27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. It appears that when Peter acknowledged that Christ was the son of God, possibly speaking for all the apostles, as they were all charged to tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ, they did not connect his history with what was spoken of him by the prophets, or Peter would not have said, "Be it far from thee Lord, this shall not be unto thee," when forewarned of what was to take place at Jerusalem. How many deserve the rebuke he met with. Whilst acknowledging Christ to be the son of God, it is as a mere fact, less concerning us than the things of men. We learn from Christ himself what ought to be the conduct of those who will follow him-entire devotion-self lost sight of-even life itself abandoned for his sake, that the soul may be saved. Who will regret the loss of the whole world, when Christ, no longer veiled, as on earth, shall appear in the glory of his father, to reward every one according to his works, and how important to ascertain our state now, that we may find our life then. CHAPTER 17. VERSES 1-13. AND after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; and if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. Our vile body must be fashioned like his glorious body before we can see Christ on the mount, as he shewed himself to his disciples, or we should only mistake his purpose, or be terrified, like them, with what they saw and heard. How graciously are we dealt with! Visions too glorious for us are withheld, whilst the "still small voice" reaches the heart with power. We should have thought Peter could not have denied his master after such a scene. Do we by faith ascend higher than the mount, desiring to be changed; so, bearing now the image of the earthly, that we may bear the image of the heavenly, the second man, the Lord from heaven. VERSES 14-21. 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Every fresh miracle performed by our Lord, seems only to shew the exceeding hardness of the heart. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday-to-day-and for ever, and yet how few turn to him, saying, "Lord, have mercy," whether asking it for themselves or others, with that simple faith, which shall bring an answer that very hour. Our Lord at once attributes the failure of his disciples to their unbelief, and says that to those who believe, nothing shall be impossible, but adds, this will be to such only as live in a spirit of prayer and self-denial. VERSES 22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: 23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. 24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute noney came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute ? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus 22-27. prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou Simon ? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. How much clearer our light now, than that of the disciples when our Lord spake these words. They were "exceeding sorry," but they plainly neither understood the purpose for which his blood was to be shed, nor comprehended his being raised from the dead. From that time to this, there has been a flood of light poured on his words; thousands have grieved for the death of Jesus, beyond what the disciples then felt, even bitter mourning for their sins; and thousands have rejoiced in his resurrection, as proving their debt cancelled, and the atoning sacrifice accepted. CHAPTER 18. VERSES 1-20. AT the same time came the dis ciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences will come; but woe unto that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee, it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in hea ven. 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray, 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 15 Moreover if thy brother shall tresspass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he shall not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established, 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, Many christians still need the humbling lesson our Saviour pressed upon his disciples, in his reply to their question, "who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" and yet none can enter heaven who refuse to be converted, and to become as little children. To be lowly in our own eyes, and dependant as little children, are graces of slow growth, even in the renewed nature, and graces that will ever be held in contempt by the world. Nevertheless, woes of a fearful character are denounced upon those in particular who are guilty of despising and offending Christ, in the persons of his people, for such are these little ones; and upon the world at large, because of offences. Jesus further counsels us, that through whatever members our hearts tempt us to sin, whether through the hand, the foot, or the eye, to extirpate the sin by casting away what we may most prize, rather than be banished from the kingdom of our heavenly Father. How should the declaration of Christ, that he is come to save that which was lost, lead us to make every sacrifice to which he exhorts us; and if he rejoice more over one lost soul that is saved, than over those who never sinned, what must be the condition of the lost? We should be convinced that it is unspeakably dreadful, were not our senses so deadened by sin, that we cannot estimate the force of our Lord's words when he sets before us what we gain or lose. Jesus goes on to instruct us how to fulfil the duty of correcting those who offend against us; and who can fail to observe how we are taught to avoid wounding their feelings by needless exposure, whilst at the same time, sin is to be reproved and punished. Our Lord then speaks of union in prayer, for specific objects; and the promise follows, that he will be in the midst of those who are thus gathered together in his name, "Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." VERSES 21-35. 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow |