)5 A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW */ by JAMES MORISON, D.D Author of " A Practical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Mark NINTH EDITION JTonbon IIODDER AND STOUGHTON 27 PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCXCV -r-1 Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Pbinting Wokes, Fbosie, and London. CONTENTS OF THE INTRODUCTION. § 4. § 6. § 8. § 9. §10. §11- § 12. § 13. § 14- § 15. The Charm of St. Matthew's Gospel St. Matthew's Gospel— '" M&morials " or "Memoirs" St. Matthew's Memoirs an Evangel or Gospel The Phrase "according to" Matthew— the Significance of the Name "Who was St. Matthew ? AVas the Writer of the Gospel St. Matthew the Apostle ? Hebrew and Gkeek Originals Integrity of St. Matthew's Gospel .... Date of Publication The Gospel according to St. Matthew, as we have it not a Final ' Redaction ' Relation of St. Matthew's Gospel to the other two Synoptical Gospels Cherubic Symbols of the Four Evangelists . The Aim and Plan of St. Matthew's Gospel . Contents of the Gospel FAGl is si xi xiv xvii xvii xix xxxiv xlvi xlviii liii liv ivi )xi INTRODUCTION GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. § 1. The Charm of St. Matthew's Gospel. There is no History or Story in existence more charming than St. Matthew's Memorials or Memoirs of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. A confluence of elements contributes to this charm. The Personage portrayed is undoubtedly the principal source of the interest. He was the Ideal of a man. Even the idea of such an Ideal fascinates the imagination. But the realization of it is inexpressibly captivating. The realization took place in Jesus Christ. He was not only faultless : when viewed on the positive side of His being, as well as on the nega- tive, He was a perfect human person. His perfection, too, was of the highest conceivable type. Not merely in regard to all those matter-of-fact details of duty which devolve on men universally, but also in regard to all the higher possibilities of moral life, that culminate in the noblest conceivable aims, and the grandest con- ceivable attainments and achievements, was He perfect. He was thus the most remarkable of men. In the intensest acceptation of the expression, He was the Son of man. As He grew up from childhood to maturity, He rose, as rapidly as the necessary limita- tions of human nature, in the process of development from less to greater, would admit, to the absolute climax and pinnacle of human perfectibility. But it is not enough to say that Jesus Christ was the ideal Son X INTRODUCTION. of man. The core of the charm, which is inherent in St. Matthew's Memoirs, is not touched by that representation. Jesus was the Son of God, as well as the Son of man. He is the ideal Son of God. A 'mystery' of Godliness and Godhead was about Him and in Him. He was, as St. Matthew — echoing the magnificent nomenclature of Isaiah — expresses it, Immanuel, God- witii-us. The Divine Father and He were " One," in a sense that would have involved blasphemy, had Jesus been no more than the ideal man. " The fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Him." Such an idea, to some, may appear tinged with old-fashioned theological reverie. But it is far from being antiquated. "We might as well say that goodness and God are out of date. The idea can never become obsolete. It mirrors reality. Theology and Philosophy meet together over it, and shake hands. The personality of Jesus was the point of conscious union between the Infinite and the Finite. On the plane of His complex consciousness the Infinite stooped into personal fellowship with the Finite, in order to pick up an inestimably precious nature, that had fallen as a waif into the mire. It was condescension beseeming the Creator of the universe. No wonder then that there should be imperishable charm in the faithful portraiture, however partial, of such a being as Jesus Christ. The portraiture is partial, indeed. That must be ad- mitted. It was inevitable. Something was left for Mark to fill in. Something was left for Luke. Not a little for Paul. Not a little for John, more especially from the interior. Still more for eternity. Nevertheless much was done by Matthew ; and hence the charm of his Gospel. So much for the peculiarity that attaches to the subject-matter of St. Matthew's Gospel. There is, too, a charming peculiarity in the manner of his composition. His style is delightfully simple and unvarnished. You see through it, at a glance, to the Object beyond. There is no pigment in the wording, no luxury of diction to arrest the gaze midway. Neither is there anything mystic and mystifying, although he is dealing with things that run rapidly up, down, and out into infinity. From beginning to ending ol the Memoirs all is transparency. And then, too, there is the utter absence of diffuseness. There is no approach to prolixity : no satiety of small details. All the incidents of the biography are rapidly touched off ; and, what is of no little moment, the imagination is left to enter in, with "memorials" or "memoirs" XI whatever troops of graces it can command, to adjust the draDery and to fill in the background of each scene in succession. There is nothing sensational, moreover ; nothing sentimental , nothing overdone or outre. Everything is natural, and beautiful in simplicity. § 2. St. Matthew's Gospel — " Memorials " or " Memoirs." We have spoken of St. Matthew's production as Memoirs or Memorials. Justin Martyr, before the middle of the second cen- tury, employed a corresponding expression ('ATro/j.vvfxovevixaTa), both in his Apology to the Roman Emperor, Antoninus Pius,1 and in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jero." It is, as we take it, an exceedingly appropriate representation ; and of especial importance in these days, as not leading the scientifically educated mind to conjure up to itself exaggerated anticipations of scientific com- pleteness,— anticipations which will not be realized. St. Matthew's Gospel is not a History, in our modern scientific acceptation of the term ; and hence it would be in vain, and unfair, to attempt to trace in it a precise chronological concatenation of events, or a full display of moral and social causes and effects. Neither is it an exhaustive Biography. Neither is it a set of historical or bio- graphical Annals. It is not even a formal Memoir. It is simply Memorials, or, if it be preferred, Memoirs; that is, as Johnson defines the phrase, " accounts of transactions familiarly written," and such accounts as leave abundant scope for any number of corresponding or supplementary Memoirs or Memorials by " other hands." § 3. St. Matthew's Memoirs an Evangel or Gospel. St. Matthew's Memoirs of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are emphatically an Evangel, or Gospel. They are, that is to say, Glad Tidings. They are so, in virtue of the subject- matter of the Memoirs. The relationship of the appearance of the great Personage portrayed, and of His doings, teachings, and 1 § 66. Compare the expression in § 33, ot aTOfxvr)p.oveiTes ndma to. irepi 10V ZojTTJpOS. 2 §§ 100, 101, 102. 103, 105. £11 INTRODUCTION. Kurrermgs, to the present experience and future prospects of men, is such and so blissful that the writing in which the facts are narrated is emphatically Good Neivs. There is no evidence how- ever that Matthew himself designated his Memoirs an " Evangel." In the oldest manuscripts, such as the Sinaitic (s) in St. Peters- burg, and the Vatican (B ) in Rome, the word Evangel is wanting in the title. There is simply the elliptical expression, "According to Matthew." The ellipsis is significant. The four Gospels were considered collectively. They were regarded as a unit. They were the one Evangel} They constituted, as it were, a single Square of biographical glad tidings. And, while one side of the entirety was according to Matthew, another was according to Marie, and the other two were respectively according to Luke and to John. In the first verse of St. Mark's Gospel the word Evangel is used in a way that is transitionally approximate to its conventional usage as a Title to the respective writings of the Evangelists, — " The beginning of the Evangel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." By the time however of Justin Martyr, and we know not how much earlier, the name Evangels (cuayyeAia), as the Title of the Evan- gelists' Memoirs of our Lord, had become stereotyped.2 It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that our fine Anglo-Saxon word Gospel is a precise echo of the idea of the Greek word Evangel. It is the word that is employed in the respective Anglo-Saxon versions to translate the Greek term, and most probably it would owe its origin to the natural desire of the early Anglo-Saxon preachers to reproduce to a nicety the import of the biblical term. Its precise idea, however, has been much disputed among philologists. Some have even supposed that the original word was Ghost-spell ; that is, the speech or word of the (Holy) Spirit.* Elnathan Parr accepted this derivation, but gave both to Ghost and spell a different reference. He thought that the word means the spell of the (human) spirit, or, as he expressed it, " the charm of the soul." * Both of these inter- pretations of the word, however, are mere unfounded fancies. The original term is never written gostspell or gastspell.5 It is godspell. But it is much debated what it is that was originally meant by the 1 See, for instance, IrenaBUS, Contra Hareses, lib. i., cap. 17, 29. In lib. iii tap. 11, he speaks of the fourfold Gospel (reTp6.p.opai5i yXuaa-g touto Zypa^e. V HEBREW AN'D GREEK ORIGINALS. XXXV " indeed it is the case that Matthew alone, in the New Testa- " ment, made exposition and proclamation of the gospel in the "Hebrew language."1 "This Matthew," he says elsewhere. " writes the Gospel in Hebrew, proclaiming the good news, buf, M tracing the Lord's genealogy, not from the beginning, but from " Abraham." 2 Jerome, the most learned of the Latin fathers, and who flourished during the second half of the 4th century, and on into the commencement of the 5th, makes frequent statements to the same effect. In his book On Illustrious Men, he says : " Matthew, ' who is also called Levi, and who from a publican was made an ' apostle, was the first of the evangelists. He composed the Gospel ' of Christ in Judoea, for the sake of the converted Jews, ivriting it ' in Hebrew letters and words, whicJi Gospel loas afterwards translated ' into Greek, but by whom is not known. The Hebrew original. ' moreover, is existing to the present day in the Cassarea Library, ' founded by Pamphilus the martyr. I obtained, besides, from ' the Nazarenes, who live in Bercea of Syria, and who use this ' book, the liberty of transcribing it." 3 In the Prologue to his Commentary on Matthew, written a.d. 398, he repeats that " Matthew 'was the first of the evangelists, and that he published the Gospel ' in Judaea in the Hebrew tongue? chiefly on account of those Jews ' who had believed, and who had abandoned the observance of the ' shadows of the law." It will be noticed that, in the passage quoted from the book On Illustrious Men, Jerome says that the Nazarenes made use of the Hebrew Matthew. It will also be noticed that he mentions that a copy of the work was preserved in the Pamphilian library at Caesarea. These statements are proof that at the time, at least, when Jerome wrote his Illustrious Men, he was fully convinced that 1 Nardcuos /j.6pos "Et^pdiarl Kal 'EfipaiKois ypap.p.acnv iv ry Kaivy diaOrjKri eiroirjtxaTO rrjv rod euayyeXlov &c#e avruv, ical ypa/ixi7 ivayyeXi^o/xiuuv, /ecu dep-tXiovvTWit ttjv iKKhrjcriav. - Compare wbat is said in the passage already quoted in p. xxxiv. from Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. iii. 24. xl INTRODUCTION. apostolic zeal to preach the gospel, he longed to go abroad. Ha went into the east, says Eusebius, on a missionary tour. Whila there, he met with some who were already Christians, and who had in their possession some Gospel according to Matthew ; for Bartholomew the apostle had preceded Pantamus, and had " left," says Eusebius, " among the believing Indians, the writing of Matthew in the Hebrew language."1 Jerome mentions, in his book on Illus- trious Men (chap, xxxvi.), that Pantamus brought this Hebrew Gospel back with him, when he returned to Alexandria. Was it, then, the Hebrew Original of our present Gospel which Pant genus brought home ? And are we thence to conclude, that the Greek Gospel was a mere translation of that Hebrew Original ? Such has been the opinion of a large number of critics, compre- hending the great majority of Roman Catholic writers on these subjects, and inclusive too of not a few distinguished names among Protestants, such as Grotius,2 Gerhard Jo. Voss,3 Ham- mond,4 Mill,5 Michaelis;6 Dr. Adam Clarke7 too, and Eichhorn,8 in later times ; and Tregelles,9 Ebrard,10 Cureton,11 Luthardt,12 in still later; and many others, later and earlier. Some of the ancients supposed that the translation was made by James the brother of the Lord. This is the opinion of the anonymous author of the Synopsis of Scripture included in the works of Athanasius ; L! and it has been espoused — who would have thought it ? — by Mill.14 We read in Theophylact's Prologue to his Commentary on Matthew, that John the apostle was said to be the translator? And, stranger still, Greswell, in modern times, has actually conjectured that " St. Mark translated the Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew, and 1 avrois re 'YH{ipa.iwv ypd/j./Aaat. rr\v rod Hardaiov KaTaXetif/cu yparpi)v. — Eccles. Ust.y. 10. 2 Introduction to his Adnotationes. 3 De Genere Jesu Christi, cap. ii. 4 Introduction to Annotations. 5 Prolegomena, p. viii. 6 Einleitung, §§ 132-139. 7 Preface to Matthew. 8 Einleitung, §§ 105, 106. 9 The Original Language of Matthew's Gospel. lJ Wissensclvaftliche Kritik der Evang. Geschichte, §§ 130-132. 11 Preface to Very Ancient Rccendon of the Four Gospels in Syriaa. 12 De compositione Evang. Matt. (1861). 13 Vol. ii., p. 135, ed. 1861. 14 Prolegomena, p. viii. HEBREW AND GREEK ORIGINALS. xli wrote his own supplementary to it." l In truth, if men will conjecture, there is no end to conjecturability. We take a different view of the subject. We do not suppose that our present Greek Gospel according to Matthew was a mere translation from a Hebrew Original. It bears none of the marks of translation. De Wette,2 Fritzsche,3 Harless,4 Hilgenfeld,5 Bleek,6 however much they may differ from us in other respects, are at one with us in this conviction. It was the conviction too of Cardinal Cajetan,7 a man who far outstripped his age, and of Erasmus also,8 a man still greater in many respects, but not more independent in spirit, and of Calvin, Beza, Gerhard, Lightfoot, Whitby, Wetstein, Hug, Credner, Ewald, Kostlin, Volkmar. But what, then, are we to make of the testimonies of the fathers regarding the Hebrew Original of Matthew's Gospel ? A question of the very gravest import. But let us look, ere we answer it, at the earliest and most important of all the testimonies on the subject. It has been singularly preserved in a fragment of the writings of Papias, that has itself been happily preserved by Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History. Papias flourished in the beginning of the 2nd century. He was, says Irenaeus, " a companion of Polycarp." 9 He became bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia.10 He had been a hearer of Aristion and John the Presbyter, personal disciples of the Lord.11 He was an ardent collector of all the crumbs of information which he could pick up in reference to the teachings and sayings of the apostles and their peers. He conversed diligently with the older Christians who had seen and heard the apostles ; and he was eager, as he tells us, to learn from them, " what Andrew or what Peter said, or what Philip, or Thomas, or James, or John, or Matthew, 1 Dissertations on the Harmony of the Gospels, vol. i., p. 154. 2 Einleitung in die kanon. Biicher des N. Test., § 97. 3 Prolegomena, § 2. " Hoc certius nihil esse potest, quain Evangeliuni, lie quo quasrimus, graace conscriptum fuisse." 4 Fabula de Matthao Syro-Chaldaice conscripto, 1841. 5 Die Evangelien nach ihrer Entstehung, pp. 115-120. 6 Einleitung, pp. 272-3. 7 Prologue to his Commentary on Matthew. 8 Annotationes on Matt. vhi. 23. 9 UoXvKap-n-ov eralpos. See Eusebius's Eccles. Hist. hi. 39. 10 Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. hi. 36. 11 ' Apurriuvos de Kal rod irpe(x3vT€pov 'Iuawou olvtyikoov eavrjv necified was really Josiah's son Jehoiakim, and not his grandson Jehoiachin. His grandson Jehoiachin had no brethren ; he had only one brother, viz. Zedekiah. (1 Chron. iii. 16.) But Jehoiakim had three brethren, Johanan, Zedekiah, and Shallum. (1 Chron. iii. 15.) About the time they were carried away to Babylon : Or, more literally, at the time of the removal to Babylon, close upon the removal to Babylon. The translation about the time is free. It was given by Luther, and thence derived into our English version. The expression they were carried away is historically true. But ths 15] ST. MATTHEW I. 5 12 and after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat. Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 and Zorobabel begat Abiud ; and Abiud begat Eliakitn ; and Eliakiui be- gat Azor; 14 and Azor begat Sadoc, and Sadoc begat Acliim; and Acliirn begat Eliud; 15 and Eliud begat Elea- zar; and Eleazar begat Mattlian ; and Mattlian begat Jacob , idea of violent deportation is veiled in the phraseology of the evangelist. The word which he employs simply means change of abode. Ver. 12. And after the removal to Babylon Jechonias begat Salathiel : We need not suppose that this Jechonias is the same Jechonias who is mentioned in the preceding verse, and who winds up the second of the three fourteens. This apparently is Jechonias the Second, the son of Jechonias the First. He is Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim. " He was," as Yardley says, " scarcely warm " in his throne, having sat thereon only about three months, when the king of " Babylon besieged and took Jerusalem, and carried away, not only all the best " of the people, but the king himself, who from that time, for the long space of " thirty-seven years, was kept a close prisoner in Babylon." (The Genealogies of Jesus Christ, Part i., § iii., p. 33.) Jerome of old clearly saw that the Jecho- nias of this verse is a different person from the Jechonias of the preceding verse. So did Ambrose, who says in his Commentary on Luke that " the history shows " that there were two who bore the name of Joachim or Jechonias, father and "son." Salathiel: Or Shealtiel. The form Salathiel is given in Luke iii. 27, and also in the English version of 1 Chron. iii. 17. In all other places the form Sltealtiel, which is the proper Hebrew form, is employed. The word means, I have asked God. In Luke iii. 27 he is said to be the son of Neri. Here it is said that he was begotten by Jechonias. Lord Hervey contends that he could not be literally begotten by Jechonias, seeing it is said of Jechonias in Jer. xxii. 30, Write ye this man childless. (See his Genealogies of Jesus Christ, chap, iii., § ii.) But the words of the immediately succeeding context in Jeremiah seem to imply that he was not literally childless in a family sense. The whole passage is as follows: Write ye this man cliihlless, a man that Khali not prosper in his days ; for no man of his seed shall prosper , sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. He was to be politically childless, childless so far as successorship in relation to the throne of David was concerned. He him- self was to be the last (till Jesus) of the Davidic line of kings. And so he was. But it is expressly stated in 1 Chron. iii. 17, 18, that Jechonias had children, and Salathiel is among them. Salathiel must apparently, at the same time, have been heir at law to Neri of the line of Nathan ; and hence Luke's state- ment. And Salathiel begat Zorobabel: Mediately, as would appear, through Pedaiah. (1 Chron. iii. 18, 19.) This Pedaiah however had, for some unknown reason, been comparatively obscure in the line ; and hence he is shaded off, and Zerubbabel is presented to view as the ' son of Shealtiel.' Perhaps Pedaiah had been very short-lived, so that Shealtiel had to stand to Zerubbabel in a father's place. If this was not the case, there was undoubtedly some other peculiarity attaching to Pedaiah, and comparatively veiling him from view. Vers. 13, 14, 15. None of the names that come after that of Zorobabel, or Zerubbabel, are recorded in the Old Testament Scriptures. The royal family had got sadly reduced, and crushed indeed into the deepest poverty. The axa G ST MATTHEW I. [16 10 and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom had been laid to the root of the stately tree of Jesse. It was hewn down, so that the Messiah, when He appeared, was like a rod, or shoot, or sucker, frcm a lowly stub or stump. (See Isa. si. 1.) Vek. 1G. And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary : It is thus the case that the genealogy exhibits the pedigree of Joseph, not of Mary ; for Jesus, so far as inheritance and other human relationships were concerned, was the legal son of Joseph. He was begotten after His mother's betrothal (Luke i. 26, 27), and seeing He was not adulterously begotten, Joseph's physical pedigree was His legal pedigree. In Luke, chap, iii., Joseph is said to be the son of Heli ; ana from Heli the line of ancestry is traced upward to Nathan, son of David, instead of to Solomon, son of David. There is thus an apparent discrepancy between the two evangelists. There are several methods of conciliation. Gomarus, for instance, and Hottinger, and Yardley, in their respective treatises on the genealogy, as also Luther, Spanheim, Lange, Arnoldi, and many others, suppose that while Matthew's line represents the natural pedigree of Joseph, that of Luke represents the natural pedigree of Mary. Gaillard too advocates the same view. (La Genealogie de J. Clirist.) On this theory Joseph would not bo strictly the son but the son-in-law of Heli. This theory seems to do violence to Luke iii. 23. Grotius again contends that the real pedigree of Joseph, as distinguished from Mary, is given in both the genealogies, but that in Luke there is exhibited the actual physical descent, while in Matthew there is traced the line of legal succession as regards inheritance, the line of succession to the throne of Solomon and David. This view was held by Calvin too. It is ably supported in Lord Hervey's volume on the genealogies ; but it is not easily reconciled with Matthew's use of the word begat, and with the fact that his genealogy goes beyond David to Abraham. A third view commanded the suffrages of the great body of the fathers. It is set forth in a monograph on the subject by Julius Africanus, one of the most gifted and most accomplished of the fathers. He flourished at the commencement of the third century. A considerable part of his monograph is preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius. He supposes that Jacob and Heli were brothers, and that their respective fathers, Matthan and Melchi, were grandfathers to Joseph. Matthan and Melchi, he supposes, married successively the same woman, named Estha. Matthan, having first married her, begat Jacob ; then, having died, his widow was married by Melchi, and as the fruit of this second marriage she gave birth to Heli. Jacob and Heli were thus uterine brothers, but on the paternal side only half brothers. Heli, in his turn, married, but died without issue ; and hi3 brother Jacob married the widow, and had by her a son, Joseph, who was truly his own son by nature, but also the son of Heli by law, of Heli to whom Jacob raised up seed. Africanus says that this theory of conciliation was in accord- ance with a tradition which was handed down in the line of the Saviour's relatives, the Desposyni, and that it was in all respects a satisfactory solution of the apparent difficulty. We think that, in substance at least, it is all that can be reasonably desired to satisfy the requirements of the case. Only it must be borne in mind that, in the text of Luke's Gospel which Africanus had before him, there were no genealogical links between Melchi and Heli ; he exjircssly says that in Luke's list Melchi's name was the third from the last. The omitted links, it is noticeable, are likewise omitted by Eusebius in his Questions l<] ST. MATTHEW I. was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the genera- tions from Abraham to David are fourteen generations ; and from David until the caiTying away into Babylon are four- teen generations ; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Evangeliece ad Stej)hanum, as also by Ambrose in his Commentary on St. Luke, ami likewise as it would appear by Irenams, who, in his Adversus Heereses, iii. 32, represents Luke's genealogy as consisting of seventy-two links instead of seventy- four. The principle of conciliation is unaffected by the diversity of reading. We have no doubt at the same time that Mary was a near relative of Joseph, and thus of royal descent, so that Joseph's lineage was in reality, in its essential elements, her lineage. Her Davidic descent is tacitly presupposed. On both sides of the bouse therefore, the side of the natural mother, and the side of the reputed and legal father, our Lord was the offspring of David, both by the primary line of Solomon and by the secondary line of Nathan. The two lines, after diverging for long, seem to have met in Shealtiel and Zerubbabel. They again diverged ; but met ultimately in Joseph and Mary, and coalesced and effloresced in our Lord. The husband of Mary : Mary is the Anglicised form of the Greek Maria, and Maria is the Grecised form of the Aramaean Mariam and Hebrew Miriam. Of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ : That is, who bore and bears the name of Christ. In this passage, as in the first verse, Christ is a proper name, and not an appellative, the Glirist. It is however, even as a proper name, delightfully significant. Our Lord was emphatically the Anointed One, the Divinely Appointed One. Vek. 17. For facility of remembrance the genealogical table was partitioned into three fourteens. Each of the fourteens corresponds to a great historical period, so that there is a natural basis for the trichotomy. The first fourteen comprises the age of the patriarchs and judges, the springtime of the Jewish people. The second comprises the age of the kings, the summer season and the autumn of the nation. The third comprises the period of Jewish decadence, the winter time of their political existence. It is also to be noted that fourteen is the duplicate of the sacred number seven. This fact would render the genea- logical table all the more memorable. The three tessaradecades are as follows : — First. Second. Third. 1. Abraham. 1. Solomon. 1. Jechonias (the second) 2. Isaac. 2. Eoboam. 2. Salathiel. 3. Jacob. 3. Abia. 0. Zorobabel. 4. Judas. 4. Asa. 4. Abiud. 5. Phares. 5. Josaphat. 5. Eliakim. 6. Esrom. G. Joram. 6. Azor. 7. Aram. 7. Ozias. 7. Sadoc. 8. Aminadab. 8. Joatham. 8. Achim. 9. Naasson. 9. Achaz. 9. Eliud. 10. Salmon. 10. Ezekias. 10. Eleazar. 11. Booz. 11. Manasses. 11. Mattban. 12. Obed. 12. Anion. 12. Jacob. 13. Jesse. 13. Josias. 13. Joseph. 14. David. 14. Jechonias (the first). 14. Jesus. The expression unto Christ, in tbc last clause of the verse, is literally until ihc Christ (ews rod xp^tou). And tbus the evangelist passes from the use of tho 8 ST. MATTHEW I. [1.8 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was ou this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away word Christ as a mere proper name to its use as an appellative, — until the Messiah, until, that is to say, the pre-eminently Anointed One, the highest of all kings, and the most priestly of all priests, as to ell as the most inspiring and inspired of all who have ever been prophets or spokesmen for God. Ver. 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise : The word translated birth leads the mind a little farther back in thought than to the mere nativity. It suggests the idea of genetic origin. It is in fact the word Genesis. The evangelist is about to describe, not the genesis of the heaven and the earth, but the genesis of Him who made the heaven and the earth, and who will yet make a new heaven and a new earth. When as His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph : The older English versions, instead of the compound expression when as, have just the simple word when. The compound expression was therefore an innovation ; but it is now obsolete. It means at the time when, or during the time while. A betrothal in oriental countries was, and is, generally a more formal and solemn engagement than we are familiar with under the same designation in Great Britain. Hence it was a maxim of Jewish law that betrothal was of equal force with marriage itself ; so that faithlessness on the part of the betrothed maiden was punishable with death (Deut. xxii. 23-27). Before they came together (to live as husband and wife under one roof) she proved to be with child of the Holy Spirit. There is a fuller account of this Divine mystery in the Gospel according to Luke, first chapter. If our Saviour was to be Divine, it was meet that there should be some special Divine action in accomplishing the incarnation. If He was to be human too, it was meet that He should be ' born of a woman,' but ' not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' (John i. 13.) If the whole arrangement was to be in virtue of an agreement, if we may so speak, between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it was meet that the Holy Spirit should have some agency in the matter. He acted however for the Father ; and thus the Father was and is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The expression she proved to be, or, more literally, she was found, implies that there were outward indications of the virgin's peculiar condition, indications which were patent to the observation of those who were coming in contact with her. Ver. 19. But Joseph her husband (that is, her betrothed husband) being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example. Some have interpreted the word just as meaning benignant or merciful. So Grotius, and Baring in his Dissertation on this verse, and Kuinol ; but its real signification is simply righteous. It would appear that the evangelist had before his mind two distinct lines of ideas, though he does not keep them quite separate from beginning to ending of his statement. He represents Joseph as righteous on the one hand, so that he could not brook to take home his betrothed if she were stained; and as merciful on the other, not willing to make a public example of her. Hence the worthy man resolved to steer a middle course. Was minded to put her away privily. He was disposed to get the deed of betrothal privately cancelled, so that they might be mutually free. While the law invested a man who had 21] ST. MATTHEW I. 9 privily. 20 But while lie thought on these things, behold, the nngel of 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 entered into an engagement of betrothal with power to visit his unfaithful spouse with the severest penalties (Deut. xxii. 23-27), yet of course it did not constrain him to avail himself of his power. If he felt that he could be satisfied without a public prosecution and judicial conviction and execution, then as a private member of society he had an unchallengeable right to dispense with his rights. Private members of society are not bound always to exact, though they are bound always to discharge, all their dues. There would probably be something so pure, and sweet, and elevated in the character of Mary, that Joseph, even under the influence of irritation and the deepest disappoint- ment, would feel himself unable to entertain the idea of proceeding against her to the utmost extremity of the law. His heart would be filled with mingled surprise, sadness, and compassion. Veb. 20. But while he thought on these things, — while he was revolving in his mind {tvdvix-qd euros) the things that were connected with the alternatives of conduct that were before him, — behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream: An angel ox messenger. The reference is undoubtedly to one of that peculiar class of the Lord's messengers whom we now commonly designate angels, but the word in the original just means messenger. The messenger appeared in a dream, that is, while Joseph was in a state of unconsciousness in relation to the material side of things. Insensibility had barred, for the time being, the gateways that communicated with the outer world, the gateways of his senses ; but his mind was inwardly thrown open to spiritual agencies and influences. Influences from above did come in. A messenger of the Lord appeared. It need not seem incredible. There is kinship among spirits. Neither need it seem wonderful that the appearance of the celestial messenger should have been so unmistakeable as to verify its reality to Joseph's mind. Saying, Joseph, thou son of David : It is assumed that Joseph knew his own relationship to the royal line, the line of the long promised Messiah. Gleams of the glorious possibilities connected with himself, and with his beloved Mary, may have often flashed through his spirit, or flitted athwart his view, filling him at once with rapture and with awe. What if the day of redemption was drawing very nigh ? What if the shoot from Jesse's stump was just about to sprout ? Fear not to take to thee — to take home — Mary thy wife : Thy (betrothed) wife. All is right. Thy longings are about to be realized ; thy Messianic anticipations are about to be fulfilled, though in a way that had not entered into thy mind. For that which has been begotten in Ler is of the Holy Spirit: Instead of begotten, Tyndale and the Geneva have conceived. Wycliffe, Luther, and the Ilheims, following the Vulgate, have born, a very awkward rendering. ' The Holy Thing ' is spoken of impersonally, as in Luke i. 3o. 7s of the Holy Spirit, that is to say, is the product of the agency of the Holy Spirit. Al) therefore is right, and the prophecies are about to be fulfilled. Vee. 21. And she shall bring forth a son : Yes, virgin though she be. The • Seed of the woman ' is about to appear. The virgin has conceived, and shall bear a son. Is it not so written in the prophecies ? And thou shalt call His 10 ST. MATTHEW I. [21 his name JESUS : for he shall save his people from their sins. name Jesus : It is as if the angel bad said, Thou shalt assume the part of a father, and give the name to the child ; Jesus, in Hebrew Joshua, or Jehoshua. It is, as thou knowest, an eminently significant name, Jehovah (is our) Salvation. It was appropriately borne by him who led your fathers of old into the holy land. By him Jehovah conferred a great salvation, and the favoured people found rest. But all that then happened is but a faint adumbration of far higher and grander realities. There is a happier land, a better rest and in- heritance. There is another country, * even an heavenly.' Your Jesus will conduct into that. In Him, far more gloriously than in any other one, will it be realized that Jehovah saves. He will be the true Joshua. For He — em- phatically He — shall save His people from their sins : De Wette, Baumgarten- Orusius, Meyer, and others suppose that by His people we are to understand the Jeics, and that when it is said He shall save them from their sins there is no reference to the Pauline idea of salvation. The meaning they suppose is this, He shall deliver the Jews from that national degradation and servitude which is the penal effect of their sins. But St. Paul did not invent his theology ; he found it in the Old Testament Scriptures. He might have found it also, though of course in very varying developments of form, circulating among the pious of the people. With the pious in all ages religion is a spiritual state and exercise, and salvation is a spiritual deliverance, stretching out and up into the illimitable. Aspiration in the direction of Infinity is inseparable from true piety. Although therefore it should have been the case, as most probably it was, that Joseph's Messianic views were in some directions confused and confined, light and darkness fitfully interbleuding and often strangely chasing one another, nevertheless we need not suppose that the message of the heavenly messenger was intended to fit in only to those elements of his conceptions that were tinged with the imperfections of his imagination. On the heights of his intelligence there was light gleaming from afar ; in the depths of bis conscious- ness and conscience there was a craving immeasurably removed from the sensuous. It was to Joseph, as thus conditioned, that the angel was sent, and that the statement was made, He shall save His people from their sins, that is, He shall save the subjects of His heavenly kingdom from their sins. It is obvious from the original that the pronoun He [avros) is to be understood emphatically, He and no other. The Revisionists bring out the emphasis thus : For it is He that shall save His people from their sins. There is great significance in the expression ' His people.' The angel does not say to Joseph ' thy people ' ; nor does he say ' God's people.' He says ' His people.' Joseph's son was to have a people. He had a people. He was a king. His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, was at hand. The community had been gathering together for ages. It was about to be more fully organized. It was already, and it would be still more emphatically, a people, a nation, a holy nation. Every citizen, every subject, would be saved from his sins. This expression, saved from his sins, or rescued from his sins, assumes that sins are a man's worst enemies. When a man falls into their bands he is in a most perilous condition. They are merci- less ; nothing short of death will satisfy them, the utter destruction of all the elements of bliss. "What shall men do then to be saved ? They cannot save themselves. Once in the power of their sins they are like Laocoon within the coils of the serpents ; their case is hopeless unless a Saviour interpose. Jesus is that Saviour. Salvation from sin, when theologically viewed, is deliverance 23] ST. MATTHEW i. 11 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God from penalty, or from exposure to penalty. It is resolvable into pardon, justifi- cation, and glorification, and is to be distinguished from sanctifieation, which However is something greater still in moral moment. Nothing can transcend in ethical importance assimilation in character to the image of God. Ver. 22. But all this has come to pass : Chrysostom is right in supposing that it is the angel who continues to speak, and who seeks by the words of this and the following verse to remove every vestige of doubt from the mind of Joseph. Arnoldi takes the same view. On the supposition that it is the evan- gelist who speaks, there seems to be too little said to Joseph in explanation of Mary's condition. Unless she were ' the virgin,' no adequate relief would have been given to his perplexity. All this, that is, all that has occurred in the case of thy Mary, has happened. That it might he fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord, or by the Lord : there is a slight ambiguity in the English preposition of, which is not in the original (vwo). Principal Campbell employs the word verified in place of the word fulfilled. It is in some respects a good translation; but it deviates widely from the etymological and distinctive import of the evan- gelist's term, a term that is beautifully significant. Words of themselves are empty. They need things to fill them. They are useful only as vessels to convey things from mind to mind. Histories, of themselves, are words ; and therefore they are empty unless there he veritable facts to fill the void. Pro- phecies too consist of words, but from their peculiar predictive character the words continue as it were empty, till the facts come to pass. Then the empti- ness is filled to the full, the words are fulfilled. The facts, says the evangelist, came to pass that what ivas spoken by the Lord might be fulfilled. The pro- phetic words had been spoken because the Lord had resolved to bring to pass the facts. And hence, in the fulness of the time, the facts were brought to pass, that the prophetic words might be fulfilled. The Lord's hand was in the words ; the Lord's hand was in the facts too : and it was by the Lord's hand that the harmony or correspondence of His words and works was consummated. Through the prophet, saying : Or through the prophet when he says. There was a sense in which it was the prophet who spoke ; there was a sense in which it was the Lord who spoke through the prophet. In one plane of things we find the prophet speaking. "We rise up higher, and lo it is the Lord himself who is speaking. The passage referred to is found in Isa. vii. 14. Ver. 23. Behold, the virgin shall he with child, and shall bring forth a son : The idea is not, some virgin or other. There is express pointing to a particular virgin. The case is singular ; it is unparalleled. Whatever scope for doubt there may be regarding the flexibility of the meaning of the word for virgin in Isaiah's Hebrew, there is none for doubtirjg regarding the meaning of the evan- gelist's term. It most definitely and distinctively means virgin. And they shall call His name Emmanuel : They sltall call, it is a free translation of tho prophet's Hebrew, and brings into view the fact of a somewhat extended recogni- tion of the peculiarity and glory of the virgin's Offspring. They shall call, men shall call. Emmanuel ; or as it is in the Old Testament, Immanucl. Which, being iaterpreted, is, Gcd with us: Or which, when interpreted, is. With us (is) Go-i 12 ST. MATTHEW II. [23 with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife : 25 and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son : and he called his name JESUS. CHAPTER II. 1 NOW when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Juda3a in the The uame is thus entirely and finely coincident in idea with the import of the name Jesus. The two names, though different in vocal form, are, in their ideal substrate or essence, identical. With-us-is-God, tbat is, Tr<'£/(-?is,-to-help-us,- is-God, With-us,-to-sa,ve-us,-is-God. The name might be given, as a motto designation, to one who was not God, just as the name Jesus or Joshua waa borne by merely human persons. Emmanuel is in fact thus employed, though perhaps too presumptuously ; the late king of Italy was called Victor Em- manuel. But in the case of Jesus the name was more than a motto designation. It was a doctrinally descriptive appellation, though there is no evidence that it was intended to be employed as a conventional proper name. Jesus was really, and in His own personality, God-with-us, -to-snve-us. The expression, which, i.e. tuhicli name, when interpreted, is With-us-is-God, would of course not be spoken by the angel to Joseph. It must be regarded as a parenthetical and purely philological remark, thrown in by the evangelist at the close of the angel's quotation. Ver. 24. And Joseph, being raised from his sleep (euro >oD tirrvov) — from the sleep in which he was favoured with the vision of the angel — did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife : Took home his wife. Ver. 25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son : it is worthy of notice that in the two most ancient manuscripts of the Greek text, the Sinaitic in St. Petersburg and the Vatican in Rome, we have the simple expression, till she brought forth a son, instead of till she brought forth her first- born son. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott-and-Hort, and the English Revisionists accept and support the simple reading, supposing that the fuller expression had crept in from an early marginal note, which had been derived from Luke ii. 7, where the reading is unchallengeable. We hesitate to accept their verdict. And knew her not : The evangelist indicates, in beautifully modest phraseology, that Joseph had learned, from the communication made to him by the angel, that he was to look back upon Mary as united to him for higher objects than are contemplated in ordinary instances of wedlock. He was to be her human guardian, and her offspring's legal father. But she was emphatically ' the virgin,' and a very 'chosen vessel' of the Lord. CHAPTER II. Ver. 1. Now when Jesus was born : The evangelist is about to narrate some striking events that took place after the birth of Jesus, and apparently very soon after. We cannot say however how soon. The phraseology employed does not determine the matter. And those who try to harmonize the narratives of Matthew and Luke differ considerably as to the length of time that had probably elapsed between the nativity and the visit of the wise men from the east. We are disposed to place the visit after the presentation in the temple, but very soon after. In Bethlehem of Judaea : a small town about six miles 1] ST. MATTHEW II. 13 days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from from Jerusalem, south by west. It is now called Beit-lachm (or Flesh-house), and contains about three thousand inhabitants. It was called Bethlehem of Judcea to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun. (Josh. xix. 15.) It is a very ancient place, and bore the name of Ephrath or Ephratah before it came iuto the possession of the Hebrews. (Gen. xlviii. 7.) It was the birthplace of David, as well as of David's Son and Lord. Its Hebrew name means Bread- house, a name derived in all probability from the fertility of its soil. It is, in another plane of things, the IIouse-of-Bread. The Bread of Life has been dis- seminated from it, the Bread which satisfies the hunger of the soul, and which may be ' bought without money and without price.' In the days of Herod the king : Herod, surnamed the Great. For a time he bore no higher title than that of tetrarch ; but he was ultimately elevated by Antony to the royal dignity. He was of Idumaaan origin. As a prince he was able and magnificent, but utterly unprincipled and most unhappy. Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem : The word translated wise men is Magi (M&yoi), a word that is apparently of Median origin, though under the form magician it has got to be naturalised in many of the languages of Europe. In the old Median language, the Pehlvi, mog or mag meant priest. The Medes, as we learn from Herodotus (i. 101), were divided into six tribes, one of which was the Magi, corresponding to the Levites among the Hebrews, the Brahmins among the Hindoos, and the Druids among the Celts. They were a sacred caste, the councillors of the ruling classes (Herodotus, i. 120), and the spiritual advisers and guides of the great body of the people. As they belonged to a nation of fire worshippers, sun worshippers, worshippers of the elements of nature, they were peculiarly devoted to astronomical and astrological pursuits. Purvey translates the term in the passage before us astromyens. They were accustomed to consult the stars of heaven, that they might obtain direction regarding the affairs of earth. It was not in all respects the worst possible phase of super- stition. It led them to look up ; and as they looked they would doubtless at times be conscious of stirrings and aspirations of spirit that sought to pierce beyond the stars. In connection with their astrological engagements, the Magi became students of other elements of occult science ; and hence many of them became interpreters of dreams, fortune tellers, wizards, sorcerers, necro- mancers ; in one word, magicians. As such they wandered up and down among the nations, making a livelihood from their magical intuitions or their skill in magical arts. And persons of other nationalities too, who had similar proclivi- ties or idiosyncrasies) were designated by their name. Hence Simon of Samaria, who is spoken of in the 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, is commonly called to this day Simon Magus. We know not the nationality or nationalities to which the Magi mentioned by the evangelist belonged. They were, he says, from the east. But we know not from what part cf the east they came, and it is in vain to guess. Neither do we know how many of them there were, and it is in vain to guess. In the mediaeval ages there was abundance of guessing on the whole subject. It was guessed that they were three in number, correspond- ing to the offerings mentioned in ver. 11, and corresponding to the Trinity too, and to the three great regions of the earth. It was guessed that they were three kings. It was guessed that they were the representatives of the three great families of Shem, Ham, and Japhet ; and hence one of them was custom- arily regarded as an Ethiopian, and was painted black. In the Scholastic 14 ST. MATTHEW II. [1 the east to Jerusalem, 2 saying1, Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east, and History of Peter Comestor, as in Bede before him, we find their very names, and in various languages too ! In Latin they were named Balthazar, Caspar or Jaspar, and Melchior ! In the Eastern Church again the luxuriance of guess- ing broke forth in a different direction ; and they were supposed to have arrived in Jerusalem with a retinue of a thousand, and to have left an army of seven thousand men on the farther bank of the Euphrates ! It is in vain however to put spurs into the pegasus of imaginative invention on such a subject. Vek. 2. Saying, "Where is He that is horn King of the Jews? This inquiry more literally translated is, Where is the bom King, that is, the newly born King, of the Jeivs ? Herod was not a bom king. It was long since there had been a horn king among the Jews. But at length there was a born king. Where is he ? The Magi expected, no doubt, to find him in the capital city, and in the royal palace. Luther's translation of this inquiry is, Where is the new-born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east: That is, the star that indicated His birth. What star was that ? Kepler, the astronomer, supposed that it might be a new star, similar to one which he noticed in 1G0-4, and which appeared along with a remarkable conjunction of the planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, in the sign of the Fish, which is the astrological symbol of Judaea. " It was like the most beautiful and glorious torch." He calculated that in the year of Borne 747 a corresponding conjunction of two of the planets, Saturn and Jupiter, must have taken place, and the following year a conjunction of all the three. One or other of these years being assumed to be the true year of the Lord, the starting point of the Christian era, what if the conjunction was then accompanied by the appearance of a new star as in 1604 ? Would not that correspond with the narrative in our evangelist ? Would not that be the star of the Magi ? Kepler pleads his cause with great earnestness and eloquence. (De Nova Stella; He J. C. vero anno natalitio.) And his idea has been taken up with more or less of accuracy, and pressed, by Miinter, Ideler, Alford, etc. But it is apparently scientifically at fault, and exegetically too. We conclude from ver. 9 that the star seen by the Magi was not a firmamental star in the modem and scientific acceptation of the term star. It was neither a fixed star, an immensely remote star, nor yet a planet revolving round our own solar centre. The Magi indeed may never have thought of the stars as distant worlds. A star, to them, would be but a celestial point of light. And such a point of light had appeared to them in the west as they scanned the skies. It had appeared to them, pointing as toward the region of Juda;a, and beckoning them on. Why may it not have been a miraculous star ? Jesus was the centre of a large circle of supernatural things ; and this circle intersected at many points multitudes of other circles, both in nature and in human nature. Hence the preparations for His coming, not among Jews only, but also among sur rounding Gentiles. Hence too the confluence of fitnesses for His appearance at the actual ' fulness of the time.' Hence too the concentration of marvels in and around His birth and life and death. Hence too (why not ?) the star of the Magi. Hence too the multiplied marvels, physical, intellectual, and moral, that coctinued to occur, though in rarified degrees and in modified forms, in apostolic and post-apostolic circles, the circles that were most intimately con- nected with the time and place of our Lord's life and death. Time has advanced 3] ST. MATTHEW II. 15 are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these tilings, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 6ince the great epoch. Cycles have revolved, and we are sweeping along under full sail in a new series of circles that are not reproductions of bygone circles, and will never be produced again. Yet the original Christian impulses continue. The supernatural is still interpenetrating the natural, though in diversified forms, accommodated to the procession of the ages. The free agency of God has not ceased ; the hand of His free activity is not stiffened or tied. In what way might the minds of the Magi be led to connect the appearance of the star with the birth of the King of the Jews ? We are not told, and we need not pry. But we learn from ver. 12 that God was in supernatural communication with them ; and thus the greatest difficulties are removed. Most likely they were pious men, whose minds had ascended from nature to nature's God. They had noted that the Lord was not dealing with themselves or with others as they deserved He was dealing with them in mercy ; He was dealing propitiously. Thero must be (may they not have concluded ?) a propitiation. There must be already, or there will yet be, a Propitiator. They had faith in the unseen but hoped for reality. The daystar had arisen or was arising in their hearts. And likely, too, in accordance with what Suetonius, and Tacitus, and Josephus tell us of the widespread expectation of the coming Man, the coming Jew, they had heard that some great One was expected to make His appearance among the Jews. That people indeed had been greatly depressed. They had been long oppressed, chiefly under the burden of their own crimes. But a Deliverer was about to appear. Had it not been rumoured too that Balaam had prophesied of Him as the ' Star ' who should ' come out of Jacob ' ? (Niun. xxiv. 17.) He would transcend all other kings. He would be mighty to save. Would He not be willing and mighty to save them too, — even them ? May we not suppose that they believed that He would ? If they were Median or Persian Magi, may we not also suppose that traditions of Daniel, and of Daniel's visions and pro- phecies, had reached them, and stirred into heavenward aspiration the longings of their souls ? Hence, perchance, it was that they were favoured with the vision of the star ; and hence, perchance, they dimly understood the import of its appearance. We saw His star in the east. And are come to worship Him : To acknowledge His worthship, to do homage to Him. They could not be satis- fied with blindly worshipping, as so many of their fathers had done, the sun of nature. They longed to worship the greater and more vivifying Sun, the Sun of Righteousness. They longed to bow themselves in adoration before the True Light, which light eth every man that cometh into the world. (John i. 9.) Ver. 3. But Herod the king when he heard it : And no doubt the tidings would be speedily carried to his ears. They would run, as Archbishop Trench expresses it, " like an electric shock through the palace of the usurping Idurnsean." (The Star of the Wise Men, p. 42, ed. 1850.) Was troubled : " When we remember," says Archbishop Trench, " the recent agitations at "Jerusalem through the refusal of the Pharisees, to the number of six thousand, " to take the oath of allegiance to him (Josephus, Ant. xvii. 2: 4), with their " prophecy of the divinely intended transfer of the kingdom from him and his " race to a favourite of their own, we can easily understand how much less a " thing would have been sufficient to terrify him than this announcement of the " star and the King." And all Jerusalem with him : " The rabbinical world 10 ST. MATTHEW II. [4 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of of Jerusalem " (Geikie) ; its high officials and other leading men. Many of these would be the creatures of Herod, while others might be afraid of any event that would threaten the commotions and embarrassments that are invariably incident to a change of dynasties, which so often issues in civil war. Some of the ' hidden ones,' however, like Anna and Simeon, who were already ' fighting the good fight of faith,' and ' waiting for the Consolation of Israel,' might have their hearts not troubled, but cleared and cheered and quickened into livelier expectancy and prayer. Ver. 4. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people : An extemporized council of such high, learned, and influential persons as would in his estimation be best able to give him the biblical or traditional information which he required. All the chief -priests : one might have expected that there would have been only one chief priest. But the office of the high priesthood had become venal. It was too important and lucrative to be left for a very lengthened term in the hands of one individual ; and hence, besides the person in actual office, there might be others, who had been his predecessors, and who continued to bear the name and in some respects the dignity. The chiefs of the twenty-four courses of priests might also be included under the designation. (See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14 ; Ezra viii. 24, x. 5 ; Neh. xiii. 7. Comp. 1 Chron. xxiv.) The scribes again were the learned men of the nation ; learned especially in the letter of the Scriptures, the law. They were the men who could wield the pens of ready writers, and who took their distinctive position in society in consequence of devotement to letters. Some would transcribe the Scriptures, when copies were required. All of them would study the Scriptures, though of course with very varying degrees of intelligence and enlargement of soul. Law papers would come under their charge, secretaryships, and such cases of conscience as could be resolved only by the application of Scripture. They would be the councillors of the higher powers, the educators and spiritual advisers of the great body of the people. He inquired of them where the Christ should be born : He wished to learn from them what was the predetermined birthplace of the Christ. He used the customary theocratic language. He knew that there was a general expectation of the speedy appearance of some illustrious One. The inquiry of the Magi brought the idea afresh before his mind. And therefore, while he had no doubt that there was much superstition afloat on the subject, and that it was probably all a matter of superstition, yet, as there was something in the matter that touched him to the quick and troubled him, he must be wary and prudent in his procedure. He would not slap the superstition in its face, but he would take effectual measures to over- reach it ! Hence he pretends the assumption that there was to be a Messiah. He pretends too that he was desirous to assist the Magi in the ends they contemplated in their pious and praiseworthy pilgrimage. Ver. 5. