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 301
the mote from bis brother's eye. To do so is to perform e. very delicate operation. Any obscurity of vision will allow only of e. bungling attempt, that will give much po.in and yet will not effect its purpose. The beam must go first. While a man is blinded t-0 his sin, he cannot save his neighbour. Christ, the Saviour…
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kindnesa of Christ, It ie not only permissible for us to pray; we are invited and urged to avail ourselves of the great privilege. 2. In varied for11U1. (1) Ask. There are things that we want to receive. The simplest prayer is to ask for them. (2) Seek. There are truths we desire to know-hidden treasures out of sight w…
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of what should be done to them. 4. Roosonableness. Nothing unfair is here laid upon 118, No one can possibly complain of this rule. It is a principle of perfect justice, and every man is to be his own juiiii;e in regard to it. II. WHAT IT OONTAINB. "The Law and the Prophets," i.e. the whole Scripture. Here is the w…
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the other. '.l.'he broad way is not a short cot to the narrow way. Each t.as a. sepiua.te destination. W o do not all come to the same end. But the character of the en,\ is detormined by the charactor of the way. Thls makes the way of great importance. It is not a city in which we dwell, nor even a temporary camping-gr…
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build feebly and set np but slight structures, mere huts and shanties. Others work with more ambitious designs, and will make themselves spacious mansions, gorgeous palaces, or rnassi'l-e castles. Whatever a man builds, in that be must dwell. We cannot get away from the results of our own life-work. These will either…
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Vere. 3--5.-The confronting question. The question or questions of these verses arise only too directly out of the matter that immediately precedes. The habit, so human, of sitting in judgment on our fellow-beings is almost invariably aggravated by other satellite habits, also very human, and that fail to amaze and to …
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Ver. 7 (first clause).-The generOUB challenge. The trio clauses of this verse will all be best nnderstood if they are sufficiently viewed as what may be called representa- tive words. They stand for a whole type of thought, fact, truth. 'l'hese same challenges and assurances linked, we find repeated much later in the l…
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sense is asking without seeking, Prayer and work are far too often divorced. Note, then- I. SEEKING LOOKS LIKE HONESTY ; SHOWS SINCERITY j PROVllS REALITY j ADDS TO FA.ITH, AS SURELY AS DILIGEN0E SOOUTS DOUBTj WAKES BLEEPING POWERSj PREVENTS THEM FALLING ASLEEP AGAIN; AND AOQUIRES FRESH FORCE. Whatever advantage g…
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welcome trumpet of morning, are these words spoken by the voice of heaven upon earth, "Knock, and it shall be opened." Consider- I. THE NECKBBITY TO 0BRIS'l'UN LIJ'E, TO THB REGINNINO OF IT AND CON• TINUOUBLY TO THE VERY CLOSE OF IT, OJ' BOLDING A DIRECT, Ulll>IVIDED CONVICTION THAT TBEBE 18 AN ACCESSIBLE AND AN Al'PR…
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point of view, what a domain this passage has conquered for its own in its journey down the unrolling Christia.n centuries I What thoughts, what feelings, what fe.cte and illustration from life, do now, with solemn rich sadness, cluster round it I '!'hough difference of opinion may justly prevail as to the link of c…
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Vere. 15-20.-The bra;n,dedfal,se prophets. This passage brings ns to the last but one of the great typical admonitions of this primaival discourse in Christian ethics. Typical they must surely be regarded, Nor, as we scan them with ever so jealous eye, do we find it at all easy to make comparisons as to any imagined re…
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prematurely, and presume to separate the tares from the wheat; but, says Ohrist, "by their fruits ye shall know them." Let intention be what it may, if the fruit is bad, the.t prophet is e. false prophet. Some of the less crew of ill quality, vanity, conceit of superior illumination-that worst ignore.nee that is so …
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Christ is the way, and the one only way, to build that holy" house" called a holy nature, a Chris Lian lire, the enduring character. Anything less than "doing" the things Christ says may make show; may rise, a very vision, it may be; and may have some sort of foundation; but it will not be the foundation called a rock,…
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But what we still dcsidcrate is that all the leaching of the Law and all the enlightening and moving power of the prophets be condensed into a summary which the frailest memory can carry, and which a child can apply. We instinctively feel that for right.enus living all men should have guidance suflicient, that there…
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to suppose we are placed in a world in which our first duty is to begin to correcC everything; that a life is granted to us which is but a veiled death, and of which the first strength must be 11:iven to altering the entire course and character it would naturally take. But notwithstanding the antecedent unlikelihood…
