S. 2.^/olf «j PRINCETON, N. J. ^£ Presented by Wi2/5\aar.V ^^.V^Von Division .*L*..Si?.&z~r ^»V- • Section ■ ' ^~ ' S5 V ^5 V 6> / The Gospel History: A Complete Connected Account THE LIFE OF OUR LORD, Woven from the Text of the Four Evangelists. WITH NOTES, ORIGINAL AND SELECTED ; AND INDEXES OF TEXTS AND TOPICS. James R. Gilmore, ("Edmund Kirke,") Author of " Tlie Life of Jesus according to His Original Biograf/iers,' "Among the Pi, .-," etc., etc., Lyman Abbott, d.d., Autlior of "Jesus of Nazareth, Hi$ Life and Teachings" and a Series of " Commentaries on the New Testament." NEW YORK: Fords, Howard & Hulbert. 1881. Copyright, A.D. 1880. By James R. Gil more PREFACE. This volume has grown up in the following manner : Many- years since, to acquire a more connected view of the life of Christ than can be gained by a separate reading of the four Evangelists, the writer made for his personal use a mono- tessaron of the four Gospels, arranging them so as to relate the same events only once, but to include all the teachings and all the historical incidents in one narrative. This compi- lation, crude and imperfect, and rudely put together in an ordinary scrap-book, was his only gospel reading for many years, and from it he obtained so vivid an idea of the daily life of Him who not only " spake as never man spake," but who lived as never man lived, that he could almost see Him walking the roads, or sitting by the lake-shore of Galilee ; and until one does this, he cannot know the wonderful beauty of His most wonderful life. That rude compilation was accidentally seen by a clergy- man, whom the writer has the honor to count among his friends, and he recommended that— a few brief notes being added to explain local and historical allusions — it should be given to the public. This was done in 1867, and the book was favorably received, passing rapidly through two editions, and being introduced into many Sunday-schools throughout the country. This satisfied the writer that the work had met a public want ; but it had many imperfections — some important omis- sions, and many errors in the true order of events ; therefore its further publication was suspended till more careful study should have remedied these defects. The present volume is an attempt to do this, and it is now given to the public after the patient labor of many years, at intervals snatched from active and engrossing business pursuits. The plan pursued in compiling the work has been to em- body every teaching and every statement of fact in the four Gospels, adding or subtracting nothing, yet giving each scene or statement but once ; to employ the exact language of the authorized version, even at the expense of elegance of expres- IV PREFACE. sion ; to divide the work into sections, giving in side lines the central thought of each, and at the top of the page the exact chapters and verses that make up the matter of the page ; and to arrange the whole in chronological order. About this last there are, and probably always will be, differ- ences of opinion : the arrangement generally followed in this volume is that adopted by Andrews in his very admirable " Life of our Lord." The selected notes are drawn from the whole field of English literature, and they present something from nearly every emi- nent Christian writer of the past eighteen centuries. The passages chosen are those which look at truth in its moral and spiritual aspects, not in its abstract and doctrinal rela- tions; and the aim has been not only to enlighten the intel- lect, but to quicken the conscience and purify the heart. Says the author of an excellent harmony of the Gospels, "The importance of studying the four Gospels in connection cannot be too highly estimated or too earnestly enforced. No clear and well-defined image of the Saviour's life can be formed in the mind without it." And, it would seem that the best mode of presenting this image is by a connected narrative, which, while its presents every incident, shall avoid the repeti- tion which is involved in four separate narratives. The share which has been taken by the Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott in editing this work he has himself stated in his In- troduction. It may be said in brief that the writer edited the book in manuscript and Dr. Abbott re-edited it in proof- sheets — his additions and suggestions for elision or modi- fication, having uniformly commended themselves, as indeed do his scriptural commentaries generally, by their clear good sense, accurate scholarly knowledge, and genuine spiritual- ity— a very needful element in these days of materialism. It is hoped that with this double strain of editorial influ- ences— the practical Bible study of a business man, and the careful scholarship of a professional scholar and theologian — this little book may help many to realize the beauty and strength of the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. New York. James R. Gilmore. INTRODUCTION. Several years ago there fell by chance into my hands a " Life of Jesus, according to His Original Biographers," by Edmund KirTce (Mr. J. R. Gilmore) — a book now out of print. It was a simple harmony of the four Gospels wov- en into one continuous narrative, and in the words of the Gospels, except that mere verbal differences between the narratives of the Evangelists were disregarded, and in some instances modern forms were substituted for the antiquated English of the King James version. Of all harmonies this seemed to me, and still seems to me, the best for popu- lar use ; I have twice read it through at family prayers, and often turn to it to get a picture of some scene, inci- dent, or occasion in our Lord's life, — as, for example, to read connectedly during Passion week the story of Christ's death, or on Easter the events connected with and im- mediately following his resurrection. It is accompanied with a few notes which give compactly useful information concern- ing the manners and customs of Palestine in the first century, and which are wholly free from all sham and shallow scholar- ship. When therefore Mr. Gilmore asked me to assist him in the preparation of this new book — based on the idea of the former one, but more comprehensive and elaborate in plan — I was already prepossessed in its favor, and careful study of the material, as it has been going through the press, has con- firmed that prepossession. The arrangement of the text and the original preparation and selection of the notes are Mr. Gilmore's work ; my care has been to revise this matter, not changing the text, but modifying the notes according to my own views for Mr. Gilmore's consideration, suggesting VI INTRODUCTION'. here the elimination of some explanation which modern scholarship had shown to be erroneous, and there the supply of criticisms that seemed material. Mr. Gilmore has in all cases adopted my suggestions, and I believe that the com- mentary may be trusted, and will be found useful, both to the reader and to the student of the life of our Lord. The notes are, as the reader will readily see, selected from many sources. They are not, therefore, always consistent with each other. In some instances the contrasted views of different commentators have been given together, leaving the reader to compare and choose between them — an admirable plan to stimulate thought and study. They are sometimes explanatory, sometimes spiritual, occasionally critical. They are selected from a very wide range — not only of commenta- tors and theological writers, but from authors in other fields of literature. In many instances these gleanings from other literature are exceedingly suggestive, while some will be found either merely poetical or merely dogmatic, and will be taken for what they are worth in themselves. Even in in- stances where the student may not agree with them, they will present views of interpretation or application that are at least probable and worth consideration. In some few instances I do not agree with the harmony which Mr. Gilmore has adopted in his arrangement of the text : but all harmonies are hypothetical ; some scholars are even of the opinion that no harmony is possible ; and in a difference of mere conjectures what seems plausible to one may well seem less probable to another. The heart of the Bible is the life of Christ ; for that all the Old Testament is a preparation ; of that all the epistles are an interpretation. That this volume may be found useful in helping many readers to a clearer understanding and a truer appreciation of that life, I devoutly hope, and believe. Lyman Abbott. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Abbott, Tacob. Presbyterian clergyman and author. America. 1803-1879. Abbott, Lyman. Congregational clergyman, editor, and com- mentator. Born in Roxbury, Mass., 1835. Adams, Thomas. Clergyman. England. 1701-17S4. Addison, Jos. Poet and essayist. England. 1672-1719. Akerman, Lucy. Poet. America. Living. Alexander, James Waddell. Presbyterian minister and pro- fessor. America. Born 1804. Alexander, Joseph A. Theological professor. America. 1S09- 1860. Alford, Henry. Dean of Canterbury. Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford. England. 1S10-1873. St. Ambrose. Archbishop of Milan. Famous for his zeal in the cause of Christianity. Was the author of the " Te Deum." 340-397. Andrews, Lancelot. Bishop of Winchester. Devotional writer and translator of the Bible. England. 1565-1626. Andrews, Samuel J. Author. America. Living. Arnold, Thomas. Professor of History, Oxford, England, also Master of Rugby and author. Born at the Isle of Wight. 1 796-1842. Arnot, William. Clergyman. Living. Arthur, W. English writer. Living. Atkinson, Mary E. American poet. Living. St. Augustine Aurelius. Theologian. Bishop of Hippo. " Greatest of the Latin Fathers." Africa. 354-430. Ayre, Joseph W. Clergyman. England. Living. 8 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Bacon, Francis Verulam. Lord High Chancellor, courtier, politician, and writer. England. 1561-1626. Babington, Gervase. Bishop of Worcester. England. Died 1610. Baillie, Joanna. One of the most distinguished writers of Great Britain. Scotland. 1764-1851. Barnes, Albert. Presbyterian divine and commentator. America. 1798-1870. St. Basil. Surnamed " The Great." A celebrated father of the Greek Church. Originator of the three monastic vows. 329-379. Bates, William. Puritan divine. England. 1625-1699. Baxter, Richard. A Nonconformist divine. England. 1615- 1691. Bede or Beda. Called the " Venerable." A monk. An ec- clesiastical writer. England. 672-735. Beecher, Henry Ward. Congregational minister. America. Born 1813. Bengal, Johann Albrecht. Theologian and commentator. Germany. 1687-1752. St. Bernard. Called the " Mellifluous Doctor," and his writ- ings " The River of Paradise." Known as one of the " Fathers of the Church." Burgundy. 1091-1153. Beza, Theodore. Theological professor. Calvin's successor. Burgundy. 1519-1605. Blair, James. Founder and first president of William and Mary College, Virginia. Missionary. Scotland. Died 1743. Bloomfield, S. T. Biblical critic. England. Born 1790. Bonaparte, Napoleon. Emperor of France. Corsica. 1769- 1821. Bonar, Horatius. A religious poet. England. Born 1808. St. BonaventurA. John Fidauza. Called "The Seraphic Doctor," because of his partiality for speaking and writing on mystical bubjects. Cardinal to Gregory X. 1221-1274. Bradford, John. Divine. Burned at Smithfield 1555. Eng- land. Braunius, John. Professor of Theology. Germany. 162S- 1709. Bridge, William. An eminent Puritan divine. England. 1600-1690. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 9 Brown, John. A self-educated Scotch divine. Compiler of the Bible Dictionary. Scotland. 1722-17S7. Brown, Thomas. Distinguished metaphysician. Scotland. 1778-1820. BROWNE, SIR THOMAS. Medical author and physician. Eng- land. 1605-1682. Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. Poet. England. 1S09- 1861. Bryant, William Culi.en. Poet and journalist. America. 1794-1S7S. Buck, Charles. Author of Theological Dictionary. England. 1771-1815. Bunyan, John. Author of " Pilgrim's Progress." England. 1628-16S8. Burckhardt, John Lewis. Explorer and traveller in Syria, and author of " Travels and Life Among the Bedouins." 1784-1815. Burder, SAMUEL. Clergyman of the Church of England. Au- thor of " Oriental Customs in Illustration of Scripture." Bl-rgon, John William. Poet. England. Born 1820. Burke, Edmund. Statesman and orator. Ireland. 1730-1797. Burkitt, William. Theologian. England. 1650-1703. Bushnell, Horace. Theological writer. America. 1S02- 1878. Butler, Joseph. Bishop of Durham. An eminent theological writer, England. 1692-1752. Buxtorf, Johann. A learned Hebraist. Professor at Basel. Germany. 1564-1629. Calmet, Augustine. An useful and laborious monk of the Benedictine order, an erudite divine and critic, and volu- minous author. Lorraine. 1672-1757. Calvin, John. Theologian and commentator. France. 1509- 1574- CAMPBELL, George. Divine and commentator. Scotland. 1719-1796. CARYL, JOSEPH. Independent divine. England. 1602-1673. Carlyle, Thomas. Historian and essayist. Scotland. 1795. Cato, Marcus. Illustrious orator. Rome. Committed suicide B.C. 45. 10 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Cecil,. Richard. Clergyman. England. 1748-1S10. Chalmers, Thomas. Theologian and preacher. Scotland. 1780-1847. Chandler, Edward. Bishop of Litchfield, England. Died 1750. Channing, William Ellery. An eminent Unitarian minister and author. America. 1780-1842. Chardin, Sir John. Celebrated traveler. France. 1643-1713. Chemnitz, Martin. Theologian. Germany. 1522-1586. Chrysostom, St. John. Bishop of Constantinople and one of the most illustrious Fathers of the Church. Called the " Golden Mouthed." Asia. 354-407. Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Orator and philosopher. His elo- quence in the Roman forum and elegance of writing placed him among the renowned men of antiquity. Apinum. 105 B.C. 42. Clarke, Adam. A distinguished Methodist preacher. Ireland. 1763-1832. Clarke, James Freeman. Unitarian minister and writer. America. Born 1810. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poet and philosopher. Eng- land. 1772-1834. Colet, John. Dean of St. Paul's. England. 1466-1519. Collier, Jeremy. Famous English theologian. 1630-1726. Collyer, Robert. Unitarian minister. England. Living. 1S23. Confucius. Moral philosopher. China. B.C. 551-47S. Cooke, Joseph. Theological essayist and preacher. Living. Cowper, William. Poet. England. 1731-1800. Crashaw, Richard. Catholic priest and poet. England. Died 1650. Croly, George. Clergyman and author. Born in Dublin, Ireland. Settled in England. 1780-1860. Crosby, Howard. Chancellor of New York University. America. Born 1826. Cudworth, Ralph. Theologian. England. 1617-16S8. Cumming, John. Distinguished popular preacher. Native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Settled in London, England. Born 1S10. St. Cyprian. Christian Father. Third century. Africa. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. n Damascene, John. Theologian. Greek Church. Damascus. 700-756. Deems, Charles F. Methodist minister, editor, and educator. America. Born 1820. De Foe, Daniel. Author of " Robinson Crusoe." England. 1661-1731. De Pressensi?, E. Religious writer. France. Living. De Quincey, Thomas. Eminent essayist. England. 17S5— 1S59. De Sales, Francis. Jesuit theologian. Savoy. 1567-1622. De Tocqueyille, Alexis. Statesman. France. 1S05-1S59. De Wette, William Martin Lebraicht. Theologian and commentator. Germany. 1780-1849. Doddridge, Philip. Presbyterian divine and commentator. England. 1702-1751. Donne, John. Clergyman and poet. England. ISIZ'1^1- D WIGHT, Timothy, D.D. President of Yale College. Theo- logian and man of letters. 1753-1817. Ebrard, JohAnn H. A. Theologian. Germany. Born 1818. Eggleston, Edward. Methodist minister and novelist. America. Living. Ellicott, C. J. Clergyman. England. Living. Eliot, George. Literary name of Mrs. Marian Evans Lewes. . England. Born 1S20. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Philosopher and poet. America. Born 1803. Erasmus, Desiderius. Eminent reformer. Holland. 1467- 1536. St. EuTHYMIUS. An Armenian priest. Converted the Em- press Eudocia. 377-473. Evelyn, John. Gentleman and scholar. England. 1620- 1706. Eusebiis, Pamphylus. Bishop of Cesarea. About 270-340. Faber, George Stanley. Clergyman and poet. England. 1773-1S54. Faraday, Michael. Chemist. England. 1794-1S72. Farindon, Antony. Famous preacher. England. 1596-1658. 12 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Farrar, Francis W. Son of a clergyman. Born in Bombay 1831. Master of Marlborough College in 1871. Also is chaplain to the Queen of England. Fenelon. Archbishop of Cambray. France. 1651-1715. Fichte, John Theophilus. Celebrated German philosopher of the modern school. 1762-1814. Flavel, John. Clergyman. England. 1627-1691. Ford, James. Clergyman. England. Living. Foster, John. Eminent essayist. England. 1770-1843. Fuller, Andrew. Baptist divine. 1754-1815. Furness, William Henry. America. Unitarian clergyman and writer. Born 1802. Garrett, Edward. English author. Living. Geikie, Cunningham. Clergyman. England. Living. Gilpin, William. Clergyman and author. England. 1724- 1804. Gill, John. Commentator. England. 1697-1771. Godet, P. Biblical commentator. Living. Goethe, John Wolfgang von. An eminent author and a ro- mantic poet and philosopher. Frankfort-on-the-Main. 1749-1832. Graves, Richard. Dean of Ardagh in 1813. Professor of divinity. 1763-1829. Greeley, Horace. Editor. American. 1811-1873. Gregory, Olinthus. Professor of mathematics. England. 1774-1S41. Gresswell, William Parr. Clergyman and author. Eng- land. 1766-1854. Gresley, William. Popular writer. 1S00. England. Grosse, Alexander. Groser, W. H. Religious author. America. Living. Grotius, or De Groot, Hugo. Theologian and jurist. Hol- land. 1583-1645. Gurnall, William. Clergyman. England. 1617-1679. Gurney, Joseph John. Banker, philanthropist, and Quaker preacher. England. 1788-1847. Guthrie, Thomas. Theologian. Scotland. 1803. Guyon, Jeanne B. de la Motte. A noble French lady, fa- mous for her writings, and friend to Fenelon. 1648-1717. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 13 IIacket, John. Bishop of Coventry. England. 1592-1670. Hackett, H. B. Professor of Biblical literature. America. Born 1S0S.. Hale, Sir Matthew. Jurist. England. 1609-1676. Hales, John. Famous scholar and divine. England. 15S4- 1656. Hall, Joseph. Bishop of Norwich, and poet. England. 1574-1656. Hall, Robert. Baptist minister. England. 1764-1S31. Hamerton, Philip Gilbert. Artist and author. England. Born 1S34. Hamilton, James. Clergyman. England. Born 1814. Hanna, William, LL.D. Born in Belfast, Ireland, 180S. Hare, Augustus W. Clergyman. England. 1 794-1 834. Harris, T. M. Unitarian clergyman and author. America. 1769-1842. Hawkins, Ernest. Religious writer. England. Living. Hay, William. Miscellaneous writer. England. 1695-1755. Heinsius, Daniel. An eminent scholar, who at the age of eighteen was appointed Professor of Greek. Ghent. 15S0-1655. Helps, Sir Arthur. Essayist. England. Born 1S18. Henry, Matthew. Biblical commentator. Wales. 1662- 1714. Herrick, Robert. Lyric poet. England. 1591-1662. Hewlett, John. Chaplain to George IV. Hill, Robert. Clergyman. England. Pub. from 1592- 1617. Hill, Rowland. Celebrated preacher. England. 1744-1S33. Hitchcock, Edward. Geological and religious writer. 1793- 1864. Hooker, Richard. Called the "Judicious." Church histo- torian: England. 1553-1600. Hopkins, John Henry. Bishop of Vermont. America. 1792-186S. Hopkins, Mark. Eminent divine and philosopher. Late President of Williams College. Born 1S02. Horne, R. H. Poetical and critical writer. England. Born 1S03. Horsley, Samuel. Bishop of Asaph. England. 1783-1866. 14 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Ingelow, Jean. Poet and writer. England. Living. 1S30. Iren^us. Bishop of Lyons. France. Christian writer of thj second century. Greek by birth. A disciple of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Isadore of Pelusium. Hermit. Egypt. 360-450. Jackson, Helen Hunt (" H. H."). Poet. America. Living. Jacobus, Melancthon W. Professor of Oriental and Biblical Literature. America. Born 1816. Jahn, John. Professor of Theology, Moravia. 1750-1816. Jamieson. Biblical commentator. England. Lving. Jebb, John. Bishop of Limerick. Ireland. A learned and scholarly prelate. 1775-1833. Jablonski, Paul Ernest. Professor of Theology. Germany. I693-I757- Jenks, William. Editor of " Comprehensive Commentary." America. Jennings, David, D.D. Author of "Jewish Antiquities." 1691-1762. St. Jerome. Learned Latin Father. Dalmatia. 340-420. Jerrold, Douglas. Wit and writer. England. 1803-1857. Jewell, J. S. Medical professor. America. Johnson, Samuel. Lexicographer, poet, essayist. England. 1 704-1 784. Jones, William. Called "Jones of Wayland." Clergyman. England. 1626-1800. Jonson, Ben. Dramatist. England. 1573-1637 Josephus, Flavius. Historian. 37-95. Keble, John. Divine and poet, writer of sacred hymns. 1792- 1866. A Kempis, Thomas (or Hamerken). Theologian. Germany. 1480-1571. Kendrick, Asahel C. Professor of Greek, University of Rochester, New York. Living. King, Thomas Starr. Unitarian minister. America. 1824- 1864. Kirke, Edmund. Merchant and author. America. Living. Kitto, John. Biblical writer. England. 1804-1854. LIST OK AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 15 Knox, Alexander. Secretary of Castlereagh. Scotland. Died 1831. Kuinoel, D. C. J. Professor of Divinity at Leipsic. Germany. Born 1768. Lake, JOHN. Bishop of Chichester. England. 1624-1690. Landor, Walter Savage. Poet. England. 1775-1864. Lange, John Peter. Theologian and commentator. Ger- many. Living. Law, William. Religious writer. England. 16S6-1761. Leigh, Edward. Lawyer. 1686-1761. Leighton, Robert. Archbishop of Glasgow. Scotland. 1612- 1684. Lightfoot, John. An eminent divine and Hebraist. Eng- land. 1602-1675. Longfellow, Henry W. Poet. America. Born 1807. Longfellow, Samuel. Brother of the poet. America. Liv'ng. Lonsdale, John D. Bishop of Litchfield. Commentator. England. Lowman, Moses. Commentator. England. 1680-1752. Luther, Martin. Reformer. Germany. 14S3-1546. Macaulay, Thomas B. (Baron). Historian and essayist. Eng- land. 1S00-1859. McClintock, John. Methodist theologian. America. 1814- 1870. MACDONALD, GEORGE. Novelist and poet. Scotland. Living. Macleod, Norman. Dissenting clergyman. Published 1855. Mackenzie, Henry. Novelist. Scotland. 1735-1831. MacKnight, James. Presbyterian clergyman and commenta- tor. Scotland. 1721-1800. Macgregor, John D. Author of " Rob Roy on the Jordan." Mann, Isaac. Bishop of Cork and Ross. Ireland. Died 1789. Mant, Richard. Bishop of Down O'Connor. Joint author with D'Oyley of the Bible published in 1814. 1776-1S48. Markland, Jeremiah. A learned critic and classical writer. England. 1693-1776. 16 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Martyn, Henry. Distinguished missionary. England. 1781- 1812. Massillon, Jean Baptiste. Celebrated pulpit orator. France. 1663-1742. Maundrell, Henry. Traveller and author of "A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem." 1650-1710. Maurice, Frederick Denison. Clergyman and essayist. England. 1S05-1872. Medley, John. Bishop of Frederickton. England. Pub- lished 1845. Mede, Joseph. Learned divine. England. 15S6-1638. Melancthon, Philip. Reformer. Germany. 1497-1560. Meyer. Gottlieb William. Professor of Theology. 1768- 1816. • Middleton, Thomas F. Bishop of Calcutta. England. 1769- 1822. Milton, John. Poet. England. 1608-1674. Mimpriss, Robert. Biblical commentator. England. Living. Neander, Johann A. W. Church historian and theologain. German)'. 17S9-1S50. Nelson, Robert. Devotional writer. England. 1656-1715. Newman, John Henry. Distinguished convert to Roman Catholicism. Cardinal, theologian, and writer. England. Born 1801. Newton, Isaac. Eminent philosopher. England. 1642-1727. Newton, John. Clergyman and writer. England. 1725- 1807. Norton, Andrews. An American scholar and professor in Harvard University. 1786-1853. Novarini, Luigi. An ecclesiastic of Verona ; wrote commen- taries on the Four Gospels. 1594-1650. Olshausen, Herman. Commentator. Germany. 1796-1S39. Origen. One of the Fathers of the Church. Theologian and commentator. 185-253. Overberg, B. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 17 Paley, William. Theologian and philosopher. England. 1743-1805. Pascal, Blaise. Jansenist divine. France. 1622-16G2. Patrick, Symon. Bishop of Ely. England. 1626-1707. Paulinus Pontus Meropius. Saint. Convert to Christianity. Bishop of Nola, Italy. Bordeaux, France. 3&7-43I- Paxton, George. Clergyman and writer. Scotland. 1762- 1837. Peloubet, F. W. Clergyman and commentator. America. Living. Pierce, William. Bishop of Peterborough, England. 1679. Pope, Alexander. Poet. England. 1688-1744. Poole, Matthew. Nonconformist minister. England. 1624-1679. Porter, T. L. Clergyman and traveller. Authorof" Murray s Hand-book for Palestine." England. Living. Porteus, Beilly. Bishop of London. England. 1731-1809. Prime, W. C. Author and traveller. America. Born 1835. Quarles, Francis. Sacred poet. England. 1592-1644. Quesnel, Pasquier. Jansenist theologian. France. 1634- 1719. Raleigh, Sir Walter. Historian, statesman, soldier, cour- tier, and poet. England. 1552-1618. Renan, Ernest. Member of the Institute. France. Living. Riddle, Matthew B. Professor of Theology and commenta- tor. America. Living. Ridley, Nicholas. Bishop, reformer, and martyr. Burned 1555- Ripley, Henry J. Professor of Theology and commentator. America. Born 1798. Roberts, David. Traveller. England. 179°- Robertson, F. W. Clergyman. England. 1S16-1S53. Robinson, C. S. Presbyterian clergyman. America. Living. Robinson, Edward. Biblical scholar. America. 1794-1863. Rosenmueller, John George. Celebrated theologian. Ger- many. 1 736-1 Si 5. Rosenmueller, Ernest F. C. Oriental scholar. 176S. 1 8 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Rupertus, called also Ruprecht. One of the early apostles of Christianity in Germany. Lived in the seventh century. Rush, Benjamin. Medical writer. America. 1745-1813. Rutherford, Samuel. Presbyterian theologian. Scotland. 1600-1661. Ryland, John. Baptist clergyman. England. 1753-1825. Ryle, John Charles. Clergyman and commentator. Eng- land. Born 1816. Sa, Emmanuel. Jesuit theologian. Portugal. 1 530-1596. Sanderson, Richard. Bishop of Lincoln. England. 15S7- 1662. Sandys, Ed-win. Archbishop of York. England. 1519-1588. Schaff, Philip. Biblical scholar and commentator. Switzer- land. Living in New York. Schiller, Johann Christoph F. Poet. German}-. 1759- 1805. Scott, Thomas. Biblical commentator. England. 1747- 1821. Scougal, Henry. Theologian. Scotland. 1650-1678. Scott, Sir Walter. Poet and novelist. Scotland. 1771— 1832. Secker, Thomas. An eminent and pious prelate. England. 1693-1768. Seed, Jeremiah. Clergyman. England, Died 1747. Seeleye, John Robert. Author of " Ecce Homo." Professor of History, Cambridge. England. Living. Selden, John. Statesman. England. 1584-1654. Seneca, Lucius Ann.eus. Stoic philosopher. Spain. b.c. 5 ; a.d. 65. Shakspeare, William. Dramatist. England. 1 564-1616. Shaw, Samuel. Clergyman. England. 1635-1691. Sherlock, Thomas. Bishop of London. England. 1C78- 1761. Shenstone, William. Poet. England. 1714-1763. Sigourney, Lydia M. H. Poet. America. 1 791-1865. Silesius, Angelus. Poet and philosopher. German)'. 1624- 1677. Sleight, Mary B. Poet. America. Living. Smiles, Samuel. Physician and author. England. Living. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 19 Smith, SIDNEY. Clergyman and wit. England. 176S-1S45. Smith, William. Editor of Bible Dictionary. England Born 1814. South, Robert. Eminent preacher. England. 1633-1713. Southey, Robert. Poet. England. 1774-1S43. Spener, Philip T. Lutheran divine. Germany. 1635-1705. Spurgeon, Charles H. Baptist clergyman. England. Born 1834. Stanhope, George. Dean of Canterbury. England. 1660- 1728. Stanley, Arthur P. Dean of Westminster. England. Born 1815. Sterne, Laurence. Author of " Tristram Shandy." England. 1713-176S. St. Gregory Nazienzen. Greek Father, surnamed the "The- ologian." Cappadocia. 328-389. Stier, Rudolph. Biblical commentator. Germany. Stockton, Thomas II. Methodist clergyman. America. 1S0S-1S6S. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Novelist, poet and devotional writer. America. Born 1812. Stuart, Moses. Biblical scholar. America. 1780-1852. Suetonius. Latin historian. Rome. About a.d. 100-150. Suidas. Greek lexicographer. Birth and death unknown. Svetchine, Sophie Seymonof. Devotional writer. Russia. 1782-1857. Swing, David. Clergyman. America. Living. Sutnton, William. Miscellaneous writer. Scotland. Born 1834. Tacitus, Caius Cornelius. Historian. Rome. About a.d. 56-I35- Tait, Archibald Campbell. Archbishop of Canterbury. Scotland. Born 1S11. Taylor, Jeremy. Bishop. Dromare, England. 1613-1667. Tennyson, Alfred. Poet. England. Born 1810. Tersteegen, Gerhard. Poet and weaver. Germany. Born 1697. Tertuli.ian, Septimus. Christian Father and writer. Africa. 160-245. 20 LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. Theodoret. Bishop of Cyrus. Syria. About 393-457. Theophylact. Greek ecclesiastic. Bulgaria. 1070-1112. Tholuck, Friedrich A. G. Theologian and commentator. Germany. Born 1799. Thomson, James. Eminent descriptive poet. England. 1700- 1748. Thomson, W. M. Missionary to Syria. America. Living. Thornton, John. Religious writer. England. 1811-1850. Tillotson, John. Archbishop of Canterbury. England. 1630-1694. Tittman, Charles C. Professor of Theology. 1744-1820. Toplady, Augustus Montague. Clergyman and poet. Eng- land. 1737-1778. Townson, Thomas. Clergyman. England. 1715-1792. Trench, Richard C. Archbishop of Dublin. Ireland. Born in England 1807. Turner, Sharon. Historian. England. 176S-1847. Usher, James. Archbishop. Dublin. 15S0-1656. Van Oosterzee, J. J. Commentator. Holland. Living. Van Lennep, Henry. Clergyman and traveller. America. Living. Vinet, Alexander. Divine and philosopher. Switzerland. 1797-1847. Voltaire, Marie Francis. Eminent writer. France. 1694- 1778. Walton, Izaak. Biographer and essayist. England. 1593- 1683. Warburton, William. Bishop of Gloucester. England. 1698- 1779- Warwick, Arthur. Clergyman. England. Pub. 1634. Watson, Richard. Bishop Llandaff. England. 1737-1816. Watson, Richard. Wesleyan clergyman. England. 1781- 1823. Wayland, Francis. President of Brown University. Amer- ica. 1796-1845. LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED IN THIS WORK. g] Webster. John. Wesley, John. Founder of Methodism. England. 1 791. Wetviein John James. Biblical critic and philosopher. Ger- many. 1693-1754. WHEDON, Daniel D. Methodist theologian. America. Born 1S0S. WHICHCOT, Benjamin. Clergyman. England. 1609-1 - Whitby, Daniel. Theologian. England. 1 38 -17a Whither, John G. Poet. America. Born 1 - WlLBERFORCE, Sami/el. Bishop of Winchester. England. Born 1S05. Williams, Isaac. Theologian. England. Living. Williams, William R. Baptist clergyman. America. Bora 1 804. Wi throw. Clergyman. Wolfe, Charles. Clergyman and poet. Ireland. 1791-1S2;. WOODWORTH, SAMUEL. Poet. America. 17S5-1S42. W001.MAN, JOHN. Quaker preacher. England. 1790-1773 WooLSEY, Theodore D. Late president of Yale College. America. Born 1S01. Wordsworth, William. Poet. England. 1770-1850. YOUNG, John. Author of the " Christ of History." England. Li viiiir. Zoroaster. Ancient philosopher. Persian. Supposed con- temporary of Abraham. Zwinc.le, UlriCH. Theologian and reformer. Switzerland 1484-1536. THE ETERNAL WORD, 23 John 1 : 1-5, 9-13. THE ETERNAL WORD. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him ; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life ; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. In the beginning. — "Before the world was" (John 17:5). " Fix any assignable point as the beginning, and the Word was, and still ivas. That is, the Word is absolutely eternal." — Whedon. Was the Word. — In the Chaldee Paraphrase, the oldest Jew- ish writing now known, this term is used to denote the Thought or Wisdom of God (Prov. 8 : 22-36), and is applied to Him who gave the law on Mount Sinai, and who by all the inspired writers is styled Jehovah. Thus, He who gave the law came to fulfil the law (Matt. 5 : 17). "As we express our thoughts by our words, God reveals his will by his word — the Lord Jesus Christ. ' ' — EggL'stcm. The light of men. — Christ was predicted by the prophets and described by himself as the light to "illuminate all nations," and " the light of the world " (Jer. 9 : 2; 51 : 4; 42 : 6, 7; Matt. 4 : 16; John 8 : 12; 9 : 5; 12 : 46). In darkness, should be rendered " in the darkness." The true light, which, etc. — This clause should read, " The true light, which lighteth every man, came into the world." 24 THE ETERNAL WORD. John I : 14, 16, 18. The Word made Flesh. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. And of his fullness have all we re- ceived, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- clared him. The Word became flesh. — God, the uncreated, the incompre- hensible, the invisible, attracted few worshippers ; a philosopher might adore so noble a conception, but the crowd turned away in disgust from words which presented no image to their minds. It was before Deity, embodied in a human form, working among men, partaking of their infirmities, leaning on their bosoms, weeping over their graves, bleeding on the cross, that the preju- dices of the synagogue, and the doubts of the academy, and the pride of the portico, and the fasces of the lictors, and the swords of thirty legions, were humbled in the dust. — Macanlay. GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST. 2$ Luke 3 : 23-28. GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST. ACCORDING TO LUKE. Jesus being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nagge, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Juda, the son of Joanna, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zorobabel, the son of Sala- thiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Juda, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Booz, the son of Salmon, the son of Naasson, the son of Aminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Esrom, the son of Phares, the son of Juda, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Thara, the son of Nachor, the son of Saruch, the son of Ragau, the son of Phalec, the son of Heber, the son of Sala, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Sem, the son of Noe, the son of Lamech, the son of Mathusala, Which was. — There is nothing answering to these words in the original. For the sake of brevity they are omitted. Son of God. — " If men were not the offspring of God, the in- carnation would have been impossible." — Godet. 26 GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST. Matt, i : 1-16. the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Maleleel, the son *of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, which was the son of God. ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren ; and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar ; and Phares begat Esrom, and Esrom begat Aram ; and Aram begat Aminadab ; and Aminadab begat Naasson ; and Xaasson begat Salmon ; and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab ; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth ; and Obed begat Jesse ; and Jesse begat David the king ; and David the king begat Solo- mon of her that had been the wife of Urias ; and Solo- mon begat Roboam ; and Roboam begat Abia ; and Abia begat Asa ; and Asa begat Josaphat ; and Josaphat begat Joram ; and Joram begat Ozias ; and Ozias begat "Joatham ; and Joatham begat Achaz ; and Achaz begat Ezekias ; and Ezekias begat Manasses ; and Manasses begat Amon ; and Amon begat Josias ; and Josias The book of the generation. — The view that of the two genealogies, one (Matthew's) is that through the father, and the other (Luke's) is that through the mother, is entertained by- some scholars ; the view that Luke traces the genealogy through David's son Nathan, while Matthew traces it through Solomon (one giving the natural, the other the regal descent, the two com- ing together in Salathiel), is entertained by others. That Jesus was a descendant of David does not rest wholly upon these genealogies. Psalm 132 : 11, Luke 1 : 32, and Rom. 1 : 3 show very clearly that Man- also was of the family of David. Those interested in the question will find it fully stated in Gresweli's Dissertations, vol. ii.-xvi., pp. 82-107 ; Smith's Bible Dictionary, art. " Genealogy of Jesus Christ ;" and Andrews' " Life of Our Lord," pp. 55-60. THROUGH HIS Kf-PUTED FATHER. ZJ Matt. I : 17. begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel ; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel ; and Zorobabel begat Abiud ; and Abiud begat Eliakim ; and Eliakim begat Azor ; and Azor begat Sadoc ; and Sadoc begat Achim ; and Achim begat Eliud ; and Eliud begat Eleazar ; and Eleazar begat Matthan ; and than begat Jacob ; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations ; and from David until the carry- ing away into Babylon are four .erations ; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Of whom was born. — "The form 'begat' here changes in accordance with the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus." — 28 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. John i : 6-8, 15 ; Luke 1 : 5-8. 2 B.C. CHAPTER I. THE ANNUNCIATIONS. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. John bare witness of him ; and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me ; for he was before me. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordi- nances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren ; and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, For a witness. — Read " for witness," or " for testimony." Zacharias, — This venerable priest had spent his whole life in the quiet offices of religion. Both he and his wife were ' saints ' after the Old Testament pattern, and blameless in observing all the precepts and ceremonials of the Mosaic law. The promise to Abraham (Gen. 22 : 18) was about to be fulfilled, and the first revelation of it was made to a man of Abrahamic character. In the order of his course. — The priesthood was divided by David into twenty-four courses. The several courses began on the Sabbath, and each served for one week. The course of Abijah was the eighth in order, and its service began in the fourth month of the Jewish year answering to our July. " The heads of these courses were the chief priests so often mentioned in the Bible." — Abbott, AN ANGEL APPEARS TO ZACHARIAS. 29 Chap. I. Luke 1 : 9-11. 2 B.C. according to the custom of the priest's office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the Temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there ap- peared unto him an angel of the Lord An Angel appears standing on the right side of the altar of t0 Zachanas- His lot was to burn incense. — The various duties of the priests were divided among them by lot. By the first lot was designated who should cleanse the outside of the altar ; by the second, who should sacrifice the lamb, sprinkle the blood, and burn and scatter the incense ; and by the third, who should ascend the high altar, and lay upon it the members of the victim. Only the high-priest, who belonged to no particular order, was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies ; and Zacharias, therefore, must have been in the Holy Place, or the sanctuary, in which incense was burned, and the people in the court without, prob- ably in " the court of the women." Incense. — That which is ordinarily so called is a fragrant gum, issuing from the frankincense tree. The incense used in the Jewish offerings, at least that which was burnt on the altar of incense, and before the ark, was a mixture of sweet spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, beaten very small. None but priests were to burn it ; nor was any, under pain of death, to make any like it. This incense was burnt twice a day on the golden altar (Ex. 30 : 7, 8, 34-S). Among the various offices distributed by lot, the most honorable was this of burning incense ; so much so, that no priest was allowed to burn it more than once. There is something very beautiful in that idea of the Jewish service which supposes the prayers of the devout to be wafted to heaven in fragrant wreaths of incense. David makes use of it in Ps. 141 : 2 : " Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacri- fice." The Temple.— That is, the Holy Place. Beyond this none but the high-priest could go. Were praying without. — In the outer court. These prayers were perfectly silent ; and it is probably to the deep silence which prevailed throughout the Temple during the time of offer- ing incense and of prayers that there is an allusion in Rev. 8 : 1-3 : " There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." An angel. — There had been no appearance of an angel for about four hundred years. 30 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Luke i : 12-16, 2 B.C. incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him : Fear not, Zacharias : for thy prayer is heard ; And thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, And thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness ; And many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, And shall drink neither wine nor strong drink ; And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, Altar. — The altar of incense was a small table of Shittim- wood, overlaid with gold, about 22 inches in breadth and length, and 44 in height. Its top _was surrounded with a cornice of gold ; it had spires or horns at the four corners ; and was port- able by staves of Shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. It stood in the sanctuary, just before the inner vail ; and on it was burned the sacred incense and nothing else. The altar of incense and the altar of burnt-offering were solemnly consecrated with sprink- ling of blood and unction of oil, and their horns yearly tipped with the blood of the general expiation. The altar of burnt- offering stood in the open court, at a small distance from the east end of the Tabernacle, or Temple ; on it were offered the morning and evening sacrifices, and a multitude of other obla- tions. To it criminals fled for protection. John. — This name signifies in Hebrew the " grace or mercy of God," or " God graciously gave," and is used to express joy or rejoicing. Strong drink. — Greek, Sikera. The East Indians have a drink they call sikkir, which from the similarity of name is supposed to be that here referred to. It is made by steeping fresh dates in water till it is sweetened, and is highly intoxicating. All fer- mented liquors were prohibited to the Nazarites, and to priests during the week they officiated in the Temple. The spirit and power of Elijah. — " These are the last words of the Old Testament, there uttered by a prophet, here expound- ed by an angel ; there concluding the law, and here beginning the Gospel." — Light foot. The Jews expected a literal fulfilment of the prophecy in Malachi 4.5. . . . John had the character- istics of Elijah-. AN ANGEL APPEARS TO ZACHARIAS. 3 1 Chap. I. Luke i : 17-21. 2 B.C. And the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; To make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this ? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God ; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.— An ex- pressive phrase, representing the hearts of the patriarchs, alienated from their children, the Jews, by their disobedience, as about to be turned again to them by the influence of John. It is an evident allusion to the prophecy in Mai. 4 : 5, 6. I am Gabriel.— This name denotes in Hebrew, " The might of the strong God." He was the angel who, five hundred years before, appeared to Daniel, with tidings of the coming Messiah. He announced the time of Christ's birth, his death, and the over- throw and final restoration of the Jewish nation (Dan., ch. 7-12). He was a favorite minister of the Almighty ; for, to stand in the picscnce of God denotes that he was peculiarly honored. It is an image borrowed from the customs of oriental courts, where he is said to stand before the king, who has always access to the royal presence. So to stand before God signifies that he was favored by God, permitted to come near him, and to see much of his glory (1 Kings 17 : 1). . Because thou didst not believe.— In commenting on this passage, Francis Ouarles (1620) says quaintly : " In the hearing of mysteries keep"thy tongue quiet. Five words cost Zacharias forty' weeks' silence. In such heights convert thy questions into wonders ; and let this suffice thee— the reason of the deed is the power of the doer." Waited for his coming out, to be blessed by him, as was the custom (Num. 6 : 2S-26). _ They marvelled that he remained so long ; for the priest did not ordinarily continue in the temple more than half an hour- long enough to burn the incense. 32 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Luke I : 21-26. 2 B.C. came out, he could not speak unto them : and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple ; for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministra- tion were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. The Angel And in the sixth month the angel Ga- appears to Mary. J^gl wag gent f rQm Q0£ unto a city Qf Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a His own home in the hill country of Judea. Many cities have contended for the honor of giving birth to John. Some suppose his native place to have been Hebron ; others, among whom are Dr. Robinson, identify it with Jutta, one of the priestly cities, about five miles south of Hebron. An ancient tradition designates a small village, called now Ain Karim, four miles west of Jerusalem (Porter's Hand-Book, vol. i., p. 233). The site of the house of Zacharias is here pointed out, and a grotto, beside a fountain, is shown where John was accustomed to rest and meditate . See " Early Travels," pp. 2S7 and 461. Hid herself. — Continuing probably at home, but withdrawing herself from visitors. My reproach among men. — The Jewish women regarded it as a peculiar happiness to be the lawful mother of children (Isa. 4: 1; 44 : 2, 4; Lev. 26 : 9). A city of Galilee. — " As Joseph and Mary were both of the family of David, the patrimonial estate of which lay in Bethle- hem, it seems as if the family residence should have been in that city, and not in Nazareth ; for we find that even after the return from the captivity, the several families went to reside in those cities to which they originally belonged" (Neh. II : 3). — Adam Clarke'. The residence in Galilee seems an indication of the fallen state of David's royal house. Its members were now among the humblest of the people — too humble to arouse the jealousy of the Idumean usurper. Herod seems to have taken no precau- tionary measures against any of the descendants of David. They appear to have sunk wholly out of public sight. The expectation that the Messiah should, about that time, spring from the house of David was strong and general and yet Joseph, the carpenter THE ANGEL APPEARS TO MARY. 33 Chap. I. Luke 1 : 27-32. man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. of Nazareth, and Mary his wife, who were known to be of the royal line, lived unhonored and unnoticed. Nazareth. — See note on page 57. Came in. — This was not a dream, but a real appearance to Mary, while in possession of her waking senses. She was greatly troubled. — More correctly, agitated. " Of all miracles, there was none more sacred, congruous, and grate- ful to a Hebrew than an angelic visitation. A devout Jew, in looking back, saw angels flying thick between the heavenly throne and the throne of his fathers. The greatest events of national history had been made illustrious by their presence. Their work began with the primitive pair. They had come at evening to Abraham's tent. They had waited upon Jacob's footsteps. They had communed with Moses, with the judges, with priests and magistrates, with prophets and holy men. All the way down from the beginning of history the pious Jew saw the shining footsteps of these heavenly messengers. Nor had the faith died out in the long interval through which their visits had been withheld. Mary could not, therefore, be surprised at the coming of angels, but only that they should come to her." — Beecher, He shall be great. — As the son of the Most High, and as the King foretold byDaniel (2 : 24) : " And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. " (7 : 27) : " And the kingdom and domin- ion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.' 32 34 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Luke I : 33-35. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David : and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man ? Shall be called — " The phrase, to be called, seems to signify in Scripture, not only that the thing shall really be what it is called, but also that it shall be taken notice of in that view. Compare Isa. 1 : 26; 9:6; 35 : 8; 47 : 1, 5; 56 : 7; 61 : 36; Matt. 5 : 9, 19, 21 : 13; Mark 11 : 17; 1 John 3 : 1." The throne of his father David. — For a right understanding of the human life of Christ, it must be borne in mind that he was a descendant of David, and as such entitled, by what is called " divine right," to David's throne. No Messiah would be accepted by the Jews but one of the seed of David, and born in Bethlehem, where David was (John 7:42). " Christ's lan- guage to Pilate, in John 18 : 37, interprets the language of the angel here, and indicates the nature both of his kingdom and of the allegiance that is due to him — the allegiance of the heart and life in absolute trust." — Abbott. Of his kingdom there shall be no end. — " Caesar is not Caesar still, nor Alexander Alexander still ; but Jesus is Jesus still, and shall be forever." — Dr. Donne. " You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests, and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers ; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful, and en- tirely devoted to his memory ? Can you conceive of Caesar as the eternal emperor of the Roman Senate, and from the depth of his mausoleum governing the empire, watching over the des- tinies of Rome ? Such is the history of the invasion and con- quest of the world by Christianity ; such is the power of the God of the Christians ; and such is the perpetual miracle of the prog- ress of the faith, and of the government of his Church. . . Whose is the arm which, for eighteen hundred years, has protected it when so many storms have threatened to ingulf it ? . . . Alex- ander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires ; . . . but we are forgotten — our names college themes, our exploits tasks given to pupils by tutors, who sit in judgment, awarding censure or praise What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal reign of Christ, which is proclaimed, loved, adored, and which is extending over all the earth!" — Na.doleon Bonaparte. MARY VISITS ELISABETH. 35 Chap. I. Luke 1 : 36-42. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age ; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me according to thy Avord. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Jucla : and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, SbSf when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb ; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost : and she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. — This evidently means that the body of Jesus should be formed by the direct power of God. The Holy Spirit is the creative power of God (Gen. 1 : 2). Son of God. — The angel does not apply this title to the divine nature of Christ, but to that " holy thing*' which was to be begot- ten of the virgin. Mary went into the hill country. — Nazareth is eighty miles from Jerusalem. The journey would, therefore, occupy four or five days. Filled with the Holy Ghost. — Her soul was so exalted by the divine influence that she uttered these words in the spirit of prophecy. "The Hebrews were accustomed to express their joy or affliction in irregular hymns without metre." — G> otitis. The song of Elisabeth is a counterpart to that of Hannah in 1 Sam. 2 : 1-10, and many of the phrases in the hymn of Mary arc from the same song. In the later prophets are frequent in- stances of repetitions of the phraseology of earlier predictions. 36 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Luke 1 : 43-56; Matt. 1 : 18. 1 B.C. whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed : for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said : My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden : For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things ; And holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him From generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm ; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things ; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, And to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on ThetonSepirarS tms wise : When as nis mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came He hath showed strength with his arm. — Or gained the victory — a metaphor derived from putting to flight a defeated enemy. The word translated " strength" is used for " victory" by Homer, Hesiod, and Sophocles. Grotius remarks that God's efficacy is represented by his finger (Ex. 8:9); his great power by his hand (Ex 3 : 20) ; and his omnipotence by his arm (Ex. 15 : 16). Espoused. — Espousing was a solemn engagement, or contract of marriage, made before witnesses, and after it the parties were ac- counted husband and wife (Matt, r : 20). " No woman of Israel," says Lightfoot, " was married unless she had been first espoused." This espousal was at her own or her father's house ; and gen- THE ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH. 37 Chap. I. Matt. 1 : 19-21. together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel 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. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. erally some time elapsed before she was taken home to that of her husband (Deut. 20 : 7 ; Judg. 14 : 7, 8). " The contract," says Selden, "could not be broken, but by a regular divorce. If, during the time of it, the bride should trespass against the fidel- ity she owed to her bridegroom, she was treated as an adulteress. ' ' A public example. — The punishment to which Mary was liable was death by stoning. See Lev. 20 : 10 ; Ezek. 16 : 38, 40; John 8:5. " The best reading seems to be not to ' make her an example,' but, as Eusebius points out, ' reveal her condition to the world.' " — Farrar. Privily. — Divorce was not necessarily a public transaction. It could be private, without specifying the cause, and by this the offending wife would not be defamed. In a dream. — Matthew is the only evangelist who makes special mention of dreams or visions, as that of Pilate's wife, of the wise men, and those of Joseph. " In the earlier ages of Judaism, God often revealed his will by dreams or visions, not only to his own people, but to the nations at large. The an- cients in general much regarded them ; and rules for their inter- pretation were formed, both among Jews and Gentiles." Of the Holy Ghost.— On the theory that Christ had a hu- man father, his absolute sinlessness cannot be accounted for. Sin is propagated by generation, and therefore the Saviour of men could not come into the world by the operation of ordinary laws. To be sinless, he must be begotten by a new creative act of God,— by the same agency that made the first man a living soul (Gen. 1 : 7). He was the beginning of a new creation of God (Rev. 3 : 14). Jesus denotes "Saviour." The name appears among the Hebrews also under the forms Oshea, Hoskea, Jekoshua, Jeshua, and Joshua, meaning Whose help is Jehovah, or, God the Saviour. The Greek Jason and Jesus are the same name. For several 38 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Matt. 1 : 22-25 i Luke 1 : 57-61. 1 B.C. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 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 with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife : and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son : and he called his name JESUS. Now Elisabeth's full time came that she Thjohnh °f should be delivered ; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her ; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child ; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so ; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. striking points in which Joshua, who succeeded and completed the work of, Moses, may be regarded as a type of Jesus, whose Gospel succeeded and completed the Law, see Smith's " Bible Dictionary," art. " Joshua." That it might be fulfilled. — The prophecy here quoted is Isa. 7 : 14. It was spoken about 740 B.C. " These events were not fulfilled because they were predicted ; but because they were assuredly to take place, therefore they were predicted." — Ckrys- ostom. " The objections to this part of the narrative have arisen mainly from prejudice against the remarkable facts it states. Yet the wonderful Person of the historical Christ is the best and only satisfactory explanation of these remarkable antecedents. All other explanations leave the historical problem greater than ever." — Schaff. Circumcise. — To distinguish the descendants of Abraham from all other people, God appointed that every male child should be circumcised on the eighth day (Gen. T7 : 10-27; 2I : 4)- None of thy kindred. — " As the Jewish tribes and families THE SONG OF ZACHARIAS. 39 Chap. I. Luke 1 : 62-69. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them : and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be ! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with ^hanL^ the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying : Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; For he hath visited and redeemed his people. And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us were kept sacredly distinct, it appears the very names of the ancestors were continued among their descendants, partly through reverence for them, and partly to avoid confusion in the genealogical tables, which, for the sake of distinguishing the in- heritances, were carefully preserved in each of the families. It seems to be on this account that the neighbors and relatives ob- jected to a name which had not before existed in any branch of the family." — Adam Clarke. The first-born son was commonly called after his father. A writing tablet. — Before the invention of paper a small tablet, covered with wax, was used for ordinary writing. The pen was an iron stile, with which characters were traced in the wax. At the present time, children in Barbary are taught to write on a smooth thin board smeared over with whiting, which may be rubbed off or renewed at pleasure. Sayings. — Rather, tilings, including all that was said and done. Prophesied, is to be here understood in its proper meaning of predicting future events. And redeemed. — The literal translation is, " He hath made redemption (or ransom) for his people." Ransom was the price paid for the redemption of a captive taken in war. Horn of Salvation. — The horn is the emblem of power, for in it lies the strength of an animal. It is probable that allusion is 40 THE ANNUNCIATIONS. Chap. I. Luke i : 70-80. 1 e.c. In the house of his servant David (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began) : That we should be saved from our enemies, And from the hand of all that hate us ; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he svvare to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, Might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest : For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God ; Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel. here made to the horns of the altar. Whoever laid hold of them was, by the law of Moses, regarded as under divine protection. The figure points to a powerful defender. The dayspring from on high might be more strictly ren- dered " The dawning of the day from heaven." The daybreak seems to arise from on high to those situated in a valley or dell, as the valley of the shadow of death. And was in the deserts, probably denotes no more than that John lived a secluded life among his kindred, in the mountain region near Jerusalem, till his public appearing at the age of thirty, before which age the law permitted no one to enter upon a public ministry. The phrase probably also denotes that John did not mingle in the ordinary pursuits of men ; but held himself aloof from the throng, pondering his coming work, and fully im- pressed with his great destiny (Matt. 11 : 2). THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 41 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 1-3. CHAPTER II. THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed (and this taxing was first Th* Birth of made when Cyrenius was governor of Christ. Syria). And all went to be taxed, every one into his In those days. — The chronology of the life of Jesus can only be approximated, not fixed. The present reckoning of the Chris- tian Era was introduced during the sixth century by Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman abbot. It is now known to be about four years too late, so that a.d. i is really the fourth "year of our Lord." The dates at the head of the following pages have been noted according to the year of Christ's life as J.c. 1, j.c. 30, etc. A decree from Caesar Augustus. — In the year n.<\ 63 Pompey made }udea tributary to the Roman Empire, and though Herod was styled King, he was altogether dependent on the Em- peror. It had been predicted, ages before, that the Messiah should be born at Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2 : 3-6), yet the mother of Jesus resided at Nazareth, eighty miles from that city ; and she continued there till near the expected birth. Nor was she directed to go to Bethlehem ; but the Roman Emperor, in pur- suance of his own purposes, issued a decree that an account should be taken of the number and degree of all the subjects in his extensive empire, commonly called " all the world," or the whole habitable eaith. Such an account used to be taken of the citizens of Rome every fifth year, for which they had officers called censors. Their business was to make a register of all Roman citizens, their wives and children, with their age, occupa- tions, and estates, real and personal. Augustus first extended this to the provinces. The decree concerning it was issued three years before Christ was born. No payment of any tax was made (on this survey) till the twelfth year after ; till then Herod, and after him Archelaus, his son, reigning in Judea. But when Archelaus was deposed, and Judea put under the command and government of a Roman procurator, then first were taxes paid the Romans for that country. — Schaff : and Smith's Bib. Diet. Cyrenius. — Undoubtedly Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, Proprae- tor, or Roman Governor of the Imperial Province of Syria, within which Herod's Jewish kingdom was included. 42 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2 : 3-7. J.C. I. own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger ; be- cause there was no room for them in the inn. To be taxed would be more correctly rendered "to be en- rolled," as the taxation was not till afterwards. Own city. — Because there his family belonged. In Italy the edict required even Roman citizens to be enrolled, not at Rome, but " all in their own cities." Bethlehem is one of the oldest towns of Palestine, and has now a population of about 3000, though in the time of Christ it was an inconsiderable hamlet. It is about six miles south of Jerusa- lem, and is built on a long ridge of pure limestone, with a deep valley at the North and another at the South. Its houses have a substantial appearance, and over the cave where tradition lo- cates the birth of Jesus is a church and convent, in whose vaults lamps are kept continually burning. Here St. Jerome, who made the Vulgate translation of the Bible, lived thirty years, from a.d. 386 to 420, when he died. The adjacent country is of great fertility, and celebrated for the variety and richness of its productions. Here by the roadside is the tomb of Rachel, the great ancestress of Israel, and in the valley below the town is the field of Boaz, " where Ruth gleaned for grain and harvested a husband." — Abbott. This was the " City of David," where he was born and anointed king, and here the three brave men broke through the ranks of the Philistines to bring him water from the well of his childhood (2 Sam. 3 : 15-17.) Swaddling-clothes. — The new-born child among the Jews was washed in water, nibbed with salt, and then wrapped in swaddling-clothes, i.e., not garments, but bands or blankets that confined the limbs closely (Eze. 16 : 4). See Van Lennep's Bible Lands, p. 560. Manger. — The word in the original signifies the place where cattle or camels are lodged, or fed. Justin Martyr, in the sec- ond century, spoke of Christ's birth as having taken place " in a THE SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD. 43 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 7-8. J.c. 1. And there were in the same country shepherds abid- ing in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. certain cave very close to the village ;" and though there is lit- tle to sustain the supposition that the cave now covered by the Church of the Nativity is the true locality, there is no improba- bility in the idea. That Christ was born in a cave is likely enough, for, at the present day, the limestone caves of Palestine are often used as stables, and also as house and stable together. Dr. Thomson thus speaks of the manger, which he identifies with the " crib " mentioned by Isaiah (1 : 3) : " It is common to find two sides of the one room, where the native farmer resides with his cattle, fitted up with these mangers, and the remainder elevated about two feet higher for the accommodation of the family. The mangers are built of small stones and mortar in the shape of a box, or rather of a kneading-trough, and when cleaned up and whitewashed, as they often are in summer, they do very well to lay little babes in. Indeed, our own children have slept there in our rude summer retreats on the mountains." The inn was not one with a host (as in Luke 10 : 34, 35), but a place where travellers lodged, providing their own food. Such places are called caravanserai, or khans, and are still common all over the East. " The enrollment had drawn so many strangers to the little town that ' there was no room for them in the inn.' In the rude limestone grotto attached to it as a stable — among the hay and straw spread for the food and rest of the cattle . . . in circumstance so devoid of all earthly comfort or splendor that it is impossible to imagine a humbler nativity — Christ was born. . . . The fancy of poet and painter has revelled in the imaginary glories of the scene . . . but all this is wide of the reality. Such glories as the simple shepherds saw were seen only by the eye of faith. . . . And the Gospels, always truthful and bearing on every page that simplicity which is the stamp of honest narrative, indicate this fact without comment. ... Of many another wonder which rooted itself in the earliest tradition there is no trace whatever in the New Testament. The inventions of man differ wholly from the dealings of God." — Farrar. In the same Country.— At a little distance from Bethlehem there now exists a small hamlet called the Village of the Shep- herds, and near it tradition points out the field where these shep- herds were tending their flocks. Shepherds abiding in the field.— The Jews usually sent their sheep into the mountains during the summer, and took them up when the cold and rainy season began — late in October, or early in November. The fact that these shepherds were then " abid- 44 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2 : 8-10. j.c. I. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the The Angelic glory of the Lord shone round about Announcement. , . . . . , , them ; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not ; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all ing in the field" would seem to show that the birth of Jesus was prior to the month of December. But about this there is great diversity of opinion. Lange quotes Rauwolf to the effect that towards the end of December, " after the rainy season, the shep- herds lead out their flocks again." Both the day and the year when he was born are uncertain. " Fabricius gives a catalogue of no less than one hundred and thirty-six different opinions con- cerning the year of Christ's birth ; and as to his 6irt/i-DAY, that has been placed by Christian sects and learned men in every month of the year." — Bloomficld. In the fourth century Pope Julius II. designated December 25th as the day, and the power of the Latin Church fixed it unalterably, so that all Christendom has since accepted and will not be likely to change it. The exact date is not a thing of much importance. " The keeping of Christmas is a' pleasant custom that would not be any more pleasant if we knew it to have a solid historical foundation. The Christian religion is not a religion of holy days, or of holy places, or of sacred observances. Christianity will have nothing less than holy lives. Every thing outward is of value only in so far as it tends to accomplish this end." — Egghston. Keeping watch. — The night was divided into watches of three hours, and shepherds took turns, some watching while others slept. Banditti were numerous and dangerous. As to exposure, the Scotch herdsman lies out upon the coldest nights with no covering but his plaid, and in the mild climate of Pales- tine a night in the open fields, even in December, would not be disagreeable. The glory of the Lord was a common figure among the Jews to raise the import of any thing to the highest degree. — Campbell. It denotes here probably such a luminous appearance as is supposed to radiate from angelic intelligences ; such as was seen 'in the faces of the angels at the Sepulcher and round about the Lord at his transfiguration, and when he appeared in the way to St. Paul ; but commentators generally regard it as the Shekinah, or brightness, of God's presence so often spoken of in the Old Testament. — Schaff, and Farrar. It appeared at his transfiguration (Matt. 17 : 5), at his ascension (Acts 1 : 9), and will appear again at his second coming (Matt. 24 : 30 ; 26 : 64). THE ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT. 45 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 10-21. J.c. I. people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you ; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the cir- cumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was con- ceived in the womb. A multitude of the heavenly host. — " No sooner did one angel of the Lord announce the manifestation of God in the flesh than the whole multitude of the heavenly host immediately are on the wing, breaking forth into harmonious praises of their Creator." — The Venerable Beda. 46 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2 : 22-30. j.c. 1. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is The Babe in the written in the law of the Lord, Every empe" male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord) and to offer a sacrifice ac- cording to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon ; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel : and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple : and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word : for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast Her purification. — For forty days after the birth of a male child, the Jewish mother was considered ceremonially impure, and not allowed to enter the Temple, or to engage in public re- ligious exercises, but required to remain in the house. To present him to the Lord.— After the first-born of Egypt were smitten, and the first born of Israel spared, the eldest male child of every Jewish family was regarded as holy to the Lord (Ex. 13 : 2), " God's special property" {Lange), and an offering was required for his redemption from the service of the Temple. A pair of turtle-doves was the offering of the poor ; from those who were able, a lamb was required for a burnt offering, and a dove for a sin-offering. That turtle-doves were now offered shows that Joseph and Mary were among the poor. The payment of five shekels of the sanctuary (about $3.75 of our money) was also a part of the redemption offering. The consolation of Israel. — The Messiah, who was now universally expected. THE I5ABE IN THE TEMfLE. 47 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 31-36. J.C I, prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel ; and for a sign which shall be spoken against (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also): that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter The fall and rising again of many. — Not for humiliation because of sin, and exaltation because of righteousness ; such humiliation before God is not a fall but a rising. This, how- ever, appears to be Luther's interpretation. " The man whom he chooses to make truly godly he causes first to feel himself almost a despairing sinner ; whom he chooses to make wise, he makes first a fool ; whom he chooses to make strong, he first renders weak. . . . This is that wonderful King who is near- est to those from whom he seems most remote." — Luther. Rather for the overthrow of those who expected in the Messiah a temporal prince, and a rising to those who were able to accept by faith God's plan of a universal redemption ; a fall to Judas Iscariot and a rising to Peter and John. So in all time Christ is a stone of stumbling to the proud, but a foundation stone to the humble. Sign. — The word seems here to be used for a mark to shoot at, which finely intimates the malice and artifice with which the character and person of Christ were assaulted, while he en- dured the contradiction of sinners against himself (Heb. 12 : 3.) A sword shall pierce. — The original word denotes the thrust- ing through with a javelin or dart. This was verified when Mary witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, and she must have felt also most keenly his rejection by the people, desertion by his disciples, and the fierce persecution of the Pharisees throughout his public life. " The sword did not pierce Mary's soul for the first time, but only for the last, and the most deeply, on Golgo- tha."— Lange. A prophetess. — Not necessarily one who could foretell future events, but a holy woman. Lange, however, thinks that the " appellation must have been caused by some earlier and fre- quent utterances dictated in the spirit of prophecy." Her long 48 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2 : 36-38 ; Matt. 2 : 1-2. j.c. 1. of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser ; she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity ; and she was a widow of about four score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant, gave thanks like- wise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he widowhood is mentioned, because young widows who did not re-marry were held in especial honor. Departed not. — A hyperbolical phrase, denoting that she was in constant attendance at the stated times of public worship by day and night. There were night services of sacred music at which the priests sung anthems (Ps. 134 : 1, 2 ), to which David perhaps alludes in Ps. 119 : 62. Wise men from the East. — The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament Scriptures was made at Alexandria about 280 B.C., and it spread far and wide the expectation of the Messiah ; but before this there was a general impression among the East- ern nations that a remarkable personage was to appear about this time in Judea. The Roman writers, Tacitus and Suetonius, distinctly state that a mighty king was generally expected about this time to arise in Judea, the conviction being founded on ancient priestly prophecies throughout the East ; the Chinese Confucius had predicted the coming of a great teacher from the West, the Greek Socrates with his dying words urged his dis- ciples to " seek a charmer " who should deliver them from the fear of death, and in many ways this same anticipation of some kind of a mighty Saviour showed that the Messiah was the expected, as well as the " desired of all nations." But, as related to this visit of the Magi, who are supposed to have been Persian or Median priests, learned in astrology, medicine, and other sciences of that day, it is noticeable that Zoroaster, the founder of the Persian religion, and a supposed contemporary of Abraham, had most clearly predicted the coming of the Great King. He foretold the coming of a prophet who should be begotten in a supernatural way, should make a new revelation, conquer the spirit of evil, and found a kingdom of everlasting righteousness. Later tradi- THE STAR IN THE EAST. 49 Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 2-3. j.c. 1. that is born King of the Jews ? for we The Star in the have seen his star in the east, and are East- tions, learned probably from the Jews during their captivity (such as the predictions of Daniel and the prophecy of the heathen pro- phet, Balaam), led the Zoroastrians to look for this Mighty King among the Jews, and to expect his appearance to be heralded by " a star out of Jacob" (Num. 24 : 17). It is natural, therefore, to suppose that they were acquainted with the Jewish predictions. His star. — " We learn from astronomical calculations that a remarkable conjunction of the planets of our system took place a short time before the birth of our Lord. In the year of Rome 747, on the 20th of May, there was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, on the 20th degree of the constellation Pisces, close to the first point of Aries, which was the part of the heavens noted in astrological science as that in which the signs denoted the greatest and most noble events. On the 27th of October, in the same year, another conjunction of the same planets took place in the 16th degree of Pisces, and on the 12th of November a third, in the 15th degree of the same sign. On these two last occasions the planets were so near that an ordinary eye would regard them as one star of surpassing brightness. Supposing the Magi to have seen the first of these conjunctions, they saw it actually in the east ; for on the 20th of May it would rise shortly before the sun. If they then took their journey and arrived at Jerusalem in a little more than five months (the journey from Babylon took Ezra four months, see Ezra 7 : 9), if they per- formed the route from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the evening, as is implied, the November conjunction in 15 degrees of Pisces would be before them in the direction of Bethlehem, coming to the meridian about S o'clock p.m. These circumstances would seem to form a remarkable coincidence with the history in our text." — Alford. The common belief among the astrologers of the Orient, as well as among the Jews, that remarkable events were signal- ized by the peculiar conjunction of important, planets ; the wide- spread expectation of strange signs in the heavens, and great events on earth about this time, and the certainty that such a phenomenon as the repeated conjunction of the two brilliant bodies, Jupiter and Saturn, must have been noted by these eager watchers of the stars " in the East," give color to the supposi- tion that what the Magi called "His Star" was this very ap- pearance. In the fifteenth century Abarbanel, a learned Jewish Rabbi, wrote : " The most important changes in this sublunary world are portended by the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn. Moses was born in the third year after such a conjunction in the 50 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 4. j.c. 1. come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard constellation Pisces, which is the constellation of Israel, and a similar conjunction will herald the advent of Messiah" This is notable as being written by a man who did not believe in Jesus as the Christ, and who lived a century before the day of Kepler, the pious astronomer, who discovered that the conjunction de- scribed had actually occurred just before the birth of Jesus. Kepler's calculations have recently been confirmed at the Greenwich Observatory. The "star" has also been supposed to be one of those brilliant bodies that flash out for a while and then disappear ; and of course the purely miraculous theory has also always had its adherents. For still another hypothesis, that the star was one then first created, and that the guiding was due to a supernatural diversion of its rays, see Upham's mono- graph on "The Star of our Lord." Whatever it was, it must have been seen by the Eastern Magi, been connected by them with the familiar prophecies, and been the attraction that drew them to the little village of Judea. Herod. — This Herod was of Idumean descent, and the second son of Antipater — made procurator of Judea B.C. 47. When but fifteen years old he received the government of Galilee, and when Antony came to Syria, six years later, was, with his older brother, appointed tetrarch of Judea. Forced to abandon Judea the next year by the invasion of the Parthians, he fled to Rome, where he was well received by Antony and Octavian (aiterwards famous as Augustus Caesar), and by the Roman Senate was made King of the Jews. In the year B.C. 37, with the aid of the Romans, he took Jerusalem, and established his authority throughout his dominions. His reign was not disturbed by ex- ternal troubles, but his domestic life and internal administra- tion were stained with the foulest crimes. He put to death, with many others, his w:f Mariamne, her grandfather, her mother, and two of his own sons, one of whom he caused to be executed only five days before he himself died. He practised barbari- ties on his subjects, and the monstrous acts of cruelty which are recorded of him show that he was fully capable of the slaughter of the children at Bethlehem. While on his death-bed he at- tempted the simultaneous execution of all the nobles of Judea, that every Jewish family, though unwillingly, should mourn at his death. He died of a most painful and loathsome disease at Jericho, between two and four years, as is supposed, after the birth of Christ. Then the scepter " departed from Judah," and it was ruled by tetrarchs, without the power or royal magnifi- cence of Herod. THE STAR IN THE EAST. Si Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 5-II. j.C. I. these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Tudea : for thus it is writ- ten by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child ; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. "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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were 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 treas- All Jerusalem was agitated — Herod for fear of a rival, the people in hope of the birth of the coming Deliverer. Jerusalem, like an uneasy volcano, was always on the eve of an explosion. By the prophet. — The prophecy was so well known that Mioah's name is not given (Micah 5 : 2). The house. — Probably not the stable where he was born, but temporary lodgings in which Joseph and Mary remained until after the forty days of purification. The situation of the child must have seemed to the Magi ill-befitting one born to the dominion of the world. Worshiped him. — Prostrated themselves with their faces to the ground, as is still the custom in Eastern countries. They doubtless regarded him as a divine being, and accorded to him " more than the usual reverence to kings." The worship of the 52 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 11-15. J.c. 1. ures, they presented unto him gifts ; gold, and frank- incense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were de- The night into parted, behold, the angel of the Lord ap- Egypt. peareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt : and was there until the death of Herod : that it might be ful- filled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Magi has been regarded in the Church as the first token of the regeneration of heathen nations, and the ecclesiastical Feast of the Epiphany celebrates Christ's " manifestation to the Gentiles." Opened their treasures, their caskets, or other receptacles, and presented unto him shifts, as is still the custom in the East when appearing before a king or other great personage. Frankincense was a yellowish white resin or gum, of a bitter taste, It was obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark, and suffering the gum to flow out. It was highly odoriferous when burned, and was therefore used in worship (See Ex. 30 : 78. See note, Incense, p. 29). Myrrh. — A precious gum, procured, in the same manner as frankincense, from a tree growing in Egypt, Arabia, and Abys- sinia. Its name denotes bitterness ; but its smell, though strong, is not disagreeable. Among the ancients it entered into the composition of the most costly ointments ; and as a perfume appears to have been used to give a pleasant fragrance to vest- ments, and was much used to embalm the dead. (John 19 : 39). Egypt, "as near, and as a Roman province, independent of Herod, and much inhabited of Jews, was an easy and convenient refuge." — Alford. The place of sojourn is not known, but an old tradition locates it near the city of Heliopolis, on the way to Cairo, and not far from the site of the temple built for the Jews under the priesthood of Onias. THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS. 53 Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 16-18. j.c. 1. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, ac- cording to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 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. Slew all the children . . . from two years old and under.— All the male children According to Jewish reckoning, a child which has just entered its second year would be called two years old. Townsend, allowing the inhabitants to be 2000 (which is probably an over-estimate), calculates fifty children to have been slain. " Some would reduce the number to ten or fifteen. Vol- taire, after an old Greek tradition, would make it 14,000! In peaceful times such an act as this, even if executed, as this prob- ably was, in secrecy, would have excited general indignation when it became known ; but now the Jewish people had so long ' supped with horrors,' and were so engrossed in the many perils that threatened their national existence, that this passed by com- paratively unnoticed."— Andrews. No direct mention is made of the event by Josephus, and it is possible that it may never have come to the knowledge of the Jewish historian writing so many years after the event, although some have thought refer- ences to it were discoverable. It is notable, however, that Jose- phus makes nowhere any allusion to Jesus or his career except in a single brief passage which is not believed to be genuine This Jewish writer, born a year or two alter Christ's death, a Pharisee by education, and of much ability and learning was prominent in defence of his land when attacked by the Roman Vespasian and conquered by Titus. He was then taken to Rome, where he spent his last days in the imoerial favor and in literary labor ; but he was a renegade Jew, and a flatterer of the Romans and other heathen. His omissions as to Christ and the Christians, therefore, are not significant. Coasts.— The adjacent hamlets or settlements. The word comes through the Latin costa, a rib, a side, and is the same as the French cdte, side. Here it means the borders. 54 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Matt. 2 : 19-23 ; Luke 2 : 40. j.c. 1-12. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel : for they are dead which sought The Return from tne young child's life. And he arose, and Egypt. took the y0ur)g child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. Bat when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither : notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee : and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Naza- rene. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom ; and the grace of God was upon him. When Herod was dead.— Herod died about March at Jericho, in the 37th year of his reign, u.c. 751, B.C. 3, and in his seven- tieth year. Archelaus. — Herod having put Antipater to death in conse- quence of a conspiracy formed against him of which Antipater was the author, altered his will and disposed of his domin- ions in the following manner : The tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea to his son Antipas ; the tetrarchy of Gaulonitis, Trachon- itis, Batanea, Paneadis, to his son Philip ; and left Judea to his eldest remaining son, Archelaus. This son inherited the blood- thirsty disposition of his father, and is properly styled the " heir of Herod's cruelty." In the tenth year of his reign he was ban- ished by Augustus to Vienne in Gaul (on a complaint alleged against him by the chief of the Jews for his various cruelties), where he died. Into the parts of Galilee.— Galilee was not within the govern- ment of Archelaus, but of his brother Herod Antipas. He shall be called a Nazarene. — These exact words are not found in any of the Prophets. Reference is doubtless made to the general scope of the Messianic predictions, which are that the Christ would be of humble life and " despised and rejected of men" (Isa. 53: 2, 3, 7-9 ; Ps. 22). The people of Nazareth were universally despised and contemned (John 1 : 46). THE PASSOVER. 55 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 41-44. J.C. 12. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was The Boyhood of twelve years old, they went up to Jeru- Jcsus- salem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem ; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey ; and Feast of the Passover. — This was the first of the three great annual feasts of the Jews. It continued eight days, and took place at the full of the moon which occurred at the vernal equi- nox. It was instituted to commemorate the passing-over of the houses of the Israelites when the first-born of the Egyptians were destroyed, and at it the first-fruits of the barley harvest were offered. The Pentecost occurred seven weeks, or fifty days, later, and commemorated the giving of the law ; at this feast the first-fruits of the wheat harvest were offered. The Tabernacles occurred near the end of September or beginning of October, when the produce of the fie Ids an J vineyards had been gathered ; it commemorated the sojourn of the Israelites, in tents or taber- nacles, in the desert, and was observed as a thanksgiving for the blessings of the year. Every adult Jew dwelling in Judea was obliged to attend at each of these feasts, and the numbers at such times assembled at Jerusalem, according to Josephus, often exceeded two millions. Twelve years old. — It was at this age that male children be- came " sons of the law," and were required to go up to the feasts. Fulfilled the days. — The eight days of the Passover : one day for killing the paschal lamb, and seven days for the feast of un- leavened bread. Went a day's journey. — The people on their way to and from the festivals traveled in caravans, for greater safety against rob- bers, whole neighborhoods often going together ; and it was no doubt among one of these caravans that Mary and her husband sought the boy Jesus, sorrowing. They carried tents for their lodging at night ; and in the day time, as circumstances might lead them, would probably mingle with their friends ; but in the even- ing, when about to encamp, every one would join the family to which he belonged. As Jesus did not appear, his parents first sought him where they supposed he would most probably be, among his relations and acquaintance. 56 THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2 : 44-46. J.C. 12. they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and After three days. — The first day was spent in their journey homeward, the second in their return to Jerusalem, and the third, in searching after Jesus there. The Doctors, elsewhere called Scribes, were the authorized expounders of the sacred books of the Jews. Though the law made it the duty of parents to teach their children its precepts and principles, the education of the common people was very simple. There was, however, "a parochial school in every vil- lage. Common-school education we have borrowed from Juda- ism, though we have improved the pattern. A far larger pro- portion of the people could read and write in Palestine in the days of Christ than in England in the days of Henry the Eighth. The unlearned fishermen by the Sea of Galilee were not abso- lutely-illiterate."— (Abbott's "Jesus of Nazareth.") Of the Scribes, however, a higher sort of erudition was required. At five years of age the child destined for this office was taught to read, at ten he began the study of the Mishna, and at thirteen was expected to enter the school of some Rabbi at Jerusalem. If poor, he was supported at this school by the synagogue of his town or village. Physical science formed a part of the course of instruction, but much more attention was given to the Scrip- tures, and to the written "traditions of the elders." At the age of thirty the pupil was solemnly inducted into the " chair of the Scribes," by the imposition of hands, and then was given tablets on which to note down the sayings of the wise, and the " key of knowledge" (Luke 11 : 52) with which he was to open and shut the treasures of Divine wisdom. The Scribe might rise to the high places, become an arbitrator of family disputes (Luke 12 : 14), the head of a school, a member of the Sanhedrin ; or he might sink into a humble transcriber of the Scriptures, or into a still humbler notary, writing out contracts of sale or espousals, and bills of repudiation. The more distinguished of the order occupied the highest social position, and in the time of Christ their passion for distinction was insatiable. Combining within themselves nearly all the energy and thought of Judaism, the close hereditary caste of the priesthood was powerless to compete with them ; and unless a priest became also a Scribe, he remained in obscurity. Under these influences the character JESUS WITH THE DOCTORS. 57 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 46-51. J.c. 12. asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed ; and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us ? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, of the order was marked by a deep and incurable hypocrisy, which merited the scathing invectives of Jesus. See Smith's " Bible Dictionary," and Adam Clark. In the midst of the doctors. — When teaching in public, the Scribes sat on benches of a semi-circular form, raised above their auditors and disciples, so that Jesus was no doubt literally seated " in their midst." My Father's business. — The word " business" is supplied according to the frequent necessity in translating from the Greek, which leaves something to be understood from the connection, as, " He came unto his own [things or possessions], and his own [people] received him not." Strong, in his " Harmony and Exposition of the Gospels," says : " There is here apparently a studied ambiguity in the original, where, instead of " business," should rather be supplied " in the [courts] of my father," namely, the Temple, in distinction from the home of his reputed father." The usual reading, however, is " things," " affairs," and hence " business." Nazareth "was a little town situated in a fold of land broadly open at the summit of the group of mountains which closes on the north the plain of Esdraelon. The population is now from three to four thousand, and it cannot have varied very much. It is quite cold in winter, and the climate is very healthy. Like all the Jewish villages of the time, the town was a mass of dwellings built without pretension to style, and must have pre- sented that poor and uninteresting appearance which is offered by villages in Semitic countries. The houses, from all that ap- pears, did not differ much from those cubes of stone, without exterior or interior elegance, which now cover the richest por- tion of the Lebanon, and which, in the midst of vines and fig- 5« THE BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS. Chap. II Luke 2 : 51. j.c. 12. trees, are nevertheless very pleasant. The environs, moreover, are charming, and no place in the world was so well adapted to dreams of absolute happiness. Antoninus Martyr, at the end of the sixth century, draws an enchanting picture of the fertility of the environs, which he compares to paradise. Some valleys on the western side fully justify his description. The fountain about which the life and gayety of the little town formerly cen- tred has been destroyed ; its broken channels now give but a turbid water. With the exception of something sordid and re- pulsive, which Ismalism carries with it everywhere, it did not, in the time of Jesus, differ much from what it is to-day. We see the streets in which he played when a child, in the stony paths, or the little squares, which separate the dwellings. The house of Joseph, without doubt, closely resembled those poor shops, lighted by the door, serving at once for the work bench, as kitchen and as bedroom, having for furniture a mat, some cush- ions on the ground, one or two earthen vessels, and a painted chest. The horizon of the town is limited, but if we ascend a little to the plateau swept by a perpetual breeze, which commands the highest houses, the prospect is splendid. To the west are un- folded the beautiful lines of Carmel, terminating in an abrupt point which seems to plunge into the sea. Then stretch away the double summit which looks down upon Megiddo, the moun- tains of Gilboa, the picturesque little group with which are associated the graceful and terrible memories of Solam and of Endor, and Thabor with its finely- rounded form, which antiquity compared to a breast. Through a depression between the mountains of Solam and Thabor are seen the valley of the Jor- dan and the high plains of Perea which form a continuous line in the east. To the north, the mountains of Safed, sloping to- wards the sea, hide St. Jean d'Acre, but disclose the gulf of Khaifa. Such was the horizon of Jesus. This enchanted circle, the cradle of the kingdom of God, represented the world to him for years. His life, even, went little beyond the limits familiar to his childhood ; for beyond, to the north, you almost see upon the slope of Hermon, Cesarea Philippi, his most advanced point into the Gentile world ; and to the south you feel behind these already less cheerful mountains of Samaria, sad Judea, withered as by a burning blast of destruction and of death." — Rendn. " These are the natural features which for nearly thirty years met the almost daily view of Him who ' increased in wisdom and stature' within this beautiful seclusion. It is the seclusion which constitutes its peculiarity and its fitness for these scenes of the Gospel history. Unknown and unnamed in the Old Testament, Nazareth first appears as the retired abode of the humble carpenter. Its separation from the busy world may be THE YOUTH OK JESUS. 59 Chap. II. Luke 2 : 51. J.C 12-30. and was subject unto them : but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. the ground, as it certainly is an illustration, of the evangelist's play on the words, ' He shall be called a Nazarene.' " — Stanley. " Amid these romantic mountains and fertile vales Jesus spent his boyhood. Here he often wandered, picking the wild flowers, gratifying that love of nature which so characterized his after-life and teachings. Into the mountain solitudes with which this rural region abounds he loved to retreat from the distasteful crowd and bustle of the great cities. Here he commenced his ministry. Here he wrought most of his miracles. First in the synagogue and then in the valleys and on the hillsides of Galilee, he preached most of the discourses which have been preserved and handed down to us. From the simple fishermen who lived and labored on the shore of Lake Tiberias he selected most of his companions and apostles. Among these mountains he organized his little Church, and sent his followers forth to preach ' the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' And at the setting of the sun, in the quiet wooded glades of Galilee, rather than in the syna- gogue and the temple, he sought that solitude for which his heart yearned, that he might commune with his Father and his God."— Abbott. Subject unto them. — The early years of Jesus are veiled in obscurity. It is known that his parents were poor (Luke 2 : 24), that his reputed father was an artisan, that he himself wrought at his father's trade (Mark 6 : 3), and that he was not trained in any of the higher schools of the Jewish nation (John 7:15; Matt. 13 : 54) ; but beyond this all is conjecture. He probably under- stood no other language than the Syro-Chaldaic (or Aramaic) and the ancient Hebrew, and had no other learning than that of the parish school, where the subordinate officer of the syna- gogue taught the children to " read, write, and cipher, instructed them in their national history and the requirements of the law, and catechized them on the Jewish Scriptures." " The influences which surrounded Christ in his childhood certainly could have contributed but little to the greatness of his ripened character. The inhabitants of Galilee were a simple, humble peasantry, in- dustrious, but plain ; unpretending in their appearance, untu- tored in their habits. Their pursuits and modes of life were very simple. They caught fish on the lakes ; they reared flocks and herds on the mountain sides ; they cultivated corn and olives in the valleys and on the slopes of the hills. They had little wealth. They had not the culture and refinement which belong to the richer and more luxurious inhabitants of Judea. " — Ab- 60 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. II. Luke 2:52. j.c. 12-30. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor of God and man. bott. To attempt to trace the secret of his power to the influ- ence of his time, or the culture of the schools of his nation, as has been done, is worse than useless, for he rises above all times and all schools, and in his world-creative and world-transforming power stands alone in history. Like the New Jerusalem which he founded, " he descended from God out of heaven." Increased in wisdom and stature. — This implies that, what- ever was the character of the indwelling soul by which, in his earliest years, he recognized God as, in a peculiar manner, his father, that soul became united to his human nature in an or- derly way — was gradually developed, as other men are devel- oped, by the gradual unfolding of his powers. Indications of this development are seen all through the Gospel history. His power was not so great at the beginning of his Galilean ministry, when he could do no mighty work at Nazareth, " because of their unbelief," as when, in the closing hours of his life, he prostrated by a look a band of Roman soldiers, who were not only unbelieving but positively hostile, and seeking his death. It was not until he had risen from the dead that he said, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth." " Perfect innocence developed into complete holiness of life during this real childhood and youth ripening into manhood. Human means are not to be excluded, but they will not account for this. Hence the silence of Scripture is an impressive proof of the divine-human person of Christ. Education in Nazareth will not explain his character as it afterward appeared. Nor can he be ranked with self-made men of genius ; for we can trace the energy with which they have struggled against their sur- roundings, and overcome them. Of this there is no trace here. His knowledge was not of a kind to be obtained by study or by self-culture. He speaks rather from divine intuition. He be- came what he afterward was by a force that was ' preter- natural and divine.' The favor with God implies his work of obedience, during which the great passive virtues were dis- played. And though in favor with men, as yet not hated by the world, we must believe that his knowledge of his fellow-men made him in youth ' a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.' The occurrence at Nazareth suggests that the envy of his townsmen began before that attempt to kill him. Here, too, we learn both of the person and the work of Christ. The ex- ample of submission, of quietly waiting for the full time to begin public labors, needs to be inculcated upon all children and INCREASED IN WISDOM AND STATURE. 6l Chap. II. Luke 2 : 52. j.c. 12-30. youth. He was no 'boy-preacher,' but as a boy and young man obeyed and endured, and was thus fitted to teach and to save." — KiddU. " How full of meaning is the fact that we have nothing told us of the life of our blessed Lord between the twelfth and thirtieth years ! What a testimony against all our striving and snatching at hasty results, our impatience, our de- sire to glitter before the world, against the plucking the unripe fruit of the mind, and the turning of that into a season of stunted and premature harvest, which should have been a season of patient sowing, of earnest culture and silent ripening of the powers." — Archbishop Trench. "We are apt to forget that it was during this time that much of the great work of the second Adam was done. The growing up through infancy, childhood, youth, manhood, from grace to grace, holiness to holiness, in subjection, self-denial, and love, without one polluting touch of sin, this it was which, consummated by the three years of active ministry, by the Passion and by the Cross, constituted ' the obedience of one man,' by which many were made righteous. We must fully appreciate the words of this verse in order to think rightly of Christ. He had emptied himself of his glory. His infancy and childhood were no mere pretence, but the Divine Personality was in him carried through these states of weakness and inexperience, and gathered around itself the ordi- nary accession and experience of the sons of men. All the time the consciousness of his mission on earth was ripening — ' the things heard of the Father' (John 15 : 15) were continually im- parted to him ; the Spirit, which was not given by measure unto him, was abiding more and more upon him, till the day when he was fully ripe for his official manifestations — that he might be offered to his own, to receive or reject him — and then the Spirit led him up to commence his conflict with the enemy." — Alford. PART II. FROM THE BAPTISM OF JESUS TO THE BEGINNING OF HIS MINISTRY IN GALILEE; OR FROM SUMMER, J.C. 30, TO APRIL, J.C. 32. TIBERIUS C/ESAR. 63 Chap. III. Luke 3:1. Summer of j.c. 30. CHAPTER III. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Introductory. — " His boyhood and youth and early manhood had passed away in humble submission and holy silence, and Jesus was now thirty years old. That deep lesson for all classes of men in every age, which was involved in the long toil and obscurity of those thirty years, had been taught more powerfully than mere words could teach it ; and the hour for his ministry had now ar- rived. He was to be the Saviour, not only by example, but also by revelation, and by death. There was a general expectation of that ' wrath to come,' which was to be the birth-throe of the coming kingdom — the darkness, deepest before the dawn. The world had grown old, and the dotage of its Paganism was marked by hideous excesses. Atheism in belief was followed, as among nations it has always been, by degradations of morals. Iniquity seemed to have run its course to the farthest goal. Philosophy had abrogated its boasted functions except for the favored few. Crime was universal, and there was no known remedy for the horror and ruin which it was causing in a thousand hearts. Even the heathen world felt that ' the fullness of the time ' had come. ' ' — Farrar, Tiberius Caesar was now at the head of the Roman Empire. He was the second Roman Emperor, step-son and successor of Augustus Caesar. The usual Christian era (A.D.) coincides with the year of Rome (A.U.C.) 754. Tiberius was associated with Augustus as ruler from and after January A.U.C. 765, but the " fifteenth year" (the time mentioned as that of the appearance of John the Baptist) is usually reckoned from his first accession to sole power, two years later, at the death of Augustus. This brings the fifteenth year to A.U.C. 7S1 — that is to say, a.d. 27 ; when Jesus was in his 30th year. In B.C. 63 Pompey had con- quered Judea, which in the time of the first Herod was held as one province, but now was divided into three departments and governed by officers styled Tetrarchs and Procurators, in whose hands was the whole civil government. Their will was absolute law. They removed and appointed the Jewish high-priests at their pleasure ; held the power of life and death ; and from their decisions, except in the case of Roman citizens (Acts 25 : n), there was no appeal. The Jews, it is true, held a shadow of authority. In every synagogue was a local tribunal, in the larger towns a council (Matt. 10 : 17) of 64 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. III. Luke 3 : 1. Summer of j.c. 30. Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and twenty-four, and in Jerusalem the Sanhedrin, or great council of seventy ; but these tribunals had cognizance of none but ec- clesiastical questions, and could punish only by fine, excommuni- cation, or scourging. Over all civil and criminal cases the Ro- man officials held exclusive jurisdiction. A centurion, or cap- tain of a hundred, was quartered in every considerable town, and administered an irregular sort of justice, governed alto- gether by his own will, and accountable only to the Roman te- trarch or procurator. These centurions were generally corrupt and avaricious, permitting all sorts of extortion and excess among their underlings, and could be propitiated only by bribes which well-nigh beggared the litigant. Palestine was a military province of the Romans. " The Roman provinces were of two kinds, imperial and senatorial, the former ruled over by a pro- consul or deputy, the latter by a procurator or governor. This distinction dates from the reign of Augustus. Under show of administering a republic, he organized a military empire. As a part of this plan, he made a division between such provinces as required military control and such as only required civil authority ; the latter he left to the senate, the former he assumed the care of himself. His avowed object was to relieve the senate of all the anxiety of military proceedings, his real object to secure the un- limited control of the army." — Abbott. This political subjection was peculiarly irksome to the Jews. As they read the prophe- cies they were the chosen people of God. They believed that, though now down-trodden, they would yet trample their enemies under foot, and under the lead of the Messiah obtain universal dominion. Of his coming they were now in daily expectation, and hence, When John announced him " at hand" he struck a chord which thrilled the nation from centre to circumference. Pontius Pilate being governor. — " During the time which elapsed between Christ's childhood and his baptism, the political constitution of Palestine had undergone a radical change. On the death of Herod the Great his kingdom had been apportioned between his three sons : Archelaus, with the title of Ethnarch, received one half of his father's dominions — Judea, Samaria, and Idumea ; but after a reign of ten years he was banished, in consequence of complaints by his subjects, and his dominions were added to the province of Syria. Pontius Pilate, its fifth governor, arrived there A.D. 25, 26— that is, a little prior to the commencement of John's public ministry. Herod Antipas remained tetrarch of Galilee and Perea forty-two years, and therefore throughout the whole ministry of our Lord. — Abbott" THE VOICE FROM THE WILDERNESS. 65 Chap. III. Luke 3:1,2. Summer of j.c. 30. Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea, and the region of The Voice from Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of the Wilder""s- Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias His brother Philip was not the same as the first husband of Herodias spoken of in Mark 6 : 17, and alluded to in Matt. 14 : 3. He was disinherited by his father, and remained a pri- vate citizen. Philip the tetrarch was the youngest son of Herod the Great, and the best of the family. He reigned thirty-six years. Annas and Caiaphas being the high-priests — more literally, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. The Jews recog- nized but one high-priest, who held his office originally for life. His functions were, however, sometimes divided, one officer pre- siding over the Sanhedrin, the other supervising the matters of religion ; and some traces of this division are found in the early history of the Jews (2 Kings 25 :iS). Annas was the father-in- law of Caiaphas, and was removed by the Roman government, and Caiaphas appointed by Pontius Pilate in his place. It is probable that the Jews did not recognize this substitution, but continued to regard Annas as their real high-priest, a fact which would explain the language here, and in Acts 4 : 6. — Abbott. John " was of the priestly order by both parents, for his father Zacharias was himself a priest of the course of Abia (r Chron. 24 : 10), and Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron (Luke 1 : 5). The divine mission of John was the subject of prophecy many centuries before his birth, for Matthew (3 : 3) tells us it was John who was prefigured by Isaiah (40 : 3) and by Malachi (3 : 1). His birth — a birth not according to the ordinary laws of nature — was foretold by an angel sent from God, who assigned to him the name of John (the grace of the Lord), to signify either that he was to be born of God's especial favor, or perhaps that he was to be the harbinger of grace. The angel Gabriel, moreover, proclaimed the character and office of this wonderful child even before his conception, foretelling that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost from the first moment of his exist- ence, and appear as the great reformer of his countrymen ; another Elijah in the boldness with which he would speak truth and rebuke vice ; but, above all, as the chosen forerunner and herald of the long-expected Messiah. A single verse contains all that we know of John's history for a space of thirty years — the whole period which elapsed between his birth and the com- 66 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. III. Luke 3 : 2, 3 ; Matt. 3:1,4. J.c. 30. in the wilderness of Judea. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins ; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. And he came into all the country about Jordan, mencement of his public ministry (Luke 1 : 80)." — Earnest Haw- kins. His history was short, but intensely dramatic. " His was one of those lives which are lost to themselves that they may spring up in others. He came both in grandeur and in beauty like a summer storm, which, falling in rain, is lost in the soil, and reappears neither as vapor nor cloud, but transfused into flowers and fruit." — Beecker. Wilderness. — This was a rough, mountainous, and sparsely settled region, lying along the western margin of the Dead Sea and the river Jordan. It contained some villages, and also many scattered inhabitants ; but a considerable portion of it would properly be called a wilderness (1 Sam. 25 : 1, 2). Jose- phus relates that about this time many devout men among the Jews, disgusted with the wickedness of the age, retired to desert olaces, and there, becoming teachers of a purer morality, gath- ered disciples about them ; he mentions by name, however, none out the Baptist. Camel's hair. — A coarse, cheap cloth is still made in the East, from the long, shaggy hair of the camel, and is extensively worn by the poorer classes. It was the common dress of the Jewish prophets, and is the sackcloth referred to in the Scrip- tures. Leathern girdle. — Girdles formed a regular part of the dress, and were usually of linen or silk. Their use was to keep the outer garment close to the body. The austerity of John was shown by his girdle being of leather. Locusts and wild honey. — Burckhardt says : " The Bedouins of Arabia are accustomed to eat locusts. At Medina and Tayf are locust shops where these animals are sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia and Syria they are eaten by only the poor- est beggars, and are generally regarded with disgust. When eaten, they are sometimes fried in butter, and mixed with wild honey, and this honey is still plentifully gathered from the trees and rocks of the desert in which the Baptist sojourned. In form and general appearance locusts are not unlike grasshoppers. They are still very numerous in the East, often appearing in such numbers as to darken the sky, and devour in a short time every green thing. The whole earth is sometimes covered with them for a distance of leagues. THE WAY OF THE LORD. 67 Chap. III. Luke 3:3-6; Matt. 3:2-5; Mark 1 : 2. j.c. 30. preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ; saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. As it is written in the prophets, saying, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low ; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Baptism of repentance. — Baptism was in use among the Jews before the time of John, as the rite of initiation for Gentile proselytes into Judaism. It was regarded as a typical washing away of the defilements of heathenism. The baptism of John was a sign to the people that a thorough renunciation of sin and real amendment of life were necessary for admission into the kingdom of heaven. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. — It was the custom of East- ern monarchs, when setting out on an expedition, or undertak- ing a journey through a desert country, to send messengers be- fore them, to open the passes, level the ways, and prepare all things for their passage. The roads in Palestine are wretched at their best estate ; but the custom of the farmers to gather up the stones from the fields and cast them into the highways renders them dangerous, and, at times, almost impassable. Dr. Thomson relates that when Ibrahim Pasha, some years ago, pro- posed to visit the Lebanon, the emeers and sheikhs sent forth a general proclamation, somewhat in the style of this passage, directing all the inhabitants to assemble along the proposed route, and prepare the way before him. The same was done in 18.45, on a grander scale, when the Sultan visited Brusa. The stones were gathered out of the roads, " the crooked ways were made straight, and the rough places smooth." All Judea, etc. — An indefinite expression, indicating great mul- titudes. It shows the profound impression which John hail produced. The nature of his announcement, together with the expectation of the time, was enough to produce this effect. 68 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. III. Matt. 3:5,6; Luke 3 : 7. Summer of j.c. 30. all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Saddu- Confessing their sins. — " The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works." — Augustine. Pharisees. — The most numerous and influential class of re- ligionists among the Jews, supposed to have originated about three centuries before Christ, when the national institutions of Judea were threatened with destruction from the influx of Greek manners and opinions, their object being to keep the Jews a separate people. Hence their name, which denotes separated. Their intense patriotism, made them at once popular, and they soon acquired a controlling influence in the nation. They were the religionists of their age, and held themselves to a strict ob- servance of ecclesiastical rules, mainly drawn from the numberless " traditions of the elders," which had accumulated about the law of Moses, and some of which were of the most trivial and ridicu- lous character. They were proud, formal, and self-righteous, but not generally wealthy, or given to luxury. Their besetting sin appears to have been hypocrisy. According to Josephus, they believed in the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body at the last day. They held, too, that the soul of a good man might pass (transmigrate) into another body, but that the soul of the bad underwent eternal torment ; and that some, but not all, things are the work of fate : that angels, good and bad, interfere in human affairs, and that they were justified by their own observance of the law, and by the merits of Abra- ham, who, by his obedience, had secured the peculiar favor of God to his descendants. The Pharisees were not a distinct sect, but represented simply a phase of religious thought. They were themselves divided into numerous sects. Sadducees. — The Sadducees are supposed to have originated with Zadok, a Jewish doctor, who lived about two hundred and fifty years before Christ, and their leading tenet seems to have been the denial of all that the Pharisees affirmed ; they, how- ever, accepted the five books of Moses. They were few in num- ber, but powerful from their wealth and social position. They were of the priestly class, but skeptical of the truths which they should have preached, and which the best men of their age cherished. Not popular like the Pharisees, they were not lead- ers of the masses, nor in sympathy with the common people. Self-indulgent, proud, and ambitious, they used the national re- ligion simply as a means to promote their political power and THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES. 69 Chap. III. Luke 3 : 7-9. Summer of J.C. 30. cees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O genera- tion of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance, and begin 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. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees : every tree therefore which bringeth importance. Thoroughly worldly, selfish, and infidel, they lacked even the one virtue which redeemed (he Pharisee — patriot- ism. Speaking of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Geiku says (vol. i. 68) : " The one were the High Churchmen of their nation, the others the Rationalists." Generation of vipers. — More literally, " offspring of vipers." This is addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and John probably means to imply that they are of the " seed of the ser- pent," notwithstanding their boasted descent from Abraham. They were thus classed among those who should be bruised by the seed of the woman (Gen. 3 : 15). The serpent among the Jews was a symbol of the devil, and the phrase may be interpreted by John 8 : 44. On this passage Calvin remarks : " He calls them a generation of vipers, rather than vipers, that he may set a mark on the virulent malignity of their whole order ; for his object was not merely to reprove the few of those who were present, but rather the entire body ; as if he should have said that both their sects brought forth nothing but serpents." Vipers are a serpent of peculiarly malignant temper and venomous bite. Wrath to come. — The impending doom of the Jewish nation foretold by Malachi (3:2; 4 : 5) in connection with the fore- runner of the Messiah. Bring forth fruits. — "John did not demand tears. He did not require they should sit for weeks on an anxious seat, or that they should frequent inquiry meetings for months. If you are sorry, show it by doing better, he said. Let honester, purer, and kindlier lives be proof of the sincerity of your penitence." — Egglcston. We have Abraham to our father. — The especial pride and greatest blunder of the Jewish nation — the imputation of Abra- ham's righteousness to their credit. John preached individual " repentance," and the judging of each tree " by its fruit," as his Master did after him. 70 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. III. Luke 3 : 9-13. Summer of j.c. 30. not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then ? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath meat let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do ? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. Two coats. — "Two tunics. The inner garment worn next to the skin, generally with sleeves, and reaching usually to the knees, sometimes 10 the ankles. Two tunics indicate but small wealth. Even tie poor can spare something for the still poorer. ' ' — A bbott. Publicans. — As early as the second Punic War, the Roman senate found it convenient to farm the direct taxes and customs of the empire to capitalists, who undertook to pay a given sum into the public treasury, and so received the name of ptiblicani. These capitalists generally resided in Rome, and had subordinates living in the provinces, who had under them customs officers, usual- ly natives of the districts in which they lived, employed in the ac- tual collection of the taxes from the people. These agents and their underlings were encouraged in the most fraudulent and vexatious exactions ; they overcharged systematically (Luke 3 : 13), brought false accusations of smuggling in hopes oi obtaining hush-money (Luke 19 : 8), and resorted to every possible mode of extortion. The Jews bore the Roman yoke with great impatience, and were told by many of the Scribes, that the paying of tribute was un- lawful (Matt. 22 : 17). The native tax-gatherer was therefore held in great detestation. He was not only an extortioner, but a traitor and apostate, defiled by intercourse with the heathen, and the willing tool of the Roman oppressor, and so was cast out of society, and classed with sinners — thieves, adulterers, and other abandoned characters. He is said by some to have been forbidden to enter the temple, or any synagogue, and not to have been allowed to engage in public prayer, to hold judicial office, or to give evidence in courts of justice. The same method of raising taxes is pursued at the present day in Turkey, and was the immediate cause of the rising in European Turkey, which brought on the recent war. THE SOLDIERS AND THE PEOPLE. 7 1 Chap. III. Luke 3 : 14-17 ; Matt. 3 : 11. j.c. 30. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do ? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely ; and be content with your wages. • And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not ; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance ; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes 1 am not worthy to unloose : he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Whose fan is in his Soldiers. — Probably Romans. The wages of this class were about three cents a day, with a meagre ration in addition. Muti- nies on account of pay were frequent, especially among the soldiers of dependent kings. And in that age, when soldiers looked with contempt upon civilians, acts of violence were com- mon on the part of the military. John, like Paul, enjoins upon every man the duties suited to his station. Whether he were the Christ. — " This shows the deep impres- sion made by John, as well as the general expectation that the Messiah would speedily come. John's humble declaration shows his moral greatness." — Riddle, One mightier than I cometh would be more literally ren- dered, " There cometh He that is mightier than I." The latchet of whose shoes. — At first, in order to keep the feet from the sharp stones, or the burning sand, small pieces of wood called sandals, were bound by thongs upon the soles. Leather, or skins of beasts dressed, afterwards were used. It was the business of the lowest servants to remove the master's sandals on his en- tering his dwelling. The same custom still exists among the Mohammedans. The idea is that John considered himself un- worthy to perform the most humble office for so exalted a per- sonage as the Messiah. When Dr. Bonar went to the Turkish mosque in Jerusalem, which stands where once the temple stood, a poor Arab boy followed him as shoe-bearer, untying the doc- tor's shoes at the gate of the mosque, and then bearing them after him, from place to place, until he came out into the street again. With the Holy Ghost, and with fire. — The descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a fulfilment of this pre- diction. But this baptism applied to comparatively few. John's 72 THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Chap. III. Luke 3 : 17, 18. Summer of j.c. 30. hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner ; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached .he unto the people. language denotes a general benefit. It therefore refers to the Spirit of Truth promised by Christ in John 16 : 13 and 15 : 16. Rev. W. Arthur compares the baptism of fire to the operation of an army against a besieged fortress. The army has cannon, powder, and ball, with which to batter it down ; but of themselves these are powerless. But put this powerless powder and ball into the powerless cannon, and apply one spark of fire ! In- stantly the powder is a flash of lightning, and the cannon ball a thunderbolt, which smites as if it were sent from heaven. His fan. — Threshing, among the Jews, was done in an open space, without walls or covering, called a threshing-floor, trod- den down hard, and usually on elevated ground, to take advan- tage of the wind in winnowing. The grain was trodden out by oxen or beaten with flails, and was then separated from the chaff by a fan — a fork with several prongs, or a broad shovel, which was held in the hand, and used to throw up the mingled heap against the wind, when the chaff was blown away. Shall thoroughly purge would be better rendered, " Shall cleanse his floor from one end to the other. " — Alford . "Very little use is now made of the fan, but I have seen it employed to cleanse the floor of the refuse dust, which the owner throws away as useless." — Thomson. Garner. — Usually a dry subterranean vault for storing grain ; the emblem of the kingdom of God on earth and in heaven. Unquenchable fire. — " There was danger lest, after they had been separated, the chaff should be blown again among the wheat by the changing of the wind. To prevent this, fire was set to the chaff on the windward side, which crept on, and never gave over, till all was consumed (Isa. 5 : 24)." — Burder. Many other things preached he. — " The foregoing passages are not the report of a single sermon, but a summary embodying the spirit of John's teaching at this time. After the baptism of Jesus the character of his ministry changed, and he proclaimed the ' Lamb of God that taketh away the sins oi the world ' (John 1 : 29-36). Now he was not proclaiming the Messiah, but pre- paring the way for the Messiah ; thence the difference between his answer here and that of Jesus in John 6 : 29, and of Paul in Acts 16 : 31, to the question, What shall we do ? Theirs was the answer of the New Testament ; this was the answer of the last of the Old Testament prophets." — Abbott. THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN. 73 Chap. III. Matt. 3 : 13-16 ; Mark 1:9; Luke 3 : 21, 22. j.c. 31. Then cometh Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee to Jor- dan unto John, to be baptized of him. The Voice But John forbade him, saying, I have from Heaven- need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now : for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteous- ness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight- way out of the water ; and lo, while he was praying, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending in a bodily shape like a dove, and light- To be baptized of him. — " There is no more strangeness in his having been baptized by John than in his keeping the pass- overs. The one rite, as the other, belonged to sinners ; and among the transgressors he was numbered." — Alfoi-d. Suffer it to be so now. — " He received it as ratifying the mis- sion oi his great forerunner — the last and greatest child of the Old Dispensation, the earliest herald of the New ; and he also received it as the beautiful symbol of moral purification and the humble inauguration of a ministry which came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil. . . . He does not say, ' I must,' but ' Thus it becometh us.' He does not say, ' 77^/ anci t]ie sheep, and the oxen ; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables ; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence : make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, What Small cords. — The original implies that this scourge was made of twisted reeds, which probably was the ancient material for ropes. The cords were no doubt the same which had been used to tether the oxen ; and Henry remarks, " He did not make a scourge to chastise the offenders, but only to drive out the cattle. He aimed no further than at reformation." Overthrew the tables. — There was something in the manner of Jesus that awed the money changers, and made them submit without resistance. The spirit of greed is seldom brave. " Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all." Them that sold doves. — Doves were the offering of the poor. "When he drove out the sheep and oxen, the owners might follow them ; when he poured out the money, they might gather it again ; but if he had turned the doves flying, perhaps they could not have been retrieved ; therefore he said, ' Take these things hence.' He did not needlessly destroy property." — Henry. My Father's house. — By this Jesus plainly asserted his Mes- sianic character, and his authority to cleanse the temple. The Jews. — Reference is here probably had to some of the members of the Sanhedrin. Among them at this time were men of great learning and ability — Gamaliel, the preceptor of Paul, and grandson of the celebrated Hillel ; Joseph of Ari- mathea, who "did not consent to the counsel and deed" of his colleagues in the death of Jesus : John (Acts 4 : 6), who is identified with the celebrated Jochanan Ben Zaccai of the Talmud, a very learned man ; Alexander, a brother of the eminent Philo ludeas, so often mentioned by Josephus ; Caiaphas, the high- priest ; and Annas, his father-in law, perhaps the most influen- tial man in the nation. Annas was himself high priest from a.d. 7 to a.d. 14, and he had five sons who successively attained to THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 95 Chap. VI. John 2 : 18-22. April 11-18, j.c. 31. sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things ? Jesus answered and said unto them. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days ? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them ; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. that dignity. The four persons last named seem to have had at this time a preponderating influence in the Sanhedrin, and their hostility to Christ, which was afterwards to vent its fatal fury on his life, appears to have begun with this cleansing of the temple. Their sittings were held in a hall called Gazzilh, sup- posed by Lightfoot to have been in the south east corner of one of the temple courts. It being the time of the Passover, they were doubtless now in session, and therefore could not have been ignorant of the action of Jesus. What sign shewest thou ?— This question implies a previous question and answer, in which Christ had asserted his divine authority. In proof of this authority they demand now, as they did afterwards, spme visible sign from heaven. This Jesus does not give, but, instead, makes the enigmatical reply which follows. Destroy this temple, etc. — The meaning of this passage, which has greatly perplexed commentators, is perhaps best given by Alford. The substance cf his remarks, somewhat differently stated, is as follows : 1. The temple was a type of the church. 2. The body of Christ was also a type of the church. 3. The saying of Christ implied that if the whole temple and its service should be destroyed (as it was virtually when his body was slain), he would, by the resurrection of his body, build up a spiritual temple, infinitely more glorious. This saying, per- verted, was used against him on his trial. Temple of his body. — The word temple was in use among the Jews to denote the body as the dwelling place of the spirit. Bis disciples remembered.— " Believed both the Old Testa- ment prophecy, which foretold this very cleansing (Mai. 3 ; i), and his own prophecy of his resurrection." — Eggleston. 96 THE FIRST PASSOVER. Chap. VI. John 2 : 23-25 ; 3 : 1. April 11 iS, j.c. 31. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man ; for he knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode- The miracles which he did. — From this passage, and from John 4 : 45 and 6:2, it is evident that Jesus wrought many miracles that are not recorded in the sacred writings. Did not commit himself unto them. — The original denotes Xo put trust or confidence in. Jesus did not rely upon them, be- cause their belief rested on the exhibitions of power they had seen, and not on the moral character of his teachings — was ex- ternal, not the vital and internal faith required of his disciples. The purification of the temple was an open assertion by Jesus of his divine authority. Done in the presence of the ecclesiastical rulers, as well as of the multitudes who had flocked to the festival, it must have awakened general inquiry as to who he was, and by what authority he acted. But this act, as well as the miracles he performed, so far from satisfying the rulers of his divine char- acter, only exciied their animosity. This purification seems a different one from that mentioned by the Synoptists (Matt. 21 : 12-16 ; Mark n : 15-19 ; Luke 19 : 45-48). This occurred at the beginning ; that at the end of his ministry. The act, in all its essential outward features, must have been the same ; but its significance varied with the time. As now performed, it was a plain and open avowal of his divine authority. It is, however, held by some that the two records refer to the one act, and that it occurred during his last days at Jerusalem. Nicodemus was one of the Sanhedrin, and reference to him as the teacher implies that he was a prominent doctor. He came to jesus by night perhaps to avoid observation and to escape the enmity of his colleagues, which had doubtless been excited against Jesus by the casting out of the traffickers from the tem- ple ; but it may have been to secure the quietest and least dis- turbed time for conference. Jesus told him at once that he must " be born of water" — must make an open profession of his belief in the new religion — if he would enter the kingdom of God. Thus early he announced the necessity of " confessing him be- fore men." In the Rabbinical writings Nicodemus is described as a man of great wealth, large liberality, and ardent piety ; but THE NEW BIRTH. 97 Chap. VI. John 3 : 1-4. April ii-iS, j.c. 31. mus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know The New that thou art a teacher come from God : Birth" for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, his splendid fortunes, those writings say, were attended with as great reverses as were those of Job. By some he is identified with a certain Nicodemus Ben Gerion, spoken of in the Talmud. If he was the same person he must have survived the destruction of Jerusalem. Tradition states that after the resurrection he became an open follower of Christ, and received baptism at the hands of Peter and John. The reference to him in John 19 : 39 renders this entirely credible. We know thou art a teacher come from God. — The use by Nicodemus of the word we indicates that there was already a difference of opinion among the rulers in regard to Jesus, and that some of his colleagues also regarded the new prophet as di- vinely commissioned. He had accepted Christ's miracles as evi- dence of his authority as a teacher ; but Jesus cuts his adulation short. He is no mere teacher come from God, but the life of the world ; and proceeds to open to Nicodemus the fundamental philosophy of religion. Just as he embodied " all the Law and the prophets" in his command of love to God and our neighbor, so he condensed the essence of the Gospel in his dictum, " That which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; that which is born of the spirit, is spirit." It has been said that the doctrines taught by Jesus were gradually developed as his own spiritual power was gradually unfolded, just as truth is in the growing minds of other men. But in this conversation with Nicodemus all that Jesus subsequently taught may be found outlined in this, the first week of his ministry. Except a man be born again.-- Rather, be begotten anew, or. perhaps, from above ; either rendering is possible. The new birth was a familiar metaphor with the rabbis, who held that no Gentile could become a child of God without being born anew. What surprised Nicodemus was not the enunciation jf this gen- eral doctrine, but the declaration that he, a Jewish theologian, must undergo the same change thai a hated Gentile must undergo. 98 THE FIRST PASSOVER. Chap. VI. John 3 : 5-14. April 11-18, J.c. 31. How can a man be born when he is old ? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born ? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ex- cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it list- eth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be ? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a mas- ter of Israel, and knowest not these things ? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen ; and ye receive not our wit- ness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things ? Christ's -And no man hath ascended up to heaven, Salvation. but ^e that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses Verily. — Truly, without mistake or uncertainty. The frequent use of this emphatic term was a peculiar characteristic of Jesus. It is recorded of him twenty-nine times in Matthew, fifteen times in Mark, eight times in Luke, and twenty four times in John. This little word is a water-mark by which we can see the fidelity of the Gospel historians. Its frequent repetition by all th.2 evan- gelists is an incidental but strong proof of their own trustworthi- ness. A Master of Israel. — The word here translated " master" is the same that Nicodemus applies to Jesus— teachet ; it is also the same as the Hebrew " Rabbi (which is to say, being inter- preted, Master)"— i.e., Teacher. John 1 : 39. In the original the definite article is used — " the teacher cf Israel." THE LOVE OF GOD. 99 Chap. VI. John 3 : 14-21. April 11-18, j.c. 31. lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned : but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation — that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. For God so loved the world, etc. — By some, what follows to the end of this account (John 3 : 16-21) is supposed to be the words of John, and not those of Jesus ; but the close and logical connection it has with what precedes does not countenance this supposition. To condemn should be rendered " to judge ;" Is not con- demned, " Cometh not into judgment ;" and condemnation, " judgment." Light and darkness, also, should be " the light," and " the darkness," and truth should be " the truth." IOO THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 3 : 22-24. April-Dec, j.c. 31. CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. After these things came Jesus and his disciples into jesus goes the land of Judea ; and there he tarried into judea. w^ them, an(j baptized. And John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salim, because there was much water there : and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. After these things.— The eight days of the Passover having expired, it is probable that Jesus left Jerusalem, and going into the adjacent country, began his work. We have no details of his preaching, but it must have produced a profound impression, for it is said that he made more disciples than John. How long the work in Judea continued we cannot certainly know ; but we con- clude that it lasted for more than half a year ; for, supposing that he began to preach early in April — directly after the Passover- he apparently did not leave Judea to pass through Samaria until December, when it was " yet four months to the harvest." It is suggested by Andrews that during this time He went up to Jerusalem to attend the two great feasts during this period — that of Pentecost and of Tabernacles, and if so he must have come more or less in contact with the priests and Pharisees. It does not appear, however, that he went about from place to place to teach, or that he taught in any of the synagogues. His disciples. — Probably the five who had joined him at the Jordan. They had probably again joined him at Capernaum, and witnessed his miracles at the Passover. Land of Judea. — The country adjacent to Jerusalem, and in the territory of Judea ; here, the country in contrast to the city. Enon.— The true site of this place is not known. The origi- nal of the phrase — "much water" — denotes "many springs," or " fountains." " John chose a place abounding in these, when he removed from the banks of the Jordan, in order that the multitude who flocked to him might be accommodated."— Prof. Stuart. " We best meet the scope of the narrative if we sup- pose that Jesus and John were not very fa^ distant from each other, and both in the region of the Jordan."— Andrews, LAST TESTIMONY OF JOHN. IOI Chap. VII. John 3 : 25-30. April-Dec, J.c. 31. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he Last Testimony that was with thee beyond Jordan, to of John. whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom : but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly be- cause of the bridegroom's voice : this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. A question. — A controversy ; a dispute. It was raised by the yews, or a yew, which phrase throughout John's gospel denotes an inhabitant of Judea in contrast to a Galilean. Purifying among the Jews included all ceremonial washings and baptisms. The methods varied in form, but all " purifica- tions" symbolized a cleansing of the conscience and life. He that hath the bride, etc. — " This is the first New Testa- ment allusion to Christ as the bridegroom, though the figure of Israel's marriage to God is often used by the Old Testament prophets, and often in the gospels, epistles, and apocalypse, it is used of Christ and the church. The friend of the bridegroom was the one who conducted all the arrangements for the bride- groom. He rejoiced in the completion of his mission. This is a most appropriate figure, for John never really entered the kingdom. He was the friend of the bridegroom who intro- duced him to his bride, the church. Like Moses, he led others to the promised possession, but never entered himself." — Eggle< ston. But the friend, etc. — The voice of the bridegroom and bride, a phrase frequently used in the Old Testament as symbols of festivity and joy (Jer. 7 : 34 ; 16 : 9 ; 25 : 10 ; 33 ■ 11). I must decrease. — The office of the bridesman, to whom John compared himself, lasted for but seven days ; the bride- groom became the husband. The morning star that ushers in the day is lost in the beams of the rising sun. THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY, Chap. VII. John 3 : 31-36. April-Dec, j.c. 31. He that cometh from above is above all : he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth : he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth ; and no man receiv- eth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God : for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him. He that cometh from above, etc. — Some insist that these are the words, not of the Baptist, but of the Evangelist. But Alford and others think that it is the Baptist who speaks through- out, and who points out the superiority of Christ's origin. No man receiveth his testimony. — John had already heard how few of the leading Jews received Jesus, and he foresaw, probably, that few, comparatively, of the nation would ulti- mately accept the great spiritual truths ol the Gospel. " His dis- ciples, looking at the outside present appearance, said, ' All men.' John, with prophetic insight, said, ' No man.' Each is a strong statement, not meant to be mathematically accurate, for John at once makes an exception." — Eggleston. Hath set to his seal. — To seal an instrument is to make it sure, to acknowledge it as ours, to take it as ours, and to pledge our veracity that it is true and binding, as when a man seals a bond, a deed, or a will. Thus the meaning is : " He who accepts Christ's testimony, by the witness of divine grace in his own life attests the truth of God in the fulfilment of his promises." The words of God. — The truth : the substance of all previ- ous revelations, with the added truths of Christianity. By measure. — Not in a limited degree. Probably an allusion to the opinion of the Rabbis who regarded the prophets as in- spired only in a limited way. The law itself they regarded as only a partial revelation which was to be made perfect by the coming Messiah. All things into his hand. — The same truth was afterwards expressed by Jesus, " All power is given unto me in heaven, and in earth" (Matt. 28 : 18). Hath everlasting life. — " He who with his heart believeth in the Son is already in possession of eternal life ; he, whatever JESUS GOES TO GALILEE. *°3 Chap. VII. John 4 : i-4- April-Dec, j.c. 31. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized JesuSKOesto more disciples than John (though Jesus throuGhal^emaria. himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. may be his outward profession, whatever his theoretic : or ^ histo- rical belief, who Obeyeth not the Son, not only does not possess eternal life he does not possess any thing worthy to be cal ed Ufe Pat! all "— Bishop Jebb Here, as elsewhere throughout the Gospels eternal life is represented as a present as well as a future possession. We look forward to the ineffable bhss. 01 "unutter- able woe, of another life, and forget that, as to our rants, we are already in that life, already dwellers in the . ipuntual worid, which is hidden from us only by the muddy vesture of decaj n which we are encased. " This is life eternal o know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent ^He left3judea.— From the " last testimony of John'' it is evi- dent that the Pharisees of Jerusalem had jealously watched Jesus, anS attempted to hinder hi work by sowing d^ns'onbetween his disciples and those of John. His increasing P°P»la£> j£j brought out more strongly their envy and dislike, and increased their hostility. " To have continued his work could, therefore, have verd no good end, since it was not now the gathering of a body of disciples around him at which he aimed but the re- pentance of the priests and leaders of the people. We conclude, Therefore that he now left Judea because the moral conditions or the successful prosecution of his baptismal labors were want- " Great numbers had resorted to Jesus, and been baotized ' But these were the common people, without reputa- tionor authority. Those who ruled in all religious matters in gav 'direction to public ^T^^lSSS^M Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the rich and '^3 h e^ themselves almost aloof. Hence, as regar «l«d the naUon at large, the baptismal work failed of its end- .The true and d^ vinelv appointed representatives of the P«^~2 authorities, who sat in Moses' seat, were X\£^-AndrSs anre and therefore could not receive the Messiah —Anartws. Suit needs go through Samaria.-In the following chapter Tes^sU wUheaSfe^°of his fisci pies, is on his way from Jerusa em and the hill country of Judea to Galilee The waj , £ rough Samaria was the direct and usual route, but many traveller, lol 104 THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 4 : 5. April-Dec, j.c. 31. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called lowed the more circuitous one to the east of the Jordan. Josephus says the former was usually taken in going to and from the fes- tivals, because by it Jerusalem could be reached in three days from Galilee, although the enmity of the Samaritans was often manifested to the Jews on such occasions. Samaria lay between Judea and Galilee, and included the region bounded on the north by the range of hills which begins on the west at Mount Carmel and runs east to the valley of the Jordan, and on the south by the northern possessions of the tribe of Benja- min. It thus comprised the territory formerly occupied by the tribe of Ephraim, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. When the ten tribes were carried away captive to Babylon, the Assyrian king sent other nations to inhabit their country, and so Gentiles were placed " in the cities of Samaria, instead of the children of Israel" (2 Kings 17:6,23). These people at first worshiped idols ; but being troubled with lions — because, as they supposed, they had not honored the God of the country — they asked the King of Assyria to send them one of the captive priests to teach them " how they should fear the Lord." The priest was sent, and henceforth they " feared the Lord, and served their graven images," their religion becoming a mixture of Judaism and idolatry. When the Jews returned from Babylon, and began the rebuilding of the temple, the Samaritans offered their assistance ; but the Jews rejected it on the ground of their idolatry and As- syrian descent. Then a bitter feeling arose between the two people, which was increased by renegade Jews who, from time to time, took refuge with the Samaritans. One of these rene- gades— Manasseh, a man of priestly lineage, who had been ex- pelled from Jerusalem by Nehemiah for an unlawful marriage with the daughter of Sanballat, the Persian satrap — about 409 B.C. obtained leave from the Persian king to build a temple on Mount Gerizim. The building of this temple increased the feud between the Jews and Samaritans, and many Jewish criminals and refugees from justice being afterwards received and pro- tected by the Samaritans, an irreconcilable hatred sprang up be- tween the two nations. This continued till the time of Christ, when the Jews regarded the Samaritans as the worst of the human race, and had no dealings with them. Notwithstanding their Assyrian origin, the Samaritans claimed to be descended from Jacob (John 4 : 12), and to have possession of the only authentic copy of the Pentateuch. They rejected the other Old Testament writings, and held that Mount Gerizim had been des- ignated by Moses as the place where " men should worship." When Abraham first entered Canaan he encamped in the plain SAMARIA AND SYCHAR. 105 Chap. VII. John 4 : 5. April-Dec, J.C. 31. Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave of Moreh (Valley of Shechem), and built an altar to the Lord, who there appeared to him (Gen. 12 : 6). This was also Jacob's first encampment on his return from Haran (Gen. 33 : 18, 20). Here Moses directed to be convoked the first national assembly of Israel when they should renew their covenant with the Lord on taking possession of the promised land, and Joshua fulfilled the command, ranging six tribes on the slopes of Mount Ebal, and six on those of Mount Gerizim, to respond Amen to the curses and blessings respectively. Gerizim was the " Mount of Bless- ing." And this gave to Manasseh, centuries later, a pretext for his new temple and his attempt to set up an opposition lo Jeru- salem. Samaria had also for ages been the battle-ground of Palestine. Its every hill and valley recalls some famous conflict or great event linked wilh the history of the chosen nation. But all the great events of which it has been the theatre dwindle into in- significance beside one simple incident that it witnessed — the casual meeting of a " Jewish peasant " with an abandoned wom- an of Samaria at the well of Sychar. This wayside traveller, though a Jew, announced that God is not a local or national divin- ity, but a Universal Presence : a Spirit, whom men must worship in spirit and in truth. This thought, uttered at a chance inter- view, interprets Christianity as a universal religion which shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The present people of Samaria are rude, insolent, and danger- ous to strangers ; and the former inhabitants, according to the prophets, were of quite as bad a character. Sychar. — The true name of this place was Shechem, but Sychar — a Syriac word signifying a drunkard and a liar — was an opprobrious term applied to it by the Jews. It was lorty miles north of Jerusalem, and fifty-two north-west from Jericho, and one of the oldest and most populous cities of Palestine. It re- ceived the name of " Neapolis" from Vespasian, and on coins still extant is called " Flavia Neapolis." Its present name, Naplous, is an Arabic corruption of Neapolis. It is situated in a narrow valley between Mount Gerizim on the south and Mount Ebal on the north, and its environs are described as being sur- passingly beautiful. Gerizim rises eight hundred feet above the town, and a lofty range of mountains bounds its horizon on all sides. Streams, issuing from numerous springs, flow down the mountain slopes, spreading verdure and fertility in every direc- tion. Dr. Robinson says : " The whole valley is filled with gar- dens of vegetables, and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered by fountains. It burst upon us like a scene of fairy enchant- I06 THF. FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 4 : 5, 6. April-Dec, j.c. 31. to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well : and it was about the sixth hour. ment. We saw nothing to compare with it in all Palestine. The streets of the city are narrow, and vaulted over, and mul- berry, orange, and pomegranate trees grow in among the houses, and load the air with perfume. The gardens are the homes of numerous nightingales, and other birds, and from them the val- ley takes the name of ' the musical vale of Palestine.' The city has now a population of about two thousand, only two hun- dred of whom are Samaritans." The parcel of ground. — Bought by Jacob from Hamor, father of Shechem (Josh. 24 : 32). .... Jacob's Well is located about a mile and a half east from Naplous, at the foot of Mount Gerizim, and near a wretched ham- let called Balata. It is excavated in the solid limestone rock, is perfectly round, with sides hewn smooth and regular, and is nine feet in diameter by about eighty in depth. Formerly the opening was vaulted over in a small chamber under the surface of the ground, and surrounded by a terrace of rude masonry, on which, probably, Jesus sat ; but this is now fallen in, and noth- ing can be seen below but a shallow pit nearly filled with stones and rubbish. There is no mention of this well in the Old Testa- ment, and it may have received its name only from the fact of being near the field which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. In this field, a quarter of a mile to the north of the well, is " the tomb of Joseph." This is a small square enclosure, with whitewashed walls, surmounted by a dome. A rough pillar, black with fire, is at its head, and another at its loot, and on the walls are two slabs with Hebrew inscriptions. There is no doubt that this is the resting-place of the bones of the Patriarch. At this well Jesus arrived about midday, and being wearied with his journey, sat down upon it, while his disciples went away to the city to buy food. How far he had journeyed that day we do not know, but the fact that he was too weary to go on, while his disciples could walk three miles — a mile and a half, and back — before taking rest or food, indicates that he must have had a more than ordinarily delicate physical constitution. This is also shown by his inability to bear his cross, and hy his surviving the torture of crucifixion only a few hours when ordinary natures often en- dured it for two or three days. About the sixth hour. — By Jewish reckoning, this would be twelve o'clock, or noonday ; by Roman computation, six o'clock in the morning, or evening. It is generally taken to have been noonday. " If we remember that this was in December, travel- AT JACOli's WELL. 107 Chap. VII. John 4 : 7-12. April-Dee., J.c. 31. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water : Tesus said unto her, Give me to drink -' Jesus and the (for his disciples were gone away unto the Woman*t x . i«ii Jacobs Well. city to buy meat). Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria ? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep : from whence then hast thou that living water ? Art thou greater than our ing at midday will not appear strange. Noon was not indeed the time for general resort to the well, but such resort must be determined in particular cases by individual need ; and that the woman was alone, and held so long a private conversation un- interrupted, shows that it was an hour when the well was not generally visited. At this hour the Jews were accustomed to take their principal meal." — Andrews. A woman of Samaria. — It was the custom of the country for women to work in the fields, and this woman was probably thus employed in the neighborhood of the well. No dealings. — No friendly or social intercourse. " It ap- pears from the Talmud that it was held lawful for the Jews to make purchases of the Samaritans ; but not to receive kindness from them, or to drink of their water, or eat of their morsels." — Dr. Whitby. A Jewish axiom was, " A bit of the Samaritan's bread is swine's flesh." Robinson says : " If of old the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, the latter at the present day reciprocate the feeling, and neither eat, nor drink, nor marry, nor associate with the Jews ; but only trade with them." The woman repels the request of Jesus with scorn. Living water. — Running water, as from a spring or fountain that never fails. Nothing to draw with. — " No bucket" is a correct render- ing of the original. Wells in the East are not furnished with drawing apparatus, and travelers provide themselves with small leathern buckets, which they carry on their journeys. 108 THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 4 : 12-21. April-Dec, j.c. 31. father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle ? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drink- eth of this water, shall thirst again : but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband : for thou hast had five husbands ; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband : in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou The tme art a prophet. Our fathers worshiped Worship. m t]1-s mountain ; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour His children. — His household. This extended sense of the word is a striking relic of the ancient simplicity of manners, by which all, children and servants, were counted as of the family. But whosoever drinketh, etc— .Whoever is accustomed to drink of it, and to rely upon it. Give me this water.— She speaks jeeringly ; but he is not repelled by her speech, any more than by a knowledge of her life, from going on with the conversation. He is the friend of " publi- cans and sinners." Hast had five husbands. — The lax laws of divorce permitted this ; but she was now living in open sin. In this mountain. — A little body of a hundred and fifty or two hundred Samaritans remain to this day, and still worship on Mount Gerizim, and these are all that are left of that once great people ; while the Jews, though scattered over the earth, are as numerous now as in the time of Christ. THE TRUE WORSHIP. IO9 Chap. VII. John 4 : 21-27. April-Dec, j.c. 31. cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we worship ; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Clod is a Spirit ; and they that worship him must wor- ship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ : when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman : yet no man said, What seek- est thou ? or, Why talkest thou with her ? For salvation is of the Jews. — That is, the divine salvation promised in the prophecies of the Old Testament proceeds from the Jewish nation. I know that Messias cometh. — This remark shows the uni- versality of this expectation. He was looked for by all classes, both Jews and Samaritans. I that speak unto thee am he. — These words, like his other words — " Peace, be still," " I will, be thou clean," and " Lazarus, come forth" — enable us to realize the amazing majesty of character which impressed all so powerfully. Words of such grandeur were never before uttered by man. "His birth had been first revealed by night to a few unknown and ignorant shepherds ; the first full clear announcement by himself of his Messiahship was made by a well-side in the weary noon to a single, obscure Samaritan woman." — Farrar. Talked with the woman. — It was considered by the Jews highly indecorous to converse with women in public, and the Rabbis held that to discourse with them on any important or serious subject was wholly unsuited to the dignity of a doctor of the law. But this woman was a Samaritan, and that added to the astonishment of his disciples. Though surprised at this, they forbore to speak to him of it. This shows the awe which he inspired even in those whom he admitted to the closest in- timacy. It is Christianity alone which has elevated woman to her true position as the equal of man. 110 THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 4 : 28-36. April-Dec, J.c. 31. The woman then left her water-pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did : is not this the Christ ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat ? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest ? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto Left her water-pot. — He has aroused the conscience of the woman ; but, at the same time, has excited her reverence and love. She would communicate this to others, and in her haste forgets her errand to the well, a natural effect of her strong emotion. This is a touch of nature indicating the truth of the narrative. Four months. — No doubt a Jewish proverb, that time being the usual interval between seed-time and harvest : but the word "yet," in the context, indicates the statement to be literal, in which case it was now December. The fields are white. — The effect of his words on the woman leads him to speak of the spiritual harvest for reaping which his disciples will receive wages, and gather fruit to life eternal. In this conversation he quotes the proverb, " one soweth and another reapeth," and reminds them that he had sent them to reap where John had labored, and they had entered into his labors. " As the agricultural laborer receives his wages, whether for ploughing and sowing, or for reaping and gathering the corn, so shall ye receive your reward for gathering men unto the kingdom of God ; and whether your labor be only prepara- tory, or such as consummates the spiritual harvest, ye shall alike be blessed with an ample recompense." — Bloom field. THE SAMARITANS RECEIVE JESUS. Chap. VII. John 4 : 36-42. April-Dec, j.c. 31. life eternal : that both he that sovveth and he that reap- eth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor : other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the The Samaritans Samaritans were come unto him, they be- receive JebUS- sought him that he would tarry with them : and he abode there two days. And many more believed be- cause of his own word. And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying : for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. We believe, for we have heard him ourselves. — The re- ception he met with from this despised people was in striking contrast with that he had received rom the self-righteous Phari- sees of Jerusalem ; and yet, here he did no miracles. " De- spite all their intense prejudice they besought him to remain and preach, the first and only instance in which a Samaritan com- pany has been known to request religious instruction of their hereditary foes, the Jews."— Abbott. " The Samaritans— in all the gospel notices of whom we detect something simpler and more open to conviction than the Jews— instantly flocked out of the city" to see and hear this wonderful Jewish teacher.— Farrar. The Saviour of the world.— " Jews might have acknowl- edged him as the Messiah, but only Samaritans, with their far more generous conceptions of the Messianic kingdom, could have thought of him as the Saviour of mankind."— Geikie. " In the temple, between the Court of the Gentiles and the next inner court . . . was a marble screen or curiously-carved fence some two feet high, bevond which no Gentile could venture. Had a Samaritan put his foot inside of that " wall of partition,'' he would have been whirled away in a fury of rage and stoned to death in the twinkling of an eye. But Jesus was treading down that partition wall. . . . This visit in Samaria is of singular importance, at the opening of Christ's ministry, in two respects : first, as a deliberate repudiation and rebuke of the exclusiveness of the Jewish church ; and secondly, and even more significantly, THE FIRST JUDEAN MINISTRY. Chap. VII. John 4 : 43-47. April-Dec, j.c. 31. Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that He proceeds a prophet hath no honor in his own to Gahiee. COuntry. Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, and having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast : for they also went unto the feast. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain noble- man, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he as to the humane manner of his treatment of a sinning woman. It was the text from which flowed two distinguishing elements of his ministry — sympathy with mankind, and the tenderest compassion for those who have sinned and stumbled." — Beecher. After two days he went into Galilee. — " Avoiding Naza- reth, with a wise instinct that a prophet had no honor in his own country, he continued his journey to Cana, across the green pastures and cornfields of Buttauf." — Geikic. The Galileans received him with honor, because they had seen the miracles he did at Jerusalem. " It was his miracles and works abroad that gave him fame and favor at home." — Alford. He came again to Cana. — His home was still at Nazareth ; but he goes to Cana, perhaps on the invitation of Nathanael, who, we are to suppose, had been with him during his stay in Judea. His other disciples, probably, now disperse to their homes ; for directly after the next passover, in the following April, Peter, Andrew, and John are found engaged in their for- mer avocations on the Lake at Capernaum. A certain nobleman. — An officer of the court of Herod An- tipas. He seems to have had his usual residence at Capernaum, and it is not an improbable supposition that he was Chusa, Herod's steward, whose wife afterwards attended on Jesus, His title denotes that he was a man of wealth and consideration. The narrative implies that he went to Jesus soon after his return from Judea, having heard of his arrival, perhaps, from the dis- ciples who had returned to Capernaum. That he had confidence in his power to heal shows that the fame of the miracles of Jesus had already spread widely in Galilee. Capernaum was distant twelve or fourteen miles from Cana. It was down from Cana, the whole route being a continued de- scent. The latter place was located in the hilly region at the nobleman's son healed. 113 Chap. VII. John 4 : 47-54. April-Dec, j.c. 31. heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son : for he was Heais the at the point Of death. Nobleman's Son. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way ; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spo- ken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the sev- enth hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth : and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judea into Galilee. south-west of Capernaum. This is an instance of the truthful local coloring that abounds in the gospels. Except ye see signs, etc. — The verb in the original is in the plural, which indicates that this remark was addressed not so much to the nobleman, who showed a becoming faith, as to those who were standing about Jesus. In his anxiety the father is impatient of any delay, and not dreaming that Christ's word could cure at so great a distance, he says, " Sir, come down ere my child die." Then Jesus answers, " Go thy way, thy son liveth," and the narrative adds, " the man believed," with- out stating why ; but we must infer it was something in the man- ner of Jesus that impressed him with his power and truth. Began to amend. — He expected only a gradual recovery ; but at the stated hour " tlu fever left " his son suddenly and altogether. 114 BETHESDA. Chap. VIII. John 5 : 1-4. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, j.c. 32. CHAPTER VIII. BETHESDA. After this there was a feast of the Jews ; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impo- Heaiing of the tent folk, of blind, halt, withered, wait- impotent Man. jng fQr tne movjng 0f the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water : whosoever then first after the A feast. — It is entirely uncertain what feast this was. Sheep gate. — The word market is not in the original. This was no doubt the sheep gate mentioned by Nehemiah (3 : 1-32, and 12 : 039), and was probably near the temple, for greater con- venience in conveying the sacrifices into the sacred building. The place which tradition locates as the pool of Bethesda is a little to the north-east of the ancient site of the temple, and Maun- drell (1697) describes it as " about one hundred and twenty paces long, forty broad, and at least eight deep, with at one end the remains of three or four arches which are regared as the ruins of the five porches, in which lay the blind, halt, and withered." In the time of Sandys (161 1), the spring which fed the pool was running ; but Maundrell says it was dry when he saw it ; and more recent travelers describe the pool as now destitute of water. It is supposed that the spring, which formerly filtered through the rocks, has become dammed up by the ruins and rubbish. Dr. Robinson identifies Bethesda with the Fountain of the Virgin, or upper pool of Siloam, whose gaseous waters bubble up at intermittent periods. He himself witnessed this. Other travelers argue in favor of other localities, and among them all it can only be said that the true site of Bethesda is still unknown. Troubled the waters. — This passage in the common version, referring to an angel " troubling the water," is not in the oldest MSS., and is rejected as spurious by the most careful scholars. It was probably a Jewish superstition or poetical legend which, from being originally written as a note in the margin, finally, by the hand of some careless copyist, crept into the text of some of the more recent MSS. That this is a legendary, not an inspired THE IMPOTENT MAN HEALED. 115 Chap. VIII. John 5 : 4-7. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, j.c. 32. troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie. and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole ? