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NewCentury 
Bible 


Saint 
Matthew 


Division 

Section 


Vohimes  already  ptiblished  or  iit  preparation  : — 
NEW    TESTAMENT. 
*i,  MATTHEW,  by  Prof.  W.  F.  Slater,  M.A. 
*2.  MARK,  by  Principal  Salmond,  D.D. 
*3.  LUKE,  by  Principal  \V.  F.  AuENEV,  M.A.,  D.D. 
*4.  JOHN,  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  McClymont,  D.D. 
*5.  ACTS,  by  Prof.  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  M.A.,  D.D. 
*6.  ROMANS,  by  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Garvie,  M.A.,  D.D. 
*7.  I  AND  II  CORINTHIANS,  by  Prof.  J.  Massie,  M.A.,  D.D. 
*8.  EPHESIANS.  COLOSSIANS,    PHILEMON,    PHILIP- 

PIANS,  by  the  Rev.  G.  CuRRiE  Martin,  M.A.,  B.D. 
^Q.  I  and  II  THESSALONIANS,  GALATIANS,  by  Principal 

W.  F.  Adeney,  M.A.,  D.D. 
»io.  THE  PASTORAL  EPISTLES,  by  the  Rev.  R.  F.  HoRTON, 

M.A.,  D.D. 
*ii.  HEBREWS,  by  Prof.  A.  S.  Peake,  M.A. 
*i2.  THE  GENERAL  EPISTLES,  by  Prof.  W.  H.  Bennett, 

Litt.D.,D.D. 
*i3.  REVELATION,  by  the  Rev.  C.  ANDERSON  Scott,  M.A. 


OLD    TESTAMENT. 
*GENESIS,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  W.  H.  Bennett,  Litt.D.,  D.D. 
*JUDGES  AND  RUTH,  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Thatcher,  M.A., 
B.D. 
I  and  II  SAMUEL,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  A.  R.   S.    Kennedy, 

M.A.,  D.D. 
JOB,  by  Prof.  A.  S.  PeAKE,  M.A. 
*I  AND  II  KINGS,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Skinner,  D.D. 
*PSALMS  (Vol.  I)  I  TO  LXXII,  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  D.WISON, 
M.A.,  D.D. 
PSALMS    (Vol.    II)    LXXIII   to    END,    by   the   Rev.    Prof. 

T.  ^^■ITT0N  Davies,  B.A.,  Ph.D. 
ISAIAH,  by  the  Rev.  Principal  WhitEHOUSE,  M.A.,  D.D. 
*MINOR  PROPHETS:  HosE.\,  Joel,  Amos.  Obadiah,  Jonah, 
MiCAH,  by  the  Rev.  R.  F.  HORTON,  M.A.,  D.D. 
MINOR     PROPHETS :     Nahum,    Habakkuk,    Zephaniah, 
H.lGGAl,  ZechARIAH,  Malachi,  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Driver, 
Litt.D.,  D.D. 

[Those  marked  *  are  already  published.] 


THE   NEW-CENTURY   BIBLE 
ST.  MATTHEW 


GALILES      .^/. 


.r^^: 


cIrbIT^^       sea     /it  e\d  I  T  t  RRA  N  B  . 


~    K 


'X-Aj' 


General  Editor  :  Prof.  W.  F.  Adeney 


^t.  (^ait^m 


INTRODUCTION 

AUTHORIZED  VERSION 

REVISED  VERSION    WITH    NOTES 

INDEX  AND   MAP 

EDITED  JBff^ 

PROF.  W.  F.  SLATER,  M.A. 

OF   DIDSBURY  COLLEGK 
AUTHOR  OF  '  THE  FAITH  AMD   LIFE  OF  THE  EAKLY  CHURCH 


NEW  YORK :   HENRY  FROWDE 

OXFORD   UNIVERSITY   PRESS,   AMERICAN   BRANCH 

EDINBURGH  :   T.  C.  «S:  E.  C.  JACK 


The  Revised  Version  is  printed  by  permission  of  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  a7id  Cambridge. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Editor's  Introduction i 

Text  of  the  Authorized  Version 29 

Text  of  the  Revised  Version  with  Annotations   .         .113 
Index 331 

MAPS 

Palestine Facing  Title 

Orographical  Map  of  Galilee         .         ,         .        .         „ 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  MATTHEW 


INTRODUCTION 

An  inquiry  into  the  origin  of  the  first  of  our  four 
gospels  meets  at  once  with  some  positions  apparently 
well  established.     Such  are  the  following: — 

1.  The  gospel  was  universally  regarded  by  the  ancient 
church  as  the  work  of  Matthew  (or  Levi),  one  of  the 
twelve  apostles. 

2.  The  same  tradition  uniformly  stated  that  Matthew 
wrote  his  gospel  in  the  language  of  his  own  people,  i.e.  in 
Aramaic,  the  vernacular  of  Palestine,  and  for  the  special 
benefit  of  believers  among  them. 

3.  Yet  the  gospel,  as  we  know  it,  was  composed  in 
Greek,  and  the  Hebrew  original  was  lost  at  a  very  early 
period.  The  oldest  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament, 
cr  of  any  part  of  it,  left  to  us  are  in  Greek.  Syriac  and 
Latin  versions — supposed  to  belong  to  the  end  of  the 
second  century — depend  on  this  Greek  version.  Justin 
Martyr  (a.D.  140),  the  writer  of  the  Didache  (a.D.  120), 
and  Clement  of  Rome  (a.D.  95)  appear  to  have  known  it. 
For  the  churchmen  of  later  days  the  Greek  Matthew 
was  as  apostolic  as  the  Aramaic.  Jerome  (a.D.  390) 
certainly  speaks  of  the  Aramaic  as  'the  authentic  Mat- 
thew,' of  which  he  had  found  a  copy  at  Caisarea  and 
another  at  Berea,  which  he  translated.     Nevertheless  he 

B    2 


4  ST.  MATTHEW 

corrected  the  '  Old  Latin '  by  the  Greek.  The  '  Vulgate ' 
was  the  result  of  his  labours.  Jerome  also  said  of 
Matthew,  '  It  is  not  well  known  who  translated  it  [from 
Aramaic]  into  Greek.'  It  has  been  a  standing  difficulty 
of  criticism  that  the  early  authorities  speak  of  the  gospel 
of  Matthew  as  if  it  were  the  same  whether  in  Aramaic  or 
in  Greek,  yet  in  other  notices  (Origen,  Eusebius,  Jerome, 
Epiphanius,  &c.)  reveal  the  fact  that  the  gospel  used  in 
their  day  by  the  Jewish  Christians  was  not  identical 
with  it. 

4.  Another  important  point  is  that  the  first  gospel  in 
its  contents  and  structure  closely  resembles  the  second 
and  the  third.  They  all  tell  the  same  story,  generally 
with  the  same  order  of  events,  and  often  in  the  same 
words.  So  decided  is  the  similarity  that  the  three  are 
called — in  distinction  from  the  fourth  gospel — Synoptic 
Gospels,  i.  e.  they  can  readily  be  brought  into  parallel 
with  each  other.     These  facts  require  us  to  notice 

THE   SYNOPTIC  QUESTION, 

about  which  so  much  has  been  written  by  Continental 
and  English  critics  during  the  last  century  and  a  half. 
We  cannot  pursue  the  details  of  this  extensive  and 
complicated  controversy,  but  may  attempt  to  indicate 
some  of  the  results  of  inquiry  and  speculation  \  In  doing 
this  it  wall  be  convenient — 

1.  To  summarize  the  discussion  respecting  the  origin 
and  relation  of  the  Synoptic  gospels. 

2.  To  define,  so  far  as  we  may,  the  relation  of  our  first 
gospel  to  the  original  work  of  Matthew. 

3.  To  show  what  the  aim  and  scope  of  the  gospel  have 
been  ;  for  what  circle  of  readers  it  was  intended  ;  and  to 
point  out  some  peculiarities  of  its  method  and  style. 

^  Though  Prof.  Armitage  Robinson  (quoted  by  the  Rev.  Sir 
J.  C,  Hawkins,  Horce  Synopiicce,  1899)  says  that  'the  foundations 
of  the  study  have  not  yet  been  laid  in  England.' 


J 


INTRODUCTION  5 

I.  The  Synoptic  Question  :  What  is  the  Rela- 
tion WHICH  THE  First  Three  Gospels  bear 
TO  each  other? 

'  It  may  first  be  noted  that  at  the  end  of  the  second 
century  our  four  gospels  were  received  as  authentic  by 
the  majority  of  Christians.  Irenseus,  bishop  in  the  south 
of  Gaul,  a.  D.  170 — the  principal  Christian  writer  of  his 
time — argued  that  there  must  be  four  gospels  just  as 
there  were  four  winds,  and  four  faces  of  the  cherubim. 
The  association  of  ideas  may  be  grotesque,  yet  it  discloses 
a  supposition  that  the  number  and  contents  of  the  gospels 
had  supernatural  authority. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  as  the  apostles  and  their 
contemporaries  passed  away,  the  enlarging  and  multiplying 
churches  would  need  written  accounts  of  the  life  and 
work  of  Jesus  Christ.  Books  would  now  be  required  to 
replace  the  testimony  of  the  original  witnesses  to  the 
sayings  and  doings  of  the  great  Founder  of  the  system. 
Luke  i.  I  states  that  when  that  gospel  was  compiled 
*  many  had  taken  in  hand '  to  collect  and  arrange  evan- 
gelic information.  As  these  narrations  were  read  to 
the  Christian  congregations,  the  fuller  or  more  graphic 
accounts,  or  those  accredited  by  the  best  authorities, 
would  be  preferred.  Dr.  Sanday  {Diet,  of  Bible,  i.  2, 
1238)  says  that  'the  four  were  gradually  fenced  off.' 

Papias,  a  bishop  in  Asia  Minor,  A.  D.  130,  relates  that 
'Matthew  composed  the  Logia  in  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
and  every  one  translated  as  he  was  able.'  No  one  besides 
Papias  gives  the  name  '  Logia '  or  '  oracles '  to  the  original 
work  of  Matthew,  and  perhaps  it  indicates  its  contents 
rather  than  its  accepted  title  (Zahn).  Further,  his  remark 
may  not  mean  that  there  were  numerous  translations  into 
Greek,  but  that  Christian  teachers  who  happened  to  be 
acquainted  with  both  languages  gave  extempore  transla- 
tions for  the  benefit  of  their  hearers. 

The  Gentile   churches  were  of  course   dependent  on 


6  ST.  MATTHEW 

Jewish  Christian  sources  for  their  primary  Christian  in- 
struction :  but  this  state  of  things  could  not  be  permanent. 
Mark—  the  interpreter  of  Peter— produced  a  Greek  gospel. 
'  The  many '  of  Luke  i.  1-3  would  be  in  the  same  language. 
Early  in  the  second  century  those  gospels  which  were 
associated  with  the  names  of  apostles— as  Matthew  and 
John— or  of  apostolic  men— as  Mark  and  Luke— came  to 
the  front,  especially  as  they  were  intrinsically  superior 
to  the  others.  When,  for  convenience  in  public  use,  a 
Digest  or  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  was  prepared,  it  began 
with  the  prologue  to  the  fourth  gospel,  and  embodied  the 
substance  of  each  in  a  continuous  narrative.  One  of  these 
works  was  the  Dtatessaron  of  Tatian,  which  dates  from 
A.  D.  160.  Though  frequently  referred  to  by  ancient 
writers  it  has  only  been  made  available  for  scholars  by 
the  recent  publication  of  Armenian  and  Arabic  versions  \ 
Justin  Martyr  quotes  the  *  Memoirs  of  the  Apostles,'  which 
were  'called  gospels,'  and  in  doing  so  refers  to  matters 
which,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  contained  in  our  gospels. 
He  also  mentions  that  these  documents  were  habitually 
read  in  Christian  congregations.  The  public  reading  of 
the  gospels  must  have  begun  in  the  first  century.  The 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles^  a  document  which 
dates  from  an  early  period  in  the  second  century,  says 
(c.  15),  'As  ye  have  it  in  the  gospel  of  our  Lord' — a 
statement  which  seems  to  make  the  gospel,  oral  or  written, 
the  common  property  of  those  who  are  addressed.  In 
Matt.  xxiv.  15  and  Rev.  i.  3  there  seem  to  be  allusions 
to  this  early  use  of  the  Christian  Scriptures. 

Eventually  Christian  students  began  to  notice  the  re- 
semblance of  the  first  three  gospels  and  their  difference 
from  the  fourth.  The  ordinary  view  was  that  Matthew 
wrote  first  for  Hebrew  believers  ;  that  Mark  incorporated 
in  the  second  gospel  the  testimony  of  Peter ;    and  that 


^   The  Dtatessaron  of  Tatian,  by  J.  Rendel  Harris;  also  The 
Earliest  Life  of  Christ,  by  Rev.  H.  Hill. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

Luke  preserved  the  gospel  as  known  to  Paul ;  while 
John  came  last  with  a  'spiritual  gospel'  (Clem.  Alex.). 
Chrysostom  inferred  from  the  variations  in  the  Synoptists 
that  there  could  have  been  no  collusion  between  them, 
while  Augustine  (a.D.  410)  considered  Mark  as  but  a 
follower  and  abbreviator  of  Matthew. 

Tradition  on  the  subject  became  obscured  very  early. 
Clement  of  Alexandria  (a.D.  210)  supposed  that  the  gos- 
pels with  genealogies  were  written  first.  Even  in  his  day 
accurate  and  detailed  information  respecting  the  apostolic 
age  had  been  lost.  Ammonius  (a.  d.  290)  prepared  a 
harmony  of  the  gospels  with  Matthew  as  the  basis,  be- 
cause it  was  generally  supposed  that  his  account  would  be 
the  oldest.  Epiphanius  (a.D.  430)  wondered  that  Matthew 
should  omit  so  many  things  w^hich  are  found  in  Luke. 

H  o we ver,  no  early  heretic — except  M  arcion,  who  accepted 
Luke  only  ;  and  the  Manicheans  of  the  fourth  century — 
ventured  to  challenge  the  apostolical  authority  of  the 
Synoptic  gospels.  Until  the  Reformation  the  Greek 
Matthew  was  reckoned  to  be  apostolic— a  faithful  rescript 
of  the  original  Aramaic.  At  that  period  Erasmus  and 
some  others  began  to  defend  the  originality  of  the  Greek 
version.  They  feared  that  it  would  lose  authority  if  con- 
sidered to  be  only  a  secondary  production — a  translation 
from  an  earlier  document.  Roman  Catholics,  desirous 
of  weakening  the  authority  of  the  Protestant  canon, 
pleaded  for  the  authority  of  the  Aramaic. 

It  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  last  century  that 
the  subject  received  further  attention,  especially  among 
German  scholars.  The  efforts  of  Bengel  and  Wetstein, 
to  arrive  at  exact  information  respecting  the  various 
readings  in  the  text  of  the  Greek  Testament,  had  excited 
much  opposition  and  prejudice  amongst  those  who  upheld 
the  literal  inspiration  of  Scripture.  The  investigations 
of  G.  E.  Lessing  (1784)  again  disturbed  the  generally 
received  opinions.  He  urged  that  as  the  first  Christians 
were  called  Nazarenes,  the  gospel  which  Eusebius  and 


8  ST.  MATTHEW 

other  writers  had  reported  them  to  possess  must  have 
been  the  primitive  record,  and  that  the  Synoptic  gospels 
were  but  modifications  of  the  original  work.  It  will  be 
seen  that  Lessing's  suggestion  became  the  germ  of  much 
of  the  subsequent  speculation. 

Twenty  years  later  Eichhorn  (1804),  by  a  more  careful 
and  minute  literary  analysis,  brought  the  principal  features 
of  the  case  into  more  vivid  recognition.  His  conclusion 
v/as  that  the  agreement  of  the  Synoptics— found  in  forty- 
four  places — did  not  arise  from  the  dependence  of  one 
upon  another,  but  from  their  mutual  use  of  a  common 
source.  There  was  an  original  gospel  which  had  begun 
with  the  baptism  of  John,  and  had  ended  at  the  narrative 
of  the  resurrection  ;  the  genealogies  and  other  additions 
were  due  to  editors  and  scribes.  In  his  edition  of 
Michaelis'  Introduction  Bishop  Marsh  made  this  scheme 
familiar  to  British  readers. 

Still,  the  possible  dependence  of  one  evangelist  on  the 
others  had  not  been  adequately  dealt  with.  It  was 
becoming  clear  that  Mark  was  either  the  basis  or  the 
product  of  the  two  others.  Griesbach  (1783)  had  ventured 
to  assert  that  the  tradition  of  a  Hebrew  Matthew  was  false, 
that  Greek  was  the  language  of  the  original  gospel,  that 
Luke  had  borrowed  from  Matthew,  and  Mark  from  Ixjth. 
The  real  difficulties  of  the  problem  were  beginning  to  be 
understood.  The  traditional  accounts  were  felt  to  be 
unsatisfactory,  while  external  and  internal  testimony  was 
full  of  contradiction. 

For  instance :  the  Synoptists  make  Galilee  the  scene 
of  the  active  life  of  our  Lord,  while  John  describes  his 
career  as  having  been  principally  accomplished  in  Jud^a. 
According  to  the  former  the  ministry  of  Jesus  might  have 
been  accomplished  in  one  year,  but  the  latter  implies  that 
it  occupied  three  years.  The  Synoptists  do  not  mention 
the  cure  at  Bethesda,  or  that  of  the  blind  man  in  Jerusalem, 
or  the  raising  of  Lazarus ;  while  the  discourses  in  the 
fourth  gospel  take  a  form  of  their  own. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

Again,  each  of  the  three  first  gospels  contains  incidents, 
parables  or  sayings  of  its  own,  but  their  general  outline 
is  identical,  and  often  their  phraseology.  At  the  same 
time  they  differ  so  much  in  details  that  their  comparative 
independence  is  always  maintained.  The  phenomena 
will  be  best  understood  from  an  example. 

In  Matt.  xvii.  1-8,  Mark  ix.  2-13,  and  Luke  ix.  21-36 
we  find  accounts  of  the  transfiguration.  Each  narrative 
reports  the  event  as  succeeding  the  miracle  of  the  loaves 
and  fishes,  and  after  the  Galil^ean  sojourn  during  which 
Peter  made  his  famous  confession.  All  place  the  healing 
of  the  lunatic  youth  in  the  sequel.  In  his  story  of  the 
event  Matthew  has  twelve  out  of  fourteen  items  included 
in  that  of  Mark.  Matthew  uses  126  words  (omitting 
articles)  in  the  narrative,  of  which  Mark  has  seventy-seven 
and  Luke  sixty.  Mark  and  Luke  differ  from  Matthew 
most  in  the  latter  portions  of  the  story.  The  three  agree 
best,  here  as  .elsewhere,  in  reporting  what  was  said  on  the 
occasion.  In  the  two  first  gospels  the  first  three  verses 
of  the  narrative  are  almost  verbally  identical.  The  result 
seems  to  be  that  either  the  three  borrow  from  a  common 
source,  or  two  evangelists  have  borrowed  from  the  third. 
Certainly,  Mark  does  not  in  this  case  combine  what  the 
others  had  said,  Luke  agrees  sometimes  with  one,  some- 
times with  the  other.  Luke's  account  differs  so  much  in 
details  that  his  account  might  claim  to  be  independent. 

The  frequent  agreement  of  Luke  and  Matthew  in  parts 
which  are  not  found  in  Mark  shews  that  they  had  in- 
dependent information:  cf.  'daily  bread,'  Matt.  vi.  11  ; 
Luke  xi.  3;  also  Matt.  x.  17-33;  Luke  xii.  2-12.  Sir 
J.  C.  Hawkins  finds  seventy-two  passages  in  Matthew 
and  Luke  which  were  probably  from  the  Logia,  yet  forty- 
nine  of  them  receive  a  different  presentation  in  the  two 
gospels  \ 


^  Horoe  Synpoticce^  by  Rev.  Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins,  Bart.,  M.A., 
p.  88. 


lo  ST.  MATTHEW 

To  interpret  these  perplexing  phenomena  all  the  forces 
of  criticism  have  been  engaged.  It  was  found  that  the 
questions  raised  by  Eichhorn  and  Lessing  had  not  been 
answered.  Storr  and  Herder  (1797)  had  suggested  that 
the  gospel  must  have  received  a  fixed  form  in  its  oral 
stage,  and  that  Mark  had  been  the  first  to  put  it  in  a 
written  form.  Gieseler's  authority  gave  extension  to  this 
theory,  and  it  has  been  widely  accepted.  Bishop  Westcott 
concludes  that  there  would  be  a  Greek  as  well  as  an 
Aramaic  gospel  in  the  oral  form,  but  that  the  latter  would 
be  the  first  to  emerge  in  a  written  form  \  Such  portions 
as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount — especially  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  Matt.  vi.  9  ;  Luke  xi.  2-4 — would  long  be  known 
only  in  the  oral  form.  The  Rev.  A.  Wright,  M.A.,  in  his 
book  entitled  The  Composition  of  the  Four  Gospels  (1890), 
has  earnestly  defended  the  probability  that  the  gospel 
attained  a  fixed  condition  in  its  oral  stage.  He  shews 
that  the  gospel  narratives  would  be  repeatedly  rehearsed 
by  the  teachers  and  then  by  the  catechumens,  according 
to  the  custom  in  oriental  schools.  Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins  also 
remarks  that  the  memories  of  teachers  and  learners  were 
under  such  a  system  cultivated  beyond  anything  in  our 
experience  ^.  Dr.  Sanday  (Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  new 
ed.,  Art.  Gospels)  says  that  the  German  critics  have  not 
[except  Gieseler]  appreciated  the  argument  for  the  oral 
gospel,  which,  though  it  does  not  explain  everything,  must 
be  taken  into  account. 

A  further  advance  was  made  when  Lachmann  asserted 
the  priority  of  Mark,  a  position  which  was  well  defended 
by  Weisse  and  Wilke  in  1838.  The  former  asserted  that 
both  Matthew  and  Luke  had  used  it  as  well  as  the  earlier 
Logia.  Nevertheless,  Schleiermacher  (1824)  found  matters 
so  perplexing  that  he  refused  to  believe  in  any  single 

*  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Four  Gospels^  p.  228. 

'^  See  also  Some  New  Test.  Problems,  by  A.  Wright ;  the 
Introduction  to  the  Gospel,  in  the  Speaker's  Commentary ;  and 
Schiirer,  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  &c.  ii.  i,  34. 


INTRODUCTION  ii 

evangelic  authority,  either  oral  or  written.  He  held  that 
the  primitive  gospel-literature  was  very  diversified,  and 
that  out  of  it  came  several  early  gospels.  Strauss  did  not 
lessen  controversy  by  his  theory  that  our  gospels  de- 
scended through  a  mythical  elaboration.  On  somewhat 
similar  lines  Baur  and  Schwegler,  or  the  '  Tubingen 
School,'  traced  our  gospels  only  to  post-apostolic  times. 
Matthew,  they  said,  was  a  later  edition  of  a  gospel  composed 
for  the  primitive  circle  of  believers  who  were  all  bigoted 
Jews.  This  work  was  afterwards  enlarged  and  inter- 
polated in  the  interests  of  Gentile  Christianity.  The  third 
gospel,  again,  proceeded  from  the  Pauline  circle — was 
indeed  an  improved  edition  of  the  gospel  of  Marcion, 
intended  to  conciliate  opposing  parties  in  the  church. 
Mark's  work,  they  maintained,  was  but  a  compilation  from 
the  other  two. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  evidences  of  schism  in  the 
primitive  church,  adduced  by  Baur  and  his  friends,  have 
not  been  disproved  ;  but  their  conjectures  respecting  the 
genesis  and  production  of  the  books  of  the  N.T.  have  been 
completely  refuted.  On  the  former  point  even  Dr.  Hort 
{Judaistic  Christzanify,  p.  ^2>)  admits  a  'temporary 
duality '  in  the  apostolic  church,  which  '  is  constantly 
misunderstood  or  overlooked.'  No  scheme  of  formal 
unity  could  include  those  who  believed  that  the  Jewish 
ritual  was  indispensable  and  those  who  could  not  use  it 
at  all.  The  '  Catholic  Church '  was  not  the  result  of  an 
amalgamation  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christianity, 
but  a  development  of  the  latter.  With  respect  to  the 
dates  of  the  gospels,  critical  opinion  has  steadily  gone 
back  into  the  first  century.  On  this  Hilgenfeld,  Holtz- 
mann,  and  Hamack  agree. 

More  agreement  has  been  attained  by  the  concession, 
which  so  many  are  now  disposed  to  grant,  that  Mark  is 
the  earliest  of  our  gospels  in  their  present  form.  This 
result  is  due  largely  to  the  minute  verbal  examination 
which  Holtzmann  undertook  and  embodied  in  his  Synop- 


12  ST.  MATTHEW 

tlschen  Evmigelt'cn,  1863  \  At  first  he  pleaded  for  an 
earlier  Mark  (Ur-Marcus),  which  he  now  thinks  to  be 
unnecessary. 

The  multiplication  of  conjectural  schemes  has  not  been 
in  vain.  Fresh  information  has  also  been  supplied  by 
the  discovery  of  fragments  of  ancient  literature.  The 
Didache,  or  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles',  translations 
of  Armenian  and  Arabic  versions  of  the  Diatessaron\ 
fragments  of  the  Logia,  and  of  the  Gospel  of  Peter  \  and 
of  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter,  have  thrown  some  light  on 
questions  in  dispute.     It  is  now  generally  accepted — 

1.  That  the  gospel  narratives  at  first  had  only  an  oral 
transmission.  The  story  often  told  would  assume  certain 
fixed  forms.  The  general  order  in  the  Synoptics,  including 
the  history  from  the  baptism  of  Jesus  to  his  passion  (cf. 
Acts  xi.  22,  xiii.  24),  may  be  thus  accounted  for.  The 
gospel  in  this  primitive  and  limited  form  would  probably 
be  known  to  Apollos,  Acts  xviii.  25  (cf.  Acts  xix.  3).  Yet 
it  may  be  noticed  that  the  references  to  gospel  facts  in 
the  Acts  and  epistles  do  not  borrow  much  from  the 
Synoptic  accounts.  The  latter  also  take  up  but  one  line 
of  tradition,  passing  by  much  that  is  found  in  the  fourth 
gospel  (cf  John  xx.  31). 

2.  According  to  tradition  the  earliest  written  gospel,  or 
collection  of  our  Lord's  sayings,  was  that  produced  by 
Matthew  in  Aramaic.  The  first  gospel  issued  in  Greek — 
also  from  the  testimony  of  Papias — was  by  Mark.  Having 
been  '  the  interpreter  of  Peter '  he  committed  the  testi- 
mony of  the  great  apostle  to  writing.  The  general  plan 
of  the  Synoptic  narrative  may  have  been  decided  by  the 
oral  gospel  and  by  the  work  of  Matthew,  but  was  finally 
developed  by  the  industry  of  Mark.  It  is  now  thought 
to  be  most  probable  that '  the  original  basis  of  the  Synoptic 


^  See  also  his  Lchrbuch  der  historisch-kritischen  Einleitung  in 
das  nette  Test.,  1886;  and  the  Hand-Commentar  zum  ncuen 
Test.,   I.   Band,   1892. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

gospels  coincided  in  its  range  and  order  with  our  St. 
MarkV  Dr.  Sanday  thinks,  however,  that  Mark  has 
undergone  some  changes,  and  that  there  were  other 
sources  in  the  pre-canonical  period^.  Dr.  A,  Resch 
agrees  with  Dr.  B.  Weiss  in  the  view  that  Mark  used  the 
Login  as  well  as  notes  of  the  preaching  of  Peter.  He  also 
finds  sayings  of  our  Lord  in  the  New  Testament  and  in 
the  '  Fathers  '  which  had  escaped  our  evangelists.  In  his 
work,  Die  Logia  Jesti  (1898),  he  reproduces  in  Hebrew 
our  Lord's  sayings  which  he  has  derived  from  all  sources. 
The  differences  of  the  evangelists,  he  thinks,  may  have 
arisen  from  a  diversity  of  translations  from  the  original. 
Prof.  Marshall,  in  several  articles  in  the  Expositor,  has 
shown  some  reason  for  believing  that  the  language  of  the 
original  gospel  was  Aramaic. 

3.  Mark  did  not  incorporate  many  of  the  discourses  of 
Jesus  in  his  gospel.  These,  no  doubt,  existed  in  the 
primitive  Aramaic,  written  and  oral.  If  the  work  of  Mark 
originated  in  Rome,  it  would  be  open  to  the  Christians  of 
Asia  Minor,  or  Syria,  or  even  Greece  to  procure  a  com- 
prehensive document  embracing  all  the  things  which  they 
had  been  taught  to  believe.  The  Aramaic  Matthew 
would  furnish  extensive  material  for  the  work,  while  the 
Greek  Mark  would  supply  the  outline  and  vocabulary. 

Dr.  Theodore  Zahn,  who  has  lately  produced  a  most 
erudite  and  voluminous  Introduction  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment, while  claiming  that  the  Greek  Matthew  is  a  copy 
of  the  Aramaic,  allows  that  it  has  used  the  gospel  of 
Mark.  .As  Dr.  Sanday  has  said:  'The  priority  of  Mark 
is,  if  not  an  assured  result  of  criticism,  rapidly  becoming 
so.'  Dr.  Holtzmann  also,  to  whom  the  investigation  owes 
so  much,  assumes  that  this  is  settled.  This  does  not, 
however,  remove  every  difficulty.  There  are,  as  already 
noticed,  some  coincidences  between  Matthew  and  Luke 


^  Rev.  F.  H.  Woods,  B.D.,  in  Studia  Biblica,  vol.  ii. 
^  Inspiration,  p.  294. 


14  ST.  MATTHEW 

which  have  no  support  in  Mark,  as  Matt.  vi.  24,  Luke  xvi. 
13  ;  Matt.  iv.  i-ii,  Luke  iv.  1-13  ;  Matt,  xviii.  5-13,  Luke 
vii.  i-io.  Each  gospel  has  indeed  pecuhar  portions,  and 
those  in  Matthew  will  be  noticed  as  they  arise. 

Because  Mark  has  so  little  which  is  not  in  the  other 
Synoptics,  some  have  concluded  that  his  gospel  was 
mainly  a  compendium  of  the  others.  The  following  are 
independent  fragments  :  Mark  iv.  26-29,  vii.  32-37,  viii. 
22-26,  xiv.  51,  52.  The  following  have  been  thought  to 
favour  the  idea  of  combination  :  Mark  i.  32  of  Matt.  viii. 
16  and  Luke  iv.  40  ;  i.  42  of  Matt.  viii.  3  and  Luke  v.  13  ; 
xi.  I  of  Matt.  xxi.  i  and  Luke  xix.  29.  Yet  even  in  these 
cases  the  others  may  have  borrowed  from  Mark,  who  dis- 
plays originality  everywhere,  great  vividness  in  description, 
and  other  elements  of  individuality.  Moreover,  he  has 
a  preference  for  double  or  parallel  phrases,  as  in  i.  35, 
xiv.  12,  xvi.  2  ;  Luke,  on  the  other  hand,  comprises  much 
that  is  not  found  elsewhere.  Some  have  thought  that  ch. 
ix.  51 — xviii.  41  is  an  interpolation  by  a  later  hand.  Dr. 
Plummer  thinks  that  Luke  used  our  Mark,  and  that  the 
first  and  third  gospels  had  a  collection,  or  two  similar 
collections,  of  '  oracles  ^'  On  the  contrary,  Dr.  Stanton 
holds  that  the  Logza,  or  Oracles  of  Matthew,  were  not 
used  by  Mark  2. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  out  of  sixty  sections  of  the 
Synoptic  gospels,  Matthew  and  Luke  coincide  with  forty 
in  Mark,  and  in  the  twenty  which  remain  Mark  agrees 
with  the  one  or  with  the  other.  An  attempt  to  exhibit 
the  Triple  Traditiojt  and  the  numerous  varieties  in  the 
evangelical  text  has  been  made  with  no  little  success 
in  Rushbrooke  and  Abbot's  Covimon  Tradition  of  the 
Sy7ioptic  Gospels^  1884.  The  subject  has  been  also  well 
discussed  in  Dr.  Abbot's  article  on  the  '  Gospels '  in  the 
Encyclop.  B?'ila?inica,  vol.  x. 

'  St.  Luke  {Intemat.  Commentary,  Pref.). 

2  Art.  Gospels  \n  Hastings'  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  ii,  240. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

II.    The  Relation  of  the  Canonical  Gospel  to 
THE  Original  Work  of  Matthew. 

I.  We  have  assumed  ^hat  there  was  an  original  vvorlc 
of  Matthew  which  he  wrote  in  Aramaic,  the  popular 
language  of  Syria  ^  It  is  still  questioned  by  some  whether 
this  primitive  document  contained  anything  but  the  dis- 
courses of  Jesus ;  but  the  limitation  (Schleiermacher, 
Godet,  &c.)  may  be  regarded  as  hypercritical.  Even 
a  series  of  discourses  would  need  some  connecting  links. 
Many  of  the  discourses  in  Matthew  are  inseparably  asso- 
ciated with  the  events  which  called  them  forth :  e.  g.  ix. 
9-13,  xix.  16-22.  The  only  way  in  which  we  can  account 
for  the  common  ascription  of  the  Greek  gospel  to 
Matthew  is  by  supposing  that  it  has  freely  used  the 
materials  supplied  by  the  Aramaic  gospel.  Jerome's 
statement — 'who  translated  it  is  not  well  known'— im- 
plies some  close  connexion  between  the  two. 

But  at  this  point  almost  every  step  is  disputed.  Holtz- 
mann  {Einleitimg,  p.  388)  says  :  *  Every  supposition  of 
a  translation  falls  before  the  fact  that'the  first  evangelist 
has  done  nothing  but  work  over  either  a  writing  at  the 
foundation  of  Mark  and  Luke  or  Mark  itself.'  But,  as 
we  have  seen,  Dr.  Zahn  contends  for  a  translation  of  the 
Aramaic  into  Greek.  Many  have  been  ready  to  accept 
the  dictum  of  Wetstein  (A^.  T.  i.  244)  that  it  was 
only  a  conjecture  made  by  the  Fathers  that  Matthew 
wrote  in  the  language  of  Palestine,  and  that  there  are  no 
clear  evidences  of  translation.  Yet  again,  Harnack 
(Chronologie,  p.  694)  avers  that  antiquity  knows  only 
one  Hebrew  gospel,  and  that  it  is  better  represented  by 
the  canonical  Matthew  than  by  Mark  or  Luke ;  while 
Holtzmann  and  Wendt  incline  to  the  opinion  that  Luke  is 


'  Properly  speaking,  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  are  dialects  of  the 
same  languacre.  The  Hebrew  alphabet  in  use  since  the  exile 
belonged  to  Aramaic  :  hence  Matthew  is  said  to  iiave  written 
in  '  Hebrew  letters.' 


1 6  ST.  MATTHEW 

more  primitive  than  our  Matthew.  Dr.  Godet  thinks  that 
the  Logia  were  used  in  other  New  Testament  writings, 
as  Jas.  i.  21,  the  Apocalypse,  and  the  Pauline  epistles. 

2.  But  this  primitive  gospel  is  no  longer  extant.  For 
some  reason  the  early  church  did  not  care  to  preserve  it : 
indeed,  representative  Catholic  writers  do  not  seem  to 
have  known  it.  Irenseus  simply  mentions  the  fact  that 
Matthew  wrote  such  a  gospel ;  Origen  refers  to  some 
things  in  it ;  even  Jerome  does  not  say  how  the  '  Gospel 
of  the  Nazarenes'  differed  from  the  original.  Epiphanius 
distinguishes  between  the  gospel  of  the  Nazarenes  and 
that  of  the  Ebionites,  yet  does  not  exactly  indicate  their 
relation  to  each  other  or  to  the  primitive  work.  Modern 
authorities  generally  agree  that  the  '  Gospel  according  to 
the  Hebrews,'  which  was  used  by  the  Jewish  Christian 
sects  of  the  second  and  third  centuries,  was  a  corrupted 
and  mutilated  copy  of  Matthew's  gospel. 

It  is  because  of  the  uncertainty  on  the  subject  that  the 
very  existence  of  an  original  Aramaic  gospel  has  been 
denied  by  many.  Some,  who  are  firm  supporters  of 
tradition  on  other  points  (like  Dr.  Salmon  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Hug),  strongly,  dispute  its  testimony  in  this  case, 
though  it  has  an  unusual  patristic  unanimity  on  its  side. 
The  objectors  are  generally  content  with  the  objection  of 
Bleek ;  viz.  that  the  Ebionite  gospel  was  so  apocryphal, 
and  that  the  Greek  Matthew  had  paronomasias — i.e.  'plays 
upon  words ' — which  could  only  belong  to  an  original 
composition  ^  Bleek  ascribes  our  gospel,  not  to  Matthew, 
but  to  'a  Jew  of  Palestine,'  A.D.  70.  The  apostle,  he 
thinks,  would  not  have  contradicted  John  about  the  day 
of  the  crucifixion,  nor  would  he  have  been  silent  con- 
cerning much  which  is  found  in  the  fourth  gospel.  Yet 
he  ventures  to  assert  that  this  gospel  was  highly  esteemed , 
in  Palestine  from  the  first  ! 

3.  The  question  which  has  really  to  be  faced  at  this  point 

'  Introduction  to  the  N.  T.,  by  F.  Bleek  ;  Eng.  Transl.  i.  285. 


INTRODUCTION  17 

is :  What  was  the  N.  T.  Canon  of  the  primitive,  apos- 
tolical Church  in  Jerusalem  ?  This  question  has  been 
ignored  to  a  large  extent  by  ecclesiastical  historians. 
Hilgenfeld  refers  to  the  general  testimony  that  they  had 
the  Aramaic  Matthew — but  beyond  this  nothing  is  known. 
Their  successors,  the  Nazarenes  and  Ebionites,  rejected 
the  other  gospels,  and  Paul's  epistles  were  repudiated 
because  he  was  'an  apostate  from  the  law.'  It  is  notice- 
able that  no  one  credits  them  with  having  known  or 
accepted  the  fourth  gospel  or  the  Apocalypse — supposed 
to  have  been  written  by  one  of  the  twelve  ^.  It  is  curious 
also  that  the  '  antilegomena,'  or  '  books  spoken  against ' 
in  Catholic  circles,  in  the  ante-Nicene  period  were 
writings  attributed  to  Jewish  Christian  sources,  as 
2  Peter,  Jude,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

4.  It  will  help  us  to  understand  this  part  of  the  history 
if  we  remember  that  the  primitive  Jewish  Christian  Church 
was  separated  at  a  very  early  period  from  all  contact  and 
fellowship  with  the  larger  and  more  expansive  Christendom 
of  Antioch  and  Asia  Minor,  of  Greece  and  Italy.  The 
latter,  which  was  chiefly  Paulinist,  became  the  '  Catholic 
Church '  of  history ;  the  former  passed  into  comparative 
oblivion.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70, 
'  their  history,'  says  Bishop  Lightfoot,  '  becomes  a  hope- 
less blank.'  One  may  therefore  be  surprised  that  Zahn 
{Geschichte  d.  Kan.  i.  74)  should  allege  that  until  A.  D.  132, 
when  Hadrian  suppressed  the  revolt  under  Bar-Cochba, 
'there  was  a  united  Church  in  Palestine,  of  which  Jewish 
Christianity  formed  the  principal  part'^.'  The  learned 
German  gives  no  evidence  in  favour  of  this  supposition. 
On  the  contrary,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Epiphanius 
says  that  all  the  disciples  fled  to  Pella.  Besides,  if 
Hadrian  had  been  really  responsible  for  bringing  Jewish 

^  Epiphanius,  Hoer.  xxx.  3,  says  that  Jews  of  Tiberias  had 
the  fourth  gospel  and  'Acts  '  in  Hebrew — recently  translated. 
^  Zahn  adds  that  '  we  are  badly  informed  about  them.* 

C 


1 8  ST.  MATTHEW 

Christianity  to  an  end,  it  would  have  been  strange  that 
such  writers  as  Origen  and  Eusebius  and  Jerome  should 
not  refer  to  it.  Weizsacker  notices  the  obscuration  which 
rests  on  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  after  the  period  repre- 
sented by  the  '  Acts  of  the  Apostles.'  However,  nothing 
seems  to  be  more  probable  than  that  the  primitive  Jewish 
Christians  never  forsook  Judaism ;  and  all  attempts  to 
connect  them  with  the  Gentile  Church  of  Palestine  in  the 
following  century  must  end  in  failure. 

We  may  conclude  then  that  the  Hebrew  Christians 
who  refused  to  follow  Paul,  who  required  that  all  their 
bishops  should  be  of  the  circumcision,  who  (according  to 
the  later  notices  of  them  in  the  New  Testament,  Acts 
xxi.  20,  A. D.  57)  were  'all  zealous  of  the  law,'  would  not 
receive  such  a  document  as  our  Matthew,  with  its  manifest 
universalism.  As  they  did,  according  to  tradition,  receive 
the  primitive  Matthew,  the  Aramaic  and  the  Greek  gospels 
must  have  differed  to  some  extent.  Professor  Zahn  would 
reduce  this  difference  to  a  minimum,  and  indeed  regards 
the  Greek  as  a  'translation'  from  the  older  version.  He 
admits,  however,  that  'we  have  no  information  about 
the  time  or  place  of  translation,'  and  '  that  the  relation 
of  the  two  is  very  obscure.'  Professor  Harnack  goes 
further,  and  says  :  '  I  avow  that  I  have  nothing  to  say 
on  this  question,  because  everything  is  obscure  to  me ' 
{Chronologie,  p.  694)  ^. 

To  relieve  the  difficulty,  some  have  conjectured  that 
Matthew  wrote  his  gospel  both  in  Aramaic  and  in  Greek. 
This  was  the  view  of  Bengel  and  of  Home  [Introd.  to  the 
Holy  Saiptiires,  iv.  420).     No  one  would  question  that 


'  Dalman  {Die  WoHe  Jesu,  pp.  47-57)  argues  that  the 
original  of  Matthew  was  Greek.  This  view  has  been  held 
by  Erasmus,  Calvin,  Beza,  Credner,  de  Wette,  Tischendorf, 
Ewald,  Holtzmann,  Julicher,  and  Salmon.  It  is  singular 
that  Dr.  Zahn  should  question  whether  the  Nazarenes  ever 
ascribed  their  gospel  to  Matthew.  This  is  expressly  asserted 
by  Epiphanius,  //or.  xxix.  9. 


INTRODUCTION  19 

Matthew,  the  tax-collector  at  Capernaum,  would  be  able 
to  write  in  both  languages.  Josephus  wrote  his  History  of 
the  Jeivs  in  Aramaic  and  in  Greek.  But,  as  Dr.  Tregelles 
has  shown,  all  the  testimony  is  in  favour  of  an  Aramaic 
original,  and  there  is  none  for  a  Greek  reproduction  of 
it  by  Matthew,  though  all  the  versions— Syriac,  Latin, 
Egyptian — are  derived  from  the  Greek. 

III.  The  Object,  Method,  and  Readers  of  the 
First  Gospel. 

Concerning  that  Aramaic  gospel  which  the  Fathers 
declare  to  have  been  written  by  Matthew,  there  is  little 
doubt  that,  as  they  further  say,  it  was  intended  for  JewisiL 
readers  and  hearers  ^  It  was  received  by  them  as  the 
'authentic'  gospel,  and  they  accepted  no  other  into  their 
canon.  The  same  gospel,  according  to  Papias,  became 
the  primary  textbook  for  many  Gentile  churches.  The 
evangelist  or  teacher  '  translated  as  he  was  able.' 

It  has  so  generally  been  affirmed  that  our  canonical 
Matthew  was  prepared  for  the  Jewish-Christian  com- 
munities, that  it  requires  some  courage  to  express  a 
different  opinion.  The  evidence  adduced  in  favour  of 
that  view  must  also  be  fairly  considered. 

I.  It  is  said  that  the  gospel  makes  the  appeal  to 
prophecy  very  prominent.  Its  frequent  formula  *  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled'  is  striking,  ^^'eiss  [Introduction  to 
New  I'estivnefit,  ii.  282)  says :  *  The  fact  that  the  first 
gospel  bears  a  Jewish-Christian  character  can  never  be 
mistaken,  owing  to  the  emphasis  with  which  it  points  out 
the  descent  of  Jesus  from  the  house  of  David,  and  the 
fulfilment  of  prophecy  in  his  life  ^' 

^  Godet,  liiirod.  to  N.  T.  ii.  2, says  that  it  'had  a  pronounced 
legal  tendenc}'. ' 

^  Yet  Weiss  thinks  the  author  was  not  a  Palestinian,  because 
of  geographical  errors,  and  that  he  speaks  of  the  country  as 
'  that  land '  (Matt.  ix.  26, 3  [ ).     For  Greek-speaking  Jews  he  had 

C    2 


20  ST.  MATTHEW 

But  does  not  each  Synoptic  refer  to  the  evidence  of 
prophecy,  the  Gentile  Luke  especially;  e.g.  i.  32,  55,  70, 
xxiv.  27,  44  ?  The  latter  alone  mentions  the  circumcision 
of  Jesus,  and  his  being  taken  to  the  temple  in  his  child- 
hood. All  testify  that  Jesus  was  addressed  by  the  blind 
men  and  by  others  as  '  the  Son  of  David.'  On  the  other 
hand,  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  supposed  to  be  symbolic  of 
the  gathering  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  Messiah,  is  found 
only  in  Matthew.  Professor  Harnack  tells  us  that  in  the 
first  preaching  to  Gentiles,  '  the  assurance  of  the  blessing 
of  salvation  was  framed  by  a  proclamation  of  the  history 
of  Jesus  concisely  expressed,  and  compared  with  reference 
to  prophecy  \'  This  was  the  character  of  the  discourse 
of  Peter  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  Acts  x.  43.  They 
were  not  all  Jews  to  whom  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was 
sent,  yet  it  is  replete  with  allusions  to  the  Old  Testament. 
The  epistle  of  Clement  is  so  full  of  Old  Testament  ideas 
and  language  that  the  Tiibingen  critics  claimed  him  for 
an  Ebionite :  but  no  one  does  so  now.  Justin  Martyr 
was  undoubtedly  a  Gentile  Christian,  yet  his  Apology, 
addressed  to  a  Roman  emperor,  bases  its  appeal  in  favour 
of  Christianity  on  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  style  of  Matthew  contains 
more  Hebraizing  constructions  than  other  parts  of  the 
New  Testament,  as  Mark  or  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
There  are  no  constructions  which  are  definitely  ungram- 
matical  or  absolutely  unlike  the  Greek  of  his  time,  as 
in  the  Apocalypse-.  Mr.  Simcox  has  said:  'Comparing 
then  the  first  gospel  with  the   second,  we  feel  it  to  be, 


to  interpret  Immanuel,  Golgotha,  &c.  Weiss  also  finds  in 
Matt,  vii.  22,  xiii.  41,  xxiv.  12,  warnings  against  Gentile  anti- 
nomianism. 

'  History  of  Dogma,  i.  156.  Dr.  Plumptre  (Ellicott's  Com- 
mentary on  N.  T.)  speaks  of  Matthew's  gospel  as  'a  manual 
of  Messianic  prophecy '  ;  but  such  a  composition  would  be  as 
needful  for  Gentile  hearers  as  for  Jewish. 

^  Zahn,  Einleit.  ii.  299. 


INTRODUCTION  21 

if  not  more  elegant  or  more  Hellenic,  at  least  a  great 
deal  smoother  and  easier  reading,  contrary  to  what  might 
be  expected  in  what  is  described  as  a  translation  from 
the  Hebrew  V  He  also  says  that  '  Matthew  might  serve 
as  the  best  example  of  what  Hellenistic  narrative  is.' 
Dr.  Westcott  also  has  said :  '  The  style  is  not  nearly  so 
Hebraizing  as  that  of  St.  John,  nor  is  the  language  so 
rich  as  that  of  St.  Mark.' 

2.  But  it  is  also  alleged  that  the  quotations  from  the 
Old  Testament  found  in  this  gospel  shew  that  its  author 
must  have  known  the  original  Hebrew,  and  was  therefore 
most  probably  a  Jew. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  quotations  in  Matthew, 
and  somewhat  contradictory  results  have  been  obtained. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  the  quotations  are  taken  from 
the  Greek  version  of  the  LXX :  in  several  (ii.6,  15,  23, 
viii.  17,  xii.  18,  21,  and  xxviii.  9)  they  disclose  a  use  of 
the  original.  The  Synoptics  sometimes  agree  when  the 
quotation  agrees  neither  with  the  Hebrew  nor  with  the 
Greek:  e.g.  Matt.  iii.  3,  Mark  i.  3,  Luke  iii.  4  from  Isa. 
xl.  3;  Matt.  xxvi.  31,  Mark  xiv.  37  from  Zech.  xiii.  7. 
Jerome  says  that  the  Nazarene  gospel  quoted  always  from 
the  Hebrew,  and  all  the  instances  referred  to  may  have 
been  there  ^.  Besides,  if  the  writer  of  the  Greek  gospel 
knew  and  preferred  the  original,  why  did  he  not  always 
make  use  of  it  ?  Papias  intimates  that  many  teachers  in 
the  Gentile  churches  were  able  to  '  translate '  from  the 
Aramaic  gospel,  and  it  would  only  need  an  interpreter  more 
skilful  than  the  rest  to  produce  a  Greek  version  of  it^ 

3.  Reference   has   also   been   made   to  the  occasional 

'   Writers  of  the  N.  T.  p.  9. 

^  De  Virislllnst.  3.  He  mentions  two  cases  :  *  Out  of  Egypt 
I  called  my  son,'  Matt.  ii.  15  ;  and  ii.  23,  '  He  shall  be  called 
a  Nazarene.' 

^  Godet  ventures  to  repeat  an  ancient  suggestion  that  all 
the  apostles  shared  in  the  production  of  the  criginal  Logia, 
though  Matthew  was  their  secretary.  He  surmises  also  that  a 
*  devoted  disciple  of  Matthew'  translated  for  him  into  Greek  ! 


2  2  ST.  MATTHEW 

appearance  of  Aramaic  words,  as  Raca,  v.  22  ;  Mavimo7i^ 
vi.  24  ;  Gehenna,  v.  22,  &:c. ;  Elt,  Eli,  .  .  .  xxvii.  46.  But 
some  of  these  appear  in  the  other  gospels. 

{a)  No  one  can  question  the  strong  Jewish  character- 
istics of  the  first  gospel.  One  instance  may  be  found  in 
the  symbolical  value  attached  to  numbers — especially  3, 
7,  and  10.  There  are  three  stages  of  descent  in  the 
genealogical  list,  with  seven  names  in  each.  There  are 
three  temptations  in  the  wilderness,  and  three  scenes  of 
conflict  in  Gethsemane.  In  chap.  xiii.  there  are  seven 
parables,  and  in  chap,  xxiii.  seven  woes.  Elsewhere 
(chaps,  viii-ix)  there  are  ten  miracles.  Five  discourses 
(in  chaps,  v-vii,  x,  xiii,  xviii,  xxiv-v)  have  similar  endings. 
Yet  such  features  would  probably  be  in  the  source  ;  and 
the  epistle  of  Barnabas  (chap,  ix)  shows  that  the  mystical 
value  of  numbers  was  not  disregarded  by  the  Gentile 
Christians. 

{b)  The  fact  that  the  readers  were  exposed  to  the 
sophistry  of  Jewish  adversaries,  and  even  of  some  Jewish 
Christians,  such  as  are  referred  to  in  all  the  epistles  of 
Paul,  would  account  for  the  frequent  appeal  to  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  and  the  careful  notice  of  Jewish  affairs  past 
and  present.  The  Pastoral  epistles  are  full  of  cautions 
against  such  teachers.  In  the  Dialogue  of  Justin 
Martyr  we  may  learn  what  the  arguments  of  contro- 
versial Jews  were,  and  how  they  could  be  answered 
largely  from  Matthew's  gospel. 

{c)  But  the  freely  expressed  universalism  of  the  Greek 
gospel  would  not  have  been  acceptable  to  the  strict 
Jewish  Christians.  We  say  *  strict,'  because  there  were 
some  Jewish  Christians  like  Paul  who  regarded  the 
'  middle  wall  of  partition '  as  having  been  broken  down 
in  Christ  But  such  Christians  in  the  Jewish  circle  were 
few.  In  Col.  iv.  10  Paul  states  that  at  Rome  only  two 
cr  three  of  the  circumcised  were  ready  to  assist  him. 
In  the  time  of  Ignatius,  no  one  practising  Judaism  was 
regarded  as  being  within  the  Church. 


INTRODUCTION  23 

4.  There  is  much  in  the  form  of  the  gospel  which 
suggests  that  it  was  specially  intended  for  the  use  of 
the  prophets  and  evangelists  of  the  eariy  churches.  We 
read  (Acts  xiii.  i)  that  'there  were  at  Antioch,  in  the 
church  that  was  there,  prophets  and  teachers.'  Eph. 
V.  II  speaks  of  apostolic  gifts  in  this  wise:  'He  gave 
some  to  be  apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some 
evangelists,  and  some  prophets  and  teachers'  (cf.  i  Cor. 
xii.  I,  10,  28,  xiv.  24).  These  evangelists  would  soon 
need  written  accounts  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Christ. 
Papias  tells  us  how  the  original  Matthew  was  used  in 
Gentile  congregations.  Certainly,  there  is  no  trace  of  an 
authoritative  written  gospel  in  use  in  the  times  of  the 
New  Testament.  The  gospel  originally  was  spoken,  not 
read:  Acts  xiii.  44,  xiv.  21,  xv.  7.  The  Bereans  (Acts 
xvii.  11)  'searched  the  Scriptures,'  i.e.  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, but  they  '  received  the  word,'  i.  e.  the  gospel. 

Now,  the  first  gospel  had  the  requirements  of  this  class 
of  agents  specially  in  view.  The  grouping  of  discourses 
jando£ events  might  have  begun  in  the  oral  gospel,  but  in 
Matt,  v-vii.  (the  Sermon  on  the  Mount),  in  the  collection 
of  parables  (chap,  xiii),  and  in  the  eschatological  dis- 
courses (xxiv-v),  as  well  as  in  the  narratives  of  the 
Passion  and  the  Resurrection,  there  seems  to  be  revealed 
a  method  and  purpose.  The  evangelical  story  was  put 
into  a  form  which  would  suit  the  memory  of  teachers 
and  hearers.  Its  readers  are  carefully  warned  against 
persecution,  as  though  they  would  be  specially  liable  to 
it :  e.g.  V.  12,  'So  persecuted  they  the  prophets  that  were 
before  you.'  An  official  position  in  the  readers  is  implied 
in  V.  19  :  '  Whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them.' 

On  this  point  Dr.  Zahn  remarks  that  no  province  would 
present  such  favourable  conditions,  for  translation  from 
Aramaic  into  Greek,  as  Asia  Minor.  Eusebius  mentions 
a  crowd  of  evangelists  who,  in  the  time  of  Trajan,  were 
zealous  in  distributing  'the  books  of  the  holy  gospels.' 
Hermas  speaks  also  of  'forty  apostles  and  teachers  of 


24  ST.  MATTHEW 

the  preaching  of  the  Son  of  God.'  The  Didache  speaks 
of  '  prophets '  as  still  labouring  in  the  church  in  its  days. 
Eichhom  supposed  that  an  evangelical  outline  in  Aramaic 
would  be  given  to  '  the  apostolical  assistants '  about  the 
time  of  the  stoning  of  Stephen — but  that  is  too  early. 

Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins  observes  that  there  are  'signs  of 
adaptation  for  catechetical  purposes  in  Matthew/  and 
Matt.  i.  17  would  be  a  case  in  point.  Weizsacker  holds 
that  the  collection  of  the  '  sayings '  were  for  the  people, 
but  that  of  the  'works  of  Christ'  were  for  teachers. 
Dr.  Bruce  [Expositor's  Greek  Test.  i.  y])  says  that  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  'teaching,  not  preaching: 
didache^  not  kerugma.^  Jesus  now  gave  himself  to  '  the 
careful  instruction  of  a  disciple  circle.'  Something  like 
this  is  also  the  view  of  Dr.  B.  Weiss,  who  supposes  that 
the  Greek  Matthew  originated  in  Asia  Minor,  where  they 
had  prophets  and  teachers. 

5.  It  is  probable  that  all  our  gospels  were  produced  in 
their  present  form  before  the  end  of  the  first  century. 
Dr.  Sanday  places  the  Greek  Matthew  about  80  A.  D.^ 
Dr.  Zahn  assigns  it  to  A.  D.  85.  The  general  lack  of 
evidence  respecting  the  actual  conditions  of  the  church, 
either  Jewish  or  Gentile,  at  the  end  of  the  first  century, 
makes  an  exact  decision  upon  such  a  point  most  difficult. 
It  should  also  be  remembered  that  this  lack  of  in- 
formation was  as  real  to  the  Fathers  of  the  third  and 
fourth  centuries  as  to  ourselves.  The  defects  of  their 
knowledge,  the  frequent  deficiency  of  verisimilitude  in 
their  conjectures,  the  very  motives  which  have  moulded 
their  traditions,  are  beginning  to  be  understood  more  and 
more.  Happily,  the  four  gospels,  which  have  emerged 
from  the  singular  silence  of  the  later  apostolic  age,  are 
their  own  best  evidence  of  the  originality  of  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  and  of  his  immediate  followers. 

^  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  new  ed.,  vol.  i.  pt.  2,  p,  1238. 


25 


THE  FOLLOWING  WORKS  MAY  BE 
CONSULTED  BY  ENGLISH  READERS 
OF  ST.  MATTHEW'S  GOSPEL. 

Bleek,  Dr.  J.  Y .^Introduction  to  the  New  TVs/amfK/ (translation). 
Edinburgh  :  Clark.     2  vols. 

Carpenter,  J.  E.,  The  First  Three  Gospels.  Second  Edition. 
London  :   1890. 

DoDS,  Dr.  M.,  An  Introduction  to  the  Neiv  Testament.  London  : 
Hodder  &  Stoughton.     1890. 

Gloag,  Dr.  P.  J.,  Introduction  to  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  Edin- 
burgh :  Clark.     1895. 

GoDET,  Prof.  F.,  D.D.,  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament: 
The  Collection  of  the  Four  Gospels  and  the  Gospel  oj 
St.  Matthew  (translation).      Edinburgh  :  Clark.     1900. 

JoLLEY,  A.  J.,  The  Synoptic  Problem,  for  English  Readers. 
London :   Macmillan.     1893. 

Salmon,  Prof.  G.,  D.  D.,  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament. 
London  :  Murray.      1897. 

ScHURER,  Prof.  E.,  D.D.,  A  History  of  the  Jewish  People  in  the 
Time  of  Jesus  Om/  (translation).  Edinburgh:  Clark. 
1885. 

Weiss,  Dr.  B.,  Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament  (trans- 
lation).     2  vols.      Edinburgh  :  Clark.     1882. 

Wendt,  Prof.  H.  H.,  The  Teaching  of  Jesus  (translation). 
2  vols.     Edinburgh  :  Clark.     1892. 

Wieseler,  Prof.  K.,  A  Chronological  Synopsis  of  the  Four 
Gospels  (translation).     London  :  Bell  &  Sons.     1877. 

Wright,  Rev,  A.,  M.A.,  The  Composition  of  the  Four  Gospels. 
London :   Macmillan.      1890. 

Wright,  Rev.  A.,  M.A. ,  Some  Neiv  Testament  Problems. 


26  ST.  MATTHEW 

Commentaries  : — 

The  Speakers  Commentary. 

Ellicott's  New  Test.  Comm.  for  English  Readers. 
MoRisoN,  Dr.  James,  A  Practical  Commentary  on  Matthew. 
London  :   Hodder  &  Stought^n.     1885. 

Carr,    Rev.    A.,    M.A..    Gospel  according  to   St.    Matthew. 
(The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges.) 

Articles  on  the  Gospels  \n  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  vol.  x; 
EncycLpcedia  Biblica,  vol.  ii ;  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
ed.  i.  1862  ;  ed.  ii.  1893  ;  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
vol.  ii. 

Stevens  and  Burton,  A  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.     Boston  : 
1896. 

Waddy,  S.   D.,  Q.  C.  ,  A  Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels  in  the 
Revised  Version.     London  :  Kelly,     1895. 

Bennett   and   Adeney,    Professors,   A    Biblical  Introduction, 
pp.  275-327.     London :  Methuen.     1899. 


CONTENTS    OF    THE    GOSPEL 


I,  The  Genealogy  and  Birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  (a)  The 
genealogy,  i.  1-17.  \b)  The  birth  in  Bethlehem, 
18-25,  {c;  The  Magi,  ii.  1-12.  (d)  The  flight  to 
Egypt,  and  the  return  to  Nazareth,  13-23. 

II.  The  Mission  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  Baptism  of 
Jesus,  iii. 

III.  The  Temptation,  and  the  Beginning  of  the  Ministry,  iv. 

IV.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  v-vii. 
V.  Ten  Miracles  of  Jesus,  viii,  ix. 

VI.  Call  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  their  Instructions,  x. 

VII.  Advancement  of  the  work  of  Jesiis.  (a)  A  message  from 
the  Baptist,  xi.  1-19.  (b)  Galilaean  cities  threatened 
for  unbelief,  20-24.  (0  The  gospel  expounded,  25-30. 
(d)  The  disciples  and  the  Sabbath,  xii.  1-8.  {e)  Cure 
of  the  withered  hand,  9-21.  (/)  The  exorcism  of 
evil  spirits,  22-37.  (g)  An  answer  to  those  seeking 
signs,  38-45.     (h)  The  true  relatives  of  Jesus,  46-50. 

VIII.  Seven  Parables,  xiii. 

IX.  Further  events  in  the  history,  (a)  The  arrest  and 
execution  of  John,  xiv.  1-12.  {b)  The  feeding  of  the 
five  thousand,  13-21.  (c)  Jesus  on  the  lake,  22-36. 
(d)  Interview  with  scribes,  XV.  1-20.  {e)  The  woman 
of  Syro-Phoenicia,  21-28.  (/)  Several  miracles, 
29-31.  (g)  The  feeding  of  the  four  thousand.  32-39. 
(h)  Another  discourse  on  signs,  xvi.  1-4.  'J)  Explana- 
tion of  the  leaven,  5-12.  {j)  The  Confession  of  Peter, 
13-28.  {k)  The  Transfiguration,  xvii.  1-13.  (/)  The 
healing  of  an  epileptic,  14-21.  (m)  Provision  of 
tribute  money,  22-27.  (^0  The  conditions  of  disciple- 
ship,  xviii. 


28  CONTENTS   OF   THE   GOSPEL 

X.  The  Return  to  Jndsea,  xix.  i,  2.  (a)  The  law  of  divorce, 
3-12.  (6)  Jesus  and  the  children,  13-15.  {c)  The 
young  ruler,  16-20.  («?)  Parable  of  the  labourers, 
XX.  1-16.  (e)  Predictions  of  humiliation  and  death, 
17-29.     (/)  Cure  of  blind  men,  30-34. 

XI.  Jesus  in  Jerusalem,  (a)  The  triumphal  entry,  xxi. 
1-16,  (6)  The  barren  fig  tree,  17-22.  (c)  Con- 
troversy with  the  elders  in  the  temple,  23-27. 
(d)  Parables  of  the  Two  Sons,  28-32.  (e)  Of  the 
Husbandmen,  33-46.  (/)  Of  the  Marriage  Feast, 
xxii.  1-14.  (g)  Inquiry  about  the  tribute  money, 
15-22.  (h)  Reply  to  the  Sadducees  concerning 
resurrection.  23-33.  (0  R^ply  to  a  lawyer,  34-40. 
(7)  The  Pharisees  refuted,  41-46.  (k)  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  condemned,  xxiii.  (/)  Discourse  on  the 
overthrow  of  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  end  of  the  world, 
xxiv,  (m)  Parables  of  the  Ten  Virgins,  xxv.  1-13  ; 
and  the  Talents,  14-30.  («)  The  final  judgement, 
31-46. 

XII.  The  Last  Scenes  in  the  Life  of  Jesus,  (a)  The  meeting 
of  the  Sanhedrin,  xxvi.  1-5.  (6)  The  anointing  of 
Jesus,  6-13.  (c)  Judas  the  Betrayer,  14-16.  (d) 
The  Last  Supper,  17-35.  (^)  Gethsemane,  36-46.  (/) 
The  arrest  and  betrayal,  47-56.  (g)  Jesus  before 
Caiaphas,  57-68.  {h)  Denial  of  Peter,  69-75.  (/) 
Jesus  before  Pilate,  xxvii.  i,  2;  11-28.  (j^  The 
fate  of  Judas,  3-10.  (k)  Jesus  scourged,  29-33. 
(/)  The  crucifixion,  34-56.     (w)  The  burial,  57-66. 

XIII.  The  Resurrection,  xxviij. 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

ST.  MATTHEW 

AUTHORIZED  VERSION 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

ST.  MATTHEW  chap.i 

1  The  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Genealogy, 
son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham. 

2  Abraham  begat  Isaac ;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob  ; 

3  and  Jacob  begat  Judas  and  his  brethren;  and  Judas 
begat  Phares  and  Zara  of  Thamar;  and  Phares 

4  begat  Esrom ;  and  Esrom  begat  Aram ;  and 
Aram    begat    Aminadab ;    and    Aminadab    begat 

5  Naasson ;  and  Naasson  begat  Sahiion ;  and 
Salmon  begat  Booz  of  Rachab;  and  Booz  begat 

6  Obed  of  Ruth  ;  and  Obed  begat  Jesse ;  and  Jesse 
begat  David  the  king  ; 

And  David  the  king  begat  Solomon  of  her  that 

7  had  been  the  wife  of  Urias ;  and  Solomon  begat 
Roboam ;    and    Roboam   begat  Abia ;    and  Abia 

8  begat  Asa ;   and  x^sa  begat  Josaphat ;   and  Josa- 

9  phat  begat  Joram ;  and  Joram  begat  Ozias ;  and 
Ozias  begat  Joatham  ;  and  Joatham  begat  Achaz  ; 

0  and  Achaz  begat  Ezekias ;  and  Ezekias  begat 
Manasses ;    and    Manasses    begat    Anion ;     and 

1  Amon  begat  Josias ;  and  Josias  begat  Jechonias 
and  his  brethren,  about  the  time  they  were  carried 
away  to  Babylon  : 


32  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  1        And  after  they  were  brought  to  Babylon,  Jechonias  1 2 
'  begat  Salathiel ;    and  Salathiel  begat  Zorobabel ; 

and  Zorobabel  begat  Abiud;    and  Abiud   begat  13 
Eliakim ;    and    Eliakim    begat   Azor ;    and    Azor  14 
begat  Sadoc ;  and  Sadoc  begat  Achim  ;  and  Achim 
begat    Eliud ;     and    Eliud    begat    Eleazar;     and  15 
Eleazar  begat  Matthan  ;  and  Matthan  begat  Jacob ; 
and  Jacob   begat  Joseph  the  husband   of  Mary,  16 
of  whom  was  born  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ. 
So   all  the  generations  from  Abraham  to   David  17 
are  fourteen  generations  ;    and  from  David  until 
the  carrying  away  into  Babylon  are  fourteen  genera- 
tions ;  and  from  the  carrying  away  into  Babylon 
unto  Christ  are  fourteen  generations. 

he  birth        Now  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  this  wise:  18 
When  as  his  mother  Mary  was  espoused  to  Joseph, 
before   they   came   together,   she  was  found  with 
child   of    the    Holy    Ghost.       Then    Joseph    her  19 
husband,    being  a  just  man^  and  not  willing   to 
make  her  a  publick  example,  was  minded  to  put 
her  away  privily.     But  while  he  thought  on  these  20 
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,  21 
and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  JESUS  :  for  he  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins.     Now  all  this  was  22 
done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken 
of  the  Lord    by  the   prophet,   saying.   Behold,   a  23 
virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and    shall  bring  forth 
a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel, 
which  being  interpreted  is,  God  with  usT     Then  24 


ST.  MATTHEW  S3 

Joseph  being  raised  from  sleep  did  as  the  angel    Chap.i 
of  the  Lord  had  bidden  him,  and  took  unto  him 
25  his  wife  :    and  knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought 
forth  her  firstborn  son  :    and  he  called  his  name 
JESUS. 
12       Now   when   Jesus   was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  The  magi 
Judoea  in  the   days  of   Herod    the  king,   behold,  saiem?*" 
there  came  wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 

2  saying.  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ? 
for  we    have  seen  his  star  in    the  east,   and   are 

3  come  to  worship  him.  When  Herod  the  king  had 
heard  ^/lese  things,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jeru- 

4  salem  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 

5  born.  And  they  said  unto  him,  In  Bethlehem 
of  Judaea :    for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet, 

6  And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not 
the  least  among  the  princes  of  Juda :  for  out  of 
thee  shall  come  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my 

7  people  Israel.  Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily 
called  the  wise  men,  enquired  of  them  diligently 

8  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  hi7n^ 
bring  me  word  again,  that  I  may  come  and  worship 

9  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 

10  where  the  young  child  was.     When  they  saw  the 

11  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, 

D 


34  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  2    and  worshipped  him  :  and  when  they  had  opened 
their  treasures,    they   presented   unto   him   gifts ; 
gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh.      And  being  12 
warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that  they  should  not 
return  to   Herod,   they   departed    into    their   own 
country  another  way. 
The  flight       And  when  they  were  departed,  behold,  the  angel  13 
into  Egypt.  Qjp  ^j^g    Lord   appeareth    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  14 
took  the  young  child  and  his  mother  by  night,  and 
departed  into   Egypt :    and    was    there    until   the  15 
death  of  Herod :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,   saying, 
Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son. 

Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  was  mocked  16 
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,  according  to  the  time 
which  he  had  diligently  enquired  of  the  wise  men. 
Then   was    fulfilled    that   which    was   spoken   by  17 
Jeremy  the  prophet,  saying,   In  Rama  was  there  18 
a  voice  heard,  lamentation,  and  weeping,  and  great 
mourning,  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  and 
would  not  be  comforted,  because  they  are  not. 
The  But  when   Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  19 

Nazareth.    ^^  ^^  Lord  appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in 

Egypt,  saying,  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  20 
his  mother,  and  go  into  the  land  of  Israel :    for 
they  are  dead  which  sought  the  young  child's  life. 


ST.  MATTHEW  35 

21  And  he  arose,  and  took  the  young  child  and  his     Chap.  2 

22  mother,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel.  But 
when  he  heard  that  Archelaus  did  reign  in  Judcea 
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 

23  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 
Nazarene. 

3       In  those  days  came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  John  the 

2  in  the  wilderness  of  Judaea,  and  saying,  Repent  ye :    ^^  ^^  ■ 

3  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  For  this 
is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  Esaias, 
saying.  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths 

4  straight.  And  the  same  John  had  his  raiment  of 
camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins ; 

5  and  his  meat  was  locusts  and  wild  honey.  Then 
went  out  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judcea,  and  all 

6  the  region  round  about  Jordan,  and  were  baptized 

7  of  him  in  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins.  But  when 
he  saw  many  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  come 
to  his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them,  O  generation  of 
vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath 

8  to  come?     Bring  forth  therefore  fruits  meet  for 

9  repentance  :  and  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves, 
We  have  Abraham  to  our  father  :  for  I  say  unto 
you,  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up 

10  children  unto  Abraham.  And  now  also  the  axe  is 
laid  unto  the  root  of  the  trees  :  therefore  every 
tree  which  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn 

11  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.     I  indeed  baptize  you 

D   2 


36  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  3  with  water  unto  repentance :  but  he  that  cometh 
after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not 
worthy  to  bear :  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire:  whose  fan  is  in  his  12 
hand,  and  he  will  throughly  purge  his  floor,  and 
gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner ;  but  he  will  burn 
up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire. 
The  Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  Jordan  unto  13 

Jesus!""  °^  J°^^"'  to  be  baptized  of  him.     But  John  forbad  14 
him,  saying,  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee, 
and  comest  thou  to  me?     And  Jesus  answering  15 
said  unto  him.  Suffer  //  to  be  so  now :  for  thus  it 
becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness.     Then  he 
suffered  him.     And  Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  16 
went  up  straightway  out  of  the  water  :  and,  lo,  the 
heavens  were  opened  unto  him,  and  he  saw  the 
Spirit  of  God  descending  like  a  dove,  and  lighting 
upon  him  :    and  lo  a  voice  from  heaven,   saying,  17 
This   is   my   beloved   Son,    in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased. 
The  temp-       Then  w^as  Jesus  led  up  of  the  spirit  into  the    4 
(Thrift  °^     wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.     And  when     2 
he  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he  was 
afterward   an    hungred.     And  when   the  tempter     3 
came  to  him,  he  said,  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God, 
command  that  these  stones  be  made  bread.     But     4 
,     he  answered  and  said,  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not 
live    by   bread    alone,    but    by   every   word   that 
proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.     Then  the    5 
devil  taketh  him  up  into  the  holy  city,  and  setteth 
him  on  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  and  saith  unto    6 
him.   If  thou   be   the  Son   of  God,  cast   thyself 
down  :  for  it  is  written.  He  shall  give  his  angels 


ST.  MATTHEW  37 

charge  concerning  thee  :  and  in  their  hands  they    Chap.  4 
shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy 

7  foot  against  a  stone.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  It  is 
written  again.  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy 

8  God.  Again,  the  devil  taketh  him  up  into  an 
exceeding  high  mountain,  and  sheweth  him  all  the 
kingdoms   of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them; 

9  and  saith  unto  him,  All  these  things  will  I  give 
thee,    if   thou    wilt   fall   down   and   worship   me. 

10  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him.  Get  thee  hence,  Satan  : 
for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy 

11  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve.  Then  the 
devil  leaveth  him,  and,  behold,  angels  came  and 
ministered  unto  him. 

12  Now   when   Jesus  had    heard    that   John   was  The  minis- 

13  cast  into  prison,  he  departed  into  Galilee;     and  ^^  ^^^^* 
leaving  Nazareth,  he  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum, 

which  is  upon  the  sea  coast,  in  the  borders  of 

14  Zabulon  and  Nephthalim  :  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet, 

15  saying,  The  land  of  Zabulon,  and  the  land  of 
Nephthalim,  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan, 

16  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles ;  the  people  which  sat  in 
darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to  them  which  sat  in 
the  region  and  shadow  of  death  light  is  sprung  up. 

17  From  that  time  Jesus  began  to  preach,  and  to  say, 
Repent :  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. 

18  And  Jesus,  walking  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  saw  two  The  calling 

brethren,    Simon    called    Peter,   and   Andrew  his  fishermen 

brother,  casting  a  net  into  the  sea  :  for  they  were  *°  ^^ 

disciples. 

19  fishers.     And  he  saith  unto  them,  Follow  me,  and 

20  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men.    And  they  straight- 

21  way  left  their  nets,  and  followed  him.     And  going 


38  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  4    on  from  thence,  he  saw  other  two  brethren,  James 

the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother,  in  a  ship 

with  Zebedee   their  father,   mending   their   nets ; 

and  he  called  them.     And  they  immediately  left  22 

the  ship  and  their  father,  and  followed  him. 

The  works      And  Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  23 

of  Jesus.     |.]-^gjj.  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the 

kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness  and 

all  manner  of  disease  among  the  people.      And  24 

his  fame  went  throughout   all   Syria :    and   they 

brought  unto  him  all  sick  people  that  were  taken 

with    divers    diseases    and    torments,    and   those 

which  were  possessed  with  devils,  and  those  which 

were  lunatick,  and  those  that  had  the  palsy;  and 

he  healed  them.     And  there  followed  him  great  25 

multitudes    of   people    from    Galilee,   and  from 

Decapolis,  and  fro77i  Jerusalem,  and  from  Judaea, 

2iXidifrom  beyond  Jordan. 

The  Beati-      And   seeing  the   multitudes,   he  went  up   into   5 

troducethe  ^  mountain :  and  when  he  was  set,  his  disciples 

Sermon  on  came  unto  him  :  and  he  opened  his  mouth,  and     2 
the  Mount.  ,        ,  ^  ,1 

taught  them,  saymg, 

Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  their's  is  the  3 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn:  4 
for  they  shall  be  comforted.  Blessed  are  the  5 
meek :  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  Blessed  6 
are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness :  for  they  shall  be  filled.  Blessed  are  the  7 
merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.  Blessed  8 
are  the  pure  in  heart  :  for  they  shall  see  God. 
Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for  they  shall  be  9 
called  the  children  of  God.  Blessed  are  they  lo 
which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake :  for 


ST.  MATTHEW  39 

1 1  their's  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     Blessed  are  ye,     chap.  5 
when  vien  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  _)^<?«,  and 

shall  say  all   manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely, 

12  for  my  sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad: 
for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  :  for  so  perse- 
cuted they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you. 

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

14  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world.     A  city  that  is  set  on  an  hill 

15  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle, 
and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick; 
and  it  giveth  light  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house. 

16  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven. 

17  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  Pennan- 
the  prophets :   I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  the  law. 

18  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you.  Till  heaven  and 
earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass 

19  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled.  Whosoever  there- 
fore shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments, 
and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall 
do  and  teach  theni^  the  same  shall  be  called  great 

20  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you, 
That  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

21  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  Modifica- 
time,  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  ^^^^^ 

22  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment :  but  I  say  unto  teaching. 


40  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  5    you,  That  whosoever  is   angry  with   his   brother 
without  a  cause  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judg- 
ment :    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  23 
the  altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother 
hath  ought  against  thee  ;  leave  there  thy  gift  before  24 
the  altar,  and  go  thy  way ;   first  be  reconciled  to 
thy  brother,  and   then  come  and  offer   thy  gift. 
Agree  with  thine  adversary   quickly,  whiles  thou  25 
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  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt  by  no  26 
means  come  out  thence,  till  thou  hast  paid  the 
uttermost  farthing. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  27 
time,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery :    but  I  say  28 
unto  you,  That  whosoever  lookelh  on  a  woman  to 
lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery  with  her 
already  in  his  heart.     And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  29 
thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  //  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  30 
it  off,  and  cast  //  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. 

It  hath  been  said.  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  31 
wife,  let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement : 
but  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  shall  put  away  32 
his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth 


ST.  MATTHEW  41 

her  to  commit  adultery :  and  whosoever  shall  marry    Chap.  5 
her  that  is  divorced  committeth  adultery. 

33  Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by  Perjury 
them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  s^earliTg 

34  but  shalt  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths  :  but  forbidden. 
I   say  unto   you,    Swear    not   at   all ;    neither  by 

35  heaven ;  for  it  is  God's  throne  :  nor  by  the  earth ; 
for  it  is  his  footstool :  neither  by  Jerusalem ;  for  it 

36  is  the  city  of  the  great  King.  Neither  shalt  thou 
swear  by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst  not  make 

37  one  hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  communi- 
cation be.  Yea,  yea ;  Nay,  nay :  for  whatsoever  is 
more  than  these  cometh  of  evil. 

38  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An  eye  Retaiia- 

39  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  :  but  I  say  unto  JnjuH°s 
you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil :   but  whosoever  shall  forbidden, 
smite   thee   on   thy   right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the 

40  other  also.  And  if  any  man  will  sue  thee  at  the 
law,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloke 

41  also.     And  whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to  go  a 

42  mile,  go  with  him  twain.  Give  to  him  that  asketh 
thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn 
not  thou  away. 

43  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said.  Thou  Love  your 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy.  *"®°^'^^' 

4f  But  I  say  unto  you.  Love  your  enemies,  bless 
them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use  you, 

45  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 

46  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  For 
if  ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have 


42  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  5    ye  ?  do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?    And  if  47 
■       ye   salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye  more 
than  others'^    do  not  even  the  publicans  so?    Be  48 
ye  therefore  perfect^  even  as  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven  is  perfect. 
Religion  to      Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before  men,    6 
ostenta°"*^  to  be  seen  of  them :  otherwise  ye  have  no  reward 
tion.  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

Therefore  when  thou  doest  thine  alms,  do  not     2 
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,     3 
let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand 
doeth  :  that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret :   and  thy    4 
Father  which  seeth  in  secret  himself  shall  reward 
thee  openly. 
How  men        And  when  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the    5 
are  opray.  j^ypQ^^^^j-gg  ^^^ .  f^j.  ^^^  j^yg  ^^  pj.^y  standing  in 

the  synagogues  and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets, 
that  they  may  be  seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  They  have  their  reward. 

But  thou,   when   thou    prayest,   enter   into  thy    6 
closet,  and  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     7 
heathen  do :  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard 
for  their   much   speaking.      Be    not    ye  therefore    8 
like  unto  them  :    for  your   Father  knoweth  what 
things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him.     After    9 
this  manner  therefore  pray  ye :  Our  Father  which 
art    in    heaven.    Hallowed    be    thy    name.      Thy  10 


ST.  MATTHEW  43 

kingdom  come.     Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  //    Chap.  6 

11  is  in  heaven.     Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 

12  And    forgive    us    our    debts,    as    we    forgive    our 

13  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. 

14  For  if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly 

1 5  Father  will  also  forgive  you  :  but  if  ye  forgive  not 
men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
forgive  your  trespasses. 

16  Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  Fasting 
of  a    sad   countenance :    for  they   disfigure  their  ^grformed^ 
faces,   that  they  may  appear  unto    men    to    fast,  in  secret. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you.  They  have  their   reward. 

17  But  thou,  w^hen  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine   head, 

18  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. 

19  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth.  Treasure- 
where   moth   and   rust   doth   corrupt,  and    where  °^  j^ 

20  thieves  break  through  and  steal :    but  lay  up  for  heaven, 
yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth 

nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not 

2 1  break  through  nor  steal :  for  where  your  treasure 

22  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.  The  light  of  the 
body  is  the  eye :   if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single, 

23  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine 
eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  dark- 
ness.    If  therefore   the  light   that   is  in   thee  be 

24  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 


44  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  6    one,  and  despise  the  other.     Ye  cannot  serve  God 
■      and  mammon.     Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  25 
no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what 
ye  shall  drink ;    nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye 
shall  put  on.     Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat,  and 
the  body  than  raiment  ?     Behold  the  fowls  of  the  26 
air  :   for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor 
gather  into  barns  ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feed- 
eth  them.     Are  ye   not  much  better  than  they? 
Which    of  you    by  taking  thought  can   add  one  27 
cubit  unto  his  stature  ?     And  why  take  ye  thought  28 
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  29 
his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.    Where-  30 
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  take  no  thought,  saying,  What  31 
shall  we  eat  ?  or,  What  shall  we  drink  ?  or,  Where- 
withal shall  we  be  clothed?    (for  after  all  these  32 
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  33 
his  righteousness  ;    and  all  these  things   shall  be 
added  unto  you.     Take  therefore  no  thought  for  34 
the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow  shall  take  thought  for 
the  things  of  itself.     SufTficient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  thereof. 

Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.  7 

For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be    2 
oTherscon-  judged :  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall 
demned.      ^^  measured  to  you  again.     And  why  beholdest    3 


ST.  MATTHEW  45 

thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye,   but    Chap.  7 
considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ? 

4  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me  pull 
out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye  ;    and,   behold,  a 

5  beam  is  in  tliine  own  eye?  Thou  hypocrite,  first 
cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye  ;  and  then 
shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  out  of 
thy  brother's  eye. 

6  Give   not   that   which   is   holy  unto   the  dogs,  Caution 
neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  cIstkTgthe 
trample  them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  again  and  'hoiy'be- 

,  fore  dogs. 

rend  you. 

7  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  Encourage- 
shall  find ;   knock,  and   it  shall  be  opened  unto  ^ayer. 

8  you  :  for  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth ;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it 

9  shall  be  opened.  Or  what  man  is  there  of  you, 
whom  if  his  son  ask  bread,  will  he  give  him  a 

10  stone?    or  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  ser- 

n  pent?    If  ye  then^  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 

good   gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more 

shall  your  Father  which  is  in   heaven  give  good 

things  to  them  that  ask  him  ? 

12  Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  :  for 
this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

13  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate :  for  wide  is  the  Two  gates 
gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  de-  ways. 
struction,  and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat : 

14  because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way, 
which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that 
find  it. 

15  Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in 


46 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  7    sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  ravening 

wolves.     Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.     Do  i6 
men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ? 
Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit;  17 
but  a  corrupt   tree   bringeth  forth    evil    fruit.     A  18 
good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  caii 
a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit.     Every  tree  19 
that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  fire.     Wherefore  by  their  fruits  20 
ye  shall  know  them.      Not  every  one  that  saith  21 
unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven ;    but    he    that    doeth  the  will  of  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.     Many  will  say  to  me  22 
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  23 
never  knew  you:    depart  from  me,  ye  that  work 
iniquity. 

Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  24 
mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise 
man,  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock :  and  the  rain  25 
descended,  and  the  floods  came,   and  the  winds 
blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell  not : 
for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock.     And  every  one  26 
that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them 
not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish   man,  which 
built   his    house    upon    the    sand  :    and   the  rain  27 
descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell :  and 
great  was  the  fall  of  it. 
Effect  of         And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  ended  28 
preaching,  these  sayings,  the  people  were  astonished  at  his 


ST.  MATTHEW  47 

29  doctrine :  for  he  taught  them  as  one  having  authority,     Chap.  7 

and  not  as  the  scribes. 
8      When  he  was  come  down  from  the  mountain,  The  leper 
great  multitudes  followed  him. 

2  And,  behold,  there  came  a  leper  and  worshipped 
him,  saying.  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me 

3  clean.  And  Jesus  put  forth  his  hand,  and  touched 
him,    saying,    I    will ;    be    thou    clean.     And  im- 

4  mediately  his  leprosy  was  cleansed.  And  Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  See  thou  tell  no  man ;  but  go 
thy  way,  shew  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  the 
gift  that  Moses  commanded,  for  a  testimony  unto 
them. 

5  And  when  Jesus  was  entered  into  Capernaum,  Case  of  the 
there  came  unto  him  a  centurion,  beseeching  him,  "^  "rion. 

6  and  saying.  Lord,  my  servant  lieth  at  home  sick 

7  of  the  palsy,  grievously  tormented.    And  Jesus  saith 

8  unto  him,  I  will  come  and  heal  him.  The 
centurion  answered  and  said,  Lord,  I  am  not 
worthy  that  thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof: 
but  speak  the  word  only,  and  my  servant  shall  be 

9  healed.  For  I  am  a  man  under  authority,  having 
soldiers  under  me :  and  I  say  to  this  man^  Go,  and 
he  goeth ;  and  to  another.  Come,  and  he  cometh ; 
and   to   my   servant,   Do    this,  and  he   doeth  //. 

10  When  Jesus  heard  zV,  he  marvelled,  and  said  to 
them  that  followed,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have 

11  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. 

12  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out 
into  outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and 


48  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  8    gnashing   of  teeth.      And    Jesus   said   unto    the  13 
centurion,  Go  thy  way ;  and  as  thou  hast  believed, 
so  be  it  done  unto  thee.      And  his  servant  was 
healed  in  the  selfsame  hour. 
Peter's  And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house,  he  14 

law  cured    ^aw  his  wife's  mother  laid,  and  sick  of  a  fever, 
of  fever,      ^^d  he  touched  her  hand,  and  the  fever  left  her  :  15 
and  she  arose,  and  ministered  unto  them.     When  16 
the  even  was  come,  they  brought  unto  him  many 
that  were  possessed  with  devils  :  and  he  cast  out 
the  spirits  with  his  word,  and  healed  all  that  were 
sick:  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  17 
by  Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,   Himself  took  our 
infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses. 
A  scribe  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about  him,   18 

desir°^to^^  he  gavc  commandment  to  depart  unto  the  other 
follow         side.     And  a  certain  scribe  came,  and  said  unto  19 
him.  Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou 
goest.     And  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  The  foxes  have  20 
holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests ;  but  the 
Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head.     And  21 
another  of  his  disciples  said  unto  him.  Lord,  suffer 
me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father.     But  Jesus  said  22 
unto  him,  Follow  me ;  and  let  the  dead  bury  their 
dead. 
Jesus  rules      And   when   he   was   entered   into   a   ship,    his  23 
the  sea.      disciples  followed  him.     And,  behold,  there  arose  24 
a  great  tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  ship 
was  covered  with  the  waves :  but  he  was  asleep. 
And  his  disciples  came  to  him,  and  awoke  him,   25 
saying.  Lord,  save  us :  we  perish.     And  he  saith  26 
unto  them.  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? 
Then  he  arose,  and  rebr.ked  the  winds  and   the 


ST.  MATTHEW  49 

27  sea;  and  there  was  a  great  calm.     But  the  men     chap.8 
marvelled,  saying,   What   manner  of  man  is  this, 

that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey  him  ! 

28  And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side  into  The 

the   country   of  the  Gergesenes,   there   met  him  ^*^^^®'*®^ 
two   possessed   with   devils,   coming   out    of   the 
tombs,   exceeding    fierce,   so  that  no  man  might 

29  pass  by  that  way.  And,  behold,  they  cried  out, 
saying,  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus,  thou 
Son  of  God  ?  art  thou  come  hither  to  torment  us 

30  before  the  time?    And  there  was  a  good  way  off 

31  from  them  an  herd  of  many  swine  feeding.  So 
the  devils  besought  him,  saying,  If  thou  cast  us 
out,  suffer  us  to  go  away  into  the  herd  of  swine. 

32  And  he  said  unto  them,  Go.  And  when  they 
were  come  out,  they  went  into  the  herd  of  swine : 
and,  behold,  the  whole  herd  of  swine  ran  violently 
down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea,  and  perished  in 

33  the  waters.  And  they  that  kept  them  fled,  and 
went  their  ways  into  the  city,  and  told  every  thing, 
and  what  was  befallen  to   the  possessed   of  the 

34  devils.  And,  behold,  the  whole  city  came  out 
to  meet  Jesus  :  and  when  they  saw  him,  they 
besought  him  that  he  would  depart  out  of  their 

9  coasts.     And  he  entered  into  a  ship,  and  passed 
over,  and  came  into  his  own  city. 

2  And,  behold,  they  brought  to  him  a  man  sick  Cure  of 
of  the  palsy,  lying  on  a  bed :    and  Jesus  seeing  caper"* 
their  faith  said  unto  the  sick  of  the  palsy ;  Son,  naum. 
be  of  good   cheer ;    thy    sins   be    forgiven    thee. 

3  And,  behold,   certain   of  the  scribes   said   within 

4  themselves,  This  man  blasphemeth.  And  Jesus 
knowing  their  thoughts  said.  Wherefore  think  ye 

E 


50 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  9 


Matthew 
called. 


Jesus  eats 

with 

sinners. 


The 

disciples' 

question 

about 

fasting. 


evil  in  your  hearts  ?    For  whether  is  easier,  to  say,     5 
Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee;   or  to  say,  Arise,  and 
walk  ?    But  that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man    6 
hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  (then  saith  he 
to  the  sick  of  the  palsy,)  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed, 
and  go   unto  thine  house.      And  he  arose,   and     7 
departed  to  his  house.     But  when  the  multitudes    8 
saw  //,  they  marvelled,  and  glorified  God,  which 
had  given  such  power  unto  men. 

And  as  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence,  he  saw    9 
a  man,  named  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  receipt  of 
custom  :  and  he  saith  unto  him.  Follow  me.     And 
he  arose,  and  followed  him.     And  it  came  to  pass,  10 
as  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  house,  behold,  many 
publicans  and  sinners  came  and  sat  down  with  him 
^nd  his  disciples.     And  when  the  Pharisees  saw  /'/,  ii 
they   said  unto    his    disciples.    Why    eateth   your 
Master  with  publicans  and  sinners?     But  when  12 
Jesus  heard  that^  he  said  unto  them.  They  that 
be  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are 
sick.     But  go  ye  and  learn  what  that  meaneth,   13 
I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice :    for  I  am 
not  come    to  call  the   righteous,    but   sinners   to 
repentance. 

Then  came  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saying,  14 
Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  oft,   but  thy 
disciples  fast  not?    And  Jesus  said  unto  them.  Can  15 
the  children  of  the  bridechamber  mourn,  as  long 
as  the  bridegroom  is  with  them  ?  but  the  days  will 
come,  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken  from 
them,  and  then  shall  they  fast.     No  man  putteth  16 
a  piece  of  new  cloth  unto  an  old  garment,  for  that 
which  is  put  in  to  fill  it  up  taketh  from  the  garment. 


ST.  MATTHEW 


51 


17  and  the  rent  is  made  worse.     Neither  do  men  put    Chap.  9 
new  wine  into  old  bottles :  else  the  bottles  break, 

and  the  wine  runneth  out,  and  the  bottles  perish  : 
but  they  put  new  wine  into  new  bottles,  and  both 
are  preserved. 

18  While  he  spake  these  things  unto  them,  behold,  The 
there  came  a  certain  ruler,  and  worshipped  him,  of^he^ 
saying,  My  daughter  is  even  now  dead :  but  come  daughter 

■>      o^        J  °  of  Jairus 

and  lay  thy  hand  upon  her,  and   she  shall  live,  and  of  a 

19  And  Jesus  arose,  and  followed  him,   and  so  did  ^^^anf 

20  his  disciples.  And,  behold,  a  woman,  which  was 
diseased  with  an  issue  of  blood  twelve  years,  came 
behind  /mn,  and  touched  the  hem  of  his  garment: 

21  for  she  said  within  herself,  If  I  may  but  touch  his 

22  garment,  I  shall  be  whole.  But  Jesus  turned  him 
about,  and  when  he  saw  her,  he  said,  Daughter,  be 
of  good  comfort ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole. 
And  the  woman  was  made  whole  from  that  hour. 

23  And  when  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  house,  and 
saw  the  minstrels  and  the  people  making  a  noise, 

24  he  said  unto  them,  Give  place :  for  the  maid  is  not 
dead,  but  sleepeth.      And  they  laughed  him  to 

25  scorn.  But  when  the  people  were  put  forth,  he 
went  in,  and  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  the  maid 

26  arose.  And  the  fame  hereof  went  abroad  into  all 
that  land. 

27  And  when  Jesus  departed  thence,  two  blind  men  Cure  of 
followed  him,  crying,  and  saying,  Thou  son  of  David, 

28  have  mercy  on  us.  And  v/hen  he  was  come  into 
the  house,  the  blind  men  came  to  him  :  and  Jesus 
saith  unto  them.  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do 

29  this?  They  said  unto  him.  Yea,  Lord.  Then 
touched  he  their  eyes,  saying,  According  to  your 

E  2 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  9    faith  be  it  unto  you.    And  their  eyes  were  opened ;  30 
and  Jesus  straitly  charged  them,  saying,  See  that  no 
man  know  //.     But  they,  when  they  were  departed,  31 
spread  abroad  his  fame  in  all  that  country, 
^dumb  As  they  went  out,  behold,  they  brought  to  him  32 

lemoniac.  ^  dumb  man  possessed  with  a  devil.     And  when  33 
the  devil  was  cast  out,  the  dumb  spake :  and  the 
multitudes  marvelled,  saying,  It  was  never  so  seen 
in  Israel.     But  the  Pharisees  said.  He  casteth  out  34 
devils  through  the  prince  of  the  devils. 

And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  villages,  35 
teaching  in   their  synagogues,  and   preaching  the 
gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  every  sickness 
and  every  disease  among  the  people.    But  when  he  36 
saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved  with  compassion 
on  them,  because  they  fainted,  and  were  scattered 
abroad,  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd.     Then  saith  37 
he  unto  his  disciples.  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous, 
but  the  labourers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  38 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  labourers 
into  his  harvest. 

And  when  he  had  called  unto  him  his  twelve  10 
disciples,   he   gave    them    power   against  unclean 
spirits,  to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  manner  of 
sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease. 

Now   the   names   of    the    twelve    apostles    are    2 
these ;  The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and 
Andrew  his  brother;    James  the  son  of  Zebedee, 
and  John  his  brother ;   Philip,  and  Bartholomew ;    3 
Thomas,  and  Matthew  the  publican  ;    James  the 
son   of  Alphaeus,   and    Lebbseus,   whose  surname 
was  Thadda3us ;  Simon  the  Canaanite,  and  Judas    4 
Iscariot,  who  also  betrayed  him. 


ST.  MATTHEW  53 

5  These  twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and  commanded   Chap.  10 
them,  saying,  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles, 

and  into  a7iy  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not : 

6  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 

7  Israel.    And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The  kingdom 

8  of  heaven  is  at  hand.     Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the 
lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out  devils  :    freely  ye 

9  have  received,  freely  give.      Provide  neither  gold, 

10  nor  silver,  nor  brass  in  your  purses,  nor  scrip  for 
your  journey,  neither  two  coats,  neither  shoes,  nor 
yet  staves  :  for  the  workman  is  worthy  of  his  meat. 

11  And  into  whatsoever  city  or  town  ye  shall  enter, 
enquire  who  in  it  is  worthy;  and  there  abide  till 

12  ye  go  thence.     And  when  ye  come  into  an  house, 

13  salute  it.  And  if  the  house  be  worthy,  let  your 
peace  come  upon  it :   but  if  it  be  not  worthy,  let 

14  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  dust 

15  of  your  feet.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  It  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that  city. 

16  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst 
of  wolves :   be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and 

17  harmless  as  doves.  But  beware  of  men:  for  they 
will  deliver  you  up  to  the  councils,  and  they  will 

18  scourge  you  in  their  synagogues ;  and  ye  shall  be 
brought  before  governors  and  kings  for  my  sake, 
for  a  testimony  against   them   and  the   Gentiles. 

19  But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought 
how  or  what  ye  shall  speak :  for  it  shall  be  given 

20  you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.  For  it 
is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father 


54  ST.  MATTHEW 

which   speaketh  in  you.      And  the  brother   shall  21 
deliver  up  the  brother  to  death,  and  the  father  the 
child :  and  the  children  shall  rise  up  against  their 
parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death.     And  22 
ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  me7i  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  23 
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  24 
master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  lord.    It  is  enough  25 
for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  master,  and  the 
servant  as  his  lord.     If  they  have  called  the  master 
of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  shall  they 
call  them  of  his  household  ?   Fear  them  not  there-  26 
fore  :  for  there  is  nothing  covered,  that  shall  not  be 
revealed ;  and  hid,  that  shall  not  be  known.     What  27 
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  2S 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear  him  which 
is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell.     Are  29 
not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?  and  one  of 
them   shall  not   fall  on  the  ground  without  your 
Father.      But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  30 
numbered.     Fear  ye  not  therefore,  ye  are  of  more  31 
value  than  many  sparrows.     Whosoever  therefore  32 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess 
also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.      But  33 
whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will 
I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  34 


ST.  MATTHEW  55 

earth  :    I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.   Chap.  10 

35  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against 
his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother, 
and  the  daughter  in   law  against  her  mother  in 

36  law.     And  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 

37  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  w^orthy  of  me. 

38  And  he  that  taketh  not  his  cross,  and  followeth 

39  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. 

40  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me,  and  he  that 

41  receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me.  He  that 
receiveth  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 

42  shall  receive  a  righteous  man's  reward.  And  who- 
soever 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. 

11       And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  made  an  A  formula 
end  of  commanding  his  twelve  disciples,  he  departed  tkin  to  ^^ 
thence  to  teach  and  to  preach  in  their  cities.  another 

2  Now  when  John  had  heard   in  the  prison  the  the  gospel. 

3  works  of  Christ,  he  sent  two  of  his  disciples,  and  John's 
said  unto  him.  Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  do  SqSry.^  ° 

4  we  look  for  another?  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  them,  Go  and  shew  John  again  those  things 

5  which  ye  do  hear  and  see  :  the  blind  receive  their 
sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed, 
and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the 


56  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  11   poor  have   the  gospel   preached   to  them.      And     6 
blessed   is  he^  whosoever  shall   not   be  offended 
in  me. 

And  as  they  departed,  Jesus  began  to  say  unto     7 
the  multitudes  concerning  John,  What  went  ye  out 
into  the  wilderness  to  see  ?  A  reed  shaken  with  the 
wind  ?    But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?    A  man     8 
clothed  in  soft  raiment?    behold,  they  that  wear 
soft  clothing  are  in  kings'  houses.     But  what  went    9 
ye  out  for  to  see  ?   A  prophet  ?  yea,  I  say  unto  you, 
and  more  than  a  prophet.     For  this  is  he^  of  whom  10 
it  is  written,  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  before 
thy  face,  which  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Among  them  that  are  born  11 
of  women  there  hath  not  risen  a  greater  than  John 
the  Baptist :  notwithstanding  he  that  is  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he.     And  from  12 
the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  now  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take 
it  by  force.      For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law  13 
prophesied  until  John.     And  if  ye  will  receive  //,  14 
this  is  Elias,  which  was  for  to  come.     He  that  hath  15 
ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.      But  whereunto  shall  16 
I  liken  this  generation?    It  is  like  unto  children 
sitting  in  the  markets,  and  calling  unto  their  fellows, 
and  saying.  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have  17 
not  danced ;   we  have  mourned  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  lamented.     For  John  came  neither  eating  18 
nor  drinking,  and  they  say,  He  hath  a  devil.     The  19 
Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say. 
Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners.     But  wisdom  is  justified 
of  her  children. 


ST.  MATTHEW  57 

20  Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein    Chap.  11 
most  of  his  mighty  works  were  done,  because  they  Rg^i^f  of 

21  repented  not :  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin  !  woe  unto  Chorazin 

thee,  Bethsaida !    for  if  the  mighty  works,  which  pernaum 

were  done  in  you,  had  been  done   in   Tyre  and  ^°^  ^'^f^ 
^      '  •'.  unbelief. 

Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sack- 

22  cloth  and  ashes.  But  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  day  of 

23  judgment,  than  for  you.  And  thou,  Capernaum, 
which  art  exalted  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 

24  would  have  remained  until  this  day.  But  I  say 
unto  you.  That  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for 
thee. 

25  At  that  time  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank  Jesus 
thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  because  God^that 
thou   hast  hid  these   things   from   the  wise   and  ^^ 

26  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes.    Even  revealed 
so,  Father :    for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight,  ^^pj; 

27  All  things  are  delivered  unto  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 

28  him.     Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are 

29  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 

30  your  souls.     For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden 


is  light. 


Contro- 


12      At  that  time  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day 

•'  ^  versy  on 

through    the    corn ;    and   his    disciples   were    an  the 

sabbath. 


