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me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of o Matt. xii. 43. a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and P the last state of that man p John v. 14. is worse than the first.

r

t

r

Heb. vi. 4:
x. 26. 2 Pet.
ii. 20.

ch. viii. 1. James i. 25

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, a Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and ach. i. 28, 48. the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. 29 And when the people were gathered thicks together, he began to say, ▾ This is an evil generation: trender, from among the multitude. u render, multitudes were gathering. ▾ read, This generation.

loosed for the final conflict by His suffer-
ance, shall cast him overthrown into the
lake of fire for ever. Rev. xx. 14.
23.] See on Matthew, ver. 30. 24-26.]
See on Matt. xii. 43.
27, 28.] This
little but most instructive incident, here
interposed, serves to shew the originality
of St. Luke's account, and that, whatever
its position may be, it is itself of the high-
est authority. The woman apparently was
influenced by nothing but common-place
and unintelligent wonder at the sayings
and doings of Jesus :-and she broke out,
with true womanly feeling, into a blessing
of the mother who bare such a wonder-
ful Teacher. Such seems to be the ac-
count of the incident itself.

Our

Lord's reply is indeed wonderful :—(1) In reproof. He corrects in her the unapprehensiveness of His word, which had caused her to go no further into the meaning of it than this ordinary eulogy imported, and gives her an admonition how to profit better by it in future.

(3) In

(2) In humility. He disclaims all this
kind of admiration, for his humanity: and
says not my word,' but the word of God,
which is in fact the same, but takes the
view off from Him in His abasement, unto
the Father who sent Him.
truth. He does not deny the honour
hereby pronounced upon His mother, but
beautifully turns it to its true side- viz.
that which was given her long since-
blessed is she that believed, ch. i. 45.
Her blessedness consisted not so much

Matt, vii. 21.
Matt.xii. 8,

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in being His mother, as in her lowly
and faithful observance of the word of the
Lord spoken to her; see ch. ii. 19, 51.
Nor again does He deny that to have
borne Him was an honour-yea, rather:
--'yes, indeed, but.' (4) In prophetic
discernment. It will be seen that this
answer cuts at the root of all worship of
Mary, and shews us in what the true
honour of that holy woman consisted,-in
faith and obedience. As the mother of
the Lord, she represents our human race,
unto whom a child is born, a son is given;
no individual exclusive honour is due to
her, any more than to Cornelius, who was
singled out from the Gentile world, and
honoured by an angelic message relative
to the divine purposes:- if she were, as
there is every reason to conclude she was,
a believer in her Son, the Son of man, she
bore Christ in a far higher and more
blessed sense than by being His mother in
His humanity. And this honour may all
believers in Him partake of with her;
therefore the Lord says not "she that
heareth..." but they that hear. The last
and boldest perversion of these words of
our Lord by Father Newman, viz., that
He thus does but still further exalt her
honour, in that, besides being His mother,
she heard His word and kept it, need only
be mentioned, to show the follies to which
able men are abandoned, who once desert
truth and simplicity. 29.] This is
now in answer to those who sought of Him
a sign from Heaven.
when the mul-

ii. 10.

X

t

they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but t Jonah i. 17: the sign of Jonas [the prophet]. 30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to u 1 Kings 1. 1. this generation. 31 u The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, y a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas: and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 33 y No man, ch. viii. 16. when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on aa candlestick, that they z Matt. vi. 22. which come in may see the light. 34 z The blight of the body is bb the eye: [c therefore] when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is ce full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part

x Jonah iii. 5.

y Matt. v. 15.

Mark iv. 21.

W render, it seeketh.

d

сс

y render, there is more than Solomon here.

Z render, there is more than Jonas here.

a render, the and correct similarly in Matt. v. 15.

b

:

render, candle.

in allusion to that.

bb

I omit.

It is the same word as that so rendered above, and is used

thine. read, comit. titudes were gathering... perhaps in expectation, as He paused in His discourse, that the sign was now about to be shewn : -see notes on Matthew for the main subject. Here we have one part of the sign of Jonas brought out, which is not touched on in Matthew, viz. his preaching after his resurrection to the Ninevites, announcing-for that would necessarily be involved in that preaching-the wonderful judgment of God in bringing him there,and thus making his own deliverance, that he might preach to them, a sign to that people; which sign (ver. 32) they received, and repented; but more than Jonas, a greater sign by far, this generation shall reject.