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Vars. 15-29.-----.S'ermon on the 'ITWU,nt : 8. Wise and foolish builders. The righteous- nas required in God's kingdom is the ~ubject of our Lord's teaching in this sermon, After contrasting this with various spurious forms of righteousness, be shows the ruin that results from false pretensions. This be does by mean…
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humility or longing after righteousness. '2. However quick we ma.y be to detect a.nd repudiate what is showy in other departm~uts of life, we a.re all liable to be shallow in r~li~ion .. The primit~ve idea of ~od that ~e is exact~ng? a. Lord who must be pro- p1t1ated, 1e one eo native to the guilty conscience, that 1t…
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Vers. 4-6.-Beproving. This is kindred to judging, and so these are here closely associated. The duty of reproving should be discharged with discretion. I. THE REPROVJNG OF A BROTHER SHOULD BE CONSIDERATE. 1. Reproof is a pre- cious and holy thing. (1) So it is described (ver. 6). The snuffers in the sanctuary were …
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the holy things of the sanctuary. These were thinge which had t.ouched the altar and were of the nature of sacrifice. (2) Such things were nevei intenderl for doge. They were eaten by the priests and Levites. The gospel is the "children's bread." There is no gospel for the impenitent. (3) Our respect for Christ should …
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Vers. 13-20.-Two ways. The course of humanac.tion is in Scripture called a way. Of these there are two-the right and wrong, the good and the evil. There is no inter- mediate way. Here we have- I. THE WAY OF DEATH. 1. It is broad. (1) Tl1e "commandment" of God ie "exceeding broad." It extends t-0 all our works, wor(…
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Vere. 21-29.-The title to the kingdom. As our Lord concludes his sermon, brino-- ing us before the judgment-seat, so should we habitually judge ourselves as in the searching light of eternity. He advises us- I. THAT BY TRUE OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF Goo WE PROVE TITLE TO THE KmGDOM, 1. That wul is embodied in the "sayi…
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the building the greater the wreck. "Depart from me." Separation from Obrist is hell. Note: The ending of this sermon teaches that it is not necessary that ev€TY sermon should end with consolation. But let us be wise, prudent, in time.-J. A. M. Ver. 1.-The sin of unloving criticism. This part of the sermon deals with …
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temple, "Know thyself; " but that is precisely what the people, who walk the pave- ments below, are not interested in doing. We all prefer to keep our self-delusions concerning our own excellences. A man must deal resolutely with himself who means to know the truth about himself. Honest self-estimates prove (1) surpris…
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Ver. 11.-Human and Divine fatherhoods. God can only be apprehended by man through some relations that are familiar to man. It may be assumed that the highest, best, most universal, of human relations will be found most fittingly to represent him. The one relation which is universal, and universally esteemed the high…
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criticism of the teachings of Christ, if they had been original and new. Hille!, the great Jewish teacher, is reported to have said, "Do not unto another what thou wouldest not have another do unto thee. This is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary." If we expand this moral duty, it will at once appear how co=on,…
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weeded out again and again, you would not suppose wheat to be indigenous (that is, to grow wild) in that country, but would conclude that, if the land had been left to itself, it would have produced grass and thistles, and no wheat at all. So also, when you see men's natural character so opposite to the pure, and ge…
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EXPOSITION. answer to those who insisted on fasting CHAPTER VIII. (eh. ix. 9-17). Ver. 1-ch. ix. 84 -MEeSIAH's Wou: AS 4. The completeness of his healing power COMPLEMENTARY TO BIB TEAOIIING. We (eh. ix. 18-8-1). retum in this section to me.tter which re- Vers, 1-17.-1. OhriBt', miraclu of heal- sembles tho.t of Mar…
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Ver. 1.-Matlhew only. When he wu the increasing astonishment of the by- eome down from the mountain (eh. v. 1, standers or a menns of indicating that this note), great multitudee followed him. A was no accidental touoh, but the result of transitional vcree. It carries on the thought deliberate will (cf. eh. xiv. 31)…
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one log or oil" (Lev. xiv. 10), unless he be only compressed, but, if taken by itself, poor, in which case lesser sacrifices may be gives e. wrong idea. of what appears to have subRtituted (vere. 21, 22; cf. Keil, • Arch.,' e.ctnally taken place. But quod facit per § 59; and for dr•te.ils of the traditional cere- mon…
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'l\liracles,' p. 231 : 1866). Observe that the stead of all his actions hnving their deepest ~tatenwnt of the ease is itself a petition. root in his own natnl"(', being the truthful ex• Ver. 7.-Matthew only. And Jesus (Re- ponents of his own inmost being" (Trench). vised Version, he) saith unto him, I will (2) That …
