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 481
II. A RELIEF, 1. (Jhrist offers pardon to the guilty. (1) He gives rest to the- conscience ; removes the sense of guilt. (2) He gives peace to the heart. 2. Ghrist o_(fers purity to the unholy. (1) This his merits have purchased. (2) His Spirit is efficient. (3) His promises are assuring (see Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27; 1 Thes…
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force of their gravitation, and the aberration of certain neighbouring bodies, It was first shov.n that they must be there, and then it was found that they were there . .1. Tbe miracles were a necessary part of Christ's mission. He was both Redeemer from sin and Giver of life. His was really a spiritual work; not, ther…
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John would be bound to argue that be must be Divine who could do auch mighty works, But that is only the surface-teaching of the miracles. The prominent thing in .our Lord's response is his pointing out who it is gets the benefit of his work ; it is. as if he bad said, "Bee all you can, but be sure to notice and to t…
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I. MEN's WAY OF GETTING THB KINGDOM. Because the only kingdom they could realize was an outward one, some good they could possess, some liberty, some position, some rights and privileges, some wealth which they could gain and hold, therefore they thought they must grasp, and push, and strive, and fight. These are men's…
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Through the intellect God appeals to you in one way; and through sympathy in quite another way. How sweetly ~entle is electricity in the growth of lilies, a.nd in the generation of birds, bees, butterflies I But in cer~ain conditions it gathers itself up, &nd flashes in lightning, accompanied with terrible artillery. "…
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gathered up into a sentence, "He is your Father. You ought to be anxious about standing in right relations with your Father." It is easy to show how that will open out into an answer to the questions, "How can we get back into right relations? And how can we keep in right relations?" Jesus says, "I am the Truth about t…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XII. preparation of food. Parallel passage■ : Mark ii. 23-28; Luke vi. 1-5. St. Matthew Vera. 1-50.-The opposition that om here returns to the Fmmework, which he left Lord met with (I) from his enemies (vere. at eh. ix. 26 or 34, 1-45): (2)from his relations (vers. 46-50); and the manner in which…
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eom, and to eat. It wns legttl to pluck corn lawful ( ob1< f£ov ~v). Reminding the Pha- from a field through which one passed risees of their own words in ver. 2. For (Deut. xxiii. 25), and it is said to be allowed him to eat, neither for them whloh were lltill ; but ns it was held by the ecribes to be with him, but…
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see eh. ix. 13, note). Hod you learned the another tho.t brollght about the determina- simple Dible truth the.t God places the tion to kill him. exercise of your more.I fe.cultiee, pe.rticule.rly those of kindness, a.hove merely extern ..l Ver. 9.-And when he was departed theuce observe.uecs, you would not have committ…
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but comp. Luke xiv. 5. And he said unto with Authorized Version margin); of. oh. them. Christ's answer appeals from in- xxii. 15; xxvii. I, 7; :uviii. 12. Age.mat tellectual and theoretical difficulties to the him, how they might destroy him. We practical common sense of ordinary morality learn from lllark that the …
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(fu, '{iplncra.). The Hcltrew denotes "lay omits th~ words, " ?;Ie shall not bum dimly hold of" (7cnN), i.e. for myself. Bengel nor be discouraged, because he is not con- bas a beautiful note on the Eis 811 of the cerned with anything else than Christ'■ Received Text," Elr, in, denotat perpetuam relation to others; (2)…
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notes). Were amazed UEl.,-.,.av.,.o); here only ThPir words show that they need a com- in Matt.hew, but cf. Mark ii. 12. And said, plete change at heurt (vers, 38-35). 11 this (p.l,.,., o~or lnw). The form of the (7) Is this to mako too much of words? question suggests tbat it seemed altogether too wonderful to allow o…
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unt.o this day; for I l1a-ve seen a certain sooner than yon expected, it has got the man of my own oonntry, whose name WBB start of yon ( cf. 1 Thess. iv. 15); or (2) it Eleazar, releuing people the.t were demo- he.s e.ctue.lly come e.s far e.s you, it haa nincal in the presence of VespBBian, and his e.rri ved. 1'his l…
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indred, it ie immedintely followed in Luke. men (Ps. li. 11 ; of. Luke xi. 13), suoh ns He that is not with me is aga.inst me ; and Christ had claimed to possess in a special he that gathereth not with me 1oattereth degree (Luke iv. 18). In inquiring, there- abroad. The first clause speaks of the inner disposition,…
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note), All manner of; ei,ery (Revised Ver- coming, hie th0'!1ghta travelling far bPyond sion); 1riiua. Bin and blasphemy. Genus the present conrse of this world to that which and species (Meyer). Blasphemy passes in is to be hereafter. this verse from its wider meani.ug of open slo.uder and detraction in the ftrst clau…
