was beneath the feet of Babylon: at the end of the third it was under the Roman yoke.

18 Compare Lu.1:26-38

19 The law was very strict in an ordinary case of this kind, and demanded that the woman be taken to the entrance of her father's house and the men of her city be required to stone her until she died (Deut. 22:21). Joseph could not bring himself to this, so intended to divorce her according to the law that when a man had taken a wife and has found some uncleanness in her then he was to write her a bill of divorcement and send her out of his house (Deut.24:1).

23 In Isaiah, the prophet does not use the usual word for virgin, But olme, damsel (Isa.7:14). It is not likely that it was a virgin when it first came to pass in the prophet's day. But in this, the proper fulfillment, the spirit changes the word to virgin, as it is in the Septuagint also.

2:1-6 Bethlehem, the House of Bread, can be traced back in the family of our Lord to the time of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 1:1,2). Here David dwelt. It was so insignificant that it is not even mentioned among the cities of Judah by Joshua or Nehemiah. This is seized on by the prophet Micah (5:2) to form a background for its future greatness. Nor has any other event of importance transpired there. Its solitary and surpassing glory is the birth of the Shepherd of Israel.

1 The magi represent those who are learned in the lore of nature. All nature leads the true devotee to the worship of Him Whose handiwork it is. Many attempts have been made to explain the star of Bethlehem as a purely normal occurrence-a meteor, a comet, the conjunction of a number of planets, etc. But no such star could guide the magi for a long period and then take its place above Bethlehem, as distinct from Jerusalem. It is much easier to believe that it was an extraordinary star, for it heralded the birth of a most extraordinary Babe.

3 Herod the Great, as this king was usually called, may have been of Philistine extraction, his ancestors having been brought to Idumea as prisoners of war. He was the first sovereign of the Edomites who reigned over Judea, under Roman supremacy, and began about 40 B.C. His father, Antipater, had been procurator of Judea when Hyrcanus II., the Maccabean, was king. He died not long after these events. He received his kingdom from Antony and the Roman Senate. After the fall of Antony he found favor with the emperor Augustus. His actions tell us that he feared for his throne when the Messiah should come. In this he was in striking contrast with the Maccabean dynasty which he displaced. They took the royal authority with the express reservation of the rights of the Messiah (1 Macc.14:41). He massacred helpless infants in a futile effort to murder the Messiah.

7 It is evident, from the anxiety of Herod to get the exact time when the star first appeared, and his order to kill all the babes under two years, that the magi did not visit Bethlehem when Christ was born, but a long time afterward. He is now a little Boy, and Herod does not consider it safe to allow any child under two years to live. It is probable that they saw the star in the east at His birth, and, after some time for preparation, took their slow journey to Judea.

12 There is a startling contrast between the worshipful adoration of the magi, and the cruel conduct of His own people. The priests and scribes and populace should have exulted at His coming, but they are disturbed and uneasy. The priests should have worshiped Him, but they would not go a two-hours' journey to see Him. The magi traveled for months and brought Him presents. The scribes knew where be was born, but none went thither. The people followed their leaders. His own received Him not!

13 The khan at Bethlehem was the starting point of caravans for Egypt. Such it was in the days of Jeremiah, who lodged with Chimham at Bethlehem on his way to Egypt (Jer.41:17). And in his day many Jews went down into Egypt so that there were large Jewish colonies there to which Joseph could go during his exile. Here the

true Image of God would find the first objects to strike His dawning intelligence, and these would probably be the false images and gigantic temples of their idolatrous worship. Here was the center of the world's wisdom, but we do not read that any of the wise men recognized Him in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed (Col.2:3). But here also was the home of the Septuagint, the Greek version of the sacred scrolls which He used in His ministry. From here He, like the nation before Him, was called out of Egypt (Hos.11:1).

18 Compare Jer. 31:15.

18 The name “Rama” was a common one for a site on a hill. There was probably such a place near Bethlehem beside the tomb of Rachel, who died there in sorrow (Gen. 35:19-20). There is a beautiful connection between her sorrow and that of the bereaved mothers whose infants Herod slew.

23 “He will be called a Nazarene” was spoken prophecy. There is no reason to believe it was written or is to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Much that was spoken by the prophets was never committed to writing, but was preserved by tradition.

1-12  Compare Mk.1:1-8, Lu.3:1-18; Jn.1:6-8,10-34.

3 The wretched roads in the East were seldom repaired unless in preparation for some royal visitor. To see the peasants employed in removing the stones and straightening the road, and leveling its rough places was a sure sign that some one of high rank was expected. John the baptist was the herald of the King, calling on His subjects to prepare His path before Him (Isa.40:3).

4 There is no reason why this should not be taken literally. The Arabs of those regions still feed on locusts. The American Indians of the western deserts have been known to subsist for weeks on locusts alone. The insect was included among those which it was lawful for a Jew to eat (Lev.11:22). The monks of the dark ages thought this incredible, so they planted locust trees near the grotto in the desert which was supposed to be John's home. The carob is also found in this region and pilgrims have given it the name “St. John's bread” in order to shield him from the charge of eating insects.'

6 Baptism, or ceremonial washing, was a recognized rite in the Jewish ritual. It was usually performed by the person himself. Since Moses consecrated Aaron and his sons (Ex.29:4) no one did it for another. The priests washed themselves at the laver (Ex.40:31) Defiled clothes were to be washed by the man himself (Lev.11:40). Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan (2Ki.5:14). But, because John did the baptizing, he was called “the baptist”.

7 John came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Mt.11:14; Lu.1:17). The superficial ceremonial without a corresponding condition of the heart was offensive to his spirit. He loathed hypocrisy. So he refused to baptize the religious zealots whose lives were not in accord with their profession. True repentance alone could avail to prepare them for the Coming One. Water could only symbolize the inward cleansing. It was not a substitute.

9  Compare Jn.8:33-39. 
11  See Ac.1:5; 11:16; 19:1-4).

11 There are three baptisms here, water, spirit, and fire. John used water only. This method was continued during our Lord's ministry. But after His resurrection He told them “John, indeed, baptizes in water, yet you shall be baptized in holy spirit after not many of these days (Ac.1:5). From Pentecost onward two baptisms obtained. At first, those who were baptized in water received the baptism of the spirit also. Cornelius received the spirit before he was baptized in water (Ac.10:44-48). Now there is only one baptism (Eph.4:5). In one spirit we all were baptized into one body (1Cor.12:13). It is for cleansing, not for power.

12 The baptism of fire is the burning of the chaff. Such was the only baptism which the Pharisees and Sadducees deserved. Those whom He does not baptize in holy spirit, in grace, He will baptize in fire, in judgment. All of this is eonian, and does not determine their ultimate destiny after the eons have passed by.

13-17 Compare Mk.1:9-11; Lu.3:21-22.

13 The Lord needed no cleansing, for He had no sin. But He needed to identify Himself with those who were cleansed. It was a foreglimpse of His baptism on Golgotha, when He became sin for the sake of His own.

Page 14

16-17 Compare Jn.1:32-34.

16 As God's Spirit has no material form it is figured to us in various ways, which suggest its force and significance. It is usually presented as a blast of air, for this is the primary meaning of the word pneuma, or spirit (Jn.3:8 Ac.2:2 Heb.1:7). Other spirits are represented as torches (Un.4:5), and horns or eyes (Un.5:6) to indicate their power and perception. Unclean spirits are figured as frogs (Un.16:13). The exquisite picture presented to the spiritual Israelite by the descending dove is largely lost on us. Our Lord Himself commended their artlessness to the emulation of His disciples. But doubtless a deeper thought lay in its universal use for sacrifice, especially by the poor. When He was presented to the Lord they offered two squabs of the doves (Lu.2:24). The Spirit of God endues Him with power for the proclamation of the kingdom, not by presenting Him with a sword and mace, not by mounting Him on a white horse or crowning Him with a diadem, but by investing Him with the far more godlike powers of gentleness, artlessness, and sacrifice.

1-11 Compare Mk.1:12,13; Lu.4:1-13.

1 If Christ is to be the King of Israel, He must not only overcome the opposition of men, but first of all, He must conquer the spirit that operates in them and rules the darkness of this world. Christ came to save others, not to please Himself. He refuses to use His power to provide food for Himself, but depends on God alone. He will not go out of His way to try and see if God will perform a miracle to save Him. Neither will He avoid the suffering and shame which lie between Him and the kingdom by accepting it at the Slanderer's hands. The Dove meets the Serpent in the wilderness and conquers it. Utter dependence on God's provision, absolute confidence in His words and ways, and the fullest fealty to His love, are more than a match for the Slanderer.

