COMMENTARY
ON
A
HARMONY OF THE
EVANGELISTS,
MATTHEW, MARK, AND
LUKE,
BY JOHN
CALVIN
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN,
AND COLLATED WITH
THE AUTHOR'S FRENCH
VERSION,
BY THE REV. WILLIAM
PRINGLE
VOLUME
THIRD
MATTHEW 21:10-22; MARK
11:11-24;
LUKE
19:39-48
|
MATTHEW
21:10-22
|
MARK
11:11-24
|
LUKE 19:39-48
|
|
10. And when he entered into Jerusalem,
the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11. And the
multitudes said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee.
12. And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all that
sold and bought in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers,
and the seats of those who sold doves; 13. And said to them, It is
written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den
of robbers. 14. And the blind and lame came to him in the temple,
and he cured them. 15. When the chief priests and the scribes saw
the wonderful works which he did, and the children crying in the temple, and
saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! They were enraged,
f1
16. And said to him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith to
them, Yes; and have you never read, Out of the mouth
f2
of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 17. And,
leaving them, he went out of the city into Bethany, and lodged there.
18. And in the morning, returning to the city, he was hungry.
19. And when he saw a fig tree near the road, he came to it, and
found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, Let no fruit grow
on thee henceforth forever; and immediately the fig tree withered.
20. And when his disciples saw it, they wondered, saying, How
quickly is the fig tree withered! 21. And Jesus answering said to
them, Verily I say to you, If you have faith, and do not doubt, not only will
you do what has taken place in the fig tree, but also, if you shall say to this
mountain, Be thou removed, and thrown into the sea, it shall be done.
22. And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer,
believing,
f3,
you shall receive.
|
11. And the Lord entered
f4
into Jerusalem, and into the temple; and when he had looked around on all
things, and it was now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
12. And the next day, when they departed from Bethany, he was
hungry. 13. And when he saw at a distance a fig tree having leaves,
he came, if perhaps he would find anything on it.
f5 And when
he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs.
14. And Jesus answering said o the fig tree, Let no man eat fruit
from thee henceforth forever. And his disciples heard it.
15. And they come to Jerusalem. And Jesus entered into the
temple, and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple, and
overturned the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold
doves; 16. And did not suffer any man o carry a vessel through the
temple. 17 And taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall
be called by all nations a house of prayer? But you have made it a den of
robbers. 18. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought
how they would put him to death; for they dreaded him, because the whole
multitude admired his doctrine. 19. And when it was evening, he went
out of the city. 20. And in the morning, passing by the fig tree,
they saw that it was dried up from the root.
f6
21. And Peter, remembering, saith to him, Rabbi,
f7
lo, that fig tree which thou cursedst is dried up! 22. And Jesus
answering saith to them, Have faith in God. 23. Verily I say to you,
Whoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and thrown into the sea,
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith shall be,
he shall have whatever he saith. 24. Therefore I say to you,
Whatever you ask, praying, believe that you will receive it, and you shall have
it.
|
39. And some of the Pharisees out of the
multitude said to him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40. To whom he
said, I say to you, that if these be silent, the stones will cry out.
f8 (A little
after.) 45. And having entered into the temple, he began to drive
out those who sold and bought in it, 46. Saying to them, It is
written, My house is a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.
47. And he taught daily in the temple. And the chief priests,
and scribes, and rulers of the people, sought to put him to death,
48. And did not find what to do; for all the people hung upon his
lips, while they were hearing him.
|
THERE is a difference between Matthew and Mark in
their narrative of the withering
of the fig tree; for Matthew says that it was
on the day after that Christ made a public appearance as King, while Mark
appears to throw it back to the following day.
f9 But the
solution is easy; for they agree in this respect, that Christ, on the day after
that he made his solemn entrance into the city, cursed the tree; only Mark
states what Matthew had omitted, that the occurrence was observed by the
disciples on the following day., So then, though Mark has stated more distinctly
the order of time, he makes no contradiction.
He appears to differ more openly both from Matthew
and fromLuke in the narrative of chastising the traders;
f10 for
while both of them declare that Christ, as soon as he
entered into the city and temple,
drove out those who sold and bought, Mark
simply says that he looked around on all things, but has thrown back the driving
of them out till another day.
f11 But I
reconcile them in this way, that Mark, not having spoken about the purifying of
the temple, afterwards inserts it, though not in its proper place. He relates
that, on the first day, Christ came into the temple, and there looked round on
all things.
f12 Now why
did he look so earnestly, except for the purpose of correcting something that
was wrong? For, having been formerly accustomed to pay frequent visits to the
temple, it was not the novelty of the sight that affected him. Now as Mark ought
immediately to have added, that those who sold and bought in the temple were
driven out of it, he says that Christ went out of the city; but, having omitted
what was worthy of being related, he inserts it afterwards.
But perhaps some will be more inclined to believe
that, in this narrative also, Mark observed the order of time, which the other
two Evangelists had disregarded; for though they appear to indicate an
uninterrupted succession of events, yet as they do not name a particular day,
there would be no impropriety in dividing what we find to be connected in their
writings. For my own part, however, I prefer the conjecture which I stated
first; for it is probable that this demonstration of his power was made by
Christ in presence of a large multitude. But any one who will consider how
little care the Evangelists bestowed on pointing out dates will not stumble at
this diversity in the narrative.
Matthew 21:10.
When he entered into Jerusalem.
Matthew
says that
the city was moved,
in order to inform us that the transaction did
not take place secretly, or by stealth, but in the presence of all the people,
and that the priests and scribes were not ignorant of it. Under this despicable
aspect of the flesh the majesty of the Spirit was apparent; for how would they
have endured that Christ should be conducted into the city, attended by the
splendor of royalty, with so great danger to themselves, if they had not been
seized with astonishment? The substance of it therefore is, that Christ’s
entrance was not made in a private manner, and that his enemies abstained from
opposing it, not because they treated him with contempt, but rather because they
were restrained by secret fear; for God had struck them with such alarm, that
they dare not make any attempt. At the same time, the Evangelist glances at the
careless indifference of the city, and commends the piety of those who have just
reached it; for when the inhabitants, on hearing the noise, inquire,
Who is this?
it is manifest that they do not belong to the
number of Christ’s followers.
12.
And Jesus entered into the
temple. Though Christ frequently ascended
into the temple,
and though this abuse continually met his eye,
twice only did he stretch out his hand to correct it; once, at the commencement
of his embassy,
f13 and now
again, when he was near the end of his course. But though disgraceful and
ungodly confusion reigned throughout, and though the temple, with its
sacrifices, was devoted to destruction, Christ reckoned it enough to administer
twice an open reproof of the profanation of it. Accordingly, when he made
himself known as a Teacher and Prophet sent by God, he took upon himself the
office of purifying the temple, in order to arouse the Jews, and make them more
attentive; and this first narrative is given by John only in the second chapter
of his Gospel. But now, towards the end of his course, claiming again for
himself the same power, he warns the Jews of the pollutions of the temple, and
at the same time points out that a new restoration is at hand.
And yet there is no reason to doubt that he declared
himself to be both King and High Priest, who presided over the temple and the
worship of God. This ought to be observed, lest any private individual should
think himself entitled to act in the same manner. That zeal, indeed, by which
Christ was animated to do this, ought to be held in common by all the godly; but
lest any one, under the pretense of imitation, should rush forward without
authority, we ought to see what our calling demands, and how far we may proceed
according to the commandment of God. If the Church of God have contracted any
pollutions, all the children of God ought to burn with grief; but as God has not
put arms into the hands of all, let private individuals groan, till God bring
the remedy. I do acknowledge that they are worse than stupid who are not
displeased at the pollution of the temple of God, and that it is not enough for
them to be inwardly distressed, if they do not avoid the contagion, and testify
with their mouth, whenever an opportunity. presents itself, that they desire to
see a change for the better. But let those who do not possess public authority
oppose by their tongue, which they have at liberty, those vices which they
cannot remedy with their hands.
But it is asked, Since Christ saw the temple filled
with gross superstitions, why did he only correct one that was light, or, at
least, more tolerable than others? I reply, Christ did not intend to restore to
the ancient custom all the sacred rites, and did not select greater or smaller
abuses for correction, but had only this object in view, to show by one visible
token, that God had committed to him the office of purifying the temple, and, at
the same time, to point out that the worship of God had been corrupted by a
disgraceful and manifest abuse. Pretexts, indeed, were not wanting for that
custom of keeping a market, which relieved the people from trouble, that they
might not have far to go to find sacrifices; and next, that they might have at
hand those pieces of money which any man might choose to offer. Nor was it
within the holy place that the
money-changers
sat, or that animals intended for sacrifice
were exposed to sale, but only within the court, to which the designation of
the temple
is sometimes applied; but as nothing was more
at variance with the majesty of
the temple,
than that a market should be erected there for
selling goods, or that bankers should sit there for matters connected with
exchange, this profanation was not to be endured. And Christ inveighed against
it the more sharply, because it was well known that this custom had been
introduced by the avarice of the priests for the sake of dishonest gain. For as
one who enters a market well-stocked with various kinds of merchandise, though
he does not intend to make a purchase, yet, in consequence of being attracted by
what he sees, changes his mind, so the priests spread nets in order to obtain
offerings, that they might trick every person out of some gain.
13.
It is written.
Christ quotes two passages taken out of two
Prophets; the one from
<235607>Isaiah
56:7, and the other from
<240711>Jeremiah
7:11. What was written
by Isaiah agreed with the circumstances of the
time; for in that passage is predicted the calling of the Gentiles. Isaiah,
therefore, promises that God will grant, not only that the temple shall recover
its original splendor, but likewise that all nations shall flow to
it,
and that the whole world shall agree in true
and sincere piety.
f14 He
speaks, no doubt, metaphorically; for the spiritual worship of God, which was to
exist under the reign of Christ, is shadowed out by the prophets under the
figures of the law. Certainly this was never fulfilled, that all nations went up
to Jerusalem to worship God; and therefore, when he declares that the temple
will be a place of prayer for all
nations, this mode of expression is equivalent
to saying, that the nations must be gathered into the Church of God, that with
one voice they may worship the true God, along with the children of Abraham. But
since he mentions the temple,
so far as it then was the visible abode of
religion, Christ justly reproaches the Jews with having applied it to totally
different purposes from those to which it had been dedicated. The meaning
therefore is: God intended that this temple should exist till no as a sign on
which all his worshippers should fix their eyes; and how base and wicked is it
to profane it by thus turning it into a market ?
Besides, in the time of Christ, that
temple
was actually a
house of prayer;
that is, so long as the Law, with its shadows,
remained in force. But it began to be
a house of prayer for all
nations, when out of it resounded the doctrine
of the Gospel, by which the whole world was to be united in one common faith.
And though shortly afterwards it was totally overthrown, yet even in the present
day the fulfillment of this prophecy is manifest; for, since
out of Zion, went forth
the
law,
(<230202>Isaiah
2:2;
<330402>Micah
4:2,)
those who wish to pray aright must look to that
beginning. I do acknowledge that there is no distinction of places, for it is
the will of the Lord that men should call upon Him everywhere; but as believers,
who profess to worship the God of Israel, are said to
speak in the language of
Canaan,
(<231918>Isaiah
19:18,)
so they are also said to come
into the temple,
because out of it flowed the true religion. It
is likewise the fountain of the waters, which, enlarged to an astonishing degree
within a short period, flow in great abundance, and give life to those that
drink them, as Ezekiel
(<264709>Ezekiel
47:9) mentions,
f15 which,
going out from the temple, spread, as Zechariah
(<381408>Zechariah
14:8) says, from the rising to the setting sun. Though in the present day we
make use of temples
(or
churches)
for holding the holy assemblies, yet it is for a
different reason; for, since Christ was manifested, no outward representation of
him under shadows is held out to us, such as the fathers anciently had under the
Law.
It must also be observed, that by the word
prayer
the prophet expresses the whole worship of God;
for, though there was at that time a great variety and abundance of religious
rites, yet God intended briefly to show what was the object of all those rites;
namely, that they might worship him spiritually, as is more clearly expressed in
the fiftieth psalm, where also God comprehends under
prayer
all the exercises of religion.
But you have made it a den of
robbers. Christ means that the complaint of
Jeremiah
(<240711>Jeremiah
7:11) applied equally well to his own time, in which the temple was not less
corrupted. The prophet directs his reproof against hypocrites, who, through
confidence in the temple,
allowed themselves greater liberty in sinning.
For, as it was the design of God to employ outward symbols, as a sort of
rudiments, for instructing the Jews in true religion, so they satisfied
themselves with the empty pretense of
the temple,
as if it were enough to give their attention to
outward ceremonies; just as it is customary with hypocrites to
change the truth of God
into a lie
(<450125>Romans
1:25.).
But the prophet exclaims that God is not bound to
the temple,
or tied to ceremonies, and therefore that they
falsely boast of the name of the
temple, which they
had made a den of robbers.
For as
robbers
in their
dens
sin with greater hardihood, because they trust
that they will escape punishment, so by means of a false covering of godliness
hypocrites grow more bold, so that they almost hope to deceive God. Now as the
metaphor of a den
includes all corruptions, Christ properly
applies the passage of the prophet to the present occasion.
Mark
adds, that Christ gave orders
that no man should carry a vessel
through the temple; that is, he did not permit
any thing to be seen there that was inconsistent with religious services; for by
the word vessel
the Hebrews denote any kind of utensil. In
short, Christ took away whatever was at variance with the reverence and majesty
of the temple.
14.
And the blind and lame came to
him. That the authority which Christ had
claimed for himself out of the usual course might not be suspected of rashness,
he supported it by miracles. He therefore
cured the blind and lame in the
temple, in order to proclaim that the rights
and honor of Messiah truly belonged to him; for by these marks the prophets
describe him. Hence we again perceive what I hinted a little ago that it is not
every one of the people who is called to imitate this action of Christ lest he
inconsiderately raise himself to the throne of the Messiah. We ought indeed to
believe that the lame and blind,
who were
cured,
were witnesses of the divine power of Christ,
as if God, by his voice from heaven, approved what had been proclaimed by the
multitude. f16
15.
When the chief priests and
scribes saw.
Luke
relates that the Pharisees began to grumble,
while he was still on the road.
f17 It was
the disciples that were then crying out: the others wished to have them
silenced. Christ replied, that it was in vain for them to make opposition;
because God would rather make
the
stones cry out
than permit the reign of His Son to be
forgotten. It is probable that, as the
crying out
was not diminished, and as even
the children
now joined in it,
the scribes and priests
were roused to still fiercer indignation, and
then commenced a new attack on Christ. They appear indirectly to reproach him by
alleging that he is desirous to obtain the praises of
children.
But we must observe whence their displeasure arose.
That it was connected with ungodly malice and outrageous contempt of God is
evident from the fact, that his miracles gave them not less uneasiness than the
shouts of applause. But I now inquire about some more special reason. What was
it that chiefly vexed them? Now we know how eagerly they contended for their
authority; for the object to which their zeal carried them was, that the
tyranny, which they had once claimed, might continue to be enjoyed by them; and
it was no slight diminution of their power, if the people were at liberty to
bestow on Christ the title of King. Even in trifling matters they wished their
decisions to be regarded as oracles,
f18 so that
it might not be permitted to approve or reject any thing but according to their
pleasure. They therefore reckon it to be foolish and unreasonable, that the
people should confer the title of Messiah on one whom they do not treat with any
respect. And certainly, if they had done their duty, it would have been proper
for them to direct the whole people, and to go before them as their leaders. For
the priests had been appointed, that from their
lips
all might seek the knowledge of the
Law,
and, in short, that they might be the
messengers
and interpreters of the God of
armies,
(<390207>Malachi
2:7.) But as they had basely extinguished the light of truth, Christ
appropriately replies, that they gain nothing by endeavoring to suppress the
doctrine of salvation, for it will rather break out from
the stones.
There is likewise an implied admission; for Christ
does not deny that it is an unnatural order for the uneducated multitude and
children
to be the first to magnify with their voice the
coming of the Messiah, but as the truth is wickedly suppressed by those who
ought to have been its lawful witnesses, it is not wonderful if God raise up
others, and—to their shame—make choice of
children.
Hence we derive no slight consolation; for
though wicked men leave no stone unturned for concealing the reign of Christ, we
learn from this passage that their efforts are in vain. They hope that, when
some of the multitude, that is carrying forward the kingdom of Christ, shall
have been put to death, and others shall be silenced by fear, they will gain
their object. But God will disappoint them; for He will sooner give mouths and
tongues to stones
than allow the kingdom of His Son to be without
witnesses.
16.
And have you never read?
The scribes and priests seize on this as an
opportunity of calumniating Christ, that he allows himself to be called a King
by children;
as it is always the custom of wicked people
haughtily to despise the mean condition of the disciples of Christ. This
malicious design Christ checks by a quotation from David, who makes even
infants
to be the heralds of the glory of God.
Literally the words run,
Out of the mouth of
infants and sucklings thou hast founded strength,
(<190802>Psalm
8:2;)
by which David means that, though every tongue were
silent, f19
God needs no other orators to proclaim his power than mere
infants,
who are still hanging on their mothers’
breasts. In themselves, no doubt, they are silent; but the wonderful providence
of God, which shines in them, serves the purpose of splendid and powerful
eloquence. For he who considers with himself how the child is formed in the
mother’s womb, is nourished there for nine months, afterwards comes into
the world, and finds nourishment provided as soon as it is born, must not only
acknowledge that God is the Creator of the world, but will be altogether carried
away into admiration of Him.
f20 Thus the
sun and moon, though they are dumb creatures, are said to have a loud and
distinct voice for singing the praises of God,
(<191901>Psalm
19:1, 2.) But since the praises of God are heard from the tongue of
infants,
Christ infers from this, that it is not strange
if He cause them to be uttered by
children
who have already acquired the use of
speech.
18.
And returning in the morning.
Between that solemn entrance of Christ, of
which we have spoken, and the day of the Passover, he had passed the night in
Bethany; and during the day he appeared in the temple for the purpose of
teaching. Matthew and Mark relate what happened during that interval, that
Christ, when coming into the
city, was hungry, approached
a fig-tree,
and,
having found nothing on ,it but
leaves, cursed it; and that the tree, which had
been
cursed
by his voice, immediately
withered. I take for granted that Christ did
not pretend hunger, but was
actually
hungry;
for we know that he voluntarily became subject
to the infirmities of the flesh, though by nature he was free and exempt from
them.
But here lies the difficulty. How was he mistaken in
seeking fruit on a tree that had none; more especially, when the season of fruit
had not yet arrived? And again, Why was he so fiercely enraged against a
harmless tree? But there would be no absurdity in saying, that as man, he did
not know
f21 the kind
of tree; though it is possible that he approached it on purpose, with full
knowledge of the result. Certainly it was not the fury of passion that led him
to curse the tree, (for that would not only have been an unjust, but even a
childish and ridiculous revenge;) but as hunger was troublesome to him according
to the feeling of the flesh, he determined to overcome it by an opposite
affection; that is, by a desire to promote the glory of the Father, as he
elsewhere says,
My meat is to do the will
of my Father,
(<430434>John
4:34;)
for at that time he was contending both with fatigue
and with hunger. I am the more inclined to this conjecture, because hunger gave
him an opportunity of performing a miracle and of teaching his disciples. So
when he was pressed by hunger, and there was no food at hand, he finds a repast
in another way; that is, by promoting the glory of God. He intended, however, to
present in this tree an outward sign of the end which awaits hypocrites, and at
the same time to expose the emptiness and folly of their
ostentation.
19.
Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth. Let us
learn from this what is the meaning of the word
curse,
namely, that the tree should be condemned to
barrenness; as, on the other hand, God
blesses,
when by his voice he bestows fertility. It
appears more clearly from
Mark,
that the fig-tree did not instantly wither, or,
at least, that it was not observed by his disciples, until they saw it next day
stripped of leaves.
Mark,
too, attributes to
Peter
what Matthew attributes equally to all the
disciples; but as Christ replies in the plural number, it may naturally be
inferred that one put the question in the name of all.
21.
And Jesus answering. The use of the miracle is
still farther extended by Christ, in order to excite his disciples to faith and
confidence. By
Mark,
the general exhortation is placed first,
to have faith in God;
and then follows the promise, that they would
obtain by faith whatever they asked from God.
To have faith in God
means, to expect, and to be fully assured of
obtaining, from God whatever we need. But as faith, if we have any, breaks out
immediately into prayer, and penetrates into the treasures of the grace of God,
which are held out to us in the word, in order to enjoy them, so Christ adds
prayer
to
faith;
for if he had only said that we shall have
whatever we wish, some would have thought
that faith
was presumptuous or too careless. And therefore
Christ shows that those only are believers who, relying on his goodness and
promises, betake themselves to him with humility.
This passage is exceedingly adapted to point out the
power and nature of faith;
that it is a certainty, relying on the goodness
of God, which does not admit of doubt. For Christ does not acknowledge as
believers any but those who are fully convinced that God is reconciled to them,
and do not doubt that he will give what they ask. Hence we perceive by what a
diabolical contrivance the Papists are bewitched, who mingle
faith
with
doubt,
and even charge us with foolish presumption, if
we venture to appear before God under the conviction of His fatherly regard
toward us. But this benefit derived from Christ is that on which Paul chiefly
dwells, when he says that
by the faith of him we
have boldness
to approach to God
with confidence
(<490312>Ephesians
3:12).
This passage shows also that the true test of
faith
lies in
prayer.
If it be objected, that those prayers are never
heard, that mountains should be
thrown into the sea, the answer is easy. Christ
does not give a loose rein to the wishes of men, that they should desire any
thing at their pleasure, when he places
prayer
after the rule of faith;
f22 for in
this way the Spirit must of necessity hold all our affections by the bridle of
the word of God, and bring them into obedience. Christ demands a firm and
undoubting confidence of obtaining an answer; and whence does the human mind
obtain that confidence but from the word of God? We now see then that Christ
promises nothing to his disciples, unless they keep themselves within the limits
of the good pleasure of God.
Luke 19:47.
And he taught daily in the
temple.
Mark
and Luke point out,
first,
what was the class of men of which the Church
consisted, namely, of the despised multitude; and again, what enemies Christ
had, namely, the priests and
scribes, and all the
rulers.
Now this is a part of the folly of the cross,
that God, passing by the excellence of the world, chooses what is foolish, weak,
and despised. Secondly,
they relate that those worthy guardians of the
Church of God sought an occasion of putting Christ to death, by which their
wicked impiety was discovered; for though there had been good grounds for
pursuing Christ, yet they had no right to proceed to murder after the manner of
robbers, or secretly to hire assassins.
Thirdly,
they show that the wicked conspiracy of those
men was frustrated, because, by the secret purpose of God, Christ was appointed
to the death of the cross.
MATTHEW 21:23-27; MARK
11:27-33; LUKE 20:1-8
|
MATTHEW
21:23-27
|
MARK 11:27-33
|
LUKE
20:1-8
|
|
23. And when he was come into the temple,
the chief priests and elders of the people came to him, saying By what authority
doest thou these things? and who gave thee that authority?
f23
24. And Jesus answering said to them, I also will ask you something,
which if you shall tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these
things. 25. Whence was the baptism of John? From heaven, or from
men? But they thought within themselves saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he
will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? 26. But if we
shall say, From men, we dread the multitude, for they all hold John for a
prophet. 27. And answering Jesus, they said, We do not
know. And he saith to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do
these things.
|
27. And they come again to Jerusalem; and
while he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and scribes, and elders,
come to him. 28. And they say to him, By what authority doest thou
these things? and who gave thee that authority
f23A to do
these things? 29. And Jesus answering said to them, I will also ask
you something, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these
things. 30. Whether was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?
Answer me. 31. And they thought within themselves, saying, If we
shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him?
32. But if we say, From men, they dreaded the people;
f24 for all
reckoned John that he was truly a prophet. 33. And they answering
say to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus answering saith to them, Neither
will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
|
1. And it happened on one of those days,
while he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, the
chief priests, and scribes, with the elders, came upon him, 2. And
spoke to him saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who
is he that gave thee that authority? 3. And Jesus answering said to
them, I will also ask you something, and answer me. 4. Was the
baptism of John from heaven, or from men? 5. But they reasoned
within themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then
did you not believe him? 6. But if we shall say, From men, all the
people will stone us; for they are convinced that John is a prophet.
7. And they answered, That they did not know whence it was.
8. And Jesus said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I
do these things.
|
Matthew 21:23.
By what authority doest thou
these things. As the other schemes and open
attempts to attack Christ had not succeeded, the
priests and scribes
now attempt, by indirect methods, if they may
possibly cause him to desist from the practice of teaching. They do not debate
with him as to the doctrine itself, whether it was true or not—for already
had they often enough attacked him in vain on that question—but they raise
a dispute as to his calling and commission. And, indeed, there were plausible
grounds; for since a man ought not, of his own accord, to intermeddle either
with the honor of priesthood, or with the prophetical office, but ought to wait
for the calling of God, much less would any man be at liberty to claim for
himself the title of Messiah, unless it were evident that he had been chosen by
God; for he must have been appointed, not only by the voice of God, but likewise
by an oath,
as it is written,
(<19B004>Psalm
110:4;
<580721>Hebrews
7:21.)
But when the divine majesty of Christ had been
attested by so many miracles, they act maliciously and wickedly in inquiring
whence he came, as if they had been ignorant of all that he had done. For what
could be more unreasonable than that., after seeing the hand of God openly
displayed in curing the lame and blind, they should doubt if he were a private
individual who had rashly assumed this authority? Besides, more than enough of
evidence had been already laid before them., that Christ was sent from heaven.,
so that nothing was farther from their wish than to approve of the performances
of Christ, after having learned that God was the Author of them. They therefore
insist on this., that he is not a lawful minister of God, because he had not
been chosen by their votes, as if the power had dwelt solely with them. But
though they had been the lawful guardians of the Church, still it was monstrous
to rise up against God. We now understand why Christ did not make a direct reply
to them. It was because they wickedly and shamelessly interrogated him about a
matter which was well known.
25.
Whence was the baptism of John? Christ
interrogates them about the
baptism of John, not only to show that they
were unworthy of any authority, because they had despised a holy prophet of God,
but also to convict them, by their own reply, of having impudently pretended
ignorance of a matter with which they were well acquainted. For we must bear in
mind why John
was sent, what was his commission, and on what
subject he most of all insisted. He had been sent as Christ’s herald. He
was not deficient in his duty, and claims nothing more for himself than
to
prepare the way of the
Lord.
(<390301>Malachi
3:1;<420727>Luke
7:27.)
In short., he had pointed out Christ with the finger,
and had declared him to be the only Son of God. From what source then do the
scribes mean that the new authority of Christ should be proved, since it had
been fully attested by the preaching
of John?
We now see that Christ employed no cunning stratagem
in order to escape, but fully and perfectly answered the question which had been
proposed; for it was impossible to acknowledge that
John
was a servant of God, without acknowledging
that he was Himself the Lord. He did not therefore shelter arrogant men,
f25 who
without any commission, but out of their own hardihood, take upon themselves a
public office; nor did he countenance, by his example, the art of suppressing
the truth, as many crafty men falsely plead his authority. I do acknowledge
that, if wicked men lay snares for us, we ought not always to reply in the same
way, but ought to be prudently on our guard against their malice, yet in such a
manner that truth may not be left without a proper defense.
Baptism
denotes here not only the sign of washing, but
the whole ministry of John;
for Christ intended to draw out a reply, Was
John a
true and lawful prophet of God, or an impostor?
Yet this mode of expression contains a useful doctrine,
Is the of John from God, or from
men? For hence we infer, that no doctrine and
no sacrament ought to be received among the godly, unless it be evident that it
has come from God; and that men are not at liberty to make any invention of this
nature. The discourse relates to
John,
whom our Lord, in another passage, raises, by a
remarkable commendation, above all the prophets,
(<420726>Luke
7:26, 28.) Yet Christ declares that his
baptism
ought not to be received, unless it had been
enjoined by God. What, then, must we say of the pretended sacraments, which men
of no authority have foolishly introduced without any command from God? For
Christ plainly declares by these words, that the whole government of the Church
depends on the will of God in such a manner, that men have no right to introduce
any thing from themselves.
But they thought within themselves.
Here we perceive the impiety of the priests.
They do not inquire what is true, nor do they put the question to their own
conscience;
f26 and they
are so base as to choose rather to shuffle than to acknowledge what they know to
be true, that their tyranny may not be impaired. In this manner, all wicked men,
though they pretend to be desirous of learning, shut the gate of truth, if they
feel it to be opposed to their wicked desires. So then Christ does not allow
those men to go without a reply, but sends them away ashamed and confounded,
and, by bringing forward the testimony of
John,
sufficiently proves that he is furnished with
divine power. f27
MATTHEW
21:28-32
|
MATTHEW
21:28-32
|
|
28. But what think you?
f28
A man had two sons, and, coming to the first, he said, Son, go work today in my
vineyard. 29. And he answering said, I will not;
f29
but afterwards he repented, and went. 30. And coming to the other,
he spoke in the same manner. But he answering said, I [go,] Sir, and went
not. 31. Which of the two did what his father wished?
f30
And they say to him, The first. Jesus saith to them, Verily I say to you,
That the publicans and the harlots will go before you into the kingdom of God.
32. For John came to you by the way of righteousness, and you did
not believe him; but the publicans and the harlots believed him. And you,
when you had seen it, were not moved by repentance
f31
to believe in him.
|
This conclusion shows what is the object of the
parable, when Christ prefers to the scribes and priests those who were generally
accounted infamous and held in detestation; for he unmasks those hypocrites,
f32 that
they may no longer boast of being the ministers of God, or hold out a pretended
zeal for godliness. Though their ambition, and pride, and cruelty, and avarice,
were known to all, yet they wished to be reckoned quite different persons. And
when, but a little ago, they attacked Christ, they falsely alleged that they
were anxious about the order of the Church, as if they were its faithful and
honest guardians. Since they attempt to practice such gross imposition on God
and men, Christ rebukes their impudence by showing that they were at the
greatest possible distance from what they boasted, and were so far from
deserving that elevation with which they flattered themselves, that they ranked
below the publicans and the
harlots.
For as to the profession which they made of
being eminent in observing the worship of God, and of being zealots of the Law,
Christ tells them that it is quite as if
a son
were, in words, to promise obedience to his
father,
but afterwards to deceive him.
f33 So far
as regards the publicans and the
harlots, he does not excuse their vices, but
compares their dissolute life to the obstinacy of a rebellious and debauched
son,
who at first throws off his father’s
authority; but shows that they are greatly preferable to the scribes and
Pharisees in this respect, that they do not continue to the end in their vices,
but, on the contrary, submit gently and obediently to the yoke which they had
fiercely rejected. We now perceive the design of Christ. Not only does he
reproach the priests and scribes with obstinately opposing God, and not
repenting, though so frequently admonished, but he strips them of the honor of
which they were unworthy,
because
their ungodliness was worse than the
lasciviousness of the
harlots.
30.
I,
Sir.
f34
This phrase is borrowed from the Hebrew
language; for, when the Hebrews wish to offer their services, and to declare
that they are ready to obey, they speak in this manner, “Here I am,
Sir,” It is a laudable virtue in itself, as soon as God has spoken, to
yield to Him ready and cheerful obedience; and Christ does not here give the
commendation to slowness. But as both are improper—to delay before doing
your duty, and to promise what you do not perform—Christ shows that this
hypocrisy is less to be endured than the fierceness which, in process of time,
is subdued.
32.
For John came.
As
John
was a faithful servant of God, whatever he
taught Christ ascribes to God himself. It might have been more fully expressed
thus: God came pointing out the
way of righteousness by the mouth of
John;
but as
John
spoke in the name of God, and not as a private
individual, he is most properly named instead of God. Now this passage gives no
small authority to the preaching of the word, when those persons are said to
have been disobedient and rebellious against God, who despised the pious and
holy warnings of a teacher whom tie had sent.
There are some who give a more ingenious exposition
of the word righteousness,
and I allow them to enjoy their own opinion;
but, for my own part, I think that it means nothing more than that
John’s
doctrine was pure and right; as if Christ had
said, that they had no good reason for rejecting him. When he says that
the publicans believed,
he does not mean that they assented in words,
but that they sincerely embraced what they had heard. Hence we infer, that faith
does not consist solely in a person’s giving his assent to true doctrine,
but that it embraces something greater and loftier, that the hearer, renouncing
himself, devotes his life wholly to God. By saying that they were not moved even
by such an example, he presents an aggravated view of their malice; for it was
an evidence of the lowest depravity, not even to follow
the harlots and the
publicans.
f35
MATTHEW 21:33-46; MARK
12:1-12; LUKE 20:9-19
|
MATTHEW
21:33-46
|
MARK 21:1-12
|
LUKE 20:9-19
|
|
33. Hear another parable: There was a
certain householder, who planted a vineyard, and surrounded it by a ditch, and
dug a wine-press in it, and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen, and went
abroad, 34. And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his
servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive its fruits.
35. And the husbandmen, having seized his servants, wounded one,
killed another, and stoned another. 36. Again, he sent other
servants more numerous
f36
than the first, and they did to them in the same manner. 37. And
last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38. And when the husbandmen saw his son, they said within
themselves, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and seize on his
inheritance. 39. And they caught him, and cast him out of the
vineyard, and killed him. 40. When therefore the proprietor of the
vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen? 41. They
say to him, Since they are wicked, he will miserably destroy them, and will let
his vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render to him the fruit in its
seasons. 42. Jesus saith to them, Have you never read in the
Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected is made the head of the
corner;
f37
this is done by the Lord, and is wonderful in our eyes?
f38
43. Therefore I say to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from
you, and shall be given to a nation yielding its fruits. 44. And
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be bruised, but on whomsoever it shall
fall, it will crush him. 45. And when the chief priests and
Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them.
