, for my
name's sake, shall receive an
hundred-fold, and shall inherit
everlasting life.
30 But many that are "first
shall be last, and the last shall
be first. c Chs. 20. 16, 21. 81 ; Jas. 2. 5.

faith, or appearing very inferior to others
who were of less esteem here. " Many
of the Jews, to whom the blessings of
the kingdom are first to be offered, shall
be the last to partake of them ; and
many of the Gentiles, to whom they
are to be offered after the Jews, shall
first enjoy them." — Dr. Whitby. This
verse is closely connected to the next
chapter. The parable (see ch. xx. 16)
is an explanation of its meaning.
Additional Note.
From verse 27 to the end, this passage
forms the holy Gospel for the Festival
of the Conversion of St. Paul, January
25th. This fact is a valuable hint to us
of the true understanding of it, being in
every sense an illustration of the law of
the Church, that neither the time of
one's call, nor any other accident should
prevent a man from reaching its highest
honors and rewards. St. Paul, or as he
was first called, Saul, was born at Tar
sus, in Cilicia. He enjoyed the rights
of a Roman citizen ; was educated first
at Tarsus, and afterwards by Rabbi
Gamaliel at Jerusalem. He joined the
Pharisees, and espoused their strictest
opinions. His biography is better
known after his remarkable conversion,
than that of any of the Apostles, being
recorded by his friend St. Lnke, in the
Acts of the Apostles, and in parts by his
own fourteen epistles. Both accounts
leave him in the city of Rome, a prisoner,
and " about to be offered" He is believed
to have died in consequence of the con
version, by his means, of several ladies of
the Imperial family of Nero. He is said
to have been beheaded (by right of his
Roman citizenship): whence the pictures
of him represent him with a sword in
his hand. The Collect, as also the name

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XIX.

225

of this Feast, teach us to study the
Conversion of St. Paul, " that we, hav
ing his wonderful Conversion in remem
brance, may show forth our thankful
ness unto God." Saul the learned Jew
and persecuting Pharisee, was near
Damascus, on his way to injure the
Christian Church, when he was struck
blind by a light from heaven, heard
Jesus rebuking his zeal, and was sent
into the city to wait for a message from
the Christians he had come to destroy.
This was his conversion. For he changed
(by the grace of God) from that mo
ment. He prayed and fasted, and saw
the vision of Ananias coming to him
to restore him to sight. Ananias, a
minister beyond doubt, came, restored
him to sight, bade him " arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name cf the Lord" (Acts xxii.
16), and "be filled with the Holy
Ghost." Acts ix. 17, 18. This was his
regeneration or new birth. It happened
three days after his conversion, wonder
fully making him the perpetual example
of the proper distinction between the
two. We must remember these facts,
in order to understand rightly, and " fol
low the holy doctrine which he taught."
Additional Note.
The learned Bishop Bull asks this
question : " Whether the Holy Spirit
was given to men in the times of the
Old Testament dispensation ? " and an
swers : " Certainly, by all means ; other
wise we should not find so many pious
and holy men under the Mosaic cove
nant. But 1st. The Spirit was given
to men under the law, not {ex lege) from
the law. It was a gospel grace. Hence
the promised Spirit is called by St. Paul
'the blessing of Abraham,' not of
Moses (Gal. iii 14), because this great
blessing was bestowed on account of the
promise to Abraham, not from the Mo
saic covenant, i. e. from the gospel, not
the law. 2i It was granted with this dif
ference. Under the covenant of the Law,
the Lord gave this grace (parce admo-
dum ac restricta) in small and moderate
measures ; but under the gospel largely
and abundantly. In gospel times, God
is said to pour out His Spirit ' without
Vol. I.— 10*

measure' (John iii. 34), first upon
Christ, then upon the Church, His body.
Titus iii. 6 ; John vii. 38, 39 ; Acts ii.
17; also John i. 16. Some one may
here object, that some men lived under
the law who were adorned with gifts of
the Holy Ghost to such a degree, that
few or none under the gospel can be
compared with them ; for instance,
Moses, David, and all the prophets. I
reply, 1. The number of such men was
very small. We seek for the general
rule to all men, not to a few. 2. There
were very many holy men under the gos
pel covenant, who were equal in the
gifts of the Holy Ghost and sanctity, —
yea, and far superior to the few saints
mentioned under the law. In this num
ber were the Apostles and most of the
primitive Christians. 3. No grace of
the Holy Spirit was given to those Old
Testament saints which does not smack,
in some respect, of an obscure age and
an infantile condition. Hence the best
prophets are ranked by Christ himself,
as inferior to (postponuntur) the ' least
in the kingdom of heaven' (Matt. xi.
11) : inferior, that is, in the clearness
and abundance of revealed knowledge of
the liberation of the race from sin ; for
that mystery only began to appear in
the time of John. But after the Pas
sion and Resurrection of Christ, and the
descent of the Holy Spirit, it shone
clearer than the noonday sun. Com
pare Matt. xiii. 17, and 1 Pet. i. 10, 11,
12. 3. Although the Holy Ghost was
granted under the law to certain men,
yet after the Gospel was once com
pleted and offered to mankind, the same
Spirit was no more given to those who
held to the law alone ; but it was the
privilege of such only as, having left
the Mosaic covenant, exercised faith in
the Gospel. The Holy Dove left the
Ark of Moses, and fixed its abode in the
Church of Christ — in the spirit of the
law, not the letter, which was dead. A
clear proof that this was done, was seen
when the Holy Ghost transferred its
gifts from the Synagogue to the Church,
on the day of Pentecost, when it abode
on the Apostles, and then upon the great
body of Christians. — See Hor. chap. xi.
§§ 4-7. Also in his Apologia pro Har. §

226

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

F

CHAPTER XX.
OR the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a man that is an

4, he discusses the difference between
grace before and after regeneration,
speaking as follows : " All the acts of the
soul of man before regeneration are in
cluded by the sacred Scriptures under
the words faith and repentance. These
acts do not proceed from the mere
powers of the human will acting by itself,
but they are done by the Holy Ghost,
preventing, exciting, assisting and at
tending, but not as yet inhabiting (in ipso
homine habitantem). They are wrought
in man and by him, through the grace
of God ; not in a moment, which is im
possible ; nor by necessity or irresistibly,
as some say; but gradually, and ac
cording as the man yields himself to
obey the guidance of the Word and Holy
Spirit. To a man thus disposed, the
great benefit of forgiveness of sins, or
justification, and a title to eternal life is
granted. And on the man justified
(demum in hominem jam justificatum),
the blessing of Adoption to Sonship is be
stowed ; that is, the ' spirit of adop
tion.' Gal. iv. 6. This gift of the
Spirit which follows justification differs
from the grace of the same Spirit given
before conversion in two important re
spects. 1st. That the Divme Spirit is
united more closely and intimately with
the soul when purged from its oid sins
than it was before ; it penetrates more
deeply into it, and more entirely per
vades ah it faculties. Wherefore the
Holy Spirit is said'in Scripture, before a
man's conversion, to knock, as it were, at
the door of his heart, but after conver
sion, to enter into the secret places of
the dwelling. Rev. iii. 30. Again, the
most Holy Spirit, which by prevenient
grace had before, as it were, only visited
and prepared the soul for its coming,
now inhabits it (habitat), and fixes its
abode there, no more to depart, unless
violently driven forth by some grievous
sin ; and even then willing to return, if
it be recalled by an earnest and timely
repentance. These are no new doc
trines, but the very truth most mani-

householder, which went out ear
ly in the morning to hire labour
ers into his vineyard.

festly delivered to us in the sacred Scrip
tures. Those Scriptures do every where
and in the plainest words put the gift of
the Holy Spirit as following after and
upon faith and repentance. They clear
ly teach, that that Holy Spirit can be
infused only into minds which are al
ready properly disposed and made ready
for it ; at the same time that they at
tribute the previous faith and repentance
in unmistakeable terms to divine grace,
I beseech the reader not to pass over
this distinction lightly, but to read with
serious and close attention, the follow
ing passages of Scripture ; Prov. i. 23 ;
Isa. lvii. 15 ; lvi. 1, 2 ; Luke xi. 9, 13 ;
John xiv. 17, 23 ; Acts ii. 38 ; v. 32 ;
Gal. iii. 14 ; Eph. i. 13 ; 1 Pet. v. 5 .;
Rev. iii. 20. Compare them with John
vi. 44 ; Acts xvi. 14 ; Eph. ii. 8 ; 2
Tim. ii. 25. Also Acts ii. 16-21 ; Heb.
viii. 9-13." The learned reader will
perceive that we have rather given the
sense of Bishop Bull's words than followed
their exact order. They are his opin
ions on a subject of vast importance in
this age. Would that Churchmen,
ministers especially, could be induced
to study carefully both of his invaluable
treatises of the subject of Justification.
This iSote, taken from them, is added in
connection with the subject of regenera
tion in the preceding chapter, in hopes
of inducing the reader to pause and im
press on his mind the important dis
tinctions between the times and circum
stances of men before and after the
descent of the Holy Spirit ; as also the
time before conversion, or man's work
in justification, God assisting him, and
the after-work of God alone, called re
generation. From this one centre flow
most of the disputes of the day. From
confusion here there will result constant
confusion and difficulty in the interpre
tation of the Scriptures. May God
grant that our work be not done in vain.
CHAPTER XX.
1. For. This parable is in explana
tion of the last words of the last chapter.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER XX

227

2 And when he had agreed
with the labourers for a 'penny a
day, he sent them into his vine
yard. 3 And he went out about the
third hour, and saw others stand
ing idle in the market-place,
1 The Roman penny is the 8th part of an
oa. which after 5s. the oz. is Id. halfpenny.

It explains the law of the Church, that
God would not so much regard the priv
ileges of the Jews, nor the riches of the
powerful, as the industry and zeal of
His people. It is very differently ex
plained by different persons, but seems
most appropriate to the great fact of
Scripture, that God is no respecter of per
sons in the gifts of honors in his Church.
The awards of it are given not by acci
dental circumstances, as wealth or a
priority of time. The disciples had no
idea of this, but were expecting great
honors from their having been the first
called, ff A householder. The owner
of fields who had need of many laborers.
ff His vineyard. A plantation of vines,
hedged in by wans, ditched, cleared of
stones and cultivated. See ch. xxi. 33.
There were many vineyards in Judea.
The figure of a vineyard to express the
Church of the Jews, on which Jehovah
had bestowed the same care which a
vinedresser would on his vines, is very
common in the Old Testament. Is. v.
1 ; Jer. xii. 10.
2. A penny. A denarius, of about 15
cents value. This seems to us a smaU
sum for a day's wages. Tacitus men
tions it as common wages among the
Romans. See Tobit v. 14. When labor
and provisions were equally cheap, it
may have been a liberal pay for the
day. 3, 4. The third hour. The Jews di
vided the day into twelve equal parts,
beginning at sunrise. John xi. 9.
These parts were longer in summer
than in winter, as the days were then
nearly four hours and a half longer.
Their nights they divided in the same
manner. Both were then divided into
four parts each. Of the night, see Mark

4 And said unto them, Go ye
also into the vineyard ; and what
soever is right I will give you.
And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the
sixth and ninth hour, and did
likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour

xiii. 35. The days were distinguished
by the third hour (nine o'clock), the
sixth (noon), the ninth (three after
noon), and sunset, ff Standing idle in
the market-place. Morier describes a
scene in the market-place of Hamadan
in Persia: "Here we observed every
morning before the sun rose, that a
numerous band of peasants were col
lected, with spades in their hands, wait
ing to be hired for the day to work in
the surrounding fields. The custom
struck me as a most happy illustration
of our Saviour's parable, particularly
when passing by the same place late in
the day, we found others standing idle
and remembered His words — ' Why
stand ye here all the day idle ? ' for, on
putting the same question to them,
they answered, ' Because no man hath
hired us.' "
6. The eleventh hour. At five P. M.,
one hour before the day ended. This
hour became injuriously used to signify
a late repentance, as if God would encour
age men to defer the duty of obedience
to Him. The hours of the day refer to
the Eras of the Covenants: of the Jewish
and Christian Churches. The eleventh
hour struck at the crucifixion. 1 John
ii. 18. " We are none of us in the case
of those who had never been hired, or
had never had any call : we have been
hired or listed into God's service from
the time of our baptism, and have had
repeated calls and invitations all onr
lives long. Still it is better to begin at
the eleventh hour, than never to begin
at all : and God may accept it even then,
making merciful allowances for what is
past, if care be taken to do it with sin
cerity and zeah and with proportionable
sorrow and contrition for the time mis-

228

MATTHEW.

[A D. 27.

he went out, and found others
standing idle, and saith unto them,
Why stand ye here all the day
idle ?
7 They say unto him, Because
no man hath hired us. He saith
unto them, Go ye also into the
vineyard; and whatsoever is right,
that shall ye receive.
8 So when even" was come, the
lord of the vineyard saith unto his
steward, Call the labourers, and
give them their hire, beginning
from the last unto the first.
9 And when they came that
were hired about the eleventh
a Job 7. 2; Jas. 5. 4; Tobit i. 14.

spent in vanity." — Dr. Waterland. It
may be said of this call at the eleventh
hour, as also of the call to the dying
thief, it was made but once.
8. CaU the laborers, Sec. In bidding
his steward to pay the laborers, the
householder acted according to the
Jewish law : "At his day thou shalt
give him his hire, neither shall the sun
go down upon it, for he is poor and set
teth his heart upon it." Deut. xxiv.
15 ; Lev. xix. 13. Christ is the stew
ard set over the house of God, to order
all things and give all their wages.
Heb. hi. 6 ; John v. 27 ; Matt. xi. 27.
" Here is encouragement for those that
have delayed to enter on God's service
till late in their fives, — not encourage
ment to delay, for we everywhere find
in Scripture a blessing on early piety, —
but encouragement now to work heart
ily and with their might." — Trench.
9. Every man a penny. Confessedly
they did not deserve it ; no such agree
ment had been made : and there is a
law of propriety among men, that the
due pro rata of wages to the labor done
shall be preserved. But how exquisitely
does this, which a man in common life
would not do, teach us that there is no
such thing as merit in human works.
It is all of grace. Rom. iv. 1-4.
10. But when the first came. St. Peter

hour, they received every man a
penny. 10 But when the first came,
they supposed that they should
have received more ; and they
likewise received every man a
penny. 11 And when they had received
it, they murmured against the
good man of the house,
12 Saying, These last 'have
wrought but one hour, and thou
hast made them equal unto us,
which have borne the burden and
heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of
D' Or, have continued one hour only.

had already asked in the last chapter,
verse 27th, " And what shall we have
therefore ? " i. e., we who have forsaken
all and followed You. He is now an
swered — You will receive the same
"regeneration," or admission into the
Church and its hopes : the denarius, or
day's wages for the day's living.
11. Murmured. This circumstance
shows clearly that the parable does not
end with heaven, for there none will
murmur. But in receiving the Gentiles
into the Church, there were murmurings.
St. Peter was compelled, by the strange
miracles of the gift of tongues appearing
before baptism, to admit that the Gen
tiles could be received to equal privileges
with the Jews. Acts x. 44, 45 ; xi 16, 18.
12. Heat of the day. "The dry,
burning east wind, so fatal to all vege
table life — the wind from the wilderness.
Hose a xiii. 15. It has much in com
mon with, though it has not altogether
so malignant a character as the desert.
wind Sam, or Sarniel, to which modern
travellers attribute yet more destructive
effects." It is a fit image of the " fiery
trials " of the first times of the Church.
13. Friend. Companion; something
nearer to the original meaning of the
•wor A. fellow. It is used four tunes : ch.
xi 16 ; here ; to the man not having the
wedding garment, ch. xxii. 12 ; and to

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XX.

229

them, and said, Friend, I do thee
no wrong : didst not thou agree
with me for a penny ?
14 Take that thine is, and go
thy way : I will give unto this
last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to
a Ch. 19. 80.

Judas when betraying Jesus. Ch. xxvi
SO- lo. Is it not, See. I He justifies his
manner of dealing with them. That
he had given the others their daily
bread was no injury to them. One
instance of this kind is recorded by the
historian Josephus. The high priest
Ananus, or Annas, paid the workmen
who were employed on the temple a
whole day's pay, even though they
should have labored only one hour. It
was sacred work. So these laborers had
not been idle from choice, and the house
holder gives them therefore their living,
as if they had worked, ff Is thine eye
evil ? Envy is spoken of as dwelling in
the eye, and giving to it a malignant
power. Deut. xv. 9 ; Prov. xxviii. 2 ;
Mark vii. 22. " Are you wronged, when
you receive your dues, because I choose
to be generous to others ? "
< 16. So the last, dec. See note ch.
xix. 30. ff For many be called, but few
chosen. Many are called by the offer of
free salvation, even all who hear it, but
few listen and make themselves fit to be
received. Many enter the vineyard, but
do not labor. Many remain there, who
are not chosen to higher honors and
means of usefulness. Many who, faint
ing by the way, are not chosen at last.
The true notion of election is evident.
Mr.. Barnes denies that it teaches " the
doctrine of election." Yet it is certain,
that the word chosen, used here for the
first time, has in it that idea of election,
which should be carried out into all the
Scriptures; namely, that all men who
hear the Gospel are the called. Only
they who listen to the call, arc received
by baptism with faith and prayer, work
in the vineyard, and obey the covenant
of grace, see ch. vii. 24, are the choson.

do what I will with mine own ?
is thine eye evil because I am
good? 16 "So the last shall be first,
and the first last : for 6many be
called, but few chosen.
17 Tf And Jesus going up to
b Ch. 22. 14; 1 Pet. 2. 9; Eev. 7. 14

The idea and proof of election rest only
on the evidence of a faithful life, accord
ing to the last section of the XVIIth Ar
ticle. " Furthermore, we must receive
God's promises in such wise as they be
generally set forth in Holy Scripture :
and in our doings, that will of God is to
be followed, which we have expressly
declared unto us in the Word of God."
Taking the promises thus from Scrip
ture, we can found our idea of election
only on a hfe so led. Says Archbishop
Sharp : " By the elect are meant all
those persons in a nation which arc in
covenant with God, and do own His reli
gion ; and in this sense the whole people
of the Jews are several times in the Old
Testament called God's elect ; and in the
New Testament, all that embraced
Christ's religion, are likewise called by
the same name. Both all the Jews and
all the Christians are in Scripture styled
God's elect; that is, in their several
turns, they were chosen by God for his
peculiar people, though yet among those
there were abundance of wicked men
and reprobates."
17-19. See also Mark x. 32-34;
Luke xviii. 31—33. Going up to Jerusa
lem. This was in December, and the
feast of the Dedication was near. Je
sus leaves the region beyond Jordan,
and goes up to the temple. He had
left Galilee finally, and does not wander
again far from the city where He was
to be crucified. Now, for the third tithe
He warns His disciples of His approach
ing death. Each time His language
is clearer and more exact, yet in every
case the disciples fail to understand
Him. Says Dr. Jarvis : " It is a record
for our admonition of the influence in
the human mind of the will over the
They were unwilling

230

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27:

Jerusalem, took the twelve disci
ples apart in the way, and said
unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusa
lem ; and the Son of man shall
be betrayed unto" the chief priests,
and unto the scribes, and they
shall condemn him to death,
19 And shall deliver him to the
oChs.16. 21; 17.22,28.

to believe, and therefore could not com
prehend." It shows us also that the
disciples had not yet that insight in
the doctrines of grace, that true humil
ity and unselfishness, which only the
Spirit of God can give to the regen
erate. 18. St. Mark says, " Jesus went be
fore them, and they were amazed, and
as they followed they were afraid."
The signs of enmity against Him began
to thicken. The Pharisees were trying
to destroy him. He had left Jerusa
lem to avoid them. Now they see Him
going back, and warning them that it
was to contempt and death. His word3
should have satisfied them that His suf
ferings were voluntary, and that the
rising from the dead, whatever it might
mean, would be some glorious change.
But " they understood none of these
things, and this saying was hid from
them, neither knew they the things
which were spoken." ff Shall be be
trayed. See note chap. xvii. 22. ff
Chief priests and scribes. The Sanhe
drim. He was betrayed into their
hands by Judas. Ch. xxvi. 15. They
would condemn Him to death, but could
not inflict it. Had they put Him to
death, it would have been by stoning,
on a charge of blasphemy. Acts vii.
57, 58. It seems strange that the dis
ciples asked no questions on these
points, ff To the Gentiles. This was
an unheard-of cruelty that the Jews
should give up a prophet to Gentiles
whom they hated. Yet they were to
deliver Jesus to Pontius Pilate and the
Roman soldiers, ff To mock. To treat
with derision. The Eastern nations
have a singular power of this kind, and

Gentiles to mock, and to scourge^
and to crucify him : and the third
day he shall rise again.
20 If Then came to him the
mother of Zebedee's children*,
with her sons, worshipping him,
and desiring a certain thing of
him. 21 And he said unto her, What

great sensitiveness to such contempt.
Judges xvi. 25 ; Jer. xxxviii. 19. ff 7b
scourge. A cruel punishment of which
whipping is a very mild definition.. It
was a terrible laceration by the sever
est thongs that could be devised, and
inflicted only upon the lowest criminals.
ff To crucify Him. To nail and sus
pend Him to a wooden cross until He
died. This was a Roman punishment
for slaves. St. Luke adds, "spitefully
entreated and spitted upon." Thus
did the blessed Lamb of God go up
meekly to take up His cross, that He
might reconcile us to God. Let us bear
patiently our little crosses for His sake
Who endured such contradiction of sin
ners for ours, ff The third day, frc.
As if the picture was too dark for them
to look at, Jesus tells also of the Res
urrection. This was to keep them
from total despair, when they should, see
all the other parts of His prophecy ac
complished. 20. See Mark x. 35-45. The moth
er, Sec Salome. She was in some
maimer attached with other women to
the company of the disciples in some of
their journeys, as we find her one ot
those who " were last at the cross and
earliest at the grave." Mark xv. 40 4
xvi 1. St. Mark says that her sons
joined in this request. They were ea
ger to be first in obtaining a prom
ise. Possibly they regarded the prophn
ecy of Jesus as intimations indirectly
given of a crisis coming on this visit,
to the Holy City, which He had com-,
municated in this manner to try their
courage and fidelity, ff Worshipping.
Kneeling. See note chs. viii. 2, and
xviii. 26.

r. E. 33.]

CHAPTER XX.

231

wilt thou? She saith unto him,
Grant that these my two sons
may sit, the one on thy right
hand, and the other on the left,
in thy kingdom.
22 But Jesus answered and
said, Ye know not what ye ask.
Are ye able to drink of the "cup
a Ch. 26. 89 ; Ps. 11. 6 ; Is. 51. 17. 6 Lu.
12.50; Ps. 42. 7; 69.2.

21. Grant, Sec. " Pass by the others,
and exalt these two disciples to the
highest honor in the palaces of Jerusa
lem. Let one be prime minister to rule
the state : the other chief favorite to
share all thy private thoughts. Let
lames, the Boanerges, or son of thunder,
flash hke a meteor in splendor over thy
kingdom, and the gentler John be thy
bosom friend." The vision of the Trans
figuration still lingered with the two
disciples, and this is their explanation
of it. Thus they understood the words
" He shall rise again." The seats she
asked implied the chief honor and do
minion, according to the notions of her
people. 1 Kings ii. 19; Ps. ex, 1.
There was, with all this evil ambition,
true natural affection in the two broth
ers towards the Master.
22. Te know not what yo ask. That
they did not, one thought of their after
histories will show. How gentle and
loving is this answer. It must be that
Jesus saw under the veil of their request,
so offensive to the others, a spring of
true affection, and dealt gentiy with
them. A Christian in view of this
should pray, '• Grant us what is good
for us, and what is not, refuse, although
we ask it." ff To drink of the cup. The
Jews described abstract things by images
taken from the senses. They denoted
affliction and punishment by a cup of
bitter ingredients, maddening and hor
rible to drink. Ps. xi. 6 ; lxxv. 8 ; Is.
Ii. 17; Jer. xxv. 15. This was well known
to James and John, and we must under
stand them as consenting to brave ah
the bitter of their Master's lot. He
often spake of His passion under this
image. John xviii 11 ; Matt. xxvi. 39.
ff The baptism, Sec. He paints by another

that I shall drink of, and to be
baptized with the 6baptism that
I am baptized with ? They say
unto him, We are able.
23 And he saith unto them,"
Ye shall drink indeed of my cup,
and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with : but, to
a Acts 12. 2; Eev. 1. 9.
striking word His coming sorrows, as
if great waves of the sea burying Him,
in their confusion and uproar, as if He
were to be drowned in a terrible bap
tism in them. So David, Ps. xiii. 7 ; lxix.
2. See Luke xii. 50. And what can so
powerfully teach us the agonies of the
soul of Jesus, yielding to the tremendous
tides of human sin, passion, hate, and
rage, and sinking alone, out of sight, in
the gloomy waves of death.
23. Ye shall drink, Sfc. " This much
I can grant you, in consistency with the
covenant made with the Father: ye
shall be purified and made like Me ; ye
shall be brought near to Me, by walk
ing the path which I shall walk, and be
" made perfect by suffering." Heb. ii.
10. James was beheaded by Herod at
an early date. Acts xii. 2. John was
scourged and imprisoned by the Sanhe
drim. Acts v. 21, 40. And though the
account of his torture by immersion in a
cauldron of boiling oil is questioned by
some, it is certain that he was banish
ed to Patmos, whence he signs himself a
" companion in tribulation " and " pa
tience." Rev. i. 9. ff Is not mine to give.
The words in italics are better left out, as
they rather clog the sense of readers at
this day. " It is not Mine to give except
to those, &c." They plead for these
honors on the ground of affection. Jesus
tells them that He cannot give them by
any partial affection, but only by strict
equity. He gave them the privilege of
winning them through much tribulation:
But in the covenant made with the Father
there could be no respect of persons.
As man, He felt human relations and
affections, but the Son of God could
have no will but that of the Supreme.
Those for whom it is prepared aro those

232

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 27.

sit on my right hand, and on my
left, is not mine to give, but it
shall be given to them for whom
it is prepared of my Father.
24 And when the ten heard it,
they were moved with indigna
tion against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto
him, and said, Ye "know that the
princes of the Gentiles exercise
dominion over them, and they
a Lu. 22. 25, 26.

who have followed most closely His
steps here, and by sufferings have been
made humble and patient, meek and
strong to bear and do for the good of
the Church. Those who have washed
their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb, the martyrs, and
patient sufferers, will walk with Him in
white, for they are worthy.
24. The ten, Sec. The other disciples,
John and James being excepted. They
felt indignant and angry, at what they
considered an unworthy attempt to de
prive them of their rights. They were
all present when the request was made.
Often Christians grow angry and grieve
much for losses as imaginary as this
proved to be.
25, 27. But Jesus called, dec. He re
buked them for this anger, and again
taught them of His spiritual king
dom. It was of a totally different
kind from that of temporal kingdoms.
In the latter the rulers exercised
dominion at their will. He was fitting
them for His. They would yet Uve by
a different rule, and find their greatest
pleasure in forgetfulness of self. Humili
ty is the law of Christ's Church They
who are first in their own esteem are
the least in it. ff Gentiles. This
word commonly denotes the persons
who are not Jews ; but also, as it does
here, all nations, ff Minister. Diaconos
a servant. The same word Deacon has
come to have a more confined meaning,
for the third or lowest order of the
ministry. In its general sense it signi
fies simply service of any kind render
ed by one to a superior. It is certain

that are great exercise authority
upon them.
26 But it shall not be so 6among
you : but whosoever will be great
among you, let him be your min
ister ;
27 And whosoever will be chief
among you, let him be your ser
vant :
28 Even as the Son of man
came not to be ministered unto,
b 1 Pet. 5. 8.

that the mere names of the offices of
the ministry were not so important in
early times, as some would make them
now. The orders were so entirely dis
tinct facts, that each superior order
could use without confusion the titles of
the inferior. Hence the term servant,
deacon, is us?d of the whole ministry,
(1 Cor. iv. 1), of apostles, (1 Cor. iii.
5 ; Col. i. 23), of the Saviour (Gal.ii
17), and in its proper sense (in which
serving of tables had no part) of the
third order of deacons proper. Phil. i.
1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 8.
28. Even as the Son of man, dec. See
note ch. viii. 20. How could men see the
Saviour's example so long, and not see
the carnal motions of their own hearts ?
Jesus served the poorest and meanest of
men. He gave up time, convenience,
every thing to the sick and poor. He
took no reward. Even they themselves,
what right had they to claim that He
should have chosen them, if He wished
for earthly power ? He bore all things
in meekness and poverty. Yet they
were bent only on becoming rich and
great. Such is the unregenerate heart
of man ; filled with the things of this
earth, it is blind to true wisdom, ff A
ransom for many. A ransom is a pay
ment made for a captive. In ancient
times captives in war were carried away
by the conqueror, were made slaves,
and often cruelly treated. There was
no release, no return to the homes which
they had lost. Now and then, some one
was fortunate enough to be redeemed
by his friends, by the payment of a sum
of money. The Jews had a vivid im-

T. E.

»¦]

CHAPTER XX

233

but to minister," and to give his
life a ransom6 for many.
29 And as they departed from

a Phil. 5. 7.

pression of the meaning of the word.
They had been slaves in Egypt, had
been rcaptives in Babylon for seventy
years. And in the frequent wars of the
age of the Saviour, they saw many in
stances of the inexpressible benefit and
blessing which lay in the word, a ran
som. In our Lord's use of it, the reader
will see the deepest wisdom and truth.
Man was the slave of sin. He was
laden with the burdens of it ; sin and
misery here in this life, death at the
end, and a second death beyond. There
was none to pity. Then came the Son
of God in the hkeness of man, and
gave Himself a ransom for many. He
has done that mysterious, unspeakable
tiling, a gift to us, a Covenant with the
Father, which is only feebly pictured
in all the words which we can use. He
has redeemed us and reconciled us to
God, has cast up a highway to heaven,
has quickened the pulses of man's sick
heart, has infused a spiritual nature, has
washed, sanctified, and will justify him,
has encouraged him by faith, love and
hope, and given him the ineffable gift
which lies in the words " God worketh
in you to will aud to do of His own
good pleasure." Phil. ii. 12, 13. The
child now may learn the words, ransom,
redemption, reconciliation, faith in the
cross, and all the blessed phrases of
Scripture, may enter on the devotions of
Passion Week, in which the history Of
our Lord's suffering for our salvation is
had in remembrance in all the world.
But even that noble mind and intellect
of St. Paul was compelled to pause,
even as the child, who stands astonished
at the first sight of the ocean, and say,
in view of tins plan of Redemption,
" 0 the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are His judgments, and
His ways past finding out ! " Ro. xi. 33.
The ransom is for many, that is, free to
all who will receive it. See ch. xxvi

Jericho, a great multitude fol
lowed him.
30 And behold, two blind men
b Is. 53. 5, 8, 11 ; Dan. 9. 24; 1 Tim. 2. 6 ;
Tit. 2. 14; Heb. 9. 28.

28 ; 1 Tim. ii. 6 ; 2 Cor. y. 14 ; Heb. ii.
9. This doctrine is called the atone
ment, that is, the reconciling or making
at-one, God who was angry with us for
sin, and man, who was alienated from
God by wicked works. See a few texts
upon it. John iii. 16 ; i. 29 ; 1 John iv.
10 ; 1 Pet. i. 18, 19 ; Eph. i 18, to end ;
ii. 1-9, 16 ; v. 2 ; Heb. ix. 28. See
Article II. and III. of the XXXIX.
Articles of Religion.
29. See Mark x. 46-52 ; Luke xviii.
35 to xix. 1. Jericho. This was the
second city of Palestine in size and
splendor. It was situated on the west
bank of the Jordan, about two miles
from it, and about seventeen miles east-
north-east of Jerusalem. It lay in the
route from the " region beyond Jordan."
It was in the track of the children of
Israel, when they entered the holy land,
and was the first city captured by them.
Josh. vi. 20, 26. On this occasion
Joshua pronounced a curse against any
who should undertake to rebuild the
city on the same site. It seems that
a new city was built at some distance
from the ruins of the ancient one. No
one dared to rebuild the ancient city,
till five hundred years afterwards, when
the curse was literally fulfilled. 1 Kings
xvi. 34. The new city became the
school of Prophets under Elijah, and
was blessed by a signal miracle.
2 Kings ii. 21. After that event it flour
ished. It is », place of great beauty
and fertility. The climate is mild in
winter, so that Josephus called it a
heavenly^ country. It is now a small, poor
village called Biha. ff As they departed
from Jericho. St. Luke says, " as He
was come nigh unto Jericho." This
seems to us a difficulty, and is an instance
how apt wicked men are to cavil at a
seeming difficulty. The proof that it is
only seeming, must be that in the times
when all the facts were familiar to most
readers of the Gospel, no one found

234

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

sitting by the way-side, when
they heard that Jesus passed
by, cried out, saying, Have mercy
on us, 0 Lord, thou son of David.
31 And the multitude rebuked
them, because they should hold
their peace : but they cried the
more, saying, Have mercy on us,
0 Lord, thou son of David.

fault with it. It is one of those passages
which we at this late day may safely
leave to the wisdom and good faith of
early Christians, since we know the
difficulty would have been certainly
raised against them, or been noticed by
them if it was one. But all knew the
facts, of the situation of Jericho, the
force of the words, &c, and all received
the two accounts as stating the truth.
Dr. M'Knight ingeniously reconciles the
two accounts by referring to the two
towns, the old and the new. Jesus passed
through one (which was in ruins) and was
entering the other. This may have been
so. Dr. Jarvis makes this note on it :
" I see not why we may not argue from
analogy (of Luke xvii. 11) that as St.
Luke says in the one case, " as He was
come nigh unto Jericho," meaning that
" He came to Jericho and went out of
it," so in the other, " as He went to
Jerusalem," may mean "during the
journey to and from Jerusalem." Jesus
probably remained in Jericho oyer a
Sabbath, and entered and left the gates
more than once. Our explanations at
this day, must all end in suppositions.
It puts the truth on a surer basis to
leave it to the good faith of the primi
tive Christians.
30. Two blind men. One of them was
Bar-Timaeus, a man so well known, in
Jericho at least, that St. Mark and St.
Luke mention him only. But the men
tion of one does not exclude another.
St. Matthew tells us that there was
another to share the blessing. It was
usual for the poor to take their station
at the gates of a town, in order to
obtain the alms of the pious, ff Heard
that Jesus passed by. Being blind they
could only know by inquiring of others.

32 And Jesus stood still, and
called them, and said, What will
ye that I should do unto you ?
33 They say unto him, Lord,
that our eyes may be opened.
34 So Jesus had compassion on
them, and touched their eyes: and
immediately their eyes received
sight, and they followed him.

There was an unusual crowd of people
passing out of the gate. One and an
other speak of this great Prophet.
Seeing Him on the way to Jerusalem,
they would question concerning Him, '
with some excitement. The blind men
startle the crowd with the loud confes
sion of the true faith, which perhaps
the others dared not utter : " Thou Son
of David"— Messiah and Prince of the
nation. See note, ch. i. 1.
32-34. Their eyes received sight.
The miracle is done in a marked man -
ner, to prove the truth of their confes
sion. Theirs was a new and bold
expression of faith. These blind men
had been cut off from their kind. They
had been lonely beggars. They had
heard of Jesus of Nazareth ; they found
Him nigh. They had meditated on His
miracles, from a different point from the
multitude, that is, from the point of one
ardently wishing a blessing. They
wished to see. Now a desperate courage
seizes them. What care they of the
crowd's rebuke. That crowd had de
spised them. That crowd could not
make them see, and He who was passing
could, and if He could, they knew enough
of the cold and heartless world to dare
to tell out what every man in that
crowd felt to be the truth. " Lord, Son
of David, hear the blind beggars and
help us." Jesus calls them. And their
faith, and its courageous confession, is
that which "saves them," that is, "made
them whole." On a similar ocoasiou,
which is detailed at length by St. John
(ch. ix.) the reasonings of a blind man
are given. The noblest profession of
a true faith in Christ which had yet
startled the Jewish ears, came from
these sightless beggars, on the wayside

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

235

CHAPTER XXI.
Palm Sunday, March 21.
Ex. xii. 2, 3. John xii. 1-19.
AND" when they drew nigh un
to Jerusalem, and were come
a Mark 11. 1, &o. ; Lu. 19. 29 ; John 12. 1, &e-

of the City of Palms. Satan's king
dom once more receives a downright
blow from the visit to Jericho of this
the true Joshua, ff They followed Him.
Probably on His way up to Jerusalem
to the feast of the Dedication. They
swell His train as indisputable evidences
that He had the powers of the Messiah
— the Son of David.
Feast of St. James the Apostle.
The verses 20-28 of the above chap
ter are selected by the Church as suited
to the Feast of St. James (July 25),
who is mentioned in them. He is
called the Great, the Elder, and the
Apostle, to distinguish him from the
celebrated Bishop of Jerusalem, James
the Less. In Scripture St. John is al
ways mentioned last, and sometimes as
the brother of James, as if the latter
were either older or better known.
Mark iii. 17. He was the son of Zebe
dee and Mary Salome, a kinswoman of
the blessed Virgin. He was at first a
fisherman. He is known for his ambi
tion, as recorded above, and for his in
dignation against the Samaritans. Luke
ix. 55. He was favored as one of three
to behold the resuscitation of the daugh
ter of Jairus, the Transfiguration, and
the sorrows of Gethsemane. He was
affectionate, energetic and faithful by
nature. His career as Apostle was
brief. The Spaniards have a legend
that he came and preached the Gospel
in Spain. It is not likely that he left
Judea, for he was put to death by
Herod Agrippa, eight years after the
Ascension. He early drank the cup of
martyrdom, which Jesns had predicted
of him. Whether he won the honored
throne he desired or no, remains to be
seen. The Collect has selected for our
instruction the fact of his prompt obe
dience, that "he without delay was

to Bethphage unto the mount of
Olives,6 then sent Jesus two dis
ciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into
the village over against you, and
straightway ye shall find an ass
b Zech. 14. 4

obedient unto the calling " of the Lord
Jesus, and bids us pray that we, " for
saking all worldly and carnal affections,
may be ready to follow God's holy com
mandments." Thus he who was first
called was soonest summoned to leave
the vineyard for the rewards of eternal
life. CHAPTER XXI.
1. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusa
lem. See also Mark xi. 1-10 ; Luke xix.
29^4 : John xii. 12-19. St. Matthew
takes less note of time in his narrative
than of the order of subjects. The last
chapter relates the events of December.
True era, 33. We now come to March
22d, the Sunday of Passion Week, the
last visit to the holy city. The events
of this holy week are of such importance
that they will be carefully noted in the
order of time. They begin with Sun
day, called by the Church for several
centuries Palm Sunday, from the event
related in verses 8-11, and from the
practice of walking in procession with
branches of trees, which were then
placed in the churches. Sunday was not
with the Jews a holy day, but answered
to our Monday. Jesus had spent the
Sabbath (Saturday) at Bethany, at the
house of Lazarus (John xii. 9), and now
approaches the holy city. St. Matthew
relates the events of this first day as far
as verse 17. The events to verse 20th,
of the actual cursing of the fig-tree,
happened on Monday. From thence
to chapter xxvi., the writer relates
what occurred on Tuesday. St. John
(chaps, x. to xii. 12) records some
events which St. Matthew has passed
over. It was now five days befor* the
Passover, the tenth of the month Nisan
(Ex. xii. 3), the day on which the Pass
over lambs were driven into the city, to
be kept there until Thursday. The true
Lamb of God chooses it for His entrance,

236

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

tied, and a colt with her : loose
them, and bring them unto me.
3 And if any man say aught
unto you, ye shall say, The Lord
to signify to us the great spiritual truths
connected with that sacrifice. He was
the true Lamb of the one great Passover.
Rev. xiii. 8. ff Were come to Bethphage,
unto the mount of Olives. About one
mile east from Jerusalem lay the ridge
of the mount of Olives, so called from
the great number of olive 'trees
which grew upon it. Acts I 12. In
leaving the city a person must first pass
across the valley of Jehoshaphat, called
at its lower end the valley of Hinnom
or Gehenna. See note ch. v. 25.
Through it ran the brook Cedron.
John xviii. 1. He then passed by the
inclosure of Gethsemane (meaning the
place of the oil press) which lay along
the west side of the hill nearest the city.
Ascending the mount of Olives he could
look down on Jerusalem, and trace the
buildings, and especially the edifices of
the temple crowning mount Moriah.
Passing over the hill or ridge, he first
reached Bethphage on the eastern de
clivity, and farther still, or two miles
from Jerusalem, the village of Bethany,
from which the Saviour began this day's
walk. The mount of Olives is about a
mile in length from north to south, and
with three peaks. The road to Bethany
wound around near the middle one.
The palm tree flourished on Olivet,
whence the name Beth-any, the house
of dates : and figs, whence the name
Beth-phage, the house of figs. The oil
of the olive was used in the rites of the
temple, and typified our peace with
God. Ex. xxx. 25-29. The people
were accustomed to gathering the olive
branches, as also the palm branches in
the Feast of Tabernacles. Neh. viii. 15.
Zechariah (ch. xiv. 4) had foretold this
day's entrance into Jerusalem.
2. <£ro into the village over against
you. Jesus was now two miles from
Jerusalem, on the east side of Olivet.
The village of Bethany was behind Him.
and the village over against, or on the
hill just before Him, was Bethphage.

hath need of them ; and straight
way he will send them.
4 All this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was

The roads were doubtless filled with peo
ple, crowding to the city, and driving
thither the lambs for the approaching
feast, ff Ye shall find an ass tied, dec.
Jesus was to ride upon the colt, on which
" never man sat." St. Mark and St.
Luke mention only the colt, because on
it this triumphal procession was made.
The colt undoubtedly belonged to some
one who knew Jesus, and freely con
sented to this use of the animal. The
Jews were accustomed to use the ass for
riding, as also the mule and camel. The
horse was forbidden. Deut. xvii. 16.
Kings and great men rode on the ass. It
appears in the sublime visions of Jacob,
in connection with these very events.
Speaking of the Shiloh, he says : " Bind
ing His foal unto the vine, and His ass's
colt unto the choice vine ; He washed
His garments in wine, and His clothes in
the blood of grapes." Gen. xlix. 11. See
Is. lxiii. 1-3. Solomon, the peaceful
monarch, a type of Christ, is described
as riding on a mule. 1 Ki i. 38. Our
Lord, according to Jewish ideas, ap
peared in the proper state and dignity
of the Prince of Peace.
3. The Lord hath need of him. The
Master — Jesus. The word Lord some
times meant master, as opposed to ser
vant. Ch. x. 24. But in the words of
Jesus himself, we may safely understand
it to mean Lord Jehovah. See ch. xxii
44. The Greek version of the Old Tes
tament generally substituted the word
Kvpios, Lord, for the name of* Jehovah.
That it was given in the full sense of the
Divine Majesty, is shown, 1st, by the
fact that it has this force in His own
mouth ; 2d, that it has it in the language
of His Apostles, Heb. i. 10 ; 3d, that
God by His providence has preserved
this doctrine in all the world, the which
He would not have done, had it not been
true. Our Lord on this day assumes the
name of His dignity, as is shown to have
been the opinion of the English trans
lators, who printed the name with a

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

237

spoken by the prophet, saying,"
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion,
Behold, thy King cometh6 unto
thee, meek, and sitting upon an
ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6 And the disciples went, and
did as Jesus commanded them.
a Zech. 9. 9. 6 Is. 62. 11 ; John 12. 15.

7 And brought the ass and
the colt, and put on them their
clothes," and they set Aim thereon.
8 And a very great multitude
spread their garments in the way; •
others cut down branches'* from
the trees, and strewed them in
the way. o 2 Kings 9. 13. d Lev. 23. 40.

capital letter. The Lord-Jehovah had
need of the colt. He was wanted for a
religious use. See 2 Sam. xxiv. 21, 22.
4, 5. All this was done, dec. See
Zech. ix. 9. It was applied by the Jews
to Messiah. Indeed, images of such
beauty can befit no one else, ff Daugh
ter of Zion. The Jewish nation. Zion
(i. e., the Sunny), was the southern hill
on which the city of Jerusalem was
built, containing the royal palace and
the upper city. David took it, and
dwelt in it, calling it the city of David.
2 Sam. v. 9. Solomon caused the ark
to be carried thither. 1 Kings viii. 1.
It was called Zion from the first. Daugh
ters of Zion means the females of Jeru
salem. Lu. xxiii. 28. But in the
singular, it means the nation or church
in covenant with God, and belonging to
Him in the bonds of the tenderest love.
Jer. vi. 2; Is. lxii 11. ff Meek. See
ch. v. 5. He came in unwarlike state,
not as a conquering monarch, with bat
tle array, on a fiery charger and armed
with sword and spear, but as a "Prince
of Peace.
7. And put on them their clothes.
Upon the colt. Luke xix. 35. This
was done as a mark of respect. The
crowd understood this action to symbo
lize that He was their king, for they
had a case in point in their history,
when the captains proclaimed Jehu king,
and " put their garments under him,"
2 Kings ix. 13.
8. And a very great multitude. The
news spread. It had reached the city,
and by the time that Jesus, riding in
this manner, in the midst of the passing
traveUers, had come to Olivet, the citi
zens crowded out to meet Hun. John
xii. 12. They are roady to revolt and

form a triumphal procession, hoping to see
Him organize an army, for a glorious
career of victory. It is plain that this
day Jesus might by earthly means
alone have triumphed over His foes.
See John xii. 19. The disciples did not
understand the spiritual meaning of
these events till after Pentecost. John
xii. 16. ff Branches of trees, dec. At
the feast of Tabernacles (the Jewish
Advent) the people carried branches in
their hands, chanting sentences from the
Messianic Psalms. See Ps. cxviii. 25,
26. They expressed in this manner their
desire for the coming of the Messiah.
Lev. xxiii. 40. They now by this ac
tion express the belief that Jesus is
the Messiah. A similar custom is re
corded by heathen writers. When
Xerxes was about crossing the Helles
pont, the soldiers went before him,
strewing the way with myrtle branches.
When Cato returned to Rome, " they
laid their garments in the way," an
honor, as Plutarch informs us, paid to a
few emperors only. The tree which
was here used (John xii. 13) was the
palm tree. Its long branches were
strictly used during the feast of Taber
nacles. Lev. xxiii. 40. The learned
Jos. Mede's opinion is, that this feast
was affixed to the time of year when
Christ was to be born, and the dweUing
in tabernacles (i e. huts made of branch
es of trees) was intended as a type of
the Incarnation, as St. John intimates,
ch. i. 14 : " The Word was made flesh
and dwelt " or tabernacled " among us."
We find an event which throws hght on
this triumphal inarch, recorded 1 Mac
cabees xiii. 51 ; 2 Mac. x. 6, 7. Simon,
the Jewish general, haying starved the
heathen out of the fortress on Mount

238

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

9 And the multitudes that
went before, and that followed,
cried, saying," Hosanna to the Son
of David : Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord :
Hosanna in the highest.6
10 And when he was come into
aPs. 118. 26; 100.23,89.

Zion, entered it in procession. The
same was done by Maccabeus, on the
feast of Tabernacles, in recovering a
second time the temple and city. The
events were fresh in the minds of the
Jews. They well knew the meaning
of their actions. St. John describes a
scene in heaven similar to this same
event, when " a great multitude," with
white robes and palm-branches in their
hands, shall stand before the throne and
" before the Lamb," and rejoice in Him
as King with a true spiritual worship,
in the tabernacle not made with hands,
eternal in heaven. Rev. vii. 9-12.
9. Hosanna to the Son of David.
This shout bears some resemblance to
that raised on the coronation scene of
Solomon, the Son of David, 1 Kings i
39 : " AU the people said, God save
King Solomon." He was a type of
Christ. Hosanna was a shout of
prayerful joy, from two Hebrew words,
meaning, Be now propitious — Save us
now. It is found in Ps. cxviii. 25.
ff Son of David. Messiah. See note,
ch. i 1. ff Blessed is He, dec. Ps.
cxviii. 26. To come in the name of
the Lord, was to come as His Ambas
sador. The other Evangelists record other
exclamations of the multitude. St. Mark
says, that they cried " Blessed be the
kingdom of our Father David, that
cometh in the name of the Lord," i. e.
"Blessed be the kingdom of Messiah,
which was promised to David, our an
cestor, and now begins in all the powers
of the name of God." St. Luke adds :
" Peace in heaven and good will to men."
Luke xix. 23. This is a paraphrase of
the angehc Gloria in Excelsis, by which
the angels made known the Incarnation.
With so many people crowding around

Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, Who is this ?
11 And the multitude said,
This is Jesus, the prophet of Naz
areth of Galilee.
12 % And Jesus went into the
temple of God, and cast out all
6 John 12. 17, 19.
the Saviour's path to Jerusalem, and
up to the temple, there were of course
many other tributes of praise, which
have not been recorded.
10. The whole city was moved. The
rulers were in great rage and fear. The
crowd filled the city with their cry. Chil
dren raised it in the temple. The Phar
isees were perplexed and feared for
themselves, for they said, " the world is
gone after Him." Some Greek Jews,
who had come up to the Passover, find
Philip, who was of Bethsaida, whom
they knew, and beg to be shown the
Saviour. John xii. 20.
12. See Luke xix. 45, 46. St Mark
also records this fact as occurring the
next day. Mark xi 15-17. It was
probably done twice. ff And Jesus
went into the temple. St. Mark says that
He " came and looked upon all things
and returned to Bethany." Jesus had
entered the temple as a King. He exer
cises therefore an act of royal power.
He came to worship, and after the usu
al morning prayers, He comes out in
to that part of the temple called the
court of the Gentiles. It was outside
the actual temple, though upon Mount
Moriah, and surrounded by the temple
wall. To show their contempt of the
Gentiles, the rulers of the Jews (who
would have died rather than allowed
such a defilement of the temple itself)
had given permission to the traders in
animals, &c, for the sacred rites, to es
tablish their market and money-tables
in this outer court. The temple was a
house of prayer for all nations, i e., for
the Gentiles as well as the Jews. This
could not be true when the part of it
which was set off for the nations, was
occupied by brute beasts. Our Lord
was indignant at this wickedness of the

T.E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

239

them that sold and bought in the
temple, and overthrew the tables

Jews. As He stood and declared His
power as Son of God, a voice, with the
sound of thunder, was heard from hea
ven, John xii. 28, 29. Thereupon Je
sus proceeded to purify the holy temple
of God. The Temple. As this is the
first time that St. Matthew records the
actual presence of the Lord Jesus in the
temple (see ch. iv. 5 ; xii. 5, 6), and
this presence seems to have been fore
seen by the prophet Haggai (ii. 3, 7, 9)
as giving the second building a glory
superior to the former temple of Solo
mon, it seems to be the most suitable
place to describe briefly that celebrated
House of Worship. The temple of Je
hovah was built to be the place of His
presence and worship, among His cho
sen people. It was built on the mount
where Abraham offered up Isaac. Gen.
xxii. 2, 9, 14. It was an enlarged copy
in wood and stone of the tabernacle built
by Moses. That tabernacle was built
in all things after the pattern showed to
Moses, when he was forty days in the
mount with God. Ex. xxv. 40. It
was made therefore by a certain law
and rule to "serve unto the example
and shadow of heavenly things" (Heb.
viii. 5), " a, figure only for the time then
present." Heb. ix. 9, 11, 23, 24. The
Jewish rabbins taught that the chief in
tention of making the tabernacle and
other things was, " that the people
might have a book of wisdom to in
struct them in the things above which
they respected; and that when Moses
made one tabernacle on earth, another
was made by the angels in heaven." It
was their opinion that the inner cham
ber or Holiest place, represented Hea
ven, where God dwells ; the second or
outer room, this visible world. Jose
phus says, " the second part of the
tabernacle signified that earth in which
men conversed, but the third part was
appropriated to God, heaven being in
accessible to men." See Heb. ix. 8. It
was therefore a type and symbol of the
Body of Christ, in which for a while

of the money-changers," and the
seats of them that sold doves,
a Deut. 14. 25.

Jehovah tabernacled or dwelt with men.
Heb. ix. 11 ; John ii. 19 ; Rev. xxi. 3.
The tabernacle described Ex. xxv.
was carried from place to place in the
journeys of the Israefites. It was of
an oblong shape, 30 cubits by 10, and
10 in height; a cubit being one foot
nine inches. It was divided by curious
veils of colored cloths into two cham
bers. The outer, into which the priests
entered, was 20 cubits long by 10
broad. In it were kept the table of shew
bread (see note ch. xii. 3), the golden
candlesticks and the golden altar for
incense. The most Holy place was
separated from it by a veil, and was
square, ten cubits on a side. Here was
the Ark of the Covenant. Here dwelt
in light inaccessible the Shechinah, the
glorious presence of Jehovah. King
David's pious design of building the
temple was forbidden. He however
provided incalculable treasures for his
son, to aid him in building it. 1 Chron.
xxii. 14-16. Solomon the wise, after
three years preparation, began to build
the temple on the threshing floor of
Oman on Mount Moriah. 1 Chron. xxi.
18, &c. B..C. 1025. Seven years and
six months was he in completing it. 1
Kings v. vi. '• It was exceeding mag-
nifical, of fame and glory throughout all
countries." 1 Chron. xxii. 5. It
was burned by Nebuchadnezzar B. C.
586. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19. After the
captivity in Babylon, an inferior build
ing was reared by Zerubbabel, 515 B.
C. To console the older Jews who had
seen the former building, Haggai (ch.
ii.) was sent to them with the promise
of a future glory, to adorn it, in the
person of the Incarnate Son of God See
Ezra iii. 8, 12. The second temple
lacked the symbols of God's presence.
It was often defiled by the impieties of
wicked men, as Antiochus Epiphanes
and Heliodorus. Herod the Great, to
gain popularity with the Jewish nation,
undertook to build a new temple ; but
being compelled to yield his first plan

240

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

to the suspicions of the people, was
content with repairing the old building.
This renovation was completed in forty
and six years, at the First Passover of
our Lord's ministry. Herod committed
the care of the work to a thousand
priests, with ten thousand men at their
command. It was continued after his
death. The improvements were such
as greatly to beautify the building, and
according to Josephus, the work of em
bellishing continued even after the death
of Christ. It was finally destroyed by
Titus, and in its destruction involved
that of the city and nation.
The temple proper, as appears by the
plate, was the oblong central building.
The name was sometimes used in a gen
eral sense of all the sacred buildings.
The area on which the temple v/as
built was a square of 600 cubits. In
the centre of this stood the temple
proper, into which only the priests could
enter. The Holy of Hohes, or inner
chamber, was 20 cubits square. In it
was the ark of the covenant, including
the tables of the law. Next came the
Holy place, measuring 40 cubits by 20.
Beyond this the porch measured 6 by
20. Before the porch stood the altar of
burnt offerings. See note ch. v. 23.
The worshippers could see the holy place
when the veils were withdrawn, but not
the Holiest, into which the High Priest
alone went once a year. Into this court
of Israel our Lord went to pray, but
never into the temple itself, as he was
not of the tribe of Levi. Around this
inclosure was a wall six cubits high.
Beyond this, by a descent of five steps,
was the court of the women. This was
the limit of the more sacred part of the
temple. Josephus says that thus far it
was called (0710s) holy. No Jew would
have tolerated the least impiety in any
portion of it. Here it is probable that
St. Paul was seized and accused of de
filing the sacredness of the place by
bringing in Gentiles. Acts xxi. 26-30.
Then came a descent by 14 steps into
the outer court, the court of the Gen
tiles, surrounded by a wall, and with
piazzas and porticoes, where the people
collected, and where animals and other

things belonging to the sacrifices were
bought and sold. It was from this
place that our Lord drove the dealers
in these things. On two sides of the
temple the foundations were continued
by af ched vaults across ravines in the
hills, so that the wall was in those parts
several hundred feet high. See note ch.
iv. 6. The colonnade on the east side
was famed for its beauty, and called
Solomon's Porch. Acts iii. 11. Cham
bers were arranged in the various walls of
the temple for storing the sacred vessels,
and for dwellings for the priests. The
ascent to the sacred edifice was from the
east, through the gates Nicanor and
Shushan. It at one time surpassed all
the buildings of the world for glory, and
though at the time of our Saviour it
had only the relics of its splendor, it
deserved the admiration which the dis
ciples expressed for it. If the temple of
wood and stone was a work worthy of
such care from the Almighty, we may
believe that He still accepts honors paid
to His name by Christians, who in later
times seek to honor His holy name by
building temples worthy of Him. The
heart of man has still the same wants
and laws, and still we may believe that
wealth is well used when it is offered up
in this way to God. 1 Chron. xxix.
16-19. And we may learn from the
study of the spiritual meaning of the
various parts of the temple, that our
churches should be constructed with a
wise care to the mute but profound
lessons which architecture can convey.
We see that the national character of
the Jews was seriously affected and
moulded to certain ideas of religion,
which were first engraven on wood or
stone, and by them in due time trans
ferred to the heart. Finally, this earth
ly temple was the image and symbol of
the heavenly. This does not mean, per
haps, that we are to expect the same
forms in the latter as we read of in the
former, but rather that we may receivo
from that ancient " shadow of good
things to come," better than from other
insensible objects, ths impressions and
first small visions of those glories of the
New Jerusalem which filled the Epistle

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

241

13 And said unto them, It "is
writcen, My house shall be called

a Is. 56. 7.

to the.Hebrews and the Revelation of St.
John with inspired eloquence. Heb. ix.
11-14; x. 19-22; Rev. xxi. 10-23.

the house of prayer, but ye' have
made it a den of thieves.6
6 Jer. 7. 11.

12. And cast out themthat bought and
sold in the temple. These traffickers, with
their cattle, were in the court of the

North

A Temple Nave.

SCourt of
Priests.

C Court of
Israel.

West)

D Court of
Gentiles.

E Court of
Women.

;; i s

xm  ltu  LTD"

L

:E

ei:

-ELEL

South

F Altar of
Burnt-offerings.
©Holy pi.

.ffHoly of
holies.

/Beautiful Gate.

K Sol'mou's
Porch.

Gentile3. It was allowed by the Jews,
from a spirit of pride and carelessness,
Which had lost sight of the great truth,
that the place was a symbol and witness
of the Catholicity of their service. Mercy
was offered to the Jews first, but even
by their own laws, also to the Gentiles.
They despised this provision. Jesus
re-asserts it, and begins to break down
the partition-wall by this attempt to re
store to the Gentiles their right in the
temple. Also, this traffic at the door of
the temple, and the lowings and bleat-
ings of the animals, were undoubtedly
the cause of a great disturbance in the
other courts of the temple, ff The
tables of the money-changers. The only
coin received in the sacred treasury was
the Levitical shekel, or half-shekel.
These money-changers were men who
took pains to buy up all the legal coins,
and sold them again to the Jews, who
had come up to worship. It was likely
Vol. I.— 11

The Temple of ttie Christian Era.

that great corruption had crept into the
trade, ff Them that sold doves. They
were used in sacrifice by the poor. Lev.
xiv. 22 ; Luke ii. 21. All animals for
the sacrifices were, of course, sought for
in the city by Jews, who came from
any distance. St. Mark adds (xi. 16)
that Jesus would not allow any man to
carry any vessel through the temple.
Does not this teach us that our blessed
Saviour desires, that we show the same
degree of reverence to His churches,
which He demanded for that sacred
temple ? He was about to die, and
would not be likely to do these acts, so
much for the Jews as for Christians.
And we ought to cultivate, by strict care,
a proper respect for all things sacred,
nor take our ease, consult our own plea
sure, and do other things which show,
that we do not recognize the sacredness
of holy places.
13. It is written, dec. By Isaiah Ivi 7,

242

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

14 And the blind and the lame
came to him in the temple; and
he healed them.
15 And when the chief priests
and scribes saw the wonderful

He had spoken this of the times of the
Messiah. The latter words seem to have
allusion to Jer. vii. 11. ff House of
prayer. This describes by strict infer
ence the true design of Christian
churches. It is, in a word, the Lord's
own canon and law, by which service
in them is to be regulated. Jesus has
called them houses of prayer. Prayer
is their chief end. Prayer should be
the chief duty practised in them.
Prayer in public demands more care,
order and beauty, than can be given to
it if extempore. True, unpremeditated
prayer is rarely heard. When it is
thought to be practised, it is only a form
varied in a narrow compass from the
memory of the speaker : the same
prayer, in substance, from year's end to
year's end. Is it not better, then, to do
a duty of this vast importance well, con
sidering it is God that we pray to ; re
membering that He has once revealed to
us that He was willing to be served by
a well ordered liturgy; remembering
that His Son our Lord, and the Apostles,
used that liturgy so long as the temple
was standing ; that early Christians
moulded their services with the greatest
. care ; that the vast majority of Chris
tians, whom we can hardly suppose to
have erred in such a matter, have used
a liturgy ; knowing, also, that our Com
mon Prayer is simple, Scriptural, and
Catholic; and believing that even the
angels around the throne of God do not
fear to present to Him their best, and
therefore the same liturgic praises ; be
lieving that we shall join in those songs
of Moses and the Lamb, and not weary
of their repetition ? Is it not better for
us to worship God in our best thoughts,
rather than our first thoughts, in order,
rather than carelessness, in the beauty
of holiness, rather than in the off-hand,
and often offensive manner which has
become common with some ! A house

things that he did, and the chil
dren crying in the temple, and
saying, Hosanna to the Son of
David ; they were sore displeas
ed,

of prayer should have a due, well order
ed form of prayer ; and for that form to
be useful, the people must feel that it is
their best, that they must join in it
lowly and reverently ; that they must
go prepared for it, and, first of all things,
seek to pray with all their mind and
soul. The day will come, when our'
prayers will be of more consolation to
us than all the sermons we have heard,
valuable as they may have been. For
instruction is the work of others — prayer
is our own work. It enters into us, be
comes part of us, and being answered by
grace from God, it purifies us, beautifies
the soul, and prepares it for final justifi
cation. The above passage (verses
1-14) is used for the first Sunday of
Advent, which begins the ecclesiastical
year, and is always the Sunday nearest
to St. Andrew's day, November 30.
Advent means the Coming, and has two
applications : 1, to the first coming of
Christ in the flesh ; 2, His future com
ing in glory. The present chapter re
lates that event of His life, which seems
to look both ways. He came in humble
state to Jerusalem, to finish His work- as
the Lamb which was to be offered for
sin. He is yet to come, with the hosts
of the redeemed shouting around Him,
Hosanna ! Blessed is He that cometh I
Gl ory in the highest !
15, 16. Hast perfected praise. The
rulers were angry and perplexed. They
were angry with the innocent children,
who have caught the echo of the shouts
of their elders. The question " Hearest
Thou what these say ? " means, " Why
do You not stop the mouths of these
children ? Why doYou, a man of Galilee,
allow them to proclaim You as Messiah?"
They could not understand the spiritual
meaning of Christ's actions. There He
stood meek and lowly, only seeking to
do good and heal the woes of men. He
received the demonstrations of the mul-

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI

243

16 And said unto him, Hearost
thou what these say ? And Jesus
saith unto them, Yea : have ye
never read, "Out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings thou hast
perfected praise ?
17 If And he left them, and
went out of the city into Betha
ny, and he lodged there.
Monday, March 22d.
18 Now in the morning, as he
a Ps. 8. 2.

titude, but showed no signs of any in
tention of seizing the supreme power,
and setting the Jews free from the
Romans. Jesus replies by a verse of
the 8th Psalm. It is cited from the
Septuagint. ' God accepts the praise of
children ; and shows His grace iu a
manner peculiarly condescending and
perfect.' " And if some tones be false or low,
What are all prayers beneath
But cries of babes, that cannot know
Half the deep thought they breathe ?"
17. Bethany. See note ch. xxi. 1.
The events related by St. John, ch. xii
20-50, occurred on this same day.
Sunday ends here. Concerning Monday
:: little is said. St. Matthew relates only
the event concerning the fig-tree not
bearing fruit, and the disciples see the
tree withered the following day. It was
probably night, as they returned to Beth
any on Monday evening, and they could
not see it. We place the account of St.
Mark ch. xi. 15-19, on this Monday.
19. A fig-tree. He saw it afar off.
It stood alone by the road side, and was
in a manner public property. Deut.
xxiii 24, 25. It was in full leaf, but
as He came nearer He found no fruit
thereon. Our Lord of course knew that
there was no fruit there. He came to it,
in order to make it a, parable of a great
truth, which was important at that time.
In Palestine the fig-tree put out its fruit
first, afterwards the leaves. By the
time therefore that the tree is in full

returned into the city, he hun
gered. 19 And when he saw a fig-tree
in the way, he came to it, and
found nothing thereon, but leaves
only, and said unto it, Let no
fruit grow on thee henceforward
for ever. And presently the fig-
tree withered away
Tuesday, March 23d.
20 6And when the disciples saw
b Mark 11. 20, &c.

foliage, the fruit ought to be ripe. And
so luxuriant and prolific is the fig-tree,
that it is a rare thing to find one barren.
This one was therefore an exception;
a monstrous perversion of the laws of
its kind. It deceived the eye, was to
aU appearance fruitful, but only cum
bered the ground. The Jewish nation
was like this fig-tree. It luxuriated in
all the outward forms of holiness. The
Lord had come to it, seeking fruit ; He
found no true love for Him. Therefore
He speaks a malediction on the tree,
not from any ill will to it for not bear
ing fruit, since it had no choice in the
case ; but as a parable acted before the
disciples, to impress on their memories,
in the most striking manner, the destiny
of the city of Jerusalem. That was to
wither away and be destroyed suddenly,
as by a portentous curse from God.
ff And presently the fig-tree withered
away. Not at the word, but by the next
day. Perhaps it began to wither at
once. It is sometimes made a subject
of idle cavil that our Lord should have
destroyed this tree. Such persons over
look entirely the moral contained in the
action. For surely no sensible man can
regret the loss of a common fruit-tree,
uninclosed by the way side, in a
country where they were abundant, if by
its loss important spiritual truth is con
veyed. Our Lord was Creator of all
things, and possessed unlimited right
over all. He suffers a tree to die, mean
ing by it to show the far more disastrous

244

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

it, they marvelled, saying, How
soon is the fig-tree withered
away !
21 Jesus answered and said un
to them, Verily I say unto you,"
If ye have faith and doubt not,
ye shall not only do this which
is done to the fig-tree, but also, if
ye shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the, sea it shall be done."
22 And all things whatsoever
ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive.
23 If And when he was come
into the temple, the chief priests
and the elders of the people came
a Ch. 17. 20 ; Jas. 1. 6 ; 1 Cor. 13. 2. b Ch.
7. 7; Jas. 5. 16; 1 John 3. 22, &5. 14.

fall of a nation. It is a rule of human
reason that examples may be made for
instruction, upon worthless objects.
20. Tuesday. And when the disciples
saw it. They spent the night at Beth
any, and are again returning, when they
discover and remark on the destruction
of the fig-tree. They marvelled at it,
and (St. Mark xi. 21) St. Peter called
our Saviour's attention to it, expressing
his wonder.
21. If ye have faith and doubt not, dec.
Why was this faith recommended at
this time ? Because they would need it
most especially in the events of which
that destruction of the fig-tree was the
beginning and type. They would need
faith before the week had passed, ff Say
unto this mountain. See note ch. xvii.
20. There was a faith exercised by the
Apostles, called faith of miracles, which
is commonly expressed by this form of
words. Ch. xvii. 20; 1 Cor. xiii. 2.
It may be taken in either of two senses.
1. Literal. 2. Spiritual. 1. A literal
interpretation is a good one : for the
faith that can do one miracle can as
easily do another. To perform a miracle,
a man must have a command or impulse
from God. And certainly with such an
impulse, it would matter little what was

unto him as he was teaching, and
said, By what authority" doest
thou these things ? and who gave
thee this authority ?
24 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, I also will ask
you one thing, which, if ye tell
me, I in like wise will tell you by
what authority I do these things.''
25 The baptism of John,
whence was it ? from heaven, or
of men ? And they reasoned with
themselves, saying, If we shall
say, From heaven; he will say
unto us, Why did ye not then
believe him ?
26 But if we shall say, Of men ;

c Acts 4. 7; & 7. 27; Heb. 5. 4
10.25. 87; & 8. 18.

d John

the form and extent of the miracle. 2.
The faith which the Apostles would
need, was more a spiritual faith, to re
move the prejudices of men, and such a
faith may well be inferred in this pro
mise. They had that faith. Christians
have it still, and are moving mountains
of heathen prejudice in all lands.
22. Arid all things, Sec. How does
he turn from the dreary subject of a
curse to whisper peace. This promise
belonged to them iu their ministry!
They should have all things which they
needed to confirm it. But as they stood
for all Christian ministers and for all
Christian Churches, so the promise,
with reasonable limits, descends to us.
If we ask believing that we receive, we
may have blessings of the richest kind,
because heavenly, holy, and, eternal;
the blessings of forgiveness and sancti
ty. 1 John iii. 22; v. 14. Others we
have no need of, and so cannot ask for
them believing.
23. These things. His public entry
into Jerusalem, and His expulsion of the
traders and brokers from the sacred
edifice. 24, 25. The baptism of John, whence
was it ? There is an argument to re
fute the priests, or to satisfy them, if

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

245

we fear the people : for all hold
John as a prophet."
27 And they answered Jesus,
and said, We cannot tell. And
he said unto them, Neither tell I
you by what authority I do these
things. 28 T But what think ye ? A
certain man had two sons; and
he came to the first, and said,
a Ch. 14. 5.

they desire it, in this question. It shows
them from whence they should begin to
trace the authority He used, namely,
from the notorious and unmistakeable
witness of John the Baptist. At the
same time it makes their malice recoil
on themselves. John was now dead,
and the people reverenced him as a
prophet. He had given testimony to
Jesus, and therefore His authority must
fall back on the baptism of John.
If he had been a prophet, then Jesus
was Messiah, ff Why did ye not then
believe him? When he testified that
Jesus was the Son of God. Ch. iii. 3.
26. We fear the people. They were
in a dilemma. They dared not say
what they knew to be true — that John
was a prophet, from hatred of Jesus ;
nor what they would have said if they
dared, that he was not a prophet, for
fear of a commotion of the people
against them.
27. We cannot tell. This was false.
It is to be noticed that the rulers were
deeply interested in extorting a direct
answer to their question. They repeat
it on the trial of Jesus, and the High
Priest " adjures Him by the living God"
to answer. Whereupon Jesus replies
directly. It is made the crime for which
they condemn Him to death. Ch. xxvi.
63-65. As His hour has not yet come,
He avoids their malice. And their con
duct shows the reasonableness of His
not answering: for if they could not
decide in a case so notoriously plain, as
whether John was a Prophet, then of
course they would not have been satis
fied with any answer in His own case.
28. A certain man, Sec. Jesus now

Son, go work to-day in my vine
yard. 29 He answered and said, I
will not ; but afterward he re
pented, and went.
30 And he came to the second,
and said likewise. And he an
swered and said, I go, sir ; and
went not.
31 Whether of them twain did

turns upon them and lays bare the evil
thoughts of their hearts by a series of
parables. They had now in a measure
set themselves in opposition to the com
mon people. John vii. 49. Jesus first
shows them that these common people,
sinners as they were, will be saved be
fore them, ff Two sons. One of these
represents the rulers then present, the
other the open sinners among the Jews.
ff Go and work. This represents God
the Father giving the Law. It was given
either in the natural conscience or by
the Law on Sinai. Both said to the
Jews, go and work out the righteousness
which I desire.
29, 31. / will not. He openly re
fused. These were open sinners, men
who felt that they were doing wrong.
Such were the publicans and harlots.
ff Repented. Regretted his want of rev
erence to his parent and returned to his
duty. The sinners, however, truly re
pented and changed to a better hfe.
ff The second. The type of the Phari
sees, who, by their professed obedience
to the law, ought to have gone on to
the spiritual understanding of it, and
have been the first to welcome the mes
sage of John and obeyed Jesus, ff They
say unto, Sec. The answer is forced from
them. They see the moral, ff The
publicans and harlots. Many notorious
sinners, alarmed by the. preaching of
John and the Lord Jesus, repented and
were submitting to Him, while the
Pharisees were plotting to kill Him.
Often a profligate man is aroused and
reformed by grace, and a moral one re
mains insensible. This does not make
early piety tho less valuable. It is to

246

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28

the will of his father ? They
say unto him, The first. Jesus
saith unto them, Verily I say un
to you, That the publicans" and
the harlots go into the kingdom
of God before you.
32 For John6 came unto you in
the way of righteousness, and ye
believed him not : but the publi
cans and the harlots believed him :
oLu. 7. 29, 87. 6 Lu. 1. 15, 17.
be doubted if the late conversion of a
man can ever give him the proportion
and harmony of piety, which early obe
dience bestows. A course of sin is not
necessary to make better Christians.
The Pharisees, with all their outward
morals, were actually bold, hard sin
ners. 32. John came in the way of righteous
ness. John came as a Jew and a Prophet
of the strictest, purest walk. He did
the very righteousness which the law
demanded, as Moses, Elias, and Isaiah
had done before him. Yet though they
could not object against him the slight
est departure from the law, they did not
regard him.
33. See Mark xii. 1-12; Luke xx.
9-19. Hear another parable. This one
has as its chief point the future act of God
in taking from the Jews their privileges
and giving them equally to all nations :
and this made necessary by their own
sins and ingratitude, ff Householder.
See note ch. xx. 1. ff A vineyard. See
Deut. xxxii. 32 ; Is. v. 1-7. The vino
is seen on coins of the Maccabees, re
presenting Palestine. It was the most
important fruit of Judea. See note ch.
xx. 1. The vineyard represented the
spiritual privilege or divine covenant
which had been made with the Jewish
people. It gave them the advantage
of bearing "fruit unto holiness." It
was to be taken from them and given
to others, ff Hedged it round. They
built hedges of the wild aloe and other
thorny shrubs to keep out the foxes and
wild hogs. The wall which enclosed
the Jewish covenant, was the guard of

and ye, when ye had seen it, re
pented not afterward, that ye
might believe him.
33 T Hear another parable;
There was a certain householder,
which planted a vineyard," and
hedged it round about, and digged
a wine-press in it, and built a
tower, and let it out to husband
men, and went into a far country :
o Ps. 80. 9 ; Is. 5. 1, &c. ; Jer. 2. 21 ; Mark
12.1; Lu. 20. 9, &o.
precepts, which marked them out from
all other nations. Ex. xxiii. 22 ; Numb.
xxiii. 9; Eph. ii. 14. St. Ambrose
says, " He guarded it on every side by a
wall as it were of celestial precepts and
the protection of angels." ff A wine
press. That is, the vat under the wine
press. These vats were hollow places
dug in the earth and lined with stone,
or sometimes cut out of the solid rock.
The grapes were placed on an open
floor above them, and trodden by the
feet of men, when the juice or must
ran through and was collected in the
vat. Judges ix. 27 ; Neh. xiii 5. ff A
tower. A high tower in the middle of
the vineyard in which the keepers were
to watch the vineyard at the season of
the vintage. See Cant. i. 6 ; ii. 15.
They are sometimes seen in the East
now, and are about twenty" feet square
and fifty feet high. It is the custom of
the Arabs, Hindoos and Spaniards to
erect these towers for this same purpose.
ff To husbandmen. These represent the
Jewish rulers. It is the main design
of the parable to let the rulers know
that it was spoken " against them."
God often speaks of a nation, from one
generation to another, as one person,
and represents the last as bearing the
sins of all. Ch. xxiii. 36. Though in
human codes the infidel principle is
sometimes asserted, that " one genera
tion cannot bind another," it is certainly
excluded from the Divine legislation.
" Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor
the offences of our forefathers ! "
34. The time of fruit. "Vineyards
were often let out in this manner.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

247

34 And when the time of the
fruit drew near, he sent his ser
vants to the husbandmen, that
they might receive the fruits of
it. 35 "And the husbandmen took
his servants, and beat one, and
killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants
more than the first: and they did
unto them likewise.
37 But last of all, he sent unto
them his son, saying, They will
reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen
saw the son, they said among
a 2 Chron. 24 21; & 86.16; Neh. 9. 26;
Ch. 5. 12; 23. 34-37; Acts 7. 52; 1 Thes. 2.
15; Heb. 11. 86, 37.

After the fruit was ripe, or the wine
made, the owner sent for his rent, which
was paid in kind. Luke xvi. 6, 7.
ff His servants. These are special
messengers, the prophets, who came to
the Israefites from time to time to recall
them to the service of God. 2 Kings
xvii. 13.
35. And the husbandmen, Src. The
prophets were many of them martyrs.
Jeremiah was stoned, Isaiah sawn
asunder. See Heb. xi. 36 ; 1 Kings
xix. 10 ; 2 Chron. xxiv. 20, 21 ; xxxvi
16. ff Stoned. This was the legal
punishment for blasphemy and impiety.
Lev. xx. 2 ; xxiv. 16 ; Deut. xiii. 10.
It was sometimes, it may bo, re
sorted to by a mob without any parti
cular idea of its meaning. How strange
is human nature, that the crime which
the prophets came to prevent should
have been falsely laid to their charge.
See Acts vii. 58 ; John viii. 59.
37. Last of all. " Having yet one
son, His well-beloved." Mark xii. 6.
This was the last resource, to try if
any gratitude remained. It may be
said that no man would act in this way.
God has done it. His thoughts are not
as our thoughts. Is. Iv. 8. His mercy
triumphs over all the sins of men, so
long as there is left in them the heart to

themselves, This is the heir6;
come, let us kill him, and let us
seize on his inheritance.
39 And they caught him, and
cast him out of the vineyard, and
slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of
the vineyard cometh, what will
he do unto those husbandmen ?
41 They say unto him, He "will
miserably destroy those wicked
men, and will let out his vineyard
unto rfother husbandmen, which
shall render him the fruits in
their seasons.
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did
b Ps. 2. 8 ; Heb. 1. 2 ; Acts 4. 27. c Zeeh. ¦
12. 2; Lu. 21. 24. d Acts 18. 46 ; & 18. 6;
Rom. 11. 1-5.
repent, and deserts them only when they
have hardened their hearts beyond re
pentance. 38. This is the heir. See note ch.
xix. 29. Here lies the force of the
parable. Those wicked husbandmen,
conspiring against the innocent heir,
were a picture of the deep treachery
which those, who were standing before
Jesus, were meditating. John xi. 47—
53. They were at that time desiring
His destruction, in order that they
might not be disturbed in their corrupt
doctrines and practices.
39. Cast Him out. St. Mark and St.
Luke are both particular to mention
this incident. Our Lord "suffered
without the gate." Heb. xiii. 12, 13 ;
John xix. 17. According to their ideas
this was an excommunication from the
covenant. Naboth had illustrated this
feature of the parable, having died for
his vineyard, and died, too, by stoning,
as if accursed, on a false charge of blas
phemy, without the walls of the city.
1 Kings xxi. 13.
40, 41. When the Lord, Sec Our
Saviour asks them the question in order
to make them condemn themselves.
The chief priests saw the drift of the
parable (v. 45), and angry as they were
at its conclusion, they were too wary

248

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

ye never read in the scriptures,"
The stone which the builders re
jected, the same is become the
head of the corner : this is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvellous
in our eyes V
oPs. 118. 22; Is. 28. 16; Dan. 2. 44, 45;
1 Pet. 2. 6, 7.

not to answer according to right, in
presence of the people. Thus, they are
effectually answered in their first ques
tion, concerning the authority of Jesus.
He appears before them as the Son and
heir of all things, against whom they
were seeking a charge, when they asked
the question. The parable has a close
connection with the events of the suc
ceeding days. They seek to draw from
Jesus a claim to be the Son of God.
On this claim the trial turns.
42, 43. Jesus saith, dec. Jesus con
founds them with Scripture. The para
ble which He had used did not admit of
one circumstance. In it the Son is
killed, and cannot punish the husband
men Himself. But in the history of
God's dealings, Jesus the Son of God is
to rise from the dead and inflict the
punishment. He now represents Him
self in this light of punishing. The re
jecting this stone was done in casting
out the Son and killing Him. Now the
same Son, under the similitude of a
stone, becomes the destruction of His
enemies, ff The stone, Sj-c. See Ps.
cxviii' 23-25, and note verse 9. It is a
figure taken from the choosing of stones
for a building. Dan. ii. 45 ; Actsiv. 11 ;
1 Pet. ii. 7 ; Eph. ii. 20. The husband
men have become the builders of the
spiritual temple. They refuse to lay a
foundation on faith in Christ. They
reject Him, and hope to go on in their
work without Him. ff The head of the
corner. The corner-stone is the princi
pal one in the foundation, and has been
supposed to mean here the keystone of
an arch, which holds up the whole. But
it is more simple in the common sense,
of the chief stone at the angle of a build
ing. Christ is called so, because on
Him rests, and in Him unites the old
Covenant and the new; the Law and

43 Therefore say I unto you,
The kingdom of God shall be
taken6 from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof. 44 And whosoever "shall fall on
b Ch. 8. 12. c Is. 8. 14, 15.

the Gospel, ff The Lord's doing. It
was not the wish of the builders. They
had no idea that in killing the Son of
the Lord of the vineyard they were actu
ally carrying out the Divine intention,
and making Him by the very cross the
cause of salvation to the Church. Acts
iii. 17, 18; ii. 22-24. ff Marvellous in
our eyes. It is beyond all human ex
pectation. It is a mystery which was
not then revealed to them, that even
their act of mortal hatred would do
more to destroy Judaism and establish
the Church, than any thing else they
had done. This language had in sha
dow applied first to David, but in sub
stance only to the Saviour of mankind.
43. The kingdom, %-c. This is one of
the clearest prophecies of the change of
covenant to be found in the Gospels.
The kingdom of God, the vineyard, the
corner-stone, all these represent our
idea of the Gospel economy. It shall
be taken from you. You shall no
longer be the chosen people. It shall
be preached freely to all nations, and
your nation and church come to an end.
This was done when the Apostles began
to receive the Gentiles, ff To another
nation. To another chosen people — the
Church, collected from all nations. St.
Peter, writing, as it were, a comment
upon this same passage, concerning the
building a spiritual temple upon the
" living stone, disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious," calls
the Church Catholic, " a chosen genera
tion, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,
a pecuhar people." 1 Pet. ii. 4-10.
44. And whosoever shall fall, dec.
A solemn warning to them to repent in
time. There are two different actions
here expressed : they who stumble at
this corner-stone, and they who are
finally crushed by it. Those fall on

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXI.

