xí. 7.

X. 1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the a John x. 40: coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: andy the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put Matt. v. 31.

b Deut. xxiv. 1.

Gen. 1. 27:

v.

1 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. v. 31.

her away. 5 And Jesus [Jy answered and] said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 d For this cause shall a man a Gen. ii. 24. leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 and they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, e Matt. v. 32. and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Rom. vii. 3. 1 Cor. vii. 10, 11.

I render, multitudes.

some ancient authorities read, he made them.

a several ancient authorities have, she.

ture, and to the exhortation with which this verse ends: 'Have this grace of God -this spirit of adoption-this pledge of the covenant, in yourselves; and,' with reference to the strife out of which the discourse sprung, -'have peace with one another.'

CHAP. X. 1-12.] REPLY TO THE PHARISEES' QUESTION CONCERNING DIVORCE. Matt. xix. 1-12. See Luke xvii. 11.

1. and the farther side] Our Lord retired, after His discourses to the Jews in John x. and before the raising of Lazarus, to Bethany (John i. 28; x. 40) beyond Jordan, and thence made his last journey to Jerusalem; so that in the strictest sense of the words He did come into the borders of Judæa and beyond Jordan. St. Matthew has "beyond Jordan" without the copula. Here a large portion of the sayings and doings of Jesus is omitted: compare Matt. xviii. 10; xix. 3: Luke ix. 51-xviii. 15: John vii. 1 ff. 2-9.] See notes on Matthew, with whose account ours is nearly identical. Compare however our vv. 3, 4, 5 with Matthew vv. 7, 8, 9, and we have testimony to the independence of the two VOL. I.

reports for such an arbitrary alteration
of arrangement is inconceivable.
4.]
suffered is emphatic. Moses gave an ex-
press permissory injunction. 7.] Our
Lord makes Adam's saying His own: in
Matthew it is attributed to "him that made
(them) from the beginning." The parallel
is most instructive. 10-12.] In Mat-
thew this saying forms part of the dis-
course with the Jews. Here again Mark
furnishes us with the exact circumstantial
account of the matter. On the addition,
Matthew vv. 10-12, see notes there.
We may notice, that St. Mark omits St.
Matthew's “for every cause" in ver.2,-and
his "except for fornication" in ver. 11; as
also does St. Luke (xvi. 18). The one
omission seems to involve the other. The
report here gives the enquiry without this
particular exception. As a general rule, St.
Mark, so accurate in circumstantial details,
is less exact than St. Matthew in preserving
the order and connexion of the discourses.
12.] This verse corresponds to
"whoso marrieth her that is put away com-
mitteth adultery" in Matthew, ver 9-
but it is expressed as if the woman were

S

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon

the active party, and put away her husband, which was allowed by Greek and Roman law (see 1 Cor. vii. 13), but not by Jewish (see Deut. xxiv. 1: Jos. Antt. xv. 7.10). This alteration in the verbal expression may have originated in the source whence Mark's report was drawn.

13-16.] THE BRINGING OF CHILDREN TO JESUS. Matt. xix. 13-15. Luke xviii. 15-17. The three are nearly identical: -from Matthew, we have the additional reason “ and pray,” and from Mark, "he took them up in his arms.” 13.

reprove.

young children] Not only so, but as in Luke, infants: and our Lord was not to teach them, but only to touch, and pray over them. This simple, seemingly superstitious application of those that brought them (perhaps not the mothers only) the disciples, interrupted in their converse on high and important subjects, despise and 14.] We can hardly read our Lord's solemn saying, without seeing that it reaches further than the mere then present occasion. It might one day become a question whether the new Christian covenant of repentance and faith could take in the unconscious infant, as the old covenant did: whether, when Jesus was no longer on earth, little children might be brought to Him, dedicated to his service, and made partakers of his blessing. Nay, in the pride of the human intellect, this question was sure one day to be raised and our Lord furnishes the Church, by anticipation, with an answer to it for all ages. Not only may the little infants be brought to Him, but in order for us who are mature to come to Him, we must cast away all that wherein our maturity has caused us to differ from them, and become LIKE THEM. Not only is Infant Baptism justified, but it is (abstractedly considered; -not as to preparation for it, which from the nature of the case is precluded) the NORMAL PATTERN OF ALL BAPTISM; none can enter God's kingdom, except as an infant. In adult baptism, the exceptional case (see

them, and blessed them.

above), we strive to secure that state of
simplicity and childlikeness, which in the
infant we have ready and undoubted to
our hands.
15.] The word may be
rendered he fervently blessed them.