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19; also Jer. xvi. 19; Zech. viii. 22. And Vere. 14, 15.-The heaUng of St. Peter'• ahall sit down; i.e. o.t a feast. 'fhe image, ID'ije's mother. Parallel passages: Mark i. taken from lea. u:v. 6, is exceedingly 29-31 ; Luke iv. 38, 39. common in Jewish Haggadio (i.e. mostly parabolic) teaching ( cf. Dr. Taylor's V…
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■pirita with Me (Revised Yersion, a) word of Talm. Bab., 'Sanh.,' 98b, with reference (ver. 8). In C'Ontrast to s11ying over them to Messiah, "The Leper of the house of the long formulns of exoroism need by others. Rabbi is his n&mc ; for it is s&id, • Surely And healed &11 th&t were sick. The stress he bath borne o…
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near, an emphwris being laid on him and would acknowledge more fully than this hie aotione by the addition of "Behold; " student of the Law), has in the person or here the official position is of but secondary the ideal Man not even the luxuries which importance. A certain; a (Revisc<l Version); correspond to those enj…
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'<l"ith his still being at "the receipt of They seem, with Nicodemus, to have recog- custom" (eh. ix. 9). nized that holiness was an essential con- dition of performing mirnoles (John iii. 2), Ver. 23.-And when he we.s entered into but not to have realized that this oondition a ship ( Revised Version, boat), his di…
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description (loo.cit.) corresponds: "Gergcs", come hither-had they felt themselv~s safe to which the Oergesencs belong, is an in the.t distant spot e.nd ita gloomy surround- ancient city by what is now called tl10 Lake ings, far a.way from all religious influence? of Tiberias, by which is a steep plo.ce -to torment …
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l'l\ll to persona.I holiness that such a Pre- (ver. 28, note). Observe: business first, t:ence demanded. ThP. result of their being philanthropy second. thus aroused lay with themselves (John Ver. 34.-And, behold. The third of the, iii. 19; 2 Cor. ii. 16). (4) It would nlso stages (vers. 29, 32) in this incident tha…
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glory by his miraolcs, He does so etill. If we follow him with perseveTina stead- fastness, we she.II see tho.t he still worketh miracles of grace. His blood cleanseth from all sin; he heals the dying soul ; he casts out the evil spirit; he calms the tempest of dietrncting doubts and anxious feare; he is mightier th…
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l. The centurion. He was a soldier and a Gentile; he had been brought up in heathenism, and had lived among the temptations inseparable from a military life. His example and that of Cornelius show us tliat there were devout men among Gentile soldiers, as there are many good Christian men among soldiers now, 'l'empta…
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the Truth. "He marvelled." We must accept the fa.et as belonging to the truth of the Lurd's human nature, while we learn of him to admire above a.11 things humility and charily and trustful faith. 4. Bis prophecy of the gathering in of the Gentiles. This centurion was probably the first Gentile, except the Wise Men fro…
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bodily agony, of that worst of all afflictions, the demoniacal possession, which was characteristic of those sad despairing times, lay before the door in the sight of Jesus. The sight of suffering always touched the Lord's compassionate heart; he moved among them in bis gracious mercy ; he laid his hands on every on…
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work thnt required his immediate attention, He mu5t go and preach the kingdom ot Grnl, for Christ had calJcd him. To bury the dead is an act of Christian charity: "Honour thy father and thy mother," is one of the commanilments of God. But there a.re slill higher duties: "Seek first the kingdom of God;" "Thou sbalt love…
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the noise of the storm; 1-.e heard the cry for help. He hears his people always when they call upon him out of the depths, in the hour of darkness, in terror or in agony. The cry, "Lord, save us I" never goes up in vain when it is uttered in earnest supplication, He is with his chosen when they pass through the wate…
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II. THE DEVILS, 1. Their request. The Lord ha.cl said, "Come out of the man. thou unclean spirit." They feH hie power; they must obey. Bnt they lingered. If they oould no longer torment the men who bad been so long their victims, they would, if possible, torment other creatures; the lower, if they were driven from t…
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the leper, first as it regards the sufferer, and then as it concerns the action of the great Healer. I. THE BERA viouR OF THE POOR SUFFERER. 1. His condition. A leper. His disease was loathsome, and his state of life pitiable in the extreme. An outcast from society, shunned as an unclean person, regarded as hopeles…
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Ill. IT IB ENLIGHTENED BY EXPERIENCE, The centurion knew power. He exercised lt on tboee beneath him; he felt it from those above him. The whole of the iron structure of the Roman empire wae knit together by means of authority and absolute obedience. In this stem school the centurion bad learnt lessons that enabled h…
