The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 451

usual interpretation is prefere.ble. For (a) OJ (l&,r4) may be used of a.gents (comp. Jae. l in nn illustrntive saying one has chiefly to 13; v. 4; Luke vi. 18, almost ae thongh it regnrd its genere.l sense; (b) in vers. 18, 19 were vr/,), but it ie more na.tnral to under- the notion of John and of our Lord in ste.nd it here of the causes or reaeons for the "coming" corresponds to the nctivity of the verdict. And lr.,r/, thus gives an excellent children; (c) thie interpretation seema much sense. Our Lord says that the Divine more in accordance with the context. The Wisdom is justified in the minds of men verses are therefore to be understood as from the results she brings abont. Of what meaning - John mourned in urging re- is he thinking? DoubtleBS moral results, pentance, our Lord rejoiced in gospel liberty and probably those found in the change and preaching, but both alike were only that might be seen in the publicans and ridiculed by the J ewe. Markets; market- sinners of which he has just been speaking. pla.ces (Revised Version): for there is no The Divine Wisdom, which appeared to thought of the children helping their elders the careless and unsympathetio so strange in traffic. .And calling ( which call, Revised and changeable in her methods, is, notwith- Version) unto their fellows. Addressing standing, pronounced to be in the right, them, but not necessarily noisily (Luke vi. because of the results of her activity, the 13: xiii. 12). men e.nd the women brought nuder her Ver. 18.-For 1ohn came neither eating influence. These "'"'"al KTi,recr (2 Cor. v. (eh. iii 4) nor drinking (Luke i. 15), and 17; Gal. vi. 15) are always the best ju,tifi- they Go.J, He bath a. devil ; i.e. he ie possessed cation of misunderstood plans. While, how- of stn,uge and melancholy fancies (see ever, this seem. the best interpretation of Bishop Westcott on John vii. 20). the sentence e.s recorded in Matthew, it Ver.19.-The Bonofma.n (eh. viii. 20, note) must be confessed that in Lnke it appears oame eating and drinking, and they se.y, Be- more natural to understand "her children " hold (iao6, simply demonstrative, as in the e.s those who justify her; e.nd further, this LXX. of 1 Sam. xxiv. 12; 2 Sam. xxiv. 22) n was probably St. Luke's own interpretation. me.n gluttonous (a glv.ttono!J.8 man, Revised For he seems to purposely give an explana- Version, for the Greek, li.v9ponror </Jcl:yor, merely tion of the e.pothegm in the verses (Lnke reproduced the original Semitio order), and vii. 29, 30) by which he joins the equivalent a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and of our vers. 16---19 to the equivalent of our sinners (eh. ix. 10, note). .A friend. The ver. 11. He there tells us that all the people idea of affection, which through common e.nd the publicans "jnstified God," having use of the words has fallen so muoh into the been baptized with the baptism of John. background both in the Greek </JIAor nnd but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected our English " friend," is brought out olee.rly God's plan towards them, not having been in the Syriac ,·o1!'mo, which is, perhaps, the baptized by him. Wisdom's children justi- very word the.t our Lord spoke. But j and fied her: others did not. Anyhow, lp-y.,,, (Revised Version); ""': i.e. and yet, what- weuld e.ppee.r to be the more original of the ever you may say. Wisdom; i.B. the Divine two terms, for with the explanation pre- wisdom,. by which e.ll creo.tion was made ferred nbove, """""'" would be very easily (Prov. viii. 22-31 ; Wied. 'l'ii. 22), and derived from it. It me.y, indeed, be due to which is the source of all true understanding a more primitive confusion between K<?'HP (Prov. viii. 12-16), particule.rly of the will (" her works," of. Eccles. ix. l) a.nd N,:,;1:i~ of God (Wisd. vii. 27, 28; comp. Luke xi. 49, (" her servants," Hebrew ,:i~), this laat "The Wisdom of God" speaking in Scrip- word being commonly rendered· 6oii1'.o,, and, ture). le justified ('8'""''871). The aorist perhaps through ..-a,6u, even uiol o.nd -r<Kva is used either IMI expressing what is wont to (of. ReBoh, • A.grapha,' p. 277), but even then happen (Madvig, § 111, Rem. a), or perhaps it is unlikely that the former and harder as expressing the completeness of the justi- reading should be only due to a mistake for fication, (cf. lfJ>..~e.,, John xv. 6). Niisgen, the latter. That the ho.rder and metapho- contrary to New Testament usage, under- rical should be changed into I.he ee.sier and ste.nds lll11<a,,e71 as meaning "is OO'lldemned morn literal, even as early WI St. Luke's because of her works " (" So he.ban sie die time, appears much more probable. Weisheit . . . um ihrer Werke willen ve- rurtheilt "), but the ordinary interp1·ete.- Vars. 20-24.- Woe 07I th086 who re,iect tion holds good that she is 11cquitted of e.ny liim. The parallel passnge, Luke L 12-15, e1Tor or wrong. Of her children; work, comes e.lmost at the close of the oommissio11 (Revised VerHion); l,,,rb -rii>11 lp-y0111 aiJ~r, with to the seventy. It is represented in the the Sinaitio m1i.nusoript and the original hand of the Vatican, besides some of the oommission reported by St. Matthew by versions. The common reading, "'"""'"• eh. x. 15 a.lone, whioh is almost verbally has come from Luke. In these words lie identical with ver. 24. It is poBsible that the ohief difficulty of this diffioult sentence. St. Matthew or the e.utb.or of \he 10uroe  WJ THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [oH. XL 1-30.