The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 587

of Christ, which the writer of Wisdom, with formulnry for expressing our experience of remarkable insight, thus foroibly delineated. past uniformity) were superseded for the Ver. 44.-The thieves also ... cut the time by the interferenoe of the Lawgiver; aame in hill teeth (ow,ii,(o .. a.in-,;, were re- he used the material to enforoe the spiritual, riling him). The mention of the penitent being the Lord of both. Whether the rohber is found only in Luke (xxiii. 39- darkneBB extended beyond Judma unto e.ll 43). It does not seem to have occurred in that part of the earth whioh wns then th0 t.rn,litional ncconnt followed by Matthew illumined by the light of the sun, we oannot nnd Mark. Augustine thought that these tell. Some of the Fathers refer to it as ir eynoptistll need the plural for the singular, it wns universal. A. supposed allusion waa referring, in fact, to the impenitent male- made by Phlegon, a writer of the aeoond factor. It is more likely that both the century, whose work, called • Annals of the thieves at first joined the mob in thcirabuse Olympiads,' is not extant, but is quoted by and riool<lry, but that one, after a time, per- Julius Africanus e.nd Eusebius (see Word&- suaded by the Divine patience and meek- worth, in loo.); but it seems certain that nese of the Savionr, and awed by the gather- Phlegon is speaking of an astronomionl ing darknffiS, repented, confessed, and was eclipse which oocurred in tbeordinary oourae forgiven. of nature. Tertullian states that e. notice Vere. 45---50.-Supernatural darknea. of this do.rkness was to be found in the La8t words, and death of Je8UB. (Mark xv. archives of Rome (' Apol.,' xxi.); but we 33-Si; Luke xxiii. 44--46; John xix. 28 have no further information on this point. There are some other uncertain refer- -30.) ences, e.s that of Dionysius the Areo- Ver. 4,5.-The sixth hour; i.e. noon. pagite, who is related to have said on the Christ was crucified about 9 o'clock o..m., sudden obsouration, " Either the God of the hour of the morning sacrifice; be had nature is suffering, or the maohinery of therefore by thill time been hanging three the world is being dissolved ; " but none hours on the cross. His agonies, his suffer- of these will atand the test of oriticism; ings mental and spiritual, were at their and perhaps it is safer to determine th11t height. There 'WIL8 dark:nBl8 over all the Gentile notices of the phenomenon are not land ( nrl ,raa-a." 'Ml" -y,jP ). The historice.J. forthooming, because the darkness was oon- accuracy of this darkness there is no more :fined to Palestine. It had, doubtless, e. reason to doubt than there is to doubt the doctrinal o.nd typical significance. Ohry- death of Christ itself. The great fact and sostom considers it e. token of God's anger its details stand on the same basis. How at the crime of the Jews in oruoifying the phenomenon was produced we know Jesus; others see in it an emblem of the nol That it could not be o.n ordinary withdrawal of the light of God's presence eclipse is certain, as the moon was then full. from this wicked land. It was, indeed, to it being the Paschal time, and the darkness all who would receive it, e. sign of aome tbus produced would have lasted but a few awful event in the spiritual world of un- minutes. Nor had it any connection with speakable consequence to the ohildren of the subsequent earthquake (ver. 51), as men. The ninth hour. Three o'clook p.m., some 11DBCientific e:xegetes have supposed. about the time of the evening se.crifice. On such occasions a thickness of the Ver. 46.-Cried (d.,,fJ/,71,rn,, cried out) atmosphere has been noticed, but such e.n with e. loud voioe, The loud cry at this ot'.currence could never have been described terrible moment showed that there was still in the words used by the synoptists ; and an amount of vitality in that mangled form the earthquake itseU was no ordinary event, from which extreme anguish of soul and and took place -in no ordinary manner. body forced that pleading utterance. Eli, We cannot doubt that the darkness was Eli, lama sa.bachthani 1 tha.t is to say (t11at HUpernatural. conveying a solemn lesson to ii), My God, my God,why hast thou forsaken all who beheld it. When we consider what ( ,-y,ca:rb. ,1ru, didat thou jOTaake) me 1 This we.s being done on Calvary, who it was is the only one of our Lord's seven saying& that we.a dying there, what was the object from the cross recorded by St. Matthew and of his Passion, what was the infinite and St. Mark. The other evangelists do not unspeakable effect of the sacrifice there mention it at all. The language is Aramaic, offered, is it wonderful that the Divine doubtleas that used commonly by our Lord. Architect controlled Nature to sympathize He quotes the words of the twenty-second with her Cree.tor, that as a superno.tuml psalm as applicable to himself, aa offering effulgence herald&d the Saviour's birth, a a fore-ordained expression of his agony of imperue.tural darkness should shroud his soul Into the full meaning of this bitter death? We are in the region of the Divine. cry we cannot venture irreverently to in- What we have leamed to regard ae natural trude. At the same time, thua mooh may laws (but which really are only our be said. It was not mere bodily anguish OH, XXVII, 1--66.J TUE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 593