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forth good things: and an (the, Revised oh. xvi. 1-4 (parallel pnsBBge : Mark viii Version) evil man out of the (his, Revised 11-13); Luke xl. 16 agrees more verbRlly Version) evil treasure bringeth forth evil with the demand e.s described there than things. Bringeth forth (/,c/3,l,M,., but Luke ,rpo,P•p.,). Matthe…
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more oleo.rly than the present would have attribute Ter. 40 to Christ, and consicler that done the final relntion in which Christ should as he was mentioning the reception or Jonah otand to his contemporaries. Godet, indeed, by the Ninevites, the thought occurred to urges that the future exolndes any present him tha…
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Jonllh he refers to his being in the whe.le's So shall tb.e Son of man be three doya and belly three cle.ys e.nd three nights as e. three nigh~ in the bee.rt of the earth. Siuoe, symbol of what should he.ppen to himself- so far as the balanoe of evidence goes (of., however, Bishop Westcott, • Introduction,' and "th…
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judgmont-seat with them, for what purpose only swept and garnished, and the evil is shown hy the following words (cf. Winer, spirit returns. § xl vii. 1,). And ahBll condemn it : because they repented at the preaching of JonBe Ver. 43.-Wben; Tmt . . . u,hen (Revised (Jonah iii. 5, sqq.). Observe that this was Version…
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there as well as here. (For the form of the omitted by the Slnaitio mannsoript (original expression, comp. al-so eh. xxvii. 64.) Je ; hand), the 'V e.tice.n, and a few others; also by becometh (Revised Version), &s the result. the Old Syriac and some manuscripts of the Even eo shall it be. Thie ie more than a Old Latin…
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Lord, were ae guiltless ae the priests engaged in their temple duties. 3. The error of lhe Pharisees. It was the common error of formalists and hypocrites. They cared more for the letter of the Law than for the Rpirit, more for the outward ordinance than for the spiritual principle which is embodied ia the ordinance. T…
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Lord answers, ns be did so often, one question by another. Would they not eave a sheep from danger on the sabbath day? and if a sheep, bow much more a man? He lifts the question at once into a higher sphere. He will cot argue it on the basis of mere formalism; he will not dispute, as it seems the Jews did afterwards…
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distrustfulness, doubt of their Lord, 3. Its privacy. He charged the multitude that they should not make him known. He was content that his holy deeds of Divine love should remain unknown; he was willing to work on in obscurity, He did not seek the praise of men; he sought only to save souls. So his servants should …
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victory of truth and righteousness; and that not only in the Holy Land, among the chosen people. "ln his Name shall the Gentiles hope." "The isles shall wait for his law." They shall wait, and not wait in vain; for he is the Saviour of all men-a Light to lighten the Gentiles." He will send forth his holy Law, the Di…
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wisdom in hie wickedness to weaken himself when his power was beginnina to wane before the majesty of the Son c,f God. Union is strength, division is weak°ness. Oh that the children of light could learn a lesson from the enemy, and be reunitecl in one faith and love in the face of the impending struggle with scepticis…
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they are against Christ ; they scatter the souls which he would gather into his little flock. Their opposition is not active; they do not suppose themselves to be enemies of Christ, they do not think of the mischief which they are doing; but in reality their conduct tends to scatter the sheep quite as certainly as t…
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LESSONS. 1. Bring the helpless to Chri.~t; he can heal the sick soul. 2. Flee from envy; hate it; crush it out; it is sin; it is the parent of deadly evil. 3. Remember always, God reads the thoughts. 4. Be decided in your religion; range yourself on the side of Christ. 6. Grieve not the Spirit; keep a strict watch o…
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evil spirit will surely enter in. The heart empty of God is ready for the presence of Satan ; he will return in greaf;er force than ever. The house may be swept and garnished by education and refinement; but the devil can be kept out only by the presence of him who is stronger than the strong man armed. Let 118, the…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 8.-The Lord of the sabbath. Sabbath observance had been exalted into the chief position in the Jewish religion, so that to "eabbatize" was a proverbial expression, used to describe the following of Judaism, even among Latin writers. It wa., not the Law, it was the trivial and yet bur…
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I. CHRIST BRINGS GOOD Tmnrns TO THE FEEBLE AND FAILING. He comes as the Physician for the sick. He is the good Shepherd who leavrs the safe flock of ninety and nine to seek the one lost sheep. He has little for the righteous, but much for the sinful. He was not the Friend of Pharisees, but the Friend of publicans an…
