The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 140

The ~(111.risees wei:e n~rrow-minded fana.~ical zealots ; the Sadducean priests were worldly 11nspmtu11l cccles111st1cs. The two parties hated one another with all the bitterness of party spirit; b~t ~hey hated th~ Lord J'.Ct more; and this common hatred now brought them together m 111-omened ~mon a.ga.mst the most holy Saviour. Apparently they had been on the wntch for his return. He bad been some time absent· first in the borders of Tyre and Sidon, then in the ha.If-heathen Decapolis. The r~de c~untry- peoplc hRd rec~ived him with_ enthusiasm; but, it may be, bis holy human heart (for he wns made hke unto us, sm only excepted) yearned for the familiar scenes of the much-loved Galilee, hls own country, his home, so far as he could be ea.id to have ;:ad a. home during the years of his ministry. He returned ; but his feet had scarcely touched the land when his enemies were upon him. They came with a renewed demand for a. sign from he.<l.ven. The Lord had wrought miracles in abundance, but these they wickedly attributed to the agency of the evil one. Let him show some sign from heaven, they said, such as Joel and D,micl had predicted; then they would recognize him as the Messiah. They understood not the Scriptures. 'l'hey confused the first and second advents. They expected an earthly Messiah-a kina like David ~r Solomon. They prescrib:id the kind of miracle which they required~ So unbe- he~ers now say, " Let there be such and such a miracle wrought publicly in London or Paris; then we will believe." But this is tempting God. Such a demand implies a presumptuous boldness which is the very opposite of trustful faith. If men will no, believe after nil that God has done for our salvation, "neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." 3. The Lora:'s answer. They were weather-prophets, !ie 8.9.id. They talked much abont the weather, as people do still ; they knew the signs of its probable changes. These things interested them; they were much in their thoughts and on their lips. But there. were signs of far more momentous import for those who had eyes to see. The sceptre had departed from Judah; the mystic weeks of Daniel were fulfilled; the Lord himself liad pointed out to the messengers of the Baptist the signs of the Messiah's presence. These things they would not understand. The signs of the times should be to us a subject for careful study and solemn thought. The signs of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Church should strengthen and encourage Ull; the signs which seem to point to the approach of the great aposlJl.sy and to the coming end should stir us up to watch- fulness and earnest prayer; the signs which show the energy of the wicked one, and his awful power in ensnaring the souls -of men, should kindle in us a determined resolution to resist even unto death. . The Lord had shown signs of his Divine mission sufficient to the full to satisfy . all earnest seekers after truth. The Pharisees and Sadducees came in the spirit of the tempter, tempting him. The Lord would work no further miracle in proof of his Messiahship; had he done so they · would not have believed. He replied in the same stem words which he had used once before (eh. xii. 39) in answer to the like demand. He left them, and departed. It was not his last visit to Galilee., but it was his last public appearance there. He preached there no more; he wrought no more miracles there. " He sighed deeply in his spirit," St. Mark tells us, as be spoke these last words, and entered into the ship again. He had come to Galilee with words of love, with a. message of peace and salvation; but theee hard, selfish men rejected him, and prejudiced the people against him. He was indeed "a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." That deep sigh told the anguish of his spirit. He ea.me to save them. He had given up the effulgence of the Divine Majesty. He was ready to lay down his life for their salvation; and they would not be saved. He had come to his own country, the Galilee which he loved so well; and they opposed aIJd insulted him, and drove him from his only home on earth. Let us be patient when we meet with opposition and disappointments. Opposition and dis- appointments, if we take them meekly and in faith, will help to make us more and more like unto our Lord. II. HE RETURNS TO THE EASTERN BIDE. 1. The Lord's caution. He bade his disciples beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. It was not the first time that he had used this figure ; but they misunderstood. him. Probably ~h~y were in grea.t distress. They had ~oped to return to. Capemau~. T~ey had seen 1~ 1n the distance. Now they were obliged to depart aga.rn to the inhoep1tablc eas~rn e1de of the lake, away from home a.nd kindred, away from the scene of the many triumphs cm. xvi. 1-28.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 143