58 


ST.   MATTHEW 


Chap.  12   hungred,  and  began   to  pluck  the   ears  of  corn, 

and  to  eat.     But  when  the  Pharisees  saw  //,  they    2 
said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that  which 
is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the  sal^bath  day.     But  he     3 
said  unto  them.  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did, 
when  he  was  an  hungred,  and  they  that  were  with 
him  ;  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God,  and    4 
did  eat  the  shew^bread,  which  was  not  lawful  for 
him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  which  were  with  him,- 
but  only  for  the  priests  ?     Or  have  ye  not  read  in     5 
the  law,  how  that  on  the  sabbath  days  the  priests 
in  the  temple  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are  blame- 
less ?     But  I  say  unto  you.  That  in  this  place  is     6 
one  greater  than  the  temple.     But  if  ye  had  known     7 
what   this  meaneth,  I   w^ill  have  mercy,  and  not 
sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guilt- 
less.    For  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  even  of  the    8 
sabbath  day. 

And  when  he  was  departed  thence,  he  went  into    9 
their  synagogue :    and,  behold,  there  was  a  man  10 
which  had  his  hand  withered.      And  they  asked 
him,  saying.  Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on  the  sabbath 
days?  that  they  might  accuse  him.     And  he  said  11 
unto  them.  What  man  shall  there  be  among  you, 
that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit 
on  the  sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and 
lift  it  out?     How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  12 
a  sheep  ?     Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the 
sabbath  days.     Then  saith  he  to  the  man,  Stretch  13 
forth  thine  hand.    And  he  stretched  it  forth  ;  and  it 
was  restored  whole,  hke  as  the  other. 

Then  the  Pharisees  went  out,  and  held  a  council  14 
against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him.     But  15 


A  second 
dispute 
about  the 
sabbath. 


ST.  MATTHEW 


59 


when   Jesus  knew  //,    he   withdrew   himself  from    Chap.  12 
thence :   and  great  multitudes  followed  him,  and 

16  he  healed  them  all;   and  charged  them  that  they 

17  should  not  make  him  known  :  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet, 

18  saying,  Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  have  chosen ; 
my  beloved,  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased :  I 
will  put   my  spirit  upon  him,  and  he  shall  shew 

19  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  strive,  nor 
cry ;   neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the 

20  streets.  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench,  till  he  send  forth 

21  judgment  unto  victory.  And  in  his  name  shall  the 
Gentiles  trust. 

22  Then  was  brought  unto  him  one  possessed  with  The  blind 
a  devil,  blind,  and  dumb  :  and  he  healed  him,  demo^™c! 
insomuch  that  the   blind  and  dumb  both  spake 

23  and  saw.     And  all  the  people  were  amazed,  and 

24  said.  Is  not  this  the  son  of  David?  But  when  the 
Pharisees  heard  zV,  they  said,  This  fellow  doth  not 
cast  out  devils,  but  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the 

25  devils.  And  Jesus  knew  their  thoughts,  and  said 
unto  them,  Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself 
is  brought  to  desolation ;   and  every  city  or  house 

26  divided  against  itself  shall  not  stand  :  and  if  Satan 
cast  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  against  himself;  how 

27  shall  then  his  kingdom  stand?  And  if  I  by  Beel- 
zebub cast  out  devils,  by  whom  do  your  children 
cast  the7ti  out  ?  therefore  they  shall  be  your  judges. 

28  But  if  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then 

29  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 


6o  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  12   man  ?  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house.     He  that  30 
is  not  with  me  is  against  me ;  and  he  that  gathereth 
not  with  me  scattereth  abroad.     Wherefore  I  say  31 
unto  yoUj  All  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  shall 
be  forgiven  unto  men  :   but  the  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men. 
And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son  32 
of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him :   but  whosoever 
speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be 
forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the 
world  to  come.     Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  33 
his  fruit  good;    or   else  make  the  tree  corrupt, 
and  his  fruit  corrupt :    for  the  tree  is  known  by 
his  fruit.     O  generation  of  vipers,   how  can  ye,  34 
being  evil,  speak  good   things?    for   out    of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.     A  35 
good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart 
bringeth  forth  good  things  :  and  an  evil  man  out 
of  the  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil  things.    But  36 
I  say  unto  you.  That  every  idle  word  that  men 
shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the 
day  of  judgment.     For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  37 
be  justified,    and    by   thy   words    thou    shalt   be 
condemned. 

Request  Then  certain  of  the  scribes  and  of  the  Pharisees  38 

answered,  saying,  Master,  we  would  see  a  sign  from 
thee.  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  An  39 
evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign  ; 
and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it,  but  the  sign 
of  the  prophet  Jonas :  for  as  Jonas  was  three  days  40 
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  41 


ST.  MATTHEW  6i 

shall  rise  in  judgment  with  this  generation,  and    Chap.  12 
shall  condemn  it :   because  they  repented  at  the 
preaching  of  Jonas ;   and,  behold,  a  greater  than 

42  Jonas  is  here.  The  queen  of  the  south  shall  rise 
up  in  the  judgment  with  this  generation,  and  shall 
condemn  it :  for  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon ;  and, 

43  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. 

44  Then  he  saith,  I  will  return  into  my  house  from 
whence  I  came  out ;    and  when  he  is  come,  he 

45  findeth  //  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. 

46  While  he  yet  talked  to  the  people,  behold,  his  The  family 
mother  and  his  brethren  stood  without,  desiring  ° 

47  to  speak  with  him.  Then  one  said  unto  him, 
Behold,  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  with- 

48  out,  desiring  to  speak  with  thee.  But  he  answered 
and  said  unto   him   that   told  him.   Who    is    my 

49  mother  ?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ?  And  he 
stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples,  and 

50  said,  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !  For 
whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and 
mother. 

13      The  same  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  Many 
2  sat  by  the  sea  side.     And  great  multitudes  were  pa^"^^ies. 
gathered  together  unto  him,  so  that  he  went  into 


62  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  13    a  ship,  and  sat ;  and  the  whole  multitude  stood  on 

the  shore.     And  he  spake  many  things  unto  them     3 
in  parables,  saying,  Behold,  a  sower  went  forth  to 
sow ;   and  when  he  sowed,  some  seeds  fell  by  the    4 
way  side,  and  the  fowls  came  and  devoured  them 
up :   some  fell  upon  stony  places,  where  they  had    5 
not  much  earth :    and  forthwith  they  sprung  up, 
because  they  had  no  deepness  of  earth  :  and  when     6 
the  sun  was  up,  they  were  scorched ;  and  because 
they  had  no  root,  they  withered  away.     And  some     7 
fell  among  thorns ;  and  the  thorns  sprang  up,  and 
choked  them :    but  other  fell  into  good  ground,     8 
and   brought   forth    fruit,    some   an   hundredfold, 
some  sixtyfold,  some  thirtyfold.     Who  hath  ears    9 
to  hear,  let  him  hear. 
The  object       And  the  disciples   came,  and   said  unto  him,   10 
biesf ^^       Why  speakest  thou  unto  them  in  parables  ?     He  1 1 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  Because  it  is  given 
unto  you  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given.     For  whoso-  12 
ever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
more  abundance :    but  whosoever  hath  not,  from 
him   shall   be    taken    away   even    that    he   hath. 
Therefore  speak  I  to  them  in  parables:    because  13 
they  seeing  see  not ;   and  hearing  they  hear  not, 
neither  do  they  understand.     And  in  them  is  ful-  14 
filled    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  t^et'r  15 
ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes  they  have 
closed ;  lest  at  any  time  they  should  see  with  t/ieir 
eyes,  and  hear  with  //leir  ears,  and  should  under- 


ST.  MATTHEW  63 

stand  with  their  heart,  and  should  be  converted,   Chap.  13 

16  and  I  should  heal  them.  But  blessed  are  your 
eyes,  for  they  see :    and  your  ears,  for  they  hear. 

17  For  verily  I  say  unto  you.  That  many  prophets 
and  righteous  men  have  desired  to  see  those  things 
which  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen  them  \  and  to 
hear  those  things  which  ye  hear,  and  have  not 
heard  them. 

iS       Hear  ye   therefore   the   parable  of  the  sower. 

19  When  any  one  heareth  the  word  of  the  kingdom, 
and  understandeth  //  not,  then  cometh  the  wicked 
one^  and  catcheth  away  that  which  was  sown  in  his 
heart.     This  is  he  which  received  seed  by  the  way 

20  side.  But  he  that  received  the  seed  into  stony 
places,  the  same  is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and 

21  anon  with  joy  receiveth  it;  yet  hath  he  not  root  in 
himself,  but  dureth  for  a  while :  for  when  tribu- 
lation or  persecution  ariseth  because  of  the  word, 

22  by  and  by  he  is  offended.  He  also  that  received 
seed  among  the  thorns  is  he  that  heareth  the  word ; 
and  the  care  of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,  choke  the  word,  and  he  becometh  unfruitful. 

23  But  he  that  received  seed  into  the  good  ground  is 
he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  understandeth  it\ 
which  also  beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth  forth,  some 
an  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty. 

24  Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  saying,  Parable  of 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man 

25  which  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field :  but  while 
men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  among 

26  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way.  But  when  the  blade 
was  sprung  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  then  ap- 

27  peared  the   tares   also.      So  the  servants  of  the 


64 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  13 


Parable 
of  the 
Mustard 
Seed. 


Parable 
of  the 
Leaver- 


Para- 
bolical 
teaching  in 
prophecy. 


31 


32 


Explana- 
tion of  the 
parable  of 
the  Tares. 


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  28 
hath  done  this.     The  servants  said  unto  him,  Wilt 
thou  then  that  we  go  and  gather  them  up  ?     But  29 
he  said.  Nay ;  lest  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye 
root  up  also  the  wheat  with  them.     Let  both  grow  30 
together  until   the  harvest :    and  in  the  time  of 
harvest   I  will   say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  ye  to- 
gether 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  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  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of 
the  air  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof. 

Another    parable    spake   he    unto   them ;    The  33 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a 
woman  took,  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal, 
till    the  whole  was   leavened.      All   these    things  34 
spake  Jesus  unto  the  multitude  in  parables ;  and 
without  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them :  that  35 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  pro- 
phet, saying,  I  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables ;  I 
will  utter  things  which  have  been  kept  secret  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world. 

Then  Jesus  sent  the  multitude  away,  and  went  36 
into  the  house :  and  his  disciples  came  unto  him, 
saying,  Declare  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of 
the  field.     He  answered  and  unto  them,  He  that  37 
soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man ;  the  field  38 


ST.  MATTHEW  65 

is  the  world ;  the  good  seed  are  the  children  of  Chap.  13 
the  kingdom ;  but  the  tares  are  the  children  of  the 

39  wicked  oiie\  the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the 
devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world ;  and 

40  the  reapers  are  the  angels.  As  therefore  the  tares 
are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire  ;  so  shall  it  be 

/|T  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  offend,  and  them  which 

42  do  iniquity ;  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of 
fire :  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

43  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in 
the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  Who  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear. 

^4       Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  trea-  Treasure 
sure  hid  in  a  field ;  the  which  when  a  man  hath  ^^^  ^ 
found,  he  hideth,  and  for  joy  thereof  goeth  and 
selleth  all  that  he  hath,  and  buyeth  that  field. 

45  Again,  the   kingdom  of  heaven   is   like  unto  a 

46  merchant  man,  seeking  goodly  pearls :  who,  when 
he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  went  and 
sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it. 

47  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net, 
that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every 

48  kind :  which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore, 
and  sat  down,  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels, 

49  but  cast  the  bad  away.  So  shall  it  be  at  the  end 
of  the  world :    the  angels   shall  come  forth,  and 

50  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the  just,  and  shall 
cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall  be 

51  waihng  and  gnashing  of  teeth.     Jesus  saith  unto  The  disci- 
them.  Have  ye  understood  all  these  things  ?   They  Pumi™"* 

52  say  unto  him.  Yea,  Lord.    Then  said  he  unto  them,  stand 'the 

'  teaching 

F 


66 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  13 

in  order  to 
make  use 
of  it. 

Jesus 
among 
his  own 
people. 


Herod, 
who  had 
slain  John, 
hears  of 
Jesus. 


Therefore  every  scribe  which  is  instructed  unto  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  an 
householder,  which  bringeth  forth  out  of  his  trea- 
sure thtJigs  new  and  old.  And  it  came  to  pass,  53 
that  when  Jesus  had  finished  these  parables,  he 
departed  thence. 

And  when  he  was  come  into  his  own  country,  54 
he  taught  them  in  their  synagogue,  insomuch  that 
they  were  astonished,  and  said.  Whence  hath  this 
man  this  wisdom,   and   t/iese  mighty  works?     Is  55 
not  this  the  carpenter's   son  ?   is  not  his  mother 
called  Mary  ?  and  his  brethren,  James,  and  Joses, 
and  Simon,  and  Judas  ?     And  his  sisters,  are  they  56 
not  all  with  us?   Whence  then  hath  this  7?ian  all 
these  things  ?     And  they  were  offended  in  him.  57 
But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  A  prophet  is  not  with- 
out honour,  save  in  his  own  country,  and  in  his 
own  house.     And  he  did  not  many  mighty  works  58 
there  because  of  their  unbelief. 

At  that  time  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  of  the  14 
fame  of  Jesus,  and  said  unto  his  servants.  This  is     2 
John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  and 
therefore  mighty  works  do  shew  forth  themselves 
in  him.     For  Herod  had  laid  hold  on  John,  and    3 
bound  him,  and  put  hi7?i  in  prison  for  Herodias' 
sake,   his  brother   Philip's   wife.      For  John  said    4 
unto  him.   It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  her. 
And  when  he  would  have  put  him  to  death,  he    5 
feared  the  multitude,  because  they  counted  him 
as  a  prophet.      But  when   Herod's  birthday  was    6 
kept,    the   daughter   of  Herodias    danced   before 
them,  and  pleased  Herod.     Whereupon   he  pro-    7 
mised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  whatsoever  she 


ST.  MATTHEW  67 

8  would  ask.     And  she,  being  before  instructed  of  Chap.  14, 
her  mother,   said.   Give  me  here  John  Baptist's 

9  head  in  a  charger.  And  the  king  was  sorry : 
nevertheless  for  the  oath's  sake,  and  them  which 
sat  with  him  at  meat,   he  commanded  it  to  be 

10  given  her.     And  he  sent,  and  beheaded  John  in 

1 1  the  prison.  And  his  head  was  brought  in  a  charger, 
and  given  to  the  damsel :   and  she  brought  it  to 

12  her  mother.  And  his  disciples  came,  and  took 
up  the  body,  and  buried  it,  and  went  and  told 
Jesus. 

13  When  Jesus  heard  of  it^  he  departed  thence  by  The  feed- 
ship  into  a  desert  place  apart:  and  when  the  people  JJ|  g^e 
had  heard  thereof  they  followed  him  on  foot  out  of  t'^o^sand, 

14  the  cities.  And  Jesus  went  forth,  and  saw  a  great 
multitude,  and  was  moved  with  compassion  toward 

15  them,  and  he  healed  their  sick.  And  when  it  was 
evening,  his  disciples  came  to  him,  saying.  This  is 
a  desert  place,  and  the  time  is  now  past ;  send  the 
multitude  away,  that  they  may  go  into  the  villages, 

16  and  buy  themselves  victuals.  But  Jesus  said  unto 
them,  They  need  not  depart ;  give  ye  them  to  eat. 

17  And  they  say  unto  him,  We  have  here  but  five 
iS  loaves,  and  two  fishes.    He  said,  Bring  them  hither 

19  to  me.  And  he  commanded  the  multitude  to  sit 
down  on  the  grass,  and  took  the  five  loaves,  and 
the  two  fishes,  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  bless- 
ed, and  brake,  and  gave  the  loaves  to  his  disciples, 

20  and  the  disciples  to  the  multitude.  And  they  did 
all  eat,  and  were  filled :  and  they  took  up  of  the 

21  fragments  that  remained  twelve  baskets  full.  And 
they  that  had  eaten  were  about  five  thousand  men, 
beside  women  and  children. 

F    2 


68  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  14        And  straightway  Jesus  constrained  his  disciples  22 
to  get  into  a  ship,  and  to  go  before  him  unto  the 
other  side,   while   he    sent   the  multitudes  away. 
And  when  he  had  sent  the  multitudes  away,  he  23 
went  up  into  a  mountain  apart  to  pray :  and  when 
the  evening  was  come,  he  was  there  alone.     But  24 
the  ship  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  tossed 
with  waves  :  for  the  wind  was  contrary.     And  in  25 
the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  Jesus  went   unto 
them,   walking  on  the  sea.     And  when  the  dis-  26 
ciples   saw   him   walking   on   the    sea,   they  were 
troubled,  saying,  It  is  a  spirit ;  and  they  cried  out 
for  fear.     But  straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  27 
saying,  Be  of  good  cheer ;  it  is  I ;  be  not  afraid. 
And  Peter  answered  him  and  said,  Lord,  if  it  be  2S 
thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  on  the  water.     And  29 
he  said,  Come.     And  when  Peter  was  come  down 
out  of  the  ship,  he  walked  on  the  water,  to  go  to 
Jesus.     But  when  he  saw  the  wind  boisterous,  he  30 
was  afraid ;  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried,  saying, 
Lord,  save  me.     And  immediately  Jesus  stretched  31 
forth  his  hand,  and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ? 
And  when  they  were  come  into  the  ship,  the  wind  32 
ceased.     Then  they  that  were  in  the  ship  came  33 
and  worshipped  him,  saying.  Of  a  truth  thou  art 
the  Son  of  God. 

And  when  they  were  gone  over,  they  came  into  34 
the  land  of  Gennesaret.     And  when  the  men  of  35 
that  place  had  knowledge  of  him,  they  sent  out 
into  all  that  country  round  about,  and  brought 
unto  him  all  that  were  diseased ;   and  besought  36 
him  that  they  might  only  touch  the  hem  of  his 


ST.  MATTHEW  69 

garment :    and  as   many  as   touched   were   made   Chap.  14 
perfectly  whole. 
15      Then  came  to  Jesus  scribes  and  Pharisees,  which  jesus  on 

2  were  of  Jerusalem,  saying.  Why  do  thy  disciples  ^^^^^^^°^* 
transgress  the  tradition  of  the  elders?    for  they 

3  wash  not  their  hands  when  they  eat  bread.  But 
he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Why  do  ye  also 
transgress  the  commandment  of  God  by  your  tra- 

4  dition?  For  God  commanded,  saying.  Honour 
thy    father   and   mother :    and,    He    that   curseth 

5  father  or  mother,  let  him  die  the  death.  But 
ye  say,  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  father  or  his 
mother,  //  is  a  gift,  by  whatsoever  thou  mightest 

6  be  profited  by  me ;  and  honour  not  his  father  or 
his  mother,  he  shall  be  free.  Thus  have  ye  made 
the  commandment  of  God  of  none  effect  by  your 

7  tradition.     Ye  hypocrites,  well  did  Esaias  prophesy 

8  of  you,  saying,  This  people  draweth  nigh  unto  me 
with  their  mouth,   and  honoureth   me  with  their 

9  lips ;  but  their  heart  is  far  from  me.  But  in  vain 
they  do  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the 
commandments  of  men. 

10  And   he   called  the  multitude,   and    said    unto 

11  them.  Hear,  and  understand  :  not  that  which  goeth 
into  the  mouth  defileth  a  man ;  but  that  which 
Cometh  out  of  the  mouth,   this  defileth  a  man. 

12  Then  came  his  disciples,  and  said  unto  him, 
Knowest  thou  that  the  Pharisees  were  offended, 

13  after  they  heard  this  saying?  But  he  answered 
and  said,  Every  plant,  which  my  heavenly  Father 

14  hath  not  planted,  shall  be  rooted  up.  Let  them 
alone  :  they  be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind.  And  if 
the  bhnd  lead  the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  the  ditch. 


70 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  15       Then  answered  Peter  and  said  unto  him,  Declare  15 
unto  us  this  parable.     And  Jesus  said,  Are  ye  also  16 
yet  without  understanding?     Do  not  ye  yet  under-  17 
stand,  that  whatsoever  entereth  in  at  the  mouth 
goeth  into  the   belly,   and   is  cast   out   into   the 
draught?     But  those   things  which   proceed   out  18 
of  the  mouth  come  forth  from  the  heart;    and 
they  defile  the  man.    For  out  of  the  heart  proceed  19 
evil    thoughts,    murders,    adulteries,    fornications, 
thefts,   false  witness,   blasphemies :    these  are  the  20 
things  which  defile  a  man  :   but  to  eat  with  un- 
washen  hands  defileth  not  a  man. 

Then  Jesus  went  thence,  and  departed  into  the  21 
coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.    And,  behold,  a  woman  22 
of  Canaan  came  out  of  the  same  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.  23 
And  his  disciples  came  and  besought  him,  saying. 
Send  her  away;  for  she  crieth  after  us.     But  he  24 
answered  and  said,  I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.     Then  came  she  25 
and  worshipped  him,  saying,  Lord,  help  me.     But  26 
he  answered  and  said,  It  is  not  meet  to  take  the 
children's  bread,  and  to  cast  it  to  dogs.     And  she  27 
said.  Truth,  Lord :  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs 
which  fall  from  their  masters'  table.     Then  Jesus  28 
answered  and  said  unto  her,  O  woman,  great  is 
thy  faith  :  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt.     And 
her  daughter  was  made  whole  from  that  very  hour. 

And   Jesus   departed   from   thence,  and   came  29 
nigh  unto  the  sea  of  Galilee ;  and  went  up  into 
a   mountain,   and    sat   down   there.      And    great  30 


ST.  MATTHEW  71 

multitudes  came  unto  him,  having  with  them  those   Chap.  15 
that  were  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and  many      ' 
others,  and  cast  them  down  at  Jesus'  feet ;    and 

31  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. 

32  Then   Jesus   called   his    disciples    unto   him,   and  The  feed- 
said,  I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude,  because  Sousand!" 
they  continue  with  me  now  three  days,  and  have 
nothing  to  eat :    and  I  will  not  send  them  away 

33  fasting,  lest  they  faint  in  the  way.  And  his  dis- 
ciples say  unto  him,  Whence  should  we  have  so 
much  bread  in  the  wilderness,  as  to  fill  so  great 

34  a  multitude?  And  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  How 
many  loaves  have  ye  ?    And  they  said.  Seven,  and 

35  a  few  little  fishes.     And  he  commanded  the  multi- 

36  tude  to  sit  down  on  the  ground.  And  he  took  the 
seven  loaves  and  the  fishes,  and  gave  thanks,  and 
brake  them,  and   gave  to  his  disciples,  and   the 

37  disciples  to  the  multitude.  And  they  did  all  eat, 
and  were  filled :  and  they  took  up  of  the  broken 

38  meat  that  was  left  seven  baskets  full.  And  they 
that   did    eat   were    four    thousand    men,    beside 

39  women  and  children.  And  he  sent  away  the 
multitude,  and  took  ship^  and  came  into  the 
coasts  of  Magdala. 

16      The  Pharisees  also  with  the  Sadducees  came,  Pharisees 
and  tempting  desired  him    that    he   would    shew  jucees'^ 

2  them  a  sign  from  heaven.     He  answered  and  said  again  ask 
unto  them,  When  it  is  evening,  ye  say,  //  will 

3  be  fair  weather :  for  the  sky  is  red.     And  in  the 
morning,  //  ivill  be  foul  weather  to  day :    for  the 


72 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  16   sky  is  red  and  lowring.     O  ye  hypocrites,  ye  can 

discern  the  face  of  the  sky ;  but  can  ye  not  discern 

the  signs  of  the  times  ?     A  wicked  and  adulterous 

generation  seeketh  after  a  sign ;  and  there  shall  no 

sign  be  given  unto  it,  but  the  sign  of  the  prophet 

Jonas.     And  he  left  them,  and  departed. 

And  when  his  disciples  were  come  to  the  other 

side,   they    had   forgotten  to   take   bread.     Then 

Pharisees  jesus  said  unto  them,  Take  heed  and  beware  of 
and  Sad-      •'  ' 


The 
leaven 
of  the 


the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees. 
And  they  reasoned  among  themselves,  saying,  //    7 
is  because  we  have  taken  no  bread.      Which  when     8 
Jesus  perceived,  he  said  unto  them,  O  ye  of  little 
faith,  why  reason  ye  among  yourselves,  because  ye 
have  brought  no  bread  ?     Do  ye  not  yet  under-    9 
stand,   neither  remember  the   five  loaves    of  the 
five  thousand,  and  how  many  baskets  ye  took  up? 
Neither  the  seven  loaves  of  the  four  thousand,  and  10 
how  many  baskets  ye  took  up?    How  is  it  that  ye  11 
do    not   understand    that   I   spake  it  not  to  you 
concerning  bread,  that  ye  should   beware  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees? 
Then  understood  they  how  that  he  bade  them  not  12 
beware  of  the  leaven  of  bread,  but  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees. 

When  Jesus  came  into  the  coasts  of  C3esarea  13 
Philippi,  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying,  Whom  do 
men  say  that  I  the  Son  of  man  am  ?    And  they  14 
said.  Some  say  that  thou  art  John   the   Baptist  : 
some,  Elias  ;  and  others,  Jeremias,  or  one  of  the 
prophets.     He  saith  unto  them,  But  whom  say  ye  15 
that  I  am?     And' Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  16 
Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 


ST.  MATTHEW  73 

17  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed   Chap,  id 
art  thou,  Simon   Bar-jona  :    for  flesh  and   blood 

hath   not  revealed   //   unto  thee,  but  my   Father 

18  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee, 
That  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  church ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 

19  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  : 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be 

20  loosed  in  heaven.  Then  charged  he  his  disciples 
that  they  should  tell  no  man  that  he  was  Jesus  the 
Christ. 

21  From  that  time  forth  began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  Jesus 
his  disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  pfaSiiyof 
and   suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  death, 
priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  be  raised 

22  again  the  third  day.  Then  Peter  took  him,  and 
began  to  rebuke  him,  saying,  Be  it  far  from  thee, 

23  Lord  :  this  shall  not  be  unto  thee.  But  he  turned, 
and  said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan : 
thou  art  an  offence  unto  me :  for  thou  savourest 
not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of 

24  men.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples.  If  any 
man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 

25  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whosoever 
will  save  his  hfe  shall  lose  it :  and  whosoever  will 

25  lose  his  hfe  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.  For  what 
is  a  man  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  lose  his  own  soul?  or  what  shall  a  man  give 

27  in  exchange  for  his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  man 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  his 
angels ;    and    then    he    shall    reward    every   man 


74  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  16   according  to  his  works.     Verily  I  say   unto  you,  28 
There   be    some    standing   here,  which  shall  not 
taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming 
in  his  kingdom. 
The  trans-       And  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James,  17 
figuration.  ^^^  John  his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into 

an    high    mountain    apart,    and   was    transfigured     2 
before  them :  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun, 
and   his   raiment  was  white   as   the   light.     And,     3 
behold,    there    appeared   unto   them    Moses   and 
Elias   talking  with   him.     Then   answered   Peter,     4 
and  said  unto  Jesus,   Lord,   it  is  good  for  us  to 
be  here :    if  thou   wilt,   let   us    make   here   three 
tabernacles;    one  for   thee,   and  one  for   Moses, 
and  one  for  Elias.     While  he  yet  spake,  behold,     5 
a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them :    and  behold 
a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which  said,  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye 
him.     And  when  the  disciples  heard  //,  they  fell     6 
on  their  face,  and  were  sore  afraid.     And  Jesus     7 
came  and  touched  them,  and  said,  Arise,  and  be 
not  afraid.     And  when  they  had  lifted  up   their    8 
The  de-       cycs,  they  saw  no  man,  save  Jesus  only.     And  as    9 
scent  from  ^^      came  down  from  the  mountain,  Jesus  charged 

the  moun-  ^  r  j  o 

tain.  them,  saying,  Tell  the  vision  to  no  man,  until  the 

Son  of  man  be  risen  again  from  the  dead.     And  10 
his  disciples  asked  him,  saying.  Why  then  say  the 
scribes  that  Elias  must  first  come?     And  Jesus  11 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  Elias  truly  shall  first 
come,  and  restore  all  things.     But  I  say  unto  you,   12 
That  Elias  is  come  already,  and  they  knew  him 
not,  but   have   done   unto   him  whatsoever   they 
listed.     Likewise  shall  also  the  Son  of  man  suffer 


ST.  MATTHEW  75 

1;,  of  them.     Then  the  disciples  understood  that  he   Chap.  17 
spake  unto  them  of  John  the  Baptist. 

14  And  when   they  were  come  to   the   multitude,  The  cure 
there  came  to  him  a  certain  man,  kneeling  down  ^^^^ 

15  to  him,  and  saying,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son : 
for  he  is  lunatick,  and  sore  vexed :  for  ofttimes  he 

16  falleth  into  the  fire,  and  oft  into  the  water.  And 
I   brought  him  to   thy  disciples,  and   they  could 

17  not  cure  him.  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said,  O 
faithless  and  perverse  generation,  how  long  shall 
I  be  with  you  ?  how  long  shall  I  suffer  you  ?  bring 

1 8  him  hither  to  me.  And  Jesus  rebuked  the  devil; 
and  he  departed  out  of  him  :  and  the  child  was 

19  cured  from  that  very  hour.  Then  came  the  dis- 
ciples to  Jesus  apart,  and  said,  Why  could  not  we 

20  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  nothing  shall  be 

21  impossible  unto  you.  Howbeit  this  kind  goeth 
not  out  but  by  prayer  and  fasting. 

22  And  while  they  abode  in  Gahlee,   Jesus   said  Jesus 
unto  them,  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  into  Ihe^^e- 

23  the  hands  of  men:  and  they  shall  kill  him,  and^^ctionof 
the  third  day  he  shall  be  raised  again.     And  they  death, 
were  exceeding  sorry. 

24  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  they  jesus 
that  received  tribute  money  came   to  Peter,   and  E^te^^ 

25  said.  Doth    not   your   master   pay    tribute  ?     He  Caper- 
saith.   Yes.     And   when    he   was    come   into   the 
house,  Jesus  prevented  him,  saying,  What  thinkest 
thou,  Simon  ?   of  whom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth 


76 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  17 


The 

greatest 
in  the 
kingdom. 


him,     Of  26 


27 


take  custom  or  tribute?  of  their  own  children 
or  of  strangers?  Peter  saith  unto 
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. 

At  the  same  time  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  18 
saying,  Who   is   the  greatest  in  the  kingdom   of 
heaven  ?    And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  him,     2 
and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Verily     3 
I    say  unto   you.   Except   ye   be    converted,   and 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into 
the   kingdom    of   heaven.      Whosoever   therefore    4 
shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same 
is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child    5 
in  my  name  receiveth  me.    But  whoso  shall  offend    6 
one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe   in   me,  it 
were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the 
depth  of  the  sea.     Woe  unto  the  world  because  of    7 
offences  !  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come ; 
but    woe    to    that    man    by    whom    the    offence 
cometh  !    Wherefore  if  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  offend    8 
thee,  cut  them  off,  and  cast  the7n  from  thee :  it  is 
better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  halt  or  maimed, 
rather  than  having  two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be 
cast  into  everlasting  fire.     And  if  thine  eye  offend     9 
thee,   pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from  thee :   it  is 
better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  with  one  eye, 


ST.  MATTHEW  77 

rather  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  cast  into  hell  fire.   Chap.  18 
TO  Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little 
ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  That  in   heaven  their 
angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father 

11  which  is  in  heaven.     For  the  Son  of  man  is  come 

12  to  save  that  which  was  lost.  How  think  ye?  if  a 
man  have  an  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  be 
gone  astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine, 
and  goeth  into  the  mountains,  and  seeketh   that 

J 3  which  is  gone  astray  ?  And  if  so  be  that  he  find  it, 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  rejoiceth  more  of  that 
sheep^  than  of  the  ninety  and  nine  which  went  not 

14  astray.  Even  so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones 
should  perish. 

15  Moreover  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against  The  treat- 
thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  thee  and  ^"nders. 
him  alone  :  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained 

16  thy  brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee^  the?!  take 
with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of 
two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be  estab- 

17  lished.  And  if  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell 
it  unto  the  church  :  but  if  he  neglect  to  hear  the 
church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man 

iS  and  a  publican.  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 

19  loosed  in  heaven.  Again  I  say  unto  you,  That  if 
two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  any 
thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them 

20  of  my  Father  which  is  \n  heaven.  For  where  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them. 


78  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  18       Then  came  Peter  to  him,  and  said,  Lord,  how  21 
5*oreive-     ^^^  ^^^^^  "^^  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive 
less.  him?    till   seven  times?     Jesus   saith    unto  him,  22 

I  say  not  unto  thee,  Until  seven  times  :  but.  Until 
seventy  times  seven.     Therefore  is  the  kingdom  of  23 
heaven  likened  unto  a  certain  king,  which  would 
take  account  of  his  servants.     And  when  he  had  24 
begun   to   reckon,    one   was   brought    unto    him, 
which  owed  him  ten  thousand  talents.     But  foras-  25 
much  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  26 
servant  therefore  fell  down,  and  worshipped  him, 
saying,  Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay 
thee  all.     Then  the  lord  of  that  servant  was  moved  27 
with  compassion,  and  loosed  him,  and  forgave  him 
the  debt.      But  the  same  servant  went  out,  and  28 
found  one  of  his  fellowservants,  which  owed  him  an 
hundred  pence  :  and  he  laid  hands  on  him,  and 
took  /lim  by  the  throat,  saying,  Pay  me  that  thou 
owest.     And  his  fellowservant  fell  down  at  his  feet,  29 
and  besought  him,  saying,  Have  patience  with  me, 
and  I  will  pay  thee  all.     And  he  would  not :   but  30 
went  and  cast  him  into  prison,  till  he  should  pay 
the  debt.     So  when  his   fellowservants  saw  what  31 
was  done,  they  were  very  sorry,  and  came  and  told 
unto  their  lord  all  that  was  done.     Then  his  lord,  32 
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  33 
also  have  had  compassion  on  thy  fellowservant, 
even  as  I  had  pity  on  thee  ?     And  his  lord  was  34 
wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the  tormentors,  till  he 


ST.  MATTHEW  79 

35  should  pay  all  that  was  due  unto  him.    So  likewise  Chap.is 
shall  my  heavenly  Father  do  also  unto  you,  if  ye       '      ' 
from  your  hearts  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother 
their  trespasses. 

19      And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Jesus  had  finished  a  para- 
these  sayings,  he  departed  from  Gahlee,  and  came  ^^^kh 

2  into   the  coasts  of  Judaea  beyond  Jordan ;    and  maiks  a 
great   multitudes    followed    him  ;    and    he  healed  ^  ^°^ 
them  there. 

3  The   Pharisees  also  came  unto  him,  tempting  On  lawful 
him,  and  saying  unto  him,  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  ^^^°^^^' 

4  to  put  away  his  wife  for  every  cause  ?  And  he 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read, 
that  he  which  made  the7fi  at  the  beginning  made 

5  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 

6  flesh  ?  Wherefore  they  are  no  more  twain,  but  one 
flesh.     What  therefore  God  hath  joined  together, 

7  let  not  man  put  asunder.  They  say  unto  him, 
Why  did  Moses  then  command  to  give  a  writing  of 

8  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 

9  from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so.  And  I  say  unto 
you,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except  // 
de  for  fornication,  and  shall  marry  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery  :  and  whoso  marrieth  her  which  is 

10  put  away  doth  commit  adultery.     His  disciples  say 
unto  him,  If  the  case  of  the  man  be  so  with  his 

11  wife,  it  is  not  good  to  marry.     But  he  said  unto 
them,  All  7?ien  cannot  receive  this  saying,  save  they 

12  to  whom  it  is  given.     F'or  there  are  some  eunuchs, 


8o  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  19  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  themselves  eunuchs  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven's  sake.  He  that  is  able  to  receive  //,  let 
him  receive  it. 

Then  were  there  brought  unto  him  little  children,   13 
that  he  should  put  his  hands  on  them,  and  pray : 
and  the  disciples  rebuked  them.     But  Jesus  said,  14 
Suffer  little  children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  come 
unto  me :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
And   he  laid  his  hands   on  them,  and    departed  15 
thence. 

And,  behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him.  Good  16 
Master,  what  good   thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may 
have  eternal  life  ?    And  he  said  unto  him.   Why  17 
callest  thou   me  good  ?    there  is  none  good  but 
one,  that  is^  God  :  but  if  thou  wilt  enter  into  life, 
keep  the  commandments.      He    saith   unto   him,   18 
Which?    Jesus  said.   Thou  shalt  do   no  murder. 
Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not 
steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  Honour  19 
thy  father  and  thy  mother :  and,  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     The  young  man  saith  20 
unto  him.  All  these  things  have  I  kept  from  my 
youth  up  :  what  lack  I  yet?    Jesus  said  unto  him,  21 
If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast, 
and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure 
in  heaven  :  and  come  a?id  follow  me.     But  when  22 
the  young  man  heard  that  saying,  he  went  away 
sorrowful :  for  he  had  great  possessions. 

Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say  23 
unto  you,  That  a  rich  man  shall  hardly  enter  into 


ST.  MATTHEW  8i 

24  the  kingdom  of  heaven.      And  again  I  say  unto  Chap.  19 
you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye 

of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 

25  kingdom  of  God.  When  his  disciples  heard  /V, 
they  were  exceedingly  amazed,  saying.  Who  then 

26  can  be  saved?  But  Jesus  beheld  thern^  and  said 
unto  them.  With  men  this  is  impossible ;  but  with 
God  all  things  are  possible. 

27  Then  answered  Peter  and  said  unto  him,  Behold, 
we  have  forsaken  all,  and  followed  thee  ;  what  shall 

28  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  hi»  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

29  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,  shall 
receive   an   hundredfold,    and    shall   inherit   ever- 

30  lasting  life.  But  many  that  are  first  shall  be  last  \ 
and  the  last  shall  he  first. 

20      For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  The  Par- 
that  is  an  householder,  which  went  out  early  in  the  Labourers. 

2  morning  to  hire  labourers  into  his  vineyard.  And 
when  he  had  agreed  with  the  labourers  for  a  penny 

3  a  day,  he  sent  them  into  his  vineyard.  And  he 
went   out   about  the  third  hour,  and  saw  others 

4  standing  idle  in  the  marketplace,  and  said  unto 
them  ;  Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard,  and  whatso- 
ever is  right  I  will  give  you.     And  they  went  their 

5  way.    Again  he  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  ninth 

6  hour,  and  did  likewise.  And  about  the  eleventh 
hour  he  went  out,  and  found  others  standing  idle, 

G 


82 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  20   and  saith  unto  them,  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the 

day  idle  ?    They  say  unto  him,  Because  no  man     7 
hath  hired  us.     He  saith  unto  them,  Go  ye  also 
into  the  vineyard;   and  whatsoever  is  right,  that 
shall  ye  teceive.      So  when  even  was  come,  the    8 
lord  of  the  vineyard  saith  unto  his  steward,  Call 
the  labourers,  and  give  them  their  hire,  beginning 
from  the  last  unto  the  first.     And  when  they  came    9 
that   were   hired  about   the   eleventh  hour,    they 
received  every  man  a  penny.     But  when  the  first  10 
came,   they  supposed  that  they   should   have  re- 
ceived more  ;  and  they  likewise  received  every  man 
a  penny.     And  when  they  had  received  //,  they  n 
murmured   against   the   goodman   of    the   house, 
saying,  These  last  have  wrought  but  one  hour,  and  13 
thou  hast  made  them  equal  unto  us,  which  have 
borne   the   burden    and   heat    of  the   day.      But  13 
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  :  14 
I  will  give  unto  this  last,  even  as  unto  thee.     Is  it  15 
not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own  ? 
Is  thine  eye  evil,  because  I  am  good?    So  the  last  16 
shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last :  for  many  be  called, 
but  few  chosen. 
Cnici-  And  Jesus  going  up  to  Jerusalem  took  the  twelve  i  j- 

pSdfcted,    disciples  apart  in    the  way,  and  said  unto  them, 

Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem;  and  the  Son  of  18 
man  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  to  19 
mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  him  :  and  the 
third  day  he  shall  rise  again. 


ST.  MATTHEW  83 

20  Then   came   to  him  the  mother  of  Zebedee's   Chap.  2a 
children    with    her    sons,    worshipping    /ii'm,    and 

21  desiring  a  certain  thing  of  him.  And  he  said  unto 
her,  What  wilt  thou  ?  She  saith  unto  him,  Grant 
that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  the  one  on  thy 
right   hand,    and   the   other   on   the   left,  in  thy 

22  kingdom.  But  Jesus  answered  and  said.  Ye  know 
not  what  ye  ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the 
cup  that  I  shall  drink  of,  and  to  be  baptized 
with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?    They 

23  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  baptized 
with  :  but  to  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my 
left,  is  not  mine  to  give,  but  //  ska//  3e  given  to 

24  tkejn  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  my  Father.  And 
when   the    ten    heard    it,   they  were    moved   with 

25  indignation  against  the  two  brethren.  But  Jesus 
called  them  unto  Iiim,  and  said,  Ye  know  that 
the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over 
them,  and  they  that  are  great   exercise  authority 

26  upon  them.  But  it  shall  not  be  so  among  you : 
but  whosoever  will   be  great  among  you,  let  him 

27  be  your   minister;    and  whosoever  will  be  chief 

28  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. 

29  And   as   they  departed   from    Jericho,   a   great  Two  blind 

30  multitude  followed  him.     And,  behold,  two  blind  °^®^ 
men  sitting  by  the  way  side,  when  they  heard  that 
Jesus  passed  by,  cried  out,  saying,  Have   mercy 

31  on  us,  O   Lord,   i/iou  son   of  David.      And    the 

G  2 


84  ST.  MATTHEAV 

Chap.  20   multitude  rebuked  them,  because  they  should  hold 
their  peace  :  but  they  cried  the  more,  saying,  Have 
mercy  on  us,  O  Lord,  thou  son  of  David.      And  32 
Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  them,  and  said.  What 
will  ye  that  I  shall  do  unto  you  ?    They  say  unto  33 
him.  Lord,  that  our  eyes  may  be  opened.     So  Jesus  34 
had  compassion  07i  them,  and  touched  their  eyes : 
and  immediately  their  eyes  received  sight,  and  they 
followed  him. 

And  when  they  drew  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  and  21 
were  come  to  Bethphage,  unto  the  mount  of  Olives, 
then  sent  Jesus  two  disciples,  saying  unto  them,     2 
Go  into  the  village  over  against  you,  and  straightway 
ye  shall  find  an  ass  tied,  and  a  colt  with  her :  loose 
them,  and  bring  them  unto  me.     And  if  any  uian    3 
say  ought  unto  you,  ye  shall  say,  The  Lord  hath 
need  of  them ;  and  straightway  he  will  send  them. 
All  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which     4 
was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying.  Tell  ye  the     5 
daughter  of  Sion,  Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto 
thee,  meek,  and  sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  a  colt 
the   foal    of  an    ass.      And   the    disciples   went,     6 
and  did  as  Jesus  commanded  them,  and  brought     7 
the   ass,    and    the  colt,    and    put   on   them  their 
clothes,  and  they  set  hi7n  thereon.     And  a  very     8 
great  multitude  spread  their  garments  in  the  Way ; 
others  cut    down    branches    from   the   trees,  and 
strawed   them  in  the  way.     And    the   multitudes    9 
that  went  before,  and  that  followed,  cried,  saying, 
Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David :    Blessed  is  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  Hosanna  in  the 
highest. 

And   when  he  was   come   into   Jertisalem,  all  10 


ST.  MATTHEW  85 

11  the  city  was  moved,   saying,  Who  is  this?    And   Chap. 21 
the  miihitude  said,  This  is  Jesus  the  prophet  of 

12  Nazareth  of  GaHlee.  And  Jesus  went  into  thejesnsin 
temple  of  God,  and  cast  out  all  them  that  sold  and  pig/^"^' 
bought  in  the  temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of 

the  moneychangers,  and  the  seats  of  them  that  sold 

13  doves,  and  said  unto  them,  It  is  written.  My  house 
shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer ;  but  ye  have 
made  it  a  den  of  thieves. 

14  And  the  bUnd  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in 

15  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 

16  were  sore  displeased,  and  said  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? 

17  And  he  left  them,  and  went  out  of  the  city  into  The  barren 
Bethany  ;  and  he  lodged  there.  '^ 

18  Now  in  the  morning  as  he  returned  into  the  city, 

19  he  hungered.  And  when  he  saw  a  fig  tree  in  the 
way,  he  came  to  it,  and  found  nothing  thereon,  but 
leaves  only,  and  said  unto  it.  Let  no  fruit  grow  on 
thee  henceforward  for  ever.  And  presently  the  fig 
tree  withered  away. 

20  And  when  the  disciples  saw  //,  they  marvelled, 
saying,  How  soon  is  the  fig  tree  withered  away ! 

21  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you.  If  ye  have  faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall 
not  only  do  this  which  is  done  to  the  fig  tree,  but 
also  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Be  thou 
removed,  and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea ;  it  shall 


86  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  21   be  done.     And  all  things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  22 

in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive. 
Contro-  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the  23 

the  temple  chief  priests  and  the  elders   of  the  people  came 
about  the    unto  him  as  he  was  teaching,  and  said,  By  what 
authority  doest  thou  these  things  ?  and  who  gave 
thee  this  authority  ?    And  Jesus  answered  and  said  24 
unto  them,  I  also  will  ask  you  one  thing,  which  if 
ye  tell  me,  I   in  like  wise  will  tell  you  by  what 
authority  I  do  these  things.     The  baptism  of  John,   25 
whence  was  it  ?  from  heaven,  or  of  men  ?  And  they 
reasoned  with  themselves,  saying.  If  we  shall  say, 
From  heaven ;    he  will  say  unto  us.  Why  did  ye 
not  then  believe  him  ?      But  if  we  shall  say,  Of  26 
men;    we  fear  the  people;   for  all  hold  John  as 
a  prophet.      And  they  answered  Jesus,  and  said,   27 
We  cannot  tell.     And  he  said  unto  them.  Neither 
tell  I  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things. 

But  what  think  ye?     A  certain  man  had  two  28 
sons ;  and  he  came  to  the  first,  and  said,  Son,  go 
work  to  day  in  my  vineyard.      He  answered  and  29 
said,  I  will  not :    but  afterward  he  repented,  and 
went.      And   he  came  to   the  second,  and   said  30 
likewise.      And  he  answered  and  said,  I  go^  sir: 
and  went  not.      Whether  of  them  twain  did  the  31 
will  q{ 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  32 
the  way  of  righteousness,   and  ye  believed   him 
not :    but  the  publicans  and  the  harlots  believed 
him :   and  ye,  when  ye  had  seen  it^  repented  not 
afterward,  that  ye  might  believe  him. 


ST.  MATTHEW  87 

33  Hear  another  parable:  There  was  a  certain  Chap. 21 
householder,  which  planted  a  vineyard,  and  hedged  xhevine- 
it  round  about,  and  digged  a  winepress  in  it,  and  yard  and 
built  a  tower,  and  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  vants.  * 

34  went  into  a  far  country :  and  when  the  time  of 
the  fruit  drew  near,  he  sent  his  servants  to  the 
husbandmen,  that  they  might  receive  the  fruits  of 

35  it.  And  the  husbandmen  took  his  servants,  and 
beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned  another. 

36  Again,  he  sent  other  servants  more  than  the  first : 

37  and  they  did  unto  them  likewise.  But  last  of  all 
he   sent   unto   them   his    son,   saying.    They  will 

38  reverence  my  son.  But  when  the  husbandmen 
saw  the  son,  they  said  among  themselves,  This  is 
the  heir ;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and  let  us  seize  on 

39  his  inheritance.      And  they  caught  him,  and  cast 

40  hijit  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  slew  hi7n.  When  the 
lord  therefore  of  the  vineyard  cometh,  what  will  he 

41  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. 

42  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Did  ye  never  read  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  marvellous  in  our 

43  eyes?  Therefore  say  I  unto  you.  The  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken   from  you,   and  given  to 

44  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof.  And 
whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken  : 
but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  grind  him  to 

45  powder.  And  when  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees 
had  heard  his  parables,  they  perceived  that  he  spake 


88  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  21   of  them.     But  when  they  sought  to  lay  hands  on  46 
him,  they  feared  the  multitude,  because  they  took 
him  for  a  prophet. 
Parable  of      And  Jesus  answered  and  spake  unto  them  again  22 
riage  by  parables,  and  said,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is     2 

Feast         i[]^Q  ^j^|-Q  ^  ceitain  king,  which  made  a  marriage 

for  his  son,  and  sent  forth  his  servants  to  call  them     3 
that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding :  and  they  would 
not  come.      Again,  he  sent  forth  other  servants,     4 
saying,  Tell  them  which  are  bidden.  Behold,  I  have 
prepared  my  dinner  :  my  oxen  and  my  fatlings  are 
killed,  and  all  things  are  ready :    come  unto  the 
marriage.      But  they  made  light  of  //,  and  went    5 
their  ways,  one  to  his  farm,  another  to  his  mer- 
chandise :  and  the  remnant  took  his  servants,  and     6 
entreated  ^^em  spitefully,  and  slew  fkem.     But  when     7 
the  king  heard  thereof^  he  was  wroth  :  and  he  sent 
forth  his  armies,  and  destroyed  those  murderers, 
and  burned  up  their  city.     Then  saith  he  to  his     8 
servants.  The  wedding  is  ready,  but  they  which 
were  bidden  were  not  worthy.      Go  ye  therefore    9 
into  the  highways,  and  as  many  as  ye  shall  find, 
bid  to  the  marriage.     So  those  servants  went  out  10 
into  the  highw^ays,  and  gathered  together  all  as 
many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and  good :    and 
the  wedding  was  furnished  with  guests.    And  when  1 1 
the  king  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  saw  there 
a  man  which  had  not  on  a  wedding  garment :  and  12 
he  saith  unto  him.   Friend,  how  camest  thou  in 
hither  not  having  a  wedding  garment  ?    And  he  was 
speechless.     Then  said  the  king  to  the  servants,  13 
Bind    him    hand  and   foot,  and   take  him  away, 
and  cast  him  into  outer  darkness ;  there  shall  be 


ST.  MATTHEW  89 

14  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.      For  many  are  Chap.  22 
called,  but  few  are  chosen. 

15  Then  went  the  Pharisees,  and  took  counsel  how  A  con- 

16  they  might  entangle  him  in  his  talk.    And  they  sent  ^P^^*^^* 
out  unto  him  their  disciples  with  the  Herodians, 
saying,   Master,  we  know  that  thou  art  true,  and 
teachest  the  way  of  God  in  truth,  neither  carest 

thou  for  any  man :    for  thou   regardest   not   the 

17  person  of  men.  Tell  us  therefore,  What  thinkest 
thou  ?     Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar,  or 

18  not?     But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and 

19  said,  Why  tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites  ?  Shew  me 
the  tribute  money.     And  they  brought  unto  him 

20  a  penny.     And  he  saith  unto  them.  Whose  is  this 

21  image  and  superscription  ?  They  say  unto  him, 
Caesar's.  Then  saith  he  unto  them,  Render  there- 
fore unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's ;  and 

22  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's.  When  they 
had  heard  fhese  words,  they  marvelled,  and  left 
him,  and  went  their  way. 

23  The  same  day  came  to  him  the  Sadducees,  which  The  Sad- 
say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  and  asked  him,  question. 

24  saying.  Master,  Moses  said,  If  a  man  die,  having 
no  children,  his  brother  shall  marry  his  wife,  and 

25  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother.  Now  there  were 
with  us  seven  brethren  :  and  the  first,  when  he  had 
married  a  wife,  deceased,  and,  having  no  issue,  left 

26  his  wife  unto  his  brother  :  likewise  the  second  also, 

27  and  the  third,  unto  the  seventh.     And  last  of  all 

28  the  woman  died  also.  Therefore  in  the  resurrection 
whose  wife  shall  she  be  of  the  seven  ?  for  they  all 

29  had  her.  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Ye 
do  err,  not  knowing  the  scriptures,  nor  the  power 


90 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  22   of  God.    For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry,  30 
nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of 
God  in  heaven.     But  as  touching  the  resurrection  31 
of  the  dead,   have  ye   not  read   that  which  was 
spoken  unto  you  by  God,  saying,  I  am  the  God  32 
of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob  ?  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of 
the  Hving.     And  when  the  multitude  heard  this^  33 
they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine. 
The  law-         But  when  the  Pharisees  had  heard  that  he  had  34 
tion?  ^"^^   put  ^^  Sadducees  to  silence,  they  were  gathered 

together.     Then  one  of  them,  which  was  a  lawyer,  35 
asked  him  a  question^  tempting  him,  and  saying, 
Master,  which  is  the  great  commandment  in  the  36 
law?     Jesus  said  unto  him.  Thou  shalt  love  the  37 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.     This  is  the  first  and  38 
great  commandment.    And  the  second  is  like  unto  39 
it.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     On  40 
these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets. 

While   the   Pharisees   were   gathered    together,  41 
Jesus  asked  them,  saying,  What  think  ye  of  Christ?  42 
whose  son  is  he ?     They  say  unto  him,  l.'he  son  of 
David.      He   saith    unto    them,    How  then    doth  43 
David  in  spirit  call  him  Lord,  saying.  The  Lord  44 
said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till 
I  make  thine  enemies   thy  footstool?      If  David  45 
then  call  him  Lord,  how  is  he  his  son  ?     And  no  46 
man  was  able  to  answer  him  a  word,  neither  durst 
any  7na7i  from  that  day  forth  ask  him  any  more 
questions. 

Then  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitude,  and  to  his  23 


Another 

great 

question 

from 

Jesus 


ST.  MATTHEW  91 

2  disciples,  saying,  The  scribes   and  the   Pharisees   Chap.  23 

3  sit  in  Moses'  seat :  all  therefore  whatsoever  they  jgsus 
bid  you  observe,  that  observe  and  do  :  but  do  not  ^^^  *^^ 

.  scribes, 

ye  after  their  works :    for  they  say,   and  do  not. 

4  For  they  bind  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be 
borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders ;  but  they 
themselves  will  not  move  them  with  one  of  their 

5  fingers.  But  all  their  works  they  do  for  to  be  seen 
of  men  :  they  make  broad  their  phylacteries,  and 

6  enlarge  the  borders  of  their  garments,  and  love  the 
uppermost  rooms  at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats  in 

7  the  synagogues,  and  greetings  in  the  markets,  and 

8  to  be  called  of  men,  Rabbi,  Rabbi.  But  be  not 
ye  called    Rabbi :    for  one  is  your   Master,   even 

9  Christ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren.  And  call  no 
7?ia7i  your  father  upon  the  earth  :   for  one  is  your 

10  Father,  which -is  in  heaven.  Neither  be  ye  called 
masters :    for   one   is   your    Master,    even   Christ. 

11  But  he  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your 

12  servant.  And  whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall 
be  abased ;  and  he  that  shall  humble  himself  shall 
be  exalted. 

13  But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo-  Seven 
crites !    for   ye  shut  up  the   kingdom    of  heaven 
against  men:  for  ye  neither  go  m. yourselves,  neither 

14  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in.  Woe 
unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for 
ye  devour  widows'  houses,  and  for  a  pretence  make 
long  prayer :  therefore  ye  shall  receive  the  greater 

15  damnation.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites  !  for  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make 
one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made,  ye  make  him 
twofold  more  the  child  of  hell  than  yourselves. 


woes. 


92  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  23   Woe  unto  you,  ye  blind  guides,  which  say,  Who-  iC 
'      "      soever  shall  swear  by  the  temple,  it  is  nothing; 
but  whosoever   shall   swear  by  the   gold   of  the 
temple,  he  is  a  debtor!      Ye  fools  and  blind:  for  17 
whether  is  greater,  the  gold,  or  the  temple  that 
sanctifieth  the  gold  ?    And,  Whosoever  shall  swear  18 
by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing ;  but  whosoever  sweareth 
by  the  gift  that  is  upon  it,  he  is  guilty.      Ye  fools  19 
and  blind  :  for  whether  is  greater,  the  gift,  or  the 
altar  that  sanctifieth  the  gift?     Whoso  therefore  20 
shall  swear  by  the  altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all 
things   thereon.     And  whoso  shall  swear  by  the  21 
temple,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  him  that  dwelleth 
therein.      And   he   that   shall    swear   by  heaven,  22 
sweareth  by  the  throne  of  God,  and  by  him  that 
sitteth  thereon.    Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Phari-  23 
sees,    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  to  leave  the 
other  undone.      Ye  blind  guides,  which  strain  at  24 
a  gnat,  and  swallow  a  camel.      Woe  unto  you,  25. 
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  26 
within  the  cup  and  platter,   that  the  outside  of 
them  may  be  clean  also.     Woe  unto  you,  scribes  27 
Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ye  are  like  unto  whited 
sepulchres,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  outward, 
but  are  within  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  of  all 
uncleanness.     Even  so  ye  also  outwardly  appear  28 
righteous  unto  men,  but  within  ye  are  full  of  hypo- 


ST.  MATTHEW  93 

29  crisy  and  iniquity.      Woe   unto  you,  scribes  and    Chap.  23 
Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  because  ye  build  the  tombs 

of  the  prophets,  and  garnish  the  sepulchres  of  the 

30  righteous,  and  say.  If  we  had  been  in  the  days  of 
our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been  partakers  with 

31  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets.  Wherefore 
ye  be  witnesses  unto  yourselves,  that  ye  are  the 

32  children  of  them  which  killed  the  prophets.     Fill 

33  ye  up  then  the  measure  of  your  fathers.  Ye  ser- 
pents, ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape 

34  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  Wherefore,  behold,  I  send 
unto  you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes : 
and  some  of  them  ye  shall  kill  and  crucify ;  and 
some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  synagogues, 

35  and  persecute  f/iem  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 

36  slew  between  the  temple  and  the  altar.  Verily  I 
say  unto  you.  All  these  things  shall  come  upon 

37  this  generation.    O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  fkou  that  Lament 
killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are  saiem.^^^ 
sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered 

thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens    under   /ler   wings,    and   ye   would    not ! 

38  Behold,    your    house    is    left    unto    you    desolate. 

39  For  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  not  see  me  hence- 
forth, till  ye  shall  say.  Blessed  ts  he  that  eometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

24      And  Jesus  went  out,   and  departed    from    the  jesus 
temple :  and  his  disciples  came  to  h'm  for  to  shew  Jestruc^- 
2  him  the  buildings  of  the  temple.     And  Jesus  said  tion. 
unto  them,  See  ye  not  all  these  things?   verily  I 


94 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  24    say  unto  you,  There  shall  not  be   left  here  one 
stone   upon   another,    that    shall   not    be   thrown 
down.     And  as  he  sat  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,     3 
the  disciples  came  unto  him  privately,  saying,  Tell 
us,  when  shall  these  things  be  ?  and  what  shall  be 
the  sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the 
world  ?     And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,    4 
Take  heed  that  no  man  deceive  you.     For  many    5 
shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am  Christ ;  and 
shall  deceive  many.      And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars    6 
and  rumours  of  wars  :  see  that  ye  be  not  troubled  : 
for  all  these  things  must  come  to  pass,  but  the  end 
is  not  yet.     For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,     7 
and  kingdom  against  kingdom  :  and  there  shall  be 
famines,  and  pestilences,  and  earthquakes,  in  divers 
places.     All  these  are  the  beginning  of  sorrows.     8 
Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and    9 
shall  kill  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations 
for  my  name's  sake.     And  then  shall  many  be  10 
offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another,  and  shall 
hate  one  another.     And  many  false  prophets  shall  11 
rise,  and  shall  deceive  many.    And  because  iniquity  12 
shall  abound,  the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold. 
But  he  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  13 
shall  be  saved.     And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  14 
shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto 
all  nations ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come. 

When  ye  therefore  shall  see  the  abomination  of  15 
desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand 
in  the  holy  place,  (whoso  readeth,  let  him  under- 
stand :)  then  let  them  which  be  in  Judaea  flee  into  16 
the  mountains:  let  him  which  is  on  the  housetop  17 
not  come  down  to  take  any  thing  out  of  his  house ; 


ST.  MATTHEW  95 

18  neither  let  him  which  is  in  the  field  return  back   Chap.  24 

19  to  take  his  clothes.  And  woe  unto  them  that  are 
with  child,  and  to  them  that  give  suck  in  those 

20  days  !     But  pray  ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the 

21  winter,  neither  on  the  sabbath  day:  for  then  shallr 
be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since  the 
beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever 

22  shall  be.  And  except  those  days  should  be 
shortened,  there  should  no  flesh  be  saved  :  but  for 
the  elect's    sake  those  days  shall   be   shortened. 

23  Then  if  any  man  shall  say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is 

24  Christ,  or  there;  believe  //  not.  For  there  shall 
arise  false  Christs,  and  false  prophets,  and  shall 
shew  great  signs  and  wonders  ;  insomuch  that,  if  it 

25  were  possible,  they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect.    Be- 

26  hold,  I  have  told  you  before.  Wherefore  if  they 
shall  say  unto  you.  Behold,  he  is  in  the  desert; 
go  not  forth :    behold,  he  is  in  the  secret  cham- 

27  bers ;  believe  if  not.  For  as  the  lightning  cometh 
out  of  the  east,  and  shineth  even  unto  the  west ; 
so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

28  For  wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there  will  the  eagles 
be  gathered  together. 

29  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  Signs  in 
shall  the  sun  be  darkened^,  and  the  moon  shall  not  ^^'^®^- 
give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven, 

and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken  : 

30  and  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 

31  great  glory.  And  he  shall  send  his  angels  w4th 
a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather 


96  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  24   together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one 
end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 

Now  learn  a  parable  of  the  fig  tree ;  When  his  32 
branch  is  yet  tender,  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  ye 
know  that  summer  is  nigh :  so  likewise  ye,  when  33 
ye  shall  see  all  these  things,  know  that  it  is  near, 
even  at  the  doors.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  This  34 
generation  shall  not  pass,  till  all  these  things  be 
fulfilled.     Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  35 
my  words  shall  not  pass  away. 

But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man^  no,  36 
not  the  angels  of  heaven,   but  my  Father  only. 
But  as  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall  also  the  37 
coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be.     For  as  in  the  days  38 
that  were  before  the  flood  they  were  eating  and 
drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until 
the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark,  and  knew  39 
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  40 
taken,  and  the  other  left.      Two  tvomen  shall  de  41 
grinding  at  the  mill ;  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and 
the  other  left. 

Watch  therefore :    for  ye  know  not  what  hour  42 
your  Lord  doth  come.     But  know  this,  that  if  the  43 
goodman  of  the  house  had  known  in  what  watch 
the  thief  would  come,  he  would  have  watched,  and 
would  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be  broken 
up.     Therefore  be  ye  also  ready :   for  in  such  an  44 
hour  as  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  man  coraeth. 
Who  then  is  a  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his  45 
lord  hath  made  ruler  over  his  household,  to  give 
them  meat  in  due  season  ?    Blessed  is  that  servant,  46 


ST.  MATTHEW  97 

whom  his  lord  when  he  cometh  shall  find  so  doing.   Chap.  21 

47  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  That  he  shall  make  him  ruler 

48  over  all  his  goods.  But  and  if  that  evil  servant 
shall  say  in  his  heart,  My  lord  delayeth  his  coming ; 

49  and  shall  begin  to  smite  his  fellowservants,  and  to 

50  eat  and  drink  with  the  drunken ;  the  lord  of  that 
servant  shall  come  in  a  day  when  he  looketh  not 
for  hi7n^  and  in  an  hour  that  he  is  not  aware  of, 

51  and  shall  cut  him  asunder,  and  appoint  hi7ti  his 
portion  with  the  hypocrites  :  there  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

25      Then  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  The  Ten 
unto  ten  virgins,  which  took  their  lamps,  and  went    "'^^^• 

2  forth  to  meet  the  bridegroom.     And  five  of  them 

3  were  wise,  and  five  ivere  foolish.  They  that  were 
foolish   took    their  lamps,   and   took    no  oil  with 

4  them  :    but  the  wise  took  oil  in  their  vessels  with 

5  their  lamps.      While  the  bridegroom  tarried,  they 

6  all  slumbered  and  slept.  And  at  midnight  there 
was  a  cry  made.  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh ; 

7  go  ye  out  to  meet  him.      Then  all  those  virgins 

8  arose,  and  trimmed  their  lamps.  And  the  foolish 
said  unto  the  wise.  Give  us  of  your  oil ;    for  our 

9  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 

10  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 

11  the   door  was   shut.      Afterward   came    also    the 

12  other  virgins,  saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us.  But 
he  answered  and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I 

13  know  you    not.     Watch  therefore,    for  ye    know 

H 


98  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  25   neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of 
man  cometh. 
Parable  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  a  man  travelHng  14 

Talents       J^to  a  far  country,  who  called  his  own  servants, 

and  delivered  unto  them  his  goods.     And  unto  15 
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  16 
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  17 
also  gained  other  two.     But  he  that  had  received  18 
one  went  and  digged  in  the  earth,  and  hid  his 
lord's  money.     After  a  long  time  the  lord  of  those  19 
servants  cometh,  and  reckoneth  with  them.     And  20 
so  he  that   had   received  five  talents  came  and 
brought  other  five  talents,  saying,  Lord,  thou  de- 
liveredst   unto  me  five  talents :    behold,   I    have 
gained  beside  them  five  talents  more.      His  lord  21 
said  unto  him.  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful 
servant :  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things, 
I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things :    enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord.      He  also  that  had  22 
received  two  talents  came  and  said,  Lord,  thou 
deliveredst  unto  me  two  talents  :   behold,  I  have 
gained  two  other  talents  beside  them.     His  lord  23 
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  joy  of  thy  lord.     Then  he  which  had  24 
received  the  one  talent  came  and  said,  Lord,  I  knew 
thee  that  thou  art  an  hard  man,  reaping  where  thou 
hast  not  sown,  and  gathering  where  thou  hast  not 


ST.  MATTHEW  99 

25  strawed  :  and  I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy    Chap.  25 
talent  in  the  earth  :  lo,  there  thou  hast  that  is  thine. 

26  His  lord  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Thoic  wicked 
and  slothful  servant,  thou  knewest  that  I  reap  where 
I  sowed  not,  and  gather  where  I  have  not  strawed  : 

27  thou  oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to 
the  exchangers,  and  then  at  my  coming  I  should 

28  have  received  mine  own  with  usury.  Take  there- 
fore the  talent  from  him,   and  give  it  unto  him 

29  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 

30  even  that  which  he  hath.  And  cast  ye  the  unprofit- 
able servant  into  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

31  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  The  Judge- 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  ^^^  ' 

32  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory  :  and  before  him  shall 
be  gathered  all  nations  :  and  he  shall  separate  them 
one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep 

33  from  the  goats :  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his 

34  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  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world : 

35  for  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat : 
I    was   thirsty,   and   ye   gave   me   drink :    I   was 

36  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in :  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me :  I  was 

37  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the 
righteous  answer  him,  saying.  Lord,  when  saw  we 
thee  an  hungred,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty,  and  gave 

38  thee  drink?     When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and 

II  2 


ICO  ST.   MATTHEW 

Chap. 25   took  thee  in?    or  naked,  and  clothed  theel      Or  39 
when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  caine 
unto  thee?     And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  40 
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  41 
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  hungred,  42 
and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :    I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  no  drink :    I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  43 
me  not  in  :   naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not :  sick, 
and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.     Then  shall  44 
they  also  answer  him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we 
thee  an  hungred,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or  naked, 
or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto 
thee?     Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying,  Verily  45 
I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  //  not  to  one 
of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  //  not  to  me.     And  46 
these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment : 
but  the  righteous  into  Hfe  eternal. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  26 
all  these  sayings,  he  said  unto  his  disciples.  Ye     2 
know  that  after  two  days  is  the  feast  ^the  passover, 
and  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  to  be  crucified. 

Then  assembled  together  the  chief  priests,  and    3 
the  scribes,  and  the  elders  of  the  people,  unto  the 
palace  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas, 
and  consulted  that  they  might  take  Jesus  by  subtilty,     4 
and  kill  him.     But  they  said.  Not  on  the  feast  day^     5 
lest  there  be  an  uproar  among  the  people. 

Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house    6 
of  Simon  the  leper,  there  came  unto  him  a  woman     7 


ST.  MATTHEW  loi 

having  an  alabaster  box  of  very  precious  ointment,    Chap.  26 

8  and  poured  it  on  his  head,  as  he  sat  at  meat.     But 
when  his  disciples   saw  zV,  they  had  indignation, 

9  saying,  To  what  purpose  is  this  waste?     For  this 
ointment  might  have  been  sold  for  much,  and  given 

10  to  the  poor.  When  Jesus  understood  it,  he  said 
unto  them,  Why  trouble  ye  the  woman?   for  she 

11  hath  wrought  a  good  work  upon  me.  For  ye  have 
the  poor  always  with  you ;   but  me  ye  have  not 

12  always.     For  in  that  she  hath  poured  this  ointment 

13  on  my  body,  she  did  it  for  my  burial.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  AVheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached 
in  the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this 
woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her. 

14  Then  one  of  the  twelve,  called  Judas  Iscariot,  The  be- 

15  went   unto  the  chief  priests,  and  said  unto  them^  trayai. 
What  will  ye  give  me,  and  I  will  deliver  him  unto 
you?     And  they  covenanted  with  him  for  thirty 

16  pieces  of  silver.  And  from  that  time  he  sought 
opportunity  to  betray  him. 

17  Now  the  first  day  of  th^  feast  ^  unleavened  The  Last 
bread    the  disciples  came  to   Jesus,   saying  unto    "PP®"' 
him,  W^here  wilt  thou  that  we  prepare  for  thee  to 

18  eat  the  passover?  And  he  said.  Go  into  the  city 
to  such  a  man,  and  say  unto  him.  The  Master 
saith.  My  time  is  at  hand;  I  will  keep  the  passover 

19  at  thy  house  with  my  disciples.  And  the  disciples 
did  as  Jesus  had  appointed  them  ;  and  they  made 
ready  the  passover. 

2D       Now  when  the   even  was   come,  he  sat  down 

21  with  the  twelve.  And  as  they  did  eat,  he  said, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray 

22  me.    And  they  were  exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began 


I02  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  20   every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him,  Lord,  is  it  I  ? 

And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  dippeth  h's  23 
hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray 
me.      The  Son  of  man  goeth  as  it  is  written  of  24 
him  :   but  woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son 
of  man  is  betrayed !    it  had  been  good  for  that 
man  if  he  had  not  been  born.     Then  Judas,  which  25 
betrayed  him,  answered  and  said,  Master,  is  it  I  ? 
He  said  unto  him.  Thou  hast  said. 

And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  26 
blessed  //,  and  brake  //,  and  gave  /V  to  the  disciples, 
and  said.  Take,  eat;    this  is  my  body.      And  he  27 
took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  /*/  to  them, 
saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of  28 
the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the 
remission  of  sins.     But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  29 
drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that 
day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's 
kingdom. 

And  when  they  had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  30 
Desertion    out  into  the  mount  of  Olives.     Then  saith  Jesus  31 
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,  32 
I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee.     Peter  answered  33 
and  said  unto  him.  Though  all  men  shall  be  oflended 
because  of  thee,  j<?/  will  I  never  be  offended.    Jesus  34 
said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee.  That  this 
night,  before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me 
thrice.     Peter  said  unto  him,  Though  I  should  die  35 
with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee.     Likewise  also 
said  all  the  disciples. 


predicted. 


ST.  MATTHEW  103 

16       Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place  called   Chap,  20 
Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit  ye  GethseT 

37  here,  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder.     And  he  took  mane, 
with  him  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and 

3S  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy.  Then  saith 
he  unto  them,  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful, 
even  unto  death :    tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with 

39  me.  And  he  went  a  little  farther,  and  fell  on  his 
face,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  it  be 
possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me :   nevertheless 

40  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  7c>i7f.  And  he  cometh 
unto  the  disciples,  and  findeth  them  asleep,  and 
saith  unto  Peter,  What,  could  ye  not  watch  with 

41  me  one  hour?  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not 
into  temptation  :  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the 

42  flesh  IS  weak.  He  went  away  again  the  second  time, 
and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may 
not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will 

43  be  done.     And  he  came  and  found  them  asleep 

44  again :  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.  And  he  left 
them,  and  went  away  again,  and  prayed  the  third 

45  time,  saying  the  same  words.  Then  cometh  he 
to  his  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them,  Sleep  on 
now,  and  take  your  rest :  behold,  the  hour  is 
at  hand,  and   the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into 

46  the  hands  of  sinners.  Rise,  let  us  be  going: 
behold,  he  is  at  hand  that  doth  betray  me. 

47  And  while  he  yet  spake,  lo,  Judas,  one  of  the  Jesus 
twelve,  came,  and  with  him  a  great  multitude  with  j^Xs.  ^ 
swords   and   staves,    from    the    chief   priests    and 

48  elders  of  the  people.  Now  he  that  betrayed  him 
gave  them  a  sign,  saying,  Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss, 

49  that  same  is  he :    hold  him  fast.     And  forthwith 


I04  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap. 26  he  came  to  Jesus,  and  said,  Hail,  master;    and 

kissed  him.     And  Jesus  said   unto  him,  Friend,  50 
wherefore  art  thou  come?   Then  came  they,  and 
laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and  took  him.     And,  behold,  51 
one  of  them  which  were  with  Jesus  stretched  out 
his  hand,  and  drew  his  sword,  and  struck  a  servant 
of  the  high  priest's,  and  smote  off  his  ear.     Then  52 
said  Jesus  unto  him,  Put  up  again  thy  sword  into 
his  place :  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish   with   the    sword.     Thinkest   thou    that    I  53 
cannot   now   pray   to   my    Father,    and   he    shall 
presently  give   me  more   than   twelve  legions  of 
angels?      But   how  then  shall  the   scriptures   be  54 
fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  ?    In  that  same  hour  55 
said  Jesus  to  the  multitudes.  Are  ye  come  out  as 
against  a  thief  with  swords  and  staves  for  to  take 
me  ?    I  sat  daily  with  you  teaching  in  the  temple, 
and  ye  laid  no  hold  on  me.    But  all  this  was  done,  56 
that  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets  might  be  ful- 
filled.    Then  all  the  disciples  forsook  him,  and 
fled. 

And  they  that  had  laid  hold  on  Jesus  led  hbn  57 
away  to  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  where  the  scribes 
and  the  elders  were   assembled.     But  Peter  fol-  58 
lowed  him  afar  off  unto  the  high  priest's  palace, 
and  went  in,  and  sat  with  the  servants,  to  see  the 
end.     Now  the  chief  priests,  and  elders,  and  all  59 
the  council,  sought  false  witness  against  Jesus,  to 
put  him  to  death ;  but  found  none  :   yea,  though  60 
many  false  witnesses  came,  yet  found  they  none. 
At  the  last  came  two  false  witnesses,  and  said,  61 
This  fellow  said,  I  am  able  to  destroy  the  temple  of 
God,  and  to  build  it  in  three  days.     And  the  high  62 


ST.  MATTHEW  105 

priest  arose,  and  said  unto  him,  Answerest  thou  Chap.  2^ 
nothing?    what  is  it  ivhich  these  witness  against 

63  thee?  But  Jesus  held  his  peace.  And  the  high 
priest  answered  and  said  unto  him,  I  adjure  thee 
by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 

64  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith  unto 
him.  Thou  hast  said  :  nevertheless  I  say  unto  you, 
Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  on 
the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds 

65  of  heaven.  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes, 
saying,  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy;  what  further 
need  have  we  of  witnesses?  behold,  now  ye  have 

66  heard    his    blasphemy.       What   think    ye?    They 

67  answered  and  said,  He  is  guilty  of  death.  Then 
did  they  spit  in  his  face,  and  buffeted  him;  and 
others  smote  him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands, 

68  saying,  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ,  Who  is  he 
that  smote  thee  ? 

69  Now  Peter  sat  without  in  the  palace :    and  a  Peter's 
damsel  came  unto  him,   saying,   Thou  also  wast 

70  with  Jesus  of  Galilee.     But  he  denied  before  them 

71  all,  saying,  I  know  not  what  thou  sayest.  And 
when  he  was  gone  out  into  the  porch,  another 
7naid  saw  him,  and  said  unto  them  that  were  there, 

72  "YMxs  fellow  was  also  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And 
again  he  denied  with  an  oath,  I  do  not  know  the 

73  man.  And  after  a  while  came  unto  kii)i  they  that 
stood  by,  and  said  to  Peter,  Surely  thou  also  art 
one    of    them ;    for   thy    speech    bewray eth    thee. 

74  Then  began  he  to  curse  and  to  swear,  saying,  I 
know  not  the  man.     And   immediately  the  cock 

75  crew.  And  Peter  remembered  the  word  of  Jesus, 
which  said  unto  him.  Before  the  cock  crow,  thou 


io6 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Jesus 
before 
Pilate. 


Tte  end  of 
Judas. 


Chap.  26   shalt  deny  me  thrice.     And  he  went  out,  and  wept 
'  bitterly. 

When   the   morning   was    come,    all   the   chief  27 
priests   and   elders   of  the   people    took    counsel 
against  Jesus  to  put  him  to  death  :  and  when  they     2 
had  bound  him,  they  led  hwi  away,  and  delivered 
him  to  Pontius  Pilate  the  governor. 

Then  Judas,  which  had  betrayed  him,  when  he    3 
saw  that  he  was  condemned,  repented  himself,  and 
brought  again  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief 
priests  and  elders,  saying,   I  have  sinned  in  that    4 
I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood.     And  they 
said,  What  is  that  to  us  ?   see  thou  to  that.     And     5 
he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple, 
and  departed,  and  went  and  hanged  himself.    And    6 
the  chief  priests  took  the  silver  pieces,  and  said,  It 
is  not  lawful  for  to  put  them  into  the  treasury, 
because  it  is  the  price  of  blood.     And  they  took    7 
counsel,  and  bought  with  them  the  potter's  field, 
to   bury  strangers  in.     Wherefore  that  field  was    8 
called.  The  field  of  blood,  unto  this  day.     Then    9 
was  fulfilled   that  which  was  spoken  by   Jeremy 
the    prophet,    saying,    And   they    took   the   thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  him  that  was  valued, 
whom   they  of  the  children  of  Israel  did  value; 
and  gave  them  for  the  potter's  field,  as  the  Lord  10 
appointed  me. 

And    Jesus    stood    before    the   governor :    and  1 1 
the  governor  asked  him,  saying,  Art  thou  the  King 
of   the   Jews?   And   Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou 
sayest.     And  when  he  was  accused  of  the  chief  12 
priests  and  elders,  he  answered  nothing.     Then  13 
said  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  not  hov/  many 


ST.  IMATTHEW  107 

14  things  they  witness  against  thee  ?   And  he  answered   Chap.  27 
him  to  never  a  word ;   insomuch  that  the  governor 

15  marvelled  greatly.  Now  at  that  feast  the  governor 
was  wont  to  release  unto  the  people  a  prisoner, 

16  w^hom  they  would.     And  they  had  then  a  notable 

17  prisoner,  called  Barabbas.  Therefore  when  they 
were  gathered  together,  Pilate  said  unto  them, 
Whom  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  you  ?   Barabbas, 

18  or  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?   For  he  knew  that 

19  for  envy  they  had  delivered  him.  When  he  was 
set  down  on  the  judgment  seat,  his  wife  sent  unto 
him,  saying,  Have  thou  nothing  to  do  with  that 
just  man :    for  I  have  suffered   many  things  this 

20  day  in  a  dream  because  of  him.  But  the  chief 
priests  and  elders  persuaded  the  multitude  that 
they   should    ask    Barabbas,   and    destroy    Jesus. 

21  The  governor  answered  and  said  unto  them. 
Whether  of  the  twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto 

22  you?  They  said,  Barabbas.  Pilate  saith  unto 
them,  What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is 
called  Christ  ?    They  all  say  unto  him.  Let  him  be 

23  crucified.  And  the  governor  said.  Why,  what  evil 
hath   he   done?     But  they  cried   out   the   more, 

24  saying.  Let  him  be  crucified.  When  Pilate  saw 
that  he  could  prevail  nothing,  but  that  rather 
a  tumult  was  made,  he  took  water,  and  washed 
his  hands  before  the  multitude,  saying,  I  am 
innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  person  :  see  ye 

25  /^  //.     Then  answered  all  the  people,  and  said, 

26  His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  children.  Then 
released  he  Barabbas  unto  them  :  and  when  he 
had  scourged  Jesus,  he  delivered  him  to  be 
crucified. 


io8  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  27       Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  27 
Jesus  is      i"to  the  common  hall,  and  gathered  unto  him  the 
delivered    whole  band  of  soldiers.     And  they  stripped  him,  28 

to  the  ,  /.  ,  ,  »      ,       ,  , 

soldiers,      and  put  on  him  a  scarlet  robe.     And  when  they  29 
had  platted  a  crown  of  thorns,  they  put  it  upon 
his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right  hand  :  and  they 
bowed   the  knee  before  him,   and  mocked  him, 
saying,  Hail,  King  of  the   Jews  !     And  they  spit  30 
upon  him,  and  took  the  reed,  and  smote  him  on 
the  head.     And  after  that  they  had  mocked  him,  31 
they  took  the  robe  off  from  him,  and  put  his  own 
raiment  on  him,  and  led  him  away  to  crucify  him. 
The  first     And   as   they   came   out,   they   found   a   man   of  32 
history  of    Cyrcne,  Simon  by  name:   him.  they  compelled  to 
thecruci-    bear  his  cross.     And  when  they  were  come  unto  33 
a  place  called  Golgotha,  that  is  to  say,  a  place  of 
a  skull,  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink  mingled  34 
with   gall :    and  when   he   had   tasted   thereof^  he 
would   not  drink.     And  they  crucified  him,  and  35 
parted  his  garments,  casting  lots  :   that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  They 
parted  my  garments  among  them,  and  upon  my 
vesture  did  they  cast  lots.     And  sitting  down  they  36 
watched  him  there ;  and  set  up  over  his  head  his  37 
accusation  written,  THIS  IS  JESUS  THE  KING 
OF  THE  JEWS.     Then  were  there  two  thieves  38 
crucified  with   him,  one  on   the  right  hand,  and 
another  on  the  left. 

And  they  that  passed  by  reviled  him,  wagging  39 
their  heads,  and  saying,  Thou  that  destroyest  the  40 
temple,  and  buildest  it  in  three  days,  save  thyself. 
If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the 
cross.     Likewise   also    the   chief  priests   mocking  41 


ST.  MATTHEW  109 

42  Jmn^  with  the  scribes  and  elders,  said,  He  saved    Chap.  27 
others ;    himself   he  cannot   save.     If  he   be  the 

King  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the 

43  cross,  and  we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted  in 
God;    let  him  deliver  him   now,  if  he   will   have 

44  him  :  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God.  The 
thieves  also,  which  were  crucified  with  him,  cast 

45  the  same  in  his  teeth.     Now  from  the  sixth  hour  The  later 
there  was    darkness    over    all    the  land   unto   the  the  cruci- 

46  ninth    hour.     And   about    the    ninth    hour  Jesus  fi^ion. 
cried  with   a    loud    voice,   saying,    Eli,   Eli,  lama 
sabachthani  ?   that  is  to  say,  My   God,  my   God, 

47  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  Some  of  them  that 
stood   there,    when   they  heard   that^    said.   This 

48  man  calleth  for  Elias.  And  straightway  one  of 
them  ran,  and  took  a  spunge,  and  filled  it  with 
vinegar,  and  put  -it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to 

49  drink.     The  rest  said,  Let  be,  let  us  see  whether 

50  Elias  will  come  to  save  him.  Jesus,  when  he  had 
cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  yielded  up  the  ghost. 

51  And,  behold,  the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in 
twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom ;  and  the  earth 

52  did  quake,  and  the  rocks  rent;  and  the  graves 
were   opened ;     and    many    bodies    of  the    saints 

53  which  slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after 
his  resurrection,  and  went  into  the  holy  city,  and 

54  appeared  unto  many.  Now  when  the  centurion, 
and  they  that  were  with  him,  watching  Jesus,  saw 
the  earthquake,  and  those  things  that  were  done, 
they  feared  greatly,  saying.  Truly  this  was  the  So^i 

55  of  God.  And  many  women  were  there  beholding 
afar  off,  which  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  minister- 

56  ing  unto  him  :  among  which  was  Mary  Magdalene, 


no  ST.  MATTHEW 

Chap.  27  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  the 
mother  of  Zebedee's  children. 
The  body        When  the  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  57 
carfd  for     "^^^  ^^  Arimathsa,  named  Joseph,  who  also  him- 
by  Joseph,  self  was  Jesus'  disciple  :    he  went  to  Pilate,  and  58 
begged  the  body  of  Jesus.  Then  Pilate  commanded 
the  body  to  be  delivered.     And  when  Joseph  had  59 
taken  the  body,  he  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen 
cloth,  and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  he  60 
had  hewn  out  in  the  rock :  and  he  rolled  a  great 
stone  to  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  departed. 
And  there  was  Mary  Magdalene,  and  the  other  61 
Mary,  sitting  over  against  the  sepulchre. 
The  priests      Now  the  next  day,  that  followed  the  day  of  the  62 
preparation,  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  came 
together  unto  Pilate,  saying,  Sir,  we  remember  that  63 
that  deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  After 
three  days  I  will  rise  again.     Command  therefore  64 
that  the  sepulchre  be  made   sure  until  the  third 
day,  lest  his  disciples  come  by  night,  and  steal  him 
away,  and  say  unto  the  people,  He  is  risen  from 
the  dead :  so  the  last  error  shall  be  worse  than  the 
first.     Pilate  said  unto  them,  Ye  have  a  watch  :  go  65 
your  way,  make  //  as  sure  as  ye  can.     So  they  66 
went,  and  made  the  sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the 
stone,  and  setting  a  watch. 
There  In  the  end  of  the  sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  28 

Burrection.  toward  the  first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Mag- 
dalene and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulchre. 
And,  behold,  there  was  a  great  earthquake :  for  2 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven, 
and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the 
door,  and  sat  upon  it.     His  countenance  was  like    3 


ST.  MATTHEW  iii 

4  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow  :  and  for    Chap.  28 
fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and  became  as 

5  dead  men.  And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto 
the  women,  Fear  not  ye  :   for  I  know  that  ye  seek 

6  Jesus,  which  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here :  for 
he  is  risen,  as  he  said.    Come,  see  the  place  where 

7  the  Lord  lay.  And  go  quickly,  and  tell  his  dis- 
ciples that  he  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  and,  behold, 
he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee;   there  shall  ye 

8  see  him  :  lo,  I  have  told  you.  And  they  departed 
quickly  from  the  sepulchre  with  fear  and  great  joy; 
and  did  run  to  bring  his  disciples  word. 

9  And  as  they  went  to  tell  his  disciples,  behold, 
Jesus  met  them,  saying,  All  hail.  And  they  came 
and  held  him  by  the  feet,  and  worshipped  him. 

10  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them.  Be  not  afraid  :  go  tell 
my  brethren  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  and  there 
shall  they  see  me. 

11  Now  when   they  were  going,   behold,  some   of  The 
the  watch  came  into  the  city,  and  shewed  unto  the  f^^o^rt^o 

12  chief  priests  all  the  things  that  were  done.     And  ^^^  P^^ests. 
when  they  were  assembled  with  the  elders,  and 

had  taken  counsel,  they  gave  large  money  unto 

13  the  soldiers,  saying,  Say  ye,  His  disciples  came  by 

14  night,  and  stole  him  away  while  we  slept.  And  if 
this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will  persuade 

15  him,  and  secure  you.  So  they  took  the  money, 
and  did  as  they  were  taught :  and  this  saying  is 
commonly  reported  among  the  Jews  until  this  day. 

16  Then  the  eleven  disciples  went  away  into  Galilee,  Departure 
into  a  mountain  where  Jesus  had  appointed  them,  disciples 

17  And  when  they  saw  him,  they  worshipped  him  :  into 

.  111*,^  1  ,      Galilee. 

18  but  some  doubted.     And  Jesus  came  and  spake 


112 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Chap.  28   unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 

heaven  and  in  earth.     Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  i.j 
all  nations,   baptizing  them   in   the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  20 
have  commanded  you  :    and,  lo,  I   am  with   you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.     Amen. 


THE   GOSPEL  ACCORDING    TO 
ST.   MATTHEW 

REVISED  VERSION  WITH  ANNOTATIONS 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 
ST.  MATTHEW 

The  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son 
of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham. 

The  Title  :  The  Gospel  according'  to  St.  Matthew.  '  The  Titles 
of  the  books  of  the  N.  T.  are  no  part  of  the  books  themselves  ^' 
The  above,  retained  by  the  revisers,  is  derived  from  Church 
lectionaries.  In  the  oldest  codices  the  four  gospels  were  bound 
together  under  the  common  designation,  *  The  Gospel,'  and  the 
separate  portions  were  headed  'according  to  Matthew,'  'accord- 
ing to  Mark '  and  the  rest.  The  first  meaning  of  the  Greek 
word  for  Gospel  was  that  of  '  a  reward  for  good  tidings  '  (Homer, 
&c. ;  2  Sam.  iv.  lo),  afterwards,  'good  tidings.'  The  word  is 
not  used  by  John  (except  Rev.  xiv,  6),  James,  Peter,  or  Luke. 
With  Paul  it  was  a  favourite  expression:  cf.  Rom.  i.  i6,  'I  am 
not  ashamed  of  the  gospel,'  i.  e.  of  the  Messianic  proclamation 
with  its  spiritual  contents.  It  is  not  used  in  the  N.  T.  as  the 
designation  for  a  book  (perhaps  Mark  i.  i).  The  Didache  frequently 
refers  to  *  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord,'  and  its  quotations  show  a  strong 
resemblance  to  our  '  Matthew.'  Justin  Martyr  also  speaks  of  '■  the 
apostolic  memoirs  which  are  called  gospels.' 

accordingr  to  St.  Matthew.  This  may  mean  the  gospel 
written  by  Matthew,  or  one  which  follows  Matthew  as  its  principal 
authority.  As  there  is  no  question  that  the  description  implies 
direct  authorship  when  applied  to  the  third  and  fourth  gospels,  we 
may  suppose  that  this  was  the  meaning  in  this  case  also.  On 
the  tradition  respecting  the  authorship,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
'Introduction.'  The  name  'Matthew'  was  written  in  two  ways; 
either  as  Math-thaeus,  where  it  resembles  Matthias  (Acts  i.  23),  or 
Mat-theus. 

i.  I  -1 7.  Genealogy.  Our  Lord's  genealogy  traced  from  Abraham 
through  the  line  of  Jewish  kings. 

1.  The  book  of  the  g-eneration  of  Jesns  Christ:  marg.  'the 
genealogy    of  Jesus  Christ.'      The  first  genealogy  of  the   Bible 

^  Wcstcott  and  Hurt,  A'^.  T,  ii.  321. 
I  2 


ii6  ST.  MATTHEW   1.  2,3 

2  Abraham  begat  Isaac;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob;   and 

3  Jacob  begat  Judah  and  his  brethren ;  and  Judah  begat 

begins  in  the  same  way  :  '  This  is  the  book  of  the  generations 
of  Adam'  (Gen.  ii.  4).  The  term  refers  onl3'^  to  the  genealogical 
register  to  which  verse  17  is  the  conclusion.  It  has  not  been 
noticed  that  if  attributed  to  the  whole  book,  it  would  involve  the 
designation  *  bible  '  for  documents  afterwards  known  as  '  gospels,' 
of  Jesus  Christ,  tlie  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham. 
As  a  proper  name,  'Jesus  Christ'  belongs  to  the  later  apostolic  time, 
and  in  the  gospels  is  only  found  in  Matt.  i.  i,  16,  17,  18  ;  Mark  i.  i ; 
John  i,  17,  xvii.  3.     In  the  Acts  and  Epistles  it  is  more  frequent. 

There  are  traces  that  before  the  exile  (Deut.  xxiii.  2-8 ;  2  Sam. 
xxiii.  24)  lists  of  families  existed,  but  after  the  return  they  obtained 
greater  importance.  Josephus  {Life,  i)  found  his  sacerdotal 
genealogy  '  described  in  the  public  records.'  Anna  (Luke  ii.  36) 
traced  her  descent  from  Asher,  and  Paul  (Phil.  iii.  5)  his  from 
Benjamin.  Few  of  these  archives  survived  the  destruction  of 
the  city. 

Readers  of  the  gospels — and  indeed  of  the  N.  T.  generally — 
should  remember  that  the  entire  record  is  intended  to  furnish 
the  answer  to  the  question  :  Who  was  Jesus  ?  '  Who  do  men  say 
that  the  Son  of  Man  is  ?  '  was  the  question  of  the  first  age  of  the 
church,  as  it  is  of  ours  (John  vi.  42,  vii.  40-43).  The  solution  is 
indicated  in  Matt.  xvi.  16  ;  John  xx.  31.  It  may  also  be  remarked 
that  the  earliest  gospel  had  for  its  substance  the  declaration — Jesus 
is  the  Christ  (i.  e.  the  Messiah  :  Acts  ii.  36,  xvii.  3,  xviii.  5,  28> 
The  first  converts  were  baptized  into  the  name  of  Jesus  (Acts 
ii.  28,  X.  48,  xix.  5;  Rom.  X.  9).  Both  Jews  and  Gentiles  would 
want  to  know  whether  Jesus  corresponded  to  the  prophetic 
description  of  the  Messiah.  The  origin  of  the  Messianic  conception 
in  Israel  is  not  easy  to  fix.  The  Talmud  and  early  Rabbinical 
writings  give  little  information.  If  we  pass  over  significant 
passages  in  the  later  Isaiah  and  other  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms, 
there  is  little  doubt  of  its  appearance  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  ;  e.  g. 
vii.  13-14,  ix.  25,  'the  anointed  one.'  The  expectation  of  one 
to  whom  dominion  and  judgement  should  be  assigned  appears  yet 
more  definitely  in  the  apocal3'-ptic  literature  of  the  Jews  ;  such  as 
the  *  Sybiliine  Oracles,'  the  'Book  of  Enoch,'  the  Apocalypses  of 
Ezra  and  Baruch,  the  *  Book  of  Jubilees,'  the  '  Psalms  of  Solomon.' 
The  political  and  social  distresses  of  the  period  which  culminated 
under  the  tyranny  of  the  Herods  had  drawn  the  learned  and 
devout  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  other  authorities,  in  order 
to  discover  the  signs  of  Messiah's  advent :  see  Matt.  ii.  4,  xii.  35  ; 
John  vii.  52. 

An  early  step  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Messianic  claims  of 


ST.  MATTHEW   1.  4  117 

Perez  and  Zerah  of  Tamar;  and  Perez  begat  Hezron; 
and  Hezron  begat  Ram ;   and  Ram  begat  Amminadab ;  4 

Jesus  was  to  establish  his  descent  from  Abraham  and  David. 
Mark  (and,  probably,  the  original  Matthew)  gives  no  account  of 
the  pedigree  and  childhood  of  Jesus,  though  he  shows  that  He 
was  called  'Son  of  David'  (x.  47,  xii.  35).  Paul  (i  Tim.  i.  4  ;  Titus 
iii.  9)  disparages  genealogies,  but  in  Rom.  i.  3  says  that  Jesus  was 
*  of  the  seed  of  David  after  the  flesh.* 

Luke  gives  a  genealogy  which  differs  from  that  of  Matthew  in  ' 
details  as  well  as  in  order  and  extent.  It  traces  the  succession 
from  son  to  father  instead  of  the  contrary,  and  pursues  the  pedigree 
up  to  Adam,  The  discrepancies  were  noticed  in  Origen's  time, 
but  none  in  his  day  had  any  additional  sources  of  information 
to  appeal  to.  Without  entering  into  a  minute  and  tedious 
comparison  of  the  two  lists,  we  may  refer  to  the  last  five  names. 

Matthew  has  the  series — Eliud,  Eleazar,  Matthan,  Jacob,  Joseph. 
Luke  has — Melchi,  Levi,  Matthat,  Heli,  Joseph.  Some  have 
conjectured  that  Luke  gives  the  descent  of  Mary,  Matthew  that 
of  Joseph.  But  Luke  mentions  seventeen  generations  between 
Zerubbabel  and  Joseph,  where  Matthew  has  only  nine.  Most  of 
the  names  differ  :  Matthan  (Matt.)  and  Matthat  (Luke)  may  refer  to 
the  same  person,  a  common  ancestor.  Another  and  earlier  theory 
said  fAfricanus,  a. d.  220)  that  Heli,  v/ho  had  married  the  widow 
of  his  brother  Jacob,  was  the  actual  father  of  Joseph,  but  Jacob 
the  legal  father.  This  theory  has  no  history  to  support  it,  and 
does  not  solve  the  remaining  difficulties.  A  further  scheme  is  that 
both  Matthew  and  Luke  intended  to  trace  the  regal  succession  : 
but  the  omission  of  seven  names  by  Matthew,  and  the  later  names 
having  no  royal  significance,  make  this  conjecture  unsatisfactory. 
Most  authorities  agree  that  both  evangelists  intended  to  exhibit  the 
Davidic  descent  of  Joseph,  but  by  independent  schemes.  As 
Wesley  has  said  {Notes  on  the  N.  T.,  Mark  i.  i)  'the  difficulties 
rather  affect  the  Jewish  tables  than  the  credit  of  the  evangelists.* 
We  must  take  the  list  as  it  stands.  Mej'er,  Holtzmann,  Morison, 
think  that  it  is  David  who  is  '  son  of  Abraham  '  (Weiss).  Alford 
and  Bruce  refer  both  to  Jesus.  Heb.  ii.  16  connects  Jesus  with 
the  family  of  Abraham. 

2.  Judah.  and  his  "brethren.  The  tribe  of  Judah  acquired  its 
royal  dignity  through  David,  but  'his  brethren'  shared  in  the 
kinship.  A  curious  result  of  the  Davidic  association — according  to 
Eusebius— was  the  elevation  of  James,  'brother  of  the  Lord,'  to 
the  chief  place  in  the  church  at  Jerusalem.  Hadrian  made 
diligent  inquiry  into  the  claims  of  his  successors,  who  were 
reputed  to  be  '  sons  of  David.' 

3.  Perez  and  Zerah.  The  R.  V.  gives  the  Hebrew  form  to  the 
majority  of  the  O.  T.  names:    thus  '  Phares   and    Zara '    (A.  V.) 


ii8  ST.  MATTHEW   1.  5-10 

and  Amniinadab  begat  Nahshon ;    and  Nahshon  begat 

5  Salmon ;  and  Salmon  begat  Boaz  of  Rahab ;  and  Boaz 

6  begat  Obed  of  Ruth  ;  and  Obed  begat  Jesse ;  and  Jesse 
begat  David  the  king. 

And  David  begat  Solomon  of  her  that  had  been  the 

7  wife  of  Uriah  ;    and  Solomon  begat  Rehoboam ;    and 

8  Rehoboam  begat  Abijah ;   and  Abijah  begat  Asa ;   and 
Asa  begat  Jehoshaphat ;  and  Jehoshaphat  begat  Joram ; 

9  and  Joram  begat  Uzziah ;    and  Uzziah  begat  Jotham ; 
10  and  Jotham  begat  Ahaz ;  and  Ahaz  begat  Hezekiah  ;  and 

become  '  Perez  and  Zerah.'  In  like  manner  *  Booz '  becomes 
'Boaz';  '  Ozias,'  'Uzziah';  *  Esaias,'  'Isaiah.'  Perez  and  Zerah 
were  illegitimate.  The  reference  to  Tamar,  Rahab,  Ruth,  and 
Bathsheba  are  explained  by  Weiss  on  the  ground  that  these 
persons  came  to  their  position  contrary  to  human  anticipation,  and 
by  a  special  interposition  of  God.  The  way  was  thus  prepared 
for  the  marvellous  history  of  the  virgin.  Luke  does  not  include  in 
his  account  any  reference  to  women. 

5.  and  Salmon  begat  Boaz  of  Raliab.  The  O.  T.  does  not 
mention  this  maternity  in  connexion  with  Rahab  of  Jericho.  The 
pedigree  agrees  with  that  of  i  Chron.  ii.  11;  Ruth  iv.  18-22, 
where  Rahab  is  not  mentioned.  There  were  three  centuries 
between  Rahab  of  Jericho  and  David.  Jewish  tradition  has 
a  report  that  Joshua  married  Rahab,  and  also  that  Boaz  was 
identical  with  Ibzan  (Judges  xii.  8-10).  That  Rahab  acquired 
a  place  in  Jewish  tradition  is  shown  by  Heb.  xi.  35  ;  Jas.  ii.  25. 

6.  David  the  king".  The  royal  dignity  of  the  great  forefather 
of  Jesus  is  emphasized.  Luke  traces  the  descent  through  Nathan, 
not  through  Solomon. 

8.  For  Asa,  the  marg.  'Asaph'  is  a  better  reading,  though  it 
seems  to  have  confused  the  king  with  the  great  singer.  The 
Hebrew  and  LXX  have  '  Asa.'  Here  Matthew  omits  three  names: 
Ahaziah,  Joash,  and  Amaziah  (i  Chron.  iii.  11,  12).  From  the 
days  of  Jerome  to  those  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  and  Dr.  Godet, 
there  have  been  those  who  have  honestly  admitted  that  the 
omission  was  due  to  a  desire  to  keep  within  fourteen  generations'. 

10.  Amos  has  better  manuscript  authority  than  'Amon,' though 
the  O.  T.  has  the  latter. 

'  ' ...  to  attain  symmetry,  he  is  obliged  to  exclude  four  names  from  the 
list  of  kings,  and  to  count  twice  the  king  who  was  led  captive  to 
Babylon  "  (Godet,  Introd.  to  N.  T.  ii.  123). 


ST.  MATTHEW   1.  11-16  119 

Hezekiah  begat  Manasseh  ;  and  Manasseh  begat  Amon  ; 
and  Amon  begat  Josiah ;   and  Josiah  begat  Jechoniah  1 1 
and  his  brethren,  at  the  time  of  the  carrying  away  to 
Babylon. 

And  after  the  carrying  away  to  Babylon,  Jechoniah  la 
begat  Shealtiel ;  and  Shealtiel  begat  Zerubbabel ;  and  13 
Zerubbabel  begat  Abiud;  and  Abiud  begat  Eliakim ; 
and  Eliakim  begat  Azor ;  and  Azor  begat  Sadoc ;  and  14 
Sadoc  begat  Achim  ;  and  Achim  begat  Ehud  ;  and  Eliud  >5 
begat  Eleazar  ;  and  Eleazar  begat  Matthan  ;  and  Matthan 
begat  Jacob ;  and  Jacob  begat  Joseph  the  husband  of  16 
Mary,  of  whom  was  born  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ. 