4  Compare Deut.8:3.
6  Compare Ps.91:11,12.
7  Compare Deut.6:16.

8 Satan is evidently the real head of the fourth kingdom of Daniel's image. Rome's dominion was limited.

10  Compare Deut.6:13, 10:20.
12  Compare Mk.1:14-15; Lu.4:14-15.

12 It is not likely that John was “cast into prison” at this time. The Lord had not yet called His disciples, and John was not yet cast into prison (Jn.3:24) until some time later. Several attempts seem to have been made to put him in ward. This is probably the first of these. Hence the Lord left Judea, and spent most of His ministry in Galilee. In John, His messenger, He was rejected in Judea before He even began His proclamation.

13-16  Compare Mk.1:21-22; Lu.4:31-32.
15  Compare Isa.9:1-2.

15 Nazareth, Cana, and the region about, where the Lord commenced His ministry, were in Zebulon. This did not touch the sea of Galilee, but it bordered on Naphtali in the northeast, in which was Capernaum, “His own city,” as well as Chorazin and Bethsaida, where so many of His mighty works were done.

17 Compare Mk. 1:14-15.

17 “The kingdom of the heavens” would mean but one thing to a Jew in the days of our Lord. In the explanation of the marvelous dream of Nebuchadnezzar, in which he saw a succession of world empires, Daniel says that the last kingdom shall be set up by the God of the heavens (Dan.2:44). “And in the days of these kings the God of the heavens shall set up a kingdom which shall not be harmed for the eon, and the kingdom shall not be left to another people. It shall crush and terminate all these kingdoms, and it shall rise for the eon.” Babylon fell to Medo Persia, and Medo Persia to Greece, Greece had broken up, and the fourth kingdom, in which the prophet's people under the figure of clay, were to be mingled with mankind, was due to appear. And this was to be followed by the indestructible kingdom of Messiah, for which all the Jews longed. Again, under the figure of rapacious beasts, Daniel had portrayed the kingdoms of the end time (Dan.7:2-27). They are displaced by the kingdom of the heavens. “And the kingdom and authority and the majesty of the kingdom under all the heavens is granted to the people of the saints of the supremacies. The kingdom is an eonian kingdom, and all authorities shall serve and hearken to it.”

“The kingdom of God” suggests subjection direct to the Deity, whether as individuals or nations. Its sphere cannot be circumscribed. “The kingdom of the heavens”, is, however, always concerned with the sovereignty of Israel over the other nations. Just as Babylon ruled the whole earth, so Israel will be supreme. As Medo-Persia brought all nations beneath its sway, so Israel will subjugate every other dominion. As Alexander found no field for further conquest, so Messiah will rule all nations with a club of iron, and all peoples and languages and nations will serve Him and bring their tribute to the land of Israel and the nation He has chosen. This is the kingdom which Christ proclaimed.
     The kingdom was proclaimed as “near”. This does not imply that must come soon. The nearness was only tentative. The same word is used of Epaphroditus (Phil.2:30), who draws near to death for the work of Christ, but God was merciful, and he drew away from death again. Nearness is a relative term, indicating that not much more is needed to cause contact. Israel was near the land of promise thirty-eight years before they actually entered. Had they believed Caleb and Joshua they would have drawn nearer instead of returning to the wilderness, far from its borders. So it was with Israel and the kingdom. As it was when their forefathers came out of Egypt, so they come near to the national hope, but for thirty-eight years they wandered in the wilderness of unbelief, and perished without entering the land of promise.

18-19  Compare Mk.1:16-18; Lu.5:1-11; Jn.1:40-42.
21-22  Compare Mk.1:19,20; Lu.5:10-11.
23  See Mk.1:21-39.
25  Compare Mk.3:7-8.
1-2  Compare Lu.6:20.23.

1 The “Sermon on the Mount” was probably varied and repeated many times. Luke gives one of these. That was given on an “even place” (Lu.6:17) after His calling of the apostles. It is much abridged. Mark gives scattered allusions here and there. It is fitting that the fullest proclamation of the laws of the kingdom should be given in this account, for it is concerned with the Son of David.

5 The Beatitudes will find their fulfillment in the kingdom of the heavens, when Messiah comes again and establishes His millennial reign. Till then most of them prove to be a practical disappointment. The merciful often do not obtain mercy. The meek do not receive an allotment in the land or the earth. Not only that, but they never shall. A meek unbeliever will receive no allotment whatever. A meek believer is promised every blessedness among the celestials (Eph.1:3). It would be a bitter disappointment to him to have an allotment on the earth or in the land of Israel. There is no happiness in this beatitude for us.

12 All blessing comes from heaven, but it is not all enjoyed in heaven. The kingdom will be the days of heaven on earth, for the blessing will be heavenly in source and character, though located on earth. The heavenly city, new Jerusalem, is heavenly but comes down out of heaven to the earth. English has no way of distinguishing that which is heavenly in character from that which has its place in heaven, so special care is needed to avoid confusion in thought on this theme.

13 See Mk.9:50 Lu.14:34-35.

13 The salt of Palestine was usually gathered from marshes. Contact with the ground or exposure to rain or sun soon spoiled it, so that it lost its saltness. As it was very harmful to growing vegetation it was carefully swept up and thrown into the street, and thus trodden under foot.

14  Compare Mk.4:21-22; Lu.8:16-17, 11:33
17  See Lu.l6:16-17; Rom.3:31.
18  See 24:35.

18 The yod or iota was the smallest of the Hebrew letters. The ceriphs were probably the small projections which distinguished some of the Hebrew letters. The idea of the Massorah, that they were small meaningless ornaments like horns is hardly in line with the spirit of Christ's teaching. He denounced unwarranted, uninspired additions to the Scriptures.

19 To obey is always better than sacrifice. The very least precept of the Lord calls for implicit, unquestioning response.

21 Compare Ex.20:13.

22 Gehenna, the valley of the son of Hinnom, just below the city of Jerusalem, where idolatrous worship was once carried on and where the city offal was burned, will once more become the incinerator for Jerusalem. In the kingdom it will consume the carcases of criminals as well as the rubbish of the city. It should not be confounded with the unseen, or hades, which is often translated “hell”, or with tartarus, similarly translated. Neither is it the lake of fire (Un.20:14), which follows the great white throne judgment for wicked. Its operation is confined to the temporal judgments of the millennial kingdom. It does not fix ultimate destiny, for it disappears long before the consummation.

22 Raka seems to be a contemptuous epithet from the Aramaic, meaning empty.

23 Instead of removing His hearers from beneath the thunders of the law (as grace has since done), He makes its precepts more pressing, its prohibitions more searching. The appearance counts for nothing with Him unless the heart is also right. He will not even allow them to approach God by means of an oblation, unless they are on terms with their brethren. There is no lenience in this kingdom proclamation. Those who are cast into jail are not delivered until the demands of righteousness have been fully met. A lustful look is a sin of the heart which will not be tolerated in His dominions. The criminals of that day will be executed and their corpses consigned to the vale of Hinnom, where the offal of Jerusalem is burned. So stringent is this law that if a member of the body sins, the whole is in danger of death in the kingdom.

27  See Ex. 20:14.
31  See 19:3-9 Deut.24:1-2; Mk.10:2-12; Lu.16:18; 1Co.7:10-11.

31 Because of the hardness of their hearts, Moses made divorce an easy matter. Not so in the kingdom of the heavens. Only one cause will be a ground for separation then. Now, in grace. death alone can come between those whom the Lord has made one flesh (1Co.7:39). We are not living under the law of Sinai or under the kingdom code, but under the far more beneficent reign of grace (Ro.5:21).

25-26 Compare Lu.12:58-59. See Prov.25:8.
33 Compare Lev.19:12. See Nu.30:2; Deut.23:21-23.

34-37 From our Lord's time down to the present, cursing and swearing have been so common in Palestine that little notice is taken of it. They continually profane the name and attributes of God, and swear by anything that comes into their minds. In fact, to swear fluently and artistically is considered quite an accomplishment which deserves cultivation.

38 Compare Ex.21:23-25; Lev.24:19-20; Deut.19:21.

38 Many futile attempts have been made to carry out the principle of nonresistance here laid down, by those who did not see its relation to the kingdom. When the righteous King is on the throne such conduct will be not only right but rational. Grace, however, goes much further than more non-resistance. It demands active effort on behalf of those who seek to injure or oppress. Recognizing the grave practical difficulty of practising those precepts at the present time, theologians assure us that “these expressions, in their paradox form, must not be taken literally.” If these are not plain examples, it is impossible to form any definite idea of the Lord's meaning. It is ideal conduct for an ideal government, such as will be in actual operation when Christ comes again and Satan is bound for the thousand years.

39 Compare Lu.6:27-31.
43 Compare Lev.19:18. See Deut.23:6.

43 We are exhorted to imitate God, as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ loves us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a fragrant odor (Eph. 5:1-2). The sons of the kingdom are here exhorted to imitate Him in His beneficence in nature. The sun and rain bring all blessing in the physical sphere. Christ brings all blessing in the spiritual sphere. Great is the gift of sunshine, yet how much greater is the gift of Christ! Yet so much brighter is the standard for conduct today as compared with the longed for millennium. The saints should always imitate God; yet this should ever be in accord with the particular revelation of Himself given for the time.

