39 ¶ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking w him, with the scribes and elders, said,

v Ps. 22.7; 109.25. 10 Job.13.9. Ps.35.16. Is.28.22. Lu. 18.32.

◊ 154. THE JEWS MOCK AT JESUS ON THE CROSS. He commends His mother to John.-(SIXTH day of the week.)

42 He saved others, himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

43 He trusted in God; let X him deliver him now, if he will have him for he said, ' I am the Son of God.

44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast

z Ps.3.2; 22.8; 42.10; 71.11. y Jno.5.17,18; 10. 30,36.

neither have convinced them nor would it have served His purpose of grace-nor could they demand any further sign. "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, 27.39-44 15.29-32 23.35-37 19.25-27 but there shall no sign be given them,

Matt.

Mark.

Luke.

39-43

John.

but the sign of Jonas the prophet.'

39. Reviled Him-literally, "blas-The wondrous miracle to be wrought phemed." They heaped vile epithets lay in the purposes of God, and was upon Him, shaking and tossing the soon to come on, in HIS RESURREChead in scorn (see Job 16. 4. Psalm TION, according to Jonah's type and 109. 25). People and rulers joined in the ample prophecy. Nor was this a this, as we learn from Luke. Hu- sincere demand of theirs, but only in man insult was part of the bitter curse mockery. which He endured.

40. Thou that destroyest. This claim of His was brought up now in derision. His boast of power was challenged, dared, defied now. How easily He might have used that power to hurl them into perdition; but He forbore. He could have come down: but He came to die. He would not save Himself now, else He could not save sinners.- If thou be the Son of God. Like SATAN in the wilderness, they challenge HIS CLAIM TO DIVINITY.

43. He trusted in God. These words are remarkably predicted in Ps. 22. 8. This also recalled His declarations of confidence in the Father and of oneness with Him, which now they would have Him test, and manifest (ch. 25. 53). So did Satan in the wilderness" If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself “down, for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee," &c. (ch. 4. 6). But would He meet such insulting challenges? Had they not had the most abundant proofs, which they utterly despised? And would the Father ar

41. This scoffing was universal among all classes of the multitude-rest His gracious plans to satisfy, or chief priests, scribes and elders, and soldiers and the thieves, are mentioned.

42. He saved others. This was an allusion to His miracles, which pretended even to raise the dead; but which they obstinately discredited or attributed to Beelzebub. They dared Him now to do this conclusive miracle for their belief; but this would

stop such raillery? Behold in the midst of all this, Christ had rather die to offer them salvation, than decline to die, to induce their conviction.

44. The thieves. Luke says, "One of the malefactors," while Matthew and Mark speak in general of the thieves, as doing this. One of them was more conspicuous in the history, and upon his case Luke dwelt.

accounts of this event, contained in
the Roman archives. Phlegon, a Ro-
man astronomer, A. D. 140, speaking
of this very time, testifies of this
¶ All the land-or "all the earth,” as
Luke (same Greek word). This
phrase was often applied to Judea
alone. See Bp. Watson's Reply to

Gibbon, Let. 5.

¶ Cast the same in His teeth-literally, reproached Him to the same effect-or, in like manner. Luke alone tells us of the penitent one (23. 40). Here around the cross, Christ would illustrate the power of that grace which the cross should procure even for the vilest of sinners, even in the worst case, and to the last. This is no encouragement to put off repentance 46. My God. These words are from till death. That one is rescued amidst Psalm 22. 1, and are quoted not from extremest perils, is no encouragement the Hebrew, but from the Chaldee to take the risk, especially when this paraphrase. Mark gives the words must be, by despising the grace till in the Syro-Chaldaic (ch. 15. 34), his the last. It is not probable that this object not being to give the dialect in thief had enjoyed the means of know- which they were spoken; but the ing the Saviour. At this time, our exclamation itself. This language Lord commended His mother Mary was spoken in Judea at that time. (now a widow, doubtless) to the Here our great sacrifice cried out affectionate care of the beloved dis-under the dreadful sense of the Diciple; as John himself narrates (19. 25-27).

OBSERVE, (1.) How much of Satan's language and spirit was in this bitter trial of Christ on the cross. (See the temptation in the wilderness, ch. 4.) (2.) Christ's claim to Divinity, was that against which Satan and all God's enemies vented their malicious spite. They challenged and tantalized His Sonship. (3.) The pardoning grace is signally illustrated.