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His principal miracle-working is described as the casting out of demons, Doubtless this was intended to be suggestive of his great spiritual work in liberating souls from the bad influences, the sinful habits and passions with which they are possessed. Thus he is a robber, breaking into the house of Satan to take aw…
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will, the froit must come according to the nature and character of the stock on which it grows. Therefore Christian work must be directed to the deep inner needs of the soul. This is not unpractical, as some assert. Lectures on ethics are not the best means of improving the morals of a people. Evangelical teaching is t…
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plexed by it. In • Adam Bede' Mrs. Poyser can only account for Dinah Morris's preaching enthusiasm by supposing that her niece has "a maggot" in her brain. To Jesus the misapprehension of his family must have been most acutely painful because be lo-red sympathy. In his distress, however, he was not embittered; but h…
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the observance of the sabbath was ever to proceed-it "is made for man, and not man for " it. Any man and every man is to use that sabbath that certainly was "made for him,'' and be is to use it intelligently and to the best of his light, and he is so far in one sense only appointed to be lord over it, while none the…
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of the ee.bba.th would be very comprehensive, and that it would win its way with the low on lower grounds even, with the high on the highest. 1. Of the millions careless to use it to highest gain, ce.n there be fonnd one willing or anxious to spare it for himself and for his own particular private purpose? .All want …
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Ver. 20 (see also vers. 15-21; and Mark iii. 7-12).-Tlte rarest of gentlene/JI, The verse is a quotation from Isa. xlii. 1--3. It was not among the least wonders of Christ's earthly life that while his untiring step paced the flinty pa.th of duty often so anguished, and always so hard with reality, that step made th…
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showA manifestly very differently from the character of men, and from the general intense craving of human nature for praise and for early manifestation, specially where the law that obtains is to prefer the praise of men to that of God. It rebukes passion as distinguished from patience; boastingness as compared with h…
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gently. A breath may put it out. But oh I how uIJ.leniably gentle has the touoh of Jesus been I and how soft have his breathings been I Breathings of hope, breathings of forgiveness, breathings of peace, breathings of holiness, breathings of heaven itself-till what was going out revives, what was waning waxes, what was…
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with him" (John iii. 2). It mUBt be added that the credentials of this accuBed but wonderful Personage are already multiplied, and of the mOBt pronounced character alike in deed and in word, The blasphemy is that his detractors say that hie work is ~t of that God whose working be does, but of the devil whose working…
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Vcrs. 38-45, specie.Hy ver. 42 (see e.lso Luke xi. 16-18, 24-26).-One inevitable law of jwlgment. In introduction, notice the displeasure expressed by Christ in respect of the scribes and Pharisees asking a sign. This may have been for an accumu- lation of reasons. First, because (see Luke xi. 16) perhaps they e.ske…
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blessings often reproves our wasteful heedlessness of that which is the greater, but never a millionth time so much as when it is "all the world" on the one hand' but Ohrist and his wisdom on the other hand, which are offered so freely, which plead for our regard so graciously, and which nevertheless are sought so feeb…
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in our world, the very Pattern and Type of the seeking, watchful, compassionate Shep- herd. And in the unfathomed marvels and mystery of the cross he he.a comprehended all the length and breadth, the height and depth, of wisdom. Against those who neglect this, it must indeed be that the Queen of Sheba shall rise in …
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bee.re the stamp of eternity on it, almost fit already to merge into spiritual shape. Whe.t reproach the thought gives to e.11 half-heartedness, to all mere interested pro- fession of Christian faith and hope and love I How it repudiates the thought of a mere question of gain to be gotten from Christ, and tramples with…
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to quite opposite meanings. The Pharisees took the letter of the law, , egardless of its spirit and intention. The letter ran, "'l'hou shalt do no work;" and with the most perfect verbal logic the Pharisee maintained that he kept the law beet who did least work. Our Lord, on the other hand, sought to find and satisf…
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opposition of the Pharisees on this occasion much less excusable than when charginc, the Lord with sabbath-breaking. Contrasts with honest amazement of the people~ exclRiming, "Is not this," etc.? Pharisees felt evidence of miracle as much as common people, but refused to follow their own convictions. Make what they…
