And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

This Parable is peculiar to Matthew.

It presents us with only one phase of the Judgment,-viz., the principle upon which the righteous and the wicked will be tried. This principle is that they alone are Christians who have manifested themselves to possess true grace in their hearts, by "works of faith and labours of love" to their brethren.

"Sheep," as being clean, gentle, patient, and useful,here = the righteous.

"Goats," as being filthy, quarrelsome, and lascivious= the wicked.

(Eastern shepherds always kept the sheep and goats apart.) "Right hand on the left."-This is an allusion to the two recording clerks, standing at a trial, the one on the judge's right hand, to record the sentence, "Not guilty;" the other, on the left, to record the sentence, "Guilty."

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Naked," poorly clad.

"Then shall the righteous answer him."-The righteous attach no merit to their works, and are surprised that Christ should regard them as done to Him.

"These my brethren,"-i.e., their fellow Christians.

"Prepared for the Devil," &c.-Hell was not then meant for man.

"Then shall they also answer him."-The wicked are as astonished as the righteous; but from a different motive,— they do not understand the connection between faith and works, and love to Christ.

Everlasting punishment”

"life eternal."-Here is a distinct declaration of the eternity of Hell, since the word rendered "everlasting” and “eternal" is the same in both clauses.

Christ reminds the Disciples of the near approach of the Passover: His Fourth Prediction of His Sufferings.

(ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.)

(c. xxvi. 1, 2.)

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these

sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified."

The Sanhedrin consult as to how to apprehend Christ: Judas Iscariot undertakes to betray Him.

(AT JERUSALEM.)

(c. xxvi. 3-5: 14-16.)

"Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

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day.

Then,"―i.e., after their failures to entrap Him, on this

"The Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the Elders of the people," "-the Sanhedrin.

"Unto the palace of the High Priest."-The customary place of meeting, for the Sanhedrin, was their hall in the Temple. But, on this occasion, they met secretly at the house of Caiaphas, fearing to assemble in the Temple, lest the crowds who were in Christ's favour should learn, and frustrate, their purpose.

"Caiaphas," was not of the Aaronic family, in whom the right to the High Priesthood was vested by God; but had been appointed to the office by the Roman governor, who had the power to change the High Priest, (whose office was, by the Law, to be life-long), at his pleasure.

Caiaphas succeeded his father-in-law, Annas, who was removed from the office after filling it for eleven years. But Annas was so greatly esteemed that he was still regarded as almost equally powerful with Caiaphas, and acted as his vicar. Accordingly we find John recording that

1. At the commencement of John the Baptist's ministry, "Annas and Caiaphas " were "the high priests." 2. Christ was taken to Annas, before he was led to his son-in-law.

John also records that, after the raising of Lazarus, the Sanhedrin had held a council against Christ, "believing, or feigning to believe," that if Jesus were "let alone," His miracles would attract all the people to Him,—that He would then attempt, by the aid of His followers, to set up a temporal kingdom,-and that the Romans would come and take away their "place and nation." Caiaphas had no scruples about taking Christ's life: accordingly he declared, "Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." His meaning was, "It will be better for you to put this man to death, without scruple, than for the whole nation to be destroyed." But, in thus speaking, "he prophesied" involuntarily the coming death of Christ, for the salvation of Jewish, and Gentile, nations.

Caiaphas was deposed from office about two years after the Crucifixion. This disgrace, and remorse for aiding in Christ's murder, are said to have driven him to suicide, A.D. 35.

"Not on the feast-day," should be, "Not during the Feast."

"Lest there be an uproar among the people."-There were present, at the Passover, crowds from those districts where Christ's ministry had been chiefly exercised. Amongst these, there must have been large numbers of His disciples and friends. The only place where He appeared publicly was the Temple: and were they to seize Him there, a conflict between His friends and His enemies must have ensued.

The traitor's motives in betraying Christ were, probably, 1. Avarice, his ruling passion, which led him to murmur at the "waste of ointment," not, (as John tells us), because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein,-i.e., he was treasurer, and almoner, of

the money the disciples collected for the poor, and was in the mean habit of embezzling from this charitable store.

He, no doubt, expected more from the Sanhedrin than they gave him; but he accepted their offer, rather than miss even 66 30 pieces of silver." 2. The frustration of his hopes in re Christ, who, he thought, was to set up a temporal kingdom, in which he would occupy a high position as minister of finance, and so be able to enrich himself, at the State's expense.

3. Enmity to Christ, for the direct, and indirect, rebukes he had received on account of his mean selfishness and avarice,―vices which Christ habitually scourged. "Thirty pieces of silver,"-probably shekels, each worth about 2s. 41.

Thirty shekels was the value of a slave, according to the Mosaic Law.

"He sought," &c.,-.e., he watched for a time when Christ should be comparatively isolated from assistance.

THURSDAY.

Christ's Last Passover is prepared.

(AT JERUSALEM.)

(c. xxvi. 17-19.)

"Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover."

"The first day of the feast of unleavened bread,”—-¿e., the Thursday preceding the Paschal Supper. Strictly speaking, the Feast of the Passover did not commence until the evening of Friday, when the Lamb was eaten. But, (as we find in Matt., Mark, and Luke), the Thursday was frequently called "the first day of unleavened bread,"-because on that day the Paschal Lamb was slain, all leaven

remaining in the houses was burned, and all other preparations were made for keeping the seven days of unleavened bread which were to follow.

"The city," Jerusalem.

"To such a man.”—Mark and Luke give particulars as to the instructions Christ furnished. He told the two that, on entering the city, there should meet them a man bearing a pitcher of water: they were to follow him into the house he should enter, and ask "the good man of the house," in Christ's name, for "the guest chamber:" and he would shew them a "large upper room, furnished and prepared."

During the Passover season, the dwellers in Jerusalem were compelled to grant, gratis, the use of rooms, and to prepare them for the Feast, for their visitor fellow-country

men.

We learn from Luke that it was Peter and John who were sent on this errand.

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My time,"-i.e., "the time of my crucifixon." original implies a "time of affliction."

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The

"They made ready the passover,"—rather, They made ready for the paschal meal,"—i.e., they slew and roasted the lamb, and provided the unleavened bread, bitter herbs, wine, &c.

The manner of celebrating the Paschal Supper :— The company at the Table, which might not be less than 10 persons, usually included from 10 to 20, according to the family, or the number of strangers that might be present. They met in the evening and reclined on couches.

The rites of the Feast were regulated according to the succession of 4, sometimes 5, cups of red, unfermented wine, mixed with water, which were placed before the head of the house, or the most eminent guest, who was called the Celebrant, the President, or Proclaimer of the Feast.

i. When they had reclined, he began by taking one of the four cups of wine in his right hand, and pronounced the benediction over the wine and the feast, saying, Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, the King of the universe, who hast created the fruit of the Vine. He then drank the first cup, and the remainder of the household followed his example.