§ 155. DARKNESS PREVAILS. CHRIST EXPIRES ON THE CROSS.-SIXTH day of the week. Calvary.

vine wrath against sin, as He bore
its load and curse. Compare the 22d
Psalm, which He applied now to His
case, and which the Jews had always
applied to the Messiah. As He stood
in the sinner's place, He saw and felt
the Father's wrath, not toward Him-
self as a personal transgressor, but
toward Himself as the sinner's Sub-
stitute. He still cried, My God, and
retained His filial confidence.
here was the sting of death to Him,
that He, the holy Lamb of God,
tain for a moment such a relation to
should occupy such a place, and sus-
His Father. He cried out at this

But

19.28-30 point! as He did not under His other
sufferings. His human soul was left
to shudder at the thought of standing
under the curse, even for others, and
here He felt the awful dread of sink-
ing under such a load.
"He was
heard in that He feared."

45. The sixth hour. It was our noon, or twelve o'clock. Darkness at noon-day was the most striking and palpable work of God, as it could not have been a common eclipse, for the passover was always at full-moon. The darkness also lasted three hours, as an eclipse never could. Tertullian (Apolog. ch. 21) appeals to the

Heb. 5. 7.

47. Calleth for Elias. It is not declared that they thought He called for Elias, but this they said, in taunt. And, as it was intended, it was a

|

there, when they heard that, | put it on a reed, and gave him said, This man calleth for Elias, to drink. 48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and

again with a loud voice, yelded and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom;

7.

c Ex.26.31. Le.16.2,15; 21.23. 2Ch.3.14. d Is.25.

give them."
"To-day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.' And the
DYING WORDS show the ACCEPTANCE of
His work in heaven. "It is fin-
ished."
"Father into thy hands I

commend my spirit.”

§ 156. THE VAIL OF THE TEMPLE RENT.
THE GRAVES OPENED. THE WOMEN
AT THE CROSS.-SIXTH day of the
week.
Matt.

Mark.

Luke.

27.51-5615.38-41 23.45,47-49
23.45,47-49 John.
51. The vail of the temple. This was
the interior vail in Herod's temple,
which separated the holy place from
the Holy of Holies (see Temple, ch.
21). Exodus 26. 33. Paul refers to
this event, and to the important sym-
bolical purport of it. See Heb. 9. 8.
and 10. 20. It was rent in two parts,
torn from top to bottom, exposing all
the sacred mysteries of the Most
Holy Place. Thus, "the way into the
holiest of all was (now) made mani-
fest," and laid open to all nations.
The sacred ceremonies of the day of
atonement, when the high priest en-
tered into the Most Holy Place—viz.,
once a year--were now to be dispens-
ed with, as the great high priest had
furnished His own blood and offices,
and gone within the vail to show His
blood in heaven; and thus, also, be-
lievers have boldness to enter into the
holiest by a new and living way
which He hath consecrated for us
through the vail, that is to say, His
flesh. The priest was probably burn-
ing incense in the holy place at this
hour of the evening sacrifice.
¶ The earth did quake—or shake.
The ground that was cursed sympa-
thizes. There are traces of this re-
markable earthquake in Judea, and
heathen writers speak of one which
occurred in this reign of Tiberius,

|

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept, arose,

f

53 And came out of the graves &

e Is.25.8; 26.19. Ho.13.14. Jno.5.25,28. f Da.12. 2. 1Th.4.14. g 1Cor.15.20.

that destroyed twelve Asiatic cities (see Macrobius). Tacitus' Ann. II. 47. Suetonius in Tib. 48. That it was great, would appear from the additional clause, "the rocks rent." This was entirely miraculous, in testimony to Christ's work: and so it impressed the centurion (54).

52. The graves were opened. This was another testimony to Christ's work. As the rending of the vail symbolically showed the mysteries of the ritual opened, and the way to heaven opened, and Christ's office opened as superseding that of the Levitical law-so this demonstrated that the power of death and the grave was vanquished, and an earnest was | given of a general resurrection.

The saints-the pious dead. These were probably such as old Simeon, who was known in Jerusalem, and who had but recently died. -¶ Which slept. Believers are said to sleep in Jesus. Death is to them a calm and sweet repose, which the softest slumber of the pillow only typifies. They are said to sleep also, because for them there is a blest awaking when the resurrection day shall dawn. See 1 Thess. 4. 14. John 11. 11. 1 Cor. 15. 20.

53. Came out of the graves after His resurrection. Though the graves were shaken and torn open by the earthquake, it was not until after He arose (day after next), that their tenants came forth. This, therefore, showed that there was POWER in HiS DEATH TO OPEN THE GRAVES of believers--and POWER in His RESURRECTION TO BRING THEM FORTH. Christ was Himself "the first-fruits of them that slept." 1 Cor. 15. 20. Col. 1. 18. ¶ The holy city - Jerusalem. The burial grounds were around the city, in the

after his resurrection, and went | saying, Truly this was the Son irto the holy city, and appeared of God. uito many.

¶ Truly, &c. He knew the alleged blasphemy for which Christ suffered; and these tokens from Jehovah were most convincing. All "those things that were done"-the miraculous darkness, and rending OBSERVE, What follows upon the of the vail, and the opening graves, | death of Christ. (1.) The temple