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judsea : " Lo, how readily and " roundly," says Trapp, and he might have added how soundly, " out of the " Scriptures, they could answer to this capital question " ; for it is possible to know much of the letter of Scripture, and yet to enter but little into its spirit. Indeed, if Herod had asked them which was the very central letter of the law, G] ST. MATTHEW II. 17 Judcea : for thus it is written by the prophet, 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 we doubt not that the scribes could have answered him. They would have brightened up and told him that it was the penultimate letter of the fourth word of the 42nd verse of the 11th chapter of the book of Leviticus. But as to the central idea at once of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, that was a very different matter, and perhaps very indifferent to not a few of their number. For thus it stands written by the prophet : viz. Micah, in chap. v. ver. 2. Ver. 6. The passage as it stands in Micah is as follows : And thou Belhlehe>„ Ephratah, small to be among Judah's thousands, out of thee shall He come forth to Me ivho is to be Ruler in Israel. As it stands in the evangelist, it is reproduced, as regards the substance of its ideas, though not as regards the details of it a letters. Bethlehem was really small ; and yet it was not small. Both ideas are true ; and both ideas are implied, read the passage as we may. Its littleness passed into greatness, in virtue of the intimacy of its connection with One who was the Greatest of the great. As regards the free and easy reproduction of the prophecy by the evangelist, the following items may be noted. And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah : In the original there is no in the ; the expression land of Judah comes abruptly after the name Bethlehem, to designate the particular Bethlehem referred to, just as in English we say, Neu-port, Shropshire ; or Newport, Monmouthshire. There was a Bethlehem in the territory or canton of Judah ; and there was another Bethlehem in the territory or canton of Zebulun. In Micah's Hebrew the designation is effected by adding the ancient name of the place, Bethlehem-Epliratah. Art by no means least among the princes of Judah : Instead of the princes of Judah, the expression is, in Micah's Hebrew, the thousands of Judah. The two representations, however, are but two aspects of one reality. The tribe had been subdivided into thousands, or chiliads, corresponding to the hundreds of England, and over each subdivision there was a chieftain or prince, a thousander as it were, or chiliarch. Some thousands, considered as districts, would sometimes dwindle as regards population ; others would increase. And hence in course of time, and just as there are more or less populous hundreds in England, there would be more or less populous thousands in Judah ; and there would be thousanders consequently, or princes of thousands, who were of more or less political importance. Bethlehem-Ephratah was little among the thousands; its prince was little among the princes. And yet, viewed on another side, it was not little ; it was by no means least. For out of thee shall come forth a Governor, a leader, a ruler, a prince ; namely, the Christ. Wycliffe translates the word a duk (a duke). In the Bheims it is rendered a capitaine. Who shall rule Thy people Israel : Instead of the word rule we have in the margin the word feed. It was the translation of the Geneva version, because it was Beza's translation. It is strangely preferred by Archbishop Trench. But neither feed nor rule conveys the full idea of the original expression (iroip-avei). That full idea is, who shall shepherd My people Israel, who shall at once protect, guide, feed, and govern or rule them. Michaelis, in his Observations on Micah, says : " Even although " there were not, in Matthew ii. 5, G, a single word explanatory of our text, still " I should believe that the reference is to Christ, that Christ who was bom C 18 ST. MATTHEW II. [0 shall rale my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, wlien lie had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, nnd 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, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they re- joiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were " under the reign of Herod. The entire thread of the prophecy of the jireceding " chapter leads me to Him, and to the time of His birth." Ver. 7. Then Herod privily called the wise men: Privily, for he was already hatching, still more privily, his malicious plot. And inquired of them diligently : or rather, ascertained from them accurately (riKpij3wa-ei> irap' clvtuv). The verb denotes the exactness of the information got, rather than the diligence, or even the exactness, of the inquiry made. What time the star appeared : Literally, the time of the appearing star, an idiomatic expression in Greek, corresponding to our idiomatic expression in English, the time of the appearing of the star. Herod was already suspecting that the Magi might not return to him, and he therefore took time by the forelock, and got out of them all the information that would be needed to guide him in his privy and nefarious project. Veb. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem : He directed them, that is to say, to go to Bethlehem. And, having done this, he added, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child, etc. That I may come and worship Him also : or, that I too may go and do homage to Him. Herod wished to convey to the minds of the Magi that his feelings coincided with their own, and that indeed he wished to do what they were doing. It was something, says Gualther, like the kiss of Judas (Archetypi, in loc). Ver. 9. And they, having heard the king, went their way ; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. From this statement we learn, in the first place, that the star which they saw when in the east had not continued to be visible to them during their journey, so that for the greater part of their way to the Holy Land they had to icalk by faith, not by sight. We learn, in the second place, that the star was not a far distant orb, but a point of light comparatively near the earth. If God can reveal Himself supernaturally and evangelically through the ear, why should we wonder that He should also reveal Himself supernaturally and evangelically through the eye ? "Ver. 10. It is not improbable that, when Herod directed them to go to Bethlehem, his manner, although studiously controlled, may have excited vague suspicions and other chilling sensations. If so, their joy would be all the more intense when their hopes were reassured by the reappearance of the star. Macu contrives to lead us down into the flattest possible bathos when he translates the jubilant clause thus, — they were extremely well pleased. Ver. 11. And having come into the house : The house, for it is not reasonable to suppose that ' the Holy Family ' would require to stay long in the public khan 13] ST. MATTHEW II. 10 come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him : and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be or caravanserai where the infant Saviour was born and laid in a manger. They saw the young child with Mary His mother, and they fell down, and worshipped Hiin : Or, still more literally and impressively, and, having fallen down, they worshipped Him, they did homage to Him. And having opened their treasures, or their repositories or caskets, they presented gifts to Him, — according to the oriental custom in paying visits to royalty, — gold, and frankincense, and myrrh : Gold would be always a suitable present. Frankincense and myrrh would be used chiefly in the houses of the great, and in holy places. They were prized for the delicious fragrance which they suffused. They were gifts fit to be pre- sented to monarchs ; and it was to Jesus, as a royal child, that they were presented by the Magi. The fathers of the church thought that they could de- tect mysteries in the peculiar nature of the gifts. In the gold, says Origen, there is a reference to the Lord's royalty ; the frankincense has reference to His Divinity ; the myrrh to His decease. The number of the gifts was also a fertile source of cabalistic ingenuity to the older expositors. It symbolised the Trinity ; it symbolised the triplicity of elements in the Saviour's personality ; it sym- bolised the triad of the Christian graces, faith, hope, charity ; etc., etc. But such a method of expounding is to turn the simple and sublime solemnities of Scripture into tilings ludicrous and grotesque. It is of moment to note that tha visit of the Magi, and their reverential obeisance, and their gifts, must have had a finely confirming influence upon the faith of Joseph in reference to the perfect purity of Mary and the lofty character and destiny of her Offspring. It is also interesting to observe the initial fulfilment of those multitudinous prophecies which shine as stars in the Old Testament Scriptures, and point us to the in- gathering of all peoples to the Shiloh. Happy the time when ' all kings shall fall down before Him, and all nations shall servo Him,' when ' all the families of the earth shall be blessed,' everlastingly blessed, 'in Him.' Ver. 12. Richard Ward, in his thick folio volume, entitled " Theological!, " Dogmaticall, and Evangelicall Questions and Observations and Essays upon th' " Gospel of Jesus Clirist according to St. Matthew, wherein about 2,650 necessary " and profitable questions are discussed, and 5S0 special points of doctrine noted, "an I 550 errors confuted or objections answered; together with divers arguments "whereby divers truths and true tenets are confirmed (1640)," spends nearly three double columned pages in showing the principle on which it was right for the Magi to break the promise which they had made to Herod, that they would return to Jerusalem. But the good expositor's labour, as in almost all the res' of his book, is really labour in vain ; for there is no evidence whatever that tho Magi had made any promise of the kind. Ver. 13. But when they were departed, lo, an angel of the Lord, etc. Then was a superhuman element throughout. Into Egypt : A place beyond Herod's 20 ST. MATTHEW II. [13 thou there uutil I bring thee word : for Herod will seek the young1 child to destroy him. 14 When he ai*ose, 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 bo fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the pro- phet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. jurisdiction on the one hand, and intimately and mysteriously connected on the other, and from of old, with God's evangelical dispensations. Herod will seek : Or, better, Herod is about to seek. Ver. 14. By night : It is customary in the east, when one has to make a long journey, to start early in the morning, hours before daybreak. The air is then deliciously cool ; and time is gained to allow a long siesta during the keat of the day. But the expression of the evangelist would suggest that far earlier than was usual with travellers, and probably on the very night of the vision, Joseph took the young child and His mother, and set out. Departed into Egypt : The tradition is that Matareeh was the place to which ' the Holy Family ' fled. Matareeh was in the neighbourhood of Leontopolis in the district of Heliopolis, where there had been erected 150 years before, by Onias, a fugitive priest, a magnificent Jewish temple, in imitation of that in Jerusalem. There would probably be many Jews in the locality, with whom Joseph and Mary could have pleasure in associating ; for, as Lightfoot remarks, 'Egypt was now replenished with Jews above measure.' And the gifts which had been given by the Magi might be turned to good account duricg their compulsory sojourn in a foreign land. Veh. 15. And was there until the death of Herod : A period of a year or two. It is a period that is blank to us in our Saviour's history ; and no doubt wisely so. Perhaps the childhood of our Lord, while immaculately free from all moral imperfections, was wonderfully like the childhood of multitudes of others, His little brothers and sisters of mankind. It would no doubt be a lovely cbild- hood, — exquisitely quiet, thoughtful, sympathetic, responsive ; eminently self evolving withal, and therefore beautifully selective and select in its recipiency. But it was only the beginniug and the budding of His development ; and we have mainly to do with the flowering that came after, and the fruit. We may allow imagination to hover over the unknown period, peering, as best it can, into its own darling principles of a perfect ideal. By and by we may get to know, even as we are known. There are in existence apocryphal Gospels of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, in which marvellous stories are told of miracles that were wrought during the sojourn in Egypt, and after the return to the Holy Land. But the stories are apocryphal. They are unhistorical inventions ; and our own imaginations need no such helps, or rather hindrances. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called My Son : The expression, of the Lord by the prophet, would be more liter- ally rendered, by the Lord through the prophet. And the expression, Oat of Egypt have I called My Sun, would be more literal if rendered, Out of Egypt I called, or recalled, My Son. The passage quoted is found in Hos. xi. 1, When Israel xoas a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt. It is a liistorical remark regarding the people of Israel, who were God's national son, — the nation which He favoured above other nations as a father favours a son. The Lord said unto Moses, — Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, My firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that h« 16] ST. MATTHEW II. 21 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the may serve Me ; and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, thy firstborn (Exod. iv. 22, 23). This is the sow of God to whom reference is made in Hosea, when it is said, Out of Epypt I called My son. In what respect then is it true that Jesus went to Egypt, stayed there for a season, and re- turned, that it might be fulfilled which was siwken by God through tlie prophet, Out of Egypt I called My son ? Various answers have been returned by ex- positors to this question. Many suppose that the words are quoted just in the way of mere arbitrary accommodation, like an appropriate classical quotation, or, as some shallow scoffers have represented it, like a parody. Bishop Chandler thinks that the words had become a kind of proverbial expression to denote deliverance from imminent danger, and hence their appropriateness to the ■circumstances of our Saviour. (Defence of Christianity.) Wakefield agrees with him. Pierce again imagines that the original oracle of Hosea was con- structed on a principle of parallel lines of distinct predictions, on one of which lines, including the first clause of the last verse of the 10th chapter, and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and Gth verses of the 11th, the national Israel is referred to, while on the other line, including the last clause of the last verse of the 10th chapter, and the 1st verse of the 11th chapter, the Messiah is referred to. (Dis- sertation on Matt. ii. 13-15.) But such a principle of interpretation turns the prophecy into a puzzle. Eusebius conjectured that the passage quoted by the evangelist was taken, not from Hos. xi. 1, but from Balaam's prophecy in Num. xxiv. 8. (Demonst. Evang., iv. 1.) Olearius is of the same opinion. (Observat. in Matt.) And Dr. W. L. Alexander maintains that the passage is not to be found in the Old Testament at all, but must have been some prophecy ■" which had been handed down by tradition among the Jews." (Connexion of Old and New Test., p. 486, ed. 1841.) But all these shifts are most unsatis- factory. They are shifts, not solutions. And the real key to the evangelist's quotation seems to be found in the indubitable principle that the ichole Old Testament is but the bud of the New. In the Old Testament, as Augustin re- marked, the New Testament lies concealed ; in the New the Old lies revealed. {Quatstiones in Hept., ii. § 73, etc.) And not only so: but Israel was Israel, and God's national son, just because it included in itself Him in whom is included the true Israel, and who is tlie only begotten Son of God. But for this relation of pregnancy to the Christ, there never would have been any national Israel, to go down into Egypt and to be called up out of it. Abraham's Spiritual Seed was involved within his carnal seed ; and hence the existence of his carnal seed, and their exodus out of Egypt. They were called out of Egypt chiefly that they might bring up with them the Seed of seeds, the Christ. Hence, when Hosea wrote the words which the evangelist quotes, the kernel of Divine idea that was within their rind or outer shell could not possibly have been fully realized, or fulfilled, if the Christ had remained in Egypt. It was necessary that He too, as well as the national Israel, should go up to Canaan. It was there that He was to achieve the mighty work in virtue of which all the families of the earth are to be blessed. Ver. 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the Magi : Mocked, or made sport of (ivewaix^v) < held nP t° derision. The representation is made as from Herod's own standpoint. Not being treated with the deference which ho deemed his due, he regarded the couduct of the Magi as a kind of mockery. 22 ST. MATTHEW IT. [16 wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17 Then Wycliffe and many others translate the word deceived. Dr. Daniel Scott (New Version of St. Matthew's Gospel) renders it imposed upon ; Doddridge, deluded ; Worsley, baffled; Brameld, outwitted; all of them inadmissible translations, as may be seen at a glance by looking at the other passages where the word occurs. £ee Matt. xx. 19 ; xxvii. 29, 31, 41 ; etc. All the children : That is, all the male children, as is indicated by the gender of the article in the original (Trdvras tous iraloas). And in all the coasts thereof: Coasts, that is, confines, borders, neighbourhood. The English word coasts, literally meaning sides, and originally applicable as much to inland as to maritime parts, has for long been confined to denote, specifically, such lands as border on the sea. There were no lands of that description connected with Bethlehem. Prom two years old and under, according to the time which he accurately ascertained from the Magi : Principal Campbell translates the expression thus, From those entering the second year, down to the time whereof he had procured exact information from the Magians. He supposes that the tyrant's orders to his minions would amount to this, "that they should kill none above twelve months old, or under six." The interpretation is, we should suppose, right in its ascending direction ; at least we should hope so. But it is too restricted, we fear, in its descending limit. The tyrant would wish to make sure work, and fo the mere babes, the newly born, would be sacrificed, as also all the rest of the ' innocents,' whose ages did not lift them into the class of two-year-old children, or two-yearings, as Sir Norton Knatchbull calls them. As all however who had completed one year of age became forthwith, in Jewish calculation, children of two years, or two- yearings, all such would be spared. They would be regarded as beyond range of suspicion. Even Herod, although not holding himself sensitive in the least to ethical scruples, or amenable to the dictates of conscience, would set some limit to his margin of murder. We must bear in mind the character of the man. " It was that Herod," says the historian Neander, " whose crimes, coin- " mitted in violation of every natural feeling, ever urged him on to new deeds of "cruelty ; whose path to the throne, and whose throne itself, were stained with "human blood; whose vengeance against conspirators, not satiated with their "own destruction, demanded that of their whole families ; whose rage was hot, " up to the very hour of his death, against his nearest kindred; whose wife "Mariamne, and three sons, Alexander, Aristobulus, and Antipater, fell victims "to his suspicions, the last just before his death." "It was that Herod who, at '• the close of a blood-stained life of seventy years, goaded by the furies of an evil " conscience, racked by a painful and incurable disease, waiting for death but "desiring life, raging against God and man, and maddened by the thought that " the Jews, instead of bewailing his death, would rejoice over it as the greatest of " blessings, commanded the chief men of the nation to be assembled in the circus ''• of Jericho, where he lay dying, and issued a secret order that after his death " they should all be massacred together, so that their kindred at least should have " eause to weep for his death." (Life of Christ, i. 3, § 20.) We need not wonder that such a tyrant should take to himself a pretty large margin, as regards the age of the innocents of Bethlehem. Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, ii. 4, reports 19] ST. MATTHEW II. 23 was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy tho prophet, saying, 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of tho Lord that the emperor Augustus said of Herod, " It would be better to be his sow than his son " ; the sow would have had more chance of life than the son. The point of the sarcasm is realized when, in addition to the bloodthirstincss of the tyrant in relation to his sons, it is remembered that, according to the Jewish law, it was not allowed to slay the sow for food. As Bethlehem how- ever was but a little township, we must be careful to put reins on the imagina- tion, when thinking of the number of the little ' martyrs.' Hundreds have been thought of, — most unreasonably. And in some perfervid imaginations, the martyrological roll has mounted up from hundreds to thousands, — a number probably beyond the entire population of the place. Hence, too, we need not wonder that Josephus takes no notice of the massacre. Possibly he might not even know of it ; more especially if Herod took the precaution to manage the matter as ' privily ' as possible. We must bear, besides, in mind that it was nearly a hundred years after the birth of Christ ere Josephus composed his History. Ver. 17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy, or Jeremiah: The passage quoted is found in chap. xxxi. 15 ; and the evangelist intimates that the thrillingly pathetic language of the prophet, in reference to what had happened of old in connection with Eamah, was applicable to what had hap- pened in connection with Bethlehem. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah, before being finally carried off to Babylon by Nebuzaradan, were collected to- gether, in chains, at Eamah ; and thence they ' were carried away captive, in gangs ' (Jer. xl. 1). When the deportation began, a shrill and piercing ' voice ' was heard in Eaniah, " lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning," — a long, heart-rendiDg wail. The prophet, in fine poetic imagery, which readily interpets itself to every susceptible spirit, represents this bitter lamentation as proceeding from " Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be com- "forted, because they were not." The impersonation is touchingly natural, inasmuch as both Eamah and Jerusalem were in the tribe of Benjamin, and Eachel was Benjamin's mother. Ver. 18. A voice was heard in Ramah ; weeping and great mourning ; Eachel bewailing her children : It is with all the greater propriety that what was said by Jeremiah in reference to Eamah is transferred by the evangelist to Beth- lehem, as Eachel's burial place is not far off (Gen. xxxv. 19). The spot is marked at the present day by what is called Rachel's tomb, which stands at about a mile's distance north of Bethlehem. The personality of Eachel waa thus brought nigh, and she was, as it were, the mother of the Bethlehem mothers. And would not be comforted : It is better to introduce the pronoun, — and ' she ' would not be comforted, 'she ' was not willing to be comforted, because they are not. Ver. 19. But when Herod died : He died in the thirty-seventh year of hia reign, and the seventieth of his age. He was sadly afflicted in body, and most wretched in spirit. See Josephus : Ant. xvii. G: 5; Wars, i. 33. 24 ST MATTHEW II. [19 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. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judasa in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither : notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dreatn, he turned aside into the parts Veh. 20. They are dead who sought the young child's life : Or rather, they have died ivho ivcre seeking the young cliild's life. The plural is idiomatically used by the angel, not with the intention of intimating that there were more than one who sought the j'oung child's life, but because he chooses to make his re- ference indeterminate or indefinite. Perhaps too there was a tacit allusion in his mind to what is said to Moses in Exod. iv. 19, The Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men (in the Greek, all they) are dead which sought thy life. The same idiomatic use of the plural is common in English, at least with some people, when they have a wish to avoid a particular- izing reference to a given individual. "Ver. 22. But when he heard — contrary to his legitimate expectation — that Archelaus was reigning — or, very literally, that Archelaus is reigning —in Judsea in the room of his father Herod : It was not expected that Archelaus was to succeed his father. It was only when near his decease that Herod altered his arrangement, and appointed him his successor. Some small critics have objected to the word reigning, as applied to Archelaus, inasmuch as he had but the title of Ethnarch. It is enough to reply that, under whatever title he ruled, he yet ruled supremely in Judaea, and such a rule is to all intents and purposes a reign. But more ; he was not made ethnarch till some considerable time after his father's decease. His father, on the contrary, as we learn from Josephus, actually appointed him to be his successor in the throne. He ' granted,' we read, ' the kingdom (ttjv f3arepara- tion and reformation, a preparation in the heart, the mind, the character, to which John referred. Veu. 4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair: He was an ascetic throughout, not indulging himself in any of the ordinary luxuries of life. His very dress was of the coarsest stuff. It was made of earners hairs, not of those finest hairs that are woven into the soft and silky fabric called camlet, but of the coarsest hairs, which were worked into another kind of stuff, like sackcloth, with which tents were sometimes covered. Sir John Chardii; mentions that it is customary for dervishes of the present day to wear garments of this stuff (Ilarmefs Observations, chap, xi., § 83). See chap. xi. 8. And 30 ST. MATTHEW III. [4 hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins ; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judasa, and all the region round about a leathern girdle — or belt or zone — about his loins. Dervishes, says Sir John Chardin, still use such leathern girdles. So did Elijah the Tishhite, in whose spirit John came. " He was an hairy man," a man covered with a hairy garb, " and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins " (2 Kings i. 8). And his meat— his food — was locusts and wild honey : The plainest fare that could be had. We learn from Levit. xi. 22 that there were certain kinds of locusts of which the Jews might eat, although it would probably bo only the very poorest, or the most self denying, of the people who would make use of such diet. Burckhardt says : " All the Bedouins of Arabia, and the inhabitants of "towns in Nedja and Hedjaz, are accustomed to eat locusts. I have seen at " Medinah and Tayf locust shops, where these animals were sold by measure. "In Egypt and Nubia they are eaten only by the poorest beggars. The Arabs, "in preparing them as an article of food, throw them alive into boiling watei " with which a good deal of salt has been mixed ; after a few minutes they are " taken out and dried in the sun ; the head, feet, and wings are then torn off, " the bodies are cleansed from the salt and perfectly dried ; after which process " whole sacks are filled with them by the Bedouins. They are sometimes " eaten broiled in butter, and they often contribute materials for a breakfast, "when spread over unleavened bread mixed with butter." (Notes on tin Bedoitins and Wahdbys, vol. ii., p. 92, ed. 1831.) " Locusts," says Dr. W. M. Thomson, " are not eaten in Syria by any but the Bedawiu on the extreme " frontiers, and it is always spoken of as a very inferior article of food, and " regarded by most with disgust and loathing, tolerated only by the very poorest ''people. John the Baptist however was of this class, either from necessity "or election. He also dwelt in the desert, where such food was and is still " used; and therefore the text states the simple truth. His ordinary meat was " dried locusts, probably fried in butter and mixed with honey, as is still "frequently done." (The Land and the Book, part ii., chap. 28.) The wild honey which he used is supposed by some to have been a sweet vegetable exudation, or manna. This was the opinion of the ancient lexicographer Suidas (see under aicpis), as also of Bobinson, the modern lexicographer and traveller; he translates the expression honey dew. Meyer inclines to the same idea. But we see no good reason for stepping aside from the simple interpretation of the phrase, the interpretation that assumes that the reference is to bee honey, found in the clefts of the rocks or in the fields. We learn from the practice of John that it is not unlawful to live a life of very great self denial, in the sphere of the animal nature, when by such self denial one is fitted, either directly or indirectly, for receiving into one's self, or for letting out upon one's neighbours, a wholesome moral influence. Veb. 5. Then went oat to him: Then, when he had come forth publicly, sending athwart the wilderness his shrill and earnest ' cry.' Jerusalem : As it were en masse. And all Judsea : The inhabitants of the region round about Jerusalem. And all the region round about Jordan : The inhabitants of the tract of country on both sides of the Jordan, from the lake of Tiberias down to the Dead Sea. It was thus an immense area of country that vibrated to the herald cry of John. The people had for long been on the tiptoe of expectation. Q] ST. MATTHEW III. 31 Jordan, 6 and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing There was a convergence of the signs of the times. Daniel's weeks, and other landmarks of prophetic chronology, would doubtless be extensively studied. The great Deliverer was surely at the very door. Hence the intense thrill of anticipation when John's cry came athwart the wilderness. Who is this ? He is evidently some extraordinary personage. Is he the Messiah himself? Or is it Elijah ? or who ? The population of town and country, from far and near, poured out, as in torrents, ' to see ' (chap. xi. 8, 9). Ver. 6. And were baptized by hiin in Jordan : They received from his hands a baptism which was the significant symbol of the means of purification. He did not actually purify them. He could not do that ; he did not profess to be able to do that. But he could direct their attention, in a vivid, impressive, and pictorial manner, to the divinely provided means of purification. He could confer upon them the adumbrative symbol of that spiritual element, the influence of the Holy Spirit, which is the only efficacious means of human purity, and which was to be got for sinners only through that Messiah who was to come. ■ He would stand, as we conceive, and as would be not only safe but pleasant in that sultry climate, within the margin of the river, and, as the people came down to him into the water, he would pour, or throw, or sprinkle upon them the symbolical element. Such would seem to be, and would most probably be, tbe action of John when he baptized. The Greek word baptize (SnrTifa) indeed, being derived from a root (Pcltttu) that means to dip, suggested, when etymologically considered, the idea of immersion (see Conaut's Meaning and use of i Baptizein,'1 philologically and historically investigated), or rather of tnersion (see Dale's Inquiry into the Meaning of the ivord ' Baptizo'). And no doubt a considerable proportion of the things that needed to be ]:>urified or cleansed by men, such as 'cups and pots' and small culinary brazen vessels (Mark vii. 4), would be, in general, purified or cleansed by being mersed, or merged, or submerged, in water. But then, on the other hand, there were other things, such as very large brazen vessels, and couches, which could not thus be purified. And the Syriac word for baptize r Vi\ | t a word far more likely to be employed by John than the Greek word, means etymologically to cause to stand, an idea that is almost the reverse of the etymological import of the Greek term. This etymological meaning of the Syriac word has indeed been disputed, as for instance in the Journal of Sacred Literature, vol. viii., p. 405 ; and it has been conjecturally maintained that the term must have originally meant, in its Peal conjugation, to be immersed. But such an original Peal meaning would seem to be an impossibility. It is a strictly passive meaning ; and every strictly passive idea must be secondary, not primary or original. It is needless however to lay any great stress of emphasis on the original or etymological import either of the oriental or of the occidental term for baptism. When the terms were used in reference to John's religious rite, a rite that was evidently intended to be purificatory in it-; fundamental notion, the idea of mode, as regards the manner of relation to the purifying element, seems to have been a matter of comparative indifference, and was merged out of sight ; and the remaining, and as it were defecated, idea of purification by whatsoever mode was what alone stood prominently out to view. That the word baptize did not, in its Palestinian usage, necessarily denote immersion is* demonstrated by such passages as Hub. ix. 10-13; Mark vii. 4; Acts x. 41-47, xi. 15, 16. 32 ST. MATTHEW III. [G their sins. 7 But when lie saw many of the Pharisees (Comp. Judith xii. 7.) And that John the Baptist did not immerse, either in a robed or in an unrobed condition, the immense confluence of people that gathered around him in the wilderness, seems to be evidenced at once by the require- ments of delicacy and decency on the part of the baptized and by the requirements of time and strength on the part of the baptizer. But whence the idea of John's baptism ? What would it be that led him to baptize ? Would it be the practice of baptizing proselytes from among the Gentiles ? So many have thought. (See Lightfoot's Exercitations; and Danz's two Disserta- tions in Meuschen's N. Test. See also Bengel's Untersuchung iiber das Alter der jildischen Proselytentaufe.) But we cannot acquiesce in this idea ; although we would not dispute that there are links of interesting semi-latent relationship between the two institutions. Proselytes, however, were not baptized by another ; they baptized themselves (see Schneckenburger, iiber das Alter der jiidischen Proselyten-Taufe). John's baptism was different. It was peculiar. And yet it was, by no means, a very violent innovation on oriental and Jewish ideas and customs. It was a lustration ; and as such it was intended to signify, ritually and pictorially, the necessity of purification, and at the same time to point simply and sublimely to the fact that the means of real purifica- tion were divinely provided and at hand. It was just the embodiment, in significant optical symbolism, of the significant audible symbolism of the Old Testament prophets when they ' cried aloud ' and said : " lVash you, make you "clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes." " In that " day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the " inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for unclecumess." " Then will I sprinkle " clean water upon you, and. ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from " all your idols, will I cleanse you ; a new heart also will I give to you, and a '• new spirit will I put within you"; "And I will put My Spirit within you, " and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and " do them." (Isa. i. 16 ; Zech. xiii. 1 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27.) The Baptist's baptism links itself on to these Old Testament Scriptures. He, as it were, said to the people : It is utterly beyond my power to purify you, and make you meet for the kingdom of heaven. But I can direct you, by significant act, as well as bit earnest ivord, to the grand efficacious means of purification, lohich the Messiah Himself will provide : I can baptize you with water. Should it be asked whether or not it was probable that the little children of the people would be partakers of John's baptism, we would answer with Lightfoot, " Nor do I believe " this people, that flocked to John's baptism, were so forgetful of the manner " and custom of the nation, that they brought not then little children also with " them to be baptized" (Exercitations, in loc). Their little children needed to grow up in purity ; and there was available for them the purificatory influence of the Holy Spirit. " And whereas," says Dr. Wall, "it is said of the multitudes " that came to John that they were baptized by him, confessing their sins, which " confession can be understood only of the grown persons, that is no more than " would be said in the case of a minister of the Church of England going and " converting a heathen nation. For in a short account which would be sent of " his success it would be said that multitudes came and were baptized, confessing " their sins ; and there would need no mention of their bringing their children " with them ; because the converting of the grown persons was the principal and "most difficult thing, and it would be supposed that they brought their children 7] ST MATTHEW III. 33 and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, " of course." (History of Infant Baptism, vol. i., p. 28, ed. 1836.) Confessing their sins : That is, while in the act of confessing their sins. It is thus that the Syriac version Diings out the nicety of the evangelist's idea. It is implied that confession of sins was a condition of their baptism. The confession would doubtless be brief and emphatic, perhaps ejaculatory. The original word imports that it was made orally and openly. Ver. 7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees : These Pharisees were a class of Jewish religionists, who were, as a body, intensely formal ; intensely self confident, self satisfied, and self sufficient ; intensely sanctimonious withal, and spiritually supercilious. Their name means Separatists. They separated themselves from the mass of their fellows, under the idea that it became them to think and to say, Stand aside ! we are holier than you. They were, in their own esteem, what the great Scottish poet has graphically designated ' the unco rjuid.' They were zealous indeed, even to the boiling point ; but it was for the letter of the written law, and for certain favourite traditions which, as they imagined, explained and supplemented the written law, and for a crowd or mob of minute regulations and observances that gave them, as they conceived, a high vantage ground of spiritual superiority above all the rest of mankind. They thought little of the glory of God as God, or of the good of man as man. Their aim, in general, seems to have been to show off themselves, and feed their own complacency in themselves. And Sadducees : The Sadducees were another, but much smaller, party or sect of Jewish religionists. The meaning of their name is uncertain. Many writers, both rabbinical and Christian, suppose that it has reference to a certain rabbi, called Zadok, who lived about three hundred years before Christ, and who was a pupil of Antigonus of Socho, a famous master in Israel, who laid down the following maxim, " Be not like " servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward, but be like " servants who serve their master disinterestedly ! " This maxim Zadok is supposed to have carried to such an extreme, that he built upon it the idea that human virtue is absolutely its own reward, so that there is no reason whatsoever to anticipate a future state of rewards and punishments. Hence he and his disciples denied the immortality of the soul. Epiphanius combines with the reference to Zadok another view of the import of the name. He says that the Sadducees took to themselves their designation from the Hebrew word for righteousness. Their designation would thus mean Righteous ones, Just ones, (D,j>l'5rV.:=D*j2''!JX) ; and it would hence bring into view the prominent feature in the religious profession of the sect, morality, rectitude of demeanour. Geiger, again, thinks the name was derived from Zadok, the old Davidic priest (1 Kings i. 32-39, etc.), and that it denotes the hereditary aristocracy of the priestly party. (Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibcl, ii., § 1, p. 102.) But whence- soever the name and origination of the party, its members, at least at the dawn of the Christian era, were as a body thoroughly demoralized in the sphere of the inner life. They may have clung, as probably they did, to the outward sacerdotal services and the associated ceremonies of the law. But they were pre-eminently worldly, and content to be worldly wise. They were religious in consideration either of the emoluments of religious profession, or of the respectability and social standing which it conferred. Their religion was thus utterly hollow. It was not even true morality ; for true morality is not loic to 34 - ST. MATTHEW III. [7 O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repent- telf, and prudent behaviour to other men so far as ice can make them minister to self; it is love to God and to men. "Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees ;" It is worthy of being noted that the evangelist does not say, ' Many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.' He masses the two parties into one company. They were indeed in many respects contraries, clustering toward opposite poles of outward religionism. But in the eyes of the evangelist and of John their distinctive differences were trivial. So far as regarded inner religion, and the innermost moral peculiarity of their character, they were identical. Come to his baptism : Or more literally, coming to his baptism. The reading of Tischendorf is, coming to the baptism. He said to them, 0 generation of vipers: Or, Progeny of vipers ! He looked through and through them, in a way impossible to ordinary men, and read what was in the heart of their hearts. He saw the grovelling element that cleaved to the dust. He saw the morally insidious element. There was poison too which they would not scruple, on occasion, to eject and inject. He saw it. He saw that there was in them an element of real antipathy to genuine humanity. He therefore availed himself of the authority of one who was ' a prophet ' and ' more than a prophet,' and spoke out with no bated breath. Who hath warned you ? Who advised you ? Who suggested to you ? It is as if he had said, It is something of a wonder to see you coming hither, along with those masses of the common people whom you so much despise. To flee from the wrath to come : Is it really the case that you have taken to flight that you may escape from the wrath to come ? Have you really set out from your wickedness, over which the tremendous judgments of God have been gathering for so long ? Are you truly in earnest ? The icrath to come : the impending wrath is the indignation of God against persisted-in sin, that indignation that results in the infliction of penal woe- The last words of the Old Testament lift up a warning voice concerning it : " Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and ''dreadful day of the Lord ; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the "children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite " the earth with a curse.'" Vee. 8. Bring forth therefore : Therefore, then, that is, since it is the case that you are professing to have taken flight from the wrath to come, since it is the case that you are professing repentance. Fruits : or fruit, as the word is read in the majority of the oldest manuscripts. Fruit, moral fruit, fruit as regards character and conduct. Meet for repentance : A rather unhappy translation, as it suggests the inverted idea that in the frait of good conduct there will be preparation for repentance. There is a marginal reading given, answerable to amendment of life, also a rather unhappy translation, as it confounds cause and consequence. The fruit referred to is amendment of life ; and to represent it as answerable to amendment of life is to represent it aa answerable to itself. The Geneva version is, worthie amendment of life. The adjective is befittingly rendered, but not the substantive. The expression, literally rendered, is simply worthy of repentance, or rather, worthy of the repentance (which you are professing). (See on ver. 12.) John, as it were, said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, If your repentance be icorth anything, let it be manifested by worthy character and conduct. Webster says that Coleridge 10] ST. MATTHEW III. 35 ance : 9 and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father : for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, proposed transmentation as an English equivalent for the word translated repentance (note in Genius of the Gospel, p. 13). Trapp, nearly two centuries before, used the same term : ' Grieve for your sins, even to a transmentation.' But it is an utterly unwieldy translation, as well as otherwise infelicitous. How would the verb sound, transment ? The idea suggested by trans is aside from the peculiarity of the original term (see under ver. 2). Vee. 9. And think not to say within yourselves : Suppose not that you have any good reason to say within yourselves, — Be not of the opinion tliat ye may legitimately think in your hearts. The expression think to say is, as Dr. Light- foot remarks, " a Jerusalem phrase, to be met with everywhere in the Talmud." It need not be regarded, however, as a mere Hebraism. We have Abraham for a father : And therefore there is no fear of us, God will fulfil His promises of bliss to Abraham and his seed. Eabbi Levi said that Abraham would sit at the gates of hell and not permit any Israelite of respectable character to enter it. (See Wetstein, in loc.) Such would be the dream of the Pharisees. The Sadducees would have their corresponding dream. Who could or would dejudaize them? For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abra* ham : These stones ; he would be pointing, as he spoke, to the shingle on the banks of the Jordan. It is as if he had said, Do not delude yourselves ivith the idea that God needs you, that He may fulfil His promises of blessing to Abraham's seed. His seed shall inherit the world. But God will be at no loss to provide this seed, though no account be taken of you. We need not doubt that in the background of the Baptist's strong asseveration there was floating, more or less definitely shaped out, the idea that was subsequently unfolded in full by the apostle Paul when he said : " Know ye therefore that they which are of *'faith, the same are the children of Abraham " ; " if ye be Christ's, then are ye "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise " (Gal. hi. 7, 29). Vee. 10. And now : or But even noio, But already : It may be now or never with you. The axe is laid to the root of the trees : The idea is not that the axe is laid on, or plied, at the root of the trees. It is, that the axe is lying at the root of the trees. The woodman has, as it were, taken his position, and, while making his brief preparations, such as the adjustment of his vesture, has laid his axe at the root. The crisis time has come. Not a moment should be lost. Every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit, — literally, which maketh not good fruit, — is hewn down, and cast into the fire : The present tenses are graphic. The Baptist, as it were, says : The axe is lying ; but I see the mighty woodman lift it! He strikes ! He strikes again! and again! Every tree that maketh not good fruit is felled ! There ! They are carried away ! They are cast into fire ! It is all over ! It is a work of judgment which the Baptist describes. In anticipating the coming of the Great King, he does not pause to contemplate the evolution of ages, and the gradual development of the new order of things, going on from century to century, and from the river to the ends of the earth. He condenses the whole series of events into a singlt scene, and thus sees at a glance the doom of the persistently unholy. 36 ST. MATTHEW III. [10 and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance : but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I ana not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and ivith fire: 12 whose Ver. 11. I indeed baptize you with water : In the original it is literally ir water, a mode of expression which probably owed its origin to the primary import of the word baptize. (See under ver. 6.) But our translation, with water, though not so closely literal, is in English more idiomatic, inasmuch as the primary modal import of the verb is merged out of view when the word is applied to the purificatory rite performed by the Baptist. Hence Luke, in reporting the Baptist's expression, omits the in, and gives the phrase thus — il I baptize you with water " (voclti instead of ev vdan). It is to be noticed, besides, that the preposition which Matthew employs corresponds to a Hebrew preposition (3), which conventionally means with as well as in. Unto repent- ance : Or rather, into repentance, that is, into a state of repentance. John, as it were, says, I baptize you symbolically into that repentance which constitutes meetness for admission into the kingdom of heaven. John could do no more than merely assist the people into repentance, by means of the symbolism of words, or by means of the symbolism of water. But He that cometh after lne, — He who is coming after me, and whose harbinger I am, — is mightier than I : has greater power than I, to deal efficaciously with souls and with sins. "Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : Whose meanest servant I am not worthy to be. In great houses, it was the lowliest of slaves who brought in and put on, or took off and carried away, the master's sandals or shoes. He shall baptize you : He ; there is emphasis in the pronoun, — He and no other. " Shall baptize you," whoso- ever you be, and whether you take the full advantage of His baptism or slight and resist its influence. With the Holy Spirit : That is, with the gracious purificatory Influence adumbrated by the emblematic water. It is by the bap- tismal influence of the Holy Spirit, as He works on and in the human spirit, that true repentance is wrought out. This baptismal influence of the Holy Spirit was prophesied of by Ezekiel of old (xxxvi. 25-27), and by Joel (ii. 28), and by others of the prophets. It had been partially poured out all along the dis- pensations ; but it was granted in its fulness on the completion of the great propitiatory sacrifice. (John xvi. 7-11 ; Acts i. 5, 8, ii. 2-17 ; Gal. iii. 2; etc.) And with fire : The witli is a supplement, and would be better omitted. Wycliffe, Sir John Cheke, and the Kheims version leave it out. The Baptist does not refer to a distinct agency, an element different from the influence of the Holy Spirit. But he adds the words and fire, to give a vivid description of the mighty, and mightily purificatory, influence of the Holy Spirit. This is un- doubtedly the correct interpretation of the appended expression, as has been, with more or less of precision, seized by Chrysostom ; by Erasmus also, and Calvin, and Beza ; as also by Clarke, Benson, Alford, Glockler, Ewald, Webster and Wilkinson, Wordsworth, and many others. Wordsworth's note is the fol- lowing : " With fire, to purify, illumine, transform, inflame with holy fervour " and zeal, and carry upward, as Elijah was carried up to heaven in a chariot of " fire." Some have supposed that the expression refers to the fire of punishment. Such is the interpretation of Paulus, Neander, Meyer, and De Wette, not to specify more ancient expositors. It has drawn its origin chiefly from the ' fire unquenchable ' of the next verse. But it is an unnatural exposition, introduce 12] ST. MATTHEW III. 37 tin is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and mg an element of dreadfulness, when we should expect, in consequence of the antithesis hetween the two baptisms, nothing but a reference to the transcend- ent superiority and efficacy of the Messiah's baptism in relation to repentance and all that is involved in repentance. The interpretation moreover is at variance with that partial fulfilment of the prediction which we have in Acts ii. 2-17 ; for, in that partial fulfilment, the fire was not punitive but purificative, ldndred to the coal of fire taken from off the altar and laid upon the mouth of Isaiah of old. (Isa. vi. 5-7.) Ver. 12. Whose fan is in His hand : Another snatch of graphic represent- ation. The Messiah appears on His threshing-floor ; and He has His fan, or fanner, His winnowing fork or shovel, in His hand. He is ready for action in reference to the mingled mass that is lying around Him on the floor. We shall understand the hieroglyphic picture all the better by bearing in mind the harvest customs of the Baptist's country. Dr. Eobinson describes what he saw in the plain of Jericho in 1838, thus : " Most of the fields were already reaped. " The grain, as soon as it is cut, is brought in small sheaves to the threshing- " floors on the backs of asses, or sometimes of camels. The little donkeys are " often so covered with their load as to be themselves hardly visible ; one sees " only a mass of sheaves moving along as if of its own accord. A level spot is *'• selected for the threshing-floors, which are then constructed near each other, " of a circular form, perhaps fifty feet in diameter, — merely by beating down " the earth hard. Upon these circles the sheaves are spread out quite thick ; " and the grain is trodden out by animals. Here were no less than five such "floors, all trodden by oxen, cows, and younger cattle, arranged in each case " five abreast, and driven round in a circle, or rather in all directions, over the *' floor. The sled or sledge is not here in use, though we afterwards met with it " in the north of Palestine. The ancient machine with rollers we saw nowhere. " By this process the straw is broken up and becomes chaff. It is occasionally 41 turned with a large ivooden fork, having two prongs, and when sufficiently "trodden, is thrown up with the same fork against the wind, in order to separate " the grain, which is then gathered up and winnowed." {Researches, vol. ii., § 10, p. 277, ed. 1841.) Dr. Horatio Hackett mentions, in reference to these oriental threshing-floors, that " the top or side of a hill is often preferred, for the pur- " pose of having the benefit of the wind." Most of those which fell under his notice were on high ground. He also mentions that " the modern Greeks, in 41 many of then customs, approach nearer to the oriental nations than to those 41 of modern Europe " ; and then he adds : " Not far from the site of ancient *• Corinth I passed a heap of grain, which some labourers were employed in 41 winnowing. They used, for throwing up the mingled wheat and chaff, a 41 three-pronged wooden fork, having a handle tltrce or four feet long. Like •" this, no doubt, was the fan, or winnowing shovel, which John the Baptist 41 represents Christ as bearing." (Illustrations of Scripture, chap, iv., pp. 105, 106, ed. 1856.) And He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing-floor : namely, by clearing out of it the rubbish of chaff and chopped straw. Plying His fan, and thus casting up against the breeze the mingled mass, the light and useless par- ticles and fragments will be blown to the side, while the heavy and precious grain will fall and remain on the threshing-floor. The verb (Sta/caS-aptet) is beautifully significant. It represents the husbandman as beginning, so to speak, at the one side of the floor, the windward side, and prosecuting his winnowing and 38 ST. MATTHEW in. [12 gather his wheat into the garner ; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. cleansing operation right through or thorough to the other side. And gathet His wlieat into the garner, or storehouse, or granary. The expression " Hi wheat " is noticeable. There is a sense in which the chaff too was His. But He did not care to retain it as a prized possession. But the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire : Tlie chaff, the rubbish which had been blown to the leeward side of the floor. It was useless for any purposes of oriental husbandry or household economy ; and hence it was set on fire and consumed. This way of disposing of the rubbish of the threshing-floor is common among oriental husbandmen. It is assumed, in the scene depicted by the Baptist, that the bulkier and more valuable portion of the straw had already been removed, and stowed away for the foddering of cattle, etc. This part of the process is merged out of view, as having no bearing upon the moral scene of which he was giving a hieroglyphic representation. The expression unquenchable fire is graphic. It denotes fire which, ichen once kindled, burns so impetuously that it would be in vain to attempt to extinguish it. And certainly, when once the exceedingly dry rubbish of the threshing-floor was set on fire, all the means available to the oriental farmer would be utterly insufficient to arrest the progress of the flames. It has been asked what we are to understand by the fan, and what by the hreshing -floor, as well as what by the wheat, and the chaff, and the garner, and the fire unquenchable ? But we must not fritter clown the interpretation of the scene into extreme rninutias ; otherwise we shall run into incongruities. We must not forget that correspondences between the type and the antitype do not require to be absolute. There would be the intention, it may be presumed, of making counterparts of only prominent points. The Baptist had in view to represent the Messiah as effecting a complete disseverance of the good and the bad among men, and assigning to each class their appropriate destiny. It would not be all men indiscriminately, it would not be all Jews indiscriminately, who would have part and lot in the kingdom of heaven. Only the wheat would be gathered into the garner. The rubbish would be burnt up with fire un- quenchable. As to the threshing-floor, it represents, says Calvin, the church. And the church, says Trapp, is so represented " because it is usually threshed by God with the flail of affliction " ! But this interpretation gives far too con- tracted a view of the sphere of the Messiah's operations. It proceeds, more- over, on a wrong view of the nature of the church. What then, and where, is the Messiah's threshing-floor? Its geographical boundaries might not be definitely before the Baptist's mind, and we need not debate therefore whether the reference be, as Meyer thinks, to the Holy Land, or, as Bleek and Arnoldi suppose, to the whole earth (die Welt, die Erde iiberhaupt). The smaller circle may have dimly and indefinitely expanded, before the Baptist's divinely illumi- nated eye, into the larger. And assuredly his prophetic description of the win- nowing work of the Messiah finds the fulness of its import, whether he himself realized it or not, in the destiny of the whole of mankind. As to the instrument of winnowing, the/\vev) is in the im- perfect. Note the preposition ; it denotes that John was strenuous in his oppo- sition ; he shrank from the idea of performing such a rite on Jesus. Saying, 1 have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? That is, I have far greater need of baptism than Thou. I need to be purified. But Thou? I see nothing of the nature of impurity in Thee. It is implied in the Baptist's words that he had some definite knowledge of the character of Jesus. Not only would his deep insight into spirits reveal to him, as Jesus stood before him, a lofty and peerless and apparently stainless character ; he was a relative of our Lord's. There was kinship between the mothers (Luke i. 36), and they had been conscious, besides, of interesting maternal inter-relations (Luke i. 43-46). The children, we may reasonably suppose, would not be reared up in utter ignorance of one another, and of the fact that there was a peculiar connection subsisting between them. When therefore it is said in John i. 33, " and I knew Him not," we must suppose that the Baptist means that he did not know for certain, by Divine intimation or revelation, that Jesus was the Messiah, until the event referred to occurred ; and it did not become him to identify, on a subject so transcendently momentous, his own private anticipations, expectations, and convictions, with absolute knowledge. Ver. 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Permit for the present: viz. My reception of baptism at thy hand. The future will make abundantly manifest what ive respectively are. And then it maij be the case that thou shalt receive from Me, and not I from thee. But yield for tlie present. For thus — by My reception of thy baptism, and by thine administration of it — it becometh us — Me as well as thee, and thee as well as Me — to fulfil all righteousness : To leave nothing undone which would be honouring to the seemly and significant ordi- nances of God. As John's baptism was not ' of men,' but ' from heaven ' 10 ST. MATTHEW JIT. [15 he suffered hini. 1G And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water : and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, aud he saw the Spirit of God descending like (Matt. xxi. 25, John i. 33), it became Jesus to countenance and receive it, and John to administer it. It would Lave been unbecoming indeed for our Lord to have submitted to it, if its symbolism had been entirely inappropriate to One who was without sin. But it was not. As the purificatory influence of the Holy Spirit is undoubtedly needed for the purity of all moral creatures, in all regions of the universe, so it was meet that it should not be wanting to the creaturely condition of our Lord. The Holy Spirit had to do with the formation of our Lord's human nature (Luke i. 35), and from that moment thenceforward His influence would never be withdrawn. The Spirit of the Lord ' rested' on Him (Isa. xi. 2). The Spirit was given to Him 'without measure' (John iii. 34). And hence the symbolism of John's baptism of water was, in its essence, thoroughly appropriate ; it was the outward picture of an inward fact. Thus we need not have recourse to the poetical mysticism of Wordsworth, and some of the ancients, in reference to our Lord's baptism. ' He came to baptize water,' says Wordsworth, ' by being baptized in it.' ' He was baptized,' says Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Ephesians (§ 18), ' that, by His submission to the rite, He might purify the water.' ' He did not,' says Jerome, ' so much get cleansing from baptism, as impart cleansing to it.' (Ipse Do minus noster non tarn mundatus est lavacro, quam in lavacro suo universas aquas mundavit. — Adv. Luciferianos, § 6.) There is, however, even in these mysticisms an element of truth. Then he suffereth Him : Note the present tense. Vee. 16. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water : Or from the water, as it is in the original [ano). He went up straightway, or directly, perhaps in contradistinction to the general custom. The masses may have lingered for a season on the spot where their baptism was performed, praying, confessing, meditating, opening up their sjiirits to get the full benefit of their ablution. But Jesus, profoundly realizing that water baptism was to Him but a significant, though seemly, form, went up straightway from the water. (Comp. Mark i. 10.) And lo, the heavens were opened to Him : The maturity of His human spirit was now culminating ; and it was fit that the whole spint- world,' — upward, downward, and around, — should be thrown open to His view. First of all, heaven was opened to Him. And he saw the Spirit of God descend- ing like a dove and lighting upon Him : This was the spiritual side of His baptism, the counterpart of the outward outpouring which He had received from John. The Spirit, in the plenitude of His powers, was henceforth to actuate His humanity ; see Luke iv. 1, as connected with Luke iii. 22. And hence and henceforth His humanity would be fully furnished and equipped for the most trying portions of His work. It was as a dove that the Spirit descended on Him ; a beautifully significant emblem. It was not as an eagle, says Varenius, in his delightful Dissertation on the subject (De columba super capite Christi visa), but as a dove, an animal corresponding among birds to the lamb among beasts. " What bird," asks Lightfoot, " so fit as a dove, which was the only fowl that was clean and allowed for sacrifice ? " The Spirit is manifold in influence ; but in so far as He works in Jesus, and through Jesus, His influence is dove-like. It is not only pure, but loving, gentle, mild and meek. Wheresoever there is any- thing of the Spirit of Jesus, there is at once the inbreathing and the outbreathing of a dove-like spirit. t] ST. MATTHEW IV. 41 a dove, and lighting upon him : 1 7 and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. CHAPTER IV. 1 THEN" was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness Ver. 17. And lo a voice out of the heavens : Addressed to Christ, but audible to John. Saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased : Or, zuore literally, though not with absolute literality, in whom I have had good 2>leasure (TjuoJKTjaa, see Jebb, § 40-1). The voice from heaven thus makes sublime reference to what was frcm of old. It gathered up the most interesting of the Old Testament utterances, and concentrated them all upon the head of Jesus. It is not implied that the Father had ceased to be well pleased. Everything the reverse. The Father's present action was proof of present good pleasure. But the good pleasure was not merely in the present ; it was a thing from of old. The voice thus pointed Him out as the Son referred to explicitly in Psalm ii. 7, 12, etc., and implicitly in all the preceding and succeeding oracles that spoke of the Messiah. It indicated that it was in Him that the Father was, all along the dispensations, well pleased ; it was in Him that, even before the dispensations, before the world was, the Father had ineffable complacency in relation to men that were to be. (Com}). John xvii. 24.) After the utterance of this voice the Messianic self consciousness of our Lord would undoubtedly expand with rapidity, both intensively and extensively, into complete maturity. That self consciousness, it must be borne in mind, would necessarily, so far as the human side of His being was concerned, be subject, in its development, to the condition of time. There is no reason to believe that the heavenly voice would be heard by any others but Jesus and John (John v. 37) ; neither is it likely that the heavenly vision of the Dove would be visible to the eyes of the bystanders. The heavens wTere opened, as Jerome says, not by the actual parting of the elements of nature, but to spiritual eyes (iioji reseratione elementorum, sed spiritaalibus oculis). " If any doubt," says Lightfoot, " of the possibility of this, the answer " may be readily given by example of Elisha's servant (2 Kings vi. 17). For " the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, and Elisha perceived " them ; but his servant did not, till his eyes were opened in a more special " manner." CHAPTER IV. Ver. 1. Then was Jesus: Then, that is, after the events recorded at the con- clusion of the preceding chapter, after His baptism both outer and inner, His reception of the fulness of the Spirit. (Luke iv. 1.) Or we might represent it thus, — after the full realization, in His human self consciousness, of the peculiarity, and depth, and height, and vast expansiveness of His mediatorial mission ; after the assurance too that was given Him of the Father's infinite interest in Himself and in His undertaking. Led up into the wilderness : Led vp, from the low-lying region about Jordan, to some one or other of the desolate mountain tracts of the wilderness. We know not of course the exact locality. Tradition has fixed on a district in the neighbourhood of Jericho, which has in consequence been designated Quarantania, as being the scene of our Lord's forty days' fast. Some suppose however that, for historical and antitypical reasons, the scene of the temptation must have been about Sinai. It is need- less to guess. Of the Spirit: Or, by the Spirit, that is, by the Divine Spirit, 42 ST. MATTHEW IV. [1 to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty that Spirit which He had received without measure, and to whose guiding influence He had committed Himself. To be tempted of the devil : That is, for the purpose of being tempted by the devil, for the purpose of being morally tried, or put to the test, by the devil. Not only is it the case that there is a devil (see Sander's Lehre der heiligen Schrift von Teufel), — an invisible but mighty personal agency that is sadly complicating and perplexing human affairs by means of a subtle and widespread element of moral delusion, — it is also the case that this malicious agent and enemy is ' the prince of this world ' (John xvi. 11). He is ' the god of this world ' (2 Cor. iv. 4). He seems to look upon the earth as his own peculiar dominion, his hunting ground, on which he may roam about 'as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour' (1 Pet. v. 8). Perhaps he had possession of it for ages before the creation of man, and had a power of modifying much of what was then developed upon it. Perhaps he looked upon man as an intruder, and suspected that he was superinduced for the purpose of working out a higher and purer order of things. Hence perhaps his enmity in Eden. Hence perhaps his malice all along the ages, impelling him to lead men ' captive ' to their destruction, by inciting them to mutual hate and hostility, and by tempting them with every conceivable bait of un- hallowed and demoralizing gratification. He had all along acted as a seducer, a deceiver, and hence a liar. He is too, as the word devil (5ta/3oAos) imports, a slanderer, a traducer. He is the great Calumniator ; the calumniator of God ' Himself, calumniating Him to men ; while he also calumniates men to men, and even accuses and calumniates men to God. (Job i. 7-12 ; Zech. hi. 1, 2 ; Bev. xii. 10.) He is hence the great Satan or Adversary (Jtpt^H), the adver- sary at once of men and of God. It was therefore needful, if the Messiah was to deliver and save men, that He should encounter and overthrow this spiritual enemy, so that He might at length ' destroy his works ' (1 John iii. 8), and reclaim the whole earth for God and for heaven, that it may be ' a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.' The first Adam, when assailed, was foiled, and fell. The Second Adam, if He woidd establish the new mankind upon the earth, must needs grapple with the great foe, aud come off victorious. Hence the temptation of our Lord ; and hence the Divine agency in conducting Him to the arena of contest. Thus we have, in the language of the title of good old Thomas Taylor's volume on the subject, — " Christ's Combate and Conquest, or, " the Lyon of the tribe of Judah vanquishing the roaring Lyon, assaulting Him in " three most fierce and hellish Temptations " (1618). It has been thought by some, such as Abraham Scultet (Exercit. Evang., ii. 3), Le Clerc, Bekker, Farmer, Paulus, that it was only in a state of ecstasy, or trance, that the whole events of the temptation transpired. It is even contended that it was only in this spiritual way that the Saviour was led up into the ivildemess. " Christ," says Farmer, " might be said to be carried into the wilderness by the Spirit, if He "was carried thither, by immediate revelation or miraculous illumination, in a " vision or spiritual rapture." (Inquiry into the nature and design of Christ's Temptation, § 3, p. 50, ed. 1765.) Appeal is made, in support of this interpret- ation, to such expressions as occur in Ezek. iii. 11-15, xi. 1, 24, 25, xxxvii. 1, xl. 1, 2 ; Bev. xvii. 3, xxi. 10, etc. But this appeal is by no means decisive or to the point ; for the passages appealed to exhibit the influence of the Spirit in relation to avowed visions. We see no good reason for doubting that our Saviour was divinely moved to betake Himself for a season into some wild and 3] ST. MATTHEW IV. 43 days and forty Bights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou unfrequented part of the wilderness. It was well to go thither, that He might, in the power of His matured self consciousness, wind Himself up for His great work, and grapple with and surmount those initial ethical difficulties, over one or other of which all other heroes, and all other men, in all ages of the world, have stumbled to a greater or less degree, and fallen. If these initial ethical difficulties should be triumphantly surmounted, the way to victory in every other contest would be clear. Vek. 2. And after having fasted forty days and forty nights : Being inwardly absorbed, while unfolding Himself to Himself, and yet infolding Himself within Himself, and keeping at bay surrounding ' principalities and powers, — tho rulers of the darkness of this world, — spiritual wickedness in high places' (Eph. vi. 12). Such a wonderful folding in of His unfolded self, — such a mar- vellous winding up of Himself within Himself, — a winding up that involved the suspending of many of the ordinary functions of the material nature, may be unintelligible to the majority of men. But it was prefigured, and in some respect paralleled, by the experience of the two most remarkable and illustrious of our Lord's predecessors, Moses and Elijah. Each of these wonderful men had a fast of forty days' duration. (See Exod. xxxiv. 28, Deut. ix. 9, 1 Kings xix. 8). Yet they were not subjected to such a spiritual besieging, on the part of the embattled hosts of darkness, as our Saviour had to endure. The number forty had probably some appropriate significancy in connection with such fast- ings in the wilderness. It ran the experience of the great representative indi- viduals, each the head of a distinct phase of theocratic dispensation, into a groove that ran parallel with the forty years' fasting of Israel as a body, while passing through the wilderness. He was hungry : This expression is very archaically rendered by Tyndale, He teas an hungred. Hence King James's version. The Kevisionists have followed Wycliffe's older but better translation, He hungride, — He hungered. In other passages however, such as chap. xii. 1 and xxv. 35, they have returned to Tyndale's antiquated rendering ; unhappily. (See note on chap. xii. 1.) It would appear that in our Saviour's wrapt condi- tion, while He was gathered into Himself, He was free from the sensation of hunger. The supremacy of the spiritual over the physical had free course for a very lengthened period. Ver. 3. And the tempter, approaching Him, said : Or, very literally, and, having approached, the tempter said to Him. We are not informed in what way, or under what guise, the tempter came ; and we need not guess. Some havo thought that he would come veiled as an angel of light. Others have supposed that he came as a wayfaring man. Others that he employed the agency of one of our Lord's brethren. It is imagined that, missing for so long a time their remarkable relative, they would no doubt send in quest of Him ; and when the messenger came, and found Him weak from hunger, he gave, it is supposed, expression to Satan's temptation. Others have imagined that an emissary of the sanhedrin had found Him out, some scribe, or priest, or other official. This emissary, it is supposed, acted as the agent of Satan. Others have been content with less luxuriance of imagination, and have very naturally supposed that the tempter came to Jesus and addressed Him in just some such spiritual way as he comes to men in general and whispers in their hearts. The truth is U ST. MATTHEW IV [3 bo tlie Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 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 that there are various forms, within which our imagination may legitimately mould the concept, if we are determined to have it definitely moulded, or to define to ourselves some one definite mode of coming and communicating. It Thou be the Son of God : Or, more literally still, If Thou he God's Son, that is, If Thou stavdest in tlie relation of son to God. Principal Campbell contends that we should translate, If Thou he a son of God, — a translation that is not literal on the one hand, and that is misleading on the other. There is an intent of irritating in the use of the hypothetical if; if it be indeed the case that what was declared by tlie voice at Thy baptism is true; if Thou be God's Son, God's peculiar Son; if this be the case, why continue for a moment longer to suffer hunger ? Command that these stones be made bread : Or, more liter- ally, Speak, in order that these stones may become cakes of bread, — just utter the one needful word of command. Lightfoot says of the tempter that "he had " sped so successfully to his own mind, by a temptation about a matter of " eating, with the first Adam, that he practiseth that old manner of his trading "with the Second." And indeed it is the case with millions, that their prime temptation, though multitudes of them realize it not, resolves itself into a matter of bread. They are under some seducing inducement or other to use improper means to make their bread. Ver. 4. But He answered and said, It stands written : These words, It stands written, are the first upon record that were spoken by our Lord after His entrance into His ministerial function. They are noteworthy as suggesting : " (1) That the first word spoken by Christ in His ministerial office is an asser- " tion of the authority of Scripture. (2) That He opposeth the word of God " as the properest encounterer against the words of the devil. (3) That He " allegeth Scripture as a thing undeniable and uncontrollable by the devil " himself. (4) That He maketh the Scripture His rule, though He had the "fulness of the Spirit above measure" {Lightfoot). The passage which our Saviour adduces is found in Deut. viii. 3, and consists of words spoken by Moses to the Israelites in reference to the way in which they were so wonder- fully supported by manna. Man shall not live by bread alone : Literally, not f upon bread alone will man live. Man's life, even his physical life, is not dependent for its continuance upon bread alone. But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God : That is, but upon whatever order or appointment God may be pleased, as universal Sovereign, to issue forth. He has but to speak forth His will to the subject elements, material or spiritual, and some other means will suffice, as well as bread, to sustain life. The reference is not, as Calvin justly remarks, to the word of doctrine. " The meaning is " like this," says Chrysostom, " God is able even by a word to nourish the " hungry man." Jesus therefore intimated to the tempter that He would trust in God for the sustenance of His life. He was quite prepared to endure hunger, and all the other trials incident to the poorest of the sons of men. He would not be outstripped by any in physical endurance, He would not be out- manned. He was determined to live a life of self denial. And especially was He resolved that He would not wield His miraculous powers for His own sensuous gratification. He would make use of them indeed, as occasion offered. 5] ST. MATTHEW IV. 45 mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and. setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, to feed thousands of others who were hungry ; but He would not employ them to minister to His own necessities. He had come into the world, not to minister to Himself or to see after Himself, but to minister to others, — to seek and to save and to bless the lost children of Adam. Vek. 5. Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city : The verb trans- lated taketh up (napaXanfidvei) properly means taketh along with, — that is, taketh along icith himself, or conducteth. By the holy city is meant Jerusalem (Lukeiv. 9). It is still called El-kuds, The holy. And setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple : Or rather, on the icing of the sanctuary ; very literally, on the winglet of the sanctuary (iwl to wrepvyiov tov lepou). But the word, though originally a diminutive signifying winglet, was often used as simply equivalent to wing. It is the word that is employed by the Septuagint translator to denote the wings of the cherubim in Solomon's temple; see 1 Kings vi. 24. What part of Herod's temple this wing or winglet was is much debated among expositors. It is certain indeed that we cannot translate the expression ' a winglet,' or ' a pinnacle.' The definite article is present in the original, as also in Hegesippus' account of the murder of James the Just (Euseb. Hist., i. 23), and has been wisely reproduced by Sir John Cheke in his version. Wycliffe too has it, although his version was made from the Latin Vulgate, in which there is nothing corresponding to the article. But both Wycliffe, and Sir John Cheke, and Tyndale too, have pinnacle as the translation of the evangelist's term. The same translation is retained in Cranmer's Bible, and in the Geneva version, and the Bheims. It has become stereotyped, so far as great Britain is concerned, in the people's ' chamber of imagery.' It was adopted from the Vulgate (super pinnaculum). But certainly it conveys to modern ears a wrong architectural idea. There is no evidence that there was any part of the immense pile of the temple buildings that took the form of a pinnacle. Krebs and Fritzsche suppose that the reference is to the loftiest part of the whole complex structure, — the facade or eastern face of the central building, the temple proper, or holy place. But it seems to be certain that this facade was not peaked or pointed at all, but horizontal in its summit. So is it represented in some of the old Jewish coins. (See the Count Vogue's Temple de Jerusalem, p. 139.) It is not likely therefore that it could be called the wing, or winglet, or wing-shaped part, of the temple. It is far more probable, as Michaelis contends, that the expression refers to one of the side structures, which flanked the sanctuary, or constituted its outstretching wings. This idea is approved of by many, and would doubt- less have commended itself to the judgment of the great body of critics, had it not been for the presence of the definite article, which seems to indicate that there was but one wing or winglet ; which was not the case. There we>e two icings or winglets. The temple faced the east, and was surrounded by magnifi- cent buildings. Of these, part were in front, part were behind, and part were on the right hand as one looked east, and part were on the left hand. The right hand was south ; the left hand was north. These would be the two icings or icinglets. But in the form which the temple buildings had assumed in our Lord's day, the form into which tbey had been reconstructed under the archi- tectural genius of Herod, there was no comparison between the magnificence and height of the southern wing and the elegance of the northern. Herod greatly enlarged the area of the temple grounds, by immense walls of solid 46 ST MATTHEW IV. [0 6 and saitli unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself masonry raised from the bottom of the environing valley (Joseph. Wars, i. 21 : 1). And it was chiefly in the southern direction that this was practicable. At the extremity of the southern side of the area, and all along the southern margin, he erected what is called the royal portico. It was, says Josephus, the most remarkable structure under the sun {Ant. xv. 11 : 5). It was a gorgeous colon- nade, consisting of a magnificent central nave with two aisles, running the whole length of the space from the eastern wall to the western. And, as Josephus expressly mentions, " while the valley of itself was very deep, and its bottom " could scarcely be seen when one looked down from above, the additional " vastly high elevation of the portico was placed on that height, insomuch that " if any one looked down from the summit of the roof, combining the two " altitudes in one stretch of vision, he would be giddy, while his sight could not "reach to such an immense depth" (Ant. xv. 11 : 5). This was emphatically • the wing ' or ' winglet ' of the temple. Its magnificence and astounding height threw the other wing quite into the shade. Hence, apparently, the article in the evangelist's expression. The summit of this wing, and not unlikely the eastern corner of it, where the depth was greatest, would most probably be the perilous perch which was selected by the tempter. At the present day the wall at that part is upwards of 130 feet in height ; there are 80 feet of building above the present surface cf the ground, and 53 feet descending through the accu- mulated debris. Dr. Bobinson supposes that the part referred to by the evan- gelist would be 'the apex of Solomon's porch.' But Solomon's porch was in front of the sanctuary, not at the side ; and it did not afford such a precipitous and dizzy height on which to stand. (See Count Vogue's Beproduction of Herod's Temple, in the 16th plate of his magnificent work, Le Temple dc Jerusalem, 1864.) Michaelis also supposes that it must have been Solomon's porch that was the perch ; but he seems to confound altogether Solomon's porch with the royal portico. Is it asked in what way the tempter took our Saviour to the holy city, and set Him on the dizzy height? The older expositors, and also some of the more recent, are not slow to discuss the matter. " It must neces- " sarily be one of these two ways," says Thomas Taylor, " either Satan must " lead Him or else must carry Him." He decides for the carrying. So does Perkins in his treatise, " The Combate beticeene Chri?t and the Devill displayed.,, He says that " it is most likely that the devii carried the body of our Saviour thorow the aire." Lightfoot is of the same opinion, and pictures the Saviour "in a mantle flying in the air." Multitudes more take the same view, in- clusive of Jerome. Bagot again protests against the strange explanation, and contends that our Saviour merely " accompanied the devil to the pinnacle of the temple" (The Temptation, pp. 70-72, ed. 1839). But we can see no good reason for shutting ourselves up to either of the sensuous alternatives. The temptation emanated from ' spiritual wickedness in high places,' and why may it not be conceived of as spiritual in its nature ? If the tempter was a spirit, and came to our Saviour spiritually, and spoke to Him spiritually, why may we not, with Olshausen, suppose that it was in a spiritual way that our Saviour was taken to the pinnacle of the temple ? But if in a spiritual way, how ? We need not precisely determine. It may indeed be difficult to determine. It may be difficult with some to conceive. But it suffices to hold fast by the conviction that tho temptation was real. It was not a case of mere imagination. The world is twofold. It has its spiritual sphere, and it has its material sphere. The f.wo 7] ST. MATTHEW IV. 47 down for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concern- ing thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said spheres wonderfully interpenetrate ; and man lives in both at one and the same moment of time Ver. 6. And saith to Him, If Thou be God's Son : The tempter holds on to the declaration from on high, made at the Saviour's baptism, a declaration that had probably unfolded the infolded self consciousness of our Lord into the sublimest aspirations and resolves. The tempter as it were suggested to our Lord, when perched upon the precipitous wing of the temple, No doubt Thou art confident that Thou art God's Son. Well; verify Thy confidence to Thyself. Make full proof of it. It toas befitting, perchance, that Thou shouldest not demonstrate Thy Divine Sonshij) by turning stones into bread. It ivas right, it was seemly, it was beautiful, to trust in Thy Heavenly Father that He icould sustain Thy body by other than ordinary means. Such univavering trustfulness is worthy of sonship and of Thyself. Trust still. Go on trusting. Thou canst not trust too much. Make full proof of Thy Sonship. Such we may suppose to have been the diabolic preparation for the second temptation, a preparation involved in the very attitude of our Saviour on His perilous perch. Cast Thy- self down : And trust. Then Thou shalt have full proof of Thy Divine Sonship; and not only Thou, but Jerusalem too. What a glorious start for an illustrious career ! What ! dost Thou hesitate ? Does Thy trust noio falter and groio less? Surely not. Cast Thyself down. For it is written — it has been written, it stands written — that He will give His angels charge concerning thee ; and on their hands they will bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. The quotation is from Psalm xci. 11, 12. It is as if the tempter had said, What danger can there be? Is there not good ground for trusting in Thy Father's protecting care ? Will He not give His angels charge concerning Thee ? Why distrust ? Thou luist quoted Scripture to vindicate Thy trust in reference to sustenance without bread. It tuas well. There is Scripture to warrant Thy reliance in casting Thyself down from this height. If it is a promise that is applicable to every good man, much more must it be applicable to Thee, if Thou be indeed God's peculiar and Messianic Son. Such was the temptation. It was a temptation to presumptuous trust, trust for protection and immunity from evil, ichen danger is tampered icith. It is a temptation that ruins many of the more aspiring sons of men. It is felt often in reference to merely physical achievements and feats. It is felt more fatally in commercial daring and venture. But its most lamentable consequences are experienced on the field of morals. Many will insist on walking on the very edge of the precipice of over indulgence, over indulgence in insidious drinks for example, or in the gaieties of worldly society. Why should they hesitate ? — 'tis thus they reason with themselves — why should they not leap at a bound through all the mere conventionalisms and wooden fences of morality ? What harm can there be in going up to the very border- land of evil, if yet one does not cross over ? This same presumptuous trust, though on another side of things, is manifested by the pious who will insist on overtaxing themselves in meditations, or in prayers, or in studies, or in labours of love, when there is no imperious call for such daring and venturing. Many expositors, such as Calvin, Adam Clarke, Benson, and Grosart, and Bernard of 43 ST. MATTHEW IV. [7 unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy old, charge the tempter with wilful mutilation of the passage which he quotes, because he omits the words " to keep thee in all thy ivays." " Here," says Perkins, " behold Satan's notable fraud and craft " — " he leaveth out that on which the promise is grounded of being kept by the angels." Wordsworth ngam says that " he ought to have added what follows against himself, Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder." Jerome long ago said that as the psalm was not a prophecy concerning Christ Satan badly interpreted the Scripture. But all this is hypercriticism, and really amounts to a withholding from the tempter what is " his due." It is, as Erasmus remarks, a calumniation of the great calumniator. The charge arises from not apprehending the real subtlety of the tempter. The passage actually quoted brings into view the tender care of God over " him who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High." It was eminently applicable to Jesus, though of course not in the way that was suggested by the tempter. The ministering angels do act by God's direction like tender nurses who, when the little one committed to their charge is learning to walk, lift him up as he comes to stony places, and bear him forward supported on their hands, lest he should dash his foot against a stone, and stumble, and be hurt and fall. The inapplicability of the passage to the case suggested by the tempter will appear on considering Christ's reply. Vek. 7. Jesns said to him, It stands written again: Viz. in Deut. vi. 16. The word again doubles back on the quotation from Scripture adduced by the tempter: It stands written on the other hand. It is as if Jesus had said, — True there is the ■precious promise which you quote ; but it icas never intended to he of absolutely unconditional application. Its applicability to Me must be contingent on My observance of the laics or rules that are elsewhere laid doivn for the regulation of human life. The sons of God are to trust in God for protection when they are in the way of their duty, but not when, without any call of duty, they recklessly choose to expose themselves to danger. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God : That is, thou shalt not presumptuously put Him to the test, and, as it were, say to Him, If Thou desirest me to hold Thee for my God, and to worship Thee as my God, Thou must interpose ivith Thine omnipo- tence to deliver me, whensoever I choose to appeal to it or to throio myself upon it, whether I be in the way of my duty or not. It is not thus that we are to act. We are indeed to have unwavering trust in God's omnipotent care and blessing, when we are exposed to danger in the discharge of duty. Doubtless. But it is insult and presumption to rush recklessly into danger, physical or moral, and then trust that we shall come out unscathed. On its reverse side this pre- sumptous trust is really presumptuous distrust. It is presumptuous distrust in relation to the wisdom or goodness of the ordinary principles of God's pro- cedure. And hence the Israelites tempted God in Massah when they said presumptuously to Moses, Give us ivater that we may drink. Wherefore is it that thou hast brought 21s up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst ? (Exod. xvii. 1-7.) They presumptuously distrusted the care of God, a care that would never forsake them when in the way of their duty. In the fall of Adam and Eve there was at once presumptuous distrust and presumptuous trust; presumptuous distrust in God's lovingkindness as regards the nature of the paradisial arrangements made, and presumptuous trust in God's loviugkindness as regards immunity from punishment, even when Hia paradisial arrangements were wilfully transgressed. 0] ST. MATTHEW IV. 49 God. 8 Again, the devil taketli him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth liim all the kingdoms of the woi'ld, and the glory of them ; 9 and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Ver. 8. Again the devil taketh Him up — taketli Him with him — -into an exceeding high mountain : Into or on-to, unto, that is, iu the case before us, to the top of. Whether the exceeding high mountain "was Pisgah, Nebo, Horeb, or what else, is," says Lightfoot, " but lost labour to make inquiry, because we are sure we cannot find." "It is in vain," says Eisner, " to name Tabor or Zion." "The mountain," says De Wette, is not to be found " in terrestrial geography." It was no doubt a mountain iu spirit laud, as Calvin evidently believed, though he does not like to speak out determinately. And showetii Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them : Luke adds " in a inoinent of time " (iv. 5). It was a spiritual showing ; and hence we need not, with Olearius and Palairet, explain the showing as meaning merely a description by words. Neither need we with others suppose that the devil made use of a geo- graphical map! (See Major's Scrittinium Satanicce Cosmodixeos, cap. ii.) Neither need we with Major suppose that he merely pointed in the direction of the various kingdoms and their glory. (Scrutiniuin, cap. xi.) Neither need we dwarf the natural idea by supposing with KuiniJl that the mountain was the mount of Olives, and tbat the kingdoms of the world were the subdivided principalities of the Holy Land. It was a wider dominion which the Jews in general desired for their Messiah. It was a wider dominion which the Messiah desired for Himself. It was a wider dominion which Satan had it in his power to confer. It was the whole Eoman empire, says Lightfoot, for " if Satan had claim and " interest in any place, state, cr pomp under heaven, it was in Ronie and her " appurtenances." But we may go wider still. It was no doubt the prize of the sovereignty of the whole wrorld which the tempter held out temptingly as the price of the Saviour's homage. By the glory of the kingdoms we are to understand their magnificence or grandeur, as manifested in their cities, palaces, and other adjuncts of pomp and proud array. Ver. 9. And said to Him, All these things will I give Thee : It is a temptation that resolves itself into the proffer of everything that could contribute to ' the pride of (worldly) life.' It held out an overflowing cornucopia of wealth, luxury, pomp, rank, andpower. It was Satan's masterpiece ; and he has continued through- out all ages to ply it, or rather to apply slices from it, when dealing with those of mankind who are on the one hand above the fear of want, and are unaffected on the other by the honour of daring in doing, or by the higher honour still of overdoing— overdoing what is good, overdoing oneself for the promotion of what is good. It was a temptation that was craftily employed with Jesus. There was a side of His pure and elevated nature that could not but be responsive, though in a sinless manner, to the prospect of universal dominion. He would earnestly desire to reign from the river to the ends of the earth, from pole to pole. There would be something in Him that would be longing for the heathen as His inheritance and for the uttermost parts of the earth aa His possession- (Ps. ii. 8.) Nothing short of this would or could satisfy the yearning of His heart, the ardent aspiration of His capacious soul. But then we must note, even as He noted, the condition on which the devil suspended his promise. If Thou wilt fall down and worship me : Or, if Tltou wilt fall down £ 50 ST. MATTHEW IV. [10 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan : for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. and do homage to me. (See under cheap, ii. 8, 11.) Here was the superlative degree of impudency. The inipudency too was coupled with an element of brag, that had folded up within it a lie. Satan promised more than he was ahle to assure. And yet we must hear in mind that he was, in very deed, at once the prince and the god of this world. His power and influence were really all but immense. And it was in consideration of the imperial extent of his power and influence that he asked homage. He, as it were, said to Jesus, I am indeed the prince and god of this world. Its kingdoms and their glory are at my disposal. I could at once open up Thy way to the highest honours that a universal conqueror and a universal sovereign could desire. I could gather at once around Thee a host of devoted Jewish troops ; I could pave their way for victory after victory, until at no distant period tlie whole Roman empire, and indeed the ivhole world, should be subject to Thy sway. Only abandon the tcild chimera of putting down sin and making all men fanatical and holy ; fall in with my icay of things ; let the morals of the world alone, more especially its morals in reference to God ; work with me and under me, and all ivill go ivell. But if Thou refuse this offer, look out for determined opposition, for incessant persecution, for the most miserable poverty, and for every species of woe. Ver. 10. Then saith Jesus to him, Get thee hence, Satan: Get thee hence! begone ! avaunt ! It is a ' word of indignation,' says Thomas Taylor, and ' of castigation,' and ' of dismission.' " The Lamb of God," says Jeremy Taylor, " was angry as a provoked lion, and commanded him away, when his demands " were impudent and blasphemous." (Life of Christ, i. 9, § 8.) The victory is achieved. The Second Adam has not fallen and will not fall. For it stands written. Our Lord wields His favourite weapon. It is the sword of His mouth. It is too the sword of the Spirit, the sword fashioned by the Spirit, that Spirit who had descended upon our Saviour and who was abiding in Him. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve : Deut. vi. 13. Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou religiously serve. It is a free and easy translation of the original Hebrew, but true to the spirit. The Saviour in quoting the words does not mean, of course, to point out to Satan the duty of Satan. He means to point out to Satan and to Himself the duty that was devolving on Himself, to do homage to God and to God alone. Vee. 11. Then the devil leaveth Him : Jesus is ten^ted no more ' for a season ' (Luke iv. 13). The devil has been victoriously resisted ; and he flees. He is now a vanquished foe ; he has been vanquished in the behalf of men, of all men. And whosoever takes heart from the victory of Christ, and encounters and resists the great enemy in the strength that is got from Christ, will be victorious too. The devil will flee (Jas. iv. 7). And behold angels came and ministered unto Him : As He needed. We need not be more determinate in guessing as to the particulars of this ministry. Ver. 12. A new paragraph commences with this verse, a paragraph however that is not to be connected by any close or precise chronological link with what goes immediately before, or with what is narrated in the opening ci^ters of the Gospel according to John. (Comp. John iii. 21 and iv. 1-3.) The evangelist, it 14] ST. MATTHEW IV. 51 12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazaretb, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim : 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, must ever be borne in mind, is writing free and easy Memorials of Christ, not a formal Memoir, still less a scientifically jointed Memoir, and yet still less a scientifically adjusted History. But when Jesus heard that John was cast into prison : Or, more literally, ivas delivered up, or, as it might also be rendered, was betrayed (wapeSj^-rj). Whether this has reference to what issued in the final imprisonment of the Baptist, or whether it has reference to some previous and temporary arrest, it may be difficult or impossible to determine. (Comp. Luke iii. 19, 20 ; John hi. 24, iv. 1-3 ; Matt. xiv. 3.) So far as regards the grand moral aim of Matthew, the matter is not of any moment. He withdrew into Galilee : For what particular reason is not stated ; and we need not be positive in our guesses, or even very inquisitive in our researches. Perhaps there were plots hatching to deliver Him up too (comp. John vii. 1), as having been art and part in John's reformatory movement, a movement that gave occasion to very free denunciation of all sorts of sins. Perhaps the commotion excited by the arrest of John was so great that it was in vain to attempt to carry out on the spot the spiritual work in which John had been so devotedly engaged, in vain to try to gather in the distracted thoughts and feelings of the people, that they might be fixed upon the great spiritual duties devolving on them, in view of the approach- ing establishment of the kingdom of heaven. We need not guess positively in reference to such matters. Ver. 13. And leaving Nazareth — whither apparently He had gone at first — He came and dwelt in Capernaum : A thriving town in our Lord's days, but not mentioned in the Old Testament. It is supposed to have been built after the exile. It has for long passed away, and its very site is now matter of dispute. "It is gone," says Dean Stanley. {Sinai and Palestine, chap, x.) The question, says Eitter, regarding its site, " can scarcely be determined with certainty." "As for traces of Capernaum," says Fergus Ferguson, " we could find none." (Notes of Travel in Egypt and the Holy Land, chap, xiii.) Dr. Robinson supposed that Khan Minyeh at 'Ain et-Tin is the spot on which it stood. (Later Researches, pp. 347-359.) Dr. Porter agrees with him (Syria and Palestine, p. 407). But Dr. J. Wilson supposes that Tell Hum is the spot, and that in the word Hum we have the concluding syllable of the ancient name Kefr-nahum (Lands of the Bible, vol. ii., pp. 143-149). So thinks Dr. W. M. Thomson (The Land and the Book, chap, xxiv., p. 354). And Sir Charles Wilson, of the Palestine Exploration Fund, has come to the same conclusion. (The Recovery of Jerusalem, pp. 375, 387.) So of late has Dr. Sehaiif. (Through Bible Lands, p. 343, and Comm. on Matthew, in loc.) See Comm. on Mark, p. 20. Which is upon the sea coast : The town lay on the western margin, toward the north, of the beautiful lake or ' loch ' called the sea of Galilee, or the sea of Tiberias, or the lake of Gennesaret. See on ver. 18. In the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim : That is, in the district in which the conterminous lands of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali met and ' marched.' Ver. 14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying. The Lord's sojourn in Capernaum was brought about by an overruling 52 ST. MATTHEW IV. [15 1 5 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 10 the people which sat in darkness saw great light ; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Divine Hand that, among other important purposes which were subserved, an oracle might receive its fulfilment, an oracle which had been uttered of old through (5id) Isaiah the Seer. The oracle occurs in Isa. ix. 1, 2, and is in the midst of quite a cluster of Messianic predictions. The evangelist had manifestly the greatest delight in tracing the radii of Old Testament prophecy into the great Personal Centre of Divine revelation, the Saviour. The Bible it would appear had a charm for him, because, and just because, it was a Book about the Saviour. Ver. 15. The passage quoted is given in a somewhat abrupt and fragmentary form ; but it is finely explicit geographically, clause after clause holding out its finger and pointing to the Saviour. The land of Zabulon : The description of the district specified commences topographically from the south. And the land of Nephthalim : The description now points northward. The way of the sea : A clause that is meant to draw attention to the eastern parts of both Zebulun and Naphtali, the parts lying in the direction of the Galilean sea where stood Capernaum. Beyond Jordan : That is, The region beyond Jordan. The de- scription now points to the district east of the Jordan, associating it with the territory that lay west of the Galilean sea. It was easily accessible from Capernaum. Galilee of the Gentiles : That is, Northern Galilee, a circuit of country (for the word galilee means circle or circuit) in which the Jewish population was largely intermixed with Gentiles. It was a region reached by way of Capernaum. The whole territory described constituted an area that might be regarded as radiating out from Capernaum, so far as facilities of intercourse were concerned. It was an area trodden by the feet of Jesus. What is to be said of its inhabitants ? See next verse. Ver. 16. The people who were sitting in darkness : That is, The people whose characteristic it was to be sitting in darkness. It was characteristic of the Galilean people, though by no means of them alone, to be sitting in darkness. Politically and socially they were in darkness. The gloom of adversity had settled over them ; and when looked at spiritually, they were seen to be in still deeper darkness. They were altogether in the dark in reference to their highest interests and relations; and hence unhappy, inert, sitting. Saw great light : namely, Christ ; for He is Light, diffused Light, great Light, intense Light, vividly illuminating belated men, shedding sunshine on them, cheering them, vivifying them, warming them, letting them see how to move and whither to go. And to them who were sitting in the region and shadow of death light did spring up : A parallelistic repetition of the former clause. Light did spring up, like dayspring, the dawn of a glorious day to them who were sitting in a region of such darkness that it was indeed the region and shadow of death. The idea of death lies on the line of darkness. In the unilluminated tomb, in tho utterly- dark coffin, we have the climax of both ideas realized. Death, in itself con- sidered, envelops in shadow and gloom. The Galileans, spiritually viewed, were in the region of this death, and hence they were ' sitting ' both ' in the region ' and 'in the shadow' of 'death.' All was dark, dreary, dismal, doleful, within 13] ST. MATTHEW IV. 53 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent : for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two breth- theni and around them. How gladsome in such circumstances a ' dayspring from on high.' Ver. 17. From that time began Jesus to preach : The reference is, in general, to the time when He resumed His residence in Galilee. And to say, Repent ; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand : This, the burden of our Saviour's preaching at the commencement of His public career, had been the burden of His fore- runner's proclamation ; see chap. iii. 2. But His forerunner's voice had been suddenly silenced, ere yet his work was fairly completed. And hence our Lord himself took up the work at the point where John had been withdrawn from it. He thus acted for a season as His own herald. The proclamation, while pre- eminently appropriate as coming from the lips of John, was in all respects thoroughly appropriate as coming from the lips of the King himself. Although He was the King, the King of kings, it was not time for Him to assume His regal pomp and state and outward glory. He was as yet in partial disguise. And as He came to minister rather than to be ministered unto, He was willing to do the work of His arrested minister, and to call upon the people to repent, as the kingdom of heaven icas at hand. Repent : that is, change your ivays, change them to tvhat is rigid, — change them, beginning at the beginning of all right change, ivith a change of thought. See under chap. iii. 2, 8. Lor the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; A change was about to take place in God's way of dealing with sinful men. He was about to establish, in a duly organized form, a heavenly community, a peculiar theocracy, within the pale of which He would confer peculiar and most heavenly privileges. None but heavenly persons would be citizens of the community. Citizenship in it would not be ended, but only consummated, by what is generally called death. See under chap. iii. 2. In catching up the echoes of such a proclamation as this from the silencei? lips of His forerunner, there was nothing in the least degree derogatory to the lofty character and mission of the Great King ; indeed, He manifested no little part of His true kingliness in condescending to become a preacher and herald and prophet. Ver. 18. And walking by the sea of Galilee: Or, by the lake of Gcnncsaret, on the north-western shore of which Capernaum was situated. The lake, or little inland sea, was called the lake of Gennesaret, or Gennesar, says Josephus, from the adjoining district. (Wars, iii. 10: 7.) It is about five hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean. Gennesareth is the New Testament form of the Old Testament name Chinnereth, or Chinneroth, which was probably the old Canaanitish name for the lake. The Jews were accustomed to call every considerable sheet of water a sea; just as the common Dutch word for lake, meer or meir, is the common Latin word for sea (mare). So too the English of old said Windermere, Grasmcre, Thirlmerc. The sea of Galilee, says F. Ferguson, " is not very different in appearance from an English or Scottish " lake, unless indeed that the mountains around it are even bleaker and more " barren than those in the highlands of Scotland." (Notes of Travel, chap, xiii.) ** It is," says Dean Stanley, " about thirteen miles long, and iu its broadest " parts six miles wide, that is, about the same length as our own Winandcrmera M (or Windermere), but of a considerably greater breadth. In the clearness of the 54 ST. MATTHEW IV. [18 ren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 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, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a "eastern atmosphere it looks much smaller than it is. From no point on the " western side can it be seen completely from end to end ; the promontory under " which Tiberias stands cutting off the southern, as the promontory over the "plain of Gennesareth the northern, extremity ; so that the form which it " presents is generally that of an oval." (Sinai and Palestine, chap, x., p. 370.) While the lake is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, yet these mountains never dip into the water. There is always a beach of more or less breadth along the edge of the water ; and north of Tiberias, in the direction of Caper- naum, this beach expands into a fine fertile plain that is two or three miles broad. In this plain was situated Capernaum, where Jesus now was. He walked, says the evangelist, by the sea shore, wrapt up no doubt in Divine medi- tation, and maturing His plans of Messianic operation. He saw two brethren : Or, as we now express ourselves when we are referring to the members of a family, two brothers. Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother : The Saviour had seen them before. He knew them, and they knew Him. It was He indeed who had given Simon his mystic name Cephas or Peter. (See John i. 40-42.) Simon or Simeon means Hearing (see chap. x. 2) ; while Peter, or Cephas, or Kephas, means Bock, or Piece of Rock (see chap. xvi. 18). Kephas or Kcpha is the Semitic form of the word, while Peter or Petros is the Greek form. Our Lord had seen at a glance that there was strength in Peter, strength which when perfected would fit him for holding a very important position at the basis of things in the kingdom of heaven. Hence the imposition of the significant name. Casting a net into the sea : for tliey were fishermen : It was a humble, but respectable occupation, and one well fitted to promote vigour of body, a matter of no little moment, and independence of spirit, a matter certainly of very great moment. Vek. 19. And He saith to them, Follow Me : Come hither and attach your- selves to Me as My ' following,' My followers, My disciples. I shall prepare you for a higher occupation than you are now engaged in. And I will make ycu fishers of men : I shall qualify you for operating ethically and spiritually upon men, for getting hold of the souls of men. I shall teach you to wield another kind of net than that which ye are casting into the waters, the net of Divine and evangelic truth. By means of it ye shall be able to catch men for God. How exalted the privilege ! But we must not push the Saviour's metaphor into very minute details. Ver. 20. And they straightway left the nets, and followed Him : They did not hesitate. They recognised the presence of a true Master, the highest of rabbis, whose will was entitled to be law. There must have been an inexpressibly interesting minglement of attraction and authority in the bearing of our Lord. Vek. 21. And going on from thence, He saw other two brothers, James the son ■;f Zebedee, and John his brother : They were partners in business with Peter. (Luke v. 10.) And, like Peter, they had seen Jesus before and knew Him. 23] ST. MATTHEW IV. 55 ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets ; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease (Cornp. John i. 35-40.) In a ship, — or, as it is in the original, in the sliip, in the boat: That is, in the boat that belonged to them, in their boat. With Zebedee their father, mending their nets : Or, adjusting their nets, putting their nets to rights. Vek. 22. And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed Hiin : A secret impulse that drew their hearts, as the needle is drawn toward the pole, constrained them ; and Zebedee, as would appear, offered no objection. He does not however come again upon the scene. We may picture him to our- selves as a grave and worthy and warmhearted sire, who did reverence to Jesus as he stood by, and said the Lord bless you ! to his sons as they left him with the hired servants. (Mark i. 20.) Ver. 23. And Jesus went about throughout the whole of Galilee : Moving from place to place, that He might broaden the basis of His operations. Teaching in their synagogues : That is, in the synagogues of the Galileans. The syna- gogues were the places in which the people met on sabbath days for religious exercises. They were the spontaneous outgrowths of the religious life of the people, and in their turn they became the centres and sources of intensified religious activity. The Scriptures were read in them and interpreted into the common language of the country. Exhortations were delivered. Prayers were presented. In many places there were meetings on the second and fifth days of the week, as well as on the sabbath days and feast days. And, what was conducive to spiritual freedom, there was liberty of speech, controlled of course and modified by conventional conditions of propriety. In those synagogue meetings the influence of spiritual literature and oratory was supreme. And thus the synagogal institution was overtopping, in the nation, and overshadowing, and to a large extent absorbing and transforming, the other and older spiritual influence, the influence of ritualism and sacerdotalism. This predominating synagogal spirit has passed into the Christian dispensation, and has developed into a higher order of things, combining with itself the permanent element and spirit of the temple service. The perfection of spiritual life, in its social relations, will be found to be largely dependent on the due combination and balance of the spirit of the synagogue service on the one hand, and the spirit of the service of the temple on the other. And preaching the gospel of the kingdom : The good news of the kingdom of heaven, the good news that it was at hand. (See chap. iii. 2, iv. 17.) And healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease: Or, more literally, And healing every disease, and every malady, or infirmity. There was a universality within a certain range. See chap. ix. 35.) There was in Jesus a fulness of Divine and bliss-diffusing influence. It was ever upwelling and overflowing into all the correlated empti- nesses round about. It was a fulness that had universal respondences and adaptations to everything that is empty or needy in humanity. It had relations to humanity's outer or corporeal sphere, as well as to humanity's inner or spiritual sphere ; and hence, under such wise conditions as it wisely pleased 56 ST. MATTHEW IV. [23 among the people. 21 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. Hiin to observe in regulating its outgoing, it overflowed into sicknesses and diseases, and healed them. Among the people : Literally, in the people. Jesus went about healing — in the people, that is, in the individuals who composed the people — every sickness and malady. Veb. 24. And the report of Him went forth throughout all Syria : It passed beyond the bounds of Galilee into the various outlying districts that were comprehended within the Roman province of Syria. And they brought to Him : They, that is, the people round about. All who were sick: All the sick; all who were ill. The word all is used in a popular and free and easy manner. The term does not mean many, or very many ; but it is often used when only many or very many are referred to. In such cases the exceptions to absolute universality are, for the time being, sbaded off out of sight. Who were afflicted with divers diseases and torments : These were one class of the unwell people brought to our Lord. Those who were demoniacs : These were another class of the unwell people. They were to a greater or less extent physically and psychically under demonic influence. (See Matt. viii. 28, etc.) In the present inter-relations, in our world, of the material and spiritual spheres of things, there are innumerable complications of evil spiritual influence, touching, at multitudinous points, what is physical, and deterioratingly modifying it. There is also indeed a mighty and mightily predominating spiritual influence that is good, angelic, and Divine ; and hence the vast preponderance of the means of happiness on earth. Still there is a mixture and conflict ; and the evil element manifests itself in very various ways under the very various conditions that are characteristic of different dispensations or ages, and places, and peoples, and persons. Whosoever persistently and dogmatically denies the existence of this spiritual influence is only a one-eyed investigator, and that one eye which he employs he shuts in relation to one entire hemisphere of being. Whosoever doubts its existence winks with his eye, and has not reflectively7 noticed, discriminated, and analysed the moral outgoings and incomings that transpire in his own spirit. And those "which were lunatic : The lunatics referred to were probably those epileptics whose epilepsy was apparently more or less affected by lunar influences. " It is the case," says Dr. Mead, " that the moon " has such an influence in that disease, that frequently the afflicted persons are " entirely free from attacks except at new moon and full moon." (Medica Sacra, cap. x.) "Many observers maintain," says Feuchtersleben, "that the moon " and its phases have an exciting influence on the exacerbations and fits in "psychical patients." (Medical Psychology, § 130: 6.) There is at least, in certain cases, some secret correspondency. And those who were paralytic: labouring under the loss or diminution of the power of voluntary motion in one or more members of the body. And He healed them : No doubt under certain all-wise conditions. There was in Jesus an inexhaustible fountain of outgoing energy, which was fed from the abysses of His personal Divinity. Its ebbings hence, and its Sowings, would be under the control of His will. And one element, it would appear, of its peculiarity, though doubtless only one, was 11 ST. MATTHEW V 57 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, aud from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, aud from Judasa, and from beyond Jordan. CHAPTER V. 1 AND seeing the multitudes, lie went up into a mount- ain : and when he was set, his disciples came unto him : a curative or healing virtue. This virtue, in going forth from Him, entered rectiiyingly, as occasion offered, into the disordered frames of the patients who crowded around Him ; and, when it entered in, it set them free from their complaints. It was an energy that had, no doubt, relations to manifold curative elements in other persons and things ; for others besides Christ are healers. But as it existed in Him it was unique. Vee. 25. And there followed Him great multitudes : So intense for a season, and intensely attractive, was the interest which His appearance, character, and works excited. From Galilee and Decapolis : A region in the north-east quarter of Palestine. It was called Decapolis because it comprehended ten cities, among which were Gerasa, Gadara, Pella, Scythopolis, etc. The inhabitants were mixed, consisting however to a preponderating extent of Gentiles. And Jerusalem, and Judsea, and from beyond Jordan : That is, and from the district beyond Jordan, the district that was called Peraa. It lay east of the Jordan, and was, as Josephus tells us, of larger extent than Galilee. It reached north- ward to Pella, and southward to the land of Moab. (Wars, iii. 3: 3.) Its boundaries would doubtless be somewhat indefinite. CHAPTEE V. Vee. 1. And seeing the multitudes: Or, And when He saxo the multitudes. There is no precise chronological reference. And therefore the exact date of the delivery of the Sermon on the 2Ioiuit is not a question that needs to be im- ported into the interpretation of the evangelist's Memorials. The agitation of the question would issue only in doubtful disputation. He went up into a mountain : In the original it is more definitely into the mountain, that is, into the adjoining mountain, — into the hill, or high-land, that icas at hand. Note the into. 