46. And though they sought to take him, they dreaded the multitudes,
because they reckoned him a prophet.
|
1. And he began to speak to them by
parables: A man planted a vineyard, and surrounded it by a hedge, and dug a
ditch,
f39
and built a tower, and let it to husbandmen and went abroad. 2. And
at the proper season he sent a servant, to the husbandmen to receive from the
husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3. But they seized him, and
beat him, and sent him away empty. 4. And again he sent to them
another servant; and they threw stones at him, and bruised his head, and sent
him away disgraced. 5. And again he sent another, and him they
killed, and many others, beating some and killing some. 6. And while
he had yet one son,
f40
his well-beloved, he sent him also last to them, saying, They will reverence my
son. 7. But the husbandmen said within themselves, This is the heir:
come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. 8. And
they seized him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9. What then will the proprietor of the vineyard do? He will come
and destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. 10. And
have you not read the Scripture, The stone which the builders rejected is made
the head of the corner; 11. This is done by the Lord, and is
wonderful in our eyes?
f41
12. And they sought to take him, and dreaded the multitude; for they
knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went
away.
|
9. And he began to speak to the people
this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it to husbandmen, and
went abroad for a long time. 10. And at the proper season he sent a
servant to the husbandmen, that they might give him of the fruit of the
vineyard; and they beat him, and sent him away empty. 11. And again
he sent yet another servant; and him also they wounded, and drove out.
13. And the proprietor of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will
send my well-beloved son; perhaps they will reverence him when they see him.
14. But when the husbandmen saw him, they thought within themselves,
saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be
ours. 15. And they cast him out of the vineyard, and slew
him. What then shall the proprietor of the vineyard do to them?
16. He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard
to others. And when they heard this, they said, God forbid.
17. And he looked at them, and said, What then is this that is
written, The stone which the builders rejected is made the head of the corner?
18. Every one that shall fall on this stone will be bruised; but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will crush him. 19. And the chief
priests and scribes sought at that hour to lay hands on him; (and they dreaded
the people;) for they knew that he had spoken this parable against
them.
|
Matthew 21:33.
Hear another parable.
The words of Luke are somewhat different; for
he says that Christ spoke to the
people, while here the discourse is addressed
to the priests and scribes. But the solution is easy; for, though Christ
spoke against them,
he exposed their baseness in the presence of
all the people. Mark says that Christ
began to speak by parables,
but leaves out what was first in order, as also
in other passages he gives only a part of the whole. The substance of this
parable is, that it is no new thing, if the priests and the other rulers of the
Church wickedly endeavor to defraud God of his right; for long ago they
practiced the same kind of robbery towards the prophets, and now they are ready
to slay his Son;
but they will not go unpunished, for God will
arise to defend his right. The object is two-fold; first, to reproach the
priests with base and wicked ingratitude; and, secondly, to remove the offense
which would be occasioned by his approaching death. For, by means of a false
title, they had gained such influence over simple persons and the ignorant
multitude, that the religion of the Jews depended on their will and decision.
Christ therefore forewarns the weak, and shows that, as so many prophets, one
after another, had formerly been slain by the priests, no one ought to be
distressed, if a similar instance were exhibited in his own person. But let us
now examine it in detail.
A man planted a vineyard.
This comparison frequently occurs in Scripture.
With respect to the present passage, Christ only means that, while God appoints
pastors over his Church, he does
not
convey his right to others, but acts in the
same manner as if a proprietor
were to
let a vineyard
or
field
to a
husbandman,
who would labor in the cultivation of it, and
make an annual return. As he complains by Isaiah (5:4) and
Jeremiah,
(2:21,) that he had received no fruit from the
vine
on the cultivation of which he had bestowed so
much labor and expense; so in this passage he accuses the vine-dressers
themselves, who, like base swindlers, appropriate to themselves the produce of
the vineyard.
Christ says that the
vineyard
was well furnished, and in excellent condition,
when the husbandmen
received it from the hands of the
proprietor.
By this statement he presents no slight
aggravation of their crime; for the more generously he had acted toward them,
the more detestable was their ingratitude. Paul employs the same argument, when
he wishes to exhort pastors to be diligent in the discharge of their duty, that
they are stewards, chosen to govern the house of God, which is
the
pillar and round of
truth,
(<540316>1
Timothy 3:16.)
And properly; for the more honorable and illustrious
their condition is, they lie under so much the deeper obligations to God, not to
be indolent in their work. So much the more detestable (as we have already said)
is the baseness of those who pour contempt on the great kindness of God, and on
the great honor which they have already received from Him.
God
planted a
vineyard,
f42
when, remembering his gratuitous adoption, he
brought the people out of Egypt, separated them anew to be his inheritance, and
called them to the hope of eternal salvation, promising to be their God and
Father; for this is the planting
of which Isaiah speaks, (60:21; 61:3.) By the
wine-press
and the
tower
are meant the aids which were added for
strengthening the faith of the people in the doctrine of the Law, such as,
sacrifices and other ritual observances; for God, like a careful and provident
head of a family, has left no means untried for granting to his Church all
necessary protection.
And let it to husbandmen.
God might indeed of himself, without the agency
of men, preserve his Church in good order; but he takes men for his ministers,
and makes use of their hands. Thus, of old, he appointed priests to be, as it
were, cultivators of the
vineyard.
But the wonder is, that Christ compares the
prophets to servants, who are sent, after the vintage, to demand the fruit;
f43 for we
know that they too were
vine-dressers,
and that they held a charge in common with the
priests. I reply, it was not necessary for Christ to be careful or exact in
describing the resemblance or contrariety between those two orders. The priests
were certainly appointed at first on the condition of thoroughly cultivating the
Church by sound doctrine; but as they neglected the work assigned them, either
through carelessness or ignorance, the prophets were sent as an extraordinary
supply, to clear the vine from weeds, to lop off the superfluous wood, and in
other ways to make up for the neglect of the priests; and, at the same time,
severely to reprove the people, to raise up decayed piety, to awaken drowsy
souls, and to bring back the worship of God and a new life. And what else was
this than to demand the revenue which was due to God from his vineyard? All this
Christ applies justly and truly to his purpose; for the regular and permanent
government of his Church was not in the hands of the prophets, but was always
held by the priests; just as if lazy
husbandman,
while he neglected cultivation, claimed the
place to which he had been once appointed, under the plea of
possession.
35.
And wounded one, and killed
another. Here Mark andLuke differ a little from
Matthew;
for while Matthew mentions many servants, all
of whom were ill-treated and insulted, and says that
afterwards other servants were
sent more numerous than the first, Mark and
Luke mention but one at a time, as if the
servants
had been sent, not two or three together, but
one after another. But though all the three Evangelists have the same object in
view, namely, to show that the Jews will dare to act towards the Son in the same
manner as they have repeatedly done towards the prophets, Matthew explains the
matter more at large, namely, that God, by sending a multitude of prophets,
contended with the malice of the priests.
f44 Hence
it appears how obstinate their malice was, for the correction of which no
remedies were of any avail.
f45
37.
They will reverence my son.
Strictly speaking, indeed, this thought does
not apply to God; for He knew what would happen, and was not deceived by the
expectation of a more agreeable result; but it is customary,
f46
especially in parables, to ascribe to Him human feelings. And yet this was not
added without reason; for Christ intended to represent, as in a mirror, how
deplorable their impiety was, of which it was too certain a proof, that they
rose in diabolical rage against the Son of God, who had come to bring them back
to a sound mind.
f47 As they
had formerly, as far as lay in their power, driven God from his inheritance by
the cruel murder of the prophets, so it was the crowning point of all their
crimes to slay the Son,
that they might reign, as in a house which
wanted an heir. Certainly the chief reason why the priests raged against Christ
was, that, they might not lose their tyranny, which might be said to be their
prey; f48
for he it is by whom God chooses to govern, and to whom He has given all
authority.
The Evangelists differ also a little in the
conclusion. For Matthew relates that he drew from them the confession, by which
they condemned themselves; while Mark says simply that Christ declared what
punishment must await servants
so unprincipled and wicked. Luke differs, at
first sight, more openly, by saying that they turned away with horror from the
punishment which Christ had threatened. But if we examine the meaning more
closely, there is no contradiction; for, in regard to the punishment which such
servants deserved, there can be no doubt that they agreed with Christ, but when
they perceived that both the crime and the punishment were made to apply to
themselves, they deprecated that application.
42.
Have
you
never read in the Scriptures?
We
must remember what we said a little before,
that, as the priests and scribes
kept the people devoted to them, it was a
principle current among them, that they alone were competent to judge and decide
as to the future redemption, so that no one ought to be received as Messiah,
unless he were approved and sanctioned by their voice. They therefore maintain
that what Christ had said is impossible, that they would
slay
the
son
and
heir
of
the proprietor of the vineyard.
But Christ confirms his statement by the
testimony of Scripture, and the interrogation is emphatic, as if he had said,
“You reckon it highly absurd to say that it is possible for the
vine dressers
to conspire wickedly against the Son of God.
But what then? Did the Scripture
(<19B822>Psalm
118:22)
foretell that he would be received with joy,
and favor, and applause; or did it not, on the contrary, foretell that the
rulers themselves would oppose him?”
The passage which he quotes is taken from the same
psalm from which had been taken that joyful exclamation,
f49
Save,
f50
O Lord. Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord. That it is a
prediction of the reign of the Messiah is evident from this consideration, that
David was appointed by God to be king, on the condition that his throne would
remain forever, so long as the sun and moon would shine in heaven, and that,
when decayed, it would again be restored by the favor of God to its former
prosperity. Since, therefore, that psalm contains a description of the reign of
David, there is also added the perpetuity of it, on which the restoration
depends. If the discourse had related to any temporal reign, Christ would have
acted improperly in applying it to himself. But we must also observe what sort
of reign God raised up in the person of David. It was that which He would
establish in the true Messiah to the end of the world; for that ancient
anointing was but a shadow. Hence we infer that what was done in the person of
David was a prelude and figure of Christ.
Let us now return to the words of the psalm. The
scribes and priests reckoned it incredible that Christ should be rejected
f51 by the
rulers of the Church. But he proves from the psalm, that he would be placed on
his throne by the wonderful power of God, contrary to the will of men, and that
this had already been shadowed out in David, whom, though rejected by the
nobles, God took to give an instance and proof of what he would at length do in
his Christ. The prophet takes the metaphor from buildings; for, since the Church
is God’s sanctuary, Christ, on whom it is founded, is justly called the
corner stone;
that is, the
stone
which supports the whole weight of the
building. If one were to examine minutely every thing that relates to Christ,
the comparison would not apply in every part; but it is perfectly appropriate,
for on him the salvation of the Church rests, and by him its condition is
preserved. And therefore the other prophets followed the same form of
expression, particularly Isaiah and Daniel. But Isaiah makes the closest
allusion to this passage, when he represents God as thus
speaking,
Lo, I lay in Zion a
foundation-stone, a precious and elect stone, against which both houses of
Israel shall
stumble!
(<232816>Isaiah
28:16.)
The same mode of expression frequently occurs in the
New Testament.
The amount of it therefore is, that the kingdom of
God will be founded on a stone,
which
the builders
themselves will
reject
as unsuitable and useless; and the meaning is,
that the Messiah, who is the foundation of the safety of the Church, will not be
chosen by the ordinary suffrages of men, but that, when God shall miraculously
raise him up by a secret and unknown power, the rulers, to whom has been
committed the care of the
building,
will oppose and persecute him. There are two
things here which we ought to consider. First, that we may not be perplexed by
the wicked attempts of men, who rise up to hinder the reign of Christ, God has
warned us beforehand that this will happen. Secondly, whatever may be the
contrivances of men, God has at the same time declared, that in setting up the
kingdom of Christ, His power will be victorious. Both ought to be carefully
observed by us. It appears to be monstrous that the Author of salvation should
be rejected, not by strangers, but by those who belonged to his own
household,—not by the ignorant multitude, but by the rulers themselves,
who hold the government of the Church. Against such strange madness of men our
faith ought to be fortified, that it may not give way through the novelty of the
occurrence. We now perceive how useful that prediction is, which relieves godly
minds from the terror that would otherwise be produced by the mournful
spectacle. For nothing is more unreasonable than that the members should rise up
against the head, the
vine-dressers
against the
proprietor,
the counselors against their king, and that the
builders
should
reject
the foundation of the
building.
That stone is made the head of the
corner. Still more emphatic is this clause, in
which God declares that the wicked, by rejecting Christ, will avail nothing, but
that his rank will remain unimpaired. The design of it is, that believers,
relying on that promise, may safely look down with contempt and derision on the
wicked pride of men; for when they have made all their contrivances, Christ will
still, ill opposition to their wishes, retain the place which the Father has
appointed to him. How fiercely soever he may be assailed by those who appear to
possess honor and dignity, he will nevertheless remain in his own rank, and will
abate nothing on account of their wicked contempt. In short, the authority of
God will prevail, that he may be the
elect
and
precious stone,
which supports the Church of God, his kingdom
and temple. The stone
is said to be made
the head of the corner,
not that he is only a part of the building,
(since it is evident from other passages that the Church is entirely founded on
Him alone,) but the prophet merely intended to state that he will be the chief
support of the building. Some go into ingenious arguments about the word
corner,
that Christ is placed in
the corner,
because he unites two separate walls, the
Gentiles and Jews. But in my opinion, David meant nothing more than that
the corner-stone
supports the chief weight of the
building.
It may now be asked, How does the Spirit call those
men builders,
who are so strongly bent on the ruin and
destruction of the temple of God? For Paul boasts of having been an honest
builder,
because he founded the Church on Christ alone,
(<460310>1
Corinthians 3:10, 11.) The answer is easy. Though they are unfaithful in the
execution of the office committed to them, yet he gives them this title with
respect to their calling. Thus the name
prophet
is often given to deceivers, and those who
devour the flock like wolves are called
pastors.
And so far is this from conferring honor on
them, that it renders them detestable, when they utterly overthrow the temple of
God, which they were appointed to
build.
Hence we draw a useful warning, that the lawful
calling does not prevent those who ought to have been the ministers of Christ
from being sometimes his base and wicked enemies. The legal priesthood had
certainly been appointed by God, and the Lord had bestowed on the Levites
permission to govern the Church. Did they therefore discharge their office
faithfully? or ought the godly to have obeyed them by renouncing
Christ?
Let the Pope now go with his mitered bishops, and let
them boast that they ought to be believed in all things, because they occupy the
place of pastors. Even granting that they were lawfully called to the government
of the Church, yet they have no right to claim any thing more than to hold the
title of prelates of the Church. But even the title of calling does not belong
to them; for, in order to raise them to that tyranny, it would be necessary that
the whole order of the Church should be overturned. And even though they might
justly claim ordinary jurisdiction, yet, if they overturn the sacred house of
God, it is only in name that they must be reckoned
builders.
Nor does it always happen that Christ is
rejected by those who are entrusted with the government of the Church; for not
only were there many godly priests under the Law, but also, under the reign of
Christ, there are some pastors who labor diligently and honestly in
building
the Church; but as it was necessary that this
prediction should be fulfilled, that
the builders
should
reject the stone,
wisdom must be exercised in distinguishing
between them. And the Holy Spirit has expressly warned us, that none may be
mistaken as to an empty title or the dignity of calling.
This has been done by the Lord,
As it is a matter too far removed from the
ordinary judgment of men, that the pastors of the Church should themselves
reject
the Son of God from being their Prince, the
prophet refers it to the secret purpose of God, which, though we cannot
comprehend it by our senses, we ought to contemplate and admire. Let us
therefore understand, that this cuts short every question, and that every man is
expressly forbidden to judge and measure the nature of Christ’s kingdom by
the reason of the flesh; for what folly is it to wish to subject to the capacity
of our mind a miracle which the prophet exhorts us to adore? Will you then
receive nothing but what appears to yourself to be probable, in reference to the
kingdom of Christ, the commencement of which the Holy Spirit declares to be a
mystery worthy of the highest admiration, because it is concealed from the eyes
of men? So then, whenever the question relates to the origin, restoration,
condition, and the whole safety of the Church, we must not consult our senses,
f52 but must
honor the power of God by admiring his hidden work.
f53 There is
also an implied contrast between God and men; for not only are we commanded to
embrace the wonderful method of governing the Church, because it is the work of
God, but we are likewise withdrawn from a foolish reverence for men, which
frequently obscures the glow of God; as if the prophet had said, that however
magnificent may be the titles which men bear, it is wicked in any man to oppose
them to God.
This furnishes a refutation of the diabolical
wickedness of the Papists, who do not scruple to prefer to the word of God a
decision of their pretended Church. For on what does the authority of the word
of God depend, according to them, but on the opinion of men, so that no more
power is left to God than what the Church is pleased to allow him? Far otherwise
does the Spirit instruct us by this passage namely, that as soon as the majesty
of God f54
appears, the whole world ought to be silent.
43.
Therefore I say to you.
Hitherto Christ directed his discourse to
rulers and governors, but in presence of the people. Now, however, he addresses
in the same manner the people themselves, and not without reason, for they had
been the companions and assistants of the priests and scribes in hindering the
grace of God. It was from the priests, no doubt, that the evil arose, but the
people had already deserved, on account of their sins, to have such corrupt and
degenerate pastors. Besides, the whole body was infected, as it were, by a
similar malice to resist God. This is the reason why Christ denounces against
all indiscriminately the dreadful vengeance of God; for as the priests were
inflated with the desire of holding the highest power, so the rest of the people
gloried on the ground of having been adopted. Christ now declares that God was
not bound to them, and, therefore, that he will convey to another the honor of
which they rendered themselves unworthy. And this, no doubt, was once spoken to
them, but was written for the sake of all of us, that, if God choose us to be
His people, we may not grow wanton through a vain and wicked confidence in the
flesh, but may endeavor, on our part, to perform the duties which he enjoins on
his children;
for if he spared not the
natural branches,
(<451121>Romans
11:21,)
what will he do with those which were engrafted? The
Jews thought that the kingdom of God dwelt among them by hereditary right, and
therefore they adhered obstinately to their vices. We have unexpectedly come
into their room contrary to nature, and therefore much less is the kingdom of
God bound to us, if it be not rooted in true godliness.
Now as our minds ought to be struck with terror by
the threatening of Christ, that those who have profaned the kingdom of God will
be deprived of it, so the perpetuity of that kingdom, which is here described,
may afford comfort to all the godly. For by these words Christ assures us that,
though the ungodly destroyed the worship of God among themselves, they would
never cause the name of Christ to be abolished, or true religion to perish; for
God, in whose hand are all the ends of the earth, will find elsewhere a dwelling
and habitation for his kingdom. We ought also to learn from this passage, that
the Gospel is not preached in order that it may lie barren and inoperative, but
that it may yield fruit.
44.
And he who shall fall on this
stone. Christ confirms more fully the former
statement, that he suffers no loss or diminution when he is rejected by the
wicked, because, though their obstinacy were like a stone or like iron, yet by
his own hardness he will break them, and therefore he will be the more highly
glorified in their destruction. He perceived in the Jews an astonishing
obstinacy, and therefore it was necessary that this kind of punishment should be
described to them in an alarming manner, that they might not flatter themselves,
while they thus dashed against him. This doctrine partly instructs us to give
ourselves up gently, with a mild and tractable heart, to the dominion of Christ,
and partly fortifies us against the obstinacy and furious attacks of the wicked,
for whom there awaits a dreadful end.
Those persons are said to
fall upon
Christ, who rush forward to destroy him; not
that they occupy a more elevated position than he does, but because their
madness carries them so far, that they endeavor to attack Christ as if he were
below them. But Christ tells them that all that they will gain by it is, that by
the very conflict they will be
broken.
But when they have thus proudly exalted
themselves, he tells them that another thing will happen, which is, that they
will be bruised
under the
stone,
against which they so insolently dashed
themselves.
45.
They knew that he spoke of them.
The Evangelists show how little success Christ
had, that we may not wonder if the doctrine of the Gospel does not bring all
men, in the present day, to yield obedience to God. Let us also learn that it is
impossible but that the rage of ungodly men will be more and more inflamed by
threatenings; for as God seals his word on our hearts, so also it is a hot iron
to wound bad consciences, in consequence of which their ungodliness is the more
inflamed. We ought therefore to pray that he would subdue us to voluntary fear,
lest the mere knowledge of his vengeance should exasperate us the more. When
they are restrained solely by the dread of the people from laying their hands on
Christ, let us learn that God had laid a bridle on them; from which also arises
a very delightful consolation to believers, when they learn that God protects
them, and constantly enables them to escape from the jaws of
death.
MATTHEW 22:15-22; MARK
12:13-17;
LUKE
20:20-26
|
MATTHEW
22:15-22
|
MARK
12:13-17
|
LUKE
20:20-26
|
|
15. Then the Pharisees went away, and
took counsel how they might entrap him in his words. 16. And they
send to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that
thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any man;
for thou regardest not the person of men. 17. Tell us then, What
thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?
18. But Jesus, perceiving their wickedness, saith, Why do you tempt
me, hypocrites? 19. Show me the tribute money. And they
presented to him a denarius. 20. And he saith to them, Whose is this
image and inscription? 21. They say to him,
Caesar’s. Then said he to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things
which are Caesar’s, and to God the things which are God’s.
22. And having heard these things, they wondered, and left him, and
went away.
|
13. And they send to him certain
Pharisees and Herodians, to entrap him in his words 14. And they,
when they came, said to him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest not
for any man; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of
God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we
give, or shall we not give? 15. But he, knowing their hypocrisy,
said to them, Why do you tempt me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.
16. And they brought it; and he saith to them, Whose is this image
and inscription? And they said to him, Caesars. 17. And Jesus
answering said to them, Render to Caesar those things which are Caesar’s,
and to God those things which are God’s.
f55 And they
wondered at him. f56
|
20. And they watched him, and sent spies,
who would pretend to be righteous men, to entrap him in his words, and to
deliver him to the authority and power of the governor. 21. And they
put a question to him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest
uprightly, and regardest not a person,
f57 but
teachest the way of God in truth. 22. Is it lawful for us to give
tribute to Caesar, or not? 23. And having perceived their
craftiness, he said to them, Why do you tempt me? 24. Show me a
denarius. Whose image and inscription hath it? They answering said,
Caesar’s. 25. And he said to them, Render therefore to Caesar
those things which are Caesar’s, and to God those things which are
God’s. 26. And they could not find fault with his words in
presence of the people; and wondering at his reply, they were
silent.
|
Matthew 22:15.
That they might entrap him in his
words. The Pharisees, perceiving that all their
other attempts against Christ had been fruitless, at length concluded that the
best and most expeditious method of destroying him was, to deliver him to the
governor,
as a seditious person and a disturber of the
peace. There was at that time, as we have seen under another passage,
f58 a great
disputing among the Jews about the
tribute-money;
for, since the Romans had claimed for
themselves the
tribute-money,
which God commanded to be paid to Himself under
the Law of Moses,
(<023013>Exodus
30:13,) the Jews everywhere complained that it was a shameful and intolerable
crime for profane men to lay claim, in this manner, to a divine prerogative;
besides that, as this payment of tribute, which was enjoined on them by the Law,
was a testimony of their adoption, they looked upon themselves as deprived of an
honor to which they had a just claim. Now the deeper any man’s poverty
was, f59
the bolder did it render him to raise sedition.
This trick of taking Christ by surprise is therefore
continued by the Pharisees,
that, in whatever way he reply as to the
tribute money,
they may lay snares for him. If he affirm that
they ought not to pay, he will be convicted of sedition. If, on the contrary, he
acknowledge it to be justly due, he will be held to be an enemy of his nation,
and a betrayer of the liberty of his country. Their principal object is, to lead
the people to dislike him. This is the
entrapping
to which the Evangelists refer; for they
suppose that Christ is surrounded on all sides by
nets,
so that he can no longer escape. Having avowed
themselves to be his enemies, and knowing that they would, on that account, be
suspected, they put forward—as Matthew
states—some of their
disciples.
Luke,
again, calls them
spies, who pretended to be
righteous men; that is, persons who deceitfully
professed an honest and proper desire to learn: for
the pretense of righteousness
is not here used in a general sense, but is
limited to the present occasion, because they would not have been received, had
they not made a pretense of docility and of genuine zeal.
With the Herodians.
They take along with them
the Herodians,
because they were more favorable to the Roman
government, and therefore would be more disposed to raise an accusation. It is
worthy of attention that, though those sects had fierce contentions with each
other, so bitter was their hatred against Christ, that they conspired to destroy
him. What the sect of the
Herodions was, we have formerly explained
f60 for,
Herod being only half a Jew, or a spurious and corrupt professor of the Law,
those who desired that the Law should be kept with exactness and in
every
part, condemned him and his impure worship; but
he had his flatterers, who gave plausible excuses for his false doctrine. In
addition to the other sects, therefore, there sprung up at that time a religion
of the Court.
16.
Master, we know that thou art
true. This is the
righteousness
which they counterfeit, when they offer humble
subjection to Christ, as if they were desirous to learn, and as if they not only
had some relish for piety, but also were fully convinced of his doctrine; for if
what they said had been from the heart, this would have been true uprightness.
And therefore from their words we may obtain a definition of a good and faithful
teacher, such as they pretended to believe Christ to be. They say that he is
true, and teaches the way of God;
that is, he is a faithful interpreter of God,
and that he teaches it in truth;
that is, without any corruption.
The way of God
is contrasted with the inventions of men, and
with all foreign doctrines; and
truth
is contrasted with ambition, covetousness, and
other wicked dispositions, which usually corrupt the purity of instruction. So
then he ought to be reckoned a true
teacher,
who does not introduce the contrivances of men,
or depart from the pure word of God, but gives out, as it were, with his hands
what he has learned from the mouth of God, and who, from a sincere desire of
edification, accommodates his doctrine to the advantage and salvation of the
people, and does not debase it by any disguise. As to this latter clause, when
Paul asserts that he
does not MAKE MERCHANDISE
of the word of
God,
(<470217>2
Corinthians 2:17,)
he means that there are some persons who use
dexterity, and do not openly overturn sound doctrine, or incur the disgrace of
holding wicked opinions, but who disguise and corrupt the purity of doctrine,
because they are ambitious, or covetous, or easily turned in various directions
according to their earnest desire. He therefore compares them to
jockeys,
(kuphlleu>ontev,)
because they deprave the pure use of the word of God.
For thou regardest not the person
of men. It is also worthy of attention, that
those hypocrites likewise add, that Christ teaches rightly,
because he has no regard for the
person of men. Nothing has a more powerful
tendency to withdraw teachers from a faithful and upright dispensation of the
word than to pay respect
to men; for it is impossible that any one
who
desires to please men
(<480110>Galatians
1:10)
should truly devote himself to God. Some attention,
no doubt, is due to men, but not so as to obtain their favor by flattery. In
short, in order to walk uprightly, we must necessarily put away
respect of persons,
which
obscures the light and perverts
right judgment, as God frequently inculcates in
the Law,
(<050116>Deuteronomy
1:16; 16:19,) and as experience also points out. Thus Christ
(<430724>John
7:24) contrasts acceptance of
persons
(proswpolhyi>an)
and sound judgment
as things totally different.
18.
Knowing their malice.
They had opened the conversation in such a
manner that they did not appear to differ at all from excellent scholars. Whence
then had Christ this knowledge, but because his Spirit was a discerner of
hearts? It was not by human conjecture that he perceived their cunning, but
because he was God he penetrated into their hearts, and therefore they gained
nothing by attempting the concealment of flattery and of pretended
righteousness.
Accordingly, before giving a reply, he
exhibited a proof of his Divinity by laying open their concealed malice. Now
since wicked men every day employ snares of the same kind, while their inward
malice is concealed from us, we ought to pray to Christ to bestow upon us the
spirit of discernment, and that what he had by nature and by his own right he
may grant to us by a free gift. How much we need this prudence, is evident from
the consideration that, if we do not guard against the snares of the wicked, we
shall constantly expose the doctrine of God to their calumnies.
19.
Show me the tribute-money.
When Christ orders them to bring forward a
coin, though at first sight it appears to be of no great importance, yet it is
sufficient for breaking their snares. In this way they had already made an
acknowledgment of subjection, so that Christ did not find it necessary to enjoin
upon them any thing new. The coin was stamped with
Caesar’s likeness;
and thus the authority of the Roman government
had been approved and admitted by the general practice. Hence it was evident
that the Jews themselves had voluntarily come under obligation to pay tribute
for they had given up to the Romans the power of the sword;
f61 and
there was no propriety in making a separate dispute about
the tribute-money,
for that question depended on the general
arrangements of the government.
21.
Render therefore to Caesar those
things which are Caesar’s. Christ reminds
them that, as the subjection of their nation was attested by the coin, there
ought to be no debate on that subject; as if he had said,
“If
you think it strange to pay
tribute,
be not subjects of the Roman Empire. But the
money (which men employ as the pledge of mutual exchanges) attests that
Caesar
rules over you; so that, by your own silent
consent, the liberty to which you lay claim is lost and gone.”
Christ’s reply does not leave the matter open, but contains full
instruction on the question which had been proposed. It lays down a clear
distinction between spiritual and civil government, in order to inform us that
outward subjection does not prevent us from having within us a conscience free
in the sight of God. For Christ intended to refute the error of those who did
not think that they would be the people of God, unless they were free from every
yoke of human authority. In like manner, Paul earnestly insists on this point,
that they ought not the less to look upon themselves as serving God alone, if
they obey human laws, if they pay
tribute,
and bend the neck to bear other burdens,
(<451307>Romans
13:7.) In short, Christ declares that it is no violation of the authority of
God, or any injury done to his service, if, in respect of outward government,
the Jews obey the Romans.
He appears also to glance at their hypocrisy,
because, while they carelessly permitted the service of God to be corrupted in
many respects, and even wickedly deprived God of his authority, they displayed
such ardent zeal about a matter of no importance; as if he had said, “You
are exceedingly afraid, lest, if tribute be paid to the Romans, the honor of God
may be infringed; but you ought rather to take care to yield to God that service
which he demands from you, and, at the same the to render to men what is their
due.” We might be apt to think, no doubt, that the distinction does not
apply; for, strictly speaking, when we perform our duty towards men, we thereby
render obedience to God. But Christ, accommodating his discourse to the common
people, reckoned it enough to draw a distinction between the spiritual kingdom
of God, on the one hand, and political order and the condition of the present
life, on the other. We must therefore attend to this distinction, that, while
the Lord wishes to be the only Lawgiver for governing souls, the rule for
worshipping Him must not be sought from any other source than from His own word,
and that we ought to abide by the only and pure worship which is there enjoined;
but that the power of the sword, the laws, and the decisions of tribunals, do
not hinder the worship of God from remaining entire amongst us.
But this doctrine extends still farther, that every
man, according to his calling, ought to perform the duty which he owes to men;
that children ought willingly to submit to their parents, and servants to their
masters; that they ought to be courteous and obliging towards each other,
according to the law of charity, provided that God always retain the highest
authority, to which every thing that can be due to men is, as we say,
subordinate.
f62 The
amount of it therefore is, that those who destroy political order are rebellious
against God, and therefore, that obedience to princes and magistrates is always
joined to the worship and fear of God; but that, on the other hand, if princes
claim any part of the authority of God, we ought not to obey them any farther
than can be done without offending God.
22.
They wondered at him. Here, too, it appears how
God turns to a different purpose the wicked attempts of His enemies, and not
only disappoints their expectation, but even drives them back with disgrace. It
will sometimes happen, no doubt, that wicked men, though vanquished, do not
cease to growl; but, though their insolence be not subdued, however numerous may
be their assaults on the Word of God, there is an equal number of victories
which God has in his hand, to triumph over them and Satan their head. But in
this reply, Christ intended to give a peculiar display of his glory, by
compelling those men to depart crowned with shame.
MATTHEW 22:23-33; MARK
12:18-27;
LUKE
20:27-40
|
Matthew
22:23-33
|
Mark
12:18-27
|
Luke
20:27-40
|
|
23. The same day came to him the
Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and interrogated him,
24. Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, not having a child,
f63
his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
25. Now there were amongst us seven brothers, and the first, having
married a wife, died, and, having no seed, left his wife to his brother.
26. In like manner, the second, and the third, till the seventh.
27. And last of all the woman died also. 28. In the
resurrection, therefore, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had
her. 29. And Jesus answering said to them, You err, not knowing the
Scriptures, nor the power of God. 30. For in the resurrection they
neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31. But as to the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what
was spoken to you by God, saying, 32. I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of
the living. 33. And when the multitudes heard it, they were
astonished at his doctrine.
|
18. And the Sadducees come to him, who
say that there is no resurrection; and they interrogated him, saying,
19. Master, Moses wrote to us, that, if any man’s brother die,
and leave a wife, and do not leave children, his brother shall take his wife,
and raise up seed to his brother. 20. There were seven brothers; and
the first took a wife, and he, dying, left no seed. 21. And the
second took her, and died, and neither did he leave any seed; and the third
likewise. 22. And the seven took her, and did not leave
seed. And last of all the wife died also. 23. In the
resurrection, therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife of them shall
she be? for the seven had her for a wife. 24. And Jesus answering
said to them, Is it not the reason why you err, that you do not know the
Scriptures, nor the power of God? 25. For when they shall rise again
from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are as the
angels of God who are in heaven. 26. But as to the dead, that they
rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him in the
bush, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? 27. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the
living; therefore you greatly err.
|
27. And some of the Sadducees, who say
that there is no resurrection, came, and interrogated him,
28. Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, that if any man’s
brother die having a wife, and he die without children, his brother shall take
his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. 29. Now there were seven
brothers, and the first took a wife, and died without children.
30. And the second took her, and also died without children.
31. And the third took her, and in like manner all the seven, and
left no children, and died. 32. Last of all the woman also died.
33. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of them shall she be?
for the seven had her for a wife. 34. And Jesus answering said unto
them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage.
35. But they who shall be counted worthy of that world,
f64
and of the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.
36. For they cannot die anymore; for they are equal to the angels,
and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
37. But that the dead rise again, even Moses showed at the bush,
when he says that the Lord is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. 38. But he is not the God of the dead, but of the
living; for all live to him. 39. And some of the scribes answering,
said, Master, thou hast spoken well. 40. And they did not venture to
put any more questions to him.
|
Matthew 22:23.
The same day came to him the
Sadducees. We see here how Satan brings
together all the ungodly, who in other respects differ widely from each other,
to attack the truth of God. For, though deadly strife existed between these two
sects, f65
yet they conspire together against Christ; so that the Pharisees are not
displeased to have their own doctrine attacked in the person of Christ. Thus in
the present day, we see all the forces of Satan, though in other respects they
are opposed to each other, rising on every hand against Christ. And so fierce is
the hatred with which the Papists burn against the Gospel, that they willingly
support Epicureans, Libertines, and other monsters of that description, provided
that they can avail themselves of their aid for accomplishing its destruction.
