Roman soldiers, and induce them to lie contrary to the truth, at their own great peril.1
13. E/Vocrg, x.r.X., say, etc.) The priests were a great stumbling- block to the soldiers, and sinned most heinously against God. — 6Y/, K.T.X., that, etc.) A specimen of Jewish perfidy and calumny. — Kuxroj, by night) They instruct them how to lie speciously.
14. 'ECCI/, X.T.X., if, etc.) How laborious is the warfare of false hood against truth. — sir I, officially before).
15. A/£^/./,/<&?J, has been commonly reported) There are many things of this kind by which the wretched Jews keep themselves in error.2
17. O/ &, others, or, some) sc. of the Twelve. The day of Pentecost, however, removed all doubt from these, if any re mained. The slower they were at first to believe, the greater credit is due to them afterwards as witnesses. Leo, in his first sermon on the Ascension, says, " They doubted, in order that we should not doubt."
18. TlpoaiTSuv, having come unto) And by that very circumstance, producing faith even in those who doubted. — a-iro/j, to them) i.e. addressing them. — l&ft»7 Mo/, has been to Me) especially to Me, risen and ascending. This passage contains the sum of those things which the Lord declared afterwards more fully in the Apocalypse, concerning His possession of all authority, and His presence with His own; see Rev. i. 18, 13. — T«<ra, x.r.A., all, etc.) This is the reason why Jesus sends His disciples into all the world, and why the whole world ought to worship Him, and
1 The greed of gold has more power with them than their fear spoken of in ver. 4. — V. g.
2 And how signal are the injuries which are subsequently given birth to by even a single false representation ! — V. g.
Ver. 16. si; ryv r«A/Xa/av, into Galilee) This very appearance was the most solemn of all, being the one which the Lord had promised before His passion. And it is not without good reason that it is held to be the same one as that at which " more than 500 brethren" were present " at once," 1 Cor. xv. 6. For the Lord appeared to Paul after His ascension : but the rest of the Apostles (1 Cor. xv. 7) had not at that time need any more, as Paul had, of such a vision. No doubt at Jerusalem, after the ascension, only 120 disciples are reckoned (Acts i. 15). But Galilee contained far more disciples than that number. — Harm., p. 611.