249

this stone, shall be broken : but
on whomsoever" it shall fall, it
shall grind him to powder.
45 And when the chief priests
and Pharasees had heard his par
ables, they perceived that he
spake of them.
46 But when they sought to
lay hands on him, they feared the
multitude, because6 they took him
for a prophet.
a Dan. 2. 44 6 Lu. 7. 16 ; John 7. 40.

this stone who stumble at the humility
of Christ in His first advent. This the
rulers had done, and they were broken.
Their plans were disappointed ; their
prosperity at an end, and in a few
years their city destroyed. But sad as
this punishment is of " being broken,'
it allows a chance of repentance and
escape from total destruction. The
person is maimed, but not destroyed
utterly, ff On whomsoever it shall fall.
This allows no escape. It fell on the
Jewish nation, at the fall of their city,
and caused a ruin deplorable beyond
all other similar events. Christ, the
true Rock of Ages, now in a man
ner lies here below, fixed in the
earth. Whoso is offended at His doc
trine, must fail of life, and be disap
pointed in obtaining spiritual peace and
rest. But hereafter He shall come down
from heaven, and hke a rock thrown
from an immense height, will grind the
wicked into powder ; or, as Daniel hath
it (ii. 35), " like the chaff of the sum
mer threshing-floors," destroying them
by a ruin utter, hopeless, and irre
versible. 46. They feared the multitude. They
saw the open break and hostility which
now lay between them and the Messiah.
They must now sin wilfully against the
truth. They were beyond repentance.
But their fury was restrained by
fear of the people. The time of His
deliverance into their hands was not yet
come, and Jesus was still protected by
the natural laws of Providence from
heir violence. Vol. I. — 11*

CHAPTER XXII.
Passion Week — Tuesday.
AND Jesus answered and spake
unto them again by parables,
and said,
2 The kingdom" of heaven is
like unto a certain king, which
made a marriage for his son,''
3 And sent forth his servants
to call them that were bidden to
o Lu. 14. 16. d Ps. 72. 1 ; Is. 62. 5 ; 2 Cor.
11.2; Kev. 19; 7.9.

CHAPTER XXII.
1. Parables. See note, ch. xiii. 3.
The present parable is connected
with the others, in the last chap
ter. It shadows forth the law of
the kingdom of grace. It forecasts the
fate of the Jews who reject the Son of
God, and the doom of all who are at
last found faithless. This is not the
same as the parable in St. Luke's gos
pel (ch. xiv. 16), although resembling
it in some points.
2. The kingdom of heaven. Note,
ch. iii. 2. The Church is hke the fol
lowing story, in this respect, that God
deals with unfaithful men iu it as a
certain king did with a contemptuous
guest. The law of it is, that many are
called to it, but only they who work
out holiness can see the Lord in peace.
The Jews boasted of their birthright,
as making them peculiar favorites of
heaven. They are now told that in the
act of rejecting Christ, that birthright will
cease, and individual character alone
determine their final condition, ff A
marriage for his son. Marriage feasts in
the East are attended with prolonged
ceremonies and great expense. The.
festivities often lasted from a week to
fourteen days. Gen. xxix. 27 ; Judges
xiv. 12. God is the King, who spreads
the feast to His Son.
3. And sent forth his servants. These
are prophets and ministers, who call
men to enjoy the privileges of the Church
and a hope of salvation. It was not
uncommon for one giving a feast to send
forth servants, at the time of it, to sum-

250

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

the wedding : and they would
not come.
4 Again, he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which
are bidden, Behold I have pre
pared my dinner," my oxen and
my- fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready; come unto the
marriage. 5 But they made light of it'
and went their ways, one to his
farm, another to his merchandise :
a Prov. 9. 1, 2; Zeph. 1. 7, 8. b Esth. 1-
12; Prov. 2. 24. o 1 Thes. 2. 15, Acts 5.
40 ; & 14 5, 19.

mon those who had been before invited.
Esther i 3-9 ; v. 8 ; and vi. 14. f The
wedding. The word is in the plural,
meaning all the rites and festivities
attending a marriage, ff They would
not come. They rebelled. Note, that
it is not an equal, sending to ask his
neighbors, or there would be no sin in
the refusal ; but it is a king, whose will-
is equivalent to a law, and refusal at
once appears to be treason. Esther i.
12. The chief difficulty of sinful men,
is, that they will not ; for salvation is
free. " Ye will not come unto Me, that
ye might have life." John v. 40.
4. Other servants. As this was only
a summons to those who had been in
vited before, it seems better to understand
these servants to be all sent in the last
age of the Jewish Church, from Christ's
ministry to the destruction of Jerusalem.
ff Fatlings. Animals fatted by stall-
feeding them, i. e. the best of then-
kind. The king is patient. He thinks
there may be error, and that they may
yet be induced to come. The mercy
of God faints not at one refusal. In the
Church the invitation of grace is made
freely to all men. Rev. xxii. 17.
5. But they made light of it. Treated
it with contempt. Perhaps no men
ever acted so foolishly to an earthly
king, but they do so continually to the
King of kings. The unmturalness of
this conduct heightens the guilt of those,
who refuse to come when urged. This
passage is used with a sad, tender elo-

6 And the remnant took his
servants, and entreated them
spitefully/ and slew1* them.
7 But when the king heard
thereof, he was wroth : and he
sent forth his "armies, and destroy
ed those murderers, and burned
up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants,
The wedding is ready, but they
which were bidden were not
worthy/ d Acts 7. 58 , 12. 3. e Dan. 9. 26 ; Matt.
26. 58. /Acts 18. 46.
quence by the Church in the second
exhortation to the Holy Communion.
" Ye know how grievous and unkind a
thing it is, when a man hath prepared
a rich feast, decked his table with all
kinds of provision, so that there lacketh
nothing but the guests to sit down : and
yet they who are called (without any
cause) most unthankfully refuse to
come." And again, " which if ye shall
neglect to do, consider with yourselves,
how great is your ingratitude to God,
and how sore punishment hangeth over
your heads for the same, when ye wil
fully abstain from the Lord's Table and
separate from your brethren, who come
to feed on the banquet of that ¦ most
heavenly food." ff Merchandise. Their
business of buying and selling for gain.
The blindness of men leads them to de
spise heaven for a few heaps of dust,
and refuse celestial joys for the cares
of business.
6. And the remnant. The smaller
part. They represent the Jewish rulers,
who were not content with showing
contempt. They treated the messengers
cruelly, and slew them, as for instance,
St. Stephen the first martyr. We call
such as die for the truth's sake, martyrs,
from a word meaning witnesses, because
they gave their testimony even unto
death to the truth of what they had
preached. 7. Wroth. Angry and indignant.
This verse plainly refers to the time
when our Saviour was speaking. It is

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXII.

251

9 Go ye therefore into the
highways, and as many as ye shall
find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out
into the highways, and gathered
together all as many as they
found, both "bad and good : and
a Ch. 13. 47. b Zeph. 1. 12.

a warning therefore to His hearers, the
Jews, not to proceed in their sinful plots
against the Lord of heaven and earth.
ff His armies. God sent the Roman
armies under Vespasian and Titus to
punish the Jews, for all their crimes.
They burned the city and destroyed an
immense number of the inhabitants.
The angels are also called His armies
or hosts. They do His will in the regions
above us, and often complete, what
seems to the natural eye to be done
by men alone. 2 Kings vi. 17; Rev.
xix. 14.
8. Not worthy. They who will not
accept the offer of salvation by Christ
are said to be unworthy of it. God does
not exclude any man because he is a
sinner, but only as he will continue to
be one, and refuses to be cleansed from
his sins. See ch. x. 37, 38. •
9. The highways. The public streets,
or better, the squares where many
streets meet, and where a crowd of
people might be expected to be found.
B7 we understand it as public roads in
the country, it seems to be well adapted
to represent the call of the Gentiles,
that is, nations beyond the circuit of the
Jewish city or covenant. The call was
made in the free preaching of the Gos
pel, after the fall of Jerusalem.
10. Bad and good. Men of all char
acters. In God's all-perfect view, none
are deserving to be called good. But
the words are used according to the dis
tinctions men make among themselves.
The servants collect ah into the Church,
of rich and poor, moral and vicious, who
repent and reform.
11. When the King came m. - He Who
comes in to judge in this way is the Son
of God, and this coming is at the second

the wedding was furnished with
guests.6 1 1 If And when the king came
in to see the guests, he saw there
a man which had not on a wed
ding garment :'
12 And he saith unto him,
els. 61. 10; 2 Cor. 5. 8; Eph. 4 24; Col.
8. 10, 12 ; Eev. 16. 15 & 19. 8.

Advent. And then many wiU be found
not prepared to meet Him. Ch. xxv.
11, 12 ; 1 Peter iv. 17. They have not
wrought out that " holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord." Heb.
xii. 14. ff The wedding garment. It
may have been the custom for kings, in
such a case as this, to have given gar
ments to all who had received their in
vitations to a wedding. And many
interesting facts are cited by commen
tators and travellers. See Gen. xiv. 22 ;
2 Kings x. 22; Esth. vi. 8; viii. 15.
Chardin relates the story of a vizier of
the Persian Shah, who lost his hfe for
not appearing, when sent for, in a cer
tain robe given him by the monarch.
If the robes had been furnished to all
the guests, then this man was guilty of
contempt. However this may be, the
real meaning of the divine side of the
parable is plain. There is a robe fur
nished us by Christ, even the cleansing
from sin, and the sanctification of the
soul by the gift of the Holy Ghost,
which the Apostle terms " a putting on
Christ." CoL ii. 9, 10, 12. As to the
want of respect of the man in the feast,
the Jews must have known wherein it
lay. And as they did not objeot, it is
by far too late for us to make any diffi
culty concerning it, from our ignorance
of what may have been customary. In
the Church, God the Son gives njen
time to meet Him in peace, and if they
will not do it, they are to blame. The
wedding garment is that preparation
which will make us fit to see God, and
which the Apostle has summed up in
one word — holiness. It is the "white
linen, which is the righteousness of the
saints." Rev. xix. 8. It is faith, hope,
charity, good works, purity, and sane-

252

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

Friend, how earnest thou in
hither, not having a wedding-gar
ment ? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the
servants, Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast him
into outer darkness :'* there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
a Ch. 8. 12. 6 Ch. 20. 16.

tity, all interweaved and combined, as
the "curious adorning" of the soul; the
robe " washed and made white in the
blood of the Lamb." Rev. vii. 14. In
the exhortation to the Holy Supper, a
type of that last Feast, the minister ex
horts all to a due preparation for the
worthy receiving, and states the way
and means thereto, in the diligent exam
ination of the conscience ; " that all may
come holy and clean to such a heavenly
feast, in the marriage garment required
by God in holy Scripture : and be re
ceived as worthy partakers of that holy
table." See Job xxix. 14 ; Is. Ixi. 10.
12. Friend. See note ch. xx. 13.
ff Speechless. He had no excuse, which
shows that his want of a proper garment
was purely his own fault.
13. Outer darkness. See notes, ch.
viii. 12 ; xiii. 42. He is cast out from
the full blaze and splendor of the feast
into the darkness of the street. " Co i-
sidered in a moral and practical light,
this parable should teach us the neces
sity of adorning the soul with all
Christian graces and virtues, that we
may always be in a due state of prepa
ration to approach God in any act of
rehgion, and also to stand before Him
with humble confidence in the day of
judgment." — Bp. Mann.
14. For many are called, Sec. See
note ch. xx. 16. Many of the Jews are
called, but few have so obeyed the call
as to be worthy of being chosen at last.
The election spoken of in the Bible is
simply the inestimable privilege of being
invited to obey Christ. The elect and
the called are properly all those who are
received into the Church on earth.
That there are bad and good among the
elect is shown in verse 10, and by this

14 For many are called, but
few are chosen.6
15 if Then" went the Pharisees,
and took counsel how they might
entangle him in his talk.
1 6 And they sent out unto him
their disciples, with the Hero
dians, saying, Master, we know
a Mark 12. 13, tea. ; Lu. 20. 20, &c.

man, who was called, but not chosen ;
as also by the fact that the Apos
tles apply the term elect to whole
Churches, in which we know that there
were sinful and careless individuals.
All then who are received into a " state
of salvation," i. e. in which salvation is
offered them if they will fulfil the con
ditions of it, are elected. And whether
they will be the finally chosen, depends not
on any secret decree, but on themselves
and " the promises of God as they be
generally set forth in Scripture." If
they put on the wedding garment, they
will be chosen. "This parable," saith
Theophylact, " respects the Jews, who
were called but not chosen, as not
hearkening to God's call ;" whence he
infers that " our calling is of God, but
that we are elect or not is of ourselves."—
Dr. Whitby.
15 — 22. The first plot of the rulers
defeated. See Mark xii. 12-17 ; Luke
xx. 20-26. Then went the Pharisees.
They began that series of councils of
the Sanhedrim which resulted in the vi
olent scenes which follow. They were
frightened by the miracle of the raising
of Lazarus (John xi. 48-53), and en
raged by the parables which Jesus had
delivered against them. ff Entangle
Him in His talk. Get Him to say some
thing which they could turn against
Him, either with the people, by inflam
ing their passions, or with the Roman
governor, by raising the charge of
treason. 16. The Herodians. Who these men
were, or exactly what opinions they
held on rehgious subjects, is not known.
It is plain, from their name, that they
were attached to Herod, or rather to
his pohtical maxims. They took their

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXH.

253

that thou art true, and teachest
the way of Grod in truth, neither
carest thou for any man : for thou
regardest not the person of men.
17 Tell us therefore, What

title-from Herod the Great. They prob
ably taught that it was the safest, most
politic wisdom to follow the customs of
the state, rather than seek to insist upon
the precepts of the law of God, when
those precepts caused any difficulty
or danger. They would be called, in
this day, Erastians or temporizers. St.
Jerome calls them " Herod's soldiers,
or those whom the Pharisees in mocke
ry called Herodians, because they paid
tribute to the Romans." From the
words "the leaven of Herod" (compare
Matt. xvi. 12 with Mark viii. 15), some
suppose them to have agreed in their
doctrines with the Sadducees. They
certainly maintained the propriety of
paying tribute to the Romans. They
were sent with the Pharisees because of
this opinion. The Pharisees and most
of the Jews were opposed to paying such
tribute. The Herodians were in favor
of it. The snare which was now laid
before Jesus was put with consummate
skill. If He expressed an opinion on
either side, He would make enemies. If
He had said it was right to pay tribute
to the Romans, He would have enraged
the common people. If He had said it
was not right, the Herodians would have
accused Him to the Roman governor.
Never was a question more cunningly
put ; never was a snare more complete
ly eluded. St. Luke adds, that these
emissaries of the Sanhedrim were " to
feign themselves just men " (xx. 20), i e.
men who loved truth only, and sought
the solution of a case of conscience.
ff We know, Sec. They sought to throw
Him off His guard, and " to spirit Him
up to some bold and offensive declaration
of His opinion." Jesns was true, and
" taught the way of God," or pure rehg
ion, in truth. He was independent, fear
less of the evil arts and passions of men.
He was impartial in meting out truth to
all who sought for it at His lips. That
He was all this, these wicked men found

thinkest thou ? Is it lawful to give
tribute unto Cesar, or not ?
18 But Jesus perceived their
wickedness, and said, Why tempt
ye me, ye hypocrites ?
to their shame, ff Thou regardest not,
dec. Art not afraid of Herod or Cassar.
As if they had said, " We have been de
bating a certain question, and cannot
agree. Our high esteem for your char
acter as an impartial teacher, has
brought us to you to ask your opinion.
Will you settle our private doubts, that
we may know how a pious Jew ought
to. act in so nice a matter, when he has
the precept of Deuteronomy (xvii. 15)
on the one side, and political considera
tions on the other ?" The strength of the
plot lay in their pretence of being pri
vate andyzwZ men.
17. Is it lawful ? Is it permitted by
the law of Moses ? Can we do it as just
men? That the Pharisees were wrong
in their interpretation of Deut. xvii. 15,
is plain. For though they ought not to
consent to the putting a strange king
over the nation, they were bound to
obey that king, when God had suffered
them to be subjected to him. ff To
give tribute to Caesar, or not ? Tribute
was the tax paid to the Roman govern
ment. Good men should have paid it
without murmuring. 1 Pet. ii 13, 14.
ff To Ceesar. This name was common
to ah the Roman Emperors, as Pharaoh
was, in the times of Moses, common to
all the Egyptian kings. Tiberius was
then ruling.
18. Heperceived their wickedness. He
was a " discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart," and knew all that
was in man. John ii. 24, 25. ff Why
tempt ye Me ? Try Me, to seek M.y de
struction by the words of My own mouth.
He showed them that He saw through
their plot, and would not be entangled
by them, ff Hypocrites. See note ch.
vi. 2.
19. The tribute-money. The coin used
in tribute to the Romans was the silver
denarius or penny. That paid into the
Temple was the shekel.
20. Whose is this image ? The denarius

254

MATTHEW.

fA. D. 28.

19 Shew me the tribute-money.
And they brought unto him a
penny.1 20 And he saith unto them,
Whose is this image and 'super
scription ?
21 They say unto him, Cesar's.
Then saith he unto them," Render
therefore unto Cesar, the things
n For value Id. lialf penny. Ch. 20. 2.
1 Or, inscription, a, Ch. 17. 25 ; Bom. 18. 7.

had on it the image of the Roman Em
peror, and, as Dr. Hammond informs us,
also a superscription, or motto engraved
around it to this effect : Caesar Augustus,
Judea being subdued.
21. Render therefore unto Ccesar. " Pay
him back his own. You asked if you
should give any thing, but you may learn
to pay to Csesar that which is his own,
and which being in your possession
shows that you have received some ad
vantage from him." Very few disturbers
of public peace ever bear in mind the prin
ciple, that government confers on them
certain benefits, for which it has a divine
right to demand what is requisite for its
support and dignity. Scripture com
mands obedience to lawful authority.
See Rom. xiii. 5, 7 ; Tit. iii. 1. ff And
unto God the things that are God's. The
tithes, first-fruits, oblations, and sacri
fices, with all the obedience of the truly
pious Jew. " It behooves us also to ren
der to God the things that are His,
namely, body, soul and will. For
Caesar's coin is in the gold in which his
image was portrayed. That is God's
coin on which the Divine image is
stamped ; give therefore your money to
Csesar, but preserve a conscience void of
offence for God." — St. Hillary.
22. They marvelled, Sec. At the sim
ple means which He used to refute
the wisdom of the wicked. They had
held a council, and had set their snare ;
and a poor penny has sprung it on them
selves. They marvel at it, and went
away, wondering, but alas, not believing.
They departed to plot other wickedness,
and to accomplish by violence, what
they could not effect by skill.

which are Cesar's ; and unto God,
the things that are God's.
22 When they had heard these
words, they marvelled, and left
him, and went their way.
23 If The same day came to
him6 the Sadducees, which say
that there is no resurrection, and
asked him,
b Mark 12. 18, &c. ; Lu. 20. 27, &c. c Acts

23-33. The Sadducees are answered
concerning the existence of spirits and a
future state. See Mark xii. 18-27 ;
Luke xx. 27-38.
23. The Sadducees. For an account
of them see note ch. iii. 7. They were
hostile to the Pharisees, and came to
Jesus, supposing that He would side
with them, as He had just poured con
tempt on their adversaries. They could
not suppose that He was able to stand
alone, without seeking favor of any
party. Their opinion is stated (Acts
xxiii. 8), as opposed to the behef of the
separate existence of spirits, and by infer
ence, the resurrection of the body. They
imagine that they are proposing an
insuperable objection, ff Resurrection.
The rising again of the body. The soul
rests in peace waiting for the resurrection
of its partner. Heb. xi. 39, 40 ; John v.
29. Jesus does not reveal the doctrine
of the resurrection clearly, for it was a
result of His own resurrection, for which
men were not then prepared. He fully
answers the question of the Sadducees,
" Whose wife shall she be ? " Reflection
will show any one, that on that answer
depends the true inference, of the sep
arate existence of spirits, of angels,
and the renewed life of the body. It is
not strange that Jesus should say so
little, for these Sadducees knew that
within the year He had actually recalled
Lazarus from the dead.
24. Master, Moses, Sec. Deut. xxv.
5, 6. This was a law which ceased with
the Jewish polity. It was meant in
compassion for their ignorance, who saw
only by shadows the life beyond the
grave, and who regarded death as a

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIL

255

24 Saying, Master, "Moses said,
If a man die, having no children,
his brother shall marry his wife,
and raise up seed unto his brother.
25 Now there were with us
seven brethren : and the first,
when he had married a wife, de
ceased ; and having no issue, left
his wife unto his brother.
26 Likewise the second also,
and che third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman
died also.
28 Therefore, in the resurrec
tion, whose wife shall she be of
a Deut. 25. 5. b John 20. 9.

greater evil, if it should cause their
names to cease, ff Raise up seed unto
his brother. They were legally the
children of the deceased. This custom
is referred to by many divines, in order
to explain the genealogy of our Saviour
given by St. Luke.
25-28. There were with us seven, dec.
The ground-work of this fable is found
in the Apocryphal book of Tobit iii. 8.
They alter it a little to suit their pur
pose. They wished to show, that the
future state was impossible. But they
argued on the false premise, that men
would rise again, with all the passions
and relations of this life. Our Lord
answers their question, in the first
place, and then shows them that their
favorite book, the Pentateuch, evidently
implied a separate hfe of the soul.
29. Ye do err, Sec. Three things
united in their error, as the same three
things still cause men to err in matters
of faith. 1. They did not understand
the Scriptures (see Dan. xii. 2; Is.
xxvi. 19, &c), for they denied them and
lost all the lessons which a careful
study of them would have taught :
which was a want of modesty. 2. They
did not understand that the power of
God can do all things — which was
a want of faith. The same objection
is made now from chemistry and the
changes of matter. It goes upon the

the seven ? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said
unto them, Ye do err, not know
ing6 the scriptures, nor the power
of God.
30 For in the resurrection they
neither marry, nor are given in
marriage, but are as the "angels
of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resur
rection of the dead, have ye not
read that which was spoken unto
you by God, saying,
32 dI am the God of Abraham
and the God of Isaac, and the
oCh. 18. 10; 1 John 8. 2. dEx. 8. 6;
Acts 7. 82 ; Heb. 11. 16.

same want of knowledge of the Al
mighty power of the Creator. 3. They
erred in supposing that the future
world would be in all things like this —
which was a want of right reason. The
future body of the resurrection springs
out of this as a plant from a germ. It
follows its own laws, being a spiritual
body. 1 Cor. xv. 44.
30. Neither marry, dec. Therefore the
objection of the Sadducees is altogether
without force. Marriage bears a ne
cessary relation to death, being a gra
cious design of the Creator to perpe
tuate the species. When death ceases
in that future life, marriage is at an
end. Therefore St. Luke adds that
Jesus said ; " neither do they die any
more, being the children of the resur
rection." ff Are as the angels. They
are without the passions, are pure, celes
tial and immortal. They are filled with
chaste contemplations, and receive all
the impressions of divine purity, with
out the intervention of gross earthly
bodies as in this life.
31, 32. As touching the resurrection.
Two things deserve notice. 1. That our
Lord answers the Sadducees according
to their pecuhar notions. They held
only to the books of Moses. They
had cited from Moses the law of mar
riage, on which they had founded their
objection. Now, said our Saviour, from

256

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

God of Jacob ? God is not the God
of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude
heard this, they "were astonished
at his doctrine.
34 If But when the Pharisees
had heard that he had put the

the evident meaning of these very books,
you may learn the doctrine of the res
urrection as taught bv Moses. 2. Our
Lord did not undertake to explain the
doctrine, as it was revealed to the Chris
tian Church, after His return from the
grave. It was not in His divine pur
pose to anticipate it. The Scripture
which He cites is found Exod. iii. 6.
If when a man died, he ceased entirely
from all existence both in body and
soul, then, by all the laws of their lan
guage, he .must be spoken of as past
and as nothing. Moses would then
have heard Jehovah saying to him,
" I was the God of Abraham, &c." But
when he records the saying of the
Almighty to him, made long after the
deaths of the patriarchs, as in the pre
sent tense, he implied (so at least that
no one could deny, however they failed
to believe) that God declared the souls
of these men to be still existing in a
separate state. St. Luke says, that
Jesus added, for all live to Him. Their
cavil is therefore answered. It is plain
that the raising of the body in a spir
itual, incorruptible state is not directly
taught in this passage. That doctrine
belongs properly to the Christian
Church. 34, 40. A single Pharisee questions
Him. See Mark xii. 28-34 ; Luke xx.
39, 40.
34. The Pharisees gathered together.
In the temple where these conversations
occurred. The Pharisees were standing
near by. After they heard Jesus silence,
or as the Greek word strictly means
muzzle, as one would a brute beast,
their enemies, the Sadducees, they take
council to try Him still farther. They
select one of their number to question
Him.

Sadducees to silence, they were
gathered together.
35 6Then one of them which was
a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great
commandment in the law ?
b Lu. 10. 25, &c.

35. A lawyer. A teacher or doctor
of the law. St. Matthew says that the
question was put to tempt Jesus, to try
Him. This may have been with or
without an evil design. St. Mark says,
that this man "was not far from the
kingdom of God." For either the man
was of a candid and honest turn of
mind, and was desirous of learning the
truth in order to practise it, or he may
have been convinced by the perfect
clearness of the reply of our Lord, and
instantly acknowledged in his mind its
truth, and so "answered discreetly."
Mark xii. 34. At the same time the
other Pharisees had put him forward, as
one of the best of their number, with
a malicious design, and he, perhaps,
may have been conscious that he was
used as an instrument for this purpose.
ff Tempting Him. Testing Him in a,
difficult case, with or without the de
sire to see Him fail.
36. Which is the great commandment $
Which one law must we keep above all
others ? The Jewish rabbis had decided
that no man could observe perfectly all
the commands of the law delivered by
Moses, without infringing some of them
in the letter or spirit, by ignorance, ac
cident, force or self-will. Acts xv. 10.
They inferred, therefore, that God would
be satisfied if a man selected one of the
precepts, and observed it carefully. It
would serve for all. This had raised
the question among them, which was
the chief of the commands ? Some said
it was to observe the sacrifices, in which
they discovered the element of forgive
ness and perfection before God ; others
placed it in wearing the phylactery, by
which they were separated from the
Gentiles, and reminded of their election
as the people of the Lord : and others

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXH.

257

37 Jesus said unto him, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great
commandment. a Deut. 6. 5; 10.12.

exalted as paramount the law of circum
cision ; others, again, the precept of the
Sabbath. This lawyer was skilled in
these niceties, and doubtless ready to
argue on them till sunset. ff The law.
The law contained in the five books of
Moses. 37. Jesus said unto him. See St.
Mark xii. 29. Jesus gives His decision
in the words of Moses (Deut. vi. 4),
showing that the law had itself deter
mined the question. He makes no inno
vation, and offers no new theory for
mystical disputings, but answers fully,
by the very language of the lawgiver.
ff Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. A
man must love God with his best, high
est faculties, with the heart, i. e. with all
his affections and desires fixed on Him, as
his chief good : with soul ; his spiritual
nature must be fixed in the enjoyment
of His presence : with mind ; all his in
tellectual acts, opinions, conclusions,
must be brought into entire subjection
to the pure truth, as God has revealed
it... Lusts take the heart off from God ;
a rebellious will, the soul ; a false doc
trine, the mind. He only keeps the
whole law who avoids all. St. Mark
adds, " with all thy strength," which
means that we must love the Lord with
the. greatest diligence and degree of
affection. 38. This is the first and great com
mandment. Deut. v. 5. It is the source
of piety, that one thing which every man
must have to be saved. This is the
spirit of the first table of the law, on
which ^vere engraven the first four com
mands. A man must have this inward
principle of love to God, and he will then
have no other gods ; will bow down to
no created object, nor take God's name
in vain, nor fail in reverence to His
holy day and worship.

39 And the seeondb is like unto
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
40 On" these two command
ments hang all the law and the
prophets. b Lev. 19. 18 ; JEom. 13. 9 ; Jas. 2. 8. a Ch.
7.12; lTtm. 1.5.

39. The second is like unto it. As
much hke it as one table of stone was
to the other, or as the stream is to the
fountain. James iii. 11. The same
principle of love to God lies at the
foundation of both tables. James ii. 1 0,
11. A man cannot reconcile the dis
obedience of any one command with a
profession of the other. St. John de
clares love of the brethren to be the
evidence of our love of God, while the
love of God is the true source of a love
of the brethren. 1 John iv. 20. The
lawyer has his question answered, and
in a manner so satisfactory, that he can
make no objection. Our Lord thus
avoids the sophistries of men by the
simple words of Scripture.
40. On these two commandments hang,
dec. All things in the Old Testament
dispensation proceed from these two
laws ; all that Moses and the prophets
wrote are intended to bring men to this
principle of love. And if this was evi
dent in the Mosaic system, how much
more so is it in the Gospel. The Church
has placed this passage in the ante-com
munion service, just after the Deca
logue, in order, as Bishop White says,
"to give to the weight of Moses the
greater authority of Christ." It then
reminds the communicant that he must
have the spirit of love for God and man,
in attempting to keep the Command
ments. In Baptism a solemn promise
was made, that we should keep the com-^
mandments, both in their letter and
spirit. They are, therefore, read to us
when we approach the other sacrament,
that we may examine whether we have
kept that promise. Again, we are ex
horted by the priest to kneel down de
voutly, and make an humble confession
to Almighty God of all sins committed
against Him, in order that we may re-

258

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

41 1 While" the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus
asked them,
42 Saying, What think ye of
Christ ? whose son is he ? They
say unto him, The son of David.
43 He saith unto them, How
a Mark 12. 85, &c. ; Lu. 20. 41, &o.
ceive the sacrament to our comfort.
This use of the above passage, in our
service, shows us how seriously we
should regard it, as bearing to us the
same relation which the Decalogue did
to the Jews, sealed, as it were, by the
solemn condition which was made con
cerning the former : " Which, if a man
do, he shall live in them : I am the Lord."
Lev. xviii 5 ; Ex. xx. 11, 13. The
lawyer was convinced, and answered
from an honest heart, that Jesus had
" said the truth ; " that, indeed, this
principle of love contained in it all true
obedience, and was better than " whole
burnt-offerings and sacrifices." Where
upon our Lord declared that He was al
most prepared for the faith in Him, for
he was honest and open to conviction.
The enemies of Jesus were silenced from
that time.
41-46. Jesus now propounds a ques
tion. See Mark xii. 35—37 ; Luke xx.
41-44. 41. While, dec. Before they had sep
arated. Perhaps some httle time had
passed, in order that they might ask
Him any farther questions. But as it
appears that they are afraid to do so,
Jesus in turn becomes the questioner,
and by silencing them prepares the way
for the tremendous doctrines of the fol
lowing chapter. It is His last discourse
to the people. It is His parting from
them, and He is moved even to tears
that their house after this parting is
henceforth left unto them desolate.
42. What think ye of Christ? Or, of
the Christ, the Messiah. He does not
ask them, if they think Him to be the
Messiah, but what their opinion is con
cerning the Messiah, who is foretold in
tho Scriptures. It was a question which
they ought to have answerod in sim-

then doth David in spirit call
him Lord,6 saying,
44 The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
till I make thine enemies thy
footstool ?
45 If David then call him Lord,
how is he his son ?
b Ps. 110. 1 ; Acts 2. 84; Heb. 1. 18 ; 10. 12, 18.
plicity, but could not do so without
allowing that they had seen the signs
of divine power in Jesus, and refused to
obey Him. Our Lord does not solve
the difficulty, for He was unwilling to
declare openly every thing concerning
Himself until after the resurrection.
He makes it evident that the Messiah
was to be of a nature infinitely superior
to David, ff The son of David. See
note ch. i. 1. He was, as they knew, to
be a descendant of David.
43. How then, Sec. See Ps. ex. 1. How
is it possible that David should address
Him by a title, which could not in any
case be given to a natural descendant ?
The Pharisees could not answer. The
true answer is, that David called Him
Lord, because He was so. He was the
Lord Jehovah, and in His divine nature
David saw Him in heaven. And yet
He was to be his son— in His human
nature : and after the union of both
natures to hear the Father exalting Him
to His right hand for ever, ff In Spirit.
" By the Holy Ghost." Mark xii. 36.
The Old Testament was inspired for
this very purpose, that it should be the
vehicle and preparation for Christ the
Lord. Therefore, under the mere letter
of it, there runs the sublimer meaning
of the Gospel covenant. For when two
persons combine to utter truth, as did
the Holy Spirit and the spirit of David,
the voices of both will be heard. The
Psalter is used in the Church of Christ,
because of this inspiration. The Chris
tian is tutored by its constant repetition
to see under the letter, that seems to be
temporal and suited sometimes to David,
sometimes to his son Solomon, the pres
ence of David's greater Son, the Prince
of Peace. Ps. Ixxviii. 2 ; 1 Pet. i.<21 ;
Acts ii. 30-34 ; I 16 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 2.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXHI.

259

46 And no man was able to
answer" him a word, neither durst
any man, from that day forth, ask
him any more questions.
a Lu. 14. 6.

44. The Lord said, dec. Ps. ex. 1.
St. Jerome, who was a critical Hebrew
scholar and godly father has said, " Christ
is therefore called David's Lord, not in
respect of His descent from Him, but
in respect of His eternal generation from
the Father, wherein He was before His
father according to the flesh. And he
calls Him Lord, not by a mere chance,
nor of His own thought, but by the Holy
Spirit." The whole Psalm refers directly
to Christ, and cannot be explained ex
cept of Him ; nor of Him, except in His
incarnate nature. ff Thy footstool.
Shall be entirely subdued to Thee;
which will happen in its fulness at the
day of judgment. Ps. ii. 9-12 ; Heb.
x. 13; 1 Cor. xv. 25.
46. Neither, Sfc. Jesus had con
founded the various sects of the Jews,
asking and answering questions. The
first plots of His foes had failed. They
cannot catch Him in His words. They
now resort to violence.
CHAPTER XXIII.
1. Then spake Jesus, frc. It was His
last address to that multitude. The
Pharisees and rulers were hardened.
He speaks to the multitude in the tem
ple, in a sad, stern voice, seeking to
rouse them to repentance before it is too
late. His words fall in vain. They re
fuse Him, and rush on to destruction.
2. Scribes and Pharisees. Your
rulers and guides. See note ch. iii. 7.
ff They sit in Moses' seat. They are
your lawful rulers, and have a commis
sion from God to command your obe
dience, having succeeded Moses and the
seventy elders. Numb. xi. 16. To sit
in his seat means to hold his authority ;
as one takes a vacant seat of another
while he is absent. The Scribes and
Pharisees were the regular authorized
successors of Moses, and taught the in
terpretations of the law given by him.
3. All therefore, Sfc. All things which
they teach you out of, or according to

CHAPTER XXIII.
Passsion Week — Tuesday.
THEN spake Jesus to the mul
titude, and to his disciples,
the law of Moses. They were to obey
all that was read to them out of the
law and prophets, or evidently deduced
from it by plain inference. Secondly, to
obey all that was consistent with the
law. For in aU ages there will be
somewhat left to be decided, by the
living rulers of the Church, since the
law does not decide all particulars, but
only generals. An instance in point
was the tithing of mint, &c, verse 23.
It was not in the law, but was properly
inferred from its general principles, and
as it was commanded by lawful author
ity, was not discouraged by Christ. Jesus
cautioned the disciples against the
leaven of the Pharisees (ch. xvi. 6, 12),
and their dangerous conceits. Ch. xv.
1-9. ff But do not after their works.
" Christians are bound to observe what
ever their authorized ministers and
pastors shall defiver out of the Word of
God, and to consider every holy or
dinance as valid, which they shall per
form according to the holy institution
of Christ, even although their character
and conduct should not be wholly con
formable to the duties which they teach."
— Bp. Tomline. See Art. XXVI.
4. For they bind heavy burdens. They
prepare them for others. The phrase is
taken from the Eastern manner of load
ing the camel. Their burdens aro
packed in bundles and put upon their
backs. The Pharisees imposed the
severest ordinances on the people, and
made religion more weighty and labori
ous by numberless traditions. St Peter
called the system a burden which none
could bear with a quiet conscience.
Acts xv. 10. ff With one of their fingers.
This means, not that the Pharisees re
fused to observe these traditions them
selves, for they were both zealous and
scrupulous; but that they would not
lighten the burden of these useless ob
servances, when they saw others faint
ing under it. They, unlike the Lord of

260

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

2 Saying, The scribes and the
Pharisees sit" in Moses' seat :
3 All therefore whatsoever
they bid you observe, that ob
serve and do : but do not 6ye af
ter their works : for they say, and
do not.
4 For they bind heavy bur
dens," and grievous to be borne,
and lay them on men's shoulders ;
a Mai. 2. 7. 6 Eom. 2. 19. c Acts 15. 10.
all men, reverse His benovelent design,
and will have judgment before mercy.
Every imitation of true religion is harsh
and burdensome. The liberty of Christ
alone can make us indeed free.
5. Phylacteries. The word means
guards or preservatives. The corres
ponding word in Hebrew meant prayers.
They either imagined them. amulets to
keep them from evil, especially evil
spirits, or as a means of bringing to mind
the words of the law. Of the phylactery
St. Jerome says : " The Lord when He
had given the commandments of the
law through Moses, added at the end,
" and thou shalt bind tliem for a sign upon
thine hand, and they shall be ever before
thine eyes." Deut. vi. 8. The meaning
of which is, Let My precepts be in thine
hand so as to be fulfilled in thy works ;
let them be before thine eyes, so as that
thou shalt meditate upon them day and
night. This the Pharisees misinterpret
ing, wrote on parchments the Ten Com
mandments, and folding them up, tied
them on their forehead, so making them
a crown for their head, that they should
always be before their eyes. Moses had
in another place given command that
they should make fringes of blue in the
borders of their garments, to distinguish
the people of Israel (Numb. xv. 39):
that as in their bodies circumcision, so
in their garments, the fringe might dis
criminate the Jewish nation. But these
superstitious teachers, catching at popu
lar favor, and making gain of silly
women, made broad hems, and fastened
them with sharp pins, that as they
walked or sat they might be pricked,

but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do
for to be rfseen of men : they
make broad their 'phylacteries,
and enlarge the borders of their
garments, 6 And love-^ the uppermost
rooms at feasts, and the chief seats
in the synagogues,
d Ch. 6. 2, 5. e Num. 15. 38 ; Deut. 6. 8.
/Mark 12. 38, &c. ; Lu. 11. 48, &o.
and by such monitors be recalled to the
duties of God's service. This embroidery
then, of the Decalogue, they called
phylacteries, that is conservatories, be
cause those who wore them, wore them
for their own protection and security.
So little did the Pharisees understand
that they were to be worn on the heart
and not on the body." See Ex. xiii. 9 ;
Deut. xxii. 12.
6. The uppermost rooms at feasts. The
word room here, means only place, and
not a separate chamber, as it generally
signifies. It seems that the translators
used the word in the force which it re
tains, when we say, one has come into
the room of such a person ; i. e. into his
seat or place. The uppermost seat was
that nearest the master of the feast. In
their feasts the oriental nations anciently
reclined on couches, arranged on the out-
sides of three tables placed on three
sides of a square, and called a tri
clinium. They lay extended, three on
each couch, supporting the head with
the left arm and hand, and eating with
the right. This custom explains many
phrases in the four Gospels. To lay in
one's bosom at meals, as is said of St.
John (Lu. xvi. 22 ; John xiii 23), is to
be the one reclining just before another.
And the anointing of the Saviour's
feet (Lu. -vii. 37, 38), was easily done
by a person passing behind the couch
on which He lay. ff Chief seats in the
synagogue. At first those Jews who had
no office in the synagogue, sat according
to age, but afterwards it became cus
tomary for tho more learned to occupy
the higher seats. This custom had en-

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIII.

261

7 And greetings in the mar
kets, and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Babbi.
8 But be not ye called "Rabbi :
for one is your Master, beven
a Jas. 3. 1.

gendered an inordinate desire for such
a useless distinction. It is the spirit of
ostentation and love of applause, which
is condemned. It may be shown now
by one who affectedly seeks for the
lowest seat, as if to show how humble
he is, and how good a Christian. The
only way to avoid the thing condemned
by our Lord, is to seek to be truly
humble. 7. Greetings in the market-places. Sa
lutations at the street-corners and in the
assemblies of men. They loved to hear
their disciples hail them in a crowd, as
Rabbi, great teacher, &c. The same
inordinate love of human applause is
condemned in these three verses. It is
inconsistent with the proper character
of a rehgious teacher. Ministers should
fear God entirely, and value beyond all
things the approval of a conscience void
of offence, ff Rabbi. My great one ;
my teacher or master. See John i. 38 ;
xx. 16. It was a Hebrew title given
to those who were learned in the laws
of Moses.
8. Be not ye, dec. Certain men have
understood these words literally, and
while seeking to avoid one error of the
Pharisees, have fallen into their worst,
that of interpreting the letter without
the spirit. To call one Rabbi, implied
a degree of subservience to him at that
time, which was inconsistent with a
right judgment. The Jews were con
tent with what the Rabbi said, and
looked no farther. They received his
sayings as infallible. What is here
commanded is this : not to use such ti
tles nor receive them, which would lead
any to yield undue submission to any
man's will and judgment. St. Paul
called Timothy his own "son in the Gos
pel." Timothy could surely without sin
have called him his father in the same
sense. It is not lawful to receive teach
ers and fathers among men, so as to

Christ ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your fa
ther upon the earth : for one is
your Father which is in Heaven.
10 Neither be ye called mas-
b Mark 1. 6.

forget that all are alike subject to
Christ. Titles of distinction are inevi
table. What more honorable than the
name Apostle ? If the best men should,
by common consent, take the humblest
title, say of servants, it would at once
become a word of honor. When such
words detract from the honor of God, or
incline us to lean on human authority,
or to forget that we are brethren, they
are wrong. Our Lord can hardly be
imagined to have been thinking, at so
solemn a time as this, of the innocent
customs of literary degrees, as has been
somewhat strangely fancied by some
men. 9. And call no man your father upon
earth. A precept of the same significa
tion as the last, and to be limited hke
it, by the laws of good judgment. Chil
dren must call their parents by a name,
and must do it with reverence suited
to their superiority. Eph. vi. 1 ; Col. iii
20. The Jews called the Rabbis Abba,
father, and puffed_ them with foolish
conceits. The Christians are to call no
man father on earth, in the sense that
they are to be named by no name of
rehgious teachers as depending upon
them, without studying the Scriptures
for themselves : not to reverence any
man however learned or pious, whether
Calvin or Wesley or any one, so as to
follow his commands, without inquiring
whether he has followed Christ. But
aside from this error Christians may
safely follow their religious guides in
the paths of Scriptural practices aud
teachings. See Heb. xiii. 17.
10. Masters. Not masters of families,
but leaders or guides of men. The
Christian teacher is to subject all his
teachings to tiie revealed Word of God,
and seek to teach the truth in its purity
and simplicity, not mingling it with his
own individual notions and additions,
in order to make himself the leader of

262

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

ters : for one is your Master, even
Christ. 11 But he that is "greatest
among you, shall be your servant.
12 And 'whosoever shall exalt
himself, shall be abased ; and he
that shall humble himself, shall
be exalted.
13 But wo unto you, scribes
a Ch. 20. 26, 27. b Prov. 29. 28 ; 1 Pet.
5.5.those who hear him, to have them de
pend on him, and require his help to
walk in novel paths, whither he has led
them. A Christian should study Scrip
ture, and obey it first of all. If in
doubt, he should consent to the opinion
of the Church, as far as possible, know
ing that Christ has promised to lead her
into truth. If still undecided, he may
study the writings of holy and learned
men in order to form a sound and pru
dent opinion. Else, while he wishes
first of all to find out what his favorite
leader has said, and flatters himself that
he is a liberal man, he is forgetting the
"spirit of the Lord Jesus, and is making
himself hable to be blown about by
every wind of doctrine.
11, 12. Greatest. In allusion to
the word Rabbi, whfch means, my great
one. This sentiment occurs ten times
in the Gospels. See note, ch. xx. 26.
Jesus honors and blesses true humility,
but not affected, not the pride which
apes it.
13. Wo unto you, dec. Wo, i o.
sorrow and punishment shah come upon
you. Rev. viii. 13. ff Ye hypocrites.
See note ch. vi 2. Jesus denounces
woes against these wicked and impious
men which were soon to be terribly ful
filled. He concludes with the sublime
wail over their city. The dark clouds
begin to gather around the great cen
tral truth of Christianity — the Crucifix
ion : when even the laws of inanimate
nature were shocked for awhile out of
their course. All the remainder of this
Gospel glooms with the coming eclipse of
the Sun of Righteousness. It contains
the prophecy of the Destruction of the

and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven
against men : for ye neither go in
yourselves, neither suffer ye them
that are entering to go in.
14 Wo unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites I 'for ye de
vour widows' houses, and for a
pretence make long prayer :
c2Tim. 3. 6; Tit. 1, 11.

Holy City, the end of all things, the
Judgment, betrayal, death, and burial,
with a few verses at the close telling of
the resurrection, ff For ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven. See note ch. iii. 2.
They prevented men from believing in
Jesus, and entering into His covenant
They would not believe in Him them
selves, nor suffer others whom they could
influence to do so. They not only op
posed Him with their pohtical power
and violence, but they had corrupted the
interpretation of prophecy, and obscured
it by their traditions, so that the common
people could not appreciate the claims
of the Messiah, when they were pre
sented to them. Lu. xi. 52.
14. See Mark xii. 40 ; Luke xx. 47.
Devour widows' houses. Houses signifies
the property or means of support of
unprotected widows. This sin is men
tioned in close connection with " for a
pretence make long prayer." The one
is cause, the other effect. They put on
an appearance of great sanctity, and
made long prayers and observed strictly
the forms of religion, and persuaded by
such means weak and piously disposed
women to put confidence in them. De
votion was a mask to avarice. When
once they had obtained possession, they
robbed their victims of every thing.
Widows are unprotected, and unable in
most countries to act for themselves in
matters of property. They are spoken
of, therefore, in Scripture, as under the
special charge of the Almighty. Ex.
xxii. 22; Deut. x. 18; James i. 27.
Nothing is more corrupting to religion
than such hypocrisy, ff Long prayer.
They used long prayers to gain the ends

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIH.

263

therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation.
15 Wo unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye
compass sea and land to make
one proselyte ; and when he is
made, ye make him two-fold
I Or, Gehenna. a Ch. 15. 14.

of avarice. They are said to have re
mained three hours in prayer, and pre
tended that their lengthened devotions
ava led for others who gave them money,
as well as for themselves. The der
vishes of Persia at present perform won
derful feats in their long continued
prayers ; but seem not to have, reached
the educated skill of the Romanist
priests in exacting money, by their de
votions, from the simple and pious.
ff Damnation. As their long prayers
testified their deliberate malice, and
were a continued insult to the Almighty,
to whom they pretended to do honor,
while they sought only to make Him a
party to their designs, and broke the
spirit of all His laws ; therefore these
prayers would only work out for them
a more severe condemnation. It would
be greater than it would have been if
they had been less bold and artful in
their sin. They were not condemned
for long prayers, for we have the ex
ample of such in Daniel (ch. ix. 3), of
Anna (Luke ii. 37), and of our Lord
himself, Who often continued all night in
prayer. See vi. 12. Their making
prayer a pretence and hypocritical show
for wicked purposes was an impiety.
15. Ye compass sea and land. They
spared no pains to make one a convert
to their opinions : which zeal was com
mendable, only that the end was bad.
ff Proselyte. A Gentile converted to
the Jewish rehgion. There were great
distinctions allowed among these. There
were some who embraced the whole Jew
ish system and sought earnestly for its
rewards. And among the best of these
was the centurion (ch. viii. 5) and Cor
nelius mentioned Acts x. These were
called proselytes of righteousness. Others
received only certain parts of the sys-

more the child of 'hell than your-

16 Wo unto you, ye 'blind
guides ! which say, Whosoever
shall swear by the temple, it is
nothing ; but whosoever shall
swear by the gold of the temple,
he is a debtor.
tern, but not circumcision, and others
were only circumcised as a means of
safety. The Pharisees spared no labor
to make men their followers, and that to
increase the power of the nation. But
they confused those whom they convert
ed, by their notions, and corrupted them
by their vanities and false doctrines.
Often converts from one religion to an
other simply reject their old supersti
tions and seize eagerly all the worse
parts of their new faith, and end in be
coming infidels^ Such were these pros
elytes. The Jewish writers as well as
the Christian inform us that these con
verts were notorious for their impiety.
ff Child of hell. Worthy of eternal
punishment. In the Hebrew phraseol
ogy, they were children of any thing,
who did the works which merited or
belonged to it. We learn that there are
degrees of punishment in hell, since
these converts were twice as wicked as
the heathen. A sinner's punishment
is increased by reason of his greater sins.
16. Which say, Spc. See note ch. v.
33, 37. If a man swear at all that he
will do a certain thing, it is supposed
that he has uttered in this manner the
whole truth of his soul, that he has
called upon God who seeth the secrets
of his heart to witness that he is sol
emnly bent on being faithful to his word,
and to punish him if he should by fear or
treachery prove false. Therefore oaths
were made only in the name of some
intelligent being, who could know the
secrets of the inner mind. But the
Pharisees invented a most detestable
and dangerous distinction in their sol
emn oaths. If this horrible doctrine is
once beheved and practised, it ruins so
ciety, destroys faith among men, and
makes way for every crime. Therefore

264

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

17 Ye fools, and blind ! for
whether is greater, the gold, or
the "temple that sanctifieth the
gold? 18 And whosoever shall swear
by the altar, it is nothing ; but
whosoever sweareth by the gift
that is upon it, he is 'guilty.
19 Ye fools, and blind! for
a Ex. 30. 29. 1 Or, a debtor, or, bound.
oaths are forbidden. Therefore let
Christians be true in all their communi
cations, and not deceiving themselves
with vain and deceitful distinctions in
their promises. To swear by the gold
of the temple was nothing indeed, unless
it meant to call on God to punish
treachery in the one who broke the
oath, ff Gold of the temple. Any of
the gold with which the temple was
ornamented. It shows a trifling spirit
of oath-making. A man in a vain con
versation would take an oath thought
lessly by some golden article of the
temple. He must keep the oath, be
cause of some ignorant superstition of
the Pharisees. To be a debtor, was to
be bound in debt to that gold, not as
belonging to God, but as a precious
metal : bound to keep the vow made, or
commute for it by money.
17. That sanctifieth the gold. Any
thing is sanctified which is set apart for
sacred uses. It is no more to be used
for common purposes. For a man to be
holy he must give his will to the influ
ences of God's Holy Spirit, which dwells
in him if he is in covenant with God.
But for any inanimate object to be
sanctified, it needs only that the will of
God be known, that he accepts it for
His own uses. The temple was sacred,
even that of Herod. The Saviour here
calls it sanctified. Churches are holy
places, and should be entered with that
awe which befits the presence of Him
who inhabits them. It was a foolish
notion of the Pharisees, that one article
of the temple could be sacred, because a
precious metal, and not another. Jesus
teaches us to put reverence on the right

whether6 is greater, the gift, or
the altar that sanctifieth the gift ?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear
by the altar, sweareth by it, and
by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by
the temple, sweareth by it, and
by "him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by
6 Ex. 29. 3T. c 1 Kings 8. 18 ; Ps. 26. 8,
& 132. 13.

ground, and reverence all the temples of
His worship, because they are His.
18. The altar. The great altar of
burnt-offerings, which stood before the
porch of the temple. See 2 Chron. v. 1.
See note ch. v. 23. It was a place of
great veneration, since it was the in
strument by which the great idea of
sacrifice was preserved ; where men met
God to seek for pardon of sin. ff The
gift that is upon it. The sacrifices of
animals. These were gifts made unto
God by the people. They were com
manded for purposes of religion. The
Pharisees seem to have rated the holi
ness of an oath by the market value of
the object sworn by, so that they might
be the gainers by this price-current of
piety. No Christian should permit the
first advances of what is called the doc
trine of reserve. His word should be
true, and kept by him from love of truth
for its own sake. They should avoid
all light and vain invocations of sacred
things, for God may, ere they are aware,
call them into judgment for idle words,
of which it will be a poor excuse to
claim a want of meaning in saying
them. 21. Him that divelleth therein. Jeho
vah, the Second Person of the Divine
Trinity, dwelt in the temple of Solomon,
in the symbol of the Glory or Shechinah.
1 Kings viii. 10-13. But in the second
temple, repaired by Herod, He dwelt
not, except to the eye of faith, as He
now dwells in the sacred courts of
churches. Our Lord shows us how we
ought to reverence all those houses
which, like that second temple, are con
secrated by a faith of His Presence.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIH.

265

heaven, sweareth by the throne of
God, and by him that sitteth
thereon. 23 Wo unto you scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye
pay tithe of mint, and anise, and
cummin, and have "omitted the
a 1 Sam. 15. 82; Hos. 6. 6; Mic. 6. 8.
22. The throne of God. In heaven,
the place of the most glorious manifes
tation of the Deity, where Christ sitteth
at God's right hand. It is represented
in Scripture as above us, in order to im
press on our minds that it is infinitely
glorious and above our comprehension.
" Set your affections on things above,"
said the Apostle (Col. iii. 2), which
words are intended to lead us to form
a noble idea of the greatness and glory
of the enjoyments of heaven.
23. Ye pay tithe, Sec. Another abuse
of God's law of which they were guilty,
was the exalting inferior precepts to fill
the place of the higher commands of
mercy and truth. The Jews were re
quired to pay a tenth part or tithe of all
their property, for the support of the
ministers of religion. The Levites had
no part of the land of Canaan assigned
to them in the original division of it.
They were to serve as priests, to do re
hgious service for all. Therefore Jeho
vah gave command that they should
be supported by all in common. And
He manifested His pleasure that it
should be yielded to them with a hberal
hand. Numb, xviii. 20-24. The tithes
were paid in kind, an actual tenth of
the year's increase ; but when a Jew
lived at a distance from Jerusalem, he
was permitted to change it into money
and bring that to the priests. Deut. xiv.
24, 25, 27, 29. They were to be liberal
to the poor also, and to be blessed ac
cording to tbeir piety and charity.
How much more should a Christian
give freely of his income for the honor
able support of religion and for charities,
since he lives under a more liberal dis
pensation, ff Mint, anise and cummin.
Mint was the same plant which we
now know by the name. The Jews
Vol. I.— 12

weightier matters of the law, judg
ment, mercy, and faith: these
ought ye to have done, and not
to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain
at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Wo unto you, scribes and

scattered it on the floors of their syna
gogues. Anise was what we now call
dill, an herb of strong aromatic smell ;
and cummin, a plant like our fennel. Is.
xxviii. 25-27. They were all garden
herbs of the least value, and specimens
of the rigidness of the Pharisees. They
were commanded to " truly tithe all the
increase of their seed," and they strained
their observance to tho very letter of
the law. Deut. xiv. 22. Our Lord
condemns them, not for exact and scru
pulous obedience in even such small
matters, but for forgetting the greater.
No man can safely disregard what it is
fashionable to call minor matters or mere
externals, if he is convinced that they are
required of him, and provided that in
obeying such, he still performs all other
duties, ff Judgment. Justice to all
men. See Is. i. 17-23. ff Mercy. They
showed no mercy in exacting these les
ser matters. ff Faith. Trust in God ;
an enlarged and unselfish belief in His
nature and laws, which wpuld have
opened their minds to the true princi
ples of piety. All material things are
useful, as they are signs and vehicles
to teach us the nature of justice and
mercy toward men, and faith toward
God. ff These ought ye to have done.
We may not take it upon us to disregard
habitually the least commandment
which has the Divine sanction, because
it may seem to us small. If any thing
is a duty, neglect of it is a sin, and may
become a great sin.
24. Which strain at a gnat. The old
translation was better, "which strain
out a gnat." The gnat was a small in
sect generated in wine or falling into
it. The Pharisees reckoned it among
the unclean animals. Lev. xi. 4. For
fear, therefore, of moral contamination

266

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

Pharisees, hypocrites ! "for ye
make clean the outside of the cup
and of the platter, but within
they are full of extortion and ex
cess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse
first that which is within the cup
and platter, that the outside of
them may be clean also.
27 Wo unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! 'for ye are

they were exceeding careful to strain
the liquids which they drank. The
camel was a huge and unwieldy beast
of burden, larger than an ox. The
saying seems to have been a proverb.
One similar is reported as common
among the Arabs. " He swallowed an
elephant, but was strangled by a flea."
The intention is, by a verbal exaggera
tion, which is usual in proverbs, to de
scribe a common but foolish custom.
The Pharisee, whose conscience had
pricked him and made him sad, if he
had by chance swallowed a gnat, could
yet go quietly and comfortably under
the camel load of such sins as injustice,
cruelty and impiety. He had wept at
the shocking accident of failing to tithe
a bundle of herbs, but could shout
hoarsely, " His blood be on us and on
our ehildren," nor sleep the less soundly
afterwards. 25. Ye make clean the outside, Sfc.
Their vessels for food and drink. These
they kept clean. But they did with
themselves, as one who would carefully
cleanse the outside of a cup and dish,
while he left the part from which he
took his food foul and unsightly. They
appeared well to their countrymen, and
deceived them as to their real charac
ters. We see their inner depravity by
the light of revelation. But they are
warnings to us, that we neither be such,
nor be deluded by such. We must pu
rify the heart within us in the fear of
God, and guard the outward habits,
that they be in keeping with honesty
and goodness there, ff Full of extor-

like unto whited sepulchres, which
indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead men's
bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly
appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy
and iniquity.
29 Wo unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! "because ye
build the tombs of the prophets,
6 Lu. 11. 44 ; Acts 23. 8. c Lu. 11. 47.
tion and excess. The figure is carried
out. They, the dishes, are full of extor
tion and excess, which the Pharisee
swallowed down without scruple. Prov.
xviii 21. Extortion is the unjust wrest
ing away the property or rights of oth
ers, by magistrates and rulers. Excess,
like gluttony or intemperance, was tho
excessive wickedness which they show
ed, not dissimilar to the effects of
wine. 26. Cleanse first, Sec. If a man will
cleanse first the heart, then all the life
will soon be pure and pious. The heart
has in it the issues of life. Prov. iv.
23. Let us beware how we reverse
thi3 law, and hope to reform men, by
cleansing first tiie moral appearance
and habits, before we aim at the heart.
A drunkard reformed is a good work.
But a scheme of reformation which
goes on the direct reverse of this pre
cept, is not a good thing, but is a false
and infidel scheme, and certain to end
in disappointment.
27. Like unto whited sepulchres. The
last figure of speech taught a voluntary
uncleanness. This shows the next step
of a reprobate condition. They are dead
in trespasses and sins. Those who will
not 'serve God, will be at length given
ove&iy His Spirit to be only graves of
all virtue : to themselves a shame, to
others an offence or a pitfall, ff Whited
sepulchres. See note ch. viii. 28. These
tombs, which were made in the sides of
rocks or otherwise, were kept white
washed, in order that all men might
avoid them. A sepulchre, or a corpse,

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXHI.

267

and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in
the days of our fathers, we would
not have been partakers with
them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the

a Acts 7. 51, 52; 1 Thes. 2. 15.
15.16; 1 Thes. 2.16.

b Gen.

children of them which" killed the
prophets. 32 Fill Jye up then the measure
of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye "generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the
damnation of hell1 ?
34 If Wherefore behold, I send
c Ch. 8. 7 ; & 12. 84. I Or, Gehenna.

defiled a Jew. See Numb. xix. 16.
The rabbis went so far as to mark with
lime or chalk the ground under which
the sepulchral caves extended. How
awful a figure to show the condition of
a dead soiil. These men stood in the
temple of God, rulers and guides of their
nation, adorned outwardly with the
scrupulous observances of the Mosaic
ritual, yet within filled with a horrible
iniquity, which no words can describe
accurately, but such as offend.
29. Ye build the tombs of the prophets.
Their malice corrupts even their acts
of piety. They erected tombs over the
prophets who had been slain. They
garnished their sepulchres, making them
white and beautiful outwardly, that
men might bear in mind their virtues,
and learn that they condemned the vi
olence which killed them. Could it be
possible that these same men should be
meditating a similar crime ; that they
should do the same violence, to cause
new tombs for other generations to gar
nish and honor ? These tombs were in
the valley of Jehoshaphat, south of the
Holy City. Small chambers were cut
in the steep cliffs, with niches at right
angles from the central room, in which
the bodies of the dead were deposited.
Dead bodies were wrapped in clean lin
en cloths, with a quantity of aromatic
spices, and placed in these rocky cham
bers without coffins.
31. Ye be witnesses to yourselves.
They condemned the cruelty of their
ancestors. They honored their tombs.
But they were cherishing the hatred,
which would lead them to the same
violence against Jesus. They thus con
demned themselves. It was easy for

them to build and garnish the tomb of
a dead prophet ; but hard to obey the
instructions of a living one. ff Children
of them, Sec. Children inherit the senti
ments of their parents. The Pharisees
inherited the hostility, violence, and op
pression of their ancestors, in conspiring
against Jesus. Acts vii. 51, 52.
32. Fill ye up then, Sec. A sublime
strain of prediction. It is not a com
mand, but a warning. It takes the im
perative form, to startle them by the
sense of contradiction. We often use
this form of words in earnest speech,
and it is beyond measure eloquent in
this discourse. " Go on, destroy Me,
and My disciples. Seek to put down
the Gospel. You will thus fill up the
measure, and reach the limit of cruelty
and bloodshed, beyond which the Di
vine vengeance will awake and over
whelm your nation." It is called the
measure of their fathers, because, in
temporal punishments, God visits the
sins of the fathers upon the children,
who inherit the same wicked dispositions,
He looks upon nations as if they were
'individuals, and in finally punishing
them, repays the sins of their ancestors,
which the succeeding generations have
not repented of and cast off.
33. Ye serpents, dec. They had the
subtlety, and venom of the serpent. As
one killed the body, so they destroyed
the souls of men. Their malice was to
destroy even their Messiah. The denun
ciation here rises to an appalling climax
of woe. ff Generation of vipers. See
notes, chap, iii 7 ; and xii. 34. Men are
not to imitate this language, for they
have not the power of knowing all that
is in the heart. The words which our

268

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

unto" you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes ; and some of them ye
shall kill* and crucify, and some
of them shall ye "scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them
frOm city to city :
35 rfThat upon you may come
a Lu. 11. 49. b Acts 5. 40 ; & 7. 58, 59.

Lord used of these men, were justified
by the result. This result He knew
and forewarns them of it. But no Chris
tian can assume the same knowledge and
seize in his feeble, sinful hands the pre
rogatives of Divine vengeance, ff Dam
nation of hell. Gehenna. The condem
nation to everlasting punishment. How
could they escape it ? Only by repent
ance and faith in Him, which they re
fused. This condemnation is anticipat
ed in the gloomy despair of the lost,
who are now reserved in chains of dark
ness. It really begins, when the body
and soul are united again, after the-res-
f,rrection. Let each one lay the words
o heart, for the castigation of his own
sinful passions, that he may learn to
renounce the wicked deeds which lead
men to this fearful end.
34. Prophets and wise men, Sec. The
first Christian Apostles and teachers.
They were inspired by the Holy Ghost
with gifts of prophecy and wisdom, to
warn the people of their sins and dan
ger. Ex. vii. 1 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 1, 34 ;
John iv. 19. These were cruelly treated.
The Jews stoned Stephen (Acts vii. 59),
cut off James, or rather caused a cruel"
king to do it, to please them. Acts xii.
2. They scourged Peter and the Apos
tles (Acts v. 40), persecuted Paul and
Barnabas from city to city, and doubtless
many others whose names are written
only in the martyrology of the Lamb's
book of life, ff Scourge. See note,
ch. x. 17. They did it Acts xxii,
19-24 ; 2 Cor. xi. 24. 25. ff Perse
cute. Wrongfully oppress and rage
against. See note, ch. v. 10; Acts
viii. 1.
35. That upon you may come, Sfc.
There is a measure of guilt which na-

all the righteous blood shed up
on the earth, from the blood of
righteous 'Abel, unto the /blood
of Zacharias, son of Barachias,
whom ye slew between the tem
ple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All
c 2 Cor. 11. 24, 25. d Key. 18. 24. e Sen.
4. 8. /2 Chron. 24. 20, 21.
tions cannot pass, without bringing
down upon them all the accumulated
woes of Divine vengeance. The Ro
mans acted on a natural principle in
devoting Jerusalem to total ruin; for
they judged that a nation that could
not be quiet in peace, and would not be
warned by war, was beyond hope. It
is a law of God, written in our natural
reason, as well as in the Scripture, that
one generation binds the burden of its
sins upon the next, and leaves the pay
ment of its crimes to those that follow.
The man who abuses his body, trans
mits disease to his children ; the one
who squanders his property, bequeaths
rags to his posterity, and the one who
knowingly embraces error, leaves them
to grope in ignorance and schisms. The
individual by repentance may escape
the final doom of sin, but seldom escapes
these results here. And when these
evils are common to a whole people,
the trouble is aggravated in tenfold
proportion, till neither heaven nor earth
can withhold vengeance. So it happen
ed to Sodom, to the Canaanites, to
Ninevah, to Jerusalem, and so it will
be with the world, ff Righteous blood.
Blood of innocent persons, ff Righteous
Abel. See Gen. iv. 8. ff Zacharias
the Son of Barachias. There are va
rious opinions concerning this person.
1. That he was a righteous man, slain
just before the destruction of Jerusalem,
and mentioned by Josephus. De Bell,
Jud., bk. iv. ch. 19. But the words
do not agree to this. Our Lord says
" whom ye slew," referring to the past
2. The prophet Zechariah. But we
have no mention of his death in the
temple, and St. Jerome mentions a fact
against it, that in the time of that pro-

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

269

these things shall come upon this
generation. 37 0 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which are sent
unto thee,6 how often would I
have gathered thy children to
gether, even as a hen gathereth
a Lu. 13. 84 b Deut. 82. 11, 12.

phet, there was scarcely the ruins of
the temple to be found. It seems to be
agreed therefore that, 3. He was the
high-priest Zacharias, mentioned 2
Chron. xxiv. 20, 21. He reproved the
people and was slain by the order of
King Joash, between the sanctuary and
the altar. It was a crime of blackest
dye ; for it was perpetrated in the very
presence of the Almighty, and in defiance
of the reverence due to Him, to His high-
priest and His temple. He is called in
the Old Testament, the son of Jehoida.
Barachias may have been a second
name. Abel and Zacharias are men
tioned rather as the examples of dif
ferent grades of crime, than from the
exact order of time, ff Between the
temple and the altar. This part of the
temple was esteemed as a sanctuary to
which even the most criminal (certain
cases excepted, Ex. xxi. 12 ; 1 Kings
ii. 28, 35) might flee for safety. Tem
ples were reverenced by all the ancient
nations. Even the heathen abhorred
such a deed of violence.
36. Upon this generation. It was
fulfilled about forty years afterwards.
See notes, ch. xxiv.
37. 0 Jerusalem, Sec. This is the
solemn farewell of the Saviour over the
city, after His last public address. He
mourns over the nation and the city,
where Jehovah had shown such love and
mercy for generations. How touching,
how pitiful ! He sees the dark fate
glooming over the city, and His final
words are of tender mournfulness and
mercy. 38. Your house. The temple. It is
no longer God's house, it is yours. He
has left it, and has no more claim in it.

her chickens" under her wings,
and ye would not !
38 Behold , your house is left
unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Te shall
not see me henceforth, till ye
shall say, ^Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord.
a Ps. 17. 8 ; & 91. 4. d Ch. 21. 9 ; Ps. 118.

ff Desolate. Deserted by God. How
ever it might be thronged by men or
adorned with gifts, the Divine Presence
was withdrawn : the day of its doom
begun. 39. Ye shall not, Sec Ye who were
angry at the words of the httle chil
dren, welcoming Me into the temple,
shah see Me no more, until My coming
in terrific majesty, to avenge these
wrongs; when happy will ye think
yourselves if ye can then echo that
chant. See Ro. xi. 25-32. The pub
lic ministry of the Saviour is finished
with these words. The plots thickened
against Him, and He kept aloof from the
rulers, till they corrupted Judas and
consummated their wickedness.
The above Scripture from verse 34
to the end is used as the holy Gospel
for St. Stephen's Day, December 26.
The account of his trial and death is
found Acts vi. and vii. He was the first
Christian martyr, and called therefore
the Proto-martyr. His death happened
about eleven months after the Crucifix
ion. The Collect sets before us in our
prayers, his example, " that we in all our
sufferings for the testimony of the truth,
may steadfastly look up to heaven and
by faith behold the glory that shall be
revealed, and being filled with the Holy
Ghost may learn to love and bless our
persecutors." CHAPTER XXTv".
1. The destruction of the city and temple
foretold, and, as by a type, the end of the
world. See Mark xiii. 1-37 ; Luke xxi.
5-36. And Jesus went out. As He was
leaving the hill of Moriah, the disci
ples, as if to soften the effect of His
words, spoke to Him of the magnifi-

270

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

CHAPTER XXIV.
Passion Week — Tuesday.
AND "Jesus went out, and de
parted from the temple : and
his disciples came to him for to
a Mark 13. 1, &o. ; Lu. 21. 5, &c.

cence of the temple, whereupon He
foretells its speedy destruction. He was
on His way to Bethany by the road
winding over the mount of Olives.
ff The buildings of the temple. St. Mark
mentions particularly that they showed
Him the stones of the temple, which
were very large. It was a silent re
monstrance against its destruction.
The temple seemed a vast pile of build
ings, viewing it from the path upon the
mount of Olives. Josephus mentions
some of the stones of its base as " forty-
five cubits in length, five in height, and
six in breadth. These were chiefly in
the east wall, which rose from the val
ley to a prodigious height, with stones
of great bulk and firmly compacted
together, and made a grand appearance
at a distance." They pointed out also
their beauty, the "goodly stones and
gifts." Luke xxi. 5. Bp. Porteus fur
nishes the true key to this somewhat
difficult chapter. "This chapter con
tains one of the clearest and most im
portant prophecies that is to be found
in the Sacred writings ; that which our
blessed Lord delivered respecting the
destruction of Jerusalem, to which the
whole of this chapter in its primary ac
ceptation refers. At the same time it
must be admitted, that the forms of ex
pression, and the images employed are,
for the most part, applicable also to the
day of judgment ; and that an allusion
to that great event, runs through almost
every part of the prophecy. It is by
no means uncommon in the prophetical
writings, that two subjects, a principal
and a subordinate one, should be carried
on together. (See Is. hi.) - In this man
ner our Saviour here seems to hold out
the destruction of Jerusalem, which is
His principal subject, as a type of the
destruction of tie world, which is the un
der part of the representation. This

shew him the buildings of the
temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them,
See ye not all these things ? ver
ily I say unto you,4 There shall
b 1 Kings 9. 7; Jer. 26. 18; Mio. 8. 12.

general remark is a key to the whole
prophecy, and will afford an easy solu
tion to several difficulties which occur
in it." The fall ot the city is, as Bp.
Warburton has it, "a speaking hiero-

2. There shall not be left one stone
upon another. Nothing could seem more
improbable than this prediction. In
the punishments of the nation, the
temple, under every reverse and change
of fortune, had survived. It had been
robbed, destroyed, its building delayed.
It had been desecrated, had fallen into
the hands of various heathen powers,
and yet it rose and remained, stately,
vital, and seemingly eternal. As if
founded on the true Rock of Ages, it
was based in the solid rock of Mount
Moriah, and seemed, in its haughty
beauty, to defy the powers of man. The
nation though subdued was at peace.
The Romans respected the temple, and
to the last sought to save it. Yet the
true Rock had left it. Its real strength
was gone. Forty years after this a
Roman army under Titus destroyed it,
and later, Terentius Rufus, who was
left in Palestine, ordered its site to be
torn up by the ploughshare. (See Micah.
iii. 12.) Eusebius the Christian historian,
two centuries later, tells us that he saw
it lying in ruins. And now the mosk
of Omar, sacred in the eyes of the in
fidel Moslems, occupies its site, and
neither Jew nor Christian is allowed, on
pain of death, to intrude upon the sum
mit of the mountain. The conflagration
of the temple, begun by a Roman sol
dier without orders, occurred on the
month and day of the year, on which
it had been formerly destroyed by the
Babylonian armies. It had been from
the first a sacred type of God's plan of
action on the great stage of the world.
In the solemn scenes here foretold and

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXTV.

271

not be left here one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown
down. 3 1" And as he sat upon the
mount of Olives, the disciples came
unto him privately, saying, Tell
us," when shall these things be ?
and what shall be the sign of thy
a 1 Thes. 5. 2. b Eph. 5. 6 ; 2 Thes. 2. 8.

almost exactly echoed by the Jewish
historian, in recording the event, we
may catch the solemn undertone of that
last conflagration and destruction of
the world. St. John, the only Evangehst
who wrote after the fall of the city, does
not record this prediction. Thus
carefully has the Spirit of inspiration
guarded the character of the sacred
writers, and prevented the suspicions of
unbelievers. 3. And as He sat upon the Mount of
Olives. It rose to the east of the tem
ple, commanding a full view of its sacred
buildings, and of the whole city, ff The
disciples came to Him privately. Four
of them did this, Peter, James, John
and Andrew. Mark xiii. 3. The former
words had been said, as they were walk
ing, to all the disciples. The four now
seek Him privately to ask the meaning.
ff When shall these things be? From
Mark and Luke, it seems that the ques
tions proposed were, when and by what
signs shall we know that these things will
happen ? St. Matthew records three sep
arate questions. The disciples could
have had very vague notions of the end
of the world ; and Bishop Pearce, with
some justice, would translate their ques
tion, " What shall be the sign of the end
of the age, or Jewish dispensation ? " But
we may reasonably suppose Jesus to
answer the question in its fulness, and
that the language of the chapter is a
full reply, according to prophetic rules,
of these three queries : When shall the
temple be destroyed ? What will be the
sign of Thy coming in Glory ? What
will be the sign of the end of the world ?
It is a law of music that if a note be
struck clearly every string which is in
unison will vibrate with it : and in that

coming, and of the end of the
world ?
4 And Jesus answered and
said unto them/ Take heed that
no man deceive you.
5 For "many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ ; and
shall deceive many.
e 1 John 4. 1.
sublimer harp of prophecy, to which
the divine chants of the future were ut
tered, the same law holds good. The
note struck most clearly is the answer
to the first question, but every ear must
catch the under swell of the diapason,
that replies, as by an unison note, to the
other two inquiries. Jerusalem was a
grand dramatic type and symbol of
grander mysteries from first to last.
There Melchisedec had met Abraham :
Abraham had offered Isaac ; David had
seen the hand of the destroying angel
stayed ; and true to the character, her
end portrays in shadows the final
doom of the earth, ff The sign of Thy
coming. That sign which was fore
told by the prophets. See note, ch.
xii. 38.
4. Take heed. A solemn warning to
call attention to what follows. The
disciples would have an intense interest
in it. They must lay it to heart. See
2 Thes. ii. 3.
5. Many shall come in My name. Not
in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, but
claiming to be the true Messiah, ff /
am Christ. The Messiah, to restore all
things and give safety to the people.
The fears and sufferings of the nation
in the time to come would offer the
greatest temptations to some to pretend
to be Messiah, and to others to trust in
their pretensions. These false Christs
were different from the false prophets,
verse 11. The latter did not claim such
high power as the former. Theudas was
a false prophet. He persuaded the ig
norant people to follow him to the river
Jordan, where he was cut off with many
of them. There was an Egyptian, a
false prophet, who deceived to their
destruction no less than 30,000 people.

272

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

6 And ye shall hear of wars,
and rumours of wars : see that ye
be not troubled: for all these
things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet.
7 For nation" shall rise against

a Is. 19. 2.

On the other hand Simon Mamis
claimed to be the Son of God and 'de
ceived many. Dositheus the Samaritan
pretended to be the Christ. Josephus
tells us that in the latter years of Jeru
salem the land was overrun with
seducers and impostors of this sort. St.
Jerome has this note : " One of them of
whom He speaks was Simon of Samaria,
of whom we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, that he gave himself out to be
the great Power, leaving these things
written in his works, ' I am the word
of God, I am the Almighty, I am all
things of God.' The Apostle John in
his epistle (1 Ep. ii. 18) says, ' Ye have
heard that antichrist should come, and
even now there are many antichrists.'
I suppose all heresiarchs to be anti
christs, and under the name of Christ
to teach those things which are contrary
to Christ."
6. And ye shall hear of wars, Sec.
This was exactly fulfilled. The Roman
empire composed of discordant materials,
" iron mixed with miry clay " (Dan. ii.
43), was about to crumble to pieces.
Ambitious men seized the imperial
throne one after the other. In less than
two years four had held it, Nero, Otho,
Galba and Vitellius. The whole empire
was continually convulsed. Judea par
ticipated in it. We should be compelled
to transcribe Josephus, if we pretended
to tell of these wars. No period can be
conceived more intolerable for the Jews
than those years, ff The end is not yet.
The end of the city will not follow
upon these distant wars. Trouble must
come nearer and more fearful punish
ments follow.
7. And there shall be famines. The
punishment of God should intervene.
The heavens should refuse rain and the
parched earth not \ield her increase.
Then should follow the multiplied hor-

nation, and kingdom against king
dom : and there shall be famines,
and pestilences, and earthquakes
in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning
of sorrows.

rors which result from famine ; one of
which is a pestilence, occasioned by the
want of food. Four famines are men
tioned in the reign of Claudius. The
first, in the fourth year of his reign, op
pressed, says Eusebius, the whole Ro
man Empire, but especially Palestine,
so that many perished for want of food.
Acts xi. 28. Want, starvation, and a
gloomy sense of coming woes, made the
nation desperate, and the most violent
convulsions were common, ff Pestilen
ces. These, especially in hot countries,
follow a famine as a natural effect.
They are fearful visitations of disease,
which in the East have been known at
times to sweep off immense multitudes.
No punishment can be more horrible
than war, famine and pestilence com
bined, unless we add, as in the case of
the Jews, civil and rehgious feuds.
Two pestilences are recorded as raging
in Judea before the year A. D. 66.
ff Earthquakes. The learned Grotius
reckons up many earthquakes which
happened in the reigns of Claudius and
Nero at Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios,
Samos, Laodicea, Hierapolis and Co-
losse, in all which places were Jews
living. There happened in Judea, says
Josephus, "vehement winds, violent
thunderings and lightnings, and vast
movings of the shaken earth, which in
the judgment of all portended no small
evil." The famous overthrow of the
city of Pompeii occurred. If these
things were only types and feeble pic
tures of the last .days, who can stand
before the coming of the "great and
dreadful day of the Lord," in its full
and final majesty ?
The beginning of sorrows. The
first pangs which foreteU the more fear
ful troubles. The metaphor is the same
in John xvi. 21.
9. Tliey shall deliver you. They had

T. E. 34.]

9 Then" shall they deliver you
up to be afflicted, and shall kill
you : and ye shall be hated of all
nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be
offended, and shall betray one
another, and shall hate one an
other. a Ch. 10. 17. 6 Ch. 7. 15 ; Acts 20. 29.

CHAPTER XXIV.

273

been warned against spiritual dangers
from false Christs, verse 5. They are
now warned of physical sufferings. The
Jews, at their worst, would not forget
to persecute. Enthusiasts persuaded
the people that these calamities were
caused by the anger of God at the
rising sect of Christians, and that the
only mode of appeasing Him, was to
exterminate them. The first Christians,
though delivered from the curses of God
on the nation, were drawn in by the
whirlpool of human passions, and made
to suffer the severest persecutions. The
book of the Acts abounds with, such
facts. Tacitus informs us of a fearful
persecution raised by Nero against the
Christians, ff Ye shall be hated of all
nations, Sec. The reason is well express
ed by Bp. Warburton : " While the dif
ferent pagan religions sociably agreed
with each other, the Gospel taught
Christians, not only, hke the Jews, to
bear their testimony to the falsehood
of them all, but also zealously and ear
nestly to urge on men the renunciation
of them, as a matter of absolute neces
sity, and as requiring them, under the
most tremendous penalties, to embrace
the Christian rehgion." ff For My
name's sake. The early Christians suf
fered only for their religion. In most
cases it was . the only charge made
against them, and recantation would
have saved their fives. Heb. x. 32, 33 ;
1 Thess. ii. 14, 15.
10. Many shall be offended, Sec. Weak
Christians would be terrified at the ca
lamities which would arise, and would
deny the faith. See note, ch. xiii. 21.
Persecution separates the wheat from
the chaff, and purifies the Church. See
Vol. I.— 11*

11 And many 'false prophets
shall rise, and shall "deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall
wax cold.
13 But he" that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be
saved.

a 1 Tim. 4. 1.
Eev. 2. 10.

dCh. 10. 22; Heb. 8. 6, 14;

1 John, ii. 19. ff Shall betray one ano
ther. Christians should be betrayed by
parents, brethren, kinsfolk and friends.
Luke xxi. 16. The elements of discord
had crept into the Church before the
Apostles were dead. The Church suf
fered from " perils among false breth
ren" (2 Cor. vii. 5; xi. 26); apostates
betrayed the true Christians. These
evils continued for three centuries,
until the conversion of Constantine
brought peace.
11. Many false prophets. False teach
ers and pretenders in the Church. See
v. 5. The persecutions would, for the
time, injure Church authority. The
Bishops would not be able to maintain
discipline. False prophets, i. e. not
only pretenders to knowledge of the
future, but also heretical teachers, would
arise and corrupt the simple. See 2
Tim. ii 17 ; 2 Cor. xi. 1, &c. From
verse 8 to 26th, the Saviour gives di
rections concerning the Church.
12. And because iniquity, Sec. Sin and
lawlessness of every kind would prevaiL
Said Josephus, "That age among the
Jews abounded with all iniquity, so that
none was left undone. Yea, though
one endeavored to invent some new
villainy, yet could he invent none that
was not then practised." Many Chris
tians were tempted to compromise with
the world, and adopt some half false
religion, or heresy. These heresies did
more to injure and distress the Church,
than all the opposition of unbelievers.
They chilled the love of many who fell
into their snares, and marred the unity
and purity of the Church. These here
sies are rebuked in the Epistles to the
seven Churches. Rev. chs. ii. and iii.

