The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 526

was to cast himself unhurt from a pinnacle of the temple, though why the possession of a mountain-sheep's capacity for jumping should prove any one the gree.test spiritual blessing to mankind they probably did not inquire. They had lost the capacity of knowing excellenoe-«>Uld only measure him by their silly external tests, and scorned him for the very things that proved his greatness. A miracle wrought merely for the sake of convincing men, could not convince them, could only prove the possession of a certain unexplained power. But miracles wrought out of compassion for the wretched justly convinced men that God was nigh. We join the ranks of the Pharisees when we refuse t.o acknowledge Christ until he presents some more striking evidence. To us as to them, it must be said-Ye can discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot read the signs of the times. You know the sequences of nature, but you have no eye for spiritual sequences; you do not see that a clever feat which makes men stare has no natural connection with salvation from sin, but that the entrance into the world of such love and holiness, and the identification of their possessor with all human interests portends more good to humanity than any physica.1 marvel could _portend. Could yo~ rightly read the signs of the times, you would understand that a Greater the.n Jonas, e. Greater the.n all men, the Greatest and Holiest and most Sacrificing, could not be in the world without chan,,,oi.ng its course for ever, And each of us may read our own indi- vidual future as here directed. by our Lord, for it is impossible he should join himself to any one of us individually without bringing int.o our life an otherwise unattainable hope. Certain natural signs never deceive, because there is a rigid natural connection between the cause and the consequence. As rigid is the connection in the moral world ; you cannot belong to Christ without receiving the utmost of human blessing. It means untold good to you ; it is the spring of your life that promises endless harvest, All that is unworthy, weak, and wicked will be displaced, and you will be changed into his like- ness. It is as cert.a.in as the shower that you see coming down the wind to the spot you stand on. But while our Lord refused any sign as a mere wonder proving his power, he assured them a sign shonld be given of the most astonishing kind. AB if he said, "I will do no miracle of the kind you require; it would not convince you; you are not seeking conviction, but a plausible pretext against me, You think I am endanger- ing the ship, and you will treat me as Jonah was treated; but as Jonah's mission was expedited by what seemed to terminate it, so shall my mission, by your final action against me, receive its most convincing authentication." This sign of the resurrection of Christ is that which seals the truth of all he asserted regarding himself, but espe- cially does it give us assurance that our Lord is now alive. Only when we believe in this do we attain to faith in our own i=ortality. In the little parable with which this passage closes, our Lord points out that, though they had cast out the devil of idols.try, the heart not being filled with love of God and holiness, the empty apartment of their soul was straightway filled with self-conceit, contempt for gross sinners, hatred of any light that made them suspicious of their state. Probably he pointed specially to the deterioration of " this generation," There had been a revival of religion under John, but John himself warned them that he could not baptize with the Holy Spirit. He saw that merely to cast out one or two devils of misconduct, and to leave the heart empty, was to place men in a perilous position. To the individual this little parable is full of significance. There are diseases in which there are periods of relief from pain, followed by severe relapse. So in the case here spoken of, the downward career is not steadily progressive, but is checked for a while, only to be resumed with sevenfold violence. The principle pointed at is that wherever an evil thing is not expelled by the invasion of good that enters and dispossesses it, the expulsion is ineffectual. Nature dictates and observes this law. If you wish to clear a room of bad air, you do not get an air-pump and exhaust it, but by opening the window you let the rush of pure air drive out the impure; were you to exhaust the air, you might produce a suction which would burst your gas-pipes and draw up foul air from your sewers. So in the moral world evil is to be ejected by soul-possessing love of good. Christ is set before us that we may learn to love him, and so have no room for any unworthy affec• tion. To use religion only as a repressive and expulsive influenc6 is fatal. There are persons whose hearts are emptied rather than filled by religion. '!'here is a death of their old bad life, but the.re is no strong impelling power, no new and abundant life. I..s there anything in you that- would make it a plea.!!ure to you to take your place by err. x11. 1-60.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. MATTHEW. 523