The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 291

be the.t; Rcneed V crsion, and few be th.ey • Hor. l febr.;' of. Ezek. :nxiv. 4, on false that (Ter. 13, note). Our Lord here affirms shephcr,ls). more than the disciples ask in Luke xiii. Ver. 16.-Parllllel passage: Luke vi. 44. 23 ; for there the question deals with those (For the first clause, of. Riso ver. 20 nnd oh. in a state of salvution (ol rrw(&p.~vo,), here xii. 33.) Ye shall know them by their fruit■. those finally saved. Find it; i.e. the gate Their 11.ppearRnco and their chiims are no and 11.ll it leads to. Tlle narrow ge.te is proof of their true character. It may seem here looked at e.s invohing life. Find. It difficult to recognize this, yet there is a sure needB a search (contrast ver. 13). But there way of doiug so, by their life. The em- is the promise of var. 7, "Seek, and ye phasis of the sentonoe is on" by their fruits." shall find." Ye shall know. Ye shall come to know them Vere. 15-23.-Matthew only in this to the full (iw,-yvd,rr,rr8•). (On the greater strength of the compound, tJide Ellicott, 1 form, though most of the separate verses Cor. xiii. 12.) .fi'ruita. All considered sepa- have much matter common to other pas- rately (of. vers. 17, 18, 20), but in ver. 19 e.s sages ; viz. : vers. 16, 18, parallel with one whole (of. oh. iii 8, note). It is, how- Luke vi. 43, 44, of. also infra, eh. xiL 38 ; ever, just possible that here and in ver. 20 ver. 19, of. eh. iii.10; ver. 21, of. Luke vi 46; the plural points to fruit growing on different trees. Do men ge.ther grapes of thorns, or ver. 22, of. Luke xiiL 26; ver. 23, parallel figs of thistles t The visible outgrowth re- with Luke xiii. 27. (For the oonnexion veals the natnre of that which is within. of these verses, cC. var. 13, note.) Those who "profess to combine fellowship with God with the choice of durkness e.s Ver. 15.-Matthew only. Beware. The their sphere of life" (Bishop Westcott, on the warning against being led from the right snggestive parallel 1 John i. 6) only show entrance and the right way is all the more that within they are destitute of fellowship emphatic for there being no adversative with God. Observe, Christ does not say, particle in the true text. Beware of false "Do thorns produce grapes,'' eto.? (of. Jas. prophets. The whole class of them (.-c'ov). iii 12), but "Do men ge.ther?" i.e. he desires Not, observe, "false t.eachers" (2 Pet. ii 1), to bring out the way in which men ordinarily as though these persons only falsely inter- deal with productions external to them- preted fundamental troths, but" false pro- selves. You, my followers, ought to use phet.a," as falsely claiming to bring messages that common sense in spiritual matters which from God. They claim to bring from God men show in matters of everyday life. the true message of salvation, but their Thistles; apparently Oentaurea calcitrapa, claim is false. These were doubtless found, the common thistle of Palestine; in the at the time that our Lord spoke the words, plains the only fuel. especially among the Pharisees; bnt when Ver. 17.-Matthew only. Even so every St. Matthew recorded them, chiefly among good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a Christians, either on the Jewish or on the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. The Gnostic side (Col. ii. 8 ; 1 Tim. vi 20, 21 ; similarity between the fruit and the nature cf. also 1 John iv. 1 and •Did.,' § xii.). of the tree extends not only to the species, Whiah; qne.litative (oY.-ivu); seeing tha.t but also to the specimen. Good tree ('li,vlipov they. Come unto you in 1heep'1 clothing. ci-ya.ll&v); intrinsically sound. Good fruit ( 1ta.p- ln,as it were, the skins of sheep (iv ,1v'/i6p.a.rr, ,rol,s 1<a.Ao6s); attractive in the eyes of men. wpo/3&..-r.ov), professing simplicity and gentle- As is the inner character of the tree, so is neSB, and (for, perhaps, this thought is also the obvious nature of the fruit. But a cor- included) claiming to be members of God's rupt tree ( .-b Ii~ rra.1rpbv 'li,vlipov) ; " the " true :Bock. Externally they are all this, picturing it. Oor,·upt; unsound, rotten, but at heart they are sometlling very dif- worthless ( of. eh. xiii. 48); also in the moral ferent. But inwardly they are ravening world (Eph. iv. 29). wolv(", The thought of "ravening" (ii.p- Ver. 18.-Parallel passage: Luke vi. 43 ,,.a')'H) is of both violence and greed. These (cf. e.leo infra, eh. xii. 33). A good tree false prophets are not merely wicked at cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a heart aud opposed to the truth, but they corrupt tree bring forth good fruit, This wish to injure you, and tbat for their own correspondence of extern11l product to in- gain (cf. Gal. vi. 13). "Of the ravenous- ternal character is necessary. It canuot ne&1 of wolves among the Jewes, take these (emphatic) be otherwise. If the he11rt ii two examples besides others. The elder, good, good results follow; therefore, he im• procl.aimed a fast in their cities upon lhie plies, if good results are not seen in these ocecuion, becaUMe the tool-re, had deooured two "false prophets," it is because of their real Uttle cki.ldren beyond Jordan. More than character. A bad life cannot but spring thru kwnd.red sheep of the ,on, of Jt£dah ben from a worthless heart. Of course, our Lord 8liawNJ 1.Dffe tom ~ wowea" (Lightfoot., deals only with the general rule. There are ou. vn. l~-29.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 285