'He went up into the sphere of the mountain,' so that when He was on the mountain He was in its sphere, and perhaps also in some scooped out recess. The particular mountain or hill referred to — ' the Sinai of the New Testament' (Delitzsch) — is not known, though the tradition of the Latin church has fixed upon a spot near Khan Minyeh. This eminence is called Kurun Hattin, or the Horns of Hattin ; and there is a plateau between its two peaks or horns which would be, it seems, a very suitable amphitheatre for a congregation. " There the last battle of the Crusaders was fought." (Schaff . See Picturesque Palestine, vol. ii., pp. 58-G4.) And when He seated Himself, His disciples came to Him : Our Saviour, after the manner of Jewish rabbis, seated Himself ere He began to teach. It was a position of repose. After He had thus seated Himself, and thereby determined the particular spot of the eminence on which the congregation would require to assemble, His disciples approached Him. The reference of the term discijrfcs is no doubt generic. It denotes not merely the few who constituted the innermost circle of His followers; 58 ST. MATTHEW V. [2 2 and lie opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, o Blessed but rather the constantly increasing multitude of such as took Him to be the long promised Messiah, and luho wished to be instructed by Him as to what they should do in connection ivith the inauguration and establishment of His kingdom. The chosen few, such as Peter and Andrew, John and James, would doubtless come nearest His person, while yet keeping reverently at a respectful distance. The others would gather beyond, tier behind tier. In the nearest tiers there would be not a few of such as were attracted by affection and confidence. Others perhaps might be pressing themselves forward to a similar proximity under the less noble impulses of self confidence and curiosity. In the outskirts of the assembly there would be a minglement of the diffident and the distrustful, who either could not venture, or who would not choose, to occupy any other position than one afar off. It would be, when taken all in all, a heart- stirring assemblage ; and when we consider the scene, the beauty of the surrounding hills, the placidity of the lake, stretching its long mirror toward the morning sun, the wavy outline of the distant mountain ranges, and the magnificence of the sky lifting its cloudless dome over all, we may well suppose that both Teacher and auditory — -more es23ecially when we consider who the Teacher was, and what charm there would be in His presence — would be animated with peculiar and deep-toned feelings of solemnity. Ver. 2. And He opened His mouth, and taught them : Taught — it was thus as a teacher, or instructer, rather than as an orator, that He spake. He was far more indeed than either orator or teacher ; and He was regarded by His auditory as far more. But it was requisite that He should teach them what He wanted them to do and to be. When it is said that He opened His mouth the expression has been regarded by some as having a peculiar mystery in it. "Wherefore," says Chrysostom, "is the clause added, He opened H is mouth'! " To show that in His very silence He gave instruction." But the expression is simply graphic, giving a physical picture. It is employed by the evangelist under a sense of solemn gravity. We are led, as it were in His company, to watch, with awestruck interest, the whole of the Saviour's preliminary deport- ment. He had looked on the multitudes. He had then ascended the rising ground. He had then seated Himself. He then paused in solemn silence, while His disciples gathered around Him. He then opened His mouth, and proceeded to teach. Ver. 3. Here commence the beatitudes, or benedictions, — most gracious, most delightful, most instructive utterances, embodying treasures of wisdom, consolation, and love. They constitute, as Luther remarks, ' a fine, sweet, friendly commencement ' to the body of the discourse. They are variously numbered by expositors as seven, eight, nine. They are nine, if verses 11 and 12 be considered as a distinct and complete unit, which stands by itself at the end of the row. They are eight if the 11th and 12th verses be regarded as but the unessential expansion, or the repetitious application, of the beatitude of ver. 10. They are seven, if the numbering be regulated by the distinctions in the subject matter of the promises ; for the subject matter of the promise in ver. 10 is identical with that of ver. 3. Blessed : That is, Happy ; and so the word is rendered in John xiii. 17 ; Acts xxvi. 2 ; Bom. xiv. 22 ; 1 Cor. vii. 40 ; 1 Pet. iii. 14, iv. 14. The happiness to which it here refers is bliss. How beautifully appropriate, how delightfully suggestive, that the first word of our 3] ST. MATTHEW V. 59 aie the poor in spirit: for their' s is the kingdom of heaven. Saviour's sermon points up to bliss ! The peculiar bliss referred to, a bliss that stretches into the far future, is explained in the appended promise. Blessed are the poor in spirit: The are is supplementary and unnecessary. The expression is a kind of exclamation, abrupt and sublime, Happy the poor in spirit ! Some have violently connected the words in spirit with the word happy : Happy-in-spirit the poor I They have done this to bring the expression iuto unity with the corresponding expression in Luke vi. 20, Happy the poor ! But the unity of the expressions is complete, so far as essential meaning is concerned, without any such violent disseverance. It is not poverty, absolutely considered, over which our Saviour pronounces His benison. It is poverty in relation to the spirit. But yet not poverty in genius and learning, as Fritzsche strangely supposes. Neither is it moral poverty, or poverty in knowledge, holi- ness, and blessedness, as Tholuck almost as strangely supposes. It would be no advantage, and would involve no blessing, to be poor in knowledge, and good- ness, and happiness. Neither is the poverty that voluntary outward poverty which has been so highly belauded by Koman Catholic expositors and theo- logians. The Saviour's idea is altogether different. It is admirably expressed by the old American expositor, Blair : " Blessed are they who have withdrawn " their minds, hearts, and affections from this world, and have set them on • heaven ; so that if they are outwardly poor they are contented, and if out- " wardly rich they set not their heart upon their riches, but are humble and "modest, and diligent seekers of God, and bestow their wealth freely for the " services of piety, charity, necessity, hospitality, conveniency, or whatsoever " occasions do offer for the service of God or our neighbour ; as freely indeed " as if it had no place or room in their hearts at all." (Sermons on the Sermon on the Mount, iv.) We must bear in mind the imaginations and expectations v that were rife among the Jewish people in reference to the Messiah. They hoped that under His banner they would be able to retrieve then- fortunes. They hoped that He would lead them on to universal victory, so that they might spoil 'the sinners of the Gentiles,' and get from them that abundance of silver and gold that was the Lord's by right and theirs by birthright. Hence they were casting covetous eyes abroad, and conjuring up to themselves scenes of -terrestrial luxury at home. Even among those who were crowding around Jesus, there might be not a few who had been charmed to His side by secret ambition in reference to future affluence. These might be wistfully and wonderingly waiting on, till, by some unexpected movement or miracle, He should assert His rightful place, and inaugurate His own glory and theirs by leading them to victory, plunder, and plenty. All such dreamers greatly needed instruction, that the downward twist of their minds might be straightened, and their affections lifted upward. Hence the keynote of the discourse : Happy the poor in spirit ! Happy they whose affections are not set on riches, and the in- dulgences that riches can procure ! Happy they who are not ambitious to be rich, for tlie sake of riches, or for the sake of the iiomp and luxury ivhich riches can tommand ! Happy they, whether outivardly poor or ouhvardly rich, in ivhose heart Mammon has no throne ! The Saviour's beatitude alights on the head of those who look upon ' godliness with contentment ' to be ' great gain.' They are the contrasts of those ' that will be rich,' and in whose heart ' the love of money,' so prolific a root of evil, is predominant (1 Tim. vi. 6-10). For theirs is the kingdom of heaven: Herein are they happy, the kingdom of heaven (50 ST. MATTHEW V. [4 4 Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. belongs to them. They have part and lot in it. Its privileges are theirs. Its immunities and enjoyments are theirs. Its heavenly riches, its honour, its glory, are theirs. Even now the earnests of these blessings form part of their experience, and by and by the everlasting fulness will be realized. (See on the expression the kingdom of heaven, under chap. iii. 2.)<* Ver. 4. Happy they who mourn ! A beatitude that may seem to some to be startlingly paradoxical. " We are apt to think." says Matthew Henry, " Blessed " are the merry ; but Christ, who was himself a great mourner, says, Blessed " are the mourners." The mourning referred to springs from sympathy with Gcd, whose will is so grievously disregarded and thwarted by men. Whosoever has this sympathy has in his heart a settled sorrow, because of the world-wide opposition to the heart's desire of God. He may not be always indeed, as Luther remarks, ' literally hanging his head, and looking sour, and never laughing,' but his heart is sad on account of sin. He has sorrow for sin after a godly sort ; godly sorroio (2 Cor. vii. 9-11) ; sorrow for his own sins, and sorrow for the sins of others, sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the midst of the earth (Ezek. ix. 4). There is but little of this sorrow in the world at large. A spirit of levity has all along been predominant in all peoples. And among the Jews, as among the Gentiles, there were but few who were taking much to heart the exceeding sinfulness of sin. There would be many, moreover, who were looking forward to a time of 'peculiarly frolicsome, jovial, carnal mirth ' (Blair) in connection with the kingdom of the Messiah. Upon the top of all such imaginations the Saviour's beatitude would fall like a thunderbolt ; while at the same time it is fitted to insinuate into the minds of all that life is a solemnity, and that the mirth which is allied to madness is the saddest of moral anomalies. For they shall be comforted: Namely, throughout the currency of the ages of ages, during which the kingdom of heaven is to last. God will be to them ' the God of consolation' (Eom. xv. 5). They shall have 'consolation in Christ' (Phil. ii. 1). The Holy Spirit will be to them an ever- lasting ' Comforter.' Even while on earth, they shall have earnests of the 4 everlasting consolation ' (2 Thess. ii. 16), ' beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ' (Isa. Ixi. 3). And in heaven ' God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ' (Rev. xxi. 4). " Wherefore," says Chrysostom, " if thou wouldest be comforted, mourn. And " think not this a dark saying. For when God comforts, then though sorrows " come upon thee by thousands like snowflakes, thou wilt surmount them all." Thou wilt be ' as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing ' (2 Cor. vi. 10). Ver. 5. Happy the meek ! There are many who, when subjected to suffering, and more especially to unjust suffering, ruthlessly inflicted, flare up into exas- peration, exacerbation, and resentment. The spirit of revenge seizes hold of them. Such was the spirit that was burning in the hearts of many of the Jews in reference to the Gentiles who had subjected them ; and, under its spur, they were eager to enlist under the banner of the unconquerable Messiah, that they might wreak their long-pent-up vengeance upon their oppressors. Bat no, said Jesus ; that is not the spirit of the heavenly theocracy. Blessed are the meek ! Happy they who allow not the spirit of retaliation to live within their souls t For they shall inherit the earth : They shall inherit the earth as it is to be when 7] ST. MATTHEW V. 01 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous- ness : for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful- it becomes, for theocratic purposes, a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. The cosinical riches and enjoyments which God has so munificently provided and stored up for His moral creatures belong to the meek, and will in due time be conferred upon them. This is the real idea that underlies the 37th Psalm, from which the Saviour has drawn this particular beatitude. (See ver. 9, 11, 29.) Ver. 6. Happy they who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness ! There is no reference here, as Calvin thought, to imputative righteousness, as is evident for this as well as for other reasons, that the Great Teacher is not treating, in these beatitudes, of the things that belong to the sphere of justification or the sinner's title to heaven. He is treating, as Luther observed, of the things that belong to the sphere of sanctification, and that concern the sinner's ethical meetness for glory, honour and immortality. Instead of righteousness, Blair would read justice. He thus interprets the beatitude : Blessed are they who, instead of being hungry and thirsty after their neighbours'1 estates, by the way of fraud and unjust conquest, desire above all things to wrong nobody ; but what they get, to get it fairly and honestly. The interpretation, no doubt, takes up a filament of the Saviour's idea ; but it is a filament only. The righteousness referred to must have a far larger diameter, as is evidenced not only by the general usage of the term, but by its obvious import in the 10th and 20th verses of this chapter ; and as is still further evidenced by the fact that we read in Luke vi. 21, without any specification of the object at all, Blessed are ye that hunger now! That beatitude cannot mean Blessed are ye that hunger now after fair dealing ! It must have a wider and a generic, though spiritual, reference. The righteousness meant then is undoubtedly ethical righteousness in general, ethical righteousness in its higher as well as in its lower relationships, such righteousness as is realized when both the inner and the outer attitude and demeanour of the man, at once self-ward, men-ward, and God-ward, are right. Happy they whose chief hungering and thirsting is not for luscious viands and seductive drinks, but for righteousness ! Many of the Jews, oppressed witlA .#/i poverty, would be casting envious eyes upon the richly furnished tables of their I V0' Gentile superiors, and would be ready and eager to be led by the Messiah to the ( spoil. But no : the followers of the Messiah must hunger and thirst after \ something higher and holier. For they shall be satisfied : Their whole soul J shall be replenished and strengthened and gladdened with the righteousness for which they have longed. This satisfying will be chiefly in heaven. Ver. 7. Happy the merciful ! The old Anglo-Saxon version of the word for merciful is mild-heartan, i.e. mild-hearted. Joseph Benson describes them thus : " the tender-hearted, compassionate, kind, and beneficent, who, being " inwardly affected with the infirmities, necessities, and miseries of their " fellow creatures, and feeling them as their own, with tender sympathy "endeavour, as they have ability, to relieve them." (Commentary, in loc.) Visions of severe retaliation and vengeance may have floated before the minds of many among the Jews who were eager to hail the long promised Deliverer. Similar visions may be apt to intrude themselves before the view of all who suffer wrong at the hands of their fellow men. But Happy the merciful ! Even when there is no express consciousness of having suffered wrongfully, and thus 62 ST. MATTHEW V. [7 for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart : no temptation to indulge in outbreaks of retaliation and revenge, there is often very explicit disregard of the woes of the unfortunate and erring. But Happy the compassionating ! Tor they shall obtain compassion and mercy : Namely, from God, and throughout the lifetime of eternity. They shall be the objects of that Divine commiseration which has forgiveness in it, and not only for- giveness, but also all those other blessings which are needed to complete forgiveness. Vee. 8. Happy the pure in heart! Another view of the character of those who are morally meet for the enjoyment of the high privileges of the kingdom of heaven. Happy the pure I The clean ! the holy ! There is defilement in sin. The pure in heart : The inwardly pure. Luther draws attention to the fact that among the Jews, as afterwards among the monks, holiness was regarded as consisting, to a large extent, in a certain outward condition. Tbe scribes and Pharisees ' made clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within were full of extortion and excess ' (Matt, xxiii. 25). But ' Happy the pure in heart ! ' Unless the fountain of the heart be pure, the streams of the outer life must be more or less turbid. For they shall see God : in glory. They shall have the beatific vision of God throughout eternity. Augustin employed himself much with the question, Hoio shall they see God ? He wrote a long letter on the subject to Paulina {Epiist. 147), and he very properly maintains that it is not with the bodily eyes that the vision is to be enjoyed. He dis- tinguishes finely between different modes of seeing. But we need not call in the aid of much intellectual subtlety to qualify us to form a suitable conception of the beatific Vision. It may suffice if we ascend only a very limited number of the rounds of the infinite ladder that enables us to command a view of the subject. One round is this, ' He that hath seen the Son hath seen the Father' (John xiv. 9). He who has seen Jesus has seen something of God ; and he who in glory shall see Jesus glorified will see more and still more of God Another round is this : " Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when He shall appear, ice shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John iii. 2). We shall see Him ' face to face,' and shall ' know even as also we are known ' (1 Cor. xiii. 12). Another round is this : when we shall see Jesus as He is, and God in Jesus, we shall be in the most glorious of the presence-chambers of God. We shall be ' before the throne of God' (Rev. \ii. 15, xxii. 3, 4). And when there, we shall find that ' in His presence is fulness of joy ' (Ps. xvi. 11). This fulness we shall find to be flowing forth for ever from the native fulness of God's infinity, a fulness that will be for ever pouring itself forth, and yet for ever remaining inexhaustibly and infinitely full. What if the perception of this inexhaustible fulness, a per- ception obtained by looking steadfastly into God and seeing Him as He is, be one of the chief elements of everlasting bliss ? What if the contemplation , with 'face unveiled,' of the infinite glory be ineffably glorious and glorifying? Are we not already, even at this initial stage of the explanation of the Saviour's words, far enough up on the ladder of observation ? Is it any longer a wonder that Jesus should have said, Happy the pure in heart ! for they shall see God. The peculiar relation of the purity specified to the beatific vision specified may be twofold. (1) Without such purity it would be unbefitting to admit into the most glorious presence-chamber of God. (2) And without such purity the inner percipiency of the soul would be defiled and darkened. 11] ST. MATTHEW V. 63 for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are tlie peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for tlieir's is the king- dom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you Ver. 9. Happy the peacemakers ! Another phase of the character which will meet the approbation of the King of kings in the kingdom of heaven. Happy they who are not only (passively) peaceable, but (actively) pacific, seeking to bring their fellow men into harmony with one another. Happy they who make it one of the earnest aims of their life to bridge the gulfs that separate class from class in society, and party from party, and individual from individual, so that mankind, at once in the larger and in the smaller circles of its groupings, may live in mutual good-will and love. For they shall be called God's sons : Their family likeness to God will be ultimately and universally acknowledged. They will consequently be universally owned as entitled to all the privileges of the sons and heirs of God. This delightful beatitude falls appropriately from the lips of Him who was Himself the Prince of peace. And yet it must have sounded like a clap of thunder over the hearts of some of those who were revelling in the imagination that the time had arrived when war to the bitter end was to be proclaimed against the surrounding principalities of the Gentiles. Ver. 10. Happy they who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake ! The Saviour is looking back for the moment to such as had been persecuted in time past. Perhaps He was thinking of the treatment which John the Baptist and other kindred spirits had received. It was competent to Him, while uttering the beatitude, to look in the direction either of the past, or of the future, or of the present. For righteousness' sake : Because their voice had been lifted up for righteousness, or because in their life they had been eminently characterised by righteousness. It is, of course, the righteousness of the cause that makes the martyr. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven : See ver. 3. The series of benedictions ends, as it began, with what is inclusive of all Messianic blessings. The blessings enumerated in ver. 4-9 are but particular aspects of the bliss that is summed up in being citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Ver. 11. Happy are ye : The abrupt exclamations contained in ver. 3-10 are now wound up. The element of explicit affirmation enters into the supplementary statement of this verse ; and hence the employment of the substantive verb, ' Happy are ye.' The Saviour would, no doubt, turn His eyes, as He uttered the words, upon His chosen disciples. Perhaps He would point to them with His hand. Happy are ye, namely, in relation to what is to come. See ver. 12. When men shall revile you : Shall reproach you, shall load you with opprobrious epithets. The Saviour seizes hold, first of all, of one of the commonest forms of persecution, a form however which it is peculiarly difficult to endure with equanimity. And persecute you : Having specified one of the commonest forms of persecution, He then adds the generic term, which includes all forms. Beza and others suppose that the term is used specifically to denote prosecution in a court of law. But the use of the term in the preceding and in the suc- ceeding verse, as well as in the New Testament generally, is against this narrowing of the reference. And say all manner of evil against you : Having Ci ST. MATTHEW V. [11 falsely, for ray sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13 Ye are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost his used the generic term, the Saviour's mind recurs to what is specific ; and He mentions a form of persecution that lies on one line with reviling or reproaching , namely, unscrupulous and malignant evil speaking, more particularly behind the hack ; slander. Falsely : Or, more literally, falsifying. The margin gives it lying, the word that is found in Purvey's revision of Wycliffe's version. Wycliffe's own word is leezing. It is of unspeakable moment for the happiness of Christ's disciples that the slanders with which they are assailed be utterly without foundation so far as their conduct and character are concerned. For My sake : The intense consciousness of His Messiahship comes out in this expression ; and in this intense consciousness He realizes that they who might suffer for His sake would be suffering for righteousness' sake. See ver. 10. The expression moreover assumes that the Saviour's cause was not to be imme- diately popular in the earth. It was not to be a mere triumphal procession, and still less a sensuously triumphal progress. He forewarns His followers. He forearms His adherents. Ver. 12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : Even in the midst of your sufferings and consequent sorrows. Such gladness in connection with sadness is no im- possibility ; even as there is no impossibility in having the one hand delightfully warm in consequence of being immersed in a warm element, while the other may be distressingly cold, in consequence of being immersed in a freezing element. Be exceeding glad : 'Leap and skip for joy,' as Trapp has it. 'Spring upward in joyful hope toward your reward in heaven,' as Stier presents it. For great is your reward in the heavens : The reward which is reserved for you in heaven is much (tto\vs), abundant, ample, or plenteuouse, as Wycliffe has it. It will more than compensate for all your losses and crosses. The word which is translated reward (fuados) properly means what is earned, and hence what is deserved. It is rendered hire in Matt. xx. 8, Luke x. 7, Jas. v. 4 ; and wages in John iv. 36, 2 Pet. ii. 15. But in such a passage as the one before us it simply designates the gracious recompcnce which it is the good pleasure of the propitious and propitiated God to confer upon those who own and honour the propitiation and the Propitiator. It is His good pleasure that none who suffer for the Saviour's sake should in the long run be losers. It is His good pleasure that they should all be great and everlasting gainers. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you : The jDrophets who preceded you, and into whose place, but on a higher plane, ye are about to step. Ver. 13. Ye are the salt of the earth : The Saviour continues to direct His address to the inner circle of His disciples. Ye, My true disciples, are the salt of the earth ; — ye, icho are poor in spirit, and icho mourn, and are meek, and who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and are merciful, and pure in heart, and peacemakers, and may yet he persecuted for righteousness' sake, — ye are the salt of the earth. The point of transition from the exhibition of their peculiar bliss to the exhibition of their peculiar mission is found in the correspondence of their position to that of the prophets of old. What the prophets were to Israel in ancient times, that Christians in modern times are to be to the whole of mankind. The salt of the earth: That which is to preserve the earth from It] ST. MATTHEW V. 05 savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the World. A running to absolute moral waste and loathsomeness. The earth, considered in its human population, is in a state of corruption. Its condition is most offen- sive. It is putrescent. Nothing can save the race from being dissolved in utter and most noisome ruin but the influence of Christ, exerted to a large extent through Christians. Nothing is more useful than sun and salt was a Latin proverb. But if the salt should have lost his savour: ' His savour,' that is, 'its savour,' for the jironouns his and her, as the case might be, were of old used for its ; and indeed its is never employed at all in our English Bible. It occurs once, in the modern editions of the text, viz. in Lev. xxv. 5 ; but in the primary edition of 1611 it is it and not its that is employed. Before its had got itself established in our language, it had often to do duty in its room ; as indeed it still does in the phrase it-self, not its-self (see Craik's English of Shakespeare, p. 93, ed. 1857). The Saviour no sooner points out to His disciples their peculiar mission in the world, than He gives them solemn warn- ing of the woeful consequences that would ensue if they should prove unfaith- ful. He supposes the case of salt losing its savour ; a case it seems that is realizable, at least when we occupy a point of observation that is simply popular. Maundrell, in his description of the Valley of Salt, at the close of his Journey from Aleppo, says : " Along on one side of the valley, viz. that towards " Gibul, there is a small precipice about two men's lengths, occasioned by the " continual taking away the salt ; and in this you may see how the veins of it " lie. I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the rain, " sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet it had per- " fectly lost its savour, as in St. Matthew, chap, v." The expression should lose its savour means should become insipid. Very literally it means should become fatuous ; for salt, with its seasoning and pungent properties, was re garded as emblematic of wisdom or wit. Wherewith shall it be salted? Salt, as Luther remarks, " is not salt for itself: it cannot salt itself." It is thence- forth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men : The Saviour's standpoint, in uttering these words, is, as Luther intimates, that of the kitchen. Salt is kept there for domestic irse, in order that such things as animal food, etc., may be salted with it. But if it should lose its savour, nothing else can be done with it, at least under an oriental system of police, than to cast it out on the road, where it would be trodden under foot of men. Unlike some other wasted things, it cannot be turned to useful agricultural account (see Luke xiv. 35). So unchristian christians, if such beings there be, are the most useless of mortals. Ver. 14. Ye are the light of the world : Another phase of the mission of the disciples of Christ. The world is in moral darkness. Men are not seeing what they are, and whence they are, and why they are, and whither they are going. They are in the dark as to the way of true life, of true bliss. Christians are the light of the world, in a subordinate respect it is true, but still reully. Christ Himself is "the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world " (John i. 9, viii. 12). He is the Sun of righteousness. Christians, in virtue of their recipient relation to Him, are luminaries in the world, hold- ing forth the word of life (Phil. ii. 15, 16). They reflect Christ's light. And F 6G ST. MATTHEW V. [14 city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ] 6 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your lience, in the sum total of their influence, they may be said to be the light of the world. By means of them light from heaven, Christ's own heavenly light, is shed upon men. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid : Or, more literally, A city lying on the top of a hill cannot be hid. Our Saviour may not improbably have pointed to some city within sight, crowning conspicuouslyvsorue hill. Maundrell says : " May we not suppose that Christ alludes to Saphet ? It " stands upon a very eminent and conspicuous mountain, and is seen far and " near " [Journey from Aleppo, Ap. IS). Tholuck takes up the same idea. But Robinson says that " there is no evidence that any ancient city existed on the present site of Saphet " (Biblical Researches, vol. iii., p. 32G). There seems to- be no exceedingly intimate connection intended between the statement, A city lying on the top of a hill cannot be liid, and the immediately preceding state- ment, Ye are the light of the world. It would indeed have been well if Robert Stephens had cut the verse into two ; for the second member, while having a real connection with the first, introduces a new vein of thought, — this, to wit, that such is the mission of Christians that, if they be true to it, they cannot go- out of sight with their Christianity. They cannot bury their Christianity. Their presence is needed in society, their presence as Christians. Whatever therefore may be the persecutions which may befall them, they must stand to their post. Ver. 15. Neither do men light a candle, — or a lamp, — and put it under a bushel : The word rendered bushel is the Latin term modius, which was a v dry measure " nearly corresponding to the English peck. It was principally used for measuring corn. It seems to have been a common article of household furniture, as is indicated by the particularizing form of expression in the original, ' under the bushel,' that is, under the corn measure (which is found, as a general rule, in every house). The particular corn measure referred to cannot be translated into English. Wycliffe used the word bushel ; and his rendering kept its place in Tyndale's version and the succeeding translations. The word employed by the evangelist corresponded to the seah of the Hebrews. But on a candlestick : Or, more literally, but upon the lampstand, which was much higher than our common candlesticks, and generally stood on the floor. Note the article again : there would be in general only one lampstand in each humble house. And— when thus placed — it giveth light to all that are in the house : Christians are lighted up by God for the very jmrpose of giving light to all around them. See next verse. Ver. 16. Let your light so shine before men : The so looks backward to the illustration of the preceding verse. In the original it stands at the beginning of the clause, Thus let your light shine before men; thus, as the light of a lamp in a house, when the lanrp is placed conspicuously on the lamp-holder. Do not hide your Christianity. Carry it about with you everywhere, modestly but bravely. That they may see your good works : That, in order that. While you never do an atom of work for ostentation, yet let the whole work of your life be good and Christian, whosoever may be looking on. Act out your Christianity to the full, in society, and before society, that society may get the benefit of it.- 18] ST. MATTHEW V. 67 good works, and glorify your Father which is m heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For Let that benefit indeed be ever in view. The injunction is in perfect harmony with what is said in Matt. vi. 1-18, for Christianity has an outside as well as an inside, and to turn the outside in is just as wrong and inconsistent as to turn the inside out. And glorify your Father who is in heaven : That is, And be led up in their thoughts far above yourselves to your heavenly Father, ascribing glory to Him, the glory of all that is good in you and good for them. Vee. 17. A fresh line of thought begins here, and extends to the conclusion of the chapter. It constitutes a considerable portion of the body of the Sermon on the Mount. Its purport is to tighten the bands of morality upon the con- sciences of our Saviour's followers. The line of thought is, as we have said, fresh, and yet it has obvious filaments of connection with the introductory matter that goes before. It presents different phases of the ethical character- istics that are held forth to view in the beatitudes. And it shows in what spirit the children of the kingdom of heaven are to realize for themselves the glory of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Think not— suppose not, imagine not — that I am come, — or more literally, that I came, namely, into the world, — to destroy the law or the prophets : Think not that I came to relax and set aside those injunctions which are the spirit and essence of the law or the prophets. By the laic He meant the original and fundamental part of the Old Testament Scriptures, the Pentateuch, or Five Bojoks of Moses. By the propheU He meant the superadded portions of the Old Testament Scriptures, which were all written by prophets, or holy men of old who spake in the name and under the influence of God. The sum total of the whole Old Testament Scripture is a many-sided unity, and may thus be considered, according to circumstances, under a variety of aspects. Here it is viewed as inculcating a lofty style of personal goodness, righteousness, or morality. And it is indisputable that the grand aim of the whole Bible, both the Old Testament and the New, is to make men good (see Matt. vii. 12, xxii. 40; Bom. xiii. 8-10 ; Gal. v. 14). The Saviour says, " the law or the prophets." It was at His option either to use this disjunctive expression, or to employ the conjunctive phrase " the law and the prophets." If He had employed the latter He would have brought into view the oneness of the Scriptures. By using the former He brings into view the plurality and diversity of the classified writings which constitute the volume of the book. He had no intention of setting aside any of the principles of righteousness or true morality, whether inculcated in the law on the one hand, or exhibited and enforced in the prophets on the other. When it is said, Imagine not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets, it is assumed that there either were, or might be, afloat in the minds of many who were longing for the coming of the Messiah, notions that were quite antagonistic to the real aim of the Messiah. It is likely that not a few expected greater liberty in things moral, less restraint. They would especially desire a very large licence when engaged in fighting the Messiah's battles, and overthrowing the kingdoms of the Gentiles. The word rendered to destroy (KaTaKuuai) means to loosen down, to dissolve, to abrogate or set oxide ; to undo, as Wycliffe gives it. The same translation is given, as an alter- native version, in the Lindisfarne Gospels, to undoenne. " Think not that I will " dispense with any of the rules of morality, prescribed by Moses, and explained "by the prophets" (Blair). 1 came not to destroy, but to fulfil (both the law 68 ST. MATTHEW V. [18 verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. and the prophets) : To fulfil, that is, to render full obedience to those great com- mandments (see ver. 19) which it is the pre-eminent aim of the Scriptures to inculcate and enforce. Jesus came to render this full obedience in His own person, and also to secure that it should be rendered increasingly, and ever increasingly, in the persons of His disciples, the subjects of His kingdom. It is this latter idea that was prominently in His mind on the present occasion, as is evident from the 19th and 20th verses. He came, not to introduce licence and licentiousness into His kingdom, but to establish holiness. Some expositors sujtpose that the word fulfil means to supplement or perfect ; and they imagine that Christ is here referring to His legislative authority. But such an interpretation of the term is at variance with verses 18 and 19, and with its use in kindred passages, such as Bom. xiii. 8, Gal. v. 14. Theophylact, among other interpretations, says that Christ fulfilled the laio as a painter fills up the sketch of his picture. But it is a different fall-filling that is referred to. When commandments are addressed to us, they present, as it were, empty vessels of duty, which our obedience is to fill full. Ver. 18. For verily I say unto you : Verily, truly. An idiomatic phrase. It is as if the Saviour had said, For I say unto you, and mark My saying, for it embodies a very solemn truth. Till heaven and earth pass : Or, pass away, as the same word is rendered in Matt. xxiv. 35, Luke xxi. 33, 2 Cor. v. 17, 2 Pet. iii. 10, Bev. xxi. 1. Coverdale's translation is ' till heaven and earth periszhe.' Till the present cosmical system ceases to exist. Our Saviour does not at present go farther in His reference. He does not speak of absolute perpetuity, or look indefinitely into the infinite future. But, realizing the remarkable strength and stability of the present cosmical system of things, He allows the minds of His hearers to run onward in time till they feel as it were lost in the indistinct haze of the far future, till heaven and earth have passed away. There can be no doubt however that our Saviour, when going down into the depth of His mind, anticipated, as every profound thinker must anticipate, a far-away time when the present cosmical system shall cease, when the heavens and the earth shall have passed away (see Matt. xxiv. 35, Mark xiii. 31, Luke xxi. 33. Comp. Ps. cii. 26 and 2 Pet. iii. 10-13). One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law : That is, Not the least element of that system of ethical duty, which it is the essential aim of the law to promulgate, inculcate, and enforce, will be abrogated or legislatively set aside. The Saviour uses the word law here as inclusive of the prophets. All the writings of the Old Testa- ment that were added to the Five Books of Moses were but an expansion of the authoritative Divine instruction contained in the original laiv. The word jot, yod, or iota as it is in the Vulgate, is the name of the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Both Wycliffe and Luther, as well as Tyndale, and the Geneva, and Cheke, and our Authorized version, use the word tittle (or titel, or tiitle, or titil, or title ; Tiiitel, Luther). The original term denotes the extremely slight bend, turn, or point, that serves to distinguish certain similar letters in the Hebrew alphabet, which would otherwise be undiscriminated. When our Saviour says, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise piass away, He does not refer to the perpetuity of the written letters as letters. It is to the spirit, as dis- tinguished from the letters, that He refers. His meaning is, that not the minutest element of the spirit of the Scriptures shall be abrogated. Till all be 19] ST. MATTHEW V. 69 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least com- mandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever shall do and teach ihem, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. fulfilled : Till all have come to pass, Till all have been realized, that is, till all the elements, the jots and tittles as well as the larger ingredients, of the Divine law, the Divine authoritative instruction regarding the duty of men as men, have been realized in the character of men. And when shall this consummation come to pass ? It will never so come to pass as to be passed. It will never become a mere thing of the past. It must run on throughout eternity. The time will never come when men shall have so fulfilled the law of love, that for the future no more love will be required. Is it the case then that when the present heavens and earth shall have passed away some jots and tittles of the law will pass away ? By no means. Our Saviour says till, voluntarily limiting His reference. But if He had chosen He could have gone farther forward, and have said that in the new heavens and the new earth, which are to supersede the old, there will dwell righteousness, which righteousness is the sum and substance of the law and the prophets (see 2 Pet. iii. 13). He might have said, again, that love shall never vanish away ; and love is the fulfilling of the law and the jirophets. (See 1 Cor. xiii. 8; and Matt. vii. 12, xxii. 37-40; Bom. xiii. 8-10 ; Gal. v. 14.) Ver. 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments : These least commandments, these jots and tittles of commandments, these smallest elements of the ethical duties which are inculcated in the Scripture, and which are valid for all time. "Whosoever shall break one of these;" shall break (Xvcrrj), that is, shall loose or loosen. The idea is, whosoever of the subjects of the kingdom of heaven, for it is of these only that the Saviour is speaking, shall in theory loosen the authority or obligation of one of the smallest elements of moral duty, and shall, in practice, deliberately act accord- ing to his theory. And shall teach men so : Shall have such confidence in his theory that he will inculcate its reception upon his fellow men, and urge upon them the reduction of it into practice. He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : Not ' the least ' in the original, but simply ' least,' which is not so intensely strong. It is nevertheless sufficiently and very solemnly strong, and seems to intimate that if the loosening take place in reference to any of the weightier commandments, there would not be any ground for indulg- ing the hope that the guilty individual could be numbered at all among the permanent citizens of the kingdom. Persons of loose principles in things moral cannot be recognised as true subjects of the kingdom of heaven, subjects who are subject. There is thus tremendous danger in tampering with even the minutest elements of moral principles. While they who loosen one of the least commandments may and will be saved, if otherwise consistently subject, yet it will be ' so as by fire ' (1 Cor. iii. 15). They will not entirely forfeit their plae.o in the kingdom of heaven ; but the place assigned to them will be the lowest. lie shall be called least : Called least, that is, recognised as least ; recognised by all whose judgment is worthy of consideration. Christ Himself will call them least ; and so will all others who agree in mind with Christ. But whosoever shall do and teach (these least commandments), the same shall be called great la the kingdom of heaven : Whosoever shall fill up the complement of his ethical 70 ST. MATTHEW V. 120 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, duties, by carefully adding all the jots and tittles to the greater and weightier matters, shall be exalted in honour within the kingdom of heaven. His star sball be peculiarly lustrous. Vek. 20. For I say to you: It is as if the Saviour had said, Think it not strange tbat I enforce with such emphasis the observance of the jots and tittles of the commandments of Scripture, for I say unto you that all the goodness, or righteousness, which will be realized by the observance of these and the other commandments of God will not be more than what is needed. Except your righteousness : Your personal righteousness, the righteousness of your personal character. The Saviour refers to that righteousness which constitutes the sinner's moral meetness for ' glory, honour, and immortality,' not to that which constitutes the sinner's title. Calvin was undoubtedly much mistaken in supposing that our Lord here refers to His own mediatorial and imputative righteousness. Shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees : Which was, in general, artificial and outward, and therefore unreal. Their righteousness was, in general, a matter of profession rather than of jDractice. And, so far as it was a matter of practice, it consisted rather of certain superficialities and crotchets of conduct, than of full-orbed love to God and man. Such full-orbed love, though very imperfect it may be in degree, is what is needed as ethical meetness for the enjoyment of the high heavenly privileges of the kingdom of heaven. It is noticeable that the Saviour classes together the scribes and Pharisees. He does not say ' the scribes and the Pharisees,' but ' the scribes and Pharisees,' reducing them to one company. The scribes were the learned class in the Jewish community, the class in which the rabbis were found (see on Matt. ii. 4). Their learning was peculiarly theological. It had to do with the religion of the people. The Pharisees again were the highest professors of religiousness (see on Matt. iii. 7) . Both they and the scribes were, numerically, a very limited class of the population. Josephus mentions that in the time of Herod the Pharisees numbered above six thousand (Ant., xvii. 2: 4). But, though limited in numbers, they were mighty in moral influence among the mass of the people. And unhappily their moral influence was, in the main, perverting and deteriorating. Ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven : None but those who have real right- eousness of character, and full-orbed in kind, are meet for the kingdom of heaven. In other words, none but the sanctified are meet. It is the glory of the gospel that it makes provision for both justification and sanctification, ' the double cure of sin.' Ver. 21. From this verse onward to the end of tho chapter the Saviour gives some representative exemplifications of the way in which the righteousness of His disciples would require to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Ye have heard : Or very literally, Ye heard (ry/coiVcvre). It is as if the Saviour were referring to some specific discourse, which some rabbi or other had just been delivering to the people, and perhaps as a polemic against the doctrines and influence of Jesus. We need not doubt that there would hi many such discussional discourses. And while the native majesty of our Lord 22] ST. MATTHEW V. 71 Thou shalfc not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement : 22 but I say unto you, That whoso- would not suffer Him to descend into petty controversies, it is likely enough that several parts of the Sermon on the Mount owe their peculiar shaping to the peculiar nature of the representations made by His rabbinical opponents. That it was said by thein of old time : Expositors have keenly debated whether in translating this clause we should use the preposition by or the preposition to. The original expression is susceptible of both translations, inasmuch as the word rendered tliem of old time, though properly a dative, may be taken either datively or ablatively. While in the text of our Authorized version we have by, in the margin we have to. And Wycliffe has to. So has Tyndale ; Coverdale also ; the Geneva version too ; and the Kheims ; and Sir John Cheke likewise. So has Luther, and the Vulgate, and the Syriac. Calvin likewise approves of to. He was right we imagine ; though by was approved of by Beza in the 1582 edition of his version, and the editions which succeeded. Piscator followed in Beza's wake, and also the authors of our Authorized English version, and many others. Among the moderns, Fritzsche defends by, and Stier pleads for it earnestly. But the simpler and more natural translation is to. Meyer decides for it. It was the aim of the rabbis to suggest that the dogmas which they sought to enforce were invested with Divine authority. But as they could not aver that these dogmas taken all through were really the direct utterances of Ciod, they veiled the origin of them in an indefinite expression, It was said to them of old time. To have contented themselves with the assertion, It was said by them of old time, would have been tantamount to an appeal to men only, men exclusive of God. We are thus aided in our attempt to determine the proper translation of the phrase by looking at it not as if it were simply the one half of an antithesis proposed by our Lord, but as being the carefully selected phrase of the doctors of the law, when they were wishing to affix to their traditional dogmas the seal and sanction of the highest possible authority. Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement : Thou slialt not murder, and tuhosoever shall murder shall be liable to the judg- ment. By the judgement we are apparently to understand not God's final judgement, but the assize, a certain subordinate Jewish court or tribunal (Heb. pi). We learn from Josephus that there were such courts established in every considerable city (Ant., iv. 8: 14; Wars, v.. 20: 3). These courts, though •doubtless developed into maturity after the return from the captivity, were in harmony with the original constitution of the commonwealth ; see Deut. xvi. 18, and comp. 2 Chron. xix. 5-7. It would appear that in our Saviour's time they had power to deal with even capital offences. Hence the rabbis, when cautioning their hearers against murder, reminded them that if they neglected the caution they would render themselves liable to a criminal prose- cution before the tribunal, within the sphere of whose jurisdiction the crime might happen to be committed. Such was the teaching of the scribes. It was good so far as it went. But as a specimen of fundamental moral instruction in regard to righteousness, it was lamentably defective. Hence ver. 22. Ver. 22. But I say to you : The emphasis lies, not on you as distinguished from them of old time, but on the pronoun 'I.' The intense self consciousness of the Messiah as the Messiah, and as realizing all the dignity of His nature and office, is condensed into the pronoun. He speaks with an authority which 72 ST. MATTHEW V. [22 ever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement : and whosoever shall say to his towered far above the authority which He was disposed to accord to the doctors of the law. The spirit of a thus saith the Lord is in His affirmation. That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause : Whosoever cherishes in his heart a feeling of malevolent irritation in reference to any one of his brethren of mankind. Anger is a certain intensified feeling of displeasure. Locke defines it as " uneasiness or discomposure of the mind, upon the receipt of any injury, with a present purpose of revenge" (Human Understanding, ii. 20, § 12). Johnson adopts Locke's definition. It will suffice. But the uneasiness or displeasure that is felt may be controlled either by malevolence or by bene- volence. If it be controlled by benevolence, the anger is holy. It is akin to anguish. It is righteous. It is indignation, such as God Himself feels when He is 'angry with the wicked every day.' If it be controlled by malevolence, the anger is unholy. If it be outrageous as well as malevolent, then it is, as Seneca expresses it, a brief madness. The anger referred to in the passage before us is that which is too common among men, malevolent irritation. The expression with his brother already points to one of the Saviour's grand ideas, that every man is every other man's brother. The expression without a cause means groundlesdy. It was supposed by Jerome that it was intruded into the text; and he mentions that it was not found in the best codices. It is certainly not found in the Sinaitic manuscript nor in the Vatican. Erasmus thought it spurious. So did Mill and Bengel ; and so too Lachmann, Tischendorf, and Westcott-and-Hort. Tregelles also suspects it. It was probably a marginal note in some early copy, and thence admitted into the text. Shall te in danger of the judgement: Shall be amenable to the judgement. That is, Shall be amenable to the subordinate judicial court referred to in the preceding verse. The Saviour's representation is graphic, and must be interpreted, not according to the letter, but according to the spirit. His idea is that in the true doctrine of morals we must go far deeper than the doctors of the law were disposed to go. We must go down to the fountain, whence emanate outward moral acts ; the voluntary state of the heart. He who cherishes malevolent irritation against a brother man is as guilty in the sight of God as is the man who is said by the rabbis to be liable to be prosecuted in the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Eaca : Baca ! is to us a meaningless term ; but to the Jews it must have been, when seriously employed, full of depreciatory import. Its real import is not yet quite definitely determined. Some suppose that it is con- nected with the Hebrew verb rakak, to spit, and that it would thus denote contempt or disgust. Theophylact makes reference to this derivation ; Miinster also. Augustin says that he was told by a Hebrew that the word was just a kind of interjection, expressive of indignation, a sort of untranslatable ex- clamation or expletive, like the Latin hem! (De Sermone in Monte, i., §23.) Augustin's idea is no doubt the right one in the main. Whatever the original import of the word may have been, it had come to be conventionally bandied about as an ungracious and ugly exclamation or expletive, bandied about by such as were not careful of their words. It would be often used almost unmeaningly, like some of our odious British expletives ; but, like them too, it would be capable of being more or less emphasized into bitterness of import. Jerome supposes that it is radically connected, not with rakak, to spit, but with rek, empty, and that it is thus identical with the Chaldee Reca ! Empty pate 1 23] ST. MATTHEW V. 73 brother, Baca, shall be in danger of the council : but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 There- fore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember- There is, in connection with this interpretation, some difficulty with the spelling or pronunciation, a being in place of e, Raca I in place of Reca ! But as Reca ! is actually used by the rabbinical writers as an ugly exclamation or expletive of the kind described (see Lightfoot and Wetstein, in loc), an exclamation too that was not infrequently applied in tbe spirit of mere levity, it is not unlikely that Raca ! was just the provincial form which it assumed in the current Galilean dialect or pronunciation. Drusius, Buxtorf, and Meyer, and indeed tbe great majority of good authorities, are all of opinion that the two words are identical. Shall be in danger of the council : Shall be amenable to the sanhedrin, the highest court among the Jews. It met in Jerusalem, and took cognisance of all such crimes as were too grave to be disposed of by the subordinate courts. The Saviour's idea is, that to add to the fact of malevolent feeling the further fact of expressing the feeling in cutting language involves a deeper criminality still, a criminality that reaches down into a penal desert much deeper than was fathomed by the line of the doctors of the law, even when they estimated the criminality of actual murder. But whosoever shall say, Thou fool : Using the word in its ethical acceptation, Thou scapegrace ! Whosoever shall employ this, or any corresponding expression, malevolently and insultingly. It is implied that, in the current language of the people, Fool ! was a stronger and more envenomed term than Raca ! Whosoever shall speak words which are cruelly intended to rankle in the heart, Shall be liable to be cast into the Gehenna of fire : The Gehenna of fire was the valley oj Hinnom, a deep narrow gorge to the south of Jerusalem, where, in the times of idolatry, children had been sacrificed to Molech (2 Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6; Jer. vii. 31, xix. 2-G). It was hence formally desecrated by Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 10), and thence became the refuse place of the city, into which the dead bodies of criminals, the carcases of animals, and all sorts of filth were cast. It is reported also that fires were occasionally kindled in the spot to consume the noisome substances that were collected. " From the depth and narrowness " of the gorge, and perhaps its ever-burning fires, as well as from its being the " receptacle of all sorts of putrefying matter and all that defiled the Holy City, " it became in later times the image of the place of everlasting punishment, " where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched " (Smith's Diet, of the Bible). In the passage before us the expression seems to bear, hiero- glyphically, its original and physical import ; the Saviour's idea being that cruel insult in language is so criminal, and so truly the essence of murder, that were it to be punished on earth as it deserves, human contrivance would be at a loss to find out a penalty that would be too severe and ignominious. No form of punishment could be severer than to be cast into the Gebenna of fire. And yet this would not be too severe for him who launches into the heart of a brother man words of insolence and insult. He commits double murder, first in his own heart, and then in the heart of his brother. Ver. 23. Therefore — that is, seeing there is so much murder in malice — if thou bring thy gift to the altar : Or, more literally, if thou shuuldcst be offering thy gift upon the altar, — if thou shouldest be engaged in presenting thy sacrifice npon the altar, namely, through the agency of the officiating priest. The 74 ST. MATTHEW V. [23 est that thy brother hath ought against thee; 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. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, Saviour was speaking to Jews, and hence He draws graphically the picture of a temple scene. But the duty which He inculcates is equally applicable where there is no material altar, no professional priestly order, and no temple made with hands. And there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee : Or, And shouldest there remember that thy brother has something against thee : Something, or sum what, as Wycliffe has it. If thou shouldest remember, while standing at the altar, that thou hast been guilty of doing some wilful injury to thy human brother. The altar was a likely place, and the presentation of an offering upon it was a likely act, to recall to the mind offences that had been pushed aside, and almost buried out of sight, amid the bustle and the tussle of the ordinary engagements of every day life. Ver. 