OF THE UNIVERSITY Of ILLI N O I 5 From the Library of the Diocese of Springfield Protestant Episcopal Church Presented 1917 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/theologicalhomil03eder CLARKS FOREIGN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY THIRD SERIES. VOL. XVI. Eange on t \)t <&o£pel$ of &t fHattfjtfo anti J?t IHarfe. YOL. III. EDINBURGH : T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. LONDON: J. GLADDING; WARD & CO. ; JACKSON, WALFORD, & CO. DUBLIN : JOHN ROBERTSON. MDCCCLXII. » I ' THEOLOGICAL AND HOMILETICAL COMMENTARY THE GOSPELS OF ST MATTHEW AND ST MARK. SPECIALLY DESIGNED AND ADAPTED FOR THE USE OF MINISTERS AND STUDENTS. FROM THE GERMAN OF J. P. LANGE, D.D., FKOFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN. VOLUME III. EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. LONDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIN: JOHN ROBERTSON. MDCCCLXIJ. MURRAY AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. fa. 0 (o -r 3H-X •/*?> THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. slxTH SECTION. CHRIST BEFORE CAIAPHAS. Chapter xxvi. 57-68. (Mark xiv. 53-65 ; Luke xxii. 54-71 ; John xviii 12-24.) 57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed Him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death ; 60 But found none : yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to de- stroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto Him, Answerest Thou nothing? what is it which these witness against Thee ? 63 But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said : nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy ; what further need have we of witnesses ? behold, now ye have heard His blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67 Then did they spit in His face, and buffeted Him ; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, 68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, Thou Christ, Who is he that smote Thee? CRITICAL NOTES. 1. Chronological Succession. — 1. The preparatory examination by Annas, John xviii. 30; 2. The examination during the night before Caiaphas; 3. The formal and final examination before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrim on the Friday morning (Matt., Mark, Luke). This threefold examination by the ecclesiastical tribunal VOL. III. A 4/7 0^07 2 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. was followed by another threefold examination on the part of the secular authorities, — first, by Pilate ; then by Herod (Luke) ; and, lastly, a second time by Pilate. Between these examinations the fol- lowing events intervened : — 1. The mocking and buffeting on the part of the servants of the temple, between the second and the third examination by the ecclesiastical authorities. 2. The being set at nought after the second examination by the secular rulers, or before Herod ; the white robe. 3. The setting at nought and buffeting after His third examination ; the scarlet robe. — Matthew and the other two Evangelists pass over the examination of the Lord by Annas. It is, however, related with all its particulars by John ; and, indeed, was quite in accordance with the views of the Jews. Though Annas had been deposed, the Jews seem still to have con- sidered him as their real high priest ; while, at the same time, they were obliged in an official capacity to acknowledge Caiaphas, whom the Romans had appointed “ that same year.” As Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas, they would, in all probability, order their domestic arrangements so as to meet the views of the Jews without giving offence to the Romans. Accordingly, we would suggest that both lived in one and the same palace ; which would also account for the fact, that while the examination was successively carried on in two different places, the guard seems to have remained in the same inner court of the palace. This is evident from a comparison of the narrative of Peter’s denial as given by John, and that of the same event as recorded by the other Evangelists. Similarly, this would also explain the fact, that in the three first Gospels we only read of Christ being led before Caiaphas. From the peculiar practical view taken by Matthew, we can readily understand why he should have only recorded the official examination. In general, we infer that the examination by Annas was mainly an attempt on the part of the old priest to ensnare the Lord in His words, and thus to elicit some tenable grounds of accusation. The examination by Caiaphas was merely a formal matter. The only importance attaching to it is, that the testimony of Christ, to the effect that He was the Christ, the Son of God, was there declared to be blasphemy, and deserving of death. The circumstances as now detailed will enable us to understand how Matthew and Mark relate first the examination by the high priest, and then the denial by Peter, while this order is reversed in the Gospel by Luke. Evidently the threefold denial on the part of Peter extended from the first to the second examination of the Master. CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 3 2. Where the scribes and the elders were assembled . — In accord- ance with our former remarks, we conclude that this was a preli- minary meeting of the Sanhedrim, quite distinct from the regular and formal meeting which took place on the following morning. It is characteristic of the Evangelists, that John details the first examination, Luke the third, while Matthew and Mark only record the second. John evidently dwelt chiefly on the rejection of Christ by the Jews in its full outburst, which decided the rest of the pro- cedure, while Luke attached chief importance to its political bear- ing, and the other two Evangelists described what took place in presence of the priests and scribes. 3. Afar off . — As it were, not with the cordial closeness of a disciple, but like a mere onlooker or observer. 4. Unto the hall . — Not the palace , as in our authorized version. The expression av\rj was applied, among the Greeks, both to the hall or court in front of the house, and to the dwelling itself. In Eastern and Jewish houses this inner court was surrounded by side halls. This formed the hall of the palace. According to the account given by John, he had obtained immediate access into the inner hall, and then procured admission for Peter. Tradition asserts that John had become acquainted with the family of the high priest while still engaged in his original calling. u As in all Eastern houses, so in this palace, the windows of the room or the openings of the hall in which Jesus was examined, would open into the inner court, which, according to Mark xiv. 66, must have been somewhat lower than the rest of the house. There Peter, and perhaps John also, heard part of the examination that went on. Accordingly, the accounts in the three first Gospels bear evident marks of having been derived from eye-witnesses, who, however, had not heard all that had passed. But the account given by John was manifestly supplemented from more full and satisfactory reports.” Gerlach. 5. And all the council . — The expression must evidently be taken in a general sense. In their official capacity as a council , the whole assemblage were animated by the same spirit of hatred and murder. In view of this, individual exceptions, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, are left out of view by the historian. Besides, they may not have been present at this meeting. It will be remembered, that when, on a much earlier occasion, Nicodemus attempted to speak in favour of Jesus, he was threatened with ex- communication, John vii. 50, etc. Again, according to John ix. 22, the council had formerly passed a resolution to excommunicate any 4 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. person who should own Jesus as the Christ. Hence it seems proba- ble that Nicodemus had taken no further part in the deliberations of the council against Jesus. Similarly, we conceive that Joseph of Arimathea had also, on an earlier occasion, spoken in the same spirit as Nicodemus, Luke xxiii. 51. Other members of the San- hedrim may have been frightened and kept away by the threat of excommunication. From Luke xxii. 70 we infer that these mem- bers of the council were not present even at the formal and official examination which took place on the following morning. Finally, it deserves notice that the procedure of the Sanhedrim against Jesus may be said to have been unchanged, from first to last, throughout the whole of His official career. This appears most clearly from the ac- count furnished in the Gospel of John. Ch. ii. 18 : first attendance at the Passover in the year 781 ; comp. ch. iv. 1, v. 16 : festival of Purim; commencement of the persecutions in Galilee. — Ch. vii. 1, ix. 14 : Feast of Tabernacles in the year 782. Excommunication pro- nounced upon the adherents of Jesus, ch. ix. 22. Open and full per- secutions in Galilee. — John x. 22 : feast of the Dedication of the Temple, in the winter of the year 782. Ch. x. 31 : attempt to stone Jesus. Ch. xi. 57 : pronouncing of the ban or injunction, that any one who knew where Jesus was, should immediately indicate the same to the council. — Ch. xii. 10: The decisive meeting of the council on the evening before Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, when the resolu- tion was also taken to kill Lazarus. Then followed the three exami- nations during the night of the betrayal, when it was no longer a matter of question whether Jesus should be killed, — the main object only being to observe some kind of legal form, and to fix upon a sufficient ground of accusation. Of course, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea could not be present on these occasions. 6. Sought false witness against Jesus . — Meyer : “WevhopLapTvplav, i.e.j as viewed by the historian.” But it ought to be kept in mind that the priests acted not merely under the impulse of fanaticism, but with a fixed determination to find proof against Christ, whether it were rightly or wrongly obtained. The remark of De Wette, that they would have preferred to have found true witness, and did not purposely seek for false, seems somewhat superfluous, as this would of course be the case. Sufficient that they were fully con- scious that true witness could not be obtained. 7. But found none. — According to Mark xiv. 56, “ their witness agreed not together.” By the law of Moses, at least two witnesses were required to agree if the accusation was to be sustained (Lev. CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 5 xxxv. 30; Deut. xvii. 6, xix. 15). Hence in the following clause the emphasis rests on the word two. At last the smallest requisite number was found. 8. This fellow said. — A perversion of the statement of Jesus in John ii. 19 (Xvaare), which had referred to His body. u Misun- derstood and altered,” observes Meyer ; u but whether intentionally or not, cannot be decided.” But a witness is fully responsible, if not for his understanding of the words which he reports, yet for the accuracy of his quotation. A witness from hearsay, who professes to have himself heard a certain statement, or else an accuser who has not accurately heard what he reports, must be regarded as a false witness. 9. Within three days ; $ia y not after three days. — From this passage, as well as from the treatment of Stephen (Acts vi. 13), we learn that statements derogatory to the temple were treated as blas- phemy. Nor is it difficult to infer the reason of this — the temple being regarded as the symbol of the Jewish religion. Jesus held His peace, u in lofty self-consciousness,” not merely because the witness was false, but also because, even if true, it was really no evidence of hostility to the temple, since, along with the statement of its de- struction, it had held out the promise of its restoration. Lastly, the whole of this preliminary questioning pointed forward to His avow r al of His Messianic character, which, after all, was the great subject of inquiry. 10. And the high priest a^ose. — u The chief priest loses his self- possession, and rises up.” Perhaps more accurately it may be characterized as a piece of theatrical affectation, the high priest pre- tending to be filled with holy indignation. — Answerest Thou nothing ? Meyer : The arrangement of the following clause into two distinct queries is exceedingly characteristic of passionate hatred, and quite warranted by the phraseology, as dirotcplveaQai n may mean to answer something , and ri may be equivalent to o, n. 11. And the high priest answered. — He understood the meaning of Christ’s silence, and hence answered His silent speech. Meyer rightly observes : u He replied to the continuous silence of Jesus by formally proposing to Him the question, whether He was the Mes- siah. On this everything depended, in order to secure that the sentence of death pronounced against Him should be confirmed by the Homan authorities.” Comp. John xviii. 19. 12. I adjure Thee. — Gen. xxiv. 3; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13. When such a formula of adjuration was employed, a simple affirmation or 6 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. negation was regarded in law as sufficient to constitute a regular oath. See Micliaelis, Laws of Moses, § 302. Grotius : i%op/ci£eiv, Hebraice V'ZWn, modo est jurejurando adigere, interdum vero ob- secrare. Solebant judices talem opiaa/xov adhibere, ut aut testibus testimonium aut reis confessionem exprimerent. Another formula of the same kind is mentioned in John ix. 24. u The judge adjured the witness, who, by a simple Yea and Amen , made the oath his own.” 13. By the living God. — Not in the sense of u pointing Thee” to Him, but in that of putting the oath as in His presence, and in view of Him as the judge and avenger. The living God Himself was invoked as the witness and the judge of any untruth, Heb. vi. 13, x. 31. — Thou hast said ; et7ra?. An affirmation, and consequently an oath. The conduct of Christ is not inconsistent with ch. v. 34, since in the present instance the Lord was placed before the consti- tuted authorities of the land, and acted as bound in law. u Rational Christians will understand the words of Jesus as implying, Thou sayest it, not I.” u He now tells them that He was the Christ.” Braune. 14. The Son of God. — More fully reported in Luke xxii. 67, and ver. 70. From that passage it appears that the expression, Son of God, was not merely intended as a further addition to the term Christ (De Wette), but meant to express the Christian idea attach- ing to the latter designation. 15. Besides ; 7rX^. — A particle of transition, intended to intro- duce anew statement, Luke xix. 27. “ Not profecto (Olshausen), nor quin (Kuinoel), nor nevertheless (our authorized version), but besides , or over, beyond My affirmation of this adjuration.” Meyer : Besides this, I shall henceforth manifest Myself as the Messiah over you ; My Messianic glory shall appear before your eyes. Thus, of His own accord did Jesus now add His royal testimony to the confession which He had been forced to make. — From hence shall ye see. The expression must not be limited to the final appearing of Christ, but refers to His whole state of exaltation , — to that per- sonal exaltation which appears in the almighty power and uni- versal influence exercised by Him throughout the course of history. — Sitting on the right hand of power. T% Sum/ieco? = »TTQ^n (Bux- torf, Lex. Talm., p. 3855). Power , one of the main attributes of the Deity, here the abstract for the concrete, to indicate how, under this influence, His apparent impotence would at once be trans- formed into omnipotence. According to Ps. cx. 1, “ sitting at the CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 7 right hand 9 refers to the exaltation of the Messiah, and to the manifestation of His Soija ; more especially of His share in the go- vernment of the world, while enjoying festive rest and absolute supremacy. — And coming in the clouds of heaven. The expression does not merely refer to His final advent (De Wette), but to the whole judicial administration of Christ, which commenced immedi- ately after His resurrection, but especially at the time of the de- struction of Jerusalem, and shall be completed in the end of the world. 1 6. Then the high priest rent his clothes. — u He rent his Simla , or upper garment (not his high-priestly robe, which he only wore in the temple; comp. Reland, Antiq. ii. c. 1, § 11). A mark of indig- nation, Actsxiv. 14; on other occasions, of mourning (2 Sam. i. II); and in this sense interdicted to the high priest (Lev. x. 6, xxi. 10), but only on ordinary occasions. This prohibition, however, does not seem to have applied to extraordinary occurrences : 1 Macc. ii. 14; Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 15, 4.” De Wette. The practice of rending the clothes on occasions of supposed blasphemy was based on 2 Kings xviii. 37. Buxt. Lex., p. 2146. Originally it was simply a natural outburst of most intense feeling, such as grief or in- dignation, or of both these emotions. Hence it would be voluntary, and not subject to any special ordinance. But at a later period, when many of these outbursts were more theatrical than reaj, their exercise was regulated by special rules, just as similar manifesta- tions were made the subject of regulation in the mediasval Church. The rent made in the garment was from the neck downwards, and about a span in length. The body dress and the outer garment were left untouched : u in reliquis vestibus corpori accomodatis omnibus fit, etiamsi decern fuerint.” Hence ra ifiaria. — Saurinus : Here was an infallible high priest ; was it duty implicitly to trust and to follow him f 17. He hath spoken blasphemy. — At the same time an explana- tion of his symbolical action and the pronouncing of sentence, which, according to the law, would in such a case be that of death. On the supposition of their unbelief, and of their view that the state- ment of Christ was false, His declaration that He was the Messiah, as well as of the manner in which He sustained that office, would be peculiarly repugnant to them. But then, even on the high priest’s own showing, it was he, and not Christ, who was guilty of blasphemy, since he had, in his authoritative capacity, obliged Jesus to take this oath. Thus the conduct of the judges themselves led to 8 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. what they regarded as the crime, which in turn they condemned. But viewed in the light of the spirit, the presumptuous high priest alone and his compeers were the blasphemers. 18. What further need have we of witnesses ? — An involuntary admission that they were at a loss for witnesses. At the same time, it also implies that they wished to found the charge against Jesus solely upon His own declaration that He was the Messiah. In point of fact, a confession of guilt would render a further examina- tion of witnesses unnecessary. Caiaphas presupposes that the other members of the Sanhedrim shared his unbelief. In his hot haste he takes it for granted : Behold , now ye have heard this blasphemy. 19. He is guilty of death. — As they imagined, according to the law, Lev. xxiv. 16, comp. Deut. xviii. 20. A full statement of the sentence, which Caiaphas had already implied when he de- clared Jesus guilty of blasphemy. According to De Wette and Meyer, this was merely a preliminary expression of opinion on the part of the Sanhedrim, while the formal resolution was only arrived at next morning, ch. xxvii. 1. In our view, this sentence was already full and final, although in point of form it may not have been quite complete. For, on the one hand, the Sanhedrim had probably to be convoked in a formal manner ; while, on the other, that tribunal was, according to Jewish law, prohibited from inves- tigating any capital crime during the night. Besides, all haste in pronouncing condemnation was interdicted ; nor could a sentence of death be pronounced on the day on which the investigation had taken place. Probably the Sanhedrim may have wished to elude this provision by entering on the examination during the night. But this object was not in reality secured, since the Jewish day commenced in the evening. See Friedlieb , Archseol. nf the History of the Passion, p. 95. On other violations of the proper legal procedure in this case, see p. 87. Besides, according to Roman law, a sentence pronounced before the dawn w r as not regarded as valid ( Sepp , Leben Jesu iii. 484). Lastly, it was most important for the Jews to couch their sentence of condemnation in the form of a charge which they might hope Pilate would sustain, as the Roman governor required to confirm the Jewish verdict of death (Jos. Arch. xx. 9, 1). The ill treatment of the Lord immediately after- wards shows that the Sanhedrim regarded even this first sentence as final. u It is sad that many modern Jews are still found at- tempting to defend the sentence of death pronounced upon Jesus. Thus the Liber Nizzachen , ed. by Wagenseil, 1681, p. 50 ; and Sal- CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 9 vator ) Histoire des Institutions de Moise et du peuple Hebr., Paris, 1828, ii. 85. They maintain that Jesus was rightly condemned, be- cause He arrogated to Himself Divine dignity (Deut. xili. 1), and because His work and mission tended towards the overthrow of Judaism, the undermining of the authority of the highest tribunal, and consequently the ruin of the people. Compare, on the other hand, von Ammon , Fortbild. d. Christenth ., vol. iv.” Heubner. 20. Then did they spit in His face. — With reference to the ill- treatment to which the Lord was subjected before the Sanhedrim, we would remind the reader that even in the house of Annas He was struck by one of .the officers (John xviii. 22). De Wette and Meyer are mistaken in supposing that this ill-treatment is recorded in another connection in Luke xxii. 63. Manifestly the latter Evan- gelist there refers to what had taken place at a period intermediate between the first examination before Caiaphas and the final examina- tion on the following morning, related in ver. 66, which describes this final meeting, in terms similar to the narrative of the first examination given by Matthew. That the two meetings must have resembled each other, is evident from the circumstance, that the second was, in fact, merely a repetition of the first, certain for- malities being now observed. There are, however, some peculiarities about each of them. In reference to the account of the ill-treat- ment itself, we notice that the narratives of the various Evangelists supplement, but do not contradict, each other. In all proba- bility, the spitting in His face occurred immediately after His con- demnation. It may be regarded as a consequence of the sentence, spitting being considered among the Jews as the expression of greatest contempt (Deut. xxv. 9 ; Num. xii. 14). <£ This insult was punished with a fine of four hundred drachmas. Even to spit before another was regarded as an offence, and treated as such, by heathens also. Thus Seneca records that it was inflicted at Athens upon Aristides the Just, adding, at the same time, that with consider- able difficulty one individual was at last found willing to do it.” Braune. But as those who were excommunicated were regarded as beyond the pale of the law, this expression of contempt was specially applied to them (comp. Isa. 1. 6). Accordingly, the members of the Sanhedrim may have considered themselves warranted to take part in this manifestation of sanctimonious zeal. Their conduct served as the signal for the maltreatment of the officers (described by the term KoXatyL^eiv). The other particulars added by Matthew took place on a later occasion. From the narratives of Mark and Luke 10 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. we gather that, after the sentence pronounced by Caiaphas, Jesus was led through the hall, where the servants were warming them- selves, into another prison, and that at the very moment when Peter denied Him for the third time. There the guard which was to watch the person of Jesus till the final examination on the following morn- ing, commenced to maltreat Him, as fully detailed in the Gospel by Luke. This guard was different from the officers who had formerly insulted Him. The expression ippaTnaav is generally referred to smiting of the face ; but Beza, Ewald, Meyer, and others apply it to smiting with rods. Both renderings are equally warranted by the text. From Luke and Mark we infer that the scoffing which now took place was accompanied and followed by smiting with rods. The scoffing was directed against His prophetic dignity, or, as they supposed, against the prophetic title which He claimed (Prophesy, thou Christ, etc.). According to Luke, they blindfolded and then struck Him on the face, asking Him to prophesy which of them had inflicted the indignity. Fritzsche interprets it as meaning, predict to us who shall smite Thee ; but in that case it would have been needless to have covered His face. As a prophet, He was to tell them what He could not see. The devilish fanaticism of their superiors had communicated itself to the lowest officials, and spread from the Jewish guard to the Boman soldiers. The officers became a band of murderers (see Ps. xxii. ; the bulls of Bash an). DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. Jesus, silent before His accusers, a living expression of the truth, in its concrete form, as confidently relying on its eternal vic- tory. Before His bright consciousness of truth all false testimonies melted away, as shadows and mist are chased by the rays of the sun. The last false testimony, for which the requisite number of witnesses had been procured (although the expressions in Matthew and Mark differ in reference to it), could scarcely weigh against Him, since, along with the miraculous destruction of the temple, it spoke of its miraculous restoration. After all, it only implied that He had as- serted His ability to perform the works of the Messiah. Thus His enemies were ultimately obliged to try Him simply upon the issue whether He was the Messiah. This alone, of all the charges, now remained. In other words, they dared to set their own miserable authority against all the glorious evidences by which He was ac- credited as the Messiah and the Son of God. 2. Properly speaking, the saying of Christ, “ Destroy this CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 11 temple,” etc., which two years previously He had uttered at the time of the Passover, only meant — You seek to kill Me ; kill Me then : I will rise again. It was the curse of their fanatical dulness and misunderstanding, and of their false hearing, that they con- verted this very saying into a charge on which they condemned Him to death. 3. The ancient Church allegorically interpreted Christ’s silence before the secular and the ecclesiastical tribunals, as implying that He answered not a word because, as poor, guilty sinners, we must and would have been silent at the judgment-seat of God. But the tribunals of Caiaphas and of Pilate could only in point of form and appearance serve as an emblem of the judgment-seat of God. In reality, they exhibited the fact, that the secular and religious autho- rities of the ancient world were wholly devoted to the service of darkness, and hence given up by the Lord to the judgment of self- condemnation. On the other hand, however, this judgment of self-condemnation, which sinful humanity executed upon itself in condemning the Christ of God, is the sentence which Christ by His silence took upon Himself as the woe of humanity, in order to transform, by His sympathy and self-surrender, the punishment of the world into an expiatory atonement. 4. Christ, the Son of God . — “The former title was probably mentioned first, because, as it did not embody the real ground of accusation, the high priest may have expected that Jesus would more readily assent to the query when couched in that form. For, even in the eyes of such a tribunal, the mere claim to Messiahship could not by any possibility be regarded as a crime deserving of death, so long as no attempt whatever had been made to prove the falseness of the assertion. All this appears still more plainly from the narrative as given by Luke, in which the question, 1 Art Thou then the Son of God?’ is put separately from the other, seem- ingly called forth by the announcement that they would see Him sitting on the right hand of the power of God. — Many, in fact, most Jews at that time, understood that title (Son of God) as only refer- ring to the Messianic kingship of Jesus, without connecting with it the idea of eternal and essential Sonship. But Caiaphas evidently intended this expression to imply something more than the former designation of Christ . He and the Sanhedrim wittingly attached to it the peculiar meaning which, on previous occasions, had been such an offence to them (John v. 18, x. 33) ; and Jesus, fully un- derstanding their object, gave a most emphatic affirmation to their 12 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. inquiry. Of all the testimonies in favour of the divinity of Christ, this is the most clear and definite.” Gerlach. 5. The testimony and the oath of Christ. — Calmly did Pie utter the reply which insured His death. The Faithful Witness (liev. i.) did not falter or fail. And at the very moment when He sur- rendered Himself to an unrighteous judgment unto death, did, the full consciousness of His kingly glory burst upon Him. 6. By the sentence of the Sanhedrim, the people of Israel re- jected their Messiah, apparently with all due observance of legal forms (although in contravention of several legal ordinances), but in utter violation of the spirit and import of the law. Thereby the nation rejected itself, and destroyed the theocratical and political import of its temple. See Eph. ii. 15. It was, in reality, the San- hedrim itself which, by condemning Jesus, condemned the temple, the city, the theocracy, and the whole ancient world. From this sentence of death upon the Lord, the world can only recover in and through new life in Christ. 7. Besides , I say unto you , etc. — On the right hand of power — of the majesty of God : Fs. cx. — “ J esus here announces to His judges the judgment of His future advent. He intimates that henceforth they were to be continually visited by dreadful visions of His sovereignty. They were ever to see Him. Wherever omnipotence would manifest itself, there would He also appear along with it, since all its operations should be connected with His kingdom. Above all the clouds which were to darken the sky, would He ever and again appear as the light of new eras, as the morning star, and the sun of a brighter and better future, — and that from this time onwards, until the final revelation of His glory over the last clouds which would ascend from a burning world” (Leben Jesu). “These words of our Lord show that His coming in the clouds of heaven referred not only to Plis final and visible advent at the last day, but also to the events heralding and typifying His return.” Gerlach. 8. With this grand utterance the Lord Jesus directly met His enemies on the very ground of Scripture to which, in their hypocrisy, they had appealed. The reference here is to the prediction of Daniel, in ch. vii. 13, concerning the glory of the Son of man ; hence also the final application of this prophecy to the Son of man, who from the first had referred it to Himself. 9. We might reasonably have expected that, after Christ had been condemned by an ecclesiastical tribunal on the charge of blasphemy, such accusations would not again have been laid by or l CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 13 before any who professed to be His disciples, but that all such questions would have been left to be settled by the Lord Himself. But the Inquisition pursued the path first trodden by Caiaphas. The Church of Christ must commit the judgment upon such sins to God Himself, while the State may enact such laws against blas- phemy and crimes of sacrilege as it may deem consistent with the constitution of the land. 10. The last council of traditionalism in its full and final blind- ness, an antitype of similar councils in the Christian Church. 11. The spitting upon Jesus, as predicted in Isa. liii. Gerlach : u Condemned as a blasphemer, He was treated as an outlaw , and exposed to every indignity and attack.” HOMILETICAL IIINTS. The Son of God surrendered into the hands of sinners. — The holy Judge and the iniquitous judgment of the world. — The judg- ment of the world upon the Judge of the world : 1. The false wit- nesses and the Faithful Witness of God; 2. the criminal occupying the seat of the high priest, and the High Priest standing in the crimi- nal’s place ; 3. blasphemy in the garb of zeal for God, and the loftiest praise of God designated as blasphemy ; 4. the suicide of the world in the sentence pronounced upon the Prince of life, and the life of the world in the readiness of Christ to submit unto death ; 5. the picture of hell and the picture of heaven in the insults heaped upon the Lord. — The judgment of man on the Saviour (a judgment of God) : 1. The world given up to complete and full blindness and guilt unto death ; 2. the Son of God given up to complete and full suffering unto redemption. — The judgment of God may ever be traced in that of man. It appears either, 1. by means of the judgment of man, or else 2. beyond and above the sentence of man. — How frequently spiritual tribunals have pronounced their own sentence ! — The false witness as gradually developing and appearing in the course of history. — The misapprehensions of fanaticism the source of its mistakes. — The holy silence of the Lord, a most solemn utterance, 1. concerning the guilt of the world and His own inno-^ cence, 2. concerning its implacableness and His gracious compas- sion. — The holy utterance of the Lord after His holy silence. — His oath ; in taking it, Jesus, the Eternal One, swore by Himself (Isa. xlv. 23). — The oath of Jesus, the seal of truth. — The Faithful Wit- ness who seals and confirms all that God has said, 2 Cor. i. 20 ; Rev. iii. 14. — The assumed appearance of zeal, and genuine holy indigna- 14 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. tion . — u What further need have we of witnesses?” or, how malice always betrays itself. — “ Hereafter (or, henceforth) ye shah see or, the roll of thunder at a distance. — Christ’s abiding consciousness of His royal rank as appearing in, and standing the test of, the hour of its severest trial, — The appeal of Christ to His own judg- ment-seat as unto the tribunal of God. — The insults offered unto the Lord, or the bitter mocking of Satan in the fury of man. — How hell seeks to scoff at the King of heaven. — The dark shadows which ever follow hypocritical religiosity : 1. It is always connected with coarseness and rudeness; 2. it seems to take pleasure in satanic malice and love of mischief. — How ingenious fanaticism has ever proved in calling for the torments of hell, while boasting that it alone possessed the keys of the kingdom of heaven. — Infectious character of the evil example set by spiritual leaders. — The peace of Christ during that dreadful night, like the moon above dark lowering clouds. — The long and anxious hours. — Daniel in the lions’ den ; Christ among tigers and serpents. — The ecclesiastical prison-house. — When led before the secular authorities, He was set free from the authority of the spiritual rulers. — The sorrow and pain which the enemies of the Lord prepared for themselves, when inflicting pain upon Him. — The moral desolation which, from the beginning to the end, ever accompanies a spurious zeal for religion : 1. It falsifies and perverts testimony; 2. it applies the law contrary to truth and righteousness ; 3. it perverts and prostitutes judgment ; 4. it trans- forms the ministers of justice and the people into lawless murderers ; 5. it involves even the secular power in its guilt and ruin. — Moral rudeness in the service of the evil one. — Moral rudeness, the delight and the instrument of hypocritical cunning. — The sufferings and the gentleness of Jesus amidst the coarse rudeness of the world. — The sufferings of the members of Christ (His martyrs) amidst the coarse gibes of the world. — The covering of the face of Jesus, a sign that, even while setting Him at nought, they dared not en- counter the light of His eyes. — The spitting in His face, a scoffing of the highest personality and individuality, implying at the same time self-rejection of their own human individuality. — An emblem also of all sin, as effacing personality. — The impotence of human and satanic malice against the triumphant self-consciousness of the Divine Saviour. — The exhibition of perfect patience and endurance. — The sins which He there bore, He bore for all, and for us among the number. Starche ; Canstein : Even the true Church and its solemn con- CHAP. XXVI. 57-68. 15 claves may err and fail, if they set aside the word of God, Ex. xxxii. 7-10. — We may “follow” Jesus, yet not in the right spirit or manner. — Danger of fellowship with men of the world (Peter warming himself by the fire of coals). — If we are feeble, let us avoid fellowship with those whose intercourse might have a tendency to render us still more weak. — Solemn ordinances of God against false witnesses, Ex. xxiii. 1 ; Deut. xix. 18. But these wicked judges not only admitted, but even suborned false witnesses. — While seek- ing to entangle Jesus, they entangled themselves. — Canstein : Even the most sacred ordinances of God are capable of being desecrated by men. — Zeisius : The enemies of Christ at one and the same time accusers, witnesses, and judges ; thus frequently even in our own days. — Quesnel: A most vivid picture of what envy still compasseth every day against the people of God. — Hedinger : At- tend, O my soul ; thy Saviour suffers for the false witness of thy tongue, for thy hypocrisy, etc. — When wicked rulers and judges occupy the high places, vile persons will always be found ready to lend themselves as their tools. — Zeisius: If the words of Christ, who was eternal Wisdom and Truth, were perverted, why should we wonder that His servants and children suffer from similar misre- presentations ? — The testimony of Christ after His silence. Simi- larly, may we not remain silent when the glory of God or His truth are in question. — Zeisius : The confession that Christ is the Son of God, to this day the rock of offence (to Jews, Turks, heathens, and unbelieving professors of Christianity). — Judicial blindness of the servants of Satan in declaring truth to be blasphemy, and blas- phemy truth.-— Canstein : By this Christ expiated the sins which are committed in judicial procedures. — Zeisius : The spitting upon Jesus, etc., the expiation of our sins, that our faces might not be ashamed before God, but that we might obtain eternal honour and glory. — Quesnel: You who adorn and paint your faces, behold the indignity offered to the face of Jesus, for your sakes ! — The mem- bers of Christ should willingly and readily submit to every kind of scorn and insult. — Men dare to insult the Almighty as if He could be “blindfolded.” — Gerlach: While Peter denied Jesus, He confessed before Caiaphas that good confession by which our souls are saved. — Here we behold Jesus taking a solemn and judicial oath, to the effect that He was the Son of God ; which He still fur- ther confirmed by adding that they would see Him again in the glory of His exaltation, as Judge of the world, and as their Judge. * — The vast contrast between Jesus, who entered watching and 10 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. praying into the temptation, which lie had overcome within before He encountered it without, and Peter, who in self-confidence rushed into danger, without any preparation. — The insults heaped upon Jesus were not only the expression of the personal hatred of His enemies, but intended, if possible, completely to destroy His influence and position in popular estimation. Heubner : For our sakes, Christ had to go many a road of sor- row, surrounded by the band of the wicked. Let us count, 1. the road from Gethsemane to Annas, 2. that from Annas to Caiaphas, 3. from Caiaphas to Pilate, 4. from Pilate to Herod, 5. from Herod to Pilate, 6. from Pilate to the hall of judgment (although Pilate lived in the Prcetorium , the soldiers occupied another part ; hence it was not “ from Pilate to the judgment-hall,” but from the hall of judg- ment to where the soldiers were), 7. from thence to Golgotha. These roads Jesus would not have been obliged to tread, had not our feet declined from the ways of God. — Christ led before Caia- phas : the true High Priest before the spurious, the Just before the unjust, the Innocent One before His bitter enemies, who had long before resolved upon His death, John xi. 50. — A night-judgment. The prince of darkness himself presided unseen over this meeting. — The members of the Sanhedrim deceived themselves and each other by the tacit assumption of possessing divine authority.— (Rambach.) Let us not be deceived by the semblance of outward dignity and position, but seek grace to have our eyes opened so as to penetrate through the mist, and the pretensions of those who at heart are the enemies of Christ, — Christ was arraigned before two tribunals : the ecclesiastical, which took cognisance of the first, and the secular tribunal, which took cognisance of the second, table of the law. We have transgressed both tables of the law. — They sought false witness : the sentence had been beforehand resolved upon. — Falsehood in the service of murder. — Though many false witnesses came. Society abounds in venal instruments of iniquity. ■ — Every false witness is in opposition to the holy God of truth. Hence such will not only be put to shame, but even their false tes- timony must ultimately subserve the truth. — Calumny omits or adds (or perverts), as it may serve its purpose, so as to give falsehood the semblance of truth. — It is the peculiar artifice of the evil one to mix some element of truth in every lie. — Thus have the enemies of revelation also frequently perverted the Bible. — The silence of Jesus, 1. wise, 2. dignified, 3. putting His enemies to shame and condemning them, 4. conciliatory, 5. a holy example to His fol- CHAP. XXVI. 67-68. 