32.] Not a greater than Jonas,' or 'than Solomon but Jonah here is used as equivalent to the sign of Jonah, so that more applies to Him who is the sign to this generation:- a sign, greater, both in its actuality, its significance, and its consequences. The order, here, seems to be for the sake of climax ;

cc render, light.

d

render, dark. for the undervaluing and not appreciating His wisdom, will not lie so heavy on them in the judgment, as the rejection of His preaching of repentance. 33-36.] Our Lord goes on to speak of His teaching and miracles, which this generation despised, and demanded a sign from heaven in preference; He tells them that they will not see the significance of them, because they shut the eyes of their understanding, which should be the light of the soul;this is set before them in a parable concerning the light of the body, which is the outward eye. The sentences are repeated from the Sermon on the Mount, see Matt. v. 15; vi. 22 f. (where see notes on all that is common), and ch. viii. 16; but, as has been shewn, the truth shines from a different side of them here. 33.] a secret place-more properly, a crypt, or covered passage. 36.] It has been said of this verse by a very able expositor (De Wette) that it is “tautological: the second member contains the same assertion

сс

dark, the whole shall be cc full of light, as when the bright
shining of a candle doth give thee light.
a certain Pharisee besought him to
he went in, and sat down to meat.

37 And as he spake, dine with him and

:

38 And a when the a Mark vii. 3.

Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 b And the Lord said unto him, Now do b Matt. xxiii. ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the

e render, a candle lighteneth thee with its brightness.

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as the first."-Let us examine this. When thine eye is single (ver. 34),-i. e. simple, —straight and single-seeing,-thy whole body will be light.' Then (ver. 36), -if this be so, if thy whole body be light, having no part dark,-then it shall all be light as when a lamp with its brightness illuminates thee.' Of what is our Lord speaking? Of His teaching, as apprehended by the simple, single-seeing soul. If then the soul be so,-having no part darkened by prejudice or selfish lusts, and approach thus to His teaching, it shall be wholly illuminated by it, as by the candle of the Lord, searching its inward parts. So this saying, which, even as it stands, is not tautological,-for the second clause expresses the further result and waxing onward of the shining light, arising from the singleness of the eye,—becomes, in its spiritual significance, a weighty declaration of truth, answering to ch. viii. 15:see also John viii. 12.

37-54.] DISCOURSE AGAINST THE PHARISEES. There can be no antecedent improbability in the supposition that our Lord spoke on various occasions, and with various incidental references, the component parts of that great anti-pharisaic discourse contained in Matt. xxiii. That was spoken in the temple, during the last week of His ministry; it formed the solemn close of His public teaching, and at the end of it He departed out of the temple to return no more. I do not think it possible to suppose any part of that discourse in Matthew to be related otherwise than in its true place; all probability is against such an idea, and so is the character of the reports of discourses in that Gospel, in general so strictly coherent and exact. There is then but one supposition left, unless we suppose St. Luke to have put together at random a number of fragments, and to have inserted them here, creating an occasion for them (for it amounts to this), which is equally inconceivable. And that is, that our Lord spoke at this meal, the occasion being the wonder of the Pharisee at His not washing before sitting down to meat, VOL. I.

25.

parts of that discourse, with which He afterwards solemnly closed His public ministry. See throughout, notes on Matt. xxiii.

37. to dine] This meal, as also that in John xxi. 12, 15, was not what we now understand by dinner, an afternoon meal, but the first meal of the day, the breakfast or dejeuner in the prime of the morning. We may retain dine (indeed we have no other fitting word) provided we remember this. 38.] The expression of this wonder is not stated, but it is probable that it found expression in some open way. Our Lord would hardly have so suddenly begun, ye Pharisees, unless something had been said, to which by assent they were parties. See His proceeding when nothing was said,—ch. vii. 39, 40. washed] literally baptized. This use of the word shews that it did not imply necessarily immersion of the whole body;-for it was only the hands which the Pharisees washed before meat. 39.] There is not the least improbability or incongruity in our Lord's having thus spoken as a guest at a meal (as some of the German Commentators maintain);—His solemn work of reproof and teaching was never suspended out of mere compliment,-nor were the intentions of the Pharisees towards Him so friendly as these invitations seem to imply. They were given mostly from deference to popular opinion, and from no love to Him; --sometimes even with a directly hostile object. See vv. 53, 54, and compare also ch. vii. 44-46. Observe also, that the severest parts of the discourse in Matthew (vv. 13-22, 33) were not uttered on this Now, i. e. as instanced by your present conduct-Here is an instance of your, &c. the cup and the platter-understand, in the proverb'—or perhaps the application is left to be enthymematically filled up, for the next clause presupposes it. the outside and the inward part of a man, are not the outside and inside of the body-but the outside apparent conduct, and the inner unseen

occasion.

BB

e Titus i. 15. platter; but your inward part is full of 8 ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which

Dan. iv. 27.

ch. xii. 33.

Matt. xxiii.

23.

Mark xii. 38,

d Isa. lviii. 7. is without make that which is within also? 41 d But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. 42 e But woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. f Matt, xxii. 6. 43 f Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Matt. xxiii. 448 Woe unto you, [ scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!] h for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you i Matt. xxiii. 4. also, ye lawyers, i for ye lade men with burdens grievous

59.