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool : but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. interpretation, will hardly seem doubtful to any one who consid- ers how inadmissible is the supposition that " God would thus miraculously interpose to throw down from time to time a single boon among a company of cripples, to be seized by the most forward, selfish, and eager, leaving those most discouraged, help- less, and miserable to be overwhelmed again and again with bit- ter disappointment." — Jacob Abbott. Porches. — Porticos, or cloisters ; covered walks to screen from the excessive heat. Impotent folk. — Sick; enfeebled by disease. Had an infirmity. — " The disorder was probably paralysis : not only was such the constant tradition of the primitive ages, but no less than six medical reasons for supposing so are given by Bartholin." — Bloom field. There could have been no collu- sion in the case. The man's affliction having lasted so long, it must have been known to very many. Wilt thou be made whole? — " The question has its pur- pose. This impotent man probably had waited so long, and so long waited in vain, that hope was dead or well-nigh dead, within him, and the question is asked to awaken in him anew a yearning for the benefit which the Saviour, compassionating his hapless case, is about to impart." — Trench. And this was Christ's usual method. He acted on the body through the mind. The life-giving power was all in him ; but it seems to have required for its full operation on human subjects a certain openness of mind, or confiding trust on the part of the recipient. This appears to have been so even when he unconsciously exer- cised his power, as in the case of the afflicted woman in Matt. 9 : 20, whose "faith made her whole." He sought to stimulate the will of the diseased person, and this he did the more readily when that person was rendered sensitive to his influence by con- fidence in his power to heal. Il6 BETHESDA. Chap. VIII. John 5 : 8-14. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, j.c. 32. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked : and on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day : it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk ? And he that was healed wist not who it was : for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, Bed. — Either a portable pallet : a simple strip of canvas laid upon stretchers, and with only a skin or rug for a cover- ing (see Mark 2 : 4) ; or a thick mat, which travelers in the East say is rolled up and carried under the arm. The Jews. — " Not here the multitude, but some among the spiritual lords of the nation, whom it is very noticeable that St. John continually characterizes by this name " (John 1 : 19 ; 7 : 1 ; 9 : 22 ; 18 : 12, 14). — Trench. It is not lawful to carry thy bed. — The carrying of bur- dens on the Sabbath was expressly forbidden among the Jews (Neh. 13 : 15-19 ; Jer. 22 : 21). But the Pharisees had gradually piled up ingenious refinements, and frivolous restrictions, and absurd commands, until their Sabbath, from being a " day of rest," had become a ridiculous and senseless, but at the same time oppressive, burden, a mass of formalism and hypocrisy combined, which Jesus never hesitated to " violate" in the inter- est of man's well-being Had conveyed himself away. — A crowd being in the place, Jesus mingled with and passed through them, and so was lost to sight directly. He never courted observation except when some end was to be accomplished. In the temple. — The man may have gone there to return thanks for the mercy he had received ; but the temple was the common place of resort for all classes ; great crowds were gathered there, and this man, so long bedridden, would natural- ly want to mingle again among his fellows. JESUS REJECTED BY THE RULERS. 117 Chap. VIII. John 5 : 14-19- Mar. 30-Apr. 5, J.c. 32. and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole : sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, be- cause he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hither- to, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sab- bath, but said also, that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. jesUs. the Then answered Jesus, and said unto Sonof God- them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do : for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son Sin no more. — This shows the man's infirmity to have been the result of his own transgression. The remark of Jesus shows that the man's whole life was open before him, even things done before his own earthly life commenced. He warns him of a " worse thing" than those thirty and eight years of pain and in- firmity. This infirmity had found him a youth, and left him an old man ; it had withered up all his manhood, and yet a worse thing would come upon him should he sin again. — Trench, condensed. The Jews persecuted Jesus. — The language indicates not a legal persecution, but a malicious pursuit ; Norton renders it : " Came in pursuit of Jesus." My Father worketh hitherto. — " The speaker puts his own work of power, in the miraculous cure which he had effected, on the same footing of consideration as the works of the Deity in the conservation and government of the universe ; and upon this parity he grounds his right thus to work on the Sabbath day." —Bloomfield. "The Lord does not, as in another case (Luke 13 : 15, 16), appeal here to the reasonableness of the deed being done on the Sabbath, but takes altogether loftier ground, as be- ing One greater than the Sabbath. The whole kernel of this incident is, not that it is lawful to do works of mercy on the Sab- bath, but that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." — Alford. Verily, verily. — " If it be lawful to say so, this is in some sense his oath." — Augustine. (See note on p. 98.) Il8 BETHE5DA. Chap. VIII. John 5 : 19-27. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, J.c. 32. likewise. For the Father loveth the Son and sheweth him all things that himself doeth : and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them ; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man ; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son : That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlast- ing life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself ; Quickeneth. — " Giveth life." The raising of Lazarus and the widow's son, which fulfilled his promise to show them " greater works," were effected by the action of his will. There is some uncertainty as to the meaning to be attached to Christ's language here ; it may be regarded as a reference to Christ's work in raising the spiritually dead into a new and divine life. (See Abbott' s commentary on John here.) Hath committed. — " The whole work of judgment, the whole moral government of the world, the whole course of divine Providence, as regards the nation, the church and the individual, is entrusted to the Son" (see Psalm 2 ; Rev. 1 : 5). — Abbott. So hath he given to the Son. — No created being can have life in himself. But this power has been given to the Son. " It is evident that the office of " Judge of all men" must re- quire omniscience, omnipotence, infinite justice, truth, and per- fection : these are absolutely incommunicable to any mere crea- ture ; and " the Son of Man" cannot be conceived capable of having this work absolutely committed to him, and of properly executing it, but upon the supposition that he is "the Son of God" (Matt. 25 : 34-46 ; 1 Cor. 4 : 3-5, v. 5 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 9-12, v. 10 , 2 Thess. i : 5-10 ; Rev. 20 : 11-15.) — Scott. WITNESS TO CHRIST. HO Chap. VIII. John 5 : 27-36. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, J.c. 32. and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing : as I hear, I judge : and my judgment is just ; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man : but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light : and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater wit- ness than that of John : for the works which the Father The Son of Man. — The definite article is wanting in the orig- inal. The same idea is expressed in Hebrews 4:15. " For we have not a high-priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities ; but one who was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin." Christ is appointed to be judge because he has taken on him human nature, and so knows how to judge sym- pathetically. If I bear witness of myself. — The words " you say" may per- haps be here supplied ; that is, we may suppose that Jesus is re- peating a remark of the Pharisees. Or the passage may be ren- dered as suggested by Bloom field : "If I were to bear witness of myself — i.e., if I had no other evidence than mine own testi- mony, my witness would not be trustworthy. Thus there is no discrepancy between what is said here and in John S : 14, 7." John bare witness unto the truth— The Forerunner testi- fied that Jesus was the Messiah. Greater witness. — Stronger, more decisive evidence, which is the reason why he needs no human testimony. 120 BETHESDA. Chap. VIII. John 5 : 36-44. Mar. 30-Apr. 5, j.c. 32. hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you : for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honor from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not : if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How The same works. — The very works or miracles that I do. Ye have neither heard his voice, etc. — Two interpretations are possible : either (1) the witness of the Father is that of an invisible and inaudible spirit, and therefore not recognized by the Jews who have not his word in them ; or (2) they have shut their eyes and ears to the divine witness that they might not hear and be converted. Search the Scriptures, Or, Ye search the Scriptures ; it may be read either as a command or as a statement. On this passage Chalmers remarks : " The Bible is like a wide and beau- tiful landscape, seen afar off, dim and confused ; but a good telescope will bring it near, and spread out all its rocks and trees and flowers and verdant fields and winding rivers at one's very feet. That telescope is the Spirit's teaching." I receive not honor from men. — Love of human applause, and its cognate sin, hypocrisy, were characteristic of the Phari- sees. " No one, in my opinion, has a higher esteem for virtue, nor is more thoroughly devoted to its service, than he who has lost the credit of being thought by others a good man, in order to preserve, within his own bosom, the consciousness of his really being one." — Seneca. Ye have not the love of God'in you. — " As a man loveth, so he is ; for the lover is in the thing loved more properly than in himself ; wherefore, if a man love earthly things, he may be called an earthly man ; but if he love heavenly things or God, he may be called an heavenly or a godly man." — Dean Colet. TESTIMONY OF MOSES. 121 Chap. VIII. John 5 : 44~47- Mar. 30-Apr. 5. J.c. 32. can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only ? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father : there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me : for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words ? From God only.— More correctly, " From the only God." Had ye believed Moses. — Their avowed reasons for persecu- ting Jesus were two— their love of God, whom they accused Jesus of blaspheming ; and their reverence for the law of Moses, which they said Jesus violated. Jesus had shown (John 5 : 42) that they had no true love of God. and in this passage he asserts that they did not really believe Moses, for if they did, they would believe him. His writings ; my words.— The peculiar argumentative style of the discourses of Jesus as reported in the Gospel of St. John will strike the most careless reader as being different from the terse aphorisms and picturesque parables reported by the three other Evangelists, and these differences have been used as an argument against its genuineness as a book written by the Apostle. But the contrast of style may easily be accounted for by the fact that the Evangelists took the sense of their Master's teachings each from his own point of view, and according to his own nature, and while the practical-minded tax-gatherer Mat- thew, the graphic Mark (who is supposed by some to have been the recorder of Peter's memoirs), and the clear-eyed physician Luke, were attracted more by the simpler utterances of the great Teacher, John took to heart and pondered also his higher, more spiritual, and, perhaps one might say, more mystical discourses. Doubtless, too, as John's gospel was written when he was well advanced in years, and after all the others— as tradition says, by request of the Christians of Asia, mainly for the purpose of add- ing matters omitted or lightly passed over by the others, who had had less long and intimate communion with the Master than he— his own nature must have digested and assimilated these memories of the doings and sayings of the Lord, and his record would naturally take somewhat the color of his own individuali- ty. For a full discussion of the authority and value of John's Gospel, see Smith's Bible Diet. 122 BETHESDA. Chap. VIII. Matt. 4 : 12 ; 14 : 3, 4 ; Mar. 6 : 17, 18. j.c. 32. When Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee ; for Herod had laid hold on John, and 'bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife; for he had mar- ried her. For John had said unto him, It is not lawful When Jesus had heard. — This shows that Jesus was still in Judea when he heard of the Baptist's imprisonment ; and the allusion he makes to John in his address to the Jews would seem to indicate that it was a recent event which had just come to his knowledge. John's voice was now silent. He could no longer call the nation to repentance ; and the bitter hostility the rulers now showed must have convinced Jesus that any further effort to secure their acknowledgment of himself as the messenger of God would be futile. Departed into Galilee. — It was no longer safe for him to appear openly in Judea. What action was now taken by. the Jews is not stated ; but from John 7 : 1 it is evident that they determined to seize upon and put him to death if he was found in Judea. He therefore retires into Galilee, to there gather about him, and instruct, a body of disciples, who should, after his death, preach his gospel. " This is the turning point in the Gospel history. Up to this time the preaching of our Lord at Jerusalem and in Judea had met with a certain degree of tolera- tion, and in many cases even of acceptance ; but after this all becomes changed. Henceforth the City of David is no meet or safe abode for the son of David ; the earthly house of his Heavenly Father is no longer a secure hall of audience for the preaching of the Eternal Son." — Ellicott. Herod. — This was Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, and a son of Herod the Great. He was weak and dissolute, but cunning and superstitious (Mark 8:15; Luke 13 : 32), and inherited all the vices of his father. His conduct at Jerusalem when Jesus was sent to him by Pilate displayed utter heartlessness. Josephus relates that on a journey to Rome he stopped at his brother Philip's house, and there falling in love with Herodias, his brother's wife and his own niece, determined to repudiate the daughter of Aretas, king of Petrea (2 Cor. 11 : 32), whom he had married, and to marry Herodias. Herodias was the daughter of Aris- tobulus, half-brother of Antipas, and wife of the Philip who had been disinherited by his father, and lived a private citizen. By him she had one daughter — the Salome who danced before An- tipas. Herodias was a violent, ambitious woman, and, dissatis- fied with the position of Philip, no doubt entrapped Antipas into this alliance. Incensed with Herod's perfidy, Aretas made HEROD FEARS TO KILL JOHN. 1 23 Chap. VIII. Luke 3 : 19 ; Matt. 14 : 4 ; Mark 6 : 19, 20. j.c. 32. for thee to have her, and reproved him for all the evils he had done. Therefore Herodias had a john cast int0 quarrel against him, and would have killed pnson. him ; but she could not : for Herod, when he would have put him to death, feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet, and he feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy, and ob- served him ; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. war upon him. In the course of this war Herod captured Machsrus, a strong fortress east of the Dead Sea. Here he im- prisoned John. Macha?rus was subsequently retaken by Aretas, who overthrew Herod, and would have dethroned him but for the interference of the Romans, A.D. 37. At the instigation of the ambitious Herodias, Herod afterwards went to Rome to compete for the kingly power bestowed on Agrippa ; but he was there arrested and banished by the Emperor Caligula. He died in Spain a disappointed and ruined man. Herodias shared her husband's exile, and there history leaves her in merit- ed oblivion. This incestuous marriage greatly scandalized the Jews, and in denouncing it John only echoed the puLIi : opinion. Josephus says that his countrymen considered the defeat and overthrow of Herod as the just judgment of God for his murder of John. The founding of the city of Tiberias, on the Lake of Galilee, was the most conspicuous act of the long reign of Herod Antipas. It is not lawful. — The original implies that John said this not only once, but habitually. He was not " a reed shaken by the wind," but a bold preacher of righteousness ; and to this he owed his death. By the law of Moses the marriage was incestu- ous (Lev. 18 : 16 ; 20 : 21). Had a quarrel against him. — The expression in the original in very strong. She fastened her fangs upon him, determined not to let him go till she had destroyed him. But Herod feared the multitude. — " The character of John also restrained him ; but the political motive was needed to over- bear the influence of Herodias. . . . Without the political m tive the moral one would not have sustained Herod against the will of the woman he had adulterously married." — Scltaff. 124 BETHESDA. Chap. VIII. Mark i : 14, 15. j.c. 32. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Jesus begins -The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of to preach. Qod is at hand : repent ye, and believe the Gospel. The time is fulfilled. — " The time here spoken of," says Campell, " is that which, according to the predictions of the prophets, was to intervene between their days, or between any period assigned by them, and the appearance of the Messiah. This had been revealed to Daniel as consisting of what in pro- phetic language is denominated seventy weeks — that is (every week being seven years), four hundred and ninety years, reck- oning from the order issued to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. However much the Jews misunderstood many of the other pro- phecies relating to the reign of Messiah, what concerned both the time and the place of his first appearance seems to have been pretty well apprehended by the bulk of the nation." (Comp. Gal. 4:4; Eph. I : 10 ; and see Dan. 9 : 25.) Believe the gospel. — " Peculiar to Mark. The message of John the Baptist did not include this. As yet our Lord does not preach faith in himself ; that must come later. Yet even here is the germ of faith in a personal Redeemer. The Jews all hoped for the kingdom of God. Jesus proclaims it, but adds something they do not seem to have expected — repentance and faith in order to enter it." — Schaff. " From that time— that is, from the imprisonment of John, and the departure into Galilee, that immediately followed it, Jesus began to preach. His earlier appearance in Judea, though full of striking incidents and proofs of his divine legation, was preliminary to his ministry or preaching, properly so called, which now began. Luke seems plainly to intimate that the first teaching of the Lord in the syna- gogues was that which he records at Nazareth. That his ene- mies at Jerusalem regarded his labors as first taking positive form and character in Galilee, appears from their accusation (Luke 23 : 5), ' he stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.' (See also the words of Peter, Acts 10 : 37, ' That word which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee.') And as God had ordered that Galilee should be the chief theater of his teach- ing, so he providentially overruled the political arrangements of the time, that there he could labor without hindrance, since the tetrarch Herod Antipas did not trouble himself concerning any ecclesiastical movements that did not disturb the public peace. And here also the people were less under the influence of the hierarchy, and more open to his words." — Andrews. PART III. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY IN GALILEE TO THB DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. APRIL, J.C. 32, TO APRIL, J.C. 33- TIME, ONE YEAR. 126 THE PROPHET AT HOME. Chap. IX. Luke 4 : 16. April, j.c. 32. CHAPTER IX. THE PROPHET AT HOME. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought He came to Nazareth. — " Alford and Olshausen regard the incident here identical with that recorded in Matt. 13 : 53-58 ; in this they differ from most harmonists ; and though the chronol- ogy is difficult, it seems to me that the reasons for supposing that Christ was twice rejected by the Nazarenes outweigh those for identifying this rejection with that recorded by Matthew. There is nothing incredible in the supposition that Christ, once rejected, returned a second time to bless his home ; that the first rejection should have been followed by a second, less vehement, because tempered by a natural pride in the increasing fame of their fel- low-townsman ; and that he marveled at their persistence in un- belief (Mark 6 : 6). On the other hand, variations in the two ac- counts are so considerable as to suggest two analogous incidents. In Luke Jesus appears to be alone ; in Mark (6 : 1) his disciples accompany him : in Luke he is attacked by a mob, and barely escapes threatened death ; in Mark (6 : 5) he re- mains and heals some sick : in Luke the incident is apparently introduced partly to explain his change of residence from Naza reth to Capernaum, stated by Matthew without explanation (ch. 4 : 13) ; in Mark he leaves Nazareth only to teach in the villages round about (Mark 6 : 6)." — Abbott. " The mention of the heal- ing of the sick by Mark clearly shows the visits to have been dis- tinct, for this could not have taken place before his first teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and immediately afterwards he was obliged to flee from their rage. The wrath of the people, so unprovoked, and their effort to kill him, seem sufficiently to justify the opinion of Nathanael in regard to Nazareth. From this incident it is plain that they were fierce and cruel, and ready from mere envy to imbrue their hands in the blood of one who had lived among them, a neighbor and friend, all his life. It is not improbable, however, that they may long have been con- scious that, though dwelling among them, he was not of them, and thus a secret feeling of dislike and ill-will have been slumbering in their hearts. This is the only instance recorded of the Lord's reading in a synagogue, and he may have been asked so to do as having been for many years a member of the congregation, or because of the reputation he had already acquired. Elsewhere he preached in the synagogues, permission being everywhere given him, apparently in virtue of his prophetic claims." — Andrews. JESUS TEACHES AT NAZARETH. 127 £haP- IX" L"ke 4 : 16. April, j.c. 32. up : and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue As his custom was.— From this it would appear that Jesus had from his youth up regularly attended the services of the syna- fn^„ , Farrar/ema/ksT th,aS" Even though it were his custom to stan le*t he should seem to approve of witnesses who were liars by nature "—Luhn JVovanm. 6 thf^611 ^ ISaiaH (Cuap- 43 : T~4)- Not strict]v according to the Hebrew, but gives the spirit of the passage. Proclaim judgment to the Gentiles. Make the truth to be known among them or, according to Schaff, " announce the final judgment to the Gentiles, presenting h.mlelf as the judge " Not stnve.-^ot appear as a contentious or turbulent agita- tor in public. 6 we^nf^ feedi V ' V smokin£ Aax.-The wicks of lamps ; flf • and whe,n the °'l was well nigh exhausted the flax would naturally smoke. Alford says of the two metaphors : t,-i7 Pro*erbial expression for ' He will not crush the con- r.te heart, nor extinguish the slightest spark of repentant feeling in the sinner. On tins passage Bishop Pattern remarks • " He will not bear hard upon a wounded, contrite, and truly humble heart bowed down with a sense of its infirmitv. He will not quench the faintest spark of returning virtue bv severity but will chenshand encourage the one, and raise, animate, and en- liven the other. "He that stretcheth not forth his hand to the sinner, and he that beareth not the burden of his brother, breaks a;,}??'5,6?,/'"'1 ; End he that desP;seth the smallest spark of jaitn in little ones, quenches the smoking flaX."— Jerome. To this we may add what is quaintly written by haak Walton, "I uoon iTh il nnKS Say that lh°Se virtues that were b"t sparks upon earth shall become great and glorious flames in heaven " l62 THE SABBATH QUESTION. Ch. XII. Luke 6 : 12, 13 ; Mark 3 : 14, 15 ; Matt. 10 : 2. j.c. 32. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disci- pies : and of them he chose twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to The Call of the cast out devils. Now the names of the Twelve. twelve, whom he called apostles, are these : The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and An- He chose twelve. — A number, perhaps all, of them had been previously called : but now, for the first time, they were publicly set apart to their work. Apostle, literally " one sent." A messenger, or envoy. The first, Simon, who is called Peter. — " 'First' in all the lists ; ' first ' to confess the Messiahship of Christ ; usually ' first ' to speak, both before and after the death of Christ. He was not the first to follow Christ : Andrew and John preceded him (John 1 : 37) : nor the first one called, since Philip was called long be- fore him (John 1 : 43). In all bodies of men, one must be first, although ' first among equals.' His character constituted him a leader, but he neither claimed nor possessed this position as one of office or rank." — Schaff. Peter was doubtless, like James and John, in comfortable circumstances. " He did not live, as a mere laboring man, in a hut by the seaside, but in a home belonging to himself, or his mother-in-law, which must have been rather a large one, since he received in it not only Jesus and his fellow-disciples, but multitudes who were attracted by the miracles and preaching of Jesus." — Smith's Bible Diet. He was married, and his wife, whose name tradition says was Perpetua- accompanied him on his journeys. Peter was a man of marked and decided character, and the harmonious portraiture of him which is given in all the gospels is an incidental but strong indi- cation of their genuineness. (See notes on pages 83 and 136.) Andrew was one of the first followers of Christ (John 1 : 35). His name is derived from, or related to, a Greek word denoting " manly" (Andros, man). Little is certainly known of him after the ascension. His name occurs only once in the Acts (1 : 13), and then only in the catalogue of the apostles. The traditions about him are various. Eusebius states that he preached in Scy- thia, Jerome and Theodoret in Greece, and ATicephorus in Thrace THE CALL OF THE TWELVE. 163 Chap. XII. Matt. 10 : 2, 3 ; Mark 3 : 17. j.c. 32. drew his brother ; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother — and he sumamed them Boanerges, which is, the Sons of Thunder ; Philip, and Bartholomew ; Thomas, and Matthew the publican ; James the son of and Asia Minor. He is said to have been crucified at Patrae in Achaia. James and John. — These two are generally regarded as cousins of Jesus, their mother Salome being by the majority of modern critics considered the sister of Mary. James early underwent a martyr's death (Acts 12 : 2). John lived to a great age, surviving, it is thought, by thirty years, the destruction of Jerusalem. See notes on pages 137-8. Philip. — Like Andrew, Philip bore a Greek name, and the two were doubtless reared together with Peter, James, and John, at Bethsaida. This town had a large Hellenic population. The notices of Philip in the gospels are scanty, and after the ascen- sion all about him is uncertain and apocryphal. Clement of Alex- andria states that he had a wife and children, and died a peaceful death. Bartholomew. — Probably identical with Nathanael. (See note on page 84.) Thomas, or the twin, elsewhere called Didymus, which is the Greek equivalent for Thomas. " All that we know of him is de- rived from the Gospel of John ; and this amounts to three traits which, however, so exactly agree together that, slight as they are. they place his character before us with a precision which be- longs to no other of the twelve apostles except Peter, John, and Judas Iscariot. This character is that of a man slow to be- lieve (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 Bible Dictionary. He is mentioned but twice after the death of Jesus, in John 21 : 2, and Acts 1 : 13. Tradition makes him to have preached in Parthia or Persia, and to have been martyred at Edessa. Matthew, the publican, and author of the first gospel. It is to be noticed that only in his own list of the apostles is Matthew's obnoxious occupation of tax-gatherer mentioned. James (Jacob) the son of Alpheus, " called 'James the Less,' or, the younger (Mark 15 : 40, where his mother Mary is men- tioned). The name ' Alpheus ' has been considered identical with ' Clopas ' or ' Cleophas,' since ' the mother of James the Less ' (Mark 15 : 40) is identical with ' Mary, the wife of Cleo- phas ' (John 19 : 25). His mother's sister, in John 19 : 25, may 164 THE SABBATH QUESTION. Chap. XII. Matt. 10 : 3, 4. Summer, j.c. 32. Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus ; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also be- trayed him. refer to Salome. The view that it refers to Mary, the wife of Cleophas, identifies this James with ' the Lord's brother ' (Gal. 1 : 19), the term being taken in the wide sense of relative. Others reject the notion that the two sisters had the same name, and think that Alpheus was an older brother of Joseph, who adopted his children, and that thus they were called our Lord's ' brethren.' " — Schaff. Many critics consider him the author of the epistle which bears his name. Lebbeus, whose surname (or other name) was Thaddeus. " Both have the same meaning — ' courageous.' He was also called ' Judas ; ' was probably the brother of James, ' the son of Alpheus,' and the author of the short Epistle of Jude. (Comp. Luke 6 : 16 ; Acts 1 : 13 ; 'John 14 : 22.) One of the Lord's ' brethren ' was called Judas (Matt. 13 : 55), and has been identified with this apostle."— Schaff. But James and Judas were names extremely common among the Jews, and therefore these two are difficult of certain identification. Simon tha Canaanite. — Rosenmiiller remarks that the He- brew word translated Canaanite signifies zealous, and is the same as Zelotes. Doddridge is of opinion that the title was given him on account of a personal zeal for the law, for the sect of Zealots did not arise till afterward, shortly before the de- struction of Jerusalem. Judas Iscariot, or " the man of Kerioth," a town in the tribe of Judah. He was the only one of the apostles who was not a Galilean. Who also betrayed. — " Rather, even he who betrayed, or delivered him up. The common translation, also, is ex- ceptionable, as implying that he was betrayed by others as well as Judas (Luke 6 : 15)." — A. Clarke. " In the four lists given by Matthew (10 : 2-4), Mark (3 : 16-19), and Luke (6 : 14-16 ; Acts 1 : 13), we find the name of Peter first, that of Philip fifth, that of James the son of Alpheus ninth ; while between, the same names occur in different order, Judas Iscariot being always put last. The Twelve seem to be thus distinguished into three sets of four each. In the first the four fishermen are placed together. Besides these two pairs of brothers, we have two brothers (perhaps three) in the third set, while Philip and Bartholomew were friends. All but Judas were Galileans ; a number had been disciples of John. Our Lord therefore had JESUS SOUGHT BY THE SICK. 165 Chap. XII. Luke 6 : 17-19. Summer, j.c. 32. And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multi- tude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases ; and they that were vexed with unclean spirits : and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him : for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. regard to natural relationship and mental affinity in the con- struction of the Apostolate, and the same principle holds good in all his dealings with the Church. Those friendships and fra- ternal ties are blessed which are strengthened by common at- tachment to our Friend and Elder Brother." — Schaff. "These twelve men Jesus took to nurture and educate as the expounders of the Christian religion and the organizers of the Church. St. John, in poetic vision, sees the Church as a golden city descend- ing from God out of heaven, having twelve foundations, and in them the name of these twelve apostles of the Lamb. This plan of choosing honest, simple-hearted, devout men, and revealing himself to the world through their human nature and divinely educated conceptions, had in it something peculiar and original. When we look at the selection made by Christ of these own ones, we see something widely different from all the usual methods of earthly wisdom. They were neither the most cultured nor the most influential of their times. The majority of them appear to have been plain working men, from the same humble class in which our Lord was born. But the Judean peasant, under the system of religious training and teaching given by Moses, was no stolid or vulgar character. He inherited lofty and inspiring traditions, a ritual stimulating to the spiritual and poetic nature, a system of ethical morality and of tenderness to humanity in ad- vance of the whole ancient world. A good Jew was frequently a man of spiritualized and elevated devotion. Supreme love to God, and habitual love and charity to man, were the essentials of his religious ideal. The whole system of Divine training and discipline to which the Jewish race had been subjected for hun- dreds of years had prepared a higher moral average to be chosen from than could have been found in any other nation." — //. B, Stows " Footsteps of the Master." 1 66 THE SERMON OX THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 1-3. Summer, j.c. 32. CHAPTER XIII. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a moun- „.,„., tain : and when he was set, his disciples The Beatitudes. . r came unto him ; and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying : Blessed are the poor in spirit : " ' The Sermon on the Mount ' possesses an order, but not that of a modern sermon. ' The only logic,' says Tlwlnck, ' that Jesus observes is the logic of the heart.' In a general way, it may be described as giving the characteristics of that Messianic kingdom which all Israel was anticipating, by contiasting it, first, with the popular expectations ; second, with the Mosaic system ; and third, with the Pharasaic formalism. It closes with an account of the way by which this kingdom may be won. It is the theme of which the whole subsequent life ot Jesus is the development, the foundation on which the whole superstructure of Christianity is built, the warp of the robe with which Christ has draped the before unclad earth. The true inaugural of Christ's church, it contains ' the quintessence of all that is peculiar to the kingdom of the Lord.' " — Abbott. The Beatitudes. — "These eight beatitudes are, as it were, ' the eight paradoxes of the world ; ' for the world and philoso- phers place happiness in riches, not in poverty ; in sublimity, not in humility ; in fullness, not in hunger ; in joy, not in mourn- ing."— EJu-ard Leigh. Opened his mouth. — "A formula, indicating a solemn and authoritative utterance. " — Schaff. Blessed. — Many commentators prefer to translate the original here "happy," but the word expresses more than that. Hap- piness springs from earthly things ; blessedness. is of spiritual origin : and it is not bestowed arbitrarily, but is the natural re- sult of an observance of the laws of our higher nature. Poor in spirit. — This discourse " ought to be viewed in con- nection with the moral and intellectual state of those to whom it was addressed. When it is thus viewed we shall see that he by whom it was delivered was not an impostor, promoting and taking advantage of the prevalent notions respecting the Messiah and his kingdom, nor a fanatic borne away by the popular enthu- siasm. ... To this multitude of jews, the obstinacy of whose pride no humiliations could subdue ; who gloried in their THEV THAT MOURN. 1 67 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 3, 4. Summer, j.c. 32. for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. Blessed are knowledge cf God, and regarded themselves as a r the objects of his peculiar favor ; who thanked God that thev were not as other men, but that they were ' Abraham's children.' ' Jews by birth, and not sinners of the Gentiles ' — the first a 0* Jesus Christ was, 'Blessed are they who feel their spiritual wants, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' — Andmai j " The discourse begins at the beginning : sense of want comes be- fore spiritual blessings. The Jews with their carnal hop- not ' poor in spirit ; ' hence the appropriateness of the introduc- tion."— Schaff. " This poverty in spirit is put first among the Christian graces. The philosophers did not reckon humility among the moral virtues, but Christ puts it first. Self-denial is the first lesson in his school, and poverty of spirit entitled :o the first beatitude. The foundation of all other graces is laid in humility. Those who would build high must begin low." — Henry. "The poor of God," says Angmsthse, "are poor in heart, not in purse." "Those who feel their own poverty an the better prepared to receive the true ideas of the kingdom a God." — Egglcston. "The first step to mount a ladder is from the ground." — St. Basil. " Pride is the first vice to oppose us, and the last vice which we overcome." — St. Be — " The sweetest bird builds near the ground. The k And we must stoop for happiness If we.. — Anonymous. They that mourn. — " A sense of need makes men ' poor in spirit,' but a consciousness of the positive power of sin makes them mourn. Not terror, nor fear of punishment, but actual sor- row that sin has power over us. ' ' — " Let the penitent ever mourn, and in his tears let him ever rejoice." — St. .--: 1 • God has marked each sorrowing - And numtt e ear. And heaven's long aee cf bliss shall pay For all ihe good man suffers here.' - " For perfect beings sorrow is not needed ; but to creatur men, seeking to escape the thrall and burden of animal life, sor- r:tv is helpful. As frosts unlock the hard shells o: - help the germ to get free, so trouble develops in men the germs of force, patience, and ingenuity, and in noble natures works the peaceable fm> g :eousness. . . . Tears, like rain- drops, have a thousand times fallen to the ground and c<_: l68 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 5, 6. Summer, j.c. 32. the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness : in flowers. All the good in this world which has risen above the line of material comfort has been born from some one's sor- row. ' ' — Beecher. The meek. — "Meekness," says Barnes, "is neither mean- ness, nor the surrender of our rights, nor cowardice, but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harbored vengeance." Christ insisted on his right, as did also Paul. (See John 18 : 23 ; Acts 16 : 37.) " I have heard a grave divine say that ' God has two dwellings ; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.'" — Isaak Walton. "At the bottom of man's nature lie rude strength, coarse excitements, violent fluctuations, exhausting impulses. At the top of man's nature the soul puts forth continuous life almost without fatigue, is tranquil under intense activities, and is full of the light of moral intuitions. Meekness is generally thought to be a sweet benignity under provocation. But provocation only dis- closes, and does not create it. It exists as a generic mood or condition of soul, independent of those causes which may bring it to light. In this state, power and peace are harmonized — activity and tranquillity, joy and calmness — all-seeingness with- out violence of desire. From these nobler fountains chiefly are to flow those influences which shall control the world. " — Beechej'. Inherit the earth. — His hearers were full of hopes of a Messiah who should inspire the nation with a martial spirit that would, by force, subjugate the earth. But Jesus tells them that it is the gentle, the loving, and the forbearing who shall gain the dominion of the world. " Man the animal has hitherto possessed the globe. Man the Divine is yet to take it. The struggle is going on. But in every cycle more and more does the world feel the superior authority of truth, purity, justice, kindness, love, and faith. They shall yet possess the earth." — Beecher. Hunger and thirst after righteousness. — " A still stronger representation of the sense of spiritual need, advancing to posi- tive longing for a blessing, known to be the one needed, name- ly, God's approval — conformity to the will of God." — Scha(f. " The life of the body, its strength and skill, are every day built up by food which hunger craves. And as hunger is not a rational faculty, and does not depend upon any of the rational faculties for its action, but follows the internal condition of the body, and is an automatic sign and signal of the waste or repair going on within, so the longing for uprightness and goodness must be a MERCIFUL ; PURE ; PEACEMAKERS. 169 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 6-9. Summer, j.c. 32. for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers : deep-seated and incessant importunity of the soul's very sub- stance, as ir were, acting not upon suggestion or special excite- ment, but self-aroused and continuous. To such a desire the whole world becomes a ministering servant. . . . Amidst the contacting elements of life no man can gain any important moral victories by mere longing, or by rare impulses, or by feeble purposes. If one would reach the true manhood, the spiritual life, of the new kingdom, it must be by continuous energy during his entire career. In the whole routine of daily life, in the treatment of all cares, temptations, strifes, and ex- periences of every kind, the one predominant purpose must be the perfection of manhood in ourselves." — Beecher. The merciful. — " Meekness is a passive virtue, mercy an ac- tive one. ' The meek bear the injustice of the world, the merci- ful bravely address themselves to the wants of the world.' ' Every degree of sympathy and mutual love and help ' is in- cluded."— Schaff. No one thing does human life more need than a kind consideration of men's faults. Every one sins. Every one needs forbearance. Their own imperfections should teach men to be merciful. God is merciful because he is perfect. Obtain mercy. — " In the original, ' pity.' They pity, and they shall be pitied. They forgive and relieve, and they shall be forgiven and relieved." — Scott. " He that is not merciful to another shall not find mercy from God ; but if thou wilt be mer- ciful and compassionate, thou shalt be a benefactor to thine own soul." — Beman. Pure in heart. — Religion with the Pharisees consisted princi- pally in frequent ablutions and the strict observance of ceremo- nial purity. They taught that guilt was in actions, and said lit- tle or nothing about intentions. Jesus told them the heart must be clean, that only inward purity could give the knowledge of God. What is here meant is more than sincerity, or chastity ; it is, "that steady direction of the soul toward the divine life which excludes every other object from the homage of the heart." Shall see God, — To have any spiritual knowledge of God there must be in us some likeness, however faint, to the Divine nature. "They only can understand God who have in them- selves some moral resemblance to him ; and they will enter most largely into knowledge of him who are most in sympa- thy with the divine life." — Beecher. " For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy ; I 170 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 9-11. Summer, J.c. 32. for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa. 57 ; 15). " God would cease to be God if he should cease to communi- cate himself, by love, to the pure soul. As the air rushes to a vacuum, so God fills the soul emptied of self." — Massiiion. The peacemakers. — " Not simply the peaceable, but those who reconcile others." — Schaff. This was spoken to Jews who were filled with bitter animosity to their Roman rulers, and were eager to be led by their expected Messiah into any kind of strife or rebellion which might overthrow and desolate their enemies. Jesus tells them that the kingdom of God is one of peace. " Peace is not a negative state, a mere interval between two excitements. In its highest meaning it is that serenity which joy assumes, not only when single faculties are excited, but when the whole soul is in harmony with itself, and full of wholesome activity. . . . Jesus himself never seemed so divine as when, on the eve of his arrest, with the cloud already casting its shadow upon him. and every hour bringing him consciously nearer to the great agony, he said to his humble followers, ' Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.' " — Btecher. They which are persecuted, etc. — " Doubtless these simple words have, in all ages, consoled the sufferers for Christ in dungeons, under the rack, and amid the flame." — Eggleston. Says Jerome, " I give thanks unto my God for this : that I am found worthy to be among those whom the world hateth." And Luther, more quaintly, " I am getting rather proud ; for I see that my character is more and more defamed." " Not he who suffers persecution, but rather the man who cowardly shrinks from it, is the person really trampled upon ; for to be trampled upon, we must be inferior : but we can never be called inferior, how much soever we suffer bodily on the earth, if so be our souls are fixed on heaven." — St. Augustine. For righteousness' sake. — "'Righteousness' includes all the preceding graces ; but the peacemakers are especially perse- cuted ; the effort to spread the gospel of peace provokes the hos- tility of men. Righteous living does the same, however men may be compelled to admit its excellence. The Jews would not expect persecution to befall the Messiah's subjects." — Schaff. WOE TO THE WORSHIPERS OF RICHES. 1 71 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 9-12 ; Luke 6 : 22, 25. j.c. 32. separate you from their company, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full ! for ye Separate you from their company. — The sentence of excom- munication from the synagogue. The offender was banished from the assemblies, and denied all intercourse with his neighbors. Great is your reward in heaven. — " Faith makes the dis- cords of the present the harmonies of the future." — Robert Collyer. Patient and cheerful suffering for the truth in this life will cer- tainly be rewarded in the life to come. And there is no man who submits to misrepresentation, or opprobrium, or ignominy, for the sake of the right, but will find that " our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Woe unto you. — Campbell, and many other commentators, prefer here the rendering, "Alas for you." It agrees equally well with the original, and is more in accord with the context, for Jesus is not pronouncing sentence on the guilty, but announcing spiritual truths of universal application. He is simply declaring fixed, irreversible, and eternal laws of the spiritual world. " These ' woes ' have their place in the complete sermon in Mat- thew, in chapter 5, betwen verses 12 and 13. Why they were omitted there it is useless to conjecture. It is far more probable that a later tradition dropped them, because they were thought to be incongruous with the prevailing spirit of that discourse, than that it added them here, as Meyer has supposed. Tradition seeks to increase the blessings, but to diminish the warnings, of Scripture." — Abbott. That are rich. — " The woe here is denounced, not merely against the rich, but against those who have made riches their consolation — that is. who have chosen it as their chief good, as their Messiah, Deliverer, Comforter, as the one thing needful. It is interpreted by Mark 10 : 24, and Luke 12 : 19, 20. Comp. 1 Tim. 6 : 9, 10, 17, where the warning is not against riches, but against the determination to be rich, which may be as injurious to him who fails as to him who succeeds." — Abbott. That are full. — " A state of satiety, complete and entire satis- faction, wanting nothing more. To those who are filled to the 172 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5:13; Luke 6 : 25, 26. j.c. 32. shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you ! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Ye are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost full with the things of this present world there will come a time of emptying ; death will come to them as a thief (Matt. 24 : 43 ; Rev. 3 : 3), and then they will hunger ; while those who have never been satisfied, ever hungry and thirsty after righteousness, as Paul (Phi1. 3 : 12-14), will be filled." — Ahbott. You that laugh "is literally, The laughing ones — that is, those who give themselves up to a life of merriment and super- ficial pleasure ; who will not perceive that life is serious ; who are without the earnestness of purpose that makes merriment an occasional relief, not a constant aim. Parallel with this warning is that of Prov. 14 : 13 and Eccl. 7.6; and in no way incon- sistent with it is the commendation of the merry heart, that doeth good like a medicine (Prov. 17 : 22 ; 15 : 13, 15)." — Abbott. When all men speak well of you. — -"The fourth woe needs no interpretation. All men cannot and will not speak well of one who is faithful in following his own convictions of duty, and whose life is thus a rebuke to the recreant. Thus these four woes are four warnings to four different classes — those who make wealth their God ; those who are satisfied with this present life, having no hungering for inward peace or future glory ; those who live for present enjoyment, devoid of earnest purpose and serious thoughts ; and those who sacrifice conscience to a popu- lar adulation." — Abbott. Ye are the salt of the earth. — "Jesus having revealed by these few profound elements what was the true spiritual strength of man, declares to his disciples their mission. They were to be the preservative element of life. They were to become sons of God, not alone for their own sakes, but as spiritual forces in subduing the world to goodness." — Beecher. " Salt preserves ; Christ's disciples preserve the world from utter corruption. Salt seasons food and prevents insipidity ; Christians are to give a spiritual seasoning to what is made ' stale, flat, and unprofit- able ' by ' earthly ' minds. (Comp. Col. 4 : 6). The first thought is the prominent one. ' The earth ' refers to society as it ex- ists."— Schaff. " The world is upheld by the veracity of good men ; they make the earth wholesome." — R. IV. Ernerson. If the salt have lost his savor. — Salt in the East loses its salt- ness by exposure or the admixture of foreign matters, and it is THE SALT AND LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 1 73 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 13-16. Summer, j.c. 32. his savour, wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thence- forth good for nothing, but to be cast out, Christ,s Di,cipies and to be trodden under foot of men. theofs?j,V\virkifht Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a can- dlestick : and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they then rendered worthless. Maundrell states that he saw, at Jebbul, salt which had entirely "lost its savor," and Thomson found the same in localities at the south end of the Dead Sea. The latter says : " It is a well-known fact that the salt of this country (Palestine), when in contact with the ground, or exposed to rain or sun, does become insipid and useless. From the manner in which it is gathered, much earth and other impurities are necessarily collected with it. Not a little of it is so impure that it cannot be used at all, and such salt effloresces and turns to dust — not to fruitful soil, however. It is not only good for nothing itself, but it actually destroys all fertility wherever it is thrown ; and this is the reason why it is cast into the street to be trodden under foot of men." A city set on a hill. — The reference may be to Jerusalem, possibly to some nearer city then in sight ; more probably it is purely generic. The city of Saphat which Maundrel supposes referred to did not then exist, and it is doubtful whether the city of Bethulia ever existed. See Alford on this passage. Candles. — This word often occurs in Scripture where " lamp" is probably meant. These were placed upon an elevated holder or stand, so that their light might be diffused as widely as possible. Bushel. — This was " the ordinary household measure, hold- ing about a peck. Under this the light could be hid." — Schaff. Let your light so shine. — " Although it is not right to be ostentatious of our piety, it is yet our duty to set such an ex- ample before the world that others may be led to do right. It is perfectly allowable that our alms should be done in the eyes of the world if thereby the world shall be drawn to do right. But we should be very careful of the moti%re of such publicity." — Eg- gleston. "It is not sufficient to carry religion in our hearts as fire is carried in flint-stones ; but we are outwardly, visibly, ap- parently, to serve and honor the living God." — Richard Hooker. " The eclipses of the sun at daytime are seldom without wit- 174 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 16-18. Summer, j.c. 32. may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy Christ came not to destroy, but to the law, or the prophets : 1 am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle nesses. If you take yourselves to be the light of the church, you may well expect that men's eyes should be upon you. If other men may sin without observation, so cannot you." — Richatd Baxter. " Lord Peterborough, more famed for wit than relig- ion, when he lodged with Fenelon, at Cambray, was so charmed with the virtue and piety of the archbishop, that he exclaimed at parting, " If I stay here any longer, I shall become a Christian in spite of myself." — Scripture Cabinet. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.—" Here is the law of development announced by an inspired Hebrew to a peas- ant and mechanic crowd in obscure Galilee, ages before the phi- losophy of evolution was suspected, or the laws of progress were found out. Jesus did not come to destroy old faiths, but to carry them forward to the higher forms and the better fruit that were contained within them.'' — Beecher. " The patriarchal, the Jewish, and the Christian dispensations are evidently but the un- folding of one general plan. In the first we see the folded bud ; in the second, the expanded leaf ; in the third, the blossom and the fruit. And now, how sublime the idea of a religion thus commencing in the earliest dawn of time ; holding on its way through all the revolutions of kingdoms and the vicissitudes of the race ; receiving new forms, but always identical in spirit ; and, finally, expanding and embracing in one great brotherhood the whole family of man ! Who can doubt that such a religion was from God?" — Mark Hopkins. One jot. — The smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. One tittle. — The Hebrew letters were written with small points or apices, which serve to distinguish one letter from an- other. To change a small point of one letter, therefore, might vary the meaning of a word, and destroy the sense. Hence the Jews were exceedingly cautious in writing these points, and considered the smallest change or omission a reason for destroying a whole manuscript, when they were transcribing the Old Testament. The expression, " one jot or tittle," be- came proverbial, and means that the smallest part of the law shall not be destroyed. TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. 17^ Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 1S-21. Summer, j.c. 32. shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful- filled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but who- soever shall do, and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Phari- sees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Till all be fulfilled.— Till all that it requires or foretells shall be accomplished. " The central truths of Hebraism were funda- mental and organic. The ceremonies and institutions which surrounded them might change, but the enshrined principles were permanent."— Beecher. "Jesus taught only what is intrin- sically and eternally true. . . . His thoughts are not the creations of his fancy. He does not express opinions. He declares facts, pre-existent and irreversible laws. The truth that he teaches! when fully perceived, offers evidence in and of itself to its truth- shines by its own light."— 7-t/niess. One of these least commandments.— The Pharisees divided the precepts of the law into lesser and greater, teaching that they who violated the former were guilty of a trivial offence only ■ distinguishing between what are called, by the Romish Church' mortal and vema/sins (see Matt. 23 : 16). But where all is of equal obligation, there can be no less and no greater. " Small things are not small if great results come of them.' '—John Damascene. ' Take from the harmony a single tone, A single tint take from the iris-bow, And lo ! what once was all is nothing, while Fails to the lovely whole one tint or tone."— Schiller. Except your righteousness.—" He exacts more than these so exact and exacting in their 'righteousness.' Less a charge of hypocrisy or wickedness than a declaration that they, with all their care, had not yet understood the real spirit of the law. 1 heir scrupulous literal obedience was only a perversion of the law. —Schaff. "This may be called the theme of the whole sermon following. From this text Jesus now developed his view of the ethics of the new life."— Beecher. By them of old time— Better rendered " to them of old time" 176 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 22, 23. Summer, J.c. 32. Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill, shall be Christian and *n danger of the judgment: but I say Pharisaical ex- unto you, That whosoever is angry with pounding ol the J ' " J Law contrasted, j^g brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment : and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council : but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, — by Moses (Ex. 20 : 13 ; Lev. 24 : 17) to the Israelites. " The distinction between the life of the state and the life of the individ- ual is the key to the interpretation of the contrast between the civil statutes of Moses and the spiritual laws of Jesus. As the state can only regard an overt act, Moses inquired into the motive only for the purpose of determining the criminality of that act when committed. Christ, laying down the law of the individual character, forbids that anger of the heart which is ever the inspiration of a violent and bloody hand." — Abbott. " In the kingdom of the spirit feelings are acts. A murderous tem- per is murder." — Bsecher. John says, " Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3 : 15). The judgment. — Every city had its elders, who formed a court, with power to determine minor matters. There were three of these elders, called judges, in the smaller cities, and twenty- three in the larger. The next higher body was the Sanhedrin, which acted on capital offences. The first named courts are here referred to. Without a cause. — Indignation is proper when aroused at the commission of crime, injustice, or cruelty. " There is noth- ing more wholesome than righteous indignation against wrong. See Eph. 4 : 26. See also the example of our Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 3 : 5." — Eggleston. Matt. 23 : 17, 19 ; Luke 24 : 25 ; Gal. 1 : 8, 9 ; Jas. 2 : 20. Raca. — A Syriac word expressive of great contempt. It de- notes senseless, stupid, shallow-brained. Council. — The Sanhedrin, which sat at Jerusalem, and had cognizance of all important civil and criminal cases. Thou fool. — " A term of the greatest abhorrence — ' thou im- pious wretch,' folly and impiety being equivalent with the He- brews."— Bloom field. The Hebrew word which was probably used in Christ's discourse signifies rebel rather than fool, and is a bitterer epithet than Raca. Hell-fire. — The Gehenna of fire. — This refers to the valley of EQUITY BEFORE SACRIFICE. 177 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 23-26. Summer, j.c. 3: and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say Hinnom, a narrow ravine with steep and rocky sides, near Jeru- salem on the south. In this valley the idolatrous Jews formerly conducted the worship to Moloch. Here infants were sacrificed by being put into the arms of the idol, a brass image heated by a great fire within. After this practice ceased, the valley was made as filthy and vile as possible ; a fire was kept constantly burn- ing, to consume the rubbish carried thither ; and it is said that it became a place for the execution of criminals. " Hence this place, so execrable, came to signify the place of the damned, as the most accursed, execrable, and abominable of all places." — Mede. The word is often used in the New Testament ; and always for the place of future punishment. Matt. 23 : 33 ; 5 : 29, 30 ; 10 : 28 ; iS 9 ; 23 : 15 ; Mark 9 : 43, 45, 47. " It is clear from the passage that there are different degrees of guilt, and that even the germ of sin in the heart condemns before God. The sin is not in the word and act as such, but in the motive and spirit." — Scltaff. Hath aught against thee. — The charge may be groundless, but still may give occasion for bad feeling. A religious observ- ance should be postponed rather than an act of reconciliation omitted. The scribes required restitution in money matters : yet otherwise held that gifts and sacrifices would expiate all offences not amenable to the judge. Adversary. — One going to law with another. It here means a creditor — a man who has a just claim on us. It is wrong to carry the contention to a court of law. See 1 Cor. 6 : 7, ver. 24. While thou art in the way. — According to the Roman cus- tom, an aggrieved person could compel the party to go with him before the PraHor, unless he agreed by the way to adjust the mat- ter. " Reconciliation with an offended brother in this life is ab- solutely necessary before his wrong cry against us to the Great Judge, and wo b'- cast into eternal condemnation." — A I ford. 178 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 26-2S. Summer, j.c. 32. unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery : but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Uttermost farthing. — The word rendered farthing repre- sented a small Roman coin, of brass or lead, of the value of less than a cent : the meaning is, until every thing is paid. This entire passage is by some spiritually interpreted. Thus Schaff: " Roman Catholic expositors understand this passage [as referring to] purgatory ; Universalists use it in support of their view of final restoration ; . . . but the main idea is the inexorable rigor of divine justice against the impenitent sinner." Other commen- tators regard it as practical counsel to those involved in earthly controversies. Thus Abbott: "Worldly wisdom, as well as duty toward God, advises to speedy reconciliation, and the more imperious your opponent, and the farther the quarrel has gone, the wiser is it to seek reconciliation." Similarly Chiysostom, Light foot, Barnes. Looketh on a woman. — " Gazeth on a woman." Indulges unchaste imaginations, desires, and intentions. " Our Lord means to say that it is not the act only, but the unchaste desire also (what is called at 2 Pet. 2 : 14, ' eyes full of adultery'), which is included in the commandment. Such a desire as gains the full consent of the will, and would certainly terminate in ac- tion, did not impediments from other causes arise ; thus making the essence of the vice to be in the intention." — Bloom field. " Impure thoughts are the immediate and only sources of impure conversation and an impure life. If the thoughts be cleansed, the man will be clean, of course. There is scarcely a more dan- gerous employment than the indulgence of a licentious imagina- tion. It wanders over forbidden ground, often without thinking that it is forbidden ; and has already been guilty of many and perilous transgressions, when it is scarcely aware of having transgressed at all. The mind, if it will watch its own move- ments, will be astonished to perceive, after a sober computation, how great a part of all its thinking is made up of licentious thoughts. Impure thoughts produce impure words ; while strict and virtuous delicacy in language is not only indispensable to decency and dignity of character, but to all purity of heart and excellency of life." — President Divight. SWEAR NOT. 179 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 29-34. Summer, j.c. 32. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee : for it is profit- able for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement : but I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, sav- ing for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery : and whosoever shall marry her that is di- vorced, committeth adultery. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths : but I say unto you, Pluck it out. — We should resist " the first springs and occa- sions of evil desire, even by the sacrifice of what is most useful and dear to us." — A If or J. Cast it from thee. -" The surgeon does not hesitate to am- putate a limb, if he hopes thereby to save a life ; no earthly sac- rifice is too great where eternal life is concerned." — Schaff. A writing of divorcement. — The Jews inferred from the Le- vitical law that a man might divorce his wife for any cause what- ever. Their Rabbis said : " If a man sees a woman he loves better than his wife, let him divorce his wife, and marry her. " The school of Hillel taught that " If the wife cook her husband's food ill, by over-salting or over-roasting it, she is to be put away ;" also, " If the wife, by any stroke of God, become dumb or foolish." Josephus relates of himself that " About that time I divorced my wife, who had borne me three children, not being pleased with her manners." Christianity alone has created do- mestic life, and made the union of the sexes a sacred bond, dis- solvable only by death or crime. Perform unto the Lord thine oaths. — The morality of the Jews on this point was truly execrable ; they maintained that a man might swear with his lips, and annul it at the same moment in his heart. x8o THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 34-38. Summer, J.c. 32. Swear not at all : neither by heaven ; for it is God's throne : nor by the earth, for it is his footstool : neither by Jerusalem ; for it is the city of the great King : neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea ; Nay, nay : for whatso- ever is more than these cometh of evil. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an Swear not at all. — All Eastern nations are fearfully profane. Thomson says, speaking of the present people of Palestine : " Everybody curses and swears when in a passion. No people that I have ever known can compare with the Orientals for pro- fanity. The evil habit seems inveterate and universal. When Peter, therefore, began to curse and to swear on that dismal night of temptation, we are not to suppose that it was some- thing ioreign to his former habits." By Jerusalem. — Rather towards Jerusalem. The Jews turned towards their holy city when cursing, as well as when praying. Thy head. — This was a practice common to both Greeks and Romans. The hand, it would seem, was placed on the head during swearing, and evil invoked upon it in case of falsehood. Yea, yea.— The Hebrew repeats the affirmative, to give it more strength. It was a proverbial manner among the Hebrews of characterizing a man of strict probity and good faith by saying, " his yea is yea, and his nay is nay." " Swearing is a sin where- unto neither profit incites, nor pleasure allures, nor necessity compels, nor inclination of nature persuades." — Quarles. " Per- jury is not only a wrong to this or that particular person who suffers by it, but it is treason against human society, subverting at once the foundations of public peace and justice, and the pri- vate security of every man's life and fortune." — Archbishop Til- lot son. Cometh of evil, or "of the evil one." — The meaning is the same in either case. " All strengthening of simple yea and nay is occasioned by the presence of sin, and the power of Satan, in the world. There is no more striking proof of the existence of evil than the prevalence of the foolish, low, useless habit of profan- ity. It could never have arisen if men did not believe each other to be liars. Liars are most profane, and the reverse is true. Ignorance and stupidity increase the habit. Some men swear from want of ideas." — Schaff. An eye for an eye. — " Moses, guarding against personal re- RESIST NOT INJURIES. l8l Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 38, 39. Summer, J.C. 32. eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on venge, and the citizen against cruel and unusual punishments, provided a rude but simple expedient in the lex talionis. The measure of a man's punishment was the mischief he had done : ' life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, wound for wound, strife for strife.' Of this law, wisely adapted to a rude and barbarous age, the gallows alone now re- mains, a relic of the past. Christ inveighs not against this statute as a principle of administration uf public justice, but he con- demns its adoption as a principle for the regulation of private conduct. In commanding the smitten to turn the other cheek, he says nothing against the employment of force by the commu- nity for the protection of its citizens ; but he condemns the em- ployment of force by the individual for the punishment of offences personal to himself." — Abbott. The Jews made it a rule to take private revenge. The Greeks and Romans did the same. The savage tribes of America, and of almost every other part of the world, set no bounds to the cool, deliberate malignity with which they will pursue, for years together, not only the per- son himself from whom they have received rn injury, but some- times every one related to or connected with him. The Arabs are equally implacable in their resentments ; and the Koran it- self, in the case of murder, allows private revenge. Christianity teaches men to " overcome evil with good." Resist not evil. — " Our Lord refers to sin and evil in the world, which is conquered by wise Christian submission rather than by strenuous resistance. To be merely passive were weak- ness ; but a non-resistance from Christian principle, and for a spiritual object, is true strength and real victory." — Lange. " The preservation of life, liberty, or important property, author- izes, and often requires, a man to defend himself at the peril of an illegal assailant ; commonly, however, it is better to yield to in- sults and injuries than to repel them by force or legal process ; and it is not the spirit of Christianity to put the life and soul in competition with a sum of money, however great, when there is no reason to fear further violence." — Scott. " Hath any wronged thee? Be bravely revenged; slight it, and the work is begun ; forgive it, and it is finished : he is below himself that is not above an injury." — Quarks, "Certainly, in taking revenge a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over he is su- perior ; for it is a prince's part to pardon." — Lord Bacon. "The surest way to keep others in temper is to keep ourselves so." — Thomas Adam. " The Christian's courtesy prevents him from giving offence ; his charity from taking it." — William Cresley. I 82 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 39-41 ; Luke 6 : 29. j.c. 32. thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek. — A blow on the cheek was regarded as an affront of the worst sort, and was severely punished by both Greeks and Romans. " The King of Heaven came down to instruct the world in the laws of a heavenly conversation, which he proposed in a way of conflict quite contrary to that in the Olympic games ; for there he that fights and conquers wins the garland ; here he that is beaten and bears it with patience receives the crown ; there he that is smit- ten and returns blow for blow ; here he that turns the other cheek is celebrated as victor in the theatre of angels. For the Chris- tian victory is measured not by revenge, but patience ; this is the new law of crowns, this the new way of conflict and conten- tion."— Isidore of Pehisium. " There is no example of patience more perfect than that of the Lord ; yet he, when he was smit- ten, said not, ' Behold the other cheek,' but, ' If I have spoken, etc. ; ' hereby showing us that the turning of the other cheek should be in the heart. Indeed, the Lord was ready not only to be smitten on the cheek for the salvation of men, but to be crucified with his whole body." — Augustine. " Not only does Christianity sustain the authority of a perfect law, but in the line of conduct it lays down towards the injurious it has adopted the very principle which, according to the laws of men- tal operation discovered in later times, must tend in the great- est possible degree to diminish injury. It is a well-ascertained fact that the most powerful mode of inculcating and exciting any quality or f imper, is the distinct and vivid manifestation of that temper. The manifestation of anger towards another excites anger in Him ; and the manifestation of a meek and forgiving spirit has a tendency to disarm hostility, and does all that can be done to prevent ill feeling. If, therefore, a man were to inquire how, according to principles of mental philosophy alone, he could do most to banish the malignant and selfish passions from the earth, and make it like heaven, he would be obliged to adopt the very course prescribed by the New Testament." — Mark Hop- kins. Coat. — This was the tunic, a garment usually of linen, made to fit closely to the body, with short sleeves, and extending be- low the knees. Over it was worn the cloak, a square garment, wrapped loosely about the person, and laid aside when labor was performed. Of the former kind was the vesture without seam, woven throughout, for which lots were cast. (John 19 : 23.) THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF LOVE. 183 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 4*~43 i Luke 6 : 30. J.c. 32. shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy : but I say unto Shall compel thee to go a mile. — It was a custom, introduced by the Persians, and adopted by the Romans, to transmit intelli- gence by couriers placed at regular distances. These couriers were authorized to impress horses or men for the public service while on their journeys. The practice is still followed by the Turks, and resistance is punishable with death. A mile, " a thousand Roman paces, about 1520 yards (less than an English mile), but the proportion, one to two, is the main point. Endure double hardship, even when it seems most un- just, rather than angrily refuse." — Schaff. Give to him that asketh. — " Christian charity spends more in the streets than heathen superstition on its temples." — Tertul- lian. " The race of mankind would perish did they cease to aid each other. From the time that the mother binds the child's head till the moment that a kind assistant wipes the death-damp from the brow of the dying, we cannot exist without mutual help. All, therefore, that need aid have a right to ask it from their fellow-mortals ; no one who holds the power of granting can re- fuse it without guilt." — Walter Scott. " Make not the hungry soul sorrowful ; defer not the gift to the needy ; for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of Him that made him." — Sir Walter Raleigh. " Others make a custom of giving to idle vagabonds ; a kind of charity, very im- properlv so called, which one really wonders people can allow themselves in, merely to be relieved from importunity, or at best to gratify a false good-nature." — Bishop Butler. Hate thine enemy. — " Moses, who had commanded the Jew to love his neighbor, had also carefully forbidden him to associ- ate with the surrounding Gentile nations — an association fraught with danger to the Hebraic nation in its infancy. From these prohibitions the Pharisees had deduced the precept, ' Thou shalt hate thine enemy,' an injunction which they obeyed with the greatest unction." — Abbott. The genuine Jew was one who not only loved, but hated ; and all who were not of his own nation he counted as his enemies. Roman authors speak of this as a distinctive characteristic of the Jew ; and the measure of con- tempt which was by other nations served out to him he re- turned to them " heaped up and running over." " ' Thou shalt 184 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 44-47 ; Luke 6 : 27-32. j.c. 32. 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 persecute you ; 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. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same ? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do not even the publicans so ? And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye ? for sinners hate thine enemy,' are words not found in the law of Moses, but are common in the Jewish canons ; which shows that Christ here is not correcting the moral precepts of the law, but oppos- ing the corrupt interpretations of the scribes and Pharisees." — Whitby, Bless them that curse you. — " Beside a sandal-tree a woodman stood And swung the axe, and, as the strokes were laid Upon the fragrant trunk the generous wood With its own sweets perfumed the cruel blade. Go, then, and do the like ; a soul endued With light from heaven, a nature pure and great, Will place its highest bliss in doing good, And good for evil give, and love for hate." — Bryant. " Before Socrates, it was said, ' Let us do good to those who love us, and evil to those who hate.' Socrates changed the pre- cept, and said, ' Let us do good to our friends, and let us do no evil to our enemies.' Only Jesus Christ says, ' Bless them that curse you.' It belongs to the Saviour of men alone to train them to supernatural virtues." — Madame Svetchine. Pray for them which despitefully use you. — " Prayer is that which we always have in our power to bestow, and they never in theirs to refuse." — Hooker. If ye salute your brethren only. — The Jews, despising the Gentiles, would hold no personal intercourse with them, nor so much as salute them on the highways. And if ye do good to them which do good to you. — To re- turn good for good is human ; to return evil for evil is brutal ; to return evil for good is diabolical ; but to return good for evil is divine ; for " He is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil." ALMSGIVING. 185 Chap. XIII. Matt. 5 : 48 ; 6 : 1, 2 ; Luke 6 : 34-36. j.c. 32. also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye ? for sin- ners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hop- ing for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest : for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye there- fore merciful, as your Father also is merciful ; and be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Of Almsgiving. .therefore, when thou doest thine alms, And be ye perfect. — The Christian's standard of perfection is not the great and heroic among men, but the infinite Cre- ator himself. " Likeness to God in inward purity, love, and holiness, must be the continual aim and end of the Christian in all the departments of his moral life. But how far we are from having attained this likeness, St. Paul shows us (Phil. 3 : 12), and every Christian feels just in the proportion in which he has striven after it." — A I ford. " The only possible objection to the morality of Christianity is, that it is too perfect; that, though it may fit men for heaven, it will subject those who adopt it to injury and depredation here. But, whatever injury may be done in this way is the result, not of Christianity, but of a system of wicked- ness which it forbids." — Mark Hopkins. Your righteousness. — " Alms," in the common version, fol- lows an incorrect reading. This is a general statement after- wards applied to particular duties — viz., alms, prayer, and fasting It is not at all the same word as the one used in verse 2, which means ' alms.' Perhaps it should be taken in its widest sense of ' good deeds,' meaning that no act of piety should be done with reference to the praise of men." — Eggleston. When thou doest thine alms. — "Almsgiving was rightly held in high honor among the Jewish people. At their feasts they never forgot their poor (Esth. 9 : 22). By poet and prophet this virtue was accounted among the chiefest evidences of a genuine piety (Psalm 41 : r), and, descending to the successor of Juda- 1 86 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 2, 3. Summer, j.c. 32. 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. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth ; that thine ism, it became one of the most characteristic features of the early Christian Church (Acts 9 : 36 ; 10:2; Gal. 2 : 10). But in that age, as in this, the value of the act was measured by the amount of the contribution, and not by the motive which prompted to it. Of all the many widows who have cast in their mite, the one whom Christ pointed out in the Temple has alone become im- mortal. How much of our so-called benevolence rests really in the praise of men is sufficiently attested by the fact that every philanthropic society finds it indispensable to its success to publish to the world the names of its supporters and the value of their contributions. Christ does not forbid the employment of such means. He does not even condemn such benevolence. He de- clares that it shall have the reward that it seeks, the praise of men. But a good bargain is not an eminent Christian virtue ; and he who looks alone for the reward of his own heart, and the approval of his heavenly Father, will give, as Boaz gave to Ruth (Ruth 2 : 15-17), as God perpetually gives to us — under cover." —Abbott. Sound a trumpet before thee. — " It not being apparent, from Jewish writings, that it was customary with the Jews to sound a trumpet when they distributed their alms ; this seems only a proverbial expression, to denote the making a thing known or public, as Jews and Gentiles were wont to do, by the sound of a trumpet, in their triumphs, and before acting their tragedies." — Whitby. " Certainly trumpets were not sounded in the syna- gogue, though efforts have been made to explain this word as meaning any collection of people — surely a forced interpretation. The literal meaning is — where you give to the poor do not en- deavor to excite public attention to your charity." — Eggleston. Hypocrites. — " The word is derived from the profession of actors, who personate characters not belonging to them, and, af- ter the public exhibition, do not sustain these characters among those who know them. This they do for profit, or honor ; and hypocrites in religion publicly assume a false character for simi- lar purposes." — Scott. Grecian actors were disguised in masks, so that their real faces were not seen. This gives more point to the expression. PRAYER. jg7 Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 4-6. Summer, j.c. 3^ alms may be in secret : and thy Father which seethln^ secret, himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, 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. °f Pra>'cr- Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and „cfThfat;-thinu almS may be in se"et.-" It is not publicity, but ostentation that ,s prohibited ; not the mode, but the motive of morff «° "n 'I reeu!ated- A Sood man will prefer that mode, as well as those objects of his beneficence, by which he can produce the greatest effect ; and the view of this purpose may dictate somet.mes the publicat.on, sometimes the conceal- ment, 0f his action. "-/WCr. "The true Christian cares not how much men hear of his public charities (v. 16), nor how little . Ihey hear of his private ones. "—Toplady. "Across a pleasant field, a rill unseen bteals from a fountain, nor does aught betray Its presence, save a tint of livelier green And flowers that scent the air along its way. 1 hus secretly should charity attend Those who in want's dim chambers pine and grieve • And naught should e'er reveal the aid we lend, Save the glad looks our kindly visits leave."— Bryant. Which seeth in secret.— " Demean thyself more warily in thy study than in the street. If thy public actions have a hun- dred witnesses, thy private have a thousand. The multitude looks but upon thy actions ; thy conscience looks into them ■ the multitude may chance to excuse thee, if not acquit thee : thy conscience will accuse thee, if not condemn thee."— Quarks , ?uPe.n y_;" ll,t,eralIy in the open place, before men and angels at the last day. — Schaff. TKT1ieTyul0Ve *? Pray standinS ^ the corners of the streets ine Mohammedans of Palestine, when overtaken by the hour of prayer, suspend their employments and pray, even in the mon public places. Spreading their outer garments on the ground and turning their faces towards Mecca, they go through certain gestures, and forms of prayer, and then resume their previous employments. So the Pharisees took care to be in some public place, perhaps in the market areas, or in a corner of a street where they might be seen at a considerable distance Enter into thy closet.-" The best means of keeping near to 1 88 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 6, 7. Summer, j.c. 32. when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the God is the closet. Here the battle is won or lost. " — Payson. " We must avoid taking this too literally. There may be pride in closet devotion. There may be prayer offered in public that shall be so earnest and simple as to be offered in unconscious- ness of the presence of others but God. This is true secret prayer." — Eggleston. "Sometimes the deepest prayer of all is not only without utterance, not only without words, but even goes down below the region of distinct thought. It is simply turning to God, and opening the heart to him, to receive what- ever influence he may send." — James Freeman Clarke. When thou hast shut thy door. — " Lord, I have shut my door — Shut out life's busy cares and fretting noise: Here in this silence they intrude no more. Speak thou, and heavenly joys Shall fill my heart with music sweet and calm — A holy psalm. " Lord, I have shut my door ! Come thou and visit me : I am alone ! Come, as when doors were shut thou cam'st of yore, And visitedst thine own. My Lord ! I kneel with reverent love and fear ; For thou art here !" — Mary E. Atkinson. Pray to thy Father. — " The noblest prayer is, when one evermore Grows inly liker that he kneels before.' From the German. Vain repetitions. — The Jewish rabbis taught that, " whoever multiplies prayer is heard." "Whoever prolongs prayer, his prayer does not return to him empty, and he that is long in prayer, his days shall be prolonged." The Moslems are re- quired to repeat some expressions thirty times, and others as olten as a hundred. In the Greek poet Eschylus, nearly a hun- dred verses are filled with a repetition of the same invocation to the gods. The vain repetitions, which Christ forbids his disciples to use, were such as proceeded from an opinion that they were to be Zieard for their much speaking, after the manner of the heath- en. "I have heard of a very good man who was wont to pray to God that he would forgive him his ' long prayers.' " — Bishop Patrick. THE LORD S PRAYER. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 7-9. Summer, J.c. 32. heathen do : for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them : for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye : Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. " His love goes before us all the way, A pillar of cloud in ihe cloudless day, A pillar of fire when gathering night Enshrouds in doubt our wavering sight ; It guides our feet, wide wandering here O'er arid wastes, and deserts drear ; And will lead us on, through the parting wave, To the Promised Land beyond the grave." — Edmund Kirke. After this manner therefore. — " Because vain repetitions are forbidden, a pattern or specimen of the true form of Christian prayer is given. Hence other prayers are not only allowed but required. . . . The beauty of the Lord's Prayer is in its unity, symmetry, completeness, and pervading spirit." — Schaff. As regards its contents in general, " it embodies all essential de- sires of a praying heart. Yet in the simplest form, resembling in this respect a pearl on which the light of heaven plays. It expresses and combines in the best order, every divine promise, every human sorrow and want, and every Christian aspiration for the good of others." — Alford. " All prayer may be said to have crystallized in this prayer. The church has worn it for hun- dreds of years upon her bosom as the brightest gem of devo- tion."— Beecher. "The admirable form of prayer which our Lord gave to his disciples, after cautioning them against all ostentation in their devotions, stands unrivalled in every thing that constitutes the perfection of prayer. It is concise, perspic- uous, solemn and comprehensive ; adapted to all conditions and classes of men ; it fixes our thoughts on a few great, important points, and impresses on our minds a deep sense of the good- ness and greatness of that Almighty Being to whom it is ad- dressed."— Bishop Porteous. Our Father. — "He did not command us to say my Father," says St. Chrysostom, " but our Father, who art in heaven, that, being taught that we have a common Father, we might show brotherly- kindness towards each other." " If you pray for yourself alone, you alone pray for yourself." — Ambrose. " Jesus reveals 190 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 10, ir. Summer, j.c. 32. name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our God as the Father of souls. And if there be significance in the word, if there be truth in the revelation, this is of all things most sure, God loves infinitely his own offspring. He is a true Fa- ther, he is a perfect Father, without any of the blemishes or faults, and with all the excellences that are possible to the rela- tion. Take from the word father all ot error, weakness, caprice, with which it may ever be associated ; heighten to infinity all in it that is tender, endearing, excellent — that is God." — John Young. Hallowed be thy name is the expression of the desire that God may be held in universal reverence. Thy kingdom come. — " However imperfect their conceptions may be, men have always conceived of the present as a single step in one long advance towards an ideally perfect state. Some- where in the future the spirit of man is to be elevated, purified, perfected. The discords and misrule and wretchedness of the present are not to continue. From afar off, advancing slowly through the ages, comes that kingdom " in which dwelleth right- eousness."— Beecher. It is for the coming of that kingdom that the Christian prays. Thy will be done. — " All natural laws are emanations of the divine will." All nature is, therefore, in harmony with it, and only man, being free, can act in opposition to the eternal laws of order. The prayer is that all men may be brought into har- mony with the will of God. Our daily bread. — " The original signifies that which is fitting to our subsistence. That for every day." — Suidas. " Bread sufficient for our subsistence." — Theophylact. " I can see no reason for changing our received translation, and cannot but acquiesce in Mr. Mede's remark, that the original signifies what is sufficient for our present support and subsistence : so that this petition is nearly parallel to that of Agur, and a most excellent lesson to teach us, on the one hand, moderation in our desires, and, on the other an humble dependence on Divine Providence for the most necessary supplies, be our possessions or abilities ever so great." — Doddridge. " Let your prayer for temporal blessings be strictly limited to things absolutely necessary." — St. Bernard. Forgive us our debts. — " Debts is a mild word for our sins. But it is a wider word than trespasses, covering every short- FASTING. 191 Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 12-16. Summer, j.c. 32. debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of coming. And ' debtors ' is a word whose meaning we must not narrow into ' them that trespass against us.' If we would be forgiven of God, we must forgive even debts. We must not be too hard in exacting our ' rights,' especially when our claims oppress the poor." — Eggleston, As we forgive our debtors. — " He does not forgive his neigh- bor ; so he prays to God not to forgive him. God grant that his prayer may not be heard." — Augustus VV. Hare. Lead us not into temptation. — " God cannot tempt us (Jas. 1 : 13) — i.e., solicit us to evil, but ' temptation ' means also a trial of our moral character ; these trials are under God's con- trol, and His Providence may lead us into them, may even per- mit us to be solicited by evil. This petition asks to be pre- served from these, and, by implication, to be shown a way of escape. In view of the many temptations from within (our ' flesh '), from without (the ' world '), and from beneath (' the devil '), to which we are constantly exposed, there is no help and safety for us, but in the personal trust in Christ which un- derlies the proper offering up of this petition. We should never seek temptation, but flee from it ; or if we cannot avo;d it, meet it with the weapon of prayer wielded in that faith which over- comes the world." — Schaff. For thine is the kingdom, etc.— This clause is not found in the oldest copies of the New Testament now in existence. It is rejected by Griesbach, Wetstein, and other eminent Biblical crit- ics. When ye fast.—" The Pharisees fasted often, but in a hypo- critical manner, appearing abroad, even in their private fasts, with gloomy countenances, and such neglect of their persons, as to inform all of their employment. They assumed this appear- ance to keep up their credit, and to gain applause for sanctity ; and this would be their only reward." — Leigk. 192 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 16-22. Summer, j.c. 32. a sad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face ; 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. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break Of Consecration through and steal : but lay up for your- to God. selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye : if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole Of a sad countenance. — Not sorrowful, but sullen and mo- rose, as is indicated by what follows. They disfigure their faces. — They omitted washing, and allowed their beards to grow, paying no regard to cleanliness, which is near of kin to godliness. Anoint thy head. — The richer class of Jews anointed their bodies daily with sweet or olive oil. The custom still exists among eastern nations. Treasures upon earth.— Treasures among the Jews and Ro- mans consisted largely in costly and richly ornamented apparel. Hence the allusion to the moth. Where your treasure is, etc. — " The affection of the heart moulds the character. If your treasure is upon earth, your heart will be drawn towards earthly objects ; if in heaven, it will be set on objects that are heavenly and eternal." — Eggleston. If thine eye be single. — " What the eye is to the body, the heart, not the intellect, is to the soul. If the heart be pure, we see God and heavenly things, and take hold on the truth, and are made righteous (Matt. 5:8; Rom. 10 : 10); if it be corrupt all is corrupt (Matt. 12 : 33, 35; 15 : 19), and the very power of moral and spiritual discernment is abated and finally destroyed; for the soul which begins by practically disregarding spiritual truths, ends by losing the power of perceiving them (1 Cor. 2 : 14)." — Abbott, _ TRUST IN GOD. Ig, ChaP- XI11- Matt. 6 : 23-25. Summer, j.c. 32. body shall be full oflightT~Bu7if thinTeyTbTe^iT thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! No man can serve two masters : for either he will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your Whole body . . . full of light.-" It is with man's soul as it was with Nature ; the beginning of Creation is Light "— Thomas CarlyU. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.—" This is the direct ap- plication. Money, in opposition to God, is personified and re- garded as an idol, somewhat like Plutus, although it cannot be shown that such an idol was worshipped. "—O/shausen. " The Chaldee word ' mammon ' originally meant ' trust ' or confi- dence, and riches are the trust of worldly men. If God be not the object of supreme trust, something else will be, and it is most likely to be money. We must choose. Not the possession of money, but its mastery over the mind, is condemned "Schaff Take no thought.—" Be not anxious. " The word " thought '* when the common version was translated, was used in the sense of "anxiety." In Holland's edition of " Ammianus Marcellinus" (1609) he says of the Emperor Tacitus, " His heart was broken and so for thought he died." " I know of but one way of fortify- ing my soul against all gloomy presages and terrors of mind • and that is, by securing to myself the friendship and protection of that Being who disposes of events and governs futurity " Addison. " Take no thought— that is, do not be anxiously care- ful about the future, or, as we should sav, do not borrow trouble Extreme acquisitiveness generally has its root in extreme fear of poverty, and millionaires live often in mortal fear of the alms- house. Life has a higher purpose than the perpetuation of itself, and the body has a nobler use than that of wearing raiment "— Eggleston. " Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow About to-morrow, My heart ? One watches all with care most true. Doubt not that He will give thee too Thy part. 194 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 26, 27. Summer, j.c. 32. life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink ; nor yet or Dependence for Your body, what ye shall put on. Is upon God. not tf\Q life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ? Which of you by taking " Only be steadfast, never waver, Nor seek e irth's favor, But rest : Thou knowest what God wills must be For all his creatures, so for thee, The best." — Paul Fleming. " If you constantly make the best use of the present hour, you are sure to be prepared for those which shall follow." — Fe'nelon. "The more a man disregards the consequences of his actions, the more repose he has in action. The fountain does not stop to calculate through what regions of the earth its streams shall flow, what foreign matter it shall take in, and where it shall finally lose itself. It flows from its own fulness with an irrepres- sible motion." — Herder. What ye shall put on. — "In thy apparel avoid singularity, profuseness, and gaudiness. . . . Decency is the half-way between affectation and neglect. The body is the shell of the soul ; apparel is the husk of that shell: the husk often tells you what the kernel is." — Quarks. Is not the life more than meat. — "Of riches, Henry some- where says, ' The trouble of getting them, the care of keeping them, and the fear of losing them, takes away all the pleasure of using them.' Man can trust God with his soul, but scarcely do so with his body! but surely He who so wondrously formed the body, contrived its curious mechanism, and set it in motion, is able to provide for its sustenance in his own appointed ser- vice. ' ' — Afimpriss. Behold the fowls. — " The argument is that if God feeds the flocks of birds, so that they have their meat in their season, and supplies their wants, though they themselves are incapable of forethought, how much more shall he care for his rational crea- tures who are engaged in his service. There were probably flecks of birds in sight at the time, and this allusion was a beau- tiful object lesson, by which Christ has made every bird of the air a preacher of trustfulness." — Egglest&n. Which of you by taking thought. — " As you are obliged to THE REASONABLENESS OF FAITH. J95 Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : ; 28-31 Summer, J. c. 32. thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? And why take ye thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin ; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Where- fore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to- day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ? Therefore leave the physical development of your body to God, so leave the result of your labor for its sustenance to him. For, after all man's endeavor to acquire property, the result is very generally governed by circumstances beyond his own control." — Eggle- ston. Add one cubit unto his stature. — " 'Age' is preferable to ' stature ' (the word has both meanings); the reference is not to the body, but to the life ; further, to add a cubit (18 inches) to the stature would be a very great thing. Our age is conceived of as a race or journey. If then we cannot do what is least by our care, why be anxious?" — Schaff. Lilies. — A flower called the Huleh lily grows luxuriantly among the hills of Nazareth, and on the borders of the Lake of Galilee. Thomson describes it as being very large, its three inner petals meeting above and forming a gorgeous canopy, such as art never approached, or king sat under. It is of a downy softness, the corolla white, but every petal marked with a single streak of bright purple down the middle. The gazelles feed upon it, and, owing to the scarcity of fuel, it is, with the myrtle, rosemary, and cinnamon grasses, gathered and used in heating ovens. Solomon in all his glory. — "The reason of this inferiority Solon formerly gave to Croesus, when the philosopher preferred to all his magnificence the poultry, the pheasants, and the pea- cocks ; because, he said, their beauties were natural, not artifi- cial."— Heinsius. " We here have the declaration of the Crea- tor himself concerning the relative glory and beauty of all hu- man pomp, compared with the meanest of his own works (see 2 Chron. 9 : 15-28). And the meaning hidden beneath the text should not escape the student. As the beauty of the flower is unfolded by the divine Creator-Spirit from within, from the laws and capacities of his own individual life, so must all true adorn- ment of man be unfolded from within by the same Almighty Spirit (see 1 Peter 3 : 3, 4)." — Alford, 196 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 6 : 31-34 yfit. Summer, J.c. 32. take no thought, saying, What shall we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) : for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be add- ed unto you. Take therefore no thought for the mor- row : for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Judge not, that ye be not judged ; condemn not, and Your Father knoweth. — " It is not so much general notions of Providence which are our best support, but a sense of the personal interest, if I may so speak, taken in our welfare by Him who died and rose again." — Thomas Arnold. "If God were not a necessary Being, he might almost seem to be made for the use and benefit of men." — Archbishop Tillotson. " God hath kept me hitherto ; Can he cease, then, to be true ? Why should I just now despair, Can he weary of his care ? Hence, tormenting terrors, hence ! God shall be my confidence : Let him lead me as he will, O my soul, and be thou still." — Spener. " Does God control constantly immense masses of matter through natural law ? How? Why, by causing the law to op- erate, not upon the mass as a whole, but upon every individual particle composing that mass ; that is, he governs the vast through his government of the minute. And if he does this in matter, who will deny the probability of a providential care, pro- ceeding on precisely the same principles, which numbers the hairs of our heads, and watches the fall of the sparrow ? Shall God care for the less and not for the greater ? " If he so clothe the grass of the field, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?" — Mark Hopkins. Judge not. — " We get to the gisc of the command here, as I am persuaded we shall generally do in Christ's sayings, not by departing from, but by adhering to his exact words. All assum- ing of God's judgment-seat, all undertaking to reach any final and conclusive judgment concerning our fellow-men, is forbidden by the spirit and words of this passage, and its parallels in the New Testament." — Abbott. " It behooves us ever to bear in mind SELF-MEASUREMENT. I97 Chap. XIII. Matt. 7:2; Luke 6 : 37-39. j.c. 32. ye shall not be condemned. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall gmB' be given unto you ; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye that while actions are always to be judged by the immutable standard of right and wrong, the judgments which we pass upon men must be qualified by the considerations of age, country, situation, and other incidental circumstances. And it will then be found that he who is most charitable in his judgment is gener- ally the least unjust.''' — Robert Southey. " Teach me to feel another's woe, To hide the fault I see ; That mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me." — Alexander Pope. Give and it shall be given. — " Date and dabitur {Give, and it shall be given yon) are two twins." — Bishop Andrewes. " ' He that giveth to the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; ' there is more rheto- ric in that one sentence than in a library of sermons." — Sir T. Browne. Good measure pressed down. — " The language is derived from the usages of the Jewish grain market of the East, as they may be seen at the present day in Jerusalem. An official, ap- pointed by the government, measures all the grain that is bought or sold ; after he has filled the measure full to the edge, he pours on more, presses it down, shakes the measure, pours on again till no more can be heaped up, and then, by a sudden movement, with a dexterity which only long experience could give, he empties the contents of the measure into the receptacle of the waiting customer, and begins again. This receptacle is often the ' bosom ' of the purchaser. The long robe, skilfully gathered about the wearer, affords by its ample folds a capacious pocket, easily adjusted to the carriage of a considerable burden. A pocketful of grain carried in this way in the bosom is not an inconsiderable quantity." — Abbott. Into your bosom. — "The Arabs join together the two upper corners of their hyke, a garment like the plaid of the Highlanders in Scotland, and after having placed them first over one of their shoulders, they then fold the rest of it about their bodies ; the outer fold serves them frequently instead of an apron, wherein they carry loaves, corn, etc." — Dr. Shaw. igS THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 7:3-6; Luke 6 : 39~42. J.c. 32. mete withal it shall be measured to you again. And he spake a parable unto them ; Can the blind lead the blind ? shall they not both fall into the ditch ? The disciple is not above his master : but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceiv- est not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself behold- est not the beam that is in thine own eye ? Thou hypo- crite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither Why beholdest thou the mote. — The word rendered mote signifies a little splinter of wood, and thus with great propriety is opposed to a large beam. " Why are you so quick to see a small fault in a brother who have one so much greater yourself. Get rid of your own fault, which partially blinds you, and then you shall see clearly, not to stand staring at your brother's faults, but to help him to overcome them. There is always hy- pocrisy in professing a horror of other people's sins while we tolerate our own. Some quaint writer says that every man car- ries a wallet over his shoulder, putting other people's faults in the front end and his own behind him." — Eggleston. " The true way to reform mankind is for each to look at home, and begin with reforming himself." — Stanhope. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, etc. — The char- acteristic of dogs is brutality and ferocity ; of swine, grossness and stupidity. " Holy, inasmuch as it ought not to be desecrated ; a pearl, inasmuch as it ought not to be depreciated. . . . By dogs, we understand the enemies of the truth ; and by swine, its despisers." — Augustine. It is our duty to help others to overcome their faults, but in doing so we must not foolishly give rebuke and advice when it will do no good, but rather harm. That which is holy. — " The holy meat offered in sacrifice. . . . ' Pearls ' are somewhat like the natural food of swine, but if de- ceived by them we might expect them to revenge themselves by attacking those who deceived them. Valuable as pearls are, THE GOLDEN RULE. I99 Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 6-12 ; Luke 6 : 31. j.c. 32. cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you : for every one that asketh receiveth ; and he -i . • J .Of Asking- that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent ? 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 ? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that they are worth nothing for swine's food, and valuable as the truth of the gospel is, it is of no account to those whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, whose end is destruc- tion. (Phil. 3 19. See also Titus 1 : 15.)" — Eggleston. Ask, and it shall be given you. — ". The promise is absolute. ' Every one that asketh receiveth.' Such supplicants sometimes find ready admission ; always in due time ; nor will their previ- ous character, however bad, preclude them; ior He who opened the way has taught them to come, and 'He giveth to all men lib- erally and upbraideth not.' (James 1 : 5-8.)" — Scott. But we must ask aright, in submission to the wisdom and will of God. If a child were to ask hurtful things, a wise parent would deny its request ; so our prayers may not always be granted ; but, says St. Bernard, " God will give us either what we ask, or what he knows to be better for us." But of those "good things" — necessary food, and all spiritual blessings — there can be no fail- ure. Or if he ask a fish. — Bread and fish were the common food of the people in that part of Galilee. The passage represents, " by a familiar illustration, those who disappoint the just expectations of others, by giving them not the thing they ask for and need, but something else, which, though similar to it in form, as a ser- pent is to some sorts of fish (eel and perch), or a stone to a cake or biscuit, yet it is not only not the thing, but wholly useless, or even noxious." — Bloomfield. Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you. do ye even so to them. " Every man must perceive that this would lead to uni- 200 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 12-14. Summer, j.c. 32. men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat : because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it. versal justice, goodness, compassion, forgiveness, and candor, and exclude every thing of an opposite character. If we proceed in this way, we may readily know how we ought to act in all circum- stances."— Adam Clarke. A man's " desires of good from others are here set up as the measure of his performances of good to others. The more selfish and unbounded his desires are, the larger are those performances with the obligation of which he is burdened. Whatsoever he -would that others should do unto him he is bound to do unto them ; and therefore the more he gives way to ungenerous and extravagant wishes of service from those who are around him, the heavier and n'ore insupportable is the load of duty which he brings on himself." — Chalmers. " Having given us the seeds of all rules, he has left us in a great measure to grow the rules for ourselves. He has left us to apply the principles to particular cases, and so draw the rules for each case out of them." — Augustus W. Hare. This is the law and the prophets. — "It is the summary of the second great command — that is, one of the two on which hang all the law and the prophets (Matt. 21 : 40), being their concurrent language. Every thing said in them about our duty to our neigh- bor may be reduced to this rule." — Henry. The wide and strait gates. — Nearly every town in Syria and Palestine is surrounded with walls, and entered by gates. The principal ones are wide, two-leaved, plated with iron, closed with locks, and fastened with metal bars. The gateway is vaulted, shady, and cool, and so is a favorite resort in the heat of the day. Thomson says, " I have seen the strait and narrow ways, with here and there a traveller." The "strait gates" are in retired corners, and must be sought for. They are opened only to those who knock, and when the sun goes down, and the night comes on, are shut and •ocked. " These small gates, not much larger than a window-pane, are common in all Oriental walled cities. They are found, also, in the gates which lead into the courts of houses and caravanseras and into walled gardens." — J. S. Jeivell. "There is no entering into the King of heaven's MEN TO BE JUDGED BY THEIR FRUITS. 201 Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 15-20; Luke 6 : 44, 45. j.c. 32. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do + , „, . r alse I eachers. men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of this- tles ? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good ; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil : for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye privy chamber without passing through the strait gate of puri- ty." Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress" is the best of all commen- taries on this passage. False prophets ; " false teachers." Sheep's clothing. — " Not literally in sheep's skins which the old prophets wore, but "in clothing such as sheep wear — that is, gentle and meek in their outward appearance." — De Wette. " The expression refers, however, not merely to their gentle and mild exterior, but also to their profession of Christianity." — Lange. By their fruits ye shall know them. — " Here seems to be prescribed a plain and easy way of discerning false teachers from true; and a way which lies level to the meanest capacity. It is only by observing the fruits and consequents of every doctrine, what it is apt to produce when it is thoroughly believed, and then judging how far those fruits resemble the doctrine and spirit of Christianity." — James Blair. Of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. — " Our words are the commentaries on our wills ; for when we speak we make, as it were, a dissection of our own hearts, and read an anatomy lecture upon ourselves. Our wanton talk discovers a stew in our heart ; when our words are swords, our hearts are a slaughter-house ; when we bear false witness, that is the mint ; when we worship Mammon, that is the temple. The heart is the shop and workhouse of all evil." — Antony Farindon. 202 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 21-25 ; Luke 6 : 46-48. J.c. 32. shall know them. 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. And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say ? Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, Of Hearing and and doeth them, I will liken him unto a Doing. wjse man> which built an house, and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock : and the rain That day. — " Many passages are found in the rabbinical wri- ters, from which it appears that the Jews were accustomed to call the day of judgment by the emphatic name of that day." — Bloomfidd. He that doeth. — " To restore a commonplace truth to its first uncommon lustre, you need only translate it into action. But to do this, you must have reflected on its truth." — Coleiidge. " To understand the comparison, imagine the rough, steep sides of the valleys of that Jura formation prevalent in Palestine. A house built beside a torrent, on a rock, is unharmed by the swollen and sweeping flood. But if resting, though placed high above the stream, on a foundation of earth, the flood gradually wears away its base, till at length the undermined and growing slide of earth reaches the house itself, and plunges it into the Rood."— £btvrd Digged deep. — " God is not to be found on the surface." — St. Gregory. And the rain descended, etc.—" The rain, floods, and winds of an eastern monsoon strikingly illustrate this passage. When people in those regions speak of the strength of a house, it is not by saying it will last so many years, but it will outstand the rains ; it will not be injured by the floods- Houses built of the best materials, and having deep foundations, in a few years often yield to the rains of a monsoon. The house founded upon a rock can alone stand the rains and floods of a wet monsoon." — Roberts. THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH. Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 25-28 ; Luke 6 : 4$, 49. j.c. 32. descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat vehemently upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, that without a foundation, built his house upon the sand : and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine. On the sand. — " The fishermen of Bengal build their huts in the dry season on the bed of sand from which the river has re- tired. Then the rains set in, which they do often very suddenly, accompanied by northwest winds, and the water pours down in torrents from the mountains. In one night multitudes of these huts are swept away, and the place %vhere they stood is the next morning undiscoverable." — Ward quoted by Whedon. "The house built on the sand," says Barnes, " is beat upon by the floods and rains ; its foundation gradually is worn away ; it falls, is borne down the stream, and is destroyed. So falls the sin- ner. The floods are wearing away his sandy foundation ; and soon one tremendous storm shall beat upon him, and he and his hopes shall fall, forever fall." When Jesus had ended these sayings. — This plainly inti- mates that all this discourse was delivered at one time ; and, con- sequently, that several passages related by Luke, as spoken at different times, are repetitions of it. Compare Matt. 5 : 13 with Luke 14 : 34, 35 ; Matt. 5 : 25 with Luke 12 : 5S : Matt. 6 : 9 and seq. with Luke 11:2, and seq. ; Matt. 6 : 20, 21, with Luke 12 : 33, 34 ; Matt. 6 : 24 with Luke 16 : 13, and Matt. 7 : 13, 14. "»* Luke 13 : 24. The reasons for the view that the report in Mat- thew and Luke refers to one and the same discourse are fully stated by Robinson, " Harmony of the Gospels." pp. 178. 179- Were astonished at his doctrine. — " The word may denote either the doctrine taught or the manner of teaching. The latter is probably meant."— Gn With authority and not as the scribes. — " When the scribes delivered their doctrines to the people, they delivered them ex- pressly as the doctrines of men, grounding them on the authority 204 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Chap. XIII. Matt. 7 : 29. Summer, j.c. 32. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. of their distinguished doctors ; Christ, on the contrary, spake boldly from himself, delivering his commands as the commands' of God." — Grotius. "In opposition to all the learning, and authority, and prejudices of his age and nation, he simply said, Verily, /say unto you. He spoke with the calmness, and dig- nity, and decision of one who bore credentials that challenged entire deference. But, if his manner was authoritative, it was also gentle and condescending ; if it was dignified, it was also kind ; if it was calm, it was also earnest. While his instructions were the most elevated that were ever uttered, they were uttered with such plainness, were so clothed in parables, and illustrated by common objects, that they were also the most intelligible. . . . The most exalted intellect cannot exhaust his instruc- tions, and yet they are adapted to the feeblest. ' Never man spake like this man ! ' " — Mark Hopkins. JESUS RETURNS TO CAPERNAUM. 205 Chap. XIV. Matt. 8:5; Luke 7 : 1, 2. Summer, j.c. 32. CHAPTER XIV. INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Now, when Jesus had ended" all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto When he had ended all his sayings. — The Sermon on the Mount. " The very form of this expression indicates that Luke's report of those sayings was not a complete one. It thus con- firms the opinion that Luke's and Matthew's accounts are simply different reports of the same sermon." — Abbott. " In Luke the account of this miracle is fuller in the first part, not so full in the closing. In Matthew the centurion is said to have come to Christ, while, in fact, he sent to him. But both narratives are, substantially, accurate. We often speak of a man as doing him- self that which he does by means of others. So a ruler is said to do what his servants do. The variations of the two accounts are no greater than we expect to meet where the same fact is told by two different narrators, and this natural and human variation is the strongest possible proof that there was no collusion. It is likely that Matthew told the story as he understood it, or in this way for brevity. The coincidence of the two in all essen- tial particulars is quite remarkable." — Eggleston. Entered into Capernaum.— The hill called Horns of Hattin, on which the Sermon en the Mount was probably delivered, lies about seven miles south-west from Capernaum. For Caper- naum, see note on page 121. Certain Centurion.— A Roman military officer. " All Pales- tine was under Roman military government ; this centurion was probably connected with the garrison at Capernaum. (See note on page 64.) The Roman army was divided into legions, an- swering to our army corps, varying in size from 3000 to 6000 men ; each legion was divided into ten cohorts (regiments), usually called in the New Testament the ' band ; ' the cohort was divided into three maniples (battalions), and each maniple was divided into two centuries. These last contained from 50 to 100 men, answering to our ' company ; ' and each one was com- manded by a centurion, answering to our captain. There were thus in each legion 60 centuries, each under the command of a centurion. ' ' — Abbott. Servant. — " Luke says deitlos, servant ; but Matthew has it fais, boy." — Whedon. "This indicates that the relation be- 206 INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Chap. XIV. Matt. 8:6; Luke 7 : 2-5. Summer, j.c. 32. him, was at home sick of the palsy, grievously tor- mented, and ready to die. And when he heard of T . , - Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jesus heals a Cen- J » turion's Servant. Jews, beseeching him that he would come Capernaum. J . and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this : for tween this centurion and his servant was one unusually tender." —Abbott. Was dear unto him. — " Such instances of affection are more common in military than in domestic service." — Abbott. " In that age especially, slaves were often made the favorites and heirs of their masters. Many of the prominent characters in Rome were originally slaves, though they rose to honor only as f reedmen. ' ' — Riddle. Sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. — Paralysis or " palsy" was a common disease in those days (comp. Matt. 4 : 24). " The disease in the text may have been an attack of tetanus, which the ancient physicians included under paralysis, and which is more common in hot countries than with us. It can hardly have been apoplexy, which usually deprives of sensa- tion.' ' — A Iford. Ready to die. — " A more definite statement of the immediate danger than is given by Matthew." — Abbott. " United with tetanus, as palsy sometimes is in Eastern countries, extreme suffering and rapid dissolution often result." — Whedon. Elders of the Jews. — " The elders are not the elders of the synagogue (chap. 13 : 14 ; Acts 13 : 15, etc.), for which a differ- ent Greek word is used, but the elders of the people. (The in- tervention of these elders indicates that the centurion was a pros- elyte ; and this is confirmed by his second message to Jesus. No heathen would have regarded himself unworthy to receive a Jewish prophet.) Observe that the elders put their request on the ground that the centurion is worthy because of his attach- ment to the Jewish nation, while Jesus esteems him above Israel because of his faith." — Abbott. And heal. — Literally " save." There is a touch of pathos in the term used. Instantly. — " Earnestly." He 'was worthy. — " This centurion was by birth a heathen ; but, like him in the Acts (10 : 1) who bore the same office, was one of the many who were at this time deeply feeling the empti- ness of all polytheistic religions." — Trench, ' JESUS GOES TO THE HOUSE. 20J Chap. XIV. Luke 7 : 5, 6. Summer, j.c. 32. he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. And Jesus saith, I will come and heal him. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, say- ing unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself : for I am not For he loveth our nation. — With the Jews, " our nation" and " our religion" were almost equivalent terms. They expected Jesus to share in their appreciation of the centurion's attachment to Judaism. He hath built, etc. — This clause may be translated, " himself built us our synagogue." " This was often done by Gentiles who inclined to Judaism. It was regarded as a mark of piety, just as building churches has been ever since. We know the wider purpose of our Lord's mission, and therefore do not consider how natural it was to present this fact to him as a motive for granting the request of the centurion. Even the apostles were slow to learn that the gospel was meant for the Gentiles also. This was the first lesson, and it was wisely given. It would have been impossible to break down at once their Jewish preju- dice ; hence Jesus chose as the first Gentile he would bless, one whose case would not arouse opposition, nay, would be pre- sented by the leading Jews themselves. This was the entering wedge in breaking the barrier." — Riddle. I will come and heal him. — "/ coming, will heal /iim." " This saying is worthy of observation. Jesus did not positively say, I will come and heal him ; this could not have been strictly true, because our Lord healed him without going to the house, and the issue shows that the words ought to be taken in the most literal sense ; thus understood, they contained a promise which it seems none of them distinctly comprehended. Foreseeing the exercise of the centurion's faith, Jesus promises that while he is coming, before he arrives at the house, he will heal him ; and this was literally done. There*is much beauty in this passage." — Greswell. Went with them. — " There was no delay as in the case of the Syro-Phenician woman, because there was not the same neces- sity either for bringing out the faith of the person who asked the favor, or for thus giving a lesson to the disciples, to remove prejudice. ' ' — Schaff. Friends.—" A very delicate and thoroughly natural touch — no intercessors, for these he needed no longer, but intimate friends of his family, who can in some measure take his place in greet- ing the highly honored guest." — Van Oosterzee. 208 INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Chap. XIV. Matt. 8 : 8, 9 ; Luke 7 : 6-8. Summer, j.c. 32. worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof ; where- fore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee ; but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, hav- For I am not worthy. — " This humility was partly due to his consciousness that he was a Gentile, and as such not an heir of the blessings bestowed on the jews ; but still more to the esteem in which he held Jesus in consequence of what he had heard concerning him (ver. 3). Social intercourse had much more sig- nificance then than now, especially between the Jews and people of other nations." — Riddle. " If thou desire the love of God and man, be humble ; for the proud heart, as it loves none but itself, so it is beloved of none but itself. The voice of humility is God's music, and the silence of humility is God's rhetoric. Hu- mility enforces where neither virtue nor strength can prevail, nor reason. ' ' — Quarks. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee. — " This is not a repetition of the last clause, but a more emphatic statement. ' Worthy ' here is not the same word as in ver. 6, and 'neither' means 'not even.' The centurion did not expect so great an honor as a visit from Jesus ; he did not even think he was fit to go and welcome him when he knew of his coming. Here the thought of personal unworthiness comes out. While Jesus met all classes, and was condemned for so do- ing, he always impressed men as being himself ' separate from sinners ' (Heb. 7 : 26). What Peter felt, the centurion now feels." — Riddle. " Observe three estimates of the centurion's character : first his own, not worthy, because a Gentile, and be- cause a sinner ; second, the Jewish estimate, worthy, because he had built a Jewish synagogue, the highest encomium on character which a Jewish elder could pass on a Gentile outcast ; third, Jesus' estimate worthy, because of his faith, and needing no com- mendation from Jewish elders, but himself an example and a re- buke to them." — Abbott. Speak the word. — " Contrast the centurion's faith, who trusts all to the word of Christ, with Martha's, who trusts only to his prayer to God (John 11 : 21, 23)." — Abbott. A man set under authority, etc. — The meaning is, "I know how to obey, being myself under authority ; and in turn know how others obey, having soldiers under me ;" inferring, "if, then, I, in my subordinate station of command, am obeyed, how much more thou, who art over all, and whom diseases serve as their master !" — Alford. " His view of Christ's relation to the spiritual kingdom is as original as it is grand. The Lord ap- JESUS COMMENTS THE CENTURION. 20Q Chap. XIV. Matt. 8 : 9-12 ; Luke 7 : 8, g. Summer, j.c. 32. ing under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth ; and to another, Come, and he cometh ; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled, and turned him about and said unto the people that followed him, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 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 : but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and pears to him here as the true Caesar and Imperator, the highest over the hierarchy, not of earth, but of heaven." — Trench. He marveled. — " Not to be explained away. Our Lord could marvel. A mystery of his humanity." — Schaff. " There are two occasions where it is recorded that our Lord Jesus Christ ' marveled : ' once in this history, and once in Mark 6:6. It is remarkable that in one case he is described as mar- veling at 'faith,' and in the other as marveling at 'unbelief.' Bishop Hall, and Burkitt after him, both observe, ' What can be more wonderful than to see Christ wonder? ' " — Rylc. I have not found so great faith. — The word faith, here means confidence, or belief that Christ had power to heal his ser- vant. Many shall come from the East. — Jesus takes occasion from the faith of the centurion to state that this case was not to be a solitary one ; that many of those afar off, and not of the Jewish nation, would be converted to the Gospel, and be saved, as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Shall sit down. — Literally "recline," in allusion to the re- cumbent posture of guests at table in the East. The enjoyments of heaven are described under the similitude of a feast or ban- quet (Matt. 26 : 29 ; Luke 14 : 15 ; 22 : 30.) Children of the kingdom.— The Jews, who boasted much that they were the children of Abraham. Cast. . . . into outer darkness. — The expression de- notes darkness the most remote from the light, and is employed in opposition to the brilliant lights, which are figuratively sup- posed to be burning in the banqueting'-room. The history of the Jews for eighteen hundred years has been a fulfillment of this pas- sage. INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Chap. XIV. Matt. 8 : 13 ; Luke 7 : 12. Summer, j.c. 32. gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said, Go thy way ; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour ; and they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole. And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain : and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he Jesus raises a * widow's Son at came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow : and much peo- The day after. — After the healing of the centurion's servant. He ■went into a city called Nain. — " Nain occurs nowhere else in the Bible. It was a town of Galilee, not far from Caper- naum, a few miles to the south of Mount Tabor." — Alford. " On the northern slope of the rugged and barren ridge of Little Hermon," says Stanley, " immediately west of Endor, which lies in a farther recess of the same range, is the ruined village of Nain. No convent, no tradition, marks the spot ; but under these circumstances the name is sufficient to guarantee its au- thenticity. One entrance alone could it have had — that which opens on the rough hillside in its downward slope to the plain. It must have been in this descent, as, according to Eastern cus- tom, they ' carried out the dead man,' that ' nigh to the gate ' of the village the bier was stopped, and the long procession of mourners stayed, and the young man delivered back to his mother. It is a spot which has no peculiarity of feature to fix it on the memory." — Sinai and Palestine, p. 349. When he came nigh to the gate of the city. — " Ancient cities were very commonly surrounded by walls, to protect them from enemies : and hence the gates. But at the entrance of almost every town in the East is a gate, although there be no wall ; and, as people pass in and out this way, it was formerly the place of public assembling and of the dispensing of justice. The Jews, as well as the Greeks and Romans, were accustomed to bury their dead outside the gates, except that the kings of David's house were buried within the city of David (2 Kings 21 : 18.)" — Jacobus. Behold, there was a dead man. . . . the only son of a widow. — " That our Lord should meet the funeral at the gate of the city, is to be explained by the fact that the Jews did not suf- THE LORD S COMPASSION. Chap. XIV. Luke 7 : 13. Summer, j.c. 32. pie of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep fer the interring of the dead in towns, but had their burial-places without the walls. Probably there was very much in the circum- stances of the sad procession which he now met, to arouse the compassion even of those who were not touched with so lively a feeling for human sorrows as was the compassionate Saviour of men ; and it was this which had brought ' much people ' to accom- pany the bier. Indeed, there could little be added to the words of the evangelist, whose whole narrative here, apart from its deeper interest, is a master-work for its perfect beauty, — there could be little added to it to make the picture of desolation more complete. The bitterness of the mourning for an only son had passed into a proverb (Jer. 6 : 26 ; Zech. 12 : 10 ; Amos 8 : 10)." — Farrar. Much people was with her. — " This expression should not be overlooked. It shows the publicity of the great miracle here recorded. It was wrought before many witnesses." — Ryle. " There is no room for deception or mistake. As in the case of Lazarus, we must believe either that the incident never occurred — i.e. , that it is a fictitious narrative ; or that it was a deliberate fraud, in which Christ and the widow conspired to deceive the peo- ple ; or that it was a divine interposition, attesting in Christ that power over death which is the peculiar prerogative of divinity. (2 Kings 5 : 7.) To suppose that the cases of resurrection recorded in the New Testament were simply restorations of suspended ani- mation, as some rationalistic critics have suggested, involves in- superable difficulties. We must then believe that, in less than three years, three cases of suspended animation occurred within the circle of Christ's ministry, that in each criticism now discov- ers what was hidden from the immediate friends, and that Christ made the discovery in each case without any examination of the supposed corpse, and just at the fortunate moment when the re- turning life was ready to respond to his voice. This involves a perfectly incredible doctrine of chances." — Abbott. He had compassion on her, and said, Weep not. — " What mingled majesty and grace shines in this scene ! the Resurrection and the Life in human flesh, with a word of com- mand, bringing back life to the dead body ; Incarnate Compas- sion summoning its absolute power to dry a widow's tears !" — Jamieson. " None moved our Lord on behalf of the widow ; neither do we read that she herself spake to him. The leper was healed (Luke 5 : 12) in reply to his own personal application ; the centurion's servant (Luke 7 : 1) in reply to the prayer of his INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Chap. XIV. Luke 7 : 14. Summer, j.c. 32. not. And he came and touched the bier : and they master ; but the widow's son was raised without any one inter- ceding on his behalt." — Poole. " How different this ' weep not* from the ' weep not ' which often proceeds from the lips of earthly comforters, who, even while they speak the words, give no reason why the mourner should cease from weeping ; but He that is come that he may one day make good that word. ' God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain ' (Rev. 21 : 4), does show now some effectual glimpses of his power, wiping away, though not yet forever, the tears from the weeping eyes of that desolate mother." — Trench. " Sym- pathy for the mother is specified as that which determined Jesus to waken him who reposed in the coffin. But that does not ex- clude a regard for the man himself in the transaction. It is the immediate result of the action, noticeable by the by- standers, but the less essential one : its concealed result was the spiritual awakening of the youth to a higher existence, by means of which even the mother's joy first became true and lasting." — Olshausen. " Here was no solicitor but his own compassion. While we have to do with the Father of mercies, our afflictions are the most powerful suitors." — Bishop Hall. Touched the bier. — The Jews did not use a coffin for their dead : this belonged to Babylon and Egypt. " In Constan- tinople we saw such a funeral as this at Nain. The body was stretched out upon a long bier, like one asleep on a bed, covered with shawls and silk. The head, hands, and feet were bare. The bier was carried by four persons." — Jacobus. " The bier on which the dead were borne was, in the case of the poorer classes, a simple board supported on two poles. There was no coffin ; the corpse was simply covered with a large cloth. Mourners ac- companied the body to the grave, chanting a sorrowful refrain, broken in upon by the genuine lamentation of friends, the sym- pathetic expressions of bystanders and acquaintances, and the professional outcries of hired mourners. Greater respect is paid to funeral processions in the East than with us ; bystanders wait reverentially as it passes, and often swell the little cortege, following in the train as a mark of sympathy." — Abbott. " The drawing nigh and touching the bier was meant as an intimation to the bearers that they should arrest their steps, and one which they understood ; for ' immediately ' they that bare him stood still." — Trench. " Christ rouses from the bier as easily as an- other would rouse from the bed— different in this even from his own messengers and ministers in the old covenant ; for they, not without an effort, not without a long and earnest wrestling with THE WORD OF POWER. 213 Chap. XIV. Luke 7 : 14, 15. Summer, J.c. 32. that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, God, won back its prey from the jaws of death ; and this because there dwelt not the fullness of power in them, who were but as servants in the house of another, not as a son in his own house." — Trench. I say unto thee, Arise. — " It must have been a moment of in- tense and breathless expectation. Unbidden, but filled with un- definable awe, the bearers of the bier stood still. And then through the hearts of the stricken mourners, and through the hearts of the silent multitude, there thrilled the calm utterance, ' Young man, arise ! ' Would that dread sentence thrill also through the unknown mysterious solitudes of death ? would it thrill through the impenetrable darkness of the more than mid- night which has ever concealed from human vision the world be- yond the grave? It did." — Farrar. Contrast the prayers and efforts of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17 : 20-22 ; 2 Kings 4 : 33~35)- " Elijah, it is true, raises up the dead. But he is obliged to stretch himself out upon the body of the child whom he recalls to life ; and it is easily seen that he invokes a foreign power, that he withdraws from the empire of death a soul which is not subjugated to him, and that he is not himself the master of life and death. Jesus Christ raised up the dead as easily as he performs the most common actions ; he speaks as master of those who repose in an eternal sleep ; and it is thoroughly felt that he is the God of the dead as of the living, never more tran- quil and calm than when he is operating the grandest things." — Massillon's Sermons, p. 448. Godet draws beautifully another and a suggestive contrast, which hints not only, indeed, at the manner in which the divine voice recalls the dead from the long sleep, but at an analogy which helps our faith to accept the sub- lime fact. " The interruption of the connection between the soul and the body in death, as in sleep, is only relative ; and as man's voice suffices to re-establish this connection between the soul and the body in any one who is wrapt in slumber, so the word of the Lord has the power to restore this interrupted con- nection even in the dead." He that was dead sat up. — " This is one of the three great- est miracles of our Lord ; of which it has been observed that he raised one (Jairus's daughter) when just dead, one on the way to burial, and one (Lazarus) who had been buried four days. All three raisings from the dead are wrought with words ot power : ' Damsel, arise," ' Young man, arise,' ' Lazarus, come forth.' " —Alford. 214 INCIDENTS IN GALILEE. Chap. XIV. Luke 7 : 15-17. Summer, j.c. 32. and began to speak : and he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all : and they glori- fied God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us ; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about. Began to speak. — An evidence of the completeness of his restoration. Delivered him to his mother. — " The on-lookers were too awe-struck to act ; the mother was overwhelmed by the sudden revulsion of feeling ; personally helping the son from his bier, and conducting him to his mother, Christ completed his merciful interposition, and gave to the mother's feeling that opportunity for action which was necessary for her own relief. Comp. John 11 : 44." — Abbott. " Luke here hints at the Old Testament in- stances in 1 Kings 17 : 23, and 2 Kings 4 : 36, ' Take thy son hence.' The same Redeemer who does this will, when the great word, ' Rise up,' shall call all the dead, give back to all his separated ones their own beloved whom he has raised for personal recognition and special communion. As surely as there is to be a resurrection, so surely is there to be such a rec- ognition and possession again of our beloved ones, if we and they are Christ's — those whom he has raised from spiritual death, and who are his to give back to those whom he loves." — yacobus. And there came a fear on all. — " They were naturally enough awed at this direct exertion of miraculous power. Nothing could go beyond this work of raising the dead." — yamieson. Great prophet. — "Only the greatest prophets, Elijah and Elisha, had been known to raise the dead ; and they not by a word, but by exertions of a power net belonging to themselves." — yacobus. This rumor. — The fame of this deed. It passed all the way through Samaria, and into Judea, and so came to John the Baptist, who was confined in the prison of Machaerus, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, and led to the inquiries reported in the following chapter. JOHN HEARS OF CHRIST'S WORKS. 215 Chap. XV. Luke 7 < 18, 19 ; Matt. 11 : 2, 3. j.c. 32. CHAPTER XV. TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. And when he had heard in the prison the works of Christ, calling unto him two of his disciples, he sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another ? When he had heard in the prison. — " For now six months, it may be for more than a year, the Baptist, the one man hitherto recognized, in these days, as a prophet, had lain a prisoner in the dungeons of Machaerus — doubtless in hourly expectation of death — a man, young in years, but wasted with his own fiery zeal, and now by the shadows of his prison house. As a Jew he had clung to Jewish ideas of the Messiah, expecting apparently a national movement which would establish a pure theocracy under Jesus. Why had he left him to languish in prison ? Why had he not used his supernatural powers to advance the kingdom of God i To solve such questions, which could not be repressed, two of his disciples were deputed to visit Jesus, and learn from himself whether he was indeed the Messiah, or whether the na- tion should still look for another?" — GeikU. He that should come, had become a kind of title for the Messiah (Heb. 10 : 37). Or look we for another? — On this Farrar remarks : " Was this a message from him who had first recognized and pointed out the Lamb of God ? ... St. John the Baptist in his heroic greatness needs not the poor aid of our charitable supposi- tions. We conclude from the express words of him, who at this very crisis pronounced upon him the most splendid eulogy ever breathed over mortal man, that the great and noble prophet had indeed, for the moment, found a stumbling-block to his faith in what he heard about the Christ." Farrar then goes on to recall similar moments of intense and heart-breaking despondency" in the careers of Moses and Elijah ; cites the cases of Savonarola, Jerome of Prague, and Luther, " whose courage, like that of the Baptist, had enabled them to stand unquailing before angry councils and threatening kings," but who yet wavered in con- stancy of heart or of mind under the oppressive influence of prison cells. " And yet to St. John the Baptist imprisonment must have been a deadlier thing than even to Luther." To ex- change the free, wild life of the hermit for the chilly damps and cramping fetters of a dungeon was worse than death. And, 2l6 TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 20-23 J Matt. 11 : 4-6. j.c. 32. When the men were come unto him, they said, John John's Embassy to Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, jesus. ^rt tnou hg that should come ? or look we for another ? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits ; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard ; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. moreover, " he seemed to be neglected not only by God above, but by the living Son of God on earth. . . . What wonder ! . . . if the eye of the caged eagle began to film !" Says De Pressense" ' : " Had he possessed greater light, he would have been less heroic ; for there is no work so noble as his who prepares the triumph in which he does not share." In that same hour. — " It would seem that Jesus delayed his answer, and went on with his teaching and miracles in the presence of John's waiting disciples." — Beecher. " He doth neither affirm nor deny, but would rather have his works testify of him than that he would testify of himself." — The Venerable Beda. " The language here indicates that these miracles were wrought at the time, and for the purpose of giving a message to carry back to their master. If so, it is, I think, the only case reported where Christ performed a miracle for the avowed pur- pose of demonstrating his claim." — Abbott. Infirmities and plagues and evil spirits. — Luke, who was a physician, defines diseases with professional accuracy. " In- firmities are those disorders which disable, as deafness, dumb- ness, paralysis, the withered hand, etc. ; plagues (literally scourges) are the more painful forms of sickness ; the possessed of evil spirits are discriminated from the merely diseased." — Abbott. Tell John. — " Was it for an impostor, or enthusiast, to refer messengers who came to him to miraculous works performed be- fore their eyes, to things done oh the spot, to the testimony of their own senses?" — Paley. Offended. — Made to stumble. "This does not upbraid, but cautions, implying that Christ knew best what to do in his king- JESUS SPEAKS ABOUT JOHN. 217 Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 24-28 ; Matt. 11 : 7-I2. j.c. 32. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concern- Testimony of ing John : What went ye out into the about John, wilderness for to see ? . A reed shaken with the wind ? But what went ye out for to see ? A man clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see ? A prophet ? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my mes- senger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist : but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And from the days of John dom." — Schoff. " Isaiah, ages before, had given the marks by which the Messiah should be known (Is. 61 : 1-3 ; 29 : 18 ; 35 : 5-10), and these Jesus at once proceeded to display." — Giekie. To the poor the Gospel is preached. — " Not the healing of the sick, nor even the raising of the dead, was so surprising as that a person, clothed with divine power, able to draw to him the homage of the rich and of the influential, should address himself specially to the poor. Wonders and miracles might be counter- feited, but a sympathy with suffering and helplessness, so tender, so laborious, and so long-continued, was not likely to be simulated. Such humanity was unworldly and divine." — Batcher. A reed shaken by the wind. — " Reeds are abundant on the lower banks of the Jordan. The meaning is not simply ' you did not go without a motive,' but ' he whom you went to see was not a fickle, wavering character.' " — Schaff. Before thy face.— In Mai. 3 : 1 the text is, " I send my messenger . . . before Me." In here applying it to himself Christ assumes to be one with God (John 10 : 30). Least in the kingdom of God. — " Chief among all the sacred names of the old theocracy, [John] was yet second in his privileges to the least of those who were permitted to become citizens of the new one, as the least child is more than the highest servant." — Abbott. From the days of John. — A period, as is supposed, of not much more than a year. 2l8 TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 29-32 ; Matt. 11 : 12-16. J.c. 32. the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation ; and to what are they like ? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, Suffereth violence. — " Or, is assaulted by storm, referring to the excitement and earnest endeavors awakened in the brief period since John appeared. And the violent — those making the effort — take it by force — actually succeed in entering in." — Schaff. This is Elias. — " To a Jewish audience no honor could be so great as this, for Elijah was the greatest of all the prophets." — Geikie. He that hath ears to hear. — An expression so often used by Jesus that it may be called, like his use of " verily," a mannerism. " It usually follows an important statement, in- timating that he who has the discernment to understand will find a deeper meaning. Here it suggests : Christ meant more than that John was Elijah — that he himself was the Messiah." — Schaff. And all the people that heard, etc. — This clause is not gen- erally considered a part of the Lord's discourse, but a comment of the Evangelist. The common people and the publicans, who had been, many of them, baptized by John, heard this eulogy of their late teacher with delight. But the Pharisees con- temned the counsel of God respecting themselves (Psalm 2), and rejected Jesus as they had rejected the baptism of John. Whereunto shall I liken this generation? — " Struck with these contrasts, Jesus drew an illustration from peevish children, who fretfully reject every effort of their fellows to delight or amuse them " — Farrar. Children, " among the Jews, imitated in their sports what they saw done by others on great occasions, and particularly the customs in festivities, wherein the musician beginning a tune on THE GENERATION LIKE UNTO CHILDREN. 219 Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 33-35 ; Matt. 11 : 16-19. j.c. 32. and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ; we have mourned to you and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine ; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking ; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners ! But wisdom is justified of all her children. his instrument, the company danced to his pipe. So also, in funerals, wherein the women beginning the mournful song (as the pritficce of the Romans), the rest followed, lamenting and beating their breasts. These things the children acted and per- sonated in the streets in play." — Burder. Market-place. — The forum, or market-place, was usually a public market on one side only, the other sides of the area being occupied by temples, theatres, courts of justice, and other public buildings. Here the philosophers met and taught, here laws were promulgated, and here devotions, as well as amusements, occupied the populace. These places, in ancient times, were generally at the gate of the city, and were used for judicial trials, as places of business, and to accommodate those who were assem- bled merely to pass time away (Acts 16 : 19 ; 17 : 17 ; Matt. 20 : 3 ; Gen. 23 : 10. et seq. ; Deut. 21 : 19 ; 25 : 6, 7 ; Ruth 4:1. et seq. ; Ps. 127 : 5 ; Prov. 22 : 22 ; 24 : 7 ; Zech. 8 : 16.) Here the Pharisees, who desired salutations (Mark 12 : 38,) might meet country people, judges, magistrates, and digni- taries.— Calmet. Jahn. A gluttonous man and a winebibber. — " Christ's example is opposed not to temperance, but to asceticism. Even his example must be followed in the light of common-sense. What he might do in one age or nation we may find perilous in a different state of society." — Eggleston. Wisdom is justified. — " Wisdom can be here no other than the Divine Wisdom which had been revealed by John and Jesus, and in Jesus was personally manifested ; her children are those who are not only born of her, but related to her in that they possess a wise heart. . . . An antithesis of the preceding." — Lange. Probably the children of wisdom here are the same as the l>abes spoken of in Luke 10 : 21 (" not ignorant persons in themselves, but only childlike souls" — Langc), as contrasted with the Pharisees and lawyers (scribes), who considered themselves " wise and prudent," but from whom " these things" of heav- 2 20 TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Matt, n : 20, 21. Midsummer, j.c. 32. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not : Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Christ upbraids the Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works, which Cmes. were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sack- enly wisdom were " hid." So, after showing the folly of the un- reasonable Pharisees, Jesus declares that true spiritual wisdom is recognized and accepted — justified — by those who have hearts simple enough to receive it. Then began he. — Luke seems to record the denunciation of Christ on the Galilean cities, as made later, at the time when he finally left them. " But even at this stage partial predictions of judgment must have been uttered, which Matthew, according to his systematic plan, here records in their final and complete form." — Lange. To upbraid. — " In all the reproofs of Jesus there is an exalta- tion and calmness which renders them more terrible than if they were the outburst of sudden passion. It is not angered ambi- tion, but repulsed kindness, that speaks. There is sadness in the severity. The very denunciations seem to mourn." — Beecher. Woe unto thee ! — or Alas for thee ! — they are exclamations of pity rather than of anger. Chorazin. — A city near the lake of Galilee. Jerome says it was about two miles distant from Capernaum. Even its site is now a matter of conjecture. Some consider it identical with the ruins of Kerazeh. (See " The Land and the Book," Thomson, and Andrews's " Life of Our Lord," pp. 203-219. for full state- ment of the questions respecting the sites of the three cities.) Bethsaida. — The word means a house of hunting or fishing. It was once the home of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Dr. Thomson locates it at the northern end of the lake, on both sides of the inlet. The town on the eastern side of the Jordan was rebuilt and adorned by Philip the Tetrarch, and by him called Julias, after Csesar's daughter. Here, in a magnificent tomb, the Tet- rarch was buried. Tyre and Sidon were rich trading cities on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, noted for their pride, luxury, and con- tempt of religion (Judges 18 : 7 ; Isaiah 23 : 9 ; Amos 1 : 9, 10). The latter city was founded by Sidon, the great grandson of Noah. The Greeks called the strip of verdant country where these cities lay Phoenicia — the Land of the Palm ; and its people are known in history as Phoenicians. — Abbott, condensed. CHRIST UPBRAIDS THE CITIES. Chap. XV. Matt, n : 21-27. Midsummer, j.c. 32. cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalt- ed unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell : for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolera- ble for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father ; for so it Sackcloth and ashes. — Sackcloth was a kind of coarse cloth woven of camel's hair (the same used by John the Baptist), usually worn to express mourning. "The costume of mourners resem- bled a sack with holes for the arms, and it was usual to strew ashes upon the head." — Schaff (Job 2 : 12 ; Est. 4:1; Jer. 6 : 26 ; Lam. 2 : 10). The words are expressive of deep sorrow and self-abhorrence (Job. 13 : 6). Exalted to heaven. — A Hebrew metaphor expressive of great prosperity ; and also, probably, here meaning spiritual privilege in the presence and teaching of Jesus. Brought down to hell. — To Hades, the place of the dead— a state of great desolation. This prediction was literally fulfilled, for in the wars between the Jews and Romans these three cities were totally destroyed. Nothing now remains of them but scat- tered heaps of ruins, and their exact location is a matter of dis- pute among travellers. All things are delivered unto me of my Father. — " Lan- guage like this demands reverent thought. Who does not feel that such words could not fall from the lips of a sinful man, but only from one whose nature and life lay far above all human imper- fection ? Who, even of the highest, or wisest, or best of human teachers, could invite all, without exception, to come to him, with promise that he would give true rest to their souls ? And who, in doing so, could speak of it as a thing apparent to all who heard him, that he was meek and lowly in heart ? Who would think of claiming the stately dignity of sole representa- TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Matt, n : 27-30; Luke 7 : 36. j.c. 32. seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered un- to me of my Father : and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would tive of the Unseen God, and who could speak of God as his Father in the same way as Jesus ? And who would dare to link himself with the Eternal in a Communion so awful, and an inter-re- lation so absolute ? He makes us feel that as we listen we are face to face with the Incarnate Divine." — Geikie. See this thought more expanded in Bushnell's " Nature and the Supernatural," pp. 288-292. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. — " Yea, Lord, I come to thee ! Weighed down with misery, By sin oppressed ; Smooth thou my rugged road, Lift thou my weary load — Give me thy Rest. " Cleanse thou my leprous stains, Heal thou the hitter pains That rack my breast ; Speak to my spirit Peace, Bid the wild tempest cease — Give me thy Rest." Edmund Kirke. Desired him that he would eat with him. — Where this event occurred is uncertain. Some have supposed it took place at Nain, others at Capernaum. We incline to the opinion that it was at the former place, and directly after the raising of the widow's son. The local notoriety that act would have given to Jesus might naturally have moved a leading Pharisee to show him the sort of condescending hospitality we see in the conduct of Simon. If this supposition be correct, the " woman which was a sinner" had heard his loving invitation to come unto him, and been led by it to fall in penitence at his feet. DINES WITH A PHARISEE. 223 Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 36, 37. Midsummer, j.c. 32. eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a Dines with a woman in the city, which was a sinner, Pharisee, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's Eat with him. — " The people of the East take hut two regular meals a day —i.e., a hearty breaktast early in the morning, before going to their business, and the principal meal at night, after they come home. Rich people often eat a regular meal at noon (Gen. 43 : 16) ; but the more common practice is to take some light luncheon in an informal manner." — Van Lennep ; " Bible Lands." Sat down — More accurately, reclined. The table was but slight- ly elevated from the ground, and the guests reclined about it on low couches, which were placed around three of its sides, an opening being left at the fourth side for the entrance of the servants who served at the meal. Ordinarily only three persons, but sometimes four or five, reclined on each couch. The couches were provided with cushions, on which the guest rested upon his left elbow, his right arm being free, and his feet extended outward from the table, so that one standing at them would be behind him. Next to the host was the place of honor, and the guest occupying it, being near enough to rest his head on or near the breast of the one behind him, was said to " lie in his bosom" (John 1 : 18 ; 23 ; 2r : 20). Knives and forks were not used, and each person took his food with his hand from a common dish. A piece of bread was held between the thumb and two forefingers, and was dipped either into a bowl of melted grease (this was the " sop," John 13 : 26) or into a dish of meat, whence a piece was conveyed to the mouth between two layers of bread. When guests were invited, more than ordinary ceremony was used, and it was to the neglect of this ceremony on the part of Simon that Jesus alluded. On such occasions the visitor was received with a kiss, water was produced to wash his feet, and his head, and often his beard and feet, were perfumed with oil. A sinner. — " A prostitute. She ivas, even up to this time, a pros- titute, and this was the first manifestation of her penitence." — ■ Alfotd. " That she entered the house uninvited is not strange. In the free life of the East the presence of uninvited guests, not at the table, but in the room, is not uncommon." — Abbott. " It was counted a piece of hospitality that access to a house should be unusually free when an entertainment was given ; and, in fact, many repaired to strange houses on such occasions. Thus, from one cause or another, there were always many people hanging about the court, and the outer parts of the guest chamber, which was wholly open in front." — Kitto. The same custom still 224 TESTIMONY OF JKSUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 37-39. Midsummer, j.c. 32. house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw prevails in the East. (See " Narrative of a Mission to the yews," quoted in Trench, On the Parables.) An alabaster box. — A vase or cruse. Alabaster is a beauti- ful white, translucent stone, similar to marble, but more brittle. It ferments with acids, calcines in fire, and when powdered and placed over a flame, appears in rolling masses like a fluid. It was highly valued for the preservation of ointments. " Un- guents," says Pliny, " keep best in alabaster." The vessels usu- ally had a long neck, and were sealed at the top. Ointment " was used in the East, and still is, not only in re- ligious consecration, but also in the toilet. The hair and face were both anointed, a shining skin being accounted an element of beauty (Ruth 3:3; Eccles. 9:8; Amos, 6 : 6). To be without anoint- ing was a sign of mourning (2 Sam. 14:2)." — Abbott. "The ointment here has a peculiar interest, as being the offering by a penitent of that which had been an accessory in her unhallowed work of sin." — Alford. Kissed his feet. — Among ancient nations kissing the feet was a token of deep reverence and earnest supplication. Seneca re- lates that " C. Csesar gave wine to Pompey Pennus, whom he had pardoned, and then, on his returning thanks, presented his left foot for him to kiss. ' ' Xenophon speaks of similar instances. From this arose the custom of kissing the Pope's foot. When the Pharisee saw it. — " Her tears dropped on his feet. That she intended this is unlikely. Genuine emotion is not intentional ; only unbidden tears are precious. Her inten- tion was to kiss and anoint his feet, but coming for that purpose the precious ointment of her penitent heart first flowed from her weeping eyes." — Schaff. "That she was not spurned was to her trembling heart a sign of grace and favor. When the Phari- see beheld, without sympathy, the forbearance of Jesus, it stirred up his heart against his guest. ... He could not conceive of a Divinity of compassion. God, to his imagination, was only an enlarged Pharisee, careful of his own safety, and careless of those made wretched by their sins. These thoughts were interpreted upon his countenance by a look of displeasure and contempt."— Beecher, THE MEASURE OF LOVE. 225 Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 39-43. Midsummer, j.c. 32. it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him ; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most ? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. That toucheth him. — The Pharisees were rendered ceremoni- ally unclean by the touch of an impure person. To this tech- nical defilement Simon objected. Jesus answering. — Answering the look, and the unspoken thought, of the Pharisee. A certain creditor, or money-lender. " We scarcely know which we should most admire — the skill with which he causes the accuser to appear as witness against himself, or the modera- tion with which he spares his host, inasmuch as he forbears any severe censure." — Van Oosterzee. Pence — Denarii ; Roman silver coin then in circulation in Palestine. One denarius, it would seem from Matt. 20 : 1-13. was then the ordinary pay for a day's labor. Fifty were equal to about nine dollars. Debtors. — " The debt is sin, or, strictly speaking here, the sense of sin, since gratitude for forgiveness of sins must be based upon that, not upon actual guilt, which we cannot measure." — Schaff. Frankly. — Freely, or without any compensation. The only forgiveness adapted to the case, since both were entirely unable to pay. Which of them will love him most? — " It is possible that this Pharisee himself had been healed by Jesus, and that, not feeling any true gratitude, he thought that he might acquit him- self of his obligation by his invitation." — Kendrickfs Olshausen. Simon answered. — " There is a touch of supercilious patron- age, of surprised indifference to the whole matter, in the word he uses, [presume that he to whom he forgave most." — Farrar. 226 TESTIMONY OF JESUS ABOUT JOHN. Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 43-47. Midsummer, j.c. 32. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet : but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss : but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint : but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, And said unto Simon. — " He thus brings face to face the two persons whose cases he had set forth in the parable. Possibly Simon had hitherto avoided looking at her or, in any case, had looked down upon her ; now, according to his own verdict, he must look up to her." — Sekaff. In the answer to Simon are allusions to several customs of respect to guests among the Jews, already explained, which Simon had omitted, perhaps for fear that he might be regarded as too intimate a friend, or as a disciple of Jesus. No water for my feet.— As sandals were worn which covered only the sole of the foot, frequent washings were necessary. It was customary to remove the sandals and bathe the feet when- ever one entered a house, and in omitting to provide water for this purpose, Simon had neglected one of the commonest acts of hospitality. In Hindoostan, at the present time, when a supe- rior enters the house of an inferior, the latter brings water, and washes his feet. With ointment. — " This ointment was a mixture of various aromatics, and was therefore far more costly and precious than the oil commonly used for anointing the head. Her conduct, compared with that of Simon, was therefore more striking. He did not even give the common oil for his head usual on such occasions. She had applied to his feet a far more precious and valuable unguent. He, therefore, showed comparatively little love ; she showed mueh." — Barnes. Wherefore I say unto thee. — " Christ does not say, 'Where- fore her sins are forgiven.' The manifestations of the woman's love are alleged to be not the cause of the forgiveness, but the occasion of the teaching." — Abbott. Her sins are forgiven. — " That he should claim to forgive sins had already raised a charge of blasphemy against him, and JESUS FORGIVES A WOMAN S SINS. 227 Chap. XV. Luke 7 : 47-50. Midsummer, j.c. 32. are forgiven for she loved much : but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also ? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee ; go in peace. it did not pass unnoticed now. But the time had not yet come for open hostility, and his words, in the meanwhile, were duly treasured up to be used against him hereafter." — Geikie. And he said unto her. — " With ineffable grace Jesus turns from the Pharisee, silent under this rebuke, to the woman. ' Thy sins are forgiven.' The effect produced upon the company shows that these words were no mere pious phrases, but were uttered with an authority which a mere man had no right to as- sume."— Beecher. " It was only in their secret thoughts that the guests — rather it seems in astonishment than in wrath — ventured to question this calm and simple claim to a more than earthly attribute." — Farrar. For she loved much. — " We may say, It is light, for the sun is risen ; but we may also say, The sun is risen, for it is light. So in this passage, for may — and according to what precedes must — mean : ' I say unto thee that her many sins are forgiven, as thou must infer from this, that she loved much." — Godel. Thy faith hath saved thee. — " Let it be observed that it is not said thy love hath saved thee. Here, as in every other part of the New Testament, faith is put forward as the key to salva- tion."— Kyle. And yet " Faith without works is dead," or, as Jesus himself put it, " The tree is known by its fruits." If here he says, " Go in peace," to others, who had shown less grati- tude, he said, " Go, and sin no more /" Go in peace : literally, gointopeace. — " First faith, then forgive- ness, then love from the sense of forgiveness, then abiding peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5 : 1). Christ is indeed the friend of sinners." — Riddle. " The general lesson which her story inculcates is one which forms a central doctrine of Christ's revelation ; I mean the lesson that cold and selfish hypocrisy is in the sight of God as hateful as more glaring sin ; the lesson that a life of sinful and impenitent respectability may be no less deadly and dangerous than a life of open shame." — Farrar. 228 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Luke 8 : i, 2. Autumn, j.c. 32. CHAPTER XVI. A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. And it came to pass afterward, that he went through- out every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God : and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been Throughout every city and village. — " Whether this journey was a continuation of the circuit from Nain is not certain, though most probable." — Andrews. The mention of " every city and village" implies a journey of considerable duration. "Avery thorough missionary tour. Christ neither dreaded the large places nor despised the small ones." — Abbott. The twelve. — " The twelve were not all in indigence. The mother of John ministered to Jesus of her substance ; Peter and Andrew had a house at Capernaum ; Matthew gave a feast to the Master. But it is clear, nevertheless, that the apostles be- longed to the lower class, and were to the Jew at Jerusalem despised provincials, whose very speech was open to ridicule." — De Pressense". " In these journeys he was attended by the twelve, and by a group of loving women, attracted to him by re- lationship, or by his having healed them of various diseases ; who provided, in part, at least, for his wants, and those of his followers. . . . The names of some of the group of women who thus attended Jesus have been handed down as a fitting tribute to their devotion, while those of the men who followed him, with the exception of the twelve apostles, are lost." — Geikie. " In the company of pious women who followed Jesus, even to the foot of the cross, were Salome, the mother of James and John, and Mary, the mother of James the Less. Thus, even in the very dawn of the new religion, appears that type of the Christian mother, one of the most beautiful creations of the Gospel." — De Pressense'. Certain women. — " Such admixture of the sexes was in utter violation of the customs of the country. It would hardly be tolerated there even now. Promiscuous assemblies of men and women are unknown ; and even when a crowd collects to see some sight or gaze at a show, the sexes are always grouped in two distinct and separate portions. A man never walks in the street by the side of his wife or daughter, but when he happens to be out in their company is sure to keep several paces in ad- vance of them. ... In some parts of the country, and MARY MAGDALENE. 