17 lowers in similar circumstances. — The great and grievous damage often resulting from controversies is solely caused by our own prema- ture and hasty conduct. — This most solemn confession of Jesus, 1. wise and necessary, 2. sacred, 3. unshrinking, 1 Tim. vi. 13, 4. un- hesitating and decided, 5. an example to His martyrs. — The diffe- rent bearing and relationship in reference to the truth (on the part of Jesus, of Pilate, of the high priests, of the false witnesses, of Judas,. — Nevertheless (yei), I say unto you. A most solemn and loud call addressed to His enemies. Its confirmation appeared im- mediately on His death (the darkness, the earthquake, etc.). — They who will not believe in the divine character of Jesus must soon ex- perience it to their terror and confusion. — It is terrible to His enemies, but most comforting to His friends. — Here the faithfulness of the Lord was met by the appearance of fear of God. — A painful and sleepless night to the Lord. Under the Old Testament, the high priest was wont to spend the night before the day of atone- ment waking. So the true High Priest also. A consolation this to sufferers during their sleepless nights. — Subordinates imitate their superiors and the higher classes, 1 Cor. ii. 8. — The face of man the characteristic and special index of his individuality. To spit upon the face, is to set at nought the peculiar individuality of a man. In the present instance it was Jesus. His face w^as the face of God, John xiv. 9. It was this holy face, which angels adore, veiling their countenances, which was insulted. A setting at nought of His person, and at the same time of His prophetical office. — Beware of a scoffing spirit, and of fellowship with scorners, Ps. i. 1. — Alas ! how frequently is Christ still set at nought among us, wittingly and unwittingly, by neglect and contempt of His word, or by jokes and witticisms in connection with it ! For the present He beareth with it, but the time shall come when judgment will be passed upon those daring scoffers. — Let the reproach of Christ be our choicest adorn- ing * J. W. Konig : What a change ! In the night (of the nativity), when heaven descended upon earth, etc., the seraphim opened their song of joy and praise, etc. In this, the last night of His life, the Lord of heaven is set at nought. — Beiger : This question, whether Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, still proves the testing-point of unbelief and worldly-mindedness. He that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God, overcometh the world. — Braune : No criminal has ever endured what Jesus had to suffer ; at least in no other case have cruelty and malice been so grievously at work. — As on that VOL. III. B 18 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. occasion, in the obscurity of night, so still, many an attempt against Christ is made in the obscurity of the world of this life. SEVENTH SECTION. CHRIST AND PETER. Chapter xxvi. 69-75. 69 Now Peter sat without in the palace : and a damsel came unto him, say- ing, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them ; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. On tlie manner and circumstances under which Peter gained access to the palace of the high priest, see the Gospel of John. 2. Now Peter sat without. — u The expression efo> must be taken relatively to the interior of the house in which Jesus underwent examination. In ver. 58 the term eaco was used, because Peter is represented as going from the street into the court.” Meyer. 3. A damsel , i.e. } a female slave, as contradistinguished from the other mentioned in ver. 71. The former (who, according to John xviii. 17, u kept the door”) said, 66 Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee;” the latter, u with Jesus of Nazareth.” Both maids had gathered their information by hearsay, but, although ignorant, were malevolently disposed. Probably the statement was made in both cases in malicious banter, as the charge evidently led to no further consequences. 4. He denied before them all. — Before the servants of the high priest and the officials. — I know not what thou sayest. A mode of expression which might be taken as denying the denial : I do not even understand what thou meanest. Of course this, however, implied a denial of the charge itself, although Meyer lays undue CHAP. XXVI. 69-75. 19 emphasis upon it when interpreting it : So far from having been with Him, I do not even know, etc. 5. And when he was going towards the porch. — After his first and indirect denial, Peter began to feel the painfulness of his situa- tion, and wished to go away, or at any rate to be nearer the door, so as to secure a retreat. But in order to conceal his intention of leaving, he continued for a short time in the porch. Accordingly, he went from the court or av\rj, which enclosed the house, towards the porch. In our opinion, the o 7 tvXcov refers to the same as the 7 TpoavXiov in Mark xiv. 68 (which Meyer denies). It was then that, according to Mark, Peter denied Jesus a second time, after having risen from warming himself at the fire. u Another maid saw him (when going away), and (following him) said unto them that were there (probably the guard at the gate), This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” Then the second distinct denial en- sued, confirmed by an oath, and by the contemptuous expression, u I do not know the man.” The circumstance that Peter made use of an oath is recorded by Matthew alone. The particle otl proba- bly refers to the confirmation with the oath. 6. And after a while came unto him they that stood by. — Pri- marily referring to those who had been at the gate. But the lan- guage of the text does not prevent our understanding it to mean, that in the interval a number of persons had come from the court and joined the group. In fact, according to Luke, a considerable interval had elapsed, before general attention had been called forth and fixed on Peter. — Surely thou also art one of them. An oath against the oath of Peter. — For thy speech also bewray eth thee. u Beside other circumstances, by which the maid recognised thee. The pronunciation, the dialect, rj Xa\la. The gutturals were not properly pronounced, no distinction being perceptible between N, V, n. Besides, the Galileans also pronounced the ^ like n.” De Wette. The pronunciation of the people of Galilee was uncouth and indistinct ; hence they were not allowed to read aloud in the Jewish synagogues. The Talmudists relate a number of anecdotes about the curious misunderstandings occasioned by the indistinct- ness of pronunciation in Galilee. See Friedlieb, p. 84. 7. Then began he. — He meets and outdoeth the asseveration u Surely ,” used by the servants, by beginning u to curse and swear T 8. And immediately the cock crew. — De Wette : “The statement in Mishna, Baba Kama vii. 7, that fowls were not allowed to be kept in J erusalem, is probably incorrect. Besides, it is contrary to 20 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. what is related in Hieros. Erubin, fol. 26, cp. 1 ; comp. Lightfoot ad. v. 34 .” — u It was indeed contrary to the Levitical law of purity to keep fowls in Jerusalem, because these animals pick their food in dirt and mud, and might thus occasion the defilement of sacrifices and other dedicated offerings. But is it likely that the Koman sol- diers in the castle of Antonia would care for such Jewish ordi- nances? And even with reference to the Jews, we read that the Sanhedrim had on one occasion ordered a cock to be stoned, be cause it had picked out the eyes of a little child, and thereby caused its death” ( Sepp , Leben Jesu iii. 475). — Braune: “It is a later invention of the Jews — perhaps intended to controvert this very narrative — that fowls were not allowed to be kept in Jerusalem.” Plinius observes that the second crowing of the cock (Gallicinium) took place during the fourth watch of the night. Friedlieb, p. 81. 9. Bengel has, in his Gnomon , given the following satisfactory explanation of the fact, that the Gospels speak only of a threefold denial on the part of Peter : u Abnegatio ad plures plurium inter- rogationes, facta uno paraxysmo, pro una numeratur.” By dint of that pressure of the letter at the expense of the import and spirit of history, which is so common with a certain school of critics, Strauss and Paulus have maintained that the Gospels record more than three denials on the part of Peter (Paulus speaks of eight dis- tinct denials). But a closer inquiry shows that the three occasions are specially and separately enumerated in the Gospels : — First denial . — Immediately on entering the palace, John xviii. 17, and on the charge of the maid who kept the door. According to Matthew (ver. 69), in the court; according to John and Mark, at the fire, where the servants warmed themselves; according to Luke, by the light of the fire. Second denial . — According to John’s narrative, Peter was still standing by the fire and warming himself, probably with the design of covering a speedy retreat by assuming the appearance of uncon- cern. According to Matthew, he was now about to leave, when another maid attacked him, and people gathered around him in the porch. Luke reports one of these bystanders as already expressing the general feeling in the words, “ Thou art also of them.” Third denial . — Again Peter had tarried for some time in the porch. The false oath which he had taken had allayed the rising indignation of the people, when another fancied that he recognised him by his speech. Even the servants declared that his speech be- wrayed him. Such a recognition would involve imminent peril of CHAP. XXVI. 69-75. 21 life. For, according to John, a relative of Malchus maintained that he had seen him in the garden with Jesus. Then Peter began to curse and swear, and immediately the cock crew (a second time), reminding and warning him. It appears that he had scarcely given any heed to the first crowing of the cock (Mark). DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. This picture of the denial of the Lord, as exhibited by the fall of that disciple who had been the first to confess Christ, has its peculiar and eternal import in the history of the Church. Hence we should study, 1. the source and antecedents of this denial, 2. its various phases and stages, 3. the repentance which followed, and which led to the only true and lasting spiritual confession. 2. The fall of Peter a significant type of the Romish Church. 3. The look of the Lord, recorded in the Gospel of Luke, in its historical and in its eternal, ideal import to the Church. 4. The deep sorrow and suffering of the Lord, caused by the denial of Peter, in its lasting import to the Church. 5. u Peter went out into the black night, but not as Judas into the blackness of despair. Weeping bitterly, he awaited the dawn of another and a better morning. The angel of mercy accompanied him on that heavy road to spiritual self-condemnation which issued in the death of his old man, more especially of his former pride and self-confidence. And thus it came that he really accompanied Christ unto death, though in a very different and much better sense than he had intended. His repentance had to be completed, he had to obtain peace and reconciliation from the mouth of Christ Himself, before he could offer the requisite satisfaction for his guilt towards man by making such a grand confession as would efface and obliterate the offence of his grand denial. It deserves special notice, that this progress of repentance and conversion in the case of Peter may serve as the prototype of the economy of genuine grace ; while this procedure was reversed in the case of Judas, who wished first to offer human satisfaction before those enemies whose guilt he had shared, but who failed, in that man- ner, to come to Christ.” HOMILETICAL HINTS. Internal connection between the denial of Peter and the con- demnation and injuries which Christ suffered at the hands of His enemies. — The denial of a disciple the most poignant sorrow to the 22 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. Lord in the midst of Ilis confession. — The Faithful Witness and the unfaithful disciple. — The denial of Peter intervening between his former and his later confession, or different kinds of confession. — The causes of the denial of Peter: 1. Self-exaltation on account of his former confession ; 2. a morbid desire after confession beyond the measure of the strength of his faith ; 3. want of sufficient maturity for the confession of a life and of deeds. — The giddiness and the stumbling of Peter, before his actual fall: 1. He under- rated and neglected the warnings of Jesus ; 2. he exalted himself above his fellow-disciples ; 3. he neglected the proper preparation of watching and praying; 4. he voluntarily and presumptuously rushed into danger. — How it deserves special notice, in the fall of Peter, that he had attempted to come forward as a witness for Christ with a conscience that was not void of blame and offence. — The sad after-history of the assault upon Malchus ; or, how fre- quently times of fanatical defence of the faith are followed by seasons of open denial. — How it could come about that a poor maid, standing at the gate, could terrify into a denial him to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven had been promised. — The triumph of the fear of man over that of God the source of the denial. — He who tempts the Lord is on the way to deny Him. — The fatal boldness which rushes into the battle-field without having been sent. 1. Its portraiture as here presented: it wants a proper call, proper weapons, and proper spiritual courage. 2. Its fate : despondency, defeat, and the most imminent peril of soul. — How those who confess J esus have to endure the most varied temptations to deny Him. — How the children of the world and the ministers of darkness combine, in the spirit of the evil one, to change cur con- fession into a denial of Christ. — The unfailing mark of the disciples in their language and tone : also the indication of their fate. 1. It is to their highest spiritual benefit, if they are faithful ; 2. or, again, to their shame and confusion, when they turn aside from the Lord. — The gradation of guilt in the denial of Peter: 1. Ambiguous evasion (a supposed unimportant falsehood) ; 2. distinct denial with a false oath : “ I know not the man” (contemptuously) ; 3. awful abjuration, with solemn imprecations upon himself. — Every ban pronounced upon genuine Christians, an imprecation, in confirmation of the denial of Christ. — It is not that Peter had wished to forsake the Lord, but that he would fain have attempted to save both Jesus and himself by crafty policy. — In our view, everything formed part of this policy : the evasion, the false oath, CHAP. XXVI. 69—75. 2 3 and even the imprecations, were intended to carry out this plan. — How, as “the Faithful Witness,” the Lord has expiated even the denials of His honest disciples, into which they have fallen through weakness. — How the faithfulness of Christ alone can restore the unfaithful servant from imminent judgment. 1. His faithful- ness : a . in His gracious warning ; b. in that look of compassion and love ; c. in giving that warning and rousing sign (the crow- ing of the cock). 2. Blessed effects of that faithfulness on the part of Jesus : u He went out, and wept bitterly.” — The warning tokens in nature, as accompanying the warning and rousing voice of the Lord. — The repentance of Peter a constant call to repentance in the Church. — The marks of genuine repentance : 1. All pride and self-righteousness cease and are given up ; 2. it is connected with going out from the world ; 3. it is characterized by a going forth with tears through night to light. — Bitter weeping, or a broken and contrite heart, the evidence of experience of grace. — How the humiliation of the heart and the grace of our God always meet : 1. True humiliation and humility find no other resting-place than the loftiest height, even the grace of God ; 2. the grace of God descends and rests only in the lowest depth, even the broken and contrite heart. — Divine grace transforming the fall of Peter, as formerly that of David, into the introduction to a genuine and thorough conversion. — Will the so-called Romish Peter ever go forth from the palace of the high priest, where he has denied J esus, to weep bitterly ? StarcJce ; Hedinger : Self-confidence and presumption end in sorrow. — Marginal Note by Luther : Peter may have thought that his untruth could not injure any person, while it might profit him and insure his safety, and hence that it was lawful, or at least a matter of small moment ; but he soon experienced what conse- quences the commencement of sin entailed. — Canstein : The fear of death. — Zeisius : Observe how sin grows and increases when it is not resisted. Therefore, be very careful to resist its commencement. — It is human to stumble, Christian to rise again, but devilish to persevere in sin. Lisko : The denial of Peter. — I. Its source, a. Its more remote occasion: 1. Transgression of the injunction of Jesus, John xiii. 36 ; 2. neglect of the admonition, Matt. xxvi. 41. b. Its deeper ground : 1. Unbelief in the word of the Lord, ver. 36 ; 2. confi- dence in the strength of his love to Jesus and in his own firm- ness ; 3. proud presumption in the midst of danger. II. The 24 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. denial itself, a. Manifestation of his fear of man, thoughtless haste, and impotence, b. Termination : a lie. c. Gradual and increasing development : at first merely a denial, then a false oath, and at last imprecations upon himself. III. The conversion, a. The crowing of the cock and the look of Jesus awaken him to a sense of the real state of matters, b. He perceives both the truthfulness and faithfulness of Jesus and his own weakness, c. Spiritual sorrow and repentance. — Thus we also learn from this history, how a man may be restored after having sadly declined and fallen into grievous sin. Heubner : Peter was here in the midst of a multitude of the ungodly. — The disciples of Christ cannot be long hid when among the men of this world. — Isa. xix. 18 : the language of Canaan. — The more poignant our repentance, the more sweet and precious afterwards the enjoyment of grace. — Wherein consisted the denial of Peter? 1. It was not a denial of the heart, nor a final or thorough renunciation of Jesus ; 2. it was a concealment of his faith and allegiance, a denial of his discipleship. — Survey of the conduct of Peter : 1. It involved deep guilt ; 2. amount of that guilt — a. not a sin of malicious intent, b. but of weakness. — In the sin of Peter, Jesus had to bear our human weaknesses. — Application : 1. The fall of Peter reminds us of the weakness of our own hearts, against which we must always be on our guard, despite our better feelings and aspirations ; 2. a call to self-examination ; 3. let us learn to place our whole confidence in the grace and intercession of Jesus. Let us hold fast our faith. Braune : Even to the maid who guarded the gate, the servants of the high priest were involved in the sin and injury committed against the Saviour. — Peter wished to do better than the other disciples, who all forsook Jesus and fled, but only fell lower than they. — The world knows well how to remind us of the sword-cut, or how to avenge supposed or real injury. — These J ewish servants seem to have been proud of their pure pronoun ciation of the lan- guage ; similarly, most of us try to shine and to outshine others. — After that, Peter also strengthened his brethren, as the Lord com- manded him. — Godly sorrow worketh, etc. — The Lord Jesus granteth the forgiveness of sins. H. Muller : Peter warms his hands and feet, while in the mean- time, however, the heart seems to freeze, so far as the love of Jesus is concerned. — If a man forsakes the way in which the Lord calls him to walk, and seems to slink into corners, etc., he has no CHAP. XXVII. I— 10. 25 right to expect the protection of God, and the devil has power over him. — If thy foot offend thee, etc. — He who warms himself by the fire of the ungodly, will deny Christ along with the ungodly. — Ahlfeld: He that walketh in his own strength, will assuredly meet with a speedy fall. — Kapff: Why did Peter recover from his fall, and not Judas? 1. Because, although the two equally sinned ; 2. yet, they did not equally repent. EIGHTH SECTION. JESUS AND HIS BETRAYER. — JUDAS AND THE HIGH PRIESTS. 4 Chapter xxvii. 1 - 10 . 1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3 Then Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us ? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 And 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. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9 (Then 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, 10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.) critical notes. 1. When the morning was come. — The formal meeting of the council must have taken place after six o’clock in the morning. The night of His betra} T al into the hands of the high priests was past, and the morning of His betrayal to the Gentiles had dawned. The deed, commenced in the night, was sufficiently developed and matured to be finished in clear day-light. — All the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel (took the resolution as a council). This meeting of the Sanhedrim, which Luke describes in his Gospel, was intended at the same time to meet all the forms of law, and definitely to express the grounds of the charge against Jesus. But, 26 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. as we have already seen, in point of fact, it only served to cover those violations of the law into which their reckless fanaticism had hurried them. One of the main objects of the Sanhedrim now was, to present the charge in such a light as to oblige Pilate to pro- nounce sentence of death. Accordingly, they agreed on the follow- ing course of procedure: 1. They would demand the absolute con- firmation of their own sentence, without further inquiry into their proceedings (John xviii. 30). 2. Failing to obtain this, they would accuse Jesus as King of the Jews, i.e ., as Messiah, in the ambiguous, semi-religious and semi-political sense of that title. 3. Lastly, when (according to John) Jesus repudiated the political character of His kingdom, they preferred against Him the charge of making the religious claim that He was the Son of God. But as the effect of this accusation proved the very opposite from what they had ex- pected, they returned to the political charge, threatening Pilate with laying before the Emperor the fact that Jesus had made Himself a king. No doubt the general outline of this procedure was planned and sketched in the meeting of the Sanhedrim. Of course, they could not have foreseen that Pilate himself would have offered them the means to overcome his opposition, by setting Jesus and Barabbas before them on the same level . — All the priests, elders , and scribes. u Besides their common hatred, each of these three estates had their own special motive for hostility to the Lord. If the priests were indignant that He should lay greater stress on obedience than on sacrifice, the elders were offended that He judged traditionalism by the standard of revelation, and the scribes that He contended against the service of the letter by the spirit of the word. In a thousand different ways had they felt their prejudices shocked, and their ambition and pride humbled. At last the hour of revenge had come. Thus they led Him before their supreme council. The language used by Luke (xxii. 66) seems to imply that they led Jesus, in formal procession, from the palace of the high priest into the council-chamber, on the area of the temple. It is scarcely probable that they would have conducted Him, with such formalities, from the prison-chamber to the upper hall of the high priest’s palace. According to the Talmud, sentence of death could only be pro- nounced in the Gazith (the council-hall on the temple-mountain). [But comp. upon which Andrew is said to have bled to death. The punishment of cruci- fixion was introduced into Palestine after that country had become a province of the Roman empire. Meeting with a similar punish- ment, of a J ewish character, a modification ensued. Among the J ews, those who had been stoned to death were hanged upon a tree to excite terror, on the condition that the corpse was not to remain on the tree, but should be buried the same day ; for one who is hanged is cursed of God (Gal. iii. 13), and the land was not to be polluted by such an one (Deut. xxi. 22, 23). Hence the Jews employ, of crucifixion, the more usual to hang, and Christ is designated in Jewish polemical works, u the hanged.” According to the Roman custom, the crucified were not taken down : they were allowed to die slowly ; and in the case of young and strong men, this continued sometimes three days. Their flesh was given to the birds, or other wild animals. At times their sufferings were shortened, by kindling a fire beneath, or allowing lions and bears to tear them to pieces. But the Jewish custom did not permit that. The bodies must, according to the preceding law, be taken down and buried. Hence arose the Roman Crucifragium, the breaking of the legs (a punishment in itself) ; and with this a u mercy-stroke” was at times associated, which ended the pain of the sufferer. W ere they already dead, the Crucifragium was superfluous ; but to make sure of death, the easier u mercy-stroke” was given, that is, the body was pierced by a lance. We see in the Jewish custom several things, which were all combined into one in the Roman : 1. The torturing execution ; 2. the public exposure to insult and 08 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. mockery ; 3. the kindling of a fire beneath is the third point, and indicates an annihilating burial. Nero, probably, in his persecu- tions of the Christians, carried the thing further ; later it became common ; and the Inquisition, in the Middle Ages, employed this legacy of the Romans, and cherished it lovingly. — 3. The Agonies of the Cross. The most extreme punishment, shame, and torture, which could be devised by the old world, with the assistance of the Roman court of criminal justice. Only the Inquisition, with its fiendish inventions, has been able to surpass this torturing death. There are two sides, agony and disgrace. Each side presents three acts. The agony — scourging, bearing the cross, sufferings on the cross. The torture of the last begins with the pain of the unnatu- ral method of sitting, the impossibility of holding up the weary head, the fevering of the nail-pierced hands and feet. Besides this, there is the swelling of arms and legs, feverish thirst and anguish, the gradual extinction of life through gangrened wounds or exhaustion. The shame and soul-suffering also presents a climax : The Scourged One appears as the detested ; the expelled Cross-bearer, as the rejected of God and men ; the Cross-suspended, as an object of horror, and of cursing and abhorrence (1 Cor. iv. 13; John iii. 14). The peculiarity of Christ’s sufferings lies, how- ever, a. in the contrast between His heavenly healthiness and sen- sibility, and this hellish torture ; h. in the contrast between Ilis holiness, innocence, philanthropy, and divine dignity, and this ex- periencing of human contempt, rejection, and of apparent aban- donment by God ; above all, c. in His sympathy with humanity, which changes this judgment, to which the world was surrendered, into His own, and so transforms it into a vicarious suffering. Upon the bodily sufferings of Christ, during the crucifixion, the physician Chr. Gotti. Richter has written four treatises (1775). 7. Parted His garments. — u Perfectly naked did the cruciarii hang upon the cross (Artem. 2, 58 ; Lips, de cruce 2, 7 ), and the executioners received their clothes (Wetstein upon this passage). There is nothing to show that there was a cloth even round the loins. See Thilo, ad Ev. Nicod. 10, p. 582.” Meyer. There is, however, also a retrospective, prophetic view; and the Jewish custom is to be remembered, the sympathy of the heathen captain, Christ’s mother beneath the cross, etc. The clothes became the property of the soldiers, after Roman usage. The outer garment was divided probably into four, by ripping up the seams. Four soldiers were counted off as a guard, by the Roman code. The CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 69 under garment could not be divided, being woven ; and this led tlie soldiers to the dice-throwing. Matthew presents the different points as a whole. 8. Casting lots. — For the more explicit account, see John xix. 23. — That it might he fulfilled. According to the textual criticism, we are led to think these words introduced from John, “although it is worthy of attention, that prj&ev airo rov 7rpo(j). belongs only to Matthew.” De Wette. One is induced, certainly, to side with the minority in this case. The addition is supported not merely by the mode of speech used by Matthew, but also especially by the fact, that he has put the crucifixion into the Aorist participle, as though he would emphasize particularly the fact brought forward by the finite verb. And this cannot be the garment-parting in itself, but its import. Accordingly the case stands thus : either the majority of scribes have taken objection to the expression, vi to tov 7rpo(j)r)Tov, or the others have expanded the words, “they parted His garments, casting lots,” according to Matthew’s meaning. The construction shows, however, that this explanation was intended. The prophecy in the psalm is of a typical nature. Upon the mis- conception of the passage, Ps. xxii. 19, which Strauss charges home upon the Evangelist, see Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1602. 9. And sitting down , they watched Him. — The watch was set to prevent those who had been crucified from being taken down. In this case, they had a peaceful bivouac. This fact is stated in sym- bolical language. 10. And set up over . — The circumstance that the cruciarius, according to Dio Cass. 54, 8, was compelled to carry a “title” stating his guilt, suspended from his neck and resting upon his breast, while being led to the place of execution, justifies the conclusion that it was the custom to set up this “ title” above the criminal’s head, when fastened to the cross. We learn the same from the transactions regarding this “title” recorded by John, who lays peculiar stress upon the double meaning and significance of the superscription, ch. xix. 20. This “ title,” according to Mat- thew, was attached after the division of the clothes. The very soldiers seem to feel that the statement of the crime was not in this case the chief matter. The small, white tablet, upon which the accusation or sentence of death stood inscribed, was called titulus, cravl 9, or also XevKcopa, atria. — This is Jesus , The King of the Jews. No other crime but this. The Jews have crucified their Messias. He has His title of honour ; they have their shame. 70 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. 11. Then were two thieves. (Lange’s translation: “Then are two thieves crucified.”) — At this moment, and not till then, are (pre- sent). “ By another band of soldiers for those who crucified the Lord have seated themselves. This arrangement was a combina- tion devised by Pilate. First, the crucified Jesus is decked with the title, King of the J ews ; then two robbers, as the symbol of His Jewish kingdom, are crucified. This was the governor’s re- venge, that the Jews had overcome him, and humbled him in his own estimation. Two robbers, \rjarat : the usual punishment for such an offence was crucifixion. They were in all likelihood no common robbers, but fanatical insurrectionists, chiliastic enthusiasts, such as are frequently met with in later Jewish history. 12. But they that passed by. — Not labourers going to their work (Fritzsche, De Wette), but the people who, on the afternoon of the feast-day, were walking about outside the gate, and . going towards this populous quarter, where a new town was rising. As we pre- viously remarked, Golgotha was a rocky height, turned towards the city, forming thus a natural stage upon which the crucified were visible. And there the citizens of Jerusalem came forth this day purposely, to walk about with pleasure. — Wagging their heads . “Not as a sign of disapprobation , but — as we may see from Ps. xxii. 8 — as a gesture of passionate and derisive joy: compare Job xvi. 4; Isa. xxxvii. 22 ; Buxtorf, Lexic. Talm. p. 2039.” Meyer. Query, was not disapprobation hidden under this derisive joy? 13. Thou that destroy est the temple. — Following the participial form, more accurately, the destroyer of the temple. The popular accusation cast in His teeth by the citizens of Jerusalem, proud of their temple, though the false witnesses upon the trial had contra- dicted one another. Still, they understood that there lay in “ the rebuilding within three days” an announcement of a delivering power, and also a claim laid to Messianic dignity : hence the sum- mons, “ Save Thyself,” and the parallel sentence, explanatory of the first, “ If Thou be the Son of God,” etc. The witty mockers do not dream that He will really within three days rebuild the temple which they had destroyed. The parallelism, putting the words into poetic form, makes of the utterances a song of derision, which they improvise in their satanic enthusiasm, as is still often observed in the East upon similar occasions. 14. The chief priests, with the scribes . — The burghers blaspheme , for they were at first stung with feelings of disapprobation ; the members of the Sanhedrim mock, , for they think they have achieved CHAP. XXVII. 32 -f>6. 71 a perfect victory. But their mockery is no less blasphemy : and here, too, appears that poetic parallelism which makes a derisive song out of their mocking. But the mockery rises in this case to frenzy, — “He saved others” (forced recognition), “Himself He cannot save” (blasphemous conclusion). Then, “ He is King of Israel ironical no doubt, and again a rash conclusion. Finally, “ He trusted in God” (with blasphemous reference to Ps. xxii. 9) ; and the godless conclusion, in which blasphemy against Christ passes unconsciously over into blasphemy against God, for whose honour they pretend to be zealous. Besides this, they unconsciously adopt the language of the enemies of God’s servant, Ps. xxii. Thus are the statements, and even the prayers, of finished fanaticism filled commonly with blasphemies. If He will have him , el OeXeu avrov : if He has pleasure in him, after the Hebrew is ^2n. It is worthy of note, that the mocking speech of the Sanhedrim consists of three members, while that of the other mockers presents but two. 15. The thieves also , etc. — Apparent contradiction of Luke xxiii. 39. 1. Meyer and others : It is an actual contradiction. 2. Ebrard and others : It is only a general expression, indefinitely put. 3. The older harmonistic, Chrysostom, and others : At first, both mocked ; afterwards, only one. 4. At first, both have mocked, mvelBi^ov, de- manding that He as Messias should descend from the cross. This was by the one required, as a nobler chiliast ( millenarian ), and with a heart filled by enthusiastic hopes ; by the other, in a despairing spirit. Afterwards, the former resigned all earthly hopes, and in his death turns to the dying Christ ; the other has in his despair blasphemed the dying Lamb (ifiXao-cpijpLei, Luke). See Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1565. 16. And from the sixth hour. — Since the third hour, or nine o’clock in the morning, Jesus had been hanging on the cross ; from the sixth hour, — accordingly at mid-day, when the sun stood highest and the day was brightest, which also was the middle-point in His crucifixion-torments, — the darkness began. This statement regard- ing the time, appears to be opposed to that in John xix. 14, where it says, copa rjv eo? ckti /, when Pilate pronounced sentence. If we adopt Tholuck’s view, that John follows the reckoning of time usual in the Boman forum, there is an earlier hour obtained. The periods of the day being reckoned especially according to the hours of prayer, 3, 6, 9, we may understand the passage thus : the third hour was already past, and it was going, was hastening on, to the sixth hour. The sixth hour was held peculiarly sacred by the Jews, 72 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. especially upon the Sabbaths and the festivals. Mark’s statement is analogous, cb. xv. 25 : it was the third hour when they crucified J esus. Mark, like Matthew, contemplates the scourging as a part of the crucifixion ; and that occurred between the third and sixth hour. This cannot have been an ordinary eclipse of the sun, be- cause the Passover was celebrated at the time of full moon. More- over, Luke mentions the darkening of the sun after the darkening of the earth ; and hence it is manifest, that he ascribes the darkness which spread over the earth to no mere eclipse ; but he ascribes, on the contrary, the darkness of the sun to a mysterious thickening of the atmosphere. The Christian Fathers of the first century appeal to a statement which is found in the works of Phlegon, a chronicler under the Emperor Hadrian (Neander, p. 756). Eusebius quotes the very words, under the date of the 4th year of the 202d Olympiad : u There occurred the greatest darkening of the sun which had ever been known ; it became night at mid-day, so that the stars shone in the heavens. A great earthquake in Bithynia, which destroyed a part of Nicsea.” Hug and Wieseler (chronol. Synopse, p, 388) reject this reference, inasmuch as Phlegon speaks of an actual eclipse. But when we see that Phlegon unites that eclipse with an earthquake, we may reasonably conclude he refers to some extra- ordinary natural phenomenon. Still, as it is alleged that the reck- onings manifestly do not agree accurately with the year of Christ’s death (either two or one year earlier, see Wieseler, p. 388 ; Brink- meyer, Chronologie, p. 208), we let this reference rest upon its own merits. Paulus and others make the darkness to be such as pre- cedes an ordinary earthquake. Meyer, on the contrary, asserts that it was an extraordinary , miraculous darkness. Without doubt, the phenomenon was associated with the death of Jesus in the most intimate and mysterious manner. Physical life has something more than its mere ordinary round ; it has a development which shall go on till the end of the world. This development is conditioned by the development of God’s kingdom, forms a parallel to the same, and agrees in all the principal points with the decisive epochs in the kingdom of God (see Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 1, p. 312; Positive Dogmatik, p. 1227). Accordingly, the death of Jesus is accompanied by an extraordinary occurrence in the physical world. But that these occurrences were natural phenomena, and produced by natural causes, cannot be denied. For, improper as it is to re- present the wonder in nature as a simple, accidental occurrence in nature, it is equally improper to set nature outside of nature her- CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 73 self, to deny the natural side of the wonder in nature. This darken- ing of the sun is then to be connected with a miraculous earthquake, which again stood connected with the occurrence in the life of the divine Redeemer, which we are now considering. The moment when Christ, the creative Prince, the principle of life to humanity and the world, expires, convulses the whole physical world. In a similar moment of death, is nature to go to meet her glorification. When Christ was born, night became bright by the shining of the miraculous star, as though it would pass into a heavenly day ; when He died, the day darkened at the hour when the sun shone in full- est glory, as though it would sink into the awful night of Sheol. Heubner, referring to the eclipse mentioned by Phlegon, says, Suidas relates of Dionysius the Areopagite, that he cried out, — • “ God is suffering, and the world sympathizes with Him, or else the world is hurrying to destruction.” See also, p. 457, the well-known statement of Plutarch (de oraculorum defectu). Ships which were sailing towards Italy, passed by the island Paxe. The Egyptian helmsman, Thamus, heard a voice bidding him say to the reeds, when he arrived, that the great Pan was dead. The announcement of this death to the reeds called forth many outcries and a sound of bitter lamentation. 17. Over all the land. — Theophylact : fcoo-fiucov Se rjv ro cr/coro?, ov fjiepi/cov. Meyer : “ Not over the entire earth (Erasmus etc.), regardless of the boundaries of geography; the expression is a natural hyperbole.” The legitimacy of “the natural hyperbole” lies in this, that the Israelites used the “ whole land ” for the earth ! There is a reference certainly to the whole world, though the natural phenomena may have been fully seen only in the Holy Land, Syria, and Asia Minor. — To the ninth hour . Highly signi- ficant continuance of the darkness. Mere shadows of this gloom were the darknesses which accompanied .the decease of Romulus and that of Caesar. Virg. Georg, i. 164. 18. About the ninth hour , cried. — This is the only one of the “seven words” which is reported by Matthew and Mark: it is given accordingly in a pointed manner, and presented in its strik- ing signification. Most exactly given by Mark in the Syro-Chaldaic dialect, Eloi, etc. With this single exception, and the loud cry in departing, the above-named Evangelists give merely the import of Christ’s exclamations. The expression, He cried, is worthy of notice ; or, He shrieked with a loud and strong voice. This excla- mation is given in its original form, as the “ Talitha Cumi ” and the 74 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. “ Abba” in Mark (cb. v. 41, xiv. 36). ^a^a^davl, Chald. '3rij?a^= Ileb. u The citation of this exclamation in the original tongue is fully and naturally explained by the mockery of ver. 47, which rests upon the similarity of sound. The Greek translator of Mat- thew’s Gospel was accordingly forced to retain the Hebrew words, though he adds the translation.” Meyer. — Explanation of this cry : 1. Vicarious experience of the divine wrath (Melanchthon and the older orthodox school). 2. Testimony that His political plans had failed (Wolfenbuttel Fragments). 3. Mythical, founded on Ps. xxii., the programme of His sufferings (Strauss). 4. Lamentation, expressed in a scriptural statement, showing He had the whole psalm, with its sublime conclusion, before His mind (Paulus, Schleiermacher). 5. Actual abandonment by God (Olshausen). 6. Momentary feeling of being forsaken by God. De Wette , Meyer : u Pain overcoming (!) for the moment.” u The agony of soul arising from rejection, united with the torture of body, which now surpassed endurance.” u His consciousness of union with God is for the moment overcome by the agony.” 7. Amid the faintness, or the confusion of mind, felt at the approach of death, He ex- periences His abandonment by God ; and yet His soul rests firmly on, and His will is fully subject to, God, while He is thus tasting death for every man through God’s grace (Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1573). Or the voice of conflict with death, a voice at the same time of victory over this temporal death to which humanity is subject. 19. This (man) calleth for Elias. — Explanation: 1. Misunder- standing on the part, a, of the Roman soldiers (Euthym. Ziga- benus), h. of the common Jews (Theophylact), c. of the Hellenists (Grotius). 2. Meyer, following De Wette : “ A blasphemous Jewish joke, by an awkward and godless pun upon Eli.” If we conceive to ourselves the state of matters, we may easily assume that joking and mockery were now past (see Luke xxiii. 