11.  and  Josiah  beg-at  Jechoniali.  According  to  2  Chron.  iii.  17, 
'Jeconiah  the  captive'  was  the  son  of  Jehoiakim  the  second  son 
of  Josiah.  Porphyry  noticed  the  discrepancy.  If  Jehoiakim  had 
been  in  the  list  it  would  have  had  fifteen  names. 

and  his  brethren.  If  'Jehoiakin,'  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  9,  was 
the  same  as  '  Jechonias,'  and  if  Zedekiah  was  his  brother,  then 
'  brethren'  here  may  mean  '  uncles' :  but  this  lacks  authority,  and 
the  whole  history  is  confused. 

at  the  time  of  the  carryingf  away  to  Babylon.  So  verse 
12;  lit.  'upon  the  transmigration  of  Babylon' — a  phrase  with 
a  '  genitive  of  vague  relation.' 

12.  Shealtiel  begat  Zerubbabel.  The  third  part  of  the  list 
does  not  coincide  with  that  of  Luke.  The  R.  V.  has  'Shealtiel' 
(Hebrew)  for  A.  V.  '  Salathiel '  (LXX).  The  Greek  alphabet  did 
not  contain  a  letter  for  the  sound  '  sh '  :  hence  we  have  Samuel 
and  Solomon  for  Sha-muel,  She-lomoh.  The  remainder  of  the 
catalogue  is  absent  from  the  O.  T.,  unless  Abiud  (verse  13)  is  the 
Hodaviah,  grandson  of  Zerubbabel  (i  Chron.  iii.  24\ 

16.  of  whom  was  born  Jesus.  The  relative  is  fem.  sing  — 
'from  which  woman,'  The  evangelist  regarded  Joseph  as  only 
the  putative  father^. 

who  is  called  Christ :  ///.  'who  is  said  to  be':  our  translation 
is  from  the  Latin  gtti  voca/ur.     '  Christ '  also  is  from  the  Latin  and    • 
Greek  =  Heb.  tneshiach  =  anointed. 


*  The  Syriac  fragment,  '  Sinaiticus,' discovered  by  Mrs.  Lewis,  reads: 
'Joseph  to  whom  was  betrothed  Mary  the  Virgin  begat  Jesus.'  Also 
in  verse  2t,  addressed  to  Joseph,  'she  shall  bring  forth  a  son  unto 
thee'  ;  and  verse  25,  '  she  brought  forth  a  son  whom  he  called  Jesus.' 


I20  ST.  MATTHEW   1.  17-19 

17  So  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  unto  David  are 
fourteen  generations  ;  and  from  David  unto  the  carrying 
away  to  Babylon  fourteen  generations;  and  from  the 
carrying  away  to  Babylon  unto  the  Christ  fourteen 
generations. 

18  Now  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  this  wise  :  When 
his  mother  Mary  had  been  betrothed  to  Joseph,  before 
they  came  together  she  was  found  with  child  of  the 

19  Holy  Ghost.  And  Joseph  her  husband,  being  a  righteous 
man,  and  not  willing  to  make  her  a  public  example,  was 

17.  So  all  the  gfenerations  from  Abralxam  unto  David  are 
fonrteen.  The  number  is  only  complete  when  David  and  Jechoniah 
are  each  counted  twice.  The  statement  may  mean  that  these 
generations  are  all  that  needed  mention. 

i.  18-25.  "^^^  ^^^^  of  Jesus.  The  perplexity  of  Joseph  re- 
lieved by  an  angelic  communication.  The  name  Jesus.  Prophecy 
fulfilled. 

18.  TSovr  tlie  birth  of  Jesus  Christ.  '  Generation,'  as  in  verse  t 
and  the  marg.,  is  preferable  to  'birth'  (Vulg.  nativitas).  Irenaeus 
thought  that  the  evangelist  was  divinely  led  to  use  the  full  title 
'Jesus  Christ,'  because  of  those  who  divided  'Jesus*  from 
'Christ.'  The  titles  of  our  Lord  appear  in  the  N.T.  with  many 
variations,  and  the  correct  reading  is  often  difficult  to  decided 
It  may  be  noticed  that  the  Hebrew  term  *  Messiah '  is  only  found 
in  John  i.  41,  iv.  25. 

When  his  mother  Mary  had  been  betrothed.  The  participle 
'betrothed'  may  be  concessive:  'though  betrothed.'  The  A.  V. 
qualified  the  temporal  meaning  by  the  phrase  'When  as  ...  ' 

19.  Joseph  .  .  .  being'  a  rigfhteous  man.  '  Righteous,'  which 
implies  objective  morality,  is  perhaps  better  than  'just'  (A. V.), 
which  carries  the  idea  of  subjective  morality.  Joseph  was  one 
who  habitually  obser\'ed  the  public  law.  According  to  Deut.  xxiv. 
I,  he  might  have  given  Mary  a  bill  of  divorcement  without  stating 
the  precise  reason,  if  unwilling  to  institute  a  regular  prosecution. 
They  could  thus  have  appeared  to  dissolve  the  betrothal  by  mutual 
consent  to  save  '  her '  (Weiss  rightly  notices  the  emphatic 
pronoun)  from  public  contempt.  The  verb  is  used  Col,  ii.  15, 
'he  made  a  show  of  them  openly.'  The  revisers  have  accepted 
a  doubtful  form  of  it  =  '  make  a  public  example.' 

*  Westcott  and  Hort,  N.  T.  ii.  App.  7. 


ST.  MATTHEW  1.  20-23  121 

minded  to  put  her  away  privily.     But  when  he  thought  20 
on  these  things,  behold,  an  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  21 
bring  forth  a  son ;  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus  ; 
for  it  is  he  that  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins. 
Now  all  this  is  come  to  pass,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  22 
which  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  through  the  prophet, 
saying. 

Behold,  the  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  23 
bring  forth  a  son. 

And  they  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel ; 

20.  When  lie  thouglit  on  these  tMng-s.  Before  the  appearance 
of  the  angel  he  had  passed  through  much  anxious  emotion. 

behold:  a  Hebraistic  exclamation.  He  is  addressed  as  'son 
of  David  ' :  the  Messiah  must  come  from  the  royal  house  to  which 
he  belonged.     These  words  show  the  object  of  the  genealogy. 

in  a  dream.  All  the  ancients  believed  that  man  came  in  dreams 
into  contact  with  the  unseen  world  :  as  Homer,  Iliad,  i.  62,  '  For 
also  dreams  are  from  heaven'  ;  Virg.  Aen.  ii.  270. 

21.  Jesns  is  the  Greek  form  of  Joshua  (Num.  xiii.  16,  xiv.  6; 
Hag.  i.  i).  Philo  said,  'Joshua  is  interpreted  Salvation  of  the 
Lord.'  This  name  was  given  to  the  son  of  Mary  before  anything 
w^as  known  of  the  position  he  would  afterwards  attain.  The 
name  was  among  the  coincidences  which  induced  His  followers 
to  regard  Him  as  the  expected  deliverer.  The  same  phrase  occurs 
in  Gen.  xvii.  19,  '  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac' 

it  is  He  that  shall  save,  i.e.  He  and  none  other.  The  | 
salvation  was  not  to  be  political,  as  many  expected,  but  spiritual. 
The  appellation  '  Saviour'  was  given  to  Deity  b\'  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  The  Vulg.  and  Erasmus  read:  salvimi  faciei  ^  he  shall 
make  to  he  safe,  which  Beza  properly  calls  '  an  unnecessary 
paraphrase.' 

22.  23.  that  it  zuig'ht  be  fulfilled.  This  phrase  was  not  from 
the  angel  but  from  the  evangelist,  who  repeats  it  (ii.  15,  23  &c.). 
The  reference  is  to  Isa.  vii.  14,  '  Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive.' 
The  revisers  of  the  N.T.  have  accepted  the  definite  article  found 
in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  (but  the  O.T.  revisers  have  ignored  it), 
'  The  Virgin.'     *  Virgin  '  was  introduced  in  the  Greek  version — 


122  ST.  MATTHEW  1.  24—2.  i 

24  which  is,  being  interpreted,  God  with  us.  And  Joseph 
arose  from  his  sleep,  and  did  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord 

25  commanded  him,  and  took  unto  him  his  wife ;  and  knew 
her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth  a  son :  and  he  called 
his  name  Jesus. 

2  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judaea  in 
the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  wise  men  from  the 

the  LXX  ;  the  Hebrew  meant  'young  woman,'  married  or  not. 
Before  the  birth  of  Jesus  no  one  expected  the  birth  of  the  Messiah 
from  a  virgin.  It  is  evident  from  the  particle  'that'  — 'in  order 
that,'  that  the  evangelist  believed  in  some  fulfilment  of  a  divine 
purpose  :  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  prophet  was 
conscious  of  the  applications  which  his  words  might  receive. 

Immanuel  would  not  have  required  interpretation  in  the 
Aramaic  gospel,  nor  scarcely  for  '  Greek-speaking  Jews.' 

is  .  .  .  interpreted  may  refer  to  Isa.  viii.  8  (^LXX). 
25.  till  slie  liad  brought  forth,  a  son.  The  R.  V.  omits  (with 
the  best  authorities :  probably  taken  from  Luke  ii.  7)  'firstborn'; 
yet  Matt.  xii.  46  50,  xiii.  55-6,  show  that  she  had  children  after- 
wards. Discussions  on  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary  had  arisen 
before  the  dates  of  our  oldest  MSS. 

till  she  had  broug-ht  forth :  cf.  xxviii.  20,  *  until  the  end  of 
the  world.'  Beza  shrewdly  remr.rks  that  the  latter  could  not  mean 
that  Christ's  presence  would  then  be  withdravyn  from  his  people. 

ii.  1-12.  The  magi  in  Jenisalem.  Herod  inquires  from  the 
priests.  The  magi  sent  to  Bethlehem,  where  they  find  the  child 
and  his  mother. 

1.  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judsea.  The 
phraseology  indicates  that  the  writer  is  at  some  distance  in  time 
and  place  from  the  event.  Bethlehem  =  House  of  Bread,  'lies  in 
the  midst  of  a  district  of  great  fertility'  (Smith,  //;s/.  Geog.  p.  319), 
Matthew  does  not  explain  (as  Luke  ii.  4)  how  Mary  came  to  be  in 
this  place  called  Ephrath  (Gen.  xxxv.  19,  xlviii.  i\  where  Rachel 
died  :  in  Micah  v.  2,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  which  was  five  miles 
south  of  Jerusalem.  David  was  born  there  (i  Sam,  xviii.  12), 
and  it  was  called  the  'city  of  David'  (Luke  ii.  4). 

in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king*.  For  nearly  two  centuries 
before  the  advent  the  Jewish  nation  had  been  ruled  by  what  was 
called  the  Hasmonean  dynasty.  Their  ascendency  was  the  result 
of  the  heroic  resistance  of  the  Maccabees  to  the  Syrian  kings, 
especially  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  The  high  priest,  who  had  been 
a   subject,    now   became    the   head    of  the    nation.      In    B.C.  70 


ST.  MATTHEW  2.  2  123 

east  came  to  Jerusalem,  saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  2 
King  of  the  Jews  ?  for  we  saw  his  star  in  the  east,  and 

Aristobulus  opposed  liis  brother  Hyrcanus  II,  who  held  authority 
by  right.  Pompey  interfered,  besieged  Jerusalem,  and  carried 
Aristobulus  to  Rome.  Hyrcanus  was  defeated  by  Antipater  II, 
the  Idumaean,  whose  son  Herod  put  Hyrcanus  to  death  (b.c.  30). 
Herod  and  his  father  were  sycophants  of  Rome.  Herod  especially 
flattered  Julius  Caesar,  Anthony,  and  Augustus,  so  that  B.C.  37  he 
was  made  king.  He  married  the  beautiful  Mariamne,  daughter 
of  Hyrcanus  II  ;  but  she  fell  a  victim  to  his  malice.  Herod  also 
murdered  his  own  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  but  died  five 
days  after  ordering  the  execution  of  his  son  Antipater  (a.  u.c.  750, 
or  B.C.  4).  To  secure  imperial  favour,  Herod  had  built  theatres 
for  Augustus  in  Jerusalem,  also  temples  in  Caesarea,  &c.  He 
began  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  in  B.C.  20,  but  it  was  not  completed 
before  a.  d.  63. 

Under  Herod's  will,  which  was  administered  in  Rome,  Arche- 
laus  became  governor  in  Judsea,  Samaria,  and  Idumsea  ;  Antipas, 
had  Galilee  and  Perea;  to  Philip  was  given  Trachonitis  and  Ituraea. 
All  were  educated  in  Rome,  and  would  be  strongly  infected  with 
the  '  leaven  of  Herod.' 

The  exact  date  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  and  of  the  commencement 
of  our  era  will  be  discussed  in  the  volume  on  Luke.  We  may 
here  say  that  as  Herod  lived  two  years  or  more  after  the  birth  of 
Jesus,  the  latter  must  have  been  born  a. u.c.  747,  or  B.C.  7-6  (see 
Chronology :  Hastings'  Did.  of  the  Bible,  i.  405).  Very  much  turns 
upon  the  census  attributed  to  Quirinius  (Luke  ii.  2).  A  census 
made  b}'  this  governor  some  years  later  was  the  occasion  of  an 
insurrection  under  Judas  the  Gaulonite  (Acts  v.  37)  :  but  was 
Quirinius  governor  also  B.C.  5-6?  There  is  no  direct  evidence 
that  he  was  ;  and  Tertullian  mentions  Saturninus  as  the  officer  at 
the  earlier  date.  It  is  doubtful  also  whether  Herod  would  have 
allowed  a  Roman  census,  including  a  tax,  in  his  time.  However, 
Prof.  Ramsay  has  recently  shown  that  Augustus  did  obtain 
emoluments  from  the  provinces  (as  Egypt)  in  the  time  of  Herod  ; 
and  the  latter,  with  a  tyrant's  obsequiousness,  might  have  connived 
at  one  in  b.c.  5-6^. 

wise  men  from  the  east:  (m.)  'magi.'  Herodotus  (i.  loi) 
refers  to  the  '  magi'  as  a  Median  tribe,  and  again  (vii.  19)  as  sooth- 
sayers. Plato  speaks  of  the  magi  of  Zoroaster.  The  magi  of 
Chaldea  are  referred  to  in  Dan.  i.  20,  v.  11,  &c.  (cf.  Simon  Magus, 
Acts  viii.  9;  Elymas,  Acts  xiii.  8).  These  first  Gentile  worshippers 
of  the   Christ   came   *  from    the   east,'  but  their  country  is  not 

^    Was  Christ  born  in  Bethlehem  f  by  Prof.  Ramsay,  1898. 


124  ST.  MATTHEW  2.  3,  4 

3  are  come  to  worship  him.     And  when  Herod  the  king 
heard  it,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him. 

4  And  gathering  together  all  the  chief  priests  and  scribes 

named.     Traditional  interpretation  connected  them  with  prophecy 
(Ps.  Ixxii.  10-15  ;  Isa.  Ix.  6),  and  supposed  them  to  be  kings. 

2.  Where  is  lie  that  is  laorn  King-  of  the  Jews?  Herod  had 
not  been  '  born  '  king,  nor  indeed  had  one  been  '  born  King  of  the 
Jews*  for  six  centuries.  Suetonius  and  Tacitus  state  that  in  the 
days  of  Vespasian,  a.  d.  69,  '  there  spread  through  the  whole  east 
an  ancient  and  steady  opinion  that  in  that  time  some  going  out 
from  Judcea  should  master  the  world.' 

for  we  saw  his  star  in  the  east.  Num.  xxiv.  17  gives  the 
prophecy  of  Balaam  :  '  There  shall  come  forth  a  star  out  of  Jacob  ' ; 
but  the  *  star'  is  supposed  to  be  the  Messiah  himself,  and  not  an 
astronomical  phenomenon.  Bar-Cochba  =  son  of  a  star,  was  the 
name  assumed  by  the  last  great  faction  leader  under  Hadrian, 
A. D.  132.  Kepler  suggested  that  'the  star  of  Bethlehem'  might 
have  been  a  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  747  a.  u.c. 
Alford  accepted  this  view,  as  it  seemed  to  be  approved  by  Dr. 
Pritchard ;  but  the  latter  shewed  (Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible,  iii.  1375) 
that,  though  the  conjunction  was  astronomically  certain  at  that 
date,  the  planets  kept  a  moon's  distance  apart,  and  would  not 
*  stand  over  the  place '  as  the  travellers  proceeded.  Some  have 
suggested  that  it  might  have  been  Sirius,  which  then  rose  with 
the  sun  ;  or  some  comet.  New  stars  have  come  and  gone  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months,  like  that  observed  by  Kepler,  a.  d.  1605. 
The  magi  came  to  worship  the  new-born  King — an  honour  which 
the  evangelist  evidently  considered  to  be  natural.  Luke  (or  the 
N.  T.  elsewhere)  does  not  mention  the  star  or  the  magi :  he  has 
other  signs  ;  as  the  babe  in  the  manger,  the  descent  of  angels,  the 
reception  in  the  temple. 

3.  Herod  .  .  .  was  trotihled.  He  had  come  to  the  throne  by 
fraud  and  violence,  and  would  dread  a  rival  who  might  appeal  to 
the  superstitious  multitude. 

4.  where  the  Christ  should  he  horn.  Herod  had  not  favoured 
the  priestly  class,  but  in  his  anxiety  he  now  gathers  '  the  chief 
priests  and  scribes.'  They  were  held  in  repute  for  legal  and 
historical  knowledge,  and  would  be  as  deeply  concerned  as 
Herod  himself  in  the  tidings  of  the  magi.  The  R.V.  translates 
'  should  be  born,'  though  the  present  indicative  sometimes  refers  to 
a  probable  future,  as  John  vii.  22,  *  ariseth  no  prophet ' ;  Mark 
ix.  31,  'the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed'  (cp.  Blass,  Grammafik, 
p.  155)-  A  Messiah  was  expected;  the  learned  had  already 
studied  the  subject ;  therefore  the  place  of  birth  must  have  come 
under  consideration. 


ST.  MATTHEW  2.  5-9  125 

of  the  people,  he  inquired  of  them  where  the  Christ 
should  be  born.    And  they  said  unto  him,  In  Bethlehem  5 
of  Judaea :  for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet, 

And  thou  Bethlehem,  land  of  Judah,  6 

Art  in  no  wise  least  among  the  princes  of  Judah  : 
For  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  a  governor, 
Which  shall  be  shepherd  of  my  people  Israel. 
Then  Herod  privily  called  the  wise  men,  and  learned  of  7 
them  carefully  what  time  the  star  appeared.    And  he  sent  8 
them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said,  Go  and  search  out  care- 
fully concerning  the  young  child;    and  when  ye  have 
found  him^  bring  me  word,  that  I  also  may  come  and 
worship  him.     And  they,  having  heard  the  king,  went  9 

6.  And  thou  BetMelieni.  The  variations  between  the  Hebrew, 
the  Septuagint,  and  the  gospel  in  this  passage  are  sufficient  to 
disperse  all  theories  of  literal  inspiration.  The  evangelist  in  his 
quotation  from  Mic.  v,  2-4  chiefly  follows  the  LXX ;  but  the 
latter  has  '  house  of  Ephrath  '  where  Matthew  has  *  land  of  Judah  * 
(Heb.  Ephrath"),  'thousands'  where  Matthew  has  'princes'  (a 
difference  in  the  Hebrew  vowel  points).  Again,  the  Hebrew 
read,  'he  shall  stand  and  shall  feed  in  the  strength  of  Jehovah'; 
but  the  LXX  misread  a  word,  having  '  he  shall  stand  and  see, 
and  the  Lord  shall  shepherd  his  flock  in  strength.'  Instead  of 
this  clause  Matthew  quotes  another  passage  not  found  in  Micah, 
but  referring  to  David,  viz.  2  Sam.  v.  2 ;  i  Chron.  xi.  2 — 
'  which  shall  be  shepherd  of  my  people  Israel.'  Some  would 
ascribe  these  arbitrary'  combinations  of  Scripture  language  to  the 
free  methods  of  interpretation  which  had  become  customary,  or 
to  the  dependence  on  memory  in  citations,  or  to  the  theory  that 
the  O.  T.  having  divine  authority  was  but  one  book  ^ 

7.  Then  Kerod  .  .  .  learned  of  them  carefully.  '  Then '  at  the 
beginning  of  a  sentence  occurs  about  eighty  times  in  Matthew. 
Herod  not  only  'enquired  of  them  diligently'  (A.  V.)  but  'learned 
of  them  carefully '  (R.  V.)  about  the  time  and  conditions  associated 
with  the  star.  They  came  to  Jerusalem,  but  instructed  by  Herod 
and  the  priests,  they  departed  to  Bethlehem.  En  route  they  saw 
the  star  again — some  time  having  now  elapsed. 

*  A  conspectus  of  such  facts  is  well  supplied  in  Dittmar,  Vetus 
Testament,  in  novo,  1895. 


126  ST.  MATTHEW  2.   10-13 

their  way ;  and  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east, 
went  before  them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the 

10  young  child   was.     And  when  they  saw  the  star,  they 

11  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great  joy.  And  they  came  into 
the  house  and  saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  his  mother  ; 
and  they  fell  down  and  worshipped  him;  and  opening 
their  treasures  they  offered  unto   him   gifts,  gold   and 

1 2  frankincense  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. 

13  Now  when  they  were  departed,  behold,  an  angel  of 
the  Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying,  Arise 


11.  And  they  came  into  tiia  house.  Luke  ii.  7  says  that  the 
place  of  birth  was  an  inn  ;  tradition  reported  it  to  have  been  a  cave 
(Just.  Martyr,  Origen,  Jerome,  and  *  The  Gospel  according  to 
the  Hebrews').  Justin  finds  that  it  was  so  prophesied  in  Isa. 
xxii.  16 — 'graving  an  habitation  for  himself  in  the  rock.'  Wher- 
ever the  birth  was  located  they  were  now  in  a  '  house,'  the  child 
being  many  weeks  old. 

Meyer  questions  whether  the  evangelist  knew  that  Joseph 
had  lived  in  Nazareth,  as  he  seems  to  attribute  a  residence  in 
Bethlehem  to  Joseph.  Our  information  respecting  these  primitive 
events  is  very  imperfect.  The  magi  saw  Mary,  but  Joseph  is  not 
mentioned  ;  the  shepherds  (Luke  ii.  16)  saw  them  both.  It  was 
always  customary  in  the  East  to  approach  princes  with  gifts. 
The  Queen  of  Sheba  brought  '  gold  and  spices '  to  Solomon, 
I  Kings  X.  2. 

openinGT  their  treastires  :  the  participle  was  as  well  repre- 
sented in  the  A..  V.  '  when  they  had  opened,  &c.' 

g-old  ajid  frankincense  and  myrrh  were  costly  presents. 
The  latter  is  referred  to  among  the  funeral  drugs  brought  by 
Nicodemus,  John  xix.  39. 

ii.  13-18.  The  flight  into  Egypt.  Joseph  directed  to  flee  into 
Egypt — a  movement  indicated  in  prophecy.  Herod's  angry  decree 
and  its  execution,  which  again  corresponded  to  the  prophetic 
word. 

13.  an  ang'el  of  the  Lord  appeareth.  The  apparition  was 
prompt,  for  the  danger  was  nigh.  The  magi  would  make  known 
to  Joseph  what  a  curious  interest  in  the  star  Herod  had  betrayedj 


ST.  MATTHEW  2.  14-18  127 

and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  flee  into 
Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  until  I  tell  thee  :  for  Herod 
will  seek  the  young  child  to  destroy  him.     And  he  arose  14 
and  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother  by  night,  and 
departed  into  Egypt;  and  was  there  until  the  death  of  15 
Herod :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
the  Lord  through  the  prophet,  saying,  Out  of  Egypt  did 
I  call  my  son.     Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  was  16 
mocked  of  the  wise  men,  was  exceeding  wroth,  and  sent 
forth,  and  slew  all  the  male  children  that  were  in  Bethle- 
hem, and  in  all  the  borders  thereof,  from  two  years  old 
and  under,  according  to  the  time  which  he  had  carefully 
learned  of  the  wise  men.     Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  17 
was  spoken  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying, 

A  voice  was  heard  in  Ramah,  18 

Weeping  and  great  mourning, 

Egypt,  where  Herod  bad  no  jurisdiction,  was  the  readiest  place  of 
refuge.  Many  Jews  had  settled  in  Alexandria,  and  the  caravans 
from  Palestine  to  Egypt  would  be  continuous. 

15.  out  of  Egypt  did  I  call  my  son.  The  LXX  reads  in 
Hos.  xi.  1,  from  which  this  saying  is  taken,  '  Out  of  Egypt  I  called 
his  children.'  The  R.V.  follows  the  Hebrew,  which  has  '  I  .  .  . 
called  my  son  out  of  Egypt.'  This  is  one  instance  of  quotation  from 
the  O.T.  in  which  the  evangelist  prefers  the  Hebrew  version  to  the 
Greek.  Israel  is  called  God's  son  (Exod.  iv.  22  ;  Deut.  xiv.  i  ; 
Jer.  xxxi.  9,  20).  The  theocratic  king  also  receives  this  title 
fPs.  ii.  7  ;  2  Sam.  vii.  14).  The  allegorical  system  of  interpretation 
found  a  meaning  in  every  event  and  oracle  of  the  O.  T.  Philo 
of  Alexandria  (b.  c.  40)  was  the  great  representative  of  this  sj'stem 
of  exposition,  which  became  general  among  rabbinical  scholars, 
and  even  among  Christian  teachers,  especially  Origen, 

17.  Then  was  fulfilled.  The  'massacre  of  the  innocents'  is  not 
mentioned  in  history  elsewhere.  The  evangelist  finds  a  parallel  for 
the  misery  it  caused  in  that  which  was  inflicted  by  the  Babylonian 
captivity.  Rachel's  connexion  with  Bethlehem  gives  effect  to  the 
reference:  but  the  Ramah  of  the  prophet  (Jer.  xxxi.  15)  was  six 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  i?awrtA  =^  high-place,  being  a  common 
place-name  (Luth.  auf  dent  Gebirge)  there  might  have  been  one 
nearer  Bethlehem  (cf.  i  Sara   xvi.  13). 


128  ST.  MATTHEW  2.  19-23 

Rachel  weeping  for  her  children ; 
And  she  would  not  be  comforted,  because  they  are 
not. 

19  But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  of  the 

20  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  that  sought 

31  the  young  child's  life.  And  he  arose  and  took  the  young 
child  and  his  mother,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel. 

22  But  when  he  heard  that  Archelaus  was  reigning  over 
Judaea  in  the  room  of  his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid  to 
go  thither;    and  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  he 

23  withdrew  into  the  parts  of  Galilee,  and  came  and  dwelt  in 
a  city  called  Nazareth :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  by  the  prophets,  that  he  should  be  called 
a  Nazarene. 

ii.  19-23.  The  return  to  Nazareth.  Joseph,  again  instructed 
by  an  angel,  brings  his  wife  and  her  son  to  Galilee.  He  avoids 
Judaea,  where  the  son  of  Herod  is  in  power.  A  reason  from  pro- 
phecy for  the  selection  of  Nazareth. 

20.  they  are  dead.  The  death  of  the  older  Herod  had  reduced 
the  peril,  though  it  was  not  wholly  removed  :  cf.  Exod.  iv.  19 
(LXX),  '  all  they  are  dead  which  sought  thy  life.' 

22.  Arclielaus  had  the  spirit  of  his  father.  He  is  called  'king' 
(Matt.  xiv.  9),  but,  as  was  the  case  with  his  brothers,  he  was  known 
as  'tetrarch'  fjosephus,  Ant.  xvii,  ii.  4).  Joseph  wisely  retired 
to  remote  Galilee,  which  was  under  the  rule  of  the  more  pacific 
Antipas.  Matthew  attributes  the  location  to  the  angelic  message, 
but  Luke  (ii.  39)  regards  it  as  his  former  residence.  Still,  in 
Matt.  xiii.  54,  Nazareth  is  called  '  his  own  country.' 

23.  he  should  be  called  a  Kasarene.  There  have  been  many 
conjectures  over  what  Alford  called  'an  unsolved  difficulty'  in  these 
words.  They  are  not  found  in  the  O.  T.  Earlier  and  later  writers 
have  remarked  that  some  prophetical  writings  have  perished, 
and  possibly  the  source  of  this  saying  among  them.  Michaelis, 
Olshausen,  and  Bland  explain  the  statement  as  one  which  gives 
the  general  sense  of  the  prophets,  who  predicted  that  the  Messiah 
should  be  a  despised  person,  like  a  dweller  in  Nazareth  (John 
i.  49;.     Tertullian,  Jerome,  Erasmus,  Beza,  Grotius,  Wetstein  see 


ST.  MATTHEW   3.  i,  2 


129 


And  in  those  days  cometh  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  3 
in  the  wilderness  of  Judaea,  saying,  Repent  ye ;  for  the  2 

a  reference  to  the  Nazarite,  Judges  xiii.  5,  Holtzmann  inclines  to 
this  view  because  it  is  said  of  Samson,  '  the  child  shall  be  a  Nazarite, 
and  shall  begin  to  save  Israel.'  This  would  fall  in  with  the 
evangelist's  method  of  applying  texts  ;  but  he  himself  (xii.  19) 
tells  us  that  Jesus  was  not  an  ascetic,  like  a  Nazarite^.  Many 
others  trace  the  word  to  the  Hebrew  term  for  'Branch';  but 
Matthew,  in  his  comment,  evidently  has  in  view  the  name  of  the 
place,  Nazareth. 

Before  the  first  believers  were  called  'Christians'  at  Antioch 
(Acts  xi.  26;  they  were  called  '  Nazarenes,'  which  continued  to 
be  their  designation  among  the  Jews.  Paul  was  described  (Acts 
xxiv.  5)  as  'a  ringleader  of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes.'  Jesus 
was  usually  so  designated  :  cf.  Mark  i.  24,  x.  47  ;  Luke  xviii.  37, 
xxiv.  19  ;  John  xix.  19  ;  Acts  iii.  6,  xxvi.  9-. 

iii.  I- 1 3.  John  the  Baptist.  His  character  and  message.  His 
prediction  concerning  a  greater  messenger  of  God. 

1.  The  ordinary  gospel  narrative  begins  at  this  point.  Thirty 
years  of  the  life  of  Jesus  are  left  by  the  Synoptics  without  a  word 
(absolutel}''  by  Mark;,  except  Luke's  reference  to  the  visit  to 
Jerusalem,  ii.  42-52.  Some  fanciful  but  unimportant  particulars 
relating  to  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  Jesus  are  given  in  the 
apocryphal  gospels. 

in  those  days  cannot  refer  to  the  end  of  chap,  ii,  but  is  a 
general  reference  of  time  ;  cf.  Mark  i.  9.  The  oral  gospel  would 
probably  begin  at  this  point ;  see  Acts  i.  22.  Luke  iii.  i,  2  defines 
more  carefully. 

cometh  John  the  Baptist,  of  whose  parentage  Matthew 
gives  no  account,  as  does  Luke  i.  The  evangelist  supposes  that 
the  '  Baptist '  is  well  known.  Josephus  {Ant.  xviii.  5.  2)  designates 
John  as  'Baptist.'  The  Baptist  had  spent  most  of  his  youth  and 
early  manhood  '  in  the  wilderness'  (Luke  i.  80),  whence  he  came 
as  a  prophet  from  the  wild,  like  Elijah  [2  Kings  i.  8). 

2.  the  king-dom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Instead  of  the  usual 
expression  in  the  N.  T. — 'the  kingdom  of  God' — Matthew  has 

1  There  are  two  forms  of  the  word  '  Nazarene.'  That  which  is  used 
here  and  elsewhere  in  Matt.,  John,  Acts — once  Luke  xviii.  37 — is 
literally,  '  Xazoraean.'  Mark  i.  24,  x.  47,  xvi.  6  ;  Luke  iv.  34,  xxiv. 
19  have  '  Nazarene.' 

^  On  the  connexion  with  'Branch'  see  Isa.  xi.  11 ;  Jer.  xxiii.  5, 
xxxiii.  15  ;  Zech.  iii.  8.  Tertullian  {Cont.  Marcion.  iv,  8)  says  :  '  The 
Christ  of  the  Creator  had  to  be  called  a  Nazarene  ....  whence  the  Jews 
designate  us  Nazarenes  after  him.' 


I30  ST.  MATTHEW  3.  ?„  4 

3  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.     For  this  is  he  that  was 
spoken  of  by  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying, 

The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Make  ye  ready  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
Make  his  paths  straight. 

4  Now  John  himself  had  his  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  and  a 

'  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens.*  The  plural  form  may  be  explained 
by  the  original  Hebrew  word,  though  some  refer  to  2  Cor.  xii.  2, 
where  Paul  speaks  of  the  *  third  heaven.'  The  Book  of  Daniel 
was  written  partly  in  Aramaic,  and  there  *  the  god  of  the  heavens ' 
is  found,  ii.  44  :  cf.  Rev.  xi.  13.  Holtzmann  gives  as  the 
meaning  of  the  expression,  'a  kingdom  developed  on  earth  but 
ruled  from  heaven.'  Dr.  Bruce  thinks  that  the  use  of  the  ex- 
pression only  by  Matthew  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  as  an 
evidence  of  his  Judaistic  tendencies.  John  preached  *  in  the 
wilderness.*  The  same  arena — the  comparative  desert  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  Jordan — served  for  the  organization  of  popular 
movements,  political  and  religious  ;  cf.  Acts  xxi.  38.  '  Repent- 
ance' (Mark  and  Luke  add  'unto  remission  of  sins')  was  to  be 
the  indispensable  condition  of  entrance  into  the  kingdom. 

3.  tMs  is  lie  that  was  spoken  of.  All  the  Synoptics  refer  at 
this  point  to  this  prophecy,  but  they  use  different  parts  of  it. 
They  follow  the  LXX  in  connecting  the  '  voice '  with  '  in  the 
desert ' — vox  claniantis  in  deserto — whereas  the  Hebrew  is  (Isa. 
xl.  3)  'prepare  ye  in  the  wilderness  the  way  of  the  Lord'  :  cf. 
Mark  iii.  i  ;  Luke  iii.  4.  In  the  fourth  gospel  John  applies 
the  prediction  to  himself  (John  i.  23).  As  royal  travellers  sent 
messengers  on  beforehand  to  clear  the  roads  from  obstruction, 
and  even  to  form  roads  where  none  existed,  so  the  prophet 
represents  divine  Providence  as  preparing  the  way  for  captive 
Israel  to  return  to  their  own  land.  The  mission  of  John,  in 
like  manner,  was  to  open  a  way  for  the  Messianic  King. 

4.  John  resembled  Elijah  in  his  food  and  dress  :  2  Kings  i.  8, 
*a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins'  is  said  of  the  old  prophet. 

his  food  was  locnsts  and  wild  honey,  which  are  still  eaten 
by  the  poor  of  the  eastern  deserts  '. 

^  Weiss,  Salmon,  Zahn,  &c.  suppose  that  the  '  Gospel  according  to  the 
Hebrews,'  quoted  by  Epiphanius  (xxx.  14),  borrowed  from  the  Greek 
Matthew,  because  in  this  passage  it  changed  aKph  =  locust,  into  kyicpis 
■=.cake\  but  the  latter  expression  was  ready  in  Exod.  xvi.  31  ;  Num. 
xi.  8.  It  is  possible  that,  to  some  of  these  primitive  ascetics  and 
vegetarians,  locusts  would  seem  to  have  been  undesirable  food  for  John. 
Clem.  Alex,  reports  that  Matthew  himself  ate  '  seeds,  nuts,  and  vegetables 
without  flesh.' 


ST.  MATTHEW  3.  5-7  131 

leathern  girdle  about  his  loins ;  and  his  food  was  locusts 
and  wild  honey.    Then  went  out  unto  him  Jerusalem,  and  5 
all  Judaea,  and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan ;  and  6 
they  were  baptized  of  him  in  the  river  Jordan,  confessing 
their  sins.     But  when  he  saw  many  of  the  Pharisees  and  7 

5.  Then  want  out.  Luke  iii.  3,  'And  he  came  into,'  a 
curious  variation,  though  all  the  Synoptics  agree  about  the  scene — 
the  plain  of  the  Jordan,  Gen.  xiii.  10 — which  was  accessible  to 
all  Judsea  and  to  Galilee. 

6.  confessing-  tlxeir  sins.  This  duty  of  the  public  acknow- 
ledgement of  transgression  was  taught  in  the  O.  T.,  as  Lev. 
xvi.  21  (by  the  priest  for  the  people)  ;  Num.  v.  7  ;  Ezra  ix.  6  ; 
Dan.  ix.  5  ;  cf.  Acts  xix.  18  ;  Jas.  v.  16  (the  same  word)  ;  also 
confession  before  God,  Ps.  xxxii.  5.  li.  5.  The  word  is  applied 
to  other  public  declarations,  as  Rom.  x  9.  xiv.  11  ;  Phil.  ii.  11. 

The  Creeds  were  called  '  Confessions  '  because  publicly  recited 
by  the  congregation.  It  is  mentioned  that  the  baptisms  took  place 
'  in  the  river  Jordan,'  because  primitive  baptism  was  undoubtedly 
by  immersion.  The  baptism  of  proselytes  might  have  been  a 
Jewish  practice,  but  it  is  not  mentioned  by  Philo,  or  Josephus, 
or  the  older  Targumists.  The  first  reference  to  it  is  in  the 
Babylonian  Gemara.  Proselytes  were  received  into  the  Jewish 
community  on  condition  of  circumcision  and  the  presentation  of 
an  offering;  but  each  offering  required  a  washing  or  lustration 
(Gen.  XXXV.  2  ;  Exod.  xix,  10).  It  may  be  noticed  that  the  prophets 
had  spoken  of  repentance  and  moral  renew^al  under  the  s^-mbol 
of  purification  by  water,  as  Isa.  i.  16 ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25  ;  Zech. 
xiii.  I. 

The  two  other  Synoptists  do  not  bring  the  Sadducees  into 
collision  with  Jesus  until  the  event  recorded  in  Matt.  xxii.  23. 

V.  Mark  omits  this  address  to  'the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,' 
but  Luke  applies  it  to  the  multitude.  Holtzmann  suggests  that 
the  two  sects  did  not  combine  until  the  end  of  our  Lords 
life  ;  but  there  might  have  been  a  casual  association  in  a  time 
of  special  excitement.  The  S3moptic  tradition  (especial!3'^  in 
Matthew)  displays  the  antagonism  between  Jesus  and  the  Phari- 
sees :  according  to  John  i,  19,  the  '  Priests  and  Levites  '  came 
to  John. 

The  Pharisees,  as  a  sect,  devoted  themselves  to  the  more 
careful  study  and  observance  of  the  law.  The  *  Scribes,'  who 
were  responsible  for  the  literal  preservation  of  Scripture,  chiefl3' 
belonged  to  this  sect.  Their  punctilious  regard  for  religion  gave 
them  great  influence  in  the  post-prophetic  period.  In  the  Mac- 
cabsean  time  they  were  known  as  'the  Pious'  (i   Mace.  ii.  42; 

K   2 


132  ST.  MATTHEW  3.   7 

Sadducecs  coming  to  his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them, 
Ye  offspring  of  vipers,  who  warned  you  to  flee  from  the 

Schurer,  Hist,  of  Jewish  People,  div.  ii.  2,  26i\  Their  opposition 
to  the  Sadducees  became  more  pronounced  in  the  days  of  Hyr- 
canus  I  :  for  the  '■  Chasidim '  or  '  Pious '  objected  to  the  assumption 
of  royal  dignity  by  the  priestly  family,  but  the  Sadducees 
encouraged  it.  Thenceforth  the  Pharisees  became  the  religious 
leaders  of  the  people,  while  the  Sadducean  priests  became  more 
political.  The  Pharisees  rot  only  defended  the  written  law,  but 
also  maintained  the  authoritj'-  of  the  oral  law  or  tradition  (Matt. 
XV.  2  ;  Mark  vii.  3  ;  Josephus,  A7tt.  xiii.  10.  6).  R.  Eleazar  said  : 
'  He  who  interprets  Scripture  contrary  to  tradition  has  no  part  in 
the  world  to  come.'  They  believed  in  the  future  immortality  of 
the  righteous  (Matt.  xxv.  46  ;  John  v.  39),  and  in  the  endless 
torment  of  the  wicked— a  doctrine  which  appears  in  Dan.  xii.  2. 
That  they  believed  in  a  spiritual  universe  is  only  asserted,  Acts 
xxiii.  8,  but  their  adherence  to  the  O.  T.  implies  that  they 
accepted  its  angelology.  Josephus  states  that,  like  the  Stoics, 
they  believed  in  Fate  :  but  this  might  only  refer  to  their  strong 
faith  in  Providence.     The  Sadducees  were  more  deistical. 

The  Pharisees  were  not  necessarily  political :  but  they  opposed 
the  secular  authority  when  it  interfered  with  religious  affairs. 
They  did  not  '  regard  the  person  of  men'  when  a  divine  ordinance 
or  a  cherished  tradition  was  in  question.  They  joined  the 
Herodians  in  their  appeal  to  Jesus  about  tribute  (Matt.  xxii.  16 ; 
Mark  xii.  14),  but  they  did  not  take  the  oath  to  Herod  (Josephus, 
Ant.  XV.  10.  4).  As  their  name  indicates,  they  were  *  the 
separated ' — they  were  an  exclusive  sect.  In  rabbinical  litera- 
ture they  have  another  name,  the  Chabertm,  or  '  neighbours.' 
This  name — like  many  in  religious  and  in  general  history,  e.  g. 
Catholic — is  a  lucus  a  7ton  liicendo.  The  Chaberim  did  not  associate 
with  Gentiles  or  with  the  poor  of  their  own  race  ;  they  never  ate 
with  publicans  or  sinners.  An  uneducated  man  was  to  them  an 
'  idiot '  (Acts  iv,  17) :  the  people  who  did  not  know  the  law  were 
accursed  (John  vii.  49). 

Some  have  conjectured  that  the  Sadducees  derived  their  name 
from  the  Hebrew  adjective  ^r/^^/^/'^'cz/s:  but  this  is  not  supported 
by  etymology.  With  greater  probability  they  traced  their  descent 
from  Zadok  (2  Sam.  xv.  24)  the  priest,  whose  sons  alone,  ac- 
cording to  Ezek.  xl.  46,  had  the  right  to  officiate  in  the  temple. 
I  Chron.  vi.  53  traces  the  genealogy  of  Zadok  to  Aaron.  The 
priestly  element  had  a  singular  affinity  with  the  .Sadducean  sect 
(Acts  V.  17).  They  accepted  the  law  and  the  prophets,  but  rejected 
the  oral  tradition  added  by  the  Pharisees.  They  represented 
'  the  original  standpoint  of  the  O.  T.,  in  distinction  from  the  later 


ST.  MATTHEW  3.  8,  9  133 

wrath  to  come  ?    Bring  forth  therefore  fruit  worthy  of  8 
repentance  :  and  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves,  We  9 

Jewish '  (Schijrer).  They  denied  the  doctrines  of  a  personal 
resurrection  and  immortality,  consequently  those  of  future  rewards 
and  punishments.  Their  political  activity  and  experience  brought 
them  into  contact  with  Greek  culture,  which  they  sought  to  share. 
Though  in  power  in  the  time  of  the  N.  T.,  they  disappear  after 
the  destruction  of  the  city.  The  Phariseeism  of  the  Scribes  alone 
was  handed  down  in  the  Jewish  schools,  though  the  rationalism 
of  the  Sadducees  did  reappear  at  length. 

The  N.  T.  does  not  mention  the  other  great  Jewish  sect,  the 
Essenes  (Josephus,  Anf.  xiii.  5.  9\  Graetz  [Gesch.  d.  Jiid.  iii.  332) 
says  that  John  the  Baptist  and  Jesus,  with  their  disciples,  were 
Essenes.  There  was  an  approximation  on  the  part  of  John  and 
his  followers,  and  even  of  James  and  others,  to  Essene  customs  : 
but  Jesus  did  not  practise  the  asceticism  or  seclusion  of  this  sect. 
(Cf  GfrOrer,  Kirchengesch.  i.  221  ;  Ginsburg,  Did.  of  Christ.  Biog. 
ii.  207;  Thomson,  Books  which  influenced  our  Lord)  Harnack, 
Dogmengesch.  i.  53.) 

7.  John  was  surprised  to  see  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  coming- 
to  his  baptism.  Luke  vii.  30  blames  the  Pharisees  because  they 
did  not  receive  the  baptism  of  John,  and  Luke  iii.  7  saj's  that  the 
following  words  were  addressed  to  the  multitude.  Otherwise,  as 
in  other  cases  where  Matthew  and  Luke  agree  (without  Mark), 
the  language  is  almost  identical  ;  cf  Matt.  viii.  5-13  with  Luke 
vii.  T-io  ;  Matt.  xi.  2-19  with  Luke  vii.  18-35.  I"  such  cases 
Matthew  and  Luke  have  evidently  referred  to  written  sources, 
not  to  the  oral  tradition.  In  this  case,  as  Mark  is  silent,  Weiss 
infers  that  the  original  would  not  refer  to  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  :  but  as  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea  were 
Pharisees,  and  many  of  that  sect  joined  the  apostolic  Church 
(Acts  XV.  5),  there  might  be  some  now  who  came  to  inquire 
(John  i.  19). 

Ye  ofFspring-  of  vipers,  who  warned  you.  The  coming  of  the 
Messiah  was  expected  to  be  a  day  of  judgement  (Luke  xxi.  23; 
Rom.  ii.  5  ;  Eph.  v.  6  ;  i  Thess.  i.  10).  The  Pharisees  ought  not 
to  have  been  afraid  of  it,  because  of  their  piety  :  the  Sadducees 
professed  not  to  believe  in  it.  What  was  the  meaning  of  this 
agitation  amongst  them,  like  the  flight  of  vermin  before  a  fire  of 
weeds  and  thorns?  John's  figurative  terms — the  axe,  the  fan,  the 
fire — shewed  that  a  searching  crisis  was  at  hand. 

8.  Bring-  forth  therefore  fruit  worthy  of  repentance  :  marg. 
'your  repentance.'  'Repent  ye'  in  chap.  iii.  2  was  rendered  in 
the  Vulgate  (and  WicklifTe)  '  Do  penance  ' ;  in  the  French  Geneva 
Arncndcs-voiiSj  which  has  its  representative  in  the  A.  V.  margin 


134  ST.  MATTHEW  3.   lo,  ii 

have  Abraham  to  our  father :  for  I  say  unto  you,  that 
God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto 

10  Abraham.  And  even  now  is  the  axe  laid  unto  the  root 
of  the  trees  :   every  tree  therefore  that  bringeth  not  forth 

11  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.  I  indeed 
baptize  you  with  vrater  unto  repentance :  but  he  that 
Cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am 
not  worthy  to  bear  :  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 

'  answerable  to  amendment  of  life.'  The  original  word  refers  to 
change  of  mind  and  heart  more  than  to  any  external  work  or 
observance. 

9.  We  have  Atoraliam  to  our  father :  cf.  John  viii.  39.  The 
doctrine  is  nearly  Pauline,  as  in  Rom.  iv.  1-6,  ix.  7  ;  Gal.  iii.  29 ; 
but  the  condition  of  salvation  is  not  faith  but  works,  as  Isa.  ii.  24. 
Yet  it  was  the  inauguration  of  the  universal  rehgion.  Exclusive 
systems  are  based  on  distinctions  of  race,  or  on  ritual.  The 
universal  religion  can  only  be  founded  on  personal  piety,  which 
is  at  once  subjective  and  practical.  Acts  x.  35  indicates  that 
Peter  recognized  the  principle  in  the  case  of  Cornelius  :  *  he 
that  feareth  him  and  worketh  righteousness  is  acceptable  to  him.' 
The  Rabbis,  on  the  other  hand,  taught  that  all  Israel — and  they 
alone— had  their  portion  in  eternal  life. 

10.  And  even  now  is  tlio  axe  laid.  The  national  conditions 
had  long  been  full  of  evil  omen  :  the  judgement  was  nigh. 

11.  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water.  As  no  preposition 
stands  before  the  noun  in  Mark  i.  8,  it  is  better  to  read  'with 
water'  than  'in  water'  (R.  V.  marg.). 

unto  repentance,  i.  e.  '  with  a  view  to  repentance,'  and  not 
as  its  substitute. 

3i3  tlaat  conieth  after  me.  John  was  careful  to  distinguish 
himself  from  his  great  successor :  cf.  Mark  i.  7  ;  Luke  iii.  16  ; 
John  i.  26.  Some  in  the  apostolic  age  still  preferred  John  to 
Jesus  (^Acts  xviii.  25,  xix.  3).  Luke  iii.  15  makes  '  the  expectation 
concerning  John'  the  occasion  for  what  is  said  here.  'He  that 
Cometh '  is  a  frequent  designation  of  the  Messiah  (John  i.  9, 
iii.  21,  iv.  25;  I  John  v.  6;  Rev.  i.  4,  iv.  8;.  The  present  in 
this  case  stands  for  the  near  future. 

I  am  not  worthy  to  bsar :  better,  marg.,  '  sufficient,'  as  the 
word  differs  from  that  in  verse  8.  The  lowest  slaves  carried  and 
loosened  their  master's  sandals  (Mark,  '  sloop  down  and  unloose  ' ; 
Luke,  '  unloose'). 

he  shall  baptize  you  :  he,  and  no  other.  The  '  you '  suggests 
that  this  was  said  to  the  people  (as  Luke). 


ST.  MATTHEW  3.  12-14  135 

Ghost  and  with  fire  :  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  12 
will  throughly  cleanse  his  threshing-floor ;    and  he  will 
gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner,  but  the  chaff"  he  will 
burn  up  with  unquenchable  fire. 

Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  the  Jordan  unto  13 
John,  to  be  baptized  of  him.  But  John  would  have  14 
hindered  him,  saying,  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee, 

witli  tlie  Ixoly  Glxost  and  with  fire.  All  the  Sj'noptics 
have  the  sa3'ing.  Matthew  puts  the  preposition  'in'  before 
the  first  of  the  nouns  only,  and  grammatical  usage  would  suggest 
that  the  second  noun  explains  the  first :  '  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  is,  with  fire.'  The  majority  of  the  older  interpreters  so 
interpret^.  Bengel  says:  'The  Holy  Spirit  has  a  fiery  energy, 
and  this  fire  was  seen  in  Acts  ii,  39 '  ( cf.  '  spirit  of  burning,' 
Isa.  iv.  4).  But  as  the  images  which  represent  the  instruments 
of  purification  are  two — the  '  fan  '  to  winnow  the  chaff"  from  the 
corn,  the  '  fire '  to  consume  it — it  gives  a  good  sense  if  the  word 
'  spirit '  is  taken  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  '  wind  ^.'  John  the 
Baptist  was  not  familiar  with  the  later  doctrine  of  the  *  Personal' 
spirit :  he  used  language  intelligible  to  readers  of  the  O.  T. 
(cf.  Gen.  ii.  7).  The  language,  therefore,  contains  as  much  of 
threatening  as  of  promise  :  to  bring  the  people  to  higher  things 
there  should  be  a  time  of  storm  and  of  fiery  discipline. 

12.  whose  fan  is  in  Ms  hand.  The  word  translated  'fan' 
represents  the  instrument  by  which  corn  and  chaff"  were  lifted 
into  the  air,  where  the  wind  could  separate  them. 

the  chaff  he  will  burn  up  with  unquenchable  fire.  It  will 
be  judgement  indeed,  by  which  'he  will  throughly  cleanse  (only 
here  and  Luke  iii.  17)  his  threshing-floor.' 

iii.  13-17.  The  Baptism  of  Jesus.  John's  hesitation.  The 
descent  of  the  Spirit  and  the  voice  from  heaven. 

13.  The  baptism  of  Jesus  is  also  recorded  in  Mark  i.  9-1 1  ; 
Luke  iii.  21-23. 

Then  cometh  Jesus  :  Mark,  '  in  those  days  ' ;  Luke,  '  when 
all  the  people  were  baptized.' 

14.  Matthew  alone  intimates  that  Jesus  intended  to  be  baptized, 
or  that  John  would  have  hindered  him  :  better,  '  was  hindering' 
(A.  V.  forbad).  Hitherto  John  had  not  found  in  the  crowds 
of  his  clients  any  one  to  whose  moral  superiority  he  felt  bound  to 

^  Origen  in  Matt,  and  later  writers  such  as  Meyer,  Weiss,  Holtz- 
mann.  Bruce,  Alford,  Plummer. 

^  The  Greek  word,  pneunta,  is  so  translated  once  in  John  iii.  8. 


136  ST.  MATTHEW  3.  15, 16 

15  and  comest  thou  to  me?    But  Jesus  answering  said  unto 
him,  Suffer  //  now :    for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil 

16  all  righteousness.     Then  he  suffereth  him.     And  Jesus, 

do  obeisance  :  now  one  of  a  higher  righteousness  comes,  of  whom 
he  would  gladly  be  baptized.  John  i.  33  states  that  the  Baptist 
did  not  know  until  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah  :  but  he  must  have  known  something  of  him  and  of  his 
family  according  to  Luke  ii. 

15.  Suffer  it  (or  '  me')  now  :  for  thus  it  becometli  us  to  fulfil 
all  rig"liteousness.  Carr  thinks  that  this  '  righteousness '  was 
'that  which  met  the  requirements  of  the  law':  but  what  lav/ 
required  Jesus  to  be  baptized  by  John  ?  Wesley  better  says  :  *  It 
becometh  every  messenger  of  God  to  fulfil  all  his  righteous 
ordinances.'  It  will  assist  our  judgement  on  the  whole  transaction 
to  remember  that  John  is  viewed  as  the  minister  of  the  dis- 
pensation under  which  our  Lord  passed  his  earthly  life  (John 
i.  6,  33,  iii.  5  ;  Matt.  xxi.  25).  In  the  last  passage  the  Pharisees 
confessed  that,  if  they  admitted  John's  mission  to  be  '  from 
heaven,'  they  were  bound  to  receive  his  baptism.  Luke  vii.  29,  30 
says  that  those  who  were  baptized  'justified  God'  (cf.  'righteous- 
ness* here  with  'justified'  in  Luke),  but  'the  Pharisees  and 
lawyers  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves'  when 
they  refused  it'.  Epiphanius  relates  that  the  gospel  of  the 
Hebrews  placed  John's  prayer  to  be  baptized  of  Jesus  after 
the  descent  of  a  fire  on  the  Jordan.  Jerome  quotes  from  the  same 
document  another  saying,  namely,  that  the  mother  and  brethren  of 
Jesus  said  :  '  John  the  Baptist  baptizes  for  remission  of  sins ; 
let  us  go  to  his  baptism.'  To  this  Jesus  replied  :  '  How  have 
I  sinned  that  I  should  go  to  be  baptized  of  him,  unless  this  which 
I  have  said  should  be  in  ignorance?*  Evidently  the  document 
taught  baptismal  purification  ^. 

16.  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descending*  as  a  dove.  At 
this  point  the  Synoptics  curiously  vary.  Mark  and  Luke  omit 
the  conversation  between  John  and  Jesus,  but  record  the  baptism 
and    the    theophany.       The    two    first    gospels   say   that  Jesus 

^  Zahn  {Eitileitmig,  ii.  252)  supposes  that  Matthew  had  not  been 
a  disciple  of  John,  like  Andrew,  Peter,  &c.  :  but  it  is  more  than  probable 
that,  with  other  publicans,  he  had  accepted  his  mission, 

2  An  ancient  tradition  {Gosp.  ace.  to  the  Hebrews  ;  Justin  Martyr,  Dial. 
88  ;  some  Latin  MSS.  of  Matthew)  asserted  that  a  fire  was  kindled  in 
the  Jordan  when  Jesus  was  baptized.  The  celestial  message  also, 
according  to  some  authorities,  has  been  conformed  to  that  of  Acts 
xiii.  33  (Ps.  ii.  7).  Another  traditional  notion  was  that  Jesus  cleansed 
water  by  being  baptized  (Ignatius,  Jerome,  Wordsworth,  &c.). 


ST.   MATTHEW   3.  17—4.   i  137 

when  he  was  baptized,  went  up  straightway  from  the 
water :  and  lo,  the  heavens  were  opened  unto  him,  and 
he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descending  as  a  dove,  and 
coming  upon  him;  and  lo,  a  voice  out  of  the  heavens,  17 
saying.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased. 

Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  4 

saw  the    Spirit    descending,  while    John    i.    32    says   that   John 
beheld  it,  Luke  adding,  *  in  a  bodily  form.' 

1*7.  in  wliom  I  am  well  pleased  is  a  biblical  expression, 
as  Isa.  xlii.  i;  Matt.  xii.  18.  For  *  This  is,'  Mark  and  Luke 
read  '  Thou  art.'  The  baptism  and  the  heavenly  recognition  were 
necessary  both  for  Jesus  and  for  his  followers.  The  baptism  was 
not  merely  *  an  outward  and  visible  sign,'  but  attended  bj'  an 
*  inward  and  spiritual '  endowment.  The  dove  was  supposed 
to  be  the  form  in  which  the  Spirit  brooded  over  the  waters 
(Gen.  i.  2).  The  Targum  says  that  the  twig  of  Noah's  dove  was 
found  on  Messiah's  mountain.  The  emblematic  dove  appears  at  the 
head  of  Semitic  gods,  and  it  was  venerated  among  the  Samaritans 
as  the  image  of  the  Shechinah.  Doves  were  used  for  special 
sacrifices  in  Israel  ^Gen.  xv.  9;  Lev.  i.  14,  xii.  8  ;  Luke  ii.  24). 

iv.  i-ii.  The  Temptation  of  Christ.  After  a  fast  of  forty 
days  Jesus  is  tempted  to  change  stones  into  bread,  to  cast  himself 
down  from  the  temple,  to  worship  Satan.  He  refutes  the  tempter 
by  the  word  of  God. 

The  Temptation  :  Mark  i.  12,  13  ;  Luke  iv.  1-13. 

After  the  baptism  and  the  heavenly  recognition  came  temptation : 
Matthew,  'then';  Mark,  'straightway';  Luke,  'Jesus  full  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  returned  from  Jordan.'  Meyer,  Holtzmann, 
and  others  think  that  the  narrative  in  Matthew  and  Luke 
is  a  development  from  the  briefer  tradition  found  in  Mr.rk. 
Holtzmann  urges  that  the  popular  view  of  the  Messiah  required 
that  he  should  encounter  the  demons  :  before  he  could  deliver 
others  from  the  evil  power  he  must  first  'bind  the  strong  man';  but 
this  draws  too  much  from  the  mythical  theory.  As  Weiss  remarks, 
Jesus  would  himself  speak  of  the  forty  days,  and  the  materials 
would  be  found  in  the  original  Matthew.  The  agreement  of  the 
Synoptics  and  other  references  (cf.  Heb.  iv.  15;  imply  a  real 
history. 

1.  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness.  We  cannot  think 
of  an  involuntary  transportation,  though  Mark  has  '  driveth  him 
forth.'     After  the  great  excitement  at   the  Jordan  Jesus  would 


138  ST.  MATTHEW   4.   2,  3 

2  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.     And  when  he  had  fasted 

3  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he  afterward  hungered.    And 
the  tempter  came  and  said  unto  him,  If  thou  art  the  Son 

naturally  seek  solitude  and  repose.    The  '  wilderness '  lay  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  Jordan  ;  in  tradition  called  the  '  Quarantania.' 

to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.  In  the  temptation,  as  in  the 
baptism,  he  was  '  led  up  of  the  Spirit.'  There  was  a  purpose  in 
his  being  in  this  place  :  it  was  '  to  be  tempted,'  and  that  '  of 
the  devil.'  In  the  view  of  the  evangelists  Satan  still  retains 
that  place  among  the  servants  or  instruments  of  God  which  was 
assigned  to  him  in  the  later  times  of  the  O.  T.  In  Job  i.  6  he 
appears  among  the  sons  of  Elohim.  1  Chron.  xxi.  i  states  that 
'  Satan  stood  up  against  Israel '  and  moved  David  to  number  the 
people  (in  2  Sam.  xxiv.  i,  God  moved  David;.  In  Zech.  iii  i  we 
read  of  '  the  adversary ' ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  proper 
name  '  Satan  '  occurs  in  the  O.  T.  Our  English  word  comes 
through  the  French  dtable,  Latin  diabohis,  from  the  Greek.  In 
Rev.  XX.  a  both  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  names  are  given  :  *  the 
devil  and  Satan.'  'Tempt'  and  'temptation'  acquire  a  new 
meaning  in  biblical  language.  The  old  significance  was  that  of 
trial,  proof,  testing,  attempting,  as  Wisd.  of  Sir.  xxvii.  5;  Luke  viii. 
13:  but  Matt.  vi.  13,  xxvi.  41  ;  Mark  xiv.  38  ;  Jas.  i.  12,  13  include 
the  idea  of  solicitation  to  evil.  This  seems  to  have  been  charged 
against  Israel  (Exod.  xvii.  2  ;  Num.  xxi.  4  ;  i  Cor.  x.  9). 

2.  when  he  had  fasted  forty  days,  &c.  Mark  and  Luke 
represent  the  temptation  as  extending  over  the  whole  period  ; 
Matthew  finds  the  occasion  of  the  first  attack  in  the  hunger 
which  supervened  after  the  long  fast.  Moses  (Deut.  ix.  9)  and 
Elijah  (I  Kings  xix.  8)  are  said  to  have  fasted  forty  days.  It  is 
possible  that  the  spiritual  exaltation  through  which  Jesus  had 
passed  had  rendered  him  regardless  of  physical  wants  for  a  long 
period  :  on  its  subsidence  they  reasserted  themselves.  We  need 
not  suppose  '  a  departure  of  the  Spirit'  (Calvin,  Olshausen). 

'  He  was  afterward  an  hungred  '  ( A.  V.)  was  a  good  old  English 
phrase,  but  the  verbal  form  is  more  literal. 

3.  the  tempter  came.  There  have  been  many  conjectures 
respecting  the  form  in  which  the  tempter  approached  Jesus.  The 
mythical  theory  supposes  that  the  narrative  is  fictitious,  composed 
for  the  ideal  Messiah.  But  as  history  attests  that  Jesus  really 
lived,  there  is  no  a  priori  improbability  about  his  temptation. 
Realistic  conceptions  have  given  a  bodily  form  to  Satan,  partly 
angelic,  partly  human  :  cf.  Luke  x.  18,  '  I  saw  Satan  fall  like 
lightning,'  and  Job  i.  6.  But  generally  the  N,  T.  represents 
Satan  as  an  invisible  agent  (Luke  xxii.  3  ;  Acts  v.  3).  Bengel 
conjectured  tliat  he  might  have  come  to  Jesus  as  a  scribe.     How- 


ST.  MATTHEW   4.  4-G  139 

of  God,  command  that  these  stones  become  bread.     But  4 
he  answered  and  said,  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of 
the  mouth  of  God.     Then  the  devil  taketh  him  into  the  5 
holy  city ;  and  he  set  him  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple, 
and  said  unto  him,  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  cast  thy-  6 
self  down  :  for  it  is  written, 


ever,  the  conflict  was  spiritual :  he  was  '  in  all  points  tempted  Hke 
as  we  are.' 

If  tliou  art  (A.  V.  '  be  "i  the  Son  of  God.  The  sonship  which 
had  been  so  emphaticall}'  declared  in  iii.  17,  the  tempter  calls 
in  question.  The  voice  might  have  been  illusory,  or  needed  con- 
firmation now  that  conditions  were  changed.  Would  God  permit 
his  Son  to  be  forsaken,  to  die  of  hunger  ?  A  simple  miracle  would 
test  the  relation.  John  the  Baptist  had  said  that  God  could  raise 
up  children  to  Abraham  out  of  the  very  stones  around  him,  and 
would  He  not  change  them  into  *  loaves  '  for  his  'beloved  Son  '  ? 

Jesus  was  not  to  be  overthrown  by  the  stress  of  bodily  appetite. 
Adam  in  abundance  was  weak  before  a  new  attraction  ;  Israel 
murmured  when  hungry  ;  Jesus,  tormented  and  tempted,  refused  to 
obey  the  selfish  desire. 

4.  Man  sliall  not  live  by  bread  alone.  Matthew  quotes  in 
full  Deut.  viii.  3  (LXX),  of  which  Luke  gives  only  the  first 
part.  Jesus,  *  though  a  Son,*  was  yet  *  man '  :  if  conscious  of 
transcendent  elevation  he  must  yet  '  learn  obedience.'  Israel  in 
the  wilderness  clamoured  for  bread  as  though  it  was  ever3'thing,  and 
must  be  obtained  by  any  and  every  means.  Jesus  shewed  that  the 
will  and  law  of  God  are  more  than  life  or  any  of  its  satisfactions  : 
*  every  word.' 

5.  the  holy  city.  Luke  makes  this  the  third  temptation.  As 
the  accounts  are  clearly  from  one  source,  this  variation  cannot  be 
explained,  Meyer,  Alford  think  that  Matthew  has  the  right 
order,  Ellicott  prefers  that  of  Luke.  Jerusalem  is  called  '  the 
holy  city  '  in  Matt,  xxvii.  53  ;  Isa.  xlviii.  2  ;  Rev.  xi.  2,  xxi.  2  : 
cf.  Matt.  V.  35,  '  the  city  of  the  great  King.'  The  Arabs  still  call 
it  *  El  Kuds,'  i,  e.  *  the  holy  place.'  It  was  so  called  because  of 
the  temple  (John  iv.  20).  The  'pinnacle'  was  some  well-known 
prominence  on  the  temple  roof,  which  towered  above  the  deep 
valley  of  the  Kidron. 

6.  cast  thyself  down.  On  this  consecrated  spot  the  appeal  to 
the  sacred  word  would  have  commanding  force.  There,  if 
anywhere,  such  a  promise  of  special  Providence  might  be  tested. 
Jesus  was  not  to  be  led  captive  by  appetite  like  one  of  the  crowd, 


I40  ST.  MATTHEW   4.  7-1 1 

He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee : 
And  on  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 
Lest  haply  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone. 

7  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Again  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  not 

8  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God.     Again,  the  devil  taketh  him 
unto  an  exceeding  high  mountain,  and  sheweth  him  all 

9  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them ;  and 
he  said  unto  him,  All  these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if 

10  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me.  Then  saith  Jesus 
unto  him,  Get  thee  hence,  Satan :  for  it  is  written,  Thou 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 

I T  serve.  Then  the  devil  leaveth  him ;  and  behold,  angels 
came  and  ministered  unto  him. 

but  religious  enthusiasm  might  bring  him  to  destruction.  Eusebius 
{H.  E.  ii.  23)  gives  a  tradition  through  Hegesippus,  that  James  the 
just  was  thrown  from  '  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple.' 

haply.     R.  V.   represents  a  Greek  word  (LXX)  which  A.  V. 
translated  ''  at  any  time.' 

7.  The  Hebrew  and  Greek  (LXX)  agree  in  Ps.  xci.  11,  12,  and 
in  the  reply  from  Deut.  vi.  i6.  Bengel  says :  Scriptura  per 
soipturani  interpretanda  et  concilianda, 

8.  an  ezceedmg^  liig-li  mountain.  He  whom  baser  passion 
cannot  seduce,  nor  religious  enthusiasm  mislead,  must  belong  to 
the  superior  few.  In  such  characters  the  consciousness  of  power 
is  often  attended  with  ambition.  Jesus  the  Carpenter's  son  had 
listened  to  the  popular  demand  for  a  deliverer,  and  all  that  was 
wanted  was  publicity  and  some  social  authority.  These  were 
promised  :  'All  these  will  I  give  thee.'  For  '  the  world  created' 
(Matthew)  Luke  has  '  the  world  inhabited,'  and  adds  '  in  a  moment 
of  time.'  There  was  no  mountain  from  which  all  Palestine  could 
be  seen  :  but  cf.  Ezek.  xl.  2.  A  Jewish  opinion  regarded  Satan 
as  the  'ruler  of  this  world'  (John  xiv.  30,  xvi.  11  ;  2  Cor,  iv.  4; 
Eph.  vi.  12  ;   I  John  v.  I9\ 

10.  Get  thee  hence,  Satan.  By  this  last  proposal  the  adversary 
had  revealed  himself,  and  Jesus  addresses  him  by  name. 

11.  When  Satan  left  tlie  angels  came.  Luke  does  not  refer 
to  them,  but  states  that  Satan  left  '  for  a  season.' 

iv.  12-17.  The  Ministry  begun.  When  Jesus  heard  of  the 
arrest  of  John  he  left  Nazareth  for  Capernaum.  Prophecy  again 
fulfilled. 


ST.  MATTHEW  4.  12-16  141 

Now  when  he  heard  that  John  was  dchvered  up,  he  12 
withdrew  into  Gahlee ;  and  leaving  Nazareth,  he  came  13 
and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,  which   is  by  the  sea,  in  the 
borders  of  Zebulun  and  Naphtali :   that  it  might  be  ful-  14 
filled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying. 

The  land  of  Zebulun  and  the  land  of  Naphtali,  15 

Toward  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan, 

Galilee  of  the  Gentiles, 

The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  r^> 

The  commencement  of  our  Lord's  public  ministry  is  described 
in  Matt.  iv.  12-17  ;  Mark  i.  14,  15  ;  Luke  iv.  14,  15.  Dr.  Bruce 
supposes  that  the  writer  regarded  this  as  the  absolute  beginning 
ol"  the  public  ministry  of  Jesus — ver.  17,  'began  to  preach'  ;  but 
Luke  speaks  of  a  ministry  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth,  and 
John  records  the  calling  of  disciples,  and  the  miracles  at  Cana 
and  in  Judaea,  before  this  date.  Dr.  Godet  speaks  of  a  *  confusion 
of  the  two  first  returns  into  Galilee '  in  Matthew  and  Mark, 
However,  as  Dr.  M orison  observes,  '■  Matthew  does  not  give 
us  a  scientifically-jointed  memoir.'  The  evangelists  all  agree  that 
Jesus  came  into  public  in  Galilee  more  particular!}'  after  the  arrest 
of  John  :  that  he  first  abode  in  Nazareth,  then  in  Capernaum. 

13.  leavingr  Nazaretli :  Luke  iv.  17  30  narrates  his  rejection 
there. 

dwelt  in  Capernaum.  This  place  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
O.  T.  or  in  the  Apocrypha.  It  was  a  flourishing  centre  for 
population,  travel  and  commerce,  on  the  north-west  border  of 
the  lake  of  Galilee,  where  the  rem.ains  of  a  fallen  synagogue  are 
supposed  to  mark  its  site  (Tell  Hum).  John  iv.  45  relates  that 
Jesus  was  received  in  Galilee  because  he  had  already  acquired 
reputation  in  Jerusalem. 

14.  It  is  to  this  location  of  the  Messianic  ministry  that  the 
evangelist  applies  the  words  of  Isa.  viii.  11 — ix.  6.  The  prophetic 
statement  refers  to  the  invasion  of  Tiglath-Pileser.  b.  c.  734,  when 
Ahaz  had  called  him  to  assist  against  Rezin  and  Pekah  of  Syria, 
2  Kings  XV.  10-29.  The  quotation  resembles  the  Hebrew  rather 
than  the  Greek.  Weiss  {Introd.  to  N.  T.  ii.  283)  observes  that 
'  by  settling  in  Capernaum  He  shows  that  salvation  is  to  go  forth 
to  the  Gentiles  ^.' 

^  Ritschl  {Entstehung  der  a.  Kirche,  p.  153)  refers  to  Jerome's  report 
that  the  Nazarenes  referred  this  passage  to  the  extension  of  the  gospel 
by  Paul.  Jerome's  comment  on  this  point  is  too  obscure  for  any  firm 
inference  to  be  based  upon  it. 


142  ST.  MATTHEW   4.  17-20 

Saw  a  great  light, 

And  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 

death, 
To  them  did  light  spring  up. 
17      From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say, 

Repent  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. 
iS      And  walking  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  he  saw  two  brethren, 
Simon  who  is   called   Peter,   and  Andrew  his  brother, 

19  casting  a  net  into  the  sea ;  for  they  were  fishers.   And  he 
saith  unto  them.  Come  ye  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you 

20  fishers  of  men.     And  they  straightway  left  the  nets,  and 

iv.  18-22.  The  callmg  of  four  fishermen  to  be  disciples.  The 
account  of  the  calling  of  the  first  disciples  is  found  in  all  the 
Synoptists,  but  under  conditions  which  shew  that  the  early 
narratives  were  in  a  somewhat  fluid  condition.  Matthew 
follows  Mark  closely,  but  Luke  introduces  items  to  which 
the  others  give  another  connexion.  He  represents  the  fishermen 
as  being  out  of  their  boats,  washing  their  nets  ;  but  Matthew 
and  Mark  say  that  they  were  casting  a  net  into  the  sea.  He 
says  also  that  Jesus  was  first  speaking  from  the  boat,  that  then 
he  asked  Simon  to  go  out  and  fish  ;  while  Simon's  reply  reminds 
us  of  the  event  recorded  in  John  xxi.  4-12  (cf.  Mark  iv.  i). 
Luke's  conclusion  that  '  they  left  all  and  followed  him '  (cf. 
Matt.  iv.  20;  Mark  i.  20)  leaves  no  doubt  that  throughout  the 
narrative  he  is  referring  to  the  first  call  :  cf.  Mark  i.  16-20 ; 
Luke  v.  i-ii. 

18.  by  the  sea  of  Galilee:  so  called  because  of  the  province 
in  which  it  was  situated.  John  (xxi.  i)  calls  it  the  *  sea  of 
Tiberias,'  because  of  the  city  on  its  border.  Luke  fv.  i)  gives  it 
the  name  '  Lake  Gennesaret,'  the  region  at  the  northern  end  of 
the  lake  where  the  five  thousand  were  fed.  Josephus  calls  it 
*  Gennesar '  ;  Heb.  '  Chinnereth  '  (Deut.  iii.  17  ;  Joshua  xii.  3). 

Simon  who  is  called  Pster.  Mark  and  Luke  (^also 
Sin.  Syr.  in  Matt.)  use  here  'Simon'  without  the  addition.  It 
may  be  noticed  that  the  brother  of  Simon,  Andrew,  had  a  Greek 
name.    The  Aramaic  Cephas  is  only  used  by  John  and  Paul. 

19.  Wieseler  supposes  that  these  first  disciples  were  called 
three  times  :  first,  as  in  John  i.  35 ;  secondly,  according  to  the 
account  given  in  this  place;  thirdly,  to  the  apostleship,  Matt.  x.  2-4. 

fishers  of  men,  or,  as  Mark,  *  to  become  fishers/  which  might. 
be  from  the  Aramaic  infinitive. 


ST.  MATTHEW  4.  21-25  i43 

followed  him.     And  going  on  from  thence  he  saw  other  21 
two  brethren,  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his 
brother,  in  the  boat  with  Zebedee  their  father,  mending 
their  nets;  and  he  called  them.     And  they  straightway  23 
left  the  boat  and  their  father,  and  followed  him. 

And  Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their  23 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom, 
and  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of 
sickness  among  the  people.  And  the  report  of  him  went  24 
forth  into  all  Syria :  and  they  brought  unto  him  all  that 
were  sick,  holden  with  divers  diseases  and  torments, 
possessed  with  devils,  and  epileptic,  and  palsied ;  and  he 
healed  them.     And  there  followed  him  great  multitudes  25 

22.  left  the  boat :  in  Mark,  *  left  Zebedee  with  the  hired  ser- 
vants.' From  this  time  they  devoted  their  time  and  service  to 
their  new  Master. 

iv.  23-25.  The  works  of  Jesus.  The  paragraph,  which  describes 
the  teaching  and  healing  ministry  of  Jesus,  forms  a  transition  to 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

23.  Similar  statements  disclosing  the  ■widening  activity  and 
influence  of  the  great  Teacher  are  found  in  Matt.  ix.  35  ;  Mark 
i.  39,  vi.  6  ;  Luke  iv.  44. 

in  their  synagog-nes,  where  the  gatherings  took  place  chiefly 
on  the  Sabbaths  (Acts  xv.  21),  so  that  some  lapse  of  time  is 
indicated. 

all  manner  of  disease.  The  R.  V.  inverts  the  order  of  the 
two  words,  '  sickness  '  and  '  disease.'  *  Disease  '  seems  to  refer 
to  positive  and  acute  disorders,  like  fever,  leprosy',  and  blindness ; 
'sickness' to  the  various  forms  of  debility.  The  'torments'  in' 
eluded  mania,  epilepsy,  and  paralysis.  '  Torment '  was  inflicted 
upon  criminals — often  to  extort  confession. 

24.  into  all  Syria.  His  reputation  was  now  increased  by  the 
geographical  extension  of  his  ministry:  'all  Galilee';  'all  Syria'; 
and  'from  Jerusalem.'  Also  by  the  unlimited  range  of  his  cures: 
'all  manner  of  disease.' 

25.  great  multitucles :  a  favourite  expression  in  Matthew. 
Dccapolis  was  a  district  of  ten  towns  :  Scythopolis,  Gadara, 
Hippo,  Pella,  &c. — mostly  occupied  by  Gentiles.  The  req:ion 
lay  on  the  north-east  side  of  the  sea  of  Galilee  (Smith,  Htsior. 
C-^^g'  P-  599)- 


re 


144  ST.  MATTHEW   5.  r 

from  Galilee  and  Decapolis  and  Jerusalem  and  Judcea 
and  from  beyond  Jordan. 
5      And  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up  into  the  moun- 
tain :  and  when  he  had  sat  down,  his  disciples  came  unto 

j  V.  1-12.  The  Beatitudes  introduce  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
^"  Mark  does  not  report  this  discourse  (Matt,  v-vii),  and  Luke 
(vi.  20-49)  only  gives  portions  of  it.  Both  Matthew  and  Luke 
begin  with  the  beatitudes  and  conclude  with  the  comparison  of 
the  houses  built  on  the  rock  and  the  sand.  Luke  places  the 
1^  5crmon_aftjr_lhe_calLiiig-ii£j^lSL_?£^^^ 
\  i03l2i^^^2~callia^.,ofllhe3xsLjdiie^^ 

of  M^at_th£VK,lhimselfXix.__9)-  Luke  vi.  17  makes  the  situation  'a 
^vel  place,'  but  Matthew  speaks  of  '  the  mountain.'  Only  thirty 
of  the  one  hundred  and  seven  verses  of  Matthew  are  represented 
in  the  third  gospel,  while  the  latter  has  four  woes  instead  of  the 
same  number  of  benedictions.  Augustine,  Osiander,  Greswell  say 
that  the  discourse  was  given  in  parts  :  most  of  the  moderns  agree 
that  Matthew  and  Luke  give  different  accounts  of  the  same  great 
discourse.  Tholuck,  Ebrard,  Meyer  hold  that  Luke  borrowed 
from  Matthew.  If  this  were  so,  why  did  he  not  take  more?  If 
he  had  an  independent  source,  was  it  oral  or  written  ?  Olshausen 
and  Godet  seem  to  favour  the  view  that  Luke's  is  the  more 
original  report. 

No  one  now  expects  to  find  absolute  chronological  accuracy  in 
the  evangelical  records.  But  it  is  probable  that  for  the  use  of 
teachers  and  catechists  P/Iatthew  collects  scattered  utterances  of 
our  Lord.  Weiss  regards  it  as  '  an  example  of  his  teaching,' 
or  as  'an  ordination  discourse,'  but  in  its  present  form  due  to  the 
evangelist.  It  may  be  noted  that  this  lengthened  address  was  not 
spoken  to  the  multitudes,  but  to  the  disciples,  v.  i  (Luke  vi.  20). 
On  this  account  Lange  describes  it  as  '  an  esoteric  discourse.' 
This  makes  unnecessary  the  remark  of  Holtzmann,  that  Jesus  is 
represented  as  a  second  Moses,  delivering  from  a  mountain  the 
new  law.  Mark  iii.  13  indicates  the  place  for  the  discourse,  but 
omits  it.  Both  Mark  and  Luke  shew  that  many  works  had  pre- 
ceded it — '  a  lengthened  activity  '  (Godet).  Its  own  terms  imply 
that  the  new  message  had  been  widely  diffused  :  some  had 
believed  and  others  rejected  it;  persecution  had  arisen  for  his 
name's  sake  ;  some  had  built  on  the  rock  and  others  on  the  sand  ; 
while  false  prophets  had  arisen. 

1.  seeinaf  tho  multitudes,  he  went  np  into  the  mountain: 
whither  he  resorted  for  quiet,  or  for  converse  with  his  disciples. 

when  he  had  cat  down.  This  is  the  attitude  of  the  oriental 
teacher  (Luke  iv.  20)  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  2,  'The  Pharisees  sit  on  Moses' 
seat.' 


ST.  MATTHEW  5.  2-6  145 

him  :  and  he  opened  his  mouth  and  taught  them,  saying,  2 
Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :   for  theirs  is  the  king-  3 

dom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  :   for  they  shall  be  com-  4 

forted. 

Blessed  are  the  meek :   for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  5 
Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous-  6 

ness  :  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

2.  opened  Ms  moutli :  Job  iii.  i  ;  Dan.  x.  16  ;  Acts  viii.  35. 
and  taug-lit :  lit.  began  to  teach — an  incipient  imperfect. 

3.  Blessed  are  tlie  poor  in  spirit  (Luke  om.  '  in  spirit ').  The 
term  'blessed'  is  biblical,  Deut.  xxxiii.  29  (R.  V.  'happy');  Fs.  i.  i. 
The  repentance  demanded  by  John's  preaching  implied  low- 
liness, Isa.  Ivii.  15.  Jas.  ii.  5  (which  seems  to  refer  to  this  saying) 
speaks  of  the  '  poor  in  this  world  '  who  are  '  heirs  of  the  kingdom.' 
Resch  {Die  Login  Jesu)  translates  'poor' by  the  Hebrew  a-ni-yim, 
though  eb-yo-nim  stands  for  it,  Ps.  xii.  5  and  elsewhere.  Origen 
supposed  that  the  Ebyonim  were  so  called  because  they  were 
poor  in  understanding  ;  and  Matt.  xi.  25  suggests  that  spiritual 
poverty  implied  freedom  from  the  pride  of  knowledge :  cf.  i  Cor. 
i.  26. 

theirs  is  the  king-dom  of  heaven.  The  Messianic  blessing 
is  future  rather  than  present,  spiritual  rather  than  temporal,  and 
is  more  acceptable  to  the  lowly  and  unfortunate  than  to  the  rich 
and  successful.  '  The  blessing  of  the  O.  T.  is  prosperity  :  ad- 
versity is  the  blessing  of  the  New,  which  carrieth  the  greatei" 
benediction.*  Only  those  who  feel  their  sinfulness  and  helpless- 
ness will  care  for  the  righteousness  of  the  kingdom  which  is  the 
gift  of  God. 

4.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn.  Luke  has,  *  Blessed  are 
ye  that  weep  now  :  for  ye  shall  laugh.'  John  xvi.  7-20  speaks  of 
the  '  Comforter,'  by  whose  agency  *  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into 
jo3\'  They  mourn  not  only  for  sin,  but  also  under  the  painful 
conditions  appointed  for  the  trial  of  faith,  i  Pet.  i.  6.  Some  have 
transposed  verses  4  and  5,  but  without  sufficient  authority. 

5.  Blessed  are  the  mcelc,  5:c. :  see  Ps.  xxxvii.  11.  The  am- 
bitious and  tyrannical  have  possessed  the  earth,  but  their  day  is 
short.  The  moral  code  of  the  lowly  Galilean  is  the  foundation 
of  civilized  legislation.  Dr.  Bruce  refers  to  the  inheritance  of  the 
Western  continent  which  has  come  to  the  descendants  of  the 
persecuted  Puritans. 

6.  Blessed  are  they  that  hung-er.  Physical  thirst  is  an  O.  T. 
emblem  of  spiritual  longing,  Ps.  xlii.  2;  Ii>a.  Iv.  i. 

I. 


146  ST.  MATTHEW  5.  7-11 

7  Blessed  are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 

8  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  :   for  they  shall  see  God. 

9  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  :  for  they  shall  be  called 
sons  of  God. 

10  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness' sake :    for  theirs  is  the   kingdom   of  heaven. 

11  Blessed  are  ye  when  vicji  shall  reproach  you,  and  perse- 

they  shall  "be  filled,  i.  e.  shall  receive  full  satisfaction  :  Ps. 
xvii.  15.  Some  have  rendered  it,  '  hunger  and  thirst  on  account 
of  righteousness,'  which  amounts  to  the  same  meaning.  Notice 
the  antithesis  of  Paul,  Rom.  xiv.  17,  between  'meat  and  drink'  and 
the  *  righteousness'  of  the  *  kingdom.' 

7.  Blessed  are  the  merciful:  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy: 
lit.  '  shall  experience  mercy  '—not  only  now,  but  in  the  final 
triumph  of  the  kingdom,  Jas.  ii.  13  (cf.  Heb.  iv.  16,  'receive 
mercy').  Matthew  frequently  refers  to  mercy:  ix.  13,  xii.  7, 
xviii.  33,  XXV.  35.  The  higher  righteousness  which  justifies 
forgiveness  can  only  be  attained  by  those  who  submit  to  be 
governed  by  this  supreme  law  of  the  universe,  i.  e.  love.  This 
is  taught  in  the  parable  of  the  ungrateful  servant,  xviii.  23  ;  and 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  vi.  12.  Mercy  characterizes  the  true  High 
Priest,  Heb.  ii.  17  ;  its  absence  condemned  the  Pharisees,  Matt, 
xxiii.  23. 

9.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers.  Similarly,  however,  wisdom 
is  said  to  be  'first  pure,  then  peaceable,'  Jas.  iii.  17  :  cf.  Prov. 
X.  12. 

for  they  shall  be  called:  a  frequent  phrase,  as  Num.  i.  10 
(LXX) ;  Isa.  ix.  6  (LXX)  ;  Rom.  ix.  26.  For  '  sons  of  God'  see 
Rom.  viii.  14  ;  Gal.  iii.  26  ;  i  John  iii.  2  ('children').  The  qualita- 
tive meaning,  '  like  God,'  may  be  included,  as  i  Thess.  v.  5,  '-  sons 
of  light ' :  cf.  Matt.  v.  48. 

10.  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted.  i  Pet. 
iii.  14,  iv.  14  seem  to  refer  to  this  saying.  'The  cause,  not  the 
pain,  makes  the  martyr'  (Augustine).  As  the  followers  of  Jesus 
had  not  yet  ccme  under  persecution,  Weizsacker  and  Holtzmann 
regard  these  verses  as  additions  by  the  evangelist ;  some  refer  the 
statement  (in  the  past  tense)  to  the  persecuted  of  former  times  ; 
Luke  vi.  22  puts  it  into  the  future,  and  it  may  be  nearer  to  the 
original.  In  the  A.  V.  the  present  stands  for  the  perfect  participle, 
'are  persecuted.' 

11.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  reproach  you  —  falsely, 
or,  '  because  the}''  are  speakers  of  falsehood.'  As  the  w^ords  '  for 
my  sake'  are  in  some  copies  placed  first,  the  A.  V.  connects  them 


ST.  MATTHEW  5.  12,13  147 

cute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely, 
for  my  sake.     Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  :   for  great  la 
is  your  reward  in  heaven  :    for  so  persecuted  they  the 
prophets  which  were  before  you. 

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

only  with  '  falsely.'  Holtzmann  refers  to  Pliny's  decision  that 
Christians  should  be  punished  '  for  the  name  ' :  but  that  belongs 
to  a  later  time. 

12.  Bejoice,  and  be  exceedingf  glad.  Rev.  xix.  7;  i  Pet.  iv.  13; 
Ps.  xxxii.  II  ;  Lam.  iv.  21  ;  Luke  vi.  23  ('  rejoice  and  leap')  re- 
present the  original  meaning  of  the  v^'ord.  Christian  joy  abounds 
in  adversity  ;  so  the  apostles  sang  in  prison,  Acts  xvi.  25  :  cf. 
Rom.  V.  3. 

your  reward.  Though  the  same  word  is  rendered  *  hire/ 
Matt.  XX.  8,  and  '  wages,'  John  iv.  36,  yet  it  does  not  favour  the 
assumption  of  merit,  Rom.  iv.  4. 

the  prophets  which  were  before  you.  Morison,  Carr,  Lange, 
and  Bruce  perceive  that  there  is  here  a  recognition  of  the  pro- 
phetical office  which  belonged  to  the  disciples  to  whom  the 
address  was  specially  given.  They  were  now  in  the  place  of  the 
prophets.  Concerning  the  'Prophets'  of  the  N.  T.  church  see 
Rom.  xii.  6;  i  Cor.  xii.  10,  xiv.  4,  31,  39;  Eph.  iii.  5,  iv.  11  ; 
I  Thess.  V.  19.     The  Sin.  Syr.  omits  '  before  you.' 

v.  13-16.  The  church  and  the  world.  The  disciples  are  shewn  to 
be  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of  the  world.  Their  light  is 
to  be  exhibited. 

13.  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  Detached  sayings  from 
verses  13-16  are  found  in  other  connexions  in  Mark  and  Luke. 
Mark  ix.  50  and  Luke  xiv.  34  repeat  the  allusion  to  salt,  but  have 
not  the  leading  phrase,  '  Ye  are,'  &c.  It  shews  the  variety  with 
which  the  original  sources  have  been  used,  that  onl^'  three  of  the 
principal  expressions  in  these  verses  are  found  in  all  the  Synoptics, 
five  more  are  contained  in  two,  and  ten  are  found  in  one  or  the 
other  only.     (The  R.  V.  does  not  represent  all  the  differences.) 

14.  The  disciples  are  the  '  salt  of  the  earth,'  '  the  light  of  the 
World.'  '  Salt  and  light  are  primary  in  nature  and  of  widest  use  ' 
(Bengel).  Livy  called  Greece  '  the  light  of  the  nations.'  The 
transitions  from  the  salt  to  the  city  and  then  to  the  light  are 
somewhat  abrupt,  and  raise  a  doubt  whether  all  here  is  in  its 
original   setting,     Holtzmann   and  Weiss  think   that   'world'  is 

L  2 


I    be 


I4S  ST.  MATTHEW   5.  14-17 

14  foot  of  men.     Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.     A  city  set 

15  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  lamp, 
and  put  it  under  the  bushel,   but  on  the  stand;    and 

16  it  shineth  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house.  Even  so  let 
your  light  shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good 
works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

17  Think  not  that   I  came  to   destroy  the  law   or   the 


used  here  in  the  later  sense  fPaul  and  John)  of  estrange- 
ment from  God.  Weiss  also  holds  that  Luke  xi.  33  places  the 
reference  to  light  in  its  proper  connexion,  though  Mark  iv.  21 
places  it  after  the  '  Sower.'  The  '  light '  consists  in  the  tran- 
scendent virtues  recommended  in  this  discourse.  Humility,  meek- 
ness, purity,  and  benevolence  reveal  to  the  world  its  own  vices 
and  shortcomings.  The  light  is  to  be  '  seen/  because  without  the 
stimulus  of  higher  example  society  cannot  escape  from  its  own 
corruption.  By  this  exhortation  no  encouragement  is  given  to 
the  ostentatious  profession  of  religion,  but  to  a  sedulous  care  that 
virtue  may  be  genuine.  Light  is  its  own  herald  :  good  works  are 
their  own  witness — A  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  Tie  hid. 

15.  under  the  bushel :  there  would  generally  be  but  one  article 
of  the  kind  in  a  house. 

16.  glorify  your  Father  whi6h  is  in  heaven:  cf.  i  Pet.  ii.  12, 
which  seems  to  refer  to  this  saying.  This  is  the  earliest  use  of 
the  expression  '  Our  Father  in  heaven,'  Matt.  vi.  9.  The 
relation  of  the  righteous  to  God  is  shewn  by  works,  Matt.  v.  48 ; 
I  John  iii.  3-9. 

V.  17-20.  Permanence  of  the  law.  The  precepts  which  express 
the  true  righteousness  are  not  to  be  abolished. 

IV.  Think  not  that  I  came.  Some  might  infer  from  his  teach- 
ing that  the  old  law  was  evil — as  Marcion  did.  Neither  are  they 
correct  who  assume  that  the  original  gospel  would  altogether 
forbid  the  disciples  to  forsake  Judaism.  Jesus  did  nf  t  expressly 
instruct  his  followers  to  leave  formal  Judaism.  The  strict  Jewish 
Christians  never  did.  Peter  and  John  went  to  the  temple 
at  the  hour  of  evening  prayer  after  Pentecost,  Acts  iii.  i.  The 
breach  with  literal  Judaism  was  introduced  by  Paul,  yet  he 
offered  sacrifice  in  the  temple  on  his  last  visit  to  Jerusalem 
(a.  d.  57\  Acts  xxi.  24.  Our  Lord  teaches  in  this  place  that  the 
law  and  the  prophets  are  to  be  fulfilled,  not  by  the  universal  and 
permanent  establishment  of  the  ceremonial  law,  but  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  higher  purity  of  the  gospel. 

the  law  or  the  prophots.     The  first  tvVo  great  sections  of 


ST.  MATTHEW   5.  18,  19  149 

prophets :    I   came  not  to   destroy,   but    to   fulfil.     For  18 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass  away, 
one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  away  from  the 
law,  till  all  things  be  accomplished.     Whosoever  there-  19 
fore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and 
shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least  in  the  kingdom 


the  Jewish  canon  are  mentioned,  but  the  whole  may  be  intended, 
Luke  xxiv.  44. 

I  came  not  to  destroy,  i.  e.  to  dissolve  utterly,  as  Matt.  xxvi. 
61  (Wycliffe,  *  to  undo '). 

"but  to  fulfil:  Luke  xxii.  16.  The  Pharisees  had  made  void 
the  Maw'  by  tradition;  the  Sadducees  had  disparaged  the  'pro- 
phets ' ;  Jesus  came  to  '  fulfil '  both.  Marcion  erased  this  passage 
from  his  gospel. 

18.  verily,  or  amen,  is  found  in  all  the  Synoptists  ;  the  double 
'verily'  only  in  John,  and  was  only  used  by  our  Lord.  Where 
Matthew  (xvi.  28,  xxiv.  47)  and  Mark  (xii.  43)  use  the  Aramaic 
word,  Luke  introduces  the  Greek  'truly.'  'Truly'  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  73,  xxvii.  53,  54,  comes  from  the  centurion,  and  from 
Pilate's  servants. 

one  jot  or  one  tittle.  Not  so  much  as  the  smallest  vowel, 
or  the  finial  of  a  consonant.  Yod  was  the  smallest  of  the  Hebrew 
letters,  as  iota  v/as  in  Greek. 

Till  heaven  and  earth,  pass,  i.  e.  never.  The  Jews  still 
believe  that  the  law  will  abide  until  the  final  destruction.  The 
later  books  of  the  N.  T.  (epistles  of  Peter  and  Jude  and  the 
Apocalypse)  suppose  the  literal  dissolution  of  the  universe  ;  cf. 
Book  of  Enoch ^  xci.  14-16.  Weiss  says  that  Luke  omitted  this 
passage  because  the  question  of  the  permanence  of  Judaism  had 
lost  its  importance  for  Gentile  Christians  :  but  the  '  question  ' 
is  not  lost  sight  of  in  Acts,  which  came  after  the  gospel  and  from 
the  same  writer. 

19.  "Whosoever  therefore  shall  "break.  Since  none  of  the 
commandments  can  fail  of  fulfilment,  and  none  are  to  be  ignored 
or  transgressed,  the  yoke  of  the  letter  had  to  be  borne  until  its 
subjects  were  ready  for  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit.  What  then 
are  'the  commandments'?  In  answer  to  this  question,  Jesus  in 
Matt.  xix.  18  referred  to  the  moral  portions  of  the  Decalogue,  and 
not  to  any  ceremonial  enactment ;  cf.  Rom.  xiii.  9. 

shall  be  called  least:  not  '  shall  be  excluded  from,'  but  shall 
not  attain  the  highest  honour.  Matt,  xi  11,  'he  that  is  but  little 
in  the  kingdom  '  is  greater  than  John  the  Baptist,  brings  in  another 
circle  of   ideas.     John  did   not    teach    men    to    neglect  the   real 


I50 


ST.  MATTHEW  5.  20-22 


of  heaven  :    but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them, 

20  he  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  Pharisees,  ye 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

21  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old  time, 
Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be 

22  in  danger  of  the  judgement :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that 
every  one  who  is  angry  with  his   brother  shall  be  in 


law.  Neither  does  the  evangelist  refer  to  Paul  as  an  Antinomian, 
though  the  latter  called  himself  *  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints.' 

20.  except  your  ri£fhteousness.  The  '  righteousness '  of  the 
scribes  consisted  in  punctilious  veneration  for  the  letter  of 
Scripture  ;  that  of  the  Pharisees  was  a  scrupulous  ritualism. 
The  following  portion  of  this  discourse  shews  how  the  true 
righteousness  'exceeds'  the  false.  It  forbids  the  murderous 
intent  and  disposition  as  well  as  the  murderous  action  ;  the 
angry  look  as  well  as  the  fatal  stroke.  Impurity  in  thought  is 
condemned  as  well  as  impurity  in  act.  There  must  be  '  truth  in 
the  inward  parts.'  Divorce  may  be  immoral  even  when  human 
law  allows  it.  Retaliation  and  revenge,  once  considered  to  be 
sacred  duties  of  the  tribe  or  family,  are  to  cease  ;  enemies,  as 
well  as  friends,  are  to  be  loved;  outrage  is  to  be  endured  without 
redress.  It  is  by  this  higher  righteousness  that  God  himself 
forgives,  and  therefore  requires  men  to  forgive  one  another. 
This  is  'the  righteousness  of  God,'  which  is  manifested  'apart 
from  the  law'  (Rom.  iii.  21). 

v.  21-26.  Modification  of  the  older  teaching.  Angry  speech  con- 
demned.    The  spirit  of  reconciliation  needed  with  true  sacrifice. 

21.  it  was  said  to  them,  not  '  by  them '  (A.  V.).  The  simple 
dative  was  recognized  from  Wycliffe  to  the  Geneva  Version  :  cf. 
Rom.  ix.  12.  Jesus  does  not  correct  the  ancient  law,  but  finds 
its  deeper  meaning  ;  yet  He  claims  an  authority  equal  to  that  of 
Moses  :  '  it  was  said  ...  I  say.' 

the  judg'ement,  or  the  local  court,  existed  in  every  town  ; 
Deut.  xvi.  18  ;  2  Chron.  xix.  5  ;  Josephus,  Ant.  iv.  8.  14. 

22.  every  one  who  is  ang-ry.  The  margin  retains  'without 
cause,'  which  is  evidently  a  late  addition  to  what  might  be  con- 
sidered to  be  a  hard  saying.     '  Raca '  denied  the  intellectual  value 


ST.  MATTHEW  5.  23-26  151 

danger  of  the  judgement ;  and  whosoever  shall  say  to  his 
brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council ;    and 
whosoever  shall  say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the 
hell  of  fire.     If  therefore  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  23 
the  altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath 
aught  against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  24 
and  go  thy  way,  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and 
then  come  and  offer  thy  gift.    Agree  with  thine  adversary  25 
quickly,  whiles  thou  art  with  him  in  the  way ;  lest  haply 
the  adversary  deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge 
deliver  thee  to  the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison. 
Verily  I  say  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  26 
out  thence,  till  thou  have  paid  the  last  farthing. 


of  a  man  ;  '  fool '  (moreli)  his  religious  worth  (Hokzmann).  The 
evil  of  the  terms  was  in  the  contempt  or  disgust  they  expressed. 
The  '  council '  was  the  Sanhedrin,  the  supreme  court,  which  had 
the  power  of  life  or  death. 

in  dang-er  of  the  liell  of  fire,  or  Gehenna  (marg.),  which 
is  often  referred  to  in  Matthew  ;  also  Mark  ix.  43  ;  Luke  xii.  5  ; 
Jas.  iii.  6.  It  was  a  Jerusalem  word  =  Gc  Hinnom,  a  valley 
outside  the  citj'  where  the  bodies  of  criminals  were  cremated — 
the  last  disgrace. 

23.  If  .  .  .  tliou  art  offering'  thy  gift  at  the  altar.  Sacrifice 
without  love  profited  nothing.  When  this  was  first  reported 
the  temple  and  altar  were  standing  i^Sanda}-,  Inspiration,  p.  284% 
No  instance  of  an  offering  by  Jesus  himself  is  recorded  :  cf. 
Matt.  xvii.  27.  Some  have  detected  a  want  of  connexion  between 
this  direction  and  what  precedes  ;  but  it  may  be  found  in  the 
instruction  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  conciliation.  According  to 
Epiphanius,  the  Ebionite  gospel  taught  the  abolition  of  sacrifices  : 

1  came  to  dismiss  sacrifices.  If  ye  do  not  cease  to  slaj'.  wrath 
shall  not  cease  to  come  upon  you.'  The  solemn  act  of  sacrifice 
might  be  interrupted  in  the  service  of  love, 

25.  Agree  with  thine  adversary.  The  'adversary'  is  the 
legal  opponent ;  the  'judge,'  the  presiding  authority  ;  the  '  officer,' 
he  who  executed  the  decision.  Luke  xii.  58,  59  places  the  verses 
in  a  ditTerent  connexion,  but  the  connexion  in  Matthew  seems  to 
be  natural.  A  'farthing'  was  the  quarter  of  an  as.  It  only 
occurs  in  Matt.  xi.  42,  and  there  is  said  to  be  equal  to  two  mites. 
Matt.  x.  29  and  Luke  xii.  6  have  another  word — assarion. 


152  ST.  MATTHEW  5.  27-32 

27  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  Thou  shalt  not  commit 

28  adultery  :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  that  looketh 
on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery 

29  with  her  already  in  his  heart.  And  if  thy  right  eye 
causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from 
thee  :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members 
should  perish,  and  not  thy  whole  body  be  cast  into  hell. 

30  And  if  thy  right  hand  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off, 
and  cast  it  from  thee :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that 
one  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  thy  whole 

31  body  go  into  hell.  It  was  said  also,  Whosoever  shall 
put  away  his  wife,  let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorce- 

32  ment  :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  that  putteth 
away  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  maketh 
her  an  adulteress  :  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  when 
she  is  put  away  committeth  adultery. 


V.  27-32.  On  adultery  and  divorce.  The  right  eye  and  hand  to 
be  sacrificed  when  the  surrender  became  needful  to  salvation. 