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Vcrs. 16, 17.-'.ITie sympathy of Ohrist. He bas fini8hed a lona0 day's work, and he.s gone into the house for rest. Even there be finds work to do, and he heals Peter's wife's mother. Meanwhile a crowd is collecting at the door. They have brought their sick from all quarters, and Jesus cannot let them come in vain. …
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e.ttracted, he naturally desires to follow the great Teacher and Healer, that he may be always in his presence. No doubt he intends the following to be a genuine disciple- ship. He will sit e.t the Master's feet and devote himself to his service. Yet he is v.ery he.sty; he has not thought out his project; he does not k…
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state of mind. This was a strange mixture of faith and unbelief. 1. Faith. Christ is a landsman-a carpenter of the inland town of Nazareth; these men are natives of the seashore, and fishermen well used to the sea. Yet they instinctively cry to Christ. In all his trouble the Christian cannot but turn to his Master. 2. …
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and evidently wo.s taking great pains, not felt as such, now to get help for him, as much as though he had been a son or a brother. If, THE OORREOT AND HIGHLY ENLIGHTENED ESTlllATE THAT BE BAD ALREADY EVIDENTLY FIRMLY PLANTED WITBIN HIM OF THE CHARACTER AND THE JUST DIGNITY OJ'. CHRIST. Whence, it may naturally be ask…
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Vers.19-22 (see also Luke ix. 57-62).-Three hwman types-one Divine type. In introduction, note that the passage in St. Luke has by some been regarded, on account of its very different place and apparent connection, as not the parallel of the present passage. On the other hand, it can scarcely be a mere duplicate or …
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Vera. 28-34 (Mark v. 1-20; Luke viii. 26-39).-The divorce of supreme pity. In introduction, distinguish between the genuine possession by an evil spirit and the phenomena of madness, or the most of those instances of merely bodily plague which in the worst times have probably nevertheless been the result and degenerate…
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at this time Mntthew selecls these two, of the leper 11nd the centurion's servant, that w~ may see the readiness and tho potency of the will of Christ to heal. II. In THE CENTURION we meet with a high type of man; a kindly, generous, devout nature; a humility not to be expected in one accustomed to command and to repr…
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upon the hands and feet, when the skin becomes withered and cracks in many places. At length the ends of the fingers swell and ulcerate; the discharge is e.crid aud fetid; the nails drop off, and the bones of the fingers become carious, and separate at the joints. In this manner the disease continues to spread frequ…
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his house, wo.s accounted worthy tho.t that Lord should enter his heart. Though cor- poreally distnnt, the centurion was through faith enabled to converse in spirit with Jesus. 2. It was strong and earnest. (1) He came with entreaty. "Beseeching him." Tbe earnestness of entreaty is a sign of faith; for it grows out …
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(d. eh. xvii. 24). Peter bad a h<>use; his Master had not one. Here the servant w:1.s above his Lord. (2) Peter formerly resided at Bethsaida (John i. 44), Probably he removed his dwelling to be ~ear to Jesus-to render him hospitality, and to benefit by his heavenly conversation. In changing residences Christians sh…
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oe it is said, 'Surely he hath borM our griefs,' etc." (4) The diseases and afflictions of the b~dy miraculously cured by Jesus are to be taken as figures of corresponding •.moral evils.-J. A. M. Vere. 18-27.-0hristian discipleship. To avoid the pressure of the crowd gathered 'by the fame of his miracles-perhaps t.o d…
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But their commission is to preach Christ. If they teach for doctrines comman,lment& of men, they betray their trust. (2) The Spirit of Christ is ever present in his Church. He sheds his light npon the Word that he inspired. lie sheds his love abroad in the hearts of his sincere disciples. 2. <Jhrist is also the Subj…
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to be ejected from humanity (ver. 29). (2) They prefer enshrinement in the body or a beast to being houseless. Satan enshrined himself in a serpent. These demons -entreated to be allowed to enter into tbe swine. (3) They make havoc wherever they come. The evil disposition of the heart is a tomb in which a demon dwells…
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Ver. 4.-0ur Lorti's avoidance of public excitement. "See thou tell no man." There may have been some precise reason for this injunction in this particular case; but it is only one instance among many of our Lord's desire to work quietly, and keep free from the pressure of mere crowds, and the rush of popular excitem…
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faith he had already observed. Evidently this man had risen above the common idea of faith, as a sort of magical influence, which required some personal touch, or the working of some charm, to the idea of a delegated power, depending only on the will of him who possessed it. The centurion's expectation of instant obedi…
915 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.