Vv. 13-15. Children brought for a blessing (Mk. x. 13-16; Lk. xviii. 15-17). —Ver. 13. τότε: if the order of the narrative reflect the order of events, this invasion by the children was a happy coincidence after those words about the sacred and indissoluble tie of
248
, ~ ~ ~ jfor const. πρός µε]: τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν odpavav.”
cf. 1 Cor. ili, 21; Vi- 19.
k here and in ver. 29 and parall.
h. x
ἀγαθὸν ποιήσω, ἵνα ἔχω 5 Σζωὴν * αἰώνιον ;”
15. Καὶ ἐπιθεὶς αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας,” ἐπορεύθη ἐκεῖθεν. 16. ΚΑΙ ἰδού, eis προσελθὼν εἶπεν αὐτῷ,” “Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ,ξ τί
17. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ,
46. Lk. x. 25 for the summum bonum in Synop. Gospels.
1pein BCD; εµε in NLA.
2 NQBDLA place avrots after χειρας (Tisch., W.H.).
3 NB have αντω ειπεν.
4 NBDL Orig. Hil. omit αγαθε, which probably comes in from the parall., to which, indeed, Mt.’s version has been assimilated throughout (ver. 17) in T.R.
5 σχω in BD Orig. (W.H.).
marriage and the duty of subordinating even it to the claims of the kingdom. ---προσηνέχθησαν, passive, by whom brought not said, the point of the story being how Jesus treated the children.— ἵνα τ. x. ἐπιθῇ, that he may lay His hands on them: the action being con- ceived of as present (Klotz ad Devar, Ρ. 61ὲ).--καὶ προσεύξηται: the imposi- tion of hands was a symbol of prayer and blessing, possibly in the minds of those who brought the children it was also a protection from evil spirits (Orig.). --“ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς: the αὐτοῖς ought in strict grammar to mean the children, but it doubtless refers to those who brought them. The action of the dis- ciples was not necessarily mere officious- ness. It may have been a Galilean incident, mothers in large numbers bringing their little ones to get a parting blessing from the good, wise man who is leaving their country, unceremoniously crowding around Him, affectionately mobbing Him in a way that seemed to call for interference. This act of the mothers of Galilee revealed how much they thought of Jesus.—Ver. 14. ἄφετε, μὴ κωλύετε: visits of the children never unseasonable; Jesus ever delighted to look on the living emblems of the true citizen of the Kingdom of God; pleased with them for what they were naturally, and for what they βἱρπ]Πεά.---τοιούτων, of such, 7.¢., the child-like; repetition of an old lesson (xviii. 3).—Ver. 15. ἐπορεύθη ἐκεῖθεν; He departed thence, no indication whence or whither. The results of this meeting are conceivable. Christians may have come out of that company. Mothers would not forget Him who blessed their children on the way to His cross, or fail to speak of the event to them when they were older. Vv. 16-22.—A man in quest of the ““summum bonum” (Mk. κ. 17-22; Lk. xviii. 18-23). A phenomenon as welcome
to Jesus as the visit of the mothers with their children: a man not belonging to the class of self-satisfied religionists of whom He had had ample experience; with moral ingenuousness, an open mind, and a good, honest heart; a mal- content probably with the teaching and practice of the Rabbis and scribes coming to the anti-Rabbinical Teacher in hope of hearing from Him something more satisfying. The main interest of the story for us lies in the revelation it makes of Christ’s method of dealing with inquirers, and in the subsequent conversation with the disciples.
Ver. 16. ἰδού, lo! introduces a story worth telling.—efs: one, singled out from the crowd by his approach towards Jesus, and, as the narrative shows, by his spiritual οκίαΐε.--Διδάσκαλε: this reading, which omits the epithet ayaée, doubtless gives us the true text of Mt., but in all probability not the exact terms in which the man addressed Jesus. Such a man was likely to accost Jesus courteously as ‘‘good Master,” as Mk. and Lk. both report. The omission of the epithet eliminates from the story the basis for a very important and charac- teristic element in Christ’s dealing with this inquirer contained in the question: ‘‘Why callest thou me good?” which means not ‘‘the epithet is not applicable to me, but to God only,” but “do not make ascriptions of goodness a matter of mere courtesy or politeness”. The case is parallel to the unwillingness of Jesus to be called Christ indiscriminately. He wished no man to give Him any title of honour till he knew what he was doing. He wished this man in particular to think carefully on what is good, and who, all the more that there were competing types of goodness to choose from, that of the Pharisees, and that exhibited in His own teaching.—tl ἀγαθὸν ποιήσω. the ἀγαθὸν is omitted in the parallels,