The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 419

more stress on the verb. Therefore. Aa im,ol'f!e separation from the deareat upon earth, the hairs of your head nre all numbered; the yet the reward i, great. (Of. ver. 5, note.) following words ore thus epexegetic. Ye. The progress of thought ia these verses seems Emphatic here; ye who ore God's sons. The thought is stronger thon even that of to be os follows : Do not be surprised e.t the the "faithful Oreotor," ia 1 Pet. iv. 19. contra.diction that appears between my Are of more value thon me.ny epe.rrows. So, teaching and the immediate result; I allowed too, e.ny mon the.n e. sheep (eh. xii. 12). for this when I began my work (ver. 34). Vere. 32, 33.-(2) The ·result of con/essing There will, indeed, be separation in the and of denying Christ. (Of. ver. 24, note.) closest earthly ties (vers. 35, 36). Bat my claims a.re paramount (vers. 37, 38). And Ver.32.-Whosoever; e'f!ery one . .. who (Revised Version) ; eh. vii. 24, note. There- on your relation to them depends everything fore, Summing up the thought of vers. hereafter ( var. 39 ). 24'.-31, that he who suffers with Christ is only receiving such treatment as he Ver. 34.-Pe.rallel passage: Luke xii. 51. ought to expect, e.nd is never forgotten. Think not. Christ here removes another She.11 confess me ( d/J,ol\o"f~~•• iv i/J,oO, mista~en opinion (eh. v. 17, note). There 'O/J,oAo"f•"' iv occurs only in this verse 1.he mIBtake was about his relation to the (twice) and in the pare.llel passage, Luke Low; here e.bont the immediate result of xii. 8 (cf. Bishop Westcott, on 1 John ii. his coming. The Prince of Peace did not 23). Though the exact phrase is doubt- come to cast in peace as something from out- less due to Hebrew influence (cf. Ewald, side. ~t ~ould show itself eventually, but § 217, f. 2), yet its choice here is deter- from w1thm outwords. That which he cast mined by an instinctive feeling the.t it ex- from without we.s fire (Luke xii. 49) a presses the union of him who confesses sw~d (infra). Chrysostom (' Hom.,' xx~v.) with him who is confessed, while the plain pornts out, among other illustrations that e.ccusative makes no such implication, but the confusion of tongues e.t the To,;er of only sums up the confession. Bishop West- Babel we.s better tho.n the peace w hiob pre- cott (' Canon,' p. 275, edit. 1870) quotes ceded it, and itself produced o better peace. Hemcleon's commeuton Luke xii. 8. "With That I e.m como; that I came (Revised good reason Christ says of those who confess Version) ; of. further, oh. v. 17, note. To him in me (d/J,ol\or,I~•• <V l/J,ol), but of those send pee.oe (/jaAeiv elp11V11v). The verb we.a who deny him me (&.p~~11-ra.! !'-•) only. probably chosen because in the other form For these even if they confess him with of the utterance Christ h,\d already said 1riip their voice deny him, since they confess him /ja.l\eiv, where the figure is of throwing o. not in their action. But they alone me.ke firebrand (Luke xii. 49). By o no.tnral confossion in him who live in the confession transition, that phrase led to the thought of e.nd action the.t accords with him; in whom "throwing" pee.ea or o sword. St. Luke, also he makes confessiou, having himself on the contrary, softened the metaphor to embraced them, e.nd being held fo.st by 6oiiva.,. On (the, Revised Version) earth: I them" (Clem. Alex., 'Strom.,' iv. !l, Frag- came not to send peace, bnt a sword. ment 50 in Mr. A. E. Brooke's edition of Ver. 85.-Pe.re.llel pC1ssoge: Luke xii. M Herocleon). :Before men (-rwv liv9p~1rwv); ( cf. supra, vers. 21, 22). For I e.m oome; vcr. 17, note, nud eh. vi. I, note. Rim. I et1111e (Revised Version). Notice the three• Not in any position of omphasis in the fold i\Mov. Christ would leave in his Greek. Will I oonfess also (cf. Rev. iii. hearers' minda no room for thinkin<> that he 5) before my Father. Not merely "the was ignorant of what the imme~te result Fother," but him who is in the closest of his coming would be. To. A mere in- r~lationship to me; the thought is of se.lve.- finitive, not even with -rou,mnch less fv<> with tion as well o.a of creation. Whioh is in subject. Tile result is not in ony sense heaven. In nature, love; in position, majesty the fl.nnl co.use of his coming. Set a man e.t und omnipotence. variance against (li1xd1Ta1 ... Ka.-rcl). By Ver.. ~3.-Besides. t~e parnllel passe.ge, the preposition is implied enmity, by the Luke xu. 9, cf. the eumlar thought in M11rk verb complete severance. For relation to viii. 38 (parallel passages : Luke ix. 26 ; God is the great line of oloove.ge, and the.i ell. xvi. 27). :But whosoever ahe.ll deny not only in God's sight, but in outcome of me before men. Kiibel compo.res St. Peter's oho.meter. His father. }'rom this word words, "I kuow not the man" (eh. xxvi. till the end of var. 86 our Lord adopt., ?4). "Rim~ I a.ls~ d~ny. 'fhe ~mphe.s~ Micah's (vii. 6) description of a general 1Son deny (of.2T1m.u.12; lgn., Smyrn., time of distrust for his own picture of the ~ 5), :Before my l!'e.ther which is in heaven. discord introduced by his coming. The wording is hardly to.ken from the LXX. Vere. 84-39,-Fellow,hip with me wiU Ver. 36.-No parallel p11ssage in the  U6 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [oH, x.1-42.