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was to cast himself unhurt from a pinnacle of the temple, though why the possession of a mountain-sheep's capacity for jumping should prove any one the gree.test spiritual blessing to mankind they probably did not inquire. They had lost the capacity of knowing excellenoe-«>Uld only measure him by their silly externa…
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the side of Christ in his humble ministering to the poor and wretched ? How can you relish the prospect of eternal life, if yon have in you no hearty love for the style of life that will then prevail? The result of using religion merely as an instrument for repression is that the soul becomes possessed of greater iniqu…
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that is good, the more we see the necessary truth of his saying, " He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." Let parents try to win their children to that permanent and eternal family in which the relationship lies not in the flesh, but in the deepest recesses of the spirit, and from which t…
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lioned by Moses. (1) For his Law requires the profaning of the sabbath by the priests in the temple. 'l'hey were required to prepare the sacrifices, offer them, and attend to the other services of the temple on the sabbath as on common days (see Exod. xxix. 38; Numb, xxviii. 9). (2) This legislation interprets the word…
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They sought to accuse the Son of God of profanity, This was to convert the highest virtue into the deepest vice, e.nd to confound e.11 moral order, Note: Matthew says, "And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the se.bbath day? that they might accuse him." According to Luke (vi. 8), Jesus read the questio…
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tho suppliant. "Stretch forth thine hand." The poor man had often tried to no this in his own strength, and failed. The effort to believe is often that/a,th by which the soul is healed. 3. He shows compassim to the Gentiles. (1) His question is not, "How much is the Jew better than a sheep?" He took hold of the "seed o…
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their maiignt'.ty. (1) He confounded their logic, reasoning first from the general to the particul1u, Factions will ruin any kingdom. Are devils so foolish as by promoting factions to ruin their kingdom? Note: If devils are more wioked than men they are not so foolish. (2) He proceeds to use the argumentum ad homine…
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to express the e.ge of Meesie.h, The age to come, then, is the gospel a:re, which <lid not set in fully until the great Sacrifice was offered upon Calvary and the Si,irit poured out on the Day of Pentecost, and which was contrasted with the Levitical age then current. (2) The Jews expected a freer forgiveness of sins i…
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(3) The value of word~ will be seen in the day of judgment. For by their words will they be juaged (vers. 36, 37). (a) Wicked words will pB88 In review. The bla.sphemy against the Holy Ghost. The word against the Son of man. (b) Idle words-words wanting in seriousness and caution; discourse.that does not tend to the gl…
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Obrist In his burial. Jonah spoke of his position in the belly of the fish as that of one buried in the grave. He oalls it "the belly of hell,n Bheol, or the grave; and "the pit" (see Jonah ii. 2, 6, margin). The type was all the more remarkable in the mira- oulous preservation of hie life. For the Holy One must not se…
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to evinc~ his power to drive them away from the hea.rts of the people. (4) The reformation, however, was but partial. The people; relapsed; and now their condition had become worse than ever. Instead of being the victim of one, they now became the victim of seven devils, and these more wicked than the former, Note: The…
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eumption to desire that Jesus should come out to them. This was, moreover, an unseemly interruption of a heavenly discourse. It was also an unwa;rrantable dis- traotion to the hearers. Family influence is misplaced in interrupting the blessed work of God (see Luke x.i. 27, 28). (3) Their purpose WBB to stop his preachi…
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been chosen for no other end than to preserve it holy upon earth." The extent to which they carried their scruples excites one's ridicule and contempt, I. Tm: SABBATH AS A PBINOIPLE. It is well, in dealing with the snbbath, always to show first that it is a Divine arrangement for humanity, as such, and is not, in th…
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Prompt obedience proved the possession of faith; that is the arranged channel of Divine blessing. "Whatsoever he saitb unto you, do it," and you will find that you can do it. I. MAN'S OBEDIENCE IS THE SIGN OF BIB FAITH. Therein lies the virtue of it. The act reveo.le the spirit of the man. He who believes in Christ wi…
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Ver. 24.-.A malidou,s expl,anation. "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." The Pharisees must have been very hard driven indeed in order to invent such an explanation. Perhaps what was in their minds was this: "He orders the evil spirits about as if he were a master, or princ…
458 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.