The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 496

forth good things: and an (the, Revised oh. xvi. 1-4 (parallel pnsBBge : Mark viii Version) evil man out of the (his, Revised 11-13); Luke xl. 16 agrees more verbRlly Version) evil treasure bringeth forth evil with the demand e.s described there than things. Bringeth forth (/,c/3,l,M,., but Luke ,rpo,P•p.,). Matthew regards the receptacle with our ver. 88. from whioh, Luke the outer world into (4) Thus Mo.rk and Luke relate suoh an which, the thinge are brought. incident once, but Matthew twice. Yers. 36, 37.-Me.tthew only. (5) The four passo.ges (oh. :r.ii. 38-42; Ver. 36.-But (Ii,'); and (Revised Vcrsion). Lukexi. 16, 29-82; oh. xvi.1-4; Mark viii. The adveree.tive particle hints at the con- 11-13) contain so muoh similarity of lan- trast of ver. 35 to their ordinary ideas about guage that we cannot sup~'e them to be the importance of words. I say unto yon, That every idle ( ap;,ov); i.e. effecting nothing, absolutely independent of each other. morally useless; 2 Pet. i. 8 (cf. '"'Tll.fl')'<i, (6) Hence two hypotheses present them- Luke xiii. 7). Word (f,'rJµ,a); see ver. 37, selves: (a) The demand we.a me.de twice note. That men shall speak, they shall give (in itself e:r.oeedingly probable), and our acoount thereof (luroli,1,uou,r, Aoyuv: cf. 1 Pet. Lord's answers were to e. great extent iv. 5) in the day of judgment (eh. :r.. 15, note). Ver. 37.-For by ('«)-referring to, as it identical in substance (in itself not very were, the source of the verdict-thy words probable), and when identical in subste.noe (Twv Ao;,o, aou); thy, individualizing. Ob- were closely identical in language ( distinctly serve the change from p:;,µa. (ver. 36), which less probable). Or perhaps we might sup- might in itself refer to the utterance of a pose that this identity of language was me.dme.n, or to a parrot-like quotation. But rather dae to the narrator than to our Lord by here using Ao;,o• our Lord shows that he is thinking of utterances of the reason. himself; familiarity with one answer may sentences spoken with a knowledge of their in the early Church have moulded the meaning, and forming parts of what are record of the other. (b) The demand and '°irtnally, though not literally, discourses. the answer, as recorded, refer to one and A p:;,,,.a. me.y be the merely mechanical the same occasion. But the e.ocount existed utterance of the lips, Aoyo, imply conecious- ness. The presence of Aoyov in the pre- in more than one of the sources used by ceding clause is probably entirely accidental. St. Matthew, and as each form of it had its Thou &halt be justified (eh. :r.i. 19, note)- own peculiarities ( especially our ver. 24 e.ud "Qnid enim aliud sermones sancti que.m eh. :r.vi, 2, 3), ho retained them both. Any- fides sonans" (Calovins, in Meyer)-and by how, eh. xvi. 1-4 seems to have belonged thy words thou she.lt be condemned (ver. 7, to the Framework, e.nd our pa.see.go to the note). Discourses. Vere. 38--42.-Before entering on this (7) It will be noticed that all the passages difficult pllBee.ge, it seems necessary to ma.ke except Me.rk viii, 11-13 speak of "the some preliminary observations. sign of Jonah." How wo.s Jonah e. sign? (1) Luke :r.i. 29-32 is the recognized Our ver. 40 seems to answer the question, parallel. and to say that it was by being in the (2) According to Luke xi. 16, our Lord whale's belly three days and three nights. had been already asked for e. sign, in whe.t But there are serious difficulties in e.ocept- would be the middle or our preceding dis- ing this view as fine.Uy and alone right, cussion, i.e. between the accusation by the For in eh. xvi. 4 no e:r.ple.ne.tion at all is Phe.riBees (our vcr. 24) and the Lord's recorded (though, indeed, it might be urged answer to it (our ver. 25, aqq.). This shows that the evangelist might fairly expect hi& that either the demand was in fe.ct made e.t readers to remember our ver. 40), and in some time during this discussion, or e.t least Luke xi. 30 e.ppe.rently e. different e:r.ple.ne.- that it was such e. demand as our Lord's tion is found, " for oven as Jonah became a opponents were likely to make when they sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the were hard pressed, and such as they did in Son of man be to this generalion"-words fe.ct make on a somewhat sirnilar occasion. which, ta.ken alone, would seem to refer to Notice that in Luke :r.i. 16 it is expressly Jonah being a sign by the mere Cact of hie attributed to other11 than those who he.cl pree.ohing. Thus our Lord would mean-Aa brought the &CCW!lltion. Jone.h preached, so I pree.ch. The future is (3.) Very similar venies ue found in used in Luke :r.i. 30 (tn,u), e.s briDging out tlH. xn.1-50.] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. ~93