The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 74

pri,•at, AnnRe. hRving been depnecd eorne realm ruled over by the son of JeBSe and hl1 Htoon yr&ro prnvionsly by the ll<'tion of the greater son, was the ideal dreamed of by the then Rom&n pro~nr1ttor, ValPrius Gratus. Hebrew. In the long period of misfortune Jn spite of t.his offici&l deposition, he still which SUCC<'eded the golden days of the Rf>p"rently ('.ontinued to be reg&rded ss lhe monarchy, the people at firat longed for a l,·!;"ilimste hiµ:b priest by the gre&t majority deliverer, and then-o.s never a ray of sun- or his countrymen. His grPst position and light pierced the clouds which surrounded clsim to the pontifical offiM, ss we ehsll them-an avenger took the pie.ea of a deli- ,aee, w&s msrke,Hy =ogni1:cd Rt the time of verer. The Messiah or the future must be the stare trial of our Lord. Since his depo- One who should restore hi1 people carte.inly, ■ ition by the Romsn government, four high but in the restoration must exe.ot a sharp priest,, had been promoted in succession to and severe reckoning from those who had the office of chief pontiff. It e.ppeRrs that at so long oppressed hie Israel. They had this time 11,nd for e. long series of yee.rs, thia no conception of their true state,-their g,-eat 1L1Jd powerful me.n, although not dsriug hypocrisy, their formalism, their total igno- publicly to defy the Roman authority by rance of all true spiritual religion. Their 11ssuming the insignis of the high priest, higher e.nd cultured ole.ssee were sel6eh, filled the office of N asi, or president or the gro.sping, impure, untrue. The me.se of the Sanliedrin. The word ot God oe.me unto people were ignorant and degraded, cruel John the eon ot Zach&riu in the wilder- fanatics, excited and untutored zealots. neSI. In the duys of the shove-mentioned Frorn this mistaken notion of Messiah e.nd rulers-pe.µ:an And Jewish, civil and eccle- his work it was necessary that a prophet, Eie.stic:11-came the summons to the son of eminent and gifted like those mighty men ZRcharin.s in bis aolitnde in the wilderness. who had wrought great things in times past From childhood he had been designated for among the people, should arise among eome g:reat work, and he knew it; his whole them, e.nd with strong, powerful, inspired earl~· life had been & training for it; and e.t words convince them of their fatal error- last the summons came. We are not told one who, in the language of the greatest of of itia special form; it was don btless a theo- the order, should prepare the way of the pha11y, or a vision somewhat similar tn that Lord. How imperatively necesso.ry, for which revealed to Moses and Isaiah, to the work of the Redeemer, thi■ work of the Jeremiah and Ezekiel, their special work, pioneer we.a, is seen from the extreme diffi- and the way in which that special work culty which Jesus Christ himself found in was to be done. persuading even his own little faithful band Ver. 3.-A.nd he Clllllle into all the 11011.ntry to ri>alize anything of the nature of hie about 1ordan. The reputation of John pro- work; in good truth they never, not even the bably preceded the Divine summons. Hie noblest spirits among them, really grasped family-the son of a well-known priestly the secret of their Master's mission till the familv-the marvellous circumstances at- cross and the Passion belonged to history, tm,Ja.nt on hie birth, hie ascetic manner of and the Crucified had become the Risen,e.nd life frnm the beginning,-all this bad contri- the Risen the ascended God. The baptism of buted to make him a marked personage; so, repentanoe. What, first, did John mean by wbeu he left his solitude, we read in the other repentance f The word transle.tes the Greek evangelists how multitudes came forth to µ,.,.&.vo,a., which signifies "chsnge of mind." hear the strange burning word,;, the Divine In the Gospel of St. Matthew, where John's eluquenee of one long looked upon by the -work is told in slightly different language, people as set apart for a great work. He he is represented as saying, "Repent ye" seems to have principally preached and c,.,.,.cvo,iTE), There his words might be taught in the Jordan vo.Iley-no doubt for paraphrased, "Turn ye from your old the convenience of his candidates for baptism. thoughts, from your at.ate of self-content, But l,e c:vidently did not confine bis preach- self-satisfaction; mend your ways; reform." ing to one spot or even to one neighbour- Here, then, the baptism (what that signi- hood. The district here alluded to was 6.ed we sho.11 discuss presently) whjeh he about a hundred and fi~y wiles in length. preached and summoned men to, must be The expectation of Messiah for centuries acoompanied with a change of mind: the had been the root of all true life in Israel ; baptized must be no longer content with their gradually, as the clouds of evil fortune present state or conduct; they must change gathered thick over the people, the figure their ways and reform their lives. Let of the coming Medsie.h assumed a different them, those who were convinced that he wa1 upect. At first a holier Monarch than their indeed a man of God, that his words were loved David, a grander Soverei,gn and a right ~nd j;rue,-let them 00010 to him, mightier th11,n the Solomon of whom they determiucd to change their conduct in life, \\ere so proud, a Kil'II) whose dominions and receive from Lis hands a baptism, a ~J;uuld bi; lJro!lder far thaii even the wide WRILing-t/,e •vmbol of th~ mean, of P"''iJI• mt. m. 1-38.] TIIE 008PEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKF..