have gained two other talents | earth: lo, there thou hast that besides them. is thine. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent, came, and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the 24. Hard; severe. | Strowed; probably the operation of winnowing was alluded to. The grain, after being threshed, was thrown up against the wind, so as to cleanse and separate it from the chaff. The servant accused his master of being so severe and unreasonable as to demand of his laborers a crop without having sown the seed, and a heap of grain without winnowing; that is, of being so unreasonable as to demand certain results, without having provided the requisite means. The servant employed a vivid, proverbial manner of expressing this thought. 25. I was afraid; afraid that I could not equal thy expectations. 26. Wicked and slothful servant. His master traced his conduct to its right source, an evil and indolent disposition; not the lack of means and opportunities for doing as his master wished, nor an expectation on the part of his master disproportionate to the means in his power. 27. The exchangers; money-changers; brokers, who were accustomed to hire money and pay a premium. With usury; with interest. The word usury, in the Bible, does not necessarily mean unlawful, or exorbitant, interest. The servant's very | 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: 27 Thou oughtest, therefore, to have put my money to the exchangers, and then, at my coming, I should have received mine own, with usury. 28 Take, therefore, the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall confession conveyed in it his condemnation. If his master had been an unreasonable man, demanding an altogether disproportionate income, so that the servant must despair of equalling his master's expectations, this was no reason why he should have done nothing at all with the money that had been entrusted to him; it was no reason why he should have neglected some most obvious and easy methods of making his master's money turn to profit. But in truth, he was badly disposed towards his master, and was altogether an indolent servant. mention of exchangers, by whose means this servant might have rendered his master's deposit valuable, merely shows, in the application of the parable to our spiritual condition, that no man, however few the abilities bestowed on him, is destitute of sufficient and ample means of acceptably serving God and coming at length to eternal bliss; and thus that no one has an excuse for not pleasing God that is worthy of being named. The 29. For every one, &c. It is a general principle of the divine government, that every one who has advantages and rightly uses them, shall receive additional advantages; while he, who has no advantages, or rather neglects to have abundance: but from him | come in his glory, and all the hothat hath not shall be taken away | ly angels with him, then shall he even that which he hath. sit upon the throne of his glory. 32 And before him shall be 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark-gathered all nations; and he ness there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. 31 When the Son of man shall employ what he has, will not only deprive himself of the happiness which those advantages might have secured, but is even in danger of losing the advantages themselves. A rich man, by sigaciously employing his wealth, becomes richer still; a poor man, despising the slender means which he has, and indulging in indolence and improvidence, becomes poorer still. This principle is of general application, both to temporal things and to spiritual; and ought never to be forgotten in respect to the account which we must all give to our heavenly Master. 30. Outer darkness; extreme wretchedness. For the origin of this manner of speaking, see Matt. 8: 12. 22: 13. The parallel passages relative to the coming of the Lord, are Mark 13: 136. Luke 21: 5-36. 17: 22-37. REMARKS. We all have means and opportunities of acceptably serving God. If we do serve him by a right use of these means and opportunities, he will bestow his approbation, and make us truly happy. If we do not serve him, we shall subject ourselves to certain and deserved punishment, as being entirely destitute of a reasonable excuse. Still further, it is not necessary, for our condemnation, that we grossly abuse our privileges; if we are unprofitable servants, merely neglecting the advantages within our reach, we shall be condemned. It is worthy of distinct notice, that only the negligent, and those who abuse the advantages they enjoy, are inclined to find fault with the Lord's administration; candid, well-disposed, and industrious servants of God find nothing in his character or administration, shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: but what tends to increase their esteem and attachment for him, and their desire still and forever to serve him. If we are disposed to censure the dealings of God, to find fault with his character and claims, and to think him a hard master, the difficulty lies in our own hearts; and a day is coming, which will completely vindicate the character and government of God, and which will cover with eternal shame those who have failed to serve God,and have cherished dishonorable thoughts respecting him. In view of the truths developed in this parable, how necessary it is that we be habitually diligent in the Lord's service; and that we hold ourselves in habitual readiness to give up our account! For to an account we shall be called. To a distinct notice of the great day when we must be summoned to judgment, the Saviour immediately proceeded. 31. In his glory; in majesty. The Messiah is here represented as a king coming in royal state. || All the holy angels with him. As kings, on great and special occasions, make their appearance attended by their high officers, so the Messiah will come to judgment, attended by holy angels as ministers of his will. || The throne of his glory; his glorious throne. He will appear as a king, to pronounce judgment. 32. Sheep from the goats. Sheep, from their distinctive qualities, are here employed as representing the righteous. Sheep are considered as innocent and cleanly animals: the word is elsewhere used to designate the truly_righteous, the followers of Christ. See the 10th chapter of John 33 And he shall set the sheep | stranger, and took thee in? or on his right hand, but the goats naked, and clothed thee? On the contrary, goats are considered as uncleanly animals. Among the Jews, the terms unclean and sinful were of similar import; so that the word goat was well adapted to express a wicked man. 33. Right hand; as expressing his approbation. It was usual, among the ancients, to regard the right hand, or the right side, as indicating favor. To see a thing on the right, was a good omen. So the left hand was indicative of misery, of bad results. 34. The king; the Messiah, who will act as judge. John 5: 27. Rom. 14: 10. 2 Cor. 5: 10. || Inherit; take possession of. The kingdom; the royal state, the state of glory and bliss. The highest earthly dignity is not too great to represent the future recompense of the Saviour's followers. See Rev. 1: 6. Prepared; appointed. From the foundation of the world. Compare Eph. 1: 4, 5. 35 A hungered, hungry. || Meat. 