The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 392

of hea.ling, and by the commission, " As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." They were themselves in many respects uninstructed, but they were to tell of the acts a.nd cha.rac~r of Jesus, and they were themselves to do similar works. The a.im of the miseione.ry must still be to proclaim and exhibit the kingdom of henven. Preaching would receive irresistible confirmation by fact could they show in their renovated life the reality of Christ's power to create a kingdom of heaven upon earth. A great obstacle to Christian missions lies in the fact that missionaries cannot point to such evidence either in the lives of professing Christians abroad or in our national acts and ways, and on the face of our society. ' III. THE METHOD OF PROOEDURE. They were in the first place to make no provision for their maintenance. This was possibly to prevent their taking money from those they healed, and so seeming to rank with exorcists and strolling magicians; probably also to train them to faith in our Lord while absent from him. He meant, by their pre~ent experience, to lead them to the conviction that he was able to provide for them. Again, he warns them not only against carefulness, but against fearfulness. He could not only provide for, but defend, his servants. When they saw their preaching pro- ducing unexpected results, and bringing them into collision with men in power and with the prejudices of the people, they might begin to accuse themselves. Therefore does he furnish them beforehand with all needed consolation in the word that in that experience they were but reproducing his own. " It is enough for the servant that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord." And as their motto to guide them they were to take the words, "Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves;" and, adds our Lord, " Beware of men." This rule guided his own conduct. He knew when to speak and when to be silent. And so he says-Do not count upon candour, patience, generosity, or trust to simple straightforwardness and the power of truth. Be on your guard, but do not let yourselves be betrayed into trickery or double-dealing. Wise as serpents, you must also be guileless as doves. Choose the right time and way to deliver your message, but never be led into suppressing the truth, or pretending to believe wha.t you do not. It may be a question whether mission work in some countries does not offer, to the candidate for the ministry, a field of labour in which he will have less cause for fear or care than in the Church at home. To any one who has a distaste for the controversies which have grown up from a long Church history, there ia something immensely attractive in the idea of working a virgin soil, where nothing need be dealt with but the central facts of our religion, "Jesus Christ, and him crucified." To any one who wishes to be wholly unhampered, that he may give himself, without bond or prepossession, to be moulded by Christ himself, and to adopt his methods pure and simple, the work of the missionary presents attractions which cannot be offered at home. It is to be remarked of this first mission that none of the dark forebodings of our Lord seem to have been fulfilled at this time; but, on the contrary, they returned in such a state of exultation that our Lord saw they needed to be sobered rather than to receive further encouragement. He took them apart into a desert place to rest awhile. When the seventy returned our Lord took occasion to admonish them that the true ground of satisfaction was not that the devils were subject to them, but that their names were written in the book of life. So the twelve required to hear over again the words of the sermon on the mount, "Many shall say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not cast out devils in thy Name, and in thy Name done many wonderful works? 'l'hen will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." That is to say, the apostles, in common with all who are engaged in similar work, had need to be reminded that they may be useful in bringing others into the kingdom and yet themselves be outcasts; that success in Christian work is no criterion of their own state. We have not the temptation to self-confidence which the apostles had, but there does arise in us a state of mind which requires these sobering words or our Lord. When we have a cravillg to evince our loyalty to Christ by some extraordinary sign, to do some striking and conspicuous work that would at once dissipate for ever all 11Uspicion about our own connection with him, we need to be reminded that our first work is to purify our personal life, our domestic habits, our business relations, and so we shall leam to face the further opportunities of being helpful that may be presented t'> us. The important question for us is-What was involved in the reception of the apoHtle, OB. IX. 1-38.] THE GOSPEL ACOORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 389