44 Compare Lu.6:27-28,32-36, 23:34; Ac.7:60; 1Pt.2:18-23.

The kingdom will be, in a special sense, the display of God's goodness on earth; we will be the highest exhibition of God's grace among the celestials (Eph.2:7). Hence it is most fitting that conduct, in each case, should correspond to the sphere and character of God's operations. The standard for us is as far beyond these precepts as these are beyond the law. The law demanded love, but limited it to neighbors. In their hard-heartedness they inferred that others should be hated. The Lord does not hesitate to enlarge the law. God is good to all. But we look to the cross and know that there are none righteous in His sight, and see His sacrifice for all. Here alone do we find the motive which should control our conduct. God's perfection in nature is not sufficient to provide the sweet smelling perfume which pleases Him today. It seems to be without any practical effect on the hard hearts of humanity.

1 The Pharisees deemed alms-giving, prayer and fasting the three most eminent exhibitions of piety, for alms was the ideal expression of their relation to their neighbor, prayer of their intercourse with God, and fasting of self-discipline. Hence the Lord takes up these three and exposes the hypocrisy which performs them in public and provokes the applause of men, rather than the praise of God.

2 The word alms denotes an accompaniment of mercy. Hence we are not surprised that it is entirely absent in the exhortations for the nations which are based on grace. We do not “do” alms, as a work of righteousness, in order to get the approval of men or even the smile of God, but give gratuitously in thankful response for benefits already received by grace. We are not working for wages, but offer our services as a thank-offering for gratuities already ours in Christ, even though we know that He will reward those who serve and suffer for His sake.

5 These instructions regarding prayer come very close to us, for our abhorrence of hypocrisy should be much more pronounced than theirs. Perhaps a succinct way of putting it is, Never say your prayers; always pray them. Real prayer is possible only under the urge of the holy Spirit, and shuns the possible approbation of men, for it is meant for God alone [(cf page 332, 15).]

9-13 Compare Lu.11:2-4.

9 This is not the Lord's prayer, but His model for the disciples' petitions. Since He has just been condemning wordiness and loquacity in prayer, He gives them an example of how to say much with few words. It was far from His intention that this should become a form for repetition, especially in this day of grace when part of it is meaningless and contrary to present truth. “The forgiveness of offenses in accord with the riches of His grace” (Eph.1:7) is far, far beyond the measure in which we forgive others. Moreover, our forgiveness is not at all dependent on our extending this favor to others. With them it was probational and temporary; with us it is irrevocable and eternal. The prayers for our emulation are found in Ephesians. The latter half of the first chapter and the whole of the third chapter of that epistle will teach us what to pray for. It is all concerned with a later outpouring of grace which was a profound secret during our Lord's sojourn on earth.

This marvelous prayer is exquisite in its perfections. Its seven petitions are divinely divided into three for the glory of God, and four for the frailty of man. His name, His kingdom, His will. It is His future kingdom which will come when His will is done on earth. At that time we will have our portion in His celestial administrations, so that our prayers should be much wider in scope than this. Man's needs are sustenance, release from past failures and future trials, and, especially in relation to the kingdom, deliverance from the power of that wicked one who will do his utmost to corrupt and destroy it.

Our Lord would not have them pray for that which God would not give. Every petition in it will be fulfilled, but not until the kingdom has come. Then, and not till then, will they be safe from the wicked one, for he will be bound in the submerged chaos. Not till then will their trials be over, their debts remitted, their daily sustenance assured; not till then will His will be done on earth, or His name be hallowed by a holy nation. We may rest assured that every prayer indited by His Spirit will be fulfilled in due course. The only uncertain element is time, and that is well known to God.

14-15 Compare Mk.11:25-26.

14 Forgiveness now is according to the riches of His grace (Eph.1:7), not according to our forgiveness of others. The believers in Israel failed at this point. Their forgiveness was withdrawn because they refused the same mercy to the other nations. But the believers of the nations were never forgiven in this probationary fashion.

19-21 Compare Lu.12:33-34.

19 Treasures were often hid in concealed pits in the ground, where thieves would need to dig to find them. But nothing is safe on earth. Only that which we give is ours beyond the possibility of loss.

22-23 Compare Lu.11:33-36. See Prov.28:22; Mk.7:22.

22 The Pharisees tried to make the best of both worlds. They wanted treasure on earth as well as in heaven. Their eyes were afflicted with double sight, which is worse than blindness. They wanted to worship both God and mammon.

24 Compare Lu.16:13. See Ja.4:4; 1Jn.2:15.

25 There is a blessed progression in the experience of God's saints as the purpose of His grace becomes more fully known. The Psalmist could sing (Ps.55:22)

“Fling what He grants you on Jehovah,
And He will sustain you:
He will not allow the righteous to
slip for the eon.”

Peter sounds a higher strain when he writes to the dispersion, “tossing your entire worry on Him, seeing that He is caring concerning you” (1Pt.5:7.). But how much loftier is the position of Paul, as he exhorts us, “Let nothing be worrying you, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, that is superior to every frame of mind, shall be garrisoning your hearts and your apprehensions in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:6,7). The Psalmist struggled Under a burden with the help of God, Peter got rid of the weight, but Paul prevents and replaces it with peace and thanksgiving.

25-34 Compare Lu.12:22-31.

29 We cannot be certain of the exact flower intended by our Lord from the somewhat general term used, but the brilliant scarlet anemone, which flourishes in all parts of Palestine in great profusion seems to be the only one which fully answers all the conditions. Its great abundance and rich beauty fit it perfectly for the illustration used by our Lord. The figure is full of spiritual refreshment. Clothing is that which meets the eye and corresponds to the character of the wearer. Solomon's robes were tokens of his royal station. Pharisaic righteousness He has shown to be a hypocritical pretense. The anemones suggest that God can supply His saints with divine apparel more beauteous than that of Solomon. In a word, He not only can clothe them in splendid style, but He can make them kings to rule the nations of the earth.

33  See 1 Ki.3:13; Ps.34:9, 37:25, 84:11; Mk.10:29
30  1Tim.4:8.
1-2  Compare Lu.6:37-38.

1 This has no reference to God's judgment, but to the relations of man with man, as explained in the next paragraph. Should self-judgment precede the judgment of others it would probably do away with judging. One who has a beam in his eye, and knows it, will think little of the mote in another's eye, So the Lord sought to turn the censorious critics of His day to an examination of their own shortcomings.

3-5 Compare Lu.6:41-42.
6 See Prov.9:7-8, 23:9.

6 Both dogs and hogs were unclean according to the law. The Lord Himself followed this principle when He spoke in parables to those without, and kept the holy and precious truth for His own disciples. We are hardly justified in “applying” these opprobrious terms to immature saints who are not yet able to bear more than milk.

7-11  Compare Lu.11:9-13.
7  See 21:22 Jn.14:13-14, 15:7; 1Jn.3:22, 5:14-15.

7 This, of course, is limited to prayer to God. He can and will respond to those who ask for what they need, or seek what is hid, or knock at closed doors. But the answer may not be realized until the kingdom comes. We have no right or reason to expect God to change His plans and purposes in order to carry out our whims. We are not aware what we should be praying for, but the spirit is pleading for us with inarticulate groanings (Ro.8:26).

12 Compare Lu.6:31.

12 To do as we would be done by is an ethical standard far above the world's attainment, yet far beneath the monitions of grace. The law and the prophets demand compliance with this code, yet supply no power to carry it out. Grace gives the ability, yet makes no demands, but rather entreats us to do as we have been done by in our dealings with God, rather than man.

13-14 Compare Lu.13:24.

13 The crowds enter a city by the broad road which passes through the wide gate. The narrow side-paths leading to a narrow gateway in some retired corner were seldom used and were always shut in the daytime and locked at night. Few find or use these paths. This is not an illustration of the gospel, but of the law. It represents an effort to attain life. It is not stated that few find life, but few find the path to it. All life is God's gift and can never be made by man, either in the sphere of religion or of science.

15-23 Compare Lu.6:43-46.

15 The law was exceedingly severe on false prophets. Death was their penalty (Deut.13:5). It is generally supposed that a prophet is false if his sign or prediction does not come to pass. Not so. If it comes to pass, yet leads away from the Lord, they were not allowed to hearken (Deut.13:1-5). This is being written at the very time when a modern prophetess predicts the end of the world. That prophetess is not false because her vision is not being verified, but because her dreams were not of God and led away from His word. This, however, is a day of grace, and false prophets are not stoned.
     But the term prophet includes all who claim a direct revelation from God, apart from His written revelation. As prophets are only in the foundation of the ecclesia (Eph.2:20), the mere claim to a personal and direct message from God is evidence in itself that it is false. The word of God is complete (Col.1:25), and only those who do not fully apprehend what God has revealed crave further communications. The latest revelations given to the apostle Paul make all further prophecy useless and round out the whole realm of revelation.

