PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1
Arthur Lukyn Williams [1853-1943] · 499,653 words · 546 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 121
alwnya in the Gospels. The word (T>..o,ov) the beading of the ne:l:t section (ob. ix. 36- may be used of any sized veesel (equivalent xiv. 12). It is, indeed, remarkable that in to "large ship" in Acts xxvii.), but here, as eh. ix. 35 it occurs .inst before the definite managed by so few men, it is equivalent to "boat…
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disease, Revised Version; 11011011, laying stress -" epilepsy being suppoeed to retnru a.nd on the pain and disorder. Disease; siclmeu, increase with the increase or the moon " Revised Version; µ.a>..a1<lo.11, laying stress (Thayer, s.,,. 11'<,\71v,tf.(,11'80.,, which occurs in on the we11kneSB. (}'or the two words in …
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the inscrutable myst.ery of the union of the Divine and human natures. We know that in his early youth he was continually advancing in wisdom. His mind unfolded itself gradually; perhaps the conception of the mystery of his Being, the wondrous memories of the glory which be bad with the Father before the world was, …
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our flesh overcome the devil; tha.t a.a Man, in our human nature, he might conquer that sin by which death came into the world; that as in Adam all died, even so in Christ might all be made alive. He bath given us an example, teaching us that by self- denial, prayer, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Go…
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~•ith the sword of the Spirit. So must the Christian now. The memory should be stored through and through with the sacred words; they should be wrought into the heart by holy thought and diligent obedience, written there by the Holy Spirit of God. Then they will be at hand ready for use in the hour of trial, in tbe dea…
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the humble Christian who trusts not in his own knowledge or his own strength, but in the living God. 3. The Lord's answer. (1) Again the appeal to Scripture: "It is written again." Scripture is best interpreted by Scripture; one part of Holy Writ throws light upon another. The devil takes the text which seems to sui…
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Or, if they gain them, ihey find that rank, riches, pleasure, bought by sin, are but <lust and ashes in the ruouth-vauity of vauities, The enjoyment is but u dream, a phantom; the misery, alas! is very real 2. The Lord's answer. (1) He en.Us the tempter by his name, Satan, the advers:ny. He had revealed himself now;…
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He does not forget their labours; he will reward them openly. 2. Jesus begins to preacli. (1) He repeats the words or the Baptist, but from his Ii ps they have a deeper meaning. "Repent ye," he said; the Greek word means literally "change your mind." That great change is the work of God the Holy Ghost, but yet in some …
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not prescribed in the Old Testament. It was an institution which sprang up probably during the Captivity, and spread through the towns of Palestine after the return. 'l'he Lord attended the synagogues; he kept the Feast of Dedication. They were institutions of the Jewish Church, not ordered in the Scriptures, but no…
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understands our battle with evil, for he fought a similar battle himself. 3. His redeemi'lf.g work. Christ came to overthrow the works of the devil. He began by facing and conquering the spirit of evil himself. Satan had never been completely vanquished before. The utter rout of his forces in this battle in the wildern…
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The suggestion of the tempter is degrading. Christ rises above it by considering the c.rnc greatness of man. This is not a method which he only can follow, because it is not the dignity of the Son of God, but the dignity of man, that he thinks of. E,·ery man may avail himself of the Mme bracing thought. There is a h…
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the Bo.ptist. To a nearer view it seems that the completion of the preparation makes it fitting that the full advent of the kingdom should be manifested. I. CumsT COMES TO PEOPLE SITTING IN DARKNESS. Here is the prophet's imag;e-- 0. lo.nd of gloom, its inhabitant~ seated disconsolately and helplessly, not having enr,…
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II. THE CALT,. In St. John we see that these men already knew Christ (John i. -10-42); but they had not yet learnt that he would wish them to be his constant compimions. I. The essential character of the call. (1) From Christ. He is not willing to be alone in his great work:. He seeks assochtes. (2) To individual men. …
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evangelist. 2. Following <Jhrist. Multitudes felt the spell rf his presence, and were drawn to him with an enthusiasm of devotion. In too many cases this was but a superficial, temporary movement. It is possible to follow Christ by outward action in Church-life, and not to be his true disciples inwardly. The inward fol…
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~till a study and a question in which it may abound n1ost. On the other hand, perhaps, it may be helcl-and in analogy with much else in matter quite different-that though in the crowded city temptation may be yielded to most recklessly, yet conflict, and the fiercer and more prolonged conflict, and remorse, and the …