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: 1 was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. The word meat in the Bible is of more extensive meaning than among us at the present time. It signifies food, and is applicable to bread, as well as to animal food. See Gen. 40: 17. In this verse and in the following, Jesus represented himself as having been in various kinds of distress, and the righteous as always ready to manifest their love to him. 37-39. The modesty and humility of the truly righteous are most happily portrayed here. 40. The least, &c. Jesus dignified with the name of brethren all his fol lowers; and here he particularly spoke of those who had been in lowly and afflicted circumstances, neglected and despised by some men, but who had been relieved by their more favored fellow-disciples. Compare 12: 49, 50 10: 40. See also Prov. 19: 17. 41. Fire. An emblem of severe punishment. His angels; the fallen angels (see 2 Peter 2: 4, and Jude 6), 44 Then shall they also an- into everlasting punishment: but swer him, saying, Lord, when the righteous into life eternal. saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away of whom Satan is the prince. See 12: 24. 44. The unsubmissive and self-confident spirit of the wicked, seeking for excuses and exercising self-vindication, is here brought to view. 46. Everlasting punishment — life eternal. The word translated everlasting, in this verse, is the same, in the original, as the word translated eternal. The same word expresses the duration of the punishment in one case, as expresses the duration of life, that is, happiness, in the other. The decisions of the day of judgment, whether for weal or for woe, are irreversible, and our whole existence, after that day, will be regulated by the decisions of that day. In view of such a judgment, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness! See 2 Pet. 3: 10-14. CHAPTER XXVI. AND it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. state of heart which is acceptable to the Searcher of hearts. It is on this principle, that benevolent deeds to the poor are elsewhere represented as peculiarly acceptable to God. See Dan. 4:27. Luke 3: 11. 11: 41. 18: 22. CHAPTER XXVI. 1. When Jesus had finished all these sayings. It would seem by a remark in Luke 21: 37, 38, that, for a short time after the discourse recorded in the two preceding chapters, Jesus occu pied himself by day in teaching in the temple, and spent his nights at the mount of Olives, that is, probably, in Bethany, which lay at the foot of the mount. 2. The feast of the passover. The word feast, in modern use, does not answer to the idea of the passover. It was not an entertainment, lasting for an hour or a day; but was a religious In this description of the last judg-celebration of a most joyful character, ment, deeds of benevolence toward suf- extending through a whole week, in fering followers of Christ are described commemoration of the Hebrews' deas securing the favor of the judge; and parture from the land of Egypt, and the failure to have performed such the preservation of their first-born on deeds, as bringing condemnation. The the night when the first-born of Egypt fundamental reason of this is, that the were slain. The name in English, as performance of such deeds in the spirit in Hebrew, expresses the design of the which is hinted at in vs. 37-39, is a celebration. The Lord passed over the proof of love to Christ; and these in-houses of the Hebrews, while he perstances of obedience and duty are to be regarded as a part taken for the whole. If a person have the love to Christ which will prompt him to such acts of benevolence, he has the love which will produce a general obedience to the will of Christ; he has a mitted death to enter the houses of the Egyptians. See Ex. 12th chapter. The word festival would be more appropriate. It was celebrated about the time of our April. It is also called the feast [festival] of unleavened bread (see Mark 14: 1. Luke 22: 1), because 3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the during the whole of the festival, the people ate unleavened bread. During this annual festival, which was celebrated at Jerusalem, immense multitudes of Jews thronged the city. Is betrayed; will be betrayed. The present tense is often used for the future; besides, on this occasion, the event was just at hand. feast-day, lest there be an uproar among the people. 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7 There came unto him a woman, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. leprosy. John informs us (12: 2), that Martha was in attendance, and that Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead (John, 11th chapter), was one of the guests. 7. Ꭿ woman. John says (12: 3), that this woman was Mary; she was the sister of Lazarus. See John 11: 2. || Alabaster. This was a species of marble, having the color of the human nail. It was used in making vases for ointments, and hence any valuable vase, of whatever materials, was called an alabaster vase. || Box; what we should express by the word vase. These vases often had long, narrow 3. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people; that is, the Sanhedrim, the members of which were selected from those classes of the people. See on 5: 22. || Palace of the high priest; mansion, place of residence; more strictly, that part of the building where large companies were re-necks, with a seal over the mouth, so ceived, which might be called the large hall. Caiaphas. Compare John 11:49. 4. By subtilty; by craft, in some deceitful way. The principal men of the nation had often attempted in vain to ensnare him. See 22: 15, &c. Luke 11: 53, 54. Now they were consulting not how they might ensnare him in his conversation, but how they might in a crafty manner seize him, and in some way secure his death. 5. Feast-day; during the festival. The word day is not found in the original. Such multitudes of Jews were assembled at the passover, and the common people were so much in favor of Jesus (Matt. 21: 46), that the members of the Sanhedrim feared that the people would be enraged, and would excite sedition, if Jesus should be taken by violence. as to prevent the perfume from evaporating. Hence, when, in Mark 14:3, the woman is said to have broken the vase, the meaning is, she broke the seal, so as to pour out the ointment. || Very precious; costly. In the original of Mark 14: 3, and of John 12:3, there is a word which shows that this ointment was of a genuine, unadulterated kind. This would appear also from the vase's being sealed. || Poured it on his head. John (12: 3) states, that the feet of Jesus were anointed. Doubtless both the feet and the head were anointed. John mentions particularly the feet, as the anointing of them was a signal mark of affection and humility. As he sat at meat. The posture at meals was not sitting, but reclining on one side, and such is the meaning of the word translated 6. In Bethany; the village in the sat, in the original. Chairs and tables vicinity of the mount of Olives, to like ours were not then in use; couchwhich Jesus was in the habit of retires adapted for reclining, were used at ing. Simon the leper; a friend, prob- meals. These consisted of three parts, ably, of Jesus, who had been cured of two placed lengthwise, and one across |