The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 354

mnrdcn•re' city, Jerusalem. So a little le.ter, ing Christinn. i11itintion, there must have' foretelling the same fe.tc, Jesue speaks of been little indivi<lual prep:1ration of heart· "your house" (eh. xxiii. 38). The Romans, or cleansing of conscience, and the missioner· in fact, some forty yee.r• after, put to the had to take for granted much whioh more sword the inhabitants of Jcruse.lem, e.ud c,ireful exnniination would have proved to> burned the citv to e.shes. be 'fallacious. The mention of thi1 mixture Ver. 8.-Then saith he. Thi.a is supposed of bad and good in the -oompany introduces t,o te.ke ple.ce e.fter the destruction of the the final scene. The wedding. The Sine.itio, murderers e.nd their city ; and, indeed, the Vatican, e.ud other manuscripts read "mar- final rejection of the Jews and the substitu- riage-chamber" (""P.</>dw). So Tischendorf tion of the Gentiles were consummi,ted by and Westcott and Hort. Bnt the received· tbe overthrow of Jerusalem and the Hebrew text is well founded, and seems more polity. The wedding is ready. God's great natural. Guests; cl.v1uwµl1101v: literally, re~ design is not frustrated by the neglect of oli11er,; Vulgate, discumbentium; so called'· those first invited, only the guests are from the cnstomary e.ttitude at mee.ls. changed. Not worthy. Their unworthi- Ver. 11.-The king ea.me in to see the- ness wo.s proved by their rejection of the guests, who by this time had taken·their- gmcious call, u the worthinell8 of those sub- appoiuted places at table. This second por-· sequently called consisted in their accept- tion of the parable teaches that e.dmissiott' ance thereof. The paasage is well illns- to the visible Church is not e.11 the.t is re:.· tre.ted by the language of Paul and Barnabas quired; there is also a scrutiny to be under-· (Acts xiii. 46, 47). gone and an award to be me.de. And that Ver. 9.-The highways; .-,h liae{tllioils .,;;,,, this investigation ia keen and searching is· ,Iii,;,,: e:citw flia"'m; the parti11gs, or o'ld- denoted by the verb used, 8edcra.cr8a.,, whioh: let, of the tDays. The places where roads means not merely, to see casually, but to' meet, beyond the city bounds in the country, gaze upon with the intent of seeing the real! which would nntare.lly be a centre of con- nature and character of an objelit. Th& conrae. The city where the marriage feast king makes his appearance in the ·bai:J.~et- was now held is not named, because it is ing-hall, not to foe.et with· the· guilsts; but no longer Jernsalem, but somewhere, any- to welcome them, and to exe.Diine if they e.re where, in the Gentile world·; for the call properly ordered, served, and fitted for the of the Gentiles is here set forth. As ma.ny high honour accorded· to them. How close· u ye shall find. The invitation is no longer and personal is this inquiry is shown by the confined to the Jews; the whole human immediate detection of orie unseemly guest race is celled to tLe marriage of the Lamb, among the multitude. The, time when he to participe.te in the fruits of the Incarnation. thus comes is, in one view, .the day of This general evangelization was begnn in judgment,; bnt such visitation and scrutiny apostolic times (see Acts viii. 5, 38; x. 28, are always recurring, as at solemn'seasons, 48 ; xiii 46), and has been carried on ever in days of trial, sacred services, holy com- eince. The apostles' special ministrations munion, when he searches men's hearts,'and to the Jews seemed to have ended at the sees if they· are prepared· for his presence. martyrdom of St. James the Less, A.D. 62 Which had not on a wedding garment; ol," (Josephus,' Ant.,' u:. 9. 1). l11li•li11µlvov t111i11µa -ydµo11: ·,wt garbed fa wed- Ver. 10.-Highwaya; .S&ots : the road.a. ding garmeut, the genitive expressing the Not "the partings of the ways," wbithel' peculiar character or quality of ·the ge.rment; they had been ordered to go. Some see Wordsworth compares similar phrases: 1:,uke here an intimation of the imperfection of xvi 9; 2 Thess. ii. 3, 9; Je.s. i. 25; 2 Pet. the work of human agents; but it is very ii 1, etc. It is said to have been an Oriental doubtful if any such allusion is intended. custom to present each gnest invited ·to '·a More probably .-as oliobs is only a synonym royal feast with a festive robe to be worn on for .-i,.s 6,e,&lious .,,;,, oi,;,,. Both bad and the occasion, as nowadays persons e.dmitted good. The visible Chnrch contains a mixed to the royal presence are clothed with 11 company, as Christ indicated by more than cafte.n. Traces of the custom he.ve·'been one parable; e.g. the draw-net, the tares, etc. found in Gen. xiv. 22; Judg; xiv, 12; 2 (eh. xiii). The bad are named first, in Kings v. 22; x. 22; but they are not very order to show the infinite gracio11Bness of convincing. The Romane seem to· he.ve had tho king. In the earliest times converts auoh a custom, the l'Obes being ce.lled "eena- were baptized with very little preparation and toria." 'l'hlld Martial, L 87. 11, writea- witbont any probation, as we see in the case " Pugnorum re1111 ebrimque noctis, of the eunuch, the jailor, and many more Cenatoria mittat advocato." m"ntioned in the Acts; and doubUeSB many were insinocre and soon hipsed. ,vhen we But the faot remains that this gnest had read of whole households being LaJ)tized, not presented ht!DJ!elf in attire befitting the &lld in le.I.er timea of whole nations r<;ceiv- solemnity; in hi.8 everyday gnrb, nnd with. OH. :u.n, 1-46,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTIIEW. 359