48). It may be sup- posed that this loud cry, Eli, Eli, wakened up the consciences of the onlooking Jews, and filled them with the thought, Perhaps the turning-point may now actually have come, and Elias may appear to bring in the day of judgment and vengeance (Olshausen) ; and, occupied thus, they may not have heard the remaining words. It is by no means far-fetched to imagine that the Jewish superstition, after the long-continued darkness, took the form of an expectation of a Messianic appearance. At least, we may say that they sought to hide their terror under an ambiguous pun upon the words. CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 75 20. One of them ran and took a spunge. — The word of Jesus, I thirst, had immediately preceded this act, as we learn from J ohn ; and, succeeding the cry Eli, marks that Christ was now conscious of having triumphed. Under the impulse of sympathy, one ran and dipped a spunge in a vessel of wine which stood there (the ordinary military wine, posca) ; and then fastening the spunge upon a hyssop-reed, which when fully grown is firm as wood, gave it to the Lord to drink. (See Winer, Hyssop.) According to John, several were engaged. According to Matthew, the rest cry out to the man who was offering the drink, Let he ; let us see whether, etc. According to Mark, the man himself cries, Let be ! — an accu- rate picture of the excitement caused by the loud cry of Jesus. The one party seem to see in this act a disturbance of the expecta- tion ; the others see in it the fulfilment of the request, and a re- freshment to support life till the expectation should be fulfilled. De Wette thinks the offer was ironical ; but he confounds the second with the first draught. His view, too, is opposed by Christ’s recep- tion of the second drink. Christ drank this draught, 1. because the wine was unmixed ; 2. because now the moment of rest had come. 21. Jesus cried again. — The last words, — not John xix. 30, but Luke xxiii. 46, — “Father, into Thy hands,” etc. Meyer wishes, without ground however, to find in this a later tradition, arising from Ps. xxxi. 6. Paulus’ assumption of a merely apparent death needs no refutation. 22. And, behold , the vail of the temple. — Full development of an earthquake, which was mysteriously related to the death of J esus, and yet was quite natural in its progress. This was a re- sult of the convulsion, although the earthquake is mentioned after- wards. Such is ever the case in an earthquake : its approach is marked by such fixed signs as the shaking of houses, etc. Meyer holds that neither the earthquake nor the darkness were natural. But nature and spirit do not in the Scriptures pursue different roads ; here nature is conditioned by spirit. An earthquake, which is not natural, is a contradiction. Moreover, the vail which was rent was that before the Holy of Holies, and not before the Holy Place. See Heubner, p. 459, for the refutation of this assumption of Michaelis. This rending was a result of the convulsion, and at the same time a sign of the removal of the typical atonement through the completion of the real atonement, which ensures us a free access to God, Heb. vi. 19, ix. 6, x. 19. For the mythical embellishment of this fact, in the Evang. sec. Hebr., see Meyer. 76 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. 23. And the rocks rent. — Progress of the miraculous earthquake : the firm foundation of the holy city begins to split. — The graves were opened. Awful, significant phenomenon, introducing the fol- lowing ghostly phenomenon. The whole forms a type and symbol of the judgment and the world’s end, which is seen in its principle in Jesus’ death, and hence is manifested by natural signs. The opening of certain particular graves in the neighbourhood of Jeru- salem was a special representation of the coming resurrection, par- ticularly of the faithful. * But it was typical as well as symbolic, as is evident from the spiritual apparitions which succeeded. 24. And many bodies of the saints which slept. — There is no ground for the opinion held by Stroth in Eichhorn’s Repert. ix. 1, p. 123, and by the elder Bauer, Bibl. Theol. des Neuen Test. i. 366, that both verses are interpolated. De Wette : “This remark- able statement does not agree with the common evangelical tradi- tion. As even a mythical (traditional) representation, it does not harmonize well with the Messianic belief of that time (it may, to some degree, with the expectation of the first resurrection, Rev. xx. 4) ; and again, we cannot satisfactorily deduce the thing from the fact that a few graves were opened. See Hase, § 148. There are more details given in Ev. Nicod. cap. 17, 18.” Meyer’s view is, that the symbolical fact of the graves having opened, was trans- formed into the traditional history that certain arose ; and hence he holds the passage to be an “ apocryphal and mythical supple- ment.” With the one fact, that the graves opened, agrees the other, that after Jesus’ resurrection many believers saw persons who had risen from the grave, who had been delivered from Hades. These two facts became one living unity in the Apostle’s belief re- garding the efficacy of Christ’s resurrection. Our text is thus the first germ of the teaching of the Church upon Descensus Christi ad inferos, the development of which we have in 1 Pet. iii. 19 and iv. 6. The appearance of the bodies may hence be regarded as symbolical, they were the representations of redeemed souls. The death of Christ is accordingly proved at once to be the death of the world ; as the atonement, and Christ’s entrance into Hades, it acted upon the spirit -w'orld, quickening especially Old Testament saints ; and these quickened saints reacted by manifold annuncia- tions upon the spiritual condition of living saints. Accordingly, it is not miracles of resurrection which are here spoken of ; but, on the other hand, neither is it a miraculous raising from death, as was that of Lazarus, to live a second life in the present w T orld. In CHAP. XXVII. 3*2-56. 77 this respect, the order laid down in 1 Cor. xv. 20 continues, accord- ing to which Christ is the airap^rj. u These dead arose, according to Epiphanius, Ambrose, Calovius, etc., with a glorified body, and ascended with Christ. — In Actis Pilati, Thilo, p. 810, names among those who arose, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patri- archs, Noah. A different account is found in Evang. Nic.” Meyer. A distinction is made in our text between the effect of the death of Jesus and His resurrection. By His death, the saints are freed from the bonds of Sheol (“ their bodies arose”) ; by His resurrec- tion, their action in this world is restored (“went into the holy city,” etc.). 25. Now when the centurion . — The centurion who had presided over the execution. See above. — And they that were with him . The soldiers on guard, w r ho, at the beginning, had been thought- lessly gambling. Mark mentions, as the single witness of Christ’s majesty in dying, this captain, who, along with the captain in Capernaum (Matt, viii.), and the captain Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts x.), forms a triumvirate of believing Gentile soldiers, in the Gospel and apostolic histories. But Matthew associates with the centurion, his band ; and Luke informs us, the consternation was general, ver. 48. The special testimony belongs, nevertheless, to the centurion. — Saw the earthquake , and what was done. Not only the destructive effects of the earthquake upon the rocky region of Golgotha, but also the way in which Christ gave up the ghost (Mark and Luke). — Truly this was the Son of God. Luke says, a just man. The word of a heathen must not always be taken in a heathen meaning (so Meyer, Heros, demi-god) ; least of all, here. Heathen became Christians, and their conversion was an- nounced in Christian confessions. Yea, the centurion may easily have been acquainted with Jewish opinions ; and so the accusation, Jesus had made Himself Messiah and God’s Son, was changed by the captain raflher in a Christian (divine and human holy being) than in a heathen manner (a demi-god). The heathen colouring is exceedingly natural. The germ, it is evident, is not a supersti- tious raving, but a confession of faith. 26. And many women were there. — Luke gives us an accurate account of these female disciples, ch. viii. 2. They followed the Lord upon His last departure from Galilee, served Him, and supported Him out of their property. Matthew names, 1. Mary Magdalene. She was, judging from her name, a native of Magdala, on the Sea of Gennesareth ; and hence she is supposed to have been the sinner 78 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. who turned unto the Lord in that district, and anointed His feet, Luke vii. 37. Out of the Magdalene seven devils had been driven by J esus ; that is, He had wrought a miraculous deliverance of an ethical, not of a physical character (see Lange’s Leben J esu ii. 2, 730 seq.) ; and this exactly agrees with the pardon of the great sinner. She is, of course, to be distinguished from Mary of Bethany (John xii. 1). Meyer says, u fcOvTJD is mentioned by the Rabbins (Eisenmeyer, Entdecktes Judenthum i. p. 277) ; but this must not be confounded with vh*lSD 9 a female hair-dresser, which the Talmud states to have been the occupation of Jesus’ mother.” 2. Mary the mother of James and Joses, that is, the wife of Alpheus (John xix. 25), sister-in-law of Joseph, and of the mother of Jesus. 3. The mother of Zebedee’s children, Salome: see ch. xx. 20. She it is, undoubtedly, who is meant by the sister of Christ’s mother, John xix. 25. The Evangelist chooses to name just these, ■without excluding the mother of Jesus and the other ministering women. u Hence we must reject the assumption of Chrysostom and Theophylact, which Fritzsche repeated, that the mother of Jesus is the same with Mary the mother of James and Joses, ch. xiii. 55. Euthym. Zigabenus has long ago overthrown this theory.” Meyer. DOGMATICAL KEFLECTIONS. 1. See the preceding remarks. 2. The prevailing point of view from which the Evangelist re- presents the crucifixion and its agonies, is the fulfilment of the Old Testament types. Hence it is that he twice makes the chief fact merely introductory, which is marked by the use of the participial form, and brings out into special prominence some special circum- stance as the chief thought by the use of the finite verb. 1. KaX eXOovTe? eh tottov ToXy. eBcotcav avrp r melv : k.t.X. 2 . X ravpwaav - re? Be avrov Bie/ieplcravro, /c.r.X. 3. The four chief points in the history of the passion, before us, are: 1. Jesus in the power of the Gentiles : a. they press a Jew into the service of the cross ; h. they offer their stupefying drink to the Lord while dying ; c. they divide among themselves, and gamble for, His clothes, and guard His corpse ; d. they make the King of the Jews a robber-chief. 2. Jesus in the power of the Jews : a. the deri- sive song of the people ; b. Christ blasphemed by chief of the J ews and the teachers ; c. insulted even by their own dying criminals — He can give us no help. 3. Jesus sinks into apparent hopelessness , and CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 79 with Him the Jewish and Gentile world , though then it is that He is really victorious : a. the funeral-pall of the world, or the darkening of the sun ; h. Jesus’ exclamation, or the judgment of death ; c. the last disappointed cliiliastic expectation of help from Elias here ; d. the last cry of Jesus, or the dark mystery of redemption. 4. The destruction of the world’s old form , and the signs of redemption and of the new world : a. the temple-service, or the slavery of conscience in this world, removed, — the access to the throne of grace in the Holy of Holies free ; h. the prison of Sheol, or the slavery of the spirits in the other world, removed, — the way of resurrection open ; c. the power of the Gentile tyrannical rule removed, — the Gentile centurion compelled, in his terror of soul, to make a confession of faith ; d. the slavery of women (and of the oppressed classes) removed, — the believing women, in their heroic spirit of faith, free. 4. Simon of Cyrene, an illustration of the fate which befell the Jews after Christ’s crucifixion under Gentile masters. An omen of the maltreatment and shame which were awaiting the Jews at the hands of the Gentile world, but likewise of their end ; the Jews are to be excited and compelled by the Gentile world to take up the cross of Christ (Rom. xi.). Remarkable issue. Even up to that moment, the Jews still were imagining that they had subjected the Gentiles to themselves in the crucifixion of Christ, while the sub- jection of the Jew to the Gentile was now really becoming visible. 5. Golgotha, the old world’s accursed place of execution, trans- formed by Christ into the place of pilgrimage for the new world, and into the new city of Jerusalem. 6. The opiate-draught, the old world’s remedy in suffering, anguish, and torture, proved by Christ, and rejected by Him with full and clear consciousness. The sympathy of the world with the suffering Christ, the complaint of Christ regarding the world’s con- solations ; and He, conscious of a truer comfort, does away with all these unavailing consolations of the old world. 7. The gamblers beneath Christ’s cross changed into confessors of His glory. The heirs of His coat are at the end witnesses of His spirit. The military guard changed beneath His cross into a camp of peace. 8. Christ, the King of the Jews, between the thieves, distin- guished as a robber- chief, become the royal Saviour and Judge of the world. The same title which honoured the Lord, was the shame of the Jews. 9. The feast-celebration of the unbelievers : 1. The people walk 80 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. up and down before the cross, and blaspheme ; 2. the ecclesiastical powers mock ; 3. the transgressors and despairing are angry, and re- vile. God, however, condemns, 1. the first in their ignorance, speak- ing as they do merely from lying hearsay ; 2. the second in their raving wit, in that they condemn themselves by openly blaspheming against God, while they imagine that they mock Christ (the bulls of the Romish Church, consigning their enemies to perdition) ; 3. the third in their thoughtlessness, who dream not that redemption is so near ; 4. generally, the millenarian expectations, according to which the old world is to be glorified, destitute of salvation though it be. But God, condemning this old world, founds a new world, possessing, and glorified by, redemption. 10. The darkness over the earth. — The indication of that de- velopment which this terrestrial cosmos is to pass through, accord- ing to the teaching of Scripture. The sign that the earth, and not the sinner only, suffers from the curse (Gen. iii. ; Deut. xxviii.) ; that the earth sympathizes with Christ (Zech. xi.) ; the presage of the earth’s final (eschatological) death and victory (Matt, xxiv.). 11. Eli, Eli. — The darkness which spread over the heavens was a visible representation of the state of Christ’s soul during this period of silent suffering upon the cross. The bodily effects of the crucifixion began at this time to cease. The fever arising from the wounds in His hands and feet, and increased by the pierced brow and lacerated back, galled still more by the pressure of the cross- beam, had now become exhausted. But the increased flow of blood, which formerly circulated so peacefully, weighed down His head, oppressed His heart, and took from Him the joyous feeling of life ; and, suffering these agonies, the Lord hung during the long weary hours beneath the heaven’s mourning blackness. At last the dizziness experienced before fainting must begin to make itself felt, — that condition in which consciousness commences to dream, to reel, to be lost, and then returning, to behold the awful apparitions presented by the imagination. This is a state in which we see how near death is related to madness. Jesus was expe- riencing the approach of death. He was u tasting” death, — tasting death as only that holy and pure Life could taste death. But in this His death, He felt the death of mankind ; and in this death of mankind, their condemnation to death. This experience He adopted as His own, receiving it into His own consciousness, and then sanctified it by His loud cry to God, “ My God, My CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 81 God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” In that cry, His feeling of that full death was changed into a prayer to God ; and so His con- test with, and victory over death, became the glorification of death by the destruction of its sting : the completion of the atonement. His experience of being forsaken by God, is expressed in the words, forsaken Me : His soul’s firm rest on God, in the words, My God , My God ! The question, Why , is not the objection of one in despair, but the question of God’s child and servant ; and almost immediately afterwards, in the hour that He became conscious of victory, and cried aloud, It is finished, He received the answer through the eternal Spirit. From the beginning of His life He knew , but in this moment it became a fact of experience , that He gave His life for the life of the world ; and this knowledge per- mitted Him to declare that all was now completed. We should not, accordingly, look upon this exclamation of Jesus as an amazing singularity in Christ’s sufferings, but as the real climax, with which judgment changed into victory, and death, the result of the curse, becomes the glorious redemption. This cry of Jesus, which is in one sense the darkest enigma of His life, becomes, when thus con- sidered, the most distinct and most transparent declaration of the atonement. The doctrine of the personal union of the divine and human natures is as little disturbed by this passage, as by the soul- sufferings of Jesus in Gethsemane. Because the Evangelist refers to no unholy fear of His human nature, but to a holy. But w r as divinity really and fully united in Him with humanity, then His divine nature, even in the deepest depth of His human suffering, must be united with His human. And this was manifested here. No alteration was produced in God, however ; but the deepest human pain, in other cases called despair, the full realization be- comes glorified as the fullest atoning submission. 12. The 22d Psalm. — The numerous points of agreement be- tween this psalm and the history of Christ’s passion, led Tertullian to say that the psalm contained totam Christi passionem. If we regard all the psalms as Messianic in the widest sense, and then arrange the psalms into — 1. such as contain isolated Messianic references ; 2. such as are typical of the life, sufferings, and vic- tory of Christ ; 3. such as are acknowledged prophecies of the ideal Messiah, and of the Messiah’s kingdom, — the 22d Psalm would belong to the second class. For manifestly in it a servant of God under the old economy describes his own unbounded sufferings. The representation becomes, without the writer’s knowledge, but VOL. III. F 82 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. truly with the Spirit’s knowledge, typical of the bitter agonies of Christ (see Lange’s Positive Dogmatik, p. 673). 1 13. The curtain in the temple , before the Holy of Holies (see above, the description of the temple, p. 209, and consult Winer). — This curtain was not merely torn in one spot ; it was rent into two pieces, from top to bottom. This circumstance signifies, that the real atonement was perfected ; accordingly, that typical offerings and priestly mediation are done away; that the access to the throne for every believing soul, in the name of the Father, and in the Spirit of Christ, is now quite free. This view we might sup- port from many a Scripture passage (Rom. iii. 25, v. 2 ; the entire Epistle to the Hebrews). And hence, the excitement which takes place in the realm of death, which hitherto was under bondage, is the result, not of Jesus’ mere entrance into the realm of death, but of His entrance into the same in the might of His atoning death. Thus, too, is the idea of spiritual apparitions here realized; but these apparitions are to be entirely distinguished from the ap- pearance of ghosts. See the article Gfespenst (Phantom, or Ghost) in Herzog’s Real-Encyklopadie. 14. The effects of the vicarious death of Jesus, — 1. upon the realm of the dead (beginning of the resurrection) ; 2. upon the Gentile world (beginning of confessions) ; 3. upon the world of the oppressed classes, namely, of women : free communion with Christ, in spirit, suffering, and victory. 15. At the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, the Jews sallied forth from the city in bands to free themselves, and were slaughtered by the Romans in hundreds beside the cross. u The cross of redemption cast upon the Jews numberless shadows of itself, as crosses of con- demnation.” See Lange’s Apost. Zeitalter ii. 431. 16. The cross, which to the old world was the symbol of deepest abhorrence, shame, infamy, and perdition, has now become for the new world the symbol of honour, blessing, and redemption. Even superstition and worldly vanity have adopted this sign. It has risen to be the object of veneration. It is the original form of most of our orders of honour. The glorification of the cross is the symbol and type of condemnation and of evil being changed, of the transformation of death from a curse into salvation. 1 Upon this psalm see Delitzsch’s admirable remarks, in liis Commentary on the Hebrews, p. 74. — Trs. CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 83 HOMILETICAL HINTS. See the preceding christological reflections (see the whole pre- ceding history). — Christ treated as the slave of mankind : 1. By the Jews, estimated at a slave’s price ; 2. by the Gentiles, exe- cuted like a slave. — A contemplation of Christ’s cross : 1. The crucifixion-sufferings, — a. on the side of the Gentiles, vers. 32-38 ; b. on the side of the Jews, vers. 39-44. 2. The contest on the cross : a . its type in the natural contest between light and darkness ; b. its doubtful issue, — the contest between life and death in the heart of Christ (Eli) ; c. the false explanation (Elias) ; d. the dis- solution (the drink of refreshment, the death-cry). 3. The fruits of the cross, vers. 51-56 : a. symbol of the atonement, b. of the resurrection, c. of the conversion of the Gentiles, d. of the com- panionship with Christ in suffering and victory. — The cross as the truest exemplification of, and testimony to, 1. Christ’s patience, 2. man’s guilt, 3. God’s grace. — Christ on Golgotha. — The Lord’s silence and utterances in His death-hour : 1. His unbroken silence as regards the impotent hostility of the world. 2. His holy utterances : a . His cry of suffering and of victory, addressed to God ; b. His cry of alarm and of victory, addressed to men. — The mysteriousness of the atonement: 1. The deep darkness in which its central-point is hidden : a. the imagination of the Gentiles, they crucified a transgressor; b . the mockery and blasphemies of the J ews ; c. the darkening of the sun ; d. the silence of God ; e. the mysterious utterance of Christ Himself ; /. the misinterpretation of His words on the part of men, and the disappointed expecta- tion. 2. The clear light : a. the clear and kingly consciousness, which would not submit to be stupefied, and which would suffer sensibly, free from opiates ; b. the distinct testimony to truth, which shines forth in spite of all the perversions of enemies (the King of the Jews, God’s Son, who saved others, who trusted in God, from whom the dying, no more than the living, can free themselves) ; c. the spirit of nature, which testifies by its mourning to Jesus’ glory; d. the freedom and obedience with which Jesus adopts death as His own, and thus conquers ; e. the glorious results of the death of Jesus. — The Lord’s death: 1. The result of the world’s most deadly hate; this was an unparalleled murder and death. 2. The result of Christ’s unconquerable love ; it was the all-comprehensive death, in that all died in the One. 3. The result of God’s grace ; it was the world’s redemption (its atonement, de- 84 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. liverance, illumination, sanctification). — The sublimity of the vicarious death of Jesus, as it appears, — 1. Towering above the most fearful and terrific guilt (blasphemy) ; 2. overcoming the most terrible temptation (the struggle against abandonment by God) ; 3. bursting through the most formidable barriers (the feeling of death) ; 4. displaying eternal and most unbounded efficacy (extending as far as the highest height of heaven, the depths of Sheol, the depths of the Gentile world, the depths of the human heart). The particular portions. — Christ led to the cross : 1. The way to the cross, the falling cross-bearer ; the greatest weariness and oppres- sion. 2. The place of the cross, or Golgotha, the place of a skull, the heaviest ban and curse. 3. The endurance of the cross, the most extreme agony and shame. 4. Christ’s companions in crucifixion, the. bitterest mockery and derision. — Simon of Cyrene ; or, the man, coming from the country, who unconsciously became involved in the history of the cross. — Let us go forth therefore unto Him with- out the camp, bearing His reproach, Heb. xiii. 13. — Golgotha, the place of blackest curse, changed into the place of greatest bless- ing. — Golgotha and its counterparts : 1. The counterparts of its curse : a. the wilderness ; b. the grave ; c. the battle-field ; d. Sheol ; e. Gehenna. 2. The counterparts of its blessing : a. Paradise and Golgotha — Paradise lost and regained, Golgotha present and dis- appeared ; b. Sinai and Golgotha — the law and the Gospel ; c. Mary and Golgotha — the shadow and the substance ; d. Gethsemane and Golgotha — the sufferings of the soul, and the sufferings of the cross ; e. Olivet and Golgotha — triumph, and suffering changed into the most glorious triumph. — The honours which the blinded people of Israel prepared for their King: 1. The procession of honour (beneath the weight of the cross) ; 2. the wine of honour (vinegar mingled with gall) ; 3. the guard of honour (gambling over the booty, His clothes) ; 4. the seat of honour (the cross) ; 5. the title of honour (King of thieves). — The intoxicating bowl and its false salvation rejected for the true salvation, which Christ with full consciousness has obtained for us. — The despairing world, and its means of strength. — Christ assures Himself of the clearness of His consciousness, and so of victory. — Soberness, the necessary con- dition of salvation, 2 Tim. ii. 26. 1 — Moral and physical intoxication, 1 Lange refers here to the duotvvi^uaiu of that verse, which has given com- mentators so much trouble : it is variously interpreted by Alford, Conybeare, Ellicott, etc., but soberness is an idea recognised by all. — Trs. CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 85 the beginning of destruction ; moral (spiritual) and physical sober- ness, the beginning of salvation. — Christ must taste our death, Heb. ii. 9 : He preserved a pure taste for that duty. — The visible inheritance left by Jesus, and the inheritance left to His spiritual heirs: 1. The visible inheritance: a booty of Gentile soldiers, an inheritance for which they gamble, cast lots, and squander their time. 2. The spiritual inheritance : His righteousness, His peace, His word and sacrament. — And sitting down , they watched Him . See how the duty of mounting guard changes beneath the cross into a camp of rest, through the spirit of peace, which proceeds from Christ. — The fulfilments of the Old Testament in Christ’s sufferings ; or, Christ presented with gall to drink, robbed, the King of the Jews. — Christ between the thieves ; or, the beginning of His kingdom : 1. In His power to save ; 2. in His power to condemn. — The blasphemy against , and the mockery of \ the Crucified One ; or, the sins of unbelief and obduracy. — The mocking and blaspheming foes must, against their will, praise. — The enthusiasm of derision and its result, the song of scorn : the most matured fruit of death. — The reviling thieves; or, dissatisfaction of the crucified transgressors with the crucified Saviour may issue in two different results : 1. It may lead to an unconditional surrender, 2. or to despair. The darkening of the earth and the sun, the heavens’ testimony to the dying Jesus: A testimony, 1. That creation is dependent upon Christ’s consciousness ; 2. that nature is entirely dependent upon spirit ; 3. that the fate of the earth is entirely dependent upon the fate of the kingdom of God. — The last hiding of the holy God from the Crucified One, becomes, through the enduring trust of Christ, a presage of His full revelation. — Eli, Eli; or, the last struggle, and victory in one battle-cry. — Christ’s suspense upon Golgotha, the return and the culmination of His suspense in Gethsemane : 1. The full realization of abandonment ; 2. the perfect harmony between His will and that of God. — Christ has altered condemnation to mean deliverance, and has thus given it its true meaning : 1. He changed the death, which sprang from the curse, into salvation ; 2. He changed the mourning, which Nature in her anger assumed be- cause of Him, into compassion. — The crucified Jesus, our trust and peace in every severest trial. — “He calls for Elias;” or, Christ cru- cified even in His utterances. — The last destruction of worldly ex- pectations of deliverance, the beginning of the true deliverance. — Christ’s thirst slaked by His foes : a sign of His repose after the fight. 1. In the wilderness, He hungered after He had fought and fully 86 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. vanquished, and angels ministered unto Him ; 2. here lie thirsted after the victorious struggle, and His enemies are compelled to minister unto Him. — Jesus receives His last refreshing draught out of the hands of His enemies in token of peace, — in token that His love has vanquished the world’s hate. — Christ’s last cry, though wordless, was doubtless a cry of triumph. — Death was overcome in Christ’s death, and the sun returned. — And, lo, the vail rent. — The glorious, salvation-procuring efficacies of the death of Jesus : 1. Atonement ; 2. the dead redeemed, and the right of resurrection given to them ; 3. the world’s conversion ; 4. the perfection of the heart. — The new order of things instituted by the death of Jesus : 1. Believing suppliants have become priests (the rent vail) ; 2. the dead arise ; 3. Gentile soldiers fear God and confess Christ ; 4. women stand beneath the cross, and beside the grave, God’s heroines. — The spiritual apparitions in Jerusalem, the resurrection’s spring. — The earthquake at Christ’s death typifies the world’s fate under the working of Christ : Typifies, 1. the end of the old world ; 2. the beginning of the new, Hag. ii. 6. Starcke : Simon, the picture of all believers ; for they must bear the cross after Christ, 1 Pet. iv. 13 ; Luke ix. 23 ; Gal. v. 24. — If we lovingly help others to bear their cross, we do a good work. — • Luther s margin : Golgotha, the gallows, and the block. — He would not receive the draught, because He would suffer with full under- standing, and had still various utterances to pronounce. — Nova Bibl. Tub. : See how the Life-fountain pants with thirst, to atone for golden wine-goblets, excess, and drunkenness. — We should care- fully guard our senses and our reason. — Luther s margin : The gar- ments of righteousness do not require to be divided, every one em- ploys them whole and all together. — Hedinger : Christ’s poverty our wealth, His nakedness our covering. — Christ in the midst of the thieves : this figure gives us to see Jesus surrounded by the two bands of soldiers. — He was reckoned with the transgressors. — Suffer- ing is with some a suffering of martyrdom ; with others, penance ; with others, a self-inflicted punishment, 1 Pet. iv. 15, 16. — Zeisius : Christ’s cruel mocking, the best remedy against the world’s en- venomed mocking and derision. — Thou who destroyest the temple ! The world has learned in a masterly way to pervert the words of the pious. — What worldlings do not understand of the mysteries of Christ, is to them only matter of contempt, scorn, and ridicule. — The darkness signifies : 1. The power of darkness, of sin, and of death over Him, who is the Sun of Righteousness ; 2. the horror CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 87 of this murder, from which the sun immediately hid his face ; 3. that the Sun of Righteousness was darkened to the Jews, and the light of grace withdrawn, John xii. 46. — Quesnel: Whosoever will not follow Christ, the light of the world, shall remain in darkness, and shall end by being precipitated into eternal darkness. — That Christ does not here say, My Father, but My God, must have its special reason. — All is dark before His eyes; He cannot know T when the end and deliverance should come (?). — We had forsaken God ; hence must Christ, again, be forsaken for our sake. — Learn from this example, that both may be true, — united with God, forsaken of God, — when the heart has had no experience of the power of the Spirit, of the divine life, of the sweetness of God’s love, of the hope of eternal glory. — The last cry : He roars when He snatches, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the prey from hell. — Luther s margin: The vail rends : here is the crisis, and an entirely new existence be- gins, as when the prophet says, “ His rest shall be glory,” Isa. xi. 10. — Such a rent reveals, 1. That every shadow would be now, through Christ, distinctly manifested ; 2. that He, by His Spirit, would re- move every covering and darkness from the law; 3. that the atonement was complete, so that it was not annually to be made; 4. that all ceremonies had ceased. — Bihl. Wirt . : Heaven, which had been closed, is now once more opened, Heb. ix. 11, 12. — The most firm and hard bodies in nature spring asunder ; how is it then that man’s heart is so hard? — Christ has deprived death of his power, 2 Tim. i. 10. — The centurion : those who acknowledge God’s mighty works, and fear in consequence, are near conversion. — The women : the grateful forsake not their benefactors in the time of need. — Friends and relations should remain united even in suffering. Gerlach: In their blindness, the members of the Sanhedrim mocked Him, employing, without willing it, the words of the enemies of the ^lessias, which passed dimly before their mind (Ps. xxii. 9) ; and in this manner, the there-written prophecies receive a literal fulfilment. A circumstance which has been often repeated. When Farel stood before the ecclesiastical court in Geneva, and denounced the mass, the president asked the bench, “He has blasphemed God, what further need have we of witness ? What think- ye.?” They all replied, “He is guilty of death.” — Jesus upon the cross lived the 22d Psalm through, in His body and in His soul. His word, It is finished, points to its conclusion, ver. 24. — The vail, the type of earthly, sinful, mortal, human nature, rent, — earth, the theatre of sin, was shattered, — the heathen soldiers 88 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. (chiefly Germans, for the Romans had at that time a German legion in Palestine) were deeply impressed by the majesty of Jesus. Lisco : Every man mocks in his own way, and in the terms that come most readily ; and so here the scribes revile in the language of Scripture. Heubner : lie was obedient to the death of the cross. — If Jesus had not trod this path, we had been led to the execution-place of hell. — He was cast out of the city of God, that we might obtain an entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem. — He had carried His cross from youth onwards upon His heart, now He beareth on His shoulders the tree of shame. — If we would have consolation from the cross of Christ, we must determine to enter into the companion- ship of the cross, by crucifying lusts within, and bearing the cross of shame cast upon us from without. — The highest honour is to bear Christ’s cross. — Golgotha : here the Prince of Life overcame death upon his own territory. — This place was part of the Moriah chain, upon which Isaac was to have been offered up. — The drink : the Christian never betakes himself, when suffering and oppressed with care, to worldly pleasures, sensual enjoyments, intoxication, 1 Tim. v. 23 (the Stoics intoxicated themselves, to deaden their pains). — The world always gives gall to God’s children ; Christ has tasted all this bitterness for us. — Why was this mode of death chosen by Christ? 1. It was the most painful and shameful death; — a. the most painful : the body was stretched out, Ps. xxii. 18, gaping wounds, thirst, exposure to the wind and changing weather ; b. the most shameful : quite naked, the Roman mode of punishing slaves, accursed of the Jews, Deut. xxi. 23. 2. The most appropriate for revealing Christ’s glory to contemporaries and to posterity, a linger- ing and visible dying. 3. He hangs, lifted up on the cross. He draws to Himself the looks of all the world. 4. He hangs there as the atoning Mediator, typified by the paschal lamb and the brazen serpent : a. Upon a tree. The serpent was to be overcome upon a tree, having overcome the first man upon a tree. b. Suspended be- tween heaven and earth as Mediator, c. Set in the pillory instead of men. He took all up with Himself. — Lavater : Jesus Christ upon the cross, Satan’s greatest triumph, Satan’s greatest defeat: 1. The cross, expressive symbol of self-denial, of self-sacrificing love; 2. the greatest of God’s wonders, the mystery of all mysteries, the holy symbol (the cross in the heavens of the Southern Hemisphere). — Naked and poor did Jesus hang upon the cross, indicating that He renounced all possessions of earth, all honour, all rule, stripped CHAP. XXVII. 32-56. 89 Himself entirely, and hung there an offering dedicated, which had all its value in itself alone . — The superscription of the cross is, 1. In the meaning of Pilate, an apparent justification of the J ews ; 2. according to God’s intention, a punishment of their vain and selfish Messianic expectations ; 3. to all time, a declaration of the true, heavenly, kingly dignity of Jesus. — The blasphemy : a High Priest who wishes to destroy God’s temple, a Saviour who does not save Himself, a Son of God who appeared to be forsaken by God on the cross, seems to us self-contradictory ; but a High Priest who re- moves the shadow to bring in the religion of the Spirit, a Saviour who offers Himself up, a Son of God who is obedient to His Father even unto death, is to the spiritual eye an object worthy of adora- tion. — They did not know what to reproach Him with, except His piety, His benevolence, His trust in God. — The one incomparable death. His death-hour was the world’s most sacred hour. — The Roman guard : at last the hour of redemption strikes for many a hardened heart, when it acknowledges the Crucified One. — The soldier, despite his rough exterior, has an open, blunt manner, which keeps him, when moved, from concealing the truth or hardening his heart. Braune : The darkness ceased not till Jesus died. — Jesus, the light of the world, which shined in darkness, came to keep souls from darkness : He has finished His work ; and the token of this completion w T e have in the expressive sign of the departing darkness, just as the bow of peace stretched a sign of peace over the falling waters of the deluge. — The dead and crucified Redeemer makes light. — We must renounce with Him the darkness of sin and error. — The following is found in Angelus Silesius : Though Christ were born a thousand times in Bethlehem, and not in thee , thou remainest, nevertheless, eternally lost. — If the cross of Golgotha is not erected in thy heart, it cannot deliver thee from the Evil One. — Mark, that it is to thee of no avail, that Christ has risen, if thou continuest lying in sin and the bonds of death. Good Friday. — See Fr. Strauss, das ev. Kirchenjahr, p. 211; Bobertag, das ev. Kirchenjahr, p. 150 ; Brandt, Homilet. Hiilfs- buch, 3 Bd., 298 ; Archaeological. The Quadragesima, or the forty days of the Passion-week, and of Lent, concludes with the Great Week, e/3Bofjba<; /leydXrj, hebdomas magna, Septimana major. Dur- ing this season, there was divine worship daily, morning and evening, much secret meditation, a strict fast was observed, and acts of bene- ficence performed. It began upon Palm Sunday ( tcvpiaur) s. r/fiepa 90 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. tcov ftaiwv ), dominica palmarum. Among the holy days of this week, the fifth was specially celebrated, rj yeyakr) Trefnrrr), feria quinta paschse, as the commemoration of the last Passover and the institution of the Lord’s Supper (dies coense domini). There was generally an observance of the Supper held, and in some places by night, though this was an unusual time. And then, too, occurred the rite of Washing the Feet, introduced by the lesson from John xiii. 1-15. The origin of the later designation of Green Thursday [Maundy Thursday], dies viridium, is very obscure. Some deduce it from the custom of eating on that day fresh spring vegetables (probably with reference to the bitter herbs of the Israelitish Pass- over) ; others from the passage, Ps. xxiii. 2 ; the green ear, probably a symbol of the Holy Supper. The sixth day succeeded, 7 rapacr/cevrj, ryiepa tov o-ravpov , dies dominicse passionis, as day of humiliation and fasting. The meaning of the name, Good Week, Good Friday, is also uncertain ; from carus, or or the old German form of choose, or Karo, Garo, prepare, equip ; hence = preparation-week, Trapao-Kevrj. 66 The Constit. apostolic^ v. 188 forbid any festivals ov% eopTrjs, dXXa 7 rei^ou?, and enjoin the strictest fast, because this was the day of the Lord’s suffering and death.” The texts were in the rule taken from the last section of the Passion-lesson (from the four Gospels), often from John xviii. and xix. : sometimes Isa. lii. 13-liii. Many preachers had no particular text. Homiletical (see above). Proclus : As the whole state mourns when the king dies, so to-day the whole creation puts aside its joyous brightness. — O mystery ! to the Jews a stumblingblock, to the Greeks folly, but to us the power of God, etc. — Schweizer : Simon of Cyrene : Am I still a servant through custom, and through com- pulsion, or am I filled with the freedom and joy of God’s children ? — Alilfeld: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews : 1. A king upon the cross : 2. upon the cross a king. — Schulz : The redemption which Jesus by His death hath purchased for us. — Gentzken : What is the cross I A mirror : there thou beholdest thy guilt. What more % A seal of God’s grace and mercy. It is a temple of virtue ; ah ac^ cursed bridge of crime ! The beautiful example of the cross. The way to consolation. — Theremin : It is finished : 1. God’s counsel ; 2. the work of Jesus’ love; 3. the good works of His people, finished in Him. — Hossbach : With what self-possession, knowledge, and consciousness, did the dying Saviour look back upon His finished life ! — Mazeroll : Christ’s death, the completion of His work. — Schuderoff : Jesus’ exaltation in His deepest humiliation. — Hagen - CHAP. XXVII. 57-66. 