In short, we see that they come out of various camps to make an attack on
Christ; and that this was done, because all of them alike hated the light of
sound doctrine. Now the Sadducees
propose a question to Christ, that by the
appearance of absurdity they may either lead him to take part in their error,
or, if he disagree with them, that they may hold him up to disgrace and ridicule
among an uneducated and ignorant multitude. It is no doubt possible, that they
had been formerly accustomed to employ this sophistry for harassing the
Pharisees, but now they attempt to take Christ in the same
snare.
Who say that there is no
resurrection. How the sect of the
Sadducees
originated we have explained under another
passage. Luke assures us that they denied not only the final
resurrection
of the body, but also the immortality of the
soul,
(<442308>Acts
23:8.) And, indeed, if we consider properly the doctrine of Scripture, the life
of the soul, apart from the hope of the
resurrection,
will be a mere dream; for God does not declare
that, immediately after the death of the body, souls live,—as if their
glory and happiness were already enjoyed by them in perfections—but delays
the expectation of them till the last day. I readily acknowledge that the
philosophers, who were ignorant of the
resurrection
of the body, have many discussions about the
immortal essence of the soul; but they talk so foolishly about the state of the
future life that their opinions have no weight. But since the Scriptures inform
us that the spiritual life depends on the hope of the
resurrection,
and that souls, when separated from the bodies,
look forward to it, whoever destroys the
resurrection
deprives souls also of their
immortality.
Now this enables us to perceive the dreadful
confusion of the Jewish Church, that their rulers
f66 in
religious matters took away the expectation of a future life, so that, after the
death of the body, men differed in no respect from brute beasts. They did not
indeed deny that our lives ought to be holy and righteous, and were not so
profane as to consider the worship of God to be superfluous; on the contrary,
they maintained that God is the Judge of the world, and that the affairs of men
are directed by His providence. But as the reward of the godly, and likewise the
punishment due to the wicked, were limited by them to the present life, even
though there had been truth in their assertion, that every man is now treated
impartially according to his merit,
f66a yet it
was excessively absurd to restrict the promises of God within such narrow
limits. Now experience plainly shows that they were chargeable with the grossest
stupidity, since it is manifest that the reward which is laid up for the good is
left incomplete till another life, and likewise that the punishment of the
wicked is not wholly inflicted in this world.
In short, it is impossible to conceive any thing more
absurd than this dream, that men formed after the image of God are extinguished
by death like the beasts. But how disgraceful and monstrous was it that while,
among the profane and blind idolaters of all nations, some notion, at least, of
a future life still lingered, among the Jews, the peculiar people of God, this
seed of piety was destroyed. I do not mention that, when they saw that the holy
fathers earnestly aspired to the heavenly life, and that the covenant which God
had made with them was spiritual and eternal, they must have been worse than
stupid who remained blind in the midst of such clear light. But, first, this was
the just reward of those who had split the Church of God into sects; and,
secondly, in this manner the Lord avenged the wicked contempt of His
doctrine.
24.
Master, Moses said. As it was enough to mention
the bare fact, why do they make use of this preface? They cunningly employ the
name of Moses,
for the purpose of proving that they were
lawful marriages, which had been contracted not by the will of men, but by the
command and appointment of God himself. But that God should contradict Himself
is impossible. Their sophistry therefore is this: “If God shall one day
collect believers into His kingdom, He will restore whatever He had given to
them in the world. What then shall become of the woman, whom God assigned to
seven husbands?”
Thus all ungodly persons and heretics forge
their calumnies, that by means of them they may disfigure the true doctrine of
godliness, and put to shame the servants of Christ. Nay, the Papists are
restrained by no shame from openly ridiculing God and his word, when they
attempt to take us by surprise. And not without reason, therefore, does Paul
enjoin a teacher to be furnished with armor for repelling the adversaries of the
truth,
(<560109>Titus
1:9.) With respect to the law,
(<052505>Deuteronomy
25:5,) by which God commanded the relatives, who were nearest of kin, to succeed
the dead in marriage, if the first had died without children, the reason was,
that the woman who had married into a particular family should leave offspring
in it. But if there had been children by the first marriage, a marriage within
the degrees forbidden by the law
(<031816>Leviticus
18:16) would have been incestuous.
29.
You err, not knowing the
Scriptures. Though Christ addresses the
Sadducees,
yet this reproof applies generally to all
inventors of false doctrines. For, since God makes known His will clearly in
the Scriptures,
the want of acquaintance with them is the
source and cause of all errors. But this is no ordinary consolation to the
godly, that they will be safe from the danger of
erring,
so long as they humbly, modestly, and
submissively inquire from the
Scriptures what is right and true. As to the
power of God
being connected by Christ with the word, it
refers to the present occasion. For, since
the resurrection
far exceeds the capacity of the human senses,
it will be incredible to us, till our minds rise to the contemplation of the
boundless power of God, by which,
as Paul tells us,
he is able to subdue all
things to himself,
(<500321>Philippians
3:21.)
Besides, the
Sadducees
must have been void of understanding, when they
committed the error of estimating the glory of the heavenly life according to
the present state. In the meantime, we learn that those men form and express
just and wise sentiments respecting the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, who
join the power of God
with
the
Scriptures.
30.
But are like the angels of God in
heaven. He does not mean that the children of
God will be, in all respects,
like the angels,
but only so far as they shall be free from
every infirmity of the present life; thus affirming that they will no longer be
exposed to the wants of a frail and perishing life. Luke expresses more clearly
the nature of the resemblance, that they can no longer die, and therefore there
will be no propagation of their species, as on earth. Now he speaks of believers
only, for no mention had been made of the wicked.
But a question arises, Why does he say that they will
then be the children of God,
because they will be
children of the resurrection;
since God bestows this honor on those who
believe on him, though shut up within the frail prison of the body? And how
would we be heirs of eternal life after death, unless God already acknowledged
us as children? I reply: As we are engrafted by faith into the body of Christ,
we are adopted by God as his children, and of this adoption the Spirit is the
witness, seal, earnest, and
pledge,
so that with this assurance
we may freely cry, Abba,
Father,
(<450815>Romans
8:15;
<480406>Galatians
4:6.)
Now though we know that
we are the children of God, yet as it doth not yet appear what we shall be,
till, transformed into his glory, we shall see him as he is,
(<620302>1
John 3:2,)
we are not as yet actually reckoned to be his
children. And though we are renewed by the Spirit of God, yet
as
our life is still hidden,
(<510303>Colossians
3:3,)
the manifestation of it will truly and perfectly
distinguish us from strangers. In this sense our
adoption
is said by Paul to be delayed till the last
day,
(<450823>Romans
8:23.).
Luke 20:37.
But that the dead shall rise.
After having refuted the objection brought
against him, Christ confirms, by the testimony of Scripture, the doctrine of the
final resurrection. And this is the order which must always be observed. Having
repelled the calumnies of the enemies of the truth, we must make them understand
that they oppose the word of God; for until they are convicted by the testimony
of Scripture, they will always be at liberty to rebel. Christ quotes a passage
from Moses, because he was dealing with the
Sadducees,
who had no great faith in the prophets, or who,
at least, held them in no higher estimation than we do the Book of
Ecclesiasticus, or the History of the Maccabees. Another reason was, that, as
they had brought forward Moses, he chose rather to refer to the same writer than
to quote any of the prophets. Besides, he did not aim at collecting all the
passages of Scripture, as we see that the apostles do not always make use of the
same proofs on the same subject.
And yet we must not imagine that there were no good
reasons why Christ seized on this passage
(<020306>Exodus
3:6) in preference to others; but he selected it with the best judgment
—though it might appear to be some what obscure—because it ought to
have been well known and distinctly remembered by the Jews, being a declaration
that they were redeemed by God, because they were the children of Abraham.
There, indeed, God declares that he is come down to deliver an afflicted
people, but at the same time adds, that he acknowledges that people as his
own, in respect of adoption, on account of the covenant which he had made with
Abraham. How comes it that God regards
the dead
rather than
the living,
but because he assigns the first rank of honor
to the fathers, in whose hands he had placed his covenant? And in what respect
would they have the preference, if they had been extinguished by death? This is
clearly expressed also by the nature of the relation; for as no man can be a
father without children, nor a king without a people, so, strictly speaking,
the Lord
cannot be called
the God
of any but
the living.
Christ’s argument, however, is drawn not so
much from the ordinary form of expression as from the promise which is contained
in these words. For the Lord offers himself to be our God on the condition of
receiving us, on the other hand, as his people, which alone is sufficient for
the assurance of perfect happiness. Hence that saying of the Church by the
prophet Habakkuk, (1:12,)
Thou art our God from the
beginning: we shall not die
Since, therefore, the Lord promises salvation to all
to whom he declares that he is their God, and since he says this respecting
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it follows that there remains for the dead a hope of
life. If it be objected, that souls may continue to exist, though there be no
resurrection of the dead, I replied, a little before, that those two are
connected, because souls aspire to the inheritance laid up for them, though they
do not yet reach that condition.
38.
For all live to him.
This mode of expression is employed in various
senses in Scripture; but here it means that believers, after that they have died
in this world, lead a heavenly life with God; as Paul says that Christ, after
having been admitted to the heavenly glory, liveth to
God,
(<450610>Romans
6:10) because he is freed from the infirmities and afflictions of this passing
life. But here Christ expressly reminds us, that we must not form a judgment of
the life of the godly according to the perceptions of the flesh, because that
life is concealed under the secret keeping of God. For if, while they are
pilgrims in the world, they bear a close resemblance to dead men, much less does
any appearance of life exist in them after the death of the body. But God is
faithful to preserve them alive in his presence, beyond the comprehension of
men.
39.
And some of the scribes
answering. As it is probable that all of them
were actuated by evil dispositions towards him, this confession was extorted, by
a secret exercise of divine power, from
some of them,
that is, from the Pharisees. It may be that,
though they could have wished that Christ had been disgracefully vanquished and
silenced, when they perceived that his reply has fortified them against the
opposite sect,
f67 ambition
led them to congratulate him on having obtained a victory. Perhaps, too, they
burned with envy, and did not wish that Christ should be put down by the
Sadducees.
f68
Meanwhile, it was brought about by the
wonderful providence of God, that even his most deadly enemies assented to his
doctrine. Their insolence, to was restrained, not only because they saw that
Christ was prepared to sustain every kind of attack, but because they feared
that they would be driven back with disgrace, which already had frequently
occurred; and because they were ashamed of allowing him, by their silence, to
carry off the victory, by which his influence over the people would be greatly
increased. When Matthew says that
all were astonished at his
doctrine, we ought to observe that the doctrine
of religion was at that time corrupted by so many wicked or frivolous opinions,
that it was justly regarded as a miracle that the hope of the resurrection was
so ably and appropriately proved from the Law.
MATTHEW 22:34-40; MARK
12:28-34;
LUKE
10:25-37
|
MATTHEW
22:34-40
|
<411228>MARK
12:28-34
|
<421025>LUKE
10:25-37
|
|
34. But when the Pharisees heard that he
had put the Sadducees to silence, they assembled together. 35. And
one of them, a doctor of the law, put a question to him, tempting him, and
saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37. Jesus saith to him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is
the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as much as thyself. 40. On these two
commandments the whole law and the prophets depend.
|
28. And when one of the scribes came, and
heard them disputing together, and saw that he had answered them well, he put a
question to him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29. And
Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God is one Lord. 30. 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. 31. And the second,
which is like it, is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: there is no
other commandment greater than these. 32. And the scribe said to
him, Master, thou hast answered well with truth, that there is one God, and
there is no other besides him. 33. And that to love him with all the
heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the
strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is better than all the burnt
offerings and sacrifices. 34. And Jesus, when he saw that he had
replied skillfully, said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of
God. And after that, no man ventured to put a question to
him.
|
25. And, lo, a certain lawyer
f69 rose up,
tempting him, and saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26. And he said to him, What is written in the law? How readest
thou? 27. He answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 28. And he said to him, Thou
hast answered right: do this, and thou shalt live. 29. But he
wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, and Who is my neighbor?
30. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem
to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who even stripped him of his raiment, and,
having wounded him, went away, leaving him half-dead. 31. And it
happened that a certain priest came down that way, and having seen him, passed
by. 32. And in like manner a Levite, going near the place, having
approached and seen him, passed by. 33. And a certain Samaritan, on
his journey, came to him, and when he saw him, was moved with compassion.
34. And approaching, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine;
and, setting him on his own beast, conducted him to an inn, and took care of
him. 35. And, next day, as he was departing, he drew out two
denarii, and gave them to the landlord, and said to him, Take care of him, and
whatever thou spendest more, when I return, I will repay thee.
36. Which therefore of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor to
him who fell among robbers? 37. And he said, He who took compassion
on him. Jesus therefore said to him, Go, and do thou in like
manner.
|
Although I think that this narrative has nothing more
than a resemblance to what is related by Matthew in the
22nd, and by
Mark in the
12th
chapter, of his Gospel, and that they are not the same; I have chosen to collect
them into one place, because, while Matthew and Mark affirm that this was the
last question
by which our Lord was
tempted,
Luke
makes no mention of that circumstance, and
seems intentionally to leave it out, because he had stated it in another
passage. And yet I do not dispute that it may be the same narrative, though Luke
has some things different from the other two. They all agree in this, that the
scribe
put a question for the sake of tempting Christ;
but he who is described by Matthew and Mark goes away with no bad disposition;
for he acquiesces in Christ’s reply, and shows a sign of a teachable and
gentle mind: to which must be added, that Christ, on the other hand, declares
that he is not far from the
kingdom of God. Luke, on the other hand,
introduces a man who was obstinate and swelled with pride, in whom no evidence
of repentance is discovered. Now there would be no absurdity in saying that
Christ was repeatedly tempted
on the subject of true righteousness, and of
keeping the Law, and of the rule of a good life. But whether Luke has related
this out of its proper place, or whether he has now passed by the other
question—because that former narrative relating to doctrine was
sufficient—the similarity of. the doctrine seemed to require me to compare
the three Evangelists with each other.
Let us now see what was the occasion that led this
scribe
to put a question to Christ. It is because,
being an expounder of the Law, he is offended at the doctrine of the gospel, by
which he supposes the authority of Moses to be diminished. At the same time, he
is not so much influenced by zeal for the Law, as by displeasure at losing some
part of the honor of his teaching. He therefore inquires at Christ, if he wishes
to profess any thing more perfect than the Law; for, though he does not say this
in words, yet his question is ensnaring, for the purpose of exposing Christ to
the hatred of the people. Matthew and Mark do not attribute this stratagem to
one man only, but show that it was done by mutual arrangement, and that out of
the whole sect one person was chosen who was thought to excel the rest in
ability and learning. In the form of the question, too,Luke differs somewhat
from Matthew and Mark; for, according to him, the
scribe
inquires
what
men
must do to obtain eternal life,
but according to the other two Evangelists, he
inquires what is the chief
commandment in the law. But the design is the
same, for he makes a deceitful attack on Christ, that, if he can draw any thing
from his lips that is at variance with
the law,
he may exclaim against him as an apostate and a
promoter of ungodly revolt.
Luke 10:26.
What is written in the law?
He receives from Christ a reply different from
what he had expected. And, indeed, no other rule of a holy and righteous life
was prescribed by Christ than what had been laid down by the Law of Moses; for
the perfect love of God and of our neighbors comprehends the utmost perfection
of righteousness. Yet it must be observed, that Christ speaks here about
obtaining salvation, in agreement with the question which had been put to him;
for he does not teach absolutely, as in other passages, how men may arrive at
eternal life, but how they ought to live, in order to be accounted righteous in
the sight of God. :Now it is certain that in the Law there is prescribed to men
a rule by which they ought to regulate their life, so as to obtain salvation in
the sight of God. That the Law can do nothing else than condemn, and is
therefore called the doctrine of death, and is said by Paul to increase
transgressions,
(<450713>Romans
7:13,) arises not from any fault of its doctrine, but because it is impossible
for us to perform what it enjoins. Therefore, though no man is justified by the
Law yet the Law itself contains the highest righteousness, because it does not
falsely hold out salvation to its followers, if any one fully observed all that
it commands.
f70 Nor
ought we to look upon this as a strange manner of teaching, that God first
demands the righteousness of works, and next offers a gratuitous righteousness
without works; for it is necessary that men should be convinced of their
righteous condemnation, that they may betake themselves to the mercy of God.
Accordingly, Paul
(<451005>Romans
10:5, 6) compares both kinds of
righteousness,
in order to inform us that the reason why we
are freely justified by God is, that we have no righteousness of our own. Now
Christ in this reply accommodated himself to the
lawyer,
and attended to the nature of his
question;
for he had inquired not how salvation must be
sought, but by what works it must be obtained.
Matthew 22:37.
Thou shalt love the Lord thou
God. According to Mark, the preface is
inserted, that Jehovah alone is
the God of Israel;
by
which words God supports the authority of his
law in two ways. For, first, it ought to be a powerful excitement to the worship
of God, when we are fully convinced that we worship the actual Creator of heaven
and earth, because indifference is naturally produced by doubt; and, secondly,
because it is a pleasing inducement to
love
him, when he freely adopts us as his people. So
then, that they may not hesitate, as usually happens in cases of uncertainty,
the Jews are informed that the rule of life is prescribed to them by the true
and only God; and, on the other hand, that they may not be kept back by
distrust, God approaches to them in a familiar manner, and reminds them of his
gracious covenant with them. And yet there is no reason to doubt that the Lord
distinguishes himself from all idols, that the Jews may not be drawn aside from
him, but may adhere to the pure worship of God himself. Now if uncertainty does
not keep back the wretched worshippers of idols from being carried away to the
love of them by impetuous zeal, what excuse is left for the hearers of the Law,
if they remain indifferent, after that God has revealed himself to
them?
What follows is an abridgment of the Law,
f71 which is
also found in the writings of Moses,
(<050605>Deuteronomy
6:5.) For, though it is divided into two tables, the first of which relates to
the worship of God, and the second to charity, Moses properly and wisely draws
up this summary,
f72 that the
Jews may perceive what is the will of God in each of the commandments. And
although we ought to love God far more than men, yet most properly does God,
instead of worship or honor, require
love
from us, because in this way he declares that
no other worship is pleasing to Him than what is voluntary; for no man will
actually obey God but he who
loves
Him. But as the wicked and sinful inclinations
of the flesh draw us aside from what is right, Moses shows that our life will
not be regulated aright till the
love
of God fill all our senses. Let us therefore
learn, that the commencement of godliness is the
love
of God, because God disdains the forced
services of men, and chooses to be worshipped freely and willingly; and let us
also learn, that under the love
of God is included the reverence due to
him.
Moses does not add the
mind,
but mentions only the
heart,
and the
soul,
and the
strength;
and though the present division into four
clauses is more full, yet it does not alter the sense. For while Moses intends
to teach generally that God ought to be perfectly
loved,
and that whatever powers belong to men ought to
be devoted to this object, he reckoned it enough, after mentioning the
soul
and the
heart,
to add the
strength,
that he might not leave any part of us
uninfluenced by the love
of God; and we know also that under the word
heart
the Hebrews sometimes include the
mind,
f73
particularly when it is joined to the word
soul
What is the difference between the
mind
and the heart, both in this passage and in
Matthew, I do not trouble myself to inquire, except that I consider the
mind
to denote the loftier abode of reason, from
which all our thoughts and deliberations flow.
It now appears from this summary that, in the
commandments of the Law, God does not look at what men can do, but at what they
ought to do; since in this infirmity of the flesh it is impossible that perfect
love
can obtain dominion, for we know how strongly
all the senses of our soul are disposed to vanity. Lastly, we learn from this,
that God does not rest satisfied with the outward appearance of works, but
chiefly demands the inward feelings, that from a good root good fruits may
grow.
39.
And the second is like it.
He assigns the
second
place to mutual kindness among men, for the
worship of God is first
in order. The
commandment
to love our neighbors, he tells us, is
like
the first, because it depends upon it. For,
since every man is devoted to himself, there will never be true charity towards
neighbors,
unless where the love of God reigns; for it is
a mercenary love
f74 which
the children of the world entertain for each other, because every one of them
has regard to his own advantage. On the other hand, it is impossible for the
love of God to reign without producing brotherly kindness among
men.
Again, when Moses commanded us to love our neighbors
as ourselves, he did not intend to put the
love
of
ourselves
in the first place, so that a man may first
love himself
and then love his
neighbors;
as the sophists of the
Sorbonne
are wont to cavil, that a rule must always go
before what it regulates. But as we are too much devoted to ourselves, Moses, in
correcting this fault, places our neighbors in an equal rank with us; thus
forbidding every man to pay so much attention to himself as to disregard others,
because kindness unites all in one body. And by correcting the
self-love
(filauti>an)
which separates some persons from others, he brings each of them into a common
union, and—as it were—into a mutual embrace. Hence we conclude, that
charity is justly pronounced by Paul to be
the bond of perfection,
(<510314>Colossians
3:14,)
and, in another passage, the
fulfilling of the law,
(<451310>Romans
13:10;)
for all the commandments of the second table must be
referred to it.
Luke 10:28.
Do this, and thou shalt live.
I have explained a little before, how this
promise agrees with freely bestowed justification by faith; for the reason why
God justifies us freely is, not that the Law does not point out perfect
righteousness, but because we fail in keeping it, and the reason why it is
declared to be impossible for us to obtain life by it is, that
it is weak through our
flesh,
(<450803>Romans
8:3.)
So then these two statements are perfectly consistent
with each other, that the Law teaches how men may obtain righteousness by works,
and yet that no man is justified by works, because the fault lies not in the
doctrine of the Law, but in men. It was the intention of Christ, in the
meantime, to vindicate himself from the calumny which, he knew, was brought
against him by the unlearned and ignorant, that he set aside the Law, so far as
it is a perpetual rule of righteousness.
29.
But he wishing to justify
himself. This question might appear to be of no
importance for justifying
a man. But if we recollect what was formerly
stated, that the hypocrisy of men is elderly detected by means of the second
table—for, while they pretend to be eminent worshippers of God, they
openly violate charity towards their neighbors—it will be easy to infer
from this, that the Pharisee practiced this evasion, in order that, concealed
under the false mask of holiness, he might not be brought forth to light. So
then, aware that the test of charity would prove unfavorable to him, he seeks
concealment under the word
neighbor,
that he may not be discovered to be a
transgressor of the Law. But we have already seen, that on this subject the Law
was corrupted by the scribes, because they reckoned none to be their
neighbors
but those who were worthy of it. Hence, too,
this principle was received among them, that we have a right to
hate our enemies,
(<400543>Matthew
5:43.) For the only method to which hypocrites can resort for avoiding the
condemnation of themselves, is to turn away as far as they are able, that their
life may not be tried by the judgment of the Law.
30.
And Jesus answering said.
Christ might have stated simply, that the word
neighbor
extends indiscriminately to every man, because
the whole human race is united by a sacred bond of fellowship. And, indeed, the
Lord employed this word in the Law, for no other reason than to draw us sweetly
to mutual kindness. The commandment would have run more clearly thus:
Love every man as thyself.
But as men are blinded by their pride, so that
every man is satisfied with himself, scarcely deigns to admit others to an equal
rank, and withholds from them the duties he owes them, the Lord purposely
declares that all are neighbors
that the very relationship may produce mutual
love. To make any person our
neighbor,
therefore, it is enough that he be, a man; for
it is not in our power to blot out our common nature.
But Christ intended to draw the reply from the
Pharisee, that he might condemn himself. For in consequence of the authoritative
decision being generally received among them, that no man is our
neighbor
unless he is our friend, if Christ had put a
direct question to him, he would never have made an explicit acknowledgment,
that under the word
neighbor
all men are included, which the comparison brought forward forces him to
confess. The general truth conveyed is, that the greatest stranger is
our neighbor,
because God has bound all men together, for the
purpose of assisting each other. He glances briefly, however, at the Jews, and
especially at the priests; because, while they boasted of being the children of
the same Father, and of being separated by the privilege of adoption from the
rest of the nations, so as to be God’s sacred heritage, yet, with
barbarous and unfeeling contempt, they despised each other, as if no
relationship had subsisted between them. For there is no doubt that Christ
describes the cruel neglect of brotherly kindness, with which they knew that
they were chargeable. But here, as I have said, the chief design is to show that
the neighborhood,
which lays us under obligation to mutual
offices of kindness, is not confined to friends or relatives, but extends to the
whole human race.
To prove this, Christ compares
a Samaritan
to
a priest
and
a Levite.
It is well known what deadly hatred the Jews
bore to the Samaritans,
so that, notwithstanding their living close
beside them, they were always at the greatest variance. Christ now says, that a
Jew, an inhabitant of Jericho,
on his journey
from Jerusalem,
having been wounded by
robbers,
received no assistance either from
a Levite or from a priest,
both of whom met with him lying on the road,
and half-dead,
but that a
Samaritan
showed him great kindness, and then asks,
Which of these three was neighbor
to the Jew? This subtle doctor could not escape
from preferring the Samaritan
to the other two. For here, as in a mirror, we
behold that common relationship of men, which the scribes endeavored to blot out
by their wicked sophistry;
f75 and the
compassion,
which an enemy showed to a Jew, demonstrates
that the guidance and teaching of nature are sufficient to show that man was
created for the sake of man. Hence it is inferred that there is a mutual
obligation between all men.
The allegory which is here contrived by the advocates
of free will is too absurd to deserve refutation. According to them, under the
figure of a wounded man is described the condition of Adam after the fall; from
which they infer that the power of acting well was not wholly extinguished in
him; because he is said to be only
half-dead.
As if it had been the design of Christ, in this
passage, to speak of the corruption of human nature, and to inquire whether the
wound which Satan inflicted on Adam were deadly or curable; nay, as if he had
not plainly, and without a figure, declared in another passage, that all are
dead,
but those whom he quickens by
his voice,
(<430525>John
5:25.)
As little plausibility belongs to another
allegory, which, however, has been so highly satisfactory, that it has been
admitted by almost universal consent, as if it had been a revelation from
heaven. This Samaritan
they imagine to be Christ, because he is our
guardian; and they tell us that
wine was poured,
along with
oil,
into the wound, because Christ cures us by
repentance and by a promise of grace. They have contrived a third subtlety, that
Christ does not immediately restore health, but sends us to the Church, as
an innkeeper,
to be gradually cured. I acknowledge that I
have no liking for any of these interpretations; but we ought to have a deeper
reverence for Scripture than to reckon ourselves at liberty to disguise its
natural meaning. And, indeed, any one may see that the curiosity of certain men
has led them to contrive these speculations, contrary to the intention of
Christ.
Matthew 22:40.
On these two commandments.
I now return to Matthew, where Christ says that
all the Law and the prophets
depend on these two commandments; not that he
intends to limit to them
f76 all the
doctrine of Scripture, but because all that is anywhere taught as to the manner
of living a holy and righteous life must be referred to these two leading
points. For Christ does not treat generally of what
the Law and the Prophets
contain, but, in drawing up his reply, states
that nothing else is required in
the Law and the prophets
than that every man should
love God
and his
neighbors;
as if he had said, that the sum of a holy and
upright life consists in the worship of God and in charity to men, as Paul
states that charity is
the fulfilling of the
law,
(<451310>Romans
13:10.)
And therefore some ill-informed persons are mistaken
in interpreting this saying of Christ, as if we ought to seek nothing higher in
the Law and the Prophets.
For as a distinction ought to be made between
the promises and the commandments, so in this passage Christ does not state
generally what we ought to learn from the word of God, but explains, in a manner
suited to the occasion, the end to which all the commandments are directed. Yet
the free forgiveness of sins, by which we are reconciled to
God,—confidence in calling on God, which is the earnest of the future
inheritance, —and all the other parts of faith, though they hold the first
rank in the Law, do not depend on these two
commandments;
for it is one thing to demand what we owe, and
another thing to offer what we do not possess. The same thing is expressed in
other words by Mark, that there
is no other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:32.
Master, thou hast spoken well,
and with truth. Mark alone mentions that the
scribe
was softened down; and it is worthy of notice
that, though he had attacked Christ maliciously, and with the intention of
taking him by surprise, not only does he silently yield to the latter, but
openly and candidly assents to what Christ had said. Thus we see that he did not
belong to the class of those enemies whose obstinacy is incurable; for, though
they have been a hundred times convinced, yet they do not cease to oppose the
truth in some manner. From this reply it may also be concluded, that Christ did
not precisely include under these two words the rule of life, but embraced the
opportunity which presented itself for reproving the false and hypocritical
holiness of the scribes, who, giving their whole attention to outward
ceremonies, almost entirely disregarded the spiritual worship of God, and cared
little about brotherly kindness. Now though the scribe was infected by such
corruptions, yet, as sometimes happens, he had obtained from the Law the seed of
right knowledge, which lay choked in his heart, and on that account he easily
allows himself to be withdrawn from the wicked custom.
33.
Is better than all
burnt-offerings and sacrifices. But it appears
to be incongruous that
sacrifices,
which are a part of divine worship, and belong
to the first table of the Law, should be reckoned of less importance than
charity towards men. The reply is, Though the worship of God is greatly
preferable, and is more valuable than all the duties of a holy life, yet its
outward exercises ought not to be estimated so highly as to swallow up brotherly
kindness. For we know that brotherly kindness, in itself and simply, is pleasing
to God, though sacrifices
are not regarded by him with delight or
approbation, except with a view to another object. Besides, it is naked and
empty sacrifices
that are here spoken of; for our Lord contrasts
a hypocritical appearance of piety with true and sincere uprightness. The same
doctrine is to be found very frequently in the prophets, that hypocrites may
know that sacrifices
are of no value, unless spiritual truth be
joined to them, and that God is not appeased by offerings of beasts, where
brotherly kindness is neglected.
31.
But when Jesus saw.
Whether this
scribe
made any farther progress is uncertain; but as
he had shown himself to be teachable, Christ stretches out the hand to him, and
teaches us, by his example, that we ought to assist those in whom there is any
beginning either of docility or of right understanding. There appear to have
been two reasons why Christ declared that this scribe
was not far from the kingdom of
God. It was because he was easily persuaded to
do his duty, and because he skillfully distinguished the outward worship of God
from necessary duties. Nor was it so much with the design of praising as of
exhorting him, that Christ declared that
he was near the kingdom of God;
and in his person Christ encourages us all,
after having once entered into the right path, to proceed with so much the
greater cheerfulness. By these words we are also taught that many, while they
are still held and involved in error, advance with closed eyes towards the road,
and in this manner are prepared for running in the course of the Lord, when the
time arrives.
And after that, no man ventured to
put a question to him. The assertion of the
Evangelists, that the mouth of adversaries was stopped, so they
did not venture
any more to lay snares for Christ, must not be
so understood as if’ they desisted from their wicked obstinacy; for they
groaned within, like wild beasts shut up in their dens, or, like unruly horses,
they bit the bridle. But the more hardened their obstinacy, and the more
incorrigible their rebellion, so much the more illustrious was Christ’s
triumph over both. And this victory, which he obtained, ought greatly to
encourage us never to become dispirited in the defense of the truth, being
assured of success. It will often happen, indeed, that enemies shall molest and
insult us till the end, but God will at length secure that their fury shall
recoil on their own heads, and that, in spite of their efforts, truth shall be
victorious.
MATTHEW 22:41-46; MARK
12:35-37;
LUKE
20:41-44
|
MATTHEW
22:41-46
|
MARK
12:35-37
|
LUKE
20:41-44
|
|
41. And when the Pharisees were
assembled, Jesus asked them, 42. Saying, What think you of Christ?
whose son is he? They say to him, David’s. 43. He saith to
them, How then doth David by the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
44. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I have made
thy enemies thy footstool?
f77
45. If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son?
46. And no man could make any reply to him;
f78 nor did
any man from that day venture to put any more questions to him.
|
35. And Jesus answering said, while he
was teaching in the temple, How do the scribes say that Christ is the son of
David? 36. For David himself by the Holy “Spirit said, The
Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy
footstool.
f77A
37. David himself therefore calleth him Lord; and whence is he his
son? And a vast multitude heard him gladly.
|
41. And he said to them, How do they say
that Christ is the son of David? 42. And David himself saith in the
Book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
43. Till I make thy enemies thy footstool.
f77B
44. David therefore calleth him Lord; and how is he his
son?
|
Matthew 22:42.
What think you of Christ?
Mark
and Luke express more clearly the reason why
Christ put this question. It was because there prevailed among
the scribes
an erroneous opinion, that the promised
Redeemer would be one of
David’s
sons and successors, who would bring along with
him nothing more elevated than human nature. For from the very commencement
Satan endeavored, by all the arts which he could devise, to put forward some
pretended Christ, who was not the true Mediator between God and men. God having
so frequently promised that Christ would proceed from the
seed,
or from the
loins of David,
this conviction was so deeply rooted in their
minds, that they could not endure to have him stripped of human nature. Satan
therefore permitted Christ to be acknowledged as a true man and a
son of David,
for he would in vain have attempted to overturn
this article of faith; but—what was worse—he stripped him of his
Divinity, as if he had been only one of the ordinary descendants of Adam. But in
this manner the hope of future and eternal life, as well as spiritual
righteousness, was abolished. And ever since Christ was manifested to the world,
heretics have attempted by various contrivances—and as it were under
ground—to overturn sometimes his human, and sometimes his Divine nature,
that either he might not have full power to save us, or we might not have ready
access to him. Now as the hour of his death was already approaching, the Lord
himself intended to attest his divinity, that all the godly might boldly rely on
him; for if he had been only man, we would have had no right either to glory in
him, or to expect salvation from him.
We now perceive his design, which was, to assert that
he was the Son of God, not so much on his own account, as to make our faith rest
on his heavenly power. For as the weakness of the flesh, by which he approached
to us, gives us confidence, that we may not hesitate to draw near to him, so if
that weakness alone were before our eyes, it would rather fill us with fear and
despair than excite proper confidence. Yet it must be observed, that
the scribes
are not reproved for teaching that
Christ would be the Son of David,
but for imagining that he was a mere man, who
would come from heaven, to assume the nature and person of a man. Nor does our
Lord make a direct assertion about himself, but simply shows that
the scribes
hold a wicked error in expecting that the
Redeemer will proceed only from the earth and from human lineage. But though
this doctrine was well known to be held by them, we learn from Matthew, that he
interrogated them in presence of the people what their sentiments
were.
43.
