7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

1 Luke xxiv. 34. 1 Cor. xv. 4. 2 Ver. 16, 17.

7. Tell his disciples. Mark adds particularly, "tell Peter." This was a kind message to Peter, who had so recently denied his Lord. It would serve to cheer him in his despondency, and to assure him that his sin had been forgiven; and it shows the tender love and remembrance of Jesus, even for his unfaithful friends.

8. And they departed quickly. Joyful at the news, and wishing to impart it to all, they fled to find the disciples, to tell them that the Lord was risen. ¶ With fear and great joy. Fear, 1. At the wonderful scenes which they had witnessed, the stone rolled away, and the presence of an angel. 2. A confused state of mind, apprehensive, perhaps, that it might not after all be true. The news was too good to be credited at once. Yet they had sufficient belief in it to fill them with great and unexpected joy. Perhaps no language could better express the state of their minds, the mingled awe and rejoicing, than that which is here used, ¶ And did run, &c. They ran to announce what they had seen to the disciples. The city, where the disciples were, was half a mile or more from the place.

9. And as they went-Jesus met them. This was when they left the sepulchre the second time. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene, when alone. John xx. 14. Afterwards he appeared to the other women, as related by Matthew. See the accounts of the resurrection harmonized, at the end of this chapter. All hail This is a term of salutation. The word all has been supplied by the translators. It is not in the original. The meaning of the word hail here is rejoice; a term of salutation connected with the idea of joy, joy at his resurrection, and at meeting them again. Held him by the feet. Or threw themselves prostrate before him.

9¶ And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

3 John xx. 19. 4 Heb. ii. 11.

This was the usual posture of supplication. See 2 Kin. iv. 37. It does not mean that they took hold of his feet, but only that they cast themselves down before him. And worshipped him. See Note, ch. viii. 2. In this place the word worship seems to denote the homage due to the Messiah risen from the dead; regarded by them now in a proper light, and entitled to the honour which was due to God, agreeably to John v. 23.

10. Be not afraid. The ancients, when in the presence of a heavenly being, an angel, or one who was supposed to be possessed of divine power, were commonly struck with great fear, as well as a great sense of their unworthiness. See Judg. vi. 22, 23; xiii. 21, 22. Luke v. 8. The women were in like manner alarmed when they saw Jesus, believing him now peculiarly to be a divine being; seeing him returning from the regions of the dead; and doubtless impressed with a new consciousness that they were unworthy of being in his presence. Jesus comforted them. He was the same Jesus with whom they had been before his death; and they had no reason now to fear him. Go tell my brethren. There is something exceedingly tender in the appellation here used, "my brethren." Though he was risen from the dead; though about to be exalted to heaven; yet he did not disdain to call his disciples his brethren. This was calculated still further to silence the fears of the women, and inspire them with confidence. ¶ Into Galilee. Galilee was the northern part of the land. There the Saviour commenced his ministry; and there, away from the noise and confusion of the city, he purposed again to meet the disciples, in retirement and quietness, to satisfy them of his resurrection, and to commission them to

11 ¶ Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him,

go forth and preach the everlasting gospel.

11. When they were going. Or when they had gone from the tomb. Some of the watch. Some of the guard that had been set around the tomb to keep it safe. Probably the leaders, or officers, came to give a true account of what had happened. Showed unto the chief priests. To Annas and Caiaphas.

12. And when they were assembled, &c. They deemed the matter of so much importance as to justify the calling together of the great council of the nation. Notwithstanding all their caution, it was plain that the body of Jesus was gone. It was further plain that the disciples would affirm that he was raised. It was not improbable that Jesus would himself appear, and convince multitudes that he was the Messiah; and that the guilt of putting him to death would, after all their caution and cunning, be charged on them. They had been at great pains to procure his death. They had convinced Pilate that he was dead. They had placed a guard for the express purpose of preventing his being taken. It would be in vain after this to pretend that he was not dead; that he was in a swoon; that he died in appearance only. They had shut themselves out from this, which would have been the most plausible plea, and whatever course they might now adopt, they were obliged to proceed on the admission that he had been really dead, and that all proper measures had been taken to prevent his being stolen. They concluded, after consultation, that but one way was left, to bribe the soldiers, to induce them to tell a falsehood, and to attempt to convince the world that Jesus, in spite of themselves, and in the face of all probability, had been really stolen. Large money. Much money.

This

15 So they took the money. and did as they were taught: 2 and

1 Ch. xxvii. 64. 21 Tim. vi. 10.

was given to bribe them, to induce them to conceal the truth, and to affirm what they knew was false.

14. The governor's ears. To Pilate. If it is reported to him that Jesus was stolen while you slept. ¶ We will persuade him. We will convince or satisfy him, so that he shall not punish you. This they might promise with safety. For, 1. They knew from the character of Pilate that he could be easily bribed. 2. Pilate, after the feast of the passover, was accustomed to return to Cæsarea. He had not been inclined at all to interfere in anything concerning the Saviour, until it was urged upon him by the Jews. He would not be disposed of himself to take any further trouble about the matter. He would feel that all that could be demanded of him had been done, and would not be disposed further to interfere, unless the sanhedrim should demand it. This of course they would not do.