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar : Arrest the sacrifice. It will not, in thy present state of heart, be acceptable to God. And go thy way : The Saviour is drawing a picture in successive scenes. Hence this scene in parti- cular, the departure from the temple. When we enter however into the spirit of the picture, it is not necessary to suppose that the departure must be always en foot. It is not geographical locomotion that is the essential thing. The heart may make the journey. First be reconciled to thy brother : Some critics suppose that the first should be joined with the preceding imperative, Fust go thy way. Chrysostom was of this opinion, and Luther too, but not Erasmus as Tholuck represents ; but Meyer, and De Wette, and Alford. It is a matter of no moment. But our translators were right ; and with them were Erasmus and Beza, Fritzsche also. Be reconciled : That is, be thou reconciled, reconcile thy- self, change thy feeling, lay aside thy ill feeling, and, if need be, make reparation and thus propitiation. So far as thou art concerned, be at one again with thy brother. And then come, and offer thy gift. "0 goodness!" exclaims Chry- sostom, " 0 exceeding love to man ! He makes no account of the honour due inflict pains and penalties, and wrong for governments to use arms in soli 0 82 ST. MATTHEW V. [40 any man will suo thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that defence or in defence of the otherwise defenceless, and wrong for private individuals to protect themselves against rogues and rascals. It is right to resist wrong, provided the resistance emanate from a right spirit and be effected in a right way. It is wrong to resist wrong in a wrong way, or from a wrong motive. It is wrong to resist wrong malevolently ; but it is right to resist wrong benevolently, from love to God, from love to society, from duly regulated love to one's neighbour, or to one's family, or to one's self, or even to the evil doer himself. If all resistance of evil were wrong, then it would be wrong to resist it even by words, or entreaties, or prayers. Vek. 40. And if any man would sue thee at law and take thy coat— or, And if any man would go to law with thee to get thy coat (thy inner garment) — let him have thy cloak (the outer and more costly garment) also. Yield to the petty injustice ; and do more than yield. Try to touch his heart ; for perhaps there is a point in it somewhere that is still responsive to what is good and noble. If you are ever to get to his conscience at all, so as to do him good, it is most likely to be by the way of his heart. It is not a rule that is intended to be applied in all circumstances. It is not of unlimited application. If a man, for example, were unrighteously sueing at law half a dozen of his neighbours for the half of their entire possessions, our Saviour would never say to them, Give him, each of you, the other half too, and beggar yourselves, and starve your wives and little children. Vee. 41. And whosoever shall impress thee to go a mile, go with him two : The word that is translated shall impress (dyyapevirei) is of Persian origin (see Gesenius's Thesaurus, p. 23), and has reference to a postal arrangement that was much admired by the Greek historians. On the great lines of road stations were established where horses and riders were kept, for the purpose of carrying forward the royal mails, on the principle of relays. The carriers were empowered in cases of emergency to press into their service any available persons, or beasts of burden, or other means of transport. The same kind of postal arrangement was adopted by the later Greeks, and by the Romans, and has descended, in fuller development, to our own time, and is now interlacing the whole civilized world. The power of impressment, that constituted part of the original system, is what is referred to in the word which is employed by our Lord. It would sometimes be exceedingly annoying to private individuals ; and no doubt petty tyrants would, in their petty dominions or demesnes, put in operation the same principle, when they had some express to forward on their own account. Impressment by such individuals would be apt to be vexatious. But, says Jesus, do more in such circumstances than is asked of thee; of course, provided it would be of avail to the carrier, and consistent with other and perhaps more imperious or important obligations. Let there be no stint in your efforts to help others, even when your help is ungraciously asked or claimed. Ver. 42. Give to him that asketh of thee : Not everything indeed, and always, for then you would have nothing to give ; but still, generously, liberally, and to as great an extent as you conscientiously can. It is blessed to give. There is a double blessing, a blessing to the giver and a blessing to the receiver. W] ST. MATTHEW V. 83 asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say uuto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, And from Mm that wishes to borrow of thee, turn not thou away : Tins is a rule that is peculiarly applicable in a primitive state of society, when articles of convenience are scarce ; when employment too for the poor is precarious ; when, moreover, there are no public institutions that make provision for the poor; and when consequently small sums of money may be needed either in gift or on loan to prevent actual starvation, or immediate and utter destitution. Even in such a state of society as that of Great Britain, in this the nineteenth century, there are still cases in which it is a sacred duty to lend. But it never can be dutiful to lend indiscriminately and unlimitedly. As a general rule there should never be more lent, without security, than what a man can afford to lose. And in multitudes of cases it is hinder and wiser rather to give a part than to lend the whole of what is asked. Vek. 43. Ye heard that it was said (see on ver. 21), Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy : The former clause was quoted from Lev. xix. 18 ; the latter was an invention of the rabbis. It was a matter of discussion in our Saviour's time, U ho is my neighbour ? (Luke x. 29.) Many would seem to have answered the question in a way that amounted to this, He who is thy compatriot is thy neighbour, or, more particularly, He is thy neighbour who acts in a neighbourly way toward thee : He is thy neighbour who is thy friend. And hence, when the commandment in Lev. xix. 18 was quoted, it was com- plemented with the antithesis, Thou shalt hate thine enemy. It was, in all re- spects, an illegitimate complement; for, even although it be admitted, as it must be, that in the context of Lev. xix. 18 the reference of the word neighbour is not so indefinite as to take in all mankind, but was limited to their brethren, the children of their people (see ver. 16-18), nevertheless there was no antithesis stated or intended. And even although there had been, it would not have served the purpose of the scribes and Pharisees ; for their rule of procedure, on which our Saviour animadverts, was not intended by them to regulate their demeanour in relation to their national enemies. It was intended to be applied to their personal enemies. Ver. 4-1. But I say unto you, Love your enemies: The injunction does not embrace within its sweep complacency and delight in the character of our enemies. But it imposes upon us to cherish benevolence. Such benevolence toward enemies was not overlooked under the Old Testament dispensation. (See Exod. xxiii. 4, 5 ; Job xxxi. 29 ; Ps. vii. 4; Prov. xxiv. 17, 29, xxv. 21, 22.) Bless them that curse you : Not only love them in heart, bless them in word. Do good to them that hate you : Not only bless in word, but bless by work too. And pray for them who despitefully use and persecute you : Go above yourselves in your efforts to benefit your enemies, go up to God in their behalf. Who despitefully use you ; That is, ivho treat you contumcliously or maliciously. " Seest thou," exclaims Chrysostom, " how many steps He has ascended, and "how He has set us on the very summit of virtue? Nay, mark it, numbering " from the beginning." The two middle clauses, however, aud the expression, 84 ST. MATTHEW V. [44 and persecute you ; 45 that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven : 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 ? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so ? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. who treat contumeliously, in the fourth clause, are omitted in the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts, and in some valuable cursives, and are hence thrown out by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, and Westcott-and-Hort. They are sup- posed to have been borrowed from Luke vi. 27, 28 ; but the evidence on which their excision here is vindicated is scarcely sufficient. Vek. 45. That ye may be children — or, more literally, sons — of your Father who is in heaven : Sons indeed, express images in miniature, of your Father. (Comp. ver. 48.) For He maketh His sun to arise on evil and good alike : He confines not His lovingkindness and tender mercy to the good. He loves His enemies. The exjiression ' His sun ' is, as Bengel remarks, a sublime appellation. God made it, and moves it, and grandly ministers to us all by means of it. And sendeth rain on the just and the unjust : Or, very literally, and raineth on righteous and unrighteous. Seneca had sometimes grand ethical glimpses, as when in his De Benejiciis he says, " If thou wouldst imitate the "gods, bestow benefits even on the ungrateful, for the sun rises even on the " wicked, and pirates have access to the seas" (L. iv., c. 26). Ver. 4G. For if ye love them who love you : Or, For sliould it be the case that ye love them who love you, what reward have ye? Namely, at the conclusion of your probationary career, and in the kingdom of heaven. See ver. 12. Hence Tyndale employs the future tense, What rewarde shall ye have ? Do not even the taxgatherers the same ? The taxgatherers, or tollers as Sir John Cheke has it ; that is, the collectors of the public revenues of the Roman empire. That part of the revenues that was derived from the taxes, or tolls, laid upon the incomes and commodities ox the Jews was so obnoxious to that people that none but the most unscrupulous and irreverent of the population would accept the post of taxgatherers. (See on chap. ix. 9.) Hence these taxgatherers were not only intensely hated by the people, they were often intensely hateful in their character. Even they however, with all their hateful selfishness, loved those who loved them. And " Christianity," as Matthew Henry remarks, " is more than humanity." Vek. 47. And if ye salute your brethren only : Or, And should it be the case that, when journeying, ye courteously and warmly salute your brethren only. Tyndale, after Luther, translates it freely, if ye be frendly to youre brethren onli. Your brethren, the members of your own family circles, and your near and dear acquaintances. What do ye more than others ? What extra do ye ? Tyndale renders it, What singuler thynge doo ye ? The Geneva version is the same ; and so is that of Cranmer's Bible. Do not even the taxgatherers the same 1 Instead of tlie taxgatherers the highest authorities read the Gentiles (ol idvLKoi). Veb. 48. Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect : There i5 1] ST. MATTHEW VI. 85 CHAPTER VI. 1 TAKE heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which i? in heaven. in the original an emphasis on the ye; ye, in distinction from taxgatherers and Gentiles. Perfect, that is, perfect in love, and thus perfect in character. Perfect, not as regards degree, but as regards the kind of character. Perfect or complete in all those elements of moral goodness that are found in the full- orbed goodness of the heavenly Father. Be ye thus perfect. In the original it is the future indicative, and not the imperative, that is employed. Ye shall therefore be perfect; will you not? ye shall of your own free-will be perfect. It is your duty to be thus perfect. Little though ye be, it is your duty to reflect in the clear mirror of your souls a complete impression and expression of tbe heavenly Father's love, that love which embraces not only the good, the godly, and the grateful, but also the ungodly, the unthankful, and the rebellious. CHAPTER VI. Vee. 1. In verses 20-48 of the preceding chapter the Saviour has been exbibiting specimens of the higher style of righteousness which it would be needful for His subjects to cultivate. He exhibits these specimens in contrast to the teaching of certain of the popular doctors of the law. He continues, in verses 1-18 of tbis chapter, to work in a parallel vein of discriminating instruc- tion, giving additional specimens of the higher style of righteousness which should be characteristic of His followers. But He contrasts this style, not so much with the popular teaching of the scribes, as with the pretentious practice of the Pharisees. Take heed : Or rather, But take heed. This little particle But is found in the Syriac versions, as well as in the very ancient Sinaitic manuscript, and in other old authorities, inclusive of the manuscript 33, " the queen of tbe cursives." It has been restored to the text by Tischendorf. It is as if the Saviour had said, I have been showing you what your righteousness ought to be; but take heed that ye do not make a parade of it. That ye do not your alms: Instead of alms (iXe^/xoa-vvvf), we should read, according to the margin, righteousness (§iKa'u>a\)vr)v), a reading approved of, almost unanimously, by the great editors and critics. It is supported at once by the Sinaitic manu- script, and the Vatican, and Beza's, as well as by Hilary among the fathers, and Chrysostom and Jerome. The word has a general and generic reference. And the three specific forms of righteousness which are mentioned in the immediately succeeding context, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, are included nnder it. Before men, to be seen of them : In order to be seen of them. It is needful to be righteous before men. See chap. v. 1G. But it is not needful to make a theatrical exhibition of our righteousness, for the purpose of winning the applause of men. " Genuine goodness," says Dr. Thomas, " like real "genius, is always modest. It shrinks from the platforms of display. It dis- *' likes parade " (Genius of the Gospel, in loc). Otherwise ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven : Ye have no reward reserved for you, and awaiting you, by the side of your Father in heaven. 86 ST. MATTHEW VI. [2 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet 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 Ver. 2. Whensoever then thou doest alms : That is, Whensoever thou ijivest charity. The English word alms is a contraction of the Greek word used by the evangelist (eXeij/xoavvv), and means originally mercy ; just as charity origin- ally means love. The word is often spelled almesse in our old writers (Dutch, Aalmoes ; German, Allmosen; Swedish, Almosa ; Danish, Almisse; French, Aumone, anciently Aumosne ; Italian, Limosina ; Spanish, Limosna ; Portuguese, Esmola : all of them different modifications of the evangelist's Greek word). Do not sound a trumpet before thee : That is, avoid everything like ostentation. The expression is metaphorical. Dr. Lightfoot says : " I have not found, " although I have sought for it much and seriously, even the least mention of a "trumpet in almsgiving" (Exercitations). But he need not have sought so diligently ; for we may be sure that in the synagogues at least literal trumpets could not have been employed when private individuals were wishing to give charity. As the hypocrites do : The word hypocrites originally means stage- players ; and stagepla3'ers in ancient times played their parts with masks on their countenances. Our Lord refers to such religionists as acted a theatrical part with their religion. They put on their religion for the occasion, and even no inconsiderable part of it as a mask. They acted a fictitious part with it, and made a show of it. Indeed they did nothing else with it than use it for a show. In the synagogues and in the streets : At the stated or occasional con- tributions in the places of worship, and, as favourable occasions presented themselves, in the crowded streets. That they may be glorified by men : Literally, the men, that is, the men who are there. Verily I say to you, they have their reward : The expression they have is peculiarly significant in the original. It means they have off (avexovcriv), that is, they have and may now carry off with them, they have in full, they have, in the little paltry glorification which they receive from ignorant men who know not the heart, their reward in full, all the reward which they shall ever get. The iEthiopie translation leaps to the other side of the idea, They have lost their reward. It is true. Ver. 3. But when thou doest alms : The thou is emphatic and contrastive, as a glance at the original shows. It is, on the contrary, unemphatic in the first clause of the preceding verse, when then thou doest alms- Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth : A graphic metaphorical representation, derived doubtless from the common practice of the fellowship and co-operation of the two hands in counting out money from the right into the left. Interrupt that fellowship of the hands for secrecy's sake. Hide your almsgiving. Hide it as much as possible, even from yourself. Turn it away from your own reflec- tions as speedily as possible. Ver. 4. That thine alms may be in secret : Namely, as a general rule. It may sometimes be necessary, for authentication's sake, and especially when the amis has to pass through the hands of a third part}', to remove a little the veil of secrecy. It is also sometimes necessary, in addition to secret almsgiving, to take, for example's sake, a public part in public contributions for humane and 5] ST. MATTHEW VI. 87 Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5 And when thou pray est, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are : for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. charitable objects. But in all cases of pecuniary benefactions, as in all other kinds of good doing, unostentation is indispensable to nobleness and inner reality. And thy Father, who seeth iu secret, shall Himself reward thee openly : Who seeth in secret, that is, who beholdeth in the region of secrecy whatever takes place there, from whose eye notbing, however secret, is hidden. Shall reward thee, with the appropriate recompence of grace. (See on chap. v. 12.) Himself: As distinguished from men, whose applause the hypocrites .may frequently secure. Openly : This word seems to have crept iuto the text from the margiu, being originally a marginal note in some ancient copy, bringing out an antithesis to the expression in secret. It is not found in tbe best of the old manuscripts (X B D) ; nor in the Vulgate ; nor in Cureton's Syriac ; and it is omitted from the text by the best critical editors, inclusive of Lach- mann, Tregelles, Teschendorf, and Westcott-and-Hort. It is well that it be omitted, for it is not popular applause in the future world, any more than it is popular applause in the present, that is the motive or the aim of the true Christian's charities and charity. Ver. 5. And whensoever ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites ; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may he seen of men : They love to pray conspicuously. They love, even when engaged in secret prayer, to present it in such a way that they shall get credit from men for their prayerfulness. The attitude of standing is specified, but not that it might be condemned as too conspicuous, for it was the common Jewish attitude in prayer. (See Mark xi. 25.) Hence too it was the common attitude in the early Christian churches. Indeed it is specified just because it was the common attitude. Its specification is simply graphic. When the Saviour mentions the synagogues, as well as the corners of the streets, as the chosen spots where the ostentatious hypocrites loved to pray, He is nevertheless referring not so much to social and public prayers as to one's own private prayers. "People," says Tholuck, "went to the synagogue not only for public worship, "but, as they do in Koman Catbolic churches, for private prayer." " Babbena " Asher," says Lightfoot, " hath these words: When any one returns home in " the evening from the field let him not say, I will go into my house ; but first let " him betake himself to the synagogue, and if lie can read, let him read some- "thing; if he can recite the traditions, let him recite the/n; and then let him " say over the phylacteries, and pray (In Berac. fol. 09 : 3)." The hypocritical Pharisees would probably be careful to sweep along to the synagogues, con- spicuously, and with imposing appearance of solemnity, not only at the stated times of public worship, but also and punctiliously at certain other opportr.no times when public prayers were not to be presented. They seem moreover to have contrived, that when abroad in the city they should be at the most crowded places, and especially at the corners where two thoroughfares met, at the hours which custom, or their own particular rubric of devotion, had fixed for private prayer. In many oriental cities it is still quite common, as I hava often noticed, to see devotees engaging openly in their secret prayers in the midst of tbe streets. Wherever they are, at their determinate hours of prayer, 88 ST. MATTHEW VI. [5 Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast s-hut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; 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. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them : for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. there they openly, and often very ostentatiously, engage publicly in their secret devotions. That they may be seen of men: That they may appear to the men (who are there). "This was the wind," says Trapp, "that set the windmill a-work." Verily I say to you, they have their reward: Such as it is. Vee. 6. Eut thou, whensoever thou prayest : Whensoever thou wouldst offer up to thy Father in heaven thy secret prayers ; for it is of secret prayer that our Saviour is speaking. Enter into thy closet : Thy private chamber, for whatever other purpose it may be used. Such a chamber, or oratory, is for the time being a little chapel, a little house of God. And having shut thy door : And thus secreted thyself from thy fellow men, as far as possible. Chrysostom mentions very properly that such as literally thus secrete them- selves, and yet reveal their engagement by the loudness of their voice, violate \he spirit of the Lord's injunction. It is as ostentatious to pray in order to be Jicard of men, as it is to pray in order to be seen of men. Pray to thy Father who is in secret, whose presence and omnipresence is invisible, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, and who thus beholdeth thee in thy secret place, and who heareth in secret too, shall reward thee : See on chap. v. 12. It is added openly in our version. But there is reason to regard the word as an intrusion from an old marginal note. (See on ver. 4.) Ver. 7. Eut, in addition to secrecy as regards men, take heed as regards another matter, namely, the fitting mood of mind in relation to God, when engaged in praying, use not vain repetitions : ' Battering ' away at God, as it were, and ' blattering' (Luther has it, viel plujypern). ' Babble ' not in prayer, in the spirit of those worshippers of Baal " who called on his name from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us" (1 Kings xviii. 2G), or of those worshippers of Diana who " about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians " (Acts xix. 34). As the Gentiles do ; fcr they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking : They think that in heaping word upon word, and persistently holding on with their speechifying, they shall secure attention and a hearing. Such multiplication of speaking is utterly in vain. "It proceedeth," as good David Dickson remarks, " from a base misconception of God." It is well observed however by Augustin that there is a great difference between much speaking and much praying. And even repetitiousness, when it is not wordiness but the expression of intensity of desire, will not be unacceptable to the Hearer of prayer. Such repetitiousness will not be immoderate. It is found in many of the psalms ; and it was characteristic of our Saviour's own prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, when He again and again "prayed, saying the same words" (Matt. xxvi. 44). Ver. 8. Be not then like to them ; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Kin : Ye do not need therefore to pray in order to 10] ST. MATTHEW VI. 89 9 After this manner therefore pray ye : Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. give God information. The rationale of prayer is something totally different. It is the human side of intercommunion with God. It is the hallowing of desire, by carrying it up to the fountain of holiness. It is the consciousness of dependence on God. It is the uplifting of the heart of the child to the heart of the Father. It is the filial instinct expressing itself. It is that relation of harmony on the part of the human will in reference to the Divine, that makes room for the increasing bestowment of Divine blessings. Ver. 9. After this manner : After the manner of the following prayer, in which you will find no vain repetition. The Lord's prayer is thus a manner and model of prayer, but by no means the only form which it is lawful for Christians to employ. It may indeed be legitimately and profitably used as a form, if the spirit of formality be carefully avoided. But to suppose that the form is imperative is to misconceive from top to bottom, and from the circum- ference of the whole matter in to its very centre, the entire aim of the Saviour. Therefore : That is, seeing ye must not use vain repetitions as the heathens do. Pray ye : Ye, My disciples. The Saviour assumes that His disciples will pray, and must pray. There are no dumb children in the family of the heavenly Father, none who are dumb toward the Father. Car Father : Note the word Father. Prayer is the instinct of childhood ' crying Abba, Father.' Note the word Our. It includes the individual my, and may of course, on occasion, be legitimately replaced by my. But it is beautifully larger. It is comprehensive. It leads the petitioner to realize that, while he is one, he is at the same time but one, of a heavenly family. In the Old Testament the individuality of personal childhood in relation to God is in general shaded off under the more compre- hensive relationship of national childhood. " Israel is My son " (Exod. iv. 22, etc.). In the New Testament, on the other hand, national unity is resolved into personal units, and God is prominently represented as the Father of persons, and especially of all such persons as, believing in the Divine pro- pitiousness, are animated with desire to have the Divine image reflected in their moral character. Who art in heaven : God is high and lifted up. He is transcendently exalted. He is on earth indeed, but not confined to earth. He is in heaven too ; and in heaven He manifests Himself with peculiar glory. On earth there are spots, hearts at least, and many of them, where God is not. He is not admitted. He is shut out. But in heaven He is All in all. God is thus, in a peculiar fulness of acceptation, in heaven. He is at home in heaven. And hence, in all the amplitude of His highest relations, He is heavenly. Hallowed be Thy name: The first petition. It is the expression of an emphatic desire that worthy thoughts and feelings should be maintained in reference to God. The name of God is the ide*, self expressing and self expressed, by which we differentiate God to our minds from all other beings. The idea may, or may not, be uttered audibly or written visibly ; but it is a name, and the Name of names. We cannot speak ol God without thus naming Him. We cannot think of Him without thus naming Him. And yet how very little of the name we really know ! May Thy name be halloived I May it be treated as holy! Whensoever Thou art spoken oj, whensoever Thou art thought about, may it be with becoming reverence and holy awe I Ver. 10. Thy kingdom come : The second petition. In presenting it, as in 90 ST. MATTHEW VI. [10 Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us presenting the first, the spirit is occupied rather with God's glory than with man's weal. Man's weal is not ignored or overlooked, but it is merged in a higher element. In the first petition the reference to God's glory is almost absolute ; but in the second there is a considerable stride in the direction of what is relative to man's weal. Thy kingdom come ! To a certain incipient extent it had come long ago. God had been reigning ; and He had had subjects. At the moment that our Lord was teaching His disciples how to pray, the kingdom had come to a still greater extent, and in greater glory. The King was being wonderfully manifested in human nature ; and subjects, who had been for long madly rebellious, were laying down the weapons of their rebellion, and gladly submitting themselves to the rule and will of their heavenly Sovereign. Since that time, down to our own day, the kingdom has continued to come, making inroad after inroad on the opposing kingdom of darkness and degrada- tion and death. But far more extensive inroads are still needed, in order that the earth may be ' a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.' The heavenly kingdom has yet to come to hundreds of peoples, and hundreds of millions of hearts ; hence the non-obsolescence of the petition. It will never cease to be s ppropriate until all things are, as a matter of fact as well as a matter of right, put under the feet of Him who is the Son of man, the Son of God, and the King of kings. The petition has obviously reference to the coming of the Leavenly kingdom on earth, which coming, when consummated, will result in the annexation of earth to heaven. Jacob's vision will then be fully realized. Ladders will be set which will reach from earth to heaven, and angels and glorified men will ascend and descend. Then will God rest in His glory, as regards man. Thy will be done in earth, — or better and more literally, on earth, that is, on earth also — as in heaven : The third petition. It is still God's glory that is ]Dre-emineutly desired, but God's glory in that particular aspect of it that arises from the obedience and subjection of the heart on the part of men. It is marvellous that some expositors have imagined that the ivill here referred to is God's decretive will. Beza for instance, of whom Trapp says that this petition was the last text which he handled in life. He explains the will as denoting that which God has decreed to come to j^ss, as if it could be more needful to pray that this will should be done on earth as it is done in heaven, than to pray that it should be done in heaven as it is done on earth. A greater incongruity than such a prayer, when looked at from Beza's doctrinal standpoint, cannot well be imagined. It is only however in the last edition of his New Testament, the edition of 1598, that the distinguished critic gives this inter- pretation. In all the preceding editions he passes by the expression without comment. Calvin was assuredly right when he maintained that the icill referred to is God's 'preceptive will. This is evidenced in particular, as he remarks, by the expression as in heaven. The hosts of heaven are God's ministers, wlio do His pleasure (Ps. ciii. 21). Ver. 11. Give us this day our daily bread : The fourth petition, and having reference to the petitioners' own particular wants. The succeeding petitions have likewise a reference to their own particular wants ; but this begins at the beginning, the physical base of their being. The others ascend into the spiritual and moral superstructure. The word translated daily (eirtovaiov) has occasioned extreme perplexity to critics and expositors. It has been, says 12] ST. MATTHEW VI. 91 this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, Scultet, tlie torment of theologians and grammarians. Strange to say, it is a word which is peculiar to the New Testament and to the Lord's prayer. It never occurs anywhere else. Origen could not discover the least trace of it, either among the classical writers or in the common speech of the uneducated. He came to the conclusion that it had been coined for the occasion on which it is here employed. (See his Hepi Evxrjs, § 27.) The old Latin translation, commonly called the Itala, renders the word daily ; and the rendering thence descended into Luther's version, and Tyndale's, Cheke's, the Geneva, and our present Authorized version. It had been, we presume, a rendering given in a kind of critical despair. The word cannot mean daily ; and, if it could and did, the corresponding petition in Luke xi. 3 would be inextricably and inexplicably redundant, Give us daily our daily bread. Jerome speculated on the word, and substituted supersubstantial for daily, and hence supersubstantial is the Eheims word ; and Wycliffe renders it over other substaunce. Jerome supposed that the reference is to the Bread of Life, the True Bread which came down from heaven when Jesus came down (John vi. 51), the superessential Bread. It is a most unlikely interpretation, introducing super-refined speculation, and extruding from the prayer that sweet childlike simplicity that so fittingly expresses itself in a petition for the Divine supply of our primary physical wants. Origen took a different view of the meaning of the peculiar aud unique word ; yet he held that the bread referred to is spiritual. So too Tertullian ; and Cyril of Jeru- salem ; Athanasius also, and Isidore of Pelusium ; Ambrose also. Augustin held that the spiritual reference must be included. Erasmus thought that a reference to physical food would be incongruous in ' so heavenly a prayer.' Olshausen is positive that the main reference must be spiritual. Stier agrees, and indeed ascends into the transcendental position of Erasmus. But all such transcendentalism is deeply to be deplored. It tends to banish religion from the affairs of every-day life; it leaves these affairs unsweetened and unblessed. Quite a large number of critics have supposed that the word means belonging to the morrow (from 7/ iinoucxa scil. 77/xe'pa), so that the petition according to them is this, Give us this day to-morrow's bread. Scaliger gives this interpretation ; and Salmasius, and Grotius, and Valkenaer ; Wetstein too, and Wahl, Winer, Fritzsche, Heubner, Meyer, Holtzmann, Reuan (Vie de Jesus, cap. x.), the English Revisionists, inclusive of Bishop Lightfoot (Fresh Revision, pp. 195-242), etc. It is, we apprehend, exegetically inadmissible ; for why should we pass over in to-day's prayers the material wants of to-day ? Why, in particular, should we pray that to-morrow's supply should be put into our hands to-day, when wo are elsewhere commanded not to boast of to-morrow (Prov. xxvii. 1), and to take no anxious thought for the morrow (Matt. vi. 3-4) ? What then is the probable interpretation of the word? It probably means requisite or needful; only it t modestly expresses with inimitable felicity that moderate amount of supply that just comes up to and covers our real wants, without, overflowing into any superfluity. The word seems to have been coined for the occasion with a rhythmic reference to another word that means superabundant (wepioveios). Our Saviour as it were says to His disciples, Pray not for superabundance, for superfluity. Be thankful if fulness come, and use it aright. Deal about the superfluity as the almoners of your Heavenly Father; but pray for what is within the verge of superfluity, pray for what is sufficient and convenient. The Peshito version favours this interpretation. It lenders the phrase, the 92 ST. MATTHEW VI. [12 as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into tempta- bread of our need, our needful bread. And the same view is taken with more or less definiteness by Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus, the Etymologicum Magnum, and by Beza, Maldonato, Tholuck (Bergpredigt, pp. 353-372, ed. 3), Arnoldi, Bleek, Alford, etc. etc. (The relation between e-movcrios and -rrepiovaios is rhythmical, not etymological ; and thus, in determining the radical import of iviovtrios, we must take the line of itvat instead of dvai, and go ' back of ' the conventional import of 77 iwiova-a. On- coming is the radical idea.) Vek. 12. And forgive us our debts : The fifth petition, turning to the petitioners' spiritual wants. Our debts, that is, our sins (see Luke xi. 4), for we are answerable to God for our sins. When we sin there is something in our act for which we become liable to God. Formerly He had a claim upon us ; now He has a claim against us. And it is of His own mere mercy if action be not taken by Him against us to the utmost extent of the law. Instead of the petition, Forgive us our debts, Apollonius of Tyana, whom some would set up as a sort of Opposition-Christ, proposed and recommended that he who would approach the Divine throne with a good conscience should pray in this way : O ye gods, pay me my debts, — my dues (& deol, doivre pot to. 6(pei\6/j.eva : Philo- stratus, Vit. Apollonii, i., § 11). And indeed there have been persons bearing the name of Christian, but not knowing what they were saying, who have avowed that they simply desired justice at the hand of God, and not the remission of any penalties that were due to them. As we forgive our debtors : That is, like as we also forgive our debtors. The Sinaitic and Vatican manu- scripts read, Like as we ' have ' also 'forgiven ' our debtors. This reading the great modern critics have adopted, and they are followed by the English Eevisionists. We hesitate, in consequence chiefly of the counter evidence arising from the reading that had evidently been lying in the manuscripts that were before the earliest translators. It is assumed that all the true disciples of Christ cherish a forgiving spirit in their hearts in reference to all who have injured them. If such a spirit be absent from any heart, its absence is an infallible sign of the absence of true discipleship, of true faith in Christ (see ver. 14, 15). He who offers up this petition with an unforgiving heart virtually prays against his own forgiveness. Ver. 13. And bring us not into temptation : That is, And bring us not into trial, severe trial, trial which, in virtue of its severity, is fitted to press hard upon the moral state. The sixth petition. The words temptation, tempt, and tempter have now got stereotyped, to a large extent, into a meaning which has reference only to one kind of trial, trial from beneath, morally insidious trial, trial that is under the influence of malice or at least of moral evil, seductive trial. But originally to tempt just meant to try, without indicating in the least whether the aim of the trial was good or bad. Hence the indifference of the compound verb and noun attempt, and of the adjective tentative ( = £e?«p£ative). The first instance in the English Bible in which the word tempt occurs is Gen. xxii. 1, in which it is said that 'God did tempt Abraham.' This was a righteous and benevolent temptation, a holy trial of the strength of Abraham's faith. The Hebrew word simply means to try, either holily or unholily, as the case may be. There are indeed two Hebrew words which are trauslated tempt, and they are both more frequently used of righteous than of unrighteous trial. 13] ST. MATTHEW VI. 93 tioa, but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. They both occur in Fsalni xxvi. 2 : " Examine me, O Lord, and prove me " ; holy trials or tentations. In the New Testament it is one word that corresponds to the two Hebrew words ; but, unlike the Hebrew words, it is prevailingly used to denote evil trial. It is not however uniformly thus used. Hence we read in John vi. 6, " This Jesus said to prove Philip, for He Himself knew what He would do." This was a good trial, a kind of righteous tentation or temptation. We read again in Acts xvi. 7, " After Paul and Timothy were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not." They assayed, they tried, they attempted. Here the original meaning of the term is clearly seen, and it is evident that it does not denote an intrinsically bad attempt. It is used again in 2 Cor. xiii. 5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves." If the word had been uniformly translated, the injunction would have run thus: ' tempt yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.' In Rev. ii. 2 the word receives another translation, " Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." The same translation is given to the term in Heb. xi. 17, " Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac." These were righteous tentations or temptings. The word then, though prevailingly used to denote evil trials, does not of itself denote such trials alone. And in this petition of the Lord's prayer we are to understand the term temptation as just meaning trial, such as is trial indeed to the moral principles, severely sifting trial. The entreaty, thus; Bring us not into trial, is the cry of conscious moral weakness. It presupposes that in all such trials there is fire that touches the quick of moral principle. In trials, especially, of great adversity, and in trials that make exceedingly large demands on the firmness of one's faith in things unseen and eternal, there is an element that is ill to bear. Hence the appropriateness of the petition ; hence Christ's own prayer in Gethsemane. But as such trials are not neces- sarily evil, the prayer not to be led into them should ever be presented, as was Christ's in Gethsemane, with submission to the will of God, whether this submissiveness be formally expressed or left unexpressed. But deliver us from evil: Or, very literally, from the evil, that is, from the evil one. This personal reference is given to the expression by Origen, Chrysostom, and Theophylact ; Erasmus too, and Beza, and Fritzsche, Olshausen, Meyer, etc. It is a matter of no moment whether we regard this clause as a distinct seventh petition, or view it as an appendage of the preceding sixth. It is peculiarly related to the sixth, as another side of the blessing that is therein asked : Lead us not into trial, lest the evil one get advantage of us in that condition ; but, whether we have to pass through peculiar trial or not, deliver us everywhere and always from the enemy of our souls. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen : A doxology that brings into prominence some of those grand aspects of Divine things that form the ground of our encouragement and hope in presenting our petitions. But liturgically majestic as it is, there is reason tc regard it as a liturgical addition to the original words of our Lord. It is omitted in the best of the old manuscripts, such as the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and the Cambridge. It is not found in the Vulgate version, or the Coptic, or the Arabic. It is wanting in Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, and others of the Greek fathers. It is wanting in the Latin fathers. It would appear to have been the marginal annotation of some devout possessor of au 94 ST. MATTHEW VI. [14 14 For if ye forgive men tlieir trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your tres- passes. ] 6 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a ancient codex, and thence it had crept into many other copies of the text, as also into all the Syriac versions, and the iEthiopic, Armenian, and Gothic. It is now omitted from the text by the best critical editors of the New Testament, although Scrivener pleads earnestly in behalf of its retention. (Supplement to tlie Authorized Eng. Version of the N. T., in loc.) It is certainly more likely to have been added than to have been intentionally or unintentionally dropped out. Veu. 14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses : The Saviour turns back to the subsumption of the fifth petition, that He might fix more firmly in the minds of His hearers the necessity of cherishing a forgiving disposition. That subsump- tion had been floating before His mind, while He was concluding His model form of prayer, and hence He recalls attention to it by using the particle For. It is as if He had said, You would note that I said, " as we forgive our debtors.'''' Attend particularly to these words ; fob if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you ; or, still more literally, will forgive you also. Not that we are to suppose that the Christian's act of forgiveness is the meritorious cause of the Divine forgiveness. Far from that. But it is nevertheless an in- dispensable condition on his part, and is really involved germinally in that Christian ' faith ' which catches the reflex of the character of Jesus, and ' worketh by love.' When a sinner indeed comes for the first time to the Saviour, it is not needful that he do this good work of forgiving his enemies, before he be pardoned and justified. It is not by any good works that he is to be forgiven and saved. It is by faith ; he believes, and is immediately pardoned and justi- fied. But thenceforward, and thence, his heart melts into love. It is sanctified. The man is sanctified. And one element of his sanctification is a forgiving spirit in relation to his enemies. This forgiving element is never absent while faith continues present. If we should suppose that in any case it were absent, and were to continue absent, then, to be consistent, we must suppose in addition that the consummation of the Divine forgiveness, in actual and abiding deliver- ance from the penalties due to sin, will not be experienced. Compare the parable of the two debtors in Matt, xviii. 23-35. Vee. 15. The same idea is turned round from its affirmative to its negative side, the Saviour "here giving," as Trench expresses it, "one blow more to the die, so to make the impression sharper and deeper on the minds of all." (Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount.) Vek. 16. Moreover when ye fast : Or, more literally, But whensoever ye may be fasting. But, that is, But now to proceed to another mode of righteousness, in which there is too often, as in almsgiving and in prayer, parade instead of piety, and semblance instead of substance. When ye fast : The reference is to private fasting, an extremely wholesome spiritual medicine in certain circum- stances. There are some indeed, whose idiosyncrasy in physical constitution is such that they cannot, in an outward way, fast long without physical derange- ment, inducing mental injury and moral distress and difficulty. These persons are not called upon to engage in literal, corporeal fasting. There are others 19] ST. MATTHEW VI. 95 sad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 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 which is in secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where however, in whom there is a strong tendency to physical fulness, and in whom consequently the intellectual and moral elements are apt to he overlaid and oppressed hy the corporeal. To these fasting is of inestimable moment. It helps to give victory to the spirit in its contests with the flesh. In such temperaments, moreover, the therapeutic effects of frequently recurring fasts are morally important. There are multitudes of diseases which have their origin in fulness, and might have their end in fasting. They might be starved out of the system. These diseases, and more especially the gradual physical deterior- ation that paves the way for their ingress and growth, occasion manifold spiritual trials, which may indeed be overruled for good when they do occur, but whose absence, if they be not morally indispensable, is an unspeakable blessing. Fasting is a protest against too much feasting. And, when viewed at its inner end and in its moral bearings, its essence consists in the affliction of the soul because of sin. Such affliction is absolutely needed in the case of all sinners. Be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance : Or, Become not, as the liypocrites, dismal in countenance : Look not sour, as Luther has it. Do not put on grimace. Tor they disfigure their faces : They make their faces unsightly, and, as it were, unseen (aos) was a kind of pot, made of clay or other material, and narrowing from the bottom upward. The dried grass or other fuel was put inside, so as to heat the walls of the vessel ; and then the dough was put on the outside, and instantly baked. (Jahn's Bib. Antiquities, § 140.) Shall He not much more clothe you? "With such raiment as is meet for you. Have you not reason to trust Him ? to trust that He will command His blessing on your toiling and spinning? The Saviour knew well that, in all ordinary circumstances, raiment would not be obtained without spinning, and weaving, and other kinds of toiling. He was not less intelligent and observant than ordinary men. But He knew, far better than all other men, that work without trust in God is one thing, and that work with trust in God is another and very different thing. He knew, as no one else knew, that work, woven as it were on the warp of trust in God, is not only performed without any waste of immortal energy, but is also transformed into worth and worship. It is thus that work, however humble, becomes figured and trans- figured into a thing of beauty and of bliss. 0 ye of little faith : Such littleness of faith, in reference to the Unseen and Divine side of things, and the un- ceasing interpenetration of these finer thiugs with things seen and human, is still sadly characteristic of the great body of Christ's disciples. Hence their comparative unspirituality, their comparative unassimilation to their Lord ; and the comparative impotence of their spiritual influence among their fellow men. Ver. 31. Therefore take no thought: Or, Do not then anxiously concern yourselves. Do not distress and distract yourselves. Beware of worldly worry. Therefore : since there is such a constant providential care on the part of your heavenly Father. The Saviour thus returns to the idea from which He started in ver. 25. Ver. 32. For after all these things do the Geutiles seek : The seeking of heathens, as a general rule, does not rise toward the ' things unseen and eternal.' They live emphatically on the earth, and for the earth. Should not Christians live above the earth ? Heathens live in the present, and for the present. Should not Christians live beyond the present ? Are they not pilgrims here ? Is not their citizenship in heaven ? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things : An additional reason, coming in after the preceding one, and encouraging Christ's disciples to divest themselves of all 102 ST. MATTHEW VI. [33 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and Lis righteous- ness ; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 distrustful anxiety. Your heavenly Father knoweth your wants, and ivill be ready, to the full amount that is required, to provide for you, if you be careful, in the first place, to do your duty so far as in you lies, and, in the second place, to cast all your care upon Him as to the results of your duties done. "The vital " air, the pure water, the comfortable fire, the warm garment, the cheerful " light, the wholesome food, the quiet home, the welcome sleep, the grateful " rotation of the seasons, and all the thousand glorious and wonderful minis- " trations of nature, testify that our Great Friend, conscious of our necessities, " is most kind and liberal in supplying them." (Livermore.) Ver. 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God : The positive side of the duty that has been negatively exhibited from the 25th verse onward. The duty in its two-sidedness infolds and unfolds the principle which should regulate the proportional outgoings of our voluntary energies toward things ' unseen and eternal ' on the one hand, and toward things ' seen and temporal ' on the other. Seek : search for, search out. First : Let this seeking occupy the foremost place in all the daily outgoings of your voluntary activity. Let it take pre- cedence as regards all your aims. Let it ever be first in the order of import- ance ; and, as far as possible, in the order of time too, as day by day your voluntary aims are marshalled before your mind. Seek the kingdom of God: The kingdom of heaven, which belongs to God, and which is as yet chiefly in heaven. (See on Matt. hi. 2, vi. 10.) Christ enjoins on His disciples to con- tinue in quest of this kingdom ; to move on day by day in the straight (and strait) way that leads to it ; to move on seekingly, lest their steps should miss the way or turn aside. Searching and seeking effort will be needed, and daily needed, to get to the kingdom, as it is in heaven. The direction of the road to the kingdom is inward, not outward. (Luke xvii. 20, 21.) And His right- eousness: Not the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. v. 20), but the righteousness of God, the righteousness, that is to say, that is enjoined by God as constituting moral meetness for the kingdom of heaven, and that is also personally characteristic of God. (See Matt. v. 45, 48 ; and comp. Jas. i. 20.) The Saviour is not referring to the imputative righteousness, of which Paul writes so much, and which constitutes the title to the glory of the kingdom. He is giving instructions to His disciples, who were already implicitly clothed with that righteousness. He is referring to the righteousness which must be sought for daily, as ethical preparation for the kingdom of heaven. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and, as a preparation for that, Mis righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you: All these things, literally these things all of them. As much of each of them as is needed shall be added, or thrown into the bargain, as it were ; and, if it would be well, they shall be added in great abund- ance. Both Origen and Clemens Alexandrinus record that one of the (tradi- tional) sayings of our Lord was this : Ask great things, and little things shall be added; ask heavenly things, and earthly things shall be added. The idea is Christian and right. Solomon does not stand alone in the treatment which he received at the hand of God: Because thou hast asked this thing [wisdom), and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself ; nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; Behold, I have done according to thy words. Lo, I have given thee a ivise and understanding heart, and I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour (1 Kings hi. 11-13). In 2] ST. MATTHEW VII. 103 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. CHAPTER VII. 1 JUDGE not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what various ways is godliness profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come (1 Tim. iv. 8). " Other things being " equal, the good man prospers better in worldly affairs than the bad man. All "the vices are expensive and losing, as all the virtues are gainful and thrifty." (Livermore.) Ver. 34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow : Or, Do not take anxious concern then for the morroio. The Saviour thus returns once more to the duty inculcated in ver. 25, 28, 31. He gives line upon line, precept upon precept, well knowing the tendency of men, and even of good men, to distrustful anxiety in reference to things that are quite beyond their control. He gives, however, His general injunction a special application to the things of the morrow. And the same principle is, of course, applicable to the morrow's morrow, and to the future in general. It is right to exercise forethought, and to plan in reference to the future, far and near. But it is wrong to distress ourselves about it. And it is specially wrong, and a most ungrateful distrust of our heavenly Father's care, to bear a burden of anxiety in reference to the uncertainty that may attach to the fruits, or results, of our own providential care. For the morrow will take anxious thought for the things of itself : Or, more briefly and according to the more authenticated reading, For the morrow will take anxious thought for itself. The morrow is graphically personified, and represented as taking anxious thought or concern. The Saviour disallows concern, or anxious thought, when He speaks as a Legislator : but when He speaks as a Prophet, He foresees it. And hence, speaking as an Advocate and a wise Eeformer, He urges the duty of quiet trustfulness by many considera- tions, and does the utmost possible, in the circumstances, with the people whose interests He has at heart. Thus it is that He says that the morrow will bring with it, when it comes, enough of anxiety, and far more than enough. This being the case, Why, says He, should you borrow from it into to-day any portion of its own peculiar anxiety ? Why tliu* double your burden 1 Why add to the load of to-day the load that belongs to the morrow ? Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof: ' The evil thereof,' the adverse element, the troublous element, the element of difficulty and trial. Every day has its element of darkness, as well as its element of light. And now and again there comes upon men, even the best of them, a very rainy day. At times too there is storm and tempest, and thunder and lightning. Every day has something of trouble in it, though day differs from day. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 1. Judge not: "What then?" asks Chrysostom, "Ought we not to "blame them that sin?" "If this were so," he adds, "all would be lost; " whether in churches, or in states, or in homes. For except the master judge "the servant, and the mistress the maid, and the father the son, and friends 104 ST. MATTHEW VII. [2 judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged : and. with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 " one another, there will be an increase of the things of wickedness." It is right to judge sin to be sin, and to blame it. It is right to judge whether or not men around us sin ; and to blame them, when we cannot avoid the judgement that they have sinned. It is right to sit in judgement on ourselves, and to condemn our own sins. In fact, the judicial element in our nature is the judicious. And if we were without judgement, we should be things, not persons. If we were to live without the exercise of our judgement, we should be at the mercy, not only of every wind of doctrine, but also of every wave of passion. What means then our Lord ? His language is epigrammatic, and derives its point from the prevalence of censorious judging among the scribes and Pharisees and others. It is in antithesis to this censorious judging, that He demands from His disciples, in this sphere of things as in others, a higher righteousness (chap. v. 20). And hence the connection of this paragraph with what goes before. Judge not, that is, Judge not others, Judge not others in a censorious and uncharitable spirit, as the scribes and Pharisees are too much accustomed to do (Luke xviii. 11, 12). In such censorious judging there is always malevolence. This malevolence manifests itself in a secret eagerness to find fault, and in a secret gladness to find a neighbour in a fault. The cen- sorious person is always moreover self conceited, imagining that he himself is above being the legitimate object of all similar judgement. He is positive too that he has penetrated the true motives of the person whom he judges. He mounts the throne of judgement as a matter of course, in his peculiar circle or circuit, and, looking down upon his auditors, passes sentence with such self elevation, assurance, and infallibility, as implies that it would be folly, if not a crime, to dissent from his judgement. That ye be not judged: That is, In order that ye may not be retributivelg judged in like manner by others. The Saviour could have brought into play higher motives. Such higher motives He has adduced abundantly in other parts of this Sermon on the Mount. But it shows the breadth of His ethical grasp, that He laid His hand, as occasion required, on all legitimate motives, higher and lower. That He refers here to retributive judging on the part of men, and not to judging on the part of God, is evidenced by these considerations : (1) The balance of the sentence suggests it, "Judge not others, that ye be not judged by others.'1 (2) The expression in ver. 12 shows whither He had been looking in the preceding verses, " There- fore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (3) The kindred passage in Luke decides the. matter (vi. 37, 38): " Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over# shall men give into your bosom." There is however an important element of the judicial action of God in the retributive instincts of men. It is one of His ways of bringing the self conceited and the censorious to His bar. He whose hand, or tongue, is against every man need not wonder that Divine providence should so balance the scales of justice that every man's hand, or tongue, will be ultimately against him ; he reaps what he sows. Ver. 2. For with what judgement ye judge ye shall be judged : In the very sentence which ye censoriously pronounce upon others, ye shall find retri- butively your own sentence. Your own sentence will sooner or later be turned back against yourself. And with what measure ye mete it shall be measured t3 you (again) : The again is not needed, and is omitted in almost all the important 5] ST. MATTHEW VII. 105 And why beholdesfc 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 ? 