a highsouled and noble-minded, though greatly erring man, and that his motive in betraying his Lord was to hasten His kingdom, and to cut short the period of his humiliation. I cannot reconcile this with the word "thief."
Let us note here how far a man may go in Christian profes- sion without any inward grace. There is no evidence that Judas up to this time was unlike other Apostles. Like them he had seen all Christ's miracles, heard Christ's teaching, lived in Christ's company, and had himself preached the kingdom of God. Yet he was at bottom a graceless man. Privileges alone convert nobody.
Ferus remarks : " Let us never put confidence in man, or in any sanctity of position, office, or dress. If apostleship did not make Judas a saint, neither will position, office, or dress make thee a saint. In fact, unless you first have inward holiness, and have sought it from God, it may be that your office may render you more wicked."
Let us note the amazing power of the love of money. No be- setting sin seems so thoroughly to wither up and blight and harden the heart. No wonder it is called "the root of all evil." (1 Tim. vi. 10.) However many the faults and infirmities re- corded of saints in the Bible, we have not a single example of one that was covetous.
Chrysostom observes : " A dreadful thing is the love of money ! It disables both eyes and ears, and makes man worse to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider neither conscience, nor friendship, nor fellowship, nor salva- tion."
Quesnel observes that " Christ allows His money to be taken from Him, but never His sheep."
[And had the bag.] The Greek word rendered " bag " is a curious one. The original idea is that of a bag in which musicians kept the mouthpieces or reeds of their instruments. From that, the idea evidently was attached to it, of a bag carried about by any member of a company, such as that of the dis- ciples, on behalf of his companions. Whether the common stock of provisions as well as of money was not kept in this bag perhaps admits of a question.
Theophylact says, that some think that Judas was trusted with the care of the money as one of the meanest and most in- ferior of Christian duties. Thus in Acts, the Apostles would not " serve tables." (Acts vi. 2.)
[And bare vjhat was put therein.'] The last words would be more literally rendered, " the things put therein." Some, as Origen, Theophylact, Pearce, Lampe, Tittman, Bloomfield, and Clarke, have thought that the word " bare" means " took away, carried off, stole, secreted, or set apart for himself."— I doubt