28.  every  one  that  looketh  on,  i.  e.  with  the  intention  of 
encouraging  the  evil  desire. 

29.  The  right  eye  and  the  right  hand,  the  instruments  of 
purpose,  and  therefore  most  precious,  are  to  be  cast  away  if  they 
lead  to  sin. 

causeth  thee  to  stiunble,  not  'offend,'  as  A.  V.  The 
original  word,  from  which  has  descended  '  scandal/  means  a 
trap,  a  stumbling-block  (i  Cor.  i.  23).  The  second  'that*  is 
omitted  by  the  R.  V.,  but  the  exact  significance  of  the  first  is  a 
little  obscure.  It  may  mean  that  it  is  profitable  to  lose  a  hand 
or  eye,  if  endured  in  order  that  only  one  member  should  perish 
and  not  all.  Weiss  calls  it  '  a  circumlocution  for  the  infinitive 
sentence.'  The  passage  occurs  again  in  Matt,  xviii.  8,  where 
Weiss  thinks  it  is  from  Mark  ix.  43-47,  but  here  from  the  apostolic 
source'.  The  doctrine  is  that  at  the  Messianic  judgement  sin 
threatens  the  whole  man  with  punishment. 

32.  On  this  verse  see  Matt.  xix.  9;  Luke  xvi.  18. 


^  Hawkins  {Hor.  Syn.  p.  64)  refers  to  them  as  doublets. 


ST.  MATTHEW   5.  33-38  i53 

Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old  33 
time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt  perform 
unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths :  but  I  say  unto  you.  Swear  34 
not  at  all ;  neither  by  the  heaven,  for  it  is  the  throne 
of  God ;   nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is  the  footstool  of  his  35 
feet;    nor  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great 
King.     Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  for  thou  36 
canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.     But  let  your  37 
speech  be.  Yea,  yea ;  Nay,  nay :  and  whatsoever  is  more 
than  these  is  of  the  evil  one. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said.  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and  38 

V.  33-37.     Perjury  and  vain  swearing  forbidden. 

33.  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself.  The  verb  is  found  in 
the  LXX  of  I  Esdras  i.  48  ;  Wisd.  of  Sol.  xiv.  30,  but  the  whole 
saying  is  from  Num.  xxx.  2  ;  Deut.  xxiii.  22,  and  the  rabbinical 
use  of  these  passages.  The  Jews  considered  no  oath  to  be  binding 
except  made  in  the  name  of  God  ;  hence  the  third  commandment, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  for  false- 
hood' (R.  V.  marg.,  Exod.  xx.  7).  Irenaeus,  Origen,  Chrysostom, 
Jerome,  and  later  interpreters  have  held  that  this  injunction 
forbids  oaths  to  Christians.  But  {a)  Neither  Jesus  nor  his 
apostles  laid  down  absolute  rules,  nor  directly  interfered  with 
human  customs.  (6)  The  N.  T.  seems  to  recognize  elsewhere 
the  validity  of  oaths,  as  Rev.  x.  6,  where  the  angel  swore  'by 
him  that  liveth,'  &c.  In  Matt.  xxvi.  63,  64  Jesus  seems  to  have 
recognized  the  oath  of  the  High  Priest :  '  by  the  living  God.' 
Philo  recommended  that  oaths  should  be  taken  by  heaven  and 
earth,  rather  than  by  the  name  of  God.  '  Swear  not  at  all '  might 
mean  with  the  limitation  '  by  these  formulas,' as  given  in  verses 
34-36 ;  but  Meyer  says  '  not  at  all '  (34)  forbids  such  a  limitation ; 
cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  16-22.  The  margin,  '  toward  Jerusalem,' suggests 
that  the  readers  were  outside  the  city. 

37.  let  your  speech  be,  Yea  .  .  .  Nay.  Josephus  says  that  the 
Essenes  dread  swearing,  and  that  anything  they  say  is  stronger 
than  an  oath.  The  R.  V.  has  speech  for  A.  V.  '  communication ' ; 
cf.  Luke  xxiv.  17. 

V.  38-42.  Retaliation  for  injuries  forbidden.  An  ancient  law 
revised. 

38.  An  eye  for  an  eye.  Exod.  xxi.  23  (Lev.  xxiv.  20)  supplies 
missing  words,  viz.  '  thou  shalt  give.'  Human  society  has  always 
recognized  the  jus   talionis,   yet    not   as  the   highest  law.     The 


154  ST.  MATTHEW  5.  39-45 

39  a  tooth  for  a  tooth :  but  I  say  unto  you,  Resist  not  him 
that  is  evil :    but  whosoever  smiteth  thee  on  thy  right 

40  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also.  And  if  any  man 
would  go  to  law  with  thee,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let 

41  him  have  thy  cloke  also.     And  whosoever  shall  compel 

42  thee  to  go  one  mile,  go  with  him  twain.  Give  to  him 
that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of 
thee  turn  not  thou  away. 

43  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 

44  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy :  but  I  say  unto  you. 
Love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute 

45  you ;  that  ye  may  be  sons  of  your  Father  which  is  in 

disciples  are  required  to  relax  the  demand  for  strict  justice  where 
its  incidence  would  injure  another:  stanma  lex,  sumnia  injuria. 

39.  Resist  not  Mm  that  is  evil.  The  personal  reference  in 
'  him  '  is  supported  by  what  follows. 

smiteth  thee.     This  is  in  the  present  tense,  implying  that 
there  and  then  the  other  cheek  is  to  be  turned  to  the  smiter. 

40.  The  counsel  in  regard  to  private  injury  is  followed  by  one 
relating  to  public  litigation.  The  '  coat '  or  tunic  was  less  valuable 
than  the  '  cloke/  which  for  many  was  the  covering  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day.      Luke  vi.  29,  however,  reverses  the  order. 

41.  The  next  instance  implies  a  restraint  upon  personal  liberty. 
Sometimes  Jews  were  pressed  into  the  sei"vice  of  the  Roman 
army.  Simon  had  to  bear  the  cross,  Matt,  xxvii.  32.  The 
Roman  word  '  mile  '  only  occurs  here, 

v.  43-48.  Love  your  enemies.  Something  taken  from,  and 
something  added  to,  the  older  law  as  generally  understood. 
The  character  of  God,  the  standard  of  goodness  for  men.  His 
perfection  our  aim, 

43.  Thou  Shalt  love  thy  neig-hhour.  Lev.  xix.  18  ;  but  'liaie 
thine  enemy'  was  'a  gloss  of  the  worst  kind'  (Bengel).  It  was 
dictated  by  a  crude  patriotism. 

thine  enemy,  i,  e,  him  that  hates  thee.     It  applies  to  personal, 
political,  and  sectarian  foes  :  to  Gentiles  and  to  persecutors. 

44.  The  R.  V.  rightl3'  omits  a  part  of  this  verse  which  appears 
in  A,  V.  It  is  not  found  in  the  best  authorities,  and  seems  to 
have  been  borrowed  from  Luke  vi.  27,  28. 

45.  The  motive  to  the  exercise  of  a  perfect  charity  is  derived 
from  the  prospect  of  assimilation  to  the  character  of  God,  who 


ST.  MATTHEW  5.  46—6.  i  155 

heaven :  for  he  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and 
the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust. 
For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye  ?  4^ 
do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?   And  if  ye  salute  47 
your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others}  do  not 
even  the  Gentiles  the  same  ?  Ye  therefore  shall  be  per-  48 
feet,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 

Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  before  6 
men,  to  be  seen  of  them :  else  ye  have  no  reward  with 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

pours  benefit  on  the  unthinking  and  the  ungrateful.  Seneca  said  : 
'  If  you  would  imitate  God,  be  gracious  to  the  ungracious  ;  for  the 
sun  shines  on  the  wicked,  and  the  sea  is  open  to  pirates.' 

that  ye  may  be  sons,  not  'children';  cf.  verses  9,  16,  48: 
better,  'become  sons.'  The  sonship  is  to  be  realized  now,  not  in 
the  future  kingdom  ^ 

46.  Matthew  speaks  of  '  publicans '  and  'Gentiles'  (verse  47) 
where  Luke  has  'sinners.' 

48.  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect.  A.  V.  had  the  imperative, 
'Be  ye  perfect';  but  this  is  the  future  (cf.  Matt.  i.  21),  with 
the  force  of  command.  The  absolute  perfection  of  God  is  not 
attainable,  but  love  which  is  perfect— relatively  to  man's  capacity 
and  condition — is.  National,  social,  and  sectarian  prejudices  are 
to  be  superseded  by  Christian  love  when  'perfect.' 

vi.  1-4.  Religion  to  be  without  ostentation.  Alms  to  be  given  in 
secret. 

1.  Take  heed,  or  '  Apply  your  mind  to  this  object.' 

do  not  your  rig-hteonsness.  Not  only  is  'righteousness'  a 
better  reading  than  '  alms,'  but  the  Aramaic  word  for  it  would  pro- 
bably be  in  the  primitive  gospel.  Alms,  prayer,  and  fasting  were 
the  items  of  that  '  righteousness'  of  which  the  Pharisees  boasted. 
Our  word  'alms'  has  been  borrowed  from  the  Greek.  Tobit 
xii.  8,  9.  '  Good  is  prayer  with  fasting,  almsgiving,  and  righteous- 
ness. Almsgiving  doth  deliver  from  death,  and  shall  purge  away 
all  sin.'  This  exaltation  of  almsgiving  appears  in  i  Pet.  iv.  8, 
'  love  (Vulg. can/as)  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins' ;  cf.  Tobit  xiv.  11, 

before  zueu.     Cf.  John  v.  44. 

On  reward  with  your  Father  see  Matt.  ix.  26. 

^  Luke  vi.  35,  'your  reward  shall  be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  sons," 
curiovisly  combines  Matt.  v.  45,  '  that  ye  may  be  sons,'  and  46,  *  what 
reward  have  ye  ? ' 


156  ST.  MATTHEW  6.  2-6 

2  When  therefore  thou  doest  alms,  sound  not  a  trumpet 
before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  the  synagogues  and 
in  the  streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of  men.     Verily 

3  I  say  unto  you,  They  have  received  their  reward.  But 
when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what 

4  thy  right  hand  doeth  :  that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret : 
and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense 
thee. 

5  And  when  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the  hypocrites : 
for  they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  synagogues  and  in 
the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you.  They  have  received  their  reward. 

6  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner 
chamber,  and  having  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father 

2.  hypocrites,  or  'those  who  ^ive  answers,*  or  'actors,'  are  in 
biblical  language  '  pretenders.'  The  term  is  frequent  in  Matthew 
and  Luke,  but  in  Mark  only  vii.  6. 

Alms  were  collected  in  the  synag-ognes  :  the  narrow  streets 
furnished  the  opportunity  for  the  display  of  piety, 

have  received  their  reward,  i.e.  in  full:  of.  Luke  vi.  24; 
Phil.  iv.  18  ;   Philem.  15. 

3.  Hide  your  charity  not  only  from  the  gaze  of  others,  but  from 
the  too  frequent  recollection  of  it  in  your  own  consciousness. 
Let  it  be  so  secret  that  the  left  hand  shall  be  ignorant  of  what 
the  right  hand  is  doing  :  a  strong  hyperbole  which  makes  a  vivid 
antithesis  to  the  theatrical  display  by  the  sanctimonious. 

4.  thy  Father,  from  whom  nothing  is  hidden. 

shall  recompense  thee :  *  openly '  is  omitted  here  and  in 
verse  6. 

vi.  5-15.  How  men  are  to  pray —in  secret;  vain  repetitions  to 
be  avoided.     The  Model  Prayer. 

5.  they  love  to  stand :  Matt,  xxiii.  6.  Both  Pharisees  and 
publicans  stood  at  prayer,  Luke  xviii.  11- r3.  It  was  the  usual 
Jewish  attitude  for  pra3'er — looking  toward  the  holy  place.  When 
the  appointed  hour  arrived,  as  with  Mahommedans  still — in 
synagogues  or  in  the  streets— the  devotions  were  performed. 

6.  thine  inner  chamber:  the  store-room,  Luke  xii.  3,  24; 
Matt.  xxiv.  26,  where  a  man's  treasure  was  kept,  and  his  most 
private  affairs  transacted. 


ST.  MATTHEW  6.  7-9  157 

which  is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret 
shall  recompense  thee.     And  in   praying  use  not  vain  7 
repetitions,  as  the  Gentiles  do  :  for  they  think  that  they 
shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking.    Be  not  therefore  8 
like  unto  them  :  for  your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye 
have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him.     After  this  manner  9 

*7.  R.  V.  in  praying"  is  literal,  but  A.  V.  was  good  :  'when  thou 
prayest.' 

use  not  vain  repetitions,  like  the  worshippers  of  Baal, 
I  Kings  xviii.  26,  or  of  Diana,  Acts  xix.  34  ;  cf.  Eccles.  v.  i  ;  Wisd. 
of  Sir.  vii.  14.  The  word  for  '  vain  repetitions  '  is  formed  from  the 
habit  of  stammerers  who  repeat  sounds,  and  is  explained  by 
'  much  speaking  \' 

tlis  Gentiles,  or  rather  'those  who  follow  heathen  ways.* 
There  were  two  Hebrew  words  for  '  people,'  viz.  'am  and  goyyim. 
The  first  was  reserved  for  Israel,  and  is  usually  represented  in 
the  Greek  Bible  by  a  word  which  our  language  has  adopted  in 
'laity.*  They  were  'the  people  of  God,'  and  all  the  rest  were 
nations,  Geniiles.  In  the  post-exilic  time  Jewish  exclusiveness 
received  a  great  development,  Ezra  ix.  i.  Jesus  was  accused  of 
eating  with  '  sinners,'  and  to  eat  with  Gentiles  was  reckoned  by 
the  early  believers  in  Jerusalem  to  be  wrong,  Acts  xi,  3. 

they  think,  or  'have  an  opinion.'  This  heathen  conception — 
fatigare  Deos — that  God  could  be  wearied  into  compliance  by  much 
invocation,  had  passed  into  the  Jewish  church,  whence  it  passed 
also  into  the  Christian  cultus. 

8.  your  rather — marg.  'God  your  Father' — knowetli.  God 
does  not  need  detailed  information  concerning  our  wants  or  our 
persuasion  before  He  will  consider  them.  Prayer  is  needful  on 
man's  account  only. 

9.  After  this  manner  therefore  pray.  Christian  prayer  is  to 
be  simple,  direct,  and  brief,  as  is  this  which  follows,  not  like  the 
long  and  magniloquent  orations  of  Pharisees  and  the  heathen. 
In  dictating  this  prayer  there  was  no  intention  that  the  disciples 
should  use  it  whenever  they  prayed.  If  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
a  '  Divine  Liturgy '  it  is  this,  yet  no  one  dreams  of  asserting  that 
this  is  the  only  form  of  prayer  which  Christians  can  ever  use. 
This  is  the  model  of  Christian  praj'er — '  after  this  manner,'  ///. 
'  so ' ;  cf.  Matt.  ix.  33.  The  '  Lord's  Prayer'  is  not  found  in  Mark 
or  John  or  in  the  Acts  or  epistles.     The  Didache  reports  that  it 

^  The  words  for  '  vain  repetitions  '  and  for  '  much  speaking '  are  so 
peculiar  that  they  are  supposed  to  indicate  that  Greek  was  the  language 
in  which  the  gospel  was  first  written. 


158  ST.  MATTHEW  G.  lo 

therefore  pray  ye :    Our  Father  which   art    in    heaven, 
lo  Hallowed  be  thy  name.     Thy  kingdom  come.     Thy  will 

had  begun  to  be  used  three  times  daily.  Justin  Martyr  (a.d.  140) 
states  that  the  President  of  the  congregation  prayed  as  he  would, 
but  in  the  third  century  both  Tertullian  and  Cyprian  spealc  of  the 
•Lord's  Prayer  as  the  legitimate  form. 

Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.  The  '  fatherhood  of  God ' 
was  not  unknown  to  the  O.  T.  :  see  Ps.  ciii.  13;  Isa.  i.  2,  Ixiii. 
16  ;  Mai.  i.  6  ;  Hos.  xi.  i ;  also  in  the  Apocr3pha,  Wisd.  of  Sol.  ii. 
18,  xiv.  3  ;  Wisd.  of  Sir.  xxiii,  i  ;  Tobit  xiii.  4  ;  3  Mace.  vi.  3  ; 
but  the  representation  is  figurative  rather  than  positive.  *  From 
the  beginning  of  the  N.  T.  to  the  end,  the  lesson  of  God's 
fatherhood  is  presented  in  such  mass  and  volume  as  to  identify 
it  with  the  very  essence  of  Christianity,  in  a  sense  which  does 
not  apply  to  any  other  religion'  (Dr.  Sanday,  Did.  of  the  Bible^ 
ii.  209).  The  natural  relationship  between  God  and  man  was 
observed  in  heathen  circles— deoruni  hominum que  pater:  cf.  Acts 
xvii.  28 — but  not  that  which  is  moral  and  spiritual.  'Our'  is 
omitted  from  the  version  in  Luke,  but  the  brotherhood  of  man  is 
a  corollary  of  the  fatherhood  of  God. 

in  heaven :  lit.  *  in  the  heavens.'  This  was  a  common  intro- 
duction for  Jewish  prayers.  The  Object  of  true  worship  is 
invisible  and  spiritual.  Prayer  elevates  man  above  the  material 
and  temporal.  Since  God  is  '  our  Father'  He  is  gracious  to  men  ; 
because  He  dwells  'in  the  heavens'  He  is  powerful  to  help;  He 
commands  the  boundless  resources  of  a  sphere  infinitely  vaster 
than  ours. 

Hallowed  be  thy  name.  The  '  Name '  of  God  represents  His 
essential  glory,  and  this  petition  expresses  the  desire  that  this 
glory  may  be  recognized  and  venerated  by  all.  The  prayer  had 
long  been  a  constituent  of  the  Jewish  devotions,  and  echoed 
many  saj'ings  of  the  O.  T.,  e.g.  Ps.  ix.  10;  Isa.  viii.  13:  cf. 
I  Pet.  iii.  15. 

10.  Thy  kingdom  come.  The  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  through  the  coming  and  agency  of  the  Messiah  was 
expected.  The  Latin  interpreters  gave  an  eschatological  application 
to  the  words,  the  Greek  preferred  the  more  spiritual  significance, 
as  in  verse  33  and  Luke  xvii.  21.  A  traditional  reading  (,Greg. 
Nyss,,  Maximus)  was,  '  Let  thy  holy  Spirit  come  on  us  and  sanctify 
us ' ;  cf.  Luke  xi.  13.  As  Holtzmann  says,  the  phrase  looks  to 
'the  extensive  and  intensive  realization  of  the  kingdom  of  God' 
among  men.  The  kingdom  is  to  be  built  up  by  the  aggregation 
of  individual  subjects. 

Thy  will  be  done:  omitted  by  Luke,  yet  a  very  natural 
development  of  the  former  petition. 


ST.  MATTHEW   6.   11-13  159 

be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth.  Give  us  this  day  11 
our  daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  12 
have   forgiven   our   debtors.      And    bring   us   not   into  13 

as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth :  the  order  of  the  words  in  the 
R.  V.  is  more  literal  than  the  A.  V,,  which  followed  Wycliffe  and 
Tyndale.  Some  have  thought  that  this  clause  should  be  applicJ 
to  the  three  petitions  which  precede. 

11.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  The  Lord's  Prayer  is 
iramed  to  correct  selfishness  and  impiety.  Before  we  ask  for 
anything  for  our  present  satisfaction,  we  are  to  come  into  right 
relations  with  God — as  holy,  as  the  Father  of  all,  as  the  universal 
Ruler  whose  will  must  be  fulfilled.  A  similar  relation  appears  ^ 
between  the  first  and  second  parts  of  the  Decalogue.  The  word  j 
rendered  'daily'  has  been  difficult  to  explain.  The  R.  V.  margin  } 
has  *  bread  for  the  coming  da3%'  This  is  supported  by  a  statement 
in  Jerome  that  the  Hebrew  gospel  had /or  to-ntorrow,  but  verse  34 
forbids  care  for  '  to-morrow.'  The  original  adjective  is  only  found 
here  and  in  Luke  xi.  3  in  the  whole  range  of  Greek  literature. 
'Daily'  is  from  the  Vulgate  of  Luke  xi,  3  {pancm  quotidianiitn  ; 
Luther,  unscr  idglich  Brod).  Augustine  said, '  Whatever  is  needful 
for  body  and  soul  in  this  life  is  included  in  "daily  bread".' 
Modern  interpreters  have  generally  accepted  this  meaning  :  cf. 
'daily  food,'  Jas.  ii,  15;  'the  food  that  is  needful,"  Prov.  xxx.  8; 
'needful  bread'  is  the  Syriac  rendering.  Jerome  by  his  term 
supersubstatttialis  opened  the  way  for  a  sacramental  exegesis. 
This  part  of  the  prayer  teaches  that  the  disciples  were  not  to 
pray  for  wealth  or  superfluity,  but  for  that  which  is  needful 
to  life. 

12.  forgive  us  our  debts:  Luke,  'sins.'  Failure  to  fulfil  the 
divine  will  involves  a  '  debt ' ;  wilful  transgression  of  the  law  is 
'  sin,'  Wisd.  of  Sir.  xxviii.  2  sa3's,  '  Forgive  thy  neighbour's  sins, 
and  when  thou  prayest  thou  shalt  be  forgiven.'  R.  V.  reads,  as 
we  also  have  forgiven,  but  Luke  retains  the  present  *  forgive.* 
Translators  from  Aramaic,  in  which  the  tenses  are  not  so  precise 
as  in  Greek,  might  find  an  ambiguity  in  the  original.  He  who 
prays  for  forgiveness  appeals  to  the  highest  moral  law,  viz.  love, 
and  by  that  law  he  thereby  becomes  bound.  This  is  taught  in 
the  parable  of  the  ungrateful  debtor,  Matt,  xviii.  21-35,  from 
which  verse  14  here  is  probably  taken.  He  who  would  resemble 
the  Father  (v.  48)  must  imitate  Him  in  the  readiness  to  forgive. 

13.  And  bring  us  not.  This  is  not  the  word  which  reads  in 
Matt,  iv,  I  '  was  led,'  God  does  not  tempt  man  to  evil  (Jas.  i,  13), 
but  His  providence  permits  trial  to  all  (Heb.  iv,  15).  Man's 
susceptibility  to  good  influences  implies  that  to  evil  influences 
also.      Matt.    v.    10   shews    that   the    disciples    might   rejoice    in 


i6o  ST.  MATTHEW   6.   14-18 

14  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one.  For  if  ye 
forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father  will 

15  also  forgive  you.  But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  tres- 
passes, neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your  trespasses. 

16  Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of 
a  sad  countenance :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that 
they  may  be  seen  of  men  to  fast.     Verily  I  say  unto  you, 

17  They  have  received  their  reward.     But  thou,  when  thou 

18  fastest,  anoint  thy  head,  and  wash  thy  face ;  that  thou  be 

outward  adversity,  yet  dread  conditions  which  would  draw  them 
towards  evil. 

deliver  us  from :  lit.  '  bring  us  clear  out  from  * ;  the  tense 
implies  immediate  and  summary  action — there  and  then — when 
the  danger  is  imminent. 

The  doxology,  A.  V.  For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  &c.,  is  not  in 
Luke,  and  is  evidently  a  liturgical  addition.  Its  appearance 
may  indicate  the  early  use  of  this  gospel  by  catechists  and 
evangelists.  A  similar  doxology  is  found  in  i  Chron.  xxix.  11, 
and  in  2  Tim.  iv.  18.  Since  it  does  not  appear  in  the  Vulgate  it  is 
not  found  in  the  'Church  Catechism,'  or  in  some  other  parts  of 
the  'Common  Prayer.'  The  earliest  note  of  its  ordinary  use  is 
in  the  Didache,  viii.  2,  where  Matthew  is  quoted,  but  with  some 
omissions.  As  the  Peshitto,  or  Syriac  Vulgate,  has  the  doxology, 
Dr.  Hort  surmised  that  it  would  originate  in  the  Syrian  churches. 

vi.  16-18.     Fasting  also  to  he  performed  in  secret. 

16.  be  not,  as  tlie  hypocrites,  or  '  become  ye  not,'  i.  e.  for 
the  occasion  of  fasting.  The  Pharisees  fasted  twice  in  the  week, 
Luke  xviii.  12 :  on  Thursday,  because  Moses  on  that  day  ascended 
Sinai ;  on  Monday,  because  then  he  descended. 

of  a  sad  countsnance.  So  the  two  going  to  Emmaus,  Luke 
xxiv,  17,  but  theirs  was  real  grief. 

they  disfig'ure  :  face  and  head  being  unwashed  and  unkempt, 
and  in  their  oldest  attire. 

18.  that  thou  be  not  seen  of  men.     The  original  has  a  play 

^  Tertullian  called  the  Lord's  Prayer  breviarium  totius  evangelii,  and 
divided  it  into  two  parts  :  (i)  heavenly  ;  (2)  earthly.  Calvin  found  a 
resemblance  to  the  first  and  second  tables  of  the  law.  Bengal  divided 
it  into  seven  petitions  :  three  looking  Godwards,  four  towards  man. 
Luke  has  only  five  petitions.  Wetstein  and  others  have  supposed  it  to 
be  a  selection  from  f  ewish  prayers.  Correspondences  in  the  Apocrypha 
have  already  been  noticed,  but  rabbinical  parallels  are  too  recent  to  be 
adduced. 


ST.  MATTHEW  G.  19-23  161 

not  seen  of  men  to  fast,  but  of  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret :  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall 
recompense  thee. 

Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth,  19 
where  moth  and  rust  doth  consume,  and  where  thieves 
break   through   and    steal :    but    lay  up    for   yourselves  20 
treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth 
consume,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor 
steal:  for  where  thy  treasure  is,  there  will  thy  heart  be  21 
also.      The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye :    if  therefore  22 
thine  eye  be  single,   thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of 
light.      But  if  thine  eye   be  evil,  thy  w^hole  body  shall  23 

upon  the  words  'may  be  seen'  (16)  and  'be  not  seen,'  but  this 
may  have  easily  belonged  to  the  Aramaic  gospel. 

vi.  19-34.  Treasure  to  be  laid  up  in  heaven.  The  eye  to  be  single 
and  the  purpose  pure.  Only  one  Master  can  be  served.  The 
birds  and  flowers  shew  how  God  cares  for  His  creatures.  The 
kingdom  and  righteousness  of  God  to  be  sought  first.  The  care 
of  one  day  enough  for  us. 

20.  treasures  in  heaven :  Luke  xii.  33,  '  purses  which  wax 
not  old.'  Earthly  treasures  were  costly  garments,  gold  and  silver 
ornaments,  and  precious  stones.  Time  and  change — edaces  rerum — 
*  consume  '  such  possessions.  'Rust'  is  from  the  Vulg. ;  cf.  Jas. 
V.  2. 

21.  for  where  thy  treasure  is.  A  man's  'treasure'  is  that 
which  gives  him  the  most  satisfaction  or  hope.  If  the  treasure  is 
on  earth,  the  best  affection  will  be  buried  there  also. 

22.  The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye.  The  A.  V.  confused 
the  lamp  with  the  light.  The  transition  from  the  discourse  about 
treasure  is  abrupt,  and  Neander,  Bleek,  and  Weiss  suspect  an 
interpolation.  Luke  xi.  34  connects  the  statement  with  another 
address.  Mark  iv.  21  with  that  of  the  Sower  ;  but  such  difficulties 
disappear  when  we  remember  that  the  discourse  in  Matthew 
is  a  collection  of  sayings,  some  of  which  he  repeats  in  later 
chapters. 

if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  i.e.  clean  and  sound: 
Prov.  xi.  25,  '  the  liberal  soul.' 

shall  be  full  of  ligrht,  or  '  shining '  :  Matt.  xvii.  5.  Philo 
said  :  '  The  intelligence  is  to  the  soul  what  the  eye  is  to  the 
body.' 


i62  ST.  MATTHEW  6.  24-28 

be  full  of  darkness.     If  therefore  the  light  that   is  in 

24  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  the  darkness !  No  man 
can  serve  two  masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one, 
and  love  the  other;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  one,  and 
despise  the  other.     Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon. 

25  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life, 
what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink;  nor  yet  for 
your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.     Is  not  the  life  more 

26  than  the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  raiment?  Behold 
the  birds  of  the  heaven,  that  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they 
reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  and  your  heavenly  Father 
feedeth  them.     Are  not  ye  of  much  more  value  than 

27  they?     And  which  of  you  by  being  anxious  can  add 

28  one  cubit  unto  his  stature?     And  why  are  ye  anxious 

24.  As  salt  must  retain  its  integrity  if  it  is  to  be  useful,  and  the 
eye  its  purity  to  be  a  faithful  guide  ;  so  sincerity  of  heart  is 
necessary  to  unity  in  purpose  and  action.  In  Luke  xvi.  13  the 
reference  to  the  '  two  masters '  comes  at  the  end  of  the  parable  of 
the  unfaithful  steward, 

manimon  is  said  by  Augustine  to  be  a  Phoenician  word 
for  'gain.'  Hence,  some  have  suspected  it  to  be  a  synon3'm  for 
Pluto,  the  god  of  wealth.  Others,  again,  connect  it  with  a 
Hebrew  term  for  'trusted.' 

25.  Be  not  anxious:  Luke  xii.  22-31.  The  A.  V.  *Take  no 
thought  for '  did  not  three  centuries  ago  seriously  misrepresent 
the  original,  but  time  changes  the  meaning  of  words  :   Ut  silvce 

foliis  pronos  niutantur  in  annos. 

Is  not  tlie  life  more  tlian  the  food  . .  .  ?  Each  has  its 
relative  value,  but  one  is  more  than  the  other. 

26.  Behold  the  birds  of  the  heaven:  Luke  xii.  24,  'ravens' 
This  does  not  teach  that  man  need  not  sow  nor  reap  nor  gather 
into  barns.  He  is  '  of  more  value  than  '  the  birds  because  he  can 
to  some  extent  provide  for  himself.  His  harvests  also  providenti- 
ally assist  the  animals  to  conserve  life.  He  who  is  in  heaven 
regards  their  need,  and  ours  also,  especially  in  circumstances 
where  human  skill  or  sagacity  are  of  little  avail. 

27.  stature :  marg.  '  age.'  In  Luke  ii.  52,  xix.  3.  it  is  evidently 
'stature':  but  in  John  ix.  21,  Heb.  xi.  11,  'age'  is  required.  As 
Luke  says  that  *  the  least '  addition  is  beyond  man's  power,  it 
is  not  likely  that  the  sudden  increase  of  the  stature  by  a  cubit 


ST.  MATTHEW  6.  29-33  163 

concerning  raiment?     Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin  :  yet  29 
I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.    But  if  God  doth  so  clothe  30 
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?     Be  not  therefore  anxious,  saying,  31 
What  shall  we  eat  ?  or,  What  shall  we  drink  ?  or,  Where- 
withal shall  we  be  clothed?     For  after  all  these  things  32 
do  the  Gentiles  seek ;  for  your  heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things.     But  seek  ye  first  33 
his  kingdom,  and  his  righteousness  ;  and  all  these  things 


was  thought  of.  Lutteroth  (Bruce)  suggests  that  the  stature  of 
the  adult  is  twice  that  of  the  child,  and  this  is  attained  without 
our  volition. 

28.  Consider  the  lilies:  the  verb  occurs  only  in  this  place; 
but  both  it  and  the  v^^ord  used  by  Luke  imply  careful  study. 
Jesus  observed  the  beauty  of  natural  objects  :  the  lilies  which 
abounded  where  moisture  was  supplied,  and  the  richly  coloured 
anemones  of  Palestine. 

29.  all  Ms  glory :  as  it  was  depicted  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
I  Kings  X.  The  disciples  did  not  discover  the  true  teaching  of 
nature  because  they  were  '  of  little  faith.' 

30.  The  oven  in  which  bread  was  baked  was  a  large  earthen 
vessel  lined  with  the  dough.  The  dried  grass  was  placed  within 
and  set  on  fire. 

32.  Tor  after  all  tliese  tMng-s  do  the  Gentiles  seek.  This 
endless  pursuit  of  present  satisfaction  was  the  old  pagan  life- 
method,  which  proved  to  be  so  full  of  disappointment.  Matt.  vi.  i 
refers  to  their  vain  prayers,  which  were  generally  for  earthly 
good ;  here  their  life-long  search  for  happiness  is  referred  to. 
The  disciples  were  to  enter  into  a  new  theory  of  life,  founded  on 
a  fresh  judgement  of  what  was  the  highest  good. 

33.  seek  ye  first.  The  R.  V.  omits  '  of  God,'  and  Luke  xii. 
31  confirms  this  reading.  The  blessings  of  the  kingdom  are  to 
be  the  first  objects  of  desire  and  effort.  If  we  make  dut}'  our 
first  care  God  will  take  care  of  our  happiness.  Yet  the  knowledge 
of  this  highest  law  of  life  must  be  sought.  Origcn  reports  one 
saying  of  Christ  to  be  :  'Ask  for  the  higher  things  and  the  lower 
will  be  added.'     We  are  not  to  infer  that  the  lower  things  are 

M    2 


i64  ST.  MATTHEW   G.  34—7.  6 

34  shall  be  added  unto  you.     Be  not  therefore  anxious  for 

the  morrow :   for  the  morrow  will  be  anxious  for  itself. 

Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof. 

7,3      Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.      For  with  what 

judgement  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged :  and  with  what 

3  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you.  And 
why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's 
eye,  but  considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own 

4  eye  ?  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me  cast 
out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye ;  and  lo,  the  beam  is  in 

5  thine  own  eye  ?  Thou  hypocrite,  cast  out  first  the  beam 
out  of  thine  own  eye ;  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to 
cast  out  the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye. 

6  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast 

not  to  be  sought   at  all  :    they  have    their   place,    but    it   is   not 
the  '  first. ' 

34.  This  verse  is  omitted  by  Luke,  yet  it  is  no  doubt  genuine. 
Each  day  brings  its  own  'evil' — we  do  not  know  what  it  may  be 
— why  anticipate  ?  Lazarus  (Luke  xvi.25)  is  said  to  have  suffered 
'  evil.' 

vii.  1-5.  Severe  judgement  against  others  condemned.  The  beam 
and  the  mote. 

1.  Judge  not.  Luke  vi.  37  gives  this  piece  with  additions  as 
a  part  of  the  great  discourse  ;  Mark  iv.  24  connects  it  with  the 
Sower.  The  variety  of  association  discloses  the  freedom  with 
which  the  evangelists  arranged  their  material.  On  the  general 
topic  cf.  Rom.  xiv.  3  ;  i  Cor.  iv.  5;  Jas.  ii.  13,  iv.  11.  Men  are 
apt  to  judge  each  other  unfavourably  even  when  data  are  incom- 
plete ;  yet  they  hope  for  more  gracious  treatment  from  God : 
Ps.  cxxx.  3,  cxliii.  2.  The  divine  judgement  will  be  impartial — 
'  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you.' 

3.  And  wliy  beholdest  .  .  .?  Both  Jews  and  Arabs  have  the 
proverb.  Cicero  has  said,  'The  foolish  see  the  faults  of  others 
but  are  unconscious  of  their  own.'  '  Beholdest '  is  in  contrast  to 
'considerest,'  and  '  mote  '  to  'beam.' 

vii.  6.  Cantion  against  casting  the  '  holy '  be/ore  dogs,  or  pearls  to 
swine. 

6.  Give  not  that  wMcli  is  holy.  An  apparent  lack  of  con- 
nexion with  that  which  precedes  has  been  noticed  (Bengel)  ;  but 


ST.  MATTHEW   7.  7-11  165 

your  pearls   before  the   swine,   lest  haply  they  trample 
them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  and  rend  you. 

Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  7 
find  :  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  :  for  every  8 
one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth ; 
and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened.  Or  what  9 
man  is  there  of  you,  who,  if  his  son  shall  ask  him  for 
a  leaf,  will  give  him  a  stone ;  or  if  he  shall  ask  for  a  fish,  10 
will  give  him  a  serpent?     If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  11 


it  shews  that  while  prejudice  against  others  is  to  be  avoided,  their 
undisguised  antipathy  is  not  to  be  overlooked.  What  are  'holy* 
things  ?  B.  Weiss  answers  '  the  truth,'  or  '  Christian  doctrine.' 
The  Fathers  interpreted  it  of  the  sacraments  :  '  the  holy  to  the 
holy,'  'the  gifts  presented'  (Cyril  Jer.).  In  this  way  the  sacra- 
ments came  to  be  regarded  as  the  Christian  mysteries.  The 
beginning  of  the  development  may  be  observed  in  Didache  ix.  5  ; 
and  in  Tertullian,  de  Prascr.  41,  who  said  that  heretics  cast  holy 
things  to  dogs.  These  interpreters  had  forgotten  that  in  our 
Lord's  days  the  only  sacrifices  were  those  of  the  temple,  and 
that  these  could  not  have  been  referred  to  in  this  way.  It  is 
not  likely  either  that  Gentiles  are  here  spoken  of  as  'dogs,' 
though  they  are  referred  to  under  this  figurative  designation  in 
Matt.  XV.  26.  Paul  uses  it  of  Judaizers,  Phil,  iii,  2,  and  Rev. 
xxii.  15  refers  it  to  the  moially  unclean.  Holtzmann  revives  a 
notion  that  the  Aramaic  v.-ord  for  'holy'  is  like  that  for  '  ear-ring.' 
This  would  complete  the  parallehsm,  but  has  not  received  general 
assent.     Pearls  were  the  only  gems  referred  to  by  our  Lord. 

vii.  7-12.  Encouragement  to  prayer.  God,  as  Father,  will  not 
disappoint  His  children.     'The  Golden  Rule.' 

7.  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given:  Luke  xi.  9-13  repeats  this 
exhortation  to  prayer  verses  7-1 1).  but  brings  in  'an  egg'  and  *a 
scorpion.'  He  connects  it  also  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  with 
the  parable  of  the  importunate  friend.  'Ask'  develops  into  two 
figurative  expressions  :  '  seek '  and  '  knock.'  It  is  not  alwa3'S 
enough  to  '  ask ' :  'the  supplication  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much  in  its  working.'  Jas.  v.  t6.  iv.  3.  That  which  is  asked  for 
is  not  alwa\-s  obtained,  but  the  door  '  is  opened.'  A  father  may 
not  do  exactly  what  his  son  wishes,  but  certainly  will  not  give 
him  useless  or  injurious  things. 

11.  If  ye  then,  being-  evil.  God  alone  is  truly  good  ;  man  at 
the  best  is  marked  b}-  imperfection. 


i66  ST.  MATTHEW   7.   12,13 

how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much 
more  shall  your  Father  which  is   in  heaven  give  good 

1 2.  things  to  them  that  ask  him  ?  All  things  therefore  what- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  even  so  do 
ye  also  unto  them  :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

13  Enter  ye  in  by  the  narrow  gate  :  for  wide  is  the  gate, 
and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and 


g-ive  good  tilings:    cf.  J  as.  i.  17.     The   -500(1  things'  are 
explained  by  the  '  Holy  Spirit/  Luke  xi.  13. 

12.  All  things  trnercfore.  This  was  said  in  effect  in  Tobit 
iv.  15  :  '  What  thou  thyself  hatest  do  to  no  man.'  Meyer,  Weiss, 
and  others  say  that  the  apocryphal  saying  is  only  negative  ;  but 
Wisd.  of  Sir.  xxxi.  15  is  positive  :  '  Consider  thy  neighbour's  liking 
by  thine  own.'  The  Talmud  adds  to  the  saying  in  Tobit :  '  for 
this  is  the  whole  law.'  The  originality  of  Jesus  appears  in  the 
appropriation  and  development  of  the  best  thoughts  of  his  people. 
We  need  not  disparage  the  wisdom  of  others  in  order  to  exalt 
him.  Luke  vi.  31  abridges  the  saying,  leaving  out  the  reference 
to  '  the  law  and  the  prophets.'  The  ancient  law  is  to  be  fulfilled 
in  purity  of  heart  and  life,  as  v.  17  ;  cf.  Matt.  xxii.  40  ;  Rom. 
xiii.  8 ;  Jas.  ii.  5.  '  Therefore  '  suggests  that  we  should  do  to 
others  as  we  desire  that  God  should  do  to  us. 

vii.  13,  14.  Two  gates  and  two  ways.  Leading  to  two  termini : 
life  and  destruction. 

13.  jSnter  ye  in  Tiy  the  narrow  gate.  Luke  xiii.  22  places 
these  sayings  in  a  journey  toward  Jerusalem.  He  has  some 
differences  of  expression,  as  'the  narrow  door,'  and  'many 
shall  seek  to  enter  in.'  Whether  the  gate  was  first  (as  Bengel 
and  Meyer)  or  the  way  (as  Alford,  Carr,  &c.)  we  need  not  inquire. 
Some  would  make  the  church  to  be  the  'way,'  and  refer  to 
Acts  ix.  2,  xix.  9,  without  referring  to  John  xiv.  6.  Luke  shews 
that  the  disciples  had  been  asking  if  few  only  were  saved.  Jesus 
taught  that  the  path  of  true  humihty,  sincerity,  and  thoroughness 
was  difficult ;  that  of  ceremonial  conformity  or  professional  piety 
was  easy ;  at  which  the  disciples  were  alarmed.  Chrysostom 
remarks :  '  Strait  is  the  gate,  but  not  the  city.'  On  '  destruction  ' 
cf.  Phil.  i.  28  ;  Heb.  x,  39  ;  2  Pet.  iii.  7,  16. 

Tlie  idea  of  'two  ways  '  is  indicated  in  Deut.  xxx.  15  ;  i  Kings 
xviii.  21  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  9  :  2  Esdras  vii.  12  (a.  d.  90)  employs  the 
figures.  In  2  Pet.  ii.  2,  15  we  read  of  the  '  way  of  truth'  and  the 
*  way  of  Balaam.'  Rufinus  {Symbol.  Apost.  c.  38)  speaks  of  an 
early  Christian  tractate  called  'The  Two  Ways,'  or  '  The  Judgement 


ST.  MATTHEW  7.  14-17  167 

many  be  they  that  enter  in  thereby.     For  narrow  is  the  14 
gate,  and  straitened  the  way,  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and 
few  be  they  that  find  it. 

Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in  sheep's  15 
clothing,  but  inwardly   are   ravening  wolves.     By  their  16 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them.     Do  men  gather  grapes  of 
thorns,   or  figs  of  thistles?     Even  so   every  good  tree  17 

of  Peter.'  The  epistle  of  Barnabas  speaks  of  '  the  way  of  light 
and  that  of  darkness.'  The  '  Shepherd  '  of  Hermas  and  an  early 
form  of  the  'Apostolical  Constitutions'  contained  similar  references. 
The  Didache,  c.  i,  says  :  '  There  are  two  ways,  one  of  life  and  the 
other  of  death.'  In  their  present  form  all  these  documents  appear 
to  depend  upon  our  gospels,  though  a  Jew^ish  composition  on  the 
subject  may  have  preceded  them. 

14.  'How  narrow  is  the  gate,'  R.  V.  marg.,  is  a  disputed 
reading  which  the  majority  of  critics  decline.  It  seems  to  have 
come  from  the  omission  of  a  letter  in  the  Greek  particle. 

vii.  15-27.  A  caution  against  false  prophets — known  by  their 
works  as  trees  by  their  fruits.  The  practice  of  righteousness 
and  not  its  profession  will  be  recognized  and  rewarded.  The 
house  built  on  the  rock,  and  one  built  on  the  sand,  shew  the 
comparative  value  of  practice  and  theory. 

15.  Beware  of  false  prophets,  i.e.  of  false  Christian  teachers, 
as  Matt.  xxiv.  11-24;  i  John  iv.  i:  not  the  Pharisees  (Weiss). 
The  Didache,  which  says  much  about  the  Christian  prophets, 
xi.  12,  warns  the  church  against  *  Christ  traffickers,'  Such  are 
here  described  as  '  ravening  wolves'.'  These  false  teachers  made 
the  'way'  easier  than  the  Baptist,  with  his  demand  for  repent- 
ance and  reformation.     That  '  way  '  was  too  '  strait '  for  many. 

16.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them  :  not  by  their  roots. 
Didache,  xi.  3,  '  By  their  behaviour  shall  the  false  and  the  true 
prophets  be  known.'  The  Greek  word  means  to  know  thoroughly. 
'Thorns'  and  'thistles'  are  connected  in  Heb.  vi.  8.  On  'thorns' 
grew  a  berry  partly  resembling  a  grape.  The  'fruits'  are  the 
life  and  conduct,  not  the  opinions.  '  If  doctrine  were  the  fruit, 
then  no  orthodox  man  could  be  condemned.'  Verses  16-18  make 
a  doublet  with  xii.  33-35,  which  is  represented  in  Luke  vi.  43-46. 
Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins  thinks  that  here  Luke  may  best  represent  the 
Logia. 

^  Cf.  Ezek.  xxii.  27  ;  John  x.  12  ;  Acts  xx.  29.  Dr.  Hort  {Judaistic 
Christianity,  p.  104)  finds  an  allusion  to  this  j)assage  in  Paul's  words 
at  Ephesus  :   '  grievous  wolves  '  ;  '  not  sparing  the  flock.' 


i68  ST.  MATTHEW   7.   18-22 

bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  the  corrupt  tree  bringeth 

18  forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

19  Every  tree  that  bringeth   not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn 

20  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.     Therefore  by  their  fruits 

21  ye  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 

22  heaven.  Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord, 
did  we  not  prophesy  by  thy  name,  and  by  thy  name 
cast  out  devils,  and  by  thy  name  do  many  mighty  works? 


19.  Every  tree.  So  said  the  Baptist,  Matt.  iii.  10  ;  Luke 
iii.  3-9.  As  the  tree  is  not  judged  by  its  root,  or  by  the  size 
of  its  stem,  or  the  abundance  of  its  leaves,  so  the  disciple  is  to 
be  judged,  not  by  his  official  dignity,  nor  by  social  place,  but  by 
his  work,  i  Cor.  iii.  13. 

21.  Not  every  one  that  saith.  The  false  prophets  used  pious 
phrases.  Believers  gave  the  title  '  Lord'  to  Christ,  i  Cor.  xii.  3; 
Phil.  ii.  II  ;  Acts  ii.  36.  Luke  vi.  46  shews  that  this  is  no  anti- 
Pauline  insertion.  Yet  Jesus  insisted  more  on  the  will  of  God 
being  done  by  his  disciples  than  that  they  should  call  him  '  Lord,' 
The  title  occurs  in  Mark  xvi.  19,  20  ;  eleven  times  in  Luke  ;  six  in 
John. 

22.  in  that  day:  announced  by  prophets,  Mai.  iii,  17,  18,  and 
which  all  Jews  expected.  The  phrase  is  frequent  in  the  Book 
of  Enoch,  as  xlv,  3,  '  On  that  day  mine  elect  one  will  sit  on  the 
throne  of  glory,  and  make  choice  among  their  deeds '  :  of.  Matt 
xxiv,  36, 

did  we  not  prophesy  ?  To  '  prophesy '  was  not  merely  to 
foretell  the  future,  but  to  interpret  the  older  prophecies,  and  to 
preach  the  doctrine  of  the  kingdom,  Paul  in  i  Cor.  xiv.  i,  3 
expresses  the  desire  that  all  the  believers  should  prophesy.  Here 
they  are  warned  that  the  Judge  might  not  recognize  them  even 
though  they  pleaded  their  ability  in  prophecy,  exorcism,  and 
miracles  ;  of.  Luke  x.  20.  Luke  xiii.  22-30  places  the  caution  in 
another  connexion.  Clem.  Ep.  ii.  quotes  the  saying,  '  IT  ye 
were  in  my  bosom  and  do  not  my  commands,  I  would  cast  you 
out.'  Weiss  thinks  that  these  faulty  believers  were  in  Asia 
Minor,  where  the  Greek  gospel  was  prepared.  Besides  this  place 
he  refers  to  Matt.  xiii.  41.  xxiv.  12,  The  R,  V.  marg.  'powers' 
is  more  literal  even  than  R.  V.  mighty  works. 


ST.  MATTHEW   7.  23-27  169 

And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew  you  :  33 
depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity.    Every  one  there-  24 
fore  which  heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth  them, 
shall  be  likened  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house 
upon  the  rock :   and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  25 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house ; 
and  it  fell  not :  for  it  was  founded  upon  the  rock.     And  26 
every  one  that  heareth  these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth 
them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish   man,   which 
built  his  house  upon  the  sand  :  and  the  rain  descended,  27 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blev/,  and  smote 

23.  ye  that  work  iniquity,  or,  more  literally,  '  lawlessness  ' ; 
Luke  xiii.  27  (R.  V.  iniquity  —  unrighteousness).  The  article 
'Gospels,'  Encycl.  Britan.  x.  804,  finds  in  this  word  a  sign  cf 
Matthew's  legalism.  We  may,  however,  suppose  that  Matthew 
understood  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  where  the  '  Law/  Matt. 
V.  17,  is  not  the  ceremonial  system.  Holtzmann,  like  Weiss,  sa3s 
that  it  refers  to  the  antinomianism  of  some  Paulinists,  as  also 
Matt.  xiii.  41,  'them  that  do  lawlessness.'  But  the  preaching 
of  the  Baptist  and  of  Jesus  w^as  not  directed  against  Gentiles,  but 
rather  against  immoral  Jews,  i  John  iii.  4  says,  'sin  i3  lawless- 
ness.' 

24.  shall  be  likened.  Luke  vi.  48,  '  I  will  shew  you  to  whom 
he  is  like.'  The  R.  V.  has  '•the  rock'  :  a  better  foundation  than 
'  the  sand.'  The  '  rock  '  is  not  to  be  taken  as  a  symbol  for  the 
church,  or  even  for  Christ :  the  contrast  is  not  between  orthodoxy 
and  heresy,  but  between  obedience  and  negligence.  Jas.  i.  22-25 
refers  to  the  same  contrast.  Eusebius  (Cramer's  Catena,  i.  56) 
says:  'The  work  of  virtue  is  the  house,  faith  is  the  rock,  and  the 
winds,  rains,  and  storms  are  every  sort  of  temptation.'  Matthew 
represents  the  builders  as  selecting  different  sites.  The  one 
chose  the  brown  alluvial  flat  which  is  near  the  stream  in  summer; 
the  other  preferred  the  rock  on  higher  ground.  I-uke  supposes 
that  both  came  to  the  same  site,  where  the  storm  would  have 
equal  force,  but  the  wise  man  '  digged  and  went  deep.'  The 
other  built  on  the  surface,  as  Jas.  i.  24.  The  narrative  in  Matthew 
emphasizes  the  separate  elements  of  the  storm;  and — and— and  : 
the  rain  on  the  roof,  the  wind  on  the  walls,  the  flood  at  the 
foundation.  Hence  Matthew  attributes  the  wise  man's  security 
to  his  choice  of  the  rock;  Luke  attributes  it  to  his  having  'well 
builded.' 


I70  ST.  MATTHEW   7.  28—8.  2 

upon   that  house ;   and  it  fell :    and  great  was  the  fall 
thereof. 

28  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  ended  these  words, 

29  the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  his  teaching :  for  he 
taught  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  their 
scribes. 

8      And  when  he  was  come  down   from  the  mountain, 

2  great  multitudes  followed  him.    And  behold,  there  came 

to  him  a  leper  and  worshipped  him,   saying.  Lord,  if 

vii.  28,  29.     Effect  of  the  prcachiug, 

28.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  ended.  This  formula 
occurs  five  times  in  Matthew  :  xi.  i,  xiii.  53,  xix.  i,  xxvi.  i.  It 
resembles  the  conclusion  of  Psalm  Ixxii :  *  the  prayers  of  David 
the  son  of  Jesse  are  ended.'  The  writer  no  doubt  followed  the 
original  Matthew  in  such  matters. 

29.  for  he  taught  them,  or  *  was  continually  teaching  them.* 
The  scribes  quoted  the  rabbis  of  the  past  ;  he  appealed  to  reason 
and  to  conscience.  Mark  i.  22-27  represents  this  saying  of  the 
people  as  having  been  made  at  Capernaum  ;  Luke  vii.  i  says  that 
Jesus  entered  Capernaum  after  the  discourse.  At  any  rate  the 
Synoptists  here  report  the  Galilean  teaching. 

viii.  1-4.  The  leper  healed.  His  testimony  to  be  to  the  priests,  but 
to  none  beside. 

Having  given  his  general  view  of  the  contents  and  form  of 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  the  writer  now  proceeds  to  exhibit  in 
chaps,  viii  and  ix  the  miracle-working  of  the  great  Teacher. 
The  two  chapters  report  nine  miracles,  and  there  are  few  beside 
recorded  in  this  gospel.  The  other  Synoptists  report  the  same 
miracles,  but  usually  place  them  in  relation  to  the  life-plan  of 
our  Lord,  Matthew  brings  them  together  here  no  doubt  for  the 
convenience  of  both  teachers  and  taught.  The  remainder  of  the 
gospel — after  these  two  sections,  which  display  the  doctrine  and 
the  miraculous  achievements  of  Jesus — is  devoted  to  the  principal 
events  of  His  public  life. 

2.  there  came  to  him  a  leper.  Mark  i.  40  ;  Luke  v.  12,  place 
the  occurrence  after  the  healing  of  Peter's  mother-in-law  (verse 
i4\  but  Luke  has  it  before  the  Sermon.  All  locate  it  near 
Capernaum  —  Luke,  '  in  one  of  the  cities,'  The  usual  variety 
of  expression  is  indicated  in  what  is  said  of  the  leper,  who  'wor- 
shipped him'  (Matthew),  'beseeching  him'  (Mark),  'fell  on  his 
face  and  besought  him'  (Luke).  TN.B, — Here  it  is  Luke,  not 
Mark,  who  combines  the  others  )     Mark  omits  '  Lord.' 


ST.  MATTHEW  8.  3-5  lyr 

thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean.     And  he  stretched  3 
forth  his  hand,  and  touched  him,  saying,  I  will ;  be  thou 
made  clean.     And  straightway  his  leprosy  was  cleansed. 
And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  See  thou  tell  no  man ;  but  4 
go  thy  way,  shew  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  the  gift 
that  Moses  commanded,  for  a  testimony  unto  them. 

And  when  he  was  entered  into  Capernaum,  there  came  5 

3.  touched  him,  though  this  was  considered  to  be  a  defilement : 
'  a  man  full  of  leprosy'  (Luke).  All  mention  it,  because  to  touch 
without  contagion  was  part  of  the  miracle.  Each  reports  the 
sa3'i!ig  of  Jesus,  *  I  will  ;  be  thou  made  clean.' 

4-.  See  thoti  tail  no  iiian.  In  Lev.  xiii,  xiv  there  are  several 
forms  of  cutaneous  disease  noticed  under  the  general  name  of 
leprosy,  and  the  law  for  cases  of  recovery  is  given.  The  offering 
of  the  poor  included  a  lamb,  two  pigeons,  with  flour  and  oil. 

The  testimony  unto  them,  i.  e.  both  to  priests  and  people, 
demonstrated  that  a  great  healer  who  recognized  the  law  had 
arisen.  Matthew  abbreviates  these  narratives,  and  does  not 
say  here  (as  Mark  and  Luke)  that  the  man  was  unable  to  sup- 
press his  gladness  on  so  great  a  recovery,  but  announced  it 
to  all  his  friends.  The  miracle  was  notable  and  certain  to  excite 
attention,  but  Jesus  was  afraid  of  premature  popular  commotion. 
Matt.  xi.  16  ;  yet,  '  moved  with  compassion '  (Mark),  he  took  the 
risk.  The  leper  had  seemed  to  discern  the  difficulty  when  he 
said,  '  If  thou  wilt,  thou  canst.'  Satan  in  the  wilderness  had 
come  with  a  sentence  of  similar  form — '  If  thou  art,'  &c. — when 
he  invited  Jesus  to  an  act  of  daring  ;  but  here  the  request  came 
for  a  benefit  to  another,  not  to  himself.  According  to  Mark  i.  24, 
it  was  the  demons  who  first  confessed  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah, 
but  they  were  forbidden  to  make  it  known,  Mark  iii.  12,  viii.  26. 
Mark  v.  43  says  that  no  man  was  to  mention  the  healing  of 
Jairus'  daughter ;  Matt.  ix.  26  says  that  the  fame  of  it  went 
everywhere  :  cf  Mark  vii.  36  and  Matt.  ix.  30.  As  each  Synoptist 
mentions  the  commission  to  the  leper  to  go  to  the  priest,  there  is 
no  special  inference  in  the  case  in  favour  of  the  Judaism  of  the 
first  gospel. 

In  i.  44  Mark  combines  the  statements  of  Matthew  and  Luke. 

viii.  5-13.  Case  of  the  centurion.  His  faith;  the  healing  of  his 
servant.     An  inference  from  this  case. 

5.  The  narrative  of  the  centurion  (Matt.  viii.  5-13;  Luke  vii. 
i-io)  is  omitted  by  Mark.  The  others  introduce  it  in  the  same 
way:  when  he  was  entered  into  Capernaum.  A  centurion 
was  the  captain  of  a  hundred  men — the  sixtieth  part  of  a  legion. 


172  ST.  MATTHEW   8.  6-io 

6  unto  him  a  centurion,  beseeching  him,  and  saying,  Lord, 
my  servant  lieth  in  the  house  sick  of  the  palsy,  grievously 

7  tormented.     And  he  saith  unto  him,   I  will  come  and 

8  heal  him.  And  the  centurion  answered  and  said,  Lord, 
I  am  not  worthy  that  thou  shouldest  come  under  my 
roof:   but  only  say  the  word,  and  my  servant  shall  be 

9  healed.  For  I  also  am  a  man  under  authority,  having 
under  myself  soldiers :  and  I  say  to  this  one,  Go,  and 
he  goeth;  and  to  another.  Come,  and  he  cometh;  and 

lo  to  my  servant.  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it.  And  when 
Jesus  heard  it,  he  marvelled,  and  said  to  them  that 
followed.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great 

Probably  this  man  was  a  Palestinian  native  who  had  entered  the 
Roman  army.  Luke  reports  that  though  he  was  a  Gentile,  he 
loved  the  Jewish  people  and  had  built  them  a  synagogue.  For 
such  a  neighbour,  the  Jewish  elders  would  gladly  intercede. 

6.  my  servant.  '  My  youth  '  (Matthew)  ;  '  my  slave  '  (Luke), 
Some  slaves  had  good  masters:  and  this  servant  'was  precious' 
(Luke,  R.  V.  marg.)  to  the  centurion.  Because  the  word  ^boy' 
is  sometimes  used  for  'son,'  it  has  been  thought  that  the  miracle 
recorded  in  John  iv.  46  is  the  same  as  this.  Matthew  and  Luke 
describe  the  case  very  much  as  it  is  presented  in  John  iv.  47, 
but  at  several  points  the  two  accounts  have  strong  dissimilarities. 

7,  8.  When  Jesus  said  that  he  would  come  and  heal  him,  the 
centurion  confessed  his  unworthiness.  He  knew  the  Jevnsh 
prejudice  against  *  entering  in  '  with  a  Gentile.  Luke  says  that 
he  did  not  himself  come,  but  obtained  the  services  of  elders 
to  represent  his  case,  and  then  friends  to  say,  'Trouble  not 
thyself.' 

only  say  the  word.  He  expected  that  Jesus  could  bring 
supernatural  forces  into  action  as  readily  as  he  himself  governed 
the  movements  of  his  subordinates. 

10.  he  marvelled.  This  is  not  fiction.  Jesus  really  wondered 
at,  or  admired,  the  man's  faith.  It  was  surprising  that  while  so 
many  were  sceptical  about  the  gifts  of  the  healer,  an  outsider 
should  so  fully  appreciate  them. 

Verily  I  say.  Onl^^  this  gospel  has  here  the  Aramaic 
'  verily.' 

I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel. 
Whatever  the  original  Matthew  was,  we  may  perceive  that  our 
gospel  was  not  written  to  flatter  Jewish  opinion. 


ST.  MATTHEW   8.  ii  17  173 

faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.     And  I  say  unto  you,  that  many  1 1 
shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  shall  sit 
down    with    Abraham,    and    Isaac,    and   Jacob,    in    the 
kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  the  sons  of  the  kingdom  shall  12 
be  cast  forth  into  the  outer  darkness  :   there  shall  be  the 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.    And  Jesus  said  unto  the  13 
centurion,  Go  thy  way ;  as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it 
done  unto  thee.    And  the  servant  was  healed  in  that  hour. 

And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house,  he  saw  14 
his  wife's  mother  lying  sick  of  a  fever.     And  he  touched  15 
her  hand,  and  the  fever  left  her ;   and  she  arose,  and 
ministered  unto  him.     And  v;hen  even  was  come,  they  16 
brought  unto  him  many  possessed  with  devils  :  and  he 
cast  out  the  spirits  with  a  word,  and  healed  all  that  were 
sick:    that   it   might   be  fulfilled  which  was   spoken   by '7 

11.  many  stall  come  from,  tlie  east.  This  sa^nng  received 
fresh  illustration  when  Gentiles  were  gathered  into  the  church. 
Though  the  Jews  objected  to  sit  down  with  Gentiles,  these 
despised  ones  are  to  take  a  place  among  the  most  exalted  sons 
of  the  kingdom.  Luke  xiii.  28  finds  a  different  connexion  for  the 
saying. 

12.  Matt.  xxii.  13  (Luke  xiv.  7)  associates  the  'outer  darkness' 
with  the  unqualified  guest.  According  to  the  most  popular  Jewish 
conception  heaven  was  a  great  banquet,  where  the  favoured  race 
should  meet  with  ancestral  saints,  but  the  Gentiles  should  not  be 
admitted.  Jesus  opposed  this  doctrine.  The  judgement  would 
be  taken  on  moral  grounds,  Matt,  vii,  19:  only  the  truly  righteous, 
Rom.  ii.  9,  should  be  saved, 

viii.  14-17.  Peters  mother -in-laiv  cured  of  fever.  Demoniacs 
healed,  according  to  prophec\'. 

14,  15.  As  is  usual  with  Matthew,  his  account  of  the  healing 
in  Peter's  house  is  briefer  than  that  of  Mark  (i.  29-31)  or  of  Luke 
(iv.  38,  39")  :  indeed  those  of  Matthew  and  Luke  could  be  made 
from  that  in  Mark.  Mark  fverse  29^)  speaks  of  the  house  of  Simon 
and  Andrew  at  Capernaum  ;  but  John  i.  44  says  that  Bethsaida 
was  their  city. 

16.  All  the  S3'noptists  commemorate  this  wonderful  evening. 

17.  Matthew  does  not  mention  the  silence  enjoined  on  thr? 
demons;    cf.  Matt.   xii.  15;    Mark  iii.   10-12.     The  fulfilment  of 


174  ST.  MATTHEW  8.  iS-23 

Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmities, 
and  bare  our  diseases. 

18  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about  him,  he 

19  gave  commandment  to  depart  unto  the  other  side.  And 
there  came  a  scribe,  and  said  unto  him,  Master,  I  will 

20  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest.  And  Jesus  saith 
unto  him.  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the 
heaven  have  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where 

2 1  to  lay  his  head.     And  another  of  the  disciples  said  unto 

22  him.  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father.  But 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me ;  and  leave  the  dead  to 
bury  their  own  dead. 

23  And  when  he  was  entered  into  a  boat,  his  disciples 

prophecy  is  again  noticed.  The  quotation  is  from  the  Hebrew 
of  Isa.  Hii.  4.  Matthew  does  not  say  that  it  was  the  Sabbath,  but 
Luke  iv.  31  and  the  reference  to  the  synagogue  indicate  that  it 
was :  the  sick  could  not  come  until  the  evening. 

viii.  18-22.  A  saibe  and  others  desire  to  follow  Jesus.  The 
conditions  of  discipleship. 

18.  The  section  viii.  18-22  mentions  two  of  the  three  cases 
found  in  Luke  ix.  51-62.  The  expression  he  grave  conxmand- 
ment  is  rather  strong,  but  the  term  shews  that  now  Jesus  had 
assumed  authority  over  the  disciples.  But  in  verse  20,  R.  V. 
marg.,  'Teacher'  is  the  correct  title. 

19.  Matthew  calls  the  first  of  the  applicants  a  scri'oe,  marg. 
*  one  scribe,'  because  the  numerals  had  acquired  the  force  of  the 
indefinite  article  or  pronoun  :   but  (Luke)  'a  certain  man.' 

wMthersoever  thou  g'oest.  He  had  some  idea  what  disciple- 
ship involved  :  but  this  would  be  more  suitable  to  a  later  period 
in  the  ministry.  Luke  places  this  conversation  towards  the  close 
of  our  Lord's  life,  when  *  his  face  was  set  towards  Jerusalem.' 

20.  the  Son  of  man.  See  Matt.  xvi.  13.  A  Messiah  who 
had  the  highest  place  (Eph.  i.  3)  was  expected,  not  one  who  had 
'not  where  to  lay  his  head' 

22.  leave  the  dead.  Those  who  had  not  received  the  new  life 
of  the  kingdom. 

viii.  23-27.  Jesus  ntles  the  sea.  The  Master  asleep  in  the  storm. 
His  word  of  power,  and  the  faith  of  the  witnesses. 

23.  Mark  (iv.  35-41)  places  the  account  of  the  storm,  during 
which  Jesus  was  asleep,  after  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  as  also 


ST.  MATTHEW  8.  24-27  175 

followed  him.     And  behold,  there  arose  a  great  tempest  24 
in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  boat  was  covered  with  the 
waves  :  but  he  was  asleep.     And  they  came  to  him,  and  25 
awoke  him,  saying,   Save^  Lord ;    we   perish.     And   he  26 
saith  unto  them,  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? 
Then  he  arose,  and  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea ;  and 
there  was  a  great  calm.    And  the  men  marvelled,  saying,  27 
What  manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the 
sea  obey  him  ? 

Luke  viii.  22-25  :  but  the  latter  assigns  it  to  'one  of  those  days.' 
The  three  accounts  differ  too  much  for  any  theorj^  of  mutual 
dependence  to  be  established.  The  suggestion  respecting  the 
boat  is  by  Matthew  and  Luke  traced  to  Jesus,  but  Mark  saj's, 
'the  disciples  take  him  as  he  was.' 

24.  a  great  tempest,  or  '  a  great  trembling' :  the  others  have 
*  storm.'  The  lake,  surrounded  by  steep  and  lofty  hills,  was  liable 
to  sudden  and  fierce  tempests. 

he  was  asleep.     Mark  says,   '  in   the  stern,  asleep  on   the 
cushion.' 

25.  Save,  Lord.  Cf.  Matt.  xiv.  30.  In  Mark  it  is  'Teacher'; 
in  Luke,  'Master,  Master.' 

26.  O  ye  of  little  faith.  Cf.  Matt.  vi.  30,  viii,  26,  xiv.  31, 
xvi.  8;  Luke  xii.  28.  Mark  has,  'Have  ye  no  faith?'  Luke, 
'Where  is  your  faith?'  All  say  that  there  was  a  'calm,'  but 
only  Mark  gives  the  words,  '  Peace,  be  still.'  In  Matthew  the 
disciples  are  rebuked  before  the  storm  is  quieted  ;  in  Mark  and 
Luke  after. 

2*7.  What  manner  of  man  is  this  ?  This  was  one  of  the  great 
acts  which  secured  the  faith  of  the  disciples.  It  was  an  exhibition 
of  power  on  their  own  familiar  lake,  where  experience  had  so 
often  shewed  them  their  utter  helplessness. 

the  men  who  marvelled  were  the  disciples  themselves,  and 
not  those  who  afterwards  heard  of  the  event  (Weiss). 

viii.  28-34.  The  Gadarcnes.  Two  demoniacs  healed.  The  demons 
lead  the  swine  to  destruction  :  the  dismay  of  the  people. 

The  account  of  the  event  at  Gadara  (Matt,  viii  28-34)  is  found 
in  Mark  V.  1-20;  Luke  viii.  26-39.  In  Matthew  it  precedes  the 
case  of  the  palsied  man  (ix.  2),  and  of  the  calling  of  the  publican 
at  Capernaum  (ix.  9)  ;  but  Mark  v.  i  and  Luke  viii.  26  place 
these  occurrences  at  an  earlier  stage.  Such  narratives  attest  the 
history,  which  was  written  in  other  times  than  ours,  and  justifies 
itself  by  the  appropriation  of  conceptions  belonging  to  its  own 


176  ST.  MATTHEW   8.  28 

28  And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side  into  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes,  there  met  him  two  possessed 
with  devils,  coming  forth  out  of  the  tombs,  exceeding 


period.  How  the  event  may  be  explained  is  another  question  ;  but 
if  we  are  to  give  any  credit  to  the  evangeHcal  narrative  at  all,  this 
act  of  healing,  with  its  strange  associations,  cannot  be  ignored. 
We  need  not  discuss  the  question,  whether  it  was  right  in  Jesus 
to  destroy  the  property  of  others.  He  who  possessed  such  power 
as  this,  must  have  absolute  right  over  all  things ;  but  it  may  be 
noticed  that  except  in  this,  and  in  the  case  of  the  barren  fig  tree, 
no  element  of  destruction  entered  into  the  miracle-working  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

28.  Jesus  had  come  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake — to  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes  :  Mark  v.  i '.  Josephus  (B.  J.  iv.  7.  8) 
mentions  Gadara,  the  capital  of  Perea  ;  but  this  was  probably  the 
city  several  miles  south-east  of  the  lake,  the  site  of  which  is  now 
known  as  Um  Keir.  The  scene  of  the  miracle  must  have  been 
nearer  the  shore,  for  the  man  met  Jesus  as  he  came  from  the 
boat,  Mark  v,  2.  It  was  not,  therefore,  Gerasa,  which  was  in 
Gilead  ;  nor  Gadara  proper,  for  this  was  too  far  away  :  but,  as 
Luke  says,  'over  against  Galilee.'  If  the  district  was  under  the 
supervision  of  the  authorities  at  Gadara,  it  might  be  regarded  as 
the  country  of  the  Gadarenes.  Dr.  Thomson  {Land  and  the  Book) 
identifies  it  with  the  ruins  of  Khersa,  near  which  are  slopes  and 
rocks  with  tombs.  Dr.  Geo.  Smith  {Geog.  p.  459)  says  that  the 
lake  is  surrounded  with  ruins  of  the  old  cities.  At  Gadara  he 
found  tombs,  and  peasants  had  just  dug  up  a  stone  marked  Legion 
XIV ;  cf.  Mark  v.  9.  Weiss  holds  that  the  readers  of  the  gospel 
would  know  Gadara  as  a  city  of  some  repute,  but  not  Gergasa. 
The  confusion  of  the  two  inclines  him  to  believe  that  the  writer 
was  not  a  Palestinean  {Inirod.  to  the  N.  T.  ii.  286). 

Matthew  mentions  two  possessed,  or  'demoniacs'  (marg.), 
but  the  other  evangelists  only  refer  to  one.  Holtzmann  remarks 
that  Mark  i.  22  mentions  another  case,  not  referred  to  by  Matthew, 
where  similar  things  were  said  :  e.  g.  '  What  have  I  to  do  with 
thee  1 '  Weiss  tries  to  explain  the  discrepancy  as  an  inference 
from  the  plurality  of  the  demons.  Others,  since  Augustine,  have 
supposed  that  one  demon  was  more  violent  and  loquacious  than 
the  other,  so  that  he  alone  is  expressly  mentioned  by  Mark  and 
Luke.     It  has  been   observed  also  that  Matthew  mentions  two 


^  '  Gergasenes,'  A.  V.  and  Luke  viii.  26,  R.  V.  marg.  Of  the  oldest 
MSS.  the  Western  prefers  '  Gerasenes,'  the  .Alexandrian  '  Gergasenes,' 
the  Neutral  (oldest)  '  Gadarenes." 


ST.  MATTHEW  8.  29— 0.  2  177 

fierce,  so  that  no  man  could  pass  by  that  way.      And  29 
behold,   they  cried  out,   saying,   What   have  we   to   do 
with  thee,  thou  Son  of  God?  art  thou  come  hither  to  tor- 
ment us  before  the  time  ?     Now  there  was  afar  off  from  30 
them  a  herd  of  many  swine  feeding.      And  the  devils  31 
besought  him,  saying,  If  thou  cast  us  out,  send  us  away 
into  the  herd  of  swine.     And  he  said  unto  them,  Go.  32 
And    they  came   out,   and  went    into    the  swine :    and 
behold,  the  whole  herd  rushed  down  the  steep  into  the 
sea,   and  perished   in    the  waters.     And  they  that  fed  33 
them  fled,  and  went  away  into  the  city,  and  told  every- 
thing, and  what  was  befallen  to  them  that  were  possessed 
with  devils.     And  behold,  all  the  city  came  out  to  meet  34 
Jesus :  and  when  they  saw  him,  they  besought  him  that 
he  would  depart  from  their  borders. 

And  he  entered  into  a  boat,  and  crossed  over,  and  9 
came  into  his  own  city.     And  behold,  they  brought  to  2 

blind  men,  xx.  30,  where  the  other  S3'noptists  have  only  one. 
Luke  has  most  of  the  full  account  in  Mark,  but  Matthew  is  content 
with  the  principal  points. 

29.  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee?  Mark  i.  24  has  'we/ 
but  Mark  v.  7  '  I  * ;  Luke  viii.  29. 

thou  Son  of  God.  The  others  have  '  Jesus ' ;  but  Mark  i.  25, 
iii.  II,  'holy  one  of  God' ;  also  Luke  iv.  34  :  but  Luke  viii.  28, 
'Jesus,  thou  Son  of  the  Most  High  God.' 

to  torment  us  before  the  time.  On  'torment'  cf.  Luke 
xvi.  28;  on  'the  time,'  Matt.  xxv.  41.  Matthew  makes  no 
reference  to  their  name,  'Legion.' 

31.  the  herd  of  swine.  These  animals,  impure  to  the  Jew 
(Deut.  xiv.  8  ;  Isa.  Ixv.  4),  as  also  to  Egyptians  and  Arabians, 
were  eaten  by  the  heathen.  Matthew  says  they  were  'afar  off' ; 
Mark  and  Luke,  '  on  the  mountain.' 

ix.  1-8.  Cure  of  palsy  tn  Capernaum.  Charge  of  blasphemy 
from  the  scribes  because  sin  is  forgiven.  The  people  rejoice  at 
the  miracle. 

1.  And  he  entered  into  a  boat  belongs  to  the  previous  nar- 
rative.    Capernaum  is  called  his  own  city. 

2.  Mark  ii.  1-12  and  Luke  v.  17-26  extend  the  account  of  the 

N 


178  ST.  MATTHEW   9.  3-8 

him  a  man  sick  of  the  palsy,  lying  on  a  bed :  and  Jesus 
seeing  their  faith  said  unto  the  sick  of  the  palsy,  Son,  be 

3  of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  are  forgiven.  And  behold, 
certain  of  the  scribes  said  within  themselves,  This  man 

4  blasphemeth.     And  Jesus  knowing  their  thoughts  said, 

5  Wherefore  think  ye  evil  in  your  hearts?  For  whether 
is  easier,  to  say,  Thy  sins  are  forgiven ;  or  to  say,  Arise, 

6  and  walk  ?  But  that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man 
hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins  (then  saith  he  to  the 
sick  of  the  palsy),  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go 

7  unto  thy  house.     And  he  arose,  and  departed  to  his 
S  house.      But   when   the   multitudes   saw   it,  they  were 

afraid,  and  glorified  God,  which  had  given  such  power 
unto  men. 


palsied  man  to  nearly  as  many  words  again.  As  in  the  account 
of  the  demons,  viii.  28-34,  and  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  ix.  18-26, 
Matthew  abbreviates  the  common  narrative.  In  verse  8,  Matthew 
refers  to  the  *  multitudes ' ;  Mark  ii.  2,  '  many  were  gathered 
together';  and  Luke  v.  17,  that  'there  were  Pharisees  and 
doctors  of  the  law  sitting  by.*  Here  also  the  invalid  is  *  lying 
on  a  bed,'  but  there  is  no  account  of  the  removal  of  the  roof. 
Otherwise  the  accounts  are  closely  similar.  All  contain  '  seeing 
their  faith,'  and  'thy  sins  are  forgiven.'  Perhaps  the  paralytic 
was  young  (see  Son),  and  there  is  not  much  ground  for  the 
conjecture  that  this  suffering  resulted  from  personal  sin  ;  cf.  John 
ix.  3,  though  the  sequel  points  to  the  connexion  between  sin  and 
transgression,  Ps.  ciii.  3. 

tlieir  faith  refers  to  the  people,  but  implies  that  the  man 
was  eagerly  consenting  to  what  they  did. 

3.  The  objection  that  Jesus  had  spoken  blasphemy,  in  presuming 
to  pronounce  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  was  not  expressed  :  Jesus 
knew  their  thoughts.  To  '  blaspheme '  is  to  speak  against  God, 
or  scornfully  of  sacred  things  :  Matt.  xxvi.  65  ;  Mark  iii.  29. 

6.  thy  bed :  a  mat  on  which  the  man  was  stretched.  The 
narrative  becomes  vivid,  and  the  construction  is  changed  :  '  that 
ye  may  know  .  .  .  then  saith  he.'  On  the  word  'authority'  see 
Matt   vii.  29.  ix.  8,  xxi.  23. 

8.  The  people's  surprise  receives  different  expression  here  and 
in  Mark  ii.  12  and  Luke  v.  26. 


ST.  MATTHEW  9.  9-12  179 

And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  he  saw  a  man,    9 
called   Matthew,   sitting  at  the  place  of  toll :   and   he 
saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.     And  he  arose,  and  followed 
him. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  house,  10 
behold,  many  publicans  and  sinners  came  and  sat  down 
with  Jesus  and  his  disciples.     And  when  the  Pharisees  n 
saw  it,  they  said  unto  his  disciples,   Why  eateth  your 
Master  with  the  publicans  and  sinners?     But  when  he  12 
heard  it,  he  said.  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need  of 

ix.  9.     Matthew  called.    The  publican  becomes  a  disciple. 

9.  a  man,  called  Matthew,  who  has  the  name  Levi,  Mark 
ii.  14  ;  Luke  v.  27.  The  circumstances  under  which  the  call  was 
given  are  identical  in  the  three  accounts  :  '  as  Jesus  passed  by,' 
'  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll,'  with  the  miracle  on  the  paralj- tic 
preceding,  and  the  entertainment  in  the  house  afterwards.  A 
singular  obscurity  rests  over  the  personal  history  of  most  of  the 
twelve,  and  the  case  of  Matthew  is  no  exception.  He  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Acts  ^except  in  the  list,  i.  13")  nor  in  the  epistles, 
and  no  tradition  of  him  has  any  authority.  His  name  appears  as 
Matthew  (here,  'called';  Luke  v.  27,  'byname  Levi')  in  each 
list  of  the  apostles,  so  that  probably  Levi  was  the  Jewish,  and 
Matthew  the  Christian,  name  for  the  same  person  ^  On  the  lists 
of  the  apostles,  Matthew  stands  seventh  in  Mark  and  Luke,  eighth 
in  Matthew  and  Acts.  In  Mark  ii.  14  Levi  is  said  to  be  the  '  son 
of  Alphaeus.'  This  could  scarcely  have  been  the  father  of  James 
(Matt.  X.  3 ;,  or  the  two  sons  would  have  been  a  pair,  hke  Andrew 
and  Peter,  John  and  James.  Except  in  Acts  i.  13  Matthew  is 
associated  with  Thomas. 

ix.  10-13.  Jtsus  eats  with  sinners.  The  Pharisees,  who  com- 
plain, are  instructed  from  Scripture. 

10.  the  house.  Mark  ii.  15  and  Luke  v.  29  shew  that  this 
was  the  abode  of  the  publican. 

12,  13.  They  that  are  whole  appears  in  each  account,  but  the 

^  The  distinction  of  Levi  from  Matthew  has  been  held  by  Grotius, 
Neander,  Hilgenfeld,  Reuss  ;  by  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  iv.  9.  73  ;  and  by 
Origen,  Cont.  Cels.  i.  62.  Resch  {Ausscrca?i.  Parallcltextc)  s\ix>^o%es 
that  Nathanael,  John  i.  45,  xxi.  2,  and  Matthew  were  identical,  because 
each  name  =  '  the  gift  of  God.'  Faustus  the  ATanichean  said  that 
Matthew  would  not  have  reported  about  himself,  '  he  saw  a  man, 
called  Matthew." 

N    2 


i8o  ST.  MATTHEW  9.  13-15 

13  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  But  go  ye  and  learn 
what  this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice :  for 
I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners. 

14  Then  come  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saying,  Why 
do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  oft,  but  thy  disciples  fast 

15  not?  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Can  the  sons  of  the 
bride-chamber  mourn,  as  long  as  the  bridegroom  is  with 

quotation  from  Hos.  vi.  6  (see  again  Matt.  xii.  7)  is  only  here. 
The  prophet  in  his  day  taught  Israel  that  God  loved  mercy  more 
than  sacrifice.  The  scribes,  who  pretended  to  know  the  Scriptures, 
ought  to  go  and  'learn'  what  such  sayings  really  taught.  There 
were  'many  publicans  and  sinners'  who  displayed  more  religious 
receptivity  than  any  of  these  educated  legalists.  This  was  the 
first  occasion  on  vvhich  Jesus  had  so  publicly  identified  himself 
with  the  ostracized  classes :  henceforth  he  was  marked  by  the 
dominant  party  as  a  foe  to  be  dealt  with.  He  yields  them  a  Sort 
of  ironical  concession  by  speaking  of  them  as  'the  righteous'; 
while  his  clients  are  '  sinners.'  *  When  the  Pharisees  saw  it,' 
they  instinctively  detected  that  he  had  selected  his  associates. 
They  were  present  not  as  guests,  but  as  spectators,  which  custom 
allowed.  In  Capernaum  Jesus  might  have  made  friends  of  some 
of  the  numerous  persons  in  good  social  positions,  who  dwelt  in 
a  town  so  important.  It  was  on  the  mercantile  route  between 
east  and  west,  and  especially  between  the  territories  of  Herod 
and  Philip.  Matthew,  who  had  held  a  lucrative  post,  now  '  left 
air  to  follow  Jesus.  His  astonished  neighbours  by  their  gaze 
of  amazement  expressed  their  pity  for  his  hallucination.  The 
words  'to  repentance,'  A.  V.,  are  in  Luke  v.  32,  Clem.  Ep.  ii. 
(end  of  second  century)  has  the  remark, '  Another  Scripture  saith, 
I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous.' 

ix.  14-17.  The  disciples  question  about  fasting  They  are 
taught  that  forms  may  vary  with  time  and  circumstances. 
Parabolical  reference  to  cloth  and  wine-skins. 

14.  Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  oft?  It  appears  that 
the  disciples  did  not  observe  the  Jewish  fasts — partly,  because  of 
the  reason  given  vi.  16;  partly,  because  they  were  like  guests 
at  a  bridal  party,  who  must  be  cheerful.  John  iii.  29  represents 
Jesus  as  a  bridegroom,  and  the  Baptist  as  his  friend.  The  bride- 
groom's departure  is  hinted  at  for  the  first  time. 

15.  In  verse  15  'mourn'  and  'fast'  correspond;  Mark  and 
Luke  have  '  fast '  only.  '  Shall  be  taken  away  '  is  in  the  original 
a  word  only  here  and  Mark  ii.  20,  Luke  v.  35.  All  followed  a 
Greek   source.      The    'sons    of    the    bride-chamber'   were    the 


ST.  MATTHEW  9.  16-iS  181 

them  ?  but  the  days  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom 
shall  be  taken  away  from  them,  and  then  will  they  fast 
And  no  man  putteth  a  piece  of  undressed  cloth  upon  an  16 
old  garment ;  for  that  which  should  fill  it  up  taketh  from 
the  garment,  and  a  worse  rent  is  made.  Neither  do  men  17 
put  new  wine  into  old  wine-skins  :  else  the  skins  burst, 
and  the  wine  is  spilled,  and  the  skins  perish :  but  they  put 
new  wine  into  fresh  wine-skins,  and  both  are  preserved. 

While  he  spake  these  things  unto  them,  behold,  there  iS 
came  a  ruler,  and  worshipped  him,  saying.  My  daughter 
is  even  now  dead  :  but  come  and  lay  thy  hand  upon  her, 

youths  who  conducted  the  bride  to  the  house  of  the  bride- 
groom. 

16.  -andressed  clotli:  'new,'  A.  V.  and  in  Luke.  Perhaps 
this  is  a  farther  use  of  the  imagery  of  a  marriage,  at  which  new 
robes  were  prepared,  or  old  ones  renovated,  and  wine  was  put 
into  bottles.  The  new  cloth  contracted  after  being  moistened  and 
dried,  and  'a  worse  rent'  was  made. 

IT.  wine-skins,  and  not  'bottles,*  are  yet  used  in  the  East. 
The  old  skins,  corrupted  by  use,  broke  up  under  the  fermentation 
of  the  '  new  wine.'  The  old  order  was  changing,  and  the  new 
ideas  of  the  kingdom  must  develop  forms  suited  to  their  ov/n 
nature.  To  those  who  wrote  at  a  later  time  the  change  would 
be  very  manifest. 

ix.  18-26.  The  healing  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus  and  of  a 
diseased  woman. 

18.  The  accounts  of  the  two  miracles  narrated  here,  verses  i8- 
26,  are  also  similarly  interwoven  in  Mark  v.  21-43  ^^id  Luke  viii. 
40-56  ;  which  suggests  that  they  were  so  in  the  primary  source. 
Mark's  account  has  155  words,  Luke's  123,  and  Matthew's  100. 
All  that  Matthew  reports  is  in  Mark  ;  but  he  omits  the  name 
'Jairus'  ;  also  the  names  of  the  disciples  allowed  to  be  present; 
the  words  '  Damsel,  arise,'  and  the  injunction  not  to  make  the 
miracle  known.     Mark  and  Luke  most  nearly  agree. 

Wliile  he  spake  tliese  thing's.  Matthew  still  thinks  of  Jesus 
as  '  in  the  house  '  ;  but  Mark  v.  21  and  Luke  viii.  40  describe  him  as 
near  the  sea  and  a  crowd  around  him. 

a  ruler  :  one  who  presided  over  the  elders  in  the  synagogue; 
sometimes  there  was  more  than  one  :  Acts  xiii.  15.  The  primitive 
bishop  probably  had  a  similar  office. 

My  daxighter  is  even  now  dead.     The  original  has  a  past 


i82  ST.  MATTHEW  9.  19-25 

19  and  she  shall  live.     And  Jesus  arose,  and  followed  him, 

20  and  so  did  his  disciples.  And  behold,  a  woman,  who 
had  an  issue  of  blood  twelve  years,  came  behind  him, 

21  and  touched  the  border  of  his  garment :  for  she  said 
within  herself,  If  I  do  but  touch  his  garment,  I  shall  be 

22  made  whole.  But  Jesus  turning  and  seeing  her  said, 
Daughter,  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee 
whole.     And   the  woman   was    made  whole  from  that 

23  hour.  And  when  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  house, 
and   saw   the   flute-players,    and   the   crowd   making  a 

24  tumult,  he  said,  Give  place :  for  the  damsel  is  not  dead, 

25  but  sleepeth.  And  they  laughed  him  to  scorn.  But 
when  the  crowd  was  put  forth,  he  entered  in,  and  took 


tense  =  '  died.'  Some  think  that  was  only  the  father's  pessimistic 
view  of  the  case,  because  Mark  says, '  at  the  point  of  death  * ;  and 
Luke,  May  a  dying.'  Mark  also  reports  a  later  message:  Hhe 
child  is  dead.'  Afterwards  Jesus  said,  verse  24, '  the  damsel  is  not 
dead,  but  sleepeth.' 

20.  The  progress  of  Jesus  is  delayed  by  another  application  for 
healing  power.  Mark  gives  the  details,  which  are  abridged  by 
Matthew.  The  cases  are  intended  to  illustrate  the  power  of 
faith. 

21.  If  I  do  but  toncli  Ms  garment :  hence  the  response  (verse 
22%  "be  of  sTood  clieer  (cf.  John  xvi.  33  ;  Acts  xxiii.  11,  Jesus 
to  Paul ),  and  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  :  lit.  '  hath  saved 
thee,'  the  latter  a  rhythmical  saying,  found  Mark  v.  34,  x.  52; 
Luke  vii.  50,  viii.  48,  xvii,  19,  xviii.  42.  Her  modest  desire  not  to 
draw  attention  to  herself,  and  not  to  bring  defilement  on  the 
teacher,  had  made  her  come  '  behind  him.'  She  thought  to  touch 
*  the  border ' — the  craspedon  ordered  by  Num.  xv.  38,  to  remind 
the  wearer  of  the  commandments — would  be  sufficient;  but  her 
faith,  not  the  tassel,  wrought  the  cure. 

23,  24.  Matthew  alone  speaks  of  the  flute-players,  though  all 
speak  of  the  lamentation  which  required  them  and  the  wailing 
women.  The  moribund  condition  of  the  girl  had  existed  for  some 
time  :  all  thought  she  was  dead,  and  laughed  him  to  scorn  when 
he  suggested  another  view. 

25.  when  the  crowd  was  put  forth.  He  was  already  in  the 
ruler's  house  (23),  and  this  further  entering  in  is  explained  in 
Mark  v.  40,  '  goeth  in  where  the  child  was.' 


ST.  MATTHEW  9.  26-33  183    • 

her  by  the  hand ;  and  the  damsel  arose.     And  the  fame  26 
hereof  went  forth  into  all  that  land. 

And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  two  blind  men  27 
followed  him,  crying  out,  and  saying,  Have  mercy  on  us, 
thou  son  of  David.     And  when  he  was  come  into  the  28 
house,  the  bhnd  men  came  to  him :   and  Jesus  saith 
unto  them,  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do  this  ?     They 
say  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord.     Then  touched  he  their  eyes,  29 
saying,  According  to  your  faith  be  it  done  unto  you. 
And  their  eyes  were  opened.    And  Jesus  strictly  charged  30 
them,  saying.  See  that  no  man  know  it.     But  they  went  31 
forth,  and  spread  abroad  his  fame  in  all  that  land. 

And  as  they  went  forth,  behold,  there  was  brought  to  32 
him  a  dumb  man  possessed  with  a  devil.     And  when  33 

23.  Matthew  reports  what  is  probable,  that  *  the  fame  hereof 
went  forth  into  all  that  land,'  but  not  (as  Mark  and  Luke)  that 
Jesus  forbad  them  to  mention  it.  Weiss-Meyer  infers  from  the 
phrase  '  all  that  land '  that  the  writer  was  not  a  Palestinean  (cf. 
verse  31). 

ix.  27-31.  Cure  of  the  blind.  How  the  blind  called  on  Jesus, 
and  were  relieved.     Secrecy  charged  upon  them  in  vain. 

27.  two  blind  men.  This  case  is  only  reported  by  Matthe\v. 
That  found  in  Matt.  xx.  30,  q.  v.,  occurred  at  Jericho,  this  at 
Capernaum.  Holtzmann  and  others  regard  the  records  as  doublets 
of  the  same  event.  The  cry,  '  thou  son  of  David,'  is  the  same — 
at  this  early  period  not  very  likely— and  in  both  cases  the  cure 
was  by  touch.  Here  Jesus  says,  '  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do 
this  ? '  and  in  xx.  32,  '  What  will  ye  that  /  should  do  unto 
you  ? '  Still  Weiss  thinks  it  incredible  that  the  accounts  should 
refer  to  the  same  case. 

thon  son  of  David.  Three  narratives  concerning  blind  men 
include  this  title  :  Matt.  ix.  27,  xii.  23,  xx.  30.  If  now  given  for 
the  first  time  there  would  be  a  reason  for  the  charge  to  be  silent 
which  followed. 

30.  strictly  charged  them :  marg.  *  sternly.'  The  word  is  also 
found  in  Mark  i.  43,  xiv.  5  'murmured';  John  xi.  33  'groaned.* 
In  each  case  strong  feeling  is  indicated. 

ix.  32-34.  A  dumb  demoniac.  The  libel  of  the  Pharisees,  re- 
peated elsewhere. 

32.  a  dumb  man.     This  was  no  doubt  the  case  referred  to  in 


1 84  ST.  MATTHEW  9.  34-38 

the  devil  was  cast  out,  the  dumb  man  spake  :  and  the 
multitudes  marvelled,  saying,  It  was  never  so  seen  in 

34  Israel.  But  the  Pharisees  said,  By  the  prince  of  the 
devils  casteth  he  out  devils. 

35  And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  the  villages, 
teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel 
of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and 

36  all  manner  of  sickness.  But  when  he  saw  the  multitudes, 
he  was  moved  with  compassion  for  them,  because  they 
were  distressed  and  scattered,  as  sheep  not  having  a 

37  shepherd.    Then  saith  he  unto  his  disciples.  The  harvest 

38  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few.     Pray  ye 

Matt.  xii.  22  ;  Luke  xi.  14.  The  dumb  demon,  the  astonishment 
of  the  people,  and  the  reference  to  Beelzebub  all  tend  to  shew  the 
identity.  Mark  iii.  22  does  not  seem  to  refer  to  this  case  :  what  is 
said  there  about  the  ascription  of  the  miracles  to  Beelzebub  has  its 
parallel  in  Matt.  xii. 

ix.  35 — X.  I.  The  Teacher  and  Healer.  His  compassion  for  the 
people  :  the  disciples  to  pray  for  more  labourers.  They  receive 
authority  to  heal. 

35.  And  Jesus  went  about.  This  verse  repeats  iv.  23,  and 
closes  the  second  great  section  of  the  first  gospel. 

36.  The  new  section  reveals  the  extent  of  the  labours  of  the 
great  Teacher,  and  the  need  for  a  larger  agency.  He  had  gone 
into  many  cities,  entered  into  synagogues,  and  everywhere  he 
found  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  but  a  lack  of  the  gift  of  interpretation 
among  the  teachers.  The  people  were  as  sheep  not  having  a 
shepherd.  Under  a  foreign  rule,  the  prey  of  governors  and 
tax-farmers,  the  heads  of  the  community  hopelessly  divided  by 
sectarian  animosity,  the  masses  were  distressed  and  scattered,  hke 
a  flock  neglected  by  its  pastors,  or  driven  by  hirelings.  Jesus  was 
moved  with  compassion  for  them,  he  mourned  over  their  prospec- 
tive as  well  as  over  their  present  condition. 

37.  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous.  Luke  x.  2  associates 
this  saying  with  the  mission  of  the  Seventy.  In  his  progress 
through  the  country  Jesus  discovered  the  greatness  of  the  work, 
on  account  of  which  he  now  appeals  to  his  disciples. 

38.  Pray  ye.  He  sees  *  tlie  fields  white  already  unto  the 
harvest'  (John  iv.  35%  'the  labourers  few ' :  John  the  Baptist  and 
himself. 


ST.  MATTHEW   10.  1,2  185 

therefore  the  Lord  of  the   harvest,  that   he  send  forth 
labourers  into  his  harvest.     And  he  called  unto  him  his  10 
twelve  disciples,  and  gave  them  authority  over  unclean 
spirits,   to    cast   them   out,   and    to   heal   all   manner   of 
disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness. 

Now  the   names  of  the   twelve   apostles   are  these :    2 
The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew  his 

tlie  Ziord  of  the  harvest  must  send  forth  labourers,    cf. 

Mark  i.    12,  '  driveth  him.'     '  Pray  ye  ...  .  that  he  send,'  Luke 
X.  2  ;  the  same  construction  occurs  in  Acts  viii.  24. 

X.  2-42.  The  twelve  apostles.  Their  names,  2-5 ;  their  sphere 
restricted  ;  their  commission  to  preach  and  heal ;  their  slender 
equipment;  their  'peace'  to  be  upon  the  receptive,  6-15;  their 
suifering  under  persecution,  16-23  ;  their  true  fear  and  confidence, 
24-33  >  '^^  great  conflict  which  the  new  faith  should  initiate, 
34-39  ;  the  blessing  on  those  who  give  a  cup  of  water  to  a  disciple. 

2.  Matthew  does  not  mention  the  separation  and  designation  of 
the  Twelve  as  does  Mark  iii.  13,  yet  he  assumes  it.  Mark  places 
the  event  after  the  miracle  of  the  withered  hand,  cf.  Matt.  xii.  9. 

In  the  N.  T.  there  are  four  catalogues  of  the  Twelve  :  Matt, 
x.  2-4;  Mark  iii.  16-19;  Luke  vi.  14-16;  Acts  i.  13.  They  all 
appear  to  speak  of  the  same  persons  (one  or  two  points  being 
doubtful)  ;  Simon  Peter  always  stands  at  the  head  of  the  first 
division  of  four  ;  Philip  of  the  second  ;  James  of  the  third,  Judas 
being  always  last.  The  order  in  Matthew  agrees  best  with  that 
of  Luke  ;  that  of  Mark  with  Acts. 

the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles.  Those  whom  Matthew 
elsewhere  calls  'disciples'  he  now  calls  'apostles';  Mark 
describes  them  as  '  the  twelve ' ;  Luke  those  '  whom  also  he 
named  apostles.'  This  word  is  here,  as  in  the  N.  T.  generall3', 
to  be  taken  in  its  etymological  mea.n\n%  —  messengers  ;  cf.  John  xiii. 
16, 'one  that  is  sent' (marg. 'an  apostle')  ;  Rom.  x.  15, 'except  they 
be  sent.'  The  number  is  supposed  to  have  reference  to  that  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel  :  Matt.  xix.  28;  Rev.  xxi.  12-14.  Others 
besides  the  Twelve  were  afterwards  called  apostles,  as  Matthias, 
Paul,  James,  Barnabas  ;  cf.  Rom.  xvi.  7. 

The  first,  Simon.  Matthew  alone  mentions  Peter  as  the 
*  first ' ;  John  i.  40  represents  Andrew  and  John  as  the  first  to  be 
called.  Indications  of  the  prominence  of  Peter  are  found  in  Matt, 
xvi.  16;  Acts  i.  15,  ii.  14;  but  'dominion'  was  forbidden  to  any, 
Matt.  XX.  25  ;  and  in  time  James,  not  Peter,  became  the  head  of 
the  local  church  in  Jerusalem.  Matthew  does  not  say  when  the 
name  '  Peter'  was  given  to  Simon  :  Luke  vi.   14.     '  Peter'  is  the 


1 86  ST.  MATTHEW   10.  3,  4 

brother;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother; 

3  Phihp,  and   Bartholomew ;   Thomas,   and   Matthew  the 
pubHcan;  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  and  Thaddseus; 

4  Simon    the    Cananaean,    and   Judas    Iscariot,   who   also 

Greek  for  the  Aramaic  '  Cephas,'  found  in  John  i.  42  ;  i  Cor.  i.  12  ; 
Gal.  ii.  9.  The  '  Grecians,'  John  xii.  22,  came  to  Andrew  and 
Philip,  who  had  Greek  names. 

James  the  son  of  Sebedee  is  not  mentioned  in  the  fourth 
gospel.  His  name  here  precedes  that  of  John  as  probably  the 
elder.  Their  mother  Salome  being  sister  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  they 
were  cousins  of  Jesus. 

3.  The  second  James,  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  may  have  been 
the  brother  of  Matthew.  There  was  a  third  'James,'  called  '  the 
brother  of  the  Lord,'  who  was  not  of  the  Twelve,  who  did  not  at 
first  believe  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  but  was  convinced  by  the 
resurrection,  i  Cor.  xv.  7.  If '  Alphaeus'  was  the  same  as  '  Clopas,' 
John  xix.  25,  this  third  James  could  be  identified  with  the  second'. 
Philip  and  Bartholomew  are  connected,  John  i.  45,  xxi.  2 ;  the 
latter  as  Nathanael.  Thomas  is  not  again  referred  to  by  Matthew, 
but  more  frequently  in  John  (xi.  16,  xiv.  5,  xx.  24).  He  is  asso- 
ciated in  all  the  lists  with  Matthew.    In  John  xi.  16  he  is  called 

*  a  twin  '  (^Greek,  Didymus),  and  some  have  supposed  that  Matthew 
was  his  twin  brother. 

and  Thaddseus,  A.  V.  had  '  and  Lebbaeus,  whose  surname 
was  Thaddaeus.'  Tischendorf  had  some  good  authorities  on  his 
side  for  this  reading,  but  Westcott  and  Hort  {N.  T.  ii,  App.  p.  11) 
say  that  it  is  due  to  an  early  attempt  to  bring  Levi  (Luke  v.  27) 
within  the  twelve.  Instead  of  Thaddaeus,  Luke  vi.  15  and  Acts 
i.  13  (also  Sin.  Syr.  in  Matthew)  fill  up  the  number  with  the  name 

*  Judas  of  James,'  who  was  not  a  brother  of  Jesus,  Matt.  vi.  3,  and 
is  distinguished  from  Iscariot,  John  xiv.  22. 

4.  Simon  the  Cananjean,  marg.  '  Zealot,' A.  V.  '  the  Canaanite.* 
'  Zealot '  is  the  translation  of  an  Aramaic  word  which  was  like 

*  Canaanite.'  The  Canaanites  were  a  political  sect  who  followed 
Judas  the  Gaulonite  in  his  opposition  to  the  Roman  domination. 
The  last  apostle  came  from  Kerioth  in  Judah,  Joshua  xv.  25,  and 
was  the  onl^^  apostle  selected  from  a  place  beyond  Galilee  ^ 

^  On  the  vexed  question  of  '  The  Brethren  of  the  Lord,'  see 
Dr.  Mayor's  article  in  Hastings'  Did.  of  the  Bible,  i.  320  ;  and  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  essay  in  Galatians. 

^  In  relation  to  Judas  the  Synoptists  present  a  specimen  of  similarity 
with  variation.  Matt.,  '  And  Judas  the  Iscariot  he  also  betrayed  him  '  ; 
Mark  iii.  ig,  '  And  Judas  Iscariot  who  also  betrayed  him  '  ;  Luke  vi. 
16,  '  And  Judas  Iscariot  who  became  a  betrayer.' 