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. authorities. Instead of with the preposition is in, and is graphic. The measure referred to is a dry measure (see Luke vi. 38). In the very same measure in which the censorious man metes out his judgements on others shall the judgements of others be meted out to him ; just as Haman was hanged on his own gallows. Sooner or later the judgement of the wise man will verify itself, " He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it " (Eccles. x. 8). Ver. 3. But why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye : But, that is, Even apart from the retributive judgement which will be the consequence of censorious judgement, there is another view of the case which should be taken. Let me ask then, censorious man, Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye ? The censorious man, or fault finder, fixes his eyes, as it were staringly, on the mote that is in his brother's eye, as if he were sym- pathisingly sorry for him. Mote : or little speck of straw, chaff, or wood. No doubt there is such a mote in thy brother's eye. Every man has his failing. But considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye ? But dost not take note of the beam that is in thine own eye ? Beam, a graphic and almost droll repre- sentation of a comparatively great fault. The word means a log, joist, or rafter. Augustin, explaining, instances, as an example, settled hate as compared with a passing burst of passion. The Saviour draws a picture, aud shows how morally grotesque the conduct of the fault finder is. It is implied that the censorious judge or fault finder is, to the eye of the candid onlooker, himsolf characterised by some greater fault than the person whose fault he is taking such zest in pointing out. The censorious fault finder has always this greatest of all faults, he is destitute of true charity and love. Ver. 4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Permit me to cast out the mote that is in thine eye? How can you be guilty of such ridiculous assumption and presumption ? And, lo, the beam in thine own eye ! The beam, that is, the beam already referred to. "This," says Trapp, "is an evil disease that I have seen " under the sun, that men, and those of the better sort sometimes, hear nothing, " and talk of nothing, so willingly as they do of other men's faults." Ver. 5. Hypocrite! The censorious fault finder is a hypocrite. He professes to be sorry for the faults on which he fastens ; but he is not. He professes that it is in grief that he lifts the veil ; but it is really with secret chuckle and satisfaction. In his censorious fault finding, moreover, he implicitly professes to be free from the faults on which he expatiates ; but he is not : and, when he analyses these faults into their primary constituents, he knows that he is not. The truly good man is never censorious. When he rebukes, or faithfully narrates what is to the disadvantage of his brother, it is in a spirit of bene- voleuce, and with genuine grief. Cast out first the beam out of thine own eye ; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye : When thou hast got quit of thine own great fault, thou wilt be better able to assist thy erring brother to get rid of his lesser failing. There is a nicety in our 106 ST. MATTHEW VII. [G 6 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. Saviour's language that has been missed by Samuel Wesley, father of John Wesley, in his History of the New Testament in verse : — "Why so exact and nice, fond mortal, why? To find small motes within thy brother's eye, Though beams within thy own thou canst not spy ? Base hypocrite ! first mend thyself, and then Thou 'It clearly see the faults of other men." Our Saviour does not say, Thou shalt then see clearly the mote in thy brother's eye. He says, " Then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." It is the good man's aim, not to see, or gaze at, his brother's mote, but to assist him to get rid of it. Vee. 6. We learn from the close of the preceding verse that it is legitimate, in right circumstances, to assist our fellow men to get rid of their faults. It is more than legitimate ; it is a high and imperative obligation imposed by the law of love. Yet, even when the inner or subjective circumstances are right, we must be discriminative as to the outer or objective. We must not indiscrimi- nately ' walk into ' every man with whom we come in contact, of whatever temper, and in whatever mood, and insist on him attending to his highest duties and interests. Hence this sixth verse. Give not that which is holy to the dogs : A metaphorical and proverbial counsel regarding discrimination. It is quite right to be kind to the dogs, and to throw them a piece of common flesh ; but it would have been very wrong to have given them any portion of sacred meat ; of a sacrifice, for instance. Such sacred meat would have had no manner of respect shown to it by the dogs. Among the Jews dogs were unclean ; and, as a rule, fierce and undomesticated. In Palestine, at the present day, they prowl about at large in the cities, belonging to no one in particular, disliked and persecuted by all, but yet maintaining a precarious and semi-wild existence in consequence of the uncleanly habits of the people. They are the self appointed scavengers of the streets ; and while engaged in their scavengering operations, or while lying basking in the sun, Touch-me-not is the outstanding feature of their character. So there is a class of men who are, in things spiritual at least, utterly regardless, unsociable, and fierce. They are under the influence of temper, as regards those things ; and not only do they not respect things holy, they will do nothing but snarl, and growl, and bite, if you attempt, howsoever affectionately, to lay your hand upon their spirit, so as to win them to spiritual intercourse. Neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them down with their feet, and turn and tear you : For a moment they may think that the pearls are seeds, or some such edibles. But it will be but for a moment ; and then, trampling them down in their rage, they will — (obliquum mcditantes ictum, Hoeace) — turn round upon you and tear you. The reference is to wild swine ; for the animal was undomesticated among the Jews. There are human beings who are almost equally grovelling and fierce. Take heed how you attempt to deal with such persons in reference to theix spiritual interests. It will be of no service, either to them, or to the gospel, or to your- selves, to infuriate them, or to stir within them into ebullition the swinishness of their nature. Bishop Jebb supposes that, in virtue of an epanodos in 10] ST. MATTHEW VII. 107 7 Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye sliall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh fmdetk; arid 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? parallelism, the last clause of the verse, and turn again and rend you, is to be connected with the first, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Tyndale had been of the same opinion ; Castellio too. Bland approves ; and Scrivener is delighted -with the idea. But it is far too artificial ; and founded, besides, on a misunderstanding of the first clause. Yer. 7. We see from the tenor of the six preceding verses that one would need to be both good and wise in order to be of much spiritual service to one's fellow men. Who then is sufficient for these things ? Our sufficiency, as the Saviour goes on to intimate, is of God, and of God only. Hence He enjoins us to apply to God for the needed gifts and graces. Such seems to be the connec- tion of what follows with what goes before. Ask, and it shall be given you : Ask what you need for usefulness to your fellow men, and you shall get it. When you go with recipient hearts into the presence of the Infinite Fulness, and bend lowly at the base of the Living Fountain that is ever overflowing, you will not come empty away. Seek, and ye shall find : A repetition, for emphasis' sake, of the same idea, under another phase. He that asks of God is in quest. He is seeking among the Infinities for what he is needing ; and when he seeks there he will not seek in vain. Knock, and it shall be opened to you : A re-repetition for still greater emphasis. You are at a gate whose hinges never grow rusty for want of use. It will not be opened to you only after a long delay, and charity handed out to you grudgingly, as to a beggar. It will be opened instantly, and you will be invited " into the parlour," as Trapp expresses it, that your petition may be most favourably considered. Augustin once thought that there was an essential distinction between ashing, seeking, and knocking (De Sermone in Honte, lib. ii., c. 21) ; but in his Retractations (lib. i., c. 19) he withdrew the idea. Yer. 8. A repetition of the promises of the preceding verse, cast into such a generalized form that every one may be encouraged to avail himself of the boon. Yer. 9. Or — if, instead of looking at the subject absolutely, you should like to look at it comparatively — what man is there of you, who if his son shall ask him for bread, will give him a stone? Both in the original and in King James's transla- tion the construction is somewhat perplexed, in consequence of two modes of representation being mixed up together. Livermore says that " whom should be who grammatically." But this is not quite the case, if we retain the he in the final clause. Our translators intended ichom to be objective, along with bread, to the verb ask ; and so far they have exactly reproduced the original construc- tion. Tyndale's version is free, and smoothes the perplexity, Ys there cny man amonge you wltich, if his sonne axed hym bread, wolde offer him a stone ? Bread, that is a cake of bread, more like our roll, though less shapely, than our sym- metrical shapen loaf. It was hence not very unlike a stone. Ver. 10. Or if he shall ask for a fish, will he give him a serpent? It will be noted that there is some visual resemblance between a serpent, and a fish, as 108 ST. MATTHEW VII. [11 11 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 whatsoever ye would that men should between a stone and a cake of bread. Hence the beauty of the illustrative comparison. Ver. 11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: Being evil, consciously sinful, and, as such, deficient both in consideration and in love. If ye know how to give, or, more literally, If ye know to give, an expression that has puzzled critics. Wetstein and Eosenmiiller say that it means if ye are accustomed to give. Palairet and Kuinol say that the know has here no meaning at all, and that our Saviour's phrase just denotes this, if ye, being evil, give. But the expression is a compression of two distinct ideas ; (1) if ye, being evil, give gifts to your children; and (2; if ye know to give good gifts, if ye have sense to give what is good, and not stones for bread, and serpents for fishes. How much more shall your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him ! He has both (1) will to give, and (2) wisdom to give good things only. He will give you, if you ask Him, the good things that you really need, and in particular the good things that you need to fit you to do good to your fellow men. He will give you as largely as you can receive of His own Holy Spirit (Luke xi. 13). Your Father in heaven is a Father, and has a most fatherly heart. As He is the first Father, so He is the best. He is the most fatherly of all fathers. Ver. 12. Therefore all things, or All things then : The then or therefore refers to the scope of the eleven preceding verses. Luther supposed that the reference was to the scope of the entire sermon . Meyer takes substantially the same view, only he limits the retrogressive reference to that portion of the sermon that extends back to the 17th verse of the fifth chapter. This however is an unnatural stretch, more especially when we take the sixth chapter into account, which does not bring prominently into view the duty which we owe to man. But although the retrogressive reference to the then or therefore is not so great as represented by Luther and Meyer, yet the contents of the verse are indeed a sweet summing up of the teaching of a large portion of the sermon ; not only of verses 1-11 of this chapter, but also of verses 14 and 15 of the sixth chapter, and of verses 7, 9, 13-48 of the fifth chapter. The Saviour, as Luther expresses it, gathers up His detailed instructions into " a little bundlet, (ein klein Biindlein) "which every man can put into his bosom and easily carry about with him." All tilings whatsoever ye may desire that men should do to you, do ye even so ta them : This is, for all practical purposes, and especially when the interests of third parties are not involved, the handiest, the readiest, and the best of all moral maxims. It is, when legitimately applied, the golden rule of all social life, the family life, commercial life, church life, national life ; it is the golden rule of international prosperity. When once the rule is universally acted on, the golden age of the earth will be realized. Until it be acted on, there will be social and political confusion, and perplexity, men pulling against men, class against class, and people against people. Partial gleams of this golden maxim have shot across the minds of multitudes of moralists and thinkers ; but few apparently, if any, ever expressed it, in its integrity, except Christ and such as 12] ST. MATTHEW VII. 109 do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and the prophets. have received it from His lips. We read in the Talmud that when a certain Gentile wished to be made a proselyte, he applied to Shammai, and desired that the law should be explained to him in as short a time as he could stand on one foot. The rabbi lifted the staff that was in his hand, and drove the querist from his presence. He then went to Shammai's rival, Hillel, and made the same request. Hillel replied, Don't do to thy neighbour ivhat is hateful to thyself. That, said he, is the whole law. The Gentile became a proselyte (See Lightfoot and Wetstein, in loc. ) It was a gleam ; but the light which it emitted was merely on the negative side of the golden rule. Gibbon, in declaiming against Calvin's conduct in the burning of Servetus, a really black spot in Calvin's escutcheon, says: " A Catholic inquisitor yields the same obedience which he requires ; but " Calvin violated the golden rule of doing as he would be done by ; a rule which I " read in a moral treatise by Isocrates four hundred years before the publication " of the gospel, What stirs your anger, when done to you by others, that do not to "others." (Decline and Fall, chap, liv., note n.) It was a gleam. But Gibbon, in his zeal to pluck from the crown of Christ as many of His original gems as possible, as well as to blacken the character of one of the noblest of uninspired men, did not notice, en the one hand, that the interests of third parties were involved in Calvin's procedure ; and he overlooked, on the other, that the maxim of Isocrates has reference only to the negative side of human duty. It declares ichat should not be done, but it did not touch the positive and far more im- portant idea of ivhat slioidd be done. Diogenes Laertius relates (lib. v., § 21) that Aristotle, when asked how we should bear ourselves toward our friends, answered, As we would desire that they slioidd bear themselves toward us. It was a gleam, worthy of the greatest of Grecian thinkers ; and it has the positive element in it. But then it is a rule for our conduct only in relation to our friends. Confucius was once asked by Tsze-kung if there was one word which would serve as a rule of conduct for all the life ; he replied, Is not reciprocity such a icord ? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others (Legge's Religions of China, p. 139). It was a very bright gleam, but still only declaring what ' not to do.' There were many corresponding gleams, or gleams still brighter, in the ethical utterances of Buddha; for, according to him, "the "motive of all our actions should be pity or love for our neighbour " (Max Miiller's Science of Religion, p. 2-49). Seneca mentions (in his 94th Epistle) that there are certain maxims which, when stated, commend themselves instantly, without any process of ratiocination, even to the most uncultured minds. One of them, he says, is this, Expect from others ivhat you do to others. But if this be a gleam at all, in the direction of our Lord's maxim, it is exceedingly small and remote. It merely tells us what we may look out for, not what we ought to do. Our Saviour's maxim is very different. It is not simply prudential. It covers the whole breadth of our conscience, in its man-ward direction. It is indeed just a peculiar form of the great law of love. And hence, when announcing it, the Saviour touches, as Zuingli remarks, the foundation of natural jurisprudence if undamentum juris naturalis). Love has its seat in a living selfhood; but it ever turns toward otherhood. It would not be true love if it were always turning round to self, and terminating on self. It would be only bastard and barbaric love, selfish love, selfishness ; and selfishness in a living self is a private opening of the heart down into the bottomless abyss. No wonder that it is insatiable- 110 ST. MATTHEW VII. [13 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there and for ever crying, like the grave, give, give. In love, that is truly love, self- hood goes out in quest of otherhood. This is disinterested love ; love that is ready, if need be, to be self -abnegating and self-sacrificing. It is like the love of Christ Himself. He who thus loves will be sure to do to others all things what- soever he desires that others should do to him. For this is the law and the prophets : This saying, this rule of life, is the sum, substance, and quintessence of the ethical teaching of the law and the prophets, which ethical teaching is the culminated aim of the entire system of revelation. (See on Matt. v. 17, 18.) Ver. 13. " Our dear Lord," says Luther, " has now finished His sermon, and He winds it up with sundry admonitions." Enter ye in at the strait gate, — or, more literally, and as Luther has it, through the strait gate. Wycliffe has it, hi the streyt gate ; so the English Eevisionists, by the narrow gate. " I have " seen," says Dr. W. M. Thomson, " these strait gates and narrow ways, with " here and there a traveller. They are in retired corners, and must be sought " for, and are opened only to those who knock ; and when the sun goes down, " and the night comes on, they are shut and locked. It is then too late." (The Land and the Book, chap, i., p. 28.) Perhaps our Lord pointed to some wicket gate that was in view. Dr. Adam Clarke says that " the words in the original " are very emphatic, Enter in through this strait gate, i.e. of doing to every one "as you u-ould he should do unto you ; for this alone seems to be the strait gate " which our Lord alludes to." The Doctor however has simply imagined the emphasis of which he speaks. The expression in the original does not mean • through this strait gate ' ; and there is no reason to suppose that our Lord was referring exclusively, or jjarticularly, to the golden rule enunciated in the pre- ceding verse. He reminds His hearers, in view of all that He had been saying to them, that there were two ways open to them, a way that leads to bliss, and a way that leads to woe. He, as it were, says to them, See that ye choose the right way ; and the right way is not that in ivhich the multitude are walking. Enter in through the narrow gate. The straight way onivard from that gate will conduct you in the right direction and to the desirable terminus. Enter in. If any inquirers had asked the Saviour to tell them definitely and explicitly what the strait gate was, He would have answered, wTe doubt not, if He saw that they could disentangle multiplicity and variety of representation into their under- lying unity and simplicity, and could bear the unveiled truth, ' I am the gate.'' My mediation is the gate. (Comp. John x. 9, xiv. 6.) In one sense the gate was wide, wide enough to admit all. In another sense it was strait. Men must stoop, and be lowly, if they would enter through it. They must disencumber themselves too of all superfluous spiritual burdens. They must enter one by one, each one for himself. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction : For. It is as if the Saviour had said, My counsel is needed. See that ye take it; for. The rest of the words constitute a graphic representation of the other and left hand side of things. There is a wide gate. It opens into a broad way. But the broad way leads to destruction. The idea of an enclosure, a place enclosed within a wall, lies at the basis of the repre- sentation. One might have supposed, from the spacious entrance, that the way would conduct to some magnificent home, a palace of beauty and of bliss. But no. It leads to destruction, to some kind of everlasting death. What may thia 14] ST. MATTHEW VII. Ill 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. broad way be, with its wide gate ? It is doubtless the way of self licence, of tbat self gratification which is determined to take a wide berth for itself, spurning Divine prohibitions, and laughing at the limits of a strict and narrow morality. It is the way of things that is counter to the way and will of Christ. And many there be tbat go in thereat, — or, more literally, And many there are who are entering in through it. There were many in Christ's day. There are still many. The multitude still goes that way. He who would be a Christian must still be somewhat singular in his habits and manner of life. Yek. 14. Because strait is the gate : In the margin we read, How strait the gate ! a reading that has prevailed extensively from very remote times. It is found in many of the ancient uncial manuscripts, though neither in the Sinaitic nor in the Vatican. It is found in several of the ancient versions, inclusive of the Peshito Syriac, the Cureton Syriac, and the Harclean ; the Vulgate also, and the Gothic. It has been received into the text by Griesbach, Scholz, Lachmann, Tregelles ; but not by Tischendorf, Alford, and Tholuck. It is, to all appearance, intrinsically unlikely ; and assumes an import of tL which the term never bears in any other part of the New Testament, or in any classical writing, though it became common enough in modern Greek. Never- theless, the very difficulty of the reading pleads powerfully in its support. It is easier to suppose that t£ should have been tinkeringly turned into on than that otl should have been tinkeringly turned into tL We accept therefore, with Meyer, the reading How strait the gate ! It is a co-ordinate reason, shaped in the form of an exclamation, for the counsel given at the commencement of the 13th verse. And narrowed the way which leadeth to life : How narrowed (re^XijUjUe'fTj). The figure contemplated i:= that of ' double-dykes.' There is a path between two properties, each measured off with its wall. Both walls approach as closely and compressingly as possible to the centre of the thorough- fare, which is the public ' right of way.' The ' double-dykes ' almost meet, and there is at points here and there bulging on either side, while all along loose stones have fallen down, and make the way inconvenient, so that the traveller can only painfully and with trouble pick his steps as he moves along. It leads however to life, that is, to everlasting life, to the home of everlasting bliss. Being a narrowed way, it will not admit of latitudinarianism of de- meanour. Neither will it admit of accompanying parade and pomp. It would not be possible to drive along it in a coach and six. When kings would go by it they must step out of their coaches and walk. Princes and peasants must travel there on an equality. What is this narrow way? When we get down, through the envelopments of imagery, to the real base or essential substrate of the representations, wc hear the voice of Jesus Himself saying, I am the toay ; no man cometh to the Father, or to the Father's house, but by Me (John xiv. G). As the martyr Philpot said, The cross-way is the high-way to heaven. There is no other way. And few there be who are finding it : It is to be hoped that nowadays there are more than there were of old. And yet they are few com- paratively. But "the reason," says Dean Alford, "why so many perish is not " that it is so ordained by God, who will have all to come to the knowledge of " the truth, but because so few will come to Christ, that they may have life." 112 ST. MATTHEW VII. [15 15 Beware of false prophets, winch come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringetli forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringetli forth evil Ver. 15. Beware of false prophets : Having said that there are few who find the strait gate, our Saviour proceeds to warn His hearers against such as might mislead them. He uses an antique phrase, false prophets; but He had His eye on a class of persons who unhappily had not ceased to be, and who even yet are only out of date in a moral sense, and not so far as the chronology of facts is concerned, false teachers. The old prophets stood before God (717)6 — ). God was behind them. They spoke for God ; they gave utterance to the will of God. Such prophecy was revived in New Testament times. Our Lord Himself was the Prophet of prophets. And succeeding prophets came, in the order of spiritual rank, immediately after apostles (Eph. iv. 11). In all ages indeed many true and noble souls have stood before God, and have been moved by God, and have spoken and witnessed for God and for goodness ; but in all ages there have also been false prophets. There were many of them among the scribes and Pharisees. "Who come to you in sheep's clothing : They come in disguise. They put on for the purpose a character which does not belong to them. They profess to belong to the flock, and to be innocent as lambs in their aims and intentions. But inwardly they are ravening wolves: Inwardly, under their outer covering they hide the heart of wolves. It is the old story of the wolf and the lamb. If you admit them into your confidence, and yield yourselves up to them, you will in spirit be torn to pieces. Ver. 16. From their fruits ye shall know them: Watch their conduct, watch their character. If they are bad men, unprincipled, selfish, or acting in private at variance with their professional acting in public, then pay no regard to their teaching. It was a sad inversion of the Saviour's rule that was made by Jerome, when he interpreted it thus, Ye shall know them by their doctrines. And yet Calvin held the same idea. He says, " under the fruits the kind of teaching holds the chief place." Trapp echoes the notion ; he says, " by their fruits, that is, chiefly by their doctrines." Such an interpretation of our Saviour's rule formed the sheet anchor of the Inquisition. Happily Luther took the right view ; and so did Zuingli ; and so did Augustin, who says that the fruits referred to are the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Gal. v. 22, 23. The question is, Are these fruits present ? or are they absent ? Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? No. Such incongruities do not occur ; although in the spiritual sphere of things there are multitudes of thistle plants and thorn bushes that have figs and grapes stuck on. Hence occasionally you may get grapes on thorns and figs on thistles. You may occasionally get good teaching from bad men. They have learned it and stuck it on ; but it is by no means the outgrowth of their own experience and character. Ver. 17. Even so every gcoil tree bringetli forth good fruit: Bringetli forth, or maketli (woiu). The fruit that is really the produce of the good fruit tree is good, and every good fruit tree produces such fruit. Even so there is really good outcome from the inner goodness of really good men, outcome on the superficies of their life. But a corrupt tree, — or, more literally, the corrupt tree, the tree that is rotten at the heart and gangrened, — bringeth forth,— or maketh, — 22J ST. MATTHEW VII. 113 fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree briug forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that briugeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, 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 ? evil fruit : Bad fruit. So every bad man, disguise himself as lie may, will sooner or later bewray, to the discerning eye, his inner badness, by the outcome of his conduct on the superficies of his life. Yer. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, neither can a bad tree bring forth good fruit : The Saviour turns the same idea round and round. In character the outer is the outcome of the inner. Yer. 19. Every tree that bringeth not forth — that maketh not — good fruit is hewn down, and is cast into the fire : Another thread of thought in connection with the vital distinction between good character and bad. It is attached to the representation of that distinction, to enforce the ethical importance of the distinction. The bad are doomed. Yer. 20. Wherefore, — or, Thus it is the case that, — from their fruits ye shall know them : The Saviour returns, after His graphic illustrations, to the practical rule which He had stated in ver. 1G. Yer. 21. The Saviour, in the deep self consciousness of His Divine Messiah- ship, looks forward through the ages to the great judgement day, when many trees that bring not forth good fruit would need to be cast into the fire. He says, Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : He is, in thought, passing through the Christian ages ; and He notices many who honour Him with the lips, and acknowledge His Lordship, and address Him most orthodoxly, Lord, Lord ; on whom however He cannot look with complacency. It is to prophets, or teachers, that He refers, though His language is applicable to many others besides. Many, whose lip language is thoroughly orthodox and reverential, so far as their acknowledgment of His Lordship is concerned, will yet not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven : He whose life is a life of obedience and of love. Such a life is not, in the case of sinners, a title to heaven, but it is meetuess, indispensable meetness. Yer. 22. Many will say to Me in that day : That day, that great day, toward which all other days look forward, and in which they merge, the great judgement day. The mind of the hearer was carried forward toward that day, by the expression in the preceding verse, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Lord, Lord : The repetition expresses importunity. In the preceding verse it expresses professional zeal. Did we not prophesy in Thy name ? The reference of the word prophesy is not distinctively to the prediction of future events, but to authoritative religious teaching in general. (See on ver. 15.) The prophets referred to laid down the law as to religious duty with as much unfaltering peremptoriness as if they had been inspired of God. They taught too in Christ's name, or, more literally, by Clirist's name, that is, by authority of Christ's name, almost as if they had obtained a monopoly of it. They assumed to be acting I 114 ST. MATTHEW VII. [22 and in thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that 'work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his as Christ's deputies and ministers, and professed to be actuated by zeal for His glory. And by Thy name cast out demons? Acting as exorcists, casting out demons from the demoniacally possessed. Such exorcism, real or pretended, has been practised, in connection with the name of Christ, from the first century down to the present day. It is practised regularly in the church of Home, for instance ; and exceptional individuals have turned up now and again within the bosom of the church, and elsewhere, who seemed to have marvellous relations to the spirit-world, and who have certainly in some cases exerted a marvellous power in giving deliverance to spiritually or nervously afflicted persons. Occasionally too there seemed to be special scope for such exercise of exorcism, in consequence of waves of some weird kind of influence passing infectiously over entire regions, or circuits, or communities of larger or smaller extent. We need not suppose however, indeed we must not suppose, that the exorcisms referred to were, in the highest sense of the term, miraculous. And by Thy name do many wonderful works? The word rendered wonderful works (dvv&fxeis) is translated miracles in Acts xix. 11 ; 1 Cor. xii. 10, 28, 29 ; Heb. ii. 4 ; etc. But it certainly does not here denote such miracles as only God can perform. It literally means poioers, and must here denote such wonderful manifestations of power as might be mistaken by the ignorant for the special operations of the finger of God, and as perhaps, in some instances, might be mistaken by the wonder-workers themselves as demonstrations that they were the spiritual favourites of God. The working of Satan is sometimes " with all power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thess. ii. 9). )\ Vek. 23. And then will I profess to them : Or, confess to them. I will say with My mouth, openly before the universe, what I have always thought in My heart. I never knew yon. I knew about you well enough. I knew that you professed acquaintance with Me. You used My name ; but it was mere profession. You did not know Me. You knew a number of things about Me ; but you did not know Me (as your Lord, and Lawgiver, and Saviour). You were not acquainted with Me. And, on My part, I had no acquaintance with you. I never knew you (as My disciples and servants). Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity : Ye lived and died unholy, and are unholy still. Depart from Me. I can no longer say to the sinful, Come unto Me. There are limits to Divine longsuffering and mercy. Ver. 24. The peroration here commences. Therefore whosoever, or. whosoever then : The then or therefore hooks on the peroration to what goes immediately before. Since it is the case that there is a dreadful, as well as a delightful, alternative, in reference to action in time and retribution in eternity, take heed how you act in reference to what I have been teaching. Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them : Two very different items. The difference is sometimes forgotten by those who are interested hearers of interesting preachers. " The pope, bishops, kings, and all the world hear," as Luther says. But to be a hearer of the word is one thing ; to be a doer of the work is another. The two things, however, go finely together, and produce delightful harmony. I will 29] ST. MATTHEW VII. 115 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 founded upon a rock. 2b' 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, aud the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine : 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. liken him to a wise man : Or, as the reading is in the Sinaitic aud Vatican manu- scripts, and in the Syriac and Vulgate versions, shall be likened to a wise man, that is, shall be made like, in his experience, to a ivise man, a prudent man, a provident man (for prudent is just a short way of saying provident), a foreseeing man. Who built his house upon a rock : More literally, upon the rock, the rock as distinguished from the other foundation thought about. Ver. 25. And the rain descended : In that rushingly inundating fashion so common in Palestine and other southern climes. And the floods came : The rivers, the torrents, the freshets, with all their fell and furious impetuosity. And the wind blew : In tornado style. And beat, or fell, upon that house : The rains and the winds dashing on together, and the waters lasbing round and round. And it fell not ; for it had been founded on si rock : Its security had been wisely and forecastingly provided for. Ver. 26. And — not to speak of him who refuses even to hear My sayings — every one who heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house on the sand : Sand is the best of all founda- tions for a dwelling house where there is no chance of exposure to torrents ; but it is the worst of all where there is such exposure. Ver. 27. And great was the fall of it : The final crash was terrific. A most solemn conclusion to the sublimest of recorded sermons. Ver. 28. And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words, the people were astonished: The people, or, more literally, The crowds. Were astonished, or amazed, as the word is sometimes rendered. They were astounded. At His doctrine : Or, more simply, at His teaching. It was not altogether the matter of His teaching that filled them with wonder; it was, in particular, a nameless kind of power in the maimer in which He handled His matter. Ver. 29. For He taught them: The original expression denotes habit. The people did not look upon His teaching as linished. He had begun indeed, and was rallying on ; but He was only as yet in the midst of His teaching work. As one having authority : It could not be otherwise. He had authority. He was conscious too of His authority ; for He was conscious of His Divine mission. He knew that He was the appointed Light of the world. And not as the scribes : Who would be often positive enough, and pertinacious enough, and assertativa enough ; but who had not, and could not have, authority within the domains oJ reason and conscience. 116 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [I CHAPTER VIII. 1 WHEN lie was come down from the mountain, great mul- titudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, CHAPTER VIII. In the three preceding chapters the evangelist has given us a specimen of the marvellous words which fell from the lips of the Messiah. Jesus spake as the incarnate Wisdom of God (1 Cor. i. 24). He spake as never man had spoken before, and as never man has spoken since. In all that He spake He was, emphatically, the Word of God, the exact Expression of the mind of God. In the present chapter the evangelist gives us some specimens of the equally mar- vellous works which were performed by our Lord. In performing them He acted as the incarnated Power of God (1 Cor. i. 21), that Power that has been working from the beginning ' hitherto,' in every domain of nature. Our Lord moved about in this lower world of ours as its true Lord ; allied in nature to it, indeed, by one element of His adopted humanity ; and yet not resigning His original superiority and control. He had come down to accomplish, under a special manifestation, a special moral mission that had to do with the ultimate destiny of our earth. His works, though often supernatural to us, were all natural to Him. Vek. 1. And when He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes fol- lowed Eim : Great multitudes, or clusters of crowds (cx\oi ttoWoL). They were subdivided into numerous companies. Veb. 2. And behold there came a leper : The same rniracle is related in Mark i. 40-41 and Luke v. 12-14, but without any attempt at precise chronological jointing. A leper : A person afflicted with one of the most loathsome and in- curable of diseases. Under its action, if it go on to its full development, " the •' hair falls from the head and eyebrows," as Dr. W. M. Thomson remarks, " the "nails loosen, decay, and drop off; joint after joint of the fingers and toes " shrink up, and slowly fall away. The gums are absorbed, and the teeth dis- " appear. The nose, the eyes, the tongue, and the palate are slowly consumed ; " and finally the wretched victim sinks into the earth and disappears ; while " medicine has no power to stay the ravages of this fell disease, or even to "mitigate sensibly its tortures." (The Land and the Book, part iv., chap. 43.) And worshipped Him : Piecognising His true worthship, and doing obeisance to Him by prostration before Him (Luke v. 12). Saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou art able to make me clean : The poor suppliant believed that the Great Healer stood before him. If Thou wilt : He realized that the Great Healer's will had a right to be consulted in the matter. Thou art able to make me clean : Every leper was unclean both physically and ceremonially. His leprosy was a pathological taint ; and it had been selected, under the Old Testament dispensation, as the pathological representative of all those diseases which so expressively mirror, in the outer element of our complex nature, the inner spiritual disorders which threaten the life of the soul. Ver. 3. And Jesns put forth His hand, and touched him : If another had touched the leper, he would have contracted ceremonial defilement. But there was, aa 4] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 117 saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man ; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Trench observes, an exception to the ordinary rule in the case of our Saviour. " These outer prohibitions held good for all, till He carne, the Pare to whom all *' things were pure ; who, incontarninable Himself, feared not the contamination " of a touch ; for in Him, first among men, the advancing tide of this world's "evil was effectually arrested and rolled back." (Miracles, p. 220, ed. 1866.) Saying, I w;U ; be thon clean : In the leper's statement, if Thou wilt, a supplica- tion was modestly couching. The Saviour's I icill is the immediate response to that unexpressed prayer. It was the language at once of sovereignty and of grace. Be clean, or, more literally, be cleansed. It is the language of conscious imperial power. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed : Not a scientific, but still a very intelligible mode of speech. The Saviour's power went instantly forth, and, interpenetrating the frame of the diseased man, vitalizingly trans- formed the elements of disease into the elements of health. If Jesus was Divine, there is no room for incredulity. His presence in the flesh beside the leprous man was itself the real miracle, the miracle of miracles. Yer. 4. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man : Why? There might be various reasons, inclusive probably of this, that our Saviour saw that in the meantime there was a sufficiently strong current of desire flowing through the people in the direction of physical relief. Some might be jumping rapidly to the conclusion that this marvellous control over the elements of nature might be turned to instant account, in subjugating the Eomans and other enemies, and in providing His own people with all the comforts and luxuries for which their hearts had been hungering and thirsting so long, but in vain. (Comp. John vi. 13, lc, 30, 31.) There was moreover the prospect of most inconvenient and almost unmanageable thronging. The tendency did not require to be stimulated, but to be restrained and repressed. But go thy way, to Jerusalem, show thy- self to the priest : To the priest who may happen for the time being to be officiat- ing in such matters. He would be the only proper party who was authorized to effect the ceremonial cleansing. See Lev. xiv. And offer the gift that Moses com- manded : The gift, the sacrificial gift, which was determined according to the circumstances of the healed individual. See Lev. xiv. 4, 10, 21, 22, etc. It is right that the mercy of God should be gratefully recognised. It was right too that in that outer and adumbrative court of things, which was constituted by the Jewish dispensation, there should be performed those ceremonial atonements and purifications which adumbrated what was needed for the cleansing of the spiritually leprous. For a testimony to them : To them, that is, to the priest and his associates, — to the priests. For a testimony, to afford them evidence of the Divine power that was now at work among the people. Trench and Alford un- happily render the expression, For a testimony ayainsi them. Yep.. 5. The evangelist adds another specimen of our Saviour's wonderful works, the healing of the centurion's servant. The same occurrence is related, and in still further detail, by Luke, vii. 1-10. Some indeed have supposed that the narratives in the two evangelists are descriptions of two distinct mira- cles. They found their supposition on the fact that what is attributed to the centurion in Matthew is represented by Luke as being transacted by means of 118 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [5 5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 and saying, Lord, my servant 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 messengers. But this diversity of representation is, as Calvin remarks, "nothing" (nihil). "All historical narrative," says Trench, "and all the language of common life, is full of it." Matthew is not aiming at giving scien- tific descriptions of unessential details. He is giving us a succession of vivid tableaux in which Jesus is represented as at work. And to his eye, while en- gaged in painting the tableau of the scene before us, the centurion was really present with the Lord by means of his deputies. The presence of the deputies is shaded off for the moment by a particular fold of the drapery of the painting. And when He was entered into Capernaum : A thriving town, lying on the north- west shore of the sea of Tiberias ; a favourite and highly favoured resort of our Lord. It is called " His own city" in chap. ix. 1. There came to Him a cen- turion, beseeching Him : This centurion was a Gentile (Luke vii. 9), and connected no doubt with some military station at Capernaum. The term centurion leads us to think of the Roman army, which was divided into legions. Every legion was subdivided into ten cohorts or hands (Acts x. 1). Every cohort contained three maniples. And every maniple consisted of two centuries. The century consisted, as is evident from the name, of one hundred men ; though even when the numbers of the men came to be reduced, the name continued. There were sixty centuries in every legion. The centurion was the commander of a cen- tury. The word is rendered liunderder by Sir John Cheke. Ver. 6. And saying, Lord, my servant : Or, more literally, my boy. The word in the original is ambiguous, just like our English word boy. It was used some- times of a son, and sometimes of a servant. It is translated son in John iv. 51, Acts iii. 13, 26. In the other passages where it occurs it is generally rendered servant. Here, as we learn from the word employed in Luke vii. 2 (SoOXos), it is used in reference to a servant. And he had been no doubt a valuable and trusty servant, seeing he was so much loved and respected by his master. Lieth at home : Or, more literally, in the house. He lieth, or has been struck down. Sick of the palsy : Or rather, in a paralysed condition, utterly pro- strate. Our word palsy, as now used, does not convey the idea intended. Grievously tormented : Eacked with pain. Tyndale renders it, greuously paynrd. Ver. 7. And Jesus saith to him, I will come and heal him : There was not only the willingness of love ; there was likewise the thorough self consciousness of power. He would heal, and He could heal. He could heal, and He loould heal. Whithersoever His love flew, it flew " with healing in its wings." Ver. 8. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: The centurion had been one of those noble spirits who had burst the fetters of the prevailing polytheism, and who were worship- ping the true God. He had built a synagogue for his Jewish neighbours (Luke vii. 5), and was doubtless a student of their Scriptures- He recognised in Jesus the promised Messiah, and was prostrating himself in spirit at His feet. The expression, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, is liter- ally I am not sufficient, or fit, in order that Thou shouldest come under my roof. 10] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 119 sliouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under author- ity, 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 It is a compressed way of saying, I am not such as to make it fit — that is, I am not worthy — that Thou shouldest put Thyself to trouble, in order that Tlboumightest come under my roof. Bat speak the word only, — or, more literally according to the correct reading (\6yw, not \6yov), But just speak by a word, or by icord (of mouth). And my boy shall he healed: I know that Thy power reaches afar off, and can work at a distance as well as near at hand. Vee. 9. Fori am a man under authority: Our translators have unhappily, and no doubt inadvertently, neglected to translate a very important little parti- cle (ko.1), meaning and or also. They have properly translated it in Luke vii. 8, 41 For I also am a man set under authority." Tyndale did not neglect this also in the passage before us ; and hence too it is in Cranmer's Bible. It is likewise in the Geneva version (though not in the preliminary edition of 1557). It is also in the Eheims or Roman Catholic version. It is very essential. The centurion draws a comparison between our Lord's position and his own. He was a man under authority. He might have said, with truth, that he was a man in authority. But he preferred to bring more prominently into view the fact of his subordinate position. He had power indeed, but it was authorized and delegated power, power derived from the powers above him, such as the tribunes or chief captains (Acts xxi. 31) of the legion. The position of Christ was somewhat corresponding. He was sent from above. He held a commission. He was under authority, and therefore in authority. " All power — all authority — was given unto Him" (Matt, xxviii. 18). He was the Lord High Commis sioner of the Sovereign of the Universe, the Chief Captain of Salvation. The centurion's conception of the position of Jesus, as authorized and therefore authoritative, is far clearer than that of many of the commentators, who sup- pose that a contrast is intended between the centurion's limited power and the absolute power of our Lord. Dr. Adam Clarke, for example, represents the case thus: " How much more canst Thou accomplish whatsoever Thou wiliest, being under no control." Wordsworth thus, " How much more Thou, who hast no superior.''' This is entirely and totally to gainsay the evangelist's also. Having under myself soldiers ; and I say to this man : Or better, to this one. And to my servant : That is, to my valet, my body servant ; most probably he "here alludes to the boy servant who was unwell. In some such authoritative manner could Jesus signify His pleasure, just on the spot where He stood ; and His pleasure would instantly be carried into effect, though it should have refer- ence to a distant object. The centurion does not indicate the way in which, according to his conception, the behests of the Saviour might be executed, as, for instance, by the ministry of angels, or by the ministry of the elements of nature, or by the ministry of supernatural elements or forces. He merely expresses his faith in the ability of our Lord to effect with ease whatsoever it might be His pleasure to bring to pass. Vee. 10. And when Jesus heard it, He marvelled : And admired. He waa filled with admiration. His wonder need not be regarded as the surprise tc which ignorance is subject. There is often more in wonder than the recogni- 120 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [10 marvelled, and said to them that 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 Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the king- dom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 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 selfsame hour. tion of "the unexpected." There is, when its object is transcendent in excel- lence or glory, the element of persistent and increasing admiration. I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel : Not even in Israel did I ever find so great faith. Ver. 11. And I say unto yon : Or rather, as Sir John Cheke renders it, But 1 say unto you. The centurion's faith was not a solitary case in Gentiledom. I say unto you That many shall come from the east and west : Many Gentiles from far distant lands. They shall come, says the Saviour. He does not say, they shall go. He realized that their movement would be in His own direction. They shall come (so as to be with Me). And shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: To enjoy the feast of everlast- ing bliss. The expression sit doicn has reference to the position at the banquet- ing table. In the original it is, they shall recline; because, among the Jews, as among the Romans, guests reclined on couches around the table, instead of sitting on chairs as with us. Tyndale translates the expression, and shall rest; Sir John Cheke, and schal be set. Ver. 12. But the sons of the kingdom : The Jews, who by birth were the natural heirs of the privileges of the kingdom, and who could not be disinherited but in consequence of their own wilful misconduct and unbelief. The Saviour says, the sons, speaking of them in the mass ; not all the sons, for there were many exceptional cases of true faith, akin to that of the Eoman centurion. Shall be cast out into outer darkness : Or, more literally, into the outer dark- ness ; that is, into the darkness that surrounds the gloriously illuminated banqueting house in which the Lord's guests shall sit down. They shall be cast out, a painfully graphic representation. Though they present themselves, as it were, and seek to pass in by the door, yet they shall obtain no admittance. They shall be thrust out, and shut out. After it is too late for mercy there shall be judgement without mercy. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth : Or, There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth ; words that need pondering, but no paraphrasing. Ver. 13. And as thou hast believed : Or, as Sir John Cheke gives it, as thou believedst. Strauss will have it that the miracle here recorded is but another version of that which is narrated in John iv. 46-54. Others have entertained the same idea, but with no good reason. Ver. 14. Here follows a brief account of another mira3le. It is added by the evangelist to tbe group, without any intention we presume of determining its precise chronological position. It is recorded by Mark in chap. i. 29-31 17] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 121 14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, lie saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. 15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her : and she arose, and minis- tered unto them. 16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils : and he cast out the spirits with Itis word, and healed all that were sick : 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. and by Luke in chap. iv. 38, 39. And when Jesus was come into Peter's house : The house occupied by Peter and Andrew (Mark i. 29) ; but it here takes its designation from him who, long before the evangelist's narrative was penned, had become the more prominent of the two brothers. He saw his wife's mother : " A wife then Peter had," says Trapp. (See 1 Cor. ix. 5.) And hence the question of Ward is appropriate, " What may we say or think of the popish prohibition of priests' marriages ? " Laid : That is, confined to bed. And sick of a fever : The Eheims translates it, in a fitte of a fever. It is not un- worthy of notice that there is a far back etymological connection between our word fire (German, Feuer) and the Latin word fever. The Greek word for fire {irvp) was but another form of the same root ; and hence the participle used by the evangelist in the passage before us (irvptcra-ova-av). The body is on fire in a fever. Ver. 15. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her : She got instant relief. The balance of nature was instantly restored. And she arose, and minis- tered to them : Instead of to them, a great preponderance of good authorities read to Him. And hence this reading has been adopted by Scholz, Lachmann, Tregelles, and Tischendorf. Her gratitude overflowed to her Deliverer, who became the central object of her attentions. Her immediate ministering was evidence of her complete restoration to health. Ver. 16. And when evening was come : It is not unlikely that the evening referred to was the evening after a sabbath day. (Comp. Mark i. 21-32.) The people might regard it as inconsistent with the sanctity of the sabbath to bring their sick ones, for healing, before the sun had set. (See Matt. xii. 10 ; Mark hi. 2 ; Luke vi. 7, xiii. 14, xiv. 3 ; John v. 16.) They brought to Him many that were possessed with devils : Or, that were possessed with demons, — demoniacs ; persons who had lost hold of the helm of self control, and who were, in both body and mind, steered hither and thither, without any regard to the chart of reason, by malevolent spirits. See under chap. iv. 24. Instead of possessed with devils Sir John Cheke uses the one word develled. And He cast out the spirits with His word : Or by a word, by a simple word of command ; for before the authority of Jesus every knee does bow of things in heaven and of things on earth, and every knee must bow ' of things under the earth ' (Phil. ii. 10). And healed all that were sick : Out of His fulness they all received such grace as they required. Ver. 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, Baying, Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses : The words quoted are found in Isa. liii. 4, and are a more literal translation of the original Hebrew than is given in our Old Testament version. The oracle from which 122 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [18 18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, lie the words are taken (Isa. lii. 13 to liii. 12) might be designated The Gospel according to Isaiah; and has got accumulated around it an intensely interesting literature, quite a little library of its own. It is undoubtedly the Messiah who is its great theme ; and it was really He to whom the prophet pointed from afar, when he said, Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. Our Old Testament version is, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. But the Hebrew word rendered griefs really means sicknesses, and is so rendered in almost all the other passages in which it occurs. (See Deut. vii. 15, xxviii. £9, 61 ; 1 Kings xvii. 17 ; 2 Kings xii. 14 ; etc.) The word rendered sorrows really means imins or sufferings, and therefore sorrows. It is rendered pain in Job xxxiii. 