229 Chap. XVI. Luke 3 : 2, 3. Autumn, J.c. 32. healed of evil spirits and infirmities, — Mary called Mag- dalene, out of whom went seven devils, Joanna, even among the Christians, a woman may not show herself un- veiled before her father-in-law, and even before her own husband. She never speaks to the former except through a third person, and should he ask her a question, she must whisper her answer to some one who will repeat it aloud to him." — Van Lennep's Bible Lands. " To this add that the Jewish' rabbis did not allow the law to be taught to women ; that to the present day in the East women are not allowed an education ; and that even in England and America the education of women has been accomplished only after much and bitter opposition, and the reader will have some conception how radical was the movement which Christ inaugurated in taking women with him as disciples. They did not teach. Whether this was because it was not Christ's will that women should ever be public teachers in the church, or because in that age and condition of society their teaching would not have been received, and the attempt would have been idle, is a question to be determined by other passages of Scripture. Little can be drawn from the mere negative fact. Subsequently, women did become recognized religious teachers, though never to any considerable extent" (Acts 18 : 26 ; 21 : 9 ; Phil. 4: 3)."— Abbott. Mary of Magdala. — Mary is commonly supposed to have been an abandoned character, but of this there is no evidence. From this notice it is to be inferred that she was a person of some property. " Mary appears to have belonged to the village of Magdala, or Migdola — the Tower — about three miles north of Tiberias, on the water's edge, at the south-east corner of the plain of Gennesareth. It is now represented by the few wretched hovels which form the Mohammedan village of El-Mejdel, with a solitary thorn-bush beside it, as the last trace of the rich groves and orchards, amidst which it was, doubtless, embowered in the days of our Lord." — Geikic. " Whatever doubt may rest upon her history or the origin of her name, she clung to Jesus with a fidelity that could not be surpassed, an affection which seems to have grown more earnest and fearless with danger, and which, during his crucifixion and after his burial, places her even before his own mother in intensity of self-devotion." — Beecher. Seven devils. — The Jews supposed the demons who possessed men were the spirits of mortals who, after death, haunted the earth, and, under the direction of Satan, worked evil to mankind. Joanna, the wife of Chuza. — Of whom nothing else is known. It has been surmised that Chuza was the court lord 230 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Luke 8:3; Matt. 12 : 22, 23. j.c. 32. the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their sub- stance. And they went into a house. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb : and Cures Blind and he healed him, insomuch that the blind Dumb Demoniac. an(j dumb b()th spake an(j ^ An(j ajj the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David ? whose son Jesus healed, and who believed with all his house (John 4 : 46-54). It is also noted as one of the coincidences confirmatory of the truth of the New Testament that Herod, the son of one of whose courtiers was healed by Christ, and whose steward's wife was a disciple, heard much of Christ, and was perplexed by what he heard of his wonderful works (Matt. 14 : 1, 2). Herod's steward. — This Herod was Antipas. (See note, p. 122.) Susanna. — Not mentioned elsewhere. And many others. — " Mary, the mother of James the Less, was another one of these ministering women ; and it is an illustra- tion of the extreme paucity of names among the Jews, and the confusion that results from it, that there are, perhaps, as many as eleven Marys in the Gospel history alone." — Farrar. Into a house. — "This indicates a return to Capernaum, as the succeeding events probably took place there." — Schaff. "There was to be one more day of opposition — more bitter, more dangerous, more personal, more implacable — one day of open and final rupture between Jesus and the Pharisaic spies from Jerusalem — before he yielded for a time to the deadly hatred of his enemies, and retired to find in heathen countries the rest which he could find no longer in the rich fields and in the green hills of Gennesareth." — Farrar. Blind and dumb. — The only instance of this nature that is mentioned in the Gospels. Son of David. — " So far as we know, this was the first time that this specially Messianic title had been given him ; nor does it clearly appear what there was in this miracle that should lead them thus to speak. It would, however, naturally arouse the jealousy cf the Pharisees, and make them the more eager to oppose him." — Andrews. " By that phrase was meant Messiahship. The spark had fallen. The fire was kindled. The scribes seemed thrown off their guard by the extremity of THE PHARISEES ACCUSE JESUS. 23I Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 24-26 ; Mark 3 : 22, 23. j.c. 32. But when the Pharisees and the scribes which came down from Jerusalem heard it, they said, This fel- low hath Beelzebub, and doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and he called them unto him and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan ? Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation ; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand : and if Satan cast out Satan, danger. Then it was that they blindly charged him with being a minion of infernal influence." — Beecher. By Beelzebub. — This is said by the scribes who came down from Jerusalem. " Their presence at this time may be ascribed to the powerful impression which the raising of the widow's son at Nain had made upon all who heard of it, and the consequent necessity on the part of his enemies of taking some steps to counteract it. It is not improbable that they came as a formal deputation to watch his proceedings, and to organize his enemies against him throughout Galilee. Doubtless their calumny that he was aided by Beelzebub, was caught up and reiterated by the Pharisees of Capernaum. As the fact of the healing was beyond dispute, they could only assert that it was done through the aid of the prince of the devils. This ascription of his miracles to Satanic agency marks a decided progress in Pharisaic hostility. Heretofore they had said of him that he was a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer ; now they say that he is in league with evil spirits. And this charge reached much farther than this particular miracle. It was virtually ascribing all that he said and did to a diabolical origin, and made the Spirit of God that rested upon him to be the spirit of Beelzebub ; and hence the severity of his language in reply (Matt. 12 : 34)." — Andrews. " Beelzebub was the chief of foreign heathen deities. To charge Jesus with acting under his inspiration was an appeal to the na- tional fanaticism. The rigor of Christ's reply manifests his sense of the danger of such an imputation, and explains also the solemn and judicial severity with which he immediately turned upon his assailants." — Beecher. If Satan cast out Satan. — " In a few calm words Jesus scat- tered the hideous sophism to atoms. He showed them the gross absurdity of supposing that Satan could be his own enemy." — Farrar. 232 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 26-31 ; Mark 3 : 27-29. j.c. 32. he is divided against himself ; how shall then his kingdom stand ? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out ? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else, how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man ? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me ; and he that gathereth not with me scatter- Biasphemy against eth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, the Holy Sp.rit. An manner 0f s[n and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And who- Your children — Your disciples. " If casting out devils is an evidence of a league with Satan, then this holds good against your scholars, who profess to do it also." — Schaff. That the Jews practised exorcism is shown by Mark 9 : 38 ; Luke 9 : 49 ; Acts 19 : 13 ; and Josephus, Ant. 8 : 2-5 ; 7 : 3-6, and from the early fathers, generally. He that is not with me. — Between Beelzebub and the Spirit of God there can be no neutral ground. Whatever the good deeds of evil men, or the failures and sins of good men, every soul in its general life tends Godward or Devilvvard, is " with" Christ or " against" him. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.— Perhaps no passage in the Scriptures has more perplexed commentators, or given rise to a greater variety of interpretations, than this. The different views in regard to the sin it expresses are thus clearly and briefly stated by Schaff : " 1. A particular sin — that of deliberately, persistently, and maliciously, in the presence of proper evidence, attributing the works of Christ (whether of physical healing or spiritual deliverance) to diaboli- cal agency, instead of acknowledging the Holy Spirit as the agent (Comp. Mark 3 : 36). ... 2. A state of determined, wilful opposition, in the presence of light, to the power of the Holy Spirit, virtually a moral suicide, a killing of the con- science, so that the human spirit is absolutely insusceptible to the influences of the Holy Spirit. Vers. 33-35 favor this view, as also the correct reading in Mark 3 : 29 — ' guilty of eter- BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT. 233 Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 32-35 ; Mark 3 : 29. Autumn, j.c. 32. soever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgiveness, neither in this world, neither in the world to come, but he is in danger of eternal damnation : Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good ; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt : for the tree is known by his fruit. O gen- eration of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things ? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the nal sin.' " " It is doubtless correctly described rather as a state than an act (Alford in loco). . . . But it is certainly significant that Christ warns of it only those who, in the Church of God, deliberately oppose God's cause." — Abbott. " The reason why this sin is not pardonable is that the person whose heart is so base as to defy and blaspheme God with a mind fully informed, has lost the power of amendment. No human soul that has a desire to be better can be said to have reached this state of hopeless and defiant blasphemy." — Eggleston. Cast them out. — " I infer that the children of the Pharisees did really cast out devils. . . . The difficulty has arisen mainly from forgetting that miracles, as suck, are no test of truth, but have been permitted to, and prophesied of, false religions and teachers." — Alford. Against the Son of Man. ... It shall be forgiven him. — Jesus takes pains to remove all personal motives from his terrible accusation against the religious teachers of his nation. He did not denounce them for their opposition to him, but for their violation of their own best instincts and highest intuitions. Either make the tree good, etc. — " The dependence of the words is this : ' You say, I work by the devil,' saith Christ ; ' but you do not see any other work of mine beside this miracle, which looks like a work of the devil : you see I go about doing good ; I exhort people to repentance ; I show them the way to heaven. These are no works which the devils used to do. Therefore, either say that I do all this in the name of Beelzebub too, or else acknowledge that I do my miracles by the power of God ; for men judge of the quality of the mind by the common actions or habits of the life, as they do of trees by the fruits which they produce, be they good or evil.' " — John Hales. 234 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 35-37. Autumn, j.c. 32. heart bringeth forth good things : and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg- ment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Every idle word. — According to Dr. Hitchcock, our words, our actions, and even our thoughts, make an indelible impres- sion on the universe. He gives a curious and ingenious scheme by which these impressions may be transmitted and recorded. (1) By Mechanical reactiqns. The air is one library, on whose pages are forever written all that man has ever said or woman whispered. On the solid earth not a footprint that does not permanently change the whole globe. (2) By Optical reactions. Taking all the worlds together, they at this moment contain a vast panorama of the world's entire history. The universe en- closes the pictures of the past like an indestructible record. (3) By Electric reactions. There is an electric influence excited by every muscular effort, or thought passing through the brain. There may be no spot in the universe where the knowledge of our most secret thoughts and purposes may not be transmitted on the lightning's wing. (4) By Chemical reactions. The pho- tographic influence pervades all nature, and we cannot say where it stops. (5) By Mental reactions. Indirectly through matter, directly by the influence of mind upon mind. If we admit that mind acts upon other minds, can we tell how far this influence extends ? Our lightest thoughts and feeblest volitions may reach the outer limit of intellectual life, and their conse- quences meet us in distant worlds and far down the track of eternity. Shall give account. — 'Not surely that playful words may not be spoken, nor that men shall keep themselves on a perpet- ual strain about their words. But that the idle word is an index of what a man has within him (see preceding verses), and that in this sense no act or word is unimportant. A man's sense of accountability should extend even to trifles." — Eggleston. By thy -words thou shalt be justified. — " Declared righteous, acquitted, not made righteous. The word never has the latter sense in the New Testament. The index of character will be the words, not hypocritical ones, although even these speedily re- veal their true character, but those coming from the heart (Mark. 3 : 34, ^r—Schaff. THE PHARISEES SEEK A SIGN. 235 Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 37-40. Autumn, j.c. 32. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from ihee. But he answered and said unto The Pharisees seek them, An evil and adulterous generation a Slgn- seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas : for as Jonas Certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered. — ' ' They saw their blunder. They had not carried the people with them. They had aroused in Jesus a spirit of sovereignty before which they quailed. They had thrown the javelin, but it had missed, and they stood disarmed. They then attempted to recover their position . . . with an affectation of reasonableness and devotion." — Beecher. A sign from thee. — Some supernatural appearance in the air (Matt. 16 : 1). They ascribed what he had done to the power of Satan ; but this new evidence, they implied, would convince them. Some such sign they appear to have expected from the coming Messiah. From Luke 11 : 16, we see that the sign they asked was one from heaven. They had witnessed several miracles on earth ; now they demand the appearance of some celestial one, which would be the strongest test of his pretensions. Light foot says that the signs they were taught by their traditions to expect from the Messiah were that he should raise the old prophets and the old holy famous men from the dead ; and bring down manna from heaven (John 6 : 30). Or they might require a sign founded on Dan. 7 : 13, T4, in which the Son of Man is mentioned, as com- ing with the clouds of heaven, and reducing all nations under his dominion. " In the Jewish superstition it was held that demons and false gods could give signs on earth, but only the true God signs from heaven" — Alford. The Prophet Jonas. — No sign was ivoiked for their benefit ; but they were referred to one already provided, in the prophet Jonah, who aroused the Ninevites to repentance, and King Solomon, whose wisdom illumined the darkened mind of the Queen of the South ; while a greater than Jonah, or even than Solomon the Great King, could make no impression on their hard hearts. Olshausen (Kendrick's Trans.) suggests several points of similarity between Jonah and Jesus : (1) both " signs" had reference to the persons themselves ; (2) both the deliver- ance of Jonah and the resurrection of Jesus were unseen signs given only to the faithful, and concealed from the vulgar eyes of the adulterous generation ; (3) the belly of the fish and the heart of the earth are parallel contrasts to the demanded sign from heaven. 236 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 40-44. Autumn, j.c. 32. was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise jesus reproves m judgment with this generation, and! them. shall condemn it : because they repent- ed at the preaching of Jonas ; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall con- demn it : for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out ; and when He adds : " Moreover, the Lord had not yet distinctly spoken of his death. The whale, therefore, remained in proper enigmatical obscurity ... a hierograph the deciphering of which was reserved for the future." The -whale's belly. — In Jonah 1 : 17, the Hebrew word here rendered a whale, is " a great JisA." And the Greek word fish means, in general, any large fish. A certain species of white shark, of an immense size, is found in the Mediterranean, whose throat will easily admit a man's body. But the whale's throat is capa- ble of admitting little more than the arm of a man. Queen of the South. — In 1 Kings 10 : 1, her kingdom is call- ed Sheba, which was a province of Arabia Felix, to the south or south-east of Judea. Josephus, however, says that she took her title from Saba, a city of Meral, an island in the Nile, the queens of which were afterwards called Candace. The Abyssinians claim her as the ancestress of their kings. Rise up in the judgment. — An allusion to the custom among the Jews and Romans for witnesses to rise from their seats when accusing or giving evidence against criminals. Through dry places. — The common notion was that evil spirits haunted dry and desert places. Seeking rest and finding none. — " Strange ! a fallen, cor- rupt spirit can have no rest but in a polluted human heart : the corruption of the one is suited to the pollution of the other ; and thus like cleaves to like." — Adam Clarke. JESUS REPROVES THEM. 237 Chap. XVI. Matt. 12 : 4.4-46 ; Mark 3 : 3L j.C 32. he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with That man. — Reference is here made to the whole nation of Jews. Jesus compares them to a demoniac, who, after an inter- val of quiet, relapses into greater violence. Since their return from Babylon, the Jews had not fallen into idolatry, and, there- fore, did not consider themselves liable to the anger of God ; but Jesus says that seven demons are about to enter them, and their last state will be worse than the first. According to Josephus, " the character of the Jews, just before theii final destruction by the Romans, was the vilest that can be conceived. They pressed on to their own ruin as if they were possessed by legions of devils, and wrought up to the last degree of madness." " It would prove with this generation as with a man from whom an unclean spirit has for a time gone out. . . . The Reformation under John, and under [Jesus] himself, was only temporary ; the nation would fall back again to its old sinful ways, and become worse than ever." — Geikie. His mother and his brethren. — " The visit of his mother and brethren is mentioned by all the Synoptists ; and that it occurred during, or immediately after, the reply to the Pharisees, appears from Matt. 12 : 46. Luke (S : io) has it in another connection, but without any note of time. It is, perhaps, fairly inferrible that they now resided at Capernaum." — Andrews. Greswell, 2 : 270, admitting this, still affirms that " they had no house of their own, or none in which our Lord was living along with them." Mark 6 : 3. which no doubt refers to a subsequent period, shows that his sisters, at least, were still residents of Nazareth. " As yet they were out of sympathy with him : they knew him not, did not fully believe in him : they said, ' He is beside him- self.' It was needful that they should be henceforth taught by several decisive proofs that he was not of them ; that this was no longer the carpenter, -the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, but the Son of God, the Saviour of the world." — Farrar. " Very possibly the simple household at Nazareth, 238 A CIRCUIT IN GALILEE. Chap. XVI. Luke S : 19-21 ; Mark 3 : 31-35 ; Matt. 12 : 47 50. him, and could not come at him for the press, for the Christ's true multitude sat about him. Then one said Brethren. unto y,^ gghoid, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother ? and who are my brethren ? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren ! They are these which hear the word of God and do it. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. who, like other Jews, must have looked on the Rabbis with su- perstitious reverence, and have shrunk from questioning anything they said, had innocently accepted the insinuation that he was really out of his mind, as a result of being possessed. Preju- diced in favor of the common idea of the Messiah as a national hero, at the head of Jewish armies, they had not risen to any higher conception, and felt impelled by every motive to interfere, and, if possible, put a stop to what seemed to them an unac- countable course of action on his part. It was only about ten hours' distance from Nazareth to Capernaum, over the hills ; they would go and see for themselves ; and so, Mary, and the brothers and sisters of Jesus — the whole household, for Joseph was dead — set out for Peter's house." — Gcikie. He looked round about on them. — " Then it was that he seems to have drawn himself up and looked round upon the crowd with an eye of love veiled by sorrow. There must have been something striking in his manner of speaking, that should lead the Evangelists always to describe his personal appearance in that act. They were not anatomists, nor close students of details ; they mentioned that which struck them forcibly. It was not a glance, a flash, but a long and piercing gaze ; ' he looked round about on them which sat about him ;' and then, stretching forth his hand toward his disciples, he said, ' Behold my mother and my brethren !' " — Beechcr. " Apart from anything superna- tural, there seems to have been in the presence of Jesus a spell of mystery and of majesty which even his most ruthless and hardened enemies acknowledged, and before which they involun- tarily bowed." — Farrar. JESUS TEACHES FROM A SHIP. 239 J.c. 32. Ch. XVII. Matt. 13 : 1, 2 ; Mark 4:1; Luke 8 : 4. CHAPTER XVII. THE SEVEN PARABLES. The same day went Jesus out of the house, and began again to teach by the sea side. And great multi- tudes out of every city were gathered together unto him, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea ; and The Seven Parables.— In commenting on the parables re- corded in this chapter, Andrews remarks ■ tC 7hl",,teaching in Parables plainly marks an onward step in worH »nHS Im!f '. ^A He,Had n°W tCStified °f HimSelf b°th in word and deed, had manifested himself as the Messiah ; and it was becoming apparent to him that the great body of the people had no discernment of his divine character and mission, and would not receive him, however they might for a time be per- sonally attracted to him, and marvel at his words and works weh,HafnteeVh • fP!mual leaders b°th at Jerusalem and in Gali- lee, had taken decided steps against him ; and though with the common people his popularity seemed now at its height he dis! El that thC -C Wa,S n° r00t of faith- and that most followed him through motives of wonder, or idle curiosity. He could, there- fore, well speak of them (Matt. 13 : 13-15) as hearing his Words and yet not understanding them ; as seeing his wo?ks and noi perceiving their significance. To them he could not explain "he mysteries of the Kingdom. He must use the form of ihe par- able which, hiding us meaning from the careless and foolish opened it to the diligent and wise seeker after truth " ' Capernaum DSreT^Speaking °f ft kke Sh°re in the vic!nity of Capernaum Dr. Thomson says, " I was delighted to find small creeks or inlets between this and Tell Hum, where theX could ndein safety only a few feet from the shore, and where the mul- titudes, seated on both sides and before the boat could liTten T^To^T^^Tu As if on purp°se to *%** «£ smoofh h u botf sides of these narrow inlets is piled up with smooth iboulders of basalt."- 7%, Land and the Bool (Seenote Wc'v 3H MacS'-W, author of The Rob Roy on the Jordan re- S cannl aln COnver?e d with an Arab °n shore while he paddled how diS?nrring °" thC Waier' and SayS' " U Was ver>- remarkable how distinctly every word was heard, even at 300 yards off ■ and £ VCry ^Sy t0 ^P^hend how in this clear air a preacher ii upon thbe0shoCr°eU' ' "** * ^ by * VaSt multitude "»* 240 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Ch. XVII. Matt. 13 : 1, 2 ; Mark 4 : 1, 2 ; Luke 8 ; 4. J.c. 32. the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Parables. — The parable has been denned by Alford as "a serious narration within the limits of probability, of a course of action pointing to some moral or spiritual truth." Schaff remarks that " in the widest sense it includes all illustra- tions from analogy, but in the strict sense it differs from a mere simile or metaphor, which is not a narration ; from a fable (two fables occur in the Old Testament ; Judg. 4 : 8-15 ; 2 Kings 14 : 9 : but both are given as purely human productions), which is not within the limits of probability, nor designed to teach spiritual truth ; from a myth, which is told as the truth, while the design of the parable is evident ; from a proverb, which is briefer and which may not contain a figure ; from an allegry, which is self- interpreting, the imaginary persons receiving names, performing actions which declare the meaning, so that allegory is less natu- ral than parable." (On type, symbol, and allegory, as elements of the parable, see Lange, Matthew, pp. 234-235.) "The fable restricts itself to earthly virtues or commendable qualities. . . The parable introduces us into a higher, a purely moral domain." — Kendriek ' s Olsha us en . The origin of parables, so far as can be traced, appears to have been with the Hebrews. It is most certain that the oldest specimen of this kind of writing and speaking is to be found in their Scriptures, which carry us far beyond the earliest fragments of antiquity, into the first ages of the world. Our Saviour's parables were generally short narratives of some event or fact, real or fictitious, in which a continued comparison is carried on, frequently between natural and spiritual objects ; and under this similitude some important truth, moral or religious, is conveyed. They have the advantages of being easily comprehended — especially by uncultivated minds — of commanding attention, exciting curiosity, reproving vice, and rectifying error by in- sinuating truth. Our Lord's parables are superior to all others. He never introduces beasts or trees conversing together with the faculties of men ; all is built on nature and life. Once only, in the rich man and Lazarus, the scene is laid beyond this world (Luke 16 : ig-31). — Condensed from Townson. " Parables may be pressed too far ; the general truth is always the central one ; others are usually involved, but only as related to it. Resemblances which we discover at every point, although founded on analogies which God has created, are not to be placed on a level with what our Lord distinctly teaches." — THE SOWER. 241 Ch. XVII. Matt. 13 : 2 ; Mark 4 : 3 ; Luke 8 : 5. J.C 32. Hearken : Behold, there went out a sower to sow : Schaff. Ingenuity is not always the best element of interpreta- tion ; yet the following suggestion of a prophetical meaning included in these parables is interesting if not altogether true : " We cannot fail to trace in the parable of the sower a picture of the apostolic age ; in the parable of the tares, the ancient Cath- olic Church springing up in the midst of heresies ; in the para- ble of the mustard bush, resorted to by the birds of the air as if it were a tree, and loaded with their nests, a representation of the secular state-Church under Constantine the Great ; in the leaven that is mixed among the three measures of meal, the pervading and transforming influence of Christianity in the mediaeval Church, among the barbarous races of Europe ; in the parable of the treasure in the field, the period of the Reforma- tion ; in the parable of the pearl, the contrast between Christian- ity and the acquisitions of modern secular culture ; and in the last parable [the net], a picture of the closing judgment." — Lange. In reference to this, Schaff aptly remarks : " Other ap- plications, however true, should never ignore the original one, out of wh'ch they grow. All, however, are always instructive and applicable. The history of the kingdom as a whole finds its counterpart in the experience of each of its subjects, and in every period of its development. They remain ' like apples of gold in pictures of silver,' the gospel to the poor, to children, and yet inexhaustible in meaning." — Schaff. A sower went forth to sow. —"There is a nice and close adherence to actual life in this form of expression. It implies that the sower in the days of our Saviour lived in a hamlet or village as all these [Palestine] farmers now do ; that he did not sow near his own house, or in a garden fenced or walled, for such a field does not furnish all the basis of the parable. There are neither roads, nor thorns, nor stony places in such lots. He must go forth into the open country as those have done, where there are no fences, where the path passes through the cultivated land ; where thorns grow in clumps all around ; where the rocks peep out in places through the scanty soil ; and where, also, hard by, are patches extremely fertile. Now, here we have the farm within a dozen rods of us. Our horses are actually tramp- ling down some seeds which have fallen by the wayside, and larks and sparrows are busy picking them up. That man, with his mattock, is digging about places where the rock is too near the surface for the plough, and much that is sown there will wither away, because it has no deepness of earth. And not a few seeds have fallen among this billan, and will be effectually choked by this most tangled of thorn bushes. But a large portion, after 242 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Ch. XVII. Matt. 13 : 4-8 ; Mark 4:3-8 ; Luke 8 : 5-8. j.c. 32. and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seeds fell by the m „ way side ; and it was trodden down and the The Sower. ..... fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth ; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth : but when the sun was up, it was scorched ; and because it had no root and lacked moist- ure it withered away. And some fell among thorns ; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred fold. all, falls into really good ground, and four months hence ill exhibit every variety of crop, up to the richest and hardiest that ever rejoices the heart of even an American farmer." — Dr. Thomson, " The Land and the Book." By the way side. — "There was not a fence, nor tree, nor house upon it [the field]. Our path was bordered by the tall ripe grain ; and our attendants plucked the ears as they rode along, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands (Luke 6 : 1). We could see here how true to nature was the illustration in the parable of the sower (Mark 4 : 4). When the husbandman sows such fields as these, some seeds must necessarily fall upon the unfenced, beaten tracks, which traverse them in every direction." — Porter's ' ' Syria 's Holy Places. ' ' The fowls devoured it up. — " In sowing they allow one third of the seeds for the birds, particularly the crows, which settle down upon the fields in countless flocks." — Thomson. Was scorched. — In Palestine, during seed-time (November), the sky is cloudy ; the seed then springs up even in stony places, but when the blazing sun comes out it quickly outgrows its strength. A hundred fold. — " The country in the time of Christ was densely peopled, and the fields being protected from the depre- dations of birds, a hundred fold might be realized. On the plain of Sidon a hundred stalks are now often seen to spring from a single root, and each with a head bowing gracefully beneath a load of well-formed grains." — Condensed from Thomson. Strabo and Pliny state that the soil in Babylonia never produced less than two hundred fold, and, sometimes, even three hundred. THE SOWER. 243 Ch. XVII. Matt. 13 : 9-13 ; Mark 4 .-9-12 ; Luke S : 3-io. j.c. 32. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the Twelve asked of him the parable, and said, Why speakest thou unto them in parables ? And he said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God : but unto them that are without it is not given, and all these things are done in parables : for whosoever hath, to why He taught in him shall be given, and he shall have more Pw*Mes. abundance ; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore sp I to them in parables ; because they seeing see not ; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And " This great increase is owing to the kernels being put into the soil at a distance from each other, so as to send out several stalks (Gen. 41 : 5, 47), some of which (according to Pliny) have from three to four hundred ears ; and in Africa at the present time they bear at least ten and fifteen." — Jahn. The mystery. — The secrets : that which had not been disclosed before. The word mystery is derived from a Greek word signify- ing to initiate ; the military word muster is from the same root and has the same radical idea. Mysteries in the New Testament is the term " used to denote the divine counsels, decrees, doctrines, which as such could never have become known to men as such, to men if left to themselves [not initiated]. Nowhere, however, are these decrees, etc., represented as absolutely and eternally hid ; but God who, at the prompting of his own love, reveals himself and all that is in him, is constantly revealing his mysteries. " — Condensed from A'end rick's Olshausen. Seeing, they see not. — They overlook what they see, and are inattentive to what they hear ; they shut their eyes to the truth, and abuse the means of knowledge. Hearing they may hear, and not understand. — " The object of the parable is both to conceal and to reveal the truth, accord- ing to the moral state of the hearers." — Schaff. " As there is something in the eye waiting for the light, and in the ear pre- pared for sound, and in the body ready to digest and assimilate food, so there must be in the soul some pre-existing fitness 244 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 14-17 ; Mark 4 : 12. J.c. 32. in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, " By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive." For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them, and their sins should be forgiven them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see : and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. for truth. . . . Men will remember an illustration when they would forget a principle. The parable, so far from being an instrument for blinding, was better adapted to give light than would be the unillustrated statement of spiritual things. At the same time, it put the truth in such a form that those who were lying in wait to catch Jesus in his words would find nothing ort which to lay hold." — Beccher. The prophecy of Esaias. Chap. 6 : 9, 10. — This passage is frequently quoted and applied to the Jews ; quoted in John 12 : 40 ; Acts 28 : 26, 27, and referred to in Mark 4 : 12 and Luke 8 : 10. " The sense of the original prophecy is given, but not its form. In Isaiah is a command ; here a strong prediction, indi- cating that judgment is a result of what is done by man as well as what is done to man." — Schaff. Waxed gross. — The ancients had the idea that the fat of the body is destitute of sensation ; hence a "gross heart" denoted stupidity and lack of feeling. " That we might not suspect this grossness of heart and heaviness of ears was the effect of nature, and not of choice, he subjoins the fault of the will, " their eyes have they closed." — Jerome. Many prophets. — See 1 Peter 1 : n, 12 ; Heb. n : 13. " The object always dearest to the hearts of all righteous men is to witness the coming and advancement of the kingdom of Christ." — Barnes. EXPLAINS THE PARABLE. 245 Matt. 13 : 1S-21 ; Mark 4 : 13-17 ; Luke 8 : 11-13. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable ? and how then will ye know all parables ? The parable is this, The seed is the word of God. The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown ; jesus explains the but when they have heard, and under- Parable, stand it not, then Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. And these are they like- wise which are sown on stony ground ; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with glad- ness ; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time : afterward in time of temptation when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, im- Know ye not this parable ?— " ' The first parable of the king- dom is the basis of all the rest. If they understood not this, they could not understand any that followed. If they had the ex- planation of this, they had the key for the understanding of all others.' Hence our Lord gives, not rules of interpretation, but examples, one of which is here preserved, to be our guide in interpretation. ' ' — Alford. Understand it not. — "Virtue can no more exist without knowledge than an animal without life." — Richard Watson. " It is only the man who honestly means to do the Lord's will that understands the truth " (John 7 : 17). — Eggleston. Trench says, " He has brought himself to this state : he has exposed his heart as a common road to every evil influence of the world, till it has become hard as a pavement." On stony ground.—" O rocky hearts ! How shallow are the impressions of divine things upon you ! Religion goes never further than the upper surface of your hearts. You have but few deep thoughts of God, and of Jesus Christ, and the things of the world to come ; all are but slight and transient glances." — Leigh ton. When tribulation or persecution ariseth. — " Half our virtue arises from our being out of the way of temptation." — Thomas Adams. " When the wind doth not blow, then cannot a man know the wheat from the chaff ; but when the blast cometh, then fleeth away the chaff : but the wheat remaineth, and is so far from being hurt, that by the wind it is more cleansed from the chaff and known to be wheat." — J. Bradford. 246 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Matt. 13 : 22, 23 ; Mark 4 : 18-22 ; Luke 8 : 14-17. mediately they are offended, and fall away. And these are they which are sown among thorns ; such as hear the word, go forth, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things en- tering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground ; such as in an honest and good heart hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit with patience, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, No man, when he hath light- ed a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it un- der a bushel, or under a bed ? but setteth it on a candk- stick, that they which enter in may see the light. For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested ; The lusts of other things. — " Certainly, by the ' other things,' are to be understood gluttony, drunkenness, intemper- ance, and sensuality of every kind." — Bloom field. " This in- cludes all other worldly distractions. The desires become ' lusts,' because the objects interfere with spiritual growth. What is in itself innocent may become a snare." — Schaff. Under a bed. — " The orientals sit or recline on a divan, or sofa, that is, a part of the room raised above the floor," general- ly along two sides, " and spread with a carpet in winter, and in summer with fine mats," sometimes stuffed like a continuous cushion, " and having cushions or bolsters, placed along the back to lean against," or a continuous stuffed back affixed against the wall. " These divans frequently serve the purpose of a bed, with the addition of two thick cotton quilts." — Calmct. The expres- sion in the text must not be understood of a modern bed, but of such as divan or sofa, which, as Grotius observes, had such a cavity as would admit of a candelabrum being put under it. In- deed, it appears to have been used by the ancients as a common hiding-place or lumber closet. The expression was a proverbial one, and meant that a thing should not be made useless by being kept from the purpose for which it was intended. Candlestick. — A candelabrum. See note on page 173. Shall not be manifested. — " Should not be made manifest," Henry thinks a better reading. " There is no treasure of gifts and graces," he says, " lodged in any but with design to be com- THE TARES. 247 Matt. 13 : 24, 25 ; Mark 4 : 24, 25 ; Luke 8 : 18. neither was any thing kept secret, that shall not be known and come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed therefore how and what ye hear. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you ; and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance ; and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likenend uto a man _, _ The 1 ares. which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among municated ; nor was the Gospel made a secret to the apostles ; it should come abroad, to all the world." More shall be given. — A universal law. " There is that scat- tered and yet increaseth." The more light a man gives out, the clearer are his own views of truth. " The more attentive you shall be in hearing, so much the greater progress will you daily make in the knowledge of my doctrine." — Kuinoel. Or it maybe thus expressed : " Whatsoever may be the measure of your attention, such shall be the measure of your knowledge." — Bloom field. He that hath not, etc. — " By neglectingto use your faculties, you will in time lose the very power of using them." — Seed. Seemeth to have: " Thinketh he hath." — "Peculiar to Luke. It is self-deception, not deception of others, that is refer- red to." — Schaff. Another parable. — This parable of the Tares has been the subject of much controversy, but its central thought is appar- ent : — that though the evil and the good are mingled in this world, they will be separated in the world to come. While men slept. — Owing to the extreme beat, laborers in the East do not work in the middle of the day. Then they sleep. Tares grow in great profusion all over the East, and are a great nuisance to the farmer. They closely resemble wheat, and, until the stalk begins to head out, cannot be distinguished from the good grain. Though the farmers weed their fields, they do not attempt to separate the tares from the wheat ; the 248 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 25-30. j.c. 32. the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up ? But he said, Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let two are so much alike, and their roots are so intertwined, that there is danger of pulling up both. They are therefore allowed to grow together until the harvest, when the stalks are mostly separated by hand, but if any tares remain among the wheal, their grain being lighter and smaller than that of the wheat, is easily separated by the winnowing fan. The grain of tares has a bitter taste, and, eaten separately or diffused among the wheat, pro- duces dizziness and vomiting. The Arabic name is Zowan. And went his way. — "There is something very expressive in this. He knew the soil ; he knew how the seed would take root, and grow. He had only to sow the seed, and let it alone. So Satan knows the soil in which he sows his doctrine. He knows that in the human heart it will take deep and rapid root. It needs but little culture. Grace needs constant attendance and care. Error, and sin, and hypocrisy are the native products of the human heart ; and, when left alone, start up with deadly lux- uriancy.": — Barnes. "The hostile sowing required no further care ; in the beginnings of evil Satan conceals himself." — Schaff. " Strange as it may appear, this is still literally done in the East. See that lurking villain, watching for the time when his neighbor shall plough his field ; he carefully marks the period when the work has been finished, and goes the night following, and casts in what the natives call pandinelhi, that is, pig paddy ; this being of rapid growth, springs up before the good seed, and scatters itself before the other can be reaped, so that the poor owner of the field will be for years before he can get rid of this troublesome weed. But there is another noisome plant which these wretches cast into the ground of those they hate, call- ed perum-pirandi, which is more destructive to vegetation than any other plant. Has a man purchased a field out of the hands of another ? The offended says, ' I will plant the perum-pirandi in his grounds.' " — Roberts' Oriental Illustrations, p. 521. THE MUSTARD SEED. 249 Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 30-32 ; Mark 4 : 30-32. j.c. 32. both grow together until the harvest : and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them : but gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying : The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain " , .... , ° . The Mustard Seed. of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field ; which indeed is the least of all seeds : but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and shooteth out great branches and becometh a Let both grow together. — " God has so ordered it," says Matthew Henry, " that good and bad should be mixed together in this world, that the good may be exercised, the bad left inex- cusable, and a difference made between earth and heaven." " The answer of a wise husbandman. The servants might distin- guish the two, but their roots were intertwined. Impatient zeal for purity in the Church has often rooted up the wheat." — Schaff. "They who prematurely put themselves forward to root out whatever is displeasing to them, overthrow the judgment of God and rashly intrude upon the office of the angels." — Calvin. A grain of mustard seed. — The mustard plant grows wild, and in great luxuriance, near the Sea of Galilee. It bears a yel- low flower, and grows to a considerable size, shooting forth great branches, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in them. It is sometimes seen as high as a horse and his rider. It is said to have been cultivated in earlier times, and to have then grown to such a size that a man could climb into it. — Trench supposes that this seed was chosen, not only on account of the propor- tionate smallness of the seed to the size of the tree, but on ac- count of its heat, its fiery vigor, and the fact that its best quali- ties are given out only when it is bruised. The least of all seeds. — " Its beginnings seem contempti- ble. This son of the carpenter and his twelve peasant com- panions afford apparently but poor prospect of revolutioniz- ing the world. It is but a little army for so large a campaign ; but in God's hands the largest growths spring continually from the least sowings, as the mustard tree, one of the largest among the garden herbs, came from one of the smallest seeds." — Abbott, " Small as a grain of mustard seed," was a proverbial expres- sion among the Jews for something exceedingly minute." — Trench. 250 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 33 ; Mark 4 : 26-28. J.c. 32. tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them : The kingdom _, T of heaven is like unto leaven, which a The Leaven. . woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. And he said, So is the kingdom of God : as if a man should cast seed into the ground ; and should Parable of Vegeta-SleeP alld rise> night and daY> and tlie tion- seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For die earth bringeth forth fruit Leaven. — " The parable of the leaven, leavening little by little the whole lump into which it has been cast, gives us the most faithful conception of the irresistible and peivasive influence of the truth, which works only by persuasion, never by recourse to force and pressure from without." — De Pressense. Three measures of meal. — Perhaps the third part of an ephah (Ex. 16 : 36 ; Ruth 2 : 1 7), a measure of about a peck and a half, and probably the quantity usually taken in making bread (Gen. 17 : 6 ; 1 Sam. 1 : 24; Judges 6 : 19). Till the whole was leavened. — " The growth proceeds by a process of permeation. Christianity, symbolized by the leaven, throws the entire community into ferment, and finally permeates it only by a continuous agitation." — Abbott. Should cast seed into the ground. — Literally, "upon the earth," implying a single, careless act of sowing. Sleep and rise, night and day. — " Sleep by night and rise by day, attending to other matters, confident that, by the blessing of God upon the seed sown, there will be a crop." — Kuinoel. A proverbial expression denoting security and freedom from anxiety. He knoweth not how. — Progress of the best kind is compara- tively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once ; and we must be satisfied to advance in life, as we walk, step by step. De Maistre says that " to know how to wait is the great secret of success." — Samuel Smiles. "Jesus knew that the living force of truth in each single heart must spread, and that, as soul after soul was won, itwould silently revolutionize the world " — Geikie. The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, "as if from a self- acting power, The growth of the kingdom of God, in general THE TARES EXPLAINED. 25 1 Chap. XVII. Mark 4 : 28-34 ; Matt. 13 : 34-41. J.c. 32. of herself ; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables ; and without a parable spake he not unto them : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, " I will open my mouth in parables ; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house : and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares jesus explains of the field. He answered and said unto the Parable- them : He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world ; the good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it . be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that and in individuals, is according to a development which is nat- ural, that is, in accordance with certain laws in the realm of grace, which are analogous to what are called natural laws, and like them acting with a certain spontaneousness ; though God's constant energy is present in both." — Schaff. Spoken by the prophet. — Psalm 7S : 2 ; 49 : 4. The end of the world. — The word here rendered " world" — more properly translated " age" — was used by the Jews to de- note the end of the state of things which was to precede the com- ing of the Messiah, and not the end of the world. 252 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Chap. XVII. Matt. 13: 42-46. J.c. 32. offend, and them which do iniquity ; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid The Treasure m a ne^ : tne which when a man hath Trove found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant- man, seeking goodly pearls : who, when he had found That offend. — " Properly, stumbling-blocks, or impediments : figuratively, those who cause others to stumble or fall away from Christian principles." — Bloomjield. Furnace of fire. — This figure is perhaps drawn from the cus- tom of burning alive, mentioned in Daniel 3 : 10. " These ex- pressions, however, are not to be taken literally. For the wicked will have no longer flesh and blood ; they can neither be burned, nor gnash with the teeth. We are to understand the words metaphorically. Euthymius judiciously points out that it denotes misery not to be expressed by human language. Punishments are meant as exquisite in degree as burning is to our present bodies." — Bloomjield. " It undoubtedly refers to intol- erable suffering, resulting' not simply from the circumstances of the evil-doers in a future state, but from their character." — Schaff. Treasure hidden in a field. — Judea had been subject to in- vasions and calamities, and hence a feeling of insecurity had arisen among the people, and it had become a custom to hide treasures in fields and gardens. The practice is alluded to by Solomon (Prov. 2 : 4). It still continues in Palestine, and the coun- try is said to abound in hidden treasure. The right of treasure- trove was adjudged by Jewish law to the buyer, and not to the seller of the field. Merchantman. — " The original word, translated merchant, means a traveling trader. Such persons took long journeys for the purpose of buying, selling, or exchanging goods. These petty ' merchants,' we may suppose, were not dissimilar to our pedlars ; and by them much of the traffic of ancient times was carried on." — Bloomjield.' THE PEARL AND THE NET. 253 Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 46-49. j.c. 32. one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. The PearL Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind : which, when it was full, they e et- drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at One pearl of great price.— " The two largest pearls ever known, according to Pliny, were both in possession of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and worn by her as ornaments. Each of these was valued at 10,000,000 of sesterces, about $400,000. One she dissolved in vinegar and drank off, at a supper which she gave to M. Antony ; the other was brought to Rome by Augustus, and was divided into two, which were attached as pendants to the ears of the statue of Venus in the Pantheon. Julius Cresar pre- sented Servilia, the mother of Brutus, with a pearl worth 6,000,- 000 sesterces, $240,000. Augustus dedicated at one time, in the treasury of Jupiter Capitolinus, jewels and pearls to the value of 50,000,000 of sesterces, $2,000,000."— Gre swell on the Parables. " This parable has a historical application to the present age of investigation and discovery. Sometimes the ' merchant' is too well contented with the ' goodly pearls' already found, to lock for the one pearl of great price." — Schaff. Sold all that he had.— " The kingdom might be found by some without their seeking it, as the treasure by the peasant in the field ; or it might be met by one in earnest search for it, like him who found the costly pearl. In either case, it could only be obtained by joyful self-sacrifice of all things else for its sake, and by the realization of the worthlessness of all human posses- sions in comparison with it." — Geikie. A net cast into the sea.— The great drag net is here referred to. It was not like an ordinary draw-net, being far larger, and intended to take not part of the fish of a pool or stream, but the whole, of every kind, size, and quality. It was formed of cane, osiers, and in wattled work. In working it " some must row the boat, some cast out the net, some, on the shore, pull the rope with all their strength, others throw stones and beat the •water round the ends, to frighten the fish from escaping, and, as it approaches the shore, all must be active in holding up the edges, drawing it to the land, and seizing the fish. Then the fishermen sit down, gather the good into baskets, and cast the bad away." — Thomson. 254 THE SEVEN PARABLES. Chap. XVII. Matt. 13 : 49-53. j.c. 32. the end of the world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be wail- ing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things ? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them : Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. Every scribe. — It was the office of the scribes to expound the Scriptures. Their varied knowledge should be used aptly, ac- cording to the circumstances of those seeking spiritual enter- tainment from them. The Christian teacher should, like them, furnish himself with every variety of knowledge, to be brought forth as demanded by circumstances. Things new and old. — " Jesus displayed the richest variety in his teaching, in order to adapt it to every need of the heart and every grade of culture. In the synagogue he took his subject from the portion of Scripture which had been read for the day. Parable is one of the chosen forms of his teaching, showing the harmony and similitude between the natural and the spiritual world. He frequently points his thought by casting it into the form of an aphorism, or striking maxim. Paradoxes are common in his discourses. He hurls anathemas against the Pharisees ; he melts in pitying tears over Jerusalem ; he speaks peace to the suffering penitent ; he employs all accents and gives infinite variety to his language. Whether we consider his teaching in its subject, its form, or its method, it presents the same invari- able aspect of perfection." — Condensed from De Prcssense. In these parables, which were all uttered at one time, and con- stitute essentially one discourse, Christ sets forth, in illustrations, the growth of his kingdom, in the individual and in the commu- nity. "Its growth depends on its acceptance by its subjects ; (Matt. 13 : 19-23) ; it grows up with the kingdom of evil, no^ separated from it by natural or geographical boundaries (Matt. 13 '• 37_43) '< it is a gradual growth, does not immediately appear (Mark 4 : 26-29); it is obtained only through a process of conflict (Matt. 13 : 33) ; and by self-sacrifice (Matt. 13 : 44-46)." — Abbott. A SCRIBE FOLLOWS CHRIST. 255 Ch. XVIII. Matt. 13 : 53; S : 18-20; Mark 4 : 35. Autumn, j.c. 32. CHAPTER XVIII. JESUS VISITS DECAPOLIS. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence ; and the same day, when the even was come, and he saw Half-hearted Foi- great multitudes about him, he gave com- Iowers of Christ- mandment to depart unto the other side. And as they went in the way, a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and The same day, when the even was come. — " The time of the voyage across the lake is fixed by the account before us. It was the evening of the day (Mark 4 : 35) when the discourse in parables had been uttered. The other accounts (Matt. 8 : 18, Luke 8 : 22) can readily be harmonized on this view. The con- versations with some who would follow him (Matt. S . 19-22) seem to have taken place just before he crossed the sea. It had been a busy day ; our Lord had first healed a demoniac (Matt. 12 : 22), then encountered the accusation of his family (Mark 3 : 20, 21) when his mother and brethren sought him (Mark 3 : 31 -35 ; Matt. 12 : 46-50) ; afterward the accusation of the Phari- sees (Mark 3 : 22-30 ; more fully in Matt. 12 : 24-45) ; then departing to the sea-side had given the long discourse, parts of which are recorded in Mark 4 and Matt. 13, then encoun- tered half-hearted followers (Matt. 8 : 19-22), and in the evening crossed the lake. After such exhausting labors, it is not strange that he fell asleep, even amid the storm. Mark's account is vivid, and in most respects more minute than that of Matthew, giving particulars omitted by both the other Evangelists." — Schaff. A certain scribe would be more accurately rendered " one who was a scribe," a particular description, indicating a class not usually found among his disciples. " It might have seemed a great thing for one in the position of Jesus to have a Rabbi among his disciples, but he never courted human aid, or acted on mere expediency. The highest, no less than the humblest, could only be received on the condition of absolute self-sacrifice and sincerity." — Geikie. 256 JESUS VISITS DECAPOLIS. Chap. XVIII. Matt. 8 : 20-22 ; Luke 9 : 6o, 61. J.C. 32. the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me ; and let the dead bury their dead ; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee ; but let me first go bid them The Son of man. — The words " Son of man" are found in that celebrated prophecy (Dan. 7 : 13) which describes the uni- versal dominion to which the Messiah, in quality of the Son of man, was to be raised. This name, therefore, when applied to our Lord, at the same time that it denotes his human nature, carries along with it an idea of the glorious kingdom over which, in his human nature, he is to preside. This title, now first as- sumed by Christ, occurs sixty-one times in the Gospels, and is used by Christ himself ; never by any other person. It occurs once in the Acts — 7 : 56 (employed by the martyr Stephen) — and in the Revelation. The corresponding title — Son of God — also be- longs to Christ, and both taken together indicate that he, in some manner unknown to us, united in his person both the human nature and the divine. " The thought here is of his real human- ity, his capability of suffering and privation, in opposition to the carnal expectation of the Jews, shared no doubt by this scribe." Schajf. Not where to lay his head. — " Virtually driven from the one dwelling at Capernaum he could regard as his home, and rejected from Nazareth, he was henceforth a wanderer, with no fixed dwelling. From this time he was almost a fugitive from his enemies, never remaining long in any place — a homeless and houseless man." — Geikie. Let the dead : The spiritually dead. — " It was a requirement of the Rabbis in similar cases that if any one who wished to be a scholar of the law, had to choose between burying even his nearest relation — his parent, or his brother or sister — and devot- ing himself at once to his sacred duties, he should leave the burial to others as the less important duty, and give himself up on the moment undividedly to the other." — Geikie. Chrysos- to/n says : " Jesus forbade him to go, in order to show that nothing — not even the most important work of natural duty and affection — is so momentous as care for the kingdom of heaven ; and that nothing, however urgent, should cause us to be guilty of a moment's delay in providing first for that." THEY TAKE SHIP. 2~- Luke 9 : 6r, 62 ; 8 : 22, 23 ; Mark 4 : 36, 37 ; Matt. 8 : 23. farewell which are at home at my house. Andjesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was, and entered into Jesus stills the a ship, and he said unto them, Let us go TemP«t. over unto the other side of the lake. And there were also with him other little ships. And they launched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep : and there came down a great storm of wind on the lake ; and the waves Having put his hand to the plough — " This is a mw^rk- 1 expression, and used by the Greek writers. The andenl ude and simple ploughs required peculiar attention to make the m penetrate the ground and work straight. "-G™ J& •• The fiT ure is one the agriculturist will readily appreciate The nlrLh" man must keep his eye on the furrow to^e made and the^Chfis" Hindoos are convttTdtj ^dJJ^?K^ ^J? S„ Jb'S 'aCI is Ihe besI PossibIe commentary on and i^K These boats were probabTv | ^ ^ things had created. for we do not read'oT £ fen?" # r^ '"'"V* temPest' morning. landing w.th Jesus on the following V™^^*]^^*™"^ for °a« (Mark 6 : 48). and xebecs and feluccas o h. u"!?" Iateensail- now used on the and in a highly ggSfiSZi*?* ™ *"* " AeSSs of These Set^ T° U"ders^" ■*■ Thomson, uses a these violent tempests, we must remember that 258 JESUS VISITS DECAPOLIS. Mark 4 : 37, 3S ; S : 26 ; Luke S : 23 ; Matt. 3 : 25, 26. beat into the ship, so that it was now full, and they were in jeopardy ; and he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us : carest thou not that we perish ? And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith ? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds, and said unto the lake lies low — six hundred feet lower than the ocean — that the vast and naked plateaus of Jaulan rise to a great height, spreading backward to the wilds of Hauran, and upward to snowy Hermon ; that the water-courses have cut out profound ravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of this lake, and that these act like gigantic funnels to draw down the winds from the mountains." IF. C. Prime, who was castaway in a small boat in a sudden storm on this lake, describes the scene as fol- lows : " We ran three or four miles up the west coast in good style, and then there ' came down ' on the sea such a storm as it knew in times of old. It was sudden, swift, and violent. A moment before we were sailing along pleasantly over the rip- pling water, and now it was lashed into foam by a fierce blast that literally came down into the basin, and ploughed up the waters into deep and difficult furrows. I did not believe it pos- sible that the little lake could get up such a sea as now rolled and tossed us." It will be noticed that Luke also says that " the storm came down on the lake." Another instance of the truth- ful local coloring in which the Gospel narratives abound. The hinder part of the ship. — The place where the steers- man sat, and the most commodious for a passenger. Asleep on a pillow. — This seems to have been the stuffed leather cushion which was occasionally used as a pillow. The extreme fatigue of the day had induced a slumber so deep that he was not disturbed bv the fierce storm, or the, no doubt, noisy fear of his disciples. They had to come to him — evidently to touch him — to arouse him. Carest thou not that we perish? — " These bold fishermen, to whom an ordinary storm was only a pleasurable excitement, perceived that this was one they could not weather. The danger was imminent." — Abbott. Then he arose. — " In the wild roaring of the wind ; amidst blinding torrents of rain, and the thick darkness of the hurricane cloud, which blotted out the stars ; and the dashing of the sea, which broke over them each moment, even bronzed sailors like the Twelve lost their presence of mind, and were filled with THE GREAT CALM. 259 Mark 4 : 39-41 ; 5 : 1 ; Matt. 3 : 27 ; Luke 8 : 26. the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful ? how is it that ye have no faith ? But the men marveled and dismay. Driven before the wind, they were fast filling, and, as it seemed, must presently go down. Through all the wild tumult of wind, darkness, rain, and sea, however, Jesus lay peacefully asleep, so profoundly had he been exhausted. It seemed as if he were indifferent to their fate. In their natural reverence they long hesitated to rouse him, but at last did so, and appealed to him to save them. Amidst the terror around, he was entirely self-possessed. Rising, he gently rebuked the fear that so un- nerved them, and then, with an awful sublimity, rebuked the wind as if it had been a living power, and bade the angry sea be still." — Geikic. No more sublime spectacle was ever seen by man. Standing erect in the stern of the sinking boat, amid the howling tempest, on the heaving sea, and in the darkness of the terrible night, he utters the simple words, " Peace, be still," and the winds cease, and there is a great calm. What a power was this ! What irresistible proof that he was divine ! And there was a great calm.— The instantaneousness of the perfect calm is a proof of the reality of the miracle ; for after a storm the sea is never perfectly smooth until some time has elapsed, My bark is wafted on the strand By breath divine. And on the helm there rests a hand Other than mine. One, who has known in storms to sail, I have on board ; Above the raving of the gale I have my Lord. He holds me when the billows smite : I shall not fall. If sharp, 'tis short ; if long, 'tis light : He tempers all. Safe to the land !— safe to the land ! The end is this ; And then with him go hand in hand Far into bliss.— Dean A If or d. The men marveled. — " This new display of authority over nature filled with new wonder these disciples, who had known him only as a prophet, not as a divine Messiah ; for it was only little by little, through just such incidents as this, that they were to learn the nature and authority to the king whose coronation they were to proclaim."— Abbott. 260 JESUS VISITS DECAPOLIS. Chap. XVIII. Mark 5:2; Matt. 8 : 28. Autumn, j.c. 32. feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What man- ner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him ? And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against The Men among Galilee. And when he was come out of the Tombs. the s^^ immediately there met him two The country of the Gadarenes. — Tn speaking of the locality of this miracle, Thomson remarks : " In this Gersa, or Chersa, we have a position which fulfills every requirement of the narra- tives, and with a name so near that in Matthew as to be. in it- self, a strong corroboration of the truth of this identification. It is 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 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 (L'ake 8 : 26). The name, moreover, pronounced by Bedouin Arabs is so similar to Gergasa that to all my inquiries for this place they invariably said it was at Chersa, and they insisted that they were identical, and I agree with them in their opinion. Gersa was a small place, and un- known, while Gadara — located some sixteen miles distant — was a large Greek city celebrated for its temples, theaters, and warm baths. Therefore Mark and Luke, writing for Greeks, spoke of the country of the Gadarenes, while Matthew, writing for the Jews, spoke of that of the Gergasenes. One district included the other, and hence there is no contradiction in the accounts, but a natural adaptation to those for whom they were written." Immediately there met him. — " As the Lord left the shore at even, and afterward fell asleep, we may infer that the storm came on in the night. The landing at Gergesa on the eastern side must then have been the next morning, as there is no mention that he returned that night to Capernaum, or landed elsewhere. He was met by the demoniacs so soon as he came out of the ship ; and that it was broad daylight appears from the fact that he was seen by them afar off (Mark 5 : 2-6)." — Andrews. Two. — Matthew mentions two, while Mark and Luke speak of only one. It was a maxim of LeClerc that, " He who speaks of two, includes also the one ; he who mentions only one, does not deny the two." Matthew is general in his description ; Mark and Luke more detailed and graphic ; and these peculiarities DEMONIAC POSSESSION. 26 1 Chap. XVIII. Matt. S : 28. Autumn, J.c. 32. possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceed- run through their entire narratives. That their silence respecting one of the demoniacs does not exclude him, Robinson thus illus- trates : " In the year 1824 Lafayette visited the United States, and was everywhere welcomed with honors and pageants. Historians will describe this as a noble incident in his life. Other writers will relate the same visit as made, and the same honors as enjoyed, by two. persons, viz., Lafayette and his son. Will there be any contradiction between these two classes of writers ? Will not both record the truth ?" Possessed with devils. — The Jews attributed nearly all nervous disorders to demoniacal possession, and the Mohamme- dans of the present-day hold the same opinion. Thomson, in " The Land ami the Book," referring to this subject, says : " In Sidon there are cases of epileptic fits which, in external manifes- tations, closely resemble that mentioned in Mark 9 : 18, Matt. 17 : 15, and Luke 9 : 3S. These fits have seized a young man in my house repeatedly ; and lo ! the spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and foameth at the mouth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and is cast down wherever he may be seized, and pineth away until you would think he was actually dead. Mat- thew calls him a lunatic, but according to Mark it was a dumb spirit. And there are cases in which the disease accompanies, if it does not occasion, dumbness. The instance mentioned in Mark 5 : 2-16, and Luke 8 : 26-36, was most remarkable, but there are some very similar at the present day — furious and dan- gerous maniacs, who wander about the mountains and sleep in dens and caves. In their worst paroxysms they are quite un- manageable, and prodigiously strong. It is one of the most common traits of this madness that the victims refuse to wear clothes. I have often seen them absolutely naked in the streets of Beirut and Sidon. There are also cases in which they run wildly about the country, and frighten the whole neighborhood. It would certainly be rash to decide that this calamity is the work of evil spirits ; and yet the manifestations are so inhuman and satanic, and the real causes so mysterious, that I am not much disposed to dispute the point with the natives of the coun- try, who ascribe the mischief to supernatural agency." Out of the tombs. — Burckhardt speaks of finding in the immediate neighborhood where this miracle is supposed to have occurred the ruins of many large tombs. Some of them were natural caves, and others recesses hewn out of the solid rock, with cells on their sides for the reception of the dead, and often so large as to be supported with columns. They would thus afford ample shelter, and their tenants would not be molested, 262 JESUS VISITS DECAPOLIS. Ch. XVIII. Mark 5 : 3-9 ; Luke S : 29, 28 ; Matt. 8 : 29. j.c. 32. ing fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And one of them no man could bind, no, not with chains : because that he had been often bound with fet- ters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asun- der by him, and the fetters broken in pieces : neither could any man tame him. And he was driven of the devil into the wilderness, and always, night and day, was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying and cut- ting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and fell down before him and worshiped him. And cried with a loud voice, and said, What for the Jews regarded all such places as unclean. At the present day the ruins of ancient tombs are often resorted to for shelter by the Bedouins. " The most interesting remains of Gadara are its totnbs, which dot the cliffs for a considerable distance round the city. They are excavated in the limestone rock, and consist of chambers of various dimensions, some more than twenty feet square, with recesses in the sides for bodies. The present in- habitants of Um Reis are all troglodytes, 'dwelling in tombs,' like the demoniacs of old ; and occasionally they are almost as dangerous to the unprotected traveller." — Smith's New Testa- ment History. Cutting himself with stones. — " This circumstance of cut- ting himself with sharp stones, instead of a knife (which, of course, would not be granted him), is quite in the manner of maniacs, who often tear their flesh, and cut it with whatever they can lay their hands upon." — Bloomfield. "There is no enemy can hurt us but by our own hands. Satan could not hurt us if our own corruption betrayed us not ; afflictions cannot hurt us with- out our own impatience ; temptations cannot hurt us without our own yieldance ; death could not hurt us without the sting of our own sins ; sin could not hurt us without our own impeni- tence. How might I defy all things if I could obtain not to be my own enemy ! I love myself too much ; and yet, not enough. O God, teach me to wish myself but so well as thou wishest me, and I am safe." — Bishop Hall. " After all, nothing can work me mischief except myself. The harm that I sustain I carry about with me, and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault." — St. Bernard. What have we to do with thee. — " An idiom frequent both in Hellenistic and classical Greek. . . . The sense of THE LEGION OF DEVILS. 263 Chap. XVIII, Mark 5:9,10; Luke 8 : 31. Autumn, j.c. 32. have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son^oTthTn^st high God ? art thou come hither to torment us before the time ? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. (For he had said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.) And Jesus asked him, What is thy name ? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion : for the phrase varies with the context, but it usually implies trouble. some, or unauthorized, interference. Here it seems to be, ' What hast thou to do with us : what authority hast thou over us > ' " frtoomJieU. The phrase oiten occurs in the Old Testament as signifying an abrupt refusal of some request, or a wish not to be troubled with the company or importunity of others. What is thy name ?—" But this is here noticeable that the hrst bidding of Christ is not immediately obeyed ; that the evil do.!"htrsfh!n?on!Itrate; ,a!?d do not at once quit their hold- No doubt the Lord could have forced them to do so had he willed b,ddinlTaH Tght taVe PCrished in the Process- Even tha< "rst cSnad brought on a terrible paroxysm. It was then of stron , r "'V* the Physidan's, wise and tender as he was R? PMCe StfP by Step- And first he demands of him and for'L *' ^W the qUeStion Was directed to the man, Son to h^ PUrP°-e °f Calm'ng him ^ hrinZin8 him to recollecl name t rh. n°!,SC,TneSS °-f h'S Penality of which a man's Snce btn T/^ "Passion-that he was a person who had with ^hose Pnir t T' a? 1 ^ "^ "OW inextricab'y intertwined wittt those spiritual wickednesses now lording over him The S" miSht thus h^e been intended to facilitate his S.re.»- trfU7 namC is Le£ion' for w« are many.—" A reply in which KtterruYnTf'T ^T* bl-d*d = "declares fis" sense of nZ c"f I h'S Wh°le moral and spiritual being. Not on one slde only, but on every side, the walls of his spiri? have been b oken down, and he is laid open to all the incursions or evi" °™ sunder in >nhnite ways, now under one hostile and hated power, now under another. The destruction is complete they who rule over him are ' lords many.' He can find noother way cencT/ofhi1,8 ftate thrn ^ u Vmap drawn from ^ ^inis- ranksnf, R °™er life. He had seen the thick and serried ranks of a Roman legion, that fearful instrument of oppression whiU'?L° terr°r and fear t0 the conade of their miraculous gifts, as the Jewish exorcists did of their pretended power to cast out devils. Provide neither, etc. — They were not to procure for the pur- poses of this journey that which they did not already possess. In your purses. — For traveling expenses. The original word expresses the custom of carrying money in a kind of fob- pocket ox purse, which was made in the duplicature of their girdles, and is still used in the East and in Greece. (Comp. Luke 22 : 35). Nor scrip. — This was a kind of leathern pouch or wallet which A MISSION OF PEACE. 28l Matt. 10 : 10-16 ; Mark 6 : 9, 8, 11 ; Luke 10 : 11. journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, but be shod with sandals ; nor yet staves ; take nothing for your journey save a staff only, for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy ; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into a house salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it ; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city shake off the very dust of your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more toler- able for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. travelers usually hung about their necks, and in which they car- ned their food. Neither shoes.— The original word in Matthew might be ren- dered sandals, if Mark did not say, " But be shod with sandals " the lower class of people commonly wore nothing on the feet ■ but in traveling, sandals were necessary, and on long journeys' and in winter, a kind of short boot or shoe was worn The meaning of the whole passage is that they were not to take fore- thought or make provision, as ordinary travelers would do. iaV?ST?re "OW always used by foot travelers over the rocky roads of Palestine to support them in slippery places, and for defence against robbers ; and it is usual, on long journeys to take two lest one should fail. Matthew says (see above), provide neither ... nor yet staves; Mark, "take but a staff;" in other words, take what you happen to have : make no special provision. Who in it is worthy ?— The Jews had no public houses such as now exist, and it was common for individuals to entertain strangers. Y°uru Peace.— The Jewish form of salutation was, " Peace be to this house." It is still retained among the Turks and other eastern nations. " No mention is made of the synagogues in their instructions ; it may be because the apostles were not yet confident enough to come forward so publicly. It was to be a house-to house mission."-— Geikie 282 Matthew's feast to death of john. Chap. XIX. Matt. 10 : 17-19. Autumn, j.c. 32. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men ; for they will deliver you up to their councils, and they will Further Instruc- ... tionstohis scourge you m their synagogues. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Behold I send you forth. — As the emergencies referred to did not occur on this journey, some have supposed this part of the discourse was given at a later period. Wise as serpents. — Serpents have been always an emblem of wisdom and cunning. The Egyptians used the serpent in their hieroglyphics as a symbol of wisdom. Probably the trait which Christ here directed his followers to imitate in the serpent was its caution in avoiding danger. No animal equals it in the rapidity and skill which it evinces in escaping danger. To be sharp-sighted as a serpent was a proverb both among Greeks and Romans. Harmless as doves. — "There is a beauty in this saying which is seldom observed ; doves are, and always have been, a striking emblem of innocence. Most men would be disposed to destroy a serpent, be it ever so harmless ; yet few are so hard- hearted as to kill a dove. The serpent is represented as pru- dent to excess, being full of cunning (Gen. 3 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 3), and the dove is simple, even to stupidity (Hosea. 7:11); but Jesus Christ corrects here the cunning of the serpent by the sim- plicity of the dove, and the too great simplicity of the dove by the cunning of the serpent. — Greswell. They will deliver you up to their councils. — By councils are here to be understood the provincial tribunals which existed in most towns, and even villages. And that synagogues must be taken in like manner is plain from the parallel passages in Mark and Luke. " They would be like helpless sheep in the midst of treacherous wolves. Even their work would be different from what they might expect. To-day it was an olive branch ; to- morrow it would be a sword. Instead of peace, it would divide households and communities, and turn the closest relations into deadly enemies. They would need to labor diligently, for be- fore they had gone over all the towns of Jsrael he himself would come to their aid as the risen and glorified Messiah." — Geikie. Ye shall be brought before governors and kings. " If these speeches of Jesus are true, and if, according to his prediction, THE DISCIPLE AND HIS MASTER. 283 Chap. XIX. Matt. 10 : 19-27. Autumn, j.c. 32. Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speak- eth in you. And the brother shall deliver up the bro- ther to death, and the father the child ; and the chil- dren shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake : but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 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. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 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 Beel- zebub, how much more shall they call them of his house- hold ? Fear them not therefore : for there is nothing governors and kings undertake to ruin and destroy those who shall profess themselves his disciples, we will believe, not only that he is a prophet, but that he has received power from God sufficient to preserve and propagate his religion ; and that he would never talk in such a peremptory and discouraging man- ner were he not assured that he was able to subdue the most powerful opposition that could be made against the faith and doctrine which he taught." — Joseph Addison. Take no thought. — The word " thought" is used in its old English sense ; meaning, " Be not over-anxious," as in Matt. 6 : 25. Fear them not therefore. — " I feel more and more as to the joys of conscience. I believe them to be at once the deepest and most real. There is only one great object in this world that deserves our efforts ; that is the good of humanity. As I ad- vance in life, I see it more and more from that point of view which I used to fancy belonged to early youth — namely, as a thing of very mediocre worth, valuable only as far as one can employ it in doing one's duty, in serving men, and in taking one's fit place among them. How cold, small, and sad life would be- 284 Matthew's feast to death of john. Chap. XIX. Matt. 10 : 27-37. Autumn, j.c. 32. covered that shall not be revealed ; and hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light : and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 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. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore : ye are of more value than many spar- rows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before come if, by the side of this every-day world, so full of cowardice and selfishness, the human side could not build for itself another in which generosity, courage, virtue, in a word, may breathe at ease !" — De Tocqtieville. Hear in the ear. — " Allusion is here made to the manner of the schools. After the return from the captivity, the pure He- brew was no longer the vernacular tongue of the Jews, yet the law continued to be read in that language. The doctor whis- pered out of the chair into the ear of the interpreter, and he, with a loud voice, repeated to the whole school that which was spoken in the ear.' '—Lightfoot. Preach [i.e., proclaim] ye upon the housetops. — " Per- haps this alludes to the custom that the minister of the syna- gogue, on the Sabbath eve, sounded with a trumpet six times, on the roof of an exceeding high house, that all might have notice of the coming in of the Sabbath. The first sound was, that they should come in from their work in the fields ; the second, that they should cease from it in the city ; the third, that they should light the Sabbath candle," etc. — Lightfoot. The houses of Judea were flat-roofed, with a balustrade round about. As there are no bells among the Turks, a crier proclaims even now all times of public worship from the housetops. One of them shall not fall, etc. — His care embraces all things, the most minute and the most magnificent. The same law which regulates the courses of the planets controls the fall of a sparrow and of a feather. THE APOSTLES GO FORTH. 285 Matt. 10 : 38-42 ; 11 : 1 ; 14 : 1 ; Mark 6 : 12, 13 ; Luke 9 : 6. men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth : I came not to send peace, but a sword. 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. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 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. And he that taketh not his cross, and follow- eth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me ; and he that re- ceiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that re- ceiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink 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. And they went out through the towns, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them everywhere. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end He that taketh not his cross. — The condemned man was obliged to bear his cross to the place of execution. Jesus tells his disciples that they must be prepared to submit to a death of torture and ignominy. An impostor would not have promised such rewards to his followers. 286 matthew's feast to death of john. Luke 9:7-9; Matt. 14 : 2, 6, 8 ; Mark 6 : 17, 21-25. of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus and of all that was done by him (for his name was spread abroad), and he was perplexed, because tra°ch hears " that it was said of some, that John was of Jesus. r-sen £rom the ^ea(j . an(j Q£ g0me< thaj- Elias had appeared ; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded ; but who is this of whom I hear such things ? And he desired to see him ; and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist ; he is risen from the dead ; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. And when a convenient day was come, Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced before them, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, What- An end of commanding his twelve disciples.— Speaking of " these great parting instructions as given by St. Matthew," Farrar says, " Every missionary and every minister should write them in letters of gold. The sterility of missionary labor [and certainly of the ordinary preaching of the Gospel] is a con- stant subject of regret and discouragement among us. Would it be so if all our missions [and clerical and lay ministration in churches and schools] were carried out in this wise and concilia- tory, in this simple and self-abandoning, in this faithful and dauntless spirit." Herod. — See note on page 122. The high captains were the commanders of a thousand men. JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED. 287 Chap. XIX. Mark 6 : 25-29 ; Matt. 14 : 9-12. j,c. 32. soever thou shall ask of me I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask ? And she said, The head of John the Bap- tist. And she, instructed of her mother, came in straight- way with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry ; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him at meat, he would not reject her. And imme- diately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel ; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb, and went and told Jesus. The head of John. — Josephus attributes John's execution to Herod's fear of his fomenting sedition among the people. For consideration of John's imprisonment, etc., see note on page 122. PART IV. FROM THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO THE FINAL DEPARTURE OF JESUS FROM GALILEE FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER, J.C. 33. TIME, SIX MONTHS. RETURN OF THE APOSTLES. 289 Chap. XX. Mark 6 : 30, 31 ; Luke 9 : 10. April, j.c. 33. CHAPTER XX. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND, AND OTHER INCIDENTS. And the apostles, when they were returned, gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And Jesus having heard of Retum from their the death of John, said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile : for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. The death of John. — These words are supplied to combine the account of Matthew (14 : 13) with the other narratives. " It is not said where Jesus was when the disciples of John came to him to announce their master's death (Matt. 14 : 12), but it was natural that they should seek him at Capernaum. About the same time the twelve, who had been absent on their mission, rejoined him. Perhaps their return at this juncture may have been determined by the tidings of the death of the Baptist, which must very soon have become widely and generally known. <\s usual, whenever Jesus, after one of his circuits, returned to Caper- naum, the people of the surrounding cities and villages flocked to see him, bringing with them their sick. ' Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat ' (Mark 6 : 31). Jesus therefore determines to cross the sea and find re- pose in the uninhabited hills upon the eastern shore. Some at- tribute this departure to fear of Herod's hostility, and this has some countenance in the language of Matt. 14 : 13. But a more careful examination shows this could not have been his motive. Mark (6 : 31) gives the Lord's own words to the apostles. He desired to separate them from the multitude, and to give them, after their labors, a little period of repose, such as was not pos- sible for them to obtain at Capernaum. . . . That the de- parture across the sea was not through fear of personal violence from Herod appears from the fact that Jesus the next day re- turned, landing publicly upon the shore of Gennesaret ; and thence, attended by crowds, went to Capernaum, where he taught openly in the synagogue (Mark 6 : 53-55 ; John 6 : 52- 290 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Ch. XX. Luke 9: 10; Mark 6: 32, 33 ; John 6: i, 2. J.C. 33. And he took them and went aside privately by ship over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias, into a desert place apart belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And a great multitude of people saw them 59). And after this he continued to make Capernaum his home, unmolested by Herod." — Andrews. A desert place. — Bethsaida is now generally supposed to have been situated just at the entrance of the Jordan into the lake, and upon both banks of the river. " Upon the east side lies the rich level plain of Butaiha (Batihah), forming a triangle, of which the eastern mountains make one side, and the river bank and the lake shore the two other. This plain, with its bordering hills, probably belonged to Bethsaida." — Andrews. It is at the south- eastern angle of this plain, where the hills come down close to the shore, that Thomson (ii. 29) places the site of the feeding of the five thousand. He says : " From the four narratives of this stupendous miracle we gather, first, that the place belonged to Bethsaida ; second, that it was a desert place ; third, that it was near the shore of the lake, for they came to it by boats ; fourth, that there was a mountain close at hand ; fifth, that it was a smooth, grassy spot, capable of seating many thousand people. Now all these requisites are found in this exact locality, and nowhere else, so far as I can discover. This Butaiha belonged to Bethsaida. At this extreme south-east corner of it the mountain shuts down upon the lake, bleak and barren. It was, doubtless, desert then as now, for it is not capable cf cultivation. In this little cove the ships (boats) were anchored. On this beautiful sward, at the base of the rocky hill, the people were seated." A great multitude followed and outwent them. — Some have supposed that John (6 : 4) mentions the fact that " the Passover was nigh" to explain why so great a company should have gathered to him of men, women, and children. They were com- posed, at least in part, of those that were journeying toward Je- rusalem to keep the feast. Alexander, on the other hand, ob- jects that, " from the fact that they had nothing to eat, they could scarcely be a caravan of pilgrims, but were probably just come from their own homes. It would seem that the people were mostly from Capernaum and the towns adjacent. (See Mark 6 : 33.)" " It was the Lord's desire to go privately with the apostles, and thus escape the multitudes ; but as his preparations to depart were necessarily made in public, and the departure itself was in sight of all, he could not prevent them from following him. It strikingly marks the strong hold he now had upon the people at JESUS PITIES THE MULTITUDE. 29I Matt. 14 : 13-15 ; Mark 6 : 33-35 ; Luke 9 : 10-12 ; John 6 : 2-5. departing, and many knew him, and followed him, be- cause they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased, and ran afoot thither out of all the cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, went up into a . , , .,..,. Feeding of the mountain, and there he sat with his dis- Five Thousand ; ciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. And when he lifted up his eyes and saw a great multitude, he was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd : and he received them, and began to teach them many things of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. And when the day began to wear away, his twelve dis- large, that so great a number should follow him so far. That they should be able to keep pace with those in the boat will not appear strange if we remember the relative positions of Caper- naum and Bethsaida. From the former city, which we identify with Tell Hum, to the entrance of the Jordan, where we place Bethsaida, is, according to Robinson, one hour and five minutes, or about two and a half geographical miles. The distance from the entrance of the Jordan along the eastern shore to the point where the mountains approach the lake is also about an hour. The whole distance, then, which the people had to travel, was not more than six or eight miles, and, from the conformation of the coast, could be as rapidly passed by those on the shore as those in the boat." — Andrews. Up into a mountain. — "Upon landing they went up some hill or cliff, and from that point saw the great crowd (John 6 : 3, 5). It is not certain that the needed rest was obtained.1' — ■ Schaff. Not having a shepherd. — None to instruct or guide them. The scribes and Pharisees despised the common people, and when they did teach them, simply led them astray. They were blind leaders of the blind. Began to wear away. — " When it was evening" (Matt. 14 : 15), " when the day was far spent" (Mark 6 : 35). Among the Jews there were two evenings : the first from three to six o'clock, corresponding to our afternoon ; the other from six to 292 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Matt. 14 : 15-17 ; Mark 6 : 35-38 ; Luke 9 : 12, 13 ; John 6 : 5-9. ciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed : send the multi- tude away, that they may go into the towns and coun- try round about, and lodge and buy themselves victuals, for they have nothing to eat. Jesus then saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat ? (And this he said to prove him : for he himself knew what he would do.) Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. But Jesus said, They need not depart ; give ye them to eat. And the disciples say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat ? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye ? go and see. And when they knew, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here which hath five barley-loaves and two small fishes : but what are they among so many ? (For they were about five thousand men.) nine, after which came " the darkness." The text refers to the first, John 6 : 16 to the second, three or four hours later ; and this allows a sufficient interval for the feeding of the multitude. Saith unto Philip. — As a resident of Bethsaida Philip might be supposed to know better than the others where to procure food ; but the question was put to test him. As Augustine re- marks, " it was not bread which Jesus sought from Philip, but faith." Two hundred pennyworth. — Two hundred denaries, about thirty dollars ; in those days a large sum, and probably more than" the disciples had in their possession. A denarius was the price of a day's labor, and its purchasing value was therefore nearly ten times as much as the same sum has at this day. Barley loaves. — Barley was of only about one third the value of wheat. The loaves were made thin and brittle, and were therefore broken, not cut. The supply — "five thin barley crackers, barely adequate for as many persons, and two little fishes, such as served the purpose of a relish to the otherwise vegetable diet of the Galilean peasant — was not, in truth, suf- ficient for their own meal." — Abbott. THE FIVE THOUSAND FED. 293 Matt. 14 : 17-19 ; Mark 6 : 38-42 ; Luke 9 : 13-17 ; John 6 : 9-12. Jesus said, Bring them hither to me ; and he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a com- pany, upon the green grass. (Now there was much grass in the place.) And the men sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And Jesus took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, blessed, and brake the loaves, and distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down ; and likewise of the two fishes divided he among them all as much as they would. And they did all eat, and were all filled. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that By hundreds and by fifties. — " That is," says Wesley, " fifty in a file, and a hundred in a rank." So a hundred, multiplied by fifty, made five thousand. "This miracle could not be counterfeited." — Adam Clarke. In ranks. — " The word in the original is taken from beds in a garden, to which companies of people, seated in rows, twice the number in rank as in file, would bear resemblance. Many ex- positors seem to think that the whole multitude formed one body, but the plural number leads us to conclude that several distinct companies were formed, but all arranged in the same manner." — Scott. The use of the original word by Mark suggests to Geikie that this disposition of the multitude, arrayed in their bright- colored Eastern garments, reminded Peter long afterward (when Mark's gospel was written) of the many-hued flower-beds of a great garden. Thus placed, " the disciples weie able to num- ber the people with some accuracy." — Abbott. Much grass in the place. — " This circumstance is plainly the remark of an eye-witness." — Paley. Gather up the fragments. — This injunction was no doubt given to enforce the lesson that no part of the bounties of Provi- dence, however small, should be wasted. The quantity gathered is incontestable evidence of the reality of the miracle. It was an amazing exhibition of creative power ; but scarcely less amaz- ing is that other miracle which is daily seen in nature — the tiny acorn expanding slowly into the gigantic oak. Upon this text Olshausen remarks : " This union of careful savingness with creative power is a feature so peculiar that it impresses, beyond all mistake, a heavenly character on the narrative. Such things 294 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Matt. 14 : 20, 21 ; Mark 6 : 43-45 ; Luke 9 : 17, 14 ; John 6 : 12-14. 10. nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them to- gether, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley-loaves, and of the fishes which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by fbrce, to make him king, he straightway constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go are not invented ! Nature, that mirror of divine perfections, places belore our eyes the same combination of boundless munifi- cence, and of truest frugality in imparting her benefits." " God loveth a bountiful, but not a wasteful, hand." — Archbishop " Thy superfluities are the poor man's necessaries." — A ugustine. Baskets. — It was customary for the Jews on a journey to earn," small flag baskets, slung over the shoulder, to hold their provisions, as there were then few inns, and they could not eat with Gentiles without pollution. Tacitus says that a flag basket, and a bundle of straw for a bed, composed the entire household furniture of a Jew. A similar allusion is made by juzcnal in his Third Satire. The original word denotes that these were a kind of large basket, usually slung from the shoulder, and of a differ- ent sort from those mentioned in the feeding of the four thou- sand, which were " hand-baskets." In both cases the fragments gathered far exceeded the original quantity of food. That prophet. — The prophet spoken of by Moses (Deut. 1 5 : 13 ■, " We can scarce doubt from the context that they meant the Messiah, for so great was their enthusiasm that they proposed among themselves to take him by force and make him king (John 6 : 14, I;!. Thus the effect of the miracle was to confirm them in their false Messianic hopes ; for they interpreted it as a sign and pledge of the highest temporal prosperity under his rule, who could not only heal the sick of all their diseases, but feed five thousand men with five loaves cf barley bread. Hence he must immediately dismiss them." — A thin:.:. Constrained his disciples. — " It appears from Matthew and Mark that he sent away the disciples first, perhaps that the excite- the discipl: 295 L 14: 22-25 ; MaA 6 : 45--P i John : : --: before him unto the other side, unto Bethsaida, while he sent the multitudes awav. And when 111 1 1 • i 1 he had sent the multitudes away, he went Sea cf Galilee. up again into a mountain apart tc pr-y and when the evening was come he was there alone. And his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew, and the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tcssed with waves : and he saw them toiling in rowing ; for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night he cometh mem of the multitude might not seize upon them. That they were unwilling to leave him, and that he was obliged to ' con- strain ' them to depart, is not strange if we remember that they knew no way by which he could rejoin them but by a long walk along the shore, and this in the solitude and darkness of the night ; for it was evening when they left the place." — A>: 1 " He overcame their unwillingness to leave him by a promise to join them at the mouth of the Tordan, just below Bethsaida." —A bott. He •went up into a mountain. — Xot a mountain. t_ mountain on whose slope he had so lately fed the five tnousand — a part of the range by which the lake is encircled. "The second instance mentioned of a night so spent, the first being the night prior to the choice of apostles (Luke 6 : 12. 131 ; and both mark important points in his life — In the midst of the sea. — The " great wind " blew them off from land, and, in spite of all their efforts at rowing, they could not reach Bethsaida, nor even Capernaum, but were driven out into the middle of the lake, and southerly, opposite the Plain of Gennesaret. The width of the sea is there about six miles, and as " they had rowed about five-and twenty or thirty furlongs" when Jesus met them, they were scarcely more than hi across. As it was then " about the fourth watch," from three to six o'clock a.m.. they had been struggling with the wind and waves eight or ten h The fourth watch. — " In the tirr.e of Christ the nig- imitation of the Romans, was divided into four watches, viz. : 1. 296 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Matt. 14 : 25-30 ; Mark 6 : 48-50 ; John 6 : 1S-20. j.c. 33. unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. So when they had rowed about five-and- twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship : and they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out for fear. (For they all saw him, and were troubled.) And immediately he spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer : it is I ; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But the evening, from twilight to nine o'clock ; 2, the midnight, from nine to twelve ; 3, the cock-c?-o-wing, from twelve to three ; and the morning, irom three o'clock till daybreak." — yahn. The four periods are distinctly stated in Mark 13 : 35. Walking on the sea. — In the Egyptian hieroglyphics the fig- ure of two feet treading the sea represents an impossibility. " Some cheats have pretended to cure diseases miraculously, and some have even attempted to raise the dead ; yet no impos- tor, I believe, has ever been so bold as to undertake to feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes, or to walk on the waves of the sea." — Bishop Porteus. They had rowed. — " Being forced by the wind to betake themselves to their oars." — Hetiry. A spirit. — The Jews, and the ancients generally, believed in the existence of spirits in the human form. They thought evil spirits walked the night to work harm to mortals. Ps. 91 : 6, as rendered in the Septuagint, is, " The devils that walk in the night." The original word here should be rendered " apparition," an unreal appearance of a real person. It is not the same as the term usually translated " spirit." Peter .... walked on the water. — " Not necessarily very far ; and yet so long as he thus walked it was through supernatural aid from Christ. The power was obtained and con- ditioned by faith in Christ's power. So in our spiritual walk above the waves of this world." — Schaff. It is to be noticed that Peter began to sink when his attention was distracted from Christ by the boisterous wind. That he would otherwise have been sustained is indicated by the exclamation of Jesus, " Where- fore didst thou doubt ?" THE DISCIPLES SORE AMAZED. 297 Matt. 14 : 30-35 : Mark 6 : 51-53 ; John 6 : 21. j.c. 33. when he saw the winds boisterous, he was afraid ; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, 0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? Then they willingly received him into the ship, and the wind ceased, and they were sore amazed in them- selves beyond measure ; for they considered not the miracle of the loaves ; for their heart was hardened. Then they came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. And immediately the ship was at the land, whither they went. And they drew to the shore in the land of Gennesaret, Sore amazed in themselves beyond measure. — "The words in the original are still stronger — indeed so strong that it is im- possible for the English language to express all their force. In comparison with this miracle, even that of the loaves and fishes seems to have appeared nothing in the eyes of the disciples, for Mark informs us that ' they considered not the miracles of tlie loaves, for their heart rcas hardened ; ' but at the act of walking to them on the sea for their deliverance they were amazed be- yond measure ; they were overwhelmed and overcome with this astonishing display of divine power, therefore they instantly fell at the feet of Jesus and worshiped him, exclaiming, with de- vout awe, ' Of a truth thou art the Son of God.' " — Greswell. Their heart was hardened. — Their minds were dull of per- ception. Immediately at the land. — " This was on the western side of the lake, and we may either suppose that the wind during the night had driven them near that shore, or accept another miracle." — Schaff. But the distance across was six miles, and it is distinctly stated that they had gone less than four miles when Jesus came to them. The land of Gennesaret. — The word means the " Garden of the Prince." It extended for about six miles along the western shore of the lake, and had an average breadth of about two miles. It was extremely fertile and populous, and was the scene of much of the public life of Jesus. In speaking of it Joscphus says : " Such is the fertility of the soil that it rejects no kind of plant, and they who cultivate it have left no sort unplanted 298 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Chap. XX. Mark 6: 53-56 ; Matt. 14: 35, 36. j.c. 33. and when they were come out of the ship, straightway the men of that place knew him, and ran through the whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and be- sought him that they might touch, if it were but the bor- der of his garment : and as many as touched him were made perfectly whole. there ; and such is the temperature of the climate that it suits the most different wants of nature. In addition to palm trees, which thrive best by heat, and figs and olives in their vicinity, which require a milder air, nut trees, the hardiest of plants, flourish there in the utmost abundance. It might be said that nature had been purposely ambitious of forcing herself to collect upon one spot discordant principles, and that the seasons, with a salutary conflict, each as it were challenged exclusively the pos- session of the country ; for not merely does it so unaccountably nourish the different productions of as many different periods of the year, but it also preserves what it nourishes. The noblest of the kind, such as grapes and figs, it supplies for ten months without ceasing : and fruits of every other description, growing old on the trees round about, are supplied for the whole year. " The men of that place knew him. — " It was one of the days of synagogue worship — Monday or Thursday — and they met him on his way to the synagogue, to which they accordingly went with him. Excitement was at its height. News of his arrival had spread far and near, and his way was hindered by crowds, who had, as usual, brought their sick to the streets through which he was passing, in hope of his healing them." — Geikie. They laid the sick in the streets. — " Maximas Tyrius tells us that the medical art had its rise from the custom of plac- ing sick persons on the side of frequented ways, that so those who passed, inquiring into the nature of their complaint, might communicate the knowledge of what had been to themselves use- ful in like cases." — Burder. Touch the border of his garment. — The cure of the afflict- ed woman must have been widely reported. From this notice we get an idea of the crowd of sick that everywhere thronged Jesus. The number was so great that they feared he could not cure them all by his ordinary methods ; but while he was merely JESUS TEACHES AT CAPERNAUM. 299 Chap. XX. John 6 : 22-27. April, j.c. 33. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there save that one whereinto his , . . , . Jesus Teaches in disciples were entered, and that Jesus the Synagogue went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone (howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks) — when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when earnest thou hither ? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you : for him hath God the Father sealed. passing they could touch his garments ; and the wonder fol- lowed, " As many as touched him were made perfectly whole." The day following the one on which the five thousand were fed. Not because ye saw the miracles. — They followed Jesus not because they saw evidence of his being " the prophet that should come into the world," but because he had supplied their lowest needs. " Not because he taught them, but because he fed them ; not for love, but for loaves. Thus they do who aim at secular advantage, and follow him because they get prefer- ments."— Henry. That meat which endureth. — " He had discoursed with the woman of Samaria under the similitude of water j he here speaks of the same things under the similitude of meat. His design is to moderate our worldly pursuits, not to forbid honest labor for food convenient (2 Thess. 3 : 10, 12)." — Henry. Sealed. — " Hath confirmed, authorized, commissioned, as it 300 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Chap. XX. John 6 : 27-32. April, j.c. 33. Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God ? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye be- lieve on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore The Bread from unto him, What sign shewest thou then, Heaven. ^^ we may see^ an(j bei;eve t_b.ee ? what dost thou work ? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert ; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread were, with the witness of a seal." Mirae/est were to his doctrine what a seal is to a written instrument. What shall we do that we might work the works of God ? " As Jews, they had been painfully keeping all the rabbinical precepts in belief that their doing so gave them a claim above. Yet if he had some additional injunctions, they were willing to add them to the rest, that they might legally qualify themselves for a share in the new kingdom of God as a right. But, instead of multiplied observances, he startled them by announcing that citizenship in the New Theocracy required no- more than their believing in him, as sent from the Father. In this lay all, for the manifold ' works of God ' would spring naturally from it." — Geikie. What sign showest thou? — On other occasions the Jews had asked for a sign from the visible heaven — which they sup- posed the dwelling of God — thus showing that they expected some extraordinary physical phenomena would attend the com- ing of the Messiah. They now say to Jesus, in effect, " We have eaten of the loaves — they were earthly food ; but Moses gave us manna (bread) from heaven to eat. What like this do you do ?" In view of this expectation his answer has peculiar force. Our fathers did eat manna. — " The Jews insinuated that feeding a few thousands with the five loaves was an inconsider- able thing compared with what Moses did when he fed the whole camp of Israel ; but our Lord here declares the purposes of his grace and bounty to be far more extensive, as reaching to the whole world, and giving immortal life to all that should be- lieve in him." — Doddridge. Moses gave you not. — It was not Moses, but the Angel Jehovah, who was with Moses in the wilderness, that fed the Israelites with manna. Jesus does not directly say that it was JESUS, THE BREAD OF LIFE. 3OI Chap. XX. John 6 : 32-39. April, j.c. 33. from heaven ; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life : he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I he who had fed their fathers ; but he presses upon them the greater evidence of his love, in his having come to give himself for " the life of the world." That he was the Angel Jehovah, or " Angel of the Covenant," so often mentioned in the Old Testament, is expressly stated in Malachi 3:1. " The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger [angel] of the Covenant, whom ye delight in." This truth lends even a more intense interest to the Gospel history. It was he who had watched over the Jewish nation from its very beginning who uttered the pathetic lament over Jerusalem, " Oh, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hengathereth her chickens under her wing, and ye would not !" Evermore give us this bread. — " Like Ponce de Leon, with the spring of unfading youth in Florida, they thought that the new gift would literally make them immortal, and eagerly clam- ored to have a boon so far in advance of the day before. ' ' — Geikie, Ye have also seen me. — They had been eye-witnesses of his deeds as the Messiah, and yet they did not believe. I will in no wise cast out. — " The original expression here is extremely beautiful and emphatic. It represents an humble supplicant as coming into the house of some prince, or other great person, to cast himself at his feet, and to commit himself to his protection and care. He might fear that his petition might be rejected, and he thrust out ; but our Lord assures him to the contrary. His house and heart are large enough to receive, shelter, and supply all the indigent and distressed. God only knows how many thousand souls have been supported by these words." — Doddridge. " It is less injurious to Christ to doubt even of his existence than to doubt of his willingness to save a wounded, brokenhearted sinner." — Kyland. 302 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Chap. XX. John 6 : 39-50. April, j.c. 33. came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life : and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven ? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Mur- mur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him : and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that be- lieveth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph ? — " The congregation, comprising some rabbis and other enemies, had from time to time, in Jewish fashion, freely expressed their feelings, and had taken such offence at his claim to be the bread that came down from heaven, that their whispers and murmurs now ran through the whole building." — Geikie. No man can come to me. — The difficulty in this case was not a want oi ability, but erroneous opinions, pride, obstinacy, and self-conceit, which prevented their giving due weight to evidence. The word cannot is often used to denote a strong and violent opposition of the will. It is written in the prophets.— Mich. 4:2; Jer. 31 : 33. THE MYSTICAL FLESH AND BLOOD OF JESUS. 303 Chap. XX. John 6 : 51-59. April, j.c. 33. life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, say- ing, How can this man give us his flesh to eat ? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ex- cept ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eat- eth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead ; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. I am the living bread. — " From the rabbinical illustrations of Lightfoot, it is plain that the metaphors employed in this dis- course must have been familiar to most of the hearers as being in frequent use among the Jewish doctors. I need only instance the following example : ' Every mention of eating and drinking found in Ecclesiastes is said of the law and good works.' " — ■ Bloomfield. The metaphor was as familiar and as readily un- derstood as our expressions of " devouring a book," or " drink- ing in" instruction. " I am not only the Life-giving Bread, but the Living Bread, and as all that is living communicates life, so whoever eats this only true Bread of Heaven — whoever believes in me — shall live for ever. As the Living Bread I will give myself — my flesh — that is, my life — for the life of the world." — Geikie. Eat my flesh. — " It cannot be questioned but that he speaks in this chapter oi our continual feeding upon him by faith." — yohn Calvin. 304 FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. Chap. XX. John 6 : 59-66. April, j.c. 33. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying ; who can hear it ? Many Disciples When Jesus knew in himself that his dis- Forsake Him. cjpies murmured at it, he said unto them. Doth this offend you ? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before ? It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.) And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Hard saying. — Some explain this as " hard to understand," others as " offensive." Both senses are probably applicable. It is not strange that Jesus, making such pretensions as neither Moses nor any prophet had made, should have been unaccept- able to those who knew his humble origin and circumstances ; and the truths he touched upon cannot be intelligible, except to the experience of spiritually-minded persons, and such the Jews generally were not. This he recognizes in the remark, " It is the spirit that quickeneth." Many of his disciples went back. — " The false enthusiasm which had hitherto gathered the masses round Jesus was hence- forth at an end, now that their worldly hopes of him as the Mes- siah were exploded. His discourse had finally undeceived them. He was founding a mysterious spiritual kingdom : they cared only for a kingdom of this world. It became for the first time clear that no worldly rewards or honors were to be had by follow- ing him, but only spiritual gifts and benefits, for which most of them cared nothing. He had disenchanted the insincere and selfish who had hitherto flocked after him, and they forthwith showed their altered feelings. • From the moment of this address the crowds that had thronged him began to disappear, returning JESUS KNOWS THE HEART. 305 Chap. XX. John 6 : 66-71 ; 7 : 1. April, j.c. 33. Then said Jesus unto the Twelve, Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe, and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon : for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee : for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. to their homes, doubtless in angry disappointment." — Geikie. It was at the close of the second year of his ministry, and after more than a twelvemonth of constant preaching in Galilee, and now his followers were reduced to the original twelve, and a mere handful of devoted disciples. How slow had been the growth of that seed whose branches he had predicted would overshadow the earth ! One of you is a devil. — " Not the devil ; not merely devilish ; but belonging to the kingdom of the devil ; one of his ministers and agents." — Abbott. " I can see no proof that Judas from the beginning intended to betray Christ. It is more probable he at first engaged with him in expectation of secular advantage ; and finding those views disappointed, he might now begin to form that detestable scheme which he afterward executed. If this was the occasion (as I think probable), one would imagine that such an intimation of his secret wickedness must have struck him to the heart. " — Doddridge. But there " is no evidence that Jesus designated Judas so that the disciples then understood that it was he. It does not appear that the apostles suspected Judas, as they continued to treat him afterward with the same confidence ; for he carried the bag, or the purse containing their little property. At the table, when Jesus said that one of them would betray him, the rest did not suspect Judas until Jesus pointed him out par- ticularly.' ' — Gresivell. 306 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 1 ; Mark 7 : 1-3. Summer, j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXI. THE FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND, AND OTHER INCIDENTS. Then came together unto Jesus the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled (that is to say, with unwashen) hands, they Which came from Jerusalem. — " Much earlier in the Lord's ministry, as we have seen, a deputation of scribes had been sent from Jerusalem to watch and oppose him. The presence of this new deputation may be ascribed to the reports that had been borne to that city by the pilgrims going to the feast, of the feed- ing of the five thousand, and of the wish of the people to make him king. So great a miracle, and its effect on the popular mind, could not be overlooked ; and they hasten to counteract, if possible, his growing influence. Arriving at Capernaum, and watchful to seize every possible ground of accusation against him, they notice that some of his disciples did not wash their hands in the prescribed manner before eating, a sign that they were already in some degree becoming indifferent to Pharisaic traditions. The words of the Lord in reply to the Pharisees are full of severity, and show that he knew that they were, and would continue to be, his enemies. Now for the first time he addresses them openly as hypocrites, and reproaches them, that they set aside by their traditions the commandments of God." — A ndrews. Unwashen hands. — On this subject the Pharisees were par- ticularly scrupulous. The Talmud tells of a certain Rabbi Akiba, who, being confined in prison with only a small allow- ance of water, and having spilled a part, choss rather to die of thirst than to omit washing his hands with the remainder. It also says that, " Whoever despises the washing of hands shall be rooted out of the world." Some of their precepts respecting ablutions were ridiculous in the extreme. " It was laid down that the hands were first to be washed clean. The tips of the ten fingers were then joined and lifted up so that the water ran down to the elbows, then turned down so that it might run off to the ground. Fresh water was poured on them as they were lifted up, and twice again as they hung down. The washing itself was to be done by rubbing of one hand in the hollow of another." — TRADITION OF THE ELDERS. 307 Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 2, 3, 7 ; Mark 7 : 3-6. Summer, j.c. 33. found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, ex- cept they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. Tradition of the And many other things there be, which Eiders, they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands ? Geikie. And various other forms were to be observed too sense- less even for repetition. All the Jews. — The great body of the people observed the Pharisaic traditions. The Sadducees are said to have rejected these customs. Except they wash. — This is explained by Grotius, " unless they wash themselves, i.e., their bodies (namely, in opposition to the washing of the hands before mentioned) ; because after coming from a place of such public resort, and where people in a crowd must touch one another, they might unintentionally have touched some impure person or thing, and hence might require a more exact ablution than merely washing the hands." Tradition of the elders. — " Beside the laws of Moses, as re- corded in the Pentateuch, the rabbins pretend that he left a va- riety of oral traditions, delivered to him by the voice of God at Sinai, and handed down from generation to generation, by tvotd of mouth, to the time of our Lord, and even lower ; for it does not appear that any complete digest of them was put into writ- ing till the latter part of the second century, by Rabbi Judas, surnamed the holy. This work (which makes six volumes, folio) is called the Mishna, or second law, as containing a variety of additions to, and explanations of, the written law : these were pretended to be explicatory, but many of them were evasive, and some even subversive, of the laws of Moses, as in the text." — Williams. "To explain the Mishna were written the two Tal- muds, called the Jerusalem and Babylonish, which are named Gemara, or complement, ' because by these the oral law is fully explained.' The former was completed about a.d. 300 ; the latter after A. d. 500." — Jenks. 308 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 8, 3-6 ; Mark 7 . 6-13. Summer, j.c. 33. He answered and said unto then, Well did Esaias prophesy of you hypocrites, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, And honoreth me with their lips ; But their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups : and many other such like things ye do ? And he said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the command- ment of God by your traditions ? For God commanded, Honor thy father and thy mother ; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death : but ye say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban (that is to say, a gift), by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me : and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother ; thus making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, Well did Esaias prophesy of you. — That is, the words of Isaiah were well applicable to them. Curseth. — Revileth. " The proper import of the [original] word, is to give abusive language, to revile, to calumniate. The application, in the present instance, is evidently to reproachful words quite different, from cursing." — Campbell. By whatsoever thou mightest be profited. — The meaning is, " That from which thou mightest have been benefited by me is an offering to God." " Allusion is made to a method of ren- dering void the precept to relieve parents, practised by the Jews at this time. It was held by the traditions of the elders, that, if a son made a formal devotion to sacred purposes of those goods which he could afford for the relief of a parent, it was then not lawful for him to succor his parent. And, what was most strange, he was not held to be bound by his words to devote his estate to sacred uses ; but not to relieve the parent he was in- violably bound." — Light foot. DEFILEMENT IS WITHIN. 309 Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 10-19 < Mark 7 : 14-21. Summer, J.c. 33. which ye have delivered : and many such like things do ye. And he called all the people unto him, and said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and under- stand. There is nothing from without a man, that en- tering into him, can defile him : but the things which come out of the mouth, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples came and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying ? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone : they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Peter then said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without un- derstanding? Do ye not yet understand, that whatever entereth in at the mouth from without, Explains the cannot defile a man, because it entereth "Parable." not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into Which ye have delivered. — The elders, possibly the San- hedrin, had delivered their judgment upon the matter, and they claimed to be the authorized interpreters of the law. Nothing from without can defile him. — " Words clear enough to us, perhaps, but grand beyond thought when uttered, for they were the knell of caste — heard now, for the first time, in the history of the world." — Geikie. Let them alone. — " Error, if let alone, defeats and destroys itself. Let it work out its self-destructive results." — Scliaff. This parable. — This " dark saying." " The tendency to re- gard the external and formal as a vital and leading characteris- tic of religion was well nigh unconquerable in minds habituated to Jewish conceptions. " — Geikie. Hence, the Master's words were dark and strange, and seemed to require an explanation. 3IO FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 19-24 ; Mark 7 : 21-24. Summer, j.c. 33. the draught, purging all meats ? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covet- ousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, false witness, pride, foolishness ; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man : but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. And Jesus arose from thence and went into the bor- ders . of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan, who was a Greek, a Syropheni- Daughter of the ... r . Syrophenidan cian by nation, came out of the same Woman Heuled. ... , . . TT coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David ; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, Out of the heart. — " The criminality of acts proceeds from the purpose. What comes out of the mouth indicates what is in the heart." — Schaff. Evil thoughts. — " He puts evil thoughts in the front, as the leader of all this black regiment ; for ' out of this evil treasure of the heart men bring forth evil things ; ' and all the fruits of the flesh, the grapes of Sodom and the clusters of Gomorrah, re- ceive their sap and nourishment from this root of bitterness." — Bishop Hopkins. Foolishness.— " Because this renders all the other evils less curable, it stands last. Human corruption does not subsist ex- clusively in the will." — Bengel. Tyre was built about 1700 B.C., and was celebrated for its wealth, commerce, and manufactures. Sidon was the oldest and most important maritime city of the ancient world. It is about twenty-five miles north of Tyre. See note on page 000. The district called Syrophenicia was alto- gether inhabited by Gentiles. He answered her not a word. — " By this unwonted silence our Lord would try her faith, and prove it to his disciples. They were Jews, and must learn to intercede for a heathen woman be- fore they could carry the Gospel to the Gentiles." — Schaff. THE HEATHEN WOMAN S DAUGHTER. 311 Chap. XXI. Matt. 15 : 25-29 ; Mark 7 : 24-32. Summer, j. c. 33. saying, Send her away ; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They entered into a house, and would have no man know it : but he could not be hid. For the woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet, and besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled : for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Truth, Lord : yet the dogs eat of the children's crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith : for this saying, go thy way ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. The devil is gone out of thy daughter. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Dogs. — An epithet applied by the Jews to all Gentiles. The literal rendering is "little dogs," household pets, a meaning which the woman skilfully uses. Homer represents persons of the highest rank as allowing their faithful dogs to wait round their festive boards, and gather up the fragments of their meals. —Iliad, Book V., 173. Her daughter was healed from that hour. — " As in the case of the Gentile centurion, the cure was performed at a dis- tance. The intermediate link in both cases was strong faith com- bined with affection for the person healed." — Schaff. Again departing. — " He probably made a circuit, passing south-eastward, through the northern part of the Decapolis at the foot of the Lebanon range, reaching the mountainous (and soli- tary) district on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee." — Schaff. 312 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Mark 7 : 32-37 ; 30-31. Summer, j.c. 33. Sidon, he came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they Heals a Deaf and bring unto him one that was deaf, and um an. ^a(j an impediment in his speech ; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue : and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha (that is, Be opened). And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man : but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it ; and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well ; he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. And he went up into a mountain and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many One that was deaf. — " It is impossible to tell where this cure took place ; but from the fact that Jesus enjoined silence upon the deaf man and his friends, we infer that it was wrought before he came to the shore of the lake." — Andrews. So much the more they published it. — " The effect of this was, as related by Matthew, a great gathering to Him of ' the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others,' whom he healed. Both Matthew and Mark speak of the wonder and aston- ishment of the multitude as they saw these healings, as if they now saw them for the first time. It is to be remembered that Jesus had not visited this region at all, except for the few hours when he healed the demoniacs of Gergesa, and afterward when he fed the five thousand ; and the great body of the people now saw him for the first time," — Andrews. Maimed. — "The original might be rendered 'deformed,' those wounded or diseased in hand or foot." — Se/iaff. Our word maimed implies the loss of a member. THE FOUR THOUSAND FED. 313 Chap. XXI. Matt. 15: 32-38 ; Mark 8 : 1-8. Summer, j.c. 33. others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet ; and he healed them : insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see : and they glorified the God of Israel. Then the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, I have compassion on four Thousand the multitude, because they have now are led. been with me three days, and have nothing to eat : and if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way : for divers of them came from far. And his disciples answered him, From whence can we satisfy so great a multitude with bread here in the wilderness ? And Jesus asked them, How many loaves have ye ? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, Cast them down — indicating haste and excitement in those that bore the sick. Three days, and have nothing to eat.— Meaning probably that during that time they had been without their customary daily food, not entirely deprived of nourishment. Their wants were simple, and the mildness of the sky in the summer nights in- vites sleeping in the open air. Whence can we satisfy so great a multitude ?—" The question may seem strange after the miraculous feeding of the live thousand. But it was not so strange as their subsequent reasoning about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16 : 6-12). Our own forgetfulness and unbelief should make us wonder less at the ' little faith ' of the disciples. In the previous case the disciples emphasized the amount of bread needed (' two hundred pennyworth ') ; in this, the fact that they are in a desert place." — Schaff. On the ground — not on the grass, as in the former instance in Malt. 14 • 19 ; they were now in a wilderness, destitute, probably, 314 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Ch. XXI. Matt. 15 : 37-39 ; 16 : 1 ; Mark 8 : 8-11. j.c. 33. and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them ; and they did set them before the people. And he blessed the few small fishes, and commanded to set them also before them. And they did all eat, and were filled : and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that had eaten were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the multitude. And straightway he entered into a ship with his dis- a Sign again De- ciples, and came into the coasts of Mag- manded. dala> and Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees with the Sadducees came forth, of herbage. This is another of those indications of accuracy in detail which go far to verify the Gospel narratives. Gave thanks. — " The form of the short prayer, which, in the time of Christ, was uttered before and after meals, has been pre- served by the Talmudists. It is as follows : ' Blessed be Thou, O Lord, our God, the King of the world, who hast produced this food, or this drink (as the case may be), from the earth, or the vine.' " — Jahn. Baskets. — ''Hand-baskets." See note on page 294. Magdala and Dalmanutha. — " Magdala is generally identi- fied with El Mejdel, a miserable village on the south side of the plain of Gennesaret, near the lake. Dalmanutha is generally supposed to have been a small town or village in the neighbor- hood of Magdala, perhaps in its territory, and upon the shore. Porter places it about a mile south of Magdala, by the fountain Ain-el-Barideh." — Andrews. It is probable that Jesus, still seeking retirement, landed at an obscure locality between the two places, and was there found by the Pharisees and Sadducees, who, with hostile intentions, " came forth" to meet him. Sadducees. — " This is the first time the Sadducees are named as acting in opposition to Jesus. Hitherto they seem to have re- garded him with indifference, if not with contempt ; but as his teachings exposed their errors, their hostility was aroused, and henceforth they appear as acting in unison with the Pharisees as his bitter enemies. The Pharisees had already stifled their dislike of the Herodians, and had formed an alliance with them that they might the more easily crush him. It marked the growing malignity of feeling that a class fanatically proud of their ceremo- SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 315 Chap. XXI. Matt. 16 : 2-4 ; Mark 8 : 12. Summer, j.c. 33. and began to question with him, and tempting him, de- sired that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather : for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day : for the sky is red and lowering. 0 ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern the signs of the times ? And he sighed deeply in his spirit, nial and moral purity — a class from whose midst had sprung the zealots for the law, who abhorred all rule exceot that of a re- stored theocracy — should have banded themselves with a party of moral indifferentists, partial to monarchy, and guilty of flattering even the hated family of Herod. But a still more ominous sign of increasing danger showed itself in even Sadducees joining the Pharisees to make new attempts to compromise Jesus with the authorities." — Geikie. A sign from heaven. — " The peculiarity of the sign which his enemies now sought from him was that it should be from heaven, or something visible in the heavens ; perhaps some change in the sun or moon, or a meteor, or fire, or thunder and lightning." — Andrews. He had healed the sick, and raised the dead ; cast out demons, and fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes ; but these were earthly signs, and according to them might all be wrought through the power of the prince of the devils. But the evil powers could not " show signs in the heav- ens" (Baruch. 6 : 66) ; give them manna to eat, as did Moses ; call down thunderand hail, like Samuel ; or fire and rain, like Elijah ; or make the shadow on the dial turn backward, as did Isaiah. Such signs their rabbis said would appear when the Messiah came, and if he would show these signs they would believe. He knew their insincerity, and had already enjoined upon his disci- ples not to cast pearls before swine ; therefore, turning from them, he denounced them as hypocrites, who could discern the face of the sky, but not the signs of the times, and refused to give any other sign than one which would be too late to profit them — his own resurrection. He sighed deeply. — The original word denotes intense feel- ing. He sighed from the very heart. Alexander observes also that the expression (Matt. 16 : 4 ; Mark 8 : 13) " He left them," suggests the idea of "abandonment, letting them alone, leaving them to themselves, giving them up to hopeless unbelief." His emotion indicates how keenly he felt the opposition of his ene- 316 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 16 : 4-6 ; Mark 3 : 13-15. Summer, j.c. 33. and saith, Why doth this wicked and adulterous gen- eration seek after a sign ? Verily I say unto you there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and entering into the ship again, departed to the other side. And when his disciples The Leaven of the were come to the other side, they had for- Pharisees. gotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. Then Jesus charged them, saying, Take heed and be- ware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and of Herod. mies. And " the plain prediction of his death which so soon followed shows that he knew the crisis was approaching. (' The sign of the prophet Jonah,' Matt. 16:4, points in the same way.) It may have been a sign of his entering, though with human pang, upon the appointed path of tribulation. But the sign was mainly for these who would reject the atoning sorrows they were the instruments in producing." — Scliaff. The sign of the prophet Jonas. — " It was never known that any one pretending to be a prophet laid the foundation of the truth of his pretensions upon his being despised and rejected, and even crucified as a deceiver, by them to whom he was sent, and among whom he performed all his miracles ; and upon what should be done by others at his death ; and upon what he should do after his resurrection." — Whitby. Yet this Jesus did repeat- edly and openly, so that even his enemies were well aware of it ! To the other side. — He returned to Galilee but once again, and then with the utmost privacy. Had forgotten to take bread. — " Saw that they had forgot- ten.' ' — Kuinoel. Beware of the leaven. — The figure is used for a permeating spiritual influence (Matt. 13 : 33). " From the accidental circum- stance of their having forgotten to lay in before their departure any supply of bread (implying that in their journeyings to and fro they were acustomed to carry with them their own provision, and also that their departure from Magdala had been precipitate and sudden), and because they were aware that the mutual ani- mosity of the Jewish sects made them avoid, as much as possible, all dealings, even of buying or selling, with those of an opposite sect or party, the apostles interpreted the injunction literally." — THE DOCTRINE OF THE PHARISEES. 317 Chap. XXI. Mark 8 : 16-22 ; Matt. 16 : 7-12. Summer, j.c. 33. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. When Jesus perceived it, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread ? Do ye not yet perceive, neither understand ? have ye your heart yet hardened ? Having eyes, see ye not ? and having ears, hear ye not ? and do ye not remember ? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up ? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not un- Greswelf. " ' He tells us,' they whispered, ' that if we buy Vead from a Pharisee or Sadducee, the bread would defile us, as it would if we bought it from a Samaritan.' So rude was the spiritual material from which Jesus had to create the founders of Chris- tianity !" — Geikie. " According to Matthew, he admonishes his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees ; according to Mark, of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. This slight discrepancy is generally explained by saying that Herod was a Sadducee. This is in itself probable, lor none of the Herodian princes seem to have imbibed the true Jewish spirit ; and though fearing the Pharisees, because of their great influence over the people, yet favored the Sadducees, and gave office so far as possible to men of that party." — Andrews. " Herod was not a professed Sadducee, but our Lord was warn- ing against what all these had in common. The one common characteristic of th~ Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians was ' hypocrisy,' the last-named party coquetting with the other two as politicians do, and of course acting hypocritically." — Schaff. Baskets. — In the relation formerly given of both miracles, and here, where our Lord recapitulates the principal circum- stances of each, a different kind of basket employed for hold- ing the fragments is carefully indicated in the Greek. "This difference incidentally confirms the truthfulness of the account." —Schaff. How is it that ye do not understand, etc? — " The recent 318 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Ch. XXI. Mark 8 : 22-27 ; Matt. 16 : 13 ; Luke 9 : 18. j.c. 33. - _ ,_ — derstand that I spake not to you concerning bread, but that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees ? Then understood they that he bade them beware not of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Phari- sees and Sadducees. And he cometh to Bethsaida ; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And a Blind Man he took the blind man by the hand, and Healed. je(j ^im out of the town ; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walking. After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up : and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, say- instruction (Matt. 15 : 19, 20) that eating did not defile a man, should have prevented the surmise about not eating bread with the Pharisees and Sadducees ; the miracles should have shown them that lack of earthly bread was not referred to." — Schaff. Cometh to Bethsaida. — As he now sought retirement, it is likely that Jesus had not purposed going to Bethsaida, where he must have been well known, and was sure to attract a crowd. But he had set out on a journey of some length, on which it was indispensable to carry food, therefore the neglect of the dis- ciples to bring bread had forced a visit to this place- probably the nearest city — to procure it. That he led the blind man out of the town before performing the cure shows his desire of privacy. He spit on his eyes. — "He might have wrought the cure by a word, but he chose to use the same form as in the case of the dumb man in the Decapolis."— Geikie. The mode of cure was calculated to excite faith in the blind man. That it was not instantaneous would seem to indicate that he lacked the degree of faith that would so invigorate his faculties as to render him susceptible to the healing influence. " There may have been something in the man's spiritual condition which called for this method to develop his faith."— Schaff. "His seeing men as trees proves that he was not blind from birth." — Kuinoel. PUBLIC OPINION OF JESUS. 319 Ch. XXI. Matt. 16 : 13-15 ; Mark 8: 27-29 ; Luke 9: 18-20. j.c. 33. ing, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. And Jesus and his disciples went out and came into the coasts of Csesarea Philippi, and it came to pass by the way, as he was praying alone, his dis- peter Professes ciples were with him and he asked them His Faith- saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am ? And they answered, Some say that thou art John the Baptist ; some say Elias ; and others, Jeremias, or one of the old prophets risen again. Caesarea Philippi was situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, and near the source of the Jordan. It is now called Banias, and is a wretched hamlet of about a hundred miserable huts, inhabited by Turks. It was close to Dan, the extreme northern limit, as Beersheba was the extreme southern of ancient Palestine. A town had existed there from time immemorial, but Herod Philip had, three years before the birth of Christ, rebuilt it in a style of great magnificence, adorning the temple built by his father with altars, votive images, and statues, and given the place the name of the Emperor — to which his own was attached to distinguish it from the Csesarea on the Mediterranean coast. It was one of the loveliest spots in Palestine, and the country around has still great natural beauty. " Thick woods still shade the channel of the young river. Oaks and olive groves alternate with pastures and fields of grain, and high over all rises the old castle of Banias, perhaps the ' Tower of Lebanon, that Iooketh toward Damascus,' of the Song of Solomon." — Geikie. It was nearly in the latitude of Tyre, and thus far out of reach of the rabbis and chief priests who were dogging the footsteps of Jesus. Into the borders — towns or villages dependent on this important city — Jesus came with his disciples. " The natural inference from the narratives of Matthew and Mark is that the Lord journeyed directly from Bethsaida toward Caesarea Philippi, and that there was no return to Capernaum or visit to Jerusalem before the Transfiguration." — Andrews. One of the old prophets risen again. — From the accounts which Josephus has given of the tenets of the Pharisees, it ap- pears that their notion of the immortality of the soul was the Pythagorean metempsychosis ; that the soul, after the dissolution of one body, passed into another ; and that these removals were perpetuated and diversified, through an infinite succession, the 320 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Ch. XXI. Matt. 16 : 15-17 ; Mark 8 : 29 ; Luke 9 : 20. j.c. 33. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. soul animating a sound and healthy body, or being confined in a 'deformed and diseased frame, according to its conduct in a prior I state of existence. From this notion, derived from the Greek iphilosophy, we find the Jews speculated variously concerning Jesus, and conjectured which of the ancient prophets it was whose soul now animated him, and performed such astonishing mira- cles. " It is to be noted that no important part of the people seem to have regarded Jesus as the Christ, or else it would have been mentioned by the apostles. It is apparent that he was regarded rather as a forerunner of the Messiah than as the Messiah him- self, though public sentiment may have changed from time to time in regard to his Messianic claims." — Andrews. Whom say ye that I am ? — " In the conscious divinity of his nature, Jesus had never yet asked the Twelve any question re- specting himself ; but it was necessary, now that the end was approaching, that they should know him in his true dignity. He must reveal himself definitely as the Messiah, and be formally accepted as such. Without a personal center round which to gather, the work of his life would have faded away at his death. He had founded a kingdom for the first and only time in history on personal love to the founder, and as such he must definitely reveal himself in his spiritual relation to it as, hence- forth, its recognized Messiah-King." — Geikie. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.— " Every word here is emphatic — a most concise, and yet compre- hensive, confession of faith. The Christ, or Messiah, points out his divinity, and shows his office — the Son, designates his person : on this account it is that both are joined together so frequently. Of the living God— literally, of God, the Living One. Living — a character applied to the Supreme Being, not only to distinguish him from the dead idols of paganism, but also to point him out as the source of life, present, spiritual, and eternal. Probably there is an allusion here to the great namefe, or Yehovah, which properly signifies being, or existence." — Adam Clarke. " God had revealed this to Peter, since men of themselves readily form lower conceptions of Christ. This is the germ of the true and full statement respecting the Divine Human Person of Christ. The germ itself was a revelation, and its development was through subsequent revelation to the apostles. The doctrine of Christ's Person is not the result of human speculation, but a truth revealed by the Father of our Lord respecting his only peter; and the rock. 321 Chap. XXI. Matt. 16 : 17, 18. Summer, j.c. 33. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not re- vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and Begotten Son." — Schaff. " This truth of the united divinity and humanity of the Lord being known and confessed, Jesus could begin to open to them other truths till this time concealed. Now he could teach them that his first work in the flesh was to suffer ; that he must be rejected by the Jews and be put to death ; that he must rise from the dead, and afterward estab- lish his kingdom. These truths, so new and strange to the dis- ciples, so foreign to all their modes of thinking, they could not for a long time comprehend. The very fact of the divinity of Jesus made it still more incomprehensible how he could suffer and die, nor could the plainest words of the Lord make it in- telligible."— Andrews. Flesh and blood. — A Hebrew phrase for man, as man (1 Cor. 15 : 50 ; Eph. 6 : 10 ; Gal. 1 : 6). It here denotes " natural reason," or " human faculties." But my Father who is in heaven. — " The real knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, is and must be a matter of divine revelation. Men may, of themselves, hold such a doctrine as part of a creed, but a belief that influences heart and life is the result of a divine revelation made in us. Peter's confession was based on such a belief. For the trials of faith before them during the remainder of our Lord's earthly life the disciples needed a knowledge of his person far above the carnal notions of the Messiah ; the reply of Peter shows that they had it, and our Lord tells whence it came." — Schaff. (Compare John 6 : 37, 44, 45). Thou art Peter, and upon this rock. — Petros, the Greek word for " rock." This passage has had a great diversity of in- terpretations, which the reader may see stated fairly in Schaff on Matt. 16 : 18. The Romanists have built upon it their whole hierarchy, and Protestants generally, in their anxiety to overturn the position of the Romanists, have denied that the text has any personal allusion to Peter, and claimed that the truth which he uttered — the divinity of Christ — is the rock on which the church was to be built. The view of Schaff is that Peter is personally alluded to, but only as representing all the apostles ; and this he confirms by remarking that " what is addressed to Peter in the next verse (Matt. 16 : 19) is afterward repeated to all the apos- tles" (Matt. 18 : iS). lie adds, "Our Lord is usually repre- sented, not as the foundation, but as the "Builder and Master, 322 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 16 : 18, ig. Summer, j.c. 33. upon this rock I will build my church : and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and of the spiritual temple, into which living stones are built, the first ones laid (the apostles) being the foundation." " Un- doubtedly he meant Peter, as the plain import of the words im- plies. Protestants have no more right to twist Scripture than Catholics. . . . But the building of his church upon Peter — that is, the founding of the Jewish and then of the Gentile churches by Peter's preaching — is one thing ; the making an in- fallible Pope out of the very fallible Simon Peter is another and wholly different thing, not found in this or any other text." — Eggleston. It is to be noticed that this passage is altogether omitted by Mark, and on this Bcza (Calvin's successor) remarks : " As the ancients, with general consent, record that this gos- pel was dictated by the Apostle Peter to Mark, who can be- lieve that either Peter or Mark would have omitted that ex- pression, "Thou art Peter," if they had thought that the foundation of the Christian church was placed in these words ?" My church. — " This word occurs only twice in the Gospels (here and Matt. 18 : 17). The Greek word, meaning ' an assem- bly called out ' (with a technical sense in classical Greek), was used to translate the Hebrew expression, Kahal, ' congregation.' While it usually means a local congregation, it must be taken here in a general sense. It refers to a congregation distinct from the Jewish (' my church '), the first intimation of such a separation. Its formation is only predicted (' I will build '). It is not the precise equivalent of ' the kingdom of heaven,' so often spoken of before this time by our Lord. ' The kingdom of heaven ' is the new dispensation of grace from heaven of which our Lord was Ruler and Dispenser ; his Church was to be an organized and visible congregation of the faithful, manifesting and extending, by its worship and ministry, that kingdom. The next verse points to such a visible organization, as does the fact that confessing apostles are spoken of as the foundation." — Schaff. The gates of hell. — Hades. The abode of the dead was thought, by both Jews and Gentiles, to be a subterranean recep- tacle, guarded by gates, from which there was no escape. Death was the entrance within those gates. The gates of ancient cities were the principal places where courts were held, and public mat- ters deliberated on. By the gates of Hades are therefore meant the powers which were supposed to rule the rebellious invisible world. The keys of the kingdom of heaven. — The key was a badge THE POWER TO BIND AND LOOSE. 323 Ch. XXI. Matt. 16 : 19-21 ; Mark 8 : 30, 31 ; Luke 9 : 21, 22. whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. of high office and distinction in the regal governments of an- tiquity, and it was a custom with the Jews to accompany and de- note promotion by the delivery of a key. " To confer the key" is a phrase equivalent to bestowing a situation of great distinc- tion and trust. (Seels. 22:22.) " And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut ; and he shall shut, and none shall open." Peter was given authority with the other apostles to declare what should be binding upon believers, and what they should be released from. And whatsoever thou shalt bind, etc. — ' ' Jewish usage would explain " bind" and " loose" as equivalent to forbid and per- mit : the reference therefore is to the power of legislation in the Church (" on earth") in the case of the apostles, Peter be- ing their representative ; this was in accordance with heavenly design (" in heaven"). This promise is, in its full sense, ap- plicable only to the apostles." — Schaff. [The view of Dr. Schaff given in these notes is perhaps the one most common in the Pro- testant churches, though for reasons more fully stated in my com- mentary on Matthew, I do not accept it. I regard Simon, who by nature was the least rock-like and stable of all the Apostles, as here a type of the disciple of Christ, and the change wrought in him by his living faith in Christ, as a type of that change which is wrought in every believer by the transforming power of Christ. So that Christ's promise is that such faith shall make of every believer a rock, and on this rock the transformed character of the disciple, and on Christ, in his heart making him stable, his church shall be built. It is thus interpreted by Peter himself in 1 Peter, 2 : 4-S. The second promise I also regard as made not to Peter, nor to the apostles, but to all believers in all time : the key being an emblem of authority ; to bind and loose being equivalent to forbid and permit ; the kingdom of heaven always meaning in Mat- thew's usage of the term, not a future heaven, but the state of supreme allegiance to God ; and the whole passage being fairly interpreted by the following paraphrase : To my disciples I will give authority in their spiritual life, so that they shall no longer be bound by rules and regulations like those of the Pharisees or of the Mosaic code ; but whatsoever under the inspiration of a living faith in Me, they shall prohibit themselves, God shall pro- hibit ; and whatsoever, under the inspiration of that Spirit they shall permit themselves, God shall permit ; for they shall have the mind of the Spirit. Comp. lor parallel passages, John 8 : 32, 324 FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Chap. XXI. Matt. 16 : 22, 23 ; Mark 8 : 31-33. J.c. 33. And he straitly charged his disciples to tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he, the Son of man, must go unto Jerusalem, and be rejected and suffer Jesus Foretells ..... His Death and many things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. And he spake that saying openly. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, say- ing, Be it far from thee, Lord : this shall not be unto thee. But when he had turned about, and looked on his 36 ; Rom. 7 : 6 ; 2 Cor. 3 : 17 ; 5:7; Gal. 3 : 25 ; 4 : 7, 31 ; 5 : 1, 16, 18, etc. — L. A.] Should tell no man — Until he himself should have plainly announced his Messiahship to the Sanhedrin. Of the elders and chief priests and scribes. — The elders, with the chief priests and scribes, composed the Sanhedrin. These elders of the people are to be distinguished from the elders of the cities, who were only the heads of the lower courts of jus- tice. The scribes were assessors, or learned assistants. These three orders, including the chief priests, are named promiscuously in the Gospels whenever the Sanhedrin is mentioned. And he spake that saying openly. — He had before been conversing with his disciples privately, when he charged them to " tell no man that he was jfesns the Christ" (Matt. 16 : 20). Re- garding his approaching rejection and death, he speaks openly, so that any one near him might hear (Mark 8 : 34). Began to rebuke him. — " The same Peter who but just now had made so noble and spiritual a confession, and received so high a blessing, now shows the weak and carnal side of his char- acter, becomes a stumbling-block in the way of his Lord, and earns the very rebuff with which the tempter before him had been dismissed. Nor is there anything improbable in this : the expression of spiritual faith may, and frequently does, precede the betraying of carnal weakness ; and never is this more prob- able than when the mind has just been uplifted, as Peter's was, by commendation and lofty promise." — Alford. " Satan is most busy to seduce us when we are most highly exalted and favored by Christ." — Langc. SUFFERING FOR CHRIST. 325 Ch. XXI. Matt. 16 : 24, 25 ; Mark 8 : 34, 35 ; Luke 9 : 23, 24. disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an offence unto me : for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them all, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save Get thee behind me, Satan. — Christ used the same words to Satan in the wilderness. The expression Satan here denotes more generally an adversary, or tempter, with an allusion to the satanic element which was unconsciously at work in Peter. Thou art an offence unto me. — A stumbling-block — a " stone of stumbling ;" perhaps an allusion to the name he had just bestowed upon Peter. If Peter's views were followed, they would defeat the object for which he came. Thou savorest not. — Thou mindest not. " Thou enterest not into the thoughts and plans of God, but consideredest all things from the ideas of men, with their dreams of ambition and human advantage." — Geikie. Take up his cross. — It was usual for persons condemned to be crucified to carry to the place of execution the whole or part of the fatal gibbet on which they were to suffer. Hence the ex- pression, taking up one's cross, was used to signify a person suffering any evil willingly. " Love the cross of Christ, and be content to have your faith tried every day by some cross or other as it pleaseth God to put on you ; and if God pulteth no grievous cross on you, let your brethren's cross be your cross, which is a certain token of true brotherly love." — J. Bradford. For whosoever will save his life, etc. — Comp. the same thought in Matt. 10 : 39. Whoever makes the lower life the su- preme motive shall lose the higher life, and whoever, making Christ supreme, shall lose even life for his sake, shall find it in the highest, truest sense. The contrast throughout the passage is not between body and soul, but earthly life in all forms with true heavenly life here and hereafter. Life, worldly, selfish, fleshly, is opposed to life eternal, Christian and spiritual. " The fear of death subjects to the bondage of death (Heb. 2:151, while readiness to suffer a holy death for Christ's sake opens up before us true life." — A I ford. [I think more than this is meant : all self-seeking is self-losing. Even in spiritual things he who is perpetually studying how to secure joy and peace for himself loses it. — 'I.. A.~\ 326 THE FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND. Ch. XXI. Matt. 16 : 25-28 ; Mark 8 : 35-38 ; 9: 1 ; Luke 9: 24-27. his life, shall lose it ; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adul- terous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory and in his Father's, with the holy angels. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of the Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power, and the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake. — Flung to the heedless winds, Or on the waters cast, The martyrs' ashes, watched, Shall gathered be at last ; And from that scattered dust, Around us and abroad, Shall spring a plenteous seed Of witnesses for God. The Father hath received Their latest living breath ; And vain is Satan's boast Of victory in their death ; Still, still, though dead, they speak, And, trumpet tongued, proclaim To many a wakening land The one availing name. Martin Luther. Translation of W. J. Fox. What shall it profit. — " The soul is all that whereby we may be, and without which we cannot be happy." — Jeremy Taylor. " Of all the riches that we hug, of all the pleasures we en- joy, we can carry no more out of this world than out of a dream. — Bonnell. " Oh, think what great losers they must needs be who lose their souls to gain the world, and must at last lose the world too, together with their souls !" — Bishop Hopkins. THE TRANSFIGURATION. 327 Ch. XXII. Matt. 17:1,2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9 : 28, 29. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXII. THE TRANSFIGURATION AND CONNECTED INCIDENTS. And six days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and went up into a high mountain apart, to pray. And The Transfigura- as he prayed, the fashion of his counte- tl0n- nance was altered, and he was transfigured before them ; After six days. — " Luke states the time roughly, as he understood it. ' About an eight days ' in Jewish reckoning would be about a week. Luke states the case thus generally that it was about a week, while Matthew and Mark, more correctly informed, state the time at just six days." — EggUston. The statements are easily reconciled if we suppose that Luke in- cluded, and the others excluded, both the day on which the words in Matt. 16 : 28 were spoken, and the day of the Trans- figuration. Peter and James and John. — These three disciples seem to have been distinguished by Christ's peculiar confidence, and were frequently admitted by him to the more private transactions of his life, from which the others were excluded. A high mountain apart. — The particular mountain here re- ferred to is uncertain. A tradition dating back to the fourth century designates Mount Tabor ; but the majority of modern travelers are of opinion that Mount Hermon, or some other elevation north of the Sea of Galilee, is the true locality. Andrews remarks : " The expression of Mark (9 : 30), that ' de- parting thence he passed through Galilee,' would imply that he was not then in Galilee. We are therefore made to look for some mountain in the vicinity of Cresarea, and Mount Her- mon at once rises before us." " Standing amid the ruins of Cae- sarea, " says Porter, " we do not need to ask what that ' high mountain ' is. The lofty ridge of Hermon rises over us, and probably on one or other of those wooded peaks above us that wondrous event took place." — Hand-Book of Palestine. "On thi other hand, the fact that on his descent he found Scribes questioning with the disciples, indicates that they were not in a heathen territory, but in Galilee." — Abbott. He was transfigured. — " The original word (which sometimes imports a change of substance) here denotes only a change in ex- ternal appearance. A similar appearance is ascribed to Moses, 328 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Ch. XXII. Matt. 17 : 2-4 ; Mark 9:3; Luke g : 29-33. J.c. 33. his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as the light and glistering — exceeding white as snow ; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias : who appeared unto them in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep : and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto J esus, Master, it is good for us to be here : and when he came down from Sinai (Ex. 34 : 29, sq.), where it is said that his face shone with a kind of glory, as it were an halo." — Bloomfield. " No explanation is possible that denies the super- natural element. Our Lord's inherent glory burst forth ; added to this there was an external heavenly illumination affecting his garments and surrounding Moses and Elijah, reaching its highest manifestation in the luminous cloud spoken of in Matt. 17 : 5." — Schaff. White and glistering. — " That is, flashing. The idea con- veyed is of an appearance like burnished metal flashing in the sun. Comp. Ezek. 1 : 4, 7 ; Nahum 3 : 3." — Abbott. Moses and Elijah. — " The two chief representatives of the Old Testament (the law and the prophets). Both were fore- runners of the Messiah, and had also fasted forty days. They came from the invisible world, appearing ' in glory ' (Luke 9 : 31), in a glorified form. They were recognized by the disciples, prob- ably by intuition." — Schaff. Spake of his decease. — Literally, " departure" which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Even on the mount of trans- figuration the cross is in the foreground. But Peter and they that were with him had been heavy with sleep, but having kept fully awake they saw his glory. This is the correct rendering of the original. " Our English version implies that they fell asleep and were wakened to see his glory, while the original implies that though heavy with sleep they kept fully awake." — Abbott. " The word (keep awake) ap- pears to be used expressly here to show that it was not merely a vision seen in sleep." — A I ford. It is good for us to be here. — " He wished to remain there, THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN. 329 Ch. XXII. Matt. 17 : 4-9 ; Mark 9 : 5-8 ; Luke 9 134. j.c. 33. if thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias : not knowing what to say, for they were sore afraid. While he thus spake, a bright cloud overshadowed them : and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And behold ! there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were sore afraid. And when the voice was passed Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And suddenly, when they had lifted up their eyes and looked round about, they saw no man, save Jesus only with themselves. and perhaps to detain Moses and Elijah, since they were about to depart (Luke 9 : 33). The glory was so dazzling, the privilege seemed so great, the companionship so choice, that he would cling to the enjoyment, and let the toils and duties of the future go." — Scha ff. Three tabernacles.— Booths, composed of branches of trees, such as travelers are accustomed to construct when they meet with a pleasant spot. Behold, a bright cloud.—" ' A sign from heaven ' granted to the apostles, though refused to the Jewish leaders. A luminous cloud, not dark like that on Sinai. It was analogous to the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night in the wilderness, and to the Shekinah of the Old Testament ; a symbol of the glory resting on the New Testament Church, separating between the holy and the unholy, and a type of the splendor of the New Jerusalem. "Schaff. And they [the disciples] feared as they [Christ, Moses, and Elijah] entered into the cloud.