c Acts iii. 14. began to desire [him to do] as he had ever done unto 1 not expressed in the original. 8.] This is also peculiar to Mark-in Mat- 9.] Here our account differs from Matthew and agrees with John, ver. 39. 10.] He knew is the imperfect tense He was aware, He perceived, His apprehension of it was concurrent with the action going on. 12.] whom ye call the King of the Jews is "Jesus, which is called Christ" in Matthew. Neither of these expressions can well have been copied from the other. 13.] again only refers to "cried out;" see ver. 8, where this is implied in "began to desire:"-they had not cried out this before. 16-19.] JESUS MOCKED BY THE SOL DIERS. m omit. • render, his. Matt. xxvii. 27-30 (omitted in Luke). John xix. 1-3. See notes on Matthew. 16.] hall, the court or guard room, but open, see note on Matt. xxvi. 69. 17.] purple, in Greek, is vaguely used, to signify different shades of red, and is especially convertible with "scarlet," as St. Matthew. 20-23.] HE IS LED TO CRUCIFIXION. Matt. xxvii. 31-34. Luke xxiii. 26-33. John xix. 16, 17. See notes on these. 21. Alexander and Rufus] It is quite uncertain whether Alexander be identical with either of the persons of that name mentioned Acts xix. 33, 1 Tim. i. 20, 2 Tim. iv. 14, or whether those, or any two of them, represent one and the same person. There is a Rufus saluted Rom. xvi. 13. The words coming out of the country determine nothing as to its being a working day or otherwise, any more than "they that passed by" Matthew, ver. 39: nothing they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 23 And they P gave him [PP to drink] wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it e not. 24 And when they had crucified him, they parted a Ps. xxil. 18. his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. 25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26 And the superscription of his accusation. was written over, The King of the Jews. 27 And with him they crucify two 49 thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. [ 28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the trans-Isa. liii. 12. gressors.] 29 And they that passed by railed on him, f Ps. xxii. 7. wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that de- 8 ch. xiv. 58. stroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save [. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel] descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified f PP omit. romit. John ii. 19. I read, part. render, himself he cannot save, the Christ, the king of Israel. Let him descend now. . . . came. is said as to the distance from whence he 22.] the place Golgotha-or perhaps the place of Golgotha, as the word Golgotha would then answer to a skull in the interpretation; St. Luke has "the place which is called a skull." 23.] wine mingled with myrrh is "vinegar mingled with gall" in Matthew, which see. Literally, they were giving, i. e. they offered. 24-28. HE IS CRUCIFIED. Matt. xxvii. 35-38. Luke xxiii. 33, 31, 38. John xix. 18-24. 25. the third hour] This date is in agreement with the subsequent account, ver. 33, and its parallel in Matthew and Luke, but, as now standing unexplained, inconsistent with John, xix. 14, where it is said to have been about the sixth hour at the time of the exhibition of our Lord by Pilate. I own I see no satisfactory way of reconciling these accounts, unless there has been (see note on John) some very early erratum in our copies, or unless it can be shewn from other grounds than the difficulty before us, that John's reckoning of time differs from that employed in the other Evangelists. The difficulty is of a kind in no way affecting the authenticity of the narrative, nor the truthfulness of each Evangelist; but requires some solution to the furnishing of which we are not competent. It is preposterous to imagine that two such accounts as these of the proceedings of so eventful a day should differ by three whole hours in their apportionment of its occurrences. So that it may fairly be presumed, that some different method of calculation has given rise to the present discrepancy. Meanwhile the chronology of our text,-as being carried on through the day, and as allowing time both for the trial, and the events of the crucifixion, is that which will I believe be generally concurred in. All the other solutions (so called) of the difficulty are not worth relating. 29-32.] HE IS MOCKED ON THE CROSS. Matt. xxvii. 39-44. Luke xxiii. 35-37, 39-43. (John xix. 25-27.) Our narrative, derived from a common source with that of Matthew, omits the scriptural allusion, "He trusted in God," &c. Matthew, ver. 43. 32. And they that were crucified with him] See notes on Luke. with him reviled him. 33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole t land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a h Ps. xxii. 1. loud voice, [tt saying,] Elöi, Elöi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. 36 And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a i i Ps. lxix. 21. reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so [ cried out, and] gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of 40 There were also women looking on kafar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 who also, 1 Luke viii. 2, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. k Ps. xxxviii. God. 11. 3. 42 And now when the even was come, because it was the " render, breathed his last: the words are not as in Matthew. 33-37.] SUPERNATURAL DARKNESS. LAST WORDS, AND DEATH OF JESUS. Matt. xxvii. 