274

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

14 And this gospel" of the
kingdom shall be preached in all
the 'world, for a witness unto all
nations ; and then shall the end
come.

oCh. 4 23; &9. 85.
1. 6, 28.

b Eom. 10. 18 ; Col.

15 When ye, therefore, shall
see the abomination of desolation,
.spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
stand in the holy place, (whoso
leadeth, let him understand,)
c Dan. 9. 27 ; & 12. 11. d Dan. 9. 23, 25.

13. The same shall be saved. So Luke
xxi. 18. " But there shah not a hair
of your head perish." This promise
foretells the remarkable event which
occurred in the Fall of Jerusalem ; the
escape of the entire body of Christians.
The Roman general Cestius invested
the city, and was about to take it, when
he suddenly withdrew his army in a
manner so unaccountable, that all par
ties were amazed. After this event
Josephus says that " many of the most
illustrious Jews departed from the city,
as from a sinking ship." The Christians,
seeing the signal appointed them (Luke
xxi. 20-22), fled to Pella, a city of
Decapolis, concealed among the moun
tains. This flight occurred in October,
and not in the winter. This was the
only time when Jerusalem was not
thenceforth compassed with armies. The
same refuge will be provided for all
faithful Christians in that final destruc
tion of the world. The Church is their
Zoar, their Pella, their Ark :
"And when the waves of ire
Again the earth shall fill,
The Ark shall ride the sea of fli-e:
Then rest on Zion's hill." Hymn 24
14. This gospel of the kingdom. It is
so called here, as fulfilling the prophecy
of Dan. ii. 44, and taking the place
of the Jewish nation, which had been
hitherto the witness to the true God
Before the one passed away for ever, the
other must be spread abroad, and rooted
in the minds of men everywhere, ff In
all the world. Not in orbe terrarum, the
round earth, then' for the most part un
known ; but as the Greek word signifies,
the inhabited world as then known. See
note, Luko ii. 1. For all the purposes of
giving the Christian Church a wide and
firm basis, before the old stock of Juda
ism was cut off, the prophecy was
exactly fulfilled. The Apostles testify

that the news of Christ had been sent
to almost every known country. Col. i.
6, 23 ; Rom. i. 8 ; xv. 19, 24-28 ; Gal.
i. 17. St. Paul visited Arabia, went
from Jerusalem to Lycaonia, to Galatia,
was in Crete, Italy, Spain, Gaul and
Britain, as is believed He was only
one of thirteen Apostles, and seventy
presbyters. The converts spread the
news, so that it is altogether probable,
that the Gospel had been heard in all
the principal countries of the world, be
fore the fall of Jerusalem. The ad
herence to the exact letter of the
prophecy, is not, however, necessary.
The new kingdom was set up and re
ceived its permanent form within the
thirty years prescribed. The full force
of the words reaches beyond the type,
to find interpretation in the antitype.
God will not destroy the earth, before
His Gospel has been offered to all men.
15. The abomination of desolation.
Or we may render it an abominable des-
olator. The word abominable implies in
the Hebrew use, the sins, of idolatry.
This sign was the standards of the Ro
man army, which bore the marks and
emblems of their idolatry. The fre
quency of their victories, and the sever
ity which was to follow this one over
the city of Jerusalem, gave them a right
to be called the desolating. St. Luke has
given the meaning of these words,
" when ye shall see Jerusalem compass
ed with armies " then flee, &c. Luke
xxi. 20. ff Spoken of by Daniel tiie
prophet. Dan. ix. 26, 27 ; xi. 31 ; xii.
11. ff Standing where it ought not. The
city and its environs were esteemed
sacred. When the Christians should
see the Roman eagles about to invest
the city, they must leave it. Dur
ing the awful confusion of the sack of
the city, the Romans brought their
glittering standards to the east gate of

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

275

16 Then let them which be in
Judea flee into the mountains :
17 Let him which is on the
housetop not come down to take
any thing out of his house :
18 Neither let him which is in
the field return back to take his
clothes. 19 And wo "unto them that are
a Lu. 23. 29.
the temple, and offered sacrifices to
them, in thanksgiving for their victory.
This was the last act of pollution pre
dicted by Daniel, ff Let him that readeth
understand. That is, whoso readeth
this prophecy of Daniel, let him give it
such careful thought as to understand
the times and events of the future, which
he has marked out.
16. Flee into the mountains. The
angels said the same to Lot : " Escape
to the mountain, lest thou be consum
ed." Gen. xix. 17. The Christians
found refuge in the mountain ranges of
Pella. Armies avoid a rough moun
tain country. In mountains were also
natural hiding-places. David had found
such in his times of peril. 1 Sam. xiii.
6 ; xxii. 1 ; Ps. xi. 1.
17. On the housetop. See note, ch.
ix. 2. Flee quickly, as they who neglect
every thing, so they may save their
lives. The houses, of Palestine were
built with flat roofs, and with a stair
case running down into the chief en
trance, so that they could leave them
without passing into any of the rooms.
The roofs were often used for prayer,
or in the warm months for sleeping.
Christians were not to regard this as
a literal command ; but this language
was used to prevent any lingering when
the crisis came.
18. To take his clothes. Such as he
had left off, when he went out to work.
The Jews laid aside the upper robe
when they engaged in labor. But in
journeys they always wore it, girding
it around their loins. The disciples
must not stop to make preparations for
the journey, nor linger to take care of
property, but must leave all and fly.

with child, and to them that give
suck in those days !
20 But pray ye that your flight
be not in the winter, neither on
the sabbath-day:
21 For then shall be 'great
tribulation, such as was not since
the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be.
6 Deut. 28. 51-62; Dan. 12. 1 ; Joel 2. 2.
20. But pray ye. The event was
certain, yet the circumstances might
be mitigated. Nothing would now put
off the destruction of the city, for the
Jewish nation would not repent. They
must pray that the time might be fa
vorable. In all troubles, prayer will
either lighten them, or give us grace to
endure. 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. ff Be not
in winter. It was in the month of Oc
tober. The winter months were cold
and dangerous to such a party of fugi
tives, made up in part of weak women,
invalids and children, ff On the Sab
bath. The gates of Jewish cities were
shut on the Sabbath. Neh. xiii. 19-
22. Or the Jews would hinder them.
Ex. xvi. 29. A Sabbath day's journey
was only five furlongs. The Christians
of Jerusalem observed the Mosaic law
until after the fall of the city. That
this style must be interpreted in the
larger sense, as insisting simply on
promptness and haste, may be seen
from the history of the city. Cestius
left the walls of Jerusalem in October.
It was not till eighteen months afterward
that the armies of Vespasian again
came in sight of the city. In the mean
time the fearful civil feud of Simon and
John of GischMa had made the city a
scene of bloodshed. But such is the
sloth of the human heart in spiritual
things, and the dangers of procrastina
tion, that our Lord was imperative for
haste. 21. For there shall be great tribulation.
These words are literally true. Such a
complication of horrible circumstances
had never, and will never occur, as were
then experienced by the Jews. Of course,
larger numbers of men and women have

276

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

22 And except those days
should be shortened, there should
no flesh be saved : "but for the
a Is. 65. 8, 9.

died by each or any of the causes men
tioned. But we may well take the word
of Him who knew all the history of
man, for whom He died ; that no mis
ery equal to it in degree has ever occur
red. The famine, pestilence, discord
and madness of their leaders, the loss
of faith in every thing, the despair of
help, the fighting and bloodshed within
the city and without, the iron crushings
of the great serpent-like army which
contracted its coils in slow but merciless
destruction ; the superstitious horrors
occasioned by mad prophets and terri
fied priests ; all these and many other
things form truly " the bloodiest picture
in the book of time." " Our city," said
Josephus, " of all those subjected to the
Romans, was raised to the highest fe
licity, and was thrust down again to
the lowest depth of misery ; for if the
misfortunes of all from the beginning
of the world were compared with those
of the Jews, they would appear much
inferior on comparison." Only two
events can be compared with it by the
Christian, for only two were acts of Di
vine wrath — the Deluge and the over
throw of the cities of the plain. If we
allow that in the one case more died,
and in the other by a quicker death,
yet do the protracted agonies of the
Jews, till a whole nation were wrought
up to look on death as a blessing, till
all the ties of nature were outraged, far
exceed the easy death of drowning — the
sudden suffocation of sulphurous fumes.
Says Dr. Jarvis : " All three were in
tended as proofs of God's unrivalled
sovereignty. All were chastisements
salutary to His covenant people, and
terrible to His adversaries. They were
progressive in their character, as por
tions and ensamples of that Divine gov
ernment by which the whole world is
regulated. The last was the most
dreadful prototype which God has yet
laid before the eyes of men, of that
'final judgment and fiery indignation

elect's sake those days shall be
shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say

which shall devour the adversaries.'
Heb. x. 27." For this reason it was that
when our Lord predicted the destruc
tion of Jerusalem, He blended His de
scription with that of His last coming
to judge the world. It may be also for
this reason that the prophets made the
valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom the
scenes of the last judgment, and the fi
nal punishment of the wicked The
threat of this very destruction of the
nation had been made from the first by
Moses, and, as it were, woven into the
very conditions of the Jewish covenant,
and recorded, Deut. xxviii. The curses,
the woes, the unnatural crimes denounc
ed there were all paralleled in the records
of Josephus, until the mind sickens and
turns away from their contemplation.
One million three hundred and fifty
thousand of the Jews were put to death
in and around the city. For they
had crowded to the city to attend the
Passover, and were caught there by the
Roman armies. Thus was the blood
which had been invoked at another Pass
over, required at their hands. Ninety-
seven thousand were sold into slavery,
thus blotting out the name of the na
tion from the records of history.
22. And except those days should be
shortened. Titus determined to reduce
the city by famine, a. long and destruc
tive mode of conquest, and for this pur
pose he surrounded it with a wall and
ditch. But after completing his prepa
rations, news from Rome urged him to
hasten. He changed his plan, and
pressed the city by assault, that he
might return to Rome, where his pres
ence was needed. After most extraor
dinary exertions, he carried the city by
assault. Again ; there was in Jerusalem
a party of madmen, called zealots, who
in their blind zeal accomplished its de
struction, by burning the outer porches
and cloisters of the temple buildings.
If the destruction of Jerusalem had not
been hastened, it truly appeared as if no

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

277

unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
there ; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise "false
Christs, and false prophets, and
a 2 Thes. 2. 9-11.

flesh, i e. none of the inhabitants of the
land of Judea, would have escaped
death The country was overrun with
bands of sicarii or assassins, named from
a short curved dagger (sica) which they
carried under their cloaks, who mur
dered men in every direction. Bands
of robbers ravaged the country, and so
long as the war lasted, the government
of the provinces was at an end. ff But
for the elect's sake. For the safety of
the Christian portion of the Jewish na
tion. The word elect, in this place, is
equivalent to Christian, i e. a person bap
tized and living in obedience to the laws
of the Church. It does not signify that
such had any hereditary peerage in the
Church, guarded by an indefeasible right
of decrees registered in secret. They
¦could lose their election. 2 Pet. i 10 ;
Heb. vi. It here means the body of
Christians, without reference to meta
physical and Calvinian questions. For
their sakes the time was shortened. For
the good of His Church, God continually
overrules the events of history, as He
did in old times for His elect people, the
Jews. The treasures of His grace are
offered freely to all men. Every child
knows that " God the Son redeemed bim
and all mankind." See note, ch. xx. 16.
23. Lo, here is Christ, dec. The dis
ciples expected the end of the world to
follow the destruction of the holy city.
They would be looking for Christ to
come as soon as the city was destroyed.
It was necessary to give them this cau
tion, that they might not be led away
by deceivers. And as we ponder the
shadowy outlines of this prophecy, " the
burden" of the typical and real end of
the world; in the former of which Christ
came in power, in the latter of which He
will come in person, we see the neces
sity of this caution, that Christians
should " in patience possess their souls,"
and wait the issue of events.
24. False Christs, false prophets.

shall show great signs and won
ders,6 insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. b Rev. 18. 18.

Jesus had warned them against impos
tors who would arise before the siege of
the city. He now repeats the warning
against such as would appear during and
after it. Deceivers would arise, prom
ising great things, and founding their
pretensions upon the very words of
Christ with such skill as to deceive
many, yea, almost convincing the Chris
tians, who believed in Christ already
come, ff Shall show great wonders.
They shall make a show or pretence of
miracles. The spirits of devils, we read
in the Revelation, should work miracles,
to deceive the nations (xvi. 14), as also
the " false prophet." (Ch. xix. 20.) Satan
has imitated every part of the true re
hgion. The imitations are frauds. The
false prophets would be known by pre
tending that Christ was here or there,
that is, not openly showing Himself, as
Jesus had done, but seeking seclusion
and darkness. Their pretended mira
cles would also be done in the dark, by
jugglery and stratagem, and then boast
ed of publicly, ff If it were possible,
they shall deceive, Sec. This is not any
arbitrary impossibility, but one ground
ed on the reason and nature of things.
The Christians who were faithful and
true to their profession and practice,
would not be deceived, because the
soundness of mind, of a true creed, and
a sincere piety, would save them from
deception. 1 Tim. iii. 9. Heresy, pride
of opinion and error of practice, will
render any man living, liable to be
blown about by every wind of false doc
trine. Eph. iv. 14. The whole Church
cannot fall away.
25. Behold, dec. You are fore
warned ; be careful that ye be not de
ceived. St. Mark has it, Take ye heed.
Ch. xiii. 23. Says St. Gregory, "As
darts, when foreseen, are less likely to
hit, Jesus adds this. He announces the
woes which are to precede the destruc
tion of the world, that when they come,

278

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

25 Behold, I have told you be
fore. 26 Wherefore, if they shall say
unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert ; go not forth : behold, he
is in the secret chambers ; believe
it not. a Zech. 9. 14

they may alarm the less, from having
been foreknown."
26. Behold, He is in the desert. Our
Lord points out the arts of decievers in
advance. Josephus tells us " that many
impostors and magicians persuaded the
people to follow them to the desert,
where they promised to show them signs
and wonders done of God." The same
imposture has been repeated in this day,
in the delusions and tricks of the Mor
mons, ff In the secret chambers. They
would pretend that He had come, but
had concealed Himself in some place for
caution against the Romans, until the
moment of deliverance came. During
the siege of the city a false prophet per
suaded the people to the number of six
thousand, to go to the temple and be-
Tiold signs of dehverance. They all
perished. 27. For as the lightning, Sec. St.
Chrysostom says: "As He had de
scribed in what guise Antichrist should
come, so here He describes how He
Himself shall come. For as the light
ning needeth none to herald or announce
it, but is in an instant of time visible
throughout the whole world, even to
those who are sitting in their cham
bers, so the coming of Christ shall be
seen every where at once, because of
the brightness of His glory." The ra
pidity and destruction of the Roman
armies was a type of this final coming.
In that former event, Christ came by
power, to foreshadow the future coming
in person. This text refers to both
events, the one being the typical drama
of the other, and so, called the coming
of the Son of Man. The next verse
shows it to contain the former event,
while the force of the words irresistibly
compels us to bring under them the lat-

27 For as the lightning" cometh
out of the east, and shineth even
unto the west ; so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcass
is, there will the 'eagles be gath
ered together. b Job 39. 80 ; Deut. 28. 49.

ter. Compare Zech. ix. 14 ; xiv. 4 ;
and Ezek. xliii. 2. This language has
been thought, by at least an innocent
tradition of the Church in all ages, to
mark the direction from which the Sun
of Righteousness shall arise. It is one
of those sacred feelings which lend a
grace to the Christian's faith. The
temple of Solomon faced the east.
Through its rent vails the glory depart
ed thither. On the east of the temple
lay Olivet, from which Jesus ascended.
Thence, Zechariah says, He will come
again. Churches have been built in
every age, that the worshippers may
face the east. The Christian dead are
buried the world over that they may
rise without delay, to witness the second
Advent of Jesus, as He was seen to go.
We reverence the feeling which has vi
brated in so many pious souls. As the
writer's pen glides over this page (Dec.
31, 1851), a single flash of lightning,
the only one of the winter, has flashed
from the ocean at the east; "and the
heavy thunder is reverberating among
the gloomy pines and cotton plantations
for many a league around. Sudden,
awful, tremendous will be the array of
that last day. Reader, prepare to meet
it, before it is too late.
28. Wheresoever the carcass is, there
will the eagles be gathered, dec. These
words reach back to the chapter of Deu
teronomy (ch. xxviii. 49) which had
foretold this fall as a punishment of the
broken law : " The Lord shall bring a
nation against thee from far, from the end
of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth ;
a nation whose tongue thou shalt not under
stand." Thus 800 years before the ex
istence of the city Rome, their very
standards, looks, and language had
been foretold. It is remarkable that

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

279

29 If Immediately after the
tribulation of those days, shall the
sun be darkened, and the" moon
shall not give her light, and the
a Is. 18. 10 ; Ez. 82. 7 ; Joel 2. 10, 31 ; Acts

the soldiers of Vespasian's army in
Judea was composed principally of
Gauls, Britons, and Spaniards, who
came " from far, from the end of the
earth." The Roman standards bore the
symbol of the emperors, the eagle, the
mythalogic bird of Jupiter Capitolinus ;
and their courage, ambition, and insa
tiable avarice corresponded well with the
known habits of that bird. Wherever
there was n ubody fallen'" (for the
Greek means only this), wherever there
was a weak nation, or a wealthy city,
from which gold could be extorted, no
matter how far or difficult of access,
there were these eagle standards to be
seen. So wherever the body of an ani
mal fell, however secret the spot or
desert the place, there were the eagles
to be found scenting it from afar. It
had probably passed into a proverb. It
may be said that the eagle does not
feed on dead bodies, which is true. But
the Jews and Greeks made no such dis
tinction of the word. The word eagle,
in both languages, includes the whole
tribe, for the same rapacity is common
to all, though only the vultures feed on
carrion. Travellers tell us that when
an animal dies in the desert, there will
be seen a speck in the horizon. The
far-scenting vulture has discovered its
meal from an immense distance. The
same thing is seen iu our own Southern
States. If an animal lies down to die,
even in the most secret covert of the
swamp, though not a vulture is to be
seen in the sky, it will hardly breathe its
last before they are flocking from every
quarter around it. This is a merciful
provision of Providence. And terrible
as was the fall of Jerusalem, and the
future ruin of the wicked will be, each
was planned in mercy. For the good
of the creation, God has made the law
that all things which offend shall be
destroyed. The very Greek word Hell

stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken :5
30 And then shall appear the
b 2 Pet. 8. 10.

is expressive of this, being Gehenna, the
valley of Hinnom, where all the car
casses and filth of Jerusalem were
thrown, that they might be destroyed,
without causing pestilence in the city.
See also Rev. xxii. 14, 15.
29. The sun be darkened, dec. This
language must be explained by the rules
of prophetic writing: and the law of in
terpreting it should be, that the vari
ous parts of it are figurative warnings of
that final day when the language shall
be fully satisfied. For as ah things are
present to the Spirit of God, which in
spired the prophets, the former event to
which the prophet referred, and the last
of all, are combined in the same words.
Isaiah predicted the fall of Babylon :
" i'or the stars and the constellations
thereof shall not give their light : the
sun shah be darkened in his going forth,
and the moon shall not cause her light
to shine." Is. xiii 10. So of Tyre,
xxiv. 23. Of Idumea, xxxiv. 4. Seel.
3 ; li 6 ; lx. 19, 20. The harp of pro
phecy uttered the sublimest Oriental
poetry, that by these subhme expressions
the awful note of final doom might be
gin to toll its thunders beneath the rev
elation of grace. The fall of the nations
echoed, in the prophetic style, against
the confines of a future eternity, and
each one was made a warning of future
doom. Jesus adopts this style, and de
scribes the fall of the Jewish city aud
nation, in terms that pass beyond it, to
the final doom of the world. It is in
this connection that Bp. Warburton
says, " In ancient hieroglyphic writings*
the sun, moon, and stars were used to
represent states and empires, kings,
queens and nobility : their eclipse or ex
tinction denoted temporary disaster or
entire overthrow." And he adds, " So
the prophets seem to have used them :
in reahty the prophetic style seems to
be a speaking hieroglyphic." The reader

280

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

"sign of the Son of man in heaven :
and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn,4 and they shall see
the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and
great glory.
31 And he shall send his an
gels with a "great sound of a
a Dan. 7. 13. 6 Ch. 16. 27 ; & 25. 81, &o.

must look on the fall of Jerusalem as
one looking into a camera obscura, to
see the lineaments of a sad, wild scene,
before which the imagination fails. The
Apocalypse or Revelation is judged by
the best divines to be a running commen
tary on this chapter, and in the same
manner representing the one event — the
faU of Jerusalem, as a vehicle of the
other, the end of all things; even as
one chanting the judgment hymn Dies
irae, who would hear by faith the far-off
deep thunders of the archangel's trump
mingling with his music.
30. The sign of the Son of man? See
note, ch. xii. 38. In the destruction
of the city, it will be seen that the Son
of man has come. For as the one cov
enant could not end until the other was
established, as the sacrifice in the tem
ple could not cease, till the one true
Sacrifice for sins had been offered up,
therefore the end of the former proved
the coming of the latter. Tho fall of
the holy city is here expressly declared
to be the sign of Christ, not only proving
that He has come, but reaching onwards
by a figure to His second coming. See
Bev. i. 7; 2 Pet. iii. 7,10, 12.
31. Angels. See note, ch. xviii. 10.
They are represented as the messengers
and servants of God, conducting the
affairs of His spiritual kingdom and the
various powers of creation What things
' seem to the natural eye depending solely
on what are called natural causes, which
is a word to express something unknown,
are seen by the eye of faith to be carried
into their effects by intelligent minis
ters. Gen. xix. 1-15 ; 2 Kings vi. 17 ;
Ps. lxviii 17 ; Acts vii. 53 ; Heb. xii.
22. In the great harvest of the latter

trumpet, and they shall "gather
together his elect from the four
winds from one end of heaven to
the other.
32 Now learn a parable of the
fig-tree : When his branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves,
ye know that summer is nigh :
0 Or, with a trumpet and a great voice.
cCh. 18. 41; ICor. 15. 52.

day, the angels will first gather the
saints of God together, so that none
shall be lost. Ch. xiii. 39 ; 2 Thess. 1.
7. ff Elect. See note, ch xx. 16.
ff With a great sound of a trumpet. The
margin saith: Or, "with a trumpet and a
great voice," perhaps in deference to the
words of St. Paul. 1 Thess. iv. 16.
" For the Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the Archangel and with the tramp of
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise
first." These words refer us to the scenes
of Sinai. As the angels gathered on its
summit for the giving the law, the peo
ple heard " the voice of the trumpet ex
ceeding loud." Ex. xix. 16. So the same
trump will assemble men to answer be
fore God how they have kept that law.
The great convocations of the Jews
were called together by the trumpet.
Num. x. 10. And the beginning of the
year was thus heralded. Lev. xxiii.
24, 25. Theodoret explains these words
as referring to the scenes and sounds of
Mount Sinai. See 1 Cor. xv. 52. ff From
the four winds. From every quarter of
the globe. See Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ; Is. xliii.
5, 6. The dead in Christ are assured
of their resurrection. In the ice of the
poles, the trackless seas, the islands and
continents, no matter how remote from
men, or how little known their deaths,
" God hath charged His angel legions.
Watch and ward o'er them to keep.
32. A parable. See ch. xiii. 3. Learn
an analogy, or a truth similar to this
future fact, from the fig tree, and your
common rules of forming an opinion of
it. Thus Bp. Horsley : " The approach
of summer, says our Lord, is not more
surely indicated by the first appearance

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

281

33 So likewise ye, when ye
shall see all -these things, know
that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This
generation" shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass
away,6 but my words shall not pass

a Ch. 23. 86. b Is. 51. 6.
of spring, than the final destruction of
the wicked by the beginnings of ven
geance on this impenitent people. The
opening of the vernal blossom is the first
step of the summer fruits ; and the re
jection of the Jews, and the adoption of
the believing Gentiles, is the first step in
the execution of a general plan of Provi
dence, which will end in the general judg
ment." This was said on the Mount of
Olives, with fig trees around the com
pany. 33. It is near, dec. As you know by
the swelling buds and leaves of the fig
tree, that the course of causes which
produce summer is begun, so judge of
this destruction of Jerusalem, that your
redemption and complete entrance into
the Christian economy has begun. St.
Luke says, "your redemption draweth
nigh," and uthe kingdom of God is nigh
at hand." Luke xxi. 81. The Christian
Church was not entirely disenthralled
from the Jewish, until after this event.
And the course of it beginning then,
looks on to the end, as if hut a day in
tervened between the two.
34. This generation. This race of
Jews. There are men living who shah
see these things fulfilled. They occurred
about forty years after this prophecy.
See note, ch. xvi. 28. ff Till all these
things be fulfilled. All as far as they
refer to Jerusalem. While history in
forms us that they did so take place, in
the allotted time, it shows us that their
fuller sense and meaning has not yet
been fulfilled. We cite two instances
of the very same law of prophetic lan
guage. Gen. ii. 17. " In the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely

36 *|f But of that day and hour
knoweth "no man, no, not the an
gels of heaven, but my Father
only. 37 But as the days of Noe
were, so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days'* that were
before the flood, they were eating
o Acts 1. 7 ; 1 Thes. 5. 2 ; 2 Pet. 8. d Gen.
6.2.

die." Yet Adam's life was nine hun
dred and thirty years. The language
combines both the day of his eating,
in which he died spiritually, and began
the course of death (Ro. v. 12), and the
day nine centuries after, when he ac
tually expired, as if they were one day.
Isaiah foretold the birth of Jesus from a
Virgin, yet adds a prophecy which con
fines it to his own generation. Is. vii.
14-17. He combines the type and
antitype in the same words, just as the
eye embraces in the same angle of vis
ion, the small object which is near, and
the grander one which is distant. David
speaks of the Messiah under the type of
Solomon. Words and events, new king
doms and dynasties are but the prophet
ic alphabet for spelling out the Divine
plan. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass.
The things which now seem changeless
and eternal will faiL But not one word
of what I have now told you will fail
of accomplishment.
36. But of that day and that hour.
Of the exact season and year of this, it
is not a part of the Divine plan, that
any created man should be informed.
Certainty as to the date, would nullify
the whole effect of the prophecy. For
the grand moral drawn from it, was
watch and pray. Had Jesus told them,*
" Forty years from now on such a day,
&c," they would have been inclined to
indolence. Therefore our Saviour has
given it as a rule, " It is not for you to
know the times or the seasons, which
the Father hath put in His own power."
Acts i. 7. So of death ; we know it is
certain to come, and see the signs of it.

282

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

and drinking, marrying and giv
ing in marriage, until the day that
Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all
away : so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the
field; the one shall be taken, and
the other left.
41 Two women shall be grind-

The uncertainty of the hour, leads us to
watch and pray. So of the judgment.
It may come instantly — come it must.
The soul excites itself by the thought to
diligence. How mistaken then are the
foohsh schemes which have deluded
men, by pretending to fix the exact
date of the end of this world. 2 Thes.
ii. 2. ff Neither the angels. Some few
Latin and Greek copies added " Neither
the Son." See notes, Mark xiii. 32.
37. Noe. Greek form of the word
Noah. See Gen. vi.-ix. He gives another
caution. The world would go on in all
its business, sins, pleasures, even as it
did in Noah's day. Christians would
feel impatient at the unchangeableness
in the appearance of things. Unbe
lievers would scoff. See 2 Peter iii. 2-
10. 15, 17.
39. Knew not. Know in Scripture
often signifies to know believingly and
profitably. They knew that Noah preach
ed of it, but they ridiculed him, and
perished, ff So shall also the coming, dec.
The people of Noah's day, ridiculed the
idea of a flood. They of Jerusalem could
as httle imagine a destruction of their
fair city. In like manner, sinful men
and infirm Christians will be filled
with cares and pleasures of earth, till
the last day. The archangel's trump
will sotmd strangely in the revelry of
the bridal, the crash of the battle, the
hum of the factory — the noise of the
great city. It will come suddenly on a
rolling world, unprepared for it, after
every warning.
40. Taken. Tyndale and Cranmer

ing at the mill ; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.
42 H Watch "therefore : for ye
know not what hour your Lord
doth come.
43 But know this, that if the
good man of the house had known
in what watch the thief would
come, he would have watched, and
would not have suffered his house
to be broken up.
a Ch. 25. 13 ; 2 Pet. 8. 11, 14

have it, " The one shall be received."
He shall be taken by the angels to be
saved. The other is to be left to de
struction. 42. Two women, Sfc. The grinding
by handmitts, still common in the
East, as also on the plantations of our
Southern States, was done in those days
by women. It is not a very laborious
occupation, and consisted with their ;
indoor habits. The mills are made of
two circular stones which turn on a
fixed centre. The lower one is station
ary, the upper revolves upon it, crush
ing the grain between the rough
surfaces. Two women at one mill are
very near to each other, and grasp the
handle of the millstone together. The
closest ties and occupations, of two
friends walking together, two of a fam
ily preparing the , daily meal, shall be
broken suddenly and for ever.
42. Watch therefore. These words
are the moral, or practical inference of
the whole discourse. The Christian
who would be saved, in view of all
these facts which must come to pass,
must watch, that is, must act the part
of the sentinel in a night-guard ; or the
steward, who gets all things ready for
his lord's coming ; or the bride who
desires not to be made ashamed at the
coming of the bridegroom. This duty
is further held up in the parables that
follow. 43. If the good man knew, Sec The
thief comes without warning, in the
dead hours of night, silently, fearful,
irous. Thus Christ will come in

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXIV.

283

44 Therefore be ye also ready :
for in such an hour as ye think
not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and
wise servant," whom his lord hath
made ruler over his household,
to give them meat in due season ?
47 Blessed4 is that servant

an instant, to wake the soul to the tre
mendous truths of an eternal world.
The Apostles often use this startling
form of address. 1 Thess. v. 2 ; 2 Peter
iii. 10 ; Rev. iii. 3 ; xvi. 15. Only they
who take the same reasonable care for
their souls, which a master of a family
would take of his household goods, will
be prepared for Him. ff In what watch.
In which of the four quarters of the
night. See note, ch. xiv. 25. ff Broken
up. The houses of the Jews were often
made of earthen materials, so that the
thief entered them usually by digging
through the walls. The Greek word is
" dug through."
44. Be ye also ready. Prepared by a
due observance of all Christian duties ;
as St. Paul says, " have done all things,"
that is, all things which the Gospel cove
nant requires. Eph. vi. 13. St. Luke
adds the command to pray always, that
they might be accounted worthy to
escape aii these things, and to stand
before the Son of man ; not to be over
charged with surfeiting and drunkenness,
and cares of this life, lest the day
should come on them unawares. Luke
xxi. 34, 36. These injunctions are
general. Death came to some of them
before that event predicted. Yet death
is not held out as the one thing to be
provided for. But the great reason of
warning is the second adoent, because on
that follows the judgment.
45-51. This is a parable. The dis
ciples were to be Bishops of the Church,
and have the cure of souls. They
would be able to learn from this natural
illustration, how careful, diligent and
watchful they ought to be. How solemn
is the address of the Bishop to all those
who are to be admitted priests, part of

whom his lord, when he cometh,
shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That
he shall make him ruler over all
his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant
shall say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming ;
6 Key. 16. 15.

which forms a proper comment on these
words. " Have always printed on your
remembrance, how great a treasure- is
committed to your charge. For they
are the sheep of Christ, dec. And if it
shall happen that the same Church, or
any member thereof, do take hurt or
hindrance by reason of your negligence,
ye know the greatness of the fault, and
the horrible punishment that will ensue."
See the office for the ordination of Priests.
ff Over his household. The Church.
Ministers are put in special charge for
souls. Men must, therefore, do the
duties which this relation puts on them.
It is easy to say that the clergy should
be faithful ; but in that fidelity the
people are deeply concerned, and should
promote it by a faithful obedience to aU
the duties which the Scriptures impose
on them. 1 Thess. v. 12, 13 ; 1 Cor.
iii. 5 ; iv. 1, 2 ; xii. 28. ff Meat in due
season. The word meat is put for all
kinds of food used by a family. Here
it stands for the Gospel manna, which
consists in the due administration of the
word by prayer and teaching, the sa
craments and the godly discipline of the
Church. John xxi. 15-17; Acts xx.
28. 46. Blessed is that servant. That
faithful and prudent one. Faithfulness
is shown in careful jealousy for the
goods and honor of the absent master :
prudence in the proper and wise distri
bution of them.
47. Shall make him ruler. He will
make him to reign with Christ, to
whom all things are committed; wiU
reward him with peculiar blessings, ac
cording as he has been faithful and
useful. 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; Dan. xii. 3.
48-50. But and if, Sfc. Saith Origen,

284

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

49 And shall begin to smite his
fellow-servants, and to eat and
drink with the drunken ;
50 The lord of that servant
shall come in a day when he look
eth not for him, and in an hour
that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder,
and appoint him his portion with
the hypocrites : "there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
a Ch. 8. 12 ; & 25. 30. b Eev. 19. 7 ; &
21. 2, 9.
" Every Bishop who ministers not as a
faithful servant, but rules by might as a
master, and often a harsh one, sins
against God : also if he does not cherish
the needy, but feasts with the drunken,
and is continually slumbering, because
his Lord cometh not till after a long
time." 51. Shall cut him asunder. A com
mon mode of punishment in the East. 1
Sam. xv. 33 ; 2 Sam. xii. 31 ; Dan. ii.
5 ; iii. 28 ; Heb. xi. 37. This punish
ment in the parable, the servant would
not survive. If cut asunder he would
die. But human illustrations must fail
when applied to divine things. This
will be only the beginning of sorrows, in
the Divine punishments, ff His portion
with the hypocrites. Those who pretend
ed to love and honor their lord, and
were unfaithful. That place is hell,
signified by the words, weeping and
gnashing of teeth. On every unfaithful
minister, every careless and ungodly
layman, this dreadful punishment will
fall.
CHAPTER. XXV.
1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven.
See note ch. iii. 2. The kingdom of
heaven, concerning whose coming you
have asked Me, shall be represented un
der the likeness to virgins waiting at
night the coming of a bridegroom to
receive his bride. Eph. v. 25-32. ff Ten
virgins. The Fathers searched for some
mystic meaning in this number, and
seem to have settled down on the ex
planation that they represented the
senses : five senses make up the wise

CHAPTER XXV.
Passion Week— Tuesday.
THEN shall the kingdom of
heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps,
and went forth to meet the 'bride
groom. 2 And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish."
3 They that were foolish took
cCh. 13. 47; &22. 10.
Christian who was prepared, five the
foolish who was unready. But the
number ten, if it has any significance,
seems to have been taken more from the
fact that ten men were required as the
least number that could form a syna
gogue, or as we may say, a parish church.
The virgins are to be understood either
of individual Christians, or Churches,
which wait for Christ. It is common
now to smile at the Fathers for their
vain conceits. We may also well weep
over the infidel and cold robbing of
Scripture of half, often of all its depth,'
which is now too common. Virgins are
symbols of the Church, here of churches,
because they should be pure, holy, and
not disturbed by worldly cares from
"minding the things of the Lord."
ff Which took their lamps. The Jewish
marriages and the feasts which followed
them were celebrated at night. The
customs of the East Indians are similar*
The newly-married couple go from the
house of the bride in procession after
night-fall, the company bearing torches
or flambeaux, to light the way. An
other party comes forth to meet them,
with torches, and accompanies them to
the house of the bridegroom, where a
feast is prepared. The lamps used in
the East at this time are links or torch
es, made by wrapping up a roll of linen
and inserting it in a mould of copper or
earthenware, fixed to a handle of wood.
As it can retain but very little oil, the
linen is, from time to time, supplied
with fresh oil from a vessel of it, which
is carried in the other hand. The lamps

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

285

their lamps, and took no oil with
them :
4 But the wise took' oil in
vessels with their lamps.

o 2 Pet. 1. 5-9.

spoken of in the text may have been
of such a kind, and required the prudent
users of them to carry "oil in their ves-.
sels with their lamps." ff Bridegroom.
From the old Saxon Bride-goom, the
bride-man, he who married the bride.
2-4 Five were wise, five foolish. The
word wise here means simply prudent.
They had been provident to make a
proper preparation against delay. The
lesson which is enforced by this pru
dence is of a far higher .kind when ap
plied to Christian foresight. It then
becomes true wisdom^-the wisdom
which provides now, while "it is day,"
against the night when no man can
work. As the virgins by taking oil m
their - vessels, did make ready all that
was required in their case, for the one
duty which they had before tbem, so
must Christians and churches provide
all things which will be necessary in
their stations for the coming exigency.
B? we understand by the virgins church
es (see Is. xxvii. 22 ; Jer. xiv. 17), then
the oil in the lamps and vessels harmo
nizes with many allusions of Scrip
ture, to signify the sum total of good
and holy works, which will adorn the
various virgin bands that will flock up
to the throne of judgment, to welcome
the coming of the Bridegroom. Rev. i.
12, 20 ; ii. 5. ff Oil in their vessels.
This figurative language has a peculiar
beauty as illustrating the secret process
of grace in the souls of men. As the
secret oil which is furnished to the lamp,
is "given that the final result may be
the light to give light to ah in the
house (ch. v. 14-16), so the gifts of God,
His graces, the privileges of the Church,
all that we sum up in the one word,
religion, must, in order to save us, re
sult iapiety, i e., in the light of a pure
and holy soul, which may be fitted to
enter where only the " pure in heart "
can go. Chs. v. 8, xiii. 43 ; Phil. ii.
15. ff Vessels. "The true Hindoo

5 While the bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered and slept.6
5 And at midnight there was a
cry" made, Behold, the bridegroom
b 1 Thes. 5, 6. el Thes. 4. 16.

way of lighting up, is by torches held
by men, who feed the flame with oil
from a sort of bottle, constructed for
the purpose." There were some such
vessels, with whose use the disciples
were familiar.
5. The bridegroom tarried. The time
of a wedding procession would have
been pretty well known. The time of
the second coming is uncertain. It
seems to be delayed by those who are
waiting for it. ff All slumbered and
slept. No one expected him then, for
all were sleeping. How carefully does
Jesus insist on constant preparation,
showing by these words that the time
and season of the judgment cannot be
known. This sleeping was not wrong,
for the wise were ready. But as watchers
they had thus manifested the one point
which Jesus would teach, that they knew
not the hour. Their lamps were burning.
They were ready in all substantial
things. Only the trimming of the mo
ment was needed. This slumbering
and sleeping may be likened to death
in individuals, or to the lesser pardon
able unreadiness, which will be found
in particular churches at the Second
Advent. St. Mark xiv. 38, 40. But
the foolish were in no way ready.
They slept while their hour of prepa
ration was passing.
6. At midnight. St Jerome says :
" The Jews have a tradition that Christ
will come at midnight, in hke manner
as in that -visitation of Egypt, when the
Pascal feast is celebrated, and the De
stroyer comes and the Lord passes over
our dwellings, and the door posts of
each man's countenance are hallowed
by the blood of the Lamb. Hence, I
suppose, has continued among us that
Apostolic tradition that on the vigil of
Easter, the people should not be dis
missed before midnight, in expectation
of Christ's coming."
7. Trimmed their lamps. All do it,

286

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

cometh ; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose,
and "trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto
the wise, Give us of your oil : for
our lamps are' gone out.
9 But the wise answered, say
ing, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you : but go
ye rather to them that sell, and
buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to

a Lu. 12. 35. | Or, going out.
18. 25 ; Gen. 7. 16 ; Eom. 8, 12.

6Lu.

by supplying fresh'" oil, and removmg
the incrustations of the wicks. How
touchingly is human infirmity, even of
the best men, here alluded to. If no one
would willingly leave life without " one
longing, lingering look behind," who
would willingly face, in an instant, with
out a moment's little preparation, the
future scenes and destinies of the eter
nal world ? Some httle trimming the
brightest light will need. The cry of
the litany is founded deep in our hearts :
"From lightning and tempest, from
plague, pestilence and famine, from bat
tle and murder and from sudden death,
Good Lord, defiver us."
10. With him to the marriage. The
Greek word is plural, as we say the
nuptials. An eyewitness to a similar
ceremony in India has made this note :
" After waiting two or three hours, at
length, near midnight, it was announced
as in the very words of Scripture, " Be
hold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out
to meet him." All the persons employed
now lighted their lamps, and ran with
them in their hands to fill up their
stations in the procession. Some of them
had lost their lights and were unprepared,
but it was then too late to seek them ; and
the cavalcade moved forward." The
moral is exquisitely worded in these
lines of Milton.
Thy care is fixed and zealously attends
To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light,
And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore
be sure,

buy, the bridegroom came ; and
they that were ready, went in
with him to the marriage : and
the door 'was shut.
11 Afterward came also the
other virgins, saying," Lord, Lord,
open to us.
12 But he answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, I know
you not/
13 "Watch therefore, for ye
know neither the day nor the
o Ch. 7. 21, 22, 23. d Ps. 5. 5 ; Is. 65. 18.
eCh. 24. 42, 44; 1 Pet. 5. 8.
Thou, when the Bridegroom with Hisfeast-
ful friends,
Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night,
Hast gained thy entrance, virgin wise and
pure.
ff The door was shut. There was no
more admission. Saith an ancient wri
ter : "No one's penitence, no one's
prayer, no one's groaning shall any
more be admitted. The door is shut
which received Aaron after his idolatry,
which admitted David after his adul
tery, after his homicide, which did not
repel Peter." Luke xvi. 26 ; Gen. vii.
16. 12. I know you not. This is an em
phatic manner of sealing the condemna
tion of the foolish virgins. They had
not cared enough for the feast to make
the customary preparation ; and now the
bridegroom expresses his ignorance of
them. They must go to their own
places. They have lost the happiness
of his feast. But in the use of the same
words by Christ of wicked men, what
tremendous meanings will the words
have. Now men will not know Christ.
Then He will not know them. And to
be unknown by Him, is to be cast back
on the judgment of Him, who " out of
Christ is a consuming fire."
13. Watch therefore. This is tho
moral of this parable, as of all these last
words of Christ. All Christians are
hke the Virgins waiting His return in a
long night of uncertainty. Of the hour
of that event they can know nothing,

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

287

hour wherein the Son of man
cometh. 14 T For the kingdom of heav
en is as a man travelling into a

therefore they must be ready for it at all
times. This parable should warn us
not to put off repentance to a death
bed. Then we in a manner receive
the summons to attend the Bridegroom,
for then our last opportunity of obtain
ing the " oil in the vessel," has come,
or perhaps has passed. The majority
of men in our country are putting off
the duties of religion. Sudden repent
ance, rapid conversions, and all the
usual exciting means of revivals have
so corrupted sound doctrine among us,
that few seem to think that piety is
the result of the whole lift — the final pre
paration of all the powers of the soul
by long and earnest prayer, diligence
and good works. Death finds the great
er part of men unready, and a hasty
repentance, a half-formed resolve, a few
tears and ejaculations are offered ; and
unwise friends assure them all is well.
But it is not well. God will not receive
such fragments of a life, nor value the
honor paid Him, by those who would
not honor Him, while they dared to do
otherwise. Christians must exalt piety
to a wider reach, and more constant
labor ; must produce on the age a new
impression, by their earnest, continual
attention to this command. And, feel
ing the uncertainty of the future, and
the strictness of God's judgment, they
must be living always in His most holy
fear. Says St. Augustine, " VVeknowthe
day and the hour, neither of the future
time when the Bridegroom will come,
nor of our own falling asleep each of us :
if then we be prepared for this latter,
we shall also be prepared when that
voice shall sound, which shall rouse us
ah."
'- 14-30. The parable of the talents.
14. For the kingdom, dec. The future
history of the Church on earth is farther
sketched in the following similitude.
There will be in its history something
to correspond to the manner in which
a certain lord treated his servants. By

far country, who called his own
servants, and delivered unto them
his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five
a man traveUing into a far country Our
Lord represents Himself. He was
about to depart to heaven, and be ab
sent from the Apostles. He would dis
tribute to them the gifts and offices of
His Church, that they should keep His
blessings employed among men. He
gave them different trusts called
talents. The time in which the owner
is absent is the period now passing.
The return of the owner, is the still
continued answer to the question which
had been asked by the disciples con
cerning His Second Advent. Judgment
then begins at the house of God, in ex
amining every Christian, as to the fidel
ity he has shown in making the best
use of his trust. Says Mr. Trench,
" The virgins are represented waiting for
their Lord ; here the servants are work
ing for Him : there the inward spiritual
rest of the Christian is described — here
his external activity. There, by the end
of the foohsh virgins, we are warned
against declensions and decays in the
inward spiritual hfe : here against
sluggishness and sloth in our outward
vocation and work." ff His servants.
Not house servants, but subjects, who,
though servants to him, were owners
of property, and able to carry on certain
trades. The talents represent the Chris
tian offices and gifts of grace. Eph. iv.
7, 11 ; iii. 7. They do not represent,
except by inference, what we call natural
talents. For those are given by nature,
not by the grace of the Christian
covenant, ff His goods. Though he
was to be absent, he was not willing
that all tiie advantages of his presence
should be taken from his people. He
desires that his estate be managed in
his absence for their benefit and his
own. So Our Lord leaves His goods,
the works and graces of the Spirit, to go
on during His absence. He commits
them to His servants to distribute to all
who have need, for the common good.
15. Five talents. See note, ch.

288

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

'talents, to another two, and to
another one" : to every man ac
cording to his several ability;
and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received
the five talents, went and traded
with the same, and made them
other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had
received two, he also gained other
two. 18 But he that had received
I A talent is £187. 10s. Ch. 18. 24.

xviii. 24. A talent of silver was equal
in value to about fifteen hundred dollars.
The five talents denote the highest gifts
and offices of the Church. This office
was the Apostleship, now continued in all
respects, except in those gifts of mira
cles and inspiration, which were useful
at first, but are now unnecessary. The
parable has a good and sound applica
tion also to the great influences for
good which men have, by their natural
gifts, since our Saviour was not at this
time settling the government of the
Church, but predicting the condition of
it. ff To Ms several ability. This ability
is what we now mean by talents, i. e.
natural parts, or skill in using this
property to advantage. The same nat
ural abilities cannot be meant in the
word talents here. The talent is the
something over and above natural gifts,
which is intrusted from without. Influ
ence in the Church, and skill in " win
ning souls," may approximate to the
sense of a talent, because they are prop
erly results of long prayer and a holy
conversation, wrought in one by self-
control in the fear of God, and frequent
unctions from the Holy One. Such a
skill may be shown by any Christian.
This parable is not to be confounded
with that related in the house of Zac
cheus, though somewhat similar to it.
Luke xix. 12.
16, 17. These two servants are rep
resentatives of all who are faithful and
diligent in their vocation, and improve
that which is intrusted to them. They

one, went and digged in the earth,
and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord
of those servants cometh, and
reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received
five talents, came and brought
other five talents, saying, Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me five
talents : behold, I have gained
besides them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him,

a Eom. 12. 6; 1 Cor. 12. 7, 11,
8-12.

9; Eph. 4.

gain as much more, and yet possess it
not, aptly showing that the work of the
Christian Church in seeking the salva
tion of men is done not for her own
glory, but for love of her absent Lord.
18. Digged in the earth, Sec. Again
we hear the solemn warning to watch
and labor faithfully. This man did not
waste nor steal his lord's money ; he
simply neglected it. So they who are
once trusted by the Lord Jesus, and
neglect their duty, must be punished.
It was as if Jesus had said ; " I go away
leaving you in charge, to do the work I
have been doing in the Church. If you
do not labor and strive diligently to rep
resent Me to My people, to preach the
Gospel committed to you, I will punish
you on My return for this neglect, al
though you may be in all other things
innocent." " If it shall happen," says
the Bishop in Ordination, " that the same
Church, or any member of the same do
take any hurt or hindrance, by your
negligence, ye know the greatness of the
fault, and the horrible punishment that
will ensue." The Christian whose only
claim to be good is that he does no harm,
is here shown his future punishment.
To serve Jesus is to do something, is to
work for Him. Salvation is a sacred
trust. Many saints of feeble minds will
shine as the stars in heaven, while
many, who hke Judas have had the
highest privileges here, will be lost.
Piety consists not in having, but in using
grace. 19. After a long time. This phrase

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

289

Well done, thou good and faithful
servant ; thou hast been faithful
over a few things," I will make
thee ruler over many things : enter
thou into the 6joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received
two talents came, and said, Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me two
talents : behold, I have gained
two other talents besides them.
23 His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful ser-
a Ch. 24. 47.

indicates the uncertainty of the time of
our Lord's coming. It was after a long
time, when they had ceased to think of
His coming, as they did at first, and had
settled down into their usual habits.
See Ro. xiv. 12; 2 Cor. v. 10; Acts
xvii. 31.
21. Ruler of many things. In St.
Luke xix. 17, it is, " have thou author
ity over ten cities." The words have
great beauty, as giving us a conception
of the harmony preserved in the re
wards of heaven. Saints will have
crowns of righteousness (2 Tim. iv. 8 ;
2 Thess. ii. 19 ; Phil. iv. 1), everlasting
blessedness resulting from the memories,
and as the rewards of fidelity here. Rev.
ii. 10; iii 11. ff Joy of thy lord. Sa
traps, tirshathas, and other officers of
provinces in the Eastern monarchies
often reside at the courts of the kings.
It was a great honor, and means of ad
vancement. Applied to saints, wel
comed into the presence of the supreme
Head of the Church, it has a spiritual
depth and beauty that exalts it infinite
ly above the oriental custom. The joy
of thy Lord is the joy in His presence —
the full satisfaction of every wish and
thought, — and the union in the soul of
all that pious hearts can wish. Says
Archbishop Leighton : " It is but httle
we can receive here, some drops of joy
that enter into us, but there we shall enter
into joy, as vessels put into a sea of hap
piness." 24. The one talent. He fingered to
the last. He had despised the small
Vol. L— 13

vant; thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things : en
ter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received
the one talent came, and said,
Lord, I knew thee that thou art
an hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering
where thou hast not strawed :
25 And I was afraid, and went
and hid thy talent in the earth :
61 Pet. 1. 8; Heb. 12. 2.

trust committed to him, and now comes
to answer for his neglect, ff I knew
thee, dec. The excuse is vain. It sig
nifies that the excuses of indolent Chris
tians will fail them at last. All that
class of excuses which go on the
ground of a pretended humility, as " I
am of no importance," " I can do no
good, and must try and get on, by
minding my own business." Laymen
are not to be parsons, they must not be
too religious," &c, Sue., are only harp-
ings on the key of this man's excuse.
The Lord looks for fidelity in little as
in much. In a great army a single
sentinel may be of very little note, but
if he sleeps on his post the whole army
may be destroyed ; and a single Chris
tian must feel that the smallest post
does yet demand and give room for the
greatest diligence, fidelity and love.
ff A hard man. A severe master ex
acting rigidly all that was his own.
ff Hast not strawed. Or, hast not scat
tered. The word refers to the customs
of the threshing-floor. The grain and
chaff, after the oxen had trodden them
into a confused mass, were winnowed
by a wooden shovel called a fan. The
servant says that his master was one
who expected the grain, where he had
not taken the trouble of the harvesting
and the threshing-floor. " The churl
accounted his master churlish, thought
him even such an one as himself; he
did not believe in his lord's forgiving
love, and in his gracious acceptance ofthe
work with all its faults, which was done

290

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said
unto him, Thou wicked and sloth
ful servant, thou knewest that I
reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not straw
ed :
27 Thou oughtest therefore to

for him out of a true heart, and with a
sincere desire to please him."
25. i" was afraid, Sec. Three
things are worthy of note. 1st. His
self-flattering excuse. He was over hon
est and careful, and would not lose the
talent. 2d. His selfishness. He was for
a fairer bargain and would do no labor
except on conditions ; whereas the true
spirit of the Christian says, with Aquinas,
" God requires of me, nothing except
that good which He has planted and
cherished in me by His grace." 3d.
His false, insulting reflection on the
character of his master, as one less
generous and merciful than himself.
ff And hid thy talent in the earth. The
design of the parable is not to teach
us that only those who have the one
talent will be lost, but to teachus to watch.
So the man with one talent is chosen as
an opposite instance of one who refuses
to watch and work. He perishes by
sloth. 26. Wicked and slothful. Wicked, as
the insult and churlishnesss of his ex
cuse showed ; and slothful, and stupid
to his master's interest, as his actions
manifested. The latter is a key-note
of the parable. This was a man who
did not watch, ff Thou knewest. " I
take your own excuse and by it justly
condemn you. If I was all this, and
you cared for me, why not put my
talent with those who deal in money, and
suffer them to use it and repay me a
lawful interest for it. Money is valu
able only when used. Otherwise it is
nothing but dust. You have in fact
stolen from me all that it might have
gained in my absence, and if you did not
see fit to use it, generous man that you
are, why not let another do so ? " The

have put my money to the ex
changers, and then at my coming
I should have received mine own
with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent
from him, and give it unto him
which hath ten talents.
29 "For unto every one that
a Ch. 18. 12 ; Mark 4. 25 ; John 15. 2.

point of similarity of the talent and grace
is, that both are ours while used: while
hid and buried, they are not ours. They
who are in stations of trust, must not be
idle. 27. The exchangers. Those who ex
changed the foreign coins, which were
brought them, for others required by
the wants of the people in commercial
or religious transactions. For this they
demanded a small sum called per cen-
tage or interest. It was a business of
great importance and perfectly justifia
ble. For the per centage was paid
them, as a fair price for their labor in
collecting the coins for the convenience
of the purchaser. In dishonest hands
this business was liable to great abuse.
Brokers, bankers and exchangers of
money, are so far from following a dis
honest calling, that they are beyond all
question a public benefit, and, by pre
venting the necessity of transporting
coins about the person, have put down
the evils of highway robbery and mur
ders, with their consequences. The most
pious man may exact the legal interest
of his money, knowing that, as human
society is now constituted, he is con
ferring important advantages, beyond
those which pass under his eye. Only
mercy as well as the interest table
should be his rule in these matters.
ff Usury. That which the money
gains. See Luke xix. ' 23. The literal
force of the word here is, the child of
the money, i. e. its natural product,
that which would be fairly, honestly
given for its use. The word usury now
is taken only in a bad sense, of illegal
and exorbitant interest. It admits in
early English of a good sense. Usury
was strictly regulated by the Jewish

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

291

hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance : but from him
that hath not, shall be taken away
even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into "outer darkness :
a Ch. 8. 12; & 24. 51. b Zech. 14 5; Ch.
16.27; &19. 28; Acts 1. 11.

political laws. Ex. xxii. 25 ; Lev. xxv •
36 ; Deut. xxiii. 19, 20.
29. For unto every one that hath shall be
given, Sec. The maxims of foreign nations
must often be amplified to be intelligible
to us. Here the meaning is : " For unto
every one that hath (and as the parable
shows, to have is to use while having) to
such in return for their labor and fidel
ity the gifts increase; more shall be
given : but from such as have not (and
money has only a nominal value, and
when not in use is only dust), and use
not, shall be taken away, when things
are subjected to the trial of the last day,
even that which they seemed to have."
Says St. Chrysostom, "As the corn, if
it be let he for ever in the barns, is
consumed, being devoured of the worms ;
but if it is brought forth and cast into
the field, is multiplied and renewed
again : so also the spiritual word, if it
be evermore shut up within the soul,
being consumed and eaten into by envy,
sloth, and decay, is quickly extinguish
ed: but if, as on a fertile field, it is
scattered on the souls of the brethren,
the treasure is multiplied to them that
receive it, and to him that possessed it:
and as a fountain from which water is
continually drawn forth, is thereby
rather purified, and bubbles up the
more, but being stanched fails alto
gether ; so the spiritual gift and word
of doctrine, if it be continually drawn
forth, and if he who will has liberty to
share it, rises up the more ; but if re
strained by envy and a grudging spirit,
it diminishes, and at last perishes al
together." 30. And cast, Sec. See note, ch. viii.
12. The spiritual meaning is, cast
him into that land of darkness and
punishment, whither the sinners of the
human race will be driven. After this

there shall be weeping and gnash
ing of teeth.
31 If When the 6Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all
the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory :

we see our blessed Lord no more as a
teacher. He now becomes a Sufferer. He
has thus far shown the way of life, He
now prepares it. And with this solemn
farewell He goes quietly on to the be
trayal and crucifixion. His last word
to us, as to them who heard it spoken, is
watch. The echo reverberates against
His throne of judgment, and the caverns
of everlasting punishment.
31-46. The future judgment revealed
in answer to the question of the Apostles,
(ch. xxiv. 3), and as a comment on His
whole discourse. This is the Antitype, of
which the Fall of Jerusalem was the Type.
31. When the Son of man shall come,0
Sec Our Lord gives us a glimpse of
what shall be. It is all true, but not
ah the truth. Enough is given to fill
us with the greatest awe. The Judge
of all is the Son of man, is one of our
race, to feel for, to pity and forgive tho
faithful Christian. The mystery of
heaven and earth is bridged, and we
can feel that Jesus will pardon us, though
we cannot understand the mysteries of
the Divine act of forgiveness. This Son
of man is also the Son of God. "The
Judge of all the earth " is Jehovah, the
Messiah. Gen, xviii. 25 ; Acts x. 42,
43 ; 2 Tim. iv. 1. The Creed teaches
us to utter faith in " one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
who shall come again with glory, to
judge both the quick and dead."
ff In His glory. In all the majesty of
His nature as God and man. He laid
aside the former when He took the
form of man. "When Thou tookest
upon Thee to deliver man, Thou didst
humble Thyself to be born of a virgin."
Phil. ii. 6, 7. He is Creator, the One
who gave the law, in the awful pomp
of Sinai. He will come again to maintain
it. with all the glorious majesty which

292

MATTHEW.

fA. D.

32 And before him shall be
gathered" all nations : and he shall
separate them one from another,
as a 'shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats :
33 And he shall set the sheep
a Bom. 14. 10; 2 Cor. 5. 10 ; Eev. 20. 12.
b Ezek. 84. 17, 20 ; Ch. 13. 49.

belongs to Him as King, Creator,
Judge, Redeemer, and the equal of the
Father. 2 Sam. xxii. 8-1 6 ; Ps. xcvii.
2-6 ; Dan. vii. 13, 14 ; Rev. i. 7.
ff The throneofHis glory. A Hebraism
for HiTgtSrTbustKrone. The scenery "of
the judgment will" be of such a kind as
to fill the minds of men with an awful
sense of the Divine power. A great white
throne shall be set in the worlds of
space, and the scenes of Sinai will be
reproduced in the midst of rending,
burning worlds. See Rev. xx. 11-15 ;
2 Pet. iii. 10-12.
32. And before Him. At the sound
of the last trump, the dead in Christ
shall rise first. 1 Thess. iv. 16. They
who are alive of His followers shall be
changed instantly to spiritual and im
mortal bodies. 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. They
will gather around the throne to wel
come their Lord in the air, " clothed in
fine linen, which is the righteousness of
the saints." Rev. xix. 8. The wicked
will then arise. John v. 28, 29. The
fallen members of the Church shall
throng around the left hand, some even
bold enough to hope for pardon. Matt.
vii. 21. ff All nations. All men who
have ever lived on the earth, ff And
He shall separate, Sec. By His omni
science He will at a glance discern the
characters of all men, with a certainty
of a shepherd separating his flock. The
angels will be the agents to carry out
this division. Ch. xiii. 41, 42.
33. The sheep, the goats. In the lan
guage of the East, sheep were emblems
of good men, because of their gentle
and innocent ways. The goats of bad
men, from their wildness and repulsive
habits. Ps. c. 2 ; Zech. x. 3. ff The
right hand— the left. Maimonides tells
us that it was the custom of the San
hedrim always to place the guilty per-

on his right hand, but the goats
on the left.
34 Then shall the*King say un
to them on his right hand, Come,
ye blessed of my Father," inherit
the kingdom'' prepared for you
oEom. 8. 17; 1 Pet. 1. 4; Eev. 21. 7.
(21 Cor. 2. 9; Heb. 11. 16.

son on the left hand of the judges ; the
innocent on the right. The right hand
_wasconsidered the place Of honor" PS.
"xTvT&V' 34. The King. The Lord Jesus.
Saith St. Jerome : " He who was with
in two days to celebrate the Passover,
to be delivered to the cross, and mocked
by men, fitly now holds out the glory of
His triumph, that He may overbalance
the offences that were to follow, by the
promise of rewards. And it is to be
noted that He who shall be seen in
majesty is the Son of man." ff Blessed
of my Father. Heaven is a free gift,
bestowed by the~FaTKr~onnffi'6se^Kp
liave^Tulffiledr the covenant.1" They are
said to ""a

"the' kingdom," because
after that God had seen fit to bind
Himself by the covenant, they acquire
a claim to it through holy obedience.
They are first made the sons of God by
grace ; and continuing faithful as sons,
they are heirs of God, joint heirs with
Christ. Ro. viii. 17. ff Prepared for
you. The Bible, with great unity of
purpose throughout, declares that God
will save the saints who have obeyed
Him in faith. They are promised
Paradise. Salvation was figured in the
ark; promised in the "seed" Isaac.
The promise was renewed in the chosen
nation ; again in the Catholic Church.
The doctrine of the Church, as derived
from all Scripture, is that all men who,
by a right faith and true holiness in her
midst, do fulfil the Scriptural conditions,
are truly saved, being united in the cove
nant through her sacraments, by the power
of the Holy Ghost, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this sentence of judgment, Jesus de
signs to represent His triumph and
royal power. The reward is therefore
called a kingdom. All men who have
heard the Gospel, have once been able

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

293

from the foundation of the world :
35 For I was an" hungered,
and ye gave me meat : I was
thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I
was a stranger,6 and ye took me
in :
a Is. 58. 7; Jas. 1. 27. 6 Heb. 13. 2;
3 John 5.

to be saved in it. He had died for all —
offered salvation to all without respect
of persons. They, therefore, who are
rejected by Him at last, are only those
who have first rejected Him, and re
fused the conditions of salvation. This
covenant plan of redemption began in
Paradise, in the promise made to Adam,
Therefore, the kingdom is said to have
been prepared from the foundation of the
world. It had been prepared for just
such saints. It was no new plan ; no
secret decree ; no arbitrary election, but
the one constant covenant condition of
mercy — that those freely choosing to
serve God by faith and love, should be
saved in Christ. Mark xvi. 15, 16.
35. For I was an hungered, dec. 1.
These acts of mercy are cited by our
Saviour in this prediction as signs of a
holy life, such as will make men fit to
receive the blessedness of heaven.
These have not been single acts, but the
habits of the saints, and indicate that
tney were "obeaient to Christ in all
things. They imply a hfe of charity,
or as St. Paul says, " the faith which
worketh by love." Gal. v. 6. No mere
privileges or ordinances of Jew or Gen
tile, circumcision or the contrary, no
faith without works, shall come in to
settle the award, but only the faith
which lias worked. Jas. ii. 14. The
spirit of the life, the fruit of it, the works
done to Christians, not the professions,
will avail then. Eev. xx. 12 ; 1 Tim.
vi. 17-19. 2. The acts of mercy are
done in a true faith, for they are done
to Christ ; in obedience to His law from
faith and love to Him, and by the help
of His Holy Spirit Both faith and
works are duly observed in this sentence.
No man can do these works continu
ously, as to Christ, without beheving in
and obeying Him. Who can do them

36 "Naked, and ye clothed me :
I was sick, and ye visited me : I
was in ''prison, and ye came unto
me. 37 Then shall the righteous an
swer him, saying, Lord, when
c Jas. 2. 15, 16. d 2 Tim. 1. 16.

his life long, and not have a right faith,
a good hope, and a pure charity ? Says
Bp. Porteus : " Charity makes only one
of that large assemblage of virtues which
are required to constitute the Christian
character ; and even while we endeavor
to fulfil all righteousness, still it is not
on that righteousness, but on the merits
of our Redeemer, that we must rely for
our acceptance with God. We must,
therefore, collect the terms of our salva
tion not from any one passage, but from
the whole tenor of the sacred writings
taken together, and we shall find that
nothing less than a sincere and lively
faith in Christ, producing in us, as far
as the infirmity of our nature will per
mit, universal holiness of life, can ever
make our final calling and election
sure." ff A stranger. A foreigner, one
needing hospitality. The customs of
the East render hospitality an impera
tive duty. A traveller in Palestine finds
no inns. He waits in the public place
of the towns until the sheik or some
kind person offers him a lodging. See
Judges xix. 15-21. ff Naked. In great
destitution. Stripped of raiment. Luke
x. 30. You despised not the poor, but
showed compassion to their wants. The
wants of a Christian excited all your
sympathy, because of your love for Me.
Jas. ii 15, 16.
37—39. Then shall the rightous say, Sec
Rabanius well remarks : " They say not
this because they distrust the Lord's
words, but they are in amaze at so
great exaltation, at the greatness of
their own glory ; or because the good
which they have done will seem to them
to be so small according to that text of
the Apostle (Rom. viii. 18), For the suf
ferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared to the glory that shall be.
revealed in us."

294

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

saw we thee an hungered, and
fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee
drink ?
38 When saw we thee a stran
ger, and took thee in ? or naked,
and clothed thee ?
39 Or when saw we thee sick,
or in prison, and came unto thee ?
40 And the King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, "Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto
them on the left hand, 'Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlast-
dProv. 19. 17; Ch. 10. 42; Heb. 6. 10-
b Prov. 1. 24-31 ; Lu. 18. 27.

40. One of the least of these My breth
ren. To Me you have not shown these
acts of kindness, but to the members
of My Church, to that mystical body
which was left to carry on the work of
redemption, you have shown it. The
unity of our Lord and His Church is
one of the most solemn mysteries of the
Scripture, next only to the truths which
result from the doctrine of the Trinity.
John xvii. 21. The Son of God, the
Son of man, has established the rela
tionship of the new birth, in which His
followers become partakers of the Holy
Spirit, and are called His brethren. St.
Paul calls the relation of Christ and the
Church, a mystery. Eph. v. 32. It is
a union not merely of feelings, but one
effected by a spiritual change. Titus
iii. 4-7. It joins Christians to Christ
by a participation and union, which
faith may apprehend, but which words
fail to express. John xv. 4, 5 ; 1 Cor.
x. 17. This mystical body of Christ is
always in the world, to do His work
among men, and to allow the exercise
of the Christian virtues. Eph. i. 22, 23 ;
iv. 15, 16 ; Col. i. 18-28. These facts
exalt the natural pitifulness of the heart
into works of grace. Mercy becomes
charity, and the highest proof of a

ing" fire, prepared* for the devil
and his angels :
42 For I was an hungered, and
ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty,
and ye gave me do drink :
43 I was a stranger, and ye
took me not in : naked, and ye
clothed me not : sick, and in
prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also an
swer him, saying, Lord, when
saw we thee an hungered, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked,
or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee ?
45 Then shall he answer them,
saying, Verily I say unto you,
c Ch. 13. 42 ; Eev. 20. 14. d 2 Pet. 2. 4;
Jude 6.
gracious love of the unseen Lord and
Saviour. 41. Depart ye cursed, Sec. The curse
is only the announcement and sealing
of the woes which are the due returns
of their sins. Fearful sentence ! There
is no middle ground between it and the
reward of a holy life, ff Everlasting fire.
As the wicked will rise in the body, they
will be susceptible of bodily torments.
They suffer now horrors of mind called
" chains of darkness," in the interme
diate state, while they are bodiless
spirits. Hereafter they shall suffer an
increase of punishment, suited to this
risen body. Fire now gives the sever
est possible pain. Add to it the idea
of eternity, and human language cannot
go beyond it to express anguish. It
will be endured in the body, and hence
applied to body as weU as soul. For,
being originally meant for the devil and
his angels, who are mere spirits, it is a
mysterious, non-consuming, eternal fire,
of which we can have but faint concep
tion. See Is. xxxiii. 14. The language
is in keeping with the accounts of the
Valley of Hinnom, from which the
word hell has its force. See note, ch.
v. 22. Eternal punishment is one of
the subjects of which the mind can form

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXV.

295

•Inasmuch as ye did it not to one
of the 'least of these, ye did it not
to me.
a Prov. 14 81; & 17. 5. b Zech. 2. 8;
Acts 9. 5.
but feeble conceptions. The Christian
diligently seeks to escape from so terri
ble a doom, knowing that the Judge
of all the earth will do right ; knowing
that the shadow of the cross is a depth
of darkness which must equal the light
which shines from the Victim who ex
pired on it ; knowing that however little
he may be able to explain the essence
or nature of that " lake of fire," true
wisdom bids him so hve, that he may
see it only from the walls of the holy
city, where the saints will reign for ever.
ff Prepared for the devil, Sec. It was
not prepared for men. They suffer it
contrary to the will of their Creator,
because they have made themselves hke
to the evil spirits. Jude 6, 7. The
mercy of God appears even in this sen
tence. Sinners will, with consterna
tion, see that it was only by wronging
all the claims and calLs of conscience ;
only by denying all the plans for mercy
which God had laid for them, that they
forced Him to punish them eternally.
45. As ye did it not, Sec. We judge
of the sentence upon the wicked by the
whole tenor of the Holy Scriptures.
See then a few passages. Rom. ii. 9 ;
Col. iii. 5, 6 ; 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. The
want of Christian virtues, are, in this
connection, 1st. Signs that sinners have
done no Christian works, and have had
no virtues of faith and love. Some of
them professed to have them, and lulled
their consciences to sleep, with inten
tions of future good : but they had
never brought their intentions to pass.
2d. This exaltation^ of works of charity,
done""oy lailbTHfld' m Wve^WTBrTStr^i-
¦8elfrS'W,uThgfrt»f'B«on|esr^THve,Eo
'muTTrSF'ftt^^
m^mw&ss^e^evfirssTme
Ttt«etrfTasri:'^Tr^',aifh^a«f^rs1^' tIB'lllfllf it has progressed into works of
love, ff Least of these. The saints who
needed help upon the earth.
46. And these, Sec Alas, the part
ing ! what woe to one side. The lost

46 "And these shall go away
into everlasting punishment : but
the righteous into life eternal.
c Dan. 12. 2 ; John 5. 29 ; Eom. 2. 7, &o.

will part from husbands, wives, brothers,
children, and behold them in triumphal
procession, chanting the song of Moses
and the Lamb — while they are mar
shalled by fiends into the prisons of the
lake of fire, ff Everlasting punishment.
Life eternal. The words everlasting and
eternal are the same word in the Greek.
One state is co-equal with the other, and
both are endless. God has interwoven
the two, so that the man who will at
tempt to deny the flames of hell, must
deny the joys of heaven. Our transla
tors seem to have chosen a variety of
the words, as if the dignity of the sub
ject was thereby better suited. The
pains of hell are repeatedly declared
ceaseless. "Everlasting burnings." Is.
xxxiii. 14. "Everlasting shame and
contempt." Dan. xii. 2. " Everlasting
fire." Matt, xviii. 8. "Eternal judg
ment." Heb. vi. 2. " Eternal damna
tion." Mark iii. 29. "The blackness
of darkness for ever." Jude 13. See
Rev. xiv. 10, 11. We are assured then,
beyond a question, that the state and
condition of all men will be eternal
Reason, so far as she can sound the end
less sea of wrath, must pronounce it
just. There is then no change. The
wicked cannot and will not repent.
They will hate goodness as now, only
in increased degrees. The fires of hell
cannot wash out sins, or make the heart
tender toward God. Let the Christian
watch unto the coming of his Lord, and
pray fervently in those solemn words
which will one day be said by others
over his ashes : "Yet 0 Lord God, most
holy, 0 Lord most mighty, O holy and,
most merciful Saviour, deliver us not
into the bitter pains of eternal death.
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our
hearts : shut not Thy merciful ears to
our prayers : but spare ns, Lord most
holy. 0 God, most mighty, 0 holy and
merciful Saviour, Thou most worthy
Judge eternal, suffer us not at our last
hour, for any pains of death to fall from

296

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

A

CHAPTER XXVI.
Passion Week — Tuesday.
ND "it came to pass, when
Jesus had finished all these
a Mark 14 1, 2.