ST.  MATTHEW   10.  5-10  187 

betrayed    him.      These   twelve   Jesus    sent    forth,   and  5 
charged  them,  saying, 

Go  not  into  afiy  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  enter  not 

into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans :    but  go  rather  to  the  6 

lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.     And  as  ye  go,  preach,  7 

saying,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.     Heal  the  8 
sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  devils : 

freely  ye  received,  freely  give.     Get  you  no  gold,  nor  9 

silver,   nor  brass   in   your   purses ;   no  wallet   for  yotcr  10 


5.  The  sphere  of  operation  for  the  Twelve  was  confined  to  the 
land  and  people  of  Israel.  Mark  and  Luke  do  not  notice  the 
restriction,  and  Acts  i.  8  shews  that  the  gospel  afterwards  w^as 
to  be  taken  to  Samaria,  now  excluded,  and  to  '  the  ends  of  the 
land.*  The  gospel  was  not  preached  freely  to  the  Gentiles  until 
the  mission  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  Acts  xiii.  i.  The  Samaritans 
\vere  supposed  to  have  been  descended  from  the  heattien  colonists 
introduced  to  populate  desolated  Israel,  2  Kings  xvii.  24.  They 
accepted  the  Pentateuch  as  their  sacred  authorit}',  but  not  the 
prophetical  writings.  The  cleft  in  politics  and  rehgion  between 
the  two  nations  was  deep  and  wide  :  John  iv.  9  ;  Luke  xvii.  18. 
Matthew  says  nothing  of  the  visit  of  Jesus  to  Samaria,  Luke  ix. 
52;  John  iv.  4,  'must  needs  go  through  Samaria':  though  he 
gives  the  signs  of  an  extended  gospel  in  viii.  11,  xxi.  43,  xxviii. 
19.  It  may  be  noted  that  this  direction  to  avoid  the  Gentiles  was 
given  to  the  Twelve  :  cf.  Gal.  ii.  9,  'they  unto  the  circumcision.' 

6.  the  lost  slieep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  The  moral  and 
social  condition  of  the  nation  was  so  painful  as  to  require  this 
concentration  of  efibrt.  Jesus  circumscribed  his  own  labours  to 
them  :  xv.  24. 

8.  Heal  the  sick :  Luke  ix.  2.  Matthew  gives  the  fullest 
account  of  this  instruction,  and  alone  has  freely  ye  received, 
freely  give.  Some  MSS.  omit  raise  the  dead.  There  is  no  record 
of  any  such  achievement,  and  it  is  supposed,  xvii.  20,  that  the 
apostles  were  unequal  to  the  highest  kind  of  miracle. 

9.  Get  you  no  g-old.  The  coinage  of  Herod  was  chiefly  in 
brass  or  copper.  Gold  and  silver  were  of  Greek  or  Roman 
mintage,  and  scarce,  Acts  iii.  6.  It  was  sometimes  obtained 
from  '  strangers,'  Matt.  xvii.  26.  Money  was  usually  carried  in 
a  folded  belt,  in  '  purses.' 

10.  wallet,  or  A.  V.  '  scrip '  (obsolete  :  Shakespeare)  :  a  bag 
drawn  together  like  a  purse  :  cf.  John  xii.  6. 


i88  ST.  MATTHEW   10.   11-15 

journey,   neither  two  coats,   nor   shoes,    nor   staff:    for 

11  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  food.  And  into  whatso- 
ever city  or  village  ye  shall  enter,  search  out  who  in  it 

1 2  is  worthy ;   and   there  abide  till  ye  go  forth.     And  as 

13  ye  enter  into  the  house,  salute  it.  And  if  the  house 
be  worthy,  let  your  peace  come  upon  it :    but  if  it  be 

14  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  return  to  you.  And  whoso- 
ever shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear  your  words,  as  ye 
go  forth  out  of  that  house  or  that  city,  shake  off  the  dust 

15  of  your  feet.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the 
day  of  judgement,  than  for  that  city. 

neither  two  coats,  i.  e.  one  over  another. 

nor  shoes:  Luke  omits  ;  but  Mark  permits  'sandals/  which 
even  the  most  sordid  wore.  No  staves,  yet  Mark  and  Luke 
allow  'a  staff.'    Here  the  accounts  are  independent  though  related. 

the  labourer.  The  reward  is  sure  to  the  faithful  toiler  : 
Matt,  vi.  33.  Paul,  who  seldom  quotes  gospel  language,  seems 
to  refer  to  this  saying  in  i  Cor.  ix.  14. 

11.  The  prophet  or  evangelist,  on  entering  a  city,  must  search 
out,  be  at  some  pains  to  ascertain,  who  was  likely  to  shew 
sympathy  for  the  new  cause.  At  first  their  work  was  to  be 
chiefly  in  houses. 

12.  The  eastern  *  salaam  '  still  preserves  the  ancient  salutation, 
Peace  :  Luke  x.  5.  If  no  receptivity  were  displayed  they  would 
not  remain  :  their  good  wishes  would  be  as  if  not  spoken.  The 
Greek  words  for  '  salute  '  and  '  peace '  do  not  shew  the  original 
similarity. 

13.  There  would  be  no  blessing  on  the  unfriendly  house,  but 
on  the  speaker. 

14.  shake  off  the  dust  of  your  feet:  a  symbolic  act  (Acts  xiii. 
51)  expressing  entire  separation  between  parties.  The  Jews 
regarded  Gentile  dust  as  a  defilement.  The  construction  of  the 
verse  is  awkward  but  the  meaning  evident. 

15.  It  shall  be  more  tolerable.  The  statement  reappears  in 
Matt.  xi.  22,  24,  and  in  the  address  to  the  Seventy,  Luke  x.  12. 
Meyer  notices  that  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked  is  assumed  in 
such  passages.  The  day  of  judgement  is  frequently  referred  to 
in  the  N.  T.,  as  Matt.  xii.  36  ;  Acts  xvii.  31.  '  More  tolerable'  is 
a  rare  word,  but  is  found  also  in  Luke.  Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins  {Hor. 
Synop.  p.  68)  concludes  that  it  belonged  to  the  Logia. 


ST.  MATTHEW   10.  16-20  189 

Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  i6 
wolves :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless 
as  doves.     But  beware  of  men  :  for  they  will  deliver  you  17 
up  to  councils,  and  in  their  synagogues  they  will  scourge 
you ;   yea  and  before  governors  and  kings  shall  ye  be  18 
brought  for  my  sake,  for  a  testimony  to  them  and  to 
the  Gentiles.     But  when  they  deliver  you   up,   be   not  19 
anxious  how  or  what  ye  shall   speak ;    for   it   shall  be 
given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.     For  it  is  20 
not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that 


16.  I  send  yon  forth  as  sheep.  Luke  x.  3,  'as  lambs.'  There 
is  an  emphasis  on  the  pronoun  '  I.'  They  would  often  be 
surrounded  by  foes — in  the  midst  of  wolves— and  should  be 
wise  as  serpents,  which  were  supposed  to  be  very  sagacious  : 
Gen.  iii.  i  ;  Ps.  Iviii.  4.  Yet,  even  against  their  bitterest  foes,  they 
should  cherish  no  malignity,  but  be  harmless  as  doves  (marg. 
'simple')  ;  Hos.  vii.  11.  Some  have  rendered  the  adjective  'offence- 
less  '  :  'without  horn  or  tooth,  nail  or  spike'  (Bengel),  the 
weapons  which  nature  has  provided  for  animal  defence. 

17.  beware  of  men.  This  prediction  of  their  fate  recurs  in 
Matt.  xxiv.  9  ;  Mark  xiii.  9  ;  Luke  xxi.  12  ;  but  they  were  scarcely 
threatened  during  their  Master's  life.  Their  turn  to  stand  before 
the  Sanhedrin  (v.  22)  would  come  ;  also  to  be  scourged  in  syna- 
gogues, Acts  xxii.  19  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  24. 

before  g-overnors  and  kings.  The  'governors'  were  the 
Roman  Proconsuls,  or  Procurators,  like  Pilate  and  Felix,  before 
whom  many  Christians  had  to  bear  testimony  :  Matt.  viii.  4,  xxiv. 
14  ;  Phil.  i.  13. 

18.  A.  V.  in  '  for  a  testimony  against  them '  was  misleading  : 
the  testimony  was  to  them. 

19.  when  they  deliver  you  up :  perhaps,  as  in  their  Masters 
case,  through  some  betrayer,  Mark  xiii.  11  ;  Luke  xii.  11.  Peter 
and  John  had  to  appear  before  the  '  council,'  Acts  iv.  13  :  also 
Stephen,  Acts  vi.  13. 

20.  They  who  had  received  a  gift  of  the  Spirit  were  prophets, 
Eph.  iv.  II.  The  Montanists  of  the  second  century  claimed 
that  such  inspiration  belonged  to  all  believers  :  i  Cor.  xii.  7. 
The  promise  w^as  especially  for  times  of  peril  and  anxiety. 

the  Spirit  of  your  rather :  of  one  near  and  tender  to 
those  who  seem  to  be  forsaken  ;  in  Mark  and  Luke,  '  the  Holy 
Spirit.' 


iQo  ST.  MATTHEW   10.   21-24 

21  speaketh  in  you.  And  brother  shall  deliver  up  brother 
to  death,  and  the  father  his  child  :  and  children  shall 
rise  up  against  parents,  and  cause  them  to   be  put  to 

22  death.  And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's 
sake :  but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall 

23  be  saved.  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  this  city, 
flee  into  the  next :  for  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall 
not  have  gone  through  the  cities  of  Israel,  till  the  Son 
of  man  be  come. 

24  A  disciple  is  not  above  his  master,  nor  a  servant  above 

21.  This  verse  points  out  the  sad  effect  of  religious  strife.  As 
it  proceeds  natural  affection  is  estranged,  and  '  a  man's  foes  shall 
be  they  of  his  own  household.' 

children  shall  rise  up  against  parents :  an  extreme  per- 
version of  natural  feeling. 

22.  The  disciples  were  to  drink  this  cup  of  bitterness  to  the 
dregs,  for  they  should  be  hated  of  all  men.  Through  their  religious 
narrowness  the  Jews,  Tacitus  says,  became  gctteris  odium,  huntani. 
The  Name  would  become  a  sufficient  pretext  for  the  utmost 
cruelty  :  i  Pet.  iv.  16.  *  The  contest  is  over  the  Name '  (Ter- 
tullian).  The  sentence  '  Ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my 
name's  sake '  is  found  in  Matt.  x.  22,  xxiv.  9  ;  Mark  xiii.  13  ;  Luke 
xxi.  17. 

he  that  endureth  to  the  end:   Mark  xiii.  13  ;  as  Matt.  xxiv. 
9,  13  and  Jas.  i.  12  shew  that  this  refers  to  the  final  judgement. 

23.  Ye  shall  not  have  gone  throug-h.  This  cannot  mean  that 
they  should  not  have  exhausted  the  places  of  refuge  (Weiss),  but 
that  they  should  not  have  completed  their  evangelistic  tour  through 
Israel,  before  '  the  Son  of  man '  should  have  come.  The  state- 
ment is  only  in  Matthew,  but  is  probably  original.  In  the 
apostolical  circles  it  was  believed  that  the  Lord  was  'at  hand'  : 
Matt.  xxiv.  34  ;  Heb.  ix.  28.  At  first  the  apostles  might  think 
that  the  gospel  would  be  confined  to  Israel  until  the  Messiah 
came.  Some  have  explained  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  by 
the  descent  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost,  others  by  the  destruction 
of  the  city.  A  more  recent  interpretation  (Lutteroth,  Bruce)  is, 
*  until  the  gospel  of  humanity  is  preached.'  This  overlooks  the 
fact  that  the  term  must  liave  had  some  meaning  for  the  first 
disciples. 

24.  The  R.  V  has  properly  *a  disciple,'  *a  servant,'  in  this 
verse.  This  dreadful  prospect  of  humiliation,  loss,  and  perse- 
cution would  alarm  those  who  looked  on  Jesus  as  the  '  Son  of 


ST.  MATTHEW   10.  25-29  191 

his  lord.     It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  25 
master,  and  the  servant  as  his  lord.     If  they  have  called 
the   master  of  the  house   Beelzebub,  how  much    more 
shall  they  call  them  of  his  household !     Fear  them  not  26 
therefore :  for  there  is  nothing  covered,  that  shall  not  be 
revealed;    and  hid,  that  shall  not  be  known.     What  I  27 
tell  you  in  the  darkness,  speak  ye  in  the  light  -.  and  what 
ye  hear  in  the  ear,  proclaim  upon  the  housetops.     And  28 
be  not  afraid  of  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  29 

David,'  about  to  restore  his  father's  kingdom.  Already  the  foes 
of  Jesus  were  angry  and  called  him  '  Beelzebub.'  This  was  the 
name  of  the  god  of  flies,  worshipped  in  Ekron  (2  Kings  ii.  i,  16), 
where  he  had  an  oracle.  Pharasaic  ingenuity  connected  this 
name  with  that  of  the  prince  of  devils  :  Matt.  ix.  34,  xii.  24-27  ; 
Mark  iii.  22 ;  Luke  xi.  15.  Another  interpretation  made  him 
*  lord  of  dung'  ;  but  another  more  probable,  *  lord  of  the  house  \* 
Zahn  assumes  that  this  is  the  correct  meaning  in  this  place,  but 
that  Greek  readers  would  fail  to  perceive  the  allusion  which  would 
be  clear  to  readers  of  Aramaic.  Epiphanius  says  that  the  Ebion- 
ites  used  the  saying,  It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  to  he  as  his  master 
in  favour  of  circumcision.  This  shews  that  the  saying  was  in 
their  gospel. 

26.  tliere  is  notSiing-  co^ared.  Mark  iv.  22  connects  this 
utterance  with  the  light  which  could  not  be  hidden  ;  Luke  xii.  2 
with  the  underhanded  proceedings  of  the  Pharisees.  The  inno- 
cence of  the  servants  of  righteousness,  long  obscured  (Luke,  'hath 
been  hidden'),  should  receive  its  final  demonstration. 

28.  The  persecutor  can  only  injure  property  and  bodily  comfort ; 
the  judgement  threatens  real  evil.  God  (not  Satan,  as  Olshausen, 
Slier,  Bruce)  can  cast  into  Gehenna  :  Matt,  v.  29  ;  Jas.  iv.  12  ; 
Clem.  Rom.  ii.  4.  The  doctrine,  quietly  spoken  in  the  catechetical 
school,  must  be  proclaimed  from  the  domes — the  tops  of  the 
houses — whence  public  announcements  were  made. 

29.  God  cares  for  all — small  and  great.    If  there  is  a  Providence 

1  '  Beelzebub '  was  read  in  A.  V.  and  R.  V.,  but  the  latter  in  the  margin 
has  the  better  form,  '  Beelzebul.'  Westcott  and  Hort  (and  Weiss)  prefer 
the  form  '  Beezebul,"  but  this  gives  no  interpretation,  though  found  in 
the  oldest  MSS.  The  expression  '  master  of  the  house,'  verse  24,  shews 
that  '  Baal '  was  part  of  the  word. 


192  ST.  MATTHEW    10.  30-37 

sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  and  not  one  of  them  shall 

30  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father :   but  the  very 

31  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.    Fear  not  therefore ; 

32  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows.  Every  one 
therefore  who  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will 
I   also  confess  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

33  But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

34  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  on  the  earth  ; 

35  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For  I  came  to 
set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the  daughter 
against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter  in  law  against  her 

36  mother  in  law :  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 

37  household.  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than 
me  is  not  worthy  of  me ;    and  he  that  loveth  son  or 


at  all  it  must  be  a  perfect  system.  It  is  immanent,  and  in  this 
sense  views  '  with  equal  eye  a  hero  perish  or  a  sparrow  fall '  ; 
but  it  is  also  transcendent,  for  not  a  sparrow  falleth  '  without  j^our 
Father.' 

30.  tlie  very  hairs  of  your  Ixead  are  all  numbered :  a  part 
of  the  body  which  may  be  lost  without  our  knowledge  :  i  Sam. 
xiv.  45  ;  Luke  xxi.  18  ;  Acts  xxvii.  34.  In  Syriac  the  word  for 
'  hairs,'  mene^  resembles  '  numbered,'  mana. 

31.  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows.  Verse  29 
says  that  two  were  sold  for  a  farthing,  i,  e.  for  an  assarion,  which 
was  one-tenth  of  a  drachma  :  cf.  Luke  xii.  6, 

32.  Every  one  therefore  who  shall  confess  me  :  R-  V-  marg. 
'in  me'  is  an  Aramaic  form  of  expression.  Luke  xii.  8  has, 
instead  of  'before  my  Father/  'before  the  angels  of  God.'  Matt, 
xvii.  27  ;  Luke  ix.  26  combine  the  two  phrases. 

The  antagonisms  which  the  new  ideas  should  excite  are  ex- 
plained yet  further. 

34.  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  :  Luke  xii,  49,  *  fire.' 
The  result  of  his  mission  appears  as  the  object  :  '  I  came  to  send 
...  a  sword  ' ;  not '  on  earth,'  A.  V.,  but  '  on  the  earth,'  or  '  land 
of  Israel.' 

35.  to  set  a  man  at  variance :  the  word  only  here  :  cf.  Mic. 
vii.  6;  Ps.  xii.  9;  John  xiii.  18.  The  marg.  'cast'  gives  a 
Hebraistic  tinge  to  the  expression. 


ST.  MATTHEW   10.  3S-42  193 

daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.     And  he  38 
that  doth  not  take  his  cross  and  follow  after  me,  is  not 
worthy  of  me.     He  that  findeth  his  life   shall  lose  it ;  39 
and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it. 

He    that    receiveth    you  receiveth    me,   and    he    that  40 
receiveth    me    receiveth   him    that    sent    me.      He   that  41 
receiveth  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  4  2 
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. 


38.  lie  tliat  dotli  not  take  his  cross.  This  is  the  first  reference 
to  the  instrument  by  which  Jesus  should  die  :  cf.  Matt.  xvi.  24  ; 
Mark  viii.  34  ;  Luke  ix.  23.  The  reference  at  this  earl}-  period  to 
a  matter  which  would  be  far  from  the  disciples'  thought  is  very- 
singular.  It  was  only  towards  the  end  of  his  career  that  Jesus 
began  to  tell  his  disciples  that  he  should  be  given  over  to  the 
Gentiles  to  be  crucified.  Meyer  thinks  it  ma}^  be  proleptic  :  as 
Matthew  collects  sajnngs  without  much  regard  to  chronological 
relations,  this  may  be.  Dr.  Cheyne  [Encycl.  Bibl.  i.  961)  suggests 
that  it  was  some  saying  of  Jesus  modified  by  a  later  generation. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  a  proverbial  saying,  though 
criminals  bore  their  own  cross  ;  John  xix.  17  :  Cicero,  de  Divin. 
i.  26  :  furcatn  ferens  ductus  est. 

39.  He  that  findeth  his  life  :  or  '  found '  it,  marg.  referring  to 
the  future  judgement  :  cf.  Matt.  xvi.  25. 

40.  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me  comes  in  connexion 
with  the  feet-washing,  John  xiii.  20. 

41.  In  the  name  of  a  prophet.  Every  disciple  might  be  a 
prophet,  Eph.  ii.  20,  iv.  11,  and  for  such  this  discourse  was 
intended.  Euthj^m.  Zigabenus  remarks  :  '  In  saying  this,  he 
opened  the  houses  of  believers  to  the  disciples.'  Didache,  xi.  4, 
'  Let  every  one  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  be  re- 
ceived.' 

42.  these  little  ones.  The  reference  to  children  shews  that  the 
true  connexion  is  to  be  found  in  Matt,  xviii.  6. 

a  cnp  of  cold  water  in   a  dry  season  would  be  the   most 
valuable  of  gifts. 


194  ST.  MATTHEW  11.  1-4 

11  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  made  an  end  of 
commanding  his  twelve  disciples,  he  departed  thence  to 
teach  and  preach  in  their  cities. 

2  Now  when  John  heard  in  the  prison  the  works  of  the 

3  Christ,  he  sent  by  his  disciples,  and  said  unto  him,  Art 

4  thou  he  that  cometh,   or  look  we  for  another  ?     And 

xi.  I.  A  formula  of  transition  to  another  section  of  the  gospel : 
see  vii.  28. 

This  verse  concludes  the  preceding  narrative.  Mark  vi.  12-13  > 
Luke  ix.  6,  refer  to  the  departure  of  the  disciples  on  their  mission, 
while  Jesus  continues  his  own  work  in  their  cities,  i.e.  in 
Galilee. 

xi.  2-19.  Johti'stnessage  of  inquiry.  The  reply,  4-6.  A  discourse 
upon  the  personal  and  official  greatness  of  the  Baptist,  7-19. 

2.  The  story  of  John's  embassy  is  not  in  Mark,  but  is  in  Luke 
vii.  18-23. 

beard  in  tlie  prison,  his  arrest  having  been  already  men- 
tioned, iv.  12. 

the  works  of  the  Christ,  everywhere  spoken  of,  had  reached 
his  solitary  dungeon. 

He  sent  the  message  by  his  disciples,  the  A.  V.  had  *  two ' : 
cf  John  i.  35. 

3.  Art  thou  he  that  cometh?  'The  coming  one'  was  a 
common  description  of  the  Messiah  :  Rev.  i.  4-7  ;  cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  26. 

4.  tell  John  the  thing's.  The  miracles  alluded  to  recall  pro- 
phecy, as  Isa.  XXXV.  5,  Ixi.  i. 

5.  the  poor  have  good  tiding-s  :  cf.  Matt.  v.  3,  ix.  36  ;  Heb.  iv. 
2.  Some  would  translate,  '  the  poor  preach.'  Luke  vii.  21 
implies  that  some  were  healed  there  and  then,  and  the  miracle  at 
Nain  comes  in  just  before.  Why  did  John  send  this  message  ? 
The  older  authorities  (with  Bengel,  Stier,  &c.)  said  that  John's 
disciples  were  in  doubt,  especially  about  their  present  duty  of 
transferring  their  allegiance  to  Jesus.  On  their  account  John 
might  wish  for  a  more  decided  manifestation  of  his  authority. 
Another  view  is  that  John,  never  quite  certain  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah,  was  beginning  to  believe  (Keim,Weizsacker,  Holtzmann). 
But  Matt.  iii.  11  and  other  accounts  of  John's  early  witness  to 
Jesus  cannot  be  so  disposed  of.  The  more  probable  view  is  that 
John,  dejected  by  his  imprisonment,  needed  encouragement.  He 
had  expected  one  who  should  suppress  such  tyrants  as  Herod, 
and  bring  the  fire  of  judgement  on  sinners.  The  report  of  Jesus 
was  of  healing  and  mercy  only,  but  John  is  reminded  that  the 
prophetic  word  is  being  confirmed. 


ST.  MATTHEW   11.  5-11  195 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Go  your  way  and 
tell  John  the  things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see :   the   5 
blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers 
are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised 
up,  and  the  poor  have  good  tidings  preached  to  them. 
And  blessed  is  he.  whosoever  shall  find  none  occasion    6 
of  stumbling   in    me.      And  as   these   went  their  way,    7 
Jesus  began  to  say  unto  the  multitudes  concerning  John, 
What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  to  behold  ?  a  reed 
shaken  with  the  wind  ?   But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?   8 
a  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment}    Behold^  they  that  wear 
soft  rairdent  are  in  kings'  houses.     But  wherefore  went    9 
ye  out?  to  see  a  prophet?     Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  and 
much  more  than  a  prophet.     This  is  he,  of  whom  it  is  i3 
written, 

Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 

Who  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Among  them  that  are  born   of  n 
women  there  hath  not  arisen  a  greater  than  John  the 

*I.  In  verses  7-19  Jesus  explains  more  fully  what  John's  mission 
and  character  were  (not  in  Mark,  but  verbally  in  Luke).  John 
had  seemed  to  waver,  but  was  he  a  reed  shaken  with  the  wind? 
Those  who  had  heard  him  on  the  Jordan  did  not  think  so.  Was 
he  now  subdued  by  hardship  ?  He  who  was  content  with  a 
leathern  girdle  would  not  care  for  'soft  raiment,'  or  'to  live 
delicately,'  so  that  the  compulsory  self-denial  of  a  prison  had  not 
exhausted  his  faith. 

9,  10.  The  people  believed  him  to  be  'a  prophet,'  such  as  was 
expected  :  Matt.  xiv.  5  ;  John  i.  25.  But  Jesus  sees  in  him  iiiore 
than  a  prophet,  i.  e.  the  messeng-er  or  '  angel  of  the  Lord '  :  Mai. 
iii.  I  ;  Mark.  i.  2  ;  Luke  vii.  27  ;  John  i.  6  ;  cf.  Matt.  xvii.  10. 

thy  way  hafore  thee.  The  O.  T.  has  '  before  me,'  but  the 
second  person  appears  in  each  Synoptic  Gospel.  This  proves  that 
the  change  was  in  the  source.  Weiss  suggests  that  the  word  in 
the  LXX  for  'prepare'  is  'look  upon,' and  this  misled  the  Aramaic 
author  ;  but  when  the  writer  went  back  to  the  Hebrew,  why  did 
he  not  accept  the  first  person  of  the  original  ? 

11.  there  hath  not  arisen  a  grreater.     He  who  recognized 

O    2 


196  ST.  MATTHEW  11.  12-14 

Baptist :   yet  he  that  is  but  little   in   the  kingdom  of 

12  heaven  is  greater  than  he.     And  from  the  days  of  John 
the  Baptist  until  now  the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth 

13  violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by  force.     For  all 
•  4  the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until  John.     And 

if  ye  are  willing  to  receive  //,  this  is  Elijah,  which  is  to 

the  approach  of  the  kingdom  when  it  was  not  perceived  by  others 
must  have  his  place  among  the  Alpine  summits  of  human  dignity. 
Yet  they  that  are  born  of  women  are  inferior  to  them  that  are 
born  of  the  Spirit.  '  The  smallest  of  the  truly  great  is  greater  than 
the  greatest  of  the  little  '  (Maldonatus). 

12.  And  from  the  days  of  Johntb,e  Baptist.  This  parabolical 
saying  (verses  12-15,  omitted  by  Mark)  is  placed  by  Luke  xvi.  16 
in  an  address  to  the  Pharisees.  Matthew  collects  in  this  place 
the  saying  relating  to  John. 

tlie  king'dom  of  heaven,  suffereth  violence.  This  saying 
has  been  much  discussed.  i.  Does  it  mean  that  the  enemies  of 
the  kingdom  violently  oppose  it  ?  Luke's  reference  to  those  who 
are  entering  forbids  that  view.  ii.  Were  John  and  Jesus  the 
violent  ones  (Lange)  ;  or  does  the  kingdom  come  by  force 
(Bengel)  ?  Again,  the  negative  seems  to  be  required  by  Luke  : 
'  every  man  entereth  violently.'  The  publicans  and  sinners  long 
shut  out  now  rushed  in.  The  old  has  past,  and  the  new  era  is 
come.  The  doors  have  but  just  been  opened,  but  the  claimants 
are  violent  to  enter.  Dr.  Resch  (^Paralleltexie,  iii  ;  Die  Logia 
Jesu,  p.  123)  supposes  that  the  original  word  was  the  Heb.  for 
'  break  through.'  This  word  is  found  in  2  Chron.  xxxi.  5  for 
'spreading  abroad,'  and  the  Syriac  Matt.  i.  19  has  a  corresponding 
word,  while  Luke  xvi.  16  has  '  the  gospel  is  preached.'  Prof. 
Marshall  iJZritical  Review^  Jan.  1896)  thinks  that  the  difficulty  is 
best  explained  from  the  Aramaic,  and  that  we  should  read  : 
*  The  kingdom  of  God  is  violently  broken  into, 
The  law-breakers  seize  it  by  force.' 
This  gives  a  good  interpretation.  The  Pharisees  are  admonished 
that  the  old  restrictions  are  broken  down,  and  the  outcasts  have 
come  into  their  inheritance  :  cf.  Irenaeus,  iv.  37,  7  ;  Clem.  Alex. 
Strom,  v.  3. 

13.  all  the  prophets  and  the  law  (Luke  omits).  The  author, 
like  St.  Paul,  i  Cor.  xiv.  i,  thinks  highly  of  the  prophetic 
office. 

14.  this  is  Elijah.  Mai.  iv.  5  ;  Matt.  xvii.  12  ;  John  i.  21 
seems  to  contradict,  but  Luke  i.  17  explains:  'in  the  spirit  and 
power  of  Elijah.' 


ST.  MATTHEW   11.  15-21  197 

come.     He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.     But  15, 16 
whereunto  shall  I  liken  this  generation  ?     It  is  like  unto 
children  sitting  in  the  marketplaces,  which  call  unto  their 
fellows,  and  say,  We  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  did   not  17 
dance;   we  wailed,  and  ye  did  not  mourn.     For  John  18 
came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they  say,  He  hath 
a  devil.     The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  19 
and  they  say,  Behold,  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  wine- 
bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners  !     And  wisdom 
is  justified  by  her  works. 

Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein  most  of  20 
his  mighty  works  were  done,  because  they  repented  not. 
Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin !    woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida !  21 


16.  It  is  like  unto  cMldren.  The  Jewish  authorities  did  not 
approve  either  of  John  or  of  Jesus. 

this  g-eneration  is  in  Luke  '  Pharisees  and  lawyers.'  Jesus 
compares  them  to  children  in  the  market-places  playing  at  mock 
marriages  and  funerals,  who  call  to  *  their  fellows'  (Luke  :  *one  to 
another').  Perhaps  some  incident  of  the  kind  had  just  happened. 
The  Jews  complained  of  John  because  he  did  not  dance  with  the 
frivolous  ;  of  Jesus  because  he  did  not  lament  with  the  pessimistic. 
Jesus  was  not  an  ascetic  Essene,  for  he  ate  and  drank  with  his 
friends  ;  John  was  too  rigorous  in  his  abstemiousness. 

19.  ■VTJ-sdom  is  justified  by  lier  works.  The  change  (R.  V.) 
from  *  children '  to  '  w^orks '  is  made  partly  on  the  principle  that 
a  divergent  reading  (cf.  Luke  vii.  35)  has  its  own  claim.  Weiss's 
conjecture  that  Matthew  changed  the  words  because  *  children  * 
was  difficult  of  interpretation  is  not  supported.  Resch  says  that 
we  should  read  'shall  be  justified/  because  the  original,  minus 
vowel  points,  might  so  mean.  This  is  possible,  but  the  Greek  text 
as  a  gnomic  aorist  has  a  good  meaning  :  '  is  usually  justified.'  On 
*  Wisdom  '  see  Prov.  viii.  ix.  The  *  children  of  wisdom  '  would  be 
the  publicans  and  sinners,  or  the  true  disciples  :  not  Jesus  and 
the  Apostles  (Jerome)  ;  nor,  in  irony,  the  Jews. 

xi.  20-24.    Reproof  of  Chorazin  and  Capernaum  for  their  unbelief. 

Luke  X.  12-16  connects  these  'woes'  (Matt.  xi.  20-24)  with 
the  mission  of  the  Seventy.  Two  places  seem  to  have  had  the  name 
'  Bethsaida '  =  '  House  of  the  fisher.'  One  was  Bethsaitla-Julias, 
north-east  of  the  lake,  near  the  desert  place  where  the  people 


198  ST.  MATTHEW   11.  22-26 

for  if  the  mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and 
Sidon  which  were  done  in  you,  they  would  have  repented 

22  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  Howbeit  I  say  unto 
you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  in 

23  the  day  of  judgement,  than  for  you.  And  thou,  Caper- 
naum, shalt  thou  be  exalted  unto  heaven  ?  thou  shalt  go 
down  unto  Hades :  for  if  the  mighty  works  had  been 
done  in  Sodom  which  were  done  in  thee,  it  would  have 

24  remained  until  this  day.  Howbeit  I  say  unto  you,  that 
it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the 
day  of  judgement,  than  for  thee. 

25  At  that  season  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank  thee, 
O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  didst 
hide  these  things  from  the  wise  and  understanding,  and 

26  didst  reveal   them  unto  babes  :    yea,  Father,  for  so  it 

were  fed,  Lukeix.  10;  Markvi.  32.  The  other  was  the  birthplace 
of  Andrew  and  Peter,  north-west  of  the  lake,  Matt.  vi.  45  ;  John 
vi.  17.  There  is  no  record  of  miracles  in  that  place,  but  the  people 
had  seen  the  works  of  Jesus  elsewhere  :  Matt.  xiv.  13.  Chorazin 
(here  and  Luke  x.  13  only)  was  near  to  Bethsaida.  Through 
their  blindness  to  a  great  spiritual  opportunity  these  places  in- 
curred a  worse  fate  than  Tyre  and  Sidon,  of  the  sinfulness  of  which 
the  prophets  had  often  spoken  :  e.  g.  Isa.  xxiii  ;  Ezek.  xxviii. 
Like  Nineveh  f Jonah  iii.  5),  these  places  would  have  put  on 
'  sackcloth  and  ashes '  if  they  had  heard  John  and  Jesus. 

23.  And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  he  exalted?  like 
Babylon,  Isa.  xiv.  13.  Luke  has  'be  brought  down'  for  'go  down 
unto  Hades,'  a  difference  perhaps  in  two  Aramaic  verbal  forms. 
The  readings  vary :  *  being  exalted,'  '  art  exalted,'  '  shalt  thou 
be  exalted  ? ' 

xi.  25-30.  Jesus  thanks  God.  His  message  t's  revealed  to  the 
simple— io  those  who  know  the  Father  through  the  Son  ;  they  are 
invited  to  come  to  him. 

25.  Luke  X.  21  connects  this  saying  also  with  the  return  of  the 
Seventy.    I  thank  thee:    marg.  'praise  '  (Rom.  xiv,  11,  'confess'). 
'  hast  hid,'  A.  V. ;  didst  hide,   R.  V.     The  obscuration  hap- 
pened then,  but  it  may  not  permanently  remain  on  the  same  class. 
For  '  prudent,'  A.  V.,  the  R.  V.  has  understanding,  as  Acts 
xiii.  7.     The  change  of  tenses  should  be  noticed. 


ST.  MATTHEW   11.  27— 12.  2  199 

was  well-pleasing  in  thy  sight.     All  things   have   been  27 
delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father :  and  no  one  knoweth 
the  Son,  save  the  Father ;   neither  doth  any  know  the 
Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son 
willeth  to  reveal  hi7n.     Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  28 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and   I  will  give  you  rest.     Take  29 
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.         30 
At  that  season  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day  through  12 
the  cornfields ;  and  his  disciples  were  an  hungred,  and 
began   to   pluck   ears  of  corn,  and   to   eat.      But   the    2 

26.  it  was  well-pleasing-,  as  Phil.  ii.  13  ;   cf.  i  Cor.  i.  21. 

27.  All   things  have   been  delivered:    cf.   Matt,    xxviii.    18. 

*  No  one  knoweth  who  the  Son  is,  save  the  Father '  is  in  Luke 
X.  22  an  oral  or  scriptorial  variation. 

knoweth,  i.  e,  knows  well,  or  accurately.  The  revelation  of 
the  'Son  '  to  Peter  came  from  the  '  Father,'  Matt.  xvi.  17  :  so  to 
Paul,  Gal.  i.  15  ;  cf.  i  John  v.  i.  An  early  reading  on  this  passage 
(see  Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  Ixiii.  ;  Clem.  Horn.  xvii.  4 ;  Tertull. 
Adv.  Prax.  xxvi)  inverts  the  order  of  the  clauses  in  this  verse. 

28.  Come  unto  me.  This  wonderful  saying  is  only  found  in 
Matthew, 

29.  On  meek  and  lowly  cf.  2  Cor.  x.  i,  '  the  meekness  and 
gentleness  of  Christ.' 

30.  my  burden  is  lig-ht.  Matt,  xxiii.  4  speaks  of  the  '  heavy 
burdens  '  imposed  by  the  authorities  of  legalism.  In  the  O.  T., 
language  analogous  to  that  in  the  text  is  found  in  Isa.  xiv.  3, 
xxviii.  12  ;  Jer.  vi.  i6,  xxxi.  25  :  but  the  most  remarkable  resem- 
blances are  found  in  the  Apocrypha.     Wisd.  of  Sir.  vi.  25,  26  : 

*  Put  thy  shoulder  under  her.'  *  Come  unto  her  with  all  th^^  soul '  ; 
(li.  26,  27  '  Put  thy  neck  under  the  3'oke.  I  laboured  but  a  little, 
and  found  for  myself  much  rest.' 

xii.  1-8.  Controversy  on  the  sabbath.  The  cornfields.  How 
David  and  the  priests  profaned  the  sabbath. 

1.  At  that  season.  Luke  :  *  on  a  sabbath.*  Mark  ii.  23-28  and 
Luke  vi.  1-5  coincide  so  fully  with  Matt,  verses  1-8  that  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  they  proceed  from  one  source.  The  verb  '  to 
pluck'  (Matt.),  'plucking'  (Mark),  'plucked'  (^Luke),  shews  '  the 
maximum  of  identity  and  variation.' 

2.  The  Pharisees  complained  as  soon  as  the  disciples  began  to 


200  ST.  MATTHEW   12.  3-8 

Pharisees,  when  they  saw  it,  said  unto  him,  Behold, 
thy  disciples  do  that  which  it  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon 

3  the  sabbath.  But  he  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read 
what  David  did,  when  he  was  an  hungred,  and  they  that 

4  were  with  him ;  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God, 
and  did  eat  the  shewbread,  which  it  was  not  lawful  for 
him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  that  were  with  him,  but 

5  only  for  the  priests  ?  Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law, 
how  that  on  the  sabbath  day  the  priests  in  the  temple 

6  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are  guiltless  ?    But  I  say  unto 

7  you,  that  one  greater  than  the  temple  is  here.  But  if 
ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and 
not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless. 

8  For  the  Son  of  man  is  lord  of  the  sabbath. 

pliiok  ears  of  corn.  The  law  (Deut.  xxiii,  25)  allowed  wayfarers 
to  take  the  corn  into  their  hands,  but  a  Pharisaic  prohibition  con- 
demned the  rubbing. 

3.  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did  ?  which  was  probably  on 
the  sabbath,  i  Sam.  xxi.  1-7.  It  was  Ahimelech  who  gave  five 
loaves  of  the  shewbread  to  David's  company  :  Mark  ii.  26  has 
Abiathar,  his  son. 

4.  the  shewbread.  By  the  law  (Exod.  xxv.  30  ;  Lev.  xxiv.  6-8) 
twelve  loaves  in  two  heaps  were  to  be  placed  on  a  dish  of  gold. 
The  practice  was  ancient :  most  of  the  ethnic  religions  required 
that  offerings  of  food  should  be  presented  in  sacred  places. 

5.  the  priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  sabbath.  The 
demands  of  mercy  were  to  be  regarded  before  those  of  ritual. 
Our  word  '■  profane'  is  derived  from  one  which  signifies  '  far  from 
the  temple  '  ;  but  Matthew's  word  meant  '  to  trample  down '  : 
cf.  Acts  xxiv.  6. 

6.  one  greater  than  the  tenipie.  If  service  for  the  temple 
was  permitted  on  the  sabbath,  much  more  the  service  of  the 
Kingdom.  In  later  times  the  Jews  regarded  the  law  as  holier  than 
the  temple  they  had  lost. 

7.  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice:  Hos.  vi.  6  quoted  Matt, 
ix.  13.     Jesus  defends  himself  by  both  law  and  prophets. 

8.  For  the  Son  of  man  is  lord  of  the  sabbath.  Mark  ii.  27 
explains  :  '  the  sabbath  was  made  for  man.'  Hence  the  Gentile 
Christians  did  not  observe  the  seventh  day  (Rom.  xiv.  6 ;  Gal.  iii. 
10)  ;  they  had  their  principal  worship  on  the  first,  or  '  the  Lord's 
day* :  Acts  xx.  7  ;  Rev.  i.  10. 


ST.  MATTHEW   12.  9-15  201 

And  he  departed  thence,  and  went  into  their  syna-   9 
gogue :    and   behold,  a  man  having  a  withered  hand.  10 
And  they  asked   him,  saying,  Is  it  lawful  to  heal   on 
the  sabbath  day?    that  they  might  accuse   him.     And  11 
he  said  unto  them,  What  man  shall  there  be  of  you, 
that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  this  fall  into  a  pit  on 
the  sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it 
out?     How  much  then   is  a  man  of  more  value  than  12 
a  sheep !     Wherefore    it  is   lawful  to  do  good  on  the 
sabbath  day.     Then  saith  he  to  the  man,  Stretch  forth  13 
thy  hand.    And  he  stretched  it  forth ;  and  it  was  restored 
whole,  as  the  other.     But  the  Pharisees  went  out,  and  14 
took  counsel  against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him. 
And   Jesus   perceiving   //  withdrew  from  thence :    and  i5 

xii.  9-21.  A  second  dispute  about  the  sabbath.  The  cure  of  the 
withered  hand.  A  man  more  than  a  sheep.  Prophetic  reason 
for  silence  regarding  his  mission. 

9.  The  case  introduced  in  verses  9-13  (cf.  Mark.  iii.  1-6  ;  Luke 
vi.  6-1 1 )  bears  on  the  sabbath  question. 

10.  Matthew  says  that  the  Pharisees  asked  Jesus  whether 
heahng  on  the  sabbath  day  was  lawful.  The  others  say  they 
'  watched '  him.  Perhaps  the  partial  interrogation  in  Mark 
*  whether  he  would  '  brought  '  asked  '  into  Matthew's  account. 
If  the  man's  hand  had  been  long  useless,  a  day  would  not  have 
made  much  difference.  Jerome  reports  from  the  Gospel  of  the 
Hebrev^-s  that  the  man  was  a  mason,  who  would  rather  work  than 
beg.  The  Pharisees  were  anxious  to  find  ground  tliat  tliey  might 
accuse  him  in  the  Council  which  was  about  to  be  held. 

11.  one  sheep  corresponds  to  the  '  one  hand' ;  so  the  R.  V.  has 
*if  this  fall  into  a  pit.'  Luke  xiii.  15,  xiv.  1-5  connect  this  parable 
of  the  sheep  with  a  case  of  dropsy,  which  also  was  a  sabbath  cure. 
Weiss  and  Bruce  think  that  Matthew  combines  diflferent  narra- 
tives ;  but  the  latter  date  of  the  event  in  Luke  would  better  suit 
the  fact  of  the  conspiracy  of  the  officials. 

13,  14.  All  the  Synoptists  report  our  Lord's  words,  Stretch 
forth  thy  hand  ;  after  which  the  Pharisees  *  went  out  .  .  .  with  the 
Herodians  '  (Mark  iii.  6). 

15.  The  reason  for  which  Jesus  desired  no  proclamation  of  his 
Messiahship  is  supplied  from  prophecy  :  Isa.  xlii.  1-4'.    Matthew 

^  In  Mark  iii.  12  the  injunction  is  to  the  demons,  here  to  the  people. 


202  ST.  MATTHEW   12.  16-23 

16  many  followed  him ;  and  he  healed  them  all,  and  charged 

17  them  that  they  should  not  make  him  known :  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah  the 
prophet,  saying, 

18  Behold,  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen ; 
My  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased : 
I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  him. 

And  he  shall  declare  judgement  to  the  Gentiles. 

19  He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud; 

Neither  shall  any  one  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 

20  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break, 
And  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench, 
Till  he  send  forth  judgement  unto  victory. 

21  And  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope. 

22  Then  was  brought  unto  him  one  possessed  with  a  devil, 
blind  and  dumb  :  and  he  healed  him,  insomuch  that  the 

23  dumb  man  spake  and  saw.     And  all  the  multitudes  were 


follows  the  Hebrew  mostly.  He  has  my  servant  (verse  18)  for 
'Jacob — Israel'  in  the  Greek;  yet  in  verse  21  follows  the  Greek, 
'in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust,'  rather  than  the  Hebrew, 
'  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law.'  Whether  '  the  servant  of 
Jehovah '  in  the  ancient  prophecy  was  Cyrus,  or  Israel  (LXX), 
or  the  Messianic  King,  the  evangelist  does  not  stay  to  consider. 
Captive  Israel  was  '  a  bruised  reed  '  and  as  '  smoking  flax.'  The 
guide  of  the  people  was  to  be  great  in  the  gentleness  of  God : 
lie  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud  (verse  19). 

xii.  22-37.  The  blind  and  dtttnb  demoniac.  The  Pharisaic  theory 
of  the  miracles.  Is  Satan  divided  ?  The  sin  against  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  evil  heart  the  source  of  evil-speaking.  Men  judged 
by  their  words. 

22.  Then  was  broug-ht  .  .  .  one  possessed.  Luke  xi.  14-26 
records  the  miracle  and  the  discourse,  but  does  not  say  that  the 
man  was  blind.  Mark  iii.  20-30  has  the  discourse  only,  as 
verses  23-37  in  Matthew.  A  noticeable  variation  also  is  'sons  of 
men,'  Mark,  verse  28,  for  '  Son  of  man,'  Matt,  verse  32.  Matt, 
ix.  32  had  already  furnished  a  condensed  account  of  the  miracle 
and  the  following  address.     Meyer- Weiss  find  some  differences. 


ST.  MATTHEW   12.  24-28  203 

amazed,  and  said,  Is  this  the  son  of  David  ?     But  when  24 
the  Pharisees  heard  it,  they  said,  This  man  doth  not 
cast  out  devils,  but  by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  devils. 
And  knowing  their  thoughts  he  said  unto  them,  Every  25 
kingdom  divided  against  itself  is  brought  to  desolation ; 
and  every  city  or  house  divided  against  itself  shall  not 
stand :    and   if  Satan  casteth  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  26 
against   himself;    how  then    shall  his  kingdom  stand? 
And  if  I  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom  do  27 
your  sons  cast  them  out?    therefore  shall  they  be  your 
judges.     But  if  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils,  28 


23.  Is  this  the  son  of  David  ?  or  *  surely,  this  is  not.'  They 
were  beginning  to  believe,  but  wished  for  the  assent  of  their 
teachers  5  cf.  John  iv.  29,  *  Can  this  be  the  Christ  ? ' 

24.  when  tlie  Pharisees  heard  it.  Knowing  what  such  an 
exclamation  might  possibly  mean,  they  objected.  He  was  no 
Messiah,  but  a  messenger  of  Satan.  He  cast  out  devils  by 
Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  devils. 

25.  And  knowing"  their  thong-hts,  i.  e.  perceiving  the  direction 
in  which  tlieir  minds  were  moving. 

he  said  .  .  .  ,  Every  king-dom  divided  against  itself  is 
brought  to  desolation.  Division  and  party  jealousy  had  wrought 
great  havoc  in  later  Jewish  history. 

26.  if  Satan  casteth  out  Satan.  One  demon  does  not  cast 
another  out ;  Satan  does  not  risk  his  interests  by  division.  It  is 
discord  that  brings  ruin  to  states.  The  forces  of  evil  also  are 
defeated  when  divided. 

27.  by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out?  This  is  not  a 
reference  to  the  miraculous  agency  of  the  disciples,  as  some  have 
thought  (Jerome,  Cyril,  and  others).  The  Pharisees  believed  in 
and  practised  exorcism  (Josephus,  Ant.  viii.  2-5),  in  which  they 
used  magic  herbs,  and  formulae  of  incantation  said  to  have  been 
composed  by  Solomon  ;  but  even  this  gave  no  assurance  that  they 
were  not  working  by  means  of  some  agency  of  a  spiritual  kind. 
Jewish  exorcists  are  mentioned  in  Acts  xix.  13,  Luke  ix.  49  refers 
to  one  who  practised  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Justin  Martyr  says 
that  the  Jews  exorcised  in  the  names  of  the  Patriarchs.  Exorcists 
are  still  ordained  in  the  Romish  Church  after  a  form  which  was 
used  as  early  as  the  fifth  century. 

28.  by  the  Spirit  of  God.     Luke,  '  by  the  finger  of  God '  ;  cf. 


204  ST.  MATTHEW   12.  29-32 

29  then  is  the  kingdom  of  God  come  upon  you.  Or  how 
can  one  enter  into  the  house  of  the  strong  man^  and 
spoil   his  goods,  except  he  first  bind  the  strong  man} 

30  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house.  He  that  is  not  with 
me  is  against  me;  and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me 

31  scattereth.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Every  sin  and 
blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men;    but  the  blas- 

32  phemy  against  the  Spirit  shall  not   be  forgiven.     And 


Exod.  viii.  19.     If  the  miracles  were  wrought  by  heavenly  power, 
the  kingdom  had  come  upon  them  sooner  than  they  had  expected. 

29.  first  bind  tlie  strong  man.  The  LXX  had  read  in  Isa. 
xhx.  24,  25  '  If  any  one  shall  capture  the  giant,  he  shall  seize  his 
booty.'  The  Pharisees  confessed  their  own  inabiUty  to  contend 
v/ith  physical  evil,  John  ix.  3.  The  spiritual  victory  of  Jesus  in 
the  wilderness  was  a  presage  of  his  subjugation  of  every  kind  of 
evil.  The  parable  throws  light  on  the  history  of  human  progress: 
'  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed.' 

30.  He  th.at  is  not  with.  m.e.  The  connexion  is  not  clear  ; 
but  Mark  ix.  40  and  Luke  ix.  50  shew  that  it  relates  to  the 
exorcists,  only  putting  it  in  another  way  :  'he  that  is  not  against 
us  is  for  us.' 

31.  Every  sin  and  blasphemy.  Not  'AH  manner  of  sin' 
(A.  v.).  Therefore  connects  with  the  preceding  subject.  They 
who  attributed  the  work  of  Jesus  to  the  evil  spirit  committed  the 
sin,  because  they  said,  '  He  hath  an  unclean  spirit '  (Mark).  To 
such  Jesus  said,  John  viii.  21,  'Ye  shall  die  in  your  sin.'  Blas- 
phemy 'against  the  Son  of  man'  might  be  forgiven.  Saul  of 
Tarsus  had  been  guilty  of  it,  i  Tim.  i.  13  ;  Acts  xxvi.  11  ;  it  had 
occurred  in  Corinth,  Acts  xviii.  6,  and  at  the  ci-ucifixion,  Matt, 
xxvii.  39 ;  cf.  i  Tim.  vi.  i  ;  Jas.  ii.  7.  Men  who  failed  to  under- 
stand Jesus  might  speak  against  him  :  those  who  declared  him 
to  be  a  minister  of  Satan  professed  to  understand  him ;  cf. 
John  ix.  41, 

32.  it  shall  not  be  forgiven.  Mark  iii.  29,  'hath  never  forgive- 
ness, but  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin';   i  John  v.  16. 

neither  in  this  world  (age).  The  Jews  spoke  of  the 
Messianic  period  as  '  the  world  to  come '  (Heb.  ii.  5)  :  it  followed 
their  own  age,  or  'this  world.'  The  Son  of  man  had  'power  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins,'  but  not  this  offence ;  under  the  coming 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit  it  could  not  be  remitted,  because  the 
'Spirit'  itself  was  maligned.  The  R.  V.  omits  'holy,'  found  in 
Mark  iii.  28  ;    Luke  xii.  10.     Meyer-Weiss  contend  that  it  refers 


ST.  MATTHEW  12.  33-39  205 

whosoever  shall  speak  a  word  against  the  Son  of  man, 
it   shall    be    forgiven  him ;    but  whosoever  shall  speak 
against  the   Holy  Spirit,  it  shall   not  be  forgiven  him, 
neither   in   this  world,  nor  in   that  which   is   to   come. 
Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  its  fruit  good ;  or  make  33 
the  tree  corrupt,  and  its  fruit  corrupt :    for  the  tree  is 
known  by  its  fruit.     Ye  offspring  of  vipers,  how  can  ye,  34 
being  evil,  speak  good  things  ?  for  out  of  the  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.     The  good  man  out  35 
of  his  good  treasure   bringeth  forth  good  things :    and 
the  evil  man  out  of  his  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil 
things.     And  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that  36 
men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the 
day  of  judgement.     For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justi-  37 
fied,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned. 

Then  certain  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  answered  38 
him,  saying.  Master,  we  would   see  a  sign  from  thee. 
But   he   answered   and   said   unto   them,  An  evil  and  39 
adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign;   and  there 

to  the  age  after  judgement,  to  which  Alford  objects.  Certainly 
the  whole  deliverance  implies  that  the  Messiah  gave  no  promise 
of  pardon  to  this  sin. 

33.  make  tlie  tree  g-ood.     Utterances  reveal  character. 

34.  out  of  the  abundance  of  tlie  heart  the  mouth  speaketh. 
Every  heart  is  full  of  good  or  evil,  or  both,  and  easily  overflows. 

36.  every  idle  woird,  i.e.  useless.  Cf.  Matt.  xx.  3;  Jas. 
ii.  20 ;  Tit.  i.  12  ;  2  Pet.  i.  8.  '  Hearts  are  broken  by  want  of 
thought  as  well  as  want  of  heart.' 

37.  words  are  among  '  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,'  of  which 
account  must  be  given,  2  Cor.  v.  10 ;  Matt.  x.  15, 

xii.  38-45.  Request  for  a  sign.  The  sign  of  Jonah,  The  queen 
of  Sheba  and  Solomon.  When  the  evil  spirit  returns,  the  last 
state  is  worse  than  the  first. 

38.  Verses  38-41  contain  a  reference  to  Jonah  which  resembles 
Luke  xi.  16-29.  Matt,  xvi,  4  agrees  best  with  Mark  viii.  ii,  but 
Mark  does  not  mention  Jonah. 

39.  An  evil  and  adulterous  g-eneration.    Many  signs  had  been 


2o6  ST.  MATTHEW   12.  40-43 

shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it  but  the  sign  of  Jonah  the 

40  prophet :  for  as  Jonah  was  three  days  and  three  nights 
in  the  belly  of  the  whale ;  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be 
three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth. 

41  The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  stand  up  in  the  judgement 
with  this  generation,  and  shall  condemn  it :  for  they 
repented   at   the   preaching  of  Jonah;    and   behold,  a 

42  greater  than  Jonah  is  here.  The  queen  of  the  south 
shall  rise  up  in  the  judgement  with  this  generation,  and 
shall  condemn  it :  for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth   to   hear   the  wisdom  of  Solomon;   and  behold, 

43  a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here.     But  the  unclean  spirit, 

given,  but  they  wanted  something  more  specific.  'Adulterous' 
may  refer  to  their  violation  of  their  covenant  v^^ith  God  (Isa. 
Ivii.  3  ;  Ezek.  xxiii.  17  ;  Jas.  iv.  4). 

40.  as  Jonah  was  three  days.  Luke  xi.  30  makes  Jonah  and 
his  preaching  the  '  sign ' ;  Matthew  finds  a  parallel  in  the  *  three 
days.'  The  sign  fell  on  the  prophet  and  not  on  the  threatened 
city  ;  likewise  the  prophet  of  Nazareth  was  shut  up  in  the  tomb 
until  the  third  day.  In  the  Jewish  method  of  computing  time 
any  portion  of  a  day  was  spoken  of  as  the  whole.  The  portion 
of  time  beyond  a  day  was  spoken  of  as  '  a  third  day '  (Gen.  xl.  13; 
1  Sam.  XXX.  12  ;  Hos.  vi.  2  ;  2  Chron.  x.  ^). 

in  the  heart  of  the  earth:  in  the  grave  and  in  Hades,  Acts 
ii.  27  ;  Eph.  iv.  9  ;  i  Pet.  iii.  19.  Sheol,  the  place  of  departed 
spirits,  was  supposed  to  be  below  the  grave.  Heaven  was  above  ; 
hell  beneath.  We  are  not  to  conclude  that  the  literal  validity  of 
the  history  of  Jonah  is  established  by  this  reference  any  more 
than  that  the  popular  conception  of  Hades  is.  Jesus  could  only 
speak  to  his  own  generation  in  terms  which  they  would  understand. 

41.  a  greater  than  Jonah  is  here.  The  prophet  wished  for 
vengeance  on  the  sinful  nation ;  he  mourned  because  God  was  so 
merciful.  Jesus  proclaimed  the  long  suffering  cf  God,  and  died 
rather  than  interfere  with  its  operation  (Matt.  xxvi.  53).  In 
Jonah's  day  even  prophets  had  to  be  taught  such  a  doctrine 
(Jonah  iv.  11). 

42.  The  queen  of  the  south.  Josephus  (Ant.  viii.  6.  5)  calls 
her  the  queen  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia :  but  her  country,  Sheba, 
was  in  Arabia  Felix,  near  Aden.  Her  visit  to  Solomon  is  recorded 
in  I  Kings  x.  i  ;  2  Chron.  ix.  i. 

43.  The  account  of  the  unclean   spirit  (43-45)  is  repeated 


ST.  MATTHEW   12.  44-47  207 

when  he  is  gone  out  of  the  man,  passeth  through  water- 
less places,  seeking  rest,  and  findeth  it  not.  Then  he  44 
saith,  I  will  return  into  my  house  whence  I  came  out ; 
and  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  swept,  and 
garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  with  himself  45 
seven  other  spirits  more  evil  than  himself,  and  they 
enter  in  and  dwell  there :  and  the  last  state  of  that  man 
becometh  worse  than  the  first.  Even  so  shall  it  be  also 
unto  this  evil  generation. 

While  he  was  yet  speaking  to  the  multitudes,  behold,  46 
his  mother  and  his  brethren  stood  without,  seeking  to 
speak  to  him.     And  one  said  unto  him.  Behold,  thy  47 
mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  without,  seeking  to  speak 

almost  verbally  in  Luke  xi.  24-126,  but  is  not  in  Mark.  Demons 
were  supposed  to  hide  in  deserts  and  waterless  places  (Tobit 
viii.  3;  Isa.  xiii.  21,  xxxiv.  14  ;  Rev.  xviii.  2).  It  was  an  old  idea 
that  'spirits'  must  be  localized  in  ruined  buildings — at  Gadara,  in 
the  tombs  or  with  the  swine. 

44.  empty,  swept,  and  g'arnislxed.  The  purified  man  offered 
a  new  opportunity  for  diabolic  operation.  The  preaching  of 
John  and  Jesus  prepared  the  Jewish  nation  for  worse  sin  and 
punishment. 

45.  the  last  state :  cf.  Heb.  vi.  4. 

so  shall  it  be  also  unto  this  evil  g'eneration.  Such  a 
construction  of  the  verb  *  to  be '  with  a  dative  is  found  (Matt, 
xvi.  22,  xix.  27). 

xii.  46-50.     The  family  of  Jesus.    His  true  mother  and  brethren. 

46.  While  he  was  yet  speaking.  His  family  were  concerned 
because  he  was  denouncing  '  that  generation  '  so  earnestly,  and 
exalting  himself  above  prophets  and  kings. 

his  mother  and  his  brethren.  It  has  been  extensively 
questioned  whether  those  called  *  his  brethren '  were  literally 
such.  'Mother,'  in  verse  46,  is  not  disputed,  though  'sisters' 
(xiii.  56)  is.  Ecclesiastical  tradition  has  sought  to  encourage  the 
view  that  James,  Joses,  &c.,  mentioned  with  the  '  sisters '  in 
the  same  text,  were  not  brothers,  but  cousins  of  Jesus,  i.e.  children 
of  Alphaeus,  Matt.  x.  3.  The  wife  of  Alphaeus,  it  is  supposed, 
was  the  sister  of  Mary.  Jerome  at  first  defended  this  view,  and 
appealed  to  Gal.  i.  19,  where  James  seemed  to  be  included  among 
the  apostles.     But  Acts  i.  14  distinguished  between  the  '  apostles' 


2o8  ST.  MATTHEW   12.  48— 13.  4 

48  to  thee.     But  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that  told 
him,  Who  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  my  brethren? 

49  And  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  towards  his  disciples, 
5D  and  said,  Behold,  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !     For 

whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  he  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother. 
13      On  that  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  sat 

2  by  the  sea  side.     And  there  were  gathered  unto  him 
great   multitudes,  so  that  he  entered  into  a  boat,  and 

3  sat ;    and  all  the  multitude  stood  on  the  beach.     And 
he  spake  to  them  many  things  in  parables,  saying,  Be- 

4  hold,  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow ;   and  as  he  sowed, 

and  'his  brethren,'  and  in  Greek  'brother'  is  not  used  for 
'cousin.'  A  second  theory  was  that  the  'brethren'  were  only 
half  brothers,  being  the  children  of  Joseph  by  a  former  marriage. 
This  view  was  defended  b}'  Origen  (who  traces  it  to  the  '  Gospel 
of  Peter  '  and  '  the  Book  of  James '),  by  Epiphanius,  and  generally 
by  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers,  especially  after  Athanasius  had 
brought  in  the  word  '  Ever-Virgin  '  as  applicable  to  Mary.  It 
came  to  be  thought  impossible  that  the  mother  of  our  Lord  should 
have  other  children.  However,  Hegesippus,  the  earliest  extra- 
canonical  witness,  refers  to  Alphaeus  as  the  uncle  of  James, 
Simeon  as  his  cousin :  \vhile  Eusebius  (fourth  century)  called 
James  the  brother,  and  Simeon  the  cousin  of  Jesus.  Tertullian 
(a.  D.  210)  strongly  argues  for  the  ordinary  meaning  (John  vii.  5). 
Something  has  been  made  of  the  point  that  Jesus  left  his  mother 
to  John,  and  not  to  any  of  his  brethren  ;  but  there  might  be 
reasons  for  this. 

xiii.  1-9.     Many  things  in  parables.     The  parable  of  the  Sower. 

1.  The  chapter  presents  seven  parables  relating  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  As  in  the  other  synoptists  (Mark  iv.  i  ;  Luke  viii.  5), 
the  scene  is  the  seaside.  A  boat  drawn  up  in  a  narrow  creek 
enabled  the  crowd  to  stand  on  either  side,  not  far  from  the  speaker. 

3.  many  thing's  in  parables.  A  '  parable '  is,  strictly,  a 
comparison.  '  Truth,  embodied  in  a  tale,  can  enter  in  at  lowly 
doors.'  A  parable  differs  from  a  fable,  in  which  '  neither  truth 
nor  verisimilitude  requires  to  be  regarded.'  An  allegory,  again, 
is  a  story  in  which  *  one  thing  is  said,  another  thing  is  meant.* 
Mark  and  Luke  give  three  of  these  parables  in  connexion  with 
the  storm  on  the  lake. 

the  sower,  who  perhaps  then  was  engaged  in  his  occupation. 


ST.  MATTHEW   13.  5-11  209 

some  seeds  fell  by  the  way  side,  and  the  birds  came  and 
devoured  them  :  and  others  fell  upon  the  rocky  places,    5 
where  they  had  not  much  earth  :  and  straightway  they 
sprang  up,'  because  they  had  no  deepness  of  earth  :  and    6 
when  the  sun  was  risen,  they  were  scorched;   and  be- 
cause they  had  no  root,  they  withered  away.     And  others    7 
fell    upon    the   thorns ;    and    the    thorns   grew   up,  and 
choked  them  :    and   others  fell  upon  the  good  ground,    8 
and  yielded  fruit,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some 
thirty.     He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear.  9 

And  the  disciples  came,  and  said  unto  him,  Why  10 
speakest  thou  unto  them  in  parables?  And  he  answered  11 
and  said  unto  them.  Unto  you  it  is  given  to  know  the 

4.  by  the  way  side.  Along  the  border  of  the  field,  where  the 
foot  of  the  traveller  would  soon  crush  it. 

5.  tlie  rocky  places.  Seed  on  thin  broken  land — of  which 
there  is  much  in  Palestine — soon  perished. 

7.  upon  tlie  thorns :  where  it  grew  only  to  be  entangled  and 
injured. 

8.  tlie  g'ood  g'round  was  unoccupied,  deep  and  untrodden. 
and  yielded  fruit.     Mark  adds,  'growing  up  and  increasing.* 

Of  the  three  degrees  of  fruitfulness,  Luke  has  only  '  a  hundred- 
fold'  ;  cf  Matt,  xix,  29.  So  Isaac's  field  produced,  Gen.  xxvi.  12. 
Barle3''  and  maize  sometimes  produce  two  hundredfold. 

9.  He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear.  The  parable  required 
attention,  Malt.  xi.  15. 

xiii.  10-23.  The  object  of  parables.  Parables  reveal  the  truth,  yet 
conceal  it — as  indicated  in  prophecy.  Interpretation  of  the  parable 
of  the  sower  and  his  seed. 

10.  Now  the  disciples  ask  for  information  about  his  method. 
Matthew  says  they  asked  why  he  spoke  in  parables  ;  Mark,  that 
they  sought  the  interpretation.  They  perceived  that  there  was 
more  in  such  teaching  than  met  the  ear. 

1 1 .  Unto  you  it  is  g"iven  to  know.  Matthew  wrote  for  teachers 
who  ought  to  understand  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom.  The 
religions  of  Egypt  and  Greece  had  their  '  mysteries,'  which  were 
only  disclosed  to  the  initiated.  'Mystery'  is  a  Greek  word, 
meaning  '  the  closing  of  the  lips.'  Tlie  disciplina  Arcani  of  the 
ancient  church  rested  on  an  imitation  of  the  pagan  systems,  '  The 
Christian  '  mysteries  '  are  not  things  hidden,  but  things  revealed 

P 


2IO  ST.  MATTHEW   13.  12-15 

mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  to  them  it  is 

12  not  given.  For  whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given, 
and  he  shall  have  abundance  :  but  whosoever  hath  not, 
from  him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath. 

13  Therefore  speak  I  to  them  in  parables;  because  seeing 
they  see  not,  and  hearing  they  hear  not,  neither  do  they 

14  understand.  And  unto  them  is  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  which  saith, 

By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  in  no  wise  under- 
stand ; 

And  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  in  no  wise  per- 
ceive : 

15  For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross, 
And  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing. 
And  their  eyes  they  have  closed ; 

Lest  haply  they  should  perceive  with  their  eyes, 

And  hear  with  their  ears, 

And  understand  with  their  heart, 

And  should  turn  again. 

And  I  should  heal  them. 

(i  Cor.  XV.  51  ;  Eph.  iii.  3).     Now  also  Jesus  is  a  revealer,  not  a 
hierophant  displaying  his  symbols. 

to  them  it  is  not  g-iven:  though  they  hstened  with  delight. 

12.  Per  whosoever  hath.  Mark  iv.  25  ;  Luke  viii.  18,  give 
the  saying  a  different  application,  and  it  appears  in  Matt.  xxv.  29  ; 
Luke  xix.  26.  It  shews  that  the  receptive  mind  receives  fuller 
information  ;  the  unsympathetic  comes  short  of  true  vision. 

he  shall  have  abundance.     Not  in  Mark  or   Luke,  but  in 
Matthew  twice. 

13.  "because  seeing-.  Matthew  has  a  causal  reference  ;  Mark 
iv.  12  and  Luke  viii.  10  give  a  final  clause  :  'that  seeing,  they  may 
not  see.' 

14.  And  ulito  them  is  fulfilled.  Not  in  Mark  or  Luke.  The 
passage  is  from  the  Greek  (Isa.  vi.  9,  10).  John  xii.  39.  40  refers 
to  it  after  the  discourse  on  the  light  of  the  world;  cf.  also  Acts 
xxviii.  26;  Rom.  xi.  8. 

15.  Lest  haply  they  .  .  .  should  turn  again.  In  the  A.  V.  it 
is  'be  converted,'  but  the  original  verb  is  not  passive. 


ST.  MATTHEW   13.  16-23  211 

But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they  see ;   and  your  1 6 
ears,  for  they  hear.      For  verily   I   say   unto  you,  that  17 
many  prophets  and  righteous   men   desired  to  see  the 
things  which  ye  see,  and  saw  them  not ;   and  to  hear 
the  things  which  ye  hear,  and  heard  them  not.     Hear  18 
then  ye  the  parable  of  the  sower.    When  any  one  heareth  19 
the  word  of  the  kingdom,  and  understandeth  it  not,  then 
Cometh  the  evil  one^  and  snatcheth  away  that  which  hath 
been  sown  in  his  heart.     This  is  he  that  was  sown  by 
the  way  side.     And  he  that  was  sown  upon  the  rocky  20 
places,  this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  straightway 
with  joy  receiveth  it;  yet  hath  he  not  root  in  himself,  21 
but  endureth  for  a  while ;  and  when  tribulation  or  per- 
secution  ariseth   because   of  the  word,   straightway  he 
stumbleth.     And  he  that  was  sown  among  the  thorns,  22 
this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word;  and  the  care  of  the 
world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  choke  the  word, 
and  he   becometh    unfruitful.     And  he  that  was  sown  23 
upon  the  good  ground^  this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word, 
and   understandeth   it;    who   verily    beareth   fruit,   and 
bringeth  forth,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some 
thirty. 


16.  blessed  are  your  eyes.  Luke  x.  23  describes  Jesus  as 
'  turning  to  his  disciples  '  after  what  is  recorded  in  Matt.  xi.  27. 

17.  many  prophets  .  .  .  desired  to  see:  as  i  Pet.  i.  10-12. 

18.  Mark  introduces  the  explanation  of  the  parable  differently: 
'  the  sower  soweth  the  word  ' ;  and  Luke,  '  the  seed  is  the  word 
of  God.' 

19.  TMs  is  he  that  was  sown.  The  construction  is  involved, 
but  becomes  clear  with  the  final  statement.  It  means:  *this  is 
the  case  of  him  who  receives  the  word,  as  a  way  side  sometimes 
receives  seed  from  a  sower's  hand';  of.  verse  20,  'he  that  was 
sown  upon  rocky  places.' 

21.  For  tribulation  Luke  has  '  temptation.' 
23.  the  g-ood  ground  represents  him  who   hears  and  under- 
stands.    Luke  viii.  15  explains  :   '  brings  forth  fruits  of  patience.' 

P  2 


212  ST.  MATTHEW   13.  24-30 

24  Another  parable  set  he  before  them,  saying,  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  that  sowed 

25  good  seed  in  his  field :  but  while  men  slept,  his  enemy 
came  and  sowed  tares  also  among  the  wheat,  and  went 

26  away.      But  when   the    blade    sprang  up,  and  brought 

27  forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares  also.  And  the  ser- 
vants of  the  householder  came  and  said  unto  him,  Sir, 
didst  thou  not  sow  good  seed  in  thy  field  ?  whence  then 

28  hath  it  tares  ?  And  he  said  unto  them,  An  enemy  hath 
done  this.     And  the  servants  say  unto  him,  Wilt  thou 

29  then  that  we  go  and  gather  them  up?  But  he  saith, 
Nay;   lest  haply  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root 

30  up  the  wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together  until 
the  harvest :  and  in  the  time  of  the  harvest  I  will  say 
to  the  reapers,  Gather  up  first  the  tares,  and  bind  them 
in  bundles  to  burn  them :  but  gather  the  wheat  into  my 
barn. 


xiii.  24-30.  Parable  of  the  Tares.  Sown  by  an  enemy,  they  are 
to  grow  till  harvest. 

24.  The  parable  of  the  Tares  is  only  in  Matthew ;  Mark  iv.  26- 
29  has  instead  one  of  grass  growing  till  harvest-time. 

set  lie  "before  tliem :  as  food  is  arranged  for  visitors, 
(Mark  vi.  41), 

The  kingdom  ...  is  likened.  He  could  not  yet  expound  to 
them  what  the  kingdom  was,  but  he  could  tell  them  what  it  was 
like :  therefore  he  spoke  in  parables  and  metaphors. 

25.  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares,  i.  e.  darnel,  a  plant 
which  resembled  corn,  but  was  poisonous. 

26.  then  appeared.  The  difference  was  scarcely  noticed  until 
the  time  for  ripening. 

27.  whence  then  .  .  .?  Evil  appeared  in  the  early  church, 
where  it  had  not  been  expected  (Acts  xx.  30;  Jude  4). 

28.  The  servants  thought  they  had  an  easy  method  of  dealing 
with  the  evil :  Wilt  thou  then  that  we  go  and  gather  them  up  ? 
If  the  church  had  had  '  ears  to  hear '  this  lesson  from  the  Master, 
it  could  not  have  become  the  instrument  of  persecution.  Men 
have  been  too  anxious  to  anticipate  the  decision  of  the  supreme 
and  only  Judge  :  in  the  time  of  the  harvest  I  will  say  (verse  30). 


ST.  MATTHEW   13.  31-34  213 

Another   parable   set   he   before    them,    saying,    The  31 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  Hke  unto  a  grain  of  mustard  seed, 
which  a  man  took,  and  sowed  in  his  field :  which  indeed  32 
is  less  than  all  seeds ;  but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  greater 
than  the  herbs,  and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds 
of  the  heaven  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof. 

Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them ;    The  kingdom  33 
of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman  took,  and 
hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  it  was  all  leavened. 

All   these   things   spake  Jesus  in  parables  unto  the  34 
multitudes;    and  without  a  parable   spake  he  nothing 


xiii.  31,  3?.  Parable  of  the  Mustard  Seed.  The  doctrine  of  Jesus 
was  only  known  within  very  narrow  limits  at  first,  but  had  in  it 
the  secret  of  boundless  growth. 

31.  Another  parable:  found  also  in  Mark  iv.  30-32;  Luke 
xiii.  18,  19.  Matthew  says  that  the  mustard  seed  was  sown  by 
a  man. 

in  his  field.  Mark  says,  '  in  the  earth '  ;  and  Luke,  *  in  his 
garden.'     Such  variations  go  back  to  the  oral  gospel. 

32.  Mustard  seed  is  smaller  than  the  seeds  of  corn  or  grass, 
yet  grows  under  similar  conditions,  and  in  Palestine  to  the  pro- 
portions of  a  small  tree  in  which  birds  may  lodge.  In  like  manner 
the  gospel,  though  less  pretentious  formally  than  the  teaching  of 
the  scribes,  w^as  to  have  greater  results. 

xiii.  33.  Parable  of  the  Leaven.  Its  work  is  secret,  but  all- 
pervasive. 

33.  The  parable  of  the  leaven  is  briefly  referred  to  in  Luke 
xiii.  20,  21. 

three  measures,  or  three  and  a  half  Teahs  (about  a  bushel 
and  a  half,  Romish  measure).  Some  have  found  the  number 
*  three'  symbolical:  as  'body,  soul,  and  spirit'  (Olshausen),  'the 
three  families  descended  from  Noah  '  (Stier).  The  quantity  was 
that  usually  taken  for  household  use,  as  by  Sarah  (Gen.  xviii.  6). 
The  disciples  were  taught  to  look  for  the  gradual  diffusion  of 
truth  and  goodness  in  the  world,  rather  than  for  the  sudden 
transformation  of  society. 

xiii.  34,  35.     Parabolical  teaching  in  prophecy. 

34.  without  a  parable  spake  he  nothing".  Many  parables 
have  not  been  recorded.  Some  occur  later  in  Matthew,  and 
several  others  preserved  in  Luke  are  so  important  that  we  are 


214  ST.  MATTHEW   13.  35-41 

35  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  hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

36  Then  he  left  the  multitudes,  and  went  into  the  house : 
and  his  disciples  came  unto  him,  saying,  Explain  unto 

31  us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field.  And  he  answered 
and  said,  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of 

38  man ;  and  the  field  is  the  world ;  and  the  good  seed, 
these  are  the  sons  of  the  kingdom ;  and-  the  tares  are 

39  the  sons  of  the  evil  one ;  and  the  enemy  that  sowed 
them  is  the  devil :    and  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the 

40  world ;  and  the  reapers  are  angels.  As  therefore  the 
tares  are  gathered  up  and  burned  with  fire;  so  shall  it 

41  be  in  the  end  of  the  world.  The  Son  of  man  shall  send 
forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his  king- 
dom all  things  that  cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do 

surprised  at  their  omission  by  the  others.  Here  we  have  a 
glimpse  into  the  psychological  character  of  Jesus.  He  was  the 
Poet  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Matthew  tells  us  how  this  character- 
istic had  been  indicated  in  prophecy  :  *  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  ' 
Jesus  spake  in  parables. 

35.  the  prophet  is  supposed  to  have  been  Asaph  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  2 ; 
cf.  Ps.  xlix.  3),  though  some  (e.  g.  Dr.  Hort)  would  read  '  Esaias.' 

xiii.  36-43.  Explanation  of  the  parable  of  the  Tares.  The 
future  lot  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 

The  explanation  of  the  *  Tares  '  is  not  in  Mark  or  Luke.  Weiss 
thinks  it  is  not  original,  and  that  it  rather  misses  the  point; 
but  this  is  precarious  criticism.  It  tells  us  that  He  that  soweth 
is  the  Son  of  man  ;  the  field  is  the  world,  and  not  the  narrower 
area  of  Judaism  ;  the  good  seed  are  sons  of  the  kingdom. 

39.  the  end  of  the  world  is  a  phrase  found  only  in  Matthew 
and  Heb.  ix.  26,  *  end  of  the  ages.' 

angels  are  commissioned  to  fulfil  the  judgements  of  God,  Matt, 
xxiv.  31. 

41.  They  v^^ill  remove  all  things  that  cause  sttimhling,  and 
of  course  all  those  implicated  in  their  use. 


ST.  MATTHEW  13.  42-46  215 

iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire :  42 
there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.     Then  43 
shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father.     He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure  hidden  44 
in  the  field ;  which  a  man  found,  and  hid ;  and  in  his 
joy  he  goeth  and  selleth  all  that  he  hath,  and  buyeth 
that  field. 

Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  Hke  unto  a  man  that  45 
is  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls :  and  having  found  46 
one  pearl  of  great  price,  he  went  and  sold  all  that  he 
had,  and  bought  it. 


them  that  do  iniquity,  see  Matt.  vii.  22,  xxiv.  12 ;  but  these 
are  not  merely  Gentile  Antinomians  (Weiss), 

42.  the  furnace  of  fire.  Execution  by  cremation  was  practised 
among  the  ancients.  David  (2  Sam.  xii.  31)  made  the  Ammonites 
'pass  through  the  brickkiln.'  Zedekiah  and  others  suffered  this 
punishment  in  Babylon  ( Jer.  xxix.  22).  A  '  furnace '  was  prepared 
for  the  three  Hebrews,  Dan.  iii.  6. 

43.  As  there  follows  a  quotation  from  Dan.  xii.  3,  Then  shall 
the  rig'hteous  shine  forth,  there  may  be  a  reference  to  the  fate 
of  the  '  three ' :  cf.  Rev.  xx.  4  ;  Book  of  Enoch,  xxxix.  7,  cviii.  15. 

xiii.  44-50.  Treasure  hid  in  afield.  A  pearl  of  great  price  ;  the 
miscellaneous  results  of  fishing  with  nets  illustrate  various  aspects 
of  the  kingdom  and  its  operations. 

44.  The  three  remaining  parables  are  only  in  Matthew.  The 
two  first  shew  the  transcendent  value  of  the  blessings  of  the 
kingdom,  to  obtain  which  all  else  may  be  given  up.  A  field  with 
a  treasure  is  worth  many  fields  without :  many  gems  might  be 
sacrificed  for  one  pearl  of  great  price  ^  (verse  46).  The  cost  of 
truth  is  sacrifice,  but  it  is  worth  it. 

buyeth  that  field.  Public  law  made  no  question  about  the 
rights  of  the  new  possessor.  The  present  tenses,  'goeth  and 
selleth — and  buyeth,'  add  vividness  to  the  narrative. 

46.  having  found.  A.  V.  'when  he  had  found'  gave  the 
temporal  participle  better.  It  was  met  with  by  chance,  and 
the  means  of  purchase  had  to  be  collected. 

^  Origen  says  that  the  '  field  '  with  the  treasure  is  the  Scriptures,  also 
that  the  best  pearls  were  found  in  the  Red  Sea,  or  near  Britain. 


2i6  ST.  MATTHEW   13.  47-54 

47  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net,  that 

48  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind  :  which, 
when  it  was  filled,  they  drew  up  on  the  beach ;  and  they 
sat  down,  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  the 

49  bad  they  cast  away.  So  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  the 
world  :  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked 

50  from  among  the  righteous,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the 
furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth. 

51  Have  ye  understood  all  these  things?     They  say  unto 

52  him,  Yea.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Therefore  every 
scribe  who  hath  been  made  a  disciple  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which 
bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old. 

53  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  these 

54  parables,  he  departed  thence.  And  coming  into  his 
own  country  he  taught  them  in  their  synagogue,  inso- 

47.  The  parable  of  the  'drag-net,'  R.  V.  marg,,  furnishes  a 
lesson  similar  to  that  of  the  Tares.  In  the  net  (all  the  words 
for  '  net '  are  in  Matthew)  was  gathered  '  of  every  kind,'  i,  e.  of 
every  nation,  good  or  bad. 

xiii.  51-52.  77!^  disciples  must '  understand '  the  teaching  in  order 
to  make  use  of  it.  The  well-instructed  '  scribe  *  has  a  treasure 
of  '  things  new  and  old.' 

51.  Have  ye  understood  ?  Many  heard  in  vain.  The  statement 
is  only  in  Matthew,  and  was  clearly  intended  for  workers  in  the 
church.  Like  their  Master,  they  were  to  become  productive  in 
teaching. 

52.  The  scribe  who  Iiatli  "been  made  a  disciple  (cf.  Matt, 
xxvii.  57,  xxviii.  19^  will  not  merely  repeat  the  sayings  of 
predecessors,  but  will  find  for  himself  fresh  interpretations  of  older 
prophecies,  and  make  prominent  the  '  things  new '  of  the  kingdom. 

xiii.  53-58.  Jesus  among  his  own  people.  Their  astonishment 
at  the  wisdom  of  one  they  knew;  their  unbelief. 

54.  The  scene  in  the  synagogue  in  his  own  country  is  more 
fully  exhibited  in  Luke  iv.  16-29;  Mark  vi.  1-6  has  interesting 
details. 


ST.  MATTHEW   13.  55—14.  2  217 

much  that  they  were  astonished,  and  said,  Whence  hath 
this  man  this  wisdom,  and  these  mighty  works?     Is  not  55 
this  the  carpenter's  son?  is  not  his  mother  called  Mary? 
and  his  brethren,  James,  and  Joseph,  and  vSimon,  and 
Judas?     And    his    sisters,    are   they    not   all    with    us?  56 
Whence  then  hath  this  man  all  these  things  ?     And  they  57 
were  offended  in  him.     But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  A 
prophet  is  not  without  honour,  save  in  his  own  country, 
and  in  his  own  house.     And  he  did  not  many  mighty  58 
works  there  because  of  their  unbelief. 

At  that  season  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  the  report  14 
concerning  Jesus,  and  said  unto  his  servants,  This  is  2 
John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  and  there- 


55.  the  carpenter's  son.     In  Mark  '  the  carpenter.' 
On  his  brethren  cf.  Matt.  xii.  46. 

57.  A  prophet  is  not  without  honour.  This  allusion  shews 
that  the  account  is  identical  with  those  in  Luke  iv.  24;  Mark 
vi.  4  ;  while  the  same  tradition  appears  in  John  vi.  42. 

xiv.  1-12.  Herod,  who  had  slain  John,  hears  of  Jestts.  An 
account  of  the  arrest,  betrayal,  and  execution  of  John. 

1.  At  that  season  Herod  the  tetrarch.  As  '  tetrarch  '  Herod 
Antipas  was  the  ruler  of  a  fourth  part  of  the  larger  province.  He 
w^as  a  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  of  a  Samaritan  mother. 
Herod  Antipas  had  married  the  daughter  of  Aretas,  the  Arabian, 
but  during  her  life  had  taken  also  Herodias,  his  half-niece,  wife 
of  his  half-brother  Philip.  He  had  a  share  in  the  trial  of  Jesus, 
who  came  from  Galilee  in  his  jurisdiction.  He  subsequently 
went  to  Rome  '  to  receive  a  kingdom,'  but  was  degraded  and 
banished.  Herodias  shared  his  exile  to  L3'ons.  'At  that  season' 
is  in  Matthew  a  general  description  of  time.  Luke  (ix.  7-10)  refers 
to  the  fact  of  John's  martyrdom,  but  has  few  details  such  as  are 
in  Mark  vi.  14-29. 

Herod   heard   the   report    concemlnsr   Jesus,    which   had 
extended  since  the  arrest  of  John. 

2.  Herod  was  not  a  Sadducee,  or  he  would  not  have  conjectured 
that  John  had  risen  from  the  dead.  He  was  also  familiar  with 
the  notion  that  *  one  of  the  old  prophets'  might  rise  again.  Luke 
(ix.  7)  says  :  '  he  was  much  perplexed,'  as  his  father  before  him 
had  been  (Matt.  ii.  8). 


2i8  ST.  MATTHEW    14.  3-1  r 

3  fore  do  these  powers  work  in  him.     For  Herod  had  laid 
hold  on  John,  and  bound  him,  and  put  him  in  prison 

4  for  the  sake  of  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife.     For 
John  said  unto  him^  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  her. 

5  And  when  he  would  have  put  him  to  death,  he  feared 
the  multitude,  because  they  counted  him  as  a  prophet. 

6  But  when  Herod's  birthday  came,  the  daughter  of  Hero- 

7  dias  danced  in  the  midst,  and  pleased  Herod.     Where- 
upon he  promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  whatsoever 

8  she  should  ask.     And   she,  being  put  forward  by  her 
mother,  saith.  Give  me  here  in  a  charger  the  head  of 

9  John  the  Baptist.    And  the  king  was  grieved ;  but  for  the 
sake  of  his  oaths,  and  of  them  which  sat  at  meat  with 

10  him,  he  commanded  it  to  be  given;  and  he  sent,  and 

11  beheaded  John  in  the  prison.    And  his  head  was  brought 

3.  Herod  put  him  in  prison  at  Machserus,  near  the  Dead  Sea. 

5.  Matthew  intimates  that  Herod  wished  to  put  Mm  to  death. 
Mark  says  that  Herodias  '  desired  to  kill  him/  but  that  Herod 
feared  John,  knowing  he  was  righteous,  and  'heard  him  gladly.' 
Josephus,  Ant.  xviii.  5,  2  {if  genuhie\  attests  that  Herod  was 
alarmed  at  John's  popularity. 

6.  Herod's  birthday  came.  Mark  says  more  about  the  celebra- 
tions. The  word  translated  *  birthday '  is  sometimes  used  for 
other  occasions  ;  but  Gen.  xl.  20  refers  to  Pharaoh's  *  birthday.' 
History  shews  that  Salome,  daughter  of  Herodias,  had  been 
married  twice  before  a.  d.  34,  so  that  the  event  described  in  these 
verses  must  have  occurred  several  years  before  that  date. 

8.  being-  put  forward,  not  'instructed'  (A.  V. ;  prc^monita, 
Vulg.).  Mark  says  she  consulted  her  mother  after  the  king's 
promise  had  been  given. 

R.  V.  retains  the  old  word  charger :  a  large  flat  dish, 
'platter,'  Luke  xi.  39.  The  feast  could  not  have  been  at  Tiberias, 
the  usual  residence  of  Herod,  which  was  two  days'  distance  from 
Machaerus. 

9.  the  king-  was  grieved.  He  had  begun  to  respect  John, 
but  now  his  oath  had  committed  him.  The  '  code  of  honour,' 
in  such  fellowships  as  his,  is  often  rigorous,  and  he  must  now 
proceed  to  the  greater  evil.  Matthew  does  not  notice  the  company 
before  this  point ;  cf.  Mark  vi.  sr. 


ST.  MATTHEW   14.  12-18  219 

in  a  charger,  and  given  to  the  damsel :  and  she  brought  it 
to  her  mother.    And  his  disciples  came,  and  took  up  the  12 
corpse,  and  buried  him  ;  and  they  went  and  told  Jesus. 

Now  when  Jesus  heard  //,  he  withdrew  from  thence  13 
in  a  boat,  to  a  desert  place  apart :  and  when  the  multi- 
tudes heard  thereof,  they  followed  him  on  foot  from  the 
cities.     And  he  came  forth,  and  saw  a  great  multitude,  14 
and  he  had  compassion  on  them,  and  healed  their  sick. 
And  when  even  was  come,  the  disciples  came  to  him,  15 
saying,  The  place  is  desert,  and  the  time  is  already  past ; 
send  the  multitudes  away,  that  they  may  go  into  the 
villages,  and  buy  themselves  food.     But  Jesus  said  unto  16 
them,  They  have  no  need  to  go  away ;  give  ye  them  to 
eat.     And  they  say  unto  him,  We  have  here  but  five  17 
loaves,  and  two  fishes.     And  he  said,  Bring  them  hither  18 


11.  slie  brouglit  it  to  lier  mother.  One  of  those  who  are 
permitted  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquities. 

12.  The  miserable  king  allowed  John's  disciples  to  bury  him 
'  in  a  tomb'  (Mark.) 

tli3  corpse  :  headless,  not  *  the  body,'  A.  V. 

tliey  went  and  told  Jesus,  on  whose  path  the  shadow  of 
death  was  creeping.  If  there  were  no  future  life,  how  in- 
explicable would  be  such  tragic  histories  as  those  of  John,  of 
Socrates,  of  Jesus— nay,  of  many  prophets  and  righteous  men  1 

xi  V.  1 3-2 1 .      The  feeding  of  the  five  thousand. 

13.  Jesus,  full  of  sorrow,  retired  to  the  desert.  The  four 
evangelists  consent  at  this  central  point  of  the  history  with 
unusual  unanimity;  Mark  vi.  30-46;  Luke  ix.  10-17  (where  the 
apostles  report  what  they  had  done).  John  vi.  1-15  mentions 
the  transit  to  the  other  side. 

15.  when  even  was  come,  or  Mark,  'the  day  was  now  far 
spent';  Luke,  'the  day  began  to  wear  away.'  The  Synoptists 
agree  that  the  disciples  urged  the  dismissal  of  the  crowd  that 
they  might  buy  food  ;  John  says  that  Jesus  asked  Philip  where 
bread  could  be  obtained. 

16.  ffive  ye  them  to  eat.  The  disciples  had  received  the 
power  of  miracles. 

17.  John  reports  that  the  <  five  loaves  and  two  fishes*  had  been 
brought  by  '  a  lad.' 


220  ST.  MATTHEW   14.   19-24 

19  to  me.  And  he  commanded  the  multitudes  to  sit  down 
on  the  grass ;  and  he  took  the  five  loaves,  and  the  two 
fishes,  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  blessed,  and  brake 
and  gave  the  loaves  to  the  disciples^  and  the  disciples 

20  to  the  multitudes.  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled  : 
and  they  took   up   that  which    remained  over   of   the 

21  broken  pieces,  twelve  baskets  full.  And  they  that  did 
eat  were  about  five  thousand  men,  beside  women  and 
children. 

22  And  straightway  he  constrained  the  disciples  to  enter 
into  the  boat,  and  to  go  before  him  unto  the  other  side, 

23  till  he  should  send  the  multitudes  away.  And  after  he 
had  sent  the  multitudes  away,  he  went  up  into  the 
mountain  apart  to  pray :  and  when  even  was  come,  he 

24  was  there  alone.  But  the  boat  was  now  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea,  distressed  by  the  waves;   for  the  wind  was 


19.  The  multitude  sat  down  on  tlie  grass,  which  Mark  sa3'^s 
was  '  green,'  and  John  'much.'  The  occasion  became  eucharistic  : 
he  blessed  the  loaves  (Luke),  and  brake  and  gave  ...  to  the 
disciples,  and  'gave  thanks,'  //'/.  '  eucharized,' John  vi.  11;  cf. 
1  Cor.  xiv.  16.  The  original  eucharist  was  a  development  from 
the  usual  '  grace '  at  Jewish  meals ;  cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  26. 

20.  The  broken  pieces  filled  twelve  baskets :  one  for  each 
apostle.  Juvenal  says  that  the  furniture  of  a  Jew  consisted  of 
a  basket  (for  food)  and  some  dried  grass  (for  a  bed)  :  these  were 
provided  to  avoid  contamination.  The  testimony  of  the  four, 
and  minute  agreement  in  the  Synoptics,  establish  the  historic 
certainty  of  the  account. 

xiv.  22-36.  Jesus  walks  on  the  sea.  Peter  attempts  to  do  so. 
The  extension  of  the  fame  of  Jesus. 

22.  The  miracle  of  feeding  had  taken  place  at  Bethsaida  Julias, 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  :  now  they  must  return  to 
Capernaum;  John  vi.  17.  Eventually  they  came  to  the  plain 
of  Gennesaret.  While  the  disciples  proceed  in  the  boat,  Jesus 
remains  to  dismiss  the  people,  intending  to  follow  by  land  or  by 
another  boat,  John  vi.  23. 

24.  Luke  does  not  report  the  miracle  of  the  walking  on  the  sea 
as  Mark  and  John. 


ST.  MATTHEW    14.   25-35  221 

contrary.     And  in  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  he  came  25 
unto  them,  walking  upon  the  sea.     And  when  the  dis-  26 
ciples  saw  him  walking  on  the  sea,  they  were  troubled, 
saying,  It  is  an  apparition ;  and  they  cried  out  for  fear. 
But  straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying,  Be  of  27 
good  cheer;  it  is  I ;  be  not  afraid.     And  Peter  answered  28 
him  and  said,  Lord,  if  it  be  thou,  bid  me  come  unto 
thee  upon  the  waters.     And  he  said,  Come.     And  Peter  29 
went  down  from  the  boat,  and  walked  upon  the  waters, 
to  come  to  Jesus.     But  when  he  saw  the  wind,  he  was  3^ 
afraid ;  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried  out,  saying.  Lord, 
save  me.     And  immediately  Jesus   stretched  forth   his  31 
hand,  and  took  hold  of  him,  and  saith  unto  him,  O  thou 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt?     And  when  32 
they  were  gone  up  into  the  boat,  the  wind  ceased.     And  33 
they  that  were  in  the  boat  worshipped  him,  saying.  Of 
a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of  God. 

And  when  they  had  crossed  over,  they  came  to  the  34 
land,  unto    Gennesaret.     And  when    the    men    of  that  :5 

25.  It  was  now  the  fourtli  watch  of  the  nig-ht,  or  3  a.m.,  for 
they  had  been  rowing  all  night,  when  Jesus  came. 

26.  It  is  an  apparition— a  very  ancient  terror  :  Job  iv.  15; 
Luke  xxiv.  37  (phantasm  ,  A.  V.  *  a  spirit.' 

27.  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John  repeat  the  great  saying :  it  is 
I ;  be  not  afraid.  The  adventure  of  Peter  is  found  only  in 
Matthew. 

28.  The  revelation  of  the  supernatural  in  the  act  of  Jesus  awoke 
an  enthusiasm  of  faith,  of  which  at  present  he  alone  was  capable  ; 
cf.  xvi.  17. 

29.  30.  Though  he  walked  upon  the  waters  for  a  few  moments, 
he  could  not  long  endure  the  strain  of  spiritual  excitement  :  he 
was  beginning  to  sink.  His  mind  was  divided  between  the 
object  of  faith  and  the  objects  of  sense :  he  saw  the  wind.  On 
a  later  occasion  (Matt.  xvi.  23)  his  descent  from  the  spiritual 
altitudes  was  as  rapid  as  his  rise. 

32,  33.  the  wind  ceased  when  Jesus  and  Peter  came  into  the 
boat,  and  its  occupants  said,  Of  a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of 
God,  and  they  worshipped  him  as  more  than  human. 


22  2  ST.  MATTHEW   14.  36— 15.  4 

place  knew  him,  they  sent  into  all  that  region  round 
36  about,  and  brought   unto  him  all  that  were  sick ;   and 

they  besought  him  that  they  might  only  touch  the  border 

of  his  garment :   and  as  many  as  touched  were  made 

whole. 
15      Then  there  come  to  Jesus  from  Jerusalem  Pharisees 

2  and  scribes,  saying,  Why  do  thy  disciples  transgress  the 
tradition  of  the  elders?   for  they  wash  not  their  hands 

3  when  they  eat  bread.     And  he  answered  and  said  unto 
them,  Why  do  ye  also  transgress  the  commandment  of 

4  God  because  of  your  tradition  ?     For  God  said.  Honour 

34,  35.  On  the  arrival  of  jesus  the  people  brought  the  sick. 
This  was  the  culmination  of  his  fame  :  Mark  vi.  55  ;  Luke  ix.  11. 

36.  If  they  could  but  toucli  tlie  border  of  his  garment  they 
were  made  wixole. 

XV.  1-20.  jesus  on  iraditioti.  It  often  makes  '  void '  the  word 
of  God,  as  in  exempting  from  duty  to  parents.  Address  to  the 
multitude  on  the  causes  of  defilement. 

Luke  does  not  furnish  an  account  of  the  controversy  described 
in  Matt.  xv.  1-20,  and  this  is  the  more  surprising  because  of  its 
bearing  on  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  Prof  Godet  thinks  that 
as  Matthew  does  not  explain  the  Jewish  customs,  as  does  Mark 
vii.  3,  4,  he  did  not  write  for  Gentiles  :  cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  17  with 
Mark  xiv.  12  ;  Luke  xxii.  7. 

1.  Pharisees  and  scribes,  not,  as  A.  V.  and  usually,  'scribes 
and  Pharisees.'  Mark  vii.  i  may  imply  that  only  the  scribes  were 
from  Jerusalem  :  cf.  Gal.  ii.  12,  '  certain  from  James.' 

2.  the  tradition  of  the  elders.  Since  the  exile  the  exposition 
of  the  law  by  the  scribes  had  gradually  acquired  as  much  reverence 
as  the  law  itself;  they  spoke  of  tradition  as  'the  hedge  of  the 
law.'  The  elders,  lit.  '  presbyters,'  vvere  the  predecessors  of 
the  scribes  and  rabbis  (Deut.  xxvii.  i  :  Heb.  xi.  2). 

they  wash  not  their  hands.  The  law  nowhere  enjoined 
washing  before  eating,  though  David's  case  might  be  referred  to 
(2  Sam.  xii.  20).  The  earlier  Pharisaic  accusations  against  Jesus 
referred  to  alleged  violations  of  the  law,  e.  g.  the  sabbath ;  now 
he  is  indicted  from  tradition. 

3.  The  complaint  was  that  Jesus  disregarded  the  teaching  of 
the  elders  :  he  charges  his  adversaries  with  a  subversion  of  the 
law  of  duty  to  parents. 

4.  The   first  enactment   he   quotes  from    Exod.    xx.    12  ;    the 


ST.  MATTHEW    15.  5-11  223 

thy  father  and  thy  mother:  and,  He  that  speaketh  evil 
of  father  or  mother,  let  him  die  the  death.     But  ye  say,    5 
Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  father  or  his  mother,  That 
wherewith  thou   mightest  have  been  profited  by  me  is 
given  to  God;  he  shall  not  honour  his  father.     And  ye    6 
have   made    void   the    word    of  God    because    of  your 
tradition.     Ye   hypocrites,  well  did   Isaiah   prophesy  of    7 
you.  saying, 

This  people  honoureth  me  with  their  lips ;  8 

But  their  heart  is  far  from  me. 

But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me,  9 

Teaching  as  their  doctrines  the  precepts  of  men. 
And  he  called  to  him  the  multitude,  and  said  unto  10 
them,  Hear,  and  understand:    Not  that  which  entereth  11 
into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man ;  but  that  which  pro- 


second  from  Exod.  xxi.  17.  The  O.  T.  had  for  the  latter,  'he 
shall  be  put  to  death,'  but  the  A.  and  R.  V.,  following  the  LXX, 
read,  let  Mm  die  tlie  death,  or  marg.  '  surely  die.' 

5.  is  given.  Mark  has  the  Aramaic  'corban.'  When  this 
was  uttered  the  exemption  was  secured.  But  Mark  omits  lie 
sliall  not  honour  his  father,  and  the  construction  is  not  clear  even 
with  it.  The  Vulg.  reads  :  'Whatever  is  a  gift  from  me  will  profit 
thee.'  The  A.  V.  added,  to  complete  the  sense,  '  he  shall  be  free.' 
Mark  has  the  explanation,   'ye  no  longer  suffer  him  to  do  aught.' 

6.  No  doubt  Jesus  presented  the  substance  of  the  Pharisaic 
teaching,  ye  have  made  void  the  word  of  God  :  lit.  'invalidated 
the  authority  ' ;  the  slaves  of  the  letter  had  dethroned  it. 

8.  The  R.  V.  properly  omits  some  words  belonging  to  the  quota- 
tion but  not  cited  by  the  evangelist.  It  is  from  Isa.  xxix.  13  (LXX), 
and  in  the  R.  V.  it  is  clear  that  verse  9  belongs  to  the  citation. 

9.  in  vain  seems  to  be  referred  to,  Jas.  i.  26,  but  it  is  not  in 
theO.T. 

10.  Jesus  now  appeals  to  the  multitude,  since  the  Pharisees 
are  confounded.  They  were  to  be  convinced  that  the  scribes 
were  unsound  teachers  ;  they  should  hear,  and  understand.  No 
wonder  that  the  official  world  began  to  be  angry. 

11.  The  saying  in  this  verse  separated  Jesus  from  rabbinical 
orthodoxy,  and  had  its  influence  on  subsequent  controversies  : 
Acts  X.  15,  XV.  20  ;  Rom.  xiv.  14  ;   1  Tim.  iv.  4  ;  Heb.  xiii.  9. 


224  ST.  MATTHEW   15.  12-19 

12  ceedeth  out  of  the  mouth,  this  defileth  the  man.  Then 
came  the  disciples,  and  said  unto  him,  Knowest  thou 
that  the  Pharisees  were  offended,  when  they  heard  this 

13  saying  ?  But  he  answered  and  said.  Every  plant  which 
my  heavenly  Father  planted  not,  shall   be  rooted  up. 

14  Let  them  alone :    they  are  blind  guides.     And  if  the 

15  Wind  guide  the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  a  pit.  And 
Peter  answered  and  said  unto  him.  Declare  unto  us  the 

1 6  parable.     And  he  said.  Are  ye  also   even  yet  without 

1 7  understanding  ?  Perceive  ye  not,  that  whatsoever  goeth 
into  the  mouth  passeth  into  the  belly,  and  is  cast  out 

18  into  the  draught  ?  But  the  things  which  proceed  out  of 
the  mouth  come  forth  out  of  the  heart ;  and  they  defile 

19  the  man.     For  out  of  the  heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts, 


defileth  the  man :  ///.  *  makes  common,'  a  N.  T.  word  :  see 
Acts  X.  14.  The  Mosaic  distinction  between  clean  and  unclean 
articles  of  food  was  not  ostensibly  raised,  but  such  sayings  would 
help  those  who  afterwards  pleaded  for  its  abolition. 

12.  Matthew  does  not  include  one  saying  in  Mark  vii.  19, 
'  making  all  meats  clean  '  (cf.  Acts  x.  15,  '  What  God  hath  cleansed 
make  not  thou  common'),  but  notes  that  tlie  Pharisees  were 
offended. 

13.  Every  plant,  or  *  planting,'  marg.  (cf.  i  Cor.  iii.  9).  The 
Pharisees  had  obscured  the  heavenly  Fatherhood  by  neglecting 
the  command  to  honour  earthly  parents. 