17-31.] ANSWER TO AN ENQUIRER
RESPECTING ETERNAL LIFE, AND DIS-
COURSE THEREUPON. Matt. xix. 16-30.
Luke xviii. 18-30. On the different form
of our Lord's answer in Matthew, see notes
there. As it here stands, so far from
giving any countenance to Socinian error,
it is a pointed rebuke of the very view of
Christ which they who deny His Divinity
entertain. He was no 'good Master,' to
be singled out from men on account of
His pre-eminence over his kind in virtue
and wisdom: God sent us no such Christ
as this, nor may any of the sons of men
be thus called good. He was one with
Him who only is good, the Son of the
Father, come not to teach us merely, but
to beget us anew by the divine power
which dwells in Him. The low view then,
which this applicant takes of Him and
his office, He at once rebukes and annuls,
as He had done before in the case of Nico-
demus: see John iii. 1 ff. and notes.
The dilemma, as regards the Socinians,
has been well put (see Stier ii. 283, note):
- either, "There is none good but God:
Christ is good: therefore Christ is GOD;"
-or, "There is none good but God:
Christ is not God; therefore Christ Is
With regard to other

NOT GOOD."

points the variations in the narratives are triffing, but instructive-" if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto Him, which?" (Matthew) = "thou knowest the commandments" (Mark and Luke) without any break in the discourse. Similarly, in Matthew, the young (Matthew) ruler (Luke) asks, ver. 20, "what lack I yet?" but in Mark and Luke, Jesus says to him (and here with the remarkable addition of "beholding him, loved him") "one thing thou lackest." Such notices as these shew the point at which, not short of which nor beyond which, we

Rom. xiii. 9.

17 And when he was bgone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Exod. xx Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these things have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have & treasure in heaven: and come, take & Matt. vi. 13,

20.

up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them thath Ps. lii. 7: trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 It is

26 And

they were astonished out of measure, saying among them

selves, Who then can be saved?

27 And Jesus looking

Ixii. 10.
1 Tim. vi. 17.

upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with Jer. xxxii. 17.

b render, going.

may expect the Evangelists to be in accord: viz. in that inner truthfulness of faithful report which reflects to us the teaching of the Lord, but does not depend on slavish literal exactitude; which latter if we require, we overthrow their testimony, and most effectually do the work of our adversaries. 17. into the way, out of the house, ver. 10, to continue His journey, ver. 32. The running and the kneeling are both found in the graphic St. Mark only. 19.] St. Mark here takes exactly the commandments of the second table, defraud not standing for the tenth. St. Matthew adds their summary ("thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"), omit ting (with St. Luke) "defraud not" perhaps on account of "do not steal" having gone before. 21.] Notice the graphic details again, of looking on him and loving take up the cross is added

Luke i. 37.

here. 22.] for he had great possessions
-so also St. Matthew. 23-31.] Here
our ver. 24 is a most important addition;
the rest is much alike in the three. In
that verse we have all misunderstanding
of our Lord's saying removed, and "the
proverb," as Wesley well observes, "shifted
to this ground: 'It is easier for a camel,
&c. than for a rich man to cast off his
trust in his riches." Yet the power of
divine grace can and does accomplish even
this. 24.] Children is remarkable, and
a trace of exactitude: see John xxi. 5:-
so also looked round about, ver. 23.
26.] This reiterated expression of dismay,
after the explanation in ver. 24, need not
surprise us. The disciples were quite as
well aware as we must be, if we deal truly
with ourselves, that they that have riches
and they that trust in riches are too
nearly commensurate, for the mind to be

k ch. viii. 31: ix. 31.

God: for with God all things are possible. 28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus [bb answered and] said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30 but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. * And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 33 saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn

bb omit.

relieved of much of its dread at the solemn
saying which preceded.
28.] Here is
an instance of a saying of Peter's reported,
without any distinction indicating that
he had a share in the report.

