The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 166

comes " profo.ne." It must be noticed that individual disciple to carry out an abro<>a- the extremities or such Hebrew letters as we tion even of one command. One of th~e possess, which were actually written in our lea.at oommandmenta. Not necessarily such Lord's time on ee.rth, e.remuch more" thorn"- a.a the Pha.riseee reckoned least, in their " horn "-like tho.n those of our printed enum,ration of small and greot, but such e.s texts. I ce.nnot, however, find l"'P e.ctue.lly our Lord himself _symbolized by "jot " or used in this sense of other letters than yorl. "tittle;" those precepts which in reality are (2) Some distinguishing me.rk over a. letter the least important (Meyer). Chrysostom to indicate care in writing and reading it, or strangely says that our Lord here refers, to remind readers of some interpreto.tion or not to old laws, bnt to those which he was rnle attached as a peg to it or to the word a.bout to lay down; similarly Bengel thinks or which it forms a pa.rt. It was much later, of vers. 22-28, et.c. While the Jews distin- indeed, tho.t such marks became very elabo- guished carefully between sma.11 a.nd great rate, but it is probable that the rudiments of precepts, they insisted on the importance of them were known in our Lord's time (for such keeping even the smallest; cf. 'Ab.,' iv. 5 c•i:1p, cf. Weber, 'Altsyno.g. Theel.,' § 27, 2 a, (Taylor), " He.sten to a. slight precept . . . for the reward of precept is precept." And e.ud the article on Akiba in 'Diet.of Christian she.ll tee.eh men so. Doing his best. to Biogr.'). If it be objected that our Lord could abrogate it, not only in hiB own person by hardly refer to these mo.rks of traditional ex- neglect or violo.tion, but also for others by planation as of such permanence, the answer teaching them to disregard it. He shall be is that in so far e.s these expressed legiti- called the lea.at. The Revised Version omits me.te issues(videinfra, ver. 2l)ofthe Mosaio "he," " the.'' He is not cast ont of the king- Law, he could place them on the same level dom (" Ubi nisi magni esse non possunt," as that Law itself. Till all; Revised Version, Augustine), but his want of moralinsight( did till all things; i.e. all things in the Law-e.ll he consider it "breo.dth of thought"?) leads the requirements of the Law, in contrast to to his being oalled Zemt in the kingdom. It the one "jot" or "tittle" just mentioned. is the converse of the pe.rable in Luke xix. Till all be fulfilled; Revised Version, be 17, eto. There faithfulness in a very little acoomplished ('l'•V11T<11). The clause is pro- {'Aax!O"nf') wins mnch; here disregard of a bably epexegetical of" till heaven and earth very little CBUBeB a. person to be reckoned pa~s away.'' Nothing in the Law shall pass (ver. 9, note) a.a very little-the principle of away till heaven a.nd earth pass a.way, when, judgment being tha.t of Luke xvi. 10, "He with a new heaven and eMth, all the con- tho.t is faithful in a very little is fa.ithful alao tents of the Lo.w will be completely reo.lized in much; and he that is nnrighteons in a very (of. Nosgen) so that even then nothing in !Htle is unrighteous also in much.'' In the the Law shall pass awa1 (vide infra). On kingdom of heaven; i.e. probably in its full the contrary, every pan of it, moral or and final esto.blishment. The dootrine of ceremonial (Weiss), shall then, by being grades of blessedneBS a.nd of punishment fully understood and obeyed in its true hereafter is clearly taught in Scripture (e.g. meaning, enter on its fnll and complete ex- Luke xii 47, 48). But who;;oever shall do istence (.,,,,,.,,Ta<). and tea.eh them. Similo.rly the Revised Ver. 19.-Mo.tthew only. As Christ Version; but rather supply '' tt," i.e. "tho.t honoured the Law (ver.17) sonre his disciples which is required in the smallest commnnd- to honour it. Whosoever therefore. Seeing ment" (Meyer). The personal performance tho.t every part of the Law is of permanent and conscious spreading of one of the leo.st value. In this verse our Lord once for all cowmandmenls will be found to involve so declo.res his opposition to e.ntinomianism. much that it gains for the person a high Eve1·y one of the commands in the Le.w is, in pooition. Do and tea.oh. For mo.ny will its true and idee.l mea.ning, still binding. perform a commo.nd without to.king any Bhall,break (Allan). Not merely in contrast to conscious part in spree.ding it. The ea.me; "do" (1ro,,\011, vide injrn) in the sense of Revised Version, he ( oln-os). Why inserted "tra.nsgress •1 (Frilzsche), but "abrogate" here and not in the previous clo.use ? Partly (cf. Bishop Westcott, on John v. 18, "Not beco.use of the awkwardness of inserting the violation of the sanctity of the day in o~To• there so soon after oi!Tw•; partly be- a special cnse, but the o.brogo.tion of the oause our Lord wished to lay stress there on duty of observance ; " cf. o.lso eh. xvi. the reoompense, here on the person (" he 19; xviil. 18; 1 John iii. 8). It exprosses, and no other") who receives recompense. indeed, a. Iese complete abrogation tho.n On the thought, of. 'Test. XII. Patr.' (Levi., ,cczTaAiiO"a< (ver. 17), because, while speo.king § 13), " If he teo.oh these things a.nd pro.otise of himself, the Lord conld use the strongest them, he shall share the throne of the king, word poBBible, o.nd that with reference to the as also Joseph our brother.'' U ie worth whole Lo.w or the Prophete; bnt here his a.dding Tyndale's remark in his • Exposi- e.1preeeion is linutecl by t)le inability of o.ny tion,' •· Whosoever eh11ll lust fullil tbeU\ 158 •rHE GOSPEL AOOORDING TO BT. M.A.Tl'HEW. [on. v.1-..S.