91 bach : Jesus manifested Himself in His sufferings as the Son of God. — To this very hour does the quiet congregation (church) of the Lord gather together around His cross, amid all the tumult and bustle of this world (the same feelings, duties, consolation). — Harms : The death of Christ, the chief lesson of faith and the chief command to duty. — Nitzsch : Christ’s crucifixion viewed in connec- tion with other acts of the world, and of worldly wisdom. — Palmer : Jesus in the midst : In this we have shown, 1. The Lord’s gentle- ness and love ; 2. the Lord’s glory and judicial authority. — Nitzsch : The contemplation of the dying Lord makes us of a different mind. It changes, 1. our secure self-righteousness into repentance ; 2. our wicked and despairing thoughts into confidence ; 3. our repining into a willing endurance of trial, rich in hope. — Drdseke : Christ’s struggle, and our struggles. — Bobe : Behold the Lamb of God ! — Florey : Christ upon the cross : 1. His shame is thy honour ; 2. His weakness thy strength ; 3. His lamentations thy peace ; 4. His death thy life, 1 John i. 6, 9 ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; 2 Tim. ii. 11. — P. Knapp ■ Upon the great sermon for the world, which has gone forth from the cross of Christ : 1. What God preached ; 2. what the heavens, 3. the earth, 4. the pious, 5. sinners, 6. the dying Jesus. — Hof acker : The world-atoning death of Christ in its power and effects. — Gaupp : What testimony the cross gives unto Jesus. — Kapff : Consider how our atonement is completed through the death of Jesus. The seven last words. — The consideration of these words comes in more appropriately in treating upon Luke and John. See Ram- bach , Betraclitungen fiber die sieben letzen Worte Jesu, 1726 ; Arndt , die sieben Worte Christi am Kreuz, 1840 ; Braune , das Evangelium von Jesus Christus, p. 425 ; Brandt , Homilet. Hfilfsb. iii. Bd., p. 326 ; Fr. Krummacher , The Suffering Saviour ; Lange , Auswahl von Gast- und Gelegenheitspredigten, 2 Ausg. Die sieben letzen Worte, p. 208. ELEVENTH SECTION. THE BURIAL. THE SEPULCHRE SEALED. Chapter xxvii. 57-66. (Mark xv. 42-47 ; Luke xxiii. 50-56.) 57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple : 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And 92 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock : and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. 61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. 62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead : so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch ; go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. Synopsis. — John introduces this account by a statement of the motives that led to it. The Jews come, in the first place, to Pilate, requesting him to have the bodies removed, and thereupon Joseph of Arimathea entreats the governor to allow him to take the body of Jesus. Nicodemus is, according to John, associated with Joseph, and provides in addition the spices for embalming. Mark and Luke characterize Joseph of Arimathea more exactly than Matthew. Special prominence is given by our Evangelist to the two Maries, — Mary Magdalene, and u the other:” they are repre- sented here as seated opposite to the grave. The sealing of the sepulchre (vers. 62-66) is related by Matthew only. 2. When the even was come. — The first evening, the day’s de- cline ; because the bodies must have been removed before the evening arrived, Deut. xxi. 23 ; Josephus, de bell. Jud. 4, 5, 2. 3. There came a rich man. — 1 . De Wette: He came into the praBtorium. 2. Meyer: He came to the place of execution to go to the praetorium. 3. He came to the little company of .female disci- ples upon Golgotha, and advanced into their midst, a disciple in an emphatic sense. u A disciple, but secretly for fear of the Jews,” says John. Luke : “ A counsellor, a good man and a just. The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them ; . . . who also waited for the kingdom of God.” Mark : u An honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God.” While Matthew gives the prominence to his wealth : u A rich man,” refer- ring undoubtedly to Isa. liii. 9, according to the Septuagint trans- lation, Kal Scoac o rovs Trovrjpoiis avrl rrjs racprjs aiirov , /cal roiis TTkovatovs avrl rov Oavdrov aiirov. The following translation is indeed free, but is agreeable to the context : They had appointed CHAP. XXVII. 57-66. 93 Him a grave with the despised ; and among the honoured ("I'fcty, did He obtain it) in His death. — The first occasion of this anxiety was probably the fear th^t the Jews might remove the body in some disgraceful manner; for the circumstances related John xix. 31-37 had preceded. Faith, however, shot a ray of hope, in all probabi- lity, through Joseph’s mind, and operated along with this feeling of veneration, and this experience of the impossibility of longer hold- ing back from the confession of Christ’s name. 4. Of Arimathea . — “ Commentators are divided between Rama in Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 25) and Rama (Ramathaim) in Ephraim (1 Sam. i. 19). For the latter, indeed, the form speaks decisively ; but the addition of Luke, 7ro\ea>? twv 'IovSalcov, according to 1 Macc. xi. 34, does not harmonize.” De Wette. See “Ramah” in Winer. 5. Named Joseph . — One Joseph is appointed to take care of Jesus in His infancy, another to provide for His burial. Quite ana- logous, there was an Old Testament Joseph, who had the task of providing for the Jewish people in its infancy in Egypt ; and to him corresponds the J osephus who has prepared the historic resting-place for the expired Israelitish nation (Antiq. de hello Jud., etc.). The name Joseph means, according to Gen. xxx. 24, “he adds” (In- creaser); but Gesenius gives another explanation. Fie was fiovXevTqs, a member of the Sanhedrim, Luke xxiii. 50 ; not (as Michaelis be- lieves) a councillor of the little country-town Ramathaim, nor (ac- cording to Grotius) a town-councillor of Jerusalem. Lightfoot makes him to have been a priestly temple-councillor ; but that is the same as a Sanhedrist. According to the ecclesiastical tradition, he is repre- sented to have belonged to the seventy disciples, and to have been the first who preached the Gospel in England (the rich man, the guardian-saint of the rich people ; just as the Magdalene, the repen- tant sinner, is the patron-saint of France). For other traditions, see Evangelium Nicodemi, p. 12, and Acta Sanct. Mart. ii. 507. Probably he, like Nicodemus, was one of the secret disciples of Jesus, who came forth and publicly confessed their faith after the death of the Lord. MaOrirevecv tlvl, to be the disciple of some one. He was a follower of Jesus, and hence he had not consented to the murderous counsel of the Sanhedrim ; and this holds good, of course, regarding Nicodemus. 6. He went to Pilate . — He ran the risk, says Luke. He was exposed to more danger from the Jews than from Pilate, because this act was a confession of his faith. “ It was the Roman custom to allow the bodies to hang upon the cross till they wasted away, or 94 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. were consumed by the birds of prey. Plaut. mil. glor. 2, 4, 9 ; Horat. Epist. 1, 16, 18. But should friends request the bodies to be taken for interment, the request could not be refused, Ulpian 48, 24, 1 ; Hug, de cadav. punit. in the Freiburger Zeitschrift 5, p. 174.” Meyer. — That the body. Meyer is in favour of retaining the second to crco/ia. It would appear, however, that the repetition arises merely from a desire to preserve the same sounding termina- tion in the respective reports. 7. And wrapped it in a clean linen cloth . — Bengel : Jam initia honoris. Not a shroud, nor a garment (Kuinoel) ; but clothes, rollers for the corpse, J ohn xix. 40, in which the body was wrapped (Meyer). It was probably an entire piece at first, and was after- wards divided for the purpose of rolling. This idea occurs to us from the object to be attained : the pieces of linen must be wrapped around the limbs in such a way as to enclose the spices, which had been powdered to be employed for embalming. The first, temporary anointing, and the intention of a second and more formal embalm- ing, are both unnoticed by Matthew. But that the body was anointed, is self-evident ; and the second formal anointing, which Mark and Luke declare to have been proposed by the women after the Sabbath, is not excluded by the merely temporary act. By the first anointing, they sought simply to preserve the body ; by the second, they wished to fulfil the ceremonial requirements, for which no time remained upon Friday evening. Therefore, upon the first occasion, they made a profuse, but simple use of costly substances (myrrh and aloes) ; and the women would find no difficulty in buy- ing before and after the Sabbath, upon the Friday evening before, and the Saturday evening after, from six o’clock, such quantities of these spices as appeared necessary to their womanly desires for the great burial : see Luke and Mark. 8. In his own new tomb. — u It was a great disgrace among the Jews if any one had not a burying-place of his own ; and so it came to be considered an act of charity to bury neglected dead bodies. Josephus mentions as among the abominable deeds of the Zelots and Idumeans, that they left their dead unburied.” See Friedlieb, p. 169. The statement of John, that the tomb was near, and was chosen on account of the necessary haste, is not contradictory of the statement that the grave was the property of Joseph. It must have been exactly the position of his newly-formed family- tomb that led him to propose his grave, and yield it up as an CHAP. XXVII. 57-66. 95 9. In the rock. — With the article. In that particular rocky district of Golgotha. The Jews placed their graves outside their towns. It was only kings and prophets (and priests, indeed, no less) who might be interred inside the walls. Commonly, these graves were excavations, or grottoes in gardens, or in spots planted with trees ; sometimes natural caves ; often, as in this case, expressly hewn out (a costly method), and sometimes built up. These tombs were sometimes very roomy, and provided with passages. The sepulchres were either made with steps or placed horizontally ; while the particular graves inside were hollowed out, either lengthwise or crosswise, in the walls of the tomb. For more particular accounts, consult Winer (Graber — Graves), and Schultz , Jerusalem, p. 97. The new rock-tomb of Joseph, and the hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes (myrrh, a resin from the myrrh-tree of Arabia and Ethi- opia ; aloes, a precious, fragrant wood ; the pound, the Attic litra, five and a half ounces less than our pound), which Nicodemus pre- sented, are expressions of that sacrificing renunciation with which now these two disciples advanced into view, after that the death of J esus had awakened them to life. Holy rivalry ! 10. He rolled a great stone. — A natural method of closing the mouth of the tomb. “ In the Talmud, such a piece of rock, em- ployed to shut up a sepulchre, is called ^13, roller.” 11. The other Mary. — She was mentioned in ver. 56, and is the mother of James and Joses, the wife of Alphaeus; and Mark ac- cordingly says, Mary [the mother ] of Joses, as the best and most codd. read. Codex A. reads r) Tcoagcj). But Wieseler has no rea- son to support by this reading his supposition, she was the wife or daughter of Joseph of Arimathea. — There was sitting. It is only Matthew who states this glorious fact ; according to Mark, “ they beheld where He was laid.” 12. That followed the day of the preparation. — The 7 rapaa/eevij is the day of preparation before the Sabbath, Friday, on this occa- sion the first day of the feast ; and hence the day which followed was the Sabbath, or Saturday, the second feast-day. Wieseler holds the expression was chosen, because the first day might have been called also crd(3/3aTov. Meyer says, “ The name is explained by the fact, that irapaaicevr] was the solemn designation in use among the Christians to distinguish the Friday of the death! It is extremely noteworthy, that the Jews hold a council and hurry to Pilate upon the Sabbath morning, and that too the great Sabbath of the feast. Kuinoel: Lex mosaica interdixerat operam manu- 96 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. ariam, ut et judicii exercitium, non vero ire ad magistratum, ab eoque petere aliquid, prsesertim cum periculum in mora esset. 13. After three days. — De Wette: “Jesus had never declared that openly and before strangers.” Still He had told it to the dis- ciples, and not as secret teaching, but to be published. Probably Judas had given them the more exact statements. 14. Ye have a watch. — That is, Ye shall have a watch. Official, and perhaps distant, laconism. But it cannot mean, Ye have your- selves a watch (Grotius), of whom ye may make use, the temple- guards ; for that view is opposed to ch. xxviii. 14. 15. As ye understand. — Not, “ as sure as you can or, as appears to you best ; or, if that is possible ; but, as ye understand that, as ye mean. He places the guard at their disposal ; the employment of the men, the guardianship or guarantee for Christ’s continuance in death, which they wished him also to undertake, that he will leave to themselves ; and they are to employ this force to attain the end they had in view, namely, to insure the safety of the tomb, and to mount guard till the appointed period had passed. In this instance, again, Pilate kept not his conscience pure, and preserved not his civil power unimpaired, — giving a guard because of a religious question. 16. Sealing the stone. — A string was stretched across the stone, and sealed to the rock at both ends with wax. 17. The assertion of Meyer, that this sealing of the grave, which Matthew records, belongs to the unhistorical traditions, is not de- serving of a lengthened refutation. But the following furnish materials for such an answer : — 1. Jesus had certainly declared pre- viously, that He would rise upon the third day. 2. The grave might be sealed, without the women coming to know it, upon the Sabbath. 3. The Sanhedrists could not have taken the body of Jesus into custody, because Joseph had previously obtained it. Besides, it was their interest to affect carelessness regarding it. 4. The seduction of the guard to give a false testimony, and the silencing of the procura- tor, correspond in every point to the character of the world ; besides, it is not said that the soldiers brought their false report to Pilate, rather the opposite. 5. It is quite natural that Matthew, according to the character of his Gospel, should be the writer to report this historic transaction, as he did the corresponding history of the re- surrection, ch. xxviii. 11-15. “Against the opponents of this his- tory, see particularly the work of the but little-known Geheimerath Brauer in Karlsruhe: ‘Pauleidolon Chroneicon, oder Gedanken eines Siidlanders iiber europaische lleligionschriften, Aufklarung- CHAP. XXVII. 57-66. 97 schriften,’ etc., Christianstadt ( i.e ., Frankfurt am Main, 1797);” Heubner. It is still less worth while to deal with the assumption of' Stroth, that this is an interpolation. This statement simply proves, that the critic could not grasp the meaning of the passage. For the remainder, see ch. xxviii. 11. DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. Regarding the early occurrence of death in our Lord’s case, consult Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1619. But one of the reasons why death appeared at so early a date, was that the dying body hurried forward to its transformation. To this, the phenomenon, John xix. 34, had already pointed ; for the resurrection of Jesus was at once resurrection and glorification. In the death of J esus, the great mystery of death is glorified. 2. Along with the death of Jesus, the courage of the New Tes- tament confessors begins to be manifested. To this confessing band belong the sorrowing women who follow the cross-laden Lord, the centurion beneath the cross, also the two hitherto-secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and .Nicodemus. Under this head, also, must we notice the fact, that the two Maries continue sitting alone over against the Lord’s tomb, in that awing and affrighting spot. 3. One of the striking ironies of God’s judgment may be observed in the circumstance, that the members of the Sanhedrim are forced to go upon the morning of the paschal Sabbath to the sepulchre of Jesus, for the purpose of sealing the stone, because the dead Christ allowed them no rest. In that anxiety may we see the effect of the words of Judas, and of the Lord’s state- ment as to His resurrection. Upon this morning of the feast, it was no formal meeting of council they held : they consulted among themselves, and then dropped in singly, as if by accident, to make their request to Pilate ; and thus there came to be a kind of council in the governor’s palace, to which the Evangelist here alludes. It was alleged by these priests, that the disciples might come and steal away the corpse ; and this lying assertion reveals to us, how well prepared they were for any emergency, even the worst. But, beneath all this disguise, they were the prey of fear, and the real motive was terror. u Influenced by a monstrous be- lief in the power of the seal of Jewish authority, and of a Roman guard, they imagined themselves able to shut up in the grave the possibility of a resurrection by Jesus, the divine retribution, a re- sult of that resurrection, and, above all, their own wicked fears.” VOL. III. G 98 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. And so they desecrate the great Passover Sabbath by their restless occupation, seeking to secure the grave of one whom they had ac- cused, because that, on one of the ordinary Sabbaths, He had wrought a miracle of love. The disembodied spirit of the Jewish law must wander around the grave of Jesus upon the most sacred Sabbath of the year. In that act we have the last expression of their abandonment to the Gentiles of salvation through a Messiah ; and also the strongest expression of the folly they manifested in unbelief. By means of a priestly seal, and a borrowed military guard, they desire to secure in a tomb the spirit and life of Christ, the spirit of His past, present, and future, as if all were a mere deception. 4. But, in spite of all, the spirit of Christ’s life is labouring in the under world, and the depths of the grave. The germ of hu- manity and salvation was bursting into new life in the earth, and also in the heart of the disciple-world ; in the former, saved from death, in the latter, from despair. HOMILETICAL HINTS. The quiet Sabbath ; or, the death-rest of Jesus in its twofold efficacy: 1. It institutes the sabbath of redemption in the disciples’ hearts ; 2. it institutes the godless labour of wicked fear in the enemies’ camp. — See how friends and foes are busied about the dead Christ : 1. The friends; 2. the foes. — The revival of the dis- ciples, a presage of His resurrection. — It is exactly through Christ’s death, that His secret disciples obtain the power to confess Him openly: 1. Now they feel their full guilt; 2. now they see the world’s full condemnation ; 3. the perfect vanity and wretchedness of the fear of man ; 4. the perfect glory of the vicarious death of Christ. — Joseph of Arimathea; or, the wonder how, in spite of all, the rich enter the kingdom of heaven. — The sacrifice of Joseph. — The offerings of the male and female disciples. — The Church at the holy sepulchre. — Christ’s love changed the women into heroines, beside the grave. — See, the younger disciples meet the older always at Christ’s grave. — The Lord’s convulsing death, by which lambs become lions like Himself, the Lion of the tribe of J udah. — The im- port which that evening-seat over against Jesus’ grave has for us. — The quiet Sabbath, and the quiet grave. — The burial of believers a sermon. — The grave of Christ amidst all the world’s graves : a transfiguration of the same. — The Jewish method of burial in its difference from the heathen sepulchre, a prophecy which has been CHAP. XXVII. 57—66. 99 fulfilled in the grave of Jesus. — The interment of mankind, a pic- ture of their religion, — 1. Among the heathen ; 2. the Jews ; 3. the Christians. — Christ’s grave has changed the impure Jewish grave into a consecrated Christian grave. — The isolated graves of Juda- ism, and the Christian churchyard ; or$ the sleeping are gathered together by Christ. — Gethsemane, and the holy sepulchre ; or, the garden of struggle converted into the garden of rest. — Paradise and the accursed field Golgotha, and the garden of the grave and the resurrection ; or, the old and the new world. — Priests and Pharisees in their ever-abiding dread of Christ, whom they imagined they have killed. — The means by which the servants of the law think to im- prison in the grave the spirit and life of Christ: 1. Cunning pre- tences ; 2. antiquated seals of authority ; 3. borrowed guards. — The illusion which the foes of J esus make of the truth of His life and efficacy : 1. The illusion : a. they make Christ a lie ; b. a de- structive lie ; c. a double deception. 2. The result of this illusion : a. they become deceptive opponents of His life ; b. of His redemp- tion ; c. of His resurrection. — The Sabbath-honourers desecrate the second, the great Sabbath. — They went and secured the grave with guards, and sealed the stone. — The old yet ever-new history : the law becomes the servant of the kingdom of darkness. — The self- annihilation of the authority of the old world, making itself the minister of the Wicked One: 1. The self-annihilation of the power of the church-seal (the bull) ; 2. the self-annihilation of the power of the soldiery (in contests with the Spirit of Christ). — The sacred corn-field upon Golgotha, between Good Friday and Easter. — Christ is dead to live for ever, — 1. Upon the heart of God ; 2. in the depths of His own life ; 3. in the bosom of humanity ; 4. in the centre of our hearts. Starcke : As God watched over His Son, and revealed His care visibly, so will He guard and take care of Christ’s members (in death). — Canstein: Riches and a high position are undoubtedly ac- companied with dangers, 1 Cor. i. 26 ; yet God has His own among the noble and wealthy, 1 Kings xviii. 12, 13. — He who employs his wealth to God’s glory (upon Christ’s body, His Church, servants, members), has made a good investment. — Bibl. Wirt. : In the most bitter persecutions, and greatest apostasy, there are many stedfast, who confess Christ and serve Him. — Nova Bibl. Tub.: Faith grows in trial ; and he who acknowledged Christ but secretly during His life, dared to solicit Him boldly after His death. — Osiander : Those often become cowardly and despairing, who were at first bold and 100 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. fearless; and vice versa. — Cramer: God’s Spirit is mighty and won- derful, and can quickly make a heart where there is none. — God often draws out the hearts of the high to glorify Himself, and re- joice Ilis people. — Osiander : We should bury our dead honourably, and testify in this way openly, that we believe in the resurrection of the dead. — Zeisius : The burial of Christ, the rest of our bodies. — The guard, and the sealing of the grave, must become testimonies to the resurrection. — Wilt thou do good to Christ, do it to His people. — We may still show love to Christ in the persons of His poor members. — True love loves still, after death. — True faith never lets Christ escape ; if faith see Him not with the eyes, still she keeps Him, His cross and death, in her heart. — Quesnel: Death cannot extinguish a friendship which God’s Spirit has instituted, and Christ’s blood has cemented. — The will’s extreme wickedness has united to itself extreme blindness of perception (in so far as they sought by a foolish proposal to remove the truth of the resurrection, while they only served to confirm it). — The wicked are like the restless sea, their evil conscience gives them no rest, Isa. lvii. 20, 21. — Zeisius : No human power, prudence, or cunning, can hinder God’s work, Ps. xxv. 3. — The issue was a condemnation of them- selves, and a glorification of Christ. Heubner : By Joseph’s example, we are taught to honour the dead, especially when we had known them. — The body, too, is to be honoured : it is the garment of the soul. — Many hands were em- ployed in burying Christ, and with what tenderness and love !— Christ’s rest in the grave, the type of the soul’s spiritual sabbath. — Tarry lovingly by the graves of your loved ones.— Whosoever loves Jesus, is lost in the contemplation of His death. — Teach thyself to bury thy life in Jesus. — They wish to prevent His resurrection, and they must establish unwillingly its certainty: at the outset they proclaim the secret of the resurrection, and, permitting their know- ledge of the true meaning of the u destruction of the temple ” to appear, they punish themselves thus for a false accusation. — As often as a man strives against God, against the truth, he strives against himself, and prepares shame and difficulties for himself. — The more men seek to bury the memory of the truth, the more it appears. — In their slanders, men give the key to their discovery and detection. Braune : Who had believed that any one would have come now to the cross % But, behold, two rich men come, members of that Sanhedrim which had rejected Christ ! — Their hearts forced them ; CHAP. XXVIII. 101 they acted under the impulse of a new spirit. — The fear of man is overcome. — The new grave, in which no man had been laid ; as He rode into Jerusalem upon an unused colt. And shall His Spirit make His abode in an old heart ? — The friends who acknowledged the Lord when covered with shame, are the Christian types of those who believe in virtue when all the world ridicules it. — The guards have one object in common with the friends of Jesus, that the bodies be not changed, and that so the resurrection be all the more certain. — The disciples forget the words of Jesus regarding the re- surrection, His enemies remember them (Reason : the sorrow of the one, the fear of the others). — They would prevent a deception, and they themselves practise a deception. — These liars and murderers fear the disciples are liars. — What is done in God’s strength and spoken in His Spirit, appears to view and stands fast. Geroh : The sacred evening — stillness upon Golgotha : 1. The quiet rest of the perfected Endurer. 2. The quiet repentance of the convulsed world. 3. The quiet labour of the loving friends. 4. The quiet peace of the holy grave. — Kuntze : The burial of Jesus manifests to us, — 1. the believer’s courage ; 2. love’s power; 3. truth’s seal; 4. the mourner’s consolation. — Wolf: Looks of com- fort towards the grave of Christ. — Brandt : The burial of Jesus Christ, — a work of, 1. grateful acknowledgment ; 2. holy love ; 3. praiseworthy courage ; 4. a work causing the deepest shame to many. SEVENTH PART. CHRIST IN THE PERFECTION OF HIS KINGLY GLORY. Chapter xxviii. upon Matthew’s account of the resurrection. The relation of this Gospel of the Resurrection to the whole evan- gelical tradition is to he seen only after a brief sketch of the latter . I. The appearances in Judea, in Jerusalem, at Emmaus, BELONG TO THE PERIOD OF THE ISRAELITISH PASSOVER. 1. The first morning after the Sabbath . — Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, proceed to the grave, Mark xvi. 1. They are to he fol- 102 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW lowed (see Luke) by the other women, who are bringing the spices and oint- ments. The three who thus went in advance, behold the stone rolled away, and are affected in quite different ways by this sight. The narrative now divides into two portions. Excitement and ecstasy seize upon Mary Magdalene. — She hurries into the city (and towards the male disciples), reports the facts to Peter and John ; hurries back again, sees two angels in the grave, and afterwards the Lord. She brings then the message to the disciples. Meanwhile Peter and John have ar- rived at the grave, and found it empty. Mary, the mother of James , and Salome , at the sight of the removed stone, collect themselves, advance more closely, and see one angel sitting upon the seat. The message given by the angel. They hurry back in great fear and joy ( and towards the female disciples ), long undecided whether they will announce what they had seen or not. And, in this state, they meet the other women, who are bringing the ointments. All together now visit the empty tomb of Jesus, where they now (see Luke) behold two angels , as the Magdalene had done before (see Lange’s Commentary on Mark). After they had started back to the city, they were met by the Lord. Besides, in the course of the day, Peter also had a manifestation. Hence three messages from the risen Saviour — three messages from the empty grave. 2. The first evening after the Sabbath. — Christ appears to the two disciples going to Emmaus (Luke), walks with them, goes into the house, and then dis- appears. Next He appears in Jerusalem in their evening meeting , on which oc- casion Thomas is absent. 3. The second Sabbath {eight days after the first Passover morning'). — Appear- ance in the evening among the disciples. Revelation of the Lord specially for Thomas (John). The feast of the Passover continued till the preceding Friday. The disciples would not, of course, set out upon Saturday, or Sabbath. They remained the second Sabbath. They waited for the sake of the doubting (Thomas). Probably Monday was the day of their departure. II. The appearances in Galilee, during the return of the Galileans, between the Passover and Pentecost. 1. The appearance at the Sea of Galilee unto the seven disciples (John xxi.). Peter’s restoration. The declaration of the future lives of Peter and John in their import for the Church. 2. The great revelation of Jesus in the circle of His disciples upon the moun- tain in Galilee (Matt, xxviii. 16 foil. ; Mark xvi. 15-18 ; Luke xxiv. 45-49 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6). 3. The special appearance to James. Probably it was not (as the tradition says) to James the Less, but to the Greater : and the object, probably, was to cause the disciples to go up to Jerusalem earlier than usual. III. The appearances in Jerusalem and on Olivet, about the time of Pentecost. The history of the Ascension (Mark, Luke, the Acts). We reckon, accord- ingly, five manifestations upon the first day after the Sabbath, the sixth upon HU CHURCH. •STM *'00 9nT0i?H ‘noian xxj 91S9M *.noA\ *51 ■ A3JT ssjjppB ‘sjBinoxjJBd jojj -AidclR pggu jmqf) 9q^ pu« jsuqp joj sgoguoBS 9 jirui oj ‘jsjg •auuuiv put? •'jsaujBa ui A[q3xxoJOqj 9 JB sb qotxs !1 9UON -gatTniA Ajjuixoo r ui iooqos qoJixqo « [3inp|inq uijsxssb oj ‘ugjpnqo 89 aoj oqix ‘qoanqo l S9A0I oqM juboiuixxhuxoo ApBi — 'aaxNVAV •JB9A B 091$ ‘AntUBj cus r joj oiqRjxxxs ‘93 bjjoo ooxa b osiy U’boA )V?I S iooqos gqj jo suojjnd joj Aissgjdxg Jiitxq uopiS9J snotpouiuioD paB gmospxiBq b ‘-m 1 9 uia ■ u}i qooqos s 4 Ajrjv[ -js ^uiuiofpv— ‘XNaa hoh * 90i«o oqj xxx uosjdd Aob oj jo ‘jojoudojd 1 OJ JOO PUB ‘HOHX1HO ONIAI r I 3HJ, OJ p9S89JppB pjrioqs [BajuoC sxqj jo ssgxxisxxq uo SHaxxau ‘ SD . 0 SKVTJ 3 DSIK ' t\J,Vl9JL99S ir)J.9 90 ‘ a - a ‘U^OaONVH *s 'KM "ASH 3HJj "si-ioa M ‘ 9snon QiQlH ZZ ‘"sbojj, *NA\OHa 'W sawvf jiniga ‘JB9 A b I;); jb ‘Ajqjaonx pgqsqqnd ‘qojnqo l jo ubSjo AJBnotssinfaoqj '■suoissw Jo ttj,icls VUA 3 BJBinoijJBd jo,j •p9jiai[0s Aiis 9 ujb 9 9 jb saoxjr.q ;UOO *9881 ‘JSI J9qni9jd9S oj JB9A pjosg gqj joj i?nb9J 9JB 000‘00J'J •qojnqo gqj jo jijom jb 9 j 2 j si siqjj ’ttfiOJOjj pus oxjsgmoor ‘sooisstpj jo ■ddns 9qj joj qojnqo gqj jo uoijBziaBajo 9qj sj snoissik ho auvoa hhj* *5sa ‘xxaAvaf NaHaaxs ‘jaJtisBgjj, r jo “umjvr ‘JinBqiJBj ‘U9PJBAA ‘SNIHSOH <1 'A IH Qqj ssgjppv •saougjgo snojguoa pub jdraoJd B PUB ‘P9P99U 9JB BJU9UIM0pa9 J93JB[ 3JJOM op oj 9uu}jao9 Arch ji jBqj, -jqgp ousxojgqj )S9Jd JB PUB ‘P9J9J81UXTXXPB AnxxjqjiBj X199q SBq :9d0Jd sji -jS9A\.-qjAO>j jboj 3 gqj xxx qojxxqo oqjjo )AV gqj OJ S9Al9SXD9qj 9AI3 OJ OSOdJdd OqM S9JBP OBO [IB OJ S93BJUBAPB IBXOOdS SJ9JJO JI -qOJXXqQ oxjgmv gqj ui Ajbuixuos leoxaoiogqj, Aob Aq poijoo t joa uoxjoxxjjsux jo osjixoo b sgpxAOJd pub ‘sjossoj d ju9pxs9J xis jo AjitxoBjl b SBq iooqos siqi common thing, or to be so neglected that the dust of disuse and disregard j gathers on its covers; and a gross abuse i to scribble upon, or tear out its fly- c leaves, in the pew, and to mar its pages d in the pulpit, by carelessly turning *- them or rudely pounding them in ges- - ticulation. Nor is it less a misuse of it, - in reading it, to soil its pages with vul- i gar finger-marks; to turn down the cor- s ner of the leaves; or to mark select pas- $ sages in any other than the most • thoughtful and careful manner. Call i these trivial matters if you will; they - are a natural outgrowth of the irrever- - ence of the age which, as might be ex- € pected, treats the inner truth of the - book with a corresponding levity and 3 disregard. ] The holy Bible, sirriply as a sacred volume or book, has a just claim on every thoughtful man, for the most rev- erential and careful treatment. But this is not all. As a collection of sa- ( cre d writings or books of diverse anti- quity, authorship, character, and de- , sign, it has other and more specific i claims upon us. TIOOHOS AJ.INIAKI AHHHVHS HH.L •J9qxnrxn JJBl 1IIJS B OJ PXR PD9JX9 01 JOinair THE HOLY SCRIPT VUES. BY THE REV F. S. JEWELL, now should We use them. Our sacred writings are usually :inted and bound in one volume, and ley have consequently come to be tought of and treated as one book, s one book, and that the book, we call he Holy Bible. It is then a proper tion, and one too little thought of: ought we to treat it, simply as a First, as ancient writings, they are rightfully subject to scholarly research and criticism. Even though they con- tain a divine revelation, they are ad- dressed to the human mind. If they are to be received by it, they must ap- prove themselves to it. It may and must enquire as to their authenticity, integrity, and credibility; that is, were they the work of their reputed authors, have they come down to us without vitiation, and are they reasonably trust- worthy? On these points the mind needs to be somewhat assured before the question of inspiration can come naturally within the field of vision. But on such questions, the competent vi IN G CHURCH. Our sacred writings are usually printed and bound in one volume, and they have consequently come to be thought of and treated as one book, one book, and that the book, we call he Holy Bible. It is then a proper ition, and one too little thought of: ought we to treat it, simply as a hook.? , ^ o this, -we make bold to answer: It should be treated with a care and con- sideration accorded to no other book. And/this, apart from all extreme views inspiration aud authority, and mere ble-worship. A simple regard for it as a widely accepted collection of sac- red writings; as the one book of its kind and rank; and as vitally associated with the one religion of the world’s enlight- enment, demands that it be treated With reverence. Hence, the common practice of print- ing its name without its proper capital. to be deprecated. Hardly less dis- graceful to Christians is the practice of printing and binding it, ostensibly for free distribution, in such a poverty- stricken cheapness of form as practic- ally belies our estimate of its intrinsic worth, and encourages its careless use and speedy destruction. If with all its vast facilities and abundant wealth, the Christian Church can not be brought to circulate the Holy Bible as the Word of God, in a garb somewhat befitting its true dignity and importance, it would seem to be high time to reconstruct and reform her religion. Much to the same end is the evil of Ringing it broadcast, like pearls before swine, into public places and conveyances, and under a wholly indifferent secular care, to be irreverently fumbled by the idle, and marred or mutilated by the profane. The truly religious person will carry his own copy; the reading traveller will seek mental occupation in the daily pa- per, the magazine and the popular novel; and as for the rest, little good will they get from it, if they do not even turn tin and rend it. furthermore, it cannot but be au abuse of the Bible as a book to allow it to be anywhere about the house as a I common thing, or to be so neglected J that the dust of disuse and disregard I gathers on its covers; and a gross abuse 1 to scribble upon, or tear out its fly- | leaves, in the pew, and to mar its pages the pulpit, by carelessly turning I them or rudely pounding them in ges- I ticulation. Nor is it lessa misuse of it, in reading it, to soil its pages with vul- gar finger-marks; to turn down the cor- I ner of the leaves; or to mark select pas- I sages in any other than the most thoughtful and careful manner. Call [ these trivial matters if you will; they are a natural outgrowth of the irrever- I ence of the age which, as might be ex- pected, treats the inner truth of the [book with a corresponding levity and | disregard. The holy Bible, sitflply as a sacred I volume or book, has a just claim on [every thoughtful man, for the most rev- [erential and careful treatment. But I this is not all. As a collection of sa- cred writings or books of diverse anti- Iquity, authorship, character, and de- Isign, it has other and more specific | claims upon us. First, as ancient writings, they are rightfully subject to scholarly research and criticism. Even though they con- tain a divine revelation, they are ad- dressed to the human mind. If they are to be received b£ it, they must ap- prove themselves to it. It may and must enquire as to their authenticity, integrity, and credibility; that is, were they the Work of their reputed authors, have they come down to us without vitiation, and are they reasonably trust- worthy? On these points the mind needs to be somewhat assured before the question of inspiration can come naturally within the field of vision. But on such questions, the competent s chol ar and cr itic-may lawfull y e x pe n d their research and thought. But it must not be forgotten— as it seems to be the fatality of certain Bi- blical critics to do — that all such criti- cism should be broad, honest, impartial, and dispassionate. These writings have as just a claim upon us for such criti- cism, as any other ancient productions, historical, legal, literary or religious, nayi viewed in the light of their higher- antiquity, their careful preservation through the ages, their mighty hold up- on the faith of mankind, and the vast interests which have clustered about them, their claim is really transcendent. No other works of antiquity can in t!his respect compare with them. They stand alone. Why, then, subject them, any more than the cherished produc- tions of Greece and Borne, to the rav- ages of destructive criticism? Why lay a more tender hand on Herodotus and Livy, Plato and Seneca, Homer and Virgil, than on Moses and St. Luke, David, Daniel and Isaiah, St. Paul and St. John? True, there is a religious element in these, not found in the others. But is Moses, for that, any less the lawgiver and historian; Solomon, any the less, the moralist; David any the less, the poet, or Daniel and St. John.any the less, seers? Besides this, the religious element is quite apart from this department of criticism, and comes in later for its own measure of investigation. And that investigation or criticism, be it remembered, is no business of the antiquarian, the philol- ogist, or the literary critic. It belongs wholly to the moralist and the theolo- gian. Any harsh, one-sided, criticism of the sacred Scriptures is, then, invidi- ous and unjust. It is an abuse in the scholars’ treatment of the Bible. It is a criticism which impeaches the critic. THE LIVIN' stem, lately held its first annual meet- It has a membership of 75, with 22 working and 25 honorary associates Ontario , March 11 , 1886, OPINIONS OF TI 1 E PRESS. The Sprinafleld Republican. The Tanama Canal.-TIio short stay of M. Rousseau at Panama has en- couraged the suspicion that he was sent there by the French government in order to ease De Lesseps down, and not to really learn what had been done upon the proposed canal. This elusion is not just to the agent of the Trench government. One-sixth of the work has been done at a cost of over $100,000,000. l)e Lasseps now asks for $120,000,000 more with which to dig the other five-sixths, not a word being said about the Chagres river, which is yet to be crossed. It ought not to take a over three weeks to take in these facts. The whole situation is becoming in- tensely absorbing upon both sides. The I government bas given De Lesseps privileges which have enabled him to draw over 100,000 people in France into the speculation. To go deeper into the enterprise by authorizing a lottery scheme with tbe present showing ; venturesome in the extreme. Upon the other hand, to call a halt is to abandon a hundred million df money in Panan mud, and to letloose some 100,000 credit- ors who will divide their wrath im- partially between the government and the distinguished hero of the Suez canal. English Illustrated Atlantic Monthly . Young Churchman. 8t. Louis Magazine Church Magazlne.tc Youth’s Companion The Chicago Herald. Tiie Preacher’s Wife.— Avery ser- ious question has arisen in a Massachu- setts town where a Baptist minister, whose wife is an Episcopalian, has given his congregation to understand that she is his and not theirs, and that the -best till b y f or them to do is- to let her alone. Religiously and socially this declaration is bound to make trouble. In the first place it will undoubtedly be regarded as his duty to convert his wife, and secondly, very few congregations will admit that they have no control over their pastor’s wife. Such ladies, instead of being privileged characters are, as a rule, regarded with much jealousy, and the purchase by them of a new bonnet without consultation with the sisters has been known to throw some entire communities into hysterics. The young Massachusetts preacher will learn before many moons have waned that he has taken the wrong course. If there is anybody on earth that the aver- age church society insists on owning and running to suit itself it is the preacher’s wife, and she must be a very wise, pious and diplomatic woman who in t hat position has her own way in all things, and yet escapes the criticisms of femininity. The Christian at Work. As to Keeping Lent. — The Chris- tian world seems year by year to regard with growing favor the setting apart of seasons for especial religious obser- vance. The Week of Prayer and the period given every winter to extra ser- vices, and known as ‘‘the revival sea- son,” as well as the increasingly large number of summer assemblies and con- ventions for spiritual uses are instances of this growing tendency. The joyous Easter festival is being more generally accepted each year by churches of near- ly all the denominations. As is natur- al ,lan increased interest is felt in Lent. The Lenten fast, which precedes the Easter feast, is seen more and more to have its uses for all, and to supply in some phases a fitting preparation for the observance of a true Easter. NO CHURCH. I a . Aaa '^j' P p2“sSi”iw«'i I J o J p a8 “ M> ™"" o«i IMoinnmmoo •jBoi « oei$ “.oraiUaJ snoipouinioo pap amospmiq the Holy Bible. It is then a proper Ration, and one too little thought of; .ought we to treat it, simply as a The holy Bible, sithply as a sacred volume or book, has a just claim on every thoughtful man, for the most rev- erential and careful treatment. But ' this is not all. As a collection of sa- ^ cred writings or books of diverse anti ( quity, authorship, character, and de ; sign, it has other and more specific ’ claims upon us. First, as ancient writings, they arc rightfully subject to scholarly research and criticism. Even though they con tain a divine revelation, they are ad dressed to the human mind. If they are to be received by it, they must ap prove themselves to it. It may an< must enquire as to their authenticity integrity, and credibility; that is, wer< they the work of their reputed authors have they come down to us withou vitiation, and are they reasonably trust worthy? On these points the min needs to be somewhat assured befoi the question of inspiration can com naturally within the field of visioi But on such questions, the compete] CHAP. XXVIII. 