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God." This new food was in e. clouble eense unknown, and the object of wonder to them; for they knew neither how nor whence it came, nor what it was when it had come, Perhaps it may seem rather remarkable that Jesus should put away and promptly reject the temptation by a mere quotation, and one found in such a com- par…
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rnise up children to Abraham. But he will not command stones to become bread for him- self; this, doubtless, the reason, that he will let faith, and patience, and bodily endurance, and the highest style of trust., have each its perfect work. Not to do so is to him, clearly and distinctly, sin. 3. When Satan now temp…
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I. THE INOIDENOE OF THIS TEMPTATION. It may be set forth generally as above. More particularly, (1) its subtleness; (2) its special fascination for some temperaments• (3) its plausibleuess, as able to clothe itself with a ehauow of greatness, and to redeen:: itself from the associations of low kinds of desire; (4) its …
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"all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," may be too wide for !Heral construing. Notice in the description of this temptation that- I. lT BEGS THE VANTAGE-GROUND, THE ENHANCING OIRCUMSTANOEB OF THE IMPRESSION, LENT DY ACTUAL srnnT. That this kind of consideration may legiti- mately be set to the credi…
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Ver. 17.-The sum'TTIOR&-to repent I It would appear that while first John the Baptist uttered the summons, " Repent ye," when announcing the advent of "the kingdom of heaven" (eh. iii. 1), and while now Jesus himself does the same, the charge to utter it was not committed to" the twelve" (eh. x. 7), nor to "the seventy…
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passage as John :ui. 25 looks not in vain for its ample justification. We have in the present verses the statement of what may be well regarded as early omens of the future achievements of Christ, of the Spirit of Christ, of the movement and force which be set going. Numerous as these drops, they were sWI but the fi…
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mere Wonder-worker, he at once adopted the slow way of moral influence and waiting on God's time. And, thirdly, rejecting the idea that he might be an earthly Prince, he from the outset sustained the role of a spiritual King. I. THE TEMPTATION TO USE BIS MIRACULOUS POWER FOB ms OWN SUSTENANOE AND COMFORT, Absorbed dur…
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hankering after poets of influence, to our desire to be known. We know it also when we wish Obrist had provided for hie people earthly good as well as spiritual. Nothing but a preference for what is spiritual will secure us against the temptation to wish, either for ourselves or others, what constitute11 the glory of t…
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Vera. 1-11_.-The tempta~wn. T?is appears to have extended t~rough the forty days of the soJourn of Jesus in the wilderness. Mark says, "He w.as in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan" (i. 13). The text describes only the acme at the close of the forty days. It is given as a specimen of the wiles of Satan, an…
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of such a master of image-working we place ourselves at the mercy of the impersona- tion of cruelty. II. THAT BAT.AN WIELDS HIS ENERGIES WITH SUBTLETY, 1. He selects a wilderness as the theatre of his operations. (1) .A wilderness, in the natural sense, is a wild, uncultivated waste. Such certainly was the desert of …
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Vers. 12-17.-Light in dark11ess. The public work of Christ followed upon his temptation. "No man can be prepared for any deep vital work in the world who has not come through the devil's school" (Dr. Parker). Let no truth-seeker be dispirited by the se'l"erity of his temptations. Consider here- I. THE MELANCHOLY OO…
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(John i. 48; Ii. 1). Thence he returned to Judrea to celebrate tbe Passover (John ii. 18). Then he be.ptized in Judrea, while John baptized e.t 1Enon (John iii. 22, 23). After the imprisonment of John, Jesus returned to Nazareth. Here the people rejected his testimony and sought to kill him. So he left them (Luke iv. 1…
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(2) It is also a call to ministerial brotherhood. Here we have the disciples called in couples. So when Jesus sent them forth to preach he sent them in company-" two and two" (Luke x. 1). Twelve of them were constituted into a college of apostles. (3) The religion of Christ is eminently social. Disciples congregate …
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prayer (cf. Exod. iii. 1; Josh. xxiv. 26; 2 Chron, i. 3; Luke vi. 12; Acts xvi. 13). (2) Jesus availed himself freely of the liberty to teach afforded in these. They were 'places of concourse," in which it was proper "Wisdom should lift '.JP her voice" (Prov. i. 21). The people accustomed to assemble in them would be …
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a pR.rt. Hence the people from Decapolia, that portion of Syria north of Galilee, eo called because it contained a group of ten cities, the metropolis and most ancient of which was Damascus. (2) Great multitudes from all parts followed him. He deserves the attention of universal man. He deserves the universal attent…