— " The original does not imply that the disciples entered into the cloud. On the contrary, in the Received Text, it distinguishes between them and the others who did enter. There is some doubt as to the reading, but the whole course of the narrative here and in the other Evan- gelists indicates that the cloud received the three out of the sight of the disciples." — Abbott. Beloved Son.— The best reading here is, " My son the beloved or chosen." See Matt. 3 : 17. — Schaff. 330 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Ch. XXII. Matt. 17 : 9-13 ; Mark 9 : 9-14 ; Luke 9 : 37. j.c. 33. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And they kept that saying to themselves, questioning one with an- other what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come ? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But 1 say unto Elias has come you, that Elias is come already, and they already. knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him ; likewise also it is written of the Son of man that he must sulfer many things, and be set at nought of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist, and they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things. Tell the vision to no one. — "Vision" does not imply that this was like the visions seen by the prophets. The narrative itself forbids this ; the other accounts use the phrase: "What things they had seen." Restore all things. — " The original word has two meanings, which are nearly related. One is to restoi-e, the other to finish. John the Baptist came as the last prophet of the old dispensa- tion, to finish that state of things, and to usher in a new one." — Bloom field. Whatsoever they listed. — List is an old English word mean- ing to choose, to desire, to be inclined. See John 3 : 8. He spake of John the Baptist. — " That Elijah must person- ally precede the Messiah was one of the firmest and most un- doubted convictions of the Jews ; and the fact that the Baptist denied himself to be Elijah, was a circumstance that went far to discredit his mission. Ii he was not Elijah, then Jesus could not be the Christ. If he was a prophet, and so all the people re- garded him, it by no means followed that the Messiah must im- mediately follow him ; for there might be many prophets who should act as forerunners, and yet Elijah alone should prepare his way. Most of the people seem to have regarded Jesus THE DEMONIAC BOY IS HEALED. 331 Ch. XXII. Mark 9 : 14-18 ; Matt. 17 : 14-18 ; Luke 9 : 39. J.c. 33. And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, he saw a great multitude about his disciples, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them ? And one of the multitude came to him kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy, I beseech thee, and look upon my son ; for he is mine Heaiin- of the only child ; and he is lunatic, and sore Demonrac B°y- vexed, for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And he hath a dumb spirit, wheresoever himself only as one of the prophetic forerunners of the Messiah. Educated in the current belief respecting the office of Elijah, the three apostles could not reconcile it with his appearance upon the mount. ' ' — A ndrews. Questioning with them. — Disputing. Their failure to cure the lunatic boy was probably used, not only against them, but against their master. Were greatly amazed. — " Our Lord's countenance may have retained some traces of the glory on the mount, as in the case of Moses. The word here used (struck with awe) indicates more than surprise at his sudden coming." — Schaff. " How great the difference between Moses and Jesus ! When the prophet of Horeb had been forty days upon the mountain, he underwent a kind of transfiguration, so that his countenance shone with exceeding brightness, and he put a veil over his face, for the people could not endure to look upon his glory. Not so our Saviour. He had been transfigured with a greater glory than that of Mases, and yet it is not written that the people were blinded by the blaze of his countenance, but rather they were amazed, and running to him they saluted him. The glory of the law repels, but the greater glory of Jesus attracts." — Egghston. He is lunatic. — " He is moon-struck." Meaning not insane, but epileptic ; which disease in olden times was thought to be greatly influenced by the moon. The symptoms mentioned at Luke 9 : 39 seem to show tha: this disease was epilepsy, caused by the power of an evil spirit. See notes on page 208. 332 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Chap. XXII. Mark 9 : 18-25 '> Luke 9 : 39-42. j.c. 33. he taketh him, he teareth him, and bruising him hardly departeth from him ; and he suddenly crieth out and foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away ; and I brought him to thy disciples and besought them' that they should cure him, and they could not. i Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and per- verse generation, how long shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ? Bring thy son hither to me. And they brought him unto him : and when he saw him, as he was yet a coming, straightway the spirit threw him down and tare him ; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed, foaming. And Jesus asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him ? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters to destroy him ; but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe : all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, 1 believe ; help thou mine un- belief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb Crieth out. — " Peculiar to Luke. An inarticulate cry is in- tended ; for the boy was both deaf and dumb (Mark 9 : 26)." — Abbott. Perverse generation. — Rather, " perverted race." The lan- guage is that of pity, not of indignation. How long shall I be with you ? " are words as of a master complaining of the slowness and dullness of his scholars : ' Have I abode with you all this time, and have you profited so little by my teaching?' feeling, it may be, at the same time, that till their task was learned he could not leave them, he must abide with them still." — Trench. THE POWER OK FAITH. 7,$$ Mark 9 : 26-30 ; Luke 9 : 42, 43 ; Matt. 17 : 19-22. j.c. 33. and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and en- ter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him : and he was as one dead ; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up, and de- livered him again to his father. And the child arose, cured from that very hour. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out ? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief : for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove ; and noth- ing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit, this kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. And they departed thence, and passed through Gali- lee ; and he would not that any man should know it. And while they abode in Galilee, and Resurrection every one wondered at all things which again Foretold- Faith as a grain of mustard seed. — " The smallest faith, with a tacit contrast between a grain of mustard seed, a very small thing, and a mountain, a very great. That smallest shall be effectual to work on this largest. The least spiritual power shall be potent for the overthrow of the mightiest powers which are merely of this world." — Trench. This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. — "The faith which shall be effectual against this must be a faith ex- ercised in prayer, that has not relaxed itself by an habitual com- pliance with the demands of the lower nature, but often girt it- sell up to an austerer rule, to rigor and self-denial." — Trench. However, the words " and fasting" are omitted in the oldest and best MSS. While every one wondered.—" As before he gave an inti- mation of his passion immediately after the apostles' confession of faith in his Messiahship, so now after the expression of their 334 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Mark g : 30-33 ; Matt. 17 : 22-26 ; Luke 9 : 43-49. J.c. 33. Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears : for the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men : and they shall kill him, and after that he is killed, he shall rise again the third day. And they were exceeding sorry. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not ; and they were afraid to ask him of that saying. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that Tribute-money received tribute-money came to Peter, and Provided. said, Doth not your master pay tribute ? He saith, Yes. wonder at his miraculous power. Thus he adapts the trial of their faith to its strength. Matthew and Mark both add a prophecy of the resurrection." — Abbott. Let these sayings sink down into your ears. — " The definite details as to time and place show that our Lord repeated his prediction of his sufferings (Matt. 16 : 21-23). Our Lord now left the foot of the mount and passed through Galilee (Mark 9 : 30) ; the prediction was made while the people were still wondering (Luke 9 : 43). We infer that they passed directly from Mount Hermon into Galilee ; on the way our Lord made this declaration ; reaching Capernaum, the question about tribute was put. Both incidents belong together in the education of the apostles for the events which were so soon to come." — Schaff. They were exceeding sorry. — "No remonstrance now, but sorrow, partly from natural affection, partly from the dash- ing of their false hopes. The strife as to who should be great- est, which followed (Matt. 18 : i), shows that their views were still incorrect ; Mark and Luke speak of their failure to under- stand. Men are still slow to learn the meaning of the death and resurrection of our Lord." — Schaff. It was hid from them, that they perceived it not. — " It was the divine purpose that they should not at present be aware of the full significance of these words." — Alford. "And this is implied not only in the original, which our English ver- sion imperfectly renders, but also in the direction, ' Let these sayings sink down into your ears.' " — Abbott. Tribute money. — "This tribute was required from every male Israelite above the age of twenty, once in the year ; and FREE-WILL OKFKRINGS. 335 Chap. XXII. Matt. 17 : 25-27. Summer, j.c. 33. to be paid into the corban, or treasury of God, for the current expenses of the temple service. . . . Our Lord's argument (Matt. 17 : 25-27), supposes that he himself stood in the relation of Son to him for the benefit of whose service the tax was under- stood to be levied ; a supposition which would manifestly be true if the tax was levied for the service of the temple, and our Saviour himself stood in the relation of Son to the God of Israel." — Greswell. The tax was collected by those acting for the Jewish authorities, and not by the Roman tax-gatherers. Ves- pasian afterwards ordered it paid into the Roman treasury. " When the tabernacle was first constructed in the wilderness it was by voluntary offerings. ' Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring an offering of the Lord,' was the divine command- ment (Ex. 35 : 5). But Pharisaism had perverted this free- will offering into a legal exaction. After a long struggle be- tween Pharisee and Sadducee, the former had triumphed, and a poll-tax was laid upon all Israel of a half shekel for the sup- port of the temple service. They quoted the laws of Moses to sustain them in this exaction (Ex. 30 : 12, 13). But to enforce this as a tax was contrary to the free spirit of the Gospel, if not to that of the Mosaic commonwealth. Jesus had already declared himself openly against the Pharisaic exactions. Whether in this controversy he would side with Sadducee or Pharisee was to the collector of this church tax a matter of un- certainty. He came, therefore, in doubt to Peter with the ques- tion, ' Doth not your master pay tribute ?' Peter, still a Jew, readily pledged Jesus to fulfill the obligations which no other rabbi would refuse to recognize. But Jesus, though quite ready to contribute to the support of the appointed service even of a corrupted church, was not willing to sanction a custom so pernicious as that which rests the Church of God on enforced tithes rather than on free contributions. ' We are,' he says in effect to Peter, ' net strangers and aliens from the common- wealth of Israel, but sons of the kingdom ; and the kingdom must live by the free-will gifts, not by the compulsory payments of its citizens. The church must be supported as it was built, by willing hearts.' But, that his heart be not thought unwilling, he bids his disciple cast a line into the sea and draw forth a fish, in whose mouth he should find the needed sum. Thus, by a figure, Christ at once proclaims the emancipation of humanity from the thraldom of a church establishment, and designates as the true substitute therefor a free-will offering by a cheerful giwer."— Abbott' s Jesus of Nazareth. Came to Peter.— " That the question was asked of Peter may be explained from his prominent position as a disciple, or because, as a resident in the city, he was well known." — Andrews, 336 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Chap. XXII. Matt. 17 : 27 ; Luke 9 : 46. Summer, J.c. 33. And when he was come into the house, Jesus pre- vented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon ? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute ? of their own children, or of strangers ? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up : and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money : that take, and give unto them for me and thee. Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of Prevented him. — " Spoke first unto him," the old English use of the word " prevent ;" thus showing that he was already ac- quainted with the demand, " that he was a discerner of the thoughts of the heart, that it was for him as though he had been present at that conversation between his disciple and the col- lectors of the money." — Trench. Lest we should offend them. — " Our Lord would rather work a miracle than allow Peter to offend, in not paying the tribute for himself and his master, after acceding to the demand. But he did not direct payment to be made for the other apostles, who might justly plead exemption, and for whom no engagement, as to payment, had been made." — Bloom field. " He commands the sea ; and behold ! the fishes hasten to him with tribute in their mouths. As he did express his humility, that he might not offend the rulers, so we may be easily persuaded that he did manifest his glory, that he might not offend his disciples." — Farindon. A piece of money. — Literally " a shekel," variously estimated of the value of from fifty to seventy cents, and the exact tax for two persons. For me and for thee. — " He says not ' for us,' but, as else- where, ' I ascend unto my Father and your Father ; and to my God and your God.' (John 25 : 17). While he has made com- mon part with his brethren, yet he has clone this by an act of condescension, not by a necessity of nature." — Trench. See also John 20 : 17. The same distinction is kept up throughout the Gospels. Then there arose a reasoning (questioning) among them. — THE DISPUTE FOR PREFERENCE. 337 Ch. XXII. Luke 9 : 46 ; Mark 9 : 33-36 ; Matt. iS : 1, 2. j.c. 33. them should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven ; and being in the house, he, perceiving the 1 1 r 1 • 1 Tii ,,„ The Disciples thought of their heart, asked them, What Dispute who shall was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way ? But they held their peace : for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he jesus Teaches called a little child unto him, and set him Humility. " As Peter returned from paying the temple tax. According to Mark (9 : 33), our Lord first asked them about their dispute on this subject ' in the way,' probably to Capernaum. Hence the declaration, ' Surely then the sons are free' (Matt. 17 : 26) could not have occasioned this discourse. Nor did they answer his question (Mark 9 : 34) ; his knowledge of their thoughts (Luke 9 : 47) probably shamed them. An indication of the moral power of his Person." — Schaff. " Probably just before their arrival at Capernaum, a dispute had arisen among the disciples, who should be the greatest in the kingdom. That he was about to reveal himself as the Messiah and set up his kingdom, was a belief still firmly rooted in their minds, and which his mysterious words about his death and resurrection seemed only to confirm. They knew that some great event was approaching ; what should it be but this long-hoped-for manifestation of the kingdom, when David's son should sit on David's throne ? It, therefore, natu- rally became now a question of deep personal interest to those most ambitious among them, who should fill the highest places under the new government. Perhaps the preference shown by Jesus to the three whom he took with him upon the mount, and whom he had before specially honored, may have provoked envy and occasioned this dispute." — Andrews, Or, more probably, the dispute was between Peter and James and John. Notice the questions of John and Peter, which indicate a special personal interest in his present teaching. Called the twelve. — From this it would appear that the pre- vious conversation had not been with the body'of the disciples, but with those who were accustomed to keep nearest to Jesus — namely, Peter, James, and John. The latter afterwards did actually ask for places of honor in the kingdom (Mark 10 : 37). 33& THE TRANSFIGURATION. Chap. XXII. Matt. 18 : 2, 3 ; Mark 9 : 36. Summer, j.c. 33. in the midst of them, and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall Called a little child. — "The more forcibly to impress on their minds the truth he wishes to inculcate, our Lord employs the aid of example ; here adopting a method of instruction always prevalent in the East — that by emblems and symbolical actions ; a mode of conveying one's meaning, which having first been resorted to from the poverty of early language, was after- wards continued, from the advantage it possessed of forcible and vivid illustration ; since none of the conceptions of the mind are so distinct as the direct impression of the senses. Of these sym- bolical and significant actions the writings of the Old Testament supply numerous examples ; nor are they wanting in the New. Those of the former are generally of a prophetic character ; those of the latter, partly vehicles of prophecy, partly of counsel and instruction. Those of our Lord are generally of the latter description ; as when he washed his disciples' feet, broke the bread at the institution of the Eucharist, and breathed on them to represent the communicating to them the Holy Ghost." — Greswell on the Parables, vol. ii., p. 276-283. Taken him in his arms. — " A phrase peculiar to Mark. The child seems not to have been brought in, but to have been a member of the household. Tradition says it was the martyr Ig- natius, of Antioch. The little one may have been the child of one of the apostles, perhaps of Peter, at whose house this may have occurred." — Schaff. " Observe the spontaneous overflow of his condescending and benign nature. ' He took the child in his arms ; ' an act not at all called for by the circumstances of the case."— y T, , Rdmmmd ITTi it np« ■ I- J°thfr Sha11 tresPass against ttee.— "Foqave- nesS ,s ch.erly taken lor abstaining from revenue : and so fa? we thnnoh rKf?:Ve ^ enemies- ^en whilst they continue so. and though they do not repent. Besides, we are to prav for them £t0j°,tta »». «*» o: common humanit? and chi!^' But sometimes forgiveness lotb sif a perfect" reconciliation to those that have offended us. so as to tai^them a^n into OUr SbltF • whlch «** a« by no means fit for till thev have £ Sf that teU of en^U^.and laidK k ^ ! «» this is the meaning and" i T' rebukin? °™ brother if he trespass against us ' and. ifherer; _ e him.' "— Let him be unto thee as an heathen man'-- In o-ie ,ense an offending brother, or an offender of any son. is :o be 346 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Chap. XXII. Matt. 18 : 19-25. Summer, j.c. 33. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Again 1 say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am 1 in the midst of them. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and 1 forgive him ? till seven times ? Jesus saith unto him, 1 say not unto forgiven unconditionally. It is not Christian — it is fatal to a Christian spirit — to cherish revengeful feelings to an offender be- cause he has not asked you to forgive him. On the other hand, you can not cast pearls before swine by offering him an expres- sion of your pardon while he stubbornly refuses to seek it. But distinct verbal confession is rare, and a brotherly spirit runs be- fore and understands the first tacit acknowledgment of wrong, and is not exacting in its demand for explicit and humiliating confession. A brotherly spirit loves to give indirect evidence of forgiveness before there is a direct confession. As to taking an offender into confidence, that is a question of prudence. Trust him if he is trustworthy. You can forgive a man, and still dis- trust him. But if you are a Christian, you will not needlessly make your distrust apparent." — Eggleston. Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, etc. — " This verse, in its full meaning, refers to the special power and wisdom given to the apostles by means of which their foundation work ' on earth ' corresponded to God's designs ' in heaven.' Matt. 18 : 19, 20, shows the means by which the power of the church may rise toward this apostolic height. Were these conditions (agreement in prayer, and the presence of Christ) wanting in the case of the apostles, even the promise of this verse would be invalid." — Schaff. If two of you shall agree on earth. — It was a saying of the Rabbis that " when two are assembled to study the law, then the Shekinah is present." " A Christian congregation call- ing upon God, with one heart and one voice, and in one reverent and humble posture, looks as beautiful as ' Jerusalem which is at peace with itself.' " — Izaak Walton. Till seven times. — The Rabbis said, three times. Peter, more THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 347 Chap. XXII. Matt. 18 : 25-32. Summer, j.c. 33. thee, Until seven times : but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one 1 • i_- 1 J !_■ Parable of the was brought unto him which owed him Unforgiving Ser- ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that ser- vant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants which owed him an hundred pence : and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. in accord with Christ's law of love, was disposed to forgive till seven times. He no doubt felt aggrieved at some treatment of his fellow-apostles during the recent discussion as to precedence. Of his servants. — " His collectors of the revenue, or govern- ors of provinces, who would have to pay a certain annual sum to their government, as is now customary in Turkey and in the East. Hence the immense sum said to be due, which we may suppose would be in arrears, since in the East sometimes govern- ors of provinces are deeply in arrears, and do not pay till com- pelled by an armed force." — Greswell. Ten thousand talents, equal to $11,700,000, if we understand Attic talents of silver. The Syrian talent was much smaller, but a talent of gold would, of course, be of much greater value. To be sold.— It was the custom to sell debtors among many of the Eastern nations. For notices of the existence of this cus- to m among the Jews, see 2 Kings 4:1; Lev. 25 : 39-46 ; Amos 8:6; Ex. 22 : 3. An hundred pence, equal to about eighteen dollars. " The insignificance of the sum is to show us how trifling any offense against one another is in comparison to the vastness of our sin against God." — Alford. 34-8 THE TRANSFIGURATION. Chap. XXII. Matt. 18 : 32-35. Summer, j.c. 33. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and be- sought him, saying, Have patience with me, and 1 will pay thee all. And he would not : but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me : shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as 1 had pity on thee ? And his lord was wroth, and de- livered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Fa- ther do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Pay me that thou owest. — The debt was honestly due him, but it " is not always right, but often most wrong, the most op- posite to right, to press our rights." — Trench. " Anger is not man's proper mood toward sin, but sorrow, because all men are sinners." — Alford. His fellow-servants. — " These fellow-servants are the pray- ing people of God, who plead with him against the oppression and tyranny in the world." — Alford. To the tormentors. — " To the jailers or keepers of the pris- on. The original properly denotes ' examiner,' particularly one who has it in charge to examine by torture. Hence it came to signify jailer, for on such, in those days, did this charge com- monly devolve. They were commanded, by any means, and by every kind of cruelty, to extort payment from the wretched debtor. And if he had nothing, to wrest the sum owed from the compassion of his relatives and friends ; who, to release an unhappy creature for whom they had a regard, from such ex- treme misery, might be induced to pay the debt : for the per- son of the insolvent debtor was at the disposal of the creditor." — Gre swell. THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 349 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 2. October, J.c. 33. CHAPTER XXIII. AT JERUSALEM. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. The Jews' Feast of Tabernacles. — Called the tabernacles, from the tents or booths which were erected in and about Jerusalem, and designed to commemorate the dwelling of the Israelites in tents in the wilderness. (Ne. 8 : 14-18.) It was one of the three feasts which every male Israelite was obliged to attend. " It is likewise termed the feast of ingatheting. (Ex. 23: 16 ; 34 : 22.) Further, the design of this feast was, to return thanks to God for the fruits of the vine, as well as of other trees, which were gathered about this time, and also to implore his blessing upon those of the ensuing year." — Grcswell. The festival began on the fifteenth of the month Tisri, which this year answered to the nth of October, and it continued eight days. While it lasted the Jews gave themselves up to festivity and rejoicing. " The gates and market-places and the broader streets were filled with branches brought from the groves. This new city of trees, surrounding the walls of Jerusalem, and making gay with its festoons all the avenues leading up to the temple, passed even the holy gates. The court of the Gentiles was filled with these huts of the wilderness, that the priests and the Levites might share in the festivities of the joyous encampment ; for during the Feast of the Tabernacles the houses were bereft of occupants. No man suffered himself to sleep beneath a roof. Its scenes of festivity were so marked that Plutarch, who seemed incapable of interpreting Judaism, save by the analogy of his own heathen religion, declared that this people consecrated every year seven days to a feast of Bacchus, god of wine." — Abbott. " During the week of festivities all the courses of priests were employed in turn ; seventy bullocks were offered in sacri- fice ; the Law was daily read ; and on each day the temple trumpets sounded twenty-one times an inspiring and triumphant blast." — Farrar. " Though all the Hebrews' annual festivals were seasons of rejoicing, the Feast of Tabernacles was, in this respect, distinguished above them all. The huts and the luliWs must have made a gay and striking spectacle over the city by day, and the lamps, the flambeaux, the music, and the joyous gatherings in the court of the temple, must have given a still more festive character to the night. Hence, it was called by the Rabbis the festival. There is a proverb in Succah (v : 1) : ' He who has never seen the rejoicing at the pouring out of the water of Siloam 35 O AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 3. October, J.c. 33. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. has never seen rejoicing in his life.' " — Smith' s Bible Dictionary, art. Feast of Tabernacles, which see for a fuller account. His brethren. — Those of his own family. " His brethren appear not wholly as unbelievers, but as those who, recog- nizing his works as wonderful, do not understand his course of conduct. Sharing the common opinions respecting the Messiah, they felt that if his Messianic claims were well found- ed, there could be no general recognition of them so long as he confined his labors to Galilee (see John 7 : 41, 52). In advising him to go and show himself in Judea, their motives were friendly rather than evil. They knew that Jerusalem was the ecclesiastical center, and that il he desired to be received by the nation at large, he must first find reception there. His works in Galilee, however great they might be, could avail little so long as the priests and scribes did not give him their countenance and aid. He must then stay no longer in that remote province, but go up to Jerusalem, and there in the temple, and before the priests and rulers, do his works. If once recognized there, he would be everywhere received. Had Jesus been such a Messiah as they supposed was to come, their advice was good." — An- dreyevs. Depart hence, and go into Judea. — " It is a remarkable fact, that after so long and systematic an absence from Jerusalem, as eighteen months before the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7 : 2), our Lord attended every feast, for the next six months, in its order. What is also remarkable, these six months are the last six months of his ministry — beginning at the Feast of Tabernacles, and expiring at the Feast of the Passover ; which being the case, the reason of the fact must be sought for in the moral of the parable of the barren fig-tree (Luke 13 : 6-9) ; and will from that be found to have been due to some necessity, more especially incumbent on our Saviour, for the concluding period of his ministry to be diligent both in Judea and out of Judea, with a view either finally to convince the Jews, and bring about the national repentance and conversion, or, at least, to leave them without excuse to the ultimate consequences of an invinci- ble unbelief." — Greswell, condensed. JESUS GOES PRIVATELY. 35 1 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 3-10. October, j.c. 33. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come : but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you ; but me it hateth, because 1 testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast : I go not up yet unto this feast ; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he ? And there was much murmuring among Neither did his brethren believe in him. — "Should be ren- dered, ' For even his brethren did not,' etc." — Alfoni. My time is not yet. — " Not meaning ' the time of his death,' as some understand, but the time of his going up to the feast at Jerusalem, and manifesting himself publicly. (John 7:8.) ' Any time and manner will be suitable for yon to go there : you have nothing to fear.' The reason is intimated in the verse fol- lowing, where the natural form of expression would be, ' / can- not go thus publicly, because of the hatred of a world whose ways and works I have reproved ; but they have no such reason to hate you.' " — Bloom field. I go not up yet. — Jesus assigns a sufficient reason for delay- ing his attendance, in the danger to which he would be exposed by going up too openly, or too soon. " It was essential for the safety of his life, which was not to end for six months more — it was essential for the carrying out of his divine purposes, which were closely enwoven with the events of the next few days — that his brethren should not know about his plans. And therefore he let them depart in the completest uncertainty as to whether or not he intended to follow ihem." — Farrar. As.it were in secret, implies that he went unattended, and by some unusual and obscure route. If the twelve disciples did net go with him, it is probable that they also attended the festival. There was much murmuring among the people. The " multi- tude." " Much whispering. " The word in the original means such an expression of opinion as is not intended to be publicly heard. " No one dared to speak his full thought about him ; each seemed to distrust his neighbor ; and all feared to commit themselves too far while the opinion of the ' Jews,' and of the leading priests and Pharisees, had not been finally or decisively declared." — ■ 352 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : n-16. October, j.c. 33. the people concerning him : for some said, He is a good jesus Teaches in man •' others said, Nay ; but he deceiveth the Temple. ^g pe0pie. Howbeit, no man spake openly of him, for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, say- ing, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned ? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do Farrar. " The Galileans brought with them a report of his strange works and stranger doctrines. They told, doubtless, the story of the feeding ol the multitude, of the cure of the demoniac in the synagogue, of the raising of Jairus's daughter, of the heal- ing of the centurion's servant, perhaps of the quelling of the tem- pest, and the walk upon the waves." — Abbott. His whole char- acter and work must have been discussed, and while the words of approval were vague and timid, those of condemnation were bitter and emphatic. He was, said they, " a deceiver of the people." About the midst of the feast. — " But when it was about." "To judge from the practice of our Saviour at other times, when he resorted to the temple for the purpose of teaching, he resorted thither about the usual period of the morning service ; and passed the remainder of the day in the temple." — Greswell. " Throwing himself, as it were, in full confidence on the protec- tion of his disciples from Galilee and those in Jerusalem, he was suddenly found in one of the large halls which opened out of the temple courts, and there he taught." — Farrar. How knoweth this man letters ? — In none of the discourses of Jesus is there a trace of the current Greek learning. His par- ents had doubtless been able to give him only such meagre edu- cation as was common to all Hebrew children. The words in the text, as is remarked by Doddridge, ' ' undoubtedly refer to our Lord's thorough acquaintance with the Scriptures, and the judi- cious and masterly manner in which he taught the people out of them, with far greater majesty and nobler eloquence than the scribes could attain by a learned education." "A rule, analo- gous to that which still prevails in most church communions, for- bade any rabbi to teach new truths except he was a regular graduate of one of the theological schools." — Abbott. My doctrine. — " My teaching, or that which I teach." DUTY CLEARS THE VISION. 353 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 16-18. October, J.c. 33. his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of His that sent me. — As much as to say, " I do not proceed upon any authority or power distinct from that of the Father : my plans and actions are inseparable from his ; my doctrine, works, and glory are his, and his are mine : the union is perfect and indissoluble." — BloomjiclJ. " He told them that his learn- ing came immediately from his Heavenly Father, and that they, too, if they did God's will, might learn and might understand the same high lessons. In all ages there is a tendency to mis- take erudition for learning, knowledge for wisdom ; in all ages there is a slowness to comprehend that true learning of the deepest and noblest character may co-exist with complete and utter ignorance of every thing which absorbs and constitutes the learning of the schools." — Fairar. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. " Is willing to do his will." "There is in Christianity a self- evidencing power, and the experimental knowledge of a Chris- tian is to him a valid ground of belief." — Mark Hopkins. " Most true it is, as a wise man teaches us, that ' doubt of any sort can- not be removed except by action.' On which ground, too, let him who gropes painfully in darkness or uncertain light, and prays vehemently that the dawn may ripen into day, lay this other precept well to heart, which to me was of invaluable ser- vice : ' Do the duty which liest nearest thee,' which thou know- est to be a duty ! Thy second duty will already have become clearer." — TJiomas Carlyie. " The more we exercise the spirit- ual faculty, the more certain do spiritual things become. He who habitually obeys conscience sees, more and more clearly, the eternal distinction between right and wrong. He who habit- ually disobeys his conscience at last can hardly discern any law of duty. To him who constantly looks forward with trust to a future life, immortality becomes more and more certain. The pure in heart, who habitually look up to a heavenly ideal of goodness, see God more and more. IJe who trusts in Providence comes at last to stand so firmly on that rock, that no doubt can disturb, no disappointment shake his confidence that all things are working together for ultimate good." — Janus Freeman Clarke. " No one can know what it is to live, but by living ; what it is to see, but by seeing ; what it is to feel, but by feeling ; nor, in general, can any one know what it is to be any thing, but by be- coming that thing. Direct knowledge, thus gained, is the con- dition of all reasoning, and it is not within the proper province of reasoning to call it in question. The knowledge is not gained by reasoning, but it is in the highest degree rational to 354 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 18-23. October, j.c. 33. God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory : but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no un- righteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law ? Why go ye about to kill me ? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil : who goeth about to kill thee ? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers) ; and ye on the Sabbath-day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath-day receive circum- admit it and act upon it. If Christianity be true, there must be such a knowledge." — Mark Hopkins. Of myself, " from myself," from my own resources, and knowledge. Why go ye about to kill me ? — " Why seek ye to kill me ?" " The determination to kill him was known indeed to him, and known to some of those who heard him, but was a guilty secret which had been concealed from the majority of the multi- tude."— Farrar. " It will serve to the understanding of the pres- ent narrative to keep in mind that at the time of the healing of the impotent man the Jewish rulers determined, perhaps for- mally in lull Sanhedrin, to put him to death (John 5 : 16-18) ; that this determination was known to some at least of the citi- zens of Jerusalem ; and that Jesus had not, from that time to the present, entered Judea. He can now, therefore, refer back to that miracle, and to the purpose to kill him, as to things well known to the rulers and to some of the people, although some of the multitude, doubtless the feast pilgrims (5 : 20), were igno- rant of this purpose. Thus we readily see why the citizens were surprised that he should be allowed to speak at all in the tem- ple." — A ndrews. One work. — The healing of the impotent man on the Sabbath, at the pool of Bethesda. (John, ch. 5). If a man. — " The argument is, If a man may be circumcised on the Sabbath, without the Sabbath being broken, it is unrea- sonable in you to be angry with me, if, in place of wounding by circumcision, I have made a man perfectly well, and thus the more capable of enjoying the appointed rest." THE PEOPLE PUZZLED. 355 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 23-28. October, J.c. 33. cision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry at me, because 1 have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath-day ? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill ? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ ? Howbeit, we know this man, whence he is : but when Christ cometh, no man know- eth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple, as Judge righteous judgment. — " Instead of being content with a superficial mode of criticism, come once for all to some princi- ple of righteous decision." — Farrar. " The force of the argu- ment is, ' do not condemn in ?ne what you approve of in Moses : if you allow a man to be circumcised on the Sabbath, because Moses ordered it, but do not allow him to be healed, when /do it, you judge according to the person, and not according to jus- tice. " — Bloom field. Do the rulers know indeed. — It should be, " Have the rulers come to know that this man is the Christ?" — Alford. "They could not account for the liberty Jesus enjoyed, and it would seem they spoke ironically of the superior knowledge of the ru- lers. [Comp. ver. 27.) The sense is, ' Can it be that the rulers no longer seek to kill him, but suffer him to speak without mo- lestation, because they now know for certain that he is indeed the Christ ? ' " — Gres-well. We know . . . whence he is. — We know the place of his birth and residence. They knew him as " Jesus of Nazareth." No man knoweth whence he is. — " They spake this from the vain traditions of the rabbis, who owned indeed that their Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, but imagined that he was soon to be conveyed thence, and concealed till Elias came to anoint him." — Whitby. Or, " perhaps from a mistaken sense of Is. 53 : 8, Who shall declare his generation ?' " — Pearce, Or " from the similitude of Christ to Melchizedek, who was ac- knowledged to be a type of him, and is described as being with- out father or mother. (Heb. 7 . 3.)" — Mann. Then cried Jesus. — According to Alford, the oldest MSS. have it, " Therefore, cried Jesus." " There was a certain irony in the answer of Jesus. They knew whence he came, and all about him, and yet, in very truth, he came not of himself, 356 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 28-32. October, j.c. 33. he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am : and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him ; for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him : but no man laid hands on him, be- cause his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done ? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such but from one of whom they knew nothing. This word mad- dened still more some of his hearers. They longed but did not dare to seize him, and all the more because there were some whom these words convinced, and who appealed to his many miracles as irresistible proof of his sacred claims." — Farrar. Adam Clarke and Whitby take a slightly different view of the passage, as follows : " Our Lord takes them up on their own professions, and argues thence, Since you have so much infor- mation concerning me, add this to it, viz., that I am not come of myself ; am no self-created or self-authorized prophet ; / came from God "j and thus have an original, of which ye know not." 'Whom ye know not. — " When St. Columoan said to Luanus concerning his ardent devotion to learning, ' My child, many out of undue love of knowledge have shipwrecked their souls,' ' My father,' replied the boy with deep humility, ' if I learn to know God I shall never offend him, for they only offend him who know him not. ' ' ' — Farrar. Will he do more miracles than these? — It is a remarkable fact that the Jews have never attempted to deny the reality of the miracles of Jesus. They admit them as facts, but account for them on the supposition that he had learned the pronuncia- tion of the " Tetragrammation," or secret name. The Pharisees heard. — " The Sanhedrin, seated in frequent session in their stone hall of meeting within the immediate pre- cincts of the temple, were, by means of their emissaries, kept in- formed of all that he did and said, and, without seeming to do so, watched his every movement with malignant and jealous eyes. The whispered arguments in his favor, the deepened awe of him and belief in him, which, despite their authority, was growing up under their very eyes, seemed to them at once humiliating and dangerous. They determined on a bolder EMISSARIES SEEK TO ARREST HIM. 357 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 32-35. October, j.c. 33. things concerning him : and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me : and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not rind him ? will he go unto the dis- persed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles ? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me : and where I am, thither ye cannot come ? In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that course of action. They sent out emissaries to seize him sud- denly and stealthily, at the first opportunity which should occur."— Farrar. But Jesus was not moved. He tells them he should be with them a short time longer, and then should go to him who had sent him. "Then, indeed, thev would seek him, not as now with hostile intent, but in the crushing agony of remorse and shame ; and their search would be in vain " The dispersed among the Gentiles.— Literally " the Greeks." " Grotius, Wetstein, Rosenmueller, and Kuinoel understand by the ' dispersed ' the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, as in 2 Mace. 1:27. That the Israelites were at that time dispersed over the whole world, is known from Philo Judreus and Jose- phus. These foreign Jews (says Kuinoel) are mentioned in con- tempt; for the Jews of Palestine, and especially Jerusalem used to arrogate an infinite superiority over them ; from their own residence in the holy land, the sacred city, and their conse- quent more accurate knowledge and observance of the law "— Scott. 1 ^ thu6 laf ' day' that great day of the feast- " We may con- clude that the rejoicing and thanksgiving enjoined at this festival on account of the harvest, were chiefly, if not wholly, appropri- ated to the eighth day. And it is observable that they were commanded to dwell in booths no longer than the seven days a circumstance which shows that the eighth day was not observed on the same account as the seven preceding."— Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, p. 364. If any man thirst, etc.— This seems to be an allusion to the 358 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 35-39. October, j.c. 33. believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his Jesus the Living belly shall flow rivers of living water. Water. ^gut ^ spake jlg of the gpjjjt, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this custom of drawing water from the pool of Siloam, and offering it up in the temple with much solemnity, and the sound of vari- ous voices and instruments. " Agreeably to our Saviour's inva- riable principle of drawing instruction from the occasion, it would furnish a striking opportunity for the prophetical declara- tion which he pronounced accordingly. The ceremony con- sisted in fetching water from the fountain of Shiloah, in carrying it in procession round the altar of burnt-offerings, accompanied by a recitation of Isa. 12 : 3, ' With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation ;' and, finally, of pouring out a libation thereof over the sacrifice upon the altar. The primary intention of these ceremonies was both to commemorate the miraculous supply of water in the wilderness and to typify the anticipated blessing of heaven, in the recurrence of the autumnal rains against the arrival of seed-time. But the appositeness of the ceremony to the future facts of the Christian history, which is the application our Lord makes of it, is too plain and perceptible not to have been remarked by almost every commentator. Isa. 8 : 6, too, ' the waters of Shiloah' are figuratively employed as a description of the Messiah himself." — Greswell. As the Scripture hath said.— Two passages seem specially referred to : Isa. 55 : 1 and 58 : n. Belly. — The original word denotes mind or heart. The phrase is equivalent to "from him." "The metaphor, however strong, was probably well understood by those to whom it was addressed, since it is found in the Jewish writings. Nor is it un- known to the classical writers." — Bloomfield. It was a saying of the rabbies : " When a man turns to the Lord, he is like a fountain filled with living water, and rivers flow from him to men of all nations and tribes." " So St. Peter on the day of Pente- cost, by one sermon, as by a rush of water, delivered three thou- sand men from the devil's kingdom, washing them in an hour from sin, death, and Satan." — Luther. The Holy Ghost was not yet given. — " Omit the word ' given,' which is not expressed at all in the original, and read, 'because neither was Jesus glorified.'" — Afford. NEVER MAN SPAKE SO. 359 Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 39-44. October, j.c. 33. saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out oi the town of Bethlehem, where David was ? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him ; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Phari- sees ; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him ? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived ? Have any of the rulers, or of the Phari- sees believed on him ? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them), Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth ? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee ? Search, and look : for Christ cometh of the seed of David. — " Several passages of Scripture, which they explained of the Messiah and his birth. See Is. 11 : 1 ; Jer. 23 : 5 ; Mic. 5:2; Ps. 89 : 36." — Kuinoel. Never man spake like this man, " was all that they could say. To listen to him was not only to be disarmed in every at- tempt against him, it was even to be half converted from bitter enemies to awestruck disciples. That bold disobedience to posi- tive orders must have made them afraid of the possible conse- quences to themselves, but obedience would have required a courage even greater." — Farrar. " There is a power in the direct glance of a sincere and loving soul which will do more to dissipate prejudice and kindle charity than the most elaborate arguments." — George Eliot. This people : " this rabble," who know not how to interpret the law, are cursed with judicial blindness. Before it hear him. — More correctly, " Except it first hear him." Art thou also of Galilee ?— To be a Galilean was a term of 2,60 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 7 : 45~53- October, j.c. 33. out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him ; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery : and reproach. They knew well he was not of Galilee, but they meant to ask whether he also had become a follower of the despised Galilean. Art thou also one of the Galilean sect, one of the be- lievers in Jesus of Galilee ? Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet — " hath arisen." — Alford. Galilee had produced four, or, perhaps, five great prophets, as Jonas (2 Kings 14 : 25), Nahum, Habakkuk, Amos, and proba- bly Elisha. In view of these facts, Doddridge and Campbell at- tribute this false assertion to the ignorance or forgetfulness of the priests, or the hurry of anger. Every man went unto his own house. — " Now follows a marvelous termination of this whole affair. That so strong a combination should of itself melt away, and all these persons, like waves of the sea, be broken asunder by their own impetuos- ity : who does not recognize in it the hand of God bringing them to this pass? But God remains ever like himself." — Calvin. But there is no need of supposing any supernatural interpo- sition. Lampe surmises that the meeting was broken up, without any thing being concluded upon, on account of the evening sac- rifice. For at the time of evening sacrifice, says Lighlfoot, it was usual to break up all meetings and adjourn all business. " Coc- ceius informs us, that though the smaller councils sat only to the sixth hour of the day, yet the great Sanhedrin sat to the time of the evening sacrifice." — Bloomfield. Mount of Olives. — The mountain about a mile directly east of Jerusalem. The garden of Gethsemane, to which Jesus was accustomed to resort (John 18 : 2), was on the western side of that mountain ; and Bethany, the home of Martha and Mary, on the east of it (11 : 1). Some commentators, and among them Scott, are of opinion that Jesus passed his nights during this visit to Jerusalem with the family at Bethany. A woman taken in adultery. — Tischendorf, Meyer, Alford, Tholuck, Tretich, and other eminent critics, reject as not genuine the account of the adulterous woman. In reference to it Alford remarks : "All the most ancient MSS. omit it : so do the ancient THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERV. 361 Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 2-7. October, j.c. 33. when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adul- , The Woman tery, in the very act. Mow Moses in the taken in Adui- law commanded us, that such should be stoned : but what sayest thou ? This they said, tempt- ing him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, Syriac version, and all the early Fathers. The Cambridge MS. alone, of our principal ones, contains it, and that in a form widely differing from our text. ... Its insertion here en- tirely breaks the context, and is foreign to the manifest design of [John's Gospel.]" On the other hand, Home remarks : " There could be no possible inducement for fabricating such a passage. It has internal evidence of authenticity, the testimony of the Vulgate, in which it is uniformly found, and the express acknowledgment of its genuineness by C/i/ysostom, yerome, Augustine, and Ambrose. Add to this, that the plain and sim- ple style is that of the evangelist, and that every circumstance is completely in character, exactly what might be expected from the Scribes and Pharisees, and from our Lord ; while his an- swer, though perfectly suited to the purpose, would scarcely have ever been thought of by human ingenuity." That they might have to accuse him.— If Jesus had con- demned the woman, the Pharisees would have said that he usurped civil jurisdiction and disregarded his own precept, "Be ye merciful ;" if he had refused to condemn her, they would have charged him with sanctioning adultery, and teaching disobedi- ence to the law of Moses. Jesus stooped down. — " Christ intended, by doing nothing, to show how unworthy they were of being heard ; just as if any one, while another was speaking to him, were to draw lines on the wall, or to turn his back, or to show by any other sign that he was not attending to what was said." — Calvin. Let him first cast a stone at her. — " Let him first cast the stone at her." The fatal stone, which was first cast, in form, by one of the accusers or witnesses, and served as a signal for the bystanders to commence the stoning. (Deut. 13 : 9 ; 17:7.) 362 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 7-12. October, j.c. 33. and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last : and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers ? hath no man condemned thee ? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do 1 condemn thee : go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 1 am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk Beginning at the first, even unto the last, " denotes that all her accusers went out, one after another, from the first to the last, of every age and station." — Markland, Neither do I condemn thee. — " Were the critical evidence against the genuineness of this passage far more overwhelming than it is, it would yet bear upon its surface the strongest pos- sible proof of its own authentic truthfulness. It is hardly too much to say that the mixture which it displays of tragedy and of tenderness — the contrast which it involves between low, cruel cunning and exalted nobility of intellect and emotion — tran- scends all power of human imagination to have invented ; while the picture of a divine insight reading the inmost secrets of the heart, and a yet diviner love, which sees those inmost secrets with larger eyes than ours, furnishes us with a conception of Christ's power and person at once too lofty and too original to have been founded on any thing but fact." — Farrar. I am the light of the world. — Jesus was now seated in the Treasury — " either some special building in the temple so called, or that part of the Court of the Woman which contained fhe thirteen chests with trumpet-shaped openings into which the people, and especially the Pharisees, cast their gifts. In this court, and therefore close beside him, were two gigantic cande- labra, fifty cubits high, and sumptuously gilded, on the summit of which, nightly, during the Feast of Tabernacles, lamps were lit which shed truMr soft light all over the city. In allusion to these lamps, on which some circumstance of the moment may have concentrated the attention of the hearers, Christ ex- claimed to them, " I am the Light of the world." — Farrar. Isa. 42 : 6 ; 49 : 6 ; Mai. 4:2. " One striking peculiarity in Jesus JESUS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 363 Chap. XXIII. John S : 12-18. October, j.c. 33. in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Phari- sees therefore said unto him. Thou bearest record of thyself ; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though 1 bear record of myself, yet my record is true : for I know whence 1 jesus Reproves came, and whither I go : but ye cannot ihejews. tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh, I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true : for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 1 am one that bear witness of myself ; and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father ? Jesus answered, Ye neither is the extent and vastness of his views. Whilst all around him looked for a Messiah to liberate God's ancient people — whilst to every Jew, Judea was the exclusive object of pride and hope, Jesus came, declaring himself to be the deliverer and light of the world ; and in his whole teaching and life, you see a conscious- ness, which never forsakes him, of a relation to the whole human race. The idea of blessing mankind, of spreading a universal religion, was the most magnificent which had ever entered man's mind. All previous religions had been given to particu- lar nations. No conqueror, legislator, philosopher, in the ex- travagance of ambition, had ever dreamed of subjecting all na- tions to a common faith." — Charming. The Pharisees said unto him.— Christ's teaching was sub- ject to perpetual interruptions. It was " not that of a sermon, but of a dialogue ; not with honest inquirers or perplexed skeptics, but with bigoted, resolute foes." — Abbott. They now accuse him of self-glorification. Record. — " Testimony." Ye judge after the flesh. — According to his lowly appear- ance, and condition in liie, and biased by their passions and prejudices. I judge no man. — Kuinoel explains this passage, " I judge no man thus — that is, after the flesh and outward appearance ; and therefore ought not to be so judged by you." — Bloom field. Where is thy father? — Spoken in insult and derision. 364 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 18-29. October, J.c. 33. know me, nor my Father : if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple : and no man laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them, 1 go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself ? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath ; I am from above : ye are of this world ; I am not of this world. 1 said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins : for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou ? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say, and to judge of you : but he that sent me is true ; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that 1 do nothing of myself ; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. Will he kill himself? — " This appears to have been a willful perversion of our Lord's meaning. What ! will he make away with himself, to get away from this our pretended persecu- tion ? (£>e John 7 : 20). Thus imputing to him what involved, even according to the opinion of the Jews, great criminality ; for we find from 'j-'cx. Bell, 3 : 14, that the Pharisees supposed the lowest pit of hell to be reserved for self-murderers." — Bloom- field. Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning, is a wrong rendering of the original : read, " In very deed that same which I speak unto you." — Alford, "Altogether that which I am telling you." — Farrar. Abraham's seed. 365 Chap. XXIII. John S : 29-40. October, J.c. 33. And he that sent me is with me : the Father hath not left me alone ; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples in- deed ; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man : how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free ? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 1 know that ye are Abraham's seed ; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 1 speak that which 1 have seen with my Father : and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered The truth shall make you free. — " The condition of a sinner is that of a captive or a slave to sin. He is one who serves and obeys the dictates of an evil heart, and the corrupt desires of an evil nature." — Bloomficld. See Rom. 6 : 16-20 ; 2 Peter 2 : 19. We be Abraham's seed. — " They were absorbed with pride when they thought of the purity of their ancestral origin, and the privilege of their exclusive monotheism ; but he told them that in very truth they were, by spiritual affinity, the affinity of cruelty and falsehood, children of him who was a liar and a mur- derer from the beginning." — Farrar. The servant. — The slave, the bondman. The servant abideth not. — The slave has no claim to re- main continually in the same family ; but may, at the pleasure of his owner, be sold to another. Son . . . shall make you free. — Perhaps an allusion to a cus- tom among the Romans of a son's liberating, after his father's death, such as were born slaves in his house. My word hath no place, " gaineth no ground in you." — Al- ford. 366 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 40-53. October, j.c. 33. and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the -works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God : this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of for- nication ; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me : for I proceeded forth and came from God ; neither came 1 of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech ? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts qf your father ye will do : he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth ; because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin ? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me ? He that is of God, heareth God's words : ye therefore hear them not, be- cause ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? Jesus answered, 1 have not a devil ; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory : there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my say- Ye cannot hear my word. — " Ye will not." " It searches your hearts, detects your hypocrisy, and exposes your iniquitous intentions ; and as ye are determined not to leave your sins, so ye are purposed not to hear my doctrine." — A. Clarke. " The account Josephus gives of the wickedness of the Jews about this time, abundantly vindicates this assertion of our Lord from any appearance of undue severity." — Doddridge. BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM. 367 Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 53-58. October, j.c. 33. ing, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets ; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham which is dead ? and the prophets are dead : whom makest thou thyself ? Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is noth- ing : it is my Father that honoreth me, Jesus Procla;ms of whom ye say, that he is your God. hls own Eternitv- Yet ye have not known him ; but 1 know him : and if 1 should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you : but 1 know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day : and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham ? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Rejoiced to see my day. — He saw it in prophetic vision. Before Abraham was—" was made" {Alford) ; created or existed. His charge that they were children of the devil had stung them to a fury which became uncontrollable when he as- serted an existence prior to Abraham. " He said not, ' Before Abraham was, I was,' but, ' I am.' As the Father useth this expression I AM, so also doth Christ, for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expres- sion seemed to the Jews blasphemous." — Chrysostom. I am. — " Divinity has no past or future, but always the pres- ent ; and therefore Jesus does not say, " Before Abraham was, I was," but, " I am." — Gregory. " He is not eternity nor in- finity, but eternal and infinite. He is not duration nor space, but he endures and is present, endures always and is present everywhere." — Sir Isaac Newton. " Religion passes out of the law of reason only where the eye of reason has reached its own horizon ; and faith is then but its continuation, even as the day softens away into sweet twilight, and twilight, hushed and breath- less, steals into darkness. It is night, sacred night ; the up- raised eye views only the starry heaven, which manifests itself alone ; and the outward beholding is fixed on the sparks, twink- 368 AT JERUSALEM. Chap. XXIII. John 8 : 59. October, j.c. 33. Then took they up stones to cast at him : but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. ling in the awful depth (though suns of other worlds), only to pre- serve the soul steady and collected in its pure act of inward adoration to the great ' / am,' and to ' the Filial Word,' that reaffirmeth it from Eternity to Eternity, whose choral echo is the Universe. " — Coleridge. Then they took up stones to cast at him. " With a burst of impetuous fury — one of those paroxysms of sudden, uncontrolla- ble, frantic rage to which this people has in all ages been liable upon any collision with its religious convictions — they took up stones to stone him. But the very blindness of their rage made it more easy to elude them. With perfect calmness he departed unhurt out of the temple." — Farrar. The unfinished condition of the temple buildings would supply them with huge stones close at hand. The clause, " Going through the midst of them, and so passed by," is not found in several ancient MSS., and, in the opinion of many critics, should be omitted. THE DISCIPLES QUESTION. 369 Chap. XXIV. John 9:1,2. J.c 33. CHAPTER XXIV. THE MAN BORN BLIND. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind ? As Jesus passed by. — Was the blind man healed directly after the events recorded in the last chapter? " So say many, bringing the attempt to stone him and the miracle into immediate connection. But it is more probable that some interval elapsed. It is not likely that Jesus, when ' he hid himself and went out of the temple,' was accompanied by his disciples ; yet they were with him when he saw the blind man. Nor would they in such a moment be likely to ask speculative questions respecting the cause of the man's blindness. We conclude, then, that the Sab- bath on which the man was healed was not the eighth day of the feast, but the first week Sabbath following." — Andrews. Saw a man which was blind. — " Acts 3 : 2 supplies an exam- ple to prove that such as from bodily infirmities were obliged to depend upon charity, resorted to the gates or the avenues of the temple, and at the times of prayer in particular. This man was evidently an object of this description." — Greswell. Who did sin? — "The Jews were trained to regard special suffering as the necessary and immediate consequence of special sin. Perhaps the disciples supposed that the words of our Lord to the paralytic might seem to sanction such an impression. They asked, therefore, how this man came to be born blind. Could it be in consequence of the sins of his parents ? If not, was there any way of supposing that it could have been for his own? They were therefore perplexed." " We can hardly im- agine that those simple-minded Galileans were familiar with the doctrine of metempsychosis, or the Rabbinic fancy of anti-natal sin, or the Platonic and Alexandrian fancy of pre-existence. " — Farrar. " They did not see how it must have been the sin and suffering, not of this man as an individual, but of him as making part of a great whole, which were thus connected together ; how the fact of this calamity, reaching back to his birth, excluded the uncharitable suspicion that wherever there was a more than or- dinary sufferer there was a more than ordinary sinner, leaving only the most true thought, that a great sin must be cleaving to a race of which any member could so suffer." — Trench. 37° THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 3-5. j.C 33. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents ; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work, the works of him that sent me, while it is day : the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, 1 am the light of the world. Neither hath this man sinned. — Neither did this man sin. " Into the unprofitable regions of such barren speculations our Lord refused to follow them, and he declined, as always, the ten- dency to infer and to sit in judgment upon the sins of others." — Farrar. " Men have never been disposed to separate those things which are not the proper subjects of human contempla- tion from those which are ; what I mean is, of the origin of evil. If God be all-good and all-powerful, how did evil arise and exist ? But the irreligionist, with the malice to embarrass, and the re- ligionist, with the vanity of doing what no one was able to do be- fore, have been always forward in writing upon this subject. He must know little of philosophy who fancies he can solve the difficulty. He must know less of religion who fancies that the want of a solution can affect our belief in God." — Bishop War- burton. But that the works of God. — That, " by means of it, the works of God should be made manifest." — Farrar. The Greek does not imply that the man had been born blind solely to ex- hibit the divine mercy in his healing. The night cometh. — The night of his death. Its shadows were already about him. From this time forward he continually alludes to his approaching end. " The night comes, it will come certainly, may come suddenly, is coming nearer and nearer. We can not compute how high our sun is ; it may go down at noon ; nor can we promise ourselves a twilight between the day of life and the night of death. When the night comes we can not work, because the light afforded us to work by is extinguished ; the grave is a land of darkness, and our work can not be done in the dark," — Henry. " Now it is day ; be doincr, every one, For the night cometh wherein can work none." Goethe . As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. " What fitter task for me than this of opening the eyes of the blind ? What work could become me better than this— which is so apt a symbol of my greater spiritual work — the restoring of the darkened spiritual vision of the race of men?" — Trench. " It was prophesied that the Messiah should open the eyes of JESUS CURES THE BLIND MAN. 37 x Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 6, 7. J-C 33- When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he an- ointed the eyes of the blind man with the tft&!?R clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the Blind- pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He the blind (Isa 29 : 18 ; 35 : 5 ; 42 : 7). The direct reference fa to Christ s fulfillment of these prophecies (Luke 4 : 18, 21) Bu it is true, m a larger sense, that just so ar as Chris is n The world, and accepted by the world, he becomes its light intellec tual, moral, and spiritual (John 1 : ^."—Abbott Anointed the eyes: smeared them with the clay. " It would be erroneous to suppose that the Lord used natural remedies excePt o theTinH f°r th\Conv^S of his power. In other healnTg of the blind no such means were employed. Was the moistened clay the conductor of the healing power, and the washing Sv designed o remove the hindrances which the medium oTcu'e would itself, if suffered to remain, have opposed evenTo the re- sored organs of vision ? Thus I should understand it. ProbL ethicaf- TwT Wh>ICh mln?d< thG USe°f these means -e7e find ?L °methmg CXternal was ^ne."-Tre»cA, condensed a condir on of a re^T,rement °f faith which exacted obedience as a condition of cure. It is noticeable, however, that Christ never cured without giving the healed something to do as a test of his hedeTdhe ctT" ?VM1 in the three cases 'of raising from ™ iet ad, he ' al,edon ^e mourners, to indicate by their obed™ ence to his direction their faith in him (Matt o 24 « Luke rVculsT^ed1^39' ^- WhCn ^ WaS aS^ed tQ &£& staSe Seer^ tS ™ T Catl°? °f fakh ' Whe"' aS here> he vo1" a^ir ^ f^p-lsv- a?.=sai— « - J^&1A&A^t I^SA « is identified with a pool or tank still found in the vkini'tv of Te™ bu.lt of masonry measuring about fifty-three feet fn length 372 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John g : 7. J.c. 33. went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. yards off is partly dammed up by the people of the adjoining village of Siloam, for the purpose of washing their clothes, and then divided into small streams to irrigate the gardens below. The water flows into this reservoir from an artificial cave or basin under the cliff. This cave is entered by a small archway hewn in the rock. It is irregular in form, and decreases in size as it proceeds, from about fifteen to three feet in height. It is connected with what is known as the Fountain of the Virgin by a remarkable conduit cut through the very heart of the rock in a zigzag form, measuring some seventeen hundred and fifty feet, while the distance in a straight line is only eleven hundred feet. This remarkable fact was discovered by Dr. Edward Robinson, who had the hardihood to crawl through the passage. ' ' — Abbott. For an interesting account of Siloam, see Robinson's Biblical Researches, vol. 9, pp. 493-8, and 501 ; and Porter s Hand Book, vol. I, p. 140. Which is by interpretation, Sent. — Jesus was here the " sender," not the " sent ;" but probably the name recalled to the Evangelist that Jesus was the Sent of God (John 7 : 29; 8 : 42) to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. " The Lord sent the blind man to wash, not in, as our version has it, but at the pool of Siloam ; for it was the clay from his eye that was to be washed off ; and the Evangelist is careful to throw in a remark.^ not for the purpose of telling us that Siloam was an ' aqueduct,' as some think, but to give higher significance to the miracle." Further reference is made to "the inner meaning here — the parallelism between ' the Sent One ' (Luke 4 : 18 ; John 10 : 36) and 'the Sent Water,' the missioned one and the missioned pool. . . . Job 5 : 10, ' he sendeth waters upon the fields ;' and Ez. 31 : 4, ' she sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.' . . . The Talmudists coincide with the Evangelist, and say that Shiloah was so called because it sent forth its waters to water the gardens." — Smith's Bib. Diet. He went therefore, etc. — " Compare this with the cure of Naaman (2 Kings 5:11, 13), who was in like manner bid to wash in Jordan, and only reluctantly, and after angry resistance, con- sented. Observe how great the trial to this blind man's faith, directed to take so considerable a walk, in his blindness, as a condition of cure. Observe, too, in the miracle a parable of redemption. The whole world lieth in darkness from the be- ginning (Ps. 107 : 10 ; Matt. 4 : 16 ; 1 John 5 : 19). Christ, the light of the world, comes to call us out of darkness into marvel- ous light (Acts 26 : 18 ; 2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 1 : 13 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 9). The condition of receiving that light is faith, exemplified by THE NEIGHBORS QUESTION HIM. 373 Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 8-13. j.c. 33. The neighbors, therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged ? Some said, This is he ; others said, He is like him : but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened ? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash : and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he ? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was obedience, without which the soul remains in darkness (John 1 : 5 ; 3 : J9) I and he often calls us to prove our faith by walk- ing, in obedience to his direction, in the darkness for a while, in order that we may come into the light." — Abbott. The neighbors. — The man at first probably returned to his own home, but the neighbors failed to recognize him. He was no longer the blind beggar who asked alms by the wayside. A new glow was on his face, and a new spirit pervaded his whole being. It altered his every feature, and they doubted his identity ; but he joyfully assured them, " I am he !" Is not this he that sat and begged ?— " Apparently he was a well-known beggar, like the one described in Acts 3 : 2, 10. Compare Luke iS : 35. He is described as one that sat' ami fogged* in contrast with such as beg from door to door. Beggars of this description, having a regular place, where they may always be found soliciting alms, are a not uncommon sight in the East." — Abbott. They brought him to the Pharisees.— The neighbors were amazed, and, with probably no evil intentions, took the man to their spiritual leaders, that he might relate to them his wonder- ful restoration. It was the Sabbath, but the lesser Sanhedrin was in session daily. First, they asked how he had received his sight, and the man told his simple story. Many doubted, and wouM not believe till they had called his parents ; others said, ' This man is not a prophet sent of God, for he has bro- ken the Sabbath.' The Jews believed that human spittle was efficacious in diseases of the eye, which were very prevalent among them ; but " the Rabbis had forbidden any man to smear even one of his eyes with spittle on that day. Jesus had not only smeared both the man's eyes, but had actually mingled the 374 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 14-16. j.c. 33. blind. And it was the Sabbath-day when Jesus made The Man Before tne clay, and opened his eyes. Then the Sanhednn. agam the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath-day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles ? And there was a division among them. saliva with clay !" — Farrar. Clearly, therefore, Jesus had bro- ken the Sabbath ; but if they charged him with that, they ad- mitted the healing, and gave encouragement to those among them, who said, " How can a sinner do such miracles ?" They could come to no conclusion, and in their perplexity turned to the wretched mendicant who had often, it may be, begged an alms of them at the temple gate, and asked his opinion. " What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes?" {Vulgate). He was no longer blind, and he answered promptly, " He is a prophet." " It was a Jewish maxim that a prophet might dis- pense with the observance of the Sabbath." — Adam Clarke. Throughout the whole of this narrative there is a self-verifying naturalness that bears irresistible evidence to its truth ; and by it this blind beggar gives now as convincing testimony to the re- ality of this miracle and the power of Christ as he did then, when he stood unabashed before the highest aristocracy of Ju- dea. Some said . . . Others said. — "It is a mistake to sup- pose that all the Pharisees were hypocrites. Among them were such men as Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Gamaliel, Saul of Tarsus. (See Matt. 3:7) But the honest Pharisees were timid, and were easily overborne by their opponents. For ac- count of similar conflict, see John 7 : 47-52. Observe the in- herent vice of Pharisaism, ancient and modern ; it puts the cere- monial above humanity ; it is of the essence of Christianity that it regards all ceremonials and observances as for humanity (Mark 2 : 27 ; Matt. 12 : 8)." — Abbott. This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath. " There are a good many pious people who are as careful of their religion as of their best service of china, only using it on holy occasions for fear it should get chipped or flawed in work- ing-day wear." — Douglas Jerrold. BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN. 375 Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 17-23. J.c. 33. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes ? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind ? How then doth he now see ? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind ; but by what means he now seeth, we know not ; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not : he is of age ; ask him : he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews : for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that Jesus was Christ, he should be put out of the Synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age ; ask him. The parents. — " They saw the kind of nature with which they had to deal, and anxious for any loophole by which they could deny or set aside the miracle, they sent for the man's parents." — Farrar. " They desire to get a lie from them, and that they should say their son had not been born blind. But neither in this quarter do they find any help." — Trench. He is of age ; ask him.— Telling the fact would not ncces sarily be ' confessing that Jesus was the Christ ;' but ecclesias- tics have never been scrupulous in enforcing their own laws, and the Pharisees would easily have found a pretext for excommu- nicating the parents. " The parents also clung to the plain truth, while, with a certain Judaic servility and cunning, they refused to draw any inferences which would lay them open to unpleasant consequences." — Farrar. " There is something of selfishness in the manner in which they extricate themselves from the difficulty, leaving their son in it." — Trench. Put out of the synagogue. — " Among the Jews there were two grades of excommunication — the one for lighter offences, of which they mentioned twenty-four causes ; the other for greater offences. The first excluded a man for thirty days from the 37^ THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John g : 23-27. j.c. 33. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise : we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, The First Con- I know not : one thing I know, that, fession. whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee ? how opened he thine eyes ? privilege of entering a synagogue, and from coming nearer to his wife or friends than four cubits. The other was a solemn exclusion forever from the worship of the synagogue, attended with awful maledictions and curses, and an exclusion from all intercourse with the people. This was called the curse, and so thoroughly excluded the person from all communion whatever with his countrymen that they were not allowed to sell to him any thing, even the necessaries of life." — Buxtorf. Then again called they the man. — " The man had been re- moved while his parents were being examined. The Pharisees now summon him again, and evidently by their address would have him to believe that they had gotten to the root of all, and discovered the whole fraud, so that any longer persisting in it would be idle. They are as men seeking to obtain confession from one they suspect, by assuring him that others have con- fessed, and so that for him to stand out in denying will only make matters the worse for him in the end." — Trench. They would have him think that they now know it to be all a collusion be- tween Jesus and himself, and they solemnly charge him — using the Jewish formula of adjuration (see Josh. 7 : 19) — to " Give glory to God. Remember you are in his presence, and speak as unto him ! We know this man is a sinner !" Thus they at- tempted to overbear the man by their august authority and con- fident assertions. But he is " of sturdier stuff than his parents. He is not to be overawed by their authority, or knocked down by their assertions. He breathed quite freely in the halo-atmos- phere of their superior sanctity." — Farrar, " Whether he is a sinner," he replies, "I do not know ; but this I do know, that I who am known by all as a blind man now see." — Alford. Give God the praise " sets the reader of this passage quite upon a wrong track." — Trench. It is an incorrect rendering of the original ; the true meaning is given in the preceding note. Then said they to him again. — " They perceive that they can gain nothing in this way, and they require him to tell over THE FIRST CONFESSION He answered them, 1 have told you already, and ye did not hear : wherefore would ye hear it again ? will ye also be his disciples ? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disci- ple ; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses ; as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein again the manner of his cure, hoping either to detect some con- tradictions ,n his story, or to find something they can better lav hold of and wrest into a charge against Christ But the man has grown weary of the examinations to which his inquisitors aSwer "'"^ ^ ™? ^ h SOmeM°g °f defiance In hfe WhJ L 7 • I \ u l toM y°U °nce' and ye did not attend Why do ye wish to hear aga.n ? Is it possible that ye too wish to be his disciples?" "Bold irony this— to ask these stately, ruffled, scrupulous Sanhedrists whether he was really to regard them as anxious and sincere inquirers about the claims of the Nazarene prophet. "-Farrar. "Nothing could have oSKto"^ t0/he^than the bare -PP°sition of such a aiscipieship. —Trench. So since authority threats hlinHict, ments had all failed, they broke into abuse "' Thou an his d s" ciple : we are the disciples of Moses ; of this man we know noth- ing. -Fatrar And now follows a scene which is at once one of the most striking and most ludicrous in all history. A ragged mendicant, only that morning begging his bread by the fay side, expounding theology to this conclave of high ecclesiaslfcs | who sat in the seat of Moses." and embodied all the san S suth1^Pecta7edltThatfJUdfm! ^ « Worms w^no sucn a spectacle. That was heroic ; this was equally so for the man had at stake that which his countrymen valued more than hfe ; but added to this heroic element was a touch oflncon gru.ty and absurdity that made the scene supreme y ludicrous" This blind man has been fitly called " The first Confessor '; He certainly showed a better knowledge of the S ripn.es than these self-righteous Pharisees, with all their fine-drawn hai> spitt.ng exegesis. It was a remark of ChemnSls, ™ You w£ tha^lr^^^^l010^ amon* tail°rs -d' shoemakers than among cardinals, bishops, and abbots." " How strontr is truth, and how weak is falsehood ! Truth, though she take hold only of ordinary men, maketh them appear glorious • falsehood even with the strong, makes them appL weak "- cltl^.' 37§ THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 30-34. j.c. 33. is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners : but if any man be a wor- shiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast alto- gether born in sins, and dost thou teach us ? And they cast him out. A marvelous thing. — "This was frankly, firmly, and truly spoken. ' ' — A ugustine. God heareth not sinners. — " Men in their sins, and not de- siring to be delivered out of them." — Trench. The man, even if he was without sight, had read the Old Testament. See Isa. 1:15; 59 : 12 ; Prov. 1 : 28 ; 15 : 8 ; 28 : 9 ; Ps. 50 : 16 ; 66 : 18 ; 109 : 7 ; Job. 27 : 9 ; 35 : 13 ; Jer. 14 : 12 ; Mic. 3:4; Zech. 7 : 13. Since the world began it never was heard that any man opened the eyes of one born blind. No similar miracle is any- where else recorded in Scripture. The giving of sight to one born blind was considered an impossibility till 1728, when Dr. Cheselden, by couching the eyes of a youth of twelve years, en- abled him to see perfectly. Similar operations have since been equally successful. They cast him out. — Unable to longer control their trans- port of rage, they ' ' rudely flung him from the hall of judgment, ' ' and, " according to the decree which had gone before, declared him to have come under those sharp spiritual censures which they had threatened against any that should join themselves to the Lord." — Trench. These censures were greatly dreaded by the Jews. "Our Lord often alludes to them, not as though they were a slight matter, but as among the sharpest trials his servants would have to endure." — Trench. "The nar- rative of this miracle has a special value in apologetics. How often do we hear the wish expressed that Christ's mira- cles had been put on documentary record, and had been sub- jected to a thorough judicial investigation ! Here we have the very thing that is desired : judicial personages, and these, too, the avowed enemies of Christ, investigate a miracle in repeated hearings, and yet it holds its ground." — Tholuck. "The case JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS MESSIAHSHIP. 379 Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 35-39. J.c. 33. Jesus heard that they had cast him out ; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him ? Jesus Announces And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast his Messiahship. b£)th ^^ ^ ^ Jj fe he lhat talJ.eth with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. is chiefly remarkable from the subsequent investigation to which it led. It seems almost to satisfy the demands of modern skep- ticism. The people brought the subject of the case to the Su- preme Court. The case was judicially investigated. The blind man's identity was established by his own testimony, and cor- roborated by that of his parents. That he was born blind was established by the same indisputable evidence. The value of this evidence is enhanced by the fact that his parents were re- luctant witnesses, and that the man himself had so little interest to further the cause of Christ that he did not even so much as know who he was ; and, finally, so clear was the case that, after the utmost endeavor to browbeat the witness, the court resorted to the sorry expedient of excommunicating him, that they might thus cast discredit on his story." — Abbott. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and went in search of him, who had so soon been made to suffer for the Son of Man's sake. When he had found him he said unto him, Dost thou be- lieve on the Son of God? "The man knows what the title means — that it is equivalent to Messiah, but he knows not any one who has a right to claim it as his own." — Trench. And he asks, " Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him ?" And Jesus answers, Thou hast seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. Professor Westcott notices here the striking fact that this spon- taneous revelation to the outcast from the synagogue finds its only parallel in the similar revelation (John 4 : 26) to the out- cast from the nation — the abandoned woman of Samaria. Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. Did homage to him as the Messiah. Fell down at his feet, as one more than man. The Svriac renders the phrase, " he worshiped him." 380 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 39. j.C. 33. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into thus : " and casting himself down he adored him ;" the Persic, " and he bowed down and adored Christ ;" the Arabic, " and he adored him ;" the Vulgate, " and falling down he adored him." The scales had fallen from his eyes, and now he saw all things clearly. " When one born blind receives his sight, the visible creation seems to have just started into being, all is so new ! and yet all things are as they were from the begin- ning ; the change is in him : so, when the soul is quickened into spiritual life, we see, and see with wonder, a meaning and force and power in divine things, as if they were all just discovered to mankind ; whereas we can not but acknowledge that the same objects were presented to us before. But the fact is that, till we were quickened by God, we had no sense that could be suit- ably affected by eternal things. They were spread abroad before us ; but we looked at them as at a picture, which is looked at a few minutes and then forgotten ; they had no hold upon us ; they made no impression, they scarcely appeared real, and sometimes we doubted whether they had any existence : but we are now quickened to /eel those things to be true which before we only thought to be so." — Henry Martyn. "The history of the blind man illustrates the growth of faith, as well as its conditions. At first he knew nothing of Jesus ; but without knowledge or definite hope he obeys Christ's direction, goes to the pool of Siloam, washes, sees. He still knows nothing of the Healer but that he is ' a man that is called Jesus.' Despite the timidity of his pa- rents, and the threatening of the Pharisees, he maintains the truth, defends the unknown, asserts him to be a prophet, and a man of God. Finally, he finds in him the Messiah, the Son of God. Fidelity in that which is least is the condition of receiv- ing larger gifts in knowledge and faith." — Abbott. For judgment I am come into this •world. — " I am come to reveal every man's innermost state. I am the touchstone. Much that seemed true shall at my touch be proved false, to be merely dross ; much that for its little sightliness was nothing ac- counted of shall prove true metal ; many whom men esteemed to be seeing, such as the spiritual chiefs of this nation, shall be shown to be blind ; many whom men accounted altogether un- enlightened shall, when my light touches them, be shown to have powers of spiritual vision undreamed of before." — Trench. " Christ was the King of Truth, and therefore his open setting up of his banner in the world was at once, and of necessity, a ranging of men in their true ranks, as lovers of truth and lovers of a lie." — Augustine. (See Luke 2 : 34, 35 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 6, 8 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 16.) " In the two characters of the Pharisees and the QUESTIONED BY THE PHARISEES. 381 Chap- XXIV. John 9 : 39-41. J.C 33. this world ; that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also ? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should person they thus cast out we have a pattern of the believer and the unbeliever, which will hold true to the end of the world ; where the temper of the Pharisee is, there will Christ be un- known or rejected ; where the other temper is — of the man that was born blind — there will Christ be valued, and nowhere else." — Jones, of Nayland. " Contrast John 8 : 15 ; 12 : 47. Christ does not hesitate to state truths at different times in forms which make his statements apparently contradictory. He does not come to announce judgment or condemnation, but to provide mercy; nevertheless, he has come _/<>/* judgment. Since he draws to himself all that love the divine character and the divine life, and repels all that are worldly and selfish, he does not con- demn, but they that reject him are self-condemned, testifying that they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." — Abbott. The words in the text were no doubt addressed to his disciples, but they were overheard by some of the Phari- sees, who were " ever restlessly and discontentedly hovering about him, and in their morbid egotism always on the lookout for some reflection on themselves." — Farrar. That they which see not might see. — "Christ's coming gave moral and spiritual sight to the publicans who were without moral culture, but opened their hearts to receive Christ's instruc- tions ; and it darkened such moral sense as the Pharisees al- ready possessed, since they closed their eyes to the clear revela- tion which Christ brought. Thus Christ is both saver of life unto life and of death unto death (2 Cor. 2 : 16), both the corner- stone and the stone of stumbling (1 Pet. 2 : 6-8 ; compare Matt. 3 : 12)." — Abbott. Are wa blind also? — "The form of the original implies a strong expectation of a negative reply. It might be rendered, 'Surely we inv not blind also.' " — Abbott. " The answer of Jesus was that in natural blindness there would have been no guilt, but to those who only stumbled in the blindness of willful error a claim to the possession of sight was a self-condemnation." — Farrar, If ye were blind ye should have no sin. — " This is not to be interpreted away as equivalent to, Your sin would be less. It is 382 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 9 : 41 ; 10 : 1. J.c. 33. have no sin : but now ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remaineth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by literally true that sin is in the proportion of knowledge, so that one who is, by no fault of his own, absolutely ignorant of moral distinction, is absolutely free from moral responsibility." — Abbott. Ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remains. — " They had the law and the prophets, which foretold the Messiah (John 5 : 39), and they had the knowledge of his works and the moral capacity to judge them, and did adjudge that God was with him (John 3 : 2), and that he could not be a sinner (John 9 : 16). This was enough to render them guilty in not following out their convictions by a public confession of Christ as a prophet, which they really saw him to be. Comp. John 15 : 24 ; and with the entire passage (verses 39-41), Rom. 2 : 17-24." — Abbott. Verily, verily I say unto you. — " The figure [in this parable] is drawn from the spectacle likely at any evening to be witnessed on the hillsides of Judea, a flock of sheep gathered from the different fields in which they had been wandering, and following their shepherd, who conducts them to the sheepfold, which they enter, one by one, for protection, the shepherd going before and leading them in. To understand aright its meaning, two facts, often forgotten, must be borne in mind : (1) that the metaphor is used in the Old Testament, and for a double purpose ; some- times the shepherd is the religious teacher of Israel, whose un- faithfulness is rebuked in the prophets (Jer. 23 : 1-4 ; Ezek., chap. 34) ; sometimes the shepherd is the Lord, who leads, defends, and feeds the soul which trusts in him (Ps. 23 ; Isaiah 40, 11) ; (2) the parable is closely connected with the discourse concerning blindness, growing out of the cure of the blind man, and is given for the purpose of emphasizing and carrying out the warnings therein contained against the Pharisees as blind leaders of the blind (Matt. 15 : 14). I understand, then, that it is a parable with a double application. First, Christ compares the Pharisees to shepherds, himself to the door, and declares that they alone are true shepherds who enter into Israel through — that is, under command from, and with the authority of — Christ as the Messiah ; all others are thieves and robbers (John 10 : 7-10). He then changes the application, retaining the figure, declares himself to be the shepherd, whose praises David and Isaiah sang, and indicates the nature of the service which he will render to his sheep — namely, giving his life for them. The parable it- self embraces verses 1-6, the first application, a lesson THE SHEEPFOLD. 383 Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 1-2. J.c. 33. the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a rob- Apologue of the ber. But he that entereth in by the door Sheepf°'d. against the false Pharisaical teachers ; verses 7-10, the sec- ond application, a lesson concerning himself as the good shep- herd, verses 11-18. The first application is interpreted by Eze- kiel, chap. 34 ; the second by Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40 : 11. The ordinary interpretation which regards Christ as referring to him- self throughout as shepherd necessarily supposes that he employs a mixed metaphor, in which, without any apparent reason, he alternately represents himself as the door and the shepherd." — Abbott. The sheepfold. — " Those low, flat buildings on the sheltered side of the valley are sheepfolds. They are called ma rah ; and when the nights are cold the flocks are shut up in them, but in ordinary weather they are merely kept within the yard. This, you observe, is defended by a wide stone wall, crowned all around with sharp thorns, which the prowling wolf will rarely attempt to scale. The nimer, however, and the fahed, the leop- ard and panther of this country, when pressed with hunger, will overleap this thorny hedge, and with one tremendous bound land among the frightened fold. Then is the time to try the nerve and heart of the faithful shepherd. These humble types of him who leadeth Joseph like a flock never leave their helpless charge alone, but accompany them by day and abide with them by night." — Thomson. The sheepfolds are sometimes constructed of wattled-work, twigs and branches of trees woven together, high and strong enough to secure the flock against wild beasts. " The sheepfold in this parable answers primarily to Israel, the then visible and organic church of God, but secondarily to the church of Christ in all ages, the visible and external organi- zation, in which the professed disciples of Christ, his sheep, are gathered for better protection. He that enters not by the door, but furtively climbs up some other way, marks himself thereby as evil disposed." — Abbott. He that entereth in by the door, the same is a shepherd of the sheep. — " Not, as in our English version, the shepherd. The definite article is wanting. Christ does not declare that the evidence that he is the shepherd consists in the fact that he entered through the door, for he is himself the door. He declares to the Pharisees, who reject him as their Messiah, that there is a double test of the religious teacher ; (1) he must enter into the church by the way by which he directs the sheep to enter. There is not one salvation for the teacher and another for the 384 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 10: 2-5. j.c. 33. is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter open- eth ; and the sheep hear his voice : and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him : for they know not the voice of strangers. taught ; the door is the same to all ; and (2) he must enter by the one only door — Jesus Christ. Whoever comes in the name and with the authority of Jesus Christ is a shepherd of the sheep ; whoever comes to preach any other gospel comes to rob the sheep of their Saviour and salvation (Gal. 1 : 8, 9 ; 2 John 10 : 10)." — Abbott. Porter. — Watch was kept at the door by a servant furnished with arms, the " porter." The sheep hear his voice. — " This is true to the let- ter. They are so tame and so trained that they follow their keeper with the utmost docilitv. He leads them forth from the fold just where he pleases." — Thomson. "Two flocks were moving slowly up the slope of the hill, the one of goats, the other of sheep. The shepherd was going before the sheep, and they followed as he led the way to the Jaffa gate ; we could not but remember the Saviour's words, ' When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice.' He calleth his own sheep by name. — " Speaks to them indi- vidually, indicating Christ's regard for each one of his followers. In the morning the shepherd comes, is admitted by the ' porter,' and calls the bell-wether ; the particular animals had, and in our own day still have, their own names." — Tholuck. And they follow him. — " How think you is Christ to be fol- lowed, except by the law which he gave, and the example which he set before us ?" — Paulinus. A stranger will they not follow. — " A traveler asserted to a Syrian shepherd that the sheep knew the dress of their master, and not his voice ; the shepherd, on the other hand, maintained that it was the voice they knew. To settle the point, he and the traveler changed dresses and went among the sheep. The traveler in the shepherd's dress called on the sheep, and tried to lead them ; but they knew not his voice, and never moved. On the other hand, they ran at once at the call of their owner, though thus disguised." — Narrative of Mission to the Jews. CHRIST THE DOOR. 385 Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 6-8. j.c. 33. This parable spake Jesus unto them : but they un- derstood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers : but the All that ever- came before me. — "The words are directed chiefly against the Scribes and Pharisees, considered as teachers, whose doctrine was far from breathing the same spirit with his, and whose chief object was not like that of the good Shepherd — to feed and to protect the flock — but, like that of the robber, or of the wolf, to devour them." — Home. On this passage Bloom field remarks : " It is almost universally agreed that by thieves and robbers we are only to understand rapacious persons, chiefly in- tent on gain. That most of the high priests under the second temple at least were such the History of Josephus will abund- antly testify ; nay, it is clear that almost all of them for the last sixty or seventy years had been such — persons who bought their office, and then made as much of it as they could for the short time they were allowed to hold it. The traits of their characters, as delineated by Josephus, exactly correspond to those adverted to in the present comparison — John 10 : 10, 12, 13 — namely, avarice and extortion, united with the utmost timidity and neglect of protecting those under their governance. That our Lord meant chiefly the high priests of a recent period is plain from the use of the present tense, ' are thieves and robbers.' Now, that the sheep should not listen to their spiritual admoni- tions might be expected ; and that they did not is attested by what we find in Josephus." " I am inclined," says Abbott, " to take before as an adverb signifying precedence in rank or authori- ty, as it does in Col. 1:17; James 5 : 12, and 1 Pet. 4 : 8, and to understand the passage, All whosoever come claiming precedence above tne are thieves and robbers. The verb come is in the aorist tense, and does not necessarily indicate a coming in the past only, but would be properly used for the enunciation of a general prin- ciple. The prophets of the Old Testament claimed no such prece- dence above Christ. On the contrary, they were but his heralds ; and John the Baptist distinctly disavowed such precedence (Matt. 3 : 14 ; John 1 : 26, 27; 3 : 30). The Pharisees, on the other hand, denied Christ's right to teach, because he did not belong to their schools (John 7 : 15), and in their conference with the blind man had put themselves above Christ (John 9 : 16, 24). Where there is no general agreement among scholars I hesitate to offer an 386 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 8-10. j.c. 33. sheep did not hear them. I am the door : by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for interpretation which differs from all, but this appears to me on th : whole more consistent with the context, and with the teach- ing of the New Testament elsewhere, than any other, and not inconsistent with the original. If this be a correct interpretation, Christ's claim here is directly antagonistic to those who would make an eclectic religion by selecting truth from all the world's religious teachers, including Christ among the rest. For he de- clares all to be robbing the world of truth, not imparting it, who deny him the pre-eminent rank as a religious teacher. On the other hand, he does not stigmatize genuine moral teachers, such as Buddha or Socrates, as thieves and robbers, for they had no knowledge of Christ, and claimed no precedence above him." But the sheep did not hear them. — " This has been eminently true of all teachers in the church who have put themselves above Christ ; it is the preachers of Christ who alone have secured the world's attention. This is illustrated by the history of Paul (2 Cor. 4 : 5), Luther, Wesley, and in our own times Spurgeon, Moody, and others." — Abbott. I am the door ; by me if any enter in he shall be safe. " Christ is not only the door by whom the shepherd (Ihe teacher) can alone enter in to feed the flock ; he is also the door by which alone the sheep (the disciples) can enter into the church and into security (Acts 4 : 12). The extent and assurance of this safety is expressed below (verses 28, 29). And observe, the promise is not merely shall be saved in the future, but shall be safe — that is, from the time of entering the door" (Chap. 3 : 18, 36 ; Rom. 8 : I, 28, 31, etc.).— Abbott. Shall go in and out, and find pasture. — " To go in and out is to transact the business of each day's life ; its rest and labor, the beginning and end of every work. The Hebrew phrase de- notes a man's whole life and conversation. The promises con- nected therewith seem to imply that in their daily walk, it may be in the world's dusty lane and crowded mart, the people of God will find spiritual support and consolation, even meat for their souls, which the world knows not of." — Burgon. "The meaning is that he who thus enters the door shall be blessed in all his ways. His pasture is the bread of life and water of life, promised in Chaps. 4 : 14 ; 6 : 48-51. So that Christ is at once the door, the shepherd, and the pasture ; the entrance, the guar- dian and guide, and the food of the disciple." — Abbott. The thief cometh not but to steal, etc. — The false teach- CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 387 Chap. XXIV. John 10: 10, n. j.c. 33. to steal, and to kill, and to destroy : I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd : Christ the Good the good shepherd giveth his life for the ShePherd- ers before alluded to. The terms are in the original exceedingly- graphic, and describe what was often done by the roving bands of marauders who then infested Judea, and who used to destroy what they could not carry off. That they might have life, and have it more abundantly. The words should be translated, " and that they might have it super- abundantly." Sheep, in order to thrive, must have not merely sufficient, but exuberant, pasturage ; and " It is written, eye hath not been, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him." " A contrast between false religion and the true, heathenism or Pharisaism and Christianity. The false religion comes to deprive men of their liberty, their property, their earthly happi- ness, to kill their natural and free life, and to destroy, finally, the soul. The true religion comes first to give this present life more abundant development, and then through that to give eternal life. Hence, whatever form of religion tends to deprive mankind of its free, natural, and joyous life is anti-Christian ; the constant tendency of Christ's teaching and influence is to make the whole life — social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual — more abundant." — Abbott. The good shepherd. — This title — which is applied to Jehovah in Psalm 23, and Ezek. 34 : 12-23, and prophetically to Christ in Isa. 40 : 9. 10, and Zech. 13 : 7 — is here appropriated by Jesus to himself. It is also applied to him by Paul in Acts 20 : 28, by Peter in 1 Pet. 5:1,4, and by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews in Heb. 13 : 20, 21. The Twenty third Psalm — in which "the Psalmist describes himself as one of Jehovah's flock, safe under his care, absolved from all anxieties by the sense of his protection" — is, says Professor Seeley "the most complete picture of happiness that ever was or can be drawn." Giveth his life for the sheep. — This frequently happens in the present unsettled condition of Syria, and we know that in the time of Christ the country was infested with robbers and over- run with roving bands of marauders. On this subject Dr. Thomson remarks : " The faithful shepherd has often to put his life in his hand to defend his flock. I have known more than one case in which he had literally to lay it down in the contest. A poor, faithful fellow last spring, between Tiberias and Tabor, instead of fleeing, actually fought three Bedouin robbers until he 388 THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 12-14. j.c. 33. sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shep- herd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf com- ing, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth ; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my was hacked to pieces with their khanjars, and died among the sheep he was defending." " This is not a prophecy, equiva- lent to, I am about to die for my sheep ; it is the enunciation of a general principle by which every good shepherd can be distin- guished from the hireling ; for every good shepherd is ready to sacrifice his life for his sheep because they are his ; the hireling flees when danger threatens, because he is an hireling and has no real interest in the sheep. Neither is the expression to lay down the life a circumlocution for die. Christ rarely uses circum- locution of any kind. The good shepherd may or may not be called on to die for his sheep ; but he always lays down his life for them. To lay down the life is to consecrate it, to devote it to the flock ; as a mother, who is always ready to die for her children, but who, living or dying, belongs to her children and surrenders herself to them. So we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3 : 16), though comparatively few are ever called on to die for them. Wickliffe and Luther as truly laid down their lives for their flocks as Huss and Tyndale. The sacrifice of Christ consisted, not merely in his death — which was indeed in its mere physical aspects the least part of it — but in his whole incarnation. His entire life, from his advent to the grave, was laid down for his sheep. This laying down of his life includes his death ; but it includes much more. The whole thirty years was a living sacrifice for sinful humanity (Phil. 2 : 5-8)."— J Molt. The hireling. — False teachers began to appear early in the church. Speaking of them, Paul says : " For all seek their own, not the things that are Christ's" (Phil. 2 : 21). They were pre- dicted by Isaiah (56 : 9), Ezekiel (34 : 2, 6), and Zechariah (11 : 16, 17) ; and the Apostles forewarned the early Christians that they would, after their departure, bring in " damnable here- sies," even denying the Lord that bought them" (Acts 20: 28, 30 ; 2 Pet. 2 : 1-3 ; 1 John 2 : 18 ; 4 : 3.) I know my sheep. — " The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal : The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Tim. 2 : 19 ; Nahum 1 : 7). The original word indicates more than mere knowledge ; a constant care, and strong affection. It is CHRIST KNOWS HIS SHEEP. 389 Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 14-1S. J.c. 33. sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father : and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. only Christ who can say I know my sheep. " If you would think rightly of the Son of Man, think of the Person who knows thoroughly everything that each one of you is feeling, and can not utter to others or to himself — every temptation from riches, from poverty, from solicitude, from society, from gifts of intellect, from the want of them, from the gladness of the spirit, from the barrenness and dreariness of it, from the warmth of affection and from the drying up of affection, from the anguish of doubt and the dullness of indifference, from the whirlwind of passion and the calm which succeeds it, from the vile thoughts which spring out of fleshly appetites and indulgences, from the darker, more terrible suggestions which are presented to the inner will. Believe that he knows all these, that he knows you. And then believe this also, that all he knows is through intense, inmost sympathy, not with the evil that is assaulting you, but with you who are assaulted by it. Believe that knowledge, in this the Scriptural sense of it — the human as well as the divine sense of it — is absolutely inseparable from sympathy." — Maurice. As the Father knoweth me, even so, etc. The misplacing of the period here obscures the meaning. The whole sentence should read : " I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine ; even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father." " The knowledge which the Lord Jesus has of his people, and they of him, is compared with that which the Father has of him and he of the Father." — A I ford. There shall be one fold. — More correctly, " one flock." " It is not true that there is to be in the Christian Church one fold ; one flock there is, but it is contained in many folds." — Alford, This commandment. — This charge, or commission, re- ceived I from my Father. " In this whole passage our Lord affirms that he is about to undergo death voluntarily ; that the 39° THE MAN BORN BLIND. Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 19. j.c. 33. The jews There was a division therefore again Divided. among the Jews for these sayings. And malice of those who were plotting against his life could avail nothing ; that no force could take away his life, if he were un- willing to part with it ; that he freely lays it down for his flock. He asserts, moreover, that he lays down his life so as to re- ceive it back, and therefore that his death is not to be consid- ered as coming under the common law of mortality, by which all that go down to the tomb return to the dust ; but that it is altogether peculiar, since, alter a few days, he will rise from the grave and return to life. He then affirms that his death hap- pens, not by any fate or necessity, but by the eternal counsels of his Father." — Tittmari, condensed. "The word rendered pow- er includes both power and right (see Chap. 1 : 12, note) ; the word rendered commandment is not equivalent to autho- rity ; the original word always means law or command. Christ's disciples have no authority to frame self-sacrifices for them- selves ; doing this is always characteristic of a corrupt and quasi pagan religion. They are lo bear with cheerful heroism whatever self-sacrifice the providence of God may lay upon them. So also they have never a right to seek death, but are always to seek to live to the glory of God, and for their fellow-men. But Christ voluntarily chose his life of humilia- tion and cross-bearing ; voluntarily sought its privations ; and finally went, not to an inevitable death, but to one which he might easily have avoided by flight if he had acted according to the directions which he gave his followers, and on which the apostles subsequently acted. He might have fled from Jerusalem on the fatal night of his arrest, as he had done before, and this without leaving his sheep to be seized or scattered by the wolf ; or he might have been protected by supernatural power (Matt. 26 : 53). He did not, because he had a peculiar authority given to him, which his followers do not possess, to lay down his own Hie, both in the self-assumed humiliation of the incarnation and in the final tragedy of his death. And this peculiar authority he possessed because in all his incarnation and passion and death he was carrying out the will and obeying the command 01 his Father. To us the divine command is interpreted by Provi- dence. Christ needed no such interpreter, for he knew the Father's will, knowing the Father, even as he was known by the Father." — Abbott. There was 2. division, therefore, among the Jews. " These divine mysteries were more than they could understand." — Fa rrar A DIVISION AMONG THE JEWS. 39 1 Chap. XXIV. John 10 : 20, 21. j.C 33. many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad ; why hear ye him ? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind ? Many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad. — " It is worthy of observation in what manner the Jews resisted the force of the miracle related in this chapter, and the conclusion to which it led, after they had failed in discrediting its evidence. If it should be inquired how a turn of thought so different from what prevails at present should obtain currency with the ancient Jews, the answer is found in two opinions which then prevailed. The one was their expectation of a Messiah of a kind totally contrary to what the appearance of Jesus bespoke him to be ; the other, their persuasion of the agency of demons in the pro- duction of supernatural effects (Matt. 12 : 24). The first put them upon seeking out some excuses to themselves for not receiving Jesus in the character in which he claimed to be received, and the second supplied them with just such an excuse as they wanted. ' ' — Paley, PART V. FROM THE FINAL DEPARTURE OF JESUS FROM GALILEE ARRIVAL AT BETHANY; OR FROM NOVEMBER, J.C. 33. TO APRIL, J.C. 34- TIME— SIX MONTHS, LESS SIX DAYS. JESUS SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM. 393 Chap. XXV. Luke 9 : 51. Nov. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXV. FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to " Immediately after the events recorded in the last chapter, John narrates another incident that occurred two months subse- quently, at the Feast of Dedication, which took place on the twentieth of December. In accordance with the main purpose of his Gospel, which was to narrate that work of the Christ in Judea, and especially in Jerusalem, which the Synoptists had omitted, he says nothing of an intermediate and final visit to Galilee, or of those last journeys to Jerusalem respecting parts of which the other evangelists supply us with so many details. And yet that Jesus must have returned to Galilee is clear, not only from the other evangelists, but also from the nature of the case, and from certain incidental facts in the narrative of St. John himself. (See John 10 : 25, which evidently refers to his last discourse to them two months before, and verse 40 again.) Besides, the expression of John 10 : 22 — ' And it was the Dedi- cation at Jerusalem ' — would have little meaning if a new visit were not implied ; and those words are perhaps added for the very reason that the Dedication might be kept anywhere else. . . . This great journey, therefore, from Galilee to Jeru- salem, so rich in occasions which called forth some of his most memorable utterances, must have been either a journey to the Feast of Tabernacles or to the Feast of Dedication. That it could not have been the former may be regarded as settled, not only on other grounds, but decisively because that was a rapid and a secret journey, this an eminently public and leisurely one." — Farrar. The chronology of this period of Christ's life, including the incidents and teachings in Luke, chapters 10 : 1 to 18 : 34, is very uncertain. The hypothesis which is adopted here in the text and the accompanying note is a very common one ; perhaps the most common one ; and where all is hypothesis, discussion is neither very important or profitable. For reasons which I have stated more fully in my " Life of Christ " and my " Commentary on Luke" (chap. 10, prel. note), I do not, however, agree with this hypothesis. I do not believe that Christ ever returned to any public ministry in Galilee after he once left it ; I think that he spent the three months intervening between the Feasts of Taber- 394 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 9 : 51-53. Nov. j.c. 33. go to Jerusalem. And sent messengers before his face : and they went, and entered into a village of the Samari- Rejected by the tans, to make ready for him. And they Samaritans. ^j^ not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. nacles and Dedication in or about Jerusalem ; that after the latter feast, he retired to Perea — the region beyond the Jordan ; and that the ministry so briefly referred to in Matthew 19 : 1, and Mark 10 : 1, occurred at that time, and during that ministry. Most of the incidents and instructions in Luke 10 ; 1-18 : 34 belong to that ministry. The appointment of the seventy I put during the Perean ministry and suppose that they were commis- sioned for a service in that larger territory as the twelve for their special mission in Galilee. The journey through Samaria I think probable was his last journey to Jerusalem, to the passion, though that is quite uncertain. — L. A. When the time was come. — " When the days were being fulfilled," or, as we should say, " When the time was near." Received up is generally understood to refer to his ascension to heaven. He steadfastly set his face. — " He not only had but shoiued the fixed purpose to go to Jerusalem. He saw what was before him there, and went to meet it." — Sc/iaff. " His steadfastness itself indicated the conflict within, over which he triumphed in thus going to Jerusalem. Compare the description in Ma-k 10 : 32." — Abbott. A village of the Samaritans. — The direct route from Galilee to Jerusalem lay through Samaria. (See note on page 103.) The village referred to is conjectured by Lichtenstein and Farrar to have been 3 little town called En-garim, or the Fountain of Gardens, situated at the foot of the range of hills which form the northern limit of Samaria and overlooking the plain of Esdrae- lon. It is an insignificant place, and its inhabitants are, even now, noted for their rudeness to strangers. Thomson says, " They are fanatical, rude, and rebellious." To make ready for him. — " To provide food and shelter for him and the large party accompanying him. Yet they probably also announced his coming as the Messiah." — Schaff. They did not receive him. — The bitter hostility between Jews and Samaritans receives several illustrations in the Gospels. (See notes on page 104.) " Previously, when he was passing through Samaria on his journey northward, he had found Samaritans not only willing to receive, but anxious to retain, his JAMES AND JOHN REBUKED. 395 Chap. XXV. Luke 9 : 54-56. Nov. j.c. 33. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did ? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of presence among them, and eager to listen to his words. But now in two respects the circumstances were different ; for now he was professedly traveling to the city which they hated and the temple which they despised, and now he was attended, not by a few apostles, but by a great multitude, who were accompanying him as their acknowledged Prophet and Messiah." — Farnir. " The refusal to receive Christ was a distinct refusal to recognize him as a prophet, or a leader worthy of reverence ; it was also a recognized indignity in the East, where hospitality is a recognized duty, and where the traveler is habitually welcomed as a guest, unless some distinct cause exists for refusing to receive him. The act is interpreted by 2 John, vers. 9 and 10 ; it was an emphatic repudiation of him as a heretic, a teacher of falsehood." — Abbott. Wilt thou that we command fire. — " There is some doubt whether the added words, as Elias did, is not a gloss added by a copyist, in explanation of the proposition. There is no doubt, however, that there was a reference in the disciples' minds to 2 Kings 1 : 9-12. Their proposal indicates their spirit ; they were full of zeal for their Master ; believed that he was on his way to Jerusalem to enter into his kingdom, remembered the glory in which they had seen him with Moses and Elijah, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and were impatient for the disclosure of his power and authority. It was the same spirit which led Peter to rebuke the Lord for prophesying his passion, and to draw his sword to resist the arrest." — Abbott. " There is nothing so try- ing, so absolutely exasperating, as a failure to find food and shelter, and common civility, after the fatigue of travel, and especially for a large multitude to begin a fresh journey when they expected rest. Full, therefore, of the Messianic Kingdom, which now at last they thought was on the eve of being mightily proclaimed, the two brothers wanted to usher it in with a blaze of Sinaitic vengeance, and so to astonish and restore the flagging spirits of followers who would naturally be discouraged by so immediate and decided a repulse." — Farrar. " What wonder," says St. Ambrose', " that the Sons of Thunder wished to flash lightning ?" Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. — " All the 396 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 9 : 56 ; to: 1. Nov. j.c. 33. man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. After these things the Lord appointed other seventy words of our Lord's rebuke are omitted in the best manuscripts, but found in many early versions. Some take the clause as a question : Know ye not what manner of spirit ? etc. The thought is : ' Ye know not of what spirit you are the instruments when speaking thus ; you think that you are working a miracle of faith in my service, but you are obeying a spirit alien from mine." — Godel, following Augustine and Calvin. " But in the uncertainty of the MSS., the internal evidence may be accepted as decisive ; and that is in favor of the ordinary reading." — Abbott. " He had come to save, not to destroy, and if any heard his words and believed not, he judged them not. And so, without a word of anger, he went to a different village ; and doubtless St. John, who by that time did know of what spirit he was, remembered these words of Christ when he went with Peter into Samaria to confirm the recent converts, and to bestow upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost." — Farrar. "This incident illustrates the Christian method of meeting insult and indignity — not by penalty, but by patience, and, when possible, by avoidance. But it illus- trates much more. The anger of the disciples was not aroused by a personal affront, but by one offered to their Lord ; it was excited, not by self-conceit or pride, but by love and zeal for Christ. Zeal for him, when uniting with the lower passions, produces not piety but fanaticism ; such zeal, so uniting, is not a Christian spirit ; it may even result in a devilish spirit. Christ condemns, impliedly, all attempts to coerce respect for him, or to punish the want of it ; and so not only all religious persecu- tion, but also all that wrath and bitterness which is so unhappily common in religious controversies. The office of Christianity is wholly remedial, not punitive ; its instruments are the forbear- ance and long-suffering of love, not judgment and penalty ; light and warmth, not fire from heaven. We are to be patient, not merely with wrong personal to ourselves, but with the spirit of irreligion and infidelity, and with affronts offered to our Lord. We are not to hate even the enemies of Christ." — Abbott. Appointed other seventy. — " Up to this time Jesus had not openly and expressly declared himself to be the Messiah, either in Judea or in Galilee. But the time had now come when his Messianic character must be publicly asserted, that the whole nation might know that he was the Christ, the Son of David, the King of Israel ; and if rejected, he must be rejected as such. It must be a national act, at Jerusalem the national capital, and not SEVENTY DISCIPLES SENT OUT. 397 Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 1-3. Nov. j.c. 33. also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself seventy Disciples , 1 Sent Out. would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few : pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways : behold, I send you be done in ignorance. To this end his messengers shall go before him into every place where he designed to go, and announce the kingdom of God at hand in the person of the King. Here, then, we find the grand peculiarity of the Lord's last journey to Jeru- salem. As he knew, and had declared to his apostles, he went up to die. ... It is thus the mission of the seventy, who were sent ' two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself would come,' that gives to this last journey its distinctive character. Going before him, they announced that he was about to follow them on his way to Jerusalem, and thus prepared all who heard them to see in him, not a mere prophet, the risen John, or Elijah, or any other ; but the Christ. They were his heralds or forerunners, and their work was to announce his approach, and prepare his way." — Condensed from Andrews. These things. — The events just related. This opposes the view that the mission of the seventy preceded the rejection in the Samaritan village. Other seventy. — " Or, ' seventy others,' either in addition to the twelve, or to the messengers spoken of in Luke 9:52. The former is more probable from the similarity of the instruction given to both. The chief purpose was not to train them, as in the case of the twelve, but actually to prepare the people in these places for his coming. The whole was a final appeal, and also a preparation for the final entry into Jerusalem. That our Lord should follow an 1 actually visit thirty-five places is not remarkable, in view of his great and constant activity." — Schaff. " The mission of so large a number to go before him two and two, and prepare for his arrival in every place he intended to visit, implies for this journey of proclamation an immense pub- licity."— Farrar. Go your ways. — "This implies urgency. The seventy are not forbidden to go to the Gentiles and Samaritans (Matt. 10 : 5.) Possibly they did visit the latter ; and besides their route was made known to them in advance, which was not the case when the twelve were sent out." — Schaff. " These instructions are 398 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 3-6. Nov. j.c. 33. forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes ; and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace substantially the same as those given to the twelve in Matthew, ch. 10. Some matters given there are omitted here ; but there is nothing here not contained there ; at least the differences are little more than verbal. To the direction, / send you forth as lambs among wolves, Christ adds in Matthew the direction, Be ye therefore wise as serpents, etc. The direction, Salute no man by the way, "is peculiar to Luke." The customary salutations among Eastern nations are formal and tedious, and consume much time. If an Oriental meets an acquaintance, he stops, however urgent his business, to make and answer an endless number of inquiries. " If two Arabs of equal rank meet each other, they extend to each other the right hand, and having clasped, they elevate them as if to kiss them. Each one draws back his hand, and kisses it instead of his friend's, and then places it upon his forehead. The parties then continue the salutation by kissing each other's beard. They give thanks to God that they are once more permitted to see their friend — they pray to the Almighty in his behalf. Sometimes they repeat not less than ten times the ceremony of grasping hands and kissing." — Burder's Oriental Customs. These formal salutations are said to often consume from one to two hours. To avoid a like waste of time the disciples were forbidden to go "from house to house." It is still the custom in Palestine, when a stranger arrives in a village, for the neighbors to invite him to eat and lodge with them. The custom involves much ostentation and hypocrisy ; but a failure to observe it is strongly resented, and often leads to alienation and feuds among neigh- bors. " On the one hand, the [seventy] were not to hesitate from a false delicacy to receive the hospitality proffered them ; nor, on the other hand, discontented with it, were they to go from house to house seeking for better accommodations or for social enjoyment." — Abbott. Peace be to this house. — This was a common form of saluta- tion among the Jews, strongly expressive of good-will ; and it is still in use throughout the East. Son of peace. — One disposed to peace. In the Hebrew idiom, a man who has any good or bad quality is called the son of it. " A son of peace" (the article is wanting in the original) is one who receives the salutation — i.e., is ready to welcome the Gospel message of peace," — Abbott. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SEVENTY. 399 Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 6-13. Nov. j.c. 33. shall rest upon it : if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give : for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatso- ever city ye enter, and they receive you, instructions to the eat such things as are set before you. Seventy. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you : notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! Your peace shall rest. — "Your prayer shall not be inef- fectual." The world " peace" in Scripture comprehends bless- ings of all kinds. Be ye sure of this. — " Despite your rejection, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." "This word of love (ver. 9) becomes now a word of warning and of future judgment. How often men thus transform God's blessings into a curse for them- selves !" — Scha(f. " Whether accepted or rejected, the kingdom of God draws nigh, a power in us or a power over us." — Abbott. Woe unto thee, Chorazin, etc. — (See note on page .) " The connection here is different. It is highly probable that our Lord uttered such words twice. In this case these towns furnished an example of the rejection spoken of in vers. 10 and II. This was his solemn farewell of these favored places, and the connection implies that they had already rejected him and been forsaken by him. The view that these awful woes were uttered at a distance from the places themselves furnishes new proof how heavily this judgment lay on the heart of Jesus." — Schaff. The very generation that rejected Christ was doomed to see, in bitter agony, these words fulfilled. It was not thirty years before the Romans swept in over those beautiful cities, leaving them only heaps of ruins. Any one who reads in the Je-vish War oj Josephus the sickening details of the slaughter and destruction 400 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 13-16, 25. Nov. J.c. 33. for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalt- ed to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me ; and he that de- spiseth you despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me de- spiseth him that sent me. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? . which fell upon the whole district of Galilee will not wonder that the Jewish historian himself exclaimed, " It was God who brought the Romans to punish the Galileans !" A certain lawyer. — " One versed in the Jewish law, both the Old Testament and the Rabbinical comments thereon. The term theologian would more nearly describe his character." — Abbott. This incident, peculiar to Luke, must be distinguished from a later one, mentioned by Matthew, Mark, and Luke — namely, that of the rich young ruler whom Jesus loved. A similar question was put in that case, receiving at first a similar answer. But otherwise the occurrences differ, especially in the second ques- tion put to our Lord and in his reply. It is impossible to sup- pose that Luke gives two different, accounts of the same occur- rence (comp. chap. 18 : 18-23). The fact that the same question was put on two different occasions by two different persons, eliciting in each case the same reply, shows that in cases where two evangelists narrate similar occurrences or sayings in differ- ent connections, both may be strictly accurate. The time and place of this incident are uncertain ; but it probably occurred not long after the mission of the seventy — between the Feast of Tabernacles and that of the Dedication." — Schaff. We have, in our arrangement of the text, let this incident directly follow the sending out of the seventy, because, allowing any chronological character at all to Luke's Gospel, that seems its natural position. Very many suppose it to have occurred at, or near, Jerusalem, because of the local allusions in the parable ; but these would be familiar to every Jew, for every boy after the age of twelve went up three times a year to the festivals. And tempted him. — " More properly, tried him. The spirit of A LAWYER QUESTIONS JESUS. 40I Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 26, 27. Nov. j.c. 33. He said unto him, What is written in the law ? how readest thou ? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with the inquirer appears to have been neither malicious nor hostile, but self-confident. His language is respectful ; he addresses Christ as Master, but his object was not to obtain guidance for himself, rather to measure the ability of the Nazarene Rabbi. Probably his conscience had been aroused by the preaching of Jesus, which Luke has not reported, but which everywhere included a demand for repentance. Fully recognizing the appro- priateness of this preaching for the publicans and sinners, who were Christ's principal auditors, he did not entertain the idea that he needed repentance himself. Hence the question, What shall / do to inherit eternal life ? Christ answers him as he answered the rich young ruler (Matt. 19 : 16-22) — in such a way as awakened in him a sense that he also needed to be justified (ver. 29). — Abbott. " The man who is certain he is right is almost sure to be wrong, and he has the additional misfortune of inevitably remaining so. All our theories are fixed upon uncer- tain data, and all of them want alteration and support. Ever since the world began opinion has changed with the progress of things, and it is something more than absurd to suppose that we have a sure claim to perfection, or that we are in possession of the highest stretch of intellect which has or can result from human thought." — Faraday. What is written in the law?—" Christ's principle of action in such cases is to throw the inquirer back upon his own moral sense, to require him to measure himself, not by any new stan- dard of righteousness with which he is unfamiliar, but with that which his own conscience already recognizes. Each soul must be convicted by its own moral sense, not by that of another. So Christ refers this lawyer to his own understanding of the law." —Abbott. How readest thou ? — This form was used by the RarTbins to call out a quotation from Scripture. " How" means " to what purport." " If we read the law spiritually, recognizing its pur- pose (1 Tim. 1 : 5), we shall realize that, whatever our outward life has been, we have not in spirit and in character conformed to its requirements. Compare Luke 8 : 18." — Abbott. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc. — This answer of the lawyer showed intelligence ; he gives the sum of the whole law. But his knowledge of the law exceeded his self-knowledge. In 402 FINAL -DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 27-29. Nov. j.c. 33. all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neigh- bour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right : this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour ? fact he shows, by adding from Lev. 19 : 18, " and thy neighbor as thyself," that he had some conception of our Lord's teachings. The Jews had written upon their phylacteries and recited night and morning, not this passage, but Deut. n : 13, etc. Hence it is incorrect to suppose that our Lord pointed to the man's phy- lactery, when he said, " How readest thou?" Thou hast answered right ; this do, and thou shalt live. — " Christ dismisses him summarily, almost abruptly ; makes no attempt to convict him of disobedience, throws him back upon his own consciousness. Is this reply unevangelical ? Is it in- consistent with Rom. 3 : 20? No. He that does this shall live ; he needs no evangel ; they that be sick need a physician, not they that are whole ; the Gospel is for those, and only for those, who are conscious that they have not done this, and still desire to enter into life. The preaching of the law here, and everywhere in the New Testament, is to produce conviction of sin and the sense of the need of a Saviour (Rom., chap. 7)." — Abbott. Willing to justify himself. — The effect of Christ's teaching shows the result at which he aimed. The inquirer's own con- science became his accuser ; he knew that he had not fulfilled this divine law. The question which followed was put to cover his confusion, by leading Christ away from the practical and personal question to one that was theoretical and measurably abstract. Who is my neighbor? — "The Jews in practice considered none but a Jew a neighbor of a Jew. No part of the Jewish char- acter contributed to prejudice the Greeks and Romans against them more than this well-known trait ; so repulsive, so unsocia- ble, and so repugnant to the first and commonest principles of humanity !" — Greswell. " This second question Christ does not answer ; he does not tell the lawyer who is the neighbor to whom kindness should be shown, but he depicts, in a dramatic form, an act which illustrates the law of love, and bids the inquirer measure his life by the law so interpreted." — Abbott. " Had he asked the man's own opinion on this question, he well knew how narrow and false it would have been ; he therefore answered it PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 403 Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 30, 31. Nov. j.c. 33. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and parable of the wounded him, and departed, leaving him Good Samaritan, half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way ; and when he saw him, he passed by himself, or rather pave to the lawyer the means of answering it, by one of his most striking parables." — Farrar. A certain man. — A Jew is meant ; but this is not made prominent, since the main lesson of the parable is not love to enemies, but love to man as, man, humanity, philanthropy. Down from Jerusalem to Jericho. — Jericho is in the valley of the Jordan, about seventeen miles from Jerusalem, and on considerably lower ground. The road between the two places passes through what is called the " Wilderness of Jericho" — a rocky, mountainous region, sparsely inhabited, and still infested with robbers. Josephus says that at this time Judea was overrun with highwaymen, who committed the greatest excesses, and that this road was particularly dangerous. By Jaome it is called the Red or Bloody Way, and in his time a Roman fort and gar- rison were needed there for the protection of travelers. This man is represented as literally surrounded by such robbers, who stripped him of all he had, and left him in a half-dying condi- tion. Thus he was in need of speedy help. " The very scenery," says Buckingham, " in a portion of the road, the bold, projecting crags, the dark shadows in which every thing lies buried below, the towering height of the cliffs above, and the forbidding desolation which everywhere reigns around, seem to tempt to robbery and murder, and occasion a dread of it in those who pass that way." The road is still dangerous. By chance. — "In the language of common life. As a fact, most opportunities of doing good come, as it were, ' by chance,' though providentially ordered of God." — Schaff. Bengel remarks that " many good opportunities are hidden under that which may seem accidental." A certain priest. — ' ' The naturalness of the parable is remarka- ble. Jericho was a priestly city, and the priests would go to and from Jerusalem to perform their duties in the order of their courses. The case is more pointed if this one is regarded as coming from priestlv duty in the house of God." — Schaff. Passed by on the other side. — Conduct altogether inexcusa- ble, since by the Mosaic law not even a fallen beast of burden 404 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 3i~34- Nov. j.c. 33. on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he jour- neyed, came where he was ; and when he saw him,, he had compassion on him. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on was to be passed by, even if it were an enemy's. (See Ex. 23 : 4-5-) Likewise a Levite. — He did more than the .priest — he looked on him, possibly to see if the wounded man was a brother Jew, and thus had a claim on his kindness. But the man was too far gone to speak, and hence the Levite too passed by on the other side. " Every man who passes indifferently and unconcernedly the abodes of wretchedness, ignorance, and crime, repeats the experience of this priest and Levite." — Abbott. A certain Samaritan. — On the history and character of the Samaritans see note on pages 104-5. " The natural and religious prejudices of the Samaritan would have rendered him little dis- posed to show kindness to a Jew ; his conduct, therefore, forms the more striking contrast to that of the priest and Levite." — Bloomfield. He was moved with compassion. — "From this feeling all the subsequent actions flow. The first step in becoming ' good Samaritans ' is to obtain this feeling. But law, good resolu- tions, beautiful moral examples, and the whole array of hu- man contrivances, fail to create it. It is learned from Christ. ' Mark the beautiful climax. First the compassionate heart, then the helping hand, next the ready foot, finally the true-hearted charge.' " — Van Oosterzee. " Incidentally Christ teaches what are the manifestations and what the constituent elements of a genuine charity. The Samaritan has compassion, a feeling for and with the sufferer ; his feeling leads him not to escape the sight of suffering, but to succor the sufferer ; he does this not through another, but by a personal and a disagreeable service ; at a real self-sacrifice, too, for he sets the wounded man on his own beast and walks himself ; he enlists others, and he contrib- utes money as well as service, and service as well as money." — Abbott. " A man bountiful in bestowing external things gives something apart from himself ; but he who has tears and lamen- tations for a neighbor's woe hath imparted to him something of himself. ' ' — -Gregory. Oil and wine were usual remedies for wounds in the East. On Eastern inns, see note on page 43. This, however, was evi- WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR. 405 Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 34-37. Nov. j.c. 33. his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him ; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves ? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. dently something more than a caravanserai for the mere shelter of travelers, for there was a host, to whose care he entrusted the wounded traveler and who was able to provide for him Two pence (denarii) was two days' wages of a laboring man (Matt. 20 : 9, 10). It was therefore not an insignificant sum ■ moreover, it was accompanied by a promise to give whatever further sum might be necessary for the wounded man's keeping Which was neighbor ?—" Which became neighbor • ■ they had been strangers. " It is not place, but love, which makes neighborhood. "— Wordsworth. " «?i?-dJhe *trife when men the Pa,m contest Which most shall love, which most oblige the rest." " Have love ! Not love alone for one. But man, as man. thy brother call ; And scatter, like the circling sun. Thy charities 011 all."— Schiller. "The moral lesson inculcated in the parable is, that every man who is so situated as to require the good offices of his fellow-men, without regard to place, nation, or consanguinity must be regarded and treated as their neighbor."— Gresw ell tvery one who, moved by a genuine compassion, turns aside lrom his ordinary associations at some self-sacrifice to lift up the down-trodden and restore the fainting and the suffering, whatever may be his creed or his nation, repeats the experience of the good bamantan. This drama is perpetually repeated ; and in the nineteenth century, as in the first, the orthodoxy of a noble life is better than that of mere creeds and churchlv tradition.**— Abbott l*o, and do thou likewise.— The best comment we can make on this passage will be Izaak Walton*! account of an incident in the hfe of that sweet poet and "saintly country parson " George Herbert. In another walk," writes the good lL,lc " he £S* ?£- man ^5 a P,°°rer h°rse that was faIIen ""der his load , they were both in distress, and needed present help, which 406 FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEE. Chap. XXV. Luke 10 : 37. Nov. J.c. 33. Mr. Herbert perceiving, put off his canonical coat and helped the poor man to unload, and after to load his horse. The poor man blessed him for it ; and he blessed the poor man ; and was so like the good Samaritan that he gave him money to refresh both himself and his horse ; and told him that ' If he loved him- self, he should be merciful to his beast.' Thus he left the poor man, and at his coming to the musical friends at Salisbury, they began to wonder that Mr. George Herbert, who used to be so trim and neat, came into that company so soiled and discom- posed ; but he told them the occasion ; and when one of the company told him, ' He had disparaged himself by so dirty an employment,' his answer was, that ' The thought of what he had done would prove music to him at midnight, and that the omission of it would have upbraided and made discord in his conscience, whensoever he should pass by that place ; for if I be bound to pray for all that are in distress, I am sure that I am bound, so far as it is in my power, to practise what I pray for. And though I do not wish for the like occasion every day, yet, let me tell you, I would not willingly pass one day of my life without comforting a sad soul or showing mercy ; and I praise God for this occasion. And now let us tune our instruments.' " DEPARTS FOR PEREA. 407 Chap. XXVI. Matt. 19 : 1, 2 ; Mark 10 : 1. Nov. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXVI. IN PEREA. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan. And great multitudes followed him ; and he epar' healed them ; and as he was wont, taught them again. The coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan. — Perea was at this time one of the most fertile and populous districts of Syria. " A pleatau whose plains are elevated two or three hundred feet above the level of the sea, it appears to possess a still greater elevation by reason of its western border, the Jordan valley, which is sunk one thousand feet below that level. ... Its mountain streams are never wholly dry ; forests of oak cap its hill-tops ; grassy downs afford on its plains admirable pasturage. Now, as in ancient times, it is characteristically ' a place for cattle.' The high hills of Bashan, the oaks of Bashan, the strong bulls of Bashan, have been made ever-memorable by the sayings of the poet king. ' ' — Abbott's ' ' Jesus of Nazareth. " It was within the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, and included the dis- trict of Gilead, and. in its southern portion, the ten nourishing cities which went by the name of Decapolis. " Along the river Jordan the ruins of one hundred and twenty-seven villages have been counted. Its population was not homogeneous. It formed a part of the Holy Land ; and it was a part of Christ's mission to offer the Gospel to the entire Jewish people before turning from them to the Gentiles. But in Perea the Israelites were intermixed with a Gentile population ; the cities of Decapolis were Roman cities ; the sheep of Israel, in this heathen society, were wandering sheep — to the haughty Judean lost sheep. To this era of Christ's ministry naturally belong, therefore, the marvelous trio of parables — the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son ; it is here that, in the parable of the good Samaritan, he rebukes pride of caste and race ; and in the parables of the rich fool and of Dives and Lazarus, the pride of wealth. Of this ministry Matthew and Mark give a brief account (Matt. 19 : 1-20 : 16 ; Mark 10 : 1-31). Some few of the incidents and instructions recorded by Luke as in this era seem, from the parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark, to belong to the Galilean ministry ; of course they may have been repetitions. (See, for examples, 4°8 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : i, 2. Nov. j.c. 33. And it came to pass, that as he was praying in a cer- jesus Teaches tain place, when he ceased, one of his how to Pray. disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say : Luke 13 : 18-21 ; 11 : 14-26 ; 17 : i, 2 ")— Abbott on Luke. Perea is now the haunt of lawless bands of Bedouins, and few of the many travelers who annually visit Palestine venture among its ruinous solitudes. The few who have explored it (see Porter s "Giant Cities of Bashan") speak of its extensive ruins as indicating a once dense population. In the time of Christ it was traversed by Roman roads, which made it a favorite route for the Galileans in going to, and returning from, the annual festivals. As he was praying in a certain place. — " The time and place of the following incident are indefinite, but it can not be a part of the Sermon on the Mount, put out of its place. A definite occasion is stated in [Luke n] ver. 1, and vers. 5-8 are not found anywhere else. The allusion to John the Baptist (implying his death) points to a later date than that of the Sermon on the Mount. ' ' — Schaffi. Teach us to pray. — " There is nothing that cuts the air so swiftly ; nothing that takes so sublime, so happy, and so auspicious a flight as prayer ; which bears the soul on its pinions and leaves far behind all the dangers, and even the delights, of this low world of ours." — Archbishop Leighton. " If the bounties of heaven were given to man without prayer, they would be received without acknowledgment. Prayer, administering the perpetual lesson of humility, of hope, and of love, makes us feel our connection with heaven through every touch of our necessi- ties ; it binds us to Providence by a chain of daily benefits ; it impresses the hearts of all with a perpetual remembrance of the God of all." — Croly. " The words of prayer are no part of the spirit of prayer. Words may be the body of it, but the spirit of prayer always consists in holiness — that is, in holy desires and holy actions." — Jeremy Taylor. As John also taught his disciples. — " Many learned men suppose that the Jewish masters used to give their followers some short form of prayer, as a peculiar badge of their relation to them. This John the Baptist had probably done, though we know not now what it was." — Adam Clarke. When ye pray, say. — " That this is not a positive command to repeat the words of the Lord's prayer whenever we pray is evident from the briefer form here recorded. These were the JESUS TEACHES HOW TO PRAY. 409 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 2. Nov. j.c. 33. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy words of our Lord on a second occasion, when the substance (not the exact form) of the prayer was repeated. Luke wrote after Christianity had made considerable progress ; the twofold form indicates that in his day the Lord's prayer was not yet in uni- versal use as a form of prayer. It is impossible to say how early the liturgical use of it began. If our Lord gave but one form, the briefer one was probably enlarged into the longer one ; but it is almost certain that both were given." — Schaff. " The Lord's prayer [in Luke] stands thus in the most ancient MSS. : ' Father, Hallowed be thv name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread'. And forgive us our sins ; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.' This shorter form has been, in later MSS., filled in and altered from St. Matthew. It is to be noticed that several of the early fathers state that St. Luke, instead of 'thy kingdom come," wrote, ' let that Holy Spirit come upon us and purify us.' " — Alford. (See notes on pages 187 and iSg.) Our Father who art in heaven, lit.—" Our Father, the (one) in the heavens. A form of address almost unknown, and to a certain extent unwarranted, before Christ came. The added phrase, ' in the heavens,' shows ' the infinite difference between this and every other human relationship of a similar kind. He is no weak, helpless earthly parent." — Alford. " The word ' our ' implies at once our fellowship with Christ and with one another. The very preface to the Lord's prayer is a denial of Atheism, Pantheism, and Deism, since it recognizes a God, a Personal God, who is our Father through Christ." — Schaff. " Christ hath taught us to say, 'Our Father,' a form of speech which he never used himself. Sometimes he calls him 'the Father/ sometimes 'my Father,' sometimes 'your,' but never 'our.' He makes no such conjunction of us to himself as to make no distinction between us and himself ; so conjoining us as to dis- tinguish, though so distinguishing as not to separate us." — Bishop Pearson. " Let us come back to our original childship as ' sons of God.' In the loftiness thereof let us live. There can be no dignity without the conviction of the truth of that. Earth may heap its treasures in our laps, and set crowns upon our heads, but we can never come to any real greatness if we do not recognize our relationship to God." — Charles F. Deems. " Let us say : 'Our Father which art;' when we least remember thee, fix the thought of thv Being deeper than all other thoughts within us ; and may we thy children dwell in it, and find our home and rest in it now and forever. "—Fredrick D. Maurice. Philips Brooks, in his " Influence of Jesus," shows how the fatherhood of God i* the centre and sum of all Christ's teaching. 4IO IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 3, 4. Nov. j.c. 33. name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive Hallowed be thy name. — " ' Hallowed ' means made holy ; in this case it can only mean recognized, treated as sacred, and thus glorified." — Schaff. " You ask that what was ever holy may be Hallowed in thee." — Augustine. Thy kingdom come. — " The Messiah's kingdom, which in organized form had not yet come, but was proclaimed by the Lord himself as at hand. It did speedily come, as opposed to the Old Testament theocracy ; but in its fullness, including the triumph of Christ's kingdom over the kingdom of darkness, it has not yet come." — Schaff. Thy will be done. — " What is resignation ? It is putting God between one's self and one's grief." — Madame Svetchine. " It is not miserable to be blind ; he only is miserable who can not acquiesce in his blindness." — Milton. " A man enjoys the greatest peace of mind when he has once settled himself in a firm and steadfast belief of God's Providence, and an absolute de- pendence upon his design and will." — Quesnel. " Though all things in confusion seem, I know God's will is still supreme: What must be, let it be — I rest Firmly on this, his will is best." From the German of Sfieratus. As in heaven, so in earth. — " Let these [Christian] principles be adopted and carried out, and we have an entirely different world from that which could exist on any others— a world from which the chief causes of unhappiness are removed." — Mark Hopkins. Give us day by day our daily bread. — " This verse may be thus more exactly translated : ' Our sufficient (or needful) bread give us for the day.' " — Schaff. " Lord, take from thy servants sad carefulness and all distrust, and give us only such a propor- tion of temporal things as may enable us with comfort to do our duty." — Jeremy Taylor. Forgive us our sins includes less than the phrase in Matthew, Forgive its our debts. The one implies only positive transgressions, the other all unfulfilled obligations. For we also forgive every one that is indebted to us " implies, more distinctly than the language in Matthew, that prayer can only be acceptably offered to God by one who is living in allegi- ance to that law of love which is the law of God." — Abbott. " ' Forgive us our trespasses ' " is an older rendering, but the present translation is, it seems to us, much better. Forgiving PARABLE OF THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT. 411 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 5, 6. Nov. j.c. 33. every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation ; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, ! ,._.,., , Parable of the and say unto him, rnend, lend me three Friend at Mid- loaves : for a friend of mine in his jour- ney is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him ? ' our debtors ' is a much more inclusive phrase, and involves a much more difficult duty than merely forgiving " ' those that tres- pass against us.' " — Eggleston. "Consider this — That in the course of justice none of us Should see salvation ; we do pray for mercy ; And thai same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy." — Shakespeare. " How would you be If he, which is the top of jiuigm nt, should Bui judge you as you are ? O think of that : And mercy then will breathe within your lips Like man new made." — Shakespeare. Lead us not into temptation. — " What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience that we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion." — Spurgeon. " Teach us how to live this prayer ; Reverently thy plans to share ; More than echoes of thy voice, Make us partners in thy choice. Let our deeds be syllables Of the prayer our spirit swells : In us thy desire fulfil ; By us work thy gracious will." Helen Hunt Jackson. Which of you shall have a friend. — " The question is, What will happen in these supposed circumstances? The argument of this parable is : 'If selfish man can be won by prayer and im- portunity to give,' ' much more certainly shall the bountiful Lord bestow.' " — Trench. " The purpose is, as in the similar parable of the unjust judge (Luke iS : i-S), not only to enjoin and encour- age persevering prayer, but to declare the certainty that prayer will be heard (vers. 9-13)." — Schaff. Shall go unto him at midnight. — " In the East it was, and is, the custom to travel late at night, for coolness' sake." — A If or J. It was, however, the hour when it would be the most inconveni- ent to be disturbed. 412 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 7-9. Nov. j.c. 33. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not : the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed ; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Lend me three loaves. — " It was usual with the Jews to borrow bread of one another ; and certain rules are laid down when and upon what condition this is to be done." — Gill. He asks for one loaf for the traveler, on'e for himself — to eat with his guest — and one that there might be abundance. Trouble me not. — " The half-vexed tone is true to nature. The one asked is seljish, and his reluctance is real. But God's reluc- tance ;.s apparent only, and even this appearance arises from reasons which work for our best good. This contrast is borne out by ver. 13." — Schaff. The door is now shut. — " Barred too, as the original im- plies."— Schaff. My children are with me, " having gone to bed, and remain- ing there. I can not — i.e., 'will not,' because of the trouble of unbarring the door, and the danger of disturbing the children, whose repose is more to him than his friend's request." — Schaff. In bed. — " The meaning is, in the same sleeping-room. We learn from Sir J. Chardin, and other travelers, that it is usual in the East for a whole family to sleep in the same room, each lay- ing his mattress on the floor." — Hewlett. Importunity. — Literally, impudence, shatnelessncss. "It is presupposed here that the postulant goes on knocking and ask- ing."— Alford. " God wishes a faith which is not ashamed of endurance, and which therewith entertains the highest expecta- tions."— Fan Oosterzee. " This parable must be read in the light of the customs of the East, where inns are exceptional, and where travelers are dependent upon hospitality. It illustrates interces- sory prayer, the request being preferred by one, not for himself but for another, whose need he feels but is unable to supply. Like the parable of the unjust judge, Christ here employs the lower to illustrate the higher. If a selfish and indolent man, who will not rise from his bed for the sake of benevolence, will yield to importunity, and that the importunity which approximates impudence, much more will God, from sympathy and benevo- lence, yield to the importunity of his children when inspired by spiritual earnestness. There is nothing in this teaching incon- sistent with Matt. 6 : 7 ; for repetitions that spring from intensity ., SEEK, KNOCK. 413 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11: 9-13. Nov. j.c. 33. And I say unto you. Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For ever)- one that asketh, re- ^^^^ ceiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone ? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion ? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good of feeling are not ' vain repetitions ' (Matt. 26 : 44). If the delay of a divine answer to prayer could be attributed to God's disapproval of our request, importunity would be impertinent ; but when the delay is caused by our unreadiness to receive, im- portunity becomes a necessary condition of the grant. With the lesson of this parable, comp. Gen. 32 : 23 ; Ps. 55:17:1 Thess. 3 : 10 ; 5 : 17 ; 1 Tim. 5:5:2 Tim. 1 : 3." — Abbott. Ask; it shall be given you. — " See Matt. 7 : 7, 3. But the words are not taken from that discourse : they apply the lesson of the parable — namely, that God will, even when he seems to delay, hear and answer prayer. The law of his kingdom is here laid down in literal terms.' — Sihaff. " As the Saviour has just urged perseverance in prayer, he now speaks of the certainty of being heard, and gives his disciples to understand that it is in no case in vain, and that an uttered wish is surely fulfilled — that is, if it belongs to those good gifts which are now represented under the image of bread, fish, and egg. But if anv one should in his foolishness beg a scorpion or a serpent, the Father would be no Father if he could fulfill such a wish." — Van Oosttrxee. " God denies a Christian nothing but with a design to give him something better." — Cecil. "He wishes to give who advises us to ask ; he desires to be bountiful who is anxious for our peti- tions. ... If you are not so far wanting to yourself as to desist from praying, God will not be so unmerciful to you as to desist from giving." — Augustine. " Oh, the ocean of divine bounty, boundless, bottomless ! Oh, our wretched unworthiness, if we be either niggardly to ourselves in not asking blessings, or unthankful to our God in not acknowledging them !" — Bishop Hall. " Verses [Luke 11] 0-13 correspond with Matt. 7 : 7-1 1. I have shown there [Abbott on Matthew] that they clearly belong to the Sermon on the Mount, of which they form an integral part ; it seems to me irrational to suppose that Matthew bor- rowed and incorporated them there ; and improbable that Luke 4*4 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 13, 29-33. Nov. j.c. 33. gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heav- enly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? And when the people were gathered thick to- gether, he began to say, This is an evil generation : they seek a sign ; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them : for she came from the utmost parts of the earth, to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it : for they repented at the preaching of Jonas ; and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a se- borrowed and incorporated them here. More probably they were twice uttered by Christ on different occasions, and in dif- ferent connections. Verse 12 is peculiar to Luke." — Abbott. Will he give him a scorpion ? — Give in the margin, and this is better than offered. " Scorpions are a pest in Pal- estine well known by every traveler, who often finds them under his pillow, inside his dress, or wakes to find them crawling over his face or hands. The natives build a ring of fire with dry grass around the scorpion, when in despair it stings itself and dies. The white body resembles an egg. A /ford notes that the serpent and the scorpion are positively mischievous. When we ask for good, God will not give us evil ; we often ask for evil, and God gives us good. In Matthew the promise is, that the heavenly Father will x'we good things ; in Luke, that he will give the Hoh Spirit— that is, himself (Eph. 3 : 15-19). This gift of himself necessarily carries with it the gift of all good things." — Abbott. Your heavenly Father, lit. — " Father from heaven," implying his coming down to us with his blessings. When the people were gathered thickly together. — " Possi- bly in expectation of the ' sign ; ' but the controversy with the Pharisees would attract an increasing crowd." — Schajff. No man when he hath lighted a candle. — The thoughts of these verses — 33-36 — occur in Matt. 5 : 15 ; 6 : 22, 23. (See notes THE SINGLE EYE. 415 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 33-36. Nov. j.c. 33. cret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye : therefore when thine eye is sin- gle, thy whole body also is full of light ; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, on page 171.) " Here the connection is different. They wished a sign ; a greater sign than Jonah is granted them, but to per- ceive it they must not (as they do) cover the light with a bushel, shut the eyes of their understanding." — Scluiff'. The light of the body is the eye. — As a window is called a light, because it lets light into the room. If thine eye be single. — " Clear without blemish ; if the crys- tal humor and pupil were colored, the eye could not see any other color ; therefore hath the wisdom of God (wonderful in all his works) made the eye like a clear glass window, to let in light to the house, without any color in it, that so we might have a right apprehension of things sensible ; and so proportionably is it with things intellectual." — Assembly* s Ann. " Let your eye be singly fixed on him : aim only at pleasing God ; and while you do this, your whole soul will be full of wisdom holiness, and happi- ness. ' ' — Blooinfuld. " lie hath no skill to utter lies, His very soul is in his eyes ; Single his aim in all, and true." William Wordsworth. " On earth we ha,re nothing to do with success, or with its results, but only being true to God and for God ; for it is sincerity and not success which is the sweet savor before God." — F. IV. Robertson. " A pure soul acts in simplicity and with- out certainty, being persuaded that what is good comes from God, and what is not good from self." — Guycn. " Infinite toil would not enable you to sweep away a mist ; but by ascending a little you may often look over it altogether. So it is with our moral improvement ; we wrestle fiercely with a vicious habit, which would have no hold upon us if we ascended into a higher moral atmosphere." — Arthur II tips. If thy whole body therefore be full of light. — "If thou art filled with wisdom, having no part dark, giving way to no sin or folly, then that heavenly principle will, like the clear flame of a lamp in a room that was dark before, shed its light into all thy powers and faculties. When the light of Christ dwells fully in 416 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 36, 27, 28. Nov. j.c. 33. having no part dark, the whole shall be full 01' light ; as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a cer- tain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. the heart, it extends its influence to every thought, word, and action ; and directs its possessor how he is to act in all places and circumstances." — Bloom field. " If then the soul be so, hav- ing no part darkened by prejudice or selfish lusts, and approach thus to his teaching, it shall be wholly illuminated by it, as ' by the candle of the Lord, searching its inward parts.' So this saying is not tautological ; for the second clause expresses the further result and waxing onward of the shining light, arising from the singleness of the eye, and becomes, in its spiritual sig- nificance, a weighty declaration of truth." — Alford. " He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center and enjoy bright day." — Milton. Dr. Howard Crosby has suggested an interpretation of this passage which is different from any of the foregoing. " It is certainly original and striking. It accords with the Greek, and is sustained by ver. 36 here. He renders the word light as equivalent to radiance, and the word darkness as equivalent to gloom. We have then the declaration : ' The eye gives radiance to the face and person ; when the eye is dark the whole person is gloomy and forbidding ; so if the religion within us be one of gloom and darkness, our whole life and influence will be repellent ; but if thy whole body (nature) be full of radiance (a religion of hope and love), having no part dark, the whole (life and influence) shall be full of radiance, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.' " — Abbott. A certain woman. — Herself a mother, we infer from her lan- guage. Tradition calls her " Marcella, a maid-servant of Martha." Blessed is the womb. — " A natural expression of womanly enthusiasm at the sayings and doings of Christ. His mother was blessed (Luke 1 : 28), but he nevertheless rectifies the woman's view. The ground of her blessedness, as in the case of all the human race, unto whom in the highest sense ' a child is born, a son is given,' is that she too belonged to them that hear the word of God and keep it." — Scliaff. DINES WITH A PHARISEE. 