103 the following Sabbath. The two great and decisive appearances in Galilee, forming the centre, are the seventh and eighth. Then the appearance to James, also without doubt in Galilee. And finally the tenth, which closed with the Ascension. TVe must notice this distinction, that in the first five instances Jesus ap- peared unexpectedly and suddenly, and as quickly vanished. But, for the second grand revelation upon the mountain in Galilee, He issued a formal invi- tation, and tarried long in their midst ; and this holds true, apparently, of the last interview, when He walked along so confidingly among His Apostles, from Jerusalem to Bethany, that they might have thought He would now remain with them always. Of all these manifestations, Matthew has given us merely the first angelic appearance, seen at the grave by the women, Christ’s revelation to these females, and the appearance of the Lord among His disciples upon the mountain in Galilee. But he has, besides this, introduced into his narrative the account of the bribery of the grave-guards. This last record, and also Christ’s majestic revelation, are peculiar to him. — It is manifestly his chief design to depict Christ’s royal majesty, as revealed by a few decisive transactions. In addition to this, it is his chief interest to make the contrast be- tween the Lord’s kingly glory and the Messianic expectations on the part of the Jews, appear now most distinctly (as this wish may have been his reason for continually designating the New Testament kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven). Hence he places the scene of the most important events in the resurrection-history in Galilee. Galilee was the place to which the disciples were pointed by the angels (ver. 7). In Galilee the Lord Himself bade His brethren assemble. Accordingly, it is in Galilee that the chief re- velation occurs, during which Christ proclaims His share in the world’s government, institutes holy baptism, and promises His ever- abiding presence in the Church till the end of the world. All these points are no doubt to be found in the general evan- gelical history ; but it is Matthew who brings them out most strongly, and contrasts them with the chiliastic views of the Jews, who re- fused to dissever the glory of the Messias from the external Zion and the external temple. For the same reason, Matthew directs attention to the contrast between the unbelieving Judaism, which is presented in the narrative of the bribed guards subjected as a judgment to the deepest misery, and the believing Judaism, which is seen in its glorious certainty, beholding the revelation of the Lord upon the mountain, when He presented Himself in the brightness of His omnipotence, and of the Trinity, and instituted as victor His 104 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. victorious Church. The first section is an expressive type of the Talmud and its supporters, of Judaism sunken in deceit, employed in futile endeavours, and making common cause with heathendom ; while the second is a type of the Gospel and the world-overcoming Church. In consequence of the brevity and elevated conception that characterize the account given by Matthew, several points are described not exactly. Hence it is that the two reports brought by the women become one with him ; and the second vision of angels, seen by Mary Magdalene, is united with the first, which the other women had beheld. The same is the case regarding the two dis- tinct appearances of Christ to the women. Matthew agrees with J ohn in not stating that the design of the women was to anoint the Lord. But to us it seems plain, that this is an intentional omission. Undoubtedly, the ostensible object of the women was to anoint Christ’s body; but a higher motive, of which they were themselves but darkly conscious, drove them to the grave, — the germ of hope, He will arise, which the promises of Jesus necessarily produced. This supposition gains some ground from the free, general account, found in Matthew and John, omitting as they do all mention of the anointing. When dealing with the self- manifestation of Jesus upon the mountain, where there were more than five hundred believers witnessing His glory, Matthew mentions only the Eleven, because it was his intention to conclude his Gospel with the apostolic commission which the heavenly King issued to the world, putting it first into the hands of His Apostles, and sealing it unto them with His promise. “ The alleged and real differences between the various accounts of the circumstances of Christ’s resurrection found in the four Gospels, have been exaggerated beyond all patience by Strauss, and made much more than simple differences. As opposed to his views, consult, in addition to the older harmonists, Tholuck upon John; Hug, Gutachten ii. 210; W. Hoffmann, 408 foil. ; Nean- der, 771 ; Ebrard, 712 foil. A short resum& of the most striking differences will be found in De Wette’s commentary on Matthew, p. 244 foil.” — Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1677. One of the most important differences Strauss finds in this, that Jesus . commands the disciples, according to Matthew and Mark, to go into Galilee to see Him ; while Luke represents Him as issuing the command not to depart from Jerusalem till they should be gifted with power from on high. But this is merely an CHAP. XXVIII. 105 apparent contradiction. Strauss has overlooked the real state of matters, and has quite forgotten the relations in which Galilean visitors stood to the Jewish feasts of the Passover and of Pentecost. When Jesus had risen, the Passover was almost at an end. Jesus revealed Himself, it is true, at that time and place to the Twelve ; but He delayed His appearance to the 'Church until He arrived in Galilee, partly because He wished not to expose them to the perse- cution of the hierarchy in Jerusalem in their young Passover-faith, partly because He wished to remove from the disciples every idea of His manifestation being in any way connected with the temple- mount. But it is easily conceivable that the disciples would not lightly leave the scene where Jesus had first revealed Himself, namely, Jerusalem .; and that this supposition is true, is proved by the fact, that they tarried still two days for the sake of Thomas, who still doubted, and many others, no doubt, with him. On this account, the command of the Lord comes, enjoining them to pre- pare for their departure. Besides, particular members of that dis- ciple-church would be overcome with joy, and must have time afforded them to prepare themselves for seeing Him, — this holds true especially of the mother of Jesus. Accordingly, after that they became convinced of the certainty of His resurrection, they returned homewards, according to their old festival-habits. At the time of the Ascension, however, or towards the end of the forty days, the period for going up to the feast of Pentecost was at hand ; and on this occasion they were induced, it would appear, to depart at an unusually early date. There is probably a connection between this earlier departure and Christ’s appearance to James. (Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, 1761.) The differences, however, between the accounts of the first announcement of the resurrection, found in the four Gospels, are an important testimony, when exactly weighed, to the truth of the history of the resurrection. It is no doubt remarkable, that literal, or external, protocol-like certainty, should be wanting, exactly in the place where the Christian faith seeks and does actually find the beginning of the confirmation of all its certainties. Faith, even here, is not to be supported upon the letter, but upon the sub- stance, — upon the real essence of the facts. This essence, this spirit, comes out here most distinctly, and is manifested exactly through the differences themselves, because these are the indica- tions of the extraordinary effect produced by the resurrection upon the band of the disciples. The evangelical records give no narra- 106 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. tion of facts, simply for the sake of the facts, and apart from their effects ; but they present us with a history, which has individualized itself to the view of him who narrates. And hence the Passover occurrences are retained and rehearsed as reminiscences never to be forgotten ; and differ accordingly, as the stand-points of the dis- ciples vary, and yet preserve a great degree of harmony. In this way it is that we are to explain the remarkable individualities and variations to be found in the accounts of the Passover transac- tions ; and in these accounts is contained for all time the joyous fright of the Church, caused by the great tidings of the resurrec- tion. J ust as, in a festive motetto , the voices are apparently singing in confusion, seemingly separate, and contradict another, while in reality they are bringing out one theme in a higher and holier har- mony; so is it here. The one Passover history, with its grand unity, meets, when all the different accounts are combined, the eye in all its clearness and distinctness. The answer to each of the seeming contradictions is to be found in the organic construction which has been attempted above. Literature. — See Winer, Handbuch der theolog. Literatur i. p. 291 ; Danz, Universal-Worterbuch, p. 91 ; Supplemente, p. 11 ; Goschel, von den Beweisen fiir die Unsterblichkeit der mensch- lichen Seele im Lichte der speculativen Philosophic, 1835, das Vorwort ; Doedes, de Jesu in vitam reditu. Utr. 1841 • Reich, die Auferstehung Jesu Christi als Heilsthatsache, 1846 ; Hasse, das Leben des verklarten Erlosers im Himmel nach den eignen Aus- priichen des Herrns, ein Beitrag zur biblischen Theologie, Leipzig, 1854 ; W. F. Besser, die Leidens- und Herrlichkeitsgeschichte nach den 4 Evangelisten in Bibelstunden fiir die Gemeinde ausgelegt. 2 Abtheilung ; Die Herrlichkeitsgeschichte, vierte Aufh, Halle, 1857 ; Wir sahen seine Herrlichkeit, Predigten, Berlin, O. Janke, 1853; Schrader, der Yerkehr des Auferstandenen mit den Seinen, fiinf Betrachtungen, Kiel, 1857. The article, by Kling, on the Resurrection, in Herzog’s Real-Encyklopadie. Easter 1 (German, Ostern). — The name. “ The month of April is called, up to this day, Easter-month (Ostermonat) ; and as early as Eginhart we find Ostermanoth. The holyday of the Christians, which is celebrated generally in April, or towards the close of March, bears, in the oldest remains of the old High German 1 The translator was forced to adopt this word, Easter, in numberless pas- sages ; for if Passover had been retained, many of Lange’s remarks would have been unintelligible. CHAP. XXVIII. 107 dialect, the name ostara ; generally the plural form is found, be- cause two Easter-days were observed. This ostara must, like the Anglo-Saxon E&stre, have been the name for some superior being among the heathen, whose worship had struck its roots so fast, that the name was retained and applied to one of the chief festivals of the Christian year. All our neighbouring nations have retained the name Pascha ; even Ulfilas has paska, not austro, although he must have been familiar with the term, exactly as the northern languages introduce paskis (Swedish), pask, and the Danish paaske. The old High German adverb, ostar , indicates the east ; so the old Norse austr , probably the Anglo-Saxon Eastor, Gothic austr. In the Latin tongue, the quite identical auster indicates the south. In the JEdda , a male being, a spirit of light, bears the name Austri ; while the High German and Saxon stem have formed but one Ostara. — Ostara, Eastre, may accordingly have been the god of the beaming morning, of the rising light, a joyful, blessing-bringing appear- ance, whose conception may have been employed to designate the resurrection-festival of the Christian’s God. Joyous bonfires were kindled at Easter ; and, according to the long-believed-in myth of the people, the sun made, early upon the morning of the first Easter-day, three springs for joy, — he made it a festive day.” Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, p. 247. So also Beda Yen., de tem- porum ratione : a dea illorum (veterum Anglorum) quae Eostre voca- batur. The other explanation, held to by many, that the name comes from the Germanic urstam , = to rise, must yield to this historical etymology. The similarity of Auster goes no further than the mere sound ; but, on the other hand, the Greek name for the morning-red, and for the east, rj a>?, Doric aw?, JEolic aua)?, is to be connected. The transference of the heathen name is explained by the fact, that a national festival was united with the day of the gods, in the for- mer instance, while in the later period, with a Christian holyday. The people’s festival, not that of the gods, was transferred. It became a christianized national festival, retaining the old name ; and this occurred all the more easily, because the name signi- fied rather a religious personification than a chief divinity of heathenism, and the celebration of the name symbolized fully the Christian holyday. Just as the festival of the returning (unconquered) sun, as a festival of joy, became united in sym- bolic import with the Christian festival of Christmas, so the festival of the spring sun, and of the life-fraught morning glow, coming forth in spring out from the winter storms, became a symbolic 108 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. celebration of the spiritual Easter Sun, which rose out of the night of the grave. The day of preparation before the Easter festival was the grea,t or sacred Sabbath (Sabbatum magnum), and was observed by the old Church as a general fast. The afternoon of that day was a period for a general administration of baptism. In the evening, there was an illumination in the towns ; and the congregation assembled for the Easter vigils ( 7 raiw^tSe*), and these lasted till Easter morning. Upon Easter Sunday (to 7racr^a, Kvpiarcr] /jbeydXr)), the Christians greeted one another with mutual blessings ; and the day was signalized by works of benevolence and love. Easter Monday w r as the second celebration, as the festival of their unhesi- tating belief in the resurrection ; but the Easter holydays, in the wider sense, did not conclude till the next Sunday (dominica in albis), which derived its name from the custom which obtained, of leading those who had been baptized into the church in their white baptismal garments. A new part of the entire quinquagesimal festival began with Ascension Sunday, and closed with the feast of Pentecost, which resembled the paschal festival. Upon the Easter festival (Osterfest), compare Fr. Strauss, das evang. Kirchenjahr, p. 218 : Bobertag, das evang. Kirchenjahr ii. p. 155. Strauss : u The Easter festival is the chief Christian festival. It is not simply chief feast, but the feast , coming round but once really in the year, but yet appearing in some form in all the other holydays, and constituting their sacredness. Even though every holyday, yea, even every Sunday, were called from this reason dies pascha- lis, Easter is still the original festival in the most comprehensive sense. No one can tell wdien the festival arose ; it arose with the Church, and the Church with it.” FIRST SECTION. THE ANGEL AND THE WOMEN. THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND THE WOMEN. THE WATCHWORD, INTO GALILEE ! Chapter xxviii. 1-10. (Mark xvi. 1-11 ; Lube xxiv. 1-22 ; John xx. 1-18.) 1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. CHAP. XXVIII. 1- 10. 109 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake : for the angel of the Lord de- scended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow : 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here ; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay : 7 And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead ; and, behold, He goetli before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you. 8 And they de- parted 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 wor- shipped 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. Yer. 2. ’A mro raj g Ovpotg, wanting in B.D., and rejected by other authorities ; it is, probably, an exegetical addition. Yer. 8. B.C.L., etc., and Tischendorf, read, instead of Ife htiovaxt, xan'k- 6 ova xi ; and, judging from internal grounds, this is the more probable reading. Yer. 9. The words, As they went to tell His disciples, are omitted in B.D., and many other MSS. and versions. Griesbach and Scholz would insert : Lach- mann and Tischendorf omit. Meyer considers the words an explanatory gloss. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. In the end . — ’O^e Se aaftftarcov. The peculiar expression is explained by the context. It was the time of the dawn, or of breaking day (rjpbepa to be supplied with eVt^mcr/c.), on the first day of the week, Sunday. Similar are the statements of Luke and John ; while Mark says, at sunrise. But there are various explana- tions attached to this expression of Matthew. 1. De Wette and others explain : After the Sabbath had ended ; 2. Grotius, etc. : After the week had closed ; 3. Meyer : Late upon the Sabbath. So that it is not the accurate Jewish division of time, according to which the Sabbath ended at six on Saturday evening, but the ordinary civil idea of a day, which extended from sunrise to sunrise (or at least adds the night to the preceding day). Meyer’s asser- tion, that oyjre, with the genitive of the time, always points to a still continuing period as a late season, would support this view, if it were true, but it is doubtful. Pape translates the tcjv Tpcoi- kcov found in Philostr. : u long after the Trojan wars.” But the fact', that Matthew makes the first day of the week begin here with sunrise, is decisive in Meyer’s favour. — Mia a aft (3 dray — rQKO “ins, Sunday. According to Matthew’s method of expression, which is always so full of meaning, we find a dogmatical emphasis in the words, late in the evening of the (old) Sabbath season, as it 110 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. began to dawn towards the early morning of the (new) Sunday season. 2. Came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary . — John names only the Magdalene; Mark adds Salome; Luke, several others, namely, Johanna (ver. 10), the wife of Chusa, as we learn from ch. viii. 3. These differences of the narrations arise from the in- tention of emphasizing different circumstances. Let us begin with Mark. The three women go first to the grave — Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome. Matthew omits Salome, because he in- tends to continue his account of the two women, Magdalene and Mary (xxvii. 61). John keeps only the Magdalene before his eye, because she is seized -with excitement on finding the stone rolled away, and, hurrying away alone to the city, calls the two disciples ; and because he wishes to relate this circumstance and the Magda- lene’s succeeding history. Luke’s attention .was occupied chiefly with the women who were bringing the spices and ointments, and accordingly writes of the second body of females, who followed the first three. Meyer maintains that it is impossible to harmonize the different accounts. A judicious critic will, however, only op- pose a forced harmony. 3. To see the sepulchre . — Luke and Mark, to anoint the corpse. We have already seen that the women went in two parties to the grave ; and those who brought the ointments came second ; the first came for information. This hurrying on before the others is ex- plained by fear, unconscious hopes of a resurrection, longing and impatient. 4. And, behold, there was a great earthquake. — Meyer: “It is quite arbitrary to take the Aorist in the sense of the Pluperfect (Castalio, Ebrard, etc.), or to make rj\6e signify an unfinished action.” Arbitrary, also, is the hypothesis, that the women must have seen all. The earthquake was felt by them as well as by all the disciples ; the angel was beheld by Mary and Salome sitting upon the rolled-away stone, and, somewhat aside, the affrighted guards ; but that which occurred between, the rolling away of the stone, could have been supplied by the Apostle’s prophetic intuition. The resurrection of the Lord itself was not a matter of actual bodily vision. “The old and general view (see especially the Fathers, as quoted by Calovius) is, that Jesus rose while the grave was still closed, and that the tomb was opened merely to prove the resurrection.” Meyer. Arbitrary and unnatural separation of the occurrences ! CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. Ill 5. Fear not ye. — Opposed to the terror of the guard, whose fear might have caused them to be filled with wonder. Meyer gives these words their correct explanation, pointing out the false inter- pretation which had been made of vfieis. 6. For I know. — The reason why they need not fear. 7. Tell His disciples. — The Galilean believers, who formed the great body of the disciples, are intended by this term. Though the Lord revealed Himself to a few women, to the Emmaus-dis- ciples, and to the Twelve in Judea, His grand self-manifestation took place in Galilee (ver. 16). Bengel : Yerba discipulis dicenda se porrigunt usque ad : videbetis. — Xo, I have told you ( eforov , which marks the formal and important announcement). Corroborative, dixi. — Unnecessary refinements in the explanation of these words are referred to by Meyer. 8. With fear and great joy. — Mingled feelings. The transition from the dread felt by the women to the blessedness of belief in the resurrection, which they now began to experience, is intended to be expressed by this statement ; also the final passage from the Old to the New Testament, from the horror of Sheol to the view of the opening heavens. 66 Corresponding cases of the union of fear and joy are mentioned by Wetstein (Virg. JEn. 1, 544; 11, 807, etc.).” Meyer. 9. Held Him by the feet. — This is not merely an expression of consternation, although the words fir) (pofieiade point to such a feeling of dread, but it describes rather the highest joy and their adoration. It is the climax of the experience of the feeling alluded to in ver. 8. Bengel : “ Jesum ante passionem alii potius alienores adorarunt, quam discipuli.” The special experience of Mary Mag- dalene is incorporated with the vision of the two other women. This account reminds of the state of mind evidenced by Thomas, John xx. 10. Be not afraid ; go tell. — Asyndeton of lively conversation. A sign that the Lord shares in their joy. — My brethren. New de- signation of the disciples, which declares to them His consoling sympathy ; makes known to them that He, as the Bisen One, had not been alienated from them by their flight and treachery, but that rather they are summoned by Him to become partners in His resurrection. The command was, in the first instance, issued to raise the women from the ground, whom His divine majesty had prostrated. — Tell my brethren that they. This proclamation of the resurrection by the women, is to lead the disciples, whom the fact 112 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. of the Lord’s being buried in Jerusalem detained in that city, to make their preparations for an instant departure to their homes. 11. And there shall they see Me . — Again it is the disciples as a body who are intended. They had, as Matthew informs us, fol- lowed Him from Galilee. And, therefore, when the eleven dis- ciples are (ver. 16) specialized, it can only be as the leaders, as the guides of the entire company. Meyer represents that a threefold tradition regarding the resurrection grew up among the disciples : 1. The purely Galilean, which is found in Matthew’s account ; 2. the purely Judaic, which is given by Luke and John, excluding the appendix, cli. xxi. ; 3. the mixed, which narrated both the Galilean and Judean manifestations, and is found in John, when the appendix is added. Meyer is now willing to admit the histori- cal sequence, that the appearances in Judea preceded those in Galilee; but he holds still, that the account given by Matthew manifests an ignorance of what occurred in Galilee. From this he deduces the conclusion, that this portion of our Gospel must be the addition of a non-apostolic hand, because such ignorance on the part of Matthew is inconceivable. But against this critic’s assump- tion we may educe the following : — 1. If this assumption be cor- rect, we should expect in this early written Gospel, which fixed the middle-point of the evangelical tradition, only Galilean appear- ances, whereas there are manifestations in Judea. 2. Matthew, moreover, relates the Lord’s appearance in Judea to the women. 3. A non-apostolic writer would most certainly have resorted to the general tradition, and have related both the appearances which took place in Judea, and those which occurred in Galilee. 4. The as- sumption of Meyer rests altogether upon the antiquated hypothesis , that every Evangelist intended to narrate all he knew. On the contrary, we must repeat that the Evangelists are not to be re- garded as miserable chroniclers, but as narrators of the facts of evangelical history. These facts, united before their own minds into one objective, specially designed Gospel, took before their own view the form of one Gospel sermon, and this was the manner in which they presented the truths of evangelical experience. And here we have an indication that Matthew keeps up throughout his entire Gospel a relation to Luke. While Luke, the Evangelist of the Gentiles, brings out fully the true prerogatives of Judaism, and describes, therefore, the whole of Christ’s life of activity as a grand procession to Jerusalem, Matthew, the Evangelist of the Jews, endeavours in every instance to disprove the false preroga- CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. 113 tives of Judaism, and tarries accordingly in Galilee, describing the Lord’s activity in that district. Hence it is that Luke gives, in the introduction of his Gospel, the adoration rendered to the new-born Saviour by Jewish Christians, and closes his history with an ac- count of the Lord’s appearance in Judea; while Matthew contrasts, in his opening chapters, the adoration on the part of the Gentiles with the persecution by the Jews, and concludes by laying the scene of the grandest manifestation of the Lord in Galilee, in oppo- sition to the city Jerusalem. From this to conclude that Matthew knew nothing more of the resurrection, is a fancy which is un- worthy of one who would have a lively appreciation of the spirit of the New Testament. Meyer himself acknowledges that it is evi- dent, from 1 Cor. xv. 5 foil., that even if all the accounts in the Gospels be combined, we have not a full record of all Christ’s ap- pearances after His resurrection. Meyer, however, is right in op- posing the mythical view which Strauss takes of the history of the resurrection, as well as the conversion of the facts connected with resurrection, by Weisse, into magical effects of the departed spirit of Jesus. The actual existence of the Church, as well as the assur- ance of faith and joy at death’s approach evidenced by the Apostles, cannot be the effect of a myth, or a mere ghostly apparition. (See DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. In the end of the (Jewish) Sabbath . — The Evangelist, without doubt, intended by the selection of this peculiar and significant ex- pression to bring forward the fact, that the Christian Sunday had now caused the Jewish Sabbath to cease (and Christianity had now taken the place of Judaism). Sunday is the fulfilment of the Sab- bath ; but it is not thereby made to be the negation, the destruction of the Sabbath, but its realization in a spiritual, living, free form. Sunday is a new creation, the institution of the Church’s holyday ; marked out as such not only by the resurrection, but also by the Lord’s appearances upon that day. But if the law of the Sabbath is abrogated for the Church, the State is bound, by its duty to Christ, to see that the law of the day of rest is observed, as indeed all the laws of New Testament order and freedom. We see from Acts xx. 7, 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2, Rev. i. 10, that Sunday was observed in the days of the Apostles. 2. Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre ? — This utterance of the three anxious women has become the great VOL. III. H 114 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. symbol of all the sighs of humanity, in its longing for the revelation of the resurrection. 3. The earthquake. — A presage of that parallel course of deve- lopment through which the earth is passing along with the kingdom of God. See ch. xxiv. 4. The visions of angels. — As the earth, on the one hand, in its grand moment of development, is shaken, and seems rushing to ruin ; so, on the other, the heavens unfold. Therefore angels are ever present as ministering spirits at the critical periods in God’s king- dom. But although these angelic appearances are objective , are real, are visible, the perception by the onlooking mortals of these heavenly spirits depends upon a state of soul resembling the angelic spirituality; and this disposition of soul depends, again, upon the position occupied in relation to heaven and earth. The more the earth is concealed and buried, is a midnight grave, to the beholders, so much the more clearly do they view the opening heavens. And hence it is that the female disciples were the first to see the angels ; and they beheld first one, then two. 5. Fear and great joy. — Transition from the old into the new world, from the old to the new covenant. 6. Into Galilee. — See the Critical Notes. 7. The death and resurrection of Christ considered in and for itself ( ontologically ). — In the Lord’s death and resurrection a sepa- ration took place between the first iEon of the natural human world, and the second -ZEon of the eternal spirit-world of humanity (1 Cor. xv. 45). Christ’s death is the fulfilment and the completion of death, and therefore also its end, as was already determined in re- gard to Adam’s death. Where death began, there should it cease, i.e ., there should be no death. Physical death is restricted to one zone. This district of death lies between the world of inorganic bodies on the one side, and the spirit-world on the other. The mineral, on the one side, is non-vital; the spirit is non-mortal. Death appears now to extend, between these limits, only over the vegetable, animal, and human worlds. But the death of the plant is well-nigh but allegorical , an appearance of dying : it lives still in the root, the branch, the seed. The dying of the animal, again, is no complete death : there is no full, individual life to resign ; growth has been only in the common nature ; and hence there is no per- fect, conscious death. Actual death begins with conscious man, in order likewise to cease with him, in order to be transformed into a new life. Adam was formed, not to die, that is, was not to see cor- CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. 115 ruption ; he was to pass through a transformation-moment resem- bling death — was to undergo a metamorphosis from the natural state of man into the spiritual (the tree of life ; Enoch ; Elijah ; 2 Cor. y. 4 ; 1 Cor. xv. 51). But this transformation became subject to the effects and the punishment of moral death, of sin, as God’s condemnation ; and thus this transformation passed over into corrup- tion. The u being clothed upon” (symbolized by the metamorphosis of the butterfly-chrysalis) became “ the unclothing” (symbolized by the wheat-grain in the earth). Since then was death in the world ; the consciousness and the experience of deserved sickness, dissolu- tion, corruption, and imprisonment in the waste death-realm, Sheol. The entire weight of death pressed upon mankind, to their pain and anguish ; and yet they were not fully conscious of it (Heb. ii. 14, 15). Christ became our partner in this common subjection to death. He tasted this death (Heb. ii. 9) ; received it with full consciousness into His life. Hence death was fulfilled in its life, ended, and must again be transformed into the transformation, unto which men were originally destined. Christ’s dying was a death which passed over into metamorphosis. Christ’s condition in death was a collision with corruption, in which corruption was overcome; was an en- trance into the realm of the dead, which unbound the fetters of that death-realm. His resurrection was at once resurrection and transformation. When the question is asked, Was Christ glorified between His death and resurrection, or during the forty days % generally the conceptions of transformation and glorification are confused. The transformation, as the passage from the first into the second life, is decided at the resurrection. Transfiguration, as His entrance into the heavenly world, could occur, before His death, upon the mountain, and be viewed by others. But in His first pre- sentation to Mary Magdalene, she mistook Him for another, the gardener. His actual glorification, decided at His resurrection, be- came a fact upon His ascension : and hence Christ, as the Risen One, is life-principle as well for the resurrection as for the trans- formation (1 Cor. xv. 51 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17). If we are anxious to obtain a closer view, a more accurate con- ception, of the resurrection, the death of Christ must be contem- plated as the end of the essence (or form), of the motive power, and of the principle of the old world and humanity. The world con- tinues to move according to its old existence, and is still expanding in its members (its periphery) ; in its centre, however, the end has been reached in the death and resurrection of Christ. And this 116 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. being the case, there is of necessity connected with this end the beginning of the essence (or form) of the motive power, and of the principle of the new spiritual world, the rising of that new world, as the resurrection is united unto the death. And this event is, in accordance with its nature, at once an evolution of life (Christ rose), and at the same time an act of God’s righteousness (the Father raised Him). Christ rose from the grave, because He was holy, possessing the Spirit of glory, susceptible of resurrection, and must accordingly cause this very death to become subservient unto life, must overcome this death and transform it. God raised Him, be- cause He, in and for Himself, had endured this death contrary to right ; and yet, likewise, agreeably to right, inasmuch as He had surrendered Himself on behalf of man. Thereby this death of Christ has been made by God the world’s atonement. But when these two points are united, the death of Christ and His resurrection stand forth to our view as the grandest act of the omnipotence of God, and the greatest fact in the glorious revelation of the Trinity (Eph. i. 19). 8. The death of Christ and His resurrection considered soterio- logically . — The soteriological effect is here, as always, a. reconcilia- tion as Prophet ; h. expiation as High Priest ; c. deliverance, redemp- tion, as King (see Lange’s Dogmatik, 793). Christ, as Prophet, in His reconciliatory working, has overcome the world’s hate by His love, and sealed the grace of God by the blood of His martyr-death ; as High Priest, in His expiatory working, He has taken upon Him the world’s judgment, and changed it into deliverance; as King, in His redemptive working, He has made death itself the emblem of victory, — has made it the emblem of deliverance from the power of darkness, which sinners were subject unto through death. In this threefold character and working, He entered Sheol. As Prophet, He has lighted up Sheol, and made it appear as the transi- tion-state from the first to the second life. As High Priest, He has likewise changed the punishment of the realm of death by taking the penalty of sins freely upon Himself. As King, He has led cap- tivity captive, has opened the prison-house of Sheol (Eph. iv. 8). God has made all this sure by setting His seal to it in His resurrection. God Himself recognises that courageous love and greeting of peace with which He carries His Gospel back into that world which had crucified Him. God Himself sends Him back out of the Most Holy as a living sign of, and witness to, the perfect atonement. As the Redeemer, He comes forth in the glory of that CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. 117 triumph, which He shares with His own : O Death, where is thy sting ! O Grave, where is thy victory ! The unity of these results lies in this, that in Christ mankind have been consecrated to their God, have died, been buried, de- scended into Sheol, risen again, ascended to heaven, and set down at the right hand of God. Hence it is that the man who resists with demoniac unbelief this working of Christ, is cut off from humanity, and is handed over to the devil and his angels (Matt. xxv.). But to receive the redeeming efficacy of Christ, is to enter into the communion of His life by the communion of His Spirit. This entrance is a prophetic faith, in that we recognise what Christ has become to us ; a priestly, in that we yield us up to His atoning righteousness ; a kingly, in that we make in sanctification His life our own. The unity of all this lies in the fact, that we die, are buried, rise, and ascend in Christ. As regards his spirit, the Christian belongs to Christ, and in so far all is finished and com- pleted in his salvation ; but as regards his physis , he belongs to the world, and in so far he awaits the general end of that world, and a general resurrection with that w r orld. u The intercourse and companionship of the Lord, after His re- surrection, with His disciples, during the forty days of joy, bore manifestly a different character from what they did before His death. Through His death and resurrection, the glorification of His body had begun (the transformation was completed) ; — for, although His resurrection-body bore the marks of the wounds, showing it to be the same body, it was no more subject to the bounds and laws of the bodily existence, as before.” Lisco. For the historic certainty of the resurrection of Jesus, see 1 Cor. xv. Ullmann : What does the institution of the Christian Church through one wdio had been crucified presuppose ? Studien und Kritiken, 1832, III.; Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, p. 1738; Die Losung der christlichen Gemeinden unserer Zeit., Zurich, 1852. According to one explanation of the u Negative Kritik,” Jesus was only apparently dead (Paulus) ; according to the other, the resur- rection was an illusion. When the two are combined, they are self-destructive. HOMILETICAL HINTS. Upon the entire chapter . — The risen Saviour as the eternal King, the fundamental thought of this whole Passover history. We 118 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. see from it, 1 . How the storms of earth and the angels of heaven serve Him ; 2. how neither Jewish seals nor Roman arms are any hindrance in His way ; 3. how He removes the consolation of His foes, and the anguish of His friends, by His resurrection ; 4. how He departs, elevated above the slanderous reports of foes, and the desponding apprehension of the disciples ; ' 5. how unbounded is His power in heaven and earth ; 6. how He is able to despatch, in the glory of the Trinity, His servants into all the world, with the mes- sage of salvation, in the name of the three-one Jehovah ; 7. how sure, even at the beginning, He is of the homage of all the world ; 8. how He is able, notwithstanding His nigh-approaching departure, to assure His own of His guardian, ever-abiding presence, as their consolation and their peace. Upon this particular section . — The morning of the resurrection- day. 1. The morning-dawn ; or, the victory of light over darkness : the earthquake and the angels ; the petrified guards and the open grave ; the search for the Crucified — the message concerning the risen Lord ; the fear and the great joy. 2. The sunrise : Christ’s manifestation ; the greeting ; the adoration ; the commission. — The judgment of God, as revealed by the grave of Christ, compared with the world’s judgment: 1. The Sabbath of the law is passed; the Sunday of spiritual freedom breaks. 2. The earth shud- ders; heaven, with its angels, is manifested. 3. The stone, with the seal of authority broken, is rolled away ; the herald of the risen Saviour sits triumphant upon the stone. 4. The armed guards lie in weakness ; women become heroines, and the messengers of the risen Redeemer. 5. Judah loses its dignity ; Christ selects Galilee as the scene where He will unfold His glory. 6. The compact of darkness is destroyed ; Christ, the Risen, salutes His own. — The gradual unfolding, to be perceived in the message of the resurrec- tion, is a type of its glory. — The ghost-like stillness in which Christ’s resurrection is revealed, is prophetic and characteristic of the Christian life, and the Christian world. — The greatest miracle of omnipotence, in its gentle, heavenly manifestation. — The resurrec- tion-morning, the end of the old Sabbath : 1. The creation becomes spiritual, a spiritual world ; 2. the rest becomes a festival ; 3. the law becomes life.— The way to the grave of Jesus : 1. The road thither : the visible grief (to anoint the Lord) ; the secret hope (to see the grave) ; the great experience — the stone, the angel, etc. 2. The return : fear and great joy ; the salutation of Jesus ; the commis- sion. — The Mary of Christmas, and the two Maries of Easter ; or, CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10 119 woman’s share in God’s works. — First to Mary Magdalene ; or, Christ risen for the pardoned sinner. — The grave of Christ trans- forms our graves. — The fact of the resurrection, an invisible mys- tery, rendered glorious by visible signs : 1. The invisible working of omnipotence, and its visible action ; 2. the invisible entrance into existence of the new life of Christ, and the visible earthquake (the birth-pangs of earth) ; 3. the invisible entrance of the heavenly King into His spiritual kingdom, and the unseen spirit-messengers ; 4. the invisible overthrow of the kingdom of darkness, and the visible guards (the servants of that kingdom) as dead men ; 5. the invisible, new, victorious kingdom of Jesus, and the beginning of its revelation. — The angel from heaven ; or, from heaven the deci- sion comes: 1. Help in need; 2. the unsolving of the difficulty; 3. the turning-point of the life ; 4. the change of the old ; 5. the glorious beginning of a remarkable progress. — The angel sitting upon the stone, a representation of Christ’s victory : 1. In its full ex- tent, — over the Gentile world and the Jewish world (soldiers and the official seal) ; — over the kingdom of darkness. 2. In its fullest completion, — seated in the shining garments of triumph. — The angel’s raiment, the Sunday ornament and attire in which the Easter festival is celebrated. — The twofold effect of Christ’s resur- rection : 1. The old heroes tremble and are weak, the despairing be- come heroic ; 2. the living become as dead, and they who had been as dead become alive. — Fear not ye ! And why not ? 