This

15. This saying is reported. account of the disappearance of the body of Jesus from the sepulchre is commonly given. Until this day. time when Matthew wrote this gospel. i. e., about thirty years after the resurrection.

The

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus, of which an account is given in this chapter, is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian religion, and is attested by the strongest evidence that can be adduced in favour of any ancient fact. Let it be considered: 1. That he had often foretold his own death and resurrection. See Matt. xii. 40; xvi. 21; xx. 19. 2. There was no doubt that he was really dead. Of this the Jews, the Romans, and the disciples, were all equally well satisfied. 3. Every proper precaution was taken to prevent his removal by stealth. A guard, usually consisting of sixty men, was placed there for the express purpose

of keeping him, and the sepulchre was secured by a large stone, and by a seal. 4. On the third day the body was missing. In this all were agreed. The high priest did not dare to call that in question. They laboured, therefore, to account for it. The disciples affirmed that he was alive. The Jews hired the Roman soldiers to affirm that he was stolen while they slept, and succeeded in making many of the people believe it. This account of the Jews is attended with the following difficulties and absurdities: 1. The Roman guard was composed usually of sixty men, and they were stationed there for the express purpose of guarding the body of Jesus. 2. The punishment of sleeping while on guard in the Roman army was death, and it is perfectly incredible that they should expose themselves in this manner to death. 3. The disciples were few in number, unarmed, weak, and timid. They had just fled before those who took Jesus in the garden, and how can it be believed that in so short a time they would dare to attempt to take away from a Roman guard of armed men what they were expressly set to defend? 4. How could the disciples presume that they would find them asleep; or if they should, how was it possible to remove the stone and the body, without awaking one of their number. 5. The regularity and order of the grave-clothes, John xx. 6, 7, show that the body had not been stolen. When men rob graves of the bodies of the dead, they do not wait coolly to fold up the grave-clothes, and lay them carefully by themselves. 6. If the soldiers were asleep, how did they, or how could they know that the disciples stole the body away? If they were awake, why did they suffer it? The whole account, therefore, was intrinsically absurd. On the other hand, the account given by the disciples was perfectly natural. 1. They account for the reason why the soldiers did not see the Saviour when he rose. Terrified at the vision of an angel, they became as dead men. 2. They affirmed that they saw him. All the apostles affirmed this, and many others. 3. They affirmed it in Jerusalem, in the presence of the Jews, before the high priest and the people. See the Acts of the Apostles.

If the Jews really believed the account which they themselves had given, why did they not apprehend the apostles, and prove them guilty of theft, and of falsehood: things which they never attempted, and which show, therefore, that they did not credit their own report. 4. In regard to the Saviour, the disciples could not be deceived. They had been with him three years. They knew him as a friend. They again ate and drank with him; they put their fingers into his hands and side; they conversed with him; they were with him forty days. There were enough of them to bear witness. Law commonly requires not more than one or two competent witnesses, but here were eleven plain, honest men, who affirmed in all places, and at all times, that they had seen him. Can it be possible that they could be deceived? Then all faith in testimony must be given up. 5. They gave every possible evidence of their sincerity. They were persecuted, ridiculed, scourged, and put to death for affirming this. Yet not one of them ever expressed the least doubt of its truth. They bore everything rather than deny that they had seen him. They had no motive in doing this, but the love of truth. They obtained no wealth by it, no honour, no pleasure. They gave themselves up to great and unparalleled sufferings, going from land to land, crossing almost every sea, and enduring the dangers, toils, and privations of almost every clime, for the simple object of affirming everywhere that the Saviour died and rose. If they knew this was an imposition, and if it had been they would have known it, in what way is this remarkable conduct to be accounted for? Do men conduct themselves in this way for nought? And especially in a plain case, where all that can be required is the testimony of the senses? 6. The world believed them. Three thousand of the Jews themselves believed on the day of Pentecost, only fifty days after the resurrection. Acts ii. 41. Multitudes of other Jews believed during the lives of the apostles. Thousands of Gentiles believed also, and in three hundred years the belief that Jesus rose had spread over and changed the whole Roman empire. Had the apostles

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

19 Go ye therefore, and 5 teach

been deceivers, that was the age in which they could most easily have been detected. Yet that was the age when converts were most rapidly multiplied, and God affixed his seal to their testimony that it was

true.

16. Then the eleven disciples. Judas was dead, leaving but eleven of the original number of the apostles, ¶ Into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. This appointment is recorded in Matt. xxvi. 42. On what particular mountain this was is not known. It is probable that Jesus, when he made the appointment, specified the place, which has been omitted by the evangelists. Matthew has omitted many appearances which Jesus made to his disciples which have been recorded by Luke, John, and Paul. See the harmony of Christ's appearances after the resurrection at the end of the chapter.

17. They worshipped him. Paid him honour as the Messiah. But some doubted. As, for example, Thomas. John xx. 25. The disciples had not expected his resurrection, they were therefore slow to believe. The mention of their doubting shows that they were honest men, that they were not easily imposed on, that they had not previously agreed to affirm that he had risen, that they were convinced only by the strength of the evidence. Their caution in examining the evidence, their slowness to believe, and their firm conviction after all their doubts, and their willingness to show their conviction even to death, is most conclusive proof that they were not deceived in regard to the fact of his resurrection.