How then does David by the Spirit
call him Lord. The assertion made by Christ,
that David
spoke
by the Spirit,
is emphatic; for he contrasts the prediction of
a future event with the testimony of a present event. By this phrase he
anticipates the sophistry by which the Jews of the present day attempt to
escape. They allege that this prediction celebrates the reign of
David,
as if, representing God to be the Author of his
reign, David
would rise above the mad attempts of his
enemies, and affirmed that they would gain nothing by opposing the will of God.
That the scribes
might not shelter themselves under such an
objection, Christ began with stating that the psalm was not composed in
reference to the person of David,
but was dictated
by the
prophetic
Spirit
to describe the future reign of Christ; as it
may easily be learned even from the passage itself, that what we read there does
not apply either to David,
or to any other earthly king; for there
David
introduces a king clothed with a new
priesthood, by which the ancient shadows of the Law must be abolished,
(<19B004>Psalm
110:4)
We must now see how he proves that Christ will hold a
higher rank than to be merely descended from the seed of
,David.
It is because
David,
who was king and head of the people,
calls him Lord;
from which it follows, that there is something
in him greater than man. But the argument appears to be feeble and inconclusive;
for it may be objected that, when
David
gave the psalm to the people to sing, without
having any view to his own person, he assigned to Christ dominion over others.
But to this I reply that, as he was one of the members of the Church, nothing
would have been more improper than to shut himself out from the common doctrine.
Here he enjoins all the children of God to boast, as with one voice, that they
are safe through the protection of a heavenly and invincible King. If he be
separated from the body of the Church, he will not partake of the salvation
promised through Christ. If this were the voice of a few persons, the dominion
of Christ would not extend even to
David.
But now neither he, nor any other person, can
be excluded from subjection to him, without cutting himself off from the hope of
eternal salvation. Since then there was nothing better for
David
than to be included in the Church, it was not
less for himself than for the rest of the people that
David
composed this psalm. In short, by this title
Christ is pronounced to be supreme and sole King, who holds the preeminence
among all believers; and no exception ought to be allowed to ranking all in one
class, when he is appointed to be the Redeemer of the Church. There can be no
doubt, therefore, that David represents himself also as a subject of his
government, so as to be reckoned one of the number of the people of
God.
But now another question arises: Might not God have
raised up one whom he appointed from among mankind to be a Redeemer, so as to be
David’s Lord,
though
he was his son?
For here it is not the essential name of God,
but only
Adonai
f79
that is employed, and this term is frequently
applied to men. I reply: Christ takes for granted that he who is taken out of
the number of men, and raised to such a rank of honor, as to be the supreme Head
of the whole Church, is not a mere man, but possesses also the majesty of God.
For the eternal God, who by an oath makes this claim for himself,
that
before him every knee
shall bow,
(<234523>Isaiah
45:23,)
at the same time swears that
he will not give his
glory to another,
(<234208>Isaiah
42:8.)
But, according to the testimony of Paul, when Christ
was raised to kingly power,
there was given to him a
name which is above every name, that before him every knee should bow,
(<451411>Romans
14:11;
<502609>Philippians
2:9.)
And though Paul had never said this, yet such is the
fact, that Christ is above David
and other holy kings, because he also ranks
higher than angels; which would not apply to a created man, unless he were
also
God manifested in the
flesh,
(<540316>1
Timothy 3:16.)
I do acknowledge that his divine essence is not
expressed directly and in so many words; but it may easily be inferred that He
is God, who is placed above all creatures.
44.
The
LORD
said to my Lord.
Here the Holy Spirit puts into the mouth of all
the godly a song of triumph, that they may boldly defy Satan and all the
ungodly, and mock at their rage, when they endeavor to drive Christ from his
throne. That they may not hesitate or tremble, when they perceive great emotions
produced in the earth, they are commanded to place the holy and inviolable
decree of God in opposition to all the exertions of adversaries. The meaning
therefore is: whatever may be the madness of men, all that they shall dare to
contrive will be of no avail for destroying the kingdom of Christ, which has
been set up, not by the will of men, but by the appointment of God, and
therefore is supported by everlasting strength. Whenever this kingdom is
violently attacked, let us call to remembrance this revelation from heaven; for
undoubtedly this promise was put into the hand of Christ, that every believer
may apply it to his own use. But God never changes or deceives, so as to retract
what has once gone out of his mouth.
Sit at my right hand.
This phrase is used metaphorically for the
second or next rank, which is occupied by God’s deputy. And therefore it
signifies, to hold the highest government and power in the name of God, as we
know that God has committed his authority to his only-begotten Son, so as to
govern his Church by his agency. This mode of expression, therefore, does not
denote any particular place, but, on the contrary, embraces heaven and earth
under the government of Christ. And God declares that Christ will
sit till his enemies
be subdued, in order to inform us that his
kingdom will remain invincible against every attack; not that, when
his enemies
have been subdued, he will be deprived of the
power which had been granted to him, but that, while the whole multitude of his
enemies shall be laid low, his power will remain for ever unimpaired. In the
meantime, it points out that condition of his kingdom which we perceive in the
present day, that we may not be uneasy when we see it attacked on all
sides.
MATTHEW 23:1-12; MARK
12:38-39;
LUKE 11:43,
45-46; 20:45-46
|
MATTHEW
23:1-12
|
MARK
12:38-39
|
LUKE
11:45-46
|
|
1. Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and
to his disciples, 2. Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in
the chair of Moses. 3. Observe and do, therefore, all things
whatever they command you to observe; but do not according to their works; for
they say and do not. 4. For they bind heavy and intolerable burdens,
and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they refuse to touch them with their
finger. 5. And they do all their works that they may be seen by men,
and make their phylacteries broad, and wear large fringes on their robes,
6. And love the first places at entertainments, and the first seats
in the synagogues, 7. And salutations in the marketplace, and to be
called by men Rabbi.
f81
8. But as for you, be not called Rabbi;
f82
for there is one who is your Master, Christ; and you are all brethren.
9. And do not call any one on earth your Father; for one is your
Father, who is in heaven. 10. And be not called Masters;
f83
for one is your Master, Christ. 11. He who is greatest among you
shall be your servant. 12. But he that exalteth himself shall be
humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
|
38. And he said to them in his doctrine,
Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in robes, and love salutations in the
marketplaces, 39. And the first seats in the synagogues, and the
first places at entertainments.
|
45. And one of the lawyers
f80
answering said to him, Master, in saying these things thou also reproachest us.
46. And he said, Woe also to you, lawyers! for you load men with
burdens which are intolerable; and you yourselves touch not the burdens with one
of your fingers. (A little before.)
Luke
20:45-46
45. And while all the people were
hearing, he said to his disciples, 46. Beware of the scribes, who
desire to walk in robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces and the first
seats in the synagogues, and the first places at
entertainments.
|
Matthew 23:1.
Then Jesus spoke to the
multitudes. This warning was highly useful,
that, amidst contentions and the noise of combats, amidst the trouble and
confusion of public affairs, amidst the destruction of proper and lawful order,
the authority of the word of God might remain entire. The design of Christ was,
that the people might not, in consequence of being offended at the vices of
the
scribes,
f84
throw away reverence for the Law. For we know
how prone the minds of men are to entertain dislike of the Law; and more
especially when the life of their pastors is dissolute, and does not correspond
to their words, almost all grow wanton through their example, as if they had
received permission to sin with impunity. The same thing happens—and
something worse —when contentions arise; for the greater part of men,
having thrown off the yoke, give utterance to their wicked desires, and break
out into extreme contempt.
At that time
the scribes
burned with covetousness and swelled with
ambition; their extortions were notorious; their cruelty was formidable; and
such was their corruption of manners, that one would think they had conspired
for the destruction of the Law. Besides, they had perverted by their false
opinions the pure and natural meaning of the Law, so that Christ was constrained
to enter into a sharp conflict with them; because their amazing rage hurried
them on to extinguish the light of truth. So then, because there was danger that
many persons, partly on account of such abuses, and partly on account of the din
of controversies, would come to despise all religion, Christ seasonably meets
them, and declares that it would be unreasonable if, on account of the vices of
men, true religion were to perish, or reverence for the Law to be in any degree
diminished. As the scribes
were obstinate and inveterate enemies, and as
they held the Church oppressed through their tyranny, Christ was compelled to
expose their wickedness; for if good and simple men had not been withdrawn from
bondage to them, the door would have been shut against the Gospel. There was
also another reason; for the common people think themselves at liberty to do
whatever they see done by their rulers, whose corrupt manners they form into a
law.
But that no man might put a different interpretation
on what he was about to say, he begins by stating, that whatever sort of men the
teachers were it was altogether unreasonable, either that on account of their
filth the word of God should receive any stain, or that on account of their
wicked examples men should hold themselves at liberty to commit sin. And this
wisdom ought to be carefully observed; for many persons, having no other object
in view than to bring hatred and detestation on the wicked and ungodly, mix and
confound every thing through their inconsiderate zeal. All discipline is
despised, and shame is trampled under foot; in short, there remains no respect
for what is honorable, and, what is more, many are emboldened by it, and
intentionally blazon the sins of priests, that they may have a pretext for
sinning with less restraint. But in attacking the
scribes,
Christ proceeds in such a manner, that he first
vindicates the Law of God from contempt. We must attend to this caution also if
we desire that our reproofs should be of any service. But, on the other hand, we
ought to observe, that no dread of giving offense prevented Christ from exposing
ungodly teachers as they deserved; only he preserved such moderation, that the
doctrine of God might not come to be despised on account of the wickedness of
men.
To inform us that he spoke publicly about their
vices, not to raise envy against their persons, but to prevent the contagion
from spreading more widely, Mark expressly states that
he spoke to them IN HIS
DOCTRINE; by which words he means that the
hearers were profitably warned to beware of them. Now, though Luke appears to
restrict it to the disciples,
yet it is probable that the discourse was
addressed indiscriminately to the whole multitude; which appears more clearly
from Matthew,
and, indeed, the subject itself required that
Christ should have his eye on all without exception.
2.
In the chair of Moses. Reasons were not wanting
for inserting here what Luke relates at a different place. Besides that the
doctrine is the same, I have no doubt that
Luke,
after having said that the scribes were sharply
and severely reproved by our Lord, added also the other reproofs which Matthew
delayed till the proper place; for already we have frequently seen that the
Evangelists, as occasion required, collected into one place various discourses
of Christ. But as the narrative of Matthew is more full, I choose rather to take
his words as the subject of exposition.
Our Lord gives a general exhortation to believers to
beware of conforming their life to the wicked conduct of
the scribes,
but, on the contrary, to regulate it by the
rule of the Law which they hear from the mouth of
the scribes;
for it was necessary (as I have lately hinted)
that he should reprove many abuses in them, that the whole people might not be
infected. Lest, through their crimes, the doctrine of which they were the
ministers and heralds should be injured, he enjoins believers to attend to their
words, and not to their actions; as if he had said, that there is no reason why
the bad examples of pastors should hinder the children of God from holiness of
life. That the word scribes,
agreeably to the Hebrew idiom, denotes the
teachers or expounders of the
Law,
is well known; and it is certain that Luke
calls the same persons
lawyers.
f85
Now our Lord refers peculiarly to the Pharisees, who
belonged to the number of
the
scribes,
because at that time this sect held the highest
rank in the government of the Church, and in the exposition of Scripture. For we
have formerly mentioned that, while the
Sadducees
and
Essenes
preferred the literal interpretation of
Scripture, the Pharisees
followed a different manner of teaching, which
had been handed down, as it were, to them by their ancestors, which was, to make
subtle inquiries into the mystical meaning of Scripture. This was also the
reason why they received their name; for they are called
Pherusim,
that is, expounders.
f86 And
though they had debased the whole of Scripture by their false opinions, yet, as
they plumed themselves on that popular method of instruction, their authority
was highly esteemed in explaining the worship of God and the rule of holy life.
The phrase ought, therefore, to be thus interpreted:
“The Pharisees and other
scribes, or,
the
scribes, among whom the Pharisees
are the most highly esteemed, when they speak
to you, are good teachers of a holy life, but by their works they give you very
bad instructions; and therefore attend to their lips rather than to their
hands.”
It may now be asked, Ought we to submit to all the
instructions of teachers without exception? For it is plain enough, that the
scribes of that age had wickedly and basely corrupted the Law by false
inventions, had burdened
wretched souls by unjust laws, and had
corrupted the worship of God by many superstitions; but Christ wishes their
doctrine to be observed, as if it had been unlawful to oppose their tyranny. The
answer is easy. He does not absolutely compare any kind of doctrine with the
life, but the design of Christ was, to distinguish the holy Law of God from
their profane works. For to sit
in the chair of Moses is nothing else than to
teach, according to the Law of God, how we ought to live. And though I am not
quite certain whence the phrase is derived, yet there is probability in the
conjecture of those who refer it to the
pulpit
which
Ezra
erected, from which the Law was read aloud,
(Nehemiah 8:4.) Certainly, when the Rabbis expounded Scripture, those who were
about to speak rose up in succession; but it was perhaps the custom that the Law
itself should be proclaimed from a more elevated spot. That man, therefore,
sits in the chair of Moses
who teaches, not from himself, or at his own
suggestion, but according to the authority and word of God. But it denotes, at
the same time, a lawful calling; for Christ commands that the scribes should be
heard, because they were the public teachers of the, Church.
The Papists reckon it enough, that those who issue
laws should possess the title and occupy the station; for in this way they
torture the words of Christ to mean, that we are bound to receive obediently
whatever the ordinary prelates of the Church enjoin. But this calumny is
abundantly refuted by another injunction of Christ, when he bids them
beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees,
(<401606>Matthew
16:6.)
If Christ pronounces it to be not only lawful, but
even proper, to reject whatever of their own the scribes mingle with the pure
doctrine of the Law, certainly we are not bound to embrace, without
discrimination or the exercise of judgment, whatever they are pleased to enjoin.
Besides, if Christ had intended here to bind the consciences of his followers to
the commandments of men, there would have been no good ground for what he said
in another passage, that it is in
vain to worship God by the commandments of men,
(<401509>Matthew
15:9.)
hence it is evident, that Christ exhorts the people
to obey the scribes, only so far as they adhere to the pure and simple
exposition of the Law. For the exposition of, Augustine is accurate, and
in accordance with Christ’s meaning, that, “the scribes taught the
Law of God while they sat in the
chair of Moses; and, therefore, that the sheep
ought to hear the voice of the Shepherd by them, as by hirelings.” To
which words he immediately adds: “God therefore teaches by them; but if
they wish to teach any thing of their own, refuse to hear, refuse to do
them.” With this sentiment accords what the same writer says in his Fourth
Book of Christian Doctrine: “Because good believers do not obediently
listen to any sort of man, but to God himself; therefore we may profitably
listen even to those whose lives are not profitable.” It was, therefore,
not the chair
of the scribes, but
the chair of Moses,
that constrained them to teach what was good,
even when they did not do what was good. For what they did in their life was
their own; but the chair
of another man did not permit them to teach
what was their own.
4.
For they bind heavy and
intolerable burdens. He does not charge the
scribes with oppressing and tyrannizing over souls by harsh and unjust laws;
for, though they had introduced many superfluous ceremonies—as is evident
from other passages—yet Christ does not at present refer to that vice,
because his design is, to compare right doctrine with a wicked and dissolute
life. That the Law of God should be called
a heavy and intolerable burden
is not wonderful, and more especially in
reference to our weakness. But though the scribes required nothing but what God
had enjoined, yet Christ reproves the stern and rigid manner of teaching which
was usually followed by those proud hypocrites, who authoritatively demand from
others what they owe to God, and are rigorous in enforcing duties, and yet
indolently dispense with the performance of what they so strictly enjoin on
others, and allow themselves to do whatever they please. In this sense Ezekiel
(34:4) reproaches them for ruling with sternness and rigor. For those who truly
fear God, though they sincerely and earnestly endeavor to bring their disciples
to obey Him, yet as they are more severe towards themselves than towards others,
they are not so rigid in exacting obedience, and, being conscious of their own
weakness, kindly forgive the weak. But it is impossible to imagine any thing
that can exceed the insolence in commanding, or the cruelty, of stupid despisers
of God, because they give themselves no concern about the difficulty of doing
those things from which they relieve themselves; and therefore no man will
exercise moderation in commanding others, unless he shall first become his own
teacher. f87
5.
And all their works they do that they may be seen by men.
He had lately said that the
scribes
live very differently from what they teach; but
now he adds that, if they have any thing which is apparently good, it is
hypocritical and worthless, because they have no other design than to please
men, and to vaunt themselves. And here zeal for piety and a holy life is
contrasted with the mask of those
works
which serve no purpose but for ostentation; for
an upright worshipper of God will never give himself up to that empty parade by
which hypocrites are puffed up. Thus not only is the ambition of
the scribes and Pharisees
reproved, but our Lord, after having condemned
the transgression and contempt of the Law of God in their whole life, that they
might not shield themselves by their pretended holiness, anticipates them by
replying, that those things of which they boast are absolute trifles, and of no
value whatever, because they spring from mere ostentation. He afterwards
produces a single instance, by which that ambition was easily perceived, which
was, that by the fringes of their
robes they held themselves out to the eyes of
men as good observers of the Law.
And make their phylacteries broad,
and enlarge the fringes of their robes. For why
were their fringes
made
broader,
and their
phylacteries
more magnificent, than what was customary,
except for idle display? The Lord had commanded the Jews to wear, both on their
forehead and on their raiment, some remarkable passages selected out of the Law,
(<050608>Deuteronomy
6:8.) As forgetfulness of the Law easily creeps upon the flesh, the Lord
intended in this manner to keep it constantly in the remembrance of his people;
for they were likewise enjoined to inscribe such sentences
on the posts of their
houses,
(<050609>Deuteronomy
6:9,)
that, wherever they turned their eyes, some godly
warning might immediately meet them. But what did
the scribes
do? In order to distinguish themselves from the
rest of the people, they carried about with them the commandments of God more
magnificently inscribed on their garments; and in this boasting there was
displayed an offensive ambition.
Let us also learn from this, how ingenious men are in
mixing up vain deception, in order to conceal their vices under some pretext and
cloak of virtues, by turning to the purposes of their own hypocrisy those
exercises of piety which God has enjoined. Nothing was more profitable than to
exercise all their senses in the contemplation of the Law, and it was not
without good reason that this was enjoined by the Lord. But so far were they
from profiting by these simple instructions, that, by making perfect
righteousness to consist in the adorning of robes, they despised the Law
throughout their whole life. For it was impossible to treat the Law of God with
greater contempt, than when they imagined that they kept it by pompous dress, or
pronounced masks contrived for enacting a play to be a keeping of the
Law.
What Mark and Luke say about the
robes
relates to the same subject. We know that the
inhabitants of Eastern countries commonly used long
robes,—a
custom which they retain to this day. But it is
evident from Zechariah (13:4) that the prophets were distinguished from the rest
of the people by a particular form of a cloak. And, indeed, it was highly
reasonable that the teachers should dress in this manner, that there might be a
higher degree of gravity and modesty in their dress than in that of the common
people; but the scribes
had made an improper use of it by turning it
into luxury and display. Their example has been followed by the Popish priests,
among whom robes are
manifestly nothing more than the badges of
proud tyranny.
6.
And love the first places at entertainments..
He proves, by evident signs, that no zeal for
piety exists in the scribes,
but that they are wholly devoted to ambition.
For to seek the first places
and
the first seats
belongs only to those who choose rather to
exalt themselves among men, than to enjoy the approbation of God. But above all,
Christ condemns them for desiring to be called
masters;
for, though the name
Rabbi
in itself denotes excellence, yet at that time
the prevailing practice among the Jews was, to give this name to the
masters
and
teachers
of the Law. But Christ asserts that this honor
does not belong to any except himself; from which it follows that it cannot,
without doing injury to him, be applied to men. But there is an appearance of
excessive harshness, and even of absurdity, in this, since Christ does not now
teach us in his own person, but appoints and ordains
masters
for us. Now it is absurd to take away the title
from those on whom he bestows the office, and more especially since, while he
was on earth, he appointed apostles to discharge the office of teaching in his
name.
If the question be about the title, Paul certainly
did not intend to do any injury to Christ by sacrilegious usurpation or
boasting, when he declared that. he was
a master and teacher of
the Gentiles, (1 Timothy. 2:7.)
But as Christ had no other design than to bring all,
from the least to the greatest, to obey him, so as to preserve his own authority
unimpaired, we need not give ourselves much trouble about the word. Christ
therefore does not attach importance to the title bestowed on those who
discharge the office of teaching, but restrains them within proper limits, that
they may not rule over the kith of brethren. We must always attend to the
distinction, that Christ alone ought to be obeyed, because concerning him alone
was the voice of the Father heard aloud from heaven,
Hear him,
(<401705>Matthew
17:5;) and that teachers are his ministers in such a manner that he ought to be
heard in them, and that they are
masters
under him, so far as they represent his person.
The general meaning is, that his authority must remain entire, and that no
mortal man ought to claim the smallest portion of it. Thus he is the only
Pastor; but yet he admits many pastors under him, provided that he hold the
preeminence over them all, and that by them he alone govern the
Church.
And you are all brethren.
This opposite clause must be observed. For,
since we are brethren,
he maintains that no man has a right to hold
the place of a
master
over others; and hence it follows, that he does not condemn that authority of
masters
which does not violate brotherly intercourse
among the godly. In short, nothing else is here enjoined than that all should
depend on the mouth of Christ alone. Nearly to the same purpose does Paul argue,
when he says that we have no right to
judge
one another, for all are
brethren,
and
all must stand before the
judgment seat of
Christ,
(<451410>Romans
14:10.)
9.
And call no man on earth your Father. He claims
for God alone the honor of
Father,
in nearly the same sense as he lately asserted
that he himself is the only
Master;
for this name was not assumed by men for
themselves, but was given to them by God. And therefore it is not only lawful
to call men on earth
FATHERS, but it would be wicked to deprive them
of that honor. Nor is there any importance in the distinction which some have
brought forward, that men, by whom children have been begotten, are
fathers
according to the flesh, but that God alone is
the Father of spirits.
I readily acknowledge that in this manner God
is sometimes distinguished from men, as in
<581205>Hebrews
12:5, but as Paul more than once calls himself a spiritual
father,
(<460415>1
Corinthians 4:15;
<506522>Philippians
2:22,) we must see how this agrees with the words of Christ. The true meaning
therefore is, that the honor of a
father
is falsely ascribed to men, when it obscures
the glory of God. Now this is done, whenever a mortal man, viewed apart from
God, is accounted a father,
since all the degrees of relationship depend on
God alone through Christ, and are held together in such a manner that, strictly
speaking, God alone is the Father
of all.
10.
For
one is your Master,
even
Christ.
He repeats a second time the former statement
about Christ’s office as
Master,
in order to inform us that the lawful order is,
that God alone rule over us, and possess the power and authority of a
Father,
and that Christ subject all to his doctrine,
and have them as disciples; as it is elsewhere said, that Christ is the
only
head of the whole Church,
(<490122>Ephesians
1:22)
because the whole body ought to be subject to him and
obey him.
11.
He who is greatest among you.
By this conclusion he shows that he did not,
after the manner of the sophists, dispute about words, but, on the contrary,
looked to the fact, that no man, through forgetfulness of his rank, might claim
more than was proper. He therefore declares that the highest honor in the Church
is not government, but service. Whoever keeps himself within this limit,
whatever may be the title which he bears, takes nothing away either from God or
from Christ; as, on the other hand, it serves no good purpose to take the name
of a servant
for the purpose of cloaking that power which
diminishes the authority of Christ as a
Master.
For of what avail is it that the Pope, when he
is about to oppress wretched souls by tyrannical laws, begins with styling
himself the servant of servants
of God, but to insult God openly, and to
practice shameful mockery on men? Now while Christ does not insist on words, he
strictly forbids his followers to aspire or desire to rise any higher than to
enjoy brotherly intercourse on an equal footing under the heavenly Father, and
charges those who occupy places of honor to conduct themselves as the servants
of others. He adds that remarkable statement which has been formerly explained,
f88 he
that humbleth himself shall be
exalted.
MATTHEW 23:13-15; MARK
12:40
LUKE 11:52;
20:47
|
MATTHEW
23:13-15
|
MARK
12:40
|
LUKE
11:52
|
|
13. But woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for
you do not enter yourselves, and do not permit those who come to enter.
14. And woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you
devour widows’ houses, and that under the disguise of a long prayer;
therefore you will be the more severely punished. 15. Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make
f89
one proselyte; and when he is made,
f90 you
make him twice as much the child of hell as yourselves.
|
40. Who devour widows’ houses, and
that under the disguise of a longprayer. These shall receive a severer
condemnation.
|
52. Woe to you, lawyers! for you have
taken away the key of knowledge: you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered
those who were entering.
Luke
20:47
47. Who devour widows’ houses, and
by way of pretence make long prayers
f91. These
shall receive greater condemnation.
|
He breaks out into still stronger language of
condemnation, and he does so not so much on their account, as for the purpose of
withdrawing the common people and simple-minded men from their sect.
f92 For
though we see frequently in Scripture the judgment of God pronounced against the
reprobate, so as to render them the more inexcusable, yet in their person the
children of God receive a useful warning, not to involve themselves in the
snares of the same crimes, but to guard against falling into similar
destruction. Certainly, when the scribes, after overturning the worship of God
and corrupting the doctrine of godliness, would endure no correction, and with
desperate madness, to their own destruction and that of the whole nation,
opposed the redemption which was offered to them, it was proper that they should
be held up to the hatred and detestation of all. And yet Christ did not so much
consider what they deserved, as what would be useful to the uneducated and
ignorant; for he intended, towards the close of his life, to leave a solemn
testimony, that no man might, except knowingly and willingly, be deceived by
persons so base and wicked.
We know how powerfully a foolish reverence for false
teachers hinders simple people from getting clear of their erroneous views. The
Jews were at that time deeply imbued with false doctrine, and had even imbibed
from their earliest years many superstitions. While it was hard and difficult in
itself to bring them back to the right path, the chief obstacle lay in the
foolish opinion which they had formed about the false teachers, whom they
regarded as the lawful prelates of the Church, the rulers of divine worship, and
the pillars of religion. Besides, they were so strongly fascinated, that they
could scarcely be drawn away from those teachers but by violent fear. It is not
therefore for the purpose of cursing the scribes that Christ pronounces against
them the dreadful vengeance of God, but to withdraw others from their
impostures. In like manner, we are compelled at the present day to thunder
loudly against the Popish clergy, for no other reason than that those who are
tractable, and not quite desperate, may direct their minds to their salvation,
and, moved by the judgment of God, may break the deadly snares of superstitions
by which they are held captive.
Hence we may infer how cruel is the mildness of those
who dislike our vehemence. They are displeased to see harshness and severity
used towards the wolves, which are constantly, with open mouth, tearing and
devouring the sheep; and yet they see the poor sheep deceived by a vain
disguise, freely throwing themselves into the jaws of the wolves, unless the
pastor who desires to save them, and endeavors to rescue them from destruction,
drive them away with a loud voice. We must therefore follow out the design of
Christ, by copying out his example in severe threatenings against wicked
despisers, and in boldly exclaiming against them, that those who are capable of
being cured may be led by the fear of destruction to withdraw from them. For
though we gain nothing by addressing the enemies of the truth, yet they must be
summoned to the judgment-seat of God, and others must be warned, that they may
know that the same destruction awaits themselves, if they do not speedily
withdraw from a wicked league with them.
Matthew 23:13.
You shut up the kingdom of
heaven. Christ pronounces a curse on them,
because they pervert their office to the general destruction of the whole
people; for since the government of the Church was in their hands, they ought to
have been, as it were, porters
for
the kingdom of heaven.
What purpose is served by religion and holy
doctrine but to open heaven to us? For we know that all mankind are banished
from God, and excluded from the inheritance of eternal salvation. Now the
doctrine of religion may be said to be the door by which we enter into life, and
therefore Scripture says metaphorically, that the keys of the kingdom of heaven
are given to pastors, as I have explained more fully under
<401619>Matthew
16:19. And we ought to abide by this definition, which appears still more
strongly from the words of Luke, in which Christ reproaches the
lawyers
with
having taken away the key of
knowledge, which means that, though they were
the guardians of the Law of God, they deprived the people of the true
understanding of it. As, therefore, in the present day,
the keys of the kingdom of heaven
are committed to the custody of pastors, that
they may admit believers into eternal life, and exclude unbelievers from all
expectation of it, so the priests and scribes anciently under the Law held the
same office.
From the word
knowledge
we infer how absurdly the Papists forge false
keys,
as if they possessed some magical power apart
from the word of God; for Christ declares that none but those who are ministers
of doctrine have the use of keys.
If it be objected, that the Pharisees, though
they were perverse expounders of the Law still held
the keys,
I reply: Though, in respect of their office,
the keys
were entrusted to them, yet they were
suppressed by malice and deceit, so that they no longer retained the use of
them. And therefore Christ says, that they
took away,
or
stole
that
key of knowledge,
by which they ought to have opened the gate of
heaven.
In like manner,
heaven
is
shut
by Popery against the wretched people, while
the very pastors—or, at least, those who hold that office—prevent
them by their tyranny from being opened. If we are not excessively indifferent,
we will not willingly enter into a league with wicked tyrants, who cruelly
shut
against us the entrance into
life.
14.
For you devour widows’
houses. He now proceeds farther, for he not
only accuses them of open crimes which demand hatred and detestation, but even
tears away the disguises of virtues, by which they deceived the common people.
If it be objected, that there was no need of reproving those things which could
do no harm by their example, we ought to recollect that it was impossible to
promote the salvation of those who were held bound by the errors of the scribes,
unless they turned away entirely from such persons. This reason, therefore,
constrained Christ to expose the vain appearance of virtues, which nourishes
superstitions.
And that under the pretense of a
long prayer.
He
says in general that, even when they appear to
do what is right, they wickedly abuse the pretense of religion.
Long prayers
contained some evidence of remarkable piety;
for the more holy a man is, the more eminently is he devoted to prayer. But
Christ says that the Pharisees
and
scribes
were so impure, that even the chief part of the
worship of God was not used by them without committing sin, because constancy in
prayer
was with them, trap for base gain. For they
sold their prayers in exactly the same manner as hirelings dispose of their
daily labor.
f93 Hence
also we infer that our Lord does not exactly reprove
long prayers,
as if in itself it were an
impropriety—particularly since pastors ought to be eminently devoted to
prayer—but
to
condemn this abuse, because a thing laudable in
itself was turned to a wicked purpose. For when men aim at gain by means of
hired prayers, the more fervent the appearance of what they call
devotion
becomes, the more is the name of God profaned.
And as this false conviction had been long and deeply seated in the minds of the
common people, on this account Christ employs harsher threatenings; for the
pollution of so sacred a thing was no light offense. That it was chiefly
widows
that were imposed on need not excite surprise,
because silly women are more prone to superstition, and therefore it has always
been customary for base men to make gain of. them. Thus Paul brings a charge
against the false teachers of his age, that they
lead captive silly women
laden with sins,
(<550306>2
Timothy 3:6.)
15.
For
you compass sea and land.
The
scribes
had also acquired celebrity by their zeal in
laboring to bring over to the Jewish religion the strangers and uncircumcised.
And so, if they had gained any one by their false appearances, or by any other
stratagem, they gloried wonderfully over it as an increase of the Church. On
this account also they received great applause from the common people, that by
their diligence and ability they brought strangers into the Church of God.
Christ declares, on the contrary, that so far is this zeal from deserving
applause, that they more and more provoke the vengeance of God, because they
bring under heavier condemnation those who devote themselves to their sect. We
ought to observe how corrupt their condition at that time was, and what
confusion existed in religion; for as it was a holy and excellent work to gain
disciples to God, so to allure the Gentiles to the Jewish worship—which
was at that time degenerate, and was even full of wicked profanation—was
nothing else than to hurry them from Scylla to Charybdis.
f94 Besides,
by a sacrilegious abuse of the name of God, they drew down upon themselves a
heavier condemnation, because their religion allowed them grosser licentiousness
of crime. An instance of the same kind may be seen at the present day among the
monks; for they are diligent in culling proselytes from every quarter, but those
proselytes, from being lascivious and debauched persons, they render altogether
devils: for such is the filthiness of those puddles, within which they carry on
their reveling, that it would corrupt even the heavenly angels.
f95 Yet the
monk’s habit is a very suitable mantle for concealing enormities of every
description.
MATTHEW 23:16
|
MATTHEW
23:16-22
|
|
16. Woe to you, blind guides! who say,
Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he who shall swear by
the gold of the temple is guilty. 17. Fools, and blind! for which is
greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifieth the gold?
18. And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but
whosoever shall swear by the gift which is upon it is guilty.
19. Fools, and blind! for which is greater, the gilt, or the altar
which sanctifieth the gift? 20. Whosoever therefore shall swear by
the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are on it. 21. And
whosoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in
it. 22. And whosoever shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne
of God, and by him that sitteth upon it.
|
Matthew 23:16.
Woe to you, blind guides,
As ambition is almost always connected with
hypocrisy, so the superstitions of the people are usually encouraged by the
covetousness and rapacity of pastors. The world has, indeed, a natural
propensity to errors, and even draws down upon itself, as if on purpose, every
kind of deceit and imposture; but improper modes of worship come to gain a
footing only when they are confirmed by the rulers
f96
themselves. And it generally happens, that those who possess authority not only,
by their connivance, fawn upon errors, because they perceive that they are a
source of gain to them, but even assist in fanning the flame. Thus we see that
the superstitions of Popery were heightened by innumerable expedients, while the
priests opened their mouths for the prey; and even now they daily contrive many
things by which they delude still more the foolish multitude. And when minds
have once fallen under the darkening influence of the enchantments of Satan,
nothing is so absurd or monstrous as not to be eagerly
swallowed.
It was on this account that the Jews had more
reverence for the gold of the
temple, and for the sacred
offerings,
than for
the temple
and
the altar.
But the sacredness of the
offerings
depended on
the temple
and
the altar,
and was only something inferior and accessory.
It may readily be believed that this dream proceeded from the scribes and
priests, because it was a scheme well fitted for collecting prey. And this was
not only a foolish but a highly dangerous error, because it led the people into
ridiculous fancies. There is nothing to which men are more prone than to fall
away from the pure worship of God: and therefore, under the covering of this
veil, it was easy for Satan to withdraw from the contemplation of God those who
were too strongly inclined to foolish imaginations. This is the reason why
Christ so severely chastises that error. And yet the Papists were not ashamed to
prostitute the sacred name of God to a mockery still more detestable; for they
reckon it of more importance to touch a morsel of a stinking carcass, than to
peruse the sacred volume of the Old and New Testaments, or even to raise their
hands towards heaven. And in this way arises a carnal worship of God, by which
the proper fear of God is gradually obliterated.