417 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 37~39- Nov- Jc- 33- And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him ; and he went in and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside A certain Pharisee. — " Christ, who was the guest of publicans and sinners, did not refuse invitations from Pharisees. He went into any company willing to receive him, but made every social gathering an occasion for religious instruction." — Abbott. "At the table of a Pharisee, upon the sight of the clean outside of his cup, our Lord discovers his inward parts, ' full of ravening and wickedness.' At Jacob's well he poureth forth to the woman of Samaria the water of life. After he had supped with his dis- ciples, he takes the cup, and calls the wine his blood, and him- self the true Vine. Thus did wisdom publish itself in every place, upon every occasion ; the well, the table, the highway- side — every place was a pulpit, every occasion a text and every good lesson a sermon." — Farindon. Besought him to dine with him. — Asked or invited him. " Besought" is too strong a word. It was an ordinary invita- tion. " This meal, as also that in John 21 : 12-15, was not what we now understand by dinner, an afternoon meal, but the first meal of the day, the breakfast, or dejeuner, in the prime of the morning." — Alford. Sat down. — Reclined at table. He marveled he had not first washed. (See note on page 306.) The Lord said unto him.—" This discourse closely resembles the great denunciation of the Pharisees (Matt. 23) ; but the cir- cumstances of the two are entirely different ; the one was uttered just before our Lord departed solemnly and finally from the temple, but in this case Luke definitely fixes the place in the house of a Pharisee. A repetition of these fearful words is highly probable. The Pharisees had already become his con- stant and bitter enemies. Hence the rebuke at this earlier date is quite as natural as that in his final discourse he would sum up and repeat the woes already pronounced." — Schaff. "It is probable, that the Pharisee had purposely collected together many of his brethren to meet Jesus, with a design to insnare him, of which Jesus was fully aware. This may account for the remarkable sharpness of his reproofs and warnings." — Scott. " The form of our Lord's opening remark indicates that the Pharisee ' marveled ' orally, and that the others present of that Sect had assented to the censure. This was rudeness to the 418 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 39-41- Nov. j.c. 33. of the cup and the platter ; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is within also ? But rather give alms of such things as ye have ; guest, calling for rebuke. There is no proof that the invitation was given out of friendliness." — Schaff. Now. — " Not in contrast to some previous time, but rather in the sense : full well, here is a proof of the way in which, ye Phari- sees, etc. Others of this party were doubtless present." — Schaff. The outside of the cup and of the platter. — (Comp. Matt. 23 : 25.) " There Christ declares that cleansing that which is within makes clean that which is without ; here, that if a real reverence for God induced the ceremonial scrupulousness of the Phari- sees they would also be spiritually scrupulous, since the same God made both soul and body. The term fools is literally thoughtless ones. It is a different word from that used in Matt. 5 : 22, and does not imply bitterness or contempt." — Abbott. Ravening. — " Rapacity." The original word is translated extortion in Matt. 23 : 25. But rather give alms, etc. — "The true rendering of this passage is, ' But rather give in compassion those things which are within, and behold all things are clean unto you.' This verse is peculiar to Luke. There is some difficulty about the proper interpretation, which is relieved by noting the exact sig- nificance of the original, as I have given it. Christ says not, give alms, the outward gift, bv&give compassion, the inward feeling ; he says not of such things as ye have, but those things which are within ; thus he does not make mere almsgiving an atonement and reparation for sin, but he declares that works of mercy out of a sincere heart are a condition of true spiritual cleansing. (Comp. Hosea 6:6; Isa. 58 : 6-8.) Speaking to the Pharisees, who were covetous (Luke 16 : 14), he declares that a genuine compassion, bestowed on the needy, from within, is more cleans- ing to the soul in God's sight than purification and lustration." —Abbott. (Isa. 58 : 3-12 ; Dan. 4 : 27 ; Matt. 5:7; 25 : 34~40.) " Pilate washed his hands, as a token that he was pure from the blood of Jesus, when he gave him up to be crucified ; and the Pharisees washed their hands, as a profession of holiness and piety, while their hearts were full of rapacity and iniquity. But the observance in both cases was vain and inefficacious ; and the conduct of Zaccheus, who, having made large restitution to all whom he had wronged, gave half of his remaining goods to the poor, was a far better proof of love to God and man, as well as of sincere repentance and faith, and a far better method of seek- DENOUNCES THE PHARISEES. 419 Chap. XXVI. Luke it : 41-44. Nov. J.c. 33. and behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees ! for ye tithe mint, and rue, and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God : these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees ! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greet- ings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Phari- sees, hypocrites ! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. ing the sanctified and comfortable use of outward things."— Campbell. " Every thing about the true Christian resembles the purity of his soul ; and he is always clean without, because he is always pure within." — William Laiv. " It is a much easier thing to whitewash a house on the outside than to take away the rotten beams and moldered bricks and rebuild it with solid materials. If Noah, instead of pitching the ark to keep out the water, had only painted it, to make a fair show, he would have perished like others by the flood." — J. Thornton. Ye tithe mint and rue. — " ' Pay tithe of.' These were almost valueless ; but, by apparent attention to little things, the scribes and Pharisees deceived those over whose consciences they ruled in religious matters. They were over-exact in small matters, but neglected 'the weightier matters of the law.'" Rue "was a small shrubby plant, common in gardens. It had a strong, un- pleasant smell, and a bitterish, penetrating taste." — Harris. Judgment and the love of God. — " Man, as to his inner life, is an intelligent being, whose understanding should be enlight- ened by the Word of God, that so he may have an accurate judg- ment of what is true and good. Rut man has not only the power of discernment, he has also affections, the right direction and regulating of which is morality ; and the great principle of all true morality is ' the love of god.' "—BloomJiclJ. The uppermost seats. — " Christ's disciple loves the uppermost place indeed, but at spiritual banquets, where he may feed on the choicest morsels of spiritual food ; for, with the apostles, who ' sit upon twelve thrones,' he loves the chief scats, and he loves greetings made in the heavenly market-place — that is, in the heavenly congregation." — Origen. Hypocrites ! — " Hypocrisy is not merely for a man to deceive others, knowing all the while that he is deceiving them, but to deceive himself and others at the same time, to aim at their 420 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 45, 46. Nov. j.c. 33. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying, thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers ! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye your- praise by a religious profession, without perceiving that he loves their praise more than God's, and that he is professing far more than he practices." — J. H. Newman. As graves which appear not. — (See Matt. 23 : 27.) " The ' whited sepulchres ' were those of the rich, and the application is to external beauty covering inner corruption ; here humbler tombs are spoken of, which in the course of time would be un- noticed by those passing over them, thus causing defilement. There the pretence of Pharisaism is brought out ; here its insidi- ousness. This difference is an incidental evidence that the two discourses were uttered — one in the capital (where the splendid sepulchres were more common), the other in the humbler prov- inces."— Schaff~. " The sepulchres or burying-places of the com- mon class of people were mere excavations in the earth, such as are commonly made at the present day in the East. Persons who sustained a higher rank owned subterranean recesses, crypts, or caverns, which were, in some instances, the work of nature, and in some were merely artificial excavations of the earth, and in others were cut out from rocks (Gen. 23 : 2 ; Josh. 10 : 27 ; Isa. 22 : 16 ; 2 Kings 13 : 21 ; John 11 : 38 ; 19 : 41 ; Matt. 27 : 52, 60.) Numerous sepulchres of this kind still remain." — yahn. One of the lawyers. — " Or, one of the doctors of the law, which I choose rather than lawyer, because the word lawyer naturally suggests to us a modern idea of an office which did not exist among the Jews at this time, and has strangely misled some interpreters. These Jewish lawyers (as our translators call them) were the most considerable species of scribes, who applied them- selves peculiarly to study and explain the law. Probably some of them were Pharisees ; but it was no ways essential to their office that they should be so." — Efaddridge. Their position corresponded to that of the modern Theologian, or Doctor of Divinity. Thou reproachest us also. — " Who are in official, ecclesiasti- cal position. The man was not a Sadducee, but a Pharisee, and probably felt that the censure applied to him. He would shelter his character behind his office ! Doubtless he would imply, as his successors have done : in touching us, the God-appointed officials, you are blaspheming." — Schaff. With burdens grievous to be borne.—" The metaphor is taken from the custom of porterage in the East, where men often THE WISDOM OF GOD. 42 1 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 46-50. Nov. j.c. 33. selves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. "Woe unto you ! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness, that ye allow the deeds of your fathers : for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute : that the blood of all the do the work done by beasts of burden with us. An Eastern porter will often carry a barrel of flour or a bale of cotton." — Abbott. Ye build the sepulchres of the prophets.—" This he charges upon the lawyers as a crime, and as a continuation of, and partici- pation in, the murder of the prophets. I understand his meaning to be this : Your fathers killed the prophets, you are burying them out of sight ; by your interpretations and Rabbinical additions and qualifications, making the Word of God of none effect, through your traditions (Mark 7 : 13), you are building their sep- ulchres ; so you are doing what the fathers did. They silenced the prophets by violence, you by your teachings. This interpre- tation accords with ver. 52. and with the actual facts ; for, as in the mediaeval ages, the Romish church buried the Bible beneath its legends and traditions, which they pretended to rear to its honor, so in the time of Christ the lawyers took the Bible away from the common people ; the Talmud was a sepulchre reared above the buried Word of God. Wherever the teacher covers and conceals the Scripture by human tradition, creed, or philoso- phy, he is guilty of the crime here charged by Christ." — Abbott. Therefore also said the wisdom of God. — " Comp. Matt. 23 : 34. where ' I ' is used ; so that Christ represents himself as ' the wisdom of God.' This seems to be a quotation, but there is no passage in the Old Testament which fully corresponds, and the form is an unusual one for such a quotation. Explanations : 1. An amplification of 2 Chron. 24 : 19, made by him who is ' the wisdom of God.' That passage speaks of the sending of prophets and their rejection, and is connected with the dying words of Zechariah, ' The Lord look upon it and require it.' This is on the whole preferable. 2. Our Lord refers to his own words, as spoken on some former occasion. This is possible, but leaves us in uncertainty." — Schaff. There is a passage in the Apocryphal book, 2 Esdras 1 : 30-33, remarkably analogous to the one here quoted. 422 IN PEREA. Chap. XXVI. Luke n : 50, 51. Nov. j.c. 33. prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation ; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which per- ished between the altar and the temple : verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe The blood of Abel. — " The crime of Cain, who, through envy, shed the blood of his brother, was committed by the men of that generation, who hated Jesus, for a like reason as Cain hated Abel. And the blood of Christ, although it speaketh better things than that of Abel, in behalf of the repentant and believing ; yet upon the nation generally the imprecation, ' His blood be on us and on our children,' has brought a punishment like to that of Cain. A mark was set upon him, and he was driven out from the presence of the Lord, to be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth. Such has been the case of the Jews from that generation downward. ' ' — Bloomjield. Zachariah. — " The case of Zachariah was a marked one in view of the place ' between the sanctuary and the altar,' and of his deathcry, 'The Lord seeth and will avenge it.' " — Schaff. " All the martyrs from Abel to Zachariah" seems to have been a proverb : and it might naturally arise from observing that Abel was the first, and Zachariah, in Chronicles, the last, eminently good man, of whose murder the Scripture speaks. Ye slew— that is, your nation. In their present conduct they were partakers of the same sin. Between the temple — i.e., the temple proper, and the altar which stood in front of it. It shall be required of this generation. — "This expression is not to be interpreted as implying that those individual crimes, which happened before the time of the people then living, would be laid to their charge ; but that, with every species of cruelty, oppression, and murder, which had been exemplified in former ages, they of that age would be found chargeable, inasmuch as they had permitted no kind of wickedness to be peculiar to those who had preceded them, but had carefully imitated, and even exceeded, all the most atrocious deeds of their ancestors from the beginning of the world. There is no hyperbole in the repre- sentation. The account given of them by Josephus, who was no Christian, but one of themselves, shows in the strongest light how justly they are here characterized by our Lord. The war between the Romans and the Jews, which lasted five years, and ended with the taking and destruction of Jerusalem, began about thirty-three years after the giving of this warning by our Lord. THE LAWYERS DENOUNCED. 423 Chap. XXVI. Luke 11 : 52-54- Nov. J.C. 33. unto you, lawyers ! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge ; ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to pro- voke him to speak of many things : laying wait for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. The sufferings of the Jews, both during the war and at its termi- nation, are unequaled in the history of nations (see Josephus, de Bell. Jua)."—Greswell. The key of knowledge. — " Those who were made doctors of the law had a key given to them at their ordination, or appoint- ment, which the'v afterward wore as a badge of their office. Thus emblematically did they profess to open the true meaning of the law and the prophet^. "-^Gresvaell. "Knowledge of the truth is represented as the key to the kingdom of heaven ; knowledge, not mere emotion, but this is not the knowledge of worldly wis- dom, tut of spiritual apprehension, the product of humility and docilitv (see Luke 10 : 21 ; n : 28 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 6-12). The scribes and lawvers had taught a kind of knowledge ; but they had not themselves and they deprived the people of spiritual apprehension of the truth." — Abbott. To press upon him vehemently.— Or, " to be very spiteful," intensely embittered against him. The former sense would seem preferable, as including both their feeling toward him and their actual following of him with hostile purpose, but the latter sense is the more accurate reading of the Greek. To provoke him to speak of many (or " more") things. —To catechise him on a variety of subjects, so as to take him off his guard. " Literally, to extemporize, in order that they might catch up something hastily and inconsiderately uttered."— Bloom field. Laying wait for him to catch something out of his mouth. —"This is the form of the verse. The figure is borrowed from hunting. It was not only that they waited for something to suit their purpose, but they hunted for it. since the expressions repre- sent both the beating up of game and the lying in wait to capture it."— Schaff. '424 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 1. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXVII. TEACHINGS IN PEREA. In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they Warnings Against trode one upon another, he began to say Hypocrisy. unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For In the meantime. — " Luke — chapter 12 — is made up of a series of discourses following each other in immediate succession, but with less of unity and logical connection than are found in most of our Lord's recorded sermons. Some have therefore thought that Luke here records a compilation of our Lord's teachings, delivered on very different occasions, one section alone (vers. 13-21) being peculiar and in its proper'place. This is possible, yet even in that case the order and arrangement of the Evange- list suggest new views of the truth elsewhere recorded. In itself the chapter seems to contain a series of discourses delivered on one definite occasion. The only evidence that it is other than what it seems is furnished by the similarity of the sayings to those found in different connections in the other gospels. In view of the acknowledged repetitions in our Lord's teachings, this evidence is insufficient. It is probable that the crowd was gathering again while our Lord was in the house of the Pharisee, that on coming forth he began a discourse to his disciples, following up the thoughts uttered there ; and that as new occa- sions immediately presented themselves, he continued his dis- courses with a variation in the theme. The section may be thus divided: Vers. 1— 12, warning against hypocrisy ; vers. 13-21, against covetousness, occasioned by the request of one present about a division of inheritance ; vers. 22-34, against worldly care, or lessons of trust in God In the first part the tone of warning predominates, in the second instruction, in the third encouragement and comfort." — Sc/iaff. An innumerable multitude. — " It would be more exactly rendered, ?nany myriads ; but lest every English reader should not know that a myriad is ten thousand, I render it, many thousands ; nor is it necessary to take the word in its strictest Sense." — Doddridge. "One of the many indications of the popularity of Christ as a preacher. Comp. Mark 1 : 33 ; 2 : 2 ; 3 : 9 ; 6 : 31, etc." — Abbott. WARNINGS AGAINST HYPOCRISY. 425 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 2, 3. J.c. 33. there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed ; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore, what- soever ye have spoken in darkness, shall be heard in the light ; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And First of all. — " This belongs with the following, not with the preceding, clause : Beware ye, first of all, of the leaven. Hypocrisy is the greatest danger which threatens the Christian, the one most to be guarded against." — Abbott. "It is like leaven, or yeast, because, first, it may exist without being at once detected. Leaven mixed in flour is not known until it produces its effects. Second. It is insinuating. Leaven will soon pervade the whole mass. So hypocrisy, if undetected and unremoved, will soon pervade all our exercises and feelings. Third. Yeast makes bread appear greater in quantity than it actually is, and by hypocrisy men seek to be more highly esteemed than in truth they deserve." — Bloom field. (See note on page .) The con- nection is : " Beware of hypocrisy (ver. 1), for all shall be made evident in the end (ver. 2), and ye are witnesses and sharers in this unfolding of the truth (ver. 3). In this your work ye need not fear men, for your Father has you in his keeping (ver. 4-7), and the confession of my name is a glorious thing (ver. 8) ; but the rejection of it (ver. 9), and especially the ascription of my works to the evil one (ver. 10), a fearful one. And in this confession ye shall be helped by the Holy Spirit in the hour of need (vers. II, 12)." — A If or J. Which is hypocrisy. — " Not strictly that the leaven was hypocrisy, but that their leaven (doctrine) was of such a kind that its essence was hypocrisy. This is reason why they should beware of it." — Schaff. In closets. — Literally, " inner chambers," the most retired parts ot a dwelling. Proclaimed upon the housetops.— (See notes on page 284.) " The flat house td"p is the resort of the inmates, and the place where many household operations are carried on in Eastern cities where the streets are narrow, and private yards and gardens are but a few feet square. It is also the most conspicu- ous, and therefore a usual place for the promulgation of any news, public or private. People in the streets below and on all the neighboring house tops compose an audience. The roof is ordinarily enclosed with a low parapet of masonry or a higher one of lattice-work. Vines are often trained for shade, or in their absence matting is used. Sleeping on the house top in dry 426 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 4-6. j.c. 33. I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : Fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five weather is a common custom." — Abbott. " Our Lord 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 com- mands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call upon all faith- ful subjects to give ear and obey." — Thomson. Be not afraid of them that kill the body. — " Let not the fear of man make you act as hypocrites, or conceal any thing which I have commissioned you to publish." — Bloomjield. " A valiant man Ought not to undergo or tempt a clanger, But worthily, and by selected ways, He undertakes by reason, not by chance. His valor is the salt t' his other virtues. They're all unseasoned without it." — Ben Jonson " The brave man is not he who feels no fear, For that were stupid and irrational ; But he whose noble soul its fear subdues, And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from." Joanna Baillie. " Though death and the grave still lie at the gate of immortality, as if to prevent entrance, the weary pilgrim of the cross, when the shades and dews of nightfall come on, bears his burden into the very presence of the monsters ; lays it on the ground between them, stretches himself on it as on a pallet and pillow of down, rests his left hand on the serpent's head, twists the fingers of his right hand in the lion's beard ; and sighs, ere his eyelids close in sleep, ' O death ! where is thy sting ? O grave ! where is thy victory ? Thanks be unto God, which giveth ' us ' the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ; ' and then he dreams of heaven, until the morning dawns, and the gate opens, and he awakes in the likeness of God, and is satisfied." — Thomas H. Stockton. Hath power to cast into hell. — " God alone is the dispenser of life and death, temporal and eternal. Hence reverence and awe, not fear and terror, are required, as the change of terms implies. ' ' — Schaff. 'god's careth for the sparrows. 427 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 6, 7. j.C 33. sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God ? But even the very hairs of your Sparrows. — "Little birds (sparrows, white-throats, and others) are sold in the market in the Eastern cities at the present day in bunches of five or more. When very plenty, two farthings a bunch would be an adequate price. They are caught for market mostly by children by means of little cages with a door which closes with a. spring, or by twigs besmeared with bird-lime. They bring the lowest price of any game, and were the smallest living creatures offered in sacrifice under the Mosaic dispensa- tion. It was the cleansed leper, usually reduced by his separa- tion to great poverty, who was permitted to bring this small offering (Lev. 14 : 4)." — Abbott. " These birds are snared and caught in great numbers, but as they are small, and not much relished for food, five sparrows may still be sold for two far- things ; and when we see their countless numbers, and the eager- ness with which they are destroyed as a worthless nuisance, we can better appreciate the assurance that our heavenly Father, who takes care of them, so that not one can fall to the ground without his notice, will surely take care of us, who are of more value than many sparrows." — Thomson. (Ps. 102 : 7 ; Matt. 10 : 27. " His sermons were the healthful talk That shorter made the mountain-walk. His wayside texts were flowers and birds, Where mingled with his gracious words The rustle of the tamarisk-tree And ripple-wash of Galilee." — y. G. H'hittier, " The child leans on its parent's breast, Leaves there its cares and is at rest ; The bird sits singing by his nest, And tells aloud His trust in God, and so is blest , 'Neath every cloud. " He has no store, he sows no seed ; Vet sings aloud, and doth not heed ; By flowing stream or grassy mead, He sings to shame Men who forget, in fear of need, A Father's name."— Isaac Williams. Not one of them is forgotten before God. — " The meanest living thing, because it has life, excels in value the sun." — A ugustine. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. — " They have been estimated to number 140,000." — Abbott. " The word ' your ' is emphatic, asserting a special care for Christ's dis- ciples : ' Of you the hairs of the head are all numbered.' This refers to all who truly confess Christ." — Schaff. 428 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 7-11. j.c. 33. head are all numbered. Fear not therefore : ye are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you unto Fear not therefore, for his wisdom can not be surprised, his power can not be forced, his love can not forget itself. " A Power I can not understand Is sheltering me with loving hand : It calls me by the dearest name, My love to win, my fear to tame ; Each day my daily food provides, And night and day from danger hides Me safe ; the food, the warmth I take, Yet all the while ungrateful make Restless and piteous complaints, And strive to Break the kind restraints."— H. Hunt Jackson. Shall be denied before the angels.—" Nothing can be more majestic than this view which Christ gives of himself. To be renounced by him is spoken of as a circumstance which would expose a man to the contempt of the whole angelic world, and leave him no remaining shelter of hope." — Doddridge. It shall not be forgiven. — There is a point in the soul's downward career when man cannot be forgiven, because he has then so abused his powers, and disorganized his nature, that he is no longer capable of restoration. "Every time a man does wrong, that he yields to his lower propensities (in preference to his higher sentiments, where their impulses clash), he loses self-control ; he gives to his passions power over him ; he weakens (too) the practical supremacy of con- science, and becomes more perfectly a slave. The design of the Christian religion, in this respect, is to bring us under the dominion of conscience enlightened by revelation, and deliver us from the slavery of evil propensity" (for) " by every act of vicious indulgence we give our passions more uncon- trolled power over us, and diminish the power of reason and conscience, . . . according to the universal law of our facul- ties, that they are strengthened by use and weakened by disuse. . . . Thus, by every act of sin, we not only incur new guilt, .JESUS ASKS TO EXERCISE CIVIL POWER. 429 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 11-13. J.c. 33. the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say : for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance but we strengthen the bias toward sin, during the whole of our subsequent being. Hence every vicious act renders our return to virtue more difficult, and more hopeless. The tendency of such a course is to give to habit the power which ought to be exerted by our will. And hence it is not improbable that the condi- tions of our being may be such as to allow of arriving at a state in which reformation may be actually impossible. That the Holy Scriptures allude to such a condition (comp. Ex. 4 : 21 ; 14 : 4 ; Josh, n : 20 ; I Sam. 18 : 12 ; 28 : 6, etc.) during the present life, is evident. Such also is probably the condition of the wicked in another world." — WayUvid, One of the company. — Literally, " one out of the multitude." He had overheard the remarks addressed to the disciples, and "his request may have been suggested by our Lord's previous declarations about Providential care, or by his notion that the Messiah would set all things right. So that he manifested some confidence in the Lord by thus addressing him." — Schaff. " The man perceives Christ's moral power over men, and proposes to use it for his own personal benefit. It is this attempt to use Christ for a personal and pecuniary benefit which he rebukes. The fault, in a different form, is common in our own day." — Abbott. " We can not cast the first stone at this poor simpleton, who had no other use for the Redeemer's word than to gain by means of it a few more acres of the earth for himself ; in every age some men may be found who hang on the skirts of the church for the sake of some immediate temporal benefit." — A mat. That he divide the inheritance with me. — " According to the civil law of the Jews, the eldest brother received a double portion of the inheritance, burdened with the obligation of sup- porting his mother and unmarried sisters. As to the younger members, it would appear from the Parable of the Prodigal Son that the single share of property which accrued to them was sometimes paid in money. This man was perhaps one of these younger members, who was not satisfied with the sum allotted to him, or who, after having spent it, still claimed, under some pretext or other, a part of the patrimony." — Godct. " That he 43° TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 14, 15. j.c. 33. with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider over you ? And he said unto felt himself wronged is evident, and the outburst is true to nature." — Riddle. " Possibly he had an idea that the Messias, or the great Rabbi, to whom he was listening, was come to set all things right ; and with that feeling which we all have of the surpassing injustice of our own wrongs, broke out with this inopportune request." — A /ford. Man, who made me a judge, or a divider. — " The original translated judge seems equivalent to arbitrator or referee. The word translated divider denotes a divider of an inheritance among the heirs." — Grotius. " We learn from Seneca that it was the law in his time for the elder brother to divide the in- heritance, and the younger to take his choice of the portion." — Bloomfield. " The answer exhibits no personal displeasure against the bearer of the unseemly request, but only shows that the Saviour was by no means minded to enter upon a sphere which could not possibly be his own." — Van Oosterzee. "He declined here, as in every other case, to interfere in the affairs of civil life." — Trench. " It was not his office to determine the boundaries of civil right, nor to lay down the rules of the descent of property. Of course there was a spiritual and moral prin- ciple involved in this question ; but he would not suffer his sublime mission to degenerate into the mere task of deciding casuistry. He asserted principles of love, unselfishness, order, which would decide all questions ; but the questions themselves he would not decide. He would lay down the great political principle, ' Render unto Caesar the things that be Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's ;' but he would not deter- mine whether a particular tax was due to Caesar or not. So, too, he would say, justice, like mercy and truth, is one of the weightier matters of the law ; but he would not decide whether, in this definite case, this or that brother had justice on his side. It was for themselves to determine that." — F. IV. Robertson. " When Moses interfered between his brethren, he was re- proached in language resembling this (Exod. 2 : 14). Christ declines to decide, or even discuss, a purely worldly case. Moses founded a state, Christ a spiritual kingdom. Hence Christ's ministers are not ' judges ' in secular matters." — Riddle. And it is " not the business of the church to undertake the settle- ment of personal secular disputes. The attempt to do this in the middle ages brought corruption within and oppression without. His work and that of his followers is to instil such principles and produce such a spirit among men that they will peaceably settle their own disputes. There is nothing in 1 Cor. 6 : i-S incon- AGAINST COVETOUSNESS. 431 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 15, 16. J.c. 33. them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness : for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance Against Covetous- of the things which he possesseth. And ness" he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of sistent with this view, for Paul there neither assumes to be judge nor advises the church to do so, but admonishes the members to settle their controversies by amicable arbitration." — Abbott. Take heed and beware. — " This double admonition indicates the dangerously subtle character of covetousness. It is a weed which checks the best grains in the best soils (Matt. 13 : 22)." — Abbott. Of covetousness. — The best MSS. have " all" — that is, every kind of covetousness. " In the original the word is a very ex- pressive one. It means the desire of having more — not of having more because there is not enough ; more when he has enough ; more, more, ever more." — F. IV. Robertson. " A man may be said to be given to covetousness when his thoughts are wholly taken up about the world ; when he takes more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven ; when all his discourse is about the world ; when he doth so set his heart upon worldly things that for the sake of them he will part with the heavenly ; when he overloads himself with worldly business ; when his heart is so set upon the world that to get it he cares not what unlawful, indirect means he useth." — Richard Watson. " It was covetousness which caused the unjust brother to with- hold ; it was covetousness which made the defrauded brother indignantly complain to a stranger. It is covetousness which is at the bottom of all lawsuits, all social grievances, all political factions. So St. James traces the genealogy (ch. 4 : 1). Covet- ousness : the covetousness of all ; of the oppressed as well as the oppressor : for the cry, ' Divide.' has its root in covetousness just as truly as ' I will not.' " — Robertson. A man's life. — " Life is here used, agreeably to the Hebrew idiom, for ' happiness,' or ' the enjoyment of life.' " — Hewlett, " One's true life is blessedness." — Trench. "The word life is used in its pregnant sense, emphatically his life, including time and eternity. This is self-evident from the parable and its ap- plication."— A /for,/. For a man's life consisteth not, etc. — " This clause, which is assigned as a reason for the caution, implies that the cause of all covetousness is a deteriorated moral sense, which regards/>ossession as more than character, having as more than being. For a com- parison of the two kinds of wealth — that of property and that of character — see 1 Tim. 6 : 9-1 1. The commonness of this disease 432 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 16. j.c. 33. a certain rich man brought forth plentifully : and he among men is indicated by the question so often asked, What is he worth ? as though man's worth were measured by the value of the purse." — Abbott. "To the question, What is a man worth ? the world replies by enumerating what he has ; the Son of man, by estimating what he is. Not what he has, but what he is — that, through time and through eternity, is his real and proper life. He declared the presence of the soul ; he announced the dignity of the spiritual man ; he revealed the being that we are — not that which is supported by meat and drink, but that whose very life is in truth, integrity, honor, purity. The other brother had the inheritance ; the price he paid for that advantage was a hard heart. The injured brother had no inheritance ; but instead he had, or might have had, innocence and the conscious joy of knowing that he was not the injurer. The price which the rich man pays for his wealth is the temptation to be selfish. If you will be rich, you must be content to pay the price of falling into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts. If that price be too high to pay, then you must be content with the quiet valleys of existence, where alone it is well with us ; kept out of the inheritance, but having instead God for your por- tion, peace, and quietness, and rest with Christ." — Robertson. A certain rich man. — " Jesus is accustomed to set in vivid contrast the appearances of the present and the realities of the future. It is this contrast which invests with a singular awe the simple story of the rich fool. He is a well-to-do and worldly- wise Perean farmer. He has abundant land. His barns are bursting with plenty. His stores perplex him. ' What shall I do,' he says to himself, ' because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?' This is a very common trouble among capitalists. He does not know how to invest. He forms his resolution to pull down his barns and build greater. The thought of the needy and the suffering, and of the means of real usefulness to others which his possessions afford to him, has never occurred to his selfish soul. He has no other message to himself than, ' Take thine ease ; eat, drink, and be merry.' He will, that is, retire on his fortune. To men he seems wise, pru- dent, sagacious. God calls him to his account with a sharp rebuke of his folly : ' Fool ! this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast pro- vided ? ' Not every one is wise who knows how to acquire. He only is truly wise who knows how to impart.' " — Abbott's "Jesus of Nazareth" " Some men are called sagacious merely on account of their avarice, whereas a child can clench its fist the moment it is born." — Shenstom. THE RICH FOOL. 4,, Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 17-19. J.c. 33. thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits ? And he said, This will I do : I will pull down my barns, and build greater ; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast Brought forth plentifully.-" By God's blessing, not by fraud or injustice, d.d tins man's wealth increase. The seeming inno- cence ot the process is its danger ; there is nothing to awaken qualms of conscience as his possessions increase. "—Schaff He thought within himself.- " The curtain is here drawn back and we are adm.tted into the inner council-chamber of a worldling s heart, rejoicing over his abundance, and realizing luVtsu^!'1 »-r™tng ' pr°vision for the flesh t0 fulfiu th" What shall I do?-- He does not appear as a grasping specu- lator, but as one whom wealth, by a very natural process has made discontented, anxious, and perplexed. "—Schaff ' ' No room where to bestow my fruits.-" Thou W barns- the bosoms of the needy, the houses of the widows, the mouths of orphans and of jnfants."— Ambrose. " The poor man's hanH •s the treasury of Christ. All my superfluity sL" be here hoarded up, where I know it will be safely kept and surely returned to me."— Bishop Hall. ^ureiy This will I do etc.-" He proposed to do just what every man o ordinary business sagacity would do. He was not a lool from a commercial point of view. He represents thP great mass of successful men. "—Schaff. rePresents the I will pull down my barns.-" Barns are depositories and granaries. Those ,n the East are pits built under ground, with an opening at the top In these the grain could be stored so as to be more safe, both from thieves and from vermin. We found them often open like a coal-vault, near the road. He proposes exton frge,h CS'.Plt4 b>rPuIlinS d°™ the walls or sides^nd extending them. — Jacobus bestMS^Thus1,65^, aU my fruits-"My grain" in the hm •; J ar h'S lan&uaSe ;s that of worldly prudence ■ ficat ionSO°" ?fegenerates ln'° a ^™* *>r ease and sensual grati-' ncation. If any one spoke to him about it he would probablv in hypocrisy and thanklessness, say something about the ' bless! ingo God, but what he says to himself runs quite different kT^ t , W- frUUS ; thinks °n'y of the fie'd and its produce 5ff4SSsssS0d : rests in the "ty without an^hou^ 434 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 19, 20. J.C. 33. much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee : Soul . . . take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. — " His plans of felicity, it may be observed, rise no higher than to this satisfying of the flesh ; so that there is an irony as melancholy as it is profound in making him address this speech, not to his body, but to his soul." — Trench. "When men retire from active life, to rest on their wealth, idleness proves as disquieting as business. In their unrest and dissatisfaction they too often begin to revel, as this man would do, to have occupation. The soul is made to find rest and delight in God ; forgetting him in selfishness, there is nothing left for it but some such unsatisfying gratification as this. The form of sensuality in many cases may be more refined — may even call itself love of art — but the nature of it remains the same. The godless rich man must sooner or later become a sensualist. Vers. 16-19 f°rm a most graphic picture of a worldly life. Its sinfulness is the more insidious when not outwardly immoral. Modern materialism can offer the soul nothing better than this. The picture is true to life, though sometimes two generations are required to fill it out ; the father gathering, the son saying, ' Soul, take thine ease,' etc. Novelists are continually expanding these verses into volumes, but they too often fail to show the true nature of covetousness." —Riddle. " Nor man nor nature satisfy Whom only God created. — Mrs. Brotuning. But God said. — Not by any direct communication to him ; the language is dramatic and parabolic. Thou fool. — Unthinking one. "The Greek word so trans- lated means, literally, without mind, or sense, or understanding. Let us mark that just when the rich man was scheming cun- ningly, and thinking himself very wise, God says to him, ' Thou fool.'" — Ryle. "This title is opposed to the opinion of his own prudence and foresight which he entertained; ' this night,' to the many years that he promised to himself ; and that ' soul,' which he purposed to nourish and make fat, it is declared shall be inexorably ' required ' and painfully rendered up." — Trench. " The man whom all the world praises as shrewd and sagacious is often the one whom God calls ' fool ; ' the man whom all the world calls rich and prosperous is the one whom God calls poverty-stricken (Rev. 3 : 17)." — Abbott. " 1. He was a fool in that he failed to lay up treasure in heaven. 2. A fool in that be failed to be thankful to God. 3. A fool in thinking his soul END OF THE SELFISH RICH. 435 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 20, 21. j.c. 33. then whose shall those things be which thou hast pro- vided ? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. would be satisfied with worldly goods. 4. A fool in counting on many years of life. 5. A fool in thinking his soul his own. 6. A fool in trusting to uncertain riches, which may take to themselves wings and fly away." — Eggleston. This night thy soul shall be required of thee. — Literally, "This night thy soul they shall require of thee." " Tiiey are God's ministering angels, whose demands the poor rich fool can not resist." — Abbott. Then whose shall those things be? — " The dissipation of wealth on the death of the posssesor is one of the common ex- periences of life. To guard against it has been one of the great objects of men, the most successful method being by the law of primogeniture and entail. This dissipation of wealth is else- where in Scripture urged as an argument against setting the heart on earthly accumulation (Eccles. 2 : 1S-21 ; Ps. 39 : 6 ; Jer. 17 : n)." — Abbott. " Inherited riches are rarely a blessing, and the strife among heirs in answering this very clause is one of the saddest pages of social life." — Schaff. So i3 he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God, " or does not enrich himself toward God. Self and God are here contemplated as the two poles between which the soul is placed, for one or other of which it must determine, and then make that one the end of all its aims and efforts." — Trench. "This is the character of him who gives nothing to God's glory — neither money, affection, thought, time, nor interest ; plenty to give to the world, but nothing to give to God. Those are the truly rich, who have property which will be recognized at the day of judgment. Many owners of millions are paupers before God." — Ryle. " The evil is not in the treasure nor in laying up treasure, but in laying up treasure for himself. Worldliness springs from selfishness, and the sin is in the selfish- ness. But the selfishness springs from godlessness, as the next clause shows. It is from a case like this, where the person con- demned is honest, respectable, and prosperous, that we learn what Christ thinks of sin. It is devotion to self, not to God. Hence laying up treasure for self is a sin, in Christ's view no less than open crime." — Kiddle. " I can not call riches better than the baggage of virtue, for as the baggage is to an army, so is riches to virtue ; it can not be spared nor left behind, but it hindereth the march ; yea, and the care of it sometimes loseth or disturbeth the victory. Of great riches there is no real use, 436 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 22. J.c. 33. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto except it be in the distribution ; the rest is but conceit. So saith Solomon, ' Where much is, there are many to consume it ; and what hath the owner but the sight of it with his eyes?' The personal fruition in any man can not reach to feel great riches ; there is a custody of them, or a power of dole and donation of them, or a fame of them, but no solid use to the owner." — Lord Bacon. " Let a man have all the world can give him, if he has a groveling, unlettered, undevout mind ; let him have his gardens, his fields, his woods, and his lawns, for grandeur, orna- ment, plenty, and gratification, while at the same time God is not in all his thoughts ; and let another have neither field nor garden ; let him only look at nature with an enlightened mind — a mind which can see and adore the Creator in his works, can consider them as demonstrations of his power, his wisdom, his goodness, and truth — this man is greater, as well as happier, in his poverty than the other in his riches. ' ' — William Jones (of Nayland). " The worldly spirit makes possession the object of life. Christ makes being, character, the object. The world asks, ' What do you possess ? ' God asks, ' What are you ? ' A gentle- man once said to a wicked man. ' You do not look as if you had prospered by your wickedness.' ' I have not prospered at it,' cried the man. ' With half the time and energy I have spent, I might have been a man of property and character. But I am a homeless wretch ; twice I have been in State prison. I have made acquaintance with all sorts of miseries ; but I tell you, my worst punishment is in being -what I am.' Without doubt it would be delightful to have the possessions of an angel ; but it would be ten thousand times better to be an angel. Not what have I, but what am I ? not what shall I gain, but what shall I be? is the true question of life." — Peloubet. "Just as if death were near, enjoy thy wealth ; Be frugal, as if sure of years of health : Sparing or spending, be thy wisdom seen In keeping always to the golden mien." — William Hay. And he said unto his disciples. — " Nearly all the teachings which follow in this chapter are found in Matthew in other con- nections, but with more or less difference in phraseology. There is nothing in Luke's language here, as there was in ver. 1, to indicate the time or place of these sayings of our Lord, and whether they belong to his Perean ministry, and were repetitions of what he had previously taught in Galilee, or whether Luke, in ignorance of or indifference to, the time and place of their utter- ance, has put them here, is a question neither easy nor impor- tant to be determined in respect to most of them." — Abbott. But AGAINST WORLDLY CAREFULNESS. 437 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 22, 23. J.c. 33. you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat ; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. the connection of these passages with what precedes is close, and, though previously spoken, they were peculiarly applicable to this occasion. One reason, doubtless, for the wonderful verbal agreement in the various reports ot our Lord's discourses found in the Synoptic Gospels, was the fact that his frequent repetition of the same ideas in nearly the same words impressed them indelibly on the minds of his disciples. Therefore, "since worldly riches are of so little use, be not anxious. God who cares for your higher life will provide for the lower, and since he provides food for the ravens and clothing for the lilies, he will certainly, being a Father, provide for you, his children." — Schaff. " Our Lord having thus warned his hearers against covetousness, and knowing how often it springs from a distrust in God's providential care, goes on to teach them where they may find that which shall be the best preservative against all such over-anxious thoughts for the future — namely, in the assurance of the love and care of a heavenly Father (verses 22-30), so that the connection is as close as it is beautiful between this parable and the instructions which immediately follow." — Trench. Take no thought. — "Take not anxious thought." — Alford. " Keep ever before you a firm intention of serving God always and with your whole heart, and then ' take no thought for the morrow.' Only strive to do your very best ' to-day.' When to- morrow arrives, it will have become ' to-day,' and then it will be time enough to take thought for it. In all such matters we must have absolute trust and confidence in God ; we must gather our provision of manna for the day that is passing, no more, never doubting but that God will send it again to-morrow, and the next day, and as long as we need it." — Francis Je Saks. Almost exactly parallel is Matt. 6 : 24-34. (See notes on page 193). The life is more than meat. — " If he can give you life, he can give you means to support it ; and would he furnish the greater, and not the less ? The idea is, that he has given you life and a body, without your care. He will give you food and raiment, which are the lesser gifts." — Jacobus. " As the life is more than meat which serves it, and the body than raiment which clothes it, so the soul is more than either ; for both life and body exist only for the development of the soul. But our anxieties are not for the soul, but only about the outer things — the mere food and raiment." — Abbott. 43^ TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 24-30. J.C 33. Consider the ravens : for they neither sow nor reap : which neither have storehouse, nor barn ; and God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls ? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit ? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the Against Worldly rest ? Consider the lilies how they grow : Carefulness. t|1£y ^ n<)^ they g^ nQt . an(j yet J say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not ar- rayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith ? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after : and your Father knoweth that ye have need Consider the ravens. — "The ravens are often spoken of in Scripture as objects of the divine care. (See Job 38 : 41 ; Ps. 147 : 9.) The term raven includes the crow, rook, jackdaw, and the like. There is special significance in these references, since 'every raven after his kind' was unclean (Lev. 11 : 15)." — Abbott. "It is a fact that God's care is more evident in some instances of it than in others to the dim and often bewildered vision of humanity. Upon such instances men seize, and call them Providences. It is well that they can ; but it would be gloriously better if they could believe that the whole matter is one grand Providence." — George MacdonalJ. Neither be ye of doubtful mind. — " The word in the original is derived from ' meteor,' and is explained by some : do not rise in fancy to high demands, creating imagined necessities, thus making yourselves more ill-contented and more disposed to unbelieving anxiety. Others interpret (as in E. V.) : do not be fluctuating — that is, anxious, tossed between hope and fear. This suits the connection, but is a less usual sense." — Schaff. " Lit- erally, raised in the air. The same metaphor is common in the English ; the phrase might well be rendered, Be not in suspense. Religious indecision Christ condemns." — Abbott. TRUST IN GOD. 439 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 31-33. J-C 33- of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, All these things shall be added unto you.— He gives food to animals, he clothes the flowers in beauty : how much more will he feed and clothe his children ! (Compare Rom. 8 : 32.) " In the example borrowed from nature, it is important to mark how all the figures employed — sowing, reaping, storehouse, barn — are connected with the Parable of the Foolish Rich Man. All these labors, all these provisions, in the midst of which the rich man died — the ravens knew nothing of them ; and yet they live ! The will of God is thus a surer guaranty of existence than the possession of superabundance." — Godet. The truth is plain, easily proven, but the lesson of trust is hard to learn. Many Christians have obtained the mastery over other sins, but fail even to recognize this sin. " You turn it exactly round : food is meant to serve life, but life forsooth serves food ; clothes are to serve the body, but the body forsooth must serve the cloth- ing ; and so blind is the world that it sees not this." — Luther. " Anxiety about these things is akin to covetousness ; the one forgets to trust God, the other trusts wealth instead of God. Both are dangerous, because insidious, and not linked directly with what is in itself evil. Hence these are likely to be the besetting sins of Christians. "c— Riddle. Fear not, little flock.— Campbell renders this, "My little flock," which is expressive of tenderness at the same time that it suggests the actually small number of the disciples. But, few as they were, to them would be given the kingdom ; first, in them- selves, and then throughout the world. The grain of mustard seed was yet to grow, till its branches should overshadow the earth. " In the ever-proceeding warfare of good against evil, right against wrong, truth against error, there can be no real defeat, no absolute discomfiture." — Horace Greeley. Sell what ye have, and give alms. — " Comp. Matt. 6 : 19-21 ; but this is stronger. The connection of thought is with ver. 17 (' what shall I do ? '), telling how earthly riches should be invested. But there is also a close connection with what pre- cedes : Since God provides for our temporal wants as well as our higher spiritual ones, use his temporal gifts so as to promote your spiritual welfare. The first, but not exclusive, application is to the apostles, who must be thus unencumbered in their ministry. If this course of conduct promoted their spiritual welfare, it will that of all Christians. The precept will not be 440 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 33-37- J-C 33. and give alms : provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding ; On Watchfulness. , . that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find understood too literally, except by those who apply it only to ascetics who assume vows of poverty. Our Lord's words are diametrically opposed to modern socialism. The latter would make laws to take away wealth, the former inculcate love that gives away." — Schaff. Bags which wax not old. — Alluding to the danger of losing money out of a hole worn in an old purse, which was attached to the girdle. Such is frequently the gain of this world, and so are its treasures hoarded up and put into "a bag with holes" (Haggai 1 : 6). " There is no use of money equal to that of be- neficence ; here the enjoyment grows on reflection." — Henry Mackenzie. " Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow-creatures." — Cicero. Let your loins be girded about. — " The long Oriental robe requires to be taken up and the skirt fastened under the girdle to allow freedom in walking. The lesson is that he is best prepared for death who is always ready for Christian work." — Abbott. And the lights burning. — " As interpreted by Matt. 25 : 3-8, the lesson is that only he is prepared for either death or work who is supplied with the oil of divine grace." — Abbott. That wait for their Lord. — " There is a slight reference to, or rather another presentation of, the truth set forth in the Par- able of the Virgins. But the image here is of servants waiting for their Lord to return from the wedding ; left at home and bound to be in readiness to receive him. . . . The main thought here only is that he is away at a feast, and will return. But in the background lies the wedding in all its truth — not brought out here, but elsewhere." — Alford. May open unto him immediately. — " The Christian must be ready for the summons whenever it comes ; he must need no special preparation for death." — Abbott* ON WATCHFULNESS. 44I Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 37-42. j.c. 33. watching : verily I say unto you, that he shall gird him- self, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the sec- ond watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also : for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all ? And the Lord said, Come forth and serve them. — " See Rev. 3 : 20, 21, where the same similitude is presented, and the promise carried on yet further — to the sharing of his throne. The Lord himself in that great day of his glory — the marriage- supper of the Lamb ■ — will invert the order of human requirements, and in the full- ness of his grace and love will serve his brethren. Compare the washing of the disciples' feet in John 13 : 1, which was a fore- shadowing of the last great act of self-abasing love." — Alford. In the second watch — in the third watch (from 9 P.M. to 3 a.m.). — " The first and fourth watches are not mentioned (as in Mark 13 : 35). The middle watches are the time of soundest sleep. Even if our Lord delays longer than the servants thought, a faithful servant can thus show his fidelity." — Schaff, " Weddings were then generally celebrated at night, and the return of the guests might be uncertain ; the servants, therefore, when waiting for their master, must watch, that they might open to him without delay." — Scott. But know this, etc. — A new figure (of the thief in the night) brings out the unexpected return. (See Matt. 24 : 43, 44.) To us, or even to all ? — " The question was probably put in a wrong spirit, with reference to the high reward promised, rather than to the duty enjoined. The language is so charac- teristic of Peter as to furnish striking evidence of the accuracy of Luke." — Schaff. " Jesus continues his teaching as if he took no account of Peter's question ; but in reality he gives such a turn to the warning which follows about watchfulness that it in- cludes the precise answer to the question." — Godet. 442 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 42-47. j.c. 33. Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, Answer to Peter. . . . . to give them their portion of meat in due season ? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ; and shall begin to beat the men-servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken ; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, Cut him in sunder. — " C titling asunder was a method of put- ting criminals to death which prevailed among the Chaldeans and Persians, and consisted in having the left hand and right foot, or right hand and left foot, or both feet and hands, cut off at the joints (Dan. 2:5; Matt. 24 : 51)." — Jahn. Sometimes it was done by the sword, sometimes by saws. It was practiced among the Hebrews (1 Sam. 15 : 33 ; 1 Kings 3 : 25 ; Heb. n : 37), and also among the Egyptians and Romans. Isaiah is reported to have been sawn asunder. Some suppose that the sense here simply is, shall deprive him of his office, and cut him off from the family. In reference to this passage, Schaff remarks : " Extreme punishment is here meant, but the peculiar expression indicates something further — a fearful separating of the con- science and the conduct, so that the condemning power of the former is a constant scourge against the continued evil of the latter. This will be a terrible element of future retribution." With the unbelievers. — Literally, the unfaithful. And that servant which knew his Lord's will . . . shall be beaten with many stripes. The Jews did not inflict more than forty stripes for one offence (Deut. 25 : 3). For smaller offences they inflicted four, five, six, or more, according to the nature of the crime. " The last clause of ver. 48 affords the key to the interpretation of this confessedly difficult passage. The princi- ple which Christ here annunciates as that on which God will act in the day of judgment is that which men recognize as just, and THE GOSPEL A REFINING FIRE. 443 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 47-49- J-c- 33- neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few- stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required ; and to whom men have com- mitted much, of him they will ask the more. I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, upon which they act in their dealings with one another. This principle is that guilt is according to the knowledge of the crimi- nal. The language of the whole passage is relative. No one perfectly comprehends his Lord's will ; no one is without some knowledge of it ; absolute ignorance would be a perfect pallia- tion, but ignorance never is absolute. That servant which knew his Lord's will is, primarily, he that lives in the light of revela- tion ; he that knew not, the heathen ; but there are degrees of knowledge in Christendom, and he that knows is the educated ; he that knows not, he that has been brought up in an atmos- phere of ignorance, superstition, and crime. The whole passage is interpreted by Rom. 2 : 6-23. "The severity of God only endures till the sinner is brought to recognize his guilt ; it is indeed, like Joseph's harshness with his brethren, nothing more than love in disguise ; and having done its work, having brought him to the acknowledgment of his guilt and misery, reappears as grace again, granting him more than even he had dared to ask or hope, loosing the bands of his sins, and letting him go free." — Trench. " God himself, we have always understood, hates sin with a most authentic, celestial, and eternal hatred — a hatred, a hostility, inexorable, unappeasable, which blasts the scoundrel, and all scoundrels ultimately, into black annihilation and disap- pearance from the sum of things. The path of it is the path of a naming sword ; he that has eyes may see it, walking inexor- able, divinely beautiful and divinely terrible, through the chaotic gulf of Human History, and everywhere burning, as with un- quenchable fire, the false and the deadworthy from the true and lifeworthy, making all human history, and the biography of every man, a God's Cosmos, in place of a Devil's Chaos. So it is in the end ; even so, to every man who is a man, and not a mutinous beast, and has eyes to see." — Thomas Car/vie. I am come to send fire. — " I think it clear that fire here symbolizes, not, as Al/ord, following the older commentators, the gift of the Holy Ghost, but conflict and persecution. This is indicated (1) by the connection ; Christ is speaking here, not 444 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 49-51. J.c. 33. if it be already kindled ? But I have a baptism to be The Gospel a Re- baptized with ; and how am I straitened fining hre. till it be accomplished ! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you, Nay ; of the coming of the Holy Ghost, but of the divisions which were not merely an incident, but one of the objects of his minis- try, the fan by which he is ever separating the wheat from the chaff, and which is one of the ' all things ' that work together for the good of them that love God ; (2) by the peculiar force of the language, which is not / am come to send fire, but / am come to cast fire, or, as Godet, to throw a firebrand ; (3) by the very passages to which A I ford refers in support of the other interpre- tation. In Matt. 3 : 16, John the Baptist speaks of the Holy Ghost and fire, a clear indication that the fire was not, as used by him, a symbol for the Holy Ghost, but for the persecution and the trial which would consume the dross and purify the gold." — Abbott on Luke. " Christianity, as a powerful stimulus applied to the human mind, first develops all the tendencies of the soul ; and afterward, by its atoning influence on the heart, reconciles them. Christ is the Prince of Peace. He came to make peace between man and God, between man and man, between law and love, reason and faith, freedom and order, progress and conser- vatism. But he first sends the sword, afterward the olive-branch. Nevertheless, universal unity is the object and end of Christi- anity."— James Freeman Clarke. And what will I if it be already kindled ? — " The utterance is broken in the original, and betokens a conflict of soul, like that in John 12 : 27, 28. In the opposition by the Pharisees (ch. ir : 53, 54), Christ perceives the beginning of this fire ; conflicting emotions, of sorrow in the present and prospective conflicts, and joy in their final result, find an utterance in this language of perplexity. What will I— that is, what more would I, since it is already kindled? This interpretation is confirmed by the lan- guage of the next verse." — Abbott. I have a baptism to be baptized with. — The same baptism of fire which he was to minister to his church through the ages that waited for his second coming. And how am I straitened till it be accomplished ! — " Either urged on, or distressed, perplexed. The original will bear either translation. The latter seems to me to be preferable. Every glimpse into the future, every view of that load of sin and sorrow which was laid on him for us all, produced in a measure that in- explicable experience of anguish which was consummated in THE SIGNS OF THE TIME. 445 Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 51-57. j.C 33. but rather division : for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father ; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother ; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower ; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat ; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth ; but how is it, that ye do not dis- cern this time ? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge Gethsemane, and in the cry upon the cross, ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? ' We must never forget that he bore our sins and sufferings, not in his body only or chiefly, but in his heart." — Abbott. But rather division. — " Opposition and war are not the right fruits of the Gospel anymore than ivy is the fruit of the oak-tree, though it creep upon it. But, presupposing the malice and cor- ruption of men, the tidings of salvation, though they exhort unto peace, yet they will beget division : for Satan reigns in the wicked, and it makes him rage to hear celestial doctrine preached ; and that impiety, which was asleep before, is roused with the noise of the Gospel and grows tumultuous : this is an accidental misfortune, not a proper effect." — Bishop Hacket. A cloud rise out of the west. — " The cloud," alluding to a well-known phenomenon, regarded as a certain prognostic of rainy weather. We learn both from Scripture (see 1 Kings 18 : 44) and from the accounts of travelers in the East that a small cloud, like a man's hand, is often the forerunner of violent storms of wind and rain. In Judea the west wind, blowing from the sea, usually brought rain. The connection with what precedes is close : the discord as already begun arises from the fact that the mass of the people do not discern the time. And why even of yourselves. — " The connection appears to me to be as follows : If you were wi-se you would see the signs of destructive storm gathering to overwhelm this nation, and 44^ TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXVII. Luke 12 : 57-59. J.c. 33. ye not what is right ? When thou goest with thine ad- versary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him ; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite. would avoid the impending doom. But why, apart from these considerations, do you not of yourselves judge and do what is right." — Abbott. When thou goest with thine adversary, etc. — " See Matt. 5 : 25, 26. But the phraseology, and I think the application, is different in the two passages. Here the adversary is the Roman Government ; it brings the Jewish nation really to the bar of God, who is the magistrate ; wisdom would dictate that the Jews should seek diligently to be delivered from him, in this case not, as in Matthew, by agreeing with the adversary (Matt. 5 : 25), but by securing the approving judgment of the Divine magis- trate, by of their selves judging and doing what is right. If this interpretation be correct, the passage points out the true way of national safety in all times of national danger." — Abbott. SLAUGHTER OF GALILEANS. 447 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : i, 2. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXVIII. JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answer- slaughter of Gain- ing, said unto them, Suppose ye that these leans< Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because There were present. — " At that very season," is the literal rendering. Probably at the close of the discourse recorded in the last chapter. Some that told him. — " The eagerness of men to be the first narrators of evil tidings — an eagerness which can only spring from a certain secret pleasure in them, though that be most often unacknowledged, even to themselves— was perhaps what moved some of those present to tell the Lord of a new outrage which Pilate had committed. These persons understood rightly that he was speaking, in the words which conclude the last chapter, of the severe judgments which men bring upon them- selves through their sins ; but, as is generally the manner of men, instead of applying these words to their own consciences, they made application of them only to others." — Trench. Of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled, etc. — " The historical fact is otherwise unknown. It must have occurred at some feast in Jerusalem, when riots often took place, and in the outer court of the temple. Such slaughters were frequent, and would not be particularly recorded by historians." — Alford. Josephns relates that Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, put to death three thousand Jews whilst they were sacrificing in the temple. Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners, etc. — ■ "Those who told of the massacre thought that death under such circumstances was peculiarly terrible ; and from this they inferred that these Galileans had been great sinners. Our Lord perceives their reasoning, and first corrects the mistake they made, adding an appropriate warning. He does not deny that they were sinners ; but only that their fate proved them to be especially great sinners. Job's friends made the same mistake." —Sekaff. 44^ JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 3, 4. j.c. 33. they suffered such things ? I tell you, Nay : but, ex- cept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.— These words were literally fulfilled in the destruction which fell upon the Jewish people during the war with the Romans, about forty years after this time ; particularly at the taking of Jerusalem, when many thousands perished, like these Galileans, in the temple, and round the altar, by the hands of the Roman soldiers : when Jerusalem was overthrown, and the nation itself perished. Those eighteen. — "An allusion to an occurrence then well known, but about which we have no further information." — Schaff. The tower in Siloam. — " Probably a tower of the city wall near the pool of Siloam, or in that district, which may have been called by the name of the pool mentioned in John 9 : 7. The village named ' Silwan ' occupies the site of the ancient suburb where the valley of Tyropceon opens into that of the Kidron." — Schaff. Offenders. — " Literally, ' debtors ' (not the same word as in ver. 2), as in the Lord's prayer (Matt. 6 : 12) ; there is no reason for supposing that they were actual debtors imprisoned in the tower. This accident (as it is supposed to have been) is classed by our Lord with the slaughter by Pilate. All such events are under God's control. He is just in permitting them, but we are unjust in drawing uncharitable inferences from them." — Schaff. Jesus was probably now on the borders of Judea, and these remarks were addressed to Jews, who despised Galileans. He reminds them that a like calamity had also befallen themselves — even " dwellers in Jerusalem" — and predicts that unless they repent, the entire nation will perish in a similar manner. And the threatened destruction did come upon "all," since during the siege the city was full of people from the provinces ; and multi- tudes perished amid the ruin and rubbish of the city and its fall- ing walls. The following passage from Josephus, who was an eye- witness, is a striking comment on this prediction : " One faction of the zealots made themselves masters of the inner court of the temple, the other of the outer, whence they annoyed the former with their military engines, from which the darts were shot with such force that they reached the altar, and even the temple itself, and struck both the priests and the sacrificers ; so that many who had come hither from the extremities of the earth did them- selves fall before their sacrifices, and sprinkled with their own PARABLE OF BARREN FIG TREE. 449 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 4-8. j.c. 33. above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell you, Nay : but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. He spake also this parable : A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said parat,ie 0f Barren he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Be- Flg Trce- hold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none : cut it down ; why cumbereth it the ground ? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it, blood that holy altar. Then were the bodies of aliens mixed with those of the Jews, and the bodies of the priests with those of the profane ; and the blood, flowing from all kinds of carcasses, stood in pools within the sacred precincts of the temple." The fig-tree is exhaustive of the soil, and very difficult of cultivation. To make it produce well it is necessary to plow and dig about it frequently, and to manure the roots thoroughly. Vine dresser. — The cultivator of the vineyard. These three years. — The planted tree would ordinarily yield fruit within three years. " Three years are the time of a full trial, at the end of which the inference of incurable sterility may be drawn." — Godet. " Some refer this to the three years of our Lord's ministry, now so nearly ended." — Schaff. Cut it down. — St. Basil remarks on this passage: "This is peculiar to the clemency of God toward men, that he does not bring in punishment silently or secretly ; but by his threatenings first proclaims them to be at hand, thus inviting sinners to re- pentance." Why cumbereth it the ground ?—" The 'cumbering' the ground implies something more than that it occupied the place which might have been filled by another and fruit-bearing tree ; the barren tree injured the land, spreading injurious shade, and drawing off to itself the fatness and nourishment that should have gone to the trees that would have made a return." — Trench, " No man is merely useless. Like the unfruitful tree, he is a despoiler if he be not a fruit-bearer." — Abbott. Till I shall dig about it, and dung it. —That is, "hollow out the earth from about the stem, filling up the space with manure, as one may now see done to the orange trees in the south of Italy." — Trenek. 450 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 9. J.c. 33. And if it bear fruit, well : and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. After that thou shalt cut it down. — " The period of grace is also one of probation ; if the divine grace proves inefficacious, the unfruitful shall be destroyed. It seems to me impossible to reconcile Christ's language in the preceding instruction and in this parable, with the idea of a universal restoration. The attempt to answer specifically the question, What is the fig-tree, what the vineyard, who the owner, who the dresser of the vineyard, etc., is worse than in vain. The beauty of the allegory is destroyed by this attempt to press to a literal interpretation all its details. But the following hints are clear : 1. The imagery is borrowed from the parable, familiar to Christ's auditors, in Isaiah 5 : 1-7, and from other uses in the Old Testament of the same figure, likening God's people to a tree in a vineyard. 2. The fig-tree in a vineyard points rather to an individual in a favored community, enjoying the means of grace and spiritual culture, than to a nation (the Jewish) in the world. 3. It is therefore primarily an admonition to the indi- vidual Jew, who was planted in the midst of God's special people, prided himself on that fact, and yet brought forth no fruit ; but, secondarily, and with equal force, it applies to the individual of our own day, in the midst of a Christian community, enjoying Christian advantages, but bringing forth in life and character no Christian fruit to God's glory or man's benefit. 4. It empha- sizes the truth, so often inculcated by Christ, that the test, and the only test, of character, is fruit-bearing ; and though Christ does not here indicate what are Christian fruits, they are abun- dantly and clearly indicated elsewhere. (See especially Gal. 5 : 22, 23.) 5. It illustrates the patience and long suffering of God toward us — his waiting to be gracious, and it emphasizes this truth by its solemn close : If not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. For the divine grace is not ignorance, indifference, or unconcern, as is shown by the certainty of divine judgment on the finally unfruitful." — Abbott. Greswell, understanding the parable to apply to the Jewish nation, sees in it a foreshadowing of the curse inflicted, some few months later, upon the barren fig-tree near Jerusalem. The parable is related only by Luke, the curse inflicted on the living tree only by Matthew and Mark. Greswell says : " The fig-tree on mount Olivet, and the fig-tree in the parable, bear the same typical relation ; and the curse pro- nounced upon the former is but the execution of the sentence which had been already passed upon the latter, and only for a time suspended" (Vol. L, Diss. 1, p. 25.) AN INFIRM WOMAN HEALED. 45 1 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 10-14. J.c. 33. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and An infirm Woman was bowed together, and could in no wise Healed, lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her : and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with in- dignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sab- bath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work : in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. In one of the synagogues. — There is no notice of Christ's teaching in a synagogue after the delivery of the discourse in John 6 : 22-71, which occurred about the time of the previous Passover. Hence it has been inferred that the increasing oppo- sition of the Pharisees had succeeded in excluding him, perhaps by a formal excommunication, from the local houses of worship throughout Galilee. If this inference be correct, it is an addi- tional evidence that he was now in Perea, where, if his enemies were as violent, they were not as well organized as in Galilee. A spirit of infirmity. — This suggests a form of demoniacal possession ; and ver. r6 seems to expressly state that Satanic in- fluence had produced her infirmity. Our Lord, however, did not heal demoniacs by laying on of hands, but by a word of com- mand ; and it may be that he here spoke only in accordance with the current thought of the time, which attributed nearly all dis- eases to the influence of evil spirits. The case was apparently one of paralysis. He called to her, and said to her. — " This miracle is pecu- liar, in that there is no evidence of any act of faith on the part of the woman. It can hardly be inferred, from ver. 14, that she came for the purpose of being healed." — Abbott. The ruler of the Synagogue. — "The president of the college of elders, who answered in some respects to the pastor of a modern church, but was more an executive officer and less a teacher. ' ' — Abbott. 452 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 15-18. j.c. 33. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypo- crite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering ? And ought not this woman, being a daugh- ter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sab- bath day ? And when he had said these things, all his adversa- ries were ashamed : and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like ? and whereunto shall I resemble it ? It is like a Thou hypocrite. —The ruler's indignation may have been genuine. The Rabbinical laws forbade works of healing on the Sabbath, and this may have been a shock to his narrow bigotry. And yet he seemed more offended with Christ than disturbedon the violation of the Sabbath. " Therefore drew he down up at himself that sharp rebuke from him, whose sharpest rebuke was uttered only in love, and who would have torn, if that had een possible, from off this man's heart the veil which was hiding his true self even from his own eyes. Every word of Christ's answer is significant. It is not a defence of his breaking the Sabbath, but a declaration that he has not broken it at all. " — Trench. All his adversaries. — A number must have been present. All the multitude rejoiced. — " This does not oppose the view that the miracle occurred in Perea, late in the ministry. Although Galilee had been abandoned by him, and Jerusalem had been repeatedly hostile, we infer, from Matt. 18 : 2, that he was still heard with gladness in Perea ; in fact, some such wave of popularity must have preceded the entry into Jerusalem." — Schaff. Unto what is the kingdom of God like ? (See notes on pages 239-254.) These parables were no doubt repeated on this oc- casion. They have an appropriate connection with what pre- cedes. "In them our Lord teaches that his kingdom — 'the kingdom of God ' — should ultimately triumph over all opposi- tion, should grow externally and internally. Such instruction was peculiarly apt just before he began his actual journey to death at Jerusalem." — Schaff. THE MUSTARD SEED AND LEAVEN. 453 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 19-23. J.c. 33. grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden, and it grew, and waxed a great The Mustard Seed tree ; and the fowls of the air lodged in and Leavcn" the branches of it. And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God ? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. And he went through the cities and villages, teach- ing, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be Three measures of meal. — In these measures, in which the leaven was hid, B loom Jit Id sees a reference to the preceding sys- tems of which Christianity is a development. He says : " There have been three grand dispensations — the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the Christian ; but, throughout all, the children of God have the same faith, and the same word of promise, whereby the same will of God is wrought in them all ; and this in the soul, body, and spirit of each." And he went about through all the cities and villages, is the correct rendering ; and it implies an extended circuit, during which he probably preached in all the places where he had been preceded by the seventy. Toward Jerusalem. — " This was on his last journey to Jeru- salem, which he reached on Friday evening, March 30th, a.d. 30, six days before the Passover, and seven before his crucifixion, Friday, April 6th."— Peloubet. Said one unto him. — "The inquirer can hardly have been a disciple of Jesus (see ver. 2S), but most likely a Jew from the multitude. ' ' — A Iford. Are there few that be saved ? — " The question was prompt- ed largely by frivolous curiosity, as well as by pride. Most dis- cussions of a kindred character arise from the same motives. Final and eternal salvation is implied. Incidentally Jewish pride is rebuked, but rather because it was formal than because it was national." — Riddle. " Christ never answers questions in theo- retical theology. To the questioner he replies in effect, Never mind ; do you strive to enter into the heavenly kingdom. Simi- lar in spirit is his answer to the lawyer in Luke 10 : 29, to that of Peter in Luke 12 : 41, and to that of Judas (not Iscariot) in John 14 : 22."— Abbott. 454 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 23-25. J.C. 33. saved ? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at Are there Few the strait gate ; for many, I say unto that be Saved i yQU^ wjj| g^ tQ enter Jj^ an(J gl^li not be able. When once the Master of the house is risen Strive to enter. — " ' Strain every nerve.' " The term is taken from the Grecian games, where they wrestled, and ran the race, in order to win the crown of laurel which belonged to the victor. It is the term, too, from which is our word ' agonize.' " — Jacobus. " The connection of thought is this : Instead of asking curious questions as to the number who are saved, it is a man's first duty to strive most earnestly to obtain salvation himself ; and since many will not obtain it, the effort should Le to obtain it in the right way." — Kiddle. In what follows, " the Messianic kingdom is represented under the figure of a palace, into which men do not enter, as might appear natural, by a magnificent portal, but by a narrow gate, low, and scarcely visible, a mere postern. Those invited refuse to pass in thereby ; then it is closed, and they in vain supplicate the master of the house to re-open it ; it remains closed, and they are, and continue to be, excluded." — Godet. " The striving to enter in must be in accord with the mighty working of God in us (Col. 1 : 29) ; it must be fervent and with prayer (Col. 4 : 12) ; it is characterized by Paul as the good fight, or strife, in contrast with the strife after secular rewards (1 Tim. 6 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 7) ; to oppose us in this strife are the world, the llesh, and the devil (2 Cor. 4:4; Gal. 5:17; Eph. 6 : 12) ; to conquer in it we must put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6 : 13). The lesson which Christ inculcates is that, though always a simple, it is not always an easy thing, to enter into Christ's kingdom." — Abbott. At the strait gate. — " Or, ' through the narrow door.' Com- pare Matt. 7 : 13, where the correct reading is 'gate.' The figure there is of the entrance to a ' way ; ' here to a house or palace (see above and ver. 25). A misapprehension as to this difference led some early copyists to alter ' door ' to ' gate ' in this passage. ' Strait ' means ' narrow,' but many confuse it with 'straight.' It implies difficulty, not directness or correct- ness."— Riddle. " Observe, the gate is put tefore the way (Matt. 7 ; 14). It is not, therefore, the gate out of life, at the end of the pilgrimage, but the gate into the Christian life, as Bunyan represents it in Pilgrim's Progiess. As here used, the gate is not equivalent to the door in Jonn 10 : 2. The strait gate is the spirit of real and hearty allegiance to Jesus Christ, by which we enter unto him." — Abbott. "The gate to eternal life must be narrow, by the very nature of things. There are a THE STRAIGHT GATE. 455 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 25. J.c. 33. up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, thousand wrong ways, but only one right one. The needle may point in a myriad of directions : only one is due north. Faithful obedience to Christ is the necessary way to eternal life." — Peloubet. Seek to enter in. — " We must not understand, ' shall seek to enter in by it, and shall not be able.' The emphasis of the com- mand is, Seek to enter at the narrow door ; for many shall seek to enter (elsewhere), and shall not be able. After ' enter ' is to be supplied, in both places, unto salvation, or into the kingdom of God." — Alford. " 'Seek' is not so strong as 'strive.' Earnest to some extent, these seek to enter in some other way. It is probably implied that more earnestness would lead to the narrow door of repentance and faith." — Schaff. And shall not be able. — It is a moral impossibility to enter in any other way. " It is not because the gate is difficult to find, but because we are unwilling to find and enter in through the gate, that there are few who enter. It is wide enough to admit any soul, but too narrow to admit any sin. Observe, too, that not only the gate is strait, but the subsequent way is narrow. Like a mountain path cut in the rocks, a little deviation is attend- ed with dangerous consequences — deviation, not from circum- scribed rules, but from the spirit of Christ's precepts. Though the way is narrow, it is a highway, in which mere ignorance can not go astray ; though compressed, it is, to him whose heart is fully set to walk in it, the way of life and liberty." — Abbott. " What follows points to formalism as the mistake most common among those present." — Riddle. " If my religion is only a formal compliance with those modes of worship which are in fashion where I live, if it cost me no pain or trouble, if it lays me under no rules and restraint, if I have no careful thoughts and sober reflections about it — is it not great weakness to think that I am striving to enter in at the strait gate /" — William [.aw. When once the Master . . . hath shut to the door.— " From the time that." " This introduces a new thought. A time will come when it will be altogether impossible to enter by any way ; hence the importance of striving now to enter by the right way. The impossibility of entering referred to in ver. 24 is a present moral one, but this verse points to a future time when it will be too late." — Riddle. "In this verse is a reason why this ' strive ' is so important." — Alford. " Allusion is made to nuptial feasts. These were celebrated by night. The house was filled with lights. Thus they who were admitted had the benefit of light ; but 456 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 25-27. j.C. 33. open unto us ; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are : then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell they who were excluded were in darkness outside the house — ' outer darkness,' which necessarily appeared more gloomy com- pared with the light within. The guests entered by a narrow wicket gate, at which the porter stood to prevent the unbidden irom rushing in. When all that had been invited were arrived, the door was shut, and not opened to those who stood without, however much they knocked." — Peloubet. " This door is shut either when there is no more space for repentance (Matt. 12 : 32 ; Heb. 6 : 4-6), or when death calls the soul to judgment. Thus Christ teaches in this passage the threefold conditions of salva- tion— an earnest spirit, the way of self-sacrifice, the present time." — Abbott. I know you not. — "It is not that he disclaims an outward knowledge, but he does not know them in that sense in which the Lord says, ' I know my sheep, and am known of mine.' This knowledge is of necessity reciprocal ; so thai Augustine's, though it may seem at first a slight, is indeed a very profound remark, when explaining, I know you not, he observes it is noth- ing else than ' Ye know not me.' " — Trench. Whence ye are. — " Ye are none of my family, have no rela- tionship with me." — Alford. " The full iorm of this denial and its repetition (ver. 27) emphasize the thought that those thus ap- plying are not members of the family, nor expected guests. Morally they are strangers to God." — Riddle. We did eat and drink in thy presence.— " The plea is pre- vious acquaintanceship. As applied to those then addressed, it refers to actual participation in ordinary meals with our Lord. More generally it refers to external connection with Christ, with- out actual communion with him." — ScJiaff. "To have eaten with one is evidence of acquaintanceship or friendship. So the sinner may allege that he was a professed follower of Jesus, and had some evidence that Jesus was his friend." — Barnes. Didst teach in our streets. — " The figure is dropped for a moment here : the householder represents our Lord. The clause had a literal application then, but it also refers to all among whom the Gospel is preached. Notice the earnestness is not that of those seeking for mercy, but of those claiming a right, and basing their claim on something merely external. It is the mis- take of Phariseeism to the very last." — Schaff. " Compare Matt. 7 : 22. There religious work for the Lord, here the enjoy- WARNED AGAINST HEROD. 457 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 27-31. j.c. 33. you, I know you not whence ye are ; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first ; and there are first which shall be last. The same day there came certain of warned Against the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence ; for Herod will kill thee. " ment of Christian privileges and the receipt of Christian instruc- tion on earth, are made the ground for admission to Christ's eternal kingdom. Both are disallowed ; neither enjoying religious privileges, receiving religious instruction, or engaging in so-called religious work, is an entering into the strait gate. All these may coexist with practical injustice in the daily life." — Abbott. (See Eph. 5 : 1-6.) Depart from me. — -Terrible words to be uttered by Infinite Love ! " Depart from me" into the outer darkness, where is no ray of sun, or moon, or stars, where the light never comes, and only ever-deepening night gathers around the soul forever ! Who shall measure the import of those words, or count the loss to that soul thus banished from all that is good and true, and doomed to wander amid all that is evil and false, for time with- out end — eternal ? Who can realize the awful calamity, or who find fit tears to weep over the fate of the soul that is lost? When ye shall see Abraham ... in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. " Of all sad words of tongue or pen. The saddest are these, It might have bccnV — Whitticr. There are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last. — " Many who are first in privileges shall be last in character. Many who are first in opportunities shall be last in usefulness. Many who are first in earthly riches shall be last in treasures in heaven. Many who seem first and most prominent on earth shall be last and least in heaven." — Peloubet. Certain of the Pharisees. — " They may have been sent by Herod, and were the agents best adapted for his purpose, because 458 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap, XXVIII. Luke 13 : 32. j.c. 33. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Be- hold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to- morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Never- their party was in opposition to him. Our Lord's reply inti- mates this. Herod may not have wished to kill Jesus, but the desire now to see him and now to get him out of his territory agrees entirely with the character of that ruler. ■ To threaten thus without really purposing to carry out the threat, to use Pharisees, his opponents, to report the threat, is the cunning of ' that fox.' " — Sckaff. Depart hence. — Our Lord was probably in Perea, part of Herod's territory, and in that part too in which John the Baptist had been put to death. Tell that fox. — " Indeed was he a fox, since he had now administered the government thirty years, and personated many parts — that of a servant to Tiberius, a master to the Galileans, a friend to Sejanus, Artabanus, his brothers Archelaus, Philip, the other Herod, all the wishes and interests of each of whom were diametrically opposite to those of the other, and to the wishes and interests of Herod himself. ' ' — Wetstein, in Bloom field. " An appropriate characterization of Herod, whose history is one of intrigue and cunning. It is almost the only case in which Christ applies an opprobious epithet to an individual. The fact is no less significant than this one remarkable exception to the general principle of his life. In this case, by a single word, he indicated to the people, the Pharisees and Herod, that he understood the design ; and the word was one sure to be remembered and re- peated. By his undisguised contempt he defeated the attempt to overawe the people by this unholy combination between an apostate church and a wicked king." — Abbott. I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. — Some give these words a literal significa- tion, and render the passage, " To-day and to-morrow, and the third da}- I shall come to the end," meaning he shall then termi- nate his stay in Herod's dominions. Others " refer them to his present work (' to-day '), his future labors (' to-morrow '), and his sufferings at Jerusalem (' the third day '). Such a sense would not only be unusual, but it is opposed by the next verse, where the third day is a day of journeying, not of death. The word used is in the present tense, because our Lord would tell Herod that the future to him is certain." — Schaff. Mi: Abbott, who supposes a different order of events from the one followed in the text, remarks on this passage as follows : " The language is enigmatical ; there is difficulty in its interpretation. I believe, CHRIST TO BE PERFECTED. 459 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 13 : 33. J-C 33- theless I must walk, to-day, and to-morrow, and the however, (1) that the word days is to be taken in its literal signifi- cation. The attempt to interpret flic first day as equivalent to Christ's present working, to-morrow as the time intermediate the present and his passion, and the third day as the passion week, seems to me forced and unnatural ; (2) I shall be perfected, clearly refers to the finishing of Christ's career by his passion and death. The same Greek word is used in this sense in John 4 : 34 ; 5 : 36 ; 17 : 4 ; comp. Acts 20 : 24. I believe then that we are to understand Christ's reply to the Pharisees to be, that he will remain but two days longer in that district, and that then will begin that passion at Jerusalem which was the perfecting of his ministry. May these two days be those referred to in John 1 1 : 6 ? It is true Christ tarried, after the resurrection of Lazarus, in Ephraim (John n : 54) ; but this was only with his disciples. His public ministry, except as it was perfected in the passion week, came to an end when he left Perea to go to Bethany." " The first interpretation can hardly be the correct one, because the word here rendered ' perfected ' is the same as that trans- lated ' finished ' in John 17:4; and there the reference is to the completion of Christ's work. The phrase was a Hebrew form of expression, and both in this and the following passage seems not to denote three days, but an indefinite period, during which Jesus would work, and at its close have his work accomplished. And in this view, what sublimity there is in the expression ! What other man ever so outlined his career, or could say, when his work was done, ' It is finished ! ' All other lives, how- ever great their achievements, have been failures ; he only has done the work that was given him to do (John 17 : 4), his life only has been ' perfected.' All other men have come short of their aims, all others, when looking back on their lives, have had to mourn over duties unfulfilled, and ends unaccomplished." -/. A G. " So much to do ! So little clone '. Ah ! yesternight I saw the sun Sink beamless down the vaulted gray, The ghastly ghost of Yesterday. " So little done ! So much to do ! Each morning breaks on conflicts new ; But eager, brave, I'll join the (ray And fight the battle of To-day. " So much to do ! So little done ! But when it's o'er — the victory won — Oh I then, my soul, this strife and sorrow Will end in that great, glad To-morrow." Eii niu mi Kirke- 460 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 10: 17, 18. j.c. 33. day following : for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning The lament over Jerusalem (Luke 13 : 34, 35) is here omit- ted. " See Matt. 23 : 27-39. The discourse in which it there appears is not reported by Luke, who gives barely a brief sug- gestion of it. It seems to me more probable that Luke has here inserted this apostrophe to Jerusalem out of its place, than that Christ repeated it on this occasion ; because (1) an appeal to Jerusalem, in Perea, seems not probable, though it might have been suggested by the close of the previous sentence ; (2) it is not true that Jerusalem did not see Christ until his second com- ing, and to suppose that the close of ver. 35 refers to the greet- ings given him on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21 : 9) deprives it of its significance, and gives to the same words here and in Matt. 23 : 39 a radically different meaning." — Abbott. The seventy returned again. — How long the seventy were away on their mission, or in what order they returned, it is im- possible to determine. But they must have been absent a con- siderable time, for they were to go two by two, and as each couple would doubtless visit more than a single city, a period of some length would naturally elapse before they all gathered together again to Jesus. They probably returned from time to time, as they fulfilled their commission, and had all rejoined him when he set out from Perea to attend the Feast of Dedication. With no more definite data to go upon, we insert their return at this period. Even the devils. — " Rather, demons, which in Greek is prop- erly a different word from devil. The word devil is seldom used in the orginal in the plural." — IVhedon. Through thy name. — This was the distinction between the miracles of our Lord and those of his disciples. One was wrought by an original or inherent, the other by a derived power. I beheld. — "Literally, 'was beholding.' The form of this expression, as well as the fact that it was addressed to the seventy, opposes every view of the passage which refers it to a past point of time. ' I was beholding,' while you were exercis- ing this power. It means, however, not a vision, ' but a spirit- RETURN OF THE SEVENTY. 461 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 10 : 19. J.c 33. fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and Return of the Sev- over all the power of the enemy : and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstand- ual intuition of the God-man before whom even the secrets of the world of spirits are discovered and lie open.' " — Van Oosterzee. [For reasons stated in my Commentary on Luke 10 : 17, I prefer the historical interpretation to that adopted by Oosterzee. — L. A.] As lightning. —(See Zech. 9 : 14). " This expresses not only the suddenness of his fall, but the fact that he was an angel of light." — Jacobus. From heaven— (See Isa. 14 : 9-15 ; Rev- I3 : 7-12). " From his high position as seeming ruler over the world, as light- ning falls from the sky." — Pcloubct. The Jews thought the air to be the abode of evil spirits. Satan is called the " Prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2). " The whole life and work of Jesus Christ implies a victory over Satan, which he himself was continually beholding ; yet the marked success of so many laborers at such a time was not a trifle. It was the token of the final triumph, in which such human agents were to be employed. This view therefore gives a practical lesson of encouragment for us in our conflict, which is not ' against flesh and blood, but against principalities,' etc. (Eph. 6 : 12)." — Riddle. Power to tread on serpents and, scorpions. — " Though the miracle-working power remained in the church after the ascen- sion of our Lord, Christianity was made less dependent on such external signs and tokens, and more and more on the moral and spiritual power of the word itself. With this promise compare the still more general one of Ps. 91. Such signs as are indi- cated here are not needed in this age, when the divine nature of Christianity is witnessed by such historical evidences as are afforded by the moral, the religious, the social, the political, and even the commercial, development which has everywhere attend- ed on and resulted from its progress. I can hardly conceive that occasion ever can arise for the further fulfillment of this prom- ise. Christianity is itself a greater sign than any the apostles wrought. " — A bbott. All the power of the enemy. — This includes what precedes, and " embraces all the agencies of nature, of human society, of things belonging to the spiritual order, which the prince of this world can use to obstruct the work of Jesus." — Godet. By any means hurt you. — "Or, 'in any wise injure you.' This probably also refers to the ' power of the enemy :' from 462 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 10: 20, 21. j.c. 33. ing, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you ; but rather rejoice, because your names are writ- ten in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and Satan's evils may come apparent hurt, but never real injury." — Abbott. " The devil is not able with all his might and malice — no, though he raise his whole forces, and muster all the powers of darkness into one band, to do us any harm in our souls, in our bodies, in our children, in our friends, in our goods — no, nor so much as in any small thing that we have, without special leave and sufferance of our God." — Bishop Sanderson. Your names written in heaven. — "The seventy knew un- doubtedly, as we also do, the beautiful figure of the Old Testa- ment, which depicts to us the Eternal One with a book before his face wherein he notes down the names and deeds of his faithful servants (Exod. 32 : 32, 33; Mai. 3 : 16 ; compare Rev. 3 : 5)." — Van Oosterzee. "It was the ancient custom that citizens in any commonwealth should be enrolled in a book ; and when any were admitted to the rights of citizenship, their names were registered on this list. They were to rejoice that they were en- rolled as citizens of heaven." — Jacobus. In that hour. — Or, that very hour. " This definite expression fixes the time, although on a previous occasion the same thoughts were uttered (Matt. 11 : 25-27). But our Lord might well repeat such weighty words. Besides, in Matthew they form a confes- sion, here an expression, of joy. Both passages resemble the more profound utterances found in the Gospel of John, regard- ing the relation of our Lord to the Father." — Riddle. Rejoiced. — " ' Rejoice ' is too weak a word. It is ' exulted in spirit ' — evidently giving visible expression to his unusual emotions, while, at the same time, the words ' in spirit ' are meant to convey to the reader the depth of them." — Jamieson. I thank thee. — " The very same sublime words were uttered by our Lord on a former similar occasion (Matt. 11 : 25-27)." — Peloubet. From the wise and prudent. — " The wise in philosophy, the prudent in worldly affairs. Observe that the contrast is not with the unwise and imprudent, but with babes. The doctrine con- veyed is that religious truth is not acquired by any mere intel- lectual process, however good in itself; it is revealed not to philo- sophical wisdom or intellectual culture, or practical sagacity in ALL THINGS DELIVERED TO CHRIST. 463 Chap. XXVIII. Luke 10 : 21, 22. J.C 33. hast revealed them unto babes : even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father : and no man knoweth who the affairs, but to childlike humility and docility." — Abbott. "The wise man is but a clever infant, spelling letters from a hiero- graphical prophetic book, the lexicon of which lies in eternity." — Carlyle. To babes. — " To the poor, ignorant, and obscure ; the teach- able, simple, and humble — such as his disciples were."- — Barnes. For so it seemed good (or, "was well-pleasing") in thy sight. — "The word translated ' for ' also means 'that;' and some prefer to take it here in that sense. In either case, the final ground of thanksgiving is God's good pleasure, which involves his wisdom and goodness. If our Lord, with his great knowledge (ver. 22), could thus glorify God's good pleasure, much more should we, when we can not understand his dealings. The spirit of ' babes ' will always lead us to do this. His will is sovereign, but never tyrannical ; our response should be grate- ful, never self-willed." — Riddle. All things are delivered to me.— The same truth is repeat- edly announced in the New Testament. (See John 3 : 35 ; 6 : 46 ; 10 : 15 ; Matt. 28 : 18 ; Col. 1 : 16, 17.) " It means that Christ has control over all things, for the good of his church ; that the government of the universe is committed to him as Mediator, that he may redeem his people, and guide them to glory (Eph. I : 20, 21, 22)." — Barnes. Of my Father. — " The experience through which Jesus has just passed has transported him, as it were, into the bosom of his Father. He plunges into it, and his words become an echo of the joys of his eternal generation." — Godet, No man knoweth who the Son is. — " That is, such is the nature of the Son of God, such the mystery of the union between the divine and human nature, such his exalted character as divine, that no mortal can fully comprehend him. None but God fully knows him." —Barnes. " This is one of the most convinc- ing testimonies for the true Godhead of Christ. One who was only a created spirit, or an immaculate man, could not possibly, without blasphemy against God, testify this of himself." — Van Oosterzee. " This great truth of Christ's power over all things, of a man who is almighty, rests upon the greater mystery — namely, the person of Christ the Son as related to the Father — a mystery thoroughly known only to the Father and the Son. If men object that it is a mystery which their reason can not of itself dis- cover, they only confirm our Lord's words." — Riddle. 464 JESUS JOURNEYS TOWARD JERUSALEM. Chap. XXVIII. Luke 10 : 22-24. J.c. 33. Son is, but the Father ; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said pri- vately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Who the. Father is, but the Son. — " No man knows the Father except he add to the knowledge gained from other sources that special knowledge of God's grace and love which the Son affords, nor unless his study of nature is under the direction of and in submission to the Son. Philosophy is in so far right that, to the Christless, God is the Unknowable. For the way in which the Son reveals the Father, and to whom he will reveal him, see John 14 : 15-24."— Abbott. " Nor can men by their unassisted reason know God the Father, either as the Father of Christ, or as their Father. In regard to this, men are not so ready to confess their ignorance, but all history proves that with- out Christ there is now no proper knowledge of God." — Riddle. " How can man understand God, since he does not yet under stand his own mind, with which he endeavors to understand him ?" — Augustine. And he to whom the Son will (or, "willeth to") reveal him. — " The future conquest of the world by Jesus and his disciples rests on the relation which he sustains to God, and with which he identifies his people. The perfect knowledge of God is, in the end, the sceptre of the universe." — Godet. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see. — "One of the sublimest utterances of our Lord. He proclaims himself as him in whom alone not only the expectation of the earlier time is fulfilled, but in whom also the ornament and crown of mankind has appeared." — Van Oosterzee. " The Old Testament saints desired to see, looked forward in faith, set forth in types, songs, and prophecies, the wonderful truth which was personally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Compare especially the affecting words of David in his final royal prophecy of the Messiah (2 Sam. 23 : 5) : ' This is all my salvation, and all my desire.' None of these were blessed as the disciples had been. Notice, too, the blessing was not in what they obtained so much as in what they saw. We are ' heirs of all the ages : ' what others worked for, prayed for, hoped for, that we arc blessed in seeing and enjoying." — Riddle. JESUS AT THE HOUSE OK MARTHA. 465 Chap. XXIX. Luke 10 : 38. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXIX. JESUS AT. THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village : and a certain woman named As they went. — "That the visit at Bethany, mentioned by Luke only, took place at this time, can not be positively affirmed, but it can not well be put earlier. Not improbably it is placed by the evangelist in its present position in the narrative upon other than chronological grounds." — Andrews. A certain village. — Bethany lies about two miles east ofjerusa- lem, " on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, fully a mile from the summit, and not very far from the point at which the road to Jericho begins its more sudden descent toward the Jordan valley." " It looks as if it were shut out from the whole world. No town, village, or human habitation is visible from it. The wilderness appears in front through an opening in the rocky glen, and the steep side of Olivet rises close behind. When Jesus retired from Jerusalem to Bethany, no sound of the busy world followed him, no noisy crowd broke in upon his meditations." — Porter's" Syria's Holy Places.''' " Embowered in fruity vegetation that gave it its name — the ' House of Dates ' — and shut out from the busy city by the mountainous wall of Olivet, it was doubtless once ' the perfection of retirement and repose, of seclusion, and a lovely place.' " — Abbott. It is still a lovely spot, though a scene of ruin and poverty ; the soil is good, but miserably neglected. The ravine in which it lies is terraced, and the terraces are covered with fruit-trees or waving grain. Though occupying an elevated position, it is overshadowed on the north and west by the mount of Olives, and looking toward the south-east presents a view of parts of the plain of Jordan and the Dead Sea. It is a most charming seclusion, and a fitting place of quiet retirement, such as Jesus sought, from the mad- dened Pharisees. " It seems an humble village ; few its homes, And few and poor its dwellers ; cottage roofs, Except one single turret, are they all : Vet save the neighboring city, it were hard. If Palestine were searched, to find a spot On which the Christian traveler should muse, With fonder interest, than Bethany." It is a noticeable fact that Christ's great miracle has been to it a new baptism, conferring a new name. It is now called Ei- 466 JESUS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Chap. XXIX. Luke 10 : 38-40. j.c. 33. Martha received him into her house. And she had a jesus at the house sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' of Manha. fe^ an(j }iear(j his Word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, Azari-yeh, which may be interpreted, " The Place of Lazarus" {Porter s "Syria"). The very name of Bethany is unknown to the native inhabitants, and it seems to have borne the name of Lazarus from as far back as the third century. The place is at present, according to Robinson, "a poor village of' some twenty families ; its inhabitants, apparently, are without thought of in- dustry. In the walls of a few of the houses are marks of anti- quity— large hewn stones, some of them beveled, but they have all obviously belonged to more ancient edifices, and been em- ployed again and again in the construction of successive dwell1 ings or other buildings." Martha received him into her house. — " In this passage Mar- tha is described as possessing a house of her own in the village. Whether she was a widow, or lived unmarried, with her sister and Lazarus, can not be determined. The evangelists are re- markably sparing in their historic notices of the persons men- tioned by them. They confine themselves to what is barely necessary, and devote themselves rather to the delineation of their spiritual life." — Olshausen. " The indication here, and in John (chaps, ir, 12 : 1, 9), is that Martha was the head of the household, and therefore probably the elder sister. Simon, per- haps the father, or possibly the husband, was a leper ( Matt. 26 : 6), and either dead or absent." — Abbott, on Luke. " They were a family of wealth and social distinction ; owned their house ; had their family tomb in their garden, as did only the wealthier classes ; esteemed three hundred dollars' worth of ointment not too costly a token of honor to pay to Jesus. Pharisees in faith, they belonged to the more enlightened and liberal of that party. They possessed many distinguished friends among that class in Jerusalem. But neither party friendships nor party prejudices were able to keep them from Christ. There are indications that it was a true home. The sisters and their brother were tenderly attached to each other. Their commingled affections flowed out unselfishly toward Jesus. The quiet simplicity of their love, and the willing service of their hands, unambitious of honors in his expected kingdom, drew Jesus to them. He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." — Abbott's "Jesus of Nazareth," condensed. Martha was cumbered with much serving. — " Literally, ' was drawn off.' That is, her attention was drawn off from the MARTHA AND MARY. 467 Chap. XXIX. Luke 10 : 40-42. J.c. 33. and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone ? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many- things : but one thing is needful ; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. presence of her Lord by her very anxiety to prepare for him a worthy entertainment." — Abbott. And came to him. — " Busy, restless Christians are constantly thinking that the Lord approves their conduct more than that of the quieter class ; they are perfectly conscientious in disturbing those who sit as pupils at the Lord's feet." — Schaff. Left ma to serve alone. — " This suggests that Mary had been helping her sister, but felt that she could use the time more profit- ably." —Schaff. " This notable difference in their manner of re- ceiving the Lord may have arisen from the different lights under which they regarded his person. Martha may have regarded him as come to establish a temporal kingdom ; and therefore she was ' cumbere 1 with math serving,' in order to do him the greatest honor. M iry, on the other hand, viewing him as a spiritual teacher and deliverer, waited upon him in silent attention, and ' sat at his feet.' As is the nature and degree of our faith, so is our conduct ; according to our inward apprehension of the Lord is our outward demeanor towar 1 him." — Ford. Thou art careful and troubled about many things. — "The first word refers more to internal anxiety, the second to the external bustle ; both together describe the habit of such a char- acter."— Schaff. "Careful implies the cause, trouDfedthtresu.il. A mind divided between conceru respecting the inward and the outer life is always perturbed, never knowing the perfect peace of the mind that is stayed on God. Christ does not rebuke Martha for serving, but for being careful and troubled about much serving ; and he does not chide her till she asks him to chide her sister." — Abbott. " Many Christians who have borne the loss of a dear child or all their property with the most heroic Christian fortitu 1; hive been entirely vanquished by the break- ing of a dish or the blunders of a servant." — Newton. But one thing is needful. — " As in so many other instances, these words of Christ have a twofold meaning. Primarily, there was no need of the much serving ; Christ did not care for bodily indulgence ; simple food, a single dish, what was neces- sary for physical support, was all-sufficient for him. But, sec- ondly, one thing only is essential, viz., that bread of life which 4O0 JESUS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 22, 23. j.c. 33. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Christ alone can give, and which Mary was solicitous to receive. These interpretations are not inconsistent ; the one is dependent on the other. It is because spiritual good is the one thing need- ful, that simple provision for the body suffices, and that much serving is needless. In studying this incident observe, (1) Both Martha and Mary were disciples of Christ. They represent not the contrast between the follower of Christ and the follower of the world, but between different types of piety in the church. (2) Martha's much serving was for her Lord. She desired to pre- pare a worthy entertainment — one worthy as an offering to him and worthy as a manifestation of her own hospitality. Love and pride combined to prompt her activity. (3) A social lesson lies on the surface of the incident. Much serving is not the best serving. The housekeeper is not always a homekeeper. Less supper and more host, rather than less host and more supper, give the best entertainment. (4) The religious lesson is one pre- eminently needed in our era. Not he who works most for Christ, but he who receives most from Christ, serves him best. To sit at his feet and learn is always more acceptable than to be careful and troubled about much serving. (5) Both types — the meditative and the active — are needed in the church ; both are combined in the well-developed character. Christ did much serving, going about doing good, ministering to the body as well as to the soul ; but he also sought opportunities for retirement, solitude, and communion with God." — Abbott. " O busy Marthas, in your round of teaching, visiting, working, planning, and alms- giving, go often to recruit your strength and to learn your duty by taking Mary's lowly place at the feet of your loving Lord. Let us ever bear in mind that the most effective preachers and philanthropists have been those who waited humbly and hungrily for the guidance and grace which the Lord Jesus gave them. As examples of this fact, let me point you to the apostles, and to Augustine, Luther, Pascal, Calvin, the Wesleys, Wilberforce, Payson ; William Allen, the Quaker philanthropist ; Bunyan, the wonderful allegorist ; Martyn, the self-denying missionary ; and Edwards, the majestic man of thought. All these master- spirits drew their inspiration from a daily communion with their Divine Lord." — Theodore L. Cnyler. It was at Jerusalem, the feast of the Dedication. — " For a considerable period Jesus had avoided Jerusalem ; at the Feast of Tabernacles he went up secretly. Now he seeks publicity. There is no reason why he should longer avoid Jerusalem. He JESUS IN SOLOMON'S PORCH. 469 Chap. XXIX. John 10: 24. j.C 33. Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about will present himself before the priests and scribes and rulers, that they may show forth what is in their hearts — show whether they can yet recognize in him the Messiah. And the Feast of Dedication had special significance as the time of such a visit. It was appointed in commemoration of the national deliverance by the Maccabees from the oppression of the Syrians (h.c. 104), and of the cleansing of the temple and restoration of the appoint- ed worship. It should have reminded the Jews of the sins that brought them under the tyranny of Antiochus, but it served only to feed their pride, to foster their hate of Roman rule, and to turn their hearts away from the true deliverer. A Judas Mac- . cabeus they would have welcomed ; but Jesus, whose first work must be to deliver them from sin, found no favor in their eyes." — Andrews, condensed. This feast, unlike the other festivals which were observed only at Jerusalem, was celebrated through- out the whole of Judea, and by " every one in his own city." " It brought together the haughtiest of the Jewish autocrats, and the more narrow-minded and bigoted of the Jewish people. In this feast there was nothing to attract Jesus save the opportunity once more to speak to the heart of Judaism." — Abbott. It lasted eight days, and began this year on the nineteenth of December. In Solomon's porch. — " The word ' porch ' rather means what we should call a veranda or colonnade. It was one of those long-covered walks under a roof supported by columns, on one side at least, which the inhabitants of hot countries appear to find absolutely needful. Singularly enough, one sect of heathen philosophers at Athens was called ' Stoics,' from its meeting in a place called ' Stoa, ' here rendered a porch, while another was called ' Peripatetics,' from its habit of ' walking about ' during its discussions, just as our Lord did in this verse. The cloisters of a cathedral or abbey, perhaps, are most like the building called a ' porch ' here." — Ryle. " Several porticoes, or piazzas, were erected round the temple, in which persons might walk, and the doctors and other masters might communicate oral instruction to their followers, sheltered from the inclemency of the weather." — Tittman. The one called Solomon's is generally supposed to have been at the south-east coner of the temple area, overlooking the valley of the Kedron. Kinnoel remarks: "It looked toward the east, and is therefore called by Josephus the Eastern porch. It was the only part left uninjured when the Babylonians destroyed the temple. Hence, king Agrippa though solicited by the people, could not be induced to demolish this ancient pile, even for the purpose of building it anew." It is thus described by Joseph** : " Upon the southern part of the 47° JESUS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 24, 25. j.c. 33. him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us At the Feast of to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, tell us Dedication. plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not : the works that I do in my Father's inclosure, internally, a broad portico ran along the wall, sup- ported by four rows of columns, which divided it into three parts, thus forming a triple colonnade or portico. Of these the two external parts were each thirty ieet wide, and the middle one forty-five feet. The height of the two external porticoes was more than fifty feet, while that of the middle one was double, or more than a hundred feet. The length was a stadium, extend- ing from valley to valley. Such was the elevation of the middle portico above the adjacent valley, that if from its roof one attempted to look down into the gulf below, his eyes became dark and dizzy before they could penetrate to the immense depth." — Antiq. 15 \ 11-15. Dr. Robinson, Bib. Res., vol. I., p. 422-7, says : " We first noticed these large stones at the south- east corner of the inclosure, where, perhaps, they are as conspicu- ous, and form as great a portion of the wall, as in any part. Here are several courses, both on the east and south sides, alter- nating with each other, in which the stones measure from seven- teen to nineteen feet in length, by three or four feet in height, while one block at the corner is seven and a half feet thick. . . . There seems little room for hesitation in referring them back to the days of Solomon, or rather of his successors, who, according to josephus, built up here immense walls, immovable for all time." If thou be ths Christ, tell us plainly. — " The manner in which the Jews gather around him, and the character of their question, ' How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly,' clearly indicate that in some way their attention had been especially drawn to him as something more than a prophet, as indeed the Christ. If we compare this lan- guage with that uttered but two months earlier at the feast of Tabernacles, it appears evident that his Messianic claims had now become prominent. It is to be noticed that no mention is made of any preliminary teaching or healing, nothing to call forth the question. He is silent till it is addressed him by the people, ana this was as soon as he appeared in the temple." — Andrews. I told you, and ye believed not. — Jesus had not expressly declared to them that he was the Christ, but he had distinctly assumed a far higher character than that of the Messiah thev ex- THE SHEEP KNOW THEIR SHEPHERD. 47 I Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 25-2S. j.c. 33. name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, be- cause ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of pected. He claimed to be the fountain of life (John 5 : 26), the judge of mankind (John 5 : 28, 29), and in such mysterious union with the Father (John 5 : 18) as they understood to denote equality with God. These high assumptions he had made on each of his previous visits to Jerusalem, and so plainly as not to be misunderstood. Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. — They were sunk in worldliness, and in no condition to receive spiritual truth. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness' ' ( Rom. 10 : 10), and evidence that would be convincing to a Nathaniel would be altogether unsatisfactory to a Caiaphas. And it is so with all truth. It must be approached with a guileless, teachable, child- like spirit. Bacon says : " The kingdom of man, which is found- ed on the sciences, can not be entered otherwise than the king- dom of God — that is, in the condition of a little child." The study of Christ requires every imagination to be brought down, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10 : 5). " No progress can be made in religion, or in science, till the pride which exalts itself to judge over God, and to decide what he ought to have done, is repressed and till the man takes his place as a learner at the feet of Jesus as the philosopher takes his place at the feet of nature." — Mar!; Hopkins. My sheep hear my voice. — " The sheep, though rhe most simple creature, is superior to all animals in this, that he soon hears his shepherd's voice, and will follow no other. Also he is clever enough to hang entirely on his shepherd, and to seek help from him alone. He can not help himself, nor find pasture for himself, nor heal himself, nor guard against wolves, but depends wholly and solely on the help of another." — Luther. And thus it is with the Christian ; thus he ever looks to the Good Shep- herd. " His reference to the figure of the sheep (ver. 26), as it had been used by him at the Feast of Tabernacles (10 : 1-18), is not strange, for probably most of those now present — priests, scribes, and Pharisees — were residents in Jerusalem, and had heard his words at that time." — Andrews'. Neither shall any man. — This clause should read, "And none shall," including all powers both human and diabolical. 472 JESUS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 29-34. j.C 33. my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I. shewed you from my Father ; for which of those works do ye stone me ? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not ; but for blasphemy ; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. — " Read, ' None is able to pluck out of my Father's hand ' — that is, that which he holdeth fast none can tear away." — Alford. Then the Jews took up stones. — " Therefore the Jews," occasioned by his apparent blasphemy in assuming union and equality with God. " They had demanded that he speak plain- ly. They mobbed him when he did. With that same majestic mien that had already carried him through two similar scenes, he quelled the populace for the moment. He cited against them their own Hebraic Scriptures. He repeated, in language stronger, if that were possible, than before, his mystical union with his Father. Then he bade adieu to the city which so strangely be- lied its name — Inheritance of Peace." — Abbott. Is it not written in your law ? — " The passage here quoted by our Saviour was peculiarly applicable to the circumstances. Ps. 82 speaks of God as standing ' in the congregation of the mighty,' pleading in behalf of 'the poor and needy,' represented in the person of Christ, God in our nature, the language of whose life is expressed in the words of the psalm (vers. 3, 4), ' Defend the poor and fatherless : do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy : rid them out of the hand of the' wicked.' The result is expressed in Jno. 11 : 49-53. The psalm proceeds (vers. 6-8), ' I have said, Ye are gods ; and all of you are children of the most high. (7), Rut ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. (8), Arise, O God, judge the earth : for thou shalt inherit all nations.' That the doom above denounced awaited those who persecuted in the person of Christ, the poor and needy, was speedily proved by the fact ; and that he being truly God, as well as man, did arise, and is the appointed Judge of the earth ; and that he will, in JESUS, THE SON OF GOD. 473 Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 34-40. j.c. 33. said, Ye are gods ? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken ; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sancti- fied, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest ; be- cause I said, I am the Son of God ? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works ; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him ; but he escaped out of their hand. And went away again opposition to the narrow notions of the Jews, inherit all nations, is equally true." — Bloom field. I said, ye are gods.—" What he saith is of this kind : If those who have received this honor by grace are not found fault with for calling themselves gods, how can he deserve to be rebuked who hath this by nature ?" — Chrysostom. The Scripture can not be broken. — " Made void." — Alferd. Can not be questioned or gainsaid. Sanctified. — " Set apart as the holy one of God. The word is from a Hebrew original, which signifies to set apart from common use and apply to a sacred purpose." — Bloom field. If I do not the works of my Father.— Meaning, " If I had not done the same works which my Father doth, ye might refuse to believe my words ; but since they bear the same stamp and impress, you should at least believe them, if you will not believe my words ; and then would you understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." — Tillman. That ye may know and believe.—" Read, ' Perceive and know.' '* — A I ford. The Father is in me, and I in him.—" By these words our Lord meant communion of mind and equality of power. It is plain that the Jews clearly understood that he claimed and ascribed to himself the attributes of Godhead, and made himself equal with the Father." — Bloom field. Under this impression Jesus left them, and it can not "be doubted that he intended to leave them with this impression. Escaped out of their hands, gives the idea of a hasty flight, and that is not at all conveyed by the original, which is simply, " and he passed away from them." The godlike majesty which now shone from him overawed his would-be murderers. 474 JESUS AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION. Chap. XXIX. John 10 : 41, 42. j.c. 33. beyond Jordan into the place where John at first bap- tized ; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle : but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there. The place where John at first baptized.—" Why this men- tion of the place of our Lord's retreat ? Not to show historical accuracy, nor for the mere information of the readers ; but because it is connected with the testimony of John, and with the effects of that testimony and its verification by fact in causing many to believe on him there." — A /ford. And there he abode. — ' ' This implies that he made no long cir- cuits through the surrounding towns, but remained in the town or district of Bethany. How long he sojourned there before he went up to raise Lazarus does not clearly appear. It is inferred by some — from John 11 : 7, 8, 'The Jews of late sought to stone thee, ' ' — that he had then but just come from Jerusalem ; but much stress can not be laid on this. It was four months to the Passover, and it is not improbable that a half of this time, or more, was spent beyond Jordan, in the neighborhood of Bethany." — Condensed from Andrews. He was now again in the jurisdiction of Herod, but he was in less danger from the wiles of " that fox" than from the deadlier malice oe his ene- mies at Jerusalem. JESUS DINES WITH A PHARISEE. 475 Chap. XXX. Luke 14: 1-2. J.c. 33. CHAPTER XXX. THE GREAT SUPPER. And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on jesus Dines with the Sabbath-day, that they watched him. a Pharisee- As he ■went. — " When he had come." — Afford. One of the chief Pharisees. — " The Pharisee by whom the Lord was invited to eat bread is described as ' one of the chief Pharisees.' This may denote that he was of high social posi- tion, but probably includes some official distinction, as that he was chief of a synagogue, or member of the Sanhedrin. His motive in thus seeking the Lord's society does not clearly ap- pear ; and it is possible that, unlike most of his sect, he wished to show him some mark of respect, perhaps as a prophet, perhaps as the Messiah. Still the Lord's words (v. 12) imply that he made the feast in a self-seeking, ostentatious spirit, and under the pretence of hospitality he may have hidden an evil design." — Andrew*. "It is probable that this was a splendid entertain- ment, and the guests distinguished persons." — Trench. Eat bread on the Sabbath day. — " Every week the pious Jew repeated that Thanksgiving day which New England enjoys but once a year. Walking, social visiting, even games and danc- ing, were a part of the Pharisaic observance of the Sabbath day. . . . ' Meet the Sabbath with a lively hunger ; let thy table be covered with fish, flesh, and generous wine.' ' Let the seats be soft, and adorned with beautiful cushions, and let elegance smile in the furniture of the table.' 'Assume all thy sprightliness.' ' Utter nothing but what is provocative of mirth and good humor.' ' Walk leisurely, for the law requires it, as it does also longer sleep in the morning.' ' Be resolute and merry, though ruined in debt.' Such are some of the Rabbinical precepts con- cerning the Sabbath." — Abbott' s Jesus of Xazareth. " The idea of the Sabbath among the Jews was not at all that of a day to be austerely kept, but very much to the contrary." — Trench. " It is noteworthy that Christ, who rebukes the legalism and asceticism with which the Pharisees hedged about the Sabbath, and the spirit of inhumanity which they concealed under a pretence of Sabbath observance, utters no word of condemnation of the social freedom which characterized the day. Observe, too, that, while he accepts all invitations, he makes every social gathering an oc- casion of direct religious instruction." — Abbott on Luke. 476 THE GREAT SUPPER. Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 3-5. j.c. 33. And behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering, spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day ? And they held their peace. .And he Heals of the took him, and healed him, and let him Dropsy. gQ . an(j answere(j them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and They watched him. — " The invitation seems not to have been given in good faith, but in the hope that the nearer and more accurate watching of the Lord's words and ways, which such an opportunity would give, might afford some new matter of accusation against him. Such was, probably, the spring of the apparent courtesy which they showed him now, and so did they reverence the sacred laws of hospitality !" — Trench. A certain man which had the dropsy. — " The appearance of the dropsical man at such a feast it is not easy to explain. He could hardly, if severely ill, have been invited as a guest ; and it is said that after the Lord had ' healed him he let him go,' as if he were only accidentally present. Nor is it probable that he came merely as a spectator, although Eastern customs permit strangers to enter houses at all hours with great freedom, and they are often present at feasts merely to look on. Some have therefore supposed that he was intentionally brought in by the Pharisees, to see if the Lord would heal him on that day. But it is more probable that he came in faith to be healed, and un- able, perhaps, to approach the Lord before he entered into the house, now forced himself into the room where he was. Had he been a mere tool in the hands of the Pharisees, it may well be doubted whether the Lord would have healed him." — Andrews. Answering, the unspoken thoughts of the Pharisees. Is it lawful ?— " The Pharisees were watching Christ ; Christ tries the Pharisees. According to Rabbinical law it was unlaw- ful."— Abbott. "This unexpected question evidently embar- rassed them. If they answered yes, the occasion of finding fault was taken away ; if no, they could be charged with want of com- passion.' ' — Schaff. They held their peace. — They would not approve, they could not gainsay. Let him go. — " Sent him away. He was not a guest. The rebuke was not given until after the man had been sent away." —Schaff. Which of you shall have an ass or an ox. — " Some manu- scripts, and these the better ones, for ass read son. The verse PARABLE OF THE WEDDING. 477 Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 5-8. j.c. 33. will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-day ? And they could not answer him again to these things. And he put forth a parable to those which were bid- den, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms ; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, will then read, Which of you shall have a son, or even an ox, fallen into a pit ? The argument here is precisely the same as in Matt. 12 : n." — Abbott. Alford adopts the new reading, Trench prefers the older one, Schaff says the weight of authority is for the reading, " a son." " As on other occasions (Matt. 12 : ir ; Luke 13 : 15), the Lord brings back those persons to their own experience, and lets them feel the keen contradiction in which their blame of Christ's free work of love sets them with themselves, in that, where their worldly interests were at hazard, they did that very thing whereof they made now an occasion against him." — Olshattsen, And he put forth a parable. — " The word ' parable ' is here to be taken in a wider sense, not in that of an invented narra- tive, but in that of a parabolic address." — Lange. " The lan- guage implies that we are to look in this teaching for a spiritual meaning beneath the social instruction which lies on the sur- face."— Abbott. The section covered by this chapter has been aptly entitled, "The Son of Man eating and drinking." " It belongs to the peculiarities of Luke, that he loves to represent to us the Saviour as sitting at a social table, where he most beauti- fully reveals his pure humanity. This time he glorifies the meal through table-talk which, more than that of any other, was ' seasoned with salt ' (Col. 4 : 6), and, according to the exceed- ingly vivid and internally credible account of Luke, was ad- dressed, first to the guests (vers. 7-10), then to the host (vers. 11-14), finally an occasion being given (ver. 15) to both (vers. 16-24 >• ' ' — J ~an Oosterzee. Highest room. — " The word 'room' is used in the original sense of the word as equivalent to space or place. In the East, in the time of Christ, tables were ordinarily arranged around an open square (in the manner described on page 223, see also Matt. 26 : 20). The middle place on each couch of the triclinium was con- sidered the place of honor, here designated as the chief room. 'At a large feast there would be many of these.' — Alford. " In our democratic society we can not well appreciate the bitter- ness of the contention which often took place among guests for these places of honor. It was probably such a strife that Luke re- 478 THE GREAT SUPPER. Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 8-11. J.c. 33. lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him ; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place ; and thou begin with shame to The lesson of take the lowest room. But when thou Humility. art biddg^ g0 an(j sjt down in the lowest room ; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher : then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. fers to in chap. 22 : 24. A strife for ecclesiastical pre-eminence, not in real power, but only in title and dignity, between the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, agitated all England for a long time, and was finally settled by making the one primate of England, and the other primate of all England." — Abbott. Worship. — Respect, honor, reverence. Whosoever exalteth himself, etc. — " This is the enuncia- tion of a general law of absolutely universal application ; but the final abasement or exaltation may not come until the future life. See Isaiah 5 : 12-15 I also James 4 : 10 ; 1 Peter 5 : 5, 6." — Abbott. " The highest and most profitable lesson is the true knowledge and lowly esteem of ourselves." — Thomas A.- Kempis. "Whatever you are from nature, keep to it; never desert your own line of talent. If Providence only intended you to write posies tor rings, or mottoes for twelfth-cakes, keep to posies and mottoes ; u good motto for a twelfth-cake is more respectable than a villainous epic poem in twelve books. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed ; be any thing else, and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing." — Sydney Smith. " The universal axiom, in which all complacence is included, and from which flow all the formali- ties which custom has established in civilized nations, is that no person should give any preference to himself ; a rule so comprehensive and certain that perhaps it is not easy for the mind to imagine an incivility without supposing it to be broken." — Samuel Johnson. " The three sources of ill-manners are pride, ill-nature, and want of sense ; so that every person who is already endowed with humility, good nature, and good sense will learn good manners with little or no teaching. Christianity is the best foundation of what we call good manners ; and of two persons who have equal knowledge of the world, he that is the THE HEAVENLY REWARD. 479 Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 12-14. j.c. 33. Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neigh- bors ; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind ; and thou shalt best Christian will be the best gentleman." — Jones {of ' Nayland), Compare also Proverbs, 25 : 6, 7. When thou makest a dinner. — " The composition of the company before him seems to have given occasion for this saying of our Lord. The Pharisee, his host, had doubtless, with the view mentioned in verse 1 [to watch him], invited the principal persons of the place, and with the intention of courting their favor and getting a return. The Lord rebukes him in this spirit ; and it has been well remarked that the intercourse and civilities of social life among friends and neighbors are here presupposed, with this caution, that our means are not to be sumptuously laid out upon them, but upon something far better — the providing for the poor and maimed and lame and blind." — Alford. (See notes on pages 417.) " It was probably in a town in Perea, neither a large city nor a rural district, but just of that intermediate kind, where questions of position are deemed so important. The whole account is exceedingly apt and true to life." — Sckaff. Call not thy friends. — " 'Call' here means more than ' in- vite ; ' it implies a loud calling, an ostentatious invitation, so that the whole town knows of the entertainment. The word will bear pondering wherever people sound a trumpet before their feasts. This is not a positive prohibition of entertaining one's friends and neighbors. Such intercourse is taken for granted. What is forbidden is the thought that this is hospitality, or in itself praiseworthy. Social entertainments in the East are , often occasions, as with us, of great display. Each course con- ' sists of a single dish ; sometimes as many as forty or fifty courses are given. The drawing-room is ordinarily one that opens di- rectly upon the court-yard. The flowers and fountain in the yard, where there is often music, and sometimes dancing, add to the attractions of the scene. In the richer mansions the room itself is often elaborately decorated. The practice of reclining at meals is no longer in vogue." — Abbot I. Call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. — " It is as common in the East for a rich man to give a feast to the poor, the maimed, and the blind, as it is in England for a nobleman to entertain men of his own degree. Does he wish to gain some 480 THE GREAT SUPPER. Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 14, 15. j.c. 33. be blessed : for they cannot recompense thee : for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. temporal or spiritual blessing ? he orders his head servant to prepare a feast for one or two hundred poor guests. Messengers are then dispatched into the streets and lanes to inform the in- digent that on such a day rice and curry will be given to all who are there at the appointed time. Long before the hour the visi- tors may be seen bending their steps toward the house. There goes the old man who is scarcely able to move his palsied limbs, while he talks to himself about better days ; and there the de- spised widow moves with a hesitating step. There the sanyasi or pandaram boldly brushes along, and scowls upon all who offer the least impediment to his progress. These objects, suffering under every possible disease of our nature, congregate together, without a single kindred association excepting the one which occupies their expectations. What a motley scene is that given in such a village !" — Roberts. For thou shalt be recompensed, etc. — " Earthly recompense amounts to nothing ; it gives no blessing. All outlay with the hope of return is a mere squandering upon self. But providing for the poor is lending to the Lord ; he will repay it, and his promise is the security for the blessedness referred to. Our Lord, of course, does not here encourage charity for the purpose of obtaining a future reward." — Schaff. At the resurrection of the just. — So in Jno. 5 : 29. The Pharisees believed in two resurrections : one to take place at the coming of the Messiah (who would thus establish an earthly king- dom, to which the Pharisee here evidently alludes by " the king- dom of God ") ; the other, the final resurrection, to be followed by a state of retribution. Blessed is he that shall eat. — The Jews had gross notions of a splendid feast at the coming of the Messiah, which this man seems to have entertained. The paraphrase is, " They are happy that shall share in the privileges and pleasures of Mes- siah's kingdom upon earth, and be admitted to all the delight- ful entertainments of the heavenly world at the resurrection of the just." To eat bread was a usual phrase for a meal, whether of common provisions or luxuries (2 Sam. 9:7:12: 17). " The company this ' one ' was in, and the parable which his re- mark called forth, oppose the view that he sympathized with our THE INVITATION. 481 Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 16-17. Jc- 33- Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many : and sent his servant at sup- Lord. Some think it was merely an attempt at a diversion, since our Lord's remarks were unpleasantly telling. It is more probable that the man, hearing of the resurrection of the just, at once thought of the great feast (the millennial feast) which the Jews expected would follow, and thus spoke with the common Jewish idea that his admission to that feast was a certainty." — Schaff. Then said he unto him. — " Our Lord, in answering through this parable, accepts as correct the expectation of a blessed state of the ' just ' after their resurrection, himself representing it, as the Jews had done, under the figure of a feast. The parable answers the remark by suggesting this thought : ' You speak of the blessedness of those who are guests at this feast ; but what if you, and those like you, refuse to accept the invitation already given, and thus reject what you seem to praise ? ' " — Riddle. A certain man. — " There is a similarity between this parable and the one spoken in Matt. 22 : but the two are distinct, and spoken on different occasions." — Whedon. " In the parable of the marriage feast, it is a king who invites to the wedding of his son (Matt. 22 : 2). That was spoken in the temple during the closing controversies with the Jews, and is therefore much more pronounced in its severity and prediction of judgment. In both the giver of the feast represents God." — Riddle. A great supper. — " This may be distinguished from the mar- riage feast. The former refers immediately to Gospel privileges, the latter to their culmination in the marriage-supper of the Lamb." — Riddle. " A feast is frequently employed in Scripture to be a symbol of what is provided for the soul in the great gift of the Saviour Christ Jesus. Man not only needs bread for the body, but also for his immortal soul. The first thing in this great feast provided is the forgiveness of sin ; the next, regenera- tion of heart." — Cumi/iings. Bade many. — " Those who might be presumed the most favorably disposed for the embracing of the truth ; the most re- ligious among the people, the priests and elders, the scribes and Pharisees. Christ still bids many : all are bidden." — Trench. Sent his servant at supper-time. — In addition to a first and formal invitation, it was usual among the Jews to send a servant with a second on the eve of the entertainment (comp. Matt. 22 : 3), and the custom still prevails in the East. Dr. Thomson says, in regard to the present custom : " If a sheik, beg, or emeer invites, he always sends a servant to call you at the proper time. This servant often repeats the very formula mentioned THE GREAT SUPPER, Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 17-18. j.c. 33. per-time, to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all Parable of the things are now ready. And they all with Great Supper. one consent began to make excuse. The in Luke 14 : 17 : ' Tefiiddulu, el 'asha hader ' — ' Come, for the supper is ready.' The fact that this custom is mainly confined to the wealthy and to the nobility is in strict agreement with the parable, where the certain man who made the great supper, and bade many, is supposed to be of this class. It is true now, as then, that to refuse is a high insult to the maker of the feast, nor would such excuses as those in the parable be more acceptable to a Druse emeer than they were to the lord of this ' great supper.' " " And such was the hospitality of ancient Greece and Rome. When a person provided an entertainment for his friends or neighbors, he sent round a number of servants to invite the guests : these were called vocatores by the Romans, and K/l^rw- (>eq by the Greeks. The day when the entertainment is to be given is fixed some considerable time before ; and, in the even- ing of the day appointed, a messenger comes to bid the guests to the feast. They were not now asked for the first time, but had already accepted the invitation when the day was appointed, and were therefore already pledged to attend at the hour when they might be summoned. They were not taken unprepared, and could not in consistency and decency plead any prior en- gagement. They could not now refuse without violating their word and insulting the master of the feast, and therefore justly subjected themselves to punishment. The terms of the parable exactly accord with established custom, and contain nothing of the harshness to which infidels object. "—Pajrton. " The invita- tion of the Old Testament bade the whole Jewish nation to God's kingdom ; John the Baptist and Jesus, with the message, ' The kingdom of God is at hand,' brought the second invitation. ' Come, for all things are now ready,' was the burden of their ministry (Gal. 4 : 4). But it is also the Gospel message to-day. On God's part all is ready ; the guest has simply to accept the invitation and come." — Abbott. All things are now ready. — " There was, beyond a doubt, in the world's history a time when, more than any other, it might be said, ' All things are now ready ; ' a fullness of time in which, when it was arrived, and not till then, the kingdom of heaven was set up, and men invited — the Jew first, and afterward the Gentile — to enter into it." — Trench. And they all with one [mind] began to make excuse. — " The translators supply the word ' consent,' but this implies combined action, and that is not indicated by the original. The spiritual WORLDLY EXCUSES. 483 Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 1S-21. j.c. 33. first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them : I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife : and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of lesson is that all excuses for neglect of religion and rejection of Christ have one common cause — a disrelish of spiritual things." — Abbott, ' ' The excuses which are mentioned are such as plainly Indicated, on the part of those who made them, a slighting both of the entertainment and of him who had prepared it. Real friends would never make such excuses. The excuses were a mere pre- tence, to cover up the dislike which the persons felt ; and thus they manifested a spirit worthy to be frowned on." — Alford. " Their excusing themselves shows that the obligation to come was in some measure acknowledged." — Riddle. The first said unto him, etc. — " The first pleads property, the second business, the third domestic duties ; the first necessity, the second his plans, the third simply his will ; the first is in lan- guage respectful, the second less so, the third is abrupt and almost insulting. Neither of them is kept away by any thing in- trinsically sinful. Neither of them proffers a good excuse, for the farm and the oxen could have waited, and the wife could have come with her husband ; the claims of this life and the other are not inconsistent. Comp. 1 Cor. 7 : 29 for the Chris- tian spirit respecting property, business, and domestic ties." — Abbott. The master of the house being angry. — "Such an intima- tion, dropped incidentally in the teaching of Christ, is very sig- nificant. The references elsewhere in the Bible to the ' wrath of God ' are not human misinterpretations of the divine character." — Abbott. " The ang^r was natural on the part of ' the master of the house.' While God's anger is not like that of man, he has a holy wrath against sin, which exceeds man's wrath even as his love exceeds ours. Worldly excuses are all in vain ; for they all assume that what we want to do is preferred to what God would have us do. That is the attitude of sin, which is an- tagonism to God. He must hate it because he is what he is, and it is what it is. In Matt. 22 : 7 we have the punishment repre- sented ; what was then prophesied was soon fulfilled in the case of the refusing Jews." — Riddle. 484 THE GREAT SUPPER. Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 23, 24. j.c. 33. the house being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city. — " Those in the streets and lanes are interpreted by many of the commentators to mean the Jews ; those in the highways and hedges the Gentiles." — Abbott. And yet there is room. — " The provisions made for the feast were ample ; the servant would have the place filled with guests. ' Not only nature, but grace also, abhors a vacuum.' " — Bengel. Go out into the highways and hedges. — " This refers to the extension of the Gospel invitation among the Gentiles. As this was a work of time, ' quickly ' is not added here. The sending outside of the city for guests did not take place until after the servant had returned to his lord. So the calling of the Gentiles was not until after the ascension of Christ." — Riddle. " The para- ble, hitherto historic, becomes prophetic here, for it declares how God had a larger purpose of grace than could be satisfied by the coming in of a part and remnant of the Jewish people ; that he had prepared a feast, at which more should sit down than they — founded a church with room in it for Gentile as for Jew — those, too, being fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." — Trench. Compel them to come in.— Constrain them, moral constraint being intended. " This expression must be carefully interpret- ed. It does not sanction any literal compulsion or force in pressing the Gospel on men's acceptance. Least of all does it sanction the least approach to intolerance or persecution of men because of their religious opinions. Bishop Pearce says, ' Com- pel them by arguments, not by force. The nature of the parable shows this plainly. Itwasafeast to which they were invited.' "— Ryle. " Not as if they would make the ' excuses ' of the first class, but because it would be hard to get them over two diffi- culties. 1. ' We are not in fit company for such a feast.' 2. ' We have no proper dress, and are ill in order for such a pres- ence.' How fitly does this represent the difficulties and tears of the sii.'-ere ! How is this met ? ' Take no excuse : make them come as they are ; bring them along with you.' "—Jamie- PRIDE SHUT. OUT. 485 Chap. XXX. Luke 14 : 24. j.c. 33. may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. son. " The compelling is that of love. When pride declines the Gospel the Master is angry, and no further invitation is sent ; when humility hesitates, love compels." — Abbott. I say unto you that none. — " Our Lord here appears to throw off the veil of the parable, and proclaim the supper his own, in- timating that when transferred and transformed into its final glorious form, and the refusers themselves would give all for another opportunity, he will not allow one of them to taste it." — Jamicson " None of those men . . . shall taste of my supper." — "As if he would say : This is the eating bread in the kingdom of God, to which you look forward ; though it is God's feast, to which God has invited, it is ' my supper,' given in my honor, though I have come ' in the form of a servant ' to invite you ; and none of you will enter, because in refusing me you refuse to obey the second summons of God who has before invited you through his word. This discourse probably increased the already pronounced hostility." — Schaff. "The spiritual lesson [of this parable] to the Christian is twofold : 1. That it is the spiritually poor, maimed, halt, and blind that are worthy, since need is worth in love's eyes. 2. So that when the Gospel is rejected by the rich and prosperous, guests for Christ's kingdom may always be found among the poor and unfortunate. This truth was amply illustrated by the ministry of Wesley and Whitefield, and is again in our own day by that of Mr. Moody. Directly opposed to Christ's method is that of soliciting those that refuse, by luxuri- ous churches, fine choirs, and proffers of social consideration. The Gospel, as Christ preached it, never goes begging." — Abbott. 486 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 14 : 25-27. j.c. 33. CHAPTER XXXI. THE PARABLES IN PEREA. And there went great multitudes with him : and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, What is required and hate not his father, and mother, and of Christ's wife, and children, and brethren, and sis- ters, yea, and his own life also, he can- not be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his And there went great multitudes with him. — This discourse was probably not connected with the one in the preceding chap- ter. The words " there were going with him" (the correct rendering of the text) imply that it was addressed, during a journey, to the throng which so customarily attended him. " He knew that they had generally very erroneous notions of his kingdom, and were not prepared to submit to the losses and privations, or to encounter the various dangers and difficulties, which certainly awaited his true disciples. He therefore turned himself, and addressed them in a manner which was appar- ently calculated to drive them from him." — Scott. The same remarks he had, in substance, made before (Matt. 10 : 37), but he here adds new illustrations. Hate not his father and mother . . . and his own life also. — See Matt. 10 : 37, where the words are " loveth more than me." "The demand is for supreme love to Christ : ' father and mother, ' etc., are placed here as objects which may and often do interfere with this supreme love. In so far as they do this, they are to be hated, not actively and personally, but generally. The meaning will best appear, if we notice the crowning thought : ' yea, and his own life also.' This can not, of course, mean that a man should actively hate his life or soul, for then he must kill himself to become a Christian. All belonging solely to the sphere of the lower life, as opposed to the life of the Spirit, must be opposed in heart— that is, actually hated. The power to love implies the power to hate." — Schaff. Alford remarks : "This hate is not only consistent with, but absolutely necessary to, the very high- est kind of love. It is that element in love which makes a man a wise and Christian friend — not for time only but for eternity." " All else, high as it may be in itself, must appear loss if it occa- sion the loss of Christ, whom none can gain but those who seek and desire him alone ; for that very knowledge of Christ, itself COUNTING THE COST. 487 Chap. XXXI. Luke 14 : 27, 28. j.c. 33. cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not sufficing for all, in itself comprehending all, outshines and eclipses all beside." — Neander. " Every thing which I had I de- voted unto him who adopted and redeemed me — health, riches, reputation, eloquence itself, of which the choicest fruit was the reflection that I was possessed of something which I might de- spise for Christ."— Gregory Xazianzen. Bear his cross. — "Take it up ; a willing assumption, not a patient submission, is implied." — Abbott. " Every path that leads to heaven is trodden by willing feet. No one is ever driven to paradise." — Crosby. " While our Lord had foretold his death, he had not announced that he would be crucified ; so that this saying must have sounded strangely to the multitude." — Schaff. " There is an allusion here to the custom of the Romans, who obliged criminals to bear the cross, on which they were to suffer, to the place of execution. The cross here stands for death in its most frightful and ignominious form, but includes all minor sufferings to be endured for the truth ; the words had, therefore, probably a prophetic reference to the manner of Christ's death, and implied that those who would not follow him to die for the truth were not worthy of him." — Watson and Bloom field. " Some men will follow Christ on certain conditions — if he will not lead them through rough roads, if he will not enjoin them any painful tasks, if the sun and wind do not annoy them, if he will remit a part of his plan and order. But the true Christian, who has the spirit of Jesus, will say, as Ruth said to Naomi, ' Whither thou goest, I will go,' whatever difficulties and dangers may be in the way." — Cecil. "Self-denial is not peculiar to Christians. He who goes downward often puts forth as much force to kill a noble nature as another does to annihilate a sinful one." — //. B. Stowe. " Your Lord will not give you painted crosses. He pareth not all the bitterness from the cross, neither taketh he the sharp edge quite from it ; for in that case it should be of your selecting, and not of his, which would have as little reason in it as it would have profit for us." — Rutherford. " To praise the cmss while yet untried, Comes oft of self-conceit and pride ; But when it presses, to embrace And love it, only comes of urace." — Tersleegen. Intending to build a tower. — See Matt. 21 : 33. "A tower was a place of defence or observation, erected on high places, or in vineyards. It was made high, so as to enable one to see an enemy when he approached, and strong, so that it could not be easily taken. In eastern countries at present such towers are 4§8 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 14 : 28-32. j.c. 33. down first and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it ? Lest haply after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first and con- sulted! whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand ? Or often eighty feet high and thirty feet square. They were for the keepers who defended the vineyard from thieves and wild ani- mals, especially from foxes (S. of Sol. 1:4; 2 : 15)." — Greswell. Bloamfield, however, remarks that " the best philologists agree that the original word here means a large and splendid mansion." There is a variety of interpretations to these two short para- bles. Andrews understands both of them to refer to Christ him- self. " He compares himself," he says, " to a man who wishes to build a tower, his church ; and to a king who goes to make war with another king — with the prince of the world ; and they who would aid him in this building, or in this warfare, must be ready to sacrifice all." In reference to that of the Builder, Abbott remarks: " Building is in the New Testament a common meta- phor to express the process by which character is formed, little by little, until the whole soul becomes a temple of God, for the indwelling of his Spirit. See Matt. 7: 24 ; 1 Cor. 3 : 11-16 ; 8 : 1, where edifieth is equivalent to buildeth ; and 1 Pet. 2:5. In framing the resolution to begin a Christian life, it is necessary to consider what it will cost, of self-renunciation, to maintain a con- sistent Christian character. The result of this counting the cost is always the discovery, I have not sufficient to finish ; then comes either the abandonment of the plan, before it is lairly un- dertaken, or a going unto Christ, who is our only and our com- plete sufficiency in and for all things (2 Cor. 3 : 5)." On the parable of the " Two Kings" A I ford comments as follows : " The two kings here are, the man desirous to become a disciple, to work out his salvation, and God, with whose just and holy law he is naturally at variance ; these two are going to engage in war ; and the question for each man to sit down and ask himself is, ' Can I, with my ten thousand, stand the charge of him who cometh against me with twenty thousand?' " Another inter- pretation is that of Godct : " The Christian is a king, but a king engaged in a struggle, and a struggle with an enemy materially stronger than himself. Therefore, before defying him with a THE SPIRIT OF SELF-SACRIFICE. 489 Chap. XXXI. Luke 14 : 32-35. j.c. 33. else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good : but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned ? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill ; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. declaration of war by the open profession of the Gospel, a man must have taken counsel with himself, and become assured that he is willing to accept the extreme consequences of this position, even to the giving up of his life if demanded. The lesson is therefore ' a warning, which Jesus gives to those who profess discipleship, but who have not decided to risk every thing, to make their submission as early as possible to the world and its prince. Better avoid celebrating a Palm-day than end after such a demonstration with a Good Friday. Rather remain an honor- able unknown, religiously, than, what is sadder in the world, an inconsistent Christian.' " Upon these comments Abbott remarks : " The latter seems to me the better interpretation. Christ en- forces the alternative of Matt. 6 : 24. As Joshua, in Josh. 24 : 15, and Elijah, in 1 Kings iS : 21, Christ compels a choice. In ef- fect he bids those who are not willing to take up their cross in order to follow him to abandon all thought of becoming his dis- ciples, and go back to their allegiance to the world. Underlying this, as the other parable, is the deep truth of the soul's need of God ; no man can enter upon the life-campaign against the world, the flesh, and the devil, without alliance with and rein- forcements from an Almighty Saviour." Forsaketh not all that he hath.