Thee." " We humbly beseech Thee, 0
Father, to raise us from the death of sin
unto the life of righteousness ; that
when we shall depart this hfe we may
rest in Christ ; and that at the general
resurrection in the last day, we may be
found acceptable in Thy sight ; and re
ceive that blessing which Thy well-
beloved Son shall then pronounce to all
who love and fear Thee, saying, Come
ye blessed children of my Father, in
herit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world:
Grant this, we beseech Thee, 0 merciful
Father, through Jesus Christ our Medi
ator and Redeemer. Amen."
CHAPTER XXVI.
1-5. See Mark xiv. 1, 2. The re
ferences in these last chapters to the
other Gospels are cited according to the
Harmony of Dr. Jarvis, Historiographer |
of the Church. He remarks : " These
discourses were ended just as the sun
was setting, and therefore our Lord re
minded His disciples that it was then
just two days or forty-eight hours to the
Passover, when He would be betrayed
to be crucified. At the same time the
chief priests and scribes were in consult
ation at the hah of Caiaphas."
2. After two days is the feast cf the
passover. This was the great festival
of the Jews. See Ex. xii. It was cele
brated on the fourteenth day of the
month Nisan, the first month of the sa
cred year. The Passover, properly
speaking, lasted one day ; but the seven
days of unleavened bread which fol
lowed were sometimes included. The
time of it was fixed by the changes of
the moon attending the vernal equinox.
It is easy to calculate the exact day of
any particular year on which it occurred.
On this year of our Lord's crucifixion,
T. E. 34, it occurred on the 26th of
March, at the very time of the year in
which the Annunciation had been made

sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days
is the feast of the passover, and
the Son of 'man is betrayed to be
crucified.

to the Virgin Mary. This year present
ed a fact in regard to the changes of
the moon, which is believed to explain
a difficulty of this chapter. "The
mean (visible) full moon was on Thurs
day afternoon, and the true full moon
was on Friday morning." It seems,
therefore, that our blessed Lord cele
brated the Passover, by a custom which
was permitted to the people, on the day
before that on- which the Scribes and
Pharisees kept it. See John xviii. 28.
He was able to eat the Passover with
His disciples, and yet was Himself of
fered up as the true paschal Lamb, at the
exact hour when the celestial bodies
announced the true time for it. The
reader will find the prescribed rites of
the original feast in Ex. xii. Some pious
customs had been added to give sacred
ness to it. On the 10th of the month
Nisan, the same day when our Saviour
entered the city (see note, ch xxi. 1),
the master of a family, or one acting
for many others, chose a lamb or kid
for the feast. On the 14th, he was
obliged to carry it to the temple to be
slain and the blood sprinkled by the
priest before the altar of burnt-offerings.
This was done by Peter and John, who
also gave in to the priests the number
of names for whom the lamb was killed.
The lamb was then roasted whole, no
bone broken or puUed apart ; two spits
being run through it in form of a cross.
Bitter herbs were eaten with it, to sig
nify the heavy sufferings of Egypt from
which the Israefites were delivered. At
first, the people ate it in haste, all pre
pared for travel, but in the land of rest,.
they assumed the usual position of re
clining. First a cup of wine was set
before ah, and the meal was eaten, with
a pious recital of the events of their
deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
The 113th and 114th Psalms were re
peated, and short prayers made. They

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

297

3 Then "assembled together
the chief priests, and the scribes,
and the elders of the people, unto
the palace of the high priest, who
was called Caiaphas,
4 And consulted that they
might take Jesus by subtilty, and
kill him. aPs. 2. 2; Acts 4. 25.

then drank the wine which had been
standing before them. Other wine was
set on, and the whole concluded by re
peating or chanting the Halle], that is,
the 115th to the 118th Psalms of the
Psalter. The Saviour observed all the
ritual of the Jews, ff The Son of man
is betrayed. The present tense is used,
for the act of betrayal, in a measure,
had begun. The evil soul of the traitor
was already meditating his great crime.
He had predicted that He would be
' crucified at this very Passover, ff To
be crucified. Punished by the cross.
The apparent impossibility of such an
event, which implied that Jesus would
first give Himself to death, and then
that the Jews would betray Him to the
Romans, prevented the Apostles from
giving credit to His words. See note,
ch. xxvii. 35.
3. Then assembled, Sec The San
hedrim alone had the power to try of
fenders against religion. The raising of
Lazarus in Bethany (John xi. 47, 48),
and the rebukes which Jesus had given
them in presence of the people (ch. xxi.
45) caused this session, ff The high
priest. The office had been begun in
the priesthood of Aaron. Ex. xxviii.
The high priest was judge of ah the
cases of offence against religion, and al
ways exercised great power in the po
litical history of the people. The office
had gone on by succession with great
regularity until the outrages of the
monster Antiochus Epiphanes, B. C.
160. After his time it was held by the
noble family of the Maccabean princes,
until Herod the Great. He changed
the incumbent of the office at his pleas
ure. After his death Cyrenius appoint
ed Annanus or Annas, high priest.
Vol. I.— 13*

5 But they said, Not on the
feast-day, lest there be an uproar
among the people.
Tuesday Night.
6 If 'Now. when Jesus was in
Bethany, in the house of Simon
the leper, b Mark 14 8-9.
Valerius Gratus, succeeding, deposed
Annas, and appointed Ishmael, and after
a httle, Eleazar, son of Annas, and after
a year more Simon, and again Joseph
Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas.
Thus four high priests were made in
the same number of years. There could
be but one high priest at a time exercis
ing office, but those who once held the
name, retained it. ff The palace of
Caiaphas. The large hah or court in
the centre of a dwelling. See the plan
of an Eastern house. Verse 57.
5. Not on the feast-day. Not during
the feast on Friday. Great multitudes
crowded to the city, and they had al
ready seen the popularity of Jesus with
them. They would delay seizing Jesus
until the crowd had diminished, and
they could depend on the people of the
city, who were accustomed to obey
them. But God overruled their plans.
They are hurried on to accomplish the
death of Christ on the very hour of their
Pascal service.
6-13. On Tuesday after night fail.
The Jewish Wednesday had begun at
sunset. See also Mark xiv. 3-9 ; Luke
xxi. 37, 38.
6. In Bethany, dec. See note, ch. xxi. 1.
ff Simon the leper. Simon had been a
leper and been cured. This event is
not to be confounded with the one re
corded by St. John, xii. 1-9. That
took place six days before the Passover,
in the house of Lazarus, and in the
company of Mary and Martha. St.
John says that the ointment was poured
upon the feet of Jesus. Judas alone
made objection to it, and perhaps in a
private manner, and was rebuked. In
this case all the disciples speak against
her waste of the ointment. A similar

298

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28,

7 There came unto him a wo
man having an alabaster-box of
very precious ointment, and pour
ed it on his head as he sat at
meat. 8 But when his disciples saw
it, they had indignation, saying,
To what purpose is this waste ?

event happened in the house of Simon
a Pharisee (Luke vii. 37-50), done by
another Mary who was a sinner. St.
Ambrose says, "It is possible that it
was the same woman at different times,
or two different stages of desert ; first
while yet a sinner, and afterwards more
advanced." 7. Having an alabaster box. "She
brake the box" (Mark xiv. 3), that all
might be poured upon His head as a vo
tive offering of a grateful soul. Alab aster
is a kind of white marble, marked with
veins of different colors, semi-transpa
rent, and very brittle. It is easily cut
and admits of a high polish. It was in
great request by the wealthy and luxu
rious of the ancients for such purposes
as the one here specified. It was thought
to have peculiar virtue for preserving
ointment from corruption. ff Of very
precious ointment. " Ointment of spike
nard, very precious." Mark xiv. 3. It
is in the original called nard, and is said
to have been extracted from the root or
bark of the spikenard (Andropagon
nardus). It was of exquisite fragrance
and softness. There is an utter disre
gard of cost in this act, which manifests
great faith. It was usual with the
Jews to anoint the head and other
parts of the body with perfumed oils, to
render the skin pliable and soft (Matt.
vi. 17, 18), but there was no record of
such acts as this, previous to death, ex
cept in the case of our Saviour.
8. They had indignation. One grain
of true spiritual faith, and their anger
would have been stilled. Had they be
lieved, as they did not, that He was to die
in so short a time, and loved Him truly,
the waste would not have pained them.
For of what value can all the wealth of

9 For this ointment might
have been sold for much, and
given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it,
he said unto them, Why trouble
ye the woman ? for she hath
wrought a good work upon me.
11 For" ye have the poor al-
a Deut. 15. 11.
the world be in such an hour ? What
was the waste of her box compared
with the good fame of the deed — the
spiritual blessing to her ? Worldfiness
and avarice blind us to the real value
and truth of things. We value dust
and despise a crown, ff Sold for much.
St. Mark says for three hundred pence
— about forty-five dollars. Money which
is given to the Saviour is never wasted.
Let it be done in faith guided by true
love. All the means which are ex
pended by the Church, in works of
spiritual profit, in rendering honor to
God, or promoting the piety and salva
tion of men, will be kept in remembrance
hereafter. It is a bad sign for piety
when money is spent freely on all ob
jects of personal comfort, pride, or even
luxury, and parsimoniously on ah things
regarding- religion. The true spirit of
love will respect the duties to be rendered
to God's honor, as supreme, those to self
as secondary. 2 Sam. xxiv. 24 ; 1
Chron. xvii. 1 ; 2 Cor. viii. 1-5.
10. Why trouble ye the woman?
Why blame her and make her ashamed
of the venturing love which has marked
this act. ff A good work. A work of
love, done from a pure desire to do
honor to her Saviour ; perhaps to her, a
Saviour from grievous woes. It was also
a good work, as it anointed Him to the
burial. 11. For ye have, dec. The duty of
providing for the poor, is one of great
importance. But it was one which
could be always performed. They were
never without them. Deut. xv. 11 ;
Ps. xli. 1. We hear the same pretext
of charity often used now-a-days against
rendering honor to God by costly
churches. And when costly churches are

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

299

ways with you ; but me "ye have
not always.
12 For in that she hath poured
this ointment on my body, she
did it for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you,
Wheresoever this gospel shall be
a John 13. 33 ; 16. 5. b Lu. 21. 87, 88.
built only to increase the pride and osten
tation of a congregation, it is a good
objection. For charity is better than
splendid vanity. But it is certain that
the poor have never suffered by the in
crease of that tender love for Christ,
which seeks to honor Him with temples
costly enough to show self-denial in His
service. The spirit cherished in such
works, will never leave the poor to suf
fer. All who cavil at such deeds of
piety, ought to give very largely to the
poor, before they speak, remembering
that the inventor of the objection was
Iscariot. ff Me ye have not always. In
the body, which needs any such expen
diture. He promised to be with them,
and with us always, but it is in the
Spirit and by His grace. In the body,
which needed care and support, He
would soon leave them.
12. She did it for My burial. It seems
natural to suppose, that the woman had
some indistinct meaning of her action,
and did it with some such ' intention —
for this appears to have given it signifi-
cancy. We may suppose her to have
heard of dangers to Jesus, to have been
timid by nature, and, perhaps impressed
by the words which Jesus Himself had
used. In ancient times it was usual to
embalm bodies with costly spices and
perfumes. See John xix. 39, 40. She
had, as it were, anticipated this usage
by her act.
13. A memorial of her. St. Chry-
sostom has the following eloquent pas
sage concerning this prediction : " Be
hold the accomplishment of this saying,
To whatsoever part of the world you
go, you wiU find this woman famous ;
and this has been wrought by the power
of Him who spake this word. How
many victories of kings and captains

preached in the whole world,
there shall also this, that this wo
man6 hath done, be told for a me
morial of her. Wednesday.
14 T "Then one of the twelve,
c Mark 14. 10, 11; Lu. 22. 1.

have passed into oblivion ; how many
who built cities, and enslaved many
nations, are now known neither by re
port nor by name ; but the deed of this
woman pouring fourth ointment in the
house of a leper, . in the presence of
twelve men, this resounds throughout
the world, and though so much time
has elapsed, the memory of that which
was done is not effaced. But why pro
mised He no spiritual gift to this wo
man, but everlasting remembrance
only ? Because this He did promise
made her confident of receiving the
other also; whereas she wrought a
good work, it is clear that she shall re
ceive an adequate reward."
14. — 16. See also Mark xiv. 10, 11 ;
Luke xxii. 1—5. Wednesday, after sun
set. We should read, as coming in be
fore this act of Judas, John xiii. 1-30.
The day was probably spent some
where upon the mount of Olives.
14. Then one of the twelve. Judas
was angry at this rebuke, and his hate,
or avarice, or fears, urged him to im
mediate action. St. Luke says that
" Satan entered into him." ff Judas
Iscariot. See note, ch. x. 4. It is re
markable that St. Matthew abstains
from every epithet against a man guilty
of such a crime. It is a striking proof
of the powerful effect of the lessons of
charity which he had received, and the
influence of inspiration in curbing the,
infirmities of human temper, ff Unto
the chief priests. He went to those who
were conspiring against Jesus. St.
Luke adds, the " captains." These
were the leaders of a guard of priests
and Levites, whose duty was to protect
the temple and the sacred rites from
being interrupted by riotous persons.
They were at the command of tiie chief

300

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

called Judas Iscariot, went unto
the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What
will ye give me, and I will deliver
him unto you ? And they cove
nanted with him for" thirty pieces
of silver. aZoch. 11. 12; Ch. 27. 8.

priest, for such a work as this. Judas
left the company of the disciples, on
the evening of the first day of unlea
vened bread, when it was usual for pious
Jews, to put away all leaven from out
of their houses. In his heart was " the
leaven of malice and wickedness." 1
Cor. v. 8. Among the many supposi
tions as to the motive, it seems proba
ble, that he had become convinced that
his avarice would never be gratified in
the service of Christ, as he had once
thought, and that he aimed by this
deed, to obtain a good opinion from the
rulers, while he escaped from the con
sequences of having been so long a fol
lower of one so obnoxious to them.
The money seems too small in amount
to have been a sufficient temptation.
15. Covenanted with him. They made
an agreement with him that he should
inform them of the place where Jesus
spent His evenings, that they might take
Him secretly. Otherwise they would
have searched for Him in vain, in the
crowded state of the city. The word
covenanted has the force of putting
forth the money. They were prompt
to pay him and secure his services.
ff Thirty pieces of silver. Or thirty
shekels, about fifteen dollars of our
money. This was the price of a slave.
Ex. xxi. 32. It was like their hypoc
risy and hatred to fix this price, to show
their contempt for Jesus, as if it were
wrong for them to pay more. The price
fulfilled a prophecy of Zecharias : " So
they weighed for My price thirty pieces
of silver." Zech. xi. 12. This hap
pened on Wednesday evening. The
event has marked the day in the annals
of the Church as a fast day, to com
memorate in humility the wickedness,
which has caused the death of Jesus ;

16 And from that time he
sought opportunity to betray
him. Thuksdat.
17 1 'Now the first day of the
feast of unleavened bread, the
b Ex 12. 6, 18.
not only in Judas' own heart, but in
the whole race. The weekly fasts of
the primitive Christians were carefully
observed on Wednesdays and Fridays,
because on one the Lord was betrayed,
on the other crucified. Our Church
calendar appoints all the Fridays of the
year as fasts, except when Christmas
occurs on one of them.
16. Sought opportunity. St. Luke
explains what was the opportunity they
wished, by adding, " in the absence of
the multitude." We have in this cau
tion the testimony of the enemies of
Jesus, that His death was altogether vol
untary, since, on only human calcula
tions, He had need only to begin the at
tack on them, or compel them to begin it
in public, in order to gain the aid of the
multitude. But by first arraigning Him
in private, and then proclaiming Him as
condemned for impiety, they gained the
fickle mob ; which is always led by the
momentary passion to follow the stronger •
party, ff Betray Him. To defiver up
one who trusted in him : to fail in a
duty of friendship or sacred trust. It
is a crime deservedly condemned by all
men. The very men who took advan
tage of the treachery of Judas, despised
him, and spoke the most cutting words
to him, as one having in his hands " the
price of blood." After Judas had left
the disciples, there occurred the conver
sation which is recorded in John xiii.
31, to xv.
17-19. Thursday. See Mark xiv;
12-16 ; Luke xxii. 7-13. This day is
sometimes called Mandy or Maundy-
Thursday, from the Latin words dies
Mandati, the day of the command. The
practice of washing one another's feet
was long kept up, after which alms were
given to the poor. The custom has been

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

301

disciples came to Jesus, saying
unto him, Where wilt thou that
we prepare for thee to eat the
passover ?
18 And he said, G-o into the
abolished. The humility which, we
trust, prompted it, ought to be perpetual.
On this day the persons who had been
excluded from the Church since Ash-
Wednesday were restored. All the
doors of the churches were thrown open,
to signify the same. It is especially
important to Christians, as the day of
the institution of the Holy Communion.
17. The first day of unleavened bread.
The days of unleavened bread were
eight. Christians still are accustomed
to celebrate Easter till its octave, so
that, should the Communion be cele
brated, the same preface of praise " for
the glorious resurrection" must be
used. See Prayer Booh. This day was
the 14th of the month Nisan, which
happened on that year, March 25th.
ff Of unleavened bread. The Jews were
not required to remove all leaven, which
with them was simply sour dough, used
in baking bread, from their houses, until
evening, when the lamb was killed. But
to avoid all danger of offence, they be
gan to purge their houses, from top to
bottom, by the light of day, with a care
that partook something of superstition.
The actions of our Lord and His ten
disciples on this day (Peter and John
being absent in the city) are not re
corded. We may believe that the day
was spent in duties of prayer and reli
gious counsel, among the shady retreats
of Olivet, in order to prepare Himself
and them for the fast-coming events.
1 Cor. v. 7.
18. Go into the city to such a man.
Into Jerusalem. The paschal lamb
could be eaten nowhere else. Peter
and John had asked this question, pro
bably early in the morning, and were
sent on this errand. It required two to
convey the lamb to the temple and to wit
ness to the priests there the number who
were to eat of it. They are sent to find
a particular man, " bearing a pitcher,"
who was probably a disciple, as appears

city to such a man, and say unto
him, The Master saith, My time
is at hand ; I will keep the pass-
over at thy house with my disci
ples.
from the message sent him. Luke
xxii. 11. This caution may have been
used on account of the presence of Ju
das. He could not from these circum
stances convey the knowledge of His
movements to the priests, ff The Mas
ter saith. The teacher, opposed to the
word disciple. It supposes that the man
addressed would at once know the
claim made on him. He would show
them the guest chamber, " a large up
per room, furnished and prepared " for
this very purpose. It was usual for the
citizens of Jerusalem during this great
feast to throw open their houses to
strangers. The day was spent by Peter
and John in executing this commission.
After finding the man, and seeing the
rooms, they had to buy the lamb and
carry it to the temple, and have it lolled
there, and the blood sprinkled in the
name of a paschal lamb or a passover
for thirteen persons. For Judas was
necessarily included, because if he had
offered to withdraw, it must have been
done before Peter and John left, and
would have excited suspicion. They
were then to carry the lamb home, where
it was to be eaten, get the bread aud
wine ready, and the bitter herbs, and
any other things requisite for the meal.
According to Josephus, the lamb could
not have been slain until after the even
ing sacrifice at three p. m., so that they
would be occupied until evening. Jo
sephus informs us that no paschal could
be killed for any company less than ten.
ff My time is at hand. The time of His
betrayal to the Jews. The disciples did
not comprehend Him. It appears from
a comparison of the Evangelists, that
our Lord eat of the Passover on Thurs
day evening, while the priests delayed
their supper till the following day. John
xviii. 28. There must have been a lati
tude of time allowed by the Jews. For
the lamb was to be slain at the temple,
with certain words and rites. It was

302

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

19 And the disciples did as
Jesus had appointed them; and
they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was
come, he sat down with the
twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he
impossible for any one to celebrate the
Passover, unless by permission of the
priests. The explanations of the learned
Dr. Jarvis are consistent and satisfac
tory. " The lamb was slain before the
setting of the sun on Thursday, and
might be eaten at any time after dark,
and before the next morning. See Ex.
xii. 8—10. He might have postponed
it if He pleased till a later hour : but
much was to be done that night, and
He chose the earliest hour which the
law allowed." The Jews fixed the time
of the new moon by its appearance. But
between the apparent and real age of
the moon, as the latter would be marked
by astronomical calculations, there was
the difference of a day. " A diversity
of practice was allowed on account of
the variation between the apparent
and real time of the new and full
moon." See Dr. Jarvis's Introduction,
part ii ch. viii. pp. 456-459. The
three Evangehsts are positive in saying
that Thursday was a proper day for the
Passover, while St. John as clearly
shows that the Pharisees kept theirs
the following day. John xix. 14-31.
Our Saviour kept the former ; and was
Himself offered as the true Passover
Lamb on the latter, the true day, when
the constellations had registered the
exact hour of the appointed time.
20, 21. Thursday evening after sunset be
gan the \5th Nisan or Friday. See Mark
xiv. 17, 18 ; Luke xxii. 14-18.
20. When the even was come. The
lamb was killed between " the even
ings," that is between three p. m. and
sunset. Ex. xii. 6. It could be eaten
at any hour of that night. Ex. xii. 8.
ff He sat down. They reclined at the
table according to the usual custom.
The original command was to eat the
paschal lamb standing, with their shoes

said, Verily I say unto you, that
one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding
sorrowful, and began every one
of them to say unto him, Lord, is
it I? 23 And he answered and said,

on their feet, and their loins girded. But
after they had reached the land of
Canaan, the reasons for this order had
ceased, and the custom was changed.
They then eat it in a position of rest,
for they were to wait where they were
for the coming of Him who was to ful
fil the type of the lamb.
21. As they did eat. St. John says,
that Jesus " was deeply troubled in
spirit and testified." His human nature
began to be overwhelmed with the in
creasing weight of the awful suffering
which it was to endure. The first part
of His sorrow, was the sin of Judas,
whom He now convicts openly of his
crime. The disciples could not under
stand His suffering, and did not, to the
last, imagine that He would be indeed
delivered up by one of their number.
ff With the twelve. Judas could not be
absent, as it was impossible for him
after the lamb was killed at the temple
to transfer his name to another com
pany. He was obliged, therefore, to vio
late every obligation, human and divine,
to achieve his guilty purpose. Even
the wild Arab of the desert will not
injure the one who has just taken part
of his meal. Judas went from this
sacred meal to the enemies of Christ.
Ps. xli. 9 ; John xiii. 18.
22. Exceeding sorrowful. Amazed
and grieved at the thought that such a
crime was possible by any one of their
number. Yet aware of the perfect
knowledge of Jesus, in all the secrets of
the heart, they each begin to fear for
himself, lest His divine insight may
have detected in him the possibility of
such a deed. It may seem singular
that the disciples did not at once know
that Judas was the criminal, and all
turn to condemn him. But we must
bear in mind, that he was a hypocrite,

T. E. 34.J

CHAPTER XXVI.

303

"He that dippeth his hand with
me in the dish, the same shall be
tray me. aPs.41. 9; & 55. 12, &o.
and had veiled his real character under
an appearance of great sanctity. He it
was who was most forward to " defend
the cause of the widow 'and the father
less ; " from which circumstance Bp.
Andrews has termed him with delicate,
but severe satire, " that pater pauperum,"
or father of the poor. We now know
Judas as a criminal ; the disciples per
haps thought him a most pious man.
Let us ponder this difference of views,
that we may learn to detect the like
signs of hypocrisy, if unhappily they
should be found in us or about us.
23. He that dippeth his hand with Me
in the dish. At a preceding supper Jesus
had signified to John, who the traitor
was, by giving to him a sop or bit of
bread after He had dipped it in the dish.
But as John reclined next to Jesus at
the table, it is likely that this had been
done privately. John xiii. 23-30. But
now seeing the disciples grieved and
agitated by this remark of coining
treachery, Jesus makes a sign by which
tho traitor shall be known to all, by ful
filling to the letter the prediction of the
Psalm (xli. 9) he "which did eat My
bread hath lifted up his heel against
Me." In the East to this day, it is the
custom to place food before the guests
in large dishes, into which all dip their
hands, to take their portions. At this
supper, the Jews provided a particular
dish, made of bitter herbs, palm branches,
and raisins, seasoned with vinegar;
the whole mixture serving to remind
them of the hard bondage of their an
cestors in the brick-kilns of Egypt.
Into this it is probable that Judas dip
ped his hand with the Saviour.
24. The Son of man goeth, Sec. He
goes on to die freely and according to
the will of God. The foreknowledge of
God never forces the free vrill of man,
to do wrong, ff As it is written of Him.
In Ps. xxii. Is. liii: and other places. It
was done by the " determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God." Acts ii. 23.

24 The Son of man goeth,6 as
it is written of him : but wo unto
that man by whom the Son of
b Is. 58; Dan. 9. 26.

The whole system of sacrifices had fore
shadowed the death of. Christ. The
prophets had predicted it as surely to
come to pass at that time, and we
Christians cannot but believe that it
was the will of God and the will of
Christ from the very beginning, that it
should be. Nothing can be more cer
tain than the truth, which is declared
so often in Scripture, that " known unto
God are aU His works from the begin
ning of the world" (Acts xv. 18), unless
it may be the certain folly of men who
presume to speculate upon this incom
prehensible doctrine, to deny the free will
of man in doing right and wrong, and
in choosing good and evil in the matters
of personal salvation. It is a " godly
consideration," that there is " an ever
lasting purpose of God, where by (before
the foundations of the world were laid)
He hath constantly decreed by His
counsel, secret to us, to deliver from curse
and damnation those whom He hath
chosen in Christ, and to bring them by
Christ to everlasting salvation, as ves
sels made to honor." — Art. XVII. But
though the counsel be secret, inasmuch
as we cannot grasp it, the whole Church
system is founded on what we do know
of His promises, which offer free salva
tion to all, and which threaten destruc
tion to those only who refuse them. It
was the will of God that Christ should
die for sin. It was His will that .Judas
should betray Him to death, only after
Judas had utterly and totally rejected
all good, and altogether chosen evil. "He
sinned primarily, and even to the end,
of his own free will. ff But wo unto
Siat man, Sec. Therefore Judas was in
all respects guilty of awful sin and pun
ishable with eternal destruction. Does
the reader ask "Why, when it is said
that God had foreordained this event ?"
It is perhaps better to answer at once,
that no one can sound the depths or un
tie the perplexed questions of this mys
terious subject. And in this spirit the

304

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

man is betrayed! it had been
good for that man if he had not
been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed

Seventeenth Article warns us, that " for
curious and carnal persons, lacking the
spirit of Christ, to have continually
before their eyes the sentence of God's
predestination, is a most dangerous down
fall, whereby the devil doth thrust them
either into desperation, or into wretehless-
nessof most unclean living, no less peril
ous than desperation." We may say, then,
that for Judas to sin, it was necessary
that he could sin, for only free agents
can sin. A stone falls because it must
fall. The must prevents the idea of sin,
though it should kill any one in falling.
Judas could have served his Lord,
loved and obeyed Him, but would not.
And though it constantly grew harder
for him to do right, it was yet, by labor
and prayer and penitence, still possible,
even to the last. But he chose wrong,
and, step by step, continued to choose it,
till he was guilty of a crime which he
would have at first rejected. He had a
free will. But sinning had quenched
the Spirit and narrowed his power of
will. He was reprobate, and while he
sought his own ends, he fulfilled the
purpose of God, and made himself the
heir of woe unutterable. Our Church
does firmly hold two things as true.
1st. The perfect and entire Omniscience
of God, which embraces all His works
and rules them to His will. 2d. The
free offer, in good faith, of salvation to
all men (see Catechism) : and the Scrip
tures teach the same. Both discourage
the " curious and carnal " questions that
go beyond these, to narrow and deny in
any part either doctrine. The Christian
may find the " godly consideration of
predestination and our election in Christ"
(into a state of salvation, by which we
may be saved on the Gospel conditions,
and not by secret assurances founded
on presumptuous convictions of an here
ditary peerage of grace and unrevealed
Divine right) to be "full of sweet,
pleasant and unspeakable comfort to

him, answered and said, Master,
is it I ? He said unto him, Thou
hast said.
26 If And* as they were eating,

a 1 Cor. ii. 28, &o.

godly persons, and such as feel in them
selves the working of the Spirit of
Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh
and their earthly members, and drawing
up their minds to high and heavenly
things, as well because it doth greatly
establish and confirm their faith of eter
nal salvation, to be enjoyed through
Christ, as because it doth fervently
kindle their love toward God." Such
persons will always receive the promises
of God, as they be generally set forth
in Scripture, and make the conditions of
the Gospel covenant their ground of
hope. 25. Master, is it It Bold and wily
to the last. The innocent disciples say,
Lord, the guilty one, Teacher, is it I ?
He now by the change denied the claim
which was signified in the appellation
Lord. Jesus answers the insulting
question so gentiy, " Thou hast said,"
the very mildest form of affirmation,
that we must ponder, to feel the bold
insult of the hardened wretch.
26-29. The institution of the Lord's
Supper. Se also Mark xiv. 22-25,
Luke xxii. 19, 20; John xv. 1-27; 1
Cor. xi. 23-25. Read in connection,
John xv., xvi., and xvii.
26. As they were eating. At the close
of the meal the final cup of wine, called
the cup of blessing, was drank. See 1
Cor. x. 16. Jesus said to them, " With
desire I have desired to eat this Passo
ver with you before I suffered " (Luke),
meaning I have earnestly desired this
parting feast. He would leave them
with this most sacred memorial. Eve
ry Christian should desire to partake
of this holy supper before his death, in
imitation of the example of Christ. The
Church encourages her members to
participate in it in sickness, ff Jesus
took bread. Bread and wine were be
fore Him. Dr. J arvis says of it :" He
was then acting as the Great High
Priest, devoting Himself as the Lamb

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

305

Jesus took bread, and 'blessed it,
and brake it, and gave it to the
11 Many Greek copies have gave thanks.

All the language of the prayer (John
xvii.) is sacerdotal and sacrificial. From
the institution of the sacrament, the
commencement of our Lord's Passion
must be dated, for thenceforth He was a
passive sufferer. " The Sacrament grew
out of the Passover. " He very natural
ly directed His disciples that their an
cient customs should, for the future, be
applied to the greatest of Divine bless
ings, and become the memorial of
' Christ their Passover, sacrificed for
them,' as indeed the bread broken aptly
enough represented His body, and the
wine poured forth expressly figured out
His blood shed for our salvation." —
Archbishop Seeker, ff And blessed it. This
word means more than giving of thanks.
It signifies a prayer for all the blessing
which may properly be desired for the
object which is blessed. It is gener
ally used in the New Testament of per
sons, and implies a Divine assurance
of such blessings as the persons are ca
pable of receiving. Matt. v. 44 ; Mark
x. 16; Luke i. 42. Sometimes it is
addressed to God, and becomes praise,
since that alone we mortals can give
Him. Luke i. 64. And rarely it is
used of things. Jesus blessed the loaves
and fishes, which thereby became capa
ble of the miraculous increase. Matt
xiv. 19 ; Mark viii. 7 ; Luke ix. 16.
The elements which were blessed, did
then receive all the powers of which
they were capable, and as no change
of substance took place, no increase and
no property of bestowing any physical
advantages; it follows that we must
look for the result of the blessing in the
spiritual relations .which the elements
were to bear. The Christian world is
unhappily divided as to these effects.
The design of these notes will allow of
no other words on this important sub
ject than those of our authorized stand
ards. The Priest in announcing the
Holy Communion, exhorts the people
to thank God, that He hath given His
Son Jesus Christ " not only to die for

disciples, and said, Take, eat ;
this is my body.

us, but also to be our spiritual food and
sustenance in that Holy Sacrament," and
adds that it is " a divine and comfortable
thing to them who receive it worthily."
He calls it " holy mysteries, aspledges of
His love, and for a continual remembrance
of His death, to our great and endless
comfort." He solemnly prays in the
name of all " that we may so eat the
flesh of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and
drink His blood, that our sinful bodies
may be made clean by His body, and
our souls washed through His most
precious blood, and that we may ever
more dwell in Him and He in us." He
calls the elements " holy gifts which
we now offer," and the " memorial
which Thy Son hath commanded us to
make." He prays again, " Sanctify with
Thy Word and Holy Spirit these Thy
gifts and creatures of bread and wine,"
and attributes to the due and proper re
ception, the being " partakers of the
most blessed body and blood " of Christ.
It is " a sacrifice of praise and thanks
giving." To faith in the blood (not
the symbol of it) of Christ is given "re
mission of sins and all other benefits of
His Passion." He prays that all par
taking of the elements may " be filled
with God's grace and heavenly bene
diction and made one body with Him,
that He may dwell in them and they
in Him." Eph. iv. 15, 16. It is termed
"consecrated bread and wine." We are
fed " with the spiritual food of the most
precious Body and Blood" of Christ,
assured " thereby of God's favor and
goodness towards us, and that ws are
very members incorporate in the mysti
cal body of Thy Son, which is the blessed
company of all faithful people, and are
heirs through hope of Thy everlasting
kingdom, by the merits of the most pre
cious death and passion of Thy dear Son."
The Catechism teaches that the inward
part or thing signified by the Lord's sup
per is, " The body and blood of Christ,
which is spiritually taken and received' by
the faithful in the Lord's Supper," to

306

MATTHEW.

fA. D.

27 And he took the cup, and
gave thanks, and gave it to them,
saying, Drink ye" all of it ;
a Mark 14. 2a

" the strengthening and refreshing of
our souls by the body and blood of
Christ, as our bodies are by the bread
and wine. See Articles XXV. and
XXVIII. Our Church then considers
the blessing of the elements to have been
more than a giving of thanks. It sanc
tified them to sacred uses, so that our
souls, by duly, worthily and in faith re
ceiving them, may, after a spiritual
manner, he strengthened and refreshed
thereby, ff This is My body. This
represents My body in the same manner
as the. lamb which we have eaten repre
sented the Passover. Moses had said,
" It is the Lord's Passover." Ex. xii.
11, 27 ; Lev. xxiii. 5. The same lan
guage had become common to the He
brews. The body of Christ was then
before them. As they received from
the lamb all the civil and moral bless
ings of the Passover, so by the sacra
ment they were to receive the spiritual
blessing of the new Covenant made in
the death of Christ. 1 Cor. v. 7. The
Romish Church fondly pretends that
the sacramental bread is the actual
bleeding flesh of Jesus. This is called
Transubstantiation, " Transubstantiation
(or the change of the substance of
bread and wine), in the Supper of the
Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ ;
but it is repugnant to the plain words of
Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a
sacrament, and hath given occasion to
many superstitions. The body of Christ
is given, taken and eaten only after a
heavenly and spiritual manner, and the
means whereby the body of Christ is
received and eaten, in the Supper, is
faith." — Article XXVIII. Jesus con
secrates it to be the sacred symbol of
His blood shed for the remission of sins.
ff Drink ye all of it. That is, let all of
you drink of it. The impiety of the
Church of Rome is seen in denying this
command, and saying, in effect, " Only
the priests shah drink of it." " The
cup of the Lord is not to be denied to

28 For this ia my blood of the
new6 testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.
b Jer. 31. 31-84.

the lay people ; for both parts of the
Lord's sacrament, by Christ's ordinance
and commandment ought to be minis
tered to all Christian men alike. ' — Art.
XXX. 28. For this is my blood. This re
presents my blood, and conveys the
spiritual blessings of the new covenant
made in it. St. Luke and St. Paul have
explained the meaning of the words.
" This cup is the new Testament (or Cov
enant) in my blood." The Church repeats
to each of her children the words of
Christ, as suitable to that temper of
mind with which they should receive
the elements : " The blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee,
preserve thy body and soul unto ever
lasting hfe: drink this in remembrance
that Christ's blood was shed for thee,
and be thankful." And so of the bread:
"Take and eat this in remembrance
that Christ died for thee, and feed on
Him in thy heart by faith with thanks
giving." ff Shed for many for the re
mission of sins. In the blood of animals
and men lies the secret mystery of their
hfe. Gen. ix. 4 ; Lev. vii. 26, 27; Acts
xv. 20. Our Lord here declares that His
life was offered as the great means and
way of salvation for men. " He suffered
death upon the cross for our redemp
tion." He made " there (by His one
oblation of Himself once offered) a full,
perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation,
and satisfaction for the sins of the whole
world." The fact is repeatedly stated
by the sacred writers (Heb. ix. 12, 14,
22 ; Col. i. 20 ; 1 Peter i. 2 ; 1 John i.
7), and by our Lord Himself : John vi.
54-56 ; iii 14, 15. Through His blood,
by faith in His blood, we have the for
giveness of sins. Beyond the fact the
sacred writers do not venture. They
say nothing of the how or the wherefore,
but simply state the fact. And it be
comes us to bow reverently before the
adorable Saviour and rely on His pro
mises, nor seek to draw the veil in

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

307

29 But I say unto you, I will
not" drink henceforth of this fruit
of the vine, until that day when I
drink it new with you in my Fa
ther's kingdom. a Acts 10. 41.
which He has shrouded the mystery of
redemption. Let us pray to Him for
faith and humility ; and while we feel
His grace in our hearts sanctifying us,
let us not dare to intrude into the Holy
of Holies, where stands the Ark of the
Covenant. " By Thine agony and bloody
sweat ; by Thy Cross and Passion ; by
Thy precious death and burial ; by Thy
glorious Resurrection and Ascension;
and by the coming of the Holy Ghost,
Good Lord, deliver us." See the Hymns
for the Lord's Supper, Hymns 93-96.
29. I will not drink henceforth, Sec.
This is the last time that the Passover
will be celebrated by you in its old sig
nification. After My death and resur
rection it will have an entirely new
meaning, and show you the New Cove
nant, by which your souls, and those of
all who believe on Me, shall be released
from the bondage of sin. The Passover
was a type of the death and redemption
of Christ. The type was now to be lost
in the actual fulfilment ; the shadow to
pass away before the substance. After
His resurrection, their souls would be
refreshed by the grace of His Spirit, as
their bodies had been by the bread and
wine, ff The fruit of the vine. Wine.
It stands for the whole supper, a part
for the whole, ff Until that day. Un
til after the resurrection and the descent
of the Holy Spirit. We do not know that
the Lord's Supper was again celebrated
by Him in its new and full sense, after
it was separated from Jewish symbols.
ff In My Father's kingdom. In the king
dom of God, the Church, which is esta
blished here and fulfilled hereafter.
These words, while relating directly to
the Church here, do also pass onwards
to take in the Marriage Supper of the
Lamb in heaven, when all types and
shadows and sacraments will vanish.
30. And when they had sung an hymn.
At the Passover the Jews were accus-

30 And when tney had sung
an 'hymn,6 they went out into the
mount of Olives.
31 Then saith Jesus unto them,
All ye shall be offended because
o John 18. 1. 2. I Or, psalm.

tomed to chant the Psalms cxii. to cxix.
It is probable that the Lord's Supper
was concluded with this portion of the
Psalms. In deference to this ex
ample, Christians, after the elements
of bread and wine are consecrated
before them, sing an hymn. See
Hymns 93 to 96. ff The mount of
Olives. See note, ch. xxi. 1. The place
to which he led the disciples was about
a quarter of a mile from the city. We
suppose it to have been eight o'clock
in the evening when the Supper was
concluded. Judas, at the same time,
went to the high priests to obtain a
band to apprehend Jesus.
31-35. See Mark xiv. 27-31 ; Luke
xxii. 31-38.
31. Then saith Jesus. We are now
treading on holy ground, and here,
above all other parts of Scripture, may
well pray in the words of the Litany,
" That it may please Thee to give all
Thy people increase of grace, to hear
meekly Thy word, and to receive it with
pure affection, and to bring forth the
fruits of the Spirit : we beseech Thee
to hear us, Good Lord." The conversa
tion recorded in St. John's Gospel (xiii.
38), probably occurred on the night
previous. But our Lord again warned
the disciples, and Peter in particular, of
the near approach of the time of trial.
ff Shall be offended. Shall be ashamed
to own Me in My apparent disgrace. To
this the impetuous Peter replied. He
probably thought that these gloomy ex
pressions of his Master were occasioned
by doubts of their fidelity and natural
irresolution on the eve of a great crisis.
He pledges himself to defend Him to
the death. He kept his promise in the
sense in which he made it. He drew
his sword, and faced the band of armed
men, and to his own imminent peril be
gan the assault. Some harshly call him
a coward. A coward would have fled.

308

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

of me this night :" for it is written,
I will smite the Shepherd, and
the sheep of the flock shall be
scattered abroad.
32 But after I am risen again,
I will go 'before you into Galilee.
a Zech. 18. 7.

The cause of his shameful fall lay in the
fact, that he had not the spiritual faith
in his Lord, as the Victim slain for
sin, which alone could explain and en
dure the voluntary shame of the suc
ceeding scenes. He denied facts, be
cause he could not fathom the reasons
why Jesus should submit to insult.
ff For it is written. Zechariah xiii. 7.
Our Saviour refers them to ancient pro
phecy, to prevent them from despair at
seeing Him fall before His enemies.
ff / will smite. God is often said to do
whatever He permits to be done. He
suffers evil and compels it to work out
His purposes of good. He does
not compel any man to sin, but when
they do evil, He orders that evil, to work
out His own glory. Ps. lxxvi. 10. He
permitted the death of Christ in order
to save the world, ff The Shepherd.
This word was used of the Messiah very
early. Gen. xlix. 24. See Ps. xxiii. 1,
&c. ; Is. xl. 11. The word sheep, to
signify His disciples, teaches us the af
fectionate rule which He exercises over
us. ff Shall be scattered. As sheep
would flee in the darkness of night at
the invasion of wild beasts and the loss
of their shepherd, so the timid disciples
fled from their Master.
32. But after I am risen. Behold
the tenderness of Christ. In His deepest
affliction He still thinks of them. He
desired to console them. But how
weak is the heart to believe. They un
derstood not, what rising again could
mean. It was all a dream to them.
ff Into Galilee. It had been the chief
scene of His ministry among them, and
there He would again appear to them
afar from His enemies. See Mark xvi.
7; Matt, xxvii. 16. ff Galilee. See
note, ch. ii 22.
33. Peter answering, Sec. This bold-

33 Peter answered and said un
to him, Though all men shall be
offended because of thee, yet will
I never be offended.
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily
I say unto thee, That this night,
b Ch. 28. 7, 10, 16.
ness of Peter, and his boasting of his
fidelity, in saying that though all the
other disciples should desert, he would
be faithful, should be contrasted with
his own words after a life of faith and
trial had shown him the deceitfulness
of the heart. 1 Peter v. 5-10. ff Though
all men. Especially, all the other dis
ciples. As he boasted over all, it seems
just that his shame should be pubhshed
in the presence of all. St. Luke adds
that Jesus said unto him that Satan had
desired to have bim, that is, to have
power over him, as he once did over
Job, that he might sift him as1 wheat,
but that Jesus had prayed for him, to
prevent it. Also, that after he was
converted (that is, had repented and re
covered himself), he must strengthen
his brethren. His fall taught him gra
cious wisdom, whereby he was afterwards
able to warn and recover the weakest
brethren of the Church, with singular
and feeling eloquence.
34. This night, Sec. It was hardly
four hours after this brave speech, and
brave it would have been, if Jesus had
meant to resort to carnal weapons, that
Peter denied his Lord. His natural
courage hid from his mind spiritual
truth, and prevented the belief that he
could fall. Suddenly his visions of a
brave human warfare, fail ; he sees
Christ yielding, shamed, disgraced, and
he who had braved an armed band, fell
before the question of a httle maid.
ff Before the cock crow. Mark and Luke
add the word twice. St. Matthew
omits it simply because the second was
technically called the cock-crow. The
habit of this fowl is to crow at three
periods of the night, at midnight, halt
way between it and dawn, and from an
hour before dawn till day. The crow
ing at three o'clock, is properly called

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

309

before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice.
35 Peter said unto him, Though
I should die with thee, yet will I
not deny thee. Likewise also
said all the disciples.
36 If "Then cometh Jesus with
them unto a place called G-ethse-
a Mark 14 27; Lu. 22. 81.
the cock-crow. See Mark xiii. 33. St.
John's words mean the same thing.
"The cock shall not crow," that is, it
shall not be the time known as the cock
crow, before thou hast denied ; as St.
Luke has it, denied that thou knowest Me.
The particular form of the denial of
Peter, was in refusing to be known as
a Galilean, or one of the company of
Christ. A denial in all points no less
foohsh than false. Even they who
heard it, knew enough to despise him
for it. ff Likewise also said all. None
of them except St. John kept the pro
mise. They were kept from the gross
sin of St. Peter, only by lacking the
courage and affection to follow Jesus
afar off. St. John alone remained by
Him to the last, and heard His last
words. And St. John alone of them all
is thought to have died a natural death.
We see how necessary it is that all our
strength should be from God. These
men who had been for three years in
structed by Jesus Himself, fell into
temptation for lack of the Spirit of grace.
36—46. The first part of the Passion.
Gethsemane. See Mark xiv. 32—42 ; Luke
xxii. 40-46 ; John xviii. 1, 2.
36. Gethsemane. The word means
the place of oil-presses. It was a field
surrounded by a wall, containing several
olive trees, and probably some buildings.
There is still at the foot of the Mount of
Olives a square enclosure, surrounded
by an ordinary stone wall, to mark the
spot. " Giving myself up to the im
pressions of the moment," says Dr.
Robinson, " I sat down here for a time,
alone, beneath one of the aged trees.
All was silent and solitary around. High
above towered the dead walls of the
city, through which there penetrated no

mane, and saith unto the disci
ples, Sit ye here, while I go and
pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Pe
ter, and the two sons of .Zebedee,
and began to be sorrowful and
very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them,

sound of human life." St. Luke says
that our Lord was wont, i. e. accustomed
to retire to this spot for prayer. Hence
Judas knew that he would find Him in
this enclosure at this hour. Behold the
hardness of his treachery, who dared to
choose the very hour given to prayer, to
do his evil deed, ff While I go andpray
yonder. At the distance of a stone's
cast, says St. Luke. Jesus again warned
them to pray, lest they should enter into
temptation. This same warning had
pointed all His last parables, recorded
by St. Matthew ; to watch and pray, ff
they had done so, if they had entered
into the spirit of His command, and
spent that hour with Him in prayer for
grace, instead of leaning on their own
strength, they might have cheered the
dying agonies of Jesus by their sympa- .
thy, and escaped the shame of unbelief. '
37. And He took with Him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee. Peter, James
and John. See ch. x. 2. These three
had beheld His transfiguration on Mount
Tabor (see ch. xvii. 1, &c), and the
miracle of raising the daughter of Jairus
(Luke vih. 51). Having been selected
to witness His glory and His power, they
are now permitted to behold His suffer
ing. But alas ! their human in
firmity prevents them. They let slip
the hour, in which they might have be
held the wonderful humility of the Son
of Man, and gained strength to have
followed him into the scenes of trial.
The Christian in times of sickness and
affliction may still gain spiritual strength
to endure his cross, by the devout con
templation of this scene in the solitudes
of Gethsemane. Heb. xii. 3. ff Sorrow
ful and very heavy. These words are a
climax, the last being the more emphat-

310

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

My soul is exceeding0 sorrowful
even unto death : tarry ye here,
and watch with me.
39 And he went a little further,
and fell on his face,6 and prayed,
a Is. 53. 10. b Heb. 5. 7.

ic. He was sorrowful and overwhelm
ed by mental anguish. As man He
now yields to the weight of sorrow,
which God puts upon Him. Why was
this? Why was God's own chosen
One, the man without sin or guile, who
had served the law and been perfect
in righteousness, thus bowed down
" even unto death," with unutterable
anguish ? Our answer, gained from the
Scriptures, is, that He did not grieve for
Himself, nor for fear of His own death.
But He bore our griefs, He carried our
sorrows, and the chastisement of our
peace was upon Him. Is. liii The
sea of human sin and woe was then
surging above His soul, and He a single
mariner, was being buried alone beneath
the waves of all that sorrow, which
but for Him, the race of Adam would
have suffered. Laying aside all pride
of curious reason, let us rather pray :
" Almighty and everlasting God, Who
of Thy tender love toward mankind,
hast sent Thy Son, our Saviour Jesus
Christ, to take upon Him our flesh, and
to suffer death upon the cross, that all
mankind should follow the example of
His great humility; mercifully grant
that we may both follow the example of
His patience, and also be made par
takers of His resurrection, through the
same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
38 My soul is exceeding sorrowful.
His mind and spirit were filled with in
tense grief. It bore on Him inwardly and
from the spiritual world, not so much
from the fears of danger at things in
this scene of suffering. The Greek
Litany says with great force, "By
Thine unknown sufferings, have mercy
upon us." Our Litany discriminates
the suffering of soul, which Christ en
dured, from His death : " By Thine
Agony and bloody sweat, by Thy Cross
and Passion, by Thy precious Death
and Burial, " &c. So the Communion

saying, 0 my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from
me :" nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the
c John 5. 20 ; & 6. 38.
Service : " Having in remembrance
His blessed Passion and precious
Death." And the Article II. : " Who
truly suffered, was crucified, dead and
buried to reconcile His Father to us,
and to be a sacrifice, not only for origi
nal guilt, but also for actual sins of
men." Again the Apostles' Creed makes
the distinction, " suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried."
He suffered those sorrows in His soul,
which together with His death made
up the Sacrifice of Atonement, ff Even
unto death. A mental horror. It was
a bitter and inconceivable agony.
ff And watch with Me. The word im
plies wakefulness, as sentinels wake and
watch in the night against enemies, or
as shepherds against wild beasts. Did
our blessed Lord lean and yearn to
wards human sympathy in that dark
hour, and none was given ? Truly He
trod the winepress alone. Is. lxiii. 3.
39. A little further. He sought re
tirement even from them. The shade
of the olive trees would conceal Him
for His prayer, from the clear moon
light, then shed from the full moon.
This agony lasted for an hour, till be
tween nine and ten at night, ff Fell
on His face. He first kneeled (Luke)
as was His habit, and then, weighed
down with sorrow, fell prostrate. ^Ifit
be possible. If there be a means of
saving man in any other manner, let
Me escape this death. Human nature
shrank from the pains He suffered, but
even in showing that He felt them, He
subdued all unwillingness, and rested in
the Divine appointment. This excla
mation is explained by His anguish and
sanctified by His obedience. The coun
sel of God was founded on unerring
wisdom, that " without shedding of blood
there was no remission of sins." Love
for man and zeal for His Father's honor
had prompted Christ to undertake this

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

311

disciples, and findeth them asleep,
and saith unto Peter, What !
could ye not watch with me one
hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye
a Eev. 3. 10.

work, and now to conquer the struggles
of His human nature, against the ap
proach of the consummation of the
work, ff This cup. His sorrow was
likened to a cup filled with some horri
bly bitter and poisonous potion. See
note, ch. xx. 22. ff Not my will, dec.
Says an ancient writer : " This speech
of the Head is the health of the whole
body, this saying is instruction to the
faithful, animates the confessor, crowns
the martyr. For who could vanquish
the hatred of the world, or the whirl
wind of temptations, or the terror of the
persecutors, if Christ did not, in all and
for all, say to the Father Thy will be done,
Let all the sons of the Church, then,
utter this prayer, that when the pres
sure of some mighty temptation lies
upon them, they may embrace endu
rance of the suffering, disregarding its
terrors." 40. And findeth them asleep. St.
Luke adds, "for sorrow." We are in
formed by physicians that it is a com
mon occurrence for persons in great
grief, after a certain time of oppression
of the faculties by a keen sense of their
sorrow, to sleep. It is to be remarked
that our Lord had often warned them
of trouble, as coming speedily upon
them, but did not tell them the very
hour and circumstance of it. He bade
them watch. So we are to watch. The
very form and moment of the coming
temptations are not for us to know. It
would have been easy for the disciples
to have watched for the band of Judas,
if they had known of its coming ; but in
that case the whole force of the exam
ple would have been lost to us, who are
called to expect trials, but are not per
mitted to know the future. Matt. xxiv.
43. 41. Watch and pray. Watching is a
word taken from the custom of setting

enter not into temptation:0 the
spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh6 is weak.
42 He went away again the
second time, and prayed, saying,
& Gal. 5. 17; Ch,25. 5.

sentinels at night, around an army.
Their duty is to be vigilant against the
stratagems of the enemy. In command
ing us to watch, our Lord shows us, as
by a figure, our Christian condition.
In bidding us pray, He points out to
us whence our safety comes, that we
may watch to some purpose. Our duty
is to be careful and vigilant against
unexpected surprises, to use forethought
and wisdom, to prevent the "sudden in
vasion of evil against our own souls
and those of others. Keble has para
phrased the meaning of this precept in
the case of the pastors of the Church,
as follows :
" When foemen watch their tents by
night,
And mists hang wide o'er moor and fell ;
Spirit of Counsel and of Might,
Their pastoral warfare guide Thou
well "
ff The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.
How kind was this reproof, how gentle
and self-forgetting this excuse, and how
profound the warning of these words !
The disciples depended on their native
powers and understood not the warnings
of the Saviour. After the day of Pente
cost they acted more wisely. They
watched and prayed, till prison doors
were opened at midnight, and furious
enemies were disappointed, by unseen
ministers of grace. Sins of infirmity
are rebuked in this passage, rather than
allowed. If the flesh, i e. the natural
heart is ignorant, weak, and strongly
inclines us to yield to sloth and in
activity, we must apnquer it. What
shall we say of those whose spirit even
is not willing to do God's will, but only
to indulge the flesh, and idle away the
precious moments of grace ?
42-44. Our Saviour spent about one
hour in the solitude of the garden ; and
as He had actually no witnesses, but
the celestial guards who came to

312

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

0 my Father, if this cup may not
pass away from me, except I
drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came and found
them asleep again : for their eyes
were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went
away again, and prayed the third
time, saying the same words.
45 Then cometh he to his dis-

strengthen Him after His moments of
agony, the few words which are used
by Evangelists in describing His suffer
ing, must be considered as received
from Him afterwards. They show us
only the outline of the Passion ; that it
was inconceivable, yet voluntary. His
human spirit quailed beneath it, and He
sought strength in earnest prayer. St.
Luke says, that " His sweat became as it
were great drops of blood falling to the
ground." This was a degree of mental
anguish of which we may speak in
words, but can only form feeble conjec
tures. It does not become Christians to
search too curiously into the depths of
that sorrow. It is to us the same as
the Holy of Holies was to the Jews, a
sacred spot, shrouded by the veil of
night, and holding in its unknown
depths, the blessed work of the Atone
ment for sin; the true Ark of the
Covenant. If it had been necessary for
us to know exactly what were the steps
and limits of the gracious work of the
reconciliation of God to mankind, and
how exactly God did put upon Christ
our sorrows, and make Him bear the
chastisement of our peace, we may rest
assured, that all would have been told
us. But the Apostles were content with
informing us, in general terms, that on
that blessed passion and precious death,
our redemption depends, and in His suf
ferings was sealed the Covenant of the
Gospel, by which alone we have hope of
salvation. The calm moonlight shining
through the olive trees of Gethsemane
shows us only the prostrate Sufferer :
the sun withdrew to shroud in dark-

ciples, and saith unto them, Sleep
on now, and take your rest : be
hold, the hour is at hand, and the
Son of man is betrayed into the
hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going : be
hold, he is at hand that doth be
tray me.
47 And while he yet spake,
lo," Judas, one of the twelve,
a Acts 1. 16.
ness the agony of Calvary, to warn
us that in both scenes, we may not rash
ly intrude. He who kneels to study each
event in the spirit of love and fear, with
full faith that there his own sins were
crucified and washed out, is the best
student. Divines have sought out many
theories of the " inward and spiritual
grace" of that great Sacrament; but
they themselves can find no satisfaction
in them. The veil which hangs over
this subject is not to be lifted by mortal
hands. We know that we are saved
by Christ. God alone knoweth why He
made Him a sacrifice of sweet savor,
in reconciling the world to Himself.
45. Sleep on now. " It is no longer
possible for you to be of any service to
Me. The hour for watching and prayer
is past. The enemy is at hand. I
am to be delivered up into the hands
of sinners, and you are now to fall into
temptation and forsake Me." Many
seem to have difficulty with these words,
as if they interfered with the following
words : " Arise, let us be going."
But we can have no difficulty if we
consider it only as a mode of announc
ing the fact that now it was too late to
watch against that particular danger.
The disciples would now desert Him.
It would matter little, as far as their
desertion of Him was concerned,
whether they woke or slept. He says
this over them as they sleep. But
with the next words He rouses them to
activity, as the distant lights of the
coming party of Judas could be seen.
ff The hour is at hand. This hour
or crisis, so often predicted. John ii

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

313

came, and with him a great mul
titude with swords and staves,
from the chief priests and elders
of the people.
48 Now he that betrayed him,
gave them a sign, saying, Whom-

4 ; xii. 23. An hour in familiar lan
guage is put for any short space of time.
ff Sinners. Wicked men, such as
Judas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod and
others. 46. Rise, let us be going. He desired
them to be awake now, that they might
at least escape. They go on a few
steps, as if to meet the coming crowd, to
manifest that He voluntarily yields to
their violence.
47-57. The scene of the betrayal of
Jesus, recorded in the four Gospels.
Mark xiv. 43-52 ; Luke xxii. 47-53 ;
John xviii. 3-12. —
47. Judas, one of the twelve. He
knew the place, as St. John informs us,
because Jesus was in the habit of going
to it for prayer. He had separated
from them after the supper and gone to
the part of the city near the temple,
where the temple-guard was kept. He
was not far from this spot at any time.
ff A great multitude with swords, dec.
St. John says, that Judas had received a
band of men and officers from the
Chief Priests, and that they came with
lanterns and torches. These were
provided to prevent concealment in the
secret places of the garden. The tem
ple-guard, as Josephus relates, was set
to preserve order in the temple during
the time of the great feasts. It was
at the command of the Chief Priest.
Ch. xxvii. 65. Other citizens accom
panied them, urged to it by zeal for their
religion. They seized any weapons
which came to hand. It was certainly
a perilous adventure, had Jesus chosen
to resist, ff Staves. The plural of
staff ; a stick or club. Jesus had
strangely escaped from the power of an
enrao-ed multitude on more than one
occasion, before this. Luke iv. 30.
48. Whomsoever I shall kiss. This
Voi,. I.— 14

soever I shall kiss," that same is
he ; hold him fast.
49 And forthwith he came to
Jesus, and said, Hail, Master ;
and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him,

a 2 Sam.

.9.

was a common mode of salutation,
Luke vii. 45. It implies intimacy
and affection, and shows how base was
the disposition of the traitor who dared,
by such a style of address, to point out
his familiar friend and Master to His
enemies. It was done in this manner,
in order to avoid exciting suspicion.
They may have feared that Jesus would
escape from them in some strange man
ner if He should be prematurely alarm
ed. To manifest to His disciples, as also
to His enemies, that He yielded of His
own free will, and not from fear of
them, Jesus, as St. John informs us, first
awed the multitude by a word, so that
they went backward and fell on the
ground in confusion. After this He
stipulated for the safety of his disciples,
before yielding Himself into their hands.
John xviii. 12.
49. Hail, Master. Rejoice, be hap
py. The Hebrew word Rabbi, trans
lated in this place Master, was a term
of salutation from a disciple to his
teacher. Judas put himself on this
footing with wily art. It denied any
higher confidence in Him, than one
might have in any learned Scribe, and
at the same time, it appeared to pay
Jesus great respect. The character of
Judas seems to have been one of the
greatest art : a smooth-tongued, pious-
seeming, crafty self-seeker, able to de
ceive the minds of all men. He was
known only to Him, who knew all that
was in man. ff And he kissed Him.
Shah we wonder at the boldness, or be
shocked at the shamelessness of the
traitor. Either he was a man of singu
lar confidence to dare this act, or was
in a grievous strait from fear of the
multitude, lest they should remember
that he too had been till then u, disci
ple.

314

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

"Friend, wherefore art thou come?
Then came they, and laid hands
on Jesus, and took him.
51 And behold,6 one of them
which were with Jesus, stretched
out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high
priest, and smote off his ear.
52 Then said Jesus unto him,
a Ps. 41. 9 ; & 55. 18. b John 18. 10.

50. Friend. Rather Companion, or
as the English once used the word,
Fellow, one who has fellowed or kept
company with another. Origen says :
" He says Friend, upbraiding his hypoc
risy, for in Scripture we never find this
term of address (iraipi) used to any of
the good, but as in Matt. xxii. 12 ; xx.
13. '• See note, ch. xx. 13. ff Where
fore art thou come ? This was said, not
from ignorance of his intention nor de
siring any reply, but to strike his con
science with some sense of shame at his
wicked, impudent hypocrisy. As a
look moved Peter to repentance, this
gentle word, so full of meaning to his
conscience, may have awakened Judas
to a late remorse.
51. And behold, one of them whieh
were, Sfc. St. John says that it was Pe
ter. The other Evangelists concealed the
name, as they wrote while that Apostle
was alive, and would have needlessly
exposed him to danger from the Jews.
When St. John wrote his Gospel, Peter
was dead, and he gives the name. His
reason for mentioning it may have
been, also, to do Peter all the justice,
humanly speaking, of which his case
was capable. Peter fell because he had
not Divine grace to see how send why,
this One who was buffeted and spit
upon by menials, could be in very deed
the Son, of God. Can we, -then, call
Peter a coward and such like terms of
contempt ? May wo not better think
of him as the bravest and most loyal of
men, humanly speaking ; and thus de
rive from his faU the lesson, that even
such native energy and talents, without
the gift of spiritual regeneration, are

Put up again thy sword into its
place :" for all they that take the
sword, shall perish with the
sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot
now pray to my Father, and he
shall presently give me more than
twelve'' legions of angels ?
54 But how then shall the
e Gen. 9. 6 Eev. 13. 10 ; 2 Cor. 10. 4
d 2 Kings 6. 17 ; Dan. 7. 10 ; Ch. 4. 11.
not sufficient to give an insight into the
mysteries of grace, and to keep one
from shame? Brave and energetic
men rely on themselves, not on God.
It was this consciousness of a proud
courage in Peter, which began his fall and
exposed bim to the shame of denying
his Master, like the veriest coward.
ff Drew his sword. There happened to
be two swords among them. Luke
xxii. 38. It may be that at times the
disciples carried some means of self-
defence against robbers and wild
beasts. A proper self-defence against
violence, even to extremity, is by
no means forbidden by the reh
gion of Christ. ff A servant of the
high priest. His name was Malchus.
Jesus touched the ear and healed it.
This rash act was partly the cause of
Peter's second denial, as some relative
of Malchus was among those who
questioned him. John xviii. 26.
52. All they that take, Sec A pro
verbial expression to intimate to the
impetuous disciple his great mistake.
Jesus was not about to resist force by
force, nor to take the sword to conquer
earthly kingdoms, as Peter thought. He
would now contend by other and spirit
ual weapons, whose use the very impet
uosity of the disciple had prevented
him from discovering. All those who
use the sword, in the proverbial sense,
may be said to perish by it, whether in
wars or in tumults against the civil au
thority. Or we may take it as a pro
phetic speech against the Jews, who
were now seizing Him by the sword,
by which they would soon be fearfully
scourged. This reproof given to St

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

315

scriptures be fulfilled," that thus
it must be ?
55 In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, Are ye come
a Lu. 24. 26. 46.

Peter, does not condemn the proper use
of the sword in self-defence, or in exe
cution of the laws or in obedience to the
magistrate, in war.
53. Thinkest thou ? The Greek reads,
Or thinkest thou, as if in continuation of
the preceding verse, meaning, " Do you
rely on human force, and not on Divine
power ? Do you think that I have not
power, even now, to pray to God and be
rescued ? " It left the disciple to infer :
"Then He who has such power and
wisdom must be right, and it is my duty
to follow and see the end, even though
I do not comprehend the reasons which
move Him to endure this shame."
ff Twelve legions. A legion was a divi
sion of a Roman army, containing six
thousand men. Twelve seems, as
Theophylact observes, to be used, as ap
plying to the number to be aided — Him
self and the eleven disciples, as if God
would send a legion to defend each.
This He said, not as if He needed the
help of angels, but to convince Peter.
He who could summon the heavenly
hosts t6 help Him, had no need of a few
disciples. See instances of angels help
ing holy men. 2 Kings, vi. 17 ; Dan.
vii. 19 ; Matt. iv. 11.
54. But how then, Sec. His escape
would have defeated the very design of
His coming. God had determined be-
forehand His death. The rites and
symbols of their ritual had foreshadowed
it. The fives of their holy men, and
great events of their nation, had typi
fied it, and their prophets had foretold
it. Says St. Jerome : " This speech
shows a mind willing to suffer ; vainly
would the prophets have prophesied
truly, unless the Lord asserts their truth
by His suffering."
55. In that same hour. About the
same time, ff Are ye come out, Sec
This appeal to the multitude manifests
the same thing: that they could do
nothing against Him, unless they were

out as against a thief with swords
and staves for to take me ? I sat
daily with you teaching in the
temple, and ye laid no hold on

permitted. Why do they come out
against Him, and a httle company of
eleven men — an armed band against
defenceless men, in the silence of night,
as if to surprise them ? Instead of avoid
ing them, Jesus had sat daily in the
temple. They could not answer Him,
for it was because their deed was evil,
that they did it under cover of night.
56. Scriptures of the prophets. The
writings pf the prophets, which make up
a large part of the Old Testament.
ff Might be fulfilled. Again Jesus
says, "Thus it must be." Verse 54. This
was the plan which Infinite Wisdom had
put in operation for this end, and, now,
having come to carry it out, He would
not shrink from the bitterness which it
imposed on Him. The same Lord who
fulfilled the Scriptures in the incarnate
person of Jesus Christ, Himself, as Je
hovah, directed those Scriptures to be
written. The "pattern in the mount,"
which Moses saw, by which to build the
Jewish system, was the Christian
Church. Heb. viii. 5 ; x. 1. Hence in
the Divine mind, the Jewish and Chris
tian covenant are parts of one perfect
whole. Every part corresponds to the
others. It is folly, therefore, to be trou
bled by such phrases as this, which de
clare that certain things are done, that
the Scriptures containing this Divine
plan might be fulfilled. Only a Divine
Being could have made and carried out
the plan of Redemption, ff Forsook
Him and fied. ff the Evangelists had
been impostors, they would never have
forged such a tale as this ! We see their
veracity, by a proof which Bishop Por
teus has seen fit to call demonstrative.
We are not informed what became of
them for the next twenty-four hours.
Two recovered courage to return and
witness the scenes which followed. John
xviii. 15. St. Mark adds, that a young
man, aroused probably out of sleep, was
seen for a moment, and efforts were

316

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

56 But all this was done, that
the scriptures of the prophets
might be fulfilled. "Then all
the disciples forsook him, and
fled.

a John 18. 12.

made to seize him, but that he escaped
out of their hands.
57. And they that had laid hold, Sec.
They carried Jesus away first to the house
of Annas or Ananus, the father-in-law
of Caiaphas, followed by Peter and
John. Luke xxii. 54-57 ; John xviii.
13-17. There occurred the first denial
of Peter, as he stood in the lower hall
warming himself. See Matt. xxvi. 69,
70 ; Mark xiv. 66-68 ; Luke xxii. 55-
57 ; John xviii. 18. After this first de
nial, a cock was heard to crow for mid
night. Meanwhile Annas inquired of
Jesus concerning His doctrine ; but as
Annas was no longer high priest, Jesus
refused to answer. John xviii. 22-24.
Annas then sent Him bound to Caia
phas, the actual high priest. Verses 57,
58. Peter followed Him, and entered
with the crowd. With this event closes
this Thursday, according to Roman time.
According to Jewish time, it had been
Friday since sunset. To understand the

57 T And they that had laid
hold on Jesus, led him away to
Caiaphas the high priest, where
the scribes and the elders were
assembled.

events recorded above, the plan of a
Jewish house, taken from the descrip
tions of the traveller, Dr. Shaw, by the
learned Dr. Jarvis, is added He sup
poses that our Lord was led by the
great door through the vestibule (P)
and the open court, into the spacious hall
of Annas (A). Peter, remaining in the
room (H), at the brasier of coals, in the
lower part of the room which is mark
ed by a dot, was recognized by a maid
servant. On being sent back to Caia
phas. our Lord was led again to the
hall (H), while Peter, fearing to remain
with those about the brasier of coals,
had retired to the vestibule (P). The
plate will assist the reader. It is prob
able that the high priest's house was
upon or near Mount Moriah, and perhaps
was a portion of the temple. The area
of the Temple contained more than a
million and a half of square feet. No
small part of this was taken up in build
ings for the use of the Priesthood.

"P

-

c

0

c^= — ^ — =d

A

o o o o o
o 0/ien Court o
O
0 mUh Cloisters °
o o o o o

Cf

O 0 O 0 o
o Op. en Court o
O
° tvith Cloisters °
o p o o o

•

* 1

*

1

M,

A Apartment of Annas. 0 Apartment of Caiaphas. R Hall of the High Priests
H H Hall of the Sanhedrim. P Porch of the High Priest's Palace communicating with the
apartments of Annas and Caiaphas through the open court. B Porch leading into the hall
of the Sanhedrim and so through the open court to S, the Council Chamber of the Sanhe
drim contiguous to tho High Priest's apartment and communicating with it by a private
door.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

317

58 But Peter followed him afar
off, unto the high priest's palace,
and went in, and sat with the ser
vants to see the end.
ff To Caiaphas. The high priest. St.
John states that Jesus was first led to
Annas, a man of great energy and in
fluence, who was called high priest by
courtesy. It formed, however, no part
of the real trial which St. Matthew re
lates, since Jesus rejected his authority.
ff The scribes and elders. The San
hedrim. They were the supreme judges
of all matters touching religion. The
first question, on the arrest of Jesus was,
" Had He broken the law in any par
ticular worthy of death ? " They as
semble to put Him on trial. See note,
ch. v. 22.
58. Peter followed afar off. The two
events, 'the trial of Jesus and ihe denials
of Peter, occur together. It was left to
the choice of each writer, which to re
cord first. St. Matthew first finishes
with the trial, and then gives the de
nials all at once. St. Mark, who wrote
under the direction of St. Peter, has
given the words which passed, and St.
John has followed the order of time.
There is noticeable in the latter Evan
gelist, a marked dehcacy in every men
tion of St. Peter. Both were men of
high spirit, both chiefest in their labors
and honors, and St. Peter was dead at
the time when St. John wrote. Peter
followed in amazement and fear. By
following at all, he manifested his love ;
by following afar off, his fear. He com
promised with his fears, and desired to
appear only as one of the spectators.
But Satan made it impossible for him
to remain neutral. As he hovered
around the scene, the temptations were
put to him, and he fell. Had he gone
at once with St. John and remained at
the side of Jesus, he would have been
safe. The dubious ground of compro
mise with sin is the destruction of the
Christian, ff Unto the high priests pal
ace. St. John being known to the high
priest, went in with Jesus, and finding
Peter without, brought bim in. Peter

59 Now the chief priests, and
elders, and all the council, sought
false witness against Jesus, to
put him to death ;

remained among the servants in the
vestibule, as if a mere spectator. This
was the first compromise, and while
Jesus was before Annas, the first denial
occurred. ff Sat wilh the servants.
Around a fire of coals. It was cold
enough to need it. The thermometer
at Jerusalem ranges as low as 47°
Fahrenheit. 59. False witnesses. See also Mark
xiv. 55-59. They sought for some
testimony which would affect His life.
There was no difficulty in finding wit
nesses, filled with vague accusations of
hatred and bigotry ; but for a long time
they could not find any whose story
was consistent. They sought to ex
amine Jesus by questions about His
doctrine and disciples, that they might
excite the rage of all parties against
Him. But He refused to answer. He
was there to suffer, and no longer to
teach. He had lately spoken their
doom in the woes of the twenty-third
chapter. He leaves them to proceed
for themselves, and to make out a charge
of impiety to a capital degree, in their
own way. They seem to have been
sorely pressed for the materials to aid
their malice.
60. Found none. The Sanhedrim
were not too good to use false witnesses,
if they could do so with any face. See
Acts vi. 11-13. But they could find
none. For as St. Mark says, their wit
ness agreed not together. They could
not condemn Jesus, on testimony, for
any error in doctrine, nor for any con
spiracy against the state, ff Came two
false witnesses. This was the number
required by the law. Deut. xvii. 6, 7 ;
Heb. x. 28. This anxiety to obey the
letter of the Mosaic law, while they vio
lated the spirit of it, and neglected
" mercy, judgment and truth," was true
to the character which our Lord gave
of the Scribes and Pharisees. The
falsehood of these witnesses lay, not in

318

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

60 But found none : yea,
though "many false witnesses came,
yet found they none. At the last
came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said,6
I am able to destroy the temple
of God, and to build it in three
days. 62 And the high priest arose,
and said unto him, Answerest
a Ps. 27. 12; & 85. 11. 5 John 2. 19-21-

their asserting an untruth, but in per
verting the truth and wresting an inno
cent speech into a crime.
61. And said, This fellow said. Lit
erally, This one, pointing at Him.
ff / am able, dec. Jesus had said
" Destroy this temple and in three days
I will build it up." In these words by
telling them to destroy it, ' He avoided the
only charge which they sought to make
out, namely, of conspiring to destroy
the temple. See Acts vi. 14. Jesus
had probably pointed to His own body,
when He said this, to foretell His death
and resurrection. But the witnesses
differed, both as to the form and mean
ing of His words. According to St.
Mark, they said, " We heard Him say,
/ will destroy this temple made with
hands, and within three days I will
build another made without hands."
Mark xiv. 60. An ingenious and wicked
perversion of His words. St. Mark adds,
that " neither so did their witness agree
together." The words contained two
distinct accusations. 1. A conspiraoy
to destroy the temple. 2. A claim to
the power of doing a miracle against
their holy place. The first they knew
was false. The last was a tender point
on which it was best to say nothing.
62. Jesus held His peace. It was use
less to make any reply. Luke xxii. 67,
68. There was no charge made out.
Moreover His cause was prejudged. It
was useless to reason with these raging
lions who were thirsting for His blood.
Ps. xxxv. 17. They would have tor
tured His words into some evil meaning
if He had spoken.

thou nothing ? what is it which
these witness against thee ?°
63 But Jesus held his peace.
And the high priest answered and
said unto him,'' I adjure thee by
the living God, that thou tell us
whether thou be the Christ the
Son of God.
64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou
hast said : nevertheless, I say un-
c Is. 53. 7; Ch. 27. 12, 14 d Lev. 5. 1 :
1 Sam. 14. 24, 26 ; 1 Kings 22. 16.

63. I adjure thee by the living God.
The high priest maddened by the failure
of their machinations, and eager to
rouse the passions of the assembly, some
of whom probably were opposed to open
injustice, changes his ground and com
pels Jesus to speak, on the only subject
on which he could be sure of a reply to
his purpose. 1 adjure thee, Sec, was the
usual form of putting a man on his
oath. See Lev. v. 1. When thus ad
jured or put on oath by any one having
authority, it was wrong for any pious
Jew to keep silence or conceal the truth.
Our Saviour, notwithstanding the im
proper rage of the high priest, obediently
and meekly replied to " the ruler of His
people." As He had done so, it is of
course right for His servants to do the
same. See Art. XXXIX. "Of a Chris
tian man's oath." He answered and
asserted His title to be the Son of God,
and was condemned by the Sanhedrim
as guilty of blasphemy. He used the
words of Daniel, vii. 13, 14 ; Luke xxii
69. If Christ had not been in a true
sense Son of God, is it possible to ima
gine that He would have allowed the
Jews to condemn Him to death on such
a charge, when it would have been so
easy to have satisfied them that He
made no such claim ? ff The Christ.
The Messiah. See note, ch. i. 1. ff The
Son of God. The question manifests
that in the opinion of the high priest,
to claim to be the Christ was also to
claim to be the Son of God. He uses
the two words as expressing the same
thing. See ch. xvi. 16 ; Luke xxii. 67,
70.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

319

to you," Hereafter shall ye see
the Son of man sitting on4 the
right hand of power, and coming
in the clouds of heaven.
_ 65 Then the high priest rent
his clothes, saying, He hath spoken
a Dan. 7. 13. b Ps. 110. 1. a Ley. 24.
16; John 19. 7.
64. Thouhast said. " Thou hast spoken
only the truth. I am the Christ the
Son of God. I affirm it in this solemn
hour, though I must die for the claim.
Your stratagem succeeds. I answer,
and you may charge me with blas
phemy. Still for all that, know that
I will yet reign and be seen in
the majesty which Daniel foretold."
ff Hereafter, Sec In evidence of His
claim they would yet see Him return
ing in glory. To sit on the right hand of
power, is a phrase asserting His future
Majesty. At His second coming (Heb.
1, 3 ; viii. 1), notwithstanding His pres
ent humiliation as a criminal before
them, He would appear in His true
dignity as their terrible Judge, ff Com
ing in the clouds of heaven. The first,
or typical fulfilment of this occurred in
the destruction of the city and the nation
of the Jews. The entire fulfilment
waits for the end of time, when Christ
Jesus shall come, even as He was seen
to go, in form as a man, but in tran
scendent glory, to judge the earth.
65. Then the high priest rent his
clothes. A sign of his horror and indig
nation at a blasphemer. The Jews, as
other Eastern nations, expressed great
grief or mourning by this significant
gesture. The high priest, however, was
strictly forbidden to do this, from fear
of God, whose servant he was. Lev. x.
6, xxi. 10. Some suppose that the com
mand referred only to his pontifical
robes ; but this cannot, well be, as the
reason given why he should not do it is
equally applicable to any robes. Others
imagine a modification of the command,
and that he might rend the bottom, but
not the top. A similar act is recorded
1 Mac. xi. 71. St. Jerome says : " By
this rending his garments, he shows
that the Jews have lost the priestiy

blasphemy; what further need
have we of witnesses ? behold,
now ye have heard his blasphe
my. 66 What think ye? They an
swered and said," He is guilty of
death.

glory, and that their high priest's
throne was vacant. For by rending
his garment he rent the veil of the Law
which covered him." ff He hath spoken
blasphemy. See note, ch. ix. 3. He
hath under oath claimed to be the Son
of God. To those who would not be
heve Him this claim was blasphemy.
To us it is a precious truth- How easy
was it for -Jesus to have corrected the
Jews if they had been in error. They
were without excuse. He had shown
them beforehand that He was a true
Prophet, by all the proper signs of one.
He had shown His immense powers by
miracles of goodness and mercy. They
disbeheved, not from want of evidence,
but from want of will. They Condemned
Him as an impostor, without a pretence
of examining His claims and life, whe
ther He had taught the truth or done
miracles of mercy.
66. What think ye ? This He asked
as presiding officer of the Sanhedrim.
What sentence do you pronounce ? ff He
is guilty of death. He has done that for
which the law of Moses adjudges the
punishment of death. Lev. xxiv. 10-
16. Stoning was the punishment for
this crime. Acts. vii. 58 ; xiv. 19. The
Council did not dare enforce their own
sentence. Either they were responsible
to the Roman governor who might have
interrupted them, or, as stoning was to
be done by the whole people, they may
have felt doubts of the result, in
case of a large assembly collecting, un
less they could first work them up to a
rage against Jesus. They thought it
safer to resort to the Roman power, to
carry out their plans. They thus ful
fil the purposes of God, expressed in an
cient prophecies. It was now the morn
ing watch, between 3 and 6, A. m. of
Friday. Luke xxii. 63-70. St. Luke

320

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

67 Then did they" spit in his
face, and buffeted him ; and others
smote him with the 'palms of their
hands. 68 Saying, Prophesy unto us,
a Is. 50, 6. I Or, rods.

says, " when it was day," i. e., when
day was dawning. The denials of Pe
ter, which had now taken place, mark
the time as after three o'clock.
67. They spit in His face. A mark of
the highest contempt. How far had
their rage carried them, who thus for
got ah the dignity and mercy which
should have marked the elders of the
people. See Is. i. 6. ff And buffeted
Him. They struck Him on the head
with their fists. This treatment was
intended to show their hatred of Him,
as a blasphemer. It was an impotent
substitute for the stoning to death, from
which policy withheld them, ff Smote
Him with ihe palms of their hands. Up
on the face or mouth. This was to
mark their horror of what He had spo
ken. St. Augustine applies these words
thus : " That they did spit in His face,
signifies those who reject His proffered
grace. They likewise buffet Him,
who prefer their own honor to Him ;
and they smite Him on the face, who,
blinded with unbelief, affirm that He is
not yet come, disowning and rejecting
His person.'' See Heb. vi. 6.
68. Saying, Prophesy unto us. St.
Mark says that they had blindfolded
Him, before they said this. They de
sired Him to divine who it was that
smote Him. These cruel mockeries
were as disgraceful to the Sanhedrim,
as they intended them to be to Jesus.
They became guilty of blasphemy.
From His silence, they imagined them
selves just and triumphant. But they
were blaspheming God, fulfilling proph
ecies, and drawing on themselves a just
judgment. They did not do these acts
simply to gratify their hate. They were
compelled to wait for daylight before
they could go before the Koman govern
or, and they resort to these marks of
contempt, while waiting, to stimulate

thou Christ, Who is he that
smote thee ?
Midnight, Thursday — Friday.
69 If Now6 Peter sat without in

b Mark It (
mis.

5. &c. ; Lu. 22. 55, &c. ; John

the passions of the assembly : perhaps
to prevent Jesus from speaking. The
blessed Jesus, who with one word or
look could have smitten them dead, en
dured ah their indignities in silence :
suffering them all, that we might learn
of Him how we must bear our lighter
sorrows and trials. Heb. xii. 1, 2. See
Hymn 178.
69, 70. The first denial of Peter, just
before midnight. Compare Mark xiv.
66-68 ; Luke xxii. 55-57 ; John xviii.
18. 69. Now Peter sat without in the pal
ace. Jesus was, at the time, in the
apartment of Annas. St. John being
known to the high priest, had first
passed in, but afterwards returned and
brought Peter into the vestibule, hj
speaking to the maid-servant who kept
the door. She noticing Peter at that
time with John, and then seeing him
remaining behind in the room where
the servants were, asked him if he was
not one of the friends of Jesus. It is
probable that she had no design of in
juring him, but simply wondered at his
remaining there, while John had passed
on. ff Thou also wast with Jesus of
Galilee. Thou also, or as well as John.
As if she had said, Why do you shrink
from this hour ? Or perhaps she would
have heard something of what had pass
ed without. It does not seem that Pe
ter was — unless for his attack on Mal
chus, which had been atoned for — at
any time of this night, in any particu
lar danger.
70. But he denied before them all.
Denied that he was a disciple. It was
a bold and shameful act. He denied
that he understood what was said ; that
there was any ground for such an as
sertion. He was permitted to waver
that we might see that none should
dare to trust in his own strength.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

321

the palace : and a damsel came
unto him, saying, Thou also wast
with Jesus of Galilee.
70 But he denied before them
all, saying, I know not what thou

71 And when he was gone out
into the porch, another maid saw
him, and said unto them that
were there, This fellow was also
with Jesus of Nazareth.

71-75. See also Mark iv. 69-7 ; 2-
Luke xxii. 58-62 ; John xxviii. 25
27. 71. When he was gone out into the
porch. Into the small room between
the doorway and the larger rooms. He
was in a fearful state. He could not
bear the looks of those around the fire,
and he goes away to hide his confu
sion. Yet he cannot go out of sight of
his beloved Master. The cock crowed
for midnight. Who can describe his
mental state, tossed and tormented be
tween love for his Master and fear of
his countrymen, the convictions of his
faith, and the agony of a mind stained
by such a sin ! ff Another maid saw
him. Also a man spoke to him at the
same moment (Luke). This happened
between one and two in the morning.
The scene of the trial had gone on. Pe
ter was engrossed in watching its pro
gress; betraying possibly by his anx
ious looks his unusual interest in it.
We may suppose that his mind was
confused by the strange meekness and
submission to disgrace of Jesus ; per
haps it was wavering back to its for
mer Jewish implicit confidence in his
nation's rulers.
72. I do not know the man. The very
words in which Jesus had predicted it.
Lnke xxii 34. Peter denies all know
ledge of Him, whether as Christ or as
Jesus, and cuts himself loose from him,
for the time, by apostasy.
73. And after a while. About an
hour after, between two and three A. M.
Peter, now desperate, angry, and filled
with evil passions, returns to the room
Vol. I.— 14*

72 And again he denied with
an oath, I do not know the man.
73 And after a while came un
to him they that stood by, and
said to Peter, Surely thou also
art one of them ; for thy speech
bewrayeth thee.
74 Then began he to curse and
to swear, saying, I know not the
man. And immediately the cock
crew.

where the fire was burning (John xviii.
25), resolved to brave it out. The repe
tition of sin never leaves a man as it
found him. He changes rapidly. Peter
has lost shame. His Master is con
demned, and he has lost something of
his love, in the consequences of ruin to
all his earthly hopes, which that con
demnation produced. He had before
sought silence, but now he becomes
bold and talkative, ff Thy speech be
wrayeth thee. The dialect of the Gali
leans was uncouth and broad, from the
constant mingling with foreigners. It
inclined to the Samaritan and Syriac.
Talking loudly, the bystanders notice
his excitement and the peculiarity of
his speech, and conclude that he was
from Galilee. A kinsman of Malchus
observes him, and, with others, urges on
him this peculiarity, as a reason for
supposing him a follower of Jesus. But
now he was in greater fear and also in
bitter anger. How rapidly he has fallen
under the power of Satan.
74. Then began he, dec. He began to
anathematize himself, and to swear with
oaths, that he had no acquaintance
with Jesus. Peter does not seem to
have been in any danger. The Phari
sees showed no desire to injure the
disciples, nor does the question seem to
have been urged in anger. For all his
swearing, there is no doubt but that he
was known to be a disciple. Still they
suffered him to depart unquestioned.
We must conclude, therefore, that Peter,
like the wicked, was in fear where no
fear was. Ps. liii. 5. He was for the
time in mortal sin. He was not yet re-

322

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

75 And Peter "remembered the
word of Jesus, which said unto
him, Before the cock crow, thou

generated by the Holy Ghost (John vii.
39), and his repentings were accepted,
and his sins forgiven. We may well
believe that he never forgave himself
the acts of that dreadful night.
75. And Peter remembered, Sec. This
was three o'clock. St. Luke mentions,
that Jesus turned and looked upon Peter.
The cocks at the same moment crew.
Won by the look of tender compassion,
and reminded of the prophecy of his
fall, the mysterious foreknowledge of
his Master flashed again upon him.
The spell of evil was broken. How
perfect the love, how pure the sympathy
of Jesus, who, in the midst of His own
sorrows, could turn to win back to
Himself and salvation, a recreant fol
lower, to " renew him again unto re
pentance," and by this sign of reproach
ful affection, to assure him of forgive
ness ! ff And he went out and wept bit
terly. Well might he do so. Stung by
shame and reviving love for Jesus, he
rushed out from the scene of cowardice
and guilt, and, as we read in the Gospel
of St. Mark, written under the eye of
Peter himself, casting his mantle over his
head, as a sign of utter desolation, and
unutterable grief, he wept. See Jer.
xiv. 3, 4. He would not suffer St. Mark
to add the words " wept bitterly," lest it
might seem like some mitigation of his
fault. Leaving him thus, the saddest
sinner on whom that morning light
shone, let us ponder this example of
fearful sin. 1. We learn from it the
danger of self-confidence in spiritual
things. He imagined that in himself
he was able to endure all things for
Christ. He dreamed only of conquer
ing armies and plans for human glory.
He knew his own energy and courage.
But the simple question of a poor little
girl, destroyed the courage of one who
could perhaps have led armies to deadly
battle without a feat Human courage
when sanctified, is sometimes useful to
the Church ; but the courage to be hum-
ble is always so. 2. We should compare

shalt deny me thrice. And he
went out, and wept bitterly.
a Lu. 22. 81, 84.
carefully the two sides of St. Peter's
character — Peter the self-trusting disci
ple, with Peter the humble Apostle.
The former said : " I will go with thee,
though all may desert," depending on
his own courage and fidelity. The
other, after this experience, warns us,
as if with an echo from that sad hall
of Caiaphas : " Be humble, sober, vigi
lant." 1 Pet. v. 6-9. 3. Behold the
tender care of Jesus for His disciple.
The disciples were as yet only children,
hardly born. They had not the seven
fold gifts of the Spirit, and could not
compare spiritual things, nor know the
mode of resisting all evil by the gifts of
grace. Hence Jesus foretells his fall
and rising again, to prevent him from
despairing. And He, by one look,
touches the fountain of his heart and
reclaims him. 4. Although this sin
was committed before that baptism of
the Holy Ghost, yet as Peter had the
great privilege of knowing his duty and
danger, from the instructions of Jesus in
person, his case bears upon and explains
the Sixteenth Article of our Church,
" Of Sin after Baptism."—" Not every
deadly sin, willingly committed after
baptism, is sin against the Holy Ghost,
and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant
of repentance is not to be denied to
such as fall into sin after baptism. After
we have received the Holy Ghost, we
may depart from grace given, and (we
may) arise again, and amend our lives.
And therefore they are to be condemned,
which say, they Can no more sin as
long as they live here, or deny the place
of forgiveness to such as truly repent."
CHAPTER XXVH.
1, 2. Jesus is delivered to Pilate.
See Mark xv. 1 ; Luke xxiii. 1, 2 ;
John xviii. 28-32.
1. When the morning was come. Early
in the morning, between three and six,
called the morning watch. ff Took
counsel. This was a matter of no little
difficulty, and required shrewd manage
ment. Pilate was a stern and obstinate

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

323

CHAPTER XXVII.
Good Friday.
WHEN the morning was come,
all the chief priests and
elders of the people" took counsel
against Jesus to put him to death.
a Ps. 2. 2.
ruler, and had before this time shown
traits of a disposition not easily led.
Being an idolater he would disregard the
charge of blasphemy. They must there
fore prepare their measures beforehand,
and offer before his tribunal some charges
against Jesus, which he could regard as
contrary to the Roman laws, and which,
by exciting his passions, would enhst
his sympathies. With a stern and
haughty man there was nothing so
likely to be successful as the charge
they adopted— that Jesus perverted
the nation, forbidding to give tribute
to Csesar, and making Himself a king.
Luke xxiii. 2. They succeeded, with
great difficulty, in wresting from
Pilate the permission for His death.
They could not put Jesus to death by
their own laws, for the Romans had
taken away from them the right of capi
tal punishment, and they did not dare to
resort to open violence, as in the case of
St. Stephen. Acts vii. ff To put Him
to death. To mature a plan by which
they might compass His death. They
were suspicious of the affections of the
people and the obstinacy of the Roman
governor. They must see their way
clear before they commit themselves.
2. Bound Him. Jesus had at first
been bound in the garden, in order to
secure Him. But His bands had pro
bably been loosed. It was their custom
to send prisoners bound to the Roman
governor, as a sign that they had al
ready condemned them, ff Pontius Pi
late the governor. This man, whose
name is to be perpetuated in the creeds
of the Church, until his Victim summons
bim to the bar of the last judgment, had
been appointed procurator of Judea by
the Roman emperor Tiberius, about six
years before this event. He continued

2 And when they had bound
him, they led him away,6 and de
livered him to Pontius Pilate the
governor. 3 % Then Judas, which had
betrayed him, when he saw that
he was condemned, repented him-
5Ch. 29. 19; Acts 8. 13.
in the office for three years afterwards,
in all ten years. The duties of the office
were usually only of a pecuniary nature,
but in certain cases were enlarged, with
certain subordinate powers of governing
the people. Pilate was described by
King Agrippa, who knew him well, as a
man naturally inflexible and obstinately
self-willed. He defied the Jewish peo
ple on several occasions, until the cla
mor against him succeeded in effecting
his disgrace with the emperor Caligula.
He was banished to Vienne in Gaul,
where he is said to have died by his own
hand. His usual residence was Caesarea.
He was now in Jerusalem on account of
the great crowds coming to the Pass
over, and the turbulence usual at such
times. He could safely have set Jesus
free, and probably would have done so
had he been importuned to do it. St.
John tells us that the Jews would not
enter the hall of judgment, which was
in the tower of Antonia, lest they should
be defiled by contact with the heathen
(Numb. xix. 22), or by entering houses
in which there was leaven, and be pre
vented from eating the Passover. These
impious men were tender of the letter of
the law even in the midst of their
wicked malice.
3-10. The remorse of Judas, which
St. Matthew relates in this place, as if
to dispose of it, may be supposed to
have occurred after the final condemna
tion of Jesus. The Evangelist does not
mean to say that it occurred just at this
time, but as a consequence of the con
demnation. For we can hardly im
agine any of the chief priests and elders
to have been found in the temple until
after the sentence of Pilate, ff Repented
himself. It is impossible to follow the
mazes of his dark mind in its terrible

324

MATTHEW.

