The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 542

Ver, 38.-Si,nf'!d sign-seekers. Sign-seeking may be either right or wrong. Gideon &0ught a sign from God for the confirmation of his faith; and to him the sign was given. These Pharisees asked for a sign which they could turn into a confirmation of their unbelief, and to them no sign was given; they must be content with a sort of enigma, or riddle, which they niight puzzle over if they pleased. The state of mind of these sign-seekers is of great importance. It explains to us at once that it would have been worse than waste for our Lord to have yielded to their wish. L Tim SIGN THEY BOUGHT. Some miracle, wrought under conditions which they would appoint, and submitted to tests which they would provide. Illustrate by the recent demand of the scienti fie man to have the question of "answer to prayer" sub- mitt.ed to what he called "adequate scientific tests." For them to seek a sign at all was to show that the miracles Christ had wrought had not produced their proper moral effect upon them. .And anything like a demand for a sign showed that they did not realize their proper relations to a Jehovah-prophet, and to this Jehovah-prophet, who was the Messiah. II. THE SIGN THEY OBTAINED. Not at all the kind of thing they asked for. Something stated in such a paradoxical way a.s compelled them to think. The refer- ence t.o Jonah's being in the sea-monster's belly is not the thing our Lord is using as a sign; that only introduces the sign of J onah's preaching repents.nee to the men of Nineveh. That was a sign, or illustration, of our Lord's preaching to the Pharisees; and tb.e sign became a solemn warning; for, while the Ninevites obeyed Jonah, they were resolutely setting themselves against all obedience to Christ; and as Christ was greater than Jonah, so their judgment for rejecting him would be proportionately severe. It is as if our Lord had said, "I will not give you a sign, but I will give you an illustration; and I will take it from the Old Testament history, which you pride yourselves on knowing so well; and from the conduct of a heathen people, whom you sublimely despise. 'They repented at the preaching of Jonah;' 'A Greater than Jonah is here.' How are you treating him and his message? Verily the men of Nineveh will rise and condemn you, you men of the snperior privilege, in the day of judgment." They wanted a sign that they might use to condemn Christ; he gave them a sign which condemned them.-R. T. Ver. 43.-Cl&zm., but empty. .A notion prevailed in Cha.Idea which presents a striking similarity to that appealed to by our Lord in this parable of the evil spirit returning to poBSess the empty house. It was thought that when once the possessing demons were expelled from the body the only guarantee was to obtain, by the power of incantations, an opposite possession by a favourable demon. A good spirit must take the place of the evil one in the body of the man. This is part of one of their incantations- , "May the bad demons depart I May they seize upon one another I The propitione demon, The propitious giant,- May they penetrate into his body I " We must try to see the connection in which this parable stands, L IT PICTURES TBE BISTORIOAL FACT CONCERNING lsRAEL. The nation had, once for s.ll and resolutely, turned out the demon of idolatry when they returned from Babylon to repossess their land. For a long time the land was clean from that sin, empty of that bad spirit; but as Jesus read the bad hearts of those Pharisees, and the mischievous influence of their teachings, it seemed clear to him that the old demon of idolatry had come back in disguise, and brought with him seven other spirits, worse than himself. That generation was more utterly corrupt than even the old ages of violent idolatry. Hypocrisy, sell-will, hard-heartedness, pride, malice, were devils morally worse than idolatry. IL IT REVEALS AN EVEB-REOURBING FACT CONCERNING ..U,L MEN. They are easily satisfied with reforms that merely mean putting a.side some evil indulgence. They give up certain habits, and so are clean; but they only turn out the evil and leave his place empty. A soul must be occupied, and if ita interest in evil is removed, it must be interested in good. Religion should fill up all empty places, and leave no room for retaming evtl. The man who relapses int.o sin after being delivered from its power, 011. :m. 1-50.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 539