18. All power is given me in heaven and in earth. The Son of God, as Creator, had an original right to all things, to control them and dispose of them. See John i. 3. Col. i. 16, 17. Heb. i. 8. But the universe is put under

him more particularly as Mediator, that he might redeem his people, that he might gather a church, that he might defend his chosen, that he might subdue all their enemies, and bring them off conquerors and more than conquerors. John v. 22, 23. 1 Cor. xv. 25-27. Eph. i. 20-23. Phil. ii. 6-11. It is in re ference to this, doubtless, that he speaks here; power or authority was committed to him over all things, that he might redeem, defend, and save the church purchased with his own blood. His mediatorial government extends, therefore, over the material world, over angels, over devils, over wicked men, and over his own people. 19. Go ye therefore. Because all power is mine, go. I can defend you. The world is placed under my control. It is redeemed. It is given me in promise by my Father, as the purchase of my death. Though you are weak, yet I am strong. Though you will encounter many troubles and dangers, yet I can defend you. Though you die, yet I live, and the work shall be accomplished. Teach all nations. The word rendered teach, here, is not the one that is usually so translated in the New Testament. This word properly means disciple, make disciples of all nations. This was to be done, however, by teaching them, and by administering the rite of baptism. ¶ Áll nations. The gracious commission was the foundation of the authority to go to the Gentiles. The Jews had expected that the offers of life under the Messiah would be confined to their own nation. Jesus broke down the partition wall, and commissioned his disciples to go every where, and bring the world to the knowledge of himself.

Baptizing them. Applying to them water, as an emblem of the purifying influences of the christian religion through the Holy Spirit, and solemnly devoting them to God. In the name, &c. This

20 Teaching 2 them to observe

1 Isa. lii. 10. Rom. x. 18. 2 Acts ii. 42. 1 Cor. xi. 2.

phrase does not mean, here, by the authority of the Father, &c. To be baptized in the name of the Father, &c., is the same as to be baptized unto the Father, as to believe on the name of Christ is the same as to believe on Christ. John i. 12; ii. 23; iii. 18. 1 Cor. i. 13. To be baptized unto any one is publicly to receive and adopt him as a religious teacher or lawgiver; to receive his system of religion. Thus the Jews were baptized unto Moses. 1 Cor. x. 2. That is, they received the system that he taught; they acknowledged him as their lawgiver and teacher. So Paul asks, 1 Cor. i. 13, "Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" i. e., were you devoted to Paul by this rite? Did you bind yourselves to him, and give yourselves away to him, or to God? So to be baptized in the name of the Father, &c., means publicly, by a significant rite, to receive the system of religion, to bind the soul to obey his laws, to be devoted to him, to receive, as the guide and comforter of the life, his system of religion, to obey his laws, and trust to his promises. To be baptized unto the Son, in like manner, is to receive him as the Messiah, our Prophet, Priest, and King; to submit to his laws, and to receive him as the Saviour of the soul. To be baptized unto the Holy Ghost is to receive him publicly as the Sanctifier, Comforter, and guide of the soul. The meaning, then, may be thus expressed Baptizing them unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by a solemn profession of the only true religion, and by a solemn devotion to the service of the sacred Trinity.

The union of these three names in the form of baptism proves that the Son and Holy Ghost are equal with the Father. Nothing would be more absurd or blasphemous than to unite the name of a creature, a man or an angel, with the name of the ever-living God, in this

solemn rite. If Jesus was a mere man or an angel, as is held by many who deny his divinity; and if the Holy Ghost was a mere attribute of God; then it would have been the height of absurdity to use a form like this, or to direct the apostles to baptize men unto them. How absurd would be the direction, nay, how blasphemous, to have said, "Baptize them unto God, and unto Paul, and unto the wisdom or power of God!" Can we believe that our Saviour would have given a direction so absurd as this? Yet, unless he himself was divine, and the Holy Spirit was divine, Jesus gave a direction substantially the same as this. The form of baptism, therefore, has been always understood as an irrefragable argument for the doctrine of the Trinity, or that the Son and Holy Spirit are equal with the Father.

20. Lo, I am with you. That is, by my Spirit, my providence, my attending counsel and guidance. I will strengthen, assist, and guide you. This also proves that Christ is divine. If a mere man, or a creature of the highest order, how could he promise to be with his disciples always, or at all? They would be scattered far and wide. His disciples would greatly increase. If he was with them always, he was God; for no finite creature could thus be present with many men scattered in different parts of the world. ¶ Unio the end of the world. The word rendered world, here, sometimes means age or state; and by some it has been supposed to mean, I will be with you until the end of this age, or during the continuance of the jewish state, to the destruction of Jerusalem. But as the presence of Christ was no less necessary after that than before, there seems to be no propriety in limiting the promise to his own age. It may, therefore, be considered as a gracious promise to aid, strengthen, guide and defend all his disciples, but more especially his ministers, to the end of time.