The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 418

.fa(hers of the wicl.,ed wue th6 pers_ecut<>rs of the good. (1) The older Pharisees wero- gmlty of the blood of the more auc1eut.,,prophet-~. Rulers, civil and ecclooiastic:\l alike, :;er_e persccutor_e. N?te ;, (a) Rulers _are generally what the people will have them. ~1ke people, hke priest. (cf. Isa.. xxiv. 2; Jer. v. 30, 31; Hoe. iv. 9). (b) So contrari- wise, people are demorahz~ by t~eir rulers, (2) They slew the righteous because of their nghtoousness. So 1t was m the c11se of Abel (cf. I John iii. 12). And for having reproved the iniquity of the people, Zechariah was slain by order of King Joe.eh (see 2 Chron. :xxiv. 20, 21). 2. The children of wi,ckedMSs confess while they denownC4 tl~r fathera. (1) By building the tombs of the prophets, and garnishing the sepulchres of the righteous, the Pharisees disavowed the deeds of their fathers who had persecuted them. But thi11 was precisely what their fathers did with the tombs of the prophets whom the grandfathers had slain. Note: It is a sign of a hypocrite to- profess veneration for all good men excepting those among whom he lives. (2) The cases of Abel and Zeche.riah are cited as belonging to a series destined to be continued, B_y sending his prophets and scriJ:,es, apostles and evangelists (cf. eh. xiii. 62; Luka- x1. 49), Jesus gave these hypocntes the opportunity to prove themselves by the very deeds they professed to abhor, the children of their wicked fathers. Accordingly, as he predicted, they " killed " the two J ameses; " crucified" Andrew and Peter; "stoned" Stephen and Paul ; "scourged" Peter, John, and Paul; and others they· •• persecuted from city to city" (see Acts viii 1; ix. 2). Being the "offspring ot vipers," they were "serpents," and, together with their fathers, the brood of the- origi!1al serpent (cf: eh. iii. 7; xii 34; Joh~ viii. 44). Note: The ~ame providen~e of God 1B an opportumty for a man to prove himself a hero or a rascal. (3) "Ye build,". etc. Note: Hypoorites incur guilt in matters not wrong in themselves. Building the sepulchres of the righteous is a cheap affectation of righteousness. The dead Pharisee was burying his dead when he honoured the dead messenger and dishonoured the living message. Il. THAT THE BINS OF AGES MAY BE VISITED UPON A BINGLE GENERATION. 1, Jv,d.gment is pr011oked by persistent impenitence. (1) There is a measure of iniquity which provokes judgment. As when the "fourth " transgression is added to the third (see A.mos i. 3, etc.). (2) Wickedness may be so encouraged as to render repentance and reformation utterly hopeless (see Jer. xiii. 23). (3) Judgment is deferred until, the measure of iniquity which provokes it is full (see Gi'Il. xv. 16). (4) The measure is full when that point is reached beyond which it is iuconsistent with the charactei, of e. wise e.nd righteous government, though founded in mercy, to extend impunity. (5) He who commits any sin is partaker with all who have committed the same. So the iniquity of the fathers is visited upon their children. 2. Jt, severity folww• in the wake of m.ercy. (1) The hen clucking her chickens under her wing when the hawk is overhead is a fine figure to set forth the merciful protection which Jesus would extend to Jerusalem against the Roman eagle, did her children but know the day of their visitation (cf. Ps. xci. 4; MaL iv. 2). (2) That sinners are not gathered to Christ is owing wholly to their wickedness (cf. Ps; l.xxxi. 11, 12). "Fill ye up," eto., is a word of permission, not a command; as if he had said, "I contend with you ne- longer: I leave you to yourselves." (3) "The tears of Jesus are the le.et issues of. defeated. love, and tell sinners, ' Thon hast despised my blood that would have saved thee; thou shalt yet have my tears that do only lament thee lost'" (Howe). (4) Punishment equal to tLe accumulated woes brought upon men for resisting the truth and persecuting its preachers in all past ages, came upon this generation for putting to death One infinitely greater than all the prophets. Ill. THAT A CBBIBTLEBS BOUSE IS A WOEFUL DESOLATION. 1. Bo it proved in the- days of thefathsra. (1) The blood of Zachariah, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance. The last words of Zechariah were, "The Lord see, and require it" ( cf. Gen. iv. 10; 2' Chron. xxiv. 22). (2) Vengeance came when" the host of Syria came to Judah and Jerusalem, e.nd destroyed all the princes of the people from among th11 people.'' A. people deprived of princely rulers-princely in the moral sens&--is in a sorry case. (3) But the temple was not desolated by the Babylonians until after the sins of the people had provoked God to take away the glory of his own blessed presence. 2. Bo it proved in the dayB of their chwl,rffl. (1) As the blood of Jehoiada returned upon the head of his murderer■ in the Babylonian invasion, 10 did that of Jesus return upon their: cs, xxin, 1-39.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 423