— Literally, Doth not sepa- rate himself from all. How this is to be done Paul interprets in 1 Cor. 7 : 29-31. Salt is good, but if the salt have lost his savor.— Matt. 5 : 13 ; Mark 9 : 50. " The Christian is the salt of the earth ; the savor is the spirit of self-sacrifice, by which Christ's disciples are to purify and save the world." — Abbott. " He told his apostles that this self-denial (verse 33) was peculiarly necessary for them, because it was the spiritual salt that would preserve them from apostasy, and others from corruption ; as it would not only ener- vate the temptation to which they were exposed, but its beauty, appearing with great luster in their behavior, would allure others to become disciples and true subjects of his kingdom," — Mac- Knight, 49° THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 1-4. j.c. 33. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sin- ners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What All the publicans and sinners. — " Of these publicans and sinners, the first were men infamous among their countrymen by their very occupation ; the second such as, till awakened by him to repentance and a sense of their past sins, had been notorious transgressors of God's holy law. He did not repel them, nor seem to fear, as the Pharisees would have done, pollution from their touch ; but, being come to seek and to save that which was lost, received them graciously, instructed them further in his doctrine, and lived in familiar intercourse with them." — Trench. " Tenderness of affection toward the most abandoned sinners is the highest instance of a divine and godlike soul." — William La -it. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured.— See notes on pp. 68, 69. These were the orthodox Jews. They murmured not because he taught, but because he ate, with sinners, and other- wise mingled freely with them in social intercourse. " This was deemed by the Pharisees a lowering of himself, and perhaps of them, since they had admitted him as a guest at their entertain- ments (Luke 14 : 1, etc.). The murmur was occasioned by the present concourse, but it referred to the habitual conduct of our Lord."— Schaff. " The modern Christian, who mingles socially and freely with modern sinners, is always liable to the same criticism from modern Pharisees. The pride of propriety never understands the liberty of love. Observe how in this sentence, as in a similar accusation at another time, the Pharisees uncon- sciously told a sublime truth. It is the glory of Christ that he ' receiveth sinners and eateth with them ' (Rev. 3 : 20.")— Abbott. He spake this parable.—" The three parables which follow, like the seven of the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, form one discourse ; they were delivered at one time and with one object. The direct object, indicated by the introductory verses (1, 2), and by the culmination of the three parables in the father's declaration to the elder son (verse 32), is to point out the spirit which the saved should manifest toward the lost, a spirit seek- ing to reclaim them ; and toward the repentant, a spirit ready to welcome them. The three must be taken together in order to understand the change wrought in the human soul in redemp- tion. The prodigal son never, in fact, returns to his father's THE LOST SHEEP. 491 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 4. j.c. 33. man of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of house unless the father comes after him ; the lost sheep and the lost coin are never recovered without voluntarily returning to the shepherd and owner. Looked at as a representative of human duty, the first two parables represent the duty of the church to seek and to save the lost, the third the duty to welcome the re- pentant to a full, free, and unreproachful pardon. All represent the joyfulness of religion, both as an earthly experience and in the heavenly state. Continuing the comparison, we may note the progression and climax in the series ; in the first, the shep- herd of a hundred sheep misses the one out of the hundred ; in the second, the woman, owning but ten pieces of money, loses a tenth of her property, and searches for it with greater concern ; in the third, the father of two sons loses one, who becomes to him by sin and separation as dead, and in whose death is the keenest conceivable loss the heart can suffer." — Abbott. " Thus we find ourselves moving in ever narrower, and so intenser cir- cles of hope and fear and love, drawing, in each successive parable, nearer to the innermost center and heart of the truth." — Trench. Bt'>i«r/ and others regard the parable of the lost sheep as representing a stupid and bewildered sinner ; that of the lost piece of money as representing a sinner unconscious of himself and of his own real worth ; that of the prodigal son as setting forth the most aggravated case, a conscious and volun- tary sinner. What man of you. — The parable is an argumentum ad homi- tit-m, as in Matt. 12 : 11, 12. If men will take such pains for a lost sheep, how much more should the disciples of Christ for a lost soul. Having an hundred sheep. — This same parable was re- peated on another occasion. See Matt. iS : 12, 13, and notes on page . " In reading and interpreting it bear in mind its double application. 1. It is a parable of redeeming love. As such, it is borrowed from and to be interpreted by the Old Testament (Ezek. 34 : 12, 13 ; Isaiah 40 : 17 ; Psalm 23). Christ comes to seek and to save that which was lost (Matt. 18 : it), per- severes until he finds it, patiently bears it back himself through the weary way to the fold again, rejoices in the labor and weari- ness, because recompensed by his own love, and seeks to have the church on earth and in heaven rejoice with him. 2. It parabolically illustrates what the spirit of Christ's church should be ; it should go out after the lost (Matt. 2S : 19), should perse- vere despite failure and rebuff (Gal. 4 : 16-20I, should bear patiently with the weakness and failures of the recovered, bear- ing them and forbearing with them (Gal. 6 : 2), and should do 492 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 4. j.c. 33. them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilder- ness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it ? this work of redeeming love with joy, transfiguring all sorrow and making jubilant all fatigue." — Abbott. If he lose one of them. — "A natural and apt type of the sinner is a lost sheep, without wisdom to return to the protection of the shepherd, and without any means of protection in himself from the dangers of the wilderness." — Abbott. Doth not leave the ninety and-nine in the wilderness. — " The term ' wilderness ' signifies not necessarily a desert place, but simply wildness — that is. an uninhabited place, and therefore presumptively good pasture land." — Abbott. " By it we suppose intended, not a bleak, desolate wild, but a pasture, like those un- fenced commons stretching out for leagues — to which, in the old world, sheep are often driven — like our own wide prairies of the West." — IV. R. IV i Hi a 111s. Go after that which is lost. — " The Good Shepherd goes himself ; he does not send another — man, angel, or archangel. It is by personal work, not by proxy, we are to seek and to save that which is lost." — Abbott. " From his flock one sheep is miss- ing. It has quitted its fellows. When they come to be counted at even, it is not found. In its defencelessness, and wilfulness, or witlessness, it is little likely to return ; and if encountering the wolf or the lion, its fate is fixed. It can neither escape by fight nor by flight. It has gone nibbling the grass, bleating in its loneliness, and straying in its bewilderment ; and now, as the night gathers and the shadows deepen, whither is it tending, and what shall become of it ? The shepherd stops not to reckon. In his pity he can not afford that the poor beast perish ; he leaves the ninety-and-nine in the wilderness pastures, and, as Matthew states it, ' goeth into the mountains,' where many a rough steep must be clambered, and many a precipice may yawn for the un- guarded foot, and many a den may harbor its noxious serpents or its ferocious beasts of prey. Toil, peril, and discomfort are braved. The poor waif is found " — IV. R. Williams. "The argument of this verse furnishes a conclusive answer to what is called the astronomical objection to the doctrine of redemp- tion" (Abbott), which is, that the earth being but as a grain of sand compared with the wide universe of God, it is absurd to suppose that Deity would incarnate himself here, live, as man, a life of privation, and die a death of ignominy, to save a handful of lost souls. But the parable teaches that he went after the stray sheep, because it was astray. The ninety-and-nine did not need his care. On this subject Williams remarks : " The tini- ness of our planet, it may be, is not preventing it from serving JOY OVER THE RECLAIMED. 493 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 5-7. j.c. 33. And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his should- ers, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, parabie of he calleth together his friends and neigh- the Lost SheeP- hours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me ; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that as the great battle-field of God's moral universe. How oft a spot of military encounter, itself not larger than one of the city wards, may yet in our recent national struggle have decided, by the battle there fought, the political destinies of the broad conti- nent ! So it is in God's government of our world and race. On our small nook of a globe may y?t gather and center all the solicitudes of heaven, and all the fierce hopes of hell. Good and evil may come here, into one long and dread death-grapple. The apostle said he was a spectacle to men and angels. And all the church on earth, widely dispersed, and variously schooled, affords a spectacle of divine wisdom and faithfulness, into which angels, stooping down, desire to look, catching thus prolounder glimpses than the Godhead, not enshrouded, and not incarnate, elsewhere allows them. These angels of light might have swerved had not Christ's care and skill in saving the saved of earth so developed new wonders of Divine Truth and Grace, before unsuspected." Until he find it. — " A hint of what is the patience and perse- verance of Christ, and what should be the patience and perse- verance of the Christian." — Abbott. He layeth it on his shoulders. — " He is, however tired, will- ing to be yet more fatigued, so that his poor charge be saved from further exhaustion, and from continued exposure to peril. He lays it on his shoulders, not with upbraiding and grudging, chiding at its folly, but rejoicing at the recovery. And reach- ing home, he summons his neighbors to congratulate him, and rejoice with him, over the success of his pursuit and the restora- tion, to its fellows and to its fold, of his eslrayed and imperiled charge." — W. R. WilKams. I say unto you. — " Christ applies the parable. There is a significance in this dignified, and even majestic, utterance. I , who know ; I who, when I tell you of heavenly things, tell you of mine own (John 1 : 51), announce to you this.' " — Abbott. ' ' I say unto you,' I, Jesus, the son of the Father, ever in the Father's bosom, and fully in the Father's confidence ; I, Jesus, the Lord of angels, intimately acquainted with all their employ- ments, and cognizant of all their angelic sympathies ; I, the Maker of your race on the earth, and of their shining ranks on 494 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI Luke 15 : 7. j.c. 33. likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that re- penteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. high, the Creator also, utter it. I say unto you, ' There is joy ' in that bright, far, holy heaven, among its white-robed and holy tenantry, over one such sinner that comes penitent to my teach- ings, and sits, docile and contrite, at my feet ; however degraded his past condition, and however vile his offences, and however forlorn his aspect and his prospects, there is more joy in the world of light over him than over ninety-and-nine just persons, who need no repentance." — W. R. Williams. Joy shall be in heaven. — " We sometimes wish the privilege of reading our neighbor's heart. But here, opened by the hand of the Incarnate Revealer and Redeemer, we have a window into the very hearrof God. We see his feelings of compassion toward our race and our own selves. He leaves the society of the sinless and the angelic, and the anthems of seraphim and cheru- bim, and the communion of heaven, for an earthly allotment of toil and exposure. He must traverse ' dark mountains ' when he confronts the contradiction of sinners, and the assaults of the tempter, and he becomes denied of earth and buffeted of hell. To lift the victim of sin, and the heir of wrath, to his shoulders, as the recovered and ransomed one, that shoulder must bear the cross of shame and agony ; that soul of his must stoop to the yoke of denial, mockery, and betrayal. He must encounter the hidings of the face of the Father. Weary he sits at the well of Samaria. But, more weary, he faints under the weight of the cross they have made him bear. More weary, hangs he nailed to its wood, the jeer, the shout, the blasphemy, all jangling wildly in his ears, as he is ready to give up the Ghost, crying in his extremity, as the God-forsaken one, ' Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabac- thani ! ' — ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? ' " — W. R. Williams. Ninety-and-nine just persons, which need no repentance. — " Who then are the just ? We suppose the more proper allusion to be to the angels, who, keeping their first estate, have never sinned ; or, if there be other beings like man, inhabiting other worlds, whose Eden was never marred and forfeited by sin, then we are taught that over their performance in holiness there is not the loud acclaim of joy that there is over each and every con- version of a sinner from our own lost and doomed race." — IV. R. Williams. In this view Al/oni coincides, but a different ap- plication of the words is made by Sckaff and Abbott. " This is the main point of the parable," says Sckaff. " The ' ninety-and- THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER. 495 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 8, 9. J.c. 33. Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece doth not light a candle, The Lost Piece and sweep the house, and seek diligent- of Sllver- ly till she find it ? And when she hath found it, she nine ' represent those who think themselves righteous. It was the opposition of this class which occasioned the parable. In Matthew the inhabitants of other unfallen worlds may be meant, but that application is less apt here." Abbott also thinks the words can not apply to worlds that have not fallen. " For though the language would apply to them," he says, " yet they are not directly referred to throughout the parable. Christ here, as in many other instances, takes the Pharisees at their own esti- mate. Assuming, ' ' he says in effect, ' ' that you are what you think yourselves to be — just persons that need no repentance — there would be more joy in heaven over these repentent publicans and sinners than over you. The case is analogous to, and illustrated by, that^gf Luke 7 : 36-47." " Wearily for me thou soughtest : On the cross my soul thou boughtest ; Lose not all for which thou wroughtest." Medieval Hymn. What woman having ten pieces of silver. — " The women in Syria, and throughout the East generally, wear pieces of silver, as ornaments, upon their heads, these being secured upon their tarboosh, or red skull-cap, by means of holes bored in them. The rich have gold ; the poorer silver. These have all been pres- ents ; the first given at the birth of the child, and the rest added, one by one, as particular events occurred in the wearer's life. Now I think it not unlikely that the ten pieces of silver alluded to by our Saviour were those which formed the wreath round the woman's forehead. The loss of one of these coins would be considered, as indeed it is. a serious misfortune ; and we can easily imagine the diligence with which a woman would light a candle, and sweep the house, and search for one of these missing pieces of silver ; and when she had found it, how she would call upon her neighbors to rejoice with her at finding what, from long possession, she had become so much attached to. It is to be observed that it does not appear to be the loss of the mere value of the coin so much as the loss of that particular piece of silver which leads the woman to be so active in her en- deavors to find it again. The pieces of silver thus worn are sel- dom, if ever, spent, but descend as heirlooms from mother to daughter, and hence, from their antiquity, would come to acquire, in the eyes of the woman, a worth for which no equivalent could 49^ THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 9, 10. j.c. 33. calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me ; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that re- penteth. be found." — Rev. Joseph W. Ayre, " Diary of Eastern Travel,'" pp. 64, 65. Other travelers say that the women of Nazareth still wear around the forehead and face a similar roll of silver coins, which they call " semedi ;" and as the customs of the East are perma- nent and unchanging, there is no doubt that this custom existed in the time of Christ. Light a candle. — A lamp. The houses of the lower ranks were anciently very dark ; some of those to be now seen in Hercula- neum and Pompeii have no windows at all, and others only loop-holes. " The cottage homes of Palestine, in which our Lord so often lodged, and in one of which he was reared at Nazareth, are often furnished only with a floor of hard earth, and the chambers are often lit only by windows high up in the wall, like the narrow slits and loop-holes of our barns, admitting but little of the outer sunlight. Indeed, many of the ancient homes had no light but by the door. On the hard, beaten earth, coin or trinket once dropped may be soon covered among the litter brought in by the sandals of the traveler, or the crumbs and fragments flung to the dogs or the household animals, when these are permitted to enter." — W. R. Williams. I have found the piece which I had lost. — " In the first parable Christ employs a figure which addresses itself to the minds of the men in the audience, Palestine, and especially Perea, being a pastoral country ; then he uses one which addres- ses itself to the women [many of whom, doubtless, wearing this peculiar head-dress, were among his auditory], finally, one which addresses itself to the universal heart. The lesson of the first two parables is the same, except that the former brings out more clearly the self-sacrifice of the Saviour — a sacrifice involved in all successful labor for the salvation of souls ; this one brings out more clearly, by the lighting of the candle and the sweeping, the thoroughness of the search made by Christ and to be made by us. The former again implies the Saviour's pity for the wander- ing and perishing, the latter God's personal ownership in the soul and his sense of personal loss in its loss, a phase of truth which interprets the woman's language, ' I have found the piece which I had lost.' The piece of money, or drachma, was worth about eight pence, and was equivalent to a day's wages." — Abbott. THE PRODIGAL SON. 497 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : n, 13. J.c. 33. And he said, A certain man had two sons : and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And xh^ Prodigal he divided unto them his living. And Son" A certain man had two sons. — " In a story as simple as it is sublime — a story which the world is never tired of repeating — Jesus both portrays the experience of the soul and unlocks the heart of God, that he may disclose the treasures of his divine love. The key with which he does this is the one word, ' Father.' " — Abbott. " Never certainly in human language was so much — such a world of love and wisdom and tenderness- compressed into such few immortal words. Every line, every touch, of the picture is full of beautiful, eternal significance." — Fan-ar. " Those who object to all use of fiction must explain as best they may this story, for such it is. There is not even an application attached to it ; the reader is left t j make that for himself. As a representation of redeeming love, it has been well called the Gospel in the Gospel ; in comparison with others, ' the crown and pearl of all his (Christ's) parables.' " — Stier. " Merely in an artistic view this is true, every detail being at once true to the external life, and true to the spiritual experience which our Lord would portray. As a disclosure of divine love, we can hardly realize how truly it was a revelation. Contrast with it that conception of God which prevailed in the nominally Christian church in the days of the Inquisition. As a represen- tation of human duty, we stilt do not realize its meaning. Con- trast with it the ordinary feeling in a so-called Christian commu- nity toward the erring and the fallen. It may be regarded as consisting of five facts — vers. 11-13, sin ; vers. 14-16, its results ; vers. 17-20, repentance ; vers. 20-24, tne divine forgiveness ; vers. 25-32, the Pharisaic reception of the repentant. . . . The two sons represent, not angels and men, for the spirit of the elder is any thing but angelic ; nor Jews and Gentiles, for the question of the admission of Gentiles was not at this period of Christ's ministry publicly raised ; that belongs to a later era in the history of the church. Primarily, the elder son represents the Pharisees, the younger son the publicans and sinners (vers. I, 2) ; secondarily, the elder son the self-righteous and proud, the younger son the self -abased and penitent." — Abbott. Give me the portion of goods ; or, " thy substance." — " Such requests were not unknown in those days, since the portions were legally defined. That of the younger son would be one third, that of the elder two thirds (Deut. 21 : 17)." — Kiddle. " A de- mand, not a request. There is no evidence that under Jewish 498 THE PARABLES TO PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 13. J.c. 33. not many days after, the younger son gathered all to- gether, and took his journey into a far country, and law the son had a right to make this demand. It was as illegal as it was unfilial. It represents the first step in sin, the demand of the soul for independence of God, the claim to own, in contra- distinction to the spirit which accepts all things from God as steward and trustee. The sinner's demand is, Give me my por- tion of goods ; the Christian's prayer is, Give me day by day my daily bread." — Abbott. Divided unto them his living. — " That is, the estate, the pos- sessions on which they lived. He will let the young man discover, by bitter experience, the folly of his request. Such at least is Ihe dealing of God : he has constituted man a spiritual being — that is, a being with a will ; and when his service no longer ap- pears a perfect freedom, and man promises himself something better elsewhere, he is allowed to make the trial. He shall dis- cover, and, if need be, by most painful proof, that the only true freedom is freedom in God ; that to depart from him is not to throw off t e yoke, but to exchange a light yoke for a heavy one, and one gracious master for a thousand imperious tyrants and lords." — Trench. " Its spiritual significance is illustrated by Rom. 1 : 21-28, and itself illustrates that passage. It is a striking rebuke of all attempt at religious compulsion, and is even a hint to parents that legal restraint, attempted in the case of sons that have reached a relatively mature age, is not accord- ing to God's method, ' who does not compel the inclinations of a depraved heart, which can only be cured by experiencing the results of sin.' " — Abbott. " But, remember, the discretion of a father oftentimes prevents the destruction of a child." — Quarles. Not many days after. — "A certain interval of time elapses before he actually forsakes his father's house. It is a fine and delicate touch — the apostasy of the heart, as St. Bernard well observes, often running before the apostasy of the life. The divergence of the sinner's will and God's does not immediately appear." — Trench. Gathered all together. — " His means were now all in a movable form, and he was fully prepared for a profligate squan- der."— Whedon. " By this gathering together of all, and depart- ing, seems intimated the collecting, on man's part, of all his en- ergies and powers, with the deliberate determination of getting, through their help, all the gratification he can out of the world — the open preference of the creature to the Creator." — Trench. Far country. — " His next purpose is a due distance, where the will of God shall never seem to reach him, and, if possible, beyond the reach of his eye." — Whedon. " The far country is THE WASTEFUL LIFE. 499 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 13, 14. j.c. 33. there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; and he began to be in want. And he went forgetfulness of God." — Augustine. " We are always far from God when we are living without respect to, or trust in, or obedi- ence under, him ; though he is never far from us. In this respect the imagery of the parable, being taken from human experience, is necessarily imperfect. The heavenly Father never loses sight of or ceases to care for, watch over, and protect his prodigal son. Even the famine and the hunger are Gospel messengers sent from him." — Abbott. And there wasted his substance with riotous living-. — " This ordinary English translation pictorially illustrates his course, which was clearly one of dissipation. But the Greek is, literally, ' Scattered what he had, living unsavingly, ' and this more literal translation embodies the spiritual truth represented in the picture. For the worldly life is always a wasteful life ; he that gathers not with Christ scattereth abroad (Matt. 12 : 30), and he that gathers not for eternity lives unsavingly, and dies a pauper (chap. 12 : 16-21)." — Abbott. " The sinner's substance is wasted, when his character, his faculties, God's promises and helps — all that could fit him for usefulness and heaven — are used for selfish purposes, and he fails of the great purposes for which he was created." — Pcloulh-t. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land. — "There is always a mighty famine in the ' far country ; ' but the soul rarely feels or knows it until all that is spent which for the time gave pleasure, though never real satis- faction. It is ' a famine of truth and love, and of all whereby the spirit of man indeed lives.' " — Trench. " Rut more than this, there is often a famine of the very things that gave pleasure ; power is taken a\va\ , fame blasted, friends depart, in old age pleasures of the senses fail ; and in this experience of famine the soul always begins to feel its own want of a something which the far country can not supply." — Abbott. He began to be in want. — " Figuratively, the experiences of Solomon in biblical history, and of Byron in secular history, illus- trate what is this want in time of famine. Even more strikingly is it illustrated by the autobiography of John Stuart Mill." — Abbott. " It is recorded in Colton's ' Eacon ' that John Maddocks and Henry Quin, Esquires, the former in the clear, unincumbered pos- session of ^,"6000 per annum, and both in full possession of health as well as competence, destroyed themselves for no other reason but because they were tired of the unvaried repetitions and in- 500 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 15, 16. j.c. 33 and joined himself to a citizen of that country ; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine sipid amusements of life. A similar instance is related in the Memoirs of Lord Peterborough. A young nobleman, blessed with health, riches, and a cultivated mind, terminated his own life because he was weary of existence !" — Eggleston. " There is no funeral so sad to follow as the funeral of our own youth, which we have been pampering with fond desires, ambitious hopes, and all the bright berries that hang in poisonous clusters over the path of life." — Walter Savage Landor. " This sense of want is itself the voice of God calling the prodigal home. Soul- weariness is Christ's invitation, ' Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' " — Abbott. And he went and joined himself to a citizen. — " The sinner sells himself to the world : he entangles himself more deeply in it. Our Lord gives us a hint here of that awful mystery in the downward progress of souls by which he who begins by using the world to be a servant to minister to his pleasures submits in the end to a reversing of the relationship between them, so that the world uses him as its drudge, and sin as its slave. He be- comes cheap in the sight of that very world for the sake of which he has forfeited all." — Trench. Sent him to feed swine. — " The business of the devil's ser- vants is to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts there- of ; and that is no better than feeding noisy, greedy, dirty swine." — Henry. " Men often run into riot and drunkenness, and baser sins, to try and deaden the hunger of their souls." — Pelou- bet. The feeding of swine was to a Jew the basest and vilest of all employments ; and peculiarly degrading. Herodotus says that in Egypt no swineherd was permitted to mingle in civil society, or to enter the temple of the gods. He fain. — " Major says that this expression does not mean that he desired and was unable to gratify his desire. It rather signifies, ' He was glad — he was only too happy.' " — Ryle. " But all that he could hope was just to fill his belly. None but God can satisfy the longings of the immortal soul." — Trench. With the husks. — Not what we call " husks," but the pods or beans of the carob-tree. " This tree is common in Syria ; it produces long slender pods shaped like a horn or sickle, contain- ing a sweetish pulp, and several brown shining seeds like beans. These pods are sometimes used as food by the poorer classes in the East, and swine are commonly fed with them." — Robinson. " Horace alludes to living upon husks, as upon vile food (Ep. SELF-CONVICTION. 50T Chap XXXI. Luke 15 : 16, 17. J.C 33. did eat ; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I II., 1 : 23). Pliny calls them the food of pigs (N. H., 23 : 79). They are still used in Spain, etc., as food for cattle, and were often given to horses by British soldiers in the peninsular war. They are imported into Britain, and called locust-beans by the farmers." — Biblical Museum. " The pod alone is eaten, so that ' husks ' partially expresses the sense ; although it usually con- veys the wrong impression that the swine's food could not be eaten at all by men. If the prodigal obtained his desire, we are to think of him as actually feeding with the unclean animals ; if not. that he was in absolute want, when swine had enough. In either case the description is of fearful misery." — Riddle. No man gave unto him. — That is, gave him good satisfying food. " The husks he had before him, and could take ; but any thing that could satisfy the soul was not to be found in that land. The whole description is wonderful, and for nothing more than the evident relation in which his punishment stands to his sin." — Trenck. "The Greek implies, not that the prodigal would have eaten of these husks, and no man gave him, but that he did eat them, no one giving to him any thing better." — Abbott. Came to himself. — " These words imply that he had been beside himself, acting the part of a madman and a fool. Sin is here represented as madness ; and who acts so contrary to sound reason and the reality of things as a sinner?" — Guthrie. "To come to one's self, and to come to God, are one and the same thing." — Trench. " As one awaking Irom a dream, he comes to a consciousness of his true state." — Pelouiet. " Excess of pleas- ure, like intemperance in wine or strong drink, inebriates the soul, and steeps the faculties, both of mind and body, in an un- natural lethargy, which the expressive language of Scripture compares, while it lasts, to a living death. Adversity and priva- tion, solitude and reflection, dissipate the stupor, sober the un- derstanding, and restore the powers, both of mind and of body, to their former tone and vigor." — Gresweil. Hired servants of my father. — " Not the true children of God, but all the lesser powers and things which serve God ; nature, animals, even men ' who do their work rather in the spirit of servants than of sons.' " — Peloubtt. Bread enough. — " Even these have enough to cat — not the higher joys and blessings of children and heirs, but the peace and comfort which belong to their lower natures." — Trench. And I — a son still, though so unworthy — " perish with hun- 502 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 17-19. J.C 33. perish with hunger ! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be ger." In marked contrast with the case of the "hired ser- vants." "The martyrs to vice far exceed the martyrs to vir- tue, both in endurance and in number." — Newmayi. I will arise. — ■' Comparing his state with theirs, what does the prodigal determine now ? How many, even at this point, do not determine as he does ! They betake them to some other citizen of that far country, who promises them a little better fare or less contemptuous treatment. Or it may be they learn to dress their husks so that they shall look like human food ; and they then deny that they are the fodder of swine. Or glorying in their shame, and wallowing in the same sty with the beasts they feed, they proclaim that there was never intended to be any difference between the food of men and of swine." — Trench. I will arise and go to my father. — " Against whom he had sinned, but who was his father still. God is our Father in one sense, however unworthy we are to be his children. There is none else to whom the sinner can go. He must go home." — Peloubet. " As departure from God is the essence of all sin, so returning to God is the essence of all repentance. Without this return repentance is spurious and reform transitory. Observe, too, that the remedy for all dissipation and riotious living is, not a resolution of total abstinence in the far country, but an aban- donment of it, and a return to God. — Abbott. Father, I have sinned unto heaven.—" Not against heaven, a meaning which the preposition («'c) will not bear. The true sig- nification of the phrase is interpreted by Shakespeare : " My offence is rank ; it smells to heaven." Comp. Rev. 18 ; 5 (where, however, the Greek preposition is different), and Jer. 51 : 9." — Abbott. And before thee. — " We may injure ourselves by our evil, we may wrong our neighbor, but, strictly speaking, we can sin only against God. Comp. Psalm 51 : 4. ""Against thee, thee only, have I sinned," albeit David had sinned agains himself, Bathsheba, Uriah, and the laws and order of his own kingdom. The sense of sin against God swallows up all other and lesser thoughts of sin." — Abbott. And am no more worthy to be called thy son. — " Not his wastefulness or licentiousness, but that he has fallen away from his sonship, chiefly oppresses him. Whatever in us makes us un- worthy to be called sons of God should bring us to him with like confession, be the form of that sin what it may." — Abbott. CONFESSION OF SIN. 503 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 19, 20. J.c 33. called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had Make me as one of thy hired servants. — Consecration al- ways accompanies true confession. " He still clings to his son- ship, though he confesses he does not even deserve the treatment of a hireling. There is no thought that he could in such a posi- tion win back his father's favor. Even if there were, the con- duct of the father shows how needless such a notion is. The main point is, the sinner must make no excuse, but come just as he is, confessing truly what he is." — Riddle. And he arose and came to his father. — " Toward," not "to." " He did not come to his father; his father came out to him. This actual setting out on the homeward journey is the turning- point in the prodigal's life. The sinner may have conviction of sin and resolution of reform in the future, and remain unsaved in the far country ; it is acually arising and going that saves. To this God makes the promise of Isaiah 55 : 7. Whatever sense of sin suffices to lead to this return is sufficient ; no need to wait for deeper convictions ; whatever trust in God suffices to inspire to this is sufficient ; no need to wait for greater faith. Note two suggestive facts in the prodigal's ex- perience : (1) the joy and peace, the father's kiss, ring, robe, etc., are not instantly conferred ; there is a way to be trav- eled first ; often in actual experience it is a long and weary one ; (2) though the prodigal brings nothing good with him, neither does he bring any thing evil. He forsakes all in turning his back on the far country." — Abbott. " In the act of fleeing to his father, the prodigal leaves his associates and his habits and his tastes behind." — A mot. But when he was yet a great way off. — '" Rather ' While he yet held himself a great way off,' as though his courage failed when he drew near, and he dared not venture into the house and the presence of the father against whom he had so sinned. This interpretation the original will bear, though it does not require it ; and this interpretation answers to that mistaken feeling of fear which is the last obstacle between a repentant soul 'and the heavenly Father." — Abbott. His father saw him. — " As true to nature as it is beautiful : and yet the welcome God gives the returning sinner exceeds the figure which here represents it. The father in the parable thus meets the lost son, but God seeks us out in the ' far countrv.' He is waiting to be gracious, coming to meet us in mercy. He manifests his love, even before our utterance of penitence." — 504 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 20, 21. j.c. 33. compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no Riddle. " Possibly clothed in the rags and tatters of poverty, footsore, and galled with travel, broken down by want and pri- vations, emaciated, perhaps, by the consequences of former riot and intemperance. When the form of a traveler, journeying to- ward him, appeared in the distance, so sharp-sighted is paterna- tenderness, or such are the secret sympathies which connect us with the objects of our dearest affections, he discovered in that distant view the accomplishment of his fondest hopes ; he recog- nized in the form of that traveler, so indistinctly seen, his long- lost and unheard-of son." — Gi-eswell. And ran. — " The return of the sinner is expressed by the word 'going' (verse 18), but God's coming to the sinner by 'run- ning.' God maketh greater haste to the sinner than the sinner doth to God ; God maketh much of our first inclination, and would not have it fall to the ground." — Faiindon. Fell on his neck and kissed him. — " Kissed him again and again, overwhelmed him, as it were, with kisses." — Bloom field. " The kiss is something more than an evidence of affection, be- ing the significant, and in the East well-understood, pledge of reconciliation and peace (Gen. 33 : 4 ; 2 Sam. 14 : 33 ; Ps. 2 : 12)." — Trench. Father, I have sinned. — " The confession, prepared when he came to himself, is now uttered by the prodigal. But he does not say, ' Make me as one of thy hired servants ' (ver. 19). The kiss has assured him of his father's love, and he will not wound it by such a request. The penitence is even greater than when he thought of this. If there was any notion of buying favor in the hireling's position, it is gone now. Those who have re- turned to God understand this part of the parable. After the Father's kiss, it is not humility, but pride, that makes the sinner unwilling to believe that he is a son. The former confession was a cry of despair, but this is that of repentant love." — Riddle. " The terms are the same, ' I have sinned ; ' but how different is the accent ! Luther felt it profoundly . the discovery of the difference between the repentance of fear and that of love was the true principle of the Reformation." — Godet. " The fragments of stone that have hitherto remained, even in a broken heart, are utterly melted at last, as if by fire from heaven. He could not now complete the speech which he had prepared ; its later words faltered and fell inarticulate. He could not now ask for the place of a servant, for he was already in the place of a son." — THE FATHER S FORGIVENESS. 505 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 21-23. j.c. 33. more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet : and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill Alford. " Note that it is after, and not before, the kiss of re- conciliation, that this confession finds place : for the more the sinner knows and tastes of the love of God the more he grieves ever to have sinned against that love. The truest and best re- pentance follows, and does not precede, the sense of forgiveness. St. Bernard exhorts the penitent still to persist in taking the place of a servant. Bengel thinks it possible that his father cut him short, and so took these words out of his mouth. But this is false humility, of which we meet so much, and which often is so mightily extolled. It is the truest humility, when bidden to go up higher, to go. It is true humility in the prodigal, at his father's bidding, to accept at once the position of a son." — Trench. But the father said. — He receives him as a son, not accord- ing to his merits, and shows how he regards him by his acts. Bring; forth— " Quickly" is to be added — "the best robe." "The rags of the swineherd are stripped off ; the best robe in the house is thrown over his naked shoulders." — Pel&ubet. "The original is emphatic — 'a robe, the best one.' The gar- ment meant was the upper garment worn by the higher classes among the Jews. It was not his old one, but a new one of honor. There may be an allusion to the robe of righteousness provided for us by Christ (Isa. 61 : 10 ; Rev. 3 : 18), but this need not be insisted upon." — Riddle, A ring. — A seal ring, worn only by free men. Shoes. — " In those days servants and slaves wore no shoes, and were thus distinguished from the members of the family. This was, therefore, tantamount to a declaration that he was not to be regarded as a servant, but as a son." — Cutliric. " That ring which we contemplate on the finger of the prodigal son, enriched with gold of the finest quality, or sparkling with dia- monds of the clearest lustre ; that costly garment of exquisite texture, and corresponding tincture, which invests his limbs with purple — what are they but those gifts and graces from above which clothe the soul of the regenerate Christian ?" — Greswell. The fatted calf. — " For a feast of joy, expressing the festal joy and rejoicing which is in heaven at the sinner's return, and no less in the Church on earth, and in his own heart also. This is the very nature of true joy — that it runs over, that it desires to impart itself ; and if this be true of the joy on earth, how much more of the yet holier joy in heaven !" — Trench, 506 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 23-28. J.c. 33. it ; and let us eat, and be merry : for this my son was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field : and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath re- ceived him safe and sound. And he was angry, and Was dead. — " The state of sin is ever regarded in the Scrip- tures as death. The sinner is dead to the realities of life, to light and truth, and love of heaven. A tree is dead when it does not fulfill the natural functions of a tree, producing leaves and fruit and growth. The soul. is dead in which are wanting the growth and fruits and principles for which it was made." — Peloubet. " There are many in the Church who come with the prayer, Make me as one of thy hired servants, and never realize that God's answer is, This, my son, was dead, and is alive again, was lost, and is found. The divine forgiveness is not merely re- lease from punishment. It receives back the lost son to home and love, and gives to him the place and the gifts which he had thrown away. ' When he ascended up on high he . . . gave gifts unto men ' (Ephes. 4 : 8)." — Abbott. Now his elder son was in the field. — " The elder son at the return of the younger brother is not in the house, but has spent the day in hard, self-chosen, slavish service, and now first returns home at evening, when the feast was already in progress." — Van Oosterzee. Music and dancing. — Usual at feasts in the East. Dancing in the East was usually performed by those hired for the pur- pose. " This is one of those by-glances into the lesser occupa- tions and recreations of human life by which the Lord so often stamps his tacit approval on the joys and unbendings of men. Would these festal employments have been here mentioned by him on so blessed and solemn an occasion if they were really among those works of the devil which he came into the world to destroy ?' ' — A If on/. Because he has received him safe and sound. — " How nice is the observance of all the lesser proprieties of the narrative ! The father in the midst of all his natural affection is yet full of the moral significance of his son's return ; that he has come back SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. 507 Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 28-30. J.C 33. would not go in ; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither trans- gressed I at any time thy commandment ; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends : but as soon as this thy son was come, another person from what he was when he went or while he tar- ried in that far land : he sees into the deep of his joy, that he is receiving him now indeed a son, once ' dead,' but now ' alive ; ' once ' lost ' to him, but now ' found ' alike by both. But the servant confines himself to the more external features of the case, to the fact that, after all he had gone through of excess and hardship, his father has yet received him ' safe and sound.' " — Trench. And he was angry, and would not go in. " This part of the parable sets forth the reception he meets with from his fellow- men in contrast to that from his father." — Afford. " This elder is now the lost son : he has lost all childlike, filial feeling ; he be- trays the hypocrite within." — Stier. Came out and entreated him. — The father left the feast of joy to kindly urge the elder brother. This represents the long- suffering of God toward the self-righteous, the efforts to bring them to a better mind. The parable itself, spoken to the Phari- sees (ver. 3), was an entreaty to the elder brother. Lo ! these many years. — "The word translated 'serve' means ' to perform the part of a slave.' The elder son, while he overrates the obedience which he himself had rendered to his father, exaggerates, at the same time, his brother's guilt. Comp. ver. 30 with ver. 13." — Lonsdale, And yet thou never gavest me a kid. — In contrast with " the fatted calf." With my friends. — " ' Respectable people,' he implies, in con- trast with ' harlots.' Self-righteousness is dissatisfied with the reward it receives. The essential failure of Pharisaism is its want of love to God, despite its external obedience." — Schaff. When this thy son came. — He will not say " brother." " A thousand of these delicate touches in the inspired writings escape an inattentive reader. In ver. 30 the elder son had unkindly said, 'This thy son.' The father mildly reproves him, and says, 'This thy brother. ' Amazing intimation, that the best of men ought to account the worst of sinners their brethren still ; and should especially remember this relation when they show any inclination to repentance." — CresweU. 508 THE PARABLES IN PEREA. Chap. XXXI. Luke 15 : 30-32. j.c. 33. which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me ; and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad : for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again ; and was lost, and is found. Devoured thy living. — " There is a reproach of the father im- plied here also." — Schaff. With harlots. — " It was pre-eminently Pharisaical to recall just then this fact." — Schaff. He said unto him, Son. — " All of us are represented by one or the other of those two sons. Both were offenders, yet the Father calls both sons, and would save both classes of sinners here depicted." — Schaff. " That son is a sinful world ; that father is its loving God ; that experience of famine in the far country is the experience of every one that lives without God and without hope in the world ; that failure of the swineherd is the failure of every one who attempts reformation without repent- ance and return to his Heavenly Father ; that warm welcome is the welcome which divine love longs to accord to every wan- derer weary of his sins and willing to return to his father's home. Alas ! the elder brother that murmurs at this welcome is not without his type even in the Christian Church. Alas ! despite our eulogies of this parable, society still scans the repentance and return of any one whose errors or whose sins it has condemned, regardless or strangely ignorant of its own. For the fallen one it has rarely a robe, a ring, a fatted calf, or even a heart of pitying love." — Abbott. PARABLE OF THE STEWARD. 509 Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 1, 2. Dec. J.c. 33. CHAPTER XXXII. TEACHINGS IN PEREA. And he said also unto his disciples, There was a cer- tain rich man, which had a steward ; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that 1 hear this of thee ? give an account of thy steward- He said also unto his disciples.— " The opening phrase, ' And he said also,' indicates that the teachings of this chapter followed immediately upon those of the chapter preceding. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, are a rebuke of the pride of the Pharisees ; the parables of this chap- ter are a rebuke of their covetousness. (See ver. 14.) This fact affords the key-note to what has been regarded the most difficult of our Lord's parables." — Abbott, There was a certain rich man who had a steward. — " Other parallel teachings of Scripture, especially of Christ (see Matt 25 : 14-30; Luke 19 : 11-27, and Hag. 2 : S ; Psalm 50 : 10-12), represent God as master, man as steward, and property as something intrusted to his stewardship. . . . The steward is a bailiff, intrusted with the entire management of the master's estate. Such stewardships, relatively unknown in this country, are com- mon in Ireland, Italy, the East, and wherever property is owned in large estates, and the owners are not men of business, or are habitually or frequently absent from their estates. Such a stew- ard or bailiff is necessarily intrusted with almost absolute power over, his owner's property." — Abbott. " It was one of the main duties of such a steward to dispense their portions of food to dif- ferent members of the household (Luke 12 : 42) to give the ser- vants or slaves their portion in due season, a duty which we some- times find undertaken by the diligent mistress of the house (Prov. 31 : 15)."— Trench. Such was Eliezer, the steward of Abraham, and Joseph in the house of Potiphar. (See Gen. 24 : 2-12, and 39 : 4-) .. Wasted his goods.— The original reads, " was wasting.' He had been profuse and profligate, and had embezzled his master's propertv. Give an account of thy stewardship : for thou mayest be steward no longer.—" There is no trial, but sentence of condem- nation. We are condemned already, and the day of judgment is a day, not of trial, but of disclosure and of reckoning. Death is 5IQ TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 2-5. Dec. j.c. 33. ship ; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do ? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship : I cannot dig ; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the steward- ship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and thus God's call to us for an accounting of all things with Avhich he has intrusted us." — Abbott. " The great truth lies in the back- ground, that that dismissal, death itself, is the consequence of this wasting of his goods — the wages of sin is death." — Alford. Can not dig. — Was not accustomed to labor. To beg I am ashamed. — " Such is the honor of some men. They are not ashamed to defraud, but are ashamed to beg, or even to work. An eminent preacher once said, ' Be ashamed of nothing but sin.' If he had said, ' Be ashamed of nothing so much as of sin,' there could be no doubt of the correctness of his exhortation."— Egglesion. "A graphic picture of the per- plexity and dismay of the man of the world when summoned by death to give an account of his stewardship. He has laid up for himself no treasure above ; he is conscious that he has de- veloped no powers for service in the eternal kingdom ; he is ashamed to cast himself as a beggar, even before his God, and enter the kingdom simply as a suppliant."— Abbott. I am resolved what to do.— Reflection brings him, as it brought the prodigal, to himself. The conclusion here is the re- sult of cogitation. "All at once, after long reflection, he ex- claims, as if striking his forehead, ' I have it.' " — Godet. " The conclusion is the one to which many a rich man is brought who, by the benefactions of his will, endeavors to compensate fot the niggardliness of his life." — Abbott. That they (that is, his lord's debtors) may receive me. So he called every one of his lord's debtors. — "These would be either merchants or other purchasers, who had received their stores and not yet paid for them (A/ford), or tenants, who paid their rent, as it is almost invariably paid in the East, and very generally on European estates, in produce. The oil is olive oil, the wheat the most common grain of Palestine ; both are productions of the soil: The measure of oil contains about sixty pints ; fifty measures would be worth several hundreds of dollars. The measure of wheat contains a little over eleven bushels ; the twenty measures remitted would amount to over a hundred dollars in value. The steward knows his men, and cal- WORLDLY WISDOM. 5H Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 5-9. Dec. J.C 33- said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord ? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit The Unfaithful down quickly, and write fifty. Then said Steward' he to another, And how much owest thou ? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said un- to him, Take thy bill, and write four-score. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely : for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mam- culates the degree of liberality which he must show to each in order to secure their hospitality." — Abbott. Take thy bill.— Literally "writings," in which the debt was specified, with the obligation to pay so much at stated times. " These bonds, it seems, were kept in the hands of the steward ; and of this, says Grotius, we have instances in the Roman law." — Bloom field. " This [writing] the tenant is himself to alter, perhaps that, having a direct share in the fraud, he may be pre- cluded from informing of it subsequently."— ^"WA Sit down quickly. — Simply a graphic touch, indicating the haste of the whole transaction. The lord commended. — The lord of the steward commended his shrewdness and forethought. It is not said by Luke that our Lord praised the unjust steward, but by Christ, as part of the parable, that the servant was commended by his master. For (what follows is Christ's comment on the whole transac- tion, the action of the steward and the commendation of his lord) the children of this world are in their generation—not in, but unto {"for their own generation," A I ford) — wiser {shrewder) than the children ot light— those "who walk by the light of Divine truth," and who therefore may be expected to act with both wisdom and honesty. " The meaning is, not that the worldly-minded men are shrewder than spiritually-minded men in their management of earthly affairs ; nor merely that they are wiser in dealing with earthly affairs than spiritually-minded men with spiritual affairs ; but that in their dealings with one another men of the world get more worldly profit out of the intercourse than spiritually-minded get of spiritual profit out of their mutual intercourse. ' ' — A bbott. And I say unto you.— What follows is Christ's way of apply- 512 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 9, 10. Dec. j.c. 33. mon of unrighteousness ; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is ing of the parable. If that be understood, the parable itself is no longer difficult to comprehend. Mammon. — A Syriac word for riches. Of unrighteousness. — The mammon of unrighteousness is not money made unrighteously, nor does the phrase imply that Christ regards all property- holding as a form of selfishness. Godet explains the meaning well. " The ear of Jesus must have been constantly offended with that sort of reckless language in which men indulge without scruple : my fortune, my land, my house. He also felt to the quick man's dependence on God ; saw that there was a usurpation in this idea of ownership, a forgetful- ness of the true proprietor. On hearing such language he seemed to see the former playing the landlord. It is this sin, of which the natural man is profoundly unconscious, which he lays bare in this whole parable, and which he especially designates by this expression, ' the mammon of unrighteousness.' That when ye fail. — " When it fails" is the preferable read- ing. They may receive you into everlasting habitations. — " This is not ironical, as some would have us believe ; nor are they that receive the angels, an interpretation invented for theo- logical reasons, and quite inconsistent with the structure of the parable, for those to whom the steward has given, receive him ; nor can we say with Godet, ' to receive is not to intro- duce, ' and that the language here assumes some other ground of claim for admission to the everlasting habitations, for the only ground in the parable for the admission of the steward to the houses of the tenants is the service which he has dishonest- ly rendered them. The interpretation of this declaration is to be found, first, in such passages as 2 Pet. 1 : 11, ' So an en- trance shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the ever- lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,' since they have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory, who are welcomed to it by the many whom they have served on earth ; and, secondly, in such passages as Matt. 25 : 3T-4f'. tne condition of admission to the kingdom of heaven being not merely faith, but that kind of faith which works by love. . . In this parable the rich man represents God, the steward man, especially the man of wealth, the stewardship his property, which is not his own, but is intrusted to him, the tenants the poor, the summons to account, death, which is a call to judgment. The parable may even be carried further ; and it may be said that the scheme of the steward has its parallel in the tendency of men THE REAL WISDOM OF FIDELITY. 513 Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 10-12. Dec. j.c. 33. faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much ; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches ? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own ? of wealth to compensate by their bequests at death for their lack of liberality in their lifetime." — Abbott. " Christ," says the author of " Our Friends in Heaven," " teaches his creditors the right use of money. Instead of hoard- ing it, or squandering it, they have to make themselves friends with it. Jesus here represents those glorified spirits who had, in the days of their flesh, been befriended by their wealthy brethren still in the body, as waiting on the borders of the eternal world to receive into the heavenly temple their former benefactors, io soon as the latter should fail on earth." " He that is ' faithful in the unrighteous mammon ' as God's steward will use it for the poor, and thus will indeed make to himself friends." — EggUston, If ... ye have not been faithful. — " If ye have not been faithful in that worldly wealth which you know must soon be parted with, how can you expect that God will commit to you those spiritual blessings in which alone true riches consist ? Or, again, if ye have not been faithful in your stewardship of that which is intrusted to you for a season by another — namely, by God — how can ye expect that he will give you an inheritance which will be your own forever ?" — Lonsdc.le and Hale. If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's. — " None of these temporal things are yours ; you are only stewards of them, not proprietors. God is the proprietor of all ; he lodges them in your hands for a season ; but still they are his property. Rich men, understand and consider this. If your steward uses any part of your estate (so called in the lan- guage of men) any further or any otherwise than you direct, he is a knave ; he has neither conscience nor honor. Neither have you either one or the other, if you use any part of that estate, which is in truth God's, not yours, any otherwise than he directs. " — Bloom field. Another man's.— Rather, anoth.-rs— that is, God's. There is nothing in the original that answers to the word " man's." " Earthly wealth is held in trust ; the true riches are described as your own. Wealth can never form a part of our being, is never permanently in our possession ; we can have the use of 514 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 13-17. Dec. j.c. 33. No servant can serve two masters : for either he will nate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him. And he said unto Jesus Reproves the them, Ye are they which justify your- Pharisees. se]ves before men ; but God knoweth your hearts : for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John : since that time the king- dom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one it, but in no true sense own it. But that which God gives to us as true riches will form a part of our eternal being, is our inalien- able possession. Because this is so much higher, we are urged to be faithful in the use of worldly wealth, believing that it is not ours, but intrusted to us to test our fidelity." — Schaff. They derided him. — " Sneered or scoffed at him." " Their feeling was : This man makes riches of little account, but we know better ; we can keep our wealth and our piety too. Hence the next verse is aimed at their semblance of piety, which was the basis of their derision of him." — Schaff. Is abomination in the sight of God. — " Not everything hon- ored by men is abominated by God ; nor are there two such different standards of judgment that what really commends itself 10 man's moral sense is condemned by God. But what often appears admirable to man, because he sees only the outward and deceitful appearance, is known to God to be abominable, because he sees the motive out of which it springs. This declaration gives partial interpretation to Matt. 7 : 1, 'Judge not.' It indi- cates that we are to be cautious in commendatory as well as in condemnatory judgments." — Abbott. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass. — " These aphor- isms appear in Matthew in different connections. I regard their introduction in this place as due to Luke, who puts them here because they are a part of Christ's general teaching respecting the religion of Pharisaism. I am not able to see that they have any very immediate connection with either the preceding or the succeeding parable." — Abbott. " Between the parable and the PARA RLE OF DIVES. 5*5 Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : i7-i9. Dec. j.c. 33. tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery ; and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her hus- band committeth adultery. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day : occasion of it (ver. 14) we find a number of thoughts (vers. 15- 18) wh.ch had been expressed by our Lord on other occasions all appropriate to the Pharisees at this time. The connection is' however, difficult to trace. "Schaff. For ver. 16, see Matt' 11: 12 (p. 215); ver. 17, Matt. 5: iS(p. 166); ver. 18, Matt c • « 32 (p. 170.) • 3 • j . There was a certain rich man.-" The response of the Pharisees (ver. 14) called forth another parable, in which another phase of the same great truth is brought out— namelv, that neg- lect of the proper application of wealth becomes the source of eternal calamity. The rich man is no great sinner, but a respect- able worldly man, leading a godless life of selfishness ; the poor man was one of a class despised by the ' covetous." Thus the sneer of the Pharisees was answered. The object of the parable was not to make a new revelation about the future state vet white using the popular language of the day on this subject' our Lord s words must reveal the truth."— Schaff. In purple and fine linen. -"The extreme costliness of the rPh;cPiei yC I"1,'.?1111? 1S Wdl knomi ; the honor' to°. ™ which this color was held It was accounted the royal color • the pur pie garment was then, as now. in the East, a royal gift-that is the true sea-purple. . . . Its rarity arose from the exceeding small quantity (but a few drops) of the liquid which served for dyeing found in each fish. All modern inquiries have failed to discover what shell-fish it exactly was which yielded the precious aye. — Trench. r H.!Xred ^umPtU0»sly every day.-The description implies one devoting himself to selfish and sensual enjovment. "The ex- pression may have reference to more than food, and Us Ores- ^'n encrofedeeXtend S ^ *{easure- ^faction and cot .ster to 'the rfv. ' ****£ CtC- WhiGh Wealth Can suPP'y' to min" of -VJrh » y enJ°yment- amusement, and self satisfaction descrinLTTs^V^ £ whatever is comprehended in the uescription of St. John, 1 Ep. 2 : 16—' For all that ;c Jr. tv,~ world, the lust of the flesh, and' the lust of the eves and 'the pr Se of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.' ''-BhonF/irU He is not charged with injuring any person, or defrauding 516 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 20, 21. Dec. j.c. 33. and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which The Rich Man and was laid at his gate, full of sores, and de- Lazarus. sirjng to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table : moreover, the dogs his neighbor. The only fault recorded is, that ' he fared sump- tuously every day,' while Lazarus ' lay at his gate' perishing for want of common necessaries. He was one of that set of men (a numerous set) who are very hospitable to those that do not want, and very unfriendly to those that do." — Jeremiah Seed. " A smooth and easy life, an uninterrupted enjoyment of the goods of providence, full meals, soft raiment, well-furnished homes, the pleasures of sense, the feeling of security, the con- sciousness of wealth — these, and the like, if we are not careful, choke up all the avenues of the soul through which the light and breath of heaven might get to us." — Newman. " Think'st thou the man whose mansions hold The worldling's pomp and miser's gold Obtains a richer prize Than he who, in his cot at rest, Finds heavenly peace a willing guest, And bears the promise in his breast Of treasure in the skies?" — Mrs. Sigourney. There was a certain beggar named Lazarus. — " Beggary, such as is here depicted, is; much more common in the East than with us, and in the absence of any more systematic provision, almsgiving to the poor was insisted upon by the Old Testament (Job 29 : 13 , Ps. 41 : I ; 112 : 9 ; Prov. 14 : 31)." — Abbott. " In every tongue in Europe a ' lazar ' is now regarded as a descrip- tive name of the poor. It is singular enough the rich man's name is not mentioned, whereas that of the beggar is. In this world the name of the rich man was sounded by a thousand trum- pets. In the heavenly world all is reversed. Greatness alone is prominent here ; goodness alone will be prominent there." — Cummihgs. " Does not Christ seem to you to have been read- ing from that book where he found the name of the poor man written, but found not the name of the rich ? For that book is ' the Book of Life.' " — Augustine. Full of sores. — As persons of this destitute condition often are, from the cutaneous disorders produced by meagre diet and bad living, especially in Eastern countries. Desiring to be fed. — " From the circumstance afterward introduced of the rich man asking for Lazarus to administer re- lief to him in his torments, it should seem that he regarded him- self, in some measure, as a benefactor to him in having relieved him with the scraps from his table ; yet he was undoubtedly DEATH STRIKES BOTH RICH AND POOR. 517 Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 21, 22. Dec. J c. 33. came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abra- ham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried : guilty of the neglect here intimated, of omitting to make him- self acquainted with the miserable condition of Lazarus, so as to effectually relieve his -sufferings and restore him to health and strength. " — Bloom fit Id. The dogs came and licked his sores. — " What a picture of misery is here painted in a few words !" — Eggleston " This touch not only adds to the dramatic force of the picture, by in- dicating his nakedness and forsaken condition ; it also brings out the inhumanity of man by depicting the sympathy of the brutes." — Abbott. The beggar died. — " No mention is made of his burial. It was 'only a pauper whom nobody knows.' and his funeral at- tracted no attention." — Riddle. Was carried by the angels. — " The contrast of the reversed positions begins already ; rich men were pall-bearers of their associate, but the beggar was borne by angels." — Riddle. Abraham's bosom. — " Every Jew understood by Abraham's bosom ' a place of perfect repose, communion and intimacy with the great and good in the age to come. We leave behind us at death that only which enables the soul to communicate with the outward and material world. All that constitutes the man — thinking, feeling, knowing — lives forever, without suspension of the continuity of its conscious life. The outward tent is struck, but the divine inhabitant lives. The ceasing of the pulse, the standing still of the heart, the insensibility of the senses, is not the destruction of the life, but only of that machinery by which it acts and manifests itself to a world of matter. The musician endures, the harp-strings only are removed. Hut this statement, fact, or parable, is evidence of ihe immortality of the soul." — Gummings. The rich man also died, and was buried. — It would appear, subsequently to Lazarus, so that, as has been noted, the mercy of God was manifest in the order of their deaths. Lazarus was more early exempted from the miseries of his earthly lot ; Dives was allowed a longer time and space for repentance. But at last his day of grace came to an end ■ ' he also died and was buried." There is a sublime irony, a stain upon all earthly glorv, in this mention of his burial, connected as it is with what is immediately to follow. No doubt we are meant to infer that he had a splen- did funeral — all things according to the most approved pomp of the world." — Trench. 518 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 23, 24. Dec. J.c. 33. and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue : for I am tormented And in hell, or " Hades." — " There are two words in the New Testament which are translated 'hell;' one ' Gehenna,' the other ' Hades.' The former always means the place of punish- ment, the latter the state or place of departed spirits (Hebrew, ' Sheol '). In each case the context shows the more precise ref- erence of the word, since it might mean either Gehenna or Para- dise (' Abraham's bosom '), or both. Here it probably includes both, since the rich man is represented as seeing Abraham and Lazarus. On which side he was is afterward stated." — Riddle. He lifted up his eyes. — Either, looked up to a higher place, or, now became fully conscious of his position. Being in torments. — " Hell is truth seen too late." — Anony- mous. Seeth Abraham. — " A proof of the recognition of friends in the other world." — Peloubet. Afar off. — Not so much in distance as in character and condi- tion. And he cried. — "This is the only instance in Scripture of praying to saints." — jfacobus. Father Abraham. — " For he still clung to the hope that his fleshly privileges would profit him something ; he would still plead that he has Abraham to his father, not perceiving that this, which was his glory once, was now the very stress of his guilt." — Trench. Tip of his finger. — " He dares ask but the smallest favor." — Alford. " This shows the greatness of his distress. The suffer- ings of the rich man are, thereiore, represented as producing burning thirst, so much so that even a drop of water would be refreshing to his tongue." — Greswell. Tormented in this flame.—" Not subjective (that is, confined to his own feeling) only, though perhaps mainly. But where lies the limit between inner and outer to the disembodied ? Hardened sinners have died crying ' Fire ! ' Did the fire leave them when they left their bodies ?" — Alford. ' ' Material fire could not have been here, because there was no material subject for it." — Cummings. " Flame may be regarded as a figurative expres- sion, to represent the acutest suffering of which an immaterial nature is susceptible, by a material image of misery the most dire. ' ' — Greswe/l. COMPENSATION. 519 Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 : 24, 25. Dec. J.c. 33. in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : but now he is comforted, Son, remember.--" This one word is a vivid symbol of the rich man's misery. Memory is the faculty that will survive all. The rich sufferer remembered all in that place of agony : he remem- bered that he not only sacrificed his soul in order to accumulate, but never distributed to others who needed what he accumulated. Memory, like a whispering-gallery, returned the deeds of a life- time in crashes of insufferable thunder ; each sin reproduced itself, and each black deed cast its cold and horrible shadow on the spirit of him who had committed it. Lost opportunities were not the least bitter recollections of the lost rich man. Let mem- ory alone survive, and it will strike ten thousand scorpion stings into the soul of the lost." — Cummings, In illustration of the power of memory, De Quincey describes the experience of a lady who in her youth was nearly drowned, " having descended with- in the abyss of death, and looked into its secrets as far perhaps as ever human eye can have looked, that had permission to re- turn. At a certain stage of this descent a blow seemed to strike her ; phosphoric radiance sprang forth from her eyeballs, and immediately a mighty theater expanded in her brain. In a mo- ment, in a twinkling of an eye, every act, every design of her past life lived again, arraying themselves not as a succession, but as parts of a coexistence." The writer of this, when a boy of nineteen, had a similar experience. In a moment, as by a flash of lightning, his whole past life was revealed to him, not in suc- cessive scenes, but in one embodied whole. At one glance he realized all that he had been, all that he was. It was the judg- ment of the Great Day. Thy good things. — " The emphatic ' thy ' intimates that he had regarded his earthly possessions as his chief good. God had treated him according to his own estimate of these things ; had given them to him, and that was all his portion of good." — Riddle. Lazarus evil things. — Not "his" evil things, for he may have rightly viewed his afflictions as designed for good. But now. — The best authorities prefer "here," making the phrase more emphatic. He is comforted, and thou art tormented. — " Not because the one suffered evil, and the other enjoyed luxury. Abraham does not say this. And there is not here, nor I think anywhere else in Scripture, the doctrine that ' the cause of an unbroken prosperity is ever a sign and augury of ultimate reprobation.' 520 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 16 . 25-31. Dec. j.c. 33. and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed : so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house : for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham : but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Abraham recalls the contrast between the present condition and the past condition of the two ; the ground of the present condi- tion is sufficiently indicated by the phrase, thy good things." — Abbott. And besides all this. — It was morally improper to grant the request ; but it was also impossible. There is a great gulf fixed. — " The figure is of an unfathom- able abyss, which cannot be bridged over. Our Lord here makes a revelation, for the popular Jewish view did not speak of this." — Riddle. Testify unto (or " warn") them. — " That a lost spirit should feel and express such sympathy is not to be wondered at. The misery of such will be very much heightened by the awakened and active state of those higher faculties and feelings which sel- fishness and the body kept down here." — Alford. " It is not necessary, on the one hand, to attribute the petition of the rich man to a selfish aim, nor to see in it, on the other, an evidence of his partial reformation, as though the fires in which he was tormented had already accomplished a partial purification. It is not even necessary to suppose that such a request could or would be preferred by the condemned in another life. It is here supposed by Christ simply to give occasion to the religious teaching embodied in Abraham's reply." — Abbott. If they hear not Moses, etc. — " He whom the law and the prophets bring not to the conviction of his sins will be as little led to it by the sight of even one raised from the dead. After the FORGIVENESS. C2I Chap. XXXII. Luke 17 : 1-4. Dec. J.c. 33. Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come : but wo unto him through whom they come ! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves : If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him ; and if he repent, forgive jesus inculcates him. And if he trespass against thee Porb^xaixcc. seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn first emotion of astonishment and terror, criticism will awake, saying, Hallucination ! and carnal security, shaken for a mo- ment, will reassert itself." — Godet. "In this dialogue the rich man represents the spirit of Pharisaism, which was accustomed to demand from Jesus signs from heaven as an evidence of his divine mission and authority ; the spirit of modern skepticism, which demands new intellectual evidences for the truth of Chris- tianity, and places its unbelief avowedly on the insufficiency of the evidences already forthcomng ; and the spirit of modern superstition, manifested in spiritism and ecclesiasticism, which, endeavoring to meet this same demand for signs and wonders in less intellectual classes of society, provides miracles and super- natural manifestations. The answer of Abraham represents the spirit of Christianity which recognises the secret of all skepticism to be in the moral nature, which recognizes in the Word of God itself its own sufficient evidence, and which declares that no proof whatever of a purely intellectual character will suffice to convince those who are living worldly lives, and whose unbelief is rooted in worldliness of any form. The truth of the declara tion put here by Christ into Abraham's mouth was strikingly verified by the effect upon the Pharisees of the resurrection of another Lazarus (John 11 : 47-50), and of our Lord's resurrec- tion (Matt. 2S : 12-14)." — Abbott. " Ve pood distressed ! Ye noble few ! who here unbending stand Beneath life's pressure, yet bear up awhile, And what your bounded view, which only saw A little part, deemed evil, is no more ; The storms of wintry time will quickly pass. And one unbounded spring encircle all." — Thomson. Then said he unto the disciples. — Some of the thoughts in this section are found in Matt. 18, but the latter part is peculiar to Luke. The connection between them and what precedes is clear, and indicates that they made part of one discourse. 522 TEACHINGS IN PEREA. Chap. XXXII. Luke 17 : 4-7. Dec. j.c. 33. again to thee, saying, I repent ; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the, sea ; and it should obey you. But which of you having a servant ploughing, or feed- Increase Our faith — " Not our patience or charity or self-con- trol, the graces immediately needed to be exercised toward the trespassing brother ; but increase our faith ; strengthen and en- large in us the heavenly principle of these and all other graces, that, by growing at the root, we may grow in the produce of the branches, and especially, by knowing and believing more and more the forgiveness of our own sins, we may be disposed and constrained to forgive others." — Ford. This sycamine-tree. — " The discourse was probably uttered in the open air, and the tree near by, as the mountains were on the other occasions when a similar saying was uttered." — Schaff. Of this tree, which he takes to be the sycamore, Thomson says : " It is easily propagated, merely by planting a stout branch in the ground, and watering it until it has struck roots into the soil. This it does with great rapidity, and to a vast depth. It was with reference to this latter fact that our blessed Lord selected it to illustrate the power of faith. ' If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye might say unto this sycamine-tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you.' Now look at this tree — its ample girth, its widespread arms branching off from the parent trunk only a few feet from the ground ; then examine its enormous roots, as thick, as numerous, and as widespread into the deep soil below as the branches extend into the air above — the very best type of invincible steadfastness. What power on earth can pluck up such a tree ? Heaven's thunderbolt may strike it down, the wild tornado may tear it to fragments, but nothing short of miracu- lous power can fairly pluck it up by the roots." It should obey you.— Comp. Mark 11 122-26. (The barren fig-tree.) " If we here take faith, as defined in Heb. 11 : 1, as the evidence of the unseen, Christ's language is hardly hyper- bolical, for it is by the developed power to see unseen verities that man has attained all his mastery over nature." — Abbott. But which of you having a servant. — " In interpreting this HUMILITY. 523 Chap. XXXII. Luke 17 : 7-">- Dec- J-c- 33- ing cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat ? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken ; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink ? Doth he thank that servant, because he Humility did the things that were commanded him ? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our duty to do. parable a slight modification must be made in the language of verse 7 which should read, not ' Will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat, but, ' Will say unto him when he is come from the field, Go immedi- ately and sit down to meat.' The picture is drawn in accord- ance with Oriental usages. The same one who serves in the field also frequently serves at the table. His clothes are girded about his loins to keep them out of his way while handing the dishes. The custom requires constant attendance at the table, to change each dish as soon as the master has done with it for a new one ; sometimes ten or twenty, or even fifty dishes, succeed on the tables of those who fare sumptuously." — Abbott. Say we are unprofitabla servants, etc.— "' Unprofitable ' here does not have a bad sense. Any profit or merit would arise from the servant's doing more than his duty ; but if he did all his duty, while no blame could attach to him, no merit could be allowed. Thus all works of supererogation are denied, and all claim on the ground of our goodness or fidelity."— Schaff. 524 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 1-4. Jan. j.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Beth- any, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was The sisters send that Mary which anointed the Lord with to jesus. ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sis- ters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of " At this point in Luke's narrative we insert the account given by John of the journey of Jesus to Bethany to raise Lazarus, and of his subsequent departure to Ephraim and sojourn there. The Lord waits two days after receiving the message of the sisters ere he departs for Bethany. It is not certain how long after the death of Lazarus he arrived there. Thohtck thinks it improbable that Jesus could have made the journey (perhaps 23-29 miles) in one day, and yet arrive in Bethany in season to do all that is re- corded of him. He must have spent parts of two days upon the road. He supposes, therefore, that Lazarus died the night following the arrival of the messenger and was buried the next day, and that Jesus reached Bethany the fifth day. The first day was that of the burial ; the second and third were spent in wait- ing ; the fourth in journeying ; on the fifth he reaches Bethany and raises Lazarus." — Andrews, Lazarus of Bethany. — See note on page 465. His sisters sent unto him. — " When our heart is overwhelmed within us on occasion of the removal of those who were dearest to us in the bonds of nature and of love, what a shelter is here ! to come to this Immortal Friend, and open to him all the anguish of our souls !" — Doddridge. He said, This sickness is not unto death. — ' ' That is, has not death for its object. Christ does not say that Lazarus will not die, but that death is not the end for which this sickness is or- dained of God." — Abbott. " These words appear to have been the answer returned by our Lord to the message of Martha and Mary." — Lonsdale and Hale. JESUS GOES TO JUDEA. ^^^__ 525 Ch^pTxXXIir^ John ii : 4-8. J*"- J-c- 34- God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he J«i»go« to was Then after that saith he to his dis- "arus' ciples, Let us go into Judea again. His disciples say Rut for the dory of God, that the Son of God might be glori- Kirn his sickness, death, and resurrection ( Trench), though ot hs "he evangelist gives us no hint ; 2, by the manifestation of n SdivineeVpoSWerofgJeSus Christ, as «- whom the Father a - s hears (ver. 42) J 3, by the passion and d ah of Jesus Ch nst, to which the resurrection of Lazarus directly led (vers. 47 53)« A Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Laza™s-''^cfra fert humanity implies a sensibility, a refinement a grace, a beauty TEacte? which can not be said to be required b, ^dmy. And all these the Saviour had in the highest degree There was no cure and exquisite emotion of human nature to which he was not keenW alive • and it is the union in him, of every th.ng that Z tender \nd gentle with those higher and sterner qualities which renders him a fit example, not for man only, but for woman."— Mark Hopkins. « JjJ necessity rquires. Whatever may be his dclu>s, he never sleeps, nnd never forgets his people."— Calwn. 526 THE RAISING OK LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 8-11. Jan. J.c. 34. unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee ; and goest thou thither again ? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he : and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth ; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Of late sought. — Rather, " were but now seeking." — Alford. If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not. — " The time appointed for a man is like the hours of light given to a traveler for his journey. There is no fear of his stumbling in the day, because he sees the sun ; but as he stumbles when it has set, so man, though he walk safely till the appointed time ends, can do so no longer when it is over. Till mine is over I am safe." — Geikie. " The two things which of all others most want to be under a strict rule, and which are the greatest blessings both to ourselves and others when they are rightly used, are our time and our money. These talents are continual means and oppor- tunities of doing good." — William Law. " Man's life is a day, divided into ages, states, and opportunities. The consideration of this should make us not only very busy as to the work of life, but also very easy as to the perils of life ; our day shall be lengthened out till our work be done." — Henry. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. — This should read, "is fallen asleep," meaning that he was dead. " The word sleep is ap- plied to death, first, because of the resemblance between them, as sleep is the ' kinsman of death.' In this sense it is often used by pagan writers. But, second, in the Scriptures it is used to intimate that death will not be final ; that there will be an awaking out of this sleep, or a resurrection. It is a beautiful and tender expression, removing all that is dreadful in death, and filling the mind with the idea of calm repose after a life of toil, with reference to a resurrection, in increased vigor, and with renovated powers. ' ' — Bloom field. I go that I may awake him out of sleep. — " There seems to me to be contained in these few words one of the most powerful charms in the world to lull the bitterness of death, and to make us anxious to become such as that we may humbly venture to apply them to ourselves." — Thomas Arnold. JESUS APPROACHES BETHANY. Chap. XXXIII. John n : i2-2a Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well Howbeit Jesus spake of his death : but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe ; nevertheless, let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. (Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.) \nd many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, Die with him.-He viewed the going into Judea, whence shows him to have been a man of strong passions and of hule faith ind hone To such a man life is full ot patnos. ne could not believe that Christ could with safety go into Judea could not peueve in foreCast the result, winch was the 3Si£ J hb^w^^«^ he bear tobe sepa" raBetXhwas^gh unto Jerusalem.-" The use of the past tsetnany was "* . £ t Bethany had ceased to exist at tense was, not "OJ*™^^ It thus incidentally con- ?' 'ThVnniniJn that he wro e \ considerable time after the de- s™^ Tpsafcrn^and when that city and its environs were lyiThr7ews_camf: . . to comfort them.- "Had come." « BethanXing so nigh to Jerusalem, many of the relat.yes and friends o/the family came, 'according to the Jewish , custom .to mourn with the afflicted sisters. Mourning among the Jews lasted about thirty days. The first three were l^med^\^J^'s ing • then followed seven of lamentation. During the.three da>! Z mourner did no servile work. During the ^n Jays he Jd ho servile work except in private, lay with his bed on the floor did not put on his sandals, did not wash nor ano.nt himself, had 528 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 20-23. Jan. J.c. 34 as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and Manha comes to met him : but Mary sat still in the house. meet Jesus. Then said Martha untQ Jesus> Lord? jf thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. his head covered, and neither read in the Law, the Mishna, nor the Talmud. All the thirty days he continued unshaven, wore no white or new clothes, and did not sew up the rents in his gar- ments."— Adam Clarke. The female members of the house- hold during this period remained at home, and sat on the ground, with rent clothes, and dust on their heads, surrounded by not less than ten friends or professional mourners. This custom is ailuded to in the clause, " Mary sat in the house," and " she arose quickly." Martha . . . went and met him. — " Geikie supposes that he thus remained without from fear of the Jews ; but Christ never stopped in the performance of a duty from considera- tions of fear. His reply to the remonstrances of his disciples (vers. 8-10) should have prevented this prosaic interpretation of Christ's action. To him the conventional mourning cus- toms of Oriental society were exceedingly distasteful. He who put all the noisy mourners out of the room in which the daughter of Jairus lay dead (Mark 5 : 40), and who so gently re- buked the noisy and ostentatious lamentations of the women of Jerusalem at the time of his own crucifixion (Luke 23 : 27-31), might naturally be expected to decline to enter into the circle of formal mourners, with the alternative ol either violating the pre- cedents and rules of good society or of submitting himself in such an hour to the bondage which they imposed." — Abbott. Lord, if thou hadst been here. — " This is the language both of reproach and of lamentation, though the reproach is implied rather than asserted. Her language expresses the very essence of soul torture at such times. We are slow to believe that our sorrow is ' for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified thereby,' and in our affliction continually echo Martha's ' if,' saying to ourselves, If we had not done this or if we had not done that ; if it had not been for our blunder or that of our friends or our physicians, our beloved would not have died. Chance is the God of Atheism, and is a comfortless God in the time of our trouble." — Abbott. THE LORD OF LIFE. 529 Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 24, 25. Jan. j.c. 34. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. — " This statement of Martha's faith is to be interpreted by the belief of the orthodox Jews. This was that all the dead departed to Hades or the Under World, where they dwelt in a shadowy prison house, the righteous in Paradise, the wicked in Hell and awaiting the coming of the Messiah, who would call all the righteous from the Under World, while the wicked would be thrust back into it again. Martha believed that her brother had gone to this abode of the dead, and there was await- ing a day of judgment and of resurrection ; but she found in this faith very little consolation. Her brother, to her thought, was as if he were not, and dwelt among the dead. A vague hope of a far distant revival did not comfort her. It is in contrast to, and in correction of, this creed, that Christ utters the declaration of verses 25-26." — Abbott. I am the resurrection, and the life. — " In me is victory over the grave ; in me is life eternal. By faith in me that becomes yours which makes death not to be death, but only the transition to a higher life." — Trench. Though he were dead. — Have died. " What is our proof of immortality ? . Heaven begun is the living proof that makes the heaven to come creditable. ' Christ in you is the hope of glory.' It is the eagle eye of faith which pene- trates the grave, and sees far into the tranquil things of death. He alone can believe in immortality who feels the resur- rection in him already." — F. IV. Robertson. " We now call it death to leave this world ; but were we once out of it, and instated into the happiness of the next, we should think it were dying indeed to come into it again." — Sherlock. " The various and conflicting interpretations afforded by the commentators of this declaration of Christ agree only in being complicated and abstruse. It is essential to comfort that it should be simple truth simply expressed ; and that Christ should offer as a conso- lation to Mary a truth so subtle and involved in so much mystery that skillful scholarship can scarce unlock its meaning, seems to me utterly incredible. I understand these words as an embodi- ment of Christ's creed respecting life and immortality. |esus is the source of the resurrection and the fountain of life. Whoever, therefore, by faith in Christ, has Christ in him the hope of glory, never knows death ; to him there is no Hades, no dark and dis- 53° THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John n : 25, 26. Jan. j.c. 34. shall he live : and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this ? mal abode of the dead, no long and weary waiting for a final great jail delivery — a judgment and an acquittal. He passes at once from the lower to the higher state ; he has already come to the general assembly and church of the first-born (Heb. 12 : 22- 24). What we call death summons him simply to depart and be straightway with Christ (Phil. 1 : 23 ; Luke 23 : 43). The eter- nal life which Christ here and now gives to those who are by faith united to him (John 5 : 24) is never suspended ; so immortal and potent is this lite principle which Christ offers to those who have received him that, if it were possible that one having died should receive it, he would by it be made to live again. Against the conception, common now, as then, of death as a long sleep, or a long and dreary waiting for a final resurrection, is Christ's teaching here that ' there is no death ; what seems so is transi- tion.' In confirmation of this view, observe: 1. That Christ's declaration is present, not luture. / am the resurrection, not I shall by and by become so. 2. The conditional clause, though he were dead, is literally even though he should die, and is fairly rendered by the phrase even if he could die. 3. Thus interpreted, Christ's declaration is responsive to Martha's con- fession of faith, and leads on to and agrees with the event which follows — the restoration of Lazarus to his earthly life. 4. It ac- cords with the general teaching of the New Testament, in which Christ is represented as the source of eternal life, and the death of the saints as a doorway into his immediate presence (Acts 7 : 59 ; Rom. 14 : 8 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 8 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 10 ; 2 Tim. 4:8:2 Pet. 1 : 11, etc.). It is not necessary to give here other interpre- tations, for they are complicated, incongruous, and almost im- possible to classify. They are the results of various and unsuc- cessful endeavors to bring Christ's declaration into accord with the Pharisaic faith, which still lingers in the Christian church, of a resurrection and an eternal life postponed to the future, and an abode in death, meanwhile, in some sort of an intermediate state. "—A bbott. Believest thou this?—" The surest means to convince one's self of a life after death is so to act in the present that one must wish it. Whoever feels that, if there is a God, he must look graciously on him, seeks for no reasons against his existence, and requires none. Whoever has offered up so much for virtue that he ought to expect indemnification in a future life, such a one requires no proof of, nor does he merely believe in, the existence of such a life ; he feels it within himself." — Fichte, MARTHA CALLS MARY. 531 Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 27-32. Jan. j.c. 34. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord : I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as Mary comes to she heard that, she arose quickly, and Jesus' came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and com- forted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw I believe that thou art the Christ. — " Martha seems to me not to understand Christ's saying. She was conscious it was fome great thing, but did not perceive the whole meaning, so that when asked one thing she answered another." — Chrysostom. " Upon this, evidently becoming conscious of her inability to sustain the conversation with him, she retreated and went to summon her sister. It is not stated that Jesus had expressed any desire to see Mary. He may have done so. But even if he had not, it was very natural that Martha should have retired, as she did, and told Mary that Jesus wanted her. Martha knew how her sister always listened to him with the profoundest interest, and seemed to understand him so much better than she. Mary therefore, she felt, was needed there." — Furncss. Called Mary her sister secretly.— " She told her tidings ' secretly,' fearing, it may be, that some of their visitors from Jerusalem might be of unfriendly disposition toward the Lord ; nor was her suspicion unfounded, as the event showed." — Trench. Comforted her.—" Were comforting her" — that is, trying to comfort. She goeth unto the grave to weep there.—" It was the cus- tom of Jewish mourners often to visit the graves of their kin- dred, and especially during the first days of their mourning." — Rosenmiillcr. 532 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII, John n : 32, 33. Jan. j.c. 34. him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the She fell down at his feet. — " With a more passionate nature than that of Martha, her action and her attitude were both more strongly indicative of her uncontrollable emotion. Possibly she threw herself prostrate at his feet in the form of salutation ordi- narily paid by an inferior to a superior in the East ; yet with her face upon the ground she could hardly have carried on any conference whatever. More probably, therefore, she flung her- self at first at his feet, then partially raised herself again to break forth in her reproachful complaint." — Abbott. " The same faith in Christ, as being 'the Son of God,' which Martha at fuller length expressed by her words, Mary more concisely declared by her act of adoration. ... By her tears she implored the help which she asked not for with her lips. No more effectual^ no more mighty, prayer than are our tears. Tears brought it to pass, which words could not do, that Jesus ' was troubled in his spirit.' " — Rupertus. If thou hadst been here. — " Her language is nearly the same as that of Martha, but she adds no expression of hope ; her pro- founder nature refuses to entertain a hope for which she can give herself no reason." — Abbott. " The words, thus repeating them- selves a second time from her lips, give us a glimpse of all that had passed in that mournful house since the beloved was laid in the earth. How often during that four day's interval the sisters had said one to the other, How different the issue might have been if the Divine Friend had been with them ! This had been the one thought in the hearts, the one word upon the lips of either, and therefore it was so naturally the first spoken by each, and that altogether independently of the other. This indeed is one of the finer traits of the narrative." — Trench. " The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone, shadows of the evening fall behind us, and the world seems but a dim reflection itself — a broader shadow. We look forward into the coming lonely night ; the soul withdraws itself. Then stars arise, and the night is holy." — Longfellow. He groaned in the spirit. — "He was greatly moved in spirit." — Alford. " He visibly shuddered with emotion, and had to restrain himself by an earnest effort." — Geikie. " His susceptibility to both joy and suffering were intense. He was prone to compassion, and repeatedly melted into tears." — Mark Hopkins. " There seems to be no doubt that the Greek word JESUS TROUBLED IN SPIRIT. 533 Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 33-35. Jan. j.c. 34. spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him ? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. rendered groan necessarily involves in it the idea of anger or in- dignation ; it is so rendered in the Vulgate and in Lutlicr s translation. With this agree both the lexicons and the critics generally. What was the cause of this indignation ? According to some of the older commentaries, Christ was indignant with himself for his weakness in yielding to his emotions ; his divinity was irritated at the emotion of his humanity, and violently re- pressed it. This opinion needs no refutation with those who believe that Christianity tends to intensify, not to suppress, the natural affections — that Christian sympathy weeps with those that weep as well as rejoices with those that rejoice, and who find in the tears of Christ at the grave of Lazarus not a manifes- tation of human weakness, but an expression of divine sympathy which draws God very near to every sorrowing heart. Others suppose that Christ saw in this scene a type of the woe that sin had wrought in the world ; seeing its effects, his indignation was aroused. We may certainly believe that this profound sense of the significance of this scene of sorrow affected Christ and inten- sified his sympathy ; that the tears that he shed were tears of sym- pathy, not only with Mary and Martha, but also with all sorrow- ing households. This, however, interprets rather his sorrow than his indignation. A simple and natural interpretation of this in- dignation is afforded by a consideration of the circumstances and surroundings. He was indignant at the display of the affected grief of those who were bitter enemies of the truth, and who would, as he well knew, make use of this verv miracle to promote his death, and would even join with those who would seek to put Lazarus himself to death again (Luke 12 : 10). He was indig- nant when he saw the Jews also lamenting, and again when he heard the sneer uttered by them (see ver. 37, note)." — Abbott. And was troubled. — Literally, he troubled him self. The words " indicate a physical emotion, a bodily trembling, which might be perceived by the witnesses of this scene." — Godet, Where have ye laid him? — " He inquired where the grave was, lest, if he had gone to it of his own knowledge, the Jews should take occasion to suspect a collusion between him and Lazarus, and a trick in the case. " — Henry. It was customary with the Jews to bury their dead outside the city walls. Only the wealthier classes possessed tombs. Jesus wept. — " This is the shortest verse in the New Testa- ment, but one of the most consolatory, as proving (by this ac- 534 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John it : 36, 37. Jan. j.c. 34. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him ! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died ? tion, not unworthy the dignity of our exalted Redeemer) that we have indeed a high priest who can ' be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.' " — Bloomfield. " That Jesus should have wept at a grave whose inmate he was so soon to recall to life, at sorrow he was so soon to turn to joy, has been a perplexity to many who have endeavored to harmonize it with a theory rather than with the facts of human experience. They have forgotten that sympathy shares present woe, regardless of future allevia- tion ; forgotten that these tears are but the expression of a life- long sympathy ; forgotten that Jesus, who from the beginning saw of the travail of his soul and was satisfied, was nevertheless, from the cradle to the grave, ' a man- of sorrows and acquainted with grief.'" — Abbott's ''Jesus of Nazareth." "The Greek signifies simply shedding of tears — weeping silently. This silent dropping of the tears from his eyes is in contrast with the weep- ing over Jerusalem (Luke 19 : 41). That was a public lamenta- tion of a prophet ; this was the expression of the personal sympa- thy of a friend. Beware of that false philososphy which repre- sents Christ as weeping only as a man. In this, as in every ut- terance of his nature, he was God manifest in the flesh. By his tears at the grave of Lazarus he interprets to us the divine sym- pathy which shares all our sorrows, however much the great Sympathizer, with his clear view of final results, may, like Christ, be glad of the brief experience of grief that is soon to produce so much joy (ver. 15)." — Abbott. Then said the Jews, Behold. — The passage should read, "The Jews therefore" — because Jesus wept — " said, Behold, how he loved him ! But some of them said, Could not this man (per- haps better rendered ' fellow '), who opened the eyes of the blind man, have caused also that this man should not have died ?" " That is, there was one part that felt kindly toward Christ on account of his love and sympathy ; but another, always ready to carp, ask why he that could open the eyes of one born blind could not have spared his friends such sorrow. These Jews of Jerusalem had hardly heard of his miracles of raising the dead, which had taken place in parts remote from them ; or, if they had heard, they did not believe. And so they did not now say a word about raising Lazarus, which did not occur to their minds, but they ask why he could not have prevented his dying at all." — Eggleston. JESUS COMES TO THE GRAVE. 535 Chap. XXXIII. John ii : 3S-40. Jan. J.C. 34- Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh : for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? , . Again groaning in himself.—" Greatly moved in himself."— Alford. "Kuthvmius translates this passage, 'repressed his emotion.' And' when he struggled with his emotion, a certain tremor pervaded his frame, as is frequently the case with those who put a constraint on their feelings. Thus also Markland, who understands it to mean, ' repressed the rising human pas- sion of grief by the superior principle in him.' " — Bloom field. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. — The tomb of Pales- tine was a cave cut by nature, or by hand, in the solid rock. Ordinarily it was closed by a huge stone fitted into a groove, but in this case "a stone lay upon it," indicating that it was a room sunk in the ground, with steps descending into it. The stone was probably heavy, to protect the corpse from jackals and other beasts of prey, and required the strength of several persons to move it. A cave is still shown as being the tomb occupied by the body of Lazarus. It is of only doubtful authen- ticity. It is, however, a most striking fact that Bethany now bears his name, being called, el-Azattyeh or Lazarieh. Take ye away the stone. — " He would have this stone re- moved, that all the standers-by might see the body dead, and that way might be made for its coming out. and it might appear to be a true body, and not a specter. He would have some of the servants remove it, that they might be witnesses that it was trulvdead." — Hemy. By this time.— The putrefaction of dead bodies is extremely rapid in hot countries. For he hath been dead four days.— The word "dead is not in the original ; it is, " for he hath been four days"— that is, four days in the grave. (See ver. 17.) Shouldest see the glory of God.— This seems to be an allusion to the message which Jesus sent to the sisters from Perea. (See ver. 4.) " The faith of the sisters was to be displayed, not to any definite expectation of the work which their Lord was about to 53G THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John n : 41, 42. Jan. j.c. 34. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me : and I knew that thou nearest me always : but because accomplish, but in obedience to his directions ; and in fact Mar- tha tacitly withdraws her remonstrance, and the stone is rolled away from the grave. The performance of the miracle was itself dependent on the fulfillment of the condition, ' If thou wouldst believe.' The New Testament throughout treats faith as the power of moral and spiritual discernment, and therefore the fun- damental condition of receiving the divine blessing. ' To unbe- lieving Martha, Jesus could no more have restored the dead brother than to the unbelieving Jairus his child ' (Luke 8 : 50), or to the widow of Nain her son, if her attitude toward his com- passion and his injunction, ' Weep not ' (Luke 7 : 13), had been one of unbelief." — Meyer. " Observe the order in which Christ put seeing and believing. Men are always desirous to see in order to believe. Martha is called upon to give an example of the contrary course — to believe that she may see." — Abbott. Father, I thank thee. — " Who ever prayed in this manner ? Before uttering any prayer, he saith, ' I thank thee,' showing that he needed not prayer." — Chrysostom. " He was heard by the Father before he prayed ; his request was granted before it was made ; and therefore he begins with thanks." — Origen. " Christ, being about to conclude his public life and preaching by the last and most illustrious of his miracles, returns solemn thanks to his Father for the power given to his human nature to prove the authority of his mission by miracles." — Quesnel. " It is not necessary to suppose, as Alford does, a reference to some previously-uttered prayer, in Perea, for example, when the mes- sage respecting Lazarus's sickness was brought to Jesus. The language is that of the assurance of faith — faith in a God who hears the desire before it is expressed in prayer, who teaches the believing soul how and for what to pray, and who thus continu- ally answers our prayers by anticipation. Christ regards his prayer as answered before it is presented." — Abbott. And I knew that thou hearest me always. — " Alike when the prayer is granted, and when it is denied ; at the grave of Lazarus and in the agony of Gethsemane. God hears us when his providence says No to our petition none the less than when it says Yes. The true Christian's faith, like Christ's faith, rests not on the answer, but on the direct personal consciousness of spiritual communion with God." — Abbott. LAZARUS RAISED. 537 Chap. XXXIII. John 11 : 42-44. Jan. j.c. 34. of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he The Raisjng of that was dead came forth, bound hand Lazarus. and foot with grave-clothes : and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Because of the people which stood by. — " For the sake of the multitude." Lazarus, come forth. — "The sublimest moment in written history is that in which Jesus stood by the tomb of the four days' dead, and having wept and prayed, shouted (for such is the word) with a loud cry, 'Lazarus, come forth.'" — A/ford. "These words thrilled once more through that region of impenetrable darkness which separates us from the world to come ; and scarcely were they spoken when, like a specter, from the rocky tomb issued a figure — swathed indeed in its white and ghostly cerements, with the napkin round the head which had upheld the jaw that four days previously had dropped in death, bound hand and foot and face, but not livid, not horrible — the figure of a youth with the healthy blood of a restored life flowing through his veins ; of a life restored — so tradition tells us — for thirty more long years of life and light and love." — Farrar. Grave-clothes. — " Literally, belts or bandages, bound round the linen shroud, by which the spices used in embalming were kept in their places." — Bloom field. Napkin. — " The kerchief, which was brought round the fore- head and under the chin, though (if we may judge from the Egyptian mummies) it did not cover the face. But this is uncer- tain. Thus by ' loose ' is meant ' cut,' or ' remove ' the bandages, which would still leave ' around the form the sindon, or linen sheet in which the corpse was involved.' " — Bloom field. Loose him, and let him go. — " At the vision of the dead man alive, and staggering in the thick folds of his shroud, the by- standers stood transfixed with amazement and dread. Jesus re- called them to themselves by bidding them go to the assistance of Lazarus, and loosen the grave-clothes that he might walk freely." — Funicss. " The most astonishing idea we can conceive of the most astonishing Being that exists is that he brings about things by the mere act and fiat of his will without any tedious, slow, gradual process ; that it is as easy for him to effect whatever 538 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John n : 44. Jan. j.c. 34. he wills as it is to will any effect. But, behold, another, as it were, usurps his sovereign style : ' I will, be thou clean.' ' Lazarus, come forth ! ' It is spoke. It is done ! Nature hears his voice, and, confessing her Author, instantly obeys the dread com- mand."— Jeremiah Seed. Nowhere does Jesus assume an aspect of more simple grandeur than at the grave of Lazarus. Weep- ing one moment, in sympathy with the tears of a sorrowing woman, and uttering the next those majestic words that call the dead back to dwell again among the living ! What a blend- ing of weakness and strength, of human emotion and godlike power, is compressed into this brief narrative ! And who that reads it can fail to perceive in it the indelible impress of truth ? Such apparently incompatible traits could not have been in- vented. Human genius could not create, much less portray, a character in which were so strangely blended all the sensi- bility of a man with all the power of a God. We have an intuitive conviction that this character is no human invention — that this man, so godlike and yet so human, once trod our planet, loving and beautiful as an infant, and yet grand and wonderful as the great mountains and the starry spheres. " An instructive parallel may be traced between the experience of these sisters in their sorrow and that of many a Christian household since. 1. The burden of grief . When the sisters first sent for Christ to come he delayed. Still he often delays to answer our petitions. The house of mourning is sometimes a Christless house, not only because of our infirmity (Psalm 77 : 10), but also because of his will. We, like our Master, seem sometimes to be forsaken of our God (Matt. 27 : 46). 2. The aggravation of grief. Both sisters approach Christ with an 'if:' 'If thou hadst been here my brother had not died.' But his death was not the result of an ' if,' but for the glory of God. There is no ' if ;' nothing ever happens. Even the cup which Judas, Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate mingle for Christ is the cup which his Father gives him (ch. 18 : 14 ; Acts 2 : 23 ; 4 : 27, 28). 3, The sympathy of Christ. The tears of Jesus are a witness to the breadth and depth of the divine sympathy. He feels the anguish of cur present sorrow, though he stands by a grave so soon to be opened, perceives prophetically the resurrec- tion so soon to take place, and knows that weeping is but for the night, and joy cometh in the morning. (See Heb. 4 : 15, 16.) 4. The true and false conception of death. We too often imagine, as Martha, the believer awaiting in Hades a future resurrection and a remote restoration to life. Our hearts are dead because buried in the graves of our loved ones. To us Christ declares here that the believer never dies, but steps at once from the lower to the higher life, through the grave into heavenly companion- THE COUNCIL OF HATRED. 539 Chap. XXXIII. John n : 45-49. Jan. J.c. 34. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we ? for this The sanhedrin man doeth many miracles. If we let him alarmed, thus alone, all men will believe on him ; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know noth- ship (Luke 23 : 43 ; Phil. I : 23). 5. The power of Christ. This scene is a witness to the truth that all the dead shall hear his voice and come forth in resurrection. Death is but a sleep ; from it he will awaken all that sleep in him (Dan. 12:2; John 5 : 21- 29 ; 6 : 39 ; 1 Cor. i£ : 26, 54 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 14 ; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4 : 14-17 ; Rev. 1 : 18, 20 : 14). 6. A parable of redemption. Sin a spiritual death ; Christ the spiritual life-giver." — Abbott. A council. — A meeting of the sanhedrin, or great council of the nation. (Note p. 11.) The}' claimed the right of regulating all the affairs of religion. " The impression which the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus made upon the people at large was very great. It was in all its circumstances so public, and so well authenticated, that it was impossible for the most skeptical to deny it, even if it did not lead them to faith in Jesus. The eccle- siastical rulers felt that it was now high time that something should be done, and they proceed at once to call a council to de- termine what steps should be taken. Their deliberations ended with the resolve that he should be put to death. This may be regarded as the decisive and final rejection of Jesus by the Jewish authorities. It does not appear that to this time there had been a determination of the Sanhedrin, in formal session, that he should die.." — Andrews. What do we ? — " What are we doing?" A phrase implying, " What are we to do ?" Caiaphas. — See note page 94. Ye know nothing at all. — " In this," says Trench, " we hear the voice of a bold, bad man silencing with ill-suppressed con- tempt his weak and vacillating colleagues, who could see the com- mon danger which threatened them, and yet shrunk, though from no righteous principle, from applying the effectual remedy." His 54° THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. Chap. XXXIII. John n : 49-54. Jan. j.c. 34. ing at all. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself : but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation ; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews ; but went thence unto a country near to the wil- derness, into a city called Ephraim, and there con- tinued with his disciples. remarks are paraphrased by Geikieas follows : " You'know noth- ing at all," said he, " else you would not have so much question- ing and discussing. You have not considered that it is expedi- ent for you, in view of your interests as priests and Rabbis, that this one man should die, to save Israel, as such, from the de- struction that threatens it, if you let him stir up a Messianic revolt ; for, in that case, the whole nation must perish. The Romans will come with their legions and close our temple, annul our independence by abolishing our laws, and waste us with fire and sword." He prophesied. — Unwittingly he carried out the divine inten- tions. Thus, " He makes the wrath of man to praise him." "It is ever the way of those who rule the earth to leave out of their reckoning him who rules the universe." — Cowper. Ephraim " seems to have been in the wild uncultivated 11- country north-east of Jerusalem, between the central towns and the Jordan valley. A village now known as El Taiyibeh — on a conical hill, commanding a view of the whole eastern slope of the country, the valley of the Jordan, and the Dead Sea, though only sixteen miles from Jerusalem — has been thought by Dr. Robinson the site. It answers at least in its secluded privac^, and the ready access it offers to the still wilder regions beyond." — Geikie. THE PASSOVER APPROACHES. 541 Chap. XXXIV. John 11 : 55, 56. Feb.-Mar. J.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand : and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood The Jews' passover. — See notes on pages 55, 89. After the raising of Lazarus Jesus left the vicinity of Jerusalem and " went into a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim." The position of this city, " though, well fitted for seculsion, was not so for teaching. We conclude, then, as the narrative plainly implies, that he was spending the few days that remained to him, not amidst crowds, nor renewing in some scat- tered villages the labors of his early ministry, but in the society of his disciples, teaching them such truths as they could receive, and preparing them for their labors after he should himself be taken from them. Identifying Ephraim with the modern Taiyi- beh, the distance to the border line of Galilee and Samaria was not great. If he left the former early in the morning, he may have reached the latter in the afternoon. That he was accom- panied by others than the twelve appears from the statement (Matt. 20 : 17) that ' he took them apart in the way," and from the mention of Salome (ver. 20). As the time for concealment was now past, and it was his purpose to enter Jerusalem with all publicity, it is probable that he directed his course to the Jordan with a view to meet the pilgrims from Galilee, who took this way to the feast. So soon as he came into the valley of the Jor- dan he would meet the larger processions that came from the neighborhood of the Sea of Galilee by the road down the west bank of the river, and in the neighborhood of Jericho would meet those who crossed the ford from the eastern side. What multitudes attended the feasts, especially this feast, appears from Josephus." — Andrews. Sec note page go. To purify themselves. — " It was customary for those who had contracted a defilement which was to be purified by a sacri- fice to reserve themselves for one of the great feasts ; also for those who had entered into a vow of Nazaritism to perform it at those seasons." — Whitby. " It was required too of those who had become defiled in any manner to purify themselves before they partook of the celebration of the paschal feast." — Lightfoot. (See Num. 9 : 6-13 ; 2 Chron. 30 : 17-19, Exod. 12 : 3-6.) Then sought they for Jesus. — " The fact that he had been 542 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Ch. XXXIV. John ii : 56, 57 ; Luke 17 : ii, 12. j.c. 34. in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast ? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees] had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that Ten Lepers he passed through the midst of Samaria Cleansed. and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, present at the last two feasts in Jerusalem led the people to ex- pect that Jesus would also be present at the passover. But, on the other hand', as he had withdrawn from public observation, and as the Jews had endeavored to learn the place of his con- cealment in order to arrest him, it was doubtful whether he would dare to come and brave their enmity. That many should assemble before the feast, was made necessary by the laws re- specting purification." — Andrews. He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. — " Along the borders of Samaria and Galilee." That is, from west to east toward the Jordan. "As to- the name and position of the village where the ten lepers met him we know nothing more than that it was on the border of Samaria. It would seem, from the gathering together of so many lepers in one place, that the Lord's journey was widely known. The title by which tbey address him — 'Jesus, Master' — indicates faith in him as a prophet rather than a Messiah." — Andrews. There met him ten men that were lepers. — " Their common misery had drawn them together (2 Kings 7 : 3) — nay, had even caused them to forget the fierce national antipathy which reigned between Jew and Samaritan. In this border land too it was more natural than elsewhere that they should find themselves in one company, and thus a Samaritan had found admission into this forlorn assembly." — Trench. "As is the custom in the East, this dismal society hovered near the village which they might not enter (Num. 5:4; Matt. 8 : 1)." — Whedon. "This disease was specially selected, as being the most loathsome and incurable of all, to represent the effect of the defilement of sin upon the once pure and holy body of man. The leper was the type of one dead in sin. The same emblems are used in his mis- ery as those of mourning for the dead ; the same means of cleans- ing as for uncleanness through connection with death, and which were never used except on these two occasions. (Comp. Num. 19 : 6, 13, 18 with Lev. 14 : 4-7.) All this exclusion and mourn- ful separation imported the perpetual exclusion of the abomi- TEN LEPERS HEALED. 543 Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 12-16. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34. which stood afar off : and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks : and he was a Samaritan. nable and polluted from the true city of God, as declared (Rev. 2I . 27)." — Afford. " Leprosy was indeed nothing short of a living death, a poisoning of the springs, a corrupting of all the humors of life ; a dissolution, little by little, of the whole body, so that one limb after another actually decayed and fell away." — Trench. Stood afar off.— Being forbidden by the law to approach others. It was a sort of quarantine to prevent the spread of the disease, or the defilement of others. (See Lev. 13 : 46 ; Num. 5 : 2.)" — Petoubet. See note on page 145. Go shew yourselves unto the priests.—" When a leper was cured, before he could be restored to society he was required to show himself to the priest, to make an offering, and to be offi- ciallv pronounced clean. (See Lev., ch. 14 ; Matt. 8:4; note page 147.) Christ's command thus implied a promise of cure. They were to act as if they were cleansed, and trust to Christ that the cleansing would come in his own time and way. Every miracle is a parable ; in this is a hint to those who wait before entering on practical Christian duty, until they have received some per- sonal sense of divine pardon. To such the command of Christ is, Go, assume that I will and can cleanse you ; and begin the life of one who has been cleansed " — Abbott. As they went, they were cleansed.— " The meaning evi- dently is, that they had not gone far, and that the whole took place within a short time. They had not been to the priests, as some suppose."— --///W. " Perhaps in the very village itself they perceived what had taken place in them— that they were healed." — Trenck. With a loud voice.— " As the disease of leprosy made the voice husky, there may be here an allusion to the loud, clear tone which resulted from his cure." — Riddle. And he was a Samaritan. — It is implied that the others were Jews. " As he recognizes him to be a Samaritan, Jesus feels to the quick the difference between those simple hearts, within 544 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 17-19. Feb. -Mar. j.c. 34. And Jesus answering, said, Were there not ten cleansed ? but where are the nine ? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way : thy fcjth hath made thee whole. which there yet vibrates the natural feeling of gratitude, and Jewish hearts, incrusted all over with Pharisaic pride and ingrati- tude ; and immediately, no doubt, the lot of his Gospel in the world is presented to his mind. But he contents himself with bringing into view the present contrast." — Godet. Were there not ten cleansed ? or, Were not the ten cleans- ed ? — " Even the Saviour himself, who knew what was in man, who had already had so many proofs of the ingratitude of men, seems to have marveled here." — Trench. " A deaf and dumb pupil of the Abbe Sicard, on being asked what he understood by the word ' gratitude,' wrote down immediately, ' Gratitude is the memory of the heart.' " — Brown s " Philosophy of the Human Mind. ' ' Where are the nine? — "They had probably felt that their first duty as Jews was to show themselves to the priest, as they had been commanded. This was their duty, but personal grati- tude placed another duty before it." — Riddle. "What a strik- ing illustration is this of human nature, and of the ingratitude of men ! One had come back to give thanks for the favor bestowed on him ; the others were heard of no more. So now. When men are restored from dangerous sickness, here and there one comes to give thanks to God ; but ' where are the nine ? ' When men are defended from danger, when they are recovered from the perils of the sea, one acknowledges God, and renders him praise. But where are the mass of them ? They give no thanks ; they offer no praise. They go about their usual em- ployments, to mingle in the scenes of pleasure and of sin, as if nothing had occurred." — Barnes. Thy faith hath made thee whole. — Rather, saved. "The word ' saved ' is used sometimes of physical as well as of spiritual healing ; but this man was already made whole. Christ now gives him assurance of something more — a cleansing of the in- ward sin, of which the outward leprosy was but a type. All had faith enough to obey Christ's command, and go show themselves to the priest, while as yet there was no sign of cure ; but only the one had the faith which is perfected in love. They all had faith and hope ; but only one had the greatest of the graces — that love which is the consummation of salvation (1 Cor. 13 . 13)." — Abbott. " Theirs was merely the THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 545 Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 20, 21. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34- And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh The Coming of . , , . • .t 1 11 tV,„., Christ's Kingdom. not with observation : neither shall they say, Lo here ! or, Lo there ! for behold, the kingdom beholding of the brazen serpent with the outward eyes, but his with the eye of inward faith ; and this faith saved him— not only healed his body, but his so\xV— A If ord. ^ "Wonderful and most instructive is the difference in our Lord's dealing with the different sufferers and mourners that are brought in contact with him. How the physician, who is all wisdom and all ten- derness, varies his treatment for the varying needs of his patients ! how he seems to resist a strong faith, that he may make it stronger yet ! how he meets a weak faith, lest it should prove altogether too weak in the trial ! how one he forgives first, and heals afterward, and another, whose heart could only be softened by first receiving an earthly benefit, he first heals and then pardons !" — Trench. When he was demanded of the Pharisees when the king- dom of God should come.—" This demand may not have been made with an evil intent. The universal belief of the age was of a temporal kingdom, with Jerusalem as mistress of the world, a second and superior Rome. The Pharisees naturally asked of one, whose followers claimed for him lhat he was a great prophet, and some of them that he was the Messiah, when and how this kingdom would be established." — Abbott. Cometh not with observation.— In a way to be observed. The kingdom of God is within you.—" Our Lord im- posed no rigorous ceremonies on his disciples. He taught them to enter into the closet, to retire within the heart, to speak but few words, to open their heart to receive the descent of the Holy Spirit.** — Madame Guyon. " Habituate yourself to seek for the kingdom of God in your own heart. We look far and wide for it, wishing to taste the pleasure of virtue and to flatter the imagination, without being willing to submit the reason to faith anu the will to God's authority."— Fitielon. " The decla- ration is not historical, but philosophical ; the assertion not of a fact, but of a law. Christ does not say that the kingdom of God is already established among the Pharisees, which was not in- deed true in any sense, but that the nature of that kingdom is such that it is to be found within the heart. There is no passage so brief in Scripture which contains so much valuable and sig- nificant truth respecting the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, as these two verses. That kingdom is not to be es- 546 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 21, 22, Feb. -Mar. j.c. 34. of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, tablished by Christ's second coming ; he then comes not to found but to take possession of his kingdom. Great public events, whether military, political, or religious, as the Crusades, the Reformation, and so-called revival meetings, are not the coming cf his kingdom, though they may help to prepare the way for it. That kingdom is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14 : 17) ; it is in the disposition and character of the individual, and in the development of a society, nurtured in the spirit and in accord with the precepts and principles of Jesus Christ ; and therefore it comes of necessity by gradual processes and in ways which attract no observation except in their results. The earthquake may prepare the heart of the jailer for the kingdom, but the kingdom does not come in the earthquake." — Abbott. And he said unto the disciples. — " Whether this is a frag- mentary report of the discourse in the passion week, more fully reported by Matthew, and partially by Luke (in Ch. 21), or not, it clearly was not given to the Pharisees, nor in immediate con- nection with the preceding verses . . . I think that it is probable that, as in several other places, Matthew, who was an eye and ear witness, gave the discourse in its time, location, and connec- tion, while Luke, a second-hand reporter, has given the same discourse, without any knowledge of or note concerning the time, place, or circumstances of the delivery, and placed it here because it was cognate to Christ's reply to the question of the Pharisees." — Abbott. That the two passages may be seen together there is here sub- joined a PARALLELISM OF LUKE 17 : 23-27, 30, AND MATTHEW 24 : 26, 27,37-39. Lukk 17. Matt. 24. S3 And they shall sav to you, Wherefore if they shall say unto you, 26 Bee here ; or. see there ; Behold, he is in the desert ; go not after them, go not forth : behold, he is in fie secret chambers ; nor follow them. believe it not. 24 For as the lightning. For as the lightning 27 that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, Cometh out of the east, shineth unto the other part under heaven ; and shineth even unto the west ; so shall aiso the Son of man be in his day. so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 25 But first must he suffer many things, (Camp. ver. So with Luke 17 : 37.) and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of NoV, But as the days of Noe were, 37 so shall it be also so shall also in the days of the Son of man. the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood 38 27 They did eat, thev drank, they were eating and drinking, thev married wives, they were given in marriage, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and and knew not until 39 the flood came, the flood came, and destroyed them all. and took them all away ; 88, » , . 30 Even thux thall it be in the dav to shall also when the Son of man is revealed. the coming of the Son of man be. CHRIST S SECOND ADVENT. 547 Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 22-34. Feb. -Mar. J.c. 34. The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here ! or, See there ! go not after them, nor follow them. For as the light- ning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven ; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot : they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded ; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is re- vealed. In that day, he which shall be Christ's upon the housetop, and his stuff in the Second Coming. house, let him not come down to take it away ; and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it ; and whosoever shall lose his life, shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall When the Son of Man is revealed. — " The word revealed (uncovered) supposes that Jesus is present, but that a veil con- ceals his person from the view of the world. All at once the veil is lifted, and the glorified Lord is visible to all." — Godet. (Comp. Col. 3 : 3, 4 ; 2 Thess. 1:7:1 Pet. 1:7.) In that night. — The reference here is clearly to the second coming of Christ, and this is quite apparent from the connec- tion, as the discourse is reported by Matthew. " At this time a selection will take place — a selection which will instantaneously break all earthly relations, even the most intimate, and from 548 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 17 : 34-37 ; iS : 1-2. Feb.-Mar. J.c. 34. be two men in one bed ; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, Where- soever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint ; saying, which there will arise a new grouping of humanity in two new families or societies, the taken and the left." — Godet. Two men in one bed. — " Upon one couch." That is, sit- ting together at supper, which was served in the night. Two women shall be — Women alone are still employed in grinding corn in the East ; and when dispatch is required, or the upper millstone is heavy, a second woman is added. (See Exod. 11 : 5 ; and Isa. 47 : 2.) Where, Lord ? — "The disciple's curiosity our Lord refuses to gratify ; he even elsewhere declares that he could not if he would (Mark 13 ; 32 ; comp. Acts 1 : 7). His reply is a general one, that wherever there is corruption there the ministers of God's judgments will be assembled, each new judgment being, like the destruction of Jerusalem, a type of the final judgment." —Abbott. He spake a parable unto them. — This and the following parable are connected, and together form a complete whole. " In order to end like the widow, one must have begun like the publican ; and in order to act as recklessly of conscience as the judge, one must have the heart of a Pharisee in his bosom." — Van Oosterzee. Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. — " Prayer is a great privilege, but it is also a duty. In certain states of the body men lose all appetite for food. Are they to yield to this want of appetite ? If they do yield to it they are soon starved to death. Sometimes, without appetite, it becomes necessary for them to take day by day nourishment. Just so it is in re- spect to prayer. If I can not pray as a privilege, I am to pray as a duty, for if I be a true disciple I must pray." — Eggleston, " When God is slow in giving he only sets off his own gifts to advantage ; he does not withhold them. Blessings long desired THE UNJUST JUDGE. 549 Chap. XXXIV. Luke 18 : 2-5. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34. There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was The importunate a widow in that city ; and she came Widow. unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while : but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet, because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. are sweeter when they come ; if soon given, they lose much of their value. God reserves for thee that which he is slow to give thee, that thou mayest learn to entertain a supreme desire and longing after it." — Augustine. " It is a mercy to pray, though I never have the mercy prayed for." — William Biidge. A judge ... a widow. — " The judges in Eastern countries are generally irresponsible and corrupt ; take bribes from either or both parties ; from their decisions there is in most cases no appeal ; and the proceedings in execution of their decrees are summary. In the East the position of a widow is one of abso- lute helplessness. In India she is regarded as suffering a special visitation of divine wrath, for her own or her ancestors' sins, is excluded from all society, and is made a common drudge and the subject of unlimited petty despotism, especially by her hus- band's family. The Old Testament denounces this treatment of widows, and declares them to be under God's special keeping (Exod. 22 : 22-24 I Deut. 10 : iS ; Deut. 24 : 17 ; Psalm 68 : 5 ; 146 : 9 ; Jer. 7 : 6 ; 22 : 3 ; 49 : n ; Mai. 3 : 5)." — Abbott. Avenge me of mine adversary. — " The justice of her cause is implied throughout. She does more than ask for a decision in her favor ; she demands protection and requital." — ScJiaff. He would not for a while. — " The reason why the unjust judge would not heed the widow's complaints is implied to be his selfish indifference. The reason why God often appears for awhile not to heed the complaints of his people is not given. That reason lies in his own counsel, and beyond our full com- prehension. There is, however, a hint of it in ver. 7 : ' though he bear long with them.' " — Abbott. Lest by her continual coming she weary me.— " If thou hast the place of a magistrate, deserve it by thy justice and dig- nify it with thy mercy. Be not too severe, lest thou be hated ; nor too remiss, lest thou be slighted. So execute justice that thou mayest be loved ; so execute mercy that thou mayest be feared." — Quarks. 550 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 18 : 6-8. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them ? 1 tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Neverthe- less, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ? Avenge his own elect. — Applicable to every individual Christian, and to all bodies of Christians in all places and ages. " If a judge so lost to all respect for God's law and all regard for man's opinions will yet redress wrongs to save himself from hearing the cry of a distressed widow, how much more shall the tender, loving Father in heaven hear and deliver those who are his elect people ! He may wait long, waiting only until the proper time, for when that times comes ' he will avenge them speedily.' " — Eggleston. Though he bear long with them. — " There are two render- ings of this phrase possible. It may mean, ' Though he bears long with the oppressors ; ' it may mean, ' When also he is patient toward his own elect.' The latter interpretation appears to me preferable, both from grammatical and from spiritual considera- tions. It then completes the contrast between the unjust judge and the loving All- Father, who is never vexed and impatient at the importunity of his chosen ones. But whichever interpre- tation be adopted, forbearance, not indifference, is indicated as the reason why God delays to answer the prayers of his chil- dren. He can not deliver them without bringing judgment on the oppressors, and he waits, that his long-suffering may become the means of their salvation (Rom. 2:4:2 Pet. 3 : 9, 15)." — Abbott. He will avenge them speedily. — Not suddenly, but quickly. " Not ' He will speedily come to avenge them,' but ' When he comes he will make a speedy end' (1 Sam. 3 : 12)." — Abbott. " It is hard to wait for the leisurely process of infinite immor- tality. God works slowly. Man flutters among his decrees like a poor moth in a garden. Does it fancy that the hard green buds will never blossom ? Can it believe that the early flower already blowing was like them only a day or two ago ? And presently the poor thing trembles on its wings, and droops and dies. But the roses come out one by one in their season, and Christmas brings the red berries even to the holly. If the moth had only believed !" — Edward Garrett. Shall he find faith on the earth ? — How many shall endure this long trial ? " One of those mournful utterances which show how hard a burden to the heart of Christ is the unbelief of his own disciples. (Comp. Matt. 17 : 17.)" — Abbott. PARABLE FOR THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS. 55 1 Chap. XXXIV. Luke iS : 9, 10. Fcb.-Mar. j.c. 34- And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, The Pharisee and and despised others: two men went up Republican. into the temple to pray ; the one a Pharisee, and the He spake this parable.—" This parable is spoken, net to the Pharisees, for our Lord would not in their presence have chosen a Pharisee as an example, nor concerning the Pharisees, for then it would be no parable ; but to the people, and concerning some among them (then and always) who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised other men." — A I ford. Which trusted in themselves that they were righteous.— The self-sufficiency of the Pharisee had in it a certain sort of sub- limity. He divided the world into two classes— saints and sin- ners—and all the sanctity of all the saints each individual Phari- see imagined to be centered in his own person. " Rabbi Simeon, the son of Jochai, said 'The whole world is not worth thirty righteous persons, such as our father Abraham.' If there were only thirty righteous persons in the world, I and my son would make two of them ; but if there were but twenty, I and my son would be of the number ; and if there were but five, I and my son would be of the five ; and if there were but two, I and my son would be those two ; and if there were but one, my- self should be that one." The true Pharisee thanked God every day for three things. First, That he was not created a Gentile ; second, That he was not a plebeian ; and third, That he was not born a woman. " The Pharisees were men who rested satisfied with the outward. The form of religion, which varies in all ages, that they wanted to stereotype. The inner heart of re- ligion, the unchangeable, justice, mercy, truth— that they could not feel. They could jangle about the breadth of a phylactery. They could discuss, as if it were a matter of life and death, ecclesiastical questions about tithes. They could decide to a furlong the length of journey allowable on the Sabbath day. But they could not look with mercy upon a broken heart, nor suffer a hungry man to rub an ear of corn on the Sabbath, nor cover the shame of a tempted sister or an erring brother. Men without souls, from whose narrow hearts the grandeur of ever- lasting truth was shut out." — Robertson. Two men went up into the temple to pray. — " Two went to pray ? O rather say, One went to brag, the other to pray. One stands up close, and treads on high Where the other dares not lend his eye. One nearer to God's altar trod ; The other to the altar's God." — RicharJ Crashaw. 552 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 18 : 10, n. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34. other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this A Pharisee, ... a publican. — See notes on pages 223 : 70. " The contrast begins here. The one belonged to that stricter sect of the Jews, scrupulous about obeying the law, in the letter at least ; the other was a tax-gatherer, employed by the Romans, despised by his own countrymen. The publicans were not only associated in word with ' sinners,' but were usually of low moral character." — Riddle. " The publican represented those who, although they have sinned greatly, yet feel the burden of their sins, and desire to escape from them. The parable would make us feel how much nearer is such a one to the kingdom of God than the self-complacent Pharisee, or than any who share in the spirit and temper of the Pharisee — that he, indeed, may be within it while the other is without." — Trench. The Pharisee stood. — Or, "stood forth." " Prayer might be made standing ; the publican also stood (ver. 13). But the Pharisees loved to take a prominent position, to be ' seen of men ' (Matt. 6 : 5), and the word here used indicates that this man did so" (Riddle), that others " might take note that he was engaged in his devotions." — Trench. And prayed. — " Even in the prayer of the Pharisee self is the center of his thoughts. Though in form a prayer, his ad- dress was really a self-gratulatory soliloquy." — Abbott. With himself. — " That is, he said over to himself what he had done. Undoubtedly his prayer never ascended higher than himself." — Pelonbet. " Secret prayer has the great advantage of allowing us to speak out, and we are thus in less danger of communing with ourselves instead of communing with God."— Riddle. God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men. — " Not merely as some other men, but as the rest of mankind — mankind in general. Observe that humility thanks God that I am what I am (1 Cor. 15 : 9, 10) ; pride thanks God that I am not like other men (comp. 2 Cor. 10 : 12). This truth is recog- nized [in the Book of Common Prayer] by making this parable and 1 Cor. 15 : 1- 1 1 the Gospel and Epistle for the same Sunday — the eleventh Sunday after Trinity. Observe too that this Pharisee believes in the doctrine of total depravity ; he rates other men very low. This doctrine may be, as here, one of pride, or, as in Paul's experience, one of humility (1 Tim. 1:15, 16)." — Abbott. " I never feel any pity for conceited people, because I think they carry their comfort about with them." — Geoige Eliot. HUMILITY. 553 Chap. XXXIV. Luke iS : 11^13. Feb.-Mar. j.c. 34. publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but Extortioners, unjust, adulterers. — " A comprehensive cata- logue, including all flagrant transgressions, both against others and against self ; but there is no recognition of that spirituality of the law expounded by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5 : 20-48 ; comp. 1 Tim. 1 : 5), and of which all Pharisa- ism is a perpetual violation." — Abbott. Even as this publican. — " His eye alighting on the publican, he drags him into his prayer, making him to supply the dark background on which the bright colors of his own virtues shall more gloriously appear — finding, it may be, in the deep heart- earnestness with which the penitent was beating his breast, in his downcast eyes, proofs in confirmation of the judgment which he passes upon him. He has done nothing to call for this. So perfect is he in regard to the commands of the second table." — Trench. I fast twice in the week. — " He is as perfect in regard to the first table of the law as in the second. The Mosaic economy enjoined but one fast — only one in the whole fifty-two weeks of the year ; but this Pharisee fasted twice each week. The fasts that starved his body seem only to have fed his pride." — Trench. See note page I give tithes (a tenth) of all that I possess. — " More correctly rendered, ' of all I acquire.' " — Alfotd. " God required his peo- ple to tithe the fruits of the olive and vine, the sheaves of the field, and the produce of their flocks : the sacrifice of the Phari- see rose above the requirements of the law. Anise and cummin and other common pot-herbs were all scrupulously tithed. ' I have done more than he requires. He is my debtor, rather than I his.' In this proud, arrogant man we see the spirit of self- righteousness fully developed. Although they may not come out so prominently, the elements of his character are in all who trust in themselves for salvation." — Guthrie. Standing afar off. — " The publican did not take a conspicu- ous place, or strike an attitude, but remained at a distance from the hoiy place, toward which the face was always directed in prayer. This indicates humility before God. He was ' afar off ' from the Pharisee also, and this may hint at humility before men : but he was not thinking much of other men ; only of him- self and God." — Riddle. Would not lift up his eyes. — The Pharisee had probably lifted both eyes and hands toward heaven, as was customary ; but the publican felt himself unworthy to do this. 554 THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Chap. XXXIV. Luke 18 : 13, 14. Feb.-Mar, j.c. 34. smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other : for every one that ex- Smote upon his breast. — " A token of excessive grief, prac- tised in all nations. It seems to intimate a desire in the peni- tent to punish the heart, through the evil propensities of which the sin deplored had been committed." — Bloomjield. " The true signifiance of the action is indicated by the fact that smiting upon the breast was a common gesture for the expression of great grief and shame (Luke 23 : 48)." — Abbott. Be merciful to me a sinner — Literally, " the sinner. " " The definite article rather implies, not comparison with others, but intense self-abasement, 'sinner that I am.'" — A I ford. "The proud Pharisee gave thanks ; the publican humbly petitions, and that too for the one thing needed by sinners, though only felt as needful by those who feel that they are sinners." — Riddle. " Prayer, it has commonly been taught, has four ele- ments— adoration, confession, thanksgiving, petition. I hold that we must always add a fifth part — namely, total self-surren- der. If a man offers prayer in the full sense, he may be assured, in the name of natural law, that he will obtain religious aid of a kind that he can receive from no other source." — Joseph Cook. " True confession is distinguished by this — that, instead of mere generalities, it is definite. The sin is felt, and as a personal thing. " — Jacobus. This man went down to his house justified rather than the other. — " It is evident that justified here does not mean made just, but absolved from sin. No change in the character of the publican is indicated, only a change in his relations to God." — Abbott. " The sense is, one returned home in the sight of God with his prayer answered, and that prayer had grasped the true object of prayer — the forgiveness of sins ; the other prayed not for it, and obtained it not. Therefore he who would seek justification before God must seek it by humility and not by self-righteousness." — A /fiord. " Our Lord implies' that the publican's prayer was answered, that God was merciful to this sinner, and this is precisely what is meant by justification — name- ly, God's forgiving our sins and accepting us as righteous." — Schaff. For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased. — " This great law of the kingdom of God is in the teaching of Christ inscribed, as in letters of gold, over its entrance-gate. And in how many different forms is it repeated ! (Ps. 138 : 6 ; 147 : 6 ; ch. 1 : 53). To be self-emptied, or ' poor in spirit,' is the fun- LOWLINESS TO BE EXALTED. 555 Chap. XXXIV. Luke iS : 14. Feb -Mar. j.c. 34. alteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. damental and indispensable preparation for the reception of the grace which bringeth salvation.' "—Jamieson. " Is aught of good in ihee ? Give God the praise of all. lo claim it for thine own is ever man's true fall."— Angtlut Silesius. Gregory the Great wittily likens this Pharisee, and all who, because of their victory over certain temptations, are exalted with pride, and so perish through their very successes— to Elea- zer, who killed the elephant, but was himself crushed by its fall- ing body." — Trench. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. — " He that is down needs fear no fall ; He that is low, no pride ; He that is humble ever shall Have God to be his guide. I am content with what I have, Little be it or much ; And, Lord, contentment still I crave, Because thou savest such. Fullness to such a burden is That go on pilgrimage ; Here little, and hereafter bliss, Is best from age to age."— John Bunyan. " The parable of the Pharisee and publican teaches the spirit which should pervade our prayers. The first parable encour- ages us to pray, and faint not. The second parable reminds us how and in what manner we ought to pray. Both should be often pondered by every true Christian."— Kyle. 556 TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. Chap. XXXV. Matt. 19 : 3-6 ; Mark 10 : 2-8. Feb. j.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXV. TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause ? And he answered and said unto them, Of Divorce. .... , ,>i n j n What did Moses command you ? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of di- vorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh ? Where- Tempting him. — " Trying what answer he would give to a question, which, however decided by him, would expose him to censure." — Adam Clarke. To put away his wife for every cause. — "Two celebrated schools had divided opinions on this question. That of Sham- mah, or Sammai, taught that it could only be done for adultery ; that of Hillel, on the most trifling occasions of dispute. The insidious motive of this question is apparent by a comparison of this with the parallel passage in Luke 16 : 18, where the judgment of Christ respecting the unlawfulness of divorce is given in illus- tration of his assurance that the law should endure forever. Christ's wisdom frustrated their cunning, and he effectually thwarted their aims by an appeal to their great Lawgiver. It is to be considered that Jesus was still in the dominions of Herod, who was guilty in the respect so directly condemned by our Lord, and with whom the Pharisees would doubtless be glad to embroil him. They could not have forgotten the case of the Baptist, who, for reproaching Herod's licentiousness, had been first imprisoned, and afterward beheaded." — Bloom field. What did Moses command you? — "Peculiar to Mark. This question at once takes the matter out of the sphere of tradi- tion and rabbinical hair-splitting into that of divine law." — Schaff. Shall cleave. — " Shall be firmly cemented. A beautiful meta- phor, which most forcibly intimates that nothing but death can OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. 557 Chap, XXXV. Matt. 19 : 6-11 ; Mark 10 : S-12. Feb. j.c. 34- fore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What there- fore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away ? He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives : but from the beginning it was not so. Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery : and whoso mar- rieth her which is put away, doth commit adultery. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adul- tery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he separate them : as a well-glued board will break sooner in the whole wood than in the glued joint." — Adam Clarke. One flesh. — "Not only meaning that they should be consid- ered as one body, but also as two souls in one body, with a complete union of interests, and an indissoluble partnership of life and fortune, comfort and support, desires and inclinations, joys and sorrows." — Adam Clark,-. Let not man put asunder.—" By making marriage indissolu- ble he proclaimed the equal rights of woman and man within the limits of the family, and in this gave their charter of nobil- ity to the mothers of the world. For her nobler position in the Christian era, compared with that granted her in antiquity, woman is indebted to Jesus Christ." — Geikie. For your hardness of heart.—" Their general sinfulness, with special reference to harshness toward their wives, which this regulation was designed to counteract. It was not to encourage divorce." — Schaff. " Without doubt it is impossible to remove, all at once, from minds in their hard carnal state, every thing that offends ; for even he who aspires to perfection is raised by degrees, and not at a single bound."— -Gregory. 558 TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. Matt. 19 : 11-14 ; Mark 10 : 13, 14 ; Luke 18 : 15, 16. said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb : and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men : and there be eunuchs, which have made them- selves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. And they brought young children to him, that he jesus Blesses should put his hands on them, and pray : Lmie Children. j3u(. wnen nis disciples saw it they rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he All cannot receive this saying. — " Assuming that the mar- ried state is the normal one, three classes are here mentioned who should (or may) remain in celibacy : 1. Those who from natural incapacity or inaptitude have no desire to marry ; 2. Those who have been mutilated, a class very common once and not unknown now ; 3. Those who abstain from marriage, whether for the first or second time, to work the better for Christ's cause. The first case has no moral quality, the second implies misfortune, the third has a moral value." — Schaff. " Let him among you who feels able to act on the lofty principle of denying himself the nobility and holiness of family life, that he may with more entire devotion consecrate himself to my ser- vice, do so. Self-sacrifice in this, as in all things, was left by Jesus to the conscience and heart." — Geikie. They brought young children to him. — " A beautiful custom led parents to bring their children at an early age to the Syna- gogue, that they might have the prayers and blessings of the elders. ' After the father of the child,' says the Talmud, ' had laid his hands on his child's head, he led him to the elders, one by one, and they also blessed him, and prayed that he might grow up famous in the law, faithful in marriage, and abundant in good works.' Children were thus brought also to any rabbi of special holiness, and hence they had been presented already more than once before Jesus. They were doubtless encouraged to do so by the sight of the women who now, as always, accom- panied him on his journeys ; but the goodness that beamed in his looks, and breathed in his every word, drew them still more." — Geikie, When his disciples saw it they rebuked those that brought them. — " They had been engaged in an interesting discussion THE CHILDLIKF SPIRIT. 559 Matt. 19 : 14 ; Mark 10 : 14, 15 ; Luke 18 : 16, 17. was much displeased, and said unto the disciples, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not : for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say about marriage, and they did not wish to be interrupted. It has often happened since then that theories about household relations have interfered between little children and Jesus their Saviour. The disciples had already been cautioned about the treatment of children ; see Luke 9 : 46-48, and parallel passages."— Riddle. Much displeased. — It is worthy of remark that one of the few instances in which Jesus expressed displeasure with his disciples was when they would have prevented little children being brought to him. Forbid them not.— " There is no sweeter story told, In all the hlessed Book, Than how the Lord within his arms The little children took. *' We love him for the tender touch That made the leper whole. And for the wondrous words that healed The tired, sin- sick soul ; * But closer to his loving self Our human hearts are brought, When for the little children's sake Love's sweetest spell is wrought. " For their young eyes his sorrowing face A smile of gladness wore — A smile that for his little ones It weareth evermore. " The voice that silenced priest and scribe, For them grew low and sweet, And still for them his gentle lips The loving words repeat " ' Forbid them not ! ' O blessed Christ, We bring them unto thee, And pray that on their heads may rest Thy benedicite '."—Mary B. Sleight. Of such is the kingdom of God.— " This implies that the kingdom of God is an invisible and spiritual kingdom, and that to enter into it this disposition of heart is necessary, namely, the childlike spirit— a spirit free from crime and self- will, receiving the divine blessings, as thev come, in humble dependence and submission. The doctrine is— in a single sen- tence—that all the qualities which make childhood beautiful are to be prolonged into the mature life, and, under the guid- ance of the developed reason of the adult, are to be illustrated in all the relations between man and his Maker/'— McC&mtock. ' There are two kingdoms— one of darkness, the other of 560 TEACHINGS BV THE WAY. Matt. 19 : 15 ; Mark 10 : 16 ; Luke 18 : 17. unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he called the children to him, took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. light ; one of good, the other of evil ; one of Satan, the other of God— in which every person is of necessity ; for there is no third kingdom. The children belong in the Lord's kingdom until they voluntarily depart from it, to enter, by deliberate sin, the king- dom of Satan." — Abbott. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child. — " If the twelve thought that these children must first become like them in order to attract the interest of the Saviour to them, our Lord, on the other hand, gives them the assurance that they must first become like children if they would become the participants of his complacent regard." — Lange. "Jesus was the first great teacher of men who showed a genuine sym- pathy for childhood — perhaps the only teacher of antiquity who cared for childhood as such. Plato treats of children and their games, but he treats them from the standpoint of a publicist. They are elements not to be left out in constructing society. Children, in Plato's eyes, are not to be neglected, because chil- dren will inevitably come to be men and women. But Jesus was the first who loved childhood for the sake of childhood. In the earlier stages of civilization it is the main endeavor of men to get away from childhood. It represents immaturity of body and mind, ignorance and folly. The ancients esteemed it their first duty to put away childish things. It was Jesus who, seeking to bring about a new and higher development of character, per- ceived that there were elements in childhood to be preserved in the highest manhood ; that a man must indeed set back again toward the innocence and simplicity of childhood if he would be truly a man. Until Jesus Christ, the world had no place for childhood in its thoughts. When he said, ' Of such is the king- dom of heaven,' it was a revelation." — Eggleston. He took them up in his arms. — "An action good in itself is greatly recommended by an agreeable manner of doing it, an agreeable manner being to action what a lively manner of ex- pression is to our sense ; it beautifies and adorns it, and gives it all the advantage whereof it is capable. There is the same difference between a beneficial deed, when endeared by an easy, affable deportment and when destitute of that circumstance, as between a beautiful object when enlivened by the cherful light of the sun and when exhibited in a dim, sickly light." — Seed. THE RICH YOUNG MAN. 56 1 Mark 10 : 17, 18 ; Matt 19 : 16, 17 ; Luke 18 : iS, 19. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came a certain ruler running, and kneeling to The Rich Young him, who asked him, Good Master, what Ruler- good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good ? A certain ruler : of the local synagogue. — Elderly men (elders) were usually selected for this distinction, but this young man seems to have been chosen an account of his social position and exemplary character. Good Master.—" The young man accosts our Lord by a title usually applied by the Jews to their most eminent rabbis, and of which they were very proud. Hence, before he replies, he takes occasion (without rejecting the title good) to indirectly cen- sure the adulation of the persons addressing, and the arrogance of those addressed. At the same time he proceeds upon the notion entertained of him by the young man, who evidently only regarded him in the light of an eminent teacher." — Bloom- field. What good thing shall I do ? — Educated in a religion of formalism, which possessed the body, but not the soul, of spirit- ual life, he " expected to hear some new and special commands, requiring unwonted pains, and securing correspondingly great merit by faultless obedience." — Geikie. " We may remark that this young man, though self-righteous, was no hypocrite, no Pharisee ; he spoke earnestly, and really strove to keep, as he really believed he had kept, all God's commandments. ... In spite of his error there was a nobleness and openness about him, contrasted with the hypocritical bearing of the Pharisees and scribes." — A 1 ford. Why callest thou me good ?— To those who see in this ques- tion a repudiation of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Slier replies, " Either there is none good but God ; Christ is good ; therefore Christ is God : or, there is not good but God ; Christ is not God ; therefore Christ is not good." There is no answer to this but to deny the sinlessness of Christ." — Abbott. " If it should be asked for what reason Christ put this question, I answer, For the same reason that he asked the Pharisees why ' David in spirit called him Lord ' (Matt. 22 : 43) ; and that was to try if they were able to account for it." — William Jones of Nay land. ' All goodness flows from God, therefore 'tis his alone ; Evil springs up in thee, that mayst thou cull thy own." Silesius. "There is a beauty in the name appropriated by. the Saxon 562 TEACHINGS BY THE WAV. Matt. 19 : 17-21 ; Mark 10 : 1S-21 ; Luke 18 : 19-22. there is none good, but one, that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which ? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no mur- der. Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and thy mother : and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, Master, all these things have I kept from my youth up : what lack I yet ? Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, Yet one thing thou lackest : If thou wilt be per- fect, go thy way, sell all that thou hast, and give to the nations to the Deity unequaled except by his venerated Hebrew appellation. They called him ' God,' which is literally ' Good,' the same word thus signifying tne Deity and his most endearing quality. ' ' — Sharon Turner. Keep the commandments. — "The possibility of doing this perfectly had just been denied. Our Lord therefore seeks to show the young man how much he falls short of such a keeping of the commandments. What follows shows that his obedience, however strict, did not recognize God as the supreme good." — Schaff. " There has not for these thousand years been started a more mischievous pestilential notion than that God does not demand a perfect fulfilling of all his laws. This is directly to contradict Jesus Christ. God never alters his perfect law, though he pardons us when we break it. Observe, however, he does not pardon those who are asleep, but those who labor, those who fear, and who say with Job, ' I know thou wilt hold me innocent.' " — Luther. Jesus beholding him loved him. — " Jesus read his heart in a moment, and was won by the guilelessness of his answer and question, and by the evident worth of his character. As he looked at him, so earnest, so humble, so admirable in his life and spirit, he loved him. Could he only stand the testing de- mand that must now be made, he would pass into the citizenship of the kingdom of God." — Geikie. Sell all that thou hast. — " But sell not all thou hast except ' thou come and follow me' — that is, except thou have a vocation wherein thou mayest do as much good with little means as with great ; for otherwise in feeding the streams thou driest the foun- WEALTH A STUMBLING-BLOCK. 563 Matt. 19 : 21-24 ! Mark 10 : 21-25 ! Luke 18 : 22-25. poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. But when the young man heard this he was very sorrowful, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he looked round about and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the king- dom of God ! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, Discourse upon and saith unto them, Children, how hard Riches, is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the king- dom of God ! And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. tain." — Lord Bacon. "Since much wealth too often proves a snare and an incumbrance in the Christian's race, let him lighten the weight by ' dispersing abroad and giving to the poor,' whereby he will both soften the pilgrimage of his fellow-travelers and speed his own way the faster." — Toplady, Give to the poor. — " This demand was very different from that of the mediaeval hierarchy, which said. ' Sell that thou hast and give to the Church.' Jesus simply demanded of this candi- date that he share with his comoanions their privations, their poverty, and their faith in God. He laid on him no other cross than that which had been voluntarily assumed by all his disci- ples, who had left their all to follow Jesus." — Abbott. Follow me. — To follow Jesus then meant to be a personal attendant on his ministry ; now it means to obey his com- mandments, imitate his example, and live like him. " In that little church it was absolutely essential that no member s ould be bound by any ties to the earth; for its internal, harmony, quite essential that there should be no distinctions based on wealth or family." — Abbott. How hardly shall they that have riches. — " With what diffi- culty shall they that ' trust in riches ' (Mark 10 : 24!. Yet such trust is the natural result of possession, or of even the strong desire to possess." — Schaff. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. — 564 TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. Matt. 19 : 25-27 ; Mark 10 : 26-28 ; Luke 18 : 26-28. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed — astonished out of measure — saying among themselves, Who then can be saved ? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we " The Jewish rabbis would say of what appeared an impossi- bility. ' It will not happen before a camel or an elephant has crept through the eye of a needle.' The camel being the largest animal they were acquainted with in Judea, its name was prover- bial for denoting any thing remarkably large, and a camel pass- ing through a needle's eye became proverbial for expressing a difficulty. Some suppose that our Lord here refers to the small side-gate for foot-passengers, which it is said was in the East called a needle's eye, and through which it was impossible for a camel to pass, especially if loaded, as this young man appears to have been both temporally and spiritually. — Bloomfield. " The distinguished and worldly-honored company of Christian Mammonists appear to the eye of my imagination as a drove of ' camels ' heavily laden, yet all at full speed, and each in the con- fident expectation of passing through ' the eye of the needle ' without stop or halt, both beast and burden." — Coleridge. " Humble we must be, if to heaven we go ; High is the roof there, but the gate is low:'1 Her rick . " As oft as God tells us of painful ' ways ' and ' narrow gates,' and of ' cimels ' and 'needles,' all that is done to sharpen our industry in all, not to threaten an impossibility to any.'" — Donne. " We must remember that the object here was to set forth the greatest human impossibility, and to mag- nify divine grace, which could accomplish even that. Besides the usual reason given for this question, ' since all are striving to be rich,' we must remember that the disciples yet looked for a temporal kingdom, and therefore would naturally be dismayed at hearing that it was so difficult for any man to enteriit." — Alford. Who then can be saved? — "They still secretly cherished the hope of an earthly kingdom of the Messiah, in which riches would play a great part, and, even apart from all this, if it were hard to enter the kingdom of heaven, except by stooping to ab- solute poverty, it seemed as if very few could be saved at all." — Geikie. Then answered Peter. — " In keeping with his natural frank impulsiveness. Peter could not restrain his thoughts, and asked for Christ's sake. 565 Matt. 19 : 27-29 ; Mark 10 : 28, 29 ; Luke 18 : 28, 29. have forsaken all, and followed thee ; what shall we have therefore ? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, and Jesus directly what he and his fellow-apostles would have for their loyalty to him." — Geikie. We have forsaken all.—" It was their all, and therefore, though it might have been but a few poor boats and nets, it was much. And the forsaking consists not in the more or less that is forsaken, but in the spirit in which it is left. A man may be holden by love to a miserable hovel with as fast bands as to a sumptuous palace, for it is the worldly affection which holds him, and not the world ; just as we gather from the warnings scattered through the ascetic bocks of the middle ages how they who had renounced, it may be, great possessions in the world, would now, if they did not earnestly watch against it, come to cling to their hood, their breviary, the scanty furniture of their bare cell, with the same feelings of property as they once exer- cised in ampler matters, so witnessing that they had no more succeeded in curing themselves of worldly affections than a man would succeed in curing himself of covetousness by putting out the eye which in times past had been often the inlet of de- sire. These apostles might have left little when they left their possessions, but they left much when they left their desires." — Trench. In the regeneration.—" Or, ' renovation ' (only here and Tit. 3 : 5). Joined with what follows, which tells ' when ' this will be, and shows that it means the accomplishment of the spiritual renovation of the world (comp. Rev. 21:5; Acts 3 : 21). As this will be the final stage of the continuous work, we find a secondary and partial fulfillment of the promise in the high posi- tion of the apostles in the Church." — Schaff. Every one that hath forsaken houses, etc.—" Homes, house- hold ties." For my name's sake.— " Out of love to Christ and to ad- vance his cause. The motive is every thing ; self-denial to buy God's favor is no self-denial." — Scluiff. 566 TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. Matt. 19 : 29, 30 ; Mark 10 : 29-31 ; Luke 18 : 30. the gospel's, shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time — houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions — and in the world to come, eternal life. But many that are first shall be last ; and the last first. Shall receive an hundred-fold in this time. — " Not a hun- dredfold of those advantages which are supposed to be relin- quished for the sake of Christ and his religion ; for a multiplica- tion of several of these things, instead of a reward, would have been an incumbrance. The recompense here promised is that internal content and satisfaction of mind, that peace of God which passcth all understanding, those delights of a pure con- science and an upright heart, those consolations of the Holy- Spirit, that trust and confidence in God, that consciousness of the divine favor and approbation, those hopes of everlasting glory, which it is the privilege of the Christian to experience in the dis- charge of his duty." — Bloom field. With persecutions. — "That is, not merely in the midst of persecutions, but in spite of them. The persecutions are rather part of our best possessions. (See Matt. 5 : 12 ; Rom. 5:3; James 1 : 2, 4 ; 1 Pet. 1:6; Heb. 12 : 6)." — Lange. In the world to come, eternal life. — " Rememoer, my friend, what a sublime compensation he is able to make you for all these troubles, and often read and muse on those promises in which he has engaged to make you eternally happier for like present pains ; think how completely all the griefs of this mortal life will be compensated by one age, for instance, of the felicities beyond the grave, and then think that one age multiplied ten thousand times is not so much to eternity as one grain of sand is to the whole material universe." — John Foster. " The right man to follow any cause, let it be what it will, is he who loves it well enough to fling to it every thing he has in this world, and then think that not enough, and so fling himself after it. This last item often weighs down the scales held in heaven, and the man gets what he gave himself for." — Jean Ingelow. " There is in man a higher than love of happiness ; he can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness ! . . . Love not pleasure ; love God. This is the Everlasting Yea, wherein all contradiction is solved ; wherein whoso walks and works, it is well with him." — Carlyle. But many that are first shall be last. — " A sort of proverbial mode of expression, not unfrequently employed by our Lord to check the presumption of the apostles ; the sense of which is, PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD. 567 Chap. XXXV. Matt. 20:1-3. Feb. J.c. 3+ For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a maTthaUs an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And n-u , , ,,,j-„„ i „ 1 , 1 • , , I he Laborers ay hen he had agreed with the laborers for in the vineyard, a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard And he went out about the third hour, and saw others stand- ' th£ ™any 7ho- in the order of time, were last fbroueht in last) in the kingdom shall be first in the rewards ; and "those who churn to be first shall be lasf-.hat is, that many of the Tews to whom the blessings of Christ's kingdom were first offered ' Sem?i^tth%laSt L° PartakC °f them^ and ^ ".any of the Gentiles to whom they were to be offered after the Tews would this I frV° enJ°Vhem- In °rder to illustrate and Z this declaration, our Lord subjoined the parable in which the application is not to be limited to the jews, but lei general fcn'Z Tl^ f°r Ule jnStrUction of all Christians of fll ££ (comp. Matt. 20 : 16 ; Luke 13 : y>\" -Bloom field 8 The kingdom of heaven is like.-That is, the manner of God s proceeding ,n his kingdom resembles that o?l house holder. This parable is found, though with a widely-extended ab^T^o % JerUSa'Cm Talmud.-hich was^ptd There fron'. Sihi T* °? Pa»e 307). It was probably copied A man thtf « fin °£P?i' °r the ^ Ch'istian traditions. Cod fh ' householder.-" The ' householder ' signifies f-7 Cant SVlnT.yard„ ^ ^^ °f heaVen Chnst ; the ' twelfth hour of the day or the evening, the coming of Christ the S%.-UYS' UlC diffCrent Peri°ds °f calli^ into service '• Laborer^6 Trn-n,f •~?0rreSP°ndin^ to our six °'^ck. tian*s i^-Scteff. PCCI y thC ap°StleS' ^et including all Chris- Vineyard.— See note on page 567 eouivEVtr,??"-'^ denarius.' The denarius, which was equivalent to the Greek drachma, was then the usual waees of a laborer and the pay of a soldier. It was equal to about fifteen cents of our money. ' '-Greswell. ' PoUMus men tions hat the charge for a day's entertainment in the inns in C salpine Gaul was half an as one twentieth of the denarius Tnl swe may therefore regard as liberal pay for the day's work "-- 7//W 568 TEACHINGS BY THE WAV. Chap. XXXV. Matt. 20 : 3-10. Feb. j.c. 34. ing idle in the market-place, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is right, I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle ? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more ; and they likewise received every Market-place. — See note on page 218. "Here (at Hamadan in Persia) we observed every morning, before the sun rose, that a numerous band of peasants were collected with spades in their hands, waiting to be hired for the day, to work in the surround- ing fields. This custom struck me as a most happy illustration of our Lord's parable, particularly when, passing by the same place late in the day, we found others standing idle, and remem- bered his words, ' Why stand ye here all the day idle ? ' as most applicable to their situation, for, on putting the very same ques- tion to them, they answered us, ' Because no man hath hired us.' " — Morier, '''Travels in Persia." Why stand ye here all the day idle ? — " Men must know that in this theater of man's life it is reserved only for God and angels to be lookers-on." — Lord Bacon. His steward. — " Christ, the overseer of the house of God, intrusted with the whole economy of salvation, including the dis- tribution of the final reward (Heb. 3:6; John, ver. 27 ; Rev. 2 : 7, 10, 17, 28, etc.). It was the Jewish custom to pay laborers at the close of the day." — Schaff. They received every man a penny, or " denarius." — " More than they expected. God does not measure his reward by the length of man's life, but by the fidelity of his services, for the labor is not to earn the reward but to prepare for it." — Schaff. GOD ASKS QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY. 569 Chap. XXXV. Matt. 20: 10-15. Feb- Jc- 34- man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with me for a penny ? Take that thine is, and go thy way : I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ? Is thine eye evil, because I am good ? Is thine eye evil ? — " The Hebrews applied the word ' evil ' to the eye to denote one envious and malicious (Deut. 15:9; Prov. 23 : 6. The eye is called evil in such cases because envy and malice show themselves directly in the eye. No passions are so fully expressed by the eye as these. In worldly things ' envy ' is as ' rottenness to the bones ; ' and in spiritual things, even the children of God often think that they have too little, and others too much, of the tokens of God's favor ; and that they do too much, and others too little, in the work of the Almighty." — Greswell. "Self, remember, was the worst seed in Adam s apple. Toward God it is self-will, which is rebellion ; toward man it is self love, which is hard-heartedness. It was to root out this evil self from us and to put love in its room that Christ died and the Holy Ghost comes. Let not that death and that coming be in vain for you. But covet, since you must covet, with a godly covetousness ; and cease not to complain, cease not to cry out, weary the ears of God with prayer, until he trees you from all selfishness and from that worst mark of it, a grudging and evil eye." — Augustus W. Hare. " All our discontents about what we want appear to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have." — De Foe. " Hence I infer, not to speak of eternal life itself, that no act of man, however vast the charity which gave it birth, can deserve at the hands of God any reward in this life or in the next by virtue of its intrinsic worth; for every such act is the gift of God." — Gregory Nazi- amen. "Not, 'How much hast thou done?' but, 'What art thou?' will be the great question of the last day. Of course we must never forget that all which men have done will greatly affect what they are ; yet still the parable is a protest against the whole quantitative appreciation of men's works as distinct from the qualitative — against all which would make the works the end 57° TEACHINGS BY THE WAY. Chap. XXXV. Matt. 20 : 16. Feb. j.c. 34. So the last shall be first, and the first last : for many be called, but few chosen. and man the means, instead of the man the end and the works the means — against that scheme which, however unconsciously, lies at the root of so many of the confusions in our theology at this day. "— Trench. For many be called. — The citizens of Rome were all liable in turns to serve as soldiers ; this was termed (defectum habere) " choosing" them, because they had always a great many more than they wanted. " The general sense, as Mr. Greswell ob- serves, is that ' in the dispensations of divine grace for the good of mankind the offer of such and such privileges, subject to such and such conditions, is indiscriminate, and made to all ; but the acceptance of the offer, subject to the conditions in question, is not indiscriminate, nor equally characteristic of all. Conse- quently neither is the actual enjoyment of the promised blessing or privilege alike characteristic of all, nor are the benefits of the offer as general as the intention thereof.' " — Bloom field. " In interpreting this difficult parable we must first carefully observe its occasion and connection. It is bound by the for to the con- clusion of [Matthew] chapter 19, and arose out of the question of Peter, in verse 27, ' What shall we have ?' Its salient point is, that the kingdom of God is of grace, not of debt ; that they who were called first, and have labored longest, have no more claim upon God than those who were called last ; but that to all his covenant promise shall be fulfilled in its integrity." — Alford. " The early days of Christ were full of trial. Those who in the early morning of Christianity went to work in God's vine- yard had indeed the heat and labor of the day to endure. But they who, in this eleventh hour of the world, accept the Master's proffer, ' Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you,' if they are as faithful in their day and genera- tion, will receive an equal meed of praise. There are saints of the nineteenth century as well as of the first, and God will give unto these last even as unto them. But he who idles a lifetime in the market-place to accept the Gospel call at the sunset hour of his life can take no encouragement from this story, unless, to the question, which will surely be addressed to him in the judg- ment-day, ' Why stood ye here all the day idle ? ' he is able to reply, ' Because no man hired me.' " — Abbott. JESUS LEADS THE WAY. 57 1 Chap. XXXVI. Mark 10 : 32. Mar. j.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXVI. PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. And they were in the way, going up to Jerusalem ; and Jesus went before them : and they were amazed ; They were in the way, going up to Jerusalem. — " Nature was putting on its spring beauty, and throngs of early pilgrims wre passing to the holy city. All around was joy and gladness, but amidst all a deep gloom hung over the little company of Jesus. Every thing on the way — the constant disputes among the ra.bbis — . . . the very solemnity of the recent teachings, combined to fill their minds with an undefined terror. They had shrunk from visiting Bethany because it was near Jerusalem, for they knew that the authorities were on the watch to arrest their Master, and to put him to death. He had had to flee from that village, first to Ephraim, and then over the Jordan to Perea, and yet he was now deliberately walking into the very jaws of danger. They had marched steadily southward through the woody highlands of Gilead, had passed the rushing waters of the Jabbok and its tributaries, and had, for a moment, seen once more the spot where John had closed his mission. The distant mountains of Machaerus now threw their shadows over their route, and everywhere the recollections of the great herald of their Master met them. Mount Nebo, where Moses was buried, and the range of Attaroth, where John's mutilated corpse had been laid to rest, were within sight. Everything in the associa- tions of the journey was solemn, and they knew their national history too well not to fear that for Jesus to enter Jerusalem would be to share the sad fate of the prophets of old whom it had received only to murder. It was clear that there could be but one issue, and no less so that he was voluntarily going to his death. The calm resolution with which he thus carried out his purpose awed them ; for, so far from showing hesitation, he walked at their head, while they could only follow with excited alarm." — Geikic. And Jesus went before them — " Leading the way. Proba- bly implying some remarkable energy in his gait, some deter- mination or eagerness in his manner." — Schaff. "As on the former occasion our Lord Jesus, for our instruction, showed forth his prudence in fleeing, teaching that, according to place and tune, we ought also to avoid with caution the fury of our persecutors, so now he shows forth his fortitude, because, when the appointed time draws near, he returns of his own accord to 572 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Mark 10 : 32, 33 ; Matt. 20 : 17, iS ; Luke 18 : 31. and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took jesus the Third again the twelve disciples apart in the "Defth^'and 1S way, and began to tell them what things Resurrection. should happen unto him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem ; and all things that are written offer himself to suffering, and to deliver himself up into the hands of those who seek for him." — Cardinal Bonav'entura. They were amazed. — " As this amazement and fear were previous to his informing them what was about to befall him, it indicates that there was something unusual in his manner — something that awed and appalled them." — Andrews. "Evi- dently he was wrapped in an electric cloud of emotion ; he was swept along by a mighty influence — tides of feeling deeper than they could comprehend were rolling in his soul, and there was that atmosphere of silence and mystery about him by which the inward power of great souls casts an outward sphere of awe about them." — //. B. Stowe, "Footsteps of the Master." All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. — It seems appropriate here to introduce the follow- ing concise arrangement of the Prophetic History of Christ : " Section I., containing the earliest intimations of the Messiah. (Gen. 3 : 15 ; 17 : 7, 19 ; 22 : 18 ; 26 : 3 ; 28 : 14. 1 Chron. 17 : 11. Isa. 42 : 6 ; 49 : 8. Jer. 33 : 20, 21. Isa. 11 : 1, 2. Jer. 23 : 5, 6 ; 33 : 15. Ezek. 17 : 22, 23. Zech. 3 : 8 ; 6 : 12, 13. Mic. 4 : 1, 7. Isa. 2 : 2 ; 25 : 7 ; 2 : 3, 4 ; 11 : 6-9. Gen. 49 : 10. Num. 24 : 17. Isa. 49 : 6. Dan. 7 : 13, 14. Isa. 41 : 27 ; 40 : 9 ; 49 : 13. Mai. 4 : 2.) " Section II., containing those prophecies which relate to the birth of the Messiah. (Isa. 40 : 3-5. Mai. 4 : 5 ; 3 : 1. Ps. 2 : 6-8. Isa. 7 : 14. Mic. 5 : 2. Isa. 9 : 2, 6, 7.) " Section III., containing those prophecies which relate to the life of the Messiah— his preaching and his miracles. (Deut. 18 : 18. Isa. 53 : 2, 3 ; 42 : 2, 3 ; 52 : 7. Zech. 2 : 10, 11. Isa. 42 : 1, 4. Isa 11 : 3-5 ; 61 ; i, 2. Mic. 4 : 2. Isa. 8 : 14. Ps. 118 : 22, 23, 24. Isa. 28 : 16 ; 29 : 14. Zech. 9 : 9. Hag. 2 : 7, 9. Isa. 35 : 5, 6 ; 42 : 7 ; 49 : 9 : 40 : 11 ; 49 : IO-) "Section IV., containing such prophecies as relate to the death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Messiah. (Ps. 41 : 9. Zech. 11 : 12, 13 ; 13 : 7- Isa. 53 : 7, 8. Ps. 35 : 11 ; 38 : 13 ; 22 : 16. Isa. 50 : 6. Mic. 5 : 1. Ps. 69 : 21 ; 22 : 16, 18. Zech. 13 : 6. Ps. 22 : 1, 7, 8. Joel 2 : 30-32. L»an. 9 : 24-26. Isa. 53 : 4-6, 10, 12. Zech. 12 : 10. Ex. 12 : 46. Zech. 13 : 1. HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION FORETOLD. 573 Mark 10 : 33, 34 ; Matt. 20 : 18, 19 ; Luke 18 : 32-34. by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be ac- complished. For he shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles. And they shall mock him, and spitefully entreat him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall crucify him : and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things : and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. Isa. 53 : 9. Ps. 2 : 1, 2, 4. Ps. 16 : 10. Hos. 6 : 2. Job 19 : 25. Hos. 13 : 14. Ps. no : 1-4.)" — Gilpin. They shall condemn him to death. — " A reference to the judicial condemnation on the part of the Sanhedrin (Matt. 27 : 1), which could condemn, but not execute ; hence he would be delivered to the Gentiles. He had before, once and again, pre- dicted his sufferings in a general way ; now he speaks of scourg- ings, mockings, and the cross." — Bengel. All of these predic- tions were fulfilled. That this announcement was made early in the journey appears from the use of the present tense, " Be- hold we go up to Jerusalem." Crucify him. — It was much more probable that he should be privately slain, or stoned to death in a tumult, than that he should suffer the punishment of crucifixion, which was customary among the Romans, but unusual among the Jews. And when he was delivered back by Pilate to the Jews, with permission to judge him according to their law, it is wonderful that he was not stoned, but, according to his prophecy, " lifted up" for the heal- ing of the nations. They understood none of these things.—" There is that in Christ's own teaching which strengthened their erroneous faith. In his conferences with them at Ephraim he had told them that they should sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. He had promised them that, if they left houses, lands, friends, they should have a hundredfold in this life, besides life eternal in the world to come. . . . These promises we interpret as parables. History gives the prophecies of his death a literal interpretation. Let us not wonder that, in the full tide of pop- ular enthusiasm, they reversed the process, and interpreted his warnings as parables which they understood not, his promises as assurances to Lie immediately and literally fulfilled." — Abbott's ' ' Jesus of Nazareth, ' ' 574 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Ch. XXXVI. Matt. 20 : 20-22 ; Mark 10 : 35-3S. Mar. j.c. 34. Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, James and John, worshiping him, and saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you ? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, Ambitious Request one on thy right hand, and the other on of James and . , John. thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink Then came to him the mother, etc. — What the expecta- tions of most of those who accompanied him were, clearly ap- pears from Luke's words (19 : 11), ' They thought that the king- dom of God should immediately appear.' Under these circum- stances it was not strange that Salome and her sons should present their request." — Andrews. " James and John, with Peter, were the most honored of the aposties. They had been in a better social position than most of their brethren, and, with Salome, their mother, had given all they had freely to the cause of their Master. Ashamed themselves to tell him their thoughts, they availed themselves of Salome, whom perhaps he might the more readily hear, as older than they, as a woman, perhaps as his mother's sister, and as one who had shown herself, like her sons, his true friend." — Geikie. Worshiping him. — That is, saluting him with reverence, as was usual in asking favor of a king. Right hand, and . . . left. — " Said in allusion to the eastern custom, by which sitting next to the throne denotes the next de- gree of dignity ; and consequently the first situations on the right and left denote the highest dignities. There may perhaps be an allusion in these words to the Ab Bethrlim, or Father of the Court, who sat on the right hand of the Nasi, or President of the Sanhedrin ; and to the Hacan, or Sage, who sat on the left." — Bloom field. Ye know not what ye ask.—" When John saw the crucified thieves on the right and left hand of his dying Lord, he knew what he had asked." — Schaff. Drink of the cup. — " An image frequent among the Hebrews, who thus compared whatever is dealt out to men by THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST. 575 Ch. XXXVI. Matt. 20 : 22-24 ; Mark 10 : 38-41. Mar. J.c. 34. of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am bap- tized with : but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with in- dignation against the two brethren. the Almighty (whether good or evil) to a cup of wine. It was customary among the ancients in general to assign to each guest at a feast a particular cup as well as dish ; and by the kind and quantity of the liquor contained in it the respect of the entertainer was expressed. Hence cup came in general to signify a portion assigned (Ps. 16 : 5 ; 23 : 5), whether of pleasure or sorrow. But the expression was more frequently used of evil than good. So Matt. 26 : 39, 42 ; Rev. 14 : 10, 16 ; 19 : 18, 6 ; Ps. 85 : 9 ; Jas. 51 : 17 ; Jer. 25 : 15." [Ps. 75 : %\.—Bloomfield. To be baptized with the baptism. — This metaphorical use of the word baptism is from the figurative expressions of the Old Testament, in which afflictions are represented as floods of great waters ready to overwhelm the soul. We are able. — They were not the least courageous of the twelve (comp. John iS : 15), but they also forsook him and fled (Matt. 26 : 56) in the hour of trial. Ye shall drink indeed of my cup. — " It is made a question how the sons of Zebedee, James, and John, did drink the cup of martyrdom, seeing Scripture relates that James only was be- headed by Herod, while John ended his life by a peaceful death. But when we read in ecclesiastical history that John himself was thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, with intent to martyr him, and underwent a long life of persecution, we see that he did indeed suffer spiritual martyrdom." — Jerome. For whom it is prepared. — " Who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality. For these only eternal life is prepared. To these only he will give it in thai day ; and to every man his own reward, according to his own labor." — Greswell, When the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation. 576 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 20 : 25-28 ; Mark 10 : 42-45 ; Luke 19 : 1. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion Again Teaches over them, and they that are great exercise Humility. authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you : but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. — " John and James had striven to hide their selfish and ambi- tious request by coming to Jesus when he was alone ; but the ten, as was inevitable, soon heard of it, and were indignant in the extreme at such an unworthy attempt to forestall them in their Master's favor. Their own ambition, at best only sup- pressed, broke out afresh in a fierce storm of jealous passion. Such human weakness was sadly out of place at any time among the followers of the meek and lowly Son of man, but still more so now when he stood almost under the shadow of the cross ; and it must have caused him the keenest sorrow. Calling the whole twelve, offenders and offended, round him, therefore, he pointed out how utterly they had misapprehended the nature of his kingdom, notwithstanding all his teaching through the past years. " — Geikie. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. — " The upland pastures of Perea were now behind them, and the road led down to the sunken channel of the Jordan, and the ' divine district ' of Jericho. This small but rich plain was the most luxuriant spot in Palestine. Sloping gently upward from the level of the Dead Sea, 1350 feet under the Mediterranean, to the stern background of the hills of Quarantana, it had the cli- mate of Lower Egypt, and displayed the vegetation of the trop- ics. Its fig-trees were pre-eminently famous ; it was unique in its groves of palms of various kinds ; its crops of dates were a proverb ; the balsam plant, which grew principally here, fur- nished a costly perfume, and was in great repute for healing wounds ; maize yielded a double harvest ; wheat ripened a whole month earlier than in Galilee, and innumerable bees found a paradise in the many aromatic flowers and plants, not a few un- known elsewhere, which filled the air with odors, and the land- scape with beauty. Rising like an amphitheater from amidst this ZACCHEUS THE PUBLICAN. 577 Chap. XXXVI Luke i9 : 2. Mar. j.cT^. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. luxuriant scene lay Jericho, the chief place east of Terusalem— at seven or eight miles distance from the Jordan-on swelling slopes, seven hundred feet above the bed of the river, from wh.ch its gardens and groves, thickly interspersed with man- sions, and covering seventy furlongs from north to south and twenty from east to west, were divided by a strip of wilderness " ~6c7f;'- That *£ w,as. indeed what its name indicates-a city of fragrance. The plain which constituted its environs was an oasis of green m the midst of high and barren limestone mountains. The spring which Elisha miraculously cured made the earth a marvel of fertility. It was literally embowered in fragrant vegetation. It was a favored and favorite city of antiquity. The income from its palm and balsam was thought by Antony to be a present worthy of being conferred upon his royal mistress Cleopatra. It was chosen as the site of a royal residence by Herod the Great, who built here a palace and me here his death. The tax-gatherers of the Jordan valley whose fertility the frosts of winter never checked, had here their head quarters. The priests of Jerusalem found] underneath i sub- trees, a quiet retreat when their priestly labors in the temple at Jerusalem we« over. Thus commerce and religion met here without minghng. It was a city of priests and publkans • "- A man named Zaccheus.-The word means " pure ;" its ety- mology indicates that he was of Jewish extraction ; i appears among the lists of the families who came with ZerubbabeTfrom Babylon at the time of the Restoration (Neh. 7 : M) The in ™ -MV^PeCU 'af l°, Luke> and is a Proof of ^s independence Matthew indeed being himself a publican, mighf hesitate through modesty to record prominently so manv instance sot t sh™n ° the Publicans ; and Mark, writing chienv for branc? of ^h!'Stians' would, P™bably P^fer to omit a'new remem- Tews and ,h^R Ute-r.ed ,hatred which subsi^ed between the jews and the Romans. — Lan^e mu^t™ T3S rkh-~ "U a'most "ecessarily follows that he must have been extortionate and a defrauder"- Abbott For ?™Tn\^™\?? "0tt°n P^C -a) " The transit to(and harvest fo?S 7 ^T^1 with !t Proportionate work and nt,,Z I farmerS °f Ihe revenue. Hence a strong force of customs and excise collectors was stationed in r Jericho] and under a local head, named Zaccheus. whom, in our dU we might have called a commissioner of customs. n a system Jo 578 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 3-5. Mar. j.c. 34. And he sought to see Jesus who he was ; and could not for the press, because he was little of Entry into Jericho. stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him ; for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down ; for to day I must abide at thy house. oppressive and arbitrary as the Roman taxation, the inhabitants must have suffered heavily at the hands of such a complete organization. To be friendly with any of their number was not the way to secure the favor of the people at large." — Geikie. Who he was. — " That is, to see which one in the crowd was the teacher, of whom he had heard much, but whom he had never seen. The motive, as here given, was merely curiosity; yet the whole narrative points to some higher motive, of which Zaccheus himself may as yet have scarcely been conscious." — Kiddle. For the press. — Or, "multitude." Here, however, the idea of a dense "crowd" is prominent. " The great crowds follow- ing Jesus : many were on their way to the feast of the Passover." — Peloubct. Ran before. — Or, " ran on before." Which shows great de- sire to see Jesus. A sycomore-tree. — " Our sycamore-tree is not at all like the one here referred to. It was the Egyptian fig-tree, and is called sycomore, which means ' fig-mulberry,' because its leaf was like that of the mulberry. As this tree has low, horizontal branches, it would be easy to climb."— Riddle. "The fruit is, according to the accounts of travelers, pleasant and sweet-tasting. But here the sycamore bears a fruit of the noblest and rarest kind, which is to ripen for the refreshment of Jesus." — Van Oostcrzee. He looked up. — The best authorities omit the words, " and saw him ;" so that the clause reads, " And when Jesus came to the place, looking up he said to him." This brings into greater prominence our Lord's immediate recognition of the publican. Zaccheus, etc. — " He had never seen Jesus, but he was not the less known to him, and must have been astounded when the Great Teacher, as he passed the spot, looked up, and addressing him by name, told him to make haste and come down, as he in- tended to be his guest that night." — Geikie. Make haste, and come down ; for to-day I must abide at thy JESUS CALLS ZACCHEUS. 579 Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 6, 7. Mar. J.c. 34. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. house. — " The must indicates, not that this was especially ordained for him, but that it was his impelling and compelling desire to seek and to save that which is lost. He passes by the socially congenial to be the guest of the one whom he can re- deem. To ' abide ' indicates a purpose to make the house of Zaccheus his resting place while in Jericho, and therefore probably for that night." — Abbott. " This was an honor which Zaccheus did not expect. The utmost, it seems, which he aimed at, was to see Jesus ; but instead of that, Jesus proposed to remain with him. It is but one among a thousand instances where the Saviour goes, in bestowing mercies, far beyond the desert, the desire, or the expectation of men." — Barnes. " What took place in the house of Zaccheus is not fully reported by the Evangelist ; but the result is given, and is such as to show that the publican profited well by the divine teachings he was now enabled to re- ceive from the mouth of Jesus, who had clearly a more promis- ing pupil than in the rich young man who had lately turned back from him." — Kit to. They all murmured. — " Here is the last mutter of the cavil- ers at our Lord's dealings of mercy to the outcast publicans. It was, however, no murmur of Pharisees alone, but of all the crowd, who, supposing that he is on his way to take possession of the Messianic kingdom at Jerusalem, deem it unbecoming for him to give countenance to an agent of Roman despotism." — Whedon. " That Christ preached to publicans and sinners ex- cited little comment. That on his way to assume his kingdom he should choose a publican for his companion and entertainer shocked the Pharisaic sensibilities. They murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. They were as little able to comprehend this act as were the aristocracy of Europe the spirit that led Peter the Great, Frederick of Prussia, and Napoleon the First, frequently to disregard the con- ventional distinctions of society. ' A man's a man for a' that,' the lesson that Jesus taught the Jews in Jericho, the world has not yet learned, despite the lapse of ages. To eat with social sinners is scarcely less pardonable in the ' best society ' of Chris- tendom in the nineteenth century than it was in that of Judaism in the first. Social democracy is the last, as it is the ripest, form of democracy." — Abbott' s "Jesus of Nazareth" 580 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXVI. Luke to : 8, 9. Mar. j.c. 34. And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Be- Repentance of hold, Lord, the half of my goods I give Zaccheus. to tne pQor . ancj jf j nave ^jggjj any- thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abra- Goods. — This was a promise of what he would do, not a pro- fession of what he had done. It was a practical and implied confession, accompanied by restitution. " ' Behold, the half of my goods, Lord, I hereby give to the poor ; and whatever fraudu- lent gain I ever made from any one, I now restore fourfold. ' This great sacrifice of that which had hitherto been dearest to him, this fullest possible restitution of every gain he had ever gotten dis- honestly, this public confession and public restitution, should be a pledge to his Lord that his grace had not been in vain. Thus did love unseal by a single touch those swelling fountains of penitence which contempt would have kept closed forever." — Farrar. If I have. — That is, ' ' so far as I have, "for evidently the " if " is so used (as Phil. 4 : 8). Taken by false accusation. — " Defrauded," " overcharged" (ch. 3 : 12, 13). I restore fourfold. — "The Roman law required this; the Jewish law, but the principal and a fifth more (Num. 5 : 7). There was no demand made for either ; but as if to revenge himself on his hitherto reigning sin (see John 20 : 28), and to testify the change he had experienced, besides surrendering the half of his fair gains to the poor, he voluntarily determines to give up all that was ill-gotten quadrupled. He gratefully addressed this to the ' Lord,' to whom he owed the wonder- ful change." — Pcloubct. " No repentance that does not lead to restitution where restitution is possible is worthy of the name. Zaccheus did not seem to have any long exercises on the subject of the right quality of feeling. But he made a mag- nificent repentance when he stood and said unto the Lord, ' Be- hold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.' " — Egglcs- toft. " What thou hast taken unlawfully restore speedily ; for the sin in taking it is repeated every minute thou keepest it. If thou canst, restore it in kind ; if not, in value. If it may be, restore it to the party ; if not, to God : the poor is God's receiver. ' ' — Qnarles. A son of Abraham. — " Not because he is a Jew, for Christ CHRIST THE SAVIOUR. 581 Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 10, 11. Mar. j.c. 34. ham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and be- no less than John the Baptist emphatically repudiated the notion that salvation belonged to the Jewish race or descended by generation ; but because he was a Jew inwardly (Rom. 2 : 28, 29 ; Gal. 3 : 7)." — Abbott. Come to seek and to save. — " To seek like the shepherd (Luke 15 : 4 ; comp. Matt. 9 : 13 ; iS : 11), to save in the sense of to rescue." — Van Oostrzee. "To the complaint that Christ was gone to be the guest of a sinner Christ replies that his mis- sion is to seek and to save the sinner ; how he does this the conversion of Zaccheus illustrates. " — Abbott. "There are peo- ple who would do great acts ; but because they wait for great opportunities life passes, and the acts of love are not done at all. Observe, this considerateness of Christ was shown in little things. And such are the parts of human life. Opportunities for doing greatly seldom occur ; life is made up of infinitesimals. If you compute the sum of happiness in any given day, you will find that it was composed ot small attentions, kind looks, which made the heart swell, and stirred into health that sour, rancid film of misanthropy which is apt to coagulate on the stream of our inward life as surely as we live in heart apart from our fellow-creatures." — F. IV. Robertson* He added and spake a parable. — " With that marvelous power of turning every incident to practical account which marked his teaching he proceeded to repeat a parable, borrowed, in many particulars, from facts in their recent or passing national history. Archelaus had set out for Rome, most likely from Jericho itself, not many years before, to obtain investiture in the kingdom left to him by the will of his father Herod, and the Jews had sent a fruitless embassy after him to prevent his obtaining it. All the princes of the house of Herod had indeed been only vassals of Rome, and had had to go to the imperial city in each case to seek their kingdom as a gift from the Roman Senate." — Geikie. " Analogous to this parable is that of the Ten Talents, in Matt. 25 : 14-30 ; Mark 13 : 34-36. The analogy is so marked that some scholars {Calvin, Olskausen, Meyer) have regarded them as identical. But the differences appear to me very marked. 1. The time and place of each parable are fixed by the narrative ; that of Matthew being in Jerusalem during the Passion week, that of Luke being as clearly in Jericho, at the 582 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 11, 12. Mar. J.c. 34. cause they thought that the kingdom of God should im- mediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far house of Zaccheus. 2. The structure of the two parables though analogous, is different. In Matthew a rich man distributed to his servants all his goods, the sum total amounting, at the lowest estimate, to many thousand dollars ; in Luke a prince, going to secure the title to his throne from the central govern- ment, leaves in the hands of a few of his servants a small sum, at the largest estimate not exceeding three hundred dollars, sim- ply as a means of testing their fidelity. In Matthew the talents are distributed to each man according to his several ability ; in Luke each servant receives the same, one pound. In Matthew only the servants are introduced ; in Luke public enemies also. 3. The object of the two parables, though analogous, is not identical. The primary object of the parable in Matthew, which is addressed solely to Christ's disciples, is to teach the necessity of fidelity in the Church ; incidentally it indicates that a long time must elapse before the reckoning. The primary object of the parable in Luke, which is addressed to all the people, is to teach that the kingdom of God will not immediately appear ; incidentally it teaches how by diligent fidelity the servants of God are to prepare for his appearing, and what is to be the nature of the reckoning, both with them and with those who reject his rule. Godet, Trench, Alford, Lange, Oosterzee agree in regarding the two parables as different." — Abbott. Because they thought that the kingdom of God should im- mediately appear. — " There was a general expectancy, shared by the disciples, strengthened by such events as the cure of the blind man and the resurrection of Lazarus, that Christ was now on his way to Jerusalem to inaugurate the kingdom of God by making the Jewish nation the master of the world, and Jerusa- lem its capital. We must not forget that the career of Alexan- der and of Julius Cresar gave a color of probability to this ex- pectation of universal dominion. Despite this parable, the dis- ciples continued to believe that the kingdom would immediately appear ; at least they had no conception of the length of the in- tervening delay. This anticipation was strikingly manifested in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19 : 35-33)-" — Abbott. A far country represents heaven, as in Matt. 21 : 33 ; 25 : 14 ; Mark 12 : 1 the figure indicates that Christ goes to await the consummation of that kingdom which he receives from his Father (Rev. 17 14 ; 19 : 16). TARABLE OF THE TEN POUNDS. 583 Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 12-20. Mar. j.c. 34. country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and de- parabie of the livered them ten pounds, and said unto *en Pounds. them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy New Trusts, the . «ii Reward for pound hath gained ten pounds. And he Fidelity, said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said like- wise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another His ten servants. — " Rather, ' ten of his servants.' " — Lons- dale and Hale. Ten pounds, or "mina?." — "To each one; not to each ' according to his several ability ' as in Matt. 25 : 5. The Attic mina, which is probably meant, was the sixtieth part of a talent, and equal to $I5-$i 7. The Hebrew mina was even smaller." — Schaff. Occupy. — " Use it ;" " do business with it ;" " trade with it." His citizens. — Or countrymen ; the Jewish people, who pro- fessed to be the subjects of the kingdom of God. Over ten cities. — " This is to be understood of the kingdom the nobleman had just received. His former trustiest and most faithful servants he now represents as being made governors, under him, over a number of cities, according to the capacity he found in each, which capacity was known by the improvement of the minae." — Adam Clarke. " Success is the world's criterion of merit ; fidelity is God's. The reward of being ' faithful over a few things ' is just the same as being ' faithful over many things,' for the emphasis falls upon the same word ; it is the ' faithful ' who will enter into ' the joy of their Lord.' " — C. S. Robinson. 584 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXVI. Luke 19 : 20-26. Mar. j.c. 34. came, saying, Lord, behold here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin : for I feared thee, be- cause thou art an austere man : thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow : wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury ? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say In a napkin. — " It is characteristic that the sudarium (sweat- cloth) which, not exerting himself, this idle servant does not need for its proper use (Gen. 3 : 19), he uses for the wrapping up of his pound. That he had the napkin disengaged, and so free to be turned to this purpose, was itself a witness against him." — Trench. Thou knewest that I. — " This is an exquisite specimen of irony and refutation at the same time. It meets and exposes his plea on the proper principle of the argumentitm ad absur- duiii, and the argztmentum ad hominew, both ; admitting appar- ently the truth of his premises, yet showing that, even on his own assumptions, they led to a conclusion condemnatory of himself. " — Greswell. Into the bank. — The word denotes, first, a table ; second, a money-table, or counter, on which the money-changers did their business. But as those counters were no doubt provided with tills for the deposit of money, so the word came to mean, third, a place for the investment of money, just as our bank originally only denoted a counter. With usury. — "Usance;" "payment for its use;" the in- terest that the loan of the money is fairly worth. Them that stood by. — Perhaps, as Trench supposes, a type of the angels who are represented as taking a part in the final judgment. (Dan. 7 : 10 ; Matt. 13 : 41 ; 16 : 27 ; 24 : 31 ; 2 Thess. 1:7; Jude, v. 14.) PUNISHMENT OF THE STUBBORN. 585 Luke 19 : 26-23 ; Matt. 20 : 29 ; Mark 10 : 46. unto you, That unto every one which hath, shall be given ; and from him that hath not, even The End of the that he hath shall be taken away from Kebellious- him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascend- ing up to Jerusalem. And as he went out of Jericho with his disciples, a great multitude followed him. Unto every one which hath, shall be given. — " The gift, whether of knowledge, money, or grace, which a man does not use, he does not really have. Unused possession is only a seeming possession. In Luke 25 : 30 the unprofitable servant is cast out into outer darkness ; here, in being deprived of all that he hath, which includes the light of divine grace, the same sentence is really implied." — Abbott. But those mine enemies . . . bring hither and slay them before me. — " In this parable the trial of the Church precedes the trial of the world. (Comp. 1 Pet. 4 : iS.) There is in this per- haps a hint of the first and second resurrections (Rev. 20 : 5, 6). But in the marriage of the king's son (Matt. 22 : 7-13) the pun- ishment of the open enemies precedes that of the guest without a wedding garment. The slaying of the enemies in the presence of the king is in accordance with the custom of the Eastern courts (1 Sam. n : 12 ; 15 : 32, 33 ; Jer. 52 : 10). Found in the teachings of Christ, it possesses a peculiarly solemn significance, and seems to import the terrible punishment and perhaps the literal destruction of the enemies of God (Matt. 13 : 49, 50 ; 21 : 44 ; 25 : 30, 46 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 8-10)." — Abbott. And as he went out of Jericho. — " The account of this mira- cle is given by the three Evangelists — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — but with some notable variations. Matthew and Mark represent it as performed on Christ's departure from, Luke on Christ's approach to, Jericho. Matthew says that there were two blind men ; Mark and Luke represent but one. Various attempts have been made to reconcile these differences, as by supposing that Christ healed two blind men, one on his approach, the other on his departure, and that Matthew has combined the two acts in one account. The variation, however, presents no difficulty 586 PROPHECIES AND PARAP,LES. Matt. 20 : 30, 31 ; Mark 10 : 46-48 ; Luke 18 : 36-39. And behold, two blind men sat by the wayside beg- ging. [One of them was] blind Bartimeus, the son of jesus Heals two Timeus, and he hearing the multitude Blind Men . near Jericho, pass by asked what it meant. And when they told him that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before re- buked him, that he should hold his peace : but he cried except to those who maintain a doctrine of verbal inspiration, for which the Scripture itself gives no warrant. They are just such as are of the most common occurrence in history, and con- firm, instead of throwing doubt over the substantial truth of the narrative. As Matthew was probably an eye-witness, since the apostles apparently accompanied their Lord on this journey, and Mark and Luke derived their information from others, it is proba- ble that there were two blind men, and that the cure was per- formed on the exit from, not on the entrance into, Jericho." — Abbott. Two blind men sat by the -wayside. — " Blindness is special- ly frequent in the East, while in northern Europe there is only one blind in a thousand ; in Egypt there is one in every hundred ; indeed, very few persons there have their eyes quite healthy. The great changes of temperature at different times of the day, especially between day and night, cause inflammation of the eyes, as well as of other parts, both in Palestine and on the Lower Nile, while neglect and stupid prejudice, refusing or slighting remedies in the earlier stages, lead to blindness in many cases that otherwise might have been easily cured." — Giekie. Begging. — Owing to unjust taxation, uneven distribution of wealth, and the total absence of public and systematized charities, begging is much more common in the East than with us. The duty of charity to the blind was especially enjoined by the Mosaic law (Lev. 19 : 14 ; Deut. 27 : 18). There is nothing in either Evangelist to indicate the nature of the blindness in this case. Rebuked him. — " Not because he called Jesus the Son of Da- vid, but because he presumed to intrude a private grief upon the King of Israel when, as they supposed, he was going in triumph to Jerusalem to assume his throne and deliver the nation (ch. 19 : 1 1). The spirit of this rebuke was precisely the same as that of Matt. 19 : 13." — Abbott. SALVATION THROUGH FAITH. 587 Matt. 20 : 31-34 ; Mark 10 : 48-52 ; Luke 18 : 39-43. so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded them to be called : and they call the blind men, saying unto them, Be of good comfort, rise ; he calleth you. And they, casting away their garments, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto them, What will you that I should do unto you ? The blind men said unto him, Lord, that we might receive our sight. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes : and said unto them, Go your way ; receive your sight : your faith hath saved you. And immediately they received their sight, and fol- lowed him, glorifying God : and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. Casting away their garments. — That is, their outer garments. They threw them off full of joy and expectation, and in order to reach Jesus the sooner. " A detail indicating that the narrative comes from an eye-witness. Bartimeus did not stop to care for the cloak that might be lost if it impeded his progress." — Schaff. Lord. — The word is " Rabboni" (as in John 20 : 10), the most respectful of the three titles, Rab, Rabbi, Rabboni. (Comp. Matt. 23 : 7). Your faith hath saved you — "In the way in which faith always saves, by making him that exercises it a willing recipient of salvation from the Saviour." — Abbott. " As the sun can be seen only by its own light, so Christ can be known only by his own spirit. The sun can make dark things clear, but it can not make a blind man to see them. But herein is the excellency of this Divine Sun, that he illuminates not only the object, but the faculty ; doth not only open the mysteries of his kingdom, but opens blind eyes to behold them." — Arc kbishop Leighton. " Faith forces its way to Christ through every obstacle." — Bengel. "Any faith in him, however small, is better than any belief about him, however great." — George' Macdonald. " Faith per- suades the Christian of these two things, which the philosopher gives as the causes of all love, beauty, and propriety — the love- liness of Christ in himself, and our interest in him." — Leighton. " For faith, being, as the Apostle termed it, ' the substance of 588 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXVI. Mar. j.c. 34. things hoped for, and evidence [or conviction] of things not seen,' wafts our joys to this side of the grave, bows heaven down to us till our freed spirits can soar up to heaven, and does us such a service as the Jewish spies did to their countrymen by bringing them over to this side Jordan into the wilderness some of the pleasant and delicious fruits of the blessed land of prom- ise."— Hon. Robert Boyle. "Why hath God appointed the eye to see, and not the ear ? Why the hand to take our food, rather than the foot? It is easily answered: because these members have a particular fitness for these functions, and not the other. Thus faiih hath a fitness for the work of justification peculiar to itself. We are justified, not by giving anything to God — what we do — but by receiving from God what Christ hath done for us. Now faith is the only receiving grace, and therefore only fit for this office." — Gtirnall. " Men of science tell us on every side that science teaches them nothing of God. That is the very thing we are told in the words of the Scripture, ' Thou canst not by searching find out God.' Mysteries are brought before us which no effort on our part enables us to resolve. So far from inducing doubt they should encourage our faith. As we are in the presence of infinite space and infinite time, so also are we in the presence of infinite wisdom and power." — Richard A. Proctor. PART VI. FROM THE ARRIVAL AT BETHANY TO THE RESURRECTION ; MARCH 3i TO APRIL 9, J.C. 34. 59° Christ's triumphal entry. Chap. XXXVII. John 12 : 1, 9. Mar. 31-Apr. 2, j.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXVII. Christ's triumphal entry. Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, Saturday, whom he raised from the dead. Much March 31st. pe0pie 0f tjie jews therefore knew that he was there : and they came not for Jesus' sake only, There is some uncertainty as to the date of our Lord's arrival at Bethany. It was six days before the passover (John 12 : 1), but the question is how these six days are to be reckoned. About this commentators differ ; Andrews than whom there is no better authority on chronological questions, adopts Friday afternoon as the date of arrival, and supposes that "Jesus, leaving Jericho on the morning of Friday, reaches Bethany in the afternoon, perhaps about sunset. He leaves the pilgrims with whom he has journeyed, and who go on to Jerusalem, and with his apostles stops till the Sabbath should be past, they being probably received by some of his friends, and he himself doubtless finding a home in the dwelling of Lazarus and his sis- ters. The next day, being the Sabbath, is spent at Bethany, and in the afternoon Simon the leper makes him a supper, at which his disciples, and Lazarus and his sisters, were present. During the afternoon the Jews of Jerusalem, who had heard through the pilgrims of his arrival, go out to see him and Lazarus, and some of them believe on him. This, coming to the ears of the chief priests, leads to a consultation how Lazarus may be put to death with Jesus." With this order Smith {Neiv Testament ///story) agrees, and the subsequent events of our Lord's life he tabulates as follows : (The Jewish days are to be reckoned from the preceding sunset.) Sabbath at Bethany. Evening Simon's sup- per. Palm Sunday. Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus again cleanses the temple. Last visit to the temple. Prophecy of his sec- ond coming. Conspiracy of the riders. Evening: The Passover, and Lord's Supper. Good Friday. The Crucifixion and entomb- ment. Sabbath. Easter Eve. Easter Day. The Resurrection. Holy Thursday. The Ascension. Bethany. — See note on page 588. Sat. Nisan 0. March 3 Sun. Mon. ". 10. 11. April 1 ues. 12. Wed. Thurs. Fri. » 13. >4- Sat. Sun. Thurs. Sivan 16. 17- 3- May 1 mary's anointing of jf.sus. rgr John 12 : 9-1 1 ; 2, 3 ; Matt. 26 : 6, 7 ; Mark 14 but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death ; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Si- mon the leper, they made him a supper ; and Martha served : but Lazarus was one of them that Mary's sat at the table with him. Then as he sat A* Kf at meat, Mary came, having an alabaster-box of a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly ; and she brake The chief priests consulted.-" The proximity of Bethany to Jerusalem and the existing impatience of the people to see our Lord and Lazarus, and the prodigious numbers that were pres- ent in Jerusalem waiting for the passover, going to and fro produced in part by the desire of seeing Lazarus, the living wit- ness of his own resurrection, would speedily induce the Sanhe- drin, whose eyes all along had been fixed upon Jesus to deliber ate on the best mode of removing him also "—Greswell In the house of Simon the leper.-He must not be confound- ed with the Pharisee called Simon, at whose house in Galilee a similar ano.nt.ng had taken place long before (Luke 7 ■ ^6-70) The two occurrences are clearly distinguished in many ways One tradition makes this Simon the father of Lazarus ; another the husband of Martha, who served on this occasion "—Schaff th.rSUPfer^TiiSWaSthe,chief mea] of the Jews, and also of the Greeks and Romans, taken at evening after the labors of the day were over and sometimes prolonged into the night — (bee note, p. 475.) The same orginal word denotes " banquet " or feast, and these were often given on the Sabbath ' Alabaster-box.— Cruse. See note on page 224 Spikenard.— A peculiar kind of the nard plant was so called frorn its spikes.or ears. The fragrant ointment made from it was celebrated even in the time of Solomon (Songs 1 • i->) It was a ih.n liquid, highly aromatic, and so valuable (as appears from a passage ,n Horace) that as much of it as could be con- tained in a small box was considered as an equivalent for a cask of wine, and a handsome quota for a guest to contribute to an entertainment, according to the custom of antiquity " It s allied to valerian, and is highly esteemed throughout the East as a perfume and stimulant medicine. The permanent hair-like 592 CHRIST S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. John 12 : 3-6 ; Matt. 26 : 7-9 ; Mark 14 : 4, 5. the box, and poured it on his head, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair : and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste. Then saith one of them, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should be- tray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hun- dred pence, and given to the poor ? This he said, not that he cared for the poor ; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. And they murmured against her. fibers of the leaf and root- stalk give it some resemblance to the tail of an ermine, to which the Arabs have likened it." — Smith &* Bamuiii' s Dictionary. Poured it on his head. — " By breaking the neck of the flask, probably by compressing it in her hands. The quantity of oint- ment permitted her to anoint his feet also (John 12 : 3). The Oriental custom of reclining at table made the latter easier than the former. The expression used by Mark (14 : 3) hints that from the head it flowed over the whole body. It was also usual to wash the feet of honored guests with water, but the anointing of the feet would indicate the highest honor." — Schaff. " Her eyes are homes of silent prayer. Nor other thought her mind admits But he was dead, and there he sits, And He that brought him back is there. " Then one deep love doth supersede All others, when her ardent gaze Roves from the living brother's face, And rests upon the Life indeed. " All subtle thought, all curious fears. Borne down by gladness so complete, She bows, she bathes the Saviour's feet With costly spikenard and with tears." — Tennyson. They had indignation. — It is probable that the feeling of Judas, who made the objection, was shared by the rest of the disciples. In them it was regard for the poor, in Judas it was avarice. Three hundred pence. — Three hundred denarii, about $50 — a large amount for those days — equal to about $300. Pliny says that a pound of this ointment cost more than four hundred denarii. Judas therefore set a " safe" estimate on its value. Bare. — " Bare" might be rendered " purloined." JESUS JUSTIFIES MARY eg. John 12 : 7, 8 ; Matt. 26 : 10-13 i Mark 14 ; 6-9. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them Let her alone; why trouble ye the woman? she 'hath wrought a good work upon me. She hath done what she could : against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she is come aforehand to anoint me for my burial Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good : but me ye have not always Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. She hath wrought a good work upon me.-" It was a rood work, inasmuch as it showed her love and self-denial. JesJs at the very .me that his discpies expected him to assume ih reeaf ThT'i? I y a5am P°inted t0 his death as first to take pla?e dom S"J ral,deS,gnCd * the anoi"ting of him for the k££ dom he declared was anointing him for his burial. It was the only ano.nt.ng or embalming his body should have. It was LTrT aT"S.the a,,cients to expend large sums upon anoint! ing and embalm.ng the bodies of their friends It is said that at the uneral of Herod five hundred slaves, or f eed men were employed to carry the spices merely. "-Bioomfield, , 1? KmC P have not always.-" His speedy death is fore- o d ; but the mam point is, that this opportunity could neve; return while the care of the poor would be a daily « du"y to human.ty down to the end of time.' The act was justified bv the special occasion It ought not to be cited to defend expend s.ve modes of worship at the cost of neglecting the poor. Such special occasions may, however, recur in our lives. This verse suggests that no reorganization of society will ever banish pov- * b Thr sr%eartl\ ThCre " bUt °"e ™? °f doinS this-naC nn'rW H Pe°Pe recognizing the poor as ' with them,' and, under the impulse of love like that of Mary, making the care of them the usual expression of that love." -Sciaf. «' The desire H ion ortheUne??d ^ * "^ Usdf' thc ^taneous ebul? > costlv for ?? ,nRS- 'S Prfar W°rthy ; and there is nothing 00 cost y for the expression of the most valuable of all things in this world— disinterested love "—Beecher Be told for a memorial of hvc.-A!forJ suggests that this 594 CHRIST S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. Luke 21 : 3-6 ; Matt. 26 : 14-16 ; Mark 14 : io, 11. Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his judas Engages wav> and communed with the chief priests to Betray Jesus. an(j captains, how he might betray him unto them ; and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you ? And when they heard it, they were glad, and they covenanted to give him thirty pieces of silver. And he promised, and from that time he sought opportunity how he might conveniently betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. prophecy points to a written record in which the deed should be related ; for in no other conceivable way could the universality of mention be brought about ; that it also shows the Gospels can not have been made up from some original document now lost, since Luke omits this incident, and such a document would have con- tained it ; Luke could not have seen the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, or he would have inserted this to aid in fulfilling the prophecy. Then entered Satan into Judas. — "The betrayal of his Lord was not a hasty, passionate act. It was done coolly, de- liberately ; and this is what gave it its atrocious character." — Andrews. Greswell remarks (3 : 129) that " this history is divisible into three stages, each of which has been accurately de- fined ; the first cause and conception of his purpose ; the overt step toward its execution ; and, lastly, its consummation. The consummation took place in the garden of Gethsemane ; the overt step was the compact with the Sanhedrin ; the first cause and conception of the purpose, if they are to be traced up to any thing on record, must be referred to what happened at Bethany." Captains. — These were the guardians of the temple and its treasures. Thirty pieces of silver. — Thirty shekels, each of the value of about sixty cents. This was the price for the life of a slave (Exod. 21 : 2 ; see Zech. 11 : 12). To betray him. — Or, " deliver him up." Judas was not only to disclose where Jesus might be apprehended, but to be an ac- tive agent in delivering him to the authorities. In the absence of the multitude. — " The feast lasted seven days. A vast multitude attended from all parts of Judea. Jeru- ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 595 Matt. 2i : 1 ; Mark 11 : 1 ; Luke 19 : 29 ; John 12 : 12. And it came to pass, on the next day, when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage Sunday, and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, April ist- salem is said to have contained at such times three millions of people. Amidst such a multitude there were frequent tumults and seditions ; and the Sanhedrin were justly apprehensive there would now be a disturbance if in open day, in the temple, they took away a teacher so popular as Jesus and put him to death." — -Bloom field. It came to pass, on the next day. — " The account of this pub- lic and triumphal entry into Jerusalem is given by all four Evangelists. . . . The cleansing of the temple mentioned here and in Matthew as though it occurred on the first day of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, is distinctly stated by Mark to have occurred on the following day. I believe the order in Mark, who is more explicit than either of the other Evangelists, to be the correct one. (See Mark n : n.) The significance of this entry into Jerusalem has been too little considered. It was Christ's nature to shun crowds ; his custom to avoid them. He forbade his disciples from disclosing to others that he was the Messiah, and this prohibition was repeatedly given (Matt. 16 : 20 ; 17:9; Mark 3 : 12 ; 5 : 43 ; 6 : 36, etc.). This exceptional assump- tion of dignity and acceptance of homage is for this reason the more remarkable and significant. I believe it to be an emphasis of the truth that he was a King, and came as King ; that it throws forth into prominence a truth respecting him often for- gotten— namely, that he is Lord and Master as well as Saviour, crowned with authority as well as with humility and love. This triumphal entry took place at this time in Jerusalem, not in Gali- lee, because he would have a public testimony to the fact that it was their King the Jews crucified. It is not merely the Messiah that saves, nor the crucified One that saves, but the Messiah cruci- fied (1 Cor. 1 : 23). The fact that this incident is attested by all of the Evangelists is important. For those who give any historical credence to these narratives can not, in the light of this event, beieve that the Messianic character was invented and imputed to Jesus by a later reverential imagination. It was claimed by himself." — Abbott. Unto Bethphage. — The site of this village is uncertain. There is no other mention of it in the Scriptures, and ancient tradition is silent as to its location. Some have supposed that Bethphage and Bethany are only designations for different parts of the same village. Mount of Olives. — From Jerusalem a Sabbath day's jour- 596 Christ's triumphal entry. Matt. 21 : I, 2 ; Mark n : i, 2 ; Luke 19 : 29, 30. Jesus sent forth two of his disciples, saying unto them, Go ye into the village over against you, and as soon as ney — that is, about a mile, yosep/ius, speaking of that part of it which was nearest to the city, states the distance to be five fur- longs. Here Titus encamped when he was about to begin the siege of the city which fulfilled the prophecy in Matt. 24. The mountain was called the Mount of Olives, from the olives which it produced ; yet it abounded with figs, dates, and palms ; and these, growing in different localities, gave names to various parts of the mountain, Bethany, house or region of dates, and Beth phage, house or region of Jigs. Jesus sent two disciples. — Their names are not given. " The sending of the two disciples proves the deliberate inten- tion of Jesus to give a certain solemnity to this scene. Till then he had withdrawn from popular expressions of homage ; but once at least he wished to show himself as King Messiah to his people. It was a last call addressed by him to the population of Jerusalem. This course, besides, could no longer compromise his work. He knew that in any case death awaited him in the capital. ' ' — Godct. Go ye into the village over against you. — " Between Bethphage and Jerusalem, to which the two disciples were dispatched from Bethphage for the ass and the colt, upon which Jesus designed to enter Jerusalem. Soon after leaving Bethany the road (to Jeru- salem) meets a ravine which furrows deeply the side of Olivet. From this point the top of Zion is seen, but the rest of the city is hid by an intervening ridge ; and just opposite this point, on the other side of the ravine, I saw the site and remains of an ancient village. The road turns sharply to the right, descends obliquely to the bottom of the ravine, and then turning to the left, ascends and reaches the top of the opposite ridge a short distance above the site of the village. Is not this the place where Jesus said to the two disciples, 'Go ye into the village over against you? ' These active footmen could cross the ravine direct in a minute or two, while the great procession would take some time in slowly winding round the road. The peopte of the village saw the procession ; they knew its cause, for the fame of Jesus' miracles had reached them. They were thus prepared to give the ass to the disciples the moment they heard ' the Lord had need of him.' And the disciples taking the ass, led it up to the road, and met Jesus. A temporaty saddle was soon made of the loose outer robes of the people, as I have myself seen done a hundred times in Palestine. Some of the people now broke down branches from the palm trees, and waving them in THE LORD HATH NEED OF THEM. 597 Matt. 2i ; 2, 3, 6 ; Mark n : 2, 3, 4 ; Luke^: 30, 31, 32T ye be entered into it, ye shall find an ass tied, a^with her a colt whereon never man sat ; loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them ; and straight- way he will send them hither. And the disciples went, and found even as he had said triumph, threw them in the path. Others, still more enthusias- tic spread their garments in the way, as I have seen Moham- medan devotees do before a distinguished saint. Zechariah's prophecy (9 : 9) was now fulfilled to the letter : ' Rejoice sreat- J.y,i?^aU^lCr °f ZV°n = Sh°ut' ° da"ghter of Jerusalem ; be- hold, thy king cometh unto thee : he is just, and having salva- tion ; lowly, and riding upon an ass.' "—Porters "Syria's Holy 7 laces. ' ' An ass tied, and a colt.-" In Judea there were few horses, and those were chiefly used in war. The ass, the mule, and the camel are still most used in Eastern countries by princes and chief persons To ride on a horse was sometimes an emblem ?rVyarr> amule °r an ass the emblem of peace."— Bloom fu-U The Prince of Peace did not take a horse-a warlike animal'- but he will ride on that by and by (Rev. 19 : n). i„ the patri- archal ages illustrious persons thought it no disgrace to make use of the ass ; but it by no means appears that this opinion prevail- ed, or this custom continued till the reign of Tiberias Was it a mean attitude wherein our Lord then appeared ? Mean even to contempt ? I grant it ; I glory in it ; it is for the comfort of my soul, for the honor ot his humility, and for the utter confusion of all worldly pomp and grandeur." — Wesley. Whereon never man sat.— Only beasts that had not been worked were used for sacred purposes, among both the Tews (Numb. 19 : 2 ; Deut 21 : 3 ; 1 Sam. 6 : 7) and the surrounding nations The unbroken animal could not be managed without its mother being with it, and thus the prophecy was fulfilled literally. ' The Lord hath need of them.—" The tone is still royal whether the Lord ' here means ' Jehovah,' or simply ' the Mas- ter. In the former case the animals would be claimed for re- lgious purposes by divine authority ; in the latter for the well- known prophet. The two meanings coincide in our Lord's in- tention, whatever the owner would understand.' —Schaff. And found even as he had said unto them.— He had told them the most minute particulars. That, 1st. in the village over against them (Mark n : 2), 2d. as soon as they were entered 598 Christ's triumphal entry. Matt. 21 : 4, 5, 8 ; Mark 11 : 4-8 ; Luke 19 : 32-36 ; John 12 : 12. unto them, the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met ; and as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt ? And they said unto them as Jesus had com- manded : The Lord hath need of him, and they let them go. And they brought the ass and the colt to Jesus : and they cast their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, Thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and sitting upon an ass, And a colt the foal of an ass. And a very great multitude that were come to the (Mark 11 : 2), 3d. they should find an ass (Matt. 21 : 2), 4th. and a colt whereon never man sat (Mark 11 : 2), 5th. both of them tied (Matt. 21 : 2) ; 6th. what they should be asked when loosing them (Luke 19 : 31) ; and 7th. what should be done upon their reply (Matt. 21 : 3). All this was done that it might be fulfilled. — Of this divine purpose the disciples had no idea at the time (John 12 : 16). " The occasion and need of the moment was the obvious motive. But to the Spirit of God these historical occasions were arranged coincidences with the prophetical word. Christ was in need of the foal of the ass, inasmuch as he could not make his entrance on foot in the midst of a festal procession. He must not be lost in the crowd ; it was necessary that he should take a prominent position, and appear pre-eminent. But if he became conspicuous, it must be in the most humble and peaceable fashion : hence the choice of the ass. The dignity of the procession required the ass's colt, and ihis made the history all the more symbolical. But it could not be concealed from the Spirit of Christ that here again the plain historical necessity coincided with the symbolical- ly significant fulfillment of a prophetical word." — Lcitigc. Mat- thew was present, but he did not till afterward, when divinely illuminated, know what it meant. Tell ye the daughter of Sion. — See Isa. 62 : 11 ; Zech. 9 : 9. And a very great multitude . . . when they heard that Jesus was coming. — " The news of our Lord's intention to visit THE KING'S HIGHWAY. 599 Matt. 21 : 8, 9 ; Mark 11 : 8, 9 ; Luke 19 : 36-38 ; John 12 : 13. feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jeru- salem, took branches of palm-trees, and «. „ , r The Royal went forth to meet him, and many spread Journey. their garments in the way and others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that they had seen ; and the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Jerusalem on this day was probably carried thither by some of the many visitors to Bethany the same morning. The conse- quent procession of the Jews from the country (John 12 : 12), which set out from the city to meet him, must have set out of their own accord, and perhaps first joined him when he was still at Bethphage. The hosannas, then, which John (12 : 13) ascribes to the attendants of Jesus, are manifestly the hosannas of the whole of his attendants, and not, like those in the other Evangelists, the hosannas of a part. The branches of palm, a species of tree which is among the first in the East to put forth its verdure, were carried for a purpose, left unexplained by St. John, but ascertained by the rest— viz., to strew in the road be- fore Jesus, a mark of respect which would be paid to none but persons of acknowledged rank and dignity — in unison, conse- quently, with the strong expectation now entertained that the kingdom of the Messiah was at hand, and with the personal hosannas addressed to our Lord as King. . . . Similar to these acts in design, but a still more striking declaration of the per- sonal feelings of the agents (not. however, until our Lord had mounted upon the ass's colt, and resumed his procession with something of the state of a king, as well as with the humility of a prophet), was the act, ascribed by the rest of the Evangelists to the greater part of the multitude present, the act of spreading their garments on the ground beneath his feet ; for this was directly to acknowledge him as king (Jasephus, Ant. Jud. 9, 6 : 2 ; 2 Kings 9 : 13)."—Greswell. The custom of spreading gar- ments and flowers in the way of the great has always existed in the East. Thus Agrippa was received when he came to Jerusalem. Stanley ('' Sinai and Palestine," 187) thus describes the proces- sion : " Two vast streams of people met on that day. The one 600 Christ's triumphal entry. Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:9, 10 ; Luke 19 : 38 ; John 12 : 13. Hosanna to the Son of David : Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord : Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord : Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. poured out from the city, and, as they came through the gardens whose clusters of palm rose on the south-eastern corner of Olivet, they cut down the long branches, as was their wont at the Feast of Tabernacles, and moved upward toward Bethany with loud shouts of welcome. From Bethany streamed forth the crowds who had assembled there the previous night. The road soon loses sight of Bethany. . . . The two streams met midway. Half of the vast mass, turning round, preceded ; the other half followed. Gradually the long procession swept up over the ridge where first begins ' the descent of the Mount of Olives ' toward Jerusa- lem. At this point the first view is caught of the south-eastern corner of the city. The temple and the more northern portions are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right ; what is seen is only Mount Zion. ... It was at this precise point, ' as he drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives ' (may it not have been from the sight thus opening upon them ?) that the shout of tri- umph burst forth from the multitude, ' Hosanna to the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ! ' Again the procession advanced. The road descends a slight declivity, and the glimpse of the city is again withdrawn behind the intervening ridge of Olivet. A few moments, and the path mounts again ; it climbs a rugged ascent ; it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city bursts into view. It is hardly possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, was the exact point where the multitude paused again ; and ' he, when he beheld the city,' wept over it." Hosanna to the Son of David. — The words are taken from Psalm 11S : 25, 26 a part of the great Hallel which was chanted at the paschal feast. Hosanna is a Syriac word, meaning " save, we beseech thee." It here seems equivalent to " Re- dress our grievances, and save us from our oppressors ;" and its use by the multitude shows they believed that Jesus had then come to take possession of the (temporal) Messianic kingdom. That cometh in the name of the Lord. — That is, as the representative of Jehovah. Peace in heaven. — " The Divine King comes to proclaim BLINDNESS OF THE DISCIPLES. 60 [ Ch. XXXVII. John 12 : 16-19 ; Luke 19 : 39-41. J.c. 34. These things understood not his disciples at the first : but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees there- fore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ? behold, the world is gone after him. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you, that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and peace in heaven toward those that are on earth, reconciling all things unto God by himself (2 Cor. 5 : 20 ; Col. 1 : 20)." — Abbott Master, rebuke thy disciples — " No devil is so dangerous as the religious devil." — Bishop Hall. "The natural representa- tives of these Pharisees in the present day are to be found among those who rebuke all religious enthusiasm. Observe, too, that the contrast is here clearly drawn between those who render hom- age to Christ as ///<• representative of God on earth and those who condemn it as unseemly, and that Christ not only receives the homage but rebukes the refusal to give it." — Abbott. The stones would immediately cry out. — " The prophet Habakkuk (2 : n) had six hundred and fifty years before foretold the day when the stones should cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber should answer it. Possibly Jesus referred to this prophecy, and to the hour of its fulfillment, when, because Jerusalem had no songs of welcome for its Lord, the stones of its falling towers, and walls, and temple courts cried out in wrathful tones the judgments of God against her." — Abbott's " "Jesus of Nazareth. ' ' He beheld the city, and- wept over it. — "The original im- plies not merely the shedding of tears, but other external ex- pressions of grief ; a deep sorrow, expressed by sobbings rather 6o2 Christ's triumphal entry. Chap. XXXVII. Luke 19 : 42, 43. Mar. 31-Apr. 2, j.c. 34. wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which be- Jesus Laments over ' * ' ° Jerusalem. long unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, than silent tears, is indicated. Twice Jesus is said to have wept — once at the grave of Lazarus (John n : 35), once at the thought of Jerusalem's tragic end ; both times they were tears of sympathy for others' woes. Unselfish tears are not unmanly." Abbott. " Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he saw in the Jeru- salem of Herod and Tiberius the desecrated Jerusalem of the coming days of Titus. He saw those lordly towers shattered, those umbrageous trees hewn down, that golden sanctuary pollut- ed, Judea Capta weeping under her palm-tree amid her tangled hair. He foresaw the horrors of the coming retribution, the six hundred thousand corpses carried out of those city gates, the wretched fugitives crucified by myriads, the starving priests leap- ing madly into the devouring flames, until those flames had done their avenging work, and what had been the noble Jerusalem was but a heap of ghastly ruins, where the smouldering embers were half slaked in the rivers of a guilty nation's blood." — Farrar. Even thou, yea even in this thy day. — " Thy day of mercy. It was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent and to seek in righteousness what would make for peace. The lament is like that of Christ over every soul which is willfully indifferent to the cravings of divine love, and will not know the things that make for its peace." — Abbott. The things which tend unto thy peace. — That is, the course of conduct which would secure peace. There may be a refer- ence here to the name of the city, Jerusalem, which signifies Foundation of peace. For the days shall come. — "The difference between our Lord's style of prophecy and that of ail other prophets is this. He seems to speak with a clear, steady perception of futurity, as if his eye was just as calmly fixed upon future events as if the whole were a present occurrence. The prophets appear only to have a picture, or a strong delineation of their prominent features, and their imaginations become turbid and heated, agi- tated and confused." — Charles Wolfe. This prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem is so minutely exact that some skep- tical writers have insisted that the language must have been writ- ten subsequent to the event. That thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee.— JESUS FORETELLS THE CITY'S DOOM. 603 Luke 19 : 43, 44 ; Mark 11 : 11 ; Matt. 21 : II. and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee : and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another : because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple : and all the city was moved, saying, Who is this ? Rather, a mound. The original signifies a military rampart around a camp or a besieged city, formed of the earth thrown out of a trench, and stuck with sharp stakes or palisades. Titus, in the siege of Jerusalem, proceeded by regular approaches, throwing up earthworks. A rampart such as is here described was constructed, destroyed in a sally, and replaced by a wall. And compass thee round. — Titus entirely encircled the city, making escape, after his lines were once complete, impossible. The phrase " denotes the effectual blockade of the city by the building of a wall, which could not be burned as the mound had been. Jostplms informs us that Titus, in order that he might compel the city to surrender by famine, built a wall around the whole of the city. This wall, nearly five miles in circumference, and furnished with thirteen castles or towers, was completed with incredible labor in ten days. The professed design of this wall was to keep the city in on every side. By this means the people were reduced to such awful extremities that the revolting ex- cesses of parents toward their children, and the sufferings that existed, are too awful to relate." — Bloom field. They shall not leave . . . one stone upon another. — Only three towers were left standing for a time, to show the former strength and magnificence of the place. But these also were afterward leveled with the ground. See also note on page 91. Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. — " The city was destroyed because it rejected Christ, who would have redeemed it from destruction (Matt. 2 1: 3S-43 ; 22 : 7). The student will lose the true meaning and value of this lament for himself if he does not recognize in the destruction of Jerusalem a type of the end of the world and of the judgment that awaits each individual soul, that knows not the time of its merciful visi- tation, and rejects the Lord, who would bring to it peace." — Abbott. All the city was moved. — "Was in commotion ;" agitated with hope, fear, wonder, or disapprobation, according as each person stood affected. 604 Christ's triumphal entry. Ch. XXXVII. Matt. 21 : 11, 18, 19 ; Mark 11 : 11-13. J.c. 34. And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Jesus Publicly En- Nazareth of Galilee. And when he had ters Jerusalem. looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, in the morning, as he returned into the city, from Bethany, he was hungry. And see- Monday, mg a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he April ad. came, if haply he might find any thing there- on: and when he came to it, he found nothing thereon but leaves only : for the time of figs was not yet. And This is Jesus the prophet. — That prophet of whom Moses had spoken (Deut. 18 : 18). Every expression of the multitude plainly intimated that they fully received Jesus as the promised Messiah. He was hungry. — " An actual physical want. It may have been occasioned by his leaving Bethany very early in his zeal to purify the temple where he had seen the abuses as he looked about on the previous evening. Human want and divine power are exhibited simultaneously. On Sunday he entered Jerusalem amid hosannas, on Monday in hunger." — Schaff. A fig-tree. — Fig-trees were common in the neighborhood of Bethany, Bethphage, and the Mount of Olives, and around Jeru- salem. This may have been more flourishing, and have given greater promise of fruit, than the rest. The fig-tree seldom rises above twelve feet ; has many spreading branches, large dark- green leaves, and the fruit, which is of a purplish color, contains a soft, sweet, and fragrant pulp, mixed with small seeds. In Judea it produces two crops of fruit, and sometimes fruit is found on it all the year round. But leaves only. — " Mark adds, ' For the time of figs was not yet.' The usual explanation is that the fruit of the fig-tree pre- cedes the leaf, hence it promised fruit. A recent traveler in Palestine ( T. IV. Chambers) says this is not the case, and gives the following explanation : ' The tree bears two crops — an early ripe fig, which is crude and without flavor and valueless, and a later fig, which is full of sweetness and flavor, and highly esteemed. All trees bear the first ; only good ones have the second. Now the tree our Lord saw had not the second, for the time of that had not yet come ; but it had not even the first, for it had nothing but leaves, and the lack of the first was sure evidence that the second would also be wanting.' The solitary tree was a figure of JESUS CURSES THE FIG-TREE. 605 Chap. XXXVII. Matt. 21 : 19 ; Mark 11 : 14. j.c. 34. Jesus said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And presently the fig-tree withered away. Israel set by itself ; the leaves represented the hypocritical pre- tensions to sanctity, the barrenness the lack of real holiness. Applicable to false professors in every age." — Schaff. "The other trees had nothing, but they did not pretend to have any thing ; this tree had nothing, but it gave out that it had much. So was it severally with the Gentile and with the Jew. The Gen- tiles were bare of all fruits of righteousness, but they owned it ; the Jews were bare, but they counted that they were full. The Gentiles were sinners ; but the Jews were hypocrites and pretend- ers to boot, and by so much farther from the kingdom of God, and more nigh unto a curse. Their guilt was not that they had not the perfect fruits of faith, for it was not the season for such : the time of these was not yet ; but that, not having, they so boastfully gave out that they had — not that they were not healed, but that, being unhealed, they counted themselves whole. The law would have done its work, the very work for which God ordained it, if it had stripped them of these boastful leaves, or rather had prevented them from ever putting them forth." — Trench. " Nothing but leaves ; the spirit grieves Over a wasted life ; Sin committed while conscience slept, Promises made but never kept, Hatred, battle, and strife ; Nothing but leaves ! " Nothing but leaves ; no garnered sheaves Of life's fair, ripened grain ', Words ; idle words, for earnest deeds : We sow our seeds — lo ! tares and weeds ; We reap, with toil and pain, Nothing but leaves .' " Nothing but leaves ; memory weaves No veil to screen the past: As we retrace our weary way, Counting each lost and misspent day, We find, sadly, at last, Nothing but leavei I " And shall we meet the Master so, Bearing our withered leaves ? The Saviour looks for perfect fruit ; We stand before him, humbled, mute ; Waiting the words he breathes — ' Nothing but leaves t ' " — Lucy E. Akerman. No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. — " This action was emblematical ; according to the usual custom of the East to 606 Christ's triumphal entry. Mark n : 15-17 ; Matt. 21 : 12, 13 ; Luke 19 : 45, 46. And they come to Jerusalem : and went into the tem- ple of God, and Jesus began to cast out them that sold Jesus expels the and bought therein, and overthrew the Traders from the ° ' Temple. tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves ; and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the tem- ple, saying unto them, Is it not written, express things by symbolical actions. It was also prophetic. Our Lord intended to prove that his power to punish the disobe- dient was as great as that to confer benefits. It was, moreover, to prefigure the destruction of the perverse Jews, because in the time of fruits they had borne none, and likewise to read a very important lesson 10 all his disciples of every age — that if the opportunities God gives for approving themselves virtuous be neglected, nought will remain but to be withered by the fiat which shall consign them to destruction." — Bloomfield. And presently the fig-tree withered away.— On the next morning it was found to be " dried up from the roots" (Mark 11 : 20). The application to the Jewish people is unmistakable. And went into the temple of God.— " On the day of his entry [Sunday] Jesus had entered it and ' looked round ' (Mark 11 : 11), as if to take formal possession of it. This entrance was on Monday to purify it ; on Tuesday he took final leave of it (Matt. 24 : 1). This was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Haggai (2 : 9)." — Schaff. The outer court of the temple, or the court of the Gentiles, is here referred to. It was sufficiently spacious to admit not only of shops, but also of oxen, sheep, etc.. which were regularly brought there and sold for sacrifices. The money-changers. — See note on page 93. Should carry a vessel. — Including utensils, tools, etc. Through the temple.— That is, through the court of the Gentiles, which seems to have been used as a thoroughfare. "The very passing through it without a burden would make it a thoroughfare, but doing it with a burden was much worse, because carrying a burden had something slavish in it. The irregularities which our Lord rebukes had, it is supposed, originated in, or been increased by, the proximity of the Castle of Antonia, to which there would be a constant resort of vari- ous persons (see Josepbus, B. J. 1 : 3, 5), and we may imag- ine that the priests, having an interest therein, connived at them." — Bloomfield. " Our Saviour overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and would not suffer them to carry burdens TEACHES AND HEALS IN THE TEMPLE. 607 Matt. 21 : 13, 14-16 ; Mark 11 : 17 ; Luke ig : 46. My house shall be called, of all nations, the house of prayer? Rut ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple ; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased, and said through the temple, though for the use of those that sacrificed, a thing which had some show of religion in it. lie whipped both out ; not only those that had residence there, but those that passed through. He would suffer none but those who could justify what they did by the law. Now as God would not have sin lodge and make its abode in the soul, so he would not have it made a thoroughfare for sin. He would not have vain thoughts come up and down in the heart." — Archbishop Usher. " This casting of the traders out of the temple— narrated also in Mark 11 : 15-19, and Luke 19 : 45-48, is not to be confounded with that recorded in John 2 : 13-17, at the commencement of Christ's ministry. It is not at all strange that, scourged from the temple, they should, in less than three years, have returned again to corrupt it. History is full of parallels. The temple was cleansed, but not filled by the indwelling of the Spirit of God." — Abbott. (See note p. 94). And the children crying in the temple. — " After cleansing the temple, or that part of the court of the Gentiles called ' the shops,' where every day was sold wine, salt, oil, as also oxen and sheep, he permits the blind and lame, probably those who asked alms at the gates, to come to him ; and he healed them. These healings, and the expressions of wonder and gratitude which they called forth, joined to the remembrance of the accla- mations that had greeted him the day before, led the children in the temple, who may have been members of the choir of singers employed in the temple service, to cry, ' Hosanna to the Son of David,' greatly to the displeasure of the priests and scribes. It is remarkable that children only are mentioned, and may indi- cate that already the multitude, overawed by the firm and hostile bearing of his enemies, had begun to waver, and dared no more openly express their good-will. (See, however, Mark n : 18). Some, from the fact that the children are here mentioned as cry- ing Hosanna, and that in the temple, make it to have been on the day of the Lord's entry. But there is no difficulty in believ- ing that the children might now re-echo what they had heard a few hours before." — Andrews. 608 Christ's triumphal entry. Matt. 21 : 16, 17 ; Mark n : 18, 19 ; Luke 19 : 47, 48 ; 21 : 37. unto him, Hearest thou what these say ? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea : have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise ? And the scribes and chief priests and the chief of the people sought how they might destroy him, and could not find what they might do : for they feared him, be- jesus teaches in cause all the people were very. attentive the Temple. tQ jiear ^j^ and were astonished at his doctrine. And in the day-time he was teaching in the temple ; and at night he went out of the city into Beth- Have ye never read ? — A pointed rebuke, for he quotes from the book it was their business to read. Out of the mouth of babes, etc. — Ps. 8:2. " 1. The praise of the Messiah is the praise of God. 2. The praise of children is a praise which God himself has prepared for himself, the miracu- lous energy of his Spirit. 3. The scribes might fill up the rest : thou hast prepared praise — ' on account of thine adversaries to bring to silence the enemy and the accuser.' " — Langc. Thou hast perfected praise. — " More literally, ' Thou restor- est praise.' True praise of God had perished from the temple ; in the mouths of these children it was being restored. So every babe is, in his innocence, a restorer of the praise of God to the earth." — Abbott. The chief of the people. — Chiefs of the synagogues, who combined with the chief priests — the heads of the priestly courses and the scribes— that is, the theological teachers. All the people were very attentive. — The expression is very strong in the original, " They hung upon his words." " The people hung upon the lips of their all-wise Teacher. This implies two very strong ideas— an attention that nothing could interrupt, and an eagerness scarce ever to be satisfied." — Ha?-- ■vey. " The common people heard him gladly." And at night he went out of the city. — " There can be little doubt that he spent the nights during passion week in this village (Bethany), and probably in the house of Lazarus. Matthew says (21 : 17) : ' He went out of the city, into Bethany, and he lodged there.' Luke, speaking in general terms, says (21 : 37) : ' And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out and abode (lodged) in the mount that is THE COMMON PEOPLE HEAR HIM GLADLY. 609 Chap. XXXVII. Matt. 21 : 17 ; Luke 21 : 38. j.c. 34. any, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morn- ing to him in the temple, for to hear him. called of Olives.' Probably Bethany is here meant as a district embracing a part of the mount, for he could not well, at this sea- son of the year, without a tent, lodge in the open air. Alexander supposes that Luke would suggest that ' a part of these nights was employed in prayer amidst the solitudes of Olivet.' Some would put the request of the Greeks to see Jesus, and his answer to them (John 12 : 20-36), upon this day ; but it may better be referred to Tuesday." — Andrews. 6lO THE DAY OF CONFLICT. XXXVIII. Matt. 21 : 20 ; Mark 11 : 20-22. Apr. j.c. 34. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE DAY OF CONFLICT. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots, and the disciples mar- veled, saying, How soon is the fig-tree withered away ! The withered And Peter calling to remembrance, saith Fig-tree. unto h{mj Master, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away. They saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. — " The withering of the fig tree seems to have begun as soon as the Lord had spoken the curse against it. Matthew says, ' presently the fig-tree withered away.' Mark says, ' it was dried up from the roots.' In twenty-four hours it was completely dead." — An- drews. " It would appear from St. Matthew that some begin- nings of the threatened withering began to show themselves al- most as soon as the word of the Lord was spoken ; a shuddering fear may have run through all the leaves of the tree, which was thus stricken at its heart. ... On the morning of Monday, as he was returning from Bethany to his ministry in the city very early, indeed before sunrise, the word against the fig-tree was spoken. That same evening he, with his disciples, went back to Bethany, to lodge there, but probably at so late an hour that the darkness prevented them from marking the effects which had followed upon that word, it was not till the morning of Tues- day that " they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots.'" — Trench. Which thou cursedst. — " The language of Peter ; yet our Lord's act was a curse — that is, a judicial word and act of con- demnation. That it was judicial and just, not passionate and wanton, is evident not only from the character of our Lord, but from the lessons he connects with it. Mark, who inserts Peter's language, which might be misunderstood, alone tells us about forgiving." — Schaff. " In one of his parables our Lord had spoken of the Jewish nation under the figure of a tree, which, though carefully tended year by year, bore no fruit. At last the word goes forth, ' Cut it down.' [The cursing of this fig-tree] was an outward symbol of that doomed city whose day of mercy was past. The awfulness of these last words (' no fruit grow on thee henceforth and forever'), and of this last significant sign, is in- creased by the tenderness of Him who gave them forth. It is the Fountain of Pity, the All-Loving-One, that uttered the doom— a THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 6ll XXXVIII. Matt. 21 : 21, 22 ; Mark 11 : 22-25. Apr. j.c. 34. And Jesus answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, but believe that those things that ye say shall come to pass, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but also shall say unto this moun- tain, 13e thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and it shall be done. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye re- ceive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any : that doom made certain and inevitable not by God's will, but by man's perversity."—//. B. Stoive. Have faith in God. — " The words have in themselves the widest application, but the next two verses show that the apostles were directed to God, as the source of power for themselves, spiritual power in the case of all believers, miraculous power in their case, in view of their special mission." — Schaff. Shall say unto this mountain. — The Mount of Olives, which, probably, they were then descending. " A trusting heart, a yearning eye, Can win their way above ; If mountains can be moved by faith. Is there less power in love ?' — Faber. Forgive if ye have aught against any one. — " See Matt. 5 : 23, where the converse is presented : ' thy brother hach aught against thee,' and Matt. 6 : 14, etc. That such sayings should be repeated almost word for word, is not at all strange. A for- giving temper is necessary for them in working miracles, as well as faith and believing prayer : their faith and the power it wields should never be used in the service of hate." — Schaff. " Since in this one instance his power had been put forth to destroy, he added a very important warning. They were not to suppose that this emblematic act gave them any license to wield the sacred powers which faith and prayer would bestow on them, for pur- poses of anger and vengeance ; nay, no power was possible to the heart that knew not how to forgive, and the unforgiving heart could never be forgiven. The sword, and the famine, and the pestilence were to be no instruments for them to wield, nor were they even to dream of evoking against their enemies the fire of heaven, or ' the icy wind of death.' The secret of successful prayer was faith ; the road to faith in God lay through pardon of transgression ; pardon was possible to them only who were ready to pardon others." — Fatrar. 6l2 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Mark n : 26-29 '< Matt. 21 : 23, 24 ; Luke 20 : 1-3. your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your respasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. And they come again to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, as he was walking in the temple, and taught the Christ's Authority people, and preached the gospel, the chief questioned. priests and the scribes came upon him, with the elders of the people and spake unto him, say- ing, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things ? and who gave thee this authority ? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise In the Temple. — " The outer court of the Temple, the court of the Gentiles, was a convenient gathering-place of the people, and during the Passover week would be thronged. Here Christ and his apostles often preached (John 7 : 14 ; 8:2; Acts 2 : 46 ; 3:1, 11, etc.)." — Abbott. The elders of the people. — These " representatives of all the constituent classes of the Sanhedrin were there to overawe him — whom they despised as the poor ignorant prophet of despicable Nazareth — with all that was venerable in age, emi- nent in wisdom, or imposing in authority in the great council of the nation. The people whom he was engaged in teaching made reverent way for them, lest they should pollute those float- ing robes and ample fringes with a touch ; and when they had arranged themselves around Jesus, they sternly and abruptly asked him." — Farrar. By what authority doest thou these things? — "He had neither the authority of a rabbi to teach, nor of a priest to cleanse the Temple. There is a significance in the vagueness of the language— these things. They were unwilling to specify the cleansing of the Temple, and so to seem publicly to justify its pollution. ' ' — A bbott. And who gp.ve thee this authority? — "'Even if you as- sume to be a prophet, who sent you ? ' A hint at the old charge of Satanic power." — Schaff. "This question interprets the other, and indicates their object : viz., authority on which they could found a charge of blasphemy. They thus sought by in- direction what on his trial the high-priest sought by a direct question. See Matt. 26 : 63, 64. — Abbott. JESUS FOILS THE PHARISEES. 613 Matt. 21 ■ 24-27 ; Mark 11 : 29-33 ; Luke 20 : 4-7. will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men ? Answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven ; he will say unto us, Why, then, did ye not believe him ? But if we say, Of men ; we fear the people, for all of them will stone us : for they be persuaded that John was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. The Baptism of John.— " With that infinite presence of mind, of which the world's history furnishes no parallel, and which remained calm under the wo'rst assaults, he told them that the answer to their question depended on the answer which they were prepared to give lo his question." — Farrar. And they reasoned, consulted, so as to agree upon the answer. We fear the people.—" Seest thou a perverse heart. In every case they despise God, and do all things for the sake of men. " — Ckrysostom. The people will stone us.—" The priests had themselves accustomed the people to that violence. When they could not legally convict their enemies, they invited the populace to stone them. (See Jno. 10 : 31; Ac. 14 :*io,.) Stoning was indeed enjoined in the law of Moses as the punishment of idolatry, blasphemy, and other heinous offences ; and its execution was committed to the people at large. Yet it appears from Exodns, that such irregular and tumultuary vengeance was in use before the law— S : 26, And Moses said, It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God ; lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us ? ' " — Bloom field. We cannot tell. — Literally, we do not know. " They were caught in a rough alternative, and could extricate themselves only by a step of desperation— a confession of ignorance, and that of hypocriiical (pretended) ignorance."— Lange. "They assumed to judge of Christ's authority ; he compelled them to con- fess publicly their inability to judge of the authority of John the Baptist. Their utter want of moral principle, their supreme and even unconcealed indifference to the truth, stands out nowhere more clearly than in these last days of Christ's ministry. Com- pare Matt. 22 : 15 ; Luke 20 : 20 ; John 11 : 47-50."— .-^/wy. "If they had recognized the divine mission of John, they must 6 14 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 21 : 27-30 ; Mark n : 33 ; Luke 20 : S. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what think ye ? A certain man had two sons ; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day Parable of the m mY vineyard. He answered and said, Two Sons. j win not . but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said like- wise. And he answered and said, I go, sir : and went also have acknowledged the authority by which Jesus did these things, for John expressly declared that he was sent to testify of him, and bore witness to having seen the Holy Spirit descend and rest upon him. These blind leaders of the blind had so far made an insincere concession to ihe people's persuasion as to allow John to pass for a prophet ; but they shrank from the re- proof which was sure to follow their acknowledging it now. This consultation among themselves is related almost verbatim by the three evangelists. The intelligence of it may have been originally derived from Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea. " — Alford. Neither do I tell you. — "Christ answers their thought : we •will not tell. This refusal is similar to that made when a sign from heaven was demanded (Mat!. 12 : 38 ff.). The answer as- sumes their proven and confessed incompetency to decide on the authority of a prophet, and consequently his superiority to their questioning. Such a defeat increased their opposition. ' ' — Schaff. " There are two reasons why the knowledge of truth should be kept back from those who ask — either when he who asks is unfit to receive ; ur, from his hatred and contempt of the truth, is un- worthy to have that which he asks opened to him." — Rabanus. " One may admire in this incident the skill with which Christ confounds the enemies of truth. It illustrates (a) Christ's refusal to submit his claims to the decision of inimical skeptics ; (b) the unity of divine truth : one cannot accept a part and reject a part, e.g. accept John the Baptist and reject Christ ; (<-) the hypocrisy of much that appears to be religious investigation ; (J) the right of a religious teacher to ' answer a fool according to his folly,' if he has the ability to do so." — Abbott. Son. — Literally, " Child" — an affectionate address. I go, sir. — " I, in' contrast with this one who refuses ; an expression of pride. The answer was hypocritical, since it is not added that he changed his mind, but simply went not." — Schaff. " There is an air of alacrity and of quasi self-assurance in the REPENTANCE AND TRUE BELIEF. 615 Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 21 : 30-32. Apr. j.c. 34. not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not : but the pub- licans and the harlots believed him : and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might be- lieve him. original which our version hardly retains. Morison paraphrases it, ' You may depend upon me, sir.' The character and ex- perience described are depicted in such passages as Isaiah 29 : 13 ; Ezek. 33 : 31 ; Matt. 15 : 8 ; Rom. 2 : 17-23 ; Titus 1 : id"— Abbott. Go into the kingdom . . . before you. — " A life of repent- ance of past sins, inflamed with love toward God, is more pleas- ing to him than a state of innocence, benumbed under the feeling of self security." — Gregory. In the way Of righteousness. — " Preaching obedience as the way of life, which was the radical doctrine of Pharisaism, but preaching a very different kind of obedience, viz., compliance with the moral, not with the mere ceremonial law (see Luke 3 : 10-14). John the Baptist came upon their own ground, yet thev believed not." — Abbott. That ye might believe. — Intimating that there was a close connection between repentance and faith, and that their unre- pentant state of mind prevented the reception of the great truth to which John bare witness, that Jesus is the Messiah. " The two sons represent, not the Gentiles and the Jews as interpreted by some of the earlier commentators, nor the publicans and Phari- sees as usually interpreted by the later commentators, but those publicans who regretted their open and flagrant sinfulness and commenced a life of obedience, and those Pharisees who endeav- ored to cover a life of real disobedience by a pretence of com- pliance with the law. ... In its modern application, the parable teaches, not that there is more hope for a flagrant sinner than for a virtuous man, but that the flagrant sinner who forsakes his sins enters the kingdom of heaven before the orthodox and moral man who clings to his sins. The first son is commended not because of the daring wickedness of his reply, but because he regretted it, and showed his regret by his action 6l6 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 21 : 33, 34 ; Mark 12: 1, 2 ; Luke 20 : 9, 10. Hear another parable : There was a certain house- holder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round Parable of the about, and digged a wine-press in it, and Wicked Husband- , ., toto , , . 1 , , . men. built a tower, and let it out to husband- ment, and went for a long time into a far country : and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his ser- On the other hand, the second son is not condemned for his answer, but in spite of it, and because, having promised obedi- ence, he refused to render it. The lesson of the parable is then exactly the lesson of Matt. 7 : 21-27. Incidentally it opens the door of hope to all, even the least and the lowest." — Abbott. " Who was more wretched than Matthew ? But he became an evangelist. Who worse than Paul ? But he became an apos- tle. . . . Rahab was a harlot, yet she was saved ; and the thief was a murderer, yet he became a citizen of Paradise ; and while Judas, being with his Master, perished, the thief, being on a cross, became a disciple." — Chrysostom. The whole parable illustrates Matt, ig : 30. " There is a divine delicacy in the ways of God. He does not clog his Gospel with conditions, nor is the joy of forgiveness dashed by formal stipulations as to future conduct. He would have you be, not a servant, but a son — a son whose interest and honor are bound up with his own ; and if you cannot hear the voice of the neglected vineyard crying to every idler, ' Come, work ! ' he will not vex you by repeating too often, ' Son, go ! ' Nevertheless, knowing as you do the will of your Father, and merely saying, ' I go, sir,' without ever stirring a step, can you wonder that he is grieved at his heart ? Can you wonder that your consolations are small ? Can you wonder if you feel a dullness and depression which you once thought it impossi- ble that you could ever experience at home ?" — "James Hamilton. There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard. " Observe his great care and the excessive idleness of these men. For what pertained to the husbandmen he himself did, the hedging round about, the planting the vineyard, and all the rest. " — Chrysostom. And when the time of the fruit drew near. — " By the Mosaic law the fruit of the trees was not to be eaten for five years after planting. This reasonable provision, though based on religious grounds, gave the tree opportunity for maturing be- fore use (Lev. 19 : 23, 25). But the analogy is not to be pressed. All time is the time of fruit with the individual and with the nation. God continually seeks for fruit (Luke 13:7; John 15 : 2, 5, 8)."— Abbott. GOSPEL MESSENGERS DESPISED. 617 Matt. 21 : 34-38 ; Mark 12, 2-7 ; Luke 20 : 10-14. vants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of the vineyard. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and stoned another, and sent them away empty and shamefully handled. And again he sent another ; and him they killed, and many others, beating some, and killing some. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do ? I will send my only and well beloved son : it may be they will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said He sent his servants ; " the prophets of the Old Testa- ment, tailing for the fruits of righteousness from the Jewish peo- ple. The maltreatment of the servants appears in the history of the prophets (Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah) ; comp. Neh. 9 : 26 ; Matt. 23 : 29-31, 34, 37 ; Rev. 16 : t"—Schaff. " For an abun- dant historical justification of this description, and as showing that the past ingratitude of the people is not painted here in col- ors a whit too dark, see 1 Kings 18 : 13 ; 19 : 14 ; 22 : 24-27 ; 2 Kings 6 : 31 ; 21 : 16 , 2 Chron. 24 : 19-22 ; 36 : 15, 16 ; Jer, 20 : 1, 2 ; 37 : 15 ; and also Acts 7 : 51-55 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 15 ; Heb. 11 : 36, 37." — Trench. " I am convinced that in this world the true heavenly doctrine will ever have to maintain a conflict with errors and corruptions, and that those who uphold the cause of divine truth will ever be under the cross and suffer for their principles. From the beginning of the world it has been so ; and holy and enlightened men know that these things must be borne." — Melancthon. What shall I do? — " A graphic representation of the Heav- enly Father's grief over the rebellion of his children." — Abbott. They will reverence my son. — " God often seems to speak in doubt, that a place may be left to man's free will." — Bcde. " I remember one of the poets hath an ingenious fancy to ex- press the passion wherewith he found himself overcome after a long resistance ; that ' the god of love had shot all his golden arrows at him, but could never pierce his heart ; till at length he put himself into the bow, and darted himself straight into his breast.' Methinks, this doth some way adumbrate God's method of dealing with men. He had long contended with a stubborn world, and thrown down many a blessing upon them ; and when all his other gifts could not prevail, he at last made a gift of himself to testify his affections and to engage theirs." — Scougal. "The Lord Christ is heir of all things, not as God, 6l8 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 21 : 38-41 ; Mark 12 : 7-9 ; Luke 20 : 14-17. among themselves, This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen ? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. but as man ; for as God, he is maker of all." — Theodoret. " I could easily believe that the lathers of the Sanhedrin had either a knowledge, or at least some suspicion, that Jesus was the true Messiah. . . . The vine-dressers in the parable knew well enough that ' he was the heir ; ' and it was come to this, in the struggle betwixt them : Either he will •' inherit ' with his doctrine, or we will with ours. ' Come, therefore, let us kill him ; ' and the inheritance shall be ours." — Lightfoot. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. — " All three narrators describe him as thus ' cast out of the vineyard,' by which we are reminded of Him who ' suffered without the gate.' " — Trench. He will miserably destroy those wicked men. Abbott ren- ders this clause as an exclamation : " Miserable fellows ! Mis- erably will he destroy them !" and he remarks : " The lan- guage of indignation is far stronger in the original, of which I give, as nearly as possible, a literal translation, than in our Eng- lish version. The Pharisees did not perceive the drift of his parable, or perhaps this was the answer of the people, and " God forbid" (Luke 20 : 16) was their involuntary response to the popular expression. To this response, reported only by Luke, Christ replies with the quotation from the O. T. of the next verse, thus confirming the lesson of his parable." On this passage Schaff remarks : " The order and repetition of the original might be thus reproduced : ' these wretches will he wretchedly destroy.' The rulers, whether wittingly or unwit- tingly, condemn themselves." " How solemnly is the extinc- tion of the national existence and the removal of the religious privileges of the Jews foretold ! The sentence which is here passed upon them is rendered more terrible from their being condemned out of their own mouth !" — Bloomfield. THE HEAD OF THE CORNER. 619 Matt. 21 : 42 ; Mark 12 : 10, 11 ; Luke 20 : 17. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected. The same is become the head of the corner : This is the Lord's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes ? The stone which the builders rejected— Ps. riS : 22. " The ' hosannas' of the populace when he entered Jerusalem in tri- umph were taken from the same psalm. The original reference of the passage is doubtful, whether to David or to Zerubbabel (Zech. 3 : 8, 9 ; 4 : 7) ; but it is properly applied to the Messiah. Comp. Isa. 28 : 16, which Peter cites in connection with it (1 Pet. 2 : 6, 7 ; comp. Rom. q : 33)."— Schaff. The builders rejected.— The rulers of the Jews (" the hus- bandmen"), whose duty it was to build up the spiritual temple now addressed in rebuke and warning. ' The head of the corner.— The ordinary interpretation of this figure refers it to the corner-stone, that on which the whole superstructure rests. In support of this view are cited the pas- sages elsewhere in the Bible referring to Christ as the chief corner-stone of his church (Acts 4 : n ; r Cor. 3 : 11; 1 Pet. 2 -6 7; Isa. 28 : 16 ; Zech. 4:7; Ephes. 2 : 20-22). Another view has however been suggested, which, if not substantiated, is at least new, interesting, and apt : namely, that the reference is to the cap-stone of a pyramid. The writers who, of late, have been zealously measuring, theorizing, compiling data and interpret- ing Scripture to show that what is known as "The Great Pyramid," at Ghizeh on the Nile, was a building inspired of God in prehistoric times, to furnish mankind with certain ele- mental units of weight and standards of measurement, as well as to contain prophetic records of sacred history, find manv curious allusions and figures in the Bible which they refer to this structure. The passage under consideration is one. Ref- erences by the Hebrew writers to the architecture, customs and influence of so singular a people as the Egyptians might have been expected. Yet they are verv rarely found ; and this Great Pyramid— which its enthusiasts claim to have been built bv one of the Shepherd Kings of Canaan (perhaps Melchisedek,' who was recognized by Abraham as his superior), who went to Egypt by God's command to build this " miracle in stone "— this, they claim, is over and again used bv the sacred writers as a figure and a symbol, while the purely Egyptian elements are utterly ignored. The cap-stone of a pyramid, triangular, and useless during the process of building, is " rejected by the 620 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. XXXVIII. Matt. 21 : 43, 44 ; Luke 20 : 18. Apr. j.c. 34. Therefore say 1 unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing Christ the Corner- forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever stone. shall fall on this stone, shall be broken : but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. builders," but at the last is chief])' honored and becomes the " head of the corner." Whoever falls on this " stumbling-block," or "rock of offence," as it lies about the building-ground, is " pierced or broken ;" should it fall from its lofty station it would "grind to powder " him on whom it should fall. Smith's Bib. Diet, says that "by some, the expression in Ps. 11S : 22, which is here quoted, is understood to mean the coping or ridge of a building;" but takes no note of the aptness of a pyramidal cap-stone to fill the conditions of the figure. Eph. 2 : 20, 21 is a passage particularly favorable to this suggestion, mentioning Jesus Christ as " the chief corner-stone, in whom all the build- ing, fitly framed together, groweth an holy temple to the Lord." However, this may all be but fanciful, and, at best, no figure should be strained too far, or stretched and twisted in the attempt to make it fit too many ideas, or mean too much. This is the constant temptation of commentators. If the pyramidal figure gives any one a clear illustration of Christ's words, it serves purpose enough. Shall be broken. — " Probably a reference to Isa. 8 : 14, 15. He who runs against or falls over the corner-stone, making Christ a spiritual offence or stumbling-block (comp. 1 Pet. 2 : 8), will be bruised. This is the punishment of the active enemy of the passive Christ." — Sehajf. " They fall on the stone who are offended at Christ in his low estate (Isa. S : 14 ; 53 : 2 ; Luke 2 : 34 ; 4 : 29 ; John 4 : 44) ; of this sin his hearers were already guilty." On whomsoever it shall fall. — " They on whom the stone falls are those who set themselves in self-conscious opposition against the Lord ; who, knowing what he is, do yet to the end oppose themselves to him and to his kingdom. These shall not merely fall and be broken ; for one might recover himself, though with some present harm, from suth a fall as this ; but on them the stone shall fall as from heaven, and shall grind them to powder." — Trench. "Comp. Matt. 12:32. The verb here rendered grind to powder, is literally winnow, and here implies both making chaff of them and scattering them as chaff to the MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 621 XXXVIII. Matt. 21 : 45, 46 ; 22 : 1-3 ; Mark 12 : 12. j.c. 34. And when the chief priest and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake against them. But when they sought the same hour to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet, and they left him, and went their way. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to winds of heaven." — Abbott. " When Christ is the active judge, this utter destruction will be the full punishment of his enemies. Repentance may intervene and avert this final result. There is a reference here to Dan. 2 : 34, 35, 44, the stone in that prophecy being identified with that mentioned in Ps. 118, Isa. 8, and with Christ himself. In addition to the striking fulfillment in the case of the Jewish rulers, there is an obvious application to all who oppose Christ, who take offence at him as the corner-stone." — Schaff. They perceived that he spake against them. — " A sec- ond time they had been compelled to an admission, which fatally, out of their own mouths, condemned themselves : they had confessed with their own lips that it would be in accordance with God's justice to deprive them of their exclusive rights, and to give them to the Gentiles." — Farrar. " They now perceived, if not before, that the parable referred to them ; their determina- tion to kill him became fixed (see Mark 12 : 12 ; Luke 20 : 19). Avoiding open violence, because the multitude held him for a prophet, they welcomed treachery, and at last carried the multi- tude with them." — Schaff. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king. — " Mark states (12 : 12) that, after the parable of the wicked hus- bandmen, the rulers ' left him and went their way ; ' hence this parable (peculiar to Matthew) was not spoken directly to the rul- ers. Ver. 1, however, indicates that it was aimed at their thoughts and designs. The parable in Luke 14 : 15-24 (' the great supper ') xesembles this one which is properly called, ' the marriage of the king's son,' but with essential differences. The former was delivered in Perea, at the house of a Pharisee, and was occasioned by an exclamation of one who sat at meat with him. The one was a supper given by a man of wealth ; this a marriage feast given by a king. In the former case the infinite goodness and grace of the Lord is brought out ; here judgment is 622 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 22 : 3-5. Apr. j.c. 34. the wedding : and they would not come. Again, he The Marriage of sent forth other servants, saying, Tell the King's Son. tiiem which are bidden, Behold, I have pre- pared my dinner : my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready : come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one made prominent. The twofold invitation : I. Preparatory (through the centuries of Jewish history). 2. Peremptory, at the time of the wedding (when the New Dispensation was ushered in). The twofold rejection : 1. by indifference (ver.5); 2. by per- secution (ver. 6). The twofold punishment : 1. on the persons ; 2. on the place of the persecutors. The invitation to the Gentiles : 1. without any preliminary (ver. g) ; 2. universal (ver. 10). The twofold sifting : I. through the invitation ; 2. at the feast itself (vers. 11-14). The excuses of indifference (ver. 5), the speech- lessness of self-righteous profession. The wedding feast implies the offer of the wedding garment." — Schaff. A marriage. — " A marriage feast ;" so the Greek and the sequel imply. Such feasts lasted several days, Judg. 14 : 10, 12. Some suppose that ' an inaugural feast ' is meant. On that day the oriental kings were considered as solemnly united to their country, which is compared to an espoused woman. Sent forth his servants. — " It was the custom among the ancients for the guests to be twice invited ; or rather first invited, that they might prepare themselves, and then summoned a short time previous to the banquet, that they might be there at the proper time. The first invitation to the Jews was given by the prophets, down to John the Baptist ; the second afterward by the apostles and other disciples in succession. To this custom Solomon alludes, in a beautiful parable of the accessibility of wisdom to those who are disposed to seek it, Prov. 9 : 1-5." — Bloomfield. " I should rather see in [these invitations] only a testimony to the long-suffering and patience of God, in repeating and re -repeating the Gospel message, as I should see in the end of the parable a justification for refusing to cast pearls before the swine that trample them under loot and atrn again to rend the giver." — Abbott. Fatlings. — " It was agreeable to the simplicity of the ancient ages to mention these as the chief parts of a royal entertain- ment. Thus in Homer and other ancient writers we see princes of the first rank and dignity feasting each other with nothing but the flesh of oxen, sheep, and swine. Compare Isa. 25 :6." — Doddridge. PUNISHMENT OF THE JEWS TYPIFIED. 623 Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 22 : 6-1 1. Apr. j.c. 34. to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spite- fully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth : and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murder- ers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the mar- riage. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good : and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw One to his farm, another to his merchandise. — "The first would enjoy what he already possesses ; the second would acquire what is as yet only in anticipation. The first represents the rich ; the second those that would be rich (1 Tim. 6 : 9 with 17)." — Trench. But the rest. — Representing the fanatical rulers of the Jews, the Pharisees. Treated them shamefully, and slew them.— " Literally ful- filled in case of the apostles and evangelists. Indifference often passes into hostility, as the more consistent attitude." — Schaff, " Some sinners are satisfied with merely neglecting re- ligion ; others proceed against it with open violence and bitter malice. ' ' — Bloom field. He sent forth his armies. — " This points out in the plainest terms the Roman armies under Vespasian and Titus, which, not many years after this was spoken, besieged Jerusalem, and de- stroyed the city with an immense number of its inhabitants. This terrible devastation our Lord here predicts in general terms (as afterwards more particularly at Matt. 24), and represents, as the judgment of God on this perverse and obstinate people, for their rejection of the Christian religion, their savage treatment of the apostles and their associates, and their many other atro- cious crimes." — Greswelh The highways. — " More literally, the confluence of the ways, that is, the open squares and market places where the people would naturally assemble." — Abbott. 624 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 22 : 11-14. Apr. j.c. 34. there a man which had not on a wedding garment : and he saith unto him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not having a wedding-garment ? And he was speech- less. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. Had not on a wedding-garment. — " It is a custom at the present day in the East for the host to present his guests with robes of honor. A story is told in Trench of a vizier slain for failing to wear such a robe, his failure being accounted a mark of disrespect. It is certain that robes were an important part of oriental wealth (Josh. 7:21; Judg, 14 : 12 ; James 5 : 2), and were often given as marks of peculiar favor (Gen. 41 : 42 ; 45 : 22 ; 1 Sam. 18:4; 2 King S5 : 5 ; Dan. 5:7; Esther 6 : 8), and probably were given on state occasions to guests." — Abbott. And the wedding was furnished with guests. — " The Jews, by their rejection of the Gospel, did not frustrate the grace of God. Besides the remarkable fulfillment in the early Christian centuries, there is a reference to the church as gathered ever since from all parts of the world, of ' bad and good,' and containing some without ' a wedding garment.' " — Schaff. The king came in to see the guests. — By this circumstance ancient manners are accurately depicted. Grotins says that when great persons gave magnificent banquets, they used, when their guests were seated, to enter the hall of entertainment. Friend. — The original does not imply special friendship : it was a common form of address. Matt. 20 : 3 ; 26 : 50. The servants. — " A different word from that used before, referring not to the ' servants ' who invited, nor to the guests, but probably to angels, as ministers of judgment." — Schaff. Outer darkness. — " The Jews generally had their great feasts in the evening : those cast out are therefore in darkness." — Burder. " The lesson is that no one can enter heaven except through humility and a change of nature ; that he must not only accept Jesus Christ openly, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there is discrimination in God's kingdom, but to be ex- ercised by the king, not by his servants (Matt. 13 : 29, 30), and at the door of the feast, not in the invitation." — Abbott. For many are called, but few are chosen. — This is the text of the parable. It was a proverbial expression (see Matt. 20 : 16). Here the application is more general. THE PHARISEES PLOT AGAINST JESUS. 625 Matt. 22 : 15, 16 ; Mark 12 : 13 ; Luke 20 : 20. Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they watched him. And they sent out unto him their disciples, with the Herodians, as spies, which should feign themselves Then went the Pharisees.-" To bad men nothing is so maddening as the exhibition of their own self-deception. So great was , he hardly-concealed fury of the Jewish hierarchy, that they would gladly have seized him that very hour. Fear re strained them. ... But his enemies held another council -at this time they seem to have held them almost daily-to see if they could not make one more combined, systematic, over- whelming effort to entangle him in his talk,' to' convict him of ignorance or of error, to shake his credit wilh the multitude or embroil him in dangerous relations toward the civil authority " • "1 NeKer WCue their Craft and inveterate hostility more strik- ingly shown than ,n these attempts to draw something from his own mouth which might serve as the basis of accusation ag^inTt him. The firs, question would have been full of peril to one less wise than himself, for it appealed to the most lively political susceptibilities of the people. No zealous Jew could admit that tribute was rightly due to C*sar. and much less could o^e who claimed to be the Messiah admit this ; for it was to confess iha° he was the vassal of the Romans, a confession utterly incompat- ible wih Messianic claims. Yet if he denied this, the* Herodians were at hand to accuse him of treason, an accusation wh ch the Romans were always quick to hear. But he avoided the artfully ^,7« by referring the question to their own d^S be their 1° d ?S?en fthCm f°r hiS Pe°P,e' <™d he a'™e should h^nth HmR: and there'ore 1C wa* not right for them to be under ?W ^ f tulTT ,YuCt' beCauSe of their sins. God had gTven them into he hands of their enemies, and they were now under Roman rule. This fact they must recognize, and in view of this they must fulfill all duties, those to Crcsar as weff as Those to Their disciples -" Some of their younger scholars who ll Thl Lad?tS m hvPOCriSy,) were to approach him as though in all the gu leless simplicity of an inquiring spirit. They evidently designed to raise the impression that a dispute had occurred be tween them and the Herodians, and that they desired to settle it by referring the decision of the question at issue to the final and higher authority of the Great Prophet."— Farrar With the Herodians.-" They are mentioned only here and 626 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 22 : 16, 17 ; Mark 12 : 14, 15 ; Luke 20 : 20-22. just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority Concerning of the governor. And when they were Tribute to P , . " ,, ' Caesar. come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, — and carest for no man : for thou regardest not the person of men ; tell us therefore, What thinkest thou ? Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no ? Shall we give, or shall we not give ? in Mark 12 : 13, etc., and Mark 3 : 6. The leference to the leaven of Herod in Mark 8 : 15 contains perhaps an indirect al- lusion to them. They are not described by Josephus or any contemporary writers. Their character can only be conjectured from their name. They were probably a political rather than an ecclesiastical party, the adherents of the Herodian family, who were the creatures of C?esar. The Herodians. therefore, would have been ready to prefer an accusation against any one who counseled refusal to pay the Roman tax." — Abbott. Master, we know, etc. — " They purported to be true inquir- ers, to desire counsel, and by flattery sought to draw him on to a repudiation of the Roman tax. To them is applicable the prov- erb which Alford quotes : ' The devil never lies so foully as when he tells the truth.' " — Abbott. " Next to hypocrisyin relig- ion, there is nothing worse than hypocrisy in friendship." — Bishop Hall. And carest for no man. — " His independence and sincerity had just been demonstrated, but their acknowledgment of these peculiarities was to tempt him : as if one party would say, You do not care for the Roman authorities ; the other, You do not care for the authority of the Pharisees and Jewish rulers." — Schaff. Thou regardest not the person of men. — Comp. Lev. 19 : 15 ; Jude 16 ; Deut. 16 : 19 ; 2 Sam. 14 : 14 ; Acts 10 : 34 ; James 2 : 1, 3, 9 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 17. Is it lawful to give tribute. — " In order to understand the insidious nature of the question here proposed to Jesus, it must be observed, that the Jews at this time being under the domin- ion of the Romans, paid them an annual tribute in money as an acknowledgment of their subjection. The annual capitation tax, or tribute money, imposed by the Romans on the Jews was a denarius, which tax they bore with great impatience. Judas THE JUSTICE OF EQUIVALENTS. 627 Matt. 22 : 18-21 ; Mark 12 : 15-17 ; Luke 20 : 23-25. But Jesus perceived their hypocrisy and craftiness and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ? Show me the tribute-money, that I may see it. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription ? ' They say unto him, Ceesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's ; and unto God the things that are God's. of Galilee, about ten years after the birth of Christ, first stirred up the people to resist this tax, sayine it was conrrarv J lu reigion to acknowledge any otheY fovJe^T&Z^ S^l He 1S SUPP°sed to have been of the Pharisees. "- Bring me the tribute money.—" Thev would nn« h» in, 1 to carry with them the hated Roman coinage wkh it hea iS symbols, though they might have been at orfce able ut „1 from theirgirdles the Temple shekel. But °hey would on^vhL'e to step outside the Court of the Gentiles, and'borrot ?roJ Uhe money-changers' tables a current Roman coin. While the pTonle stood round .n wondering silence they brought him a denadu Erases ,s ,he f«>ra^A*s.,sffi country s subjection to his government."-//*/^ P Render unto Caesar.-" Rather here. ' Give back to Caesar ' Compare for simdar use of the same verb, LukY$ £ ■ TL They ask, Is ,t lawful lo givef ' he replies ' GivAacP since they accepted in the coinage of C.xsar the benefit* nfV 1ZZ. they were b„„„d £„w w. { *£-J Jftajp perhaps „o„e ,he ,e5s i„?„K,d. LalhTadSy^n"^ 628 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 22 : 22, 23 ; Mark 12 : 17, 18 ; Luke 20 : 26, 27. And they could not take hold of his words before the people : and they marveled at his answer, held their peace, left him, and went their way. The same day came to him certain of the Sadducees second clause of Christ's reply : ' Man is the coinage and beats the image of God (Gen. 1 : 27) ; and this image is not lost by the fall (Gen. 9 : 6 ; Acts 17 : 29 ; James 3 : 9). We owe then ourselves to God ; and this solemn duty is implied, of giving ourselves to him, with all that we have and are.' " "In like manner as Caesar demands of us the stamp of his likeness, so does God also [demand the stamp of his likeness]. And as we render money to the one, so we give our souls to the other — our souls enlightened and sealed with the light of his countenance." — Bede. " This answer settles in principle, though not in detail, the re- lations of Church and State. Both are of divine origin and au- thority : the one for the temporal, the other for the eternal wel- fare of men. They ought to be kept distinct and independent in their respective spheres, without mixture and confusion, and yet without antagonism, but rather in friendly relation in view of their common origin in God, and their common end and com- pletion in ' the kingdom of glory ' where God shall be all in all." — Schaff. " Nothing can more fully reveal the depth of hypoc- risy in these Pharisaic questioners than the fact that, in spite of the divine answer, and in spite of their own secret and cherished convictions, they yet made it a ground of clamorous accusation against Jesus, that he had ' forbidden to give tribute unto Caesar '! " — Farrar. The same day came to him certain of the Sadducees. " Un- deterred by this striking failure [of the Pharisees], the Sadducees thought that they might have better success. There was some- thing more supercilious and offhand in the question which they proposed, and they came in a spirit of less burning hatred, but of more sneering scorn." — Farrar. " The Sadducees were the materialists and infidels of the first century. They denied not merely the resurrection of the body, but also the immateriality and immortality of the soul (Acts 23 : 8)." — Abbott. Their opin- ions were peculiar. " They believed that besides God there was no other spiritual being, whether good or bad. They rejected the doctrine of fate, or of an overruling Providence, and main- tained that the events which happened depended on the free and unconstrained actions of men. They held that the traditions were not binding, but did not, as some suppose, receive merely OF MARRIAGE IN THE FUTURE LIFE. 629 Matt. 22 ; 23-28 ; Mark 12 : 18-23 ; Luke 20 : 27-33. (which deny that there is any resurrection) and they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man die, having a wife, and without chil Of Marriage dren, his brother shall marry his wife, and Resurrection, raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren : and the first took a wife, and died without children, and left his wife unto his brother. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her ; and in like manner the seven also : and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of the seven ? for the seven had her to wife. the Pentateuch, and reject all the other books of the Old Testa- ment. In the progress of time they appear to have admitted the existence of angels, and also to have embraced the belief of the immortality of the soul ; and in the eighth century they were distinguished as a sect, merely by rejecting the authority of tra- ditions. Whence they were at length called Cardites, a sect of comparatively recent origin, as they are not mentioned by Jose- phus." — Jalui. See note on page 69. Moses wrote unto us.— Deut. 25 : 5, " freely quoted ; comp. the regulations added in that chapter. Such a marriage was called a Levirate marriage. The object was to preserve families— a matter of great importance in the Jewish economy. The first- born son would be registered as the son of the dead brother." — Schaff. Whose wife shall she be of the seven ?—" The point of the entangling question is now evident. They had quoted the law of Moses and then given an example of obedience to it, to prove (he absurdity of the doctrine of the resurrection. Our Lord at once rebukes and denies their false assumption in regard to human relations in the future state. " — Schaff. " The question of the Sadducees was in keeping with the sceptical, scoffing char- acter of that sect. Apparently, it was not so much designed to awake popular hatred against him as to cast ridicule upon him, and also upon their rivals, the Pharisees, by showing the abl surd consequences of one of their most cherished dogmas— the resurrection of the dead. Perhaps, also, they were curious to see how he would meet an argument to which their rivals 63O THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 22 : 29, 30 ; Mark 12 : 24, 25 ; Luke 20 : 35, 36. And Jesus answering, said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power cf God. For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; but are as the angels which are in heaven. The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage : but they which shall be ac- counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrec- tion from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in mar- riage : neither can they die any more : for they are had been able to give no satisfactory answer." — Andrews. " If you compare the Sadducee and the Pharisee, and observe how one did pare from, and the other patch to, God's Word, how the one bent to atheism, the other to superstition, you will see how hardly men keep a mean either in knowledge or con- versation ; some overreach, some reach not home." — Bishop Lake. " I lay it down for a rule, that, when much ingenuity is required to gain an argument credit, that argument is unsound at bottom." — Cowper. Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures — that is, not under- standing. " Two frequent causes of religious error are here hinted at : first, a failure to understand the Scripture, which we often read, as (hey did, either superficially and carelessly, or blinded by our theological prejudices ; second, a failure to real- ize the power of God, it being a common error of theological and philosophical reasoning to limit the divine power to those forms of its exercise with which we are acquainled." — Abbott. " Our Saviour saith, You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God ; laying before us two books, or volumes, to study, if we will be secured from error : first, the volume of Scriptures, which reveals the will of God, and then the volume of creatures, which expresses his power ; whereof the latter is a key unto the former, not only opening our understanding to conceive the true sense of the Scriptures by ihe general notions of reason and rules of speech ; but besides, chiefly opening our belief, in drawing us into a due meditation of the omnipotency of God, the characters whereof are chiefly signed and engraved upon his works." — Lord Bacon. " Enthusiasm is wont to ex- patiate on the condition of the departed, above all other subjects, and with a wild particularity. The Koran is half made up of such descriptions. How different is the solemn reserve here maintained by our Saviour !" — Paley. JESUS TEACHES IMMORTALITY. 63! Matt. 22 : 30-33 ; Mark 12 : 25-27 ; Luke 20 : 36-40. equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, that the dead are raised, even Moses showed. Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living : for all live unto him. Ye therefore do greatly err. And when the multitude heard this, they were as- tonished at his doctrine. Then certain of the Scribes answering, said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that, they durst not ask him any question at all. In the bush. — " ' That is, in the story of the burning bush. The Jewish doctors in that age were accustomed to quote any portion of Scripture, in this brief way, by mentioning some most remarkable subject there treated on.' — yablonsky. So Rom. 11:3. In a similar manner the ancient Greek critics used to cite from Homer, and some other auihors of celebrity. " — Bloomjield. The God of Abraham. — " The argument derived from this designation of God in favor of the immortality of the soul, against the Sadducees who denied it, reveals the marvelous in- sight of our Lord into the deepest meaning of the Scriptures. The personal ever-living God calls himself the God — not of the dead, which would be dishonoring — but of those who live in per- petual communion with him, to whom he has communicated his own immortality. " — Scluiff. For all live unto him. — " Peculiar to Luke. The emphasis rests upon ' all,' which may be taken in its widest sense ; all creatures, whether living or dead, angels or men, live in the sight of God." — Scliaif. " The meaning appears to be that only to men do the departed seem dead ; in the sight of God all are living." — Abbott. They were astonished at his doctrine. — "Jesus Christ speaks of the sublimest subjects in a manner as simple as if he had never considered them ; but nevertheless his expressions are so exact as to show that he had thoroughly weighed them. Such accuracy, with such simplicity, is admirable." — Pascal, 632 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. XXXVIII. Matt. 22 . 34-37 ; Mark 12: 28, 29. j.c. 34. But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. The Great Then one of the Scribes, a lawyer, came, Commandment. an(j having heard them reasoning to- gether, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked, tempting him, Master, which is the first com- mandment of all, the great commandment in the law ? Jesus answered him, The first of all the command- ments is, Hear, O Israel ; The Lord our God is one " But death itself more readily yielded to the power of Christ than did man's infidelity." — Bengel. A lawyer. — That is, one versed in the rabbinical laws ; a Jewish theologian. In Mark he is called a Scribe. The latter phrase appears to have been an official designation of a recog- nized teacher ; the former an unofficial designation of one learned in Jewish laws, both scriptural and traditional. — Abbott. Tempting him. — The statements of Mark (12 : 28) and Luke (20 : 39) do not indicate any specially hostile purpose on the part of this " lawyer." Such a purpose seems to be out of keep- ing with the hearty response of the " scribe" and our Lord's com- mendatory words to him (Mark 12 : 32-44.) Which is the great commandment? — "The question in- volved a matter of no little controversy among the Jewish doc- tors, as involving the comparative importance of different pre- cepts ; some maintaining the pre-eminence of one, some of another. Some said, ' sacrifices ; ' some, ' circumcision ; ' some, ' the law of the Sabbath ;' some, ' the law of meats, washings, phylacteries,' etc. Only, while they distinguished the divine pre- cepts into great and small, they constantly gave the preference to the ceremonial ones. Christ, however, decided in favor of the moral law, yet not to the neglect of the ceremonial." — Bloom- field. The fearfully belittling tendencies of Pharisaical legalism may be inferred from the following statement : " The Jews enumerated six hundred and thirteen ordinances ; three hun- dred and sixty-five prohibitions, according to the days of the year ; two hundred and twenty-eight commandments, according to the parts of the body." — Braune. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc. " The language of this is not that of mere emphatic iteration. Each word has its own p2culiar significance. The heart is the scat of the affections and emo- THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS. 633 XXXVIII. Matt. 22 : 37-39 ; Mark 12 : 30, 31. j.c. 34. Lord : and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other tions. God calls not merely for obedience, but for love. Comp- Prov. 23 : 26 ; Jer. 3 : 14. The word soul should rather be rendered life. This is unquestionably the primary significance of the Greek, which is derived from a verb meaning to breathe. It signifies the vital principle, and in the N. T. generally, either physical life, as in Matt. 2 : 20 ; Acts 20 : 24 ; 27 : 10 ; or all that is embodied in our word life in its deeper significance. It would generally be better translated by the word life. . . Here the command is. Love with thy whole life — that is, love must not only manifest itself in feeling ; it must rule the whole life, by ruling its source and springs. John 14 : 15, 23; 2 Cor. 5 : 14 ; 1 John 2:5:4:16 illustrate this command. The mind embraces the intellectual powers and activities, whether employed in study, in business, or in social activity. A supreme love toward God must be the inspiration of the whole mental life, and furnish its purpose. Parallel to this is Prov. 12:5; Ps. 119 : 15, 97 ; 2 Cor. 10 : 5 ; Phil. 1 : 9. Mark adds with all thy strength. That is, the love must be one of enthusiasm and power— not a sentiment, but a working force. Parallel to this is Eccles. 9 : 10 ; Rom. 12 : n ; Eph. 6 : 6, 7 ; Col. 3 : 23. The commandment is quoted by Christ from Deut. 6 : 4, 5." — Abbott. " The reason must be a reason acting in the spirit of love ; the conscience must be a conscience acting in the atmosphere of love ; the taste must be a taste acting in the spirit and atmos- phere of love — love to God and love to man. The appetites and passions, and every other faculty, in all their power and variety and versatility, may act, but they will act as steeds that feel the one rein, which goes back to the hands of one driver whose name is Love." — Beecher. " We learn to love God by giving ourselves to him, by serving him, by doing his will. Love to God is thus born of self-dedication. Having learned how to love man without selfishness, we can love God in the same way." — James Freeman Clarke. Thy neighbor as thyself. — On, Who is my neighbor? see Luke 10:25, ar>d James 1:27. "Man ought to love his neighbor, 1. not as he does love himself, but as he to love himself ; 2. not in the same degree, but after the same manner, i.e., freely and readily, sincerely and unfeign- 634 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. XXXVIII. Mark 12 : 32-34 ; Matt. 22 : 40. j.c. 34, commandment greater than these. On these two com- mandments hang all the law and the prophets. And the Scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth : for there is one God ; and there is none other but he. And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sac- rifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. edly, tenderly and compassionately, constantly and persever- ingly." — IV. Burkitt. " Cases arise where man ought to love his neighbor more than his life, physical life, and has done so, sacrificing it for his fellows, his country, and the church, in imitation of the example of Christ and the martyrs." — Riddle. " To such a father, who overwhelms me with his inestimable loving-kindness, must I not liberally, cheerfully, and with my whole heart do every thing which I shall know to be pleasing in his sight? I, therefore, after the example of Christ, and as far as I am capable of imitatmg him, would give up myself to my neighbor, as Christ has given up himself for me. I am deter- mined to do nothing in this life, except what I shall see to be conducive to his good, since by faith I myself abound in all blessings through Christ." — Luther. Not far from the kingdom of God. — " A Scribe who could so far overcome his prejudices as to see the supremacy of the moral law as resulting from the love of God and man, had already gone beyond the greatest obstacle to his reception of Christ's doctrine, and was intellectually prepared for the king- dom of God." — Eggleslon. " Intellectually on the right road, nearer to the kingdom than a mere formalist could be, recogniz- ing (he spirituality of the law, perhaps conscious of the folly of self-righteousness ; but, though standing as it were at the door, still outside." — Alexander. " While the worst of his opponents were unable to convict him of an error, or betray him into a mis- take, the best of them, when brought into direct communication with him on the most important subjects, found themselves al- most in the position of his own disciples ?" — Kiddle. THE WIDOW'S MITE. 635 XXXVIII. Mark 12 : 41-44 ; Luke 21 : 1-4. J.c. 34. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and he looked up and saw how the people cast money into the treasury : and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily The widow's I say unto you that this poor widow M,tes- hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury : For all they did cast in of their abundance ; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. The treasury. — The treasury was a part of the temple, in the court of the women. In it were chests, with a large open mouth, in the shape of a trumpet, for receiving the contributions of the people for the service of the temple, called, Luke 21 : 4, " the offerings of God." In John 8 : 20, Jesus is mentioned as teaching in this part of the temple. Two mites. — " The ' mile' (lepton) was the smallest Jewish copper coin. The Greek name means ' fish-scale,' suggesting its diminutive size. Its value was about one tenth of an English penny, one fifth of a cent. — Scliaff. " Two mites, two drops, yet all her house and land Fall from a steady heart, though trembling hand ; The other-,* wanton wealth foams high and hrave: The others cast away — she only gave." — Richard Crasha'.v. " This incident, witnessed by Jesus at such a time, resembles a flower which he comes upon all at once in the desert of official devotion, the sight and perfume of which make him leap with joy. ' ' — Gorfet. " Piteous indeed would be the condition of the poor if their poverty shut them out from the noblest privilege which God has bestowed upon mankind— the privilege of helping each other, the privilege of showing Christian charity in the various exercises of brotherly love. But it does not. The poorest of you may do as much (what in the eyes of God will be accounted as much) as the richest can do. You, of your poverty, may give your all ; and they at the utmost can do no more." — .-/. IV. Hare. She of her want did cast in all that she had. — All her present subsistence. She did not look for human applause, but yet her deed will carry her memory down to the remotest ages. She did not, like the Pharisees, seek for the praise of men, but 636 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 20, 21. Apr. j.c. 34. And there were certain Greeks among them that Certain Greeks came up to worship at the feast : the same would see jesus. came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we she received the praise of Him who " spake as never man spake." By this we are taught that he estimates gifts not by what they are, but by what they cost — the self-denial which is involved in the giving. "One coin out of a little," says St. Ambrose, "is better than a treasure out of much; for it is not considered how much is given, but how much remains behind." " The tender father values his child's kiss, because it is a gush of love from the child's heart. Thus God approves even of the simple wish when nothing is done, because he sees the heart that desires to do it." — Norman Macleod. "The divine eye looks upon high and low differently from that of man. He looks upon those as highest who nearest approach his divinity, and upon those as lowest who are farthest from it." — Sir Thomas Browne. " What more tender, more solemnly affecting, more pi of oundly pathetic than this charity, this offering to God of a farthing ! We know nothing of her name, her family, or her tribe. We only know that she was a poor woman and a widow, of whom there is nothing left upon record but this sublimely simple story, that when the rich men came to cast, their proud offerings into the treasury, this poor woman came also, and cast in her two mites, which made a farthing ! And lhat example, thus made the subject of divine commendation, has been read and told, and has gone abroad everywhere, and sunk deep into a hundred million of hearts, since the commencement of the Chris- tian era, and has done more good than could be accomplished by a thousand marble palaces, because it was charity mingled with true benevolence, given in the fear, the love, and the service of God ; because it was charily that had its origin in religious feel- ing ; because it was a gift to the honor of God." — Webster. Certain Greeks. — " The visit of the Greeks to him is men- tioned only by John (12 : 20-36). Some place it upon the even- ing of the triumphal entry. (Meyer, Alford, Lange, and others.) But the Lord's language fits better to the final departure from the temple than to the time of the entry. Besides, if he was now in the court of the women, it explains the request of the Greeks to see him ; for if he had been in the outer court, all could have seen him ; but into the inner court they could not come." — Andrews. They probably " belonged to the Greek nationality, and had adopted the Hebrew religion — that is, were Greek prose- lytes."— Abbott. THE I. AW OF SEI.F-SACRIFICE. 637 Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 21-25. Apr. j.c. 34. would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew : and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : but if it die, it bring- eth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. — " The two were of the same city (John 1 : 44). The fact that Philip takes Andrew with him is one of the not-unfrequent indications of the awe with which, despite the fullness and even familiarity of his love, Christ inspired his most intimate disciples (Luke 9 : 45 ; Mark 9 : 32, etc.). So Bengel : " Philip feared to introduce the Greeks alone ; with a friend he ventured to do so." — Abbott. The hour is come. — " In this application of these Greek proselytes, Christ sees a prophetic indication of the time when, with a profounder meaning, the Gentile world will everywhere put forth a request to see Jesus, when, being lifted up, he will draw all men unto him, when they will come from the north and the south, the east and the west, to sit down with him in his kingdom (Matt. 8 : n), when he will break down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile (Ephes. 2 : 14), and gather into one nation the dispersed children of God (John 11 : 52 ; Col. 3:11; Rev. 7 : 9). The term Son of man is here, as always when used by Christ in reference to himself, equivalent to the Messiah." —Abbott. Verily, verily. I say unto you. — A customary formula of in- troduction to an important saying, here used by Christ to em- phasize the truth that the Messiah's death must precede this ingathering of the Gentiles and prepare the way for it. Except a kernel of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. — " In the granary it is safe, but useless. Its death is the precursor of its usefulness. Paul employs the same figure in a different connection in 1 Cor. 15 : 36. Christ em- bodies it in the Lord's Supper, which reminds us of this law of self-sacrifice. It is the wheat ground to powder that makes the bread, and the body bruised that makes the bread of life ; it is the grape crushed that makes the wine, and the blood poured out as a libation that makes the wine of life. This truth of self-sac rifice symbolized by nature is one of the universal laws of spirit- ual life."— Abbott. He that loveth his life shall lose it. — The life or soul is 6t.8 the day of conflict. Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 25-28. Apr. j.c. 34. it ; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him fol- low me ; and where I am, there shall also my servant be : if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled ; and what shall I say ? Fa- ther, save me from this hour : but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. indiscriminately rendered by both English words in our English version as the esthetic and intellectual part of man in contrast with the spiritual nature. See note above, page 632. " Lange points out that this saying involved a condemnation of Hellen- ism. For what was Greek civilization but human life cultivated from the viewpoint of enjoyment, and withdrawn from the law of sacrifice." — Godct. The same judgment Paul reaffirms in 1 Cor. 1 : i3-2i ; and it is equally applicable as a judgment of modern irreligious culture. Culture without religion destroys what it would preserve. If any man would serve me, let him follow me. — "This is Christ's answer to the request of the Greeks. Service of Christ is to be sought, not by secret interviews, not by sacred and saintly communings, which he gives to whom he will, but by prac- tical following of him in a life of daily self-sacrifice for others." — Abbott. Now is my soul troubled. — Literally, stii-red ?//>, in conflict. In 11 : 33 it is said that Jesus was indignant in spirit ; here, that his soul is in conflict. At the grave of Lazarus the higher spir itual nature was indignant at the exhibition of formalism and false pretence ; here the lower and earthly nature was in conflict between the instincts of self preservation and the impulse of love and duty. " A horror of death and an ardor of obedience con- curred. ' ' — Bengel. And what shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour. — " If the common punctuation and interpretation be here adopt- ed, we must suppose that, in the struggle of contending emo- tions, our Lord first utters and then retracts a prayer. Yet this view, as it is not a little objectionable, so neither is it necessary ; for we may, with many of the best commentators, ancient and modern, place a mark of interrogation after ' this hour,' thus supposing two questions, as follows : ' What shall I say ? [Shall I say] Father, deliver me from this hour ? But for I his cause came I unto this hour,' i.e., to meet this hour, or time of suffering. Comp. Mark 14-35. Thus, it seems, when about in- HEAVENLY WITNESS TO JESUS. 659 Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 28. Apr. j.c. 34. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. voluntarily to utter a petition, he is checked by a reflection on the end for which he came into the world ; and the natural emo- tions of fear soon subside into a prayer for the furtherance of his Father's glory, in any way that may seem good to him. ' — Bloom- field. " The contrast between the two petitions is explained by the precedent declaration, ' Now is my soul in conflict ' the na- ture of that conflict is hinted al in the twofold prayer, the first hypothetical, the second final. Shall I ask my Father to save me from this hour? (That is the suggestion of the natural in- stincts.) No ! for this cause came I unto this hour. Rather, Father, glorify thy name. (That is the victory of the spiritual nature.)" — Abbott. " The struggle is like one of those fissures in its crust, which enables science to fathom the bowels of the earth. It lets us read the very inmost depths of the Lord's being." — Gotfet. Father, glorify thy name.— Comp. Matt. 26 : 39. 1 With all his sufferings full in view, And woes to us unknown, Forth to the task hi* spirit flew; 'Twas love that urged him on. 41 Lord, we return thee what we can : Our hearts shall found abroad Salvation to the dying man, And to the rising God ! " And, while thy bleeding glories here Engage our wondering eyes, We learn our lighter cross to bear. And hasten to ihe skies." — William Coiufer. Then came there a voice from heaven. — " The critics since, as the people then, have discussed whether this was really an articulate voice, speaking words, or only a sound of thunder which Christ interpreted as a divine response to his prayer. The word voice is not conclusive, because it signifies sometimes an inarticulate sound, as of a trumpet, chariots, wa- ters, thunder, and the like (Matt. 24 : 31 ; 1 Cor. 14 : 7, 8 ; John 3:8; Rev. 9 : 9 ; G : 1 ; 14 : 2 ; 18 : 22, etc.). . . . But the plain implication of the narrative is that this was an articulate voice, the words of which were understood by others than Jesus, though not by all. So at Paul's conversion his companions heard the sound, but understood not the words of the voice that spake to him" (Acts 9 : 7 with 22 : 9)." — Abbott. "Probably, the capacity to understand the voice was dependent upon each man's spiritual condition and receptivity. To Jesus, and, per- haps, to the apostles and disciples, it was an articulate voice ; to 64O THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 29-34. Apr. j.c. 34. The people therefore that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered : others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not be- cause of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world : now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the others it was indistinct, yet they recognized it as a voice, per- haps of an angel ; to others still, it was mere sound, as if it thundered. Townsend would make it an answer to the Greeks who desired to see Jesus, or, at least, spoken in their hearing. We find, however, its true significance if we compare it with those other testimonies of the Father to him at his baptism and at his transfiguration (Matt. 3 : 17 ; 17 : 5)." — Andrews. I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. — " The Father had glorified his name by giving Jesus daily and hourly the power to do and to bear all that had been laid on him up to that moment. ; and he would glorify it again by continuing to give him the power to do and to bear all that should be laid on him to the end." — Abbott. Others said an angel spake to him. — The Jews knew from their scriptures that in former times God had spoken audibly from the mercy-seat. The Prince of this world shall be cast out. — " The Prince of this world was a phrase much used by Jewish writers to desig- nate the spiritual monarch of the Gentiles in opposition to the one true God, whom they regarded as in a peculiar sense the God of Israel. Christ employs their language ; he sees in the application of the Greeks for an interview with him a prophecy of the time when Satan will be cast out, and all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." — Abbott. " It does not mean that then his reign over all men should entirely cease, but that then would be the crisis, the grand conflict, in which he should be vanquished, and from that time his kingdom begin to decline, until it should finally cease, and men be free altogether from his dominion." See Luke 10 : 18 ; Col. 1 : 18-20 ; Acts 26 : 18 ; I Cor. 15 : 25, 26 ; Rev. 20 : 14. — Greswell. OPPORTUNITY TO BE USED. 641 Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 34, 35. Apr. j. c. 34- law that Christ abideth for ever : and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up ? who is this Son of man ? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest dark- Yet a little while is the light with you. — " The commen- tators generally regard the phrase the light as Christ's designa- tion of himself. So Alford, Godet, Meyer, among the moderns, and Chrysostom and Calvin among the older commentators. But this interpretation entangles the whole sentence. Christ then bids his auditors to walk — that is, ' be not slothful, but spiritually active ' (Meyer) — lor the two or three days that inter- vene before his death ; for his death will bring darkness on them, and make it impossible for them to walk intelligently thereafter. The direction is thus deprived of all significance to us, and is contradicted by history ; for the death of Christ brought light, not darkness, and was* itself the necessary precursor of highest spiritual activity in all that believe on him. The tight here, as in Matt. 6 : 23, is the moral and spiritual nature of man, that which links him to the divine and makes it possible for him to become a child of God. God is the Light of the world u John 1 : 5), be- cause he is the fountain, the central sun, which supplies and keeps alive this moral and spiritual nature in man. Christ is the Light of the world (John 9 : 5), because in him this spiritual nature shone out without any dimness from sin or moral in- firmity. Christians are lights in the world (Matt. 5 : 14), because this spiritual nature in them is their guide, illuminating them and through them others. If one follows this inner light, it grows brighter and brighter unto perfect day (Prov. 4 : 18) ; if he dis- obeys it, he quenches it and goes into moral darkness, losing the very power of moral and spiritual discrimination (1 J^)hn 2 : S-ii)."