16 The figures are finely chosen. The fig tree stands for the righteous government of Messiah and the vine the spiritual cheer of His kingdom. In that day each one will sit under his own vine and fig tree (Mic.4:4). The kingdom of God is not only feeding on figs and drinking wine, but what these symbolize-righteousness and peace and joy in holy Spirit (Ro.14:17 These are the fruits that do not grow on thorns and thistles, and that characterized the true prophet.

21 See 25:11-12; Lu.13:25-30.

21 Many will need to read this passage twice, for it is the popular conviction that any one who can prophesy or cast out demons and do other supernatural deeds is necessarily in the highest intimacy with God. Many will claim these powers, yet He refuses to acknowledge them. In itself supernaturalism is no index of divine activity, for the powers of evil win their greatest triumphs in mimicking the manifestations of the holy Spirit.

24 That the Lord has not been preaching the evangel of God's grace, but proclaiming the constitution of His kingdom, is convincingly clear from His conclusion. He is not seeking for faith but works. The prudent man is doing them, and the stupid man is not doing them. Now the evangel for us is for him “who is not working, yet is believing'' (Ro.4:5). “Now if it is out of works, it is no longer grace, else work is no longer work” (Ro.11:6). The great storm of which our Lord speaks suggests the terrible judgments which usher in the kingdom. Then it will be “he who endures...will be saved”.

24-27 Compare Lu.6:47-49.
28-29 Compare Mk.1:22; Lu.4:32.

29 Jewish scribes always say that Rabbi So-and-so says, or that he says that another Rabbi says, etc. All their teaching is tradition.

2 Our Lord cleansed many lepers, and probably dealt similarly with them all. The “parallel” accounts in Mark (1:40-44) and Luke (5:12-14) do not “disagree” in details, for they record different occurrences. Our Lord's first testimony must be to the priests. It is not a direct one, for the priests had already rejected the testimony of John the baptist, who was one of them-by birth, if not by office.

4 See 9:30; Mk.5:43; Lev.14:1-32.

They will not hear Him, so He sends these lepers to them, as a sign that He is the One Who can cleanse the leprosy of the sinful nation. They should have known that the One Who can do this is the long-desired Messiah. There is no intimation that they heeded this testimony, so that here we have, in a parable, the same truth with which John begins his evangel: His own people do not accept Him (Jn.1:11). Indeed, this is more striking. For the priests had before them continually the lesson of the suffering sacrifice. If no other class in the nation could understand His rejection and sorrow and death, they should have recognized that this is the One Who was to be led as a lamb to the slaughter. But, in that deeper wisdom of God, they were also the ones who were ordained to be the slayers of the great Sacrifice.

5-13 Compare Lu.7:1-10.

5 This is followed by an intimation that, though rejected by His own, He would be accepted by the nations, as is the case in the book of Acts. The priest was at one end of the religious scale, and the alien centurion at the other. Yet it was the far-off gentile who believed and received, without a sign, without even the Lord's presence, rather than the privileged priest, who had ample opportunity to examine the reality of His cures and to test His claims by the divine oracles of which the priests were the repositories.

10 Like the centurion's servant, the nations who believed, when the evangel went forth after His resurrection, as recorded in Acts, had no personal contact with Him, and never knew His presence. They are saved at a distance, by a faith unequaled in Israel. So, also there will be many in the future who will find a place in the kingdom, while many even of the priests will be left out.
     The paralytic who was healed is appropriately delineated. He has no strength and needs none. He does nothing. All his salvation is outside his own efforts. It was, of necessity, not of works. It was all of God. Such was the salvation of the nations. In contrast with this the leper called on Him and entreated for the blessing, He came to Him and worshiped Him. Such was the case with the Jewish disciples.

14-17 Compare Mk.1:20-34; Lu.4:38-41

14 There is considerable marshy land near Tell Hum, the probable site of Capernaum. This might account for the fever.

17  Compare Isa.53:4. See 1Pt.2:24.
18  Compare Mk.4:35; Lu.8:22.
19-22  Compare Lu.9:57-62.

20 This, the first time He takes the title “Son of Mankind”, is full of deep pathos. After He has become wearied with His works of healing, a scribe knows no better than to call Him his “Teacher”. How little had he apprehended of His power and glory! His words have shown Him to be capable of coping with all that Adam's sin has brought into the world. He is his greater Son. He has regained the sovereignty lost by the first man. His realm extends over all mankind, and over the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven. They are among the lowest of His subjects. The jackals have their burrows and may retire to rest; the winged denizens of heaven have their roosts on which to spend the night, yet His weary head, Whose dominion includes all earthly creatures, was denied even the possession place of repose! What a contrast is this to the last time we meet this title in the sacred records! Then we see His holy head wreathed with the chaplet of a conqueror (Un.14:14). The victor's wreath adorns the brow they crowned with thorns. And then, as Daniel had foretold, will be given Him authority, and esteem, and a kingdom, that all peoples, races, and languages should serve Him, for His authority is an eonian authority, which shall not pass away (Dan.7:14).
     The title “Son of Mankind” is significant in every occurrence, even though our dull minds may miss it. It is always suggestive of the dignities which devolved on Adam as the sovereign of all earthly creatures and head of the human race, He inherits all these glories and restores them to far more than their pristine perfection in the coming eon.

24 This event probably occurred at an earlier date than the similar accounts in Mark and Luke. The cause here was an earthquake which started immense tidal waves. In the other cases it was a squall (Mk. 4:35-41; Lu.8:23-25).

25 Ever and anon, while revealing His own glory and exercising the faith of His followers, our Lord presents a marvelous prophetic picture of the course of the kingdom proclamation. Here we have a preview, on a small scale and in physical symbols, of that terrible time of affliction, which will threaten to engulf His disciples at the end of the eon, just before His advent. The winds are the spiritual forces of wickedness, figured by the great dragon (Un.12:3), the sea stands for the nations of mankind, led by the wild beast (Un.13:1). Together they will well-nigh destroy all hopes of the kingdom. Then it is that Christ will come and rebuke the nations and the spirit powers and usher in the calm of the kingdom, where there will be no more war, the nations will be subdued and Satan will be bound. Till then there will be no possible guarantee of peace among the nations of the earth, notwithstanding every effort to stop war.

28-34 Compare Mk.5:1-20; Lu.8:26-39

28 Vaticanus reads this “Gadarenes”. Sinaiticus reads “Gazarenes”, but the editor (S2) changed this to “Gorgesenos”, as we have it. Gadara was a well-known city, but is so far from the shores of Galilee, that it was quite impossible for the narrative to have been enacted there. The hogs would have had to run down a mountain, cross the Jermuk river, itself enough to drown them, up its banks, then several miles across a level plain into the water. At one place on the eastern shore of the lake, at a ruined town called Chersa by the Arabs, all the topography is in perfect keeping with the narrative. Behind the town tombs were cut in the rock. A steep mountain rises almost immediately out of the water, so that the hogs, rushing down, could not step on the narrow beach, but plunged headlong into the lake. It seems evident that this is the true locality and the name Gergesone seems most likely to have been the original off the traditional “Chersa”, as it is now known. Gadarene seems misleading, hence we do not use it.

31 As swine's flesh was unclean, the keeping of hogs was illegal, and no wrong was done to their owners by sending them to destruction in the waters of the lake.

1-8 Compare Mk.2:1-12; Lu.5:17-26.

5 Paralysis and all other human ills are but an effect, of which sin is the cause. Not, indeed, the personal sins of the paralytic, but the sins of mankind in general, for all men are born with a heritage of sin and live in an atmosphere heavy with wrong-doing. But the great truth here taught is that the physical blessings of the coming kingdom have a secure basis in the pardon of sins. So, in this scene, which suggests the believing remnant of Israel who receive Him as their Messiah, the Lord seems to overlook the paralysis at first, and pardons his sins. The delay, and the unbelief of the scribes, suggest the apostasy of the nation and the consequence postponement of physical blessings till the kingdom comes and the authority of the Son of Mankind to pardon sins is in full exercise, followed by the health, strength, and vigor which will be the portion of mankind in the millennium. If human governments would get beyond the outbreaks and symptoms and deal with sin they would not need to be concerned with all its evil effects. They can never bring health and righteousness.

9-15 Compare Mk.2:13-20; Lu.5:27-35.

9 It is a most striking exhibition of God's grace and wisdom, that such a man as Matthew should be chosen for an apostle, and furthermore should be empowered to write this account of Israel's King. This was contrary to all the dictates of human wisdom. Matthew was a “publican” or tribute collector, a class more hated, perhaps, than aliens, and more despised than sinners. The Roman government did not collect its tribute from the nations under its yoke directly, but farmed it out to subordinates. A district was sold for what it would bring, and the collector received his wages by assessing as much more as he could get. Hence they amassed wealth at the expense of their poor countrymen and for the benefit of a foreign government. Yet God chose such a traitor to his country to describe the glories of the King! His fitness was not by birth but of God.