1. Because they seek Jesus ; 2. because He is not in the grave, but is risen ; 3. because the view of Himself awaits you. — Jesus the crucified, is the risen Saviour’s title of honour in heaven and on earth. — He is risen, as He said ; or, Love is stronger than death ; 1 or, This great fulfilment is a pledge for all Christ’s promises. — And ye shall rise, as He has said. — Come, see the place. The disciples view of the empty grave of Jesus: 1. The beginning of the certainty of the re- surrection; 2. the beginning of the Christian’s blessedness ; 3. the beginning of the world’s end. — The empty grave, and the empty graves. — Go quickly ; or, whosoever has discovered the resurrection of Christ, must go and make it known. — All Christians are evan- gelists. — The union of fear and great joy : 1. That fear, which must burst into joy ; 2. that joy, which must be rooted in fear. — They ran. The resurrection ends the old race, and begins a new race. — 1 Perhaps Lange intended it thus : — The Love (Jesus) is stronger than death. From the German custom of printing all substantives with capitals , one is in a doubt upon occasions like these. — Trs. 120 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW The appearance of the risen Lord. 1. What is presupposed : And as they went. 2. How it anticipates itself : a meeting, a greeting. 3. What it effects : And they came, etc. 4. What it enjoins : Go, tell, etc. — The relation of the Risen One to His people : 1. The old : they search and find one another, in faith and love. 2. A new : they worship Him ; He names them brethren. — Joseph’s history is in this case fulfilled : he was sold by the sons of Israel, and yet revealed himself in his princely majesty to his brethren . — The repeated com- mand to depart ; to Galilee, — its import (see above). — The resurrec- tion of Jesus is the most certain fact of history : 1. It proves itself ; 2. hence it is proven by the strongest proofs ; 3. hence the proof is for our faith (our love and hope). — The resurrection, the fulfilling of the life of Jesus: 1. The wonder of wonders; 2. the salvation of salvation ; 3. the life of life ; 4. the heaven of the kingdom of heaven. StarcJce , Zeisius : An earthquake occurs when Christ dies upon the cross, an earthquake occurs when He rises again, to testify unto the majestic power both of His death and resurrection. — Christ’s glorified body, that great stone could not restrain. — Oh, cunning Reason! how silly art thou in spiritual and divine things! — Can- stein : If we find no help on earth to overcome hindrances in the path of duty, help will be sent us from heaven. — We shall live with Him. Where the Head is, there are the members. — 2 Thess, i. 10 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13. — Nova Bibl. Tub. : Behold, how glorious, etc. So glorious shall be our resurrection. — As glorious and consoling as Christ’s resurrection is to the godly, so fearful is it to the godless. — Ques?iel : God knows how at once to console His own, and to terrify the wicked, Ex. xiv. 24. — Luther s margin : Fear not ye , Fear not ye: be joyful and consoled. — Zeisius: Fearful as the holy angels are unto the unholy, just so comforting are they unto the godly, as companions, in the approaching glory. — Canstein: The servants of the word should exercise the office of comforting angels, or God’s messengers of consolation, unto the anguished. — Bibl. Wirt. : As the woman was the first to sin, so have women been the first to realize Christ’s purchased righteousness. — Nova Bibl. Tub. : The joyful message of the resurrection, and its fruits, are not for coarse, worldly hearts, but for longing disciples. — Those who have really experienced the joy produced by the resurrection, are anxious to im- part that joy to others. — Jesus comes to meet us when we seek Him . — My brethren. A designation dating from the resurrection, Heb. ii. 12. For the disciples, it indicates something great, most CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. 121 consolatory. — The world boasts always of its high titles ; but we, who are Christ’s, have the highest, we are called His brethren. — We are heartily to forgive those who have not deserved well of us. Gossner: It gleams and flashes once more. Before, all was dark and sad ; but now again the rays of crucified truth appear, and they illuminate ever more and more gloriously. Lisco : The women hear first that Jesus is risen. Then they see the empty grave, ver. 6. Finally they see, feel, and speak to Jesus, ver. 9. — The certainty of Christ’s resurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 1-8. Its importance, 1 Cor. xv. 12 : 1. Proof that Jesus is the Christ; 2. that His death is an offering for us; 3. the ground for our hope of a resurrection. By His death, all the preceding testimonies borne unto Him seem to be proved false ; by His resur- rection, it is proved that nothing has been disproved. His resurrec- tion is the seal of our redemption, the beginning of His glorification and exaltation. — The Easter festival is a call to a spiritual resurrec- tion. — Gerlach : The Lord’s body now a different body, and yet the same: 1. Free from all the bonds of weakness, of suffering, of mortality. 2. The meals of wonder : He ate and drank, though He needed not food. — The Lord’s appearances, and all the accompany- ing circumstances, are in the highest degree full of meaning and importance. The women see the angels ; the disciples do not. Jesus appears to the Magdalene, to Peter, to disciples on their way to Emmaus, to the Eleven ; in each case, with the most tender and exact regard for the state of each. — All the external a revelation of the internal. So shall it one day be in our resurrection. Heubner: The awe of the resurrection-morning. — Christ’s re- surrection is the type of our own. — Every morning should remind us of the coming resurrection. — Came Mary: The last witnesses by the grave, are the first. We should seek God early. — [Rieger :] They considered themselves bound to anoint Christ; but Christ must anoint them, and He will, with the Holy Ghost and with power. — This earthquake was a type of the awful convulsion of the earth at the last day and the general resurrection. — The angel, a type of the appearance of the angels at the last day. — The form of the angel’s appearance. Servants as they are of the kingdom of light, their office is to introduce men into this kingdom. — The experiences of the guards, presages of what the unbelieving and sinners will experience at the last day. — Fear not ye ! The higher spirit-world is the Christian’s friend. — Seek Jesus, the way to life. — Nothing to be feared on that way. — The Lord is risen. The angel- 122 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. world cries to the world of men, and all believers should cry to one another ( only to one another ?), 66 The Lord is risen.” — Death, where is thy sting? Hell, where thy victory? (1 Cor. xv.). — Come and see : a summons to self-persuasion. — We should impart, spread abroad, the belief in the resurrection. — Our belief in the future life should thoroughly permeate our earthly life, and glorify it. — Christ’s resurrection reunites the scattered disciples. — Love plans for eter- nity. — In the case of the women, faith went first, then came sight. — The perfect brotherhood of Christ, a fruit of God’s adoption. — Three classes of topics for Easter: 1. Such in which the u factum” itself is considered ; truth, certainty, power of the resurrection. 2. Such in which Christ’s resurrection is made to introduce a discourse upon our own ; e.g ., the resurrection, the festival of our immortality. 3. Such in which faith on Christ in general is handled ; e.g., faith upon a living Christ. — Braune : The existence of Christianity is bound up with the cross, but its form and manifestation with the resurrection. — The Church has been founded by the declaration of the resurrection. — The Apostles designate themselves, with most pleasure, the witnesses of the resurrection. — As the beginning of every life is hidden, so is the beginning of the life of the risen Lord hidden in mysterious darkness, Acts ii. 24. — Jesus has not simply taught the resurrection ; He is the resurrection. — What caused the guards dismay, that deprived the women of anxiety. — With every advancing step, the path of truth brightens. — The fear of the women quite different from that of the guards. — To My brethren : He named them first disciples, then friends, then little children ; now, brethren. Reinhard : The Christian feast of Easter is a festival of perfect tranquillization : 1. Because it dissipates all the uneasinesses and sorrow which disturb our peace; 2. because it wakens in us all those hopes which must confirm our peace. — Christ’s resurrection was the impartation of life unto God’s holy Church on earth. God’s holy Church, through His resurrection, received, — 1. its ex- istence; 2. its moral life; 3. its unceasing continuance. — Thiess : The cross illuminated by the Easter sun. — Ranke : A clear light is poured over the whole life of Christ by His resurrection. — Gaupp : The Easter history is also the history of the believing soul. — Ahl- feld: Jesus, and I with Him. — Otho : Easter-comfort and Easter - pleasure : 1. The sanctity of our graves ; 2. the glory of the resur- rection ; 3. all our sins forgotten. — Petri : Christ’s life, our life. Let that be to-day, 1. our belief, 2. our rejoicing. — Steinhofer : CHAP. XXVIII. 1-10. 123 Life from the dead : 1. In the Saviour; 2. in His people. — Rauten- berg : The Christian by his Redeemer’s open grave : 1. He lays his care in that grave ; 2. he becomes at that spot sure of his salva- tion ; 3. his heart fills with rapture. — Brandt : Jesus Christ the victorious prince. We may consider, 1. The foes He has subdued ; 2. the obstacles He has overcome ; 3. the means used to secure this victory; 4. its results. — Jesus, the risen Saviour, an object for holy contemplation: 1. See the counsel of hell brought to nought by Him ; 2. see the method of the divine government glorified by Him ; 3. the tears of true love dried ; 4. the misery of this earthly life transformed ; 5. the work of salvation finished ; 6. the human filled with the powers of God. — Geibel : The Lord’s resurrection, considered, 1. historically, 2. in its necessity, 3. import, 4. and immediate results. — FicJcenscJier : What should the grave be to us Christians, now that Jesus is risen? 1. A place of rest, 2. of peace, 3. of hope, 4. of transfiguration. — Rambach : The glorious victory of the risen Saviour: 1. Glorious considered in itself ; — a. the most miraculous, b. most honouring, c. the most glorious victory. 2. Glorious in its effects; — a. victory of light over darkness; b. of grace over sin ; c. of life over death. — JDraseke : Easter followed Good Friday : 1. God’s Amen ; 2. men’s Hallelujah. — Sachse : The stone rolled away. It seems to us, 1. the boundary-stone of blas- phemy against God ; 2. as the monumental stone of the most glorious victory ; 3. as the foundation of the building of Christ’s Church. — Fr. Strauss : A long, sacred history is to-day presented to us, the history of the Easter festival: 1. The long-continued preparation; 2. the glorious manifestation ; 3. the continual development ; 4. the future consummation in heaven. — Alt : The new life to which Easter summons. — Liebner : We should enter the companionship, and follow the example, of the early witnesses unto the resurrection. — Sliulz : The verities of our faith, unto which the resurrection of our Lord bears a certain and irresistible testimony: 1. That Jesus is the Son of the living God ; 2. that a perfect atonement has been presented to God for us, in the Lord’s death ; 3. that our soul is immortal ; 4. that our bodies also will rise. — All the difficulties in Christ’s life are resolved by His resurrection. — Heidenreich : What a friendly dawn broke upon redeemed and blessed humanity on the morning of the resurrection ! — Bretschneider : A proof of the resur- rection of the body. — Schleiermacher : The consciousness of the never-passing overcomes the pain caused by the loss of the passing. — The life of the resurrection of our Lord is a splendid type of our 124 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. new life. — Canstein : The joy of the Easter morning in yon future world : 1. What shall it be? 2. Who shall enjoy it ? — F. A. Wolf : The true Christian, upon the festival of the resurrection, looks back as gratefully unto the past, as he gazes joyfully into the future. — Three stages in the soul-life are to be observed in the history of those to whom the risen Redeemer became the closest friend : 1. A sadness, which seeks J esus ; 2. a hope, which springs up at the first intimation of His neighbourhood; 3. the joyful certainty, to have found and recognised the Redeemer. — Tzschirner : The sufferings of time in the light of glory. — Death, the new birth into a new life. — Genzken : The path of faith is unto the risen Saviour. — Markeineke : The resurrection of Jesus is the main pillar of our salvation. — Theremin: Christ’s resurrection should awaken us to repentance. — Niemann : The belief in the new world of immortality, which opened unto us in the Lord’s resurrection. SECOND SECTION. JUDAISM, AND ITS SATING ; OR, THE IMPOTENT END OF THE OLD WORLD. Chapter xxviii. 11-15. 11 Now, when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught : and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. When they were going . — The Evangelist does not seek to show that the soldiers arrived in the city before the women, but only that, contemporaneously, a second account reached the city, — that one message was borne to the friends, and another to the enemies. 2. And had taken counsel . — This is the last session of the San- hedrim, so exacting of reverence, which is recorded by Matthew, and its last decision. By this transaction, we have a perfect revela- tion of the post-Christian, unbelieving Judaism given to our view, CHAP. XXVIII. 11—15. 125 which is full of instruction. Some have considered this extremely disgraceful council-meeting to be improbable. But, standing as they did upon the brink of moral destruction and condemnation, this improbability becomes the most awful reality. Still, we are not compelled by our text to believe that they held the meeting for the express purpose of bribing the guards : that was merely a result of their council, and of their deliberations. Probably the matter was handed over to a commission, to be examined into and disposed of; that is, the council left the matter in the hands of the high priests, agreeing secretly with their designs. 3. Large money. — Increased bribes, as compared with the former bribery, that of Judas: 1. The bribery in this case was in conse- quence of a resolution of the Sanhedrim. 2. The bribery by means of large sums of money, contrasts strongly with the thirty pieces which Judas received. 3. The bribery of poor Gentiles, and these Roman soldiers, who were seduced into a breach of discipline and into lies, which might have cost their lives : and with this were connected self-humiliation and self-abandonment on the part of the Sanhedrim before these very Gentiles. 4. The formal resolution, which was aimed, though indirectly, at the corruption of the soldiers, was the culmination of that guilt to which they had sub- jected themselves in accepting the willing and volunteered treachery of Judas. The whole account expresses distinctly the extreme and painful embarrassment of the chief council. They thought that by means of thirty pieces of silver they had freed themselves of Judas ; but now they begin first to experience the great danger to which the already crucified and buried Saviour has exposed them. 4. Stole Him away while we slept. — In addition to all the judg- ments of impotency, embarrassment, and rejection, they are now subjected to the judgment of stupidity. The soldiers are to have been asleep, and yet to see thieves, and know that they are disciples ! Grotius, to avTOKardfcpLTov. 5. And if this come to the governor's ears. — Coram procuratore. Meyer interprets this in a judicial manner. Erasmus explains, When an examination shall be held before Pilate. But in that case, the mediation would come too late, because Pilate, according to military discipline, must have inflicted the penalty, if so great a military crime had been openly acknowledged. Accordingly, the most com- mentators interpret, When this rumour shall reach the governor, be repeated unto him. Then the danger became imminent ; but, ac- cording to this assurance, it would have been already removed. — 126 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. That this was an excuse highly dangerous for the soldiers (see Acts xii. 19 ), and that the chief priests could by no means be sure of the result, although they might be ready to give to the avaricious and corrupt Pilate a large bribe, appears to be a matter which does not admit of doubt, as we may see from the account. The hierarchical spirit, which here reaches its climax, uses the Roman soldiers merely as tools to effect its own ends, as it had previously employed Judas ; and was again fully prepared to let the despised instruments perish, when the work was finished. — We will persuade him , 'ireiaopev, over- persuade, talk over ; without doubt an ironical euphemism, indicating the means of persuasion. This was the manner in which they will keep their promise to the soldiers. 6. This saying , o A0709 outo?. — This does not mean that the entire account, sc. that the statement, was nullified by the rumour of its having its origin in lies (Grotius, Paulus), but the statement it- self, which these soldiers themselves voluntarily adopt (De Wette, Meyer). Upon the doubts regarding the narrative itself, which Stroth maintained to be an interpolation, consult De Wette and Meyer. Among the opponents of the truth of the passage, are Paulus, Strauss, Weisse, Meyer ; among the supporters, Hug, Kui- noel, Hoffmann, Krabbe, and Ebrard. Olshausen adopts a modi- fied view, and thinks that the Sanhedrim did not act in a formal manner, but that Caiaphas arranged the matter privately. The most formidable arguments which De Wette brings forward against the correctness of the passage, are disposed of in ch. xxvii. 62 . That it is improbable that the Sanhedrim (in which u sat men like Gamaliel”) should have adopted so unworthy a resolution, see in reply, Note 2, and Olshausen ; besides, this objection rests entirely upon a subjective view of the worthiness of the council. We have already learned from the history of the crucifixion, that it was a Jewish custom to employ bad means to effect the ends of the hier- archy, and to deal with the despised Gentiles as mere tools, who were to be used and then treated with contempt. The existence of this saying among the Jews is acknowledged. See the quotations which Grotius gives out of Justin, from which we learn that the Pharisees spread the report among the people by appointed messen- gers; and also out of Tertullian. The Talmudic tractate, Toledoth Jeschu. That the Evangelist has here imparted to us the prototype of the Talmud, and the Christ-hating Judaism, is only a proof of his deep insight into the significance of the facts, and testimony unto the unvarying character of his Gospel. CHAP. XXVIII. 11-15. 127 DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. Some of the watch . — The other guards appear to have been so overcome, so prostrated by the phenomena of the resurrection, as to have recognised the matter as settled, to have recognised the at- tempt of the chief council to be futile, and, without further delay, to have returned to their military station. Only a part so far over- comes the influence as to go and give a report, probably in hopes of having a reward promised to them. They manifest their readiness to be bribed. These few are a type of all “ trencher-soldiers,” who must supply the hierarchy with power to compensate for their want of spiritual might. The nobler soldier, like the independent state, will not allow it even to be supposed that he will yield himself up to the hierarchy as its tool. 2. The developed heathenism of the disbelieving Judaism begins with disbelief regarding the resurrection of Jesus ; and commences to collect around itself the characteristics of heathenism, forming a dark tradition. But the myths of the chief council are worse than the myths of heathenism. The latter, according to their bright side, point to Christ ; but the Sanhedrim’s fables form the dark contrast to the facts of light recorded in the Gospels. The myths of the heathen world are the germ of its worship ; the lying myths of un- believing Judaism are the seed of its obduracy. 3. Matthew, with prophetic spirit, has preserved this fact, the unmistakeable germ from which sprang the Talmud, along with which Judaism, that held in the Old Testament fast by the path of faith, and repelled all the myths of the heathen world, has now fallen, and manifests itself as the most intensified heathenism ; re- sorting to the most debased of all myths, and endeavouring to destroy the evangelical history by a false exegesis of the Old Testa- ment, by false traditions concerning facts of Gospel history, and by a false development of the Old Testament according to the letter of the law. Hence it is, that in the following section this type of the Talmud is succeeded by the type of the New Testament. 4. It is indubitable that our narrative is the history of the most extreme self-humiliation of the chief council, but is not the less worthy of belief ; for it must not be imagined that such notices are mere matters of gossip. This is the perfection of the judgment of self-abandonment, under which the council had flung itself. Upon the special points of this self-rejection, see the Notes. 5. The hierarchical falsification of the resurrection history, the 128 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. beginning of the “hierarchical-antievangelical” falsifications of history. The El^ionitic Apocrypha (the donatio Constantini, the pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, etc.). 6. Christ’s resurrection, according to God’s counsel, officially announced to the civil authorities, — officially announced to the hier- archy ; and hence the evangelical faith, as belief in the resurrection, is independent and free. HOMILETICAL HINTS. Heathen guards, the messengers whom God had ordained to announce the resurrection unto the chief council. — Despairing sinners (Judas, the guards), the usual preachers of repentance, sent unto the hypocritical, ecclesiastical powers. — The unbelief of the chief council is bold enough to impart its own obduracy to affrighted Gentile hearts. — Money and bribery, the A and fl (the beginning and the end) of the salvation which remained with the council. — Bribery of every kind is the principal lever of all antichristian systems : 1. Bribery by money, 2. by honours. — The utter incerti- tude of the Sanhedrim is clearly manifested by their last decision. — The perfect overthrow which moral self-destruction caused to follow the supposed triumph of their faith. — The imagination of blinded spirits, as though they could debase the grandest facts of heaven into the meanest stories (scandala) of earth. — The fruitless lies, which are imagined capable of converting the most glorious facts into a deceptive myth. — The criticism passed in the dark Jewish lane, upon the facts of Gospel history which took place upon the broad, open highway of the world. — This is the course which all the enemies of Christian truth must pursue, because of the con- cealed self-contradictions : 1. They imagine the most absurd fables, to destroy the glorious miracle ; 2. they imagine the most senseless absurdity, to destroy what is full of meaning and clear to the soul ; 3. they imagine what is mean, wicked, diabolical, to destroy what is sacred. — The latest criticism in the Talmud, and the Talmud in the latest works of criticism. — See how the hierarchy has corrupted even the soldier’s honour. — Slander sneaks along in its impotent path, in pursuit of the Gospel rushing along its winged course : 1. Slander of Christ ; 2. of the disciples ; 3. of early Christendom ; 4. of the Reformation. And so forth . — Judaism and heathenism unite to oppose Christianity. — The hierarchy leagues with the dissolute to battle against the faith. — It shall be discovered in hell that heaven has been benefited through the devices of hell. — God allowed the CHAP. XXVIII. 11-15. 129 work of shame to run its wretched course, because the message of the resurrection was not intended to be extended in the form of worldly, but of heavenly certainty, by heavenly agencies. — Power- less as are such attempts, as concerns the Lord, they succeed in de- stroying many souls. — Thus has the Talmud, the production of the legal spirit of Judaism, placed itself between the poor Jew and his Christ, as a phantom. So too does the spirit of the law ( legalism ) endeavour to build up a wall of separation between the poor Chris- tian and his Christ. — It is only the preaching of the Gospel which can overcome the enmity to the Gospel. — The more boldly the op- position advances, let the word ring out the clearer. The present section considered in connection with the following evan- gelical narrative . — The twofold development of the Old Testament : 1. The false continuation of the Talmud. 2. The true continuation in the New Testament. — The great revolution in the life of Christ : 1. The apparent triumph of His foes becomes their most disgraceful defeat. 2. The apparent defeat of the Lord becomes His most glorious triumph. — The grand development of Christianity and its dark counter-picture : 1 . The fleeing soldiers, the heroic women. 2. The great council, and its decision ; Christ upon the mountain, and His sermon. 3. The ungrounded expectations and false posi- tion (of Judaism), and the actual testimony afforded by the Church of Christ. — The perfect impotence of the opponents, and the omni- potence of Christ upon earth and in heaven. Starcke ; Nova Bihl. Tub. : As divine wisdom has decreed, unto even the bitterest foes and persecutors of Jesus must the truth be told by their own beloved confidantes. — The world takes money, and acts as she is taught, against her better knowledge and her conscience, 1 Tim. vi. 10; 2 Pet. ii. 13, 15. — No compacts prevail against the Lord. — The devil seeks, where not by force and with boldness, still with lies and blasphemy, to oppose the kingdom and the life of Christ. — Money has great power, but thou and thy money shall perish together, Acts viii. 20. — Manifest lies require no refutation ; they refute themselves. — Quesnel : What a misfortune, that a man will turn to lies to cover his sin, rather than unto repentance for forgiveness ! — Zeisius : The lie, no matter how absurd, is believed rather than the truth, especially by the low and godless masses. — Murder and lies, the devil’s weapons, John viii. 44. Lisco : Hate and wickedness incite Christ’s enemies to bribe the soldiers ; low avarice makes them ready to free themselves from the crime of a neglect of duty by availing themselves of a convenient vol. hi. I 130 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. Vie.— Heubner : Contrast between this account and the preceding : 1. There truth ; here lies. 2. There the glorified Hero in His perfect purity ; here the terrified priesthood, affrighted because of its crime. 3. There, among the disciples, overmastering joy ; here anguishing terror. 4. There willing, unpaid servants of truth ; here bribed ser- vants of lies. — Injustice brings a man to humiliation, shame, before the instruments of his sin : he resigns himself to them, must fear them, and they laugh him to scorn. — Such people have never a clean mouth. The state of things might have been learned by the Apostles from secret friends and adherents among the priests, from several persons, perchance from converted soldiers. — Braune : As the friends heard from their own, so the foes from their own, the news of the resurrection. — Every day we see what money can effect. — Lies find admission, but they flee before the truth. Let no one, accordingly, be affrighted for what men can do ; the Lord’s coun- sel stands fast. — But let no one imagine that he must take in hand to destroy the attempts of another ; leave that to the Lord. THIRD SECTION. THE OMNIPOTENT RULE, AND THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. Chapter xxviii. 16-20. (Mark xvi. 15-18 ; Luke xxiv. 44-49.) 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him : but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- manded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. Then the eleven disciples . — They come forward here as the representatives of the entire band of disciples, and not as the select apostolic company of the Twelve, which makes its first reappearance after the selection of Matthias. This distinction is to be found in the remark that some doubted, which cannot apply to the Eleven ; reference is made to many witnesses in 1 Cor. xv. 6. 2. Upon a mountain . — The Evangelist himself informs us that CHAP. XXVIII. 16-20. 131 Jesus had appointed the place of meeting, but does not tell us when and where. Inasmuch as the disciples were bidden at first merely to go into Galilee, the more special direction must have been given at a later date. Grotius thinks that the command was issued while they were still in Jerusalem. We adopt the view of Ebrard and others, that Christ’s meeting with the seven preceded and introduced this manifestation. That there is a reference to an actual moun- tain in Galilee, may be seen from the connection between this pas- sage and the injunctions to proceed into Galilee, vers. 7, 10 ; also from the consideration, that in Galilee only could a place be found for so large an assemblage of disciples as is mentioned in 1 Cor. xv. 6. An apocryphal tradition, dating from the thirteenth cen- tury, named the northern peak of the Mount of Olives as the scene. This theory has undoubtedly originated early, in an improper and interested attempt at harmonizing, the first traces of which we find in the apocryphal Actis Pilati. It is upon this statement that Rudolf Hoffmann supports his views in his work, Ueher den Berg Galilaa , Bin Beitrag zur Harmonie der evangelischen Berichte. We saw above that Mount Tabor could not have been the scene of the trans- figuration. u But should we conclude from this, that that tradition is wholly untenable ? How easily could that which had been said of the second transfiguration of Jesus before the eyes of His Church, be confounded with the account of the former transfigura- tion ! How well adapted, besides, was Mount Tabor for the accom- modation of the disciples, who assembled for the purpose of cele- brating the great Easter festival!” That the mount was then peopled, goes against the theory which makes it the scene of such an event as the first transfiguration, but not against the view which selects it as the centre to which the Galilean Christians were ga- thered. For the dwellers upon this mountain (if the mountain were not then, to some degree, waste and occupied only by ruins ; see Schulz, Reisebeschreibung) could be but few in number, and would be, besides, friendly disposed to the Galilean believers, so that the assemblage upon this high peak of Galilee would not be in the least disturbed (see Lange’s Leben Jesu ii. 3, 1730). Grotius, too, writing upon this passage, is in favour of Tabor. u Southwards from the Mount of Beatitudes, six miles distant from Nazareth, in an easterly direction (south-east), the Mount of Tabor rises on high, "N3TI, i. e ., peak, navel, Greek 'iTaftvpiov (Hos. v. 1 ; Sept.) ; it is called by the aborigines Tschebel Tor, a great, well-nigh isolated ball of chalkstone, flattened on the top. Mira rotunditate sublimis. 132 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. In omni parte finitur gequaliter {Hieronymus). Upon the southern side, it sinks deep into the u Vallejo of Israel northwards it over- looks all the confronting mountains of the highlands of Galilee. The sides of Tabor are covered with a forest of oaks and wild pistachio- trees, which shelter wild swine and ounces. The whole mountain is rich in flowers, and abounds with trees. The flat top is about a mile and a half in circumference ; upon it are the remains of a large fortress, and two churches may still be recognised.” K. von Raumer, Palastina, p. 62. See Jer. xlvi. 18 ; Ps. lxxxix. 13. Upon the prospect from Tabor, consult works of travel, Schubert, Ro- binson; also Schulz (Muhlheim an der Ruhr, 1852, p. 260). Ger- lach supposes the mountain to have lain in a lonely neighbourhood, in Lebanon, in the north of Galilee, but states no reasons. 3. A nd when they saw Him . — In the case of the Eleven, this was u neither the first occasion upon which they had seen Him since the resurrection, nor yet the first impression.” Judging from the import of what follows, we believe that Matthew groups the eleven Apostles together with the assembled pilgrim throng of Galilean believers. To this congregated body does the prostration refer, and also the doubting of some. We consider, however, that the statement, “ some doubted,” is not applied to the reality of the Risen One, but is used in regard to the immediately preceding 7 Tpoore/cvvrjo-av. These “ some” were not in doubt whether the person before them was really Jesus who had risen. That would have been a total inversion of the order of things, if they had come to the mountain believing, and had been plunged back into doubt upon the sight of the Lord. Why, it was this very vision of the Lord which made the women and the Eleven believing. So that they doubted whether it was proper to offer unto the Lord such an unbounded worship as was expressed in the supplications and prostration of the disciples. This view is held also by De Wette. The following declaration of Jesus refers to this hesitation. Hence we find in this a prophetic allusion by the Evangelist to that germ of Ebionitism which deve- loped itself at a later period among the Jewish Christians, just as he had before pointed out the germ of the antichristian Judaism. These u some” — oi Be without a preceding 01 pen — constitute a par- ticular section of that assembled mass, formerly mentioned as a body, to which special attention would be directed. The words, oi Be iBicrraaav , have received various explanations. 1. The reading itself, ovBe : Bornemann. 2. The meaning, Some prostrated them- selves, the others separated in dismay: Schleussner. 3. The occasion : CHAP. XXVIII. 16-20. 133 a. They doubted, because Jesus’ body was already glorified : Ols- hausen et al.; b. dread of a phantom: Hase; c. on account of a change in the body of Jesus, which was now in the intermediate state, between its former condition, and glorification, which was com- pleted at the ascension : Meyer. 4. The subject : a. The Eleven were they who doubted: Meyer; certain of the Seventy: Kuinoel; b. certain of the five hundred brethren, 1 Cor. xv. 6 : Calovius et al. This last explanation is undoubtedly the correct one. (See above.) 4. Came (drew near), and spake unto them. — This drawing near was manifestly a special approach unto those who were doubting ; and unto them likewise were the following words in the first in- stance addressed, though not exclusively. 5. Is given unto Me. — Expression of His glorification and vic- tor}". “It is an unfounded, rationalistic explanation, when this expression is made to mean, either Potestas animis hominum per doctrinam imperandi (Kuinoel), or full power to make all the pre- parations necessary for the Messianic theocracy. It is the Munus regium Christi, without limitation.” Meyer. According to the doubts of the later Ebionites, Christ must share the power given Him by God , in heaven with the angels , on earth with Moses. 6. Go ye (therefore ). — Ovv is undoubtedly a gloss, but a correct one ; for the majesty of Christ is the ground, not merely for His sending , but also for their allowing themselves to be sent. 7. Make disciples of /laOrjTeixrare. — Luther’s translation, teach , is quite incorrect. So also is the Baptist exegesis, In every case, first complete religious instruction, then baptism. To make dis- ciples of, involves in general, it is true, the preaching of the Gos- pel ; but it marks pre-eminently the moment when the non-Chris- tian is brought to a full willingness to become a Christian, that is, to become, through repentance and faith, a catechumen. This willingness, in the case of the children of Christian parents, is pre- supposed in the willingness of the parents, because it is an unnatural and impious treatment of children as adults, and of Christianity as a mere school question , when the parents do not decide unhesitat- ingly in favour of Christianity as regards their children, and do not determine to educate them as subjects of Christianity. Hence the children of Christian parents are born catechumens. The Holy Scriptures in every case place the spiritual unity of the household in the believing father or believing mother, representing this as the normal relation. 8. All nations . — Removal of the limitations laid down in ch. x. 134 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. 5, according to the statements contained in ch. xxv. 32. By this, also, the universality of the apostolic commission is confirmed. The question, how the Gentiles are to be received into the Church, is not yet answered, though the unconditioned reception of believers is found in the appointment, that nations, as nations, are to be christianized, and are not first to be made Jews ; that they are to be marked out as Christians by baptism, without any reference to circumcision. The development of this germ is left by the Lord to the work of the Spirit. The revelation, Acts x., is the Spirit’s exegesis of the already perfect commission, and not a continuation or expansion of that commission, which was completed with the work of Christ. We cannot, therefore, assume that the Apostles, up to that time, held circumcision to be a necessary condition of baptism, or reception into the Church ; they were merely in the dark regarding this question, and the Holy Spirit explained the statement unto them. 9. Baptizing them. — The reading jlairrlaaPTe^ is more accu- rate. But fjLaOrjTeveiv is not completed in baptism. Bather are there two acts, a missionary and an ecclesiastical, — the antecedent baptism, the subsequent instruction. 10. In the name of. — That is, in the might of, and for, the name, which was the badge and the symbol of the new Church. Eh to. u Note,” says Meyer, u that the formula of the admini- strators, In nomine, In the name of, rests entirely upon an incorrect translation of the Vulgate.” Yet, not so entirely , because the ex- pression eV tc3 opopan is found in Acts x. 48 (compare Matt. iii. 11). De Wette and Meyer explain eh to, with reference to the name. But eh to, in other passages, means either the element into which one is baptized (Mark i. 9, eh top 'Iopbavrjv ; Bom. vi. 3, eh rov Oavarov) ; or the object, eh perdroLap, Matt. iii. 11; Acts ii. 38, eh d, not their departure, as Mill, Grabe, Ebrard, and Meyer render it”). There is no contradiction between this and the statement of Clement of Alexandria, to the effect that this narrative had been composed during the lifetime of Peter, as Irenaeus refers not to the com- mencement, but to the close of its composition. For the purpose of introducing the apocryphal story of the victory of Peter over Simon Magus at Pome, Eusebius has fixed the time of the Apostle’s stay in the capital in the third year of the Emperor Claudius, evi- dently post-dating it. The publication of our Gospel must have taken place between the year 68 and 70. That the Gospel was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, we gather from the circumstance that in ch. xiii. the Evangelist relates the predic- tion of that event without referring to its fulfilment. Hence our Gospel must have been composed about the same time as those by Matthew and by John; the Gospel of Luke having been published several years earlier. According to the testimony of Clement, Eusebius, Jerome, and 164 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. others, our Gospel was composed at Home — a tradition which is credited by most modern theologians. Richard Simon and others have, on the strength of a statement by Chrysostom that our narra- tive was written at Alexandria, conjectured that it existed in two- fold recension. A fanciful comparison of the notice in ch. xv. 21 with Acts xi. 20, led Storr to adopt the groundless hypothesis that it was composed in Antioch. As our Gospel was, in the first place, intended for Roman Christians, it naturally addressed itself mainly to such as had for- merly been Gentiles. Still, it cannot be inferred, from the total absence of Old Testament proof passages (with one or two excep- tions), that it was exclusively designed for Gentile Christians (Meyer). We have already seen that it was one of the character- istics of Mark to present Christ as manifesting His divinity directly by His divine working. That Mark introduces no Judaizing ele- ments (Kostlin), is a trait which he has in common with all the New Testament writers. On the other hand, it cannot be doubted that, when the ardent Evangelist found himself addressing Latin readers, this may have influenced his style, as in the choice of Latin expressions (ch. vi. 27, vii. 4, 8, xv. 39, 44), in giving explanation (ch. xii. 42, xv. 16), and in making certain additions (ch. x. 12, xv. 21). There is the strongest historical evidence in favour of the genu- ineness of Mark. Besides the general ecclesiastical testimonies, commencing with Justin Martyr and Tatian, and those of Irenseus, Clement, and Tertullian, we have a sufficiently clear quotation in Justin and the primitive testimony of Papias in his favour, as in that of Matthew. But, just as the testimony of Papias in favour of Matthew has been turned against him by putting a peculiar meaning upon the words ra Aoyta, so in the present instance also it has been sought to invalidate the evidence in favour of our Gospel by an appeal to the expression ov ragei, used by Papias. This view was first propounded by Schleiermacher in the Studien u. Krit. for 1832, and for a time adopted by Credner, although that writer has since discarded this interpretation. The criticism of Schleiermacher was based on the ungrounded hypothesis, that our Gospel was writ- ten in chronological order. Meyer denies the latter suggestion, but simply refers the expression ov rd^ei to the first outlines of notices which Mark had made after hearing the discourses of Peter, and which were afterwards revised and arranged. In our opinion, the remarks of Papias refer more particularly to the contrast between § 3. COMPOSITION AND INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL. 165 the Gospel of Mark and the careful arrangement adopted by Matthew, especially in recording the Lord’s discourses. Baur, as might be expected, supposes that the original Gospel of Mark was a work similar in character to the Clementines ; Kostlin speaks of an original Gospel by Peter ; while other writers indulge in similar fancies. In support of such freaks of critical imagination, each of these critics appeals to the fatal ov rd^ec of Papias, no matter whether it was originally well or ill founded, or is at present pro- perly or improperly interpreted. Others, such as De Wette, have cast doubts upon the testimony of Papias, in order thus to invalidate the authenticity of Mark. According to Ewald, there were many recensions of Mark, which underwent different variations. All these suggestions are sufficiently refuted by a proper appreciation of the testimony of our Gospel concerning its authorship. The conclusion of ch. xvi. 9-20 has given rise to critical diffi- culties and doubts, which are better founded than any of those above referred to. Eusebius did not admit the authenticity of this passage (ad Marin. Quaestio I.), remarking, that in almost all manu- scripts our Gospel closed with a description of the flight of the women from the sepulchre. Jerome (though not uniformly), Gre- gory of Nyssa, and Euth. Zigabenus adopted the same view. Be- sides, the passage is awanting in the Vatican Codex B. ; and the Syriac Philoxeniana adds, that the close of the Gospel was different in other codices. Credner points out certain divergences from the ordinary modes of expression used in this Gospel. It is asserted that, while the distinctive characteristics of Mark are awanting in this passage, others not found throughout his Gospel may be traced there. Among the latter are such expressions as iraaa /crio-ts, ry\d)(T(Tcu<; Kaivais XaXelv, etc. On the other hand, it should be noticed, 1. That even Irenaeus, adv. Haeres. iii. 10, 6, was acquainted with the present conclusion of our Gospel, as appears from the following passage : In fine autem Evangelii ait Marcus (xvi. 19) : et quidem dominus Jesus, postquam locutus est eis, receptus est in coelos et sedet ad dexteram Dei. Considering how much older and more important the testi- mony of Irenaeus is than that of Eusebius, we are naturally led to suppose it more likely that our present conclusion of the Gospel had originally been found in all manuscripts, but was afterwards left out from ecclesiastical prejudices (because the Apostles were reproved in it, etc.), than that it had afterwards been added. 