See notes

Observe

on Matthew, for the promise here made
to the Apostles. 29, 30.] Here our
report is most important. To it and St.
Luke we owe now in this time, without
which the promise might be understood of a
future life only :- and to it alone we owe
the va particularizing of the returns made,
and the words with persecutions, which
light up the whole passage, and shew that
it is the inheritance of the earth in the
higher sense by the meek which is spoken
of;-see 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22.
mothers-nature gives us only one-but
love, many (see Rom. xvi. 13). We do
not read fathers, perhaps because of our
high and absorbing relation to our Father
in heaven; compare Matt. xxiii. 9. On
and the gospel's, Dr. Wordsworth observes,
"see above, viii. 35, where this phrase (not
found in the other Evangelists, see Matt.
xvi. 25: Luke ix. 24) is inserted by St.
Mark. Perhaps it made a greater im-
pression upon his mind, because he had
formerly shrunk from suffering for the
Gospel's sake. (See Acts xiii. 13; xv. 38.)
St. Mark also alone here inserts our Lord's
words, with persecutions, perhaps from a
recollection that he had been once af-
frighted by persecution from doing the
work of the Gospel: and desiring to pre-
pare others to encounter trials which for a

Here

time had mastered himself."
follows in Matthew the parable of the
Labourers in the vineyard, ch. xx. 1-16.

32-34.] FULLER DECLARATION OF HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. Matt. xx. 17-19. Luke xviii. 31-34. [The remarkable particulars of ver. 32 are only found here.] This was (see Matt. xvi. 21; xvii. 22) the third declaration of His sufferings which the Lord had made to the disciples, and it was His going before them, accompanied most probably by something remarkable in his gait and manner-a boldness and determination perhaps, an eagerness, denoted in Luke xii. 50, which struck them with astonishment and fear. "Though very little is said in the Gospels concerning our Lord's external appearance and deportment, there are frequent indications of its effects on others. We do not see His glory in itself,-it could not be described, but we read the reflection of it in them. See Matt. ix. 9, the call of St. Matthew: Matt. xxi. 12, the purging of the temple: Mark ix. 15, the feeling and behaviour of the crowd towards Him after the Transfiguration. The climax is at the betrayal, John xviii. 6, when, after His utterance of those words - 'I am he,' - the soldiers start back, and fall to the ground." Dr. Wordsworth. 32.] began, anew: He again opened this subject. 33.] The circumstances of the passion are brought out in all three Evangelists with great particularity. The 'delivery to the Gentiles'

him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 34 and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and ce the third day he shall rise again. 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us, that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? dand be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall [dd indeed] drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 but to sit on my right and on my left hand is not mine to give; but [ee it shall be given to them] for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye 1 Luke xxii. know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority fupon them. 43 m But so ff shall it not be m ch. ix. 35. among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister: 44 and whosoever of you will be the

8 chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For h even

n the Son of Lo

C nearly all our most ancient MSS. have these transposed.

cc read, after three days.

ee not expressed in the original. 8 literally, first.

is common to them all.

d read, or. dd omit.
f render, over.

34. spit

upon him, Mark and Luke:-crucify him, Matthewonly, which is remarkable, as being the first intimation, in plain terms, of the death He should die. The taking up the cross, so often alluded to, might have had now for them a deep meaning-but see Luke ver. 34. The they in ver. 34 means the Gentiles.

35-45. AMBITIOUS REQUEST OF THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE: OUR LORD'S REPLY. Matt. xx. 20-28, where see notes throughout, and especially on the difference in our ver. 35. The two accounts of the discourse are almost verbatim the same, and that they came from one source is very apparent. Even here, however, slight deviations occur, which are unaccountable,

'n John xiii. 14. ii. 7.

read, or.

ff read, it is not.

h render, the Son of man also.

if the one had actually before him the writing of the other. Besides, we have the whole additional particulars of the baptism, with which He was to be baptized: see note on Matthew. 38.] Observe the present tenses, drink of, and am baptized with. They may mean that the Lord had already the cup of His suffering at His lips; was already, so to speak, sprinkled with the first drops of spray of His baptism of blood: or they may be merely official: "that I am to drink of, and to be baptized with." 42.] they which are accounted to rule, - who have the title of rulers: literally, they which seem to rule, or, think that they rule. It is not, 'those who rule,' which God alone does.