11 See 11:19 Lu.15:2.

12 The strong need to be taught their weakness, and the just their sinfulness. Then, and not till then, are they in conscious need of a Saviour.

13 See 12:7; Hos.6:6; Mic.6:6-8; 1Ti.1:15.

14 It is a most difficult lesson for the saints to learn, that God's dealings with His creatures change, and that their conduct should change accordingly, John's disciples thought that the Lord's followers should do as they did. But the coming of Christ entirely changed the circumstances. He was the Bridegroom. They were the Bride. John had introduced them. How unbecoming it would be for them to fast! They should feast! And this they did. The Lord appeared at Cana, and at many another feast.

16-17 Compare Mk.2:21-22; Lu.5:36-39.

16 John's ministry was the old cloak, the old wine skins. The Lord's ministry was the unshrunk cloth, the new wine skins. They cannot be associated without disaster. How much more true is this today! Since John's time and our Lord's teaching, transcendent truth has been revealed which He could not impart to them then. Our conduct should be conformed to this higher and later revelation. Yet most of the saints seem satisfied with doing as John's disciples, or as our Lord's. No wonder the cloth tears, and their covering is ragged. No wonder the wine bursts the skins, and their joy is spilled. Let us keep the new wine which we have received in the new containers God has provided. Let us live and act in accord with the highest revelation, given in Paul's epistles.

18-23  Compare Mk.5:22-43; Lu.8:41-56.
20  See Nu.15:37-41.

20 How often is there a significant interruption in the performance of a miracle! The dead daughter, representing Israel as a nation, waits for His coming. So Ezekiel portrays Israel before His glorious appearing. They are dead. But on the way a woman secretly touches the tassel of His cloak. The tassel speaks of that which finishes the cloak and corresponds to His work on Golgotha, where He finished the robe of righteousness which clothed Him. Contact with that finished work saved many a sinner during the interval between His promise to come again and His advent. While the present interval of grace was a profound secret, and was not even intimated in this touching scene, yet we have here a definite hint of the direction in which God's grace would flow if hindered by the apostasy of Israel.

27 Blindness is to this day a very common affliction in eastern lands. The glare of the sun or lack of care in infancy costs many their sight. These men evidently had become blind physically, yet had spiritual sight sufficient to see their Saviour, Hence He casts the burden of belief on them. This is in marked contrast to the next case, for the deaf-mute was incapable of faith so long as he was obsessed by the demon.

32 One of the chief features of the coming kingdom will be the absence of Satan and other evil spirits. So every case of casting out demons is a demonstration of His power to take the throne. There could be no better proof that He was the Messiah than His power over the unseen domains of darkness. In the time of the end His great opponent will be the wild beast on the human side (Un.13:1). But it is the dragon that gives the beast his power and throne and authority (Un.13:2). Hence, not only is the wild beast arrested (Un.19:20), but the dragon is bound for the thousand years (Un.20:2).

34 On another occasion we are told that this chief of the demons is Beezeboul (12:24). This is the blasphemy against the holy Spirit, which cannot be pardoned in this eon or that which is to come (12:31). The reason for this is very easily seen. These signs were the powers of the coming eon, intended to convince the nation that Messiah was present, and induce them to believe on Him. Now, if the very signs which should have demonstrated His Messiahship are taken to indicate that He is in league with the powers of darkness, it is impossible that they should repent and believe. The unpardonable sin consists in ascribing to sinister spirits what is the work of God's holy Spirit. In this day there is the opposite danger of ascribing all supernatural manifestations to the holy Spirit. The spirits must be tested by the word of God. That their teaching and work is a very close imitation, so close as to deceive the great majority of the saints, is according to Paul's predictions concerning the end time. We know that, somewhere in Christendom today, the demons are deceiving the saints, and the fact that they do not know it does not alter it.

35 Compare Mk 6:6; Lu.8:1-3.

1 Compare Mk.3:13-19; Lu.6:12-16. See Lu.9:1.

2 There is some variation in the order of the names, as well as of the names themselves, in the lists of the twelve apostles, but they are always found in three groups, headed by Peter, Philip and James, as follows:

Bartholomew is usually identified with Nathanael (Jn.1:44-46, 21:2). Judas James, in order to distinguish from Judas Iscariot, was called Thaddeus, and Simon (not Peter), was termed the Zealot, or its Hebrew equivalent the Cananite (not Canaanite). Of course, Matthias takes the place of Judas Iscariot in Acts.

5 Compare Mk.6:7-15; Lu.9:1-11.

5 The Lord had been heralding the kingdom alone and had confirmed the proclamation by signs which indicated its nearness. Now He associates twelve of His disciples with Him in this work and dispatches them with authority over disease and death and the demons so that they could prove its proximity by both their words and their works. This is the first kingdom proclamation. The second is not given until after His resurrection (28:16-20). They differ on almost every point. This was to be exercised in the land alone. Not even Samaria was to hear it. It was strictly for the lost sheep of Israel's fold and included no others. The second kingdom proclamation is for all nations, except Israel.

This first kingdom proclamation was carried on until the crisis in our Lord's ministry when it became evident that the nation had rejected Him and His message. Then He charged His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus, the Messiah (16:20). Even though Peter and John are given a foretaste of the kingdom on the mount of transformation, He charged them not to tell of the vision until the Son of Mankind should be risen from among the dead (17:9). From this time until Pentecost this proclamation was interrupted.
     Anticipating the renewal of its proclamation during His absence, our Lord gave the keys to Peter when he, in contrast to the apostate nation, acknowledged Him to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:19). The door to the kingdom is locked when its proclamation is forbidden. At Pentecost Peter uses the keys and once more proclaims the proximity of the kingdom, conditioned on the repentance of the nation. At first a small proportion of the people accept the message, but it is not long ere the nation, as such, by the murder of Stephen, and the attempts on Peter and Paul, signifies its rejection. At the end of Acts it is formally set aside by Paul's public proclamation of their apostasy.
     When God once more turns to Israel in the future it will be proclaimed again and, in the midst of great affliction, the nation, represented by the hundred and forty-four thousand celibates (Un.7:3-8) and the vast throng (Un.7:9-17), will accept the proclamation and enter the kingdom. Then Peter's epistles will unlock the door. Then all Israel will be saved (Ro.11:26), and the presence of the kingdom will preclude its further proclamation.
     This gospel of the kingdom is not concerned with sin or individual salvation. The pardon of sins, based on the sufferings of Christ, is in the commission for mankind in Luke's account (Lu.24:46-49). It was not confined to Israel. Christ had not suffered when this gospel of the kingdom was first proclaimed. It can refer to nothing else than the kingdom promised to Israel in the Hebrew scriptures.

10 Compare Lu.10:1-16.
14 See Neh.5:13 Ac.13:51, 18:6.
16-22 Compare Mk.13:9-13 Lu.21:12-18.
19 Compare Lu.12:11-12 See Ex.4:12 Jer.1:7.
24 See Lu.6:40 Jn.15:20.
26 See Mk.4:22 Lu.8:17, 12:2,3
32 See Lu.12:8,9 Un.3:5.
33 See Mk.8:38 2Ti.2:12.
34-36 Compare Lu.12:39-53. See Mic.7:6.

23 The mood of the verb is most important here. The Lord is not telling what would but what may occur. His apostles were frail mortals, easily discouraged, so He does no more than hint at a possible failure of their mission. The common version, by ignoring the subjunctive form of the verbs, has given rise to much perplexity and speculation. This proclamation brought the kingdom very near, so that the Lord's coming in glory and power should not have been delayed much longer. That He did not come at that time is no proof that He was mistaken, but rather of His foreknowledge, for He was careful to phrase the prospect so as to provide for this contingency.

25 Our Lord calls Beezeboul a householder, which, probably, is the meaning of the name. (See note on 12:24). The disciples should expect no better treatment than their Lord had received, yet He exhorts them not to be afraid, for even the unseen powers shall be manifested.

28 The soul is the seat of sensation, but is popularly confounded with the spirit. A soulish man is one who is swayed by his senses. He may even be sensual, for such is the usual rendering of Jas.3:15. Those of the apostles who were killed later will lose nothing in the kingdom. Their souls will be surfeited with joy in that day. Their death will only add to their soul's delight in the resurrection. They, however, who come under God's judgment in the kingdom will not only have their bodies destroyed in the vale of Hinnom, just below Jerusalem, where the offal of the city was incinerated, but they will miss all the joys which their souls long for in the millennium. The martyrs who die for the sake of the kingdom have nothing to fear. So far as their souls are concerned, death gives them an immediate entrance into the delights of that earthly paradise, even though at their martyrdom it was thousands of years in the future.

29 The greatness of God is as evident in the minute details of His creation as in the vast immensities of stellar space. His microscopic care meets the needs of His creatures, and reaches their hearts. Nothing is too trivial for Him Whose presence pervades the universe. The ultimate electron is as much His providence as the cosmos in its entirety.