[A. D.

self, and brought again the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests
and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that
I have betrayed the" innocent
blood. And they said, What is
that to us ? see thou to that.
a 2 Kings 24 4.

progress of crime and despair, or to say
what exact motive led him to begin his
downward passage to " his own place."
In Scripture he is termed a thief (John
xii. 6) and a devil (John vi. 70), mean
ing that his prevaihng passions were
avarice and malice. Also Satan en
tered into him, and gave a supernatural
keenness to these passions. He may
have joined Jesus with a low worldly
desire for wealth. Being a keen-sighted
man he may have been first to discover
that Jesus would never gratify such
desires. Looking around him for some
way of escape and return to the world,
and enraged by a rebuke which he
deserved (John xiii. 18), he hurried in a
moment of anger to the chief priests and
accepted their bribes. Now terrified by
the result of his action, and harrowed
by his convictions of the purity of the
life and teachings of Christ, he wakes
to a late remorse. It was, however,
only horror and remorse at the effects
of his anger and covetousness. It was
not that deep repentance which seeks
God's grace in order to cut off the
causes of sins.
4 i" have sinned. I have done wrong
and broken the law of God. Ex. xxiii.
7. Humble confession and restitution,
though necessary to true repentance, do
not always prove penitence to be true.
ff I have betrayed innocent blood. The
life of an innocent person. Judas is an
unwilling, and, therefore, a valuable
witness to the perfect innocence of Jesus.
He had been His disciple, and known
Him in all situations for three years, and
had heard all His doctrines, public and
private ; surely, if it were possible to
have found a fault with Him, Judas
would have urged it now, as an excuse
for his deed, ff What is that to us?

5 And he cast down the pieces
of silver in the temple, and de
parted, and went and6 hanged
himself. 6 And the chief priests took
the silver pieces, and said, It is
not lawful for to put them into
5 2 Sam. 17. 28; Acts 1. 18.
" We do not care for your feelings. You
did what we wished, and we paid yon for
it : as to the rest, we care nothing." This
reply was in keeping with all their con
duct.. They should have paused and
examined into the causes of this repent
ance of Judas; 'or, at least, have tried
to satisfy him that they had done right
in condemning Jesus. " Observe, that
he repents only when his sin is finished
and complete ; for so the devil suffers
not those who are not watchful, to see
the evil before they bring it to an end."
— St. Chrysostom.
5. And he cast down the pieces of sil
ver. See ch. xxvi. 15. This was the
end of all his dreams of avarice — thirty
pieces of silver, which burn into his soul
with the guilt of remorse, until he
dashes them away from him in hatred
It was the price of blood ; and his in
gratitude rose up before him, until his
whole soul is in an agony which he can
not endure. That thing now so fair and
desirable to us, but which conscience tells
us is wrong, if we pluck it, will turn to
poison in our hands, either to ruin the
soul, or make it weep in bitter repent
ance over the loss of innocence. James
i. 14, 15. ff Went and hanged himself.
He seems to have done it in such haste
and perturbation of mind, that the rope
gave way, and he was precipitated down
a steep place, and disembowelled on the
sharp rocks. Acts i. 18. Every one
who was hanged on a tree was pro
nounced accursed by the law. Deut
xxi. 23. And an ancient writer says
of Judas : " He hung himself to show
that he was hateful both to heaven and
earth." It certainly proved his despera
tion, that he dared to adopt a mode of
death which was held in abhorrence by
his countrymen.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

325

the treasury, because it is the
price of blood.
7 And they took counsel, and
bought with them the potter's
field, to bury strangers in.
o Acts 1. 19.

6. It is not lawful, Sec. Moneys which
had been made abominable by certain
crimes, were in no case to be offered to
the Lord. Deut. xxiii 18. It was the
custom of the Jews, and afterwards of
Christians, to refuse the alms of execu
tioners in all cases. And by inference,
money which had been gained by trea
chery, when life was concerned, was
put in the same list, ff For to put them
into the treasury. Into the alms-chest,
wherein offerings to the Lord were
placed. It implies that all things which
were put therein, were solemnly de
voted to the service of the Lord. This
alms-chest was kept in the court of the
women, ff The price of blood. The
price which was given for His hfe.
We perceive in these confessions the
true character of that transaction be
tween Judas and the priests. Judas
confessed to having betrayed blood, the
priests to having bought it, and the field
of blood bought by the money, perpetu
ated the memory of the foul bargain.
Observe the false religion of these rulers.
They have compassed the death of an
innocent man, and stained their souls with
blood, that no river or ocean could wash
away; but they dare not pollute the
treasury. 7. They took counsel. They consulted
what to do with it. This was, undoubt
edly, after the death of Jesus. They
were most careful councillors in all
money transactions. See ch. xxiii. 16.
ff Potter's field, to bury strangers in. A
field which the potters had used. It is
said (in Acts i. 18) of Judas, that he
purchased a field with the reward of ini
quity, and was the first to mark it as a
field of blood by his own death. And
this purchase he did make, inasmuch
as he furnished the means. Perhaps
the priests also put his name prominent
in the purchase. It is a usual thing for
a writer to represent one as doing that

8 Wherefore that field was call
ed," The field of blood, unto this
day. 9 Then was fulfilled that which
was spoken by Jeremy the proph-
b Zech. 11. 12, 13.

which he causes another to do. ff To
bury strangers in. To bury the Jews,
who, coming from foreign places to at
tend the feasts, died in Jerusalem. "It
was brought about by God's providence,
that the Saviour's price should not min
ister means of excess to sinners, but re
pose to foreigners ; that thence Christ
might both redeem the living by the
shedding of His blood, and harbor the
dead by the price of His passion." — St.

8. The field of blood. Called in the
native tongue Aceldama (Acts i. 19),
meaning the same. The facts of this
account of the death of Jesus were of
course perpetuated, by the existence of
this field as a burying-place. The Apos
tle, therefore, in referring to it, shows
that he challenges investigation into the
truth of his story, ff To this day. At
the time when this Gospel was written
by St. Matthew ; eight years or more
(see Introduction) after the Crucifixion.
It is shown also to this day. " Nearthis
spot (that is Gehenna, the valley of
Hinnom, which word is used as a type
of the place of punishment,) is Acelda
ma, or the field of blood of the traitor
Judas. It is a small plot of ground
overhung with one precipice, and looking
down another into the gloomy glen
below." 9. Spoken by Jeremy the prophet.
There is a peculiarity of style in this
passage, so different from common
modes of citing passages from other
writers, as to cause some difficulty in
explaining it. Our ignorance must
bear the blame of the difficulty, i. e. our
ignorance of the exact words of St.
Matthew ; or, if these are his words, of
his meaning in using them. He has
evidently quoted the prophet according
to the sense, and not the words. No
such passage occurs in the writings of
Jeremiah. There is something like it

326

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

et, saying, And they took the
thirty pieces of silver, the price of
him that was valued,1 whom they
of the children of Israel did val
ue; 10 And gave them for the pot-
11 Or, whom they bought of the cMldrm of
Israel. a John 18. 37.

in Zechariah, ch. xi 12, 13. Compare
Jeremiah xxxii. 9. There are four ex
planations why the name Jeremy occurs
instead of Zachary. I. The names may
have been mistaken in transcribing.
They were sometimes written in a con
tracted form — Iriou for Jeremy ; Zriou
for Zachary. In this form it would be
only the mistake of one letter. But St.
Jerome, who is good authority on such
points, declares that the greatest number
and the most ancient manuscripts in his
time, had the name of Jeremy. H.
Jeremy may be used here for the book of
the prophets, as being the first in rank
on the list. This has the appearance of
being invented for the occasion. There
is no evidence of any such custom iu the
New Testament. III. Or again, it is
urged by some learned men, that the
word Jeremy was not written by St.
Matthew, but was added by some unlearn
ed transcriber. Our English translators
seem to have expressed their opinion
against this, by inserting the word in
common types as authentic. TV. It is
suggested by others, that St. Matthew
referred to some action and words of
Jeremiah, not recorded by him in his
prophecies, but handed down in some
traditional form, and recorded in sub
stance by the prophet Zechariah. St.
Jerome declares, " that he read a He
brew book, given him by a Hebrew of
the Nazarene sect, an apocryphal
Jeremias, in which he found the very
words here quoted." So in 2 Maccabees,
ii. 1-9, we find many words recorded as
spoken by Jeremiah, which cannot be
found in his canonical prophecies. But
St. Jerome says of it all: " After all, I
am rather inclined to think that the
passage was taken by Matthew out of
Zecharias, in the usual manner of the

ter's field, as the Lord appointed
me. 11 And Jesus stood before the
governor : and the governor ask
ed him, saying," Art thou the
King of the Jews ? And Jesus
said unto him, Thou sayest.

Apostles and Evangehsts, when they
quote from the Old Testament, neglect
ing the words, and attending only to the
sense." The Christian reader desires,
in all such cases, to avoid the idea that
the Evangelists could have fallen into
error. These minor difficulties are left
in our path, as a trial of faith, to show
us that we may not depend wholly on our
own short-sighted knowledge, ff Valued.
This was the pagan price of a slave.
These words in the prophet, occurred
in a vision, wherein he asks the people
to put a value on himself, a servant of
the Lord. They rate him at the price
of a slave, i. e. despise him and the
Lord. See note, ch. xxvi. 15. This he
throws to the potter. All these sha
dowy symbols were acted prophecies of
these events.
11-14. The trial before Pilate. See
Mark xv. 2-5 ; Luke xxiii. 3, 4 ; John
xviii 33-38. Read also Luke xxiii.
5-12. 11. And Jesus stood before the governor.
By the law (Numb. xix. 22) whoever
touched any unclean person, among
whom the later Jews reckoned Gen
tiles, was unclean, and unable to cele
brate the Passover. Acts x. 28. The
Jews, therefore, would not go into the
Castle of Antonia, which was occupied
by Pilate. To accommodate them, a
sort of court or judgment seat had been
prepared outside the walls of the castle,
called in Hebrew Gabbatha, or the pave
ment (John xix. 13), probably a raised
space, paved with stones of divers co
lors. The seat for Pilate was fixed here,
and a door leading into the inner hall.
The Saviour was carried within, and
arraigned before the Romans. Pilate
came out to hear the accusations against
Him. ff Art thou tiie King of the Jews ?

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

327

12 And when he was accused
of the chief priests and elders, he
answered nothing.
13 Then saith Pilate unto him,
Hearest thou not how many

This question Pilate asked after hearing
the accusation of the Jews. See John
xviii. 28, 40. As Messiah, He claimed
to be King. But His kingdom could
not in any way disturb the lawful tem
poral authorities. The charge made
against Him rested on this claim, which
the priests knew that He would not
deny. They also falsely added that
Jesus had forbidden to pay tribute to
Csesar. Luke xxiii. 2. ff Thou sayest.
Thou sayest what I am. Yea, it is so.
Jesus explained to him that His king
dom was not of this world. John xviii.
36. Pilate seems thereupon to have
taken something like a right view of the
case, thinking Jesus a teacher of truth,
and fond of using royal titles to enhance
the dignity of philosophy. He does not
seem to have looked on Him as in any
degree a demagogue, or exciter of sedi
tion. He was fully satisfied of His in
nocence. John xviii. 38.
12. He answered nothing. He made
no reply to idle clamors against Him.
There was true wisdom in the course
He pursued. He answered Pilate when
questioned, and satisfied him of His in
nocence. But He did not plead for His
life against the accusations of the Jews.
It were as well speaking to the wild
winds, as to the angry crowd. They had
heard Him and rejected Him, and now
He submits to the known will of God.
13. Then said Pilate. Marvelling at
His manner, so gentle, firm, suffering,
meek, so devoid of impatience, anger,
haste, or any human infirmity ; Pilate
asked Him why He made no reply.
But even then, as a lamb before her
shearers is dumb, so He opened not His
mouth. His silence and want of fear,
His open, ready confession of their main
charge that He was a King in the realm
of truth, were a full and entire refuta
tion. But He submitted, as to the will
of God, with a truly royal patience.
ff Tliey witness against Thee I How

things they witness against thee ?
14 And he answered him to
never a word ; insomuch that the
governor marvelled greatly.
15 Now at that feast, the gov-

many charges they bring. Mark xv. 3-
They charged Him with the crime most
hateful to a conqueror, in a subject land,
sedition. And tiie Jews found terrible
reason to regret the facility of the Ro
mans in punishing it. Jesus knew that
Pilate did not beheve this charge, and
He was silent.
14. To never a word. He did not
make a set answer. It does not mean
that Jesus appeared in any degree sul
len, but that He did not pretend to refute
the words, i. a. the charges brought
against Him. He replied readily to
all proper questions. ff Marvelled
greatly. Was much astonished at this
unparalleled dignity in a person brought
into such danger. Truly there was
sufficient to cause this marvelling; a
word which implies not merely surprise,
but admiration and reflection whether
the claim of Jesus to be King, in the
spiritual sense, could really be true.
Pilate, being in great perplexity,
learned at this juncture that Jesus had
lived in Galilee, which was in the juris
diction of Herod Antipas. This tetrarch
was at the time in Jerusalem. To es
cape from the difficulty, and at the same
time pay a mark of respect to Herod,
perhaps imagining that Herod would
be better able to decide the matter,
Pilate sent Jesus to him. Luke xxiii.
5-12. This was the first step of Pilate's
fall — a compromise with conscience.
After Herod had returned Him, it was
harder for Pilate to set Jesus free.
Herod who had hardened his heart
to finally destroy John the Baptist, after
being mortified by the silence of Christ,
treated Him with scorn, and sent Him
back to Pilate. Pleased with the mutual
compliment these rulers made a peace,
which has been turned in Christian na
tions into a scornful proverb. It was
now harder for Pilate to do light, for he
should have dismissed the case at first,
as wanting evidence. Be he has given

328

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

ernor was wont to release unto
the people a prisoner, whom they
would. 16 And they had then a nota
ble prisoner, called Barabbas.
17 Therefore, when they were
gathered together, Pilate said

the trial a form of importance, and
made it notorious to one who had been
his enemy, and might readily become
so again.
15-23. Pilate proposes a choice of
victims. See Mark xv. 6-14; Luke
xxiii. 13-19 ; John xviii. 39-40. Read
also Luke xxiii. 20-22 ; John xix. 1-12.
15. At that feast. The Passover.
ff The governor was wont to release, dc.
It was his custom to do this. The verb
from which wont is derived is obsolete.
Pilate came up usually from Csesarea
to Jerusalem during the great feasts,
and in order to secure popularity, and
give importance to his visit, would re
lease some prisoner on the petition of
the Jews. In a conquered country
there would be always a class of pris
oners who appeared to suffer in the
public good as patriots. To release
these would be an act of grace especial
ly pleasing to the nation. Barabbas,
robber and murderer as he was, had
probably done things which gave him
a reputation with his own people. Sedi
tion veiled its criminality under the
name of patriotism.
16. A notable prisoner. One well
known for his bold, seditious spirit, and
rendered notorious for a particular act
of rebellion. His crimes were popular.
Luke xxiii. 19. He had led a rebellion
against the Romans, and in the confu
sion resulting had committed murder.
It is difficult to suppose that the common
people would have claimed this pardon
for a common brawler or thief. This
man had been skilful to hide his ambi
tion, avarice and cruelty under the guise
of liberty and patriotism. It is the
voice of inspiration which has stamped
him as "a robber." Had the Jews
written his biography, it might have
been a eulogy.

unto them, Whom will ye that I
release unto you ? Barabbas, or
Jesus, which is called Christ ?
18 (For he knew that for envy
they had delivered him.)
19 IT When he was set down
on the judgment-seat, his wife
17. Whom will ye that I release unto
you ? Pilate saw clearly that the whole
accusation against Jesus was groundless.
His first experiment of sending Him to
Herod, having failed, he now proposes
a new plan. It was a second compro
mise with his conscience. He ought at
once to have given Him security. He
probably meant well, and supposed that
his plan would succeed. In fact, the
priests were obhged to bestir themselves
and persuade the people before they
could succeed in their malice. Verse
20. ff Jesus which is called Christ. He
gives Him the mildest title, in order to
prevent any excitement of passion from
disturbing their choice. Afterwards to
annoy the priests, he gives Jesus the
royal title of King of the Jews. It was
done with ingenuity worthy a better
result. Pilate's error lay in not foresee
ing that in giving the choice to the mul
titude, he in a measure lost it himself.
18. For he knew that for envy. Not
for crime. The word envy in ancient
writings, implies somewhat more that
it now does. It signifies all those hostile
feelings which are included under the
general term, unpopularity. Fear of
His power with the people, jealousy at
His purity, His wisdom and miracles, a
mean desire to crush a good and great
man, with all the wicked malicious feel
ings of a fickle multitude, are ranked
under the word. Says Remigius, "Join*
explains what their envy was, when he
says, " Behold, the world is gone after
Him (John xii. 19) ; and if we let Him
thus alone all men will beheve on Him."
John xi. 48." We see' in the order of
events, the Divine hand guiding things,
in a strange course, to fulfil His own
purposes. Pilate, the stern and inflexible,
appears weak and wavering. The sub
jects dictate to their conqueror. The peo-

T. E. 34]

CHAPTER XXVII.

329

sent unto him, saying, Have thou
nothing to do with that just man :
for I have suffered many thhigs
this day in a dream, because of
him.

pie prefer a murderer, to One whom but
a few days before they had hailed as Mes
siah. All work according to blind
passions and violent self-will, yet in
their rage, work out the plan of salva
tion for others — of ruin to themselves.
19. Ih the judgment seat. The seat
or throne erected in the open court, for
judgment. Pilate had thus far passed
in and out before the people, in an infor
mal and friendly manner. He now
assumes the seat of power, and by the
act shows that he proceeds to a regular
trial. His assuming this seat may have
inclined them to do as he wished ; but
after persuasion of the priests, they call
for the deliverance of Barabbas. ff His
wife sent unto him. This incident marks
the correctness of the writer, by a proof,
which being too small to be intentional,
is the stronger evidence. Tacitus in
forms us that it was only in the reign
of Tiberius, that the governors had ob
tained leave to take their wives with
them. This woman's name was Pro-
cula, and tradition relates that she was
led by this dream to become a Christian.
ff Have thou nothing to do. " He is a
just man. Do not be an instrument in
condemning Him." This incident, ac
cording to the opinions of the Romans,
ought to have determined Pilate, and
probably would have done so, some time
before. It seems as if St. Matthew men
tions his having assumed his judgment
seat, as if to point out the reason why
it does not deter him. He has opened
the trial formally, and is ashamed to
withdraw from it, for a woman's dream.
ff That just man. One innocent of
crime. Pilate was deeply affected by
this message. He asks the priests what
evil they could charge against Jesus,
and in his act of washing his hands, as
clearing himself of responsibility, he
repeats the words of his wife, verse 24.
ff I have suffered many things this day
in a dream, dec. Dreams were consider-

20 But the chief priests and
elders persuaded the multitude
that they should ask Barabbas,
and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor answered and

ed by all the ancient nations, as indica
tions of the Divine pleasure, in difficult
cases. Among the Jews, the opinion
was estabhshed on the certain basis of
inspiration. It was one mode of reve
lation. 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. 15 ; Gen. xxxi.
11,24; Numb, xii 6. The Egyptians
(Gen. xl. 5, 8 ; xli. 15), the Chaldeans
(Dan. ii 1, 2, 3, &c.) and the Greeks,
and Romans after them, placed great
confidence in dreams of certain kinds.
Daniel is praised for his skill in explain
ing dreams. Dan. i. 17 ; v. 12. In the
New Testament, the Angel of the Lord
is said to have appeared in dreams to
Joseph. Matt. i. 20 ; ii. 12. If it be
asked, whether it is proper to believe
that dreams are still used as a vehicle
of Divine communication with men; it is
enough to answer that the canon of
Scripture is now closed, and the revela
tion finished, so that the chief reason for
consulting the information of the visions
of the night is removed. See Deut.
xviii. 14. 15. This dream of Pilate's
wife was correct, and Pilate believed it
to be a true monition from the Divinity.
20. Persuaded the multitude. The
Jewish rulers perceived the intention of
the Roman governor, and saw also the
wavering of the crowd. They found it
necessary to persnade them to the course
which they wished them to follow.
This they could do, as the people usual
ly follow readily any guide to whom they
have been accustomed, whether right
or wrong, ff And destroy Jesus. Pilate
does not seem to have taken in this re
sult, when he proposed the choice of
prisoners ; that he was in fact putting*
them before the people on the same
footing, so that the one who was not
chosen should bear the punishment of
the other. It did not follow that, be
cause Barabbas was spared, therefore
Jesus should be destroyed. But when
he gave the multitude the decision of
the two cases, he seemed to bind bim-

330

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

said unto them, Whether of the
twain will ye that I release unto
you ? They said, Barabbas.
22 Pilate saith unto them,
What shall I do then with Jesus,
which is called Christ? They
all say unto him, Let him be cru
cified. 23 And the governor said,
Why, what evil hath he done ?

self to abide by their judgment. Terri
fied by the consequence of his own
compromise, by the admonition of his
wife, by the innocence of Jesus, and
threatened by the mob with present
sedition, and future complaint to the
arbitrary tyrant Tiberius, Pilate, the
man who could be as stern as a rock
when a few paltry brazen eagles were
concerned, wavered and yielded. Thus
end all compromises with conscience
and right !
21. The twain. The two, Jesus or
Barabbas. 23. Why, what evil hath he done?
This question was asked of them three
times (Luke), so anxious was he for the
escape of Jesus, yet so intimidated by
the dilemma in which he had placed
himself. He offered another compro
mise with them, that he would chastise
Jesus and let Him go. But the pas
sions of the crowd gain impetus by in
dulgence. They are now, as David
described them long before, "strong
bulls of Bashan," " raving and roaring
hons : " and again, " many dogs have
compassed me, the assembly of the
wicked have inclosed me." Ps. xxii. 12,
13, 16. ff Let Him be crucified. See
note, verse 35. This shout, swelled now
by a thousand throats which but a few
days before had shouted Hosanna, over
comes all opposition. This was perhaps
the punishment due to Barabbas, and
the offer of his name may have suggest
ed it.
24. He took water. He makes a final
appeal to their feelings. Pilate does
every thing, but what he should have

But they cried out the more,
saying, Let him be crucified.
24 1 When Pilate saw that he
could prevail nothing, but that
rather a tumult was made, he took
"water, and washed his hands be
fore the multitude, saying, I am
innocent of the blood of this just
person : see ye to it.
25 Then answered all the peo-
a Deut. 21. 6.

done. It was common among ancient
nations to express their feelings by ex
pressive actions. The Jews washed
their hands with water, in case of a
suspected murder. Deut. xxi. 6. David
makes a poetic use of this custom. Ps.
xxvi. 6. Classic authors inform us of
the same custom prevailing among the
heathen. Humanly speaking the act
of Pilate was impressive. He manifested
that he did not condemn Jesus. But no
water could wash away the guilt of the
act. He was Judge, and was bound to
either condemn or pardon. He could
not relieve himself from responsibility.
He yielded "because a tumult was
made," and sought to bribe high Heaven
by a trifling sign of his reluctance, ff See
ye to it. " Behold my refusal to be the
judge to condemn this innocent man.
Take the responsibility upon yourselves."
This was out of the question. Certain
responsibilities cannot be put away. We
may well pray against sins of omission,
or as the Prayer Book hath it, " sins,
negligences, and ignorances;" and again,
" we have left undone those things
which we ought to have done." And we
may expect forgiveness. But we may
not safely venture to do nothing, in cases
where we are bound to act, and imagine
that we thus escape from guilt. To do
nothing is often as great a crime, as to
do wickedly is at other times.
25. His blood be on us, dec. We take
the responsibility and the penalty. It
was an awful imprecation, and awfully
was it answered. Jesus had said that
on that generation should come all the
righteous blood shed on the earth. Ch,

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVH.

331

pie, and said, "His blood be on us,
and on our children.
26 % Then released he Barab
bas unto them : and when he had
6scourged Jesus, he delivered him
to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the
a Deut. 19. 10 ; Josh. 2. 19 ; 1 Kings 2. 23 ;
Acts 5. 28. 6 Is. 53. 5.

governor took Jesus into the
common hall,1 and gathered unto
him the whole band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him, and
put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And when they had plat
ted a crown of thorns, they put it

fl Or, governor's house,
53.3.

c Ps. 69. 19 ; Is.

xxiii. 35. The Jews, blinded by passion,
call down the curse upon themselves. It
was fulfilled soon afterwards in a series
of misfortunes and crimes, such as
the world had never seen. In that
memorable siege of their city, a million
and a half of them perished by every
imaginable torture, and in the exercise
of the most horrible passions. They
doted in superstition and despair. Signs
from heaven, and horrors on earth ter
rified them, till death seemed a blessing.
The city became so monstrous for
crimes, that their very despair produced
such courage as the Romans had never
before met with. The curse still rests
upon their children, scattering them in
all the earth. Samaritans on Mount
Gerizim till this day maintain their
sacrifice as of old. Christian altars rise
in Jerusalem. But the Moslem debars
the Jew from the sacred precincts of
Moriah. He has no altar, and can only
go softly to the foot of the Mount where
his fathers worshipped, to mourn the
desolations of his nation.
26. And when he had scourged Jesus.
Had ordered it done. See note, ch. x.
17. Scourging increased the pains of
that mode of death. The instrument
used was the fiagella. It was termed
by a Latin writer the horrible scourge,
from its severity. St. Jerome says :
" It should be known that Pilate ad
ministered the Koman law, which en
acted that every one who was cruci
fied should be first scourged. Jesus
then is given up to the soldiers to be
beaten, and they tore with whips that
most holy body and capacious bosom of
God." ff He delivered Him. He gave
sentence to that effect We behold a
judge of the most enlightened nation of

that age, condemning a man whom he
voluntarily declares innocent. We see
in this the providence of God, proving
the faultlessness of the Saviour, by the
confessions of all those who were inter
ested to make Him out to be guilty.
Pilate, Herod, Procula, Judas, the
Roman centurion and the thief on
the cross combine to pay homage, and
bear witness to His innocence.
27-31. Jesus is mocked by the sol
diers. See also Mark xv. 16-20.
27. Into the common hall. The Latin
word is Prastorium, the hall of the
Prater. The sentence had been given
in the open air. The soldiers take
Jesus back into the Castle of Antonia,
to the hall adjoining their own quar
ters, in order to make preparations for
His execution. ff The whole band.
A speira, or cohort, here called band,
was the tenth part of a legion, and
varied in number from three hundred
to one thousand men, according to the
size of the legion. Being a time of
peace, it was probably the smaller num
ber in this case.
28. They stripped Him. Probably
of His outer robe, in order to carry on
their brutal sport, ff A scarlet robe.
Some worn-out garment of royalty.
This robe mentioned was a military
oloak of purple, worn by the Roman
Emperors and chief men. It was con
fined on the right shoulder by a clasp*.
The color was called indifferently scar
let or purple. It was put on Him to
ridicule His title of royalty. The insult
in their minds was probably meant as
a mark of contempt toward the whole
Jewish nation.
29. Had platted. Had woven by a
few turns of the flexible branches one

332

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

upon his head, and a reed in his
right "hand : and they bowed the
knee before him, and mocked
him, saying, Hail, King of the
Jews !
30 And they" spit upon him,
and took the reed and smote him
on the head.
31 And after that they had
mocked him, they took the robe
a Is. 58. 7.

on the other, ff A crown of thorns.
A wreath or chaplet of a thorny bush
growing near. Great use was made by
the Romans of chaplets of the leaves of
laurel or myrtle. They now crown
Jesus with this mock wreath in ridicule.
ff And a reed. In imitation of the
sceptre carried by kings. Esther
iv. 11. These reeds grow in Palestine
in marshy places, especially along the
banks of the Jordan. They are hght,
flexible and strong, and are often
brought to this country by travellers,
and made into walking canes, for which
it is probable they were then used.
ff Hail, King of the Jews ! This hail I
was a usual salutation to their own
Emperors. It was notorious that the
sceptre had departed from Judah ; and
the shameless priests had for almost
the first time declared, "We have no
king but Csesar." The soldiers mock
at the nation in the person of Jesus.
They were only the more enraged at
His imperturbable patience.
30. Spit upon Him. Says Bp. Por
teus, with a proper feeling : " We
hasten over this scene of insolence and
outrage, with averted eyes, and can
scarcely believe that any thing in the
shape of man could have proceeded
to this extreme of wanton barbarity.
What a difference is there between this
treatment of the innocent and injured
Jesus and that of the vilest criminal in
our own country, previous to his exe
cution ! And how strongly does this
mark the difference between the spirit
of Paganism and the spirit of Chris
tianity ! " ff Smote Him on the head.

off from him, and put his own rai
ment on him, and led him away
to crucify him.
32 And as they came 6 out, they
found a man of Cyrene, Simon
by name : him they compelled to
bear his cross.
33 And when they were come
unto a place called Golgotha,
that is to say, A place of a skull,
b Num. 15. 35; 1 Kings 21. 13 ; Acts 7. 58;
Heb. 18. 12.

In horrid cruelty, to drive the sharp
thorns into the living flesh. These im
pious cruelties were doubtless perpetrat
ed while a part of the band was en
gaged in preparations for the execu
tion. The time of day must have been
about eight o'clock A.M.
32. As they came aut. Out of the
city. Both among the Jews and
Romans, criminals were executed with
out the city walls. See Numb. xv. 36 ;
1 Kings xxi. 13. ff A man of Cyrene,
Simon. He was a Jew, dwelling in that
part of Libya called Pentapohs Cyre-
naica, in which was a large colony of
Jews. Like others he had come up to
Jerusalem to attend the feast. Happy
for him, if he learned to bear the spir
itual cross, from the experience of that
day. ff Him they compelled, die. Our
Lord, according to custom, carried his
cross until nature gave way. He had
then been twelve hours, counting from
His agony in the garden, under the
severest suffering of mind and body.
Exhausted nature could endure no
longer, and He sank down in the street
under the heavy load. As Simon was
passing they compelled him to bear it
after Jesus. Note that it says, compelled
bim. For he did it unwillingly. It
was an ignominious office. A great
company of people and women followed
Him, bewailing and lamenting Him;
to whom our Saviour made the predic
tion again of the calamities coming
upon the nation. Luke xxiii 27-31.
33. , Golgotha. This is a Hebrew
word, as St. John informs us, meaning
a place of a skull, either from its shape,

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVH.

333

34 If They gave him "vinegar
to drink, mingled with gall : and
when he had tasted thereof, he
would not drink.a Ps. 09. 21.

being a hillock ; or a place of skulls, be
ing a place for the execution of crimi
nals. The translators have inserted the
word of Latin derivation, Calvary, in St.
Luke's account, for his Greek word,
Kranion, meaning a skull. After this
great sacrifice upon it, it became holy,
as being the great altar of human salva
tion. It has been resorted to by pious
Christians in all ages and from all lands,
It has drawn the city around it. A
great part of Mount Zion is now ex
cluded to make room for it. A mag
nificent church crowns it, the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre, on tiie spot where,
according to tradition, Helena, the
mother of the emperor Constantine, dis
covered the cross. Of the tradition
there may be some doubt, but there can
be none of the actual site of the hill of
Calvary. 34 Vinegar to drink mingled with gall.
To relieve His pains. St. Mark says :
' ' Wine mingled with myrrh." The wine
of the Roman soldiers hardly deserved
the name; as it soon fermented, and be
came hard and sour to the taste. The
gall and myrrh are words meaning in
this case the same thing, a bitter infu
sion. Gall translates a Hebrew word
signifying any exceeding bitter herb
(Ps. lxix. 21), which St. Mark tells us
was myrrh. This infusion was a temp
tation to partial suicide. It stupefied
the mind and nerves, and shortened life.
It was offered by some pitying person,
to shorten His agonies. If suicide is
ever justifiable, it was then. And the
Christian must confess it universally
wrong and criminal, when he beholds
Jesus under His ignominious burden of
woes, refusing to shorten or elude one of
them, by means of stupefying drugs.
35. And they crucified Him. They
nailed Him to the cross. The cross was
made of two pieces of wood, placed one
across the other, in the shape which is
familiar to every Christian eye. The

35 And they crucified him, and
parted his garments, casting lots :
that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophet ; They

b Ps. 22. IS.

hands of the victim were nailed or tied
to the transverse beam, and the feet
crossed on each other and nailed to their
place. After the victim was secured,
the cross was lifted and fixed in an up
right position in the earth. It was then
left under the charge of a guard, until
death coming on slowly by the most
fearful and indescribable agonies of te
tanus and nervous exhaustion, relieved
the sufferer. Sometimes the agonies
continued for days, and again they were
of shorter duration. As the Jewish law
forbade that a body should be left hang
ing on a tree longer than one day, it in
effect prevented the Jews from using
this punishment. Deut. xxi. 22, 23.
The Romans commonly resorted to it.
It was a horrible, lingering death, com
bining horrors of mind and body which
words fail to describe. It was an igno
minious punishment, reserved for slaves
or the basest of criminals. But to the
mind of a Jew, it carried also the terrors
of a religious curse. Deut. xxi. 22, 23.
But it is not well for us to analyse these
sufferings one by one. The agonies, the
shame, the horror and anguish of our
Saviour's death no tongue can tell. Or j
conld they be exactly told and weighed, |
we should then be no nearer the mys- ,1
tcry which hangs over the cross ; of why j
and how those sufferings atoned for our i
sins. The cross is now the great sacra
ment of the Christian religion. The
pains and horrors of it are the outward
and visible sign of the inward and spir
itual grace procured for us by Christ.
We cannot sound the depths of His love
and mercy, nor compass the wisdom of
the Almighty, in this plan of salvation.
In the closet meditate humbly the pains
of that death as an example of patience
and resignation to the will of God ; a
provocative to diligence and self-denial
in the love of men. A true sense of it,
and the medicine of it will come to us
by constant prayer and a " crucifying of

334

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

parted my garments among them,
and upon my vesture did they
cast lots.
36 And sitting down they
watched him there :
37 And set up over his head
his accusation written, THIS IS

ourselves to the world." When we suf
fer in mind or body, faith points us to
the cross. As the Israehtes, bitten of
serpents, looked to the brazen serpent
and were healed, so the Christian may
escape the wounds of sin made by that
old serpent, the devil, by faith in the
cross. Numb. xxi. 8, 9 ; John iii. 14,
15. As Noah and his family were saved
in the flood by an ark of wood, so does
St. Peter assure us that the Christian
family is to be saved by the means of
the death and resurrection of Christ. 1
Peter iii, 21. And in like manner the
whole Bible points us to this one centre,
the cross. The Old Testament fore
shadows it. The New contains and
comments on it. It is better to believe
and adore than seek to understand that
which no mortal mind can begin to com
prehend; the ineffable passion and death
of our Lord and Saviour, ff And parted
His garments. " Into four parts, to every
soldier a part." John xix. 23. The
clothes belonged to the executioners.
The coat or upper garment of Jesus was
without seam, woven throughout. The
four soldiers were unwilling to tear it,
and therefore cast lots for it. ff 1 'hat
it might be fulfilled, dec. See Ps. xxii.
18. The whole Psalm refers to our
Lord under the sufferings of the cross,
and with the fortieth and fiftieth is ap
pointed for the morning service of Good
Friday. It was now the third hour
(Mark xv. 35), that is, nine o'clock in
the morning. It was the hour of offer
ing up the lamb in the daily sacrifice of
the temple. This lamb, which since
the time of Moses had never ceased to
be offered daily while the Jews had a
temple or a city, was a type .of Christ,
the true Lamb of God. 1 Cor. v. 6, 7.
36. They watched Him there. The
soldiers who had crucified Him were

JESUS THE KING OF THE
JEWS.
38 Then were there "two thieves
crucified with him : one on the
right hand, and another on the
left. 39 T And they that passed by,
a Is. 53. 12.

made responsible for Him, until His
death. They watched to prevent His
friends from coming to steal away His
body. 37. His accusation. The crime for
which He had been condemned. It was
usual to to do this, in all cases of cru
cifixion. It was painted or engraved
in black letters on a white ground, and
put over His head. This was done by
the order of Pilate. To make it well
known, and perhaps to insult the Jews,
he caused it to be written in the three
current languages of the time, Hebrew,
Greek and Latin. There is a slight
difference in the manner of recording the
accusation. St. John gives us the full
sentence — Jesus of Nazareth the King
of the Jews. He was an eye-witness.
The other Evangelists give us the sense
of the superscription, which lay in the
words — King of the Jews. It was on
this accusation that Jesus had been
condemned. No other crime had been
brought against Him.
38. Two thieves. Robbers; with which
Judea at that time abounded. Pilate
not residing in Jerusalem, took advan
tage of his occasional visits there, to
pass judgment on criminals whom he
found condemned. These two may
have been companions of Barabbas,
and to him, perhaps, the middle place
belonged. The design was to insult the
Saviour and the nation, by making
Him appear as the companion of such
wretches. But they fulfilled a prophecy
of Isaiah, which says, " He was num
bered with the transgressors." Is. liii.
12. They also gave Jesus the oppor
tunity to show the majesty of His
abounding grace, which could rescue a
convert in the very jaws of death, to be
the first fruits of His death.
39. Reviled Him. The Eastern people

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVH.

335

reviled" him, waggingtheir heads,
40 And saying, Thou that de-
stroyest the temple, and buildest
it in three days, save thyself.6 If
thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief
priests mocking him, with the
scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others ; himself
a Ps. 22. 7; 109. 25. 8 Ch. 26. 63.
o Ps. 22. 8.

indulge in these tokens of derision, and
feel them much more than we of the
West. They insult Him in these out
ward expressions, common to all the
nations of antiquity. Job. xvi. 4 ; Ps.
cix. 15 ; xxii. 7.
40. Thou that destroyest the temple, §-c.
" Thou that madest the pretence of being
able to destroy the temple and rebuild
it in so short time, show us some of that
power in rescuing Thyself from the cross.
How little does this look like it I Thou
canst not save Thyself, but art pitifully
given up to the vengeance of the laws."
We are apt to think of those revilers,
as if they believed and knew all that we
now do. Not believing Jesus to be the
Messiah, they thought that His death
was a certain proof that He was an im
postor. Many of those who reviled
Jesus, were bad men ; but some proba
bly, in all honesty, thought they were
doing God service, and afterwards like
the thief, or Saul of Tarsus, repented
and believed. It was the suspicion and
derision of the good which was hardest
to be borne.
42, 43. He saved others, Sec. He may
have saved others, for these men could
not deny but that He had seemed, at
least, to do so ; but they taunted Him
with His inability to save Himself. We
wonder at this savage joy in the Jewish
rulers, but it is easily explained, if we
bear in mind that they were afraid of
Jesus till now. They were doubtless
amazed at their own success, ff If He
be the King of Israel, Sec. As His title
written over His head declares. Jesus
did no miracle, in all His course, on

he cannot save. If he be the
King of Israel, let him now come
down from the cross, and we will
believe him.
43 'He trusted in God: let
him deliver him now if he will
have him : for he said, I am the
Son of God.
44 The thieves also which were
crucified with him, cast the same
in his teeth.

such a motive as this. The same pro
position was made Him by Satan at the
first. See ch. iv. 3, 6. The Christian
should not act on the suggestion of evil
men, as if his faith were at all doubtful
The Jews reviled Jesus for claiming to
be pious and merciful. They showed
themselves to be the opposite. They
prove, as unwilling witnesses, that no
crime could he brought against Jesus,
or they would not have forgotten to urge
it then. 44. The thieves also. At first both
did this. But one of them afterwards
repented. There is no contradiction in
the two accounts. The Gospels were
meant to be a revelation as a whole,
and depend in amicable affiance upon
each other. This example gives us
hope in a late repentance, if sincere.
But three things must be remembered
to abolish a presumption, as dangerous
as it is ill-grounded. 1. The thief is
only one instance in all the cases men
tioned in Scripture. " He was one,
that we should not despair : and only
one, that we should not presume." 2.
The thief had had no other opportunity
or invitation to obey Christ. How then
can they who have been called from
their youth up, pretend to claim shelter
under his example ? 3. The circum
stances were pecuhar. Jesus was in
the act of dying, scorned and derided
by His enemies. Yet in the moment
of His greatest destitution, He conquers
Satan, seizes a soul out of his grasp, and,
by the glorious wonder of faith, saves it
for ever ! ff Cast the same in His teeth.
Reviled Him with the same insulting

336

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

45 Now from the sixth "hour
there was darkness over all the
land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour
Jesus 'cried with a loud voice,
saying," Eli, Eli, lama sabachtha-
a Amos 8. 9. 6 Heb. 5. 7.

speeches. Even such robbers, punished
for their crimes, could find something
to excite their hatred, in an unsuccessful
claim to the Messiahship.
45. Now from the sixth hour. From
twelve o'clock noon, till three afternoon.
The Jews divided the daylight into
twelve parts, ff There was darkness. It
could not have been an eclipse of the
sun, for the moon was then full, and
of course in the opposite part of the
heavens. The causes of it we cannot
assign. The vapors and black clouds
which precede an earthquake, may seem
sufficient ; for even in supernatural coin
cidences God chooses to work by a suc
cession of natural causes. It is sufficient
to the devout mind, to believe that the
one great cause was the death of Jesus.
ff the rationalist chooses to dwell only
on the secondary causes, we cannot pre
vent him. God has allowed him the
power to do so. We believe that the
darkness was supernatural, as much as
the returning to fife of the bodies of those
who had died. Verse 52. He who had
created all things, and by whom they
consist, was then suffering in His mys
terious nature. And as if an outward
frame and body to Him, all nature dark
ens, quivers, and rends in agony. A
Roman writer is supposed to mention it
as a most remarkable darkness, so great
that the stars appeared. ff Over all
the land. Over the land or region round
about Jerusalem. It may have ex
tended over Judea, or further, but the
object of the Evangelist is to teU us
that this gloomy cloud hid the sun from
shining where tiie cross was. As Moses
stretched out his hands, and there was
darkness over all the land of Egypt for
three days, so now when Jesus stretches
out His hands upon the cross, thick
darkness comes down over the land for
the space of three hours.

ni? that is to say, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of them that stood
there, when they heard that, said,
This man calleth for Elias.
48 And straightway one of
c Ps. 22. l.

46. About the ninth hour. Three
o'clock, p. m., when the lamb of the
daily evening sacrifice was offered in
the temple. See also Mark xv. 34-41 ;
Luke xxiii. 45-49 ; John xix. 28-37.
ff Eli, Eli, Sec. Our Saviour uses the
language of the 22d Psalm, but in the
Syro-Chaldaic tongue which was spoken
at the time. He shows by this use of
the Old Testament, that He pays rev
erence to God, even in the agonies of
death. These words are a cry of in
tense suffering. He was deserted by
God, only as He was given up to suffer
and to be persecuted by enemies. If
we compare His glory with this hour
of His ignominy, we will gather some
conception of the manner in which He
was deserted. We may not wonder at
these words, seeing Him " in the form of
a servant," and upon a cross. But we
may not explain that which we cannot
fathom. SayS St. Leo : " The Passion
of Christ contains a sacrament of our
salvation." St. Hillary also calls it the
"sacrament of the Lord's Passion."
We see the outward marks and signs of
suffering, but believe in the invisible
work of sacrifice. Thus the central,
grand doctrine of the cross gathers the
sacraments to itself; and the habitual
use of, and devout education of men
by the sacraments, have alone been able
to preserve inviolate the true faith of
the salvation furnished by the cross
of Christ. Let us not by a useless cu
riosity seek to pierce that darkness, but
rather kneel down and worship, with de
vout thanks for the blessing of salva
tion. 47. This man calleth for Elias. The
mistake may easily have been made by
some one sitting near, as the words re
sembled the sound of the name of Eli
as in Hebrew. It would hardly seem
to have been in mockery. They were

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

337

them ran, and took a sponge," and
filled it with vinegar, and put it
on a reed, and gave him to drink,
49 The rest said, Let be, let
us see whether Elias will come to
save him.
50 T Jesus, when he had cried
a Ps. 69. 21.

now awed by the supernatural darkness.
The boldness which had prompted them
to taunt the Saviour had vanished, and
hearing Him call out, they may have
expected in terror that the fiery proph
et would descend in the chariot of fire
to carry Him away. It is possible,
however, that these words were meant
as a taunt, by some hardened unbeliev
er, whose impudence, the very gloom
which veiled the sun, could not
daunt. 48. One of them ran, Sec. This was
done in kindness, and seems to show
that His enemies had quailed before the
darkness. He had said also, " I thirst,"
whereupon some one ran to relieve it.
Some one filled a sponge with sour
wine or vinegar, such as the soldiers
used, and putting it upon a reed of hys
sop, so as to reach His lips, as He hung
on the cross, gave it to Him to quench
the dreadful feverish thirst which He
endured. St. John says there was set
a " vessel filled with vinegar." It was
for the use of the soldiers. It was prob
ably not so sour and strong as what
now goes by that name, but probably
flat, acid wine. It was not able to
stupefy Him and shorten life. There
fore when it was presented to Him, our
Lord drank of it.
50. Cried again with a loud voice.
He uttered the words, " It is finished "
(John xix. 30), and then, " Father, into
Thy hands I commend My spirit."
Luke xxiii. 46. His work, His agony
was done. His humiliation, the work
of Redemption, the types and prophe
cies, the imperfect covenant of the Mo
saic law, the faith and patience of the
saints, the great power of sin and Satan,
the curse lifted — all were finished. The
New Covenant was complete, perfected,
Vol. I.— 15

again with a loud voice, yielded
up the ghost.
51 And behold, the vail6 of the
temple was rent in twain from the
top to the bottom : and the earth
did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were open-
b Ex. 26. 81 ; 2 Chron. 3. 14.

sealed, ratified, that all who believe in
Him should be saved by holy faith.
'Tis finished — Heaven is reconciled,
And all the powers of darkness spoiled ;
Peace, love and happiness again
Return and dwell with sinful men I
Hymn 66.
ff Yielded up the, ghost. Saxon, gast or
goost, the spirit, the incorporeal sub
stance of the soul. This word is now
used mostly as the title of the third Per
son of the Trinity. The soul of Jesus
was not taken from Him by necessity as
our lives are. John x. 18. He died for
the sins of men. His spirit was that
day in Paradise (Luke xxiii. 43), the
place of departed spirits, which the
Creed expresses by saying, " He de
scended into Hell," that is, Hades, the
place of departed spirits. Ps. xvi. 10 ;
Acts ii. 27. St. Peter says that, " He
went and preached to the spirits in
prison." 1 Pet. iii 9. They were
the saints who, St. Paul says, are wait
ing their final consummation and bliss.
Heb. xi. 39, 40 ; Acts ii. 34.
51. The veil of the temple was rent.
The veil was the covering of rich tapes
try, made according to Ex. xxvi. 31-
33. It divided the temple into two
parts, hiding the Holy of Hohes. It
was rent by the tempest and concus
sion of the earthquake. This signified
the breaking down of the partition wall
between Jew and Gentile, and the
opening the way for all men into the
innermost recesses of the true temple.
Also it signified the opening of those
heavenly regions, that the Holy Ghost
should come down to bless men : and
finally, it showed the desertion of the
temple by the Spirit, and the end of
the Jewish covenant, ff In twain. In-r
to two pieces. About this time of the

338

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

ed, and many bodies of the saints
which slept, arose,
53 And came out of the graves
after his resurrection, and went
into the holy city, and appeared
unto many.

day the priest was burning incense be
fore the Holy of Hohes, and must have
witnessed it. ff The earth did quake.
An earthquake is a violent quaking or
concussion of the earth, accompanied
by fearful rending of it in various pla
ces, and tempestuous winds in the air.
This earthquake is thought to be men
tioned by Roman writers. The rocks
were rent by the concussion. The travel
ler is shown by the monks of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre, the rehcs of this
catastrophe. Among others, the rock
rent between the spot of the Saviour's
cross and that of the impenitent thief
upon the left, as if he had been sepa
rated by the elements from the Saviour.
The rending of the rocks opened the
tombs of certain of the saints, whose
bodies rose again to this mortal life,
just as the bodies of Lazarus and Jairus'
daughter had before done.
52. And the graves were opened.
Graves were generally made in the
faces of the hills which surrounded the
city, being cut into the rock. They
were in many cases laid bare at this
time, ff And many bodies of the saints,
dec. This they did after the resurrection
of Jesus. They did not rise in the
same body in which Jesus rose. He
rose in glory and incorruption, a spirit
ual body, which dieth no more. But
they were probably saints lately dead,
and well known to the Jews. They
died again and are now waiting the
true resurrection of the last day. 1
Cor. xv. ff Which slept. Which had
died. Scripture often uses this gentle
picture of death. Deut. xxxi. 16 ;
John xi. 11.
53. And appeared unto many. These
dead persons, who were recalled to life,
may have been disciples and friends of
Jesus. In His risen body our Saviour
appeared only to the disciples. These

54 Now when the centurion,
and they that were with him,
watching Jesus, saw the earth
quake, and those things that were
done, they feared greatly, saying,
Truly this was the Son of God.

risen saints were therefore subsidiary
proofs to the Jews of the truth of the
resurrection. For however they might
refuse to believe it on the testimony of
the living, they could not well refuse
the evidence of those who had been
dead, and were recalled by the rising of
the Lord Jesus. After they had per
formed their especial mission to bear
witness to this great truth, they, one
after the other, slept again, ff The ho
ly city, Jerusalem. It was so called
because it was the place of the holy
temple where God had dwelt, and to
distinguish it from all places in which
idols were worshipped
54. Now wlien the centurion. He was
a Roman officer over a hundred sol
diers. His duty, on this occasion, was
to watch the bodies of the crucified un
til they were entirely dead. Tradition
says that the rent in the rocks began
near the cross and extended to the spot
where he was standing, ff They who
were with Him. His band, or a large
part of it. It manifests the fear of the
Jews, that they took this pains to watch
Jesus. A few soldiers had sufficed for the
others. But they sent a centurion lest
the disciples or multitudes might rescue
Him from the cross, ff They feared
greatly. Their own ideas of religion
as heathens, would fill them with alarm
lest the Being thus mourned over by
nature, might suddenly destroy them
all. ff Truly this was the Son of God.
There were many of them, and many
exclamations. St. Luke records that
the centurion glorified God and said,
" Certainly this was a righteous man."
The language seems to intimate that he
had some knowledge of the true God.
The words which St. Matthew here re
cords, were used by others of the band
as well as the centurion. We have in
this man a disinterested witness to the

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

339

55 And many women were there
(beholding afar off) which follow
ed Jesus from Galilee, minister
ing unto him :
56 Among which was Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother

divine character of our Lord, which is
invaluable. He was a plain man, a sol
dier and a heathen. He had no preju
dices to mislead him, but, forced by the
wonders which he saw, gave his unso
licited testimony to the divinity of the
Sufferer. 65. Many women. This company of
women, of which frequent mention is
made, were female relatives of the dis
ciples, or themselves disciples of Jesus.
Luke xxii. 49 ; John xix. 25. Their sex
protected them from the dangers to
which men might have been exposed.
It also prevented them from drawing
near. A few only with the Virgin
Mother stood near the cross. They
remained "last at the cross," with the
disciple St. John, to aid him in offering
the last ministrations to the Saviour. It
was fit, too, that the sex, which had ori
ginally led the way to our common
misery, should follow to the last the One,
who had taken flesh of them to expiate
our common sin.
56. Mary Magdalene. Mary of
Magdala, a small town, near the Sea of
Galilee, now called El Medjde. See
Matt. ch. xv. 39 ; Mark xvi. 9. ff Mary
the mother of James and Joses. The wife
of Cleophas, mentioned by St. John
(xix. 25) as with the Virgin Mary. This
settles the fact that she, and not the
Virgin, was the mother of the disciples,
called the brethren of our Lord. The
James mentioned was James called
the Less, to distinguish him from the
son of Zebedee. ff The mother of Zebe
dee 's children. Saiome: Mark xv. 40.
This day, which in its great event is
now closed, is, and always has been
celebrated by the Holy Church
throughout ah the world. It is called
Good Friday, because that it saw the
solemn ratification of that covenant of
grace, by which alone all good comes

of James and Joses, and the
mother of Zebedee's children.
57 If When the even was come,
there came a rich man of Arima
thea, named Joseph, who also
himself was Jesus' disciple :

to us sinners. It is to be observed by
strict fasting and humble penitential
abasement and prayer. We must seek
the humble mind of Jesus, that our sins
may be repented of by us, as they were
expiated by Him. The lessons and
Psalms of, the day, with the solemn
hymns appointed (Hymns 61-67) ought
to he read in connection with this chap
ter. The Christian should abstain from
all labor and worldly care, and hallow
the day, — a day beyond all others filled
with tender and holy associations.
57—60. When the even was come.
About five in the afternoon, before the
sun set. The Sabbath began at sunset,
when labor was forbidden, and when it
was unlawful for the bodies to remain on
the cross. See also Mark xv. 42.-46 ;
Luke xxiii 50-53; John xix. 38-42.
Before this the Jews, scrupulous about
the bodies hanging upon the crosses
(Deut. xxi. 23), begged Pilate to or
der their mutilation, in order that
death might be hastened. The sol
diers examined the bodies, and after
breaking the legs of the two thieves,
who were yet alive, were astonished
to find Jesus already dead. One of
them, in idle curiosity, pierced his side
with a spear, fulfilling prophecy, and
proving the certainty of His death. John
xix. 31-37. %Came a rich man of Ari
mathea, named Joseph. He came to the
cross, and finding Jesus dead, went into
the city to Pilate. Arimathea was the
Ramathaim-zophim of the Old Testa-.
ment, the birthplace of Samuel. 1 Sam. i
19. Joseph was a pious man, and highly
spoken of by the Ev angehsts. He was
" an honorable counsellor " (Mark xv.
43), and " waited for the kingdom of
God," i. e. the coming of the Messiah.
He was a " good man and a just," and
opposed the wickedness of his fellow-
councillors (Luke xxiii. 51), and was,

340

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

58 He went to Pilate, and beg
ged the body of Jesus. Then
Pilate commanded the body to
be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken
the body, he wrapped it in a
clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in his own "new
tomb, which he had hewn out in
the rock ; and he rolled a great
stone to the door of the sepulchre,
and departed.

with an allowed prudence, a disciple of
Jesus. John xix. 38.
58. He went to Pilate. He dared not
remove the body of Jesus without per
mission. He knew the feelings of all
parties, and was probably a man en
titled to the respect of the governor. It
was usual to leave the bodies of those
who were crucified to decay in the places
where they died.
59. He wrapped it in a clean linen
cloth. The body of a dead person was
rolled in swaths of linen. Nicodemus
joined him, and brought with him ser
vants bearing " a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about an hundred pounds weight."
John xix. 39. They adopted " the man
ner of the Jews to bury,' ' but as there was
little time left before the Sabbath (Satur
day) they did it hastily, intending to
supply the other rites on the following
Sunday. For they returned from the
sepulchre and made preparations to that
effect, Luke xxiii. 56 ; xxiv. 1.
60. In his own new tomb, hewn out of
a rock. This tomb stood in a garden
or enclosed place, and was very near the
spot of the crucifixion. It was a new
sepulchre. And judging by the size of
the spot now marked as the sepulchre, it
had room for only n single body. It
had two portions, an outer chamber or
vault, and an inner, which was narrow
and smaller, where the body lay. There
could be no mistake in regard to His
resurrection. It was a solid rock, a
new tomb without other bodies, and
sealed and guarded by soldiers. It was
impossible to remove the body either by

61 And there was Mary Mag
dalene, and the other Mary, sit
ting over against the sepulchre.
Saturday.
62 Tf Now the next day that
followed the day of the prepara
tion, the chief priests and Phari
sees came together unto Pilate,
63 Saying, Sir, we remember
that that deceiver said, while he
a Is. 58. 9.

violence or deception. Thus was ful
filled the prophecy, which seemed so
strange that it should be spoken of one
"numbered with transgressors" (Is.
liii. 9), that " He should make his grave
with the rich." A magnificent church
covers the spot at this day. There
seems little doubt, and no reason to
doubt, that the sacred spot has been iden-
fied by the loving piety of past ages.
61. Sitting over against the sepulchre.
This they did to mark the spot, and to
vent their grief. They remained prob
ably till sunset. The Evangelist men
tions it as a reason, why the women
should have gone alone, and been first
to visit the tomb.
62. Saturday, the Sabbath. Now
the next day, Sec Friday, the sixth day
of the week, was called the day
of preparation ; as all labor for the
seventh was to be done then. Ex. xvi,
22. This year it was the Passover.
The next day after it was the Sabbath,
called by St. John " an high day.
xix. 31. Tie Pharisees went to Pilate
some time during the day to make their
request. Their principles forbade them
doing any labor whatever, such as set
ting the watch and sealing the stone,
until Saturday after sunset. We may-
suppose that they obtained consent on
Saturday, and after the Sabbath closed,
they examined the tomb to see that
the body was safe, and sealed it. '
63. We remember, $c. They had
heard Him say it, or at least heard that
such had been said. Do they not be
tray here a consciousness that they were

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVIL

341

was yet alive, "After three days I
will rise again.
64 Command therefore that the
sepulchre be made sure until the
third day, lest his disciples come
by night, and steal him away, and
say unto the people, He is risen
a Ch. 16. 21 ; 17. 23 ; 20. 19 ; 26. 61. b Dan.
6.17. deceivers, and had all along understood
correctly what Jesus said : " Destroy
this temple (His body) and after three
days I will raise it up ? " ff That
deceiver. That pretender to the Mes
siahship. They thought themselves
now sure that He was an impostor, and
had deceived the people, since they had
no notion that the Messiah could die on
the cross.
64. The last error shall be worse than
the first. They were shrewd in their
malice. That which they called an
error was beyond their control after the
resurrection. They could no longer
conspire against Jesus, nor stop the
spread of the faith.
65. Pilate said unto them. He refused
to be made any longer a party to their
schemes, or to take the responsibility of
guarding the tomb. It was no longer
in his jurisdiction. A danger to the
Jewish rehgion, he, as a heathen, made
light of. He orders them, therefore, to
do as they pleased in it ; that he would
interfere no longer. Had a heathen
governor guarded the tomb, the Jews
might have pretended that he had per
mitted the disciples to steal the body ;
but being themselves the guardians of it,
they have no escape.
66. Sealing the stone. The sepulchre
was shut by a great stone rolled against
the mouth of it. The Pharisees made
it sure by affixing their seals. They
did it in such a way as to be certain of
no cohusion between the soldiers and
the disciples. It was not uncommon to
adopt such a precaution. See Dan. vi.
17. It was the seal of the priests, not
of Pilate, which was affixed to the tomb.
ff Setting a watch. A guard of soldiers
large enough to deter the disciples from

from the dead : so the last error
shall be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye
have a watch : go your way,
make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went and made the
sepulchre sure, 'sealing the stone,
and setting a watch.

attempting to obtain the body. " Ob
serve," says St. Chrysostom, " how,
against their will, they concert to demon
strate the truth, for by their precautions
irrefragable demonstration of the resur
rection was attained. The sepulchre was
watched, and so no fraud could have
been practised ; and if there was no col
lusion, it is certain that the Lord rose
again. Pilate will not suffer that the
soldiers alone should seal. But as though
he had learnt the truth concerning
Christ, he was no longer willing to be
partner in their acts, and says, Seal it
as ye will yourselves, that ye may not
be able to accuse others. For, had the
soldiers alone sealed, they might have
said that the soldiers had suffered the
disciples to steal the body, and so given
the disciples a handle to have forged the
tale concerning the resurrection : but
they could not say this now, when they
themselves had sealed the sepulchre."
CHAPTER XXVIII.
1. In ihe end of the Sabbath, or after
the Sabbath was ended, Saturday even
ing, Mary Magdalene and two others
provided sweet spices, that they might
be ready to go next morning and em
balm the body of Jesus. Mark xvi. 1 .
And St. Matthew takes up his narrative
with that coming of the women to the
sepulchre. It was " very early, being
yet dark ; " somewhere about three
o'clock, A. M., that the two Marys and
Salome left their dwelling. % As it be
gan to dawn. There is great necessity
of discriminating carefully in the ac
counts given by the four Evangelists.
St. Matthew and St. John begin to
speak of the same time. See John xx.
1. All the Evangelists then describe
such events as have struck them, not

342

MATTHEW.

[A D. 28.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
Easter Sunday, March 28th.
IN the end" of the sabbath, as it
began to dawn toward the first
day of the week, came Mary
Magdalene, and the 'other Mary
to see the sepulchre.
a Mark 16. 1 ; Lu. 24. 1 ; John 20. 1.

regarding the exact order of them, and
by no means contradicting the others.
On account of this fact a harmony of
the passages is annexed, ff The first
day of the week. In Greek, the first, of
the Sabbaths. This first day of the
week which we now call Sunday, or the
Lord's day, was the day when the first
fruits were offered in the temple (Lev.
xxiii. 10), from which seven Sabbaths
were counted to the feast of Pentecost.
On this day Jesus rose from the dead,
Hie first fruits of them that slept, the
earnest and surety of the resurrection
of all who sleep in Him. Rom. xi. 16 ; 1
Cor. xv. 20, 23. The fourth command
ment bids us Remember the Sabbath
day, or day of Rest. The letter of the
law requires rest on the seventh day ;
the spirit of it is satisfied with the ob
servance of one day in seven. Who,
then, changed the day ? It is believed
that the Apostles themselves did so,
observing the Lord's day from the first,
and doubtless by our Lord's command.
Ignatius, the first of the Fathers of
the Church, exhorted Christians not to
keep their day of rest with the Jews,
but to live according to the Lord's day.
Pliny, a heathen writer, reports, that
the " Christians used to meet upon a set
day before it was light." This, Chris
tian writers agree, was the Lord's day.
The day of the Resurrection is called
Easter day, from the old Saxon word
oster, to rise. It has been observed by
the Church in all ages and countries.
ff Came Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary. See notes, ch. xxvii 56. The
other Mary was the mother of James
and Joses. (Mark.) Salome attended
them. The other company, of which
St. Luke makes mention, started after-

2 And behold, there 'was a
great earthquake : for the angel
of the Lord descended from heav
en, and came and rolled back the
stone from the door, and sat up
on it.
3 "His countenance was like
b Ch. 27 56. I Or, had been. a Dan. 10.
6 ; Eev. 1. 14, 16.

wards. Being in greater numbers, they
collected more slowly. It does not ap
pear that any of them could have ex
pected to enter the sepulchre until the
guard set by the Jewish rulers was
withdrawn. As the first company set
out the earthquake occurred. They
hastened on to see the sepulchre, ff To
see the sepulchre. It was their intention
also to embalm the body. But they
may have had a vague expectation,
that something unusual would occur,
though they knew not what. They
must have remembered the sayings of
Jesus in regard to the lying in the
grave three days. It was affection
mourning over the dead, rather than
faith in a living Saviour, which brought
them so early to the sepulchre.
2. And, behold, there was a great earth
quake. Or there had been. There was
an earthquake while they were on the
way, the effects of which they saw when
they arrived at the grave. The earth
quake was a fitting sign to accompany
the rising of the Lord. He rose by
force and power. He could not be hol
den of death. Besides this, Jesus did
not suffer the eyes of the profane to
look upon Him after His rising from -
the dead. Therefore He rises with tre
mendous powers and angehc witnesses,
in order to convince the Jews that His
body had not been stolen away, ff The
angel of the Lord. Rather an angel.
ff Sat upon it. This He seemed to do
to the eyes of the soldiers. Sitting
was a significant sign of majesty. The
angel sat, terrible to the keepers. See
Matt. xxvi. 64, and Acts vii. 55. He
rose and was standing, to comfort the
women as they came. And whe n Mary
drew near, she saw, what had beenun-

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVTH.

343

lightning, and his raiment white
as snow.
4 And for fear of him the keep
ers did shake, and became as
dead men.

5 And the angel answered and
said unto the women, Fear not
ye : for I know that ye seek Je
sus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here : for he is ris-

noticed before, a second angel within
the tomb.
3. His countenance. His whole figure
and appearance. We now use it as
meaning the face, "but originaUy it
meant (con-teneo) the whole visible sub
stance. The Greek signifies the same,
" that which was seen " of him. His
visible appearance. Judges xiii. 6.
ff Like lightning. Surpassingly dazzling,
and flashing with terrible beauty in
the eyes of the keepers, like the vivid
ness and blaze of lightning. As an
gelic appearances seem to be assumed
at will, we may suppose them to have
the properties of the most brilliant ele
ments, modifying and changing at plea
sure. Otherwise the same fear would
have terrified the women. But when
they drew near, they saw them only in
mild, comforting, subdued hght, as " a
young man clothed in a long white
garment " (Mark), or as " two men in
shining garments " (Luke), or as " two
angels in white " (John). Similar
changes happened to the risen body of
Jesus. Mark xvi. 12 ; Luke xxiv. 16,
31 ; John xx. 14. xxi. 7. And such
powers seem promised to the spiritual
bodies of the saints. 1. Cor. xv. 44,
48. A spiritual body will sympathize
in every strong emotion of pleasure or
praise which wells up from the soul.
ff His raiment white as snow. White
being naturally associated in our minds
with purity, innocence, and joy, is a
fit emblem of the angels. Says an an
cient writer : " What means this rai
ment when there is no need of a cover
ing ? The angel figures our dress, our
shape, our likeness in the resurrection,
when man is sufficiently clothed by the
splendor of his own body. This angel
confounds the wicked, and comforts the
good." 4. They became as dead men. They
swooned away. This appearance of

the angel might well terrify the heathen
soldiers. Their mythology would prompt
them to imagine that the gods had
come down to punish them for their im
pious deed. The Saviour rose, therefore,
unseen, while they were lying prostrate
around the garden in front of the tomb.
After a time they recover, and flee into
the city, to bear news of this miracle.
They had been set there to keep a, few
men from a theft. They report a por
tentous deliverance, against which they
had no power to contend.
5. There is a pause between the
fourth and fifth verses. For from some
cause unknown, the women did not
reach the sepulchre until about six
o'clock, when the sun was rising. Mark
xvi. 2. If they had remained in the
city, whither they had gone to procure
spices, some on Friday (Luke xxiii.
54-56), some on Saturday evening
(Mark xvi. 1), they may not have been
able to pass tiie gates. They perceived,
as they came in sight of the garden,
that the stone was rolled back. Mary
lalene, thinking that the Lord's
body had been treated with some indig
nity, returns in an agony of grief to in
form Peter and John. Mark xvi. 3, 4.
After she was gone, the other two wo
men entered the outer chamber of the
tomb, and there saw an angel sitting on
the right of the entrance into the inner
chamber, where the body had been laid.
This second angel speaks to them, that
is, to Mary wife of Cleophas, and Sa
lome. Comp. Mark xvi. 5-8. The
vision of two angels described by St.
Luke (xxiv. 1-9), was seen by the sec
ond company of women, who had left
the cross on Friday evening, to return
to the city. It is easy to exaggerate
difficulties and raise objections, and
God seems by his providence to have
left room, in our ignorance of certain
parts of the Gospel narrative, and es-

344

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

en," as he said. Come, see the
place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his
disciples that he is risen from the
a Ch. 12. 40 . 16. 21 ; 17. 23 ; 29. 19.

pecially in this, for those who will not
see, to veil their blindness under spe
cious pleas of reasoning. But the de
vout Christian, who desires to see the
truth, will find all these difficulties
smoothed by a diligent study of the
Gospel in an humble spirit. The slight
discrepancies of style, he would no
more remove, than he would level the
hills, and straiten the banks of a
winding river in the natural world, in
a vain hope to improve the works of
God. These things are all marks of
naturalness, and incentives to diligence.
ff Fear not ye. A usual salutation of
celestial beings, even from the days of
Abraham. Gen. xv. 1 ; Judges vi. 23.
They were alarmed at the appearance
of the angel, though now veiled under
the form of a young man. The human
heart instinctively trembles at any sud
den appearance of spiritual beings.
Job iv. 13-16 ; Matt. xiv. 26.
6. He is risen, as He said. As none
of them had as yet understood what
rising from the dead should mean (Mark
ix. 10), they did not expect the event.
At the same time they must have felt
vague hopes of some unusual appear
ance of Jesus on finding the body gone.
ff The place where the Lord lay. The
angel speaks of the Saviour by that
title of His Majesty by which He is
proved in the fact of the resurrection to
be Lord over all. 1 Cor. xv. 27, 28.
By this He is commonly called in the
epistles, and by the same we hail Him
in all the services of the Church. The
spot where Jesus was laid is affection
ately pointed out by the angel to the
women. Shall we hesitate to express
the holy bond, which this law of all
beings, spiritual as well as rational, has
upon us 1 A skeptical indifference is
now current which disregards the sacred
associations of the life of Jesus. The
guides who conduct travellers through
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on

dead, and behold,* he goeth be
fore you into Galilee ; there shall
ye see him : lo, I have told you.
8 And they departed quickly
b Ch. 20. 19 ; Mark 14 7.

Mount Calvary, never expect a Frank,
i. e. a European or American, to kneel
down in prayer in any sacred spot of
that august temple. The spot now
pointed out as the sepulchre where Jesus
was laid, is at least a correct image of
the original tomb. " It is (see Williams'
Holy City) a four-sided chamber, nearly
square, six feet eight inches long, and
six feet one inch in width. Its vault is
eight feet six inches from the floor.
More than half of this chamber on the
north side is occupied by a kind of altar
or pedestal, two feet ten inches in height,
which covers and protects the real
sepulchral couch where the body of
our Lord was laid. The entrance to
the chamber is on the east, and close to
the side of the altar. This chamber is
asserted to be hewn out of the rock, but
its surface is so covered with ornamen
tal decorations, and blackened with the
smoke of the lamps which are continu
ally kept burning within, that no part of
the rooky surface is visible." Thousands
of pilgrims visit this sacred spot each
year, to see and kneel in the place where
the Lord lay. ff Tell His disciples. St.
Mark adds, tell Peter. It was a mark of
forgiveness to that Apostle, who was
then sorrowing over his sin. The dis
ciples were despairing. As a woman
had led man to sin, so women now bring
them the news of salvation. " Happy
woman ! who merited to announce to the
world the triumph of the Resurrection !
More happy souls, who in the day of
judgment, when the reprobate are smit
ten with terror, shall have merited to
enter the joy of the blessed resurrec
tion ! " — Venerable Bede. ff Into Galilee.
There they had lived together ; there
most of His miracles had been wrought ;
and there were the greatest number of
His disciples. 1 Cor. xv. 6.
8. And they departed quickly. They
hastened to communicate the glad news
to the disciples, ff With fear and great

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVin.

345

from the sepulchre, with fear and
great joy ; and did run to bring
his disciples word.
9 H And as they went to tell
his disciples, behold, "Jesus met
them, saying, All hail. And
a Mark 16. 9 ; John 20. 14.

joy. There is a fear which is easily,
nay, naturally felt with love and joy.
It prepares the mind for them, and ex
alts and purifies them. " In Thy fear,"
said David, "will I worship toward
Thy temple." Ps. v. 7. And he speaks
of himself " as devoted to Thy fear "
(Ps. lxix. 38), and describes the wicked
as having " no fear of God before their
eyes." Ps. xxxvi. 1. Keble has beauti
fully paraphrased these words : —
"But when, in gentle spirits, fear
And joy so duly meet,
These sure have seen the angels near,
And kissed the Saviour's feet,"
ff And did run. Knowing the joy
which their message would convey, and
urged perhaps by some fear of the
angel. After their departure, Peter
and John came running to the tomb,
followed by Mary Magdalene. They
examined the grave-clothes, but saw no
vision, and soon left the sepulchre in
utter amazement. Luke xxiv. 12;
John xx. 3-10. Mary remained weep
ing, and as she stooped to look into the
sepulchre, saw two angels who com
forted her. As she turned, the Lord
apeared to her, revealed Himself to her,
and sent ber on a message to His
brethren. Mark xvi. 9 ; John xx. 11-17.
She seems to have met or overtaken the
other women, Mary, wife of Cleophas,
and Salome, and our Lord appeared to
the three.
9. And as they went. They were going
to find the disciples, ff All hail. The
Greek means simply, Hail, Rejoice, used
in the same general sense as the English
words, all hail. They knew Him by
this salutation, and worshipped Him.
¦ff Held Him by the feet. A common
mode of showing reverence. 2 Kings
iv. 37. They embraced His feet in
their hands or arms, to manifest their
affection and joy at seeing Him again,
Vol. I.— 15*

they came, and held him by the
feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then said Jesus unto them,
Be not afraid : go tell my 'breth
ren, that they go into Galilee,
and there shall they see me.
6 John 20. 17; Heb. 2. 11.

and their reverence at His now superna
tural presence. See ch. xv. 25. On
this and other occasions Jesus permitted
persons to worship Him, which He
surely would not have done had He
been only man. St. Peter refused it.
Acts x. 25. Thus " the fellow servant,"
in Rev. xxii. 9. Supreme worship is
due to Christ. And if so, He is God,
whom we worship, since to worship any
creature is idolatry. Ch. iv. 10. The
Prayer Book, in obedience to sound
Scripture doctrine, bids us worship
Christ : " O God the Son, Redeemer of
the world, have mercy upon us, miser
able sinners." And again : " O Holy
Jesus, who hast purchased to Thyself a
universal Church ;" and in the same
prayer we address Him, " O Lord, our
strength and our Redeemer."
10. Be not afraid. All are easily
terrified by that which is unexpected
and supernatural. These first Chris
tians walked among miracles and felt
awed by them. Moreover, they may
have now feared lest it would be wrong
for them to look upon the risen Lord, lest
harm should happen to them. The Jews
were exceeding tender on this matter.
See Luke v. 8 ; Judges vi. 22, 23 ; xiii.
21, 22. Jesus comforts them and gives
them a message to His brethren. He
was not ashamed to call them brethren.
Heb. ii. 11. Says St. Jerome: " This may
be always observed both in the Old and
New Testaments, that when there is an
appearance of any majestic person, the
first thing done is to banish fear, that
the mind being tranquillized may receive
the tilings that are said." ff Into Galilee.
There He met with them by the lake ot
Tiberias. John xxi. 1-14. Afterwards
He appeared to " about five hundred
brethren at once " (1 Cor. xv. 6), as is
thought, on the Mount of Transfigura
tion, and a third time in Galilee, to

346

MATTHEW.

[A. D 28.

11 *[f Now when they were
going, behold, some of the watch
came into the city, and skewed
unto the chief priests all the things
that were done.
12 And when they were assem-

James and all the Apostles. 1 Cor.
xv. 7.
11. Now when they were going. The
women go and repeat these words to the
disciples, but are hardly believed. Their
words seemed like idle dreams. See
Mark xvi. 10, 11 ; Luke xxiv. 10, 11 :
John xx. 18. In the mean time the
soldiers returned to the city, and a part
of them related to the Jewish rulers
what had befallen. They being heathen
men, were more ready to admit the res
urrection, and perhaps would have
carried their report also to Pilate. For
though it was death to a Roman soldier
to be unfaithful on his post, when only
men were opposed to him, it is altogether
likely, that with the signs of the earth
quake to sustain their tale, they would
have found Pilate willing to believe
them. The chief priests believed them,
or they would have searched for the
body at once, and denounced the guard
to the governor, ff Chief priests. An
nas and Caiaphas, and the most import
ant of the priestly order.
12. And when they were assembled with
the elders. The whole Sanhedrim was
convened to consult on what should be
done to meet this alarming difficulty.
The tale of the soldiers was to be silenced
at once. And they were in a strait,
how to prevent its circulation among
all the people. They had said before,
" If we let Him thus alone, all men will
believe on Trim." John xi. 48. When
they begged the guard of Pilate, to pre
vent the disciples from stealing the
body, and pretending that it was risen,
they said, " And the last error will be
worse than the first." Ch. xxvii. 64.
But now the body is gone, — the relics
of a Divine interposition remaining,
every thing tallying with the story of
the soldiers. Why did they not first
seek the spot, and endeavor to trace the

bled with the elders, and had
taken counsel, they gave large
money unto the soldiers,
13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples
came by night, and stole him
away while we slept.

perpetrators of the deed ? They evi
dently believed the soldiers, believed
that it had come true, in some super
natural manner, that Jesus had broken
out from the grave, as He had before
rescued Lazarus. Hypocrites to the
last, we take leave of them in this Gos
pel, as buying a falsehood, and pre
ferring a weak lie to the Jruth. The
writer has drawn their cha'jacters with
consistency from first totlast. ff Large
' money. A large amount of money.
They were obliged to offer a great bribe,
for it would have been dangerous to the
soldiers to have their story heard in cer
tain quarters.
14. The governor's ears. To the
knowledge of Pilate. He would soon
leave Jerusalem for Csesarea again, and
forget that such a guard had been set.
And unless the chief priests had com
plained of the soldiers, they could have
denied the whole story. And again, the
Roman governor despised the Jews, and
would not easily have listened to accu
sations against any of his own nation
from Jews. On these accounts it be
came safe for the soldiers to commit
this act. Had Pilate truly believed that
any of his soldiers had slept upon guard,
and suffered men to steal away a body
which they had been set to watch, he
would, according to the Roman laws,
have put them to death without mercy.
15. Saying, Sec. Their story was ab
surd. For it was an unheard of thing
for a Roman guard to sleep on their
post. H they were asleep, as they said,
how did they know that the disciples had
done it ? Or granting that they only
supposed so, how could the disciples
have rolled away the stone, which was
large and heavy, without awakening
them ? And if the disciples had wished
to steal the body, why did they not do
so on the evening of Friday, when there

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVHI.