19, Jer. li. 8. The meanings given by Fiirst are, pain, disease, a icound, suffering, sorrow. Does then the prophet mean that the Messiah would cure diseases? Does such an idea exhaust his meaning? It certainly does not exhaust his meaning ; for in the preceding verse he has represented our Lord as a man of sufferings, and the acquaintance of sickness ; and yet our Lord was not noted for His personal sicknesses or diseases. He proceeds too in the next verse to say that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. What then does the prophet mean? He borrows phraseology from the outer court of bodily things, to describe what takes place in the inner court of spiritual things. He represents the coming Messiah as One who appeared to him, in ecstatic vision, as sick and sore, wounded, bruised, marred, and suffering. But His sickness and sores and wounds and bruises and agonies and distresses were ours. He took tbem off us, and laid them on Himself. It is the great substitution that is described. The Messiah is in our room, and He is bearing what is our due for our sins. That is the inner court of the representation, veiled in part by the materialisms of the outer court. How then comes it that the evangelist, in the passage before us, represents the prophecy as fulfilled in the miraculous cures of the Saviour? Has he misapplied the prophet's expressions ? Far from that. He has only taken, as he was entitled to do, one step up toward the summit of their full interpretation. It was indeed but one step. Yet in taking it he has taught a profound lesson. Our Lord's manifold works, when viewed from the elevation of tbis step, are seen to be, not disconnected fragments of things scattered at random up and down the line of His terrestrial career, hither and thither. They are parts of a magni- ficent whole. His ' works ' arc His ' work.' There is plurality in the unity of His work. There is unity in the plurality of His works. The life's labour of our Lord was a complex unit, like an unbroken sphere. In the centre of the whole was the great propitiation. On the superficies were the termini of innu- merable radii, wbich touched humanity all through and through and round and round. When tbe Saviour healed diseases and cast out demons, He was acting on the superficies of things. But still He was acting, even then, as the Great Saviour. And He had reference, in every particular act, in detail, to the great centre of the work wbich He had undertaken to accomplish. Hence the words of the prophet were fulfilled by the curative tvorks of our Saviour, though they were still farther and more gloriously fulfilled by His Great Atoning Work. Himself took our infirmities ; or, He (and no other) took our infirmities. He took the infirmities that were on us and in us. He took them off us, to as great an extent as possible. Each of these infirmities, toward tbe pole of its spiritual (side, was about to develop into the death wbich is ' the wages of sin,' while, 21] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 123 gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay liis head. 21 toward the pole of its physical side, it was in danger of developing into that physical death which is the outer emblem of death spiritual and eternal. And bore our sicknesses : He delivered us from our sicknesses as far as possible ; and, in the essence of things, He laid upon Himself all the penal elements involved in them, that He might suffer them in our stead. To suppose with some that the evangelist's application of the prophet's words is fully accounted for by the mere fact of the Saviour's compassionate sympathy with the distressed sufferers, or to imagine with others that the secret of the application is found in the ex- haustion of the Saviour's energy by the multiplicity of His curative labours, is but to prick the surface of things, while the whole of the glorious interior remains unprobed, unexplored, and unknown. Ver. 18. He gave commandment to depart to the other side : The eastern side of the sea of Tiberias. He needed rest. He needed retirement. He had assumed human nature with all its innocent limitations. And He was true to it. Instead, therefore, of yielding to the importunities which assailed Him, and thus prema- turely draining away and squandering His human energies, He used means for their replenishment. Veb. 19. Just as He was tearing Himself away from the excited crowds of wonderers and admirers, A certain scribe came : Or, more literally, one scribe, that is, a scribe. He advanced, or stepped forward, to Jesus. The scribes were the literati of the Jews, the learned class, who devoted themselves to the study of letters, more especially of the sacred writings, and the traditions of the rabbis. They would be applied to, moreover, by the mass of the people to do whatever writing was requisite, in matters of law, or commerce, or ordinary correspond- ence. (See on chap. ii. 4.) As a class they did not stand high in the estima- tion of our Lord. They lost sight of the spirit in the letter. They neglected the spirit of the letter; and were outward, artificial, couceited, self indulgent, selfish. Paul asks, Where is the scribe ? (1 Cor. i. 20) and Matthew Henry answers, " He is very seldom following Christ." " Yet," adds he, "here is one that bid pretty fair for discipleship, a Saul among the prophets." Indeed he had already, to some extent, ultroneously attached himself to the Great Eabbi as a follower and scholar. See the expression in ver. 21, " another of the disciples." And said to Him, Master: Or Teacher {MaoicaKe) ; or Rabbi. I will follow Thee whitherso- ever Thon goest : Or whithersoever Thou may est depart ; for the word used is the same that is rendered depart in the preceding verse ; I ic ill follow Thee whither- soever Thou maijest ' go off.' He saw the Great Rabbi about to leave in a boat ; and, ravished with the power that had been so marvellously exerted on the crowds, and with the lofty character that beamed forth from the whole of the Saviour's bearing and demeanour, he longed to be permanently and more inti- mately associated. Ver. 20. And Jesus saith to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, — or rather, roosts, — but the Son of man hath not where He may recline His head : Jesus saw that the (young) man did not understand the true state of the case. Like many others he was expecting the Messiah, and had doubtless 124 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. been saying in his heart, This must surely be He. How noble He is ! How godlike! What esteem too He is winning ! What crowds! What enthusiasm! What poiver He possesses even over the elements of nature ! There stirely cannot be any risk in attaching myself to Him. There will be material comfort imme- diately ; and the prospect of glory and honour when He comes out in the pleni- tude of His power. Such may have been his state of mind. The Saviour read it in a moment ; and, in the most felicitous and dignified yet gentle manner imaginable, let him see some of the unwelcome realities of the case. Ah, young man, the foxes have their lairs, and the birds of the air have their roosts, but the So?i of man has no comfortable home to which to retire, no ample establishment, even in prospect, such as you may have been imagining. He calls Himself the Son of man, with a reference no doubt to Daniel vii. 13. By the emphatic adoption of this emphatic designation He claimed to be the personage there spoken of, the King of kings. The phrase however does not mean King of kings or Messiah. It is an assertion of the true humanity of the Messianic King of kings. It intimates too, not only that He is a true man, but also that He is the true man. Humanity is normal in Him ; pure and undefiled. In Him we see what man may be, and should be, and will be. The phrase moreover, as applied by Jesus to Himself, assumes that, standing as He did on a higher platform than other men, and realizing that He was the Son of God, He yet, in His terrestrial mission, had the greatest satisfaction and joy in identifying Him- self with those wnose nature He had assumed that He might be their Saviour. We know not the effect of our Saviour's remark on the heart of the scribe. Perhaps, like the young man who came running, and asked, Good Master, ivhat shall I do that I may inherit eternal life, he felt sad at the saying and went away grieved, not being prepared for the sacrifice which a closer fellowship would involve. Ver. 21. But another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, suffer me first to go away and bury my father : A very reasonable and becoming request, in all ordi- nary circumstances, if only the word first be omitted. As Matthew Henry remarks, " Piety to God must be preferred before piety to parents, though that is a great and needful part of our religion." Ver. 22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me ; and leave the dead to bury their dead : We need not suppose any approximation to harshness in this reply of our Lord. There could not be such harshness, or any element of unfeelingness. We may rest assured that the Saviour read this disciple through and through, and said just what was needed in his peculiar circumstances. We know not his peculiar circumstances. But no doubt they were peculiar. Perhaps there would have been danger to his yet unripened discipleship, had he returned home into the midst of a peculiarly worldly circle. Perhaps his spiritual decision was just coming to the birth, and moments were precious. Then again, we need not imagine that his presence would be required as the chief mourner and actor at the burial of his father, or that his absence would produce confusion, or annoy- ance, or any want of decency and order. Perhaps he was but one of a large and unholy family circle. It may be. And then, as Chrysostorn remarks, " he " might need, if he went to the funeral, to proceed, after the burial, to make 24] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 125 28 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, ' inquiry about the will, and then about the distribution of the inheritance, and " all the other things that follow thereupon ; and thus," as the Golden-mouthed father proceeds, " waves of things after waves, coming in upon him in succession, •■might bear him very far away from the harbour of truth. For this cause " doubtless the Saviour draws him and fastens him to Himself." And then again we must keep in mind the very solemn truth which is stated by Matthew Henry, that " many are hindered from and in the way of serious godliness, by " an over-concern for their families and relations." The expression Allow the dead to bury their own dead is applicable only to an ungodly family circle, out of which a member has been snatched away by death in the midst of their ungod- liness. Their dead, or, still more literally, their own dead (tovs eavrwv veKpovs). Though the survivors of the deceased were physically alive, they were yet spirit- ually dead. (John v. 24, Eph. ii. 1.) Sepulchral darkness and gloom were, in embryo, within their hearts. As Trapp very strongly puts it, " Their bodies were but living coffins," with " dead souls " within. Veb. 23. The nautical incident here recorded (ver. 23-27) is narrated also by Mark (iv. 35-41) and Luke (viii. 22-25). We need not seek for its precise chronological position. The inspired writers were not solicitous about that. They did not aim in the least at following out a scientific chronology. They present us with scenes grouped together pictorially for great moral purposes. And when He was entered into the boat : The particular vessel, namely, that had been put in readiness for His passage, in accordance with His orders (see ver. 18). The Anglo-Saxon Lindisfarne Gospels, instead of the simple word sliip, "has the expression little ship (lytlum scipe). The Francic version of the ninth century has the word skef. His disciples followed Him : His selected and most attached disciples, whom He loved to have near Him, and who, on their part too, had no higher joy than to be beside Him. They made way for Him to enter the skef first, and then followed Him. Ver. 24. And lo there arose a great tempest in the sea : " A great tempest " (o-eitr/xos), such a commotion of the marine elements as corresponds to an earth- quake. The lake of Genuesaret, or sea of Tiberias, is subject to sudden and violent squalls and storms. Dr. W. M. Thomson says that on a certain occa- sion, in his experience, " The sun had scarcely set, when the wind began to "rush down toward the lake, and it continued all night long with constantly "increasing violence, so that when we reached the shore next morning the face " of the lake was like a huge boiling caldron. The wind howled down every " wady from the north-east and east with such fury that no efforts of rowers " could have brought a boat to shore at any point along that coast. To under- " stand the causes of these sudden and violent ten^oests, we must remember " that the lake lies low, 600 feet lower than the ocean ; that the vast and naked " plateaus of the Jaulan rise to a great height, spreading backward tc the wilds "of the Hauran, and upward to snowy Hermon ; that the water-courses have " cut out profound ravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of the lake, " and that these act like gigantic funnels to draw down the cold winds from " the mountains. On the occasion referred to we subsequently pitched our " tents at the shore, and remained for three days and nights exposed to this "' tremendous wind. We had to double-pin all the tent ropes, and frequently 126 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [24 insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves : but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith ? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him ! " were obliged to hang with our whole weight upon them to keep the quivering "tabernacle from being carried up bodily into the air." {The Land and the Book, part ii., chap. 25.) Insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves : With the waves, or more literally, Under the waves. The waves broke in volume over it. But He was asleep (in the hinder part of the ship, says Mark, that is, in the little cabin), enjoying the deep sweet repose consequent on natural ex- haustion. How really and thoroughly human ! It is delightful to realize it. Ver. 25. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him : Or, And His disciples, approaching, aivoke Him. Saying, Lord, save us, we perish : Or, more literally and graphically, Lord, save ! we perish. The abruptness of the lan- guage is graphic, and most natural. Ver. 2G. And He saith to them — namely, ere He yet arose from His pillow — Why are ye frightened, 0 ye of little faith ? How can ye suppose that there is danger ? Am not I with you in the vessel ? Thus He gently rebuked their alarm, and their deficiency in faith. Yet, as Trapp remarks, " He calleth them not nullifidians," for "Faith is faith, though never so little of it." Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm : He exercised His power upon the winds and the waves, reducing them authorita- tively into instantaneous stillness. Behold, a far greater than Jonas is here (Matt. xii. 41). If we shall suppose, with Maldonato and Trapp and Trench, that in the midst of the storm, and interblending with its elements, there was some malevolent Presence, an idea by no means unscriptural or unreasonable (collate Job i. 12, Ps. civ. 4, Heb. i. 7), then the rebuke of the Saviour would be more than the mere forthputting of authority ; and it would alight with special point and power on the Spiritual Wickedness. (See Eph. vi. 12.) Ver. 27. But the men marvelled : The men, that is, says Meyer, the others in the boat besides the Saviour and His disciples. Fritzsche again thinks that the reference is to all such in the neighbourhood as heard the news of the occurrence. But it seems to be more natural to understand the expression as simply designating all who were in the vessel ; and all would probably be more or less attached disciples. (Comp. Mark iv. 41, Luke viii. 25.) There was something in the action of the Saviour that suggested that special element of His being that was more than human. His Divinity had been shining forth ; and in the light of its effulgence a contrast is silently and instinctively sug- gested. It is thus that the evangelist naturally speaks of His disciples as men. Saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him : The expression What manner of man is scarcely an adequate representation of the original word {wot air os). There is no element in that word to suggest man specifically. And yet the version of Young, which correctly omits the specific word man, What kind is this ? or the Anglo-Saxon version, Hwcet is 28] ST. MATTHEW VIII. 127 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergeser es, there met him two possessed with thes? (What is this ?) is a still more inadequate representation of the force of the original ; for such a version suggests to us rather a reference to a thing than to a person, while the original, on the contrary, suggests personality by its gender. The idea might be expressed thus, What manner of person is this ? What kind of being is this I The disciples felt conscious that hitherto they had known little of the Lord. They knew little yet. They had only got glimpses into Something Within, that seemed to be transcendent in glory and illimitable in resources. Ver. 28. The miracle hereafter related is given also by Mark (v. 1-17) and Luke (viii. 26-37). And when He was come to the other side — of the sea of Tiberias, the east side — into the country of the Gergesenes : There has been much dispute concerning this word Gergesenes, whether it be the correct reading or not. We think that it is, substantially ; though perhaps Gerasenes may be the more correct form of the word. Gadarenes indeed is the word that is found in our version of the corresponding passages of Mark and Luke. But in both of these passages the preponderance of the best authorities is against the reading. In the passage before us too, Gadarenes occurs in the uncial manu- scripts B C M A ; and it is the reading that is approved of by Tischendorf, Tregelles, Fritzsche, Meyer, Trench, Westcott-and-Hort. But Gerasenes is approved of by Griesbach, and received into the. text by Lachmann. It is supported by the Vulgate version, and the Italic. And, what is of very great weight, it was the prevailing reading in the manuscripts to which Origen had access (Opera, i. 239, ed. Lommatzsch). Origen himself, however, did not like it, as he connected it with the Arabian town Gerasa, which was twenty miles east of the Jordan, and thus far too distant from the scene of the miracle, which must have been on the very coast of the sea of Tiberias. He said that the reference must be to Gergesa, which was an ancient town close to the sea, with an adjoining precipice abutting on the waters. He was, we conceive, both right and wrong in his idea. He was right in supposing that the reference could not be to the Arabian city Gerasa, or to the Jewish city Gadara, but he was wrong in supposing that the word Gerasenes must be connected with the Arabian Gerasa beyond the Jordan, and that it could not be, and was not, the name of the inhabitants of his own town Gergesa. His Gergesa seems to have been just another way of pronouncing Geraza, or Gerasa, or Gersa. Dr. W. M. Thomson seems to have rediscovered the ancient city referred to by Origen, but, to his ear, it was called Kerza or Gersa by his Bed awin guide. " It is," he says, "within a few rods of the shore; and an immense mountain rises " directly above it, in which are ancient tombs, out of some of which the two " men possessed of the devils may have issued to meet Jesus. The lake is so " near the base -of the mountain that the swine, rushing madly down it, could " not stop, but would be hurried on into the water and drowned. The place " is one which our Lord would be likely to visit, having Capernaum in full "view to the north, and Galilee ' over against it,' as Luke says it was (viii. "26). The name, however, pronounced by Bedawin Arabs is so similar to " Gergesa, that, to all my inquiries for this place, they invariably said it was " at Cliersa ; and they insisted that they were identical, and I agree with them "in this opinion." (The Land and the Book, part ii., chap. 25.) The reading is Gergesenes in the uncial manuscripts E K L S U V X II. It is the reading too 128 ST. MATTHEW VIII. [28 devils, coming out of the touibs, excegding fierce, so that no of the Gothic, Armenian, Coptic, and iEthiopic versions. But as Origen does not mention that it was in any of his manuscripts, it maj perhaps have got a footing in so many codices in consequence of his strongly expressed judgement that it must be Gergesa that is referred to. The reading of the extremely old and valuable Sinaitic manuscript is Gazarenes, which may be either a corrupt form of Gerasenes or Gergesenes, or a corrupt form of Gadarenes. The place was unknown to Greek scholars, and therefore they might be liable to mis- pronounce it a little. Gadara however was the metropolis of Persea, and was otherwise well known in consequence of its far famed warm baths ; and hence perhaps the introduction into the text of Gadarenes in place of Gerasenes, or Gergesenes, or Gazarenes. But it really seems impossible that Gadarenes can be referred to. The miracle could not have taken place at Gadara. Dr. W. M. Thomson says : " I take for granted that Um Keis marks the site of Gadara; " and it was therefore about three hours to the south of the extreme shore of " the lake in that direction. There is first a broad plain from Khurbet Samra "to the Jermuk; then the vast gorge of this river; and after it an ascent for "an hour and a half to Um Keis. No one, I think, will maintain that this " meets the requirements of the sacred narratives. It is in irreconcilable " contradiction to them. It is true that a celebrated traveller, from his lofty "standpoint at Um Keis, overlooks all intervening obstacles, and makes the UvTai) ; or, Thy sins liave been forgiven (if we read d^ewvrai with the re- ceived text, and Fritzsche, and Meyer, and the majority of the uncial manu- scripts). Tyndale, in his 152G edition, and Sir John Cheke, render the phrase, Thy sins are forgiven thee. This forgiveness was doubtless the very boon which, above all others, the young man needed and desired. Jesus was readiug his heart. His affliction had been blessed to him. It had led him first to thought- fulness ; then to repentance ; and now to the Saviour of sinners, who assured him of the forgiveness of his sins. Possibly too there may have been in this case a peculiar connection between the youth's sins and his sickness. The one may have been came, the other effect. If so, his penitence would probably be all the deeper ; and his joy would be all the greater, when the loving Saviour looked into his eyes, and said into bis ears, and to his heart, Thy sins are for- given. Take note, says Luther, of the thy. Ver. 3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth: This person blaspliemeth. Blasphemy consists in hurting the fame, good name, or reputation of another. The word is specially applied to anything said, that expresses or implies what is greatly derogatory to the cha- racter or prerogative of God. It was assumed, and justly, in the case before us, by the scandalized scribes, that it is God's prerogative to forgive sins. All sins are against God. They are against God only (Ps. li. 4). They may be injuries and cruelties to others, but, as sins, they are relative to God only. And hence God only can forgive them. The scribes were right, therefore, in this assumption. They were also right in assuming that it would be an invasion of the prerogative of God, and therefore a blasphemy, for any mere creature to speak in such a way as to imply that he was able to dispense the forgiveness of sins. But they erred in not perceiving that a Greater than Man was present in their midst. Vkb. i. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said : Or, more literally, accord- ing to the reading of almost all the uncial manuscripts, as well as of the Vulgate and old Latin versions, And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said; or, And Jesus saw their thoughts and said (idJiv). Nothing was hidden from His eyes. No- thing is hidden yet. As ' a flame of fire,' His eyes flashed tbeir light iuto all darknesses. He needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man (John ii. 2oJ. He saw the working of faith, on the one hand, in tho young man and his friends ; and He saw the working of unbelief, on the other, 134 ST. MATTHEW IX. [4 knowing their 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 man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And lie arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, in the scribes who were looking suspiciously on. " Lord," said Peter, " Thou knowest all things " (John xxi. 17). Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? Wherefore? (ivarl)—to what end?— for what purpose? — why ? Why revolve in your hearts evil thoughts concerning Me ? — Why entertain in your minds the idea that I am invading the prerogative of God, and thus casting dishonour on Him? The expression, in your hearts, does not mean in your affections, but, as so frequently in Scripture, in your minds, in the interior and spiritual element of your complex being. (See on chap. vi. 21.) Veb. 5. For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven (aossession ; a develled man, as Sir John Cheke renders the ex- pression. His dumbness, it would appear, was not the result of merely natural causes. It did not arise from imperfection of the organs of speech. Neither was it occasioned by mere physical disorder. There were symptoms connected with it that indicated a maligu agency. It is probable, as Delitzsch contends, that "the diseases which the Scripture represents as demoniacal were of an ex- " traordinary nature, and did not coincide with the ordinary diseases of corre- sponding symptoms " (Biblische Psychologie, 2 Ab., § 16). There would, no doubt, in the case before us, be peculiar conditions, physical or mental, which invited on the one hand, and limited and modified on the other, the demoniacal influence. And when we pass to tbe moral sphere of things, it is true, as Trapp remarks, that "Satan still gaggs many to this day." (See what is said on demoniacal possession at chap. iv. 24 and viii. 28.) Ver. 33. And when the demon was cast out the dumb man spake: The evangelist does not enter into the details of the miracle. To have detailed everything that was wonderful and glorious in the works of our Lord would have been to have embarrassed himself with an affluence that was beyond the reach of arithmetically detailed narration. The same miracle seems to be referred to, and with equal brevity, in Luke xi. 14. And the crowds marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel: Such power in cases of demoniacal possession (see next verse), such power to give release to the most afflicted of men, had never before been manifested among the people of Israel. Our Saviour stood aloft and alone among wonderful men, without parallel or peer. Ver. 34. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out the demons through the ruler of the demons : The demons are represented as the subjects of a like-minded, like-hearted sovereign, who is the prince, at once, of the darkness of this world and of the darkness of the world beneath. The expression, through the ruler of the demom, is rendered by Wycliffe in the prince of deuelis. He thus repro- duces with extreme literality the proposition of the Vulgate and the corre- sponding preposition of the original (iv). It here denotes a most intimate union and unity. The Pharisees, finding that Jjsus did not, and would not, come over to their side of things, and take His place as one of the chieftains of Pharisaism, were filled with spite ; and they were fain to spit out against Him the most horrid and odious of insinuations : All, indeed ! His works ' are ' very wonderful; more especially in the demon direction. They are too wonderful in truth. There mast be too great intimacy where less would be better. May there not be ' art and part ' ? Truly it looks like it. We don't wish to be suspicious-; but one cannot sliut one's eyes altogether. There does seem to be some kind of black league and covenant. Depend upon it, there is, underneath all this marvel- lous display, a deep-laid scheme of the great enemy. And if this Jesus be not indeed that very enemy himself (see chap. x. 25), He is undoubtedly in union with him. Such would be the dreadful insinuations and assertions of the 148 ST. MATTHEW IX. [35 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. Pharisees. Being masters of hypocrisy themselves, they attributed to the Saviour au intensification of their own character. They projected their own magnified shadow of sham on the Lord of Glory, and looking at Him through the lurid gloom, they thought that they detected the features of the ruler of the demons. " In the ruler of the demons, — in oneness icith him — He casteth out the demons." Vee. 35. And Jesus went about all the Cities and villages : Or, as Etheridge- characteristically renders it, He itinerated in all the cities and villages, namely, throughout the thickly peopled district round about Capernaum. While He wisely concentrated His efforts in certain localities, so as to form centres of influence, He also, as far as was consistent with His system of centralization, diffused His personal efforts. It is well for teachers and reformers to be both centripetal and centrifugal. The expression cities and villages might also be rendered towns and hamlets. Teaching in their synagogues : That is, in the synagogues of the people who inhabited the towns and hamlets. There was, to- a remarkable extent, freedom of ministry in the synagogues, freedom at least to minister in the way of giving exhortations. This freedom nevertheless, as was befitting and indeed indispensable, was subject to the control of the rulers or elders. (See Acts xiii. 14, 15.) As is the case with freedom in other depart- ments of things, there would be liability to abuse. But as a rule, it is better, both in things ecclesiastical and in things political, to have considerable free- dom, even though accompanied with considerable abuses, (which abuses, be it remembered, often checkmate one another,) than no freedom at all, mere pas- sivity on the one hand and mere officialism on the other. And preaching the gcspel of the kingdom : Proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of heaven, the good news that it was at hand, and that all might enjoy its inestim- able privileges, if they would but turn from the error and evil of their ways. (See Matt. iii. 2, iv. 17.) And healing every sickness and every disease among the people : The expression among the people is omitted by the chief critical editors, such as Griesbach, Lachmann, Scholz, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott- aud-Hort. Its absence does not in the least impair or obscure the sense. Jesus healed every sickness and every disease. This does not exactly mean, as Luther, Tyndale, and Robinson interpret it, every kind of sickness and disease, for, as Samuel Ward remarks, " there was not at that time in the whole world, much " less in the places where Christ came, some sick of all sicknesses, or all kind " of sicknesses." The expression is to be taken simply and easily ; Christ went about healiug, without failure and without exception, the maladies, however inveterate, of all such as sought His aid, or had it sought for them, believingly. " What a beautiful delineation of character," says Livermore, " is embodied in " this verse ! The Greatest of all goes about doing good as the servant of all. " He establishes Himself in no regal palace, or learned school, issuing thence "His commands or His doctrines; surrounds Himself with no pomp and cn- •' cumstance. But He mingles freely with all, is accessible and gracious to all. " He dispenses the truth as freely as light and air. His sympathies are not " restricted to any one class or condition of men, but He regards with interest " the whole family of mankind. He heals the sick, comforts the unhappy, " warns the evil, and blesses all with the visitings of mercy and hope." 37] ST. MATTHEW IX. 149 3G But when lie saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saitli he unto Ver. 36. But when He saw the crowds, — who gathered around Him every- where,— He was moved with compassion for them : All that was within Him was stirred (ea-!r\ayx>'ioi) ; and probably it was because of its strength that some ancient copyist fancied that it must be a mistake for the weaker term which may be rendered faint or tired. It means Recced (to a greater or less extent), having the fleece (or portions of it) torn off (see Kypke's Observationes Sacra, in loc), lacerated, mangled. There can be no doubt that this was the evangelist's word. It is found in the manuscripts iXBCDEFGKMSUXrAn;l,33; and in Basil, Chrysostom, Theophylact, etc. Mill decided for it. Beugel received it into the text ; and so have Gries- bach, Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott-and-Hort. And were scattered : This, which was also Erasmus's rendering, and Luther's, and Tyndale's, and Beza's, does not quite express the idea conveyed by the original {epifj-fievot). The real meaning of the Greek word is thrown, or thrown down. Hence it is freely rendered lying in the Vulgate, and in the margin of our version. But the word can only by implication mean lying. They were lying, because they were thrown down, and were unable to rise. The same word, in the active voice, is found in chap, xxvii. 5, " and He cast down the pieces of silver in the temple." It occurs again in chap. xv. 30, where it is likewise rendered cast down, but with such a reference that we must abstract the idea of violence. The term however naturally suggests violence or force. It means to throw, to toss, to hurl. As sheep having no shepherd: The spiritual scene, as Jesus pictured it, was melancholy. Chrysostom and Theo- phylact realized it more vividly than most modern expositors. The multitudes of the people were as sheep without a shepherd, scattered over a locality abounding with beasts of prey. The wolf, the bear, the lion, were prowling about, seeking whom they might devour. Many, alas, had already been de- voured; and of the rest the great majority had suffered terribly. They had been chased by their enemies up and down. On this side were some with large patches of the fleece and skin rudely torn and hanging down. On that side were others run down, and tossed over, and trampled. They were lying pro- strate, and utterly unable to rise. It was a saddening sight. It is the picture of the spiritual condition of unsaved sinners. As the Saviour gazed on it, He felt His compassions stirred to their depths. They had been stirred before, ami hence He had come to seek and to save the lost. He was the true Shepherd of the sheep, the good Shepherd ; but He needed a company of under shepherds who would have sympathy with His aims, and care for souls in somewhat of His own spirit. (See ver. 38.) Veb. 37. Then saith He to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, tut 150 ST. MATTHEW IX. [37 his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few ; 38 pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. the labourers are few : He shifts His figure, and pictures a husbandman's scene. Wycliffe renders it, There is moclie rype come, but fewe werhmen. The corn •was ready for the sickle. The people were ready for the gospel. If there were plenty of suitable labourers, multitudes of souls would be gathered, and safely garnered. But if reapers were not speedily got, the precious grain would be lost for ever. Ver. 38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest : Pray ye, or Beseech ye, as the word is commonly rendered. It denotes earnest petition, importunity. The Lord of the harvest : The Master of the harvest, the Lord or Master to whom the rich ripe grain belongs. Our Saviour says elsewhere, "My Father is the Husbandman" (John xv. 1), although He doubtless inwardly realized that in tbis matter, as in many others, His Father and He were " one." And hence we find in the immediately succeeding chapter that He Himself, but not without His Father, sent forth labourers. That He will send forth labourers into His harvest: Literally, Ire order that He may thrust out labourers into His harvest. In the first edition of his Family Expositor Doddridge retained in his Paraphrase the expression send forth. In his second edition he says: "I am " sorry I retained our less emphatical translation. Whosoever considers the "immense difficulties and oppositions which every minister of Christ's king- " dom was sure to encounter, in those early days of it, will see the necessity of "some unusual energy and impulse on the mind to lead any to undertake it." Does any one ask, Why should the Lord of the harvest require to be earnestly petitioned to send out reapers into His harvest-field ? Is not the field His own? Is He unwilling to have His ripe grain gathered and garnered ? Do other and inferior husbandmen require to be petitioned to provide themselves ivilh reapers- far their harvest-fields ? If the Lord of the harvest is unconcerned about His grain, is it likely that concern ivill be roused witliin Him by the entreaties of men ? These questions bring into view some of the difficulties that press upon minds, in certain stages of spiritual development, in reference to the duty of prayer. It is well that the subject be calmly considered. It will bear to be thoroughly scrutinized and sifted. The following hints may meanwhile suffice : (1.) V/e must bear in mind the parabolic picture which the Saviour has been drawing. Like all parables, it is an adequate representation of realities only up to a certain point. Leyond that point it fails to represent realities fairly ; and if therefore it be pressed beyond that point, it will mislead. God is much more than a husbandman. Unconverted men are not standing corn. Con- verted men do not hold precisely the same relation to the unconverted that reapers bear to ripe grain. And hence we shall assuredly fail to understand the Saviour, unless we let our minds rise from the parabolic signs to the realities signified. (2.) It is the case that God is most desirous to have His ripe grain reaped, that is, to have those precious souls of His, that are ready for the gospel, brought under the influence of the gospel, and gathered, and garnered. God was in Jesus. He had sent Jesus. Jesus was the express Image of the Father ; and the desire of Jesus was thus in reality the desire of the Father ; or, if we choose to express it so, it was the perfect duplicate of the Father's desire '.3.) It was not God's fault that there were few laboxircrs for 1] ST. MATTHEW X. 151 CHAPTER X. 1 AND when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he His harvest-field at the time that Christ spoke, and before that time, ami after it. He has all along been stirring up the converted to be their " brothers' keepers," and to " love their neighbours as they love themselves " ; and He has been diligently sending to men His servants, the prophets, and other evan- gelists, " rising early and sending them " (Jer. xxv. 4). But men, both good and bad, are free agents, thus marvellously, mysteriously, and sublimely assimi- lated in nature to God Himself, and hence His servants have very often been very languid and remiss, and very often too they have been overborne in their labours by the multitude of false prophets and teachers, whom God never sent, but who yet insist on running, and who claim moreover to be monopolists of the work. (4.) When Christ enjoins His disciples to petition the Lord of the harvest to thrust out labourers, He really wishes them to have desires in refer- ence to the harvest akin to the desires of God Himself ; and hence it is that He instructs them to carry up their desires to God. It is not that He expected them to change the heart of God, so that God might be willing to get His ripe grain reaped. Far from that. Christ's own heart was really the heart of God, in its manward relation. But He wished His disciples to be themselves ready for the work. (See next chapter, ver. 1-G.) And hence His injunction is, in part, equivalent to this, Beseech ye the Lord of the harvest, that He may accept you, and thrust forth you into His harvest-field. (5) We say, in part, for it would be wrong to suppose that we should merely be making proffer of ourselves when we pray for an increase of gospel labourers. We are but atoms in the mighty mass. And, if our desires be God-like, they will go forth in prayers, in reference to all who constitute the mighty mass of sinful humanity. But why should they, is it asked ? Are men's prayers needed? Whether they be needed or not, their desires, if God-like, must go up to God. In proportion as our desires are God-like, in the same proportion will they go forth in reference to men, and go up to God. But still, are they needed, it is asked, to stir up God to benevolent activity? Far from it. In their own place, nevertheless, they are needed. They are not needed for securing to men what is necessary for their accountability, or even for their mere salvability\ No man is to that extent dependent on his fellow men. But there are innumerable blessings over and above such as are indispensable to mere salvability, which are suspended on human conditions. It was wise that this should be so. And among the innumerable relations and interlinkings of things Divine and human there is scope, in moral government, for a larger outpouring of the power of the Divine Spirit, when the conducting rods of prayer rise up into the region of Divine influences. CHAPTER X. ^Cer. 1. And He called to Him His twelve disciples : The evangelist is not referring to the original calling of the twelve to be special disciples. He assumes that prior calling, though he himself does not narrate it. He has only recorded the calling of five, Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John his brother, and Matthew. (Chap. iv. 18, 21 ; ix. 9.) The Saviour had however gradually gathered around Him, as into an esoteric ring, a company of twelve special disciples, l His twelve disciples,' the number of the tribes of Israel. Having 152 ST. MATTHEW X. [I gave tliem power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these ; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother ; James called them to Him on the present occasion, He gave them authority over un- clean spirits : We know not the formalities of the way in which this authority was conferred ; or whether indeed any special formalities were employed. Perhaps our Lord breathed on them ; perhaps He laid His hands upon them ; perhaps He prayed over them. His action, whatever it might be, would doubt- less be beautifully appropriate, a real solemnity and solemnization. Unclean spirits : Demons. (See chap. iv. 24, viii. 28, ix. 32.) They were character- istically unclean or impure, revelling in moral impurity, and taking pleasure in throwing it up, as in continual showers of mire and dirt, around their victims. To cast them out : Or, so that they might cast them out. This expression explains the intention of the Saviour in conferring the authority specified. And heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease : The construction is condensed ; but the meaning is obvious, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and likewise (authority) to heal every disease and every malady, j, The word every has been explanatorily rendered by our translators, all manner of. The same rendering was given by Luther and Tyndale. It was copied from Tyndale into the original Geneva version of 1557. But in the standard Geneva it was changed into the literal every, the rendering of Wycliffe and Bengel. There is no need for departing from literality in this case ; although un- doubtedly the word must be regarded as having reference to a limited area, a limited sphere or range of universality. LThe disciples got authority to heal every disease and malady, in reference to which their aid was believingly in- voked or desired. (See chap. ix. 35.) J Ver. 2. But the names of the twelve apostles are these: This is the first instance in the New Testament in which the word apostles or apostle is found ; and it is too the last in which it is found in Matthew. The word is likewise found only once in Mark (vi. 80). It means legate, delegate, messenger, missionary. Christ sent out His twelve disciples into the surrounding coun- try as His delegates or missionaries. After His ascension they continued to act in the same capacity, but in a wider sphere. The first, Simon, who is called Peter : The first, or, more literally and simply, First, without the article, that is, First of the twelve. The evangelist does not proceed to say Second, Third, etc. Indeed there was no fixed second, or third, though there was, apparently (see on ver. 4, end), a fixed fifth (viz. Philip), and a fixed ninth (viz. James the son of Alphasus). The word first has reference to an order ; though it does not exactly mean what we would designate foremost in rank or authority. The apostles were of equal rank and authority. Their office was one and the same. There was no hierarchy in the order. But, as among other equals in office, there were distinctions in character, qualifications, endowments, and position. Peter was distinguished by his character and natural endow- ments ; and hence from the first he stood out prominent among his peers (primus inter pares). " Sometimes," says Dean Alford, " Peter speaks in the " name of the rest (Matt. xix. 27, Luke xii. 41) ; sometimes he answers when all " are addressed (Matt. xvi. 10, Mark viii. 29) ; sometimes our Lord addresses "him as principal, even among the three favoured ones (Matt. xxvi. 40, Luke 3] ST. MATTHEW X. 153 the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaaus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddams; " xxii. 31) ; sometimes he is addressed by others as representing the whole (Matt. ' xvii. 24, Acts ii. 37). He appears as the organ of the apostles after our Lord's " ascension (Acts i. 15, ii. 14, iv. 8, v. 29) ; the first speech, and apparently " that which decided the council, was spoken by him (Acts xv. 7)." The word Peter is Greek, and means a piece of rod;, a boulder, a stone. The word Simon or Simeon is Hebrew, and means, not Hearer, as Dr. Eadie gives it in his Biblical Cyclopaedia, but Hearing. Leah imposed the name on her second son, because there had been hearing on the part of God, the Lord had heard. (See Gen. xxix. 33.) And Andrew his brother : See chap. iv. 18. Peter and he made a pair. Andrew is a Greek name, suggesting the idea of manliness. James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother : See chap. iv. 21. They were a noble pair, surnamed by our Lord Sons of thunder. (Mark iii. 17.) When they spoke to their fellow men on the things of God, it was as if a voice were heard thundering from heaven. James was early martyred, being slain by Herod "with the sword" (Acts xii. 2). John survived the rest of the apostles. He was peculiarly the Beloved of the Lord, the New Testament David. Both names, James and John, are Hebrew, the former meaning Successor (or, he has caught by the heel : Gen. xxv. 26, xxvii. 36), the latter meaning Jehovah has been gracious. Vek. 3. Philip and Bartholomew : A third pair. Nothing is known of Bar- tholomew, as he is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. But it is, with probability, supposed that he is Nathanael, the ' Israelite indeed ' whom Jesus saw ' under the fig-tree, before that Philip called him ' (John i. 45-51). He had evidently been an intimate acquaintance of Philip, which may account for their pairing in the first apostolical tour. What confirms the supposition that Bartholomew was Nathanael is the fact that Nathanael appears among a cluster of the apostles, to whom the Saviour showed Himself after His resurrection. See John xxi. 1, 2. Nathanael would be his proper name. Bartholomew would be his patronymic, and meant son of Tholomcic, Tholmai, or Tolmai. Nathanael is a fine Hebrew word, meaning God has given. Thomas and Matthew the publican : Another pair. Thomas was a man of marked character. " He was," says Dean Stanley, " slow to believe, seeing all the difficulties of a case, subject " to despondency, viewing things on the darker side, and yet full of ardent love " for his Master " (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible). It is reported by tradition that he preached the gospel in Parthia or Persia, and that his remains were buried at Edessa. Chrysostom mentions his tomb at Edessa as one of the four genuine tombs of the apostles. The name Thomas or Thorn is Hebrew, and means a twin. The corresponding Greek name is Didymus (John xi. 16, xxi. 2). Of Matthew we have spoken at chap. ix. 9. James the sou of Alphseus, and Lebbsens, whose surname was Thaddaeus : Another pair ; of whom, however, little is with certainty known. As regards James, a vast amount of very intricate speculation has been expended upon the effort to determine his relationship. It has been very generally supposed, since the time of Jerome — who wrote a treatise bearing on the subject, in reply to Helvidius (Liber de Perpetua Virginia tate B. Maria) — that Alphaeus, his father, was the husband of that Mary who was ' the mother of James the little and of Joses '. (Mark xv. 40), and the re- 154 ST. MATTHEW X. [4 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. jiuted sister of Mary the mother of our Lord (John xix. 25). It was hence be- lieved by Jerome, and his theological successors, that he was the cousin-german of our Lord, and that he was in consequence denominated ' the Lord's brother ' (Gal. i. 19). It was hence also assumed that it was he who was the most prominent of the pillars in the Christian community at Jerusalem (Gal. ii. 9, 12). This whole tissue of assumptions, however, seems to resolve itself into an irresolvable tanglement. It is more probable that the brethren of our Lord were his step-brothers, the children of Joseph by a previous marriage. Hence the propriety of the designation ' brethren,' or brothers. Hence too, in all likelihood, the origin of their jealousy (John vii. 3-5). Taking this view, the view entertained by the fathers of the church down to the time of Jerome, we see no reason why we should encumber ourselves with the fixed supposition that Alphaeus must be the husband of Mary the mother of James the little and of Joses. Neither do we see reason for supposing that this Mary was the sister of Mary the mother of our Lord (John xix. 25). It is not likely that the two, if sisters, would be both named Mary. There were many Maries in those clays, and not a few of them more or less connected with our Lord. There is no evidence that James the little (viz. in stature) was one of the apostles. And as regards James, the ' pillar' in Jerusalem, there is reason to believe that, though sceptical or unbelieving in reference to our Lord's Messiahship before the cru- cifixion (John vii. 5), he was yet thoroughly convinced after the resurrection (1 Cor. xv. 7). He would naturally rise to precedence in the Christian church, partly in consequence of his near relationship to our Lord, and partly in conse- quence of the gravity and uprightness of Ins character, which, as we learn from tradition, was universally respected. He was called the Upright. As regards the companion of James the son of Alphceus, namely Lebbccus whose surname was Thadcheus, he was also called Judas or J tide (Luke vi. 16, Acts i. 13, John xiv. 22). He is named Thaddccus by Mark (iii. 18). It is Matthew only who calls him Lebbtcus. The exjiression ichose surname icas Thaddaus seems to have been originally a marginal note, that subsequently crept into the text. It is very properly left out by Tischendorf. But instead of Lebbccns, Lachmann, Tregelles, and Westcott-and-Hort read Thaddccus, Mark's word. They are supported by the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts, and by the Vu'gate. But Origen mentions expressly that, while Thaddsus was the reading in Mark, Lebbffius was the reading in Matthew. And unless Lebbccus had really been in the evangelist's autograph, it is utterly impossible to conceive how it could have got admission into the text. The meaning of the word Lebbceus is uncertain. If it be connected with the Hebrew word for heart (37, and thence *3J), it will mean hearty or courageous. Ver. 4. Simon the Canaanite : The first of the last pair. The word Canaanite has no reference to the land of Canaan. It would have been better to have spelled it Cananite, as indeed it is in the Geneva version, and in some editions of our Authorized version, though not in the 1G11 edition. Luther supposed that the reference of the word is to Cana of Galilee, and hence he renders the expression Simon of Cana. But if that had been the meaning of the word it would have been Canaite, not Cananite. It is, in truth, a Hebrew or Aramaic word, meaning zealot ; and hence, in Luke vi. 15, it is translated into Greek * Simon called Zelotes.' In Acts i. 13 the expression is simply Simon Zelotes, 6] ST. MATTHEW X. 155 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not : 6 but go rather to the lost that is, Simon the zealot. The Zealot* were a political party among tlie Jews, who were animated with peculiar zeal for the recovery of Jewish freedom and the maintenance of all the distinctive Jewish institutions. Phinehas was the model after which they sought to mould their character (Num. xxv. 6-8). They scrupled not to take, as they had opportunity, the punishment of law-breakers into their own hands ; and amid the subsequent wars that are narrated by Josephus they played a fiery and conspicuous part. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott-and-Hort read Canancan instead of Canaanite. And Judas the Iscariot, who also betrayed Him : He brings up the rear, being last and least. He occupies the same concluding place in the lists of Mark and Luke. The expression who also betrayed Him would, however, be more literally rendered who also delivered Him up, for, however traitorous the deed referred to really was, the word does not, of itself, denote the treachery. The appellative term, the Iscariot, distinguishes him from other Judases, and in particular from the Judas who was his fellow apostle, and who was also called Lcbbceus and Tltaddaus. The meaning of the appellation is matter of mere conjecture. Lightfoot, proposing certain ingenious etymologies, thought that it might mean tanner, or pursebearer, or self strangles: But it is generally regarded as a com- pound term, denoting man of Carioth or Kariotli, the reference being to his native town Kariotli or Kerioth, which was one of the possessions of the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 25). Sometimes the appellative designation the Iscariot drops the article, and becomes a kind of surname, Judas Iscariot. This is the form which the appellation has assumed in our current English phraseology. It will be noticed that the list of the twelve apostles consists of pairs. The names are recorded in couplets. And Mark says expressly that our Saviour "called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two" (vi. 7). It is also noticeable that there are pairs of pairs, the twelve being divided into three of these pairs of pairs, or quaternions. The first quaternion consists of Peter and Andrew, James and John. The second consists of Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew. The third consists of James the son of Alphams and Lebbams, Simon the Cananite and Judas Iscariot. These were real and discriminated groups ; for, while variations in pairing are found in the different lists, yet in them all (Matt. x. 2-4 ; Mark iii. 16-19 ; Luke vi. 14-16; Acts i. 13) the quaternions comprise exactly the same group of individuals. In all the lists, besides, Teter is the leader of the first quaternion, Philip the leader of the second, and James the son of Alphanxs the leader of the third. Yek. 5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, viz. on an evangelistic tour. And charged them, saying-, Go not into the way of the Gentiles: Depart not in the direction of Gentiles, — Do not take any road leading to Gentile populations. The time had not come for establishing missions to the Gentiles. A base of opera- tions required to be secured among the Jews. Preparation had to be made within that smaller circle, for subsequent operations within the wider circle of the world at large. And into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: And do not enter into a city of the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a hybrid population, more than semi-Gentile, occupying patches of the district of country that lay between Galilee, where the Saviour was, and Judaa, where Jerusalem 156 ST. MATTHEW X. [6 sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : freely ye have was. 'The Jews had no dealings with them' (John iv. 9). The chief com- ponent part of their ancestors had been brought from Assyria by Esar-haddon (Ezra iv. 2) ; but these heathen Cuthaeans had no doubt been considerably mingled with resident and runaway Israelites. In olden times ' they feared Jehovah, and served their graven images' (2 Kings xvii. 24-41). But latterly, like the Jews themselves, they had renounced idolatry, and were worshippers, however ignorantly, of the one living and true God. They were abhorred by the great body of the Jews ; and they repaid their haters with feelings of corresponding hatred. There is still a remnant of Samaritans, living at Sbechem or Nablous, toward the base of mount Gerizim. They number only about a hundred and fifty individuals. " They do not admit," says the Eev. Fergus Ferguson, who visited thera in 1862, " that their forefathers were of heathen " origin, or that their worship was a mixture of Judaism and idolatry. On tho "contrary, they assert that they are the true Israel, and that they alone wait 41 upon God in primitive simplicity and truth." (Sacred Scenes, chap, x.) Ver. 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel : The spell of the spiritual scene which He had been recently contemplating (chap. ix. 36) is still upon the Saviour's spirit. The children of Israel were " as sheep having no shepherd." They had not merely wandered. They had nearly perished. That is the natural force of the word rendered lost. They had been chased, and bitten; thrown down, and trampled; torn, and half worried. They were lying 'panting for life' (Trapp). And if they utterly perished, the loss to themselves, and to Him who says " all souls are Mine," would be great. The house of Israel means the family, or race, or people of Israel. The " lost sheep of the house of Israel " were not merely, as Fritzsche supposes, the peculiarly immoral or criminal classes of the population (ii ex Israelitis quorum erant contaminati mores). They were all, without distinction or exception, who were without faith in the Messiah, and thus unconverted in heart and life. The Saviour wished His disciples to begin their evangelistic operations with these. Ver. 7. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand : They were to take up the herald cry of John the Baptist, and cause it to re-echo all around. Preach, that is proclaim as heralds, for ye are indeed the heralds of the Great King. The kingdom of heaven is at hand : It is about to be gloriously established. The heavenly King is about to take unto Himself His great name and reign. If ye repent and be ready, He will accept of you as His subjects, and ye shall enjoy all the immunities and privileges of the heavenly society which will be found around His throne. (See on chap. iii. 2.) Ver. 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons : Tbey thus got a delegated authority to work miracles of mercy within the outer court of the body, that they might afford credentials of their mission, and obtain a readier access into the inner court of men's souls. Man is both material and spiritual. The way to the spiritual is through the material. And we see in our Saviour's instructions, as well as in His own practice, the true theory of missions, both at home and abroad. We should, as a general rule, begin at the outer and lower ; and go on thence to the inner and loftier. We aiij'.Ld sympathise, as much as may be, with men's material wants, the wants 9] ST. MATTHEW X. 157 received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor which in their own estimation are most pressing, and thence stretch out the hand toward their spiritual necessities. Such is the general rule, though, in exceptional cases, multitudes are ready to receive the highest blessings at once. Freely ye have received : Or, still more literally, ye received, namely, at the time when I solemnly set you apart to this service. Freely, that is, without money and ivithout price. The Kheims version is, gratis you have received ; gratis give ye. Freely give: The Saviour inculcates upon His disciples not to traffic with the wonder-working powers which He had delegated to them. They were not to go about with these powers as commercial travellers, and sell their spiritual wares. Commerce indeed is the great pioneer of civilization. Without money making, money getting, and money giving, men would never rise above a condition of savageism. But there are some things which must not be sold and bought ; and the gospel is one of them, the gospel, and its essential preliminaries and accompauiments. There is, with some, a little doubt regarding the authenticity of the clause raise the dead. Mill regarded it as borrowed from chap. xi. 5. Wetstein too regarded it as spurious. Adam Clarke condemned it. So does Stier. Scholz omitted it from the text. So did Alford, but in bis fifth edition he restored it. Tischendorf too, though omitting it in his 1849 and 1859 editions, restored it in his eighth, and has been followed by Westcott-and-Hort, as he was preceded by Tregelles. The reading is. supported by the best manuscripts, such as the Sinaitic, and BCD, and by tho Vulgate version, and the older Latin. There seems to be no good reason for rejecting it. Vek. 9. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in your purses: Provide^ that is, for the journey. It was the Saviour's purpose Himself to provide for them whatsoever they required. The spirit of the injunction is binding still upon missionaries and ministers of the gospel ; — the spirit of the injunction, for, as Stier remarks, it would be the ' mere fanaticism of the letter ' to impose upon missionaries and other preachers a literal obedience to the commandment. But missionaries and other ministers of the gospel are most assuredly not ta spend their precious time, and expend their precious energies, in trying to get for themselves an ample provision of wealth or pelf. For this very reason, nevertheless, the people for whose behoof they labour should be considerately and sensitively careful to supply all their material wants, and to supply them too in a way, and to a degree, that are accordant with tho general state of society around. The word rendered brass should have been translated copper, for the Hebrews were not acquainted with that comparatively modern alloy of copper and zinc which we call brass, and which is termed by the French yellow copper (cuivre jaune). There is a descending climax in the expression, neither gold, nor silver, nor copper. Not only would no provision of gold bo required ; silver itself would be unnecessary ; and copper too. The word rendered purses means girdles, or gyrdels as it is in the Geneva of 1557, an indispensable article of dress when loose robes, which require to be gathered up for walking or for working, are worn. It was made of various substances, according to fashion, convenience, or taste. It was often a broad belt of leather, either plain or ornamented, and, if need be, either doubled by a fold or lined and pocketed inside. Sometimes it was a kind of sasli, with natural conveniences for secreting money in its folds. In the original the expression is, into your girdles, that is, 158 ST. MATTHEW X. [9 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 town ye Do not provide for yourselves gold, or silver, or copper, putting the money into your girdles, so as to have it in them. Ver. 10. Nor scrip for your journey : Or, Nor satchel for the road, that is, No travelling bag, in which to carry provisions and other little conveniences needed in a journey. The English word scrip is of obscure origin. The original term (irripa) denotes a leathern satchel, or knapsack, such as shepherds or travellers swung on their back or at their side, when they took with them a supply of provisions. Jesus was to be to His disciples the Lord their provider, and had made arrangements for their maintenance during their evangelistic tour. Neither two coats : Or tunics. The word designates the indispensable under robe, over which the upper robe or cloak was thrown. (See chap. v. 40, ix. 20.) The apostles were not to encumber themselves with a change of these, or of any other garments. Such a change would have involved the necessity of carrying with them bag and baggage, some kind of luggage, or else of burdening and oppressing themselves by wearing at one time more than was required. (See Mark vi. 9.) Nor shoes : that is, nor a change of shoes or sandals. Light- foot and Mackuight, not perceiving that an extra set of these conveniences is referred to, have supposed that plain sandals were allowed, but not the more comfortable and luxurious shoes. (See Mark vi. 9.) Nor yet staves : In the margin the variant a staff is given, undoubtedly the correct reading, supported by the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and the Cambridge manuscripts. Tischendorf has admitted it in his eighth edition. And it is too the i-eadiug of Lachmann and Tregelles. Of course Westcott-and-Hort give it. The other reading, staves, had been a marginal suggestion, to preserve the harmony of Matthew and Mark. In Mark vi. 8 we read that Jesus " commanded them that they should take (He does not say provide) nothing for their journey, save a staff only." But tbere is no real discrepancy, though Strauss tries to make capital of the affair. (Life of Christ, ii., vi., § 77.) The injunction in Mark is just equivalent to this : Make no preparation whatever of bag and baggage for your tour ; set off sinqyly as ye arc, with nothing but your staff in your hand. The staff, as Wordsworth expresses it, "was as it were nothing." The injunction in Matthew is just equivalent to this : Provide nothing whatsoever, with ichich you are at this moment unprovided, not even a staff. If any were in the custom of using a staff, and had one then and there, let him not throw it away. If any had the habit of going about without a staff, and therefore had not one, let him not go to procure one ere he set out. For the workman is worthy of his food : And of the other essentials of his maintenance. And Jesus pledges Himself that His working apostles should not want what they required. He does not promise to give them princely revenues or to pamper them in the lap of luxury. But He meant them to rest assured that their " bread should be given them and their waters be sure." (Isa. xxxiii. 