34 The natural inference arising from the proclamation of the kingdom would be that, when Israel believed, the era of the millennium would immediately commence. But it is never wise to reason from God's apparent procedure. He may have deeper plans which do not appear on the surface. The proclamation of the kingdom was made in all good faith, yet we know now, as God always has known, that it was not intended to introduce the kingdom at that time. Moreover, He had also revealed that, before it could come, there would be a time of great distress in which His faithful followers would endure such affliction as had not been known on the earth before. Since the kingdom must be established by force, He thrusts in His sword, that peace may follow.

37 See Lu.14:26,27.
38 See 16:24; Mk.8:34,35; Lu.9:23,24.

39 This has special reference to the time of Jacob's trouble, at the time of the end, when many will suffer and die rather than worship the image of the wild beast (Un.13:15). They will avoid suffering, or save their souls, only at the risk of God's indignation, and the loss of the pleasures of the kingdom. Those who endure affliction for the kingdom will enjoy the bliss of the kingdom. They destroy their souls to find them. Those who avoid suffering by yielding to the pressure of the adversary, will have no portion in the kingdom. They find their souls for a brief period only to destroy them for the thousand years.

40 When the Son of Mankind comes in His glory to sit upon His throne, then judgment will proceed on the basis, not of personal sinfulness, but of the treatment of His disciples during the time of their need. This principle is a fitting close to His instructions for proclaiming the kingdom. It shows that they are not commissioned to preach the evangel of God, which is for us today.

41 See 1Ki.17:10 18:4; 2Ki.4:8; Heb.13:2.
2-4 Compare Lu.7:18-23.

2 John Was the greatest of all the prophets. Yet even he was not fully aware of the mind of God. If Christ is Messiah, and this he does not doubt, why is he allowed to languish in pris-

on? The Jews had difficulty in reconciling the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Some seemed to set Him forth as the Suffering One; others made Him a glorious King. So some looked for two Messiahs; one, Messiah ben Joseph to suffer, and another, Messiah ben David, to reign. Perhaps

some such thought came to John. He had openly rebuked Herod, but the Lord made no effort to get him out of Herod's hands, and did nothing to assert His own power. Was He the Suffering One, and was there to be another to rule with an iron club? We can now see that both Joseph and David were a combination of suffering and glory, and that there was in each case an interval between the two. But this could hardly be made known at the time He was sending out His apostles. It would have disheartened them to know that their proclamation was not destined to succeed. So our Lord does not give a definite reply to John's messengers, but bids them testify to what they saw. He hints that John might be snared by His course. Yet, however inexplicable it may appear to him, He assures him that it is his happy portion to trust where he cannot understand.

7 Compare Lu.7:24-30.

7 The Lord might well have spoken disparagingly of John at this juncture. Instead, He gives him a eulogy which places him on the highest pinnacle of human fame. He gives him a name greater even than Moses and Elijah. The Jews have never accorded him this place, partly because he was the forerunner of the Messiah they have rejected, and partly because his career is eclipsed by the coming and presence of his Lord.

10 Compare Mal.3:1.
12-15 Compare Lu.16:16,17.

12 John's methods were drastic and violent. He would have forced the kingdom on the nation, just as our Lord will do when the two witnesses will withhold rain, and turn waters into blood, and smite the earth with calamities (Un.11:3-6). John came in the spirit and power of Elijah. For the time, our Lord was of an entirely different spirit.

14 See 17:10-13; Lu.1:17; Mal.4:5.
16-19 Compare Lu.7:31-35.

16 The difference between John's ministry and that of our Lord is further evident by the different charges against them. The people were sulky, like little children who will not play at any game, grave or gay. John wailed, yet they would not grieve. The Lord fluted, yet they refused to dance. John was an ascetic, and they charged him with having a demon. Our Lord was the opposite, yet they called Him a glutton and a tippler. They would not be suited. Yet it was the wisdom of God to play these opposites against one another, thus to manifest the incurable stubbornness of the people.

20 The emphatic statement that Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had been favored like the cities of Galilee makes it quite impossible to doom them to endless destruction without compromising the justice of God, quite apart from His mercy. The unqualified assertion that Sodom would not have been destroyed had it been privileged as Capernaum brings into question God's wisdom and love. Did He stint His favors so that these cities should not repent? The answer is that all is according to that deeper expression of His love which wisely provides for its ultimate display. God's justice will be vindicated in adjusting judgment to accord with privilege. In the consummation His love will be revealed in their salvation.

20-24 Compare Lu.10:13-16.

23 This is a most instructive illustration of the meaning of the word unseen, usually rendered hell or hades. Sodom had subsided to the unseen even in our Lord's day. And today the very site of Capernaum is uncertain. As a city it has passed beyond the sphere of human perception. The unseen is not confined to the death state, but is applied to invisible spirit powers and vanished cities. It is used here in the same sense as heaven in the preceding sentence.

25-27 Compare Lu.10:21-24. See Ps.8:2; 1Co.1:19-27.

25 Though His ministry seems to be a failure, the Lord recognizes the fact that this is in accord with God's unrevealed purpose. He acquiesces in God's evident delight in hiding the truth from those who were wise and intelligent in the things of this life. He does

not fret because He cannot reach them, because God's work is apparently without the anticipated results, for He has the consciousness that, in the final analysis, it is God Himself Who is operating all for His own purpose and glory. It is not that those who rejected Him were blinded by some act of their own for which God disclaims responsibility. They do not see because God positively hides it from them.

27 See Jn.3:35, 17:2.

28 It is this God-consciousness, this recognition of His hand in all things, and more especially in that which is opposed to His apparent will, which gives His slaves heart's ease and rest in spirit. This is especially needed in days of apostasy. When we see the success of His enemies, the failure of His friends, when His own are enmeshed in the delusions of the last days, shall we blame those who must bear this load as they toil? How hard it is for their pride to be involved failure! How great the temptation to throw off the yoke and insure success by methods of their own! O that they would learn to yoke themselves with Him, to bow humbly beneath the failure that is according to God's underlying purpose! Then they will acquiesce when He blinds, as well as when He blesses. Then the yoke will no longer gall, and the load will float from their aching shoulders. The false thought that failure is not of God and that success is His hall mark, has led His saints to imagine that any flagrant disobedience to His will is fully justified if it only results in apparent success. Let us remember that He has characterized these as days of apostasy, so that it is His will that many should depart from the faith, and, consequently, great success may result in great loss to any slave of His who does not contend lawfully. Our business is to please God by suffering rejection along with Him.

1-8 Compare Mk.2:23-28; Lu.6:1-5. See Deut.23:25.

1-8 One of the most significant points in many of the miracles accomplished by our Lord is the fact that they were done on the sabbath. How else could He indicate the great truth that, when Israel is cured of all her ills, it would introduce that great sabbatism which is left for the people of God? Instead of stumbling them, it should have proved His Messianic claims. Moreover, the law of the sabbath was not operative in the sanctuary, and He was the real Temple of God.

3 See Lev.24:5-9; 1Sam.21:1-6.
5 See Nu.28:9,10 Jn.7:22,23.
7 See 9:13; Hos.6:6; Mic.6:6-8.
9-13 Compare Mk.3:1-5; Lu.6:6-10. See Lu.13:10-17, 14:1-6; Jn.9:16.

10 Israel is the man with the withered hand. Instead of being punctilious about doing good on the sabbath, they should have been concerned with the fact that they could not work for God on any day. They will not be healed until the millennial rest, during which they will be busy “breaking” the sabbath.

11 See Ex.23:4-5; Deut.22:4.
14.21 Compare Mk.3:6-12; Lu.6:11,17-19.

16 Hitherto He wished to be known, but now He enters a new phase of His ministry, in accord with the fact that God had hid His proclamation from those who would have made it effective. Before this His voice was heard in the squares, so that Isaiah's prophecy could not be truly applied to Him then. Now, however, He is given a special token of God's approbation, not because He has succeeded, but because He has been faithful in failure. It is especially precious to appreciate the comforting fact that God preferred Him and delighted in Him when all the signs indicated that His marvelous ministry was almost unheeded. Only a crushed reed here, or a smouldering flax there, were the results of His efforts. Contrite hearts and feeble flickers of faith were all He could show, when His message, humanly speaking, should have aroused the whole nation and made them His ardent disciples.

18 Compare Isa.42:1-4.
22-23 Compare Lu.11:14.

22 It is a fact that all human ills have come to the race through the interference of outside malignant spirit forces. Satan introduced sin through Adam. He Who is superior to these invading forces is capable of curing all the ills which man is heir to.