347

14 And if this come to the gov
ernor's ears, we will persuade
him, and secure you.
15 So they took the money,
and did as they were taught : and
this saying is commonly reported
among the Jews until this day.

were no spectators ? It was in their
hands then, for they buried it. A bribe
would have made any soldier left by
chance, silent for ever. If the disciples
had stolen it, they would never have
stopped in the midst of a Roman guard,
to strip it, and lay the clothes away in
order. The body was covered with
glutinous spices, which made the grave-
clothes adhere. It would have been a
work of time to remove them. Their
story was improbable. They are un
willing witnesses to one fact, that the
body was not in the grave. We turn to
the disciples, and find abundant proofs
that they were able and honest witnesses
to the true story of its resurrection.
But thus does God permit a false opin
ion to follow and mimic every truth,
as if He would always suffer men to
choose between the two. If the false
hood was allowed them, and yet our
Lord did not reveal Himself to all the
Jews to refute it, but only to those who
loved Him, we must watch for the same
duplicities now, and beware lest, being
led by unbelief to choose the untrue doc
trines of heresy and schism, we lose the
knowledge of the truth.
15. Among the Jews. The Christians
and Jews had separate interests at the
time St. Matthew wrote. The latter
were enraged at the spread of the Gos
pel, and struggled to put it down, ff Un
til this day. The day or time when this
Gospel was written, which was not many
years after the resurrection.
16. Then the eleven disciples. Judas
was dead, and was no more numbered
with them. This meeting was in April.
Jesus had appeared the same day that
He rose, to two disciples on the road to
Emmaus, a village about seven and a half
miles from Jerusalem. Mark xvi. 12, 13 ;
Luke xxiv. 13-32. They immediately

April.
16 If Then the eleven disciples
went away into Galilee, into a
mountain where Jesus had ap
pointed them.
17 And when they saw him,

returned to Jerusalem, and all the dis
ciples being assembled except Thomas,
Jesus appeared and convinced them of
His resurrection. Luke xxiv. 33-48.
Thus ended the first Easter Sunday.
March 28. On the following Sunday
Jesus appeared to the eleven (Mark
xvi. 14 : John xx. 26-32), again at
the sea of Tiberias, and then as St.
Matthew here relates, ff Into a moun
tain where Jesus had appointed. See ch.
xxvi. 32. As none of the Evangelists
declare which mountain was appointed,
it is impossible to decide it now. Tra
dition points out, with great consistency,
Mount Tabor, on which Jesus had ap
peared in the form of His glory to the
three disciples. Ch. xvii 1. Upon that
mountain He again appears to " above
five hundred brethren at once." It
gives us a goodly idea of the numbers
ready to form the Church. After this
event the eleven returned to Jerusalem.
Jesus remained on earth, being seen at
various times for forty days, teaching
the Apostles how they were to organize
and administer the government of the
Church. Acts i. 3. And on the fortieth
day (May 6, Thursday), He led them
out to the Mount of Olives, and having
blessed them, He ascended into heaven.
17. But some doubted. Among whom
was Thomas, one of the eleven. They
doubted at first, until they saw Him and
were convinced. It was for the con
firming the faith of the Church, that
some were allowed to doubt. If they
had adopted the belief with unnatural
eagerness, we would now be in danger
of doubt. But when they were hard to
believe, and required evidence of the
most satisfactory kind to establish the
fact of the Resurrection, they established
it on a basis of proof, which cannot be
overthrown. The fact of the Resurrec-

348

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

they worshipped him : but some
doubted.
Mat.
18 And Jesus came, and spake

tion was a strange one. It had no other
like it. The daughter of Jairus, the
widow's son, Lazarus and the saints,
whose graves were opened by the earth
quake on Good Friday, were only revivi
fied, and recalled to this life. But Jesus
rose to the incorruption, glory and power
of an endless life, in "a spiritual body."
The rules which His body obeyed seemed
unaccountable and mysterious. He par
took of food and liquids, which a mere
spirit could not do. He could be han
dled, as a spirit could not be. Luke xxiv.
39. But on the other hand, where did
He dwell ? He passed into rooms, whose
doors were shut for fear of the Jews ;
appeared in a form unknown to two
going to Emmaus ; in another form-, as
St. Mark (ch. xvi. 12) calls it, His body
ascended into the heavens, doubtless by
its spiritual attractions toward the throne
of God, but against the usual laws of
natural bodies. It was not a body like
ours, though sprung from the natural
body, as St. Paul reasons. 1 Cor. xv.
And in the first accounts of His risen
body, it was beyond reason that all the
Christians should credit it at once. The
Holy Spirit was not yet given them.
They had only natural reason to guide
them. They were docile and willing,
but very imperfect still. It was, there
fore, no strange thing, but only a plain
necessity that some would doubt. This
does not, perhaps, excuse them entirely,
but it explains their doubt. Jesus gra
dually, the Spirit at Pentecost, finally,
removed their doubts. The Resurrec
tion is a vital doctrine of Christianity.
It is found in all the creeds : 1. In the
fact that Christ " rose again from the
dead, according to the Scriptures." 2.
The belief in the resurrection of the
bodies of all saints. ' ' I look for the
resurrection of the body, and the hfe of
the world to come " — that is, the incor
ruptible life of that spiritual body. See
Article IV. " Christ did truly rise

unto them, saying, "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in
earth. a Dan. 7. 13, 14; Ch. 11. 27; 16. 28; Lu. 1.
82; 10.22; John 8. 35; 5. 22; Acts 2. 86;
Rom. 14. 9 ; Eph. 1. 10, 21 ; Heb. 1. 2 ; 2. 8.
again from death, and took again His
body, with flesh, bones, and all things
appertaining to the perfection of man's
nature, wherewith He ascended into hea
ven, and there sitteth, until He return
to judge all men at the last day." The
preaching of the clergy, the faith of
Christians, the forgiveness of sins, the
veracity of the Gospel, the hope of a life
in heaven — all centre upon this fact and
doctrine. 1 Cor. xv. 14, 17; Rom. iv.
25 ; i. 4 ; Acts i 21, 22. So important
a fact is grounded on the deductions of
right reason, and the evidence offered to
the natural mind. A continual witness
and evidence to the fact and doctrine is
found in the Church of Christ. 1 Tim.
iii. 15, 16. The doctrine and testimony
are proclaimed to all men by this contin
ual witness. For she could not exist and
work successfully, as she is doing in all
the world, conquering enemies and bless
ing nations, except by the behef that
Christ now lives and aids her. He proves
His resurrection, by being with those
whom He has commissioned to preach
the Gospel, and whose commission He
attests, by making men willing and
obedient to the faith, and by their faith
overcoming falsehood and sin. This
great subject is annually held up to us,
in the festival of Faster. The reader is
referred to the Prayer Book for the ser
vices for Easter, and the Monday and
Tuesday following. Naturally, there
fore, after the narrative of the Resurrec
tion, St. Matthew concludes with that
which has witnessed it to all ages and
nations of the world — the Ministerial
Commission. 18. All power is given unto Me in
heaven and in earth. Power to do all
the work of mediation and grace be
tween God and men. Our Lord, as He -
was the Son of God in His divine nature,
had from eternity Almighty power.
John i. 3 ; Coll. i. 16, 17 ; Heb. i. 8.
And all power, in an absolute sense,

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVHI.

349

19 H "Go ye therefore and 'teach
all nations, baptizing them in the
a Is. 52. 10; Acts 2. 38 ; Col. 1. 23.
cannot be attributed to Him in His
human nature, for it cannot be possessed
and used by any creature. But He
claims all power in His Person as Christ,
both God and man. For after His obe
dience imto death, and His sacrifice on
the Cross, He became the Mediator, the
one authorized to stand between God
and man. See Article II. " The two
whole and perfect natures, that is to say,
tho Godhead and manhood, were joined
together in One Person, never to be
divided, whereof is one Christ, very God
and very man." To this adorable Per
son was all power now committed, that
He should be Prophet, Priest, King,
Mediator, LatercessOr, and Saviour of
His people, and Judge over all created
beings. John v. 22, 23 ; 1 Cor. xv. 25-
27 ; Eph. i. 20-23 ; Phil. ii. 9-11. The
corresponding passage of St. John (ch.
xx. 21-23) reads, "As my Father hath
sent Me, so send I you." Thus does He
give them a commission founded upon
His own, to do the work in its applica
tion to men in every age, which He be
gan and made possible in His own
Person. 19. Go ye therefore. Three things
are given in this charge of the Lord
Jesus. 1. Teaching. Under which are
included all kinds of instruction fitting
men for initiation in the Church here on
earth. The word in Greek means, as
the margin renders it, making disciples.
2. Baptizing in the name of the Trinity.
This includes by consequence all sacra
mental means of uniting men to Christ.
These are put into the hands of the
ministry. It is unlawful and wrong
that they should be done by any who
have not a clear Apostolic commission.
3. Teaching Christians in the Church all
things whatsoever Christ hath commanded.
This includes aU instruction and disci
pline in the Church. And two promises
are made. 1. To be with them, that
their power and authority over the
Church should never cease, which power
is still exercised by all Christians, obey-

name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost ;
|| Or, make disciples, or, Christians of all
nations.

ing, 1st, the Apostolic writings or the
New Testament, and 2d, the Apostolic
traditions, such as are clearly proved
by certain proofs of history. 2. To be
with ministers of the -Apostolic succession
to the end of time. They claim this
promise, whose commission is proved
by " Scripture and ancient authors."
" And to the intent that these orders
may be continued and reverently used,
and esteemed in this Church, no man
shall be accounted or taken to be a law
ful Bishop, Priest or Deacon in this
Church, or suffered to execute any of
the said functions, except he be called,
tried, examined and admitted thereunto
according to the form hereafter follow
ing, or hath had Episcopal Consecration
or Ordination." — Preface to Ordinal in
Prayer Book. In the prayers of the
Office for the Institution of Ministers
into parishes or Churches, there are two
which plead the promises made to the
" divers Orders" of " Ministers of the
Apostolic succession." See Additional
note, ff Therefore. Because all power is
given to Me as Mediator and Head of
the Church, go bear the blessed news to
others, and in full faith in that power
sustaining you, impart to men the gifts
of grace. No man can claim the minis
terial commission, but on this promise,
and Therefore. For but two proofs are
possible. One is perpetuity and succes
sion from age to age. The other is mira
cles. St. Paul had not the former
proof, but he had the latter. He worked
miracles. Since miracles have ceased,
the continual teaching of the Church is,
that the other proof is absolutely neces
sary to the validity of a commission to
preach and baptize. The Apostolic suc
cession is claimed and valued by all
who can trace their orders back to this
promise to the Apostles. It is rejected
by those who believe that their own
wills or a majority of votes are alone
sufficient to make them Ambassadors
to their constituents, ff Teach all nations.
Or make disciples of all nations. This

350

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

20 Teaching them to observe
all things'* whatsoever I have
commanded you : and lo, I am

includes all ages as well as all sexes.
Children are a part of nations, as also
are women. Though infants cannot be
actually taught, they can be received
into the number o£ disciples by baptism.
See Article XXVII. ff Baptizing them.
Administering to them who are taught
to repent and believe the creeds and
purpose a new life, the seal and means
of forgiveness of sin and adoption into
the Church, and all the gifts of grace
necessary to salvation. See the exhor
tations in the Offices for Baptism, and
Article XXVII. ff In the name. Into
the faith and obedience of all things
which are taught and commanded in
Scripture by the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost. The name of God is frequently
used as a brief form of expressing all
His attributes and the rehgious worship
which is due to them. Thus Ex. ix. 16 ;
xx. 24. The names mentioned over
the baptized are equally binding upon
them, being, as Scripture shows, names of
the Persons of the Trinity. It is to be
noted that the Liturgy of the Church
has grown out of these three names.
The Creeds have three divisions, to teach
the doctrines which the baptized must
hold concerning each. The Gloria Patri is
the form of worship to each. The
Te Deum and other parts of the service
have followed the same division. They
teach us what doctrines have been held
by the Church in past ages. This form
of Baptism proves the equality of the
Persons ; the word name in the singular,
the unity of nature between them. It
is a sublime doctrine, which we now
speak of by the word Trinity, but it
must be reverently and devoutly studied
See the services and especially the Col
lect for Trinity Sunday. ff Teaching
them to observe. The Lord Jesus re
mained with His disciples " forty days"
after His resurrection, " speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God " Acts i. 3. He now refers to these
teachings, many of them not recorded,

with you alway, even unto the
end of the world. Amen.

a Acts 2. 42.

but acted on ; and also those which are
recorded. No man can cut off the New
Testament from its history, that is,
from the record of facts made by the
early Christians. For he surely ignores
and rejects all that kind of teaching, by
which the Church was founded. He
receives a partial view of the truth.
Scripture contains all things necessary
to salvation. May we, therefore, neglect
every thing else, as useless, because not
of vital necessity ?
20. Lo, I am with you alway. By the
power of a lawful commission, as they
should act for Him, and by the graces
of the Holy Ghost, attesting their work
in saving men from sin and sanctifying
them. This work proves the power and
presence of the Lord Jesus to be with
His ministers. The Apostles exhorted
men in Christ's stead, and governed the
Church in His name. They conferred
spiritual gifts from Him. They, in a
word, did His work, as His mystical
Body in the world for this very purpose.
ff Unto the end of the world. This ex
tends the promise of His spiritual pres
ence to His ministers of every age. The
Apostles soon died. But before their
death they ordained others to carry on
the work. And Christians have obeyed
them in every age in spiritual things ;
not doubting but that they had the law
ful power to speak for Christ in things
sacred. The spiritual presence of Christ
is with His ministry. Our Saviour
soon after this ascended into heaven.
Ten days after the Holy Spirit descend
ed in a baptism of fire, to regenerate
the disciples. They at once saw, as by
a flash of light, ihe whole plan of Re
demption, at whose simplest elements
they had been, in their natural state,
stumbling and confounded. "By as
cending into heaven," says St. Leo, " He
does not desert His adopted, but from
above strengthens to endurance those
whom He invites upwards to glory. Of
which glory may Christ make us par-

f. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVHI.

351

takers, who is the King of Glory, God
blessed for ever, Amen.
Note to verses 18-20, from Bp. Beveridge.
" These words were spoken to the
Apostles and their successors only, as
such ; and, therefore, Christ's presence
with them by His Holy Spirit here
promised, cannot be understood only of
His illuminating or sanctifying or com
forting presence, which He vouchsafeth
to all behevers, as well as unto them ;
but it must be understood in such a
sense as is proper to the Apostles, pas
tors or governors of the Church in all
ages ; which in brief amounts to no
more nor less than this, even that Christ,
having constituted such an office in His
Church for the government and edifica
tion of it to the end of the world, He
here promiseth that He Himself, by His
Holy Spirit, will be always present at
the execution of it, so as to make it ef
fectual to the great ends and purposes
for which it was designed. The Apos
tolical office hath been handed down
from one to another ever since the
Apostles' days to our time, and so will
be to the end of the world, Christ Him
self being continually present at such
imposition of hands : thereby transfer
ring the same Spirit which He had first
breathed into His Apostles upon others
successively after them, as really as He
was present with the Apostles them
selves, when He first breathed it into
them. Insomuch that they who are
thus ordained, are said to be made bish
ops by the Holy Ghost Himself. Acts
xx. 28. By which means the Holy
Catholic Church always hath been and
still is truly apostolical, as it is called in
the Nicene creed. And the several
parts of the Apostolical office are now
as effectually performed by their suc
cessors and others ordained under them
as they were while the Apostles them
selves lived. For it was not the persons
of the Apostles, but their office, influ
enced and assisted by the Spirit of God,
that made the sacraments they admin
istered to be valid, and their preaching
the Gospel so prevalent upon those that
heard it. Though Paul himself plant
ed and Apollos watered, it was God only
that gave the increase. Christ, accord

ing to His promise, being always present
by His Holy Spirit at the administration
of _ the several offices which He has or
dained in His Church, they can never
fail of their designed effect, if the per
sons to whom they are administered be
but rightly disposed and qualified for it.
And since our Lord thus continually
accompanies the Apostles and their suc
cessors, so as to vouchsafe His Spirit to
those on whom they lay their hands,
and to co-operate by the same Spirit
with those who are so ordained by them,
in their administration of the word and
sacraments ; hence He may well, be said
to be always with them, according to
the promise He makes to them. How
much are we all bound to acknowledge
the goodness, to praise, magnify, and
adore the name of the Most High God,
in that we live in a Church, wherein
the Apostolical line hath in all ages been
preserved entire, there having been a
constant succession of such bishops in
it, as were truly and properly successors
to the Apostles by virtue of that Apos
tolical imposition of hands, which being
begun by the Aposties, hath been con
tinued from one to another, ever since
their time down to ours. By which
means the same Spirit which was
breathed by our Lord into His Apostles
is, together with their office, transmit
ted to their lawful successors, the pas
tors and governors of our Church at
this time ; and acts, moves, and assists
at the administration of the several
parts of the Apostolical office in our
days as much as ever. From whence it
follows that the means of grace which
we now enjoy are in themselves as pow
erful and effectual as they were in the
Apostles' days, and if they prove not
always so successful now as they were
then, that cannot be imputed to any
want of efficacy in them, but some de
fect or other in those who use them.
For they who are duly prepared cannot
but always find the same effect from
them, because there is always the same
cause, even the Spirit of God moving
upon His word and sacraments when
administered by our Church, as well as
when administered by the Apostles, to
whom it was first given."

352

MATTHEW.

[A. D. 28.

Additional Note from Dr. Jarvis's Har
mony.
The events of the last chapters of the
Evangelists are related by each accord
ing as they were fixed upon his memory,
or illustrated his subject. There is no
difficulty in reconciling them and making
a continuous narrative, on the common
and fair principles of explaining other
books. The following order of events,
as arranged by Dr. Jarvis, the Historio
grapher of the Church, is lucid and satis
factory :
Friday evening, between five and six, March
26.
Joseph and Nicodemus, followed by
the women, bear the body of Jesus to
the sepulchre. The two Marys remain
until sunset, after the entombing was
complete. Matt, xxvii. 61 ; Mark xv.
47 ; Luke xxiii. 54. The other women
return before the sunset, which was the
beginning of the Sabbath, when no work
was allowed, and prepare spices for the
following week. Luke xxiii. 55-56.
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, March 27i
1. The Pharisees request the sealing
of the sepulchre. Matt, xxvii. 62-65.
2. They seal it at the end of the Sab
bath, after sunset : first, of course, satis
fying themselves that the body was safe.
Matt, xxvii. 66.
3. At the same time, Mary Magda
lene, Mary, mother of James and Joses,
and Salome, went to buy spices against
the next day. Mark xvi. 1.
Easter Sunday, March 28.
1. Near three a. m. the two Marys
left their dwelling, and calling for Sa
lome, were on their way to the tomb.
Matt, xxviii. 1 ; John xxi.
2. About the same time the Angel
descended, and the Lord arose from the
dead. Matt, xxviii. 2-4. The guards
recovering fled.
3. The three women from some un
known cause (may not the closed gates
of the city have been a sufficient cause ?)
reached the sepulchre about six a. m.
They see the stone rolled back, and Mary
Magdalene returns to tell Peter and John.
Mark 2-1 ; John xx. 1, 2.
4. The other two women enter the

and see the angel within.
Matt, xxviii. 5-8 ; Mark 5-8.
5. Peter and John came after their
departure, followed by Mary Magdalene.
The two disciples soon left. Luke xxxiv.
12 ; John xx. 3-10.
6. Mary remained weeping ; saw the
two angels : and then the Lord. Mark
xvi. 9 ; John xx. 11-17.
7. She then joined the other Mary
and Salome : and the three saw the Lord.
Matt, xxviii. 9-10.
8. The other band of women, who
had come from Galilee, being in greater
numbers, had collected more slowly, now
came and saw the two angels. Luke
xxiv. 1-9.
9. The women being assembled, re
late these things to the disciples, who
doubt. Mark xvi. 10—11 ; Luke xxiv.
10, 11 : John xx. 18.
10 The High Priests plot to make a
false tale. Matt, xxviii. 11-15.
11. Afternoon of Easter Sunday. Two
disciples on their way to Emmaus, were
met by Jesus. Mark xvi. 12, 13 ; Luke
xxiv. 13-32. They return at once to
Jerusalem, and
12. The disciples hearing from them
their story, inform them in turn that
the Lord had appeared to Peter. Luke
xxiv. 33-35.
13. Jesus appeared in their midst.
Luke xxiv. 36-38 ; John xx. 19-20.
Thus ended Easter Sunday.
1. During the week Thomas doubted,
and on the following Sunday, April 4,
our Lord appeared again to the eleven.
Mark xvi. 14 ; John xx. 26-31.
2. Our Lord was seen on the shore
of Tiberias. John xxi. 15-25.
3. Again on a mountain (Mt. Tabor)
in Galilee to the eleven and to above five
hundred brethren at once. Matt, xxviii
16-17 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6.
4. He was seen of James (who was
to be first to follow Him. Acts xii. 2), and
of aU the Apostles. 1 Cor. xv. 7.
May. Our Lord remained on earth
"forty days'' (Acts i. 3), giving com
mands to the disciples. Matt, xxviii.
18-20; Mark xvi 15-18; John xx.
21-23. 5. Holy Thursday, May 6th. Forty
days after the resurrection our Lord led

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XXVIH.

353

them out to the Mount of Olives and
ascended into Heaven. Mark xvi. 19 ;
Luke xxiv. 50-53 ; Acts. 1-2.
'6. Matthias was chosen to the place
of Judas, probably on Sunday, May 9th.
7. May 16. Pentecost, or Whit-
Sunday. The disciples were commanded
to await the event of this day. Luke
xxiv. 4-9 ; Acts i. 4-8 ; ii.

After which they went forth and
spread the Church of Christ, the blessed
gift of the Saviour, to us sinful men.
Mark xvi. 20.
8. Jesus appeared after this as in
heaven to St. Stephen (Acts vii. 56) ;
was heard from thence by Saul of Tar
sus (Acts viii. and xxvi.) ; and in vision
to St John. Rev. i. 2-20.

" Grant, 0 Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of Thy blessed Son
our Saviour Jesus Christ, so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections, we
may be buried with Him ; and that through the grave and gate of death we may
pass to our joyful re'Surrection, for His merits, who died, and was buried, and
rose again for us, Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

" Almightt God, who showest to them that are in error the hght of Thy
truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness ; grant
unto all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they
may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such
things as are agreeable to the same, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

" Keep, we beseech Thee, 0 Lord, Thy household the Church with Thy per
petual mercy: and because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall,
keep us ever by Thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things pro
fitable to our salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. * "

Amen.'

PKEFACE

GOSPEL AOOOEDING TO ST. MARK.
Very httle is known of St. Mark. He was the companion of St. Peter, had
been converted by his efforts, and under his direction wrote this Gospel in Greek
for the Gentile Christians at Rome and elsewhere. He is the John-Mark, men
tioned Acts xii. 12, and in Colossians iv. 10. He was nephew to Barnabas,
whom he accompanied on the mission to Antioch as far as Perga in Pamphylia.
Acts xiii. A sharp contest arose between Paul and Barnabas on his account,
but the former speaks kindly of him in his Epistles. 2 Tim. iv. 11. Afterwards
he became the companion of St. Peter (1 Pet. v. 13), and remained with him till
his death in Rome. He then went to Alexandria, in Egypt, estabfished the
Church there, and suffered martyrdom at the hands of a heathen mob, in the
eighth year o Nero, A. D. 62.
The date of this Gospel is uncertain, varying through twenty years, A D.
45-65. It is unimportant, for we find the early Church using it, and esteeming
it authentic. " Tiie uniform testimony of the Fathers gives it for us the sanction
of Peter's authority." — Barnes. Tertullian calls it " The Gospel according to
Peter." So that St. Mark, though no Apostle, comes to us authorized by that
eminent man.
The Gospel is brief. It seems at times an imitation of St. Matthew's ; but
is, beyond doubt, an independent witness. It omits many things recorded in the
other, and being written for Gentiles, was put into the smallest compass, and ex
plains Jewish phrases and localities for their information. Above thirty circum
stances are mentioned which are not noticed by the other Gospels. Omitting
lesser matters, there are only twenty-four verses, in which it mentions matters
not contained in the others. The Feast of St. Mark occurs April 25. See Prayer
Book.

COLLECT FOR ST. MARK'S DAY.
" 0 Almighty God, Who hast instructed Thy Holy Church with the heavenly
doctrine of Thy Evangelist Saint Mark, give us grace, that being not like chil
dren carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the
truth of Thy Holy Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lokd. Amen."

GOSPEL ACCOEDESTG TO ST. MAEK.

CHAPTER I.
THE beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ the "Son of
God: 2. JAs it is written in the
prophets, Behold, I send my mes
senger before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee.
3. "The voice of one crying in
the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. 4 John did baptize in the
wilderness, and preach the bap
tism of repentance "for the re
mission of sins.
a Matt. 14. S3. b Mai. 8. 1. c Is. 40.
8. d Matt. 8. 1 ; Lu. 8. 8 ; John 8. 28. 1 Or,
unto. e Lev. 16. 40-42. /Lev. 11. 22 ;

CHAPTER I.
1. The beginning of the Gospel, dec.
This is the title of the book. An ancient
writer usually named his subject in some
such abrupt way as this. St. Mark does
not begin with the birth of Jesus, as St.
Matthew had done. The latter, writing
for the instruction of his own people,
described the birth of Jesus, and the
various prophecies which were fulfilled
by it. This argument from prophecy,
would be of great weight with Jews.
But St. Mark, writing to the Gentiles,
who knew nothing of these prophecies,
does not dwell on them. He aimed to
be brief. He opens with this abrupt
sentence, as if to say, " Reader, listen ;
I make a beginning in putting before
your eyes at once the Gospel, or glad
news of the Son of God — that He was
Jesus Christ." ff Jesus Christ, the Bon

5 And there went out unto
him all the land of Judea, and
they of Jerusalem, and were all
baptized of him in the river of
Jordan8 confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with
camel's hair, and with a girdle of
a skin about his loins ; and he did
eat •'locusts and wild honey ;
7 And preached, saying,
"There cometh one mightier than
I after me, the latchet of whose
shoes I am not worthy to stoop
down and unloose.
8 I indeed have ''baptized you
with water ; but he shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost.
Ps. 81. 16. g John 1. 27; Acts 13. 25. h Joel
2.28; Acts 1.5; 11.16.

of God. These words are put in appo
sition. This is his subject, to show by
the narrative of certain events, and
teachings of Jesus Christ, that He was
the Son of God.
2, 3. As it is written by the prophets.
The prophets Isaiah and Malachi have
thus spoken of John. See Is. xli. 3 ;
and Malachi iii. 1. The reader will
find similar passages of the two Gospels
explained in the notes of the former, to
which references are made.
4. John did baptize. " St. John the
Baptist commenced his ministry on the
great day of atonement, the 10th of the
Jewish month. Tisri, or the 29th of Sep
tember." Jesus came to him to be bap
tized on the 6th January following,
A.D. 25. True Era, 31.— Dr. Jarvis.
5-8. See notes Matt. iii. 3. 5, 6, 4, 11.
9-11. See notes, Matt. iii. 13-17.

356

MARK.

[A. D.

9 And it came to pass in those
days, that Jesus came from Naz
areth of Galilee, and was "bap
tized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming
up out of the water, he saw the
heavens 'opened, and the Spirit
like a dove descending upon him.
11 And there came a voice
from heaven, saying, 'Thou art
my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.
12 And immediately the Spirit
driveth him into the wilderness.
13 "And he was there in the
wilderness forty days tempted of
Satan ; and was with the wild
beasts ; and the angels minister
ed unto him.
a Matt. 3. 13 . Lu. 8. 21. II Or, cloven or
rent. b Ps. 2. 7. a Lu. 4. 1, &c.

14 Now after that John was
put in prison, d Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the "gospel of
the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, ¦'The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand : repent ye, and be
lieve the gospel.
16 Now "as he walked by the
sea of Galilee, he saw Simon, and
Andrew his brother, casting a
net into the sea : for they were
fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them,
Come ye after me, and I will
make you to become fishers of
men. 18 And straightway they for
sook their nets, and followed
him.

d Matt. 4. 23. e Lu. 8. 1. /Dan. 9. 25 ;
Gal. 4 4 ; Eph. 1. 10. g Matt. 4. 18 ; Lu. 5. 4

12, 13. The Spirit driveth Him. With
the consent of His own will. This was an
unusual impulse of the Holy Ghost, con
trolling His human will. This Divine
inspiration was known to the Jews, as
appears from the remonstrance of Oba
diah to Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 12), and
the opinions of the prophets. 2 Kings,
ii. 16 ; Ezek. iii. 12 ; Acts viii. 39. It
was this supernatural impulse which led
Jesus into those dreadful solitudes. The
Holy Spirit left free His own will, but
manifested itself by a sufficient control
to demand of Him only obedience.
ff With the wild beasts. The scene of
the Temptation was a dreadful solitude
of rough rocks, mountains and ravines,
unfit for the dwellings of men, and oc
cupied only by the wild beasts. When
St. Mark differs from the former Gospel,
he adds some graphic and striking fea
ture to the picture. Satan, whose na
ture has been pictured to our imagina
tions by wild beasts, first used these
inferior agents to daunt the mind of
Jesus, before he appeared in person.
ff The angels ministered. This hap
pened after the enemy had been resisted

and driven off, as is related by St. Mat
thew, iv. 11.
14. Now after that John, dec. The
temptation occurred iu February ; the
imprisonment of John by Herod Anti
pas, and its consequent events, in the
December following. See Matt. xiv. 3.
ff Jesus came into Galilee. Supposing
Him to be at Jerusalem, at the feast of
the Dedication (Dec. 1-8), St. Mark re
presents Him as leaving it to return to
Galilee. John iv. 3. All danger ot
division among the first disciples was
prevented by the timely removal ol
John. He was imprisoned by Herod
Antipas. 15. The time is fulfilled. The Christ
is present. The time for His appearing,
which was marked out in the prophets,
has expired. See Dan. ix. 25. St. John
had just before announced it as about to
end, and Jesus now declares it as passed.
ff The kingdom, Sec. See Matt. iii. 2.
ff Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.
Says Bishop Beveridge : " Let us ob
serve from this text the necessary con
nection which subsists betweenfaith ana
repentance. They are both necessary

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER I.

357

19 And when he had gone a
little further thence, he saw
James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother, who also were
in the ship mending their nets.
20 And straightway he called
them: and they left their father
Zebedee in the , ship with the
hired servants, and went after
him. 21 And they went into "Caper
naum ; and straightway on the
sabbath-day he entered into the
synagogue and taught.
a Matt. 4. 18 ; Lu. 4. 31. b Matt. 7. 28.

to salvation : repentance, because with
out it we cannot go to Christ ; and faith,
because without it we can receive no
benefits from His atoning merits. Faith
without repentance, is nothing but a
groundless presumption ; and repent
ance, without faith in the merits of our
Redeemer, can avail nothing to our
salvation ; we must not only repent, but
we must believe the Gospel."
16-20. See notes, Matt. iv. 18-22.
21-27. See also Luke iv. 31-37.
21. Went into Capernaum. His
own city. It was situated on the west
ern shore of the sea of Galilee. See
note, Matt. iv. 13. ff On the Sabbath.
The original word is in the plural, seem
ing to imply that He was in the habit
of doing this. The event following of
course happened on one particular Sab
bath, immediately after His return from
Judea. ff Synagogue. See note, Matt.
iv. 23.
22. He taught them, dec. See note,
Matt. viii. 29. The teaching is mention
ed before the miracle. It points out
the connection between them. Jesus
taught with great power, and while men
were astonished at the clearness of His
applications of their Scriptures, and the
great claims whioh He made upon them,
He confirmed His doctrine before their
eyes, by doing such works as could be
done by Divine power alone.
23. A man with an unclean spirit. See
note, Matt. iv. 24. This man had stray-

22 And they were 'astonished
at his doctrine : for he taught
them as one that had authority,
and not as the scribes.
23 And there "was in their
synagogue a man with an unclean
spirit ; and he cried out,
24 Saying, Let us alone ; what
have we to do with thee, thou
Jesus of Nazareth ? art thou
come to destroy us ? I know thee
who thou art, the Holy One of
God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him,
c Lu. 4. 88, &c.

ed into the synagogue, perhaps in a
lucid interval, or it may be, irritated
and driven by the unclean spirit, con
scious that the great power of God was
about to be manifested in the destruc
tion of the works of the devil.
24. Let us alone. While men are
doubting, evil spirits proclaim His
majesty. The demon uses the plu
ral pronoun, speaking in the name of
all his kind. He feared in seeing Jesus
that the hour had come when they were
all to be remitted to the darkness of tho
abyss, ff What have we to do with Thee ?
An occasional form of salutation, im
plying some hostility or irritation.
Did the unclean spirit utter this urged
by abject fear, and oppressed by the
presence of the Holy One, so repugnant
to his own vile nature ? Or did he aim
in this address, by a feeble malice, to
turn the attention of men away from
the truth which Jesus had been speak
ing f Did he seek to soften the just
anger of Jesus against him, as the
criminal often seeks by cries and
petitions of mercy to escape punish
ment ? It is evident that he meant to dq
harm, for he is rebuked and commanded
to keep silence, ff Art Thau come to
destroy us? "To come out of a man,"
says Theophylact, " the devil considers
as his own perdition ; for devils are
ruthless, thinking they suffer somj
evil, so long as they are • not troubling
men." He dreads the sudden coming

358

MARK.

[A. D.

saying, Hold thy peace, and come
out of him.
26 And when the unclean
spirit had torn him, and cried
with a loud voice, he came out of
him. 27 And they were all amazed,
insomuch that they questioned
among themselves, saying, What
thing is this ? what new doctrine
is this ? for with authority com-
mandeth he even the unclean
spirits, and they do obey him.
28 And immediately his fame
spread abroad throughout all the
region round about Galilee.

of judgment. Heb. x. 27. ff The
Holy One of God. The Messiah. Dan.
ix. 24.
25. And Jesus rebuked him. Spake
sternly to him, and ordered him to keep
silence. In this exercise of power Jesus
claimed a higher authority than the
archangel Michael dared to do. The
latter when contending with Satan said,
" The Lord rebuke thee " (Jude 9) ; but
Jesns rebukes in His own name. He
refused to receive the testimony of this
evil spirit, either, 1. Because the hour
of His glorious manifestation over them
had not yet come. While men were
doubting they would be easily led to
form false notions of His intentions.
He came chiefly to save men from sin.
Miracles and the out-casting of de
mons were to be subservient to this ob
ject. He did not choose then to found
their faith on the witness of wicked
spirits. 2. Or, He may have rebuked
the spirit to manifest the hostility be
tween them. The Jews were too much
inclined to reverence the very madness
of demoniacs, and to listen to their
fanatic ravings. Jesus prevents any
appearance of sympathy between them
and Himself, by rebuking the spirit be
fore He ejects him. The spirit of
fanaticism always exposes men to a
similar danger. God will be worship-

29 And "forthwith, when they
were come out of the synagogue,
they entered into the house of
Simon and Andrew, with James
and John.
30 But Simon's wife's mother
lay sick of a fever ; and anon
they tell him of her.
31 And he came and took her
by the hand, and lifted" her up ;
and immediately the fever left
her, and she ministered unto
them. 32 And at even when the sun
did set, they brought unto him
all that were diseased, and them
a Matt. 8. 14; Lu. 4.88.

ped in soberness, righteousness and
truth, not by the delirious starts and
cries of terror and false excitement.
ff Hold thy peace. Be speechless. The
word means be muzzled, as a brute beast
which has dared to go out of its limits.
26. And when the unclean spirit, Sec
Evil tempers always defeat their own
wishes. If the spirit had passed out
quietly the miracle would not have been
so evident. The people seeing it injnre
and abuse its victim could not doubt.
It also " cried with a loud voice." Jesus
had muzzled him by His word, and as
a brute beast he manifests his anguish in
inarticulate cries of rage. St. Luke (iv.
35) says that the man was unhurt, after
the spirit left him.
27, 28. And they were all amazed, Sec
This was the effect of this one miracle
upon the mindsof the spectators. St. Mark
had before (verse 22) given an instance
of the influence of the teaching of Jesus.
It is in keeping with the brevity of his
narrative. The results of the works of
Christ were such as are here described.
Men were amazed, and questioned among
themselves, what the meaning and end
of these works could be ? what must be
the character of One who could mani
fest this power ?
29-31. See notes, Matt. viii. 14, 15.
32-34. See notes, Matt. viii. 16, 17.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER I.

359

that were possessed with devils.
33 And all the city was
gathered together at the door.
34- And he healed many that
were sick of divers diseases, and
cast out many devils ; and suffer
ed not the devils' to speak, be
cause they knew him.
35 And in the morning, rising
0 Or, to say that they knew Him.

32. And at even. The Jewish day ended
at sunset. The people would not bring
the sick until the Sabbath was over.
The Jews had interpreted the Fourth
Commandment in the strictest sense, as
forbidding every thing which could in
anywise be called labor.
33. And all the city. All the people
of Capernaum. None would be absent
from a repetition of such miracles.
34. And suffered not the devils to
speak. Says Theophylact : " The reason
that He forbade the devils to speak, was
to teach us not to believe (i.e. found
our faith upon) them, even if they say
true. For if once they find persons to
beheve them, they mingle truth with
falsehood." Afterwards (comp. Matt.
viii. 29, 32), in the solitary places of
Gadara, with only His disciples around
Him, He suffered the demons to speak.
35-37. And in the morning, dec. St.
Luke says, "when it was day." Luke
iv. 42. The difference between the
two is only apparent. Jesus arose
before day and went into a lonely place
in the mountains around Capernaum,
and there prayed. St. Luke intending
to relate the effect of His previous
works upon the people, makes no
mention of the previous prayer,
but marks the time when the people
found Him. St. Luke's words mean
literally, " when day was coming on."
ff And depairtedinto a solitary place, and
there prayed. Our Lord, at certain
times sought solitude for the purpose of
refreshing His soul by prayer. See Matt.
xiv. 23 ; xxvi. 36 ; Luke vi. 12 ; ix.
28, 29. We may not intrude upon His
privacy to ask the subject of those
prayers, beyond what has been revealed.

up a great while before day, he
went out and departed into a sol
itary place, and there prayed.
36 And Simon, and they that
were with him, followed after
him. 37 And when they had found
him, they said unto him, All men
seek for thee.

As He was tempted in ah points like as
we are, so did He seek for new supplies
of strength, where alone it can be fonnd.
We may believe that much the larger
part of His petitions were made for His
disciples. In the present instance, He
seems to seek the silence of the solitary
place, and the quiet beauties of the
early morning, to refresh His own soul,
after the scenes of the crowd which
thronged Him previously. He avoided
also the appearance of exciting commo
tions among the peeople. From the
example of our Lord in these lonely
prayers in mountains and other like
places, the Christian may gain argu
ments to incite him to pray in secret,
Before any coming excitement or trial,
he will do weU to fortify his mind
with secret prayer. It gives strength
and grace for every conflipt. After he
has been hurried in the jarrings of
crowds or much business, he will be
wise to retire and regain the proper
temper of humble devotion, which is,
"The Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air."
And wisely will he gather up his resources
by early morning prayer, before he goes
out upon the labors and temptations of
the day. Thus David saith : "My voice
shalt thou hear in the morning, 0 Lord ;
in the morning will I direct my prayer
unto Thee, and will lookup." Ps. v. 3.
37. All men seek Thee. The men of
Capernaum were then searching for Him.
Peter and the disciples find Him, and
exultingly tell Him of the effect of His
words. AU men seek Him. While they
are yet speaking the rest come. Jesus
receives and dismisses them : thus be
ginning that course of discipline, by

360

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

38 And he said unto them, Let
us go into the next towns, that I
may preach there also : for there
fore came I forth.
39 And he preaehed in their
synagogues throughout all Gali
lee, and cast out devils.
40 And there came a "leper to
him, beseeching him, and kneeling
down to him, and saying unto
him, If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean.
a Matt 8. 2; Lu. 5. 12.

which He was at last to teach the dis
ciples, that His kingdom was not of this
world. 38. Let us go, Sec. He would avoid that
kind of popularity which the disciples
sought. The men who were seeking
Him, did it from admiration of His
amazing power. But He will have
them learn another lesson from Him, —
the graces of a true faith. He begins
gently with His disciples, by leading
them away from the temptations to
ambition, and dwelling for a while in
desert places. See verse 45. ff The
next towns. Five cities, or small towns
lay on the western shore of Gahlee,
which was hardly more than thirteen
or fourteen miles in length. " The land
of Genessaret'' was upon it ; a fertile val
ley among the hills, about five miles
long and three wide, ff For therefore
came I forth. St. Luke says, " Therefore
am I sent." Luke iv. 43. These
phrases can belong properly only to
the Son of God, who existing before
His advent upon earth, could be said to
come forth He was sent not to one
small town, but to preach the Gospel to
all, and must seek His hearers in their
homes. 39, And He preached in their syna
gogues. See note, Matt. iv. 2^-3. ff All
Galilee, See note, Matt. ii. 22. ff And
cast out devils. See note, Matt. iv. 24.
40. And there came a leper. See
note, Matt. viii. 1-4. This miracle oc
curred just after the sermon on the
mount, ff Kneeling down to Him. And

41 And Jesus, moved with
compassion, put forth his hand,
and touched him, and saith unto
him, I will ; be thou clean.
42 And as soon as he had spo
ken, immediately the leprosy de
parted from him, and he was
cleansed. 43 And he straitly charged
him, and forthwith sent him
away; 44 And saith unto him, See
thou say nothing to any man;

afterwards falling upon his face, in pro
found humility. Despairingly he repre
sents the desolation of his heart by his
position — the sincerity of his faith by
his prayer, ff If Thou wilt. "Thou
canst do it, I know. But wilt Thou, to
such a wretch as I am ! " There alone
lies the doubt. The doubt bends him
down to the dust, ff Make me clean.
The leprosy was an unclean disease,
legally as well as naturally. It was a
system of foul sores in the whole body,
making the man a sepulchrum ambulans,
or walking sepulchre. It was unclean
by the Levitical law (Lev. xiii. 46),
being the type and " acted parable " of all
deadly sins. David after his sin is sup
posed to have had in mind the likeness
of his state of soul to the disease of the
leper. Ps. Ii. 7.
41. I will ; be thou clean. He echoes
his words in granting his wish. Happy
is the prayer, which words itself thus in
harmony with the will of God. Leprosy
incurable by man was often cured by
God, See Numb. xii. 12-15 ; 2 Kings,
v. 7, 15. Jesus cures it by His own I
will. He claims and exercises in the
act divine power and nature.
44. See thou say nothing to any man.
" Tell no man by the way, but go at
once to the temple." It was important
that he should be declared sound by
the proper authority. Lev. xiv. But
grateful for the cure, he would be
tempted to linger by the way to spread
the news. Engrossed in the mere mira
cle, he would forget the inner meaning

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER II.

361

but go thy way, shew thyself to
the priest, and offer for thy clean
sing those things" which Moses
commanded, for a 'testimony unto
them. 45 But he went out, and began
to publish it much, and to blaze
abroad the matter, insomuch that
Jesus could no more openly enter
into the city, but was without in
desert places : and they came to
him from every quarter.

a Lev. 14. 8, 4,10; Lu. 5. 14.
18; Lu, 21. 13.

6 Matt. 10.

of it — that it restored him once more to
the congregation of the faithful. If he
delayed, evil-disposed persons might
prejudice the priests against him ; who
would, from hatred to Jesus, perchance,
dare to refuse him the blessing of com
munion in the sacrifice of the temple —
a blessing better than even bodily
health, ff Offer for thy cleansing. Two
birds, cedar-wood, scarlet and hyssop,
the usual offerings for those defiled by
touching the dead. Comp. Numb. xix.
6, 13, 18, with Lev. xiv. 4-7. After
eight days, the person cured offered
two he-lambs, and one ewe-lamb, fine
flour and oil. ffi<br a testimony unto
them. The priest having declared, after
his examination in the legal method,
the certainty and completeness of the
cure, would become himself a witness
to the power of Jesus. He would give
his certificate that the man had been
cured. 45. Began to publish it much. We
suppose the man to have been obedient
on the whole to the order to go to
Jerusalem, which was about seventy
miles distant. But he could not control
himself. He told all he met on the
way. ff Could no more openly, Sec
Did not judge it proper to do so, or
could not do so, without encouraging a
crowd to follow Him. Jesus sought
privacy, whenever men sought to make
Him a popular idol, or encouraged
themselves in the notions of a carnal
ambition. When men sought Him for
Vol. I.— 16

CHAPTER II.
AND again he entered into Ca
pernaum, after some days ;
and it was noised that he was in
the house.
2 And straightway many were
gathered together, insomuch that
there was no room to receive
them, no, not so much as about
the door : and he, preached the
word unto them.
3 And they "come unto him,
e Matt. 9. 1, &c. ; Lu, 5. 18, &c

spiritual purposes, He was easily found
by them. But He avoided that kind
of admiration which proceeded only
from a love of miracles, ff The city.
That is, the large town in which this
leper had been cured, and the towns
around it. He sought the places of
retirement, that men, recovering from
the wonder at His miracles, might have
time to ponder their spiritual meaning.
CHAPTER II.
1. Into Capernaum. See note, Matt.
iv. 13. ff After some days. He had
retired to a solitary place for prayer,
probably on the other shore of the lake
of Tiberias, and again He returned to
teach the people. It being His object
simply to avoid the crowds which fol
lowed Him with ambitious or insurrec
tionary motives, He seeks again the
place of His usual residence, ff It was
noised. The villagers spread the news
of His return. " Pharisees and doctors
of the law, which were come out of
every town of Galilee and Judea and
Jerusalem," were waiting to hear Him.
Luke v. 17. It was an important crisis.
These men had gathered to inquire of
His opinions and intentions.
2. So much as about the door. The
door opening into the room, where He
was sitting, ff Preached the word unto
them. It was no common multitude.
Jesus instructs those who are to become
the judges of His claims. But He
taught rich and poor the one Gospel.
We can judge of this discourse only by

362

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not
come nigh unto him for the press,
they uncovered the roof where he
was : and when they had broken
it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their "faith
he said unto the sick of the palsy,
''Son, thy sins be 'forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the
scribes sitting there, and reason
ing in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus
speak blasphemies V who can for
give sins but God only ?
8 'And immediately, when Je
sus perceived in his spirit that
they so reasoned within them
selves, he said unto them, Why
reason ye these things in your
hearts ?
a Acts 14. 9. 6 Prov. 3. 11 ; Heb. 12. T.
o Ps. 82. 1 ; 85. 2. d Ps. 130. 4 ; Dan. 9. 9 ;
those which remain. See Matt, v., vi.,
vii. ; John vi. He, perhaps, sought to
teach these people the awful effects of
sin, in palsying the right efforts of the
soul ; and the new age which was to
come, when faith in Him by the Spirit
of grace, should give them strength to
live again. He claimed to be Messiah,
and proved it by a miracle.
3-12. See notes, Matt. ix. 2-8.
ff Palsy. See note, Matt. iv. 24.
ff Borne of four. Carried by four men,
on some light couch, just as they had
found him lying.
4. Thepress. The crowd. St. Mark
emphasizes the fact of a crowd, to man
ifest the urgency and resolution of these
men. They would not be deterred by
common difficulties. And of course we
suppose the paralytic man himself to
have consented, nay, to have encouraged
them by looks, if he could not by words.
ff They uncovered the roof. See note,
Matt. ix. 2. St. Luke says the tiling.
Noble rudeness is this. They will make

9 Whether is it easier to say
to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins
be forgiven thee ; or to say, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and walk ?
10 But that ye may know that
the Son of man-'' hath power on
earth to forgive sins, (he saith to
the sick of the palsy,)
111 say unto thee, Arise, and
take up thy bed, and go thy way
into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose,
took up the bed, and went forth
before them all; insomuch that
they were all amazed, and glori
fied God, saying, We never saw
it on this fashion.
13 And "he went forth again by
the sea-side; and all the multi
tude resorted unto him, and he
taught them.
14 And as he passed by, he saw
Levi the son of Alpheus, sitting
Eph. 1. 1. 4. e John 2. 24, 25. /Acts 5. 31 ;
John 20. 21-23. g Matt. 9. 9 ; Lu. 5. 2T.

a way to Jesus, when they cannot find
one. 5. Their faith. Theirs as well as his.
Theirs in pushing through such difficul
ties, — his in consenting. Faith shown
in true and honest actions is always
persuasive with God. ff Son. See
Matt. i. 1. The word is one of mercy.
It was usual for Jewish rabbis and proph
ets to use this word to their disciples,
for the relation is a sort of spiritual pa
ternity. And this Eastern idiom is pre
served in the catechism, which ranks
our duty to submit to all teachers, spir
itual pastors, and masters under the
commandment to "Honor thy father
and thy mother." 1 Kings xx. 35 ;
Prov. ii 1 ; 1 Tim. i. 2 ; Tit. i. 4.
12. We never saw it on this fashion.
We never saw any such cure perform
ed in this way.
13. By the sea side. For the greater
convenience of the hearers. The house
had become too crowded.
14. Levi, the son of Alpheus. Or

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER H.

363

.at 'the receipt of custom, and said
unto him, Follow me. And he
arose, and followed him.
15 And it came to pass, that
as Jesus sat at meat in his house,
many publicans and sinners sat
also together with Jesus and his
disciples; for there were many,
and they followed him.
16 And when the scribes and
Pharisees saw him eat with pub
licans and sinners,- they said unto
his disciples, How is it that he
eateth and drinketh with publi
cans and sinners ?
17 When Jesus heard it, he
saith unto them, They that are
whole, have no need of the phy
sician, but they that are sick : I
came not to call the righteous,
but "sinners to repentance.
18 And the disciples of John,
and of the Pharisees, used to
fast : and they come, and say un-
I Or, at the place where the custom was re
ceived, a Is. 55. 7; Matt. 18. 11; Lu. 19. 10.

Matthew the publican. He calls him
self Matthew. Mark and Luke call him
Levi. It was common for a man to
bear two names, ff The receipt of cus
tom. See note, Matt. ix. 9.
15. Sat at meat in the house. Mat
thew gave a feast, perhaps to mark
more significantly his change of fife.
See Luke v. 29. The company was
made up of his friends, publicans and
tax-gatherers. Jesus went with him,
and manifested His humility in partak
ing of the food of men so generally de
spised. See note, Matt, v.- 47. ff Sin
ners. Outcasts of society ; persons who
paid little attention to the customs of
society, and too httle to laws of moral
ity. It was something as if a king
would join in a feast with the beggars
and vagrants of his kingdom.
16, 17. See note, Matt. ix. 12, 13.
18. Used to fast. Were in the habit
of fasting, or going without food and

to him, Why do the disciples of
John, and of the Pharisees fast,
but thy disciples fast not ?
19 And Jesus said unto them,
Can the children of the bride-
chamber fast, while 5the bride
groom is with them ? As long as
they have the bridegroom with
them, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come,
when the bridegroom shall be ta
ken away from them," and then
shall they fast in those days.
21 No man also seweth a piece
of 'new cloth on an old garment :
else the new piece that filled it
up, taketh away from the old, and
the rent is made worse.
22 And no man putteth new
wine into old bottles : else the new
wine doth burst the bottles, and
the wine is spilled, and the bot
tles will be marred : but new wine
must be put into new bottles.
b Matt 25. 1. c Acts 13. 2. || Or, raw
or unwrought.

drink for religious ends. See note,
Matt. ix. 14 ; Luke v. 33.
19-22. See note, Matt. ix. 15-17.
23-28. See notes, Matt. xii. 1-8. The
cornfields. Not as we in America
would understand, fields of maize, or In
dian corn, but fields of wheat or bar
ley. The smaller grains they could rub
in their hands, and separate from the
husk and so eat them, ff Began to
pluck. They were hungry. The laws
of Moses allowed any traveller to satisfy
his hunger in passing the fields of others,
provided he did not carry any part
away. Deut. xxiii. 25. The Phari
sees objected that the act was unlawful
on the Sabbath day ; they did not con
demn it as unlawful on any other day.
It was labor, and labor of any sort on
the Sabbath was wrong, according to
their rigid notions.
24. And the Pharisees said. Either
at the time or soon after. Some passer-

364

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

23 "And it came to pass, that
he went through the corn-fields
on the sabbath-day ; and his disci
ples began, as they went, to 6pluck
the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said un
to him, Behold, why do they on
the sabbath-day that which is not
lawful ?
25 And he said unto them,
Have ye never read "what David
did, when he had need, and was
an hungered, he and they that
were with him ?

by, the owner of the field, or others
may have told the Pharisees, and they
seize upon it to make Jesus unpopular.
25. Have ye never read 1 "How per
verse is this opinion of yours, when ye
have so often read the story of a similar
act in the history of the great king
David." See note, Matt. xii. 3.
26. Abiathar the high priest. See 1
Sam. xxi. 1. Ahimelech was the high
priest when this transaction took place.
Abiathar was his son and a priest.
David, sorely pressed with hunger, ask
ed Ahimelech for the bread which had
been used on the shew-tables. It was
consecrated bread, and could be eaten
only by priests. But necessity and
mercy were higher laws, in the opinion
of both David and Ahimelech ; and the
precept was violated in the letter, while
the honor of God was still sacred in the
minds of both. St. Mark says : " The
days of Abiathar the high priest, &c.,"
whereas in the book of Samuel it ap
pears that his father Ahimelech was at
that time in the office. Abiathar was
the more famous of the two. His father
soon died, and he fled to David, after
wards becoming high priest. St. Mark
does not say the days when Abiathar
was high priest, but during his life. As
we might say the Apostle Peter denied
his Lord, whereas he was at the time
only a disciple, not an Apostle, ff Shew
bread. See note, Matt. xii. 4.
27. The Sabbath was made for man.
The object of the Sabbath was the good

26 How he went into the house
of God, in the days of Abiathar
the high priest, and did eat the
shew-bread, which is not lawful
to eat,'' but for the priests, and
gave also to them which were
with him ?
27 And he said unto them,
The sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the sabbath :
28 'Therefore, the Son of man
is Lord also of the sabbath.

a Matt. 12. 1 ; Lu. 6. 1.
o 1 Sam. 21. 6. d Ex. 2!
e Matt. 12. 8.

b Deut. 23. 25.
2, 83 ; Lev. 24 9.

Shew Table, from the Arch of Titus.
of man ; and in promoting that good
we duly honor the day. If cattle
fell into pits, the Jews would labor on
that day to rescue them. Physicians,
nurses and friends may labor for the
sick. Servants may work moderately
for the actual sustenance of families;
though masters should be careful that
all such have one part of the day for
devotion and rest. Ministers labor in
their vocation on that day. Our Lord,
in rescuing the Sabbath from the super
stitions of the Jews, does not permit the
wilful neglect of it. Whenever a people
do carefully observe this law, they are
happy. The custom produces general
blessings; vice hides itself and flees, &
bold are restrained by gentle influences
of piety, and for awhile the whole com
munity is brought under the control of
religion, ff Not man for the Sabbath.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER HI.

365

CHAPTER III.
AND he "entered again into the
synagogue ; and there was a
man there which had a withered
hand. 2 And they watched him, wheth
er he would heal on the sabbath-
day ; that they might accuse him.
3 And he saith unto the man
which had the withered hand,
Stand forth.
4 And he saith unto them, Is
a Matt. 12. 9, &c. ; Lu. 6. 6, &o.

As a rigid, Pharisaical way of observmg
it would indicate. The Lord's day dif
fers in some respects from the ancient
Sabbath. It is a Sabbath, i. e. a day
of rest, but is also much more. It is a
day of joy and exultation. On it Christ
rose, and the Holy Ghost came down on
the Church. The Jews laid great stress
on the idea of rest, and compelled all
to remain inactive. The Christian
would rather look to the joys of public
devotion, and securing that, allow the
innocent flow of thought and feeling
suitable to a joyous day. And parents
may make it a study how far it is right
for them to force their children to
unnatural inactivity or incessant study
on Sunday. If they do so, they may
make the day irksome to them. Good
things are too good to be made uulove-
ly. Try with all holy arts to make the
Lord's day a happy one for children,
that they may love its return, A due
observance of the Lord's day is equally
removed from profaneness and Phari-
seeism. 28. Therefore, Sec. The law-giver
is above the law. See note, Matt. xii. 8.
CHAPTER IH.
1-3. See notes on Matt. xii. 9-13;
Luke vi. 6-10.
4. To do good — or to do evil ? They
were watching an opportunity to find
fault. Jesus establishes a broad princi
ple, by appealing to their consciences.
Which was the better method of keeping
the day, or more acceptable to God, to
save men from the pains of disease, or

it lawful to do good on the sab
bath-days, or to do evil ? to save
life, or to kill ? but they held
their peace.
5 And when he had looked
round about on them with anger,
being grieved for the 'hardness
of their hearts, he saith unto the
man, Stretch forth thine hand.
And he stretched it out : and his
hand was restored whole as the
other. H Or, blindness.
to see them suffer and die : to save life,
i. c. to take proper means for preserving
or restoring to health, or to kill, i. e. to
leave all such to perish by neglect ?
There could be but one answer. They
knew that God was merciful, and that
He was best served by men in showing
mercy. Self-defence, mercy, charity,
necessity may find room, even on the
Lord's day, and the Christian be in no
manner guilty of sin.
5. With anger. With displeasure at
their ill conduct. The passion of anger
is lawful when it is felt against sin, or
even against sinners as such. It is
wicked when it joins to it the selfish de
sire of revenge, or loses sight of a wish
for the change and repentance of the
sinner. The good men of the Bible
have shown and ahowed anger of the
former kind. Ex. xi. 8 ; xxxii. 19 ;
Eph. iv. 26. Anger against sinners is
ascribed to the Lord in a great many
passages in the Old Testament. Deut.
ix. 20 ; 1 Kings xi. 9 ; Ps. vii. 11. In
this purer sense, which alone could be
felt by a sinless being, it is here used of
our Lord. The passion is dangerous in
our sinful souls. We should endeavor
by all means to control it, lest it hurry
us into sin. ff Hardness of their hearts.
Their unwillingness to believe, and to
yield to the suggestions of mercy. The
poor man who suffered from the withered
hand stood in the midst, an object of
compassion — fearful, anxious to be saved
from his calamity. Jesus had appealed
to the very countrymen and acquaint-

366

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

6 And the Pharisees went forth,
and straightway took counsel
with the "Herodians against him,
how they might destroy him.
7 But Jesus withdrew himself
with his disciples to the sea : and
'a great multitude from Galilee
followed him, and from Judea,
8 And from Jerusalem, and
from Idumea, and from beyond
Jordan; and they about Tyre
a Matt. 22. 16. b Lu. 6. 17.

ances of the man, if they will agree to
His curing him. But they, hampered
by a quibble of superstition, give no
answer, and even when convinced of
the falsity of their interpretation of the
law, they are still unmoved. They op
pose only a sullen silence to His reason
ings. Truly their hearts were hard, in
sensible and unfeeling to the lives of
men on one side — to the truth of God
on the other.
6. Straightway. At once, ff Took coun
sel. They consulted among themselves
the best mode of accompfishmg it. ff The
Herodians. See note, Matt. xxii. i6.
7, 8. Withdrew Himself. Went into
the open country by the sea of Galilee,
away from the cities. His hour of suf
fering had not yet come. He avoids the
hostile intentions of enemies. We are
never to throw ourselves needlessly into
the way of danger, ff Galilee. See
note, Matt. ii. 22. ff Judea. See
note, Matt. ii. 1. Jerusalem. This
was the principal city of the country of
Palestine. The citizens looked down
with great contempt upon all who dwelt
in Galilee. It was, therefore, no common
report which drew them in numbers to
hear a prophet of that country. They
came tor different reasons, some as
friends, some to be healed, and some to
find fault with, and oppose the Saviour.
ff Idumea. The general name for the
region lying south of Palestine, once
possessed by the Edomites or descendants
of Esau. Herod the great was an
Idunuean by descent. Many Jews
lived in that country, who heard the

and Sidon, a great multitude,
when they had heard what great
things he did, came unto him.
9 And he spake to his disciples,
that a small ship should wait on
him, because of the multitude,
lest they should throng him.
10 For he had healed many ;
insomuch that they 'pressed upon
him for to touch him, as many as
had plagues. \ Or, rushed.

rumors of Jesus, and came on a pilgrim
age to witness His miracles, ff From
beyond Jordan. From the east side of it.
Originally this territory had been as
signed to the tribes of Reuben, and Gad,
and the half-tribe of Maunasseh. But
in the course of ages the character of
the inhabitants had become much
changed. Many of them were heathen
in the time of the Saviour. The country-
is laid down on the maps under the
names of Iturea and Perea. ff Tyre and
Sidon. The country lying along the Medi
terranean Sea. See note, Matt. xi. 21.
Coming from every quarter they swelled
His followers to a great crowd. And en
couraged by numbers, and the admira
tion at His miracles, they began doubt
less to entertain seditious thoughts.
Jesus provides, therefore, a means of
avoiding them, at any moment.
9. A small ship. A small fishing
boat. There could of course have been
no ships on the smaU sea of Galilee.
The Greek word included all classes of
vessels. Even the largest of that age,
would be esteemed only as small boats
by us. ff Lest they should throng Him.
And by crowding about Him, restrain
the hberty of His movements. He did
not fear danger from the crowd, but
rather He provided that they should
not seem to have the power over His
motions, to make Him appear to con
sent to their plans. Had He come to
be the temporal ruler of His nation, this
would have been a time to assume the
command of the multitude, ff As many
as had plagues. The Greek word means

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER HI.

367

11 And unclean spirits, "when
they saw him, fell down before
him, and cried, saying, Thou art
the Son of God.
12 And he straitly charged
them, that they should not make
him known.
13 sAnd he goeth up into a
mountain, and calleth unto him
whom he would : and they came
unto him.
a Jas. 2. 19. b Matt. 10. 1 ; Lu. 6. 12 ; 9. 1.

14 And he ordained twelve,
that they should be with him, and
that he might send them forth to
preach, 15 And to have power to heal
sicknesses, and to cast out dev
ils. 16 And Simon" he surnamed
Peter. 17 And James the son of Zeb
edee, and John the brother of
c John 1. 42.

The Jews recognized many
diseases to be punishments of sin. And
they witnessed it, by calling diseases,
scourges of God. Many diseases are the
direct punishments of vices; and by
the word plagues, we bear witness to
this fact in a general way.
11,12. Unclean spirits. Evil spirits
which are unclean, and lead their victims
into all manner of sin and uncleanness.
ff Thou art the Son of God. See notes,
ch. i. 24-26. The spirits confessed
Him to be the Son of God, i. e. the
Messiah, the special messenger of God,
who was to appear among men with
divine power and majesty. They did
not desire to make this confession, but
may have been compelled by some un
known influences of His presence ; or
with a malicious art, desiring to do that
which was unfit. Their confessions
would inflame the minds of the people,
and excite them either to seditious
practices, if they believed them, or to
hardness and hatred if they doubted
them. The time had not come for such
a revelation. Men would not yet per
ceive ihe spiritual character of the Mes
siah. But urged on by their hatred
of the Eomans, and by the blind sug
gestions of a carnal mind, they would
only err in judgment and impede His
true work iu the souls of men. Added
to this is the reason stated by the vener
able Bede : " A sinner is forbidden to
preach the Lord, lest any one listening
to his preaching should follow him in
his error ; for the devil is an evil master,
who always mingles false things with

true, that the semblance of truth may
cover the witness of fraud." Jesus
therefore rebukes and silences the evil
spirits. 13-19. See notes, Matt. x. 1-4.
ff And calleth unto Him whom He would.
Such as He saw fit for the work. This
selection was made from all who follow
ed Him.
14. He ordained twelve. The word
ordain contains in it the idea of appoint
ing to a duty or office, in which sense
it is used here. The Apostles were fully
ordained at the descent of Pentecost,
when their graces and powers were made
complete. But three periods may be
marked up to this completion. 1. Their
lesser ordination to do works of power
(see Matt, x), which was in a manner
a diaconate, while their High Priest
was present with them. 2. The great
Commission and inspiration recorded
John xx. 21-23, when Jesus breathed
on them and created them priests though
still overlooked by His supernatural pre
sence. 3. The full unction and conse
cration from heaven to be guides and
stewards, Apostles and Bishops of the
Church. Acts ii. The Prayer Book
terms the act of creating the two lesser
orders ordination, but the higher con,-
secration ; for the two lesser appear still
to have others overseeing them, who
ordain them ; but the higher official
having no superior, is more properly
said to be consecrated to the service of
God. 17. Boanerges. The word is made
up of two Hebrew words. It signifies

368

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

James, (and he surnamed them
Boanerges, which is, The sons of
thunder,) 18 And Andrew, and Philip,
and Bartholomew, and Matthew,
and Thomas, and James the son
of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and
Simon the Canaanite,
19 And Judas Iscariot, who
1 Or, home. a Ch. 6. 31.

that they were impetuous, earnest, zeal
ous and energetic, as if, in the license
of figurative style, they had been born
of the thunder. Naturally they would
have wasted their energies and become
the slaves of passion. Luke ix. 54.
But when restrained and purified by
grace, their powers shone for the beau
ty and edification of the Church. St.
James soon died. Acts xii. 2. But
St. John lived long enough to justify
the appellation. Under all his gentle
ness and holy charity, we feel the im
pulses of a powerful, imaginative and
active energy. The summer clouds roll
up in the blue sky and become, glori
ous in the sunlight. For all their qui
etness they have untold magazines of
electric power in them, and may change
in an instant into bolts of terrific de
struction. Jesus did not need tame
and passionless men for His work.
Grace shows divinely when it curbs a
native impetuosity, and proves the
might of gentle love in conquering and
controlling some son of thunder.
18. Thaddeus. See note, Matt. x. 3.
20. They could not so much as eat
bread. Tliey had not time for the com
mon duties of daily life. Generally
our Lord paid scrupulous attention to
the customs of social life, but at this
time it was peculiarly important to at
tend at once to the necessities of the
people. They had come from great
distances. They were without occupa
tion. Jesus gives up His own time to
them, that they may not in their lei
sure be meditating plans of sedition.
Religion is the great duty of life. At
times it may demand of us a disregard
of our common habits. But usually he

also betrayed him : and they
went1 into a house.
20 And the multitude cometh
together again," so that they could
not so much as eat bread.
21 And when "his friends heard
of it, they went out to lay hold
on him : for they said,5 He is be
side himself.
1 Or, kinsmen. 6 John 7. 5 ; & 10. 20.

is none the worse Christian, who at
tends carefully to the wants of com
mon life, in providing righteously and
prudently for those who are dependent
on him.
21. When His friends. His relatives.
They did not beheve on Him as the
Messiah. John vii. 5. Moved by the
news of the crowds who attended on
Him, and of His choosing special disci
ples, they probably came over from
Nazareth to remonstrate with Him.
They feared the dangers to which He
would be exposed from the rulers of the
nation. Any signs of sedition would
have called down on Him the vengeance
of the Romans. They were careful for
Him in this respect, from a, motive of
self-preservation. For it was the cus
tom of those times to involve a man's
family in the same punishment, in all
cases of criminality against the govern
ment, ff They went out to lay hold on
Him. They came out probably from
Nazareth, where they lived. His re
puted father, Joseph, was by this time
dead These were His relations. They
desired to use aU the force that was
possible, to compel Him to listen to
reason, and go back with them. It was
a great trouble to them that He should
leave the occupation in which He had
been reared, to wander about the coun
try without visible support, ff He is
beside Himself. In thus running into
the danger of exciting the fickle multi
tude, and making the rulers hostile to
Him. They meant kindly. Not hav
ing faith in Him, they felt the danger
that He was in, without seeing how
He would avoid it. It is a proof of the
sincerity of St. Mark to record this in-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER III.

369

22 If And the scribes which
came down from Jerusalem, said,
'He hath Beelzebub, and by the
prince of the devils casteth he
out devils.
23 And he called them unto
him, and said unto them in para
bles, How can Satan cast out
Satan ?
24 And if a kingdom be divi
ded against itself, that kingdom
cannot stand.
25 And if an house be divided
against itself, that house cannot
stand. 26 And if Satan arise up
against himself, and be divided,
he cannot stand, but hath an
end. 27 No 'man can enter into a
strong man's house, and spoil his
goods, except he will first bind
the strong man ; and then he
will spoil his house.
28 "Verily I say unto you, All
sins shall be forgiven unto the
sons of men, and blasphemies
a Matt. 9. 84 ; & 10. 25 ; Lu. 11. 15 ; John
7.20; & 8. 48, 52; &10. 22.

cident. If he had suspected at all the
truth of what he was writing ; if he had
not felt an entire trust in the reahty of
the mission of Christ, as truly sent by
God, he would have omitted this
event from his narrative. The unbeliev
er would say : " You, yourself, admit
that the common reason of His friends
condemned the course pf your Messiah."
But St. Mark knew and felt that it was
a proof of the truth of that Master,
that He did, in case of necessity, place
the interests of Eternity before those of
this hfe ; that He was willing to seem
mad in the eyes of worldly friends that
He might teach men the importance of
serving God. Often is it necessary for
the believer to show a like disregard of
Vol. I.— 16*

wherewith soever they shall blas
pheme :
29 But he that shall blaspheme
against the Holy Ghost hath
never forgiveness, but is in dan
ger of eternal damnation :
30 Because they said, He hath
an unclean spirit.
31 If ''There came then his
brethren and his mother, and
standing without, sent unto him,
calling him.
32 And the multitude sat
about him ; and they said unto
him, Behold, thy mother and thy
brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them,
saying, Who is my mother, or my
brethren ?
34 And he looked round about
on them which sat about him, and
said, Behold, my mother and my
brethren !
35 For whosoever shall "do the
will of God, the same is my
brother, and my sister, and mo
ther. » Is. 49. 24, 26 ; Matt. 12. 29. c Matt. 12.
81; Lu. 12. 10; 1 John 5. 16. d Matt. 12.
46 ; Lu. a 19. e Jas. 1. 25 ; 1 John 2. 17.

the opinions of unbelievers. For often
it becomes our duty to consider our
worldly good as nothing worth, in com
parison with the soul. The martyr
loses his life that he may save his soul.
The minister or private Christian forgets
his comfort and safety, for the spiritual
good of others. See 1 Cor. iv. 10.
22-30. And the scribes. See notes
on Matt, xii 24-30. He had healed a
man possessed with a devil, blind and
dumb. The scribes, moved by another
kind of possession, the corruption of the
heart with mahce and envy, invented
this insulting speech. They had been
dispatched from Jerusalem to watch
Him and destroy His influence with the
people. It is worthy of note that they

370

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

CHAPTER IV.
AND he "began again to teach
by the sea-side : and there
was gathered unto him a great
multitude, so that he entered into
a ship, and sat in the sea ; and
the whole multitude was by the
sea, on the land.
2 And he taught them many
things by parables, and said unto
them in his doctrine,
3 Hearken ; Behold, there went
out a sower to sow.
4 And it came to pass as he
sowed, some fell by the way-side,
and the fowls of the air came and
devoured it up.
5 And some fell on sstony
ground, where it had not much
earth ; and immediately it sprang
up, because it had no depth of
earth :
6 But when the sun was up, it
was scorched; and because it had
no root, it "withered away.
a Matt. 13. 1, 2 ; Lu. 8. 4. &o. b Ez. 11.
19 ; & 86. 26. a Jas. 1. 11. d Heb. 6. 7, 8.
e Matt. 13. 10 ; Lu. 8. 9, &o. /I Cor. 5.
who saw the miracles of Jesus, did not
pretend to doubt their reality. ¦ That
folly was reserved for the subtlety of a
later age.
31-35. See notes, Matt. xii. 46-50.
Says an ancient writer : •' Let us be
assured that we are His brethren and
His sisters, if we do the will of the
Father ; that we may be joint heirs
with Him. For He discerns us not by
sex, but by our deeds."
CHAPTER IV.
1-9. See notes, Matt. xiii. 1-9.
10-13. When he was alone. See
notes, Matt. xiii. 10-17. He made this
exposition of the parable to the disci
ples privately.
12. That seeing they may see, dec.
God does not cause men to be ignorant
of their duties, nor deceive them with a
mere appearance of instruction. This

7 And some fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew up, and
choked it, and it yielded no
fruit. 8 And other fell on rfgood
ground, and did yield fruit that
sprang up, and increased, and
brought forth, some thirty, and
some sixty, and some an hundred.
9 And he said unto them, He
that hath ears to hear, let him
hear. 10 And when" he was alone,
they that were about him, with
the twelve, asked of him the par
able. 11 And he said unto them,
Unto you it is given to know the
mystery of the kingdom of God :
but ¦'unto them that are without,
all these things are done in para
bles :
12 That ''seeing they may see,
and not perceive; and hearing
they may hear, and not under-
12 ; Col. 4. 5 ; 1 Thes. 4. 12. g Is. 6. 9 ; Mai.
13. 14 ; Lu. 8. 10 ; John 12. 40 ; Acts 28. 20 ;
Eom. 11. 8.

would be cruelty. But He leaves them
free to certain laws which act in
variably. A man who refuses to do
right, for a length of time, will at last
become perversely fixed in the wrong.
He wiU invent new reasons and feign
excuses to justify his wrong. At last
He will so utterly deceive himself, that
he will become insensible to the clearest
demonstrations of truth. The same
Mosaic law became a savor of life unto
pious Simeon and Anna — the savor of
death unto Caiaphas and Annas. The
former used the hght of the law to
catch its spirit, and were ready to wel
come the Christ at His coming. The
other remained in the letter of the Mosaic
ritual, indulged pride and worldliness,
and rejected and crucified Him. The
same Gospel is heard by the one who
seeing will not see, i. e. who will not do

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IV.

371

stand; lest at any time they
should be converted, and their
sins should be forgiven them.
13 And he said unto them,
Know ye not this parable ? and
how then will ye know all para
bles ?
14 If "The sower soweth the
word. 15 And these are they by the
way-side, where the word is sown ;
but when they have heard, Satan
cometh immediately, and taketh
away the word that was sown in
their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise
which are sown on stony ground ;
who, when they have heard the
word, immediately receive it with
gladness ;
17 And have no root in them
selves, and so endure but for a
time : afterward, when affliction
or persecution ariseth for the
word's sake, immediately they are
offended. a Matt. 18. 19. 61 Tim. 6. 9, 17. c Matt.
5.15; Lu. 8. 16;&11. 88. | The word in the

his duty when he learns it; and the
one, who hearing begins to obey it, and
goes on to see wondrous things in its
mysteries. This saying which is often
cited in Scripture was a proverb, or
general truth often used by men of that
age. We have a similar proverb: "None
so blind as those who will not see."
14-20. See notes, Matt. xiii. 18-23.
21. Is a candle brought, dec. The
doctrines of our holy religion, are like
light. The object of Jesus in revealing
them to men, was to have them look to
Him and be saved. Our Lord used this
same figure in Matt. v. 15. He inti
mates here that His word is given in
parables, not to be concealed from them,
but to be the more fully understood in
the end. The parable is in a manner
the candlestick, which holds up the light,

18 And these are they which
are sown among thorns ; such as
hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world,
and 6the deceitfulness of riches,
and the lusts of other things en
tering in, choke the word, and it
becometh unfruitful.
20 And these are they which
are sown on good ground : such
as hear the word, and receive it,
and bring forth fruit, some thirty-
fold, some sixty, and some an
hundred. 21 "IT And he "said unto them,
Is a candle brought to be put un
der a bushel, or under a bed?
and not to be set on a candle
stick .
22 For there dis nothing hid,
which shall not be manifested ;
neither was any thing kept secret,
but that it should come abroad.
23 If "any man' have ears to
hear, let him hear.
24 And he said unto them,
original signifieth a less measure as Matt. 5. 15.
d Matt. 10. 26 ; Lu. 12. 2. e Matt. 11. 15, v. 9.

and gives it a rest, and helps us to carry
it about. We remember a parable easi
ly. It illustrates the most secret truths
by the relations of every day life.
ff Bushel. A measure containing about
a pint less than a peck. Matt v. 15.
ff Bed. The wooden couch, on which
they reclined at meals. Men at a feast
do not put the candles under them, and
out of sight, but in full view, that they
may see how to partake of the dainties
on the tables. So the parable Sets forth
truth for practical use.
22. T/iere is nothing hid, dec. See
notes, Matt. x. 26.
23. Take heed what ye hear. Rather
how ye hear it. They had been chosen
by Jesus to hear and remember His
teachings, ff With what measure, dec.
If they learned and studied, so would

372

MARK.

[A D. 26.

Take heed what ye hear : with
what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you : and unto
you that hear, shall more be given.
25 For he "that hath, to him
shall be given : and he that hath
not, from him shall be taken even
that which he hath.
26 1 And he said/ So is the
kingdom of God, as if a man
a Matt. 13. 12 ; & 25. 29 ; Lu. 8. 18 ; & 19. 26.
they obtain larger measures of know
ledge in sacred things, and use greater
influences over men. Thus the reward
would be greater. See note, Matt. vii.
12. ff Mete. Measure. An old English
word remaining in use only in the
phrase metes and bounds, ff Unto you
that hear. To you that are attentive
and take care to understand, more in
sight and enjoyment in sacred truth will
be given.
25. For he that hath, Sec. See notes,
Matt. xiii. 12. Our Lord is speaking
here of truth, as a gift to the minds of
men, which, duly received and pondered,
increases in luminousness and force.
They find new reasons for it. They fol
low it up. They love it, and fixing it
in their minds, they "grow in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ." But if one neglects truth from
selfish or wicked passions, it shrinks up,
and is lost. They are troubled by it, long
to forget it, and that which was given to
them is taken away by their neglect.
Therefore should the young nurse and
cherish in their minds the teachings of
the Catechism, not only for the sake of
learning what their duty is, but of also
doing it. There are things " which a
Christian ought to know and beheve to
his soul's health." Our health is God's
gift, yet we can cherish or destroy it.
So of the soul's health. It comes from
the free grace of God. But we are able
to value and cherish it, by the right use
of the means of grace, or to destroy it
by sin, ignorance and folly.
2Q. So is the kingdom of God. See
note, Matt. iii. 2. The Saviour was at
that time teaching them of His kingdom

should cast seed into the ground ;
27 And should sleep, and rise
night and day, and the seed
should spring and grow up, he
knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth
fruit of herself; first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full
corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is
b Matt. 13. 24

and sowing the divine seed in their
hearts. He would leave them to cherish
the seed and form the Church without
His presence among them.
27. And should sleep, and rise night
and day. A man after planting a field
goes his way and hves as usual. He
sleeps at night and rises by day, as was
his wont. So the Lord was then sowing
seed, but would leave them to them
selves. God would nurture the seed,
but He, the Husbandman of the vine
yard, would be absent, ff He knoweth
not how. We only know in many doc
trines what the farmer knows of the
seed, that he must use the means
— must plant and water — but that God
giveth the increase. 1 Cor. iii. 6.
Our duty is to obey the word of Scrip
ture and do all that it commands;
knowing that in religion, as hi the
natural world, it is a vain search to
seek to penetrate into the powers of the
Holy Spirit, and to ask with Nicodemus,
How can these tilings be ?
28. For the earth bringeth forth fruit
of herself. A man can only leave the
seed to the natural laws of production
which God has placed in the elements.
The earth seems to do it, but God is the
First Cause and Preserver of all the
creation. The Christian looks up to
Him and beholds in all things His
handiwork. " He causeth the grass to
grow for the cattle, and herb for the
service of man : that he may bring forth
food out of the earth." Ps. civ. 14.
ff First the blade. The tender, succulent
shoot that first appears; any thing can
crush it ; but a kind care preserves it.
So does God take care of the tender be-

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER IV.

373

'brought forth, immediately he
putteth in the "sickle, because the
harvest is come.
30 Tf And he said, Whereunto
shall we liken the ^kingdom of
God? or with what comparison
shall we compare it ?
I Or, ripe. a Eev. 14 15. b Matt. 18.

ginnings of piety, ff Then the ear. The
spike of wheat, containing the young
grains, which comes later than the
blade, and gives promise of the com
ing crop, ff The full corn. The grain
fully formed and ready to mature.
Says St. Gregory: "When therefore
we conceive good desires, we put seed
into the ground: when we begin to
work rightly, we are the blade. When
we increase to the perfection of good
works, we arrive at the ears : when
we are firmly fixed in the perfection of
the same working, we already put forth
the full corn in the ear." The little
child has the seed of grace pledged to it
in infancy. When it begins to think
and to know the first rudiments of
right, it is easily abashed, and as easily
repents. It is like the weak blade
touched with the dew drops. It acts
right, and gradually grows strong to
serve God. Age matures the work,
and by patience, energy, and love, it
obeys the Saviour and becomes fruitful
in piety. When shall we see parents
and sponsors remembering " their part
and duty — that their children be brought
up to lead a godly and a Christian life ? "
Piety ought to begin iu infancy. It
would oftener do so, if parents would
only dare to beheve their privileges.
29. Immediately he putteth in the sickle.
In the harvest time. So our Lord has
appointed a harvest time in the end of
the world. He would leave His disci
ples. He would gather them into the
granary of the grave till the great har
vest of the resurrection. This is the
first or immediate explication of this
parable. But its force is equally strik
ing if we look on the end of each indivi
dual life as a harvest. For death, like
a sickle, ends our growth. A Christian

31 It is like a grain of mustard-
seed, which, when it is sown in
the earth, is less than all the
seeds that be in the earth :
32 But when it is sown, it
groweth up, and becometh greater
than all herbs, and shooteth out
81; Lu. 18. 18; Acts 2. 41; &4.4; &5.14;
&19. 20; Eph. 3. 10.

grows in grace till the end come.
Like a ripe shock of. wheat, the Hus
bandman gathers him up to bloom
again in the skies ; to repeat in songs of
everlasting joy the record of his strug
gles and conquests here on earth.
30. Whereunto shall we liken. He
seems to have looked round for some
illustration to impress the truth more
deeply upon their hearts. Perchance
some bush of the mustard plant, tall
and vigorous, with the small birds
singing in its boughs, may have been
near by. Thus did our Lord gather
lessons of wisdom from the works of
creation, and make the very herbs of
the field bear witness to the powers of
grace. Perhaps we shall find in heaven
that this was not an accidental mode of
teaching; but that creation has been
made from the very beginning to bear
witness, by a thousand yet unseen anal
ogies, to the wonders of Redemption.
It is a pleasing faith to believe that the
creation is a great subsidiary preacher,
a wonderful analogy to the kingdom of
God. ff The kingdom of God. See
notes, Matt. hi. 2.
31, 32. See notes on Matt. xiii. 31, 32.
33. Spoke the word. The Gospel.
After some years the Gospel of the
kingdom began to be called ihe word,
because its character as a system of
instruction from God began to appear
more evident. So the word Church is
used but three times in the Gospel', and
that in St. Matthew's narrative. But
in the epistles, &c, it is used one hun
dred and fourteen times. While the
phrase kingdom of God or of heaven, is
used but thirty-four times in the latter
part of the New Testament, and in the
Gospels about one hundred and twenty-
seven times. Changes in words are a

374

MARK.

[A D. 26.

great branches ; so that the fowls
of the air may lodge under the
shadow of it.
33 And with many such para
bles spake he the word unto
them," as they were able to hear
it. 34 But without a parable spake
he not unto them : and when they
were alone, he expounded all
things to his disciples.
35 And the same day, when
the even was come, he saith unto
them, Let us pass over unto the
other side.
36 And when they had sent
away the multitude, they took
him even as he was in the ship.
And there were also with him
other little ships.
37 6And there arose a great
a John 16. 12, 13 ; Acts 2. 4. b Matt. 8.
23 ; Lu. 8. 22. '

valuable part of history. They show
the changes in the views of men, in re
gard to particular truths.
34. Without a parable spake He not
unto them. That is, about the word of
the kingdom. It was in regard to that
kingdom that Jesus was so careful, be
cause it was not yet established, nor
could be until He had been put to death.
And if He had taught them plainly of
it, they would have erred and been in
danger of speaking unadvisedly to
others ; in which case the rulers of the
nation might have pretended a good
reason for their hostility to Him. And
therefore Jesus took pains to expound,
that is, explain to them these things
when they were alone. This forms no
ground for any doctrine of reserve in
preaching the Gospel now. For there
is no such reason possible at this time.
The whole Gospel is finished and given
to the saints. A minister may be pru
dent in his method of teaching, but not
Jesuitical. 35-41. See notes, Matt, viii 18-27.

storm of wind, and the waves
beat into the ship, so that it was
now full.
38 And he was in the hinder
part of the ship, asleep on a pil
low: and they awake him, and
say unto him, Master, "carest thou
not that we perish ?
39 And he arose, and rebuked
the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace, be still. ''And the wind
ceased, and there was a great
calm. 40 And he said unto them,
Why are ye so fearful ? " how is
it that ye have no faith ?
41 And they feared exceeding
ly, and said one to another,
What manner of man is this, that
even the wind and the sea obey
him ?
c Ps. 10. 1. d Ps, 89. 9. e Ps. 46. 1, 2.