27.

h Ps. v. 9.

motives.

g i. e. plunder.

Some difficulty has been found in the parallelism of the outside of the cup and platter and your inward part. But the fact is, that the parable and its interpretation are intermixed throughout the whole, the mind of the hearer being left to find its own way in allotting each its part. 40.] seems clearly to me to be a question, and to mean, as A. V., Did not He, who made the outside, make the inside also-i. e. if His works have become unclean and polluted through sin, what is the use of only partially purging them, not accomplishing the purgation? -must not the cleansing, to be good for any thing, extend to the whole? See, on a proposal otherwise to understand it, the note in my Greek Test. 41.] Many Commentators, from whom I am compelled entirely to differ, understand this as ironical-but ye give alms of their contents, and, behold, all things are clean (in your estimation) to you.' But this would be altogether irrelevant to the matter in hand, which was reproof to the Pharisees for their care about outward cleanliness, when the inside was left unclean. It would also be altogether contrary to our Lord's usual habit of speaking about giving alms, to make Him cast a slur on it, as this would do: see Mark x. 21; ch. xii. 33, where the expression is very similar to this. The command is a rebuke for their covetousness (see ch. xvi. 14), which follows in close connexion with ravening (plunder) and wickedness, ver. such things as ye have (literally,

39.

homit.

the things inside) are the contents of the vessel, which vessel (ver. 39: see note above) is the men themselves: and is therefore equivalent in its meaning to that ye have of ch. xii. 33,-and the all things are clean answers to the treasure in heaven of that verse, the result of which is the "heart in heaven" and such persons being pure in heart,-to them, as to the pure, all things are pure (Titus i. 15).

42.] But woe unto you, for ye do not this, but make the most trifling payments, &c. The connexion, which is thus so close, is quite destroyed by the ironical interpretation of ver. 41. See note on Matt. xxiii. 23. 43.] Matt. xxiii. 6, 7. There doubtless was ample illustration of this at the time and place when it was spoken. 44.] See Matthew, ver. 27;-but here the point of comparison is different. There (see note) the sepulchres are whited, that men may not pass over them unawares: and the comparison is to the outside fairness, and inside abomination. Here, the graves are not seen, and men thinking they are walking on clean ground are defiled by passing over them. Perhaps the difference of expression may have been occasioned by the greater wealth and splendour and display of the Pharisees in the metropolis, where Matt. xxiii. was spoken. 45.] This

man appears to have been not a common Pharisee merely, but besides, a lawyer, whose duty it especially was to interpret the law. Perhaps he found himself involved in the censure of ver. 42; or gene

to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with

29.

34.

m Gen. iv. 8.

one of your fingers. 47k Woe unto you, for ye build the Matt. xxii. sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye i bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers for they indeed killed them, and ye build [ their sepulchres]. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them 1 Matt. xxiii. they shall slay and persecute: 50 that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 m from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished 2 Chron. between the altar and the temple: 1 verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, Mat lawyers, for m ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. 53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: i render, bear witness to, and.

n

j omitted by some of the most ancient authorities.

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here a remarkable variation of expression in ver. 49, the wisdom of God said is expressed by "I" in Matthew. Various explanations have been given of this. The difficulty is not the variation just noticed, so much as that no such passage exists in the O. T. But I have little doubt that the true explanation is this:-the whole saying is a reference to 2 Chron. xxiv. 18-22, and so marked a one, that I am surprised that no Commentators but Olshausen and Stier should have observed it, and they not thoroughly.

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sage opens with remarks of the sacred historian on the delinquency of Judah and Jerusalem after the death of Jehoiada the priest then ver. 19, He sent prophets to them, to bring them again to the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them And

1 render, yea.

n

xxiv. 20, 21.

o Matt. xxiii.

n read, when he was gone out.

Lord. . . . . And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.' The words in our text are not indeed a citation, but an amplification of ver. 19 there-a paraphrase of them, giving the true sense of what the wisdom of God intended by them ;- enlarging the mere historical notice which laid hold of God's purpose only by one thread let down to the earth, into the divine revelation of the whole purpose of God as the counsel of His will in heaven. In Matthew, the Lord Jesus Himself, as became the solemnity of that final and awful close of His testimony to His own who received Him not, stands forth as the doer of this work, the sender of the Prophets and Apostles. (On 'son of Barachias,' see on Matthew, ver. 35.)

52. ye took away the key of knowledge] "Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men," Matthew, ver. 13, which words are the best explanation of our text :-the key of knowledge (i. e. not of, as admitting to, knowledge-but the key is the knowledge), being that right understanding of the Law and Prophets, which should shew Him to the people, of whom they testified; this the expounders of Scripture had taken away, neither themselves entering, nor permitting those to enter who were

they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the

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