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APPETITES AND PABBIONB. 'l'he force of the first temptation lies in the natural cravings of hunger and thirst; these set men on intense endeavour to satisfy the craving. With the consciousness of possessing miraculous power, our Lord was tempted to use his trust for the relief of his own needs. Illustrate by the hungry…
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man iB must always stand before the claims of the body, of which he has only a temporary occupancy. II. THE FOOD FOR MAN AS A. BPmITUAL BEING. Complication arises in oonsidering this matter, because the food for the spirit has to come mainly through the bodily faculties and receptivities. But there is a clear distinct…
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lives. God caring for us, God working for u1, is for them the fa.et; angel-charge is for them the appearance. All join in recognizing that angel-charge is God with us as our Helper. II. THE LIMITS UNDER WRICH ANGEL-CHARGE 18 BET. "l being in the way, the Lord led me." It is always assumed that we are trying to go righ…
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Ver. 17.-The common message of John and Jesus. Here is a fact of the records to which sufficient attention has not been given. Our Lord did not realize at once the individuality of his Messianic message. He began public labour by doing John's work and repeating's J oh.n's message. Both had this for their gospel, "Repen…
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EXPOSITION. [parallel passages : Mark vi. 46; John vi, CHAPTER V. 15) ; xv. 29). 'fhe actual spot here referred Ver. 1.-And aeeing the multitudes; i.e. to may he.ve been for from, or, and more those spoken of in eh. iv. 25-the multi- probably (eh. iv. 18), nc11r to, the Lake of tudes who were at that point of time f…
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8: Pa, i. 1; xxxii. 1 : buiv. 5. Bleesed ree.lize their insufficiency. Christ se.ys the.t e.re the poor in spirit : for their11 is the king- they realize this "in (their) spirit;" for the dom of heaven. The first Beatitude is the spirit is that part of ns which specially snm e.nd substance of the whole sermon. cre.vea …
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only two verses before lxi. 1, 2, to which Treuch, we. cit., " is not in a man's outward he h&a already referred. In the present behaviour only; nor yet in hie 1·elatione to copies of the LXX. it is found a.lso in Isa. his fellow-men; as little in his more natural l.xi. 7, but there it is evidently a corruption. dis…
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the aotual partioipation, but the craving, ing harshly, not inflicting punishment when The Benediction marks a distinct etag,a in due, sparing an animal or a fellow-man some our Lord's argument. He spoke first of the unnecessary labour), a.a active kindness to consoiouely poor in their spirit; next of thoee the desti…
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baps, hardly to be excluded (contrast Weise, tion that natural birth 88 Israelites involve& • Me.tthiusev.'), is at least swe.llowed up in the full blessings of sons of God: of, • Ab.,' the thought of the full e.nd final revele.tion. iii. 22 (Taylor). ThOBe who e.re pure in heart, e.nd oare not Ver. 10.-Whioh a.re pers…
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s11rUon :(• Lifo,' ii. H4), "The remarks in the Son of man's sake." In eh. iv. 19 he Mo.tt.. v. 13-16, bearing on the calling of had claimed to be the Bomoe of power for di~clpleship; . , , cannot belong to the sermon service; here he claims to be the Object ot devotion. His "Messianic consciousness" o:rl the monnt, c…
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opportunities, etc., are but "few things ; " that the salt o/ thi, country [ie. Palestinel hereaft.er they will be "many things" (eh. when in canto.et with theground,or exposecl. xxv. 21). For. Not as giving a reason for to rain and sun, does beoome insipid and the assurance of reward (apparently Meyer useless. From th…
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awkwe.rd to introduce the figure of a city disciples, as is explained further by the between those of the sun and the lamp, illustrntion or a lamp. .A candle; Revised both these he.ving to do with light. The Version, a lamp (,\Jxvov) ; i.e. the flat, saucer- reason is the.t the city is not considered e.s like Easter…
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necessarily seen rather than )fits benefiting diseiplcs have entered through the revela- others (,po,-rl(.,, Luke xi. 36; cf. John i. 9). tion of God in Ohrist; cf. further Bishop To all. For in a room none can help noticing Westcott, on John iv. 21 (Add. Note) e.nd on it, even though the lamp and the light 1 John i…
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Observe that the third part of &he Hebrew not to abrogate the Law or the Prophets, but Bcl'iptures, "the(Hol,Y) Writings"-of which to se.tisry them-to bring about in his own 'Psalms! (Luke xuv. 44) form the most Person, and ultimately in the persons of his oharBCteristic portion-is omitted in this followers, th&t right…
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tha~ a mere asseveration ("verily"). The yod (y, j), though the smallest letter of the earliest trace of this usngc is found in Jer. Hebrew e.lphabet, is not infrequently referred t.xviii. 6, where the LXX. renders JDtt by to by Jewish writers(cf.e.g.inLightfoot,•Hor .u..,e,;;, (Aquila much better .,.,u-.,.0,91/.,.0…