It is nothing.
By this phrase he does not mean that they
entirely took away the honor of
the temple,
but he speaks comparatively. For when they
represented in extravagant terms the sacredness of
offerings,
the common people were led to entertain such
veneration for them, that the majesty of
the temple
and of
the altar
was undervalued, and they reckoned it a less
heinous crime to violate it by perjuries than to
swear by the
sacred
offerings
with too little reverence.
18.
And whosoever shall swear by the
altar. Here our Lord does what ought to be done
in correcting errors; for he leads us up to the source, and shows, by the very
nature of an oath, that the
temple is far more valuable than the
gifts
which are offered in it. He accordingly assumes
this principle, that it is not lawful to swear but by the name of God alone.
Hence it follows that, whatever forms men may employ in
swearing,
they must give to God the honor which is due to
him; and hence also it follows in what manner and to what extent we are at
liberty to swear by the temple,
namely, because it is the residence or
sanctuary of God; and by heaven,
because there the glory of God shines. God
permits himself to be called as a witness and judge, by means of such symbols of
his presence, provided that he retain his authority unimpaired; for to ascribe
any Divinity to heaven
would be detestable idolatry. Now so far as God
holds out to us a brighter mirror of his glory in
the temple
than in
offerings,
so much the greater reverence and sacredness is
due to the name of the temple.
We now perceive, therefore, in what sense
Christ says that we swear by him
who inhabits heaven, when we
swear by heaven
itself. His design is, to direct all forms of
swearing to their lawful end and object.
MATTHEW 23:23-28; LUKE 11:42,
44
|
MATTHEW
23:23-28
|
LUKE 11:42,
44
|
|
23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cumin and have omitted the
more important points of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith. The
latter you ought to have done, and not to have omitted the former.
24. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel.
25. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse
the outer part of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of extortion
and intemperance. 26. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first what is within
the cup and dish, that the outer parts of them also may be made clean.
27. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like
whitened sepulchers, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but within are
full of dead men’s bones, and of all filthiness. 28. So you
also outwardly indeed appear righteous to men; but within you are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity.
|
42. But woe to you, Pharisees! for you
pay tithe of mint, and rue, and every kind of herb, and pass by judgment and the
love of God. The latter you ought to have done, and not to have omitted the
former. (A little after.) 44. Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are as tombs which do not appear, and the men who
walk over them are not aware of them.
|
Christ charges the scribes with a fault which is
found in all hypocrites, that they are exceedingly diligent and careful in small
matters, but disregard the
principal points of the Law. This disease has
prevailed in almost all ages, and among all nations; so that men have, in most
cases, endeavored to please God by observing with exactness some trivial
matters. Finding that they cannot entirely release themselves from all obedience
to God, they have recourse to this second remedy of expiating any heinous
offenses by satisfactions which are of no value. Thus we see that the Papists,
while they transgress the chief commandments of God, are extremely zealous in
the performance of trifling ceremonies. Hypocrisy of the same kind is now
reproved by God in the scribes, who, while they were very diligent and careful
in paying tithes,
cared little about
the principal points of the Law.
To expose more fully to ridicule their
offensive ostentation, he does not say generally that they
paid tithes,
but
tithes of mint, and anise, and
(as Luke has it) of
every kind of herb,
so as to make a display of extraordinary zeal
for piety at the least possible expense.
But as Christ makes the chief righteousness of the
Law to consist in mercy,
judgment, and faith, we must
first,
see what he means by these words; and,
secondly,
why he left out the commandments of the first
table, which strictly relate to the worship of God, as if godliness were of less
value than the duties of charity.
Judgment
is taken for
equity,
or
uprightness,
the effect of which is, that we render to every
man what belongs to him, and that no man deceives or injures others.
Mercy
proceeds farther, and leads a man to endeavor
to assist his brethren with his property, to relieve the wretched by advice or
by money, to protect those who are unjustly oppressed, and to employ liberally
for the common good the means which God has put into his hands.
Faith
is nothing else than strict integrity; not to
attempt any thing by cunning, or malice, or deceit, but to cultivate towards all
that mutual sincerity which every man wishes to be pursued towards himself. The
sum of the Law, therefore, relates to charity.
The word
faith,
I am aware, is interpreted by some persons
differently, as including, by synecdoche, the whole worship of God; but Christ,
according to his custom, here brings the true test of holiness to brotherly
love, and therefore does not refer to the first table. Nor is it inconsistent
with this view that, instead of
faith,
Luke
uses the expression,
the love of God;
for the design of Christ was, to show what it
is that the Lord chiefly requires of us in his Law. It is well known that the
Law was divided into two tables, so as to point out, first, what we owe to God,
and next, what we owe to men. Luke expresses both parts as if Christ had said,
that the chief design of the Law is, that we should love God, and that we should
be just and merciful towards our neighbors. Matthew satisfies himself with one
part; and there is no absurdity in calling the duties of charity
the principal points of the Law,
since charity itself is pronounced by Paul to
be the perfection of the Law;
as he also says, that
the Law is fulfilled if
toe love our
neighbors,
(<451310>Romans
13:10.)
And Christ, when formerly interrogated as to the
commandments of the Law quoted none but those which belonged to the second
table.
If it be objected, that in this way men are preferred
to God, because charity, which is performed towards them, is reckoned more
valuable than religion, the answer is easy. Christ does not here contrast the
second table of the Law with the first, but, on the contrary, draws from the
manner in which the second table is kept the proof whether or not God is truly
and sincerely worshipped. As piety lies within the heart, and as God does not
dwell amongst us in order to make trial of our
love
towards Him, and does not even need our
services, it is easy for hypocrites to lie, and falsely to pretend to
love God.
But the duties of brotherly love fall under the
senses, and are placed before the eyes of all, and therefore in them the
impudence of hypocrites is better ascertained. Christ, therefore, did not intend
to enter into subtle inquiries about the particular parts of righteousness, or
their order, but, so far as the ordinary capacity of men allowed, intended
simply to show that the Law is kept only when men are just, and kind, and true,
towards each other; for thus they testify that they
love
and fear
God,
and give proper and sufficient evidence of
sincere piety. Not that it is enough to discharge our duties towards men, if we
do not first render to God what we owe to him, but because he who regulates his
life according to God’s commandment must be a sincere worshipper of
God.
And yet the question is not fully answered; for
tithes,
which Christ places inferior to
judgment and mercy,
were a part of divine worship, and some part of
them was usually bestowed on the poor, so that
tithes
contained a double sacrifice. I reply:
Tithes
are not simply compared to
alms,
and
faith, and judgment,
but the pretended holiness of the scribes is
compared with the sincere and pure feeling of charity. Why were they so ready
and willing to pay tithes,
but in order to pacify God a, the least expense
and trouble? For they did not regard the principal point; and therefore those
light matters, by which they attempted to deceive God and men, ought not to be
reckoned along the duties of charity.
Matthew 23:23.
The former you ought to have
done. This is intended to anticipate their
calumny; for they might have put an unfavorable interpretation on his discourse,
and charged him with setting no value on what the Law of God had enjoined. He
therefore acknowledges that whatever God has enjoined ought to be performed, and
that no part of it ought to be omitted, but maintains that zeal for the whole
Law is no reason why we ought not to insist chiefly on
the principal points.
Hence he infers that they overturn the natural
order who employ themselves in the smallest matters, when they ought rather to
have begun with the principal
points; for
tithes
were only a kind of appendage. Christ therefore
affirms that he has no intention to lessen the authority even of the smallest
commandments, though he recommends and demands due order in keeping the Law. It
is therefore our duty to preserve entire the whole Law, which cannot be violated
in any part without contempt for its Author; for He who has forbidden us to
commit adultery, and to kill, and to steal, has likewise condemned all impure
desire. Hence we conclude that all the commandments are so interwoven with each
other, that we have no right to detach one of them from the rest. Wherefore it
is also written,
Cursed is every one that
performeth not all things that are written,
(<052726>Deuteronomy
27:26;
<480310>Galatians
3:10;)
by which words the righteousness of the whole Law,
without exception, is enforced. But this reverence, as we have said, does not
take away the distinction between the commandments, or the true design of the
Law, to which those who truly observe it direct their mind, that they may not
merely amuse themselves on the surface.
24.
Blind guides.
This is s proverbial saying, by which he
beautifully describes the affected scrupulousness of hypocrites about trifling
matters; for they utterly shrink from very small faults, as if a single
transgression appeared to them more revolting than a hundred deaths, and yet
they freely permit themselves and others to commit the most heinous crimes. They
act as absurdly as if a man were to
strain out
a small crumb of bread, and to swallow a whole
loaf.
Straining out
f97
a gnat, and swallowing a camel. We know that
a gnat
is a very small animal, and that
a camel
is a huge beast. Nothing therefore could be
more ridiculous than to strain
out the wine or the water, so as not to hurt
the jaws by swallowing a gnat,
and yet carelessly to gulp down a
camel.
f98
But it is evident that hypocrites amuse
themselves with such distinctions; for while they pass by
judgment, mercy, and faith,
and even tear in pieces the whole Law, they are
excessively rigid and severe in matters that are of no great importance; and
while in this way they pretend to kiss the feet of God, they proudly spit in his
face.
25.
For you cleanse the outer part.
Our Lord follows out the same statement, and
employs a figure for reproaching the
scribes
with being eagerly bent on this single object
of making a brilliant appearance before men. For by
the outer part of the dish
he metaphorically expresses the outward
appearance; as if he had said, “You give yourselves no concern about any
cleanness
but what appears outwardly, which is quite as
if one were carefully to wash off the filth of the dish without, but to leave it
filthy within.” That the expression is metaphorical is evident from the
second clause, in which the uncleanness
within
is condemned, because
WITHIN they are full of
intemperance and extortion. He therefore
reproves their hypocrisy, in not endeavoring to regulate their life, except
before the eyes of men, in order to procure for themselves an empty reputation
for holiness. Thus he recalls them to the pure and sincere desire of a holy
life. Cleanse first,
he says,
that which is within;
for it would be ridiculous to feast your eyes
with outward splendor, and yet to drink out of a cup full of dregs, or in other
respects filthy. f99
27.
You are like whitened sepulchers. This is a
different metaphor, but the meaning is the same; for he compares them to
sepulchers,
which the men of the world ambitiously
construct with great beauty and splendor. As a painting or engraving on
sepulchers
draws the eyes of men upon them, while inwardly
they contain stinking carcasses; so Christ says that hypocrites deceive by their
outward appearance, because they are full of deceit and iniquity. The words of
Luke are somewhat different, that they deceive the eyes of men,
like sepulchers, which frequently
are not perceived by those who walk over them;
but it amounts to the same meaning, that, under
the garb of pretended holiness, there lurks hidden filth which they cherish in
their hearts, like a marble
sepulcher;
for it wears the aspect of what is beautiful
and lovely, but covers a stinking carcass, so as not to be offensive to those
who pass by. Hence we infer what I have formerly said, that Christ, with a view
to the advantage of the simple and ignorant, tore off the deceitful mask which
the scribes held wrapped around them in empty hypocrisy; for this warning was
advantageous to simple persons, that they might quickly withdraw from the jaws
of wolves. Yet this passage contains a general doctrine, that the children of
God ought to desire to be pure rather than to appear so.
MATTHEW
23:29-39
LUKE 11:47-51;
13:34-35; 11:53-54
|
MATTHEW
23:29-39
|
LUKE
11:47-51
|
|
29. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets and embellish the
monuments of the righteous, 30. And say, If we had been in the days
of our fathers, we would not have been their associates in the blood of the
prophets. 31. Thus you testify against yourselves, that you are the
children of those who killed the prophets. 32. Do you also fill up
the measure of your fathers. 33. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how
shall you escape the judgment of hell? 34. Therefore, lo, I send to
you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and some of them you will slay and
crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute
from city to city: 35. That upon you may come all the righteous
blood which hath been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the
blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you slew between the temple and the
altar. 36. Verily I say to you, All these things shall come on this
generation. 37. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who slayest the prophets, and
stonest those who were sent to thee, how often would I have gathered together
thy children, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would
not! 38. Lo, your house is left to you desolate. 39. For
I tell you, that you shall never see me henceforth, till you say, Blessed be he
that cometh in the name of the Lord.
|
47. Woe to you, for you build the
monuments
f100
of the prophets, and your fathers slew them.
f101
48. Truly you testify that you approve of the actions of your
fathers;
f102
for they indeed slew them, and you build their sepulchers.
49. Therefore also the Wisdom of God hath said, I will send to them
prophets and apostles, and some of them they will slay and persecute:
50. That the blood of all the prophets, which hath been shed since
the creation of the world, may be demanded from this generation;
51. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished
between the altar and the temple. Assuredly I tell you, That it shall be
demanded from this generation.
LUKE
13:34-35
34. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who slayest the
prophets, and stonest those who are sent to thee; how often would I have
gathered thy children together, as a bird gathereth its brood under its wings,
and you would not! 35. Lo, your house is left to you
desolate. But I tell you, that you shall not see me, until the time come
when you say Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
LUKE
11:53-54
53. And while he was saying these things
to them, the lawyers and Pharisees began to press him closely, and cunningly to
interrogate him about many things; 54. Laying snares for him, and
seeking to catch something out of his mouth, to accuse him.
|
Matthew 23:29.
For you build the sepulchers of
the prophets. An unfounded opinion is
entertained by some, that the
scribes
are here reproved for superstition, in
foolishly honoring the deceased
prophets
by splendid
sepulchers,
as the Papists now transfer the honor of God to
departed saints, and even are so perverse as to adore their images. They had not
yet arrived at such a pitch of blindness and madness, and therefore the design
of Christ was different. The scribes endeavored to gain the favor of the
ignorant multitude, and indeed of all the Jews, by this additional hypocrisy,
that they cherished with reverence the memory of the
prophets;
for while in this manner they pretended to
maintain their doctrine, any one would have supposed that they were faithful
imitators of them, and very keen zealots for the worship of God. It was a
proposal, therefore, which was likely to prove highly acceptable, to erect
monuments for the prophets, because in this way religion might be said to be
drawn out of darkness, that it might receive the honor which it deserved. And
yet nothing was farther from their design than to restore doctrine, which might
appear to have been extinguished by the death of the prophets. But though they
were not only averse to the doctrine of the prophets, but most inveterate
enemies to it, yet they honored them—when dead—with sepulchers, as
if they had made common cause with them.
It is customary, indeed, with hypocrites thus to
honor, after their death, good teachers and holy ministers of God, whom they
cannot endure while they are alive. Nor does this arise merely from the common
fault, which Horace thus describes: “We hate virtue while it is in safety,
but when it has been removed from our eyes, we seek it with envy;”
f103 but as
the ashes of the dead no longer give annoyance by harsh and severe reproofs,
they who are driven to madness by the living voices of those men are not
unwilling, by adoring them, to make an empty display of religion. It is a
hypocrisy which costs little to profess warm regard for those who are now
silent.
f104 Thus
each of the prophets,
in his own age, was contemptuously rejected,
and wickedly tormented, by the Jews, and, in many instances, cruelly put to
death; while posterity, though not a whit better than their fathers, pretended
to venerate their memory, instead of embracing their doctrine; for they too were
actuated by equal hostility towards their own teachers.
f105 As the
world—not venturing altogether to despise God, or at least to rise openly
against him—contrives this stratagem of adoring the shadow of God instead
of God, so a similar game is played in reference to the
prophets.
A proof of this—far too striking—may be
seen in Popery. Not satisfied with paying just veneration to Apostles and
Martyrs, they render to them divine worship, and think that they cannot go too
far in the honors which they heap upon them; and yet, by their rage against
believers, they show what sort of respect they would have manifested towards
Apostles and Martyrs, if they had been still alive to discharge the same office
which they anciently held. For why are they inflamed with such rage against us,
but because we desire that doctrine to be received, and to be successful, which
the Apostles and Martyrs sealed with their blood? While the holy servants of God
valued that doctrine more highly than their own life, would their life have been
spared by those who so outrageously persecute the doctrine? Let them adorn the
images of the saints as they may think fit, by perfumes, candles, flowers, and
every sort of gaudy ornament. If Peter were now alive, they would tear him in
pieces; they would stone Paul; and if Christ himself were still in the world,
they would burn him with a slow fire.
Our Lord, perceiving that the
scribes
and priests of his age were eager to obtain the
applause of the people, on the ground of their being devout worshippers of the
prophets,
reproves them for deceit and mockery, because
they not only reject, but even cruelly persecute, the prophets that are now
present,
f106 and
whom God has sent to them. But it is a display of base hypocrisy, and shameful
impudence, to desire to be thought religious on account of worshipping the dead,
while they endeavor to murder the living.
30.
If we had been in the days of our
fathers. Not without good reason did Christ
introduce this sentiment; for though he does not blame them for the conduct of
their fathers, and does not make it the chief ground of accusation that they are
the children of murderers: yet he takes a passing glance of their foolish
boasting, in being accustomed to glory in their ancestors, while they were
descended from the bloody enemies of God. The appeal may be thus stated:
“You look upon the veneration which you pay to the deceased
prophets
as some sort of expiation for the wickedness of
your fathers.
Now then I have this to urge, that it is in
vain for you to boast of a sacred ancestry, since you are descended from wicked
and ungodly parents. Go now, and screen your crimes by the piety of those whose
hands, you acknowledge, were stained with innocent blood. But it is an
additional and far more heinous crime, that the sacrilegious fury of the
fathers,
which you condemn by raising sepulchers for the
dead, is imitated by you in the murder of the living.”
32.
Do you then fill up the measure of your fathers.
He at length concludes that they are not, in
this respect, degenerate from their fathers; as if he had said, “It is not
now that your nation begins to treat with cruelty the prophets of God; for this
is the ancient discipline, this is the custom handed down from the fathers, and,
in short, this way of acting is almost natural to you.” And yet he does
not bid them do what they are doing, to put to death holy teachers, but states
figuratively that they have a hereditary right to rise against the servants of
God, and that they must be permitted to oppose religion, because in this way
they fill up
what is wanting in the crimes of
their fathers,
and finish the web which they had begun. By
these words he not only pronounces themselves to be desperate, and incapable of
being brought to a sound mind, but warns simple people that there is no reason
to wonder, if the prophets
of God are ill-treated by the children of
murderers.
33.
Offspring of vipers.
After having demonstrated that the
scribes
are not only base enemies of sound doctrine,
and wicked corrupters of the worship of God, but likewise deadly plagues of the
Church, Christ, being about to close his discourse, kindles into more vehement
indignation against them; as it is necessary to shake off by violence the
flatteries in which hypocrites indulge, and to drag them, as it were, to the
judgment seat of God, that they may be filled with alarm. And yet Christ did not
keep them alone in his eye, but intended to strike terror into the whole people,
that all might guard against a similar destruction. How harsh and intolerable
this roughness of language must have been to these reverend instructors may
easily be inferred from the long period during which they had held a peaceful
dominion, so that no one dared to mutter against them. And there can be no doubt
that many were displeased with the great freedom and sharpness which Christ
used, and, above all, that he was looked upon as immoderate and outrageous in
venturing to apply such reproachful epithets to the order of the
scribes;
as many fastidious persons of the present day
cannot endure any harsh word to be spoken against the Popish clergy. But as
Christ had to deal with the worst of hypocrites, who not only were swelled with
proud contempt of God,
and intoxicated with careless security, but had
captivated the multitude by their enchantments, he found it necessary to exclaim
against them with vehemence. He calls them
serpents
both in nature and in habits, and then
threatens them with a punishment, which it will be in vain for them to attempt
to escape, if they do not speedily repent.
34.
Therefore, lo, I send to you.
Luke introduces it in a still more emphatic
manner, Wherefore also the Wisdom
of God hath said; which some commentators
explain thus: “I, who am the eternal
Wisdom of God,
declare this concerning you.” But I am
more inclined to believe that, according to the ordinary custom of Scripture,
God is here represented as speaking in the person of his
Wisdom;
so that the meaning is,
“God
foretold long ago, by the prophetic Spirit,
what would happen with regard to you.” This sentence, I acknowledge, is
nowhere to be found literally: but as God denounces the incorrigible obstinacy
of that people in many places of Scripture, Christ draws up a kind of summary of
them, and by this personification
f107
expresses more clearly what was the judgment of God as to the incurable
wickedness of that nation. For if those teachers would have no success, it might
have appeared strange that Christ should have desired them to weary themselves
to no purpose. Men argue thus:
“God
labors in vain, when he sends his word to the
reprobate, who, he knows, will continue obstinate.” And hypocrites, as if
it were sufficient of itself to have preachers of the heavenly doctrine
continually with them, though they show themselves to be disobedient, entertain
the conviction that God is reconciled and favorable to them, provided that the
outward word be heard amongst them.
Thus the Jews fiercely boasted that, in comparison of
other nations, they had always enjoyed the best
prophets
and teachers, and, as if they had deserved so
great an honor, they considered this to be an undoubted proof of their own
excellence.
f108 To put
down this foolish boasting, Christ not only affirms that they do not excel other
nations on the ground of having received from God distinguished prophets and
expounders of his Wisdom,
but maintains that this ilk requited favor is a
greater reproach, and will bring upon them a heavier condemnation, because the
purpose of God was different from what they supposed, namely, to render them
more inexcusable, and to bring their wicked malice to the highest pitch; as if
he had said, “Though prophets have been appointed to you by heaven in
close succession, it is idly and foolishly that you claim this as an honor; for
God had quite a different object in his secret judgment, which was, to lay open,
by an uninterrupted succession of gracious invitations, your wicked obstinacy,
and, on your being convicted of it, to involve the children in the same
condemnation with the fathers.”
With regard to the words, the discourse as related by
Matthew is defective, but its meaning must be supplied from the words of
Luke. The mention of
scribes and wise men
along with
prophets
tends to magnify the grace of God; by which
their ingratitude becomes more apparent, since, though God left nothing undone
for their instruction, they made no proficiency. Instead of
wise men
and
scribes, Luke
mentions
apostles,
but the meaning is the same. This passage shows
that God does not always bestow salvation on men when he sends his word to them,
but that he sometimes intends to have it proclaimed to the reprobate, who, he
knows, will continue obstinate, that it may be to them
the savior of death unto
death,
(<470216>2
Corinthians 2:16.)
The word of God, indeed, in itself and by its own
nature, brings salvation, and invites all men indiscriminately to the hope of
eternal life; but as all are not inwardly drawn, and as God does not pierce the
ears of ally—in short, as they are not renewed to repentance or bent to
obedience, those who reject the word of God render it, by their unbelief, deadly
and destructive.
While God foresees that this will be the result, he
purposely sends his prophets to them, that he may involve the reprobate in
severer condemnation, as is more fully explained by Isaiah, (6:10.) This, I
acknowledge, is very far from being agreeable to the reason of the flesh, as we
see that unholy despisers of God seize on it as a plausible excuse for barking,
that God, like some cruel tyrant, takes pleasure in inflicting more severe
punishment on men whom, without any expectation of advantage, he knowingly and
willingly hardens more and more. But by such examples God exercises the modesty
of believers. Let us maintain such sobriety as to tremble and adore what exceeds
our senses. Those who say, that God’s foreknowledge does not hinder
unbelievers from being saved, foolishly make use of an idle defense for excusing
God. I admit that the reprobate, in bringing death upon themselves, have no
intention of doing what God foresaw would happen, and therefore that the fault
of their perishing cannot be ascribed to His foreknowledge; but I assert that it
is improper to employ this sophistry in defending the justice of God, because it
may be immediately objected that it lies with God to make them repent, for the
gift of faith and repentance is in his power.
We shall next be met by this objection, What is the
reason why God,
by a fixed and deliberate purpose, appoints the
light of his word to blind men? When they have been devoted to eternal death,
why is he not satisfied with their simple ruin? and why does he wish that they
should perish twice or three times? There is nothing left for us but to ascribe
glory to the judgments of God,
by exclaiming with Paul, that they are a deep
and unfathomable abyss,
(<451133>Romans
11:33.) But it is asked, How does he declare that the prophecies will turn to
the destruction of the Jews, while his adoption still continued to be in force
towards that nation? I reply, As but a small portion embraced the word by faith
for salvation, this passage relates to the greater number or the whole body; as
Isaiah, after having predicted the general destruction of the nation, is
commanded
to seal the law of God
among the disciples,
(<230816>Isaiah
8:16.)
Let us know then that, wherever the Scripture
denounces eternal death against the Jews, it excepts a
remnant,
(<230109>Isaiah
1:9;
<451105>Romans
11:5;) that is, those in whom the Lord preserves some
seed
on account of his free
election.
35.
That upon you may come.
He not only takes away from them their false
boasting, but shows that they had received
prophets
for a totally different purpose, that no age
might be free from the criminality of wicked rebellion; for the pronoun
you
embraces generally the whole nation from its
very commencement. If it be objected, that it is not consistent with the
judgment of God that punishment should be inflicted on the children for the sins
of the parents, the answer is easy. Since they are all involved in a wicked
conspiracy, we ought not to think it strange if God, in punishing all without
reserve, make the punishment due to the fathers to fall upon the children.
Justly then is the whole nation—in whatever age individuals may have
lived—called to account, and likewise punished, for this unceasing
contempt. For as God, by an uninterrupted course of patience, has unceasingly
contended with the malice of the whole people, so the whole people is justly
held guilty of the inflexible obstinacy which continued to the very last; and as
every age had conspired to put to death its own
prophets,
so it is right that a general sentence should
be pronounced upon them, and that all the murders, which have been perpetrated
with one consent, should be avenged on all.
From the blood of Abel.
Though
Abel
(Genesis
4:8)
was not slain by the Jews, yet the murder of
Abel
is imputed to them by Christ, because there is
an affinity of wickedness between them and Cain; otherwise there would have been
no propriety in saying that
righteous blood
had been shed by that
nation from the beginning of the
world. Cain is therefore declared to be the
head, and leader, and instigator of the Jewish people, because, ever since they
began to slay prophets,
they succeeded in the room of him whose
imitators they were.
To the blood of Zechariah.
He does not speak of
Zechariah
as the latest martyr; for the Jews did not then
put an end to the murder of the
prophets,
but, on the contrary, their insolence and
madness increased from that period; and posterity, who followed them, satiated
themselves with the blood which their fathers only tasted. Nor is it because his
death was better known, though it is recorded in Scripture. But there is another
reason, which, though it deserves attention, has escaped the notice of
commentators; in consequence of which they have not only fallen into a mistake,
but have likewise involved their readers in a troublesome question. We might
suppose it to have arisen from forgetfulness on the part of Christ, that, while
he mentions one ancient murder, he passes by a prodigious slaughter which
afterwards took place under Manasseh. For until the Jews were carried to
Babylon, their wicked persecutions of holy men did not cease; and even while
they were still under affliction, we know with what cruelty and rage they
pursued Jeremiah, (32:2.) But our Lord on purpose abstains from reproaching them
with recent murders, and selects this murder, which was more ancient—which
was also the commencement and source of base licentiousness, and afterwards led
them to break out into unbounded cruelty—because it was more suitable to
his design. For I have lately explained, that his leading object was to show
that this nation, as it did not desist from impiety, must be held guilty of all
the murders which had been perpetrated during a long period. Not only,
therefore, does he denounce the punishment of their present cruelty, but says
that they must be called to account for the murder of
Zechariah,
as if their own hands had been imbrued in his
blood.
There is no probability in the opinion of those who
refer this passage to that
Zechariah
who exhorted the people, after their return
from the Babylonish captivity, to build the temple,
(<380809>Zechariah
8:9,) and whose prophecies are still in existence. For though the title of the
book informs us that he was the son of Barachiah,
(<380101>Zechariah
1:1,)
yet we nowhere read that he was slain; and it is ,
forced exposition to say, that he was slain during the period that intervened
between
the building of
the altar and of the temple.
But as to the other
Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada, the sacred history relates
what agrees perfectly with this passage; that when true religion had fallen into
decay, after the death of his father, through the wicked revolt of the king and
of the people, the Spirit of God
came upon him, to reprove severely the public
idolatry, and that on this account he was stoned in the porch of the temple,
(<142420>2
Chronicles 24:20, 21.) There is no absurdity in supposing that his father
Jehoiada received, in token of respect, the surname of
Barachiah,
because, having throughout his whole life
defended the true worship, he might justly be pronounced to be the
Blessed of God.
But whether Jehoiada had two names, or whether
(as Jerome thinks) there is a mistake in the word, there can be no doubt as to
the fact, that Christ refers to that impious stoning of Zechariah which is
recorded in
<142421>2
Chronicles 24:21, 22.
Whom you slew between the temple
and the altar. The crime is rendered still more
heinous by the circumstance of the place, since they did not revere the
sacredness of the temple.
Here
the temple
is put for the outer court, as in other
passages. Near it was the altar of burnt offerings,
(<110864>1
Kings 8:64; 18:30,)
so that the priest offered the sacrifices in presence
of the people. It is evident, therefore, that there must have been furious rage,
when the sight of the altar and
of the temple could not restrain the
Jews
from profaning that sacred place by a
detestable murder.
37.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem.
By these words, Christ shows more clearly what
good reason he had for indignation, that
Jerusalem,
which God had chosen to be his sacred,
and—as we might say—heavenly abode, not only had shown itself to be
unworthy of so great an honor, but, as if it had been a den of robbers,
(<240711>Jeremiah
7:11,) had been long accustomed to suck the blood of the prophets. Christ
therefore utters a pathetic exclamation at a sight so monstrous, as that the
holy city of God should have arrived at such a pitch of madness, that it had
long endeavored to extinguish the saving doctrine of God by shedding
the blood of the prophets.
This is also implied in the repetition of the
name, because impiety so monstrous and incredible deserves no ordinary
detestation.
Thou who killest the prophets.
Christ does not reproach them with merely one
or another murder, but says that this custom was so deeply rooted, that the city
did not care to slay every one of
the prophets
that were sent to it. For the participle,
(ajpoktei>nousa tou<v
profh>tav),
(KILLING
the prophets,)
is put for an epithet; as if Christ had said,
“Thou who oughtest to have been a faithful guardian of the word of God, a
teacher of heavenly wisdom, the light of the world, the fountain of sound
doctrine, the seat of divine worship, a pattern of faith and obedience, art a
murderer of the prophets,
so that thou hast acquired a certain habit of
sucking their blood.”
f108a Hence
it is evident, that they who had so basely profaned the sanctuary of God
deserved every kind of reproaches. Yet Christ had likewise the intention to
obviate the scandal which soon after arose, that believers, when they saw him
basely put to death at Jerusalem, might not be confounded by the novelty of such
an exhibition. For by these words they were already warned that it was not
wonderful if a city, which had been accustomed to strangle or stone
the prophets,
should cruelly put to death its own Redeemer.
This shows us what value we should attach to places. There never certainly was a
city in the world on which God bestowed such magnificent titles, or such
distinguished honor; and yet we see how deeply it was sunk by its
ingratitude.
Let the Pope now compare the abode of his robbery
with that holy city; what will he find worthy of equal honor? His hired
flatterers boast to us that the faith flourished there in ancient times. But
admitting this to be true, if it is evident that it has now, by wicked
rebellion, revolted from Christ, and is full of innumerable deeds of sacrilege,
what folly is it in them to maintain that the honor of primacy belongs to it?
Let us, on the contrary, learn from this memorable example, that when any place
has been exalted by uncommon instances of the favor of God, and thus has been
removed from the ordinary rank, if it degenerate, it will not only be stripped
of its ornaments, but will become so much the more hateful and detestable,
because it has basely profaned the glow of God by staining the beauty of his
favors.
How often would I have gathered
together thy children. This is expressive of
indignation rather than of compassion. The city itself, indeed, over which he
had lately wept,
(<421941>Luke
19:41,) is still an object of his compassion; but towards the scribes, who were
the authors of its destruction, he uses harshness and severity, as they
deserved. And yet he does not spare the rest, who were all guilty of approving
and partaking of the same crime, but, including all in the same condemnation, he
inveighs chiefly against the leaders themselves, who were the cause of all the
evils. We must now observe the vehemence of the discourse. If in
Jerusalem
the grace of God had been merely rejected,
there would have been inexcusable ingratitude; but since God attempted to draw
the Jews to himself by mild and gentle methods, and gained nothing by such
kindness, the criminality of such haughty disdain was far more aggravated. There
was likewise added unconquerable obstinacy; for not once and again did God
wish to gather them together,
but, by constant and uninterrupted advances, he
sent to them the prophets,
one after another, almost all of whom were
rejected by the great body of the people.
As a hen collecteth her brood under
her wings. We now perceive the reason why
Christ, speaking in the person of God, compares himself to
a hen.
It is to inflict deeper disgrace on this wicked
nation, which had treated with disdain invitations so gentle, and proceeding
from more than maternal kindness. It is an amazing and unparalleled instance of
love, that he did not disdain to stoop to those blandishments, by which he might
tame rebels into subjection. A reproof nearly similar is employed by Moses, that
God, like
an eagle with outspread
wings,
(<053211>Deuteronomy
32:11,)
embraced that people. And though in more than one way
God spread out his wings
to cherish that people, yet this form of
expression is applied by Christ, in a peculiar manner, to one class, namely,
that prophets
were sent to
gather together
the wandering and dispersed into the bosom of
God. By this he means that, whenever the word of God is exhibited to us, he
opens his bosom to us with maternal kindness, and, not satisfied with this,
condescends to the humble affection of
a hen
watching over her
chickens.
Hence it follows, that our obstinacy is truly
monstrous, if we do not permit him to
gather us together.
And, indeed, if we consider, on the one hand,
the dreadful majesty of God, and, on the other, our mean and low condition, we
cannot but be ashamed and astonished at such amazing goodness. For what object
can God have in view in abasing himself so low on our account? When he compares
himself to a mother, he descends very far below his glory; how much more when he
takes the form of a hen,
and deigns to treat us as his
chickens?
Besides, if this charge was justly brought against
the ancient people, who lived under the Law, it is far more applicable to us.