14.  Let  them  alone.  God  was  now  raising  up  other  teachers. 
These  blind  guides  led  the  people  into  the  infatuation  which 
brought  destruction  on  their  city. 

if  the  blind  gniide :  Matt,  xxiii.  24  ;  Luke  vi.  39. 

15.  Peter  (Mark  saj^s  'his  disciples')  asked  for  an  explanation. 
Matthew  makes  Peter  prominent  on  many  occasions,  but  it  was 
he  who  had  specially  to  deal  with  this  question  afterwards.  He 
had  received  some  instruction  on  the  subject  before  the  conversion 
of  Cornelius,  Acts  x.  13.     The  answer  is  to  all. 

16.  Are  ye  also  even  yet  without  understanding"?  'even 
yet '  is  a  late  word,  and  has  some  emphasis  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sentence.  The  subject,  which  was  critical,  might  have  been 
already  discussed. 

19.  Evil  things  come  out  of  the  heart.     The  disregard  of  the 


ST.  MATTHEW   15.  20-24  225 

murders,   adulteries,    fornications,    thefts,   false   witness, 
railings :  these  are  the  things  which  defile  the  man  :  but  20 
to  eat  with  unwashen  hands  defileth  not  the  man. 

And  Jesus  went  out  thence,  and  withdrew  into  the  21 
parts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.     And  behold,  a  Canaanitish  22 
woman  came  out  from  those  borders,  and  cried,  saying, 
Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  thou  son  of  David;    my 
daughter   is   grievously    vexed   with   a    devil.      But   he  23 
answered  her  not  a  word.     And  his  disciples  came  and 
besought   him,  saying,  Send  her  away ;    for  she  crieth 
after  us.     But  he  answered  and  said,  I  was  not  sent  but  24 

fifth  command  had  already  been  noticed,  and  now  are  mentioned 
violations  of  four  others. 

The  railing's,  lit.  'blasphemies,'  were  such  as  the  Pharisees 
had  uttered,  xii.  24. 

XV.  21-28.  The  wojnan  of  Canaan.  Her  great  faith,  and  the 
cure  of  her  daughter. 

21.  The  controversy,  like  some  others,  issued  in  the  removal 
of  Jesus  to  another  place.  Now  he  comes  into  the  parts  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon  (Mark  vii.  24-30).  Luke  does  not  notice  this 
anticipation  of  the  wider  gospel. 

22.  She  whom  Mark  describes  as  *a  Greek,  a  Syrophoenician 
by  race,'  Matthew  calls  a  Canaanitish  woman.  Some  of  the 
old  inhabitants  of  the  land  had  escaped  into  the  Phcenician  area, 
where  the  language  was  similar  to  their  own.  The  conversation 
might  be  carried  on  in  the  prevalent  Aramaic.  She  addresses 
the  healer  as  '  Son  of  David.'  Her  people  would  have  heard  of 
the  fellowship  of  their  own  prince  Iliram  with  David.  The  fame 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus — especially  his  expulsion  of  demons — had 
gone  far  and  wide. 

Have  mercy  on  me  .  .  .  my  daughter  is  grievously  vexed. 
As  Bengel  says,  '  the  pious  mother  made  her  daughter's  misery 
her  own.' 

24.  The  disciples,  as  yet,  had  no  idea  that  Jesus  would  befriend 
any  outside  their  own  nation,  and  wished  her  to  be  sent  away, 
for  she  crieth  after  us.  He  had  healed  the  centurion's  servant, 
viii.  5,  but  under  special  circumstances.  He  was  now  in  a 
Gentile  district  where  his  mission  to  Israel  must  not  be  mis- 
understood. Luke  ix.  53  tells  us  how  even  in  Samaria  '  his  face 
was  as  though  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem.'  However,  this  woman 
of  Canaan    had   pertinacious   feeling  and   faith :    she   came   and 


226  ST.  MATTHEW   15.  25-31 

25  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.     But  she 

26  came  and  worshipped  him,  saying,  Lord,  help  me.  And 
he  answered  and  said,  It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  chil- 

27  dren's  bread  and  cast  it  to  the  dogs.  But  she  said,  Yea, 
Lord  :  for  even  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall 

28  from  their  masters'  table.  Then  Jesus  answered  and 
said  unto  her,  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith :  be  it  done 
unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt.  And  her  daughter  was 
healed  from  that  hour. 

29  And  Jesus  departed  thence,  and  came  nigh  unto  the 
sea  of  Galilee ;  and  he  went  up  into  the  mountain,  and 

30  sat  there.  And  there  came  unto  him  great  multitudes, 
having  with  them  the  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and 
many  others,  and  they  cast  them  down  at  his  feet ;  and 

31  he  healed  them  :  insomuch  that  the  multitude  wondered, 

worsMpped  Mm  (verse  25).  Meyer  thinks  it  Vv^as  the  first  inten- 
tion of  Jesus  to  dismiss  her,  but  her  perseverance  gained  his 
sympathy.  She  was  one  of  the  lost  sheep,  though  not  of  the  house 
of  Israel:  only  Matt,  x,  6,  but  cf.  John  xxi.  16;   i  Pet.  ii.  25. 

26.  It  is  not  meet:  as  Mark  and  the  best  authorities  in 
Matthew,  though  a  Western  reading  has,  'it  is  not  lawful.' 

cast  it  to  the  dogs :  the  Jews  were  '  the  children,'  the 
Gentiles  were  but  '  dogs ' :  cf.  Matt.  vii.  6 ;  Rev.  xxii.  15 ; 
Phil.  iii.  2. 

27.  the  dog-s  eat  of  the  crumbs,  or  'the  Httle  bits';  Mark 
vii.  28,  not  Luke  xvi.  21. 

their  masters'  table :  there  is  no  emphasis  on  '  masters',' 
and  no  reason  to  refer  it  to  God  (Carr). 

28.  Mark  adds  that  when  the  woman  returned  she  found  the 
child  well  :  'laid  upon  the  bed.' 

XV.  29-31.  Jesus  on  the  mountain  in  Galilee.  Many  cures:  the 
people  astonished. 

29.  And  Jesus  departed  thence,  and  went  into  Galilee. 
Mark  vii.  31  says  that  the  route  was  through  Sidon  and  the 
borders  of  Decapolis.  He  also  describes  one  case  of  healing,  viz. 
that  of  one  who  was  deaf. 

30.  Matthew  speaks  of  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and 
inany  others.     On  the  aggregation  of  cases  cf.  Matt.  xi.  5. 

31.  the  multitude  wondered,  as  in  Matt.  viii.  27,  ix.  33. 


ST.  MATTHEW   15.  32  227 

when  they  saw  the  dumb  speaking,  the  maimed  whole, 
and  the  lame  walking,  and  the  blind  seeing :  and  they 
glorified  the  God  of  Israel. 

And  Jesus  called   unto  him   his  disciples,  and   said,  33 
I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude,  because  they  con- 
tinue with  me  now  three  days  and  have  nothing  to  eat : 
and  I  would  not  send  them  away  fasting,  lest  haply  they 


they  g-lorified  the  God  of  Israel,  though  all  of  them  would 
not  belong  to  that  nation. 

The  R.  V.  more  literally  translates  the  participles  of  the 
original  text  ;  speaking"  .  .  .  walking,  &c. 

XV.  32-39.  The  feeding  of  fonr  thousand.  Seven  loaves  and 
a  few  fishes  supply  the  multitude,  and  seven  baskets  of  fragments 
remain. 

32.  Luke  omits  the  second  miracle  of  feeding,  given  in  Matt, 
verses  32-39  ;  Mark  viii.  1-9.  Neander,  de  Wette,  Weizsacker, 
Weiss,  Holtzmann,  and  others  think  that  the  second  account 
is  only  another  version  of  the  instance  recorded  in  Matt.  xiv.  13  ; 
Mark  vi,  32,  and  Luke  ix.  10,  The  accounts  resemble  each  other 
at  several  points  :  (i)  the  place  which  was  desert,  yet  near  to 
the  sea  ;  (2)  they  took  ship  immediately  afterwards  ;  (3)  loaves 
and  fishes  were  the  materials  of  both  feasts  ;  (4)  the  order  of 
events  was  the  same  :  the  sitting  down,  the  blessing,  the  dis- 
tribution, the  gathering  of  fragments ;  (5)  in  both,  the  disciples 
doubted  how  so  many  could  be  fed,  and  the  miracle  expressed 
the  compassion  of  Jesus'.  But  there  are  differences:  (i)  The 
number,  before  five  thousand,  is  now  four  ;  (2)  of  loaves  and  fishes 
the  first  numbers  were  five  and  two,  now  seven  loaves  and 
*a  few  small  fishes';  ,3)  the  baskets  were  before  twelve,  now 
seven,  and  the  'baskets'  have  now  a  different  name.  If  the 
repetition  had  occurred  in  Matthew  alone  it  would  not  have 
excited  so  much  surprise,  but  it  is  found  in  Mark  also.  Again, 
it  is  difficult  for  those  who  regard  the  narratives  as  doublets  to 
account  for  the  reference  in  Matt.  xvi.  9-10  and  Mark  viii,  20, 
which  shews  that  the  twofold  miracle  was  in  the  oldest  gospel 
tradition.  Meyer  conjectures  that  there  were  really  two  miracles, 
but  in  the  course  of  oral  transmission  tne  accounts  were 
assimilated. 


^  To  these  similarities  should  be  added  the  item  that  the  number  in 
both  cases  excludes  '  women  and  children .' 

Q  2 


228  ST.  MATTHEW   15.   33— IG.  2 

33  faint  in  the  way.  And  the  disciples  say  unto  him, 
Whence  should  we  have  so  many  loaves   in  a  desert 

34  place,  as  to  fill  so  great  a  multitude  ?  And  Jesus  saith 
unto  them.  How  many  loaves  have  ye?     And  they  said, 

35  Seven,  and  a  few  small  fishes.     And  he  commanded  the 

36  multitude  to  sit  down  on  the  ground ;  and  he  took  the 
seven  loaves  and  the  fishes  ;  and  he  gave  thanks  and 
brake,  and  gave  to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to  the 

37  multitudes.  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled :  and 
they  took  up  that  which  remained  over  of  the  broken 

38  pieces,  seven  baskets  full.     And  they  that  did  eat  were 

39  four  thousand  men,  beside  women  and  children.  And 
he  sent  away  the  multitudes,  and  entered  into  the  boat, 
and  came  into  the  borders  of  Magadan. 

16      And  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came,  and  tempting 
2  him  asked  him  to  shew  them  a  sign  from  heaven.     But 

33.  Meyer's  suggestion  would  partly  remove  the  difficulty  found 
in  the  question  of  the  disciples  in  verse  33,  which  in  that  case 
might  not  belong  to  the  second  occurrence, 

39.  lie  .  .  .  came  into  the  borders  of  Magadan.  Mark  has 
'  Dalmanutha,'  the  situation  of  which  is  uncertain.  The  latter 
MSS.  have  *  Magdala '  (as  A.  V.),  supposed  to  be  the  place  from 
which  Mary  Magdalene  came.  Magdala  or  Migdol,  '  a  watch 
tower,'  would  be  a  frequent  local  name.  '  Magada '  only  occurs 
here. 

xvi.  1-4.  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  again  ask  for  signs.  They 
could  read  the  face  of  the  sky,  but  could  not  discern  the  tokens  of 
the  kingdom. 

1.  As  in  Matt,  xii,  38,  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  ask  for 
a  sign,  but  now  from  heaven.  They  came,  or  'approached,' 
with  a  set  purpose,  the  term  being  frequent  in  Matthew.  It  is 
not  clear  why  the  Sadducees  should  require  a  '  sign  from  heaven,' 
and  Mark  viii.  11-13  does  not  include  them  in  the  party.  His 
signs  hitherto  had  been  of  an  earthly  kind,  and  they  asked  hinx 
to  shew  them  a  celestial  manifestation  :  John  ii.  18,  xii,  37  ; 
I  Cor.  I.  22.  Heavenly  signs  had  been  given  by  Moses,  John 
vi.  31;  Joshua  x.  12;  by  Samuel,  i  Sam.  xii.  17;  by  Elijah, 
Jas.  V.  17. 

2,  3.  Westcott  and   Hort  insert  verses  2  and  3   in  brackets, 


ST.  MATTHEW   16.  3-6  229 

he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  When  it  is  evening,  ye 
say,  //  will  be  fair  weather  :  for  the  heaven  is  red.  And  3 
in  the  morning,  //  ivill  be  foul  weather  to-day :  for  the 
heaven  is  red  and  lowring.  Ye  know  how  to  discern 
the  face  of  the  heaven ;  but  ye  cannot  discer?t  the  signs 
of  the  times.  An  evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  4 
after  a  sign ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  it, 
but  the  sign  of  Jonah.     And  he  left  them,  and  departed. 

And  the  disciples  came  to  the  other  side  and  forgot  5 
to  take  bread.  And  Jesus  said  unto  them.  Take  heed  6 
and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

since  they  fail  in  the  principal  MSS.  {Sinaiticus  and  Vaticanus) 
of  the  fourth  century.  Their  remark  (A^.  T,  ii.  App.  p.  13)  will 
explain  how  such  insertions  came  into  the  text.  They  say: 
*  Both  documentary  evidence  and  the  impossibility  of  accounting 
for  omission  prove  these  w^ords  to  be  no  part  of  the  text  of 
Matthew,  but  were  apparently  derived  from  an  extraneous  source, 
written  or  oral,  and  inserted  in  the  Western  text  at  an  early 
time'  (cf.  marg.  of  R.V. ).  The  conversation  arose  after  the 
feeding  of  the  multitude,  so  that  it  was  evening,  and  the  glow^  of 
sunset  was  on  the  eastern  hills  :  the  heaven  is  red.  The  rabbis 
were  weather  prophets.  Pliny  (Nat.  Hist,  xviii.  35)  remarks 
on  similar  indications. 

3.  Luke  xii.  54-57  has  a  cognate  passage  containing  an  address 
'to  the  multitude':  neither  priests  nor  people  saw  the  storm 
threatening  their  national  life,  they  did  not  discern  tlie  signs  of 
the  times. 

4.  Mark  viii.  12  says  that  he  'sighed  deeply'  over  their 
unbelief.     The  sign  of  Jonah  is  referred  to  in  Matt.  xii.  39,  q.v. 

xvi.  5-12.  The  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees — which 
was  their  teaching  and  spirit. 

5.  Matt,  verses  5-12  closely  follows  Mark  viii.  14-21  ;  Luke 
xii.  I  has  the  topic  in  a  different  connexion.  Mark  informs  us 
of  the  transit  over  the  lake,  which  had  been  perhaps  suddenly 
accomplished  to  escape  the  tumult,  for  they  forgot  to  take 
bread. 

G.  leaven  indicates  the  moral  disposition  working  in  individuals 
or  in  society  :  i  Cor.  v.  6 ;  Gal.  v.  9  ;  cf.  Matt.  xiii.  33.  It  was 
not  only  the  doctrine  (teaching,  verse  12),  or  the  'hypocrisy'* 
(Luke  xii.  56),  but  the  Pharisaic  tendency  to  mix  error  with  truth, 
and  the   Sadducaean   tendency  to  take   all  validity  out  of  truth. 


230  ST.  MATTHEW   16.  7-13 

7  And  they  reasoned  among  themselves,  saying,  We  took 

8  no  bread.     And  Jesus  perceiving  it  said,  O  ye  of  little 
faith,  why  reason  ye  among  yourselves,  because  ye  have 

9  no  bread  ?    Do  ye  not  yet  perceive,  neither  remember 
the  five  loaves  of  the    five   thousand,  and   how  many 

10  baskets  ye  took  up  ?     Neither  the  seven  loaves  of  the 

11  four  thousand,  and  how  many  baskets  ye  took  up?  How 
is  it  that  ye  do  not  perceive  that  I  spake  not  to  you 
concerning  bread  ?     But  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the 

13  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Then  understood  they  how 
that  he  bade  them  not  beware  of  the  leaven  of  bread, 
but  of  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

13      Now   when  Jesus   came   into   the   parts  of  Csesarea 

The  *  leaven  of  Herod/  which  Mark  has  in  place  of  the  Sadducaean, 
exalted  political  interests  above  those  which  were  spiritual. 

7.  We  took  no  bread.  The  original  justifies  the  change  of 
tense  from  A.  V.,  and  perhaps  the  omission  of  because.' 

8.  O  ye  of  little  faith :  an  expression  only  found  in  Matthew, 
see  viii.  26 — except  Luke  xii.  28,  which  may  shew  that  Luke  knew 
Matthew  in  some  form. 

ye  have  no  bread.  After  two  miracles  in  which  bread  had 
been  multiplied  in  the  wilderness  the  doubt  was  strange,  though 
now,  as  Mark  viii.  14  says,  they  had  but  one  loaf. 

9.  Two  miracles  of  feeding  are  referred  to  here  and  in  Mark 
viii.  19.  The  words  for  'baskets*  in  verses  9  and  10  differ  as 
in  the  two  narratives. 

11.  This  verse  may  be  compared  with  Mark  viii.  16,  17. 

xvi.  13-20.  JesTis  at  Ccesarea  Philippi.  Peter  and  his  confession 
are  the  rock  on  which  the  Church  shall  be  built. 

In  the  paragraph  verses  13-20  (Mark  viii.  27-30;  Luke  ix. 
18-21)  we  enter  upon  the  second  principal  phase  of  the  public 
life  of  our  Lord.  Hitherto  he  had  been  extending  his  influence 
as  a  teacher  and  worker ;  now  he  begins  to  encounter  adversity. 
From  this  point  it  becomes  evident  that  he  has  expectations  of 
resistance  and  suffering. 

13c  Csssarea  Philippi,  in  Gaulonitis,  at  the  foot  of  Lebanon, 
was  the  most  northerly  point  of  the  travels  of  Jesus.  The  city 
received  the  patronage  of  Herod  I,  but  had  been  embellished 
by  Philip  the  tetrarch,  who  had  honoured  it  with  the  name  of 
Tiberias  Caesar.    Formerly  it  was  known  as  Paneas  —where  Baal, 


ST.  MATTHEW   16.  14-16  231 

Philippi,  he  asked   his  disciples,  saying,  Who  do  men 
say  that  the  Son  of  man  is?     And  they  said,  Some  say  14 
John  the  Baptist ;  some,  EHjah :   and  others,  Jeremiah, 
or  one  of  the  prophets.     He  saith  unto  them,  But  who  15 
say  ye  that  I  am  ?    And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  16 

the  Syrian  Pan,  was  worshipped.  The  sinister  shadow  of 
Herodian  Romanism  was  over  the  place.  The  signs  of  the 
great  world-powers  were  all  about  them,  and  it  was  time  that 
the  disciples  had  faith  in  the  Messiah  who  had  come. 

Who  do  men  say  that  the  Son  of  man  is  ?  marg.  '  that 
'  I  the  Son  of  man  am  ? '  Mark  and  Luke  have  :  '  Who  do  men 
say  that  I  am  ? '  which  makes  it  doubtful  whether  Jesus  did  at  this 
stage  claim  to  be  '  the  Son  of  man.'  Peter's  reply  shews  that 
the  *  me,'  which  fails  in  the  text  of  Matthew,  was  understood 
by  the  disciples.  'The  definite  title  [Son  of  man]  is  found  in  the 
Book  of  Enoch  (xlvi,  2,  3)  for  the  first  time  in  Jewish  literature, 
and  is  historicallj''  the  source  of  the  N.  T.  designation'  (Charles, 
Book  of  Enoch,  p.  51).  Dr.  Charles  rejects  vSchleiermacher's  inter- 
pretation of  the  title  'the  ideal  man,'  also  Baur's  'the  thoroughly 
human  Person,'  and  Mr.  Bartlett's  combination  of  'the  ideal 
man'  with  'the  servant  of  Jehovah';  but  thinks  that  both  the 
latter  were  associated  by  our  Lord  with  the  '  Son  of  man '  in 
majesty,  spoken  of  in  Dan.  vii.  13.  The  Book  of  Enoch  borrowed 
the  title  from  '  Daniel,'  but  altered  the  content.  In  the  former 
it  represents  a  supernatural  person  ;  in  the  latter,  a  symbol  of 
Israel.  The  term  belongs  to  the  early  stage  of  the  gospel, 
as  besides  the  four  evangelists  no  writing  of  the  N.  T.  has  it 
except  Acts  vii.  56;  Rev.  i.  13,  xiv.  14.  It  stands  as  a  name  of 
the  Messiah,  or' the  servant  of  Jehovah,'  in  Matt.  xii.  8  ;  John  iii.  13, 
xii.  34.  The  title  'Son  of  David'  had  a  political  significance, 
which  the  '  Son  of  man '  escaped. 

14.  Some  say  John  the  Baptist,  as  did  Herod,  Matt.  xiv.  2. 
some,  Elijah:    who  was  to  prepare  the   way  of  the  Lord, 

Mai.  iv.  5  ;  Matt.  xi.  14. 

others,  Jeremiah  (only  in  Matthew).  2  Mace.  ii.  1-12  relates 
that  Jeremiah  hid  the  tabernacle,  the  ark,  and  the  altar  of  incense 
in  a  cave,  that  they  might  be  brought  out  when  '  the  glory  of 
the  Lord '  should  come. 

or  one  of  the  prophets.  Luke  ix.  8,  19  adds,  'was  risen 
again.' 

15.  who  say  ye  that  I  am?  Among  so  many  opinions  it 
was  important  that  they  should  declare  their  inference  from  all 
they  had  heard  and  seen. 

16.  Simon  Peter  answered.    The  great  question,  as  in  John 


232  ST.  MATTHEW   16.  17,  18 

17  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  And 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar-Jonah  :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed 

18  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  And 
I  also  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 

vi.  69.  The  form  of  the  answer  varies  :  in  Mark,  '  Thou  art  the 
Christ';  in  Luke,  'the  Christ  of  God.'  Why  the  latter  should 
suppress  any  part  of  an  utterance  so  momentous,  or  whj'  Matthew 
should  add  anything,  we  cannot  tell.  Usually  the  Synoptists 
agree  most  in  their  report  of  '  sayings.' 

the  Son  of  the  living-  God.  '  The  living  God '  is  an  O.  T. 
expression;  as  Hos.  i.  10,  where  Jehovah  is  opposed  to  the 
deified  dead  of  the  heathen  :  also  Deut.  v.  26  ;  Dan.  vi.  20. 
Peter's  confession  became  the  earliest  '  creed  * ;  the  first  believers 
were  baptized  into  the  'Name'  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah:  Matt, 
xxvi.  63  ;  Acts  ii.  38,  x.  48,  xiv.  15,  xviii.  28,  xix.  5. 

17.  Here  Mark  and  Luke  end  their  accounts  of  the  transaction, 
except  to  notice  the  charge  that  no  man  should  be  told.  Matthew, 
however,  has  an  addition  so  startling  that  many  have  doubted  ics 
authenticity.  Wendt  {Die  Lehre  Jesii^  i.  18)  says  that  it  is  an 
interpolation.  Dr.  Bruce  thinks  that  '  psychological  reasons  are 
in  favour  of  something  of  the  kind  having  been  said.'  The  real 
difficulty  lies  in  the  omission  of  the  passage  by  Mark  and  Luke. 
This  is  one  of  the  items  in  this  gospel  which  made  Renan  to 
say  that  '  it  is  the  most  important  book  ever  written.'  Romish 
exegesis  has  entrenched  itself  behind  verses  17,  18,  though 
Protestant  interpreters  from  Beza  to  Bengel  have  asked  :  quid 
hcec  ad  Rontant  ? 

Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jonah.  Though  Simon  was 
(Bar-jonah)  the  son  of  Jonah  the  fisherman,  and  had  infirmities  of 
character,  divine  grace  had  '  blessed  "  him  by  making  him  the 
subject  of  a  great  revelation.  A  man  not  above  the  intellectual 
level  of  his  race  or  time  had  been  lifted  to  the  summits  of  in- 
spiration. '  The  light  that  never  fell  on  sea  or  shore '  had 
suddenly  disclosed  to  him  the  mystery  of  the  personality  of  Jesus. 

flesh  and  blood  is  a  general  description  of  human  nature  per 
se :  see  i  Cor.  xv.  50;  Gal.  i.  16;  'blood  and  flesh,'  Eph.  vi.  12; 
Ileb.  ii.  12.  The  doctrine  that  the  true  faith  in  Jesus  is  that 
which  views  him  as  the  'Son  of  God'  appears  in  Matt.  xi.  27; 
John  i.  13,  iii.  5,  xx.  31  (cf.  i  John  v.  4,  5)  ;  Acts  ii.  39;  Gal, 
i.  15,  16. 

18.  And  I  also  say  unto  thee.  Peter  had  said,  'Thou  art 
the  Christ';  and  now  Jesus  says  to  him,  'Thou  art  Peter.'  It 
may  have   been  that  the   surname   '  Peter,'  or,  if  Aramaic  was 


ST.  MATTHEW  16.  19  233 

rock  I  will  build  my  church ;  and  the  gates  of  Hades 
shall  not  prevail  against  it.     I  will  give  unto  thee  the  19 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven :   and  whatsoever  thou 

spoken,  'Cephas,'  was  now  formally  given  :  but  see  Matt.  x.  2; 
Mark  iii.  16.  Then  'Cephas'  would  be  used  for  both  the  apostle 
and  'the  rock':  as  in  French  (Ostervald) — Et  mot  je  ie  dis  aussi 
(pie  tu  es  Pierre,  ct  que  sitr  cette pierre  je  hdtirai  nion  e'glise^. 

upon  this  rock  I  will  "build  my  diurch.  It  has  been  the 
view  of  many  Protestant  as  well  as  Romish  interpreters  that 
the  '  rock  '  was  Peter  himself :  so  Neander,  Meyer,  Bruce,  Origen, 
Ambrose,  Cyril,  Chr3'sostorri,  with  Luther,  prefer  to  think  it  was 
his  faith  which  should  be  the  foundation  of  the  church.  Origen 
said  that  every  true  believer  became  like  Peter.  Jerome, 
Augustine,  and  other  fathers  now  speak  of  Christ  as  the  rock, 
then  of  Peter,  then  of  his  confession.  Jerome,  on  Luke  xxii.  32, 
speaks  of  Peter  as  the  first  living  stone  (i  Pet.  ii.  5;  placed  on 
the  foundation  (i  Cor.  iii.  11).  The  connexion  of  the  see  of 
Rome  with  Peter  is  based  on  the  Clementine  legends.  Peter 
was  the  beginning  of  the  universal  church,  not  of  a  local  com- 
munity. James  seemed  to  acquire  precedence  over  Peter  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  Antioch  Paul  'resisted  him  to  the  face.' 

my  church.  The  word  '  church '  does  not  occur  in  the  three 
other  gospels.  Matt,  xviii.  7  has  it  twice,  q.  v.  If,  as  some  assert, 
'  Salvation  is  by  the  Church '  {exira  ecclesiam  nulla  salits)  these 
primitive  documents  arc  singularly  defective.  The  word  is  used 
in  the  O.  T.  (Greek)  in  its  ordinary  meaning  of  an  assembly, 
a  congregation  ;  as  also  Matt,  xviii.  17  ;  Acts  xix.  41,  xx.  28. 
The  attempt  to  read  a  later  meaning  into  it  imperils— beyond 
anything  which  rationalistic  criticism  has  done — the  authenticity 
of  the  gospels.  Here  it  intimates  that  the  company  of  believers 
in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  was  to  be  separated  from  the  congregation 
of  Israel  (Deut.  xviii.  i6\ 

the  gates  of  Hades.  Hades  was  the  region  below  the  earth 
where  departed  souls  were  dwelling.  It  often  represents  the 
Hebrew  Sheol,  as  Ps.  xvi.  10.  The  powers  unseen  cannot  over- 
throw the  church  :  Eph.  vi.  12 ;  Rev.  i.  18  ;  cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  19,  'gates 
of  righteousness' ;  Wisd.  of  Sol.  xvi.  13,  'Thou  leadest  down  to  the 
gates  of  Hades,  and  thou  leadest  up  again  '  '  The  gates  of  the  dark 
Pluto  are  open  night  and  day'  (Virgil,  ^«.  bk.  vi.  I.  126). 

19.  I  will  g-ive  unto  thee  the  keys.  The  church  now  to 
be  built  is  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Peter  is 
entrusted    with    the    keys   of   admission    and    exclusion,    which 


^  rrfrpos  represents  a  rock  in  its  natural  site  ;  itfrpa  a  fragment  of 

rock. 


234  ST.  MATTHEW   16.  20-22 

shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven :  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on   earth    shall  be  loosed 

20  in  heaven.  Then  charged  he  the  disciples  that  they 
should  tell  no  man  that  he  was  the  Christ. 

21  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  his  dis- 
ciples, how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer 
many  things  of  the  eMers  and  chief  priests  and  scribes, 

22  and  be  killed,   and  the  third  day  be  raised  up.     And 

he  employed  to  admit  the  Jews  (Acts  ii.  38)  and  the  Gentiles 
(Acts  X.  48).  The  critics  have  not  been  able  to  shew  why  the 
communication  of  this  peculiar  prerogative  of  Peter  is  not  referred 
to  by  Mark  (traditionally  known  as  the  interpreter  of  Peter)  or 
by  Luke.     On  the  '  ke3's'  cf.  Isa.  xxii.  22  ;  Rev.  iii.  7. 

whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind :  a  promise  afterwards  repeated 
to  all  the  disciples,  Matt,  xviii.  i8 ;  John  xx.  23.  The  language 
was  rabbinical,  and  referred  to  things  commanded  or  forbidden. 
Peter  exercised  thris  authority  when  he  went  in  to  eat  with 
Cornelius  (Acts  xi.  3)  ;  as  did  the  '  apostles  and  elders  and 
brethren  '  when  they  decided  what  '  burden  '  should  be  laid  upon 
Gentile  believers  (Acts  xv.  23). 

they  should  tell  no  man  that  he  was  the  Christ.  The 
great  secret  is  now  revealed  to  the  circle  of  the  disciples,  but 
for  the  present  is  to  be  kept  within  it.  The  A.  V.  reading,  '  that 
he  was  Jesus  the  Christ,'  was  manifestly  incorrect. 

xvi.  21-28.  Jesus  speaks  plainly  of  death.  Peter  is  rebuked  when 
he  deprecates  suffering  tor  the  Christ.  The  cross  is  to  be  shared 
by  the  disciples. 

The  transition  from  the  earlier  to  the  later  stage  of  our  Lord's 
ministry  is  marked  in  all  the  Synoptists  :  Matt.  xvi.  ai— 28  ;  Mark 
viii.  31-ix.  I  ;  Luke  ix,  22-27. 

21.  Prom  that  time  beg^an  Jesus  to  shew  what  the  fate  was 
that  threatened  him,  of  which  before  the  disciples  had  no  idea. 
Now  they  learn  that  the  chief  men  of  the  nation  would  reject  him, 
and  bring  about  his  death  :  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem. .  .  .  and 
be  killed,  and  the  third  day  be  raised  up. 

If  the  latter  item  formed  part  of  the  statement  at  this  time, 
it  is  strange  that  the  disciples  were  so  slow  to  believe  in  his 
resurrection.  Bengel  remarks  that  the  first  part  of  the  gosi>el 
had  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ ;  the  second  part  to  shew 
that  as  Christ  he  should  suffer  and  be  raised.  At  the  beginning 
of  verse  21  'some  ancient  authorities  read  Jesto  Christ^  (R.  V. 
marg.),  but  this  was  not  a  proper  name  so  early  ;  cf.  Matt.  i.  i. 


ST.  MATTHEW   16.  23-27  235 

Peter  took  him,  and  began  to  rebuke  him,  saying,  Be  it 
far  from  thee.  Lord  :  this  shall  never  be  unto  thee.     But  23 
he  turned,  and  said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan :    thou  art  a  stumblingblock  unto  me  :    for  thou 
mindest    not    the    things    of    God,   but   the   things   of 
men.     Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  If  any  man  24 
would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.     For  whosoever  would  save  25 
his  life  shall  lose  it :  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for 
my  sake  shall  find  it.     For  what  shall  a  man  be  profited,  26 
if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  forfeit  his  life  ?  or 
what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  life?     For  the  27 

22,  23.  When  Peter  objected  to  his  anticipation  of  a  violent 
death  :  Be  it  far  from  tliee,  lEord  (marg.  '  God  have  mercy  on 
thee'):  this  shall  never  be  unto  thee — a  strong  negative  — 
Jesiis  reproved  him  :  thou  art  a  stumblingblock  unto  me.  The 
stone  which  was  for  a  foundation  had  become  a  stone  of  stumbling. 
After  the  sudden  revelation  '  from  heaven '  the  unguarded  soul 
of  Peter  w^as  now  occupied  by  another  spirit.  He  wished  for 
an  earthly  Messiah  who  would  not  suffer  or  die  :  he  considered 
the  thing's  of  men  (Rom.  viii.  5). 

Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan.  Whatever  prominence  in  the 
church  had  been  secured  by  his  faith  was  for  the  time  forfeited, 
and  he  must  go  '  behind.' 

thou  mindest  not:  A.  V.  'thou  savourest  not'  (Fr.  savot'r). 
Luke  omits  this  rebuke  of  Peter.  The  verb  is  that  used  by  Paul 
in  Phil.  ii.  5  :  '  Have  this  mind  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus' — where  also  in  verse  8  (cf.  Matt,  verse  24)  he  speaks 
of  his  'becoming  obedient  even  unto  the  death  of  the  cross.' 

24.  The  saying,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross, 
is  found  in  Matt.  x.  38  ;  Mark  viii.  34.  ;  Luke  ix.  23,  xiv.  27. 

25.  Tor  whosoever  would  save  his  life  :  A.  V.  had  '  soul.' 

26.  ffive  in  exchang'e  :  see  Ps.  xlix.  8.  What  ransom  can  a  man 
provide  when  life  itself  is  in  jeopardy  ?  Jesus  took  this  view  for 
himself:  should  he  lose  the  higher  life  to  gain  the  lower?  The 
Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  li.  15  (dated  50-100  a.d.),  says,  *  For  what 
then  have  men  lost  their  life,  or  for  what  have  those  on  the  earth 
exchanged  their  soul  ?' 

26.  Jesus  had  the  temptation  to  'gain  the  whole  world'  (Matt, 
iv  9),  but  he  preferred  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  *  the  world '  he 
left  to  Caesar  (Matt,  xxii,  21). 


236  ST.  MATTHEW   IG.  2S— 17.   2 

Son  of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with 
his  angels  ;   and  then  shall  he  render  unto  every  man 

28  according  to  his  deeds.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  There 
be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  which  shall  in  no  wise 
taste  of  death;,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his 
kingdom. 

17      And  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  with  him  Peter,  and 

James,  and  John  his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into 

2  a  high  mountain  apart :  and  he  was  transfigured  before 

27.  slxall  come  in  the  gloiy  of  h.is  Tatlier.  Here  Mark  and 
Luke  depart  from  Matthew,  and  introduce  the  saying  found  in 
Matt.  X.  32  (cf.  xiii.  41,  xxv.  31). 

28.  whicli  siiall  in  no  wise  taste  of  death,  till ...  To  '  taste 
of  death'  is  a  peculiar  expression  only  found  in  Markix.  i  ;  Luke 
ix.  27  ;  John  viii.  52,  and  Heb.  ii.  9.  Alford  approves  of  Stiers 
suggestion  that  the  phrase  implies  that  these  persons  would  '  taste 
of  death '  afterwards  ;  if  this  were  so  it  could  not  refer  to  the  final 
judgement  (as  Me3^er).  Such  language  would  raise  the  hopes  of 
the  disciples,  but  there  has  been  much  dispute  about  the  '  coming' 
referred  to.  Erasmus,  Grotius,  Bleek,  VVetstein,  and  Alford  say 
that  it  ref^rs  to  the  transfiguration.  But  as  Mark  ix.  1  puts  it  in 
another  way,  'the  kingdom  of  God  with  power,' and  Luke  ix.  27, 
'  the  kingdom  of  God,'  and  not  as  here,  '  the  Son  of  man  coming,' 
it  may  be  regarded  as  an  allusion  to  the  establishment  of  the  church 
at  Pentecost,  and  afterwards.  The  course  of  events  would  have 
furnished  its  own  comment  on  the  saying  at  the  time  when  the 
gospel  was  produced.  Possibly,  as  Weiss  observes,  the  city  had 
been  destroyed. 

xvii.  1-8.  The  (ransfiguration.  Moses  and  Elijah  with  Jesus. 
The  fear  of  the  disciples.     The  cloud  and  the  voice. 

The  Synoptic  accounts  of  the  transfiguration  have  close  re- 
semblance with  numerous  variations  :  see  Introduction^  p.  9. 

1.  And  afoer  six  days:  so  Mark,  but  Luke  'about  eight  da3'S 
after.'  This  would  include  two  sabbaths,  as  was  the  case  on  Sinai, 
Exod.  xxiv.  16,  at  the  close  of  which  came  the  revelation  to 
Moses. 

a  higlx  mountain  app^rt.  Since  the  days  of  Origcn  and 
Jerome,  Tabor  in  Galilee  has  been  traditionally  reported  as  the 
site  of  this  occurrence;  but  Tabor  would  be  inhabited  at  the  time. 
Josephus  relates  that  the  ancient  fot  tress  at  its  summit  was 
strengthened  in  his  day,  so  that  the  modern  and  more  probable 
view  is  that  it  was  some  other  eminence  at  the  base  of  Hermon — 


ST.  MATTHEW   17.   .,  4  237 

them  :  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  gar- 
ments became  white  as  the  hght.     And  behold,   there  3 
appeared  unto  them  Moses  and  Ehjah  talking  with  him. 
And   Peter  answered,  and  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,   it  is  4 
good  for  us  to  be  here :  if  thou  wilt,  I  will  make  here 


perhaps  not  far  from  Caesarea  Philippi,  where  Jesus  and  his 
company  were  staying.  The  apex  of  Hermon,  visible  and  '  white 
as  the  light,'  would  explain  the  description  in  verse  2. 

Peter,  and  James,  and  John  liis  brother  were  associated 
with  Jesus  at  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  and  in 
Gethsemane. 

2.  was  transflffured.  The  word  is  used  in  Mark  ix.  2  (not 
Luke)  ;  Rom.  xii.  2  ;  a  Cor.  iii.  18  (the  latter  apparently  referring 
to  this  event,  and  recalling  the  case  of  Moses,  Exod.  xxiv.  16)  :  cf. 
2  Pet.  i.  16;  John  i.  14.  Since  Tertullian  {Cont.  Marcion.  iv. 
22),  some  Bleek,  Weizsacker,  Pressense  among  modern  writers) 
have  regarded  the  same  as  a  vision,  M  eyer  refers  to  what  is  said  in 
verse  9,  '  tell  the  vision,'  in  favour  of  this  view.  But  if  a  vision, 
did  all  see  it,  or  only  Peter?  Matthew  does  not  mention  the 
sleep  of  the  disciples,  as  Luke  does,  but  he  says  that  Jesus  was 
*  transfigured  before  than.' 

3.  there  appeared  unto  thsm  Moses  and  Elijah.  Luke  has 
'two  men.'  Had  they  been  raised  from  the  dead?  This  is 
suggested  because  they  were  '  talking  with  Jesus'  (Mark);  they 
'spake  of  his  decease':  cf.  2  Pet,  i.  15.  These  were  the  chief 
men  of  the  older  dispensations — the  Law  and  the  Prophets  ;  both 
had  left  the  world  under  special  conditions;  both  had  been  great 
instruments  of  revelation  :  both  are  mentioned  by  the  latest 
prophecy  :  Mai,  iv.  4,  5,  How  the  disciples  recognized  them  we 
do  not  know.  The  presence  of  these  heavenly  visitants  would 
counteract  the  doubts  created  by  what  Jesus  had  recently  said 
respecting  his  probable  fate. 

4.  And  Peter  answered  ...  I  wiU  make.  The  A,  V.  followed 
a  reading  which  had  brought  Matthew  into  harmony  with  the 
other  Synoptists  :  '  let  us  make.'  Perhaps  some  consideration  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  this  gospel  delights  to  give  distinction  to 
Peter,  e.  g.  iv.  18,  x.  2,  xiv.  28,  xvi.  17,  xvii,  24,  xxvi.  37.  Peter's 
saying  is  reported  by  all  the  Synoptists,  but  Mark  and  Luke  say 
that  '  he  wist  not  what  to  say.' 

it  is  g-ood  for  us  to  be  here.  The  '  sign  from  heaven  '  which 
many  desired  had  been  now  given :  would  that  it  could  be  made 
permanent!  Peter  would  house  the  celestial  visitors  and  Jesus  in 
three  tabernacles,  and  then  summon  the  multitude  to  share  the 


238  ST.  MATTHEW   17.  5-12 

three  tabernacles ;  one  for  thee^  and  one  for  Moses,  and 

5  one  for  Elijah.  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a 
bright  cloud  overshadowed  them  :  and  behold,  a  voice 
out  of  the  cloud,  saying,   This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 

6  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  him.  And  when  the 
disciples  heard  it,  they  fell  on  their  face,  and  were  sore 

7  afraid.     And  Jesus  came  and  touched  them  and  said, 

8  Arise,  and  be  not  afraid.  And  lifting  up  their  eyes,  they 
saw  no  one,  save  Jesus  only. 

9  And  as  they  were  coming  down  from  the  mountain, 
Jesus  commanded  them,  saying,  Tell  the  vision  to  no 

10  man,  until  the  Son  of  man  be  risen  from  the  dead.    And 
his  disciples  asked  him,  saying.  Why  then  say  the  scribes 

11  that  Elijah  must  first  come  ?   And  he  answered  and  said, 

12  Elijah  indeed  cometh,  and  shall  restore  all  things  :  but 
I  say  unto  you,  that  Elijah  is  come  already,  and  they 


spectacle  of  'glory.'     But,  to  their  disappointment,  the  glorified 
saints  depart,  and  the  apostles  are  forbidden  to  mention  the  vision. 

5.  a  brig-ht  cloud  overshadowed  tliem.  Jesus  ascended  in 
a  cloud,  Acts  i.  9;  and  is  similarly  to  return,  Luke  xxi.  27; 
Rev.  i.  7,  As  the  cloud  descended  Moses  and  Elias  withdrew, 
but  there  came  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud.  The  declaration, 
This  is  my  beloved  Son,  appears  in  Matt.  iii.  17  ;  2  Pet.  i.  17. 
Luke  ix.  35  has  'my  chosen'  for  'my  beloved,'  as  the  Book  of 
Enoch,  xl.  5. 

6.  That  the  disciples  fell  on  their  face,  and  were  sore  afraid 
is  only  stated  bj'  Matthew,  but  with  great  probability.  At  the  end 
Jesus  alone  remains  to  interpret  all  things  :  hear  ye  him. 

xvii.  9-13.  The  descent  front  the  mountain.  Silence  enjoined. 
The  prophet  and  the  Baptist. 

9.  Tell  the  vision  to  no  man,  i.  e.  until  the  resurrection,  when 
it  would  be  better  understood.  Luke  does  not  report  the  following 
conversation,  but  mentions  that  as  the  little  company  descended 
*  they  held  their  peace.'  The  expectation  of  Elijah  who  shall 
restore  all  thing's  is  referred  to  in  Mai.  iv.  15  ;  Matt.  xi.  14. 
If  John  had  not  been  imprisoned  and  slain  he  might  have  wrought 
a  moral  revolution,  through  which  the  murder  of  Jesus  and  the 
destruction  of  the  city  might  have  been  averted, 


ST.  MATTHEW   17.  13-20  239 

knew  him  not,  but  did  unto  him  whatsoever  they  h'sted. 
Even  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  also  suffer  of  them.    Then  13 
understood  the  disciples  that  he  spake  unto  them  of  John 
the  Baptist. 

And  when  they  were  oome  to  the   multitude,  there  14 
came  to  him  a  man,  kneeling  to  him,  and  saying,  Lord,  15 
have  mercy  on  my  son  :  for  he  is  epileptic,  and  suffereth 
grievously  :  for  oft-times  he  falleth  into  the  fire,  and  oft- 
times  into  the  water.   And  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  16 
and  they  could  not  cure  him.     And  Jesus  answered  and  17 
said,  O  faithless  and  perverse  generation,  how  long  shall 
I  be  with  you  ?  how  long  shall  I  bear  with  you  ?  bring 
him  hither  to  me.     And  Jesus  rebuked  him;   and  the  18 
devil  went  out  from  him :  and  the  boy  was  cured  from 
that  hour.     Then  came  the  disciples  to  Jesus  apart,  and  19 
.said,  Why  could  not  we  cast  it  out  ?     And  he  saith  unto  20 
them.  Because  of  your  little  faith  :  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  nothing  shall  be  impossible 
unto  you. 

xvii,  14-21.  The  cure  of  epilepsy.  The  disciples  were  unable  to 
heal  him  through  their  little  faith. 

14.  The  fact  that  the  miracle  follows  the  account  of  the 
transfiguration  in  all  the  Synoptic  Gospels  shews  that  the  ground 
is  historical.  Mark  as  often  gives  the  most  detailed  account. 
Matthew  had  not  mentioned  tlie  multitude,  but  Mark  explains 
that  '  they  saw  '  it  as  they  descended.  In  verse  18  Matthew  says 
'  the  devil  went  out ' ;  but  he  does  not  at  first  describe  the  case  as 
one  of  possession  as  Mark  does. 

15.  he  is  epileptic,  A,  V.  Munatic,'  which  is  more  literal. 
Luke  says  that  he  was  an  '  only  child.' 

17.  O  faithless  and  perverse  g-eneration.  All  the  Synoptists 
report  this  reproach  on  the  disciples  because  of  their  inability  to 
exorcise  the  evil  spirit. 

20.  Because  of  your  little  faith  :  a  better  reading  than 
'  unbelief,'  A.  V.      Luke  reports    the    man   as  saying,  *  help  my 


240  ST.   MATTHEW    17.   22-25 

22  And  while  they  abode    in   Gahlee,   Jesus   said  unto 
them,  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  up  into  the 

23  hands  of  men  ;  and  they  shall  kill  him,  and  the  third 
day  he  shall  be  raised  up.    And  they  were  exceeding  sorry. 

24  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  they  that 
received  the  half-shekel  came  to  Peter,  and  said,  Doth 

25  not  your  master  pay  the  half-shekel  ?     He  saith,  Yea. 

want  of  faith.'  They  are  assured  that  with  faith  they  could 
remove  this  mountain,  near  which  they  stood.  On  the  mustard 
seed  see  the  note  on  xiii.  32.  Luke  xvii.  6  introduces  this  saying 
on  another  occasion,  and  reads  :  '  Ye  would  say  to  this  sycamine 
tree,'  &c. 

21.  Verse  21,  which  was  taken  probably  from  Mark  ix.  29,  is 
omitted  in  the  R.  V.  after  the  best  authorities.  Verse  20  is 
substantially  repeated  in  Matt.  xxi.  21. 

xvii.  22-23.  Jesus  repeats  the  prediction  of  his  own  death.  The 
regret  of  the  disciples. 

22.  The  prediction  of  the  rejection  and  death  of  Jesus,  already 
given  in  xvi.  21,  is  now^  repeated  with  an  addition.  He  is  to 
be  delivered  up  into  fh.e  liauds  of  men:  cf.  Mark  ix.  31; 
Luke  ix.  45,  The  latter  says  that  the  disciples  '  did  not  understand 
this  saying,'  i.  e.  not  fully.  Peter,  evidently,  had  some  appre- 
hension when  he  replied  (xvi.  22),  'Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord'; 
and  here  it  is  said  they  were  exceeding'  sorry  (verse  23). 

xvii.  24-27.  Jesus  pays  tnbute  at  Capernanni.  Peter  finds  the 
money  in  the  mouth  of  a  fish. 

24.  The  miracle  performed  to  obtain  money  for  the  tribute  is 
only  recorded  in  Matthew.  Whether  derived  from  oral  tradition 
or  from  a  written  source,  it  is  strange  that  Mark,  '  the  interpreter 
of  Peter,'  did  not  notice  it.  Holtzmann  thinks  that  the  money 
was  required  for  the  temple  rather  than  for  the  state  ;  but  the 
narrative  was  required  to  influence  believers  of  a  later  time,  who 
were  sometimes  disposed  to  withhold  their  dues  from  the  reigning 
authorities:  Rom.  xiii.  6.  This  would,  however,  reduce  the 
narrative  to  a  myth,  and  Holtzmann  allows  that  it  is  '  but  a  half- 
grown  one.'  The  '  toll '  or  '■  custom,'  that  is,  the  public  tax,  had  to 
be  paid  there,  and  probably  also  the  '  tribute  '  or  '  census,'  which 
was  the  private  tax.  In  post-exilic  days  the  half-shekel  was 
required  from  all  above  twenty  for  the  temple  charges  ;  after  the 
destruction  of  the  city  it  was  paid  to  the  state — to  '  the  kings 
of  the  land.'  Some  have  thought  that  the  fish  was  sold  for 
a  stater,  =  half  a  crown  ;  but  this  would  have  been  too  much. 


ST.  MATTHEW   17.  25— 18.  2  241 

And  when  he  came  into  the  house,  Jesus  spake  first  to 
him,  saying,  What  thinkest  thou,  Simon  ?  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  from  whom  do  they  receive  toll  or  tribute  ? 
from  their  sons,  or  from  strangers?  And  when  he  said,  26 
From  strangers,  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Therefore  the  sons 
are  free.  But,  lest  we  cause  them  to  stumble,  go  thou  27 
to  the  sea,  and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish  that 
first  Cometh  up ;  and  when  thou  hast  opened  his  mouth, 
thou  shalt  find  a  shekel :  that  take,  and  give  unto  them 
for  me  and  thee. 

In  that  hour  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  saying,  is 
Who  then  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ?     And    2 

25.  Wliat  thinkest  thou,  Simon?  lit.  'How  seems  it  to 
thee?'  one  of  Matthew's  phrases  :  xviii.  12,  xxi.  28,  xxii.  17,  42  ; 
xxvi.  66. 

27.  thon  Shalt  find  a  shekel:  marg.  'stater.'  The  'shekel* 
was  the  Hebrew  coin  equivalent  to  the  Greek  coin  the  'stater.' 
The  annual  tax  on  every  Jew  towards  the  cost  of  the  temple  was 
'the  didrachma'  (A.  V.  verse  24,  'tribute'),  i.e.  two  drachmae 
(Greek)  or  half  a  shekel  (Jewish).  The  'stater  '  found  in  the  fish's 
mouth  would,  therefore,  pay  the  tax  both  for  Jesus  and  for  Simon: 
Exod.  XXX.  12-16.  The  tribute  was  paid  lest  offence  should  be 
given  to  those  zealous  for  the  law.  A  similar  concession  was 
made  by  Paul  (Acts  xxi.  21)  when  he  paid  for  sacrifices:  cf. 
Rom.  xiv.  21. 

xviii.  1-T4.  T/7e  greatest  in  the  kingdom.  A  little  child  placed 
in  the  midst.  The  peril  of  those  who  make  men  to  stumble. 
The  lost  sheep  more  precious  than  those  that  are  safe. 

The  hopes  awakened  by  the  transfiguration  and  the  following 
miracles  led  the  disciples  to  speculate  upon  their  relative  positions 
in  the  kingdom. 

1.  Who  then  is  neatest  (marg.  'greater')  in  the  king-dom 
of  heaven?  It  is  clear  that  what  had  been  said  to  Peter  (xvi.  18) 
had  not  settled  the  question.  Perhaps  the  preference  shewn  to 
the  three — Peter,  James,  and  John — as  witnesses  of  the  trans- 
figuration, had  raised  the  controversy.  In  Mark  ix.  33-50  and 
Luke  ix.  46-50  it  is  said  that  Jesus  began  the  conversation  ;  in 
Matthew,  the  disciples  came  to  Jesus  with  the  question.  Such 
a  variation  would  arise  in  the  oral  gospel '. 

^  Sir  J.  C.  Hawkins,  Hone  Synopticcc,  p.  57. 
R 


242  ST.  MATTHEW   18.  3-7 

he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst 

3  of  them,  and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  turn, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter 

4  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever  therefore  shall 
humble  himself  as  this  Kttle  child,  the  same  is  the  great- 

5  est  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     And  whoso  shall  receive 

6  one  such  little  child  in  my  name  receiveth  me :  but 
whoso  shall  cause  one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe 
on  me  to  stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him  that  a  great 
millstone  should  be  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that 

7  he  should  be  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.  Woe  unto 
the  world  because  of  occasions  of  stumbling  !  for  it  must 

2.  a  little  child,  and  set  Mm  in  the  midst.  Mark:  'taking 
him  in  his  arms/  and  Luke:  'set  him  by  his  side' — variations 
which  can  scarcely  be  attributable  to  written  sources. 

3.  Except  ye  turn.  Such  was  the  translation  in  Tj'ndale, 
Coverdale,  and  the  Geneva,  first  edition  ;  but  in  the  second  edition 
the  latter  brought  in  'converted* — a  word  which  was  receiving 
a  new  significance.  The  original  has  a  passive  form  with  a 
reflexive  meaning  =  '  one  turns  himself,'  as  John  xii.  40 ;  cf. 
Luke  xxii.  32,  'when  once  thou  hast  turned  again.'  The  general 
doctrine  is  that  of  John  iii.  3,  '  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God/ 

ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter :  a  double  negation  —  'not  at  all.' 
Before  they  disputed  about  precedence  in  the  kingdom,  they 
should  first  be  certain  that  they  were  qualified  to  have  any  place 
in  it.  Mark  and  Luke  do  not  mention  the  turning,  only  the 
reception  of  the  child. 

4.  Whosoever  therefore  shall  humble  himself.  To  '  become 
as  little  children '  is  not  to  return  merely  to  their  pristine 
innocence — implied  in  being  'born  ane  v' — but  to  their  trustful 
helplessness— to  the  poverty  of  spirit  emphasized  in  Matt.  v.  3. 

5.  And  whoso  shall  receive.     Cf.  Matt.  ix.  37. 

6.  a  great  millstone,  or  marg.  'a  millstone  turned  by  an  ass,' 
Mark  ix.  42.  Smaller  millstones  were  worked  by  women,  Matt. 
XXV.  41. 

that  he  should  be  sunk  :  A.  V.  '  drowned.'  The  word  is 
only  used  here  and  in  Matt.  xiv.  30  to  describe  Peter's  submersion 
in  the  sea. 

7.  occasions  of  stumbling :  see  note  on  Matt.  v.  27-30,  where 
this  counsel  is  first  given. 


ST.  MATTHEW   18.  8-12  243 

needs  be  that  the  occasions  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man 
through  whom  the  occasion  cometh !    And  if  thy  hand    8 
or  thy  foot  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off,  and  cast 
it  from  thee  :  it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into  Hfe  maimed 
or  halt,  rather  than  having  two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be 
cast  into  the  eternal  fire.     And  if  thine  eye  causeth  thee    9 
to  stumble,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from  thee  :  it  is  good 
for  thee  to  enter  into  life  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having 
two  eyes  to  be  cast  into  the  hell  of  fire.     See  that  ye  10 
despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that 
in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.     How  think  ye?  if  any  man  12 
have  a  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  be  gone  astray, 
doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine,  and  go  unto  the 

10.  See  tliat  y^  despise  not.  Such  exhortations  can  be  best 
understood  as  addressed  to  prophets  and  teachers.  Humihty  in 
the  pastor  will  dispose  him  *  not  to  despise '  the  little  ones,  nor  to 
cause  them  to  stumble. 

in  haaven  tlieir  angels :  a  remark  only  found  in  Matthew. 
The  idea  of  guardian  angels  grew  after  the  exile,  Ps.  xci.  ii  ; 
cf.  Tobit  V.  4,  16;  Acts  xii.  15,  'it  is  his  angel';  Rev.  i.  20, 
'  angel  of  the  church  ' ;  Luke  xvi.  22  ;  Heb.  i.  14.  The  angels  of 
the  presence  were  supposed  to  be  of  the  highest  rank ;  Luke 
i.  19,  'I  Gabriel  stand  in  the  presence  of  God';  Rev.  vii.  15. 
Origen  taught  that  every  man  had  a  good  angel  and  a  bad  one'. 

11.  The  R.  V.  omits  this  verse.  Luke  xix.  10  would  probably 
have  the  correct  association  of  the  words,  though  such  an  im- 
portant saying  would  bear  repetition, 

12.  Luke  also  connects  the  parable  of  the  lost  sheep  (not  in 
Mark)  with  'the  sinner  that  repenteth,'  and  perhaps  with  the 
Gentile,  Few  shepherds  would  have  a  hundred  sheep,  yet  if 
one  were  so  rich  he  would  not  willingly  lose  one.  The  true 
pastor  will  not  neglect  the  straying  and  outcast,  however  valuable 
his  permanent  flock  may  be, 

^  'Jesus  accepts  the  popular  belief  in  the  existence  of  angels,  but 
never  (even  in  Malt,  xviii.  10,  or  xxvi.  53)  countenances  the  belief  that 
they  influence  life  in  the  present  ;  perhaps  in  the  parable  of  the  Wheat 
and  the  Tares  (xiii.  24-40)  he  directly  discountenances  it.'  (Prof. 
G.  Buchanan  Gray,  Encyclop,  Biblica,  i.  169.) 

R  2 


244  ST.  MATTHEW   18.  13-17 

13  mountains,  and  seek  that  which  goeth  astray  ?  And  if 
so  be  that  he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  rejoiceth 
over  it  more  than  over  the  ninety  and  nine  which  have 

14  not  gone  astray.  Even  so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones 
should  perish. 

15  And  if  thy  brother  sin  against  thee,  go,  shew  him  his 
fault  between  thee  and  him  alone  :  if  he  hear  thee,  thou 

16  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he  hear  thee  not,  take 
with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  at  the  mouth  of  two 

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


14.  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Patlier  :  marg.  'a  thing  willed,' 
more  correctly.  He  has  not  absolutely  determined  that  any  shall 
perish. 

x\'iii.  15-20.  The  treatment  of  offenders.  The  appeal  to  the  church. 
Binding  and  loosing.     The  promise  to  united  prayer. 

15.  In  this  gospel  the  earliest  form  of  church  life  is  pre- 
supposed. The  treatise  really  discusses  '  The  Church  and  the 
Ministry.'  Mark  and  Luke  omit  this  section,  verses  15-22,  though 
Luke  xvii.  3,  4  is  equivalent  to  verses  21,  22,  In  that  primitive 
period  all  are  bretliren  ;  none  is  'greater'  than  the  rest.  No 
single  authority  can  decide  causes :  the  appeal  is  to  the  whole 
congregation  of  believers. 

if  thy  brother  sin.  The  oldest  MSS.  omit  'against  thee'  : 
the  oiTence  might  be  general,  not  particular. 

go,  shew  him  his  fault,  or  *  convict  him,'  as  John  viii.  46, 
xvi.  8  :  A.  V.  '  reprove.' 

if  he  hear  thee,  t^ou  hast  g-ained  thy  "brother :  as  a  friend, 
if  personal  relations  were  involved  ;  as  a  believer  for  the  church, 
if  general  questions  were  concerned ;  besides,  there  would  be 
gain  to  him,  Jas.  v.  20. 

16.  If  he  would  not  hear,  then  one  or  two  more  might  join  in 
the  appeal.  It  was  an  ancient  law  (Deut.  xix.  15)  that  *  at  the 
mouth  of  two  witnesses  or  at  the  mouth  of  three  witnesses,  shall 
a  matter  be  established'  (John  viii.  17). 

17.  And  if  he  refuse  .  .  .  tell  it  unto  the  church.  The  word 
'■  church,'  Greek  fcc/«ra,  does  not  occur  in  the  four  Gospels  except 
in  this  place  twice,  and  in  xvi.  18,  q.  v.  It  can  only  be  taken 
here  in  the  old  meaning  (marg.  R.  V.)  of  '  congregation.'    He  who 


ST.  MATTHEW   18.  18-20  245 

if  he  refuse  to  hear  the  church  also,  let  him  be  unto  thee 
as  the  Gentile  and  the  publican.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  18 
What  things  soever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound 
in   heaven  :    and  what  things  soever  ye   shall  loose  on 
earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.     Again  I  say  unto  you,  19 
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  20 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them. 

would  not  listen  to  the  brethren  in  fellowship  was  to  be  treated 
as  the  Gentile  and  tlie  publican,  with  whom  it  was  a  defilement 
to  eat.  Such  a  statement  must  be  viewed  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  disciples  at  that  time. 

18.  What  thing's  soever  ye  shall  hind.  Whatever  powers 
were  conferred  on  Peter  (xvi.  i8)  are  here  bestowed  upon  his 
fellow  disciples :  cf.  John  xx.  23.  Schleiermacher  has  remarked 
that  '  the  ministry  of  the  keys  is  the  power  by  which  the  church 
determines  what  belongs  to  the  Christian  life'  ;  but  the  *  church,' 
or  'congregation,'  does  not  consist  exclusively  even  of  apostles, 
much  less  of  the  clergy. 

19,  20.  Again  I  say  nnto  yon.  Jesus  often  spoke  of  the 
benefits  of  prayer.  He  now  teaches  that  the  power  of  the  keys, 
of  binding  and  loosing,  whatever  these  terms  may  signify,  are 
subject  to  the  laws  of  prayer.  Moreover,  these  promises  were  not 
made  to  the  '  head  of  the  church  '  only,  or  to  conspicuous  mem- 
bers of  it,  but  to  'two  or  three,'  provided  that  they  shall  agree, 
and  are  gathered  together  in  his  name.  When  these  conditions 
are  fulfilled,  Jesus  says,  there  am  I.  The  'Real  Presence' 
is  secured  to  the  church,  which  may  here  claim  its  charter  and 
warrant,  but  must  also  recognize  the  conditions  of  this  great 
endowment.  The  gift  is  not  dependent  on  numbers,  for  '  two  or 
three '  may  put  in  their  claim.  They  must,  however,  be  '  gathered 
together,*  and  in  the  name  of  Christ,  The  'Name'  represents 
the  whole  character  and  spirit  of  Christ.  It  is  exhibited  in  sym- 
pathy and  compassion,  which  receives  the  little  ones,  verse  5,  and 
goes  after  the  lost  sheep,  verse  12.  It  is  fearful  to  cause  stumbling 
to  others,  verse  6,  and  is  honest  and  considerate  in  its  treatment 
of  offence,  verse  15.  Above  all,  it  cherishes  the  spirit  of  forgive- 
ness, verse  21.  The  Divine  Presence,  therefore,  is  not  secluded 
to  sacred  times,  or  places,  or  officers,  or  functions'.     The  Rabbis 

*  Bishop  Lightfoot,  Philippians. 


246  ST.  MATTHEW    18.   21-25 

21  Then  came  Peter,  and  said  to  him,  Lord,  how  oft 
shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I   forgive  him  ? 

22  until  seven  times?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  say  not 
unto  thee,  Until  seven  times ;   but,  Until  seventy  times 

23  seven.  Therefore  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  likened 
unto  a  certain  king,  which  would  make  a  reckoning  with 

24  his  servants.  And  when  he  had  begun  to  reckon,  one 
was  brought  unto  him,  which  owed  him  ten  thousand 

25  talents.  But  forasmuch  as  he  had  not  wherewith  to 
pay,  his  lord  commanded  him  to  be  sold,  and  his  wife, 
and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to  be 


have  said  that  where  two  or  three  sat  in  judgement  there  was  the 
Shechinah.  An  ancient  reading  of  verse  20  vi^as  :  '  Two  or  three 
are  not  gathered  in  my  name  where  I  am  not.'  This  arose  from 
the  fact  that  the  Greek  indefinite  pronoun  'where'  happens  to 
have  the  same  letters  as  the  negative  '  not.' 

xviii.  21-35.     Forgiveness.     Parable  of  the  ungrateful  debtor. 

21.  Then  came  Peter,  to  whom  the  teaching  seemed  so  wide 
and  liberal  as  to  require  an  explanation.  Is  the  forgiveness  of 
injuries  to  gc  on  without  limitation,  provided  that  the  transgressor 
repent?  The  doctrine  seemed  to  be  more  sentimental  than 
practical.     The  Rabbis  said  that  you  could  only  forgive  thrice. 

22.  The  marginal  'seventy  times  and  seven,'  according  to  the 
description  of  Lamech's  revenge,  Gen.  iv.  24  ( LXX),  would  well 
represent  the  utmost  limits  of  human  forbearance  ;  yet  seventy 
times  seven  would  better  exhibit  the  love  'which  never  faileth.' 
Jesus  required  an  inexhaustible  spirit  of  forgiveness  in  his  fol- 
lowers, because  only  they  who  forgive  can  be  forgiven  :  cf.  com- 
ments on  Matt.  vi.  la.  He  who  pleads  that  supreme  law  of  mercy 
by  which  forgiveness  is  possible  (Rom.  iii.  21)  becomes  bound  by 
that  law  (Matt.  vii.  2).  Luke  xvii.  3,  4  has  a  passing  leference 
to  the  teaching  on  forgiveness,  but  the  parable  of  the  debtor  is 
only  in  Matthew. 

24.  ten  thousand  talents  would  be  at  least  two  millions 
sterling,  but  this  would  not  be  more  than  the  manager  of  a  pro- 
vince might  accumulate  :  cf.  Matt.  xxv.  16.  Perhaps  some  flagrant 
case  amongst  the  officers  of  'a  certain  king  '  had  just  been  made 
public.  The  corruption  in  oriental  administration,  from  the  days 
of  satraps  to  that  of  the  latest  pashas,  has  been  proverbial. 


ST.  MATTHEW   18.  26-34  247 

made.     The  servant  therefore  fell  down  and  worshipped  26 
him,  saying,  Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay 
thee  all.     And  the  lord  of  that  servant,   being  moved  27 
with  compassion,   released    him,   and    forgave   him    the 
debt.     But  that  servant  went  out,  and  found  one  of  his  28 
fellow-servants,  which  owed  him  a  hundred  pence :  and 
he  laid  hold  on  him,  and  took  him  by  the  throat,  saying, 
Pay  what  thou  owest.     So  his  fellow-servant  fell  dow^n  29 
and  besought  him,  saying.  Have  patience  with  me,  and 
I  will  pay  thee.     And  he  would  not :  but  went  and  cast  30 
him  into  prison,  till  he  should  pay  tb.at  which  was  due. 
So  when  his  fellow-servants  saw  what  was  done,  they  31 
were  exceeding  sorry,  and  came  and  told  unto  their  lord 
all  that  was  done.     Then  his  lord  called  him  unto  him,  33 
and  saith  to  him,  Thou  wicked  servant,  I  forgave  thee 
all  that  debt,  because  thou  besoughtest  me  :  shouldest  33 
not  thou  also  have  had  mercy  on  thy  fellow-servant,  even 
as  I  had  mercy  on  thee  ?     And  his  lord  was  wroth,  and  24 


25.  commanded  him  to  be  sold.  The  Jewish  law  allowed 
men  to  be  sold  into  slavery  for  debt;  e.g.  Exod.  xxii.  3,  'if  he 
have  nothing;,  he  shall  be  sold  for  his  theft.' 

28,  27.  While  the  servant  was  prostrate  before  his  master  and 
'was  worshipping'  him,  the  master's  compassion  was  aroused, 
and  he  forg-ave  him  the  debt.  The  contrast  between  the 
obsequiousness  of  this  man  and  his  subsequent  arrogance  is 
striking. 

28-30.  owed  him.  a  htindred  pence,  i.  e.  about  seventy  shillings 
sterling.  Men  sometimes  forgive  great  offences  more  readily  than 
lesser  ones.  This  favoured  criminal  became  suddenly  violent 
to  his  fellow  servant,  and  took  him  by  the  throat,  and  cast  him. 
into  prison. 

31.  The  witnesses  of  this  injustice  were  exceeding'  sorry. 
There  is  a  common  conscience  and  moral  sense  which  rules 
society  more  than  we  sometimes  think. 

33.  shouldest  not  thou  also  have  had  mercy  ?  This  is  where 
the  teaching  of  the  parable  culminates.  The  recipient  of  mercy 
is  bound  to  be  merciful. 


248  ST.  MATTHEW   18.  35—19.  4 

delivered  him  to  the  tormentors,  till  he  should  pay  all 
35  that  was  due.      So  shall  also  my  heavenly  Father  do 

unto  you,  if  ye  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  from 

your  hearts. 
19      And  it  came  to  pass  when  Jesus  had  finished  these 

words,   he   departed  from    Galilee,  and  came   into   the 

2  borders  of  Judsa  beyond  Jordan ;  and  great  multitudes 
followed  him ;  and  he  healed  them  there. 

3  And  there  came  unto  him  Pharisees,  tempting  him, 
and  saying,  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife 

4  for  every  cause  ?     And  he  answered  and  said,  Have  ye 
not  read,  that  he  which  made  them  from  the  beginning 


xix.  1-2.     A  paragraph  which  marks  a  transition,  as  vii.  28. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  Jesus  had  finished  these 
words :  Mark  x.  i.  On  this  formula  in  Matthew,  see  vii.  28.  A 
new  section  evidently  commences  at  this  point,  for  Jesus  had 
'set  his  face  towards  Jerusalem.'  It  is  scarcely  the  journey 
described  in  Luke  ix.  51,  for  that  proceeded  through  Samaria. 
Now  he  returns  through  Perea  from  the  north,  and  travels  in  the 
district  '  bej'ond  Jordan,'  which,  however,  the  evangelist  says 
was  within  the  borders  of  Judsea.  Some  have  surmised  that 
this  gospel  dates  from  that  region  ;  but  for  this  there  is  little 
testimony.  This  final  return,  on  the  way  from  Galilee  to  Jeru- 
salem, was  a  very  important  part  of  the  public  life  of  Jesus,  and 
some  of  the  parables  of  Luke  may  have  belonged  to  it,  and  some 
of  the  incidents  mentioned  by  John  vii-xi. 

xix.  3-12.  On  lawful  divorce.  The  institution  of  marriage  allows 
only  one  case.     Celibacy  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom. 

The  discussion  on  divorce  (Mark  x.  2-12)  is  not  in  Luke.  The 
subject  has  been  already  noticed  (Matt.  v.  27-32),  but  here 
receives  more  detailed  consideration.  Is  it  lawful  .  .  .  for  every 
cause?  The  school  of  Himmel  said  that,  according  to  Deut. 
xxiv.  I,  it  was;  the  school  of  Shammai  denied  it  (Josephus,  Ant. 
iv.  8.  23).  The  matrimonial  history  of  Antipas  would  no  doubt  be 
in  mind,  though  Meyer  thinks  the  Pharisees  w^ould  scarcely 
canvass  the  proceedings  of  the  ruler  when  they  were  in  his 
territory.  No  doubt  they  would  consider  the  opportunity  of 
bringing  Jesus  to  say  something  that  would  be  objectionable  to 
the  local  authorities  to  be  in  their  favour. 

4.  Have  ye  not  read  ?  A  frequent  expression  in  Matthew ;  e.g. 


ST.  MATTHEW   19.  5-10  249 

made  them  male  and  female,  and  said,  For  this  cause    5 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave 
to  his  wife  ;  and  the  twain  shall  become  one  flesh  ?     So    6 
that    they  are   no   more   twain,   but   one    flesh.      What 
therefore  God  hath  joined   together,   let   not  man  put 
asunder.      They  say  unto  him,  Why  then  did   Moses    7 
command  to  give  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her 
away?     He  saith  unto  them,  Moses  for  your  hardness    8 
of  heart  suffered  you  to  put  away  your  v/ives  :  but  from 
the  beginning  it  hath  not  been  so.     And  I  say  unto  you,    9 
Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except  for  fornication, 
and  shall  marry  another,  committeth  adultery :  and  he 
that   marrieth   her  when   she   is   put  away  committeth 
adultery.     The  disciples  say  unto  him,  If  the  case  of  10 
the  man  is  so  with  his  wife,  it  is  not  expedient  to  marry. 

xii.  3,  xxi.   16,  42,  xxii.  31.     The  divine  ordination  in  Gen.  ii.  24 
was  earlier  even  than  Moses. 

5.  the  twain  shall  become  one  flesli.  The  original  phrase 
was  more  idiomatic  in  Hebrew  than  in  Greek. 

6.  What  therefore  God  hath  joined.  'What,'  not  'whom'  : 
the  bond  of  marriage  is  God's  institution ;  the  association  of 
particular  parties  in  this  bond  is  due  to  human  arrangement. 

*J.  Why  then  did  Moses  command  .  .  .  ?  They  said  that 
Moses  had  *  commanded'  the  bill  of  divorcement.  Jesus  rephes 
that  the  great  lawgiver  had  '  suffered '  it ;  but  cf.  Mark  x.  4. 
A  concession  to  human  weakness  had  been  made  in  the  Mosaic 
legislation,  yet  the  older  law  was  authoritative  for  man,  not  the 
more  recent  enactment. 

8.  from  the  beginning"  it  hath  not  been  so.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  the  Essenes  regarded  the  Mosaic  law  as  a  de- 
parture from  the  original  law  of  God.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred 
from  this  part  of  our  Lord's  teaching  that  second  marriages  under 
any  circumstances  is  wrong,  or  that  the  re-marriage  of  the 
divorced  is  unlawful. 

9.  Divorce,  except  for  fornication,  is  forbidden.  The  more 
stringent  aspect  of  the  terms  used  by  Mark  and  Luke  is  modified 
in  Matthew.  Matt.  v.  32  and  xix.  9  make  a  doublet :  cf.  Mark 
X.  11-12  ;  Luke  xvi.  18.     The  last  words  of  verse  9  are  doubtful. 

10.  If  the  case  of  the  man  is  so.  This  was  a  remark  of  the 
disciples,  but  it  was  made,  Mark  x.  10  informs  us,  when  they  had 


250  ST.  MATTHEW   19.  ir-14 

11  But   he  said  unto  them,   All  men   cannot  rereive  this 

12  saying,  but  they  to  whom  it  is  given.  For  there  are 
eunuchs,  which  w^ere  so  born  from  their  mother's  womb : 
and  there  are  eunuchs,  which  were  made  eunuchs  by 
men  :  and  there  are  eunuchs,  which  made  themselves 
eunuchs  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake.  He  that 
is  able  to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it. 

13  Then  were  there  brought  unto  him  little  children,  that 
he  should  lay  his  hands  on  them,  and  pray:   and  the 

14  disciples  rebuked  them.  But  Jesus  said,  Suifer  the  little 
children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  com.e  unto  me  :  for  of 


retired  'into  the  house.'  The  Greek  word  translated  'case'  here 
is  the  same  which  is  used  in  verse  3  in  the  phrase,  'for  every 
cause.'  It  can  scarcely  be  made  to  mean  'case,'  'relationship,* 
except  by  supposing  a  Latinism  which  reduces  it  to  a  synonym 
with  res,  or  our  'affair.'  This  is  the  view  of  Thayer  {Lexicon)  \ 
but  Meyer,  Alford,  Morison,  &c.,  hold  that  it  refers  to  the  cause 
of  separation,  as  in  verse  3.  The  Vulg.  si  ita  est  causa  hominis 
inchnes  to  the  other  view. 

11.  they  to  whom  it  is  g-iven.  A  law  of  compulsory  celibacy 
for  any  class,  therefore,  is  not  authorized.  The  Essenes  and 
other  ascetic  sects  discouraged  or  condemned  marriage  (i  Tim. 
iv.  3)- 

xix.  13-15.  Jesus  and  the  children.  Whom  the  disciples  rebuke 
the  Master  receives. 

13.  that  he  should  lay  his  hands  on  them,  and  pray.  The 
imposition  of  hands  was  a  form  of  prayer :  Acts  viii.  15-17. 
According  to  a  well-known  idiom  of  scripture  writers  the  con- 
junction '  and '  is  exegetic  ;  that  is.  introduces  an  explanatory 
clause.  Mark  x,  13-16  and  Luke  xviii.  15-17  agree  generally 
with  Matthew,  but  have  '  that  he  should  touch  them.' 

the  disciples  rebuked  the  parents,  not  the  children,  because 
they  did  not  wish  their  Master  to  be  annoyed. 

14.  Suffer  the  little  children.  As  is  often  the  case  with  sayings, 
this  utterance  is  given  verbatim  by  each  Synoptist.  It  has  been 
debated  whether  the  declaration,  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  refers  to  children  in  age  or  to  the  childhke.  The 
pronoun  generally  would  favour  the  latter  meaning ;  yet  it  may 
also  be  applied  to  the  '  little  ones,'  who  in  Mark  are  called  '  babes ' : 
of.  Matt,  xviii.  3. 


ST.  .MATTHEW   19.  15-18  251 

such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     And  he  laid  his  hands  15 
on  them,  and  departed  thence. 

And  behold,  one  came  to  him  and  said,  Master,  what  16 
good   thing  shall   I  do,  that   I   may  have  eternal  life? 
And  he  said  unto  him.  Why  askest  thou  me  concerning  17 
that  which  is  good  ?     One  there  is  who  is  good  :  but  if 
thou  wouldest  enter  into  Hfe,  keep  the  commandments. 
He  saith  unto  him,  Which?    And  Jesus  said,  Thou  shalt  18 

xix.  16-22.  Eternal  life.  Only  obtained  by  obedience  and 
sacrifice.     The  ruler's  regret  when  he  heard  these  terms. 

16.  The  interview  with  the  rich  ruler  was  one  of  the  most 
important  scenes,  and  followed  by  one  of  the  most  important 
discussions,  in  the  evangelic  history.  Each  of  the  Synoptists, 
therefore,  carefully  describes  it :  Matt,  verses  16-30;  Mark  x. 
17-31  ;  Luke  xviii.  18-30. 

The  one  of  Matthew  and  Mark  is  in  Luke  'a  certain  ruler*; 
yet  Mark  adds  that  'he  ran  and  kneeled '  before  Jesus,  which  was 
an  uncommon  recognition  of  the  dignity  of  the  Galilean  teacher. 
The  apparently  incidental  character  of  the  great  occasions  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  should  be  noticed.  There  was  no  announcement 
published,  no  programme  beforehand,  of  great  miracles  and 
sensational  addresses  that  might  be  seen  and  heard.  The  blind 
men  v/ere  sitting  by  the  side  of  the  road  as  'Jesus  passed  by,' 
and  in  this  instance  it  was  'when  he  was  gone  forth  into  the 
way'  that  the  inquirer  rushed  out  upon  him. 

The  question  related  to  '  eternal  life,'  which  the  Pharisees  were 
bold  to  promise  to  their  followers  :  John  v.  39. 

17.  The  R.  V.  follows  the  older  authorities,  which  have  in 
Matthew  an  independent  version  of  the  question  put  to  the  man 
by  our  Lord  :  Why  askest  then  me  concerning'  that  whic!i 
Is  g-ood?  This  reading,  which  is  found  in  the  oldest  Greek  MSS., 
and  in  the  ancient  Sj'riac  and  Latin  versions,  seems  to  have  been 
displaced  by  harmonists  who  desired  to  make  all  the  gospels 
agree.  This  has  so  often  happened  that  modern  criticism  allows 
every  peculiar  reading  to  have  a  special  claim  for  consideration. 
It  may  also  be  remarked  that  this  form  of  the  question  escapes  an 
implication,  involved  in  the  text  of  Mark  and  Luke,  that  Jesus 
was  careful  to  discriminate  between  himself  and  God.  The 
passage  is  quoted  in  two  wa3^s  by  Justin  Mart3'r :  Apol.  i.  16, 
'  None  is  good  but  God  only,  who  has  created  all ;  Dial.  c.  Trypho. 
lor,  'There  is  but  one  good,  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.' 

13.  He  saith  nnto  him,  Which?  or  'What  kind  of  command- 
ments, ritual    or  moral?'      That  part   of  the    law   which   Jesus 


252  ST.  MATTHEW  19.  19-23 

not  kill,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not 

19  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Honour  thy 
father  and  thy  mother  :  and.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 

20  bour  as  thyself.     The  young  man  saith  unto  him,  All 

21  these  things  have  I  observed  :  what  lack  I  yet?  Jesus 
said  unto  him,  If  thou  wouldest  be  perfect,  go,  sell  that 
thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 

22  treasure  in  heaven  :  and  come,  follow  me.  But  when 
the  young  man  heard  the  saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful : 
for  he  was  one  that  had  great  possessions. 

23  And  Jesus  said  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say  unto 


always  emphasized  is  found  in  its  moral  precepts.  He  requires 
his  followers  to  'keep'  these  'commandments,'  'The  self- 
confident  he  refers  to  the  law,  the  penitent  he  consoles*  (Bengel). 
The  '  law '  for  the  true  Israel  is  to  be  found  in  the  more  practical 
part  of  the  'ten  words,'  and  ritual  requirements  are  'conspicuous 
by  their  absence.'  Matthew  adds  the  sentence  :  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself  (verse  19),  though  Weiss  thinks  it  to 
be  an  interpolation  :  cf.  Lev.  xix.  18  ;  Matt.  xxii.  39. 

20.  The  young  man.  Matthew  alone  presents  him  as  such. 
It  might  have  been  inferred  from  his  being  '  a  ruler,'  and  that  he 
speaks  of  his  youth  (Mark  and  Luke,  '  from  my  youth,'  which 
R.  V.  emits  in  Matthew)  as  already  past,  that  he  was  scarcely 
a  'young  man'  when  he  came  to  Jesus.  Possibly  tradition  on 
this  subject  varied. 

what  lack  I  yet?  So  Matthew,  who  adds  (21),  If  thou 
wouldest  be  perfect.  Mark  reports  that  'Jesus  looking  upon 
him  loved  him,  and  said,  One  thing  thou  lackest.'  The  instruction, 
'  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,'  appears  in  each  version. 
It  does  not  state  the  condition  of  salvation  for  all,  but  of  the 
perfection  to  which  he  aspired. 

22.  he  went  away  sorrowful,  not  only  because  his  wealth 
was  threatened  (Luke  omits  '  for  he  had  great  possessions '),  but 
because  he  found  that  it  was  more  to  him  than  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

xix.  23 — XX.  16.  The  rich  and  the  kingdom.  The  camel  and  the 
needle's  eye.  The  disciples  had  left  all ;  yet  the  last  should  be 
first.  The  parable  of  the  labourers  shews  the  operation  of  this 
principle. 

23.  There  is  no  question  that  Jesus  taught  that  It  is  hard 


ST.  MATTHEW   19.  24-28  253 

you,  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.     And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  24 
a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye,  than  for  a  rich 
man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.     And  when  the  25 
disciples   heard   it,   they   were   astonished    exceedingly, 
saying.   Who  then  can  be  saved?     And  Jesus  looking  2  5 
upon  them  said  to  them,  With  men  this  is  impossible; 
but  with  God  all  things  are  possible.     Then  answered  27 
Peter  and   said   unto   him,   Lo,   we  have  left  all,  and 
followed  thee;   what  then  shall  we  have?     And  Jesus  28 
said  unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  which 
have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of 
man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall 

for  a  rich,  man  to  enter  into  tlie  king'dom  of  heaven,  though 
Mark  x.  24  explains  it  to  refer  particularly  to  those  'that  trust 
in  riches.' 

24.  The  proverb  of  the  camel  and  the  needle's  eye  is  quoted  in 
the  Quran.  Some  MSS.  favour  the  view  that  it  was  a  *  cable,' 
not  a  *  camel ' — the  original  words  having  some  similarity ;  and 
again,  that  the  '  needle's  eye '  was  a  low  gate  into  the  city,  where 
camels  before  entrance  had  to  be  unloaded  ;  but  the  ordinary 
view  seems  to  be  correct.  The  doctrine  was  novel.  Riches 
were  thought  to  be  a  credential  of  the  favour  of  God.  Jesus, 
however,  blessed  the  poor,  Matt.  v.  3. 

26.  Riches  bring  temptations  which  '  with  men  it  is  impossible  ' 
to  resist ;  only  '  with  God '  can  the  feebleness  of  man  become 
victorious  over  the  evil  which  earthly  abundance  associates  with 
itself.  When  it  is  said  that  with  God  all  things  are  possible, 
■while  man}'  things  are  impossible  with  tnen,  it  is  no  mere  declara- 
tion of  the  omnipotence  of  God  and  of  the  impotence  of  man. 
The  Saviour  shews  that  divine  power  works  with  man  for  his 
good. 

27,  28.  All  the  Synoptists  say  that  it  was  Peter  who  reminded 
the  Master  that  he  and  his  companions  had  already  made  the 
great  sacrifice.  The  tense  employed  refers  to  the  very  time  when 
they  *  left  all '  and  '  followed  '  Jesus  (Matt.  iv.  20).  Jesus  assures 
them  that  they  shall  have  their  reward  at  the  final  crisis  in  the 
regeneration.  This  word  is  used  in  Acts  iii.  21,  which  speaks 
of  the  '  restoration  of  all  things.'  In  Tit.  iii.  5  it  represents 
spiritual  renewal  or  regeneration.     Then  when  the  Son  of  man 


254  ST.  MATTHEW   19.  29— 20.  4 

sit   upon  twelve  thrones,  judging   the  twelve  tribes  of 

29  Israel.  And  every  one  that  hath  left  houses,  or  brethren, 
or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  children,  or  lands,  for 
my  name's  sake,  shall  receive  a  hundredfold,  and  shall 

30  inherit  eternal  life.     But  many  shall  be  last  that  are  first ; 
20  and  first  that  are  last.     For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 

like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which  went  out 
early  in  the  morning  to  hire  labourers  into  his  vineyard. 

2  And  when  he  had  agreed  with  the  labourers  for  a  penny 

3  a  day,  he  sent  them  into  his  vineyard.     And  he  went 
out  about  the  third  hour,  and  saw  others  standing  in  the 

4  marketplace  idle;  and  to  them  he  said,  Go  ye  also  into 


takes  his  place  on  the  throne  (Rev.  iii.  21),  they  also  shall  have 
twelve  tlirones,  judging'  tlis  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  This 
part  of  the  promise  is  only  in  Matthew  here,  but  Luke  xxii.  30 
brings  it  in  at  the  last  supper.  Yet  this  was  not  a  promise  abso- 
lutely to  the  Twelve,  for  Judas  was  yet  amongst  them  ;  and  in 
verse  30  we  read,  many  sliall  be  last  tliat  are  first. 

30.  He  thus  rebukes  those  who  are  ambitious  for  ecclesiastical 
supremac}',  and  encourages  all -who  have 'forsaken' and  'followed.' 
The  doublet,  Matt.  xx.  16,  agrees  with  Luke  xiii.  30  in  '  the  last 
shall  be  first,'  but  this  place  agrees  with  Mark  x,  31.  In  verse  29 
'  wife '  is  omitted  in  the  R.  V.  from  the  things  that  may  be  for- 
saken for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  yet  remains 
in  Luke. 

1.  The  parable  of  the  Labourers,  which  is  only  in  Matthew, 
shews  that  he  had  some  sources  of  information  not  known  to,  or 
not  used  by,  the  other  Synoptists.  It  is  introduced  in  the  same 
way  as  the  parables  in  chap,  xiii :  I"or  the  Iringdom  of  heaven 
is  like.  *  For '  intimates  that  the  object  of  the  parable  is  to  en- 
force what  had  been  said  before,  viz.  the  aphorism  in  ch.  xix.  30. 
In  the  grape-gathering  season  many  labourers  were  required,  and 
the  master  would  be  in  search  of  them  early  in  tlie  morning-. 

2.  a  penny  a  day  would  supply  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  two- 
thirds  of  a  denarius,  or  '  pennj^'  was  the  pay  of  a  Roman  soldier 
under  Tiberius. 

3.  As  the  *  day '  extended  from  six  a.m.  to  six  p.m.  (*  twelve 
hours,'  John  xi.  9).  the  third  hour  ^Acts  ii.  15)  would  be  nine 
a.m.,  when  the  men  ought  to  have  been  in  the  field.  The  can- 
didates for  employment  collected  iii.  the  marketplace,  as  did  the 


ST.  MATTHEW  20.  5-12  255 

the  vineyard,  and  whatsoever  is  right   I   will  give  you. 
And  they  went  their  way.     Again  he  went  out  about  the    5 
sixth  and  the  ninth  hour,  and  did  likewise.     And  about    6 
the  eleventh  hour  he  went  out,  and  found  others  stand- 
ing ;  and  he  saith  unto  them.  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the 
day  idle?     They  say  unto  him,  Because  no  man  hath    7 
hired  us.     He  saith  unto  them.  Go  ye  also  into  the  vine- 
yard.     And   when   even   was   come,    the   lord    of   the    8 
vineyard  saith  unto  his  steward,  Call  the  labourers,  and 
pay  them  their  hire,  beginning  from  the  last  unto  the 
first.     x\nd  when  they  came  that  were  hired  about  the    9 
eleventh  hour,  they  received  every  man  a  penny.     And  10 
when   the   first   came,  they  supposed   that   they  would 
receive   more ;    and   they  hkewise  received   every  man 
a  penny.     And  when  they  received  it,  they  murmured  11 
against  the  householder,  saying.  These  last  have  spent  12 
hut  one  hour,  and  thou  hast  made  them  equal  unto  us, 

children  fxi.  16).     They  seemed  to  be  idle,  but  neglected  classes 
are  seldom  without  some  defence  :  no  man  iiatli  hired  ns  (7). 

8.  And  when  even  was  come.  Deut.  xxiv.  15  directed  that 
the  labourer  should  be  paid  every  day  :  '  thou  shalt  give  him  his 
hire,  neither  shall  the  sun  go  down  upon  it.'  The  '  hired  servants,' 
who  obtained  their  daily  food,  were  envied  by  the  prodigal  (Luke 
XV.  17).  Payment  was  made  by  the  steward — an  official  only 
mentioned  in  Luke  viii.  3  and  Gal.  iv.  2.  Luke  xvi.  i  has  another 
designation. 

The  order  of  paj^ment  was  unusual  :  the  steward  was  to 
begin  from  the  last  unto  the  first,  and  they  who  had  laboured 
but  an  hour  were  to  receive  the  full  amount. 

11.  It  was  perhaps  natural  that  those  who  had  worked  longer 
should  murmur  at  the  capricious  act  of  the  master,  as  did  the 
brother  of  the  prodigal  when  the  father's  generosity  seemed  to 
have  injustice  in  it. 

12.  Their  complaint  was  that  the  late  comers  had  spent  "but 
one  hour  in  the  vineyard  ;  or,  with  an  idiom  not  unfamiliar  to 
workmen  of  our  own  day,  '  had  made  but  one  hour'  (Acts  xv.  33, 
xviii.  23).  They  were  made  equal  with  those  who  had  borne  the 
burden  of  the  day  and  the  scorching-  heat,  which  sometimes 
drove  labourcro  from  the  fields  (Jas.  i.  11  ;  2  Kings  iv.  19). 


256  ST.  MATTHEW  20.  13-19 

which  have  borne  the  burden  of  the  day  and  the  scorch- 

13  ing  heat.     But  he  answered  and  said  to  one  of  them, 
Friend,  I  do  thee  no  wrong :  didst  not  thou  agree  with 

14  me  for  a  penny?    Take  up  that  which  is  thine,  and  go 
thy  way ;  it  is  my  will  to  give  unto  this  last,  even  as  unto 

15  thee.     Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what   I  will  with 

16  mine  own?  or  is  thine  eye  evil,  because  I  am  good?    So 
the  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last. 

17  And  as  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  he  took  the 
twelve  disciples  apart,  and  in  the  way  he  said  unto  them, 

18  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem ;  and  the  Son  of  man 
shall  be  delivered  unto  the  chief  priests  and  scribes; 

19  and  they  shall  condemn  him  to  death,  and  shall  deliver 

15.  is  tMne  eye  evil?  i.  e.  thy  mind  or  motive.  Many  allego- 
rical interpretations  of  the  parable  have  been  supplied,  as  that 
the  vineyard  is  the  church,  the  time  of  payment  the  Parousia,  or 
second  coming  of  Christ.  They  have  approached  the  right  view, 
doubtless,  who  have  thought  that  the  'last'  were  the  Publicans, 
and  the  'first'  the  Pharisees;  or,  by  a  similar  antithesis,  the 
Gentiles  and  the  Jews,  as  Jerome,  Grotius,  Hilgenfeld,  and  Holtz- 
mann.  At  the  same  time  we  must  remember  that  the  saying 
which  this  parable  is  to  elucidate  refers  to  those  who  enter  the 
service  of  Christ  (xix.  30).  Matthew  (ix.  37,  38)  says  that  'the 
labourers  are  few/  and  that  the  disciples  should  pray  the  '  Lord 
of  the  harvest,  that  he  send  forth  labourers.'  In  this  way  the 
saying  might  be  in  anticipation  of  future  days  in  the  church,  when 
the  original  Twelve  were  surpassed  in  spiritual  success  by  such 
workers  as  Stephen,  Barnabas,  and  Paul.  The  latter  says  (i  Cor. 
iii.  9),  'We  are  God's  fellow-workers  :  ye  are  God's  husbandry  ;* 
and  in  this  case,  certainly,  the  last  became  first. 

16.  The  phrase  '  for  many  shall  be  called '  is  omitted  by  R.  V., 
but  is  found  in  xxii.  14. 

XX.  17-28.  Crucifixion  predicted.  A  request  from  the  mother  of 
Zebedee's  sons.  Power  in  the  church  dependent  on  sacrifice; 
the  least  to  be  greartest. 

1*7.  And  as  Jesus  was  g'oingr  tip  to  Jemsalem.  This  is  the 
third  and  fuller  prediction  of  bis  decease  which  Jesus  gave  to 
his  disciples.  In  xvi.  21,  he  foretold  his  rejection  and  death  ; 
in  xvii.  22,  his  death  and  resurrection:  now  he  declares  how  he 
shall  die. 


ST.  MATTHEW  20.  20-22  257 

him  unto  the  Gentiles  to  mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to 
crucify :  and  the  third  day  he  shall  be  raised  up. 

Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee  20 
with  her  sons,  worshipping  him,  and  asking  a  certain  thing 
of  him.    And  he  said  unto  her,  What  wouldest  thou  ?    She  21 
saith  unto  him.  Command  that  these  my  two  sons  may 
sit,  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and  one  on  thy  left  hand,  in 
thy  kingdom.     But  Jesus  answered  and  said.  Ye  know  23 
not  what  ye  ask.     Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup  that 
I  am  about  to  dr.ink  ?     They  say  unto  him,  We  are  able. 

19.  Matthew  alone  has  crucify,  though  Mark  x.  33  includes 
the  deliverance  •  unto  the  Gentiles/  which  indirectly  points  to 
their  mode  of  execution.  Luke  xviii.  32  refers  to  the  •  death  of 
the  cross '  in  '  shamefully  entreated,'  but  verse  34  adds  that  '  they 
understood  none  of  these  things.' 

and  the  third  day  he  shall  "be  raised  up,  not  as  A.  V.,  '  he 
shall  rise  again.'  The  Synoptists  follow  here  one  account,  j'et 
Matthew  uses  a  different  verb  from  that  found  in  Mark  x.  34  ;  Luke 
xviii.  33. 

20.  The  next  section  (verses  20-28),  which  evidently  belongs 
to  this  period,  when  the  disciples  were  distracted  between  their 
own  hopes  concerning  'the  kingdom,'  and  the  sad  predictions  of 
their  Master,  is  not  in  Luke.  Mark  x.  35  ascribes  the  question  to 
James  and  John,  while  Matthew  says,  the  mother  of  the  sons 
of  Zebedee  with  her  sons:  yet  in  verse  22  the  sons  are  ad- 
dressed in  reply. 

21.  This  shews  that  the  account  in  Matthew  has  another  behind 
it,  which  may  have  been  that  of  Mark.  The  '  mother  of  the 
sons  of  Zebedee'  was  Salome  (Matt,  xxvii.  56;  Mark  xv.  40). 
Evidently  they  had  not  taken  to  heart  what  Jesus  had  said  about 
his  humiliation  and  death  ;  nor,  when  they  asked  for  the  chief 
places  in  the  kingdom,  could  Peter's  primacy  have  been  recognized. 
Jesus  had  already  spoken  of  'twelve  thrones,'  Matt.  xix.  28.  The 
principal  ministers  of  a  king  sat  on  his  right  hand  and  on  his  left ; 
so  Jonathan  and  Abner  sat  with  Saul,  according  to  Josephus 
{Ant.  vi.  II.  9)  :  the  right  hand  was  the  place  of  highest  honour 
(Gen.  xlviii.  14  ;  Acts  vii.  55). 

22.  The  ctip  represented  the  lot  or  destiny  of  any  one,  whether 
of  good  or  evil  (Ps.  xvi.  5,  xxiii.  5  ;  Isa.  li.  17).  Besides  the 
'cup'  there  was  a  'baptism,'  which  is  mentioned  in  Mark  x.  38, 
but  is  properly  omitted  by  the  R.  V.  in  Matthew. 

They  say  unto  him,  We  are  able,  though  only  beginning 


258  ST.  MATTHEW  20.  23-28 

23  He  saith  unto  them,  My  cup  indeed  ye  shall  drink  :  but 
to  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left  hand,  is  not 
mine  to  give,  but  it  is  for  thejn  for  whom  it  hath  been 

24  prepared  of  my  Father.  And  when  the  ten  heard  it, 
they  were  moved  with  indignation   concerning  the  two 

25  brethren.  But  Jesus  called  them  unto  him,  and  said, 
Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over 
them,  and  their  great  ones  exercise  authority  over  them. 

26  Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you :    but  whosoever  would 

27  become  great  among  you  shall  be  your  minister;  and 
whosoever   would    be   first   among   you    shall    be    your 

28  servant :  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  minis- 

to  apprehend  the  awfulness  of  the  predicted  tragedy.  James  was 
the  first  of  the  Twelve  to  die  for  the  Messiah  (Acts  xii.  2)  ;  and, 
if  tradition  may  be  accepted,  John  also  had  his  share  of  suffering. 

23.  is  not  mine  to  g"ive.  This  was  an  expression  of  sub- 
ordination to  the  will  and  authority  of  his  Father,  which  Jesus 
recognized  at  other  times,  as  in  Matt.  xxiv.  36,  xxvi.  42 ;  John 
V.  30,  xiv.  28 ;  Acts  i.  7. 

for  them  for  whom  it  hath  been  prepared.  The  honours 
of  the  kingdom  were  reserved  for  the  fit :  for  them  they  were 
'prepared'  or  'made  ready'  (Matt.  xxv.  34;  i  Cor.  ii.  9). 

24.  Luke  (xxii.  24-30)  places  the  discourse  about  precedence 
in  the  final  stages  of  our  Lord's  life.  In  his  arrangement,  Matthew 
follows  Mark  x.  35-45.  The  ten  were  indignant  at  the  ambition 
of  the  two.  The  conception  of  a  hierarchy  was  far  below^  the 
horizon  of  the  primitive  church.  The  Jewish  republic  and  not 
a  Gentile  monarchy  was  the  first  ideal  of  the  Christian  ecdesia. 

27.  whosoever  would  be  first  among- yoix.  In  secular  states 
there  was  a  gradation  from  the  prince  or  the  aristocracy  down 
to  the  attendants  and  slaves ;  but  in  the  church,  '  the  slave '  was 
to  be  'the  first';  the  'deacon'  or  'minister,'  'the  great  one.' 
No  teaching  of  Jesus  or  of  the  written  gospel  was  so  soon  for- 
gotten as  this.  In  a  phrase  used  in  i  Pet.  v.  3,  'lording  it  over 
God's  heritage,'  the  word  is  employed  which  is  found  in  R.  V. 
verse  25,  'lord  it  over  them.'  This  connexion  of  the  passages 
was  obscured  in  the  A.  V.  '  exercise  dominion.' 

28.  There  is  an  addition  to  verse  28,  which  appears  to  have 
been  inserted  from  Luke  xiv.  8-10  (or  Westcott  and  Hort  say 
'  from  an  independent  source'),  and  as  the  Greek  MSS.  chiefly  omit 
it,  it  does  not  appear  in  our  N.  T.    One  phrase  in  verse  26,  '  whoso- 


ST.  MATTHEW  20.  29-32  259 

tered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom 
for  many. 

And  as  they  went  out  from  Jericho,  a  great  multitude  29 
followed  him.     And  behold,  two  blind  men  sitting  by  30 
the  way  side,  when  they  heard  that  Jesus  was  passing 
by,  cried  out,  saying,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,  thou  son 
of  David.     And  the  multitude  rebuked  them,  that  they  .^i 
should  hold  their  peace:  but  they  cried  out  the  more, 
saying.  Lord,  have  mercy  on   us,  thou  son  of   David. 
And  Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  them,  and  said,  What  32 

ever  would  become  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister 
(deacon),'  recurs  in  xxiii.  11,  but  there  it  reads  '  he  that  is  greater.' 
Mark  x.  43  has  the  text  as  Matthew  in  this  place,  but  Mark  ix.  35 
(a  doublet),  which  carries  an  allusion  to  '  the  first  shall  be  last' 
(Matt.  xix.  30  ;  Luke  xxii.  26),  introduces  another  variation. 

to  give  Ms  life  a  ransom  for  many.  The  word  here 
rendered  '  ransom '  is  almost  identical  with  that  used  in  i  Tim. 
ii.  6,  'who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all.'  The  expression  in 
Matthew  seems  to  anticipate  the  future  doctrine  of  the  church  ; 
and  probably  this  verse  ia  from  the  evangelist. 

XX.  29-34.  Two  blind  men.  They  receive  their  sight,  for  they 
believe  in  Jesus  as  the  '  son  of  David.' 

29.  Thecureof  the  blind  man  (Matt,  verses  29-34  ;  Mark  x.  46  ; 
Luke  xviii.  35-43),  whom  Mark  calls  '  Bartimaeus,'  is  described 
in  the  two  first  gospels  as  having  been  wrought  as  they  went 
out  from  Jericho.  Luke,  on  the  other  hand,  reports  that  it  took 
place  '  as  he  drew  nigh  to  Jericho.'  For  this  difference  there  is 
no  explanation,  nor  for  the  fact  that  Matthew  alone  speaks  of 
two  blind  men.  All  represent  the  victim  or  victims  of  blindness 
as  '  sitting  by  the  way  side,'  and  both  Matthew  and  Mark  say  that 
he,  or  they,  were  begging.  The  address  to  Jesus  as  'son  of 
David  '  is  that  which  we  find  in  the  case  of  two  blind  men  in 
Galilee,  recorded  in  Matt.  ix.  27. 

