and it may be a long hour too. But we may rest assured that the darkness shall not last one moment longer than God sees fit for us. In His good time it shall ranish away. "At evening time there shall be light."
Finally, let us take comfort in these words of our Lord, in looking forward to the future history of the Church and the world. Clouds and darkness may gather round the ark of God. Persecutions and tribulations may assail the people of God. The last days of the Church and world will probably be their worst days. But the "hour" of trial, however grievous, will have an end. Even at the worst we may boldly say, " The night is far spent and the day is at hand." (Eom. xiii. 12.)
Notes. Luke XXn. 47—53.
49. — [What would follow.] The Greek expression so trao slated is literally "the thing about to be, or about to take place."
50. — [One,of them smote the servant.'] We know from St. John's Gospel, that the servant's name was Malchus, and the disciple who smote him was St. Peter. The two names are not given by Matthew, Mark, or Luke, though all three mention tlie fact. This cautious silence of the three first Gospel-writeis is easily accounted for. St. John's Gospel was probably not written till many years had passed away after the cnicifixion. There was then no necessity for keeping back names from motives of pru- dence.
[Cut off his right ear.] Theoi)hylact sees an allegorical mean- ing in this incident. He regards the high priest's servant as a type of the whole Jewish priesthood, who from that time* were td become slaves and lose their right ear. (Deut. xv. 17.)
Bairadius takes another allegorical view, and regards the servant as an emblem of the whole Jewish nation, which bad no ear to hear Christ and the prophets, and was deservedly punished by judicial deafness. But as Malchus was mercifully healed and had his ear restored, so was it to be with many of the Jews.
Strange as these views may seem, it is fair to say that Major quotes a passage from a modem writer, containing an elaborate attempt to maintain much the same theory, the main point of it being that the cutting off of the ear tyjiified the abolition of the L.evitical priesthood.