—A6Aott. Walk while ye have the light. — " A great deal of time is contracted in opportunity : which is the flower, the cream of time." — Whieheote. "Think not that you shall turn to God when you will, if you will not when you may." — Babingion. " Habits of thought are not less tyrannical than other habits, and a time comes when return is impossible, even to the strongest will." — Vitut. "One of the strongest natural arguments for Christianity is that in proportion as we rise in spiritual excel- lence and live in a higher sphere, a stronger sense of certainty in regard to its foundation takes possession of the heart. " — T. Sta?r King. 642 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. John 12 : 35, 36; Matt. 22 : 41-44; Mark 12 : 35, 36; Luke 20: 41-43. ness come upon you ; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. While he taught in the temple, and the Pharisees Christ the Son were gathered together, Jesus asked them, of David. saying, What think ye of Christ ? whose son is he ? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David himself, in the book of Psalms, by the Holy Ghost, call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool ! What think ye of Christ ? — " The Sanhedrin had now ex- perienced, by the defeat of their cunning stratagems and the humiliation of their vaunted wisdom, that one ray of light from the sunlit hills on which his spirit sat was enough to dissipate, and to pierce through and through, the fogs of wordy contention and empty repetition in which they lived and moved and had their being. But it was well for them to be convinced how easily, had he desired it, he could have employed against them with over- whelming force the very engine's which, with results so futile and so disastrous, they had put in play against him. He therefore put to them one simple question, based on their own principles of interpretation, and drawn from a Psalm (the 110th) which they regarded as distinctly Messianic." — Farrar. Tne son of David. — " This was the common opinion, and it was true (Luke 1 : 32 ; Rom. 1 : 3), but not the whole truth. It was not generally believed by the Jews that the Messiah should be divine. Jesus was condemned for blasphemy in calling him- self the Son of God (Matt. 26 : 63-65). In this colloquy he proves out of the Scripture that the Messiah of prophecy was to be the Son of God." — Abbott. By the Holy Ghost : " a weighty declaration by our Lord of the inspiration of the prophetic scriptures." — Alford. The Lord said unto my Lord, etc. — The quotation is from Psalm no. It is one frequently referred to in the New Testa- ment as prophetic of the Messiah (Acts 2 : 34, etc. ; 1 Cor. 15 : 25 ; Heb. I : 73 ; 5 : 6 ; 7 : 17, 21 ; 10 : 13). It is evident, from its THE COMMON PEOPLE HEARD HIM GLADLY. 643 Matt. 22 : 45, 46 ; 23 : 1 ; Mark 12 : 37, 3S ; Luke 20 : 44, 45. David therefore himself calleth him Lord, and how is he then his son ? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man, from that day forth, ask him any more questions. And the common people heard him gladly. Then in the audience of all the people, Jesus said use here and in these passages, that it was generally so regarded by the Jews. The language of the verse cited (ver. 1) is unam- biguous. " There was not any one on earth in the time of David to whom it could be applicable ; any one whom he would call his ' Lord ' or superior. If, therefore, the Psalm was written by David, it must have referred to the Messiah, to one whom he owned as his Superior, his Lord, his Sovereign." — Banns. Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. — " Alford and Tischendorf, instead of footstool, read wider thy feet. Putting the feet on captives taken in war was a common oriental method of symbolizing complete triumph over them (Joshua 10 : 24 ; 2 Sam. 22 : 41). Parallel to this promise is 1 Cor. 15 : 25 and Heb. 10 : 13." — Abbott. How is he then his son? — "There could be but one an- swer— because that Son would be divine, not human — David's son by human birth, but David's Lord by divine subsistence." — Far- rar. At once " the root and the offspring of David." Rev. 22 : 16. See also John 1 : 1-14 ; 16 : 28 ; Phil. 2 : 6-8 ; Heb. 2 : 14 ; 1 John 1:1,2; Rev. 5 : 5-10. The common people heard him gladly. — Literally, " the great multitude." These were chiefly "the common people ;" but the prominent idea is simply that a great multitude still eagerly listened to him. Heard him gladly. — " Lit., sweetly, with relish, with pleasure. This was after he had virtually claimed to be the Messiah : David's Lord, as well as David's Son." — Selioff. " In good truth, the more we know of Christianity and of the poor, the more deeply shall we be impressed with the exact adaptation of the one to the other, both in the substance of what it teaches and in the manner of teaching. And the poor, it is carefully to be remembered, must ever constitute the great majority of those to whom Christianity is addressed." — Keble. Then in the audience of all the people, Jesus said unto his disciples. — "This discourse (peculiar to Matthew) was de- livered on Tuesday preceding the crucifixion, although similar sayings (found in Luke 11, 13) were uttered on a previous occa- 644 THE ]>AY OF CONFLICT. Matt. 23 : 1-4 ; Mark 12 : 3S ; Luke 20 : 45. unto the multitude, and to his disciples, The Scribes Warnings against and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: the Scribes and . Phan&ees, all therefore whatsoever they bid you ob- serve, that observe and do : but do not ye after their works : for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy sion. The intercourse with the Pharisees had been used by our Lord as a means of warning them. The warning had been un- heeded ; the intercourse had ceased ; the crisis of their medi- tated crime was approaching. Our Lord therefore turns ' to the multitudes and to his disciples ' (ver. i), and without passion or personal bitterness denounces these his enemies. Those who find this discourse too severe forget that God has revealed him- self in Christ as holy love. This awful severity proves Christ's divine mission and character no less than his tender invitations to the sinner to come to him. Indeed, it is a part of his mercy, since it warns his sheep against the coming of the wolf, guards us against the Pharisaism of our own hearts, which is so quick to rise against Him who redeemed us. Only One who knew himself to be free from sin and clothed with divine authority and power should or could utter such a discourse. The Sadducees are not mentioned ; they were not earnest enough to oppose him with bit- terness. Moreover, the Pharisees were still the leaders of the people, and, while Christ lived, his greatest foes." — Schaff. " The discourse is by its construction naturally divided into three parts : (1) warnings against the spirit of ostentation which characterized the Scribes and Pharisees (vers. 1-12), solemn de- nunciation of their hypocrisy (vers. 13-33), conclusion and fare- well to the temple and the Jews (vers. 34-39)." — Abbott. Sit in Moses' seat, " as judges and expounders of the law. As a law-giver, Moses spoke in the name of God ; as judge and administrator he had successors, with authority to explain what he meant, but not to legislate. Under Roman rule, the function of the Sanhedrin, composed mainly of Pharisees, was limited to this." — Schaff. Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do. — " The meaning is not, ' Do all things which they, as successors of Moses, out of his law, command you to observe : ' it is not an indorsement of them as teachers, but a direction to obey their commands as Jewish magistrates." — Abbott. They say and do not.— St. Basil compares those who preach only by their words to painters who, though ugly themselves, yet do not fail to paint very beautiful pictures. " Thus it was when the wise men asked the doctors where Christ should be WARNINGS AGAINST SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 645 Matt. 23 : 4, 5 ; Mark 12 • 38 ; Luke 20 : 4f». burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. All their works they do for to be seen of men. Beware of the Scribes, which make broad their phy- lacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, born. They told them right, and the wise men wenl and found him ; but the doctors sat still and went not."— Jeremy Tavlor For they bind, etc.-" They so presented the correct law as to make its precepts heavy burdens, like loads, packs on beasts of burden (comp. Acis 15 : 16). The reference is not simply to the traditions they added, but also to the mode of presenting the law itself, as demanding a servile obedience in minute details irrespective of the spirit of the commandment. Imposing such burdens, they did not in the least lighten them by spiritual pre- cept orexampe. '-Lange. Some of their rules in regard to the Sabbath will illustrate the minute scrupulosity of their precepts generally. On that day " one might not walk upon the grass because it would be bruised, which would be a kind of threshing ■ nor catch a flea, which would be a kind of hunting ; nor wear nailed shoes, which would be a sort of burden ; nor if he fed his chickens suffer any corn to lie upon the ground, lest a kernel should germinate, which would be a kind of sowing "— Abbott s Jesus of Nazareth. But they will not move them.—" Not, it seems to me Ihey are indifferent and neglectful of their own laws ; this does not seem to have been the case ; but, Though rigorous in mak- !ng< f^,5, L ey pr°ffer no s>'mPathy or help to those that struggle to fulfill them. There is this characteristic difference between the religion of Jesus Christ and all false religions and all cor- ruptions of Christianity. The latter onlv enact laws • the for mer comes to impart power. See John' 1:12; Rom' S • -\ a • 2 Tim. 1 : -j.''— Abbott. • J, 4 , They make broad their phylacteries.— " Small slips of parchment, on which passages from the law were written usu- ally worn at time of prayer on the left arm and the forehead. (1 he custom was derived from a literal understanding of Exod 13 : 16, and the passages inscribed were four in number • Exod 12 2-10 , 13 : 11-21 ; Deut. 6:4-9; n : 18-21.) The name, from the Creek word meaning to ' guard/ was probably suggested bv the command of Exod. 13 : 10, where this word occurs After- ward the idea of a charm or amulet guarding from danger natu- rally came m. Making them broad probably refers to the case in 646 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Mark 12 : 38 ; Luke 20 : 46. Apr. j.c. 34. and desire to walk in long robes, and love the upper- which the parchment was kept. The latter was of a prescribed size, as indeed nearly every thing connected with their use had been made a matter of Rabbinical rule. It is said that the Phar- isees wore them constantly, but the common people only at prayers. When used on the left arm, the leather thong was made into a little knot of peculiar shape (like the Hebrew letter Yoa) near the bend of the arm, and then wound in a spiral line round the arm and to the end of the middle finger. The minute regulations in regard to phylacteries form a curious confirmation of the belittling tendency of formalism. Similar external badges of professed religious feeling have been used in all ages, from the same motives and with the same tendency." — Scha(f. Chrys- ostom speaks of a similar custom as prevalent in his day. " So many of our women now wear the Gospels hung from their necks." Phylacteries are employed even now in Mohammedan countries, the inscriptions being taken from the Koran. They are worn by modern Jews only on special occasions. Enlarge the borders of their garments.— "' Of their garments ' is not found in the correct text, but is necessarily understood. In Num. 15 : 38 the Israelites were bidden to wear fringes about their outer garment, fastened to it with a blue ribbon, to distinguish them from other nations, and to remind them of their duty to obey the law. The usage may have existed before that passage attached a symbolical meaning to it. The fringe may have been the ordinary mode of preventing the edge of the robe from unravelling, and the blue ribbon was useful in strengthening the border. The Pharisees, as sticklers for the rigid observance of the law, made these fringes larger than others. All these external badges had proper symbolical mean- ings."— Schaff. " Blue was the symbolical color of heaven, the color of God, of his covenant, and of faithfulness to that cove- nant. The tassels themselves signified flowers, or birds ; proba- bly pomegranates, and these crimson, and not blue, as .the rib- bons were. Thus they were remembrancers that fidelity to the covenant should flourish ; or they were tokens that the flower of life was love, and that love must spring from faithfulness to the covenant. ' ' — Lange. But the Pharisees, however significant their ritualism, murdered Him to whom it pointed. It is a short step from religious pageantry to religious pride. " Must the garb of religion be extended so wide, to the danger of its rending? Yes, truly, or it will not hide the secret. And what is that ? That the saint has no religion at all." — Laurence Sterne. Long robes. — The garments of the doctors were to be long enough to cover the whole body, even down to their feet, but HUMILITY, WITH INDEPENDENCE. 647 Matt. 23 : 6-9 ; Mark 12 : 38, 39 ; Luke 20 : 46. most rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the syna- gogues, and greetings in the market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth : for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters : for were not to be any longer ; but they did not always go by this rule ; some had even a train after them — significant of their con- secuence, leisure, and learning. Uppermost rooms. — " The first seat at banquets," which was among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans the middle place at the triclinium. Chief seats in the synagogues. — " The places nearest the reading desk, where the elders sat. Being in such places (at feasts, in synagogues or elsewhere) is not rebuked, but loving to be there. Pharisaism may now show itself in taking the lowest place, if this is done in a slavish obedience to the letter of I he gospel, or from a desire to be invited to go up higher.'" — Riddle. Greetings in the market-places.— " The places of public resort, where their importance would be recognized. Salutations of courtesy and kindness in public places are certainly not for- bidden. In these days Pharisaical pride may desire some other form of public recognition." — Riddle. But be not ye called Rabbi.— See note on page S2. For one is your master.— Literally, teacher. The best mss. omit " even Christ." "That by 'teacher' is intended the Holy Spirit, is indicated by Prov. 1 : 23 ; Jer. 31 : 33, 34 ; John 14 : 20': 13 : 14 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 13 ; 1 John 2 : 20*." — Abbott. Call no man your father upon earth. — " The title of ' Father ' appears to have been given in early times to priests and prophets, and in later times, even by Paul, to the members of the Sanhe- drim In its ordinary use it carried with it a recognition of pater- nal authority in spiritual things, the Jewish Rabbi, as is the Roman Catholic priest of to-day, being regarded as an author- ity in matters of faith and conscience." — Abbott. " Who is it that calls ' no man father upon earth ' ? He who in every action as done before God says, ' Our Father which art in heaven.' " — Origen. " The great trouble of our modern Bible-reading is a tendency to treat the Book as though it were a copy of the Revised Statutes— with dead literalness. What Christ means 648 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 11-14. Apr. j.c. 34. one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased : and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men : Woes against the for ye neither go in yourselves, neither Scribes and , • • Pharisees. suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for was not to forbid our calling a man ' father ' — his speech was always deeper than the surface. Christ would have us have no popes, either living or dead. We have no right to surrender our own private judgment to Pius IX., to Calvin, to Wesley, to any general assembly of fathers, to conventions, or conferences. The godly judgment of good men should have weight with us, but let: us not call them ' father ' in a sense that implies the surrender of our own liberty of thought." — Eggleslon. Neither be ye called masters (leaders), for one is your master (leader), even Christ. — " The Pharisees all claimed to accept the Old Testament as a divine authority ; but they were divided into schools or sects, under human leaders, as the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai, and the zealous among them were more anxious for the triumph of their school than for the elucidation of the truth." — Abbott. And whosoever shall exalt himself, etc. — " A universal rule of God's dealings, including both worlds in its scope. Here it points to the speedy humiliation of the Pharisees. The pos- session of humility is the first requisite in entering the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18 : 3, 4), and the absence of it made the Phari- sees the murderers ol the king." — Schaff. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. — " Some have ventured to accuse these words of injustice, of bit- terness— to attribute them to a burst of undignified disappoint- ment and unreasonable wrath. Yet, is sin never to be rebuked ? is hypocrisy never to be unmasked ? is moral indignation no necessary part of the noble soul ? And does not Jewish litera- ture itself most amply support the charge brought against the Pharisees by Jesus ?" — Farrar. Because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven. — " Here rep- resented as a wedding hall, or palace, with open doors. This HYPOCRISY DENOUNCED. 649 Matt. 23 : 14, 15 ; Mark 12 : 49 ; Luke 20 : 47. ye devour widows' houses, and for a show and pre- tence make long prayer : therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte ; and when he is made, ye make him two- fold more the child of hell than yourselves. was especially done by so perverting the Scriptures as to prevent others from recognizing Christ, the ' Way,' the ' Door.' " — Schaff. Devour widows' houses. — "This 'eating up' was effected by various subtle artifices. By pretensions to extraordinary philanthropy and piety, they induced persons to commit to them the disposal of their property, as executors and guardians ; or, ' creeping into widows' houses,' devised various means of enriching themselves, either by making devotees of the widows, and laying them under contribution, or caballing with the chil- dren to deprive the widow of part of her dowry, for some return either in hand, or in expectaiion. Josephus expressly notices the ascendency which the Pharisees had gained over the female sex by their pretences to the possession of God's favor." — Bloomfield. "The Pharisees are not all dead yet, and are not all Jews." — McClintock. " Ecclesiastical officials may repeat this crime, by attaching to themselves the defenceless classes here represented by ' widows,' with the design of obtaining con- trol of their property. Pharisaism, in all ages and organiza- tions, has encouraged this." — Schaff. "When theft or oppres- sion or perjury or sacrilege have laid the foundation and reared the house, then the curse of God creepeth in between the walls and ceilings, and lurketh close between the stones and timber ; and, as a fretting moth or canker, insensibly gnaweth asunder the pins and joints of the building, till it have unframed it and resolved it into a ruinous heap ; from which mischief there is no remedy, no preservation, but one, and that is — free and speedy restitution. " — Bishop Sanderson. Ye compass sea and land. — A proverbial expression. The excessive zeal of the Jews in making proselytes is alluded to by Horace, lib. 1, sat. iv. ; v. 142, 143. Twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. — " The Pharisees taught that no heathen could become a member of the Jewish nation except he were ' born again.' Jesus here asserts that the proselyte uf the Pharisees is born from below, 650 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 16-22. Apr. j.c. 34. Wo unto you, ye blind guides ! which say, Whoso- ever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing ; but who- soever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold ? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing ; but whosoever svveareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift ? Whoso there- fore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by Him that dwelleth therein. And not from above. ' Out of bad heathen they were made worse Jews • (Erasmus). And the reason was, not merely because those who were the most zealous proselytizers were most in- different to moral and spiritual life, but, as Meyer remarks, because ' Experience proves that proselytes become worse and more extreme than their teachers.' The warning applies to all attempts to add numbers without spiritual life to the church, school, or sect." — Abbott. Swear by the temple, it is nothing. — That is, the oath may be violated with impunity. The gold of the temple. — There were in the temple many vessels made of gold besides the golden candlestick ; the doors and other parts of the temple were covered with gold, and there was gold in the treasury. Fools and blind. — " The power of imposing on one's self is an essential preliminary to imposing on others. Long habits of this kind of self-delusion in time produce a paralysis in the vital nerves of truth, so that one becomes habitually unable to see things in their verity, and realizes the awful word of Scripture : ' He feedeth on ashes ; a deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand ? ' "-—//. B. Stowe. " I am quite sure it is a most sol- emn duty to cultivate our understandings to the uttermost, for I have seen the evil moral consequences of fanaticism to a greater degree than I ever expected to see them realized ; and I am satisfied that a neglected intellect is far oftener the cause of mis- chief than a perverted or overvalued one." — Thomas Arnold. THE SPIRIT RATHER THAN THE LETTER. 65 I Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 22, 23. Apr. J.c. 34. he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith : these ought ye to have done, and not Ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin. — " In Lev. 27 : 30 the Israelites were bidden to pay a tithe (tenth part) of the fruits of the field and of the trees, as an offering to the Lord. Other demands were made (Num. 18 : 21 ; Deut. 12:6; 14 : 22-28), exacting in all nearly one third of the income of each Jew. It was doubtful whether the tithe of produce applied to the smallest garden herbs, yet the Pharisees, in their over-scru- pulousness, paid tithe of ' these herbs of small value.' " — Kiddle. " Our Lord does not condemn, but impliedly approves, the Phar- isees' scrupulousness in paying the tithe of these herbs. What he condemns is the conscience that pretend? to be scrupulous in matters of insignificant detail, and is indifferent to matters of real importance. The modern application is to the spirit which is scrupulous in ritualistic observance and indifferent to the weightier matters of the law." — Abbott. " The habit of attend- ing to trifles and occupying and distracting the mind about them is even far more pernicious and dangerous than that of attaching one's self to some matter of consequence : first, because it ren- ders the soul, if we may say so, more contracted and little, and less capable of raising itself to God ; secondly, because trifles are so numerous on every side, and hence the soul has no sooner got free from one than it is again entangled with an- other."— Overberg. Judgment, mercy, and faith. — By judgment is meant, not justice — that is, " giving to all their just dues" {Bames), for the original word never bears this significance in the New Testa- ment— but spiritual discrimination. Our English version exactly represents the spirit of the original. The Pharisees by their casuistry showed an utter lack of capacity to judge of moral and spiritual things. Comp. Luke 12 : 57 ; John 7 : 24. Mercy is the exercise and manifestation of sympathy and good-will to all mankind, especially the suffering and the sinful, precisely the op- posite of the proud and uncharitable disposition of Pharisaism. . . . . For illustrations of their lack of mercy see Luke 7 : 39 I John 8 ; 3-5. Faith is not equivalent here to fidelity, as some of the commentators interpret it. So to render it is to miss entirely the spiritual meaning of Christ's words. Our Eng- 652 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 24-30. Apr. j.c. 34. to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! be- cause ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish lish version renders the original correctly. The whole passage is interpreled by Micah 6 : 8 and Hosea 12 : 6. Clear spiritual discernment t love to o/ie's neighbor, humble trust in God — these are the important matters of the laws. Comp. 1 Tim. 1 : 5." — Ab- bott. Strain at a gnat, is an old misprint for " strain out a gnat," which " is to pass the water or wine through a strainer before drinking, to purify it of insects. This is a common practice in the East, and it was done by the Pharisees to avoid partaking of any thing ceremonially unclean (Lev. 11 : 23, 41, 42). The Hindoos have a similar proverb : swallowing an elephant and being choked with a flea." — Abbott. That the outside may be clean also. — Outward morality is very important, but it naturally follows purity of heart. The former without the latter is not real morality. Whited sepulchers. — On the 15th of Adar, before the Pass- over, the Jews whitewashed all spots where graves were situated. This was done to prevent the passage over them, which occasioned Levitical defilement (Num, 19 : 16 ; comp. Ezek. 39 : 15. from which passage the custom is derived). — Sekaff. Indeed appear beautiful outward. — Besides the " whiten- ing," much care was bestowed on sepulchers by wealthy Jews. But within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. — " Your DENUNCIATIONS OF SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. 653 Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 30-34. Apr. j.c. 34. the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye shall kill heart is not a temple of the living God, but a grave of pestilent corruption : not a heaven, but a hell. And your religion is but the whitewash — hardly skin-deep." — A If or J. And garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, those con- sidered especially saintly. Ye are the children (morally as well as spiritually) of them that killed the prophets. — " Some find here an allusion to a Jewish proverb : ' One kills him, and another digs his grave ' (comp. Luke 11 : 47), asserting complicity in guilt ; but our Lord assumes that evil moral characteristics are hereditary ; there- fore those whose conduct did not oppose the false principles and crimes of their forefathers were partakers in their guilt." — Schaff. Fill ye up then. — Not irony, but a terrible prediction, and a judicial consignment of them to their own ways. Every merci- ful means of influence had been used before this was spoken. To leave them now to show their true spirit wa mercy to others. —Riddle. The measure of your fathers. — The measure of their guilt How can ye escape the damnation of hell. — " Hear this, ye that wear out the floor of God's house with your frequent at- tendance ; ye that have your ears open to God's messengers, and yet shut to the cries of the poor, of the orphan, of the laborer, of the distressed debtor ; ye that can lift up those hands to heav- en in your fashionable prayers, which ye have not reached out to ihe relief of the needy members of your Saviour ; ye that have a fluent longue to talk unto God, and have no tongue to speak for God, or to speak in the cause of the dumb ; ye have 'a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.' . . This your very privative denial shall, without your repentance, damn your souls." — Bishop Hall. 654 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 35, 36. Apr. j.c. 34. and crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city : that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew Wherefore behold I send unto you.— Comp. Luke 11 149. " Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them.' Here Christ, having already spoken as Judge, says, ' I send.' He is ' the wisdom of God.' 'Therefore;' because they were deter- mined to go on in the way of their fathers, and were to be left to do so. The sending of messengers of salvation, the multipli- cation of privileges, hastens the doom of the hardened. A fact in history as well as a declaration of God's Word." — Schaff. Prophets, and wise men, and Scribes. — " Names applied to the Old Testament messengers and teachers ; here applied to New Testament messengers, whom Christ as Head of the Church would send. From Luke 11 149 we infer that there is also a reference to 2 Chron. 24 : 19. The Old Testament teachers had been treated in the same way, and the prediction indicates that they too had been sent by Christ. ' Prophets ' probably refers to apostles ; ' wise men ' to those specially endowed by the Holy Ghost, like Stephen ; and ' scribes ' to those mighty in the Scriptures, such as Apollos. But there is no necessary distinc- tion, for Paul belonged to all three classes. See Acts 5 : 40 ; 23 : 19 ; 26 : 11." — Schaff. That upon you may come all the righteous blood which is being poured out upon the earth. " The verb is in the present, and represents this bloody stream as still flowing. It should come on them, because by slaying the Son they became participators in the crimes of those who had slain the heralds ; because the guilt of murder lies not in the amount of blood shed, but in the spirit which sheds it ; because the nation is treated here, as in the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matt. 21 : 33-46), as a unit. The language is figurative, and repre- sents the stream of innocent blood, flowing from the days of Abel, as coming upon and whelming the Jews in condemnation. Comp. Matt. 27 : 25 ; Acts 5 : 28." — Abbott. " Though the mil's of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small ; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all." — Logan, trans, by Longfellow. Unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias. — For dif- ferent explanations of this verse, see Lauge on this passage. It probably refers to the Zacharias mentioned in 2 Chron. 24 : 20-22, JERUSALEM APOSTROPHISED. 655 Chap. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 36-39- Apr. j.c. 34. between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto you deso- late. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me hence- forth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the who was slain " in the court of the house of the Lord " by the people, and dying cried, " The Lord look upon it and require it." All these things shall come upon this generation. — " And did not all the righteous blood shed upon the earth since the days of Abel come upon that generation ? Did not many of that generation survive to witness and feel the unutter- able horrors which Josephus tells ? — to see their fellows crucified in jest, ' some oneway, and some another,' till ' room was want- ing for the crosses, and crosses for the carcasses ' ? — to experience the ' deep silence ' and the kind of deadly night which seized upon the city in the intervals of rage ? — to see six hundred thou- sand dead bodies carried out of the gates ? — to see friends righting madly for grass and nettles, and the refuse of the drains? — to see the bloody zealots ' gaping for want, and stumbling and stag- gering along like mad dogs ' ? — to hear the horrid tale of the mis- erable mother who, in the pangs of famine, had devoured her child ? — to be sold for slaves in such multitudes that at last none would buy them ? — lo seethe streets running with blood, and 1 the ' fire of burning houses quenched in the blood of their defenders ' ? — to have their young sons sold in hundreds, or ex- posed in the amphitheatres to the sword of the gladiator or the fury of the lion, until at last, ' since the people were now slain, the Holy House burned down, and the city in flames, there was nothing further left for the enemy to do ' ? In that awful siege it is tielieved that there perished 1,100,000 men, besides the 97,000 who were carried captive, and most of whom perished subsequently in the arena or the mine ; and it was an awlul thing to feel, a^ some of the survivors and eye-witnesses — and they not Christians — did feel, that ' the city had deserved its overthrow by producing a generation of men who were the causes of its misfortunes.' " — Farrar. Ye shall not see me henceforth. — See note on page 284. 6x6 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. XXXVIII. Matt. 23 : 39 ; John 12 : 36-41. j.c. 34. name of the Lord. These things spake Jesus, and de- parted, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him : That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart ; That they should not see with their eyes, Nor understand with their heart, And be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. These things spake Jesus, and departed. — " This was the farewell of Jesus to Israel. He then retired, and did not. reap- pear on the morrow. This time it was no mere cloud which obscured the sun ; the sun itself had set." — Godet. " Therefore they could not believe refers not backward to the precedent prophecy of Isaiah, so that the meaning is that they could not believe ' because it was otherwise ordained in the divine counsels ; ' but forward to the subsequent prophecy of Isaiah, so that the meaning is that they could not believe because their eyes were blinded and their hearts hardened. Either interpretation is grammatically possible : this one makes John's comments germane to Christ's discourse respecting the light, and the effect of refusing obedience to it ; the other does not. An interpretation which represents God as blinding the eyes and hardening the heart, so as to prevent the exercise of faith, and this in order that a prophecy may be fulfilled, cannot be reconciled with the divine righteousness, much less with the divine infinite mercy." — Ahbott. That they should not see with their eyes. — " For when the malefactor comes to have his eyes covered, it shows that he is not far from his execution." — South. Saw his glory (Isa. 6 : 1). — " We have here a very remarka- ble proof of our Lord's divinity. For in the passage of Isaiah here referred to, ch. 6 : i-io, the prophet says that he saw ' the THE PRAISE OF MEN. 657 Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 42-46. Apr. j.c. 34. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many be- lieved on him ; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue : for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, be- lieveth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a Lord sitting upon a throne,' with ' the seraphims ' about him ; ' and one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' But the evangelist here plainly declares that it was Christ whose glory Isaiah then saw, and of whom he spake when he said, ' Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' Christ therefore in his divine- nature was worshiped by the angels as ' the Lord of hosts,' before he ' was made flesh, and dwelt among us.' " — Lonsdale and Hale. Put out of the synagogue. — "This most eloquent, most appall- ing and terrible of all discourses ever delivered to mortals, was pronounced in the Temple, in the presence of multitudes. Never was there more faithful dealing, more terrible reproof, more profound knowledge of the workings of hypocrisy, or moie skill in detecting the concealments of sin. This was the last of Christ's public discourses ; and it is a most solemn summary of all that he ever had said, or had to say, of a wicked and hypo- critical generation." — Greswell. They loved the praise of men. — " Superfluously we seek a precarious applause abroad. Every good man hath his plaudite within himself ; and, though his tongue be silent, is not without loud cymbals in his breast. Conscience will become his pane- gyrist, and never forget to crown and extol him unto him- self."— Sir Thomas Browne. "No Christian will ever be good for any thing without Christian courage, or what is the same, Christian faith. Take it upon you readily ; have it always as a law to be always doing great works — that is, works that are great to you ; and this is the faith that God so clearly justifies, that your ability will be as your works. Make large ventures. Trust God for great things. With your five loaves and two fishes he will show you a way to feed thousands." — Bushnell. " To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage." — Confucius. Jesus cried and said.—" What follows, to the end of the chapter, is not to be regarded as a report of a further discourse 658 THE DAY OF CONFLICT. Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 46-49. Apr. j.c. 34. light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not : for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself ; but the Father which sent me, by Jesus, but as a summary furnished by John of his Lord's pre- vious discourses. This view is required by the context, what follows being closely connected with John's previous comments, by the structure of the discourse, which is substantially a repeti- tion of previously reported discourses, and by Ihe consideration that not only no time or place is indicated, but that none is allowed, since it is expressly asserled, immediately before, that Christ departed and hid himself from the people (ver. 36). This view is taken by all the moderns {Alford, Meyer, Godet, Lutli- Aardt)." — Abbott. I am come a light into the world. — " When I think of the vast capacities of the human mind, of God's nearness to it, and unbounded love toward it. I am disposed to wonder, not that revelations have been made, but that they have not been more variously vouchsafed to the wants of mankind." — Fe'ne'lon. Believeth not on me. — Not only on me, but. on my Father also " that sent me :" because the words which he believes when spoken by me, are not only mine, but my Father's also. — Comp. Matt. 10 : 20 ; Mark 9 : 37. Jesus uniformly represents the union between himself and God as so intimate, that there could not be faith in him unless there was also faith in God. — See John 5 : 17, 20, 36 ; 8 : 38 ; 10 : 25, 37, 3S. He who believes on the Son be- lieves on the Father ; he who hath seen the Son hath seen the Father ; he who honors the Son honors the Father. He that seeth me, seeth him that sent me. — Spiritual, not natural, vision is referred to. He who has a clear per- ception of Christ's life and character sees " God manifest in the flesh." I judge him not The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him. — " This declaration is not inconsis- tent with other passages of the New Testament which declare that Jesus Christ shall judge the world (Jno. 5 : 25-27), but it in- terprets them. That judgment shall not be an arbitrary one : n'Jr one pronounced by a judge after trial, like a human judg- LIFE EVERLASTING* 659 Chap. XXXVIII. John 12 : 49, 50. Apr. j.c. 34. he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his command- ment is life everlasting : whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. ment, in which questions of law and fact are involved. The book of each man's life shall be opened, and compared with the life of Christ which is the pattern ; and the life and teaching of Christ will itself be (he judgment ; the comparison will be con- clusive ; there will be no need of investigation or of sentence. Hence every man is judging and condemning himself, and if unrepentant and unpardoned is condemned already." — Abbott. Life everlasting. — " The bird within the shell could not com- prehend why wings were given for that cramped existence, but the almost unconscious flutter of the prisoned pinions was God's promise of another and a better life." — Duff Porter. 66o PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 24 : 1, 2 ; Mark 13 : 1, 2 ; Luke 21 : 5, 6. CHAPTER XXXIX. PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. And Jesus departed from the temple. And as he went Jesus foretells out, one of his disciples spake of the the Destruction of , l * the Temple. temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, saying, Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here ! And Jesus answering, said unto him, As for these great buildings which ye behold, verily I say unto you, And Jesus departed from the temple. — " After Jesus had finished his words in the temple, he ' departed and did hide himself from them* (John 12 .-36). His departing and hiding are not to be understood of a night's sojourn in Bethany, but of his final departure from the temple, and his sojourn in retire- ment till his arrest. His public work was over. He appears no more in his Father's house as a preacher of righteousness. Henceforth all his words of wisdom are addressed to his own disciples." — Andrews. See what manner of stones and what buildings are here ! The temple was built of white marble, exquisitely carved, and with stones of large dimensions, some of them fifty feet long, sixteen high, and twenty-four thick. " Its appearance," says Josephus, " was such as to strike the mind and astonish the sight. For it was on every side covered with solid plates of gold, which reflected, when the sun rose upon it, such a strong and dazzling effulgence, that the eye could not sustain its radi- ance. At a distance, it appeared a huge mountain covered with snow. For where the plates of gold were not, it was extremely white and glistening." Tacitus describes it as "of immense opulence." For a full description of these magnificent build- ings, see Josephus, B. 1., v. 5. See also note on page 92. " The allusion of the disciples to the size and splendor of the temple buildings, seems to have been occasioned by His words to the Pharisees foretelling its desolation (Matt. 23 : 38). That so sub- stantial and massive a structure could become desolate, was incredible to them, for they had as yet no distinct conception that God was about to cast off his own covenant people, and bring the worship he had appointed to an end. This manifesta- tion of incredulity led him to say, with great emphasis, that the buildings should be utterly destroyed." — Andrews. DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE FORETOLD. 661 Matt. 24 : 2, 3 ; Mark 13 : 2, 3 ; Luke 21:6. the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against There shall not be left one stone upon another. — "This prophecy was uttered in a time of profound peace, when the possibility of the destruction of such a magnificent work of art and sanctuary of religion seemed very unlikely ; but was liter- ally ful tilled forty years afterwards ; and that, too, in express violation of the orders of Titus, who wished to save it." — Sc/ia^. But the obstinate resistance of the infatuated Jews, and the fierce passions of his own soldiers, defeated his purpose. The temple was repeatedly set fire to, contrary to his strict orders ; and at last the tire could not be extinguished ; and when it had consumed everything that would burn, the rest of the structure was demolished, and the materials removed, in order to search for the treasure which was buried under its ruins; so that, in the end, the very foundations were overturned, and the ground on which the temple stood was ploughed up. Josephus says it " was laid so completely even with the ground, by those who dug it up from the foundation, that there was nothing left to make those whocame hither believe it had ever been inhabited." " We shall perceive the force of the expression, ' not one stone shall be left upon another,' if we bear in mind that these huge stones were bound together with lead, and fastened with strong iron clamps." — Bloomfield. " God commanded the Tews at that time, and now us who are placed in the Church, that we have no trust in the goodliness of buildings, and of gilt roofs, and in walls covered with panels of marble, and say, ' The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord arc we !' For that is the temple of the Lord wherein dwelleth true faith, godly conver- sation, and the company of all the virtues." — Jcnmu. He sat upon the Mount of Olives, over against the temple. "At the summit of the hill Jesus sat down to rest — perhaps under the green boughs of those two stately cedar trees which then adorned the summit of the hill. Deep on the one side beneath him lay the Holy City, at his feet were the slopes of Olivet, and the Garden of Gethsemane. On the opposite slope rose the city walls, and the broad plateau crowned with the marble col- onnades and gilded roofs of the temple, and before him was the glorious guilty city which had shed the blood of all the proph- ets, and was doomed to sink through yet deadlier wickedness to yet more awful retribution. And the setting sun of his earthly life Hung deeper and more sombre coloring across the whole scene of his earthly pilgrimage." — Farmr, condensed. 662 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 24 : 3, 4 ; Mark 13 :3~5 ; Luke 21 : 7. the temple, the disciples Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, asked him privately, saying. Master, tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? when all these things shall be fulfilled ? And Jesus an- The disciples asked him privately. — Mark specifies who they were, and the word "privately" implies that only the four were present. The others may have preceded him to Bethany, but Alexander supposes that all were with him, and that " the four only are mentioned as particularly earnest in making the in- quiry, although speaking with and for the rest." What shall be the sign of thy coming ? — " Not of his second coming, for though Christ had foretold his crucifixion, the dis- ciples did not understand his saying (Mark 9 : 32 ; Luke 9 : 45) ; but the sign of his public manifestation as the Messiah. This they were momentarily expecting (Luke 19: 11; -Acts 1 : 6.)" — Abbott. And of the end of the world. — " Not merely of the Jewish dispensation, though the Greek is perhaps capable of being so rendered. Christ had in public discourse alluded to the end of the world in connection with his own appearance as the Messiah (Matt. 13 : 39, 40,49). The disciples, supposing that the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, the overthrow of Judaism, the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah-King, and the end of the world, would be contemporaneous, asked when they would occur, and what would be the sign of their approach. One principal object of Christ's discourse is to correct their misapprehension. Calvin interprets well their probable state of mind : ' Having been con- vinced, that, as soon as the reign of Christ should commence, they would be in every respect happy, they leave warfare out of the account, and fly all at once to a triumph.' " — Abbott. "They thought the temple should stand as long as the world stood ; therefore as soon as Christ said the temple should be destroyed, they presently thought with themselves of the end of the world." — Edward Leigh. " It is, I think, a mark of right understanding in the language of prophecy, and in the design of prophecy too, to keep to what appears the design and the meaning of the proph- ecy in general, and to what the whole of it, when laid together, points out to us ; and not to suffer a warm imagination to mis- lead us from the real intention of the spirit of prophecy, by fol- lowing uncertain applications of the part of it." — Lawman. Take heed that no man deceive you. — " This is the text of this discourse, and to it Christ constantly recurs. (See Matt. FALSE CHRISTS. 663 Matt. 24 : 4 ; Mark 13 : 5 ; Luke 21 : S. swered and said unto diem, Take heed that no man de- 24 : 13. 23-25, 42-44.) We ought not to inquire into future and final events, through curiosity, but from a desire to fortify our- selves."—^;;^/. Just that curiosity halts ever unsatisfied at this chapter; but the spiritual desire for practical warning and admonition is abundantly satisfied. The question to be deter- mined respecting this chapter, and it is one on which the ablest scholars are not agreed, is this : " How far are its prophecies to be regarded as fulfilled in and by this siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the consequent dispersion of the Jews?" In response to this question there may be said to be three gen- eral answers: (1) The first regards the destruction of Jeru- salem as a substantial fulfillment of the prophecy, the second coming of Christ already taken place, and the "'last days" al- ready come ; these regard Christ's second coming as wholly inferential ; (2) The second regards the chapter as almost wholly prophetic, and the main events therein vet to be fulfilled, or the destruction of Jerusalem itself as only' a prophetic event, typi- cal ot the wider judgment to come upon all nations; (3) The third regards the two events as intermingled in the prophecy, which takes no note of the intervening centuries of time, as a traveler does not discern the valleys between distant mountain peaks, rising one above the other. Where, on this interpreta- tion, the line between the immediate and the distant events is to be placed, scholars are not agreed. In studying this discourse, the student must remember that Christ's object is practical, not theoretical ; he speaks not to inflame the imagi- nation, nor to gratify curiosity, but to enforce the duty of pa- tience, fidelity, and watchfulness. And whatever difficulty there may be in understanding the prophetic meaning of the discourse there can be none in understanding and applying its practical and spiritual instructions. Mr. Abbott, who adopts the third of the methods of interpretation given above, affords of the chapter the following : Analysis.—" The question (verse 3): When will occur the de- struction of the Temple, thine own glorious manifestation as the Messiah, and the end of the world ? Christ s response.— -Do not imagine that the kingdom will immediately appear. Be not deceived by the claims of false Messiahs. There must first be a period of tribulation, the travail out of which the kingdom shall be born (4-8). a period of persecution from without, and schism, apostasy, and false doctrine from within (9-12) to be accompanied by the preaching of the Gospel throughout the habitable globe (13, 14). The length of this period no one 664 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 24 : 5 ; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8. Jesus predicts ceive you : for many shall come in my False Christs. • T /~M • •. J »i . ■ name, saying, I am Christ ; and the time knows save the Father, not even the Son (Mark 13 : 32). When, therefore, you see the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9 : 27 ; 12 : 11) do not imagine that the end has come, and abide in Jerusalem. Flee, for terrible will be the suffering of that time (15-22). Do not, then, allow false reports of the coming of the Messiah to mislead you. For his coming will be in such a manner that it cannot be questioned (23-27). Nor shall judgment stop at Jerusalem. Wherever there is corruption, thither the executioners of God's judgment will hasten (23). Immediately after this period of travail and world judgment — that is, without any intervening sign or note of preparation, will come the Son of Man to judge the world (29-31), even as sum- mer follows spring (32, 33). But though Jerusalem is destroyed the Jewish race shall abide, a living testimony to the truth of my words (34, 35). But the day and the hour of their fulfillment no man knoweth (36). It will be sudden (37-41). Wherefore, watch, be faithful, be always ready, looking for the appearance of your Lord (43-51), who will come to judge not only the world, but the church, condemning those who have lived in it without divine grace (25 : 1-19), without spiritual thrift and in- dustry (25 : 14-30), and without practical benevolence and benefi- cence to their fellow-men (25 : 31-46)." — Abbott on Matthew. In my name. — Assuming my dignity. Saying;, I am Christ. — "Pretending to be the Messiah. Many, accordingly, did pretend to be the Messiah, between the death of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem." — Ripley. " The first instance of the appearance of any person among the Jews, who would answer to the description of a false Christ, occurs U.C. 797 or 798, a.d. 44-5, fourteen or fifteen years after the ascension." — Greswell. " In the reign of Nero, when Felix was procurator of Judea, such a number of these impostors made their appearance, that many of them were seized and put to death every year." — Bp. Porteus. "These deceivers, promis- ing the Jews deliverance from the Roman yoke, and temporal dominion, drew after them many followers, and excited great insurrections. This exasperated the Romans ; numbers per- ished miserably, and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem were accelerated by these commotions." — Scott. Joseplius mentions one of these pretenders, who declared to the inhabit- ants of Jerusalem that God commanded them to go up into some particular part of the temple, to there receive the signs of deliverance. A multitude of men, women, and children went SIGNS OF THE END. 66 = Matt. 24 : ;, 6 ; Mark 13 : 6, 7 ; Luke 21 : 8, 9. draweth near ; and shall deceive many. Go ye not therefore after them. And when ye shall hear of com- motions, and wars, and rumors of wars : see that ye be up accordingly; but instead of deliverance the place was set on tire by the Romans, and six thousand perished in the Haines, or by endeavoring to escape them. But i, in his ' T/uological Dictionary,' gives a list of twenty-nine false Christs, the last of them as late as the seventeenth century. The time draweth near.— "The time of the kingdom."— Al- fonf. Not the words of our Lord, but of the many who should come in his name. Commotions. — " There were serious disturbances (1) at Alex- andria, which save rise to the complaint against and deposition of Flaccus, and Philo's work against him (a.i>. 38). in which the Jews as a nation were the especial objects of persecution ; (2) at Selencia about the same time, in winch more than fifty thou- sand Jews were killed ; (3) at Jamnia, a city on the coast of Judea, near Joppa. Many other such national tumults are re- corded bv Josephus." — AlforJ. Wars and rumors of wars.— " It is a singular coincidence that, as there were three Roman emperors, and no more, be- tween the time of Tiberius, in the sixteenth of whose reign the prophecy was delivered, and the time of the destruction of Jeru- salem—Caius, Claudius and Nero— the two first of these, almost at equal distances of lime asunder, menaced the Jews with a war, which to the eve of human observation seemed all but in- evitable, and the last actually carried it into effect. On the first occasion, nothing but the opportune assassination of Caius. and on the second, nothing but the most active exertions on the part of the principal men among the Jews, and the timeliest submission on the part of the nation at huge, saved them from the impending danger, Caius having already commanded the president of Syria, Petronius,to carry his orders for the erection of his statue in the temple into execution at the point of the sword ; Claudius having in some measure declared war against the Jews as it was, by ordering all the Jews to quit Rome and Italy within a given time. The time of the first of these events wasu.c. 793, 4, A.D. 40, 1 ; that of the second, v.c. S02. a.i>, 49. —Greswell. Be not terrified.— Do not be troubled, and think that the end of the world is at hand. " The strength of hope and the mighty power Of faith prevail among us; and even while the world is tumbling to pieces, our minds are fixed above, and our courage is immovable, and our souls repose full confidence in God." — Cyprian, Martyr of Tkint Century. 666 • PRCPKECIE5 AKD TARABLE3. Mat: :_ - Man; - - . Luke :: . 10. not terriried ; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, nation shall rise against na- tion, and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be The end is not by and by. — " The Greek word here translated signifies • '-"'•'..' and this was precisely aning at the time of our translation."' — "'The world will not immediate! r fol- low the trcublou; aes predicted in the preceding part of this ~r : : — .-' Then said he. — " This clause is peculiar to Luke. It indi- cate either a break in the discourse, or, mere probably, the in- troduction of more particular details."' — RidJU. ?.'a.:ion shall rise against nation.— rv.akes this refer to the same events as " wan and commotions." Lange says, : the subject is great political revolutions in the world , •3ns of nation? _ : augments, blendings. and new formations of peoples." " Bear in mind the massacres at Cesarea, be S nans and Jews, in which twenty thousand of the latter fell, while in Syria almost every city was divided ro armies, which stood opposed to one another as deadly enemies: the quick succession of the five emperors in Rome within a few years, Nero, Galba, Otho, Viteihus, Vespasian, and the tumults connected therewith in wider and narrower cir- cles."— ' tee. Even if there is a wider reference, the prim; inon to such events is undeniable. Famines and pestilences. — "A great famine, prophesied in Acts ii : 2:. occurred a.d. 49, and another in the reign of Clau- dius, mentioned by - katiq. 3:15.;. A pestilence, A.D. 65. in is _ tumn earned off thirty thousand persons at Rcr. — AlJ 5 are mentioned by Latin historians. Great earthquakes. — The principal earthquakes occurring between this and the destruction 01 Jerusalem were : -arthquake in Crete, a.d. 46 or _" - :.e at Rome on the day when Nero assumed the manly toga, mentioned by (3) one at Laodicea in Phrygia, a.d. 60; (4) one i: 7 ■ .a thirteen years. As re- gards the wider fulfillment The passage combines in one view the whole of the various socb -, and climatic crises of :r..-..;raerit in the whole New Testament dispensa- tion."— Lange. In divers places. — " Place for place, i.e., here and there, each in its particular locality; as w. and down,' dor SIGNS AND PORTENT& - - - -II. famines, and pestilences, and great earthquakes in div- ers places ; and troubles, and fearful sights, and great seem to imply that the carthqua in Judea or Jeru- — ." Fearful sights and great signs. — " Terrific portents, fright- ful phenomena, are here reckoned as a hint beforehand of what is more fully stated in verse z- —' .. - .us has given a very particular account of the prodigies of this kind which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem. He speaks of a flaming sword seen over the city, and of a come there for a twelvemonth. He mentions a light which : space of half an hour shone so bright in the night betvre temple and the altar, that it seemed as if it were noonday. He takes notice also of what eye-witnesses had related to him, that chariots and armed troops were seen fighting in the sky upon a certain day. He adds, that on the day of Pentecost, when the priests entered imo the inner temple, they heard a great noise and voice as of a multitude crying out, ' Let us depart hence.' " — Peloubet. Tcuitus also says : " There were many pre _ presignifving their iuin, which was not averted by . rifices and vows of that people. Armies were seer, fig'..: the air with brandished weapons. A fire fell upo:. from the clouds. The doors of the temple were Pud openc : same time there was a loud voice dc^ that the gods were removing, which was accompa: sound as of a multitude going out. All which tl supposed by some to portend great calamities." " It Is. how- ever, evident that the -s of thtse verses (5-8 are not peculiailj applicable to t':.e period immeei:. the destruction of Jerusalem. The mors < . :e to the can.; of Charlemagne, the wars between the po pes and the G emperors, the conflicts between Napoleon I. and the . armies, the more recent wars between France, and Germany, the vai I wars which have deva- England, particularly the wars of the Roses and the Revolution under Cromwell, and in our ow: American Revo- lution and the Civil War. To :. ble the declaration that * nation shall rise aga. .'Of :.iere have been more re- markable instances since than before the destruction of Jerusa- lem, and instances in which the Christian Church has sui far more severely. I understand Christ"; , to be an admonition t J of conflict and trial be- 668 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 24 : S ; Mark 13 : 9, 10 ; Luke 21 : 11, 12. signs shall there be from heaven. All these are the be- ginning of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves : for before all these they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, de- jei- gel. "These verses (9-12) indicate four dangers which will assail the church: persecution from without (verse 9); apos- tasy, schism, and controversy within (verse 10); false doc- trine (verse 11) ; and worldliness and consequent backsliding (verse 12). Each of these dangers came in a small measure upon the Apostolic Church before the destruction of Jerusalem. But these were only the beginning of travail in the church. And in her history, subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem, the reader must look for a larger fulfillment. Though every age has in some degree all of these tribulations, jet, historic- ally, each age is characterized by its own peculiar form of tribu- lation, and they follow each other in consecutive order, as indicated in Christ's language here. First comes the period of peril from without — that of imperial persecution ; next that of schism and conflict within — that of the Roman Catholic perse- 674 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Ch. XXXIX. Matt. 24 : 13, 14 ; Mark 13 : 10. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be first preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come. cutions and of the ecclesiastical conflicts between Roman Cath- olic, Greek and Protestant communions, and the sectarian strife between the Protestant churches. This has well-nigh passed ; and we are now in the age of ' false prophets,' an age which, with liberty of speech, brings within the church itself much false doctrine." — Abbott on Matthew, condensed. The same shall be saved. — Many commentators refer this to the destruction of Jerusalem, and affirm from Ensebius (Hist. Eccles. lib. 3 : 5), that the Christians who took refuge at Pella, in the mountainous region of Decapolis, were preserved in the national ruin. " But the principle is a general one. For the individual, ' the end ' is the day of his death ; for the church, it is the Advent of Christ, the end of all things. The last sense is the more important one, giving character to the others. Over against the apostasy of ' the many' (verse 12) we have the faith- fulness of the few, in spite of false teaching (verse 11), in spite of prevailing wickedness (verse 12), an endurance in love." — Schaff. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world. — ''Notwithstanding all these commotions, the Gospel would soon be preached through the various nations of the Roman empire, and in the different parts of the then known world ; for a witness to them, that the Messiah was come, to be 'a Light to lighten the Gentiles,' and ' to be for salvation lo the ends of the earth :' and when this should be accomplished, the end of the Jewish church and state would come. It ap- pears from the most credible records, that the Gospel was preached in Idumea, Syria, and Mesopotamia, by Jude; in Egypt, Marmorica, Mauritania, and other parts of Africa, by Mark, Simon and Jude ; in Ethiopia, by Candace's eunuch and Matthias ; in Pontus, Galatia, and the neighboring parts of Asia, by Peter; in the territories of the seven Asiatic churches, by John ; in Parthia, by Matthew ; in Scythia, by Philip and Andrew; in the northern and western parts of Asia, by Bar- tholomew ; in Persia, by Simon and Jude ; in Media, Carmania, and several eastern parts, by Thomas ; through the vast tract from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum, by Paul, as also in Italy, and probably in Spain, Gaul and Britain ; in most of which places Christian churches were planted, in less than thirty years after the death of Christ, which was before the destruction of Jerusalem." — Doddridge, DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM FORETOLD. 675 Matt. 24 : 15 ; Mark 13 : 14 ; Luke 21 : 20. When ye, therefore, shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, and the abomination of desolation, spoken Jesus prophe- of by Daniel the prophet, standing in sics the Destruc- , . . , , . tion of Jerusalem, the holy place, let him that readeth un- derstand, then know that the desolation thereof is When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies (Luke) and the abomination of desolation spoken of by Dan- iel the prophet standing in the holy place (Matt.). Some scholars regard these as different expressions to signify the same event ; others suppose that Matthew refers to some inner or domestic sign of the approaching calamity to be seen in Jerusalem and possibly in the temple itself, designated by the phrase Holy Place, while Luke gives the outward and contem- poraneous state of things."— A bbott. The abomination of desolation. — Literally, the abomination which makes desolate. "The commentators generally suppose it to refer to the standards of the Roman army, which contained heathen emblems. . . . But the Roman eagles had been seen in and about Jerusalem for many years. Others refer the words to the internal desecration of the temple by the Zealots. In either case there can be no doubt that Alford is correct in saying: 'Whatever it was, it was a definite, well-marked event, for the flight was to be immediate, on one day (not on the Sabbath), and universal, from all parts of Judea.' When this sign appeared, whatever it was, the disciples were not to think the Messiah was at hand ; they were to flee." — Abbott. Let him that readeth understand. — " A remark of the Evan- gelist, probably with a reference to the words of the angel to Daniel (9: 25): 'know therefore and understand.' Such an in- sertion is very unusual, but seems to have been occasioned by the near approach of the events at the date of the writing of this gospel. In the correct reading of Mark 13 : 14, there is no direct reference to Daniel, and hence the reader of the Gospel, not of the prophecy, is meant. Such an understanding was very important for the early Christians." — Schaff. " The object of this addition is to enforce Christ's caution to the disciples, to make good their escape from the doomed city." — Abbott. The desolation thereof. — "The Romans, under Vespasian, invaded the country, and took the cities of Galilee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, etc., where Christ had been especially rejected, and murdered numbers of the inhabitants. At Jeru- salem the scene was most wretched of all. At the passover, when there might have been two or three millions of people in the city, the Romans surrounded it with troops, trenches, and 676 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Matt. 24 : 16. 17 ; Mark 13 : 14, 15 ; Luke 21 : 21. nigh. Then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains ; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out ; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. And let him that is on the house-top walls, that none might escape. At Jerusalem alone, it is said, 1,100,000 perished by sword, famine, and pestilence. In other places we hear of 250,000 that were cut off, besides vast num- bers that were sent into Egypt to labor as slaves." — Whedon. See note on page 661. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. — "By ludea must be understood all the southern parts of Pales- tine, both the plain and the hill countries, which at this time went by the name of Judea. By ' the mountains,' must be understood the countries on the east side of Jordan, especially those which in the time of war were under the government of the younger Agrippa. These countries remaining in their obe- dience to the Romans, the people who tied into them were safe. It is remarkable, that, by the special providence of God, after the Romans under Cestius Gallus made their first advance towards Jerusalem, they suddenly withdrew again, in a most unexpected and impolitic manner ; at which Josephus testifies his surprise, since the city might then have been easily taken. By this means they gave, as it were, a signal to the Christians to retire ; which, in regard to our Lord's admonition, they did, some to Pella, and others to Mount Libanus, and thereby pre- served their lives. 'And if their flight ensued immediately on the defeat of Cestius Gallus, then it was not winter, for the eighth of Dius, on which that defeat happened, corresponded in u.c. 819, a.d. 66, to October 15th, and October, in the Jew- ish year, was one of the mildest months in their calendar.' Vespasian was deputed in the room of Cestius Gallus, who, having subdued all the country, prepared to besiege Jerusalem, and invested it on every side. But the news of Nero's death, and soon after that of Galba, and the disturbances that followed, and the civil wars between Otho and Vitellius, held Vespasian and his son Titus in suspense. Thus the city was not actually besieged in form till after Vespasian was confirmed in the em- pire, and Titus was appointed to command the forces in Judea. It was in those incidental delays that the Christians provided for their safety by flight." — Greswell. Let not them that are in the countries (country districts) enter thereinto, i.e., into Jerusalem. — "Those that dwelt in the country might naturally, on the approach of the Roman legions, enter Jerusalem, either as a protection or to re-enforce \\.."— Abbott. WARNINGS TO ESCAPE. 677 Matt. 24 : 17-20 ; Mark 13 : 15-19 ; Luke 21 : 22, 23. not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take anything out of his house : and let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. And wo unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days ! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath- day. For these be the days of vengeance, that all Not go down. — "In the eastern walled cities, the flat-roofed houses had stairs on the outside, and usually formed continued terraces from one end of the city to the other; which terraces terminated at the gates. So that it was not necessary to come down into the street or the house." — Adam Clarke. To take up his garment.— The upper garment (the cloak and coat), which husbandmen of the southern countries have ever, when at work, laid aside, or left at home ; they are then said to be naked. (See Mark 14 : 51.) They were to flee without delay, and to let nothing obstruct their flight. In the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.— " The fifth part of the year, extending from the middle of December to the middle of February, constitutes the winter. The snows, which are then not unfrequent, scarcely continue through the day, except on the mountains; the ice is thin, and melts as soon as the sun ascends to any considerable height. The north winds are chill, and the cold, particularly on the moun- tains, which are covered with snow, is intense. The roads are slippery, and traveling is both tedious and dangerous, particularly through the declivities of the mountains (Jer. 13 : 16 ; 23 : 12 ; Sirach 43 : 22.)' — Jahn. "That so neither religious obligation, nor, in winter, the badness of the roads and the shortness of the days, may stay and impede your flight." — Calvin. A Sabbath-day's journey was two thousand cubits, or about five furlongs — five-eighths of a mile ; supposed to be the space between the camp and the tabernacle (Lev. 23 : 3). "On that day the gates of the cities were usually closed (Neh. xiii. 19-22) ; besides, traveling on that day would expose them still more to Jewish fanaticism. The Jewish Christians, up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, observed the Jewish Sab- bath."— Schaff. These be the days of vengeance, i.e., of divine vengeance. — "To resist the Roman army would therefore be fighting a vain battle against God himself. We may call to mind the ex- 678 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Luke 21 : 22-24 ; Matt. 24 : 21 ; Mark 13 : 19. things which are written may be fulfilled. For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people — affliction, and great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, no, nor ever shall be. They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. pression even of a Titus: 'That God was so angry with his people, that even he feared his wrath, if he should suffer grace to be shown to the Jews,' and how he refused every mark of honor on account of the victory obtained, with the attestation that he had been only an instrument in God's hands to punish this stiff-necked nation." — Lange. All things that are written. — "The reference cannot be to Christ's previous intimations of the destruction of Jerusalem (John 2:19; Matt. 21 : 41 ; 23 : 38), for these were not as yet written. The language refers to O. T. prophecies, such as Lev. 26:14-23; Deut. 28:15, etc.; 29:19-28; Dan. 9:26, 27; Zech. n ; 14 : 42. —Abbott. Distress in the land, i.e., of Palestine ; and wrath (of God) upon his people, " the Jews. Let them who wish to elimi- nate the conception of divine wrath from theology, consider whether the)' can eliminate such scenes as the destruction of Jerusalem from history." — Abbott. Great tribulation. — "Josephus uses almost the very words of our Saviour : " All the calamities," says he, " which had be- fallen any nation from the beginning of the world, were but small in comparison with those of the Jews." Such as was not. — Such were the atrocities and horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, that these words may admit of the most literal acceptation. " As I think no city ever suffered such things, so no nation from the beginning of the world did ever so abound in all manner of wickedness and impiety. O mis- erable city, what didst thou suffer from the Romans, though at last they set thee on fire to purge thee from thy sins, that can be compared with those miseries which thou hast brought on thy- self !" — Joseph us. Shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (comp. Rev. 11:2). "The language describes aptly the present and past condition of Jerusalem, which since the dispersion of the Jews has been under the feet of successive Gentile nations, is so now, and is cod's instrumentalities. 679 Matt. 24 : 22, 23 ; Mark 13 : 20, 21. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved : but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, those days shall be shortened. Then, if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ ; to remain so until the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, i.e., not till they have fulfilled their mission as executors of divine punishment (so Oosterzee and Bengel), but till their time of trial and redemption is past, as the time of trial and redemp- tion of the lewish nation, as a nation, was ended with the de- struction of the Holy City. So, substantially, Alford. The times of the Gentiles are the Gentile dispensation, just as the time of Jerusalem is the Jewish dispensation ; the great rejection of the Lord by the Gentile world, answers to its type, his rejection by the Jews. This being finished, the end of all things shall come, the time of which the destruction of Jerusa- lem was a type. So we have in Rev. 11 : iS, 'The time of the dead,' which is interpreted there as the time 'that they should be judged.'"— Abbott. But . . . those days shall be shortened.— " History, both lewish and heathen, bears testimony to the truth of this part of the prophecy. For we learn from both Josephtis and Tacitus, that the Roman commander, Titus, from a desire of glory, and of returning to the pleasures of Rome, determined to bring the siege of Jerusalem to an end as speedily as possible, notwith- standing the opinion of some of his officers, who advised him to reduce the city by blockade, and not by assault. We also learn from Josephus, that the war was brought to a much earlier close than might have been expected, by the conduct of the Jews themselves, who, acting, as it were, under a frenzy sent upon them by God, wasted their strength in their furious contests with each other, burnt their stores of corn, which might have lasted many years (B. Jud. 5 : 5°). and of their own accord abandoned to 'the enemy points of defence, from which nothing but famine could have driven them. Titus himself, when view- ing the fortifications of the city, after its fall, declared that it could never have been taken by human means ; and that God himself had interposed on the side of the Romans (H. Jud. 6 • «)." — Lonsdale and Hale. Lo! here is Christ. — "We say, Lo, here is Christ ! and Lo, there is Christ! in these and these opinions, when, as in truth. Christ is neither here nor there nor anywhere, but where the spirit of Christ, where the life of Christ, is. . . . Do we not make this and that opinion, this and that outward form, 68o rROPHFXIES AND PARAP.LES. Matt. 24 : 24-27 ; Mark 13 : 22, 23. or lo, he is there ; believe him not. For there shall arise jesus describes false Christs, and false prophets, and shall the . . Second Coming, show great signs and wonders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall seduce even the very- elect. But take ye heed : behold, I have foretold you all things. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Be- hold, he is in the desert ; go not forth : behold, he is in the secret chambers ; believe it not. For as the light- to be the wedding garment, and boldly sentence those to outer darkness that are not invested therewith ? Whereas every true Christian finds the least dram of hearty affection towards God to be more cordial and sovereign to his soul than all the speculative notions and opinions in the world." — Cudxvorth. " Never will there be peace until Christians agree to differ, and agree to look for the evidences of Christian character in the temper and the life." — Channing. Shall show great signs and wonders. — "The mere presence of prodigies is, of itself, no evidence of revelation or inspira- tion ; they must accompany truth, which, by its inherent char- acter and blessed fruit, gives divine sanction to the miracle. And the lack of this truth-teaching distinguishes the pseudo miracles of the false prophets of Judaism, of the priests in the middle ages, and of modern spiritualism, from those of the Bible." — Abbott. (Deut. 13 : 1-3.) " The opposite [diabolical] miracles at most can only prove that some invisible beings of great power, who are the abettors of falsehood, are strongly en- gaged to support the contrary doctrine ; the consideration of which must excite all wise and good men to receive a truth so opposed with greater readiness, and to endeavor to promote it with great zeal ; as they may be sure the excellence and impor- tance of it is proportionable to the solicitude of these malignant spirits to prevent its progress." — Bloomfield. In the desert — in the secret chambers. — Impostors fulfilled both these predictions ; some drew the people off into the des- ert, others concealed themselves in secret hiding-places in the city. As the lightning ... so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. — "This cannot refer to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ by the Apostles, as Calvin interprets it, for Christ distinctly declares elsewhere that the Kingdom of God shall come in the Gospel without observation (Luke 17 : 20, 21), nor to the destruction of Jerusalem, as some of the NO SECOND COMING. 68l Malt. 24 : 28, 29 ; Mark 13 : 24 ; Luke 21 : 2; nine cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars : and modern commentators interpret it, for the Son of Man was not recognized in that event by the Jews, and the very point of this declaration is that Christ's coming shall be recognized univer- sally It can only refer to his final coming in judgment ; and the connection is this : Be not deceived by false Messiahs, for when I come it will be in such a form that no one can doubt or question ; it will be sudden, public, manifest to all ; observe, not merely as the lightning, but as the lightning when it shines from the East even unto the West ; that is, when the whole heavens are aglow with its light."— Abbott. Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gath- ered together.—" Modern commentators generally understand 'Where the Jewish nation is, there will the Roman armies, whose national standard was the eagle, be gathered.' But this interpretation does not harmonize with the context. 1 he metaphor is one employed in the Old Testament, where the eagle or in more general terms, the bird of prey, repre- sents'foreign armies called bv God to execute his judgment on a corrupt nation (Deut. 28 : 40 ; L^nr 4 : 19 ; Hosea 8 : I ; Heb i • S). Christ's language here, then, is equivalent to, Judgment will not be inflicted on Jerusalem alone; that will not be the end ; wherever there is corruption, there will be in- flicted the judgments of God. This truth is illustrated in the destruction of Jerusalem, but not less surely and strikingly in the overthrow of Greece and Rome, in the decay of Spain, in the desolations visited on France, and in our own civil war. — Abbott. ,. , , , . , , After that tribulation— Immediately after the period of travail and judgment described in Matt. 24 : 4-14 ; 23-2S. The sun shall be darkened. — " Of the language here em- ployed there are two interpretations. One refers it to signs which are to take place at a second and visible coming of 682 PROPHECIES AND PARAKLES. Matt. 24 : 29, 30 ; Mark 13 : 24-26 ; Luke 21 : 25-28. upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth : for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Christ — visible phenomena in the heavens at the visible appear- ance of Christ ; in which sense the rest of the verse needs little explanation except to determine the difference between ' the stars' and ' the powers of the heavens.' The former may mean meteors and the latter the host of stars, or better, the former the stars in general, the latter the greater heavenly bodies that af- fect the earth (the solar system). This view suggests also the possibility of actual changes in the physical universe to prepare lor ' the new heavens and the new earth.' The other view gives it a purely metaphorical meaning, supposing that it was fulfilled at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. The significa- tion of the language according to this view is as follows: The sun shall be darkened, i.e., the knowledge of Christ, the Sun of the Church and the world, shall be obscured : the moon shall not give her light j the reflected light of science, which derives its excellence only from Christ, the true Sun, shall cease to guide (or it may refer to heresy and unbelief in the Church, for that leaves her merely a scientific or temporal organization) : the stars shall fall from heaven; the leaders and teachers of the Church shall become apostates : the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ; the influences which rule human society shall be disturbed." — Abbott. And upon the earth distress of nations. — " Literally, a shutting up, as of men in a besieged city. The world will be beleaguered, and from it there will be no escape. Observe that in the original, the word here rendered nations, is that in verse 41 rendered Gentiles. In the destruction of Jerusalem the dis- tress fell upon the Jews, and was inflicted by the Gentiles ; in the time now spoken of (the time of the Gentile nations) the dis- tress will fall upon them ; they will be the beleaguered and the anxious." — Abbott. Men's hearts failing them (as in a swoon) for fear (of what they already see) and for expectation of those things coming upon the earth. — On the habitable globe; not merely upon THE SIGNS TO BE LOOKED FOR. 683 Matt. 24 : 31-34 ; Mark 13 : 27-30 ; Luke 21 : 28-32. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads : for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable : Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees. When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye see and know watchful prep- of your own selves that summer is near, nation enforced. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand, even at the door. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be done. Judea or Palestine ; this original Greek word is never used with that limited sense in tlie New Testament. Something more than any of the events which accompanied the destruc- tion of Jerusalem seems to be here intended. Behold the fig-tree. — " Not surer does each tender gem, Set in the fig-tree's polished stem. Foreshow the summer season bland. Than these dread signs thy mighty hand: " But, oh, frail hearts and spirits dark ! The sea^on*s flight unwarned we marie, But miss the Judge behind the door, For all the light of sacred lore : ' Yet is he there ; beneath our eaves Each sound his wakeful ear receives ; Hush, idle words, and thoughts of ill, Your Lord is listening : peace, be still I" John Kebfr. This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be done. — " As this [word " generation"] is one of the points on which the rationalizing interpreters lay most stress, to show that the prophecy has failed, it may be well to show that the original has, in Hellenistic Greek, the meaning of a race or family of people. For this purpose, see Jer. 8 : 3 (Septuagint) ; compare Matt. 23 : 36 with verse 35, and observe that the then living generation did not slay Zacharias, so that the whole peo- ple are addressed. See also Matt. 12 : 45, where the sense 684 PROPHECIES AND. PARABLES. Matt. 24 : 35, 36 ; Mark 13 : 31, 32 ; Luke 21 : 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away : but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but absolutely requires that the meaning of "nation" should be attached to the word. See also Matt. 17 : 17 ; Luke 17 : 25 ; 16 : 18. In the latter passage, "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light," the word generation is predicated both of the children of this world and of the children of light, and evidently not used literally of an age of men. Compare also Acts 2 : 40 ; Phil. 2:15. In all these passages generation is equivalent to nation, or nearly ; having, it is true, a more pregnant meaning, implying that the character of one generation stamps itself upon the race, as here in this verse also." — Alford. So that, if this prophecy means not merely that the Jewish nation, as a nation, should not pass away, but, also, that it should not lose its national characteris- tics amid all the changes of time, then it has been fulfilled in the history of the Jews. My words shall not pass away. — "Nothing apparently is so fugitive as words, and the words of Christ were spoken, not reduced to writing by him, or in his lifetime ; yet history has demonstrated the truth of this declaration, and his words have proved more enduring than monuments, temples, cities, or even civilizations, and shall in their influence outlast the world itself. Observe in the structure of this promise an additional indication, that the prophecy here relates to the end of the world, not merely to the end of the Jewish dispensation." — Abbott. Neither the Son. — " Here distinguished from ' angels,' as above them, since there is a climax, 'angels,' 'the Son,' 'the Father.' The verse is to be taken in its plain sense as part of the mystery of Christ's humiliation, a self-limitation, a self-emptying of the God-man." — Schaff. '.'It is not more extraordinary that there should have been a time when our Saviour, though always God as well as man, was not yet omniscient in the latter capacity, though always so in the former, than that there should have been a time when he was not yet omnipotent in the one capacity, though always so in the other. And if all power, both in heaven and earth, was not communicated to him in his human capacity before his resurrection and ascension, why should all knowledge ? . . . The same act of the Father, which committed all power to him in his mediatorial capacity, when he sat down at his right hand, doubtless committed all WATCH FOR THE Lord's COMING. 6S5 Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 24 : 36-45. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. the Father. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they Avere eating and drink- ing, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away : so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill ; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore ; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suf- fered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to knowledge also; for the possession of omnipotence implies the possession of omniscience also." — Grcswell. But as the days of Noe were. — "The second coming of Christ will be sudden and unexpected. Our Lord assumes that there was a flood sent in judgment in the days of Noah. He endorses the history contained in the book of Genesis." — Schaff. Two women shall be grinding at the mill. — The employ- ment of female slaves. Exod. 11 15; Is. 47 : 2, etc. Women in the East, one or two together, turn the handmills, having the upper millstone in their hands, and turning it round on the nether one, which is fixed. Good man of the house. — The same word in the original (Matt. 20 : 50) is translated "householder." In the northern parts of Great Britain, the master of the house is still called " the good man," and the mistress " the good woman." His house to be broken up. — Literally, "dug through." — "The houses of the East were often built of sun-burnt brick, clay, earth, or even loose stones, through which it was easy to make an opening." — Abbott. 686 PROrHEClES and taraeles. Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 24 : 46-51. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. give them meat in due season ? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken ; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asun- He shall make him ruler over all his goods. — Compare Rev. 2 : 26 ; 3 : 2r. But how can each servant be placed over all God's possessions? Alford answers the question well: "That promotion shall not be like earthly promotion, wherein the eminence of one excludes that of another — but rather like the diffusion of love, in which the more each has the more there is for all." So each saint owns all God's possessions even now (1 Cor. 3 : 2r, 22). Smite his fellow-servants. — "A good man should not be very willing, when his Lord comes, to be found 'beating his fellow-servants.' And all controversy, as it is usually man- aged, is little better. A good man would be loath to be taken out of the world, reeking hot from a sharp contention with a perverse adversary, and not a little out of countenance to find himself, in this temper, translated into the calm and peaceable regions of the blessed, where nothing but perfect charily and good-will reign forever." — Tillotson. "The arms with which the ill dispositions of the world are to be combated are moder- ation, gentleness, a little indulgence of others, and a great dis- trust of ourselves. These are not qualities of a mean spirit, as some may possibly think them, but virtues of a great and noble kind, such as dignify our nature as much as they contribute to our repose and fortune. For nothing can be so unworthy of a well-composed soul as to pass away life in bickerings and liti- gations, in snarling and scuffling with every one around us." — Edmund Burke. Drink with the drunken. — "What shall hinder man or woman, under the influence of so powerful an opiate to their understanding as strong drink, from proceeding to any crime ? Nothing on their own part ; for they have drunk themselves into the condition to be their own tempters ; shame, fear, pru- LIVE IN VIEW OF THE END. 687 Ch. XXXIX. Matt. 24 : 5* ; Luke 21 = 34-36 Apr. 3. J-C 34- d^rTand appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to dence, and reason being all laid asleep."— Bishop Chandler. " Drunkenness is a flattering devil, a sweet poison, a pleasant sin • whosoever hath it, hath not himself. Whosoever com- mits it, commits not sin ; but he is altogether sin himsell. — And 'shall cut him asunder.-An ancient mode of punish- ment among the Israelites (1 Sam. 15 : 33 ; 2 Sam. 12 : 31). His portion with hypocrites.—" Hypocrites are as the free- holders of hell. Other sinners are but as inmates, and have but a portion of their misery." — Caryl. " Men walk in a vain show ; They know, yet will not know , Sit still when they should go,— But run for shadows. While they might taste and know The living streams that flow. And crop'the flowers that grow In Christ's sweet meadows. Life's better slept away Than as they use it ; In sin and dr.inken play Vain men abuse it."— Richard Baxter. As a snare —The figure is that of the throwing of a net or noose over wild animals. There is a thought of ruinous conse- quences as well as of suddenness. On all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. —"Clearly here our Lord is speaking, not of the destruction of Jerusalem, but of the last great day. And this is usually the meaning in the New Testament of the phrase that day, when used absolutely, as here" (Matt. 22 : 42).— Abbott. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always. — In prosperity, against the enticements of self-indulgence ; in adversity, against the encroachments of earthly cares. Pray that ye may be accounted worthy.— " Observe, not 688 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Luke 2r : 36 ; Mark 13 : 33-37 ; Matt. 25 : 1. pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Take ye heed, watch and pray : for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far jour- ney, who left his house, and gave authority to his ser- vants, and to every man his work ; and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore : for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning : lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to be worthy, but reckoned worthy. Here is the germ of that doctrine of justification by grace through faith, of which we find the elaboration in Paul's epistles" (Rom. 4 : 2-6). — Abbott. Ye know not when the time is. — "There is nothing more certain than death ; nothing more uncertain than the time of dying. I will, therefore, be prepared for that at all times which may come at any time, must come at one time or another. I shall not hasten my death by being still ready, but sweeten it. It makes me not die the sooner, but the better." — A. Warwick. The kingdom of heaven likened unto ten virgins. — "The Jewish marriages were generally celebrated in the evening, at the house of the bride's parents, and without an}' religious cere- monies. After the connubial union was ratified, it was custom- ary for the bridegroom (as among the Greeks and Romans), in the evening, to conduct his spouse from her friends' house to his own home, with all the pomp, brilliancy, and joy that could be crowded into the procession. It was usual for female friends and relations to be invited to grace the procession, and to add numbers and lustre to the retinue ; these, adorned with suitable apparel, took lamps, and waited in a company near the house, till the bride and bridegroom, with their friends, issued forth, whom they welcomed with the customary congratulations ; and with songs and acclamations, and every demonstration of joy, advanced to the bridegroom's house, where an entertain- ment was provided for the party, according to the circumstan- ces of the united pair. The doors were then shut to prevent strangers from intruding. The like custom still exists among the Hindoos. The festivities lasted seven days." — Greswell. Took their lamps. — " Each had a lamp for herself, probably THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS. 689 Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 1-6. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, Parable of the and five were foolish. They that were Ten Virgins. foolish tQok their \am])Sj and took nQ oil with them : but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps-. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there a torch made by winding rags about a piece of iron, and fasten- ing it to a thick wooden staff. The oil was poured on the wick, the vessel containing the oil not forming a part of the torch or lamp." — Schaff. Took oil in their vessels.— They not only had a sufficiency of oil in their lamps, but they carried a vessel \v\i\\ oil to recruit their lamps, when it should be found expedient. In many parts of the East, instead of torches, they carry a pot of oil in one hand, and a lamp, which is supplied from it, in the other. The bridegroom tarried.—" Never be discouraged because good things get on so slowly here, and never fail to do daily that good which lies next to your hand. Do not be in a hurry, but be diligent. Enter into the sublime patience of the Lord'. Be charitable in view of it. God can afford to wait ; why cannot we, since we have him to fall back upon? Let patience have her perfect work, and bring forth her celestial fruits. Trust God to weave in your little thread into the great web, (hough the pattern shows it not yet. When God's people are able and willing thus to labor and wait, remember that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day ; the grand harvest of the ages shall come to its' reaping, and the day shall broaden itself to a thousand years, and the thousand years shall show themselves as a perfect and finished day !" — George MacdonaU. " Though the Bridegroom be delaying, Yet his hand is on the door ; \\ lien he comes, his second staying Will l.e with us evermore. " O my Blessed Saviour, yearning As my spirit doth for thee. May my lamp be bright and burning When thou comest unto me.'1 — Anonymous. They all slumbered and slept.—" Disciples in the body can- not be occupied always and only with the expectation of their Lord's appearing. Sleep and food, family and business, make demands on them as well as on others, demands which they 690 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 7-10. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil ; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and you : but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage : and cannot and should not resist. If the coming of the bridegroom be delayed till midnight the virgins must (naturally will) slum- ber ; this is not a special weakness of individuals, it is the common necessity of nature." — Aruot. " And observe the im- plication, if the Christian has grace in his heart, he is always ready, though asleep ; if not, he is unread)', though he were wakeful and seemingly watching. Not what death finds us doing, but how death finds us furnished, is the important ques- tion."— Abbott. Arose, and trimmed their lamps, i.e., trimmed the wick and put on fresh oil, so as to make a brilliant flame. — " All " did this ; the foolish virgins were not lacking in the superficial effort of trimming the wick. But mere trimming does little good, if there is no oil. For our lamps have gone out. — Rather, " are going out." " The trimming of the wick made this apparent. Merely out- ward Christian appearance will show its insufficiency in the midnight when the bridegroom comes, yet even then be only "going out." This natural request represents what will occur in various forms in the hour here prefigured." — Schaff. The marriage. — The Greek word rather means, " the apart- ment in which the marriage feast was kept," or the house where the marriage was celebrated. The marriage ceremony took place before the bride left her father's house, but a feast was given at the house of her husband, and which was also called the mar- riage, or a part of the marriage solemnities. " The chief lesson of the parable, I take to be this: It is not enough to experi- ence religion once for all, and to join, even with a real experi- ence, the professed band of Christ's followers. Our prayer must be for daily grace, as for daily bread. And those who have been content merely to light their lamps, without provid- ing a supply of oil, that is, to begin a Christian life without UNCERTAINTY OF THE DAYS OF THE END. 691 Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 11-14. Apr. 3, J.c. 34. the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he an- swered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into recognizing their continual dependence upon God for con- tinual supplies of grace, will at the last find the door of his kingdom shut against them. Thus, the distinction is not be- tween those who merely profess and those who really possess religion, but between those who are content with one experience and those who recognize their need of continuous supply of divine grace. — Abbott. And the door was shut. — "At a marriage procession I saw the bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, to which place the bridegroom was to come by water. After waiting two or three hours, at length, near mid- night, it was announced, as if in the very words of Scripture, ' Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.' All the persons employed now lighted their lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in the procession ; some of them had lost their lights, and were unprepared ; but it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade moved for- ward to the house of the bride. Then the company entered a large and splendidly illuminated area, before the house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bridegroom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed on a superb seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the door-keepers, but in vain." — Ward's "View of the Hindoos? " All things in the world do take their lime — the bird to build his nest, and the husbandman to sow his seed, the mariner to go to sea, the gardener to set his trees, the sick patient to take physic, the cook to season meats, and the dresser of the vine- yard to gather his fruit. It will be too late to build in summer, to sow in harvest, to go to sea when the ship is launched, to transplant trees when they are old, to take physic when we are dying, to season meats when they are unsavory, and, when winter is come, to gather fruit." — Robert Hill. The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far 692 • PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 14-18. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. a far country, who called his own servants, and de- Parable of the livered unt° them mS goods. And Taisnts. unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one ; to every man according to his several ability ; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, country. — "The warning here is for those who hide their talent, who, being equipped of God, for a sphere of activity, do yet choose, in Lord Bacons words, 'a goodness, solitary and par- ticular, rather than generative and seminal.'" — Trench. "This parable is peculiar to Matthew. Mark 13 : 34-36 contains an abbreviated form of it. Luke 19 : 11-27 contains an analogous parable — that of the ten pounds — which has sometimes been confounded with this, but is different in structure, and was uttered on a different occasion. The same lesson is enforced by the parable of the barren fig-tree "(Luke 13 : 6-9). — Abbott. His own servants. — Rather, slaves ; which class, among the Romans.were employed not only as domestics and farm laborers, but in offices of great trust and responsibility, large sums being often entrusted to their management. Talents. — The word " talent ' in its various forms was in use by all the ancient nations, meaning anything weighed — a defi- nite weight ; and in each nation it signified a certain weight or value of precious metal. Our English use of it as faculty, ca- pacity, is metaphorical, and, Webster says, " probably originated in the Scripture parable of the talents." "The talents here are each person's ability, whether in money, or in teaching, or in what thing soever." — Chrysostom. According to his several ability. — "God always grades his gifts, so that ability and opportunity go together." — Abbott. "No one is burdened beyond his ability (Exod. 4 : 10-12); therefore, he is justly compelled to render an account." — Bengel. Traded with them. — Literally, "labored with them." — He increased his talents by use and industry. "God never gives graces without an intent of their exercise." — Bishop Hall, Digged in the earth. — A common method of hiding trcas- PARAP.LF. OF THE TALENTS. 693 Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 18-25. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents, came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliv- eredst unto me five talents : behold, I have gained be- sides them five talents more. His lord said unto him, "W ell done, thou good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came, and said. Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents : behold. I have gained two other talents besides them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the jov of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came, and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gath- ering where thou hast not strewed : and I was afraid, urc in the East. This man was not an active evildoer (Matt. 24 : 48), but simply neglected his talents and opportunities. I will make thee ruler over many things. — The reward conferred is a larger field of labor. " This principle of reward is constantly illustrated in this life, where fidelity in the smaller sphere leads to the larger one. But it receives its fulfillment in the other life, where reward is not mere kingly honors, but kingly responsibility and labor" (2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 2 : 10 ; lleb. 1 : 14). — Abbott. The joy of thy lord. — The joy is in the work, and the en- larged field of labor. This indicates that the happiness of the future life is net in rest, but in action. I have gained two other talents. — " He who saves his neighbor's soul as well as his own is the one who doubles his talenj." — Quarles, Men with two talents often do more in the world than men with five talents. It is rather the warm heart than the strong head which dees good. I was afraid. — " One cf the most common causes of spir- 694 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 25-30. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. and went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed : thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance : but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant itual inactivity and indolence is a morbid fear of making mis- takes, of losing the one talent in trading instead of increasing it, of doing harm rather than good by work." — Abbott. " By doing nothing we learn to do what is bad." — Cato. Reap where I sowed not. — This language is not to be taken as an admission by the master of the injustice charged upon him. It is ironical : You pretend to believe I am such a bad master? You ought then to have given my money to the ex- changers, etc. Exchangers. — These discharged not only the offices of our bankers, in receiving and giving out money, and giving interest upon it, but also in exchanging coins, and distinguishing genu- ine from counterfeit money. With usury. — With interest. — "Anciently usury was the profit, whether great or small, allowed to the lender for the use of borrowed money. As this practice often gave rise to great extortion, the very name at length became odious. The con- sideration that the Jews were prohibited by their law from taking any profit from one another for money (though they were allowed to take it from strangers), contributed to increase the odium. When Christian commonwealths judged it necessary to regulate this matter by law, they gave to such profit as does not exceed the legal, the softer name of interest ; since which time usury has come to signify solely extravagant profit disallowed by law ; and which, therefore, it is criminal in the borrower to give, and in the lender to take." — Blooinfield. It is not this kind of profit that is here meant, but simply, interest, usance. See note on page 423. THE LAST JUDGMENT. 695 Ch. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 30-37. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnash- ing of teeth. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : and before him shall The final jud be gathered all nations : and he shall sepa- ment- rate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand. — " It is the answer made by an ancient fatlier, why Christ should speak at the latter day to those upon his right Iia7id before those upon his left hand ; even because his sweet disposition is more prone to mercy and favor than to wrath and anger, more to the sentence that giveth joy than to that which worketh so bitter woe ; a comfortable consideration for our fearing souls, if we often think of it." — Babington. Come, ye blessed of my Father. — " Sweeter than the song of the morning stars over the birth of the world, and sweeter than the song of the seraphim and cherubim over the birth of the Saviour of the world; and sweeter than all the bugles of sal- vation, summoning his elect to take their stations in shining garments, and in the sight of the assembled universe, on the right of his throne ; and sweeter even than his own sweet voice, then touched with sorrow, when he said to his disciples, in the night of his agony, ' In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world ;' ay, sweeter than the sweetest of all previoussalutations, will be that long-looked- for welcome from the lips of the King, 'Come! ye blessed of my Father! inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- dation of the world !'" — Thomas 11. Stockton. 696 PROPHECIES AND PARABLES. Chap. XXXIX. Matt. 25 : 37-45. Apr. 3, j.c. 34. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee ? Then When sav'we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger ? — "They did riot think that Christ had been shut in prison with John the Baptist, or that lie had begged in Lazarus." — Farindon. " Men are divided and doomed according to a single law, as they were merciful or unmerciful ; according as their faith wrought in active deeds of love to their brethren, or testified that it was no faith in that it was barren and unfruitful of these." — Trends. " If he is cast into the llames who refused to give bread to the hungry man, where will his portion be who took it and appropriated it to himself?" — Augustine. " You remember how, in the old legend, St. Brandan in his northward voyage saw a man sitting on an iceberg, and with horror recog- nized him to be the traitor Judas ; and the traitor told him how at Christmas lime, amid the drench of the burning lake, an angel had touched his arm and bidden him one hour to cool his agony on an iceberg in the Arctic sea ; and when he asked the cause of this mercy bade him recognize in him the leper to whom he gave a cloak for shelter from the wind in Joppa, and how for that kind deed this respite was allotted him. Let us reject the ghastly side of the legend and accept its truth, that charity is better than all burnt-offering and sacrifice." — Farrar. THE BETRAYAL PREDICTED. 697 Matt. 25 : 45, 46 ; 26 : 1-5 ; Mark 14 : 10, n. shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the righteous into life eternal. And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son Jesus Prophesies of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then etraya . assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And con- sulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people ; for they feared the people. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might con- veniently betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. — The same Greek word (aionios) is used in both clauses of this verse, and rendered in one everlasting, in the other eternal. Scholars are not agreed as to its interpretation. A few regard it as a word indicating quality rathei than quantity of being, i.e., as indicating the kind rather than the duration of life ; others as indicating an indefi- nite period, an age or epoch the end of which is not seen or considered, and respecting which we are left in doubt whether it has an end or no ; others regard it as a specific indication of an endless period of time. Of these three interpretations the second seems more in accordance with the original and with the usage of Scripture. It is certainly sometimes used in the Bible, of limited time. (Gen. 17 : 8 ; 4S : 4 ; Lev. 16 : 34 ; Num. 25 : 13 ; Ilab. 3:6; Rom. 16 . 25 ; 2 Tim. 1:0; Titus 1 : 2.) 698 1H2 LAST SUPPER. Matt. 26 : 17, 18 ; Mark 14 : 12-14 J Luke 22 : 7-11. CHAPTER XL. THE LAST SUPPER. Then came the first day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him,. Where wilt thou that we prepare ? And he said unto them, Behold, Making ready for when ye are entered into the city, there the Passover. shall a man meet y0U) bearing a pitcher of water ; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the good man of the house, The first day of unleavened bread. — "Thursday, the four- teenth day of Nisan. The feast properly began on the fifteenth, and lasted seven days. But the preceding day was the one ap- pointed for the slaying of the lamb, and on the evening of that day the paschal supper was eaten." — Abbott. A man meet you. — " This person carrying water would prob- ably be a slave, and the time toward evening, the usual hour of fetching water." — Alfoni. Pitcher of Water. — "With peculiar beauty does a man bearing a pitcher of water meet the disciples on their going to prepare the passover, that hence the design of this passover might be illustrated in its effect of entirely washing away the 8 ns of the whole world. For the water is the laver of grace ; and the pitcher denotes the frailty of those human instruments by whom this grace was to be administered to the world." — Bede. Ye shall say unto the good man of the house. — " The mas- ter or owner of the house. During the passover week hospital- ity was recognized as a universal duty in Jerusalem ; pilgrims and strangers were received, and rooms were allotted to them for the celebration of the feast. But it is not probable that a room would have been given to entire strangers without previ- ous arrangement, and the language which the disciples are in- structed to use, 'The Master saith unto thee,' seems to me clearly to indicate that the good man of the house recognized Jesus as Master ; in other words, was in some sense at least a disciple. Whether Christ had previously arranged with him for the use of a room, or whether the instruction to Peter and John was founded wholly on supernatural knowledge of the welcome THE UPPER ROOM. 699 Matt. 26 : 1S-20 ; Mark 14 : 14-17 I Luke 22 : "-I4- The Master saith unto thee, My time is at hand. I will keep the passover at thy house. Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples ? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared : there make ready for us. And they went and found as he had said unto them : and they made' ready the passover. When the even was come, he sat down, and the twelve which would be accorded to him, we have no means of know- ing. Jesus knew the projected treachery of Judas ; by confiding in this manner to Peter and John the preparation of the room, he prevented the possible interruption of the feast, since not even one of the discipies knew the place selected for their meeting." —Abbott. " Each householder provided a lamb on the tenth day of Nisan, and on the fourteenth, between three and six o'clock in the afternoon, presented it in the temple, slaying it himself, while the priests received the blood in silver basins to be emptied at the foot of the altar. This took the place of the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts. The fat of the lamb was burned on the altar by the priest ; but the animal itself, with its skin bound about it/was carried home to be used at the feast. The man to whom they applied would be expected to make such preparations in any case, and to have a room where those who celebrated with him should gather to eat the passover."— Riddle. A large upper room. — " Perhaps the very room where three days afterwards the apostles first saw their risen Saviour ; per- haps the very room where, amid the sound of a rushing mighty wind, each meek brow was first mitred widi Pentecost flame." — Farrar. Furnished.— "The word rendered furnished means literally spread; that is, spread with carpets, and with eoiuhes on which to recline at the table, after the manner of the East." — Barnes. When the even was come.—" It was towards the evening, probably, when the gathering dusk would prevent all needless observation, that Jesus and his disciples walked from Bethany, by that old familiar road over the Mount of Olives, which his sacred feet were never again destined to traverse until after death." — Farrar. He sat down— " reclined."— "When they arrived the meal was ready, the table spread, the triclinia laid with cushions for the guests. Imagination loves to reproduce all the probable de- tails of that deeply moving and eternally sacred scene ; and, if 700 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 14-16. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. apostles with him. And he said unto them, With de- Beginning of the sire I have desired to eat this passover Passover Meal. ^ yQU before j suffer> For j gay untQ we compare the notices of ancient Jewish custom with the im- memorial fashions still existing in the changeless East, we can feel but little doubt as to the general nature of the arrangements. They were totally unlike those with which the genius of Leon- ardo da Vinci and other great painters has made us so familiar. The room probably had white walls, and was bare of all except the most necessary furniture and adornment. The couches or cushions, each large enough to hold three persons, were placed around three sides of one or more low tables of gayly painted wood, each scarcely higher than stools." — Farrar. With desire I have desired. — A Hebrew form of expression denoting great desire. This seems to be the first of the special occurrences in the various accounts. The probable order was : (1) this expression of desire; (2) the strife as to who should be greatest (Luke 22 : 24-30) ; (3) the washing of the disciples' feet (John only) ; (4) the announcement of the betrayal (Luke 22 : 21-23). To eat this passover. — Not the Lord's Supper, but the pass- over itself. The order observed in the celebration of this festi- val was as follows : " First step : After prayer, the father of the house sent round a cup full of wine (according to others, each one had his cup), with this invocation : ' Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast created the fruit of the vine !' Next there were passed from one to another the bitter herbs (a sort of salad), which recalled to mind the sufferings of the Egyptian bondage. These were eaten after being dipped in a reddish sweet sauce (charoseth), made of almonds, nuts, figs, and other fruits, commemorating, it is said, by its color, the hard labor of brick-making imposed on the Israelites, and, by its taste, the divine alleviations which Jehovah mingles with the miseries of his people. Second step : The father circulates a second cup, and then explains, probably in a more or less fixed liturgical form, the meaning of the feast, and of the rites by which it is distinguished. Third step : The father takes two unleavened loaves (cakes), breaks one of them, and places the pieces of it on the other. Then uttering a thanksgiving, he takes one of the pieces, dips it in the sauce, and eats it, taking with it a piece of the paschal lamb, along with bitter herbs. Each one follows his example. This is the feast, properly so called. The lamb forms the principal dish. The conversation is free. It closes with the distribution of a third cup, called the THE PASSOVER MEAL. 701 Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 16-18, 24. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among your- selves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And there was a strife among them, which of them cup of blessing, because it was accompanied with the giving of thanks by the father of the house. Fourth step : the father dis- tributes a fourth cup ; then the Hallel (Ps. 113-11S) is sung. Sometimes the father added a fifth cup, which was accompanied with the singing of the great //a//e/ (Ps. 120-127; according to others, 135-137)." — Godet. Until it be fulfilled. — " Until the emblem is fulfilled in the glorious reality." — Whedon. "This refers to the New Testament ordinance — the Lord's Supper — as the fulfillment of the pass- over ; and to the fact that his death as the Lamb of God would soon give fulfillment to all the ceremonials of the paschal Iamb, and that he would then enter into the holiest for them, to pre- sent his blood on high for their redemption." — Jacobus. In the kingdom of God. — "That glorious kingdom of divine rule in the hearts of men, which he was just instituting on eai th." — Peloubet. Took the cup. — The first of the four cups used in the pass- over. This was the passover-cup, not that of the Lord's Sup- per. Gave thanks. — " It appears from the writings of Philo and the rabbins, that the Jews were never accustomed to eat without giving thanks to God, and seeking his blessing. This was especially the case in both the bread and the wine used at the passover." — Barnes. And there was a strife among them. — " The reader must re- member that Luke was not one of the twelve. He was not, therefore, present, and he gives no distinct note of time ; he merely indicates that a strife occurred at about this time, whether before or after the supper he did not perhaps know. The seats at the oriental table were arranged in regular order, the seat nearest the master of the feast being the seat of honor. Con- tentions for the highest place were common. — Abbott. " Surely there would have been no room for this strife if they had under- stood the Lord to have invested any one of their number, as Peter, with a supreme authority and distinct jurisdiction above the rest." — Ford. " One very common error misleads the opin- ion of mankind universally; that authority is pleasant, submis- 702 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 24-29. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto The Greatest to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise serve the Least. ior(jsriip over them ; and they that exer- cise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so : but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth ? is not he that sitteth at meat ? but I am among you as he that serveth. Ye are they which have continued with me in my tempta- sion painful. In the general course of human affairs the very reverse of this is nearer the truth. Command is anxiety ; obe- dience, ease." — Pascal. " Let all the strife of men be, who shall do best, who shall be least." — Whitcote. Benefactors. — "The Greek word here used was the actual title of many emperors and princes. It expresses the same idea conveyed by the phrase ' deserved well of the Republic,' so common in republican France, and is analogous to the title Excellency." — Schaff. Examples of this title, assumed by mon- archs, are given in Ptolemy, Josephus, and other ancient writ- ers. The very Greek word used by the evangelist was the surname of one of the Ptolemies of Egypt: Ptolemy Eaergetes, i.e., the Benefactor. It was a custom among the ancient Romans to distribute part of the lands which they had conquered on the frontiers of the empire to their soldiers ; those who enjoyed such lands were called beneficiarii, beneficed persons ; and the lands themselves were termed beneficia, benefices, as being held on the beneficence of the sovereign ; and it is no wonder that such sovereigns, however tyrannical or oppressive they might have been in other respects, were termed benefactors by those who were thus dependent on their bounty. I am among you as he that serveth. — Point is given to this remark by the supposition that directly afterwards Jesus washed his disciples' feet, the work of the lowest servants. "God, who vouchsafed to be made man for man, for man also vouchsafed to do all the offices of man towards man." — Dr. Donne. Continued with me in my temptations, or "trials." — " Our Lord does not reproach them, but praises their steadfast- ness. He speaks of his whole life as one of ' temptations,' in accordance with the scriptural portrayal of his work on earth." — Schaff. THE MASTER SERVES. 7°3 Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 29-30 ; John 13 : 1-4. Jc- 34- tions. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him), Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God ; he riseth from supper, and laid aside And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed me.—" That is, the same kind of kingdom ■ one to be conquered and governed by love and truth, not by ambition and guile ; a kingdom not of this world, yet over this world (John 18 • 36 37). Every follower of Christ is, or should be, a prince, as their Leader is King. "-Abbott. " The truth and life which Jesus possessed shall come to dwell in them, and thereby they shall reign over all, as he himself has reigned over them. Are not Peter, John, and Paul at the present day the rulers of the world ?" — Godet. Now before the feast of the passover.— " That is imme- diately before ; just as he was about to sit down with his dis- ciples' to the paschal feast."— Abbott. When Jesus knew that his hour was come.— In lull Con- sciousness of his approaching end, when he felt the most need of human sympathy, his heart went out most strongly in love to his disciples. _ . Supper being ended.— Having begun. Ended is a mis- translation. See Godet, Alford, Meyer. " Christ waited till all contention was over ; all had taken their seats and were ready to begin the meal, before he rose to wash their feet. '— Abbott. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands.— See Col. 1 : 16. "He acted in the full conscious- ness of his divine posver and majesty. Humility consists not in a low estimate of one's powers, but in a willingness to use them in a lowly service.*'— A bbott. " Now at length let man blush to be proud, for whom God is become humble."— bt. Au- gustine. 704 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. John 13 : 5-10. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. his garments ; and took a towel, and girded himself, jesus Washes the After that he poureth water into a basin, Disciples' Feet. and began to wash fa disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter : and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet ? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is Girded himself. — Servants, when waiting at table, laid aside their outer garments, and were girded with a towel. " To be thus girded was considered by the ancients in the same light as, with us, a person's wearing an apron — namely, as indicating the exercise of some servile or handicraft occupation." — Bloom- Jield. " In this feet-washing the feet were not put into the basin ; the water was poured over the feet, and then they were wiped by the servant." — Abbott. Poureth water into a basin. — This was the office of the meanest slaves. When David informed Abigail that he had chosen her for wife, she said, " Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord " (1 Sam. 25 : 4i)- Dost thou wash my feet ? — An emphasis needs to be placed upon the words thou and my. " What, Thou ! our Lord and Master, the Son of God, Saviour and Ruler of the world, for me, a worm of the earth, a sinful man, O Lord ? Shall those hands wash my feet, which with a touch have cleansed lepers, given sight to the blind, and raised the dead?" — Henry. What I do. — A popular mode of expression for 'The mean- ing of what I am doing.' If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. — "The phrase ' to have part with another,' signifies to share in his riches and glory (Josh. 22 : 25 ; 2 Sam. 20 : 1). Washing was, it must be remembered, a symbolical act, recognized so among the Jews, and signifying purification from uncleanness. Christ's act in rising from the table and washing the feet of the disciples was the severest rebuke to their pride. Peter's refusal to be- Christ's example. 705 Chap. XL. John 13 : 10-15. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit : and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him : therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to vou ? Ye call me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For 1 have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done washed was a resistance to this rebuke. That Christ's lan- guage was understood by Peter to signify a spiritual cleansing is indicated by his reply." — Abbott. Needeth not save to wash his feet. — As the Jews wore sandals, the feet required frequent washing ; and if one had bathed wholly during the day, he was, with the washing of his feet, "altogether clean." "This bathing, the bath of the new birth, but only yet in its foreshadowing, in the purifying effect of faith, working by love, the Apostles, with one exception, had ; and this feet-washing represented to them, besides its lessons of humility and brotherly love, their daily need of cleansing from daily pollution, even after spiritual regeneration at the hands of their divine Master." — Alford. Ye are clean, but not all. — Eleven of you are upright and sincere ; the twelfth is a traitor. So it appears he had washed the feet of all the twelve ; but as no external ablutions can pu- rify a hypocrite or a traitor, therefore Judas still remained un- clean. Know ye what I have done unto you ?— " That is, do you comprehend the reason why it is done, and the meaning of the action ? The disciples are silent. In the following verses Christ goes on to explain its significance." — Abbott. Ye call me Master and Lord.— Literally, " the Teacher and the Lord." Ye say well, for so I am. — " The humble office of feet- washing had been done by one who was not only fully conscious of his supremacy, but who in the very act claimed that suprem- acy. This divine authority Christ never abdicated ; his divine consciousness he never lost." — Abbott. I have given you an example. — " The master doth not only rule the scholar's book for him, but writes him a copy with 706 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. John 13 : 15-20. Apr. 6; j.c. 34. to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord ; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all ; I know whom I have chosen ; but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me. Hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. his own hand. Christ's command is our rule ; his life our copy. If thou wilt walk holily, thou must not only endeavor to do what Christ commands, but as Christ himself did it ; thou must labor to shape every letter in thy copy, action in thy life, in a holy imitation of Jesus." — Gurnall. " Are all the treasures, then, of wisdom and knowledge, which are hid in thee, reduced to this, that we should learn this of thee for some great thing, that thou art ' meek and lowly of heart ?' Is it so great a thing to be little, that, unless it were done by thee, who art so great, it could not possibly be learnt ?" — St. Augustine. The servant is not greater than his master. — See John 15:20; Luke 6 : 40 ; Matt. 10: 24. "The repetition of this seemingly self-evident truth indicates that Christ apprehended for his followers that spiritual pride which has been in the his- tory of the church almost their greatest danger." — Abbott. " There appears to me to exist an affinity between the history of Christ's placing a little child in the midst of his disciples, as related by the three Evangelists (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:36; Luke g ; 47) and the history of Christ's washing his disciples' feet, as given by John. In the stories themselves there is no re- semblance ; but the affinity which I would point out consists in these two articles : first, that both stories denote the emulation which prevailed amongst Christ's disciples, and his own care and desire to correct them. The moral of both is the same. Secondly, that both stories are specimens of the same mode of teaching, that is, by action ; a mode of emblematic instruction, extremely peculiar, and in these passages ascribed, wo see, to THE TREASON ANNOUNCED- 707 Matt. 26 : 21-24 ; Mark 14 : 1S-21 ; Luke 22 : 21-23 ; John 13 : 21,22. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and as they sat, and did eat, he testified and said, Verily 1 say unto you, One of you which eateth with Jesus Foretells his me shall betray me. Then the disciples Betrayal. looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, one by one, Lord, is it 1 ? Is it I ? And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve that dippeth his hand with me in the dish — the same shall betray me. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him ; but wo unto our Saviour, by the three first Evangelists and by St. John, in instances totally unlike, and without the smallest suspicion of their borrowing from each other." — Paley. He was troubled in spirit. — "The presence of an uncon- genial soul often suffices to destroy the sympathy of a sacred circle; the presence of a known traitor might well have pre- vented Jesus from an outpouring of his sou! in the confidential converse which renders the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th chapters of John the most sacred in the Bible to the disciples of Christ." — Abbott. "Jesus was mail as well as God; and he felt like other men ; and his tender sensibilities were affected not less deeply by baseness and treason." — Greswell, One of you which eateth with me. — He had before pre- dicted his betrayal, but now, for the first time, declares that his betrayer shall be one of his familiar friends. It was this which so startled the disciples. Is it I ? — Though all but Judas are unconscious of evil in- tention, none question the truth of the prophecy. They doubt their own self-knowledge, but not his word. That dippeth his hand with me in the dish. — It is prob- able that at this very moment our Lord and Judas, with some other of the disciples, were dipping the bitter herbs that were to be eaten with the paschal lamb in a vessel of vinegar or other sauce then in use, which stood on the tabic for that purpose. This language did not therefore designate the individual who would betray him, only that his betrayer was one of the twelve, aud one who, by eating with him, was under the most sacred pledge to befriend and defend him. 708 THE LAST SUPPER. Matt. 26 : 24, 25 ; John 13 : 23, 26. that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed ! it had been good for that man if he had never been born. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore Points out the beckoned to him, that he should ask who Traitor. it snou]d be Qf whom he spake> Re then, lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it ? Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I ? He said unto him, Thou hast said. Leaning on Jesus' bosom. — That is, reclining at table in the place which was next to, and immediately in front of, our Lord. This situation, Kypke observes, was one chiefly assigned to near and dear conneciions, as wives and children, of which he adduces several examples. Beckoned. — With a motion of the head, that is, "nodded." Made signs to John, who was so placed as to inquire without being heard by the rest. He then lying on Jesus' breast. — "Throwing himself back on Jesus' breast. The original implies an action on John's part, by which he turned and rested more closely than before on Christ's bosom. The graphic details of this entire narrative are unmistakably those of an eye-witness." — Abbott. Jesus answered. — That the question was put in a low voice, and answered in the same tone, is evident from John 13: 28,29. When he had dipped the sop. — The Arabian fashion is, for all present to help themselves with their hands out of the same dish. In the East they use neither knife, fork, nor spoon ; nor is delicacy so much violated, if we consider the frequent ablutions, never omitted before and after a meal. The Moors and Arabians wash their hands before every meal, which they eat with their fingers. The food is thrown by a jerk into the mouth, so that the fingers are kept clean. This giving the sop was one of the closest testimonies of friendly affection. Judas . . . said, Master, is it I ? — "What excessive impu- dence ! He knew, in his conscience, that he had already be- trayed his Master, and was waiting now for the servants of the chief priests, that he might deliver him into their hands ; and JUDAS DEPARTS. 709 Chap. XL. John 13 : 27-31. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly, judas withdraws. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast ; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then, having received the sop, went im- mediately out : and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. yet he says (hoping that he had transacted his business so pri- vately that it had not yet transpired). Master, is it I? Each of the other disciples said, Lord, is it I? But Judas dares not, or will not, use this august title, but simply says, Teacher, is it I ? " — Gre swell. No man knew for what intent he spake this unto him. — "Comparing the four accounts, it would appear that Christ's declaration, ' One of you shall betray me,' produced the utmost consternation and excitement ; that all the disciples eagerly asked, 'Is it I ?' ' Is it I ? ' that Peter asked John to tell him who it was, assuming that John knew, or could ascertain ; that at the same time, Judas, thunderstruck at the disclosure of his treachery, which had been already planned (Matt. 26:14-16), asked, perhaps somewhat tardily, the question ' Is it I ?' to hide his confusion; that Jesus replied in an aside to him, 'Thou hast said ' (Matt. 26 : 25) — a reply that in the confusion was not heard or was not heeded; that John, turning toward Jesus so as to rest upon his bosom, asked who the betrayer should be ; that Jesus seemed to give the information, but really refused to do so in his reply, ' He it is to whom I shall give a sop,' since he gave a sop in turn to all ; so that when, a moment or two later, Judas went out angered by what he erroneously believed to be a public disclosure of his treachery before all the disci- ples, no one, not even John, knew why he had gone." — Abbott. And it was night. — A graphic addition to the picture, indi- cating unmistakably the narrative of an eye-witness. "The night which this miserable wretch has in his heart is, without comparison, blacker and darker than that which he chooses for his work of darkness." — Qucsnel. Now is the Son of man glorified.—" The glory of the 710 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. John 13 : 32-35. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little chil- dren, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me ; and, as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye can not come, so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Messiah is an already accomplished fact. He has been glori- fied by his incarnation, his life of loving self-sacrifice, his patience, courage, fidelity, love ; and in his life and character, God has been glorified." — Abbott. God shall also glorify him, etc. — Ph. ii. 9-1 1. " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : . . . and that every tongue should con- fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Little children. — This is the only place where Christ ap- plies this phrase to his disciples. There is inexpressible ten- derness in it, and in what immediately follows. A new commandment. — Not new because now first en- joined, but because love in the life and death of Christ has assumed a new and deeper meaning. "To forgive is now to bless those that curse us, and do good to those that despite- fully use us. . . It is notable how this one law of love runs through and colors all this last sacred discourse of Jesus." — Abbott. As I have loved you. — "Love is its own perennial fount of strength. The strength of affection is a proof not of the worthi- ness of the object, but of the largeness of the soul which loves. Love descends, not ascends. The might of a river depends not on the quality of the soil through which it passes, but on the inexhaustibleness and depth of the spring from which it proceeds. The greater mind cleaves to the smaller with more force than the other to it. A parent loves the child more than the child the parent; and partly because the parent's heart is larger, not because the child is worthier. The Saviour loved his disciples infinitely more than his disciples loved him, be- cause his heart was infinitely larger." — Rowland Hill. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. — The dis- ciples of different teachers were known by some particular rite pkter's zeal. 711 Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 31 ; John 13 : 36, 37. J.c. 34. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou ? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now ; but thou shalt follow me afterward. Peter said unto him, Lord, why can not I follow thee now ? And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as or creed which they adopted. The Pharisees were distinguished by tlieir traditions and ritual observances; the disciples of lohn the Baptist by the austerity of their lives, and their fre- quent fastings ; but Jesus wished the characteristic of his fol- lowers to be mutual love. The primitive Christians were par- ticularly known by this among the Gentiles. Totullian says that the early professors of Christianity were called not Chris- tiana, but Ckrestiana, from a word signifying benignity and sweetness of disposition. And the Lord said. — "Christ appears to have twice warned Peter of his danger, once before the Lord's Supper (Luke ; John 13 : 36-38), once after the supper, and perhaps on the way "to the Mount of Olives (Matt. 26 : 31-35 ; Mark 14 : 27-31). At least, this is the more probable hypothesis, though Dr. Robin- son regards the four accounts as different versions of the same warning, and some harmonists suppose that the warning was thrice repeated. The immediate occasion of the one here re- ported is indicated by John. It was Peter's question, ' Why cannot I follow thee now ?' and perhaps also his participation in the strife for the first places at the table, recorded only by Luke." — Abbott. Simon. — This was Peter's original name ; Peter was a new name given him by the Lord (John 1:42; Matt. i6:iS). It is Simon, not Peter ; the old man, not the new man in Christ, whom Satan hopes to obtain. Satan hath desired you. — As he demanded Job (Job 1:9- 12:2: 4-6). That he may sift you as wheat.—" In the agricultural and domestic life of Palestine, the wheat and the Hour from the wheat were shaken in a sieve, to separate the good from the refuse and dirt. This sieve was made of parchnunt perforated with holes, or of horse-hair, thread, papyrus, or rushes interwoven. The Egyptian, and probably the Jewish, sieves were made of papy- rus arid rushes. Christ's figure illustrates both the process and the results of temptation. By it, both in the individual and the church, temporary confusion and disorder is produced, but the good and the evil are separated. Thus, in Peter's case, both 712 THE LAST SUPPER. Chap. XL. Luke 22 : 31-34 ; John 13 : 37, 38. j.c. 34. wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, 1 am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake ? Verily, verily, 1 tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. the weakness (of self-confidence), and the strength (of penitence, faith, and love), are clearly disclosed, to himself as well as to others, only by his temptation and temporary fall." — Abbott. " I have often observed that while chaff is being winnowed from the wheat, there is never more than a very irregular movement in the descent of the grain. Sometimes a child of God may be shaken by a strong temptation, but he soon returns to his steady course, and will keep up an undeviating consistency of char- acter, that he may not appear to go among the chaff." — Rowland Hill. But I have prayed for thee. — Against the demand of Satan is the prayer of Christ. That thy faith fail not. — The object of Christ's intercessory prayer, the armament that gives the Christian his victor)-, is faith (1 John 5 : 4, 5). When thou art converted. — The original means simpiy, " when thou art turned ;" so translated (Luke 17 : 4), that is, " when thou hast turned to me, after having forsaken me." " When departed from God you are lifted off from the center of your being. And this restlessness of nature, this wretchedness to which you become a prey, this constant and vain effort to for- get yourself in the pursuit of vanities, is only an indication of your fallen grandeur, a memento of your proper portion." — 'Robert Hall. Strengthen thy brethren. — "His great fault was self-con- fidence and impetuous haste of feeling and acting ; qualities capable of discipline such as Christ intended for him, of being softened down into manly self-reliance, and earnest, toilsome affection, and yet likely, before they assumed such shape, to lead him into most serious errors. It is interesting to notice how he tried the forbearance of the Master beyond all the other dis- ciples, and how Christ, with a full discernment of his faults, was educating him for a noble work in the world." — Woolsey. The cock shall not crow. — It is very common in the East to JESUS AGAIN FORETELLS HIS DEATH. 713 Ch. XL. Luke 22 : 35-38. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing ? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip : and he that hath no sword, let him sell his gar- ment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors : For the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough regulate the time in the night by the crowing of the cock ; as, the midnight cock and the morning cock. The people attach a high value to those birds which crow with the greatest regular- ity ; and some of them keep the time with astonishing precision. And he that hath none, let him sell his garment and buy a sword. — " The language of this passage is highly figurative. Jesus reminds his disciples that formerly they might rely on the hospitality of their countrymen ; but now he had been rejected by the nation, and was about to be crucified with robbers ; and they, his followers, must look for no favor. When the disciples produced the two swords, it is not to be supposed that they understood their Master literally. It was natural to do so, without any definite purpose. It is probable that they did not fully comprehend his meaning, and supposed that by show- ing the swords they might induce him to make a further expla- nation ; but he was not disposed to do so." — Norton, This must yet be accomplished in me. — The prophecy referred to is in Isaiah 53 : 12, and plainly relates to the promised Messiah. Here are two swords. — Probably provided as a protection from the dangers of the way. The road from Jericho to Jeru- salem was much infested with robbers ; and it was the custom of the priests, and even of the quiet and ascetic Essenes, to carry weapons when traveling. It is enough. — •' These are enough. It is simply a dismissal of the subject. To interpret Christ's language here, as some Roman Catholic commentators have done, as a warrant for the use of the sword in defending and extending the kingdom of God, is to repudiate Christ's direct and explicit instructions. (See 714 THE LAST SUPPER. Matt. 26 : 26, 27 ; Mark 14 : 22, 23 ; Luke 22 : 19, 20. And as they were eating, the Lord Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the dis- ciples, and said, Take, eat ; this is my body which is jesus institutes the broken for you : this do in remembrance Lord s Supper. qC me Likewise also after supper, he Matt. 26 : 52-54 ; John 18:36). The language here, however, taken with that of Matt. 10 : 9-15, shows clearly that the instruc- tions there given were local and temporary, and they give abundant warrant for foresight and provision in carrying on the work of the kingdom, as, for example, by a regularly paid min- istry."— Abbott, Jesus took bread. — " A loaf, one of the unleavened cakes used at the passover. This answers to the ' third step,' as given above. A comparison of the accounts indicates that about this time Judas went out ; although verses 21-23 seem to oppose this view. But Luke often proceeds with one line of thought, going back to take up another. Matthew and Mark distinctly place the announcement of the betrayal before the institution of the supper, and this position suits the account of John also." — Riddle. And brake it. — " This breaking oi the bread represented the sufferings of Jesus about to take place — his body broken or wounded for sin. Hence Paul (1 Cor. n : 24) adds, "This is my body which is broken for you." — Barws. This is my body. — I look at a map, and say, 'This is Eng- land ; that is France.' I point to a picture, and say, ' That is Luther.' I show you a bust, and say, 'This is Julius Csesar.' These things, you know, are nothing more than representations. What does Paul say of Ishmael's mother? 'For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia ' (Gal. 4 ■ 25). He says, too, of the rock that Israel drank from in the wilderness, 'And that Rock was Christ' (1 Cor. 10 : 4). It represented Christ, who was smitten for us. In like manner, how beautifully do the bread and the wine represent his blessed body and blood ! — y. Cowper Gtey. This do in remembrance of me.—" This points to a perma- nent institution. The connection shows that the bread is to be received in memory of Christ's death. But as bread is for nourishment, we are here reminded that Christ nourishes our spiritual life (compare John 1). So in the passover, the lamb, though a sin offering, was not consumed on the altar, but eaten by the household of the offerer. The significance of the common partaking is brought out by Paul (r Cor. 10: 17). We are members of the one body of Christ " — Riddle. THE CUP OF REMEMBRANCE. 7 1 5 Matt. 26 : 27-29 ; Mark 14 . 23-25 ; Luke 22 : 20. took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, say- ing, Drink ye all of it ; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. And they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in re- membrance of me. But I say unto you, 1 will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. After supper he took the cup. — Evidently the third cup, "the cup of blessing" (r Cor. 10: 16). Some time may have elapsed, and the feast was about to close. With this cup our Lord gave thanks (Matthew, Mark) ; that, too, when it signi- fied his death. The New Testament. — The Greek word for " testament " should be rendered covenant. And the fruit of the vine is the symbol of the new covenant ; that is, the covenant of the new dispensation in the place of the covenant of Moses. A cove- nant is a compact by which two parties stipulate mutual things. Covenants were anciently made and ratified by or in the blood of a victim sacrificed by the parties. Shed for you (Matthew 26 : 2S), " for the remission of sins." — "Shed" means "poured out." "The figure is taken from the pouring out of the juice from the grape, and this represents the shedding of Christ's blood, when " bruised for our iniquities" (Isa. 53:5). These words told the disciples the purpose of his death. They needed such instruction just then. But it tells all, that Christ's death is the ground of our pardon. When we partake of the cup, we show foith his death, confessing that it was the ransom for us. While the " bread " points more to Christ's life in us, and the " wine " to Christ's death for us, the two are inseparable ; for ihe bread was broken to signify his death also, and the wine is drunk to signify our partaking of his life also. — Riddle. 7 l6 FAREWELL WORDS. Chap. XLI. John 14 : 1. Apr. 6, j c. 34. CHAPTER XLI. FAREWELL WORDS. Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many This discourse is sympathetic, not philosophical, or critical ; it is addressed to sympathetic friends, not to a cold or critical audience ; and it is to be interpreted rather by the sympathies and the spiritual experiences than by a philosophical analysis. It sets forth the source of all comfort, strength, guidance, and spiritual well-being in the truth of the direct personal presence of a seemingly absent but really present, a seemingly slain but really living, a seemingly defeated but really victorious Lord and Master. . . . Thus these chapters of John contain a disclos- ure of the very heart of Christianity, the personal knowledge of a living God by direct communion with him as a teacher, a comforter, an inspirer, the one and only true source of faith, hope, and love. The commentator must point out the connec- tion of the verses and the meaning of the words ; his work muct be in a measure critical and cold ; but only the devout heart, which knows by experience that love of Christ which passes the knowledge of the intellect, can interpret the spiritual mean- ing of the truth, since the condition of understanding it is not a critical knowledge of words or an intellectual apprehension of theology, but a love for Christ, that keeps Christ's words, that recognizes Christ's mission to be also the mission of the Chris- tian, and that abides in Christ in the spirit that it may follow Christ in the life. Without this spirit the student in vain ad- dresses himself to the study of this ' Wisdom of God in a mys- tery,' hidden except to the soul to whom God hath revealed it by his Spirit (1 Cor. 2 : 7-10)". — Abbott. In my Father's house are many mansions. — "I would regard the universe as God's house, according to the spirit of Isaiah 66 : 1, ' Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool,' and the declaration that in it are many dwelling-places, as a new light upon the abode of the dead who die in Christ Jesus. Out of this declaration grows, as a fruitful tree out of a seed, the whole of the discourse contained in this and the two follow- ing chapters." — Abbott. "The more we think of the state after death, the deeper is the awe with which we must contemplate it ; and sometimes in weakness we long for the happy, bright imaginations of childhood, when we saw the other world vivid- CHRIST S WAV. 717 Chap. XLI. John 14 : 1-5. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go jesus comforts his and prepare a place for you, I will come ni again and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither ly pictured, a bright and perfect copy of the world in which we now live, with sunshine and flowers and all that constituted our earthly enjoyment. In after years we strive to translate these images into something higher. We say, all this we shall have, but in some higher form. . . . All this beauty around us is perishable ; its outward form and substance is corrup- tion ; but there is a soul in it, and this shall rise again." — Sara Coleridge. If it were not so, I would have told you. — . . "If our separation was to be an eternal one. I would have forewarned you ; I would not have waited for this last moment to declare it unto you." — Abbott. " Here we have, from the mouth of Christ himself, an express disavowal of religious fraud or im- posture ; and that in a point where wise men have sometimes thought themselves at liberty, nay, under an obligation, to lie for the public ser%'ice : and in a conjuncture, too, when, if ever, it might seem allowable for a good man to deceive his friends on a mere principle of compassion." — Bishop Hied. I go to prepare a place for you. — The figure here is taken from one who, on a journey, goes before his companions to provide a place to lodge in, and to make preparations for their entertainment. That where I am ye may be also. — " Forever with the Lord '. Amen : so let it be ! Life from the dead is in that word, And immortality. " Here in the body pent. Absent from him, I roam : Vet nightly pitch my moving tent A day's maich nearer home. My Father's house on high. Home of my soul, how near At times to Faith's far-5eein? eye Thy golden gates appear !"' jatnes Mont? mcry. 7 l8 FAREWELL WORDS. Chap. XLI. John 14 : 5-7. Apr. 6, j,c. 34. thou goest ; and how can we know the way ? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father I am the way, the truth, and the life. — Christ is the way unto the Father, because he is the truth concerning the Father, and possesses in himself the divine life, and has power to im- part it to us. He does not merely reveal the truth ; he is the truth — the truth incarnated in a living form. To come to the Father by Christ as the way is not, then, merely to accept him as an in- spired teacher respecting the Father, nor merely as an atoning saciifice, whose blood clears away the sins which intervene be- tween the soul and the Father (Heb. 10 : 20) ; it is to be con- formed to him as to the truth, and to be made partaker of his life (Phil. 3 : 8-14)." — Abbott. " Whatever may be the fate of the question as to the divinity of Christ — textually, and upon the lower grounds of philosophy — it seems impossible to me to accept Jesus as a mere man, without throwing out the most striking elements of his character. All those things which lift themselves above the ordinary horizon of an instructor, and leave us almost groping by their boldness, must be left out, if we so regard him. Christ must have been either insane or di- vine. If he was a man, for him to have made such claims for himself as he did indicated insanity. On the supposition that he was divine, these claims are rational, and indicate a Being transcending the measure of a man. He was our exemplar of the Father. He was the manifestation of God to men. He epitomized in himself the universal. The obscure in his teach- ing is that in which he glides from the local and temporary to higher things, that in their nature are universal, and are, there- fore, difficult of comprehension by us. " I am the way," — I am a practical development. "I am the truth," — I represent the reality. " I am the life," — not an abstraction, not a system, do I bring. I bring the life itself. I represent to the world, by a practical life, the great elements which concern the world to come. He stands for system, for practice, and for being, all at once." — Beecher. No man cometh to the Father but by me. — He now says, " To the Father," not to the Father's house ; because, as Godet well says, " It is not in heaven that we are to find God, but in God that we are to find heaven." If ye had known me ye should have known my Father also. — A correct knowledge of the character and work of Christ is a correct knowledge of the character and plans of God. CHRIST, THE EXPONENT OF GOD. 719 Chap. XLI. John 14 : 7-9. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. also : and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father ; " The practical lesson for us clearly is, that the way to come to a true spiritual knowledge of the Father is by a stud)- of the life and character of Christ, and, above all, by a sympathetic and personal spiritual acquaintance with him. His disciples had not known Chi ist. They had up to this time believed in him as a temporal Messiah. Of a Messiah crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation to Gentile, as well as to Jew (1 Cor. 1:24), they had known nothing; and hence, of God, as their Father and their Friend, they knew nothing." — Abbott. Philip saith unto him, Shew us the Father and it suf- ficeth us. — " He wants to walk by sight and not by faith. He expresses the universal longing of humanity for a vision of the unknown. This request furnishes the text on which the follow- ing discourse is founded. Christ replies that the unknown Father is manifested to the world in his Son (Jno. 14 : 9-1 1) and in the spiritual life, the inward expeiience, of those that love him and keep his commandments (verses 15-21); he points out the way to secure this inward experience, namely, by loving the Son and keeping his commandments (verses 22-26) ; he declares that this indwelling of the Father in the soul of the believer brings abundant peace (verses 27-31) ; it is more than a vision, it is an abiding, by which the life of God fiows into the soul of man, making it partaker of the divine nature, and fruitful in works of divine love (John 15 : i-S) ; this love, patterned after and imbibed from Christ, extends to the world that liates both the Lord and his disciples (verses 9-27) ; this love, born and kept alive by the indwelling of the unseen Father, is the illum- inator, the instructor, and the inspirer of him who possesses it, and gives him assurance of the divine love and intimacy of spiritual communion with the divine Being (John 16)." — Abbott. He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. — "As the soul, itself invisible, is seen by what it does through the body." — Bengel. "No Christian, even if perfected, could say, 'He that has seen me, has seen Christ.' How much less, then, could a Jew, though perfect, have said,' fie that hath seen me. hath seen the Father.'" — Godct. " Thus, the oneness assumed 720 FAREWELL WORDS. Chap. XLI. John 14 : 10-12. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father ? Be- lievest thou not that I. am in the Father, and the Father in me ? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself : but the Father, that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me : or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth is shown to be both that of moral excellences and that of effi- cient operation. In each respect whosoever had seen or known the Son, had so seen or known the Father. The doctrines taught, the miracles performed, the spiritual excellences and glory displayed by the Son, are identically those of the Father. In short, the perfections were the perfections of the Son." — John Pye Smith. Believe (have faith in) me, that I am in the Father. — " Beware of understanding this as equivalent to Believe me, on my mere personal assurance ; this is apparently the interpreta- tion of our English version, and is sustained by even so eminent an authority as Meyer. It is grammatically possible ; but it neither accords with Jesus' use of the word ' believe' — which he habitually uses to signify a spiritual apprehension, not merely an intellectual opinion — nor with the spirit of this discourse, which is throughout addressed, not to the formation of correct opinions, but to the building up of a right spiritual apprehen- sion of Christ, and through him of the eternal Father. The meaning is, Have faith in me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ; that is, Look beneath the surface, the flesh ; behold in the inward grace, manifesting itself in the outward speech and action, the lineaments of the divine character ; so have faith in me as one in whom the Father dwells, and through whom the Father is made manifest. But if this spiritual sense is lack- ing, then Through, by reason of the works themselves, believe. Christ places his own character in the front rank, as the princi- pal evidence of the divine origin and authority of Christianity. He is his own best witness. But for those who cannot discern the divinity of his life and character, he appeals to the works wrought by him, and by the religion of which he is the founder, and which was more powerful after his death than during his life. The evidence from the miracles, and from the whole miraculous history of Christianity, is secondary to the evidence from the character and person of Christ himself." — Abbott. Verily, verily, I say unto you. . . . greater works THE POWER OF FAITH. -j21 Chap'XLI- John 14:12-16. Apr. 6, j.rT^ on me, the works that I do shalThe do alsTj^nd greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that mil I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments : and I will than these shall he do ; because I go to my Father — At Const s death the whole number of Christian converts does not seem to have exceeded five hundred, and Christianity w3 utterly unknown outS1de of Palestine. At John Wesley's dea h, Method,*,! .had spread over Great Britain, the Cont nent of Europe, the Umted States, and the West Indies, and its commun.on embraced over eighty thousand members. "-Abbott Thi^vCOSt "f WaS the co»version of three thousand' souls', inis expression does not seem surprising."— Tholuck And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do - *or analogous promises to prayer, see Exod. 22-27- Deut Matt9, • 7V\r T 37 : 4' 5T = 'Jen 29 : I2' '3 i Joel '2 : 32 ; MatL 7 • 7, 3 ; Mark U : 24 ; John 15 : 16 ; 16 : 23; James I • is 1 J * , . Disciples ot 1 erse- if they have kept my saying, they will cution. keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin : but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin : but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the syna- gogues : yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may re- member that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou ? But be- 726 FAREWELL WORDS. Chap. XLI. John 16 : 6-16. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. cause I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth : It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Com- forter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will re- prove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment : of sin, because they believe not on me ; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more ; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself ; but whatsoev- er he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine : therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. He will reprove the world. — " Even when the Spirit is promised as a Comforter, he comes as a Convincer. The farther a soul stands from the light of truth, the farther he must needs be from the heat of comfort. . . . This conviction is noth- ing but a reflection of the light that is in the understanding upon the conscience ; whereby the creature feels the weight and force of those truths he knows, so as to be brought under a deep sense of them."— Gurnall. " What a little mind is that of man when compared with infinite intelligence ! yet there is something striking in the thought that this little mind is capable of enjoying the holiness of God, and dealing spiritually with him." — Rowland Hill. A little while and ye shall not see me.— From now until his death was less than twenty-four hours. ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE. 727 Chap. XLI. John 16 : 16-24. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me : and, Because I go to the Father ? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while ? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me ? Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice : and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow : but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye • shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye shall re- Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name.— " Why is there so liitle of the life of God in our souls, or the love of God in our hearts, or the peace of God in our bosoms, or the image of God in our lives? Chiefly, because we are so little in prayer— cordial, fervent, humble, persevering prayer ; because we talk so much about God in public, but so little' with God in private ; because we are so much more everywhere than in our closets, and in every exercise than in devotion, and in everv attitude than on our knees : and thus, the blessing of the Holy Spirit not being abundantly vouchsafed, because not fervently implored, a withering blight comes over all our doing ; and we read and hear and talk and labor almost, if not altogether, in vain. — Henry Kirke White. 728 FAREWELL WORDS. Chap, XLI. John 16 : 24-33 ; 17 : 1. Apr. 6, J.c. 34. ceive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs : but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name : and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you : for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have be- lieved that I came out from God. I came forth from the Feather, and am come into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee : by this we believe that thou earnest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe ? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. — " A mighty fortress is our God, " Did we in our own strength confide, A bulwark never failing ; Our striving would be losing ; Our helper he amid the flood Were not the right man on our side — Of mortal ills prevailing. The man of God's own choosing. For still our ancient foe Dost ask who that may be I Doth seek to work us woe ; Christ Jesus, it is he, His craft and power are great, Lord Sabaoth his name, And, armed with equal hate, From age to age the same, On earth is not his equal. And he must win the battle." — Martin Luther. These words spoke Jesus. — " It was not till he was on the point of leaving the world that, when he uttered his last earthly THE LAST PRAYER. 7-9 Chap. XLI. John 17 : 1-6. Apr. 6, J.c. 34- heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come ; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee : as thou hast Christ's Last Prayer given him power over all flesh, that he with his Disciples. should glve eternai life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth : I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee be- fore the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou prayer, Christ no longer retired by himself to hold solitary in- tercourse with the Father. For the first time he then raised his voice to heaven in the presence of his followers, and permitted them to hear him openly making intercession for them. Jesus knew that, as his hour was at hand, it was time that they should partake more largely of the Spirit of grace. They were grad- ually ripening into meet witnesses of his resurrection and preachers of his kingdom." — Bishop Sumner. I have finished the work. — "The leading feature in the character of Jesus Christ unquestionably was, devotedness to the service of God. He lived only to 'do his will.' It was his * meat and drink,' his daily, hourly, momentary occupation. From this, pleasure had no charms to seduce, pain no power to terrify him. He did 'the will of the Father who sent him.' Fancy can imagine nothing more sublime than the unity of that great purpose."— Bou'dUr. "Lead such a life as Christ led. No life unlike his can be a Christian life; and every life, in pro- portion as it comes near to his, will in that same degree be Christian. Our Saviour did not undergo all those grievous pains for us merely that we should cease to commit sin. It is not for that negative, that slumbering, for that sluggish and in- glorious virtue, that he has prepared the glories of his king- dom. He did not come to reign over the dead ; nor was it any part of his purpose to people heaven with drones and sleepers. As his life on earth was active, as he spent his days in working the work of him that sent him, so must all Christians do Christ's work ; and they must strive to do it as cheerfully, as faithfully, and as constantly as Christ did the work of his Father." — Augustus W. Hare, 73° FAREWELL WORDS. Chap. XLI. John 17 : 6-16. Apr. 6, j.c. 34. gavest me out of the world : thine they were, and thou gavest them me ; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee : for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me ; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them : I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me ; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine ; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name : those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition : that the scrip- ture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word ; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They That they may be one, as we are. — "A high com- parison, such as man durst not name but after him who so warrants us." — Leighton. "Nothing has driven people more into infidelity and indifference than the mutual hatred of Chris- tian congregations." — Edmund Burke. " O, be assured, then, that the top and flower of the soul's happiness consist in union with God and Christ Jesus !" — Alexander Grosse. " I have no anxiety or matter of care but one : that the churches may be at peace in Christ." — Melancthon. That thou shouldest keep them. — " It is not so much gen- eral notions of Providence which are our best support, but a JESUS PRAYS FOR ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. 73 1 John 17 : 16-26 ; iS : 1 ; Matt. 26 : 30 ; Mark 14 : 26 ; Luke 22 : 39. are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone ; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word ; that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them ; that they may be one, even as we are one ; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am ; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me : for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee : but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will de- clare it : that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them. When Jesus had spoken these words, and they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. sense of the personal interest, if I may so speak, taken in our welfare by him who ' died for us, and rose again.' "—Dr. Arnold. 732 TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION OK JESUS. Matt. 26 : 30-36 ; Mark 14 : 26-30 ; Luke 22 : 34-39 ; John iS : 1 ; 13 : 38. CHAPTER XLII. TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS. And Jesus went as he was wont, over the brook Cedron, to the Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night : for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, And the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But Peter said unto him, the more vehemently, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said all the disciples. And they came to a place which was named Gethsem- Gethsemane. — "At the base of the Mount of Olives, just over the brook Kidron, where the road to Jericho joins that to Bethany, on your right hand, lies a bare and sterile plat of ground surrounded by a wall of unhewn stone. It is shaded by eight aged and gnarled olive trees, upon which the suns of many centuries have risen and set. It is a place of loneliness and seclusion, overhung by the Mount of Olives on the one side, and the western heights of the valley of Jehoshaphat and the embattled walls of Jerusalem on the other. It is just such a spot as a soul desiring to be alone with God would choose, when the shades of evening were gathered over it. Such is Gethsemane." — "A Pastor s Memorial." " It is a plat of ground nearly square, enclosed by an ordinary stone wall. The north- west corner is 145 feet distant from the bridge. The west side measures 150 feet. The spot was not improbably fixed upon during the visit of Helena to Jerusalem, a.d. 326, when the CETHSEMANE. 733 Matt. 26 . 36-38 ; Mark 14 : 32-34 ; Luke 22 : 40 ; John 18:1. ane, where was a garden, into the which Jesus entered, and his disciples. And when he was at the Christ