31,  32.  All  the  accounts  mention  the  rebuke  of  the  applicant  by 
the  crowds,  and  that  Jesus  '  stood '  and  ordered  the  blind  into  his 
presence  '.     Beggars  in  the  East  are  vociferous  and  pertinacious: 

1  There  is  at  this  point  almost  a  typical  instance  of  resemblance  and 
variation  :  ,        ,  . 

Matthew,  '  And  Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  them,  and  said. 
Mark,  '  And  Jesus  stood  still,  and  said,  Call  ye  him.' 
Luke,  '  And  Jesus  stood,  and  commanded  him  to  be  brought.' 

S    2 


26o  ST.   MATTHEW  20.  33— 21.  4 

33  will  ye  that  I  should  do  unto  you  ?     They  say  unto  him, 

34  Lord,  that  our  eyes  may  be  opened.  And  Jesus,  being 
moved  with  compassion,  touched  their  eyes  :  and  straight- 
way they  received  their  sight,  and  followed  him. 

21  And  when  they  drew  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  and  cam.e 
unto  Bethphage,  unto  the  mount  of  Olives,  then  Jesus 

2  sent  two  disciples,  saying  unto  them.  Go  into  the  village 
that  is  over  against  you,  and  straightway  ye  shall  find 
an  ass  tied,  and  a  colt  with  her :  loose  them^  and  bring 

3  the7n  unto  me.  And  if  any  one  say  aught  unto  you,  ye 
shall  say,  The  Lord  hath  need  of  them ;  and  straightway 

4  he  will  send  them.  Now  this  is  come  to  pass,  that  it 
might  be   fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet, 


saym 


&) 


they  cried  out  tlie  more.  As  Jericho  was  the  last  stage  in  the 
pilgrim  route  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  passover  was  near,  there 
\vould  be  a  multitude  of  spectators.  Luke  says,  '  all  the  people, 
when  they  saw  it,  gave  praise  unto  God.' 

xxi.  i-ii.  Jesus  at  Jerusalem.  The  ass  and  colt  on  which 
Jesus  was  to  ride  according  to  prophecy.  The  '  Hosanna'  of  the 
multitude. 

The  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  of  which  we  have  four 
accounts  (Matt.  xxi.  1-9;  Mark  xi.  i-ii  ;  Luke  xix.  29-44  ;  John 
xii.  12-18).  notably  signalizes  the  commencement  of  what  is 
called  'Passion  Week.'  John  xii.  i  says  that  Jesus  came  to 
Bethany  six  days  before  the  passover,  and  as  he  would  rest  on 
the  sabbath,  this  was  probably  the  first  day  of  the  week,  after- 
wards called  '  Palm  Sunday.' 

1.  In  Bethany,  the  place  where  Mary  and  Martha  lived,  Jesus 
found  his  abode  on  each  evening  of  this  fateful  week. 

2.  He  sent  two  disciples,  probably  Peter  and  John  (Mark 
xiv.  13;  Luke  xxii.  8),  to  Bethphage  =  *  the  house  of  figs/  to 
bring  an  ass  tied,  and  a  colt  with  her.  Matthew  so  closely 
follows  Mark  that  his  mention  of  both  ass  and  colt  is  singular. 
That  the  dam  should  be  with  the  foal  is  natural  enough  ;  but 
Mark  and  Luke  represent  the  colt  as  the  animal  on  which  Jesus 
rode,  whereas  Matthew  (^ verse  7)  says  that  the  garments  were 
placed  on  both  ('on  them'),  and  that  Jesus  rode  'upon  them.' 
(The  plural  pronoun  is  used,  a  fact  which  is  not  indicated  in  the 
R.  V.  'thereon.') 


ST.  MATTHEW  21.  5-1 1  261 

Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion,  5 

Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 

Meek,  and  riding  upon  an  ass, 

And  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. 
And  the  disciples  went,  and  did  even  as  Jesus  appointed   6 
them,  and   brought   the  ass,  and  the  colt,  and  put  on    7 
them   their   garments ;    and  he  sat  thereon.     And  the    8 
most  part  of  the  multitude  spread  their  garments  in  the 
way ;  and  others  cut  branches  from  the  trees,  and  spread 
them  in  the  way.     And  the  multitudes  that  went  before    9 
him,  and  that  followed,  cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the 
son  of  David :    Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord ;    Hosanna  in  the  highest.     And  when  he  10 
was  come  into  Jerusalem,  all  the  city  was  stirred,  saying, 
Who  is  this?     And  the  multitudes  said.   This   is   then 
prophet,  Jesus,  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee. 

5.  This  account  best  suits  the  prophecy  in  Zech.  ix.  g  :  upon 
an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt.  Some  refer  '  upon  them '  to  the 
garments  placed  on  the  colt.  Patristic  interpretation  found  the 
animals  to  be  figurative  of  Judaism  and  Christianity.  They  are 
more  credible  who  make  the  act  illustrative  of  the  lowliness  of 
Jesus.  It  may  be  noticed  that  for  straiglitway  he  -will  send 
them,  in  verse  3,  Mark  xi.  3  has,  'The  Lord  .  .  .  will  send  him 
back  thither,'  i.  e.  the  ass  was  to  be  returned.  The  quotation  in 
verse  5  from  Zechariah  is  mixed  with  part  of  Isa.  Ixii.  11,  and 
varies  between  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  (LXX).  Neither 
Tilark  nor  Luke  refers  to  the  prophecy ;  John  xii.  15  does  so,  but 
says  that  'when  Jesus  was  glorified,  then  they  remembered  that 
these  things  were  written.'  Justin  Martyr  {Apol.  i.  32)  connects 
the  event  with  Gen.  xlix.  11,  '  Binding  his  foal  unto  the  vine.' 

8.  the  most  part  of  the  multitude.  R.  V.  represents  a  some- 
what unusual  phrase  in  the  original, 

9.  The  cry  of  the  children,  Hosanna,  or  '  Save  now,'  is  from  a 
hymn  used  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  found  in  Psalm  cxviii.  25, 
as  also  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Iiord. 

10.  The  effect  of  this  strange  but  suggestive  procession  was 
that  (verse  15)  all  the  city  was  stirred,  and  at  that  time  pilgrims 
from  many  regions  would  be  gathered  there.  Many  would  ask, 
Who  is  this  ? 

11.  The  city  dwellers  would  think  little  more  of  the  scene  or 


262  ST.  MATTHEW  21.  12 

And  Jesus  entered  into  the  temple  of  God,  and  cast 
out  all  them  that  sold  and  bought  in  the  temple,  and 
overthrew  the  tables  of  the  moneychangers,  and  the 

of  the  central  figure  after  they  heard  that  it  was  the  prophet, 
Jesus,  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee.  Visitors  from  the  north  would 
take  perhaps  more  interest  in  the  matter.  However,  Mark  xi.  11 
tells  us  that  Jesus  went  into  the  temple,  '  looked  round  about  upon 
all  things,'  and  then  retired  to  Belhan}'. 

xxi.  12-16.  Jesus  in  the  temple.  He  expels  the  traders,  and 
heals  the  blind  and  the  lame.     The  alarm  of  the  priests. 

12.  The  narrative  of  the  purification  of  the  temple  is  found  in 
Mark  xi.  15-19;  Luke  xix.  45-48  (cf.  John  ii.  13-17).  Jesus 
entered  into  the  temple  of  God  (the  last  two  words  omitted, 
R,  V.  marg.),  and  cast  out  all  them  that  sold  and  bought. 
Foreign  money  had  to  be  exchanged  for  Jewish,  that  the  temple 
dues  might  be  paid,  and  for  this  the  tables  of  the  money- 
changers were  required  ;  but  the  brokers  had  their  offices  on 
sacred  ground.  '  Doves '  were  offered  by  the  poor  in  place  of 
lambs.  John  mentions  the  '  sheep  and  oxen'  brought  for  sacrifice. 
The  stern  severity  which  Jesus  assumed  in  this  proceeding  was 
carried  so  far  that,  as  Mark  says,  '  he  would  not  suffer  that  any 
man  should  carry  a  vessel  through  the  temple.'  It  seemed  as 
though  worship  by  external  services  was  about  to  disappear  at 
once,  and  that  of  the  spirit  was  to  come  in  suddenly.  This 
assumption  of  authority,  with  the  dread  of  a  religious  revolution, 
alarmed  the  priests — this  Galilean  w^ould  take  possession  of  the 
very  house  of  God. 

De  Wette,  Bleek,  Neander,  and  Weizsacker  identify  this 
occasion  with  that  described  in  John  ii.  13-17;  others  (as 
Meyer)  maintain  that  they  were  two  separate  events  :  one  at 
the  beginning,  the  other  at  the  close  of  the  public  ministry  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  may  be  noted  (i)  That  the  circumstances  are 
almost  exactly  similar  :  a  passover  was  near  ;  the  moneychangers 
and  the  dealers  in  doves  are  all  expelled.  The  only  difference  is 
that  John  cites  Ps.  Ixix.  9,  while  the  Synoptists  quote  Isa.  Ivi.  7. 
(2)  Meyer  suggests  that  the  first  instance  might  not  be  mentioned 
b}'  the  Synoptists,  because  it  did  not  occur  in  Galilee  :  only  then 
we  might  wonder  that  John,  who  reports  so  many  things  done 
in  Jerusalem,  did  not  mention  the  second  case.  Meyer  also 
argues  that  the  first  act  might  be  forgotten  after  three  years. 
This  reduces  the  importance  of  the  event  and  its  consequences 
too  much  for  the  entire  history.  (3"!  It  is  doubtful  whether  Jesus 
would  have  ventured  on  an  act  so  significant  at  the  early  period 
supposed  by  the  fourth  gospel.    John  ii.  19  introduces  a  reference 


ST.  MATTHEW   21.  13-18  263 

scats  of  them  that  sold  the  doves;   and  he  saith  unto  13 
them,  It  is  written,  My  house  shall  be  called  a  house 
of  prayer:  but  ye  make  it  a  den  of  robbers.     And  the  14 
blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  temple :    and 
he  healed  them.     But  when  the  chief  priests  and  the  15 
scribes  saw  the  wonderful  things  that  he  did,  and  the 
children   that   were   crying   in   the   temple   and  saying, 
Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David;  they  were  moved  with 
indignation,  and  said  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  what  these  16 
are  saying  ?     And  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Yea :  did  ye 
never  read.  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings 
thou  hast  perfected  praise?    And  he  left  them,  and  went  17 
forth  out  of  the  city  to  Bethany,  and  lodged  there. 

Now  in  the  morning  as  he  returned  to  the  city,  he  18 

to  the  resurrection,  which  was  not  spoken  of  at  all  until  a  much 
later  period.  The  idea  of  two  separate  events  rests  on  a  theory 
of  chronological  precision  which  can  scarcely  be  applied  to  the 
evangelical  narratives — to  Matthew  and  John  least  of  all.  In  this 
case  Matthew  (verses  12-17)  places  the  expulsion  of  the  traffic- 
kers on  the  day  of  the  public  entry  into  the  city  ;  Mark  (xi.  11-15), 
more  probably,  on  the  day  following. 

13.  It  is  written :  in  Isa.  Ivi.  7  and  Jer.  vii.  11 — two  passages 
from  the  O.  T.  combined. 

14,  15.  The  healing  of  the  blind  and  tlie  lame  in  the  temple 
is  only  recorded  by  Matthew,  as  also  that  the  priests  had  jealously 
observed  the  children  and  their  '  Hosanna.' 

16.  On  did  ye  never  read  .  .  .?  see  Matt.  xii.  3. 

xxi.  17-22.  The  barren  fig  tree.  Jesus  returns  from  Bethany 
to  Jerusalem  each  day.  The  fig  tree  which  disappointed  him 
when  hungry  withers  away.     A  lesson  on  faith  in  prayer. 

17.  All  the  Synoptists  refer  to  the  habit  of  Jesus  in  departing 
from  the  crowded  city  each  evening  to  rest  in  Bethany :  he 
.  .  .  lodged  there. 

18.  in  the  morning'  as  he  returned  to  the  city,  he  hungered. 
We  need  not  question  that  the  hunger  was  real  (Matt.  iv.  2),  or 
that  the  disappointment,  when  he  found  no  fruit,  was  real  aJso  ; 
yet  this  does  not  imply  sudden  anger  or  a  spirit  of  rev^enge.  The 
fig  trees  were  generally  bare  in  winter.  The  leaves  return  in  a 
favourable  season  as   early  as  the  passovcr  time,  but  not  fruit. 


264  ST.  MATTHEW   21.   19-23 

19  hungered.  And  seeing  a  fig  tree  by  the  way  side,  he 
came  to  it,  and  found  nothing  thereon,  but  leaves  only ; 
and  he  saith  unto  it,  Let  there  be  no  fruit  from  thee 
henceforward  for  ever.      And  immediately  the  fig  tree 

20  withered  away.  And  when  the  disciples  saw  it,  they 
marvelled,  saying.  How    did    the   fig   tree    immediately 

21  wither  away?  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you.  If  ye  have  faith,  and  doubt  not, 
ye  shall  not  only  do  what  is  done  to  the  fig  tree,  but 
even  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this  mountain.  Be  thou  taken 

22  up  and  cast  into  the  sea,  it  shall  be  done.  And  all 
things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye 
shall  receive. 

23  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the  chief 
priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  came  unto  him  as 


Sometimes  the  old  fruit  was  not  all  gathered,  and  was  yet  edible. 
Mark  says  '  the  time  of  figs  was  not  yet.'  The  evangelists 
scarcely  suggest  here  (as  Luke  xiii.  6)  that  the  tree  and  its  con- 
dition and  fate  were  symbolic  of  effete  Judaism  and  its  imminent 
destruction. 

21.  Both  Matthew  and  Mark  make  a  lesson  on  what  may  be 
done  by  faith  and  prayer,  on  which  cf.  Matt.  xvii.  20  with  Mark 
xi.  23  and  Luke  xvii.  6. 

xxi.  23-32.  Controversy  in  the  temple  about  the  Baptist.  His 
ministry  ought  to  have  been  received.     Parable  of  Two  Sons. 

23.  The  next  great  occasion  in  this  wonderful  story  is  the  en- 
counter of  Jesus  with  tlie  cMef  priests  and  tlie  elders  of  the 
people  in  the  temple.  The  procession  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
the  crowds,  the  cry  of  the  children,  the  cleansing  of  the  temple, 
the  miracles,  and  teaching  had  brought  sensation  to  a  maximum. 
The  priests  must  accept  or  disprove  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  be  the 
Messiah  :  verses  23-27  ;  Mark  xi.  27-33  ;  Luke  xx.  1-8.  During 
the  night  they  had  consulted  and  had  elaborated  a  skilfully  drawn 
question  which  should  be  unanswerable  :  it  ought  to  cover  this 
Pretender  with  confusion.  So,  when  he  was  come  into  the 
temple,  at  the  critical  moment,  after  the  morning  prayer,  the 
crowd,  anticipating  the  conflict,  had  gathered  about  Jesus  and 
his  friends.     Now  the  *  chief  priests ' — the  highest  dignitaries  in 


ST.  MATTHEW  21.  24-28  265 

he  was  teaching,  and  said,  By  what  authority  doest  thou 
these  things?  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority?     And  24 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  I  also  will  ask  you 
one  question,  which  if  ye  tell  me,  I   likewise   will  tell 
you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things.     The  baptism  25 
of  John,  whence  was  it?    from   heaven   or   from   men? 
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  shall  say,  From  men ;  26 
we  fear  the  multitude;  for  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet. 
And  they  answered  Jesus,  and  said.  We  know  not.     He  27 
also  said  unto  them,  Neither  tell  I  you  by  what  authority 
I   do  these  things.     But  what  think  ye?     A  man  had  28 
two  sons;  and  he  came  to  the  first,  and  said,  Son,  go 

church  or  state — drew  near.  They  interrupted  him  as  he  was 
teaching-;  their  great  question  could  not  Hnger :  By  what 
authority  doest  thou  these  thing's?  We  can  imagine  the 
silence  which  fell  upon  that  crowd  as  they  waited  for  his 
answer. 

24,  25.  But  his  reply  was  but  another  question  ;  The  haptisxu 
of  John,  whence  was  it  ?  from  heaven  or  from  men  ? 

26.  How  simple,  yet  how  perplexing !  If  they  said  that  John 
was  '  from  heaven  '  they  would  condemn  themselves,  for  they  had 
not  accepted  his  message.  Should  they  say  'from  men,'  the 
crowd  would  stone  them  (Luke),  for  all  hold  John  as  a 
prophet. 

27.  Their  only  refuge  was  in  agnosticism  :  We  know  not. 
Me3'er  and  other  commentators  miss  the  point  here  by  supposing 
that  the  priests  and  Pharisees  had  failed  in  believing  what  John 
had  said  about  Jesus.  This  was  not  it ;  but  rather  that  they  had 
not  received  John's  ministry  of  repentance  and  preparation  for 
the  kingdom.  In  verse  32  they  are  reminded  that  '  the  publicans 
and  harlots'  had  *  believed  him.'  Nicodemus  (John  iii.  5)  was 
required  to  accept  this  baptism  of  water;  the  first  disciples  of 
Jesus  had  been  followers  of  the  Baptist ;  but  '  the  Pharisees  and 
the  lawyers  rejected  for  themselves  the  counsel  of  God,  being  not 
baptized  of  him  '  (Luke  vii.  30).  Even  Jesus  came  to  be  baptized 
of  John:  see  Matt.  iii.  15. 

28.  The  parable  of  the  two  sons  is  only  in  Matthew,  though 
it  has  some  points  of  resemblance  with  that  of  the  '  Prodigal  Son,' 


266  ST.  MATTHEW  21.  29-33 

29  work  to-day  in  the  vineyard.  And  he  answered  and 
said,  I  will  not :  but  afterward  he  repented  himself,  and 

30  went.  And  he  came  to  the  second,  and  said  likewise. 
And   he  answered  and  said,   I  go^  sir :   and  went  not. 

31  Whether  of  the  twain  did  the  will  of  his  father?  They 
say,  The  first.  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,   that    the   publicans   and   the   harlots  go  into  the 

32  kingdom  of  God  before  you.  For  John  came  unto  you 
in  the  way  of  righteousness,  and  ye  believed  him  not: 
but  the  publicans  and  the  harlots  believed  him  :  and  ye, 
when  ye  saw  it,  did  not  even  repent  yourselves  afterward, 
that  ye  might  believe  him. 

33  Hear  another  parable :  There  was  a  man  that  was 
a  householder,  which  planted  a  vineyard,  and  set  a  hedge 
about  it,  and  digged  a  winepress  in  it,  and  built  a  tower, 
and  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went  into  another 


Luke  XV.  The  latter  looks  at  the  religious  history  of  Jews  and 
Gentiles  ;  the  former  at  the  different  reception  given  to  the  call 
of  the  gospel  by  separate  classes.  There  are  many  various 
readings  of  the  passage,  because  there  has  been  doubt  whether 
the  Pharisees  approved  of  the  conduct  of  the  disobedient  son  or 
of  the  one  that  repented. 

31.  The  R.  V.  leaves  the  first  in  verse  31,  but  Lachmann, 
Tregelles,  and  Westcott  have  *the  last.'  This,  however,  is 
associated  with  a  change  in  the  order  of  answers  which  leaves  the 
meaning  the  same. 

xxi.  33-46.  The  Vineyard  and  the  Servants.  Even  the  son  is 
put  to  death.     The  stone  which  was  rejected. 

33.  The  parable  of  the  Vineyard  (Isa.  v.  1-7)  appears  in  Matt, 
verses  33-46 ;  Mark  xii.  1-12  ;  Luke  xx.  9-19  with  little  change. 
When  a  householder  .  .  .  planted  a  vineyard,  a  wall  or  a  prickly 
hedg'e  was  the  usual  defence.  Israel  w^as  wonderfully  segregated 
by  mountains,  by  the  desert,  and  by  the  sea  from  surrounding 
peoples  of  greater  power.  Its  seclusion  was  at  once  its  safety 
and  its  peril.  The  -winepress  was  usually  hollowed  out  of  rock, 
with  two  compartments,  the  upper  for  the  grapes,  the  lower  for 
the  wine.  Both  parts  are  referred  to  in  Joel  iii.  13.  Often 
vinejards  or  oliveyards  were  let  out  to  husbandmen,  who  paid 


ST.  MATTHEW  21.  34-41  267 

country.     And  when  the  season  of  the  fruits  drew  near,  34 
ho  sent  his  servants  to  the  husbandmen,  to  receive  his 
fruits.     And  the   husbandmen    took    his    servants,   and  35 
beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned  another.    Again,  36 
he  sent  other  servants  more  than  the  first :  and  they  did 
unto  them  in  like  manner.     But  afterward  he  sent  unto  37 
them  his  son,  saying.  They  will  reverence  my  son.     But  3S 
the  husbandmen,  when  they  saw  the  son,  said  among 
themselves,  This  is  the  heir ;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and 
take  his  inheritance.     And  they  took  him,  and  cast  him  39 
forth  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  killed  him.     When  there-  40 
fore  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  shall  come,  what  will  he 
do  unto  those  husbandmen  ?     They  say  unto  him.  He  41 
will  miserably  destroy  those  miserable  men,  and  will  let 
out  the  vineyard  unto  other  husbandmen,  which  shall 


to  the  proprietor  one-half  the  produce.     This  system  of  farming 
was  common  in  feudal  Europe. 

34.  The  servants  who  were  sent  to  collect  Ms  fruits  were 
the  prophets,  who  were  subjected  to  persistent  resistance  and 
persecution. 

37.  At  length  he  sent  liis  son,  saying,  They  will  reverence 
my  son  (Mark  and  Luke,  'beloved  son  *). 

38.  But  the  unfaithful  husbandmen  saw  this  to  be  their  great 
opportunity.  They  said  :  This  is  the  heir ;  come,  let  us  kill 
him;  as  did  the  brothers  of  Joseph,  Gen.  xxxvii.  27. 

39.  The  reference  to  the  fate  of  Jesus,  who  was  crucified 
without  the  city  (Heb.  xiii.  12),  is  very  clear  in  they  took  him, 
and  cast  him  forth  out  of  the  vineyard,  i.  e.  their  repudiation 
of  him  was  complete. 

41.  Matthew  ascribes  the  prediction  of  the  fate  of  the  murderers 
to  the  people  :  They  say.  No  doubt  some  sense  of  justice  still 
lingered  in  their  breasts. 

He  will  miserably  destroy  those  miserable  men.  The 
R.  V.  is  here  ingeniously  literal  (cf,  A.  V.  'wicked  men'),  and 
fairly  indicates  one  of  those  paronomasiae,  i.  e.  a  play  on  words, 
which  some  quote  against  every  theory  of  a  translation.  It 
became  a  general  conviction  in  Christian  circles  that  Jerusalem 
was  destroyed  because  Jesus  had  been  rejected  and  crucified. 
The  vineyard  was  indeed  let  out  to  other  husbandmen.     The 


268  ST.  MATTHEW  21.  42-46 

42  render  him  the  fruits  in  their  seasons.  Jesus  saith  unto 
them,  Did  ye  never  read  in  the  scriptures, 

The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected, 
The  same  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner : 
This  was  from  the  Lord, 
And  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes  ? 

43  Therefore  say  I  unto  you,  The  kingdom  of  God  shall 
be  taken  away  from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation 

44  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof.  And  he  that  falleth 
on  this  stone  shall  be  broken  to  pieces :  but  on  whom- 

45  soever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  scatter  him  as  dust.  And 
when    the    chief   priests    and   the    Pharisees   heard   his 

46  parables,  they  perceived  that  he  spake  of  them.  And 
when  they  sought  to  lay  hold  on  him,  they  feared  the 
multitudes,  because  they  took  him  for  a  prophet. 

Romans    entered    into   the    political    inheritance    of   Israel  ;    the 
Gentiles  became  children  of  Abraham  and  heirs  of  the  promise. 

42.  The  prophetic  figure  of  the  rejected  stone  is  taken  from 
the  same  Psalm  (cxviii.  22)  from  which  '  Hosanna '  is  derived. 
By  Paul  (Rom.  ix.  33)  it  is  applied  to  Jesus  as  the  Messiah. 
In  I  Pet.  ii.  6  there  seems  to  be  some  allusion  to  the  admission 
of  the  Gentiles  to  the  church,  which  is  the  application  of  it  in 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  :  Tlierefore  say  I  -anto  you,  The  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  away  from  yon  (4-3). 

44.  Here  and  in  Luke  xx.  18  there  is  associated  with  this  a 
reference  to  'the  stone  of  stumbling,'  Isa.  viii.  14,  15,  which 
again  is  referred  to  by  Paul,  Rom.  ix.  33,  and  i  Pet.  ii.  8,  as 
also  in  Isa.  xxviii.  16.  What  the  Jew  objected  to  was  a  foundation 
which  would  sustain  the  Gentile  as  well  as  himself:  cf  i  Cor.  iii.  11 ; 
Eph.  ii.  20.  The  head  of  the  corner  (42)  was  perhaps  some  famous 
monolith  placed  in  the  foundation  of  the  second  temple,  or  on 
the  uppermost  place  in  the  wall  at  a  conspicuous  angle. 

For  A.  V.  '  will  grind  him  to  powder,'  R.  V.  has  will  scatter 
him  as  dust.  The  latter  is  nearer  the  ordinary  classical  meaning 
of  the  word. 

45.  they  perceived  that  he  spake  of  them.  All  the  Synoptists 
have  this  confession  of  the  authorities  that  they  understood  liis 
parable. 

46.  they  took   him  for   a  prophet,    which  was    the   highest 


ST.  MATTHEW   22.  i-6  269 

And  Jesus  answered  and  spake  again  in  parables  unto  22 
them,  saying,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  hkened  unto    2 
a  certain  king,  which  made  a  marriage  feast  for  his  son, 
and  sent  forth  his  servants  to  call  them  that  were  bidden    3 
to  the  marriage  feast :  and  they  would  not  come.    Again    4 
he  sent  forth  other  servants,  saying,  Tell  them  that  are 
bidden,  Behold,  I  have  made  ready  my  dinner :  my  oxen 
and  my  fatlings  are  killed,  and  all   things  are  ready : 
come  to  the  marriage  feast.     But  they  made  light  of  it,    5 
and  went  their  ways,  one  to  his  own  farm,  another  to 
his  merchandise  :  and  the  rest  laid  hold  on  his  servants,    6 


honour  they  could  at  that  time  render  to  him  ;  see  on  John  the 
Baptist,  verse  126. 

xxii.  1-14.  Parable  of  the  Marriage  Feast.  The  invitation  dis- 
regarded, the  servants  abused,  then  the  murderers  punished.  A 
wider  summons  given,  when  one  entered  without  a  wedding- 
garment. 

1-3.  The  parable  of  the  Marriage  Feast  as  it  appears  here  is 
only  in  Matt.  xxii.  1-14.  The  parable  in  Luke  xiv.  15-24  is 
evidently  the  same,  but  with  many  diflferences.  The  feast  was 
made  in  honour  of  the  son  of  the  king ;  Luke  omits  this,  but 
agrees  that  the  servants  were  sent  to  call  tliein  that  were 
bidden.  The  great  lesson  of  the  parable  is  that  the  gospel, 
rejected  by  Jews,  was  to  be  offered  to  a  wider  circle. 

4.  The  invitation  already  given  by  John  and  Jesus  was  to  be 
renewed  by  otiier  servants.  The  dinner  (Matthew)  was  a 
midday  meal,  and  the  first  of  a  series  of  entertainments;  the 
'supper'  (Luke)  was  one  of  the  later  items  in  the  programme. 
The  original  v.'ord  for  tlie  marriage  feast  is  in  the  plural, 
suggesting  that  it  was  distributed  over  several  days.  Hence  if 
the  first  day's  call  was  disregarded,  others  could  be  brought  in  on 
following  days. 

5.  But  they  made  light  of  it.  This  is  the  same  word  used  in 
Heb.  ii.  3,  '  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation.'  Luke  has,  '  all 
with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse.'  M3-stical  meanings 
in  each  of  the  pleas  for  absence  have  been  sought,  but  the  latter 
seem  to  have  been  adduced  merely  to  give  form  to  the  parable. 
Under  such  circumstances  men  unwilling  to  go  to  a  feast  would 
proceed  one  to  his  .  .  .  farm,  another  to  his  merchandise. 

6.  Lu!:c  docs  not  include   the  account   of  the  violence,   even 


270  ST.  MATTHEW  22.  7-13 

7  and  entreated  them  shamefully,  and  killed  them.     But 
the  king  was  wroth ;   and  he  sent  his  armies,  and  de- 

8  stroyed  those  murderers,  and  burned  their  city.     Then 
saith  he  to  his  servants,  The  wedding  is  ready,  but  they 

9  that  were  bidden  were  not  worthy.      Go  ye  therefore 
unto  the  partings  of  the  highways,  and  as  many  as  ye 

10  shall  find,  bid  to  the  marriage  feast.  And  those  servants 
went  out  into  the  highways,  and  gathered  together  all 
as  many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and  good:    and  the 

11  wedding  was  filled  with  guests.  But  when  the  king 
came  in  to  behold  the  guests,  he  saw  there  a  man  which 

12  had  not  on  a  wedding-garment:  and  he  saith  unto  him, 
Friend,  how  earnest  thou  in  hither  not  having  a  wedding- 

13  garment?  And  he  was  speechless.  Then  the  king  said 
to  the  servants,  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him 

to  murder,  inflicted  on  the  servants ;   nor  of  the  punishment  of 
the  murderers. 

7.  The  fact  that  the  king  sent  his  armies  .  .  .  and  burned 
their  city  shews  that  this  parable  was  intended  to  declare  the 
consequences  of  the  rejection  of  Jesus  by  the  Jews.  The  intrusion 
of  these  circumstances  has  led  some  to  suppose  that  here  Matthew 
combines  two  parables. 

8.  The  wedding-  is  ready.  Though  the  gospel  was  preached 
to  Gentiles  before  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  Paul  and  others, 
yet  after  that  event  it  was  more  freely  proclaimed  and  accepted. 
The  comparison  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  a  'wedding'  is  found 
in  Matt.  xxv.  i  ;  Rev.  xxi.  2. 

10.  The  effect  of  the  wider  invitation  is  an  immense  accession 
to  numbers,  but  quality  is  difficult  to  maintain  :  "bad  and  ^ood 
were  found  together  in  the  church  :  wheat  and  tares. 

12.  But  the  Gentiles  had  to  be  taught  that  if  conformity  to 
Jewish  ritual  was  not  required  of  them,  submission  to  the  claims 
of  the  higher  righteousness  could  not  be  dispensed  with  (Matt. 
V.  20).  None  had  a  right  to  enter  this  feast  without  a  wedding*- 
garment.  The  persecutors  and  murderers  had  been  slain  (verse 
7),  and  the  new  guests  are  subjected  to  careful  scrutiny:  the 
king  came  in  to  hehold  the  guests  (11).  So  Paul  (Rom.  xi.  21) 
made  the  spiritual  overthrow  of  the  Jew  a  lesson  for  the  Gentile  : 
Mf  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  neither  will  he  spare 
thee.' 


ST.  MATTHEW  22.  14-19  271 

out  into  the  outer  darkness ;  there  shall  be  the  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth.     For  many  are  called,  but  few  14 
chosen. 

Then  went  the  Pharisees,  and  took  counsel  how  they  15 
might  ensnare  him  in  his  talk.     And  they  send  to  him  16 
their  disciples,  with  the  Herodians,  saying,  Master,  we 
know  that  thou  art  true,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God 
in  truth,  and  carest  not  for  any  one :  for  thou  regardest 
not  the  person  of  men.     Tell  us  therefore.  What  thinkest  17 
thou  ?     Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar,  or  not  ? 
But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and   said.  Why  18 
tempt   ye   me,  ye   hypocrites?     Shew   me   the    tribute  19 

13.  tlie  weeping-  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Cf.  Matt.  viii.  12, 
xiii.  42,  50,  xxiv.  51,  xxv.  30  ;  Luke  xiii.  28. 

14.  For  many  are  called,  taut  few  chosen.     This  was  specially 

manifest  when  the  gospel  was  first  preached.  Not  all  those  who 
are  included  in  the  visible  church  belong  to  the  church  of  the 
saved:  'called  and  chosen  and  faithful,'  Rev.  xvii.  14.  This 
passage  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  N.  T.  to  be  quoted  as  Scripture. 
The  '  Epistle  of  Barnabas,'  which  was  only  fully  known  in  a 
Latin  translation,  has  since  1849  been  known  in  Greek.  Its  date 
is  supposed  to  be  about  115  a.  d.  It  says  (iv.  14),  *  Let  us  beware 
lest  we  be  found,  as  it  is  written,  ''  Many  are  called,  but  few  are 
chosen."  '  It  should  also  be  noticed  that  the  epistle  is  in  the  same 
place  speaking  of  Israel,  which  had  been  '  abandoned  '  of  God. 
A  similar  passage  in  4  Esdras  viii.  3  has  sometimes  been  quoted  as 
the  origin  of  this  saying  ;  but  it  is  now  generally  believed  that  this 
apocryphal  book  was  produced  at  the  end  of  the  first  century. 

xxii,  15-22.  A  conspiracy.  The  Pharisees  and  Herodians  combine 
to  ensnare  Jesus.     Is  tribute  to  Caesar  lawful  ?     An  historic  reply. 

15.  the  Pharisees  .  .  .  took  counsel  how  they  might  ensnare 
him.  Mark  (xii.  13-17)  and  Luke  (xx.  20-26)  say  that  the  con- 
spirators hoped  that  they  might  compromise  him  with  the  rulers. 

17.  The  question  shewed  their  usual  astuteness.  If  he  forbade 
tribute  unto  Caesar,  the  Herodians,  as  the  supporters  of  the 
existing  regime.^  would  impeach  him  ;  if  he  recommended  the 
payment,  he  would  offend  the  Pharisees  and  the  populace.  The 
nationalist  cry  was,  '  No  king  but  God.' 

19.  The  '  tribute  money '  had  a  foreign  name — census,  a  Latin 
word.  Thetermitself  was  full  of  prejudice.  Matthew  the  collector 
would  well  know  its  full  significance. 


272  ST.  MATTHEW  22.  20-24 

20  money.  And  they  brought  unto  him  a  penny.  And 
he  saith  unto  them,  Whose  is  this  image  and  super- 

21  scription?  They  say  unto  him,  Caesar's.  Then  saith 
he  unto  them,  Render  therefore  unto  Caesar  the  things 
that  are  Csesar's ;    and  unto   God  the  things  that  are 

22  God's.  And  when  they  heard  it,  they  marvelled,  and 
left  him,  and  went  their  way, 

23  On  that  day  there  came  to  him  Sadducees,  which  say 

24  that  there  is  no  resurrection  :  and  they  asked  him,  saying, 
Master,  Moses  said.  If  a  man  die,  having  no  children, 

a  penny :  see  Matt,  xviii.  28,  xx.  2,  9  ;  Mark  xii.  15  ;  Luke 
XX.  24.  This  was  the  '  coin  of  the  census,  or  tribute.'  It  was  to 
oppose  this  '  taxing'  of  a  denarius  per  head  that  Judas  of  Galilee 
had  risen  long  before,  Acts  v.  37.  Whether  the  tax  had  to  be 
paid  in  Roman  coin,  or  whether  the  later  Herods  had  placed  the 
royal  effigy  on  the  Jewish  money,  is  doubtful. 

20.  The  latter  bore  no  '  image  '  of  a  ruler  before  this  time.  The 
Herodians  only  united  with  Pharisees  for  mischief,  as  Herod  with 
Pilate,  Their  religious  indiiTerence  brought  them  into  affinity 
with  the  Sadducees  more  than  with  the  Pharisees;  and  their 
political  tendencies  were  thoroughly  opposed  to  those  of  the 
latter  :  Josephus,  A7tt.  xvii.  2,  4. 

21.  The  answer  of  Jesus  to  his  associated  foes  astonished  the 
men  of  that  day,  and  is  still  being  pondered  by  human  governors 
in  church  and  state.  It  is  the  same  in  all  the  Synoptists : 
Bender  .  .  .  unto  Csssar,  &c. 

xxii.  23-33.  The  Sadduccean  question.  Will  they  marry  in  the 
resurrection  ?     What  is  meant  by  '  the  God  of  Abraham,'  &c,  ? 

23.  The  question  of  the  Sadducees  (Mark  xii.  18-27  ;  Luke  xx. 
27-40)  shews  that  their  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life 
was  based  on  scientific  and  practical  difficulties  as  well  as  on  the 
lack  of  support  in  the  O.  T.  Mark  and  Luke  do  not  mention  this 
sect  before  this  event  :  cf.  Matt.  iii.  7,  The  marginal  reading 
'  saying '  is  better  than  R.  V,  '  which  say '  that  there  is  no 
resurrection, 

24.  The  law  which  required  a  surviving  brother  to  marry  his 
brother's  widow,  if  she  were  childless,  is  found  in  Deut.  xxv.  5, 
but  is  implied  in  Gen,  xxxviii,  8,  and  was  an  almost  universal 
ethnic  custom,  (Such  marriages  are  called  levirate  irom.  the  Latin 
/^z;/r=  brother-in-law,)  The  Deuteronomic  passage  is  not  quoted 
verbatim  by  the  Synoptists.  It  applied  specially  to  the  absence  of 
male  children  :  if  he  '  have  no  son.' 


ST.  MATTHEW   22.  25-51  273 

his  brother  shall  marry  his  wife,  and  raise  up  seed  unto 
his  brother.     Now  there  were  with  us  seven  brethren :  25 
and  the  first  married  and  deceased,  and  having  no  seed 
left  his  wife  unto  his  brother;  in  like  manner  the  second  26 
also,  and  the  third,  unto  the  seventh.     And  after  them  27 
all  the  woman  died.     In  the  resurrection  therefore  whose  28 
wife  shall  she  be  of  the  seven?    for  they  all  had  her. 
But  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Ye  do  err,  not  29 
knowing  the  scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God.     For  in  30 
the  resurrection  they   neither  marry,  nor  are  given   in 
marriage,  but  are  as  angels  in  heaven.     But  as  touching  31 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read  that  which 


25.  Matthew  represents  the  case  as  one  that  had  actually 
occurred  :  there  were  -with,  us  seven  torethren ;  but  some 
fChrysostom,  Victor,  Meyer)  hold  that  it  was  supposititious  and 
frivolous. 

28.  In  tlie  resurrection  therefore.  The  Pharisees  enter- 
tained materialistic  conceptions  on  such  subjects,  and  expected 
the  faithful  to  have  wives  and  children  in  Paradise — an  idea  which 
has  taken  root  in  Mahometanism.  The  Book  of  Enoch  (x.  17)  says 
that  the  righteous  shall  live  so  long  as  to  beget  thousands.  The 
Pharisaic  doctrine  was,  therefore,  open  to  the  Sadducaean  criticism. 

29.  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing-  the  scriptures,  which  speak  of 
the  patriarchs  as  living  still  in  relation  to  God  :  Exod.  iii.  6,  '  I 
am  the  God  of  thy  father,'  &c.  The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
was  not  yet  so  clearl}'  defined  as  it  was  afterwards.  The  identity 
of  that  doctrine  with  that  of  immortality  appears  more  clearly  in 
Mark  xii.  26  :  *  as  touching  the  dead,  that  they  are  raised.'  The 
teaching  assumes  that  the  O.  T.  has,  underlying  its  vie\v  of  the 
relation  of  man  to  God,  this  conception  of  a  permanent  association 
with  Him  :  John  v.  39.  The  Sadducees,  because  they  did  not 
know  the  true  significance  of  what  was  said  in  the  Scriptures, 
///.  *  since  ye  do  not  know  the  Scriptures,'  are  refuted  from  the 
Pentateuch  which  they  professed  to  accept.  Nor  did  they  rightly 
estimate  tlie  power  of  God  who  gave  man  his  present  life,  we 
know  not  how,  and  can  continue  that  life  under  conditions  at 
present  not  disclosed.  The  Pharisees  were  right  in  their  faith  in 
immortality,  but  their  grosser  conceptions  of  it  are  rebuked. 

30.  Tiic  saints  in  tlie  resurrection  .  .  .  are  as  angels  ia 
lieaven  (' of  God,'  A.V.  and  R.  V.  marg.,  is  doubtful). 

T 


2  74  ST.  MATTHEW   22.  32-39 

32  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God,  saying,  I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  ? 

33  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  hving.  And 
when  the  multitudes  heard  it,  they  were  astonished  at 
his  teaching. 

34  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  that  he  had  put 
the  Sadducees  to  silence,  gathered  themselves  together. 

35  And  one  of  them,  a  lawyer,  asked  him  a  question,  tempt- 

36  ing  him,  Master,  which  is   the  great  commandment  in 

37  the  law?  And  he  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 

38  and  with  all  thy  mind.     This  is  the  great  and  first  com- 

39  mandment.     And  a  second  like  unto  it  is  this.  Thou 


xxii.  34-40.  The  lawyers  question.  All  the  law  comprised  in 
two  commandments. 

35.  Luke  has  a  section  (x.  25")  which  resembles  this  reference 
to  an  inquiring  lawyer  (cf.  Mark  xii.  28-34),  but  introducing  the 
jDarable  of  the  good  Samaritan.  Renan  (Strauss)  confounds  this 
narrative  with  that  of  the  ruler,  xix.  16.  Matthew  abridges  the 
account  of  Mark,  who,  however,  describes  the  man  as  '  one  of  the 
scribes,'  and  never  speaks  of  '  lawyers.'  Matthew  onl}'^  mentions 
them  here  (Luke  vii.  30,  xi.  45).  Though  Matthew  and  Luke  say 
that  the  lawyer  came  tempting-  Jesus,  Mark  puts  a  more  favour- 
able construction  on  the  man's  motive.  He  shews  that  the  man 
candidly  received  the  answer  from  Jesus,  and  that  the  latter  said  : 
*Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God.' 

36.  whicli  is  the  great  commandment  ?  or  rather,  '  Of  what 
kind  is  it? '  Is  it  moral  or  ceremonial  ?  Once  more  Jesus  taught 
that  life  is  more  than  creed,  conduct  more  than  ritual.  Thoxi 
Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart.  These  words 
from  Deut.  vi.  4-5  were  in  the  Shema  which  was  recited  daily  by 
every  Jew,  and  written  on  the  roll  which  the  scribe  carried  about 
with  him.  The  O.  T.  included  all  the  powers  of  man— of  thought, 
feeling,  and  energy — under  heart,  soul,  and  might :  Matthew 
follows  a  variation  in  the  LXX  which  omits  '  might,'  but  Luke 
x.  27  combines  heart,  soul,  might  and  mind. 

38.  This  is  the  great  (or,  by  the  Hebrew  idiom  which  uses 
the  positive  for  the  superlative,  'the  greatest')  and  first  com- 
mandment. 

39.  The  second  commandment  is  taken  from  Lev.  xix.  i8. 


ST.  MATTHEW    22.  40-44  275 

shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     On  these  two  com-  40 
mandments  hangeth  the  whole  law,  and  the  prophets. 

Now  while  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together,  Jesus  41 
asked  them  a  question,  saying,  What  think  ye  of  the  42 
Christ  ?  whose  son  is  he  ?     They  say  unto  him,  The  son 
of  David.     He  saith  unto  them.  How  then  doth  David  43 
in  the  Spirit  call  him  Lord,  saying, 

The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  44 

Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand, 

Till  I  put  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet  ? 

40.  On  these  two  commandments  b.ang'eth  the  whole  law, 
and  the  prophets  :  Rom.  xiii.  9;  Matt.  v.  17,  vii.  12. 

xxii.  41-46.  Another  great  question  from  Jesus.  Is  the  Christ 
David's  son  or  David's  Lord  ?     Unanswerable. 

41.  Matthew  (verses  41-46)  says  that  the  question  relating  to 
David's  son  and  Lord  was  addressed  to  the  Pharisees:  in  Mark 
xii.  35-37  and  Luke  xx.  41-44  it  came  in  a  discourse  to  the 
people — among  whom  some  Pharisees  still  lingered. 

42.  All  parties  were  agreed  that  the  Christ  would  be  a  son  of 
David.  Such  passages  as  Isa.  xi.  i  and  Jer.  xxiii.  5  (cf.  Matt.  ii. 
23)  had  seemed  to  make  this  clear  to  later  interpretation,  yet  there 
is  no  reference  to  the  fact  in  the  Book  of  Enoch. 

43.  How  then  doth  David  in  the  Spirit  call  him  Itord  ?  So 
far  as  Matthew's  language  is  concerned  it  might  be  that  David 
inwardly,  i.  e.  in  his  own  spirit,  called  him  '  Lord.'  For  'in  spirit' 
Mark  has  '  in  the  Holy  Spirit,'  and  Luke,  '  in  the  book  of  Psalms.' 
The  quotation  is  from  Ps.  ex.  i.  This  Psalm  is  frequently  referred 
to  in  the  N.  T.,  and  until  recently  was  regarded  as  a  composition 
of  David  :  '  David  himself  said,'  &c.,  Mark  xii.  36.  Modern 
criticism  disputes  this  point.  Dr.  Sanday  (Inspiration^  p.  409) 
says,  'Whatever  its  trua  date  it  seems  difficult  to  believe  [that  the 
Psalm]  really  came  from  hihi.'  But  in  our  Lord's  da3'S  the 
authorship  was  unquestioned.  The  original  is,  'The  oracle  of 
Jehovah  to  Adonai  is' ;  but  in  the  Greek  both  these  titles  of  Deity 
were  represented  b}'  one  word,  '  Lord.'  The  problem  was  to 
shew  how  he  who  was  confessed  by  all  to  be  the  Son  of  David 
could  yet  be  his  superior  and  Lord. 

44.  Sit  thou  . .  .  till  I  put  thy  enemies  tinderneath  thy  feet  : 
A.  V.  had  *  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool,'  which  is  the 
reading  in  Luke  xx.  42  ;  Heb.  i.  13.  This  is  a  case  in  which 
Matthew  and  Mark  accept  a  variation  from  both  the  Hebrew  and 
the  Gruck  in  an  O.  T.  quotation. 

T    2 


2  76  ST.  MATTHEW   22.  45—23.  5 

45  If  David  then  calleth   him   Lord,  how  is  he  his  son  ? 

46  And  no  one  was  able  to  answer  him  a  word,  neither 
durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask  him  any  more 
questions. 

23       Then  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitudes  and  to  his  dis- 

2  ciples,   saying,   The   scribes   and   the    Pharisees   sit   on 

3  Moses'  seat :  all  things  therefore  whatsoever  they  bid 
you,  these  do  and  observe :    but  do  not  ye  after  their 

4  works ;  for  they  say,  and  do  not.  Yea,  they  bind  heavy 
burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  lay  them  on 
men's   shoulders ;    but   they  themselves  will   not   move 

5  them  with  their  finger.  But  all  their  works  they  do  for 
to  be  seen  of  men  :  for  they  make  broad  their  phylac- 

46.  And  no  one  was  aljle  to  answer  liim  a  word.  This  remark 
is  placed  by  Mark  at  the  end  of  the  previous  discussion.  He  had 
overcome  every  antagonist.  Henceforth  his  enemies  could  only 
plan  his  destruction.     Nova  dehinc  quasi  scena  se  pandit  (Bengel). 

xxiii.  I-I2.  Jestis  and  the  scribes.  '  They  say  and  do  not.'  Dis- 
ciples are  not  Rabbis.     The  humble  shall  be  exalted. 

The  chief  contents  of  this  chapter  are  peculiar  to  Matthew. 
Some  fragments  of  the  same  collection  of  sayings  are  found  in 
Mark  xii.  38-40  ;  Luke  xi.  39-52,  xx.  45-47. 

2.  sit  on  Moses'  seat:  Exod.  xviii.  13,  'Moses  sat  to  judge 
the  people '  ;  cf.  2  Thess.  ii.  4. 

3.  The  direction  to  do  and  observe  that  which  the  scribes 
taught  is  not  inconsistent  with  Matt.  xvi.  6,  or  with  Mark  xii.  38 
(Luke  xx,  46).  These  teachers  quoted  and  expounded  the  law 
of  Moses.  That  tliey  say,  and  do  not  is  noted  in  Matt.  vii.  26: 
cf.  Jas.  i.  22  ;  and  Paul's  impeachment  of  the  Jewish  teachers, 
Rom.  ii.  17. 

4.  they  bind  heavy  burdens.  The  following  words  '  and 
grievous  to  be  borne,'  A.  V,,  are  probably  from  Luke  xi.  46,  Peter, 
Acts  XV.  ID,  describes  circumcision  as  a  yoke  unbearable  :  cf.  Acts 
XV.  28.  These  burdens  were  not  only  ceremonial  but  financial. 
The  'yoke'  of  Jesus  was  'easy,'  Matt.  xi.  30.  These  spiritual 
taskmasters  brought  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  'shoulders'  of  their 
victims,  but  did  not  endure  a  strain  upon  their  own  *  fingers.' 

5.  Their  piety  was  ostentatious  :  Matt.  vi.  i. 

they  make  broad  their  phylacteries.  Phylacteries  (Hob. 
tephilliyn,  or  prayers  ;  Gk.  guards,  charms,  or  amulets)  were  strips 


ST.  MATTHEW  23.  6-id  277 

teries,  and  enlarge  the  borders  of  their  garf7ients,  and  6 
love  the  chief  place  at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats  in  the 

synagogues,  and  the  salutations  in  the  marketplaces,  and  7 

to   be  called  of  men,  Rabbi.      But    be    not   ye   called  8 
Rabbi :  for  one  is  your  teacher,  and  all  ye  are  brethren. 

And  call  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth  :  for  one  is  9 

your  Father,  which  is  in  heaven.     Neither  be  ye  called  10 

of  parchment  inscribed  with  four  portions  of  the  law,  and  worn 
on  the  left  arm  and  on  the  forehead  (Exod.  xiii.  16). 

and  enlarge  tlie  'borders  :  the  fringes  and  tassels,  all  of 
which  were  prescribed  by  traditional  use,  and  were  worn  by  Jesus 
himself :  Matt.  ix.  20 ;  cf.  Num.  xv.  38. 

6.  They  love  tlie  chief  place  at  feasts,  as  Luke  xiv.  8.  The 
couch  {iriclinitim)  held  two  or  three  guests  :  the  most  honoured 
of  these  occupied  the  centre  or  the  right-hand  place. 

tlie  chief  seats  in  the  synag-ogTies  were  placed  in  front  of 
the  congregation,  where  all  could  have  a  sight  of  those  who 
occupied  them:  cf.  Jas.  ii.  3,  'sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place.' 

7.  the  salutations  in  the  marketplaces.  The  definite  article, 
which  is  introduced  in  the  R.  V.,  points  to  the  usual  greetings  and 
tokens  of  respect  which  awaited  persons  of  dignity  when  they 
appeared  in  the  centres  of  publicity. 

8.  But  be  not  ye  called  Rabbi.  Such  a  direction  presupposes 
the  existence  of  a  society  of  believers  in  which  some  attained 
authority  over  the  rest.  The  hearers  of  such  sayings  were  already 
*  teachers  '  or  '  prophets.'  '  Rabbi,'  '  my  Lord,'  or  '  m\^  great  one,* 
had  not  long  been  in  use  as  the  titles  of  Jewish  doctors  and 
scribes.  These  sayings  of  Jesus  form  the  ground  on  which  the 
'  Friends,'  and  some  other  Christian  societies,  base  their  opinion 
that  '  flattering  titles '  should  not  be  used  among  Christians — one 
is  your  teacher,  not  '  master,'  as  verse  10. 

all  ye  are  brethren.  This  is  the  name  which  the  believers 
generally  receive  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles,  'even  Christ'  is 
omitted  from  this  verse,  R.  V,  :  see  verse  10, 

9.  And  «all  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth.  No  power 
on  '  earth  '  was  really  above  them  ;  the  true  authority  is  '  the 
heavenly,'  R.  V.  marg.  '  Abba,  Father '  is  the  believer's  address  to 
God  alone,  Rom.  viii.  15.  Paul  considered  himself  to  be  the 
'father'  of  the  church  in  Corinth,  r  Eph.  iv.  15,  and  regarded 
Timothy  as  his  'true  child  in  faith,'  i  Tim.  i.  2.  The  saying 
forbids  the  pride  of  office,  but  will  allow  the  language  of  venera- 
tion and  courtesy. 

10.  Neither  be  ye  called  masters,  or  '  guides  ' ;  but  the  word 


278  ST.  MATTHEW  23.  11-15 

11  masters:  for  one  is  your  master,  even  the  Christ.  But 
he  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your  servant. 

12  And  whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall  be  humbled; 
and  whosoever  shall  humble  himself  shall  be  exalted. 

13  But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  ! 
because  ye  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men  : 
for  ye  enter  not  in  yourselves,  neither  suffer  ye  them 
that  are  entering  in  to  enter. 

15  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for 
ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte ;  and 
when  he  is  become  so,  ye  make  him  twofold  more  a  son 
of  hell  than  yourselves. 


only  occurs  here.  The  Gospel  of  Matthew,  which  is  the  stronghold 
of  those  who  advocate  the  supremacy  of  Peter  and  his  successors, 
is  yet  fatal  to  all  doctrines  of  primacy  and  infallibility  :  cf.  Matt. 
XX.  26. 

for  one  is  your  master  [gmide],  .  .  .  the  Christ.     'Faithful 
is  the  saj-ing,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation.' 

11.  Eut  he  that  is  grreatest.  The  same  phrase  occurs  in 
XX.  26,  27. 

12.  And  whosoever  sliall  exalt  himself.  Cf  Matt,  xviii,  4  ; 
Luke  xiv,  ri,  xviii.  14. 

xxiii.  13-36.  Seven  tvocs.  The  scribes  and  Pharisees  hinder 
men  from  entering  the  kingdom ;  make  proselytes ;  are  blind 
guides  ;  misinterpret  sacred  things  ;  are  whited  sepulchres  ;  per- 
secute God's  messengers.     The  appointed  judgement  will  come. 

13.  ye  shut  the  king-dom,  or,  as  explained  in  Luke  xi.  5a: 
'ye  took  away  the  key  of  knowledge.' 

14.  Verse  14  is  omitted  in  R.  V.  after  the  principal  authorities, 
and  was  probably'  inserted  from  Mark  xii,  40  and  Luke  xx.  47. 

15.  ye  compass  sea  and  land.  Jewish  zeal  in  making  pro- 
selytes was  proverbial.  Many  proselytes  were  at  Pentecost, 
Acts  ii.  ID.  The  translation  of  the  O.  T.  into  Greek,  and  the 
diffusion  of  Jewish  wisdom  in  Gentile  circles,  had  gained  many 
to  Judaism  before  Christ  came.  Some  have  alleged  that  the 
Christians  entered  into  this  Jewish  propaganda.  The  proselyte 
had  the  zeal  of  a  pervert  ;  Justin  Martyr  (Dialogue,  122)  sa^'s 
that  they  were  the  most  pronounced  of  all  Judaizers  in  their 
blasphemy  against  Jesus.     '  Proselyte'  = '  one  that  comes  to  you  ' ; 


ST.  MATTHEW   23.  16-23  279 

Woe  unto  you,  ye  blind  guides,  which  say.  Whosoever  16 
shall  swear  by  the  temple,  it  is  nothing  ■.  but  whosoever 
shall  swear  by  the  gold  of  the  temple,  he  is  a  debtor. 
Ye   fools   and   blind:    for  whether   is   greater,  the  gold,  17 
or    the   temple   that    hath   sanctified   the   gold?      And,  18 
Whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing;   but 
whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  gift  that  is  upon  it,  he  is 
a  debtor.     Ye  blind :   for  whether  is  greater,  the  gift,  or  19 
the  altar  that  sanctifieth  the  gift  ?     He  therefore  that  20 
sweareth  by  the  altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all  things 
thereon.     And  he  that  sweareth  by  the  temple,  sweareth  21 
by  it,  and  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein.     And  he  that  22 
sweareth  by  the  heaven,  sweareth  by  the  throne  of  God, 
and  by  him  that  sitteth  thereon. 

Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  23 
ye   tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  and    have   left 
undone  the  weightier  matters  of  the    law,   judgement, 
and  mercy,  and  faith  :  but  these  ye  ought  to  have  done, 

the  class  is  described  in  the  N.  T.  as  the  '  godly,' ■' men  fearing 
God '  :  cf.  Exod.  xii.  48. 

16.  Verses  16-22  describe  certain  rabbinical  distinctions  in 
respect  to  oaths  which  the  Pharisees  and  scribes  had  introduced. 
So  completely  had  they  missed  the  truth — moral  and  spiritual — 
that  Jesus  declares  them  to  be  blind  gruides.  Oaths  were  taken 
*  by  the  sanctuary'  because  it  was  believed  to  be  holier  than  the 
rest  of  the  temple. 

tlie  g-old  of  the  temple  had  been  presented  by  worshippers, 
and  is  reputed  to  have  been  immense. 

he  is  a  debtor,  i.  e.  as  the  marg.  'is  bound  by  his  oath.'  A 
man  might  swear  by  the  temple  or  altar,  and  there  would  be  no 
obligation  to  fulfil  his  oath. 

19.  the  altar  that  sanctifieth  the  gift.  The  *  altar  '  was  that 
of  sacrifice,  i  Cor.  ix.  13;  Jas.  ii.  21;  though  in  Luke  i.  11 
we  have  '  the  altar  of  incense ' ;  Exod.  xxix.  37,  *  Whatsoever 
toucheth  the  altar  shall  be  holy.' 

22.  On  the  question  of  oaths  see  Matt.  v.  33-37. 

23.  ye  tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  i.  e.  give  a  tenth  of 
these   things.     There   were    many    evasions,    but    the    Pharisees 


28o  ST.  MATTHEW  23.  24-29 

24  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone.  Ye  blind  guides, 
which  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the  camel. 

25  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for 
ye  cleanse  the  outside  of  the  -cup  and  of  the  platter, 
but    within    they    are   full    from    extortion    and   excess. 

26  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  the  inside  of  the  cup 
and  of  the  platter,  that  the  outside  thereof  may  become 
clean  also. 

27  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for 
ye  are  like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  outwardly 
appear  beautiful,,  but  inwardly  are  full  of  dead  men's 

28  bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness.  Even  so  ye  also  out- 
wardly appear  righteous  unto  men,  but  inwardly  ye  are 
full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

29  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for 
ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and  garnish  the 

tithed  'all.'  even  to  small  herbs.      'Tithe'  occurs  also  in  Luke 
xviii.  12  ;   Heb.  vii.  5. 

Yet  they  neglected — left  undone  the  weig'htier  matters  of 
fb.e  law,  which  were  judg-ement,  Isa.  i.  12  ;  mercy,  Hos.  vi.  6 ; 
Matt.  ix.  13;  faith,  or  'faithfulness/  Rom.  iii.  i.  The  literal  observ- 
ance of  the  law  is  not  condemned  :  these  ye  oug'ht  to  have  done. 

24.  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the  camel.  The  A.  V. 
'strain  at'  did  not  better  represent  the  rendering  of  Tyndale  and 
his  successors  after  the  Vulg.  excolantes^.  Insects  were  care- 
fully excluded  from  wine  by  filtering.  The  camel  was  impure : 
Lev.  xi,  2. 

25.  ye  cleanse  the  outside  .  .  .  hut  within.  Where  Matthew 
has  'extortion  and  excess,'  i.e.  'incontinence,'  Luke  xi.  39  has 
a  more  general  term,  '  extortion  and  wickedness.' 

27.  like  unto  whited  sepulchres.  Sepulchres  were  whitened 
afresh  in  the  spring  of  every  year,  lest  those  who  walked  over  the 
flat  stones  might  be  defiled  by  their  sudden  collapse.  The  out- 
ward fairness  and  the  inward  corruption  were  strongly  contrasted 
in  the  case  of  the  priest  Ananias,  Acts  xxiii.  3. 

29.  ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets.    The  veneration 

^  Perhaps  fercolatis  culicem  in  Baza  had  something  to  do  with  the 
change. 


ST.  MATTHEW   23.  30-35  281 

tombs  of  the  righteous,  and  say,  If  we  had  been  in  the  30 
days  of  our  fathers,  we  should  not  have  been  partakers 
with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets.     Wherefore  ye  31 
witness   to    yourselves,  that  ye  are  sons   of  them  that 
slew  the  prophets.     Fill  ye  up  then  the  measure  of  your  32 
fathers.     Ye  serpents,  ye  offspring  of  vipers,  how  shall  33 
ye  escape  the  judgement  of  hell?     Therefore,  behold,  34 
I  send  unto  you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes : 
some  of  them   shall  ye  kill  and  crucify;    and  some  of 
them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute 
from   city  to   city :    that  upon  you  may  come  all   the  35 
righteous  blood  shed  on  the  earth,  from  the  blood  of 
Abel  the  righteous  unto  the  blood  of  Zachariah  son  of 
Barachiah,  whom   ye  slew  between  the  sanctuary  and 


of  burial-places  has  always  been  practised  in  the  East :  even  the 
Mahometan  yields  to  the  custom  in  his  visit  to  Mecca.  The  '  Holy 
Places '  in  Jerusalem  are  the  objects  of  chronic  feuds  among- 
Christians,  and  the  adoration  of  relics  and  shrines  gradually 
gained  a  place  in  Christian  devotion.  The  Jewish  veneration  of 
the  tombs  of  prophets  implied  the  admission  of  the  guilt  of  those 
who  had  persecuted  men  like  Jeremiah. 

32.  Pill  ye  up  then  the  measure  of  your  fathers:  so  Paul 
speaks  of  the  Jews  :  i  Thess.  ii.  16,  *  to  fill  up  their  sins  alway '  ; 
cf.  Gen.  XV.  16. 

34.  Therefore,  behold,  I  send  unto  you  prophets.  Luke  xi. 
49-51  refers  this  statement  to  '  the  wisdom  of  God,'  but  the 
quotation  cannot  be  traced. 

some  of  them  shall  ye  kill  and  crucify.  Few  Christians 
were  crucified  (Matthew  alone  mentions  this  form  of  martyrdom), 
though  tradition  speaks  of  Peter  as  having  suffered  crucifixion 
with  his  head  downwards ;  Andrew  also  has  his  own  form  of  the 
cross;  and,  according  to  Eusebius,  Simeon  the  successor  of  James 
died  by  this  means.  Like  Matt.  v.  12,  the  writer  suggests  that  the 
mission  of  the  older  prophets  was  typical  of  that  of  the  latter. 

35.  The  reference  to  Zachariah  son  of  Barachiah  is  one  of 
the  great  historical  difficulties  of  the  gospel.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  writer  intended  to  survey  canonical  history  in  its 
full  range  from  Abel  in  Genesis  to  Zechariah  in  Chronicles.  The 
clause  *  son  of  Barachiah  '  does  not  occur  in  Luke,  and  is  probably 


282  ST.  MATTHEW   23.  36-59 

36  the  altar.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  All  these  things  shall 
come  upon  this  generation. 

37  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killeth  the  prophets, 
and  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  unto  her !  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as 
a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye 

38  would  not !     Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  deso- 

39  late.  For  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  not  see  me  hence- 
forth, till  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 


an  interpolation  \  Zechariah  the  prophet  was  the  son  of  Bere- 
chiah  (Zech.  i.  i)  ;  but  Zechariah  the  martyr  was  the  son  of 
'  Jehoiada  the  priest,'  2  Chron.  xxiv.  20.  Jerome  says  that  the 
Gospel  of  the  Nazarenes  referred  to  this  case.  There  was  a 
Zechariah  who  perished  after  our  Lord's  time  mentioned  by 
Josephus,  Bell.  Jud.  iv.  5.  4.  He  was  a  son  of  Baruch  (Berechiah), 
and  Zahn  thinks  he  may  have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  interpolator. 
On  Abel  the  righteous  cf.  Heb.  xi.  4. 

xxiii.  37-39.  Lament  overjemsalem.  The  desolation  final  until 
repentance  comes. 

37.  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem.  Luke  xiii.  34,  35  has  this  lamen- 
tation over  the  city  and  people  at  an  earlier  point  in  the  narrative. 
He  and  Matthew  used  materials  not  included  in  Mark,  and  Luke's 
historical  arrangement  is  often  the  best.  Such  an  utterance  as 
this,  however,  seems  to  suit  the  close  of  our  Lord's  ministry. 

as  a  hen  .  .  .  under  her  wing's.  The  Rabbis  said  that  the 
Shechinah  takes  the  proselyte  under  its  wings.  The  evangelist 
uses  here  the  Aramaic  form  of 'Jerusalem,'  elsewhere  the  Greek 
form.  In  this  emphatic  repetition  he  probably  uses  the  very  word 
of  Jesus. 

38.  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate  ('  desolate  * 
is  omitted  in  marg.).  The  city  and  the  temple  were  forsaken 
until  the  Jews  should  repent. 

39.  Ye  shall  not  see  me  henceforth.  Jesus  now  departs  from 
the  city.  The  discourses  of  the  next  two  chapters  were  delivered 
in  Bethany  and  elsewhere.  He  was  no  more  in  public  in  the  city 
till  the  day  of  crucifixion. 

^  Zahn  regards  it  as '  one  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Hebrew  Gospel  which 
the  Greek  redactor  sought  to  correct.' 


ST.  MATTHEW   24.   1-3  283 

And  Jesus  went  out  from  the  temple,  and  was  going  24 
on  his  way ;  and  his  disciples  came  to  him  to  shew  him 
the  buildings  of  the  temple.     But  he  answered  and  said    2 
unto   them,   See  ye  not  all   these  things?   verily  I  say 
unto  you,  There  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon 
another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down. 

And  as  he  sat  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disciples    3 
came   unto    him   privately,  saying.  Tell  us,  when   shall 

xxiv.  1-14.  Jesus  predicts  destruction.  The  disciples  ask  for  signs 
of  the  end.  These  are  false  Messiahs,  wars,  famines,  persecutions, 
with  the  universal  gospel. 

The  great  discourse  contained  in  chap.  xxiv.  is  also  reported  by 
the  other  Synoptists,  Mark  xiii.  1-37  and  Luke  xxi.  5-36.  Weiss 
is  of  opinion  that  so  long  an  address  could  not  have  come  by  oral 
tradition,  but  was  in  a  written  source.  Some  things  may  be 
included  which  belonged  to  other  occasions.  Expositors  have 
generally'  supposed  that  it  is  a  mixed  prophec}'-,  relating  both  to 
the  destruction  of  the  city  and  to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  Paul's  eschatology  to  some  extent  presupposes 
the  annunciations  of  this  chapter.  As  the  apocalyptic  literature 
of  Judaism  had  provided  the  imager}'  and  language  for  such  an 
address,  it  need  not  be  dated  after  the  life  of  our  Lord.  Dr.  Godet 
supposes  that  even  the  Apocalypse  of  John  depends  on  the  '  Logia' 
which  contained  this  address. 

1.  his  disciples  came  ...  to  shew  him  the  building's.  Some 
of  the  later  constructions  had  only  just  been  finished  :  he  might 
not  have  seen  them  previously.  The  fa9ade  and  roof  of  the  edifice 
were  gorgeous  with  while  marble  and  gold  :  its  splendour  made 
Titus  wish  to  save  it.  Such  magnificence  scarcely  permitted  the 
thought  that  the  temple  was  near  the  close  of  its  history. 

the  building's  of  the  temple  were  numerous  and  imposing, 
consiijting  of  courts,  colonnades,  halls,  towers,  and  pinnacles. 
Luke  refersalso  to  the  'goodly  stones  and  offerings.' 

2.  For  '  building  '  cf  Eph.  ii.  21.  The  utter  destruction  of  the 
temple  pile  is  attested  b\'  all  the  evangelists.  Ancient  temples 
in  India,  Egypt,  and  Greece  have  still  some  relics  to  represent  them, 
but  this  'holy  place'  was  f^r  ever  obliterated.  Titus  understood 
that  so  long  as  the  temple  stood,  the  Jewish  nationality  would 
persevere. 

3.  Such  mysteries  of  Providence  required  interpretation  :  the 
disciples  cajne  unto  him  privately.  They  expected  that  the 
'coming'  of  the  Messiah,  the  'end  of  the  world,'  and  'these 
things'  now  spoken  of  would  happen  at  the  same  time.     Mark 


284  ST.  MATTHEW  24.  4-9 

these   things    be?    and  what  shall  he   the   sign  of  thy 

4  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?  And  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  Take  heed  that  no  man 

5  lead  you  astray.  For  many  shall  come  in  my  name, 
saying,   I  am  the  Christ ;    and  shall  lead  many  astray. 

6  And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars :  see 
that  ye  be  not  troubled :    for  these  things  must  needs 

>l  come  to  pass ;  but  the  end  is  not  yet.  For  nation  shall 
rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom  :  and 
there  shall  be  famines  and  earthquakes  in  divers  places. 

9  But  all  these  things  are  the  beginning  of  travail.  Then 
shall  they  deliver  you  up  unto  tribulation,  and  shall  kill 


says  that  the  four  principal  disciples  asked  for  the  explana- 
tion. They  are  told  that  the  end  will  be  introduced  by  famine, 
war,  persecution,  apostas}',  and  the  general  preaching  of  the 
kingdom.  The  direct  answer  to  their  question  is  contained  in 
Matt,  verses  4-14  ;  Mark  xiii.  5-13  ;  Luke  xxi.  8-19. 

4.  They  are  warned  that  the  '  signs'  would  not  be  so  unquestion- 
able but  that  they  might  be  led  astray.  The  *  coming '  was  eagerly 
looked  for,  and  some  would  prematurely  announce  it.  The  N.  T. 
word  for  the  great  crisis,  which  was  to  be  marked  by  the  'ap- 
pearing '  of  the  Messiah,  was  *  Parousia/  or  '  Presence '  :  i  Cor. 
XV.  23  ;  Jas.  V.  7  ;  2  Pet.  iii.  4. 

5.  many  shall  come  .  .  .  saying",  I  am  the  Christ.  It  is  not 
known  that  there  were  many  false  Messiahs  before  a.  d.  70.  Earlier 
there  were  Theudas  and  J  udas,  Acts  v.  36, 37,  and  later  Bar-Cochba  = 
son  of  a  star,  A.  d.  130. 

6.  Wars  were  to  precede  the  final  catastrophe.  The  time  was 
full  of  tumult  and  strife. 

7.  Famine  is  mentioned,  Acts  xi.  28.  Seneca,  a.  d.  58,  speaks 
of  earthquakes :  '  How  often  have  cities  in  Asia  and  Africa 
fallen  with  one  movement  of  the  earth.'  'Pestilences  '  is  omitted 
from  R.V.,  although  it  occurs  in  Luke  xxi.  11.  The  words  for 
'famine'  and  for  '  pestilence'  differ  in  only  one  letter. 

8.  the  beginning-  of  travail.  '  These  things  '  are  but  the  first 
throes  of  the  birth-time  of  the  Messianic  era  :  i  Thess.  v.  3. 

9.  Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up.  The  disciples  had  hoped 
that  when  the  Messiah  came  the  reign  of  tyranny  and  injustice 
would  be  over.  The  warning  has  already  been  given  in  Matt.  x.  22 
with  other  particulars  included  here  by  Mark  and  Luke. 


ST.  MATTHEW   24.  10-14  285 

you  :    and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  the  nations  for  my 
name's  sake.     And  then  shall  many  stumble,  and  shall  10 
deliver  up  one  another,  and    shall    hate   one   another. 
And   many  false   prophets    shall   arise,   and   shall    lead  n 
many  astray.     And  because  iniquity  shall  be  multiplied,  12 
the   love   of  the   many  shall  wax   cold.     But   he   that  13 
endureth   to  the  end,  the   same  shall   be  saved.     And  14 
this  gospel  of  the  kingdom   shall  be   preached  in   the 
whole  world  for  a  testimony  unto  all  the  nations ;  and 
then  shall  the  end  come. 

ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  the  nations.  Tacitus  described 
the  Christians  as  'a  race  of  men  disUked  for  their  evil  deeds'  : 
like  Jews,  they  were  '  convicted  of  hatred  to  the  human  race.' 

10.  Such  miseries  vi-ould  test  the  fidehty  of  professors,  and 
make  many  stumble. 

11.  many  false  prophets  shall  arise,  such  as  are  spoken  of 
in  I  John  iv.  i,  and  the  Didache,  chaps,  vi,  xi.  8. 

12.  Because  of  the  overflow  and  apparent  prevalence  of  evil, 
the  love  of  the  many  shall  wax  cold.  The  term  'love,'  so 
frequent  in  the  fourth  gospel,  in  the  epistles,  and  even  in  the  LXX, 
is  only  here  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  except  Luke  xi.  42.  It 
signifies  '  love  in  exercise '  and  came  to  be  the  designation  of  the 
primitive  Christian  communion  or  '  love-feast '  (2  Pet.  ii,  13),  of 
which  the  'eucharist'  or  thanksgiving  was  an  important  part. 
The  'eucharist'  was  not  separated  from  the  'agape'  until  after 
the  second  century.  When  it  came,  the  separation  led  to  the 
perversion  of  the  original  '  communion  of  saints,'  and  to  the 
development  of  the  doctrine  and  services  of  the  'mass.' 

13.  But  he  that  endure bh.  The  period  of  trial  would  be  too 
long  and  tedious  for  many :  cf.  Matt.  x.  22  ;  Mark  xiii.  33. 
'Endure'  and  'endurance'  are  frequent  in  the  N.T.  Here  the 
verb  appears  in  the  form  of  a  past  participle,  and  literally  means 
*  he  that  endured.'  The  A.  V.  turns  this  into  a  future  to  conform 
to  the  tense  of  the  principal  verb  :  '  shall  be  saved.'  The  R.  V. 
'endureth'  interprets  the  form  as  a  'gnomic  aorist,'  describing 
that  which  having  happened  may  happen  again ;  but  it  may 
be  taken  literally,  like  'found,'  Matt.  x.  39  marg.  ;  cf.  xvi.  25. 
Luke  xxi.  19  has  '  In  your  patience  (enduring)  ye  shall  win  your 
souls.' 

14.  And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom.  The  language  is  as 
universal  in  its  bearings  as  any  in  the  N,  T.  :  cf.  Matt.  x.  i8  ;  Mark 
xiii.  9,  10.     The  gospel  was  made  known  in  most  parts  of  the 


286  ST.  MATTHEW   24.   15-17 

15      When  therefore  ye  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 

which  was  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  standing 

in  the  holy  place  (let  him   that   readeth    understand), 

t6  then  let  them  that  are  in  Judaea  flee  unto  the  mountains  : 

17  let  him  that  is  on  the  housetop  not  go   down   to  take 

Roman   empire,  especially  through    the   agency  of  Paul,  before 

A.  D.    70. 

xxiv.  15-28.  Counsels  to  the  disciples  when  the  signs  appear. 
Hasty  flight  advised;  false  Messiahs  not  to  be  regarded;  the 
carcase  and  the  eagles. 

15.  the  abomination  of  desolation,  or,  'the  idolatry  which 
desolates.'  This  had  been  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet: 
Dan.  ix.  27,  xi.  31,  xii.  11.  i  Mace.  i.  54  applied  the  prophecy 
to  the  outrages  inflicted  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  b.  c.  160 :  '  They 
built  an  abomination  of  desolation  upon  the  altar.'  Josephus 
{Ant.  X.  II.  7)  regarded  it  as  fulfilled  in  the  Roman  siege;  in 
which  case  the  holy  place  (cf.  R.  V.  marg.)  will  be  the  city,  and 
not  the  interior  of  the  temple.  The  destruction  of  the  latter 
came  only  at  the  end  of  the  siege,  whereas  the  'abomination 
of  desolation'  ('standing  where  he  ought  not,'  Mark  xiii.  14; 
'Daniel  the  prophet'  being  omitted,  R.  V.)  was  to  be  the  sign 
for  flight :  When  ...  ye  see  .  .  .  flee.  With  regard  to  the  meaning 
of  'abomination  '  cf.  Dan.  xii.  11  ;  Luke  xvi.  15  ;  Rev.  xvii.  4,  5, 
xxi.  27. 

let  him  that  readeth  understand.  This  seems  to  have  been 
a  parenthetical  or  marginal  direction  by  the  evangelist  to  him  who 
read  (not  'rehearsed,'  as  if  oral)  the  gospel  in  the  congregation. 
Dr.  Sanday  {Inspiration,  p.  292)  considers  that  this  was  intended 
for  those  who  heard  the  gospel  read  before  the  event,  but  this 
is  not  certain.  Rev.  i.  3,  '  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 
that  hear.'  shews  that  there  was  a  congregational  use  of  Christian 
writings  before  a.d.  100. 

16.  let  them  that  are  in  Judcea  flee  unto  the  mountains. 
Eusebius  (//.  E.  iii.  5)  reports  that  'all  believers'  (not  '  man3'- 
Christians,'  as  Mr.  Carr  and  others)  fled  to  Pella,  east  of  the 
Jordan,  before  the  end.  Neither  did  they  return,  as  Epiphanius 
fabulously  reports  :  cf.  Luke  xxi.  21,  '  Let  not  them  that  are  in  the 
country  enter  therein.*  The  continuity  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem 
was  fatally  broken,  a.d.  70.  The  church  in  Hadrian's  new  city, 
132  A.D.,  was  Gentile  :  Euseb.  H.  E.  iv.  6. 

17-19.  him  ...  on  the  housetop.  The  investment  would  be 
so  complete  that  no  opportunity  of  escape  should  be  neglected. 
One  '  on  the  housetop '  could  pass  from  one  flat  roof  to  another, 


ST.  MATTHEW  24.  18-25  287 

out  the  things  that  are  in  his  house :  and  let  him  that  18 
is  in  the  field  not  return  back  to  take  his  cloke.     But  19 
woe  unto  them   that  are  with  child  and  to  them  that 
give  suck  in  those  days  !     And  pray  ye  that  your  flight  20 
be   not  in   the  winter,  neither  on  a  sabbath:    for  then  21 
shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  hath  not  been  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  until  now,  no,  nor  ever  shall 
be.      And  except  those  days  had  been  shortened,  no  22 
flesh  would  have  been  saved :    but  for  the  elect's  sake 
those  days  shall  be  shortened.     Then  if  any  man  shall  23 
say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is  the  Christ,  or.  Here ;  believe 
//  not.     For    there   shall   arise  false   Christs,  and  false  24 
prophets,  and  shall  shew  great  signs  and  wonders ;    so 
as  to  lead  astray,  if  possible,  even  the  elect.     Behold,  25 

or  by  the  walls  connecting  the  areas.  If  in  the  field  he  must  not 
return  to  take  Ms  cloke,  or  other  valuables  from  the  house ; 
not  'his  clothes,'  as  A.  V.  The  mother  or  nurse  with  children 
would  be  helpless  before  the  destroyer. 

20.  in  the  winter  fugitives  would  find  no  protection  from 
the  storm  or  during  the  night ;  while  '  on  a  sabbath,'  not  more 
than  a  mile  could  be  travelled,  and  no  provision  could  be  bought : 
Exod.  xvi.  29;  Acts  i.  12.  Neither  Mark  nor  Luke  contains  this 
reference  to  the  (Jewish ")  Sabbath,  which  for  Gentile  Christians 
was  beginning  to  lose  its  importance. 

21.  then  shall  be  great  tribulation.  The  word  for  '  tribula- 
tion '  is  scarcely  found  in  classical  writers,  but  is  frequent  in 
the  LXX  and  N.  T.  It  means  straitness,  labouring  under  painful 
pressure  ;  but  this  was  to  be  '  great  tribulation  ' :  Acts  vii,  1 1  ; 
Rev.  ii.  22.  vii.  14.  The  Sj'noptists  differ  in  their  presentation 
of  its  extreme  severity,  and  all  again  differ  from  what  seems 
to  be  the  original  form  of  the  saying  (Dan.  xii.  i),  'trouble,  such 
as  never  was  since  there  was  a  nation '  :  cf.  Deut.  xxviii.  53. 

22.  except  those  days  had  been  shortened,  i.  e.  in  number. 
Mark  xiii.  20  has  *  he  shortened  the  daj^s,'  for  the  future  form 
which  appears  in  Matthew.  This  is  probably  a  remark  of  the 
evangelist  after  the  event. 

24.  great  signs  and  wonders  :  a  combination  often  found,  as 
Deut.  xiii.  i  ;  Isa.  viii.  i8  ;  Acts  ii.  43;  2  Thcss.  ii.  9.  In  verses 
22  24  Matthew  has  coincided  with  Mark  xiii.  co-23  ;  in  verses 
26-28  there  is  a  counterpart  in  Luke  xvii.  23,  24,  37. 


288  ST.  MATTHEW  24.  26-30 

26  I  have  told  you  beforehand.  If  therefore  they  shall 
say  unto  you,  Behold,  he  is  in  the  wilderness ;  go  not 
forth :  Behold,  he  is  in  the  inner  chambers ;  believe  // 

27  not.  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  forth  from  the  east, 
and  is  seen  even  unto  the  west ;  so  shall  be  the  coming 

28  of  the  Son  of  man.  Wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there 
will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together. 

29  But  immediately,  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days, 
the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give 
her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the 

30  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken :  and  then  shall 

28.  Verse  28  is  a  crux  mterpretum.  What  is  the  carcase? 
and  what  are  the  eag'les  ?  Jerome,  Theophylact,  Calvin,  and  Beza 
thought  that  the  latter  represented  believers  collecting  about  the 
glorious  Messiah  in  the  great  day.  More  have  interpreted  the 
saying  as  a  reference  to  the  Roman  eagles  gathering  around 
the  dying  city  :  de  Wette,  Bruce,  &c.  Meyer,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  led  by  Luke's  language  to  conclude  that  'the  carcase'  is  the 
spiritually  dead,  about  which  the  angels  of  destruction  will 
collect.  None  of  these  is  quite  satisfactory.  The  connexion 
suggests  that  the  evidences  of  the  Messiah's  coming  are  referred 
to.  Men  need  not  go  to  the  east  or  to  the  west  to  see  the 
Messiah,  As  eagles  gather  round  the  dead  in  the  desert,  so 
the  signs  of  the  Paroiisia  will  multiply  around  humanity  when  the 
hour  arrives. 

xxiv.  29-51.  Signs  in  heaven.  The  fig  tree  gives  tokens  of 
approaching  summer.  The  end  sudden,  as  in  the  days  of  Noah. 
The  v/atchful  and  unwatchful  servants. 

23.  The.  Parousia  is  to  follow  the  'great  tribulation,'  i.e.  the 
destruction  of  the  city.  Matthew  and  Mark  do  not  add  to 
the  list  of  warnings,  as  Luke  xxi.  24,  that  '  the  people  .  .  .  shall 
be  led  captive,'  and  'Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles.'  Weiss  and  Harnack  assume  from  this  omission  that 
the  original  gospel  must  have  been  written  before  a.  d,  70.  The 
signs  are  found  in  the  O.  T.  :  Isa.  xiii.  10,  xxxiv.  4  ;  Jer.  iv.  4 ; 
Ezek.  xxxii.  7  ;  Joel  ii.  28-32. 

the  powers  of  the  heavens.  The  stars  were  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  'host  of  heaven/  Isa.  xl.  26;  Deut.  iv.  19. 
Matthew,  verses  29-42,  includes  a  passage  which  is  also  in  Mark 
xiii.  24-37  ^"d  Luke  xxi.  25-36. 

30.  the  sig-n  of  the  Son  of  man.     Dan.  vii.  13  represents  the 


ST.  MATTHEW  24.  31-36  289 

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  on  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory.  And  he  shall  send  forth  31 
his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they 
shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 

Now  from  the  fig  tree  learn  her  parable:    when  her  32 
branch    is    now   become   tender,    and   putteth  forth   its 
leaves,  ye  know  that  the  summer  is  nigh;  even  so  ye  33 
also,  when  ye  see  all  these  things,  know  ye  that  he  is 
nigh,  even  at  the  doors.      Verily  I  say  unto  you,  This  34 
generation  shall  not  pass  away,  till  all  these  things  be 
accomplished.     Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  35 
my  words   shall   not  pass  away.     But  of  that  day  and  l^ 

Son  of  man  as  coming  *  in  the  clouds  of  heaven '  to  the  '  ancient 
of  days '  to  receive  a  kingdom  ;  cf.  Rev.  i.  7.  Meyer  contends, 
and  not  without  reason,  that  the  prophecy  henceforth  refers  to  the 
second  coming  of  Christ.  Bengel  supposes  that  the  time  had  not 
yet  come  for  a  disclosure  of  the  events  which  should  come  between 
the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Paronsia.  This  came  in  the 
Apocalypse,  for  the  interpretation  of  which  the  famous  com- 
mentator had  a  special  scheme.  The  *  sign '  of  the  Son  of  man 
was  supposed  by  many  fathers  to  be  the  Cross.  Olshausen, 
Bletk,  &:c.,  think  it  might  be  a  star,  as  Num.  xxiv.  17  ;  Matt.  ii.  2. 
R.  V.  on  the  clouds,  not  '  in,'  A,  V. 

31.  they  shall  gather  tog-ether  his  elect.  Cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  37  ; 
Luke  xii.  i  ;  2  Thess  ii.  i  ;  Heb.  x.  25.  The  congregation  (Num. 
X.  2)  were  summoned  by  the  call  of  trumpets. 

32.  Ytovr  from  the  fig-  tree  learn  her  parable.  The  fresh 
foliage  of  the  fig  tree  was  a  sign  of  summer— the  barley  harvest 
coincided — and  the  signs  of  the  end  would  reveal  themselves  in 
due  time. 

34.  This  g-eneration  shall  not  pass.  Men  then  living — not 
*the  human  race,'  or  'the  Jewish  people' — should  see  all  these 
thing-s  ,33).  The  Parousia  was  to  be  expected  forthwith:  cf. 
Matt.  x.  23,  xvi.  28,  xxiii.  36,  Verses  32-36  are  almost  verbally 
same  as  Mark  xiii.  28-32,  but  Luke  xxi.  31-33  has  greater  the 
variations. 

33.  No  one  knows  the  day — not  men,  nor  angels,  neither  the 


290  ST.  MATTHEW    24.  37-42 

hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  of  heaven, 

37  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father  only.  And  as  were  the 
days  of  Noah,  so  shall  be   the  coming  of  the  Son  of 

38  man.  For  as  in  those  days  which  were  before  the  flood 
they  were  eating  and  drinking,  m.arrying  and  giving  in 
marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the  ark, 

39  and  they  knew  not  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them 
all  away ;    so  shall  be  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man. 

40  Then  shall  two  men  be  in  the  field ;  one  is  taken,  and 

41  one  is  left:    two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill; 
^'2  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left.     Watch  therefore:  for  ye 

Son^.  This  limitation  of  knowledo:e  can,  of  course,  only  apply  to 
the  human  nature  of  '  the  Son.'  He  was  tempted,  and  therefore 
was  not  as  a  human  being  omniscient;  as  a  child  he  'grew  in 
wisdom '  ;  he  had  not  heavenly  dignities  to  allot  (Matt.  xx.  22)  ; 
and  here  he  did  not  profess  to  know  the  day  or  hour  of  the 
Parousia.  The  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  to  judge  the  world  is 
in  the  N.T.  always  assigned  to  a  'day'  appointed  by  God,  as  in 
Acts  xvii.  31  ;  i  Thess.  v.  2.  The  theory  of  a  millenium  between 
the  Parousia  and  the  Judgement  seems  to  be  based  on  a  mistaken 
interpretation  of  such  passages  as  i  Thess.  iv.  t6  ;  Rev.  xx.  2. 

37.  The  reference  to  the  days  of  IToa,]i  is  not  in  Mark,  and 
by  Luke  (xvii.  26;  it  occurs  in  a  reply  to  the  Pharisees.  Its 
importance  might  require  repetition  :  cf.  Matt.  xxv.  13.  The 
vv'orldly  and  self-indulgent  would  too  readily  forget  the  vvarniag 
(verses  37,  38;. 

39.  they  knew  not  until.  Notwithstanding  what  has  been 
said  about  the  '  signs '  of  the  coming,  which  the  elect  might 
understand,  the  majority  of  men  would  be  as  unconcerned  as  the 
antidiluvians  in  their  time. 

40.  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left,  i.  e.  by  the  angels  who 
gather  all. 

41.  two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill :  for  most  of  the 
labour,  such  as  grinding  out  the  corn  for  domestic  use,  was  done 
by  women  by  means  of  hand-mills.  * 

^  This  phrase  was  omitted  in  Matthew  both  by  Greek  and  Latin 
versions  and  MSS.  of  an  early  period.  The  fear  of  any  dishonour  to  our 
Lord  might  prompt  such  an  omission  :  but  its  place  in  Mark  xiii.  32  is 
well  established,  and  even  here  is  accepted  by  most  of  the  modern 
editors. 


ST.  MATTHEW  24.  43—25.  i  291 

know  not  on  what  day  your  Lord  cometh.     But  know  43 
this,  that  if  the  master  of  the  house  had  known  in  what 
watch  the  thief  was  coming,  he  would  have  watched,  and 
would  not  have  suffered  his  house  to  be  broken  through. 
Therefore  be  ye  also  ready  :  for  in  an  hour  that  ye  think  44 
not  the  Son  of  man  cometh.     Who  then  is  the  faithful  45 
and  wise  servant,  whom  his  lord  hath  set  over  his  house- 
hold, to  give  them  their  food  in  due  season  ?     Blessed  4^ 
is  that   servant,  whom   his   lord  when  he  cometh  shall 
find  so  doing.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  will  set  47 
him  over  all  that  he  hath.     But  if  that  evil  servant  shall  48 
say  in  his  heart,  My  lord  tarrieth ;   and  shall  begin  to  49 
beat  his  fellow-servants,  and  shall  eat  and  drink  with 
the  drunken;    the  lord  of  that   servant  shall  come  in  53 
a  day  when  he  expecteth  not,  and  in  an  hour  when  he 
knoweth   not,  and   shall  cut  him  asunder,  and  appoint  51 
his  portion  with  the  hypocrites :  there  shall  be  the  weep- 
ing and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

Then  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  unto  25 

43.  Verses  43-51  are  found  in  reduced  form  in  Luice  xii.  42-46. 
The  allusion  to  •  the  thief  is  met  with  in  i  Thess.  v.  4  ;  2  Pet. 
iii.  10  ;  and  Rev.  iii.  13.  Luke  xii.  39  has  this  counsel  in  another 
connexion,  where  he  also  speaks  of  the  '  goodman  of  the  house ' : 
the  R.  V.  more  correctly  '  master  of  the  house.'  Though  the 
Parousia  was  near,  its  exact  day  and  hour  were  uncertain,  and 
believers  must  'watch.' 

49.  Some  delay  is  indicated  by  the  case  of  the  demoralized 
servant  (verse  48).  Matt.  xxii.  9  speaks  also  of  the  calling  cf 
the  Gentiles — after  the  burning  of  the  city — w^hich  would  require 
an  interval. 

51.  shall  cut  liira  antindar :  marg.  'severely  scourge  him.* 
Meyer- Weiss  object  to  any  but  the  literal  interpretation,  Vihich, 
however,  is  scarcely  compatible  with  the  survival  of  the  victim 
in  the  outer  darkness.  The  original  word  is  only  here  and  in 
Luke  xii.  46. 

XXV.  1-13.  T/ic  Ten  Virgins.  Five,  who  were  wise,  had  pre- 
pared for  a  sudden  emergency:  five,  who  were  foolish,  could  not 
enter  into  the  marriage. 

U  2 


292  ST.  MATTHEW   25.   2-8 

ten  virgins,  which  took  their  lamps,  and  went  forth  to 

2  meet  the  bridegroom.     And  five  of  them  were  foohsh, 

3  and  five  were  wise.     For  the  foohsh,  when  they  took 

4  their  lamps,  took  no  oil  with  them  :   but  the  wise  took 

5  oil  ill   their  vessels  with  their  lamps.     Now  while  the 

6  bridegroom  tarried,  they  all  slumbered  and  slept.     But 
at  midnight   there   is  a  cry,   Behold,   the  bridegroom! 

7  Come  ye  forth  to  meet  him.     Then  all  those  virgins 

8  arose,  and  trimmed  their  lamps.     And  the  foolish  said 
unto  the  wise.  Give  us  of  your  oil ;  for  our  lamps  are 


The  parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins  is  only  here,  though  Mark 
xiii.  35-37  and  Luke  xii.  35,  36  have  the  same  lesson.  Such 
counsels  would  be  frequently  given  towards  the  end  of  our  Lord's 
life,  and  no  one  knew  how  or  when  the  great  crisis  should  come. 

1.  The  parable  speaks  of  ten  virgins,  which  took  their 
lamps.  The  margin  has  'torches,'  which  was  the  earlier  meaning 
of  the  word,  as  in  John  xviii.  3.  (In  John  v.  35  '  lamp  *  represents 
another  word.)  Usually  the  bride  was  taken  to  the  house  of  the 
bridegroom  by  friends :  in  this  case  he  came  to  meet  the  convoy. 
Resch  suggests  that  an  old  addition  — '  and  the  bride ' — is  authentic. 

2.  The  order  of  the  R.  V.,  foolish  .  .  .  wise,  has  better  support 
than  that  of  the  A.  V. 

3.  Per  the  foolish,  when  they  took  follows  the  best  reading, 
and  brings  out  the  temporal  significance  of  the  participle. 

4.  the  wise  took  oil  in  their  vessels  as  well  as  in  the  lamp — 
a  reserve  for  emergencies. 

5.  Now  while  the  brideg-room  tarried.  The  participle  here 
also  is  translated  with  a  temporal  meaning,  but  it  may  quite  as 
easily — indeed,  plausibly — assume  a  causal  significance.  It  is  in 
the  present  tense,  indicating  a  continuous  delay.  It  was  perhaps 
because  the  'bridegroom  tarried'  that  they  all  slumbered  and 
slept.  There  was  evidently  a  delay  in  his  arrival,  and  in  the 
long  night  hours,  what  wonder  if  they  'slept'?  Here  also  is 
the  suggestion  of  some  delay  in  the  incidence  of  the  Parousia. 
It  is  in  the  time  of  ordinary  duty— when  no  critical  excitement 
exists— that  the  church  is  likely  to  'slumber  and  sleep.' 

6.  at  midnight  there  is  a  cry.  The  vivid  historic  present :  so 
the  Parousia  should  come,  i  Cor.  xv.  52  ;  i  Thess,  v.  2. 

7.  arose,  and  trimmed  their  lamps,  or  'garnished'  them; 
cf.  Matt.  xii.  44,  xxiii.  29, 

8.  our  lamps  are  going  out :  the  present  tense. 


ST.  MATTHEW    25.  9-16  293 

going  out.     But  the  wise  answered,  saying,  Peradventure    9 
there  will  not  be  enough  for  us  and  you  :  go  ye  rather 
to  them  that  sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves.     And  while  10 
they  went  away  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  came ;  and  they 
that   were   ready   went   in    with    him    to   the   marriage 
feast:  and  the  door  was  shut.     Afterward  come  also  the  n 
other  virgins,  saying,  Lord^  Lord,  open  to  us.     But  he  12 
answered  and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  know  you 
not.      Watch  therefore,   for  ye  know  not   the  day  nor  13 
the  hour. 

For  //  is  as  when  a  man,  going  into  another  country,  14 
called  his  own  servants,  and  delivered  unto  them  his 
goods.     And  unto  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to  another  15 
two,  to  another  one ;  to  each  according  to  his  several 
ability ;   and  he  went  on   his  journey.     Straightway  he  16 
that  received  the  five  talents  went  and  traded  with  them. 


11.  Lord,  Iiord,  open  to  us.     Cf.  Matt.  vii.  21. 

12,  13.  I  know  yoTi  not.  Cf.  vii.  23.  The  duty  urged  in  the 
exhortation  is  watchfulness,  because  they  did  not  know  the  day 
nor  the  hour.  The  A.  V,  adds  *  wherein  the  Son  of  man  cometh,' 
but  this  was  probably  from  Luke  xii.  40,  and  is  not  found  in  the 
oldest  authorities  in  Matthew:  cf.  Matt.  xxiv.  42,  50;  Mark 
xiii.  35. 

XXV.  14-30.  Parable  of  the  Talents.  The  diligent  servant 
promoted  ;  the  slothful  servant  cast  out. 

14.  The  parable  of  the  Talents,  verses  14-30,  is  given  in 
substance  in  Mark  xiii.  34-37  :  Luke  xix.  12-27  presents  it  more 
fully  but  with  differences,  e.  g.  pounds  for  talents,  ten  ior  five. 
The  disobedient  citizens  referred  to  in  Matt.  xxii.  7  are  intro- 
duced in  this  parable  by  Luke  xix.  14.  The  lesson  is  that  though 
the  Parousia  should  be  long  delayed,  the  time  ought  to  be 
well  used. 

15.  The  long  absent  lord  would  return  at  length  to  reckon 
with  his  servants,  each  according  to  his  several  ability  being 
entrusted  with  something  of  value. 

IS.  The  'good  servant'  straightway  .  .  .went  and  traded, 
i.e.  at  once  began  to  attend  to  his  master's  interests.  The  word 
'  straightway '  belongs  to  this  verse,  and  not,  as  in  A.  V.,  to  the 


294  ST.  MATTHEW   25.   17-25 

17  and  made  other  five  talents.     In  like  manner  be  also 

iS  that  received  the  two  gained  other  two.     But  he  that 

received  the  one  went  away  and  digged  in  the  earth, 

19  and  hid  his  lord's  money.  Now  after  a  long  time  the 
lord  of  those  servants  cometh,  and  maketh  a  reckoning 

20  with  them.  And  he  that  received  the  five  talents  came 
and  brought  other  five  talents,  saying,  Lord,  thou  de- 
liveredst  unto  me  five  talents :  lo,  I  have  gained  other 

21  five  talents.  His  lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant :  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many  things :  enter  thou  into 

22  the  joy  of  thy  lord.  And  iie  also  that  received  the  two 
talents  came  and  said,  Lord,  thou  deliveredst  unto  me 

23  two  talents  :  lo,  I  have  gained  other  two  talents.  His 
lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant; 
thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  set  thee 
over  many  things  :   enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord. 

24  And  he  also  that  had  received  the  one  talent  came 
and  said,  Lord,  I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man, 
reaping  where  thou  didst  not  sow,  and  gathering  where 

25  thou  didst  not  scatter :  and  I  was  afraid,  and  went  away 

previous  one.  A  'talent'  was  something  weighed  out  in  a 
balance,  as  gold  :  cf.  Matt,  xviii.  24.  Its  value  in  Greek  money 
would  be  more  than  £240  ;  in  Syriac,  much  less.  From  this 
word  we  have  derived  our  word  '  talent,*  which  means  any 
special  endowment  of  nature  or  of  opportunity. 

18.  went  away  and  dig-ged  in  tlie  earth,  and  Md.  Luke 
saj's,  'in  a  napkin'  his  lord's  money.  Fearful  of  losing  it,  he 
consigned  it  to  useless  concealment. 

21.  I  will  set  tliee  over  many  tMng-s.  The  good  servant 
will  not  be  idle  while  the  master  is  absent,  and  at  his  return  his 
reward  will  be  yet  higher  service.  The  Christian  reward  is  not 
to  be  absolute  repose,  the  somnolence  of  the  grave,  but  greater 
opportunities  and  vaster  responsibilities. 

24.  The  unsuccessful  servant  pleaded  that  too  much  had  been 
exacted  :  his  master  was  a  hard  man.  Many  feel  the  demands 
of  the  higher  righteousness  to  be  grievous. 


ST.  MATTHEW   25.  26-32  295 

and  hid  thy  talent  in  the  earth  :  lo,  thou  hast  thine  own. 
But  his  lord  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Thou  wicked  26 
and  slothful  servant,   thou  knewest  that   I   reap  where 
I  sowed  not,  and  gather  where  I  did  not  scatter;  thou  27 
oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to  the  bankers, 
and  at  my  coming  I  should  have  received  back  mine  own 
with  interest.     Take  ye  away  therefore  the  talent  from  28 
him,  and  give  it  unto  him  that  hath  the  ten  talents. 
For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  19 
shall  have  abundance :  but  from  him  that  hath  not,  even 
that  which  he  hath  shall  be  taken  away.     And  cast  ye  30 
out  the  unprofitable  servant  into  the  outer  darkness : 
there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  31 
all  the  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  on  the  throne 
of  his  glory :  and  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  the  32 

26,  27.  If  this  slothfal  servant  had  not  ability  or  energy  for 
'  trading,'  he  could  at  least  have  put  the  money  to  xhe  "bankers. 
Jesus  had  overthrown  '  the  tables  of  the  moneychangers '  (Matt, 
xxi.  12)  because  they  carried  on  their  business  on  temple  ground, 
but  their  traffic  elsewhere  was  allowed.  Banking  was  a  very 
ancient  occupation.  The  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets  have  preserved 
the  record  of  banking  transactions  which  took  place  1400  b.  c. 

29.  Por  unto  every  one  that  hath.  He  that  improves  oppor- 
tunities, at  length  appropriates  that  which  others  have  neglected. 
The  same  observation  is  found  in  Matt.  xiii.  12  ;  Mark  iv.  25  ; 
Luke  viii.  18,  in  relation  to  the  reception  of  the  divine  word. 

XXV.  31-46.  The  Judgement.  Sheep  separated  from  the  goats  : 
the  blessing  and  the  curse. 

The  paragraph  contained  in  verses  31-46  (only  in  Matthew) 
is  supposed  by  Holtzmann  to  be  an  interpolation  by  the  evange- 
list from  4  Esdras  vii.  33-35  ;  Apoc.  Baruch  Ixxxiii.  12  ;  but, 
as  Weiss  says,  such  an  interpolation  is  improbable.  Moreover, 
the  compositions  referred  to  only  refer  in  a  general  way  to  the 
judgement,  while  the  substance  of  what  is  taught  here  is  found 
elsewhere. 

31.  But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come.  The  Parousia  is 
still  the  great  topic  under  consideration,  as  in  xxiv.  30. 

32.  before  him  shall  ba  g-athered  all  the  nations,  i.  e.  both 


296  ST.   MATTHEW   25.  33-38 

nations :  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from  another, 
as  the  shepherd  separateth  the  sheep  from  the  goats : 

33  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the 

34  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 

35  of  the  world  :  for  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat: 
I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger, 

36  and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me :   I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 

37  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying. 
Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungred,  and  fed  thee?   or 

38  athirst,  and  gave  thee  drink  ?  And  when  saw  we  thee 
a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in?    or  naked,  and  clothed 

Jews  and  Gentiles  (Rom.  ii.  9),  Ol'ten  'nations'  stands  for 
'  Gentiles.' 

he  shall  separate,  as  in  Matt.  xiii.  49,  which  speaks  of  the 
separation  of  good  and  bad  fish.  Weiss  supposes  that  the  flock 
consists  of  professing  Christians.  Paul  speaks  of  such  in  2  Cor. 
V.  10  :  'We  must  all  be  made  manifest  before  the  judgement-seat 
of  Christ.' 

as  the  shepherd  separateth.  *  Behold,  I  judge  between 
cattle  and  cattle,'  Ezek.  xxxiv.  17.  The  Book  of  Enoch  Ixxxix.  16 
speaks  of  '  the  Lord  of  the  sheep,'  in  accordance  with  John 
xxi.  15.  The  sheep  and  the  goats  were  constantly  kept  separate 
in  field  and  fold. 