2. In opposition to those codices in which this portion was awant- 166 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. ing, we have the evidence of other codices in which it existed. 3. While small details, characteristic of Mark — such as, that the expressions evOecos, iraXiv^ are awanting in this section — are promi- nently brought forward by opponents, the leading features of the passage are overlooked. But these are quite characteristic of our Evangelist, and show how the conclusion of his Gospel is quite in unison with the narrative itself. Among; these we reckon the fun- damental idea of the section, that the risen Saviour overcame the unbelief of His disciples, and the promise of the Lord, that those who believed on Him should triumph over devils and serpents, and over the powers of death. Similarly, the form and contents of the sec- tion correspond with the idea of the Gospel generally. Hence the strong expression, u Preach the Gospel to every creature” (especially taken in conjunction with the statement at the beginning of the Gospel, u Jesus was with the wild beasts ”), and the closing words, u the Lord confirming the word with signs following.” Add to this, that the Gospel could not have closed with verse 8 without being fragmentary. Still, we cannot ignore the fact, that at an early period our Gospel seems to have existed in twofold recension or form. This may perhaps be explained by the supposition that an incomplete work of our Evangelist may have circulated among the Christian public before our present and complete Gospel. A cer- tain degree of probability attaches to this hypothesis from the cir- cumstance, which the Fathers record, that the Roman Christians were very anxious for the appearance of our Gospel. u This rapid compilation and publication, followed by doubt and hesitation in view of another event, and, lastly, the final completion of the work, are so many traits in accordance with the general character of Mark, as it otherwise appears. Nor should it be forgotten that, as hierar- chical views gradually spread in the Church since the third century, the fragment in question may have excited greater interest from the idea that the Apostles had been presented by Mark in an unfavour- able light in his narrative of the resurrection. Considerations like these may have weighed with such men as Eusebius. Thus, it would almost seem as if the marked characteristics of our Evan- gelist had given rise to the doubts about the authenticity of this passage. But there also Mark seems mainly bent upon presenting the risen Saviour in the full majesty of His power, as He transforms, by one stroke, the remaining unbelief of His followers into a faith that overcomes the world.” Lastly, we remark that the following critical writers have impugned the authenticity of our passage, viz., § 4. THEOLOGICAL AND HOMILETICAL WORKS ON THIS GOSPEL. 167 Michaelis, Griesbach, Credner, Hitzig (who ascribes its composition to Luke), and many others ; among them Meyer, who designates the passage as an “ apocryphal fragment.” Its authenticity is de- fended by Richard Simon, Wolf, Bengel, Kuinoel, Hug, Guerike, and others. In consequence of the supposition that Mark had composed his Gospel at Rome, and for Romans, the idea was broached in the Syrian Church, that our Evangelist had originally written in Latin. Hence the old Syriac Peschito concludes with the remark : he de- clared the Gospel at Rome in the Roman language. This view was adopted by the Philoxeniana and some Greek manuscripts. Baronius availed himself of this notice in his Annals (ad ann. 45), with the view of adding to the authority of the Vulgate. Though adopted by others, the idea has been abandoned even by Romanist writers, since the time of Richard Simon. A supposed Latin auto- graph at Venice has been found to be taken from the Vulgate. The older Fathers partly imply, and partly expressly state, that Mark wrote in Greek. §4. THEOLOGICAL AND HOMILETICAL WORKS ON THIS GOSPEL. For those exegetical and homiletical works which treat of the Gospel of Mark, along with other smaller or larger sections of the New Testament, we refer the reader to our General Introduction, and to our remarks prefatory to the Gospel by Matthew. To the writings then enumerated, we would add, the Homiletical and Theol. Comment, on the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, by Drs Val. Loch and W. Reischl (Roman Cath.), Regensb. 1827, and Luther’s Expos, of the Gospels, edited by Eberle, Stuttg. 1857. Besides these, we would mention Gossner’s Edification of Christians; or, Exposit. of the New Testament; Besser , Bible- Exposit. (Bibel-Stunden) ; Harms ’ and Josephsori s works on the Sermon on the Mount; and KineweVs Sermons on the Gospels, adapted for the Family Circle. For special works on the Gospel by Mark, comp, the Encyclop. of Lilienthal, Danz and Winer. Rolle, J. B. Koppe, and Wilke, have written in defence of the originality of our Gospel ; while the opposite view has been main- 168 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. tained chiefly by Griesbach and H. Saunier. Compare also the works of Knobel, Hitzig, Baur, and others. Of homiletical works, we specially mention those by Schleiermacher (Berlin, 1835), C. Brieger (Berlin, 1856), and W. L. Bauer (Dillenb. 1859). §5. FUNDAMENTAL IDEA AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. As motto of this Gospel, we regard the declaration of Peter in Acts x. 38 , — u Jesus of Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.” J esus, the mighty God ("itoji ta, Isa. ix. 6), who broke through all fetters and bonds, appeared as a Divine Person, both in His origin, mission, and preparation, and as Prince of the kingdom of heaven, engaging in warfare with, and achieving the victory over, Satan and his powers. Throughout, the narrative presents to view a continuous series of victorious onslaughts followed by withdrawal on the part of Christ. Each victory is succeeded by a withdrawal which serves as preparation for fresh progress. The ascension of the Lord forms His last withdrawal, which is to be followed by His final and absolute victory. Part First. Grand preparation. Royal appearance of Jesus by the side of John the Baptist. First manifestation, when He quits the retire- ment of His humiliation at Nazareth, and first withdrawal. — In principle and germ all the succeeding contests are now decided. (Ch. i. 1-13.) Section 1 . John (vers. 1-8). Section 2. Christ (vers. 9-13). Part Second. Royal appearance of Christ after the Baptist. His wars and victories in Galilee among the ancient people of God. (Ch. i. 14- ix. 50.) FUNDAMENTAL IDEA AND ARRANGEMENT. 169 Section 1. Announcement of the kingdom of heaven (ch. i. 14,15). Section 2. Conquest of the first disciples at Capernaum, victory over the devils in that town, and withdrawal into the wilderness (vers. 16-35). Section 3. Conquest of disciples in Galilee, victory over the devils in the country, and withdrawal into the wilderness (vers. 36-45). Section 4. Attracting and repelling influence of the Lord. The multitude filled with enthusiasm ; the traditionalists offended. Conflicts with the powers of evil under the form of traditionalism. Hardening, and mortal hatred of the hostile party, and withdrawal of Jesus into a ship. (The preaching in synagogues gives place to that on the sea-shore.) (Ch. ii. 1— iii. 12.) Section 5. Conflict of Jesus with the unbelief of His country- men, and withdrawal into the villages (ch. iii. 13— vi. 6). Section 6. Conflict between Jesus and the hostility of Herod. Calling and mission of the Apostles. Beheading of John, and withdrawal into the wilderness on the other side of the lake (vers. 7-45). Section 7. Contest between Jesus and the scribes of Jerusalem, and withdrawal into the country about Tyre, and into that about Decapolis (ch. vi. 46— viii. 9). Section 8 . Decisive conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees in Galilee, and withdrawal to the mountains east of the lake. The new community prepared (ch. viii. 10— ix. 29). Section 9. Secret abode of Jesus preparatory to His journey to Persea and Jerusalem. Further preparation of the new community (vers. 30-50). Part Third. Conflicts and victories of the Lord in Peraea. Transition from the old to the new community. Withdrawal of the Lord for the pur- pose of collecting the disciples for His last journey. (Ch. x. 1—34.) Section 1 . Carnal views of the Pharisees, and spiritual law of the Lord, concerning marriage. Section 2. Rabbinical views of the disciples, and theocratic and New Testament arrangements of the Lord (vers. 13-16). Section 3. Temporal and spiritual riches of the world, and poverty of believers in both respects (vers. 17-31). 170 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. Section 4. Solemn gathering of the disciples on the road to im- pending sufferings (vers. 32-34). Part Fourth. Conflicts and victories of the Lord in Judaea. Christ founding the new Church. (Ch. x. 35-xv. 47.) Section 1. The departure and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (ch. x. 35-xi. 26). Section 2. Decisive conflict of Jesus with His enemies at Jeru- salem, and withdrawal of the Saviour to the Mount of Olives (ch. xi. 27— xiii. 37). Section 3. The Saviour’s conflict of suffering, and His rest in the grave. Withdrawal into the realm of the dead. (Ch. xiv. 1- xv. 47.) Part Fifth. Resurrection of the Lord. The great victory, and appearance of the Victor in the midst of the Apostles for the purpose of com- pletely establishing the new Church. Ascent to heaven (or last retirement), to achieve His victory throughout the whole world. (Ch xvi.) Section 1. The risen Saviour victorious for the Church; or, pre- paration for belief in the resurrection. The three Easter messages : the angel, the woman, the two men (vers. 1—12). Section 2. The risen Saviour victorious in the Church, sweeping away the unbelief of the disciples, perfecting their faith, and giving them their glorious message and commission (vers. 13-18). Section 3. The risen Saviour ascending to heaven victorious with His Church, confirming the “word” and message of the disciples throughout the world (vers. 19, 20). These periods of rest and withdrawal on the part of the Saviour, preparatory to fresh progress and victory, are also indicated by the other Evangelists, but not in so striking and marked a manner as in our Gospel. In one or two instances, indeed, they appear less clearly, showing that, while it was the leading idea of the sacred historian to mark these contrasts, his Gospel was not strictly and uniformly constructed or arranged upon such a plan. We subjoin a brief survey of the Gospel, with the view of setting more clearly FUNDAMENTAL IDEA AND ARRANGEMENT. 171 before the reader these contrasts of withdrawal and renewed pro- gress. The Prelude : John in the wilderness ; John arousing the whole country. Fundamental Fact : Jesus (the Son of God) concealed in Naza- reth ; glorified in consequence of His baptism in the river J ordan. 1. Sojourn of Jesus in the wilderness ; His appearance in room and stead of John ; conquest of Capernaum. 2. Retirement of the Saviour into the wilderness ; evangeliza- tion of Galilee — to the preliminary conflict with traditionalism, ch. i. 40, etc. 3. Retirement of Jesus into the wilderness (ch. i. 45) ; com- mencement and completion of the conflicts in Galilee. 4. Retirement (from intercourse with the synagogue) to the ship, and commencement of the open-air sermons (ch. iii. 7) ; as also, of the contest of the Saviour, in fellowship with His disciples, with the unbelief of the people. 5. Retirement to the villages in the mountains — and reappear- ance of the Saviour, to enter, in fellowship with His disciples, into conflict with the enmity of Herod — in the way of healing and feed- ing the people. 6. Retirement into the wilderness on the other side of the Lake of Galilee (ch. vi. 30) ; and reappearance of the Saviour to enter into conflict with the scribes of Jerusalem. Preliminary separation. 7. Retirement into the Gentile border land of Tyre and Sidon, and to Hecapolis (ch. vi. 24, etc.) ; and decisive conflict with Phari- saism in Galilee. Final separation from the hierarchical party. 8. Retirement to the mountains on the other side of the Lake of Galilee, and secret sojourn in Galilee (ch. viii. 13— ix. 50) ; journey to Persea. 9. Gathering of the disciples on the journey to Jerusalem (ch. x. 32), triumphal entry into the city, and decisive conflict in J eru- salem. Separation from the temple and the ancient theocracy. 10. Retirement of Jesus to the Mount of Olives (ch. xiii. 1), and reappearance to enter on His conflict of suffering. 11. Rest and concealment of Jesus in the grave (ch. xv. 42), and reappearance in the personal victory and triumph of His resur- rection. Victory over the realm of the dead. 12. Ascent of Jesus, being His personal retirement from this earth and His reappearance in the victories achieved by His Church. Victory over the w T orld. 172 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. We conceive that there is scarcely any room for questioning the correctness of this arrangement, except perhaps so far as sections 5 and 9 are concerned. But section 5 is also specially marked by the calling of the Twelve, which was preceded by solitude and prayer. Similarly, if it is objected that section 9 is not clearly marked in our Gospel, we reply that it is very distinctly pointed out in the Gos- pel of John as the last sojourn of Jesus before His entry into Jeru- salem (John xi. 54, etc.). But even in our Gospel it is indicated with sufficient distinctness, provided we attach their full and proper meaning to those important words in ch. x. 32 : u /cal rjv 7rpoarycov, etc., /cal cucoXovOovvires icpofiovvro” And then : u kcli irapaXafichv 'irakiv tovs 8(b8e/ca,” etc. Meyer rightly observes : u Hitherto the disciples had only partially and timidly followed Him ; most of them filled with consternation, had left Him by the way. But now the Saviour halted on His journey, and again called the Twelve around Him. This event marks the gathering of the disciples of Jesus in the wilderness of Ephraim for the solemn and avowed purpose of surrender to the final entry into Jerusalem, and all that it implied.” In this progressive series of victorious conflicts, the four chosen Apostles form the first conquest of Jesus — the final subjection and possession of the whole world, His last triumph ! THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK « PART FIRST. FIRST SECTION. JOHN. Chapter i. 1-8. (Parallels : Matt. iii. 1-12 ; Luke iii. 1-20 ; John i. 19-28.) 1 The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shaU prepare Thy way before Thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilder- ness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remis- sion of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins ; and he did eat locusts and wild honey ; 7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water : but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Yer. 2. We regard the testimony of Irenseus and other Fathers, with Codd. A.P., as sufficient to estabhsh the reading \v rolg npoCpYirottg, against the reading of Codd. B.D.L. and others, sv 5 Haca'u. ra which Griesbach and most recent critics would prefer on their authority. The correction of the text by our reading is scarcely conceivable ; on the other hand, the reading “in Esaias” might have been inserted from the second citation through an inexact remi- niscence, especially as Mark is not elsewhere accustomed to quote minutely (ch. xi. 17, xii. 10, xiv. 27). If the reading “in Esaias the prophet” be pre- ferred, the passage of Malachi must be introduced as a further development of the main passage in Isaiah, which is made prominent as the first announcement of the forerunner. 174 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. Ver. 2. sfAirpoaOtv aov is not sufficiently supported. Yer. 5. The ^uvTtg belongs to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, according to the best MS., and does not come after CRITICAL NOTES. 1. The beginning of the Gospel. — The superscription includes in its scope from yer. 1 to 3 (make straight His paths). The Evan- gelist designs by both expressions to indicate the forerunnership of John. Hence the beginning goes on, according to Meyer, to ver. 8, and not, as Ewald says, to ver. 15. There is an analogous superscription in Matt. i. 1. When Mark points to John the Baptist as the beginning of the Gospel, he refers to his whole de- velopment, and that leads to and includes the narrative of his in- fancy. But he does not include in his design generally, processes and means : hence John also must come upon the scene as the perfect man. In this concise and sudden introduction, the Evan- gelist himself appears before us in all his own peculiarity. It is true that this beginning of the Gospel was in the apostolical age the customary commencement of evangelical tradition, and as such always accompanied the apostolical preaching. It always started with the appearance of John the Baptist. The history of the in- fancy and the doctrine of the Logos followed later for the initi- ated, the believers. 2. Of Jesus Christ (Genitive of the object), the Son of God. — Matthew : The Son of David. In Mark, the theocratic relation of Jesus recedes, as he wrote especially for Gentile Christians. 3. In the desert. — See on Matthew. So also Luke. 4. The baptism of repentance. — Baptism as not only obliging to change of mind (gberdvoia), but also exhibiting and symbolizing it. 5. For the remission of sins. — Meyer rightly: To be received from the Messiah ; and not, as Hoffmann in the Schriftbeweis asserts, as assured by John’s baptism. Thus it denotes the pre- paratory reference of John’s baptism to Christ, or to the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 6. All the land of Judea , and (even) all they of Jerusalem . — Peculiar to Mark, is this strong expression. But it is so far not hyperbolical, as the Baptist had at this crisis overpowered and led captive, not only the consciousness of the people, but that of the hierarchy also. 7. And John was clothed. — See on Matthew. 8. There cometh one after me. — Present. Decision and vigour CHAP. I. 1-8. 175 of the Baptist, reflecting itself in the view of the Evangelist. Christ is already in the company. 9. To stoop down . — Pointing to his self -depreciation and humi- lity. In this descriptiveness peculiar to Mark. 10. With the Holy Ghost . — As Mark does not record the seve- rity of John’s preaching, and his announcement of the judicial work of Jesus, he omits the clause “and with fire.” Thus the omission proves nothing against the genuineness of the clause. DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. Jesus the Christ, and Christ the Son of God, in the full apostolical meaning. Thus the Gospel of the manifestation of the Mighty One of God is described and opened. 2. The Baptist is here, as in the Gospel of John, ch. i., the representative and final expression of the whole Old Testament. But the Old Testament itself, terminating in him, becomes one great forerunner, and the voice of the Spirit of God in the wilder- ness, which proclaims the manifestation of Christ ; that is, it becomes a compendious introduction to the original New Testament, spring- ing from heaven. 3. John appears here as at once summing up his office as fore- runner : 1. Himself the preparer of the way; 2. and the voice summoning to prepare the way. For the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi, see on Matthew. 4. The great baptism of J ohn : its seemingly slight, but yet great and decisive, results. 5. J ohn in the desert as a hermit ; J ohn arousing the land : preludes of the Lord’s self-humiliation and retreats, and of His victorious comings forth into the world. HOMILETICAL HINTS. The beginning of the Gospel of Christ in the manifestation of the Baptist : 1. In his appearance, as described by the prophets ; 2. in his vocation (preaching and baptism) ; 3. in his demeanour ; 4. in his alarming influence ; 5. in his reference to Christ. — The two Testaments, as they concurrently glorify Christ as the Lord. — How far the Lord will have a way prepared for Him, and how far He makes a path for Himself. — Repentance and faith a mira- culous path through the wilderness. — The confession of sin, and its significance for piety : 1. Oftentimes, alas ! nothing, or less than nothing ; 2. oftentimes very much ; 3. oftentimes everything. — 176 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. John’s great renunciation of the world, the silent condition of his great influence. — The hermit and the shaken land. — Collectedness in secret, victory in the world. — The two strong men, with whom the kingdom of heaven breaks into the world : 1. John, the strong man ; and 2. Christ, the stronger than he. — The anointing of the Holy Ghost : the consummation of the baptism of Christ. — The greatness of John the Baptist, that he always, and in all things, points out of and beyond himself : 1. A preparer of the way, who summons his people to prepare their own way ; 2. baptizing, and preaching the baptism of repentance ; 3. the overcomer of the people, who predicts Christ as overcoming himself ; 4. pointing from his own water-baptism to the baptism of the Spirit. — The baptism of water and the baptism of Spirit. — The heroic constancy and decision of John in his work, a symbol for all believers. Starche : Thus the last messenger of the old covenant points to the first of the new. Thus truth agrees with truth. — The New Testament looks back upon the Old. — The wilderness in which the Baptist appeared, a shadow of this world. — Word and sacrament the two essential elements of the preaching office. — Preachers furnished with the Spirit and power may have great concourse around them ; but Israel soon becomes weary of the manna, John vi. 66. Gerlach : John’s baptism as the conclusion, and consequently also the epitome, of all that the legal economy contained in itself. — It was not itself to communicate forgiveness of sins, but prepare the way for it. — -Even Christians should not despise such prepara- tions through the law for the Gospel. — In times of great declen- sion in morals, the servants of the Lord appear with a special self-renunciation even in external things. So the ancient Elijah, 2 Kings i. 8. — Gossner: A preacher should be only a messenger who proclaims the coming of the Lord and Saviour. — W. L. Bauer : The man of humility, who aimed only to prepare the way. SECOND SECTION. CHRIST. Chapter i. 9-13. (Parallels: Matt. iii. 13-iv. 11 ; Luke iii. 21- iv. 13 ; John i. 29-42.) 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out CHAP. I. 9-13. 177 of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descend- ing upon Him : 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 12 And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan ; and was with the wild beasts : and the angels mini- stered unto Him. Ver. 11. After B.D., etc., Lachmann and Tischendorf read \v aol , “in Thee.” CRITICAL NOTES. 1. See the exposition of the parallels in Matthew and Luke. — Straightway , evOecos. Mark’s watchword, constantly recurring from this time onwards. But here it means that J esus only in a formal sense submitted to the act, and therefore did not linger in it. Much in the same way as Luke hastily passes over the circumcision of our Lord. 2. He saw the heavens. — Not John, as Erasmus and others, but Jesus is the subject of the seeing (Meyer) : but the concurrent and mediate beholding of the Baptist is not excluded ; see John i. That the occurrence should not have been only an external one, but also an internal (Leben Jesu ii. 1, S. 182), Meyer calls u fantasy.” But it is certain that without the fantasy of theological spiritual insight we cannot penetrate the internal meaning of the text, and must fall now into mere dogmatism, and now into rationalistic perversions. 3. And immediately driveth Him. — 'EfcfidWet, is stronger than the avrj^Or} of Matthew and the ijy ero of Luke. 4. And He was there forty days tempted of Satan. — According to Meyer and others, Mark is here (with Luke) out of harmony with Matthew. This difficulty springs from neglecting to distin- guish, 1. between real difference and less exactitude, and 2. between the being tempted generally of Satan, and the being tempted in a specifically pregnant and decisive manner. But it is evident that Mark places the crisis of Christ’s victory already in the baptism. That act of victory over self, and humiliation under the baptism of John, had already assured Him the victory over the now impotent assaults of Satan. 5. With the wild beasts. — Ancient expositors find in this cir- cumstance a counterpart of the serpent in paradise. Starcke : The wilderness was probably the great Arabian desert; and Satan at- tacked Him also through the beasts. Usteri and others : Christ as the restorer of paradise, and conqueror of the beasts. De Wette : This is a mere pictorial embellishment. Meyer : He is threatened in a twofold manner : Satan tempts Him, and the beasts surround VOL. III. M 178 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. Him But this is a misleading view. A threefold relation of Jesus is here depicted, 1. to Satan, 2. to the beasts, 3. to the angels ; and it is arbitrary to separate the second from the third, and make it the antithesis of the first. There is nothing in the fie-rd to justify this. 6. The angels . — Not merely fortuitous individual angels. By the individuals which minister to Him, the angel-world is repre- sented. Meyer : By the ministering we are not to understand a serving with food, but a sustaining support against Satan and the beasts. This is more than fantasy. 7. The theory concerning the various forms of the history of the temptation, of which Mark is supposed to have used the earliest and simplest, we pass over, as flowing from the well-known scho- lastic misapprehension of this Evangelist’s original view and exhi- bition of the Gospel. 8. Ex ungue leonem l This holds good of Christ, as He is in- troduced by Mark ; and in another sense it holds good of the beginning of the Gospel itself. Remark the expressions : oi 'Iepo- : in later phraseology, all not Christians ; with the Talmudists, all who were not Jews; but also the uninstructed and uninitiated Jews. Here, however, it is doubtless a hint of the germ of the opposition between the old and the new community, which in the word efacXrjGLa (Matt. xvi. 18) came somewhat later into full use. 8. They may see. — The Xva is not to be softened, as if ita ut, as Rosenmuller and others assert. We must maintain that this hard utterance was based upon Isa. vi. 9 seq., and therefore that it must be interpreted in the meaning of that passage : not as an absolute sentence, but as a deserved , economical , and pedagogical visitation. See on Matthew. 9. Ye know not this parable ? — The first parable of the kingdom is the basis of all the rest. If they understood not this, they could not understand any that followed. If they had the explanation of this, they had the key for the understanding of all others. Accord- ing to De Wette, these are rebuking words; according to Meyer, they are a mere recurrence to the question of ver. 10. But it is certainly, at the same time, an intimation of the connection of all the parables in the idea of the kingdom of heaven ; so that with the explanation of this one, all were explained. 10. These are they by the way-side , where the word is sown . — Through the whole parable we must embrace in one view the field with the seed on it. In Luke, the idea of seed predominates ; in Mark, the idea of ground sown over ; in Matthew, there is a change. In the first two, the view of the ground sown predominates ; in the last two, the view of the seed scattered. 11. Which are soivn. — Mark the change of tense in Mark : airei- poyevoi, vers. 16 and 18, and < 77 rapevre^ in ver. 20. CHAP. IV. 1-34. 233 12. They have heard the word , ver. 18. — Hearers pre-eminently. Diligent hearers, but not doers; cucovcravTe ?, B.C.D.L.A., Tischen- dorf. Mark gives the most vivid picture of them. 13. Is a candle brought to be put ? — Not an exhortation to virtue, as Theophylact and others thought, but a statement of the end for which He confided to them the mystery of the kingdom in parables. According to Erasmus : u Do not suppose that what I now commit to you in secret, I would have concealed for ever; the light is kindled by Me in you, that by your ministry it may disperse the darkness of the whole world.” 14. For there is nothing hidden. — The concealed is in its very nature destined to be revealed in its time. A thing only concealed, would not be concealed ; it would as such have no meaning. There is this design in all the concealments of the kingdom of God. Thus the clause forms the complement of the iva above, ver. 12. 15. With what measure ye mete. — De Wette (after Euthym. Zig.) : u According to the measure of your ability and diligence (as hearers, see the preceding verse), ye will receive instruction.” But it seems more obvious, in the process of the thought, to say, Ac- cording to the measure of your diligence in teaching will your Master add to your knowledge (docendo discimus , especially in the kingdom of God). For the mere hearing and receiving cannot well be described as a measuring out. 16. For he that hath. — The word has here a more plain reference to zeal in the teaching function. The living treasure of knowledge will always, by its own nature, go on increasing. We may com- pare the words concerning the spiritual life springing up within, J ohn iv. 14, vii. 38 ; for living knowledge is never separable from internal spiritual life. 17. Yers. 26-29. Continuation of the parabolic instruction, ad- dressed to the people. Meyer : Observe the Aorist ftaXi 7, and then the following Presents : has cast , and then does sleep. 18. When the fruit is brought forth , ver. 29. — But the irapahcg is not intransitive : When the fruit shall have yielded itself. This relative spontaneousness of the fruit is as if it did not suffer prema- ture cutting before its full ripeness. 19. Yers. 30-32. Or with what comparison. — Meyer : The hearers are formally included in the act of consideration. 20. And with many such parables. — Manifestly Mark knew of other parables of our Lord, which he passes over. 21. As they were able , ver. 33. — This does not refer to their 234 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. worthiness fGrotius), but to their ability to apprehend (Theophy- lact, De Wette). It also includes, however, their being able to bear without being offended. Thus it is not a mere literal cucoveuv in the sense of being able to receive, as Meyer thinks. DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. See on the parallels. 2. On the Lva, ver. 12, see the notes above. 3. The parable of vers. 26—29 teaches, in the figure of the rela- tive independence of nature in the regular development of the seed through an internal energy of growth ( avTo/xarr ]), the higher rela- tive independence and regular development of the growth of the kingdom of God, or the establishment of Christianity and the Church in the world down to its consummation for the final manifestation of the kingdom of God. (The reapers : the angels, Matt. xiii. 39.) The proper point of comparison is the seed’s impulse of growth from within outwardly, as if by an internal energy of its own, whence follow the apparent spontaneousness, regularity, gra- dualness, progressiveness, security, and perfection of the develop- ment. Thus the naturalness of nature, so to speak, the “ meta- morphosis of plants,” becomes a symbol of the development of the divine life from the seed of the divine word or regeneration. The germinant energy of growth is here the actual freedom of the new divine-human (not abstractly human, but also not abstractly divine) energy of life in humanity ; whether in the regeneration and sanc- tification of the believing community, or in that of the individual Christian. Here also the development proceeds from within, from the conscious internal being : independent or free (not from God, but in God), naturally and regularly legitimate, gradual, progressive down to certain and decisive consummation. But it is assumed that human nature in its essence bears the same relation to the word of God, and has as much in common with it, as the ground to the seed-corn. And as this ground only by culture, and tillage, and sowing overcomes its tendency to wildness, and the bringing forth of thorns and thistles, so also the human heart is set free from its wicked bias, and its thorns and thistles, only by the culture of grace and the seed of the word of God. Meyer : The spontaneousness here set forth does not deny the divine energies of grace ; but the end of the parable is not to make the latter prominent, but the for- mer. De Wette : The parable teaches patience, as that of the tares forbearance. — The period of the New Testament Church presents CHAP. IV. 1-34. 235 the natural development of the kingdom of God, yet not without the Lord’s overruling, and not without the constant energy of His Spirit. The miraculous seed has become a new nature, from which at the Lord’s appearance new fruits will grow. HOMILETICAL HINTS. See on the parallels. — Christ teaching in the ship a parable itself of the kingdom of heaven : 1. A figure of the form of that kingdom : a. of the evangelical ministry, b. of the Church, c. of mis- sions. 2. A figure of its condition : a. small beginnings, b. poverty, c. mobility, freedom. — Christ in conflict with the sensuous unbelief of the world. — Christ the deliverer of the people from the bonds of ignorance, of carnal notions, and sensuous narrowness. — The teach- ing wisdom of Christ, as it speaks in parables, a seal of His divine power (of His love as of His wisdom). — He that hath ears to hear, let him hear! — The parables of Jesus as signs of the divine judg- ments : 1. Figuring the judicial concealments and symbols of truth in the spiritual life of mankind, a. in the Gentile world, b. in the people of Israel, c. in the Christian, specially the medieval Church ; 2. figuring their scope and purpose, a. to spare, b. to instruct, and c. to discipline and educate the soul. — The interpretation of the parable of the sower a key to the interpretation of all the rest. — The three parables of our chapter combined, present a figure of the unfolding of the kingdom of heaven, as to its foundation, progress, and completion. — The parable of vers. 26-29. Nature, in its normal development from within, a representation of human freedom, and its development in the kingdom of grace. — The word of life in the figure of a grain of wheat: 1. Its internal energy of life; 2. its growth according to laws ; 3. its gradualness ; 4. its progressive stages ; 5. the certainty of its development. — The work of grace, its normal unfolding, in the Church and in individuals. — In the king- dom of grace we must learn not to misapprehend even the immature forms of development (not counting the green stalk as common grass, etc.). — The seed of divine grace requires patient waiting for its maturity. — The human heart may become one with the word of God (in consequence of its original relation to it) through faith ; and then there is unfolded in it a divine energy of new life. — For him who rightly cares for the seed, the fruit gradually ripens, although he himself may not know it. — Even in unconscious life the divine word goes on maturing. (Narratives of the feeble-minded, in whom it gradually was developed. The working goes on in the 236 TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. sleeper.) — The influences of weather: sunshine and rain in the kingdom of grace, mysterious influence *md government of the divine nature. — The seed, with all its certainty of development, under the necessary condition of sunshine and rain. Application of this to the work of divine grace in the soul of the believer. StarcJce , Quesnel : An imperfect church, an unworthy pulpit, and poor hearers, may nevertheless form a true church, accepted of God. — Cramer: Jesus makes the little ship His pulpit; if we do not diligently hear and obey, He removes Himself with His little ship and pulpit. — Canstein: Tilling the land is the oldest work of men’s hands, and the most pleasing to God; therefore Christ took His parables so willingly from that occupation. — God’s word is a living seed, by which the spiritually dead hearts of men are made living and fruitful. — Hedinger : Unchanging seed, variable hearts. — Osiander : If men did not harden themselves, they would not fall into the danger of reprobation. — Hedinger : We must not look at the mere shell, but at the kernel of Holy Scripture (on ver. 13).— Quesnel : The knowledge of divine mysteries is of God, and not of man. — The wisdom of God has not always remained secret, but at the right season has been made manifest to men, 1 Cor. ii. 7. — All things must come to light, whether after a longer or a shorter time. — Faithful pastors and diligent hearers obtain from day to day a larger measure of light and grace. — A faithful and diligent soul has a great treasure — its riches extend to eternity ; but an idle soul becomes every day poorer, until at last it loses all. — O how far should we have advanced in the way of salvation, if we had only always used aright the means of grace !- — By the sleeping is signified an expectation of blessing, which leaves all care to God ; as one may say, I sleep, but my heart wakes. — Magus : God’s servants should not be impatient when they do not at once see the fruits of their labours. — We must do our work sincerely, and commit to God the result ; He will make His true servants rejoice in the day of harvest. — God conceals from His ministers some of the fruits of their diligence, to keep them in humility. — Hope in God, who will not neglect His work in thee. — Christians must aim high, and strive after perfection. — Where God’s word is rightly sown and received, it is never long without fruits of salvation. — Osiander: We must not expect at once perfect trees of righteousness in the paradise of the Christian Church ; time is required for rooting, growing, and bringing forth fruit. Gerlacli : The longer man retains and studies any one divine CHAP. IV. 35-41. 237 truth, the more manifest it becomes, and itself brings all others to light. — Braune: The unostentatious development of the divine word and the kingdom of God in the heart of man. — As the husband- man hardly distinguishes seeds, so is it with the results of the seed of the word. Learn patience. — Schleiermacher : (He observes that Christ was not misled by the flocking of multitudes around Him- self, but perfectly penetrated His whole auditory — four kinds of soils ; but that at the same time He was not angered by this cha- racter of His auditory.) If the divine word is received and retained, it is changed into the life of the man ; and then in a natural man- ner his acts are like his words, and become more and more the expression of the divine word. — The fruit is that which is to be detached again from the plant, itself to be again sown, and from which new life is to arise. — The Redeemer says truly, that there is no other power by which the kingdom of God prospers than this power of the seed, this power of the divine word ; that is, in rela- tion to the office and work of the human sower. — The preparatory work, the tilling of the land, must be distinguished from the sow- ing. — Gossner : On ver. 22. Him who made the ear, man will not hear. — If we mete out with the measure of Christ, it shall be meted to us again with the same. 4. Conflict of Jesus with the feeble-minded Unbelief of the Disciples ; the Stilling of the Storm ; and His Triumph over Human Sea- farers in their vocation . (Veks. 35-41.) Parallels : Matt. viii. 18-23, 27 ; Luke viii. 22-25. 35 And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow : and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Mas- ter, carest Thou not that we perish? 39 And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful ? how is it that ye have no faith ? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him ? Ver. 37. Lach., Tisch., following B.C.D.L., etc.: ijdrj ytplQadut to k'Xoiov. Ver. 40. The ovra is contested by Lachm., after B.D.L.A. Tischendorf de- fends it by important codd. The insertion, indeed, is more easily explained than the omission. Griesb., Lach., ovwa, B.D., etc. 238 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. See on the parallels. — Pictorial vividness in the narrative of the voyage : evening, the sudden departure, the convoy of ships, the violence of the storm, the ship all but sinking, the image of Him who slept on the pillow, the reproach of the distressed men that Jesus cared not, the words of rebuke to the wind, the strong reproof of the disciples, their great fear, and its effect. 2. Besides the arrangement according to matter, there is here a definite historical sequence to the preceding section. — And the same day : He saith unto them . Thus it was before the stormy voyage that our Lord uttered the first parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. 3. Even as He was in the ship. — That is, they proceeded at once, before they could make specific preparation for the voyage. The evening voyage over the sea to the south-east coast was extended to several hours, and became a night voyage. 4. Meyer : The disciples’ weakness in knowledge and faith (ver. 40) is made more prominent by Mark than by the other Synoptics : comp. ch. vi. 52, vii. 18, viii. 17, 18, 33, ix. 6, 19, 32, 34, x. 24, 32, 35, xiv. 40. 