24 Compare Mk.3:22-26.
25 See 9:4; Jn.2:24,25; Un.2:23.

24 It is usual to associate this chief of the demons with the god of Ekron, called Baalzebub, Owner or Lord of Flies (2 Ki.1:2). This the Septuagint renders Baal muian, Baal fly. But all the Greek texts have a different ending -boul. This is supposed to be derived from a Rabbinic word meaning dung. But it is not likely that a god Ekron should be the chief of the demons, though doubtless he was one of them (1Co.10:20). There is a Hebrew verb zabal (Gen.30:20) which means reside. It may be that the name of the chief of the demons is Owner-residence, the equivalent of Master of the house. Our Lord calls him a householder (10:25). There is no real reason for identifying him with Satan, but rather, like Apollyon, he seems to be subordinate, though head of that division of Satan's kingdom which includes the demons.

29 Compare Mk.3:27; Lu.11:21,22. See Isa.49:24 53:12.
30 Compare Lu.11:23. See Lu.9:50.
31-32 Compare Mk.3:28-30; Lu.12:10.

31 The blasphemy of the Spirit consists in attributing the works of Christ, done by the power of God's Spirit, to demons or unclean spirits. As these works were the means used to produce repentance and pardon, and this was essential for entrance into the kingdom, it is readily seen that pardon is quite impossible in such a case. The time, however, is limited to this eon or the coming eon of the kingdom. Eventually, all mankind will be far more than pardoned. They will be justified (Ro.5:18) and reconciled (Col.1:20). But this will not take place until a full eon later, when the kingdom is given over to the Father (1Co.15:24). We cannot commit the sin against the holy Spirit because our salvation is not based on miracles and signs. It follows faith, not sight. And we are not pardoned, but justified (Ro.3:24,26). Condemnation is impossible (Ro.8:1). Moreover, we are explicitly told that, in the latter eras, some will be withdrawing from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teaching of demons. Any spirit manifestation in perfect accord with the scriptures should be given the most severe tests, lest we be among those who are deceived by them.

33-37 Compare Lu.6:43-45. See Jn.3:6,7

39 What sign can be given to those who attribute His wonderful works to the agency of the demons? No sign shall be given them. They, instead, will provide themselves with a sign by murdering the Messiah. His death, entombment and resurrection is the only sign He will give them. Briefly, they will have one more opportunity to repent after He has been roused from the dead. This is given them in the Pentecostal era.

38 Compare Mk.8:11,12 Jn.2:18-22. See 1Co.122,23.
39-40 Compare Lu.11:29-30.

40 Twelve times in the four accounts of our Lord's life we read that He would be roused “the third day”. When speaking to Romans it is twice “after three days”. Here only, quoting from the Hebrew, it is “three days and three nights”. The designation of time varies much in all languages. Hebrew chronology always counts the smallest part of a year or a day as a whole. The twelve times repeated testimony of our Lord, besides Peter (Ac.10:40), and Paul (I Co.15:4), shows that “the third day” is a literal and this phrase an idiomatic expression.

40 In Jonah this sea monster is called a large fish. The Greek name is now used as a scientific term for sea mammals, such as the whale. We are not told what species of sea monster it was, nor is there any good reason why we should know. Among the Greeks there was a tradition that it was a shark. There is a species in the Mediterranean some of which are so large that a man could stand upright in their outstretched throat. Men have been found whole in their stomachs. There are marine monsters in the depths of the sea, which are seldom seen. These are so large that they could swallow several men at one time.
     It is said that an English seaman, thrown into the water when a gigantic sperm whale capsized the boat, was given up for drowned. But two days later, when the whale was cut up, he was found in the stomach of the sea monster, unconscious, but alive. He recovered completely. In some ways this is more remarkable than Jonah's case, for his sea monster had been specially prepared for his reception.

41 Compare Lu.11:32. See Jonah 3.
42 Compare Lu.11:31. See 1Ki.10:1; 2Chr.9:1.

42 “The ends of the earth,” an expression which does not include the sea, would describe any location on Eurasia or Africa not far from the further coast line.

43-45 Compare Lu.11:24-26

43 Actual idolatry had no place in Israel. That evil spirit had been cast out since the captivity. They were like the empty house, for the spirit of God had not displaced the unclean spirit. Though untenanted, like the temple on Moriah's mount, they kept to the outward form of cleansing and ceremony. But during the time of the end they will receive the false christ and will worship the miracle-working image, and bring down upon the apostates the judgments of the bowls (Un.15:5-16:21).

46-50 Compare Mk.3:31-35; Lu.8:19-21. See 13:55; Mk.6:3; Jn.2:12 7:3,5 Ac.1:14; 1Co.9:5; Ga.1:19.

46 This is not intended to show disrespect and disregard for His own family. Rather it is brought up just at this juncture to indicate the change coming over His ministry. He no longer recognizes a merely physical relationship.

1-9 Compare Mk.4:1-9; Lu..8:4-8.

1 The action is significant, and corresponds with His repudiation of His relatives. He takes Himself outside the artificial Jewish system. Though vast throngs come, He does, not proclaim the nearness of the kingdom but speaks so they cannot comprehend, concealing His meaning in parables. His subject is still the kingdom, but He is concerned with its past and future history, not its present proclamation. He utters secrets hitherto unrevealed, which even His own disciples could not understand.

3-5 See verses 18 to 21.

3 The removal of the kingdom to a distance in time is indicated by comparing it with the sowing and growing and harvesting of a crop. Had it still been imminent, He would not have called Himself a Sower, but a Reaper, as in the Unveiling, when the kingdom is about to appear (Un.14:14).
     The Lord is Himself the Sower, and the parable gives us the results of His past ministry. It shows us why His proclamation had not swept the whole nation into the kingdom. We must now wait until the sowing is ready for the harvest.
     The picture presented is true to the life of the Orient. The unfenced fields were allotted to farmers, and the roads ran right through the grain, so that it was quite impossible to avoid sowing some on the hard ground. There were often outcroppings of the country rock and shallow soil near it, and in many places thorns were so thick that the farmers despaired of eradicating them. As their soil, so the people. It takes the sun and rain of heaven to change the rocks into fertile soil. The heart of the people was still hard. It will take the storms of persecution and the fire of affliction to prepare it for the kingdom of Christ.

7-8 See verses 22 and 23.
10-13 Compare Mk.4:10-13; Lu.8:9-10.

11 It cannot be too strongly emphasized that our Lord's parables were not intended to explain, but to mystify. He veiled His message in figures lest they should understand.

12 Compare Mk.4:24-25; Lu.8:18.

12 This somewhat enigmatic statement must be understood in connection with its context. Our Lord's disciples had received spiritual gifts which enabled them to receive more. Those who had not believed on Him had no means of receiving what He was now dispensing, for they had no spiritual discernment. Not only would they lose these spiritual benefits but, as a result of the national apostasy, they would also lose the privileges which they had as the people of God.

14 This quotation from the sixth chapter of Isaiah is quoted more frequently than any other passage from the prophets. It occurs at the two great crises in the spiritual history of Israel, the rejection of the kingdom ministry of Christ, and the repudiation of its renewal by the holy spirit in Acts (Ac.28:25-27). It always marks the cessation of the evangel of the kingdom, not seeking to open their eyes, but to blind them. After Paul's pronunciation of Israel's doom the kingdom proclamation ceased. The history of the kingdom ended. It will not be resumed until the present administration of God's grace, in which the evangel goes direct to the nations apart from Israel's mediacy, is finished. Then once more the evangel will not only go to Israel, but through them to all the nations.

14 Compare Isa.6:9-10, Septuagint. See Jn.12:37-40; Ac.28:25-27; Ro.11:7-10; 2Co.3:14-16.
16-17 Compare Lu.10:23-24. See 16:17.
18-23 Compare Mk.4:14-20; Lu.8:11-15.

19 Lack of understanding lays the heart open to the inroads of malignant spirit powers. The chief opposition to our Lord's ministry came from superhuman sources. Before He could even enter on His work, Satan tried to turn Him aside. He was continually casting out demons. This satanic opposition continued to the end. Satan sifted Peter and obsessed Judas. Before the kingdom will be established he will be bound (Un.20:2). Then no evil spirit will mislead mankind until the close of the thousand years.

20 God's present evangel of pure grace expects nothing from man. It thrives in any soil. One who really receives it is never temporary. It will bear fruit in the midst of stones or thorns, for it expects no sustenance from beneath. This parable has no application whatever to the evangel of today. It refers exclusively to the proclamation of the kingdom by our Lord Himself up to the time when it was spoken. Of the many who had heard Him only one class out of four became His disciples.

24-30 See verses 36-38.

24 This parable is concerned with the future course of the kingdom proclamation before it comes. There is the same Sower as in the previous parable. There is no question of the kind of ground, but the kind of seed. The Sower put in ideal seed. His enemy sowed that which was similar in appearance, but poisonous. Darnel is so like wheat or barley before it heads out that it is practically impossible to separate them. It was customary to weed grain fields, but darnel was too like the good stalks to distinguish them. It is a strong soporific poison, and was winnowed and picked out of the wheat, grain by grain, before being ground up for meal.
     The darnel represents the horde of hypocrites who took their place with true disciples. There was one even among the twelve apostles. Their number greatly increased in the later years of the Pentecostal era. They will flourish at the time of the end, and perish in the Judgments which usher in the kingdom.