45-50. Luke xxiii. 44-46. John xix. 28-30. Our account is nearly verbally the same with Matthew. 34.] Elöi, the Syro-chaldaic form, answering to "Eli" in Matthew. Meyer argues that the words in Matthew must have been those actually spoken by our Lord, owing to the taunt, that He called for Elias. The last word is pronounced Sabáchthani, not Sabachtháni. 36.] On the differ ence in Matthew, see notes there. 38-41.] SIGNS FOLLOWING HIS DEATH. Matt. xxvii. 51-56. Luke xxiii. 45, 4749. Omitted by John. See notes on Matthew. 39.] which stood over against him -a minute mark of accuracy, so common in Mark. so-so majestically, as Theophylact. There was something in the manner of this last cry so unusual and superhuman, that the Centurion (see on Matthew) was convinced that He must have been that Person, whom He was accused as having declared Himself to be. 40, 41.] the less-literally, the little-either in age, or in stature, so distinguished, hardly, at the time of this Gospel being written, from James the son of Zebedee, but more probably from James the brother of the Lord, the bishop of Jerusalem see Introduction to Epistle of James. This Mary is the wife of Alphæus or Clopas; see John xix. 25. Salome is called in Matthew, "the mother of the 42-47.] JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA BEGS, AND BURIES, THE BODY OF JESUS. Matt. xxvii. 57-61. Luke xxiii. 50-56. John xix. 38-42. For all notes on the substance of the common narrative, see preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathæa, an honourable counsellor, which also 38. m waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in m Luke ii. 25, boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the v body to Joseph. 46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary [w the mother] of Joses beheld where he was laid. XVI. 1 And when the sabbath v literally, corpse. Matthew. 42. the preparation, that was past, Mary Mag not expressed in the original. already taken place. 45. gave] The passage cited from Cicero to shew that it was customary to give money on such occasions, is not to the point; "the parents were obliged to purchase with money a speedy death," is not said of the body after death, but of a fee given to the officer for shortening the torments of the executed. 46. bought] Therefore it was not the first day of unleavened bread, which was one of sabbatical sanctity; as indeed the whole of this narrative shews, but such expressions as this more strikingly. in a sepulchre] It is not said, but implied, both here and in Luke and John, that the tomb was his own-for how should he place the Body there otherwise? The newness of the tomb is not mentioned here, but by the other three Evangelists. 47.] Mary of Joses-understand mother; see ver. 40. That the same person is so called here, and Mary of James in the next verse, points to a difference of origin in the two accounts here, of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The mother of the Lord had in all probability previously departed: see notes on Matt. xxvii. 56 and John xix. 27. St. Luke generalizes, and says, the women who came with Him from Galilee. Some have understood by Mary of Joses or Jose or Joseph (for all are read here in the MSS.), the wife or daughter of Joseph of Arimathæa-some, the mother of the Lord: but both unnecessarily, and without proof. CHAP. XVI. 1-8.] THE WOMEN, marvelled if he were already dead COMING TO THE SEPULCHRE, ARE AP-he wondered at the fact thus an- PRISED OF HIS RESURRECTION. Matt. nounced to him of His death having xxviii. 1-10. Luke xxiv. 1-12. John a Luke xxiii. 56. dalene, and Mary [w the mother] of James, and Salome, ax had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And zz entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye W not expressed in the original. y render, when the sun was risen. zz read, when they came to. xx. 1-10. On the general difficulties of this portion of the Gospels, and my view respecting them, see notes on Matthew. 1. when the sabbath was past] It was strictly when the Sabbath was ended, i. e. at sunset, that they bought the spices. St. Luke xxiii. 55, places it on the evening before the Sabbath; a slight but valuable discrepancy, as shewing the independence of the accounts. To suppose two parties of women (Greswell) or to take bought as pluperfect (as the A. V.) is equally arbitrary and unwarranted. anoint him] This had not been done as yet. Nicodemus (John xix. 40) had only wrapped the Body hurriedly in the spices with the linen clothes. 2. when the sun was risen] This does not agree with Matthew, "as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week"-Luke, " at early (or deep) dawn;" or John, "when it was yet dark:" -nor indeed with "very early in the morning" of our narrative itself. If the sun was up, it would be between 6 and 7 o'clock; which in the East especially, where even public business was transacted very early, could not be so called. Even Greswell virtually acknowledges a difficulty here. 3, 4. It had been rolled away by an angel, Matthew. for it was very great is stated as a reason why they could see that it was rolled away on look. ing up, possibly at some distance. This explanation is according to St. Mark's manner of describing minute circumstantial incidents; but to refer this clause render, bought. 2 literally, looked up. back as the reason why they questioned But now rather do ye... and Peter] It is hardly perhaps likely that the denial of Peter was the ground of this |