36. Even as He was in the ship. It
was but a short sail, and they made no
preparation, but with some haste, as it
would appear, sailed off from the shore.
ff Other little ships. Or httle boats.
Probably a part of the multitude under
took to follow Him.
37. Was now full. The Greek im
plies that the boat was in the very act
of filling with the waves, so that there
was not a moment to be lost.
39. Peace, be still. " For," says an
old writer, " from the troubling of the
sea arises a certain sound, which ap
pears to be its voice, threatening danger,
and, therefore, by a sort of metaphor,
He fitly commands tranquillity, by a
word signifying silence ; just as in the
restraining of the winds which trouble
the sea with their violence, He uses a
rebuke. So Christ, the King of all crea
tures, by His threats restrained the vio
lence of the winds and compelled the
sea to be silent." Thus does He often
speak peace to hearts tossed on the
troubled sea of life, and stills their
fears.

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

375

CHAPTEK V.
AND they "came over unto the
other side of the sea, into the
country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out
of the ship, immediately there
met him out of the 'tombs a man
with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had Am dwelling among
the tombs; and no man could bind
him, no, not even with chains :
4 Because that he had been
often bound with fetters and
chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the
fetters broken in pieces : neither
could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day,
he was in the mountains, and in
the tombs, crying, and cutting
himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus
a Matt. 8. 28; Lu. 8. 26.

CHAPTER V.
1-20. See note, Matt. viii. 28-34 ;
also Luke viii. 26-39.
3. His dwelling among the tombs. St.
Mark is more graphic in his account of
this man than the other evangelists.
The man dwelt among the unclean
dead : a state of life horrible to the Jews
as a violation of the purity of their law.
4. He had been often bound with fet
ters and chains. A striking propensity
of mad people is to tear their clothes
off, and break through every thing
which restrains them. This man was
possessed with devils, but in outward
appearance he acted and appeared as
madmen do at this day.
5. Cutting himself with stones. The
history of mad-houses affords thousands
of instances of this circumstance. In
them all, means are adopted to prevent
the furious from mutilating and destroy
ing themselves.
7. Thou torment me not. That is,
before the time. Matt. viii. 29. This
is the speech of a reasoning spirit. It

afar off, he ran and worshipped
him, 7 And cried with a loud voice,
and said, What have I to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most
High God ? I adjure thee by
God, that thou torment me not.
8 (For he said unto him, "Come
out of the man, thou unclean
spirit.) 9 And he asked him, What is
thy name? And he answered,
saying, My name is Legion : for
we are many.
10 And he besought him much
that he would not send them away
out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh
unto the mountains a great herd
of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought
him, saying, Send us into the
b Bom. 5. 12. c Eev. 2. 14

alludes to the punishment which is to
be imposed on wicked beings hereafter.
Jude 6. The man who was possessed
did not know of such a coming wo, nor
did the hearers understand the meaning
of it.
9. My name is Legion. A division
of the Roman armies was called a legion.
It numbered about six thousand men.
" He can find no other way to express
his state than in an image drawn from
the reminiscences of his former life. He
had seen the thick and serried ranks of
a Roman legion, that fearful instrument
of oppression, that sign of terror and
fear to the conquered nations, and before
which the Jews more especially quailed.
Even such, at once one and many,. cruel
and inexorable and strong, were the
powers that were tyrannizing over
him." — Trench.
10. Not send them away. As St.
Luke (viii. 31) says, " not into the
deep," that is, the abyss, that gloomy
abode beneath the earth, where such be
ings were punished.

376

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

swine, that we may enter into
them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave
them leave. And the unclean
spirits went out, and entered in
to the swine : and the herd ran
violently down a steep place into
the sea, (they were about two
thousand,) and were choked in
the sea.
14 And they that fed the swine
fled, and told it in the city, and
in the country. And they went
out to see what it was that was
done. 15 And they come to Jesus,
a Is. 49. 25; Col. 1. 13; 2 Tim. 1. 7.

15. Clothed, and in his right mind.
The Gadarenes saw this, saw that a
man so well known among them was
saved and restored; clothed who had
been wilfully naked, and in his right
mind who had before lived in the un
clean abodes of the dead. Yet they pre
fer their pitiable possessions to such a
glorious power, and choose to keep their
swine, rather than a Saviour from such
tormentors. 18. Prayed Him that he might be with
Him. Well might he make this peti
tion. He knew the former sins. Waked
at last from the frightful fear of this
long possession, he has a melancholy
recollection of his gloomy state. Filled
with fear of a return of the evil spirits,
and gratitude towards his Deliverer, he
earnestly desires to accompany Him,
that he may be safe. Is he not a pic
ture of a sinner, at last rescued from
the power of Satan, waked to life and
hght, restored to himself, and clothed
with the robe of the hopeful penitent ?
He too would find safety in following
Jesus. And he may follow Him and
be safe.
19. Tell them how great things. Je
sus usually commanded those whom He
cured in Judea to be silent concerning
Him, because there the people might too
easily be excited to outbreaks either

and see him that was possessed
with the devil, and had the le
gion, sitting, and "clothed, and in
his right mind : and they were
afraid. 16 And they that saw it told
them how it befel to him that
was possessed with the devil, and
also concerning the swine.
17 And they began 6to pray
him to depart out of their coasts.
1 8 And when he was come in to
the ship, he that had been pos
sessed with the devil prayed him
that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him
b Job 21. 14.

in His favor or against Him. But now
He orders the contrary. The people
beg Him to depart, and He prepares to
do so. But in mercy to them He leaves
behind Him a witness to His kingdom
and power. Moreover, He may have
chosen to teach the Gadarene that He
could restrain the spirits of evil as well
at a distance as when present ; that he
was now as safe, while telling the work
of mercy, as if he were in the constant
presence of his Restorer.
20. Decapolis. A region of ten
cities. Gadara was one of them. See
note, Matt. iv. 25. The man now mingles
among men, and bears witness to Jesus
in all the cities of his native land. No
thing could better shut out the demons
who had plagued him. He is safe
from them while he binds around him
the spiritual charm of an active wish to
do good.
22-43. See notes on Matt. ix. 18-26.
33. Lieth at the point of death. Is
in extremis, or just dying.
26. Had suffered many things. Had
been the patient of many physicians ;
and had spent aU she had to obtain
relief, but in vain.
27. Came in the press behind. In
the crowd. Says St. Chrysostom, " This
woman, who was celebrated and known
to all, did not dare to approach the

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER V.

377

not, but saith unto him, Go home
to thy friends, and tell them how
"great things the Lord hath done
for thee, and hath had compas
sion on thee.
20 And he departed, and be
gan to publish in Decapolis how
great things Jesus had done for
him. And all men did marvel.
21 'And when Jesus was
passed over again by ship unto
the other side, much people
gathered unto him : and he was
nigh unto the sea.
22 And "behold, there cometh
one of the rulers of the syna
gogue, Jairus by name; and
when he saw him, he fell at his
feet, 23 And besought him greatly,
saying, My little daughter lieth
at the point of death : 1 pray
thee, come and lay thy hands on
her, that she may be healed ; and
she shall live.
24 And Jesus went with him ;
and much people followed him,
and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman which
oPb. 66. 16. b Matt. 9. 1; Lu. 8. '40.
cMatt, 9. 18; Lu. 8. 41.
Saviour openly, nor to come to Him,
because according to the law, she was
unclean; for this reason she touched
Him behind, and not in front, for that
she durst not do, but only ventured to
touch the hem of His garment. It was
not however the hem of the garment,
but her frame of mind that made her
whole." It was the will of Jesus, not
His clothes, that gave the blessing.
Hence He turned around to show that
He had been consenting to the deed.
30. Virtue had gone out of Him.
Power to cure disease, ff Who touched
my clothes? This question was not
asked in ignorance, but to allow the

had an ''issue of blood twelve
years, 26 And had suffered many
things of many physicians, and
had spent all that she had, and
was nothing bettered, but rather
grew worse,"
27 When she had heard of
Jesus, came in the press behind/
and touched his garment :
28 For she said, If I may touch
but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the foun
tain of her blood was dried up ;
and she felt in her body that she
was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately
knowing in himself that "virtue
had gone out of him, turned him
about in the press, and said, Who
touched my clothes ?
31 And his disciples said unto
him, Thou seest the multitude
thronging thee, and sayest thou,
Who touched me ?
32 And he looked round about
to see her that had done this
thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and
d Lev. 15. 25 ; Matt. 9. 20. e Ps. 108. 12 ;
Jer. 80. 12, 13, 14 /Matt. 14 86. g Lu.
6. 19; & 8. 46.
woman to come forward and declare
herself. Thus Jesus changes her opin
ion of the miracle from being a mere
charm wrought by His clothes, as she
may have thought, to a true deed of
His love for her faith. In the former
case she would have gone home, with
such an opinion as the ignorant Roman
ist has of his relics or amulets, or
images of saints — mere irrational charms,
without a moral meaning. But in
the latter she is taught that her faith in
Him had been the avenue of her cure.
34. Daughter. A word of love, to
reassure her. " Faith in Christ makes
us His children." — St. Chrysostom. ff Be

378

MARK.

[A. D. 26.

trembling, knowing what was
done in her, came and fell down
before him, and told him all the
truth. 34 And he said unto her,
Daughter, thy "faith hath made
thee whole ; go in peace, and be
whole of thy plague.
35 While 'he yet spake, there
came from the ruler of the syna
gogue's house certain which said,
Thy daughter is dead : why
troublest thou the Master any
further ?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the
word that was spoken, he saith
unto the ruler of the synagogue,
Be not afraid, only believe.
37 And he suffered no man to
follow him, save Peter, and
James, and John the brother of
James. 38 And he cometh to the house
of the ruler of the synagogue,
and seeth the tumult, and them
that wept and wailed greatly.
a Matt. 9. 22; Ch. 10. 52; Acts 14. 9.

whole of thy plague. " Fear no return
of thy wasting disorder. " "It was thy
scourge, put on thee by the just law of
the Divine government, for sins, as thou
knowest. And now that faith has been
begotten of thy sufferings and made
thy soul to abhor the sin, be whole also
of the punishment of it. She was
not only healed in body, but also from
the causes of bodily pain — that is, from
her sins." — Pseudo-Chrys.
38. The tumult. The confused crowd.
It is the custom in the East to crowd
about the dead and bewail them in a noisy
manner, ff But sleepeth. See note, Matt.
ix. 34. The word in this connection
means actual death See John xi. 11, 14.
41. ff Took the damsel, dec. " How
sovereign was thy touch, blessed Re
deemer ! It cleansed even the lepers,
gave sight to the blind, opened the ears

39 And when he was come in,
he saith unto them, Why make
ye this ado, and weep ? the dam
sel is not dead," but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to
scorn. ''But when he had put
them all out, he taketh the father
and the mother of the damsel,
and them that were with him,
and entereth in where the damsel
was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by
the hand, and saith unto her, Ta-
litha-cumi : which is, being in
terpreted, Damsel, (I say unto
thee,) arise.
42 And straightway the dam
sel arose, and walked ; for she was
of the age of twelve years. And
they were astonished with a great
astonishment. 43 And he "charged them strait-
ly that no man should know it ;
and commanded that something
should be given her to eat.
b Lu. 8. 49. c John 11. 11. d Acts 9. 40.
e Matt. 8. 4; & 9. 30; & 12. 16; & 17. 9 ; Ch.
3.12; Lu. 5.14.

of the deaf, made the dumb to speak,
and raised the deadl So touch our
blind, polluted and deaf hearts, that we
may be cleansed from all our sins, see
our true interest, hear and obey Thy
gracious voice, and arise to newness of
fife ; and then do Thou open our hps,
that our mouth may show . forth Thy
praise." — Bragge. ff Talitha-cumi.
These were the very words which came
from the Saviour's lips. They are Sy
riac. St. Mark gives them doubtless as
having peculiar solemnity, as he does in
another case ; Ephphatha. See vii. 34.
43. No man should know it. For the
time ; until His own resurrection should
show them the meaning of His acts.
Jesus recalled three persons from the
dead : this maiden, the widow's son, and
Lazarus. The three miracles rise in a
climax. Here the soul has just left

T. E. 32.]

CHAPTER VI.

379

CHAPTER VI.
AND he went "out from thence,
and came into his own coun
try ; and his disciples follow him.
2 And when the sabbath-day
was come, he began to teach in
the synagogue : and many hear
ing bhim were astonished, saying,
From whence hath this man these
things ? and what wisdom is this
which is given unto him, that
even such mighty works are
wrought by his hands ?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the
son of Mary, the brother of
James, and Joses, and of Juda,
and Simon ? and are not his sis
ters here with us ? And they
were offended at him.
4 But Jesus said unto them, "A
prophet is not without honour,
but in his own country,- and
among his own kin, and in his own
house. a Matt. 18. 54; Lu. 4 16. 6 John 6. 42.
c Matt. 13. 57; John 4. 44 d Matt 18. 58 ;
Ch. 9. 28. els. 59. 16. /Matt. 9. 85;
Lu. 18. 22. g Matt. 10. 1 ; Lu. 9. 1. || The

the body. The widow's son had been
longer dead, being borne out to the burial
(Luke vii. 12) ; while death reigned
supreme over Lazarus, who had already
seen corruption, being " four days dead."
All are steps up to the great mystery of
the Resurrection of Jesus to a new life.
CHAPTER VI.
1-6. See notes, Matt. xiii. 54-58. His
own country. Nazareth.
2. Began to teach in the synagogue.
Prophets could do this, or any good
men, who were able to instruct. The
powers of the priesthood could not be
infringed by any out of the tribe of Levi.
Laymen may now be in a way instruc
tors, but have no-power over the Sacra
ments ; and power which they have not
themselves they cannot give to others.
7. By two and two. The power of
Jesus divides as it flows from Him. He

5 And he ''could there do no
mighty work, save that he laid
his hands upon a few sick folk,
and healed them.
6 And he marvelled 'because of
their unbelief/ And he went
round about the villages teach
ing. 7 If And he called unto him
the twelve," and began to send
them forth by two and two ; and
gave them power over unclean
spirits ;
8 And commanded them that
they should take nothing for their
journey, save a staff only ; no
scrip, no bread, no 'money in their
purse :
9 But be ''shod with sandals ;
and not put on two coats.
10 And he said unto them, In
what place soever ye enter into
an house, there abide till ye de
part from that place.
word signifieth a piece cf brass money, in
value somewhat less than a farthing, Matt.
10. 9 ; but here it is taken in genera] for mo
ney. Lu. 9. 8. h Acts 12. 8.

works alone. Next follow two and two,
to divide between them the power, and
to be compelled to recognize the law of
mutual dependence. Next, the twelve
take up the power to preach the Re
demption. The seventy receive partial
powers and thus on to the hosts of suc
cessors and believers. The mystical
body of Jesus now contains the truth
as it is in Him, and he who separates
from it is severed from Him. It is an
incidental lesson of this preparatory
mission, that ¦ the authorities of the
Church should send missionaries in such
a way, that they may co-operate and
sustain each other — as we see them
now doing in Africa and China.
8-11. See notes, Matt. x. 9-15.
10. T/iere abide. Do not wander
from house to house. The laws of
Eastern hospitality were strict. One

380

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

11 "And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear you, when
ye depart thence, 'shake off the
dust under your feet, for a testi
mony against them. Verily I
say unto you, It shall be more
tolerable for Sodom "and Go
morrah in the day of judgment,
than for that city.
12 And they went out, and
preached that men should repent.
13 And they cast out many
devils, and "anointed with oil
many that were sick, and healed
them. 14 And ''king Herod heard of
him, (for his name was spread
abroad,) and he said, That John
the Baptist was risen from the
dead, and therefore mighty works
do shew forth themselves in him.
a. Matt. 10. 14; Lu. 10. 10. 5 Acts 13. 51 ;
& 18. 6. II Greek, or. a JaS. 5. 14. d Matt.
14. 1 ; Lu. 9. 7.
was, that when strangers entered a vil
lage the sheik, or an old man of the tribe,
should receive them and appoint them a
residence while they remained. To
leave this place for another was held to
be unfriendly. They are charged to
obey the innocent customs of the coun
try, and not to give needless offence.
12. Preached that men should repent.
Even as St. John the Baptist and the
line of Jewish prophets had done before
them. They did not as yet understand
the doctrines of the Gospel in their ful
ness. For their ideas of the repentance
which was required of the people, to
make them ready for the reign of the
Messiah, we should look to the prophets
of the Old Testament, or to the discourse
of St. John. Luke, ch. iii. 3-18. It
was a repentance and return from sin and
criminal acts, such as the Ninevites per
formed, and the Jews in several in
stances. This mission was to give the
Jewish nation one more opportunity to
turn from their sins and receive their
Messiah. See 1 Kings viii. 47-48; Ezek.
xiv. 6-7; Joel ii. 12-18; Jonah iii. 5-10.

15 "Others said, That it is Elias,
And others said, That it is a
prophet, or as one of the prophets.
16 ¦'But when Herod heard
thereof, he said, It is John, whom
I beheaded : he is risen from the
dead. 17 For Herod himself had sent
forth and laid hold upon John,
and bound him in prison for He
rodias' sake, his brother Philip's
wife : for he had married her.
18 For John had said unto
Herod, "It is not lawful for thee
to have thy brother's wife.
19 Therefore Herodias had 'a
quarrel against him, and would
have killed him ; but she could
not: 20 For Herod ''feared John,
knowing that he was a just man
eMatt. 16. 14; Ch. 8. 28. /Lu. 3. 19.
g Lev. 18. 16 ; & 20. 21. || Or, an inward
grudge. h Matt. 14. 5 ; & 21. 6.

13. And anointed with oil. The
Jews seem to have used oil as a medicine
to preserve the flexibility of the skin iu
the dry and burning samiel winds of their
climate. The disciples used oil, not so
much for its natural power as with a
rehgious intention. Iu the same sense
St. James directed its use. James v.
14. We see indications of the common
law of the Church, not of extreme unc
tion, but of prayer for the sick. We
look for their cure to the mercy of God,
as well as the potency of medicines.
In the Apostles' hands, oil became mira
culous ; for it is ranked here with other
miracles. Now we look for a blessing
in the calling in the Elders of the
Church to pray for the sick, using such
medicines as are suited to the case.
The Romish Church has grossly erred
in choosing the letter before the spirit in
this matter. " Extreme Unction is not
to be counted for a Sacrament of the
Gospel, having grown from the corrupt
following of the Apostles." Article
XXV.
14-20. See notes, Matt. xiv. 1-13.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VI.

381

and an holy, and 'observed him :
and when he had heard him, he
did many things, and heard him
gladly. 21 And "when a convenient
day was come, that Herod on his
birth-day' made a supper to his
lords, high captains, and chief
estates of Galilee ;
22 And when the daughter of
the said Herodias came in, and
danced, and pleased Herod, and
them that sat with him, the king
said unto the damsel," Ask of me
whatsoever thou wilt, and I will
give it thee.
23 And he sware unto her,
Whatsoever thou shalt ask of
me, I will give it thee, unto the
half of my kingdom.
24 And she went forth, and
said unto her-* mother, What shall
I ask ? And she said, The head
of John the Baptist
25 And she came in straight-
B Or, kept him, or, saved him. a Matt.
14 6. b Gen. 40. 20. c Esther 5. 8, 6 ; &

20. For Herod feared John. Herod
Antipas. He appears to have been at first
an amiable prince, as the world goes,
but inveigled by the snares of the art
ful Herodias, he was unable to retrieve
himself, and do that which was right.
He was angry at the prophet for his
boldness in denouncing his criminal
mode of life ; and at the same time his
conscience so smote him, that he feared
him. He paid him some regard ; fre
quently sent for him out of prison, and
obeyed him, in many respects, gladly.
History informs us that it was by the
instigation of Herodias, to obtain farther
honors, that he visited Rome, and was
banished by the Emperor to Gaul, where
he died.
30. Gathered themselves together. Re
turned again to Jesus. They probably
collected at Capernaum, and were im-

way with haste unto the king,
and asked, saying, I will that
thou give me, by and by, in a
charger, the head of John the
Baptist. 26 And the king was 'exceeding
sorry; yet for his oath's sake,
and for their sakes which sat
with him, he would not reject
her. 27 And immediately the king
sent an 'executioner, and com
manded his head to be brought :
and he went and beheaded him
in the prison ;
28 And brought his head in a
charger, and gave it to the dam
sel ; and the damsel gave it to
her mother.
29 And when his disciples heard
of it, they came and took up his
corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
30 T^And the apostles gathered
themselves together unto Jesus,
and told him all things, both what

7. 2. c?Prov. 6. 24,
I Or, one of his guard.

)6. eMatt. 14 9.
/Lu. 9. 10.

mediately led out of the dominions of
Antipas, beyond the Jordan.
31. A desert place. A place where
there were no houses. Judea has sin
gular facilities in its rocky and moun
tainous surfaces, for such retreats, even
in the neighborhood of large cities.
ff Coming and going. The minds of men
were peculiarly excited at this juncture,
by two circumstances. 1. The preach
ing of the Apostles. Had Jesus aspired
to temporal power, they were ready to
accept Him. 2. The death of St. John.
The common people had esteemed him
to be a true prophet, and were ripe for
any measures of revenge. It was prob
ably at this time, that our Lord plainly,
by His acts, refused to assume temporal
power in Galilee. See John vi. 15.
32-44. See notes, Matt. xiv. 13-21.
32. By ship. By a boat to the neigh-

382

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

they had done, and what they had
taught. 31 And he "said unto them,
Come ye yourselves apart into a
desert place, and rest a while :
for there were many coming and
going, and they had no 'leisure so
much as to eat.
32 And they departed into a
desert place by ship privately.
33 And the people saw them
departing, and many knew him,
and ran afoot thither out of all
cities, and outwent them, and
came together unto him.
34 'And Jesus, when he came
out, saw much people, and was
moved with compassion toward
them, because they were as sheep
not having a shepherd : and
he ''began to teach them many
things. a Matt. 14 13. b Ch. 8. 20. e Matt. 9.
36; &14 14 cZLu. 9. 11.
borhood of Bethsaida. ff Privately.
Not informing the people. They, how
ever, judging His destination by seeing
the course of the vessel, go round the
head of the lake and find Him.
33. Out of all cities. From all the
towns about. The people were zealous.
The commotion was general
34. Much people. A great multitude.
ff As sheep, Sec Ready to rush into
danger. Our Lord pities them, and
seeks to lead them to heavenly pastures
by the word of doctrine.
35. The time is far passed. The hour
of taking food. The disciples were not
free from this human thirst for conquest.
They, too, are agitated, and perchance,
in this suggestion, hinted to Jesus the
greatness of the multitude, and the ex
pediency of adopting some means of
providing for them.
37. Give ye them to eat. It was no
chance word. It was to recall them to
themselves, to show them the want of
preparation for the schemes which they

35 And when the day was now
far spent, his disciples came unto
him, and said, This is a desert
place, and now the time is far
¦passed :
36 Send them away, that they
may go into the country round
about, and into the villages, and
buy themselves bread : for they
have nothing to eat.
37 He answered and said unto
them, Give ye them to eat. And
they say unto him," Shall we go
and buy two hundred' pennyworth
of bread, and give them to eat ?
38 He saith unto them, How
many loaves have ye ? go and
see. And when they knew, they
say, Five, and two fishes.
39 And he commanded them
to make all sit down by com
panies upon the green grass.
e Jer. 11. 13, 22 ; 2 Kings 4 48. I The Eo-
man penny is sevenpence half-penny. See
Matt. 18. 28.

meditated, ff Two hundred pennyworth.
About $30 of our money. Philip made
use of the expression (John vi. 7), though
it seems as if the others caught it up
and put it in the form of a question.
Our Saviour first showed their want of
power to provide by human means, as
a preparation to His opening to them
spiritual treasures. The spiritual nature
of His kingdom is then emphatically
declared, in the miraculous feeding of
the multitude; a doctrine afterwards
explained to them. See John vi. 26-65.
As a consequence of this disappointment
of their ambitious projects, many fell
away from Him. See John v. 66-71.
43. Twelve baskets. The grace of
God flows oyer and beyond the wants of
men. The spiritual manna knows no
stint. So the Gospel ever goes beyond
all that we desire or deserve, and is
richer than our prayers or hopes.
45-56. See notes, Matt. xiv. 22-36.
49. Walking on the sea. A visible
miracle to explain a profound moral. On

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VI.

383

40 And they sat down in ranks,
by hundreds, and by fifties.
41 And when he had taken the
five loaves, and the two fishes, he
looked up to heaven," and blessed,
and brake the loaves, and gave
them to his disciples to set be
fore them ; and the two fishes
divided he among them all.
42 And they did all eat, and
were filled.
43 And they took up twelve
baskets full of the fragments, and
of the fishes.
44 And they that did eat of
the loaves, were about five thou
sand men.
45 'And straightway he con
strained his disciples to get into
the ship, and to go to the other
side before 'unto Bethsaida, while
he sent away the people.
46 And when he had sent them
away, he departed into a moun
tain to pray.
47 And when' even was come,
the ship was in the midst of- the
sea, and he alone on the land.
48 And he saw them toiling
in rowing ; for the wind was con-
a 1 Sam. 9. 13 ; Matt. 26. 26. b Matt. 14.
22 ; John 6. 17. || Or, over against Betlisai-
da.
just such a stormy sea of passion were
the disciples then tossing ; anxious to
assume the head of a turbulent multi
tude, and rule the wild elements of pop
ular discord : and Peter is humbled that
his ambition may be specially rebuked.
In that cloudy gathering of the elements
of war, his heart was neighing hke a
war horse for the battle. But calm,
mysterious and omnipotent, the Saviour
walked on the one element and con
trolled it as He did also in the other.
Thus He curbs in the disciples, and
teaches them wisdom by means of ele
ments, compelling them to beheve in

trary unto them : and about the
fourth watch of the night he com
eth unto them, walking upon the
sea, and would'' have passed by
them. 49 But when they saw him
walking upon the sea, they sup
posed it had been a spirit, and
cried out.
50 (For they all saw him, and
were troubled.) And immedi
ately he talked with them, and
saith unto them, Be of good
cheer : it is I ; be not afraid.
51 And he went up unto them
into the ship ; and the wind
ceased : and they were sore
amazed in themselves beyond
measure, and wondered.
52 For they' considered not
the miracle of the loaves : -^for
their heart was hardened.
53 pAnd when they had pass
ed over, they came into the land
of Gennesaret, and drew to the
shore. 54 And when they were come
out of the ship, straightway they
knew him,
55 And ran through that whole
a Matt. 14. 23 ; John 6. 16, 17. d Lu. 24. 28.
e Oh. 8. 17. 18. /Ch. 8. 5 ; & 16. 14. g Matt.

His Majesty, while they with difficulty
yield their carnal minds to the guidance
of His will.
52. Their heart was hardened. Their
perception of the real meaning of the
former miracle was dull. It should have
taught them to give up their wills to
His, and to await His time. But they
were plunging in their mad ambition
into a stormy sea ; and they could not
see the truth which warned them.
54. They knew Him. The people
living in the fertile valley of Gennesaret
knew Him again. It lay around Caper
naum. Jesus engages in the appro-

384

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

region round about, and began to
carry about in beds those that
were sick, where they heard he
was. 56 And whithersoever he en
tered, into villages, or cities, or
country, they laid the sick in the
streets, and besought him that
"they might touch, if it were but
the border of his garment : and
as many as touched 'him, were
made whole.
CHAPTEE VII.
THEN 'came together unto him
the Pharisees, and certain of
the scribes, which came from
Jerusalem. a Matt. 9. 20; Ch. 5. 27, 28; Acts 19. 12.
H Or, it. b Matt. 15. 1. D Or, common.
I Or, diligently : in the original with the fist

priate work of healing the sicknesses of
men, to give the disciples opportunity
to recover.
56. T/ie border of His garment. See
note, Matt. ix. 20.
CHAPTER Vn.
1-23. See notes, Matt. xv. 1-20.
1. Came from Jerusalem. The
Pharisees had made an attack upon
Him in Jerusalem when He was present
at the Feast of the Passover, and had
failed. See John vii. 1. They now
send their agents after Him, to collect
evidence, that they may work His de
struction. 2. With defiled, that is to say,
with unwashen hands. St. Mark writ
ing for the Gentiles, who were not fami
liar with Jewish customs, inserts such
explanations as this, to prevent miscon
ception. He explains the custom of
the Pharisees and their scrupulousness
in the matter of washings. The word
defiled, does not mean simply filthy,
but denied by touch of some unclean
person, as a Gentile or a person not
scrupulous in observing the ceremonial
law. 3. Except they wash their hands oft.
This the margin corrects by saying up

2 And when they saw some of
his disciples eat bread with 'de
filed (that is to say with unwash
en) hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees, and all
the Jews, except they wash their
hands 'oft, eat not, holding 'the
tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from
the market, except they wash, they
eat not. And many other things
there be, which they have receiv
ed to hold, as the washing of
cups, and 'pots, and brazen vessels,
and 'tables.
5 dThen the Pharisees and
scribes asked him, Why walk not
up to the elbow. Theophylact. cG-al. 1. 14;
Col. 2. 8, 22. 1| Sextarius is about a pint and
a half. | Or, beds. d Matt. 15. 2.

to the elbow. The little word in Greek
which seems to have such different
meanings, is made doubtful now, by a
variety of spelling. The root of the two
words in the original is the same. And
the learned have so equally sustained
both readings that we may well leave
it, as our English Bible does, to the
choice of the reader. The Pharisees
certainly washed often, and there is
good reason to suppose that they ascrib
ed some importance to the mode of it — ¦
that it be to the wrist or forearm be
low the elbow. The custom of the
Moslem Arabs, as described by Bp.
Wainwright, is perhaps as good an ex
planation of the ancient manner as we
can have. " The pilgrims kneeling
down, took sand in the palms of their
hands, and lifting up the arm, let it
glide down the inner part of the elbow,
and then went through the form of
washing the face with the sand. Upon
asking our dragoman, who was a Mus
lim, the meaning of this, he told me that
it was a substitute for that washing of
the hands and face which is required
by the Koran as a preparation for prayer.
When water cannot be procured, ablu
tion may be performed with sand or

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VII.

385

thy disciples according to the
tradition of the elders, but eat
bread with unwashen hands ?
6 He answered and said unto
them, Well hath Esaias prophe
sied of you hypocrites, as it is
written, "This people honoureth
me with their lips, but their heart
is far from me.
7 Howbeit, in vain do they wor
ship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the com
mandment of God, ye hold the
tradition of men, as the washing
of pots and cups : and many
other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full
well ye 'reject the commandment
of God, that ye may keep your
own tradition.
10 For Moses said, 'Honour
thy father and thy mother ; and,
Whoso curseth father or mother,
"let him die the death :
a Is. 20. 13; Matt. 15. 8. 1 Or, frustrate.
b Ex. 20. 12: Deut. 5. 16. c Ex. 21. 17;
Lev. 20. 9 ; Prov. 20. 20. d Matt. 15. 5 ; &

dust. " IT The tradition. The custom
handed down from their forefathers.
They did not pretend to found the necessi
ty of it on the written Scripture, ff The
elders. Their ancestors or perhaps the
Rabbis who had lived before them.
They pretended that there had always
been a certain unwritten tradition, com
ing down in the hands of certain men
in each generation.
4. From the market. Any public
square or place where people assembled
in common, for trade or any kind of busi
ness, ff Cups. Drinking vessels, such
as were used at their meals. Pots were
larger vessels made to hold liquids.
Articles of metal, were sometimes passed
through the fire, to remove any defile
ment, which might have been left by
the touch of a Gentile finger, ff Tables.
The couches rather, on which they re-
Voi.. I.— 17

11 But ye say, If a man shall
say to his father or mother, It is
¦*Corban, that is to say, a gift, by
whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me ; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more
to do aught for his father or his
mother ;
13 Making the word of God
of none effect through your tradi
tion, which ye have delivered :
and many such like things do ye.
14 If And when he had called,
all the people unto him, he said
unto them, Hearken unto me
every one of you, and 'understand.
15 There is nothing from with
out a man, that entering into
him, can defile him : but the
things which come out of him,
those are they that defile the
man. 16 If ¦''any man have ears to
hear, let him hear.
?17 And when he was entered

23. 18.
11. 15.

6 Prov. 8. 5 ; Acts 8. 80. /Matt.
g Matt. 15. 15, &o.

clined at their meals. These were washed
lest any unclean persons might have
touched them. Lev. xv. 4. How good
and pious would they have been, if they
had used the same care in purifying
their souls from the foul effects of griev
ous sins ; if they had sought the inward
washing which alone makes clean.
" Wash you, make you clean, put away
the evil of your doings from before mine
eyes." Is. i. 16. But alas, men will
rather bind heavy burdens upon their
bodies, will labor and toil in mere will-
worship and bodily exercise which pro
fit nothing (1 Tim. iv. 8.), than seek the.
only true purity — which consists in
holiness of heart and integrity of life.
9. Full well. This was said ironi
cally. Truly a curious spectacle did
they present of men scrupulous to
such a .nicety in respect to a sin by

386

MARK.

[A D. 27.

into the house from the people,
his disciples asked him concern
ing the parable.
18 And he saith unto them,
Are ye so without understanding
also ? do ye not perceive, that
whatsoever thing ¦ from without
entereth into the man, it cannot
defile him :
19 Because it entereth not into
his heart, but into the belly, and
goeth out into the draught, purg
ing all meats ?
20 And he said, That which
cometh out of the man, that de
fileth the man.
21 "For from within, out of
the heart of men, proceed evil

a Gen. 6. 5 ; & 8. 21 ; Matt. 15. 19.
covetousnesses, wickednesses.

I! Or,

touch, the mere shadow of a defilement,
when their consciences were burdened
by such great crimes against God, such
cruelties to the poor and destitute
among men. They began with the
notion of their tradition being equally
binding with the written laws of God,
but they had actually proceeded by a
train of self-deception, to make His laws
of no effect upon their lives.
17. The parable. They refer to the
15th verse, which was in a manner a
parable, and conveyed a spiritual truth
by means of a physical circumstance,
with which all are familiar. The word
may signify a difficult saying, something
that required explanation. And though
this seems so plain to us, it was difficult
to them. They had received their train
ing from the Pharisees, and could not
at once break away from it.
20. That which cometh out of the man.
Simple as this whole subject seems to
us now, it cost the Church some cen
turies of battling with heresies and sects,
to bring it into belief. The philoso
phers of that age were inclined to place
evil in matter, not in soul or spirit. This
error of the Jews, with the fascinating
mythology of the Persians, combined to

thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
murders, 22 Thefts, 'covetousness, wick
edness, deceit, lasciviousness, an
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, fool
ishness; 23 All these evil things come
from within, and defile the man.
24 If ' And from thence he
arose, and went iuto the borders
of Tyre and Sidon, and entered
into an house, and would have no
man know it : but he could not
be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose
young daughter had an unclean
spirit, heard of him, and came
and fell at his feet :
6 Matt. 15. 21, &c.

spread the opinion. The first sect of
heretics, the Nicolaitans, erred on this
point, saying that sin was a property of
the body. It was long before the world
escaped from the false conclusions of
heathen science, to see that out of the
heart alone proceed the issues of life —
i. e. the things which make one a sin
ner or not Says the Venerable Bede :
" Thus, then, it is not meat that makes
men unclean, but wickedness, which
works in us the passions that come from
within. From this passage are con
demned those men who suppose that
thoughts arc put into them by the devil,
and do not arise from their own evil
will. The devil may excite and help
on evil thoughts, but he cannot be their
author." James i. 14, 15. ff Defileth
the man. That which a man invents or
indulges in his heart, suffering it to
proceed out into words or actions, that
it is which makes his soul unclean in
the sight of God. Thus the penitent
David cried : " Wash me thoroughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from
my sin." Ps. ii. 2. And in the whole
of that spiritual complaint over his sin,
he refutes this error of the Pharisees.
See Matt. xv. 18-20.

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VII.

387

26 (The woman was a 'Greek,
a Syrophenician by nation,) and
she besought him that he would
cast forth the devil out of her
daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her,
Let the children first be filled :
for it is not meet to take the chil
dren's bread," and to cast it unto
the dogs.
28 And she answered and said
unto him, Yes, Lord, 'yet the
dogs under " the table eat of the
children's crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For
this saying, go thy way ; the devil
is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come to
I Or, Gentile. Is. 49. 12. a Matt. 7. 6;
& 10. 5, 6. b Eom. 15. 9 ; Eph. 2. 12-14.
c 1 John 8. 8.

22. An evil eye. A usual phrase to
denote envy. See Matt. xx. 15.
24-30. See notes, Matt. xv. 21-28.
24. Would have no man know it. He
was seeking to avoid the evil designs
of the Pharisees, and moved about in
distant places with celerity and caution.
Our Saviour could have defended Him
self against His enemies by Divine
power, but He chose to set us this ex
ample, of avoiding dangers by a proper
caution. 26. A Greek. According to the Jew
ish custom of that age, all other people
than themselves were called Greeks.
See Acts xix. 10 ; xx. 21 ; Rom. i. 16 ;
ii. 9, 10. The word does not declare
the country of the woman, so much as
her religion.
28. Yes, Lord : yet the dogs, Sec How
great, how noble this faith ; as she knew
nothing of the great truth that the
Gospel was to be free to all men. She
hears the prophet make this distinction
of dogs and children. But she believes
that there is a truth in the mercy of
God, that lies beyond that ; yea, which
even the dogs witness to. They receive
the children's crumbs, and compared to

her house, she found 'the devil
gone out, and her daughter laid
upon the bed.
31 IT And rfagain, departing
from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon,
he came unto the sea of Galilee,
through the midst of the coasts
of Decapolis.
32 And they 'bring unto him
one that was deaf, and had an im
pediment in his speech ; and they
beseech him to put his hand upon
him. 33 And he took him aside from
the multitude, and put his fingers
into his ears, and -Tie spit, and
touched his tongue :
34 And "looking up to heaven,
d Matt. 15. 29, he. e Matt. 9. 32 ; Lu. 11.
14. / Ch. 8. 28; John 9. 6. g Ch. 6. 41;
John 11. 41 ; &, 17. 1.

the power of Jesus, it is but a crumb
which she asks. It will make her rich,
and no one the poorer. Her argument
and her faith were irresistible.
31. Departed from the coasts. There
were coasts to this region, as it lay
on the sea. But the word generally
means simply the region in which the
cities mentioned lay. ff Decapolis.
See Matt. iv. 25. He passed around
above the sources of the Jordan, and
visited the region of Decapolis ; and came
again to the Sea of Galilee, opposite to
Capernaum. 32. Had an impediment. The man
was deaf, and stammered by a natural
defect in the organs. These two evils
generally go together.
32. Took him aside from the multitude.
In only one other case did Jesus with
draw the sufferer from the multitude.
See Mark viii. 23. Why this was, we
have no means of knowing. It may
have depended on the peculiar state of
mind in which the two individuals were,
and to impress on them the manner of
the cure, as suitable to their spiritual
state. The Greek fathers say, that it
was to teach us to avoid ostentation.

388

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

he " sighed, and saith unto him,
Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 'And straightway his ears
were opened, and the string of
his tongue was loosed, and he
spake plain.
36 And "he charged them that
they should tell no man : but the
more he charged them, so much
the more a great deal they pub
lished it ;
37 And were beyond measure
astonished, saying, ''He hath done
all things well ; he maketh both
the deaf to hear, and 'the dumb
to speak.
a John 11. 83, 88. 6 Is. 85. 5, 6 ; Matt. Il
ls, c Ch. 5. 43.

ff And He put His fingers, Sec. Our
Lord uses signs with this man. He was
deaf and could not receive instruction
from words. The finger in the ear,
seems as if it were meant to break
down the barrier to sound ; the spittle
and touching of the tongue, to give
virtue to his organs, from His own
body. Our Lord sometimes resorted to
signs in curing men. See Mark viii.
23 ; John ix. 6.
34. Looking up to heaven He sighed.
He seeks aid from above by prayer.
He looks beyond this miracle, to those
who will not hear or confess His doc
trine : even as He wept at the tomb of
Lazarus, over His own coming death,
suffered in vain for so many. Keble has
written the best comment possible on
this act:
"The deaf may hear the Saviour's voice,
The fetter'd tongue its chain may break ;
But the deaf heart, the dumb by choice,
The laggard soul that will not wake,
The guilt that scorns to he forgiven ;—
These baffle even the skill of Heaven ;
In thought of these, His brows benign,
Not even in healing, cloudless shine."
ff Ephphatha. This is a Syriac word,
which St. Mark, for some reason, per
haps known to his first readers, saw
fit to preserve.
35. The string of his tongue. He may
have been tongue-tied. The difficulty

CHAP. VIII.
IN those ¦''days the multitude be
ing very great, and having no
thing to eat, Jesus called his dis
ciples unto him, and saith unto
them, 2 I have "compassion on the
multitude, because they have now
been with me three days, and have
nothing to eat :
3 And if I send them away
fasting to their own houses, they
will faint by the way : for divers
of them came from far.
4 And his disciples answered
him, From whence can a man
d Gen. 1. 31 ; Ps. 139. 14 e Ex. 4. 11.
/Matt. 15. 82, Ac. g Heb. 5. 2.

is instantly removed, and he spake
plain. 36. Tell no man. Any undue publish
ing of the miracle would hetray His
retreat to the Pharisees, ff Tliey pub
lished it. They were amazed at it, and
being unable to understand the reason
of His charging them to be silent, they
cannot refrain. Led by gratitude and
admiration, they tell ah whom they
meet of this miracle.
37. Beyond measure. Exceedingly.
They had never seen the like, and are
amazed at a miracle done by such easy
means, ff He hath done all things well.
The words echo that approval of the
first creation, when all was very good.
Gen. i. 31. So in this " new crea
tion," men recognise faintly the hand
of a Divine artificer, who does all His
works in a perfect manner, giving eyes
where was blindness, and tongues to
praise God, where was impotence and
silence. CHAPTER VIH.
1-9. See explanation of this, notes on
Matt. xv. 32-39.
1. In those days. Soon after the mir
acle recorded in the last chapter.
9. Four thousand. The word means
strictly, four thousand men. See Matt.
xv. 38.
10. Dabnanutha. A city on the west-

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VHI.

satisfy these men with bread here
in the wilderness ?
5 "And he asked them, How
many loaves have ye ? and they
said, Seven.
6 And he commanded the peo
ple to sit down on the ground ;
and he took the seven loaves, and
gave thanks, and brake, and gave
to his disciples to set before them ;
and they did set them before the
people. 7 And they had a few small
fishes : and he 'blessed, and com
manded to set them also before
them. 8 So they did eat,' and were
filled :* and they took up of the
broken meat that was left, seven
baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were
about four thousand : and he sent
them away.
10 TT And 'straightway he en
tered into a ship with his disci
ples, and came into the parts of
Dalmanutha. a Matt. 15. 84 ; Ch. 6. 88. b Matt. 14. 19 ;
Ch. 6. 41. a Ps. 107. 5, 6 ; & 78. 25 ; & 146.
7. d 2 Kings 4. 2-7, 42-44; 1 Kings 17. 14-
16.

tern shore of the sea of Galilee, near
Madgala. See notes on Matt. xv. 39.
11—21. See notes, Matt. xvi. 1-12.
11. Seeking of Him a sign from
heaven. Some special proof that He
was Messiah. They desired to perplex
Him, not to be convinced. See notes,
Matt. xvi. 1.
12. And He sighed deeply, Sec At this
exhibition of their hypocrisy. This in
veterate malice gave the greatest pain
to the Saviour, ff No sign be given.
The original intimates the strongest
mode of assertion. It was in a manner
impossible that such a proof of His
mission should be afforded them. For
they claimed that the Messiah ought to

11 And the •''Pharisees came
forth, and began to question with
him, seeking of him a sign from
heaven, tempting him.
12 And he sighed deeply in his
spirit, and saith, Why doth this
generation seek after a sign ?
Verily I say unto you, There
shall no sign be given unto this
generation. 13 And he left them, and enter
ing into the ship again, departed
to the other side.
14 If Now the disciples had
forgotten to take bread, neither
had they in the ship with them
more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, say
ing, Take heed," beware of the
leaven4 of the Pharisees, and of
the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among
themselves, saying, It is because
we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew it,
he saith unto them, Why reason
ye, because ye have no bread ? '
e Matt. 15. 39. /Matt. 12. 88 ; & 16. 1, &c. ;
John 6. 80. g Lu. 12. 1 ; Matt. 16. 5. h Ex.
12. 20 ; Lev. 2. 11 ; 1 Cor. 5. 6-S. i Ch. 6. 52.

come in a miraculous and astonishing
manner, in the clouds of heaven ; where
as Jesus had already come, in a natural ¦
manner, by birth from a virgin.
15. Beware of the leaven of the Phari
sees. See Matt. xvi. 6. Their own law
would have taught them that leaven
had a moral application to false doc
trine. Compare Ex. xii. 20 ; Lev. ii. 11 ;
and 1 Cor. v. 6-8. ff Of Herod. It
is of the Sadducees, in St. Matthew.
It is supposed from this that Herod and
his party were Sadducees. We may
properly believe, however, that Jesus
cautioned His disciples against them all,
for the leaven, or opinions of all were
opposed to Him. The Pharisees were

390

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

perceive ye not yet, neither under
stand? have ye your heart yet
hardened ?
18 Having eyes, see ye not ?
and having ears, hear ye not ?
and do ye not remember ?
19 "When I brake the five
loaves among five thousand, how
many baskets full of fragments
took ye up ? They say unto him,
Twelve. 20 And' when the seven among
four thousand, how many baskets
full of fragments took ye up ?
And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them,
How is it that ye do not under
stand ?
22 If And he cometh to Beth
saida ; and they bring a 'blind
a Matt. 14. 20; Ch. 6. 43; Lu. 9. 17; Join
6. 18. b Matt. 15. 87. v. 8.

bigoted and corrupt ; the Sadducees
were heretical and formal ; the Hero
dians, worldly and unbelieving.
22. To Bethsaida. See note on Matt.
xi. 21. ff To touch him. In order to
his cure.
23. Led him out of the town. See
note, Matt. xi. 21. The people of Beth
saida - were unworthy and careless.
Says Theophylact: "He then takes
out of the town the blind man who had
been brought to Him, for the faith of
those who brought him was not true
faith.'' And we presume that the faith
of the bhnd man himself, was of the
same mingled character as that of his
friends and associates. He takes him
aside and uses means, as if to help out
his unworthy faith. See ch. vii. 31—37.
ff Spit on his eyes. Signs are helps to
faith. So the oil used by the disciples
(Mark vi. 13 ; James v. 14) having the
appearance of a medicine, helped their
faith. So the wood which Elisha (2
Kings vi. 6) made use of, and the figs
which were applied to Hezekiah. Is.
xxxviii 22. Thus the use of means
would help the weak faith, which a puro

man unto him, and besought him
to touch him.
23 And he took the blind man
by the hand, and led him out of
the town f and when he had spit
on his eyes, and put his hands
upon him, he asked him if he
saw aught.
24 And he looked up, and said,
I see men as trees walking.
25 After that, he put his hands
again upon his eyes, and made
him look up : and he was re
stored, and saw every man clear-
26 And he sent him away to
his house, saying, Neither go in
to the town,' nor tell it to any in
the town.
27 If And •'Jesus went out, and
c Matt. 8. 8, 15. d Ch. 7. 33. « Matt. 8.
4; Ch. 5. 43. /Matt. 16. 13; Lu. 9. 18.

faith would not have required, ff Saw
aught. Saw any thing.
24. / see men as trees walking. They
seem trees in height, but men from their
motion. A blind man recovering his
sight at once, would be almost certain
to speak in such a way. Natural ob
jects would be confused and distorted.
For he would have no idea of the dis
tances of things from him. " There
has oftentimes been traced in this heal
ing an apt symbol of the manner in
which He who is the Light of the world
makes the souls that come to Him par
takers of the illumination of His grace.
Not all at once are the old errors and
the old confusions put to flight ; not all
at once do they see clearly ; for a while
there are many remains of their old
blindness, much which, for a season,
still hinders their vision. They see
men but as trees walking. Yet in good
time Christ finishes the work which He
has begun ; He lays hands on them anew
and they see every man clearly." — Rev.
R. C. Trench. Says Venerable Bede: "But
though by one word He could cure the
man wholly,and all at once,still He cures

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER VIII.

391

his disciples, into the towns of
Cesarea Philippi: and by the
way he asked his disciples, say
ing unto them, Whom do men
say that I am ?
28 And they answered, "John
the Baptist : but some say, Elias ;
and others, One of the prophets.
29 And he said unto them,
But whom say ye that I am ? And
Peter answereth and saith unto
him,' Thou art the Christ.
30 And he charged them that"
they should tell no man of him.
31 ''And he began to teach them,
that the Son of man must suffer
many things, and be rejected of
the elders, and of ihe chief priests.
and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again.
32 And he spake that saying
openly. And Peter took him,
and began to rebuke him.
33 But when he had turned
about, and looked on his disci
ples, he rebuked Peter, saying,
Get thee behind me, Satan : for
a Matt. 14. 2. 6 Matt. 16. 6 ; John 6. 69 ;
& 11. 27. a Matt. 16. 20. d Matt. 16. 21 ;
&17. 22; Lu. 9.22.
him by degrees, that He may show the
greatness of the blindness of man, which
can hardly, and only, as it were, step
by step, be restored to light ; and He
exhibits to us His grace, by which He
furthers each step towards perfection."
26. The town. Bethsaida. ff Nor
tell it, Sec. The report of His miracles
against His will, had already compelled
Him to change His place of abode more
than once.
27-38. See notes, Matthew xvi.
13-28. 32. Openly. Plainly to the disci
ples. He did not use a parable, but
plainly prophesied of His own death.
38. Ashamed cf me. Confounded by
the shame of My dying an ignominious

thou savourest not the things that
be of God, but the things that be
of men.
34 1 And when he had called
the people unto him with his dis
ciples also, he said unto them,
'Whosoever will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save
his life, /shall lose it ; but whoso
ever shall lose his life for my sake
and the gospel's, the same shall
save it.
36 For what shall it profit a
man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul ?
37 Or what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul?
38 "Whosoever therefore "shall
be ashamed of me, and of my
words, in this adulterous and sin
ful generation ; of him also shall
the Son of man be ashamed, when
he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.
e Matt. 10. 88; & 16. 24; Lu. 9. 23; & 14.
27 ; Tit 2. 12. /John 12. 25. g Matt. 10.
S3 ; Ln. 9. 26 ; & 12. 9. A Eom. 1. 16 : 2 Tim.
1.8; &2. 12.

death as a malefactor, cast out by the
Jews and crucified by the Romans. Re
ligion now demands humility of heart,
but we are too apt to use these words in
a formal, vague sense. It is honorable
now to believe in the cross. To be
ashamed of Jesus now, is to have false
ideas of honor, and to refuse the meek
ness and lowliness of a true Christian.
ff This adulterous and sinful generation.
The word expresses spiritual infidelfty,
unbelief, and the choice of worldly and
wicked motives and gains, ff In the
glory of the Father, Sec Those who
were ashamed of the rehgion of Jesus
in the first ages of Christianity on ac
count of the cross, must expect the like
treatment from Him. All who refuse

392

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

CHAP. IX.
AND he said "unto them, Veri
ly I say unto you, That there
be some of them that stand here,
which shall not taste of death,
till they have seen the 'kingdom
of God come with power.
2 Tf And 'after six days, Jesus
taketh with him Peter, and James,
and John, and leadeth them up
into an high mountain apart by
themselves; and he was trans
figured before them.
3 And his raiment became shi
ning, exceeding ''white as snow ;
so as no fuller on earth can white
them. 4 And there appeared unto them
Elias, with Moses : and they were
talking with Jesus.
5 And Peter answered and said
to Jesus, Master, it is good for
us to be here : and let us make
'three tabernacles ; one for thee,
and one for Moses, and one for
Elias. a Matt. 16. 28 ; Lu. 9. 27. b Matt. 24 30 ;
& 25. 81 ; Lu. 22. 18. a Matt. 17. 1, &c. ;
Lu. 9. 28, &c. d Dan. 7. 9 ; Matt. 28. 8 ;
Key. 1. 14.

to confess faith in Christ from whatever
motive of pride or carelessness, from un
willingness to give up the pleasures or
grandeur of the world, or from averseness
to " renounce the world, the flesh, and
the devil." will be rejected by Him at
the last. CHAPTER IX.
1. Verily I say unto you, Sec This
verse evidently belongs to the last chap
ter. Some then present would hve to
see the glorious spread of the Gospel.
See notes on Matt. xvi. 28 ; Luke ix.
27. 2—10. And after six days. See notes,
Matt. xvii. 1-9.
3. No fuller. A man skilful in
making cloths white. The robes were
supernaturally white and glistening'.

6 For he wist not •''what to say ;
for they were sore afraid.
7 And there was a cloud that
overshadowed them : and a voice
came out of the cloud, saying,
This7 is my beloved Son : hear him.
8 And suddenly, when they
had looked round about, they
saw no man any more, save Jesus
only with themselves.
9 And as they came down from
the mountain, he charged them
that they should tell no man what
things they had seen, till the Son
of man were risen from the dead.
10 And they kept that saying
with themselves, questioning one
with another Awhat the rising from
the dead should mean.
11 *IT And they asked him, say
ing, Why say the scribes that
' Elias must first come ?
12 And he answered and told
them, Elias verily cometh first,
and restoreth all things; 'and
how it is written of the Son of
e Ps. 63. 2; 84 10. /Eev. 1. 17. g Ps.
2. 7; 2 Pet. 1. 17. h 1 Cor. 15. 85. i Mai.
4. 5 ; Matt. 17. 10. j Ps. 22. 6 ; Is. 58. 2, &c. ;
Dan. 9. 26.

Says Bede : " Our Saviour, then, when
transfigured, did not lose the substance of
real flesh, but showed forth the glory of
His own or of our future resurrection ;
for such as He then appeared to the
Apostles, He will after the judgment ap
pear to all His elect."
6. He wist not. He knew not. The
word is from an old Saxon word, to wit,
i. e., to know. There was httle need of
his saying any thing, and this seems an
excuse for his words.
11-13. Why say, dec. See notes,
Matt. xvii. 10-13.
14-29. And when, 8cc. See notes,
Matt. xvii. 14-21.
14. Questioning with them. Seeking
to entrap and shame the disciples before
the people, by asking them subtle ques-

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER IX.

393

man, that he must suffer many
things, "and be set at nought.
13 But I say unto you, That
Elias' is indeed come, and they
have done unto him whatsoever
they listed, as it is written of him.
14 If 'And when he came to
his disciples, he saw a great mul
titude about them, and the scribes
questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the peo
ple, when they beheld him, were
greatly amazed, and running to
him, saluted him.
- 16 And he asked the scribes,
What question ye 'with them ?
17 And one of the multitude
answered and said, Master, I
have brought unto thee my son,
which hath a dumb spirit ;
18 And wheresoever he taketh
him, he 'teareth him ; and he
foameth and gnasheth with his
teeth, and pineth away, and I
spake to thy disciples that they
a Lu. 28. 11; Phil. 2. 7. b Matt. 11. 14;
& 17. 12 ; Lu. 1. 17. c Matt. 17. 14 ; Lu. 9.
87. II Or, among yourselves.

tions. They were able to do much mis
chief in this way, unless the Spirit of
grace had given the disciples wisdom to
answer them. The twelve were them
selves as yet very unlearned and unskil
ful in the doctrines of the Gospel.
15. Were greatly a/mazed. They
had been troubled at the failure of the
disciples, and rejoice to see Jesus among
them again. Perhaps some of that
radiance of the Transfiguration lingered
in His countenance as its reflection once
did in that of Moses (Ex. xxxiv.
29), and they wonder at it. ff Saluted
Him. Paid Him honor as a distin
guished person, by words and gestures
of respect. 16. What question ye 1 An inquiry
with something of rebuke in its tone.
" What have ye ventured to ask them
Vol. I.— 17*

should cast him out, and they
could not.
19 He answereth him, and
saith, 0 faithless'' generation, how
long shall I be with you ? how
long shall I suffer you ? Bring
him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto
him : and when he saw him,
straightway the spirit tare him ;
and he fell on the ground, and
wallowed, foaming.
21 And he asked his father,
How long is it ago since this came
unto him ? And he said, Of a child.
22 And oft-times it hath cast
him into the fire, and into the
waters to destroy him : but if
thou canst do any thing, have
compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him,' If
thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father
of the child cried out, and said
1 Or, dasheth him. d Deut. 82. 20 ; Ps.
78. 8: Heb. 8. 10. eMatt. 17. 20; Ch. 11.
23 ; Lu. 17. 6 ; John 11. 40.

in My absence ? Ask it again, that I
may answer."
17. A- dumb spirit. The man was
deaf and dumb, and a lunatic, that is,
subject to periodic fits of violence. See
Matt. xvii. 15. See notes, Matt. iv. 24.
18. And whensoever. Indeed there
seems to have been malice in the choice
of places, the fiend taking advantage of
the most dangerous, ff He teareth him.
Convulses him with gripes and twitch-
ings as if seeking to tear his limbs apaft.
ff He foameth. In violent convulsions.
Of course these would now be thought
signs of only a physical malady. But
the Scripture shows us that they were
then more — the motions of evil spirits.
ff He pineth away. Becomes thin and
weak, as if ready to die.
23. If thou canst do any thing. The

394

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

with tears, Lord, I believe ; help
thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the
people came running together,
he rebuked the foul spirit, saying
unto him, Thou dumb and deaf
spirit, I charge thee, come out
of him,and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and
rent him sore, and came out of

poor father's faith was strained, as a
thin cable in the tossings of a stormy
sea. All is cast on one venture. Should
he be compelled to go back to his house
with this terrible calamity, incurable,
hopeless ; to pass long days or years of
this misery, with a child so horribly af
flicted, yet so dear ? Pause and imagine
the picture of that man's home ; of the
agony of that his prayer. Parent, bear
ing an erring child in the arms of
prayer to Jesus, pray on. You cannot
be more wretched than he was.
23. If thou canst believe. Our
Saviour would turn the father's thoughts
back on the true source of the favor,
namely his faith. He could have cured
all diseases, — nay, prevented all sin
and pain by His omnipotent power.
But He did not. He cured, therefore,
certain persons on condition' of their
faith. Why, but to teach men the spir
itual truth that He had come to save
them from sin by faith ? He makes this
man an example of faith. He delays
the cure until this feature of it is dis
tinctly brought out. ff All things are
possible to him that believeth. Rightly
understood, what can be more blessed
to us in all our wants and trials than
this sentence? The man and his son
have both turned to dust. But this one
sentence, written in the living symbols
of their sufferings ; commented on and
illustrated by the beating, trembling
heart of that parent, lives on, a loadstar
to many a soul tossed in the dark upon
stormy waves of doubt. Oh, poor soul,
whoever you may be, a mother agonized
by an unworthy child, a man sinking in
the struggles of business, a poor servant
or slave longing for rest and solace.

him : and he was as one dead ; in
somuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the
hand, and lifted him up ; and he
arose. 28 And when he was come
into the house, his disciples asked
him privately, Why could not we
cast him out ?
29 And he said unto them,
pray on. Dark and gloomy as the
trouble may be, pray on. AU things,
peace, hope, love, and holy works, nay
heaven itself, all are possible to him that
believeth. Gal. v. 6 ; Rom. viii. 35, 38,
39. 24. Said with tears. His sorrow brim
med and ran over. His heart was
wrung with agony ; had been desolate
with doubt. It sees the merciful inten
tion of Christ in His words, and, moved
to its depths, rushes to his lips and eyes
in his eagerness. His faith as well as
his previous sorrow is seen in his tears.
Like dew-drops they mark the fink be
tween the night and morning, the storm
and the peace, ff / believe. " I trust
you ; I feel the love which prepares to
bless me. I catch a glimpse of the
spiritual mercy that has moved you to
pity my sorrow. Yet, oh, let it not
delay you that I am weak. Help Thou
mine unbelief. Let me not be the ob
stacle to my son's cure. But help me
to see and believe in Thy mercy, and
blessed by it in this, to see farther into
the mystery of Thy love." We some
times lose something of the force of
Scripture, by forgetting the humanity ;
we mean,human soul and heart of Jesus.
He felt as a man. As a man, the tears,
the simple earnestness, the prayer of
this parent moved Him ; and being
moved Himself, His love played in His
features and touched with its electric
spark the man in trouble. Martha's sor
row for Lazarus was measured. Jesus
consoled her by words of wisdom.
Mary's love was unaffected and over
whelming. Jesus said nought to her,
but wept with her. So in the judgment
day, He will show to His saints the

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER IX.

395

This kind can come forth by noth
ing, but by" prayer and fasting.
30 If And they' departed
thence, and passed through Gali
lee ; and he would not that any
man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples,
and said unto them, The Son of
man is delivered into the hands
of men, and they shall kill him ;
and after that he is killed, he
shall rise the third day.
32 But they understood not
that saying, and were afraid to
ask him.
33 "If And 'he came to Caper
naum : and being in the house,
he asked them, What was it that
ye disputed among yourselves by
the way ?
a Eph. 6. 18 ; 1 Cor. 9. 27. b Matt. 17. 22,
&e.; Lu. 9. 44, &c. c Matt. 18. 1 ; Lu. 9.
46; & 22. 24

infinite beauty of the Divine union of
the Godhead and the manhood — ravish
ing them with a love, which , even after
all that has been revealed to us, is as
yet unsuspected by our world-darkened
hearts. Rom. xi. 33 ; 1 Cor. ii. 9.
30-33. See Matt. xvii. 22, 23. Would
not that any man should know it. He
was on His way to Jerusalem to the
Feast of Pentecost, and it was necessary
to pass thither unknown, lest His ene
mies should seek to destroy Him.
32. They understood not. Certainly
no language could be plainer. But their
minds were so engrossed with other
thoughts of His future glory and their
own, that they could not beheve this to
be true, and in that sense, could not
understand it.
33-37. See notes on Matt, xviii 1-5.
34. Who should be greatest. St. Mat
thew says " in the kingdom of heaven."
That is, in temporal power in that king
dom of earth, which they dreamed of,
and hke children began already to por
tion off among themselves.
38-41. One casting out devils in Thy

34 But they held their peace :
for by the way they had disputed
among themselves, who should
be the greatest.
35 And he sat down, and called
the twelve, and saith unto them,
If ''any man desire to be first,
the same shall be last of all, and
servant of all.
36 And he took a child, and
set him in the midst of them; and
when he had taken him in his
arms, he said unto them,
37 Whosoever shall receive
one of such children in my name,
receiveth me : 'and whosoever
shall receive me, receiveth not
me, but him that sent me.
38 IT And -'John answeredhim,
saying, Master, we saw one cast-
d Matt. 20. 26, 27; Ch. 10. 43. e Matt. 10.
40 ; Lu. 9. 48. /Num. 11. 28 ; Lu. 9. 49.

name. This was some Jew, — possibly a
disciple of St. John the Baptist— who
was making use of the name of the
Messiah. This was attempted after
wards by certain " vagabond Jews."
Acts xix. 13, &c. It was consistent
with the Divine plan of our Saviour's
life that some should be allowed to do
good in His name, even though they
had not at the time, faith to follow Him.
The news of His power and mission
would spread the more by their means.
ff Forbid him not. Do not discourage
such in the present state of tilings, who
show true power in My name, for they
must be friendly, and will not easily be
induced to do any thing against Me.
ff Can lightly speak evil of Me. Lightly
or quickly. A false inference has been
drawn from this precept : that we
ought to sympathize with and encourage
all sects of Christians, because they claim
the name of Jesus, and seem to be doing
good. This error may be shown briefly
by four reasons among others. 1. That
the act was aUowed in the time of pre
paration before the death of Jesus, when

396

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

ing out devils in thy name, and
he followeth not us ; and we for
bade him, because he followeth
not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him
not : for there is no man which
shall do a miracle in my name,
that can "lightly speak evil of
me. 40 For he 'that is not against
us, is on our part.
41 For 'whosoever shall give
you a cup of water to drink in
my name, because ye belong to
Christ, verily I say unto you, he
shall not lose his reward.
42 And ^whosoever shall offend
one of these little ones that be-
a 1 Cor. 12. 8. b Matt. 12. 30. o Matt.
10. 42. d Matt. 18. 6 ; Lu. 17. 1.

the Church was not yet ordered nor a
lawful ministry appointed. The disciples
were still Jews. None were commanded
to follow Jesus, but a certain few whom
He chose. Some therefore might be
His friends, as for instance, Joseph of
Arimathea, Zacehssus, Lazarus and
Nicodemus ; who did not follow Him.
But after the day of Pentecost all this
was changed. Those baptized with
John's baptism were baptized again
(Acts xix. 2-4) ; and those who then at
tempted to cast out evil spirits, were ren
dered contemptible. Acts xix. 13. Those
preaching the things of the Lord were
instructed and baptized into the Church.
Acts xviii. 24-28. 2. The precept
must be confined to this particular case,
of " those who shall do a miracle" in
the name of Christ. St. Paul was such
an one. He worked miracles and pro
phesied. Yet, although St. Paul
preached, he was so tender of the unity
of the Church in the original twelve,
that he baptized but a few persons.
1 Cor. i. 14-16. Persons and sects
founding new modes of ruling the
church, should claim miraculous power,
in order to compel us to give them suf-

lieve in me, it is better for him
that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and he were cast
into the sea.
43 And 'if thy hand offend
thee, cut it off: it is better for
thee to enter into life maimed,
than having two hands to go into
hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched :
44 Where their ¦'worm dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched.
45 And if thy foot offend thee,
cut it off : it is better for thee to
enter halt into life, than having
two feet to be cast into hell, into
the fire that never shall be
quenched :
e Deut. 13. 6-9 ; Matt. 5. 29 ; & 18. 8. I Or,
cause thee to offend ; & so v. 45, 47. /Is.
66.24

feranee under this precept of our Lord.
3. Although these words may be capa
ble of such an interpretation, we are
still bound to interpret them by the whole
tenor of the New Testament. No one
can take a single verse and make his
own meaning of it and call it the mean
ing of the Scripture. We guide our
ideas and practices by the whole of
Scripture, and its tenor is clear and
decided, that we must not countenance
those who cause schisms and sects in
the Church. Eph. iv. 3, 6 ; 1 Cor. xii
12, 13, 25, 27 ; i. 10, 2 John 10, 11 ;
1 Tim. i. 18-20 ; 2 Tim. iv. 3. 4. It
is a vain plea that any particular sect is
a good sect, because it now seems to be
doing good. Years will tell another
story. Every branch which God has
not planted will be rooted up. Disorder,
variance, worldliness, unbelief, show the
marks of crumbhug and ruin.
41. Whosoever will give you a cup, Sec.
In the hot dry climate of Palestine,
where springs were few, and far apart,
it was an act of hospitality to do this.
Water was precious and often an inval
uable refreshment. Our Saviour in this
promise rewards : 1. Those in all times

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER IX.

397

46 Where their worm dieth
notj and the fire is not quenched.
47 And if thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out : it is better for thee,
to enter into the kingdom of God
with one eye, than having two
eyes, to be cast into hell-fire :
48 Where their worm dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched.
a Lev. 2. 13 ; Ezek. 48. 24

49 For every one shall be salt
ed with fire, "and every sacrifice
shall be salted with salt.
50 Salt bis good : but if the
salt have lost his saltness, where
with will ye season it ? 'Have
salt in yourselves, and have ''peace
one with another.
b Matt. 5. 13 ; Lu. 14 34 c Eph. 4. 29 ;
Col. 4 6. d Eom. 12. 18 ; & 14 19 ; 2 Cor.
13. 11 ; Heb. 12. 14.

who shall do good to Christians in His
name, and with a desire to honor Him —
a reward proportioned to their faith.
If that is good, a spiritual blessing : if
not, such as may be proper. 2. But
especially He promises a reward to those
who would giye refreshment to His
Apostles, when to do so was an act of
courage and faith. Such was the act of
Rahab to the spies. Josh. ii. ; Heb. xi.
31 ; of Obadiah to the prophets. 1 Kings
xviii. 4.
42-50. See Matt, xviii. 7-9.
44, 46. Their worm dieth not. The
allusion is evidently made to the worms
which preyed upon the carcasses cast into
the valley of Hinnom. By images de
rived from thence our Lord described
the agonies of hell. Bodies of malefac
tors and others were left there to decay,
and the worms eat them. From this
circumstance, was drawn the image of a
worm which never died. A fire was
kept constantly burning in the valley.
The people could be naturally instructed
of a fire which should never go out ;
never cease to consume the wicked.
The worm then may symbolize the tor
ture of conscience which wakes and stirs
in the endless agonies of remorse. And
the fire represents the external punish
ment of the body. St. Augustine thus
comments : " All those who hesitate
not to affirm, that there will be pain
both of body and soul in that punish
ment, affirm that the body is burnt by
the fire. But although this is more
credible ; because it is absurd, that there,
either the pains of body or soul should
be wanting, still I think it is easier to
say that both belong to the body, than
that neither ; and therefore it seems to

me that Holy Scripture is silent in this
place about the pains of the soul, be
cause it follows that the soul also is
tortured in the pains of the body."
49. For every one shall be salted with
fire. This is a difficult passage. We
have two good interpretations offered
by learned men, either of which may be
the true one. It may be ' referred di
rectly back to the wicked who are spo
ken of in the preceding verses. So says
Dr. Lightfoot. " Every wicked man shall
be salted or seasoned with fire itself, so as
to become unconsumable, and shall en
dure for ever to be tormented." With
him seems to agree Drs. Whitby and S.
Clarke. Another opinion is thus stat
ed by Bp. Mann: "In the present
state of things he that will offer himself
to the service of God must expect to
fall a sacrifice to the fire of persecution.
As therefore every sacrifice is first pre
pared with salt before it is consumed
by fire, so ye must first hold yourselves
prepared by the salt of a spiritual hfe,
to sacrifice all the honors and advanta
ges of the world." We add the opin
ion of Dr. Hammond, which seems to
combine the two preceding. " For ev
ery apostate or temporary Christian,
every wicked man, that by the temp
tations of the flesh fore-mentioned is ta
ken off from the Christian course, shall
(like a burnt offering) be consumed with
fire ; but every pious man will preserve
himself pure from all evil affections, as
the sacrifice is by salt from all putre
faction." Practically, it teaches us that
we are to abstain from sin and expel
the lusts of the flesh at every cost and
self-denial, so that we may preserve the
purity and holiness, which will make us

398

MARX

[A. D. 27.

CHAPTEE X.
AND he "arose from thence,
and cometh into the coasts
of Judea, by the farther side of
Jordan, and the people resort
unto him again ; and, as he was
wont, he taught them again.
2 If And the Pharisees came
to him, and asked him, Is it law
ful for a man to put away his
wife ? tempting him.
3 And he answered and said
unto them, What did Moses com
mand you ?
4 And they said, Moses suffer
ed to write 'a bill of divorcement,
and to put her away.
5 And Jesus answered and said
unto them, For the hardness of
your heart he wrote you this
precept :
a Matt. 19. 1; John 10. 40; & 11. 7.
o Deut. 24. 1 ; Matt. 5. 31 ; & 19. 7. c Gen.
1.27; &5. 2.

fit to see God ; that as the carnal sacri
fices of the Jews were offered to God by
fire (and in a sense purified for His ac
ceptance by fire), so are Christians, who
are His spiritual sacrifice, to be purified
for His presence by a strict and close
abscision of every thing which defileth
according to the Apostle. 1 Cor. iii.
13, 14.
50. Salt is good. See notes, Matt. v.
13. ff Have salt in yourselves. Salt is
an emblem of internal purity. To have
salt in ourselves is to aim at spiritual
soundness, by cutting off sins ; yet hav
ing by grace the vigorous, hfe which will
heal up the wounds and keep the soul
from morbid and melancholy repinings.
" Be sound and healthy, able to cut off
excrescences, and with a full vigorous
life within, to recover and become
stronger to work righteousness." ff And
have peace. Salt in the East was. an
emblem also of amity. It was set be
fore the stranger to assure him of peace.
And the man who is in spiritual health

6 But from the beginning of
the creation, 'God made them
male and female.
7 For this rfcause shall a man
leave his father and mother, and
cleave to his wife ;
8 And they twain shall be one
flesh : so then they are no more
twain, but one flesh.
9 What, therefore, God hath
joined together, let not man put
asunder. 10 And in the house his disci
ples ask'ed him again of the same
matter. 11 And "he saith unto them,
Whosoever shall put away his
wife, and marry another, commit
teth adultery against her.
12 And if a woman shall put
away her husband, and be mar-
dGen. 2. 24; 1 Cor. 6. 16; Eph. 5. 31.
e Matt. 5. 82; & 19. 9; Lu. 16. 18; Rom. 7. 8;
1 Cor. 7. 10, 11.

seeks peace with the pure, and remains
in the unity of the Church.
CHAPTER X.
1-12. See notes on Matt. xix. 1-12.
11. Shall put away his wife. Al
though no exception is made here (nor
by St. Luke ch. xvi. 18, nor St. Paul
1 Cor. vii. 10, 11), yet we are to un
derstand by necessity the one stated by
St. Matthew both in ch. v. 32 and ch.
xix 9, " Except it be for fornication."
For this reason, a man may put away
his wife.
12. , If a woman shall put away her hus
band. This was not allowed by the
law of Moses, nor has it become a
general custom ; since man, being the
stronger party, has generally denied
any such right. Yet Josephus informs
us of a notorious case which had in a
manner introduced it among the Jews.
Salome, the sister of Herod the Great,
sent a bill of divorce to her husband,
and married Herod. This base act of
a woman in power had found imitators.

T. E. 33.J

CHAPTER X.

399

ried to another, she committeth
adultery. 13 Tf "And they brought young
children to him, that he should
touch them : and his disciples re
buked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, "he
was much displeased, and said
unto them, Suffer the little chil
dren to come unto me, and forbid
them not : 'for of such is the
kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you,
a Matt. 19. 13; Lu. 18. 15. 6 1 Cor. 14.
20 ; 1 Pet. 2. 2.

Our Saviour therefore condemns it, in
order that no one calling himself a
Christian might have a doubt upon the
subject. 13-16. See notes on Matthew xix.
13-15. 13. Should touch them. Lay His
hands upon them with prayer. The
Lord did this in imitation of the cus
tom of the saints of the Old Testa
ment (Gen. xlviii. 14) : and to leave
on record, by a striking instance, that
which was to be the law of His Church
in regard to infants. They are of
course capable of a blessing at the
hands of Christ, and that too a spiritual
blessing. These children were in cov
enant with God by their membership
with the Jewish Church, ff Rebuked
those that brought them. Forbid them
with some indignation. The disciples
could not see the propriety of this act,
nor of what use infants could be in that
temporal kingdom of which they dream
ed. It is evident, therefore, that the
mothers did not desire any act of heal
ing to their httle ones. They sought a
blessing of another sort; and this seem
ed to the twelve, an improper request.
14. Was much displeased. Displea
sure in the breast of our Lord was a
transient feeling against acts like this
of ambitious and carnal minds. He
was grieved that the disciples cherish
ed such wrong opinions ; displeased that
they should rebuke the affection of the

'Whosoever shall not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child,
he shall not enter therein.
16 And he took them up in his
arms, put his hands upon them,
and blessed them.
17 If "And when he was gone
forth into the way, there came
one running, and kneeled to him,
and asked him, Good Master,
what shall I do that I may inherit
eternal life ?
18 And Jesus said unto him,
c Matt. 18. 8. d Matt. 19. 16, &c. ; Lu. 18.
18, &c.

simple-hearted parents, ff Of such is
ihe kingdom, See. Of such is the Church.
It has room for children. No words
could more plainly teach us to baptize
infants ; and to consider them when bap
tized, as heirs to the graces which be
long to the rite.
15. Whosoever shall not receive. No
one can receive the Church covenant
and be a true Christian spiritually, un
less he receives the rite of admission in
the humble and docile spirit of a child.
If he does not receive it in humility, he
puts the bar of self-will in the way. It
must be removed by penitence and
prayer, that the blessing of regeneration
may live in his heart. Acts viii. 22.
ff The kingdom of God. "The Church
of Christ, into which they who are ad
mitted, are entitled, if they observe His
precepts, to eternal life in the world to
come ; to enter into the kingdom of
God is to be a true disciple of Jesns
Christ." — Dr. Jortin. See Matt. iii.
2. 16. Blessed them. Prayed for them,
and pronounced an authoritative bless
ing upon them. The custom of the
Church has been in all ages to bless
httle children in the name, and in imi
tation of the example, of Christ. Harsh
and bitter would the Christian Church
be if she did not do this. We know,
that children by nature are born in sin,
that they commit many actual sins, that
they are naturally prone to sin — in

400

MARK.

[A. D. 27.

Why callest thou me good?
there is none good, but one, that
is God.19 Thou "knowest the com
mandments, Do not commit adul
tery, Do not kill, Do not steal,
a Ex 20; Eom. 18. 9.

moral confusion and wretchedness, " far
gone from righteousness." We know,
too, that during the first years of life the
most important opportunities for forming
in them principles and rules of conduct
are afforded ; that youth is the seed-time
of life. We know, moreover, that no
one can form right principles, or do
truly good actions, unless the Spirit of
God has regenerated him. Now, with
these three premises, how shaU we
hesitate in regard to the conclusion?
What idea would we form of Jesus, if
He allowed children to pass this im
portant period without the power and
possibihty of their having the Spirit to
balance original sin in them, and to
give them a power to do right ? Does
the shepherd drive his lambs out into
the wilderness until they are grown ?
Does the gardener leave his young
plants and trees in the pasture, to be
browsed on by the cattle until they are
full-grown trees? Does the mother
cast out her infant to the street, till it
is able to take care of itself? Did
Jehovah exclude the httle ones of the
patriarchs ? of the Jews from a share of
his blessing? No — a thousand times
no ! Then, shall the fold, the nursery,
the family, the covenant of Christ be
less merciful than those of men ? Nay,
shall it be called by such names, and be
utterly wanting in that which all these
names teach ; the power to receive, and
guard, and cherish the little children ?
Surely not. Children unbaptized are
heathen : amiable, it may be, but amia
ble outcasts of the flock. Nature rejects
the false notion of those, who, without
the excuse of ignorance, which the
disciples had, will not suffer little .chil
dren to take part in the blessing of the
family of Christ ; of men who in the ark
of safety themselves, think to honor God,

Do not bear false witness, Defraud
not, Honour thy father and moth
er. 20 And he answered and said
unto him, Master,' all these have
I observed from my youth.
b Eom. 7. 9 ; Phil. 8. 6.

by seeing their little ones struggling un
aided in the wild waves without. Our
Church is happy, that she has never
even generated the race, who have con
ceived this erroneous notion.
17-31. See notes on Matt. xix. 16-30.
17. Gone forth. Our Saviour was
moving toward Jerusalem, probably to
attend the Feast of the Dedication which
took place in December, ff Running.
He may have been searching for Jesus.
It was not easy at this time to know
exactly where to find Him, as He con
cealed Himself from His enemies. See
ing Him pass, the young man felt that
there was no time to lose, and hastened
after Him.
19. Defraud not. Deprive none of
their just dues. This seems to be the es
sence of the two commandments against
stealing and covetousness. Our Saviour
does not state the Commandments ex
actly as they stand ; but sums up the
heads of them in a general way, just as
any one would naturally do in conver
sation. ' The whole sum of the laws,'
said He, ' are, as you know, the way of
safety according to the Scripture.'
21. Jesus loved him. Approving this
regard to the laws of the Scripture, He
loved him. There were good men under
the Old Testament who observed the
laws of God by grace ; and according to
their strength were holy before Him.
This young man had accomplished
something, but was wanting in the
grace to penetrate the spirit of the law.
He had been somewhat corrupted by
the false teachings of the age, as his
question shows ; and his heart was
hardened by the power of riches, and
something of spiritual pride. He had
not the spiritual insight to prefer the
truth, when he saw it, before his posi
tion and wealth. Had he been poor

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER X.

401

21 Then Jesus beholding him
loved him, and said unto him,
"One thing thou lackest : go thy
way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou
shalt have 'treasure in heaven ;
and come, take up the cross, and
follow me.
22 And he was sad at that say
ing, and went away grieved : for
he had great possessions.
23 If And Jesus looked round
about, and saith unto his disci
ples, How hardly shall they 'that
have riches enter into the king
dom of God !
24 And the disciples were as
tonished at his words. But Je
sus answereth again, and saith
unto them, Children, how hard is
it for them that trust in riches to
enter into the kingdom of God !
25 It is easier for a camel to
a Jas. 2.10. SMatt. 6. 19, 20; Lu. 12.
88; & 16. 9. o Job 31. 24; Pa. 52. 7; & 62.

and in trouble then, the world would
hardly have succeeded in tempting him
away from Jesus.
22. Went away grieved. He perceived
the truth of the words of this prophet,
felt his duty and saw his previous self-
deceit. He cannot give up all the
charms that his position as a wealthy
and pious Jew, gives him, and sacrifice
all to take an unknown life with Jesus.
Seldom in this day does any one fill his
position in all its circumstances, and
find himself compelled to choose once
for all, between the world and piety.
But too many are weakly yielding in
the same manner; by deferring the
questions of piety, and seeking the ex
citements and follies of worldly or
wicked society.
24. How hard it is for them that trust
in riches. Had this young man been
poor when the Saviour put before him
that opportunity of foUowing him, of

go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God.
26 And they were astonished
out of measure, saying among
themselves, Who then can be
saved ?
27 And Jesus looking upon
them, saith, With men it is im
possible, but not with God : ''for
with God all things are possi
ble. 28 If Then Peter began to say
unto him, Lo, we have left all,
and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and
said, Verily I say unto you, There
is no man that hath left house,
or brethren, or sisters,' or father,
or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands, for my sake, and the
gospel's, 30 But he shall 'receive an
10 ; 1 Tim. 6. 17; Eev. 8. 17. d Jer. 22. 17 ;
Matt. 19. 26 . Lu. 1. 87. « 2 Chron. 25. 9 :
Lu. 18. 80.

being a thirteenth disciple, a future
Paul, or at least to fill the place of
Judas, he would with all bis excellent
and amiable qualities have been almost
sure to have embraced it. But his
wealth, his worldly honors, the distinc
tions that pious Judaism had conferred
upon him, were all too bright to be
given up.
26. Out of measure. Beyond measure ;
excessively astonished. For how then
could He expect to succeed and estab
lish that glorious temporal kingdom —
if the rich were to find it so hard to
enter into it.
30. An hundredfold. A hundred
times as much of satisfaction even in
the midst of persecutions, as all that he
gave up would have brought him.
ff In this time. During this hfe.
ff Houses. This can hardly be taken
literally, although it may be noticed
that the words all imply certain family

402

MARX

[A. D. 27.

hundred-fold now in this time,
houses, and brethren, and sisters,
and mothers, and children, and
lands, with persecutions ; and in
the world to come, eternal life.
31 But "many that are first
shall be last ; and the last first.
32 If And 'they were in the
way, going up to Jerusalem ; and
Jesus went before them : and they
were amazed; and as they fol
lowed, they were afraid.' And
he took again the twelve, and be
gan to tell them what things
should happen unto him.
33 Saying, Behold, we go up

a Matt. 19. 30; & 20. 16; Lu. 13.
6 Matt. 20. 17; Lu. 18. 81.