31-32 Compare Mk.4:30-32 Lu.13:18-19. See Dan.4:10-12.

31 Mustard, like darnel, is a menace to the grain farmer. It is not a healthful food but a condiment. Its quick growth from a small beginning is in striking contrast to the parable of the Sower. Its sinister import is confirmed by the place it gives to the birds. In the first parable these represent the wicked spirits in their opposition to our Lord's proclamation. Now they actually take their place in the branches. At the time of the end there will be an exceedingly rapid development of the kingdom among the Jews, which will head up in false Babylon, which becomes the cage of every hateful bird (Un.18 3), and supports the wicked spirits who once opposed the kingdom proclamation.

33 Compare Lu.13:20,21. See Zech.5:5-11.

33 Leaven, in scripture, is always a symbol of evil and corruption. The Jews cleanse all leaven out of their houses once a year at the festival of Unleavened Bread (26:17; Ex.11:15). This the apostle calls evil and wickedness (1Co.5:8). All types of Christ had to be without leaven (Ex.23:18, 34:25; Lev.2:11, 6:17). The meal was good. But the woman covertly introduces evil, which causes it to expand, and makes it palatable for men. The woman can hardly be any one but that false figure of the end time, great Babylon. The apostate nation will so corrupt the proclamation as to please the unregenerate in Israel. Instead of looking to Messiah to establish His reign and give them a place in it, they do as they did in the days of old, when they leaned on Egypt or Assyria, instead of on Jehovah. At the end time Babylon will be supported in millennial splendor by all the nations of the earth. It is true that the leaven of insincerity and falsehood is working in Christendom today, swelling it into a great world force, palatable to men but abominable in the sight of God, but this parable has reference to the kingdom only. Leaven typifies evil, and evil only, at all times.

34-35 Compare Mk.4:33-34.

35 This refers to the disruption of the kingdom from the house of David. This is the subject of the so-called seventy eighth psalm, from which this quotation is taken.

37 The history of the kingdom proclamation in Acts and what is predicted the circumcision epistles and the Unveiling fully bears out our Lord's forecast. There were the seven sons of Sceva (Ac.19:15), the wolves in Ephesus (AC.20:29), the rich in James (5:1), the false prophets of second Peter and those who follow them, those who slip in, according to Jude (4), and many in the Unveiling, such as the false apostles (2:2), those who are of the synagogue of Satan (2:9), the Nicolaitans (2:15), Jezebel (2:20), and great Babylon (18-19:5)-a11 these hypocrites were as darnel in the field, and have been allowed to flourish hitherto. But when the harvest comes the wicked will be severed from among the just and given up to judgment. No such severance shall take place in the body of Christ. Its members are beyond the sphere of condemnation (Ro.8:1). There is no excuse for their having fellowship with unbelievers (2Co.6:14). They should be separate. This passage has no bearing on our conduct. It is concerned with the Circumcision alone.

44 In a country subject to revolutions, invasions, and robbers, it was customary to hide money and valuables in secret cistern-like vaults in the fields. Such are not seldom found by accident, and often cause much excitement. It would be dangerous to dig in another man's field. Hence the buying. Israel is the treasure. The field is the world (see 38). In order to possess Himself of the treasure, the Son of Mankind gives His all and purchases the world. He has overpaid its price by His blood.

45 The parable of the pearl is another aspect of the truth revealed by the parable of the treasure hid in the field. The sea is a picture of the nations, among whom Israel is scattered. The dispersion among the nations is the precious pearl sought by the Merchant, Who gave up all His riches to purchase it for Himself. They will be His special treasure in that day.
     There is no ground for the popular idea that Christ is the pearl, found by the sinner seeking salvation. He is, indeed precious, but sinners are not, seekers. It is always the Saviour Who finds the lost. He is not lost nor hidden. Here is another aspect of Israel's dispersion among the nations. In the conclusion of this eon-still future-Israel will be drawn from among all peoples. There will be a separation, such as was indicated in the parable of the darnel, and the bad will be destroyed in the terrible judgments of the seven bowls (Un.15:5, 16:21).

53-58 Compare Mk. 6:1-6.

53 Notwithstanding the treatment He had received when He visited Nazareth before (Lu.4:15-30), when they had actually tried to put Him to death, and the fact that His own brethren had declared Him to be mad, He graciously returns to the home of His youth, staying this time as long as He desired, and meeting no open hostility. It may be that He wished to refute the rumors His brethren had spread concerning Him by His presence and by healing their sick. But the Nazarenes found it impossible to put aside their prejudices. How could He, a mere townsman of theirs, amount to anything? They knew all about Him and His family. So it was with the prophets, and continues to this day. No man of God need expect recognition from those with whom he is familiar.

54 See Jn.7:16,17.
55 See Isa.49:7 53:2,3 Ac.1:14.
1-5 Compare Mk.6:14-20 Lu.9:7-9.

1 There are a number of the Herodian family referred to in the Scriptures. This one, usually called Herod Antipas, was one of the sons of Herod the Great (Mt.2:1 Lu.l:6) who had sought to kill our Lord soon after His birth. Two of his half-brothers are also mentioned, Herod Philip I. who had first married Herodias (Mt.14:3 Mk.6:17 Lu.3:19), and Herod Philip II. (Lu.3:1). Archclaus (Mt.2:22) was his full brother. Another half-brother, Aristobulus, was the father of Herod, king of Chalcis (Ac.25:13), Herod Agrippa I. (Ac. 12:1-23), and Herodias, whose marriage, first to Herod Philip I. and then to Herod Antipas, was the cause of John the baptist's death. Agrippa II. (Ac.25:13) was a son of Agrippa I. Bernice (Ac. 25:13) and Drusilla (Ac.24:24) were his sisters.
     Herod the tetrarch, here referred to, was a son of Herod the Great by a Samaritan woman named Malthace. After his father's death the Romans appointed him tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, so that by far the greater part of our Lord's ministry was carried on

in his dominions. His first wife was a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, who made war with him and conquered him because he had repudiated his daughter in order to marry Herodias, his half-brother Philip's wife. This woman brought him to his ruin. She was exceedingly ambitious and induced him to go to the emperor at Rome and seek the title of king. But Herodias' brother, Herod Agrippa I. brought accusations against him, so that Caligula banished him to Gaul, where he seems to have died.

3 See Lev.18:16 20:21.
6-12 Compare Mk. 6:21-29.
13-15 Compare Mk.6:30-36; Lu.9:10-12 Jn.6:1-7.

13 Herod's insistence that the Lord was John the baptist was not very reassuring, for He was almost continually within Herod's jurisdiction, and nothing could be simpler than to arrest Him and imprison Him, as John the baptist had been. His time had not yet come, so He quietly retires to avoid further publicity. But the throngs follow Him into the wilderness.

16 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by the words which issue from the mouth of God. However great may be the marvel of providing food for such a multitude in the wilderness, it cannot compare with the miracle of which was the sign. The kingdom has been rejected. The Lord's path is now a spiritual parallel with the interval between His rejection and His return to reign. His people will need to be sustained in the wilderness, just as Israel of old needed the manna after they had left Egypt and could not enter the land because of unbelief. The kingdom had come very near to them, just as their fathers had come to Kadesh, only to turn back into the wilderness for forty years. Then they needed physical food. Now they need spiritual sustenance. This provision is supplied by means of twelve cakes of bread, five on this occasion, and seven a little later, representing the twelve portions of scripture which have been given the Circumcision during the period which precedes the kingdom. The two fishes suggest that there is a testimony to the sons of Ham and Japhat who are proselytes in the nations.
     In these writings there is more than sufficient to sustain the believing Israelites and a considerable surplus for the nations. It does not, however, make any direct provision for the nations, such as is suggested at the end of Acts(28:28). We are no longer called upon to eat the left-overs from Israel's feast (Eph.2:19). The writings to the Circumcision, represented by the twelve cakes, are not for the nations. The Lord has given us a banquet such as Israel never knew. We have thirteen of Paul's epistles which, if we would only satiate ourselves with them, would keep us from so much as tasting the scraps which they refuse, or trying to purloin what pertains only to them.

16-21 Compare Mk.6:37-44 Lu.9:13-17 Jn.6:8-13.
22.23 Compare Mk.6:45,46 Jn.6:14,15.

23 His ascent into the mountain alone, while His disciples are sent into the midst of the sea, is a lovely little likeness of His ascension and session in the heavens while His disciples are left to the mercy of the nations. Not for naught is the word “torment” used here. It may not fit the effect of the billows, but it certainly is a forceful description of the fearful trials which are the portion of His followers during His absence.

24-27 Compare Mk. 6:47-50 Jn.6:16-20.

25 The Romans divided the night into four watches. There is a hint here that the Lord's absence w