The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 206

This" recoivlng" Ohrist Is a Car higher and la not an ab30lute, but a relative, necessity. hotter thing than being "greatest " in an Man's heart is evil, his tendencies e.re evil, earthly kingdom. temptation is strong, Be.tan ia active; all Ver. 6.-There Is an opposite side to this these forces oombine to bring about a fe.t .. l pi-0ture. Shall ofl'end; cauee to stumble- resnlt. Thua St. Pe.ul sny; (1 Cor. xi. 19) give occasion for a fall, ,.e. either in faith or "Thero. must be heresies among you, the.t morals. This is done by evil example, by they which are approved may be me.de mani• teaching to sin, by sneers at piety, by giving feat among you." Bo these offences of which soft names to gross offences. One of these Christ speaks a.re overruled and permitted little onea. Whether ohild or adult, a pnre, for wise purposes, that by them the righteoua simple soul, which has a certain fe.ith, though may be proved ancl purified, and the chaff it be not strong enough to resist all attBCk. scpare.ted from the wheat. lint woe to that Even the heathen recognized the respect due man! Bece.use of this evil principle which to the young: "Maxima debetur pucro rove- is rife in the world, no man is exonerated rentia" (Juvenal,' Sat.,' xiv. 47): and guile- from the guilt of giving offence. He bas lessness and purity, wherever found, win free-will; be can choose good; be can nse some regard, even from worthless and careless the means of grace; be can strengthen his observers. To wilfully lead one such astray nntnre.l weakness, control hie perver;enesa, is a deadly sin, which the Lord denounces ovr,rcome corruption, by the help of God in solemn terms. Chrkt aJfectionutoly calls al we.ye ready to be gi vcn to them who Beek. his disciples "little ones" ( eh. x. 42). Be- The first " woe" is a. cry of pity for a world lieve in (dr) me. We must always dis- in dnngcr; the second" woe" is a denuncia, tinguish between " believe in" (iricrr,6 ..., tion of the sinner as being resprmeible for ,elr, or l11: credo in) and "believe" with the evil which be introduce;. We are all the simple dative; the former is npplied to in some sort our brothers' keepers, and are fo.ith in God e.lone. Says St. Augustine, bound to help forward their salve.tion, and "Credimus Paulo, eed non credimus in to do nothing which may tend to endanger Patd um." In the present passage the phrase their souls' bee.Ith. implies the Divinity of Christ. It were Ver. 8.-Wharefore. The Lord teaches better; literally, it i, profitable. The crime how to avoid this sin of giving offence, re- specified is so heinous that a man had better peating the solemn words a.lreRdy delivered incur the most certain death, if by this means in the sermon on the mount, though with he may avoi,t the sin and se.ve the soul of some variation and a different oontext (ob. v. his possible viotim. A millstone; a great 29, 30). The reference on the former occa- millstone-such a one as required an nee to sion was e:,pec,nlly to breaches of the seveuth muve. The upper, or movable, stone ie commautlment; here the Lord speaks ol meant, which we.a ueue.lly turned by the offences in general, of that external corrnp• hand, Drowned. We do not kn.ow that the tion among mankind which is the fruitful Jews punished criminals by drowning (1«1Ta, source of temptation and sin. The only ,ra11T«rµbs), though it is probable that it was remedy for this ie the sternest eelf-deni1L!, practised in some cases; but by other ne.tions tl.te strictest watchfulness. Or thy foot. this penalty was commonly exacted. Among Christ did not name this member in his the Romans, Greeks, nnd Syrian&, it was previous disconree. Literally, tl.te h~nd or certainly the practice. Oommentators quote foot leads iu to sin, when it is directed to Suetonius, 'Aug.,' lxvii.; Diod. Sic., xvi. forbidden objects, moves towards the ncq uisi- 35; Livy, i. 51; Aristophanes, 'Schol. nd tion of things contrary to the LILw of God. Equit.,' 1360. '.rhe punishment seems to l\letaphoricnlly, the expressiun si;;nifies e.11 he.ve been reserved for the greatest crimi- that is as deur and as necessary as these nnls; and the size of the stone would prevent import,mt members. Such occaaiuns of eiu fl.ny chance or the body rising ng11.in to the we must at once and nbsolutel v cast a.ide. 11Urf11c0 e.nd being buried by friend.i-a con- It incl udee also persons as wail as things. sidere.tion which, in the minds or heathess, Friends the dearest must be parted from gree.tly increased the horror of this kind of if their presonce, or conversatiou, or habits death. cause evil thoughts or encourage evil acts. Ver. 7.-This nnd the preceding verse In the presence of such offences, ties the occur in St. Luke (xvii. 1, I!) in an inverted nearest must be sn1Lpped l!.llunder. Loneli- order. Woe unto the world I The Lord ness, isolation, is better than companionship thinks of the deadly evil brought into the in wickedness. It has been well ea.id by world by offences given, such as bad ex- Olshnusen that tl.te hand nnd the foot may -ample, unholy lives of Christians, per- denote mental powers and dispositions; nncl eooutions, sooffs, tboughUeesness- things the warning is given that·theirover-onltiva- which lead so many a.stray. J'or it must tion mny prove e.n obstacle to the spiritu;J.} needs be. While men are what they are, life, and must be accordingly checked. We euch oonaequenoee must be expected. Thie may also descry in the paragraph an e.Jmon i- JIATTHEW-IL ll 210 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [ou. X'l"Ill, l--35,