168 ΚΑΤΑ MATOAION Χ. 38—42. ἐμέ, οὐκ ἔστι µου ἄξιος: 38. καὶ ὃς οὗ λαμβάνει τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθεῖ ὀπίσω µου, οὐκ ἔστι µου ἄξιος. 39. 6 εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν' καὶ 6 ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ
ον. ἕνεκεν ne εὑρήσει αὐτήν. 40. Ὁ dexdpuevos ὑμᾶς ἐμὲ δέχεται :
δν pel καὶ ὁ ἐμὲ μονος ae Kerss τὸν ἀποστείλαντά pe. 41. 6 δεχό- ses x HERDS πβῤῥηην εἰς i at Mena ᾽μμρδὸν is asi λήψεται -
Lk, κ. 15 καὶ 6 Barnes δίκαιον eis ὄνομα δικαίου μισθὸν δικαίου λήψεται -
ο... 42. καὶ ὃς ἐὰν] Ἡ ποτίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων ποτήριον ' ψυχροῦ
1 Rev. iil. ~ “4 - ' a 5 n
rs (here µόνον €is ὄνομα μαθητοῦ, ἁμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὗ μὴ ἀπολέσῃ τὸν
only = N a» cold Prater): μισθὸν αὐτοῦ.
1o5 avin BD 33.
points to love of an ethical kind. The distinction corresponds to that between amare and diligere. Vide Trench, Syno- nyms, and Cremer, s. ν., ἀγαπάω. - µου ἄξιος. The Master is peremptory ; absolutely demands preference of His cause to all claims of earthly relations. —Ver. 38. στανρὸν. There is here no necessary allusion to the death of Jesus Himself by crucifixion, though one possessing such insight into the course of events, as this whole discourse indi- cates, must have known quite well when He uttered the words what awaited Himself, the worst possible pro- bable if not certain. The reference is to the custom of the condemned person
carrying his own cross. Death by cruci- fixion, though not practised among the Jews, would be familiar to them through Roman custom. Vide Grotius for Greek and Roman phrases, containing figura- tive allusions to the cross. This sentence and the next will occur again in this Gospel (Matt. xvi. 24, 25).—Ver. 309.
cupov . . ἀπολέσει, ἀπολέσας. .. . εὑρήσει: crucifixion, death ignominious,
as’ a criminalhorribles ; but horrible though it be it means salvation. This paradox i is one of Christ’s great, deep, yet ever true words. It turns on a double sense of the term ψυχή as denoting now the lower now the higher life. Every wise man understands and acts on the maxim, “ dying to νε
Vv. 40-42. The following sentences might have been spoken in connection with the early Galilean mission, and are accordingly regarded by Weiss as the conclusion of the instructions then given. Luke gives their gist (x. 16) at the close of the instructions to the seventy. After uttering many awful,stern sayings, Jesus rakes care to make the ‘last cheering. He. promises great rewards to those
who receive the missionaries, thereby ‘ opening the houses of the whole world to them,” Chrysos.—Ver. 40. ἐμὲ δέχεται: first the principle is laid down that to receive the messenger is to receive the Master who sent him (Matt. xxv. 49), as to receive the Master is to receive God. —Ver. 41. Then in two distinct forms the law is stated that to befriend the re- presentative of Christ and God ensures the reward belonging to that representa- tive.—eis ὄνομα, having regard to the fact that he is a prophet or righteous man. The prophet is the principal object of thought, naturally, inconnection with a mission to preach truth. But Christ knows (vii. 15) that there are false prophets as well as true; therefore from vocation He falls back on personal character. Here as everywhere we see how jealously He made the ethical in- terest supreme. ‘See,’ says Chrys., commenting on ver. 8, “‘ how He cares for their. morals, not less than for the miracles, showing that the miracles without the morals are nought” (Hom. 32). So here He says in effect: let the prophet be of no account unless he be a just, good man. The fundamental matter is character, and the next best thing is sincere respect for it. To the latter Christ promises the reward of the former.—6 Sexdpevos δίκαιον ... μισθὸν δ. λήψεται: a strong, bold statement made to promote friendly feeling towards the moral heroes of the world in the hearts of ordinary people ; not the utter- ance of a didactic theologian scientifi- cally measuring his words. Yet there is a great principle underlying, essentially the same as that involved in St. Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. The man who has goodness enough to reverence the ideal of goodness approxi- mately or perfectly realised in another,