For though the statement—which I quoted a little ago from Moses—was
always true, and though the complaints which we find in Isaiah are just,
that
in vain did God spread
out his hands every day to embrace a hard-hearted and rebellious people,
(<236502>Isaiah
65:27)
that, though he rose up early,
(<240713>Jeremiah
7:13) he gained nothing by his incessant care of them; yet now, with far greater
familiarity and kindness, he invites us to himself by his Son. And, therefore,
whenever he exhibits to us the doctrine of the Gospel, dreadful vengeance awaits
us, if we do not quietly hide ourselves under his wings, by which he is ready to
receive and shelter us. Christ teaches us, at the same time, that all enjoy
safety and rest who, by the obedience of faith, are
gathered together
to God; because
under his wings
they have an impregnable refuge.
f109
We must attend likewise to the other part of this
accusation, that God, notwithstanding the obstinate rebellion of his ancient
people, was not all at once so much offended by it, as to lay aside a
father’s love and a mother’s anxiety, since he did not cease to send
prophets
after
prophets
in uninterrupted succession; as in our own day,
though he has experienced a marvelous depravity in the world, he still continues
to dispense his grace. But these words contain still deeper instruction, namely,
that the Jews, as soon as the Lord
gathered them together,
immediately left him. Hence came dispersions so
frequent, that they scarcely remained at rest for a single moment
under the wings
of God, as we see in the present day a certain
wildness in the world, which has indeed existed in all ages; and, therefore, it
is necessary that God should recall to himself those who are wandering and going
astray. But this is the crowning point of desperate and final depravity, when
men obstinately reject the goodness of God, and refuse to come
under his
wings.
I said formerly that Christ speaks here in the person
of God, and my meaning is, that this discourse belongs properly to his eternal
Godhead; for he does not now speak of what he began to do since he was
manifested in the flesh,
(<540201>1
Timothy 2:16,) but of the care which he exercised about the salvation of his
people from the beginning. Now we know that the Church was governed by God in
such a manner that Christ, as the Eternal Wisdom of God, presided over it. In
this sense Paul says, not that God the Father was tempted in the wilderness, but
that Christ himself was
tempted,f110
(<461009>1
Corinthians 10:9.)
Again, when the sophists seize on this passage, to
prove free will, and to set aside the secret predestination of God, the answer
is easy. “God wills
to gather all men,” say they; “and
therefore all are at liberty to come, and their
will
does not depend on the election of God.”
I reply: The will
of God, which is here mentioned, must be judged
from the result. For since by his word he calls all men indiscriminately to
salvation, and since the end of preaching is, that all should betake themselves
to his guardianship and protection, it may justly be said that he
wills
to gather all to himself. It is not, therefore,
the secret purpose of God, but his
will,
which is manifested by the nature of the word,
that is here described; for, undoubtedly, whomsoever he efficaciously
wills
to
gather,
he inwardly draws by his Spirit, and does not
merely invite by the outward voice of man.
If it be objected, that it is absurd to suppose the
existence of two wills
in God, I reply, we fully believe that his
will
is simple and one; but as our minds do not
fathom the deep abyss of secret election, in accommodation to the capacity of
our weakness, the will
of God is exhibited to us in two ways. And I am
astonished at the obstinacy of some people, who, when in many passages of
Scripture they meet with that figure of speech
f111
(ajnqrwpopa>qeia)
which attributes to God human feelings, take no offense, but in this case alone
refuse to admit it. But as I have elsewhere treated this subject fully, that I
may not be unnecessarily tedious, I only state briefly that, whenever the
doctrine, which is the standard of union,
f112 is
brought forward, God wills
to
gather
all, that all who do not come may be
inexcusable.
And you would not.
This may be supposed to refer to the whole
nation, as well as to the
scribes;
but I rather interpret it in reference to the
latter, by whom the gathering
together,
f113
was chiefly prevented. For it was against them that Christ inveighed throughout
the whole of the passage; and now, after having addressed
Jerusalem
in the singular number, it appears not without
reason that he immediately used the plural number. There is an emphatic contrast
between God’s willing
and their
not
willing;
f114
for it expresses the diabolical rage of men,
who do not hesitate to contradict God.
38.
Lo,
your house is left to you
desolate. He threatens the destruction of the
temple, and the dissolution of the whole frame of civil government. Though they
were disfigured by irreligion, crimes, and every kind of infamy, yet they were
so blinded by a foolish confidence in the temple, and its outward service, that
they thought that God was bound to them; and this was the shield which they had
always at hand: “What? Could God depart from that place which he has
chosen to be his only habitation in the world? And since he dwells in the midst
of us, we must one day be restored.” In short, they looked upon the temple
as their invincible fortress, as if they dwelt in the bosom of God. But Christ
maintains that it is in vain for them to boast of the presence of God, whom they
had driven away by their crimes, and, by calling it
their house, (lo, YOUR
HOUSE
is left to you,)
he indirectly intimates to them that it is no
longer the house of God.
The temple had indeed been built on the
condition, that at the coming of Christ it would cease to be the abode and
residence of Deity; but it would have remained as a remarkable demonstration of
the continued grace of God, if its destruction had not been occasioned by the
wickedness of the people. It was therefore a dreadful vengeance of God, that the
place which Himself had so magnificently adorned was not only forsaken by Him,
and ordered to be razed to the foundation, but consigned to the lowest infamy to
the end of the world. Let the Romanists now go, and let them proceed, in
opposition to the will of God, to build their Tower of Babylon, while they see
that the temple of God, which had been built by his authority and at his
command, was laid low on account of the crimes of the people.
39.
For I tell you.
He confirms what he had said about the
approaching vengeance of God, by saying that the only method of avoiding
destruction will be taken from them. For that was the accepted time, the day
of salvation,
(<234908>Isaiah
49:8;
<470602>2
Corinthians 6:2,) so long as that very person who had come to be their Redeemer,
attested and proclaimed the redemption which he had brought. But at his
departure, as at the setting of the sun, the light of life vanished; and
therefore this dreadful calamity, which he threatens, must of necessity fall
upon them.
Until you say.
We come now to inquire what period is denoted
by this phrase. Some restrict it to the last day of judgment. Others think that
it is a prediction, which was soon afterwards fulfilled, when some of the Jews
humbly adored Christ. But I do not approve of either of these interpretations.
And I am certainly astonished that learned men should have stumbled at so small
an obstacle, by taking great pains to inquire how unbelievers can say concerning
Christ, Blessed be he that cometh
in the name of the Lord; for he does not
declare what they will be, but what he himself will do. And even the adverb
until
extends no farther than to the time which goes
before. Joseph did not know his wife
until
she brought forth Christ,
(<400125>Matthew
1:25.) By these words Scripture does not mean, that after Christ had been born
they lived together as husband and wife, but only shows that Mary, before the
birth of her son, was a virgin that had not known man.
So then the true meaning of the present passage, in
nay opinion, is this:
“Hitherto
I have lived among you in humility and
kindness, and have discharged the office of a teacher; and no having finished
the course of my calling, I shall depart, and it will not be possible for you
any longer to enjoy my presence, but him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and
a minister of salvation, you will find to be your Judge.” In this manner
the passage agrees with the words of Zechariah, They shall look on him whom
they pierced,
(<381210>Zechariah
12:10;
<431937>John
19:37.) But Christ appears also to make an indirect allusion to their vain
hypocrisy, because, as if they ardently longed for the promised salvation, they
sung daily the words of the psalm,
Blessed be he that cometh
in the name of the
Lord,
(<19B826>Psalm
118:26;)
while they treated with scorn the Redeemer that was
offered to them. In short, he declares that he will not come to them
until,
trembling at the sight of his dreadful majesty,
they shall exclaim—when it is too late—that truly he is the Son of
God. And this threatening is addressed to all despisers of the Gospel, more
especially to those who falsely profess his name, while they reject his
doctrine; for they will one day acknowledge that they cannot escape the hands of
him whom they now mock by their hypocritical pretensions. For the same song is
now sung by the Papists, who, after all, care nothing about Christ,
until,
armed with vengeance, he ascends his tribunal.
We are also reminded, that so long as Christ exhibits himself to us in the name
of the Father as the herald of salvation and Mediator, we ought not only to
honor him with our lips, but sincerely to wish that he would make us and the
whole world subject to himself.
Luke 11:53.
And while he was saying these
things to them. I have formerly mentioned that
the preceding sentences were not inserted by Luke in their proper place. For
while he was relating that Christ at a dinner reproved the scribes, he
introduced also the latest discourses by which, a little before his death, he
reproved their wicked courses; and in like manner, the reproof which we have
just now examined is inserted by Luke, in connection with a different narrative.
If any one prefer to follow the opinion of those who conjecture that Christ
repeated the same discourses on various occasions, I have no great objection.
After pronouncing the curses which have been now explained, he concludes by
saying that all the scribes became more inveterate against Christ, so that they
did not cease to entrap him by
ensnaring questions; which ought to be referred
to the conversation held at the table, rather than to his latest discourse. But
I have not thought it a matter of great importance to be very exact about the
time—a matter which the Evangelist has disregarded.
MARK 12:41-44; LUKE
21:1-4
|
MARK
12:41-44
|
LUKE
21:1-4
|
|
41. And while Jesus was sitting opposite
to the treasury, he perceived how the multitude threw money into the treasury,
and many rich persons put in much. 42. And a poor widow came, and
threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43. And having called his
disciples to him, he said, Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath thrown
in more than all who have thrown into the treasury: 44. For they all
have thrown in out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty hath thrown in
all that she had, all her living.
f115
|
1. And, lifting up his eyes, he saw those
rich men who were throwing their gifts into the treasury. 2. And he
saw also a certain poor widow throwing into it two mites. 3. And he
said, Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath thrown in more than all:
4. For all these, out of their abundance, have thrown into the
offering of God; but she out of her poverty hath thrown in all the living which
she had.
f116
|
Mark 12:43.
Verily I say to you.
This reply of Christ contains a highly useful
doctrine that whatever men offer to God ought to be estimated not by its
apparent value,
f117 but
only by the feeling of the heart, and that the holy affection of him who
according to his small means, offers to God the little that he has, is more
worthy of esteem than that of him who offers a hundred times more
out of his abundance.
In two ways this doctrine is useful, for the
poor who appear not to have the power of doing good, are encouraged by our Lord
not to hesitate to express their affection cheerfully out of their slender
means; for if they consecrate themselves, their offering, which appears to be
mean and worthless, will not be less valuable than if they had presented all the
treasures of Crœsus.
f118 On the
other hand, those who possess greater abundance, and who have received from God
larger communications, are reminded that it is not enough if in the amount of
their beneficence they greatly surpass the poor and common people; because it is
of less value in the sight of God that a rich man, out of a vast heap, should
bestow a moderate sum, than that a poor man, by giving very little, should
exhaust his store. This widow
must have been a person of no ordinary piety,
who, rather than come empty into the presence of God, chose to part with
her own living.
And our Lord applauds this sincerity, because,
forgetting herself, she wished to testify that she and all that she possessed
belonged to God. In like manner, the chief sacrifice which God requires from us
is self-denial. As to the sacred
offerings, it is probable that they were not at
that time applied properly, or to lawful purposes; but as the service of the Law
was still in force, Christ does not reject them. And certainly the abuses of men
could not prevent the sincere worshippers of God from doing what was holy, and
in accordance with the command of God, when they offered for sacrifices and
other pious uses.
MATTHEW 24:1-8; MARK 13:1-8;
LUKE 21:5-11
|
MATTHEW
24:1-8
|
MARK
13:1-8
|
LUKE
21:5-11
|
|
1. And Jesus went out, and departed from
the temple, and his disciples came to him, to point out to him the buildings of
the temple. 2. And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these
things? Verily I say to you, There shall not be left one stone upon another that
shall not be thrown down. 3. And while he was sitting on the
mountain of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when
will these things be? and what is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world? 4. And Jesus answering said to them, Take heed that no man
deceive you. 5. For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ,
and will deceive many. 6. For you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars; see that you be not troubled; for all these things must happen, but the
end is not yet. 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom, and there will be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in
various places. 8. But all these things are the beginnings of
sorrows.
|
1. And while he was going out of the
temple, one of his disciples saith to him, Master, see what stones and what
buildings! 2. And Jesus answering saith to him, Seest thou these
vast, buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not
be thrown down. 3. And while he was sitting on the mountain of
Olives, opposite to the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, asked
him privately, 4. Tell us, when will these things be, and what is
the sign when all these things shall be accomplished? 5. And Jesus
answering began to say to them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
6. For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will
deceive many. 7. And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars,
be not troubled; for these things must be, but the end is not yet.
8. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
and there will be earthquakes in various places. These things are the
beginnings of sorrows.
|
5. And while some were saying concerning
the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,
6. The days will come, when of those things which you see there
shall not be left one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down.
7. And they asked him, saying, Master, when shall these things be?
and what is the sign when those things shall begin to take place?
8. And he said, Take heed that you be not deceived; for many will
come in my name, saying, It is I; and the time approaches: do not therefore
follow them. 9. But when you shall hear of wars and seditions, be
not terrified: for these things must first take place; but the end is not
immediately.
f119
10. Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; 11. And there will be great earthquakes in
various places, and famines, and pestilences; and there will be frightful
appearances and great signs from heaven.
|
Matthew
24:1. And Jesus
went out. The disciples undoubtedly perceived
that Christ was paying, as it were, his last adieu to the temple. It remained,
therefor that he should erect a new
temple
far more magnificent, and that he should
produce a more flourishing condition of the kingdom, as had been foretold by the
Prophets; for he had nothing to do with that
temple,
in which every thing was opposed to him. But
again, the disciples could not believe that the magnificent splendor of the
temple
would give way to Christ. And it ought to be
carefully observed that, owing to the prodigious costliness of
the temple,
their eyes were so dazzled by the splendor of
its present aspect, that they could scarcely entertain the hope that the kingdom
of Christ would arise. They do not, indeed, in express terms acknowledge their
hesitation, but they tacitly throw out a suggestion of it, when they allege, in
opposition to Christ, the mass of
stones
which must be got out of the way, and which
must indeed be utterly laid low if he intended to reign. Many simple persons of
our own day are carried away by a similar admiration of Popery; for, perceiving
it to be supported by very great wealth and by immense power, they are filled
with absolute amazement, so as to despise a Church of mean and slovenly aspect.
Many even think that we are mad in laboring to effect its destruction, as if
this were nothing less than an attempt to draw down the sun out of heaven. And
yet, there is no reason to wonder that a spectacle so imposing held the
disciples of Christ in astonishment; for how great expense that building cost
Herod, may be concluded from the single fact, that he kept ten thousand workmen
employed on it for eight successive years. Nor is it without reason that they
admire the stones
which, Josephus tells us, were superlatively
beautiful, and were fifteen
f120 cubits
in length, twelve in height, and eight in breadth. Besides, so great was the
reverence entertained for the
temple even in remote districts, that scarcely
any person would venture to suppose that it could ever be
destroyed.
2.
Verily I say to you. As the vast size and
wealth of the temple,
like a veil hung before the eyes of the
disciples, did not permit them to elevate their faith to the true reign of
Christ, which was still future, so he affirms with an oath, that those things
which occupy their attention will quickly perish. This prediction of the
destruction of the temple, therefore, opened up a path for the ignorant and
weak. f121
Now, though it was advantageous that
the temple
should be destroyed, lest its services and
shadows might exercise an undue influence on the Jews, who were already too much
attached to earthly elements, yet the chief reason was, that God determined, by
this dreadful example, to take vengeance on that nation, for having rejected his
Son, and despised the grace which was brought by him. And, therefore, this
threatening must have intimidated the disciples from taking part with a
rebellious people; as the punishments which Scripture denounces against the
wicked ought now to deter us from those crimes which provoke the wrath of God.
Every thing that it tells us, even about the fading and transitory aspect of the
world, ought to correct the vanity of our senses, which too eagerly follow pomp,
and luxury, and pleasure. But more especially, what it declares respecting the
fearful destruction of Antichrist and his followers, ought to remove every
obstacle which hinders us from pursuing the right course of
faith.
3.
And while he was sitting.
Mark
mentions four disciples,
Peter,
James,
John,
and
Andrew.
But neither he nor Luke states the matter so
fully as Matthew; for they only say that the disciples inquired about the time
of the destruction of the temple,
and—as it was a thing difficult to be
believed—what outward sign
of it God would give from heaven. Matthew tells
us that they inquired about the time of
Christ’s coming, and of the
end of the world. But it must be observed that,
having believed from their infancy that the temple would stand till the end of
time, and having this opinion deeply rooted in their minds, they did not suppose
that, while the building of the
world stood, the
temple
could fall to ruins. Accordingly, as soon as
Christ said that the temple
would be destroyed, their thoughts immediately
turned to the end of the world;
and—as one error leads to
another—having been convinced that, as soon as the reign of Christ should
commence, they would be in every respect happy, they leave warfare out of the
account, and fly all at once to a triumph. They associate
the coming of Christ
and
the end of the world
as things inseparable from each other; and by
the end of the world
they mean the restoration of all things, so
that nothing may be wanting to complete the happiness of the
godly.
We now perceive that they leap at once to various
questions, because they had given way to these foolish imaginations, that
the temple
could not fall without shaking the whole world;
that the termination of the shadows of the Law, and of the whole world, would be
the same; that it would be immediately followed by the exhibition of the glory
of Christ’s kingdom, which would make the children of God perfectly happy;
that a visible renovation of the world was at hand, which would instantly bring
order out of a state of confusion. But above all, a foolish hope which they
entertained, as to the immediate reign of Christ, drove them to hasten to the
attainment of happiness and rest, without attending to the means. Just as, when
they see that Christ is risen from the dead,
(<440106>Acts
1:6,) they rush forward to grasp at that happiness, which is laid up for us in
heaven, and which must be attained through faith and patience.
Now though our condition is different, because we
have not been educated among the shadows of the Law, so as to be infatuated by
that superstition of an earthly kingdom of Christ, yet scarcely one person in a
hundred is to be found who does not labor under a very similar disease. For
since all men naturally shrink from annoyances, combats, and every kind of
cross, the dislike of these things urges them, without moderation and without
hope, to rush forward unseasonably to the fruit of hope. Thus no man wishes to
sow the seed, but all wish to reap the harvest before the season arrives. To
return to the disciples,
they had indeed formed in their minds some good
seed of faith, but they do not wait till it arrive at maturity; and holding, at
the same time, erroneous views, they confound the perfection of Christ’s
reign with the commencement of it, and wish to enjoy on earth what they ought to
seek for in heaven.
4.
And Jesus answering said to them. They received
an answer very different from what they had expected; for whereas they were
eager for a triumph, as if they had already finished their warfare, Christ
exhorts them to long patience. As if he had said, “You wish to seize the
prize at the very outset, but you must first finish the course. You would draw
down to earth the kingdom of God, which no man can obtain till he ascend to
heaven.” Now while this chapter contains admonitions highly useful for
regulating the course of our life, we see that, by a wonderful purpose of God,
the mistake into which the apostles fell is made to turn to our advantage. The
amount of the present instruction is, that the preaching of the Gospel is like
sowing the seed, and therefore we ought to wait patiently for the time of
reaping; and that it arises from improper delicacy or effeminacy, if we lose
courage on account of the frost, or snow, or clouds of winter or other
unpleasant seasons.
Take heed lest any man deceive you.
There are two charges which Christ expressly
gives to the disciples, to beware of false teachers, and not to be terrified by
scandals. By these words he gives warning that his Church, so long as its
pilgrimage in the world shall last, will be exposed to these evils. But they
might be apt to think that this was inconsistent, since the prophets gave a
widely different description of the future reign of Christ. Isaiah predicts that
all
will then be taught of
God,
(54:13.) The words of God are:
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,
(<290228>Joel
2:28.)
A still more abundant light of understanding is
promised by Jeremiah.
No longer shall any man teach his
neighbor, nor a man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me
from the least to the greatest,
(<243134>Jeremiah
31:34.)
And, therefore, we need not wonder if the Jews
expected, that when the Sun of
righteousness had arisen, as Malachi (4:2) had
predicted, they would be entirely free from every cloud of error. Hence, also,
the woman of Samaria said,
When the Messiah cometh,
he will teach us all
things,
(<430425>John
4:25.)
Now we know what splendid promises of peace,
righteousness, joy, and abundance of all blessings, are to be found everywhere
in Scripture. We need not, therefore, wonder if they expected that, at the
coming of Christ, they would be delivered from commotions of war, from
extortions and every kind of injustice, and, in short, from famine and
pestilence.
But Christ warns them, that false teachers will
henceforth give no less annoyance to the godly than false prophets gave to the
ancient people; and that disturbances will be not less frequent under the Gospel
than they formerly were under the Law. Not that those prophecies which I have
just mentioned will fail to be accomplished, but because the full accomplishment
of them does not immediately appear in one day; for it is enough that believers
now obtain a taste of those blessings, so as to cherish the hope of the full
enjoyment of them at a future period. And, therefore, they were greatly
mistaken, who wished to hay at the commencement of the Gospel, an immediate and
perfect exhibition of those things which we see accomplished from day to day.
Besides, that happiness which the prophets ascribe to the reign of Christ,
though it cannot be altogether annihilated by the depravity of man, is retarded
or delayed by it. It is true that the Lord, in contending with the malice of
men, opens up a way for his blessings through every obstacle; and, indeed, it
would be unreasonable to suppose that what is founded on the undeserved goodness
of God, and does not depend on the will of man, should be set aside through
their fault.
Yet, that they may receive some punishment for their
ingratitude he drops upon them in small measure his favors, which would
otherwise flow on them in the richest abundance. Hence arises a labyrinth of
evils, through which believers wander all their life, though they are pursuing
the straight road to salvation, having Christ for their guide, who holds out to
them the torch of his Gospel. Hence arises a multitude of combats, so that they
have a hard warfare, though there is no danger of their being vanquished. Hence
arise disturbances so numerous and so sudden, that they are kept in perpetual
uneasiness, though, resting on Christ, they remain firm to the end. And since
Christ enjoins his disciples to beware of impostures, let us know that the means
of defense will not be wanting, provided that they are not wanting to
themselves.
f122 And
therefore, whatever arts Satan may employ, let us entertain no doubt that we
shall be safe from them, if every one of us keep diligent watch on his own
station.
5.
For many shall come in my name. He does not as
yet speak generally of false and perverse doctrines, but refers to one class
which was sort of introduction to all errors, by which Satan has attempted, in
various ways, to corrupt the pure doctrine of the Gospel. For shortly after
Christ’s resurrection, there arose impostors, every one of whom professed
to be the Christ.
And as the true Redeemer had not only been
removed from the world, but oppressed by the ignominy of the cross, and yet the
minds of all were excited by the hope and inflamed with the desire of
redemption, those men had in their power a plausible opportunity of deceiving.
Nor can it be doubted, that God permitted such reveries to impose on the Jews,
who had so basely rejected his Son. Though those mad attempts speedily
disappeared, yet God determined that disturbances of this kind should arise
among the Jews; first, that they might be exposed to infamy and hatred;
secondly, that they might altogether abandon the hope of salvation; and, lastly,
that having been so frequently disappointed, they might rush to their
destruction with brutal stupidity. For when the world turned away from the Son
of God, to whom it belonged to collect them into holy union, it was right that
it should be driven hither and thither by tempests; and by the same vengeance of
God it was brought about, that more were carried away by a foolish credulity,
than were brought by a right faith to obey God. This circumstance, too, was
expressly stated by Christ, that believers might not faint at perceiving the
crowd of madmen; for we know how prone we are to follow a multitude, especially
when we are few in number.
6.
For you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.
He describes here those commotions only which
arose in Judea, for we shall find him soon afterwards saying that the flame will
spread much wider. As he had formerly enjoined them to
beware lest any man deceived
them, so now he bids them meet with courage
rumors of wars and wars
themselves; for they would be in danger of
giving way when surrounded by calamities, especially if they had promised to
themselves ease and pleasure.
For all these things must take
place. He adds this, not for the purpose of
assigning a reason, but of warning them that none of
these things
happened accidentally, or without the
providence of God, that they may not uselessly kick against the spur; for
nothing has a more powerful efficacy to bring us into subjection, than when we
acknowledge that those things which appear to be confused are regulated by the
good pleasure of God. True, indeed, God himself never wants proper causes and
the best reasons for allowing the world to be disturbed; but as believers ought
to acquiesce in his mere good pleasure, Christ reckoned it enough to exhort the
disciples to prepare their minds for endurance, and to remain firm, because such
is the will of God.
But the end is not yet.
He now states in plainer terms the threatening
which I have already mentioned, that those events which were in themselves truly
distressing would be only a sort of preparation for greater calamities; because,
when the flame of war has been kindled in Judea, it will spread more widely; for
ever since the doctrine of the Gospel was published, a similar ingratitude
prevailing among other nations has aroused the wrath of God against them. Hence
it happened that, having broken the bond of peace with God, they tore themselves
by mutual contentions; having refused to obey the government of God, they
yielded to the violence of their enemies; not having permitted themselves to be
reconciled to God, they broke out into quarrels with one another; in short,
having shut themselves out from the heavenly salvation, they raged against each
other, and filled the earth with murders. Knowing how obstinate the malice of
the world would be, he again adds,
8.
But all these things are the
beginnings of sorrows. Not that believers, who
always have abundant consolations in calamities, should consume themselves with
grief, but that they should lay their account with a long exercise of patience.
Luke adds likewise earthquakes,
and signs from heaven, with respect to which,
though we have no authentic history of them, yet it is enough that they were
predicted by Christ. The reader will find the rest in Josephus, (Wars of the
Jews, VI. 5:3.)
MATTHEW 24:9-14; MARK 13:9-13;
LUKE 21:12-19
|
MATTHEW
24:9-14
|
MARK
13:9-13
|
LUKE
21:12-19
|
|
9. Then will they deliver you up to be
afflicted, and will kill you; and you will be hated by all nations on account of
my name. 10. And then will many be offended, and will deliver up one
another, and will hate one another. 11. And many false prophets will
arise, and will deceive many. 12. And because iniquity will abound,
the love of many will be cooled. 13. But he who shall persevere to
the end will be saved. 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached throughout the whole world for a testimony to all nations; and then the
end will come.
|
9. But take heed to yourselves; for they
will deliver you up to councils and synagogues; you will be scourged and will be
brought before rulers and kings on my account, for a testimony to them.
10. And the gospel must first be preached among all nations.
11. And when they shall lead you away to deliver you up, do not
think beforehand what you shall say, nor premeditate, but whatever shall be
given to you at that hour, speak; for it is not you that speak, but the Holy
Ghost. 12. And the brother will deliver up the brother to death, and
the father the son; and the children will rise up against their parents and will
cause them to be put to death. 13. And you will be hated by all men
on account of my name. But he that still endures to the end will be
saved.
|
12. But before all these things they will
lay hands upon you, and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and
prisons, and dragging you before kings and rulers on account of my name.
13. But it will happen
f123
to you for a testimony. 14. Settle it therefore in your hearts, that
you must not premeditate your defense.
f124
15. For will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all who oppose you
will not be a le to contradict or oppose. 16. And you will also be
delivered up by parents, and brothers, and relatives, and friends; and some of
you they will put to death. 17. And you will be hated by all on
account of my name. 18. And not a hair of your head will be lost.
19. In patience possess your souls.
f125
|
Matthew 24:9.
Then will they deliver you up to
be afflicted. Christ now foretells to the
disciples another kind of temptation, by which, in addition to ordinary
afflictions, their faith must be tried; and that is, that they
will be hated
and detested
by the whole world.
It is painful and distressing enough in itself
that the children of God should be
afflicted
in such a manner as not to be distinguished
from the reprobate and the despisers of God, and should be subjected to the same
punishments which those men endure on account of their crimes; and it appears to
be still more unjust that they should be severely oppressed by grievous
calamities from which the ungodly are exempted. But as wheat, after having been
beaten by the flail along with the chaff, is pressed down and bruised by the
millstone, so God not only
afflicts
his children in common with the ungodly, but
subdues them by the cross even beyond others, so that we might be apt to think
them more unhappy than the rest of mankind.
But Christ treats here strictly of the
afflictions
which the disciples had to endure on account of
the gospel. For, though what Paul stays is true, that those whom God hath
elected are likewise appointed by him to bear the cross,
that they may be
conformed to the image of his Son,
(<450829>Romans
8:29,)
yet he does not distinguish all by this special Mark
of enduring persecution from the enemies of the gospel. It is of this species of
the cross that Christ now speaks, when it becomes necessary that believers
should incur the hatred, meet the reproaches, :red provoke the fury, of the
ungodly for the testimony of the gospel. For he intended to warn his disciples
that the doctrine of the gospel, of which they were to be witnesses and
messengers, would never be pleasant or agreeable to the world, as he had
formerly explained to them. He foretells not only that they will have to contend
with a few enemies, but that, wherever they come, all nations will oppose
them.
But it was monstrous and incredible, and was fitted
to astonish and shake even the strongest minds, that the name of the Son of God
should be so infamous and hateful, that all who professed it would be everywhere
disliked. Accordingly, the words of Mark are,
take heed to yourselves.
By this expression he points out the end and
use of the warning, which is, that they ought to be prepared for endurance,
lest, through want of caution, they might be overwhelmed by temptation. The same
Mark adds, that this will be for
a testimony to kings and rulers, when the
disciples of Christ shall be brought before their tribunal. Luke expresses it a
little differently, this will
happen to you for a testimony, but the sense is
quite the same; for Christ means that his gospel will be so much the more fully
attested, when they have defended it at the risk of their
lives.
If the apostles had only given their attention to
preaching the gospel, and had not stood so firmly in defending it against the
furious attacks of enemies, the confirmation of it would not have been so
complete. But when they did not hesitate to expose their lives, and were not
driven from their purpose by any terrors of death, their unshaken constancy made
it manifest, how firmly they were convinced of the goodness of their cause. It
was therefore an authentic seal of the gospel, when the apostles advanced
without terror to the tribunals of kings, and there made an open profession of
the name of Christ. Accordingly, Peter calls himself
a witness of the
sufferings of Christ,
(<600501>1
Peter 5:1,)
whose badges he wore; and Paul boasts that he
was
placed for the defense of
the gospel,
(<500117>Philippians
1:17.)
This is eminently worthy of attention, that those on
whom God bestows so great an honor as to make them defenders of his truth, may
not through base treachery fall from the faith.
Mark 13:11.
Neither premeditate.
This sentence, as well as the one which
immediately follows, we have explained
f125a under
<401019>Matthew
10:19. Our Lord’s design in these words is, to relieve the
disciples from that anxiety which interferes with the cheerful discharge of our
duty, when we doubt our inability to sustain the burden. Not that he wishes us
to fall asleep in indolent security, for nothing is more advantageous than to
have such a consciousness of our weakness as produces humility and excites to
prayer. But Christ advises us to cast all our cares into the bosom of our
Father, so that, relying on his promised aid, we may pursue our course with
cheerfulness. The promise is stated in different words by Luke; not that Christ
will deliver his people from death, (for this must not always be expected,) but
that he will give them a mouth
and wisdom, to confound their adversaries. Now
though Christ supplies them both with presence of mind and with ability to
speak, yet I look upon these two words as connected by that figure of speech
which is called hypallage;
as if Christ had promised that he would guide
their tongues, so as to enable them to make a wise and suitable
reply.
He adds, that this
wisdom
will be victorious against all their enemies,
because they will not be able to
contradict, or to oppose it. Not that their
impudence will yield the palm to truth, but because that truth, which they in
vain strive to oppose, will triumph over their mad presumption. Would that all
who are called upon to make a confession of their faith would rely on that
assurance; for the power and majesty of the Spirit would be displayed in a
different manner for overthrowing the ministers of Satan. Now that we are partly
carried away by our own feelings, and, swelled with pride, rush on heedlessly,
or advance farther than is proper, and partly confine ourselves within the
limits of improper timidity, sad experience shows that we are deprived of the
grace of God and the assistance of the Spirit. As Christ affirms, according to
Matthew and Mark, that it is the Spirit of the Father that speaketh in us,
(<401010>Matthew
10:10;
<411311>Mark
13:11,) and here declares that
he will give a mouth,
we infer that it is His prerogative to fortify
us by the
Spirit.
Luke 21:19.
In your patience.
Here Christ enjoins on his followers a
different method of defending their life from what is dictated by carnal reason.
For naturally every man desires to place his life in safety; we collect from
every quarter those aids which we think will be best, and avoid all danger; and,
in short, we do not think that we are alive, if we are not properly defended.
But Christ prescribes to us this defense of our life, that we should be always
exposed to death, and walk
through fire, and water,
and sword,
(<196612>Psalm
66:12.)
And, indeed, no man will commit his soul into the
hands of God in a right manner, unless he have learned to live from day to day
constantly prepared to die.
f126 In a
word, Christ orders us to possess
our life both under the cross, and amidst the
constant terrors of death.
Matthew 24:10.
Then will many be offended.
He now enumerates the temptations which will
arise from bad examples. Now this is an exceedingly violent temptation, and
difficult to overcome; for Christ is to many
a stone of offense,
(<600208>1
Peter 2:8,) on which some dash themselves, or by meeting which some are thrown
back, and others fall away. In this expression Christ appears to me to include
many kinds of troubles; for not only do they that had entered into the right
course fall away, but many are exasperated against Christ; others, forgetful of
moderation and justice, break out into rage; others grow profane, and lose every
feeling of piety; and others, amidst the confusion which prevails, take upon
themselves a liberty to commit crimes.
11.
And many false prophets will
arise. This warning differs from the former, in
which Christ foretold that many
would come in his name. For there he spoke only
of impostors, who, shortly after the commencement of the Gospel, gave out that
they were the Christ;
but now he threatens that in all ages false
teachers will arise, to corrupt sound doctrine, as Peter tells us
(<610201>2
Peter 2:1) that the Church will be no less exposed to this evil under the Gospel
than it anciently was under the Law. There is therefore no reason why error, and
certain impostures of the devil and corruptions of piety, should strike pious
minds with dismay; since no man is properly founded on Christ, who has not
learned that we must stand firm against such attacks; for this is the undoubted
trial of our faith, when it is in no degree shaken by the false doctrines which
arise, or does he only say that
false prophets will come,
but likewise that they will be so crafty as to
deceive
and draw away sects after them.
f127 No
ordinary caution is necessary here; for the multitude of those who are going
astray is like a violent tempest, which compels us to leave the course, if we
are not firmly fixed on God. On this subject something was said but
lately.
12.