80.

relations, which fitly describe those bonds
of Christian love which reward the true
believer. Houses may have the force
which it has in the common Turkish
salutation, " How is your house ? " i. e.
your family. A Christian, no matter
how he may suffer, shall here receive a
compensation in the increased love of
his Christian brethren. See the mis
sionary. In a manner he gives up aU
the relations of life for Christ's sake, and
to spread His name among the heathen.
How readily do the sympathies of
"families, brethren, sisters and mothers"
in the Church flow out to cheer him,
and make him feel, that he has gained
by the change, ff With persecutions.
Kindly and gently does Jesus cool down
these carnal dreams of the disciples.
They catch at the sound of houses and
honors ; but the word persecutions again
sets them to pondering what is the fate
before them, at one time so glorious, at
another with such words of sadness.
We wonder at them, but we have no
right to do so. We, too, have dreams,
yea, dreams as Christians, which are
never to be fulfilled. Our future, as we
would have it, and as God has ordered
it — Eeader, how sadly different would it
seem now. Saul of Tarsus dreamed of
the tiara of the high priest, at least of

to Jerusalem; and the Son of
man shall be delivered unto the
chief priests, and unto the scribes ;
and they shall condemn him to
death, and shall deliver him to
the Gentiles ;
34 And they shall mock ham,
and shall scourge him, and shall
spit upon him, and shall kill him ;
and the third day he shall rise
again. 35 "If *And James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, come unto
him, saying, Master, we would
that thou shouldst do for us what-
sover we shall desire.

c Ch. 8. 81 ; ,
d Matt. 20. 20.

;9. 31; Lu. 9. 22; & 18. 31.

honor and glory in the service of the
Law. Paul died in the circus to make
a Roman holiday ! So with us in a
measure. Reward with sorrow, inner
purity with bitter tears, peace with
sighs and groans, hope of heaven with
crucifixion to this world — such is hfe.
Only be faithful, and you will yet stand
on the heights of a holy life, to wonder
how different, yet how infinitely better,
God's plan of your life is than your
own. 32-34. See the notes on Matt. xx.
17-19. 32. Jesus went before them. They see
something of His meaning. And as He
had been telling them of trouble to be met,
He takes the lead. They feel oppressed
by the sense of some great danger.
And now they are amazed to see Him
exposing himself to the observation of
men. He had been concealing Himself.
But now the hour draws near, and He
throws off aU reserve and appears
among the crowds who are thronging
toward Jerusalem.
35-45. See notes on Matt. xx. 20-
28. 35. And James and John. Their
mother spake for them. They came
with her. There was both ambition and
affection in this request, ambition for

T. E. 33.]

CHAPTER X.

403

36 And he said unto them,
What would ye that I should do
for you ?
37 They said unto him, Grant
unto us that we may sit, one on
thy right hand, and the other on
thy left hand, in thy glory.
38 But Jesus said unto them,
Ye "know not what ye ask ; can
ye drink of the cup that I drink
of? and be baptized with the bap
tism that I am baptized with ?
39 And they said unto him, We
can. And Jesus said unto them,
Ye 'shall indeed drink of the
cup' that I drink of; and with
the baptism that I am baptized
withal shall ye be baptized.
40 But to sit on my right hand
and on my left hand, is not mine
to give; but it shaU be given to
them for whom it is ^prepared.
41 And 'when the ten heard
it, they began to be much dis
pleased with James and John.
42 But Jesus calleth them to
him, and saith unto them, -^Ye
know that they which are" ac
counted to rule over the Gentiles,
exercise lordship over them ; and
their great ones exercise authori
ty upon them.
a Jas. 4. 3. 6 Matt. 10. 25 ; John 17. 14-
c Ch. 14. 86. d Matt. 25. 34; Heb. 11. 16-
« Matt. 20. 24. /Lu. 22. 25. 1 Or, think
good.

pre-eminence over the rest ; affection,
for it was a time when danger seemed
to lower.
46-52. See explanation in notes on
Matt. xx. 29-34.
46. Blind Bartimeus. The name
means the son of Timaeus. St. Mat
thew mentions two men, and a difference
as to the time. See notes, Matt xx. 29.
This one was certainly well known, as
we may judge from the mention of his
name.

43 But so 'shall it not be
among you : but whosoever will
be great among you, shall be your
minister :
44 And whosoever of you will
be the chiefest, shall be servant
of all.
45 For even the Son of man
came not to be ministered unto,
but *to minister, and to give his
life a * ransom for many.
46 TT And they came to ¦'Jeri
cho ; and as he went out of Jeri
cho with his disciples, and a great
number of people, blind Barti
meus, the son of Timeus, sat by
the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth, he began
to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that
he should hold his peace : but he
cried the more a great deal, Thou
son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and
commanded him to be called :
and they call the blind man, say
ing unto him, Be of good comfort,
rise; he calleth thee,
50 And he, 'casting away his
(/Matt. 20. 26. 28; Ch. 9. 85; Lu. 9. 48.
h John 18. 14; Phil. 2. 7. iMatt. 20. 28;
1 Tun. 2. 6 ; Tit. 2. 14. j Matt. 20. 29, &c. ;
Lu. 18. 85, &c. k Heb. 12. 1, 2.

47. That he should hold his peace. A
most astounding cry in their ears : they
are shocked at it. It contained the
very question at issue between Jesus and
the rulers. What, a blind beggar to
know more than the Scribes, to dare
to put together such words and confess
Jesus of Nazareth to be the Son of
David, the Messiah : they try to silence
him ! In vain. He had used his seat as a
blind beggar there under the palm trees
of Jericho, to good purpose ; he knew

404

MARK.

[A. D.

garment, rose, and came to Je
sus. 51 And Jesus answered and
said unto him, What wilt thou
that I should do unto thee ? The
blind man said unto him, Lord,
that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him,
Go thy way ; "thy faith hath' made
thee whole. And immediately
he received his sight, and follow
ed Jesus in the way.
CHAPTER XI.
Passion Week — Sunday.
AND when rfthey came nigh to
Jerusalem, unto Bethphage,
and Bethany, at the mount of
Olives, he sendeth forth two of
his disciples,
a Matt 9. 22 ; Ch. 5. 34. I Or, saved tliee.

that he was right, and he shouts the
louder, his tremendous confession of
faith, as it sounded to Jewish ears.
50. Casting away his garment. The
looser robe which he wore. He did it to
run the faster, and from a noble careless
ness of all, but the one thing he needed
— hght. True, he was blind : but of
all real truth, he had a clear, bold vision.
He confesses bravely, casts off obstruc
tions readily, runs quickly, and answers
reverently yet firmly — Lord, my sight !
What more can faith do ? What less
will it do in honest hearts ?
52. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
Yea, though it had sounded as a trum
pet of war, the battle between Him and
the Pharisees. Jesus sealed his confession
of faith by the miracle, and of course
adopted all the consequences of it. And
note, that He does not charge him to be
silent, nor send him away, but suffers
him to follow, a present miracle, that
said to all men — even without need of
words ; " I confessed Jesus to be the Mes
siah and He gave me sight." There is no
longer any need of silence. The events of
this narrative hurry to their close, ff In
the way. Along the road to Jerusalem,

2 And saith unto them, Go
your way into the village over
against you : and as soon as ye
be entered into it, ye shall find a
colt tied, whereon never man sat ;
loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto
you, Why do ye this ? say ye that
the Lord hath need of him ; and
straightway he will send him
hither. 4 And they went their way,
and found the colt tied by the
door without, in a place where
two ways met; and they loose
him. 5 And certain of them that
stood there said unto them, What
do ye, loosing the colt ?
6 And they said unto them
b Matt. 21. 1, &c. ; Lu. 19. 29, &o. ; John
12. 14, ten.

whither all pious Jews were journeying
to keep the feast.
CHAPTER XI.
PASSION WEEK  PALM SUNDAY.
March 21st.
1—11. See this passage commented on
in notes on Matt. xxi. 1-16.
1. Bethphage and Bethany. Two small
villages lying neareachother,onthe east
ern slopes of the Mount of Olives, about
two miles from Jerusalem. " Beautiful
as is the site of Bethany, in the midst
of fertile fields and surrounded by olive
and fig trees, it is now but a mean vil
lage. Its inhabitants are a few Turks
and Arabs ; and there is no longer a
Lazarus or a Mary to sit at the feet of
Jesus. The ruined foundations of
their former dweling-place are still
pointed out, and in memory of this
friend of Jesus, the Turks at this day
call their village Lazari. At a short
distance higher up on the right are
pointed out a few miserable huts as
marking the place where Bethphage
stood." — Bp. Wainwright.
4. Two ways met. Cross-roads ; pro
bably a thoroughfare.
6. Let them go. There were two ani-

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XI.

405

even as Jesus had commanded :
and they let them go.
7 And they brought the colt
to Jesus, and cast their garments
on him ; "and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their gar
ments in the way : and others
cut down branches off the trees,
and strewed them in the way.
9 And they that went before,
and they that followed, cried,
saying, 'Hosanna : Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the
Lord. 1 0 Blessed be the 'kingdom of
our father David, that cometh in
the name of the Lord: ''Hosanna
in the highest. SPs. 118. 26. els. 9. 7;

a Zech. 9. 9.
Jer. S3. 15.

mals, the colt and its dam. See Matt.
xxi. 7.
11-26. See notes on Matt. xxi. 18-
22. 11. Into the temple. Into the court
of the Gentiles, ff And when He had
looked around about upon all. Our Lord
seems to have assumed for a brief space
the investiture of royalty. His acts
are those of a King. The people hail
Him as such. The prophet's words as
changed by St. Matthew imply the
same. Compare Is. Ixii. 10 ; and Matt.
xxi. 5. Isaiah said, " Behold thy sal
vation cometh." St. Matthew gave the
sense as applicable to the occasion : " Be
hold thy Kins cometh." It is, then, a
King who surveys His palace in this in
stance, and, as it were, takes possession
of His Father's House, ff The even
tide. Towards evening, after the services
of the temple, and before the gates were
closed for the night.
12. Monday in Passion Week.
13. A fig-tree afar off. The fig-tree
puts forth its fruit before the leaves, so
that by the timethe leaves are fully form
ed the fruit should begin to ripen. This
tree was in fuU fohage. It seemed to
promise fruit, ff If haply. If per

il And Jesus entered into
Jerusalem, and into the temple :
and when 'he had looked round
about upon all things, and now
the even-tide was come, he went
out unto Bethany, with the
twelve. Passion Week — Monday.
12 1 And 'on the morrow,
when they were come from Be
thany, he was hungry.
13 And seeing a fig-tree afar
off, having leaves, he came, if
haply he might find any thing
thereon : and when he came to it,
he found nothing but 'leaves; for
the time of figs was not yet.
<JPs. 148. 1. eZeph.1.12. /Matt. 21.
18, &o. g Is. 5. 7.

haps there should be figs on it. Our
Lord is true to His mode of teaching
the disciples. This was a symbolic ac
tion. It applied exactly to the destruc
tion of Jerusalem, which it foreshadow
ed. Ezek. xvii. 24 ; Luke xxiii. 31.
ff The time of figs was not yet. Many
explanations have been offered of theso
words ; as, that the season was unfavor
able and the time of gathering figs had
not come. But it is certain from all
accounts that the time of eating figs
was not come. Figs ripened in Judea in
June ; and it was now March. It was not
that our Saviour expected to find figs at
that season of the year, but to expose
the seeming boast of the tree. The tree
was false to its apparent promise. It
ought to have had at the least young
figs ; but it had nothing which would
give a hope of fruit.
14. No man eat fruit of thee here
after for ever. Of course the only ex
planation of this act is in its symbolical
teaching. Otherwise it is without
meaning. Nay, it would be painful to
us to think of it. It teaches the char
acter and fate of the Jewish nation.
On this point all are unanimous. Thus
the Jews were a barren fig-tree, putting

406

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

14 And Jesus answered and
said unto it, No man eat fruit of
thee hereafter for ever. And his
disciples heard it.
15 If And they come to Jeru
salem : and Jesus went into the
temple, and began to cast out
them that sold and bought in the
temple, and overthrew the tables
of the money-changers, and the
seats of them that sold doves ;
16 And would not suffer that
any man should carry any vessel
through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto
them, Is it not written, "My
house shall be called "of all na
tions the house of prayer ?
but *ye have made it a den of
thieves. 18 'And the scribes and chief
priests heard it, and sought how
they might destroy him : for they
feared him, because ''all the peo-
a Is. 56. 7. II Or, a house of prayer for t
all nations. b Jer. 7. 11. e Lu. 19. 47
d Matt. 7. 28; Ch. 1. 22; Lu. i. 32.
forth the leaves of a great and zealous
profession of righteousness ; claiming to ,
bear the fruit of holiness unto God.
Thus had Jesus just gone up to the tern- j
pie as their King, to find if they would
give Him obedience; and found no "fruit j
unto holiness." Thus had He now left
them. Henceforth they were to be de
serted by the Spirit of grace, and the
protecting care of His providence, and
to perish miserably, by a curse, even as
the fig-tree withered away after His
word. 15-19. See Matt. xxi. 12-15.
16. Any vessel. They should not
make a convenience or thoroughfare of
any part of the sacred enclosure. See
Lev. xix. 30 ; Deut. xii. 56.
20. Tuesday in Passion Week.
21. Thou cursedst. The word of
Jesus had been of the same nature as
the curse pronounced upon the ground

pie was astonished at his doc
trine. 19 And when even was come,
he went out of the city.
Passion Week — Tuesday.
20 *ff 'And in the morning, as
they passed by, they saw the fig-
tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to re
membrance, saith unto him, Mas
ter, behold, the fig-tree which
thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering, saith
unto them, 'Have faith in God.
23 For -Verily I say unto you,
that whosoever shall say unto
this mountain, Be thou removed,
and be thou cast into the "sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart,
but shall believe that those things
which he saith shall come to pass ;
he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you,
e Matt. 21. 20, &o. 1 Or, have the faith of
God. /Matt. 17. 20; & 21. 21 ; Lu, 17. 6.
by the Creator. It had withered the
tree and devoted it to destruction. Of
course the same Divine power is mani
fested in this event as in the other. The
same God, who sends His lightnings, and
tempests and pestilences abroad in- the
world, claimed power over the fig-tree.
Jesus did many miracles of mercy, and
all to help and heal men. He did one
miracle of punishment, to teach us to
beware : and spared men, taking as His
object a senseless tree.
22. Have faith in God. Believe in
God, and see the spiritual meaning of
the parable, set forth in this act. They
were looking only at the withered tree ;
Jesus would have them look deeper, and
discover that which it taught, ff This
mountain. Says St. Chrysostom : "As
He did not dry up the fig-tree for its
own sake, but for a sign, that Jerusalem
should come to destruction, in order to

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XII.

407

What "things soever ye desire
when ye pray, believe that ye re
ceive them, and ye shall have

25 And when ye stand praying,
forgive, 'if ye have aught against
any : that your Father also which
is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses 26 But if ye do not forgive,
neither will your Father which is
in heaven forgive you your tres
passes. 27 If 'And they come again to
Jerusalem : and as he was walk
ing in the temple, there come to
him the chief priests, and the
scribes, and the elders,
28 And say unto him, By what
authority doest thou these things ?
and who gave thee this authority
to do these things ?
29 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, I will also ask of
you one "question, and answer me,
and I will tell you by what au
thority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it
from heaven, or of men ? answer
me. 31 And they reasoned with
themselves, saying, If we shall
say, From heaven; he will say,
a Matt. 7.7; Lu. 11. 9; &18. 1; John 14-
18; & 15. 7 ; & 16. 24; Is. 1. 5, 6. 6 Matt. 6.
14; Col. 3. 18. c Matt. 21. 23, &c. ; Lu. 20-
show His power ; in the same way, we
must also understand the promise con
cerning the mountain, though a removal
of this sort is not impossible with God.
25. Forgive, if ye have aught against
any. Precede your prayers by an act, or
at least by the spirit of forgiveness. No
temper is more directly opposed to the
proper Christian spirit, nor oftener con
demned in the Scripture, than an unfor
giving one. See note on Matt. vi. 12,

Why then did ye not believe him ?
32 But if we shall say, Of men;
they feared the people : ''for all
men counted John, that he was
a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and
said unto Jesus, We cannot tell.
And Jesus answering saith unto
them, Neither do I tell you by
what authority I do these things.
CHAPTER XII.
Passion Week. — Tuesday.
' A ND he began to speak unto
XI them by parables. A certain
man planted a vineyard, and set
an hedge about it, and digged a
place for the wine-fat, and built a
tower, and let it out to husband
men, and went into a far country.
2 And at the season he sent to
the husbandmen a servant, that
he might receive from the hus
bandmen of the fruit of the vine
yard. 3 And they caught him, and
beat him, and sent him away
empty. 4 And again he sent unto them
another servant : and at him they
cast stones, ¦'and wounded him in
the head, and sent him away
shamefully handled.
5 And again he sent another :
1, &o. 1 Or, thing. d Matt. 3. 5; & 14.
5; Ch. 6. 20. eMatt. 21. 33, &o. ; Lu. 20.
9, <fec. /Heb. 11. 87; Neh. 9. 80.

15. A Christian in praying must not
only have faith in the power of God,
but he must have charity towards men.
God will not commit power to any, but
such as from truly forgiving tempers
will be certain to use it rightly.
27-33. See notes on Matt. xxi. 23-27.
CHAPTER XII.
Tuesday in Passion Week.
1-12. See notes on Matt. xxi. 35-46.
13-17. See notes, Matt. xxii. 15-22.

408

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

and him they killed, and "many
others ; beating some, and killing
some. 6 Having yet therefore one
son, his well-beloved, 6he sent him
also last unto them, saying, They
will reverence my son.
7 But those husbandmen said
among themselves, This is the
heir ; come, let us kill him, and
the inheritance shall be ours.
8 And they took him, and killed
him, and cast him 'out of the
vineyard. 9 What shall therefore the lord
of the vineyard do ? He will
come and ''destroy the husband
men, and will give the vineyard
unto others.
10 And have ye not read this
scripture ;' The stone which the
builders rejected is become the
head of the corner :
11 This was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvellous in our eyes ?
12 ¦'And they sought to lay
hold on him, but feared the peo
ple; for they knew that he had
spoken the parable against them :
and they left him, and went their
way. 13 IT And they send unto him
certain of the Pharisees, and of
the Herodians, to catch him in
his words.
14 And when they were come,
they say unto him, Master, we
know that thou art true, and car
est for no man : for thou regard
est not the person of men, but
a Jer. 7. 25. b Heb. 1. 12. e Heb. 18.
12. d Prov. 1. 24-81; Is. 5. 5-7; Dan. 9.
26. ePs. 118. 22. /Matt. 21. 45, &c. ;
Lu. 20. 19, &c.

33.

18-27. See notes on Matt. xxii. 23-

teachest the way of God in truth :
Is it lawful to give tribute to
Csesar, or not ?
15 Shall we give, or shall we
not give ? But he, knowing their
hypocrisy, said unto them, Why
tempt ye me ? bring me a 'penny,
that I may see it.
16 And they brought it. And
he saith unto them, Whose is this
image and superscription ? And
they said unto him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering, said
unto them, 9 Bender to Cassarthe
things that are Caesar's, and to
God the things that are God's.
And they marvelled at him.
18 1 Then come unto him the
Sadducees, Vhich say there is no
resurrection ; and they asked him,
saying, 19 Master, 'Moses wrote unto
us, If a man's brother die, and
leave his wife behind him, and
leave no children, that his brother
should take his wife, and raise up
seed unto his brother.
20 Now there were seven
brethren: and the first took a
wife, and dying left no seed.
21 And the second took her,
and died, neither left he any seed :
and the third likewise.
22 And the seven had her, and
left no seed : last of all the wo
man died also.
23 In the resurrection there
fore, when they shall rise, whose
wife shall she be of them ? for
the seven had her to wife.
1 Valuing of our money sevcnpenoe half
penny, as Matt. 22. 19. g Matt. 17. 25, 27 ;
Eom. 13. 1 ; 1 Pet. 2. 17. h Acts 28. 8.
i Deut. 25. 5.

25. Are as the angels. They do not
marry and form new relations, as here

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XH.

409

24 And Jesus answering, said
unto them, Do ye not therefore
err, because ye know not the
scriptures, neither the power of
God? 25 "For when they shall rise
from the dead, they neither mar
ry, nor are given in marriage ;
but are as the angels which are
in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead,
that they rise ; have ye not read
in the book of Moses, how in the
bush God spake unto him, say
ing, SI am the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob ?
27 He is not the God of the
dead, but the God of the living :
ye therefore do greatly err.
28 If And 'one of the scribes
a 1 Cor. 15. 42 ; 49. 52. b Ex. 8. 6. a Matt-
22. 84, &c. ; Ln. 20. 89, &o.

on earth. The law of death ceasing,
the need of marriage also ends. But
this by no means imphes that saints in
heaven cease from all those natural and
innocent affections which they had
here. This would be to change them
totally, and to make them beings of
another sort. They will love all with a
pure, ineffable love ; but they will still
feel all the bonds of love that are ca
pable of purification. The pious Jew is
gathered to his fathers, Lifearus to Abra
ham's bosom ; the tie of descent still
holding them. The pious mother, wife,
or child will rejoice to meet relations
and friends ; the pious pastor, hail with
delight those to whom he has been a
spiritual father.
26. In the bush. In the burning bush,
on Mount Horeb. See Exodus iii. 6.
The Jews were accustomed to this close
and critical reasoning on the words of
holy writ. They felt the force of argu
ments supported as this is. And it is a
sad thing to see men now-a-days, in a
dread of superstition, givon to reduce the
Scripture to the baldest interpretation
Vol. L— 18

came, and having heard them
reasoning together, and perceiv
ing that he had answered them
well, asked him, Which is the
first commandment of all ?
29 And Jesus answered him,
The first of all the command
ments is, ''Hear, 0 Israel ; The
Lord our God is one Lord :
30 And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind, and with all thy
strength : this is the first com
mandment. 31 And the second is like,
namely this, 'Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself : there is none
other commandment greater than
these. 32 And the scribe said unto
d Deut. 6. 4; Lu. 10. 27. e Lev. 19. 18 ;
Matt. 22. 39 ; Eom. 13. 9 ; Gal. 5. 14 ; Jas. 2. 8.

of the letter. Ps. cxix. 18, 44, 97-104.
28-34. See explanation in notes on
Matt. xxii. 34-40.
28. One of the scribes came. He was
not of the party seeking to entrap Jesus.
Our Lord answered him kindly. He
approved of his straightforward conduct,
and spoke of him as prepared to believe
and enter His kingdom. We trust that
he did so. ff Which is the first com
mandment of all ? The Rabbis taught,
that men should make sure of salvation
by a strict observance of one law, that
they might in this way atone for sins of
ignorance and accident against other
precepts. They differed as to which law
should be specially observed. The
scribe perplexed by their fanciful expla
nations, seeks a solution of his difficulty.
30. Thou shalt love, Src This is the
royal law, the law of liberty, the princi
ple which fulfis the whole law in all
its precepts. See James ii. 8, 12 ; i. 25 ;
and Rom. xiii, 10. Upon this basis is
built the Gospel-covenant. It is the
Christian's Decalogue— which says to
him, " Do this and live." Unless we

410

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

him, Well, Master, thou hast said
the truth : for there is one God ;
"and there is none other but he :
33 And to love him with all
the heart, and with all the under
standing, and with all the soul,
and with all the strength, and to
love his neighbor as himself, J is
more than all whole burnt-offer
ings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that
he answered discreetly, he said
unto him, Thou art not far from
the kingdom of God. And no
man after that durst ask him any
question. 35 T And Jesus answered and
said, while he taught in the tem
ple, How say the scribes that
Christ is the son of David ?
36 For David himself said * by
a Deut. 4. 89; Is. 45. 6, 14; & 46. 9.
b Lam. 15. 22 ; Hos, 6. 6 : Mic. 6. 6-8. c Matt.
22.46.

do manifest this obedience, we cannot
have a good hope of salvation. 1 John
iv. 8, 13, 16, 20, 21. And no faith can
avail to give us one moment's comfort,
but that " which worketh (that is, is
perfected and made efficient) by love."
Gal. v. 6. A stricter law, entering into
and searching the very heart and spirit,
binds us now. There are greater pro
mises, graces and helps for us in the
Gospel, but it is still a law.
32-34. This answer of the scribe is
not recorded by St. Matthew. It is the
frank confession of a true-hearted man.
His associates were doubtless enraged
to hear it. But he would not be deter
red by them from speaking truth.
ff Not far from the kingdom of God.
He was in a state of mind which made
it easy for him to receive the whole
truth, ff No man — ask Him any ques
tion. They had endeavored by their
subtle questions to disgrace Him before
the people. They had failed, and had
only given Him the opportunity of de
claring the truths which they disliked.

the Holy Ghost, 'The Loed said
unto my Lord, Sit tho a on my
right hand, till I make thine ene
mies thy footstool.
37 David therefore himself
calleth him Lord, and whence is
he then his son ? And the com
mon people heard him gladly.
38 li And he said unto them
/in his doctrine, Beware of the
scribes, which love to go in long
clothing, and Hove salutations in
the market-places,
39 And the chief seats in the
synagogues, and the uppermost
rooms at feasts :
40 "Which devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make
long prayers : these shall receive
greater damnation.
41 If And Jesus sat over

d 2 Sam. 23. 2.
2. ff Lu. 11. 48.
21. 1, &c.

«Ps. 110. 1. /Ch. 4.
A Matt 28. 14. i Lu.

Foiled in this, they now betake them
selves to secret plottings against Him.
35-37. See notes on Matt. xxii.
41. 46.
36. Said by the Holy Ghost. David
was inspired by God's Holy Spirit to
write the book of Psalms. He wrote
them as the record of his love of God,
with prophecies mingled in them of the
future Messiah ; and the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit deepened the meaning
of them, and guarded them from all
error. 38. In His doctrine. His instruction
of the common people. Jesus had won
their hearts by deeds of mercy, and by
a fearless declaration of the common
laws of justice and mutual right. They
had no such hatred against Him as the
rulers, but listened with pleasure to His
teachings. ff Beware of the scribes.
The word is to be taken here in a
general sense for the rulers and teachers
of the nation ; since it had become the
one object of the scribes to make the
whole Scripture bend to things as they

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER Xm.

411

against the treasury, and beheld
how the people cast money into
the "treasury : and many that were
rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain
poor widow, and she threw in two
'mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his
disciples, and saith unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That 'this
poor widow hath cast more in,
9 A piece of brass money. See Matt. 10. 9.
a 2 Kings 12. 9. 1 It is the seventh part
of one piece of that brass money. b 2 Cor.

existed in the nation at the time.
ff Love to go in long clothing. They en
larged the borders of their garments.
Matt, xxiii. 5. The Saviour does not
warn the people because of the long
robes of the scribes, but points them out
by this significant sign as men loving
ease and adulation. ff Salutations.
Lovers of honor from men. See Matt.
xxiii. 6, 7.
40. Which devour widows' houses.
Their means of support; their homes and
possessions. They made use of their
reputation for sanctity to delude widows
and orphans into making them legal
guardians of their property ; and then
defrauding them. It is hypocrisy of the
most detestable kind, when one assumes
the garb of piety to injure the unpro
tected, ff For a pretence make long
prayers. The long prayers gained them
reputation — the reputation they used for
gain. St. Paul speaks of persons in the
Christian Church who had the form of
godhness, and crept into houses and led
captive silly women. 2 Tim. iii. 5, 6.
God punishes those who insult Him in
such a way. Exod. xxii. 22-24 ; Is. i.
17 ; Mai. iii. 5.
41. Sat over against the treasury. The
alms-chest into which the gifts of the
people were cast. It was placed in the
court of the women, to receive the pres
ents of the Jews who came to worship.
2 Kings xii 18. The gifts were used
to pay for repairs and sacrifices, incense,
and other things used in the holy ser
vices.

than all they which have cast into
the treasury.
44 For all they did cast in of
their abundance : but she of her
want did cast in all that she had,
'even all her living.
CHAP. XIII.
Passion Week. — Tuesday.
AND ''as he went out of the
temple, one of his disciples
saith unto him, Master, see what
8. 12. a Deut. 24 6 ; 1 John 3. 17. d Matt.
24 1, &c. ; Lu. 21. 5, &o.

42. Two mites. This was the smallest
coin in use among the Jews. It was of
brass, and less than any coin now used
among us.
43. More than all they which, Sec
God looketh to the heart and not to the
hand : and He rewards the affection and
self-denial that prompts the duty, rather
than the mere donation. The gifts to
the temple were made to God. But all
things are His. Ps. 1. 8-14. How,
then, can we give to Him ? Evidently
He only gives to us by suffering us to
seem to give. He gives us another
mode of praising Him, which returns at
once into our own bosom.
44. Even all her living. Her whole
means of living for that one day. She
fasted from food in order that she might
have something to return to God, her
Maker and Preserver, for all His bless
ings to her. She was as poor as possible,
but she made not her poverty an excuse.
She could take something from herself
to give to the priests, against the coming
Passover. She took that which would
have bought her daily bread, and, steal
ing humbly to the temple, she put it in.
None who wish to show their gratitude
to God can hesitate, after her example.
Rich or poor, the best offerings are those
which cost us something, which pro
ceed from love to God.
CHAPTER XIH.
Tuesday in Passion week.
See the explanations of corresponding
passages in notes on Matt. xxiv. to the
end.

412

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

manner of stones, and what build
ings are here !
2 And Jesus answering, said
unto him, Seest thou these great
buildings ? "there shall not be left
one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the
mount of Olives, over against the
temple, Peter, and James, and
John, and Andrew, asked him
privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these
things be ? and what shall be the
sign when all these things shall
be fulfilled ?
5 And Jesus answering them,
began to say, 'Take heed lest any
man deceive you :
6 For many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ ; and
shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of
aLu. 19. 45. S Jer. 29. 8; Eph. 5. 6;
1 Thes. 2. 8. || The word in the original im-
porteth the pains of a woman in travail.

1. See what manner of stones. They
are proud of the greatness and durability
of their national temple. They see no
signs of decay in it, or in the system of
rehgion which bound them to it. Jo
sephus informs us that many of the
stones used in the foundation of the area
of the temple on Mount Moriah, were
of remarkable size. Titus had no en
gines that could make the least impres
sion on them, ff What buildings. How
numerous and magnificent. Moriah
was covered with a series of buildings
connected with the holy place, which
were used as dwellings of the priests and
store-houses of offerings and treasures.
3. On the mount of Olives, over against
the temple. Says Bp. "Wainwright, writ
ing from the spot : " On our return we
crossed the summit of the mount of
Olives, and had a fine view of the Dead
Sea. Approaching Jerusalem, we could
see the city from the very summit of the

wars, and rumours of wars, be
ye not troubled : for such things
must needs be ; but the end shall
not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against king
dom : and there shall be earth
quakes in divers places, and
there shall be famines, and
troubles : these are the begin
nings of "sorrows.
9 If 'But take heed to your
selves : for they shall deliver you
up to councils ; and in the syna
gogues ye shall be beaten : and
ye shall be brought before rulers
and kings for my sake, for a tes
timony against them.
10 And the gospel must first
be published among all nations.
11 ''But when they shall lead
you, and deliver you up, take no
thought beforehand what ye shall
oMatt. 10. 17, 18; & 24. 9; Kev. 2. 10.
d Matt. 10. 19 ; Lu. 12. 11 ; & 21. 14

mount. We could look directly down
upon Jerusalem, and upon the site of
the temple, and felt the full force of the
words which He addressed to His
disciples, after they had said to Him,
' Master, see what manner of stones and
what buildings are here.' The site of
the temple, the whole circuit of the
walls, the direction of the streets — all
can be seen from this spot where ' He
beheld the city and wept over it.' "
9. Rulers and kings. The Twelve
were brought before many heathen
monarchs and governors of whom we
have record. Tradition informs us, that
all, after many trials, perished by the vio
lence of their enemies, except St. John.
And although he died peacefully, it was
after many tribulations, ff A testimony
against them. To condemn them in the
day of judgment, because they would
not hear you.
11. Neither do ye premeditate. See

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XHI.

413

speak, neither do ye premeditate :
but whatsoever shall be given
you in that hour, that speak ye :
for it is not ye that speak," but
the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the 'brother shall be
tray the brother to death, and the
father the son : and children shall
rise up against their parents, and
shall cause them to be put to
death. 13 And ye shall be hated of.
all men for my name's sake : but'
he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved.
14 T ''But when ye shall see
the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing where it ought not, (let
him that readeth understand,)
then 'let them that be in Judea
flee to the mountains :
15 And let him that is on the
house-top not go down into the
house, neither enter therein, to
take any thing out of his house :
16 And let him that is in the
field not turn back again for to
take up his garment.
17 'But wo to them that are
a Acts 2. 4; & 4 8, 81. b Mic. 7. 6; Matt.
10. 21 ; & 24. 10. c Dan. 12. 12; Matt. 10.
22; Eev. 2. 10.

notes, Matt. x. 19. This was specially
addressed to the Apostles. They were
inspired men. They were not to use
the arts of heathen orators. They
were simply to state the truth, not
showing their own skill, but the simple
testimony to facts. Thus the truth
would triumph. Christians now may
regard the spirit of this precept. They
are to labor to show in all simplicity the
truth, and to teach men by a plain set
ting forth of it, not by aiming at a re
putation for learning and eloquence.
ff But Hie Holy Ghost. The Apostles

with child, and to them that give
suck in those days !
18 And pray ye that your flight
be not in the winter.
19 "For in those days shall be
affliction, such as was not from
the beginning of the creation
which God created unto this time,
neither shall be.
20 And except that the Lord
had shortened those days, no flesh
should be saved : but for the
elect's sake, whom he hath cho
sen, he hath shortened the days.
21 And then, if any man shall
say to you, Lo, here is Christ ;
or lo, he is there ; believe him
not. 22 For false Christs, and false
prophets shall rise, and shall
shew signs and wonders, to se
duce, if it were possible, even
the elect.*
23 But take ye heed : behold,
I have foretold you all things.
24 If ' But in those days, after
that tribulation, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light,
25 And the stars of heaven
d Matt. 24. 15; Dan. 9. 27. e Lu. 21. 21.
/Lu. 21. 23; & 28. 29. g Dan. 9. 26; & 12.
1 ; Joel 2. 2. hi Pet. 3. 17. i Dan. 7. 10 ;
Zeph. 1. 15.

were inspired men from the great day
of Pentecost, onwards. They were
enabled by it to choose the truth before
error, to teach the simple facts of the
Gospel, in many cases to do miracles,
and utter prophecies, and constantly to
be the infallible guides of the people.
When they wrote of the Gospel, they
wrote that which was infallibly true.
The gift of inspiration ceased with them,
or soon after their age. The writings
of the early Christians are useful as-
helps to their meanings, and guides in
the matter, which the Episties of the

414

MARK.

[A. D. :

shall fall, and the powers that
are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 "And then shall they see
the Son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and
glory. 27 And then shall he send his
angels, and shall gather together
his elect from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the
earth to the uttermost part of
heaven. 28 Now learn a parable of the
fig-tree : when her branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves,
a Dan. 7. 13, 14; Matt. 16. 27; & 24. 30;

Apostles mostly took for granted,
namely the constitution of the Church.
But no mere human writing can be put
on a level with the inspired.
14. See notes on the words abomina
tion of desolation. Matt. xxiv. 15.
32. Of that day and that hour. No
created being knows the precise time
of the destruction either of Jerusalem,
or the world, ff Neither the Son. Un
necessary difficulty has been raised on
this passage, as if it were an impossi
ble thing that the human nature of our
Saviour should be limited. "We do not
suppose that the humanity was so en
tirely merged in His ineffable union
with the Divine nature, as to have be
come omniscient ; any more than we
yield to the absurdity of the Romanists
' that His body has the power of ubiquity,
that is, of being in many places at the
same time. We rejoice that a text
stands out in the Scripture narrative,
asserting and defending the hmits of
His human nature. For surely it is
a quality of God only, to know all
things. But our Saviour, " truly God
of God " as He was, did yet claim a hu
man soul in its integrity. The property
of growing in knowledge (Luke ii 52),
and, as here, of being limited bn some
sides in knowledge, belonged to His hu
man nature. Our Lord means evi
dently, that the hour spoken of was

ye know that summer is near :
29 So ye in like manner, when
ye shall see these things come to
pass, know that it is nigh, even at
the doors.
30 Verily I say unto you, that
this generation shall not pass, till
all these things be done.
31 Heaven and earth shall pass
away, 'but my words shall not
pass away.
32 If But of that day and that
hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father.
Acts 1.11; 1 Thes. 4. 16; 2 Thes. 1. 7, 10;
Eev. 1-7. b Is. 40. 8.

known to no man, to no created
being as the angels ; no not to Him, who
in His human nature even, is above
angels, the Son of man, as man. For
it has never been dreamed by any that
the Son of God, the Saviour in His di
vine nature, was any other than omnis
cient. What then was the limit of that
human knowledge which once grew in
Him, when as a child He increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favor with
God and man ? We sinners cannot
dream of it, save where He points it out.
Here is one limit. He as man did not
know this very hour, though He knew
all that was in man, knew infinitely
more than we can dream of. This hour
was not revealed See Acts i. 7. Certain
things, the Father has put in His own
power. They are not parts of the Re
deemer's kingdom. They form no part
of the Divine plan of salvation, which
was given Him to reveal It may pain
some, who wish to shut the mouths of
heretics, to see a passage like this ; but
let them know that Jesus at least knew
all the ill-uses which would be made of
it and yet allowed it. Or some may
prefer to regard the Saviour as some
vast thaumaturgic worker, unlike to
any thing that we conceive of man. He
was the Son of God But He preserved
in its full integrity the human nature,
body and soul, which He took on Him

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XTV.

415

33 "Take ye heed, watch and
pray : for ye know not when the
time is-
34 For the Son of man is as
a man taking a far journey, who
left his house, and gave authority
to his servants, and to every man
his work; and commanded the
porter to watch.
35 'Watch ye therefore : for
ye know not when the master of
the house cometh, at even, or at
midnight, or at the cock-crowing,
or in the morning :
a Eom. 18. 11 ; 1 Thes. 5, 6.
in the Incarnation, and one portion of
that nature, was to have a knowledge
differing from the Divine omniscience.
" Christ here speaks of Himself as the
Son of man." — Drs. Hammond, Lightfoot,
Whitby, Beausobre, Rosenmueller, Shelton,
Barnes, Bp. Mann, and many others.
33. Take ye heed, watch and pray.
These are brief, emphatic words, such as
a general would use to his sentinels of a
dark night, when the enemy was near.
Jesus may not tell them the hour, but
He charges on them that state and habit
of mind, which was better than such
knowledge. 34. The porter to watch. The porter
is the one who guards the portals of a
castle. It is his duty to watch. The
disciples were the overseers and watch
men of the Church. If they slept, all
would be lost.
35. At even, dec. The Jews divided
their day into four parts, and also the
night, beginning with sunset : even at
nine, cock-crowing at three, and morn
ing at six or day-dawn.
36. Find you sleeping. Find you in
attentive to the spiritual duties of your
charge, and careless in keeping off the
evils that ruin the soul.
37. / say unto all, Watch. To watch
is a habit of mind in relation to spiritual
duties which is graphically pictured
before our minds in the expressions that
are used concerning it in the New Tes
tament. 1. Of a porter guarding a

36 Lest coming suddenly, he
find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you,
I say unto all, Watch.
CHAPTER XIV.
Passion Week — Tuesday. '
' A FTER two days was the feast
XjL of the passover, and of un
leavened bread : and the chief
priests, and the scribes, sought
how they might take him by craft,
and put him to death.
2 But they said, Not on the
6 Matt. 24 42, 44. a Matt. 26. 1, &e.

castle. In the beautiful tract of Mrs.
Hannah More, called Parley the Porter,
this idea is made the base of an inter
esting allegory on the danger of admit
ting a single enemy into the garrison —
a single sin into the soul. 1 Thess. V. 6.
2. Of shepherds guarding their flocks
by night. 1 Peter v. 8. The night
pictures our want of knowledge, our
sluggishness, our fears, the wild beasts,
the enemies that hover around us seek
ing whom to devour. The shepherd
must be vigilant and brave, or he may
lose his flock, or even his Kfe. 3. The
guard of an army. The army sleeps
while the sentry wakes. It is an ene
my's country. Sleep may be fatal
Great interests depend upon his wake
fulness. So important is his watch,
that in time of war a want of it is a
capital crime. Heb. xiii. 17. These
commands to watch impress upon us
the duty of preparation for the coming
of Christ to judge the earth.
CHAPTER XIV.
Tuesday in Passion Week.
1—11. See notes on Matt, xxvi 1-17
1. After two days was the feast, Sfc.
This marks the time to be Tuesday of
Holy Week, and distinguishes this act
from that mentioned by St. John xii.
1-9, which happened six days before
the Passover, at the house of Lazarus.
ff And of unleavened bread. For the
week beginning with the Passover there
was no leaven found in the house of a

416

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

feast-day, lest there be an uproar
of the people.
3 if And being in Bethany, in
the house of Simon the leper, as
he sat at meat, there came a wo
man having an alabaster-box of
ointment of 'spikenard, very pre
cious ; and she brake the box,
and poured it on his head.
4 And there were some that
had indignation within them
selves, and said, Why was this
waste of the ointment made ?
5 For it might have been sold
for more than "three hundred
pence, and have been given to
the poor. And they murmured
against her.
6 And Jesus said, Let her
alone ; why trouble ye her ? she
hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have "the poor with
you always, and whensoever ye
will ye may do them good : but
me ye have not always.
H Or, pure nard, or liquid nard. II See
Matt. 18. 28. a Deut. 15. 11. b Matt. 26.
Jew. The feast came therefore to have
this name.
3. Ointment of spikenard. This was
not a medicinal salve, but a thick un
guent or perfume. In that dry chmate
such luxuries for softening the skin
were much esteemed. This precious
ointment was brought from India. " Al
abaster is a sort of white marble veined
with various colors, which is often hol
lowed out for boxes of ointment, because
it keeps things of that nature most in
corrupt. Nard is an aromatic shrub of
a large and thick root, but short, black,
and brittle ; though unctuous, it smells
hke cypress, and has a sharp taste and
small and dense leaves. Its tops spread
Ihemselves out like ears of corn; there
fore, its gift being double, perfumers
make much use of the spikes and the
leaves of the nard. This was not made
of the root only of the nard, but even,

8 She hath done what she
could : and she is come aforehand
to anoint my body to the bury
ing. 9 Verily I say unto you,
Wheresoever this gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole
world, this also that she hath
done shall be spoken of, for a
memorial of her.
Passion Week — Wednesday.
10 If 'And Judas Iscariot, one
of the twelve, went unto the chief
priests, to betray him unto them.
11 And when they heard it,
they were glad, and promised to
give him money. And he sought
how he might conveniently be
tray him.
Passion Week — Thuesday.
12 If 'And the first day of un
leavened bread, when they "killed
the passover, his disciples said
unto him, Where wilt thou that
14, &o. ; Lu. 22. 1, &c. c Matt. 26. 17, &c. ;
Lu. 22. 7. || Or, sacrificed.

what made it more precious, by the ad
dition of the spikes and leaves, the
gratefulness of its smell and virtue was
augmented. — Bede." ff She brake the
box. After this use it was to be put to
no meaner.
5. Three hundred pence. This was
about forty-five dollars of our money.
9. For a memorial of her. That by
which she shall be remembered and
praised. There seems an allusion to the
spreading of the perfume through all the
house ; so should the memory of the deed
spread the rich perfume of her faith to
all the world. The word is used in one
other place in the New Testament.
" Thy prayers and thirie alms are come
up for a memorial before God " Acts x
4. They have ascended as a sweet odor
of sacrifice. See Prov. x. 7.
10. Wednesday in Passion Week.
12-16. See Matt. xxvi. 17-19.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XTV.

417

we go and prepare, that thou
mayest eat the passover?
13 And he sendeth forth two
of his disciples, and saith unto
them, Go -ye into the city, and
there shall meet you a man bear
ing a pitcher of water: follow
him. 14 And wheresoever he shall go
in, say f e to the good man of the
house, The Master saith, Where
is the guest-chamber, where I
shall eat the passover with my
disciples ?
15 And he will show you a
large upper room furnished and
prepared : there make ready for
us. 16 And his disciples went
forth, and came into the city, and
found as he had said unto them :
and they made ready the passover.
17 "And in the evening he
cometh with the twelve.
18 And as they sat, and did eat,
Jesus said, Verily I say unto you,
One of you which eateth with
me, shall betray me.
a Matt. 26. 20, &c. ; Lu. 22. 14, &c

12. Thursday in Passion. Week. They
killed the Passover. On this day Jesus
and His disciples killed the paschal
lamb. The Pharisees kept their passover
on Friday, when they unwittingly slew
the true Lamb of God, of whom the
paschal lambs were types, ff Go and
prepare. This required them to find
and arrange the room, buy a lamb, take
it to the temple and slay it before tho
priests, and procure the bitter herbs and
wine and the unleavened bread. It
took them the entire day.
13. A man bearing a pitcher of water.
The Jews of the holy city were accus
tomed to open their houses for then-
foreign brethren during this feast. But
it was a proof of the infinite knowledge
Vol. I.— 18*

19 And they began to be sor
rowful, and to say unto him one
by one, Is it I ? and another said,
Is it I ?
20 And he answered and said
unto them, It is one of the twelve
that dippeth with me in the dish.
21 The Son of man indeed
goeth, as it is written of him : but
wo to that man by whom the Son
of man is betrayed ! good were it
for that man if he had never been
born. 22 If 'And as they did eat,
Jesus took bread, and blessed,
and brake it, and gave to them,
and said, Take, eat : this is my
body. 23 And he took the cup, and
when he had given thanks, he
gave it to them: and they all
drank of it.
24 And he said unto them,
This is my blood of the new
testament, which is shed for
many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I
will drink no more of the fruit of
b Matt. 26. 26, &c. ; Lu. 22. 19, &o. ; John
15.1; lOor. 11. 28.

of Christ, that He should have given
them this sign to guide them.
14. The good man of the house. The
master of the house. He was probably
some poor man, as this labor was usually
performed by servants or females.
ff The guest-chamber. A room provid
ed for this purpose. It was an upper
room, removed from the rest of the
family. 15. A large upper room, furnished
and prepared. This act on the part of
our Saviour was one of simple accept
ance of a hospitality, provided by some
pious Jew or disciple, who was prepared
to lend the room to some one. He had
made ready the table and couches, and
covered them with carpets, and willing-

418

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

the vine, until that day that I
drink it new in the kingdom of
God. 26 If And "when they had sung
an "hymn, they went out into the
mount of Olives.
27 And Jesus saith unto them,
All ye shall be offended because
of me this night : for it is writ
ten, 4I will smite the shepherd,
and the sheep shall be scattered.
28 But 'after that I am risen,
I will go before you into Galilee.
29 But Peter said unto him,
Although all shall be offended,
yet will not I.
30 And Jesus saith unto him,
Verily I say unto thee, That this
day, even in this night, before the
cock crow twice, thou shalt deny
me thrice.
31 But he spake the more
vehemently, If I should die with
thee, I will not deny thee in any
wise. Likewise also said they
all. 32 And ''they came to a place
which was named Gethsemane ;
and he saith to his disciples, Sit
ye here, while I shall pray.
33 And he taketh with him
Peter, and James, and John, and
a Matt. 26. 30. | Or, psalm. 5 Zech.
18. 1. c Ch. 16. 7. d Matt. 26. 86, &o. ;
Lu. 22. 40, &o. e John 12. 27.
ly yielded the use of them to any who
asked him. He may possibly have
kept the feast the day foUowing with
the Pharisees, and thus have had no use
for it on this day.
17-31. See notes on this important
subject, Matt. xxvi. 20-35.
31. More vehemently. With more
earnestness. He thought only of fighting
for his Lord : and surely no leader of
men to the dangers' of war could have
desired a braver follower.

began to be sore amazed, and to
be very heavy ;
34 And saith unto them, 'My
soul is exceeding sorrowful unto
death : tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a lit
tle, and fell on the ground, and
prayed that, if it were possible,
the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, -^AbbafFather,
all things are "possible unto thee ;
take away this cup from me :
^nevertheless, not what I will, but
what thou wilt.
37 And he cometh, and findeth
them sleeping, and saith unto
Peter, Simon, sleepest thou ?
couldest not thou watch one
hour ?
38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye
enter into temptation. 'The
spirit truly is ready, but the flesh
is weak. >
39 And again he went away,
and prayed, and spake the same
words. 40 And when he returned, he
found them asleep again, (for
their eyes were heavy;) neither
wist they what to answer him.
41 And he cometh the third
time, and saith unto them, Sleep
/Eom. 8. 15; Gal. 4. 6. g Heb. 5. 7.
h John 5. 80 ; & 6. 38. i Eom. 7. 23 ; Gal.
5. 17.

32-42. See notes on Matt. xxvi.
36-46. 37. Abba, Father. Abba is a Syriac
word. St. Mark, writing for the Gen
tiles, thought fit to add the translation.
Our Saviour used but the one word,
Abba. 40. Neither wist they. They did not
know in what manner to answer Him.
If they had watched with Him, the hour
and scene might have opened their eyes
to the spiritual character of His work.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XT*".

419

on mow, and take your rest ; it
is enough, "the hour is come;
behold, the Son of man is betray
ed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise up, let us go ; lo, he
that betrayeth me is at hand.
43 H 'And immediately while
he yet spake, cometh Judas, one
of the twelve, and with him a
great multitude with swords and
staves, from the chief priests, and
the scribes, and the elders.
. 44 And he that betrayed him,
had given them a token, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that
same is he ; take him,, and lead
him away safely.
45 And as soon as he was come,
he goeth straightway to him, and
saith, Master, Master ; and kiss
ed him.
46 Tf And they laid their hands
on him, and took him.
47 And one of them that stood
by, drew a sword, and smote a
servant of the high priest, and
cut off his ear.
a John 13. 1. b Matt. 26. 47, &c. ; Lu.
22. 47, &c. ; John 18. 8, &e.

But yielding to heaviness, they lose
the hour of preparation and theu desert
Him. 41. It is enough. " Your disciple
ship is ended, I give you a quittance.
You will see Me in human life no more.
I will no more go in and out with you
on earth as a man subject to death. I
am now betrayed and must leave you
as sheep without a shepherd." With
what feelings must the disciples, espe
cially the three chosen to be near Him
in His hour of agony, have recalled this
brief sentence. What might they not
have done if they had watched and be
lieved. Perhaps they might have stood
by Him in His trial and death, and
soothed His dying anguish by the sight
of their fidelity. But besides a few
women, John only was at the cross.

48 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, Are ye come out
as against a thief, with swords
and with staves to take me ?
49 I was daily with you in the
temple, teaching, and ye took me
not ; 'but the scriptures must be
fulfilled. 50 ''And they all forsook him
and fled.
51 And there followed him a
certain young man, having a lin
en cloth cast about his naked
body; and the young men laid
hold on him.
52 And he loft the linen cloth,
and fled from them naked.
53 If And they led Jesus
away to the high priest : and
with him were assembled all the
chief priests, and the elders and
the scribes.
54 And Peter followed him
afar off, even into the palace of
the high priest : and he sat with
the servants, and warmed himself
at the fire.
o Ps. 22. 6 ; Is. 58. 7, &c. d Ps. 88. 8.

43-52. See notes on Matt. xxvi.
47-57. 51. A certain young man. The
young man was dressed only in a linen
garment such as is often worn by people
in that region ; or he may have been
suddenly awakened and seized any cov
ering in his way. The circumstance
seems thrown in to show the consterna
tion of the disciples. He leaves his only
covering on a cold night, to escape. It
has excited much conjecture who this
person was. Some of the fathers say
that it was James the less, afterwards
Bishop of Jerusalem. But it is impos
sible to do more than conjecture, ff A
linen cloth. Perhaps the same as the
talith or linen cloak worn by the priests
in the synagogue.
52. Good Friday, midnight.

420

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

Passion Week. — Good Friday.
55 "And the chief priests, and
all the council, sought for witness
against Jesus to put him to
death ; and found none.
56 For many bare false witness
against him, but their witness
agreed not together.
57 And there arose certain,
and bare false witness against
him, saying,
58 We heard him say, 5I will
destroy this temple that is made
with hands, and within three days
I will build another made without
hands. 59 But neither so did their
witness agree together.
60 And the high priest stood
up in the midst, and asked Jesus,
saying, Answerest thou nothing ?
what is it which these witness
against thee ?
61 'But he held his peace, and
answered nothing. "Again the
high priest asked him, and said
unto him, Art thou the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed ?
62 And Jesus said, I am : and
ye 'shall see the Son of man sit
ting on the right hand of power,
and coming in the clouds of
heaven. 63 Then the high priest ¦''rent
his clothes, and saith, What need
we any further witness ?
a Matt. 26. 59, &c. b Ch. 15. 29 ; John 2.
19. c Is. 53. 7. d Matt. 26. 63. e Matt.
24 30; 26.64; Lu. 22, 69.
52-72. Seo notes on Matt. xxvi.
57-75. 72. Wlien he thought thereon, he wept.
Which Dr. Doddridge translates " cov
ering his head with his mantle, he
wept :" and the Vulgate ; " he began to
weep." The English translation is

64 Ye have heard the blasphe
my : what think ye ? And they
all condemned him to be guilty
of death.
65 And some began to "spit on
him, and to cover his face, and to
buffet him, and to say unto him,
Prophesy : and the servants did
strike him with the palms of their
hands. 66 If *And as Peter was be
neath in the palace, there cometh
one of the maids of the high
priest :
67 And when she saw Peter
warming himself, she looked up
on him, and said, And thou also
wast with Jesus of Nazareth.
68 ;But he denied, saying, I
know not, neither understand I
what thou sayest. And he went
out into the porch ; and the cock
crew. 69 And a maid saw him again,
and began to say to them that
stood by, This is one of them.
70 And he denied it again.
And a little after, they that stood
by said again to Peter, Surely
thou art one of them : for thou
art a Galilean, and thy speech
agreeth thereto.
71 But he began to eurse and
to swear, saying, I know not this
man of whom ye speak.
72 And the second time the
/Is. 37. 1. g Is. 60. 6. h Matt. 26. 69;
Lu. 22. 55; John 15. 18. «2 Tim. 2. 12.
j Acts 2. 7.

probably the true one. It is thought
by some, that in the brevity of this sen
tence we can trace the hand of St. Peter
himself, preventing his friend from add
ing one word that would seem to excuse
him. St. Matthew and St. Luke say
" he Wept bitterly," while St. John, as be-

T. E. 34.] CHAPTER XV.
cock crew. And Peter called to
mind the word that Jesus said
unto him, Before the cock crow
twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And 'when he thought thereon,
he "wept.
CHAPTER XV.
Good Friday.
AND* straightway in the morn
ing the chief priests held a
consultation with the elders and
scribes, and the whole council, and
bound Jesus, and carried him
away, and delivered him to Pi
late. 2 And Pilate asked him, Art
thou the King of the Jews ? And
he answering, said unto him,
Thou sayest it.
3 And the chief priests ac
cused him of many things : but
he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again,
saying, Answerest thou nothing ?
behold how many things they
witness against thee.
5 'But Jesus yet answered
nothing, so that Pilate marvelled.
6 Now at that feast he releas
ed unto them one prisoner, whom
soever they desired.
II Or, he wept abundantly, or he began to
weep. a 2 Cor. 7. 10. b Ps. 2. 2 ; Matt.
27. 1, &o. ; Lu. 28. 1, &c. ; John 18. 28, &a. ;
Acts 8. 18; &4 26.

421

came the equal of St. Peter in aU respects,
is very brief on the subject. The word
bitterly seems to plead for him, and we
would have expected something like it
in St. Mark. The reader may judge
for himself. It certainly was like St.
Peter to refuse to justify the act, which
must have wrung his lofty heart with
the bitterest shame.
CHAPTER XV.
See generally the notes on the twen
ty-seventh chapter of St. Matthew.

7 And there was one named
Barabbas, which lay bound with
them that had made insurrection
with him, who had committed
murder in the insurrection.
8 And the multitude crying
aloud, began to desire him to do
as he had ever done unto them.
9 But Pilate answered them,
saying, Will ye that I release un
to you the King of the Jews ?
10 (For he knew that the chief
priests had delivered him'' for
envy.) 11 But the chief priests moved
the people that he should rather
release' Barabbas unto them.
12 And Pilate answered, and
said again unto them, What will
ye then that I shall do unto him
whom ye call the ¦'King of the
Jews? 13 And they cried out again,
Crucify him.
14 Then Pilate said unto them,
Why, what evil hath he done ?
And they cried out the more ex
ceedingly, Crucify him.
15 T And so Pilate,' willing to
content the people, released Ba
rabbas unto them, and delivered
els. 58. 7; John 19. 9. d Prov. 27. 4;
Acts 13. 45 ; Tit 8. 3. e Acts 3. 14 /Ps.
2. 6 ; Jer. 23. 5 ; Acta 5. 81. g Matt. 27. 24,
&o. ; Lu. 23. 28, &c ; John 19. 18, &c.

16. Colled Pretorium. A name giv
en to a raised place in the hall of the
praetor, where he sat to administer jus
tice. When he appeared upon this
place, he was upon his tribunal and
prepared to administer the laws, ff The
whole band. The whole band is now
assembled for the protection of the gov
ernor and the prisoner.
17. With purple. Or scarlet. St.
Matt, xxvii. 28. The two colors run
into each other. This old garment was

422

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

Jesus, when he had scourged Aim,
to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led him
away into the hall, called Preto-
rium; and they called together
the whole band ;
17 And they clothed him with
purple, and platted a crown of
thorns, and put it about his head,
18 And began to salute him,
Hail, King of the Jews !
19 And they smote him on the
head with a reed, and did spit
upon him, and bowing their knees,
worshipped him.
20 And when they had" mock
ed him, they took off the purple
from him, and put his own clothes
on him, and led him out to cru
cify him.
21 And' they compel one Si
mon a Cyrenian, who passed by,
coming out of the country, the
father of Alexander and Bufus,
to bear his cross.
o Ps. 85. 16 ; Matt. 20. 19 ; Ch. 10. 34; Lu.
22. 63 ; & 28. 11. 36. 6 Matt. 27. 82 ; Lu. 23.
26 ; John 19. 17.

found about the citadel, having been
some robe worn by the rulers, ff About
His head. A simple line of twigs of a
thorny kind, put upon the head. Says Bp.
Wainwright: " We saw large quantities
of that thorny shrub which bears the
name of spina sancta, from the supposi
tion that the Saviour's crown of thorns
was made from it. Its branches, with
their short, angular points, armed with
triple thorns, would form just such a
cruel chaplet as the artist has placed
upon the head of our blessed Saviour."
19. Worshipped Him. This mock
reverence was paid to Jesus as a pre
tended King of the Jews. It was the
sport of brutal minds, that had been
hardened by their life of cruelty. See
note, Matt, xviii 26.
21. Father of Alexander and Rufus.
These persons were probably then living

22 And they bring him unto
the place Golgotha, which is, be
ing interpreted, The place of a
skull. 23 And they gave him to
drink, wine mingled with myrrh :
but he received it not.
24 And when they had cruci
fied him, they' parted his gar
ments, casting lots upon them,
what every man should take.
25 And it was the third hour,
and they crucified him.
26 And the superscription of
his accusation was written over,
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 And with him they crucify
two thieves, the one on his right
hand, and the other on his left.
28 And the scripture was ful
filled, which saith,'' And he was
numbered with the transgressors.
29 And' they that passed by,
railed on him, wagging their
heads, and saying/ Ah, thou that
ePs. 22. 18. (JIs. 53. 12; Lu. 22. 87.
e Ps. 22. 7. / Ch. 14 58 ; John 2. 19.

at Rome, as St. Paul salutes Rufus there.
Rom. xvi 13. They were probably
well known to the Christians, at the
time the gospels were written.
23. Wine mingled with myrrh. St.
Matthew calls the same vinegar. It was
a cheap wine, old and soured. It was
intended to stupefy Him and shorten His
sufferings, and our Saviour refused it.
ff Myrrh. This was a gum yielded by
a thorny tree or shrub of Arabia. It
had the power of deadening the nerves
to pain, and when taken in any quantity
was an active poison.
25. And it was the third hour. Nino
o'clock A. M.
32. That we may see and believe.
The idle taunt of reprobate minds,
flushed with unexpected success. Doubt
less they had felt strange tromors dur
ing all that morning, lest the spiritual

T. E., 34.]

CHAPTER XV.

423

destroyest the temple, and build
est it in three days,.
30 Save thyself, and come
down from the cross.
31 Likewise, also the chief
priests mocking, said among
themselves with the scribes, He
saved others ; himself he cannot
save. 32 Let Christ the king of Is
rael descend now from the cross,
that we may see and believe.
And they that were crucified with
him, reviled him.
33 And when the sixth hour
was come, there was darkness
over the whole land, until the
ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Je
sus cried with a loud voice, saying,
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?
which is, being interpreted, My
God, my God, why hast thou for
saken me ?
35 And some of them that
stood by, when they heard it,
said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
ft Matt. 27. 48;

aPs. 2
John 19.

. 1; Matt. 27. 46.
9. c Ps. 69. 21.

Samson should burst His bonds and de
stroy them. Now they feel safe. The
safety of the wicked is often like theirs
— only the more fearful with coming
woes. 34. Eloi, Eloi. St. Mark gives us
the very sounds uttered by Jesus in the
Syro-Chaldaic dialect, which was then
spoken by the Jews. Hence he differs
slightly from St. Matthew, who gives
the Hebrew form of the word. Ps.
xxii. 1.
42. When ihe even was come. The
Greek is more general. The evening
coming on : for after the sun had actu
ally set, the Sabbath was then begun —
a period which the Pharisees wished to
anticipate. -We must allow time, then,
for the soldiers to visit the hill, for

36 And 6one ran and filled a
sponge full of vinegar, and put it
on a reed, and 'gave him to drink,
saying, Let alone ; let us see whe
ther Elias will come to take him
down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud
voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the temple
was rent in twain, from the top to
the bottom.
39 "If And when the centurion
which stood over against him,
saw that he so cried out, and gave
up the ghost, he said, Truly this
man was the Son of God.
40 There were also women
looking on afar off, among whom
was Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother, of James the less,
and of Joses,. and Salome;
41 Who also, when he was in
Galilee, followed him, and minis
tered unto him ; and many other
women which came up with him
unto Jerusalem.
42 If "And now, when the even
d Matt. 27. 57, &c. ; Lu. 28. 60, &c. ; John
19, 88, &c.

Joseph to see Pilate, and to remove the
body to his own tomb, which, however,
was only a stone's throw off from the
cross. As Jesus expired at three in the
afternoon, this was probably an hour or
two after ; or the time, according to the
Jews, " between the evenings." ff The
preparation. This is added for the in
formation of the Gentiles, for whom St.
Mark wrote. There were certain pre
parations to be made for the high day
Sabbath following.
43. Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable
counsellor. See notes, Matt, xxvii. 57.
He was a man of distinction among the
Jews, and convinced of the truth of the
mission of Jesus. But this conviction
he chose to keep in a manner private,
for fear of the Jews. This ho was al-

424

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

was come, (because it was the
preparation, that is, the day be
fore the sabbath,)
43 Joseph of Arimathea, an
honorable counsellor, which also
waited for the kingdom of God,
came, and went in boldly unto
Pilate, and craved the body of
Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he
were already dead : and calling
unto him the centurion, he asked
him whether he had been any
while dead.
45 And when he knew it of
the centurion, he gave the body
to Joseph.
46 And he bought fine linen,
and took him down, and wrapped
him in the linen, and laid him in
a Matt. 27. 61; Lu. 23. 54-56.
lowed to do. Up to the time of the in
stitution of the Church, Jesus did not
require -all persons to give up their avo
cations. Our Lord retained twelve
special disciples about Him. Some
times others followed Him. But it was
not His intention during that time to call
out from the nation those who believed
in Him. ff Went boldly in unto Pilate.
The Jews would feel enraged at any one
who would intercede for a favor to one
so much hated by them. His position
gave him power to ask the favor of
Pilate. The governor seems to have
granted it willingly as soon as he learned
the fact of the actual death of Jesus.
Says Theophylact : " He was bold with
a praiseworthy boldness, for he did not
consider within himself, I shall fall from
my rich estate, and I shall be expelled
by the Jews if I beg for the body of
Him who was condemned as a blas
phemer." ff Craved the body. He asked
it of Pilate.
44. And Pilate marvelled, Sec. It
was unusual for one to die so soon.
Often the victim hung on the cross for
many days. The death of Jesus was

a sepulchre, which was hewn out
of a rock, and rolled a stone unto
the door of the sepulchre.
47 And Mary Magdalene and
"Mary the mother of Joses be
held where he was laid.
CHAPTEE XVI.
Easter Even.
AND when the sabbath was past,
Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome,
had bought sweet spices, that
they might come and anoint him.
Easter Day.
2 And very early in the morn
ing, the 'first day of the week,
they came unto the sepulchre at
the rising of the sun :
6 Matt. 28. 1, &e. ; Lu. 24 1, &c. ; John 20.
1, &c.

sudden, because of the exceeding pains
which He had previously suffered. Na
ture was rapidly exhausted under the
weight of the sins of a whole world.
45. When he knew it of the centurion.
The centurion who commanded the
band that watched the bodies was made
responsible for their death. He satisfied
Pilate of the fact.
47. Beheld where He was laid. The
tomb of Joseph was near the cross
The two sacred spots are still pointed
out in the Church of the Holy Sepul
chre at Jerusalem. The two Marys re
mained at the tomb overwhelmed with
grief until the Sabbath began. They
then retired to their homes. The other
Gahlean women first saw the tomb,
and then hastened to the city and
brought spices before sunset, to be pre
pared for the embalming on the first
day of the next week. See Luke xxiii.
55, 56. The Marys obtained spices on
the next evening, i e., our Saturday.
Thus the women were resolved into
two companies. This fact explains the
apparent discrepancies in the accounts
of the resurrection.

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XVI.

425

3 And they said among them
selves, Who shall roll us away the
stone from the door of the sepul
chre ?
4 And when they looked, they
saw that the stone was rolled
away : for it was very great.
5 And entering into the sepul
chre, they saw a young man sit
ting on the right side, clothed in
a long white garment ; and they
were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be
not affrighted : ye seek Jesus of
Nazareth, which was crucified :
he is risen; he is not here: be
hold the place where they laid
him. 7 But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter, that he goeth

CHAPTER XVI.
1—8. Saturday, or the Jewish Sabbath.
Easter even. See notes on Matt, xxviii.
1—8. Sweet spices, . Antiseptics, aro
matic substances to resist putrefaction.
They sent forth an agreeable spicy per
fume when heated. It was the custom
of the Jews to swathe a dead body in
linen with spices. On Friday evening
this had been hastily done. The wo
men desired to accomplish it more care-
fully. 2. Easter Sunday, March 28.
4. For it was very great. They were
in the act of saying this when, lo ! they
see the stone removed. The tomb was
made according to the custom of the
Jews. First an entrance to a small
chamber ; then by a door to a smaller
inner room in the rock, on one side of
which was a niche cut in the stone
parallel to the chamber, and raised
about a foot above the floor, large
enough to contain a body. Usually
the outer entrance was covered by a
large stone to prevent the robbers or
wild beasts from desecrating the tombs.
5. A young man. An angel in the
form of a young man. The angels are

before you into Galilee : there
shall ye see him, as he said unto
you. 8 And they went out quickly,
and fled from the sepulchre; for
they trembled, and were amazed:
neither said they any thing to any
man ; for they were afraid.
9 K Now when Jesus was ris
en early, the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magda
lene, out of whom he had cast
seven devils.
10 And she went and told them
that had been with him, as they
mourned and wept.
11 And they, when they had
heard that he was alive, and had
been seen of her, believed not.
12 If After that, he appeared

spirits, and assumed forms at will when
they appeared to men. He was sit
ting in the first chamber near the en
trance. 7. And Peter. How tender the care
of this disciple. The message is sent to
him by name to cheer him and recall
him from despair. He might not have
dared to come, after his wicked acts of
denial. But his penitence had obtained
him pardon, and the angel summons
him by name.
8. Neither said they any thing. Over
whelmed with amazement at the news,
and frightened, as aU men are, at the
appearance of spiritual beings, they has
ten away to tell the disciples.
11. Believed not. Could not credit
it. In spite of all the prophecies which
Jesus had made in their hearing of
His resurrection they are unable to
credit it. Their doubt was wrong and
unworthy in them, but it serves for
our conviction. It proves to us that
they were not credulous nor easily de
ceived. 12. In another form. Whatever we
are to infer from this change of form,
it was certainly so complete that the

426

MARK.

[A. D.

in another form unto two of them,
as they walked, and went into the
country. 13 And they went and told it
unto the residue : neither believed
they them.
14 If "Afterward he appeared
unto the eleven, as they sat' at
meat, and upbraided them with
their unbelief, and hardness of
o 1 Cor. 15. 5 ; John 20. 19. 1 Or, together.
b Matt. 28. 19 ; John 15. 16. c Col. 1. 23.

disciples did not recognize Him. ff In
to the country. To Emmaus, a village
eight miles to the north-west of Jeru
salem. Luke xxiv. 13.
14. Appeared unto the eleven. Eight
days after on the octave of Easter.
See John xx. 26, 27. ff Their unbelief,
Sec. They had manifested a want of
faith, in not crediting the witnesses to a
fact, and in not remembering His prom
ise. It was on this occasion that He
convinced Thomas of the truth of His
risen body.
15. St. Mark gives us now a brief
summary of the covenant of salvation,
which was to be preached by the Apos
tles. It is brief, but full. The New
Testament is but a comment and ex
pansion of it. ff Go ye. The act of
commission, which St. John has enlarg
ed by recording the words which explain
it : "As My Father hath sent Me, even
so send I you." John xx. 21. And St.
Matthew's words are emphatic, for he
preludes this commission by a similar
assertion of power. " All power is giv
en to Me in heaven and in earth, Go ye
therefore." Matt, xxviii. 18, 19. Our
Saviour must be understood as commis
sioning them for their future work, for
St. Luke tells us that He bade them re
main in Jerusalem for the "promise of
the Father," even "power from on
high." Luke xxiv. 49. ff Into all the
world. Says St. Matthew, Teach all na
tions, equivalent to the words here, to
every creature. The covenant of sal
vation is to be freely offered to ah men.
There is no distinction of persons.
Christ died for all. AU power was

heart, because they believed not
them which had seen him after he
was risen.
15 And he said unto them, 6Go
ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to "every creature.
16 'He that believeth and is
baptized, shall be saved ; but he
that believeth not, shall be damn
ed. d John 8. 18, 36; Acts 2. 88; & 16. 80-88;
Rom. 10. 9; 1 Pet. 3. 21.

given Him that He might save all
who believe. The offer is to be made
to all. The duty of the successors of the
Apostles is to offer salvation to all on
these terms : to carry it to all nations,
to put no bar in the way which God
has not put, and to look for no rest,
while one heathen lives without the
hearing of the Gospel It was long be
fore the Apostles understood that the
Gospel was destined to break over the
lines of Jewish customs, and to go forth
to the Gentiles in its own character and
fulness. But at last they carried it to
every quarter of the known world and
died in distant lands for their faith.
ff Preach. The word embraces all
methods of witnessing to the truth or
instructing men in it. The disciples.
began as witnesses. They related the
facts of the life and death of Jesus, ad
ding very httle of their own, beyond
explaining the Old Testament prophe
cies. In every age the form of preaching
varies according to circumstances. But
in all, the Church holds up to men the
great doctrine of salvation by Christ.
ff The Gospel. " The history of My
life and death as a means of redemp
tion and salvation, the glad tidings that
man may be saved from sin and death
by one perfect and sufficient sacrifice."
ff To every creature. To all men, wo
men and children. The preaching must
be to every creature who can receive it,
to every one who has sins to be forgiv
en or a soul to be saved. Thus does the
Saviour allow no limit to be placed to
His mercy.
16. He that believeth. He that believes

T. E. 34.]

CHAPTER XVI.

427

17 And these signs shall follow
them that believe : "In my name
shall they cast out devils ; 8they
& 8.7; & 16.18;

aLu. 10.17; Acts 5. 16
& 19. 12.

Me, and in Me obeys. This is faith, and
every other definition short of it will be
vain and unsafe. A man must first of
all beheve the Gospel, as a true history
of Christ and redemption by Him. He
must receive the articles of the Creed.
And He must believe in them, must see
that his safety can be found only in doino-
all that they require, ff And is bap
tized. This Sacrament is the act of
taking up the covenant of obedience to
Jesus, the only Saviour. By it men are
received into a condition in which they
are bound to renounce the world, the
flesh, and the devil ; to keep God's holy
will and commandments, and do ail
things that are necessary to salvation.
These words are cited in the office of
Public Baptism of those of riper years,
with the comment that they show unto
us " the great benefit we reap" by bap
tism. The words of St. Peter (Acts ii.
38-40) follow them as also a quotation
from His Epistle. 1 Pet. iii. 21. On the
ground of which words we pray to God
" that He wiU favorably receive these
present persons truly repenting and
coming unto Him by faith : that He will
grant them remission of their sins, and
bestow on them the gift of the Holy
Ghost : that He will give unto them the
blessing of eternal hfe, and make them
partakers of His everlasting kingdom."
They are then exhorted on their part
to make two solemn promises — first, " to
renounce the devil and all his works,
the vain pomp and glory of the world,
and all covetous desires of the flesh, so
as not to follow nor be led by them."
Second — To " obediently keep God's holy
will and Commandments, and walk in
the same all the days of their life."
They are then assured that they " are
regenerate and grafted into the body of
Christ's Church," and warned that " Bap
tism doth represent unto us our profes
sion, which is to follow Christ, and to be
mado like unto Him ; that as He died and

shall speak with new tongues ;
18 'They shall take up ser
pents ; and if they drink any
b Acts 2. 4; & 10.46. & 19. 6: 1 Cor. 12.
10, 28. c Acts 28. 5.

rose again for us, so should we who are
baptized, die unto sin, and rise again
unto righteousness, continually mortify
ing all our evil and corrupt affections,
and daily proceeding in all virtue and
godliness of living." A most sound and
healthful explanation of this text. It
is sometimes objected, that baptism is
not as important as faith, because it is
not mentioned a second time, in the last
part of this verse. But how could it be ?
One who does not believe would not be
baptized, nor indeed be saved if he was.
Faith must come first, and the sacra
ment follow. It would have been out
of place to have repeated the two words.
ff He that believeth not. Who refuses
to acknowledge the truth of the Gospel :
or, if convinced of it, to do that which
is evidently required by it.
17. These signs. These miraculous
proofs shall accompany the first Chris
tians, ff Them that believe. Converts to
Christianity, ff In My name. By My
authority, and when engaged in their
works as ministers for Me. The Apos
tles and many others manifested great
power over diseases and evil spirits..
Acts. iii. 6 ; v. 5, 12 ; viii. 6, 7, &c.
ff Shall they cast out devils. See note,
Matt. iv. 24. ff Shall speak with new
tongues. Tongues new to them, such
as they had never learned. This was
remarkably fulfilled on the day of Pente
cost, and the same power seems to have
resided for some time iu the Church. 1
Cor. xii. 10. These things were in a
manner necessary at first, to the effect
ual spread of the Gospel It was im
possible to compel men to listen and
beheve without these demonstrations of
power. They were God's testimony
going with the Christians to arrest the
minds of men, and make them listen to
their message.
18. They shall take up serpents. See
Acts xxviii. 56. The ordinary poisons
shall not hurt them while in the dis-

428

MARK.

[A. D. 28.

deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them ; "they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover.
19 IT So then, 'after the Lord

a Acts 5. 15, 16 ; & 9.17; &
14, 15. 6 Acts 1. 2, 3.

8. 8; Jas. 5.

charge of their duty. It was evidently
a great help to the preaching of the
Apostle St. Paul on one occasion, that
he was unharmed by a viper. The peo
ple of the island were at once convinced
that he was sent by the powers superior
to nature, ff Any deadly thing. Any
liquid poison. We have no instance of
any Christian being compelled to do
this ; but it is likely that some of them
were called on to prove the truth of this
promise, ff On the sick. See exam
ples of this, Acts hi. 6, 7 ; v. 15 ; and
James v. 14. It was afterwards urged
against the Christians, that these gifts
had ceased, and with them the power of
their commission was destroyed. On
this subject, St. Gregory remarks :
"Are we then without faith, because
we cannot do these signs ? Nay ; but
these things were necessary in the
beginning of the Church ; for the faith
of believers was to be nourished by
miracles, that it might increase. Thus
we also, when we plant groves, pour
water upon them, until we see that they
have grown strong in the earth ; but
when once they have firmly fixed their
roots, we leave off irrigating them.
These signs and miracles have other
things which we ought to consider more
minutely. For Holy Church does every
day in spirit, what then the Apostles
did in body ; for when her priests by
the grace of exorcism, lay their hands on
believers and forbid the evil spirits to
dwell in their minds, what do they but
cast out devils ? And the faithful, who
have left earthly words, and whose
tongues sound forth the holy mysteries,
speak a new language : they, who by
their good warnings take away evil
from the hearts of others, take up ser
pents: and when they are hearing
words of pestilent persuasion, without
being at all drawn aside to evil doing,
they drink a deadly thing, but it will

had spoken unto them, he was re
ceived up into heaven, and 'sat
on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and
a Ps. 110. 1 ; Acts 7. 55.

never hurt them: whenever they see
their neighbors growing weak in good
works, and by their good example
strengthen their life, they lay their
hands on the sick, that they may re
cover. And all these miracles are great
er in proportion as they are spiritual,
and by them souls and not bodies are

19. He was received up into heaven.
Ascending from Olivet by the right of
His risen body, over which earth had
no longer any power. See Acts i. 9.
How glorious must have been the scene
beyond that cloud which concealed it,
as He carried with Him into the abodes
of celestial hght, the human nature, the
first fruits of the dead — the pledge to
us, that we also shall follow Him
whither He hath ascended. ff On the
right hand of God. The phrase is taken
from the customs of an earthly court,
and serves to help our feeble ideas. God
is without such a nature as ours, and
the words can apply to Him only in a
general way. Still they mark Heaven
as & place. For our Lord's risen body
dwells there, and being still a body, it
fills some place. And that place is
Heaven, is the more immediate presence
of God, the ineffable glory. We know
not where it is, but may safely bear
about with us the dream of our child
hood that it is above us. The style of
Scripture which regards the moral
gravitation and astronomy, more than
the scientific, constantly uses the lan
guage of children, to teach us, that we
are tj rise in mind and heart above
earthly things towards our celestial
home. 20. They went forth. As is shown
in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
ff Every where. In one age they had
carried the sound of the Gospel from
Britain to the Ganges, from Europe far
up toward the sources of the Nile, ff The

T. E. 34.] CHAPTER XVI.
preached every where, the Lord
working with them, and "confirm-
a Acts 5. 12; 14. 8 ; 1 Cor. 2. 4, 5; Heb. 2. 4

429

Lord working with them. The design
of miracles is here implied. It was the
Divine witness to the truth of their
words. Jesus still worked in them,
and gave testimony to His Gospel, such
as could not be gainsaid, ff Amen.
Truth. Thus may it be — may He work

ing the word with signs follow
ing. Amen.

still, and convince men of the blessed
ness of that Gospel. And we too say,
Amen. Work with us, give us good
words, Oh Lord, that we may speak
wisely, and -see Thy Gospel flourish and
spread in all the world with power.
Amen.

" Almighty God and most merciful Father, who of Thine infinite goodness
hast given Thine only and dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer
and the Author of everlasting hfe ; who, after that He had made perfect our
Redemption by His death, and was ascended into heaven, poured down His gifts
abundantly upon men, making some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists,
some Pastors and Doctors, to the edifying and making perfect His Church ;
grant, we beseech Thee, to Thy servants the Bishops and Pastor3 of Thy Church,
such grace that they may evermore be ready to spread abroad Thy Gospel, the
glad tidings of reconciliation with Thee ; and use the authority given them, not
to destruction, but to salvation ; not to hurt, but to help : so that as wise and
faithful servants, giving to Thy family their portion in due season, they may at
last be received into everlasting joy ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with
Thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end.
Amen."

" 0 Almighty God, who hast built Thy Church upon the foundations of the
Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner Stone ; grant
that, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, all Christians may be so joined together
in unity of spirit and in the bond of peace, that they may be an holy temple
acceptable unto Thee. Give them the abundance of Thy grace ; that with one
heart they may desire the prosperity of Thy holy Apostolic Church, and with
one mouth may profess the faith once delivered to the saints. Defend them from
the sins of heresy and schism : let not the foot of pride come nigh to hurt
them, nor the hand of the ungodly to cast them down. And grant that the
course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance, that Thy
Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness ; that so they may walk
in the ways of truth and peace, and at last be numbered with Thy saints in
glory everlasting ; through Thy merits, O blessed Jesus, Thou gracious Bishop
and Shepherd of our souls, who art with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God,
world without end. Amen."

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