Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

MATT. XXII.

35 Then one of them, which was a law-
yer, asked him a question, tempting
36 him, and saying, Master, which is 29
the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him,' Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy 30
heart, and with all thy soul, and
38 with all thy mind. This is the first
39 and great commandment. And the

31

MARK XII.

swered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is,1 Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this,2 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment 32 greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there 33 is one God; and there is none other but he and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is 34 more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kindgom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

second is like unto it,2 Thou shalt 40 love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

41

§ 121. HOW IS CHRIST THE SON OF DAVID ?—Jerusalem.

MATT. XXII. 41-46.

While the Pharisees were gathered toge- 35 ther, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, 36 How then doth David in spirit call him 44 Lord, saying," The

LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy foot- 37 45 stool? If David then

call him Lord, how is 46 he his son?7 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

1 Deut. 6. 4, 5.

Third Day of the Week.
MARK XII. 35-37.

And Jesus answered
and said, while he
taught in the temple, 41
How say the scribes
that Christ is the Son
of David?

For David 42
himself said by the
Holy
5
Ghost, The
LORD said to my
Lord, Sit thou on my
right hand, till I make 43
thine enemies thy foot-
stool. David there- 44
fore himself calleth
him Lord; and whence
is he then his son?
And the common peo-
ple heard him gladly.

2 Lev. 19. 18. Comp. Luke 10. 29-37.
31 Sam. 15. 22; Mic. 6.6-8.
Comp. 2 Sam. 23. 2.

5 Psa. 110. 1.

6 Comp. Acts 2. 34, 35; 1 Cor. 15. 25.
If David then calls him Lord, &c. These

LUKE XX. 41-44.

And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son?

And David himself saith in the book of Psalms," The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool." David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?

words were intended to intimate, that the MesIsiah was to be greater, and yet less, than David, by being at once Divine and human in his nature; and that consequently he was to be not an earthly, but a spiritual King.

§ 122. WARNINGS AGAINST THE EVIL EXAMPLE OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES.

38

MARK XII. 38, 39.

Jerusalem.

Third Day of the Week.

And he said unto them in his doc- 45 trine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love 46 salutations in the marketplaces, 39 and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts.

4

LUKE XX. 45, 46.

Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts.

MATT. XXIII. 1-12.

1, 2 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, saying, The 3 scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for 4 they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move 5 them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their 6 garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in 7 the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, 8 Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even 9 Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the 10 earth for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called 11 masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among 12 you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

[blocks in formation]

scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! for ye de- 40 Which devour widows' 47

Which devour widows'

vour widows' houses,

houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater dam13 nation. But woe unto you, scribes and Pha

houses, and for a
pretence make long
prayers: these shall
receive greater dam-
nation.

risees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go 15 in.8 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea

1 Comp. Neh. 8. 4-8.

2 Rom. 2. 17-24.

3 Phylacteries (φυλακτήρια, from φυλάσσω, 1ο keep or guard) were strips of parchment, inscribed with the passages in Deut. 6. 4-9; 11. 13-21; Ex. 13. 2-16, worn at prayer on the forehead and the left arm, (according to a literal understanding of Ex. 13. 9,) either as mementos to remind the wearer to keep the law, or as charms to guard him

from evil. Such things are still used by the Jews, and go by the Hebrew name, tephillin (prayers). Comp. Luke 14. 7-11.

5 Comp. Job 22. 29; Prov. 29. 23; Isa. 57. 15; 1 Pet. 5. 5.

6 In Matthew, verses 13 and 14 are transposed, as in the best editions of the Greek. 7 Luke 11. 52.

8 Comp. 1 Thess. 2. 15, 16.

MATT. XXIII.

16

and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, 17 he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the 18 temple that sanctifieth the gold?1 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is 19 guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar 20 that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, swear21 eth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the tem22 ple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23

23

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not 24 to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat,5 and 25 swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye

make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are 26 full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within 28 full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the 30 tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been par31 takers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32, 33 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of 34 vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and 35 persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias," whom ye slew between the temple and the 36 altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

9

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children to

[blocks in formation]

41 Sam. 15. 22; Mic. 6.6-8.

5 Strain off (not at, dwλičovтes) a gnat, &c. This proverbial saying, denoting the magnifying of what is little, while what is important is overlooked, was taken, it is said, from the custom of pouring wine through a strainer or filter in order to purify it.