Because iniquity will abound. How far and wide
this evil extends every person ought to know, but there are very few who observe
it. For in consequence of the superior clearness with which the light of the
gospel discovers the malice of men, even good and properly regulated minds
grow cool,
and almost lose the desire to exercise
benevolence. Each of them reasons thus with himself, that the duties which they
perform to one person, or to another, are thrown away, because experience and
daily practice show that almost all are ungrateful, or treacherous, or wicked.
This is unquestionably a weighty and dangerous temptation; for what could be
more unreasonable than to approve of a doctrine, by which the desire of doing
good, and the rigor of charity, appear to be diminished? And yet when the gospel
makes its appearance, charity, which ought to kindle the hearts of all men with
its warmth, rather grows cool.
But we must observe the source of this evil,
which Christ points out, namely, that many lose courage, because through their
weakness they are unable to stem the flood of iniquity which flows on every
hand. Christ requires from his followers, on the other hand, such courage as to
persist in striving against it; as Paul also enjoins us
not to be weary
of performing deeds of kindness and
beneficence,
(<530313>2
Thessalonians 3:13.) Although, then, the charity of many, overwhelmed by the
mass of iniquities, should give way, Christ warns believers that they must
surmount this obstacle, lest, overcome by bad examples, they apostatize. And
therefore he repeats the statement, that no man can be saved, unless he
strive lawfully,
(<550205>2
Timothy 2:5,) so as to persevere to the
end.
14.
And the gospel of the kingdom
will be preached throughout the whole world.
Our Lord, having delivered a discourse which
gave no small occasion for sorrow, seasonably adds this consolation, to raise up
minds that were cast down, or to uphold those which were falling. Whatever may
be the contrivances of Satan, and how numerous soever may be the multitudes
which he carries away, yet the
gospel will maintain its ground till it be
spread through the whole world.
This might indeed appear to be incredible; but
it was the duty of the apostles, relying on this testimony of their Master, to
cherish hope against hope, and, in the meantime, to strive vigorously to
discharge their office. As to the objection brought by some, that to this day
not even the slightest report concerning Christ has reached the
Antipodes
and other very distant nations, this difficulty
may be speedily resolved; for Christ does not absolutely refer to every portion
of the world, and does not fix a particular time, but only affirms that
the
gospel—which,
all would have thought, was immediately to be
banished from Judea, its native habitation would be spread to the farthest
bounds of the world before the day of his last coming.
For a testimony to all nations.
He describes this to be the end of preaching;
for although
God has never left
himself
(ajma>rturon)
without witness,
(<441417>Acts
14:17,)
and although in special manner he testified to the
Jews concerning himself, yet it was
a testimony
remarkable beyond all others when he revealed
himself in Christ; and therefore Paul says, that he was manifested in due
time,
(<540206>1
Timothy 2:6,) because this was the proper season for calling the whole world to
God. Let us, therefore, learn that, wherever the gospel is preached, it is as if
God himself came into the midst of us, and solemnly and expressly besought us,
that we may not wander in darkness, as if we knew not where to go, and that
those who refuse to obey may be rendered inexcusable.
And then will the end come.
This is improperly restricted by some to the
destruction of the temple, and the abolition of the service of the Law; for it
ought to be understood as referring to
the end
and renovation of the world. Those two things
having been blended by the disciples, as if the temple could not be overthrown
without the destruction of the whole
world,
Christ, in replying to the whole question which
had been put to him, reminded them that a long and melancholy succession of
calamities was at hand, and that they must not hasten to seize the prize, before
they had passed through many contests and dangers. In this manner, therefore, we
ought to explain this latter clause: “The end of the world will not come
before I have tried nay Church, for a long period, by severe and painful
temptations,”
for it is contrasted with the false imagination
which the apostles had formed in their minds. Hence, too, we ought to learn that
no particular time is here fixed, as if the last day were to follow in immediate
succession those events which were just now foretold; for the believers long ago
experienced the fulfillment of those predictions which we have now examined,
and[ yet Christ did not immediately appear. But Christ had no other design than
to restrain the apostles, who were disposed to fly with excessive eagerness to
the possession of the heavenly glory, and to show them the necessity of
patience; as if he had said, that redemption was not so close at hand as they
had imagined it to be, but that they must pass through long
windings.
MATTHEW 24:15-28; MARK
13:14-23;
LUKE 21:20-24;
17:22-25
|
MATTHEW
24:15-28
|
MARK
13:14-23
|
LUKE
21:20-24
|
|
15. When therefore you shall see the
abomination of desolation, which is described by Daniel the prophet, standing in
the holy place, (let him that readeth understand,) 16. Then let them
who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17. Let not him who is on
the housetop go down to carry anything out of his house; 18. And let
not him who is in the field return to carry away his clothes.
19. But woe to the women with child, and to them that give suck in
those days. 20. And pray that your flight may not be in the winter,
nor on the sabbath.
f128
21. For there will then be great tribulation, such as hath not been
from the beginning of the world till this time, nor will be. 22. And
unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved, but on
account of the elect those days shall be shortened. 23. If anyone
shall then say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, do not believe it.
24. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall
perform great signs and wonders, so that even the elect (if it were possible)
will be led into error. 25. Lo, I have foretold it to you.
26. If then they shall say to you, Lo, he is in the desert, go not
out; lo, he is in the secret chamber, do not believe it. 27. For as
the lightning goeth out of the east, and shineth even to the west, so shall also
be the coming of the Son of man. 28. For wherever the carcass is,
there will the eagles also be gathered together.
|
14. But when you shall see the
abomination of desolation, which is described by Daniel the prophet, standing
where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that are in
Judea flee to the mountains; 15. And let not him who is on the
housetop go down into the house, or enter into it, to carry away anything out of
his house. 16. And let not him that is in the field return back to
bring away his cloak. 17. But woe to the women with child, and to
them that give suck in those days. 18. But pray that your flight may
not be in the winter. 19. For in those days there shall be
tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the creation which God
created till this time, nor will be. 20. And unless the Lord had
shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved, but on account of the elect
whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. 21. And if anyone
shall then say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or, lo, there, do not believe it.
22. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall
perform signs and wonders to deceive (if it were possible) even the elect.
23. But take heed; lo, I have foretold to you all
things.
|
20. And when you shall see Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
21. Then let them who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let
them who are in the midst of it withdraw; and let not those who are in the
fields enter into it. 22. For these are days of vengeance, that all
things which are written may be fulfilled. 23. But woe to women with
child, and to them that give suck in those days; for there shall be great
tribulation on the earth, and wrath on this people. 24. And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations;
and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, till the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled.
LUKE
17:22-25
22. And he said to the disciples, The
days will come when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man,
and shall not see it. 23. And they will say to you, Lo, he is here,
or, lo, he is here; do not go, nor follow them.
f129
24. For as the lightning, flashing from one side which is under
heaven, shineth to the other side which is under heaven, so shall be also the
Son of man in his day. 25. But he must first suffer many things, and
be rejected by this generation.
|
Matthew 24:15.
When you shall see the
abomination of desolation. Because the
destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem, together with the overthrow of
the whole Jewish government, was (as we have already said) a thing incredible,
and because it might be thought strange, that the disciples could not be saved
without being torn from that nation, to which had been committed the adoption
and the covenant
(<450904>Romans
9:4) of eternal salvation, Christ confirms both by the testimony of
Daniel.
As if he had said, That you may not be too
strongly attached to the temple and to the ceremonies of the Law, God has
limited them to a fixed time,
f130 and has
long ago declared, that when the Redeemer should come, sacrifices would cease;
and that it may not give you uneasiness to be cut off from your own nation, God
has also forewarned his people, that in due time it would be rejected. Such a
prediction was not only well adapted for removing ground of offense, but
likewise for animating the minds of the godly, that amidst the sorest
calamities—knowing that God was looking upon them, and was taking care of
their salvation—they might betake themselves to the sacred anchor, where,
amidst the most dreadful heavings of the billows, their condition would be firm
and secure.
But before I proceed farther, I must examine the
passage which is quoted by Christ. Those commentators are, I think, mistaken,
who think that this quotation is made from the ninth chapter of the Book of
Daniel.
f131
For there we do not literally find the words,
abomination, of desolation;
and it is certain that the angel does not there
speak of the final destruction which Christ now mentions, but of the temporary
dispersion which was brought about by the tyranny of Antiochus.
f132 But in
the twelfth chapter the angel predicts what is called the
final
abrogation of the services of the Law,
f133 which
was to take place at the coming of Christ. For, after having exhorted believers
to unshaken constancy, he fixes absolutely the time both of the ruin and of the
restoration. f134
From the time, says he, that the daily
sacrifices shall be taken away, and THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION set up, there
will be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who shall wait
till he come to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days,
(<271211>Daniel
12:11, 12.)
I am aware that this passage is tortured in a variety
of ways on account of its obscurity; but I consider the natural meaning of it to
be, that the angel declares that, after the temple has been once purified from
the pollutions and idols of Antiochus, another period will arrive when it will
be exposed to a new profanation, and when all its sacredness and majesty will be
for ever lost.
f135 And as
that message was sad and melancholy, he again recalls the prophet to one year,
and two years, and six months. These words denote both the duration and the
close of the calamities; for, in an interrupted succession of calamities, the
course of one year appears to us very long, but when that space of time is
doubled, the distress is greatly increased. The Spirit therefore exhorts
believers to prepare themselves for the exercise of patience, not only for a
single year, that is, for a long period, but to lay their account with enduring
tribulations through an uninterrupted succession of many ages. There is no small
consolation also in the phrase, half a
time,
(<271207>Daniel
12:7) for though the
tribulations
be of long continuance, yet the Spirit shows
that they will not be perpetual. And, indeed, he had formerly used this form of
expression: The calamity of the Church shall last through a time, times, and
half a time,
(<270725>Daniel
7:25.) But now he reckons the period of three years and six
months
by
days,
that believers may be more and more hardened by
a very long continuance of calamities; for it is customary with men in adversity
to compute time, not by years or months, but by
days,
a single
day
being, in their estimation, equal to a
year.
f136
He says that those will be
happy
who bear up to the end of that period; that is,
who with invincible patience persevere to the end.
Now Christ selects only what suited his purpose,
namely, that the termination of sacrifices was at hand, and that the
abomination,
which was the sign of the final
desolation,
would be placed in the temple. But as the Jews
were too strongly attached to their present condition, and therefore paid little
attention to the prophecies which foretold the abolition of it, Christ, as if
endeavoring to gain their ear, bids them read attentively that passage, where
they would learn that what appeared to them difficult to be believed was plainly
declared by the Prophets.
f137
Abomination
means
profanation;
for this word denotes
uncleanness,
f138
which
corrupts or overturns the pure worship of God.
It is called desolation,
because it drew along with it the destruction
of the temple and of the government; as he had formerly said,
(<270927>Daniel
9:27,) that the pollution introduced by Antiochus was, as it were, the standard
of temporary desolation;
for such I conceive to be the meaning of the
wing,
or,
“spreading
out.”
f139
It is a mistake to suppose that this expression
denotes the siege of Jerusalem, and the mistake receives no countenance from the
words of Luke, who did not intend to say the same thing, but something quite
different. For that city having been formerly delivered, when it appeared to be
in the midst of destruction, lest believers should expect something of the same
kind in future, Christ declares that, as soon as it would be
surrounded by armies,
it was utterly ruined, because it was wholly
deprived of divine assistance. The meaning therefore is, that the issue of the
war will not be doubtful, because that city is devoted to destruction, which it
will not be able to escape any more than to rescind a decree of heaven.
Accordingly, Luke shortly afterwards adds, that
Jerusalem will be trodden down by
the Gentiles, a mode of expression which
denotes utter ruin. But as it might appear to be strange that the holy city
should be thus given up to the
Gentiles, to do with it as they pleased, he
adds a consolation,
f140 that it
was only for a time that so much liberty was allowed to
the Gentiles,
till their iniquity was ripe, and the vengeance
which had been reserved for them was fully displayed.
16.
Then let them who are in Judea
flee to the mountains. Having shown by the
testimony of the prophet that, when the temple had been profaned, the services
of the Law would soon afterwards be abolished, he adds, that fearful and
appalling calamities will soon overtake the whole of
Judea, so
that there will be nothing more desirable than
to withdraw a distance from it; and, at the same time, he states that they will
be so sudden, that time will scarcely be time allowed for the most rapid flight.
For such is the import of the expressions,
Let not him who is on the
house-top enter into the house; let not him who is in the field turn back;
that is, lest, by attempting to save their
property, they themselves perish. Again,
Woe to the women with child, and
to them that give suck; for they will not be in
a fit condition for flight. Again,
Pray that your fight may not be
in the winter; that is, that neither a regard
to the sacredness of the day, nor the roughness of the roads, nor the shortness
of the clays, may prevent or retard your flight. The design of Christ therefore
was, first, to arouse his followers, that they might no longer indulge the hope
of ease and repose, and the enjoyments of an earthly kingdom; and, secondly, to
fortify their minds, that they might not give way under ordinary calamities.
Such an admonition, no doubt, was fir from being agreeable, but, in consequence
of their stupidity, and the great weight of the calamities, it was highly
necessary.
21.
For there will then be great tribulation.
Luke
says also, that there will be
days of vengeance, and of wrath
on that people, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
For since
the people,
through obstinate malice, had then broken the
covenant of God, it was proper that alarming changes should take place, by which
the earth itself and the air would be shaken. True, indeed, the most destructive
plague inflicted on the Jews was, that the light of heavenly doctrine was
extinguished among them, and that they were rejected by God; but they were
compelled—as the great hardness of their hearts made it necessary that
they should be compelled—to feel the evil of their rejection by sharp and
severe chastisements. Now the true cause of such an awful punishment was, that
the desperate wickedness of that nation had reached its height. For not only had
they haughtily despised, but even disdainfully rejected the medicine which was
brought for their diseases; and, what was worse, like persons who were mad or
possessed by the devil, they wreaked their cruelty on the Physician himself.
f141 Since
the Lord executed his vengeance on those men for their inveterate contempt of
the Gospel, accompanied by incorrigible rage, let their punishment be always
before our eyes; and let us learn from it, that no offense is more heinous in
the sight of God, than obstinacy in despising his grace. But though all who in
like manner despise the Gospel will receive the same punishment, God determined
to make a very extraordinary demonstration in the case of the Jews, that the
coming of Christ might be regarded by posterity with greater admiration and
reverence. For no words can express the baseness of their criminality in putting
to death the Son of God, who had been sent to them as the Author of life. Having
committed this execrable sacrilege, they did not cease to incur the guilt of one
crime after another, and thus to draw down upon themselves every ground of utter
destruction. And, therefore, Christ declares that
never afterwards will there be
such tribulation in the world; for, as the
rejection of Christ, viewed in itself, and especially as attended by so many
circumstances of detestable obstinacy and ingratitude, was worthy of abhorrence
above all the sins committed ill all ages, so also it was proper that, in the
severity of punishment with which it was visited, it should go beyond all
others.
22.
And unless those days had been shortened. He
presents an appalling view of those calamities, but at the same time mingles it
with this consolation, that they would be sufficient to exterminate the very
name of the Jews, if God did not look to
his elect,
and on their account grant some alleviation.
This passage agrees with that of Isaiah:
Unless the Lord had left
us a small seed, we would have been as Sodom, and we would have been like
Gomorrah,
(<230109>Isaiah
1:9.)
For it was necessary, as Paul assures us, that the
vengeance of God, which had been displayed in the Babylonish captivity, should
be again fulfilled at the coming of Christ,
(<450929>Romans
9:29.) Nay more, in proportion as our wickedness was greater, it deserved a
greater severity of punishment. And therefore Christ says that, unless God put a
period to those calamities, the Jews will utterly perish, so that not a single
individual will be left; but that God will remember his gracious covenant, and
will spare his elect,
according to that other prediction of
Isaiah,
Though thy people were
like the sand of the sea,
a remnant
only shall be saved, (Isaiah
10:22.)
This affords us a striking proof of the judgment of
God, when he afflicts his visible Church to such a degree, that we would be
ready to conclude that it had altogether perished; and yet, in order to
preserve some seed,
he miraculously rescues from destruction
his
elect, though few in number, that, contrary to
expectation, they may escape from the jaws of death. For, on the one hand, it is
fitted to alarm hypocrites, that they may not, through reliance on the title and
outward appearance of a Church, cherish the vain hope that they will pass
unpunished, for the Lord will find some means of delivering his Church, when
those men have been given up to destruction; and, on the other hand, it conveys
a wonderful consolation to the godly, that God will never allow his wrath to
proceed so far as not to provide for their safety. Thus, in punishing the Jews,
the wrath of God burned to an extent which was truly awful, and yet, contrary to
the expectation of men, he restrained it in such a manner, that not one of
the elect
perished. And it was a miracle which almost
exceeded belief; that, as salvation was to proceed from Judea, out of a few
drops of a fountain which was dried up God formed rivers to water the whole
world; for, in consequence of the hatred of all nations which they had drawn
upon themselves, they narrowly escaped from being murdered in all places, by a
preconcerted signal, in one day. Nor can it be doubted, that when many persons
entreated that they should be slaughtered in this manner, Titus was restrained
by God from giving permission to his soldiers and to others who were excessively
desirous to carry such a design into execution; and, therefore, when the Roman
Emperor at that time prevented the utter destruction of the whole nation, that
was the shortening
here mentioned, for preserving some
seed,
(<230109>Isaiah
1:9.)
Yet it ought to be observed, that it was
on account of the elect
that God restrained the fierceness of his
anger, that he might not consume them all. For why did he determine that a few
should remain out of a vast multitude? and what reason had he for giving them a
preference above others? It was because his grace dwelt in the people whom he
had adopted; and, that his covenant might not fail, some were
elected
and appointed to salvation by his eternal
purpose. Hence Paul ascribes to free
election
(<451105>Romans
11:5) the reason why out of an immense nation a
remnant
only was saved. Away then with human merits,
when our attention is directed exclusively to the good pleasure of God, that the
distinction between some persons and others may depend solely on this, that
those who have been elected
must be saved. To state the matter more clearly
and fully, Mark uses a superfluity of words,
f142
expressing it thus, on account of
the elect, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
Certainly the use of the word
elect
might have been sufficient, if he had not
intended to state expressly that God is not induced by external causes to bestow
his favor on some rather than on others; but that, because he has
elected
those whom he will save, he ratifies the secret
purpose of his grace in their salvation.
But a question arises, how was it on
account of the elect
that God set a limit to these calamities, so as
not utterly to destroy the Jews, when many of those who were saved were
reprobate and desperate? The reply is easy. A part of the nation was preserved,
that out of them God might bring his
elect,
who were mixed with them, like the seed after
the chaff has been blown off. So then, though temporal safety was bestowed
equally on the reprobate and on
the elect,
yet, as it was of no advantage to the
reprobate, it is justly ascribed to
the elect
alone, for it was to their benefit that the
wonderful providence of God was directed.
23.
If any one shall then say to you.
He again repeats what he had said about
impostors, and not without reason; for there was great danger arising from this
temptation, that wretched men, while their affairs were in a troubled and
desperate condition, would be deceived by false pretenses, would seek phantoms
instead of Christ, and would embrace the delusions of Satan, as if they were
assistance from God. As the Jews, when they were so severely oppressed on
account of having despised redemption, needed, at least, violent remedies to
restrain them from treachery, Satan cunningly held out to them new hopes, which
would withdraw them still farther from God. And certainly, when we are left
without direction in adversity, nothing is more pernicious than to be deceived,
under the disguise of the name of God, by falsehoods which not only shut against
us the door of repentance, but increase the darkness of infidelity, and at
length overwhelm us with despair, and drive us to madness. The repetition of the
statement, therefore, was far from being superfluous, when the danger was so
great; and especially when Christ warns them that
false prophets
will come prepared with no ordinary instruments
of deception, with signs and
wonders fitted to confound weak minds. For
since it is by miracles that God attests the presence of his power, and since
they are therefore seals of the true doctrine, we need not wonder if impostors
gain credit by them. By this kind of delusion God revenges the ingratitude of
men, that they who rejected the truth may believe a lie, and that they who shut
their eyes against the light which was offered to them may be plunged deeper and
deeper in darkness. He exercises, at the same time, the constancy of his
followers, which comes to shine with greater brightness, when they give way to
no kind of impostures.
Again, since our Lord declares that
antichrists
and
false prophets
would be armed with miracles, there is no
reason why the Papists should talk so haughtily on this ground, or why we should
be terrified by their boasting. In support of their superstitions they plead
miracles,—those very miracles which, the Son of God predicted, would
corrupt the faith of many, and which, therefore, wise men ought not to hold in
such estimation as to be sufficient of themselves to prove either one or another
kind of doctrine. If it be objected, that such reasoning would overthrow and set
aside the miracles by which both the Law and the Gospel were ratified, I reply,
that the Spirit engraved on them an undoubted mark, which removed from believers
all doubt and fear of being mistaken. For when God displayed his power for the
purpose of confirming his people, he did not act in so confused a manner as not
to manifest the true and infallible distinction. Besides, the manner in which
miracles seal doctrine is such, that the doctrine itself mutually shines before
them, and dispels all the clouds by which Satan darkens the minds of the simple.
In short, if we wish to guard against impostures, let us preserve the connection
between miracles and doctrine unbroken.
24.
So that even the elect (if it
were possible) will be led into error. This was
added for the purpose of exciting alarm, that believers may be more careful to
be on their guard; for when such unbounded freedom of action is allowed to
false prophets,
and when they are permitted to exert such
powers of deceiving, those who are careless and inattentive would easily be
entangled by their snares. Christ therefore exhorts and arouses his disciples to
keep watch, and at the same time reminds them that there is no reason for being
troubled at the strangeness of the sight, if they see many persons on every hand
led away into error. While he excites them to solicitude, that Satan may not
overtake them in a state of sloth, he gives them abundant ground of confidence
on which they may calmly rely, when he promises that they will be safe under the
defense and protection of God against all the snares of Satan. And thus, however
frail and slippery the condition of the godly may be, yet here is a firm footing
on which they may stand; for it is not possible for them to fall away from
salvation, to whom the Son of God is a faithful guardian. For they have not
sufficient energy to resist the attacks of Satan, unless in consequence of their
being
the sheep of Christ,
which none can pluck out of his
hand,
(<431028>John
10:28.)
It must therefore be observed, that the permanency of
our salvation does not depend on us, but on the secret election of God; for
though our salvation is kept through
faith,
as Peter tells us,
(<600105>1
Peter 1:5,) yet we ought to ascend higher, and assure ourselves that we are in
safety, because the Father hath given us to the Son, and the Son himself
declares, that
none who have been given
to him shall perish
(<431712>John
17:12.).
25.
Lo, I have foretold it to you.
Mark expresses our Lord’s meaning more
fully. But take heed: lo, I have
foretold you all things. By these words we are
taught that they who are dismayed by the stumbling-blocks which Christ predicted
are altogether inexcusable; for since the will of God ought to be our rule, it
is sufficient that we have received timely warning that such is his pleasure.
Again, as he declares that
he is faithful, and will
not suffer us to be tempted beyond
what we are able to bear,
(<461013>1
Corinthians 10:13,)
we shall never be in want of strength to resist,
provided that our weakness be not nourished by indifference.
26.
Lo, he is in the desert.
Luke
connects this discourse with another reply of
Christ; for, having been interrogated by the Pharisees about the coming of
the kingdom of God,
he replied, that it would not come with
observation;
and then follows in Luke’s narrative
that, turning to his
disciples,
he informed them that the days would come
when they would no longer see a day of the Son of
man.
By these words he intended to charge
them
to walls in the light
before the darkness of the night overtook them,
(<431235>John
12:35;)
for this ought to have been a very powerful
excitement to endeavor to make progress, so long as they enjoyed the presence of
Christ, when they 1earned that very serious disturbances were at hand. Whether
or not Christ admonished his disciples twice on this subject is uncertain; but I
think it. probable that Luke, while he was speaking of
the coming of the kingdom of God
introduced sentences taken from a different
occasion, which he frequently does, as we have seen in other
instances.
But as this passage has been, through ignorance,
tortured in various ways, that the reader may ascertain the true meaning, he
must attend to the contrast between a state of concealment and that extension of
the kingdom of Christ far and wide, and which would be sudden and unexpected,
as the lightning dashes from the
east to the west. For we know that the
false
Christs—in accordance with
the gross and foolish hope of that nation—drew along with them as large
bodies of men as they could collect into the recesses of the desert, or into
caverns, or other places of retirement, in order to throw off the yoke of the
Roman government by force and by arms. The meaning therefore is, that every one
who collects his forces into a secret place, in order to regain the freedom of
the nation by arms, falsely pretends to be
the Christ;
for the Redeemer is sent to diffuse his grace
suddenly and unexpectedly through every quarter of the world. But these two
things are quite contrary, to shut up redemption within some corner, and to
spread it through the whole world. The disciples were thus reminded that they
must no longer seek a Redeemer within the small enclosure of Judea, because he
will suddenly extend the limits of his kingdom to the uttermost ends of the
world. And, indeed, this astonishing rapidity, with which the gospel flew
through every part of the world, was a manifest testimony of divine power. For
it could not be the result of human industry, that the light of the gospel, as
soon as it appear, darted from one side of the world to the opposite side
like lightning;
and therefore it is not without reason that
Christ introduces this circumstance for demonstrating and magnifying his
heavenly glory. Besides, by holding out this vast extent of his kingdom, he
intended to show that the desolation of Judea would not hinder him from
reigning.
28.
Wheresoever the carcass is. The meaning is,
that by whatever methods Satan endeavors to scatter the children of God in
various directions, still in Christ himself is the sacred bond of union, by
which they must be kept united. For whence comes the dispersion, but that many
depart from Christ, in whom alone our strength lies? Here then is a method laid
down for promoting a holy union, that the separations produced by errors may not
tear in pieces the body of the Church; and that method is, when we remain united
to Christ. This ought to be carefully observed; for Christ does not restrict us
either to the primacy of the Roman See, or to any other foolery, but employs
this method alone for binding his Church together, that all in every quarter
should look to him as the only head. Hence it follows, that those who are united
to him by pure faith are beyond the risk of schism. Let the adherents of Rome
now go, and exclaim that all are schismatics who do not allow themselves to be
separated from Christ, that they may transfer their allegiance to a
robber.
There also will the eagles be
gathered together. When the Papists interpret
the word carcass
to denote the company of those who profess the
same faith, and allegorically explain
the eagles
to represent acute and sagacious men,
f143 it is
excessively absurd,
f144 for
Christ had manifestly no other design than to call to himself, and to retain in
union to him, the children of God, wherever they were scattered. Nor does Christ
simply employ the word body,
but
(ptw~ma)
carcass;
f145
and he ascribes nothing to
eagles
but what we might apply to
crows
or
vultures,
according to the nature of the country which we
inhabit. I attach as little value to the ingenuity of other commentators, who
say that the death of Christ had a sweet savor, to draw the elect to God; for,
in my opinion, Christ intended to argue from the less to the greater, that if
birds have so great sagacity as to flock in great numbers from distant places to
a single carcass,
it would be disgraceful in believers not to
assemble to the Author of life, from whom alone they derive their actual
nourishment.
MATTHEW 24:29-31; MARK
13:24-27;
LUKE
21:25-28
|
MATTHEW
24:29-31
|
MARK
13:24-27
|
LUKE
21:25-28
|
|
29. And immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. 31. And
he shall send his angels with a loud sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one extremity of heaven to the
other.
|
24. But in those days, after that
tribulation, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
25. And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers which are in
heaven shall be shaken. 26. And then shall they see the Son of man
coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27. And then shall
he send his angels, and gather together his elect from the four winds, from the
extremity of the earth to the extremity of heaven.
|
25. And there shall be signs in the sun,
and in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth the anguish of nations in
despair, the sea and the waves roaring: 26. Men fainting through
fear, f146
and expectation of those things which shall come on the world; for the powers of
heaven shall be shaken. 27. And then shall they see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with great power and glory. 28. But when these
things begin to take place, look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption
is at hand.
|
Matthew 24:29.
And immediately after the
tribulation of those days. Christ comes now to
speak of the full manifestation of his kingdom, about which he was at first
interrogated by the disciples, and promises that, after they have been tried by
so many distressing events, the redemption will arrive in due time. The
principal object of his reply was, to confirm his disciples in good hope, that
they might not be dismayed on account of the troubles and confusion that would
arise. For this reason, he does not speak of
his coming
in simple terms, but employs those modes of
expression which were common among the prophets, by which, the more attentively
they were considered, so much the more severe would be the contest of temptation
experienced by the reader, in consequence of the opposite character of the
event. For what could be more strange than to see the kingdom of Christ not only
despised, but oppressed by the cross, loaded with many reproaches, and
overwhelmed by every kind of
tribulation, that
kingdom which the prophets had frequently
described in such magnificent language? Might it not be asked, where was that
majesty which would darken the
sun, and moon, and stars, shake the whole frame
of the world, and change the ordinary course of nature? Our Lord now meets these
temptations, declaring that, though these predictions are not immediately
fulfilled, they will at length be fully justified by the event. The meaning
therefore is, that the predictions which had been formerly made about the
miraculous shaking of heaven and
earth, ought not to be restricted to the
commencement of redemption, because the prophets had embraced the whole course
of it, till it should arrive at perfection.
Having now ascertained Christ’s intention, we
shall have no difficulty in perceiving the meaning of the words to be, that
heaven
will not be
darkened
immediately, but after that the Church shall
have passed through the whole course of its
tribulations.
Not that the glory and majesty of the kingdom
of Christ will not appear till his last coming, but because till that time is
delayed the accomplishment of those things which began to take place after his
resurrection, and of which God gave to his people nothing more than a taste,
that he might lead them farther on in the path of hope and patience. According
to this argument, Christ keeps the minds of believers in a state of suspense
till the last day, that they may not imagine those declarations which the
prophets made, about the future restoration, to have failed of their
accomplishment, because they lie buried for a long period under the thick
darkness
of
tribulations.
The tribulation of those days
is improperly interpreted by some commentators
to mean the destruction of Jerusalem; for, on the contrary, it is a general
recapitulation
(ajnakefalai>wsiv)
of all the evils of which Christ had previously spoken. To encourage his
followers to patience, he employs this argument, that the
tribulations
will at length have a happy and joyful result.
As if he had said, “So long as the Church shall continue its pilgrimage in
the world, there will be dark and cloudy weather; but as soon as an end shall
have been put to those distresses, a day will arrive when the majesty of the
Church shall be illustriously displayed.” In what manner
the sun will be darkened
we cannot now conjecture, but the event will
show. He does not indeed mean that
the stars
will actually fall, but according to the
apprehension of men; and accordingly Luke only predicts that
there will be
SIGNS
in the sun, and in the moon, and
in the stars. The meaning therefore is, that
there will be such a violent commotion of the firmament of heaven, that
the stars
themselves will be supposed
to fall.
Luke
also adds that there will be a dreadful
commotion of the sea, the sea and
the waves roaring, so that men will faint through fear
and alarm. In a word, all the creatures above
and below will be, as it were, heralds to summon men to that tribunal, which
they will continue to treat with ungodly and wanton contempt till the last
day.
30.
Then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man. By this term Christ points out more
clearly the difference between the present condition of his kingdom and its
future glory; for it is a sort of admission that, amidst the
darkness
of
tribulations,
the majesty of Christ will not fully appear,
and men will not perceive the redemption which he has brought. The confused
mixture of things which we now perceive does certainly, on the one hand,
darken
our minds, and, on the other hand, bury the
grace of Christ, and make it almost vanish from our sight, so that the salvation
obtained by him, so far as relates to the perception of the flesh, is not
comprehended. And therefore he declares that he will appear openly at his last
coming and, surrounded by the heavenly power, which will be a
sign
erected on an elevated spot, he will turn the
eyes of the whole world upon himself.
f147
Perceiving that the greater part of men would despise
his doctrine and oppose his reign, he threatens also against all nations
mourning
and
lamentation;
because it is proper, that by his presence he
should crush and destroy the rebels, who, while he was absent, despised his
authority. He says this, partly to bring the haughty and refractory to
repentance, by striking them with terror; and partly to confirm the minds of his
followers amidst so great obstinacy existing in the world. For it is no slight
ground of offense to see the ungodly living without concern, because they think
that their mockery of God will remain unpunished; and again, there is nothing to
which we are more prone than to be captivated by the allurements of the
prosperity which they enjoy, so as to lose the fear of God. That the joy by
which they are intoxicated may not excite the envy of believers, Christ declares
that it will at length be turned into
mourning
and gnashing of teeth.
He alludes, I think, to
<381211>Zechariah
12:11-14, where God, informing them that a striking display of his judgment will
soon be made, declares that there will be
lamentation in every family,
such as is not usually seen at the funeral of a
first-born son. There is no reason, therefore, why any person should expect the
conversion of the world, for at length—when it will be too late, and will
yield them no advantage—
they shall look on him
whom they
pierced,
(<381210>Zechariah
12:10.)
Next follows the explanation of that
sin,
that they shall see the Son of man coming in
the clouds, who at that time was living on earth in the garb of a despised
servant. And thus he warns them that the glory of his kingdom will be heavenly,
and not earthly, as the disciples had falsely imagined.
And he shall send his angels.
He describes the effect of his power, that
he will send his angels to gather
his elect from the most distant parts of the
world; for by the extremity of
heaven
is meant the most distant region. But Christ
speaks hyperbolically, in order to show that
the elect,
even though they were carried away from the
earth and scattered in the air, will again be gathered, so to be united in the
enjoyment of eternal life under Him as their head, and enjoy the expected
inheritance; for Christ intended to console his disciples, that they might not
be altogether discouraged by the lamentable dispersion of the Church. Whenever,
therefore, we perceive the Church scattered by the wiles of Satan, or torn in
pieces by the cruelty of the ungodly, or disturbed by false doctrines, or tossed
about by storms, let us learn to turn our eyes to this
gathering of the elect.
And if it appear to us a thing difficult to be
believed, let us call to remembrance the power of
the angels,
which Christ holds out to us for the express
purpose of raising our views above human means. For, though the Church be now
tormented by the malice of men, or even broken by the violence of the billows,
and miserably torn in pieces, so as to have no stability in the world, yet we
ought always to cherish confident hope, because it will not be by human means,
but by heavenly power, which will be far superior to every obstacle, that the
Lord will gather
his Church.
