The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 280

Bervice, to let no private interests or pursuits Vers. 29-34.-Ilealing of two blind men interfere with hie manifold duties to those alJe:richo. (MarkL4&--52; Lukexviii.35- whom he oversees. The ea.me sentiment is found in oh. xxiii. 11. 43.) The miracle narrated in tliis passage Ver. 28.-Even aa. Christ adduces his is common to the three synoptists, but with own example e.s a pattern of profound some remarkable differences, not one of humility. To minister. By his incarnation them agreeing altogether in details. St. Christ essumed the lowliest life of man. Matthew speaks of two blind men, St. Luke He took upon himself the form of o servant, and St. Mark of one only, and tho latter and was ever active in ministering to others' wants, going about doing good, healing mentions this one by name as Bartimrens. the sick, cleansing lepers, costing out St. Matthew and St. Mark make the miracle demons; always accessible, sympathetic, performed as Jesus quitted Jericho; St. merciful ; never weary of teaching, however Luke assigns it to the approach to the city. fatigued in body; a servant to the race which Thus the number of the cured and the he came to save. A ra.naom for many; locality of the miracle are alike variously Jdrrpo11 lr.11TI 'lroAAwv: instead of many. The crowning example of bis humility is that stated. It is an easy solution to say, with he gave his life as a ransom for the souls of St. Augnstine, Lightfoot, and Greswell, that men. This is the atonement, the sacrificial two, or perhaps three, distinct facts are here act, which (as the Mosaic sacrifices did in related; and it is not absolutely impossible, a partial and temporary manner) reconciled though altogether improbable, that in the God and man. Whatever may be the way in which this atonement acts on the Divine so.me lorality, under identical circumstances, mind, the expression here shows that it wes like 1111fferers made the same request, and vicarious and propitiatory, energizing, not received the same relief in the same manner. by example, as an effort of superhuman self- But we ore not driven to this extravagant denial, courage, and patience, but by an hypothesis; and the unity of the narrative inherent power, as mysterious as it is efficacioUB. We can only say that, being can be preserved without doing violence to the act of ono who is God, its effects most the language of the writers. As to the neces86rily be incomprehensible and in- number of the blind men, we have seen the finite. The difficulties that beset this same discrepancy in the case of the de- doctrine are increased by the fact that Jesus moniacs at Gadara solved by supposing that himself says little about the atoning nature one of the two was the more remarkable and of his sufferings nnd death-a topic which would not at this timo have been properly better known than the other. Hence, in received by friends or enemies, the former this incident, the tradition followed by some refusing to credit his approaching death, of the synoptists preserved the memory of this the latter being totally unable to conceive one alone, who may have become known in the how such death could supersede Jewish Christian community as a devoted follower sacrifices and reconcile the wh!lle world to God (Sadler). Obrist certainly died for all, of J esUB, the other passing into obscurity as St. Paul says, •• He gave himself n ransom and being heard of no moro. Another hypo- for all (lr.vTIAuTpo11 inr<p .,,&vn,v)" (1 Tim. ii. thesis is that a single blind man first ad- 6), but all do not accept the offered salva- dressed Christ as he entered Jericho, but tion; hence arise the two expressions, "all" was not oured at that time. Jesus passed that and "many," referring to the same object; night in the city at the house of Zacchrnus "not," as an old Father says, "thnt s0,lva- tion is limited, but men's efforts to obtain (Luke xix. 1-10); and on the morrow, when it are limited." The aamo expression was leaving Jerioho, was again entreated by the used by our Lord at the Last Supper, when blind man, who meantime bad been joined be said, "This is my blood of the New by a companion, and healed them both. Testament, which is shed for many for the There are other solutions offered, e.g. that remission of sins" (eh. xxvi. 28). Acom- there wore two Jerichos-an ohl and a new parison of the passages in whioh the death of Christ is connected with the salvo.tion of town-and that one blind man was he11led men would show a similar intercl::l\nge of as they entered one oity, and the other a,i terms, depending on the view which the they left the other; or that the term rendered writer is taking of the doctrine, whether an "was come nigh" (Luko xviii. 35) might objective one or a subjective. In the former mean "was nigh," ond might therefore cnse we mny cite Rom. v. 15; 2 Cor. v. 14; I Tim. ii. 6; 1 John ii. 2; iu the 11\tter, apply to one who was leaving I\S well as to Rom. iii. 25, 26; Eph. v. 2. one entoring the city. Dot we weary our-  284- THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [OR. :u. 1--34-.