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comes " profo.ne." It must be noticed that individual disciple to carry out an abro<>a- the extremities or such Hebrew letters as we tion even of one command. One of th~e possess, which were actually written in our lea.at oommandmenta. Not necessarily such Lord's time on ee.rth, e.remuch more" thorn"- a.a the Pha.risee…
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[th- leMl oorum&ndrneuta foUowlngl him• in tho I.Aw (of. N&gen) are horo plaocd In MI.C, &nd then teaoh other, and eot ail hi■ one oln~s(.,.o\v -ypo.,.14a..,./o,v 1ta.l ♦ a.p,rrmlo,v), Ye atudy to the furtheranoe 11.nd maintaining lh&ll ln no oa11; Rovl.iied Version, m no of them, tl.u,t doctor 11hall all they of the w…
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th11t he wo.e now going baok, beyond thl• ao they were only oral or (er. tho ce.ae ,,r the far mitural nnd norm11l development of the 'Didaohe ') hod already been committ.-d to oo.rllest lnterpretatlona, to the flrat prlnoiplo1 writing (of. in this connexion Bishop West,. oott, ' llebr.,' p. 480). That it wu ■aid by…
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teo.ching, notwithstanding the fact that this temporary relation, quite apart from any onrrent form represented truly the original question of a common source. Yet as this thought underlying its promulgation. In could have been represented by II neighbour" the following words our Lord speaks of three (of. oh. xix. 1…
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muoh better, whether we take him as con- doubtless because our Lord no longer refers siclering it as meaningles1, or o.s in some way t.o the tribunal at which the punishment i.B confusing its ending with the Shemitic suffix ordered, but to the punishment itself into for "thee" (ka), (3) Ewald explains it by which the c…
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Jewish prnctioes. A perverse literalism has natural also ro reg 1rd the first clause of foun<l here a direct reference to the Euchar- Luke xii. 58, "As ... him," as l!.n expan- ist. For reasonable adaptations ( cf. even in sion of the corresponding olause in our ver, • Didaohe,' § xiv.) of tl1ese two verses to this…
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e,{ap). The future imlicative (still dependent an iclol, considering the beauty of it, saith on "lest") brings out the reality of the Maimonicles, is forbidden (Lev. xix. 4), an,I do.nger (cf. Bishop Lightfoot, on Col. ii. 8). not only the worship of it" (vide Maimoni- Ver. 26.-Thou she.It by no meo.ns, eto. des, 'H…
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lic:.1>.f(« ,,.,). rerlrnps the verb origina.lly in vers. 33, 38, 43. Who■oever shall put referred to the stick of a tra.p (11'1<c£v8<ZAov, a away, eto. The substanoe of Deut xxiv. I, Hellenistic word, 11pp11rently equivalent to but leaving out all mention of oause for <r1<avocl.1>. 71Bpov) striking the person's foot, …
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Ver. 83.-By them of old f.ime (ver. 21, dwelletb not in temples made wilh hands" note). Thou shalt not forswear thyself ( ob,c as St. Stephen paraphrases it (Acts vii. 18). l'11'1op10/u«s). These two words are the sub- The great King is seated enthroned in the stance of Lev. xix. 12, which itself ( cf. heaven, with his…
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The Law inculcated that the injured should member of the state. The Lord leaves to obtain from those who did the wrong exact the state its own jurisdiction (eh. xxii. 21; compensation (on this being properly a flick Meyer). That ye resist not; Revised Version, re8ist not, thus avoiding all possi- command, not merel…
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forced attendance, but forced carrying. much diecueeed. In Leviticus, indee•l, the Hence it is used in eh. xxvii. 82 aud Mo.rk meaning of "neighbour" is clear; it answers xv. 21 of Simon the Cyrenian, "who was to "the children of thy people" in the pre• pressed by the Romo.n soldiers who were ceding clause, i.e. it …
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-rfr11crll• viol); B!m.'! (Revised Version); cf. The pnblioe.ns ; Revised Version m&rgin, ver. 9, note. The meaning of the clause is " That is, collectors or renters of Boman taxes: not certain. It may be: (1) Love to enemies and eo elsewhere.'' To this short descrip- is the means whereby you may become tion little …
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followed the usuo.l deduction from tho Law, all impurity, and by means or the statutes the position of l,wr8• (reversing that of for pnrification contained in the Law, there Deuterouomy) shows tho.t still greater is ou the ground or this new revelation the emphasis is placed on their " perfection " as Father in heav…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. l-l6.-.1V1e sermon on the rncunt. The first part of the sermon: the law of the kingdom of heaven. L THE BEATITUDES. 1. The.first Beatitude. (1) Illessedness. It is a deeper word than "happiness." Short-sighted and unwise, we call men happy when the world goes well with them, when they are cheerful…
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name of a high Christian grace. Those who would be near to him, great in the kin"- dom of heaven, must be like their King, unaffectedly humble. 'l'bey must lay a.side earthly ambitions, they must be willing to take the lowest place, they must learn the difficult lesson, "In lowliness of mind let each esteem other bet…
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.