5. The waves heat into the ship. — The iireftaXkev intransitive, referring to the waves. DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. See on the parallels. 2. Significance of the crisis of deep excitement : mutual re- proaches. The disciples allege against the Lord, groundlessly and irreverently, the reproach of not caring for them ; He on His side inflicts the well-grounded reproof of despondency and lack of faith. They uttered their charge prematurely, before they had waited to see the Lord’s manner of action ; Christ did not utter His reproof (fully, comp. Matthew) until He had brought relief in the danger. This often recurs in the history of the Church’s great tribulations, as well as in the private difficulties of the Christian life. 3. The personification of the wind and sea in Christ’s address is most emphatic in the rebuking words of Christ, as found in Mark. But at the base of this personification there is a dogmatic element, to wit, that nature has acquired a character of apparently wild inde- pendence and anarchy since man became unfaithful to his destiny : Kule over it, and make it subject to you. But in this seeming CHAP. IV. 35-41. 239 anarchy, which is under the power of God, and is used by Him as means of discipline and judgment, is reflected that real anarchy, that lack of obedience and faith in the human breast, which is at the same time felt as a lack of self-government and rule over the creature. Therefore we see confronting the unbelief of the disci- ples Jesus’ confidence ; His peace is opposed to their excitement, His self-possession to their distraction ; His majestic supremacy over the winds and waves is opposed to their subjection to natural terrors. And the effect is, that His own disciples experience to- wards Him the same awe of reverence and fear which they had experienced before towards the frightful sublimity of nature. But now they are the subjects of a fear which passes over into the utter- ances of a rising and blessed faith. HOMILETICAL HINTS. See on the parallels. — The voyage of the disciples of Jesus (according to Mark ; see the notes). — A nightpiece in the life of the disciples : 1. the history ; 2. its significance. — The victory of the Lord over feeble-minded unbelief : 1. He leads little faith into danger ; 2. He lets it wrestle with the peril to the utmost point ; 3. He convicts, humbles, and heals it. — The fear of man before the terrors of nature, a sign that he is not consecrated through the terrors of the spirit. — The Lord’s supremacy over human vocations (seafaring, fishing, government, learning). — Test of the disciples in the danger of death. — The pride of the little apostolical crew, and its humiliation : a sign. — Jesus’ sleeping and awaking : 1. His sleep- ing, the repose of His divine power, an exercise and test of the human ; 2. His awaking, a new glorification of the saving divinity in humanity needing salvation. — Jesus the star of the sea (the anchor, the rudder, the lighthouse, the rescuer of the wrecked). — Danger to life always danger to the soul. — Divine help in our human life should be to us a sign for quickening and salvation. — How all fear of the creature should be changed by the awe of Christ’s presence into peace.- — To reverence the Son of God, and to obtain kingly power over the creaturely world, are one and the same. — Perfect love casts out fear. — The wide wild world glorified by the Spirit of Christ into a blessed house of God. — Jesus Christ, the commander of wind and sea : 1. in nature ; 2. in history ; 3. in the fates of the Church. — What follows from His being obeyed by the winds and the waves, — as to Himself, as to the world, as to us ? — Christ as the Ruler of nature, and Restorer of its paradisaical peace. 240 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. StarcJce : The evening may be very different from the early morning. — Faithful servants of God may have some seasons of rest permitted them, lest they sink under their burden. — Going forth with Christ into a sea of tribulation. — If He be with us, we shall not sink and perish. — The little ship of the Church is often so beaten by the storms of tribulation and persecution, that it seems as if it must go down. — Distress teaches man to pray, although faith is never without prayer. — It is the error of men, that they take at once danger to be a mark that God takes no heed of them. — Canstein : A great storm followed by a great calm : so is it ever with God’s consolations after trial. — Quesnel : God is so gracious and gentle, that He does not despise a slender faith, or reject an im- perfect prayer, or cast out a fearful heart. — How profitable would Christians find it, if they would discourse in their social meetings about the wonders of God and the glory of Jesus Christ ! Gerlach : It is always a blameable unbelief, when we fear to enter the ship with Christ. — Braune: The difference between Jonah’s sleeping in the ship and that of Jesus. — He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. — Schleiermacher : That was their unbelief, He meant, that they thought He could go down at a time when He had not yet given them any commission ; that they thought God could take so little care of His work, as that it should go down with them. — There is no one among us who can assure himself that the old man, however entirely he may seem to be buried into the death of Christ, will not rise up with his giant lusts, and involve the soul into storm and tempest. — But if we are mem- bers of His body, we should maintain the sure confidence, that in all times of severe test and temptation, the bond of union between Him and us ^ill not be severed. — As certainly as He could not go down with His people on that day, He will not suffer His people to go down in this. — Gossne?' : When the help of man ceases, God’s help begins ; or, faith in the sure word. — When there is storm in the soul, and when thou art in great peril, thou knowest what it is for, and whither to fly. — What calmness in the soul, when the Lord arises and utters His voice ! CHAP. V. 1-20. 241 5. Conflict of Jesus ivith the despairing Unbelief of the Demoniac , and the selfish Unbelief of the Gadarenes ; Healing of the Demoniac , and Triumph over Human Devices for Security. (Chap. y. 1-20.) Parallels : Matt. viii. 28-34 ; Luke viii. 26-39. 1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwell- ing among the tombs ; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains : 4 Be- cause that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces : neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the moun- tains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him, 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the most high God ? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not. 8 (For He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.) 9 And He asked him, What is thy name ? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion : for we are many. 10 And he besought Him much that He would not send them away out of the country. 11 Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains, a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all the devils- besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine ; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea (they were about two thousand), and were choked in the sea. 14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind ; and they were afraid. 16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts. 18 And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not; but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him : and all men did marvel. Ver. 1. Many codd. read vfKdiv. But this is not sufficiently authenticated: “ probably from Matt. viii. 28.” Lach. and Tisch. read TepecavivZi / ; L.A., etc., Yipyianvau ; Cod. A., Rec., Vulgate, Scholz, Meyer, Tetlxpnuum. Comp, the parallel in Matt. Ver. 3. Lach., Tisch., after B.C.L. O vxen ouoeig, after B.C.D. : strong negation. Ver. 5. In the tombs and upon the mountains, is the best attested order. Ver. 9. Instead of d'Xixp'iQn ’htyav, the better reading is \kyu xvtu. Ver. 12. Hotvrtg is wanting in many codd. ; so o< hiu'pcousg. YOL. III. Q 242 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. Ver. 13. The vj(ru» Ss is wanting in B.C.D., etc. So Griesb. and Tisch. Ver. 18. A.B., etc., • Yer. 19. K ul ovx, A.B.C. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. Compare on the parallels. — Mark’s vividness of realization here again appears in many characteristics : the untameableness of the demon, whom no man could bind, even with chains ; his crying in the mountains, and the self-tormenting fury of his cutting himself with stones ; his seeing Jesus afar off, running to Him, and crying with a loud voice at the first sight of the Lord ; the adjuration of Jesus by God; the vehemence of his anxiety that He should not send him away out of that country (Luke : into the abyss) ; the number of the wretched swine, two thousand ; the con- trast of the demoniac who was possessed by the legion, sitting clothed and in his right mind ; the observation, that the healed man spread the report of the miracle through all Decapolis ; and other similar traits. Luke, in his representation of the event, ap- proximates to Mark. Matthew alone makes mention of two demo- niacs, on which we may consult the parallels. As it respects the chronology, Mark goes back in the history, manifestly because his order is that of things and not of time. The voyage to Gadara fell in the first year of Christ’s work, and preceded the healing of the paralytic and the controversies touching the Sabbath. 2. Fetters and chains. — This distinction has been explained by referring the former fetters to the hands, which Meyer rejects. Fetters are fetters, to whatever part of the body applied. How- ever, these chains were ordinarily used for the hands. 3. Crying and cutting himself with stones. — Fearful picture of a demoniac terror ; having reached the extreme point of madness, down to rending his own flesh. 4. When he saw Jesus afar off. — Yivid description of the won- derful influence of Christ upon the demoniac. Probably some intelligence concerning Jesus had reached his ears; but that he knew Him at once in this His appearance, can be explained only by an intensified spiritual presentiment. It is not probable that he was a heathen. 5. I adjure Thee by God. — The daring misuse of the name of God in the mouth of the demoniac has nothing in it inconsistent, as Strauss and others have thought. The intermixture of praying and adjuring is characteristic of the demoniac, as under the in- fluence of Christ. CHAP. V. 1-20. 243 6. That Thou torment me not. — Meyer : “ The possessed man, identifying himself with his demon, dreads the pains and convul- sions of the casting out.” But if that had been meant, the pos- sessed man would have distinguished himself from his demon, and not identified himself with him. In that identification he felt the nearness and the supremacy of Jesus itself a torment, and still more banishment into the abyss. 7. For He said (already). — Compare Luke : nraprjyyeCke yap, etc . — u If we rely on the exactitude of the sequence of the particu- lars in the narrative of Mark and Luke, we find here the remark- able circumstance, that the demoniac was not at once healed when the Lord spoke the decisive word. Christ had said to him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit ! Now by this the demoniac consciousness in this man was shaken to its depths ; but as he then felt himself to be possessed of a legion of evil spirits, the demoniac in him was not reached altogether by an address in the singular. Christ saw at once how the healing was to be perfected, and He asked him his name, etc.” Leben Jesu i. 296. 8. Legion. — a The word occurs also in the rabbinical writings.” Description of a psychical victim of all possible demoniac influences and possessions. At the same time, it gives a frightful picture of the unclean country in which so many impure spirits were congre- gated. At this crisis, however, it was partly a word of resisting pride, which sought by boasting to resist the influence ; partly a word of silent complaint, in as far as the suffering consciousness of the possessed man co-operated. He does not give his own name, be- cause he still identified his consciousness with that of the unclean spirits, and spoke through them. But when in this sense one calls himself Legion, he describes himself as their leader : as it were, as the head of a whole regiment of demons. But the indistinctness and the error of the reply is characteristic of the condition of the man. 9. Not send them away out of the country , — where they found themselves so much at home; especially, as Luke adds, into the hateful abyss of hell. The lawless nature of the country (where Jews lived mingled with Gentiles), which pleased the demons well, Mark denotes by the circumstance of the two thousand swine, em- phasizing the greatness of the herd. If their owners were only in part Jews, who merely trafficked in these animals, still they were not justified before the law. Certainly we cannot regard this as exclusively a Gentile territory. 244 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. 10. And in the country. — In the villages and peasants’ huts, where the swine-feeders partly lived. The whole scene derives from this circumstance a colouring in harmony with the country and the then state of things. 11. Him that was possessed, sitting. — Beautiful and moving con- trast. 12. They began to pray Him to depart. — Gradually, after they had received intelligence of their loss, they took heart to desire Christ’s departure, in the conflict of fear and anger, fawning and obstinacy. 13. That he might be with Him. — According to Euthym. Zig., and others, fear of the demons conspired with other feelings in this request. Meyer thinks this could not have been the case, as the engulphing of the animals had already taken place ; as if the man believed that, with the swine, the devils also had perished. But, doubtless, his present fearlessness stood on a surer foundation. 14. Jesus suffered him not. — Wherefore ? The healed man had friends at home. Probably he was now in danger of despising his own people. But Jesus appointed him to be a living memorial of His own saving manifestation for that entire dark district. 15. In Decapolis. — See on Matthew. “That Jesus did not forbid, but command the promulgation of the matter, is explained by the locality (Persea), where He was less known, and where there was not the same danger as in Galilee from uproar concerning His person.” Meyer. We must also observe that Christ gave him notice of the things that he was to say. He was to announce to his friends how great things the Lord (the covenant God of Israel, the God of revelation) had done for him. This commission was enlarged by the man in two ways : he preached not only to his friends, but to the whole of Decapolis ; and not only what the Lord had done to him (Perfect), but also what Jesus (as the re- velation of the Lord) had done to him, in that He had had mercy upon him (Aorist: rjXerjcrev). DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. See on the parallels, and also the heading. — Christ the victor over despairing, as also over selfish, unbelief; and His elevation above human policy for safety, and care of the sick. 2. Demoniac faith, or the faith of fear (Jas. ii. 19), in all its characteristics : 1. Exalted presentiment without the true spirit. 2. Contradiction and internal distraction : running, deprecating, CHAP. V. 1-20. 245 confessing, denying, praying, adjuring. 3. Slavery : deliverance described as torment, and abandonment to a state of torment as deliverance. 4. Impure and hurtful to the last breath (entering the swine and injuring the people). 3. Christ can change the demoniac faith of fear into a blessed and spiritual faith. 4. The entrance of Christ into the land of the Gadarenes a type of His victorious entrance into the kingdom of the dead : 1 Pet. iii. 20, iv. 6. 5. To a stupid and carnal people, under the power of demons without being fully aware of it, Christ discloses the terrors of the world of spirits, to give them a warning and arousing sign. HOMILETICAL HINTS. See on Matthew and Luke. — The majestic entrance of our Lord upon the district of Gadara : 1. The terror of the evil spirits in the land ; 2. the deliverer of those who were bound by Satan ; 3. the avenger of the law without legal judgment ; 4. a living con- demnation of the earthly-minded in His going as in His coming ; 5. the rejected one, who, after His rejection, leaves behind Him the preaching of the Gospel.— Christ annihilates, by the divine, awe-inspiring presence of His person, the horrors of darkness, even as the gentle light of day disperses the blackness of night. — Christ’s stepping over the threshold, and its importance : 1. Over the border of a land, 2. over the threshold of a house, 3. and entrance into the heart. — The land of the Gadarenes a figure, 1. of sunk and darkened Judaism (lawlessness), 2. of degraded Christendom (estranged from the law of the Spirit, externalized), 3. degenerate Protestantism (indifferentism). — Image of a corrupt state of things in Church or State: 1. Perverted morals — swine cared for, men abandoned ; 2. perverse policy — trade unlawful, the ways given up to madmen ; 3. perverted legislation — demons tolerated legionfold, Christ rejected ; 4. perverted religiousness — driving away Christ by prayers. — The true demons in the land mock at fetters and chains, but Christ rules them with a word. — The demons enter gladly into the swine ; the devilish nature into the animal nature (the old serpent ; half serpent, half swine). — Spiritual rebellion against God passes into the unbridled, animal nature. — To a be- sotted people the Lord preaches by grievous and terrific signs. — The towns and peasant villages of the Gadarenes ; or, the hin- drances which the kingdom of God meets with in the land. — Christ 246 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. passes a milder judgment upon the common ignorance of spiritual sloth, than upon the false knowledge of the hardened ; He leaves a preacher of salvation for the Gadarenes in the person of the healed demoniac. — The compassion of Christ in His final glance upon the land of Gadara. — Christ uttered no word concerning His rejection ; His only answer was the appointment of this preacher. — The greatest demoniac of the New Testament narrative becomes a preacher of salvation to ten cities. — In the dark land of Gadara Christ leaves for a while a representative of Himself, since they cannot bear His personal presence. — All things in the kingdom of Christ have their time : He sometimes silences, and He sometimes stimulates the witnesses of His miracles. — The rejections of Christ in their several and yet single character : 1. From Nazareth (through envy) ; 2. from Gadara (through selfishness and base fear) ; 3. from Samaria (through fanaticism) ; 4. from Galilee (through fanaticism and policy) ; 5. from Jerusalem (through obduracy). Star eke j Majus : Christ, the true light, shines in all places, and sends forth His beams even into the Gentile country. — Unre- strained rebellion. — Quesnel: Hell is a tomb out of which the spirit of impurity proceeds, until God’s judgment binds him in it for ever. — Cramer : As the devil raged, mightily at the time of Christ’s first coming, so also will he at the time of Christ’s second coming, knowing that his time is short, Rev. xii. 12. — Hedinger : The de- light of worldlings and slaves of sin, corruption and the grave. — How tyrannically the devil deals with his slaves. — Canstein: The devil has special delight in tombs. — The devil’s love for mischief.- — Bibl . Wurt. : The ungodly do not love to consort with the godly. — It is a fiendish spirit to take it as torment when men receive bene- fits from Christ and His people. — O how many are in a spiritual sense possessed by a devil ! so many ruling sins, so many unclean spirits. — That He desired to abide in that country, was, doubtless, because there were many Jews there who had fallen from their Judaism. (For, as Josephus tells us, this district was full eWrj- vl^ovtcdv.) Eph. vi. 12 ; 1 Pet. v. 8. — The devil is in truth a poor spirit ; he has nothing of his own, and is driven hither and thither by the glorious power of God. — Majus : The children of God should have no fear of the devil, or of wizards, or of any other creatures of Satan. — If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom. viii. 31. —It is better that earthly creatures should perish, than that a child of God should be kept from salvation. — God’s goodness may be discerned not only in manifest kindnesses, but also in misfortunes. CHAP. V. 1-20. 247 — In rude and earthly hearts God’s wonders excite only fear and flight. — Quesnel: He who loves this world’s goods will not have Christ long in his heart. — The converted soul longs to be with Jesus. — Canstein : God uses every one as His wisdom sees will best subserve the interests of His kingdom. — Quesnel: The grace of conversion is a talent which must be put out to interest, partly in spreading abroad God’s grace and mercy, partly in edifying others in salvation . — 0 slander : God sends preachers for a season even to the unthankful. — Wonder the first step to faith in Jesus. Gerlacli: The manifold misuse of the name of God among wicked men, shows the falseness of the early notion that the devil could not utter it. (Yet this notion contains, in a mythical form, a secret truth, which appears in the declaration that no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.) — Braune : We see the same thing now in a certain sense : many there are who reject Christ or repel Him, in the secret consciousness or fear that if they obtain His help they will have to suffer much interruption of their ordinary habits of life, have to submit to many things unpalat- able, and endure many severe sacrifices. — When the Christian spirit revives, there are many who would have it shut up in the minds of others, or who would bind it in a dead letter, because they are con- cerned to save their unrighteous possessions, or their abused rights, or their licentious wickedness, or their cowardly idleness ; not re- membering the destruction which came upon those towns forty years after the rejection of Christ, and which always surely comes upon the same sin, and often in a much shorter time. — We must frankly .and freely acknowledge the salvation of God and His grace in Christ. — Schleiermacher : For all the perverse anxiety of men, who set not before them that goal of union with God which Jesus presents to us, — who indeed live under rule, but not that of the kingdom of God, — there is much of the same recoil from Christ as that of the demoniac; they are not in the way to reach the right end, any more than the miserable man in our Gospel. That which holds us firm to Him and His great design, is the immediate influence of the nearness of Christ the Redeemer, which holds fast our minds in a firm and established order, makes our steps sure in this changeable world, and surely guides our steps to that ultimate goal, to guide men to which He came into the world. Gossner : He (the devil) marked that he was going to be hunted out, and therefore he cried. So is it with all hypocrites. — They saw Jesus, they saw the man, they saw the miracle on the man ; but 248 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. their swine they saw no longer, and that was their grief . — Bauer : When the Lord comes to demand a sacrifice from them, how many are there in our own day who rather, that being the case, would send Him away altogether ! 6. Conflict of Jesus with desponding Unbelief on the SicJc-bed and Bed of Death ; Healing of the Woman with the Issue of Blood ; Restoration of Jairus' Daughter ; and Triumph of Jesus over the Healing Art , and the World's Lamentations for the Dead. (Vers. 21-43.) Parallels: Matt. ix. 1, 18-26; Luke viii. 40-56. 21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him ; and He was nigh unto the sea. 22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name ; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, 23 And besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death : I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed ; and she shall live. 24 And Jesus went with him ; and much people followed Him, and thronged Him. 25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment : 28 For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up ; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched My clothes? 31 And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me ? 32 And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. 34 And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. , 35 While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead ; why troublest thou the Master any further ? 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 37 And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38 And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39 And when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. 40 And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 41 And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, (I say unto thee,) arise. 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ; for she was CHAP. V. 21- 43. 249 of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonish- ment. 43 And He charged them straitly that no man should know it ; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. Yer. 22. The /Soy not in B.D.L., etc. Yer. 23. The Present nocpccKciKet, Tisch., after A.C.L. Yer. 25. T Is wanting in A.B.C. Yer. 36. UocpocKovaot;^ Tisch., after B.L.A. Yer. 38. The Plural epx,ovrcci has most support. Yer. 40. The dvoiKu'pcs vov is set aside by Tisch., after B.D.L. CRITICAL NOTES. 1. See on the parallels. — Mark connects the return from Gadara with the narrative of the first raising of the dead, in ac- cordance with his own principle of arrangement. According to the more exact account of Matthew, we must place in the interval the healing of the paralytic, the calling of Matthew, and the offence taken by the Pharisees and John’s disciples at Jesus’ eating in the house of the publican. In his presentation of the events that now follow, we once more observe the exact delineation of Mark. Con- cerning his little daughter ( Ovydrpiov), fhe father here says ecr^d- T&)? and in an appeal which announces itself at once by an on. In the account of the woman with an issue, Mark makes it very prominent that she had suffered much from many physicians, which Luke, the physician, much more gently intimates. And the woman’s healing is emphatically expressed : The fountain of her blood was dried up ; she felt in her body (in her feeling of bodily vigour) that she was delivered from her plague (scourge). He does not (like Luke) expressly mention Peter as the one who replied to the Lord’s question as to who touched Him, “Thou seest the multitude, etc. but he records once more that J esus turned and looked round this time to find out who had done this. We see how the woman comes forward trembling with fear, falls down before the Lord, and confesses all. We see Jesus separating Himself, with Jairus and the three elect disciples, from the multi- tude, in order to go into the house of death. The tumult of the lamentation for the dead is here vividly depicted. He defines accurately the group of those who enter; we hear the original Talitha cumi; we see the damsel at once, after her restoration, arising and walking, as she was able, being twelve years old ; and hear how rigorously Jesus charged the people not to make much rumour about the miracle (which in itself could not be concealed) ; and finally, how He commanded that they should give the maiden 250 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. food. Here and there Luke, and here and there Matthew, ap- proximate to Mark’s description. 2. He was nigh unto the sea. — Meyer : u Here there is a dis- crepance with Matthew’s account, in which Jairus entered the house of Jesus in Capernaum.” But it was neither in Jesus’ house, nor in that of the publican Matthew ; for the transaction with the Pharisees and the disciples of John doubtless took place after the meal in an open scene. Hence there is no difference in the narratives. 3. For my little daughter. — (Tender expression of the troubled father.) 4. That Thou mayest come. — The on and the iva give vivid reality to his urgent words ; they are to be referred to the kneeling and cry for help (7 raparcaXei). Hence there is nothing to be sup- plied in the text. 5. Had suffered many things from many physicians . — u How various were the prescriptions of Jewish physicians for women in that case, and what experiments they were in the habit of making, see in Lightfoot, p. 614.” Meyer. Compare also the article Krankheiten in Winer. u She probably suffered from a chronic haemorrhage in the womb, and its long continuance endangered life.” See also the article Beinigkeit. u Such a woman was, accord- ing to Lev. xv. 25, through the whole time unclean, and was re- quired, after the evil had passed, to bring on the eighth day an offering for purification.” On the strong Oriental abhorrence of such persons, see the same article. 6. For she said — thinking in audible words. — Touch hut His clothes . That the more precise u hem of His garment,” occurring in Matthew and Luke, is wanting in Mark, gives no warrant for conjectural emendation. 7. The fountain of her blood. — Not euphemistic description of the womb, but vivid description of the cause of the evil ; the blood being represented as flowing from a fountain. 8. She felt in her body. — Euth. Zig. : As her body was no longer, etc. But here there is something greater signified : she experienced the healthy feeling of new life. 9. Virtue had gone out of Him. — Meyer maintains that Jesus perceived the flowing of His virtue after it took place ; a simul- taneous knowledge of it being thought at variance with the words. But, on the contrary, it must be observed that the simultaneous- ness of the knowledge is declared in the irnyvov^; first by the CHAP. V. 21—43. 251 €tti , and then by the Aorist. The opposite explanation might be made to favour a magical interpretation of the event, and Strauss’ criticism upon it. Yet Meyer himself refers with an emphatic note of exclamation to Calovius : u Calovius quoted the passage against the Calvinists : vim divinam carni Christi derogantes” 10. Them that wept . — A scene of Jewish ceremonial lamenta- tion over the dead, in which Mark omits the minstrels (see Matthew), and lays less stress than Luke upon the weeping and bewailing, but only to give more prominence to the tumult and mechanical litur- gical cries (by aXaXd^eiv). On the Jewish lament for the dead, see Grotius on Matthew, and Winer’s article Trauer. 11. Talitha cumi , — Similar original Aramaic words occur in Mark, ch. iii. 17, vii. 11, 34, xiv. 36. 12. She was of the age of twelve years. — Reason for the state- ment that she arose and walked at once. Bengel : Rediit ad statum setati congruentem. 13. That no man should know it. — That is, should know the occurrence in its precise characteristics, as a restoration of the dead. On the motive of this prohibition, see Meyer. 14. That something should he given her to eat. — Theophylact : That the raising might not be regarded as only an appearance. Meyer : In order to show that the child was not merely delivered from death, but from sickness also. Chiefly, however, because she was in need of strengthening by food. DOCTRINAL REFLECTIONS. 1. See on the parallels. — The touching of Christ’s garment, and the conscious issuing of a divine virtue from Him as the result, are a testimony to the living unity and reciprocal influence of the divine and human natures in His personal consciousness; in which the human nature was not (as the old dogmatic taught) merely in a passive relation. 2. Two miracles of healing were wrought on diseased women. Otherwise, they are mainly male sufferers who are adduced as examples of His healing acts. Not that other instances were want- ing ; for the very first healing recorded by the Evangelists took place on a woman, Peter’s wife’s mother. Luke mentions some women who were dispossessed of devils, ch. viii. 2. But the deliver- ance of Mary Magdalene from seven devils we regard, after the analogy of Matt. xii. 45, as a symbolical expression of an essen- tially great conversion. — The woman with an issue of blood, the 252 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. dead maiden : progression in the manifestation of suffering in the female sex. That the former had been afflicted twelve years, and the latter was twelve years old, was a coincidence from which rash criticism has vainly sought to extract ground of suspicion. 3. We term this narrative a history of victory over despairing unbelief. This appears in the comfortless wail of the J ewish lament over the dead ; in the circumstance that the people around the dead maiden laughed at the Lord, when He declared that she was not dead, but slept ; but especially in the message which they sent to the ruler of the synagogue, Why troublest thou the Master any further? wherein there is an evident tone of bitter and almost ironical unbelief. The faith of Jairus itself appears, at first, as only a fruit of distress. Hence it was subjected to a severe test, that period of deep anxiety during Christ’s delay while He cured the woman with the issue of blood. The weak germ of Jairus’ faith was encompassed by desponding unbelief. Even the faith of the sick woman struggles with the despondency into which a long series of disappointed acts of trust in physicians had thrown her. She does not venture to bring her distress publicly before the Lord’s notice ; the rather as, being ceremonially unclean, she had in a forbidden manner mingled with the crowd, and as her malady was of such a kind as shame would not allow her to speak of. Hence her faith must be brought to maturity by a public confession, even as that of J aims by a season of delay. 4. As Christ’s work of salvation assumed a specific form in many acts of benediction in favour of the male sex, so also Christianity has wrought immeasurable specific benefits for the female. Here we see, first, a wretched sick woman, lost in the crowd ; and Christ delivers her not only from her sickness, but also from the morbid dread and fear of her feminine consciousness. Even shame required redemption and sanctification by the Spirit of truth. And so the female sex has been redeemed from the reproach of inferiority, impurity, the rude contempt of man’s prejudice, and the ban of self-depreciation. 5. Keischl : u The woman was afraid; partly ashamed on account of the nature of her malady, partly disturbed by the consciousness of impropriety, as having, while Levitically unclean, mingled with the people, and even touched the great Teacher Himself.” In the last point she forms a contrast to the leper, whom the Lord Himself touched. Under the veil of diffidence, however, there was a touch of womanly boldness, which was excused by the faith that the touching of Christ would heal her. CHAP. V. 21—43. 253 6. “ Daughter, be of good courage, thy faith hath saved thee : go in peace. Thus He blessed her in the same manner as He had blessed that palsied man. And in fact we must connect together these two petitioners for help, in order that we may see two charac- teristic forms of faith in the male and in the female contrasted. Both applicants pressed through with confidence, and seized their deliverance almost by force : the man did it in man’s fashion, enter- ing through the roof like a robber ; the woman in woman’s fashion, as it were, like a female thief. But both were recognised by the Lord, as showing the pure spirit of confidence.” (Leben Jesu ii. 682.) But the faith of this woman had a superadded conflict to maintain with her timorous natural feeling confronting the fearful power of prejudice. HOMILETICAL HINTS. See on the parallels. — The miracles of Christ a wonderful con- nected chain. — New life added to new life in the way of Christ, until the great word is fulfilled, Behold, I make all things new ! — Christ at once ready to help the man who comes from the powerful party of His opponents.— The ruler of the synagogue at the feet of Jesus ; or, the victory of the Gospel over party spirit. — The triumph of Christ over the whole domain of sickness and death, a sign also of His supremacy over all natural means of help and human skill in healing. — Christ the Physician of physicians (as the Preacher of preachers, the Teacher of teachers, the Judge of judges, the Prince of kings). — Christ’s divine power the sign of salvation to all the despondency, little faith, and unbelief of man. — Christ in our his- tory the conqueror of all hindrances to His own work and man’s faith. — The woman with the issue, and the dead maiden ; or, Christ the Helper in all suffering, whether secret or public. — Christ the Prince of salvation in the domain of secret sorrows and silent sighs. — Hearing and answering all the sighings of faith. — The test to which the faith of the ruler and of the woman was subjected: 1. The element common to both : they were wanting in the full sur- render of trust. Both must be set free from fear and despondency. 2. The difference : the spiritual ruler must retire, wait, submit, de- spair of all signs for hope, and then in his despair learn to believe. He scarcely believed in the invigorator of the sick, and now He must believe in the awaken er of the dead. He must, at the same time, in humility yield precedence to a poor unclean woman, and in the case of a seeming religious impropriety. — The woman must 254 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. come forward and confess. — Even amidst the pressure of thousands the Lord perceives the silent and gentle touch of a single believer. — Internal union with Jesus high above the external. — The hasten- ing and the delaying of Jesus sublime above the haste and delay of the world. — Christ purposed here to effect, not the healing of the sick, but the raising of the dead. — Twice (in the history of Lazarus too) He first yielded the point to death, that He might approve Himself afterwards his conqueror. — With the Lord the spiritual is everything, and the edification of the inner life the great concern. — The gradually progressive manifestation of Christ’s power in raising the dead, a sign and symbol of the great and universal re- surrection. Star eke, Quesnel : God has His own times and seasons ; He de- lays and yet helps. Have patience, and walk in the way He marks. — Hedinger : Daring wins. — Quesnel: Men are slow to do for the healing of the soul, what they are ready enough to do for the cure of the body. — Cramer : Medicines are not to be despised, Ecclus. xxxviii. 1 ; but God does not always see fit to prosper them. — To use them is not displeasing to God, but ungodly trusting in them is. — The humility of the woman. — Canstein : Shame and fear would keep us back from Christ, but faith presses near to Him with a sound and laudable shamelessness. — Osiander : In our sickness we should put our trust, not in medicine, but in God. — Faith is stronger than all earthly medicaments. — The Lord is not ignorant what be- nefits we have received from Him, and He will demand an account of all the good deeds He has done to us. — Bibl. Wurt. : Tempted souls think that God takes no care of them, but He faithfully re- members their case ; the deeper they are in misery, the more graci- ously does His compassionate eye rest upon them. — Canstein: To acknowledge our own weakness and God’s power, is to speak the truth indeed. — What God has done for us in secret we should pub- licly speak of to His glory. — Go in peace. — Hedinger : Reason despairs at sight of death. — In perfect faith there is no fear. — Quesnel : Let us learn from Christ to confide only to a few elect ones the works of God which we have to do, that those works may not be thwarted. — To sorrow in secret over our dead is Christian, but to howl and cry is heathenish. — Hedinger : God’s wonderful works must have devout and attentive witnesses : away with tumult ! — Nova Bibl. Tub. : Why do ye mourn, ye parents, over the de- parture of your children ? Jesus will one day lay His mighty hand upon them, raise them, and give them back to you. CHAP. VI. 1-6. 255 Lisco : The question of our Lord was designed to free the woman from her false fear of man. — The delay of help, and the message, were severe tests of Jairus’ faith ; but the healing of the woman strengthened his faith again, as did the word of Jesus, ver. 36. — Braune: The urgency and continuance of her malady, the vanity of all human help, the lack of substance, were three steps which brought the sick woman to faith ; and the feeblest cries of the believing heart were understood by her Lord. — The Jews re- ceived this custom of lamentation from the Romans [Qy. : see Jer. ix. 17]. This purchased grief was intended to make the occasion of death important, to distribute the impressions of sorrow over many, and lighten the grief of the friends. Thus it was mere hea- thenish vanity. — Schleiermacher : The more mighty love is in those who can help others, and, on the other hand, the more longing and trust there is in those who need help, the more good will be the result in the particular case, though we may not be able to show how, and the beginnings of cause and effect may be concealed from us. — It is always the case that from those whom God has called to do good, many influences proceed which they themselves do not in the special cases know of. But how much more efficacious would charity be, if those from whom the influences proceed did not think so much about those which they receive ! — How important it is for the general order of the community that we should not neglect our own individual personal relations ! — Christendom has now still to press through the world violently with its blessings. — Although the power of Christ is continually entering more and more into the order of nature, yet that which Christianity has wrought in the world from its beginning is the greatest miracle that we know ; but we must be careful to distinguish from it the internal miracle, which only those see who live in internal fellowship with the Redeemer. — Bauer : Mark how He does not break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax ! 7. The LorcCs Conflict with the envious Unbelief of His own City ; His triumph over Human Prejudice ; His Return to the Moun- tain Villages . (Chap. vi. 1-6.) Parallels : Matt. xiii. 54-58 ; Luke iv. 14-30. 1 And He went out from thence, and came into His own country ; and His disciples follow Him. 2 And when the Sabbath-day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue : and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From 256 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK. whence hath this man these things ? and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands ? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us ? And they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, teaching. Yer. 1. Tisch., ep%erut. B.C.L.A. Yer. 2. Codd. C*.D.K., hoc yivavrou. See other readings in Tisch. Yer. 3. The carpenter, after A.B.D., etc. The reading ’I