10.) They would have " food and raiment," and whatever else was necessary ; and therewith they were to be content. (1 Tim. vi. 8.) "Every missionary," says Dr. Adam Clarke, "should make himself master of this subject." So should every minister of the gospel ; and every man who has a spiritual mission from God. Ver. 11. And into whatsoever town or hamlet ye shall enter, inquire who in it 13] ST. MATTHEW X. 159 shall enter, inquh'6 who in it is worthy ; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 18 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it : but if it bo not worthy, let your peace return to you. is worthy: Worthy; it is a relative term, and naturally suggests the inquiry, worthy of what ? Here it means, worthy of your intimacy, worthy of being associated with you in your evangelistic work, worthy of being Messianically honoured. The apostles were thus to exercise discretion in reference to those with whom they intimately associated. A similar discretion is still needed on the part of all missionaries and ministers of the gospel. And there abide, till ye go thence : Till ye leave that locality. They were to be careful indeed, as to the character of those with whom they resided ; but when once they had fixed on their abode, under the roof of some truly worthy man, they were to be content with it, even although they should subsequently ascertain that more agreeable quarters could be elsewhere enjoyed. They were not to cast a slight upon humble circumstances, and to move about " from house to house " (Luke x. 7), fishing for comforts. Ver. 12. And as ye enter into the house : Namely, of the individual who has been reported to be worthy. Salute it : The house and household are blended in thought. Strictly speaking, it is the house that is entered and the household that is saluted. The salutation referred to would be the customary salaam of the Hebrews, Peace to you. Originally it was intended to intimate that no hostility was to be apprehended from the person who was approaching. By and by, as the phrase got rubbed and turned about by the interminable rotation of intercourse, it would get to be, in many cases, a mere form of civility. But whenever there was deep feeling in the heart the formula would become instinct with an emphasis of utterance or of tone, that would suggest the outgoing and upgoing of genuine desire, desire for peace in its deeper relations, peace of heart and of conscience, peace in reference to God as well as to men. It is noteworthy that the Saviour enjoins upon His apostles to be observant of the innocent civilities of social intercourse. He would not have them neglected. He would rather have them elevated and ennobled. " A servant of the Lord," says Stier, " is truly courteous, for he has learned to be so in the high court of his King." Ver. 13. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it : Let it settle on the household. Let it come, says the Saviour, usiug the imperative mood. It is as if He had said, It is My desire and My prayer that it come. The blessing, which in your salutation you invoke, I too invoke, — I, in whose name and by whose authority you speak and act. But if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you : The blessing you invoked will not be lost. There is never any waste in the outgoings of love. (Vobis utile erit, in vanum apud eos laborasse : Luxher.) But the unworthy household shall not enjoy the peace which it was your desire that it should enjoy. It is My will, says Jesus, that the blessing take no effect on that house. How dreadful must be the condition of those upon whose peace the Prince of peace Himself lays an inter- dict ! Such an interdict He lays upon all who will not welcome into their heart3 the gospel of His Father's grace. " Whom Ho will, He hardeneth " ; and we know " whom He will." It is unbelievers only. 160 ST. MATTHEW X. [U 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more toler- able for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgement, than for that city. Ver. 14. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet : For of your feet, some high authorities read off your feet (e/c rdu woSuv v.uwv), Shake off the dust off your feet ; a symbolical act suitable to the people and the age. It was intended to signify to the unbelieving that the apostles and their Lord regarded them as unclean, and entirely responsible for their uncleanness. (See Acts xviii. 6.) When the Jews returned from heathen lands, in which they had been travelling, it was a custom, more or less prevalent, to shake off the dust from their feet, as they entered upon the holy land. The action intimated that they wished to carry no element of heathen defilement with them. (See Lightfoot and Nork.) It was a finely significant symbol, if observed not in haughtiness but in sadness, and if understood to be a mere symbol. The danger, of course, was not from dust on the feet, but from defilement on the life and in the heart. Every apostle was to let his impenitent countrymen know that they were "as heathen men in the sight of the Messiah," impure in the estimation of the infinitely Holy One. The spirit of the injunction runs through all the ages, and has come down to our day. Its spirit, but its spirit only. And hence a very heavy responsibility rests on that minister of the gospel who gives no intimation of any kind to the impenitent with whom he associates, that they are impure in the sight of God, and in danger of eternal separation from the good. Ver. 15. Verily I say unto you: It is as if the Saviour had said, Mark solemnly My solemn words. It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah : That is, for the ancient inhabitants of the land in which Sodom and Gomorrah lay. In the day of judgement, than for that city : If it turn not from its unbelief. The Saviour thus looked forward to a great assize. He realized that men without exception, past, present, and to come, have to do with that assize. All shall be impartially judged. Sentence shall be pro- nounced upon each according to his real character, but taking into account the circumstances in which he had been placed. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing like the privileges and opportunities of the inhabitants of the towns and hamlets which the apostles were about to visit. They would be 'beaten' therefore, at the last, with comparatively 'few stripes,' while more favoured but equally impenitent peoples would incur a much severer doom. Ver. 16. At this turn in our Saviour's address to His apostles, His mind looks forward beyond their present mission. That mission was but initiatory and tentative. It was merely the forerunning earnest of their future career. Their true apostolical work would be by and by, after their Lord's propitiatory work had been completed. He deemed it right however, even now, as His own thoughts were shooting afar, to give them some glimpses of what would devolve upon them, and of what was awaiting them. He sowed seeds in their minds, on which the vital forces of their spirits might meanwhile be operating. In due time the seeds would germinate, and in the fulness of the time there would be blossoms of full-blown knowledge and the fruits of experience. Lo : It is as if He had said, The curtain that veils the future is at this moment rising before 16] ST. MATTHEW X. 161 16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves . be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. My view, and, lo, I see stretching out before Me the entire apostolical career on ivhich you are entering. I send you forth : The word that is translated send forth (d7roinv) instead of the present (Trapa8i- StZaiv) is the reading of the manuscripts which are noted as ^ BE, as well as of those manuscripts of the old Latin version which are noted dfg k. It is Lachmann's reading, and Tregelles'. It is approved of by Meyer, and adopted by Tischendorf in his eighth edition. Take no thought how or what ye should speak : Take no thought, Do not concern yourselves, Do not distress and distract yourselves. It is the same word that is used in chap. vi. 25 (see the note there), " Note," says Matthew Henry, " the disciples of Christ must be more thoughtful " how to do well, than how to speak well ; how to keep their integrity, than how "to vindicate it." The Saviour desired that they should be perfectly calm, and filled with the delightful consciousness of unruffled peace, whatever should betide. It will be noted that He refers to both' how and what they should speak. And He puts the how first, knowing that they might be liable to be more agitated about the manner of their apology for themselves* than about its matter. When there is the utmost confidence as regards matter, there is often the utmost diffidence and tremor as regards manner. For it shall be given yon in that very hour what ye should speak (\%\r;o-nTe, not XaXyaere, as in the Textus Receptus) : It shall be given you, namely, by the Holy Spirit. See next verse. Castellio renders the verb, it shall be suggested to you. Principal Campbell follows him. It is a good exegetical rendering. " What ye should speak." The Saviour here drops the reference to the How ; for when the matter comes from above, it will be sure to come in its own appropriate manner. " To us '• poor and infirm successors of the apostles," says Stier, " it is not only con- '• ceded that we may meditate and even commit to memory our ordinary "discourses, but this is our incumbent duty according to the manner of our •' infirmity. But when that which is predicted of the apostles shall befal us 164 ST. MATTHEW X. [19 hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver 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 " also, then may we too lay claim to an interest in the promise. It shall be given "you in that same hour." "How bravely," says Trapp, "did Anne Askew, " Alice Driver, and other poor women, answer the doctors, and put them to a " non-plus ! Was not that the Spirit of the Father speaking in them ? " Ver. 20. For it is not ye that speak, hut the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you: There was a sense, of course, in which it would be the apostles themselves who would speak. But the Saviour was looking at the case from a standpoint that was farther in toward the centre of things, and noticing the agency of the Spirit of God. To His view for the moment the human agency was merged in the Divine, for there are moments in a Christian's life when he feels filled and flooded from above. It will be noted that here, as in chap. v. 16, 45, 48, vi. 1, 8, 14, 15, 26, 32, etc., the Saviour says Your Father. He also often says My Father. (Matt. x. 32, 33 ; xi. 27 ; xii. 50 ; etc.) He also says My Father and your Father (John xx. 17). But He never so puts Himself on an equality with His disciples as to say to them Our Father. While He realized that His own Sonship was the mould of His disciples' sonship, He could not lay aside the consciousness of His very peculiar, and peculiarly unique, filial relationship. He was the Father's "own Son" (Rom. viii. 32), and His ^only begotten Son " (John hi. 16). Ver. 21. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child : The article has rather unhappily been foisted into the translation. The original runs thus, But brother shall be delivered up by brother to death, and child by father. What a sad severance of heart from heart ! How diabolical, how cruel, the antic hristian spirit ! How peculiarly cruel and diabolical when it baptizes itself with the name of Christ ! And yet this cruel rupturing of the nearest and dearest of creature ties is demonstrative of the paramount im- portance, and transcending obligation, of things Christian, heavenly, Divine. There is a spot between a man's conscience and his God, on which no friend, no brother, no child, no parent, must dare to lay his little finger. And children shall rise up against parents, and put them to death. It is the acme ol the unnatural and the infernal. Shall rise up, as in mutiny ; for such is the conventionalism that has attached itself to the verb. And shall put them to death : Intermediate agencies are for the moment ignored. What one does nv another, that one really does. The Saviour's words have been again and again fulfilled to the letter in the history of the persecutions which His disciplec have had to endure, at the hands of heathens, and of monsters more heathenish than heathens, who called themselves Christians and claimed indeed to be the monopolists of Christianity. Ver. 22. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: Of all men, or simply by all, a popular expression, to be interpreted popularly. Not onl; will individuals here and there, in places of office and eminence, be animated with feelings of bitter hostility, the masses will catch the infection, and give full sweep, in their own epidemic way, to their fanatical enmity. Their hatred appeared to the Saviour's mind to be, popularly speaking, universal. The 23] ST. MATTHEW X 165 of 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, flee ye into another : for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. exceptions vanished out of view. What a prospect ! How strange would the description of it appear to those who were fancying that, in being the Messiah's friends and officers, they were walking on the highway to social influence, social comfort, and renown ! For My name's sake : The antipathy, at the bottom, would be found to be antipathy to Christ Himself. How melancholy ! How infatuated ! But in many cases it would be so thoroughly fanatical and unreasoning that it would never try to explain itself to itself, or to understand itself. It would ignorautly, yet wilfully, stir itself up at the very name, after having, by some hasty foregone conclusion, associated with the name some- thing that was evil. But he that endureth to the end shall be saved : He who patiently holds out, perseveringly submitting to popular hatred, and to all the trials that are incident to a life consecrated to the service of Christ, he who thus endures to tlie end, the end namely of the term of trial, the end of the time of persecution and discipline, the end of the period of probation, shall be saved everlastingly. He shall be found meet to be everlastingly glorified; and his everlasting glorification shall actually take place. This was the assurance with which our Lord's disciples were to cheer their spirits while they were being subjected to their fiery trial. Ver. 23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another : Or, more literally, into the other. It is probable that as our Saviour spoke He would, by a graceful gesticulation, point with His finger, first in one definite direction, as toward one city, and then in another definite direction, as toward another city. He grants His disciples liberty to flee, when persecuted. Such liberty would of course have its limits. Matthew Henry says, " They may go out of the way of danger, though they must not go out of the way of duty.'" That is the true state of the case, and affords the true criterion. For verily I say to you : It is as if the Saviour had said, Do not hesitate, tohen persecuted, to fl.ee from city to city. Do not hesitate, in such circumstances, to leave your evangelistic work in one place, when you have an opportunity of prosecuting it more advantageously and efficiently in another; for I solemnly assure you that you will by no maans be able, in the space of time allotted to you, to exhaust the field. Ye shall not have gone over — literally, Ye shall not have finished — the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come : Expect not that the people will lie ready to leap, as by a single bound or two, into their right position. Imagine not that it will suffice if you merely make your appearance as My heralds and unfurl the banner of My kingdom. It is not thus quickly or suddenly that the kingdom of heaven will be established. Far from it. Long and persevering labour will be required. And you will not have finished your evangelistic labours in the cities of Israel, before the Son of man have come. The Saviour calls Himself the Son of man, as " His delights were with the sons of men." He delighted to realize His intimate relationship to men. (See on chap. viii. 20.) He represents Himself as coming at some future time, not exceedingly remote from the time when He was speaking. His expression implies that He purposed going aivay ; for, being present, He would not speak 166 ST. MATTHEW X. [24 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant of Himself as coming unless He had previously thought of Himself as going. (John xiv. 2, 3, 4, 28 ; Matt. xxvi. 24.) But His disciples would attach exceedingly indefinite ideas both to what was meant by the going, and what was meant by the coming. So do many disciples still. And others, when they try to be precisely definite in their conceptions, may be apt to take too narrow a view. The passage before us, more especially when it is taken in connection with chap. xvi. 28, renders it evident that, intermediate between what are called Christ's first coming and His final coming, there are other comings, complementive of the first, and foreshadowing more or less broadly and vividly the last. Christ's whole being is indeed, in some respects, con- tinually moving manward and earthward. He is not very far off. He comes to individual hearts. (John xiv. 23.) He comes to churches, and walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks. (Rev. ii. 1.) Where two or three of His disciples meet together in His name, there is He in the midst of them. (Matt, xviii. 20.) He draws nigh to them who draw nigh to Him. And He comes to peoples and to persons, sometimes in the chariot of His grace, and at other times, when they have greatly abused their privileges, in the war chariot of retributive indignation, to take vengeance. Whedon,with others, contends that the Saviour here refers to His coming at His resurrection. But the experiences specified in the immediately preceding verses (16-20) were to occur, not before, but after that crisis. It is probable therefore that the reference is to the time of judgement which came upon the Jewish people at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. It was a time of Divine judgement. It was Christ, too, who was judging. He came to judge. He sat upon His judgement throne, and pronounced sentence of condemnation, and delivered up the guilty nation to the hands of the executioners. In thus abolishing a corrupt, effete, and infatuated Judaism, which was but as a morbid excrescence that had grown upon and absorbed the Judaism of the Bible, the Son of man removed out of the way a mass of obstacles that were hindering the establishment of His heavenly kingdom. Hence, in coming to judge, He came also to reign. On the one side of the coming there were cloud and darkness, on the other there was a pillar of light and heavenly glory. Ver. 24. At this point the Saviour allows His field of vision to open out wider before Him. He looked at His apostles, not singly as apostles, but as disciples. He looked too at His disciples in general. There was in them all an element of evangelical apostleship interpenetrating their discipleship. They all, as well as the special apostles, had, or have, an evangelical mission and ministry. And hence the Saviour's mind, at this part of His discourse, and on to the end of the chapter, takes a broad sweep, and He makes statements that were not intended to be restricted in their reference to the Twelve. The dis- ciple is not above his master, — or, more literally, A disciple is not above the teacher, — nor the servant — nor a servant — above his lord, or master. It is a general principle, obvious to all. Discipleship and servitude are subordinate relationships. In some, and even in many, respects a pupil may be above hiii teacher, and a servant above his master, but in the particular relation that subsists between them the pupil and the servant are not superior, but inferior. The teacher and the master are superior. In the enunciation of this genera' principle Christ assumes that He was both Teacher and Master. It was His it teach, and His to command. £5] ST. MATTHEW X. 167 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 Ver. 25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher. There is a peculiarity in the original expression which cannot easily be reproduced in our English idiom. It is a peculiarly condensed expression ; and aim is referred to on the part of the disciple. The meaning is, — It is enough for the disciple that he be, and that he aim to be, as his teacher. If the disciple exert himself in order that he may be as his teacher, and gain his end, it is enough. Any higher aim would be unreasonable. To aim to obtain a more respectful treatment than his teacher would indicate a total misunderstanding of the relationship of a pupil. This would be specially the case if the teacher were of transcendent excellence and ability. It would be absolutely the case if the teacher were absolutely perfect. And the servant as his master : It is enough that the servant should aim to receive as much respectful treatment as his master. To anticipate more, to aim at getting more, would be unreasonable, if the master be noble and good. It would be peculiarly unreasonable if the Master should be the Noblest of the noble, and the Best of the good. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub : Or rather, Beelzebul. Such is the reading of the manuscripts, though the Peshito and the Vulgate versions have Beelzebub. Erasmus, Stephens, and all subsequent editors of the Greek text read Beelzebul. Sir John Cheke too in his English version has Beelzeboul ; but Wycliffe, Tyn- dale, the Geneva, and the Rheims, read Beelzebub. So does Luther. All of them followed in the wake of the Vulgate ; and they followed the more readily as the word Beelzebub was familiar to them in consequence of what is recorded in 2 Kings i. 2, 3, 16. Baal-zebub was the name of a tutelary deity worshipped by the Ekronites. It is supposed to mean Fly-Lord, the name having been probably imposed on occasion of some deliverance from a plague of flies. The Jews, in their hatred of idolatry, allowed themselves in a kind of coarse theo- logical humour, and, changing a single letter in the word Beelzebub, gave ex- pression to their contempt and detestation by saying Beelzebul, that is, Filth- Lord, instead of Fly-Lord. The humorous transmutation took hold of the popular mind and established itself ; and then, by an extension of literary licence, the amended appellation was applied, in off-hand phraseology, to Satan, the chieftain of evil spirits. Meyer thinks that Beelzebul does not mean Filth- Lord, but House-Lord ; admitting, however, that it was applied by the Jews to Satan as the Lord of the lower regions. He supposes that the meaning of the term is intentionally echoed by the Saviour, when He speaks of Himself as the Mister of the house. He says that if the word had meant Filth-Lord, it would have been Beelzabel instead of Beelzebul. But he overlooks the fact that the depreciation of reference is sufficiently hinted by the change of a single letter. And he seems also to have overlooked the fact that zebul, or what is equivalent to zebul (bwt), is as much a real Hebrew form as zebel. (See Buxtorf's Tal- mudical Lexicon, p. 641.) Meyer followed in the wake of the opinion of Gusset, Michaelis, Paulus, Jahn, Hitzig. Fiirst too is of the same opinion. But we cannot doubt that Filth-Lord is the real meaning of the word ; and of this opinion were Drusius, Lightfoot, Buxtorf ; Wetstein too ; and, in modern times, Winer, Fritzsche, Olshausen, De Wette, and indeed the great body of recent critics. It would appear that some of the Pharisees had allowed their malice 168 ST. MATTHEW X. L25 call them of his household ? 26 Fear them not therefore : 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 toward Jesus to reach such a pitch of fanatical heartlessuess that they threw out the insinuation that most likely He was no other than the great evil spirit himself, though appearing in a garb of light. We know that they did not scruple to say to Him, " Thou hast a demon " (John vii. 20, viii. 48). They also represented Him as in league with the prince of demons, — " This fellow doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub (Beelzebul), the prince of the demons" (Matt. xii. 24). It appears from the statement before us that they occasionally overtopped their ordinary malice, and represented Him as Himself the chief of demons. Jesus represents Himself as the master of the house, the householder. His disciples are His household oxmeini, as Sir John Cheke renders it (connected with menial). They were ' the household of faith.' How much more shall they call them of his household? They will, with less hesitation, with greater fearless- ness and wantonness, apply equivalent names to the members of the household. Many a time have the purest and noblest of Christ's disciples been treated as if they had been demons, and many a time have they been literally designated by the most diabolical names. Ver. 26. Fear them not therefore : Fear them not, but speak boldly the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Therefore, that is, since it is the case that in suffering indignity and persecution ye are but experiencing a little of the treatment to which I Myself, your Lord and Teacher, am subjected. The bitter cup out of which you are compelled to drink is the cup which I, your Master and your Saviour, am draining to its dregs. For there is nothing covered — that has been covered — that shall not be revealed ; and hid, that shall not be known : All things and all persons are pointing forward to a day of universal manifestation and revelation. The time will come when everything will be seen in its true light, and when every person shall be seen to be just what he really is. All veils shall be rent from top to bottom. Fear not therefore un- godly men. They will by and by be uncovered, and so shall you. Their true character will be exposed to view, and so will yours. All things and persons will then be correctly estimated, and the consequences for eternity will be either delightful or woeful in superlative degree. Ver. 27. What I tell you in the darkness, that speak ye in the light : Speak out. Unfurl your banner. Never trim as regards your mission and commis- sion. Never be ashamed of the truth with which I have entrusted you. I have taught you it in private, that ye may go forth and proclaim it in public. And what ye hear in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops : A parallelistic repetition of the same idea. In the ear; literally, into the ear : What ye hear spoken into the ear, when ye come close to Me that ye may quietly learn of Me, that pro- claim, as with herald voices, upon the housetops. The roofs of oriental houses are in general flat, and " in no point," says Phillott, " do oriental domestic habits differ more from European than in the use of the roof." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, House.) It is a place of evening recreation. It is also often used as a sleeping place by night. At the feast of tabernacles booths were erected on the roofs of the houses. These roofs are parapeted ; and if a great multitude of people were publicly congregated, there would be no place 28] ST. MATTHEW X. 169 ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. more convenient for a herald reaching their ears by making proclamation. It was the most public possible of pulpits. " Our Lord," says Dr. W. M. Thom- son, " spent most of His life in villages ; and accordingly the reference here is " to a custom observed only in such places, never in cities. At the present day, " local governors in country districts cause their commands thus to be pub- " lished. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the *■ people have returned from their labours in the field. The public crier ascends " the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call upon all " faithful subjects to give ear and obey. He then proceeds to announce, in a " set form, the will of their master, and demands obedience thereto." (The Land and the Book, part i., chap. 3.) Vek. 28. And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul : The Saviour thus draws a sharp distinction between body and soul. Perse- cutors can kill only the former. The latter is beyond their reach. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna: That is, Fear God, for " the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom " (Ps. cxi. 10, Prov. ix. 10). Stier strangely supposes that our Saviour refers, not to God, but to the devil. He is extremely positive in the matter. It is with him a pet idea ! " We are," he says, " as firmly persuaded that the Lord here means Satan, as of " any point in all exegesis." The other opinion he " holds to be possible only " as long as one fails to penetrate into the heart of the passage, as standing in " its connection." Stier too often indeed confounds penetration with his own effort to penetrate. It would be strange, he says, if our Saviour had united in one the command to fear God, who casts into Gehenna, and to trust in Him as a merciful Father. But would it, we ask ? Eather is it strange that Stier has failed to see that there is a holy fear, which is inseparable from conscious im- perfection, and which thus accompanies a holy man in all his intercourse with God ; although it be indeed far removed from the fear ' that hath torment.' " The conclusion of the whole matter," says Solomon, " is this, Fear God, and keep His commandments." Often are we enjoined in Scripture to fear God; never to fear the devil. And in Psalm cxv. 11 we read expressly, " Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord," an injunction that exhibits that very combination of fear and trust that is regarded by Stier as incompatible. He says again that it is not the case that it is God who " destroys both soul and body in Gehenna." The soul's destruction, he says, its death, proceeds not from God. But does the expositor mean to quibble ? Does he take advantage of ambiguities by not distinguishing between occasion and cause, between meritorious cause and effi- cient cause ? Does he deny that the penalty of sin must in all cases emanate from God? " Shall there be (penal) evil in the city," or anywhere else, "and the Lord hath not done it?" (Amos hi. 6.) Surely it becomes God to punish sin when unrepented of. Surely it cannot be inconsistent in God to render ' the wages of death ' to the impenitent sinner. " There is one lawgiver," says James, " who is able to save and to destroy " (iv. 12), and who does both save and destroy, according as men are penitent or impenitent. The meritorious cause of the punishment is never in God ; it is always in the sinner. But on the other hand the efficient cause of the punishment is found in God, and God alone. It surprises us moreover that Stier did not see that if he were to sup- 170 ST. MATTHEW X. [29 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a fartliing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. pose Satan to be referred to be would entirely destroy tbe antithesis of motives contained in our Lord's injunctions : " Fear not tbem who kill tbe body, but are not able to kill tbe soul : but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." The real power of Satan to injure tbe soul lies on one side with the real power of Satanic men to injure it. It is tbe power to tempt. But there is no ability either in Satan or Satanic men to compel compliance with temptation. Hence they cannot kill against the will. But God's power, ou the other hand, is not a power to tempt. It is a power to punish those who voluntarily comply with temptation, and live and die impenitent. And when the Divine power really goes forth, it does not wait for the consent of the volun- tary transgressor ere it strikes. Vee. 29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? The word translated cpan-ows (vTpovdla) is a diminutive, little sparrows. The word translated farthing (daa-dpiov) is perhaps too much depreciated by our translation. It in quite a different word from that which receives the same translation in Matt. v. 26 (KoSpdvrrjs), and which properly denotes the fourth part of a unit of money, such as the Boman as. The term before us is supposed by some to be the Boman as itself. Or, more likely, it was some diminutive of the Bomas as, a small copper coin of tbe Grasco-Boinan order, current in Palestine. If it were the as, it would be the tenth part of the Boman denarius or the Greek drachma. We have no real English equivalents for the ancient Boman, aud Gra?co-Bornan, and Jewish moneys. The Saviour's question is intended to bring into view tbe small pecuniary value of little sparrows. Two of them could be purchased for a very small copper coin. It must have been customary in the Saviour's time for the poor to use such little birds as an article of diet. " At the "present day," says Tristram, " the markets of Jerusalem and Jaffa are attended " by many fowlers, who offer for sale long strings of little birds of various speciesi " chiefly sparrows, wagtails, and larks. These are also frequently sold, ready " plucked, trussed in rows of about a dozen, on slender wooden skewers." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Sparrow.) And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father : Without your Father's permission. His provi- dence extends even to sparrows, and to every one of them ; to every living thing ; to everything. He has a plan that embraces everything. It must be so, if He be infinite in thought and wisdom. But yet His plan has not fixed everything. It cannot be so, if He has allowed such a thing as will in any of His creatures. Ver. 30. But the very hairs of your head have all been numbered : Viz. by God. His providence extends to everything in you, on you, and about you. He thinks of, and takes an interest in, the minutest objects with which you have to do. Ver. 31. Fear not therefore : Your Heavenly Father knows you, and knows all about you, and has a plan in reference to you. It cannot possibly be the case that He will allow you to be losers by faithful devotedness to Me. My in- terests and your Heavenly Father's interests are one. " I and My Father are pne." Ye are of more value than many little sparrows : If the Lord thinketh ot 34] ST. MATTHEW X. 171 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, hira will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth : I came not to send peace, but a them, it must be the case that lie tbinketh of you. And if He thiuketh of you, He will undoubtedly make the wisest possible arrangements concerning you. He will see to it that all shall be well with you. He will make all things to work together for your good. (Horn. viii. 28.) Ver. 32. Whosoever therefore will confess Me before men : Therefore, since it is the case that there is an all-pervading providence that will make all things work together for good to the good. Shall confess Me : shall make confession that terminates in Me (ev e/xoi), shall acknowledge Me, by life and lip. By life, always, and in all circumstances. By lip, whenever duty calls for words as well as works. Before men, whetber they be friendly or hostile. Him will I too confess before My Father who is in heaven : Him will I acknowledge, and My Father will act toward him accordingly, and graciously receive him. The Saviour speaks out of the full consciousness of the power which He had with the Father, and of the harmony of the Father's will with His own. Ver. 33. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I too deny before My Father who is in heaven : There can be no real excuse for denying Jesus, by word or by work. What though haughtiness should look down in disdain? What though mockery should open its lips and grin ? Shall a man deny his nearest and dearest friend, to avoid reproach or insult ? Shall a man be ashamed of Him who is peerless in goodness and glory? Ver. 34. Think not that I came to throw peace on the earth ; I came not to throw peace, but a sword : The word throw (J3a\dv) is used in the negative clause, because the Saviour had in His mind, as the prominent idea, the word sword as occurring in the positive clause. And yet it is appropriate even in the negative clause. Peace is not a thing that could be flung upon peoples all of a sudden. It would be in vain to expect it thus. It must spring up and grow. A picture seems to have been present to our Saviour's thoughts. An indefinite multitude of people were grouped together ; and all were on the tiptoe of expectation. What is it that is about to happen? Is it the reign of peace that is just about to be inaugurated and consummated? Is thereto be henceforth only unity and amity? As they muse in their hearts, and debate with their lips, lo, a sword is flung into the midst of them ! Principal Campbell translates the verse thus, Think not that I am come to bring peace to the earth. 1 came, not to bring •peace, but a sword. It is a translation that does justice to the substantive thought, but not to the graphic representation of the original. There is a sub- lime sense in which Christ came to establish the reign of universal peace. Far on among His aims, and near the end of them, was that of establishing peace. (Isa. ii. 1-4 ; Luke ii. 14.) Peace on earth was never indeed His last aim ; but it was near the last. Ere however this final peace can be attained, there must be ' first, purity.' And purity, if it seek to establish itself, will meet with deter mined opposition from impurity. Truth will meet with determined opposition from error. Benevolence, with all its gentleness, will meet with determined opposition from selfishness. There must be fighting. There will bo fightings. False peace must be dissipated. " Peace upon the earth : " The Saviour realized 172 ST. MATTHEW X. [34 sword. 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 that His influence would be felt all the world over. The connection of this verse with what goes before may be thus represented : I have spoken of men confessing Me, and of men denying Me. I foresee that there will be many of both classes of men. They will sometimes be found within the same family circles. And hence, although I am the ' Prince of peace,' it is yet the case that before ' My peace ' shall be established in the earth I shall be the Occasion of a vast amount of d is peace. Ver. 35. For : The Saviour proceeds to explain, analytically, in what way He had come to cast a sword upon the earth. And in His explanation His ideas mould themselves, as by instinctive recollection, into the representations of Micah vii. 6. I came to set, — in one instance, — a man at variance against his father, and, — in another instance, — a daughter against her mother, and, — in another instance, — a bride against her mother-in-law. The opposition, so far as principles are concerned, is mutual But the enmity, the hatred, so far as persons are concerned, is on the part of the unbelieving. It is the unbelieving that rise up against the believing, and persecute them ; not the believing that rise up against the unbelieving. Hence Christ is not the Cause, properly speaking, of the enmity or hatred. (Evangelium non est causa dis- cordice : Melancthon.) He is merely the innocent Occasion. He is the Cause however of that peculiarity in the believing which occasions the enmity and hatred of the unbelieving. And there is thus, in the complex result, an intricate minglement of cause and occasion. Trapp says of the discord, " By accident it fell out so, thorow men's singular corruption." His idea is quite correct when looked at from his own interpretation of the word ' accident.' He means that such discord was not the essential aim or purpose of the Saviour. Alford says : "When we read in commentators that these divisions were not the purpose, " but the inevitable results only, of the Lord's coming, we must remember that "with God results are all purposed.'1 But if results be all divinely purposed, not only will sins be all purposed, for they are all results; purposes themselves will be all purposed, for it is the case with purposes, just as truly as with sins, that they are all results, the results of certain indispensable antecedents. But to affirm that purposes must be all purposed is just equivalent to affirming that it is utterly impossible that there can ever be a purpose at all. For if purpose be essential to purpose, then purpose can never be. Arnoldi presents the sub- ject in the following way : " The Lord did not will the discord as His final aim, " but since He must needs permit it as a means for realizing His final aim, He " willed it in the sense that He did not nill it." (Musste ihn in dem Sinne icollen, dass er ihn nicht nicht wollte.) But not to nill is no more to will, than not to choose is to refuse. There are circumstances in which not to choose is to refuse, and not to nill is to will. The negative implies the positive, when an alternative must be decided on. But in the case before us there were things which the Saviour needed to will and willed, and things which He had no occasion to will and did not will. He willed that His disciples should be characterized by de- voted allegiance to Himself and His Father, whatever should be the consequences of such allegiance. He did not will, and He did not need to will, that other men should rise up to hate and persecute them. 38] ST. MATTHEW X. 173 foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or 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 fcaketh not his cross, and followeth after me, Ver. 36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household : Or, more literally, And they of his own household shall be the man's foes. (See Micah vii. 6.) Nothing goes so deep into men's hearts as love or hate to Christ and God. If Christ and God get a place at all in the human heart, it must be the place that is farthest in, and highest up. All other persons and things must be subordinate. Hence it is that if any in a household are opposed to supreme allegiance to Christ, while others love Him supremely, there must ba antagonism. Ver. 37. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me : Christ must be supreme ! How conscious of His peerlessness He must have been, when He claimed a throne in the heart above the places assigned to father and mother and son and daughter ! What should we think of Paul, or of Peter, preferring such a claim? How different then from all mere men must our Saviour be ! But let it ever be noted, that he who loves Christ more than father, mother, son, and daughter, yet love3 father, mother, son, and daughter more than he who does not love Christ most. Supreme love to Christ never diminishes and eviscerates, it invariably exalts and intensifies, all other legiti- mate loves. Is not worthy of Me : Is not inwardly meet to be associated with Me in My felicity and everlasting honour and glory. He is, in the highest relation of things, worthless ; for real worthiness must be estimated in relation to Christ. Ver. 38. And whosoever does not take his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me : The Saviour here, in His character of Seer, looks into His own future, and moulds His language accordingly. He sees the cross in the distance. He connects Himself with it. He comes out of Himself, as it were, to look at Himself with His cross. He sees Himself bearing His cross. The vision grows into a complex picture. His followers are bearing crosses too ! And thus the heavenly procession moves on, until a point is reached where time melts into eternity, and earth is the stepping-stone to heaven. At that point there may occur what men call execution ; but, looked at on at its upper side, the event is coronation and glorification. The crown surmounts the cross. But the Saviour's reference to the cross, though clear to His own spirit, must have been strangely perplexing to His disciples (cornp. chap. xvi. 21, 22). What can the princely Messiah, they might be thinking, have to do with a cross, and a cross as Ilia cross? He speaks too of us taking our crosses, and following Him ! Is it to this that we are tending ? What can He mean ? Their perplexity would be all the greater, as the cross was not a Jewish instrument of execution. It had been introduced by the Gentiles, and was used only in the case of the most degraded criminals. Is there then to be the greatest ignominy, as well as the greatest suffering? The form of expression, whosoever taketh not his cross, has reference to the custom of compelling condemned criminals to take, and carry, to the place of execution, the cross on which they were to be crucified (John xix. 17). Christ's disciples must be ready to lift up the instrument of crucifixion, whether corporeal or mental, and to carry it, when the world con- 174 ST. MATTHEW X. [38 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. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a dermis them to suffer persecution. They must, in spirit, be willing to he martyrs. Whatever be the species of crucifixion to which the enemies of the gospel condemn them, they must be willing to endure it. Ver. 39. A pair of Christian paradoxes. He that findeth his life shall lose it: Or, still more literally, He who found his life shall lose it. The Saviour steps forward in thought to the consummation of things, and thence looks backward to each man's past, and forward to each man's future. Hence the two tenses, past and future, found and shall lose. The pith of the paradox lies in the two sidedness of human life, its under side on earth and in time, and its upper side in heaven and throughout eternity. Whosoever prefers the former to the latter, and is determined at all hazards to conserve and enjoy the former, whatsoever may become of the latter, will lose the latter. Iu finding his life in the one respect, on the lesser side of things, he loses it in the other, on the greater side of things. And he who loses his life — or, more literally, And he who lost his life — for My sake shall find it : The countermart paradox. He who is found at the last day to have lost his earthly life for Christ's sake shall find the heavenly and eternal life. The paradox has special ajDplicability to martyrs. But as the essence of martyrdom is in the spirit, the paradox is true of all such as are prepared to lose for Christ's sake the earthward life, with all its present sweets. They who have this preparation of the spirit must, in the great majority of instances, part with many of the sweets. They must submit to actual loss as regards earthward life. The offence of the cross has by no means ceased. Hate to Christ and Christliness has not vanished from the earth. Ver. 40. He that receiveth you receiveth Me ; and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me : The Saviour returns from His wide circuit of reference to the special case of His apostles. Great was the dignity of their office. They represented Him, even as He represented His Father. The con- scious enjoyment of such dignity was well fitted to sustain them under all the trials which might be accumulated on them. They who honoured the apostles, as apostles, would themselves be honoured. How exceedingly honourable, then, must be the office of apostleship ! Ver. 41. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet : Or, very literally, into a prophet's name, that is, into the recognition of what is reallv involved in a prophet's position and dignity (see on chap, xviii. 20), having regard to what is meant by the name prophet. A prophet was one who spoke for God. In Old Testament times such speaking had iu general, as was natural, very peculiar reference to futurities. But that futuritive or predictive element of prophecy was a mere accident of the circumstances of the times. A prophet was one who had, and spoke, the mind of God ; who spoke for God. God was behind him, as it were, speaking through him or by him (see chap. vii. 15, 22). To receive a prophet then, because he was a prophet, was to do honour to God. The same honour may still be done to God, when New Testament prophets are received as prophets, and because they are prophets. Whosoever can give credentials that he really speaks the mind of God is a prophet. 1J ST. MATTHEW XI. 175 prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's re- ward ; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to driuk unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. CHAPTER XL 1 AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of Shall receive a prophet's reward : That is, shall receive the same reward which is conferred by God upon the prophet himself. He is equal to the prophet himself, in the honour which he does to God. It is the message of God that he respects when he respects the messenger. It is to the mind of God that the prophet and he do equal homage. And he that receiveth a righteous man, in the name of a righteous man— literally, into a righteous mail's name — shall receive a righteous man's reward : He shall receive the same Divine reward that is conferred on the righteous man. He is equal with the righteous man in doing honour to righteousness. Ver. 42. And whosoever shall give to drink, unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only, into the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward : When the Saviour says these little ones, He seems to have been pointing, or pointingly looking, toward certain individuals. And as He was speaking to the apostles themselves, it is not probable that He pointed to themselves and spoke of them in the third person. It is more probable that some young persons were near, who believed in Jesus, and loved to be near Him (Mark ix. 42. Comp. Matt, xviii. 1-6), and that He pointed to these. We may be sura that there would be something in Jesus which was unspeakably charming to the unsophisticated minds and hearts of the young, and that, wherever He went, they would gather round Him, and near Him, in groups (comp. chap. xxi. 15). That He does not refer to the apostles themselves is farther evidenced by the anticlimax of reference, a prophet, a righteous man, a little one. A cup of cold water only : The only must be connected with the cup of cold water, and not with the following expression, into the name of a disciple. The Saviour means, but a cup of cold water, though it be no more than a cup of cold water. It is a small favour ; but it may be all that is possible in the circumstances, or all that is needed. Into the name of a disciple : The gift is of especial value when, instead of being the mere result of an instinct of amiability or kindness, it is presented out of regard to the disciple's disciple- ship, or as a means or mode of entering into the naming or acknowledging of the disciple's discipleship. There is then the recognition of the Master. He is honoured. " Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me " (Matt. xxv. 40). His reward : The reward which it is meet that he should receive. And this will be the reward that is due to the disciple who realizes and prizes his discipleship. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 1. This verse should have been the last of Chap, x., instead of the first cf Chap. xi. And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of charging His 176 ST. MATTHEW XI. [1 commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 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 twelve disciples : When He finished giving them their instructions or directions for their preliminary apostolical tour. He departed thence : Namely, from the place where He was, when giving His disciples their charge. To teach and to preach in their cities : The pronoun their must, apparently, hook itself on, though perhaps in an indefinite manner, to the preceding expression, His twelve disciples. So Euthymius Zigabenus, 13eza, Fritzsche. His twelve disciples, viewed in the mass, belonged to the Galilean district, where the Saviour was 'itinerating.' It was to the cities of that district that the Saviour betook Himself in the single handed prosecution of His preparatory ministry. Vek. 2. But when John heard in the prison of the works of the Christ : The prison referred to is said by Josephus to have been Machasrus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea (Antiq. xviii. 5: 1, 2). The expression the Christ is to be noted, or the Messiah, as Principal Campbell renders it. The evan- gelist speaks decisively regarding our Lord when about to record a message from the Baptist, which seemed to throw a doubt upon the reality of our Lord's Messiahship or Christhood. He sent two of his disciples : It is somewhat uncertain whether we should read two of his disciples, or through his disciples (5uo or 8id). The great body of the manuscripts, uncial and cursive, read two of his disciples ; and we know from Luke vii. 19 that it was two of his disciples that John did send. This reading, moreover, is given not only in Erasmus's text, and Stephens's, and the Elzevirs', but by Griesbach too, and Matthan, and Scholz. But on the other hand the best uncial manuscripts read through his disciples. This is the reading of the manuscripts N B C D P Z A. It is also the reading of the cursive manuscript 33, the queen of the cursives. It is the read- ing too of the Syriac versions, and of the Armenian and Gothic. It is also indirectly supported by those manuscripts of the old Latin version that are noted abcfhk. It is, moreover, of such intrinsic peculiarity that we could scarcely expect it to have been a conjectural emendation of the other reading ; whereas the other reading, being supported by Luke, might naturally arise as a conjectural emendation of this. And hence we think that through his disciples was the expression which was actually employed by Matthew. Mill had the same idea ; and Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Westcott-and-Hort, have introduced the expression into their texts. The great body of modern critics approve. John then sent a message to Jesus by his disciples, or, as the Hebrews would express it, by the hand of his disciples. Veb. 3. And said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another ? The expression, He that should come, or The coming One, was a designation of the expected Messiah. The burden of the great body of the Old Testament predictions centred in His coming. And as the appointed time drew nigh the interests of the people gathered intensifyingly around the anticipated coming. Hence He was currently spoken of as the Coming One. Or do we look for another ? The verb in this expression (wpocTdoK&/j.ev) may be understood in two ways, either as being in the indicative mood or as being in the subjunctive. If it be taken as in the indicative, our Authorized translation is correct, a trans- lation supported by the Vulgate and Erasmus. But if it be taken as in the 4 ] ST. MATTHEW XI. 177 thou lie that should come, or do we look for another ? 4 Jesus subjunctive, then it may be translated, with Luther, Should we look for another? or Are ice to look for another ? Piscator and Bengel give the same translation. (Sollen wir eines Andern warten?) Tyndale's translation is, Shall ice loke for another} Principal Campbell's is, Must ice expect another ? De Wette, Meyer, and Wordsworth approve of the subjunctive rendering ; rightly, we presume. The question proposed by John has given rise to great discussions among com- mentators and theologians. Had John faltered in his faith ? Tertullian thought that he had. And the same idea has been entertained by many modern critics, including L'Enfant, Dr. Adam Clarke, Neander, Ewald, Meyer, Webster- and- Wilkinson. The great rnapnty, however, of the ancient fathers could not entertain such an idea ; and hence they conjectured that it was not to satisfy any doubt in his own mind, but to remove all doubt from his dis- ciples' minds, that he sent the message and the messengers to our Lord. Chrysostom was of tins opinion, and contends for it at great length. Origen too gives the same interpretation ; and Jerome, and Theophylact, and Euthy- mius Zigabenus. Calvin too, among the Reformers, strenuously maintains it. Beza agrees ; and Melaucthon and Zuingli before them had given the same interpretation. Among our English expositors, Hammond gives it, and Baxter, and Trapp ; Whitby also, and Dr. S. Clarke, and Doddridge, Wesley, Benson, Wordsworth, etc. It is an interpretation that has sprung out of reverence for John. But, notwithstanding all that Stier has urged in its favour, it is entirely conjectural in its basis, having nothing at all in the evangelist's narrative to suggest or to support it. It does honour to the stability of John's faith and to the disinterestedness of his spirit. But it may be doubted whether it does equal honour to the simplicity of his character. Does it not throw, to some slight degree, a shade upon his ingenuousness and transparency ? Why should he ask a question that suggests a doubt, if he had no doubt ? Why not assure his disciples by his own testimony ? Why not send them, if they remained unconvinced, to put for themselves any questions that might be rising within their spirits ? We think that Dr. John Lightfoot hit upon the right interpreta- tion. John, though one of the greatest and best of men, was not perfect. There seems to have been a trifle of impatience engendered within him by his long imprisonment. In a time of pardonable depression he seems to have brooded, dispiritedly, over the tardy progress of Messianic events. Perhaps he felt somewhat vexed that the miraculous power of Jesus was not exerted at once to put down existing tyrannies and high handed godlessness. Why were the Lord's captives allowed to remain captives still ? Why was the Lord's herald kept immured from month to month in a dreary prison ? Could not the prison doors be burst open? " He had heard," says Lightfoot, "that miracles of all " sorts were done by Him, that the blind received their sight, the dead were "raised, devils were cast out. And why therefore, among all the rest, is not "John set at liberty? This scruple, as it seems, stuck with the good man, " Why do all receive benefit and comfort from Christ, but only I ? " Perhaps too, as Lightfoot adds, he laboured under that dim-sightedness which attached to the disciples of Christ, and to the whole nation, concerning the Messiah's earthly kingdom and victories and triumphs, " from which how distant, alas ! " was this, that His forerunner and chief minister should lie in chains ! " We would thus, with Lightfoot, as also Macknight and others, attribute the message of John to a moral imperfection, rather than to an intellectual doubt on the H 178 ST. MATTHEW XL [4 answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again 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 one hand or to a benevolent manoeuvre on the other. The good man was indirectly petitioning for release, and for another style of Messianic progress. Vek. 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and report to John the things which ye hear and see : Instead of a simple asseveration from His own lips, yea or nay, He refers them to such ocular and auricular demonstration as was available to them in the sphere of His labours. Works were better than words in such a case. They are often indeed the best kind of words ; for just as there is a sense in which words are works and reveal mind and character, so there is a sense in which works are words and bear testimony. Veb. 5. The blind receive their sight : Or, very literally, Blind (persons) look up. So the verb is translated in Matt. xiv. 19 ; Mark vi. 41, vii. 34, viii. 24, 25 ; Acts xxii. 13. Tyndale renders the expression The blynd se. And the lame walk about: This and the former clause make a pair. So do the two following clauses, which are also connected by the conjunction and, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. In our Authorized version, as well as in the Greek text given by Stephens and the Elzevirs, the fifth and sixth clauses are also paired, and paired off. But a large proportion of the best authorities insert the conjunction and before the fifth clause, and the dead are raised. Among these authorities are the uncial manuscripts K B D L P Z A. The con- junction is also given in the Syriac versions, and in the Armenian and Gothic. It is probably genuine ; so that the raising of the dead and the preaching of the gospel to the poor are respectively and emphatically singled out and held forth as culminating and very special evidences of the Messiahship of our Lord. In the miracles specified in the first four clauses there were mirrored forth, in actual fact, such wonders as had been anticipatively referred to in Old Testa- ment predictions (comp. Isa. xxxv. 5, 6) ; but in the raising of the dead, emi- nently prefigurative, as it was, of the crowning peculiarity of our Lord's spiritual mission, there was something running on indeed in the same line of the mar- vellous and marvellously benignant, but at the same time overtopping and transcending the most striking and emphatic of the Old Testament representa- tions. And the poor have the gospel preached to them : The Saviour evidently refers to Isa. lxi. 1, where it is written, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because He hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek. The word here translated meek O^V) properly means oppressed, downtrodden, suffering. Gesenius renders it the suffering in the passage before us (den Leidenden) ; and it is, in our Authorized version, translated poor in Job xxiv. 4, Ps. ix. 18, Prov. xiv. 21, Amos viii. 4. It is the glory of the gospel that it is addressed as really and as fully to the poor as to the rich, to the downtrodden as to the exalted and prosperous. Greek philosophy took little interest in the illiterate and poor. Jewish rabbis took little interest in the illiterate and poor (John vii. 49). In all ages there has been little interest taken in the really poor, other than for the purpose of using them as tools and hands, except by Christ and Christians. In the same passage of Isaiah (lxi. 1) it is farther said, He hath sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. Our Saviour leaves it with John himself to 8] ST. MATTHEW XL 179 preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multi- tudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see ? A reed shaken with the wind ? 8 But what went ye recall these words, and to determice the high acceptation in which they should be understood. Ver. 6. And blessed is be, whosoever shall not be offended in Me : The word translated offended (