Comp. Luke 11. 49–51. "Zacharias son of Barachias. The name of the father here (in Luke's parallel place it is not given) creates some difficulty, because in 2 Chr. 24. 20 we find another name, Jehoiada. Various solutions of this difficulty have been proposed. It is possible that the father's name might be known in both forms, the words having substantially the

same import (Jehoiada, i. e. whom Jehovah knows or cares for, Barachiah, i. e. whom Jehovah blesses). After this manner, for example, king Uzziah (i. e. strength of Jehovah, 2 Chr. 26. 1) was called also Azariah (i. e. whom Jehovah helps, 2 Kings 14. 21).

Some, however, consider that this refers to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, who lived after the Babylonish captivity, and also might have been massacred by the Jews, though no account of his death is recorded. This supposition is favoured by the circumstance that this Zechariah was one of the last of the Jewish prophets.

8 Gen. 4. 8; 2 Chr. 24. 20-22.
9 Luke 13. 34, 35.

MATT. XXIII.

gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 38, 39 not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

41

[blocks in formation]

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in 42 much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two 43 mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have 44 cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

20

5

1

LUKE XXI. 1—4.

And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the 2 treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

[blocks in formation]

§ 125. CERTAIN GREEKS DESIRE TO SEE JESUS.-Jerusalem.

Third Day of the Week.

JOHN XII. 20-36.

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship 21 at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida 22 of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip

cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of 24 man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bring25 eth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that 26 hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant 27 be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for 28 this cause 10 came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

29

The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: 30 others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice 31 came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this

1 Comp. Psa. 69, 25; Jer. 12. 7; 22. 5.

2 Comp. Psa. 118. 26.

3 The treasury: on this see Note 3 on § 85. 4 Comp. 2 Kings 12. 9.

5 Comp. 2 Cor. 8. 1-3.

6 This incident of the Greeks is inserted here on the third day of the week, rather than on the first, because of John 12. 36; which implies that Jesus afterwards appeared no more in public as

a teacher. He immediately takes leave of the temple.

7 Comp. 1 Cor. 15. 36. 8 Comp. Matt. 10. 39. 9 Comp. Luke 12. 50. 10 For this cause, &c.: i. e. in order to die as the sacrifice for sin, and so to bring in an everlasting righteousness for all his people. Compare verses 24 and 32 of this chapter.

JOHN XII.

32 world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted 33 up from the earth, will draw all men 1 unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

34

The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever:2 and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? 35 who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

37

§ 126. REFLECTIONS UPON THE UNBELIEF OF THE JEWS.-Jerusalem,

Third Day of the Week.

JOHN XII. 37-50.

But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they be38 lieved not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled,

which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath 39 the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, be40 cause that Esaias said again,' He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with 41 their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said 42 Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue : 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but 45, 46 on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

I

am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not 47 abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave 50 me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. [See in § 134.]

§ 127. JESUS, ON TAKING LEAVE OF THE TEMPLE, FORETELLS ITS DESTRUCTION AND THE PERSECUTION OF HIS DISCIPLES.-Jerusalem. Mount of Olives.

[blocks in formation]

1 All men: i. e. not Jews alone, but also heathens (compare Rev. 7. 9). Our Lord took occasion from the presence of the Greeks (ver. 20) to announce the comprehension of the Gentiles in his work of redemption.

2 Comp. 2 Sam. 7. 13; Psa. 89. 29, 36; 110. 4; Dan. 7. 14.

3 The evangelist John here gives his own reflections upon the unbelief of the Jews. 4 Isa. 53. 1. 5 Isa. 6. 10. 6 When he saw his glory, &c. This passage,

5

LUKE XXI. 5-19.

And as some spake of the temple, how it

when compared with Isa. 6. 1, furnishes a most
striking proof of Christ's Divinity; for it declares
him to be even Jehovah, (i. e. the Supreme Being,)
whose glory the prophet saw in the temple, and
concerning whom he spoke in that chapter.
7 Isa. 6. 1, sq.
s John 9. 22.

[blocks in formation]
« ZurückWeiter »