34.  Then  shall  the  King-,  i.  e.  the  Messiah. 

the  king'doin  prepared  for  you,  or  '  inherit  that  which  has 
been  prepared  for  3'ou — a  kingdom —from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.'  The  aboriginal  predestination,  which  was  coeval  with 
the  thought  of  creation  itself,  had  determined  that  only  the 
'sheep,'  the  'elect'  (i.e.  the  truly  righteous),  and  no  other, 
should  '  inherit  the  kingdom.'  The  foundations  of  the  world 
were  laid  in  righteousness,  and  the  final  victory  is  with 
the  good. 

35.  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  g-ave  me  meat.  A  few 
were  found  in  the  practice  of  that  benevolence  which  w^as  so 
mournfully  missing  in  general  society ;  cf.  Rom.  iii.  12,  '  there 
is  none  that  doeth  good.'  Charity  and  hospitality  were  recovered 
by  Christianity,  Rom.  xii.  13 ;  Heb.  xiii.  16. 


ST.  MATTHEW   25.  39-46  297 

thee?     And  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  39 
came  unto  thee?     And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  40 
unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did 
it  unto  one  of  these  my  brethren,  even  these  least,  ye 
did  it  unto  me.     Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  41 
the   left   hand,   Depart   from   me,   ye   cursed,   into   the 
eternal   fire  which    is    prepared   for   the  devil  and   his 
angels :    for  I   was   an    hungred,   and    ye   gave    me    no  42 
meat:  1  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink:   I  was  ^3 
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^  saying.  Lord,  when  44 
saw  we  thee  an  hungred,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto 
thee?     Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying.  Verily  I  say  45 
unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  these 
least,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me.     And  these  shall  go  away  4^ 

40.  ye  did  it  unto  me.  Jesus  identified  himself  wiih  the  most 
precious  interests  of  men  :  service  done  to  them  was  done  to  him  ; 
of.  Mark  X.  40. 

41.  Depart  from  me,  ys  cursed,  or  marg,  'under  a  curse.' 
Justin  and  Irenaeus  read  in  the  addition  *  of  my  Father'  (verse 
34)  after  the  words  the  eternal  fire  wMch.  is  prepared,  but 
this  is  not  accepted.  The  M<ingdom*  was  'prepared  for'  the 
righteous,  but  not  the  fire  even  for  the  unfaithful.  It  was 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  Ms  ang-els.  Jewish  eschatology 
assigned  to  Satan  and  his  supporters  special  punishment,  as  in 
Jude  6  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  The  Book  of  Enoch  xxi.  10  says,  *  This 
place  is  the  prison  of  angels,  and  here  they  will  be  imprisoned 
for  ever'  (of.  Ixvii.  7,  &c.). 

44.  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungred  .  .  .  ?  If  they  had  known 
that  one  so  dignified  and  renowned  had  been  among  them,  they 
would  have  exhausted  the  resources  of  all  obsequiousness  to  have 
served  him.  They  were  usually  most  acute  to  observe  the 
budding  signs  of  success  and  advancement  in  the  aspiring,  and 
were  mortified  indeed  that  they  had  overlooked  a  king,  whatever 
disguise  he  had  assumed. 

46.  And  these  shall  g-o  away.  The  adjective  connected  with 
'life'   is  precisely   the   same  as  that  attached   to  'punishment.' 


298  ST.  MATTHEW   26.  i 

into  eternal  punishment :  but  the  righteous  into  eternal 
life. 
26      And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  all  these 

though  Tyndale  introduced  •  eternal '  for  the  one  and  '  everlasting  ' 
for  the  other.  According  to  the  N.  T.  and  the  primitive  Christian 
teachers  (before  Origen,,  the  persuasion  was  universal  that  the 
adjudication  would  be  final.  The  object  of  the  parable,  however, 
should  be  kept  in  mind.  It  was  not  to  furnish  a  scientific  escha- 
tology,  or  a  positive  programme  of  the  great  hereafter.  Jesus 
used,  as  in  Luke  xvi.  19-31,  conceptions  which  were  familiar  to 
those  around  him,  in  order  to  apply  his  own  great  doctrine.  The 
teaching  of  future  retribution  is  not  given  now  for  the  first  time, 
nor  is  there  any  advance  beyond  the  views,  concerning  the  future 
conditions  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  which  were  then 
accepted  and  familiar  to  the  Jews.  That  which  Jesus  was  intent 
on  making  known  was  that  the  '  eternal  life,'  in  which  they 
believed  (John  v.  39),  was  not  for  the  socially  respectable  and 
formally  righteous,  as  they  too  often  imagined,  but  for  the  real 
servants  of  God.  On  the  other  hand  the  'eternal  fire'  was  not 
for  the  classes  despised  for  their  poverty  and  ignorance,  but  for 
those  who  betrayed,  by  lives  of  selfishness,  their  want  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  ^. 

xxvi.  1-5.  The  eve  of  the  crucifixion.  The  passover  near,  and 
the  priests  in  council. 

The  three  remaining  chapters  of  the  gospel  contain  the  narrative 
of  the  passion  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  With  variations, 
which  are  often  difficult  to  explain,  the  plan  of  the  Synoptic 
accounts  is  identical.  Chapters  xxvi,  xxvii  closely  follow  the 
account  in  Mark  ;  Luke  is  more  independent.  The  fourth  gospel 
renders  assistance  to  the  history,  though  it  introduces  problems 
of  its  own.  The  importance  attached  to  the  history  and  manner 
of  our  Lord's  death  and  resurrection  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
one-half  of  John,  one-third  of  Luke,  and  one-fourth  of  Matthew 
and  Mark  are  devoted  to  the  closing  scenes. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished.  See  Matt, 
vii.  28,  Weiss  ijntrod.  to  N.  T.  ii.  265)  thinks  that  verses  1-5  are 
but  a  paraphrase  on  Mark  xiv.  i,  2.  After  the  discourses  and 
controversies  recorded  in  xx-xxv,  Jesus  began  to  speak  more 
freely  of  his  approaching  death. 

^  The  Greek  adjective  '  eternal '  usually  includes  in  the  N.  T.  the  idea 
of  unlimited  time.  It  is  therefore  used  for  the  being  of  God,  Rom.  xvi. 
26  ;  and  for  the  future  glory  of  the  saints,  i  Cor.  iv.  17,  18.  Though 
this  use  of  the  word  does  not  positively  appear  in  Luke  or  John,  it  is 
difficult  to  eliminate  the  temporal  idea  in  the  phrase  '  eternal  life,' 
Luke  X.  25  ;  John  iii.  15,  &.c. 


ST.  MATTHEW  26.  2  299 

words,  he  said   unto  his   disciples,  Ye  know  that  after  2 
two  days  the  passover  cometh,  and  the  Son  of  man  is 

2.  after  two  days,  or  on  the  next  day.  According  to  our 
modes  of  expression  the  discourse  of  chapter  xxv  was  ended  on 
Wednesday,  and  the  passover  took  place  on  Thursday  evening. 

the  passover  cometli.  '  Passover'  is  Tj'ndale's  word  for  the 
Hebrew  '  pesach  '  (Aramaic  and  Greek  '  pascha ').  The  word  may 
describe  the  '  feast  of  the  passover/  as  A.  V.,  or  the  Iamb  which 
was  then  eaten,  according  to  Exod.  xii.  1-14.  The  'passover' 
was  kept  in  memorj'  of  the  escape  from  Egypt,  but  its  original 
form  received  some  modifications.  The  Jews  still  observe  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread  and  bitter  herbs,  but  have  no  lamb. 

The  precise  date  on  w^hich  our  Lord  died  has  been  much  dis- 
puted. The  controversy  was  complicated  by  a  dispute  in  the 
early  church  about  tlie  correct  time  for  Easter;  and  a  difference 
betv/een  the  Synoptists  and  the  fourth  gospel  has  rendered  the 
knot  insoluble. 

The  passover  lamb  was  to  be  slain  on  the  fourteenth  day  of 
the  Jewish  month  Nisan.  and  to  be  eaten  after  sunset.  In  this 
particular  week  the  date  happened  on  Thursday.  As  the  Jews 
reckoned  their  day  from  sunset  to  sunset,  the  Iamb  ought  to  have 
been  eaten  on  Thursday  evening,  the  fifteenth  Nisan.  On  the 
following  day  began  the  seven  days  feast  of  unleavened  bread. 
On  Friday — still  the  fifteenth  Nisan — at  three  p.m.  Jesus  died  : 
before  sunset  he  was  pronounced  to  be  dead  and  was  taken  from 
the  cross.     Such  is  the  account  according  to  the  three  Synoptists. 

The  fourth  gospel,  however,  supplies  a  different  version.  John 
xix.  28  says  that  the  Pharisees  would  not  enter  Pilate's  house 
because  they  feared  defilement  (the  leaven  was  not  removed), 
which  would  prevent  their  participation  in  the  sacred  meal.  This 
implies,  of  course,  that  they  had  not  eaten  the  passover  at  the 
same  time  as  Jesus,  but  were  expecting  to  take  it  on  the  following 
day.  John  xiii.  i  says  that  '  the  last  supper'  took  place  'before 
the  feast  of  the  passover,'  and  was  therefore  an  ordinary  meal 
Moreover,  John  does  not  relate  that  Jesus  instituted  a  memorial 
at  that  meal,  as  Luke  xxii.  19.  He  states  that  Judas  left  the 
company  in  order  to  buy  things  needful  for  the  feast,  as  if  it  were 
still  in  the  future  ;  and  that  the  day  on  which  Jesus  was  crucified 
was  the  '  preparation '  for  the  passover.  He  evidently  intends 
to  shew  that  Jesus  was  the  true  passover  ;  that  he  died  on  the 
day  when  the  lamb  was  slain  ;  and  how  the  Scripture  was  fulfilled  : 
'not  a  bone  of  him  should  be  broken,'  John  xix.  36.  He  notices, 
xii.  I,  that  Mary  anointed  him  'six  days  before  the  passover,' 
i.  e.  on  tenth  Nisan,  the  day  when  the  lamb  was  selected.  This 
separation  of '  the  last  supper '  from  the  passover  by  the  fourth 


300  ST.  MATTHEW   26.   3,  4 

3  delivered  up  to  be  crucified.  Then  were  gathered  to- 
gether the  chief  priests,  and  the  elders  of  the  people, 
unto  the  court  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  called  Caia- 

4  phas ;  and  they  took  counsel  together  that  they  might 

5  take  Jesus   by   subtilty,  and  kill  him.     But  they   said, 


gospel  is  the  more  remarkable  because  Peter  r.nd  John  were  sent 
to  prepare  the  passover  for  Jesus  and  the  disciples  :   Luke  xxii.  8. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  solve  the  difficulty,  but  the 
data  at  our  command  do  not  allow  any  to  be  a  complete  success. 
It  has  been  said,  (a)  that  '  between  the  two  evenings  '  (Exod.  xii. 
6,  R.  V.  margin)  might  include  the  whole  time  from  Thursday 
overling  to  Friday  evening.  In  this  case  the  Pharisees  might  have 
postponed  their  participation  in  the  passover  until  the  Friday 
evening.  But  the  direction  that  all  the  lamb  was  to  be  eaten  on 
the  first  evening,  or  to  be  burned  the  next  morning,  forbids  this 
supposition.  (6)  That  the  'feast'  to  which  John  refers,  fo'-  which 
Judas  was  preparing,  and  which  the  Pharisees  intended  to  cele- 
brate after  the  trial  of  Jesus,  was  the  Chagigah,  the  feast  v/hich 
followed  the  passover.  The  references  to  the  passover  by  John 
are  too  explicit  for  such  a  theory  to  stand,  (c)  Equally  un- 
authorized and  unsatisfactory  is  the  supposition  that  the  last 
supper  was  an  anticipation  of  the  passover.  Dean  Farrar  (Luke 
xxii)  earnestly  defends  this  view,  that  the  last  supper  was  not  the 
true  paschal  meal.  The  Eastern  Churches,  by  their  use  of  leavened 
bread,  seem  to  favour  some  distinction  between  that  meal  and  the 
passover.  These  churches  pleaded  the  example  of  John  for 
their  commencement  of  the  passover  on  the  fourteenth  Nisan, 
although  the  gospel  favours  the  fifteenth  day.  At  the  same  time 
they  were  not  so  Judaic  as  to  continue  the  use  of  unleavened 
bread  :  i  Cor.  v.  8.  The  case  therefore  continues  to  be  one  of 
non  liquet ;  yet  all  the  evangelists  agree  that  the  crucifixion  took 
place  on  the  day  of  'preparation'  for  the  passover  'Sabbath'; 
and  all  shew  that  the  supper  on  the  previous  evening  had  an 
immediate  reference  to  the  death  which  followed. 

3.  tlie  high  priest,  •who  was  called  Caiaphas.  Joseph  Caiaphas 
was  the  son-in-law  of  Annas.  He  was  appointed  high  priest  by 
the  procurator,  Valerius  Gratus,  a.  d.  26,  and  deposed  twelve  years 
later.  The  official  association  of  Annas  and  Caiaphas  is  indicated 
in  Luke  iii.  2;  Acts  iv.  6.  R.  V.,  with  good  authorities,  omits 
'the  scribes'  from  the  list  of  the  conspirators  against  Jesus. 
They  met  in  the  'court'  (not  '  palace,' A.  V.,  a  meaning  of  the 
w^ord  which  Meyer  rejects  for  the  N.  T.),  within  the  house  area, 
open  to  the  sky :  cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  58  ;  Rev.  xi.  2. 


ST.  MATTHEW  2G.  6  n  301 

Not  during   the   feast,   lest  a  tumult  arise    among    the 
people. 

Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany,   in  the  house  of    C 
Simon  the  leper,  there  came  unto  him  a  woman  having    7 
an  alabaster  cruse  of  exceeding  precious  ointment,  and 
she  poured  it  upon  his  head,  as  he  sat  at  meat.     But    8 
when  the  disciples  saw  it,  they  had  indignation,  saying, 
To  what  purpose  is  this  waste?     For  this  ointment  might    9 
have  been  sold  for  much,  and  given  to  the  poor.     But  10 
Jesus   perceiving   it   said    unto   them,   ^Vhy  trouble  ye 
the  woman?    for  she  hath  wrought  a  good  work  upon 
me.     For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you;    but  me  u 

5.  Not  during  tlie  feast,  when  many  thousands  were  crowded 
in  the  city,  and  the  Roman  authorities  were  specially  sensitive  about 
popular  tumults.     It  was  more  politic  to  effect  the  arrest  by  night. 

xxvi.  6-13.  The  alabaster  box.  Anointing  of  Jesus  in  Bethany  : 
what  it  signified. 

6.  John  xii.  i-ii  ;  cf.  Mark  xiv.  3-9)  places  the  anointing 
six  days  before  the  passover.  Matthew  and  Mark  do  not  mention 
any  particular  time,  but  both  introduce  the  episode  at  this  point 
because  of  its  connexion  with  the  betrayal ;  cf.  John  xii.  4  :  both 
also  say  that  it  occurred  in  the  liouse  of  Simon  tlie  leper. 
A  similarity  of  names  has  suggested  an  identity  with  the  incident 
in  Lukevii.  36-50,  but  that  would  imply  too  great  a  confusion  in 
the  traditions.  John  xii.  i  implies  that  the  event  took  place  in 
the  house  of  Mary  and  Martha. 

7.  an  alabaster  cruse.  Pliny  said  that  a  pound  of  the  highest 
quality  of  nard  cost  400  denarii :  cf.  'three  hundred  pence,'  John 
xii.  5.  Neither  Lazarus  nor  his  sisters  are  mentioned  by  the  first 
two  gospels,  nor  Lazarus  by  Luke. 

8.  When  Judas  saw  this  waste,  he  concluded  that  the  chances 
for  w^ealth  under  such  a  master  were  gone.  Moreover,  Jesus  now 
spoke  plainly  of  his  burial.  The  betrayer  mourned  over  the  waste 
of  money,  but  sold  his  Master  for  nought.  Dr.  Swete  remarks 
that  *  the  labourer's  daily  wage  was  a  denarius  Matt.  xx.  a),  two 
denarii  sufficed  for  the  innkeeper's  payment  (Luke  x.  35),  whilst 
two  hundred  would  have  gone  some  way  to  feed  a  multitude 
(Mark  vi.  37).' 

11.  me  ye  have  not  always:  so  Mark  and  John.  This  accords 
with  John  xvi.  17. 


302  ST.  MATTHEW  26.  12-17 

12  ye  have  not  always.  For  in  tliat  she  poured  this  oint- 
ment upon  my  body,  she  did  it  to  prepare  me  for  burial. 

13  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall 
be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  that  also  which  this 
woman  hath  done  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial 
of  her. 

14  Then  one  of  the  twelve,  who  was  called  Judas  Iscariot, 

15  went  unto  the  chief  priests,  and  said.  What  are  ye  willing 
to  give  me,  and  I  will  deliver  him  unto  you  ?     And  they 

16  weighed  unto  him  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  And  from  that 
time  he  sought  opportunity  to  dehver  him  unto  thefn. 

1 7  Now  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  the  disciples 
came  to  Jesus,  saying,  Where  wilt  thou  that  we  make 

13.  This  act  of  queenly  generosity  was  to  be  published  every- 
where. What  would  not  some  give  for  an  advertisement  like 
this  ?  Every  preacher  of  the  gospel  in  every  language  to  the  end 
of  time  becomes  her  herald. 

xxvi.  14-16.  The  betrayal.  Judas  prefers  silver  to  Christ  and 
his  kingdom.     The  priests  set  a  price  upon  Jesus. 

Verses  14-16  return  to  the  triple  tradition,  found  also  in 
Mark  xiv.  lo-ii  ;  Luke  xxii.  3-6.  Judas  went  direct  to  the 
priests,  who  were  wishing  to  hear  how  they  could  fall  on  Jesus 
privately.  John  xiii,  27  states  that  Satan  entered  the  heart  of 
Judas  at  the  supper  ;  but  the  Synoptists  suppose  that  the  bargain 
with  the  priests  was  already  made. 

15.  they  weiglied  unto  liim,  or  '■  put  in  the  balance,'  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  This  amount — about  four  pounds — was  the  legal 
compensation  for  the  death  of  a  servant  :  Exod.  xxi.  12.  Mark  and 
Luke  speak  of  'silver'  as  having  passed  between  the  priests 
and  Judas,  but  Matthew  alone  gives  the  amount  :  hence  Meyer- 
Weiss  infer  that  it  was  adapted  to  Zech.  xi.  2. 

xxvi.  17-30.  The  Last  Supper.  Disciples  sent  to  prepare. 
The  feast  in  the  evening ;  the  betrayer  indicated.  Bread  and 
wine  distributed.     A  hymn  on  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

17.  Now  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread.  Mark 
xiv.  12-26  and  Luke  xxii.  7-30  give  more  details  of  the  preparation 
for  the  supper  than  are  found  in  Matt,  verses  17-19.  The  first 
day  of  unleavened  bread  succeeded  the  appointed  passover  meal 
which  was  eaten  on  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  Nisan. 


ST.  MATTHEW  26.   18-24  3^3 

ready  for  thee  to  eat  the  passover?     And  he  said,  Go  18 
into  the  city  to  such  a  man,  and  say  unto  him.  The 
Master  saith,  My  time  is  at  hand ;  I  keep  the  passover 
at  thy  house  with  my  disciples.     And  the  disciples  did  19 
as  Jesus  appointed   them ;    and  they   made   ready   the 
passover.     Now  when   even  was  come,   he  was  sitting  20 
at  meat  with  the  twelve  disciples  ;   and  as  they  were  21 
eating,  he  said.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you 
shall  betray  me.     And  they  were  exceeding   sorrowful,  22 
and  began  to  say  unto  him  every  one,  Is  it  I,  Lord? 
And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  dipped  his  hand  23 
with  me  in   the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me.     The  24 
Son  of  man  goeth,  even   as  it  is  written   of  him :    but 


18.  The  householders  of  the  city  were  accustomed  to  hire  out 
rooms  to  visitors  at  the  feast. 

Z  keep  tiie  passover  at  thy  house.  The  present  tense  is 
used  for  the  future,,  as  in  verse  2.  This  could  have  been  only  the 
real  passover.  Yet  Dr.  Godot  thinks  it  an  anticipation  of  the 
sacred  feast,  and  (in  Matthew  alone)  'justifies  the  whole 
Johannine  narrative.'  According  to  Matthew  the  commission  to 
'  prepare  '  was  given  to  the  disciples  ;  Mark  says  two  were  sent, 
and  Luke  saj'S  they  were  Peter  and  John. 

20.  According  to  John  xiii.  1-30  it  was  at  the  gathering  now 
described  that  Jesus  washed  the  feet  of  his  disciples. 

he  was  sitting-  at  meat  with  the  twelve  :  verses  20-30  ; 
Mark  xiv.  17-26  ;  Luke  xxii.  7-23.  Tradition  had  prescribed 
that  not  less  than  ten  should  join  at  the  passover.  The  Jewish 
passover  could  only  be  eaten  at  night,  and  for  two  centuries  the 
'Lord's  Supper'  was  always  observed  bj'  the  Christian  Church 
at  night,  in  accordance  with  the  original  occasion.  'Morning 
Communion'  was  a  third-century  innovation. 

21.  one  of  you  shall  betray  me.  John  xiii.  26  indicates  that 
Judas  was  indicated  at  the  request  of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved.  The  lamb  and  the  bitter  herbs  are  not  mentioned,  but 
we  cannot  doubt  that  the  usual  ceremonial  was  carefully  observed. 

23.  The  *  sop '  was  dipped  in  the  C/iarose//i,  or  sauce  of  bitter 
herbs.  Mr.  Carr  {Camb.  G.  T.  p.  289)  conjectures  that  no  lamb 
was  eaten  by  Jesus  :  but  this  inference  ex  silentio  is  unwarranted. 

He  that  dipped  his  hand,  where  there  seems  to  be  a  reference 
to  Ps.  xli.  9. 


304  ST.  MATTHEW  26.  25-29 

woe  unto  that  man  through  whom  the  Son  of  man  is 
betrayed  !  good  were  it  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  been 

25  born.   And  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  answered  and  said, 
Is  it   I,  Rabbi?     He  saith   unto  him,   Thou  hast  said. 

26  And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed, 
and  brake  it;   and  he  gave  to  the  disciples,  and  said, 

27  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body.    And  he  took  a  cup,  and  gave 

28  thanks,  and  gave  to  them,  saying.  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for 
this  is  my  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  is  shed  for  many 

29  unto  remission  of  sins.     But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not 


25.  Thou  hast  said.  This  expression  is  supposed  to  be  equiva- 
lent to  '  It  is,  as  thou  hast  said '  ;  but  the  phrase  in  that  meaning 
is  not  found  in  other  Greek  writers.  The  direct  declaration  to 
Judas  that  he  was  the  betrayer  is  not  in  Matthew  or  Mark. 

26.  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed,  and  brake  it.  The  *it' 
which  followed  *  blessed '  in  the  A.  V.  is  omitted  in  the  R.  V.,  and 
is  absent  from  the  original.  The  bread  was  not  the  object  of  the 
blessing,  but  God  its  giver:  cf.  Luke  xxii.  19.  See  also  in  con- 
nexion with  the  cup  verse  27. 

this  is  my  body.  In  this  saying  all  depends  on  the  meaning 
of  'is,'  though  in  Aramaic  probably  the  copula  would  not  be  used. 
The  verb  to  be  does  not  always  express  identity,  but  often  re- 
semblance or  representation.  Here,  as  in  Matt.  xiii.  37.  '  The 
field  is  the  world  ' ;  in  Gal.  iv.  24,  '  such  as  is  Hagar ' ;  and  Luke 
xii.  I,  'the  leaven  .  .  .  such  as  is  hypocrisy,'  it  is  'the  copula  of 
symbolic  statement.' 

27.  Drink  ye  all  of  it.  Matthew  and  Mark  do  not  expressly 
assert  the  institution  of  a  permanent  rite,  as  Luke  xxii.  19,  'this 
do  in  remembrance  of  me '  ;  yet  the  subsequent  practice  shews 
how  it  was  understood. 

28.  this  is  my  blood  of  the  covenant.  This  is  a  better  reading 
than  that  of  the  A.  V..  which  gave  us,  after  the  Latin,  our  designa- 
tion of  "the  New  Testament.'  It  answers  better  to  Exod.  xxiv. 
8,  to  which  the  expression  'behold  the  blood  of  the  covenant' 
originally  belongs.  A  'testament'  is  from  the  dead,  a  'covenant' 
is  between  the  living. 

which  is  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins.  Only 
Matthew  :  cf  H-b.  ix.  22. 

29.  I  will  not  drink  henceforth.  This  would  be  remembered 
when  the  feast  was  celebrated  in  after  day.s.  The  kingdom  was 
looked  for  at  an  early  date,  Matt.  vi.  10.     There  seems  to  be  no 


ST.  MATTHEW  26.  30-34  305 

drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom. 

And  when  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  they  went  out  unto  30 
the  mount  of  OHves. 

Then  saith  Jesus  unto  them.  All  ye  shall  be  offended  31 
in   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  raised  up,  I  will  go  before  you  32 
into  Galilee.     But  Peter  answered  and  said   unto  him,  33 
If  all  shall  be  offended  in  thee,  I  will  never  be  offended. 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  34 

reason  to  doubt  that  on  this  occasion  Jesus  himself  ate  and  drank 
with  his  disciples  :   Mark  xiv.  12. 

It  may  be  noted  that  our  Lord  describes  the  material  element 
used  in  this  part  of  the  feast  as  '  the  fruit  of  the  vine.'  No  tran- 
substantiation  had  passed  upon  it  because  of  what  he  had  said. 
The  Didache,  ix.  2,  says  :  '  We  give  thanks  to  thee  our  Father  for 
the  holy  vine  of  David  th}^  servant.' 

30.  And  when  they  had  sung-  a  hymn.  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  that  the  same  custom  w^as  observed  in  the  agapae,  or 
meetings  of  the  church  afterwards:  Ephes.  v.  19;  Col.  iii.  16. 
Pliny,  in  his  epistle  (97)  to  Trajan,  states  that  the  Christians 
were  accustomed  to  'sing  a  hymn  to  Christ'  {carmen  Christd)^ 
and  to  *join  in  a  common  and  innocent  meal.'  There  is  no 
evidence  of  the  separation  of  the  eucharist  from  the  agape 
during  the  first  two  centuries. 

xxvi.  31-35.  Desertion  predicted.  All  should  desert  him.  Peter 
especially  declares  it  impossible. 

31.  Jesus  now  (verses  31-35  ;  Mark  xiv.  27-42  ;  Luke  xxii. 
3i~34  ;  John  xiii.  36-38 "1  predicts  the  apostasy  of  the  fear-stricken 
disciples.  Zcch.  xiii.  7  had  spoken  of  tiie  smiting  of  the  shepherd, 
which  Matthew  (^following  Mark)  applies  to  the  dispersion  of  this 
'  little  flock.' 

31.  All  ye  shall  be  offended.  The  margin  '  caused  to  stumble  * 
is  a  rendering  accepted  by  R.  V.  text  in  many  places. 

32.  The  reference  to  the  resurrection  and  an  appearance  in 
Galilee,  though  found  in  Mark,  probably  belongs  to  Matt,  xxviii.  16. 

33.  Peter  was  pre-eminently  unwilling  to  b  licve  in  the  apostasy 
of  himself  and  brethren,  yet  Jesus  proved  to  be  right  even  to  the 
cock-crowing. 


3o6  ST.  MATTHEW   26.  35-40 

night,  before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice. 

35  Peter  saith  unto  him,  Even  if  I  must  die  with  thee, 
yet  will  I  not  deny  thee.  Likewise  also  said  all  the 
disciples. 

36  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place  called 
Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  his  disciples,  Sit  ye  here, 

37  while  I  go  yonder  and  pray.  And  he  took  with  him 
Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  began  to  be 

38  sorrowful  and  sore  troubled.  Then  saith  he  unto  them, 
My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death :  abide 

39  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he  went  forward 
a  little,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my 
Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  away  from  me: 

40  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt.  And  he 
cometh  unto  the  disciples,  and  findeth  them  sleeping, 
and  saith   unto  Peter,  What,  could  ye   not  watch  with 

xxvi.  36-46,  Gethsemane.  Three  disciples  attend  Jesus.  Three 
times  he  prayed.     The  great  sorrow  of  tlie  Saviour. 

3S.  The  scene  in  Gethsemane  is  described  in  Matt.  xxvi.  36-46  ; 
Mark  xiv.  32-42;  Luke  xxii.  35-46;  John  xviii.  i. 

a  pla«e  called  Getlisemane,  i.  e,  *  the  oil  press,'  which  was 
in  'an  enclosed  piece  of  ground,'  marg.  Peter,  James,  and  John, 
who  w^ere  with  Jesus  on  the  mount,  are  here  with  him  in  the 
valley. 

37.  He  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  sore  troubled.  The  latter 
word  (A.  V,  '  very  heavy ')  only  occurs  here,  Mark.  xiv.  33 ; 
Phil.  ii.  26. 

38.  My  soul.  This  word  for  the  psychical  part  of  man  is  only 
used  of  Jesus  here  and  in  John  xii.  27.  It  testifies  to  the  reality 
of  the  humanity  of  Jesus  against  all  docetic  views.  Apollinaris  of 
Laodicea,  a.  d.  380,  taught  that  the  divine  Logos  occupied  in 
Christ  the  place  of  a  human  soul. 

39.  let  tbis  cup  pass  away  from  me.  This  fear  of  death  was 
intensely  human.  We  do  not  know  what  dreams  of  deliverance 
had  been  entertained  by  Jesus  himself.  God  might  'provide'  for 
his  release  as  for  Isaac.  Gen.  xxii.  14.  His  own  desires  with  regard 
to  the  manifestation  of  the  Messiahship  had  been  awakened,  for 
now  that  the  inevitable  is  at  hand  he  says,  nevertheless,  not  as 
I  will,  but  as  tbou  wilt :  cf.  Matt.  vi.  10,  R.  V. 


ST.  MATTHEW  2G.  41-47  307 

me  one  hour  ?     Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  4 1 
temptation :  the  spirit  indeed  is  wilhng,  but  the  flesh  is 
weak.     Again  a  second  time  he  went  away,  and  prayed,  42 
saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cannot  pass  away,  except 
I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.     And  he  came  again  and  43 
found  them  sleeping,  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.     And  44 
he  left  them  again,  and  went  away,  and  prayed  a  third 
time,  saying  again  the  same  words.     Then   cometh   he  45 
to  the  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them,  Sleep   on   now, 
and  take  your  rest :    behold,  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  unto  the  hands  of  sinners. 
Arise,    let   us   be   going :    behold,   he   is   at   hand  that  46 
betrayeth  me. 

And  while  he  yet  spake,  lo,  Judas^  one  of  the  twelve,  47 
came,  and  with  him  a  great  multitude  with  swords  and 
staves,  from  the  chief  priests  and  elders  of  the  people. 

42.  if  this  cannot  pass  away.  Luke  has  a  different  tradition  of 
the  occurrence,  and  does  not  mention  the  thrice-repeated  prayer. 

45.  Sleep  on  now.  After  what  Jesus  had  said  they  ought  to 
have  been  watching,  as  danger  was  at  hand.  Now  he  knew  the 
\vorst,  their  help  was  unavailing. 

the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners.  Who 
were  these?  Me3''er-Weiss  say  not  the  Romans  (Lange,  Swete, 
&c.,  'Jews  and  Gentiles  ')  but  the  Sanhedrin.  Would  Matthew, 
the  author  of  the  Judaistic  Gospel,  so  describe  them  ?  Luke  xxiv. 
7  says  that  Jesus  was  to  fall  'into  the  hands  of  sinful  men.  and  be 
crucified,'  so  that  here  it  may  mean  the  Gentiles  :  Gal.  ii.  15. 

xxvi.  47-56.  Jesus  found  by  Judas.  The  crowd  lay  hands  on 
Jesus.  The  high  priest  s  servant  smitten.  The  angels  not  called 
for.      Scripture  fulfilled. 

The  betrayal  and  arrest  of  Jesus  are  narrated  in  Matt.  xxvi. 
47-56;   Mark  xiv.  43-52;  Luke  xxii.  47-53;  John  xviii.  1-12. 

47.  lo,  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  came.  Each  Synoptist 
mentions  the  connexion  of  Judas  with  'the  Twelve.'  Possibly 
these  narratives  of  separate  events  were  at  the  beginning  delacjicd 
from  <  acli  other,  and  such  explaualious  oi  [)crbons  and  things 
would  be  needful. 

with  him  a  ^reat  nxultitude,  including  soldiers,  officers,  and 

X  2 


3o8  ST.  MATTHEW   26,  48-55 

48  Now  he  that  betrayed  him  gave  them  a  sign,  saying, 

49  Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  that  is  he :  take  him.  And 
straightway  he  came  to  Jesus,  and   said,  Hail,  Rabbi ; 

50  and  kissed  him.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Friend,  do 
that  for  which  thou  art  come.     Then  they  came  and 

61  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and  took  him.  And  behold,  one 
of  them  that  were  with  Jesus  stretched  out  his  hand, 
and  drew  his  sword,  and  smote  the  servant  of  the  high 

52  priest,  and  struck  off  his  ear.  Then  saith  Jesus  unto 
him,  Put  up  again  thy  sword  into  its  place :  for  all 
they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword. 

53  Or  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech  my  Father,  and 
he  shall  even  now  send  me  more  than  twelve  legions 

54  of  angels  ?     How  then  should  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled, 

55  that  thus  it  must  be  ?     In  that  hour  said  Jesus  to  the 


tlie  chief  priests  and  elders  of  the  people,  who  came  to  witness 
the  success  of  their  compact  with  Judas. 

49.  Hail,  Rabbi.  The  first  of  the  two  words  was  Greek, 
which  the  soldiers  would  understand.  Matthew  and  Mark  say 
that  Judas  '  kissed  him  much,'  using  a  word  not  often  used ;  cf. 
Luke  vii.  38,  xv.  20 ;  Acts  xx.  27  :  but  neither  Luke  nor  John  says 
that  he  actually  saluted  him  in  this  way. 

50.  Friend,  do  that  for  which  thou  art  come.  This  is 
a  doubtful  sentence,  only  in  Matthew.  It  may  mean,  '  On  what 
business  are  you  here  ? ' 

they  came  and  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
apostles,  Acts  iv.  3. 

51.  John  reports  that  the  one  of  them  who  drew  his  sword 
was  Peter,  that  Malchus  was  the  name  of  the  high  priest's  servant, 
while  Luke  says  that  Jesus  healed  him. 

52.  Put  up  again  thy  sword.  John  mentions  this  matter,  but 
what  follows  is  pecuHar  to  Matthew.  Weiss  conjectures  that  the 
remark,  'all  they  that  take  the  sword,'  &c.  (Luke  xxii.  38,  'here 
are  two  swords'),  is  a  reproduction  of  Rev.  xiii.  10:  but  the 
reverse  of  this  may  be  true.  It  is  not  certain  that  there  is  any 
reference  to  Peter's  death. 

53.  twelve  legions  of  angels,  or  72,000.  Matthew,  who  does 
not  use  many  Latin  words,  preserves  this  saying  respecting  the 
'legions'  of  spiritual  powers  ready  to  serve  Christ. 


ST.  MATTHEW  26.  56-61  309 

multitudes,  Are  ye  come  out  as  against  a  robber  with 
swords    and    staves    to  seize  me?     I    sat   daily   in    the 
temple  teaching,  and  ye  took  me  not.     But  all  this  is  56 
come  to  pass,  that  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets  might 
be  fulfilled.     Then  all  the  disciples  left  him,  and  fled. 

And  they  that  had  taken  Jesus  led  him  away  to  the  57 
house  of  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  where  the  scribes  and 
the  elders  were  gathered  together.     But  Peter  followed  58 
him  afar   off,   unto  the  court  of  the  high   priest,   and 
entered   in,   and  sat  with   the   officers,  to  see  the  end. 
Now  the  chief  priests  and  the  whole   council   sought  59 
false  witness  against  Jesus,   that   they  might   put   him 
to  death ;   and   they   found  it  not,   though  many  false  60 
witnesses   came.     But   afterward   came  two,   and   said,  6r 
This   man   said,   I  am   able  to  destroy  the  temple  of 

55.  against  a  robber,  not  '  thief,'  A.  V.  His  whole  procedure 
had  been  so  pacific  that  this  display  of  swords  and  staves  seemed 
to  be  absurd.  The  authorities  were  afraid  of  the  people,  not  of 
Jesus  or  of  his  followers.  The  evangelist  sees  in  each  event 
a  fulfilment  of  Scripture. 

56.  tlie  scriptures  of  the  prophets.  There  was  no  prophecy 
expressly  predicting  the  arrest ;  it  was  the  general  aspect  of  the 
case  of  '  the  servant  of  Jehovah  '  (Isa.  lii,  liii;  which  is  referred  to. 
Verse  56  is,  of  course,  by  the  evangelist. 

xxvi.  57-68,  Jesus  before  Caiaphas.  False  witness  adduced. 
He  is  charged  with  blasphemy,  and  buff'eted, 

57.  The  trial  before  Caiaphas  may  be  found  in  Mark  xiv.  53-65  ; 
Luke  xxii.  54-65  ;  as  well  as  here  in  verses  57-68.  John  xviii. 
12-24  says  that  Jesus  had  first  been  brought  before  Annas,  who 
sent  him  to  Caiaphas.  Jesus,  now  deserted  by  his  disciples,  is  in 
the  hands  of  his  foes. 

58.  Peter  followed  him  afar  ofT,  but  went  with  the  crowd 
unto  the  court  of  the  high  priest  ...  to  see  the  end. 

59.  The  witness  against  Jesus,  which  also  Mark  attests  to 
have  been  sought  by  the  priests,  Matthew  declares  was  '  false.' 

61.  afterward  came  two.  Mark  xiv.  57,  '  there  stood  up 
certain.'  Matthew  liked  the  number  *  two,'  but  two  witnesses 
were  required  by  the  law. 

This  man  said.     Their  statement  suggests  that  the  scene 


3ro  ST.  MATTHEW   26.  62-68 

62  God  and  to  build  it  in  three  days.  And  the  high 
priest  stood  up,  and  said  unto  him,  Ansvverest  thou 
nothing?   what  is  it  which  these  witness  against  thee? 

63  But  Jesus  held  his  peace.  And  the  high  priest  said 
unto  him,  I  adjifre  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou 
tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

64  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said :  nevertheless  I 
say  unto  you.  Henceforth  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
sitting   at   the   right   hand   of  power,    and   coming   on 

65  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Then  the  high  priest  rent 
his  garments,  saying.  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy ; 
what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses?  behold,  now 

66  ye  have  heard  the  blasphemy:    what  think  ye?    They 

67  answered  and  said,  He  is  worthy  of  death.  Then 
did  they  spit  in   his   face   and  buffet  him :    and  some 

68  smote  him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands,  saying, 
Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ :  who  is  he  that  struck 
thee? 

described  in  John  ii.  19  belonged  to  the  later  days  of  Jesus.  He 
had  not  said  '  I  am  able  to  destroy  this  temple,'  but  he  had  claimed 
to  be  able  to  raise  it  again  in  three  days.  The  very  suggestion 
had  brought  a  suspicion  on  his  attachment  to  Judaism. 

63.  I  adjure  tlxee  :  or  '  I  call  on  thee  to  swear  '  (the  word  only 
used  here).  The  witnesses  did  not  agree  ;  evidence  could  not  be 
found  ;  Jesus  must  convict  himself.  It  was  understood  that  'the 
Christ '  would  be  also  '  Son  of  God '  ;  cf.  Matt.  xvi.  16. 

64.  Henceforth,  ye  shall  see.  Meyer  thinks  that  '  henceforth  * 
refers  to  the  spiritual  coming  at  Pentecost;  but  Mark  (xiv.  62), 
who  has  'the  Son  of  the  Blessed'  for  *the  Son  of  God,'  and  *I 
am'  for  *  thou  sayest,'  omits  'henceforth,'  or  'from  this  time.' 
He  uses  the  simple  future,  'ye  shall  see,'  which  points  to  the 
final  appearance  of  the  Messiah. 

65.  the  hig^h  priest  rent  his  g-arments.  There  were  later 
rabbinical  directions  about  the  rending  of  garments  when  blas- 
phemy was  proved. 

66.  He  is  worthy  of  death,  and  they  could,  therefore,  hand 
him  over  to  the  civil  power  for  execution  :  Lev.  xxiv.  i6. 

67.  Then  did  they  .  .  .  hnffet  him.     Cf.  i  Pet.  ii.  20. 


ST.  MATTHEW   26.  69-75  311 

Now  Peter  was  sitting  without  in  the  court :   and  a  69 
maid  came  unto  him,  saying,  Thou  also  wast  with  Jesus 
the  Gahlaean.     But  he  denied  before  them  all,  saying,  70 
I  know  not  what  thou  sayest.     And  when  he  was  gone  71 
out  into   the   porch,  another   maid  saw  him,  and   saith 
unto  them    that  were    there.  This  man  also  was   with 
Jesus  the  Nazarene.     And  again  he  denied  with  an  oath,  72 
I  know  not  the  man.     And  after  a  little  while  they  that  73 
stood  by  came  and  said  to  Peter,  Of  a  truth  thou  also  art 
one  of  them  ;  for  thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee.    Then  began  74 
he  to  curse  and  to  swear,  I  know  not  the  man.     And 
straightway  the  cock  crew.     And  Peter  remembered  the  75 
word    which   Jesus    had    said.    Before   the    cock    crow, 
thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.     And  he  went  out,  and  wept 
bitterly. 


xxvi.  69-75.  Peiei's  denial.  A  maid  recognizes  him,  and  yet 
another  ;  then  more.  He  denies  with  oaths.  When  he  remem- 
bers the  word  of  Christ,  he  repents. 

Peter's  denial  and  repentance  belong  to  the  most  real  con- 
stituents of  the  history,  yet  there  are  many  diflerenccs  of  detail  in 
the  fourfold  account:  Matt.  xxvi.  69-75;  Mark  xvi.  66-72; 
Luke  xxii.  55-62  ;  John  xviii.  15-18,  25-27.  In  the  general 
narrative  John  mentions  only  two  occasions  of  denial  (yet  *  thrice  ' 
is  in  the  prediction,  John  xiii.  38:  of.  John  xxi.  17).  Mark 
reports  the  second  question  as  coming  from  the  same  maid  who 
put  the  first  ;  but  Matthew  and  Luke  say  it  was  '  another.'  Luke 
alone  mentions  the  fact  that  Jesus  'looked  on  Peter.' 

69.  a  maid  came  unto  him.  Peter  had  '  sat  with  the  officers  ' 
in  the  court,  and  now  that  the  crowd  had  entered  into  the  palace 
he  might  he  almost  alone. 

71.  with  Jesus  the  ITazareue.  This  was  the  popular  appella- 
tion of  Jesus,  which  was  inscribed  on  the  cross  :  John  xix.  19; 
Acts  ii.  22  ;  and  applied  to  his  followers  :  Acts  xxiv.  5. 

73.  thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee.  Galileans  could  not  well 
pronounce  the  gutturals  or  sibilants  of  the  ordinary  Aramaic. 

74.  Then  beg-an  he  to  curse  and  to  swear.  '  Behold,  how 
the  firm  pillar  trembled  at  one  gust  of  wind  ! ' 

75.  And  Peter  remembered  ...  he  went  out,  and  wept,  after 
Jesus  had  turned  his  gaze  upon  him.     Through  what  an  hour  of 


312  ST.   MATTHEW  27.  1-3 

27      Now  when  morning  was  come,  all  the  chief  priests  and 
the  elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against  Jesus  to  put 

2  him  to  death :  and  they  bound  him,  and  led  him  away, 
and  delivered  him  up  to  Pilate  the  governor. 

3  Then  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  when  he  saw  that  he 
was  condemned,  repented  himself,  and  brought  back  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  priests  and  elders, 

dismay  and  humiliation  he  had  come  !     His  case  was  worse  than 
that  of  Jesus  :  to  weep  was  his  only  consolation. 

xxvii.  1-2.  Jesus  before  Pilate,  to  whom  he  was  delivered  by 
the  priests. 

1.  Now  when  morning'  was  come.  Luke,  'as  soon  as  it  was 
day';  John,  'it  was  early';  perhaps  three  or  four  a.m.  when 
they  disturbed  Pilate  with  the  impeachment  of  Jesus.  According 
to  John,  the  governor  had  to  go  out  to  the  front  of  his  house, 
because  those  who  accused  Jesus  had  a  scruple  about  entering 
a  Gentile  house  on  the  passover  day.  Luke  informs  us  that 
their  complaint  against  Jesus  was  chiefly  on  political  grounds: 
he  had  forbidden  tribute  to  Caesar,  he  had  called  himself  a  king. 

2.  Pontius  Pilate  (the  surname  meant  '  one  armed  with  a 
javelin ')  was  of  the  gens  Pontii.  He  was  appointed  procurator 
(or  *  governor,'  as  Felix,  Acts  xxiii.  24),  but  subject  to  the  Governor 
of  Syria  (Luke  ii.  2),a. d.  26.  He  had  outraged  the  Jews  by 
bringing  the  Roman  army  into  Jerusalem,  by  sacrificing  Galileans, 
and  by  seizing  temple  money.  Tacitus  (Annal.  xv.  44)  says  : 
'  Christ,  the  founder  of  this  sect,  was  executed  by  the  Procurator 
P,  Pilate  during  the  reign  of  Tiberius.'  Hence  the  article  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  *  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate  ' ;  Acts  iv.  27  ; 
I  Tim.  vi.  13.  After  having  occupied  his  position  ten  years, 
Pilate  was  charged  at  Rome  with  cruelty  to  the  Samaritans,  and, 
according  to  tradition,  died  miserably.  He  resided  chiefly  at 
Caesarea,  but  came  to  Jerusalem  on  great  occasions,  like  the 
passover. 

xxvii.  3-10.  77f<?  end  of  Judas.  In  remorse  the  betrayer 
returns  the  bribe  to  the  priests,  and  hurries  to  suicide.  The 
'potter's  field'  bought  according  to  the  prophet. 

The  account  of  the  final  history  of  Judas  is  only  here  in  the 
gospels.  Acts  i.  18  has  a  different  account,  which  intimates  that 
Judas  was  killed  by  a  fall,  that  he  purchased  the  field  of  blood 
(the  Aramaic  Aceldama  does  not  appear  in  the  Greek  Gospel), 
and  that  the  field  received  its  name  from  the  tragedy  (cf.  John 
xvii.  12,  'the  son  of  perdition '). 

3.  repented  himself.     If  this  was  not  *  repentance  unto  life,' 


ST.   MATTHEW  27.  4-9  313 

saying,  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  betrayed  innocent  blood.  4 
But  they  said,  What  is  that  to  us  ?  see  thou  to  it.     And  5 
he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  into  the  sanctuary,  and 
departed ;   and  he  went  away  and  hanged  himself.     And  6 
the  chief  priests  took  the  pieces  of  silver,  and  said,  It  is 
not  lawful  to  put  them  into  the  treasury,  since  it  is  the 
price  of  blood.    And  they  took  counsel,  and  bought  with  7 
them  the  potter's  field,  to  bury  strangers  in.     Wherefore  8 
that  field  was  called,  The  field  of  blood,  unto  this  day. 
Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was   spoken  by  Jeremiah  9 
the  prophet,  saying.  And  they  took  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver,  the  price  of  him  that  was  priced,  whom  certain  of 

it  was  at  least  the  arising  of  regret  that  he  had  injured  the 
*  innocent,'  or  (marg.)  *  righteous.'  The  charge  against  the  priests 
and  elders  (Matt.  xxi.  32)  was  that  they  did  ^not  even  repent 
themselves'  at  the  preaching  of  John. 

4.  I  have  sinned  in  tliat  I  betrayed,  or,  it  might  be,  '  I  sinned 
when  I  betrayed  innocent  blood'  (the  aorist  participle  of  identical 
action  :  Burton,  Syntax^  p,  64).  Possibly  Judas  had  not  known 
before  how  malignant  the  intention  of  the  priests  really  was. 

5.  went  a.way  and  hanged  Mmself.  The  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary regards  this  account  as  *  quite  reconcilable  '  with  that 
in  Acts  i.  18;  but  Meyer  points  out  that  the  words  'hanged 
himself,'  and  'falling  headlong,  he  burst  asunder'  are  too  far 
apart  for  reconciliation.  Ahithophel  'strangled  himself,'  2  Sam. 
xvii.  23. 

8.  Wlierefore  tliat  field  was  called.  As  Acts  i.  18  ascribes 
the  name  to  the  fact  that  Judas  suffered  a  bloody  death  in  it, 
Ellicotfs  Commentary  for  English  Readers  favours  the  view  that 
there  were  two  fields,  as  two  sites  of  the  field  of  blood  have  been 
exhibited  since  the  days  of  Jerome. 

9.  that  which  was  spoken  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet.  The 
quotation,  which  does  not  verbally  follow  either  the  Hebrew  or 
the  LXX,  is  from  Zech,  xi.  13,  though  there  is  a  reference  to  the 
•potter's  house'  in  Jer.  xviii.  i.  It  is  only  Matthew  (verse  7) 
who  speaks  of  *  the  potter's  field.'  The  R.  V.  marg.  reads  in 
Zech.  xi.  13  (after  the  Syriac)  '  cast  it  into  the  treasury ' ;  and 
Meyer  surmises  that  Matthew  mistook  yo-tser  ^  '  potter,'  for 
yo-tsar  =  '  treasury.'  Again,  in  verse  10  '  they  gave  '  is  in  Hebrew 
and  LXX  '  I  gave,'  but  the  Greek  form  is  the  same  in  each  case  ; 
also,  for  '  the  goodly  price  that  I  was  priced  at  of  them '  (O.  T.) 


314  ST.   MATTHEW   27.  10-17 

10  the  children  of  Israel  did  price ;  and  they  gave  them  for 
the  potter's  field,  as  the  Lord  appointed  me. 

11  Now  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor:  and  the  gover- 
nor asked  him,  saying,  Art  thou  the  King  of  the  Jews? 

12  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  sayest.     And  when  he 
was  accused  by  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  he  answered 

13  nothing.     Then  saith  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  not 

14  how  many  things  they  witness  against  thee  ?  And  he  gave 
him  no  answer,  not  even  to  one  word :    insomuch  that 

15  the  governor  marvelled  greatly.     Now  at  the  feast  the 
governor  was  wont  to  release  unto  the  multitude  one 

16  prisoner,  whom  they  would.    And  they  had  then  a  notable 

17  prisoner,  called   Barabbas.     When   therefore  they  were 


Matthew  has  'the  price  of  him  that  was  priced.'  Such  variations 
may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  evangelist  quoted  from  memory. 
It  may  be,  also,  that  Matthew  in  verse  9  only  wrote  'that  which 
was  spoken  by  the  prophet,'  and  a  later  hand  had  inserted 
'Jeremiah,' 

xxvii.  11-26.  Pilate's  examination  of  Jesus.  He  discovers  no 
crime.  Will  they  have  Barabbas  or  Jesus?  Pilate's  wife  has 
a  dream.     The  people  demand  crucifixion. 

11.  Art  thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?  This  question,  found  in 
all  the  evangelists,  shews  what  the  accusation  made  by  the  Jewish 
authorities  was.  It  also  shews  that  Jesus  had  claimed  to  be  the 
Messiah. 

14.  John  details  the  conversation  with  the  governor — who 
marvelled  greatly  that  Jesus  did  not  reply  to  his  accusers. 
Luke  reports  that  because  he  proved  to  be  a  Galilean,  Pilate  sent 
him  to  Herod  ;  but  this  point  is  not  noted  by  the  first  tw^o  gospels. 

15.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  custom  of  releasing  a  criminal 
or  political  prisoner  at  the  passover  had  been  long  established. 
The  allusions  to  the  custom  in  Luke  xxiii.  17,  19  are  disputed 
(R.  V.  omits  verse  17).  The  verb  in  Mark  xv.  6  is  in  the  im- 
perfect tense  and  may  imply  something  habitual,  but  Matthew 
introduces  a  different  word:  was  wont  to  release  ;  cf.  Mark  x.  i. 

16.  called  Barabbas.  There  might  have  been  in  this  case 
a  play  upon  words,  the  name  of  the  prisoner  being  a  reflection 
upon  the  claims  of  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  One  reading 
gives  to  this  Barabbas  also  the  name  '  Jesus  ' :  and  Jerome  quotes 


ST.  MATTHEW  27.  iS-24  315 

gathered  together,  Pilate  said   unto   them,  Whom  will 
ye  that  I  release  unto  you?  Barabbas,  or  Jesus  which 
is  called  Christ?    For  he  knew  that  for  envy  they  had  18 
delivered  him  up.    And  while  he  was  sitting  on  the  judge-  19 
ment-seat,  his  wife   sent  unto  him,  saying,  Have  thou 
nothing  to  do  with  that  righteous  man  :  for  I  have  suffer- 
ed many  things  this  day  in  a  dream  because  of  him. 
Now   the   chief  priests   and   the   elders  persuaded  the  20 
multitudes  that  they  should  ask  for  Barabbas,  and  destroy 
Jesus.     But  the  governor  answered  and  said  unto  them,  21 
Whether  of  the  twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  you? 
And  they  said,  Barabbas.     Pilate  saith  unto  them,  What  22 
then  shall  I  do  unto  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?    They 
all  say.  Let  him  be  crucified.     And  he  said.  Why,  what  23 
evil  hath   he  done?    But  they  cried   out   exceedingl}', 
saying,  Let  him  be  crucified.     So  when  Pilate  saw  that  24 

the  Hebrew  gospel,  which  calls  Barabbas  the  son  of  a  teacher 
(or  father).     The  term  '  notable  '  is  only  used  in  Rom.  xvi.  7. 

18.  for  envy,  as  some  afterwards  who  preached  Christ  at 
Rome  :  Phil.  i.  15. 

19.  Matthew  alone  mentions  the  dream  of  Pilate's  wife.  The 
message  came  to  Pilate  as  Jesus  was  placed  before  him.  It  has 
been  reported  that  her  name  was  Procla,  that  she  was  a  proselyte 
already  to  Judaism.  She  is  referred  to  in  the  apocryphal  gospel 
of  Nicodemus  (ch.  ii),  and  is  canonized  in  the  Greek  Church. 
Augustus  and  many  others  believed  implicitly  in  dreams,  but 
Calphurnia's  dream  did  not  save  Julius  Caesar: — 

'She  dreamt  to-night  she  saw  my  statue 
Which,  like  a  fountain  with  a  hundred  spouts, 
Did  run  pure  blood.'  • 

20.  While  Pilate  hesitated,  the  priests  were  instigating  the 
people  to  clamour  for  Barabbas. 

22.  Iiet  Mm  be  crucified.  Mark  xv.  13  has  the  active  form — 
'Crucify  him.'  Crucifixion  was  a  Roman  mode  of  execution, 
which  the  Jews  could  not  inflict  on  their  direst  enemy.  They 
did  not  wish  him  to  be  stoned  after  their  manner. 

23.  Pilate  did  his  best  to  release  Jesus:  Wliy,  wliat  evil  hath 
he  done  ? 

24.  The   symbolic   act   in  the   washing   of  hands   is   onlj-    in 


3i6  ST.  MATTHEW  27.   S5-31 

he  prevailed  nothing,  but  rather  that  a  tumult  was  arising, 
he  took  water,  and  washed  his  hands  before  the  multi- 
tude, saying,  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  righteous 

25  man  :    see  ye  to  it.     And  all  the  people  answered  and 

26  said,  His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  children.  Then 
released  he  unto  them  Barabbas :  but  Jesus  he  scourged 
and  delivered  to  be  crucified. 

27  Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  into  the 

28  palace,  and  gathered  unto  him  the  whole  band.  And 
they    stripped   him,    and   put    on   him   a    scarlet    robe. 

29  And  they  plaited  a  crown  of  thorns  and  put  it  upon  his 
head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right  hand ;  and  they  kneeled 
down  before  him,  and  mocked  him,  saying.  Hail,  King 

30  of  the  Jews !    And  they  spat  upon  him,  and  took  the 

31  reed  and  smote  him  on  the  head.  And  when  they  had 
mocked  him,  they  took  off  from  him  the  robe,  and  put 
on  him  his  garments,  and  led  him  away  to  crucify  him. 

Matthew.  Deut.  xxi.  6  prescribes  for  the  washing  of  hands  by 
the  elders  over  a  slain  man,  and  similar  customs  are  referred  to 
in  Herodotus  and  Virgil.  Pilate  could  not  relieve  himself  of  his 
responsibility :  he  was  there  to  see  justice  done.  But  he  had 
his  reasons  for  pleasing  the  people. 

I  am  innocent  of  the  "blood  :  a  Hebraistic  form  of  expression. 

25.  The  presumptuous  cry  of  the  people,  His  blood  be  on  us, 
is  only  in  Matthew  ;  cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  35  ;  Acts  v.  28. 

26.  Barabbas  is  set  free:  Jesus  is  'scourged.'  The  last  word 
is  Latin  ;  the  operation  was  conducted  by  Pilate's  soldiers. 

xxvii.  27-31.  Jesus  is  delivered  to  the  soldiers.  Scarlet  robes 
and  a  crown  of  thorns  put  upon  him ;  he  is  mocked  and  led 
away. 

27.  Jesus  is  now  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  whose  business 
it  is  to  torture  and  kill.  The  whole  band  is  gathered  for  the 
purpose.  A  'band'  or  'cohort'  (marg.)  was  one-thirtieth  of  a 
legion,  or  about  six  hundred  men, 

28-31.  They  took  Jesus  into  their  barracks,  the  Praetorium 
(marg.),  and  put  on  him  a  scarlet  robe,  in  mockery  of  his 
pretended  royalty ;  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  a  reed  in  his  rig-ht 
hand,  but  his  own  garments  were  restored  when  he  was  taken 


ST.  MATTHEW  27.  32-35  317 

And  as  they  came  out,  they  found  a  man  of  Cyrene,  32 
Simon  by  name :  him  they  compelled  to  go  with  them, 
that  he  might  bear  his  cross.  And  when  they  were  come  33 
unto  a  place  called  Golgotha,  that  is  to  say.  The  place  of 
a  skull,  they  gave  him  wine  to  drink  mingled  with  gall :  34 
and  when  he  had  tasted  it,  he  would  not  drink.  And  35 
when  they  had  crucified  him,  they  parted  his  garments 


to  crucifixion.  Luke  xxiii.  11  says  that  Herod's  men  had  already 
put  on  him  *  gorgeous  apparel ' — *  purple.'  John  xix.  4  relates 
another  interview  of  Pilate  with  Jesus,  when  the  latter  was  clad 
in  purple  and  crowned. 

xxvii.  32-44.  The  first  part  of  the  history  of  the  crucifixion. 
Simon  compelled  to  bear  the  cross.  Golgotha.  Prophecy  ful- 
filled in  the  parting  of  garments.  Inscription  on  the  cross.  Jesus 
reviled. 

32.  And  as  they  came  out  through  the  gates — for  no  execu- 
tion, especially  a  crucifixion,  could  take  place  within  the  city  (Heb. 
xiii.  13) — Simon,  on  his  return  from  the  field,  was  entering  the 
gate.  The  Synoptists  agree  that  Simon  was  compelled  to  bear 
the  cross;  John  xix.  17  sa3^s  that  Jesus  himself  had  borne  it.  It 
was  a  curious  docetic  supposition  that  it  was  Simon  that  was 
crucified,  and  not  Jesus.  Simon  became  a  Christian,  and  had 
Christian  sons  '^Mark  xv.  21).  It  was  usual  for  convicts  to  bear 
their  own  cross,  i.  e.  the  horizontal  beam,  or  patibulum  ;  the  per- 
pendicular beam  was  fixed  or  planted  at  the  scene  of  execution. 
Ptolemy  Lagus  had  founded  a  Jewish  colony  in  Cyrene,  in  Libya, 
and  the  Cyrenians  had  a  synagogue  in  Jerusalem  (Acts  vi.  9, 
xiii.  I  .. 

33.  a  place  called  Golgotha,  the  site  of  which  is  unknown, 
although  the  Calvarice  locus  (Vulg.),  'the  place  Calvary,' is  still 
shewn  to  visitors.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  place  received  its 
name  from  its  shape,  that  of  a  skull  (as  hills  are  called  *  heads,' 
'shoulders,'  &c.),  or  from  the  skulls  which  lay  about  the  place 
of  execution.  The  Sin.  Syr.  omits  'which  is  being  interpreted, 
place  of  a  skull,'  because  its  'Golgutha'  would  be  understood. 

34.  they  grave  him  wine  to  drink.  'Vinegar'  (A.  V.)  was 
given  on  a  sponge  after  the  last  cry  (verse  48).  It  was  customary 
to  give  stupifying  potions  to  criminals.  Jesus  refused  it  either 
because  it  was  unpalatable,  or  that  he  did  not  desire  the  anodjme. 
Mark  xv.  23  says  that  myrrh  was  mingled  with  the  wine,  but 
Matthew  has  'gall,'  which  accords  with  Ps.  Ixix.  21. 

35.  And  when  they  had  crucified  him.     The  actual  form  of 


3i8  ST.  MATTHEW  27.  36-42 

36  among  them,  casting  lots :    and  they  sat  and  watched 

37  him  there.    And  they  set  up  over  his  head  his  accusation 

38  written,  this  is  jesus  the  king  of  the  jews.  Then 
are  there  crucified  with  him  two  robbers,  one  on  the 

39  right  hand,  and  one  on  the  left.     And  they  that  passed 

40  by  railed  on  him,  wagging  their  heads,  and  saying.  Thou 
that  destroyest  the  temple,  and  buildest  it  in  three  days, 
save  thyself:   if  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  come  down 

41  from  the  cross.     In  like  manner  also  the  chief  priests 

42  mocking  him^  with  the  scribes  and  elders,  said.  He  saved 

the  cross  is  not  known.  The  two  beams  {antennae)  could  be 
arranged  either  at  right  angles,  which  is  the  best-known  form, 
or  in  the  form  X.  The  hands  and  feet  of  the  sufferer  were  tied 
or  nailed. 

Then  they  parted  his  g'arments  among-  them.  It  would 
have  been  in  accordance  with  Matthew's  manner  to  have  made 
the  reference  to  Ps.  xxii,  called  by  some  a  '  Programme  of  the 
Crucifixion,'  but  the  clause  '  that  it  might  be  fulfilled,'  &c.,  is 
omitted  by  R.  V.,  though  found  in  John  xix.  24. 

3S.  they  .  .  .  watched  hiin  to  see  how  long  death  would  be 
postponed,  or  if  under  torture  any  recantation  w^ould  be  made. 

37.  his  accu3atioii  written.  Luke  and  John  tell  us  that  the 
inscription  was  written  in  Hebrew  (Aramaic),  Greek,  and  Latin, 
so  that  all  might  read  it.  He  calls  it  a  'title'  ;  Luke,  'a  super- 
scription'; Matthew,  'his  accusation.'  Mark  here,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  either  combines  Matthew's  version  with  that  of  Luke, 
or  each  of  them  is  indebted  to  him,  as  he  has  'the  superstrription 
of  his  accusation.'  In  the  inscription  itself,  Mark  has  only  '  The 
King  of  the  Jews';  Luke  agrees  with  Matthew,  but  John  has 
the  I.  N.  R.  I.,  'Jesus  of  Nazareth  [better  'the  Nazarene'],  King 
of  the  Jews.'  The  tablet  was  often  placed  on  the  neck  of  a 
criminal  as  he  went  to  execution. 

33.  Then  are  thsre  crucified  with  him.  This  short  notice 
of  the  'two  robbers'  in  Matthew  and  Mark  fjohn  xix.  i8,  'two 
others')  is  extended  in  Luke  xxiii.  39-43,  where  we  learn  that 
one  of  the  thieves  becomes  penitent.  The  Syrioptists  say  that 
both  reproached  him  (verse  44^. 

39.  they  that  passed  by.  Many  would  be  passing  to  and  from 
the  crowded  city. 

40.  come  down  from  the  cross.  They  thought  it  impossible 
that  the  'Son  of  the  Blessed'  should  become  the  < accursed  of 
God '  by  '  hanging  upon  a  tree.* 


ST.   MATTHEW   27.  43-46  319 

others ;    himself  he  cannot   save.     He  is   the   King  of 
Israel ;  let  him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we 
will  beheve  on   him.     He   trusteth   on   God ;    let    him  43 
deliver  him  now,  if  he  desireth  him  :   for  he  said,  I  am 
the    Son    of    God.      And   the    robbers   also    that   were  44 
crucified  with  him  cast  upon  him  the  same  reproach. 

Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness  over  all  45 
the  land  until  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth  46 
hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama 

43.  He  trusteth  on  God.  The  words  of  this  verse  are  from 
Ps.  xxii.  8,  or  from  Wisd.  of  Sol.  ii.  15,  16. 

if  lie  desiretli  him,  not  'will  have,'  as  A.  V. 

xxvii.  45-56.  The  laier  stage  of  the  crucifixion.  Darkness  ; 
the  final  cry  ;  the  veil  rent ;  the  tombs  opened.  The  centurion 
and  the  woman. 

45.  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness.  John  does 
not  mention  the  darkness,  which  the  Synoptists  say  was  over 
the  land  until  the  ninth  hour,  or  3  p.m.  The  best  reading  in  Luke, 
xxiii.  44,  'the  sun  being  eclipsed'  (cf.  R.  V.  marg.),  favours  the 
idea  of  an  eclipse,  which  of  course  would  make  the  darkness 
universal.  But  an  eclipse  at  the  time  of  the  passover  full  moon 
is  out  of  the  question.  Meyer,  however,  regarding  the  gloom  as 
supernatural,  pleads  that  it  would  cover  the  earth.  Otherwise 
'over  the  land'  might  mean,  as  in  Exod.  x.  22,  which  refers  to  the 
Egyptian  darkness,  the  land  known  to  the  people. 

46.  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani?  '  Eli'  is  the  Hebrew  form 
of  the  word  'my  God';  'Eloi'  (Mark)  the  Aramaic.  Neitlier 
Luke  nor  John  reports  this  expression— possibly  because  in  their 
time  this  last  utterance  of  Jesus  had  been  perverted  to  docetic 
uses.  All  the  docetic — and  gnostic — sects  held  that  the  heavenly 
'power*  or  aeon  came  upon  Jesus  at  his  baptism,  but  deserted 
him  at  his  crucifixion.  In  this  way  the  offence  of  the  cross  was 
evaded  :  it  was  not  '  Christ'  that  died,  but  the  human  Jesus  now 
bereaved  of  his  heavenly  endowment.  The  Hebrew  p.nd  Aramaic 
word  '  El '  meant  '  the  powerful  one,' the  Almighty.  The  apocry- 
phal '  Gospel  of  Peter  '  reads,  as  did  Docetics  general!}' :  '  My 
Power,  my  Power,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? '  This  is  prob- 
ably in  Sin.  Syr.,  which  omits  the  explanation  :  'that  is,  my  God,' 
&c.  The  words  are  from  Ps.  xxii.  i,  where  the  LXX  read  '  my 
God,'  but  Aquila  '  my  strength.'  As  the  words  are  a  quotation 
used  by  the  great  sufferer  to  describe  his  desolation,  we  may  not 


320  ST.  MATTHEW   27.  47-51 

sabachthani  ?  that  is,  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 

47  forsaken  me?   And  some  of  them  that  stood  there,  when 

48  they  heard  it,  said,  This  man  calleth  Elijah.  And 
straightway  one  of  them  ran,  and  took  a  sponge,  and 
filled  it  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him 

49  to  drink.     And  the  rest  said,  Let  be ;  let  us  see  whether 

50  Elijah  Cometh  to  save  him.     And  Jesus  cried  again  with 

51  a  loud  voice,  and  yielded  up  his  spirit.  And  behold, 
the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom ;  and  the  earth  did  quake ;   and  the  rocks 

make  any  theological  inference  as  to  any  positive  desertion  of  the 
Son  of  man  by  God. 

47.  This  man  calletli  Elijah.  His  words  were  misunderstood, 
though  the  name  '  Elee-yah '  resembled  our  Lord's  word. 

48.  Some  who  heard  it  thought  there  might  be  good  in  this 
man  after  all,  if  he  called  on  Elijah,  and  they  ran  for  a  sponge 
dipped  in  sour  wine  that  they  might  refresh  him  a  little. 

49.  The  R.  V.  marg.  notices  a  reading  which  has  been  taken 
from  John  xix.  34,  which  Westcott  and  Hort  include  in  brackets 
because  it  is  found  in  the  Vatican  and  Sinaitic  manuscripts.  A 
reading  so  attested  Westcott  and  Hort  felt  bound  to  place  in  their 
text,  though  this  case  may  shew  that  these  two  oldest  of  the 
manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Testament  (fourth  century)  are  not  in- 
fallible. Further,  in  John  the  words  '  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a 
sword  pierced  his  side  '  apply  to  something  after  our  Lord's  death. 

50.  And  Jesus  cried  agfain  with  a  loud  voice.  The  Synop- 
tists  coincide  in  regard  to  the  final  utterance  of  Jesus  '  with  a  loud 
voice.'  Luke  reports  the  last  saying  to  be  :  '  Father,  into  thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit,'  Ps.  xxxi.  5.  John  says  it  was  :  '  It  is 
finished.'  All  say  that  he  'yielded  up  his  spirit.'  No  psycho- 
logical doctrine  can  be  founded  on  the  w^ord  '  spirit.'  It  has  the 
same  meaning  as  Gen.  xxxv.  i8,  'as  her  soul  {psyche)  was  in 
departing,'  and  Wisd.  of  Sir.  xxxviii.  33,  'when  his  spirit 
{pnettmd)   departeth,' 

51.  Remarkable  signs  attended  the  death  of  Jesus,  which  are 
recorded  in  Matt,  xxvii.  51-54  ;  Mark,  xv.  38-41  ;  Luke  xxiii. 
45-49- 

the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain,  so  Mark  xv.  38  : 
but  Luke  xxiii,  45  places  it  during  the  three  hours'  darkness,  and 
John  does  not  refer  to  it.  The  'veil,'  or  Pa-ro-cheth,  was  that 
which  separated  the  holiest  place,  or  sanctuary,  from  the  more 
public  part  of  the  temple,  Exod,  xxvi,  31.     The  screen  which  in 


ST.  MATTHEW   27.  52-55  321 

were  rent ;    and  the  tombs  were  opened  ;    and  many  52 
bodies  of  the  saints  that  had  fallen  asleep  were  raised; 
and  coming  forth  out  of  the  tombs  after  his  resurrection  53 
they  entered  into  the  holy  city  and  appeared  unto  many. 
Now  the  centurion,  and  they  that  were  with  him  watching  54 
Jesus,  when   they  saw  the  earthquake,  and   the  things 
that  v/ere  done,  feared  exceedingly,  saying.  Truly   this 
was  the  Son   of  God.     And  many  women  were  there  55 

many  churches  divides  the  chancel  from  the  nave  was  supposed 
to  come  in  its  place,  though  perhaps  this  impHed  an  attempt  to 
restore  the  veil  which  had  been  rent.  The  Christian  '  sanctuary ' 
now  is  in  heaven,  Heb.  vi.  19,  viii.  2,  x.  19.  The  rent  veil 
shewed  that  the  special  sanctity  of  the  law  was  abrogated, 

tlie  rocks  were  rent.  Jerome  reports  the  '  Gospel  of  the 
Hebrews'  as  saying:  'The  lintel  of  the  temple,  a  stone  of  vast 
magnitude,  was  broken  and  divided.'  This  combined  what  is  said 
of  the  veil  and  the  rocks,  but  evaded  the  disparagement  cast  upon 
the  veil. 

52.  the  tombs  were  opened.  Meyer  thinks  that  this  opening 
of  the  graves  was  symbolical,  but  that  it  grew  into  a  history  of 
walking  saints.  Dr.  Bruce  holds  that  the  statement,  belongs  to 
'the  region  of  Christian  legend,' because  the  names  of  some  '  of 
the  saints  that  had  fallen  asleep '  have  been  mentioned,  as  the 
aged  Simeon,  John  the  Baptist,  &c. 

53.  As  they  are  said  to  have  '  entered  into  the  holy  city '  only 
after  his  resurrection,  some  doubt  is  cast  upon  the  historical 
accuracy  of  the  narrative.  It  may  have  been  such  a  gloss  as  is 
found  in  John  v.  4,  only  that  in  this  instance  the  oldest  authorities 
in  Matthew  contain  it.  If  the  'saints'  had  then  been  raised,  it 
would  seem  to  have  contradicted  i  Cor.  xv.  20. 

54.  Now  the  centurion,  and  they  that  were  with  him. 
Mark  and  Luke  mention  the  centurion  only. 

Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God — marg.  *  a  son  of  God,'  which 
is  not  only  a  more  correct  translation,  but  a  more  probable  ex- 
pression from  a  Roman  soldier.  Luke  gives  the  utterance  as, 
'Certainly  this  was  a  righteous  man.'  Mark  emphasizes  the 
manner  of  the  death  as  that  which  impressed  the  Roman  officer. 
Matthew  refers  to  '  the  earthquake  and  the  things  that  were  done  ' 

55.  And  many  women  were  there.  All  the  S3'noptics  refer  to 
the  '  beholding  from  afar,'  though  John  xix.  25  represents  the  same 
persons  as  '  standing  by  the  cross  '  just  before  the  death.  Among 
these,  according  to  John,  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  prominent,  but 
she  is  not  expressly  referred  to  by  the  Synoptists,  unless  she  was 


322  ST.  MATTHEW  27.  56-59 

beholding   from   afar,  which   had  followed   Jesus  from 

56  Galilee,  ministering  unto  him  :  among  whom  was  Mary 
Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses, 
and  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee. 

57  And  when  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  man 
from  Arimathaea,  named  Joseph,  who  also  himself  was 

58  Jesus'  disciple :  this  man  went  to  Pilate,  and  asked  for 
the  body  of  Jesus.     Then  Pilate  commanded  it  to  be 

59  given  up.     And   Joseph  took  the   body,  and  wrapped 

'  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses '  (Matthew,  Mark).  '  The  mother 
of  the  sons  of  Zebedee '  is  called  '  Salome '  in  Mark.  '  Mary 
Magdalene '  is  mentioned  now  for  the  first  time. 

whicli  liad  followed  Jesus  .  .  .  ministering,  i.  e.  acting  as 
deaconesses  :  Rom.  xv.  25,  xvi.  i. 

xxvii.  57-61.  The  body  of  Jesus  cared  for  by  Joseph.  The 
sepulchre  closed  by  a  great  stone.     The  two  Marys. 

57.  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  is  said  by  Matthew  to  have  been 
a  rich,  man,  by  Mark  '  a  councillor  of  honourable  estate,'  and  by 
Luke  'a  councillor.*  John  does  not  speak  of  his  wealth,  but  has 
his  social  position  in  mind  when  he  says  that  he  was  'a  disciple 
of  Jesus,  but  secretly  for  fear  of  the  Jews.*  Matthew  also  notes 
that  he  was  Jesus'  disciple,  which  Mark  and  Luke  imply  in  the 
statement  that  he  'was  looking  for  the  kingdom  of  God.'  The 
substantial  identity  of  the  evangelic  narratives,  with  the  widest 
freedom  in  the  treatment  of  details,  could  scarcely  have  a  better 
illustration,  Matthew  alone  calls  Joseph  *  a  rich  man,'  and  his 
coming  at  the  juncture  was  afterwards  regarded  as  a  fulfilment 
of  Isa.  liii.  9. 

58.  His  reason  for  coming  now  was  that  the  Paraskeue,  the 
Preparation  or  '  Friday,'  was  nearly  over,  and  the  dead  could 
not  remain  exposed  over  the  sabbath  (Saturday)  which  was  at 
hand.  Mark  shews  that  Pilate  was  not  certain  that  Jesus  was 
really  dead  until  he  was  assured  by  the  centurion  ;  and  from  John 
we  learn  that  the  legs  of  the  two  robbers  were  broken,  but  the 
side  of  Jesus  was  pierced  to  prove  that  death  had  actually  taken 
place.  When  the  gospels  were  written  some  had  already  declared 
that  the  Christ  had  not  verily  passed  through  death. 

59.  All  the  evangelists  testify  to  the  '  clean  linen  cloth '  in  which 
the  body  of  Jesus  was  folded  ^ .     Mark  says  that  it  was  Joseph  who 

^  John  xix.  40,  XX.  7,  say  '  linen  cloths,'  i.  e.  strips  of  linen  wound 
round  the  frame  and  limbs.  John  xi.  44,  in  the  case  of  Lazarus,  has 
another  word,  '  grave-clothes  '  or  '  bandages,' 


ST.  MATTHEW  27.  60-63  323 

it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth,  and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  60 
which   he  had  hewn   out   in   the  rock :    and  he  rolled 
a  great  stone  to  the  door  of  the  tomb,  and  departed. 
And  Mary  Magdalene  was  there,  and  the  other  Mary,  61 
sitting  over  against  the  sepulchre. 

Now  on  the  morrow,  which  is  the  day  after  the  Pre-  62 
paration,  the  chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees  were  gathered 
together  unto  Pilate,  saying,  Sir,  we  remember  that  that  63 
deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  After  three  days 

bought  it.  John  introduces  Nicodemus  also  as  one  who  joined 
in  the  burial,  having  brought  '  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes, 
about  a  hundred  pound  weight.'  Mark  intimates  that  the  women 
'bought  spices'  for  the  purpose.  Pilate  would  think  that  the 
wonder  that  marked  the  character  and  history  of  Jesus  would 
never  cease.  He  was  surprised  that  he  was  'dead  already,' 
for  often  the  crucified  hung  in  sufTering  for  three  or  four  days. 
Now  *  a  rich  man  '  asked  for  the  body  of  him  for  whom  none 
seemed  to  care  when  living.  The  situation  was  strange  enough  : 
*  the  body'  of  Jesus  is  given  away  by  the  Roman  officer.  If 
Joseph  had  not  interposed,  the  body  might  have  been  cast  into 
a  pit,  or  left  to  the  vultures:  Hor.  Ep.  i.  i6,  48.  Perhaps 
Arimathaea  was  the  same  as  Ramathaim,  i  Sam.  i.  i  ;  Matt.  ii.  18. 

60.  in  Ms  own  new  tomb.  This  was  a  shelf  cut  in  a  rock 
in  his  garden,  with  a  great  stone  ready  to  close  the  aperture. 
Matthew  alone  says  that  it  was  Joseph's  ;  Luke  adds  *  wherein 
was  never  man  yet  laid.' 

61.  Besides  Mary  Magdalene,  *  the  other  Mary,' whom  Mark 
calls  *  the  mother  of  Joses,'  and,  as  is  not  improbable,  the  mother 
of  Jesus,  remained  over  against  the  sepulchre. 

xxvii.  62-66.  The  priests  afraid.  Pilate  asked  for  a  special 
guard.     The  sepulchre  sealed  and  watched. 

62.  The  account  in  verses  62-66  is  only  in  Matthew. 

Now  on  the  morrow,  though  it  was  the  sabbath,  the  chief 
priests  and  the  Pharisees  went  to  Pilate.  Luke  xxiii.  56  reports 
that  the  disciples  '  rested  according  to  the  commandment'  a  most 
Judaistic  observation  for  Luke),  but  the  defenders  of  the  sabbath 
were  still  at  work. 

63.  Sir,  we  remember  that  that  deceiver  said.  It  is  so 
singular  that  the  first  anticipation  of  the  resurrection  should  come 
from  the  enemies  of  Jesus,  that  some  suspect  an  interpolation  in 
this  place  (Meyer  says  it  is  legendary).  There  was.  however, 
a  story  current  among  the  Jews  of  a  later  day  that  the  body  of 

Y    2 


324  ST.  MATTHEW   27.  64—28.  r 

64  I  rise  again.  Command  therefore  that  the  sepulchre 
be  made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  haply  his  disciples 
come  and  steal  him  away,  and  say  unto  the  people.  He 
is  risen  from  the  dead :  and  the  last  error  will  be  worse 

65  than  the  first.     Pilate  said  unto  them,  Ye  have  a  guard : 

66  go  your  way,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can.  So  they  went, 
and  made  the  sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone,  the  guard 
being  with  them. 

28      Now  late  on  the  sabbath  day,  as  it  began  to  dawn 
toward  the  first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene 

Jesus  had  been  stolen  by  his  disciples,  but  the  form  of  it,  \vhich 
appeared  in  •  The  Gospel  of  Nicodemus,'  probably  rested  on  the 
account  in  Matthew.  It  might  relieve  the  difficulty  to  suppose 
that  the  Jewish  authorities  did  approach  Pilate  on  the  subject,  and 
that  a  guard  was  appointed,  but  that  the  reference  to  the  resurrec- 
tion came  in  afterwards. 

65.  Ye  liave  a  gfiiard :  the  latter  being  a  Latin  word — custodia — 
it  is  probable  that  a  guard  of  four  Roman  soldiers  had  already 
been  appointed  to  the  sepulchre.  The  '■  Gospel  of  Peter '  says 
that  '  Pilate  gave  them  Petronius  the  centurion.' 

xxviii.  i-io.  The  resurrection.  The  return  of  the  two  Marys  ; 
the  earthquake  ;  the  stone  rolled  away  ;  the  flight  of  the  guard. 
Angelic  annunciation  of  the  resurrection.  First  appearance  of  the 
risen  Saviour. 

The  differences  in  the  four  accounts  of  the  resurrection  were 
recognized  at  an  early  period,  and  various  plans  of  reconciliation 
have  been  proposed.  We  need  not  review  these  theories,  but 
have  simply  to  note  the  facts  as  stated  in  Matthew^.  After  describing 
the  conditions  under  which  the  resurrection  took  place,  and  their 
effect  on  the  disciples,  he  mentions  two  appearances  of  the  risen 
Saviour :  (i)  in  verses  9-10,  that  to  the  two  Marys,  which  may  be 
the  same  as  that  mentioned  in  Mark  xvi.  9  and  John  xx.  14; 
(2)  another  in  Galilee  to  the  eleven,  verses  16-20. 

1.  late  on  the  sabbath  day.  A.  V.  had  '  in  the  end  of  the 
sabbath,'  which  was  an  obscure  statement.  Mark  xvi.  i  explains 
by  '  when  the  sabbath  was  past,'  All  the  evangelists  agree  about 
the  visit  of  Mary  Magdalene,  and  this,  probably,  was  the  earliest 
tradition  of  the  great  event.  Though  the  sabbath  ended  at  sunset, 
nothing  could  be  done  before  the  next  dawn.  Matthew  says  that 
the  women  came  to  see  tlie  sepulclire,  and  does  not  mention  the 
embalming. 


ST.  MATTHEW   28.  2-7  325 

and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulchre.     And  behold,  2 
there  was  a  great  earthquake ;  for  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
descended  from  heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  away  the 
stone,  and  sat  upon  it.     His  appearance  was  as  lightning,  3 
and  his  raiment  white  as  snow :  and  for  fear  of  him  the  4 
watchers  did  quake,  and  became  as   dead  men.     And  5 
the  angel  answered  and  said  unto  the  women,  Fear  not 
ye :    for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  hath  been 
crucified.     He  is  not  here ;   for  he  is  risen,  even  as  he  6 
said.     Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay.     And  7 
go  quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples,  He  is  risen  from  the 
dead ;   and  lo,  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee ;   there 

2.  And  behold,  there  was  a  great  earthquake.  This  is  only 
in  Matthew,  from  whose  representation  it  would  appear  to  have 
happened  as  the  women  drew  near  to  the  tomb. 

an  ang'el  of  the  Lord  descended  .  .  .  his  raiment  white. 
So  the  angels  of  the  ascension  :  Acts  i.  10.  Mark  mentions  '  a 
young  man  sitting  on  the  right  side,  arrayed  in  a  white  robe,' 
while  Luke  says  that  'two  men  stood  by  them  in  dazzling 
apparel '  ;  of.  John  xx.  12. 

4.  the  watchers  are  only  mentioned  here,  following  Matt. 
xxvii.  65. 

5.  The  women  had  been  anxious  about  the  removal  of  the  stone 
(Mark  xvi.  3).  but  the  angel  had  rolled  it  back  'and  sat  upon  it.' 
Now  he  speaks  to  them :  Fear  not  ye :  for  I  know  tliat  ye  seek 
Jesus,  which  hath  been  crucified.  The  tense  (R.  V.)  intimates 
that  the  marks  of  crucifixion  were  still  to  be  seen  upon  him. 

7.  lo,  he  g-oeth  before  you  into  Galilee.  Matthew  assumes 
that  the  appearances  of  the  Lord  to  the  collected  disciples  took 
place  in  Galilee.  Luke  xxiv.  6,  on  the  contrary,  refers  to  the 
earlier  predictions  of  the  resurrection  as  having  been  made  in 
Galilee,  but  implies  that  the  appearances  took  place  in  or  near 
Jerusalem.  John  xx.  19,  26  also  assumes  that  some  appearances 
were  in  Jerusalem,  while  another  notable  instance  occurred  on 
the  lake  of  Galilee,  John  xxi.  1-23.  Mark  xvi.  1-8  has  sub- 
stantially the  same  account  as  Matthew  in  verses  1-8.  In  the 
later  part  of  the  chapter,  which  is  reckoned  to  be  of  doubtful 
authority,  Mark  refers  to  the  two  disciples  whom  Jesus  met 
as  they  w^ent  to  Emmaus,  and  to  another  appearance  to  the 
'eleven '  which  seems  to  be  the  same  as  that  recorded  in  John 
XX.  19-25  (Luke  xxiv.  36-43). 


326  ST.  MATTHEW   28.  8-13 

8  shall  ye  see  him  :  lo,  I  have  told  you.     And  they  de- 
parted quickly  from  the  tomb  with  fear  and  great  joy, 

9  and  ran  to  bring  his  disciples  word.     And  behold,  Jesus 
met  them,  saying,  All  hail.     And  they  came  and  took 

10  hold  of  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him.  Then  saith  Jesus 
unto  them,  Fear  not :  go  tell  my  brethren  that  they 
depart  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall  they  see  me. 

11  Now  while  they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  the  guard 
came  into  the  city,  and  told  unto  the  chief  priests  all  the 

12  things  that  were  come  to  pass.  And  when  they  were 
assembled  with  the  elders,  and  had  taken  counsel,  they 

13  gave  large  money  unto  the  soldiers,  saying,  Say  ye,  His 
disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him  away  while  we 


8.  wioh  fear  and  great  joy.     Mark  xvi.  S  has  '  for  they  were 

afraid,'  which  was  the  old  ending  of  that  gospel.  Intimations 
of  the  fear  caused  by  these  supernatural  visitations  are  frequent 
in  the  narratives  ;  see  Luke  xxiv.  5,  37  ;  John  xxi.  12,  &c, 

9.  And  "behold,  Jesus  met  tlieni.  This  may  be  another 
account  of  the  appearance  more  fully  described  in  John  xx.  11-18  ; 
see  also  Mark  xvi.  g,  lo.  In  verse  7  the  angel  said,  '  tell  his 
disciples,'  but  Jesus  says,  tell  my  bretliren.  This  is  the  first 
occasion  on  which  our  Lord  used  this  term  for  the  disciples : 
cf.  John  XX.  17  ;  Heb.  ii.  11. 

xxviii.  11-15.  The  guards  report  to  the  priests.  Money  given 
to  the  soldiers  to  say  that  the  body  had  been  stolen  by  night 

11.  The  account  of  the  flight  of  the  guard,  the  dismay  of  the 
priests,  and  their  bargain  with  the  soldiers  is  only  in  Matthew. 

12.  The  larg"e  money  which  the  priests  gave  to  the  soldiers  was 
probably  silver,  as  xxvi.  15,  xxvii.  3,  5,  9.  The  priests  had  not 
profited  much  by  the  return  of  the  bribe  from  Judas. 

13.  The  report  that  His  disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him 
away  continued  to  be  circulated  in  Jewish  circles  ;  Just,  Martyr, 
Dial.  c.  Trypho.,  108.  Notwithstanding  the  fragmentary  character 
ofthe  various  accounts  of  the  resurrection,  its  historical  realit}' seems 
to  be  established  by  the  fact  to  which  this  Jewish  insinuation 
refers,  viz.  that  the  disappearance  of  the  body  of  Jesus  cannot 
be  otherwise  accounted  for.  His  enemies,  intent  on  disproving 
a  resurrection,  would  not  have  taken  it  away.  His  friends  would 
not  have  been  parties  to  a  gigantic  fraud  such  as  would  have  been 


ST.  MATTHEW  28.  14-18  327 

slept.     And  if  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will  14 
persuade  him,  and  rid  you  of  care.     So  they  took  the  15 
money,  and  did  as  they  were  taught :  and  this  saying  was 
spread  abroad  among  the  Jews,  ajid  contimieth  until  this 
day. 

But  the  eleven  disciples  went  into  Galilee,  unto  the  16 
mountain  where  Jesus  had  appointed  them.     And  when  17 
they  saw  him,  they  worshipped  hhn  :   but  some  doubted. 
And  Jesus  came  to  them  and  spake  unto  them,  saying,  18 
All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on 


involved  in  the  transaction.  Besides  the  testimon}'  of  Peter  and 
John,  and  others  whose  character  is  be3'ond  question,  we  have 
the  remarkable  witness  of  Paul,  i  Cor.  xv.  6-9.  He  mentions 
five  appearances,  which  partly  agree  with  those  mentioned  by 
Luke  and  John.  It  is  strange  that  he  does  not  mention  the 
appearances  to  the  women  who  attended  on  Jesus. 

14.  and  rid  you  of  care,  which  is  better  than  the  A.  V.  'secure 
you ' :  cf.  I  Cor.  vii.  32. 

15.  was  spread  abroad  among-  tlie  Jews  .  .  .  until  tMs  day. 
Dr.  Westcott  {Study  of  the  Four  Gospels^  p.  229)  suggests  that 
this  may  be  a  later  note  ;  but  the  gospel  might  not  be  circulated 
for  forty  years  or  more  after  the  event. 

xxviii.  16-20.  Depat-ture  of  the  disciples  into  Galilee.  They  see 
the  Lord,  and  receive  the  great  commission. 

16.  But  the  eleven  disciples  went.  Matthew  often  speaks 
(v.  I,  xiv.  23)  of  'the  mountain,'  not  'a  mountain/  as  A.  V.  It 
may  have  been  some  place  whither  Jesus  had  often  retired,  and 
where  his  disciples  expected  to  meet  him. 

1*7.  they  worshipped  him:  but  some  doubted.  This  may  be 
a  reference  to  the  case  of  Thomas  (John  xx.  25  :  cf  Mark  xvi.  11, 
13  ;  Luke  xxiv.  11,  37).  All  had  been  at  first  incredulous  about 
the  resurrection.  The  same  word  is  used  in  Matt.  xiv.  31, 
*  Wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ? ' 

18.  All  authority  hath  been  given.  'All  power'  (A.  V.)  has 
been  replaced  by  the  more  correct  expression  'all  authority.' 
Neither  *  is  given'  (A.  V.)  nor  'hath  been  given'  (R.  V.)  cor- 
responds to  the  tense  (aorisf)  which  dene  tes  a  definite  past,  '  was 
given  '  :  cf.  Matt.  xi.  27,  'All  things  were  delivered' ;  Heb.  i.  2, 
'whom  he  appointed.'  If  this  past  is  traced  to  the  eternal 
purpose  of  God,  then  the  form  of  the  verb  may  find  parallels  in 


328  ST.  MATTHEW   28.  19,  20 

19  earth.     Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and 

20  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you  :  and 


Matt.  iii.  17,  xi.  27  ;  Phil.  ii.  8-10.  Meyer  prefers  to  think  that 
this  investment  came  at  the  resurrection,  when  the  kenosis  (or 
humiliation)  of  the  Son  of  man  came  to  an  end,  and  the  glory 
{doxa)  began. 

in  lieaven  and  on  earth..  The  Messiah  had  entered  into  his 
universal  kingdom  :  cf.  Acts  ii.  36  ;  Phil.  ii.  10. 

19.  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations.  The  verb  'to  disciple* 
is  found  in  Matt.  xiii.  52,  xxvii.  57  ;  Acts  xiv,  21  (cf.  John  iv.  i, 
'Jesus  made  and  baptized  more  disciples  than  John  ').  The  A.  V. 
had  the  right  meaning  in  'teach.'  It  was  through  the  instruction 
(xiii.  52)  which  prepared  for  baptism  that  baptism  itself  came  to 
be  called  'illumination.'  'all  the  nations'  must  include  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  receives  confirmation  in  Mark  xvi.  15, 
'  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole 
creation.' 

baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  cases  mentioned  in  Acts 
ii.  28,  vii.  16,  x.  48,  and  xix.  5,  baptism  into  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  only  is  spoken  of.  No  baptismal  use  of  the  full 
trinitanan  formula  occurs  in  the  N.  T.  i  Cor.  i.  15  shews  that 
Paul,  when  he  baptized,  practised  it  in  the  name  cf  Jesus.  The 
A.  V.  followed  the  Vulgate  {in  nomine)  in  its  phrase  *  in  the 
name';  the  R.  V.  'into  the  name'  means  'in  reference  to  the 
name.'  Baptism  v>^as  not,  as  Meyer  (Matt.  vol.  ii.  p.  304)  says,  in 
accordance  with  the  high  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  '  the  divine  constituent  factor  in  the  work  of  redemption,* 
but  the  rite  which  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  believers.  The 
inquirers  are  first  taught,  then  on  believing  (Mark  xvi.  16)  are 
received  into  the  church  :  cf.  Acts  ii.  41,  x.  47. 

20.  teaching-  them  to  observe  all  thing's.  After  baptism 
the  office  of  the  'teacher*  was  not  in  suspense.  Paul  describes 
(Col.  i.  28,  A.  R.)  the  apostolic  practice :  'admonishing  every  man 
and  teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom.'  Among  the  things  to  be 
taught  to  the  Gentiles,  nothing  is  said  about  the  Jewish  ritual. 
The  condition  of  baptism  in  verse  19  is  being  instructed  as 
disciples;  in  Mark  xvi.  16,  'he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved,*  The  Jewish  Christians  who,  according  to  Acts 
XV.  I,  demanded  circumcision  from  Gentile  believers  could  scarcely 
have  had  these  words  of  the  Master  before  them. 


ST.  MATTHEW  28.  20  329 

lo,    I   am   with  you   alway,  even   unto  the  end  of  the 
world. 


and  lo,  I  am  witli  you  alway.  After  the  resurrection  he 
was  'with  them'  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Gahlee,  'appearing  unto 
them  by  the  space  of  forty  days,'  and  they  were  not  to  doubt  that 
his  '  Real  Presence  '  would  be  '  where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together'  in  his  name.  The  Judaizers  of  the  church  have  in  every 
age  sought  to  limit  the  promise  to  sacred  places,  or  to  special  rites, 
or  to  select  orders  of  men,  but  its  universality  defies  them.  The 
Gentile  believers  claimed  that  Jesus  spoke  to  them  as  well  as 
to  their  Jewish  brethren,  when  he  said,  'I  am  with  you';  and 
'alway,'  or  -all  the  daj^s/  brought  down  the  promise  to  those 
who  believed  through  the  preaching  of  Paul  as  well  as  to  those 
who  followed  the  Twelve.  All  later  restrictions,  such  as  those 
which  confine  the  Presence  of  Christ  to  the  so-called  '  Catholic 
Church,'  become  ridiculous  in  the  light  of  history. 

unto  the  end  of  the  world.  The  Churcl:  of  Christ  is  the 
only  institution  that  has  such  a  prospect :  cf.  Ps.  xix.  9. 


INDEX 


[The  Numerals  refer  to  the  Pages.l 


Ammonius,  7. 

Angels,  243,  308. 

Apocalyptic  literature,  283,  297. 

Apocrypha,  the,  153,  155,  199. 

Apostles,  the  twelve,  185,  187. 

Aramaic,  3,  24. 

Augustine,  7. 

Baptism,  131,  328. 
Barabbas,  314. 
Beatitudes,  the,  144. 
Beelzebub,  191,  203. 
Bengel,  7. 

Bethlehem,  122,  125. 
Blasphemy,  204. 
Bleek,  Dr'  F.,  16. 
Blind,  cure  of  the,  183,  259. 
Bruce,  Dr.,  24,  130. 

Caiaphas,  309. 
Capernaum,  171,  198. 
'Catholic  Church,' the,  11. 
Centurion,    the,    and    his    son, 

171. 
'Chaberim,'  the,  132. 
Church,  the,  233,  244. 
Clement  of  Rome,  3,  20. 
—  of  Alexandria,  7. 
Confession,  131. 
Cross,  the,  193,  317. 


Demons,    the,    176,    183,    191, 

202, 
Diatessaron,  the,  6. 
Didoche^  the,  3. 
Disciples,  the,  their  call,  142, 
Divorce,  152,  248. 

Ebionites,  16,  145. 
Eichhorn,  8. 
Enoch,  Book  of,  231. 
Epilepsy,  cure  of,  239. 
Epiphanius,  4,  16. 
Essenes,  the,  133. 
Eternal  life,  251. 
Exorcism,  203. 

Feeding,  miracles  of,  219,  227. 
Forgiveness,  159,  246. 

Gadara,  175. 

Gehenna,  151. 

Gentiles,  the,  157. 

Gieseler,  10. 

Godet,  Dr.  F.,  16. 

Golgotha,  317. 

'Gospel,'  meaning  of,  115. 

—  Hebrew,  3,  12,  i6. 

—  oral,  10. 

—  universality  of,  22,  141,  173, 
328. 


INDEX 


33^ 


Hades,  233. 
Harnack,  Dr.  A.,  15. 
Hawkins,  Rev.  Sir  J.  C,  9,  241. 
Herod  the  Great,  122. 

—  Antipas,  123,  217. 

—  Archelaus,  123. 

—  Philip,  123. 
Holtzmann,  Dr.,  11. 
Holy  Spirit,  the,  136. 
Hort,  Dr.,  11. 

Irenaeus,  5,  120. 

Jairus'  daughter,  181. 
James  of  Alphaeus,  186,  207. 

—  of  Zebedee,  143,  186,  207. 
Jerome,  3,  4,  16,  126. 
Jesus  Christ — 

baptism,  135. 

birth,  120. 

death  predicted,  234,  266. 

genealogy,  115. 

his  name,  121. 

kindred,  207. 

ministry  in  Galilee,  8,  141. 

son  of  David,  183,  275. 

temptation  of,  137. 

triumphal  entry  of,  261. 
Jewish  Christians,  the,  17. 

the  Canon  of,  17. 

John  the  Baptist,  129,  194,  217, 

265. 
Jonah,  a  sign,  206,  229. 
Joseph  of  Arimathsea,  322. 

—  of  Nazareth,  120. 

Judas  Iscariot,  i86,  307,  312. 
Judgement,  the  day  of,  295. 
Justin  Martyr,  3. 

Kingdom  of  heaven,  the,   158, 
241. 

Labourers,  the,  parable  of,  254. 

Leper,  the,  170. 

Lessing,  7. 

Levi,  a  name  of  Matthew,  179. 

*  Logia,'  the,  5,  14,  21. 


Magi,  the,  122. 

Marcion,  7. 

Mark,  gospel  of,  6,  8,  10-14. 

Marriage  feast,  269. 

Marshal],  Prof.,  13. 

Mary,  mother  of  Jesus,  119.  120, 

207. 
Matthew,  his  call,  179,  186. 

—  Aramaic  gospel  of,  15. 

—  his  readers,  19. 

—  style  of,  20. 

—  date  and  design  of  his  gospel, 
23,  24. 

Messiah,  the,  116,  120,  231. 
Mystery,  209. 

Names,  Hebrew,  in  R.V.,  117. 
Nazarene,  7,  16,  128. 
Numerals,  symbolism  of,  22. 

Oaths,  153. 

Palsy  the,  cure  of,  177. 

Papias,  5. 

Parables,  208-16,  266. 

Parousia,  the,  288. 

Passover,  the  final,  299. 

Pella,  17,  286. 

Penny,  a,  254, 

Peter,  Simon,  142,  173,  231. 

Pharisees,  the,  131,  180,  280. 

Phylacteries,  276. 

Pilate,  Pontius,  312. 

Prayer,  the  Lord's,  157. 

Prophets,  147. 

—  false,  167,  285. 
Prophetic  testimony,   121,  127, 

168,  202. 

to  Gentiles,  20,  202. 

Proselytes,  278. 

Quotations  from  O.  T.,  21. 

Repentance,  133. 
Resch,  Dr.  A.,  13. 
Righteousness,  the  true,  150. 
Ruler,  the  rich,  251. 


33^ 


ST.  MATTHEW 


Sabbath,  controversies  on  the, 

199. 
Sadducees,  the,  132,  272. 
Samaritans,  the,  187. 
Sanday,  Dr.,  5,  13. 
Satan,  138. 
Scribes,  the,  131. 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  144. 
Shekel,  241. 

Simon  the  Canansean,  186. 
Stone,  the  rejected,  268, 
Supper,  the  last,  303. 
Synoptic  Gospels,  the,  4-9. 
Syrophoenician,  the,  225. 

Talents  the,  parable  of,  293. 
Tares  the,  parable  of,  212. 
Temple  the,  purification  of.  262. 
—  the,  discussion  in,  264. 
Temple,  the,  its  desolation  pre- 
dicted, 282,  286. 


Thaddaeus,  186. 
Tradition,  222. 
Transfiguration,  the,  9,  236. 
Tribute,  the,  240. 
Tiibingen  school,  the,  ir. 
'Two  Ways,'  the,  166. 

Vine3'ard,  the,  parable  of,  266. 
Virgins,    the    ten,    parable    of, 

292. 
Vulgate,  the,  4. 

Weiss,  Dr.  B.,  13,  24. 
Wendt,  15. 
Westcott,  Bp.,  21. 
Wetstein,  15. 
Wright,  Rev.  A.,  to. 

Zachariah,  281. 

Zahn,  Dr.  T.,  13,  15,  17,  136. 


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