Luke 21:25.
And when these things begin to
take place.
Luke
expresses more clearly the consolation by which
Christ animates the minds of his followers; for, though this sentence contains
nothing different from the words of Matthew, which we have just now explained,
yet it shows better for what purpose
the angels will come,
as we are told,
to gather the elect.
For it was necessary to contrast the joy of the
godly with the general sorrow and distress of the world, and to point out the
difference between them and the reprobate, that they might not view with horror
the coming of Christ. We know that Scripture, when it speaks not only of the
last judgment, but of all the judgments which God executes every day, describes
them in a variety of ways, according as the discourse is addressed to believers
or to unbelievers.
To what purpose is the
day of the Lord to you?
says the
prophet Amos, (5:18.)
It is a day of darkness and
gloominess,f148
not of light; of sorrow, not of joy; of destruction, not of salvation. On the
other hand, Zechariah (9:9) bids the daughter of Zion
rejoice
on account of the
coming
of her
King;
and justly, for—as Isaiah (35:4) tells
us—the same day which brings wrath and vengeance to the reprobate brings
good-will and redemption
to believers.
Christ therefore shows that, at his coming, the light
of joy will arise on his disciples, that they may rejoice in the approaching
salvation, while the wicked are overwhelmed with terror. Accordingly, Paul
distinguishes them by this mark, that they wait
for
the
day
or coming of the
Lord,
(<460107>1
Corinthians 1:7) for that which is their
crown,
and perfect happiness, and solace, is delayed
till that day,
(<550408>2
Timothy 4:8.) It is therefore called here (as in
<450823>Romans
8:23) redemption;
because we shall then obtain truly and
perfectly the consequences of the deliverance obtained through Christ. Let our
ears therefore be awake to the sound of the
angel’s trumpet,
which will then sound, not only to strike the
reprobate with the dread of death, but to arouse the elect to a second life;
that is, to call to the enjoyment of life those whom the Lord now quickens by
the voice of his Gospel; for it is a sign of infidelity, to be afraid when the
Son of God comes in person for our salvation.
MATTHEW 24:32-36; MARK
13:28-32;
LUKE
21:29-33
|
MATTHEW
24:32-36
|
MARK
13:28-32
|
LUKE
21:29-33
|
|
32. Now learn a similitude from the
fig-tree. When its branch is already tender, and putteth forth leaves, you
know that summer is nigh. 33. In like manner, when you shall see all
these things, know you that it is nigh, at the door. 34. Verily I
say to you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be done.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away. 36. But of that day and hour no man knoweth, not even the
angels of heaven, but my Father alone.
|
28. Now learn a similitude from the
fig-tree. When its branch is still tender, and putteth forth leaves, you
know that summer is nigh. 29. In like manner, when you shall see
these things happen, know you that it is nigh at the door.
30. Verily I say to you, That this generation shall not pass till
all those things be done. 31. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away. 32. But of that day and hour no man
knoweth, not even the angels which are in heaven, nor the Son himself, but the
Father alone.
|
29. And he addressed to them a
similitude. Look at the fig-tree and all the trees. 30. When
they are already putting forth buds, you perceive of yourselves and know that
the summer is already at hand. 31. In like manner, when you shall
see these things happen know you that the kingdom of God is at hand.
32. Verily I say to you, This generation shall not pass before all
these things are done. 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away.
|
Matthew 24:32.
Now learn a similitude from the
fig-tree. I do not suppose the meaning of this
to be merely that, during the state of confusion which has been mentioned, there
will be as evident a sign that the coming of Christ is
nigh,
as that by which we know with certainty that the summer is at hand, when the
trees begin to grow green; but, in my opinion, Christ expresses something else.
For as in winter the trees, contracted by the severity of the cold, show greater
vigor, but in spring lose their toughness, and appear more feeble, and are even
cleft asunder to open up passage for fresh twigs, so the afflictions by which,
according to the perception of the flesh, the Church is softened, do not in any
way impair its vigor. As the inward sap diffused through the whole tree, after
having produced this softness, collects strength to throw itself out for
renovating what was dead, so the Lord draws from the corruption of the outward
man the perfect restoration of his people. The general instruction conveyed is,
that the weak and frail condition of the Church ought not to lead us to conclude
that it is dying, but rather to expect the immortal glory for which the Lord
prepares his people by the cross and by afflictions; for what Paul maintains in
reference to each of the members must be fulfilled in the whole body,
that
if the outward man is
decayed the inward man is renewed day by day,
(<470416>2
Corinthians 4:16.)
What Matthew and Mark had stated more obscurely,
know you that it is nigh at the
door, is more fully explained by Luke,
know you that THE KINGDOM OF
GOD is at hand; and in this passage
the kingdom of God
is not represented—as in many other
passages—at its commencement, but at its perfection, and that according to
the views of those whom Christ was teaching. For they did not view
the kingdom of God
in the Gospel as consisting in the
peace
and
joy
of faith and in spiritual
righteousness,
(<451417>Romans
14:17,) but sought that blessed rest and glory which is concealed under hope
till the last day.
34.
This generation shall not pass
away. Though Christ employs a general
expression, yet he does not extend the discourses to all the miseries which
would befall the Church, but merely informs them, that before a single
generation
shall have been completed, they will learn by
experience the truth of what he has said. For within fifty years the city was
destroyed and the temple was razed, the whole country was reduced to a hideous
desert, and the obstinacy of the world rose up against God. Nay more, their rage
was inflamed to exterminate the doctrine of salvation, false teachers arose to
corrupt the pure gospel by their impostures, religion sustained amazing shocks,
and the whole company of the godly was miserably distressed. Now though the same
evils were perpetrated in uninterrupted succession for many ages afterwards, yet
what Christ said was true, that, before the close of a single
generation,
believers would feel in reality, and by
undoubted experience, the truth of his prediction; for the apostles endured the
same things which we see in the present day.
f149 And yet
it was not the design of Christ to promise to his followers that their
calamities would be terminated within a short time, (for then he would have
contradicted himself, having previously warned them that
the end was not
yet;)
but, in order to encourage them to
perseverance, he expressly foretold that those things related to their own age.
The meaning therefore is: “This prophecy does not relate to evils that are
distant, and which posterity will see after the lapse of many centuries, but
which are now hanging over you, and ready to fall in one mass, so that there is
no part of it which the present
generation
will not experience.” So then, while our
Lord heaps upon a, single
generation
every kind of calamities, he does not by any
means exempt future ages from the same kind of sufferings, but only enjoins the
disciples to be prepared for enduring them all with firmness.
35.
Heaven and earth shall pass away. In order to
secure greater confidence in his statements, he illustrates their certainty by
this comparison, that it is more firm and stable than the entire structure of
the world.
f150 But
this form of expression is explained by commentators in a variety of ways. Some
refer it as the passing away of
heaven and earth at the last day, by which
their frail constitution will be brought to an end; while others explain it to
mean, that sooner shall the entire structure of the world perish than the
prophecy which we have just heard shall fail to be accomplished. But as there
can be no doubt that Christ expressly intended to raise the minds of his
followers above the contemplation of the world, I think that he refers to the
continual changes which we see in the world, and affirms, that we ought not to
judge of his sayings by the changeful character of the world, which resembles
the billows of the sea; for we know how easily our minds are carried away by the
affairs of the world, when it is undergoing incessant change. For this reason,
Christ enjoins his disciples not to allow their attention to be occupied by the
world, but to look down, from what may be called the lofty watch-tower of divine
providence, on all that he foretold would happen. Yet from this passage we draw
a useful doctrine, that our salvation, because it is founded on the promises of
Christ, does not fluctuate according to the various agitations of the world, but
remains unshaken, provided only that our faith rises above
heaven and earth,
and ascends to Christ himself.
36.
But of that day and hour.
By this sentence, Christ intended to hold the
minds of believers in suspense that they might not, by a false imagination, fix
any time for the final redemption. We know how fickle our minds are, and how
much we are tickled by a vain curiosity to know more than is proper. Christ
likewise perceived that the disciples were pushing forward with excessive haste
to enjoy a triumph. He therefore wishes the day of his coming to be the object
of such expectation and desire, that none shall dare to inquire when it will
happen. In short, he wishes his disciples so to walk in the light of faith, that
while they are uncertain as to the time, they may patiently wait for the
revelation of him. We ought therefore to be on our guard, lest our anxiety about
the time be carried farther than the Lord allows; for the chief part of our
wisdom lies in confining ourselves soberly within the limits of God’s
word. That men may not feel uneasy at
not knowing that day,
Christ represents
angels
as their associates in this matter; for it
would be a proof of excessive pride and wicked covetousness, to desire that we
who creep on the earth should know more than is permitted to the
angels
in heaven.
f151
Mark adds,
nor the Son himself.
And surely that man must be singularly mad, who
would hesitate to submit to the ignorance which even
the Son of God himself
did not hesitate to endure on our account. But
many persons, thinking that this was unworthy of Christ, have endeavored to
mitigate the harshness of this opinion by a contrivance of their own; and
perhaps they were driven to employ a subterfuge by the malice of the Arians, who
attempted to prove from it that Christ is not the true and only God. So then,
according to those men, Christ did not know the last day, because he did not
choose to reveal it to men. But since it is manifest that the same kind of
ignorance is ascribed to Christ as is ascribed to the
angels,
we must endeavor to find some other meaning
which is more suitable. Before stating it, however, I shall briefly dispose of
the objections of those who think that it is an insult offered to the Son of
God, if it be said that any kind of ignorance can properly apply to
him.
As to the first objection, that nothing is unknown to
God, the answer is easy. For we know that in Christ the two natures were united
into one person in such a manner that each retained its own properties; and more
especially the Divine nature was in a state of repose, and did not at all exert
itself,
f152
whenever it was necessary that the human nature should act separately, according
to what was peculiar to itself, in discharging the office of Mediator. There
would be no impropriety, therefor in saying that Christ, who knew all
things,
(<432117>John
21:17) was ignorant of something in respect of his perception as a man; for
otherwise he could not have been liable to grief and anxiety, and could not have
been like us,
(<580217>Hebrews
2:17.) Again, the objection urged by some—that ignorance cannot apply to
Christ, because it is the punishment of sin—is beyond measure ridiculous.
For, first, it is prodigious folly to assert that the ignorance which is
ascribed to angels proceeds from sin; but they discover themselves to be equally
foolish on another ground, by not perceiving that Christ clothed himself with
our flesh, for the purpose of enduring the punishment due to our sins. And if
Christ, as man, did not know the last day, that does not any more derogate from
his Divine nature than to have been mortal.
I have no doubt that he refers to the office
appointed to him by the Father as in a former instance, when he said that it
did not belong to him
to place this or that person at his right or
left
hand,
(<402023>Matthew
20:23;
<410540>Mark
5:40.) For (as I explained under that passage
f153) he did
not absolutely say that this was not in his power, but the meaning was, that he
had not been sent by the Father with this commission, so long as he lived among
mortals. So now I understand that, so far as he had come down to us to be
Mediator, until he had fully discharged his office that information was not
given to him which he received after his resurrection; for then he expressly
declared that power over all things had been given to him,
(<402818>Matthew
28:18.)
MATTHEW 24:37-42; MARK
13:33;
LUKE 17:26-37;
21:34-36
|
MATTHEW
24:37-42
|
MARK
13:33
|
LUKE
17:26-37
|
|
37. But as the days of Noah were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38. For as in the days
that came before the deluge, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, till the day when Noah entered into the ark, 39. And
knew not until the deluge came,
f154
and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40. Two men shall then be in the field; one is taken, and the other
is left. 41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken,
and the other is left. 42. Watch therefore, for you know not at what
hour your Lord will come.
|
33. Take heed, watch and pray; for you
know not when the time is.
|
26. And as it happened in the days of
Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They
ate, they drank, they married wives, and were given in marriage, till that day
when Noah entered into the ark; and the deluge came, and destroyed them all.
28. In like manner also, as it happened in the days of Lot, they
ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30. In all these
respects shall the day be when the Son of man shall be revealed.
31. In that day, let not him who shall be on the housetop, and his
furniture in the house, go down to take them away; and in like manner, let not
him who shall be in the field return to what he hath left behind.
32. Remember Lot’s wife. 33. Whosoever shall seek
to save his soul, shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose it, will beget it to
life.
f155
34. I tell you, in that night two men shall be in one bed; one shall
be taken, and the other shall be left. 35. Two women shall be
grinding together; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
36. Two men shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other
shall be left. 37. Then they answering say to him, Where, Lord? And
he said to them, Wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles also be gathered
together.
LUKE
21:34-36
34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the
cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. 35. For as
a snare shall it come
f156
on all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36. Watch
therefore, praying at all times that you may be permitted to escape all those
things which shall happen, and to stand before the Son of man.
|
Matthew 24:37.
But as the days of Noah
were. Although Christ lately expressed his
desire to keep the minds of his followers in suspense, that they might not
inquire too anxiously about the last day; yet, lest the indifference arising out
of the enjoyments of the world should lull them to sleep, he now exhorts them to
solicitude. He wished them to be uncertain as to his coming, but yet to be
prepared to expect him every day, or rather every moment.
f157 To
shake off their sloth, and to excite them more powerfully to be on their guard,
he foretells that the end will come, while the world is sunk in brutal
indifference; just as in the days
of Noah all the nations were swallowed up by
the deluge,
when they had no expectation of it, but rioted
in gluttony and voluptuousness, and shortly afterwards, the inhabitants of
Sodom,
while they were abandoning themselves without
fear to sensuality, were consumed by fire from heaven. Since indifference of
this sort will exist about the time of the last day, believers ought not to
indulge themselves after the example of the multitude.
We have now ascertained the design of Christ, which
was, to inform believers that, in order to prevent themselves from being
suddenly overtaken, they ought always to keep watch, because the day of the last
judgment will come when it is not expected. Luke alone mentions
Sodom,
and that in the seventeenth chapter, where he
takes occasion, without attending to the order of time, to relate this discourse
of Christ. But it would not have been improper that the two Evangelists should
have satisfied themselves with a single example, though Christ mentioned two,
more especially when those examples perfectly agreed with each other in this
respect, that at one time the whole human race, in the midst of unbroken
indolence and pleasure, was suddenly swallowed up,
f158 with
the exception of a few individuals. When he says that men were giving their
whole attention to eating,
drinking, marriage, and other worldly
employments, at the time when God destroyed the whole world by a
deluge,
and
Sodom
by thunder; these words mean that they were as
fully occupied with the conveniences and enjoyments of the present life, as if
there had been no reason to dread any change. And though we shall immediately
find him commanding the disciples to guard against
surfeiting
and earthly cares, yet in this passage he does
not directly condemn the intemperance, but rather the obstinacy, of those times,
in consequence of which, they despised the threatenings of God, and awaited with
indifference their awful destruction. Promising to themselves that the condition
in which they then were would remain unchanged, they did not scruple to follow
without concern their ordinary pursuits. And in itself it would not have been
improper, or worthy of condemnation, to make provision for their wants, if they
had not with gross stupidity opposed the judgment of God, and rushed, with
closed eyes, to unbridled iniquity, as if there had been no Judge in heaven. So
now Christ declares that the last age of the world will be in a state of stupid
indifference, so that men will think of nothing but the present life, and will
extend their cares to a long period, pursuing their ordinary course of life, as
if the world were always to remain in the same condition. The comparisons are
highly appropriate; for if we consider what then happened, we shall no longer be
deceived by the belief that the uniform order of events which we see in the
world will always continue. For within three days of the time, when every man
was conducting his affairs in the utmost tranquillity, the world was swallowed
up by a deluge, and five cities were consumed by fire.
39. And
knew not until the deluge came.
The source and cause of their ignorance was,
that unbelief had blinded their minds; as, on the other hand, we are informed by
the Apostle, that Noah
beheld at a distance, by the eyes of
faith,
the vengeance of God which was still concealed,
so as to entertain an early dread of it,
(<581107>Hebrews
11:7.) And here Christ compares
Noah
with the rest of the world, and
Lot
with
the inhabitants of Sodom,
that believers may learn to withdraw, lest they
wander and be cut off along with others. But it must be observed that the
reprobate, at that time, were hardened in their wickedness, because the Lord did
not show his grace to any but his servants, by giving them a salutary warning to
beware in proper time. Not that information of the future deluge was altogether
withheld from the inhabitants of the world—before whose eyes
Noah,
in building the ark for more than a hundred
years, presented a warning of the approaching calamity—but because one man
was specially warned, by divine revelation, of the future destruction of the
whole world, and raised up to cherish the hope of salvation. Though the report
of the last judgment is now widely circulated, and though there are a few
persons who have been taught by God to perceive that Christ will come as a Judge
in due time, yet
it is proper that those persons should be
aroused by this extraordinary kindness of God, and that their senses should be
sharpened, lest they give themselves up to the indifference which so generally
prevails. For Peter compares the ark of
Noah
with our
baptism
on this ground, that a small company of men,
separated from the multitude, is
saved
amidst the waters,
(<600320>1
Peter 3:20, 21.) To this small number, therefore, our minds must be directed, if
we desire to escape in safety.
40.
Two men shall then be in the
field. Before mentioning this, Luke inserts
some sentences; the first of which is presented by Matthew as belonging to the
destruction of Jerusalem, Let not
him who shall be on the house-top go down into his house to carry away his
furniture. But it is possible that Christ
applied the same words to various subjects. Luke slates also a warning, that the
disciples should remember Lot’s
wife;
that is, that they should forget those
things which are behind,
(<500313>Philippians
3:13) and advance towards the end of the heavenly calling. For
Lot’s wife
was changed into a pillar of
salt,
(<011926>Genesis
19:26,) because, hesitating whether there were good reasons for departing from
the city, she looked behind
her,
by which she gave the lie to the heavenly
oracle. Perhaps, too, regret at leaving her nest, in which she had dwelt with
comfort, induced her to turn her head. Since, therefore, God intended that she
should remain as an everlasting demonstration, our minds ought to be
strengthened by the constancy of faith, that they may not hesitate and give way
in the middle of the course; and they ought also to be trained to perseverance,
in order that, bidding adieu to the fascinations of a transitory life, they may
rise cheerfully and willingly towards heaven.
Luke adds a third sentence,
whosoever shall seek to save his
soul will lose it, that the desire of an
earthly life may not prevent believers from passing rapidly through the midst of
death, to the salvation laid up for them in heaven. And Christ employs a strong
expression to denote the frailty of the present life, when he says that souls
(Zwogonou~ntai),—that
is,
are begotten into life—when
they are
lost.
His meaning is the same as if he had declared
that inch do not live
in the world, because the commencement of that
life which is real, and which is worthy of the name, is, to leave the world.
Luke afterwards adds what we find also in Matthew, that husbands and wives will
then be separated, that the tics by which human beings are bound to each other
in the world may not hinder or retard the godly; for it frequently happens that,
while men are paying attention to each other, not one of them advances a step.
In order, therefor that every man in his own department, freed from every bond
and impediment, may run with cheerfulness, Christ informs us that, out of a
single couple, one
partner
will be taken,
while
the other
is
left.
Not that all who are united must of necessity
be thus separated; for the sacred bond of piety will cause a believing wife to
cleave to a believing husband, and will cause children to accompany their
father. But Christ only intended, in order to cut off every occasion of delay,
to enjoin every one to make haste, that those who already prepared may not waste
their time in waiting for their companions. Immediately afterwards Luke adds,
where the carcass is, there will
the eagles also be gathered together; which
must not, however, be restricted to the last day, but as the disciples had
asked, Where, Lord?
that is, “How shall we stand erect amidst
so great shaking? and how shall we remain safe amidst such dangerous storms? and
to what places of concealment shall we resort for protection, when we are
united?” Christ declares, as we find in Matthew—that he is the
banner of solid union, and in which all the children of God must be
gathered.
42.
Watch therefore. In Luke the exhortation is
more pointed, or, at least, more special,
Take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the
cares of this life. And certainly he who, by
living in intemperance, has his senses overloaded with food and wine, will never
elevate his mind to meditation on the heavenly life. But as there is no desire
of the flesh that does not intoxicate a man, they ought to take care, in all
these respects, not to satiate themselves with the world, if they wish to
advance with speed to the kingdom of Christ. The single word
watch—which
we find in
Matthew—denotes
that uninterrupted attention which keeps our
minds in full activity, and makes us pass through the world like
pilgrims.
In the account given by
Mark,
the disciples are first enjoined to
take heed
lest, through carelessness or indolence, ruin
overtake them; and next are commanded to
watch,
because various allurements of the flesh are
continually creeping upon us, and lulling our minds to sleep. Next follows an
exhortation to prayer,
because it is necessary to seek elsewhere the
supplies that are necessary for supporting our weakness. Luke dictates the very
form of prayer;
first, that God may be pleased to rescue us
from so deep and intricate a labyrinth; and next, that lie may present us safe
and sound in presence of his Son; for we shall never be able to reach it but by
miraculously escaping innumerable deaths. And as it was not enough to pass
through the course of the present life by rising superior to all dangers, Christ
places this as the most important, that we may be permitted to stand before his
tribunal.
For you know not at what hour your
Lord will come. It ought to be observed, that
the uncertainty as to the time of Christ’s coming—which almost all
treat as an encouragement to sloth—ought to be felt by us to be an
excitement to attention and watchfulness. God intended that it should be hidden
from us, for the express purpose that we may keep diligent watch without the
relaxation of a single hour. For what would be the trial of faith and patience,
if believers, after spending their whole life in ease, and indolence, and
pleasure, were to prepare themselves within the space of three days for meeting
Christ?
MATTHEW 24:43-51; MARK
13:34-37;
LUKE
12:35-50
|
MATTHEW
24:43-51
|
MARK
13:34-37
|
LUKE
12:35-50
|
|
43. But know this, that if the householder had
known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched, and
would not have permitted his house to be broken into. 44. Therefore, be you
also ready; because the Son of man will come at an hour when you are not aware.
45. Who is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master hath appointed
over his household, to give them food in due season? 46. Blessed is that
servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find acting in this manner.
47. Verily I say to you, He will appoint him
f159 over
all his property. 48. But if that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My
master delayeth to come; 49. And shall begin to beat his fellow-servants,
and even to eat and drink with drunkards; 50. The master of that servant
will come on a day when he doth not look for him, and at an hour when he is not
aware; 51. And shall cut him off; and assign his portion with hypocrites:
weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be there.
|
34. As a man
f160 who is
going abroad, and hath left his house, and hath given it in charge to his
servants, and hath assigned to every man his work, and hath commanded the porter
to watch. 35. Watch, therefore; (for you know not when your Lord will come,
f161 whether
in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning;)
36. Lest, when he shall come suddenly, he will find you sleeping.
37. But what I say to you I say to all, Watch.
|
35. Let your loins be girt, and your lamps
burning; 36. And yourselves like men who wait for their master, till he
shall return from the marriage, that, when he shall come and knock,
f162 they
may open to him immediately. 37. Blessed are those servants whom their
lord, when he cometh shall find watching. Verily I tell you, that he will
gird himself, and make them sit down at table, and will come forward and serve
them. 38. And if he shall come in the second watch, or if he shall come in
the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39. But know
this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he
would certainly have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be
broken into. 40. And therefore be you also ready; for the Son of man will
come at an hour when you are not expecting him. 41. And Peter saith to him,
Lord, sayest thou this parable to us, or likewise to all? 42. And the Lord
said, Who is a faithful and wise steward, whom his master will appoint over his
household, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?
43. Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find
acting in this manner. 44. Verily I tell you, that he will appoint him over
all that he possesses. 45. But if that servant shall say in his heart, My
master delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men-servants, and maids,
and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46. The master of that servant
will come on a day when he doth not expect him, and at an hour when he is not
aware, and will cut him off, and assign his portion with the unfaithful.
47. But that servant, who knew his master’s will, and did not make
himself ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48. But he who knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few stripes. And to whomsoever much hath been given, much will be
demanded from him, and to whom men have entrusted much, from him they will exact
more. 49. I came to send a fire on the earth, and what do I wish if it be
already be kindled?
f163
50. But I have to be baptized with a baptism, and how am I distressed till
it be accomplished!
|
Matthew 24:43.
If the householder had known.
Luke
relates this discourse of Christ at a different
place from Matthew; and we need not wonder at this, for in the twelfth chapter,
where (as we have formerly explained) he collects out of various discourses a
summary of doctrine, he inserts also this parable. Besides, he introduces a
general preface that the disciples should
wait for their master,
with their
loins girt,
and carrying
burning lamps
in their hands. To this statement corresponds
the parable, which we shall soon afterwards find in
<402501>Matthew
25:1-12 about the wise and
foolish virgins.
In a few words Christ glances rapidly at the manner
in which believers ought to conduct their pilgrimage in the world; for first he
contrasts the girding of the
loins with sloth, and
burning lamps
with the darkness of ignorance. First, then,
Christ enjoins the disciples to be ready and equipped for the journey, that they
may pass rapidly through the world, and may seek no fixed abode or resting-place
but in heaven. The warning is highly useful; for though ungodly men have
likewise in their mouth this form of expression,
“the
course of life,” yet we see how they lay
themselves down in the world, and remain unmoved in their attachment to it. But
God does not bestow the honorable title of his children on any but those who
acknowledge that they are strangers on the earth, and who not only are at all
times prepared to leave it, but likewise move forward, in an uninterrupted
“course,” towards the heavenly life. Again, as they are surrounded
on all sides by darkness, so long as they remain in the world, he furnishes them
with lamps,
as persons who are to perform a journey during
the night. The first recommendation is, to run vigorously; and the next is, to
have clear information as to the road, that believers may not weary themselves
to no purpose by going astray; for otherwise it would be better to stumble in
the way, than to perform a journey in uncertainty and mistake. As to the
expression, girding the loins,
it is borrowed from the ordinary custom of
Eastern nations in wearing long garments.
Luke 12:36.
And you yourselves like men that
wait for their master. He uses another parable
not mentioned by Matthew, who writes more briefly on this subject; for he
compares himself to a householder
who, while he is joining in the festivities of
the marriage feast, or in other respects indulging in pleasure, out of his own
house, wishes his servants
to conduct themselves with modesty and sobriety
at home, attending to their lawful occupations, and diligently waiting for his
return. Now though the Son of God has departed to the blessed rest of heaven,
and is absent from us, yet as he has assigned to every one his duty, it would be
improper for us to give way to indolent repose. Besides, as he has promised that
he will return to us, we ought to hold ourselves prepared, at every moment, to
receive him, that he may not find
us sleeping.
For if a mortal man looks upon it as a duty
which his servants
owe him, that,
at whatever hour he returns home,
they shall be prepared to receive him, how much
more has he a right to demand from his followers that they shall be sober and
vigilant, and always wait for his coming? To excite them to greater alacrity, he
mentions that earthly masters are so delighted with such promptitude on the part
of their servants, that they even
serve them;
not that all
masters
are accustomed to act in this manner, but
because it does sometimes happen that a
master,
who is kind and gentle, admits his
servants
to his own table, as if they were his
companions.
Yet it may be asked, Since Scripture calls us in many
passages children of light,
(<490508>Ephesians
5:8;
<520505>1
Thessalonians 5:5,) and since the Lord also shines upon us by his word, so that
we walk as at noon, how does the Lord compare our life to the watches of tire
night? But we ought to seek the solution of this difficulty from the words of
Peter, who tells us, that the word of God shines like a burning lamp, to enable
us distinctly to see our road in a dark place. We ought therefore to attend. to
both statements, that our journey must be performed amidst the thick darkness of
the world, and yet we are protected from the risk of going astray, while the
torch of heavenly doctrine goes before us, more especially when we have Christ
himself for a sun.
Matthew 24:43.
But know this.
Another similitude is now employed by Christ,
in exhorting his disciples to
keep diligent watch; for if any person shall
hear that robbers are prowling in the night, fear and suspicion will not allow
him to sleep. Since, therefore, we are informed that Christ’s coming will
be sudden and unexpected, like that of a robber, and since we are expressly
forewarned that we must always watch, lest he come upon us when asleep, and we
be swallowed up with the ungodly, there is no excuse for our indolence; more
especially since there is reason to dread not only a breach of the wall, and a
loss of our property, but a deadly wound to ruin our soul, unless we are on our
guard. The tendency of these words therefore is, that the warning of Christ
should arouse us; for, though the last judgment be delayed for a long time, yet
it hangs over us every hour; and, therefore, when there is ground for alarm, and
when danger is near, it is unreasonable that we should be
sluggish.
45. Who
is the faithful and wise servant?
This passage is more distinctly explained by
Luke, who inserts
Peter’s
question, which gave rise to a new parable.
Christ having declared that the suddenness and uncertainty of his coming led to
such danger as left no room for sloth,
Peter
asked, if this doctrine was general, or if it
belonged to the twelve alone. For the disciples—as we have formerly
seen—were always in the habit of thinking that they were unjustly treated,
unless they were exempted from the common lot, and greatly excelled all others.
When our Lord now represents to them a condition which is far from being
pleasant or desirable, they look around them on every hand, like persons
astonished. But the object of Christ’s reply is, to show that, if each of
the common people ought to watch, much less ought it to be endured that the
apostles should be asleep. As Christ had formerly exhorted the whole family in
general to watch for his coming, so now he demands extraordinary care from the
principal servants, who had been appointed over others for the purpose of
pointing out, by their example, the path of sobriety, watchfulness, and strict
temperance. By these words he reminds them that they were not elevated to high
rank for the purpose of indulging in ease, indolence, and pleasure; but that,
the higher the rank of honor which they had obtained, the heavier was the burden
which was laid on them; and therefore he declares that it is especially demanded
from such persons that they exercise fidelity and wisdom.
Let all who are called to an honorable office learn
from this, that they are so much the more strongly bound, not only to bestow
their labor faithfully, but to strive with their utmost zeal and industry to
discharge their duty. For while it is enough for ordinary servants to go through
their daily toil, stewards, whose office embraces the care of the whole family,
ought to go much farther. Otherwise Christ charges them with ingratitude,
because, while they have been chosen before others, they do not answer to their
honor; for why does our Lord prefer them to the rest, but in order that they may
excel all by extraordinary fidelity and wisdom? True, indeed, all are enjoined,
without exception, to be sober, and to give earnest attention, but drowsiness
would be peculiarly disgraceful and inexcusable in pastors. He next holds out
even the hope of a reward to encourage them to diligence.
48.
But if that wicked servant shall
say in his heart. By these words, Christ
briefly points out the source of that carelessness which creeps upon wicked
servants. It is because they trust to a longer delay, and thus of their own
accord involve themselves in darkness. They imagine that the day when they must
render an account will never come; and, under the pretext of Christ’s
absence, they promise themselves that they will remain unpunished. For it is
impossible but that the expectation of him, when it does occur to our minds,
shall shake off sleep, and still more, that it shall restrain us from being
carried away by wicked sensuality. No excitement of exhortation, therefore, can
be more powerful or efficacious, than to represent to us that rigid tribunal
which no man will be able to escape. That each of us may be careful to discharge
his duty earnestly, and keep himself strictly and modestly within his own
limits, let us constantly make our minds familiar with the thought of that last
and sudden coming of the Lord, the neglect of which leads the reprobate to
indulge in wickedness.
At the same time, Christ takes a passing glance at
the ease with which insolence grows, when a man has once shaken off the bridle,
and given himself up to sinning. For Christ does not represent to us a servant
who is merely dissolute and worthless, but one who rises up in an outrageous
manner to disturb the whole house, who wickedly abuses the power committed to
him, exercises cruelty on his fellow-servants, and wastefully spends the
property of his master, whom he treats with open ridicule. Lastly, to excite
terror, he adds the punishment, which is of no ordinary degree; for severe
punishment is due to such unbounded wickedness.
Luke 12:47.
But that servant.
There is great weight in this circumstance,
which is mentioned by Luke alone, that, in proportion as any man knowingly and
willingly takes pleasure in despising the Lord, he deserves severer punishment.
A comparison is made between the greater and the less to this effect: If
punishment does not fail to be inflicted on a
servant
who errs through mistake, what shall become of
the wicked
and rebellious
servant,
who purposely, as it were, tramples under foot
the authority of his master? It ought to be remembered, however, that those who
are appointed to govern the Church do not err through ignorance, but basely and
wickedly defraud their Master of his right.
Yet we ought to gather from this passage a general
doctrine, that it is in vain for men to betake themselves to the plea of
ignorance, in order to be freed from condemnation. For if a mortal man claims
the right of demanding from his servants that they shall inquire into his will,
so that nothing may be done in his house in a heedless or confused manner; how
much greater authority belongs to the Son of God, that they who serve him should
be earnestly desirous to be informed about his injunctions, and not rush
forward, at their own pleasure, to act in a state of uncertainty, but depend
wholly on the intimations of his will; particularly when he has prescribed what
we ought to do, and always gives us a gracious answer, when we ask his
direction? It is certain, that our ignorance is always accompanied by gross and
shameful negligence. We see, indeed, that it is in vain to resort to this
subterfuge, that he who has gone wrong through ignorance is not in fault; for,
on the contrary, the Heavenly Judge declares, that though such offenders are
visited by lighter chastisement, yet they will not be altogether unpunished. And
if even ignorance does not excuse men, how dreadful is the vengeance that awaits
deliberate transgressors, who with outrageous violence provoke God, in
opposition to the dictates of their conscience? The more abundant the
instruction, therefore, which any man has received, so much the greater is the
ground for punishment, if he be not obedient and submissive. Hence it appears
how trifling and worthless is the excuse of those who, now rejecting the plain
doctrine of the Gospel, endeavor to screen such obstinacy by the ignorance of
their fathers; as if ignorance were an adequate shield to ward off the judgment
of God. But granting that faults committed through mistake were pardoned, it
would be highly unreasonable that the same favor should be extended to those who
sin willfully, since with deliberate malice they rage against
God.
48.
To whomsoever much hath been
given. Christ shows by another circumstance,
that the more highly favored disciples ought to be visited with severer
punishment, if they despise their calling, and abandon themselves without
reserve to every kind of licentiousness; because the more eminent a man is, he
ought to consider that so much the more has been entrusted to him, and on the
express condition that he shall one day render an account of it. In the same
proportion, therefore, as any of us is endued with higher gifts, if he does not,
like a field which has been cultivated at greater expense, yield to the Lord
more abundant produce, the abuse of that grace which he has profaned, or
uselessly withheld, will cost him dear.
49.
I am come to send fire o